er what
the deuce it really is, and what it's up to?"

"I've heard of it; it was in the London papers this morning. Have you
seen any more of it?"

"Oh yes; the thing was cruising about in mid-air all this morning,
taking stock of us and the Frenchmen too, I suppose. She vanished
during the afternoon. Where to, I don't know. It's awfully
humiliating, you know, to be obliged to crawl about here on the
water, at twenty-five knots at the utmost, while that fellow is
flying a hundred miles an hour or so through the clouds without
turning a hair, or I ought to say without as much as a puff of smoke.
He seems to move of his own mere volition. I wonder what on earth he
is."

"Not much on earth apparently, but something very considerable in the
air, where I hope he'll stop out of sight until I get to Queenstown;
and as I want to get there pretty early in the morning, perhaps
you'll excuse me saying good-night and getting along, if you won't
come on board."

"No, very sorry I can't. Good-night, and keep well in to the coast
till you have to cross to Ireland. Good-bye?"

"Good-bye!" shouted Tremayne in reply, as the torpedo-boat swung
round and headed back to the battleship, and he gave the order to go
ahead again at full-speed.

In another hour they were off the Land's End, and from there they
headed out due south-west into the Atlantic. They had hardly made
another hundred miles before it began to grow light, and then it
became necessary to keep a bright look-out for the air-ship, for
according to what they had heard from the commander of the
torpedo-boat she might be sighted at any moment as soon as it was
light enough to see her.

Another hour passed, but there was still no sign of the air-ship.
This of course was to be expected, for they had still another
seventy-five miles or so to go before the rendezvous was reached.

"Steamer to the south'ard!" sang out the man on the forecastle, just
as Tremayne came on deck after an attempt at a brief nap. He picked
up his glass, and took a good look at the thin cloud of smoke away on
the southern horizon.

From what he could see it was a large steamer, and was coming up very
fast, almost at right angles to the course of the _Lurline_. Fifteen
minutes later he was able to see that the stranger was a warship, and
that she was heading for Queenstown. She was therefore either a
British ship attached to the Irish Squadron, or else she was an enemy
with designs on the liners b