g through jackets round the
high-pressure turbines. The framework of the planes consisted of
hollow rods made of an aluminum alloy of high tensile strength, and
the canvas stretched over the frames was laced with wire of the same
material. To stiffen the planes, a bracket was clamped at the axis,
and thin wire stays were strung top and bottom, as the masts of a
yacht are supported. The airman was in some degree protected from the
wind by a strong talc screen, also wire-laced; by means of this, and a
light radiator worked by a number of accumulators, he was enabled to
resist the cold, which had been so great a drawback to the pioneers of
airmanship.

In this aeroplane Smith and Rodier had made many a long expedition.
They had found that the machine was capable of supporting a total
weight of nearly 1,200 lbs., and since Smith turned the scale at
eleven stone eight, and Rodier at ten stone, in their clothes, the
total additional load they could carry was about 900 lbs. Eighty
gallons of petrol weighed about 600 lbs. with the cans, and twenty
gallons of lubricating oil about 160 lbs., so that there was a margin
of nearly 150 lbs. for food, rifles, and anything else there might be
occasion for carrying at any stage of the journey.

Smith was in charge of the aeroplane attached to his ship, the
Admiralty having adopted the machine for scouting purposes. It was
only recently that he had brought his own aeroplane to its present
perfection, after laborious experiments in the workshops he
established in the corner of his father's park, where he toiled
incessantly whenever he could obtain leave, and where Rodier was
constantly employed. His machine had just completed its trials, and he
expected to realize a considerable sum by his improvements. Of this he
had agreed to give Rodier one half, and the Frenchman had further
stipulated that the improvements should be offered also to the French
Government. This being a matter of patriotism, Smith readily
consented, remarking with a laugh that he would not be the first to
break the _entente cordiale_.

Just as a voyage round the world was a dream until Drake accomplished
it, so a flight round the world was the acme of every airman's
ambition. It was the accident of his father's plight that crystallized
in Smith's mind the desires held in suspension there. The act was
sudden: the idea had been long cherished.

He had decided on his course after a careful examination of the globe
bo