s hands, "that _is_ nice. That's _my_
wind!"

"It will bear you aloft
With a pressure so soft
That you hardly shall guess
Whose the gentle caress."

"Hooray!" he cried again.

"It's the kindest of weathers
For our red feathers,
And blows open the way
To the Gardens of Play.
So, fly out with the Wind of the South, my child,
With the wonderful Wind of the South."

"Oh, I love the South Wind already," he shouted, clapping his hands
again. "I hope it will blow very, _very_ soon."

"It may be rising even now," answered the governess, leading him to the
window. But, as they gazed at the summer landscape lying in the fading
light of the sunset, all was still and resting. The air was hushed, the
leaves motionless. There was no call just then to flight from among the
tree-tops, and he went back into the room disappointed.

"But why can't we escape at once?" he asked again, after he had given
his promise to remember all she had told him, and to be extra careful if
he ever went out flying alone.

"Jimbo, dear, I've told you before, it's because your body isn't ready
for you yet," she answered patiently. "There's hardly any circulation
in it, and if you forced your way back now the shock might stop your
heart beating altogether. Then you'd be really dead, and escape would be
impossible."

The boy sat on the edge of the bed staring intently at her while she
spoke. Something clutched at his heart. He felt his Older Self, with its
greater knowledge, rising up out of the depths within him. The child
struggled with the old soul for possession.

"Have _you_ got any circulation?" he asked abruptly at length. "I mean,
has _your_ heart stopped beating?"

But the smile called up by his words froze on her lips. She crossed to
the window and stood with her back to the fading light, avoiding his
eyes.

"My case, Jimbo, is a little different from yours," she said presently.
"The important thing is to make certain about your escape. Never mind
about me."

"But escape without you is nothing," he said, the Older Self now wholly
in possession. "I simply wouldn't go. I'd rather stay here--with you."

The governess made no reply, but she turned her back to the room and
leaned out of the window. Jimbo fancied he heard a sob. He felt a great
big heart swelling up within his little body, and he crossed over beside
her. For some minutes they stood there in silence, watching the stars
that were alread