owing to the distance, much as if she were being looked at through
the wrong end of a telescope.

Suddenly there was a shout among the crowd, a shout followed by a
hundred thousand more. All hands were stretched towards a point on the
horizon. That point was the northwest. There in the deep azure
appeared a moving body, which was approaching and growing larger. Was
it a bird beating with its wings the higher zones of space? Was it an
aerolite shooting obliquely through the atmosphere? In any case, its
speed was terrific, and it would soon be above the crowd. A suspicion
communicated itself electrically to the brains of all on the clearing.

But it seemed as though the "Go-Ahead" had sighted this strange
object. Assuredly it seemed as though she feared some danger, for her
speed was increased, and she was going east as fast as she could.

Yes, the crowd saw what it meant! A name uttered by one of the
members of the Weldon Institute was repeated by a hundred thousand
mouths:

"The "Albatross!" The "Albatross!""





Chapter XXIII

THE GRAND COLLAPSE