He took his part modestly in the rear of the group,
and made a fresh obeisance in his new capacity. Presently another warship, _The Balka_, drew close. It contained the
ambassadors of Foreign Powers, and the Chancellors and high officials of
the Balkan nations. It was followed by a fleet of warships, each one
representing a Balkan Power. The great Western fleet lay at their
moorings, but with the exception of manning their yards, took no
immediate part in the proceedings. On the deck of the new-comer the Balkan monarchs took their places, the
officials of each State grading themselves behind their monarch. The
Ambassadors formed a foremost group by themselves. Last came the Western King, quite alone (save for the two Queens),
bearing in his hand the vellum scroll, the record of his arbitration. This he proceeded to read, a polyglot copy of it having been already
supplied to every Monarch, Ambassador, and official present. It was a
long statement, but the occasion was so stupendous--so intense--that the
time flew by quickly. The cheering had ceased the moment the Arbitrator
opened the scroll, and a veritable silence of the grave abounded. When the reading was concluded Rupert raised his hand, and on the instant
came a terrific salvo of cannon-shots from not only the ships in the
port, but seemingly all up and over the hillsides away to the very
summit. When the cheering which followed the salute had somewhat toned down,
those on board talked together, and presentations were made. Then the
barges took the whole company to the armour-clad fort in the entrance-way
to the Blue Mouth. Here, in front, had been arranged for the occasion,
platforms for the starting of aeroplanes. Behind them were the various
thrones of state for the Western King and Queen, and the various rulers
of "Balka"--as the new and completed Balkan Federation had become--_de
jure_ as well as _de facto_. Behind were seats for the rest of the
company. All was a blaze of crimson and gold. We of the Press were all
expectant, for some ceremony had manifestly been arranged, but of all
details of it we had been kept in ignorance. So far as I could tell from
the faces, those present were at best but partially informed. They were
certainly ignorant of all details, and even of the entire programme of
the day. There is a certain kind of expectation which is not concerned
in the mere execution of fore-ordered things. The aero on which the King and Queen had come down from the mountain now
arrived on the platform in the charge of a tall young mountaineer, who
stepped from the steering-platform at once. King Rupert, having handed
his Queen (who still carried her baby) into her seat, took his place, and
pulled a lever. The aero went forward, and seemed to fall head foremost
off the fort. It was but a dip, however, such as a skilful diver takes
from a height into shallow water, for the plane made an upward curve, and
in a few seconds was skimming upwards towards the Flagstaff. Despite the
wind, it arrived there in an incredibly short time. Immediately after
his flight another aero, a big one this time, glided to the platform. To
this immediately stepped a body of ten tall, fine-looking young men. The
driver pulled his levers, and the plane glided out on the track of the
King. The Western King, who was noticing, said to the Lord High Admiral,
who had been himself in command of the ship of war, and now stood close
behind him:

"Who are those men, Admiral?" "The Guard of the Crown Prince, Your Majesty. They are appointed by the
Nation." "Tell me, Admiral, have they any special duties?" "Yes, Your Majesty," came the answer: "to die, if need be, for the young
Prince!" "Quite right! That is fine service. But how if any of them should die?" "Your Majesty, if one of them should die, there are ten thousand eager to
take his place." "Fine, fine! It is good to have even one man eager to give his life for
duty. But ten thousand! That is what makes a nation!" When King Rupert reached the platform by the Flagstaff, the Royal
Standard of the Blue Mountains was hauled up under it. Rupert stood up
and raised his hand. In a second a cannon beside him was fired; then,
quick as thought, others were fired in sequence, as though by one
prolonged lightning-flash. The roar was incessant, but getting less in
detonating sound as the distance and the hills subdued it. But in the
general silence which prevailed round us we could hear the sound as
though passing in a distant circle, till finally the line which had gone
northward came back by the south, stopping at the last gun to south'ard
of the Flagstaff. "What was that wonderful circle?" asked the King of the Lord High
Admiral. "That, Your Majesty, is the line of the frontier of the Blue Mountains. Rupert has ten thousand cannon in line." "And who fires them? I thought all the army must be here." "The women, Your Majesty. They are on frontier duty to-day, so that the
men can come here." Just at that moment one of the Crown Prince's Guards brought to the side
of the King's aero something like a rubber ball on the end of a string. The Queen held it out to the baby in her arms, who grabbed at it. The
guard drew back. Pressing that ball must have given some signal, for on
the instant a cannon, elevated to perpendicular, was fired. A shell went
straight up an enormous distance. The shell burst, and sent out both a
light so bright that it could be seen in the daylight, and a red smoke,
which might have been seen from the heights of the Calabrian Mountains
over in Italy. As the shell burst, the King's aero seemed once more to spring from the
platform out into mid-air, dipped as before, and glided out over the Blue
Mouth with a rapidity which, to look at, took one's breath away. As it came, followed by the aero of the Crown Prince's Guard and a group
of other aeros, the whole mountain-sides seemed to become alive. From
everywhere, right away up to the farthest visible mountain-tops, darted
aeroplanes, till a host of them were rushing with dreadful speed in the
wake of the King. The King turned to Queen Teuta, and evidently said
something, for she beckoned to the Captain of the Crown Prince's Guard,
who was steering the plane. He swerved away to the right, and instead of
following above the open track between the lines of warships, went high
over the outer line. One of those on board began to drop something,
which, fluttering down, landed on every occasion on the bridge of the
ship high over which they then were. The Western King said again to the Gospodar Rooke (the Lord High
Admiral):

"It must need some skill to drop a letter with such accuracy." With imperturbable face the Admiral replied:

"It is easier to drop bombs, Your Majesty." The flight of aeroplanes was a memorable sight. It helped to make
history. Henceforth no nation with an eye for either defence or attack
can hope for success without the mastery of the air.