he honor of towing the
_Polar King_ into port, to which I willingly assented.

As admiral, I at once assumed command of the fleet, which I ordered to
make sail for Kioram without delay. The fleet fell behind in good
order, and followed the _Polar King_, bearing the victorious flag of
the queen.

CHAPTER XLIV.

THE NEWS OF ATVATABAR IN THE OUTER WORLD.

The kingdom of Atvatabar lay before us like a continent drawn upon a
map, or, rather, upon the interior surface of a sphere or globe,
everywhere visible to the naked eye. Its green forests, its impressive
mountains, its rushing rivers, its white and many-colored cities, its
wide-stretching shores, fringed with the foam of an azure sea, lay
before the astonished eyes of our visitors.

When within a few miles of the city, Governor Ladalmir, accompanied by
Captains Pra and Nototherboc, advanced to meet us in a large magnetic
yacht, bearing the flag of Lyone. The governor hastened to inform us
that, in view of our victory, the city of Kioram had declared its
allegiance to the cause of Lyone, and invited myself and officers of
the fleet, as well as our distinguished allies from the outer world,
to a banquet in the fortress of Kioram. This news gave me great
satisfaction, as the city would be a splendid base of military
operations. The officers and seamen of the _Mercury_ and _Aurora
Borealis_ created quite as great a sensation in the streets of Kioram
as did the victorious sailors of the _Polar King_.

Landing on _terra firma_, Governor Ladalmir took the opportunity of
showing our guests the beauty of his bockhockids, who formed a guard
of honor to the fortress, where we were all royally received.

The two captains, together with their officers and sailors, were
astonished at the multitude of strange objects shown them. Captain
Adams would not remain satisfied until he was accoutred with a dynamo
and a pair of magnic wings, with which all the sailors and soldiers of
Atvatabar were supplied as part of their uniform. He was shown how
the battery of metals gave motion to the dynamo, which in turn acted
on the steel levers connected with the ribs of the wings. Although the
worthy captain was of considerable weight, yet his astonishment at
being able to skim through the air like a swallow was great. No sooner
did he touch the button than all his preconceived notions of
locomotion were destroyed, and he gasped with fear at his own
prodigious motion. The two facts of