THE CRUISE OF
THE GYRO-CAR
HERBERT STRANG’S ROMANCES
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
KING OF THE AIR: or, To Morocco on an Airship
“Much the best book of its kind now in existence.”—ManchesterGuardian.
“The flights of the airship and final rescue of the imprisoned diplomatare brilliantly told.”—Journal of Education.
“The story goes with a fine zest and gusto, and few writers have knownas well as Herbert Strang the exact proportions to allow of amusementand information.”—Bookman.
LORD OF THE SEAS: the Story of a Submarine
“Mr. Herbert Strang has struck a new vein with remarkable success,and has narrated a series of exciting adventures in the South Seasin an effective and admirably sustained tone of humour.”—NottsGuardian.
“A rattling good story, full of life and go.”—Record.
SWIFT AND SURE: the Story of a Hydroplane
“A grand yarn about a hydroplane, in which Mr. Strang shows that he isa new Jules Verne.”—Hearth and Home.
“The excitement increases from chapter to chapter.”—LiteraryWorld.
JACK HARDY: a Story of the Smuggling Days
“A story about a gallant young middy.... The characters are drawn withoriginality and humour.”—Bookman.
“Herbert Strang is second to none in graphic power andveracity.”—Athenæum.
Price 2/6 each.
HENRY FROWDE AND HODDER & STOUGHTON
THE NEW AND THE OLD
THE CRUISE OF
THE GYRO-CAR
BY HERBERT STRANG
ILLUSTRATED BY A. C. MICHAEL
LONDON
HENRY FROWDE
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
1911
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS
LONDON AND TONBRIDGE
[Pg v]
PREFACE
Albania, once a Roman highway to the East, has been for many centuriesthe wildest and most inhospitable of European countries. The mountainsthat had echoed to the tramp of Roman legions, and had witnessed theculmination of the struggle between Cæsar and Pompey, became somefifteen centuries later the scene of one of the most glorious strugglesfor liberty of which we have record. For nearly a quarter of a centuryScanderbeg, the national hero of Albania, with a few thousands of hismountaineers, stemmed the advancing tide of Turkish conquest. Whenat length the gallant Prince and his people were borne down by sheerweight of numbers, and Albania became a Turkish province, this mountainland, which had been a principal bulwark of Christendom against Islam,served to buttress the unstable empire of her new masters. It has beenthe settled policy of the Turk t