So evident was it that we were being watched by some persons who intended, at all hazards, to discover the secret of our directive electrical apparatus that Teddy and I now adopted a new scheme. Each evening, after concluding our experiments, instead of taking the brown deal box back to my rooms, both my friend and myself disconnected the essential parts of the apparatus, each taking part of it home for safe keeping, thus leaving only the shell to be inspected by any intruder who might make a further visit to the shed. Old Theed, however, kept a good look out and, as twice he had reported suspicious persons in the vicinity at night, he always carried his Browning pistol. A fortnight had passed and my newly-arranged monoplane was nearing completion. Daily I went out to Willesden to superintend, and make certain alterations which had occurred to me since I had adopted my new design. That more Zeppelin raids were expected everybody knew, and none better than myself. The weather in the last fortnight of January 1916 was bad, and many people were declaring that the German airships would not dare to venture out except in calm conditions. Some of the boys were discussing that point at Hendon one afternoon. Teddy was inclined to argue as the public argued, that Zeppelins were affected by weather conditions, and advanced many theories of fogs, clouds, rain, snow, and the barometer. "Then you don't think inclement weather any protection, Claude?" asked my friend, while the others all listened in silence. "No," I said. "I quite agree with the arguments put forward on a basis of fact by many writers in the press. Of course Zeppelins, like every other craft not independent of the weather, prefer to sally forth in calms or light winds. But the utmost one can say is, first, that the calmer the weather the likelier a raid is to occur; and, secondly, that raids are less likely to occur in broad moonlight than on dark nights." "Then, my dear fellow," whispered Teddy into my ear, in a tone so low that the others could not hear, "it is on one of the dark nights that we must make our trial flight--eh?" "Well, according to the latest yarns," remarked a fellow named Ainley, "the newest Zeppelins are armoured, and these very large craft have a gross lift of over thirty tons." "That is not much larger than the Zeppelins existing when war broke out," I said, "but, of course, it must be admitted that even a small increase of size enlarges an airship's capabilities and range. The top speed of the new thousand horse-power type is said to be about sixty-two miles an hour, but driving at such high speed must involve a heavy consumption of petrol." "What about climbing?" asked Ainley. "You've made Zeppelins a study, Munro. Tell us your opinion?"