Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/51

Rh quently interrupted by the arrival of fresh telegrams. The news soon leaked out. The morning papers were full of it, and an hour later it had been flashed all over the globe. What had been predicted a long time before by some far-seeing men had actually come to pass.

For a long time past, a band of adventurers had been colonizing a planet called Iosia, which was situated far beyond the confines of the Sirian System. This planet was particularly rich in mineral wealth and other natural products, hence its possession was considered by the Colonial Bureau to be a most valuable acquisition. But shortly after the first party of Anglo-Saxons had landed there, its existence became known to the people of Kairet, the ruling planet of the Sirian System, and they much coveted the enormous resources which it was rumoured to possess. Small parties of colonists were sent out and took possession of tracts of land that were far remote from