our name's not Smith?"

"Indeed it is!"

"Holy Moses!" ejaculated McMurtrie, and, to Smith's amazement, he
turned his back and sprinted at the speed of a race-horse towards the
club-house a few hundred yards away. He rushed to the telephone box,
rang up his office, and, catching at his breath, waited with feverish
eagerness for the answer to his call.

"You there, Daniels? I'm McMurtrie. For any sake stop press, cancel
that leader, put back the tariff, votes for women, anything, only
stop it.... What!... Edition off the machine!... Don't let a copy
leave the office.... What!... First deliveries made!... Recall 'em,
or the paper's ruined. Smith's here!... No, This-something Smith ...
no, you ass, the naval lieutenant, he flying man: don't you
understand!... understand!... are you there?... Get out a special
edition at once.... Where's Davis? Bring him to the 'phone to take a
note.... That you, Davis? Take this down.... 'As we go to press we
have the best of evidence for the statement that the marvellous
world-flight of that intrepid young airman, Lieutenant Thistledown
Smith, of the British Navy, is a sober fact, and not, as our sceptical
wiseacres have asserted, an ingeniously concocted hoax. Lieutenant
Smith descended at 3:50 this afternoon on the Scarborough Bluffs,
having accomplished the enormous distance from San Francisco without a
stop, in the marvellous time of twelve hours, twenty-one minutes, and
fourteen seconds. In our final edition, which will be accelerated, we
shall publish an interview with Lieutenant Smith, with exclusive
particulars of his remarkable voyage and his romantic career."

"I'm not so sure of that," said Smith dryly. He had entered with Mr.
Cleave, and heard the frenzied editor's concluding sentences. "To
begin with, I stopped at St. Paul, and was lucky enough to escape
without attracting any attention. I shouldn't have been here but for
the storm."

"For goodness' sake, Lieutenant, don't tell anybody that. A little
stop at St. Paul isn't worth making a fuss about. You'll come along
into the city with me, and we will get a few of the boys together and
give you a topping dinner."

"I'd rather be hanged," said Smith. "The fact is, I only came down to
get enough petrol on board to take me across the Atlantic. You can
tell me where to get what I want?"

"Indeed I can. I tell you what. I'll 'phone for the petrol--how much
do you want?--and get it out here in no time. You won't mind me
r