ore of journalists buzzed about him, but upon
them McMurtrie smiled with a look of conscious superiority. Smith
whispered to him. The editor nodded.

"Gentlemen!" he shouted, holding up his hand.

"Silence!... Hear, hear!... S-s-sh!... Don't make such a row!...
Same to you!... Let's hear what Jack McMurtrie has got to say."

Thus the babel was roared down.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said McMurtrie; "Mr. Smith--"

"Three cheers for Smith!" shouted some one; horns blurted; from the
edge of the crowd the first notes of "For he's a jolly good fellow"
were heard, and they sang it through twice, so that those who had
missed the beginning should not be hurt in their feelings.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began McMurtrie again, when he could make his
voice heard, "Mr. Smith, who is rather hoarse from constant exposure
to the night air, asks me to thank you for the warmth of your
reception. He has been good enough to give me full particulars of his
wonderful journey, which you will find in the final edition of the
_Sphere_. As I've no doubt at all that you are anxious to have the
chance of seeing Mr. Smith performing the evolutions which up to this
time have been witnessed by next to nobody but the stars and the
flying fishes, he has consented, at my request, to give a
demonstration, provided that you'll allow him a clear run, and don't
be accessory to your own manslaughter."

This announcement was greeted with loud cheers. The crowd fell back,
allowing Smith a free course to the aeroplane.

"Bedad," said McMurtrie; "I wouldn't wonder but they tear me to pieces
before I get safe home. But I'll skip into a motor-car as soon as you
are started. Now, is there anything I can do for you before you go?"

"Only send two cables for me; one to my sister: here's the address;
say simply 'All well.' The other to Barracombe, 532 Mincing Lane,
London, asking him to meet me at home at eleven p.m., to-morrow. You
won't forget?"

"I will not. But you're a cool hand, to be sure."

A space was cleared; the aeroplane ran off, soared aloft, and for a
few seconds circled over the heads of the spectators. Then a voice
came to them from the air, not so much like Longfellow's falling star
as an emission from a gramaphone.

"Good-bye, friends. Thanks for your kind reception. Sorry I can't stay
any longer; but I've got to be in Portsmouth, England within
twenty-four hours. Good-bye."

The aeroplane wheeled eastward, and shot forward at a speed t