cried Gerald, turning to Alondra, who had just alighted on the deck and
grasped his hand. 'I saw all that went on! I saw you, Alondra, leap
down after me; and it was that really which turned the bird in the right
direction, for he was heading the other way!'
'I noticed that,' said Alondra modestly. 'I remembered that there was
this lake ahead of us, and it struck me in a flash that the best--almost
the only--chance of saving you was to drive the krondo towards it. Of
course, I could have overtaken him and mastered him; but I could not
have supported you and battled with him too--to say nothing of the
others which would have been after us.'
''Twas wisely thought out, my son,' Ivanta declared. 'I caught your
idea directly I noted that you had purposely turned the bird from the
line it had first taken. Our young friend here was prompt, too, in
following it up and aiding me to prevent it from breaking back,' he
added, indicating Jack. 'Now, go and change your clothes; and we will
give you your revenge upon the krondos.'
Half an hour later they were back again in the valley which had been the
scene of Gerald's startling adventure. A desultory fight was still
going on between Ivanta's trained eagles and a pair of their foes. Upon
the rocky ground below lay one dead krondo and several of the smaller
birds. Of the fourth krondo nothing was to be seen; it had probably
taken refuge in flight.
Ivanta looked at his dead birds with grave concern and regret.
'This is my fault! I forgot to call them off!' said he. 'I do not like
to have my faithful feathered friends treated like this.'
He put a whistle to his lips, and at the sound of it his eagles
obediently left the krondos they were 'mobbing;' and the latter at once
flew off. Evidently they had had quite enough of the fray, and were glad
of the chance of making good their retreat without further trouble.
'We will find some more to chase presently,' observed Ivanta. 'First,
let us see what can be done for those of my eagles which are hurt but
not killed.'
Armeath and his wards looked on with wondering approval as they saw the
attention Ivanta proceeded to bestow upon his wounded birds. It was
curiously characteristic of the man to delay the proceedings and keep
all his friends waiting for such a cause.
Later on, the hunt was resumed, and the visitors had some lively
experiences among the mountain-peaks, though none quite so startling as
the first one.
They found it, as Alondra had said they would, splendid sport. The
krondos were hunted out and pursued by the small eagles in all their
turns, and these were followed by the airships, just as the huntsmen
follow the hounds. There was the same rivalry, too, amongst the latter
to be 'in at the death.'
Naturally, this necessitated some bold manoeuvring on the part of the
airships. At one time they would be circling through the upper air to
dizzy heights far above the highest mountains; then suddenly there would
be a turn and a mad plunge downwards for thousands of feet, as their
quarry swooped down almost to the level of the ground below. There were
many hairbreadth escapes from collisions; and altogether the sport was
about as exciting as the most daring or the most reckless could desire.
'It beats the switchback railway business and all that sort of thing
hollow!' exclaimed Gerald that evening, when relating their experiences
to Freddy; for the Zuanstrooms had not joined the hunting-party.
'Looping the loop's nothing to it!' Jack declared.
Freddy looked wistful. 'How I wished I was with you!' he sighed.
'H'm! I 'm afraid you are not old enough yet for that sort of thing,
youngster,' remarked Jack loftily. 'What has Silas been doing to amuse
you to-day?'
'He hasn't been amusing me at all,' was the answer. 'It's been one of
my "bad days" again. The nasty, ugly old man has come back, and has been
with uncle and Silas all day; and whenever he comes I am always sent off
and left to amuse myself as best I can!'
Gerald and Jack looked at each other. Jack gave a long, low whistle;
Gerald exclaimed under his breath, 'The Ogre again!'
*CHAPTER XVII.*
*LESSONS IN FLYING.*
'It bain't no sort o' use; I shall never l'arn t' fly!' grumbled Bob
Reid, as he stood rubbing his bruises. He had just come 'a nasty
cropper,' and seemed, as he expressed it, to have 'hurt meself all over
at wanst.' One hand was rubbing a leg, while the other was busy with a
shoulder. 'If I 'ad 'alf a dozen more 'ands I could find plenty for 'em
t' do!' he continued ruefully. 'I seem t' be bruised everywhere. Let's
give it up, Tom, afore we suicides ourselves unintentional.'
