part might lead to. Jack shook his head, and put his hand on his pistol,
which Edmund had restored to him while we were in the ice mountains.

"I'll drop the jackanapes in his tracks if he shows up ugly," he said.

"You'd better keep quiet," I whispered, "and don't let them see your
weapon. They appear to have no arms, and you should trust to Edmund to
manage the affair. When he gives the word it will be time enough to begin
shooting."

Jack grumbled, but kept the pistol in his pocket, although he did not
withdraw his hand from it.

I have already told you how, at the caverns, Edmund had discovered that
the inhabitants there possessed a means of converse which he likened to
telepathy, and from what I had seen of the people here I was convinced
that they had the same mysterious power, and probably in a higher degree.
To be sure, they used words occasionally, but for the most part they
communed together in some other way. I felt sure that Edmund was now
about to apply what he had learned, and his actions quickly demonstrated
that my conjecture was well founded. Just what he did, I do not know, but
the result of his conference was promptly apparent.

The first air ship had withdrawn a short distance when the other boarded
the car, but now the two mutually approached until it was possible to
step from one deck to the other. As soon as they touched, Edmund was
conducted by the captain, at whose side he had remained standing, to the
presence of the important personage whom Jack had begun to designate as
the queen. We remained where we were, watching with all eyes, while Jack
persisted in keeping his hand on the pistol in his pocket. A crowd