outlaw chief modestly; 'but I think you will find that it will suffice
for our purpose. I suggest that you send out two parties, one to attack
the place in front, while I will guide the rest, so that they can creep
in by the route I have indicated. The other party must show no sign
till we have gained the interior and manipulated the levers which cut
off the electric current from the doorways. Then they can make a dash
and help us to overpower the garrison.'
'And thus easily,' murmured Ivanta, with, a sigh--'thus simply are all
my elaborate and complicated defences to be set at nought and
overcome--laughed at, in fact! However, so be it! 'Tis a good plan;
and if it succeeds, the possession of such a stronghold, with its
machinery and underground waterfall, will be a piece of good fortune
indeed.'
'And we will take good care,' said Alondra, laughing, 'to have that back
entrance well guarded in future. Now, I want to be one of your party,
friend Fumenta. That will suit me better than waiting about with the
rest till some one else, having done all the fighting, opens the door to
us.'
At this Gerald and Jack and their party asked to be allowed to go with
Alondra, and pressed their claims so eagerly that at last Ivanta
acceded.
'I shall myself make one,' he said. 'And since you so much desire it,
you shall all join.'
Later on, the fleet of airships divided into two bodies, and one, the
smaller portion, made direct for the heights of the mountain in which
the stronghold was situated. The rest were to wait about till the time
should come for making their presence known by a direct frontal attack.
Fumenta led his section into a small cave, which opened out, first into
a gallery, and then into a spacious grotto. All were provided with
small glow-lamps, ropes, metal staples for climbing, and other
requisites, in addition to their arms, which consisted of tridents,
shields, and the usual swords or spears.
The grotto had several galleries running out of it, and selecting one of
these, Fumenta followed its windings for some distance, till he came to
a small stream running into a deep cutting. A little farther on, this
little watercourse took a sudden turn and disappeared into a hole on the
left.
'That,' said the outlaw chief, 'is all that is left of the stream which
formerly completely filled the tunnel it here plunges into. Nowadays
you can walk along its bed and the water will not in any place reach to
your knees.'
'How do you know?' Ivanta asked.
'I have traversed the whole distance,' was the answer. 'I even climbed
up the sides of the well to see whether it was fenced off in any way,
and I found it quite open. Moreover, the place where I emerged was
empty and deserted. One could see it is never used now.'
Fumenta then directed that some of the tridents and shields should be
tied into bundles, and these were given to bearers to carry on their
shoulders clear of the water. By this means the leading adventurers
were left free to climb the sides of the well and attach ropes, which
could then be utilised, first to pull up the bundles, and afterwards to
assist the ascent of the rest of the party.
These details having been duly arranged, they entered the waterway in
twos and threes, wading in the water, which at first reached nearly to
their knees, but became much more shallow as they proceeded.
Presently those in front arrived at the well and halted, the others
crowding up as closely as they could get, some passing into the waterway
on the farther side, where they stood awaiting orders.
Fumenta and his lieutenants, Duralda and Landris, began the ascent,
pushing iron staples into the chalk sides to assist those who came after
them. Behind them followed Malto, Malandris, and others. Upon another
side of the well Ivanta and Alondra, with the two chums and the sailors,
imitated this operation. All worked in perfect silence, and almost in
darkness, only the carefully screened gleams from their glow-lamps being
visible.
The leaders reached the top in safety, and found themselves in a roomy
cavern, which was in complete darkness. No sound was to be heard; and,
satisfied that their presence was unsuspected, they secured one of the
ropes they had brought with them and threw the end down, that the
bearers below might attach their bundles to it.
Not until they had hauled up these indispensable weapons, and had them
in their hands, could they hope, should they be discovered and attacked,
to hold the mouth of the well long enough for the body of followers
behind to climb up to their assistance. Every one lent a hand, for it
was necessary that their plan should be carried out as expeditiously as
possible.
