ir. The effort
was a perfectly easy muscular effort from the shoulders that came
naturally, though he did not quite understand how he accomplished it.
The wings rose in a fine, graceful sweep, curving over his head till the
tips of the feathers met, touching the walls as they rose, and almost
reaching to the ceiling.

He gave a howl of delight, for this sight was more than he could manage
without some outlet for his pent-up emotion; and at the same moment the
trap-door shot open, and the governess came into the room with such a
bang and a clatter that Jimbo knew at once her excitement was as great
as his own. In her hands she carried the blouse she had taken away the
night before. She held it out to him without a word. Her eyes were
shining like electric lamps. In less than a second he had slipped his
wings through the neatly-made slits, but before he could practise them
again, Miss Lake rushed over to him, her face radiant with happiness.

"Jimbo! My darling Jimbo!" she cried--and then stopped short, apparently
unable to express her emotion.

The next instant he was enveloped, wings and all, in a warm confusion of
kisses, congratulations and folds of hood.

When they became disentangled again the governess went down on her
knees and made a careful examination; she pulled the wings out to their
full extent and found that they stretched about four feet and a half
from tip to tip.

"They _are_ beauties!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, "and full grown
and strong. I'm not surprised they took so long coming."

"Long!" he echoed, "I thought they came awfully quickly."

"Not half so quickly as they'll go," she interrupted; adding, when she
saw his expression of dismay, "I mean, you'll fly like the wind with
them."

Jimbo was simply breathless with excitement. He wanted to jump out of
the window and escape at once. The blue sky and the sunshine and the
white flying clouds sent him an irresistible invitation. He could not
wait a minute longer.

"Quick," he cried, "I can't wait! They may go again. Show me how to use
them. Oh! do show me."

"I'll show you everything in time," she answered. There was something in
her voice that made him pause in his excitement. He looked at her in
silence for some minutes.

"But how are _you_ going to escape?" he asked at length. "You haven't
got"----he stopped short.

The governess stepped back a few paces from him. She threw back the hood
from her face. Then she lifted the long b