Chapter V.
"Follow me," said the captain stiffly, for there were several guards inwhite and gold uniforms pacing to and fro on the battlement-like walls.He led the two adventurers through a door in the base of the dome. Atfirst they were dazed by a brilliant light from above, and lookingup they beheld a marvel of kaleidoscopic colors formed by a myriad ofelectric-lighted prisms sloping gradually from the floor to the apexof the dome. Thorndyke could compare it to nothing but a stupendousdiamond, the very heart of which the eye penetrated.
"Don't look at it now," advised Tradmos, in an undertone; "it wasconstructed to be seen from below, and to light the great rotunda."
Mutely the captives obeyed. At every turn they were greeted with a newwonder. The captain now led them round a narrow balcony on the inside ofthe vast dome, and, looking over the railing down below, they saw a vasttessellated pavement made of polished stones of various and brilliantcolors and so artistically arranged that, from where they stood,lifelike pictures of landscapes seemed to rise to meet the visionwherever the eye rested. Statues of white marble, gold and bronze wereplaced here and there, and, in squares of living green, fountains threwup streams of crystal water. Tradmos paused for them to look down andsmiled at their evident admiration.
"How far is it down there?" Thorndyke ventured to ask.
"Over a thousand feet," replied Tradmos. "Look across opposite and youwill see that there are fifty floors beneath us, and each floor has abalcony like this overlooking the court."
"What is the sound that comes up from below?" asked the Englishman.
"It is the voices of the people and their footsteps on the stone."
"What people?"
"Don't you see them? Your eyes are dazzled by the light; I ought to havewarned you against looking up into the dome. The people are down there;do the views in the pavement not look a little blurred?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you will look more closely you will see that it is a multitudeof people."
"Great heavens!" exclaimed the Englishman, and he became deeply absorbedin the contemplation of the rarest sight he had ever seen. As he lookedclosely he noticed a black spot growing larger and nearer, and heglanced inquiringly at the captain.
"It is an elevator. There are a great many of them used in the palace,but none have happened to rise as high as this since we came. The oneyou see is coming for us." The next moment the strange vehicle wasfloating toward them. The captain opened the door and preceded thecaptives into the interior.
"The royal audience chamber," he said, carelessly, to the driver behindthe glass of the adjoining compartment, and down they floated as lightlyas a bubble--down past balcony after balcony, laden with moving throngs,until they alighted in a great conservatory.
Near them was a tall fountain the water of which was playing weird musicon great bells of glass, some of which hung in the fountain's streamand others rose and fell, giving forth strange, submerged tones in thefoaming basin.
"It is a new invention recently placed here by the king's son who is amusical genius," explained Tradmos. "You will be astonished at some ofhis inventions."
He led them, as if to avoid the great crowds that they could now hearon all sides, down a long vista of palms, the branches of which met overtheir heads, to the wide door of the audience chamber. A party of mendressed in uniforms of white silk with gold and silver ornaments bowedbefore the captain and made way for him.
The captives now found themselves in the most splendid and spacious roomthey had ever seen, at the far end of which was a long dais and on it anelaborate throne.
"I shall be obliged to leave you when the king comes," said Tradmos toThorndyke, "but I shall hope to see you again. Don't forget my name andrank, for I may send you a message some time that may aid you." "Thankyou," replied the Englishman, and then as a throng of beautiful youngwomen came from a room on the side and gathered about the throne headded inquisitively: "Who are they?"
"The wives and daughters of the king and the wives of the princes," wasthe cautious answer, "but don't look at any one of them closely."
"I don't see how a fellow can help it; they are ravishingly beautiful,don't you think so, Johnston?"
"Don't be a fool," snapped the American, "don't you know enough to holdyour tongue."
Tradmos smiled as if amused, and when he had shown them to seats nearthe great golden throne, he said:
"Stay where you are till the king sends for you, and then go and kneelbefore the throne. Do not rise till he bids you."
The captives thanked him and the captain turned away. The eyes of allthe royal party now rested on the strangers, and it was hard for them toappear unconscious of it. A great crowd was slowly filling the roomand an orchestra in a balcony on the left of the dais began to makedelightful music on instruments the strangers had never before seen.After an entrancing prelude a sound of singing was heard, and far up ina grand dome, lighted like the one the captives had just admired overthe central court of the palace, they saw a bevy of maidens, robed inwhite, moving about in mid-air, apparently unsupported by anything.
"How on earth is that done?" asked Thorndyke.
"I don't know," returned Johnston, speaking more freely now that thecaptain had gone. "I am not surprised at anything."
"Their voices are exquisite, and that orchestra--a Boston symphonyconcert couldn't be compared to it."
"There goes the sunlight again," cried Johnston, "by Jove, it is blue!"
The transition was sublime. They seemed transported to some other scene.The great multitude, the elegantly-dressed attendants about the throne,the courtiers, the beautiful women, all seemed to change in appearance;on the view through the wide doors leading to the conservatory, and thegreat swarming court beyond, the soft blue light fell like a filmy veilof enchantment.
"Wonderful!" exclaimed the American.
"It is ahead of our clocks, anyway," jested Thorndyke. "Any child thatcan count on its fingers could tell that this is the fifth hour of theday."
The music grew louder; there was a harmonious blare of mighty trumpets,the clang of gongs and cymbals, and then the music softened till itcould scarcely be heard. There was commotion about the throne.
The king was coming. Every person on the dais stood motionless,expectant. A page drew aside the rich curtain from a door on the right,and an old man, wearing a robe of scarlet ornamented with jewels and acrown set with sparkling gems, entered and seated himself on the throne.The music sank lower; so soft did it become that the tinkling bells ofthe great fountain outside could be heard throughout the room.
The king bowed to the throng on the dais and spoke a few words to acourtier who advanced as he sat down. The courtier must have spoken ofthem, for the king at once looked down at Johnston and Thorn-dyke andnodded his head. The courtier spoke to a page, and the youth left thedais and came toward the captives.
"We are in for it," cautioned Thorndyke, "now don't be afraid of yourshadow; we'll come out all right."
"The king has sent for you," said the page, the next instant. "Go to thethrone."
They were the cynosure of the entire room as they went up the carpetedsteps of the dais and knelt before the king.
Land of the Changing Sun Page 5