airship for electricity in a new and curious manner, but there was
no battery to generate a current. Two small boxes or chambers, made
of some mysterious metal which would not "fuse" under the strongest
heat, were fixed, one at either end of the ship;--these had been
manufactured secretly in another country and sent to Sicily by
Morgana herself,--but so far, they contained nothing. They seemed
unimportant--they were hardly as large as an ordinary petrol-can
holding a gallon. When Rivardi had made a trial ascent he had
inserted in each of these boxes a cylindrical tube made to fit an
interior socket as a candle fits into a candle-stick,--all the
workmen watched him, waiting for a revelation, but he made none. He
was only particular and precise as to the firm closing down of the
boxes when the tubes were in. And then in a few minutes the whole
machine began to palpitate noiselessly like a living thing with a
beating heart,--and to the amazement and almost fear of all who
witnessed what seemed to be a miracle, the ship sprang up like a
bird springing from the ground, and soared free and away into space,
its vast white wings cleaving the air with a steady rise and fall of
rhythmic power. Once aloft she sailed in level flight, apparently at
perfect ease--and after several rapid "runs," and circlings,
descended slowly and gracefully, landing her pilot without shock or
jar. He was at once surrounded and was asked a thousand questions
which it was evident he could not answer.

"How can I tell!" he replied, to all interrogations. "The secret is
the secret of a woman!"

A woman! Man's pretty toy!--man's patient slave! How should a woman
master any secret! Engineers and mechanics laughed scornfully and
shrugged their shoulders--yet--yet--the great airship stared them in