Lord Ashley, too, had approached Kearns, intimating diplomatically that they work together. Faced with this situation, Kearns rapidly cast matters over in his mind and decided to adhere to his customary policy. He could see nothing to be gained by filtering out such information as he possessed to Lord Ashley; on the other side, there might be distinct disadvantages in disclosing his hand and showing how little he so far really held there. Lord Ashley had, therefore, failed to secure anything from Kearns, which circumstance he seemed to accept with rather bad grace. As a matter of fact, Kearns was sorely puzzled. Summing up all he really knew, it amounted to but little. He knew how the visitations by the enemies of the King were contrived, but as to who these enemies were, where they lurked and what their resources and objects were, he was still in the dark. He shrewdly surmised the facts of the attempt upon the life of Captain Swords; still that was a mere collateral incident and did not avail him to any appreciable extent. Lastly, he knew the details accompanying the disappearance of Captain Mortimer, but with the possession of these details his knowledge in that direction reached its limit. What had become of Captain Mortimer and Professor Dean? Kearns felt he had made a very close guess as to the actual truth. That they had met with some disaster to their air-ship and been hurled to destruction was, of course, possible; but Kearns did not accept this theory. He had the utmost confidence in the Professor. He was a cautious man; knew well what he was about; had made careful tests of his air-ship, and had said it could fly. This was enough to convince Kearns. Besides, if an accident had happened, news of it from some source would have been had. In this way Kearns deduced the truth, though for him it was only a theory that in following up the pursuit they had either been led into some trap or else overpowered by those whom they followed and made prisoners. Kearns had not been blind to this latter possibility from the beginning. The danger of it had occupied his attention long before the Professor and Mortimer had started, but it was a danger he saw no way of averting under the circumstances. There was nothing to be done but to run the risk. And now this very possibility which he had foreseen, but could not provide against, appeared to have come to pass! What was to be done?