The dawn was spreading in threads of gold and silver and blue all over the heavens, and the sea flushed softly under the deepening light, as she went towards the aerodrome, he walking slowly by her side.
"Are you so sure?" he said--"Will you not risk your life in this attempt?"
She stopped abruptly.
"My life? What is it? The life of a midge in the sun! It is no good to me unless I do something with it! I would live for ever if I could!--here, on this dear little ball of Earth--I do not want a better heaven. The heaven which the clergy promise us is so remarkably unattractive! But I run no risk of losing my life or yours in our aerial adventures; we carry the very essence of vitality with us. Come!--I want to see my flying palace! When I was a small child I used to feed my fancy on the 'Arabian Nights,' and most dearly did I love the story of Aladdin and his palace that was transported through the air. I used to say 'I will have a flying palace myself!' And now I have realised my dream."
"That remains to be proved"--said Rivardi--"With all our work we may not have entirely carried out your plan."
"If not, it will HAVE to be carried out"--returned Morgana, tranquilly--"There is no reason, moral or scientific, why it should NOT be carried out--we have all the forces of Nature on our side."
He was silent, and accompanied her as she walked to the aerodrome and entered it. There were half a dozen or more men within, all working--but they ceased every movement as they saw her,--while she, on her part, scarcely seemed to note their presence. Her eyes were uplifted and fixed on a vast, smooth oblong object, like the body of a great bird with shut wings, which swung from the roof of the aerodrome and swayed lightly to and fro as though impelled by some mysterious breathing force. Morgana's swift glance travelled from its one end to the other with a flash of appreciation, while at the same time she received the salutations of all the men who advanced to greet her.
"You have done well, my friends!"--she said, speaking in fluent French--"This beautiful creature you have made seems a perfect thing,--from the OUTSIDE. What of the interior?"
A small, dark, intelligent looking man, in evident command of the rest, smiled and shrugged his shoulders.