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puff of smoke broke from the bow of the leading felucca, followed
almost simultaneously by a terrific explosion, and a solid shot
screamed close over the heads of the men in Hooja's craft, raising
a great splash where it clove the water just beyond them.
Perry had perfected gunpowder and built cannon! It was marvelous!
Dian and Juag, as much surprised as Hooja, turned wondering eyes
toward me. Again the cannon spoke. I suppose that by comparison
with the great guns of modern naval vessels of the outer world it
was a pitifully small and inadequate thing; but here in Pellucidar,
where it was the first of its kind, it was about as awe-inspiring
as anything you might imagine.
With the report an iron cannonball about five inches in diameter
struck Hooja's dugout just above the water-line, tore a great
splintering hole in its side, turned it over, and dumped its
occupants into the sea.
The four dugouts that had been abreast of Hooja had turned to
intercept the leading felucca. Even now, in the face of what must
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have been a withering catastrophe to them, they kept bravely on
toward the strange and terrible craft.
In them were fully two hundred men, while but fifty lined the gunwale
of the felucca to repel them. The commander of the felucca, who
proved to be Ja, let them come quite close and then turned loose
upon them a volley of shots from small-arms.
The cave men and Sagoths in the dugouts seemed to wither before
that blast of death like dry grass before a prairie fire. Those
who were not hit dropped their bows and javelins and, seizing
upon paddles, attempted to escape. But the felucca pursued them
relentlessly, her crew firing at will.
At last I heard Ja shouting to the survivors in the dugouts--they
were all quite close to us now--offer-ing them their lives if they
would surrender. Perry was standing close behind Ja, and I knew
that this merciful action was prompted, perhaps commanded, by the
old man; for no Pellucidarian would have thought of showing leniency
to a defeated foe.
As there was no alternative save death, the survivors surrendered
and a moment later were taken aboard the Amoz, the name that I
could now see printed in large letters upon the felucca's bow, and
which no one in that whole world could read except Perry and I.
When the prisoners were aboard, Ja brought the felucca alongside
our dugout. Many were the willing hands that reached down to lift
us to her decks. The bronze faces of the Mezops were broad with
smiles, and Perry was fairly beside himself with joy.
Dian went aboard first and then Juag, as I wished to help Raja and
Ranee aboard myself, well knowing that it would fare ill with any
Mezop who touched them. We got them aboard at last, and a great
com-motion they caused among the crew, who had never seen a wild
beast thus handled by man before.
Perry and Dian and I were so full of questions that we fairly burst,
but we had to contain ourselves for a while, since the battle with
the rest of Hooja's fleet had scarce commenced. From the small
forward decks of the feluccas Perry's crude cannon were belching
smoke, flame, thunder, and death. The air trembled to the roar
of them. Hooja's horde, intrepid, savage fighters that they were,
were closing in to grapple in a last death-struggle with the Mezops
who manned our vessels.
The handling of our fleet by the red island warriors of Ja's clan
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was far from perfect. I could see that Perry had lost no time
after the completion of the boats in setting out upon this cruise.
What little the captains and crews had learned of handling feluccas
they must have learned principally since they embarked upon this
voyage, and while experience is an excellent teacher and had done
much for them, they still had a great deal to learn. In maneuvering
for position they were continually fouling one another, and on two
occasions shots from our batteries came near to striking our own
ships.
No sooner, however, was I aboard the flagship than I attempted to
rectify this trouble to some extent. By passing commands by word
of mouth from one ship to another I managed to get the fifty feluccas
into some sort of line, with the flag-ship in the lead. In this
formation we commenced slowly to circle the position of the enemy.
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