 Chapter 39 of The Goddess of At-Vat-Bah by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher. The Crisis in At-Vat-Bah The manifesto of Leonie had precipitated an historic crisis in At-Vat-Bah. The King awaited my leaving the country with the utmost impatience. He made every effort to prevent the news from reaching the public, hoping that when I took my departure the Goddess would be amenable to the laws of the realm and the faith be thus preserved. The more that Leonie and myself discussed the situation, the more apparent it appeared that we could not now draw back from the position we had taken. It was absolutely necessary to provide a following in case the government attempted a rest or execution of either or both of us. Trusty messengers were dispatched to the High Priest Hushnoli, the Grand Sorcerer Chaka, the Lord of Art, Yermul, and other friends of Leonie, informing them of the steps she had taken and asking their support in case any violence were offered to her. I advised Leonie to have her agents collect and transmit to Qoram all munitions of war. Some of the royal wailiels were armed with spears and others with swords and shields. All battles were fought in the air by reason of the wailiels being able to fly, as their movement on wings was more rapid than movement on foot. As already stated, the ordinary spear of the king's wailiels was very effective by reason of its discharging and magnetic current into the body causing instant death. With the view of arming the army of the goddess with a more potent weapon than magnetic spears, I quietly had agents purchase for immediate transmission to Qoram vast quantities of iron and the material for making gunpowder, which happily existed in great abundance in At-Vat Bar. My idea was to start a manufactory for firearms which were unknown to the interior world and arm every man with a magazine rifle, a portable mitraeurs in fact. While engaged in discussing the plan of defence with Leonie, the crisis was precipitated by the press of the country finding out the coup d'etat of the goddess. With the view of placing the government in the most favourable light before the people, the chief organ of the king, the Kalnugur Jodisi, published a fierce editorial condemning the action of the goddess and reviling what it was pleased to call the consumatious invader and dispoiler of At-Vat Bar. The article ran thus, Empire sacrilege, astounding apostasy, the supreme goddess refuses to further worship and has degraded herself by seeking marriage with an alien lover. What is faith if deceit be our deity? The sweet, the noble, the pure, the exalted worship of holy love and its hitherto most perfect symbol, the goddess Leonie, is threatened with extinction if it be not entirely destroyed. That sweet and perishable affection that fills the breasts of lovers which has been for ages conserved, expanded and brought into an enduring fabric of religion in the sacred temple of Egyptplosis is about to utterly perish by a mad act of apostasy on the part of the deity herself. Wither now will tender and faithful heart turn to to find a refuge for all that makes life glorious. Our ideal soul has sunk into degradation. She has flung herself from her proud and happy throne, wounding our faith with empire sacrilege. Never before in the history of the world has the treachery of a goddess been manifest. We have had occasion hitherto only to mourn the apostasy of the worshipper. Now what avails our worship if the object of our adoration fails us in the hour of need. Who is to console the bereavement of millions when their consola has hopelessly abandoned them? We say to both His Majesty the King and the Government, follow the iconoclasts with the sword of justice. No punishment is too severe for such perfidious workers of iniquity. Death on the Magnic scaffold is the penalty for the infatuation of the goddess and her aesthetic lover. Wanting both men and money, the standard of revolt will be brought down by the first blow and His Majesty's troops can be relied upon to bring the rebels to swift justice. Let them be covered with eternal infamy who will support this fearful apostasy. It became necessary for Leone to publish the following manifesto to the nation, stating briefly the reasons that led to her renunciation of Harakar to become the apostle of a new creed of one body and one soul. Leone who has been until now the supreme goddess of the faith of Harakar to her faithful people, greeting. I who have been exalted to the high seat of honour on the throne of the gods as the incarnation of the supreme soul, having received divine honours at your hands, desire at this crisis to make known to you the nature of the reform I seek to establish in the faith and worship of Avatba. I do not seek to annihilate your faith with all its tender and memorable qualities. I simply seek to reform such religion, making it more natural, more holy. All things that exist do change. If they do not rise to greater glory, they must sink to profounder shame. I who have been your goddess during a long and blessed Nirvana know how much you love me. I know that round my throne a tempest of passion has swept for years filling me with its ecstasy, but I hasten to tell you that the delights of Egyptplosis have been purchased at a fearful price. The sacrifices of its priests and priestesses have proved to me that even the retreat of ideal love can be as inexorably cruel as the outer world. So harassing have been these sacrifices that some could not bear their burden and at this moment five hundred twin souls are confined in the dungeons of Egyptplosis because they transgress the vows of their novitiate, of what avail our tender chivalrous delights, if nature, if reason, be outraged in producing them. Those who have remained steadfast to their vows have grown sickly and morbid, feeding too long on fantastic ecstacies. Dispondent and unreal in mind, delicate and nervous in body, they only appear rich and radiant in some brief ceremonial, while their everyday life is shuddering, tearful and unstable and utterly unfit to cope with the struggle of ordinary existence. Therefore it is that one moment of pleasure is purchased by whole days of pain and the oscillation between such extremes wracks and ruins the dearest souls. The motto of the new faith for Egyptplosis, one body and one soul, founded on the ordinary marriage right, will restore to priest and priestess the steady and temperate possession of their souls which gives society that virile force necessary to its very existence. By the memory of our mutual love, I claim the support of my faithful priests and priestesses, worshippers and people in the coming struggle. Leone. The Manifesto of the Goddess, published in all the papers of the kingdom, created a profound sensation. It was the first discovery to millions that their religion had been weighed and found wanting. Although many were aware of its excesses, they saw that despite every regulation the hornet was in possession of hisperides, preparing to sting the hand that reached with the golden fruit. They learned that passion led to agonized exaltation, that the moral fibres of the soul became paralysed by fierce temptation and inordinate spiritual delights. They saw that restraint of rapture and a more natural basis for the fellowship of the sexes were reforms imperatively needed if the religion of Avatbar were to remain an elevating and purifying force. Their creed must be reformed both in faith and practice and who is so capable of introducing such a reform as Leone herself. The power of the deep-rooted conservatism of those who had nothing to gain by the change, the fear of the merchants that civil war meant their financial ruin, of a king jealous of his authority and of the supremacy of existing laws, were the forces that would oppose the power of the goddess to carry out her reforms. I began to accuse myself of being entirely responsible for all this disturbance in a peaceful country. Had I never discovered Avatbar, Leone might never have desired to disturb the existing order of things, but would have remained an agonized and crowned goddess wedded only to Harikah and a temple of eternal celibacy. I knew, however, that all this was changed. I knew it by her size at our first meeting in the Garden of Tanjay, which, to remember again and again, made me thrill and shudder with joy. End of Chapter 39 Chapter 40 of The Goddess of Avatbar by William Richard Bradshaw This Librivox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher My departure from the Palace of Tanjay The week of grace allowed me to leave Avatbar had already expired. Here it had even occurred to me to actually leave the palace. The commotion in the nation, consequent on the publication of the Manifesto of King and Goddess, was so great and the necessity of advising Leone in the crisis so urgent that I did not take leave of her until the time for my departure was exhausted. One thing that made me somewhat careless of arousing the royal danger was that the Polar King with her terrorite guns could command Kioram in spite of the royal fleet, although it numbered one hundred vessels. Fortunately, the royal fleet had not yet learned the use of gunpowder, their guns being discharged with compressed air. A dispatch from Captain Wallace stated that the ship was lying in the Outer Harbour, well equipped either for a long voyage or probable hostilities. With a view to allaying the excitement of the people, the King published a statement that the alien commander and his retinue had been ordered to leave forthwith. As for Leone, the crisis had in no wise terrified her. She felt assured, however, that the beginning of the end had come. Are you not afraid of lifelong imprisonment or death in case your cause has no supporters? I asked. They can do me no harm, she replied. For the entire priesthood of Egypt, Plosis, the art palace of Naphystasia, and thousands of sympathisers among the people themselves will rally to my flag when the hour of danger comes. You can depend upon my operations at sea, said I, in your behalf, although I have but a single vessel. I will fight the entire fleet of that vat bar. One shell of terrorite has more power than a thousand of their guns. I will destroy Qoram if need be to bring the King to submission. Before leaving Leone, I drew up a plan of campaign for the coming struggle. Hushnoli, the high priest, although conservative as regards the affairs of the priesthood, was really a trusty friend of the goddess and would assist the Grand Sorcerer in commanding a wing of the sacred army. The liberated priests and priestesses would fight like lions for the cause for which they had been imprisoned. The palace of Naphystasia would also furnish its battalions, led by Yermul, Lord of Art. Then, among the 50 millions of people, there were perhaps 20 millions in favour of reform, who would contribute a large army in support of Leone. It is by no means certain that a civil war will take place even to secure the proposed reform, said Leone. The people may leave it to the barotomy and the law to settle the matter. And what would be the result in such a case, I inquired. Well, if I persisted in my demands and no insurrection took place, said Leone, the king might put me to death as the simplest way of ending the matter and appoint another goddess in a gyplosis. They will never hurt a hair of your head while I live. I swear it, said I, with considerable emphasis. Leone smiled at my enthusiasm and refused to permit me to linger longer with her. We understood each other perfectly. I saw that when Leone had once made up her mind on a certain course there could be no retreat. She cared not any longer for a dead throne, for even the worship of the multitude could not feed her famished heart. She must have a beloved soul, consecrated to herself alone, between whom would vibrate the music of great thoughts and tender emotions. Leone had declared war upon hopeless love. This was a necessary consequence of her altered position. A gyplosis founded on a brilliant theory had in practice become a prison and she must open the doors to let its prisoners free. Just as I was leaving the palace, I received a message from Hushnoli stating that the king had secretly ordered my arrest and to be circumspect if I wished to reach Kyoram free. Attended by a guard of Bokker kids, faithful to Leone, I set out for Kyoram, taking a circuitous route to avoid Kalnugur. I had been informed by Hushnoli that mobs of excited and bloodthirsty wayleels were flying around the metropolis, shouting death to the foreigners. Mounted on a magnificent, majestic steed of great power, I led my little band at a furious pace. The Bokker kids, with each stride of their leg, covered a distance of 60 feet and could easily travel 70 miles an hour without appearing to run very quickly. About an hour's travelling brought us abreast of Kalnugur and soon afterward I heard shots fired and the noise of conflict. Making an aerial detour, I discovered a combat between a dozen wayleels on one side and a crowd of wayleels on the other. I noticed that as fast as the individuals of the larger body carried out by a weapon in the hands of the smaller company, they at once became lifeless, either falling to the ground or hanging limp in the air supported by their still-bibrating wings. Being intensely curious to see the wayleels using revolvers, I ventured with my men nearer the melee, and coming near the flying warriors, I discovered to my surprise and horror that the smaller band of flying men was a company of my own sailors, led by flat-hookly fighting back-to-back a swarming mass of wayleels. The brave fellows fought like lions, no sooner did a wayleel approach a sailor with his deadly spear than he was shot. My men, fighting such fearful odds for the enemy numbered several hundreds, could not long maintain so unequal a combat, notwithstanding the superiority of their weapons. It was only a question of time when their ammunition would be exhausted and their spears would then be their only weapon, and I had evidently arrived in time to relieve them. Flat-hookly was shouting to the enemy, Stand back or I'll shoot you when I approached. The sailors cheered to see me flying to their relief, and at that moment the enemy, recognizing in me the very man they wanted, swarmed around to prevent my escape. My Bokker kids drew their spears, and the sailors used their revolvers fiercely, forming a flying ring. I factually protected me from the onslaught of the king's