Without saying a word to his comrades in the observation room, Vaughan Whittinghame went below and made his way to the after engine-room, where Parsons was found lying on his back with portions of the partly-stripped motor all around him.
"How long, now?" asked the Captain.
"A couple of hours, maybe, sir," replied the engineer.
"Can you manage in an hour? The after-motors will be sufficient."
"I'll try my best, sir," replied Parsons, unwilling to commit himself.
"Very good; carry on," rejoined his superior, and without another word he left the engineer to do his level best towards restoring the motors to a state of efficiency.
"We are sixty-four miles east a quarter north of the Galapagos, sir," announced Dacres.
"Thank you," replied Vaughan. "Just one minute, Mr. Dacres; will you please come on deck with me?"
The sub followed his chief. Whittinghame said nothing more until the two officers were out of earshot and on the deck of the water-borne airship.
"There's the vessel whose lights you picked up an hour ago, Dacres."