I could appreciate perfect roads, as dustless as a swept floor; the
shade of endless lines of trees; the ribbon of flowers that unrolled
beneath them; and the rich comfortable country that stretched off and
away, full of varied charm.

We rolled through many villages and towns, and I soon saw that the
parklike beauty of our first-seen city was no exception. Our swift
high-sweeping view from the 'plane had been most attractive, but lacked
detail; and in that first day of struggle and capture, we noticed
little. But now we were swept along at an easy rate of some thirty miles
an hour and covered quite a good deal of ground.

We stopped for lunch in quite a sizable town, and here, rolling slowly
through the streets, we saw more of the population. They had come out
to look at us everywhere we had passed, but here were more; and when we
went in to eat, in a big garden place with little shaded tables among
the trees and flowers, many eyes were upon us. And everywhere, open
country, village, or city--only women. Old women and young women and a
great majority who seemed neither young nor old, but just women; young
girls, also, though these, and the children, seeming to be in groups by
themselves generally, were less in evidence. We caught many glimpses of
girls and children in what seemed to be schools or in playgrounds, and
so far as we could judge there were no boys. We all looked, carefully.
Everyone gazed at us politely, kindly, and with eager interest. No one
was impertinent. We could catch quite a bit of the talk now, and all
they said seemed pleasant enough.

Well--before nightfall we were all safely back in our big room. The
damage we had done was quite ignored; the beds as smooth and comfortable
as before, new clothing and towels supplied. The only thing those women
did was to illuminate the gardens at night, and to set an extra watch.
But they called us to account next day. Our three tutors, who had not
joined in the recapturing expedition, had been quite busy in preparing
for us, and now made explanation.

They knew well we would make for our machine, and also that there was no
other way of getting down--alive. So our flight had troubled no one; all
they did was to call the inhabitants to keep an eye on our movements all
along the edge of the forest between the two points. It appeared that
many of those nights we had been seen, by careful ladies sitting snugly
in big trees by the riverbed, or up among the rocks.