wayleels. I rallied my entire company, who received the rush of wayleels with a discharge of revolvers and magnaic spears, by means of which we killed several. Again and again the enemy fell upon us with renewed fury, shouting their war cry of Bulmakar. They evidently meant to harass us until reinforced by a detachment of the royal troops strong enough to capture us. A wayleel in an unguarded moment struck me on the shoulder, fortunately only with one point of his spear drawing blood. Flat-hookly, who saw the blow, emptied his revolver in his breast, and he fell to earth a dead man. I was surprised that the enemy had not already annihilated my men, for notwithstanding their fear of the sailors' revolvers, three of the sailors had been killed. It was terrible news to think of my brave fellows being slaughtered, but I was determined to have revenge. I singled out Gosodi, the leader of the wayleels, and rushing forward on my Bokker kid, aimed at his head with my revolver, and instantly killed him. The death of their leader paralyzed the wayleels for a time. Before they could recover from their surprise, we killed a number of them. Once more rallying made a fresh attack. They hoped to either kill or capture us by sheer force of superior numbers. We killed dozens of them, but at a fearful cost. Six of the Bokker kids and three more of our own sailors bit the dust. It was quite evident that it would be only a question of time before we would be completely annihilated. I saw that it was necessary for us to reach Kyoram without further fighting. We could not afford to risk the life of another man. Even to gain a complete victory, I therefore ordered a flying retreat. The Bokker kids were arranged in a circle, in the midst of which flew our sailors. We struck out for Kyoram with the speed of the wind, pursued by an ever-increasing horde of wayleels thirsting for our blood. Such was our speed of motion that the thrusts of the enemy were ineffectual. It was a magnificent sight to see the giant machines, like flying cranes devouring distance with their wings, each ridden by a winged warrior. Weirred and exhausted with our fight and still longer period of flight, it was a welcome sight to see beneath us the city of Kyoram and the polar king riding at anchor in the Outer Harbour, beyond which lay the Royal Navy of At-Vat Bar. When within sight of the city, the enemy unexpectedly gave up the chase and did not follow us further. We soon gained the ship and in a short time our Bokker kids decorated the masts and rigging. The story of my imprisonment and the massacre of the six sailors of the force sent to escort me to Kyoram was soon told and a more determined crew never trod the deck of ship of war. We would teach Bulmak our lesson he would never forget. End of Chapter 40 Chapter 41 of The Goddess of At-Vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher We are attacked by the enemy. Captain Wallace and the entire ship's company were overjoyed at my escape from the clutches of the enemy. The loss of six of our brave sailors was a terrible calamity in any case but still more so in view of the impending attack by the enemy's navy. We had a good stock of gunpowder on board and the ship's mechanics under Professor Rack iron began the construction of a series of machine guns, each weapon having one hundred rifled barrels arranged in circles around the central tube. Twenty-five of these guns were constructed. To each tube was fitted a magazine with automatic attachment so that one man could handle each weapon and would fire five hundred balls with each charge of the magazine. The Fletcher mings of the Royal Navy possessed the advantage of numbers and ships so that it was necessary for us to have the advantage in point of arms. Our monster terrorite gun and the terrorite battery gave us also an immense advantage over the gunpowder batteries of the enemy. Thus equipped we were more than a match for any ten ships of the enemy. But when we saw one hundred vessels, the smallest of which was as large as our own, and many twice our size, bearing down on us in battle array, we felt our chances of escape, not to mention victory, were hardly worth calculating. It was a splendid scene for a naval battle. The harbour of Kioram was a bay fully fifty miles in diameter and here lay the royal fleet, whose hulls of gleaming gold shone on the blue water, while beyond rose the brilliant whiteness of the sculptured city. Captain Wallace had the ship ready for action. Every soul knew it was a life or death struggle. The sailors knew that success meant wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. For myself, the prize was something more worthy of our desperate courage. It was the priceless Leone possessed of a divine personality. Her life, like my own, hung in the balance. Should I win the battle, we should win each other. Should I fail to conquer, there was but one kind of defeat and that was death. Every man stood at his post in silence. Flat Hootley had command of a company of sailors. Professor Rack-Ion superintended our chief arm of defence, the terrorite guns, weapons like our revolvers, fortunately unknown in at Vatbar. We had a large quantity of explosive terrorite on board in the shape of shells for our guns. The shells contained each the equivalent of a hundred pounds of terrorite, that is to say they would each weigh a hundred pounds on the outer earth, while the shells contained a hundred pounds each. The iron hurricane deck that did a such service in the polar climate was put up overhead as a protection from the onslaught of a boarding crew. The ships of the enemy advanced proudly in a double line of battle. On the peak of each floated the ensign of at Vatbar, a red sun surrounded by a wide circle of green on a field of blue. On the polar king floated the flag of the goddess, a figure of the throne of the gods in gold on a purple ground. When but a mile off we could see the guns on every ship pointed and ready for attack. The enemy suddenly broke into the form of a semicircle. It was the design of Admiral Jola to surround us and capture or destroy the polar king by sheer force of numbers. We allowed the formation to proceed until the entire navy of at Vatbar surrounded us in an enormous circle. Having executed this manoeuvre, a boat put away from the admals ship and approached us. In a short time it reached our vessel and the captain of the admals ship with several officers came on board. The captain demanded my unconditional surrender. In the name of his Majesty King Almeri Bulmakar of Vatbar, I had been declared an enemy as a country, a violator of its most sacred laws, a heretic in active destruction of its holy faith and a fugitive from justice. The captain as the misery of the Admiral demanded the immediate surrender of himself and the entire company. I asked my men if they were prepared to surrender themselves, said the enemy. Their fearful shout of, never, disturbed the silence of the sea and must have been heard by the distant enemy. You hear the reply of my men, I said to the captain, tell your Admiral, the commander of the polar king, declines to surrender. Then, said the captain, we will fire upon you at once. We mean to have you dead or alive. Give the Admiral my compliments, said I, and tell him to open the fight as soon as he likes. The captain and his staff rapidly disappeared and we knew that the fight was certain. The officers had no sooner reached the Admiral's ship than a report was heard and a ball of metal crashed upon the hurricane deck overhead, tearing a large hole in it and then plunged into the sea. This was the signal of war. Before we could reply, the polar king was the target of a general bombardment from all points of the compass. The balls that struck us were of different kinds of metal, lead, zinc, iron and even gold. Although the range of their guns was accurate, yet owing to the loss of gravity, the shots had but little effect on the planting of the vessel. Some of the sailors were severely wounded being struck in the limbs with large missiles held upon us and I saw that if the enemy couldn't sink the polar king, they could at least kill us, which was even worse. Seeing all of him, I saw the lines of the air force entering the ship in the middle of the sky and to train the giant gun on the admiral's vessel. The discharge was accompanied by a slight flash without smoke and we saw the deadly messenger make its aerial flight straightforward towards the admiral's vessel. It entered the water right in front of the ship and in another instant an extraordinarily scene was witnessed. The ship, in company with a vast volume of water, sprang into the air to a great height with an immense hull blown in the bottom of the hull. did not manage to fly clear of her rigging. After the vessel disappeared, the last of the waterspout fell upon the boiling sea. It was a great surprise to the enemy to see their best ship destroyed at a single blow. The effect of our shot completely paralysed the foe for a moment, for every vessel ceased firing at us. At first it was thought that the Admiral had gone down with his vessel, and, until a new Admiral was in command, the battle would be suspended. During the confusion we ran the Polar King through the breach made in the circle of the enemy, keeping his ships on one side of us. I determined to try the tactics of rapid movement with the steady discharge of the terrorite gun, hoping to destroy a ship at every blow. It soon appeared that Admiral Jolnar was still alive. He, having escaped from his ship in midair with his staff on a number of Fletcher mings by means of their electric wings, he had alighted on the ship of the rear Admiral, where he hoisted the pen and entered the Admiral. The enemy was now thoroughly alive to the necessity of destroying or capturing us. I saw it was a mistake in allowing ourselves to be surrounded in a bay only 50 miles wide, to fight so many ships required ample sea room to avoid the possibility of being captured. The Admiral sent ten ships to guard the mouth of the bay. It was a satisfaction to know that the torpedo was also unknown in Attenvapbar, else our career would have been cut short. Polar King, running 25 miles an hour, was followed by the enemy's fleet, which although slower in movement had the advantage of numbers and could possibly drive us upon the shore. After sailing as far east as we cared to go, the Polar King lay too, awaiting a renewal of the battle. End of Chapter 41 Chapter 42 of The Goddess of Attenvapbar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher. The battle continued. The Royal Fleet formed a wide semi-circle a mile off and reopened its guns upon us. An unlucky shot struck one of our seamen and cut off his head. A perfect storm of shot rained upon us, so destroying our hurricane deck that it was no longer of any protection to us. The enemy, encouraged by their success, closed in upon us. What we feared most of all was an attack by the wing jackets, against whom neither our heavy guns nor superior speed would much avail. Professor Rackiion aimed the giant gun right into the centre of the enemy's line of battle. The shell struck the middle ship and exploded. All three vessels were scattered half a mile apart and made complete wrecks. The Polar King darted forward to pass through the breach made in the enemy line. We found this a matter of difficulty, for the enemy, seeing our move, closed the gap in front of us. The ships ahead would have barbed the way. But to prevent their doing so, we threw a shell of terrorite over the bow of the ship into the water. The sea rose on either side, fully half a mile into the air, in solid pillars of water. In the confusion we burst through the ranks of the enemy and were once more in open water. The admiral must have been exasperated as our escape. He followed us as before in close rank, firing as he came. We now saw that he was about to change his mode of attack, for hovering in the air, a rapidly growing swarm of Fletcher mings were preparing to give us a hand-to-hand combat. Each vessel furnished a certain contingent to the attacking force, until the aerial battalion numbered about five thousand men. Our positions seemed hopeless. What could less than eighty men do against a host of ten thousand? At close quarters our terrorite guns would be useless. With loud yells the Fletcher mings swept down upon us. Fearing our guns they kept open rank and spread around the ship. Aiming at the densest part of the enemy, we destroyed about five hundred of them. But quickly rallying again they were upon us. We were ready for them. Our battery of twelve terrorite guns, including the magazine guns and musketry, rang out a terrible discharge. Under the withering fire and fearful explosions our foes fell back. The sea around was strewn with dead and wounded bodies. Luckily for us the only weapons possessed by the enemy were their magnaic spears. The wing jackets, rallying again, swarmed upon the rigging and covered the ship like a cloud of vultures. Here we could again discharge our guns. Several of our men were beaten down by sheer force of numbers. They made splendid use of their deadly spears. The ship's crew, reattacked between discharge of the guns, were many of them stunned and killed. The enemy, after each discharge, renewing the attack, being constantly reinforced from the fleet. It was possible that we would be conquered by the fearful odds against us. Our ability to keep up a fire from our guns grew more and more difficult owing to the incessant attacks of the enemy and the vast accumulation of their dead bodies on the deck. The spears of our foes were more formidable weapons than we had supposed for their touch was death. It was evident, notwithstanding the carnage, that our men would be obliged to surrender owing to sheer exhaustion. As soon as a wing jacket dropped from the ranks of the enemy another took his place. Our guns covered the sea with their dead bodies. The admiral was determined to conquer us at any cost, for he rightly surmised our victory would be a terrible blow to at that bar. To remove ourselves as far from the fleet as possible I directed the ship at full speed ahead for the outer water. The ten ships that lay across the entrance to the harbour would have to be destroyed, not withstanding the ceaseless attack of the Fletcher mings who followed our every movement. We acted solely on the defensive and managed while repelling the most furious onslaughts to throw overboard the dead bodies of the