The tops of the Chilterns, be recognised in order that an Cotswolds, Pennines, Cheviots, accurate course may be mainand the hills of the Scottish tained, and alterations in the Border are far more often than strength and direction of the not obscured by cloud during wind near the ground are so most of the day. And even frequent, and often so great, the tops of the South and North in England, that on comparaDowns, Marlborough Downs, tively short cross-country flights and hills no higher than the dead reckoning is very undeYorkshire and Lincolnshire pendable. Wolds, are frequently within a few feet of the clouds. Almost worse, however, than cloud to contend with is the black or yellowish-brown atmosphere, usually mixed with rain, which reaches from the ground up to about three thousand feet all round the big manufacturing areas of the Midlands, the north-east and north-west ports, Glasgow, and the Forth and Clyde Canal. Visibility here is usually so bad that many a cross-country pilot has lost himself, and been compelled either to descend and inquire, or run the risk of going many miles out of his way. For the country is a mass of industrial townships, knitted together by a confusing network of railways, and the four greatest aids to the crosscountry pilot-coast-line, hill ranges, large rivers, and distinct railways—are largely absent, or obscured. But if we had aircraft in which we could let ourselves down slowly and vertically, we could make use of meteorological reports regarding the upper winds (which are more constant than those at ground level), and of our course and distance indicator, and of our compass, and could venture safely above the clouds (or through them, if very high), and at the end of a suitable period of time, come down to have a look at the country and find out if we were near our destination a Alternatively we want means of seeing through clouds and smoke. Considerable claims have been made for directional wireless, but with aircraft which have to keep moving at seventy miles an hour, it is rather like trying to control a bull in a china shop by hypnotising him. Until we get one of these improvements, flying in England will remain what it is to Features on the ground must day-a fascinating risky sport. A DEBT OF HONOUR. BY FUNDI. "You," I said to my wife, owe me five shillings, and since it is a debt of honour, I hope that you will take immediate steps to see that I am paid off!" "I shall want to check the score first," she retaliated. Our guest was shovelling up his winnings. He'd had a good evening. "I've never heard that phrase since I heard it on the lips of a skipper of ours," he remarked. couldn't handle,-and up to the time we sent the Moorhen we'd thought the place dead, as far as the possibility of deepsea cargo was concerned. Jennings," I said to the skipper when he came up to the office one morning, "you might have a look round San Midi while you're down there and see what's doing. It looks as though the place might be waking up." "You mean you-you wish me to go ashore there, sir?" "What- debt of honour,' he almost stammered. do you mean? He nodded. "And I shall never hear it again without remembering the yarn he told me. You don't know South America, do you?" "No," I said, putting down my pencil and sitting back in my chair. "But if you've got a story? Why not?" I asked. "If I remember rightly you were in the coastwise trade years ago, weren't you? And as he nodded, "Then you'll know the place inside out, of course." "But-but I'd rather not land there, sir," he stammered again. 66 Rather not? For a mo"I have," he said. "Listen ment I stared at him. "Rather not land there?" I repeated blankly. to this. Two years ago we had occasion to send a boat down to a place which I will call San Midi. Now, although our boats run from A to S we had never before done anything with San Midi, which lies, I might mention, almost midway between the two places. There was no trade there, for one thing-at least nothing which the little coastwise craft Jennings fumbled about with his cap. "If I go ashore, I shall probably never come back!" he got out at last. "Oh, well," I laughed easily, relieved that it was nothing more recent," they'll have forgotten it by this time!" "They'll never forget," said Jennings gloomily. "I'd never "I'd never dare to set foot in San Midi, not again!" I admit that I was unpleasantly surprised. I'd known the man pretty intimately for upwards of five years-in fact, ever since he had been with us, --and I'd never had reason to think him other than he had appeared to be. A big, openhanded, open-hearted chap, a fine seaman, unmarried, past the years of indiscretion, just the type of man we liked to get into our service. "Sit down, Jennings," I said. "You'd better tell me all about it." And as he sat down, "It might be murder," I added, "judging by the look of you." And it is murder so they say!" he answered with startling abruptness. "Murder?" I gasped. For a long while I sat motionless. 'Murder!' I thought. 