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'Others followed my example; and bct'orc one could count 
 twenty, as many darts were embedded in the monster's 
 flesh." 
 
DOOMED 
 
 A Startling Message to the People of Our Day, inter- 
 woven in an Antediluvian Romance of Two 
 Old Worlds and Two Young Lovers 
 
 BY 
 
 QUEEN METEL and PRINCE LOAB 
 
 of Atlo, Re-incarnated in its Editors, Marian and Franklin Mayoe 
 
 By the Atlon Calendar, the Year 14,909; 
 by Our Calendar, the Year 1920. 
 
 Illustrations by 
 R. EMMETT OWEN 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 FRANK ROSEWATER, Publisher 
 
 1920 
 
Copyright, 1920 
 By frank ROSEWATER 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Published Oct.-Nov., 1920 
 
A WORD TO BEGIN 
 
 By the Editors 
 
 In offering to our readers so remarkable a 
 production as "Doomed," some rational explana- 
 tion of its source is due. How came it into our 
 possession? That, in as few words as possible, 
 we will now endeavor to explain. 
 
 Traveling last year along one of the tribu- 
 taries of the Amazon, we were simultaneously 
 stricken with one of those malignant fevers so 
 common in that region. On recovery, my wife 
 astounded me with the tale of a weird vision I 
 also had at the same time beheld. 
 
 In this vision, two figures faced us — such per- 
 fect counterparts of ourselves, we gasped with 
 astonishment. As with one voice, they spoke, say- 
 ing we were their hundredth re-incarnation. More 
 than a hundred centuries had passed since their 
 day; and now they were here to deliver through 
 us, for our world, a most momentous message 
 from the people of their long forgotten world. 
 
 "Loab Ben Phra and Metel Mafra are we," 
 they explained, "once Prince of Sidon and Queen 
 
iv A WORD TO BEGIN 
 
 of Omshola. Our tale had at the time been 
 written on fresh papyrus; but that copy has long 
 since crumbled to dust. So we have rewritten 
 the story containing the great message — this time 
 in your own tongue; and here it is." 
 
 With these words, they each laid their portion 
 of the story upon a table near our cots, and 
 thereupon vanished. 
 
 We should have laughed heartily over the 
 strange vision, but that, glancing at the table, 
 there lay the manuscript copy of the story, in three 
 parts — two by the husband and one by the wife; 
 and it was identically the same as that given our 
 readers under the title "Doomed." 
 
 Both story, and the message interwoven therein, 
 speak so well for themselves, nothing we might 
 further say would add a jot to the interest of the 
 one or the mighty import of the other. 
 
 And now, having had our say, let our readers 
 do the rest. It will be for them to determine the 
 import of the message it conveys, and to act upon 
 it as conscience will dictate. 
 
 New York, August lo, 1920. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 A WORD TO BEGIN— By the Editors 
 
 PART I 
 OUR BETROTHAL— As Told by Prince Loab 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Secret of the Nobles 3 
 
 II. In the Wider World 14 
 
 III. Beyond the Wider World 30 
 
 IV. Atlic, the Wonderful 38 
 
 V. The Wonder- Working Secret 47 
 
 VI. An Hour in the Oroto 56 
 
 VII. Protected Private Property 65 
 
 VIII. Atlo's Wonderful Push Wing 73 
 
 IX. The Gathering Cloud 88 
 
 PART II 
 
 WORLDS APART— As Told by Queen Metel 
 
 I. The Throne Awaiting Me loi 
 
 11. On Atlo's Fighting Front 114 
 
 III. Under Siege in Their Oros 125 
 
 IV. Made Queen of Omshola 132 
 
 V. The Dawn of Liberty 145 
 
 VI. From Free Slave to Free Man 153 
 
 VII. The End of the Goro Goros 162 
 
 VIII. Good News from Atlo 168 
 
 V 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 IX. The Plot of the Kones 176 
 
 X. BoROK Springs a Sensation 186 
 
 XL The Invasion of Omshola 193 
 
 PART III 
 
 UNITED AT LAST— As Told by Prince Loab 
 
 I. The Beast Behind the Cloud 205 
 
 11. The Basilisk Invasion 221 
 
 III. The Loyalty of Metal 230 
 
 IV. To Atlonize the World 238 
 
 V. Atlo's Tragic End 246 
 
 A PARTING WORD— By the Editors 
 APPENDIX — Editorial Comments 
 
 \ 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 "Others followed my example; and before one could 
 count twenty, as many darts were embedded in the 
 monster's flesh." Frontispiece 
 
 "Advancing like a huge leviathan with open jaws, came 
 the flood of waters hungering to swallow ship and 
 all. To longer remain aboard was to court certain 
 death." 28 
 
 "Loab was the first to get out; but only to be con- 
 fronted by the giant beast, with its huge club up- 
 raised to dash out his brains." 121 
 
 "Could this be the face of the Great Spirit ruling over 
 all the worlds, of which the Kones had taught him?" 188 
 
 "By midnight ... we began to scour the land in many 
 directions ... to make the extermination of the 
 beasts complete." .t..f t..t..,,.,,,.,,,. 228 
 
 vii 
 
PART I 
 
 OUR BETHROTHAI^-AS TOLD BY 
 PRINCE LOAB 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 The Secret of the Nobles 
 
 My earliest recollection is of being fondled and 
 petted by a big black woman, my nurse, over 
 whose funny nose I puzzled my little head from 
 day to day without arriving at any answer to the 
 strange riddle it presented. To my infantile mind 
 the huge shining ring inserted in that organ 
 seemed to be a part and parcel of it, and would 
 have awed me but for the repeated kindnesses she 
 bestowed upon me. I at that time seldom saw my 
 mother, and this Nubian nurse was more than 
 mother to me. 
 
 In my early boyhood I was pampered with every 
 privilege and luxury that wealth could command. 
 For, of my father's numerous wives, Folka, my 
 mother, was the chief favorite, and my father was 
 one of the wealthiest of the Princes of Sidon.^ We 
 lived in a lordly mansion. In the heart of the city, 
 and not far from the string of warehouses on the 
 water front, from which my father carried on 
 most of his trade. 
 
 1 Very likely the Sodom of biblical fame. 
 
 3 
 
4 DOOMED 
 
 Prince Phra, my father, stood high In the coun- 
 cils of State; had more than fifty stout galleys 
 plowing the seas in behalf of his trade; owned 
 such enormous tracts of land that all the thousands 
 of slaves thereon could not cultivate the quarter 
 thereof; and held also so many secured notes and 
 such hoards of silver and of gold, as to dwarf in 
 comparison all the rest of his possessions. 
 
 Like all successful men, my father was de- 
 voutly religious, worshipping all the gods from 
 Eshmum and Astarte to Sat ^ and his consort 
 Mammon, the goddess of gain, who never ap- 
 peared to mortals save in serpent form. This 
 Mammon was the most popular of Sidon gods, 
 exerting a most potent influence upon the pros- 
 perity of all Phoenicia. 
 
 Upon nearing the age of six, I remember being 
 placed in the care of a tutor named Merto, who 
 began Avith teaching me the Phoenician alphabet 
 in which are as many as twenty-two different sound 
 symbols, through which the spoken language is 
 easily transcribed to papyrus or parchment. 
 
 The alphabet once mastered, it was just fun to 
 go on forming out of it all sorts of familiar words. 
 It required some effort; but it was an exertion I 
 could enjoy, as if It had been a game. 
 
 2 The same as the Egyptian deity Set — the Satan of Christian 
 theology. 
 
THE SECRET OF THE NOBLES 5 
 
 Books once puzzled me as an unintelligible con- 
 glomeration of mysterious hieroglyphics; but with 
 the alphabet at my command, they seemed so no 
 longer. Now they were lights, affording me daily 
 new glimpses of the world. 
 
 Tutor Merto selected my books, at first all de- 
 lightful fairy tales and love romances, in which 
 their heroes invariably triumphed in the end. It 
 would have been a shame to have ended other- 
 wise; and had any of them so ended, I believe I 
 should have torn them into shreds. 
 
 In the course of time I finally tired of these 
 humdrum tales, which merely repeated one an- 
 other, and were all tuned rather to the palate of 
 the mind than for its sustenance. 
 
 So I was now put on books of travel, which cast 
 a new luster on my little world, broadening the 
 horizon of my mind. . . And when at length 
 books of history were placed at my disposal, how 
 much wider scope it gave to my views of life I 
 What a romance it unfolded ! Nations played its 
 heroes, and the ages were the arena in which they 
 combated. Was ever greater romance than is 
 set down in the story of mankind? But how few 
 there are who can reduce into an intelligible whole 
 the brief glimpses and distorted images we have 
 to draw on, in weaving its romance ! 
 
6 DOOMED 
 
 Think not, reader, my physical education was 
 in the meantime being neglected. Far from it: 
 for between the hours of my reading I was allowed 
 to indulge in much sport and play, and also re- 
 ceived instruction In the arts of using bow and 
 arrow and spear, of handling sword and dagger, 
 of riding, swimming and rowing, and of all prac- 
 tices that would help to make of me a huntsman, 
 a warrior and a courtly gentleman. 
 
 Swiftly these happy years sped, till my four- 
 teenth year had been reached, when I was seized 
 with a powerful longing to see the great world 
 with my own eyes. I had seen enough through 
 books, which are but the eyes of other men. 
 
 Daily I now besought my fond parents to let 
 me go abroad, if only for a single voyage; but to 
 no purpose. My mother, Folka, was the most 
 steadfast and unyielding, dreading to part with 
 me. But time by degrees prepared her for the 
 ordeal, so that as soon as father's consent was 
 secured, that of my mother quickly followed. 
 
 My parents well knew that sooner or later such 
 a course of travel would have to be undertaken in 
 order to make me efficient in the arts of trade and 
 social Intercourse becoming a Phoenician noble — 
 one who was always master of ship and shekel, 
 as well as of sword. 
 
 I had already received lessons in the art of 
 
THE SECRET OF THE NOBLES 7 
 
 reckoning sums; and In both the Hellenic and 
 Egyptian tongues, which were most needed in trad- 
 ing abroad; and also in the art of bargaining — a 
 practice requiring even more skill than the use of 
 either styl or sword. For there is neither top nor 
 bottom to prices in foreign lands, and there it 
 behooves the buyer to be able to well conceal his 
 desire, whether to buy or to sell. There was in- 
 deed more thrust and feint in this art than in the 
 use of the sword. And none were more skilled 
 therein than we Phoenicians. 
 
 But there was one trick that our Phoenician 
 merchants made common practice of — out of pure 
 patriotism, as well as from love of the gain it 
 yielded. It was through this very practice our 
 dear Phoenicia was forging ahead of other na- 
 tions, and promised soon to acquire mastery of 
 the world. Already she was owner of more 
 slaves, more lands, more gold and silver and 
 precious gems, more stout ships and more wealth 
 in loans to foreign potentates (secured by host- 
 ages) than any nation had ever gathered together. 
 
 Fortunately, I am now residing in the land of 
 Atlo, where I may without peril of my life reveal 
 to you, my readers, what this trick consisted in. 
 The cunning trick was taught our Phoenician 
 nobles by Mammon or Mam, the goddess of gain, 
 who appeared before them in her serpent form, 
 
8 DOOMED 
 
 bringing to them the silver shekel, to be employed 
 in doing their trading. But the trick was involved 
 in the use of her maxim bidding them SPEND 
 FOR THEIR LIVING NO MORE THAN 
 THE HALF OF THEIR INCOME— PUT- 
 TING THE REMAINDER INTO HOARD, 
 AND ONLY INVESTING IT SUBJECT TO 
 RETURN WITH ADDITION. Their per- 
 sistent adherence to this maxim, they were as- 
 sured, would in time make them masters of the 
 world. 
 
 This maxim won the approval of all the nobles; 
 and was by them communicated to the lesser mer- 
 chants, by whom it was also admired and ardently 
 applied. 
 
 So it came to pass, that after all our mer- 
 chants had been for a goodly period tacitly com- 
 bined in spending no more for their living than 
 the half of what they took in, a countless num- 
 ber of unspent shekels kept on gathering in their 
 hoards, ever more and more, until at length an 
 intense money famine became felt among the non- 
 mercantile people at home and the nations abroad 
 with whom our merchants had been trading. For 
 the fat hoards of our merchants were only bulging 
 with what had been extracted from the purses of 
 those they had been dealing with and which they 
 had left lean and empty. 
 
THE SECRET OF THE NOBLES 9 
 
 Obeying the maxim of Mam, the Goddess of 
 Gain, our merchants allowed their unspent shekels 
 to remain in hoard only long enough to produce 
 a tight squeeze, under pressure of which most of 
 It could be so Invested as to Insure return with 
 addition. Under the pressure of hoarding, which 
 causes an artificial scarcity, men were compelled 
 to part with properties at low valuations ; to con- 
 tract loans at interest; and often even to sell them- 
 selves into bondage, or else their wives and chil- 
 dren. For the pinch of poverty Is like unto a 
 thumbscrew that tortures till honor, virtue and the 
 last shred of self respect are sacrificed for present 
 relief. I have since observed that dispossession 
 stops not with mere material properties, but drags 
 into its net the very souls of men. 
 
 So both at home and abroad did our merchants 
 acquire fat. Income-yielding properties, batch after 
 batch, as their shekels kept on returning, and pass- 
 ing again out of hoard and Into Investments — pil- 
 ing up Into a very mountain of wealth, to the na- 
 tion's glory and power. It was this that made the 
 maxim a patriotic shibboleth and won the heart 
 of the nation. 
 
 Although at the time a mere boy, the far-seeing 
 shrewdness of this maxim quite enamored me. 
 Its wisdom was so clear and manifest. Could 
 
10 DOOMED 
 
 statecraft have chosen a better maxim? Just 
 think how so small a germ of inequality could 
 mould a whole world to its own disproportion. 
 What a conquering sword was concealed beneath 
 this diabolic maxim — a sword invisible, keen and 
 irresistible, through whose use all the people of 
 this wide earth could be peaceably vanquished 
 and subjugated — conquered without departure 
 from pious righteousness — all dispossessed and 
 turned into outcasts and bondsmen! And mean- 
 while the merchants of Phoenicia would become 
 so enriched, the least of them would dwell in 
 palaces and live in feasting and revels, surrounded 
 with the fair women of their harems. 
 
 How I admired the ingenious maxim ! How 
 I worshipped its wisdom — the wisdom that had 
 in it the guile of the serpent, of the Goddess 
 Mam! 
 
 I did not then understand that it was Sat's aim 
 in sending up to us his dam Mammon, to cause 
 our world to become divided into hostile classes, 
 facing one another as possessors and dispossessed, 
 masters and dependents, rich and poor, fattened 
 drones and starved tollers, all driven by the pinch 
 of an everlasting shekel famine or the boundless 
 rivalry of crazed ostentation and love of power — 
 all set at loggerheads with each other, class 
 against class, faction against faction, section 
 
THE SECRET OF THE NOBLES ii 
 
 against section, nation against nation and man 
 against man. Between the lowest depths of dis- 
 possession and the loftiest pinnacles of affluence, 
 the entire human family might forever be kept a 
 prey to his temptations and in the chains of his 
 bondage. All men were thereby doomed to be- 
 come his subjects In the underworld. 
 
 But what cared we patriotic Phoenicians for 
 Sat's motives — we who would stop at naught, if 
 adding to the glory and power of our dear 
 Phoenicia ! 
 
 Writing now, after long years of residence in 
 Atlo, where trade is conducted so differently from 
 what is the case in all other lands — a manner In- 
 finitely superior — I can readily perceive the 
 brazen fraud involved in the devil's cunning 
 maxim, and also realize the awful horror of its 
 consequences. What a cheat to sell an excess of 
 productions, and only take. In return for the ex- 
 cess, the properties of those they traded with — 
 thus stripping them to nakedness and servitude! 
 I now marvel I should ever have been so stupid 
 as to have admired this detestable fraud. 
 
 Before the day of my departure from home, I 
 for the first time accompanied my father to do 
 worship in the temple of Mammon. It was a 
 vast structure, glittering in the sun as if one huge 
 
12 DOOMED 
 
 mass of jewels, though all was of colored glass 
 bordered and seamed with showy ornamentations 
 in gold and silver paint. To the very core, the 
 structure was flimsy — all show and sham, well 
 befitting the serpent therein worshipped. 
 
 I still vividly recall the grave solicitude of my 
 father, on imparting to me his final instructions 
 before starting on the contemplated voyage. 
 Wisely did he admonish me to conduct myself 
 with due respect to elders and superiors in rank, 
 and to compel adequate deference from inferiors. 
 . . . Though sparing of my funds as became 
 a son of Phoenicia, I was not to refrain from be- 
 ing lavish with them, when demanded by the dig- 
 nity of my rank. . . . Against the seductions 
 of the fair sex he cautioned me, naming some of 
 the devices these creatures employed, and at the 
 same time advising me to soon take unto myself 
 a wife coming from a family of wealth that could 
 becomingly dower her. Should my choice prove 
 unfortunate, he assured me, I might find remedy 
 in taking unto myself additional wives. (While 
 jotting down these lines my wife, Metel, has taken 
 me unawares and is smiling at my stupid confes- 
 sion. ) 
 
 A magnificent outfit had been provided for me, 
 and also a fine retinue of servants, such as be- 
 
THE SECRET OF THE NOBLES 13 
 
 came a prince ; for with that title I was thereafter 
 to be honored. 
 
 My mother wept profusely as she pronounced 
 her benediction, her hand resting upon my head, 
 and at parting handed me a few precious keep- 
 sakes, among which was an amulet in whose 
 golden frame was set a topaz of brilliant yellow. 
 With this suspended around my neck, sadness 
 would be banished and enchantments dispelled. 
 
 A canopied altar had been erected at the sea 
 side, and upon this my father now offered a lamb 
 to the god of the sea, accompanying the act with 
 the recital of a long ritual of prayers and a final 
 invocation in behalf of my safe return. 
 
 These ceremonies over, I was given my father's 
 final blessing, and then stepped lightly into the 
 tiny boat that bore me speedily to the side of the 
 Golden Moon, into which I was now hoisted and 
 which was soon bearing me over the waves into 
 that wider world I so much longed to see. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 In the Wider World 
 
 The Golden Moon, the vessel in which I sailed, 
 was patterned after the very latest models, broad 
 breasted, and with a tall prow bearing on it the 
 image of the serpent, by which it might be dis- 
 tinguishable as a trading vessel. From her upper 
 deck rose three tall masts to which were fastened 
 canvas sails so set as to be able to catch each 
 transient breeze. ... In her hold, chained to 
 benches, sat twenty rowers, of hardened look, who 
 were compelled to labor with their oars by the 
 lash in the hands of a master stationed behind 
 them. They were one and all condemned crimi- 
 nals, sold into this form of bondage. 
 
 For some time the voyage was a delightful one, 
 passing under balmy skies and gazing upon charm- 
 ing scenes, in which each feathery cloud glowed in 
 fiery tints, and the shimmering waters of the vast 
 expanse before us, kissed by the sunlight, seemed 
 one mass of gleaming emeralds. Along the 
 shores, the wooded heights and frequent villages 
 were also picturesque. . . . But even beauty 
 
 14 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 15 
 
 loses its charm by constant repetition; and so did 
 this scenery, till it finally ceased to attract, and 
 even became tiresome. 
 
 For many weeks we sailed on over the smooth 
 waters of the great Central Sea,i on whose shores 
 and along whose streams, lie nearly all the cities 
 of the world that are of any consequence. 
 
 Port after port we made, trading at each — I 
 cannot say for their number how many of them 
 there were — till we at length arrived at the famed 
 city of Athens. Here I was landed, and, to- 
 gether with my retinue, I was to remain for a 
 whole year, improving my tongue in the language 
 of the Hellenes, called Greek, and my mind as 
 well. For in this city is the world's center of 
 learning and of art; and here, it is said, even a 
 fool may gather some wisdom. 
 
 I had a servant at once engage quarters for me 
 in the Acropolis, which is a new section of the 
 city and lies high up in view of the region known 
 as the Peloponnesus, separated from the main- 
 land by a narrow strip of sea. 
 
 Fine palaces and mansions, as well as grand 
 temples and other public buildings surrounded us 
 here, and rarely did we encounter a plot of 
 ground but that it contained either some sparkling 
 fountain or graceful statuary. 
 
 1 The Mediterranean. 
 
i6 DOOMED 
 
 The whole city was a gem of magnificence, by 
 the side of which our beloved Sidon would have 
 been shamed. 
 
 What a host of strange people walked its 
 streets, thronging every park and pathway — men 
 hailing from every quarter of the earth, each 
 decked out in the costume of his native land and 
 attended by his servants or slaves, after the 
 fashion of his own country. There were tall, 
 frowsy-haired men from Ethiopia, black as ebony 
 and shiny as silk; stout, swarthy Libyans from the 
 desert plains of Afric; haughty Egyptians from 
 the fertile banks of the famed river Nil; semi- 
 naked barbarians, hairy as apes, from a region 
 far to the north clad in a sheet of eternal white 
 and lashed by cold winds so sharp they cut Into 
 the very bones; and there were also tall, sky-gaz- 
 ing men from the land of Ind, so distant it be- 
 longed rather to another world. There were 
 many, many more — far too many for my con- 
 fused memory to recall. 
 
 How I doted on the opportunity to converse 
 with these strangers, from whom so much was to 
 be learned — so much never set down in books. 
 How fascinating were their talks concerning the 
 manifold aspects of their different worlds; their 
 customs and manners; their sources of subsistence; 
 the domestic animals; the slaves who toiled for 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 17 
 
 them; and the beasts of the wilds; and also the 
 numerous gods there worshipped. Never had I 
 heard of so many different deities. To listen to 
 all their tales of prowess in battle, and their 
 strange experiences and adventures, how it thrilled 
 my blood, and filled my soul with new ambitions. 
 
 Schools of philosophy were plentiful; and one 
 could hardly go out without encounterine; their 
 heavy-browed, long-bearded pedagogs, sedately 
 leading a column of pupils, and now and then 
 stopping to deliver lengthy discourses. 
 
 Little heed did I give to these speculative phil- 
 osophers, who presumed to weigh shadows and 
 split hairs. I once met one of them holding in 
 his hands a painted globe, which he made his 
 pupils believe represented the earth revolving both 
 around itself and around the sun. His bold auda- 
 city so amused me, I was tempted to interrupt his 
 discourse by asking him how it came that if the 
 earth was round, men fell not off, and its waters 
 did not spill themselves over the skies and drown 
 the very gods? To this he made reply, saying 
 that a mysterious force held all things bound fast 
 to the earth — explaining one ridiculous statement 
 by another equally as absurd. For were all things 
 bound fast to the earth, how came it we were able 
 to walk about? 
 
 Detesting this "brazen audacity, I spat in the 
 
i8 DOOMED 
 
 fellow's face, and was in consequence hailed be- 
 fore a solemn magistrate, charged with assault. 
 Hearing the pleas on both sides, this venerable 
 official promptly exonerated me, while subjecting 
 my opponent to a substantial fine for daring to 
 teach the Athenian youth so bold a contradiction 
 of the obvious truth. 
 
 The native Athenian Is in many ways a supe- 
 rior type of being, lithe and muscular in limb, 
 fluent in speech and nimble in wit. Lusty lungs he 
 also has, shouting and singing with a rare spirit 
 and gaiety. He also dances exquisitely, in all 
 his movements being a perfect model of grace. 
 . . . But no men are perfect : for with all their 
 many virtues, I find them fickle and deceitful. . . . 
 Few of the fair sex did I chance to encounter 
 without their faces being hooded; and if all were 
 as fair as those whose features I was permitted 
 to behold, they may well be counted the most 
 beautiful of women. 
 
 Slaves do all the arduous labor both in the city 
 and on the surrounding lands, the freemen devot- 
 ing themselves mainly to the arts and learning, 
 carving the elegant statuary one sees upon all sides 
 and all the beautiful ornamentations on palaces 
 and temples. They also paint and do much 
 architectural designing, as well as that which ap- 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 19 
 
 pears In the rich tapestries and on the fine pottery 
 they make. There are also among them a moiety 
 of jugglers and dancers, of musicians and players, 
 of rhetoricians and sophists, of smiths and sword 
 makers, of philosophers, soldiers and of priests. 
 
 Yet along with all this array of busy freemen, 
 there are no lack of Idlers and filchers who live 
 on the toil of others — mendicants, beggars and 
 thieves. One had but to go near the market place 
 to see this herd of pickpockets. 
 
 The government of this city Is called a democ- 
 racy — a new-fangled experiment In which the free- 
 men elect their own rulers — of course from those 
 named by the wealthy class, from whose patron- 
 age the freemen live. 
 
 What more could be expected where the Idle 
 poor were depraved, and the rest were so de- 
 pendent on the good will of the rich? They were 
 free; but perhaps more lorded over by their pa- 
 trons than other slaves. Were they not always 
 on the very edge of despair, forever worrying — 
 to make ends meet, to keep the roof over their 
 heads? 
 
 There was something truly grand in the pride 
 of this artist freedom, and something in it pitiably 
 ridiculous. For while they were eternally laud- 
 ing their liberty, hard-handed tyranny was making 
 sport of them. 
 
20 DOOMED 
 
 I shall never forget the delightful year spent 
 in this queen of cities — a year that sped so swiftly, 
 1 was startled on hearing the arrival of the Golden 
 Moon announced, allowing me barely time to bid 
 my friends farewell, before taking my leave. 
 
 Our shipmaster, named Gogol, of whom I 
 should have made earlier mention, rushed for- 
 ward to embrace me, on once more setting foot 
 aboard ship. He was delighted to note my al- 
 tered appearance and demeanor. He was a man 
 of large figure, with fierce, dark eyes, a prominent 
 nose, and a protruding chin. His deep, bellowing 
 voice could be heard above the din of the wildest 
 storm. 
 
 Leaving Athens, after having taken aboard 
 many of her fine productions, such as tapestries, 
 paintings, pottery and carvings, we traded at 
 many ports, till we came to a vast isle, the larg- 
 est in the world, known as Sicania,^ which we 
 thereafter skirted, gathering much booty in rav- 
 aging unprotected villages along the coast. Most 
 of it was in gold, and fair women whom we took 
 to be sold as slaves in Sidon. We also captured 
 many lads in these raids, and also bought num- 
 bers of them for the sake of the bounty paid on 
 them at Sidon, where the bringing in of slaves 
 
 iThe island of Sicily. 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD zi 
 
 was encouraged. These added profits, derived 
 from slaves and the bounties on them, made it 
 the easier for us to underbid everywhere and sell 
 the excess of productions by which Phoenicia was 
 to become mistress of the nations. 
 
 Returning to Sidon, we left our cargo in my 
 father's warehouses, whence we took a fresh 
 cargo for the next voyage. 
 
 Of the shekels realized from the slaves, the 
 tenth part was set aside for the ship's crew — a 
 practice insuring their loyalty. 
 
 Our next voyage carried us up the great river 
 Nil, with whose numerous cities we did a very 
 profitable trade. In its waters we beheld gigantic 
 beasts called behemoths sporting like kittens, and 
 we also saw countless numbers of huge bone-en- 
 crusted serpents basking idly on its sandy banks, 
 and not a few pursuing our vessel to catch the 
 offal thrown overboard. They had dreadful 
 mouths lined with rows of monster fangs that 
 could carve their prey as one might carve cheese. 
 They were called crocodiles. 
 
 Several other voyages we made before finally 
 venturing a trip beyond the confines of the Cen- 
 tral Sea, passing through the narrow strip ^ of 
 water lying between what are called the Pillars 
 of Hercules — massive rocks stationed like a pair 
 
 IThe Straits of Gibraltar. 
 
22 DOOMED 
 
 of gate posts at the entrance to the unbounded 
 waters of the Western Sea,^ on which few ma- 
 riners dare to venture. For not only are its 
 waters infesied with monsters possessed of super- 
 natural powers, but also with devilish wizards, 
 and of mermaids who entice mariners Into the 
 depths and there inflict upon them horrible deaths. 
 There is also always danger of being inextricably 
 caught in the mighty swirl of its waters and 
 dashed to destruction over the bottomless preci- 
 pice at the world's end. 
 
 Not far westward dared we venture on this 
 trip, clinging ever close to shore. To the north 
 we directed our course, till we reached our des- 
 tination in a remote region abounding with a 
 rare ore from which we derived one of the ingre- 
 dients of bronze. The savages we traded with 
 were a fierce body, ready to fight at the slightest 
 provocation, ever swinging over their heads their 
 huge war clubs. 
 
 Returning from this voyage, adverse winds, long 
 continued, drove us out of our course; and one 
 tempest following quickly on the heels of the 
 other, finally got us so confused, we knew not 
 where we were located. 
 
 So we kept on drifting until, one morning, a 
 strange land came Into view, whose shores we 
 
 2 The Atlantic. 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 23 
 
 followed many days without reaching any end 
 thereof. From this we concluded it must be the 
 great continent of Atlantis, the land of the Sun 
 God, of which we had heard strange tales. ^ 
 
 Toward dusk of the fifth day, a snug harbor 
 opened its arms to receive us; and as we glanced 
 shoreward, we beheld, standing a ways inland, a 
 single isolated structure of considerable size — a 
 rather handsome building. 
 
 Along its sides were rows of peculiar squares, 
 that shone like so many massive rubies. The 
 surroundings were also quite attractive, its down- 
 ward sloping lawn ornamented with flower beds, 
 and fountains, and shrubbery. To its rear 
 seemed to lie a great stretch of ground, on which 
 groups of children of varied ages were sporting — 
 laughing and shouting with such glee as had never 
 before greeted my ears. 
 
 There was no sign of fortifications; and as we 
 pondered over the sight, we all realized It augured 
 a rich harvest of spoils for us. Here must have 
 resided many families from which large booty, 
 even if only in slaves, was to be derived. 
 
 3 The continent is sometimes alluded to as Atlantica. Plato 
 in his Critias says that nine thousand years before the time of 
 Solon the people of this continent had been a powerful nation. 
 .... Plato, Horace and some others allude to two Atlanticas, 
 Hesperides and the Elysian Fields, believed to be the abode of 
 the blessed. 
 
24 DOOMED 
 
 Hardly were we anchored than, without loss of 
 a single moment, Shipmaster Gogol summoned to 
 his side all our fighting men. Quietly he now bid 
 them gather their war equipments, preparatory to 
 landing. Then, pointing to the structure, with 
 a peculiar turn in the gesture, he let them know 
 his object. 
 
 Both warriors and equipments were soon 
 landed, and a few moments after, the men stood 
 in line, twenty in all, togged in the full panoply 
 of war. 
 
 It was a sight to behold these stalwart men 
 lined up, arrayed for battle, their heads encased 
 in shining helmets and their broad chests covered 
 with stout bull-hide breast plates. They bore as 
 fighting weapons long javelins, keen-bladed swords 
 and sharp poniards. 
 
 Much against my desire, I was not allowed a 
 place in the ranks; though to conciliate me, I 
 was allowed to occupy an elevation nearby. 
 
 Led by Master Gogol, the advance now began, 
 darkness having set in. All was quiet, the chil- 
 dren in the rear having retired within the great 
 building. Noiselessly they moved onward, soon 
 standing upon the broad lawn fronting the strange 
 mansion. 
 
 Here they encountered a great number of rising 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 
 
 2S 
 
 pipes of greatly varying height, with wide, punc- 
 tured heads whose object they were unable to 
 interpret. But suddenly, from all these pipes rose 
 jets of light spray; and, as if in a flash, the whole 
 atmosphere seemed to be a vast seething furnace. 
 The mere dropping of a rocket upon these foun- 
 tains seemed as if by magic, to have started the 
 terrible blaze. It made a beautiful, but horrible 
 sight; and I looked never again to set eyes on these 
 men save as cindered corpses. 
 
 Overwhelmed by the atmosphere of flame, 
 Master Gogol and his men fell prone to the earth, 
 closing their eyes and holding their nostrils. Each 
 also now inwardly prayed to his favorite god, 
 offering every imaginable sacrifice if succored in 
 this dilemma. 
 
 Around them hissed and roared the flames, 
 heating the atmosphere to suffocating. Not long 
 could it be endured. 
 
 It seemed to me an eternity before the flames 
 subsided; and I already counted our men as among 
 the dead. Who could survive so long a spell of 
 flame and heat? 
 
 No one was therefore more astonished than I, 
 after the flames had subsided, to see the men 
 finally rise to their feet, staggering with weakness, 
 and greatly rejoiced that they were able to do as 
 much. 
 
26 DOOMED 
 
 Opening their eyes, as they became more set- 
 tled, they saw standing before them a trio of state- 
 ly figures bearing themselves with all the majestic 
 grace of heavenly angels. Yet they were only 
 three women, the leader of whom now spoke, ad- 
 dressing them in their own tongue, though with a 
 foreign accent, saying: 
 
 "Strangers from the East; barbarians and 
 pirates, who have come here for plunder, and to 
 carry off our lads and women; worshippers also 
 of Mam,^ we pity your benighted state; and there- 
 fore pardon you, sparing your lives. But this we 
 do on the one condition, that you instantly leave 
 these shores, and return no more. You have wit- 
 nessed the power we wield. Go !" 
 
 The severely stern manner of this utterance by 
 angel, goddess, witch or siren, was such as de- 
 manded obedience. It augured possession of 
 supernatural powers which mortals had better 
 leave unchallenged. 
 
 In the blanched faces of his followers. Master 
 Gogol could discern no trace of further fight; 
 neither could he stir his own chilled blood to 
 warmth. 
 
 Brave as these warriors were, they had no 
 
 1 Mammon, the serpent and goddess of gain, was known by 
 the Atlons only as Mara, by which we may infer that these 
 women were Atlons. 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 27 
 
 heart to cope with wizardry such as that from 
 which they had so narrowly escaped. So, with 
 downcast mien and bowed heads, at their leader's 
 bidding, they wheeled about and made a bee line 
 for our vessel; and there, we who had been idle 
 spectators of the scene, joined them. However 
 much disappointed in our expectations, we were all 
 glad again to be safe aboard ship. 
 
 But we had not entirely escaped the wizardry 
 of this weird continent, as shall presently be seen. 
 No sooner were we again far out at sea, away as 
 we thought from this witch-haunted shore, than a 
 great lull began, the air grew stifling and our sails 
 became useless. There, far out upon the horizon 
 could now be seen a single speck of cloud, and 
 though only a mere dot, it brought to Master 
 Gogol a feeling of great uneasiness. 
 
 In a little while that tiny speck had swollen into 
 an ominous body of swiftly moving blackness, 
 heading directly for our ship. Soon after, raving 
 winds sprang like harpies out of the cloud and 
 tore mercilessly at our sails, forcing our men to 
 take down the last rag of them, and that with 
 much peril to their lives. Before we had time to 
 think, the whole sky had become one solid mass of 
 black, enveloping us in a gloom so dense we could 
 scarcely see an arm's length ahead. The feeble 
 
28 DOOMED 
 
 light of a few ship lanthorns and the lurid flashes 
 of Jove's thunderbolts were all we had to guide 
 our steps. By and by, timbers began to creak and 
 groan, and anon tall masts came crashing down 
 upon us, killing not a few; while over the deck 
 swept mountainous waves making it perilous for 
 even our stoutest men to remain. 
 
 In the awful crash of elements, our frail vessel 
 was a mere egg shell, cracked and leaking from so 
 many pores as to be beyond repair. How she 
 tossed and reeled ! I shall never forget the man- 
 ner in which we were tumbled about. Advancing 
 like a huge leviathan with open jaws, came the 
 flood of waters hungering to swallow ship and all. 
 To longer remain aboard, was to court certain 
 death. 
 
 With Master Gogol and many others, I now 
 desperately sprang overboard, hopeless of sur- 
 vival. Well for me now were the lessons in swim- 
 ming I had received; for these enabled me to 
 breast the waves until able to clutch a floating 
 spar, to which I clung for dear life. 
 
 While thus floating, I bethought me of the poor 
 galley slaves, chained to their benches, in the hold 
 of the sinking vessel. Who now but the gods 
 could rescue them from their peril? At the very 
 moment, the vessel seemed to split asunder and 
 sink from view, taking my breath with its sud- 
 
"Advancing like a hnge leviathan with open jaws, came the 
 flood of waters hungering to swallow ship and all. To 
 longer remain ahoard was to court certain death." 
 
IN THE WIDER WORLD 29 
 
 denness. So ended the career of these desperate 
 men, after having suffered full penance for their 
 crimes; and who knows how many of them had 
 been more sinned against than sinning! 
 
 All night long was the spar bearing me tossed 
 heedlessly by the mad waves, dashed mercilessly 
 against the rocks with which the shoreward waters 
 abounded. How my bruised limbs ached, till 
 utter exhaustion drove me into a sleep hovering 
 twixt life and death, and which a mere breath 
 might turn either way. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Beyond the Wider World 
 
 Little the worse was I for the scratches and 
 bruises I had received in the tempest of the previ- 
 ous day. I was now lodging in the home of a 
 physician named Gomar, who had attended me 
 after my rescue on the waterfront of the city of 
 Athc, in the land of Atlo — a part of the continent 
 of Atlantis. 
 
 I had passed beyond that wider world I had 
 so much longed to see, and of which I had en- 
 joyed a few glimpses. . . But here in this new 
 world my stay was to be brief, unless I chose to 
 become a permanent resident, forever renouncing 
 the world I had left behind. It was an impossible 
 demand, though tempered with the assurance that 
 if I remained I would be admitted to Atlon citi- 
 zenship and endowed with an Atlon's due share of 
 inalienable property. 
 
 To many persons the offer would have been 
 irresistibly tempting, since such liberality was a 
 thing unheard of. In all other lands, arriving as 
 I did, I should have been either held for ransom, 
 or else sold into bondage. 
 
 30 
 
BEYOND THE WIDER WORLD 31 
 
 It was for this reason a very handsome offer, 
 though to me appearing meanly inadequate. How 
 could I renounce home and kin and country, and 
 also my princely fortune and rank — each a sep- 
 arate jewel above compare with the gift they 
 offered? 
 
 In no other way could I view the alternatives 
 given me, until my host, the physician harboring 
 me — talking to me in his quaint mask of Aramaic, 
 from which our Phoenician had been derived — 
 managed to open my eyes. 
 
 It was marvelous, the way his few simple words 
 shattered all my previous conceptions ! What a 
 blight they cast upon my former world, making it 
 now seem, in my eyes, a vast den of thieves — an 
 abode of horrors! 
 
 What a pickpocket's tool my host made of 
 Mam's maxim, with which, until this day, I had 
 been so enamored! He made me see how the 
 myriads of shekels had passed from the pockets 
 of the people Into a few bulging hoards; and how, 
 in failing to return, they had kept strong hands 
 shackled for want of hire and tables bare for want 
 of bread — the beast of hunger meanwhile gnaw- 
 ing at the vitals of the people. Each hoarded 
 shekel had been a separate wolf at the toiler's 
 door — invisible, but to all inmates an ever-present 
 
32 DOOMED 
 
 apparition — a ghostly vampire sucking at their 
 blood, till pallid faces and furrowed brows, and 
 hollow eyes, bespoke its presence in language more 
 eloquent than words. 
 
 In all my previous days had such sights con- 
 fronted me, though I heeded not. For my heart 
 was then hard with class arrogance, accepting the 
 sad lot of the many as a thing that had to be, like 
 rain and cold and storm. Besides, had they not 
 courted this doom by multiplying so fast? Would 
 not better fare lead them to breed the faster, and 
 so defeat the object aimed at? Did not our wise 
 men so teach, by way of caution? Did not the 
 path of wisdom lie in keeping them well curbed; 
 with a strong ruling class in power, to maintain 
 peace and order? 
 
 But it had not at that time been shown to me 
 how the hoarding of the shekels deprived men 
 both of work and bread; and often even of life. 
 I had not yet seen it, save as an innocent prac- 
 tice, leading to higher rank and station. I had 
 never dreamt it had bred famines and swept 
 whole regions like flies to death, unburied and 
 unmourned. I had believed all famines were due 
 to negligence or chance, never SLuspecting any of 
 them due to the neglect of the rich to do their 
 share of spending! 
 
