friendliness by those whom they had regarded but a few minutes before as
dangerous enemies. They stared about them, bewildered, not
understanding such a sudden change. Alondra was as perplexed as the
rest, and his face showed it.
Fumenta smiled, and proceeded to explain: 'These followers of mine,
rough fellows though they are, to whom Agrando and his tools have given
a bad name, are really honest patriots who have been driven into exile
to escape from the tyrant,' he said. 'We have fought against him, and
against his bloodthirsty followers, it is true; but otherwise we have
harmed no man. And, above all, we have no quarrel with King Ivanta,
save in so far as he had been led--by false representations,
doubtless--to espouse Agrando's cause against us. Now, therefore, that
you have told us that Agrando has revolted, my friends are delighted,
because they know it must lead to the tyrant's overthrow and to his just
punishment. As to the rest, you can command us all, Prince. Every man
here will join your standard and fight for you against Agrando. We are
ready to offer our aid, our lives, to King Ivanta. We will fight to the
death for him against that cruel monster.'
'We will! We will!' cried the shouting crowd. 'Long live King Ivanta!'
'Long live Prince Alondra!'
Just then a messenger entered in breathless haste, and saluting Fumenta,
spoke to him aside.
There was a brief colloquy between the two, after which Fumenta spoke
aloud, so that all might hear: 'Some airships have been sighted in the
distance, seemingly coming this way. All lights must be extinguished.'
Then, addressing Alondra more particularly, he continued, 'There are two
squadrons, it seems; but our scouts could not tell whose ships they are.
They may carry your enemies or your friends, or a party of each, one in
chase of the other. At the same time, a thick mist is rising, as is
often the case here after such a storm as we have had, and most likely
the airships will disappear in the fog and we shall see no more of
them.'
'But that would be a bad thing if some of them are my friends,' said
Alondra. 'Your people took charge of the motor-wings we brought with
us; let us go out in them to reconnoitre. If we meet with friends we
will all join together; but if we discover that they are enemies, and
they do not look like going away, we will return and warn you.'
Fumenta considered for a few minutes, then answered, 'Very well; so be
it.'
By this time all lights had been put out, and the whole vast interior
was in black darkness, save for the opening in the centre, where some
rays of moonlight were still feebly struggling through the thickening
vapours.
Through this opening, a little later, Alondra and his companions rose,
flying like spectres on silent wings, and disappearing into the mist.
*CHAPTER XXXII.*
*IVANTA A FUGITIVE.*
Alondria's companions in his scouting expedition were Gerald and Jack,
Malto and the outlaw chief Fumenta, the latter having taken the place of
Malandris, who had been left behind.
'You will want some one who knows this region as a guide, or you will
not be able to find your way through the mist,' Fumenta had pointed out.
Alondra had been prompt to recognise the wisdom of the suggestion, and
gladly accepted it.
It seemed that these outlaws were without flying apparatus of any kind
except the roughest sort of wings. They lived the life of hunted men,
and even if they had possessed airships or other flying machines, they
were without the necessary means of utilising them.
All kinds of air-craft required electricity to work them; which, in its
turn, as with us, required machinery to produce it. Throughout Ivanta's
dominions there were stations here and there at which passing aeronauts
could refill their storage batteries on payment of certain specified
sums. At these stations gigantic engines of immense power were ever at
work, day and night, accumulating the necessary force, and it was upon
this constant supply that all airships were dependent. When they
journeyed beyond the districts in which these stations were situated,
travellers were compelled to be careful not to venture too far
afield--no farther, that is, than they could travel back again with the
storage power on board.
For the same reason, the outlaws had none of the usual weapons--those
tridents which wielded such strange, mysterious power; or, if they
possessed any, they were useless to them for want of the needful force.
Throughout the inhabited portion of the planet the same state of things
prevailed. There were no small weapons other than the tridents, save
swords, spears, and the like. Nor were there any large weapons like our
cannon and big guns. Owing to their great weight, all such contrivances
had long ago been abandoned as too heavy to be carried in the air, and
as being no longer of any use on the ground. An airship depended for
its means of offence either upon ramming an adversary, or being able to
get above it, and drop upon it bombs, which, upon bursting, produced a
similar effect upon living beings around it to that of the
tridents--that is to say, they rendered them for the time being
unconscious. Thus, warfare in the air resolved itself chiefly into a
manoeuvring contest, the one which could soar uppermost, and get exactly
over its adversary, usually--other things being equal--gaining the
advantage.
