nd female;
and when he reached the vestibule he found one of the doors of the
dining-saloon wide open. It was from this apartment that the voices
proceeded, and, entering, he found the entire party--with the exception
of little Ida and her nurse--seated at the table, warmly attired, and
partaking of coffee.

"Hillo, Professor, good morning!" shouted Sir Reginald, as his eyes fell
upon the newcomer. "You are just in the nick of time. George, a cup of
coffee for Herr von Schalckenberg! So you have made a start, Professor;
but you must have done it very gently, for none of us was awakened by
the movement of the ship. Where are we now?"

"If it is as calm now as it was when we started, we ought to be over the
mouth of the Humber, and just leaving the shores of England behind us,"
answered the professor. "But I cannot tell for certain," he continued,
"because, as you may have noticed, there is a dense sea of cloud below
us, through which we can see nothing. My object in leaving the
pilot-house was to call Lady Elphinstone and my young friend,
Feodorovna, to come up and see the sun rise over the clouds. But you
must come up at once, or you will be too late."

"Where are we to go, Professor--out on the deck?" asked Lady
Elphinstone.

"Certainly not, dear lady," answered the professor, earnestly. "You
must witness the phenomenon through the closed windows of the
pilot-house. If you were to go out on deck, you would be swept away in
a moment by the hurricane force of the wind created by the ship as she
rushes through the atmosphere. And if perchance you were fortunate
enough to escape being blown overboard, you would be made seriously ill
by the sudden change, from the dense air which you are now breathing, to
the highly rarefied air outside. For this same reason it is also
necessary that, while the ship is in flight, all ports and doors
communicating with the exterior atmosphere should be kept tightly
closed. But come, the sun is rising," he said, as a flash of golden
light darted in through the scuttles; "you must not miss this sight."

With one accord the whole party rose and followed the professor, as he
eagerly led the way up the double flight of steps into the upper storey
of the pilot-house; and in another moment the two ladies were
advantageously placed at two contiguous scuttles whence they could
obtain the best possible view of the phenomenon, while the men grouped
themselves elsewhere.

It was a m