'Not I!' cried Tom Clinch, who was balancing himself on a ladder. He
flung his arms--to which two great wings were attached--about wildly,
and leaped into the air, gasping as he came floundering down. 'You see,
Bob, I 'll master it yet!'
The two sailors had had some 'flying-dresses' lent them, and had been
practising and striving for all they were worth to learn the mystic art;
but somehow they could not, as Tom put it, 'fall into the knack.'
'It be like swimmin',' Tom went on, between leaps and jumps which would
have done credit to a Spring-heeled Jack. 'It takes a long time t' fall
inter the knack'----
'Ye'll fall inter the ditch d'reckly,' Bob tittered, as Tom rolled over
on the ground. 'It's no use, Tom! Let's be sensible, an' give it up.
It ain't dignerfied like fur us two chaps at our time o' life!'
'I be goin' t' try another jump from that there ladder,' returned Tom
obstinately. 'You needn't try no more if ye funks it! But when I
starts out to do a thing I don't like t' be beat! Other people 'ere
does it, so why shouldn't we?'
'Ay, but they l'arns it in their young days,' said Bob.
'Theer 's Mr Gerald--he's gettin' on fine! An' Mr Jack, too, ain't
doin' bad at it! He be a-practisin' now just out yonder--t'other side
that fence! There he goes now--a-soarin' up in grand style! I 'd give
'alf me month's wages t' be able t' go like that!'
'It's that puff o' wind's took 'old o' 'im,' Bob declared, as he watched
Jack perform some rather curious aerial evolutions. 'Strikes me the
wind's got 'old of 'im, an 'e can't 'elp 'isself! Yes! Look out fur 'im
t' stop 'im, Tom!'
Tom had just succeeded, at the moment this urgent warning was uttered,
in again climbing laboriously up the ladder on to a narrow platform
which had been erected as a 'jumping-off place' for fliers.
There were several of these platforms, of various heights, placed at
intervals in some spacious fields laid out specially near the city of
Ivenia, for the use of those who were learning to fly, or experimenting
with small flying-machines. They might be likened to the
diving-platforms, with ladders leading up to them, which are to be seen
at some bathing-places. They were open to all, and were freely used by
old and young--especially the latter. It was no uncommon sight to see
numbers of boys and girls--some almost babies--fluttering about like so
many large butterflies.
This particular morning the two sailors were practising on their own
account in one part, while Gerald and Jack were similarly engaged, not
far away, under Alondra's tuition.
It was a windy day, with violent squalls at intervals, and lulls
between. Just at the time Tom climbed to the platform there had arisen
a very violent gust, which came sweeping across, bearing with it the
figure of Jack, with large wings whirling about like the sails of a
windmill. Whether he was purposely heading for the platform as a refuge
to which he could cling, or whether the unexpected violence of the wind
carried him there, it would be difficult to say. All that is certain
about it is that he cannoned against Tom Clinch, and a moment later the
two were gyrating and spinning in the air like a couple of gigantic
bluebottles. Then, as though poor Bob Reid had not already enough
bruises to attend to, the two descended like an avalanche plump on top
of him. Finally, Gerald, who had followed Jack in his involuntary
flight, sailed straight into the struggling group. Fortunately, at this
point Alondra arrived. He had come after the two chums to render them
his assistance, and was now able to help to disentangle them.
'One o' my wings is broke!' cried Tom, as he sat up and surveyed the
wreck.
'I'm afraid both mine are,' said Jack.
'You 've broke my back atween ye!' Bob spluttered, as he rolled over.
'This settles it! No more flyin' fur me!'
'I've had enough for to-day too!' Jack laughingly owned, as he proceeded
to divest himself of his flying outfit. 'It's a mistake for beginners
to practise on a windy day.'
'I doan't practise no more--wind or no wind,' Bob declared in a tone of
conviction. 'All I wants now be some limbrokation--an' plenty on it!'
'I think you only require a little more practice,' Alondra afterwards
assured the two chums, as they were walking home towards his yacht,
leaving their outfits to be brought after them by the two sailors.
'I don't know,' said Jack doubtfully. 'We've been trying it for a good
while now, and we don't seem to make much progress. I begin to doubt if
we ever shall. It's different with you, you see. Your people have
learnt it more or less for generations, and it's in the blood, I fancy.
