for me to speak
to him from the upper air.

Just then I saw something white approaching me along the road. My
eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and I perceived that it
was an upturned face. I recognized the hurried gait, the form; it
was my wife. As she came near me, I called her name, and in the same
breath entreated her not to scream. It must have been an effort for
her to restrain herself, but she did it.

"You must help me to get down," I said, "without anybody seeing us."

"What shall I do?" she whispered.

"Try to catch hold of this string."

Taking a piece of twine from my pocket, I lowered one end to her.
But it was too short; she could not reach it. I then tied my
handkerchief to it, but still it was not long enough.

"I can get more string, or handkerchiefs," she whispered, hurriedly.

"No," I said; "you could not get them up to me. But, leaning against
the hotel wall, on this side, in the corner, just inside of the
garden gate, are some fishing-poles. I have seen them there every
day. You can easily find them in the dark. Go, please, and bring me
one of those."

The hotel was not far away, and in a few minutes my wife returned
with a fishing-pole. She stood on tiptoe, and reached it high in
air; but all she could do was to strike my feet and legs with it. My
most frantic exertions did not enable me to get my hands low enough
to touch it.

"Wait a minute," she said; and the rod was withdrawn.

I knew what she was doing. There was a hook and line attached to the
pole, and with womanly dexterity she was fastening the hook to the
extreme end of the rod. Soon she reached up, and gently struck at my
legs. After a few attempts the hook caught in my trousers, a little
below my right knee. Then there was a slight pull, a long scratch
down my leg, and the hook was stopped by the top of my boot. Then
came a steady downward pull, and I felt myself descending. Gently
and firmly the rod was drawn down; carefully the lower end was kept
free from the ground; and in a few moments my ankle was seized with
a vigorous grasp. Then some one seemed to climb up me, my feet
touched the ground, an arm was thrown around my neck, the hand of
another arm was busy at the back of my knapsack, and I soon stood
firmly in the road, entirely divested of negative gravity.

"Oh that I should have forgotten," sobbed my wife, "and that I
should have dropped your arms and let you go up into the air! At
first I thought that