Having no machinery for the production of electricity, and consequently
no flying apparatus save the clumsy, slow wings without motors, Fumenta
and the bands of which he was chief were for the most part restricted in
their operations to nocturnal expeditions. They seldom ventured abroad
in the daytime, but remained hidden in their underground retreats.
Fortunately for their purpose, their leader had discovered, amid the
arid wilderness of rocky mountains into which he had been driven, an
extinct volcano with an ancient crater open to the sky. Within was the
immense cavity which they had made their chief hiding-place, and running
into it from all points of the compass were endless galleries and
passages--a veritable labyrinth which extended for miles in every
direction. These led to numerous underground grottos, large and lofty
caverns, which they had turned into dwelling-places. The whole formed a
sort of subterranean town.
Not the least remarkable thing about this retreat was the ingenious ruse
by which Fumenta had kept its existence unknown to his enemies. He had
discovered, in some of the lower galleries, considerable accumulations
of sulphur, and whenever, during the daytime, the approach of airships
was signalled by his scouts, he had sulphur fires lighted in the crater
just beneath the funnel-like opening, sending up columns of smoke and
sulphur fumes.
As a consequence, the report had gone forth that the supposedly extinct
volcano had become active again, and its neighbourhood was shunned as
dangerous by all not in the secret. A few venturesome inquirers, who
had attempted to make explorations, had been baffled by the sulphur
fumes, and had returned declaring that there were evident signs of
renewed volcanic activity.
Similarly, if, as sometimes happened, an occasional airship, driven out
of her course by high winds, passed near the place at night, and saw a
light coming up through the opening, it was put down to the same cause.
These notes are necessary to explain the events which follow.
The mist seemed to grow thicker as the adventurers sailed cautiously
onwards, and it soon became obvious that they would quickly have lost
themselves if they had not had Fumenta to guide them. He, however,
seemed to know his way about in it with as much certainty as if it had
been clear. He was aided, no doubt, by a dim radiance which struggled
down from the moon above.
He led off to the right, mounting always upwards, till, after they had
travelled perhaps a mile, he brought them to a halt beside a towering
peak.
'Here,' he said, in low, guarded tones, 'you had better rest for a
little time, while I reconnoitre from the top of the mountain, which
rises yet some hundreds of feet into the air. It is one of the highest
peaks about here, and these occasional ground-mists scarcely ever reach
its top. It may be that we can get a view from its summit over the top
of the mist, but at the same time we shall run some risk of being seen
ourselves. Let me, therefore, make the trial first, as I am more used
to this kind of thing than you are. I will return in a short time and
let you know the result. Do not leave this spot, and, whatever you do,
do not talk loudly. Voices travel far in this mist; you cannot tell how
near our enemies may be.'
With that he started off, mounting silently upwards, and the four he
left behind began discussing their recent adventures, and the possible
future, in low tones.
'So that's the great outlaw chief!' said Jack. 'What do you think of
him? I suppose he is to be trusted? I must say I am agreeably
surprised! I like his looks; yet one never knows! He might betray you,
Prince, to your enemies. How if he could buy off Agrando's hostility
that way? It might be a great temptation!'
'I do not think he is one of that sort,' Alondra returned.
'Nor do I,' Gerald put in.
Malto had remained silent. He had seemed to be pondering deeply over
something. At these words from the others he suddenly woke up, as it
were, from his reverie, and spoke warmly. 'I would stake my life on his
loyalty!' he exclaimed passionately. 'He is a good man--a great man--an
upright, brave, honourable man! I feel it, I know it! But why do I
know it? Why does he rouse such a tumult of strange thoughts and ideas
in my breast? That is what has been puzzling me ever since I set eyes
on him! Have I seen him before? It seems to me that I have--must have
done so! Yet when? Where? How could it be? My head seems to go round
puzzling it out, and trying to seize upon some thought, some memory,
which I feel, but cannot put into words!'
The others looked in surprise at this outburst.
