ABSTRACT
IN the meantime, while the events depicted in the last chapter were leading up to their great dénouement, the big collier was thrashing her way through the seas towards the spot to which she had been directed. By now the object of the voyage was no secret, for once they had left the shores of France on their long run, the officers had been informed that “Her Ladyship” (as she was familiarly known in the saloon) had been commissioned to test some deep sea coaling apparatus which had just been invented by a Glasgow engineer, and submitted to the Admiralty.
