utlandish dogs."

It was with intense interest that the anxious aviator watched the
ensuing conference. He could see the four Jarmuthians listening, dark
eyes restlessly flitting back and forth, and their mouths twisted into
contemptuous half snarls. Then, as Nelson's offer was made clear, a
look of cunning seemed to creep into the eyes of the leader. He asked
for clarification of several points, then, being informed of the
details, his thick lips parted in an evil, crafty grin.

* * * * *

Taken aback at the suspiciously ready acquiescence of the enemy, Hero
Giles turned about. "They agree," he translated, "that, should Friend
Nelson win, they will return to their own land, they will forfeit the
annual tribute forever and return the other stranger unharmed. They
speak fair, but I fear--" He bit his lips in perplexity. "These dogs,
who talk with the forked tongues of serpents, plan some snare, some
cunning trickery."

"Repeat the terms." Altorius seemed gripped with apprehension too.
"Let all be clearly understood: at the third division of morning will
the wanderer fight six warriors. No more and no less."

This was agreed and reaffirmed. Then, with an insolent, triumphant
laugh, the Jarmuthian delegation whirled about and stalked from the
room, their dark greaved legs flashing in military unison over the
polished floor.

"'Tis done," quoth Hero Giles gloomily. "The encounter will take place
on the plain of Gilboa at the third hour of the third division. And
may Saturn help us if thy might fails. Friend Nelson! For then surely
will the hordes of Jarmuth despoil us and there will come a desolation
and a darkness upon the Empire of Atlans."

CHAPTER V

It seemed incredibly soon that Victor Nelson found himself striding
out from the serrated ranks of the Atlantean army which, drawn up in a
rough diamond formation, looked discouragingly small in comparison to
that vast sea of helmets twinkling ominously across the plain of
Poseidon amid a haze of bright yellow dust which climbed lazily into
the breathless heavens. The Jarmuthian army, numbering perhaps sixty
or seventy thousand effective troops, lay encamped in a great salient
formed by a convolution of the Apidanus and formed the only Jarmuthian
tract of the great valley lying south of the boiling river.

Like low-lying snow drifts, the sheen of the enemy tents struck
Nelson's eye as he strode over the bright green turf to battle