Tom Clinch and Bob Reid were hauling up the first bundles, when the
former, in his zeal, leaned over too far, lost his balance, and fell
headlong into the well. About half-way down, coming into collision with
one of the bundles, he managed to grip the rope, and thus saved himself
from going farther. His weight, however, broke away the cord by which
it was fastened, and sent the whole lot of tridents clattering to the
bottom, where they created a panic by falling upon the heads of the
crowd waiting there. A chorus of cries and shouts, mingled with groans
and shrieks of pain, followed, which sounds were magnified as they came
up the well as though it had been an immense speaking-trumpet, and were
echoed back from the rocky roof of the cavern.
There followed a brief silence--deep, tense, and anxious. Then a high,
wide door swung open, the place was flooded with light, and a number of
armed men burst in and made a rush at the group gathered round the mouth
of the well.
*CHAPTER XXXVII.*
*THE FIGHT FOR THE STRONGHOLD.*
It was a critical moment for those of the adventurers who had gained the
top of the well. Being without tridents and shields, they were
absolutely at the mercy of any enemy who carried them. They were armed
only with swords, spears, or daggers, which were useless against the
other weapons. It seemed as though they must all inevitably, within a
few minutes, be lying at the mercy of their foes.
A second glance, however, revealed an unexpected piece of good fortune.
Their enemies were no better armed than themselves! The members of the
garrison had dwelt in the place so long in peace and security that it
had become their habit to stack away their tridents in their stores, as
articles for which they had no use from day to day. Moreover, they knew
that their stronghold was reputed to be impregnable, and they never
dreamed of its being thus suddenly attacked.
Hence, when the outcry arose in the cavern in which was the old disused
well, they had rushed in on the spur of the moment, wondering what the
noise could be, and armed only with those weapons which formed part of
their everyday equipment.
Swords flashed from their scabbards on both sides, and a moment later
the two parties were engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand fight. A number
of Fumenta's people had followed him up his side of the well, while
those on the other side were hauling at their rope. Thus, for the time
being, the adversaries were about equally matched in point of numbers as
well as weapons. It was pretty certain, however, that the defenders
would be reinforced at a much greater rate than the assailants could be,
to say nothing of the fact that at any moment some of the former might
arrive on the scene bringing with them the dreaded tridents.
Ivanta turned to Jack and Gerald, and whispered a few words at the
moment of drawing his sword.
'You have your pistols! Try to close the door and hold it fast. That
will give us time!'
The hint was sufficient. The two acted upon it at once, and calling to
Bob Reid to follow, they made a circuit, and avoiding the rush of the
defenders, got round to their rear. The first group passed without
noticing them, and there was no one else inside the door. But upon the
other side of it they could see another group, who were running to the
support of their friends, and two of them, who were in advance, were
carrying tridents.
It was doubtful which would reach the door first; but two shots rang
out, and the trident-bearers dropped their weapons. They had each been
wounded in the arm. Their comrades, wondering what was wrong, and,
startled by the reports of the firearms--added to by a hundred echoes
from the rocky vault overhead--paused in their advance, and crowded
round the wounded men.
The three near the door on the inside took advantage of their halt to
bang it to, and hastily shoot some bolts which they found upon it.
Then they turned to ascertain how it fared with their friends, and see
what they could do to help them.
Ivanta and Fumenta had apparently been singled out for special attack,
and each was defending himself against two or three adversaries. Both
were fighting like heroes of old, and for a brief space the two chums
paused to watch them, spellbound by the fascination of the combat.
Fumenta was fighting as such an old war-dog might be expected to fight.
Grim, hard-visaged, and stalwart, his grizzled locks shaking at every
turn of his head, he rained blows so quickly upon his foes that two had
already fallen under them; and the others now seemed more anxious to
keep at arm's length than to trust themselves near enough to strike.
Ivanta, on his side, was fighting not less valiantly, but in somewhat
different fashion. As Gerald subsequently expressed it, he fought 'like
the king that he was.' In his flashing glance there was nothing of the
cold gleam of hatred, bred of long experience as a hunted outcast, which
showed in the eyes of the outlaw chief. Rather was there dignified
disdain, and even something of pity for those with whom circumstances
forced him into conflict. In his whole appearance there was that which
reminded the spectators of a lion defending himself in contemptuous
fashion against the attacks of a number of curs; while Fumenta might be
likened rather to an old wolf driven to bay.
