Alan at once assumed the authority with which he had been invested by the Council, and made minute inquiries into the nature and extent of the defending force at his disposal. “I think that ought to be quite sufficient, not only to defeat, but pretty well destroy any force that the Russians can bring against us,” said Alan, as soon as Ernstein had finished his description. “We have much more to fear from the air-ships than from the submarine boats, because the _Narwhal_ would give a very good account of them, even by herself. Have any more vessels of the type of the _Ithuriel_ been built since the old _Ithuriel_ was lost?” “Yes,” replied Ernstein; “but only ten, I am sorry to say. One of them is here, as I told you just now, but we have forty of the others, and I don’t suppose the Russians can bring more than a dozen against us.” “What do you mean?” said Alan. “They have fifty, every one of them as fast and as powerful as the old _Ithuriel_. I ought to know,” he continued grimly, “for they were every one of them built under my own eyes.” “I beg your pardon,” said Ernstein. “I ought to have told you before now that we have already won our first victory, and that though we lost eight vessels we destroyed twenty of the Russians’.” And then he went on to give Alan and Alexis a rapid description of the pursuit of the _Revenge_, and the havoc wrought at the end of it by the _Ithuriel_ and the _Ariel_. “That is glorious news!” said Alan. “But they have thirty ships at their disposal still, and I expect they will bring at least twenty of these against us, and they are all swifter than ours saving only the _Ariel_. Of course my command ends with the shore, but I think it will be as well if the captain of the _Ariel_ were to come on board the _Narwhal_ so that we could arrange our plans of defence together--I for the sea, and he for the air.” “But why not come ashore and see him?” said Ernstein. “He and all of us will be delighted to see you on the island.” “No,” said Alan, shaking his head. “Alexis and I have promised each other never to leave the _Narwhal_ until the Russian sea power is crippled. The day that we set foot on dry land again will be the day that we give back the supremacy of the sea to the Council, so if we two Admirals of the Sea and Air are to meet, the commander of the _Ariel_ must come here.” “Very well,” said Ernstein. “I understand you. Write a note and I will send the _Cachalot_ back with it. She will bring him back in under half an hour, for he was up at the settlement when I left.”