them round."

For a few minutes the two men made a great show of activity,
completely disregarding the crowd curiously watching them. The plan
had the desired effect. The Hindu came forward and said that the smith
would accept the gold piece, if he were paid in advance.

"Not a bit of it. If he likes to help he shall have it when the work
is done," replied Smith, turning to resume his interrupted work.

The smith, now fearful of losing his customer, began to abuse the
Hindu for not completing the bargain. At length, with a show of
reluctance, Smith relented, and with the aid of the villagers the
aeroplane was wheeled to the smithy. It proved to be very poorly
equipped, having a very primitive forge and a pair of clumsy native
bellows; but Rodier set to work to make the best of it, welding the
broken stay with the smith's help, while his employer remained outside
the hut to keep watch over the aeroplane, which the people were
beginning to examine rather more minutely than he liked. To drive them
off, Smith set the engine working, causing a volume of smoke to belch
forth in the faces of the nearest men, who ran back, holding their
noses and crying out in alarm.

Smith filled in the minutes by opening a tin of sardines and eating
some of the fish sandwiched between biscuits. The sight of small fish
brought from a box struck the villagers with amazement, which was
redoubled when he removed the stopper from a soda-water bottle and
drank what appeared to be boiling liquid. Presently, however, he
noticed that some of the men were quietly withdrawing towards the
huts, behind which they disappeared. Among them was the Hindu, who was
apparently summoned, and departed with a look of uneasiness. Smith
went on with his meal unconcernedly, though he was becoming
suspicious, especially when he found by-and-by that all the men had
left him, the crowd consisting now only of women and children.

"Nearly done, Roddy?" he called into the hut.

"Yes, mister. The smith has took his hook, though."

"All the men have gone behind the huts. I wonder what they are up to."

Rodier took up a hammer, and gently broke a hole in the flimsy back
wall of the hut.

"There's a big crowd beyond the village," he reported. "Having a
pow-wow, too. They've got spears and muskets."

"That looks bad. Hurry up with the stay. The sooner we get out of this
the better."

He noticed that the smith had now rejoined the crowd. No doubt he
intended to mak