Suddenly one of those opposed to Ivanta lowered his sword, and stepped
backward, as if in surprise, crying out loudly, 'It is the king! Down
with your swords! It is the king!'
At this there was a general pause. The man's comrades imitated his
action, and the rest of the defending force desisted also in surprise.
Thus, for a space, there was a cessation of hostilities all round.
'What said you, Sedla?' cried one near the speaker. 'The king! What
king? We serve Agrando! He is not here!'
'This is Agrando's overlord, King Ivanta,' the first one answered. 'We
must not fight against him.'
'How do you know?' 'What does it mean?' 'How can we tell?' 'How can such
a thing have come about?' such were the questions which were called out,
first from one and then from another.
Evidently the garrison of this isolated post knew nothing as yet of
Agrando's revolt. No news of it had reached them, nor had any
messengers come from Agrando instructing them that he was now at war
with his overlord, and expected them to espouse his cause. Neither, as
it seemed, were they--with one or two exceptions--acquainted with
Ivanta's person. Of those then present, only the one who had first
spoken knew him by sight.
Ivanta was quick to take advantage of this favourable turn.
'It is well that you spoke,' he haughtily said. 'It explains, I suppose,
why you and your friends have attacked me. Otherwise, you would be
guilty of treason! Down with your weapons, all of you!'
'But,' objected one who was evidently an officer, 'if you are King
Ivanta--I ask, sir, with all respect--why have you forced an entrance in
this strange fashion?'
'And,' said another dubiously, 'how comes it that the great King Ivanta
is here attacking us hand and glove with the outlaw Fumenta and his
band--the sworn enemies of our master Agrando?'
Ivanta smiled.
'I can understand your perplexity, my friends. Strange things have
happened outside these walls of which I see you have as yet heard
nothing. Let your chief officers confer with me, and I will give them
the information which I see you are in need of.'
There ensued some discussion, carried on in a low tone amongst three or
four who were the leaders of the garrison. Evidently there were
differences of opinion among them. Some were for submitting to Ivanta;
while the others, doubtful of his identity, and fearing some trick, were
for continuing the combat.
Suddenly one of the little council broke away from the others and looked
angrily at Fumenta.
'You may do as you please with those others!' he cried. 'That gentleman
may be King Ivanta or he may not! What is certain is that yonder old
villain is Fumenta, the leader of the outlaw bands, and I for one have
an old-standing grudge against him, which I mean to take this chance of
paying off!'
With sudden fury and upraised hand, in which gleamed a naked dagger, he
made a rush at the one he had denounced. Fumenta had been quietly
talking to some of his people, and just then had his back to his
assailant.
Another moment and the weapon would have been buried in his breast, when
Malto, who had been standing near, threw himself between the two. There
was a smothered exclamation, a blow, then Malto reeled back and was
caught by Malandris; while, with a cry like an enraged tiger, Fumenta
darted upon the would-be assassin.
One hand closed upon the man's throat, and the other upon his wrist.
There was a brief, fierce struggle; then the assailant was lifted high
in the air and flung down with terrible force upon the rocky floor,
where he lay prone without a sign of life.
[Illustration: The assailant was lifted high in the air and flung down
with terrible force.]
Fumenta glanced round as though to challenge the man's friends to try
conclusions with him; but as no one seemed inclined to take the quarrel
upon himself, he turned to where he now saw Malto lying, supported by a
group of anxious friends.
The young fellow was evidently badly wounded, for he had fainted, and
Malandris was engaged in trying to stanch the blood which flowed from a
wound in the breast.
'Let me come to him! Leave him to me!' cried Fumenta. 'He offered his
life to save mine; it is my place to care for him!'
They made way for him, and formed a circle around to guard the two from
any more treacherous attacks; while Ivanta, seeing that these events had
roused bad blood on both sides, applied himself to preventing the
threatened renewal of the fighting.
Sedla, however, the one who had recognised Ivanta, was, fortunately,
firm in his refusal to take sides against him; and his particular
friends were content to follow his lead. Those who were for continuing
the strife thus found themselves in a minority; and, recognising this,
they sullenly submitted.
