"Nor is the vast extent of the United States any better off in that respect. I think I am right in saying that there is no habitable land diametrically opposite to any place in Uncle Sam’s Republic." Fosterdyke produced a small globe from a corner of the room in order to confirm his statement. "And the old Boche is a jolly sight worse off," said Kenyon. "I don’t suppose any British Dominion will tolerate him. It’s certain he won’t be allowed to fly over any Allied fortress, so where is he?" "Paying the penalty for his misdeeds," replied Sir Reginald, grimly. "It’s not exactly a case of _vae victis_. If he’d played his game, he would have taken his licking with a better grace because it wouldn’t have hurt him so much." "How many competitors are there for the Chauvasse Stakes, sir?" asked Bramsdean. "A Yank, a Hun, and myself," replied Fosterdyke. "That is, up to the present. For some reason the idea hasn’t caught on with our fellows. Probably there’ll be a rush of entries later on--perhaps too late. I’ll show you my little craft; but before doing so I’ll give you a few details of the contest. "My idea is to start from Gibraltar--for the actual race, of course. I’ll have to take my airship there, but that’s a mere detail. Why Gibraltar? Here’s an encyclopædia, Kenyon. Look up the position of Gib." "Lat. 36° 6’ N.; long. 5° 21’ W.," replied Kenyon, after consulting the work. "And the antipodes of Gib. would be lat. 36° 6’ S.; long. 174° 39’ E.," continued the baronet. "The longitude, of course, being easily determined by adding 180 to that of Gibraltar. Now the next thing to be done (as a matter of fact I’ve determined it already) is to find a habitable spot approximating to the second set of figures. Look up Auckland, Kenyon." "Auckland is lat. 36° 52’ S.; long. 174° 46’ E.," replied Kenneth. "Why, that’s less than a degree either way." "Exactly," agreed Fosterdyke. "The next point is to determine the air route between the two places, so as to make the best of the prevailing winds. When one has to maintain an average speed of fifty miles an hour for twenty days the advantage of a following wind cannot be ignored." "Your ’bus’ll do more than that, sir," remarked Peter Bramsdean. "She’ll do two hundred an hour," declared the baronet, emphatically. "I haven’t had a trial spin yet, but she’ll come up to my expectations. It’s the stops that lower the average. Naturally I mean to take the east to west course. It means a saving of twenty-four hours. If I took the reverse direction, I’d be a day to the bad on returning to the starting-point. The actual course I’ll have to work out later. That’s where I want expert assistance. Also I want the aid of a couple of experienced navigators. And so that’s why I sent for you." "We’re on it," declared both chums. "I thought as much," rejoined Fosterdyke with a smile. "There’s one thing I ought to make clear--the matter of terms." Kenyon made a deprecatory gesture.