*CHAPTER IX.*
*ARMEATH'S SECRET.*
The weeks passed on, and still the _Ivenia_ continued on her tremendousjourney through space to meet the advancing planet Mars. She travelledat a rate which would make the heads of young readers swim if it wereset down in figures. Yet she glided on so smoothly that those on boardmight well have thought she was all the time standing motionless in oneplace. How this was accomplished was one of those secrets which Monckconfessed himself unable to explain. And the same may here be said ofsome other mysteries which puzzled Mr Armeath not a little. One was,that there was a feeling of weight or gravity on board much the same asupon the Earth. Another puzzle was, how was the supply of air keptalways pure and wholesome? These were among the things that Ivanta keptto himself. The Earth sank away into the distance, gradually diminishingin size till it became no larger to the view than the moon when it isfull. Then came a time when it looked like a rather large star of apale-bluish tint.
On board, the time passed, for the most part, pleasantly enough. Therewas plenty to do--plenty of work and plenty of amusement. King Ivantawas a ruler who believed in the policy of keeping his people busy in oneway or another. Every person on board was compelled to give a certainamount of time each day to work or study of some kind; while a certaininterval was also set aside for recreations. The latter were of manykinds. There were concerts--for the Martians seemed to be all fond ofmusic--games, somewhat after the style of football, tennis, and otherathletic sports; and, not least, military exercises, in which thesoldiers took part and contended for prizes. These--which the chumsalways watched with the utmost interest--often took the form of actualcombats. Sometimes they were between two champions, sometimes betweenparties of fifty or a hundred; and amongst the latter there were oftenmany 'slain' on both sides; but they always came to life a little later,none the worse for the experience.
Then it was that the chums saw the use made of the shields borne by thesoldiers, which Gerald had first noticed when he had been a prisoner.They were, as stated, transparent, and it now appeared that they wereused as a protection against the mysterious power of the 'tridents,' or'electric guns.' Just as electricity will not pass through glass, sothe curious 'flash' from the tridents could not pass through theseshields. The heads, feet, and legs of the combatants, and some otherparts of their bodies, were also protected in similar fashion, so thatthey appeared to be partly dressed in shining armour. They worehelmets, breastplates, and leg and thigh pieces, which looked likeglass, yet were not brittle, and which, like the shields, were proofagainst the power of the tridents.
Thus, a duel between two antagonists equipped in this manner resolveditself, to a great extent, into a trial of skill in the use of theshield. Through it each could see the other; and many were the feintsand stratagems resorted to by a practised fighter to get at his foebehind his shield.
Every night King Ivanta held a levee or other Court function, which allwho were off duty were free to attend, and at which very curiousentertainments were sometimes provided.
Altogether there was no lack either of occupation or amusement duringthe three months which the voyage lasted.
Gerald and Jack applied themselves assiduously to learn the Martianlanguage, and in this they were joined by Mr Armeath. Then, by way ofrelaxation, they gained the king's permission to learn the mysteries anduse of the trident and shield. Monck fitted them out in suits of theshining armour, and they practised under the instruction of one namedAveena, a young noble of the Court. Thanks to his tuition, they becameso expert that they entered for contests before the king, and came offvictorious in more than one bout with others of their own age. SilasZuanstroom was one of those they each vanquished in turn; only with theresult, however, of increasing the coldness which had grown up betweenthe two parties of travellers from the Earth.
One day, Gerald met with yet another disagreeable adventure in the Zoo,and again narrowly escaped a terrible death. This time it was a largevenomous serpent of vicious and aggressive disposition, which (again bysome 'accident') had got loose just about the time when Gerald, unarmedand unsuspicious of danger, was taking his stroll round the cages.Monck came upon him, a little later, clinging to the upper branches of atall palm-like tree, which the serpent was slowly climbing, bent onreaching him.
This time the engineer reported the matter to the king, who sternlyordered a strict inquiry with the object of finding out who was toblame. But no evidence was forthcoming to show that the occurrence hadbeen other than an accident; and the affair ended in the punishment ofone of the keepers in charge for negligence.
But more exciting events were steadily preparing, and began to developas the voyage went on.
One morning the two chums were called into Armeath's private apartment,where he was awaiting them with Monck. He explained that he hadreceived the king's permission to impart to them an important piece ofinformation. 'I am going to entrust you with a bit of a secret,' saidhe, 'and I must ask you to regard it as confidential, and say nothingabout it to any one--particularly to the Zuanstrooms; which, of course,includes the two lads. Doubtless you have wondered what it was whichinduced King Ivanta to pay a second visit to our Earth. It is this,that what we call precious stones do not exist naturally in Mars. Nonewere ever seen there until the king brought back a quantity after hisfirst visit.'