 Well enough I realized, our class did enormous 
 
BEYOND THE WIDER WORLD 33 
 
 spending; but that had been out of the lesser part 
 of their income, while adding ever more and more 
 to their unspent hoards. All were alike spurred 
 on to this course by the spirit of cupidity; holding 
 their hoards back, till the pressure of want was 
 sufficient to compel the grant of their terms — a re- 
 turn of the principal with interest added 
 
 Through this dire pressure they made a gambling 
 hell of trade, and a treadmill out of toil. The 
 shekels reached not; the work reached not; and 
 in all ranks raged bitter strife, along with woeful 
 failures and broken lives. From all sides despair 
 hurled men into the mires of depravity and crime. 
 
 The hoarded shekels were a strangling rope 
 around the neck of the poor, keeping them for- 
 ever on the rack of poverty — choking them till 
 driven into premature graves. 
 
 As in a stupor, so lived the toilers on, from 
 century to century — a life depressed, distorted, 
 bestialized — at far intervals waking up to a vague 
 realization of the degradation to which they stood 
 condemned; and then, in these momentary fits, 
 they tore down thrones and toppled dynasties, de- 
 posed political parties and factions — raging till 
 their fever of destruction subsided, and again they 
 bent their backs under the eternal yoke, without 
 having struck a blow at the throne of Mam, queen 
 of the hoarding world. 
 
34 DOOMED 
 
 The very thought of this new aspect of my 
 former world caused me to shudder. What a 
 ghastly mockery it made of my princely state! 
 Should I now return, how was I to face the accus- 
 ing eyes of the outraged multitudes, whose voice- 
 less sorrow would lash my soul like knives gash- 
 ing at my flesh! 
 
 Were that which I had but now learned the 
 real truth, which, in my heart of hearts, I was 
 unable to deny, how could I return to my former 
 world? Had I not rather walk into some seeth- 
 ing furnace, than face its horrors? 
 
 To discard my fortune, and seek there an hon- 
 est livelihood was unthinkable on Sidon terms. 
 Rather were I a dog, than bow beneath the yoke 
 of toil in Sidon. 
 
 Should I return, and teach there the lesson I 
 had here learned? That also was unthinkable. 
 My own class, even my father, would be so bit- 
 terly envenomed against me, I would be stoned to 
 death. Why, even the toilers had among them 
 too many belly-crawling wretches who, for the 
 smallest drippings from the fleshpots of the rich, 
 would make an end of me I 
 
 Could it be that my mind had become fettered 
 in some spell of enchantment? Could it be possi- 
 ble my physician host was gifted with powers of 
 
BEYOND THE WIDER WOPLD 35 
 
 wizardry, with which he was deluding me? Per- 
 haps to make a jest, or to punish me for my tres- 
 pass upon these shores? Was I not, in his eyes, 
 one of the pirate crew that had sought to raid 
 this coast? Had they not seen Into my heart — a 
 thing easy for wizardry to do? And were they 
 not now, perchance, toying with me, to rack my 
 mind with torture, before administering the final 
 blow avenging my offense? 
 
 But how unjust it was of me to look with sus- 
 picion upon the host who harbored me under his 
 roof, and whose bread he shared with me? What 
 an ingrate I was ! 
 
 Was ever mortal placed in stranger position? 
 Did appearances ever seem so hard to believe, and 
 yet so difficult to disbelieve ? Yet, upon the reality 
 of my newly-formed belief, my entire future hung 
 in the balance. 
 
 And now, reflecting upon the glowing colors in 
 which my host had depicted the wonders of my 
 new Atlon world, the thought came to me, what if 
 all this dazzling brilliance were but the trumpery 
 of a conjuror's tricks? I had heard of men cap- 
 able of so working upon men's minds as to cast 
 before their eyes such visions as they chose. And 
 this man, the physician Gomar, what knew I of 
 him, whom, till the previous day, I had never set 
 eye on? 
 
36 DOOMED 
 
 Well for me it was I had been given a whole 
 month in which to determine my course. The 
 spell of wizardry, if such it was, might by that 
 time have lost its power, leaving my mind free 
 and unclouded. I had never been one of that nar- 
 row-gauge sort that rebels at rising above the rut 
 in which most minds travel. I well realized that 
 the most Improbable things were not for that 
 reason impossible. Why then might not all my 
 host had depicted be true to the very letter? 
 
 Joining my host at the evening repast, I was In- 
 troduced to the members of his family, consisting 
 of Mafra, his spouse, and Metel, his daughter. 
 The meal was quite novel, consisting mainly of 
 nutritious cereals and vegetables prepared In a 
 manner making them strange to my palate, though 
 so highly relished I had to have my dishes refilled 
 more than once. Delicious fruits and condiments 
 were also offered, while of flesh naught was served 
 — being a form of food Atlons rarely used. 
 
 Mafra, or Mother Mafra, as she was usually 
 addressed, was of middle age, prepossessing, tall, 
 and of light complexion. Though Inclined to 
 austerity, she held In reserve an elastic mood 
 tinged with a dry humor, indicating breadth of 
 mind. 
 
 The daughter, Metel, was a bright damsel of 
 
BEYOND THE WIDER WORLD 37 
 
 perhaps sixteen summers, slender, of medium 
 height, and vivacious. Of her mother's light com- 
 plexion, her mood was livelier. She was an adept 
 at the harp, and a graceful dancer, who lacked 
 not admiring suitors. 
 
 Physician Gomar was a tall man, of regular 
 features, wearing glasses over his eyes. His high 
 forehead and modulated voice bespoke both intel- 
 ligence and culture. 
 
 Our repast over, we spent a delightful evening 
 In conversation about the two worlds we repre- 
 sented; and what I gleaned therefrom only sharp- 
 ened my appetite for more knowledge concerning 
 this novel world. Before retiring, I had the 
 promise of my hosts to accompany me on the mor- 
 row upon a jaunt through the city, enabling me 
 to see with my own eyes all the things I so much 
 wondered at. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 Atlic, the Wonderful 
 
 According to promise, my hosts were out early 
 the next day, escorting me to the leading places 
 of interest. 
 
 Go in any direction, Atlic's long avenues pre- 
 sented the appearance of an extended, uninter- 
 rupted park, shaded, lawned, paved, and embell- 
 ished with every imaginable attraction. Not even 
 Athens could boast cleaner thoroughfares or walks 
 less obstructed; for upon these avenues neither 
 
 vehicles nor beasts of burden ever intruded 
 
 Here Immense trees spread their rich foliage over 
 the heads of pedestrians, and canopied benches 
 offered them shade and rest, when wearied. As 
 we strolled on the fine walks, we passed between 
 beds of flowers smiling in every dainty hue, and 
 marble statues posing in every attitude of grace 
 and vigor. And there were no end of tinkling 
 fountains, whose merry notes mingled with those 
 of the birds overhead. 
 
 But all this served only as background to the 
 myriads of cheerful people we encountered on all 
 
 38 
 
ATLIC, THE WONDERFUL 39 
 
 sides, gaily absorbed in lively conversations, whose 
 sweet cadence poured like music into one's ears. 
 What model features, beaming with intelligence; 
 and what graceful charm there was in their every 
 move! 
 
 Even their dress, so varied one could character- 
 ize it by no single style, exhibited a taste seldom 
 to be met. Their garments seemed to be part of 
 their very bodies, so did they harmonize with the 
 peculiarities of each wearer. 
 
 Fully as graceful and lithe of limb as Athenians, 
 were these Atlicans, and a half a head taller. 
 Passing amongst them, I seemed to be moving 
 among gods, and not mere mortals. This alone 
 was enough to stamp my environment as that of 
 another world. 
 
 And while we everywhere met these cheerful 
 groups, nowhere did we encounter any crowds. 
 What was still more striking, was the uniform 
 good will visible on all sides. Not a suggestion 
 was there of classes such as scowled at one an- 
 other in the streets of other cities. How different 
 from the scenes in which our mounted Sidon nobles 
 had to force their way through mobs in the nar- 
 row streets, preceded by ruffians using vile epithets 
 and clubs to part the crowds. . . . Nor passed 
 we anywhere between musty shops and their heaps 
 of wares piled in front of them, with boisterous 
 
40 DOOMED 
 
 criers shrieking their praises, and anon with 
 smooth-tongued importunities enticing wayfarers 
 in. Neither heard we the jangling clamor of tire- 
 less tongues, higgling in every doorway. 
 
 Throughout the entire length of each avenue 
 also ran a smooth-trimmed hedge beyond which, 
 four cubits lower, hidden from view, ran the 
 street, crossed at intersections by stout bridges 
 and reached from basement floors and station 
 stairways upon the avenue. 
 
 It was a strange sight, looking down upon a 
 street from an avenue bridge, to behold the numer- 
 ous queer vehicles called jubros whizzing by like 
 so many phantoms, noiseless, and more wondrous 
 still — self-propelled ! 
 
 I was perfectly dumbfounded by the mystery 
 of this uncanny demonstration. I would have been 
 ready to believe the vehicles inhabited by genii, 
 or other supernatural beings, but for the explan- 
 ation given by my good host, that the power driv- 
 ing them was one generated through the burning 
 of a fluid, called Atlene, so named after the Sun 
 God AT, and obtained from a mountain lake 
 daily kissed by that great deity to renew its inflam- 
 mability. It then occurred to me that It must have 
 been the spray from this liquid, that had been 
 afire, and had so alarmed Shipmaster Gogol and 
 his men. 
 
ATLIC, THE WONDERFUL 41 
 
 The almost noiseless gliding of these strange 
 chariots, my host informed me, was due to an 
 elastic substance placed over their wheels, made 
 from the sap of a tree originally brought to Atlo 
 from a world far to the west, called Nameless 
 Land. 
 
 But silent as were these Atlon chariots, they 
 could emit noises upon occasion, enough to freeze 
 one's blood. These they emitted as signals for 
 slower-paced vehicles in their way to turn aside. 
 
 Along the avenue sides rose immense detached 
 buildings, stately and impressive, called oros, each 
 of which housed many families. They were faced 
 with brick and stone, in variegated colors, and 
 supplied v\^ith glistening windows, curtained within, 
 and hung with canvas awnings. Each family had 
 its separate quarters, while a portion was kept 
 apart for common use, called the oroto. In this 
 portion they met one another in a social way, mak- 
 ing it a broader parlor or club room. 
 
 In the heart of the city, the entire area was 
 given up to public structures, both of the munici- 
 pality and the State, Atlic being the capital of 
 Atlo. These were all palatial buildings, of pol- 
 ished marble, with inlaid floors and tapestried 
 walls. Such magnificence was nowhere else to be 
 seen. They were not as majestic as the Athenian 
 
42 DOOMED 
 
 temples, nor faced with such imposing arrays of 
 massive pillars, nor as colossal in stature as tem- 
 ples I had seen upon the Nil; but apart from their 
 superior elegance, they contained features of 
 utility making them far surpass all others. 
 
 Permitted to mount to the roof of one of these 
 edifices, I had a splendid view of the entire city, 
 spreading out to the endless sea on the north, and 
 on the south to a dark line of low hills crossing 
 the horizon. Running parallel with the sea coast 
 was a long silver streak, the Atlic Canal, its bosom 
 dotted with vessels that sped hither and thither 
 with great speed. They were, like the jubros, 
 
 Atlene-propelled, and were called jubrets 
 
 Upon either side of the canal, lined up innumer- 
 able wharves and warehouses, and not a few great 
 factories overhung with clouds of smoke. It was 
 a bustling district, the industrial heart of the city, 
 as the palatial district was its civic center. 
 
 All the rest of the city was filled with tall oros, 
 of uniform height, with red-tiled roofs, grouped 
 in squares facing its avenues, from which rose to 
 the same level rows of tall tree tops, breaking the 
 red squares of oro roofs with their bright green 
 lines and giving the oro sections the appearance 
 of a huge checker board spread out before the 
 eye. 
 
ATLIC, THE WONDERFUL 
 
 43 
 
 Conversing with the fair damsel, Metel, I asked 
 her in what portion of the city its poor resided. 
 
 "We have no poor in Athc," she replied, "nor 
 in all Atlo. Yet your world, as I hear, fairly 
 swarms with them? What a pity!" 
 
 "With shame I confess what you say is all too 
 true," I retorted. "It is a brand of terrible in- 
 competence, or else willful evil, on the part of our 
 rulers." 
 
 Returning homeward in a jubro, I was given 
 fresh cause for marvel, seeing with what precision 
 this automatic beast was driven and controlled. 
 
 Arrived home, our party separated, Metel to 
 do some shopping, and her father to attend his 
 professional business. So it fell upon Mother 
 Mafra to show me through the interior of their 
 oro. 
 
 ^ Passing from floor to floor, she drew my atten- 
 tion to the splendid condition in which the build- 
 ing was kept, and also to its attractive ornamenta- 
 tions. One after the other, she then drew my at- 
 tention to its unique equipments, explaining the use 
 of each. In the number and variety of these no 
 Sidon palace could compare. 
 
 How my eyes bulged when, down in the base- 
 ment floors, I beheld the amazing store of choice 
 household supplies and provisions, all carefully 
 
44 DOOMED 
 
 spread on trays and racks, and all exposed to 
 ample ventilation in the soft glare of Atlene lamps. 
 And all this I was informed constituted but a 
 moiety of their stores — the remainder being kept 
 in oro warehouses from which these stores were 
 daily replenished. . . . All these supplies, more- 
 over, were already paid for, and a large quantity 
 
 of undelivered materials one-half prepaid 
 
 They made most of their purchases from co- 
 operative shops and factories, and also from co- 
 operative groups of husbandmen, with rarely a 
 dealer to intervene. All the cost of this great pro- 
 fusion also embodied no more than that of the 
 labor entering into their making and delivery.^ 
 
 In the family quarters of Mother Mafra, I was 
 shown their stores of napery and table ware, of 
 which there seemed to be enough to last for gen- 
 erations — all of excellent texture, and much of it 
 ornamented with embroidered designs. Not even 
 my mother, Folka, could boast such an outfit. 
 . . In another chamber I was shown the ward- 
 robes of each member of the family — a display 
 the proudest nobles in my world could hardly 
 equal in quality and variety. What gowns and 
 
 1 One might, from these remarks of Mother Mafra, easily be 
 misled into assuming that the Atlons had in operation some 
 form of Socialism. Yet nothing were further from the truth, 
 as later information will amply demonstrate; for nowhere was 
 private property so fully developed and shielded. 
 
ATLIC, THE WONDERFUL 45 
 
 cloaks, tunics, kaftans, breeches, sacques, jackets, 
 head gear and foot gear, besides the infinite 
 variety^ of soft, dehcate underwear, were here 
 spread out upon its broad sHding racks, which lay 
 so convenient of access, enclosed in the massive 
 wardrobes. 
 
 On the floor above, we visited the oroto — the 
 social section of the oro. Here were spacious 
 assembly rooms devoted to dances, theatricals, 
 lectures, ceremonials and all purposes requiring 
 assemblage. Here also were reading rooms and 
 a library, separate gymnasiums for each of the 
 sexes, and a series of parlors in which to indulge 
 in conversation or in games and pastimes. . . . 
 Every oro also had its spare rooms for guests, a 
 sick ward, and a nursery in which little ones were 
 
 cared for in the absence of their guardians 
 
 Each had also an immense court on the interior, 
 in which the smaller oro children romped and 
 revelled. 
 
 Such was the oroto and its adjuncts — the 
 broader parlor into which the individual parlors 
 of private quarters opened, making of the oro 
 residents a broader family group. Within its pre- 
 cincts, only real distinctions counted — actual 
 merit, to which all showed deference. Pretensions 
 based on birth, or deceit of any kind, were here 
 
46 DOOMED 
 
 so frowned upon that it was folly to endeavor 
 to make use of them. 
 
 Returning to our quarters, my hostess assured 
 me that what I had here seen, whether within the 
 oro, or outside in Atlic, was to be met with in all 
 parts of Atlo — in city, town or in its rural dis- 
 tricts, where isolated oros and small groups of 
 them took the place of villages. Everywhere, the 
 men owned the outfits of their occupation, and the 
 women the homes, all of which were so conducted 
 as to be made inalienable. Through this scrupu- 
 lous care of the people's properties, this land was 
 free from the curse of poverty. 
 
 "That any land could possibly be blessed with 
 such prodigious wealth," I confessed, "as what I 
 have this day seen exhibited, is more than I would 
 ever have believed; and even now, after having 
 seen the palpable evidences of the marvel, my 
 mind still seems to view it as a profound mystery 
 — a work of wizardry, rather than the product 
 of simple wisdom and industry." 
 
 "I do not wonder at the feeling of amazement, 
 and the spirit of doubt that still mingles in your 
 thoughts," my hostess replied, "but this very 
 evening, after our repast and your needed siesta, 
 the way in which we achieve these grand results 
 will be fully explained, and its simplicity will be 
 as great a surprise to you, as the marvelous tokens 
 of our affluence." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 The Wonder-Working Secret 
 
 My siesta over, I was ushered into a smug 
 library, illumined by myriads of tiny jets softly 
 sparkling from a dark velvety belt girdling the 
 walls of the room. The material of which the 
 belt was composed was incombustible, as were also 
 the slender cords leading to the jets from jars of 
 Atlene concealed in wall niches. 
 
 After a spell of preliminary conversation, in 
 which all Indulged, Physician Gomar began the 
 promised revelation of the secret of Atlo's mar- 
 velous prosperity. . . . "You already under- 
 stand, my young friend, the blighting effects pro- 
 duced in your Mamnist world by shekel-hoarding 
 — how it produces on one side artificial scarcity of 
 shekels and wealth, and on the other a monopoly 
 of them, through which permanent dispossession 
 and poverty become the lot of the masses, making 
 their lives one endless reign of want and worry. 
 . . . You realize all this so well, I need dilate no 
 further on the horror." 
 
 "All my life," I interjected, "has this tragedy 
 of the ages been playing before my eyes — this 
 
 47 
 
48 DOOMED 
 
 visible symptom of a gruesome disease eating out 
 the better part of man — a sort of leprosy — a 
 disease incurable." 
 
 "Say not incurable," protested my host, "since 
 its source Is, by your own admission, well under- 
 stood; and that is of itself half a cure. With this 
 abomination of shekel-hoarding stopped, the cure 
 follows of itself." 
 
 "But it seems to me, that to stop shekel-hoard- 
 ing were as great a stumbling block as to find the 
 cure. The one seems to me as impossible as the 
 other." 
 
 "Far from being impossible, my dear friend," 
 he suavely retorted, "the prevention of shekel- 
 hoarding is already in Atlo AN ACCOM- 
 PLISHED FACT. You'll see it In operation 
 here every day; and if you'll listen to Mother 
 Mafra a few moments, she'll make the manner 
 of its doing so clear to you, you'll be surprised at 
 its simplicity." 
 
 Responding to this appeal. Mother Mafra be- 
 gan: "In Atlo everyone is obliged to spend FOR 
 HIS LIVING every shekel he takes in— LEAV- 
 ING NO CHANCE TO HOARD." 
 
 "It's plain enough that compelling men to spend 
 all their shekels would make it impossible to hoard 
 any. But who is to watch EVERYBODY, and 
 see that ALL shekels are spent?" I protested. 
 
THE WONDER-WORKING SECRET 49 
 
 "We take care of that, friend Loab, by using 
 bronze shekels which each gets on paying out sil- 
 ver ones, and which each of us has to give on re- 
 ceiving any of silver, shekel for shekel. The 
 recipient of silver shekels has not only to give the 
 payer the articles paid for, but as many bronze 
 shekels in addition, . . Were I to buy a hat for 
 ten shekels, the seller would have to give me both 
 the hat and ten bronze shekels, . . So it goes on 
 from one person to the next, no one able to take 
 in silver without giving bronze, or able to get 
 bronze shekels without paying out silver ones. 
 . . The bronze shekels being so necessary, 
 EVERYBODY insists on getting them when pay- 
 ing out silver; so EVERYBODY compels 
 EVERYBODY ELSE to keep on spending if they 
 wish to keep on taking in any money. Everybody 
 has to SPEND as much as he takes in. It's stop 
 taking in, if you stop spending." 
 
 "At that rate," I conceded, "you have in every 
 man and woman an officer of the law compelling 
 the silver shekels to keep forever MOVING ON, 
 since no one wants to really stop taking in any 
 more of them. A man's buying must here keep 
 close pace with his selling, just as one's right leg 
 has to keep close pace with his left. They can 
 never get far apart," 
 
 "Our trade is always on the trot and in im- 
 
so DOOMED 
 
 mense volume — so different from what It had been 
 in our Old Atlo, which was Mamnlst. In those 
 days everybody shunned buying as If It were a 
 plague and courted selling with lying tongue and 
 every artifice. Why? Because we were tacitly 
 offering Income-yielding fortunes to those who 
 took in the most and spent the least. Behind 
 every shekel one spent lurked the danger of being 
 unable to replace It to bar from the door the wolf 
 of hunger. This necessity to dread spending 
 stifled Industry and starved humanity. It retarded 
 all development and turned Into demons count- 
 less numbers who had else been angels." 
 
 "A Mamnlst philosopher," said I, "compared 
 our earth to an insane ward in the scheme of the 
 universe." 
 
 "If It's not the insane ward of the universe," 
 she replied, "It must be an earthly Hades, whose 
 tortures are presided over by old Sat himself." 
 
 "But if you spend ALL your shekels here for 
 a living," I now asked, "how does a man manage 
 to acquire any properties of his own? How did 
 you manage to get any properties after making 
 your shekels UNHOARDABLE?" 
 
 "To spend our shekels for a living does not pre- 
 vent us from acquiring our own properties. To 
 perpetuate the home is as much a living cost as to 
 
THE WONDER-WORKING SECRET 
 
 51 
 
 replace your coat or shoes. So it Is, to perpetuate 
 the shop you work in, together with all its equip- 
 ments. . . We help our people to acquire these by 
 preventing the shekels needed for it from being 
 diverted by shekel and property hoarders. 
 The acquisitions we do not allow are those com- 
 prising a loanable surplusage of properties— prop- 
 erties having no other use than to be applied so as 
 to yield an income through the mere fact of their 
 possession— an income those have to contribute 
 who have been left without properties of their 
 own,^ as the very result of the hoarding by which 
 acquisition of such surplusages of property is 
 achieved." 
 
 "I see; what you forbid, is the acquisition of 
 properties to be turned into PROFITEERING 
 CAPITAL — the cumulative result of deficient 
 spending, through which the masses become dis- 
 possessed and are forced to submit to the profiteer- 
 ing exaction of INTEREST on capital." 
 
 "Were we to permit the acquisition of profiteer- 
 mg properties, it would only open another outlet 
 for accumulated hoards and render futile the use 
 of bronze shekels. It would only revive both the 
 opportunity and the incentive to shekel hoarding." 
 
 "But if the masses earned so little," I now 
 asked, "and couldn't take in more than they spent, 
 
52 DOOMED 
 
 I fall to see how they could have earned enough 
 to have acquired properties. You can no doubt 
 explain how it was done — something I will be glad 
 to learn." 
 
 "Accompanying the introduction of bronze 
 shekels, a liberal supply of which were given free 
 to every toiler, we commandeered the surplus 
 properties of our profiteering capitalists. . . In 
 other words, we bought the properties from them 
 on time for their respective operatives, to whom 
 we turned over possession. . . We Immediately 
 assessed both their commercial and their real 
 value — the former, as the basis for the portion 
 each seller was to receive, after a common element 
 of Inflation was deducted — determined by the dif- 
 ference between the actual and the commercial 
 value of the aggregate properties. 
 
 "The tollers were to pay for them In monthly 
 instalments made for a period of ten years, and 
 beginning a month after they took possession. . . . 
 In order to evade forfeiting these payments the 
 capitalists had to provide themselves with bronze 
 shekels to give the payers, the acquisition of which 
 necessitated spending proportionally. . . . The 
 tollers, now able to earn what had previously gone 
 Into paying Interest on capital, had an ample mar- 
 gin from which to pay the deflated body of capital, 
 besides enjoying a far better living than before — • 
 
THE WONDER-WORKING SECRET 53 
 
 since, under the enormous Increase in the volume 
 of shekels now spent by the capitalists, labor 
 prices rose proportionally. 
 
 "They suffered no longer by the delinquent 
 spending of the profiteering capitalists and the 
 artificial scarcity of demand for labor, but were 
 making the capitalists make good all the previous 
 delinquent spending — a colossal debt still due 
 them. What had been wrested from them by 
 deficient spending on the part of the profiteers was 
 now being restored by making good the deficient 
 spending, and thereby swelling instead of shrink- 
 ing labor values." 
 
 "It seems strange, but capitalists had always 
 been credited with being prodigious spenders?" I 
 querulously remarked. 
 
 "Capitalists have always been large spenders, 
 but only of shekels previously EXTORTED 
 from toilers, either in INFLATED prices on 
 monopolized wares, or else In UNDER- 
 VALUED labor that had to be sold In the face 
 of an extremely SHORT labor demand — a de- 
 mand Improperly shrunken by extensive shekel 
 hoarding. The extorted shekels he spent, 
 OTHER PEOPLE'S SHEKELS, made a de- 
 mand for labor of the kind made by locust pests 
 in devouring crops. They made a large demand 
 for labor, but NOT for REMUNERATIVE 
 
54 DOOMED 
 
 labor. . . . The tollers were given work, but 
 no PAID work came to them through the spend- 
 ing done by capitalists. They In reality received 
 only a portion of the work made by their own 
 consuming; and for what they spent In paying the 
 capitalist's extortions they received no compensa- 
 tion. The demand the capitalist made by spend- 
 ing shekels previously extorted was In reality a 
 COUNTERFEIT labor demand just as the 
 quantity of work It added was UNPAID work." 
 
 "I now understand," I joyously exclaimed. 
 "While doing a prodigious counterfeit spending, 
 they practically did no real spending, and you 
 STOPPED their counterfeit spending and com- 
 pelled them to make good their delinquent real 
 spending. Artificially short labor demand and 
 artificially short product supply had both been 
 skinning toilers to the bone; and you reversed the 
 conditions, giving the tollers a retributively long 
 labor demand and retributively large earnings, by 
 which to honestly wipe out the old score." 
 
 "I am very glad to see you so quick to grasp 
 the situation, Loab. For the government to 
 allow a counterfeit demand to be palmed off on 
 the people was just as bad as if It had allowed the 
 people to be cheated by skillful money counter- 
 feiters. . . . We had many such cunning value 
 manipulators circulating In the Old Atlo; and to 
 
THE WONDER-WORKING SECRET 55 
 
 preserve their divine privileges, they were always 
 dabbling in politics, and getting control of our 
 government, and bringing it into disrepute. At 
 last they became so brazen, It was no longer safe 
 for one of them to remain in Atlo — they had 
 made it so lawless." 
 
 "And now, suppose we drop the subject for 
 today;" interposed Physician Gomar, "and if 
 agreeable, we will go on with it tomorrow evening. 
 What say you?" 
 
 "I am very thankful to you, friends," I re- 
 sponded, "for teaching me this valuable lesson 
 that has so opened my eyes, I begin to see things 
 in a new light. It will be a pleasure for me to 
 be present at tomorrow's sitting." 
 
 And so we parted, after listening to a pathetic 
 harp solo by Metel, and a recitation by her 
 mother. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 An Hour in the Oroto 
 
 Together with Metel, I took a stroll the next 
 morning through the bustling district of the canal 
 front, lined with rattling factories and huge ware- 
 houses, between which plied innumerable jubrets 
 laden with productions, either brought in from the 
 outlying rural districts or sent out from the busy 
 factories and destined for the cities and towns on 
 and adjacent to the canal. 
 
 The factory warehouses contained few finished 
 productions — these almost invariably being at 
 once dispatched to oro warehouses, to be there 
 held till called for by the respective oros. Only 
 the materials entering into their productions were 
 kept in the factory warehouses, but in large quan- 
 tities; for factories always had large numbers of 
 advance orders, one-half prepaid and the other 
 half due on delivery; and all these prepayments 
 enabled them to carry large stores of prepaid ma- 
 terials. 
 
 Observing a stout old man, in stepping out of 
 a jubro, handing the driver a small coin, and re- 
 
 56 
 
AN HOUR IN THE OROTO 57 
 
 celving no bronze coin in return, I was mystified, 
 and asked Metel for an explanation, since I had 
 been given to understand that bronze equivalents 
 must be returned for all silver coins taken in. 
 
 "It was only a sheklet — a fractional coin — the 
 man paid," she replied, "and no bronze is re- 
 quired in return for fractional coins. In fact, no 
 fractional coins are issued in bronze." 
 
 "Then your jubro drivers, who take in most of 
 their silver in small coins, evade the necessity to 
 give bronze, and by that means can practice hoard- 
 ing if they will." 
 
 "That is guarded against by their inability to 
 obtain bronze in spending their fractional silver; 
 and also by the necessity to give bronze, shekel 
 for shekel, in exchanging their fractional for even 
 shekels. They merely wait till they have a large 
 quantity of sheklets, and then trade them, and 
 give the bronze shekels all in one deal, instead 
 of having to carry fractional bronze, and use 
 them in every trivial deal." 
 
 "That wonderfully simplifies the use of your 
 bronze shekels — evading their use for fractional 
 amounts and trivial expenditures. It practically 
 removes the objection to their use people might 
 offer on account of inconvenience." 
 
 "It's a great convenience to eliminate their frac- 
 tional use;" my companion responded, "but the 
 
58 DOOMED 
 
 people of Atlo, knowing the benefits their use 
 confers, would not do without them for ten times 
 the inconvenience." 
 
 We lunched at Big Bear oro on our way, re- 
 ceived as guests with every mark of attention and 
 given a table to ourselves in its airy dining hall, 
 spick and span and simple. Napery and dishes, 
 service and viands were all above reproach. 
 
 "I imagined we were guests!" I remarked, on 
 noting Metel handing out a coin on leaving. 
 
 "So we were," she explained. "But in Atlo 
 we all chip in to meet the costs, as in a private 
 picnic. Politeness itself would forbid either 
 party to put the other out and make them appear 
 parasites. So visitors always pay; but the oros 
 never charge more than cost. They would re- 
 sent an offer involving profits. I imagine in the 
 Mamnist world, such conduct would be incompre- 
 hensible. . . . Why, a person having a good 
 behavior card can travel from one end of Atlo to 
 the other, and be received as a guest in any oro, 
 remaining as long as he chooses, and paying them 
 only cost. ... In every oroto we are con- 
 sequently meeting persons from other parts of 
 the land; and so, traveling ourselves very much, 
 we become thoroughly socialized. It makes ofi 
 all Atlo one home, with one roof over our heads." 
 
AN HOUR IN THE OROTO 59 
 
 "But do not your homes lose in privacy by it?" 
 I asked. 
 
 "On the contrary, they are made more private 
 by it — friends all meeting in the orotos. Be- 
 tween the orotos and travel, we have so much 
 change, it removes all friction in the private 
 home." 
 
 Stopping on our return in Red Star oroto, we 
 met two of Metel's friends, Lady Lorn and Lord 
 Manko, whose titles, very common here, will soon 
 explain themselves. I was introduced as a 
 stranger. Prince Loab, of Sidon. 
 
 As a stranger in the land, my new friends were 
 particularly attentive to me. Both being artists 
 who painted in oil, I learned many things from 
 them regarding the state of Atlon art in their 
 line, while I communicated to them what I knew 
 concerning art abroad. 
 
 Overhearing an aged person greet a friend here 
 with the words "sholem oronoyo," which means 
 "peace be your heritage," Lady Lorn, in a 
 whisper, remarked, "A very antiquated greeting, 
 coming down from our Old Atlo. We do less 
 wishing nowadays, and far more doing; or rather, 
 our new social order leaves us little more to wish 
 for In the way of peace and prosperity." 
 
 "We were always wishing each other good 
 
6o DOOMED 
 
 things," I declared, "in my Mamnist world; and 
 to be given such wishes, was perhaps the nearest 
 thing to the things themselves most of its people 
 ever got." 
 
 "I'm glad I didn't live in the Mamnist world," 
 interposed Metel. "Nothing would have sick- 
 ened me more than the creeping, unreliable and 
 unsteady course of its lordly shekel servants — I 
 mean its silver shekels. It must have seemed as 
 if men kept a supply of liquid glue in their pockets, 
 and a shekel once getting in, could never again be 
 detached. What a loafer and tyrant the shekel 
 is, in that world — ^busy half the time turning the 
 thumbscrews on industry by remaining idle, and 
 the rest of the time making toilers miserable by 
 robbing them through extortionate exactions!" 
 
 "When everybody resisted spending," added 
 Lord Manko, "as if it were taking poison; and 
 they were all ready to cut each other's throats in 
 order to add to their sales, the commercial world 
 must have been a madman's picnic. Could you 
 think of anything at once more comical and tragi- 
 cal I The devil was surely at the head of affairs 
 in that world !" 
 
 "One can imagine how stagnant trade was," 
 explained Metel, "when the bulk of all produc- 
 tions had to lay for months and months and often 
 years, detained in shops and stores and ware- 
 
AN HOUR IN THE OROTO 6i 
 
 houses represented by an infinite number of 
 middleman establishments interposed between 
 factory and farm, and fireside — all at a devouring 
 cost in shelfwear, storage, risks, handling and 
 interest, besides the terrible cost of each separate 
 seUing in transfer from one dealer to the next — a 
 ruinous cost that ate like filthy worms into the 
 fruit of toil, leaving the toilers hardly the shadow 
 of what should have been their share. . . . 
 Father called this tedious and difficult progress of 
 productions from producer to consumer a scourge 
 of industrial indigestion. He said also it was ac- 
 companied with periods of greater severity which 
 he classed as cases of acute indigestion. The lat- 
 ter were usually called periods of famine; so com- 
 pletely did industry seem blocked, leaving the 
 people to starve and live by the bitter bread of 
 charity!" 
 
 "Atlo for me," declared Lady Lorn, "with its 
 shekels always on the go, and its productions mov- 
 ing at an irresistible and uninterrupted pace. Atlo 
 for me, where the whole cost of transfer from 
 producer to consumer, save of bulky wares, is 
 seldom more than a moiety of five per cent of 
 their cost of making, instead of taking two-thirds 
 of the cost. Atlo for me, where everyone buys, 
 and keeps on buying, to the very highest limit, so 
 as to be able to keep on earning to the highest 
 
6z DOOMED 
 
 limit of his capacity. . . . Atlo for me, where 
 there Is as much Inducement to spend as there Is 
 to earn, and not a lopsided incentive to stifle 
 trade by spending as little as possible, and to 
 jostle each other with Interminable strife and even 
 bloodshed, so as to secure a larger portion of 
 trade!" 
 
 "I have seen it recorded," said Metel, "that' In 
 our Old Atlo philosophers had advocated the doc- 
 trine that It was every man's right to buy as he 
 pleased and to also sell as he pleased, without re- 
 gard to his neighbor. Not even the State, urged 
 these philosophers, had the right to Interfere with 
 this royal prerogative of the buyer. Think of 
 such a doctrine being taught to human beings — a 
 doctrine I would judge fit for pigs In a pig's 
 Elysium I 
 
 "The doctrine was a subtle justification for 
 shekel and wealth hoarding, and Profiteering Cap- 
 italism. It pleased the profiteering upper class, 
 and no wonder they were fascinated with the 
 works of the first philosopher who boldly advo- 
 cated It." 
 
 "And as It botched the distribution of produc- 
 tions," added Lady Lorn, "so also did it botch 
 the distribution of population, scattering men over 
 a region tenfold as large as they needed, and treb- 
 ling the cost of every step of travel or transporta- 
 
AN HOUR IN THE OROTO 63 
 
 tion made. For with their hoarded shekels they 
 bought up great tracts of lands which they found 
 they could keep and withhold for later prices and 
 rentals yielding often much more than interest. 
 . . . Wherever afterwards settlements arose, 
 and social and industrial intercourse became easier, 
 up went the prices of lands and rentals, so that on 
 all sides it became a matter of indifference where 
 settlers located — being obliged to either suffer the 
 Inconveniences of Inferior location, or else the 
 risen tax of the landholder. So, pell mell, they 
 scattered to the four winds, and suffered a fright- 
 ful wastage of labor and expense through the su- 
 perfluous distances they had to cover. It seemed 
 strange why so many would locate in marshy river 
 bottoms or at the mouths of dangerous volcanoes, 
 or In the wilderness depths a day's journey to 
 their nearest neighbors. But such was the work 
 of Profiteering Capitalism, with its marvelous en- 
 terprise in the work of blocking Industry till its 
 tax of Interest was assured." 
 
 "Since we are picking the flaws In our Old Atlo 
 conditions," added Lord Manko, "it may be well 
 enough to consider the attractive fleshpots found 
 in Its enormous gross profit margins, out of which 
 all sorts of commissions could be extracted by 
 those gifted with the power in any way to divert 
 trade. What a series of gold mines our former 
 
64 DOOMED 
 
 legislators found in them, to trade against their 
 power to divert the patronage of the State. What 
 a lot of jackal statesmen it drew to the fleshpots, 
 and what a fine lot of statesmen It made of these 
 jackals. An honest man had no chance against 
 the power of the fleshpots — so pressing was the 
 strife of the jackal class to monopolize them; and 
 surely, they could outbid any real statesmen. . . . 
 Why, every great organization having patronage 
 to dispense, even charitable and eleemosynary in- 
 stitutions, were subject to the depredations of this 
 class. . . . Can you wonder that the Old Atlo 
 was so corrupt, the smell tainted the atmosphere 
 of the entire universe, all but the realm of our 
 Sun-God, whose burning glory it could not pene- 
 trate I" 
 
 "Your Old Atlo, and the present Mamnist 
 world," I declared, "were both subject to this 
 dread Industrial disease, whether indigestion or 
 leprosy. It is well our new Atlo is rid of the dis- 
 ease. Its wonderful affluence, as I now see It, is 
 merely an expression or manifestation of unim- 
 paired health and unimpeded vigor. Its founda- 
 tion is sound, and the whole structure is sound." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Protected Private Property 
 
 Once more assembled in the library, to con- 
 tinue the instruction given me on the previous 
 evening, at her father's request, Metel began by 
 entertaining us with a sweet song she accompanied 
 on the harp, a song full of melody and pathos. 
 
 Her father now informed me that all property 
 in Atlo is so safeguarded by the State that every 
 child inherits a due portion, accompanying its in- 
 heritance of the NEED of property as a shield 
 to its liberty and a means of exemption from the 
 subjection attending poverty under civilization. 
 . . . As soon as a son arrives at the maturity 
 implied in mastery of a trade, profession or other 
 vocation, he is endowed with a property interest 
 in the establishment to which he attaches his ser- 
 vice; and this property becomes his, during active 
 service — through it sharing in the earnings of the 
 establishment, and having voice in determining 
 its management. Such a portion each operative 
 gets and holds, be the estabHshment one requir- 
 ing large or small capital." 
 
 6s 
 
ee DOOMED 
 
 "At that rate, some Inherit much more than 
 others, do they not?" 
 
 "No; they really inherit alike, since the cost of 
 original acquisition and constant perpetuation of 
 plants involving larger outlay Is collected by be- 
 ing incorporated in the prices of the productions 
 of the plant, and is larger if the cost of the plant 
 is larger. The public at large thus pays for it, 
 while net earnings in all establishments are based 
 on labor alone, under that fair competition which 
 results when all elements of monopoly are re- 
 moved." 
 
 *'But such munificence on the part of the State, 
 how is it possible?" I asked. 
 
 "It is no munificence on the part of the State;" 
 came the reply, "for the cost, as I have said, is 
 drawn out of the gross earnings of all establish- 
 ments. The State is merely custodian of these 
 funds, the trustee in charge of them — in this man- 
 ner fulfilling its obligation to see that the property 
 is handed down safely, and duly enlarged, from 
 one generation to the next. Through this cus- 
 tody, the property is really made INALIEN- 
 ABLE. Through this care, no one can make use 
 of a surplusage of property, there being none de- 
 pendent on its hire, and no gain to be derived 
 from its acquisition — granted that were possible. 
 . . . With all people duly equipped with their 
 
PROTECTED PRIVATE PROPERTY ^7 
 
 portion of productive property, there Is no chance 
 for profiteering properties, even If the State were 
 base enough to lend Its protection to them." 
 
