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270 vessel down to the margin of the lake, to the very place whence we had started. I knew it well; a belt of forest extended for some distance along the shore on one side, and on the other a wide open marsh lay between the water and the adjacent rocky hills. At the opposite side of this marsh stood a solitary shepherd's hut; not the one which I had made my temporary home, but one whose occupants I knew to be hospitable people. At the edge of the forest a gigantic tree had measured its length upon the ground some ten or twenty years before, and there it lay still, blackened by successive fires, yet not consumed. Within twenty yards of this fallen giant the balloon-car touched the stones, and I was requested to alight.

This I did with the greatest alacrity, thanking Heaven in my inmost soul that I was again permitted to touch the solid earth; but the dreadful fate of poor Julius still rankled in my breast. Nevertheless, I began to indulge in the hope that I should also see the last of my patronizing friend, the Demon. Alas! why is it that our wishes, even if they are the wild ones of doing the greatest good in the world, or the simple ones of being allowed to live in peace with our friends and enemies alike, are so seldom gratified? He jumped from the car with the agility of an ape, muttering something to his obsequious servant, and waved his club in the air. The balloon shot up again with a roar; Obeltub roared out his usual sardonic laugh, and his master and I were left alone facing each other. The téte-à-téte was but a short one, but the contest was sharp and decisive. The conquering power did not belong to me; never shall I claim the slightest merit either for my victory, or for my weak ability to make my reader acquainted with it.

'Come now,' said he in a wheedling tone, speaking slowly and distinctly, and smiling as sweetly as his rabbittrap jaws would let him, 'you will be my private secretary, won't you? You know my power; you have seen the