enemy. In the midst of constant fighting we managed to get the terrorite guns into position again and when within a mile of the blockade fired the entire battery into it. Our shells sank every vessel they struck and broke several others from their moorings. Several more shots destroyed the remaining vessels but only leaving their crews like a swarm of hornets free to attack us. This however was a minor matter compared with possessing the freedom of the outer sea. We rushed over the spot where the ships had been anchored and soon left the pursuing fleet far behind. The wing jackets reinforced by the crews of the blockading fleet renewed their attack. Having learned the terrible power of our magazine guns they contented themselves with making attacks on unguarded ships at 50 points but 50 sailors were thus engaged while the remainder of the ship's crew including the officers worked the guns with a will. The revolvers of the enemy disabled us considerably but by firing our magazine guns in every direction we kept the ranks of the flying enemy pretty well thinned out. Our tactics were to keep the foe divided if possible and destroy the attacking force in detail. So long as the sailors could stand by their guns we were safe. We could outstrip the fleet in speed thus reducing the chances of our immediate antagonists being reinforced for those who at first attacked us melted rapidly before the withering fire of our batteries. Finding themselves unable to secure the ship even with such enormous sacrifice of life the Fletcher ming suddenly retreated to the fleet leaving us free to rest ourselves and look after the wounded. The terrible strain of the fight had utterly exhausted the sailors who had fought for 50 consecutive hours without rest or refreshment. We tumbled overboard the dead bodies of the enemy who had fallen upon the deck and buried eight of our own sailors had also been killed. Several men were wounded about the head and neck with spear thrusts that had failed to kill but none seriously. Captain Wallace got an ugly wound in his neck but it was not sufficient to keep him from duty. Flat Hootley in slaying a Fletcher ming received a wound in the hand that required the attention of the doctor. Professor Rackine an astronomer star bottle passed through the fight unscathed while Professor Goldrock suffered from a broken leg. Our helmets provided originally for triumphal purposes have proved of the greatest possible value and saved many a life on board the Polar King. All this time we lay in full view of both the enemy's fleet and the entire kingdom. It seemed to us a strange thing that the Admiral did not continue the fight with his reserve of Fletcher mings who could easily outstrip the ship in their flight. He still possessed thousands of wing jackets who had never been engaged in actual conflict who might have relieved their exhausted comrades and in time have forced us to surrender. Was the supine conduct of the Admiral caused by a panic at our power of havoc or did he think my retreat to see rarely an effort to escape the country? If his truce was caused by a belief that he was unable to cope with us he might have called the wayleels of the king to his assistance but possibly the pride of the service prevented an alliance with the army for naval conquest more particularly where the naval forces outnumbered the enemy 200 to 1. The scene of battle lay in full view of the entire nation just as the kingdom lay in full view of ourselves. The nearer inhabitants could see the movements of the ships and sailors and the progress of the battle so far was known to everyone. If the impression was favorable to the Polar King doubtless there would be a demonstration in favor of the goddess. If not it would be because the capture of our ship was considered certain. We lay too at a distance of 10 miles from the enemy's fleet awaiting the renewal of hostilities. End of Chapter 42 Chapter 43 of the Goddess of Vat Vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher. Victory. The enemy finding we were not disposed to leave at Vat Bar began to move down upon us once more in battle array. The royal fleet consisted of 70 ships, the former 30 having been either sunk or disabled by us. As for ourselves the hurricane, deck, masts and rigging had been hammered to pieces but the hull was sound, the sailors enthusiastic and the terrorite guns unharmed and our spears invincible. As the enemy approached us their ships began to move wider apart with a view no doubt of circumnavigating us and then close in upon the Polar King as before. Another squeeze of this kind might prove fatal. Consequently our plan was to keep the enemy at a safe distance and on one side of us and destroy his ships one by one with our guns while out of range of his fire if possible. The Admiral did us the favour of keeping around his ship half a dozen vessels by way of protection and in this manner drew near. We were determined to bring the engagement to a close as soon as possible by striking the enemy a terrible blow. As soon as their vessels drew within range we struck the central group with a shell from the giant gun. The explosion worked a tremendous havoc among the congregated vessels but without waiting to learn its full effect I ordered twenty shells to be fired into the central mass in quick succession. The result was appalling. The great want of gravity caused a vast irregular mountain of ships and water to be piled high in the air. We could hear the shrieks of drowning and dismembered Fletcher mings. Volumes of water shot to tremendous heights, became detached from the main mass and floated in the air for a time in liquid globes. It was some time before the whirl of wrecked ships and angry water filled with perhaps thousands of wing jackets subsided to the level of the ocean again. The ships sank beneath the water on which floated hundreds of dead bodies. Those Fletcher mings who had escaped accident or death headed by Admiral Jolnar who was still alive formed themselves into a compact mass as they hovered over the scene of the disaster for a final hand to hand attack. Reinforced by thousands of Fletcher mings from the then unharmed vessels, they approached with yells of Bulmakar. Finding their ships useless they were determined to fling themselves in heroic sacrifice upon us in such numbers as to crush us. This was precisely their most dangerous form of attack but we could only await their coming. As the living mass of men approached we saluted them with another discharge of shells which exploded in the very heart of the unfortunate host. The carnage was dreadful and hundreds of dead bodies fell into the sea. Admiral Jolnar was killed and without their leader the Fletcher mings became demoralised. Here they could rally again. We were about to fire another round of shells when Rear Admiral Jorolio with a few Fletcher mings left the main mass under a flag of truce and approached us. We were nothing loath to receive their message. A lighting on deck the Rear Admiral informed us that owing to the loss of their Admiral they were disposed to cease fighting provided I would leave the country forthwith. Then said I, you wish to report that you defeated us by driving us from the country? I shall report that it was a mutual cessation of hostilities, said he. It has cost us too much to give up the fight now, I said. One of us must surrender. Do you surrender then to His Majesty Elmeri Bulmakar, King of At-Vat-Bar, eagerly inquired the Rear Admiral? Do you surrender to Her Majesty Leone, Queen of At-Vat-Bar? I replied. We make no such surrender, said he. Very much surprised to know that Leone had been proclaimed Queen. If we cannot conquer you by force of arms we have ships enough to starve you into submission. We care nothing for your ships, I replied. We will destroy them one by one. You may sink our ships, said the Rear Admiral, but you will never conquer our Fletcher mings. We will begin a hand-to-hand conflict that will not cease until you and your entire crew are killed or are our prisoners. The truce is at an end, I replied. Return to your ships immediately. The Rear Admiral and his staff rose on their wings, and in a short time regained the cloud of naval warriors that hung in the air half a mile away. During the truce the ships of the enemy had drawn nearer and at once opened fire on us. A well-aimed shot struck us under the waterline, penetrating our armour, and going clean through the side of the vessel. The central compartment filled rapidly with water. It was a fatal blow, for although the foreign aft compartments would keep the ship from sinking, yet it soon put out our boiler fires and left us a helpless hulk upon the water. The main deck containing our terrorite guns was on a level with the water, and a quantity of terrorite and gunpowder rendered useless. We were in a terrible position, for our small stock of ammunition would soon be exhausted. The enemy soon discovered the effect of their blow and closed around us like vultures hastening to their prey. We suffered a terrible bombardment that killed more of our men, and finally the Fletcher mings closed around us in swarms to annihilate us. Resolved to sell our lives dearly, we received them with the discharge of our magazine guns. They quickly rallied and renewed their attack, but as long as our ammunition lasted, we were afraid to come to close quarters. At last we drew our revolvers, and the hand-to-hand conflict began. Some of the sailors used their cutleresses with good effect. We had proof that the magnetic spears in close quarters were terrible weapons. As I saw my men falling around me, I felt that the game was up. I thought of Leone, and the thought would not let me surrender. I was already wounded in the shoulder and body and stunned, while the enemy was swarming in greater numbers than ever. Must we surrender? Suddenly at that moment a shell came screeching through the air and exploded above the ship, right among the Waileals, killing twenty or more. Merciful heavens, can the enemy, after all, fire shells at us? But why use them when the fight is practically over? And why fire them among his own Waileals? Another and another shell exploded among the Waileals around us, and finally a regular tornado of them exploded all around the Polar King, putting the enemy completely to flight. As soon as the air was cleared around us, I saw to my intense astonishment two friendly vessels, one of which bore the flag of the United States and the other the flag of England, firing shells at the enemy. I then knew the cause of our deliverance and shouted for joy. My men, all that were alive, rose and cheered our comrades from the outer world. The excitement was overpowering. We could only, amid tears of joy, salute them, as signal them to keep up the fight. We were saved. A well-aimed shot from the Englishman sank still another vessel. This fresh disaster received from the strangers seemed to completely unnerve the enemy, for, strange to say, every ship afloat struck its colors in surrender. It was well that the rear admiral did so, for it would have been only a question of time until his whole fleet would have been destroyed. The Fletcher Mings retreated to their ships, and in a short time the gold-plated ship of Rear Admiral Girolio, under the flag of Truce, came alongside our vessel. The Rear Admiral and his staff came on board and delivered up his sword in token of surrender. You surrender to me as Admiral of Her Majesty Leone, Queen of At-Vat-Bar, I said? I do, said the Rear Admiral, and am willing to devote my services to the cause of Her Majesty. Will your Fletcher Mings, as well as yourself, swear allegiance to Queen Leone in her cause? We swear it, yelled the Fletcher Mings of the Rear Admiral's ship. At a signal from the leader, the flag of the new queen took the place of the flag of his deposed majesty, King Elmeri Balmakar. In a moment the entire fleet exhibited the flag of Her Holiness as the symbol of their new allegiance. This was a gratifying victory, as it procured for our cause more than sixty fully manned vessels of war and twenty-five thousand Fletcher Mings. Leone was mistress of the seas. How came you to surrender at this juncture, I inquired of the Rear Admiral? Well, sir, he replied, we have already lost more men and ships than if we had been engaged with an enemy similarly armed and having as many vessels as ourselves, and when the strange vessels came to your assistance we saw it was useless to prolong the fight. We saw that with your terrible weapons you were invincible. You can destroy us if we cannot destroy you. Therefore I concluded as Rear Admiral of the Fleet and successor to Admiral Jolnar, who was killed in battle, that it was throwing life away to continue the fight. I saw furthermore that with you as the champion of the Goddess her cause would succeed, and I wanted to be the first to render homage to Her Majesty. You have acted well, I replied, and to reward your action I now in the name of Her Majesty appoint and proclaim you Rear Admiral of the Fleet of Leone, Queen of At-Vat Bar. This announcement was received with the firing of guns and tremendous cheers. Rear Admiral Wallace, Rear Admiral Chevolio and myself, I said to the sailors, will determine the question of who will become the remaining high naval officers, and now that the battle is over, let us see that our wounded are properly cared for, and all ships afloat put in proper repair. It was a glorious victory. All this time the two cruisers who so fortunately arrived in time to turn the tide of battle in our favour were rapidly approaching us, firing guns in honour of our victory. I acknowledged their arrival, as well as their valuable services, by having the Royal Fleet drawn up in double file, between which lay the Polar King and ordering every vessel to give the strangers a salute of 100 guns. My anxiety to learn more of our allies was so great that I dispatched two of my most active wing jackets to the strange vessels to procure accurate information concerning them, and their object in visiting the interior world. The way Leels returned with the information that the vessels were the United States Ship of Discovery Mercury, commanded by Captain Adams, and the English Ship of Discovery Aurora Boralis, commanded by Sir John Forbes, both were fitted out by their respective governments to explore the interior world, consequent upon the report of Boatswain Dunbar and Seaman Henderson, the only survivors of the 12 men who left the Polar King when in