*CHAPTER XII.*
*PRINCE ALONDRA.*
As King Ivanta spoke to his visitors the words 'Welcome to Mars!' therecame a rustling sound, and a strange figure, shining and glistening inthe sunlight, suddenly appeared on the deck beside him.
So rapidly had it arrived that the startled spectators scarcely saw morethan the sheen from its resplendent body before it was amongst them,alighting with the grace and ease of a swallow close to the king, whomit addressed in joyous, laughing accents, 'Welcome, father! welcomehome!'
Even King Ivanta was evidently taken by surprise, for at first hescarcely seemed to understand this arrival any more than the strangersfrom Earth did. The next moment, however, he had clasped the radiantvision in his arms in a close embrace. Then he drew back and regardedthe youth--for such the figure was--critically. 'Why, Alondra, my son,'said he, 'what is this surprise?'
Alondra, as the visitors were soon to learn, was Ivanta's son, his onlychild. He was about the same age as Gerald, with an exceedinglyhandsome, open, merry-looking countenance, lithe and graceful in figureand in every movement. On this occasion he was clad in a most bizarrecostume, which included two large wings, just now folded back behind theshoulders, and trailing on the floor of the deck.
It was impossible to guess what these wings could be made of. Thesurface was composed of thin, feathery flakes in constant motion, whichglistened in the sunshine with iridescent brilliance, something betweenthe sheen of silver and the sparkle of crystal. A tunic of the samemarvellous material covered the body to the knees, below which wereattachments like smaller wings, which now fitted closely round theankles.
Evidently this wondrous outfit was as new and surprising to the king asit was to the strangers.
The youth seemed delighted at the impression he had created. He walkedto and fro, opening and folding his wings, and turning this way and thatto show them off to advantage.
'Almost all my own invention, father,' he laughed, as he movedabout--'mine and Amaldo's! We were afraid we should not get it finishedand in working order before your return. Indeed, I only took mytrial-flight in it yesterday! Is it not a splendid creation'?'
He opened the wings and fluttered them in the sunlight. Ripples oflight and dancing colours ran incessantly over the surface, producingeffects so exquisitely varied and beautiful as to be absolutelyindescribable.
'It is perfect, Alondra! Truly, as you say, a splendid creation!' saidIvanta admiringly.
'These things, however, are a little too long when folded, as you cansee,' Alondra continued, looking down at them with a critical air. 'Imust have them shortened. You can see that if you are not careful youmay catch your feet in them and get a tumble.'
In order the better to explain his meaning, he stepped backwards towardsGerald, who was standing near, watching everything with intenseinterest.
Scarcely had the young experimenter uttered the words than heinvoluntarily illustrated them, in the most practical fashion, bytripping on one of the wings, and rolling over at Gerald's feet.
Gerald stepped quickly forward to help him up, and in doing so wasastonished at the youth's seeming lightness. So light was he thatGerald, in trying to raise him, lifted him clean off his feet, almost asthough he had been made of cork. As a consequence, Alondra came near tolosing his balance and rolling over again. Then the two stood staringand smiling at one another.
'Why, how strong you must be!' exclaimed the young prince.
'H--how light you must be!' was Gerald's answer. And he looked so verypuzzled and perplexed that the other burst into a merry peal oflaughter. Then he turned to the king. 'Father,' he began, but stoppedand hesitated.
Ivanta interpreted the inquiring look. 'Your surprising creation hasmade me forgetful of other matters, my son,' said he. 'I owe an apologyto our friends here. These gentlemen, Alondra, are visitors fromLokris, the planet I have been to visit. They are our guests. I neednot say more than that to commend them to your attention and care.--Myguests, this is my son, Prince Alondra, who, I am sure, is ready to addhis welcome to my own!'
'That I am!' cried the young prince, his handsome face alight withinterest and surprise. 'A warm welcome to you all! Welcome to Zotis!'
'Ah, they do not know our world by our name!' Ivanta reminded him.'They call it Mars.'
'Welcome, then, to Mars!' said Alondra.
He held out both hands at once; and, as it happened, he caught hold ofone each of Gerald and Jack, and they returned his greeting as heartilyas it was given. Then he caught sight of Monck, who was standing alittle in the background. At once he made a dart for him.
'Why, there is Monck Affelda!' he cried. 'You have returned, then!Welcome, dear friend! I was afraid that, perhaps, when you got back toyour own world you would stay there, and we should never see you more!'
'Alondra, here are others waiting to know you!' the king reminded him.