'Good Lord!' I looked again at the man before me. It didn't seem possible. I ought to have let it go at that, I suppose, but having known Jennings for so long, and feeling in a way responsible for him, I asked him how in the world it had come about. "I can't imagine you committing murder," I said. "And I didn't, sir," he assured me quickly. "It was as clean an accident as ever I've known. But for all that " he hesitated a moment-“ the circumstances were too strong for me. Nobody would ever believe me, sir, and so I'm afraid-I'm afriad I can't go back to San Midi. If the Moorhen goes to San Midi, either I must stay aboard her, or some one else must go in command. I daren't put foot on that accursed shore, sir, and that's the plain truth of it. It 'ud be more than my life's worth!" Now, as I think I've told you, South America is a deuced queer country, and life out there is raw. Killings are only a shade less common than in the great U.S.A., and create only a shade more interest, so that I wasn't as much shocked as intrigued at Jennings' disclosures. same being owned by Messrs P—, which really meant that I was but little better than an A.B. In those days, sir, there was a girl named Dolores in San Midi-a Spaniard, she was, and as pretty a picture as ever a man clapped eyes on. She used to do a turn at the casino o' nights, dancing and so forth, and there were quite a few who gave her their money to put on the wheel for them. Luck? She had the luck of the very devil, sir, and many a nice little wad have I won at her dictation. If she liked you, you won; but if she didn't like you, then you didn't win, and the fellow who handled the rake never groused about the oddity, because she liked so very few men and disliked so very many that in the aggregate he came out well on top. No doubt the ball was heavily loaded-in fact, I know it was, -but as long as I continued winning I didn't care if it was loaded to the very eyes! And I did win, and I won often, because you see, sir, Doloreser-liked me." "And you?" I prompted. "Me?" Jennings hesitated a moment. "Well, since I asked her to marry me, sir, you can guess what I thought about her!" ever I got a ship of my own. Confident? I don't think so, sir, because you see I held a mate's certificate even then. I knew I was going right to the very top. "Well, the old Phoebe came and went with the regularity of clockwork, but although the comings were mighty pleasant, the goings, sir, were the very devil! Every time I saw her I got more keen about her, until the time came when I began to think the sea was too slow for me. You see, I'd struck a bad patch in the Phoebe. The skipper and the mate both looked good for another twenty years, and since I had to stick tight in the Phoebe-she being the only ship to call at San Midi,-I couldn't quite see how I was ever going to get my promotion. Perhaps you don't know how the junior officers of a ship hang upon the health of their seniors? Good Lord, sir, when I was in the Phoebe I could have told you just how many grey hairs our skipper was trying to hide, while the bare news of the old man being down with an attack of his all too infrequent stomach pains was enough to send every officer flying to his kit to look up that extra gold band. But it's slow work, sir, waiting for dead men's shoes, and I'd just begun to think about trying to get a job ashore-at San Midi for preference, — when something happened which put that right out of the question. "It was one night at the casino. I was playing at the wheel, with Dolores directing a good scrap. Therefore, like the betting, when some swab the fool I was, I went for the heaved along and started to gentleman, and although at make a dead set at her. Well, first it was just him and me, in a place like San Midi-and before you could say knife it especially in the casino-it's was the casino and me! always unwise for a foreigner to create a disturbance, and in my case doubly so, since the owners strongly objected to us officers getting into any scrapes with the local gentry. 'One scrape and a caution, two and the sack!' was their rule, and they stuck to it, too, by gum! as many a poor devil hanging around the beach can easily testify. "Him!' snorted Dolores, when I told her that it would be as well if we cleared out for a while. Him? Why, you could eat him!' "And so I could have, for that matter, but that wasn't the point. Eating people was one of the things our owners wouldn't stand for; but when I ventured to explain that to Dolores, all she said was that I was afraid of him. Me, mark you, afraid of that kind of jackanapes! "Why, I could break him in half with my bare hands!' I told her. "Then break him!' says she. "Now, every sailorman is a fool, sir, and I've never been other than a very normal sailorman. Half the trouble in my life has been caused by a too ready use of my fists, and in my younger days, sir, I candidly admit that there was nothing I enjoyed more than "I, of course, finished up in the calaboose, and that within ten minutes of the start; and it wasn't until I had an opportunity of giving myself the look-over that I discovered I'd got a nasty jab clean through my forearm. I hoped that Dolores would remember that thrust, for I'd got it in defending her. to "And look here, you,' I said the gringo who presently came to stare at me through the grille in the door, 'I've got to be back in my ship before the morning tide! "More likely to be in heaven!' says he in Spanish. Why?' I scowled. 666 |