 "You then make the vahdity of property rest 
 entirely on the PRODUCTIVE use made of It," 
 I interposed. "You refuse to accept the stupid 
 assumption so common In the Mamnlst world that 
 a person may do as he will with his own property 
 — a very dangerous doctrine, that would allow 
 one to stab his fellows If done with his own dag- 
 ger; and by analogy, it Is right to deny protection 
 to property for uses inimical to the welfare and 
 security of our fellow men. Neither can It know- 
 ingly countenance such uses of money — once 
 understood how to prevent them." 
 
 "You are right, Loab, as to the obligations of 
 the State. Productive property, the need of which 
 every child of civilization inherits, cannot be al- 
 lowed to be diverted into the hands of greedy 
 and heartless profiteers. The society that cannot 
 protect its unborn from such depredators, should 
 blush indeed." 
 
 "But how were it," I finally asked, "if owners 
 sold their property, squandering the money re- 
 ceived for It?" 
 
 "That Is made impossible through the fact that 
 in all property transfers, the money paid to the 
 
68 DOOMED 
 
 seller Is merely transferred from the buyer's ac- 
 count to that of the seller, always remaining in 
 custody of the State — all but the small margin left 
 when the purchase of a new property costs less 
 than what was realized from that sold — happen- 
 ing only when the stock of a concern is above par, 
 through superior management whereby like labor 
 in the one establishment can produce more than 
 in others of the same character. Should such a 
 balance remain in favor of the seller, it is given 
 him, and he is at liberty to do with it as he wishes. 
 But if the sale leaves a deficiency, he is obliged to 
 make it good through a deficiency tax levied on his 
 earnings until it is made good." 
 
 "It is very important then for the co-operatives 
 to select able managers, is it not?" 
 
 "The management of a co-operative under At- 
 lism is so easy that they encounter small difficulty 
 in securing capable men for the position. The 
 atmosphere of Atlon trade is so completely void 
 of sharp practices; of having to give credit; of 
 having to spend fortunes In securing trade; of 
 having to speculate as to what is to be made. In 
 what style and in what quantities, to serve the 
 whims of a fickle public; of necessity to compete 
 against untold volumes of obstructive capital and 
 for securing loans and credits in markets unduly 
 restricted. With their orders received from 
 
PROTECTED PRIVATE PROPERTY 69 
 
 samples and catalogs; placed far In advance; and 
 half prepaid, with the rest to be paid on delivery; 
 how much easier it is to manage a business ! They 
 have really no risks to assume; and besides, we 
 have under the State a Push Wing to steer all 
 enterprises involving any hazard. Of this pecu- 
 liar branch of government, you will hear enough 
 before long." 
 
 "I presume your property In homes or oros is 
 all handled on the same principle?" I queried. 
 
 "With slight modifications," responded Mother 
 Mafra, "the same principles are applied. Every 
 woman, upon marriage. Is dowered with stock in 
 an oro proportional to the quarters she is to oc- 
 cupy; and in addition she Is endowed with an in- 
 come for family maintenance, subject to increase 
 as the family becomes larger. Out of this income, 
 however, the State withholds enough to cover the 
 cost of oro wear and reconstruction — a portion 
 set aside and kept In State custody for repair 
 and reconstruction of the oro, when needed." 
 
 "But how comes the State to provide the home 
 with an Income?" I asked in astonishment at such 
 unheard of munificence. 
 
 "The State regards woman as a worker In the 
 subsistence-producing co-operation of Industrial 
 society, and takes it upon itself to see that this in- 
 
70 DOOMED 
 
 come is placed In her hands as something her very 
 own, due her as head of the household. It is not 
 to be withheld as a bludgeon through which to 
 make her a household drudge." ^ 
 
 "That makes woman here the queen of the 
 home," I suggested. 
 
 "Even as man is lord of the workshop. The 
 State shields him from the dispossessing tactics of 
 the profiteering capitalist; and why not woman 
 from the drudgery of dispossession in the home? 
 . . . Oh no, we are not allowed here to ap- 
 proach the altar, bowed down with dependence 
 and want, and forced to mate ourselves under a 
 yoke. Freedom of the heart is regarded as an 
 indispensable requisite to real marriage. Men 
 and women are not to be mated like dogs and 
 slaves." 
 
 "Your oros in their entirety are then a co- 
 operative concern?" I asked. 
 
 "Like any other co-operative, save that the 
 private homes remain private. We elect our 
 
 1 As custodian also of the children of school age, whose 
 studies are real work and in the long run materially promote 
 the volume of future production, woman is the rightful claimant 
 to the pay due for this labor. Though its results are remote, it 
 is no less productive labor than is the plan made by the archi- 
 tect for the grand edifice completed years after. In any honest 
 system of industrial co-operation all contributors of productive 
 service must be recognized and rewarded, whether directly or 
 through their natural custodians. 
 
PROTECTED PRIVATE PROPERTY 71 
 
 manager, or Oro Mother, who appoints her aids 
 and engages what help is needful. For many- 
 years I served in that capacity; and it is for that 
 reason I am still called Mother Mafra. In the 
 oroto we are addressed as Lord Gomar and Lady 
 Mafra." 
 
 "And is your oro stock also transferable?" 
 "Just as stock in any other concern. We can 
 change residence as easily as men can change their 
 co-operatives. It occasions little trouble and 
 scarcely any loss — nothing like the loss home 
 owners in the Mamnist world suffer by change of 
 residence." 
 
 The more I contemplated, the more convinced 
 I became that the world held no other land like 
 Atlo. In this land throve an UNPERVERTED 
 CAPITALISM that put to shame the Profiteer- 
 ing Capitalism of the Mamnist world. Here 
 money was not allowed to make itself master of 
 man. Here property — the capital needed by the 
 toiler — was made INALIENABLE — a sacred 
 heritage, of which the unborn were not to be de- 
 prived. Here man was truly made FREE, and 
 woman, his mate, EQUALLY FREE. This was 
 the land for me. Here would I stay. I would 
 adopt Atlo as my future home; and so I finally 
 reported to my hosts. 
 
72 DOOMED 
 
 "Nothing, friend Loab," replied my host 
 "would please me more than to have you re- 
 main; but before you make your resolve final, I 
 beg you to listen, while I tell you of the darker 
 side of Atlo's outlook. . . . Having sup- 
 planted Mam's hoardable shekel, and done away 
 with Mamnist profiteering, we have aroused the 
 ire of the Evil One, who is now designing to de- 
 stroy our people through an invasion by beasts 
 from Atlora — all so as to wipe from the earth 
 every vestige of Atlism. . . . It is such a war 
 of extermination with which we are today men- 
 aced, and whose dangers will confront you if you 
 remain. I beseech you, therefore, to think well 
 before making your decision final." 
 
 "The very peril, friends, that confronts Atlo," 
 I replied, "Impels me to remain here, contributing 
 what little I can to the defense of Atlo and Atlism. 
 Not for the world would I see the knowledge of 
 Perfected Capitalism become lost to the world. 
 Count me henceforth an Atlon to the core — one of 
 its defenders to the very last." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Atlo's Wonderful Push Wing 
 
 A WEEK had passed since my advent in Atlo, 
 and now I was a proud citizen of this wonderful 
 State, owning a portion of stock in the Gloria 
 Garment House, hired by its manager, after dem- 
 onstrating to him my ability to be of service. 
 
 Reporting my hire, the State paid for my In- 
 terest in the establishment on a par basis. Had 
 the stock been above par, I would have had to 
 make good the deficiency by a series of drafts 
 taken from my regular earnings; and on the con- 
 trary, had it been below par, the deficiency would 
 have been made good to me. 
 
 I was now entitled not only to my twenty shekels 
 wage per week, but also to a monthly dividend 
 drawn from the surplus earnings of the Gloria, 
 varying some, though in the long run amount- 
 ing to fully as much as the wages. . . . Should 
 either the manager or myself at any time be dis- 
 satisfied, we were privileged, on giving a reason- 
 able notice, to part. . . . The State would be 
 notified, and the value of my portion transferred 
 to its custody, to be paid over to my next employer, 
 
 73 
 
74 DOOMED 
 
 deviations from the par of stock of the new con- 
 cern having to be made good, as was done on 
 hiring to the Gloria. 
 
 My work in the Gloria was to design patterns, 
 
 in doing which my experience abroad made up 
 
 for much that, as a beginner, I was deficient in. 
 
 A full day called for three two-hour 
 
 shifts, and a full week for five days' work. 
 
 Each of us was assigned two days each week for 
 rest and recreation, on which we were forbidden 
 to work. The days were so assigned that we 
 always had a force at work on each of the seven 
 days. This practice is maintained In all estab- 
 lishments, enabling all persons to be served at 
 all times, and obviating the crowds and rushes 
 and inadequate service and overwork usually at- 
 tending popular recreation wherever all seek rest 
 and recreation on the same day. 
 
 Though in Sidon considered a man of some stat- 
 ure, I ranked here only as of medium height — 
 Atlons averaging half a head taller than our 
 SIdonlans. They were also larger minded, as 
 well as larger In body, evidenced by their jovial 
 spirit and the rarity of losing their temper, as 
 well as by the wit apparent in the high standards 
 prevailing on all sides. . . . Their great su- 
 periority, In fact, represented the latent powers 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 75 
 
 and forces liberated by Atlism and fettered under 
 Mamnism. They displayed no inheritance of mor- 
 bid appetites — thirst for strong drink or crav- 
 ing for opiates, or any other tokens of the defi- 
 ciencies left by periods of hunger and exposure 
 and abuses indulged from the feeling of despair 
 and abandonment bred under Mamnist conditions* 
 They were all free from these ugly fetters, and 
 showed it in their erect walk and manly ways. 
 
 If one thing more than any other caused me to 
 feel my utter inferiority to the Atlon, it was the 
 sight of a group of them — men and women — en- 
 gaged in one of their charming picture dances. 
 
 How these dances displayed the graces of fig- 
 ure and form in the ever-changing attitudes as- 
 sumed, and the perfect pose by which they ap- 
 peared to move as if without the slightest effort 
 — the entire group swerving in one continuous 
 symphony, in perfect harmony with the music, as 
 if all were parts of a single living organism. . . . 
 Words cannot depict the charm of these pictures, 
 in which every look and every muscle were blended 
 into one grand work of art. It was a dance fit 
 for the gods. . . . What hope then had I, 
 with my unmusical ear and my unwieldly, awk- 
 ward limbs, to ever succeed in mastering it? 
 
 Yet in spite of my seemingly overwhelming de- 
 fects, was I daily urged by Metel, with wistful 
 
^S DOOMED 
 
 looks, to make a desperate effort at Its mastery. 
 I knew she delighted in the dance, in which she 
 was an expert; and spurred by her urging, I 
 launched into the endeavor, supported in it by her 
 great faith in me. Come the very worst, I would 
 give her pleasure; and that realization made me 
 laugh at the smiles my awkwardness inevitably 
 provoked. 
 
 Sauntering together one day through a shady 
 avenue, we spoke of conditions at the Gloria, in 
 which I was now an active partner, and in which 
 she took a lively interest. 
 
 "Orders at the Gloria," I informed her, "are 
 pouring in faster than we can turn them out; and 
 we have already enough orders on hand to keep 
 us going for the next six months. No one expects 
 we will ever catch up. . . . Then, how my eyes 
 bulge to see them come in — all one-half prepaid, 
 with the remainder due on delivery. How dif- 
 ferent all this is from the tediously slow and du- 
 bious course of Income in the Mamnist world I 
 Ah, that's what I call business — real business!" 
 
 "We have our bronze shekels to thank for all 
 this," my companion responded. "These bronze 
 shekels are so many drivers behind the silver ones 
 — each with whip in hand to spur them on at a 
 tireless speed and a ceaseless run. The need of 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 77 
 
 the bronze, so as to earn to our fullest capacity, 
 keeps us spending — ever spending to the limit. 
 . . . There's always more in sight, and so we 
 never hesitate at spending. Spending? Is it not 
 all for our living in the fullest sense — all for our 
 living? Then the more we spend the more we 
 live. Why, to stint seems to us half like suicide. 
 It's a sin — perhaps a crime. . . . And besides, 
 is not all work — all opportunity to earn — the 
 product of spending? Did we not spend, how 
 much work were there ? And to whom should our 
 work all go, if not to those who MAKE it by their 
 spending? If men spend nothing, what need have 
 they of work; and what work are they, who make 
 none, entitled to? Is there any to spare save for 
 its makers?" 
 
 ''Surely not, if all makers are each to secure 
 their due portion," I answered. "That's just 
 where your bronze shekels come in. They're each 
 holder's proof of work-making and his claim on 
 a proportionate amount of the output of work. 
 . . . They are really the DISTRIBUTING 
 medium for all work, just as the silver shekels 
 are the DISTRIBUTING medium for all pro- 
 ductions—the holders of silver shekels having 
 them as their proof of having proportionally con- 
 tributed to the product output, which is therefore 
 exclusively reserved for them." 
 
78 DOOMED 
 
 "You've put the thing admirably," was the 
 reply. "I'm sure it could not have been stated 
 better. It's just because there are in reality TWO 
 outputs — one of work, and one of the products 
 of labor — to be distributed, and in the Mamnist 
 world only ONE distributing medium, that it is 
 so sickly and filled with disorder and violence. It 
 is just as if a human body, needing heart and 
 lungs were furnished with only one of these, and 
 left to eke o,ut a painful existence with it." 
 
 "To change the subject, Metel," I suggested, 
 "can you explain why our Sidon co-operatives — 
 the few we had of them — met with no better suc- 
 cess than other enterprises, though they looked 
 forward to achieve wonders through them?" 
 
 "They erred greatly in failing to see that the 
 shop co-operation they exalted was already in 
 force in all other shops, and that they were as 
 subject to Mamnist handicaps as other enterprises. 
 Their shop-wide co-operation escaped none of the 
 malign influences of Mamnist capital — accumu- 
 lated in vast excess, and half of its great volume 
 being merely capitalized powers of extortion aris- 
 ing from social negligence and privilege, and caus- 
 ing the conduct of all business to require double 
 and treble and fivefold the amount of capital 
 otherwise needed; also magnifying the risks in- 
 volved, and multiplying the difficulties to contend 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 79 
 
 with — particularly that of disposing of wares. It 
 did not exempt them from the tax of interest 
 levied by all this capital, nor from the ruin so 
 often inflicted by the industrial crises it periodi- 
 cally precipitated through its insupportably ex- 
 cessive accumulations." 
 
 "Even without a work-distributing medium," 
 Metel resumed, "the Mamnist co-operation was 
 far superior, being STATE-WIDE in its scope. 
 Through its use of money and competition — such 
 use of these as it made — it united farm, factory 
 and fireside, producers and consumers, throughout 
 all Atlo, into a single industrial organism. It 
 gave a SUPERIOR co-operation in a PER- 
 VERTED FORM; and the petty shop-wide co- 
 operative institutions all benefited by it, and were 
 also limited in their capacity by its want of a work- 
 distributing medium." 
 
 "Then the greater success of your Atlon co- 
 operatives may be attributed," said I, "to the fact 
 that your STATE-WIDE co-operation is an UN- 
 PERVERTED one. It operates with both a work 
 distributing and a product distributing medium. 
 In that, it is a PERFECTED Capitalism, relieved 
 of all obstructive and profiteering influences. It 
 towers over all Mamnist and substitute forms of 
 industrial organization like a giant among pig- 
 mies." 
 
8o DOOMED 
 
 Passing on from one avenue to the next, a 
 curious feature drew my attention — the fact that 
 the initial letters of their respective names ran in 
 alphabetical order. Beginning from the heart of 
 the city they also ran in series, the first having 
 names of only one syllable, the next words of two 
 syllables, the next of three syllables, and so on. 
 . . . Thus they started with Arch avenue, fol- 
 lowing with Bear avenue, Card avenue, Dell ave- 
 nue, and so on, to the last letter of the alphabet; 
 and after that started over with two syllable 
 names and so on, Metel informed me that the 
 object of this way of naming avenues was to en- 
 able men to know locations from the mere name 
 of the avenues. It was surely a great help, espe- 
 cially to strangers. 
 
 "With all your thoroughfares at right angles 
 to each other; so clean and broad and shady; and 
 so named, a stranger is able at once to locate any 
 of them; you have model cities, indeed. How 
 disgusted I should now be to go back to the 
 crooked, narrow and dirty streets of Mamnist 
 cities, in most of which women durst not venture; 
 nor well dressed men, unless bearing arms. I tell 
 you, I wouldn't change places with the proudest 
 emperor there!" 
 
 "An ancient adage has it, 'better a hovel of 
 health than a palace of pestilence.' " 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 8i 
 
 "There was one feature of Mamnism," I re- 
 marked, "our merchants were never tired of laud- 
 ing — their great credit system. Had you such a 
 system in your Old Atlo?" 
 
 "It followed Mamnism everywhere, as heel fol- 
 lows toe. Mercantile pride everywhere made 
 much of it. It was an aggregation of discrepan- 
 cies, growing and growing and growing; for 
 Mamnist leaks of discrepancy were constantly 
 patched at a cost in new discrepancies, larger 
 than the old. The terms on which credit was 
 given always involved the necessity of a profit 
 return; and the failure to spend more than a frac- 
 tion of the profits created fresh discrepancies. So 
 the volume of discrepancies was always kept 
 swelling, save in the time of an industrial crisis, 
 when its volume shrank, and the patching of dis- 
 crepancies ceased — in short, when credits sud- 
 denly disappeared, and the big credit system 
 dwindled into a shadow." 
 
 "The entire credit system, as I now see it," I 
 declared, "was a foul growth springing from the 
 unrestrained shekel hoarding in vogue. It was 
 the evil symptom of a vicious practice. What de- 
 lusions possessed the commercial world, to praise 
 it so!" 
 
 "They also called it the corner stone of trade," 
 my companion added. "Father says the mercan- 
 
82 DOOMED 
 
 tile world was always so starved, It could never 
 have stood up without the stone to lean on." 
 
 "Let me tell you now about our great Push 
 Wing," she followed, " — the branch of our gov- 
 ernment supplementing all our industrial undertak- 
 ings and our social organization." 
 
 "Your father mentioned it to me, and I'm very 
 anxious to learn more concerning it." 
 
 "I could hardly tell you all the varied things it 
 does," she responded, "but fortunately I this 
 morning found a summary of its work; and think- 
 ing you would be interested, I kept It with me. 
 Shall I read it to you?" 
 
 "You can't begin too soon," I assured her. 
 
 "Then listen, Loab, and I'll read: 
 
 "The Atlon Push Wing is designed to foster 
 new ideas, new Inventions, new discoveries. It 
 aims to promote the sciences and arts in all their 
 branches. ... Its work Is also to educate the 
 people for the life they are to lead, providing for 
 all an elementary training In the rudiments of 
 learning and of all general work. It also offers 
 a special education for each In such fields as they 
 may desire to enter, in trades, professions or In 
 the labors of statecraft. 
 
 "It promotes needful enterprises whose Inaugu- 
 ration would involve risks. If privately under- 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 83 
 
 taken; turning them over to private enterprise, 
 after proving themselves remunerative and estab- 
 lished. It also promotes and conducts enterprises 
 of a useful character that would be commercially 
 unprofitable. If needed to keep up industrial and 
 social progress, they are not neglected because of 
 not being directly remunerative. 
 
 *'The Wing also maintains a large force of 
 salaried physicians, who serve their patients with- 
 out direct cost to them, harassing no man's mind 
 with the ghost of a large bill confronting him on 
 recovery. ... In every oro, also, it main- 
 tains a priest and a priestess, qualified physicians, 
 who keep the inmates informed in matters relating 
 to the preservation of their health — the body be- 
 ing regarded as one of AT'S most sacred temples 
 — the structure within which each soul meets its 
 god and hears his voice speaking in conscience. In 
 emergencies these oro priests treat patients, pend- 
 ing the arrival of the regular physician. 
 
 "The Wing also supplies with regular annuities 
 all persons permanently disabled or incapacitated. 
 
 "We have one branch of the Wing that devotes 
 itself to territorial expansion of town, city and of 
 Settled Atlo. Of course, we have no land specu- 
 lation to foster a promiscuous scattering of popu- 
 lation by raising prices everywhere to a point 
 neutralizing local advantages by the exaction of 
 
84 DOOMED 
 
 proportionally higher rentals and land prices; but 
 what we do is to limit the radius everywhere with- 
 in which settlements may expand. We then pro- 
 ceed to put in every kind of desirable improve- 
 ment, whose cost falls, not on a sparse settlement, 
 but on one so well peopled as to make the cost to 
 each settler very light. In expanding the territory 
 of Atlo, we clear the necessary lands, and also 
 drain and irrigate so far as necessary, giving set- 
 tlers Improved lands and plenty of near neighbors 
 from the very start. 
 
 "The Wing also exercises the greatest care for 
 tollers In all walks, even providing temporary pen- 
 sions In case of a trade being revolutionized by 
 the introduction of new labor-saving machinery. 
 It supports the workmen till able to fit themselves 
 into a new occupation. ... At the time Atllsm 
 was Introduced, It even pensioned for life capi- 
 talists of advanced years, thus giving to these men 
 a longer period than ten years In which to spend 
 their capital. As capitalists, they were, of course, 
 amply able to pay for these pensions. 
 
 "A special branch of the Wing Is constantly 
 searching to ascertain what new needs or wants 
 the public may have, whether material, political 
 or social — In fact, of any kind whatsoever. After 
 due consideration, these are all gratified so far 
 as deemed advisable. 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 85 
 
 "A branch also supervises the trades and pro- 
 fessions, each of which is regulated by rules and 
 codes of its own devising, but subject to the ap- 
 proval of the Wing, which is also their court of 
 final appeal. 
 
 "Another branch keeps a vigilant eye on offi- 
 cials in every department of the government, 
 prosecuting them vigorously for every form of 
 dereliction, from usurpation of power to misap- 
 plication of trust funds. . . . The reconstruc- 
 tion funds are particularly watched; though, if 
 properly applied, they are so rapidly absorbed in 
 reconstruction as to accumulate only in compara- 
 tively small amounts. The real fund is in the 
 properties themselves." 
 
 "I am glad to see Atlons did not fall into the 
 error so common in other States," I remarked, 
 "that assumes the industrial system, equipped with 
 money and competition, is self-sufficient; and that 
 it also wisely leaves to private enterprise all those 
 functions it is capable of performing as well or 
 better than If done by the State. This minimizes 
 the task of the State and helps to make It more 
 effectually accomplished." 
 
 "It is impossible to recall all the varied works 
 done by the Wing," my companion resumed, "but 
 along with others it provides us with a means of 
 
86 DOOMED 
 
 saving up for exceptionally large outlays, such as 
 the purchase of a private jubro or making an ex- 
 tended traveling tour. . . . All we have to do 
 in such a case is to buy from the State a SAV- 
 INGS TICKET, for which we pay in instalments. 
 With each Instalment, we are given bronze shekels 
 through which we can go on saving till the whole 
 ticket is paid for. ... In spending, we pay with 
 coupons torn from the ticket till the ticket is used 
 up. In spending the coupons we get no bronze 
 shekels, having already had them paid us in buying 
 the ticket; but the recipients of the coupons have to 
 give bronze shekels to the State in having them 
 cashed. . . . The savings tickets work nicely. 
 Even our farm and other co-operatives occasion- 
 ally use them." 
 
 On our homeward journey, I noted some small 
 repair shops, and learned from my companion that 
 these were each a part of a larger co-operative — 
 a class of co-operatives each of which was man- 
 aged according to its own peculiar needs. 
 
 What a vast superiority I could now see in 
 Atlism ! What a staggering and indelible impres- 
 sion it made upon my mind — the great immensity 
 of its scope and the marvelous facility of its opera- 
 tions! What a contrast there was between its 
 
ATLO'S WONDERFUL PUSH WING 87 
 
 protected properties and the profiteered proper- 
 ties of the Mamnist world 1 What a contrast be- 
 tween its orderly Perfected Capitalism and the 
 disorderliness of the Profiteering Capitalism 
 reigning abroad I 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Gathering Cloud 
 
 Happy days were those of my first month In 
 Atlic, sauntering along its beautifully parked ave- 
 nues, or flying in jubros over its outlying rural 
 districts, with an occasional ride over the Atlic 
 Canal in one of its swift-gliding jubrets, with 
 Metel at my side. Sometimes we went rowing, 
 and often fishing, in the clear waters of this canal. 
 . . . What wonderful visions were those, when 
 the face of AT shot his blood red shafts across 
 the heavens, painting earth and sky and sea and 
 cloud in a thousand gorgeous hues, bespeaking his 
 divine glory. How each feathery cloud blushed, 
 as the Golden Faced One cast his glowing eye upon 
 it I And well it might; for was not he ruler over 
 heaven and earth? 
 
 What delightful evenings we also spent listen- 
 ing to brilliant lectures delivered in the oroto, or 
 observing the progress of some drama in a play 
 house. . . . How much more enjoyable they 
 were to me, interspersed with intervals of earnest 
 work in the Gloria. It taught me the lesson that 
 all pleasures need seasoning with intervals of work 
 
THE GATHERING CLOUD 89 
 
 or pain of some sort. Unseasoned by vexations 
 and disappointments, a very houseful of toys will 
 not impart to little ones their pleasure-giving 
 power. In their very midst, the child will burst 
 into tears and bawl without apparent reason. 
 . And the poor, neglected child often de- 
 rives more pleasure from its shabby rag doll. 
 It is madness in mortals to think pleasures may 
 be expanded with possessions — that pleasure 
 added to pleasure is more than shadow laid 
 over shadow. . . . As If the pursuit of pleas- 
 ures were any better than the vain practice of as- 
 ceticism. But mortal mind is a madhouse of de- 
 lusions, only by slow degrees passing into the 
 fairer realm of freedom and sanity. 
 
 Visiting at her home one day, her mother 
 joined us. In the course of conversation casually In- 
 forming me that she was a seer of visions, who 
 had often been visited In her dreams by the god- 
 dess Atl, consort of the Sun God AT. In such a 
 dream my coming to Atlo had been announced, 
 and my arrival afterwards had been a verification 
 of its prescience. 
 
 "Last night had I another of these prophetic 
 dreams — " she confided to me, "one of dreadful 
 portent. In It, our fair land was being ravaged 
 by horrid creatures, of vague form but gigantic 
 stature, who carried on their depredations in every 
 
90 DOOMED 
 
 portion of the land. I saw them clambering up 
 our oro walls. I saw them breaking in. I saw 
 them slaying and devouring our people. Oh, it 
 was a terrible dream. It haunts me every mo- 
 ment." 
 
 "King Mozo is busy night and day," the seer 
 resumed, "making every possible preparation for 
 meeting the threatened invasion. Coming from 
 Atlora, the peninsula to our west, the beasts are 
 expected to approach through the isthmus of Long 
 Neck. At that point we are already concentrat- 
 ing forces and constructing bulwarks calculated to 
 bar their entrance. . . . But somehow I am 
 overcome with a premonition that, In some un- 
 foreseen way, the beasts will effect an entrance 
 and overrun the land." 
 
 "Expecting them to come," I suggested, "were 
 it not well to barricade our oro windows and the 
 doors also?" 
 
 "That will surely be done," she assured me, 
 "since King Mozo Is already aware of my strange 
 premonition, and Is taking steps to manufacture 
 a vast number of steel bars suited for the purpose. 
 To do this will take some time; and the danger Is, 
 we may be invaded before the preparations are 
 complete." 
 
 Scarcely had she ceased speaking, when a 
 strange alteration came over her; and leaning back 
 
THE GATHERING CLOUD 91 
 
 in her chair — her body rigid, and her features 
 livid — she sat staring with a fixed and vacant gaze. 
 Metel cautioned me at once to remain quiet, it 
 being a trance from which her mother would soon 
 be aroused. 
 
 Slowly the lips of the enthralled woman began 
 to part; and in low, muffled tones, as if addressing 
 an audience, she began speaking: 
 
 "Dark, moving figures fill the face of the land. 
 It is at Long Neck. They seem to be, but are 
 not human beings. They are of gigantic stature, 
 covered with thick coats of hair, all jet black. 
 Fangs of the tiger, eyes of the tiger, heads of 
 the tiger have they; but the form of apes, and the 
 spryness of apes. They thirst for human blood, 
 they hunger for human flesh. In ferocity, no beast 
 is their equal. ... I see them marching in a 
 dark passage wa *n the bowels of the earth. 
 They are heading for Atlo. They will break in 
 upon us unawares — but where ? I cannot see. 
 All is dark, save where I see oros stormed by the 
 monsters, and floors red with the gore of the 
 slain. ... I can see no more. No more, no 
 more." 
 
 While speaking, her words were being trans- 
 mitted to a papyrus sheet, which Metel at once 
 handed to her mother — the trance images quickly 
 fading in her memory, like a dream. 
 
92 DOOMED 
 
 Reading the transcript, the seer hastened to 
 have its story bell-signalled to Atlo's military 
 chiefs — a mode of communicating rapidly to dis- 
 tant places through a series of signal towers each 
 provided with a huge bell and an operator using 
 a code of notes rung In varying lengths and In dif- 
 ferent keys, with each such note indicating a sep- 
 arate sound symbol. 
 
 "So you go to the front tomorrow, Loab;" 
 Metel regretfully remarked to me that evening. 
 "And I will be leaving to attend the wedding of 
 my friend Lesba, at Nungo, to young Captain 
 Kapso. Really, I would not dare to leave home 
 at such a time, but that I had solemnly promised 
 Lesba to serve as a bridesmaid. ... I hope 
 our troubles in Atlo will not begin before my re- 
 turn!" 
 
 "They hardly will," I retorted. "Yet our part- 
 ing may be for a long while, for who knows how 
 long the war may last! It may be many moons 
 before we meet again. . . . And for this very 
 reason, Metel, I wish you would tell me more 
 concerning your Atlon attitude toward life — what 
 in other lands Is called religion. If I do not err, 
 you once told me you did not believe In disembod- 
 ied spirits. Am I right?" 
 
 "We believe body and spirit are Inseparably 
 
THE GATHERING CLOUD 93 
 
 united In each human being. They together dis- 
 solve at the tomb, and reappear in the cradle. 
 In the interval they form part of the insensate 
 body or mass of life's substance. Into this they 
 merge at death, and out of this they reappear in 
 new births." 
 
 "Then your creed is without a hereafter?" 
 
 "Why a hereafter, when we have AN ETER- 
 NAL HERE in which each successive generation 
 lives the hereafter of all previous ones, reaping 
 the harvests, for good or ill, such as in the past 
 they've sown?" 
 
 "Then Atlons can have little fear of death?" 
 I queried, 
 
 "No more than they now have of ghosts," she 
 replied. "And yet, the thought of death is re- 
 pelled through blind impulse. For the great 
 inertia of energies driving us on and denoting the 
 degree of vitality In us Is constantly resisting death 
 and all thought of death. It Is not so much rea- 
 son, as impulse, that causes us to cling to life. 
 . . . When age arrives, and the decline of our 
 energies begins, the impulse of resistance to death 
 also wanes, and often makes It welcome." 
 
 "So also do we resist sleep till exhausted en- 
 ergies cease their struggle against it." 
 
 "Sleep is Nature's building season," Metel ex- 
 plained. "When disturbed and exhausted forces 
 
94 DOOMED 
 
 and tissues are ready to let the body of man col- 
 lapse, Nature takes possession of it and attends 
 to the needed repairs, giving us back the body 
 when once more in good shape. . . . Begin- 
 ning with the cradle, and ending with the grave, 
 from sleep to sleep, we undergo a daily course 
 of change, so that none can say at just what stage 
 of growth the ME is truly likenessed in the body. 
 Tell me, pray, which of all this myriad of bodies 
 had the prior right to say 'this is me'? Are they 
 not all me — all figures of a lifelong ME? Even 
 so is mankind an ETERNAL ME, and its here- 
 after an ETERNAL HERE." 
 
 "Viewing life as an eternal here," said I, "you 
 have an ever-present incentive to make your world 
 a better one to live in. Your minds are not dis- 
 tracted by fancies of worlds beyond the grave, 
 nor your efforts diverted to delusive tasks serving 
 such worlds. ... In other lands, and in none 
 so much as in benighted Egypt, the earth is made 
 gloomy with the shadows cast over It by the world 
 beyond the grave. The very dreams of its princes 
 are haunted by the spirits of this dread world, and 
 the commands of these dream-born spirits domi- 
 nate affairs and shape events, distorting both man 
 and his development." 
 
 "Charlatans in every age have taken refuge in 
 the affairs of the spirit world, that can neither be 
 
THE GATHERING CLOUD 95 
 
 proved nor disproved. Out of its voices, whether 
 heard in dreams or framed by bald mendacity, 
 creed upon creed have been evolved and priest- 
 hood upon priesthood, becoming bolder with their 
 success and building up systems wielding vast 
 power that seldom failed to become grasping and 
 tyrannical." 
 
 "Since Atlons believe in no spirits," I now 
 asked, "it cannot be your AT is a material god?" 
 "The traditional AT of Old Atlo was both a 
 material and a personal divinity," she answered, 
 "but the AT of our day is neither material nor 
 personal. In the Sun we see merely a visible 
 symbol of our creator — only a symbol. The real 
 AT appears to us in the voice of conscience, and 
 in all uplifting ideals that appeal to us. Through 
 heeding these and seeking their fulfillment, we 
 are constantly raised to higher being, and con- 
 stantly joining hands with the creator in a por- 
 tion of his work of creation. In all lower forms 
 of life, upward-reaching aspirations form the 
 pathway to growth, progress, development— crea- 
 tion. It Is a blind worship of divinity that to the 
 Atlon is a more conscious effort in the pursuit of 
 
 lofty ideals — in following the lead of AT AT, 
 
 the ideal in all his varied forms — AT, the living 
 god, reappearing ever in loftier ideals and broader 
 concepts, as development proceeds." 
 
96 DOOMED 
 
 "AT Is then unlike other gods, being both Im- 
 material and impersonal?" 
 
 "In one way, as the Ideal, he images the poten- 
 tial, the highest possible development of man in- 
 dividual and man collective. Rather, he is the 
 image of what we may become, with proper effort, 
 in due time; though not of what we now are. In 
 another sense, we may consider him the soul of 
 humanity and of the material universe. 
 But he is not a soul detached from its material 
 base, no more than a material body considered 
 without soul. He Is In truth a reality — an entity 
 we cannot deny nor detach from our lives." 
 
 "Your creed, as I see it," I confessed, "connects 
 the ideal with the tangible, allowing neither to be 
 separated. It rejects as erroneous all conceptions 
 of material without spirit, as well as of all spirit 
 without a material connection." ^ 
 
 1 The striking disparity between the theology of Atlo, as 
 here expounded by Metel and that in which the narrative is 
 framed is difficult to account for except by assuming the chron- 
 iclers to have indulged in poetic license, framing the tale to 
 suit the minds of Atlons for whom it was originally intended 
 and whose traditional theology was probably still much in vogue. 
 Viewed as an allegoric history, foreign invaders may have been 
 given the form of beasts and good and bad ideali7ed into gods 
 of good and evil, and the reports of spies concealed in the 
 prophetic visions of Mafra. . . But let who will solve the rid- 
 dle. For us it is enough that the character of Mamnism is 
 deftly exposed and in it we can see a duplicate of modern Com- 
 
THE GATHERING CLOUD 97 
 
 It is idle to repeat all we talked of that evening, 
 so many things pertaining to the present and the 
 past of the two worlds we represented; but over 
 all hung the shadow of our parting that was to 
 come that night, since I was to take a jubret for 
 the war front in the early hours of the morning. 
 So it was not strange that, as our later conversa- 
 tion proceeded, a note of tenderness became no- 
 ticeable in our voices that was also reflected in our 
 eyes, as we were drawn toward each other — the 
 positive symptoms of love which each in our 
 hearts felt and recognized. 
 
 Before the time of parting, I therefore gained 
 courage to speak, stating my attitude toward her, 
 in a halting tongue, but none the less, so that she 
 could understand. I closed my broken utterance 
 with asking her if she would trust her life at my 
 side. 
 
 For answer she spake not a word, but drew her 
 fair face close to mine and we kissed, pledging 
 ourselves to one another. . . . The decision 
 had come perhaps hastily; but lest it held in it an 
 element of delusion, and was but a momentary 
 impulse, we decided to keep the matter secret till 
 we met again. And so it came about that no rings 
 were exchanged, though each gave to the other a 
 
 mercialism, Profiteering Capitalism. For us it is enough that 
 its message teaches how to perfect Capitalism. 
 
98 DOOMED 
 
 miniature Atprint, which is a likeness they take 
 here by a sort of magic, aided by the rays of our 
 beaming Sun God AT. These Atprints were con- 
 fined within lockets, to be worn around the neck. 
 It was a strange parting for us, with the gloom 
 of Atlo's impending danger casting a deep shadow; 
 over our hearts. 
 
PART II 
 
 WORLDS APART— AS TOLD BY QUEEN 
 METEL 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 The Throne Awaiting Me 
 
 It was a bright Spring morning, about two 
 Kours after the departure of my betrothed, that 
 I parted from my parents and entered my jubro, 
 bound for the town of Nungo located In the south- 
 ern part of Atlo. The town Is quite a mining 
 center in the midst of the Copper Mountain re- 
 gion. ... I had a long journey before me, 
 but thanks to the way our roadways are here con- 
 structed, sunk two cubits below the road level 
 and four at crossings where they are also bridged 
 for pedestrians, none of whom came In the path 
 of Its vehicles, we made such excellent time that 
 I arrived before sunset. 
 
 Delightful rural scenes greeted the eye upon all 
 sides, the verdure and foliage In their most bril- 
 liant hues much Interspersed with the delicately 
 tinted blossoms of the season. At almost regu- 
 lar intervals also rose towering oros, and also 
 many tall windmills that pumped water from deep 
 wells into great reservoirs from which the lands 
 were moistened. 
 
102 DOOMED 
 
 In these rural oros dwelt groups of husband- 
 men who co-operated In tilling the surrounding 
 lands — each member in charge of some special 
 branch of the work for which he was best fitted. 
 In their fields they toiled, observing the moods 
 of Nature; and In the orotos they turned over in 
 their minds the observations made, thus giving 
 their soil a double plowing. . . . These orotos 
 brought them together so, their educational in- 
 fluence was wonderful, and they also obviated 
 the baleful Influences of solitude. 
 
 In each oro they had a priest and priestess of 
 the hearth, who were also physicians teaching 
 them the right care of their bodies and giving 
 them also wise counsels as to their conduct to 
 their fellow men, since It was their belief that as 
 they did to their fellow men so did they to their 
 gods, and so also did the gods judge men, listening 
 to no vapid prayers. To these simple-minded 
 Atlons the human body was the chosen temple of 
 their god — the shrine he visited In the form of 
 conscience and all uplifting ideals, calling men 
 upward and onward. 
 
 The wedding ceremony was to be performed 
 at noon of the following day. So, upon arrival 
 at Silver Arrow oro, late in the day, Its oro mother 
 promptly took me to the guest chamber engaged 
 for me by my friend Lesba, who happened to be 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME 103 
 
 absent attending to some pre-nuptial matter. Here 
 I at once made myself at home, had a refreshing 
 bath, had my evening repast served in my room; 
 and then, being fatigued with the long ride, I 
 retired. 
 
 Waking early, I hastily dressed for a good walk, 
 resolved to visit the famous Nungo Park, which 
 faced the avenue on which Silver Arrow oro 
 fronted. I could see, in the distance, the tall 
 cloud-crested mount known as Torgo Peak, which 
 had its base on the outskirts of the park. 
 
