ver before had he ventured
so far from home, and he began to realise that he had been flying much
longer than he knew or intended. The speed had been terrific.

The change came imperceptibly. With the discovery that his wings were
not moving quite so easily as before, he became suddenly aware that this
had really been the case for some little time. He was flying with
greater effort, and for a long time this effort had been increasing
gradually before he actually recognised the fact.

Although no longer pointing towards the earth he seemed to be sinking.
It became increasingly difficult to fly upwards. His wings did not seem
to fail or weaken, nor was he conscious of feeling tired; but something
was ever persuading him to fly lower, almost as if a million tiny
threads were coaxing him downwards, drawing him gradually nearer to the
world again. Whatever it was, the earth had come much closer to him in
the last hour, and its familiar voices were pleasant to hear after the
boundless heights he had just left.

But for some reason his speed grew insensibly less and less. His wings
moved apparently as fast as before, but it was harder to keep up. In
spite of himself he kept sinking. The sensation was quite new, and he
could not understand it. It almost seemed as though he were being
_pulled_ downwards.

Jimbo began to feel uneasy. He had not lost his bearings, but he was a
very long way from home, and quite beyond reach of the help he was so
accustomed to. With a great effort he mounted several hundred feet into
the air, and tried hard to stay there. For a short time he succeeded,
but he soon felt himself sinking gradually downwards again. The force
drawing him was a constant force without rise or fall; and with a deadly
feeling of fear the boy began to realise that he would soon have to
yield to it altogether. His heart beat faster and his thoughts turned to
the friend who was then far away, but who alone could save him.

She, at least, could have explained it and told him what best to do. But
the governess was beyond his reach. This problem he must face alone.

Something, however, had to be done quickly, and Jimbo, acting more as
the man than as the boy, turned and flew hurriedly forward in another
direction. He hoped this might somehow counteract the force that still
drew him downwards; and for a time it apparently did so, and he flew
level. But the strain increased every minute, and he looked down with
something of a