loved
above all others. He would fly round and round the little grove by the
mountain lake, listening for hours together to their sighing voices. But
the governess was never told of this, whatever she may have guessed; for
it seemed to him a joy too deep for words, the pains and sweetness being
mingled too mysteriously for him ever to express in awkward sentences.
Moreover, it all passed away and was forgotten the moment the child took
possession and usurped the older memory.

One night, when the moon was high and the air was cool and fragrant
after the heat of the day, Jimbo felt a strong desire to get off by
himself for a long flight. He was full of energy, and the space-craving
cried to be satisfied. For several days he had been content with slow,
stupid expeditions with the governess.

"I'm off alone to-night," he cried, balancing on the window ledge, "but
I'll be back before dawn. Good-bye!"

She kissed him, as she always did now, and with her good-bye ringing in
his ears, he dropped from the window and rose rapidly over the elms and
away from earth.

This night, for some reason, the stars and the moon seemed to draw him,
and with tireless wings he mounted up, up, up, to a height he had never
reached before. The intoxication of the strong night air rose into his
brain and he dashed forward ever faster, with a mad delight, into the
endless space before him.

Mile upon mile lay behind him as he rushed onwards, always pointing a
little on the upward slope, drunk with speed. The earth faded away to a
dark expanse of shadow beneath him, and he no longer was conscious of
the deep murmur that usually flowed steadily upwards from its surface.
He had often before risen out of reach of the earth noises, but never so
far that this dull reverberating sound, combined of all the voices of
the world merged together, failed to make itself heard. To-night,
however, he heard nothing. The stars above his head changed from yellow
to diamond white, and the cold air stung his cheeks and brought the
water to his eyes.

But at length the governess's warning, as he explored these forbidden
regions, came back to him, and in a series of gigantic bounds that took
his breath away completely, he dropped nearer to the earth again and
kept on at a much lower level.

The hours passed and the position of the moon began to alter
noticeably. Some of the constellations that were overhead when he
started were now dipping below the horizon. Ne