the Polar Gulf. The respective commanders, officers and men of the incoming vessels, were delighted to know that the Polar King was not only safe, but a discovered at Vatbar, and that its commander was at present King of the Realm. This was the substance of the dispatches sent me by Captain Adams and Commander Forbes, and addressed to Lexington White Esquire Commander of the Polar King. Captain Adams stated that Boatswain Dunbar was on board his vessel as pilot, accompanied by Seaman Henderson. Owing to the warthogged condition of the Polar King, we could only await the arrival of the vessels. When near at hand, the simultaneous salute of guns reverberated upon the sea, which must have been heard in all that Vatbar. Amid the smoke and noise of the roaring guns, steam launches had put off from the Mercury and Aurora Baralis, and in very short time the commanders of both vessels stood upon the deck of the Polar King, accompanied by their respective officers. I embraced Captain Adams and Commander Forbes, and introduced the strangers to Rear Admiral Wallace, Rear Admiral Girolio and Staff, who were no less delighted and surprised than myself to receive visitors from the outer world. When the commanders reached the deck of the Polar King, the cheers of the American and British sailors mingled with the shouts of our Fletchemings made a soul-stirring scene. In fact, I was already beginning to think the outer world a more or less mythical place, and thought the doctrine of reincarnation had an illustration of proof in myself. After all, the outer world really existed, and strange as it seemed to the Vatbaris, there was really an outer sun and live beings like themselves, only physically more vigorous. It was necessary to set out at once for Kioram, as the Polar King was in a sinking condition. Every man had either been killed or wounded. We made a total loss of 60 men, including the 10 who left the ship in the Polar Gulf, thus making the entire company of the Polar King but 50 souls. As for the ship, her plating was burst apart in many places, and full of started bolts caused by missiles of the enemy. The central compartment was filled with water, and the mast, sails, smokestack and hurricane deck were practically destroyed. Many of the guns were not struck once in the entire fight, and were ready for active service any moment. The terrorite battery was partially submerged, but still in good condition. Captain Adams and Sir John Forbes both craved the honour of towing the Polar King into port, to which I willingly assented. As Admiral, I at once assumed command of the fleet, which I ordered to make sail for Kioram without delay. The fleet fell in behind in good order, and followed the Polar King, bearing the victorious flag of the Queen. End of Chapter 43 Chapter 44 of the Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This Librivox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher The News of At-Vat-Bar in the Outer World The kingdom of At-Vat-Bar lay before us like a continent drawn upon a map, or rather upon the interior surface of a sphere or globe, everywhere visible to the naked eye. It's green forests, its impressive mountains, its rushing rivers, its white and many coloured cities, its wide stretching shores, fringed with the foam of an azure sea, lay before the astonished eyes of our visitors. When within a few miles of the city, Governor Laudemire, accompanied by Captains Prar and Nothorpec, advanced to meet us in a large, magnetic yacht bearing the flag of Lyoni. The governor hastened to inform us that in view of our victory, the city of Kioram had declared its allegiance to the cause of Lyoni, and invited myself and the officers of the fleet, as well as our distinguished allies from the Outer World, to a banquet in the fortress of Kioram. This news gave me great satisfaction, as the city would be a splendid base of military operations. The officers and seamen of the Mercury and Aurora Borealis created quite as great a sensation in the streets of Kioram as did the victorious sailors of the Polar King. Landing on Terra firma, Governor Laudemire took the opportunity of showing our guests the beauty of his bocker kids, who formed a guard of honour to the fortress, where we were all royally received. The two captains, together with their officers and sailors, were astonished at the multitude of strange objects shown them. Captain Adams would not remain satisfied until he was accouted with a dynamo and a pair of magnetic wings, with which all the sailors and soldiers of that bar were supplied as part of their uniform. He was shown how the battery of metals gave motion to the dynamo, which in turn acted on the steel levers connected with the ribs of the wings. Although the worthy captain was of considerable weight, yet his astonishment at being able to skim through the air like a swallow was great. No sooner did he touch the button than all his preconceived notions of locomotion were destroyed, and he gasped with fear at his prodigious motion. The two facts of unfailing movement of wings and exceptional buoyancy of body soon made him a fearless rider of the wind. He alighted on the earth with the greatest enthusiasm over the success of his experiment. The magnetic spear was another surprise for our guests. Sir John Forbes was astonished at my being able to fight the Fletcher mings so long. Armed as they were by so potent a weapon of death, he would certainly recommend its use in the British army and navy on his return to England. Our allies were surprised at everything they saw, particularly at the rapid movements of the Fletcher mings or wing jackets of the Royal Navy. They thought it an extraordinary thing the sailors should fly by magnetic wings. After the banquet, Captain Adams, who was a fine type of American seaman, bold, alert and courageous, gave us an account of how both the United States and England came to send ships to the interior world. It appeared that the story of Boats and Dunbar first published in the New York papers that the Polar King had sailed down the Polar Gulf en route to an interior world had created a tremendous sensation on the outer sphere, and all civilized nations immediately fitted out vessels of discovery to follow up the Polar King and make discoveries for the benefit of their respective governments. So far as anyone knew, only two vessels had succeeded in entering the interior sphere. The recital of Captain Adams was frequently interrupted by Sir John Forbes, the British captain, a courageous officer who possessed all the stately dignity of his race. He stated that since the discovery of America by Columbus, no other event had awakened such unbounded enthusiasm as the discovery of a Polar Gulf and an interior world. I am most of all interested at present, said I, in the story of how Dunbar reached civilization again after parting with us. I forgive you, Dunbar, I continued addressing him, for your mutinous conduct, and now let us hear the story of your adventures in the Polar Sea. Admiral, said Dunbar, had we known the terrible hardships we would have to endure in making our way home, chiefly on foot and at the same time burdened with the boat, we would never have left the ship, but you must thank me for the presence of the two ships that are here today and for the fame you already enjoy in the outer world. It is something tremendous, said Captain Adams. How did your geographers receive news of the interior world, I inquired of Sir John Forbes. I need not say that the English geographers, in common with the entire nation, were greatly excited at the news. The Royal Geographical Society have already made you an honorary member, and was actually proposed at one of the meetings that the government should proclaim a special holiday as a day of rejoicing for so great a discovery. This would certainly have been done, but for the fact that the story rested entirely on the testimony of two sailors and that any public rejoicing should be postponed until the story of the sailors will be verified by a special expedition sent from England. Of course, many people think that Dunbar's story is a fable or a hallucination that he himself believes in. On the other hand, hundreds of professional and amateur astronomers and geographers are proving by mathematics that the earth must be a hollow sphere and the story of the open poles and entirely physical possibility. The people of the United States, said Captain Adams, are almost unanimous in their belief that the interior world is a veritable reality and it only requires a return of my ship to convince everyone that Dunbar's story falls very short of the glorious reality. There is no man more famous today than Lexington White, Admiral of At-Vat Bar, said Sir John Forbes. I thank you gentlemen for your kind words, said I, and now for Dunbar's story. I think, said Captain Adams, that if I were to read you the article containing Dunbar's story written by a special commissioner of the New York Western Hemisphere who was first to interview Dunbar at Sitka on learning of his arrival there, it would perhaps be the best narration of his perilous adventures. As the captain spoke, he drew a copy of the Western Hemisphere from his pocket. By all means, I replied, let us hear what the press said about Dunbar and his adventures. Thereupon, Captain Adams read the New York Western Hemisphere's account of Dunbar's adventures as follows. An astounding discovery! The North Pole found to be an enormous cavern leading to a subterranean world. The earth proves to be a hollow shell one thousand miles in thickness lit by an interior sun. Oceans and continents, islands and cities spread upon the roof of the interior sphere. Boatsman Dunbar and Seaman Henderson of the Polar King, having deserted the ship as she was entering Plutasia, have arrived at Sitka, Alaska in a desperate condition and have been interviewed by a Western Hemisphere commissioner. They say Lexington White, commander of the Polar King, is at present sailing underneath Canada on an interior sea. Tremendous possibilities for science and commerce. The fabled realms of Pluto no longer a myth. Gold, gold beyond the dreams of madness. The story of the discovery of Plutasia and the Polar Gulf, as told by the two shipwrecked survivors of the mutineers of the Polar King, now at Sitka, Alaska, to the Western Hemisphere, will form an epoch in the history of the world. The renown of Columbus and Magellan is overshadowed by the glory of Lexington White, a citizen of the United States, who fitted out a ship for polar discovery and, taking the command himself, has unraveled the mystery of the North Pole, discovered the Polar Gulf and the interior world. Having penetrated the Polar Gulf at about 300 miles and having discovered the interior sun, a fear seized on a number of the sailors, among whom were Boatsman Dunbar and his companion Henderson, who are the only survivors of 12 men who left the Polar King in an open boat to return home again, and to whose safe arrival in Sitka, the world is indebted for news of the important discoveries that have been made. Dunbar and Henderson arrived in Sitka in a very full-on condition, almost starved to death and utterly exhausted with their terrible journey homeward. They seem to forget, largely, the incidents of the journey outward in the Polar King, but have a very clear recollection of their own individual experiences in returning to civilization again. Dunbar, with his 11 associates and the Eskimo docks, were no sooner cut adrift from the Polar King than they began to realize their terrible position. Born on the breast of the immense tidal wave that vibrated up and down the Polar Cavern, they were tossed helplessly to and fro, now flung almost out of its mouth and again sucked back into its midnight recesses. They floated for days in the gigantic tunnel of water that threatened to collapse any moment and overwhelm them. They would feign of return to the ship, but the breeze blowing out of the cavern wafted them far from their comrades, and they therefore bent all their energies to the task of getting home again. The light of the Polar Summer that lit the mouth of the Gulf was their guide that led them back to the old familiar world. Happily for the adventurers, the direction of the wind continued favourable to their voyage. They made about 100 miles a day, and in five days reached the edge of the outer ocean. Here again the grandeur of the scene appalled them. Let the reader imagine a little boat carrying 12 souls out of that monstrous cavern 500 miles in diameter. Think of 1500 miles of ocean forming the mouth of the world that shone in the arctic sunlight like molten silver surrounding an abyss of darkness. Dunbar and his companions had no sooner emerged from the Gulf and seen once more the light of the Sun, our own Sun, than they wept for joy. But again, when they thought of the terrible barrier of ice they had to cross again, they began to wish they had remained with the Polar King. Thus man fluctuates between this or that impulse as he is moved. I say, Captain, said Walker, one of the men, don't you think it was about as safe to go back and find the ship as to run the chance of being frozen to death on the ice? Well said Dunbar, when we left the ship everyone knew it was for good. Our shipmates have chosen their course as we chose ours and it's too late to go back now. As likely as not she may have struck a rock and has gone to the bottom by this time. As the boat cleared the cavern the sea fell down before them until at noon day the Sun itself was visible, a joyful proof that they had at last gained the normal surface of the Earth again. When three days out of the gulf the weather grew suddenly colder and the sky became obscured with clouds completely hiding the Sun from sight. A furious snowstorm overtook the voyages who, benumbed with cold, wished they were only back again under the hurricane deck of the Polar King. Fortunately the wind blew steadily toward the Arctic Circle bringing them nearer home but such was the anxiety and suffering caused by insufficient protection from the inclement climate that they cared not whether they drifted so long as they could keep alive. By help of a little oil stove they boiled their coffee under a sail which spread horizontally above them in some measure kept the snow from burying them alive. The storm spent its fury in 24 hours and when the air grew clear again they were saluted with the sight of that enormous ridge of ice through which the Polar King had found