"Good," replied Fosterdyke. "Let go both grapnels. See how she takes that." Both of the stout barbed hooks engaged the moment they touched the ground. Even though the wire ropes were paid out in order to reduce the strain, the jerk was severe. Round swung the giant airship head to wind, but still she dragged. The grapnels had caught in a wire fence, and having uprooted half a dozen posts, were doing their level best to remove a five-mile sheep fence. Up galloped the two farmers. The uprooting of their boundary fence hardly troubled them. The arrival of the airship--the first they had ever seen--occupied all their attention. "Make fast for us, please," hailed Fosterdyke, having ordered another rope to be lowered. "Right-o," was the reply. "We’ll fix you up." Dismounting and tethering their somewhat restive horses, the two Australians took the end of the third wire rope to the trunk of a large tree-the only one for miles, as it so happened. Fortunately they knew how to make a rope fast--an accomplishment that few people other than seamen possess. "Where are we?" asked the baronet. "In Minto County, ten miles from Kelmscott," was the reply. "Any petrol to be had hereabouts?" "Sure," was the unexpected answer. "How much do you want?" "A hundred gallons--enough to take us to Fremantle," replied Fosterdyke rather dubiously. "Two hundred if you want," offered the good Samaritan. "I’ll run it along in less than an hour." "Will to-morrow at daybreak do equally as well?" asked Sir Reginald, knowing the difficulty and possible danger of handling quantities of the highly volatile spirit in the dark. "We’ll be all right here until morning if the wind doesn’t increase." "It won’t," declared the farmer, confidently. "If anything it’ll fall light. If you’re in a hurry, I’ll hitch you on to my motor lorry and tow you into Fremantle." Fosterdyke thanked him and begged to be excused on the score that he was obliged by the terms of the race to make a flight without outside assistance in the matter of propulsion. The two Australians, declining an invitation to go on board the airship, rode away in the darkness. As the farmer had predicted, the wind fell away to a dead calm, so the airship was able to rest upon the ground, but ready, should the breeze spring up, to ascend to a hundred feet and there ride it out until the promised petrol was forthcoming. "Now for our first dinner on or over Australian soil," exclaimed Fosterdyke. "By Jove, I’m hungry! What’s going?" He scanned the menu card. The cooks on the airship were good men at their work, and dinner, whenever circumstances permitted, was rather a formal affair. "Hullo!" exclaimed Peter. "Covers laid for four, eh?" "Yes," replied the baronet. "I’m expecting a guest. Ah! here he is. Let me introduce you to my friend, Mr. Trefusis."