CHAPTER XXXV

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*HOW IVANTA GAINED A FLEET.*

Fumenta and those with him passed through the doorway into a spacious, well-lighted vestibule, in which other doors could be seen leading to the interior of the building. In particular, there were two large ones in the centre immediately opposite to that by which they had entered. These were evidently very jealously guarded, for at the entrance of the strangers some armed men, who had been standing in front of them, advanced in a rather threatening manner.

The one who had gone out to meet Fumenta and had brought him in, spoke to the officer in charge of these guards.

'Throw open the doors, friend Medro. It is the Chief.'

'The Chief! And who besides, good Lymento?' asked the officer cautiously.

'One for whom I will be answerable,' answered Fumenta brusquely. 'Waste not time in idle talk. This will be a critical night for us; and we have no time to lose.'

Without other reply than a salute, the officer turned on his heel and ordered his men to throw open the doors. And as they fell back he advanced and cried in sonorous tones, 'Friends all, the Chief!'

Fumenta stepped past him, conducting Ivanta, and called out in ringing accents, 'And with him the King! Friends, I bring into your midst King Ivanta. He has been deserted by those he trusted. He is, indeed, actually now being hunted by those upon whom he has conferred benefits, and stands at the present moment in sore need of trustworthy friends. I assured him he would find them here. Tell me, have I promised aright?'

Before them was a great hall filled with people in varied dresses, as though they had been brought together from many different parts. There were ragged, rough, but stalwart men, very much of the style of Fumenta's followers; and there were others, both soldiers and civilians, of different grades, some plainly, some richly dressed.

It was, in fact, a meeting gathered from far and near of those of the inhabitants of Iraynia who had secretly sympathised with Fumenta and his outlaws, and who had been hoping for, almost expecting, some such 'burst up' as had now taken place between Agrando and Ivanta. And they had been secretly planning to rise, when that time arrived, against Agrando themselves, and endeavour to throw off his yoke once and for all.

But they had not exactly expected what had actually happened. King Ivanta had always wielded such power, and had shown himself so strong, that the possibility of his ever being in his present position had never entered into their calculations. Consequently, Fumenta's words fell upon the assembly almost as a bombshell might have done--that is to say, with a temporarily stunning effect.

For a space there was silence--a dead silence, which seemed at first to be chilling, irresponsive. Then suddenly some one in the body of the hall jumped up and shouted, 'We have no quarrel with King Ivanta. We are ready to help him against Agrando! Fumenta, you have done well to tell the king that in his present difficulty he will find friends here.'

At once others seized the cue, and hastened to declare their approval of the words spoken. A few moments more, and the scene at Fumenta's stronghold was being repeated here.

'Long live King Ivanta!' was the cry which was taken up on all sides, and repeated till the roof shook.

Fumenta turned to Ivanta with a slight smile upon his usually hard-grained visage. 'You hear, oh king! These are the men of Iraynia! You see that I did not act without reason in bringing you here. All these will be henceforth your followers, and they, again, have more--a thousand times more--at their backs, who will flock to us as soon as the news spreads.'

Ivanta was visibly affected. Never in his life till this day had he known what it meant to stand in need of a few true friends. He who had led conquering armies, and had listened to the acclamations of vast multitudes representing nearly half the nations of the planet, and received the homage of their rulers as his vassals--he was now listening with gladness and gratitude to the kindly welcome of those whom he had--unknowingly, it is true--treated with injustice, and allowed Agrando to tyrannise over!

He now addressed them, telling them in simple but dignified language how he thanked them all for their welcome; and after a brief conference with their chiefs he gladly agreed to their request that he should become their leader himself, and for the future take the direction of the operations they had planned.

Then they conducted him to a large enclosure where a number of airships were lying.

'These we seized immediately we heard the news of Agrando's revolt,' Lymento explained. 'Their crews we made prisoners, and they are under lock and key. What we now need is a storage station to keep these craft supplied with electricity. They have enough reserve power to last a day or two, but not longer.'

'That station we can seize this very night,' Fumenta again declared. 'It is at a place called Crudia, some two hours' journey from here, and, as I have already said, I happen to know that it is at the present moment weakly held. But we have no time to lose, for one of the first things Agrando will do will doubtless be to reinforce the garrison as a precaution. Extra men and airships may even now be on their way there, so if we desire to get there first we must hasten. Which of these airships will you choose, sir, to sail in yourself?'

Rapidly Fumenta ran over the list of their sizes and special characteristics. At the end of it, Ivanta decided that he would keep to his own yacht.

'My two yachts,' he reminded his new friends, 'are, with the exception of my great vessel, the _Ivenia_, the fastest craft in the world. When they cannot fight they can always run away,' he went on meaningly. 'It may sound strange, perhaps, to some of you to hear me talk thus of running away; but there are others doubtless among you who will understand my meaning. Of late years you have not seen much fighting in the air, but you may nevertheless be aware that in such warfare swiftness and quick manoeuvring often count for as much as size and numbers.'

The cheers which greeted this speech showed that his words were understood and their meaning appreciated; and the few remaining preparations were quickly completed.

Half an hour later Ivanta and Alondra, in their respective yachts, sailed off at the head of a strong squadron of airships, all filled with crews of enthusiastic followers.

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