passage a month before. The ice was heaped up with the purest snow in places 20 feet in depth. Thousands of icy peaks and pinnacles as far as the eye could reach pierced the sky under other conditions the sight would have been sublime but to men frozen and famished with insufficient food it was a scene of terror. The icy range was flanked by an ice foot varying from 30 to 60 miles in width and from 4 to 50 feet above sea level. Here was the problem that confronted Dunbar. He had to travel over at least 30 miles of icy splinters over an ice foot whose surface was broken to every possible contortion of crystallization. There were mounds, hummocks, caverns, crevasses, ridges and gulfs of the hardest and oldest ice. Then when this barrier was crossed there was the icy backbone of the whole system 500 to a thousand feet in height to be crossed as there was no lane or opening to be discovered through so formidable a range of ice mountains. Even if he succeeded in crossing the same there would certainly be an ice foot of perhaps greater dimensions than the one before him to cross and that might prove to be only a valley of ice leading to other and still more accessible cliffs to be surmounted. This is no place to die in said Dunbar and so boys we've got to hustle if ever we expect to get home. Aye aye sir said his companions but when they reached the ice they found that having remained in a cramped position for a month in the boat had incapacitated them for walking. It was also found that Walker's feet and those of four other sailors had been frostbitten and that they were totally unable to be of any service to themselves or the others. The outlook was mournful in the extreme. The only thing that cheered them was the constant sunlight and even that consolation would depart in another month and if in the meantime they did not get away from the ice hunger and the awful desolation of a polar winter would terminate their existence. There was no chance of starting on their journey until they got accustomed to the use of their limbs and so they built a hut of blocks of ice which was solidly frozen together by a few buckets full of seawater thrown over them. The dogs were glad to get on the ice again and scampered about totally oblivious of the fact that supply of pork was getting very low and unless they got some fresh meat very soon they would be obliged to feed on each other. They remained a fortnight in their arctic abode exercising themselves by cutting a passage in the ice. During this time four of the sailors died. Finally the remainder packing everything into the boat yoked the dogs there too and started in anything but hopeful spirits on their arduous journey. It was found that Walker had to be carried along but he did not long continue a burden to his associates for on the fourth day of the march she died and was buried in the snow. It was a toilsome journey almost every foot of the way required to be hewn out of the ice as hard as adamant. The dogs suffered greatly from insufficient food and tireless exertion. Several died from complete exhaustion and were greedily devoured by their fellows. After desperate exertions Dunbar and his company now reduced to seven souls gained the crest of the ice ridge and had the satisfaction of seeing open water not 20 miles away. It took some time to discover the best route for descent but at last they reached the level of the ice foot beyond and struck for open sea. A fortunate capture of several seals reinforced their almost exhausted supply of provisions. Dunbar cared nothing about latitude or longitude or scientific information in such a desperate fight for life. It was a joyful moment when he and his companions launched their boat safe into the sea again after the incredible toil of dragging it 40 miles across the splintered ice peaks and the terrible ice foot north and south of the paleocristic mountains. Dunbar hosted his sale abandoning the few dogs who yet remained alive and with his unhappy companions steered for the Bering Strait first making for the coast of Alaska that faces the desolation of the Arctic Seas. It would be impossible to describe the horrors of that lonely voyage the terrible struggle with 500 miles of ice flows with snow storms that piled the snow high upon the voyages and the ferocious cold proved too much for five of the seven sailors and one by one the poor fellows died and were thrown overboard. Only two men Dunbar and a sailor named Henderson emerged from the Arctic Sea arriving in six months from the time they left the ship in Sitka, Alaska. End of chapter 44 Chapter 45 of The Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Nigel Fisher The Voyages of the Mercury and the Aurora Borealis It was a most fortunate thing that any of the men could live until they reached civilization I said when Captain Adams had finished his reading of Dunbar's story in the paper. It was solely due to that fact we are here at present, replied Captain Adams. No sooner was the story published than the greatest possible excitement arose both in America and Europe. The United States and Britain felt chagrined that a private citizen had been able to achieve what the greatest nations on earth with unlimited men and money were unable to accomplish. To satisfy popular clamour the United States, Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Italy and Spain each fitted out separate expeditions to follow in the wake of the polar king. These were manned with former Arctic navigators and were in each case commissioned and fitted out regardless of cost to explore the interior world and lay the foundation of future conquest and commerce. The Secretary of the United States Navy at Washington sent for Dunbar and Henderson and forthwith employed both as pilots for the Mercury expedition under my command. How did the English people receive the news I inquired of Sir John Forbes. It is useless to say, Admiral, he replied, that the story of the polar king was the sole topic of conversation for weeks throughout the United Kingdom. The Royal Geographic Society, the Royal Astronomical Society and the Travellers Club all sent special deputations to the government asking for the fitting out of a ship to undertake British research which might possibly accompany the United States vessel having the pilots Dunbar and Henderson on board and thus partake of the advantage these guides would naturally give the United States vessel. The British government continued Sir John with a smile in his eye saw at once that British interests in the interior world must be protected at all hazards and gave the Lords of the Admiralty full power to act. My fame as an Arctic navigator and the discoverer of the bones of the great Irish Arctic hero, Montgomery and those of his men in a cabin on Prince Albert's Island caused the Lords of the Admiralty to place at my command the frigate Aurora Boralis manned by experienced Arctic sailors. Negotiations were opened with the United States government whereby the Aurora Boralis by proceeding up the Northwest passage along the route followed by the Montgomery expedition might meet the Mercury who would enter the Arctic sea by way of bearing straight. It was arranged as Captain Adams is aware that each vessel should proceed direct to latitude 75 North longitude 140 West and there await the other vessel. You're right, said Captain Adams for my instructions were of the same nature. The Mercury was fitted out in Brooklyn Naval Yard and as soon as her compliment of 250 officers, explorers, scientists, press correspondents and seamen was enrolled and her stores fully shipped I was instructed to proceed by way of the Nicaragua canal to San Francisco for further orders and stores leaving San Francisco I next touch Victoria, British Columbia and finally at Sitka, Alaska for final orders. The entire winter had been consumed in getting ready and by May the 1st I cleared for bearing straight steering straight for the rendezvous in the Arctic sea where we had arranged to meet by June the 1st. I was first on the spot and had the good fortune of only having to wait a week before we sighted the Aurora Borealis. And then, said Sir John, began the real work of the voyage. All had been plain sailing so far but it was clearly impossible for any vessel to reach the polar gulf unless a lead was discovered in the ice barrier similar to that fortunately discovered by the polar king. It was here that the services of Dunbar as pilot came into requisition. Captain Adams had got him to mark on the chart as near as possible the location of the chasm in the ice mountain discovered by the polar king. That once rediscovered we could succeed in following the polar king. Should we fail in our quest all further progress would be impossible. I often said to Captain Adams that I considered Lexington White as one of the most fortunate of men. It was nothing short of miraculous that you should discover a newly rent passage through the barrier of ice that for ages has guarded the sublime secret of the pole. Only once in all the eternity of the past did the gate of that thrilling Arctic zone open itself to humanity and by a miracle of fortune you were on the spot at the right moment ready to enter that door. That fact alone emblazons you with glory. But to my story how are we to discover the same or a similar lead to the north? On the mere chance of discovering such a passage both vessels had encountered the dangers and terrors of the Arctic desolations. Dunbar located the chasm in latitude 78.6 north longitude 125 west and thither we sailed. As for the expedition sent out by the other governments of Europe jealous of American prowess we have not seen or heard of any of them. Their vessels followed the direction of the Gulf Stream and the instructions given their commanders were to first make Spitzbergen and then proceed due north and if possible there find a passage to the pole. For ourselves I will let Captain Adams tell how we got through the ice barrier. That, said Captain Adams is a simple enough story but the actual experiences were not so simple as the recital of them. We found that Dunbar's estimate of the location of the passage was within 50 miles of the exact spot. We found the passage after some days searching about 50 miles beyond Dunbar's location on the chart. The veritable passage was there but as expected instead of open water there was a mass of solid ice of unknown thickness but fortunately having a smooth surface there was but one thing to do to overcome such an obstacle and that was to haul the ships on runners on top of the ice right through the gap formed by nature and the icy barrier. Our labours in making such a passage were simply superhuman. Both crews were employed for more than a week in sloping the ice foot up which the vessels were to be dragged. Then an enormous cradle had to be constructed of massive beams of wood securely bolted together large and strong enough to carry either vessel. There was fortunately lumber enough for this purpose as among the stores of both ships timbers for building arctic huts have been included. The cradle was first secured to the hull of the Mercury and the crews of both vessels took hold of the ropes made fast to her decks. She was drawn close to the ice but utterly refused to leave the water. We tried fixing anchors in the ice ahead to which were attached a system of blocks and ropes. These supplemented the strength of the men by hoisting the engine but even this was of no avail. We next rigged up a large drum vertically over the shaft of the propeller and connected it therewith by means of right angled cog wheels. To this was fastened an immense cable the other end of which were attached to the ropes roved through the blocks held firmly a quarter of a mile ahead by 30 anchors embedded in the ice. We started the engines and sure enough the boughs of the vessel began to rise out of the water. The Mercury would have been lifted high and dry on the ice were it not that at that moment several of the smaller cables in the blocks snapped us under and thus our third effort failed. At this juncture Sir John Forbes proposed to plant a few more anchors in the ice and through the additional blocks work a cable leading from the boughs of the Mercury to the stern of the Aurora Boralis. This being done he would steam ahead off the ice and add the power of his ship to that of the Mercury's engines and thus relieve the strain on the Mercury's cables. It was a capital idea and we immediately put it into execution. The result was a perfect success. The combined energies of the English ship and her crew together with those of our own vessel and men drew the Mercury up the slide of ice and placed her erect and dry upon the level surface of the lead. It was now comparatively easy to work to draw the ship along the ice. Her own engines were equal to the task but it was impossible for the Mercury to go ahead as without her assistance the Aurora Boralis would be unable to leave the water. Then again there was only the material for but one cradle for both ships. The difficulty was solved by cutting away one fourth of the cradle from beneath the bow and stern of the Mercury and joining these parts we furnished the Aurora Boralis with a sledge as large as that of her own ship and strong enough to keep her in an upright position while being dragged over the ice. After infinite trouble and in obedience to the aggregated energies of the engines of both ships and the holding of the combined crews the English ship was drawn up upon the ice beside the American vessel. This double feet of skill and determination was duly saluted by a roar of guns and the cheers of the sailors. The ice proved so smooth and hard that the crews of each ship assisted by the engines were able to work their respective vessels in good order through the entire chasm a distance of 70 miles arriving at the open flow beyond the northern ice foot we beveled off the ice as before and the ships were finally launched upon the polar sea. I congratulated Sir John Forbes and Captain Adams on their successful maneuver which resulted in getting their ships across the ice. It was a feat of engineering skill a rarely possible accomplishment and in their case nature had seconded their efforts by providing a smooth and solid floor to operate upon otherwise all human endeavor would have been fruitless. And now gentlemen I said what do you say surprised you most in your voyage hither from the ice barrier? I think Admiral said Captain Adams that the grandest sight