am not prepared--"

"You are frightened, my friend!" and Morgana smiled, laying her little
white hand soothingly on his arm--"But if I tell you there is no cause
for fear, will you not believe me? Do you not think I love my own life?
Oh yes, I love it so much that I seek to prolong it, not risk it by
sudden loss. Nor would I risk YOUR life--or HIS!" and she looked
towards Rivardi--"HE is not frightened--he will come with me wherever I
go! Now, Monsieur Gaspard, see! Here is our breath of life!" And she
held up before his eyes the two cylindrically shaped packages she had
previously shown to Rivardi--"The Marchese has already had some
experience of it"--here she unfastened the wrappings of the packages,
and took out two tubes made of some metallic substance which shone like
purest polished gold--"I will fix these in myself--will you open the
lower end chamber first, please?"

Silently the two men obeyed her gesture and opened the small
compartment fixed at what might be called the hull end of the air-ship.
The interior was seen to be lined with the same round discs which
covered the walls of the vessel, every disc closely touching its
neighbour. With extreme caution and delicacy Morgana set one of the
tubes she held upright in the socket made to receive it, and as she did
this, fine sharp, needle like flashes of light broke from it in a
complete circle, filling the whole receptacle with vibrating rays which
instantly ran round each disc, and glittered in and out among them like
a stream of quicksilver. As soon as this manifestation occurred,
Morgana beckoned to her two assistants to shut the compartment. They
did so with scarcely an effort, yet it closed down with a silent force
and tenacity that suggested some enormous outward pressure, yet
pressure there seemed none. And now a sudden throbbing movement
pulsated through the vessel--its huge folded wings stirred.

"Quick! Tell them below to lose no time! Open the shed and let her
rise!--when the contact is once established there will not be half a
second to spare!"

Hurriedly the man Gaspard, though obviously terrified, shouted the
necessary orders, while Morgana went to the other end of the ship where
Rivardi opened for her the second compartment into which she fixed the
second tube. Once again the circular flashes broke out, but this time
directly the compartment was closed down, the shining stream of light
was seen to run rapidly and completely round the interior