_The story is, in some sort, a sequel to "A Time of Terror," in which the sign of the Spider may be taken as a reminder of the fabled Kraken. The Kraken, in turn, may be taken to symbolise the German Fleet, "a sea monster of vast size said to have been seen off the Coast of Norway." Oddly enough, Pliny speaks of such a monster in the Straits of Gibraltar,--which blocked the entrance of ships._ CONTENTS. PROLOGUE. CHAP. PAGE I. THE LOST LEADER i. II. A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI v. THE RAID OF DOVER. I. HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE 1 II. HOW ENGLAND FELL 6 III. ABOARD THE AIRSHIP 13 IV. THE STAR OF LIFE 21 V. A THREEFOLD PLEDGE 25 VI. THE REVOLT OF WOMAN 33 VII. THE PRICE OF POWER 44 VIII. WARDLAW'S WORKS 51 IX. THE LOOSENED GRIP 59 X. ZENOBIA'S DREAM 66 XI. THE NEW AMAZONS 82 XII. A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT 94 XIII. THE RAID OF THE EAGLES 104 XIV. THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT 114 XV. IN THE HEART OF THE HILL 122 XVI. SIGNS AND WONDERS 134 XVII. HOW THE RAID FAILED 142 XVIII. THE WRECK OF THE AIRSHIP 152 XIX. THE COUP D'ÉTAT? 164 XX. LINKED LIVES 172 XXI. THE WRATH OF SUL 179 PROLOGUE. CHAPTER I. THE LOST LEADER. Wilson Renshaw, the most brilliant member of the House of Commons, was on the verge of a complete breakdown at the end of the memorable Session of 1930, a session in which the marshalled forces of Socialism, allied with the insurgent women of England, had almost, but not quite, swept the board. The Vacation of that year had brought a truce in the fiercest Parliamentary campaign known to modern times, and Renshaw, under the peremptory advice of medical specialists, left England for a prolonged holiday. He went to Egypt, recruited his health at Cairo, and then, in pursuance of a long-cherished wish, set out by a circuitous route for Khartum. With the exception of Jerusalem, the Nubian capital was regarded by the young English statesman as the most sacred spot on earth, sanctified, as it was, by the blood of General Gordon, a Christian soldier, who, to the indelible disgrace of the political clique then in power, had been left unsupported in the midst of his blood-thirsty enemies, until it was too late to rescue him.