I think we shall have to be content with motor-wings.'
Jack referred to the smallest form of flying-machine in use. It
consisted merely of a pair of wings worked by a small motor, a balancing
tail, and a saddle-seat on which the aeronaut perched himself. In many
respects it might be described as the aerial counterpart of our
motor-bicycle.
From the incidents just related it will be gathered that the visitors
had not made much progress in learning the use of artificial wings.
Whether there was something different in their physical constitution, or
whether it was, as Jack was inclined to think, that the knack of flying
was becoming hereditary amongst the Martians, it is certain that neither
the youthful aspirants nor the two elderly sailors had so far been able
to master the tantalising secret of soaring into the air at will with
artificial wings alone. They could come down--from a height; but then,
as Tom Clinch remarked, 'Most people can do that wi'out any l'arnin'.'
When, an hour or two later, Alondra's yacht landed them again at
Karendia, as the king's palace was called (the name meant literally 'the
palace in the clouds'), they found Monck awaiting them.
'I have some news for you young people,' said he. 'Our royal master has
honoured me by entrusting me with a special mission to Sedenia (King
Agrando's country); and he will let you accompany me, so that you may
see something of another part of our world.'
'I 'm willing, if you others are going, of course,' Gerald answered
readily, but without enthusiasm. He glanced at Alondra as he spoke.
'I shall like very much to go with you,' said Alondra. 'It is a country
well worth visiting. There are many curious natural wonders to be seen
there. Moreover, we shall be able to visit other countries on our way.'
That night, as the two chums were retiring to rest, Gerald said, with a
shiver, 'Do you know, Jack, I would give a good deal if we could get out
of this trip. I've got a feeling--a sort of presentiment'----
'Nerves again!' murmured Jack sleepily. 'We shall be all right! We go
as the king's guests or ambassadors, or whatever it is; and not even the
Ogre will dare to harm us. Ivanta has a long arm, it strikes me.'
'Maybe he has, and maybe it will, as you say, be all right,' was
Gerald's reply. 'All the same, something tells me we're in for trouble
in some way or another.'
*CHAPTER XVIII.*
*A ROYAL PROGRESS.*
'There are the famous canals--the great waterways which the astronomers
of the Earth have seen through their telescopes and puzzled over for so
many years. The curious thing is that the scientists of Mars have
puzzled over them almost as much, and can tell you practically just as
little about them.'
Thus spoke Monck, as the _Lokris_ sailed through the upper air on her
way to the country of King Agrando.
Below them the voyagers saw seas and continents spread out as upon an
enormous map. And there, quite plain to the eye, were the strange
channels Monck had referred to. They looked like great arms of the sea;
but there was that in their regular shape which proclaimed, even to the
unscientific eye, that they must have been constructed artificially.
'Their origin is lost in the mists of past ages,' Monck explained.
'Some mighty race in the past must have made them at a time when to be
able to travel by water was all-important.'
Jack, who was looking through a powerful telescope, exclaimed in
surprise, 'I can see vessels going about on them! The curious thing is
that in one channel they are all going one way, and in the other channel
they are all moving along in the opposite direction.'
'Exactly!' Monck replied. 'And that, you perceive, seems to suggest a
reason for their construction. There are strong currents running
through them just as you see the vessels going--that is to say, in
opposite directions. It is supposed that the ancients, in the days
before mechanical propulsion was invented, saw in that fact an easy way
of getting about. At any rate, that is the general supposition
nowadays. Of course, it is only a guess.'
The _Lokris_ had been at this time two days and nights on her journey.
She was accompanied by several airships, forming, in effect, a small
squadron. 'Escorted' would be perhaps a more fitting term, for several
of them were war-vessels, while others again were craft in attendance,
carrying supplies.
The progress of the whole fleet was methodical, and was conducted with a
good deal of ceremony. It was all ordered very much as would be the case
with the fleet of one of the Great Powers on Earth escorting the yacht
carrying the son of a powerful monarch on a visit or tour to a distant
realm. One of the war-vessels carried the Diamond King and his party;
while Armeath and his wards travelled with Prince Alondra in his yacht.
