That same night he had by force abducted the president and the secretary of the club, and had taken them, much against their will upon a voyage in the wonderful air-ship, the “Albatross,” which he had constructed. He meant thus to prove to them beyond argument the correctness of his assertions. This ship, a hundred feet long, was upheld in the air by a large number of horizontal screws and was driven forward by vertical screws at its bow and stern. It was managed by a crew of at least half a dozen men, who seemed absolutely devoted to their leader, Robur. After a voyage almost completely around the world, Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans managed to escape from the “Albatross” after a desperate struggle. They even managed to cause an explosion on the airship, destroying it, and involving the inventor and all his crew in a terrific fall from the sky into the Pacific ocean. Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans then returned to Philadelphia. They had learned that the “Albatross” had been constructed on an unknown isle of the Pacific called Island X; but since the location of this hiding-place was wholly unknown, its discovery lay scarcely within the bounds of possibility. Moreover, the search seemed entirely unnecessary, as the vengeful prisoners were quite certain that they had destroyed their jailers. Hence the two millionaires, restored to their homes, went calmly on with the construction of their own machine, the “Go-Ahead.” They hoped by means of it to soar once more into the regions they had traversed with Robur, and to prove to themselves that their lighter than air machine was at least the equal of the heavy “Albatross.” If they had not persisted, they would not have been true Americans. On the twentieth of April in the following year the “Go-Ahead” was finished and the ascent was made, from Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. I myself was there with thousands of other spectators. We saw the huge balloon rise gracefully; and, thanks to its powerful screws, it maneuvered in every direction with surprising ease. Suddenly a cry was heard, a cry repeated from a thousand throats. Another airship had appeared in the distant skies and it now approached with marvelous rapidity. It was another “Albatross,” perhaps even superior to the first. Robur and his men had escaped death in the Pacific; and, burning for revenge, they had constructed a second airship in their secret Island X. Like a gigantic bird of prey, the “Albatross” hurled itself upon the “Go-Ahead.” Doubtless, Robur, while avenging himself wished also to prove the immeasurable superiority of the heavier than air machines.