curity
returned, and he felt safe and happy.

Once, during the day, she came up to see him, and this time with final
instructions. Jimbo listened with rapt attention.

"To-night, or to-morrow night we start," she said in a quiet voice. "You
must wait till you hear me calling----"

"But sha'n't we start together?" he interrupted.

"Not exactly," she replied. "I'm doing everything possible to put him
off the scent, but it's not easy, for once Fright knows you he's always
on the watch. Even if he can't prevent your escape, he'll try to send
you home to your body with such a shock that you'll be only 'half there'
for the rest of your life."

Jimbo did not quite understand what she meant by this, and returned at
once to the main point.

"Then the moment you call I'm to start?"

"Yes. I shall be outside somewhere. It depends on the wind and weather a
little, but probably I shall be hovering above the trees. You must dash
out of the window and join me the moment you hear me call. Clear the
wall without sinking into the yard, and mind he doesn't tear your wings
off as you fly by."

"What will happen, though, if I don't find you?" he asked.

"You might get lost. If he succeeds in getting me out of the way first,
you're sure to get lost----"

"But I've had long flights without getting lost," he objected.

"Nothing to this one," she replied. "It will be tremendous. You see,
Jimbo, it's not only distance; it's change of condition as well."

"I don't mind what it is so long as we escape together," he said,
puzzled by her words.

He kept his eyes fixed on her face. It seemed to him she was changing
even as he looked at her. A sort of veil lifted from her features. He
fancied he could see the shape of the door through her body.

"Oh, please, Miss Lake----" he began in a frightened voice, taking a
step towards her. "What is the matter? You look so different!"

"Nothing, dearest boy, is the matter," she replied faintly. "I feel sad
at the thought of your--of our going, that's all. But that's nothing,"
she added more briskly, "and remember, I've told you exactly what to do;
so you can't make any mistake. Now good-bye for the present."

There was a smile on her face that he had never seen there before, and
an expression of tenderness and love that he could not fail to
understand. But even as he looked she seemed to fade away into a
delicate, thin shadow as she moved slowly towards the trap-door. Jimbo
stretched out his