on earth is the full view of the polar gulf with its suspended abyss of waters surrounding this ship. The colossal influx and reflux of waters produces a feeling of terrible slimmity it is an awful scene. But that scene said Sir John Forbes belongs to the outer world this aspect of the interior world of Plutasia is 10,000 times more magnificent what grander glory ever fell on human eyes than this coliseum of oceans, continents, kingdoms, islands and seas spread upon the vast interior vaults surrounding us and all lit up by the internal sun human imagination never conceived anything equal to this. Here nature surpasses the wildest dreams of fancy we are astounded with the splendor of such a world You're right Sir John said Captain Adams this interior sphere surpasses anything hitherto discovered in heaven or on earth and then to think of its enormous riches the royal fleet of At-Vat Bar plated with solid gold proves the extraordinary profusion of the precious metal End Chapter 45 Chapter 46 of The Goddess of At-Vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Nigel Fisher The arrest of Leonie While the entertainment was at its height we were surprised by one of the guards informing us that a messenger had arrived from the fortress at Egyptplosis bearing from me a dispatch of the utmost importance from the High Priest Hushnoli We were all excitement at the news and on opening the dispatch I read as follows To His Excellency Lexington White Lord Admiral of At-Vat Bar greeting Your glorious victory over the royal fleet has awakened popular excitement in favour of deposing His Majesty King Almeri Bulmakar and establishing our late beloved Goddess Leonie on the throne as Queen of At-Vat Bar Egyptplosis has openly espoused the cause of Leonie and the Sacred College of Priests and Priestesses have taken up arms in favour of the Goddess His Majesty being resolved to stamp out rebellion at any cost has caused the arrest of Leonie at her palace, Tanjay, and has confined her in the fortress Kalmugur as hostage for the good behaviour of the people He has threatened to put Leonie to death in case her followers attempt any hostile demonstrations against the King's authority We of Egyptplosis are committed to the cause of Her Majesty Leonie Queen of At-Vat Bar Hushnoli This was most alarming news While we had been feasting in inglorious ease our Queen had been arrested and imprisoned the time for action had come Here we could deliberate on the best course to pursue The second message from Hushnoli arrived stating that the King, hearing of the outbreak in Egyptplosis had ordered Coltonbury, the Commander-in-Chief to proceed with his wayleels to Egyptplosis to capture Hushnoli and disband his followers This being an open declaration of war had precipitated a civil struggle and the armies of both the King and Queen were being recruited with great excitement on both sides As for Kioram, that city had declared for our cause and the Governor was overjoyed to know that the victory of the Polar King had resulted in the entire fleet espousing the cause of Leonie I questioned Governor Laudemire on the strength and equipment of both the King's forces and those willing to support Leonie and the probabilities of our cause being successful He informed me that the King already commanded an army of half a million men composed two-thirds of wayleels and one-third bokeh kids or flying cavalry armed with swords, shields, and spears of deadly power The adherents of Leonie numbered already 100,000 men who had also proclaimed her Queen of At-Vat Bar including 5,000 Amazons from Egyptplosis who would fight for their late goddess to the death all similarly armed A future is doubtful said the Governor but with your aid we may well hope for success I congratulate you on your splendid victory which is already known throughout the Kingdom and will increase our forces to 250,000 men It will cheer the heart of the late goddess to know that she already possesses a powerful fleet Do you consider the Queen in any immediate danger at the hands of the King or Government I inquired? Well said the Governor At the present stage of affairs it is difficult to think that either King or Barodamy would dare to execute her Majesty even though it might be according to law yet if alarmed at the partial destruction and defection of the fleet and the growing power of the Queen's followers the bloodthirsty King and frightened Government might possibly execute her especially if they saw no hope for themselves in the coming struggle Then, said I, whether we fight or not our Queen is in very serious danger of death That is what I most fear, said the Governor As soon as I heard of the imprisonment of Her Majesty I called a review of my garrison of Waliels and Bokker kids and asked them if they would espouse the cause of the Queen and to a man they swore allegiance there to I conceived the only way to secure respect for the Queen is to make her followers as formidable as possible Action, I added, is imperative We must strike the King's army a fearful blow to impress His Majesty with respect for our power The Queen must either be released by the King or we will release her ourselves There must be an immediate mobilisation of the Queen's army and, proceeding that, a Council of War and the Fortress of Kioram to appoint a Commander-in-Chief and Generals of Division Governor Laudermere, I continued I thank you in the name of Leonie for your allegiance It is very gratifying to the fleet to know that it has spared the necessity of bombarding your beautiful city We have pledged ourselves to support our Queen to whom be freedom and victory, said the Governor I, I, said the Captains, Praha and Natothebek The fleet, of course, will assist in defending the city, I said and in addition to this duty will furnish a brigade of 30,000 wing-jackets for active service in the interior Now, in view of this, how many men can you spare from the garrison? The Governor replied that he could spare 10,000 wayleels under the command of Praha and 5,000 Bokker kids under the command of Natothebek I ordered Astronomus Starbottle with Flat Hootley as escort to depart at once for Egyptplosis and summon to Kioram High Priest Hushnoli and the High Priest S Grand Sorcerer Chaka and the Grand Sorcerer S together with such a retinue of trusty officers as would be worthy of being made commanders in the upcoming struggle After summoning Egyptplosis they were both to go to Napisthasia and summon Yomul, Lord of Art with his trusty captains also to Kioram and return Hither without delay Choose each of you, I said a pair of the strongest wings and arm yourselves with the revolvers You must at all hazards evade the enemy and carry out your mission with the greatest possible speed Astronomus Starbottle and Flat Hootley were enthusiastic of being allowed to undertake so adventurous a journey They immediately began to prepare for an early departure Might I inquire, said the Governor what you mean by revolvers? We showed him the weapons by which we had resisted the onslaught of myriads of wing jackets to the fatal force of which thousands had succumbed He was astonished at the invention and said if the army of the Queen were equipped with so formidable a weapon King Almeri Bulmakar would very easily be driven from his throne and Leoni would truly be Queen of Atnavatbar It was decided that the fortress of Kioram should be immediately turned into an arsenal for the manufacture of spears and revolvers for the use of the Waileels and Bokokids of Leoni's army The mines where the metal terrelium was worked and the factories where aquelium was elaborated from the water of the ocean were to be seized and vast quantities of these metals sent to Kioram for the use of the entire army to furnish a current for the deadly spears to be made under the superintendents of Professor Rack iron Astronomus Starbottle and the Redoubtable Flat Hootley were equipped with splendid sets of wings worked by cells of double power Their magnic spears were far reaching and carried a current of tremendous intensity contact with which was immediate death Pigebus, said Flat Hootley The fellow that touches us will find us harness of the first magnitude We'll give him a touch of cholera morbus I entrust the dispatches in your hand, Astronomus said I and with Flat Hootley as escort and bodyguard I hope you will both execute your mission and return safe to Kioram Caution and dispatch will be our watch words said the Astronomus and you are assured of our fidelity In addition to your duty as couriers to Egyptplosis and Naphthazia I desire you, I said to explore the upper atmosphere with a view of discovering at what height centrifugal gravity ceases to operate on bodies and if possible where gravity towards swang begins to exert its force I wish to choose an aerial battlefield where there is no gravity so that our wayleels may have absolute freedom of action We have discovered a perceptible movement towards the sun at a height of 50 miles said the governor at that height our wayleels cease to revolve with the earth and therefore have no weight but your astronomer can easily verify this fact by his own experience Do you think our couriers will receive opposition from the king's wayleels I inquired? I would suggest they're being disguised as the king's wayleels as a means of safety If they travel as wayleels of Her Majesty they are liable to be captured The astronomer and Flat Hootley made the necessary disguise in their attire as a measure of safety each donning a leather cuirass highly decorated with white metal helmet and boots and packing a sufficient quantity of food in a portable trunk to supply them during the journey They bade us goodbye soaring from the deck into the gulfs of the air above at Vatbar and directed their flight to Egyptplosis End of Chapter 46 Chapter 47 of The Goddess of At Vatbar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher The Council of War in Kioram The sensation produced by the defeat of the royal fleet the destruction of 40 of the ships and the defection of the remaining 60 vessels to the cause of Queen Leone shook the nation from its centre to circumference It appeared incredible one ship could destroy so many well armed vessels Our terrorite guns were considered demon powers and such was the consternation produced by their terrible energy that were it possible for us to use such weapons in aerial battle their appearance would alone cause the royal army to surrender Coltenbury was confident he could soon suppress the insurrection by virtue of his superior force As for his majesty he was beside himself with rage at the loss of his fleet Had Admiral Jolnar been alive he would have answered for his defeat with his life The following royal proclamation testified to the implacable wrath of the king His majesty King Almerie Bulmucca of At Vatbar to his faithful people No ye, my people of At Vatbar that the desperate barbarian who commands the alien ship the polar king has not only alienated the affections of the goddess Leone thereby insulting our holy religion and our laws but has destroyed 40 of our ships of war and induced the remainder of our fleet to follow his fortunes thereby giving him power to destroy our commerce blockade our harbours and burn our cities His success has encouraged many who have hitherto been faithful subjects to flock to his standard and the terrors of treason and insurrection devastate our beloved country What will be thought of Leone who was lately our beloved and adored goddess who has treasonably allowed herself to be proclaimed queen of At Vatbar and who is the prime cause of all this deluge of crime, treason and apostasy by encouraging a heretical affection for a desperate criminal and who dares to abuse her holy office by seeking matrimony with a murderer It would be impossible for this cowardly and desperate assassin to visit our country with such destruction Were it not that she who was our goddess sympathizes with his inhuman and infernal work she has only to speak the word that she has no sympathy with such a monster and his power will be paralyzed in a moment and peace restored to our unhappy country Will it be believed that she absolutely refuses to disown such a viper and even boasts of his work and that he will shortly set her free? Our prisoner she has disregarded our clemency in holding back the sword of justice that hangs over her head her life is already forfeited by her own actions The monster of insurrection and apostasy must be struck in its most vital part Orders have been given for a full conclave of the barotomy to put our fallen goddess on trial forthwith and if found guilty to be immediately executed The commander-in-chief of the army, Coltonbury, has orders to attack, pursue and put to death without mercy all rebels in arms and arrest all sympathizers with the rebel cause given in our palace at Calnegor in the 26th year of our reign Al-Marie Bulmakar, king of that bar This proclamation revealed the desperate crisis matters had reached the bloodthirsty king had Leoni in his power and unless a miracle happened nothing could save her The fact that the flag of the queen floated above Qoram must have added enormously to the wrath of the king and the supreme question with us then was how to save our queen from a cruel fate While discussing this important subject with Governor Laudemire and my own retinue we were agreeably surprised to learn of the arrival of the high priest and priestess and the Grand Sorcerer and Sorceress from Egyptplosis Astronomer Starbottle and Flat Hootley had so far evidently succeeded in their mission Hushnoli reported that all Egyptplosis was up in arms for the cause of the queen The priestesses had formed an Amazonian legion of 5,000 Waileals These would be commanded by the high priestess Zulisowas and the Grand Sorceress Theobol in equal divisions The sacred phalanx of priests of the spiritual palace would be under the command of the Grand Sorcerer while Hushnoli would hold himself in readiness for a special command While praising the devotion of the twin souls a message by Telegraph was received from Nafistasia stating that the Lord of Art Yomul was on his way to Qoram He would travel on the wing by a circuitous route to avoid contact with any of the king's Waileals Yomul would be accompanied by the chief priests of poetry, painting, sculpture, music, decoration, architecture and dancing No messenger had been sent to Krasnogalapas High Priest of the Palace of Inventions in Kalnagar as tidings