All this time there had been much knocking and banging at the closed
door on the one side; while, on the other, men had come scrambling up
the well, adding, every moment, to the numbers of Ivanta's supporters,
and bringing with them this time the tridents which had been left below.
Very soon Ivanta was in a position to dictate his own terms to those
present; but there was still the rest of the garrison to be considered.
After some talk, Sedla undertook to act as negotiator with these, and
presently the door was thrown open, and he and his friends stood in the
entrance.
It was a curious scene, that which followed. Behind Sedla, at a little
distance, was Ivanta, at the head of rank after rank of men, all armed
with their tridents and shields. On the other side of the doorway there
were again to be seen rank upon rank of the garrison, similarly armed,
and evidently ready for the fray, yet wondering what had been going on
behind the closed door, and doubtless curious to know, before they
began, who it was they were to fight, and what it was all about.
Sedla cleverly took advantage of this natural curiosity to gain a
hearing for what he had to say, and followed it up so tactfully that he
eventually gained over the whole garrison.
Thus was the place captured with but little actual fighting; and Ivanta
gained thereby a valuable base for the supply of his aerial fleet, as
well as a stronghold in which he and his following could find secure
refuge in case of necessity.
*CHAPTER XXXVIII.*
*A GREAT AERIAL BATTLE.*
Having made his dispositions within and without--taking note of the
resources now at his disposal, sending out airships as scouts,
&c.--Ivanta turned his attention to the wounded. He found Fumenta in
close attendance upon Malto, who was still lying in an almost
unconscious state; and Ivanta, who was himself well skilled in such
matters, made an examination of his wound.
'I think he will pull round,' was his verdict. 'I shall hope yet to see
him, with you, and others of my new friends, around me at my Court at
Karendia--my "palace in the clouds."'
Fumenta shook his head. 'I am too old--ay, and too rough and rugged
now--for Court life, sir,' he answered. 'Time was--but we must wait and
see what happens. I shall help you with might and main so long as you
need a trusty ally; after that, when you have succeeded in getting back
your own, I shall make the request which I have already prepared you
for. Then I shall ask but one favour more--the permission to withdraw
into obscurity, and pass the rest of my days in peace. But I am
meanwhile sorely concerned about this brave young fellow. I was
strangely taken with him when I first saw him, and I need not say how
that feeling has been intensified by his heroic act of bravery and
self-sacrifice. But for his devoted action I should now be lying in his
place, or more likely I should be already dead.'
'It was truly, as you say, an act of heroism,' Ivanta declared with
emotion. 'It is passing strange that you two should be joined, as it
were, by such a link; the more so that I have understood that you each
had some special request to make to me. I shall be curious to see, when
the time comes, whether the two requests have any connection.'
'I do not see how that could possibly be,' returned Fumenta, with
another shake of his head. 'I have never heard of him before, and he
knows no more about me. But his future, if he lives, shall be my care.
I can make him rich, wealthy--ay, I can make him one of the wealthiest
men on our globe--and I will do so out of gratitude for what he did.
For know, oh king, that I made but recently a great discovery! In one
of the passages beneath the ancient volcano I came across a gold-mine--a
veritable cave of gold! It was to that I referred when I said I could
supply you with gold to carry on your warfare with Agrando. What you do
not require I shall divide between this young man and those who have
been my faithful followers.'
'You shall tell me more about it at another time,' rejoined Ivanta
kindly. 'As to what I shall myself require, it will, all being well, be
paid back later on; for I have no wish to make your friends' share less
than it would otherwise have been. Send me word if you notice any change
in the young man's condition,' he added, as he left to continue his
round of inspection.
Meanwhile, the two chums and Alondra were constantly in and out asking
for news of Malto. To them the unexpected success, thus far, of their
expedition was cruelly saddened and overshadowed so long as his life was
in danger.
'We owe him much,' Alondra declared. 'But for him we should now be
Agrando's prisoners, to a certainty.'
'There is no doubt as to that,' Gerald agreed. 'But apart from any such
consideration, I like him immensely on his own account. I wonder who he
is? There is some mystery about him, I feel sure. Some sad event, I
fancy, must have happened to him which has thrown a blight over his
whole life.'
