"We’re all right for the present," called out the former cheerily. "The water’s warm and I have not seen any sharks about, and the cruiser will bear down and pick us up." "Where’s your ship, Tretheway?" asked the aviator anxiously. "We were falling close to where she was hove-to." "I’m rather afraid she didn’t spot us," replied Captain Restronguet. "And seeing the ’Topaze’ approaching, she dived." "Dived!" exclaimed the astounded Jenkins. "What d’ye mean? You don’t mean to tell me the ship you belong to is a submarine?" "It is," assented the Captain coolly. "Not that rascally ’Vorwartz’ by any chance?" "No." "Well, then, what’s her name? I haven’t heard of any other submarine in these waters." "Not the ’Aphrodite’?" "Don’t try to be funny, Tretheway. You know as well as I do that that submarine was blown to atoms." "I am afraid, my dear Jenkins, that I cannot agree with you. The ’Aphrodite’ is even now submerged in the Zanzibar Channel, and I--whom you know as Hugh Tretheway--I am Captain John Restronguet." CHAPTER XXV. THE APPROACH OF THE "VORWARTZ." Beyond muttering "Well, I’m dashed!" the aviator relapsed into silence. In vain Captain Restronguet and Hythe looked for a trace of the "Aphrodite." As a last resource the former produced a silk green and white flag from his pocket and lashed it to one of the vertical stays in the hope that the submarine might locate it by means of her periscope. "They’re carrying out orders," said Captain Restronguet at length. "I told Devoran to dive if he saw any vessel approaching. He spotted the ’Topaze’ and immediately descended. It’s awkward, because the secret is bound to leak out. But after all it is rather remarkable that it didn’t become common property hours ago." "How shall we get on board the ’Aphrodite,’ sir?" asked the sub. "We’ll manage it sooner or later, but there’s valuable time lost. Ha, there’s the ’Topaze’ altering helm. She’s sighted us." A quarter of an hour later the cruiser’s gig picked up the three unlucky aviators, while the aero-hydroplane was secured and towed alongside before she sank, and was hoisted on board by means of a boat’s davit. Dry clothing was immediately forthcoming, and clad in borrowed garments the rescued men were taken aft to be introduced and interviewed by the Hon. Charles Sedgwyke, captain of H.M.S. "Topaze." Realizing that it would be useless to attempt to conceal anything Captain Restronguet made a full report of all that had occurred, and requested that he and his companions might be taken back to Zanzibar, whence the "Aphrodite" might be communicated with by wireless.