had been received from that quarter that the priests of invention owing to their close connection with the seat of government had become bokokids of the king The defection of Krasnogalapas was a severe blow to our cause as he was the great inventor of the kingdom and master of 10,000 magnetic bokokids the machine being his own invention Governor Laldomere said the crisis upon which we were to deliberate demanded immediate action and the first step to be taken was to appoint a commander-in-chief for the army of the queen The victory achieved by the commander of the Polar King in fighting the Royal Navy single-handed and his personal sympathy with her majesty pointed out his Excellency Lexington White already Lord Admiral of the fleet as the man of all others fit to assume the supreme command of all operations directed against the Royal Army to secure the liberation of Leone and the reformation of the religion of Advatbar I therefore said he nominate his Excellency Lexington White commander-in-chief of the army of the queen The governor's proposition was received with the wildest enthusiasm and I gracefully accepted the high honor conferred upon me Hushnoli was appointed my assistant under the title of supreme general of the army and the list of generals included the Grand Sorcerer Chaka the Grand Sorceress Thuboul the High Priestess Zulu Soas the Lord of Arty Amul Governor Laldomere Generals Prah and Notothabeck The chief priests of poetry, painting, music, architecture and decoration and professors Raka and Goldrock on Starbottle Dr. Merriferry and Flat Hootley were also created generals of the army being at the same time relieved from service in the fleet Rear Admiral Wallace was promoted to full command of the fleet during my absence therefrom with the title of admiral as president of the council I spoke as follows Supreme General Hushnoli and generals of the army of Her Majesty Leone Queen of Advatbar you are aware of the nature of the crisis that calls us together and the cause to which we devote our lives and fortunes our beloved queen for whom we fight is in the hands and at the mercy of a cruel tyrant we may hear of her death at any moment such an event would crush our hopes and blast our cause beyond hope of recovery we must be both bold and prudent we must concentrate our forces to withstand the onset of the enemy a proclamation must be issued making Kioram which is under the protection of the fleet the headquarters of the army and the rallying ground for volunteers our arsenal and fortress will begin at once to make revolvers under the superintendents of general wrack iron for the use of our wayleels armed with these 100,000 wayleels will be equal to half a million men without such weapons we must strike a mighty blow as soon as possible for the sake of Leone our queen once break the power of the king and he will be glad to sue for peace by liberating our adored idol the pride of Advatbar these sentiments were applauded with impetuous excitement Hushnoli caused telegraphic dispatches as to the proceedings of the council to be sent to Egyplosis, Nafisthasia and to sympathisers in Kalnagoa calling on volunteers for the army of the queen to report themselves at Kioram without delay Admiral Wallace was instructed to send vessels to various points on the coast of Vatbar to receive volunteers and supplies and transmit them to Kioram with all possible speed the mines of precious metals of the queen situated on the northern coast of the kingdom and the materials for making guns, gunpowder and terrorite were to be accumulated at Kioram without delay Professor Rackine agreed if furnished with men and materials to turn out sufficient hand metrierses to arm 100,000 Walieels in less than a month he also proposed to furnish our Walieels with magnetic spears and to arm the legs of the bokeh kids with magnetic toes so that the company of the strange animals could rout a legion of Walieels we discovered that the materials for the manufacture of terrorite existed in abundance in Advatbar and as the secret of this substance was still ours we were in a position to work fearful havoc on the enemy before the council broke up the most encouraging news was received from our agents throughout the kingdom that the enrolment of volunteers for our cause was proceeding with great rapidity and 100,000 men would arrive in Kioram within a week from the date of our proclamation Hushnoli was appointed general of volunteers in addition to his rank as supreme general of the army General Yomul and his colleague would command the contingent from Napestasia consisting of 14,000 Walieels while thus discussing the details of our army organization Astronomer Starbottle and his bodyguard Flathootli arrived at the fortress having safely escaped all perils and making a very hazardous journey End of Chapter 47 Chapter 48 of The Goddess of Advatbar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher The report of Astronomer Starbottle I congratulated our couriers upon their safe return from a successful expedition The astronomer made the following report of his journey Following our instructions to bear dispatches to Egyptplosis and Napestasia and at the same time make such astronomical and meteorological observations as might be valuable to military operations in Advatbar we rose to a considerable height in the air after leaving the polar king We were still under the influence of the Earth's revolution moving with Advatbar 250 miles an hour from east to west We found the atmosphere of equal density no matter how high we ascended showing it to be a continuation of the denser strata of the outer air pressing into the earth by way of the open poles It fills the hollow shell of the earth as an elastic ball pressing equally on every part of the interior surface Notwithstanding its mobility, it partakes of the revolution of the earth hence the particularly serene climate of Bimbisarol and the absence of trade winds in the region of greatest motion which corresponds to the torrid zone of the outer sphere The only winds are local disturbances sometimes excessively violent caused by the irregularities of the earth's surface and the consequent unequal distribution of heat and cold Besides the general serenity of the air there are other reasons why the interior planet is really the only true world where human flight is a complete success We found that at a height of 50 miles the gravity caused by centrifugal motion is exactly counterbalanced by the attraction of the central sun overhead At a height of 60 miles if the wings remain motionless we perceptibly ascend with a slowly increasing motion toward the sun while the centrifugal gravity slowly lessens owing to the lesser circle of space traversed The attraction of swang as gradually increases and nothing but the strength of our wings prevented our falling into the fires of the sun Our chief discovery was the fact that there exists a belt of air at a distance of between 50 and 60 miles above the earth extremely cold in which there is no weight and all objects therein float indifferent to the presence of the sun above or the earth beneath We saw a distant globe hanging in this region a very small size and through the glass we could see mountains rivers and seas thereon but no traces of cities or human life During our stay in this imponderable region Flat Hootley expressed his satisfaction by grotesque evolutions He would fly moving his legs as if he were skating on ice and again plunging as though he were diving into the sea Then he would fly upward feet foremost as though he were falling toward the sun Sure it's fine fun, he said, to stand upside down flying and laughing at the same time Take care, I said, and don't fall upward How can I fall upward when the ground's beneath me? he inquired The earth below you has no attraction at this height, I said but the sun is exerting its influence upon us If we go any higher up we'll be drawn into the fires of the sun and roasted alive Bitch abbers, if that's so I'll get down and walk and you can fly around as much as you like, said Flat Hootley If you descend you'll be arrested and executed as a spy Remember we're in an enemy's country, said I I'll tell you what I'll do then, said he Now that I've got my seven league boots on I'll just go down and jump from one mountain tap to another Time would not permit us to stay longer in our altitude Consequently we stretched ourselves on the abyss of air and swept downward to Egyptplosis Our flight was exultant and swift We soared over mighty ranges of mountains and swept into wide valleys with the ecstasy of birds What a splendid fact to communicate to the outer world that man denied for untold ages the power of flight may now inhabit a world of incomparable beauty where it is easier to fly than to walk and a thousand times more enjoyable The powers of the body and the raptures of the soul are not in themselves limited It is simply a question of environment No sooner do we inhabit a new environment than both body and soul expand themselves and fill the greater amplitude as easily as the more restricted one Give the world weary with NUI a fresh joy and see how eager its enjoyment thereof However, raciously it feasts on the newly found delight We descended to the level of the mountain peaks and sure enough, Flat Hootley, taking his stand on a lofty crag, would flap his wings and sail to the next mountain like an albatross When alighting on one of the peaks, he frightened an immense bird from its nest on a cliff It was a sea-nourg, a bird of prey as large as six eagles with wings measuring 20 feet from tip to tip It ferociously flew at Flat Hootley as he tried to escape it and caught him with its claws fastening its strong beak on the back of his neck It was a perilous position for my companion I flew to his rescue He was badly frightened and kept shouting, Kail, they're based! The bird, being on Flat Hootley's back, rented him powerless to cope with it Suddenly the bird let go of his grip of its neck and took hold of his head in its claws with the idea of carrying him off to its eerie Coming behind the monster unseen, I managed by a well-directed blow to transfix him with my magnetic sphere The sea-mourg, with its wide distended wings and head falling limp on its breast, slowly revolving, descended to the earth the first enemy to fall on land at the hands of the invader Flat Hootley now avoided the mountains He had a narrow escape, but accepting an ugly wound in his neck was otherwise unscathed We continued our flight to Egyptplosus, dimly visible in the vault before us We continued to traverse the inner curve of the planet at that bar surrounding us on all sides except that part of the sphere above us which was concealed by the brilliancy of swang Owing to the uniform heat and density of the lower strata of air every mountain-top was covered with foliage We saw many mansions of the at-vat barris sculpted out of the solid rock and surrounded with noble forests of tropical vegetation We flapped our wings 30 miles above at-vat bar which lay with its mountains, forests, lakes, cities, temples and dwellings beneath us like a map We had flown for six or eight hours when a feeling of hunger admonished us to partake of food The tin trunk which was our commissariat department had been towed behind us by means of a rope during the entire journey Flapped hootly said I Let us call a halt for refreshments But all my heart said he But how are we to hold the trunk up? Let us rise to a height of 50 miles again, I replied and then it will stand on the air alone like ourselves You're a wise man, sir, said he It's an inelegant idea that we'll adapt immediately Accordingly, we were soon once more in the region of no weight where we stood on the air as on land Flapped hootly on one side of the trunk and eye on the other to dine on its contents Flapped hootly opening the lid brought forth some cold venison which he coolly laid on the air beside us saying, stand there now Trillia wanted The venison quietly floated up against the side of the trunk that being the only force of gravity acting upon it In a like manner, he tossed around us a cold roast foul several varieties of cooked vegetables and some rich puddings He also produced several bottles of squang the toke of at-vat bar These he flung downward but every bottle after falling half a mile or so slowly ascended and the entire bottles came back to us in a close cluster as though unwilling to leave us It was a novel feast We closed the lid of the trunk and spread a napkin there on and it once began our repast Flapped hootly rapidly secured the floating dishes and the food was demolished as easily as though we stood on terra firma I pulled a pudding off my back and Flapped hootly took from his neck the knives and forks that had clustered there The wine proved excellent I mounted the trunk and proposed the health of Her Majesty Leone Queen of at-vat bar and the imperian rang with the enthusiasm invoked by the toast Flapped hootly proposed the health of our noble master His Excellency Lexington White the conqueror of the fleet The air once more echoed its response to our hurrahs We might have rested and even slept on the impalpable air but duty forbade us any such luxury We repacked our trunk and proceeded straight to Egyptplosis then but 200 miles away We arrived safe and handing the High Priest Haishnoli your dispatch hastened on to the Palace of Art at Naphystasia We again succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the king's wayleels thanks to our speed and disguise and delivering your dispatch to the Grand Priest of Art Yomul in Naphystasia returned forthwith to Qoram End of Chapter 48 Chapter 49 of The Goddess of At-vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Nigel Fisher Preparation for war In less than a week as measured by the time bells of Qoram the ships began to arrive with troops from various parts of the coast of At-vat Bar bringing volunteers for either branch of the service of Her Majesty In 10 days 100,000 volunteers had arrived and these were quartered in the city pending their equipment as wayleels and bocker kids As might be expected a great many were deserted from the Royal Army and these were of great assistance in organising the troops being already skilled in the tactics of aerial warfare General Raccoon had turned the entire fortress into an arsenal of war fires blazed everywhere for forging guns and magnetic spears and a thousand hammers were shaping the limbs of bocker kids The department