it."

"Oh, indeed!" said Redgrave, still between his teeth. "Well, considering
that Byfleet is about as big a wastrel as ever disgraced the English
aristocracy, I don't think either Miss Rennick or her uncle will make a
very good bargain. However, of course that's no affair of mine now. I
remember that this Russell Rennick refused to finance his brother when
he really wanted the money. He made a particularly bad bargain, too,
then, though he didn't know it; for a dozen crafts like that, properly
armed, would simply smash up the navies of the world, and make sea-power
a private trust. After all, I'm not particularly sorry, because then it
wouldn't have belonged to me. Well now, Captain, I'm going to ask you to
give me a bit of breakfast when it's ready, and then I must be off. I
want to be in Washington to-night."

"To-night! What, twenty-one hundred miles!"

"Why not?" said Redgrave; "I can do about a hundred and fifty an hour
through the atmosphere, and then, you see, if that isn't fast enough I
can rise outside the earth's attraction, let it spin round, and then
come down where I want to."

"Great Scott!" remarked Captain Hawkins inadequately, but with emphasis.
"Well, my Lord, I guess we'll go down to breakfast."

But breakfast was not quite ready, and so Lord Redgrave rejoined Miss
Rennick and her chaperon on deck. All eyes and a good many glasses were
still turned on the _Astronef_, which had now moved a few feet away from
the liner's side, and was running along, exactly keeping pace with her.

"It's so wonderful, that even seeing doesn't seem believing," said the
girl, when they had renewed their acquaintance of two years before.

"Well," he replied, "it would be very easy to convince you. She shall
come alongside again, and if you and Mrs. Van Stuyler will honour her by
your presence for half an hour while breakfast is getting ready, I think
I shall be able to convince you that she is not the airy fabric of a
vision, but simply the realisation in metal and glass and other things
of visions which your father saw some years ago."

There was no resisting an invitation put in such a way. Besides, the
prospect of becoming the wonder and envy of every other woman on board
was altogether too dazzling for words.

Mrs. Van Stuyler looked a little aghast at the idea at first, but she
too had something of the same feeling as Zaidie, and besides, there
could hardly be any impropriety in accepting the invitation of