CHAPTER XXXVIII

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*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.

Each side sent out a number of smaller craft--a kind of mosquito fleet, consisting of different kinds of 'fliers.' Many of these were parties of boarders, whose duty it would be to watch their opportunities and then swarm round any of the opposing vessels which met with a mishap or got into difficulties.

Upon both sides the men had been already provided with 'parachute costumes,' which would enable them to float in the air for a while in case of disaster to their vessel, and aid them in making a safe descent to the ground. Then a certain number were fitted out with motor-wings, while others again had wings without motors, and all these different classes were organised into separate groupings, just as we divide fighting-men into various classes--such as infantry, cavalry, &c., on land, and sailors, marines, and so on, upon the sea.

Agrando sent up first one, then others of his craft, soaring high into the air, with the object of getting above the enemy and dropping down missiles upon them. But even as they mounted above their companion vessels, similar craft were seen rising from the other side to oppose them, and it was between these 'soarers' that the actual conflict commenced.

All the larger vessels on each side were provided with movable turtle-decks or shields as a protection against missiles hurled from above. The real danger from these, however, lay in the injury which might be done to the upright spirals or the extended wings, thereby crippling the manoeuvring power of the craft, or causing her to fall headlong to the ground.

On this account war-vessels did not depend upon one pair of wings alone, but all were fitted with at least two pairs, and some--the biggest--with even three or four pairs. Spare wings were also held in readiness to be run out at any moment to take the place of those which might suffer. The soarers, as stated, began the actual fighting with the efforts of those on one side to get above the vessels opposed to them, and of the other to prevent them from doing so.

While these craft were darting to and fro, chasing each other round, now shooting upwards, now diving to avoid a threatened collision, suddenly a shock was heard, as two of them met in mid-air, with consequences mutually disastrous.

A moment or two later both vessels were falling towards the ground, though the course followed was in each case most erratic. Just previously they had met and remained for a brief space as though glued together; then they flew apart, and began whirling and whizzing round in seemingly mad fashion, like gigantic bluebottles which have singed their wings.

As they pursued their eccentric, irresponsible flight, darting this way and that, now spinning round like humming-tops, now rushing through the air like stray rockets, dangerous alike to friends and foes, each left behind it a sort of 'trail,' which wound round and about, marking its exact course.

This 'trail' consisted of the members of the crews who had jumped or been thrown off, and were now floating downwards in their parachute dresses.

Occasionally there were conflicts in mid-air, as individual castaways from the two airships happened to be thrown one against another in their descent.

But such incidents as these were but trifles in an aerial battle; and, since they exercised practically no effect in deciding its ultimate issue, attracted little general notice. The main struggle would have to be fought out between the larger craft when they came to close quarters--a state of things which Agrando was manoeuvring to bring about.

Fumenta, however, by previous arrangement with Ivanta, was equally anxious to avoid close fighting just then. Accordingly, he was exercising every stratagem his lengthened experience could devise which might tempt his enemies to alter their close formation and draw them on to attack him in loose order.

Agrando, moving slowly forward, sent out yet more boarders, armed with tridents and shields, in readiness for the attack, and these formed another curious feature in this strange battle-scene.

They were towed through the air in long strings, holding on to ropes made fast to their respective vessels, their parachute dress serving for the most part to maintain their position, with the aid of the ropes, and small motor-machines here and there.

As the great array advanced, Fumenta retired--at first as though with reluctance, then more hurriedly, till at last the retreat began to look like the beginning of a panic-stricken flight.

Then Agrando sent his swiftest vessels ahead, towing with them their strings of boarders. In the excitement of pursuit some went faster than the rest, whilst others swerved off to right or to left to outflank the fugitives and head them back, thus creating gaps and spaces in their own ranks.

Meantime, where were Ivanta and his two yachts? That was the question that was being asked by Fumenta and his trusted lieutenants, and they asked it more anxiously as the minutes went by.

The outlaw chief had--sorely, it must be confessed, against his own feelings--consented to carry out a plan which involved the appearance of ignominious flight. The old fighter did not like the role he was thus playing; but he had promised, and he was carrying out his part. The question was, would Ivanta arrive soon enough to carry out his part? If he was to do so it was time he put in an appearance.

Fumenta looked upwards and scanned the sky anxiously. Nothing was to be seen but some rather heavy-looking clouds, which were floating with the wind, and would shortly be overhead.

Suddenly, in the midst of one of these clouds, two dark shadows showed. A moment later they had taken form and burst out into the open, and then the two yachts came swooping wildly down, with closed wings, like huge birds stooping to strike their prey.

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