"That will do; remove him," ordered Gerald, then turning to his brother he added, "we must be off almost at once, if we are to catch the villain. How long will it take for the 'Meteor' to be ready for flight?"
"Twenty minutes," replied Vaughan calmly.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE CHASE.
"TWENTY minutes," repeated Gerald blankly. "Why, she's half a dozen ballonettes useless."
"Quite so," assented the captain. "Fortunately they are all in the lowermost tier. We can make use of the emergency compartments. Now, Dacres, will you see about making ready to slip the moorings?"
Quickly the "Repulse's" lieutenant and his men boarded their cutter, taking with them the Valderian prisoners. Since Whittinghame was not under the orders of Rear-Admiral Maynebrace he did not have to request "permission to part company"; but he paid the Admiral the compliment, sending the message by the lieutenant.
Within a few minutes of that officer's return to the flagship the "Repulse" signalled, "Wish you success."
The "Meteor" rose slowly to a height of three hundred feet. Even then the whole of the ultra-hydrogen at Whittinghame's disposal had to be brought into play. The airship possessed sufficient gas barely to counteract the attraction of gravity. To increase the altitude she would have to depend solely upon her elevating planes unless some of the stores could be ruthlessly sacrificed, for there was no ballast available.
At quarter speed the "Meteor" passed immediately over the flagship's masts, dipped her ensign, then circling, bore away northward for the Peruvian coast.