"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 Aldemegry Bhoolmakar, King of Atvatabar?" eagerly inquired the rear admiral.
"Do you surrender to Her Majesty Lyone, Queen of Atvatabar?" I replied.
"We make no such surrender," said he, very much surprised to know that Lyone 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 fletyemings. 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.