far, with them wings and that
tail you ought to settle so lightly you wouldn't break an egg shell."

This seemed to strengthen the bird-man; he drew in a few deep breaths,
gazing heavenward, then across the river at Krepp's Knob, then below him
at the river. Alfred was all a-tremble. He remembered that Node said:
"You must mark your course, your starting point, your landing place."
Alfred wondered in his mind whether Node would cross to Krepp's or only
cross Dunlap's Creek over Duck Leonard's mill.

Node flapped his wings again. This time, with each flap of the wings,
Alfred gave the rear extension a gentle lift. Node would rise four or
five inches with each lift. He did nor realize that Alfred was lending
help to his efforts. After a more forcible lift of the tail than any
Alfred had yet given it, Node, turning his head, with a triumphant look,
shouted: "When I say 'Three,' I'm going, but don't you do anything, jest
let me handle her. Let go the rear extension."

[Illustration: Node's Flight]

Pointing the wings heavenward, gazing up as if in prayer, raising
himself on his tip-toes, straining every nerve, in a voice tremulous
with excitement, he began: "One," stretching higher, he shouted: "Two,"
rising on his tip-toes, he reached the edge of the barn, as he fairly
yelled: "Three."

The wings came down beautifully, but they did not rise again. As Node
stepped off the edge of the barn he descended instead of ascending, the
rear extension got sort of tangled on the comb of the roof, Node and the
machine dangled in the air momentarily.

As Alfred dropped through the opening in the roof, he heard Node claw a
time or two at the weather-boarding; something seemed to let go, to rip,
then, there was a dull sound as of a bag of sand falling from a height
to the earth.

There was the sound of footsteps coming from several directions. Alfred
heard all this while he was moving faster than he had ever moved before.
Node did not beat him to the earth by a great margin. As Alfred flew out
of the door of the barn, he saw Jack Rathmell doubled over the fence
laughing as only Jack could laugh.

Ere Node was disentangled from the wrecked airship, ere they escorted
him to "Had"--he declined to be carried--Alfred was safely hidden away
in Alex Smith's hay mow. Buried under the hay he kept peering through a
convenient crack which gave him a view of the territory between his home
and Node's residence. Somehow he figured the whole th