Chapter I: Front Matter

THE MESSIAH OF THE CYLINDER

I put my feet inside and squeezed down to the bottom

[_Page 28_]
]

The Messiah
of the
Cylinder

by
Victor Rousseau

Illustrated by
Joseph Clement Coll
]

CHICAGO
A.C. McCLURG & CO.
1917

Copyright
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1917

Published October, 1917

_Copyrighted in Great Britain_

_All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
languages, including the Scandinavian._

W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I Over the Coffee Cups 1

II The Great Experiment 16

III In the Cellar 30

IV The Road to London 41

V London’s Welcome 53

VI The Strangers’ House 66

VII Hidden Things 79

VIII How the World Was Made Over 89

IX The Book 102

X The Domed Building 108

XI The Goddess of the Temple 122

XII The Lords of Misrule 137

XIII The Palace of Palms 151

XIV The House on the Wall 164

XV The Airscouts’ Fortress 174

XVI The Messiah’s Annunciation 186

XVII The Chapel Underground 198

XVIII Sanson 214

XIX The Story of the Cylinders 225

XX The Sweep of the Net 237

XXI Amaranth 247

XXII Esther 261

XXIII The Heart of the People 271

XXIV Lembken 280

XXV The Coming of the Cross 292

XXVI The Admiral of the Air 302

XXVII The New Order 312

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

I put my feet inside and squeezed down to the bottom _Frontispiece_

I made my difficult way toward the stairs 34

I glanced from one to another, and met hard, mirthless
eyes, and mouths twisted in sneering mockery 50

“Woe to you, accursed city!” he screamed, “Woe to you in
the day of judgment! Woe to your whites and harlots
when the judgment comes!” 150

It pulled me through the window-gap and I swung far out
above the Airscouts’ Fortress 172

A man near me leaped up and craned his neck, looking
into the gloom 242

A tall man with a black beard and a curved sword sheath
that clanked on the stones. I recognized in him
Mehemet, the Turkish commander 244

Sanson’s indomitable will flamed out. “I will not
drink!” he cried, and flung the cup to the floor 258

The giant leaped out before his followers. “Where is
Lembken?” he roared. “Where are the men?” 286

Upon the walls the Guard were swarming toward the
defenders. Out of their midst the Ray artillery
belched 300

The giant jaws upon our aircraft gaped. I saw steel
teeth within them 308

The Messiah of the Cylinder