"Hear! hear!" exclaimed Hythe, while Captain Restronguet brought his hand down heavily upon his friendly rival's shoulder.
"That shows the British bull-dog spirit isn't dead yet," he remarked. "I am glad to hear you speak thus. You do your best: I'll do mine, and may the better man win."
The commander of the airship was shown over the "Aphrodite" and all except the essential details of her construction were minutely explained by his host. The inspection wound up with refreshments in Captain Restronguet's cabin, and in reply to an invitation Captain Restronguet, Hythe, Devoran, and Jenkins went on board the "Pride of Rhodesia." For an airship she was certainly a novelty, being built and engined in Rhodesia and of Rhodesian material--a striking testimony to the growth of one of Britain's youngest children.
Curiously enough the airship was subdivided into three compartments similar to the "Aphrodite." Thus, in the event of an accident to any two of the sections the third would be quite capable of supporting the crew and acting as a balloon; while, should the afterpart remain uninjured, it would still be able to be driven by the motors which were situated just abaft the division between the second and third sections.
"By the by, how do you combat with the deadly night airs?" asked Captain Restronguet.
"We ascend to about three thousand feet," replied the owner of the "Pride of Rhodesia." "It's a splendid climate up aloft; a guaranteed cure for all sorts of tropical fevers. How do you manage?"
"Oh, we dive," was the reply. "Our air supply is quite independent of outside atmosphere. But night is approaching, we must return."
Had there not been an element of danger should the airship attempt to combat the "Vorwartz" Captain Restronguet would have requested that Kenwyn should be temporarily accommodated on board so that the bracing air would aid his recovery, but under the circumstances he preferred to keep his second officer in the submarine.
Shaking hands Captain Restronguet and his companions bade their friendly rivals farewell and boarded their whaler. On the way back Hythe asked Jenkins what he thought of the "Pride of Rhodesia."
"Not much," replied the chief aviator to the Sultan of Zanzibar. "Not much. If I had my three-seater monoplane and a couple of hands I'd guarantee to knock spots off her as easy as kiss your hand."