repute, and who at this time was an ardent amateur. It was half an hour
before midnight when the party took their places, and, getting smartly
away from the crowd in the gala grounds, shot over the river, and
shortly were over the town of Greenwich with the lights of London
well ahead. Then their course took them over Kennington Oval, Vauxhall
Bridge, and Battersea, when they presently heard the strains of a Scotch
polka. This came up from the then famous Gardens of Cremorne, and, the
breeze freshening, it was but a few minutes later when they stood over
Kingston, by which time it became a question whether, being now clear
of London, they should descend or else live out the night and take what
thus might come their way. This course, as the most prudent, as well
as the most fascinating, was that which commended itself, and at that
moment the hour of midnight was heard striking, showing that a fairly
long distance had been covered in a short interval of time.

From this period they would seem to have lost their way, and though
scattered lights were sighted ahead, they were soon in doubt as to
whether they might not already be nearing the sea, a doubt that was
strengthened by their hearing the cry of sea-fowl. After a pause, lights
were seen looming under the haze to sea-ward, which at times resembled
water; and a tail like that of a comet was discerned, beyond which was a
black patch of considerable size.

The patch was the Isle of Wight, and the tail the Water from
Southampton. They were thus wearing more south and towards danger. They
had no Davy lamp with which to read their aneroid, and could only tell
from the upward flight of fragments of paper that they were descending.
Another deficiency in their equipment was the lack of a trail rope
to break their fall, and for some time they were under unpleasant
apprehension of an unexpected and rude impact with the ground, or
collision with some undesirable object. This induced them to discharge
sand and to risk the consequences of another rise into space, and as
they mounted they were not reassured by sighting to the south a ridge of
lighter colour, which strongly suggested the coast line.

But it was midsummer, and it was not long before bird life awakening was
heard below, and then a streak of dawn revealed their locality, which
was over the Exe, with Sidmouth and Tor Bay hard by on their left.
Then from here, the land jutting seawards, they confidently traversed
Dartmoo