'Hush! We were warned to be quiet!' said Alondra. 'Our opinions are
really the same as yours. What was said was only spoken in the way of
ordinary caution. You need not take it to heart as though we were
wronging a friend of yours!'
'A friend of mine!' Malto answered bitterly and somewhat incoherently.
'Would that I could call such a man my friend! I have no such friend in
the world! My life, since I was a boy, has been passed among deadly
enemies, who destroyed my father and brought me up as a slave! I have
ever been a child of misfortune; and now, see how ill-fortune dogs me!
I come across you, and you promise to take me to King Ivanta, to give me
the opportunity of pleading my cause with him and asking for my rights;
but what comes of it? At once treachery steps in again, and instead of
your helping me, I only lead you into trouble and fresh misfortune!'
'Nay, it was no doing of yours,' said Alondra gently. 'Have patience,
my friend, and all will yet come right! I feel sure it will! My father
is not going to be beaten by people like Agrando and his confederates.
He will soon come to our aid and rescue us, have no fear! Then you
shall tell him your story, and he will see that right is done.
Meantime, it seems to me, we have been fortunate in meeting with
Fumenta. If he and his people are to be trusted--and I feel sure they
are--we have found useful and faithful allies, and a secure hiding-place
where we can await developments!'
As the young prince finished, he started. While he had been speaking
the last few words there had been heard a tiny, muffled 'ting-ting,' and
now, in the surrounding stillness, it was heard still more plainly.
'Ting--ting-ting--ting--ting!' it rang out.
'By Jove!' exclaimed Jack, 'that's your wireless telegraph affair!'
Alondra plunged a hand into his breast and brought out the little
instrument they had seen when they had been in the pavilion.
He placed it on his outstretched palm, and again were heard the clear,
silvery notes of the little gongs.
Excitedly he opened it and began to manipulate the miniature levers and
pins.
'What did I tell you?' he breathed, in low accents. 'Said I not that my
father would be soon on his way to our assistance?'
Just then Fumenta came gliding back like some weird, mysterious shadow.
'Follow me,' he said, 'and I will show you a strange sight!'
First, however, they told him the news.
'My father King Ivanta has come to seek us,' Alondra said joyously. 'He
is not far away!'
To their surprise the outlaw chief nodded his head and answered slowly,
'I know. But he cannot help us. He is in hiding, as we are. He cannot
aid us at present. I may, however, help him by offering him a temporary
refuge, as I have done to you.'
Alondra turned and faced him in amazement, his eyes flashing, and his
cheeks flushing with indignation.
'My father--in hiding? You--offering him a refuge?' he gasped. 'Sir,
have you suddenly'----
'Peace, my son! You speak too loudly,' rejoined the old man quietly.
'However painful it may be to you to hear it, what I have said is but
the exact truth, as I will prove to you presently. Come with me, and I
will show you something that will surprise you.'
He commenced his upward flight as he spoke, and the others wonderingly
followed. His words had, so to speak, struck them dumb; and no one
uttered another word.
After a few minutes' flight it grew lighter, and they could tell that
they were nearing the limits of the mist above them. Then Fumenta
stopped upon a sloping rock, and, looking round at his companions to
enjoin caution, signed to them to walk slowly up the incline.
They obeyed, and, behold! quite suddenly their heads were above the
mist. It was almost as if they had put them up through a trap-door and
looked around. The vapours closed round them below like a mantle. They
could not see their own hands, but they could see for miles around on
every side.
A large fleet of airships could be seen in the air above, going
restlessly backwards and forwards. The moon which our astronomers call
Phobos was throwing a rather feeble light over what seemed to be a
pinkish-white sea, which was, in reality, the surface of the mist.
The airships were assisting the moonlight by throwing their searchlights
around in all directions, prowling to and fro, and making sudden dashes
here and there, exactly as might a swarm of huge birds of prey on the
wing seeking for food.
'Those,' said Fumenta, indicating the airships, 'are the war-vessels of
Agrando and the allies who have joined him. They know that King Ivanta,
in his yacht--not his great "chariot of the skies," the mighty _Ivenia_,
look you--is hiding somewhere in the mist below. He must have come
hither to seek for you--why he should come in his yacht instead of the
_Ivenia_ I know not--and they have chased him here, and have lost him in
the fog!'