for making ammunition was busiest of all furnishing the elements on whose efficiency depended success or defeat A vast quantity of hand mitraeuses or gigantic revolvers were made and being of but little weight these blue showers of bullets from magazines attached to the tubes Each wayleel carried a thousand cartridges A cell in the case of the wayleels had to furnish a double current vis the current that moved the wings and the death dealing current of the spear For each bocker kid two powerful cells were necessary one for the rider and the other to work the bocker kid he rode or flew upon The strongest cell was contained in the body of the mechanical bird which moved both its wings and legs and also furnished its claws with a deadly current so that when a detachment of bocker kids dashed into a mass of wayleels legs foremost the greatest possible havoc could be made with the least possible risk to the mounted riders The object of having each cell separate in the case of the bocker kids was apparent In case a mounted wayleel got unhaulsed he was able to join the wayleels or infantry having the same equipment as they Our superiority in arms when compared with the royal army which possessed only magnetic spears and shields was apparent Of course the enemy also made the legs and claws of the bocker kids magnetic spears in themselves It seemed remarkable that people so inventive and who possessed the best of all means for manufacturing firearms should not have thought of a better device than their naval air guns It was but a further illustration of the fact that the keenest minds are constantly colourblind to the simplest combinations visible to look us on while they are pursuing their elaborate researches But the royal army, if inferior in arms possessed the superiority of numbers it outnumbered us three to one Our total forces consisted of 175,000 wayleels and 42,000 bocker kids making a total of 217,000 troops which included 5,000 amazons We at first expected a much larger army believing the priests of invention under Grassner Gillipass would certainly espouse the cause of the queen But it was a terrible blow to our enthusiasm when we learned that the priests of invention making a total of 50,000 wayleels had joined the royal army and would fight against their late goddess Kalnagur being the headquarters of the royal army it would have been particularly dangerous for the priests of invention to have espoused our cause surrounded as they were by the enormously more powerful enemy To our loss they had chosen to continue as part of the army of the king which at the lowest computation numbered half a million men The king seemed strangely reluctant to begin the attack although he knew the extent of our forces in Curam It was evident protection given the city by the fleet allowed us to complete the arming and drilling of our forces without molestation Supreme General Hushnoli reported that thanks to the indefatigable energy of General Rakhine and his colleagues General Starbottle, Goldrock and Flat Hootley assisted by Generals Chaka, Yamool, Praa and Notothabeck had been able to fully equip the wayleels with mitraeuses, wings, electric spears and uniforms The Bocca kids in addition were mounted on mechanical birds that could either fly, trot or walk with tremendous speed I instructed Hushnoli to make his appointment at officers without delay as we might take the field any moment General Rakhine informed us that he was hard at work on a portable terrorite gun for aerial warfare He hoped to have a battery of these guns ready in time to decide the war in our favour I thanked the general for his extraordinary exertions and informed him I felt sure of his success with terrorite guns who would be invincible Our spies, who had been dispatched in all directions informed us that the Royal Army was in a state of activity not inferior to our own A daily review was being held in the air above Kalnagor and it was discovered that Coltenbury was about to make a descent on our ships particularly to seize the Polar King and by thus silencing her guns have Curam and the Army of the Queen at his mercy The plan was approved of by the King and might be put into operation at any moment This was most important news and we decided to take the initiative at once We will attack the enemy even if he is a million strong, I said Everything calls for an immediate advance, said Hushnoli We also learned from trusty couriers that Leone had been brought before the Barodamy and the Legislative Assembly in full conclave after hearing the evidence had found her guilty of treason impiety and sacrilege to her faith of treason to the King and had by encouraging insurrection caused her adherence to take up arms against both King and Law thereby endangering the lives and property of the inhabitants of the Kingdom There was no one to recommend Leone to mercy and she was condemned to death The King had already signed her death warrant She might be executed at any moment It was a dreadful crisis to contemplate Our first duty was to save the life of our Queen at any sacrifice I had once called the Council of War to consider this all important question We had only assembled when a royal courier arrived at the fortress with an important dispatch addressed to his Excellency Lexington White Commander-in-Chief of the Insurrectionary Army at Kioram End of Chapter 49 Chapter 50 of The Goddess of Advat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher I visit Leone in Kalnagur I hastily opened the dispatch which Reddus follows His Majesty King Aldmeri Bulmakar of Advat Bar wishes to inform his Excellency Lexington White Commander-in-Chief of the Insurrectionary Army mobilised in Kioram that her Holiness Leone, late Goddess of Advat Bar has been tried before a full conclave of the Barodamy on the charge of sacrilege, apostasy and insurrection Her Holiness has been found guilty and is now under sentence of death His Majesty of Merciful Intent wishes it to be known that he will pardon her Holiness on this condition Viz, that the Insurrectionary Army lays down its arms forthwith and the Waleels separate and depart to their respective abodes that His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief and His General surrender themselves to His Majesty as prisoners of war to be tried and punished as military law dictates this surrender to include that of the Admiral of the Fleet and the ships under His command On no other condition whatever will mercy be extended to her Holiness and should this offer be temporised with or rejected nothing can save the late Goddess from the Sword of Justice dictated in the palace in Kalnagur in the 25th year of His Majesty's reign Almeri Balmakar The King's communication was received with a sensation of contempt and dismay The thought of surrender was in itself preposterous but when we thought that our rebellion would drive a sword into the heart of Leoni the awful idea struck us done with horror The King possessed our proudest and most precious soul as a hostage and he was cowardly enough to sacrifice her as his most deadly blow to the Insurrection The crisis was appalling Shall we, I cried, continue the fight now that we know it is our Queen we fight against that it is our arms that will murder her We certainly do not murder her, said Hushnoli and yet this unexpected crisis paralyzes me The King will not dare to murder the Queen, said the Grand Sorcerer and if he does, the Sorcerer suddenly checked himself the mere contemplation of such an event was overpowering yet he seemed, of all others, the most composed His eyes shone with a strange fire that I had not hitherto noticed I am satisfied, said Governor Laldimir that unless we lay down our arms and submit ourselves to his mercy which means death to everyone here the fate of the Queen is sealed I think, said the High Priestess, Zulus Oas that his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief should, if possible, obtain an order from the King permitting him to visit her Majesty and advise her of the entire facts of the situation and then act as she commands If she asks us to lay down our arms and surrender ourselves as the price of her liberty there is none, I think, who would be so faceless as to refuse and I, said the Grand Sorceress, approve of your proposal I am willing to surrender myself to save the life of the late Goddess We are all willing to be sacrificed ourselves if need be shouted the entire Council with generous and chivalrous enthusiasm I will go, said I, and see Leonie as you propose and upon her decision will depend our future action A courier was immediately dispatched under a flag of truce to the palace at Calnegor with the message that before his Majesty's communication could be replied to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the late Goddess desired to have an interview with her Majesty to decide upon a final answer there too and to request a royal passport not only admitting him to the presence of Leonie in the fortress at Calnegor but also permitting his safe return to Qoram I fear, said Hushnoli the Queen herself may be so confident in the success of her cause that she will overlook any danger to herself it would be a single success to save her without our own surrender but that is impossible until we defeat the Royal Army What say you Grand Sorcerer, said I do you think my mission will be successful as regards the life of Leonie? I have already foreseen this crisis, said he but I believe the end will be triumphant His Majesty, in reply to my dispatch, sent me a royal passport that admitted me to the fortress to converse with Leonie and which would protect me until my return to Qoram Tell her Majesty, said the Grand Sorcerer not to fear the King that we will save her even should she nobly disdain to accept our surrender for her life How do you propose to save her life in case she forfeits it? I eagerly inquired I cannot tell you, he replied for occult knowledge can only be apprehended by the initiated every great reform requires its martyr and it may be that the Queen will be our martyr no matter what we do An audible groan escaped from the lips of all was it possible that even should we surrender we could not save the life of our adorable leader and that to surrender would involve all in a common ruin was there ever in human history so great a crisis I began to doubt the Sorcerer's knowledge of the future at the same time I felt that he alone could guide us in that hour of peril Sorcerer, I cried for the love of Leonie, for the glory of our cause tell me what to do what shall I say to the Queen how shall I advise her to act for her own safety as well as ours Do not advise at all, said he let the Queen act for herself and that will be the best solution of the difficulty but should she insist on sacrificing herself where would be our triumph the triumph will be assured, said he although to win our cause will require the greatest sacrifice to be made I began to think that Leonie and the Sorcerer understood each other and that her life would in any case be saved from the violence of death and taking this hopeful view of the situation I departed for Kalnagar escorted by Flat Hootley and the astronomer as we swept towards the metropolis of At-Bat Bar I wondered if I would be permitted to make the journey in safety was the passport of the king but a rooster gir to entrap me I noticed here and there as we neared the city detachments of the royal wayleels some suspended in the air and others being drilled in globular masses in anticipation of the coming struggle when within 10 miles of Kalnagar a party of scouts intercepted us who demanded to see our passports the leader examined the royal decree with great minuteness and only allowed us to proceed with apparent reluctance I had reason to fear treachery as I had but lately fought my way out of the country at length arriving above the royal fortress we rapidly descended to the courtyard and inquired for the governor with what feelings of excitement I awaited my interview with Leonie in what state would I find her and how would she solve the riddle a destiny that seemed impossible of solution the governor accompanied by his armed staff approached me declaring how glad he was to be able to permit an interview with Leonie his manner was altogether too suspiciously cheerful and his bodyguards surrounded us closely I hastened to assure the governor that my visit was made under the protection of the king and showed him the royal decree I have come I said to have an interview with her majesty upon the crisis and that being accomplished the royal mandate will secure me a free departure to Kyoram you can certainly see the ex-goddess of the governor but you have no right to address her as her majesty for such a title is high treason to their majesty is the king and queen of Atvatbar as to your being free to leave the fortress again I must confer with his majesty in that matter as you are my prisoner until the king commands your release was this a plot to capture me I was too anxious to see Leonie to think of my own safety just then and requested the governor to lead me at once to her apartments follow me said the governor leading the way into the fortress we passed along corridor after corridor until we arrived at a heavy gate of bronze which the governor himself unlocked we thereupon entered a spacious anti-chamber severely furnished with large oak and benches on the marble floor I requested flat hookley and the astronomer remain in the anti-chamber while I passed through another door unlocked for me by the governor I found myself alone in a spacious and finely decorated apartment the gilded cage of Leonie there were luxurious couches and receptacles for books and painted tapestries on the walls and in the center of the floor stood an aquarium the home of strange animals and plants from which rows of vars of gold held the bouquet of the rarest flowers the floor was covered with a semi-metallic carpet resembling linoleum I sat down to await the coming of Leonie presently the embroidered tapestry concealing the entrance to another chamber was moved aside and the pale and breathless figure of Leonie stood before me she came toward me robed in a loose white silk gown her arms were outstretched and her face wore an air of indescribable nobility and tenderness I rushed forward and caught the glorious figure in my arms it was fitting that our holiest emotions should at first find expression in a mutual deluge of kisses and tears end of chapter 50