As they continued their journey they passed over various cities and
countries. Sometimes strange war-vessels, seeing from a distance that a
small fleet was approaching, came soaring up to inquire who and what
they were. Continually, all day long, other craft, of every size and
kind, passed them. Some were great liners, carrying passengers, going
swiftly to and fro like our greyhounds of the Atlantic; some were
private yachts; and others again war-craft, alone, or in twos and
threes. All, as they went by, ran up signals; and when they learnt from
the answering signals who the illustrious travellers were, saluted in
token of respect.
Their progress was leisurely, and there were many halts. There were
certain places where their coming was expected, and preparations had
been made to give them a brilliant reception. Airships, splendidly
decorated, came up to welcome them, and beg them to descend to receive
addresses.
Then it was that the strangers saw how much diversity it was possible to
introduce into the decoration of the various air-craft, and how their
outward appearance could be varied and altered according to the taste
and ingenuity of the owners. Every kind of bird was imitated upon a
large scale. There were gigantic swans, eagles, swallows, and other
birds such as are familiar to us upon Earth, and a number of strange
bird-forms which exist only on Mars. There were grotesque creatures,
too, representations of beasts and fish, and uncanny-looking monsters,
some of the latter resembling what we know as dragons, griffins,
wyverns, and so on.
At night there would be fêtes, when all these creatures were lighted up
in curious and ingenious fashion, revealing to the astonished and
delighted travellers most weird and marvellous effects, as they
performed intricate evolutions and manoeuvres in the air in the dark.
Then there were fireworks such as have probably never been dreamed of by
even our most skilful pyrotechnists. Illuminated airships soared up into
the heavens and formed brilliant constellations of huge coloured stars,
or rained down showers of fire, like colossal, inverted, fiery
fountains. Chariots of fire sailed to and fro and engaged in races,
contests, or in sham-fights upon a grand scale. Fiery monsters, which
left long, shining trails of light behind them like the tails of comets,
darted to and fro with a roar which startled those who heard it for the
first time. Luminous clouds--red, yellow, blue, or green--formed
mysteriously, and aeronauts played hide-and-seek amongst them with their
lighted cars, vanishing suddenly into them and reappearing quite
unexpectedly in a different place.
Such were some--only a few--of the spectacles with which the travellers
from our Earth were entertained by the hospitable inhabitants of the
countries over which they passed in the course of their journey to
Sedenia. It would require too much space to describe all the marvellous
sights they gazed upon, the novelties they met with, the quaint
costumes, manners, and customs of the various nations they encountered,
or the numerous zoological curiosities which were brought under their
notice. Weeks were occupied in this manner, and it may safely be said
that each day brought some fresh surprise, something which was new,
unexpected, or curiously interesting to the visitors.
Altogether, the two chums and their guardian had a memorable
journey--one to be remembered with delight and wonder for the rest of
their lives, one which was in every sense a truly royal progress. Not
the least interesting part of it consisted in the frank curiosity
displayed by the inhabitants in themselves as natives of another world.
Many showed great surprise at finding that they were just human beings,
very much the same as the Martians were, neither more nor less.
'I suppose,' remarked Gerald, 'they expected that we should turn out to
be monsters like those which that philosopher of theirs, whose book I
was reading on the way here, declared us to be: "ape-like creatures,
with blue skins covered with green hair."'
But whatever the expectations of the Martians had been, they soon
demonstrated that they were well pleased with the reality, for they
overwhelmed the visitors with the most lavish hospitality, and accorded
them places of great honour at every public function.
One note there was, however, not exactly of discord, but a jarring
note--an undercurrent--of disappointment and dissatisfaction,
nevertheless. In every place at which they arrived, one of the first
questions addressed to Monck was: 'Have you brought the diamonds?' or
'When are the diamonds to be offered for sale?' These, or some similar
inquiries concerning the great shipload of gems which it was now known
throughout the Martian world had been brought by King Ivanta from the
'evening star,' met them at every halting-place.
It was evident that the answer which Monck, as the king's messenger, was
compelled to make to these queries, caused considerable surprise and
disappointment. In certain extreme cases they even threw a certain air
of restraint into the exhibitions of public rejoicings.
'What has been done with the diamonds, Mr Monck?' asked Jack one day.
'What is going to be done with them? If they were brought here to be
offered for sale to those who could afford to buy them, why are they
kept back?'
