hull, which had been left unpainted, and shone
as though her plates had been of burnished silver. Altogether he was
well pleased with this invasion of a solitude which, in spite of its
great beauty and his professed contempt for the world in general, had
for the last few months been getting a good deal more tedious than he
would have cared to admit.

In the absence of Natas and the Chief, the command of the new colony
devolved, in accordance with the latter's directions, upon Nicholas
Roburoff, who was a man of great administrative powers, and who set
to work without an hour's delay to set his new kingdom in order,
marking out sites for houses and gardens, and preparing materials for
building them and the factories for which the water-power of the
valley was to be utilised.

Arnold, as admiral of the fleet, had transferred the command of the
_Ariel_ to Colston, but he retained him as his lieutenant in the
_Ithuriel_ for the next voyage, partly because he wanted to have him
with him on what might prove to be a momentous expedition, and partly
because Natasha, who was naturally anxious to rejoin her father as
soon as possible, wished to have Radna for a companion in place of
the Princess, who had elected to remain in the valley. As another
separation of the lovers, who, according to the laws of the
Brotherhood, now only waited for the formal consent of Natas to their
marriage, was not to be thought of, this arrangement gave everybody
the most perfect satisfaction.

Three days sufficed to get everything into working order in the new
colony, and on the morning of the fourth the _Ithuriel_, having on
board the original crew of the _Ariel_, reinforced by two engineers
and a couple of sailors, rose into the air amidst the cheers of the
assembled colonists, crossed the northern ridge, and vanished like a
silver arrow into space.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE EVE OF BATTLE.

It will now be necessary to go back about six weeks from the day that
the _Ithuriel_ started on her northward voyage, and to lay before the
reader a brief outline of the events which had transpired in Europe
subsequently to the date of Tremayne's letter to Arnold.

On the evening of that day he went down to the House of Lords, to
make his speech in favour of the Italian Loan. He had previously
spoken some half dozen times since he had taken his seat, and, young
as he was, had always commanded a respectful hearing by his sound
common sense and his inti