The Perfect World: A romance of strange people and strange places

Nurse Mavis Wylton looked after her patients cheerfully; she was glad of something to do. Life had been very dull in the little township and although the advent of the two Engli...

The ever present sense of “self-preservation” beats within the breasts of men most strongly at some period or other of their lives. It showed itself to Alan now. A fear of the s...

The two men had now been working for three months at the mine, and the villagers had become used to the sight of strangers in Marshfielden. Indeed, as the weeks sped by, and not...

Throughout the night Alan watched. Never did Kulmervan move from his place in the clearing—never did his eyes close nor did he show the slightest inclination to sleep. Towards m...

Alan bent over his uncle, but the High Priest waved him away. “Touch him not,” said he sternly, and such command rang in his tones, that Alan stepped back involuntarily.

“I know not, my Kulmervan. Let us go to the Turret Room, and see.” The two astronomical students at the most important meteorological college on the whole of Keemar, went swiftl...

Marlinok, the Jkak’s majordomo, called on Sir John and Alan a few days after they had witnessed the Sacrament of Schlerik-itata. “Will you be ready,” he asked them, “when the Ky...

Four days had passed, four days of glorious sunshine. Every day the whole party had been for a trip in the Argenta. They never landed anywhere, however, for Sir John was still j...

In a lovely part of Perthshire, deep in a valley among the mountains, lonely and hard of access, stood a curious building. Any one with a knowledge of aeronautics would have rec...

Alan remained motionless, watching the little craft vanish from his ken. He was thinking hard. Kulmervan had so far got the better of him, but the game was not yet won. It might...

The populace of Hoormoori were wildly excited, for the time had come when their Princess, the Ipso-Rorka of all Keemar, was to wed. Every place was full, the streets were throng...

Life in the Argenta became very monotonous. After the first throes of despair, the glimpse of the glorious expanse of the Heavens served to cheer the prisoners within the ship....

For over six months Marshfielden was unvisited by the “Light”. The inhabitants were settling down and work had begun again in earnest. Alan had been promoted second overseer at...

Alan gave a satisfied sigh. “That’s splendid,” he remarked. Many months had passed since they had made the discovery that the language of the underworld was a patois Hebrew, and...

“How did you get here?” asked Alan at last. “We were never able to discover the origin of the Light. Oh,” he shuddered, “I shall never forget seeing you carried off—whirling thr...

They walked down a lovely avenue to the outer gates. It was grass-covered, soft and velvety and cool. Birds with the gayest plumage hopped among the branches of the trees, and c...

The day passed slowly. Still the Princess remained in her cabin. Alan passed Waiko with his usual cheery smile, and the guilty student trembled and turned white at sight of the...

The London papers were burning with excitement. Marshfielden had at last become known to the vast, outside world, for the disappearance of so many of its inhabitants could no lo...

An English summer! The birds sang merrily, and the trees bowed their heads, keeping time with the melody. The breeze whispered its accompaniment, and all the glades and woods we...

“Korah! Korah!” the words grew fainter and fainter, until at length, worn out with religious fervour, Jez-Riah flung herself on the ground and fell asleep. Alan and Desmond gaze...

Desmond, still weak, raised himself up, and looked about him; and even as he did so, a huge boulder fell from the blocked secret entrance that led to the city of the underworld.

The boys had no packing to do. They possessed nothing but the clothes they stood in, and a sailor’s clasp knife that belonged to Alan; but they put together a store of dried ele...

When Masters was sufficiently recovered he told his story. “I got through the ether all right,” said he. “I was through in a second and was standing on the exposed deck at the m...

Desmond had slept well; he woke lazily and looked round him. Alan had already gone. He turned sleepily over, but raised himself quickly as Alan hailed him from Korah’s tomb with...

The Tomb of Korah! They had reached their goal at last! The boys stood back awed at the thought of what might have passed in that selfsame cavern thousands of years before.

Space—infinite space! On, on, swept the Argenta through the heavens at frightful speed. The engines were useless; the levers refused to work, and the occupants of the airship sa...

“It’s wonderful, Uncle John! It’s almost beyond belief!” Mavis had walked the whole length of the vessel on the under deck in silence. Her husband’s arm was about her waist, her...

Sir John, with Masters, Desmond and Mavis arrived at Hoormoori in time for the trial. They were much interested in Alan’s adventures, and were looking forward to witnessing the...

And the seventh day was the Sabbath! The Lord rested on the Sabbath! Sabbath! Seventh! Seventh! Sabbath! These words kept ringing in Alan’s ears as he lay quiet and tranquil in...

Time passed—time that had no measure—time that seemed an eternity. They had all recovered from their encounter with the Sacred Serpent, but the adventure had left them nervous a...

As Alan leapt over the bulwarks, his quick eye caught sight of footmarks, two going one way, and two the other, with perhaps five feet between them. “So,” said he grimly to hims...

Many hundred times the Kymo rose and set, and Ak-Alan and his wife, beloved of all Keemarnians, lived in peace and happiness. A son and daughter had been born to them, and now t...

attendants by his side. Instantly the symmetry of the procession was broken, and Alan and Desmond were bound with rope and dragged away. It was all done so quickly that they had...

The air struck cold and Alan was glad of the heavy cloaks that the Rorka insisted on his taking for the journey. They had passed through glorious scenery, but now it was changin...

Hoormoori was rejoicing! Their Princess, Chlorie the Ipso-Rorka, was found. Not only was she alive and well, but she had found her mate. True he was from another world, but she...