In her present state the "Aphrodite" was no better than her rival. Her state of partial invisibility was no more, her electrical detector, whereby the position of the "Vorwartz" could be determined was no longer in working order. It was mainly responsible for the dramatic appearance of the craft under Karl von Harburg’s command. Her chief means of offence--the discharge of an electrical current that would detonate any explosives within a three-mile limit--had mysteriously failed; and only upon her powerful six-inch torpedoes could she implicitly rely. Nevertheless, all on board, from the chief officer downwards, had no doubts as to the issue of the struggle, even though so far things had gone in favour of the "Vorwartz." Herr Karl von Harburg’s submarine must be destroyed; her power must be completely shattered; but until Captain Restronguet was in a position to once more take charge of affairs, Devoran advocated a campaign of non-activity. Curiously enough no reason could be given for Lancarrow’s sudden illness in the conning-tower. He had completely recovered before the rejoining operations of the fore and aft sections were completed, but could give no account of what had happened. He did not remember falling: for he stated that he glanced at the clock less than half a minute before the "sentry" began to ring, and up to the last moment his recollections were perfectly clear; he did not notice any particularly brilliant flashes of lightning about that time. He knew nothing till he returned to consciousness and found himself in a bunk in the fore part of the submarine, whither his companions had carried him when the men’s quarters were flooded after the collision. On the other hand Captain Restronguet was aware that he had been struck by lightning, although he had no recollection of falling into the sea. The story of how he had been rescued at the risk of the sub’s life had been told him, and his gratitude was expressed by grasping his rescuer’s hand. Not a word was exchanged between them on the subject, but the action was worth volumes of words. "How are we progressing, Devoran?" asked the captain, on the morning of the fourth day of the submarine’s sojourn on the bottom of the Red Sea. "Any indication of the presence of the ’Vorwartz,’ eh?" Devoran hesitated. It would be a nasty shock to have to confess that the progress was nil and that the presence of the rival submarine had been very pronounced. Captain Restronguet looked up sharply. He saw the chief officer and the sub exchange significant looks. "You have a pleasant surprise for me, then?" he continued. "I’ll get up and find out for myself." "But, sir----" began Devoran. The captain stopped him by an emphatic gesture. Hythe never felt more uncomfortable. He would right willingly have given a month’s pay to be out of the business.