“What is this S.O.S., Ready?” he demanded. “What craft is in distress?”

“An airship, sir. The Adventurer, bound from New Orleans for Havana, Cuba.”

“By Neptune! I recall now reading that two aviators were going to make such a foolhardy attempt.”

“What kind of an air-craft is she, sir? Do you recall?”

“Why, one of those flying-boats, as they are called, I believe.”

“A big aëroplane fitted with a boat’s hull?”

“That’s the idea. But did they give you their position?”

Jack handed over the figures.

“Here they are, sir. But the current from the drifting airship was so weak that I cannot be absolutely certain as to their accuracy.”

“Well, we’ll have to take them for what they are worth,” said the captain, scanning them.