 There was not a soul on the avenue at this hour, 
 and I skipped merrily on, with all the abandon of 
 a school girl just freed from the confinement of 
 the school room. It was an up hill climb all the 
 way; for the land slopes down from the base of 
 the mountain, reaching its lowest in the very heart 
 of the town. 
 
 The air was inspiring, and the trees were filled 
 with sweet warbling songsters, while the sod was 
 everywhere beaded with glistening dews. 
 
 From within the park enclosure, I obtained a 
 splendid view of Torgo Peak, whose massive pro- 
 portions and gloomy frown quite overawed me. 
 
 From the midst of the park, rose a tall, thin 
 column of smoke, mingling, high up, with the 
 mass above Torgo Peak. This I recognized as 
 emanating from a pit I had heard of, called The 
 
I04 DOOMED 
 
 Fiery Pit, supposed to be bottomless, and on rare 
 occasions emitting flames. 
 
 Seated in view of this pit, and pondering over 
 numerous matters, among which was the great 
 danger confronting Atlo, my separation from my 
 betrothed, and the approaching nuptials of my 
 friend Lesba, I was suddenly startled by a pair of 
 deft hands forcing a strip of cloth into my mouth 
 and swiftly drawing it so taut I could give vent 
 to no utterance. And immediately following this, 
 a hood was thrown over my head, and I saw no 
 more. 
 
 Like a flash, I realized I had been gagged and 
 blindfolded. But wherefore? What could it pos- 
 sibly mean? Such treatment was the rarest of 
 occurrences in Atlo; it was a thing really unac- 
 countable. It was vain, thus handicapped, to 
 struggle against my captors, who soon had me; 
 placed upon a litter, to be borne away. 
 
 Whither I was being borne, I had no idea, save 
 that after a few steps on level ground I was 
 dropped downward in the midst of a hot and 
 smoky atmosphere. Almost stifled, I felt myself 
 sinking lower and lower, till I could hear a heavy- 
 door creak on its hinges and open at the level I 
 had reached. Then It seemed as If the litter was 
 raised some and I was being borne along for quite 
 a distance, when the litter seemed to be set down, 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME 105 
 
 and in another moment the hood was lifted from 
 my head and the gag removed from my mouth. 
 
 I now found myself in the midst of a deep 
 gloom, and only after accustoming my eyes to my 
 surroundings, did I discern a lengthy passageway 
 — a sort of tunnel, as mysterious as it was gloomy. 
 
 Near me stood two stalwart men garbed in 
 long, coarse robes reaching nearly to their feet. 
 They seemed to be darker than our Atlons, and 
 also distinctly featured, assuring me they belonged 
 to some other race. 
 
 Presently they again placed the litter on their 
 shoulders and bore me on through the dark pas- 
 sageway, till they came to what seemed to be a 
 spacious chamber carved out of the rock — a sort 
 of grotto. . . . Here they set me down; and 
 one of them brought me a chair to sit on, taken 
 from a niche in the grotto. 
 
 The other fellow had meanwhile procured a 
 pot of paint, with which he proceeded to cover the 
 grotto walls with great splotches that became 
 luminous and served the part of lights. 
 
 Soon they had a fire blazing, and I saw they 
 were preparing a meal. I could now realize that 
 the grotto was a sort of storehouse and stopping 
 place for those traveling through the tunnel. 
 
 While resting, I reflected upon the manifest 
 harmlessness of my guards, who in no way be- 
 
io6 DOOMED 
 
 trayed the slightest rudeness — appearing rather 
 sohcitous for my comfort and security. But what 
 was the meaning of my captivity? Surely I could 
 not be held for the sake of a ransom? 
 
 At length, restless from speculating on the 
 meaning of my captivity, I walked across the 
 grotto to examine some queer figures I thought I 
 had detected upon its walls. Coming near to 
 them, I saw what were evidently strange messages, 
 carved in hieroglyphics, over whose meaning I 
 pondered in vain. 
 
 But following along the wall, what was my sur- 
 prise upon observing a pair of eyes staring at me 
 from the dark — the eyes of a beast of burden, a 
 number of whom I soon after beheld stalled in a 
 row further on, evidently kept there for a pur- 
 pose. Upon closer scrutiny, I found they stood no 
 more than three cubits high, and had long, straight 
 and finely pointed horns upon their heads. They 
 were undoubtedly a species of domesticated ante- 
 lope — a creature entirely new to me. 
 
 Returning to my former station, I now found a 
 table beside the chair; and besides being covered 
 with a neat cloth. It had a number of golden 
 platters laid upon It, heaped with steaming viands, 
 which, being quite hungry, I partook of with no 
 small relish. 
 
 I had hardly finished my repast, when my ears 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME 107 
 
 were greeted with the sound of distant halloos 
 from the direction whence I had been borne ; and 
 these my guards now answered in a similar man- 
 ner. 
 
 Presently a group of men, perhaps a dozen or 
 so, became distinguishable; and as they came 
 nearer, I could see in their mien a spirit of dejec- 
 tion, as if depressed by some sore disappointment. 
 These were also stalwart men, but not as dark 
 as my guards, and of a different cast of counte- 
 nance — albeit they were as much unlike Atlons as 
 were the guards. They were garbed fantastically 
 in short, belted tunics and tight-fitting pantaloons 
 of soft leather, covered with checkered and striped 
 designs and also serpentine figures. Each had a 
 dagger in his belt and a wide-rimmed peaked hat 
 upon his head. An air of great importance also 
 distinguished them from the two men in whose 
 charge I had been brought hither. 
 
 I kept my seat at the table, to which their 
 leader now approached, swinging off his hat with 
 an air of condescension, as he made a low bow. 
 
 I was unable at first to understand his words, 
 though there was a strange familiarity in their 
 sound. But after many gestures and much repe- 
 tition of his words, I began to catch their meaning 
 — being couched in an Aramaic more ancient than 
 that from which our Atlon had been derived. 
 
io8 DOOMED 
 
 . . Once realizing this fact, and accustom- 
 ing my ears to his pecuHar intonations, the under- 
 standing of his words became easier; and after 
 he had undergone a similar experience in endeav- 
 oring to interpret my answers, our ability to con- 
 verse with one another by degrees developed. 
 
 From his lips, I soon divined the object of the 
 expedition of thi'i^and by whom I had been ab- 
 ducted. They had come from an underground 
 world far, very far away, in a land called Om- 
 shola, aiming to abduct from the upper world an 
 Atlon male, whom they designed to set upon the 
 throne as their ruler. From time immemorial, it 
 had been their custom to secure rulers in this 
 manner — men supposed to be superior beings — 
 the world above being regarded as a realm of 
 spirits. The Kingdom of Omshola was at the 
 present time in the hands of a regent, awaiting a 
 successor to the throne; and none was now avail- 
 able, since the expedition had met with failure, ow- 
 ing to the arrival, in the territory surrounding the 
 town of Nungo, of myriads of monstrous beasts, 
 who were ravaging the district and had driven its 
 people into seclusion. 
 
 My own capture had been made necessary, to 
 prevent my giving an alarm that might have been 
 fatal to the expedition, or else betraying their 
 secret door to Atlo. 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME 109 
 
 So I learned how my mother's prophetic vision 
 had come true, and the beasts had succeeded in 
 effecting an entrance into Atlo. I shuddered at 
 the thought of what this news signified. What 
 would become of Atlo ; and how, also, could I ever 
 return? I was now practically an exile, and an 
 alien in a strange world. Would I ever be able 
 to return? Would I ever again meet my parents, 
 or ever again see my betrothed? I was indeed 
 alone. But I resolved not to give way to despond- 
 ency. Had not my betrothed, Loab, also been left 
 alone in a strange world; and did not he of his 
 own free will remain, when he might have re- 
 turned to rejoin family and fortune and native 
 land? I would take heart from his noble example. 
 
 Kosoki Samba, the leader of the expedition and 
 the crown counselor of Omshola, was in despair. 
 He saw a gloomy outlook facing his country, left 
 without a ruler — its ambitious nobles all at log- 
 gerheads In their selfish desire to attain the crown 
 — a sure herald of approaching anarchy. In his 
 intense agitation over the dangerous position of 
 Omshola, he nervously paced the floor of the 
 grotto, ran his long fingers through his raven 
 locks, and then suddenly came to a pause. 
 
 "I have it! I have It at last!" he joyfully ex- 
 claimed, a new light beaming in his eyes. "Why 
 
no DOOMED 
 
 not? If no king, why not a queen?'-' His last 
 words sank into a whisper and remained inaudible. 
 
 Then, passing to the table at which I was seated, 
 he stopped, as if to peer into my very soul. I 
 faced him calmly, smiling even; for I had divined 
 his object. 
 
 Again he began pacing the grotto length, back 
 and forth, deeply absorbed in the problem before 
 him. Finally he seemed resolved upon the course 
 to pursue; and presenting himself with a low 
 obeisance, he addressed me : 
 
 "Your ladyship: as you are already aware, the 
 throne of Omshola is vacant and needs an occu- 
 pant — needs one sorely, if the land is to escape a 
 reign of anarchy. It is now impossible to fill the 
 vacancy with a king, as has ever been the custom; 
 but after serious contemplation, I have come to 
 the conclusion that if we can have no king to oc- 
 cupy the throne, there is no reason why we can- 
 not have a queen. There is nothing in the way, 
 I assure you, but your own decision to save our 
 realm by filling the exalted post. ... I ask 
 not that you reply without giving the matter due 
 deliberation. It is a very serious step, which I 
 beg that you will carefully consider. In doing so, 
 I shall endeavor to be of aid to you, as far as is 
 possible — particularly in informing you concern- 
 ing the realm and its affairs." 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME iii 
 
 As practically the only course for me to pursue, 
 I naturally agreed to take into consideration the 
 assumption of queenship. Think, of it — a crown 
 begging me for acceptance ! Was it not more like 
 a dream than possible reality? And yet I knew 
 it was reality, though stranger than anything told 
 in fairy tales ! 
 
 Of course I had many long conversations with 
 the crown counselor, a fine looking specimen of 
 his people, dressed less showily than his com- 
 panions, but better caparisoned inwardly — if his 
 keen eyes and sensitive facial expression stood for 
 aught. 
 
 From him I gleaned what information concern- 
 ing the land was necessary; and after discussing 
 with him all phases of the subject, I reached the 
 Inevitable conclusion that both for my own safety 
 and that of the land of Omshola, I had no other 
 course open than to accept the throne, together 
 with the obligations Inseparable, In my mind, from 
 the possession of power, great or little. 
 
 It was the second day of our sojourn in the 
 grotto, when I made my decision known to 
 Kosokl Samba; and now we prepared for a long 
 journey to Omshola, which would take us a w^hole 
 month, riding upon the backs of the swift footed 
 tofos — the long-horned beasts I had seen In the 
 grotto. 
 
112 DOOMED 
 
 It was a tedious journey, owing to its great 
 length; and we daily stopped at grottos that were 
 distributed on the route so thickly that we had 
 to pass one every other hour. The grottos were 
 each equipped with supplies and provisions kept 
 stored in them for the benefit of travelers. 
 
 I was very much interested in them, and in the 
 strange hieroglyphics carved on their sides. So I 
 enquired of Kosoki Samba as to their origin, as 
 well as of the lengthy passage connecting them 
 with each other. The hewing of all these out of 
 the hard flinty rock must have been a prodigious 
 work. Had it been done by the Omsholans? 
 
 To my query the crown counselor replied, say- 
 ing that no one knew by whom the vast under- 
 taking had been accomplished. It had not been 
 done by the Omsholans, or by any people within 
 their knowledge. The passage and the grottos 
 had been there as long as tradition's earliest rec- 
 ollections and hints; and who had performed the 
 superhuman task, or carved the inscriptions, would 
 remain a mystery, perhaps to the end of time. 
 
 Arriving at the last grotto before reaching 
 Omsh, the capital city and gateway to Omshola, 
 we halted — there to remain, while the crown 
 counselor and a part of his retinue hastened in ad- 
 vance to make the necessary arrangements for the 
 great event, while also dispatching a suite of at- 
 
THE THRONE AWAITING ME 113 
 
 tendants to the grotto equipped with all the neces- 
 saries for conveying me in a closed carriage to 
 the royal palace at Omsh. 
 
 And as I waited here, I dreamed, with many a 
 sigh, of what might at this very time be happen- 
 ing in Atlo, and of the amazing possibilities open- 
 ing up to me in the new world I was to enter. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 On Atlo's Fighting Front 
 
 Enrolled as a member of Atlo's army of de- 
 fense, Loab Ben Phra was immediately dispatched 
 to the border town of Gegra, near Long Neck 
 isthmus, where he was assigned a post on one of 
 its armored war jubros which was hurried for- 
 ward, to take its place in the great line stationed 
 across the Neck to debar the entrance of the in- 
 vading beast horde. 
 
 The goro goros, named thus after the guttural 
 sound they thundered like a battle cry when ad- 
 vancing upon their foe, were colossal apes, black 
 as pitch, whose stature was rarely less than five 
 or six cubits and whose shoulder breadth was pro- 
 portional, with arms hanging to the ground 
 framed in muscles of iron. Their heads had the 
 shape and expression of the tiger, whose ferocity 
 they more than equalled. In spite of their short 
 legs, they were as fleet as an antelope, and were 
 capable of taking mighty leaps, and climbing like 
 cats. . . . More than all this, they could hurl 
 stones, or other missiles, as if thrown from a cata- 
 
 114 
 
ON ATLO'S FIGHTING FRONT 115 
 
 pult; and they wielded huge clubs, far-reaching, 
 falling with crushing force wherever they de- 
 scended. In low cunning they rivalled the fox; 
 and they communicated to each other in a jargon 
 such thoughts as their minds were capable of. 
 They were neither man nor ordinary ape. If I 
 were to class them, I should hold them as super- 
 apes — a name by which they were not infrequently 
 designated. 
 
 Opposed to these formidable beasts, Atlo had 
 rigged up a squadron comprising hundreds upon 
 hundreds of armored jubros fitted to travel over 
 the roughest ground, fronted with an elognated 
 snout — a V shaped projection with sharp edges 
 that helped to cut its way through brush or jungle, 
 or through the massed ranks of the invading 
 beasts. These jubros were completely covered 
 with iron plates, all perforated, so as to enable 
 the men within to fire, by means of blow guns, tiny 
 arrows or shafts tipped in a liquid poison paste. 
 
 Behind their iron ramparts, the jubro warriors 
 were obliged to keep perfectly cool, using the ut- 
 most care in dipping their tiny shafts in the liquid 
 poison paste, lest they themselves be bruised and 
 made its victims. Nor was this an easy matter, 
 with the sides of the jubro ever clattering and 
 thundering from the mighty blows of missiles 
 hurled against them. 
 
ii6 DOOMED 
 
 There were special jubros also constructed to 
 make dashes into the ranks of the foe; and these 
 had, in addition to the long sharp snout, horizon- 
 tal knives projecting, designed to mow down the 
 foe as with mammoth scythes. 
 
 Into one of these dash jubros Loab was soon 
 transferred, carrying with him his Sidon sword 
 and a huge quiver filled with the little death shafts 
 to be fired through his blow gun. 
 
 Across the entire breadth of Long Neck, a dis- 
 tance one could scarcely travel afoot from the 
 rising to the setting of the sun, stretched our line 
 of defense jubros, less than twenty paces apart, 
 and with a line of dash jubros behind, ready to 
 mow down such of the beasts as managed to pene- 
 trate the first line. 
 
 Here and there, wherever a deep ravine Inter- 
 vened, strong walls of stone had been erected to 
 bar the foe's advance; and in a ditch dug 
 upon each wall was kept a body of Atlene ready 
 to be ignited the moment the brutes succeeded in 
 clambering to the top. An extinguishing device 
 was also in readiness for quenching the flame when 
 its work was done, and thereby sparing the Atlene 
 for resisting repeated attempts. 
 
 Already scouts were reporting the approach of 
 the superapes, reaching the Neck in squads from 
 
ON ATLO'S FIGHTING FRONT 117 
 
 all directions, and rapidly concentrating into a 
 mighty host. But although the squads had each 
 its quasi leader, this limited leadership counted for 
 little when massed together in the unorganized 
 horde. It made an unwieldy mass of blind brute 
 force, moving on instinctively by its latent thirst 
 for human gore and its hunger for human flesh, 
 with which the demon goddess Mammon had im- 
 bued them. 
 
 The vast horde was in reality a greater beast, 
 without a head — a roaring ocean of madness, let 
 loose to destroy whatever interposed. In short, 
 it was a horde and not an army. This horde was 
 also much the smaller portion of the goro goros 
 moving toward Atlo, the larger portion of them 
 having been diverted into an underground passage 
 some of their leaders had accidentally discovered 
 and followed, when nearing Long Neck. The 
 passage, as it happened, led to an opening in the 
 Copper Mountain region, in Atlo; and into this 
 region the greater body of the goro goros now 
 poured, working terrible havoc upon all sides, 
 of which I shall have more to tell in its due place. 
 
 Of this diversion. King Mozo had not yet 
 learned; but as soon as the report reached him 
 by bell-signal dispatches, he at once saw the neces- 
 sity to readapt his plans, so as to deal with the 
 new situation confronting him. 
 
ii8 DOOMED 
 
 He could not afford to divide his forces, and 
 fight both hordes simultaneously. But In order 
 to be of help in the Interior of Atlo, he must 
 adopt more aggressive tactics against the goro 
 goros now approaching along the Isthmus. He 
 must crush and destroy these, so as to be able, 
 afterwards, to pursue the remaining superapes 
 with a sufficient force to be effective. 
 
 The dash jubros were now placed in the fore- 
 front, with their rear covered by the guard jubros 
 that were to slay all the beasts that were left be- 
 hind in the dashes contemplated. A large body 
 of guard jubros were also stationed so as to pre- 
 clude entrance from the sides of ravines. 
 
 Orders had already been signalled to all the 
 officers stationed along the jubro lines, so as to 
 act In concert. Dusk had begun to cast Its haze 
 over the scene; and as the darkness gradually 
 deepened, artificial lights, generated by the jubros, 
 began to flash In blinding rays, so intense as to 
 infuse the beasts with a superstitious dread, hold- 
 ing them for the while in check. 
 
 Silently the jubros thus glared at the foe with- 
 out sound or movement, giving our forces a chance 
 to snatch a few brief hours of slumber, and accus- 
 toming the beasts to the seeming harmlessness of 
 these mysterious creatures. 
 
 After some time, the goro goros huddled them- 
 
ON ATLO'S FIGHTING FRONT 
 
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I20 DOOMED 
 
 selves up in curled lumps, or stretched their bodies 
 on the ground — their combined snoring filling the 
 night with a weird and uncanny sound. 
 
 But when midnight came, a series of trumpet 
 blasts rang across the isthmus; and, with one ac- 
 cord, thousands of dash jubros gave vent to sud- 
 den shrieks, as they dashed onward and into the 
 ranks of the newly awakened and much befuddled 
 foe. Through their ranks, and back again, the 
 iron monsters whirred, mowing them down in hun- 
 dreds with each sweep. Bewildered, the beasts 
 rushed about, many aimlessly, only to be stricken 
 with the envenomed darts or else to rush into the 
 very path of some advancing jubro and be laid 
 low. . . But the fight was not all one-sided, for 
 there were not a few of the beasts whose pres- 
 ence of mind prompted them to hurl large stones 
 against the jubro sides, denting and often tearing 
 apart strips of plate through which later missiles 
 found entrance and wrought sore havoc. Now 
 and then some wily fiend would dart from behind 
 a jubro and leap upon it, with his massive club 
 battering in its roof, and then engaging in a 
 deadly conflict with its inmates. 
 
 Swift of foot as were the beasts, there was no 
 escape from the swifter iron monsters that kept 
 on decimating their ranks. 
 
 One gigantic superape had succeeded in mount- 
 
'Loab was the first to get out; but only to be confronted 
 by the giant beast, with its huge club upraised to dash 
 out his brains." 
 
ON ATLO'S FIGHTING FRONT 121 
 
 ing the jubro in which Loab Ben Phara was serv- 
 ing; and battering in the top at its very forefront, 
 it struck the driver dead with its first blow, and 
 then effected an entrance, club in hand, ready to 
 break more heads. But in the midst of this con- 
 fusion, while the Atlons were pressing to the rear 
 to get out of its long reach, the driverless vehicle 
 dashed into a huge rock by the wayside, and was 
 upset. 
 
 Most of the inmates were disabled by the shock 
 of the collision; but the beast extricated itself, 
 without having let go of its terrible weapon. Of 
 the rest, Loab was the first to get out; but only 
 to be confronted by the giant beast, with its huge 
 club upraised to dash out his brains. 
 
 But not In vain had Loab received instructions 
 In swordsmanship from the greatest master In 
 Athens. With lightning speed, he sprang from 
 under the sweep of the mighty bludgeon. Coping 
 with a beast so colossal, he well knew flight was 
 vain. It was a struggle in which he had either to 
 slay or be slain. His sword was fortunately still 
 In Its scabbard; and drawing it forth, he held it 
 upraised and stood motionless as a statue, keenly 
 watching his dire antagonist, and ready to adapt 
 his action to whatever threatened. With a mad 
 roar the goro goro made another onrush; but this 
 time, not only was the bludgeon evaded, but with 
 
122 DOOMED 
 
 a lightning forward rush, the Atlon had his enemy 
 disemboweled; and before the beast could recover 
 self-possession, gave it another thrust, and left it 
 in its death agonies. 
 
 The struggle had been a terrible strain upon 
 the nerves of Loab Ben Phra; and now that the 
 immediate danger was over, he was ready to col- 
 lapse. For a moment he stood with every muscle 
 quivering, and his mind in a daze. He gazed con- 
 fusedly upon the field, and then suddenly recalled 
 the disaster that had befallen his jubro. There it 
 still lay, but not a soul was within, or In sight. 
 The field of conflict had shifted a long way to the 
 right, where a tightening cordon was holding con- 
 fined the remaining brutes, pending their gradual 
 annihilation. 
 
 Hastening to rejoin his comrades In the jubro 
 cordon, he had just managed to draw a driver's 
 attention, when towering over him he suddenly 
 faced the tiger eyes of another of the gigantic 
 beasts. He had not a moment to lose; and quick 
 as a flash, he threw himself down at the very feet 
 of the monster, and serpent-like wriggled through 
 the grass. Then, rising suddenly, before the brute 
 had time to sense his whereabouts, he plunged his 
 sharp blade deep Into the side of the great super- 
 ape. . . There was no time to extricate the 
 
ON ATLO'S FIGHTING FRONT 123 
 
 weapon; so he left it there, while dashing swiftly 
 beyond reach of the dying beast. 
 
 In another moment, the jubro he had signalled 
 was at his side. The battle with the brutes was 
 practically over by this time, very few of the super- 
 apes being left within the cordon for final ex- 
 termination. The men within now stepped out, 
 and all stopped to inspect the dead monster who 
 lay stretched out, a great ferocity still marking 
 his features. Loab now recovered his sword, and 
 received the highest encomiums for the prowess he 
 had displayed. 
 
 He now learned that while he was battling with 
 the first goro goro, two jubros had arrived to res- 
 cue the men pinned down in the overturned vehi- 
 cle, several of whom had been quite seriously 
 maimed. 
 
 With the goro goros on this front annihilated, 
 King Mozo was now free to concentrate his forces 
 and his mind upon the larger hordes that had suc- 
 ceeded in effecting an entrance into Atlo. Fore- 
 seeing a protracted war before him, he now re- 
 solved on making ample preparation. The cordon 
 across Long Neck was to be lengthened as fast as 
 the construction of more war jubros permitted; 
 and it was to keep on stretching and strengthening 
 
124 DOOMED 
 
 its line, ever moving eastward and confining the 
 foe within smaller territory, while recovering 
 control of a wider and wider area In the west for 
 cultivation of the soil and insuring the future food 
 supply of the nation. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Under Siege In Their Oros 
 
 Great was the consternation felt throughout all 
 Atlo when news of the interior invasion came 
 ringing by bell-signal alphabet from station to sta- 
 tion to every corner of the land. In the home of 
 my parents, knowing I was at the time in the very 
 heart of the infested region, it was doubly alarm- 
 ing. 
 
 To Nungo they therefore at once dispatched, 
 enquiring as to my safety. But owing to the great 
 number of similar calls upon Nungo, it was several 
 days before word came to them; and that not 
 very assuring, at best. Nothing had been seen of 
 me since the day of my arrival at Flying Arrow 
 oro; but it was thought I had left it to pay a short 
 visit to a friend there, in another oro, with which 
 they were as yet unable to communicate. So the 
 suspense and anxiety of my parents were only pro- 
 longed. 
 
 A whole week had passed, and no definite in- 
 formation had been forthcoming. To all appear- 
 ances, I had mysteriously disappeared, and not 
 
 125 
 
126 DOOMED 
 
 the slightest trace of me had been discovered — ' 
 not as much as a shred of my garments, or even 
 a button. 
 
 Had I become a victim of the beasts, some trace 
 of my garments would surely have been left; but 
 in the confused state of affairs it was not to be 
 inferred that failure to find such traces implied 
 escape from such a fate. True, a mystery hung 
 around my disappearance; but it was not enough 
 to assure my parents who, in their heart of hearts, 
 were already mourning me as one who would 
 nevermore return. 
 
 In the meantime, the news reported in every 
 Atlon oro reelced with tales of atrocities too hor- 
 rible to depict; and dark terror lurked behind the 
 resolute attitude taken by its people. The making 
 of strong steel bars for doors and windows was 
 pushed to the extreme in every separate iron 
 works, and the supply was daily being forwarded 
 in armored jubros to the oros — especially those of 
 the region surrounding Nungo. 
 
 Taken completely by surprise, the town of 
 Nungo — unprepared — became the first center of 
 assault by the ferocious brutes. Here the flying 
 missiles, mainly rocks and bricks, battered their 
 way through many a door and window, permitting 
 the monsters to force an entrance and engage the 
 
UNDER SIEGE IN THEIR ORGS 127 
 
 inmates in deadly conflict. The inmates were not 
 equipped with blowguns and poison darts, and had 
 to rely on the use of spears and swords, which, in 
 close conflict, were of small avail — the beasts snap- 
 ping spears into splinters and swords into broken 
 fragments. But neither could the beasts in the 
 crowded rooms use their clubs effectually. What 
 told most against them were crackshot bow- 
 men, who, at close range, pierced many a super- 
 ape heart with their long arrows. 
 
 Among the first steps taken, when the missiles 
 hurled against the oros began to clatter against 
 doors and shatter windows, was the hurrying of 
 all women and children down into the lowest sub- 
 basements, whose approach was kept safely barred 
 against intrusion. Safely ensconced in these re- 
 treats, many of the women seized spades and be- 
 gan to dig tunnels, designed to penetrate from oro 
 to oro as a means for uniting the forces and re- 
 sources of the town. 
 
 There had been hardly an oro into which more 
 or less of the beasts had not effected an entrance, 
 and in which numbers of human lives had not been 
 lost in the fierce combats that ensued. . . . For- 
 tunately, upon the third day of the siege, a train of 
 armored jubros arrived laden with a supply of 
 blow guns and shafts, and the poison paste in 
 which to tip them. With this additional equip- 
 
128 DOOMED 
 
 merit. It was not long before they had the super- 
 apes within the oros slain, and were able to repel 
 further Intrusion. 
 
 But Nungo was far from the only town to 
 suffer by the ravages of the Infuriated monsters. 
 Hundreds of other towns, and countless isolated 
 oros, occupied by co-operative husbandmen, suf- 
 fered similar losses. In a few oros not a male 
 Atlon survived, and the victims had been raven- 
 ously devoured. 
 
 As the fighting progressed in the towns and 
 cities, and the Atlons began to gain a better con- 
 trol of the defence, the beasts were daily suffer- 
 ing greater hunger; and after having devoured 
 such domestic animals as came within their reach, 
 and consumed what vegetation offered the small- 
 est particle of nourishment, even to chewing up 
 the leaves and bark of plants and trees, they 
 finally began to scatter into the rural regions for 
 subsistence. There they would relieve their des- 
 perate hunger; but only soon again to return. 
 Thus while never entirely deserting the towns, 
 they were never again there In full force. 
 
 In many towns, the rancor felt against the 
 superapes was bitter, and plans for destroying the 
 foe with flames of Atlene were freely discussed, 
 but were promptly discountenanced by King 
 
UNDER SIEGE IN THEIR ORGS 129 
 
 Mozo, upon learning of them. The beasts, he 
 assured them, could be annihilated without re- 
 course to this barbarous mode of warfare. To 
 resort to it would be to needlessly brutalize them- 
 selves. And besides, it would be accompanied 
 with dangers of conflagration, and the still greater 
 danger of teaching the cunning beasts the use of 
 fire, to the undoing of Atlo. 
 
 All this while King Mozo was steadily adding 
 to the length of the cordon separating east from 
 west — reducing the area of territory under siege, 
 and enlarging that subject to cultivation. When- 
 ever he learned of the beasts being concentrated 
 anywhere In menacing numbers, he would expedite 
 a train of jubros to decimate and scatter them, 
 thus relieving the extreme tension suffered by the 
 residents of the locality. 
 
 As an auxiliary movement. King Mozo also 
 ordered the tunneling of paths from oro to oro, 
 and also to the factories. In every town and city, 
 uniting all the productive resources and all the 
 supplies so that they could readily at any time be 
 transferred where safest or most needed. . . . 
 With the avenues and streets Impassable for the 
 Atlons, they. In this manner, were to do all the 
 transporting and Intercommunication by tunnel, 
 and thus to prevent Industry from coming to a 
 
I30 DOOMED 
 
 complete standstill. Through this foresight, life 
 in Atlo gradually began again to assume a sem- 
 blance of its former state — its industrial and so- 
 cial activities in progress in spite of the siege. 
 Only the rural oros still remained isolated. 
 
 The beasts were still too preponderant in num- 
 bers for daring an aggressive campaign against 
 them. Years would have to elapse before they 
 could be sufficiently decimated, or reduced by 
 hunger, to undertake a final dash to complete their 
 annihilation. 
 
 Long already had the people of Atlo become 
 accustomed to the thunderous howling of the 
 beasts, who seemed to exult in the dread noises 
 their combined uproar produced. All day long 
 and far into the night went up the interminable 
 repetition of their dread cries of "goro goro," 
 from which that name had been given them, but 
 to which Atlons had become accustomed. Silence 
 would, in fact, have sounded stranger now to At- 
 lon ears, than did all their ear-splitting hubbub. 
 
 During all these stirring times, my betrothed 
 had been unable to ascertain more concerning my 
 fate than contained in the columns of the news 
 sheets passing from hand to hand — information 
 positive enough as to my total disappearance, but 
 lacking in any definite facts. The transmission of 
 messages was at the time difficult, and communica- 
 
UNDER SIEGE IN THEIR OROS 131 
 
 tion both irregular and unreliable. Only a single 
 note reached him from my parents, and that left 
 him as much in the dark as before. Some hope, 
 however, lingered in his breast — the vague 
 thought that I might be ill, in some isolated oro, 
 unable to effect any communication with the au- 
 thorities. 
 
 Despair might perhaps have oppressed him, but 
 for the manifold duties that kept his mind ab- 
 sorbed, and thus lightened his burden. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Made Queen of Omshola 
 
 True to Kosoki Samba's promise, a party of 
 Omsholans in due time arrived from the city to 
 bear me in a closed carriage, screened from the 
 eyes of curious spectators, within the precincts of 
 the royal palace. 
 
 Ensconced within its spacious chambers, skill- 
 ful attendants at once took me in charge to make 
 that outward transformation by which I was to 
 look, as well as be a queen. After being bathed 
 in scented waters and rubbed down with perfumed 
 ointments, I was handled like a precious doll, upon 
 which one garb after the next was placed, and 
 each carefully regarded before final acceptance. 
 . . . When I finally came out of their hands, I 
 declare I was so elaborately decked out, I could 
 scarcely recognize myself. I was in fact almost 
 completely lost in the blaze of jewels and decora- 
 tions with which I was covered. What more, 
 with fine laces, stiff rufHes and rustling silks, it be- 
 came a question In my mind whether I would ever 
 be able to act up the part these garments and 
 fittings made of me. 
 
 132 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 133 
 
 With one attendant bearing my long train, an- 
 other holding over my head a bejewelled parasol, 
 and still another at my side with a huge whizzing 
 fan of many colors, I could not march across the 
 room but as the central figure in a parade. I 
 must have been a spectacle for the gods. 
 
 I had barely time to have a good rest, before 
 Kosoki Samba appeared, accompanied with the 
 regent Kone Sobrati, whom he officially presented, 
 and who thereupon offered his arm to lean upon 
 while being taken by him to the great throne 
 room where the chief nobles of the land were al- 
 ready assembled, awaiting me. 
 
 Borne upon his arm, and followed by a bevy 
 of attendants, we now marched in stately pomp 
 into the assembly room, in which were already 
 gathered a vast concourse of nobles, all bejewelled, 
 befrilled and befeathered in their finest. 
 
 Upon my entrance, all bowed to the marble 
 floor, beating their faces against it, in token of 
 their submission to the person destined to occupy 
 the throne. 
 
 The regent now led me to the throne, and, 
 with a significant gesture, bade me be seated; 
 which I did, holding my head erect, while two 
 Kones brought the dazzling crown and placed it 
 upon my brow, and a third Kone placed in my 
 
134 DOOMED 
 
 hand the royal scepter — all raising the cry, "Hail, 
 hail the Queen!" 
 
 Equipped with these tokens of royalty, and thus 
 announced, the nobles rose to their feet, shout- 
 ing in unison "Melka Ungri; Erugo Turn," mean- 
 ing "Rule the Queen; Her Word is Law." This 
 cry they thrice repeated with a hearty vigor; sig- 
 nifying their acquiescence to my future mandates, 
 be they what they would. 
 
 I was from this hour their absolute monarch; 
 and all these sub-rulers were my subject vassals. 
 
 Before dismissing them, I made a brief address, 
 in which I thanked them cordially Tor the high 
 trust placed in me, in conferring upon me the 
 Crown of Omshola. "You have acknowledged 
 my word to be the law of the land; and so let it 
 be; for I shall look for the light governing it, in 
 the fountains of truth and justice. In the use of 
 my authority and power, I shall endeavor to keep 
 in mind the obligations attending all authority 
 and all power." 
 
 I was now mistress of a vast empire, endowed 
 with powers unlimited; and as I retired into my 
 private quarters, I seemed to feel the weight of 
 a mighty responsibility resting upon me. Yet 
 was I also buoyed up with the realization that 
 there was honor in the burden; and I felt a new 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 13S 
 
 joy in the thought of the mighty influence I might 
 wield for the advancement of the people of this 
 land. 
 
 For a few weeks I allowed Kosoki Samba, in 
 whom I felt the utmost confidence, and who to 
 the very end was ever faithful to the trust I 
 placed in him, to represent me in conducting the 
 affairs of the realrn. In the meantime, I busied 
 myself with learning as much as possible con- 
 cerning Omshola and its people. 
 
 Among the large body of entertainers with 
 whom my court was then filled, was one who 
 aroused my interest — a dwarf minstrel, Borok, 
 whose weird tales, comical manners and ready 
 wit were astonishing. He could sing and also 
 play the harp with admirable skill, so that we 
 often joined in the singing of duets. 
 
 But what I most prized in the fellow was a 
 sort of genius of insight be seemed to possess, 
 by which he could judge Omsholan affairs so well, 
 one would have thought he had a perfect knowl- 
 edge of Atlism. 
 
 From this dwarf, I soon learned how Omshola 
 was governed. While a monarchy, it was to no 
 small extent under the sway of a hierarchical 
 priesthood, the Kones, and also a hereditary aris- 
 tocracy, the Koms — both Koms and Kones, and 
 their offspring, being known as the Komyim. 
 
136 DOOMED 
 
 The Komylm were all either Koms, first sons of 
 Koms; or else, if not Kones, occupying posts of 
 honor within the gift of the Crown. They were 
 either Kosokis, who are Crown Counselors, or 
 else Kosokoms, who are Warrior Chiefs. They 
 were all members of the nobles or Komyim. 
 
 About half of the land in the realm was in the 
 hands of the Koms, and was worked by slaves. 
 Of the remainder, the Crown held a half, also 
 worked by slaves; and the income derived from 
 them was what supported the Crown. It drew no 
 revenue from either the Koms or the Kones. . . . 
 The remaining quarter of the lands was held by 
 the Kones and was worked by what were desig- 
 nated as free slaves — renters of the lands, the 
 buildings on them and all the varied equipments, 
 for the use of which the Kones exacted from them 
 such rents as kept them in as hard a grind as any 
 of the slaves. 
 
 While the Koms lived as droning dandies, the 
 Kones devoted themselves to the spiritual welfare 
 of both nobles and slaves. They were known as 
 Lords of the Spirit World; the Koms as Lords 
 of the Earth. The Spirit World was the realm 
 lying above the crystal roof of Omshola, the mys- 
 terious region whence were heard the thunders of 
 the Spirit Lord and were seen his forked anger 
 flashing against Omshola's brilliant roof — anger 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 137 
 
 that often had melted great holes and rents In 
 the crystal barrier between the two worlds. 
 
 To the benighted people of this realm, Includ- 
 ing^ the Kones, the Spirits were held In super- 
 stitious dread; and hence the awe and fear with 
 which they viewed their rulers, who had come to 
 them from the Spirit World. 
 
 In each city and town were also many free 
 slaves who labored as artisans In shops and small 
 factories belonging to the Kones, and who had 
 high rents to pay for their use— that of the shops, 
 the land they stood on and the equipments they 
 contained. With all their freedom, they fared 
 little, If any, better than other artisan slaves. 
 
 In the heart of each settlement was a district 
 surrounded with high walls, joining a series of 
 temples devoted to the worship of Spirits and 
 presided over by Kones. These sections were 
 known as komyimsas; and within them resided 
 only members of the Komylm. Most of the Koms 
 resided In komyimsas, rarely remaining on their 
 Kom lands, which they trusted entirely in the 
 hands of their respective stewards, satisfied with 
 receiving regularly from them a customary stipend 
 representing the net produce of their lands. They 
 were all proud dandles, as vain as peacocks, and 
 despismg all worldly cares apart from those In- 
 yolved In the sports they indulged in. 
 
138 DOOMED 
 
 In each settlement there was also a market 
 house, to which plantation stewards and town 
 artisans brought their surplus productions for ex- 
 change, each aiming to obtain for his surplus a 
 supply of articles more suitable to his needs. . . . 
 While no money was yet in use, they carried 
 about them a store of kibos, buttons of gold 
 strung upon cords from which they could readily 
 be removed for transfer. 
 
 The kibos were used as a convenience in mak- 
 ing good discrepancies in what were otherwise un- 
 equal exchanges — being thus a sort of equalizing 
 medium. Apart from the labor involved in their 
 making, they had not a particle of value, since 
 the sands of Omshola were shiny with granules of 
 gold and the very earth In this land was literally 
 ribbed with solid masses of the ore. The more 
 valuable kibos had engravings on their faces, 
 some of which were miniature portraits. 
 
 From my first glimpse of this strange land, I 
 obtained but a faint impression, my mind being 
 absorbed in the clamorous attentions given me by 
 the vast throng of my people, for the first time 
 beholding my person in my inaugural procession. 
 The assembled multitude kept the air filled with 
 their joyful greetings, and the shrill music of 
 cymbals and strange instruments I had never be- 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 139 
 
 fore listened to. It was, of course, a pompous 
 parade, in which I figured as a deity — a superior 
 being, condescending to serve as their ruler. I 
 could at times hardly suppress my disposition to 
 laugh outright at their manner of adoration, and 
 the frequency in which they threw themselves 
 down on their faces and beat the earth with their 
 brows. 
 
 But from later tours through the city and Its 
 surroundings — made incognito, though attended 
 with a guard of officials kept in disguise — I was 
 astonished at the quaint splendor of this world, 
 stranger even than Atlo must have seemed to my 
 betrothed. Here was an underground world, 
 whose roof was one vast sheet of crystal, in many 
 colors and hues, through which the sunlight from 
 the upper realm came down mellowed or radiant, 
 according to the thickness of the portion of the 
 roof it penetrated. 
 
