ick succession.

The result was appalling. The great want of gravity caused a vast
irregular mountain of ships and water to be piled high in the air. We
could hear the shrieks of drowning and dismembered fletyemings.
Volumes of water shot to tremendous heights, became detached from the
main mass, and floated in the air for a time in liquid globes.

It was some time before the whirl of wrecked ships and angry water,
filled with perhaps thousands of wing-jackets, subsided to the level
of the ocean again. The ships sank beneath the water, on which floated
hundreds of dead bodies. Those fletyemings who had escaped accident or
death, headed by Admiral Jolar, who was still alive, formed themselves
into a compact mass as they hovered over the scene of the disaster for
a final hand-to-hand attack. Re-enforced by thousands of fletyemings
from the then unharmed vessels, they approached with yells of
"Bhoolmakar!" Finding their ships useless, they were determined to
fling themselves in heroic sacrifice upon us in such numbers as to
crush us.

This was precisely their most dangerous form of attack, but we could
only await their coming. As the living mass of men approached we
saluted them with another discharge of shells, which exploded in the
very heart of the unfortunate host. The carnage was dreadful, and
hundreds of dead bodies fell into the sea. Admiral Jolar was killed,
and without their leader the fletyemings became demoralized. Ere they
could rally again, we were about to fire another round of shells, when
Rear Admiral Gerolio, with a few fletyemings, left the main mass under
a flag of truce and approached us.

We were nothing loath to receive their message. Alighting on deck, the
rear admiral informed me that owing to the loss of their admiral they
were disposed to cease fighting provided I would leave the country
forthwith.

"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