Page:Weird Tales Volume 7 Number 1 (1926-01).djvu/107

power (directed absolutely perpendicularly).

A small group moving toward them heralding the probable approach of the emperor or generalissimo revived hope in their breasts. They might yet maintain their strategic position long enough to drive home a bargain that the Martians would honor when they were obliged to descend and attempt to bluff their way through a difficult situation somehow.

"The old boy himself," ejaculated Taggert as the group drew near.

Robert recognized the emperor in a car pulling up below. Seated opposite him was the officer to whom they had first talked, while beside the emperor was a much decorated and bedecked individual who he hoped was the generalissimo himself.

The latter stepped out of the car after the officer, and assisted the emperor to alight. The three of them slowly paced beneath the Sphere as it drifted lightly with the soft morning breeze. The emperor was plainly angered and making a poor attempt to conceal the fact.

"What means this rude summons which his Highness, the emperor, has chosen to humor?" said the generalissimo; for that this was the generalissimo they quickly discovered. His voice carried up to them clearly. Barely thirty feet separated them now.

"I will speak directly with the emperor himself," Robert began. "As emissary of his Highness, the Governor of Svergad, I demand the immediate withdrawal of all forces from this region. Unless such a movement is begun without delay, we are prepared to wipe out your entire army by means of the terrible weapon which you have seen."

The emperor raised a countenance dark with passion. The generalissimo checked him with a nervous grip on his arm as he was about to speak, addressing him earnestly in an undertone.

The emperor calmed himself with evident effort.

"You have the advantage of us," he said. "Therefore, my armies will retire at once; but I warn you that you shall be conquered in the end and be made to suffer for this."

"Very well, your Highness. I suggest that you give orders immediately for their retirement as, unless it is commenced within a few minutes. I shall resume their destruction."

Again the generalissimo was obliged to restrain the emperor's burst of passion. A moment later, at a curt nod of assert from the emperor, the generalissimo dispatched the officer with a command to begin an immediate general retirement of all forces.

The first contingent was soon moving northward. The emperor and generalissimo had departed ominously for their headquarters. The Sphere continued to drift idly, settling ever closer to the ground. The enemy forces still stretched more than a mile between the Sphere and the city. How Robert and Taggert yearned for a stiffening of the breeze that they might be swept safely beyond the enemy's lines before the descending Sphere placed them in their power! Even now soldiers below paused in their preparations for retreat to gaze up at them curiously, albeit anxiously, evidently wondering why the Sphere hovered so low. Should the true reason be guessed, their temporary victory would be lost.

The next ten minutes seemed like an eternity to Robert. It had brought them only a little nearer the city and their friends, while scarcely thirty feet separated them from the enemy. Some of the troops were already marching off toward the south beneath them, but it was a physical impossibility for the thousands still be-