 Thus over the heads of these people was ever 
 spread a vast canopy of jasper and emerald and 
 ruby, of sapphire and of topaz, while its vege- 
 tation and foliage were as if their original bril- 
 liance had faded. 
 
 In my eyes the whole land seemed immersed 
 in a dreamy twilight — a weird world whose pal- 
 aces and temples were walls of cemented gems, 
 each single one of which might have bought an 
 
I40 DOOMED 
 
 empire In the world beyond the shores of Atlantis. 
 Even the mud hovels of the slaves and the poor 
 freedmen, sparkled with the glimmer of gold with 
 which the mud was filled. From crevices closed 
 by transparent gems, they drew light, and from 
 golden bowls they drank. 
 
 At its north and south, the land extended to the 
 open sea of Atlantica, allowing breezes to freshen 
 the atmosphere of the land; and their service was 
 the more effectual for the numerous gaps in the 
 roof of the land, and the porous rock at its east- 
 ern and western extremes. 
 
 At its southern extremity, Omshola was cut off 
 from the sea by a vast desert occupied by the Fol- 
 fins, whose savage tribes barred access to it; and 
 on the northern extremity it stood more than a 
 hundred cubits above the sea level, from which 
 staggering height it was effectually separated from 
 the outer world. 
 
 So here Omshola lay, a vast hollowed tortoise 
 shell, crossing the continent of Atlantis, with open 
 ends — a land of gold and gems, of small value 
 here, but the like of which the outer world did 
 not so much as dream. 
 
 I asked Borok what he knew of the condition 
 and fare of the slaves. Impressing him with the 
 fact that I wished nothing glossed over to please 
 me. The naked truth was what I desired of him. 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 141 
 
 "There are large numbers of them," he 
 thoughtfully replied, "who are perfectly contented 
 with their lot, who lack imagination or spirit. 
 These would jog on all their lives on the pittance 
 to which they have been accustomed, and content 
 to accept their lot in the face of the luxurious ease 
 indulged in by their masters, of which they for- 
 tunately see very little, since their masters spend 
 most of their time in their komyimsas or else in 
 the Royal Palace. ... But to the few imbued 
 with spirit and intelligence, their lives are a har- 
 rowing torture. If they could be detached in some 
 way from the rest and given a chance4o buy their 
 freedom, they would toil with redoubled zeal to 
 accomplish their redemption." 
 
 The difficulty, in this manner, to open for them 
 a way to liberty I could see lay in distinguish- 
 ing them from the rest; since, as soon as such a 
 plan was inaugurated, there would be few left who 
 would not wish to embrace the opportunity. It 
 might as well be all as only a trifling few; only 
 that to free them all would not win the consent of 
 their masters. They might possibly even object 
 to giving the opportunity to a few. Upon the 
 Crown lands, something might possibly be done 
 for its slaves; but just what, I was not at the time 
 prepared to say. 
 
 From Magya, the court historian, a shriveled 
 
142 DOOMED 
 
 gray beard, with bent figure and pointed, dark 
 features, I learned thai the Omsholans had long 
 ceased to be a warlike people, and that for cen- 
 turies their accessions of slaves had been made by 
 the surrender of Folfins in time of dearth — whole 
 families of them in this manner evading starva- 
 tion by freely entering into bondage. The first 
 slaves had, of course, been the fruit of conquest. 
 
 In their temples, the Kones presided, often ad- 
 dressing the worshippers assembled from elevated 
 posts stationed for this purpose. But what was 
 most impressive, were the mammoth figures carved 
 in stone, whose lips mov^ed and whose eyes flashed, 
 when admonishing evil doers. They were all 
 deified Kones, of previous generations. That the 
 voices heard were merely the ventriloquism of 
 Kones cunningly concealed did not affect the simple 
 faith of the Kones, who believed themselves quali- 
 fied representatives of the spirits in the realm 
 above and dictators of the standards by which men 
 were to conduct themselves. But alas, how often 
 they humanly mistook thoughts prompted by their 
 individual interests for the voice of the spirits. In 
 other worlds, men allowed the same trick to delude 
 them in their interpretations of standards of hu- 
 man conduct — a grievous error, to which both 
 priest and layman were equally liable. . . Often 
 they decreed, in some way, the infallibllty of their 
 
MADE QUEEN OF OMSHOLA 143 
 
 standards; but this was only done In cases where 
 the standards could not abide criticism and stand, 
 as it were, on their own legs. 
 
 One of these infallibility decrees had it that a 
 Melk or King could do no wrong. Possessed of 
 absolute power, how could he commit a wrong? 
 It was a handy decree; for by virtue of it, the 
 Komyims also were incapable of doing any wrong 
 to those beneath them. Oh, the world was to 
 these children a sweet pudding, that made itself 
 for them and never grew smaller. What a fairy 
 tale was their life! And well for them also was 
 their childlike innocence, incapable of realizing 
 what suffering was endured to keep up the glamor 
 of their world. 
 
 From Borok I also learned that the moral 
 standards imposed by the Kones related only to 
 conduct within each class. It was all meaningless 
 from a member of one class to one of another 
 class. So it was made easy for Komyim to be 
 affable and polite to one another; to dress well 
 for each other's sake; to garb their very thoughts 
 also in fine dress, and their manners as well; dis- 
 playing in all these matters a superior culture. 
 They piqued themselves on this superiority, and 
 always managed to use special words and gar- 
 ments and ways requiring means and leisure, 
 thereby placing them out of the reach of the "vul- 
 
144 DOOMED 
 
 gar." They also did this in learning, where the 
 most absurd titles and dignities were distributed, 
 so as to give value to all they said, and to dispar- 
 age what came from the "vulgar" many. 
 
 Yet with all the pomp of their artificial digni- 
 ties and distinctions, the bulk of wisdom had to 
 come from the "vulgar" masses, and also the 
 truest character — though by the deft manipula- 
 tions of the idle lords much of the credit was 
 diverted from those to whom It was due, and ab- 
 sorbed by the rulers. For did not the world be- 
 long to them; and even what emanated from the 
 poor man's brain, did not that also belong to 
 them? They stole naught, and could not steal; 
 since all belonged to them. That, in promulgat- 
 ing such a doctrine, they made themselves thieves, 
 they saw not. 
 
CHAPTER y 
 
 The Dawn of Liberty 
 
 Months had already passed since my entrance 
 into this new world, with which I was gradually 
 familiarizing myself. Already was my past as if 
 hidden in a mist — a vague image that was fading 
 more and more. It is true that in idle moments, 
 of which I had but few, my mind would often 
 dwell on my sudden parting from all who were 
 dear to me ; but since all speculation in that direc- 
 tion was vain, I resolved to forget, and throw all 
 my energies into the needs of Omshola. 
 
 My palace was a vast structure, spread over a 
 large area, and holding, besides my private quar- 
 ters and the great throne room or audience cham- 
 ber, a large number of halls and chambers in 
 which open house was at all hours kept for visiting 
 members of the Komyim ; there were also the quar- 
 ters occupied by the harem left by my predecessor, 
 with its numerous women and children, and the 
 slaves attending them. Then there were also the 
 quarters occupied by the corps of entertainers, the 
 jugglers, dancers, story tellers, minstrels, acro- 
 
 I4S 
 
146 DOOMED 
 
 bats and mimics, who busied themselves entertain- 
 ing either the Komyim or the harem, when not 
 wanted to amuse me. 
 
 You may imagine, from this, what a costly es- 
 tablishment was the Royal Palace — an extrava- 
 gance adding no little to the burden imposed on 
 the Crown land slaves for its maintenance. De- 
 siring to reduce this wanton extravagance, I con- 
 sulted my chamberlain, to learn from him how 
 odious a task it would be. It was impossible to 
 discard these useless supernumeraries without oc- 
 casioning much bitterness of feeling and dangerous 
 discontent. 
 
 As an instance of the light-headed extravagance 
 of the Komyim, one of their number, one day 
 while I was giving an audience, fell upon his knees 
 and prayed for a hearing. 
 
 Granting his plea, I learned that my Crown 
 Officers were about to seize his lands for a delin- 
 quent personal debt. 
 
 "How come you," I asked, "to be remiss?" 
 
 "Through a crop shortage. Gracious Melka," 
 he hesitatingly replied. 
 
 "A crop shortage, true enough, my good fel- 
 low;" I retorted, "but a mere shortage in your 
 crop of gambling profits, was it not? Were you 
 not yesterday gaming heavily in the Palace?" 
 
THE DAWN OF LIBERTY 147 
 
 "The Spirits crossed my play, Noble Melka, so 
 that I lost — lost the very kibos left by my steward 
 for payment of the debt, just when I looked to 
 double their sum!" 
 
 "So you gambled with your creditor's kibos, 
 wretched man, and you lost them. You played 
 your property on the gambling table, and now you 
 ask that you may retain it, after its loss — know- 
 ing well what you staked. A poor gambler, you !" 
 
 Under the frown of my disapproval, the poor 
 fellow began to grovel at my feet, weeping and 
 groaning. 
 
 "Rise, my young fellow," I commanded, "and 
 cease your weeping. The law claims your prop- 
 erty; and were it a perfectly just law, I should let 
 it take its course. But it will have all it is en- 
 titled to, if the debt is repaid in full and with a, 
 small addition to cover the extra delay you have 
 occasioned. See you, therefore, that within one 
 year, the creditor is satisfied; and meanwhile con- 
 sider yourself banished from the Palace for that 
 year, or until the debt is paid." 
 
 As was this youth, so were all the Komyim — 
 mere sucldings on the social breast. 
 
 In my inmost thoughts, I had determined that 
 Omshola should some day be released from the 
 life-sapping d-aft of these sucklings. I would lib- 
 
148 DOOMED 
 
 erate the slaves on my Crown lands, thereby set- 
 ting an example for the Komyim. 
 
 At a gathering of Komyim, invited soon after 
 to my audience chamber, I announced to them a 
 decree liberating all the Crown land slaves. It 
 was a startling announcement; and I therefore 
 closely scrutinized the faces of my auditors, to 
 note the impression made on their minds by the 
 announcement. 
 
 "In emancipating my slaves," I informed them, 
 "I stand entirely within my rights to do with my 
 slaves as pleases me, even as you all do. I have 
 decided the Crown shall no longer occupy a sec- 
 ond place in liberality to Its dependents. What 
 the Kones have for generations done, the Crown 
 shall now also undertake; for It is my Intention 
 to spur my newly made free slaves to greater 
 effort and productive efficiency than they have ever 
 hitherto displayed. If they prosper more, the 
 Crown will not suffer by It; and if they are made 
 the happier by It, so much the happier will I be." 
 
 "As a great branch of the ruling class," I re- 
 sumed, "it would please me to listen to your views, 
 O members of the Komyim, before I make public 
 the decree. On the morrow, at this hour, I will 
 therefore look for your presence, and listen to 
 what you have to say." 
 
 From the time of their dismissal, this decree of 
 
THE DAWN OF LIBERTY 149 
 
 t.heir Melka became their constant topic of dis- 
 cussion. To the Koms its outcome appeared to be 
 problematical, though not necessarily detrimental. 
 In fact, to many it even suggested a prospect of 
 larger income. For if this freedom should stimu- 
 late larger production, what was to hinder the 
 Koms from also liberating their slaves and then 
 exacting from them at least a half of the increased 
 production? This would place them in the atti- 
 tude of benefactors, while adding to the revenues 
 derived from their slaves. What difference would 
 it make, whether they remained chattel or free 
 slaves ? If it put more butter on the bread of the 
 Koms, why care if it did the same on the bread 
 of the slaves? 
 
 But the Kones looked not so favorably upon 
 the measure, though they dared not state the 
 reason wh.y. They well realized the extent of 
 their extortionate exactions. These had, in fact, 
 gone far toward nullifying the incentives to 
 great&r effort on the part of their slaves, so that 
 their free slaves fared little better, if any, than 
 the chattel slaves. What they now dreaded was, 
 lest in the end it should oblige them to be less 
 exacting in their terms to their free slaves. 
 
 The Kones were unable to offer open objec- 
 tions to the proposal; though, between themselves, 
 they bitterly denounced it. They were too shrewd 
 
I50 DOOMED 
 
 as politicians, to attempt any present movenient, 
 in which they would be without the united support 
 of.the Koms, and when the body of free slaves was 
 about to be doubled and inclined to the support of 
 the Crown. So their whispers were confined to 
 hints at waiting a suitable occasion for precipitat- 
 ing a revolution by which to return to the ancient 
 status under which all the toilers would become 
 chattel slaves. 
 
 When the Komylm again stood before the 
 Melka, it was to announce their approval of the 
 project, and to assure her that if it turned out as 
 was expected, they would also adopt the same 
 course toward their chattel slaves, and let them 
 all alike enjoy the blessings of liberty. 
 
 So the matter ended; and the next day I made 
 the decree public, appointing the third day after 
 as a holiday for my slaves, and in the interim in- 
 structing my stewards what steps to take. Through 
 the stewards the overseers were to be informed, 
 and the word was to pass from them to the newly 
 emancipated slaves on the day set aside as their 
 holiday. 
 
 The stewards and overseers were to remain in 
 charge of the lands and the buildings on them, and 
 also the work outfits both on the lands and in the 
 various shops in which production was carried on. 
 They were also to control the course of operations 
 
THE DAWN OF LIBERTY 151 
 
 and take charge of the general output. Out of 
 this output they were to first set aside the portion 
 previously taken by the Crown, leaving all the re- 
 mainder to be divided between the toilers, accord- 
 ing to the manner of their toil. If in charge of 
 overseers, their portion was to be gauged by the 
 number of hours they had labored; but if they 
 cultivated a tract on their own responsibility, they 
 were to receive that portion of the produce re- 
 maining, after the Crown portion had been set 
 aside. . . The Crown portion would not increase 
 if they toiled harder, or more diligently, or with 
 more intelligence — the full surplus remaining for 
 their benefit. 
 
 The overseers were also to inform them that 
 habitual idleness would not be tolerated. If they 
 toiled not, neither should they share in the fruit 
 of the toil. Freedom did not mean a privilege to 
 idle away their time and let their families starve 
 or shift for themselves. They were warned that 
 persons who acted in this manner would be seg- 
 regated and made wards of the Crown, obliged 
 to submit to being trained into habits of industry, 
 and meanwhile suffering much loss of liberty they 
 might otherwise have enjoyed. 
 
 On this holiday, to make the fact of their free- 
 dom more clearly impressed upon their minds, a 
 great ceremonial was repeated in all sections, in 
 
152 DOOMED 
 
 the course of which the lash of the overseer was 
 burned in a great bonfire and the announcement 
 made that neither the material lash nor that of 
 hunger should ever again be used to coerce them 
 into a surrender of more of their produce than was 
 necessary for the support of the Crown; and that 
 the higher and nobler incentive of retaining for 
 themselves the surplus product of their toil was 
 hereafter to take the place of the lash. 
 
 Looking far ahead, I could now clearly discern 
 the approach of Atlism. I had started an influ- 
 ence that was soon to add mightily to the popu- 
 larity and power of the Crown; through which, 
 coupled with the enlightenment following upon the 
 step I had taken, destiny was bound to shape fu- 
 ture events so as to culminate in Atlism. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 From Free Slave to Free Man 
 
 .The ferment of a great and wholesome revolu- 
 tion in Omshola became visible with the reaping 
 of the first harvest on the Crown lands, now that 
 its free slaves were to have for themselves all the 
 produce in excess of previous standards. 
 
 Its toilers had never sweated so joyfully nor 
 plodded so diligently, nor watched so keenly to 
 forestall every difficulty and prevent everything 
 threatening loss and disaster. They felt that the 
 labor and care they bestowed upon the crops were 
 being given to that which was to become their 
 own. Instead of groaning, they began to sing at 
 their work; and though the work had almost 
 doubled, they seemed to feel it less. 
 
 And when the crops had been marketed and 
 the portion of each was allotted to him, their eyes 
 were delighted with the prodigious abundance. 
 They found they all had much to spare; and 
 the surplus they took to the market houses and 
 traded for the produce of artisans, who also were 
 blessed with a surplus to dispose of. . . So in the 
 
 1531 
 
IS4 DOOMED 
 
 homes of both the toilers on the lands, and in 
 those of the artisans toiling in shops, there was a 
 plenty of foods, and of household utensils, and 
 embellishments, beyond all previous standards. 
 
 Nowhere did all this Crown land prosperity dis- 
 play itself more visibly than on the happy counte- 
 nances of its freed slaves that now beamed with 
 joy where formerly they had exhibited sullen 
 scowls. 
 
 And now the Koms also, seeing the magical 
 change wrought on the Crown lands, took steps to 
 free the slaves upon their lands, though only to 
 divide with the toilers the surplusage they would 
 produce. And even the Kones, in order to keep 
 up appearances, were also forced to reduce their 
 exactions, so as to take no more from the toilers 
 than did the Koms. 
 
 So a new freedom began to breathe in all quar- 
 ters of Omshola, whose free slaves well realized 
 they owed it all to their Melka — the new ruler on 
 the throne. Through the successful results of the 
 step I had taken, I became endeared to them; and, 
 day by day, the power of the throne became 
 stronger, enabling me to push on the work of 
 emancipating the toilers of Omshola. 
 
 With the might of the toiling multitudes behind 
 me, I was soon able to reduce the military forces 
 of the Crown; and that without breeding dlscon- 
 
FROM FREE SLAVE TO FREE MAN 155 
 
 tent, since there was no lack of work to do In shop 
 and field — profitable work, under conditions mak- 
 ing toil attractive. For the same reasons, I was 
 also now able to greatly reduce the force of useless 
 servants and hangers on in the palace. So that 
 when the next harvest came, the portion of the 
 toilers became much larger than before. 
 
 In the years that followed, the tollers replaced 
 their slovenly one-room huts, in which poultry and 
 pigs had shared their beds with them, and had 
 erected huts holding each several rooms, and sepa- 
 rate ones for the poultry and pigs. The change 
 was a marvelous one, shown in greater cleanliness 
 in households and on the person. 
 
 It was wonderful to behold the greater skill and 
 speed with which artisans now pursued their call- 
 ings, doing all things on a much larger scale, that 
 enabled them to apply more labor-saving methods. 
 And this was also true upon the lands, where 
 labor-saving devices were coming into use, and 
 productive efl^ciency seemed to advance with 
 leaps and bounds. 
 
 So a new Omshola was rising, to supersede the 
 old — an Omshola wonderfully expanded, with 
 shops and factories more than trebled In dimen- 
 sions and In efficiency, and with broader and richer 
 fields than had ever here been dreamed of. 
 
 Along with all this, I also had their market 
 
156 DOOMED 
 
 houses enlarged so as to meet all the demands of 
 the new prosperity. . . . And here the klbos were 
 rapidly performing the functions of money; for 
 there was constantly more selling and buying with 
 kibos being done than there was of bartering — a 
 practice that was rapidly waning. 
 
 To guard against the hoarding of kibos, I now 
 Issued a decree forbidding their accumulation in 
 very large quantities, lest an artificial scarcity be 
 produced and profiteering with them should induce 
 hoarding to a dangerous extent. For the present, 
 this might answer, though I well realized that in 
 time I should be obliged to make the kibos un- 
 hoardable, just as we in Atlo made our shekels 
 unhoardable. 
 
 Among other changes I Instituted, was the estab- 
 lishment of schools in which all were to learn the 
 rudiments of ordinary speech and knowledge — to 
 read, to write and to reckon. Gi-ls were also to 
 learn the rudiments of housework, and boys to 
 acquire the training of finger and arm and limb 
 in the use of ordinary tools. They were also to 
 learn how to raise vegetables, rear plants and 
 trees, and to understand the principles governing 
 the growth of plant life. 
 
 So attractive now became labor on the Crown 
 lands, that as news thereof filtrated into the re- 
 gions surrounding Omshola, large numbers of its 
 
FROM FREE SLAVE TO FREE MAN 157 
 
 savages drifted in and took work upon the Crown 
 lands. They came ever in greater numbers also, 
 not waiting till famine might drive them to accept 
 servitude, as it had done in past generations. All 
 this went to add mightily to the power of the 
 Crown, which was recognized by all toilers as their 
 true friend, their liberator and their staunch 
 supporter. 
 
 I had thus far retained full possession of the 
 lands, the buildings and the work outfits on the 
 Crown lands; for their use I had made no 
 charge beyond what was required for the support 
 of the Crown — a charge I had also materially 
 reduced. 
 
 But my future plans contemplated that all these 
 properties should fall into the hands of the toilers 
 using them, and that the burden of supporting the 
 Crown should be divided between all the toilers of 
 Omshola. My plans also contemplated that the 
 properties now used by the toilers on the Komyim 
 lands should ultimately belong to the toilers, with- 
 out having to pay any further toll for their use. 
 All this was to be effected by purchase, paying for 
 the Komyim properties, those of both Koms and 
 Kones, in regular instalments drawn from their 
 surplus produce till the whole was paid for, and 
 the toilers finally all were possessors and were 
 
1S8 DOOMED 
 
 able to toil without having to support In luxurious 
 ease any idle or unproductive class. These steps 
 were to complete the emancipation of the Omsho- 
 lan toilers. In this purchase the Crown land toil- 
 ers were to contribute a portion, in lieu of what 
 they saved in obtaining their properties from the 
 Crown without charge. 
 
 After all this had been achieved, the property 
 laws prevailing in Atlo were to be enacted and 
 enforced, together with the use of a complemen- 
 tary kibo, to be used in the same manner as the 
 bronze shekels of Atlo. By these steps Omshola 
 would be gradually Atlonized, and Atlism, or 
 Perfected Capitalism, established. 
 
 Already there was spreading a spirit of dis- 
 content, arising from the fact that toilers were 
 beginning to ask themselves why they should go on 
 supporting in luxury a class of drones on one side 
 and of charlatans on the other. For with the 
 broadening of their minds, under the new condi- 
 tions, they were daily losing faith in the preten- 
 sions of the Kones. 
 
 Realizing also the danger of a violent uprising, 
 I promptly summoned the Komylm to an audience, 
 in which I detailed to them the state of the public 
 mind, and warned them of the danger imminent. 
 ... I also now announced to them the plans I 
 had designed by which the toilers were to buy 
 
FROM FREE SLAVE TO FREE MAN 159 
 
 their complete liberty. There was no reason, I 
 urged, why the Komyim should draw a perpetual 
 income from the toilers. Whatever services the 
 Komyim may ever have rendered were necessarily 
 of a limited character, and by no stretch of the 
 imagination could be justly transformed into a 
 perpetual claim. 
 
 My plan therefore contemplated the purchase 
 of the properties in question, to be paid for in 
 not less than ten years, during which time the 
 Komyim would have ample opportunity to adapt 
 themselves to the new conditions. I have no 
 objections to either Kones or Koms; but I would 
 have them prepare themselves to earn their liveli- 
 hood by such services as were acceptable to others, 
 whether these were as counselors in matters spirit- 
 ual or temporal. But such services must not be 
 imposed on people against their will, by indirect 
 threats of deceitful misrepresentations. Crime in 
 spiritual affairs is to be equally as punishable as in 
 affairs temporal. 
 
 That the nobles were horrified at the audacity 
 of my proposals was to be expected. They were 
 dumbfounded and alarmed. 
 
 The Kones, who were more deft of tongue, and 
 better versed in the law, were first to rise in 
 protest. 
 
 "What?" shouted Kone Sobrati, foaming at the 
 
i6o DOOMED 
 
 mouth, "are we who have for untold generations 
 held these properties unchallenged, to be suddenly 
 deprived of them by a mere trick — by purchase?" 
 
 "Then you do not regard purchase as a fitting 
 title to these properties? How then, pray you, 
 came your ancestors into possession, and by what 
 means did you retain possession all these genera- 
 tions?" 
 
 "Partly by conquest, Gracious Melka, and 
 partly by surrender of famished savages, came we 
 into possession" ; was the reply, "and by the strong 
 arm we have held our possessions. We never 
 sought other title." 
 
 "Very well," I replied. "Then we shall have no 
 change in the law of property. Its title is still to 
 inhere in the power of might. Your rights are 
 not to be disturbed in the least." 
 
 A gleam of light brightened the dour counte- 
 nances of the Kones, on hearing my remarks. But 
 it quickly passed away when I followed, remarking 
 that while the law governing the title to the prop- 
 erty was not to be changed, the position of the 
 might, by which it had been retained, had been 
 materially altered. The power of might now in- 
 hered in the toilers and the Crown. That alone 
 had changed. Hereafter the arms that were 
 strong in toil would also be strong in retaining 
 possession of the properties requisite to the pur- 
 
FROM FREE SLAVE TO FREE MAN i6i 
 
 suit of labor. The refinements of gentlemanly 
 idleness and delusive charlatanry were no longer 
 sufficient claims upon a life of luxurious ease." 
 
 It was with downcast mien, and no little mur- 
 muring, that the Komyim left the audience cham- 
 ber, after dismissal. And now the die had been 
 cast, and Omshola was about to enter upon a new 
 career of progress. 
 
CHAPTER yil 
 
 The End of the Goro Goros 
 
 Through four years of steadfast resistance 
 had King Mozo led the struggle against the dread 
 man-beasts; and though his term of office was 
 nearing its end, he kept on with indefatigable 
 pertinacity. 
 
 Steadily had he narrowed the cordon by which 
 the goro goros were being driven eastward and 
 confined within smaller territory. Lacking cultiva- 
 tion, the territory also was steadily yielding less 
 and less toward the subsistence of the foe. With 
 the more thorough barricading of the oros, the 
 superapes also were securing fewer human victims 
 on which to feed. With each successive year they 
 were betraying loss of spirit and more signs of 
 emaciation. If they had begun to place the Atlons 
 under siege, that condition was now being re- 
 versed. They were themselves actually under 
 siege, cut off from return to Atlora through the 
 fact that they had been driven beyond the under- 
 ground outlet to Atlora. 
 
 It was now getting to be a case of subsisting 
 more and more on the bodies of the slain goro 
 
 162 
 
THE END OF THE GORO GOROS 163 
 
 goros — thus being forced to make of their own 
 bodies their commissary stores. 
 
 Quite different was the state of affairs among 
 the Atlons, who were by this time suffering no 
 lack of food or raiment or comfortable housing. 
 . . . Trade was in progress, if not in full normal 
 volume, at a rate allowing industry to go on 
 unabated, diminished only by the labors of the men 
 devoted to resisting the enemy and producing war 
 supplies. . . . While conditions had been con- 
 siderably perverted during the first stage of the 
 war, such had been their enormous stores of sup- 
 plies that it caused them to suffer no want. The 
 state of industrial organization was a powerful 
 resource and war weapon, than which none better 
 could have been desired. It was in fact the most 
 potent of all their implements of war — the 
 dominant one. 
 
 It is not to be denied that it was a terrible 
 cruelty to impose on the beasts the dire torture of 
 slow starvation. But what other course was left 
 in dealing with these monsters, who could not be 
 made captives of war, as human beings might have 
 been? Their unconquerable ferocity had to be 
 met by a fight to the death; and as long as their 
 numbers were large, It would have been foolhardy 
 to attempt their slaughter in any other way. 
 
i64 DOOMED 
 
 It is true that In wars between nations of human 
 beings, no such necessity exists to palliate the hor- 
 rible alternative. Neither does the fact that the 
 torture by slow starvation carries with it the ruth- 
 less slaughter of infants and the aged, of mothers 
 with infants on their arms and women in the full 
 blossom of youth, help in the slightest degree to 
 extenuate the fiendish inhumanity of such a course. 
 . . . When nations a:-e assailed with this foul 
 weapon, than which there never was one fouler, 
 what wonder that they are ready to retaliate with 
 what otherwise were indefensible modes of war- 
 fare? 
 
 Pitiful now became the sights coming daily 
 before our eyes, the gaunt monsters slinking from 
 place to place, mere skeletons of their former 
 selves, staring through their wan features with 
 empty gaze, and now and then giving vent to 
 lamentable moans or guttural groans, as from 
 internal pain. They were beginning to die ; and it 
 was no uncommon sight to see them fighting 
 fiercely among themselves over the carcases of the 
 deceased. 
 
 Tired at length of these revolting sights, an 
 aggressive campaign, to effect their final annihila- 
 tion, was ordered. And as their numbers had by 
 this time become considerably reduced, it took not 
 long before we saw the last of the goro goros. 
 
THE END OF THE GORO GOROS 165 
 
 The terrible conflict was finally over, and once 
 more peace reigned in all parts of Atlo; and after 
 a brief respite, the work of restoring the land to 
 its normal state was begun. There was much to 
 do in removing the barricades from the oros, re- 
 storing the avenues from the delapidated condi- 
 tion in which the beasts had left them, and also 
 restoring to cultivation the large tracts of land 
 that had been occupied by the superapes. But all 
 this was a trivial matter in a land so profuse with 
 industrial facilities as was victorious Atlo. 
 
 It IS needless to say there was great rejoicing 
 in all parts of the land, and that the orotos re- 
 sounded with celebrations of the great triumph. 
 The whole nation was thrilled with the enthusi- 
 asm of a well earned victory. 
 
 While all these events were transpiring In Atlo, 
 the constant report reaching me from expeditions 
 sent to the mouth of the tunnel to Atlo were dis- 
 appointing. It was always the same. The beasts 
 still held the ground at the Fiery Pit, making exit 
 impossible, and Information far from attainable. 
 During all this time, my whereabouts, and the 
 question whether I were still living, was as much a 
 mystery as ever to my parents and my betrothed. 
 Whatever shred of hope they still clung to, was 
 obscured In the shadow of their despair. 
 
 My parents had, during the first period of the 
 
i66 DOOMED 
 
 war, been kept busy attending and nursing 
 wounded Atlons, not only of the Red Star, but 
 many brought in from neighboring oros. In the 
 later stages, their lives jogged on in the usual cur- 
 rents, differing from normal times only in their 
 close confinement within their own and adjoining 
 oro?, since underground communication had been 
 established. But until the last month of the siege, 
 they dared not venture on the streets or avenues. 
 
 With the war ended, Atlons at once decided 
 upon beginning a campaign for the ultimate anni- 
 hilation of the dangerous beasts on the adjoining 
 peninsula, Atlora. 
 
 The peninsula of Atlora lay directly west of 
 Atlo and was connected with it by the isthmus of 
 Long Neck. It was a region covered with tower- 
 ing mountain ranges and penetrated by mighty 
 streams. It had also barren plains of seemingly 
 endless stretch, on which hunger and thirst were 
 more menacing than the wildest beasts. . . . Be- 
 yond It lay the peninsula of Atloraba, making a 
 turn directly southward, into a torrid region. This 
 was a land of miasmatic swamps, uninhabitable to 
 man, and infested with mammoths of gigantic 
 stature, griffins, dragons, flying serpents and the 
 elephantlgos who resembled elephants but were of 
 double their height and of many times their bulk. 
 
THE END OF THE GORO GOROS 167 
 
 These beasts were flesh eaters, who would catch 
 lions and tigers and devour them as cats would 
 mice. There were also serpents and reptiles of all 
 degrees of venom; hideous vultures as large as an 
 ox; venemous bats and insects; and creatures of 
 endless variety, all devouring each other and teem- 
 ing in great profusion. But their mammoth di- 
 mensions, and the distance from Atlo, made these 
 sluggish monsters less dangerous to Atlo than 
 were the nearer and fiercer beasts of Atlora.^ 
 
 In this campaign, planned for the ultimate exter- 
 mination of all dangerous beasts in Atlora, expedi- 
 tions were to be undertaken, in a preliminary way 
 to determine the routes to be fitted as permanent 
 roadways. These were afterwards to be fitted for 
 the rapid conveyance of troops and supplies. They 
 were to have suitable forts and stations at con- 
 venient distances; and wells were also to be dug 
 where water was otherwise out of reach. 
 
 It was on one of the first of these pioneering 
 expeditions that my betrothed, Loab Ben Phra, 
 had been assigned at the close of the superape war; 
 and concerning some of his experiences, we will 
 learn before long in his own words. 
 
 * Besides being antediluvian, these beasts belonged to a dis- 
 tinct continent, thus accounting for their marked variation from 
 modern beasts. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 Good News from Atlo 
 
 More than a year had elapsed since the pur- 
 chase of the Komyim estates for the tollers had 
 been made, and affairs in Omshola were daily 
 bristling with numerous tokens of progress and 
 prosperity, all moving along at an unprecedented 
 pace, when a succession of eventful occurrences 
 followed each other. 
 
 The first of these came, following an unusually 
 tempestuous night in which one incessant roar of 
 terrible thunder blasts besieged our ears, and the 
 crystal roof of the land became one unbroken sur- 
 face of intensely blazing gems, now darkening and 
 anon bursting in dazzling brilliance — a grand 
 color exhibition that fascinated In the midst of the 
 awful terror It inspired. 
 
 Here and there, where the roof was of thinner 
 body, the lightning blasts crashed sections into 
 splinters or melted a portion of the surface, leav- 
 ing open gaps through which poured the waters 
 from the clouds In the upper world. Of such gaps 
 there were many In the land, serving well to help 
 in purifying its air. But in a far off region there 
 
 i68 
 
GOOD NEWS FROM ATLO 169 
 
 was one wide gap through which tan down in one 
 perpetual stream a vast body of water that cut its 
 way out into the sea, forming on the way a mighty 
 river. Other rivers penetrated and helped to 
 water the lands of Omshola, but of much smaller 
 dimensions; and one of them carried its waters to 
 sC broad lake that seemed bottomless, never rising 
 above its usual level. 
 
 But all these matters are only incidental. On 
 the morning after the tempest, what was the sur- 
 prise of the Omsholans to see the lands surround- 
 ing Omsh covered with a great sheet of water,' 
 more than a cubit in depth. How far the flood 
 extended, none knew. It was a new experience, 
 causing much alarm — especially to the supersti-' 
 tlous, who attributed it to the anger of the spirits 
 in the upper world. ' 
 
 From the numerous alarm signals coming In, it 
 was to be surmised that the flood was spread over 
 a wide region, much of which was more deeply 
 immersed. 
 
 In this emergency, it was not the Komyim, but 
 the toilers, who were first to interest themselves in 
 dealing with the situation. Learning of their zeal, 
 I summoned a goodly number of them to the pal- 
 ace, where I allowed them to give their views as 
 to the best way of dealing with the situation. 
 
170 DOOMED 
 
 The general opinion was that this body of water 
 had come from a rising of the sea to a height 
 above the level of Omshola; and this view was 
 further sustained by the brackish taste it had. 
 
 By dint of much questioning, I learned from 
 them that to the south, perhaps a day's jour- 
 ney off, there lay a stretch of low land that might 
 serve as a feasible basin for the waters, if they 
 could be transferred thither. 
 
 From one of them, who was quite familiar with 
 the territory surrounding Omsh, I also learned 
 that by cutting through two intervening ridges the 
 waters could easily be drawn into the projected 
 basin. Seeing also that this man, Dolfo by name, 
 had experience in ditching operations, I at once 
 submitted the task to his charge, allowing him to 
 engage the necessary help and guaranteeing all 
 costs to be paid from the Crown funds, at a liberal 
 rate. 
 
 So it was that work was at once begun; and on 
 the third day thereafter, the waters had so sub- 
 sided that affai:'s soon moved on again in their 
 usual way, as if nothing had intervened. 
 
 It was only upon the second day, after I had 
 received reports that the last of the ridges was 
 being cut, and that the outlet would soon be ready, 
 that a deputation of Komyim made their appear- 
 ance with loud lamentations, deploring the dread- 
 
GOOD NEWS FROM ATLO 171 
 
 ful situation. They saw the ruin of Omshola in 
 the stretch of waters that now engulfed it. Agri- 
 culture could no longer be pursued; and even 
 travel and transportation could only with the 
 greatest difficulty be carried on. What was to be 
 done? 
 
 Large numbers of the Kones had succeeded in 
 reaching the temples, where they were now plead- 
 ing with the spirits of the upper world to abate the 
 flood. They promised sacrifices, and they tore 
 their hair and inflicted bloody gashes upon their 
 flesh, in expiation of the sins they had committed, 
 for which they believed the spirits had sent the 
 flood. . . . But they went much further, In Inter- 
 preting the wrath of the spirits. To the people 
 assembled they attributed the inundation to their 
 violation of all former precedents In taking pos- 
 session of Omsholan properties — a thing unheard 
 of before. Woe to them, lest a great Inundation 
 follow, and drown them all. Surely this would 
 happen, unless they returned to the Komyim the 
 properties now in their hands. So the Kones actu- 
 ally believed, deluded by the common weakness of 
 mortals in clothing their wishes with the garb of 
 reality. 
 
 Had not the flood soon subsided, there Is no 
 doubt that such representations as those made by 
 the Kones would have gradually influenced the 
 
172 DOOMED 
 
 superstitiously inclined toilers, and led them to 
 return to the foTmer status of chattel slaves. 
 
 Another event, that ultimately proved of far 
 greater moment, occurred shortly after, though at 
 the time it attracted little attention beyond the 
 small circle of my palace intimates. This was the 
 unaccountable disappearance of my little minstrel, 
 Borok, of whom not the least trace was to be 
 discovered. 
 
 He had often hinted to me his thorough distrust 
 of the Kones, warning me to be on my guard 
 against their machinations. While outwardly sub- 
 mitting to the new order, they would secretly be 
 conspiring to restore the previous order by work- 
 ing on the superstitions of the people. I had con- 
 fided to him my desire to some day visit Atlo and 
 enter into a comme'rcial treaty with it, by which a 
 mutually beneficial trade could be engaged in 
 between Omshola and Atlo, and under which also 
 a mutual alliance could be effected that would bind 
 to each other the two lands in supporting the per- 
 petuation of Atlism. . . . To this suggestion the 
 dwarf had pointed out the danger of communica- 
 tion through the tunnel being obstructed by a wall- 
 ing in of the passage. He had some idea that 
 another outlet might be discovered more prac- 
 ticable for the purpose than the tunnel; but no 
 more was said concerning it. 
 
GOOD NEWS FROM ATLO 
 
 173 
 
 He had also often heard me tell of the fabulous 
 value placed abroad upon the gold and the pre- 
 cious gems that here abounded in such profusion as 
 to be worth no more than the labor of picking 
 them from the ground. He seemed to be greatly 
 impressed by the fact, and often sighed when 
 thinking how impossible it would be to leave 
 Omshola if the beasts should prove victorious in 
 Atlo. 
 
 Surely, all this vast treasure of gold and gems 
 was wasted, 'remaining In Omshola. He must 
 have been dreaming night and day of the possi- 
 bilities in store for the person who managed to 
 reach the outer world with a supply of these gems. 
 
 As a freeman, he had the right to go whither 
 he pleased, and I therefore made no attempt to 
 Intercept him, believing, in my heart of hearts, that 
 he had gone forth in search of the other outlet 
 from Omshola, of which he had hinted. 
 
 Following the disappearance of my minstrel, 
 came the pleasing report that the beasts had de- 
 parted from the territory adjacent to the Fiery 
 Pit, and that people were moving about in Nungo 
 Park without restraint. This was glad news, 
 Implying the successful end of the great beast war. 
 ^ Now at last the opportunity was open for a 
 visit to my parents, my betrothed and my native 
 
174 DOOMED 
 
 land. Of course there would be many changes, 
 and who knows how many friends missing. Would 
 all my people be there to meet me? If so, 
 what a glad reunion it would bring about. I 
 could hardly await the day, my heart so throbbed 
 with expectancy. 
 
 But how was I to leave Omshola, and how 
 meanwhile provide for its safety? Why not 
 appoint Kosoki Samba as regent in my absence? 
 He had been faithful in setting me upon the 
 throne, and true also to the interests of Omshola. 
 If any man was worthy of the trust, it was Kosoki 
 Samba. 
 
 My first step was therefore to hold a consulta- 
 tion with this man, who was still holding office 
 as Crown Counselor. To him I now confided my 
 intentions, adding by way of further motive my 
 desire to effect a treaty with Atlo by which the 
 two lands would be united in defense of Atlism, 
 whether assailed by beasts or by conspirators in 
 either land. The treaty was also to establish 
 commercial relations between the two lands. 
 
