I was afraid to think that all might turn out so well, for in
such case our task would be a simple enough one, and would in all human
probability be crowned with success. At ten o'clock we started. Teuta did not show the smallest sign of fear
or even uneasiness, though this was the first time she had even seen an
aeroplane at work. She proved to be an admirable passenger for an
airship. She stayed quite still, holding herself rigidly in the position
arranged, by the cords which I had fixed for her. When I had trued my course by the landmarks and with the compass lit by
the Tiny my electric light in the dark box, I had time to look about me. All seemed quite dark wherever I looked--to land, or sea, or sky. But
darkness is relative, and though each quarter and spot looked dark in
turn, there was not such absolute darkness as a whole. I could tell the
difference, for instance, between land and sea, no matter how far off we
might be from either. Looking upward, the sky was dark; yet there was
light enough to see, and even distinguish broad effects. I had no
difficulty in distinguishing the Tower towards which we were moving, and
that, after all, was the main thing. We drifted slowly, very slowly, as
the air was still, and I only used the minimum pressure necessary for the
engine. I think I now understood for the first time the extraordinary
value of the engine with which my Kitson was equipped. It was noiseless,
it was practically of no weight, and it allowed the machine to progress
as easily as the old-fashioned balloon used to drift before a breeze. Teuta, who had naturally very fine sight, seemed to see even better than
I did, for as we drew nearer to the Tower, and its round, open top began
to articulate itself, she commenced to prepare for her part of the task. She it was who uncoiled the long drag-rope ready for her lowering. We
were proceeding so gently that she as well as I had hopes that I might be
able to actually balance the machine on the top of the curving wall--a
thing manifestly impossible on a straight surface, though it might have
been possible on an angle. On we crept--on, and on! There was no sign of light about the Tower, and
not the faintest sound to be heard till we were almost close to the line
of the rising wall; then we heard a sound of something like mirth, but
muffled by distance and thick walls. From it we took fresh heart, for it
told us that our enemies were gathered in the lower chambers. If only
the Voivode should be on the upper stage, all would be well. Slowly, almost inch by inch, and with a suspense that was agonizing, we
crossed some twenty or thirty feet above the top of the wall. I could
see as we came near the jagged line of white patches where the heads of
the massacred Turks placed there on spikes in old days seemed to give
still their grim warning. Seeing that they made in themselves a
difficulty of landing on the wall, I deflected the plane so that, as we
crept over the wall, we might, if they became displaced, brush them to
the outside of the wall. A few seconds more, and I was able to bring the
machine to rest with the front of the platform jutting out beyond the
Tower wall. Here I anchored her fore and aft with clamps which had been
already prepared. Whilst I was doing so Teuta had leaned over the inner edge of the
platform, and whispered as softly as the sigh of a gentle breeze:

"Hist! hist!" The answer came in a similar sound from some twenty feet
below us, and we knew that the prisoner was alone. Forthwith, having
fixed the hook of the rope in the ring to which was attached her belt, I
lowered my wife. Her father evidently knew her whisper, and was ready. The hollow Tower--a smooth cylinder within--sent up the voices from it
faint as were the whispers:

"Father, it is I--Teuta!" "My child, my brave daughter!" "Quick, father; strap the belt round you. See that it is secure. We
have to be lifted into the air if necessary. Hold together. It will be
easier for Rupert to lift us to the airship." "Rupert?" "Yes; I shall explain later. Quick, quick! There is not a moment to
lose. He is enormously strong, and can lift us together; but we must
help him by being still, so he won't have to use the windlass, which
might creak." As she spoke she jerked slightly at the rope, which was
our preconcerted signal that I was to lift. I was afraid the windlass
might creak, and her thoughtful hint decided me. I bent my back to the
task, and in a few seconds they were on the platform on which they, at
Teuta's suggestion, lay flat, one at each side of my seat, so as to keep
the best balance possible. I took off the clamps, lifted the bags of ballast to the top of the wall,
so that there should be no sound of falling, and started the engine. The
machine moved forward a few inches, so that it tilted towards the outside
of the wall. I threw my weight on the front part of the platform, and we
commenced our downward fall at a sharp angle. A second enlarged the
angle, and without further ado we slid away into the darkness. Then,
ascending as we went, when the engine began to work at its strength, we
turned, and presently made straight for Ilsin. The journey was short--not many minutes. It almost seemed as if no time
whatever had elapsed till we saw below us the gleam of lights, and by
them saw a great body of men gathered in military array. We slackened
and descended. The crowd kept deathly silence, but when we were amongst
them we needed no telling that it was not due to lack of heart or absence
of joy. The pressure of their hands as they surrounded us, and the
devotion with which they kissed the hands and feet of both the Voivode
and his daughter, were evidence enough for me, even had I not had my own
share of their grateful rejoicing. In the midst of it all the low, stern voice of Rooke, who had burst a way
to the front beside the Vladika, said:

"Now is the time to attack the Tower. Forward, brothers, but in silence. Let there not be a sound till you are near the gate; then play your
little comedy of the escaping marauders. And 'twill be no comedy for
them in the Tower. The yacht is all ready for the morning, Mr. Sent
Leger, in case I do not come out of the scrimmage if the bluejackets
arrive. In such case you will have to handle her yourself. God keep
you, my Lady; and you, too, Voivode! Forward!" In a ghostly silence the grim little army moved forwards. Rooke and the
men with him disappeared into the darkness in the direction of the
harbour of Ilsin. FROM THE SCRIPT OF THE VOIVODE, PETER VISSARION,


                                                           _July_ 7, 1907. I had little idea, when I started on my homeward journey, that it would
have such a strange termination. Even I, who ever since my boyhood have
lived in a whirl of adventure, intrigue, or diplomacy--whichever it may
be called--statecraft, and war, had reason to be surprised.