louts who all but suffocated me, at that. But I managed to empty my
slinger into some of them and to topple the rest. I was mainly angry
that Klow had not showed himself.

By the time I had reached the seashore, most of my men were in their
boats. Again I stayed till the last, although I could see the enemy's
fleet bearing down hard upon us from the north. In truth we would have
all been lost, had we come in the manner of former campaigns, all
together in big transports. But because we could scatter every which
way, the fleet harmed us little; and four-fifths of us got safely back.

Happily, none of the air-machines had range enough to reach Vlamaland.
As soon as I could get my staff together, I gave orders such as would
insure discipline. Then, reminding my hearties that Klow, knowing our
helplessness, would surely attack as soon as fully equipped, I made this
offer:

"To the man who shall suggest the best way of meeting their attack, I
shall give the third of my empire!"

So they knew that the case was desperate. As for myself, I slept not a
bit, but paced my sleep-chamber and thought deeply.

Now, a bit of a shell, from an enemy slinger, had penetrated my arm.
Till now, I had paid no attention to it. But it began to bother me, so I
pulled the metal from my arm with my teeth. And quite by chance I placed
the billet on the table within a few inches of the compass I had carried
on my boat.

To my intense surprise the needle of the compass swung violently about,