 Put in this shape, Kosoki Samba was inclined to 
 favor my departure, but warned me to return as 
 soon as possible, lest, in my absence, the Kones 
 should stir up a revolution. For, like my little 
 minstrel, he regarded the Kones with distrust. 
 
 Together we planned to make my departure as 
 
GOOD NEWS FROM ATLO 175 
 
 early as possible and with as little show as would 
 be compatible with such a move — thereby giving to 
 the Kones as small a start as possible In carrying 
 out their aims. In addition to this, the report was 
 diligently to be circulated that my stay was to be 
 for a long period — a subterfuge that proved of 
 much avail on the day of my return, after having 
 had to submit to many unforeseen delays. 
 
 Before another moon had passed, the expedi- 
 tion was started in royal state, followed by a corps 
 of deputies empowered to add their approval in 
 signing with me the contemplated treaty, and also 
 a body of attendants and servants. The entire 
 party were mounted on tofos, the long horned 
 beasts of burden of Omshola. We took with us 
 an abundant supply of kibos and also of gems, to 
 be traded for Atlon productions and services, such 
 as we should need. 
 
 In publicly announcing my departure, Kosoki 
 Samba was made regent in my absence, empowered 
 to rule until my return, three moons hence. The 
 trip through the tunnel was a tedious one and led 
 me often to think of the suggestion made by Borok 
 of another outlet from Omshola; and I even re- 
 solved on my return to have steps taken for the 
 discovery of some such outlet. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Plot of the Kones 
 
 That my departure from Atlo had so readily 
 been assented to by the Komylm was due to no 
 love they bore me — rather welcoming my pro- 
 posed departure as an opportune occasion for set- 
 ting upon the throne one of their own members, 
 recovering their properties, and compelling the 
 freedmen now in possession to return to their 
 previous status of bondsmen. 
 
 At the head of the plotters was the astute Kone 
 Sobrati, lean, sad-eyed and gloomy, whom the 
 spirits of the upper world allowed no rest till 
 the old order should be re-established. All the 
 Kones were ardently supporting the movement, 
 determined to revive the old order under which 
 they might secure a fat living in return for a lean 
 service. 
 
 Even the Koms had been won over, and stood 
 ready to mount Kone Sobrati upon the throne, 
 when the time came. They all regretted the liber- 
 ation of their slaves; and far more, the sale to 
 them of their lands and Improvements. They did 
 not ignore the commercial value to be paid them 
 
 176 
 
THE PLOT OF THE KONES 177 
 
 by the purchasers; but saw clearly that in the end, 
 they would be reduced to an equality with their 
 former slaves and obliged to earn their bread by 
 the sweat of their brows. It was that dire neces- 
 sity that jarred against their sensitive nerves and 
 refused to harmonize with their inherited custom 
 to live in luxury and ease and the pompous pride 
 of a class of superior beings. 
 
 Hardly had the party of the Melka, therefore, 
 been gone a day, when burly Kom Zum, with a 
 strong party of Koms, followed it, keeping far 
 enough behind to escape discovery. With them 
 were a force of masons and a lot of tofos laden 
 with sacks of cement, ostensibly to make some 
 repairs at the tunnel outlet. 
 
 Arriving at the tunnel outlet, the masons were 
 told that an outlet at a higher elevation was to be 
 cut through the rock wall, by which the Melka 
 would have a more convenient means of entrance 
 on her return. But before the cutting was begun, 
 the old entrance was to be sealed. 
 
 Misled by this cunning explanation of the object 
 in view, the artisans entered upon the task without 
 the least suspicion, gathering all the loose rocks 
 they could find and cementing them into a rising 
 wall which they filled up with cement all the way 
 to the tunnel outlet. To this, as the wall rose 
 higher, they kept on adding more cement, so that 
 
178 DOOMED 
 
 in a few days the cement filling reached to the toof 
 of the gallery. 
 
 It was at this stage, that the Koms drew their 
 swords and mercilessly slew the masons, hewing 
 their bodies into fragments which they sank into 
 the cement before it had had a chance to harden. 
 When the cement finally hardened, there was no 
 visible trace left of the massacred masons; and a 
 barrier of fifty cubits length of solidified cement, 
 as impenetrable as rock, closed the tunnel mouth. 
 Their object had been achieved; and now the 
 success of their plot was assured. 
 
 Upon their return it was reported that, while 
 making necessary repairs in the tunnel, the party 
 had been assailed by a much larger party of 
 Atlons, and the masons had been captured and 
 borne away, while the Koms — armed with swords 
 in whose use they were skilled — managed to effect 
 a safe retreat. . . . For days they had remained 
 sufficiently near, to observe the actions of the 
 Altons, who finally barricaded themselves behind 
 a barrier of rocks they had raised and behind 
 which they were filling in cement till up to the roof 
 of the tunnel — the thick wall of hardened cement 
 forming an impassable barrier now separating 
 Omshola from Atlo. This ended the dynasty of 
 Atlon Melks. In future, Omsholans would have 
 to find rulers from their own people. 
 
THE PLOT OF THE KONES 179 
 
 But what capped the climax of their mendacity, 
 was the added report that my entire party had 
 been slain by the Atlons, and my body had been 
 exhibited from a distance to the Koms, by whom 
 it had been identified. Not only was I no longer 
 among the living; but were I still living, my return 
 would now be absolutely impossible. 
 
 With the work of the Koms such a complete 
 success, the plot began to thicken. The Kones, 
 under the direction of Kone Sobrati, began to 
 appeal to the superstitions of the Omsholan temple 
 visitors. 
 
 With tear-bedimmed eyes, and voices of heart- 
 breaking anguish, the Kones now made the an- 
 nouncement from their temple pulpits, detailing 
 minutely how their Melka and her entire party 
 had met their deaths at the hands of the enraged 
 spirits of the upper world; and how that these had 
 thereafter also sealed up the mouth of the tunnel, 
 that no more spirits might be induced to leave the 
 upper world to rule Omshola. "Our dear Melka 
 is dead. Let us mourn her loss !" were invariably 
 the closing words of their appeals. 
 
 The people had ever been accustomed to take 
 the words of the Kones as the very fountain of 
 truth. How could they now doubt them? So 
 they deeply mourned the loss of their Melka — 
 their beloved liberator, and dearest friend. 
 
i8o DOOMED 
 
 The Kones were far too shrewd to make any 
 immediate reference to the succession. Before the 
 first hint of this aim could be given, the minds of 
 the people must be wrought up with a supersti- 
 tious dread, and also by degrees educated to 
 knowledge of the iniquity of their elevation to the 
 level of their unquestionable superiors, the 
 Komyim, 
 
 Taking advantage now of every passing thun- 
 derstorm, the Kones stormed the superstitious 
 minds of the Omsholan toilers with reminders of 
 the unappeased wrath of the spirits, who were 
 demanding a return of the people to the old order. 
 Nothing less would ever satisfy them; and in the 
 meantime the air overhead would again and again 
 be heard roaring the wrath of the enraged spirits, 
 and the roof of Omshola would blaze Vv'ith the 
 spirit flames spit against it. Nor would their 
 wrath be felt alone in this manner; for as each 
 Omsholan freedman hereafter entered the spirit 
 world, the awful sin committed in aspiring to the 
 level of the nobles would be punished by burning 
 in fires eternal. Let each of them therefore think 
 well, before withholding the properties that had 
 for ages belonged to the Komyim, and that now 
 were in their hands. 
 
 Such were the wily appeals by which the Kones 
 looked to restore the iniquitous status under which 
 
THE PLOT OF THE KONES i8i 
 
 the toilers of Omshola had been shackled In bond- 
 age. By degrees the minds of the toilers were 
 being prepared for a return to the shameful status 
 of their former bondage. Habits of faith, super- 
 stition and fear are terrible foes to contend with; 
 and the Omsholans were not equal to a contest 
 with such a combination. 
 
 Following these adroit appeals, the day soon 
 arrived when the Kones were ready to take active 
 measures for placing a successor on the vacant 
 throne. 
 
 Their first step was to publicly declare the 
 throne vacant, calling for a meeting of the Kom- 
 yim to elect a successor. In reply, Kosoki Samba, 
 who was acting as regent, demanded the formal 
 presentation of evidence to prove the declared 
 vacancy. 
 
 Kosoki Samba had his suspicions regarding what 
 had really occurred in the tunnel, though he had 
 no evidence with which to controvert their repre- 
 sentations. His step aimed mainly to cause delay, 
 in the hope that I might in the meantime return 
 to expose the terrible fraud they were perpetrat- 
 ing. Yet, believing that the tunnel mouth had at 
 least been sealed, it was mere hoping against hope. 
 
 It is true, he might have enlightened the be- 
 nighted toilers as to the falsity of the representa- 
 tions made concerning the attitude and threats of 
 
i82 DOOMED 
 
 the spirits above. But it was very doubtful that 
 his word alone would have had weight against that 
 of the Kones. Besides, he also realized that, even 
 if he induced the toilers to stand up for their 
 liberties, it would only provoke a civil war whose 
 outcome would be dubious and disastrous. What 
 was he to do? In the face of the representations 
 that were to be attested, the throne would be indis- 
 putably vacant, and some successor would have to 
 be chosen. 
 
 Decked In their finest garbs, and thefr faces 
 wreathed in smiles, the Komyim were at length 
 assembled in the royal audience chamber of the 
 palace, to elect a successor. In an adjoining hall 
 a sumptuous feast was in preparation to follow the 
 formal election; and the odors of the cooking 
 viands were permeating the gaily decorated audi- 
 ence chamber, causing many a hint at the hurrying 
 on of the work, which was only formal — the deci- 
 sion having long since been made to place Kone 
 Sobrati on the throne. 
 
 Long-visaged Kone Sobrati, for once in his 
 career wearing a smiling countenance, addressed 
 the assembled Komyim in glowing phrases inflated 
 with lofty promise proportionately empty of 
 meaning. He assured his auditors that democracy 
 in Omshola was to remain a permanent boon to all 
 
THE PLOT OF THE KONES 183 
 
 its people, though its properties were to be re- 
 placed in the hands of the Komyim, who were the 
 time-honored class fitted for their administration. 
 
 So far did his liberal spirit also carry him, that 
 he assured to all toilers a chance to acquire prop- 
 erties, after the Komyim were restored into pos- 
 session — each toiler doing so through his savings 
 —though he well realized how meager these neces- 
 sarily would be; and this was to be the ideal of 
 Omsholan democracy. 
 
 The address was greeted with loud shouts of 
 applause. 
 
 And now the balloting for a successor was to 
 begin, ushers distributing blank ballots among the 
 respective members of the Komyim. . . . When 
 the result of the first ballot was announced. It was 
 plain that the majority of them were mere compli- 
 ments to various members. ... At the next bal- 
 loting, Kone Sobrati was within but three votes of 
 election. ... A third ballot was taken, and lo, 
 Kone Sobrati had every vote of the assembly. 
 
 The court herald was on the point of formally 
 announcing the result, and proclaiming Kone 
 Sobrati as successor to the throne, when their ears 
 were besieged with an unearthly, terror-inspiring 
 sound, seeming to command a halt in the proceed- 
 ings. From all sides of the palace came the ter- 
 rifying sounds, shriek after shriek. Could it be 
 
i84 DOOMED 
 
 the spirits, knowing the fraud about to be perpe- 
 trated, had descended to stay its progress? 
 
 While the Komyim quivered with fear and 
 blanched faces, a force of armed men stalked into 
 the audience chamber — men covered from head to 
 foot in shining armor, and with stern faces of a 
 type unknown to Omsholans. 
 
 But what added further to their terror, was the 
 entrance of their Melka on the arm of Kosoki 
 Samba, who led her to the throne, and with a 
 significant gesture bade her be seated. 
 
 The regency was ended, and I once more occu- 
 pied the throne of Omshola. 
 
 In clear and incisive tones I now addressed 
 them: 
 
 "So, members of the Komyim, you had me slain 
 by the tales you spread, and my return cut off by 
 having the tunnel opening sealed, and the poor 
 masons, who did the work under your misrepre- 
 sentations, coldly murdered. Then you carried 
 your deceit further by misrepresentations made to 
 the toiling people as to the attitude of the spirits 
 above toward their liberty. You sought to again 
 fasten shackles on their limbs — to again deliver 
 them into bondage. Do you know that your crime 
 was treason, and Is punishable with death?" 
 
 Upon hearing these dreadful revelations, the 
 
THE PLOT OF THE KONES 185 
 
 nobles all threw themselves upon their faces and 
 began to grovel in disgusting self-abasement. 
 
 I could not look upon the sight; so I commanded 
 them to rise, and then I resumed : 
 
 "Your offense is not alone against me and the 
 realm of Omshola, but also against the upper 
 world— the land of Atlo, with which I have 
 jomed in a bond for mutual defense. Into their 
 hands will you therefore be committed, to be tried 
 and dealt with according to their mercy. As for 
 myself, and for Omshola, we wash our hands of 
 you. The Atlon warriors now in this hall will 
 take you in charge, and under their care, you will 
 be transported at once to the land of Atlo— there 
 to be tried and dealt with according to your 
 offense." 
 
 ^ At a signal from me, the Atlon guard took them 
 m charge, and marched them in a body to the train 
 of war jubros waiting outside to bear them 
 speedily from the realm. 
 
 So ended the conspiracy, and the career in Om- 
 shola, of these trouble makers; for I realized that 
 whatever sentence was imposed on them, they 
 would never again be allowed to return. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 BoROK Springs a Sensation 
 
 At dusk on the day previous to Borok's dis- 
 appearance, the dwarf might have been seen 
 mounted on a swift tofo, headed for the outskirts 
 of Omsh. He was clad in a dark canvas suit made 
 for the occasion, of strong fiber, and fitted with 
 more than the usual number of pockets. The coat 
 lining was also sewed up in squares, at the top of 
 each of which was visible a small opening, through 
 which they could easily be filled with either gold 
 or gathered gems. 
 
 He was evidently bent on making a long jour- 
 ney; for he carried on his back a pouch filled with 
 dried meats and cakes to be used only when no 
 longer able to find the usual food at the wayside 
 inns, upon which he mainly depended. 
 
 Desiring also to avoid recognition, he deviated 
 from the direct route, so as to give a wide berth to 
 the village of his native home. On the sixth day 
 he arrived at what was the last settlement before 
 entering the region of wilderness extending to the 
 eastern wall of Omshola. 
 
 For three wearisome days he patiently pushed 
 his way over marshy lands and through briery 
 
 i86 
 
BOROK SPRINGS A SENSATION 187 
 
 jungles, in which the heat was stifling. Then in 
 the middle of the day, reaching an elevated piece 
 of ground, there suddenly loomed up before him 
 the eastern wall of crystal, here of a dark hue, 
 giving to the surroundings a gloomy aspect. 
 
 To Borok, however, the appearance of the wall 
 imparted a feeling of joy, telling him he was soon 
 to ascertain whether the object of his adventure 
 was attainable, as he had surmised. 
 
 By evening he had arrived at the wall itself, 
 which was here no higher than three cubits, and 
 rose with a slight inchne till it merged in the roof, 
 a hundred cubits above. Here he found a con- 
 venient place to rest, picketing his tofo to a small 
 tree that was surrounded with an abundance of 
 rich verdure, on which the beast might feed. 
 
 Following the wall northward on the next day, 
 and closely scrutinizing its entire length, he sud- 
 denly came on a spot he seemed to recognize. For 
 quite a distance the wall was here completely con- 
 cealed by a clump of thorn bushes. It was back of 
 this very clump he believed that lay the opening 
 he had in his youthful days once discovered. Was 
 this the place ? And if so, what was there beyond ? 
 That he had never ascertained, but was now 
 determined to learn — provided he found the 
 opening. 
 
 Expecting to proceed alone on his further jour- 
 
i88 DOOMED 
 
 ney, he let his tofo wander at Its pleasure, after 
 having wound the picketing thong around his 
 breast. He also added some to his store of hid- 
 den gems in the lining of his coat and filled a still 
 empty pocket with a lot of nuggets and coarse 
 sands that were rich with gold. 
 
 With his knife in hand, he now proceeded to 
 slowly carve his way through the bushes, till he 
 reached the wall; and thence he forced himself on 
 northward, patiently sweating and toiling as he 
 progressed. All this time he was crawling upon 
 hands and knees; and he was already nearing the 
 end of the bushes, and just ready to abandon 
 further search, when, to his amazement, a pale 
 light became visible, gleaming through the bushes 
 only a few steps ahead. It was the very aperture 
 he had been looking for. 
 
 Reaching It, he crawled through; and then, ris- 
 ing and passing around a rising knoll, a great sight 
 confronted him — a vast surface far down beneath 
 his feet glimmering like a sheet of liquid emerald. 
 Overhead rose a dome of solid blue, In the midst 
 of which blazed a huge round face of crimson 
 flame. Could this be the face of the Great Spirit 
 ruling over all the worlds, of which the Kones had 
 taught him ? Was this the Lord who. In his anger, 
 spoke In voice of thunder and shot long sheets of 
 flame against Omskola's roof? 
 
"Could this be the face of the Great Spirit ruling over 
 the worlds, of which the Kones had taught him ?" 
 
BOROK SPRINGS A SENSATION 189 
 
 Awed by the spectacle, and filled with dread of 
 this mighty being, little Borok fell upon his face, 
 and in solemn words pledged his loyalty to the will 
 of this monarch over all the worlds. 
 
 He was now surely in that other world, of 
 which he had heard so much from his beloved 
 Melka. He could not be mistaken. 
 
 Glancing around him, his eye soon caught sight 
 of what he recognized as an ancient stairway lead- 
 ing down to the sea level more than fifty cubits 
 below. Though largely hidden from the eye by 
 an overgrowth of weeds, the stairs were clearly 
 discernible. But before descending, he gathered 
 some large stones which he piled up behind the 
 aperture, lest it be discovered by possible pursuers. 
 
 It took him not long to make the descent; and 
 after a day's lonesome journeyin^f along the sea- 
 coast, he came to the outskirts of the coast city 
 of Umla, which lay at the western extremity of 
 the Atlic Canal. In this last stage of his journey, 
 he used the utmost precaution, moving stealthily 
 on among the numerous huge rocks at the foot of 
 the mountainous embankment. This was for fear 
 of meeting with any of the beasts besieging Atlo. 
 But he met with no trace of them; and finally, dis- 
 cerning the approach of a human being, he ven- 
 tured to show himself. 
 
 From this Atlon he soon learned that the beast 
 
190 DOOMED 
 
 war was nearing an end — the superapes being con- 
 fined within a narrow strip of territory, in which 
 they would soon be exterminated. His appear- 
 ance as a stranger in the land made it necessary to 
 confide to the Atlon the fact of his coming from 
 Omshola, of which he had much to tell. By the 
 advice of this man, he at once proceeded to Umla, 
 and there presented himself before its Dodor or 
 governor. To the Dodor he now confided his 
 story concerning the land of Omshola and its 
 riches, in proof of which he exhibited a lot of the 
 gold and gems he carried on his person. 
 
 The story seemed incredible, though the gems 
 he exhibited, and the fact that little Borok was a 
 stranger and of a different type from the Atlons, 
 went far toward winning at least some consider- 
 ation. 
 
 Led by the Dodor to his oroto, Borok was 
 formally introduced, and allowed to tell his story. 
 That another world should exist so near to Atlo, 
 and yet never have been heard of before, seemed 
 unbelievable. What were they to think of it? 
 
 But when he spoke of their Melka as a woman 
 who had been abducted from Atlo while visiting 
 a friend in the city of Nungo, there were several 
 among his hearers who recalled hearing of the 
 mysterious disappearance of this woman. 
 
 The news of his strange arrival, and of his tale. 
 
BOROK SPRINGS A SENSATION 191 
 
 was now bell-slgnalled to the authorities at Atllc, 
 who immediately replied by asking for the dis- 
 patch of the stranger to Atlic, where they would 
 examine into the details of his remarkable 
 revelation. 
 
 So it came that, borne in a swift jubret, Borok 
 the next day found himself in the city of Atlic, 
 lodged in White Wing oro as a guest of the State. 
 Taken afterwards to the House of State and 
 brought before Melk Mozo, he was soon engaged 
 in picturing to that high official the details of Om- 
 sholan life and its government. Its crystal roof and 
 gold-besprinkled ground, of Its Komylm and its 
 free tollers — of the old rule and the new rule insti- 
 tuted through the wisdom of their Melka — Queen 
 Metel. 
 
 King Mozo was particularly Interested In the 
 route by which he had left Omshola, and also that 
 by which Metel had been brought Into that land. 
 
 It was not long after, before Melk Mozo had 
 dispatched two separate expeditions to Investigate 
 and report on these gateways to Omshola. The 
 expedition to the sea shore entrance was accom- 
 panied by Borok, and had no difficulty In finding 
 the opening and effecting an entrance. What they 
 saw verified his story, and they waited not any 
 longer to return and report what they had found. 
 .. ., . The other expedition descended the Fiery 
 
192 DOOMED 
 
 Pit, but only to find, instead of an opening or a 
 door, the traces of an opening tliat had been sealed 
 up with cement. Efforts to penetrate this barrier 
 were all made in vain; and so the expedition had to 
 report failure. 
 
 With the existence of Omshola verified, Borok 
 found ready listeners to his tales concerning this 
 strange land, and was being invited to entertain in 
 one oroto after the other — a service his profession 
 of minstrel well fitted him for, and in which he 
 delighted. It opened a new and highly remuner- 
 ative field for him, and led him soon to dismiss all 
 thought of using the gems of Omshola to buy 
 castles and lands in the outer world. It is also 
 needless to say that what he learned in Atlo went 
 far to dispel all such sordid thoughts. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Invasion of Omshola 
 
 In leaving the Omshola tunnel, I was seated in 
 a closed conveyance that was raised to the level of 
 Nunga Park, when its door was opened by one of 
 my attendants, and I was led to a seat, to await the 
 exit of the remaining members of the party. 
 
 It was early dawn, and our first move was to 
 find a park pavilion, and there take a good rest 
 before proceeding any further. Accompanied by 
 an attendant, I then made an incursion into the 
 town, to arrange for my further course. 
 
 The first thing I therefore did was to visit 
 Flying Arrow oro, to see if my friend Lesba was 
 still there. At the oro I was sorely disappointed 
 on learning that she had only recently left for the 
 city of Gegra, on the western frontier, so as to be 
 nearer her husband, who was soon to start on a 
 pioneering expedition in Atlora. The oro mother 
 who received me was not the same one that had 
 taken me in charge on my previous arrival; and so 
 I wasted no time, but left, to engage a number of 
 jubros to take my party to the city of Atlic; but 
 
 193 
 
194 DOOMED 
 
 not before T had sent my folks a bell-signal dis- 
 patch, saying "Someone's coming up tonight from 
 Nungo. Will be a surprise." 
 
 From the jubro agent I learned that the beast 
 war was still on, though in its final stage. Within 
 a few days they would have the last of the beasts 
 exterminated. They were at present hemmed in 
 within a narrow strip of territory, and were on the 
 verge of starvation. 
 
 With my attendant, I now stepped into one of 
 the jubros; and soon we were at the park entrance, 
 where our party joined us, and was speedily being 
 borne on toward our destination in Atlic. We 
 made no stops, save for food and refreshments, 
 which I obtained for the party through bartering 
 away my store of kibos — these being gladly re- 
 ceived and accepted as rare curios, which in this 
 land they surely were. 
 
 It was just the hour of dusk when we finally 
 reached Atlic; and making straight for the Red 
 Star oro, I was rather astonished to see a large 
 assemblage before the oro, shouting their greet- 
 ings; while my parents, at the curb, rushed for- 
 ward to embrace me. One after the other seized 
 me in their arms, and with tears of joy gave vent 
 to their boundless delight. 
 
 I was immediately ushered into our family quar- 
 ters, and my party was taken to the oroto. To 
 
THE INVASION OF OMSHOLA 195 
 
 each of them was assigned a private guest room, 
 and every attention given to enable their toilet to 
 be made prior to re-assembling for supper in a 
 dining hall reserved for their exclusive use. 
 
 "How did you know, mother/' I afterwards 
 asked, "that the dispatch was from me?" 
 
 "We had heard but yesterday a report of your 
 strange adventure. We could at first hardly be- 
 lieve it; but your dispatch seemed to confirm the 
 truth of the report." 
 
 "That I have come from this strange under- 
 ground world, of which I am the queen, is true, 
 every word of it. But I cannot comprehend how 
 news of the affair could have reached Atlo. That 
 puzzles me." 
 
 "The report came to Atlo through a dwarf, 
 who seems to have discovered a new outlet from 
 Omshola. Do you know of such a person?" 
 
 "Why, that must be my court minstrel, Borok, 
 who disappeared mysteriously only a few days 
 before my departure. Is he still In Atlo?" 
 
 "I believe he has left," Interposed my father, 
 "to accompany the expedition sent out to investi- 
 gate his discovery. They are expected back in 
 another day, and you'll then have a chance to see 
 him. . , . But did you know that the Omsholan 
 tunnel mouth in the Fiery Pit had been located, 
 
196 DOOMED 
 
 and found sealed up with an Incredibly hard 
 cement? It will never be used again." 
 
 This unexpected news led me at once to suspect 
 the closing to be the work of conspirators. It was 
 done undoubtedly by the Komyim, with the object 
 of barring my return and setting on the throne one 
 of their number, through whom the toilers of the 
 land would again be doomed to bondage. I could 
 attach no other significance to the act. 
 
 How important now was the discovery made by 
 little Borok! I could have hugged him for joy, 
 to think how my return now would take the con- 
 spirators by surprise, and save my people from the 
 degradation and wrong sought to be imposed on 
 them. I did not need to await the return of the 
 expedition. The presence of Borok in Atlo was 
 proof enough of the genuineness of the discovery. 
 
 What joy we had in the hours now spent in 
 rehearsing the varied experiences of the past 
 years, those of my parents in Atlic, and mine in the 
 land of Omshola. How much there was to tell of, 
 and how much that was reminiscent of my former 
 days in Atlo. Regarding my betrothed, I learned 
 that he had served creditably throughout the war, 
 winning more than one decoration for his bravery; 
 also that he was at present engaged in one of the 
 many pioneering expeditions sent into the wilds 
 of Atlora. 
 
THE INVASION OF OMSHOLA 197 
 
 On the following day, I went, accompanied by 
 my father and my official deputation, to be pre- 
 sented to King Mozo. 
 
 The news concerning me, he had learned 
 through Borok; and also of the sealing of the 
 Omsholan tunnel mouth. He was therefore de- 
 lighted to learn that I had come and might now 
 take advantage of the newly discovered outlet to 
 return and surprise the conspirators, who had 
 manifestly taken advantage of my absence to bar 
 my return. 
 
 When I mentioned to him the main object of 
 my call and visit to Atlo, to enter into a treaty 
 with Atlo by which the two lands would be united 
 for their mutual defense and for their mutual 
 benefit in carrying on trade between them, he cor- 
 dially approved the idea. Through Minstrel 
 Borok he had already acquired some insight into 
 the extent of Omshola and the form of its govern- 
 ment, as well as the goal toward which it was 
 being guided. All this he heartily approved; and 
 so it was not long before a treaty was formulated, 
 to the satisfaction of both principals. 
 
 The substance of this treaty, which was after- 
 wards duly signed by the members of my deputa- 
 tion, and also by the proper signatories of Atlo, 
 called for the trade between the two lands to be 
 reduced to a basis of barter, though for some time 
 
198 DOOMED 
 
 kibos might be acceptable as commodities — there 
 being a certain prospect of a large demand for 
 them in Atlo, to serve as curios. As soon, how- 
 ever, as the simultaneous use of silver and bronze 
 shekels could be inaugurated in Omshola, the use 
 of bronze shekels would automatically confine 
 trade to a basis of barter. As in Atlo, its prop- 
 erties were all to be made inalienable, by endow- 
 ing all persons, at the proper time, with a prop- 
 erty portion, as the reader already understands. 
 None were to be born as either chattel or free 
 slaves. Its world was to be divided into no such 
 riff raff as lords and outcasts. They who by birth 
 inherited the NEEDS of civilization were also to 
 inherit its MEANS. Society had rights over its 
 members and it also had obligations to them. 
 
 In the future government of Omshola, whether 
 it was to be monarchical or democratic, or a min- 
 gling of the two extremes, all authority was to be 
 limited within the purposes for which It was given. 
 Usurpation of authority, and evil use of power, 
 were to be severely dealt with, penalties ranging 
 according to the degree of usurpation. . . . Politi- 
 cal organizations had Invariably to state their 
 objects in definite form; and when these had been 
 achieved, they passed out of existence. They were 
 not allowed to develop into domineering machines; 
 nor, as in Mamnist lands, to become the Instru- 
 
THE INVASION OF OMSHOLA 199 
 
 merits of organized wealth, ruling all parties In 
 the major matters of government by which 
 profiteering was kept fortified, and in minor mat- 
 ters keeping up to the people the pretense of self- 
 government. Such political masquerading was 
 not to be carried on in the new Omshola. Its 
 scheme of government was not to hold down Its 
 masses while their pockets were being picked. 
 
 The uses of both money and wealth — the domi- 
 nant implements of Industrial co-operation — were 
 also to be confined within the purposes they had to 
 serve. They were under no circumstances to de- 
 generate into implements of perversion and extor- 
 tion. They were to remain as SERVANTS of 
 toil, and not its MASTERS. 
 
 With the administrative departments of govern- 
 ment given long terms of office, when not for life, 
 but subject to ejection on gross Incompetency or 
 misbehavior, separated from and not In control of 
 the department assigned to guard its fundamental 
 law — the primary requisites of Atlism — there 
 could be little danger of any serious disturbance 
 ever Interfering with Its affairs. ... Its funda- 
 mental law was also made practically unalterable, 
 by requiring three successive majority votes of the 
 people, given at periods of ten years apart for any 
 modification. 
 
200 DOOMED 
 
 With this program decided on, preparations 
 were at once begun for the invasion of Omshola, 
 and my re-establishment on its throne, should such 
 a step be required. 
 
 Since the roadway for a long way on the sea 
 front was impassable for vehicles, we made use of 
 a few large jubrets to convey our expedition to the 
 spot of the stairway, which, with Borok's help, 
 was finally distinguished. A suitable landing place 
 was also located not far away; and after prodi- 
 gious labors, the stairway was remodeled Into an 
 inclined plane, extended with numerous twists and 
 turns, so as to make the ascent by jubros possible. 
 
 The next step was to enlarge the opening 
 through the wall of Omshola; and after that, to 
 cut down and remove the thorn bushes in the inter- 
 vening jungle. . , . With a large force of men all 
 these things were easily accomplished; and soon 
 our jubros were pushing their way through the 
 wilds of Omshola. 
 
 Arriving in the settled portions of the land, we 
 hurried forward, letting our jubros shriek their 
 terrifying sounds Into the ears of the natives, who 
 thereupon hid In their houses, allowing us to move 
 on toward Omsh without news of our coming 
 teaching the capital before us. 
 
 Arriving at Omsh, we at once made 'for Its royal 
 palace, which we surrounded with our jubros, 
 
THE INVASION OF OMSHOLA 201 
 
 within whose circle none were allowed to pass. 
 ... I then sent Borok for Kosoki Samba; and, 
 after a brief consultation with him, in which I 
 learned of what had transpired in my absence, and 
 of the present state of affairs, I at once arranged 
 to have our jubros shriek an alarm that would 
 arrest all further proceedings in the audience 
 chamber. Then, accompanied on the arm of 
 Kosoki Samba, and preceded by a force of armed 
 Atlons, I was taken into the hall of assembly and 
 seated on the throne, in the manner previously 
 described. As to what followed, the reader 
 already knows, 
 
PART in 
 
 UNITED AT LAST— AS TOLD BY 
 PRINCE LOAB 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 The Beast Behind the Cloud 
 
 Several years had I now been traversing the 
 wilds of Atlora, engaged in the pioneering branch 
 of Atlo's mihtary service, encountering dangers, 
 and enduring hardships I would never have 
 deemed possible for me to survive. But such is 
 life — a grand episode of plunging into dangers, 
 courting doubts and facing perplexities, while ever 
 dreading and resisting them. How many bogeys 
 our energies, in their pent up confinement, raise, 
 meaning no more than shadow to substance. 
 
 I was by this time a lieutenant, serving under 
 Captain Kapso, the husband of Metel's friend, 
 Lesba. Poor fellow, doomed soon after to meet 
 a dreadful fate ! 
 
 How deeply some of our adventures remain im- 
 pressed upon my mind ! None more so than that 
 in which we slew the great mammoth — the fiery 
 dragon we caught napping in a vast cavern. How 
 stealthily we approached the monster; and then, 
 unexpectedly, as one of us stumbled over a rock, 
 
 205 
 
9o6 D(X)MED 
 
 he was awakened, and with a thunderous roar 
 sprang at us, scattering us in a panicky fright be- 
 fore we had the chance to fire a single poison dart 
 into his huge body. I still wonder how we man- 
 aged to get out of the cavern. 
 
 To this day I pride myself on the fact that, 
 reaching the exit, I was the first to recover my 
 senses and to puncture the breast of the mammoth 
 with one of our deadly darts. Others followed 
 my example; and before one could count twenty, 
 as many darts were embedded in the monster's 
 flesh. He was now practically done for, all but 
 the fearful convulsions of his gigantic frame, 
 wildly flopping about with tremendous bounds and 
 thumps, with deep bellowing and blood-curdling 
 shrieks. 
 
 Not till the beast had ceased to move, did any 
 of us dare to emerge from beneath the ledge of 
 rock on the cliff side, where we had taken refuge 
 — long after his struggles had ceased, and the 
 flames issuing from his huge mouth had subsided. 
 
 Six members of our force were slain in this en- 
 counter, and as many more had received serious 
 wounds, while not one but was covered with 
 bruises or lamed with sprains. 
 
 There was another strange adventure we had, 
 in which our entire corps remained treed in an oak 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 207 
 
 grove for nigh two whole weeks, imprisoned there 
 by a host of spiked reptiles, called daggersnakes, 
 who closely resembled the crocodiles I had seen 
 m the river Nil, save that they were much larger 
 and had bodies covered with horny projections 
 sharp as thorns. The hunger and thirst we suf- 
 fered on this occasion were excruciating; and al- 
 ready we had given up hope of escape from the 
 doom of starvation. 
 
 We had been following along the banks of a 
 great river, approach to which was barred by an 
 endless line of these monsters. Desiring to ascer- 
 tain how aggressive they were, we had determined 
 on having a trial combat, for which purpose we 
 had smgled out a big bull daggersnake basking in 
 the sun all by himself. While this combat was in 
 progress, those not engaged therein climbed into 
 the tree tops of an oak grove nearby, from which 
 to witness the affair. . . Though our men suc- 
 ceeded m slaying the beast, they had a narrow 
 escape— taking refuge finally with their compan- 
 ions m the grove, since the shrieks of the dying 
 monster had attracted to the spot a large number 
 of beasts from the river bank. 
 
 Contrary to expectation, however, the beasts 
 would not take their departure— more and more 
 of them gathering in the grove, and remaining 
 motionless as if to keep us under siege. 
 
2o8 DOOMED 
 
 That was evidently their intention, for they re- 
 mained on guard nearly two weeks that seemed 
 longer than eternity, while we had nothing better 
 to assuage our thirst than the chewing of the oak 
 leaves and naught else to appease our hunger 
 than the bitter acorns with which the grove 
 abounded. 
 
 We were already reduced to mere skeletons 
 when, glancing downward, one morning, we be- 
 held the entire ground black with creeping things 
 I was told were scavenger ants. They were on 
 the march, and the daggersnakes dared not impede 
 their way lest the countless myriads of tiny crea- 
 tures should devour them as if they were no more 
 than so much vegetation. 
 
 It was after the scavenger ants had passed, that 
 we decided on a desperate course — descending 
 while the beasts were still hiding in the depths of 
 the stream, and fortunately thus making our 
 escape. 
 
 Our jubros, whose food stores had been un- 
 touched, were still where they had been left; and 
 so we clambered hastily into them and speeded be- 
 yond reach of the beasts, before we stopped to 
 appease our hunger and thirst. We were cured 
 of all further desire to witness any combats with 
 daggersnakes, and were happy to have escaped 
 with our lives. 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 209 
 
 But what were these adventures compared with 
 that which we had a few days later, terminating 
 so disastrously, I never can think of it without 
 tears gathering in my eyes. 
 
 Upon what trifling incidents our fates often 
 hinge ! Who would have thought that the dark 
 eye glasses in my pocket at the time of being cast 
 upon the seashore at Atllc, were to save me from 
 a dreadful calamity, through which my body and 
 my soul would have been forever merged in a 
 granite image of myself. Of our entire corps, I 
 alone escaped this awful doom. 
 
 How this came to pass, I will now endeavor to 
 explain. My eyes having on divers occasions suf- 
 fered from the intense glare of the desert sands, 
 I one day bethought me of wearing those dark 
 eye glasses of which I but now made mention. 
 These afforded me such substantial relief, that I 
 continued to wear them; and because of their cov- 
 ering my eyes at the time our corps was assaulted 
 by a mysterious beast never before encountered in 
 Atlo, had I the good fortune to escape with my 
 life. 
 
 We were following the course of a wide but 
 shallow stream that crept along, with many turns, 
 over the sandy soil. Though easily fordable at 
 most points, one might also anywhere encounter 
 therein treacherous quicksands. 
 
210 DOOMED 
 
 Now a peculiar feature of this sluggish stream 
 was its frequent disappearance, only later on to 
 reappear from the underground channels it had 
 meanwhile followed. This queer diversion into 
 the bowels of the earth, reputed to be infested 
 with legions of foul spirits, demons and jinns, be- 
 longing in the domains of Sat, the Evil One, gave 
 us much uneasiness, as if auguring the approach of 
 some impending catastrophe. For who had ever 
 heard of a stream acting with siich contrariety? 
 
 Of daggersnakes its water contained no trace; 
 but of deadly serpents the number was beyond 
 count. On its banks we frequently encountered 
 huge hillocks formed of nothing but these writh- 
 ing creatures, all interwoven in one loathsome 
 mass, with hissing heads protruded at all points. 
 
 Our aborigine guide, little Nobo, who was 
 familiar with the region, and had a keen scent for 
 every change in the state of the atmosphere, was 
 standing near me, one morning, sniffing the air, 
 with a very puzzled expression upon his counte- 
 nance. 
 
 "Him smell no much like!" was the muttered 
 refrain he kept constantly repeating, while dubi- 
 ously shaking his head. "No like him smell, no 
 like him!" 
 
 Nothing more explicit could be drawn from the 
 native; and his baffled air made me apprehensive. 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 211 
 
 To all my attempts to coax out of him an ex- 
 planation, he made no answer; and then suddenly 
 pointed, triumphantly, to a faint speck on the 
 horizon. 
 
 "Him cloud, him smell. Nobo sure him cloud 
 smell!" 
 
 What could the little rascal mean? Whoever 
 heard of a cloud possessing an odor? 
 
 Time brings forth many surprises; and for me, 
 this was one of them. For soon after, both Lieu- 
 tenant Marco and myself were able to detect the 
 peculiar odor to which our guide had referred. It 
 was now noticeable as a distinct and pronounced 
 odor, as If coming from burning sulphur. There 
 was no way of accounting for its presence in the 
 open desert, any more than of attributing Its 
 source to a cloud. 
 
 Steadily the cloud was coming nearer, growing 
 more ominous as it approached. 
 
 "What sort of devil can it be, hiding In the 
 cloud?" I asked, throwing out a random guess. 
 
 "It's some sort of devil," my comrade jestingly 
 retorted, "for It's my humble opinion, I assure 
 you, that the odor comes from some fiery creature 
 — If not a devil, perhaps a dragon." 
 
 "If it's a dragon, Marco, he'll soon have to 
 show himself. He can't keep on forever follow- 
 
212 DOOMED 
 
 ing the uncertain course of an Idle cloud. He 
 surely isn't glued to it." 
 
