Now was Karl von Harburg’s opportunity to enrich himself with the plunder from helpless liners and merchantmen. The Red Sea was practically denuded of men-of-war. A pair of obsolete gunboats lay off Suakin. They were not capable of doing more than twelve knots, and could be regarded with contempt. A British third-class cruiser, one of the units of the East Indies squadron, was stationed at Aden, while the remainder of the squadron was at Bombay, with the exception of a second-class cruiser that could not well be withdrawn from the Persian Gulf, without the risk of allowing dangerous cargoes of rifles to be "run" by the Arab dhows that were ever awaiting their opportunity for the hazardous yet profitable business. Upon the arrival of the "Aphrodite" at Port Said, Captain Restronguet was literally received with open arms by the harassed and distracted Canal officials. The presence of the "Vorwartz" in the Red Sea meant a far greater loss to them in due and tolls than while she was in the Levant, and even then there had been an appreciable falling off in the receipts. Without the faintest delay Captain Restronguet received permission to take his wonderful submarine through the hundred miles of artificial waterway, special facilities being granted so that no undue delay would be experienced. It was generally recognized that if anyone had the honour and distinction of ridding the seas of a danger and a pest that man was Captain Restronguet. The "Aphrodite" made the journey on the surface and by night. She was twelve hours behind her rival. Fortunately it was bright moonlight, and aided by the powerful search-light on board and the electric arc lamps that had recently been placed on the banks of the canal, the passage was performed most expeditiously. At every town and village crowds assembled to cheer the modern magician. At Ismalia the Khedive’s band, sent specially from the palace at Cairo, serenaded the "Aphrodite"; the shipping at Port Ibrahim hailed her approach with a deafening salute upon their syrens; and just as dawn was breaking the submarine, having accomplished the trip in less than seven hours, slipped gracefully under the waters of the Gulf of Suez. Captain Restronguet’s spirits rose. He was flattered with the reception accorded him by the Canal authorities. He realized that, instead of being regarded with suspicion, the world was beginning to appreciate his services to mankind. "We’ll have him right enough," he remarked confidentially to Devoran. "There’s a faint tremor noticeable on the detector that cannot mean anything but the presence of the ’Vorwartz.’ I have been officially informed that no Government submarine is within a thousand miles of us." "How far do you think the vessel is, sir?" asked Hythe.