CHAPTER XVIII

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*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.

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