 "But what if this were a cunning old dragon 
 making use of the cloud merely as a screen, thq 
 better to surprise his quarry, in swooping down 
 upon it?" 
 
 "At any rate," I concluded, "he'll bear close 
 watching; and I, for one, will keep my eye on 
 him." 
 
 While intently observing this mysterious cloud, 
 we were not a little astonished to see the dark 
 mass make a sharp turn from its previous course 
 — an act so uncloudlike and contrary to all our 
 previous conceptions of cloud decorum, it put our 
 nerves on edge. 
 
 For a dragon to suddenly swerve from its 
 course was to be expected; but for a cloud to do 
 so, was in defiance of all precedent. Was a dragon 
 really behind it? If so, what had become of him, 
 after the swerving of the cloud? Can he also 
 have made the sharp curve? 
 
 The queer antics of this odorous cloud were a 
 puzzle to baffle wiser heads than ours. Nor was 
 the matter any nearer solution when, soon after, 
 the cloud took another flie^ht, alighting upon the 
 crest of a grassy knoll not far away. 
 
 Nobo, seeming to comprehend our bewilder- 
 ment, shook his frowsy head, entreating us to stay 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 213 
 
 away. "No go him! No go! Him devil — kill 
 you. No go him, no, no!" he fairly shrieked at 
 us. 
 
 But we officers were broadminded Atlons, to 
 be frightened by no devil. We had also an ex- 
 ample to set for our followers. 
 
 So, heedless of the guide's expostulations, we 
 determined to investigate the strange cloud. Ac- 
 companied therefore with an ammunition jubro, 
 and each of us carrying his blow gun and darts, 
 we followed Captain Kapso to the outskirts of 
 the cloud-capped knoll, leaving our force of 
 civilians with the camp. 
 
 Arrived at the base of the knoll, an impene- 
 trable darkness confronted us, impregnated with 
 a powerful sulphurous odor. If the cloud really 
 veiled some horrible mammoth, devil, dragon or 
 other weird monster, it were well, so we reasoned, 
 to avoid entering its dark interior until, after 
 skirting its edges, we had obtained some glimpse 
 of the beast it held within. 
 
 While thus engaged in peering into the dark 
 mass, an unearthly shriek suddenly issued from 
 its interior — proclaiming unmistakably the pres- 
 ence therein of some dread terror, a mammoth, 
 devil or unknown horror, about to spring upon us. 
 
 Our blow guns were all charged with darts 
 ready to be fired Into the beast; but unfortunately, 
 
214 DOOMED 
 
 the creature remained Invisible beneath its thick 
 veil of smoke. 
 
 How eagerly we craned our necks to secure the 
 merest glimpse of the horror; but all in vain. 
 Then unexpectedly, and all too soon, our eyes 
 were blinded by the flash of two great eyes glar- 
 ing an intense light into our faces. My blood in- 
 stantly seemed to be curdling in my veins, as if 
 atrophied under some dread spell. I should have 
 instantaneously succumbed, but for intuitively 
 concentrating every shred of vital energy into one 
 tremendous mental effort, under which the force 
 of the spell was broken, and I regained some con- 
 trol of myself. 
 
 With a superhuman energy, I leaped into the 
 ammunition jubro, and started it off. Its driver 
 sat beside me, staring vacantly — a mere form in- 
 animate. I happened to touch his hand, only to 
 feel it hard as rock, clammy and cold. He had 
 been turned into stone. 
 
 Reaching the camp, I found the civilians In a 
 flutter of excitement, and quaking with fear. They 
 had heard the weird cry of the beast, and seen 
 the terrible light flashing from its eyes; and they 
 had also noted Its paralyzing effect upon the corps, 
 with a single exception left standlnoj Immovable in 
 their posture of tense gazing, with heads still 
 craned forward, like a group of lifeless statues. 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 215 
 
 Observing the staring figure of the jubro driver 
 at my side, they sadly shook their heads ; and point- 
 ing to Captain Kapso's corps, cried with one ac- 
 cord : "Let's away, comrades, lest we also perish 
 in this manner!" 
 
 The guide, Nobo, whose timely warning had 
 gone unheeded, now assured us the beast was noth- 
 ing less than a basilisk — one of the various flying 
 serpents haunting the fens of Atloraba. This 
 beast, half bird, half serpent, exudes from its body 
 a heavy vapor, much resembling smoke, and 
 emanating from the furnace heat of its body, 
 whence are derived the intense lights flashing 
 from its eyes. 
 
 Nobo's version was undoubtedly correct, since 
 rumors of such a beast had been current in Atlo; 
 and even in Phoenicia; and also, while at Athens, 
 reports of its dreadful powers were not wanting. 
 There It was known as cockatrice, and often as 
 tsepha, as well as basilisk. That the cloud was 
 merely the exudation from its body, readily ex- 
 plained why beast and cloud kept such close com- 
 pany — as if they had been body and skin. 
 
 We lost no needless time In starting upon our 
 mournful journey to Gegra, where report would 
 have to be made of the disastrous catastrophe to 
 our expedition. 
 
2i6 DOOMED 
 
 On the way back, the thought came to me, what 
 if this terrible beast were to invade and ravage 
 Atlo? What if this were merely a straggler in ad- 
 vance of a host of similar beasts? What hope 
 could there be for Atlo in a conflict with beasts 
 whose mere glance could slay men by the hun- 
 dreds? And flying in the upper atmosphere, how 
 was their advance to be checked? Our ironclad 
 jubros would be of small avail against such a foe. 
 The very thought of this dire menace made my 
 poor head swim. 
 
 I had heard of a wonderful magician named 
 Gauril, who resided at Gegra, and was reputed a 
 perfect genius. For three years he had been en- 
 gaged in designing a magic bird that was to soar 
 in the heavens, carrying upon its back human rid- 
 ers — a sort of air jubro. Perchance this man 
 might succeed in perfecting his bird, perched on 
 which, we might cope with the dread basilisks. 
 Why not see this man, and stir him up to hasten 
 the perfection of his bird. 
 
 This I determined to do. But what a slender 
 thread it was on which to hang the fate of Atlo! 
 
 To the home of this famed magician I never- 
 theless hastened, on my arrival at Gegra, finding 
 him in Raven Oro. The tale of our sad experience 
 appalled him, and was the greater shock, since a 
 beloved nephew of his was a member of the 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 217 
 
 stricken corps. The deplorable fact, however, 
 only spurred him to apply greater energy to the 
 completion of his bird. 
 
 "My bird, I'm sure, will do the work, friend 
 Loab," said he, "and go far in helping us destroy 
 the basihsks. There's only a single detail still to 
 be mastered; and then she'll be ready to soar over 
 the very clouds!" 
 
 How well I knew this hope had been his light 
 from day to day, for two long years, and that his 
 three days might stretch into three centuries. Only 
 too well I knew this ; and yet I also began to hope ; 
 for despair is an addled bug, that catches at 
 straws. 
 
 From Gauril's I proceeded to military head- 
 quarters, as the only surviving officer of our corps, 
 to make an official report. I had hardly finished, 
 when Chief Matla, all in a tremor of agitation, 
 recited to me the substance of a message just re- 
 ceived from Mother Mafra. The seer had been 
 visited in a dream by the goddess Atl, who, from 
 the heavens above, had witnessed the fate of our 
 corps. She had also recognized in the basilisk 
 mask the demon god Mam. To this evil spirit, 
 the struggle had been merely a trial combat, whose 
 outcome had already decided Mam to raise hosts 
 of basilisks in Atloraba, with which to invade Atlo 
 and destroy her people. 
 
ex8 DOOMED 
 
 Preparations for the new movement had al- 
 ready begun in the desert of Korol, where a host 
 of the beasts were assembled to cover the desert 
 sands with their eggs; after hatching which, the 
 young were to be allowed to mature, and were 
 then to be led on to Atlo. 
 
 As a counterstroke, the great god AT, aware 
 of the wicked design, had already begun the frus- 
 tration of Mam's scheme by hurling from the 
 clouds vast showers of hailstones that were smash- 
 ing the basilisk eggs as fast as laid. This com- 
 pelled the beasts to leave the desert and to con- 
 ceal their eggs in caves. But the caves, being cold 
 and damp, permitted not of any hatching until 
 after the Evil One, from the lower world, had 
 shot upward Into that region vast heat blasts, 
 through which the eggs might in time hatch. AT'S 
 counterstroke, while not preventing the eggs from 
 being hatched, was of inestimable service for the 
 delay it caused, as shall in time be seen. 
 
 Returning to the shop of Magician Gaurll, to 
 urge him to speed his work, I was pushed aside by 
 the frenzied man, who was rushing madly hither 
 and thither among the junk of queer contrivances 
 lumbering up his shop. 
 
 "Can't you see, my friend," he shouted, "that 
 I've no time to spare 1 My bird's all ready, and 
 
THE BEAST BEHIND THE CLOUD 219 
 
 I must take it at once to military headquarters. 
 It's all together now, and in yon sack." With 
 these words, he grabbed a huge sack, flung it over 
 his shoulders, and started with a limp to drag it 
 off. 
 
 Seeing the sack was much too heavy for him, I 
 relieved him of the burden — striding off with it, 
 while he followed panting at my heels. 
 
 *'Do you know I've tried my bird already on 
 the oro roof? Yes, friend, it's at last perfected. 
 Got the missing idea just after you left. It works 
 like a charm ! Why, before a week Is past, you'll 
 see me soaring over Atlic with one so big, your 
 people will think it's a dragon coming after 
 them!" 
 
 We soon had the model at Chief Matla's for 
 another trial; and there, to the amazement of all 
 spectators, it performed wonderful gyrations as 
 gracefully as a live bird. It was undoubtedly a 
 complete success; and should a full grown craft 
 do as well, it augured well for Atlo's outlook in 
 the approaching basilisk war. 
 
 So pleased with the exhibition were Chief Matia 
 and his staff, that Gauril was at once given a free 
 hand in further operations, and assured all the 
 help, financial and otherwise, he would call for 
 from Atlo's Push Wing. 
 
220 DOOMED 
 
 A fact that Gauril had at the time failed to 
 mention was that his final inspiration had come 
 from the goddess Atl, whose spirit had mingled 
 with his own and so stimulated his imaginative 
 powers as to immediately evolve the idea he had 
 so long vainly striven for. Many a time since 
 has he mentioned the part the goddess Atl had in 
 perfecting his great bird. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 The Basilisk Invasion 
 
 Granted a brief furlough, on my return to 
 Gegra, I hastened to pay a visit to my early friends 
 and benefactors at Atlic, the worthy physician 
 Gomar and his spouse Mafra. Were they still 
 living, and had they heard aught regarding their 
 lost daughter, my betrothed? 
 
 I met them both at the Red Star, where they 
 gave me a hearty welcome, both betraying signs 
 of having somewhat aged through the sorrows and 
 anxieties to which they had been subjected. For 
 the first time I now learned of the safe return of 
 Metel, and of her strange rise to the throne of 
 Omshola — a world I surmised as lying underneath 
 a portion of Atlora that was inhabited by neither 
 man nor beast, being one barren vast of impene- 
 trable crystal soil, chippings of which I had there 
 gathered and still carried about my person. 
 
 The joy upon learning of the rare fortune of 
 my betrothed was not without its sting, leaving 
 us parted now by an impassable abyss as wide as 
 that of death. How, occupying the exalted sta- 
 
222 DOOMED 
 
 tion on the Omsholan throne, could I now offer 
 her my hand? 1 said nothing to hec parents. Let 
 the secret of our betrothal be buried with our 
 bones. No one should ever learn of it from my 
 lips; that I vowed. 
 
 To both Physician Gomar and Mother Mafra, 
 I had come as one risen from the dead, though 
 they carefully concealed the fact. Had they not 
 known of the destruction of the entire corps of 
 Captain Kapso? And was not I a member of the 
 corps? Imagine then their astonishment when 1 
 informed them of the manner of my escape; and 
 the joy they felt, on being told of the success of 
 Gauril's model bird. 
 
 It was late that night before we separated, lis- 
 tening to my recitals of experiences in Atlora and 
 their tales enlightening me regarding the world 
 of Omshola and Metel's success in wielding the 
 scepter there. 
 
 "Is not the story of Omshola like a fairy tale?" 
 suggested Mafra. 
 
 "So also," I replied, "is all history, rightly 
 viewed and rightly told — but a fairy tale for 
 adults, and one adults should never despise." 
 
 "And you once thought Atlo was a fairy world, 
 did you not?" 
 
 "And think so still — in fact much more so than 
 Omshola." 
 
THE BASILISK INVASION 223 
 
 Sauntering along on Grand Avenue, in Atlic, 
 a few days later, I beheld a great concourse of 
 people gazing skyward and showing a strange 
 alarm upon their countenances. No wonder, see- 
 ing that from afar could be seen approaching a 
 great mammoth, buzzing away with a weird, ear- 
 splitting sound Suddenly it dawned 
 
 upon me that this was nothing less than Gauril's 
 bird, enlarged and made in the form of a gigantic 
 wasp, whose sonorous buzzing was enough to 
 frighten men. 
 
 Nearer and nearer it approached, until the 
 crowd began to scatter, flying from it in terror. 
 I could soon distinguish the figure of a man 
 mounted upon its back. It was none other than 
 my friend Gauril. 
 
 "Be not alarmed, good people," he cried, "I'm 
 riding neither dragon nor basilisk, but an artificial 
 wasp, to sting basilisks with. I'll be down with it 
 in an instant." 
 
 It was a sight to wonder at, to see the way the 
 mammoth wasp came circling down — finally strik- 
 ing the earth with a loud thud. It was my good 
 fortune to help extricating the magician from its 
 mysterious depths. 
 
 "Didn't I tell you, Loab Ben Phra, I'd soon be 
 soaring over Atlic?" he ejaculated. 
 
 "So this big iron mammoth is your bird growa 
 
224 DOOMED 
 
 up, Gauril?" I responded. "Why, he can outbuzz 
 and outfly any wasp ever seen, and I believe he'll 
 also outsting any wasp before his career is over. 
 You can well be proud of the achievement!" 
 
 "Proud, eh — of what? Of the extra brains At! 
 put Into my head? Don't, pray, fill my head like 
 an empty bladder, and let it go on forever noising 
 its emptiness." 
 
 Brave Gauril! He had come all the way from 
 Gegra, on the back of this artificial bird; and no 
 jubro on solid earth could have made the journey 
 in double the time. 
 
 Iron works in all parts of the land were already 
 engaged making preparations for the manufacture 
 of wasps large enough to carry two men on them, 
 one to steer and the other to fire poisoned darts 
 into the beasts, after first having struck them with 
 illuminating rockets that splashed over them large 
 surfaces of a luminous paint, such as the Omsho- 
 lans had used in lighting up their tunnel. So 
 luminous was the paint, that objects were made 
 visible through a barrier of smoke. 
 
 Schools were also to follow, for training men 
 for this service. 
 
 All this augured well for Atlon success, pro- 
 vided the invasion began not too soon. 
 
 Months had passed, and still the Atlon iron 
 
THE BASILISK INVASION 225 
 
 works were kept busy night and day, the opera- 
 tives changing shifts every three hours, and tak- 
 ing but Httle time for rest. 
 
 So the wasp fleet kept on growing, till it could 
 count its mammoth birds by the tens of hundreds, 
 with a much larger number of experts to man 
 them. It now began to look as if the basilisk 
 hosts were to meet with a reception such as the 
 Evil One had not reckoned on. 
 
 Squads of the giant wasps were already being 
 pushed to the front, gradually forming a complete 
 line across Long Neck, where the beasts were ex- 
 pected to enter Atlo; though the possibility of 
 their attempting entrance from the sea shores was 
 not being overlooked. 
 
 The wasps stationed across Long Neck were 
 soon daily scouring the adjoining territory to re- 
 port the movements and the approach of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Larger and larger grew the fleet, until there 
 were three lines stretching across the Isthmus. 
 And now we were beginning to feel secure, let the 
 invasion begin when it would; for the later it be- 
 gan, the larger a fleet of wasps would there be 
 ready to resist Its advance. 
 
 The day at length arrived when our scouts re- 
 ported the approach of the basilisk hosts In a 
 
226 DOOMED 
 
 vast black cloud stretched over the entire horizon* 
 Well did we know what lightnings were hidden 
 within the dense clouds, what deadly bolts were 
 ready to be flashed upon us. But apart from our 
 wearing dark eye glasses, we also had our bolts 
 of death to hurl; and it was to be seen which 
 wei^e the deadlier. 
 
 None too rapidly for us approached the beasts 
 of Mam ; for we were one and all, as if on needles, 
 awaiting them. 
 
 Stationed on the third line, it was easy for me 
 to see the wasps of the first line rise, on receiv- 
 ing orders, whirling in large circles as they 
 mounted higher and higher upward, till above the 
 host and following behind them, as they poured 
 volley upon volley of darts into their huge bodies. 
 
 By the time the second line went Into action, 
 mounting upward, we already heard the raucous 
 cries of pain and anger mingled with sounds of 
 falling beasts as they came hurtling down from 
 the heights above, adding fresh wounds to those 
 received from our darts. 
 
 Soon our line had its orders to rise; and now, 
 amid a pandemonium of horrible noises, we did 
 our circling upward, and were soon pursuing the 
 dark line of beasts. We were now quite near the 
 brutes; and It seemed as if every dart we fired sent 
 down its separate victim with a bellowing cry, 
 
THE BASILISK INVASION 227 
 
 while from below came up the piercing groans of 
 the dying beasts. 
 
 On and on we now kept up the pursuit, the 
 beasts filled with terror from what they felt was 
 an invisible foe wreaking merciless havoc upon 
 them. Turn whither they would, their fearful 
 death weapon was useless, no foe coming in range, 
 though the rasping buzz of the wasps was con- 
 stantly ringing in their ears. ' 
 
 Yet with all our destruction, no noticeable 
 diminution seemed visible in the dark mass. There 
 seemed no end to their number. All the way to 
 Atlo followed the relentless pursuit. It was im- 
 possible to hold them back. Streams of them we 
 also now saw, in the distance, entering from the 
 northern seaside. 
 
 And now we began to discern a new fact — that 
 within their ranks were also large numbers of 
 fire-spitting dragons. With these we would also 
 have to reckon. If they entered Atlo, their 
 breath might prove an incendiary torch to spread 
 a holocaust of flame over the land, working its 
 destruction. 
 
 The city of Gegra was already menaced, and 
 its people were fleeing in all directions, but mostly 
 toward Umla, which was a seaport from which 
 they could scatter, taking jubrets as their means 
 of conveyance. But more than half the population 
 
228 DOOMED 
 
 found refuge in the underground tunnels still left, 
 by which the oros were connected with one an- 
 other, and in which stores of food could be safely 
 kept. 
 
 Bell-signal reports were being dispatched in all 
 directions, announcing the danger, and advising 
 the people everywhere to guard against fire, by 
 putting the underground channels in preparation 
 to meet the danger. 
 
 All day long was the pursuit continued; and 
 special detachments were also sent to combat the 
 beasts attacking towns and cities. 
 
 By nightfall we were well into Atlo, still firing 
 our deadly missiles into the mass of mammoths. 
 
 And now at length the superiority of our wasps 
 began to be manifested; for, whereas they were 
 still fresh and tireless, the beasts began to betray 
 signs of exhaustion — large numbers of them 
 alighting to the earth, gasping for breath and 
 alternately groaning from sheer weariness. There 
 w^e now had them at our mercy, slaying them with 
 great rapidity and loss of little time. 
 
 Rapidly the ranks of the foe were now being 
 decimated; and the less there remained of them, 
 the greater dispatch were we able to make in fin- 
 ishing the rest. 
 
 By midnight there w^as little more to be seen 
 of them; and then we began to scour the land in 
 
"By midiiight 
 directions 
 complete." 
 
 we began to scour the land in many 
 to make the extermination of the beasts 
 
THE BASILISK INVASION 229 
 
 many directions, seeking far and wide to make the 
 extermination of the beasts complete. 
 
 Meanwhile the city of Gegra had suffered the 
 most, nearly half of her oros having been razed 
 by dragon flames. Other towns in western Atlo 
 also suffered losses, though none so severely as 
 Gegra. In their attempts to escape, a number of 
 jubros were also wrecked by the monsters, and 
 not a few passengers were slain. 
 
 In the closing hours of the terrible conflict, I 
 happened to launch a dart into the body of a 
 dragon engaged in pushing his flaming snout into 
 an oro window, while clutching with his talons 
 the sill beneath, so as to support himself there 
 till the fire became well started. More than a 
 score of oros had the beast in this manner set 
 afire. And now, suffering excruciating pains from 
 the dart, the monster made a swift dash at my 
 wasp, overturning it, so that both wasp and 
 dragon came crashing to the earth. 
 
 For me, this was the end of the battle — having 
 not the least recollection of what followed. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The Loyalty of Metel 
 
 As in a dream, I had been lying — time and place 
 fitfully changing in riotous incongruity, taking me 
 alternately whirring over tall mountain peaks and 
 across interminable desert wastes, and again let- 
 ting me rest by the side of cooling streams while 
 balmy winds kissed my cheeks. Now I sat, 
 mounted on the back of a giant wasp, and anon on 
 the neck of a soaring serpent, spear in hand, giv- 
 ing chase to grotesque beasts and weird specters 
 with which the air was filled. Now it was plung- 
 ing through sheets of blazing flame; and anon we 
 pierced our way through mountains, as if mere 
 shadows in our path. There were no disturbing 
 doubts to mar the dire intensity of the life I was 
 leading. 
 
 In such a delirium, days and weeks must have 
 passed, while I was lying helpless in the hospital 
 room of Red Star oro, at Atlic, in charge of physi- 
 cian Gomar. Many a time I recall spitting back 
 at him the nauseous, bitter stuff with which he was 
 dosing me, which at one time he had actually to 
 
 230 
 
THE LOYALTY OF METEL 231 
 
 force down my throat. ... It was after what 
 seemed ages of this weird life, that I one day- 
 awoke, to see, bending over me, a fair-featured 
 woman, whom I suddenly recognized. It was my 
 betrothed. 
 
 "Metel! Metell Is It you?" I joyfully cried, 
 doubting the reality of her presence. 
 
 "Yes, Loab, it's your own Metel"; she re- 
 sponded, "but do be quiet, for you're not yet well 
 enough to hold conversation. So rest, dear, and 
 believe me, I'll return as soon as you're better." 
 
 With a smile radiating sweetness, and with 
 throwing me a parting kiss, she was gone. 
 
 As I felt the sweat oozing from my brow, I 
 seemed much reheved. But tired, oh how tired I 
 was, soon falling into another sleep. 
 
 The day at length arrived when I was able to 
 sit up; and Metel now was frequently at my bed- 
 side, giving me comfort. As I grew stronger, our 
 conversations became longer and more free, soon 
 demonstrating our mutual loyalty to the be- 
 trothal. As soon as I would have sufficiently 
 recovered to go about, I looked forward to taking 
 steps for our marriage. 
 
 But now, earlier than I had anticipated, Metel 
 took the matter into her own hands, acting under 
 the privilege belonging to her high station. While 
 I was still in the robes of a convalescent, she one 
 
232 DOOMED 
 
 day entered, decked in simple but elegant bridal 
 garments, and with a becoming garland over her 
 brow. Accompanying her was an official priest 
 of the hearth, and a priestess, and also Metel's 
 parents. 
 
 Without many words, it was explained to me 
 that our wedding ceremony was now about to be 
 performed, to which I had not the least objection. 
 And so a very simple ceremony was at once en- 
 acted, consisting of verbal queries put and an- 
 swered; and, following these, a document was 
 presented to us for our joint signatures. This 
 document, which not only bound us together, but 
 also bound us into a union with the State, was 
 afterwards to be filed in the archives of the State 
 — each of us being furnished a certified copy of 
 the same. 
 
 The vital part of the bond lay in the fact that 
 the State had assumed the obligation to allow us 
 to approach the altar as free and independent man 
 and woman — each, regardless of the other, en- 
 dowed, the man with a property portion in the 
 shop and the woman with an income-provided 
 home. No shadow of dependence was to degrade 
 the union; and for this reason they were expected 
 to choose mates with such care and caution as 
 would insure to their offspring a happy and united 
 home. The man was pledged to labor with suf- 
 
THE LOYALTY OF METEL 233 
 
 ficient diligence to justify the provisions made by 
 the State for the family welfare, and also to serve 
 the State in such ways as were needful to its 
 preservation. And the woman was pledged to 
 so preside over the home as to make it a haven 
 of rest for the weary and indisposed, and to make 
 it attractive for those needing entertainment. As 
 the husband was ruler of the shop, so was the wife 
 to be ruler of the home. Both husband and wife 
 were to give and receive counsel, but each was to 
 be the final authority in their particular spheres. 
 
 So it came about that we were united for life, 
 without having, on my part, undergone any of the 
 usual fussy preparations attending such a union. 
 
 It did not at the time Impress me as strange that 
 the marriage was so hastily performed. But it 
 afterwards occurred to me that never, since my 
 illness, had I glanced into a mirror; and also, that 
 no mirror had ever been within reach. Upon the 
 only instance in which I had made a suggestion of 
 a desire to have a look at myself, Metel had 
 adroitly changed the subject. 
 
 Now, however, I resolved to settle the matter, 
 once and for all. A strange attendant, passing by 
 the door, I hailed her and, not without some per- 
 suasion, managed to induce her to bring me a mir- 
 ror. My first glance into it gave me a fearful 
 shock. Into what hideousness had my features 
 
234 DOOMED 
 
 been distorted ! What a repulsive monster had I 
 become! And to this horrid thing had the radi- 
 ant Metel attached herself! What a sacrifice! 
 How dared I hold her to the bond? 
 
 Still in a tremor from the shock, I began to 
 reproach her on her next appearance : "How could 
 you deceive me so, and do yourself such wrong? 
 Oh Metel, Metel, your sacrifice was too great." 
 
 "Think not, my Loab, that it was only your 
 outer self I loved. Though the rind of the fruit 
 was bruised, its sweetness to me has not been 
 altered. I love you still, Loab mine; and even 
 through the horrid mask you wear, I see ever your 
 real self. It would have been cruel to deny your- 
 self to me!" 
 
 "But gazing upon me, do I not seem loathsome 
 in your eyes? Tell me the truth, oh Metel, my 
 own darling!" 
 
 "My eyes are already accustomed to the sight, 
 as my mind 'is to the fact; and the distortion 
 makes no such harsh impression as you would 
 think. But lest, to strangers, the mask of distor- 
 tion should give a shock, 1 have brought you a 
 milder mask to wear over the other. Here it is." 
 
 With that, she handed me a soft, silken one, 
 with which to hide my ghastly features; and this 
 thoughtful gift I still wear, and will never part 
 with as long as I live. 
 
THE LOYALTY OF METEL 235 
 
 Metel had remained In Omshola during the 
 period of the basilisk war, seeing to It that Om- 
 shola contributed her share in fighting men and In 
 supplies, toward the defense of Atlo. 
 
 Atlism had by this time been fully established, 
 and her people bore grateful remembrance of the 
 part Atlo had played in their deliverance. . . . 
 But as soon as the crisis was over, she hastened to 
 pay another visit to Atlo, both to see her parents 
 and to ascertain what was known concerning my 
 fate. There It was, she found me in the care of 
 her father, Physician Gomar, who had brought 
 me to Atlic on a canal jubret. 
 
 During the intervening time, prior to the war, 
 Metel had been busy Atlonizing Omshola, much 
 assisted in the work by the members of the depu- 
 tation that had accompanied her there, and had 
 there seen much of its operation. It is true, con- 
 siderable of the work had been previously ac- 
 complished. But the final steps now taken were 
 to introduce a coinage of silver and bronze, simi- 
 lar to that used in Atlo; and also to introduce the 
 Atlon system of making their properties inalien- 
 able. In all this work, however, they had merely 
 to copy after what was already tried and in vogue 
 in Atlo. 
 
 So far as the sums still due the Koms and 
 Kones for their properties was concerned, they 
 
236 DOOMED 
 
 were not confiscated, but regularly paid to the 
 families of the banished nobility. 
 
 The fundamental requisites of Atlism were 
 now incorporated in constitutional law, to be 
 altered only after three successive elections, held 
 not less than ten years apart, in each of which 
 the alteration was favored with a majority of the 
 votes, both male and female. 
 
 A push wing was also instituted, and given much 
 the same powers and duties as that in Atlo. 
 
 The throne was also to be made an elective 
 office, retained for a period of ten years; and with 
 its incumbents subject to removal and severe pun- 
 ishments for any willful abuse of the power placed 
 in their hands. 
 
 As soon as these changes had been effected, and 
 a successor to the throne elected and ready to 
 enter upon the duties of the office, Metel was to 
 retire — the Omsholans, under Atlism, being fully 
 capable of governing themselves. 
 
 Among the numerous tasks begun by the Om- 
 sholan Push Wing was the reorganization of its 
 homes so as ultimately to evolve in oros similar to 
 those of Atlo. . . . They began by dividing the 
 urban lands into uniform squares, erecting on a 
 few of them, at the time vacant, groups of de- 
 tached homes, with an oroto in each group. Into 
 
THE LOYALTY OF METEL 237 
 
 these groups of dwellings were taken the residents 
 on squares most in need of new structures. The 
 vacated squares were then built on, square after 
 square, till the entire city had been rebuilt. . . , 
 Thereafter only whole squares at a time were to be 
 reconstructed, instead of having to endure the per- 
 petual nuisance of interminable obstructions on the 
 streets and the constant scattering of dirt and filth 
 upon them which attends promiscuous building. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 To Atlonize the World 
 
 Atlo had triumphed. Her fleets of giant 
 wasps had overcome the basihsk hosts. Every 
 corner of the land had they scoured, and not a 
 trace of basilisk or dragon was left. The huge 
 carcasses of the slain had been immolated. Thus 
 had the mighty hosts of Mam's chosen beasts 
 been annihilated; and armed now with her giant 
 wasps, what more had she to fear from the power 
 of this goddess of gain and the beasts in her 
 service ? 
 
 In all the burned localities, the State carried on 
 the work of rebuilding and restoring the land to 
 its former condition. 
 
 Great therefore was the rejoicing In every At- 
 lon oro upon the return of the victorious warriors; 
 and manifold were the demonstrations made of 
 their hearty appreciation and enthusiasm. 
 
 As the weeks sped, out of all this patriotic en- 
 thusiasm something new crystallized. The spirit 
 of Atlon thought took wing, looking beyond her 
 boundaries. There it saw a world still groaning 
 under the yoke of oppression, lorded over by 
 
 338 
 
TO ATLONIZE THE WORLD 239 
 
 idling nobles of all sorts, who lived in vice and 
 luxury, and sapped the vitality of the masses. It 
 was an inverted order, in which rivalry of ostenta- 
 tion and love of power led the proud lords into 
 the perpetration of every cruelty. They saw a 
 world, in which the few feasted and the many 
 starved; in which every man jostled his neighbor 
 for the crumbs dropping from the festal board, 
 and in which peace was a delusive hope. . . 
 They saw a world divided against itself, nation 
 arrayed against nation, secretly when not openly, 
 and filled with the lust of plunder by violence and 
 by profiteering — a lust for lands and slaves and 
 loot. In this world, men stooped to the lowest 
 depths, in order to rise — wholly bhnd to what fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 ^ From this debased world came to their ears 
 piteous cries of hunger and distress from famish- 
 ing babes and heart-broken mothers. They saw 
 its people so sorely bitten by dispossession that 
 even character had been devoured, and only the 
 beast remained. The great body of humanity, 
 they saw as groveUIng outcasts — vast numbers 
 sunk so low that all incentives to rise had been 
 destroyed. It was a hideous spectacle, that which 
 abroad was called real life. 
 
 Oppressed with this Image of a distorted world, 
 they took refuge in the divine purpose to regen- 
 
240 DOOMED 
 
 erate It. A grand crusade was to be organized, 
 with that noble object in view. AT'S world was, 
 through Atlism, to supplant Mamnism, and to re- 
 deem the devil's world. No longer should its 
 children inherit the curse of dispossession and the 
 doom of abject dependence. No longer should its 
 children hunger that an ignoble few might loll in 
 idle ease. The honor of the world was at stake — 
 its very soul on trial. 
 
 Every man was hereafter to be shielded by pos- 
 session of an inalienable property portion, and 
 every woman was to be dowered at the altar with 
 an inalienable, income-provided home. And every- 
 where the shekel was to be made unhoardable — a 
 servant, and not master of the people. 
 
 Atlo had twice conquered the beasts of Mam. 
 She would now attempt to subdue the human 
 beasts who were devouring the very flesh of their 
 own flesh, in the world outside of Atlo — mere 
 superapes wearing the form of man. 
 
 Never before had so grand a project appealed 
 to a nation; nor ever before was a nation so well 
 Instructed and equipped for its execution. 
 Equipped with their giant wasps, their dashing 
 war jubros, and capable of enlisting in their ser- 
 vice a fleet of Atlene-propelled jubrets that could 
 plow the seas regardless of wind and tide, what 
 nation was there capable of withstanding it? 
 
TO ATLONIZE THE WORLD 241 
 
 What rulers would dare jeopardise their 
 chances to realize the maximum ACTUAL value 
 of their possessions In the face of else forfeiting 
 all? Would they wish to see their castles and 
 palaces burned over their heads, with streams of 
 Atlene poured on them by giant wasps from the 
 upper air? Would they dare oppose their awk- 
 ward sailing vessels to the Atlene-propelled 
 jubrets? 
 
 Would they dare reject the offers made, when 
 the object of the Atlons was made known to the 
 people through messages sent down from the skies, 
 informing them how they were all to be made 
 free-men In fact, and how they were to acquire the 
 properties needful to real freedom? With the 
 lessons of Atlism spread broadcast, would the rul- 
 ers dare face their own people, without acqui- 
 escence to the terms proposed? 
 
 There could be no question as to the outcome 
 of the crusade. It was Impossible to fail of its 
 purpose. 
 
 Thrilled with these exalted motives, the project 
 met with no difficulty In winning popular approval 
 in a series of special ballotlngs held to legalize 
 the movement; and now plans were soon afoot for 
 providing the necessaries of the expedition. A 
 vast fleet of fighting jubrets, covered with a metal- 
 lic paint that made them fireproof, was to be con- 
 
242 DOOMED 
 
 structed; and also another fleet for carrying stores 
 of supplies and Atlene. Of wasps they had al- 
 ready enough and to spare, and also of dash ju- 
 bros. Before another year had passed, it was 
 calculated, the expedition would be ready to start. 
 It was a period of feverish expectation in which 
 the entire nation was alert, watching the progress 
 of the preparations. 
 
 Omshola had meanwhile been voluntarily an- 
 nexed to Atlo, so that the two lands came under 
 the one government. Melka Metel, who had 
 previously retired from the throne, and had re- 
 tained only what was an elective oflice, now also 
 retired from office to indulge in a few years of 
 tranquil obscurity before again, if ever, taking 
 part in public affairs. In laying down her crown, 
 she left in the hearts of her people a memory more 
 enduring than marble, a throne they would never 
 cease to honor and revere. 
 
 Her people were by this time well on the high- 
 road to enduring liberty, in thought, in speech and 
 In deed — the broad liberty that stretched as far 
 as one might go this side of infrfnging upon the 
 liberty of others. They approached the work- 
 shop, untrammeled by poverty; and the altar, with 
 head up — neither sex dependent on the other — 
 making their union a holy one formed purely of 
 
TO ATLONIZE THE WORLD 243 
 
 their own choice, made after due instruction in all 
 matters affecting a wise selection of a lifemate. 
 The solemn union was made more than an empty- 
 mockery of words — a union that only too fre- 
 quently soon was ruptured, or preserved merely 
 to keep up an outward show, from pride and fear 
 of public comment. 
 
 The Omsholan belief in spirits in an upper 
 realm was relegated to the realm of myths. They 
 were taught the power of great ideals, such as 
 that of AT, in which humanity — as an organic 
 unity — a living, growing organism, interlocking 
 its individual members in harmonious co-operation 
 for the most efficient supply and satisfaction of its 
 needs^iplifted every member to loftier standards 
 and higher being. They were taught faith in the 
 possibilities of the world by which they were en- 
 vironed — of which they were to make the most, 
 and whose evils they were to submit to only when 
 vain to resist. Under no circumstances were they 
 to^ lapse into the dangerous lassitude that accepts 
 blindly, as irreconcilable, the wrongs and ills men 
 suffer. They were not by indifference to give 
 countenance to and foster evils. Indifference had 
 slain more men than had the sword, and was the 
 guiltier weapon of the two. They were not to 
 hunt with the Lord, and run with the devil. No 
 man could follow Mammon and worship AT. 
 
244 DOOMED 
 
 Such was the new creed imparted to the 
 Omsholans. The only prayers AT ever heard 
 were those addressed to him through good deeds 
 done to his children — our fellowmen. The utter- 
 ances, whether thundered or whispered, in glit- 
 tering temples, never reached AT'S ear. They 
 were only good for deluding one's self or deceiv- 
 ing one's fellowmen.* 
 
 Some time after our union, we spent a happy 
 honeymoon on a visit to Omshola. There our 
 wedding ceremony was repeated in public, and a 
 
 *The religion of Atlo manifestly consisted in a simple faith in 
 Life and its immeasurable possibilities. To them it was AN 
 ETERNAL HERE, becoming ever more just as they made it 
 more just, and more plentiful as they made it more plentiful — 
 a grander world, as they kept on seeking and endeavoring to 
 fulfill loftier and grander ideals. 
 
 Their religion was the frame on which hung their faith, 
 voicing the fires of vitality from which their lifelamp drew its 
 light. It led them upward and onward along the path i^j which 
 AT guided them, keeping them to their part in his eternal task 
 of creation. . . By this course they avoided the bypaths of 
 division and discord — falling neither into Nature Worship nor 
 Fetishism, into neither Fatalism nor Materialism, into neither 
 Asceticism nor Stoicism, into neither a Mohammedanism nor a Bud- 
 dhism, into neither a Judaism nor a narrowed Christianity. . . . 
 To them Faith was the gauge of vital energy; and whenever 
 it sank low, they rested from all present labors and cares, until 
 recuperated. What other peoples did through prayers, they 
 did through rest, attaining the same end. 
 
TO ATLONIZE THE WORLD 245 
 
 great ovation was given us. There also we re- 
 mained nearly a year, until I was called to take 
 my place as Chief Interpreter in the approaching 
 crusade for the world's regeneration. 
 
 What happened on our return to Atlic— but 
 why say here that which belongs to my next and 
 last chapter? Tragedy can well wait its hour of 
 telling. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 Atlo's Tragic End 
 
 Great was the enthusiasm felt throughout all 
 Atlo, and even in all parts of crystal-roofed 
 Omshola, when the bell-signals heralded the tid- 
 ings announcing the readiness of our grand fleet 
 of soaring wasps and swiftly gliding jubrets to 
 start on the long contemplated crusade for the re- 
 demption of the Mamnist world. 
 
 Great also was the raging fury of the Evil One, 
 on learning of this menace to his power. 
 
 From the dark gloom of his underworld, Sat 
 recognized his utter inability to cope with the At- 
 lons. Therefore was his rage fierce and unquench- 
 able. That Mam's sway upon this earth should 
 be broken, was a thing not to be endured. How 
 else was mankind to be kept under the sway of 
 those temptations by which it was foredoomed to 
 come into his realm, and into his power? Were 
 the Atlon crusade to succeed, how empty would 
 become his underworld! 
 
 But how were the Atlons to be defeated? 
 Mam's beast hosts had proven ineflicient in coping 
 
 246 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 247 
 
 with human ingenuity and the power of AT. It 
 was useless to combat them in the upper world. 
 If he could but strike them from below — from his 
 underworld! At the thought, a malignant smile 
 lit up his dire countenance. At last a plan had 
 been conceived. He had hit upon their vulnerable 
 spot. Had not the continent of Atlantis pillars 
 reaching down into his realm from its three pe- 
 ninsulas? He had but to remove these and all 
 Atlo would be shattered, and cease to be. ... At 
 this dire thought, a demoniac roar of laughter 
 rang out again and again and again, reverberating 
 throughout all the deep recesses and labyrinthian 
 passages of his dark abode and shaking the 
 adamantine walls that girded in his realm. 
 
