, he began to dip and soar around the orchard in
circles. He appeared to have forgotten his friends, watching anxiously
below. He did not notice that little Mrs. Gray's knees had suddenly
refused to support her, nor that she had sat flat on the ground in a state
of utter bewilderment at the sight of his sudden flight. David looked far
across at the beautiful rolling meadows, and fields dotted with farmhouses
and cottages. How he loved the fertile valley, with its little river
winding in and out between green banks! It was all so beautiful, but it
was time to descend. He must not give his pet too much liberty, or he
might rue his indiscretion. He headed his machine for the open space back
of the Omnibus House, and began the descent. Then, something snapped, and
he fell. He remembered as he fell the look of horror on the up-raised
faces of his friends, and then everything became a blank.

It all happened in a flash, much too quickly to do anything but stand and
wait until the aeroplane had crashed to the ground, but it seemed much
longer, and Anne remembered later that she had felt a curious impulse to
run away and hide. If David were to meet his death through this new toy,
she could not endure to stay and see it happen.

But David was far from dead. He was only stunned and dizzy from the swift
descent. He had not been high enough from the ground when the accident
occurred to sustain serious injuries. They lifted him from the machine and
laid him upon the grass, while Reddy ran to the brook and brought back his
cap filled with water.

Mrs. Gray produced her smelling salts which she always carried with her.
"Not for my own use, my dears," she always said, "but for the benefit of
other people."

Reddy loosened David's collar and dashed the water into his face; while
Hippy chafed the unconscious boy's wrists.

Presently David opened his eyes, looking vaguely about. He had a confused
idea that something had happened to him, but just what it was he could not
think. He looked up into the anxious faces of his friends who stood around
him. Then he remembered.

"I'm not hurt," he said in a rather weak voice. Then he sat up and smiled
feebly at the company. "I just had the wind knocked out of me. I am sure
no bones are broken. How about my pet bird? Has she smashed her little
ribs?"

"No, old fellow," exclaimed Hippy in a reassuring tone, for Hippy had
never been able to endure the sight of suffering or disappointment. "Her