He would address sections of them with bombastic self-glorification of his deeds and powers and with flatteries of them and their glorious courage. His personal magnetism worked upon them as they gazed at him, and by the close of his speech he had them enthralled to his will. It was not long before he was feared as a magician by all who did not mesmerically worship him; and tens of thousands were eager to do the most wicked and shameful deeds, if only he bade them. Yet he dared not shrink from another fall with the inhabitants of the Isle of Devils; else even this preternatural fascination that he exercised might vanish. For years he racked the wealth of the islands and built an enormous fleet of still more powerful fire-ships, and armed it with still more powerful guns. To supply the funds for the expedition, those who were not trained fighting men became slaves, who toiled for him all but their few hours of sleep. Rebellion against this galling and impoverishing despotism was slowly forming in the breasts of the people. Many of them were disappearing mysteriously. They had betaken themselves to unapproachable caverns like Nookoo, and my dreamer of Swoonarie was arming them with his plague-pellets. A few more months and revolution would have broken out against the despot, and he at least would have perished; but the expedition sailed in all its pomp, again deeply impressing the imaginations of the islanders. This time he had taken precautions against the somnifaction of his army by means of a sleep-expelling drug. Every man was furnished with a dose of it to take as soon as they came near the dreaded isle. The Lilamo had been busy for some time, I had seen; but the Limanorans were as unconcerned at this approach as at the former one. What new defence had they? I could see no more preparation than there had been on the previous occasion. The calm which prevailed reassured me; yet soon I grew restless with the fear that this fire-eating cabin-boy with the mystery in his eyes would sully the shores of Limanora with his vulgar ambitions. My fear became alarm as I saw on the horizon the smoke of the fleet and heard through the idrovamolan the shout of triumph rise from the army when the peak of Lilaroma had burst on their view. I could see each man drink his drug; and I thought that all was lost. Suddenly there came a roar from every ship; and I could see that it accompanied a plume of steam that escaped from the sides. The boiler of every fire-ship had evidently been punctured; and soon I could see that it cost those on board unceasing effort to keep afloat. The soldiers were about to take to the boats when a deeper-mouthed roar numbed every other sound. It was the lilaran at work, and the whole fleet soon vanished over the horizon before its compulsive blast.