The outlaw chief had—sorely, it must be confessed, against his own feelings—consented to carry out a plan which involved the appearance of ignominious flight. The old fighter did not like the role he was thus playing; but he had promised, and he was carrying out his part. The question was, would Ivanta arrive soon enough to carry out his part? If he was to do so it was time he put in an appearance.
Fumenta looked upwards and scanned the sky anxiously. Nothing was to be seen but some rather heavy-looking clouds, which were floating with the wind, and would shortly be overhead.
Suddenly, in the midst of one of these clouds, two dark shadows showed. A moment later they had taken form and burst out into the open, and then the two yachts came swooping wildly down, with closed wings, like huge birds stooping to strike their prey.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE END OF THE STRUGGLE.
When Ivanta, with the two yachts, had gone off, leaving Fumenta with his fleet to face Agrando's powerful force, he had not, in reality, gone very far.
At first he had travelled swiftly to windward, till he met with a bank of cloud drifting with the breeze. Then he had been content to penetrate into it just far enough to conceal his two vessels and remain there, floating slowly back with the cloud in the direction from which he had come.
Well versed in the movements of the varying currents of air and the clouds they bore with them, he calculated that by remaining thus inactive he would be carried back to the scene of the coming conflict without any one suspecting his whereabouts, and that he would arrive just about the time when he would be able to act with the best effect.
Gerald and Jack, on board Alondra's yacht, watched from afar the beginning of the battle. The yachts took up a station near the edge of the cloud, just far enough from its fringe for concealment, yet not so deep in the mist as to prevent them from watching, through powerful glasses, all that was taking place.
Both yachts were supplied with turtle deck-shields, and these had been duly fitted in their places. The framework of the vessels was constructed of ivantium, the light but marvellously hard metal which formed the outer shell of the great aerostat, the Ivenia. Moreover, the ornamental prows were solid pieces of the same metal, and thus formed formidable rams of enormous strength. These constituted advantages which Ivanta's fertile brain had planned to turn to good account.