 I was at home in Red Star oro, at the time the 
 signal was given, announcing the readiness of our 
 fleets for the long projected expedition. It was 
 therefore also a summons bidding me prepare for 
 parting with Metel — a parting we both dreaded, 
 remembering how long our previous separation 
 had kept us from each other. 
 
 It was painful to think of having so soon to 
 leave the charm of my oro home, whose doors 
 opened into the oroto and Into all the oros of wide 
 Atlo, making the land a single home, while pre- 
 serving for each family the utmost privacy. Yes, 
 
248 DOOMED 
 
 in Atlo we had an undivided and a united home for 
 all — a real brotherhood of man. Yet in all this 
 world was no sweeter spot than in our little oro 
 home, and at Metel's side. 
 
 How I longed to hear the light tap, tap, tap of 
 the footsteps announcing her approach ! 
 
 "So you're going out on the crusade, Loab?" 
 my wife tremuously asked. "I wish you could 
 remain. For my sake, why couldn't you, dear?" 
 
 "How could I remain, Metel, after having ac- 
 cepted the post of chief interpreter? It is too late 
 to withdraw my pledge. Gladly would I other- 
 wise comply with your wish." 
 
 "I should not ask, Loab, but that I have a pre- 
 sentiment as of some dreadful blow impending; 
 and that if now we part, it might be never to meet 
 again. . . . But hush, I hear a footstep. It's 
 mother." 
 
 "You've dropped in like a good fairy, mother 
 dear," joyfully exclaimed Metel, as her mother 
 crossed the threshold. "I was just deploring 
 Loab's departure. But pshaw, what man is worth 
 a tear!" 
 
 "Don't let me interrupt you, children! If you 
 have griefs, out with them, as you would drive 
 foul spirits from within." 
 
 "I've said I'd grieve for no man, mother; and 
 why for one who refuses to heed my wishes?" 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 249 
 
 "Such a wish — that I desert my post serving the 
 crusade!" 
 
 "Tatler, tatler, babbletongue ! Go now, if* you 
 will, and stay as long as you please — forever 
 even!" 
 
 "What an ocean of wrath to spill out of a tum- 
 blerful of body! Be you a good fairy, mother, 
 and calm this tempest, lest it wreck our jubret fleet 
 before it can set out." 
 
 "An elegant comedy, children! By all means 
 go on, and recite the rest of it!" 
 
 But the rest of the comedy was never recited; 
 for both of us burst into a chorus of laughter, 
 while the former Queen of Omshola took her sta- 
 tion beside a tall harp near the wall; and setting 
 the instrument in position, began to strum upon it, 
 accompanying its deep notes with her rich, melo- 
 dious voice. The words of her song, a popular 
 one, ran thus: 
 
 Love, true love, will last forever; 
 Love from love, death cannot sever; 
 The grave is but the stepping stone 
 From lower, to a higher throne. 
 
 The remaining stanzas were left unsung. 
 Mother Mafra being at that moment seized with 
 another of those trance spells, one of which I had 
 on a previous occasion witnessed. 
 
tSo DOOMED 
 
 A cold stare, as of death, now held her fea- 
 tures, which displayed traces of a terrible fear. 
 The sight of her face, full of evil bodings, sent a 
 chill creeping down my back. 
 
 Metel, more self-possessed, admonished me in 
 a whisper to remain perfectly still, while she has- 
 tened to gather materials for jotting down what 
 her mother might say. 
 
 The seer of Atlo, after mumbling a few unin- 
 telligible words, became distinctly audible, saying 
 in a voice inexpressibly sad : 
 
 "Dark woe, like a shroud, is falling over Atlo I 
 Alas, alas for the glory of her triumph! Alas 
 for the joys of her victory! Black sorrow will 
 soon engulf the land, and the vengeance of Sat 
 overtake it! 
 
 "Terrible is the rage of this demon, gnashing 
 his teeth and spitting flames of fury, as he paces 
 the floor in the gloom of the bottomless pit. All 
 the region, from end to end, is shaking with the 
 vehemence of his wrath! 
 
 "Alas for Atlo ! Alas! Alas! For her doom 
 is sealed! The decree of the Evil One has been 
 proclaimed. From the bottom of the continent of 
 Atlantis will he pull out the pillars giving it sup- 
 port. From underneath each of Its three pe- 
 ninsulas will he withdraw the supports, and each 
 of them will he snatch from its place, crumbling in 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 251 
 
 his mighty hand. . . . With Atloraba will he be- 
 gin: and from its loathsome fens will flock to 
 Atlora and Atlo all its winged horrors — fiery 
 dragons, mammoth griffins, giant vultures, ven- 
 omous insects, and biting bats that spare no life 
 to flesh their teeth once enter. All this pest of 
 horrors is to scourge Atlo; and when the final 
 crash shall sound her note of doom, over her crum- 
 bling breast will sweep the devouring sea — her 
 winding sheet and tomb. 
 
 "But I now hear the voice of Atl, saying that, 
 as her words come pouring into my ear, so shall 
 they also pour into other ears, until all Atlo has 
 heard. These are her words: 
 
 "Hearken, children of Atlo — of Atlo and the 
 new Omshola : From the region of darkness, that 
 is in the bowels of the earth, and that is beyond 
 the sway of AT, has the Evil One decreed the 
 destruction of the continent of which your lands 
 are a part; and few are the hours left you. 
 
 "But fear not, for though lives may end, LIFE 
 never ends. Into the body of its eternal stream 
 pours all the matter and all the spirit of its indi- 
 vidual lives, returning whence they had come, and 
 passing thus into the everlasting cycle of life. It 
 is ever from grave to cradle and from cradle to 
 grave; for naught is allowed to perish, naught is 
 lost. From the body of life, all life is drawn, and 
 
252 DOOMED 
 
 into that body all life returns; and death is but a 
 shadow — a veil between the going and the coming. 
 "Hearken ye further, and have no fear lest At- 
 lism perish; for in its own day, far, far off, will 
 its message be borne into the world by one who 
 now is a stranger in your land, when its words will 
 be heard and heeded. Then, in that remote day, 
 its law will become the law of all the world, and 
 so remain for ages and for ages." 
 
 Thus ended Mafra's prophecy of doom — of 
 dark doom and of fair hope. 
 
 Waking from the trance, she lost no time read- 
 ing the transcription of her speech, appalled by its 
 dread purport. 
 
 As if to attest the truthfulness of Mafra's 
 words, an ominous sound — wide-circling, deep, 
 earth-shaking — began booming from a far, far 
 distance — a distance too remote to be calculable. 
 Our very hearts stood still, and our eyes dilated, 
 staring in mad amazement, while fright paralyzed 
 our limbs. Our oro seemed to reel like a storm- 
 tossed vessel, while loose objects came clattering 
 to the floors. Shock had so tied our tongues, and 
 fear so blanched our faces, we looked like disem- 
 bodied spirits. 
 
 "The death knell of Atloraba !" calmly an- 
 nounced Mafra, after we had recovered our 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 253 
 
 senses. "Atlora will follow, and last the final 
 crash destroying Atlo." 
 
 Then, rising to her full height, with bowed 
 head and in a deep, reverential tone, she spake 
 once more : 
 
 "To your decrees, oh Fates, we Atlons bow, 
 submissive, knowing full well your powers are 
 limited. Well we know you lack power to decree 
 an end to the everlastingness of all clay — of all 
 clay, and of all spirit. Though ye close our eyes 
 in the sleep of death, ye cannot bar our return into 
 the stream of eternal life. Ye cannot bar the way 
 twixt grave and cradle. . . , And as our goddess 
 Atl has said, though Atlo perish, Atlism will be 
 preserved." 
 
 With a feeling of deep reverence, and profound 
 awe, did Metel and I listen to Mafra's words — 
 words voicing the spirit of Atlon faith. 
 
 The dread report of Atlo's doom had been 
 spread to all parts of the realm, even throughout 
 Omshola; and though the Omsholans gave way 
 to cries of lamentation and despair, Atlons dis- 
 played their longer rooted faith, accepting the 
 doom in a spirit of resignation. Unmurmuring, 
 they went about as usual, save that they gave con- 
 sideration to the immediate future. Though a 
 great dread jarred their nerves, they sought, for 
 
254 DOOMED 
 
 the sake of their fellowmen, to conceal It as far 
 as possible, that it should not grow into a general 
 hysteria and madness. 
 
 Late In the afternoon of the following day, 
 while in Mother Mafra's quarters, a strange mani- 
 festation upon the far horizon, toward the south- 
 west, drew our attention. Over the full breadth 
 of the sky appeared a dark ribbon on which shone 
 a glimmer, as of Innumerable dancing lights. It 
 was impossible that it could be a cloud; but what 
 else it might be was for the while a mystery. 
 
 As night fell, the glimmering ribbon seemed 
 broader and much nearer the city, soon emitting a 
 strange buzzing as of many intermingled and In- 
 harmonious sounds. 
 
 "It's the scum of submerged Atloraba," de- 
 clared Mother Mafra, after a while, "that's what 
 it Is ! It's the flocks of winged horrors with which 
 we were to be visited — the griffins and dragons, 
 the giant vultures, the biting bats and the pest of 
 venomous insects. Not long indeed have we to 
 wait, ere Sat's dire vengeance will precede destruc- 
 tion with tortures of flame and venom." 
 
 The seer's prophecy was coming true. Step 
 by step, the approach of Atlo's doom was being 
 certified by events. 
 
 "I mind, children," she resumed, "that one, now 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 255 
 
 a stranger In the land, is to bear the message of 
 Atlism to the people of the far off age. Who can 
 this stranger be, since there is none I know of here 
 save you, Loab?" 
 
 "It is none other than Loab," responded my 
 spouse, "since he has the purport of the message 
 all embodied in a book we have written, in which 
 he and I have contributed the tale of our experi- 
 ences, borne down to the day of our union. It 
 tells all about the blessings of Atlism, and what 
 is required to secure it." 
 
 "Nor is there aught to prevent me from adding 
 to its pages the story of what has transpired since 
 that day. Let me complete the work and launch 
 it, enclosed in a safe receptable, upon the sea, 
 where it may be found in that far off day pre- 
 dicted." 
 
 "We'll place it in the golden casket I brought 
 from Omshola, and put the casket into that toy 
 wasp Gauril presented me with; and we'll send it 
 on far, far away from Atlo — to be found in some 
 distant land, after we are all gone and long for- 
 gotten." 
 
 "That toy wasp will be just the thing, Metel. 
 How came you to think of it?" 
 
 "Never mind how, Loab," retorted Metel, 
 "but hasten to your styl and inkpot, and finish 
 the book. We've no moment to spare." 
 
2S6 DOOMED 
 
 The door at this moment suddenly opened, and 
 in rushed a man whose agonized features, black- 
 ened and trickling blood, were bloated with dis- 
 tortion. "The healing salve, dear!" he feebly 
 called, casting himself upon the sofa, with a sup- 
 pressed groan. 
 
 The words had scarcely passed the speaker's 
 lips, whom the reader will have recognized as 
 Physician Gomar, ere Mafra, jar in hand, was 
 gently administering the salve over his blackened 
 face. 
 
 "Bitten by venomous insects," he laconically ex- 
 plained, gasping for breath, "so bid me a last fare- 
 well, love; and you too, children; for their bite's 
 fatal." 
 
 "Nay, husband dear," retorted Mafra through 
 her tears, "we'll all soon be joining you!" 
 
 Both Mafra and Metel bid him their last fare- 
 well, and I was about to follow, when violent con- 
 vulsions shook his frame, and in another moment 
 his spark of life had ceased. 
 
 As we were mournfully gazing upon the re- 
 mains, a buzz of insects fell upon our ears; and 
 instantly Metel ran out for veiling with which to 
 protect our faces from their bite, while I closed 
 the door that none more should enter. 
 
 Wrapped in the veiling, I was soon after en- 
 gaged in hurriedly setting down on my papyrus 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 257 
 
 sheets the portion of my tale still wanting; and 
 I was at length pondering If any more was left to 
 be added, when.Metel came frantically to my side, 
 her eyes bedlmmed with tears. 
 
 "Mafra has followed Gomarl Oh, my poor 
 mother — gone, too ! Fate has snatched them 
 from me before my very eyes, and oh " 
 
 "Mafra also!" I cried, dumbfounded. 
 
 "Oh, Loab, Loab, how can I speak of it! A 
 horrid bat — a very demon of fury — dashed into 
 mother's face, and bit clean through the veiling. 
 Why, in a flash it was all over, convulsions shak- 
 ing her so violently, in but a few moments she 
 lay stark and lifeless. Oh, Loab, Loab, the end 
 of all is nigh. For me it cannot come too soon!" 
 
 "Be calm, dear, be calm," I urged, though my- 
 self trembling in every limb. I then took her arm, 
 and letting her lean upon' my shoulder, I bore her 
 to the scene of the tragedy. 
 
 Together we lifted poor Mafra's body, and 
 placed it by the side of Gomar's. Together they 
 now lay; and together let their successive counter- 
 tjrpes reappear through cycle after cycle, for all 
 eternity. 
 
 Once more I betook myself to my styl, to jot 
 down what had just transpired, when a second 
 time I was disturbed — this time by a mighty sound 
 
2S8 DOOMED 
 
 thundering as If all the earth were being crumpled 
 into bits. It was a noise more than deafening, 
 more than appalling — such a sound as no words 
 can adequately interpret. 
 
 Metcl, who had been bent over me, fell into a 
 swoon; while, from head to foot, I shook like an 
 aspen. The sight of my spouse, stricken at my 
 feet, aroused me to action. Speedily I had gotten 
 a bowl of water from which to sprinkle her face, 
 while also warming her cold hands in mine. 
 
 Recovering her senses, she fortunately recalled 
 naught of what had occurred. But well I realized 
 the dreadful sound proclaimed the sinking of At- 
 lora, and with it also Omshola. It was to be At- 
 lo's turn next. 
 
 Weird lights were now flashing outside, accom- 
 panied with an ominous discord of harsh noises 
 that filled the darkness with a terror unspeakable. 
 They were here at last — the winged horrors of 
 Atloraba. Above the rasping buzz of an atmos- 
 phere alive with one solid mass of stinging in- 
 sects and biting bats, I could distinctly hear the 
 deep bellowing of fire-spitting dragons, the high- 
 pitched shrieks of iron-taloned griffins, the mani- 
 acal screams of hideous vultures, and the sibilant 
 hissing from myriads of flying serpents, all rag- 
 ing with an Indescribable fury, stinging to death 
 
ATLO'S TRAGIC END 259 
 
 all who came in their path and kindling oros with 
 their flaming breath, till all Atlo stood ready to 
 merge into one vast holocaust of flame — fit climax 
 to Sat's demoniac revenge. 
 
 Each moment is bringing fresh tokens of Atlo's 
 Hearing end. So I must psrforce be brief. 
 
 To all my readers, facing me across a gap of 
 time counting its years in tens of centuries, I bid a 
 joyous greeting: 
 
 Under the light of Atlism, be not surprised to 
 find Mam's shackles still upon your limbs, nor 
 curse the light revealing them; but I pray you, 
 USE the light to BREAK THE SHACKLES 
 OFF. 
 
 REDEEM YOUR WORLD, cleansing It of 
 the pollution that befouls it. SPREAD this 
 precious light, and keep on spreading it, till all 
 can see the truth, and all can see the way to justice. 
 
 Haste commands few words. Metel is with 
 me, and together we will dispatch our messsage, 
 praying its safe arrival. 
 
 When you read these lines, we shall be buried, 
 hand in hand, beneath the dust of scores of cen- 
 turies, save as rebirth shall cause us to reappear 
 in an eternal round of countertypes of our pres- 
 ent selves — perchance to be among you, pouring 
 
26o DOOMED 
 
 over these lines of this strangest of all strange 
 stories, and making strange comments thereon. 
 But let be that which the Fates decree. 
 
 And now in this last moment, we send you our 
 love and waft you many kisses from this far off 
 land and this far off age. Seek ye Atlism, earth's 
 fairest jewel. Plant it in your hearts, and in your 
 children's hearts, striving that it may blossom into 
 fruit. Farewell, farewell. 
 
 ;(Her Seal). METEL, Daughter of Mafra. 
 !(His Seal). LOAB, Son of Phra. 
 
 In the year 3,432 of the Sun God AT. 
 
A PARTING WORD 
 
 By the Editors 
 
 What answer is to be made to the call for 
 Atllsm ? 
 
 Is our world, like Pharaoh of old, to give it a 
 deaf ear? 
 
 Are the insufferable plagues of Profiteering 
 Capitalism to be borne, plague after plague — war 
 after war, dearth after dearth, revolution after 
 revolution, terror after terror? 
 
 How much longer are we to see our loved ones 
 torn from us, to serve the beast of war; our sons 
 and daughters to be crucified on the cross of 
 hunger and cold and depravities, bred by cruel 
 want? 
 
 How much longer is this hand of profiteering 
 thievery, called civilization, to be shielded by the 
 power of the law? How much longer is this 
 whitened sepulcher of disorder and lawlessness to 
 walk this earth masqueraded in the garments of 
 righteousness? 
 
 How much longer is this hideous mask of an- 
 archy to go on unrecognized? How much longer 
 is its pretense of property protection to keep the 
 
 261 
 
262 DOOMED 
 
 multitudes dispossessed and naked? How much 
 longer is its pretended competition to hide the 
 burglar's jimmy of monopoly? How much longer 
 is its honest (?) money to go on picking our pock- 
 ets and tyrannizing over us as master instead of 
 heeding our needs as servant? 
 
 How much longer is this Bolshevism of the rich 
 to play havoc with us, and invite the Bolshevism 
 of the poor to riot in Its place? 
 
 How much longer are our eyes to remain closed 
 to the fact that all these desperate revolts at Prof- 
 iteering Capitalism, from individual vice and 
 crime to political revolt; from individual anarchy 
 to the wildest extremes of Radicalism and Bol- 
 shevism; and from the common inadequacy of 
 earnings, to the horrors of industrial crises, are 
 all alike symptoms of the fundamental defects in- 
 herent in Profiteering Capitalism? Is it not clear 
 that the clash between Bolshevik and Profiteering 
 Capitalism is irreconcilable? Neither is sup- 
 ported by reason, or can hope ever to triumph 
 long. Only violence and bloodshed can follow 
 in their trail. Humanity has nothing to gain by 
 either of them. 
 
 Have your eyes been opened, reader, by the 
 message of Atlism? Have you heard the appeals 
 of Loab Ben Phra and Metel, Daughter of 
 Mafra, in their last words? 
 
A PARTING WORD 263 
 
 What then Is to be your answer? Surely not in 
 a surrender to the hysteria of violence and mad- 
 ness — not in abandonment of calm reason and 
 resolute action. 
 
 It will not be necessary to appeal to physical 
 force. A far more powerful force will be at your 
 command — MORAL FORCE — a compelling, 
 uniting, expanding, overwhelming and irresistible 
 force, drawing to its ranks from both rich and 
 poor, the upper and the lower class — a force un- 
 der which men will remain calm and resolute — 
 steadily moving on to the goal, and sweeping aside 
 all opposition. 
 
 Determined patience, while daily teaching the 
 lessons of Atlism and spreading its doctrines, is 
 bound to conquer, and in time to suddenly come 
 down sweeping like a great tidal wave over coun- 
 try after country in our Mamnist world, our sor- 
 did world of Commercialism — of Profiteering 
 Capitalism and of arbitrary, headlong Bolshevism, 
 neither of which have a solid footing to stand 
 upon. 
 
 And when both Profiteering and Bolshevik 
 Capitalism will have passed away, as pass from us 
 they inevitably will, may their going be in peace ; 
 and may they trouble our dreams no more. In 
 that day will the world breathe easier, and a new 
 halo will glorify this earth. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 Editorial Comment 
 
 Irrepressible Usury 
 
 The earliest token of antipathy to Profiteer- 
 ing Capitalism was displayed in ancient legal 
 enactions aimed to suppress the exaction of in- 
 terest, in those days given the name of usury. 
 Not only was the exaction prohibited by the 
 Hebrews in Palestine, but also by the early Greeks 
 and Romans who had the prohibition incorporated 
 in their statutory laws. . . . Yet in spite of this 
 far-reaching antipathy to the practice of exacting 
 usury, down to this very day we see scarcely any 
 abatement of the offense, and the practice con- 
 tinues as a matter of fact or unavoidable necessity, 
 to no small extent defended by the men of learn- 
 ing in our universities who make the study of 
 economics a profession. . . . Why all this persis- 
 tence ? Simply because in the absence of ability to 
 prevent money hoarding — out of which the power 
 to exact interest arises — to forbid the exaction 
 would cause the pressure of hoarding to be more 
 
 265 
 
266 APPENDIX 
 
 Intensified and make matters much worse, arrest- 
 ing trade and Industry and precipitating riot and 
 disorders unendurable. The demand of the money 
 hoarders was one made on society for Its money 
 or its Hfe ; and society wisely gave up its money. 
 
 Obstructive Capitalism 
 
 In its earliest use, money was preferred above 
 all other commodities and gathered for the mere 
 love of Its accumulation. It was the true and tried 
 rainy day friend of man — the CAPITAL he relied 
 on in emergencies and ventures. . . . Little did he 
 in those days think of the OBSTRUCTIVE and 
 RETARDING influence brought Into force by 
 putting Into hoards of capital the medium of cir- 
 culation. He saw only POWER in capital, and 
 power he wanted, at any price. . . . He didn't In 
 that stage of development hoard with the object 
 of exacting interest, but by degrees part of his 
 hoards were coaxed from their hiding places with 
 the honey of interest; and later on, finding it 
 augmented his hoards, he passed from an Obstruc- 
 tive Capitalist into a Profiteering Capitalist; and 
 so society passed from OBSTRUCTIVE to the 
 more enterprising and progressive PROFITEER- 
 ING CAPITALISM. 
 
APPENDIX 267 
 
 Bolshevik Capitalism 
 
 Under the leadership of Marxian Socialists, the 
 aim of Russian Bolshevism seems to be a gradual 
 evolution to Socialism whose form Is to be deter- 
 mined by the circumstances encountered in striv- 
 ing for the goal. . . . Profiteering Capitalism is 
 to be exterminated at all hazards, but how far this 
 step will sink the land into the grip of Obstructive 
 Capitalism is unseen. As the ancients tried to 
 prohibit the exaction of usury by statutory law, so 
 now it is proposed to exterminate Profiteering 
 Capitalism through arbitrary steps and measures. 
 A degree of competition Is thus far still retained, 
 and also a hoardable money. . . . As an offset, 
 it is perhaps thought this defect will be remedied 
 in overissues of paper. But if acceptable, paper 
 will be as subject to hoarding as gold, and if re- 
 jected it will depreciate to an extent defeating the 
 object of overissues. . . . With eighty per cent, 
 of its population peasantry scattered over a wide 
 region and primitive In their wants, how is a 
 hoardable money to coax them into higher stand- 
 ards of living through which production might 
 be carried on on a much larger scale and with a 
 much greater degree of efficiency? And how will 
 arbitrary methods prevent obstructive disorders 
 from arising and Its arbitrary disposition of toilers 
 
268 APPENDIX 
 
 from breeding disturbances inimical to success? 
 Is not their experiment therefore dragging them 
 as deephy into Obstructive Capitalism as it is re- 
 lieving them of Profiteering Capitalism? Is it 
 not to be feared they are leading Russia fatuously 
 on from the frying pan into the fire ? 
 
 Communism and Socialism 
 
 Like their sister scheme of Co-operation, Com- 
 munism and Socialism both depend upon the arbi- 
 trary methods of regulating industries met with 
 in shop-wide enterprises. , . . Though Socialism 
 is particularly aimed to operate on a nation-wide 
 or a world-wide scale, its design to avoid the uses 
 of either a transferable money or of automatic 
 competition, at the very outset casts aside the very 
 organs necessary for carrying on so wide an orga- 
 nization of industry. It also casts aside the help 
 of the hundreds of millions of Industrial partici- 
 pants whose daily sales of labor and buying of 
 productions automatically puts Into motion the 
 process of value determination by which its count- 
 less daily dispositions are guided. ... In place of 
 these tried organs, perverted though they be under 
 Profiteering Capitalism, It would have a bureau- 
 cracy of statisticians to do all this infinity of cal- 
 
APPENDIX 269 
 
 culatlng and directing from day to day, as If pos- 
 sessed of powers of lightning speed calculation on 
 such a vast scale and also powers of carrying into 
 operation the infinity of directions to be deduced 
 therefrom. And then, to expect the implicit and 
 prompt obedience necessary from all these hun- 
 dreds of millions of tollers ! Is it not like looking 
 for a mere wish to bring the moon down into one's 
 lap? 
 
 Money — Paper or Metallic? 
 
 Both paper and metallic currencies have their 
 grave defects when not confined within their 
 proper functional use as a medium of exchange. 
 Neither offers a remedy against the disastrous con- 
 sequences of money hoarding; and neither, of 
 Itself, can be considered sound money or even 
 honest money. . . . Under Atlism, however, both 
 the buying and the selling money could be either 
 metallic or of paper, provided they were made of 
 different materials or of different colors; or one 
 might be metallic and the other of paper, as pre- 
 ferred. . . . The question of the cost of the 
 material it Is made of Is of small moment, since 
 metals are so durable, the cost would have small 
 weight against other considerations. 
 
270 APPENDIX 
 
 Modern Profiteering 
 
 Modern Profiteering differs from Profiteering 
 Capitalism in being spasmodic, confined to limited 
 periods of time and to very limited spheres of 
 action, usually touching merely on a single article 
 at a time. It is a species of raid on the producers, 
 guiltily designed and perpetrated. . . . Profiteer- 
 ing Capitalism, on the other hand, is an indirect 
 and undesigned outcome or accompaniment of 
 money hoarding simultaneously carried on by so 
 many persons and on so large a scale as to give 
 them a power of obstruction and monopoly ena- 
 bling the exaction of interest on capital. . . . 
 Saving seems to capitalists a wise and a beneficent 
 act, enabling them to serve others with their 
 hoards and therein justifying the price exacted for 
 the "service." That they carry on their saving to 
 an excessive degree, whereby others ARE PRE- 
 VENTED FROM DOING THEIR OWN 
 SAVING, even though inclined to do so — all from 
 inability to sell their services or to obtain for those 
 sold its real and full value — the Profiteering Capi- 
 talist fails to see. He is blind to the distinction 
 between harmless abstinence and the overahsti- 
 nence by which he adds millions upon millions to 
 his hoards, and whereby he curtails the earnings 
 and acquisitions of other men. 
 
APPENDIX 271 
 
 Profiteering Capitalism, from its universality, 
 its great scope and its continuity of operation is 
 probably a thousand fold the greater evil of the 
 two; and though innocently engaged in, is a 
 thousand times more inimical to industrial society. 
 In criminality it is guiltless much as kleptomania, 
 though entitled to no more toleration than other 
 forms of theft . 
 
 The Marxian Blunder 
 
 Borrowing his conception from that of the 
 British economist, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx 
 committed the grave error of assuming that 
 LABOR was the only proper ingredient of value. 
 In founding his economic philosophy on this as- 
 sumption, he lost sight of the mighty influence 
 upon values exerted by the demand for labor made 
 by buyers. As if value could arise in the absence 
 of any demand for productions. If there were no 
 buyers of productions, of what use would labor be 
 in a system of industrial co-operation through ex- 
 change ? It could have neither use nor value. . . .. 
 Through this oversight he was left in the dark 
 and forced to grope in his search for economic 
 light in a maze of inextricable confusion, kept, by 
 his own confession, moving in a vicious circle that 
 led from nowhere to nowhere. 
 
272 APPENDIX 
 
 Mamnism versus Mammonism 
 
 The reader should be cautioned against the 
 assumption that the words "mammonism" and 
 "Mamnism" are synonymous terms. Mamnism 
 is a piratic industrial system described in these 
 pages, whereas mammonism is merely a mental 
 symptom of the corrupting Influences of Mam- 
 nism. It is a malevolent growth that cannot be 
 dispelled while Mamnism, its root, remains alive. 
 
 Banished from Atlo 
 
 From the fact that our Atlon writers make no 
 mention of Polygamy, so uniformly prevalent in 
 Mamnlst lands, we may safely Infer Its ab- 
 sence in the New Atlo as due to Its superior dis- 
 tribution of wealth and the independent position 
 occupied by its women. The same causes no 
 doubt obliterated that substitute for Polygamy 
 usually appearing in the form of the Social Evil. 
 
 A Prince of Profiteers 
 
 It Is almost amusing to note the innocent zeal 
 with which Pharaoh, through his minister Joseph, 
 on receiving the tip concerning the approaching 
 famine, bought up all the corn in Egypt, holding 
 
APPENDIX 273 
 
 an absolute monopoly of this means of sustenance. 
 . . . With the arrival of the drouth year we 
 therefore also see the toilers of the land on their 
 knees to Joseph, praying for corn enough to save 
 them from starvation. . . . How they were 
 thereafter, step by step, profiteered out of their 
 money, their cattle, their lands and at length of 
 their very persons, to become forever after slaves 
 of Pharaoh, is unblushingly told in the book of 
 Genesis, 47, beginning with verse 13. . . . In 
 return for all their purchases from Pharaoh, this 
 Lord of the Land bought not a stitch of their 
 labor. All his demand for more temples and 
 tombs, more palaces and pyramids, more road- 
 ways and canals, and more bridges, not to men- 
 tion more soldiers, this shrewd monarch deferred 
 till AFTER their complete dispossession and sub- 
 jection as slaves. He knew how to secure cheap 
 labor, and he got it. 
 
 Juggling With Values 
 
 The ready explanation of value given by 
 our sober economists as a quantity determined by 
 supply and demand is on a par with the test by 
 which witches were distinguished from the inno- 
 cent when deemed innocent if they drowned and 
 guilty if they swam. . . . The economists totally 
 
274 APPENDIX 
 
 ignore the freedom with which the supply of com- 
 modities is allowed to be monopolized, and also 
 the enormous extent to which the labor demand is 
 stuffed with demand for UNREMUNERATED 
 LABOR required to supply the UNEARNED 
 income on capital; also the extensive WITH- 
 HOLDING of demand for labor accompanying 
 money hoarding, in which capital originates. 
 . . . Of course, such matters are too trivial for 
 our economists to consider, and are not brought 
 forward by professional economists as worthy of 
 serious consideration. 
 
 It is well enough to tell Socialists that demand, 
 as well as labor, must be considered in determin- 
 ing values; but it is not well enough to follow up 
 this logic by pointing out that the capitalist has 
 never contributed the least element of genuine 
 labor demand to justify the value of his wealth. 
 In its origin, the capitalist contributed not a par- 
 ticle of labor demand, and in its use only a bogus 
 demand— a demand for UNREMUNERATED 
 labor, such as the slave was given when more 
 labor was exacted from him. 
 
 All this might have been expected under Profi- 
 teering Capitalism, operating without a work- 
 distributing medium such as Atlons had in their 
 bronze shekels — a medium that conserved for each 
 toiler his portion of work — the quantity of work 
 
APPENDIX 275 
 
 he made by his spending — ^by excluding all from 
 any share in the work output who did not help in 
 the making of work by spending money. ... If 
 demand for labor is an element of value, as it 
 certainly is, its makers are entitled to that value 
 and ought to have some claim on it. This the 
 Atlon toilers had in the form of their bronze 
 shekels which saved them from competition with 
 mere money hoarders and the bogus "services" of 
 capitalist money-hoards through which the largest 
 part of the money received for productions was 
 diverted to capitalists under Profiteering Capital- 
 ism. ... As well try to apportion the product 
 output without giving to the toilers who contribute 
 their labor to its making any tangible claim on it — 
 without, In other words, paying them a money 
 wage. . . . If just values are ever to prevail, both 
 the work and the product outputs must each have 
 its distributing medium, and the work-maker must 
 be recognized as well as the product-maker, in 
 the apportionment of both work and productions. 
 
 Our Palace Poverty 
 
 In considering the nation's vast riches, how 
 many of us think of the enormous burden its sup- 
 port with interest heaps upon our tollers. The 
 great bulk of it is one body of duplicated, inflated 
 
276 APPENDIX 
 
 and fictitious wealth — a vast balloon filled with the 
 gas of capitalized monopoly. But for its power 
 of extortion, it would have small value indeed. 
 . . . And yet the nation upon whose labor, manual 
 and mental. Its support Is burdened, seems to feel 
 proud of the burden, like the ass whose back is 
 bowed with a load of golden ingots. . . . Owning 
 a few paltry hundreds or thousands In property 
 and bank accounts, the toller is deluded into 
 thinking himself prosperous, blind to the fact 
 that only one-third of the produce of his labor 
 ever reaches him, and the loss, equally to probably 
 a full two thousand a year, is as much as one's in- 
 come from $40,000. What a lot of quackery 
 and fraud is concealed In the representations of 
 the stump speakers and the press in general in 
 flattering our people with pictures of their pros- 
 perity while ignoring the real truth concerning 
 their status. To flatter them with the fact that 
 they are faring better than toilers in other lands is 
 like the burglar's defence that he left the victim's 
 house better supplied than other houses he had 
 plundered. . . . But what of the millions upon 
 miUIons of tollers whom It leaves practically pen- 
 niless, in debt to the grocer, the butcher, the baker, 
 the tailor and the dress maker? What of those 
 pinching from hand to mouth, worrying and fret- 
 ting out their days to keep out of the poor house? 
 
APPENDIX 277 
 
 What of those whom it drives inco abandonment, 
 surrendering to vice and crime ? Are they weaker 
 mortals? So much the worse if inducements to 
 lead a better hfe are debarred by the demand 
 for tribute as the price of getting work and bread. 
 Are they who steal in sheer desperation worse 
 than those who rob in ignorance through ex- 
 tortion? 
 
 How much longer are we to go on worshipping 
 the rod that smites us ? How much longer is the 
 glitter of wealth to delude us poor lambs from 
 whose back its golden fleece is shorn ? How much 
 longer are we to be blinded by the glitter of a 
 Palace Plenty conceahng the gloom of our Pov- 
 erty Barn? 
 
 Christianity and Atlism 
 
 If Christianity was the first creed to proclaim 
 the doctrine of human brotherhood, Atlism is the 
 first to point the way to a practical realization 
 of the dream. If the one has spent twenty cen- 
 turies in daily prayers for peace on earth, the 
 other has shown the conditions under which such 
 a peace is attainable. 
 
 Is Christianity now ready to take the forward 
 step and give its support to the cause of Atlism 
 — to the realization of its age-old dreams? Will 
 
278 APPENDIX 
 
 it be true to Itself and to the humanity whose 
 salvation has been Its time-old mission? Let it 
 be hoped that the claws of the beast of Mamnism 
 hold it not so fast it cannot break loose from 
 the monster's grip. 
 
 Can Christianity rise to the level of its lofty 
 aims? Can it cut Itself loose from the worship 
 of Mammon and that other dread idol, literalism 
 in biblical Interpretation — the source of hopeless 
 division Into sects and ceaseless dissension? Can 
 It free itself and become a great unifying in- 
 fluence, broad enough and liberal enough to 
 gather under its wing believer and unbeliever, 
 Jew and Mahommedan and Buddhist? If it 
 would save Itself, this forward step is an abso- 
 lute necessity. Let It be warned. 
 
 Modern Push Wings 
 
 In striking contrast with Atlo's beneficent Push 
 Wing, leading modern nations are each equipped 
 with a push wing devoted to the enlargement of 
 its foreign trade and Influence. Ostensibly oper- 
 ated for the benefit of the nation, they are really 
 in the hands of a limited number of our billion- 
 aires whose power determines the agents through 
 whom they are ofl&clally conducted. 
 
APPENDIX 279 
 
 As to the actual need of a larger foreign trade, 
 press, politicians and statesmen are united in main- 
 taining a clamorous wail bemoaning our inability 
 to dispose of ALL we are able to produce and 
 to keep all our toilers at work. How otherwise 
 fill the great gap of deficiency from which the 
 home market must else collapse ? 
 
 That our enterprising billionaires pile up their 
 surplus millions by MAKING this gap of defi- 
 ciency through consuming less than a half of their 
 vast income— that they MAKE THE GREAT 
 LEAK in the home market — is far too insignifi- 
 cant a discovery for the keen and sleepless sleuths 
 of the press to bother with. Such revelations are 
 a specialty belonging exclusively to economists 
 serving in institutions under the control and 
 patronage of the billionaire class. Why borrow 
 trouble when we already have more than enough 
 of the commodity? Is it not enough to keep the 
 public eye glued on the BIG, BIG WORLD 
 MARKET, even though every portion of it is 
 starving from gaps of deficiency at home. We 
 have only to dash bravely into this BIG MAR- 
 KET, sharp diplomacy in one hand and heavy 
 armaments in the other, to compel it to yield us 
 what we want in larger trade. 
 
 But back of all this agitation for expansion of 
 our foreign trade — the demand of all our great 
 
28o APPENDIX 
 
 nations — Is not merely a desire to conceal and 
 cover up the big gaps of deficiency at home made 
 by the home capitalists, but a call to indefinitely 
 enlarge the volume of our foreign trade and to 
 use the proceeds In adding to the volume of our 
 foreign properties and the Income to be derived 
 from them? Is It not a repetition of the ancient 
 trick taught mankind by the devil's dam, Mam- 
 mon? Do not the properties bring with them the 
 free slaves whose unremunerated toil has to 
 supply the Income they yield? Reduced to the 
 naked truth, is It not a repetition of SLAVERY 
 EXTENSION with free Instead of chattel slaves 
 from whom to grind Its extortions ? 
 
 What a profitable and respectable calling Is 
 this enterprising piracy, raking over the high seas, 
 far and wide, In adding to Its possessions millions 
 upon millions of free slaves to toll abroad for 
 their Invisible masters. With what pleasure these 
 knights of gold can lean back In their church pews, 
 wrapped in a halo of righteousness and anointed 
 with the oil of sanctity. 
 
 What If this sport of the money kings embroil 
 the nations in the turmoil of ceaseless wars and 
 steep them In rivers of human blood? Will not 
 the cloak of patriotism cover all the sin and whiten 
 its dark stains like purest snow? Is it not a part 
 of patriotism for the home free slaves to open 
 
APPENDIX 281 
 
 their veins in the glorious cause of adding more 
 free slaves to the domains of our kingly billion- 
 aires, our glorious saints of democracy? Why 
 not sink everywhere the lesson of this new patriot- 
 ism — this wider patriotism — into the hearts of 
 the free slaves at home? Why not spread this 
 latest gospel of patriotism? 
 
 Like guilty Macbeth, Profiteering Capitalism 
 has waded so far in blood, returning were as tedi- 
 ous a voyage as going on. RUIN faces it abroad, 
 and at home the Inevitable call for repair of the 
 trade deficiency in the home market by making 
 good the delinquent spending due it also spells 
 RUIN. ... In the heart of the BIG WORLD 
 MARKET the bloody maelstrom of interminable 
 wars forbids these uncrowned kings to lead their 
 nations. It threatens to wash home the cursed 
 blood and mingle it with their own. And unless 
 they mend the gaps of trade deficiency at home, 
 a bloody doom must face them. 
 
 There is no further escape from the dilemma. 
 Profiteering Capitalism has reached the end of its 
 tether. Its wail for larger foreign markets has 
 sounded its death knell — its confession of break- 
 ing down, the beginning of Its end. As a perma- 
 nent Institution it Is a hopeless failure. 
 
 It is now the turn of Profiteering Capitalism to 
 
282 APPENDIX 
 
 face her doom, even as Atlo had to face hers. 
 . . . But while Athsm is to be restored, the scheme 
 of Sat's spouse, Mam, is doomed to sink in a sea 
 of oblivion, never to rise again. 
 
 THE END