And the lad at once turned obediently, with a look of quick apology atMonck for not saying more at the moment.
All the rest of the strangers having been duly presented, Ivanta gavehis attention to his own subjects, who were now streaming up the ladderswhich had been let down the sides of the aerostat and crowding the deckto pay their respects to their sovereign.
Alondra, meantime, stepped back to where the two chums were standingwith their guardian and the engineer, and commenced a lively chat,asking them a hundred questions concerning the world they came from, theincidents of the voyage, and so forth.
Both Gerald and Jack took to him at once. It was almost impossible,indeed, to do otherwise. His frank, gay, smiling manner, his attractiveface, and easy, graceful air captivated them completely. Never, theyafterwards declared, had they met so attractive a personality. 'A trueson of the stars,' Jack dubbed him. Glad were they then that they hadmade such good use of their time and had learned the language of theirhosts in advance. Even Silas, who presently joined the group, becamequite amiable under the young prince's genial influence; and littleFreddy fell in love with him then and there.
Naturally, amongst these young people, there was a lot to ask about onboth sides. Question followed question, inquiries and explanations wereinterrupted with exclamations of surprise, wonder, admiration, anddelight.
Then Alondra caught sight of others who were known to him, among themAveena the young noble, and went off to greet them on their return.
'He is a splendid youngster, the prince,' observed Monck admiringly.'Everybody loves him. Clever, too--quite a young inventor, I can assureyou.'
'What is this flying-dress affair?' asked Jack. 'Do people fly here,then? Or is this the first time it has been done?'
'To the last question the reply would be both yes and no,' Monckanswered. 'If you had noticed, as we came down, you would have seenmany aeronauts flying about singly amongst the various airships andflying-machines.'
'I thought I saw something of the kind,' Jack returned. 'But we circledabout so rapidly, and there were so many buzzing around, that I scarcelyhad a chance to make them out.'
'As you now know, the air here is very dense.'
'To me it seems very light and exhilarating,' Gerald put in. 'Iexpected, when you used to tell us it was so dense, to find, when wearrived here, that we should scarcely be able to breathe.'
'Ah, that is another matter which I will explain directly. As I havetold you before, the air here is so dense that to make a flying-machinewas never a matter of any great difficulty. For the same reason, with aproperly constructed pair of wings, you can, after a little practiceunder expert tuition, very soon learn to soar into the air, and flyabout after a fashion. It has, however, hither-to, it must beconfessed, been a rather clumsy fashion. Now, this is the first time Ihave seen it really gracefully and easily done. I knew before we wentaway that Prince Alondra and his tutor--an old scientist named Amaldo,who was also the king's tutor when he was a boy--were at work upon somenew device which was understood
to be the prince's own idea originally.What it was I never knew exactly, for they kept it a sort ofhalf-secret. Here, however, it seems, is the outcome of the idea; and avery successful outcome too, so far as I can judge.'
'What is the invention?' asked practical Jack. 'Does it consist, I mean,in the dress, in the material of which it is composed--wonderful stuffit certainly seems to be--or in a new shape for the wings, or what?'
'Ah, that is exactly what I do not yet know any more than you.Doubtless, the prince will enlighten us ere long--when he has enjoyedthe general mystification a little longer.
'Well, now, to turn to the other point. You say the air here feels toyou light and exhilarating rather than dense and heavy. It is notexactly the air which gives you this feeling; it is due rather to thedifference in what we call gravity. On Mars, things weigh only half whatthey would weigh on our Earth. It follows that our muscles feelstronger in proportion. It requires less strength, less exertion, tolift your leg or your arm. Every action or movement, great or small, iseasier--even breathing. Therefore, you have a sense of lightness, ofease, of unusual strength.'
A light broke upon Gerald. 'I see! That was why the prince seemed solight to me when I went to help him up just now!' he cried.
'Exactly. We who have come from Earth, and who possess muscles used tothe greater weight of everything there, are all "strong men" here. Youwill find this one of the first and one of the most curious of yourexperiences here.'
Just then they saw King Ivanta approaching, bringing Alondra with him.They had left the crowd of richly arrayed courtiers and officers to comeacross to Gerald.
'Alondra,' said the king, indicating Gerald as they drew near, 'I wishto commend this brave young gentleman to your especial care; and I hopeyou two will become good friends. You must teach him to fly. If helearns to fly as well as he has learned to swim, then I can testify thathe should make a clever performer; for he saved your father's life!'