*CHAPTER XXXIII.*
*A QUEER HUNT.*
Even as Fumenta spoke, two dark shapes rose quickly above the fleecy
vapours as though to take a cautious observation.
Alondra and the two chums instantly recognised them as the two yachts
the _Nelda_ and the _Lokris_; but ere they could breathe a word both
craft had dived back into the fog.
At once two or three of the hostile airships made a dart at the place
where they had appeared, and so impetuous was their rush that they
narrowly missed ramming one another. But for some reason they did not
dive after the fugitives. They were evidently averse to trusting
themselves in those foggy depths.
Fumenta nudged his companions, and they crept down the rocky slope into
the concealment of the mist again.
'It wouldn't do to stay up there,' he said, when they had reached what
he considered a safe distance. 'Now, Prince, if you can send a message
to your friends, will you please ask them to remain in one place till we
find them? You can explain to them that they have nothing to fear at
present; evidently their enemies do not care to hunt for them down in
the fog. They prefer to wait till it clears off, as they know it is
pretty sure to do in an hour or two. In that hour or two we must manage
to find your friends and conduct them to a place of safety.'
'How can you do that?' asked Alondra helplessly. 'I confess I feel
bewildered. The world seems turned upside down! I could not have
believed my father would'---- He hesitated to finish the sentence.
'My son,' said the old chief kindly, 'you may comfort yourself with the
thought that your august father is doing what he finds best in the
circumstances. Now the fox is going to aid the eagle, and hide him in
his burrow until the hunters have gone away. Then we must offer what
assistance we can in finding and regaining possession of the _Ivenia_,
from which--as I read it--King Ivanta has become separated, probably
through a trick or some fresh treachery. If we can help him to do that,
the eagle will then be able to turn on his enemies as though they were a
host of small birds, and all will be well!'
Alondra looked fixedly for a moment at the outlaw leader, and then
impulsively seized his hand and shook it, and there were tears in his
eyes as he exclaimed, 'I don't know who you are, sir; but I know that
you are a friend in need. I shall leave it to the king my father to
thank you properly, later on; now I can only say your kindly words have
filled my heart with gratitude.'
'Let us say no more, Prince, but set to work,' was the terse reply.
Alondra set to work accordingly, and after some delay, succeeded in
getting into communication with his friends again.
'My father has understood my message,' he presently said, 'and agrees to
your suggestion. They are resting on a hill-top below, and will stay
there until we get to them.'
'Good!' observed Fumenta. 'Now, the thing is to find out where that
hill-top is.'
'Is there any way of telling by means of that little instrument whether,
as we move about, we are getting nearer to them or farther away?' asked
Jack. 'In our world, when, as children, we played at hide-and-seek, we
used to say we were getting "cold" when we were on the wrong track, and
"hot" when we were on the right one. Now, is there any way of telling
with the help of that little contrivance whether, as we move about, we
are getting "hot" or "cold"?'
'Why, yes, to some extent,' Alondra returned, but not without
hesitation. 'I think I shall be able to form an idea, as we go on, by
the sound it gives out. The nearer we are, the stronger the current,
and the louder the little bells ring.'
'Exactly! That's what I was hoping for,' said Jack. 'With that to
guide us, it ought not to be such a very long business.'
And then there began the most extraordinary hunt for the airships hidden
in the mist that can well be imagined.
It proved to be more difficult and perplexing than the searchers had at
first thought would be the case. They went up and down, to and fro,
going too far in one direction, then turning, only soon to find that
they had travelled too far in the opposite track. It was a veritable
game of blindman's-buff, and as time went on, and Fumenta's prediction
about the mist clearing seemed likely to be realised, the seekers became
first anxious and then seriously alarmed. It was true that the sounds
given out by Alondra's wondrous little instrument varied according to
their distance from those who were signalling to them; but the
differences were so slight as to be extremely difficult to detect.
At last, however, their perseverance was rewarded. Gerald was the first
to catch sight of what they sought. A half-smothered exclamation from
him drew the attention of the others to what seemed no more than a dark
shadow. They were all actually passing it, and in another moment or two
would have lost sight of it. But when Gerald pointed it out, Alondra
made a dart towards it, and quickly called to his companions to follow
him.
