face and his garment lugged at his body as the stem pointed round to the
west. The two men looked into each other's eyes.

"Sire, there are rules--"

"Not where I am concerned," said Graham. "You seem to forget."

The aeronaut scrutinised his face. "No," he said. "I do not forget,
Sire. But in all the earth--no man who is not a sworn aeronaut--has ever
a chance. They come as passengers--"

"I have heard something of the sort. But I'm not going to argue these
points. Do you know why I have slept two hundred years? To fly!"

"Sire," said the aeronaut, "the rules--if I break the rules--"

Graham waved the penalties aside.

"Then if you will watch me--"

"No," said Graham, swaying and gripping tight as the machine lifted its
nose again for an ascent. "That's not my game. I want to do it myself.
Do it myself if I smash for it! No! I will. See. I am going to clamber
by this to come and share your seat. Steady! I mean to fly of my own
accord if I smash at the end of it. I will have something to pay for
my sleep. Of all other things--. In my past it was my dream to fly.
Now--keep your balance."

"A dozen spies are watching me, Sire!"

Graham's temper was at end. Perhaps he chose it should be. He swore.
He swung himself round the intervening mass of levers and the aeropile
swayed.

"Am I Master of the earth?" he said. "Or is your Society? Now. Take your
hands off those levers, and hold my wrists. Yes--so. And now, how do we
turn her nose down to the glide?"

"Sire," said the aeronaut.

"What is it?"

"You will protect me?"

"Lord! Yes! If I have to burn London. Now!"

And with that promise Graham bought his first lesson in aerial
navigation. "It's clearly to your advantage, this journey," he said with
a loud laugh--for the air was like strong wine--"to teach me quickly and
well. Do I pull this? Ah! So! Hullo!"

"Back, Sire! Back!"

"Back--right. One--two--three--good God! Ah! Up she goes! But this is
living!"

And now the machine began to dance the strangest figures in the air. Now
it would sweep round a spiral of scarcely a hundred yards diameter, now
it would rush up into the air and swoop down again, steeply, swiftly,
falling like a hawk, to recover in a rushing loop that swept it high
again. In one of these descents it seemed driving straight at the
drifting park of balloons in the southeast, and only curved about
and cleared them by a sudden recovery of dexterity. The extraordinary
swiftness and s