had begun to revolve at
full speed, and the _Ariel_ darted forward with a velocity that
caused the mountains she had just crossed to sink rapidly on the
horizon.

All the afternoon the _Ariel_ flew at full speed over the seemingly
interminable wilderness of swamp and jungle, until, when the
equatorial sun was within a few degrees of the horizon, one of the
crew, who had been stationed in the conning tower at the bows,
signalled to call the attention of the man in the wheel-house.
Arnold, who was in the after-saloon at the time, heard the signal,
and hurried forward to the look-out. He gave one quick glance ahead,
signalled "half-speed" to the engine-room, and then went aft again to
the saloon, and said--

"Aeria is in sight!"

Immediately everyone hastened to the deck saloon, from the windows of
which could be seen a huge mass of mountains looming dark and
distinct against the crimsoning western sky.

It rose like some vast precipitous island out of the sea of forest
that lay about its base; and above the mighty rock-walls that seemed
to rise sheer from the surrounding plain at least a dozen peaks
towered into the sky, two of their summits covered with eternal snow,
and shining like points of rosy fire in the almost level rays of the
sun.

As nearly as Arnold could judge in the deceptive state of the
atmosphere, they were still between thirty and forty miles from it,
and as it would not be safe to approach its lofty cliffs at a high
rate of speed in the half light that would so soon merge into
darkness, he said to his companions--

"We shall have to find a resting-place up among the cliffs on this
side to-night, for we have lost the moon, and unless it were
absolutely necessary to cross the mountains in the dark, I should not
care to do so with the ladies on board. Besides, there is no hurry
now that we are here, and we shall get a much finer first impression
of our new kingdom if we cross at sunrise. What do you think?"

All agreed that this would be the best plan, and so the _Ariel_ ran
up to within a mile of the rocks, and then the forward engine was
connected with the dynamo, and the searchlight, which had so
disconcerted the Cossacks on the Tobolsk road, was turned on to the
cliffs, which they carefully explored, until they found a little
plateau covered with luxuriant vegetation and well watered, about two
thousand feet above the plain below.

Here it was decided to come to a halt for the night, and to