once rose into the air. Tremayne reported to Natas
what had been done, and then took the General into the deck saloon,
and gave orders to proceed at full speed to Richmond, which was
reached in what seemed to the Frenchman an inconceivably short space
of time. Then the _Ariel_ swung round to the eastward, and at half
speed traversed the whole line of battle over hill and vale, at an
elevation of eight hundred feet, from Richmond to Shooter's Hill.

What General le Gallifet saw more than convinced him that Tremayne
had spoken without exaggeration when he said that annihilation was
the only alternative to evacuation on his terms. The grey legions of
the League seemed innumerable. Their long lines lapped round the
broken squadrons of the League, mowing them down with incessant
hailstorms of magazine fire, and overhead the air-ships and aerostats
were hurling shells on them which made great dark gaps in their
formations wherever they attempted anything like order. Every
position of importance was either occupied or surrounded by the
Federationists. There was no way open save towards London, and that
way, as the General knew only too well, lay destruction.

To the east of Shooter's Hill the air-ship swerved round to the
northward. The Thames was alive with steamers flying the red flag,
and carrying food and men into London. To the north of the river the
battle had completely ceased as far as Muswell Hill.

There the Black Eagle of Russia still floated from the roof of the
Palace, and a furious battle was raging round the slopes of the hill.
But the Russians were already surrounded, and manifestly outnumbered
five to one, while six aerostats were circling to and fro, doing
their work of death upon them with fearful effectiveness.

"You see, General, that the aerostats do not destroy the Palace and
bury the Tsar in its ruins, nor do I stop and do the same, as I could
do in a few minutes. Do you understand now why you could not make
terms for Russia?"

"What your designs are Heaven and yourselves only know," replied the
General, with quivering lips. "But I see that all is hopelessly lost.
For God's sake let this carnage stop! It is not war, it is butchery,
and we have deserved this retribution for employing those infernal
contrivances in the first place. I always said it was not fair
fighting. It is murder to drop death on defenceless men from the
clouds. We will accept your terms. Let us get back to the south and
save t