Gerald burst into an exclamation. 'Just what I guessed, sir,' he cried.'I have had that idea in my mind for some time!'
'It was a shrewd guess, lad,' Monck observed. 'The fact is, that oncethe Martians had set eyes on them they went almost mad over them, andbecame clamorous for a larger supply to be brought, in order that thosewho could afford it might be able to purchase some.
'Our gracious master, who is continually thinking what new thing he cando to please his people, determined to pay a second visit to the Earthspecially to secure a large supply. Hence his taking up withZuanstroom, the "Diamond King." But Zuanstroom was not easy to arrangewith. When he learned the actual state of the case, he insisted, as apart of the bargain, that my master should promise to bring him over toMars for a trip, and take him safely back. Nothing less would satisfyhim.'
'I see,' said Jack. 'And I suppose his diamonds are on board too--awhole shipload of them, so to speak?'
'Exactly. The greatest load of treasure, I suppose, that has ever beencarried on any ship of the air or the sea.'
'But,' said Gerald, 'the Zuanstrooms know all this. Why mustn't wespeak to them about it?'
'Because, at this point, I come to my story,' Armeath said, with ahalf-smile. 'For years I have been experimenting, trying to manufactureprecious stones artificially. At last I succeeded in getting diamondsfrom a certain mineral; only to find, however, that the discovery wasalmost valueless, because I could not get enough of the particularmineral. I found out that there was some in the island we have beenliving on, and that was the reason I went there to stay for a time.When, however, I understood what King Ivanta wanted, I told him of myexperiments, showed him the results, and he was highly delighted. Hesaid it would be easier and cheaper to manufacture diamonds than to buythem from the Diamond King on his own terms.'
'But how can that be done, sir, if the necessary material is so scarce?'asked practical Jack.
'You shall hear. King Ivanta recognised the mineral, and declares thatthere is plenty of it to be obtained from the planet Saturn. He sawquantities of it when he was there!'
'Then we are to go to Saturn to obtain a supply; I suppose?' criedGerald, full of enthusiasm at the prospect of this new and unexpectedaddition to their programme of adventure.
'That I cannot yet say,' replied Armeath. 'We must hear what the kingsays.'
'But, sir,' exclaimed Jack, 'you would not think of leaving usalone--stranded--upon a strange planet! Suppose you never came back!'
'It is not a pleasant place to visit; I can tell you that much,' Monckput in. 'Saturn, at the present time, is i
n the stage which thescientists tell us the Earth was in, ages ago, when the greatantediluvian monsters existed. Those monsters--or similar ones--arealive now on Saturn; and terrible creatures they are, I can assure you!The _amalpi_--the unicorn-like animal which hunted you, MasterGerald--is one which we managed to capture and bring back from Saturn.But it is small and almost harmless compared with some of the animalsand reptiles we saw there! I do not think I would go there again, MrArmeath, of my own choice, even for the sake of bushels of diamonds!'
'If I go, it will not be exactly for the reason you suppose, my friend,'returned Armeath. He spoke very gravely, and with a note of sadness inhis tone. 'Your king, in most things, has shown himself a very wisemonarch; but I think he has made a mistake in introducing jewels at allamongst his subjects. Upon our globe they have always been the cause ofheartburning, envy, jealousy, and all kinds of evil passions. In toomany cases they have proved, as all of us know, a veritable curse, andhave led to crimes innumerable. But, for good or for evil, your masterhas made certain promises, and arranged certain things with the DiamondKing. King Ivanta's people are all agog, waiting in clamorousimpatience for the cargo of jewels which we are taking to them. It istoo late now to alter that; but, look you! what if I prove to them thatjewels just as good can be made as cheaply as bits of glass? What willbe the consequence?'
'Nobody will want them,' Monck answered, laughing.
'Just so! And that, in my opinion, would be for the future benefit ofall the inhabitants of Mars! It is for that--and with that ideaalone--that I am ready to risk the danger of a trip to Saturn.'
'If that be so, then I am with you,' exclaimed the engineer. 'It is aworthy object, and I will help you all I can! But to obtain the mineralyou want will be almost like undertaking over again the fabled laboursof Hercules, for the place where it exists is guarded by creatures moreformidable than the fabled Hydra, and more terrible than the worst ofthe ancient dragons!'