shudder as he realised that before very long he would be
obliged to yield to this deadly force--and drop!

It was then for the first time he noticed a change had come over the
surface of the earth below. Instead of the patchwork of field and wood
and road, he saw a vast cloud stretching out, white and smooth in the
moonlight. The world was hidden beneath a snowy fog, dense and
impenetrable. It was no longer even possible to tell in what direction
he was flying, for there was nothing to steer by. This was a new and
unexpected complication, and the boy could not understand how the change
had come about so quickly; the last time he had glanced down for
indications to steer by, everything had been clear and easily visible.

It was very beautiful, this carpet of white mist with the silver moon
shining upon it, but it thrilled him now with an unpleasant sense of
dread. And, still more unpleasant, was a new sound which suddenly broke
in upon the stillness and turned his blood into ice. He was certain that
he heard wings behind him. He was being followed, and this meant that it
was impossible to turn and fly back.

There was nothing now to do but fly forwards and hope to distance the
huge wings; but if he was being followed by the powerful flyer he had
seen a few nights before, the boy knew that he stood little chance of
success, and he only did it because it seemed the one thing possible.

The cloud was dense and chill as he entered it; its moisture clung to
his wings and made them heavy; his muscles seemed to stiffen, and motion
became more and more difficult. The wings behind him meanwhile came
closer.

He was flying along the surface of the mist now, his body and wings
hidden, and his head just above the level. He could see along its white,
even top. If he sank a few more inches it would be impossible to see at
all, or even to judge where he was going. Soon it rose level with his
lips, and at the same time he noticed a new smell in the air, faint at
first, but growing every moment stronger. It was a fresh, sweet odour,
yet it somehow added to his alarm, and stirred in him new centres of
uneasiness. He tried vainly to increase his speed and distance the wings
which continued to gain so steadily upon him from behind.

The cloud, apparently, was not everywhere of the same density, for here
and there he saw the tops of green hills below him as he flew. But he
could not understand why each green hill seemed to have a littl