ready to severely judge those with too much daring or ambition: this feeling impregnated the atmosphere so much that it could almost be touched.

The lights of some large ships could be seen in the distance, when Kitty instantaneously changed course and, at the same time, the car was engulfed by the sea.

“As if they had encountered their equal in power and valor,” Piero thought then, “even the most arrogant forces of the sea must gladly bow before the Black Eagle, welcoming its servants and its superior officers into their domain.”

Thus, with even the friendly lights of the stars left behind them, the last portion of that enchanting voyage was characterized by the impenetrable darkness of the depths of the sea. The only glimmers of light, on which the eyes of our friends were now completely dependent, were those of the car's internal controls, and in particular, that of the large central hologram on which