"No, otherwise we should have to continually rely upon our reserve of ultra-hydrogen. It is six weeks since the 'Meteor' made her first flight, by the by."
"Then, how do you manage to husband the supply of gas in the ballonettes?"
"There are no less than a hundred of these sub-divisions. Each consists of two skins, the outer one of rigid aluminium, the inner of flexible non-porous fabric. When we wish to descend—apart from the action of the horizontal planes—the ultra-hydrogen is exhausted from the required number of ballonettes and forced under great pressure into steel cylinders similar to those you see here. Air at the normal atmospheric pressure is then introduced into the ballonettes until the weight of the airship is slightly heavier than air.
"These men you see working here also form part of the crew of the 'Meteor.' In due course I shall muster them and give them proper notice of your appointment as navigating officer to the vessel. I might mention, however, that every one of them has seen service in the Royal Navy. They are all trained men, who, under the rotten short service system, have been cast aside by the Admiralty when they might be of the best possible use."
"Aren't you afraid that some of them might betray your secret?"
Whittinghame laughed.
"No," he replied emphatically, "I am not. Many people imagine that nowadays there is not such a thing as honour. Government officials wonder why important secrets leak out. They threaten their employees with dire pains and penalties, instead of paying them decent wages and appealing to their sense of honour. I know that for a fact. My experience teaches me that so long as you pick your men carefully in the first instance, pay them adequately, and treat them considerately, they'll stick to you through thick and thin with unswerving loyalty. Now let us visit the workshops. There is not much to be seen, for all the constructive work is now completed, but you will be able to form some idea of how an airship of over one thousand feet in length was constructed in secret."
The next cellar was about fifty feet in length and twenty-five in breadth, and practically bare.
"This is our mould loft," explained Whittinghame. "Through dire necessity we were compelled to make the work in comparatively small sections. Each subdivision was assembled here before taken into the open air. I might add that the whole work of finally assembling the parts was done without the use of a hammer. Over thirty thousand bolts and nuts were used in setting up the completed craft. In the next room are the lathes and fitters' benches; beyond that are the electric rolls for making the aluminium sheets, and the hydraulic presses for moulding them into shape. But I do not think we need waste time there; suppose we devote our attention to an inspection of the 'Meteor'?"