, Smith?"

"Nor'-nor'-west, with perhaps half a point more north in it, sir.
About a ten-knot breeze--at least that's the drift that Mr. Marston's
allowing for."

"Yes, that's near enough. Then those fellows, if they are going full
speed, are coming up at about twenty miles an hour, or not quite
that. They're nearly twenty miles off, as nearly as I can judge in
this light. What do you make it?"

"That's about it, sir; rather less than more, if anything, to my
mind."

"Very well, then. Now signal to stop, and send up the fan-wheels; and
tell the _Ariel_ and the _Orion_ to close up and speak."

"Ay, ay, sir," said the coxswain, as he saluted and disappeared.
Arnold at once went back to his cabin and dressed, telling his second
officer, Frank Marston, a young Englishman, whom he had chosen to
take Mazanoff's place, to do the same as quietly as possible, as he
did not wish to awaken any of his three passengers just at present.

By the time he got on deck the three air-ships had slowed down
considerably, and the two consorts of the _Ithuriel_ were within easy
speaking distance. Mazanoff and Tremayne were both on deck, and to
them he explained his plans as follows--

"There are a dozen of the Tsar's war-balloons coming up yonder to the
southward, and I am going to head them off and capture the lot if I
can. If we can do that, we can make what terms we like for the
surrender of the _Lucifer_.

"You two take your ships and get to windward of them as fast as you
can. Keep a little higher than they are, but not much. On no account
let one of them get above you. If they try to descend, give each one
that does so a No. 1 shell, and blow her up. If one tries to pass
you, ram her in the upper part of the gas-holder, and let her down
with a smash.

"I am going up above them to prevent any of them from rising too far.
They can outfly us in that one direction, so I shall blow any that
attempt it into little pieces. If you have to fire on any of them,
don't use more than No. 1; you'll find that more than enough.

"Keep an eye on me for signals, and remember that the whole fleet
must be destroyed rather than one allowed to escape. I want to give
the Tsar a nice little surprise. He seems to be getting a good deal
too cock-sure about these old gas-bags of his, and it's time to give
him a lesson in real aerial warfare."

There was not a great newspaper in the world that would not have
given a very long price to have had the pr