A few minutes later they were standing on the deck of the king's yacht,
and Alondra was folded in his father's arms.
'What has happened, father?' he asked. 'Where is the _Ivenia_?'
'Ah, that is what I want to know!' Ivanta confessed. 'Some strange,
unforeseen occurrence--an accident, or treachery, I know not what--has
hidden her away. Thanks to the machinations of Agrando and Zuanstroom,
the whole of the people of my realm seem to have gone mad and turned
against me. For the time being, Alondra, your father is an exile, a
fugitive, with scarce a friend in the world.'
'You have one friend, oh king!--one who has some followers you may
depend upon,' said Fumenta, stepping forward. 'If you will accept my
services'----
'Who are you?' the king asked, turning to him wonderingly.
Alondra explained, and Ivanta frowned.
'Fumenta! The one who is in rebellion against me!' he exclaimed, eying
the outlaw chief keenly and coldly.
'Not so, oh king!' Fumenta answered, drawing himself up proudly. 'No
rebel against you have I ever been! No one can say it! But against
your vassal Agrando, yes! I have been his sworn enemy for many a year,
and not without good reason; but against you I have had no other
complaint to make than that you supported him against me. Doubtless you
were misled by false and lying misrepresentations, and had you known the
truth---- But there is no time for the discussion of such matters now.
I offer you safe asylum, not for yourself and your followers only, but
for your airships. You will find that I and all my people are loyal to
you, and will fight to the death against Agrando and his allies.'
'But how can you hide my airships away?' asked the king doubtfully.
'You shall soon see, oh king! Do not delay, I pray you. The mist is
already getting thinner. A little longer, and our chance will be gone.'
Ivanta looked at Alondra, and the two conferred apart for a brief space.
Then Ivanta returned to Fumenta, and, holding out his hand, said, 'I
hear you have been a good friend to my son and his companions in the
time of their need. That is enough for me! Henceforth you are my
friends--you and all your followers.'
Fumenta thereupon took charge of the craft as a pilot might, issuing
instructions in low tones to the officers. Under his guidance, the
_Nelda_ glided slowly through the mist, closely followed by the
_Lokris_, which had been resting a few yards away.
Then, as they went along, Alondra asked for tidings of their friends,
and heard bad news indeed.
Many of the party who had accompanied Alondra to Agrando's court had
been treacherously seized.
Monck, it seemed, had got away in the _Lokris_, bringing with him the
two sailors and--somewhat curiously--Zuanstroom's nephew Freddy, who had
sought shelter with him and begged piteously not to be left behind.
These were all safe on board the other yacht.
'But of others,' said the king, 'I am sorry to say that they are now
held as prisoners by Agrando. Aveena and several of your friends,
Alondra, are amongst them, and,' he went on, slowly and bitterly, 'most
humiliating of all, for me to have to confess it--for it seems as though
I had failed in a host's first duty--so, I am deeply pained to tell you,
is our friend Armeath.'
*CHAPTER XXXIV.*
*A NIGHT EXPEDITION.*
It was getting near dawn, and the mist was perceptibly clearing away,
when the two air-yachts approached the great funnel-shaped opening
leading down to the ancient volcano.
Ivanta, who had been wondering how Fumenta was going to keep the promise
he had made that he would hide the airships away, looked with great
curiosity at the dark, uninviting cavity.
'Are we to try to squeeze in there, friend Fumenta?' he asked. 'Is that
your idea?'
For answer the outlaw asked what was the length of the larger of the two
vessels, and Ivanta gave him the measurement upon the Martian scale.
'I thought so. Then there is room,' he declared.
And so it turned out. By means of a little manoeuvring, the two vessels
were induced to sink slowly through the opening, without touching the
sides. And when once through the funnel there was plenty of room for
them in the great dome-like space below to rest, all upstanding, on the
ground.
Then, upon some metal staging round the base of the funnel, high up in
the domed roof, fires were lighted, and upon them, after a time, when
they had started a sufficient draught, quantities of sulphur were
thrown.
The draught was so great from the maze of underground galleries that all
the fumes were carried up into the sky, while below the air was fresh
and pure.