'For the matter of that, to be a sort of slave to Agrando is enough to
blight anybody's life!' cried Jack warmly. 'Anyway, whoever he is, I
feel sure he is well-born. His whole manner and bearing--ay, and his
instincts, so to speak--tell you that much.'
Thus, in low and sorrowful tones, did they speak of their wounded friend
while they waited about, anxious for bulletins. It was curious to see
what a good impression the young fellow had made upon all those who had
been his companions, even for so short a time.
But their talk was suddenly ended, and their thoughts turned into other
channels, by news that was just then brought in that a large fleet of
airships had been descried by their aerial scouts.
'Those who think they know,' Monck announced to Ivanta, 'declare that
Agrando himself is probably with them. They recognised the _Alsperro_,
which, as you know, sir, is the former warship which he has been using
as a yacht. She is now, I suppose, to act the part of a war-vessel once
more.'
Fumenta, on hearing the news, hurried from the couch of the wounded
youth to confer with Ivanta.
'The fleet which is approaching is far stronger than yours,' Ivanta
explained to him. 'You cannot hide your vessels here in the fortress,
so they must either fight or make their escape--if they can, which, as
you know, is doubtful. As they are manned by and belong to your
friends, it is fitting that I should ask you which course they will
prefer to adopt.'
'I am for fighting at all hazards; and so will they be, I know,'
returned Fumenta, with grim determination. 'You need not put the
question to them.'
'I am glad to hear that, since it accords with my own wishes,' was
Ivanta's answer. 'I shall take my measures at once in accordance with
your decision. But you must take charge of your fleet, and, for the
time being, do the best you can at first, as though my yachts were out
of it. They are not fitted to bear the brunt of the first attack from
heavier craft, but you will find we shall be able to render you help in
another way. We can rise higher and manoeuvre better than any airship
belonging either to you or to Agrando.'
'So be it,' said Fumenta simply. 'We will do our best, sir, rest
assured, apart from your yachts; and if you can help us so much the
better.'
It was the _Nelda_, the king's yacht, from which Monck had observed the
approach of the hostile squadron. She could soar so high that, by the
aid of powerful glasses, the strangers had been sighted at an immense
distance. Then, thanks to her swiftness of flight, she had carried the
news to the fortress before the foe had appeared above the horizon.
When, an hour later, therefore, those in charge of Agrando's powerful
fleet drew near, they found a smaller squadron waiting to give them
battle.
The oncoming fleet halted, and for a while the hostile forces remained
watching each other. Then amongst Agrando's airships there was seen the
flutter of a white flag, which on Mars, as on our own globe, is the
generally recognised sign of a desire for a parley.
Presently a small pinnace, bearing the white emblem, came flying towards
the vessel which Fumenta had made what we should term his 'flagship'--a
large-sized craft called by the Martian equivalent for Crescent.
As the pinnace approached, it was seen that the officer in charge of her
was Gorondo, Agrando's generalissimo. A little later he was within
speaking distance, and delivered his message, which conveyed to Fumenta
two or three pieces of information. The first was that Agrando himself
was in command of his fleet; the second, that he had somehow heard of
the outlaw's chief feat--the seizure of the Iraynian squadron; the
third, that he was still ignorant of the capture of the fortress.
The message itself was a haughty and peremptory demand for immediate and
unconditional surrender, the bearer taking the trouble to point out that
resistance would be useless, as not only were Agrando's ships larger and
far more numerous than those opposed to him, but another fleet was on
its way to join him. Between the two, Fumenta's position would be
hopeless, more especially as he had no power-station to look to to renew
his supply of electricity. This last assertion it was which showed that
Agrando was unaware of the capture of the fortress.
Fumenta did not enlighten him as to this, but contented himself with a
refusal to surrender, couched in terms as curt and peremptory as those
of the summons.
With a shrug of the shoulders and a sarcastic expression of pity for the
forthcoming fate of the 'rebels,' the ambassador returned to his master.
Both fleets then began their aerial war manoeuvres. Agrando formed his
force into two divisions--not lines, but two planes or tiers, one above
the other. Fumenta replied by forming his vessels into three similar
divisions; whereupon Agrando altered his formation to four tiers.