"It put itself there, sir," was the imperturbable reply. "Sort of flew off the sprocket when the link parted and went bang through the side plate of the fuselage, sir. I’ll allow it’s made a wee bit of a mess inside, sir." "Take over, Bramsdean, please," said Fosterdyke. "Directly you get a chance obtain our position. Come on, Kenyon, let’s see the extent of the damage. The cabin doesn’t matter. It isn’t the first time I’ve slept in a punctured dog-box. But the mechanical breakdown--that’s the thing that counts." Followed by Murgatroyd, the baronet and Kenyon went aft. From No. 5 motor-room they could see the motionless propeller, one of the four blades of which had been shattered as far as the boss, while all the others bore signs of more or less damage from the flying fragments. "Matter of twenty minutes, sir," replied Murgatroyd in answer to his chief’s enquiry as to how long the repairs would take. "We’ll have to stop, and I’ll bolt on the new blades. At the same time I’ll put a couple of hands on to fitting a new chain to the starboard drive. I don’t fancy the ’A’ bracket’s strained, but I’ll soon find out directly we stop." It was rough luck to have to stop all the motors and drift at the mercy of the air currents for twenty precious minutes; but the only option would be to carry on under the action of four propellers only at a greatly reduced speed. "Right-o, Murgatroyd," agreed the baronet. "Slap it about." "Trust me for that, sir," replied the engineer. "I’ve warned the break-down gang. I’ll give you the all-clear signal in twenty minutes--less, sir, or my name isn’t Robert Murgatroyd." Three minutes later the remaining four motors were switched off, and the "Golden Hind," rapidly losing way, fell off broadside on to the wind at a height of twelve thousand five hundred feet above sea-level. Instantly the mechanics swarmed out along the slender "A" brackets, Murgatroyd and an assistant setting to work to unbolt the damaged blades, while other airmen passed a new chain round the sprocket wheels of the starboard motor and propeller respectively. Although there was no apparent wind, and the airship was drifting at practically the same rate as the air current, it was bitterly cold. The brackets were slippery with ice, and the difficulty of maintaining a foothold was still further increased by the erratic vertical motion of the airship. The mechanics, wearing lifelines, went about their work fearlessly. They were used to clambering about on coastal airships, sometimes under fire; and although the present task was a simple one from a mechanical point, it was most difficult owing to the adverse atmospheric conditions. Yet in the space of seventeen and a half minutes Murgatroyd and his band of workers were back in the fuselage, their task accomplished, and in twenty minutes the six motors were running once more. Murgatroyd flushed with pleasure when his chief thanked and complimented him.