Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/91

possible. The ships kept on rushing through the air at a great speed, as was testified by the rate at which the objects beneath flashed past. They careered over villages, towns, cities, and mountains, the admirals carefully examining maps all the time to see their way to the capital. When they passed over the great towns, they saw crowds of people standing out in the open air and gazing up at the huge fleet, but they were come and gone like a flash of lightning. At last a dull booming was heard in the distance. The speed was slackened, and gradually the houses thickened together and became more large and splendid. Everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, the roads seemed to be converging together as if to some centre, while numerous small craft plying about in the air announced the vicinity of a great city. Then they crossed a ridge of mountains, and Makouffon, the capital of Neptune, lay stretched out at their feet, and in the distance the allied fleets