mours had come to his ears, and these had
been so exaggerated and distorted, that he had but a very confused
idea of the real state of affairs.

The Moslem forces were permitted to advance without the slightest
molestation to Scutari and Lamsaki, and on the evening of the 28th of
November the Sultan took up his quarters in Scutari. That night he
received a letter from the President of the Federation, setting forth
succinctly, and yet very clearly, what had actually taken place in
Europe, and calling upon him to give his allegiance to the Supreme
Council, as the other sovereigns had done, and to accept the
overlordship of Northern Africa and Southern Asia in exchange for
Turkey in Europe. The letter concluded by saying that the immediate
result of refusal to accept these terms would be the destruction of
the Moslem armies on the following day. Before midnight, Tremayne
received the Sultan's reply. It ran thus--

In the name of the Most Merciful God.

From MOHAMMED RESHAD, Commander of the Faithful, to ALAN
TREMAYNE, Leader of the English.

I have come to retake the throne of my fathers, and I am not to
be turned back by vain and boastful threats. What I have won with
the sword I will keep with the sword, and I will own allegiance
to none save God and His holy Prophet who have given me the
victory. Give me back Stamboul and my ancient dominions, and we
will divide the world between us. If not we must fight. Let the
reply to this come before daybreak.

MOHAMMED.

No reply came back; but during the night the dynamite cruisers were
drawn up within half a mile of the Asiatic shore with their guns
pointing southward over Scutari, while other warships patrolled the
coast to detect and frustrate any attempt to transport guns or troops
across the narrow strip of water. With the first glimmer of light,
the two aerial fleets took the air, the war-balloons in a long line
over the van of the Moslem army, and the air-ships spread out in a
semicircle to the southward. The hour of prayer was allowed to pass
in peace, and then the work of death began. The war-balloons moved
slowly forward in a straight line at an elevation of four thousand
feet, sweeping the Moslem host from van to rear with a ceaseless hail
of melinite and cyanogen bombs. Great projectiles soared silently up
from the water to the north, and where they fell buildings were torn
to fragments, great holes were blas