Half an hour later Ivanta and Alondra, in their respective yachts, sailed off at the head of a strong squadron of airships, all filled with crews of enthusiastic followers.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE OLD WELL.
Like weird, gigantic night-birds the fleet of flying craft sailed onwards through the night. The two moons of Mars—to which our astronomers have given the names of Deimos and Phobos—were just then in sight at the same time. The former was near to setting, while the latter had but just risen. Together they were throwing a faint, mellow light over the landscape, dimly illuminating hill and dale, rocky height and sombre valley, slumbering villages and isolated dwellings, as they seemed to slip away beneath the swift, silent airships.
Alondra was busy on board his yacht serving out tridents and shields and other necessary articles.
'You are forgetting me, Prince,' Jack presently observed, after patiently waiting some time, and finding that he had been left out in the distribution.
'And me,' Gerald put in. 'What have we done, friend Alondra, that we should be left out?'
Alondra looked perplexed.
'Well, you see,' he said hesitatingly, 'you are our guests. It is not fair to you to call upon you to take part in our quarrels, or help in fighting our battles.'
'Pooh, what nonsense!' exclaimed Jack. 'Why, what new idea is this? You did not talk like it in the pavilion, when we had to defend ourselves.'