All this time there had been much knocking and banging at the closed door on the one side; while, on the other, men had come scrambling up the well, adding, every moment, to the numbers of Ivanta's supporters, and bringing with them this time the tridents which had been left below.
Very soon Ivanta was in a position to dictate his own terms to those present; but there was still the rest of the garrison to be considered.
After some talk, Sedla undertook to act as negotiator with these, and presently the door was thrown open, and he and his friends stood in the entrance.
It was a curious scene, that which followed. Behind Sedla, at a little distance, was Ivanta, at the head of rank after rank of men, all armed with their tridents and shields. On the other side of the doorway there were again to be seen rank upon rank of the garrison, similarly armed, and evidently ready for the fray, yet wondering what had been going on behind the closed door, and doubtless curious to know, before they began, who it was they were to fight, and what it was all about.
Sedla cleverly took advantage of this natural curiosity to gain a hearing for what he had to say, and followed it up so tactfully that he eventually gained over the whole garrison.
Thus was the place captured with but little actual fighting; and Ivanta gained thereby a valuable base for the supply of his aerial fleet, as well as a stronghold in which he and his following could find secure refuge in case of necessity.
Having made his dispositions within and without--taking note of the resources now at his disposal, sending out airships as scouts, &c.--Ivanta turned his attention to the wounded. He found Fumenta in close attendance upon Malto, who was still lying in an almost unconscious state; and Ivanta, who was himself well skilled in such matters, made an examination of his wound.
'I think he will pull round,' was his verdict. 'I shall hope yet to see him, with you, and others of my new friends, around me at my Court at Karendia--my "palace in the clouds."'
Fumenta shook his head. 'I am too old--ay, and too rough and rugged now--for Court life, sir,' he answered. 'Time was--but we must wait and see what happens. I shall help you with might and main so long as you need a trusty ally; after that, when you have succeeded in getting back your own, I shall make the request which I have already prepared you for. Then I shall ask but one favour more--the permission to withdraw into obscurity, and pass the rest of my days in peace. But I am meanwhile sorely concerned about this brave young fellow. I was strangely taken with him when I first saw him, and I need not say how that feeling has been intensified by his heroic act of bravery and self-sacrifice. But for his devoted action I should now be lying in his place, or more likely I should be already dead.'