In a moment Tom made up his mind. He ordered Timothy to let down from the car a light grapnel carried for use in emergencies, and also for raising anything that might be needed, without having to bring the airship to rest on the ground. Then he allowed the machine to sink gently until the grapnel dangled within reach of the man at the top. Tom had no intention of helping him first; by his conduct he deserved to be left to drown or to make a meal for the shark. But the man seemed indeed quite incapable of movement, except when scared to frenzy by the efforts of the youth below to regain the position from which he had been forced. He made no attempt to clutch the grapnel dangling at his very hand. Tom let the machine fall lower, until the grapnel came within reach of the younger man. He showed no such hesitation. Looking along the cable, he saw Timothy gazing down at him from the car. The sight of a human face gave him confidence. He clutched at the grapnel, let go his hold of the mast, and swung clear, Timothy attempting to steady the rope. His sudden movement threatened a catastrophe. The airship was now only about sixty feet above the sea, and before Tom, his attention partly engaged by the efforts of the boy, could increase the speed of the ascensional screw, the light vessel was pulled swiftly downwards. For a moment he felt that it must inevitably be dragged into the water. The young fellow below, still clutching desperately at the grapnel, had actually begun to sink beneath the surface. But as soon as his weight was supported by the water, the ascensional screw, now set by Tom whirling at full speed, checked the downward movement, and in another couple of seconds the airship began to rise, dragging the youth upwards. In his excitement Tom had momentarily forgotten the shark. That persistent creature, however, having overcome its fear of the monster of the air, made a dash for the youth as he entered the sea. The poor wretch had the narrowest escape of all when the shark passed just beneath him, as, whirling round on the grapnel, he was swung clear of the water. Now that he was safe from the cruel jaws, the lad showed himself to be possessed of no little agility. Hand over hand he swarmed up the cable until he reached the lower rail of the car, which he clutched, and by Timothy’s aid he clambered over. Meanwhile Tom had steered the airship towards the approaching boat. “Give way with a will, men!” he shouted. “There’s no time to be lost. We’ve got one; the other man will be nabbed by a shark if you aren’t there pretty soon. I can see the brute’s fin above the water just by the mast.” The men spurted. As the boat approached the submerged vessel, the shark took fright and glided swiftly away. In another half-minute the man was taken from his precarious perch, and lifted, in a state of complete collapse, into the boat. CHAPTER VI—SALATHIEL BEN EZRA “Bismillah!” ejaculated the young Moor when he stood in the car.