'At present they are under lock and key--that is to say, they are
deposited in the strong room of the treasury in the city of Ivenia.'
'When are they going to be brought out again?'
'That is more than I can say, young sir. It is at present a secret
known only to my royal master.'
'It's no business of mine, sir,' Jack went on modestly, 'and perhaps you
will think I have no right to say anything; but I can't help seeing that
keeping them locked up is causing a great deal of ill-feeling. I know
that Mr Armeath thinks--and I feel sure that he is right--that it is a
pity they were ever brought here at all. But since they have been
brought, it does seem a bit funny that so much time should be allowed to
go by without any one being allowed even to see them.'
'It is the king's will, and that is all I can tell you. I may just hint
to you privately, however, that I have an idea--it is only my own guess,
mind you--that the king wishes to defer taking any decided step till
after his return from his visit to Kondris--that is, to the planet you
know as Saturn.'
Jack whistled. 'Oh, oh!' he cried, nodding his head shrewdly. 'I see!
Then he is really bent on making that trip?'
'Undoubtedly. At least, I believe he is now completing the necessary
preparations.'
'Mr Zuanstroom--he won't like that, will he?'
'He will have to wait the king's pleasure.'
'I suppose he will; but he won't like it. And you will find he will
begin to kick if something isn't done soon. I have heard hints to that
effect. Silas let it out in an indiscreet moment.'
'My royal master has a way of doing what he chooses without regard to
the opinions of private individuals,' was Monck's answer; and it was
given in a tone which effectually closed the conversation.
*CHAPTER XIX.*
*A DARING PLOT.*
In due course the travellers reached the country of Sedenia. They were
met upon--or rather over--its borders by the ruler of the realm, King
Agrando. He was accompanied by his chief councillor, Kazzaro--otherwise
the Ogre--Gorondo his chief General, and his principal officers of
State. He also had with him a number of war-airships of various sizes.
Under his conduct the travellers passed on to his capital, the city of
Dyrania, a rambling town of considerable size, built upon the slopes of
a high mountain and overlooking a large lake.
The visitors left their airships, and took up their abode for the time
being in suites of apartments assigned to them for their use in the
royal palace.
Here King Agrando dispensed his hospitality with a sort of semi-barbaric
dignity. To Gerald, in particular, as may be imagined, it seemed a
curious thing to find himself attending his Court as a guest. It cannot
be said that it was a pleasant experience, and he entered into it with
very mixed feelings.
So far as the outward conduct of his host went, however, he had nothing
to complain of. He had come there with Prince Alondra and Monck, King
Ivanta's special representative; and he, Mr Armeath, and Jack, were
treated upon that footing with the strictest regard to everything that
courtesy and etiquette required. At the same time, try as he would, he
could not feel exactly comfortable. Every time he attended any
function, and saw before him King Agrando and his chief officers, there
came back to him the memory of that time when he had been brought before
those same men as a helpless prisoner, and treated with contumely and
insult. His cheeks would flush, and the hot blood rush through his
veins even now, as he recalled how Kazzaro had prodded and pommelled him
as a farmer might a bullock offered for sale, and remembered the
sinister and forbidding aspect of the whole crowd as they gazed upon
him.
Still, so far as they were concerned, all this might have been a mere
dream. Nothing in their behaviour showed that they even recollected it.
The king, indeed, in a certain fashion of his own, seemed to wish to
convey to Gerald that he desired the whole 'regrettable incident' to be
forgotten.
As King Agrando plays an important part in this history, some further
particulars concerning him may be given here.
His had been one of the last countries to be brought under the sway of
the all-powerful, all-conquering Ivanta. He now occupied a
semi-independent position, one somewhat similar to that of some of the
richest and most powerful of the native princes of India. In his time
he had himself been a great fighter and conqueror, having invaded and
conquered several adjoining countries. He had ruled over these--and over
his own subjects also--with an iron hand; and at times, it was said,
with tyrannical cruelty. There had been, indeed, dark rumours afloat of
terrible deeds carried out by him with the aid of the band of
councillors he kept about him, of whom Kazzaro was the chief. If these
tales were anywhere near the truth, then the title of Ogre, which the
chums had bestowed upon Kazzaro, might have been quite as suitably given
to his master.