Round the World in Seven Days

have to follow the course of the Tigris until it joined the larger river. It would be folly to attempt a direct flight to Karachi, for in so doing he would have to pass

rin and Gebel Mekhul into the Babylonian plain. From this point, keeping the hills well on his left, he steered south-east until about midnig

engine, but they both felt ravenous for a good square meal. Smith, however, had set his heart on completing his flight to Karachi, where his scheme woul

outhward opposite the projecting Oman peninsula, and thence ran almost due east to Karachi. The coast was for the most part hilly, and as he was now travelling at full speed there was always a risk, unless he flew high, of

ching far to right and left. There was no doubt that this was the Oman peninsula, which, jutting out from the Arabian mainland, almost closes the Gulf. Steering now a slightly more northward

come over the land, so that if anything happened to the engine he would at least have an opportunity of descending safe

this conclusion when there was a sudden snap in the framework of one of the planes. Looking round anxiously, he at once reduced the speed, feeling very thankful that the mischief had not developed during the storm, when the aeroplane must have inevitably crumpled up. Now, however, the weather was fair, and he could choose his landing-pl

yond the hamlet. Between it and the huts was an open space of considerable extent, and though when Rodier first drew his attention to the place

forge there,"

was such that, thirty or forty years before, Europeans who landed on any part of their seaboard would have done so at great peril. Smith, however, had a vague recollection of their having been taught a salutary lesson by the Karwan expedition, and no doubt the presence of British war vessels in the Gulf had done something to correct their turbulence. He had to choose be

packages from the dhow. When they saw the strange visitant from the sky descending upon them, they gave utterance to shrill cries of alarm, dropped their burdens, and fled in hot haste up the s

is is rather unlucky. We hav

"We shall not need now to buy rifles en route; we can

d the people won't be too well-disposed towards us, coming and stopping their little game. We'v

t present there is no one to look at. Th

haps haven't seen a white man before. Just look and see what'

look-out, and had already descried some of the natives peeping round the walls of the huts. Having taken a few steps he halted, looked inquiringly around, and hailed the lurking villagers with a stentorian "Ahoy!" At first there was no response, but on his advancing a little farther and repeating the call two or three swarthy and dirty-looking men

wanted, he saw a different figure emerge from the background, a small, bent, oliv

ahib," he

sh?" asked Smith eagerly, suspe

ine, sahib," replied

th in the village? You know what I mean: a

ar definition, but th

if that way." He pointed to

smith along, and I'll get y

ig trade in this place. They silly

right, and hur

loquy ensued, the man pointing now to the Englishman, now to the aeroplan

you come here, sahib. Yo

r carriages in which Englishmen were accustomed to make long journeys, and he promised to pay the smith well for any assistance he could give in repairing a slight injury which the carriage had suffered in a storm. The Hindu

f-crowns, pointing out that they were worth four rupees, and offered these as payment when the work was done. The Hindu recognized the King's head on the coins, and eagerly assured the Baluchis t

ves to delay, was incautious enough to show them a half-sovereign. Though the Hindu appeared to do his best to

ore, sahib," said th

th, pocketing the coin.

elled by the arrival of apparently all the inhabitants of the village, old and young, pre

he asked. "These asses won't take

ut the stay m

do without 'em. I daresay

the crowd curiously watching them. The plan had the desired effect. The Hindu came fo

ll have it when the work is done," replied S

orly equipped, having a very primitive forge and a pair of clumsy native bellows; but Rodier set to work to make the best of it, welding the broken stay with the smith's help, while his employer remained outside the hut to keep watch over the aeroplane, wh

rom a soda-water bottle and drank what appeared to be boiling liquid. Presently, however, he noticed that some of the men were quietly withdrawing towards the huts, behind which they disappeared. Among them was the Hindu, who was apparently su

oddy?" he calle

smith has took h

behind the huts. I wond

gently broke a hole in the

ge," he reported. "Having a pow-wow,

ith the stay. The sooner we

koned some of the lads forward, and made them understand by signs that he wished them to help him wheel the aeroplane round. The slope between it and the sea was very rough ground, but it afforded space for starting off, and the moment Rodier had finished his job he swung the aeroplane ro

n the point of clambering into his place, as he had often done before, by means of the carriage supporting the wheels. But the machine jolting over the rough ground delayed him. The yelling crowd rushed down, some hur

g upwards, and Rodier fell

then it recovered itself, and turning in a narrow circle swept back towards the confused knot of men on the beach. Smith planed down straight upon them, intending to land and rush to Rodier's assistance. But perceiving that the Frenchman was struggling on the ground, with a dozen turbaned figures clustering over him, he steered stra

dly hurt to rise; the rest of the crowd had taken to their heels, and the whole population was in full flight, the children screaming

rt, Roddy?"

dig or two. Let us get away from this,

ffled Baluchis. Half-a-dozen slugs pattered about it, piercing several holes in the planes. Already one of these had been gashed by a spea

ne and the boom of the air as the machine cut through it smothered his voice unless he bellowed. Only a few words passed between them as they flew along a little distance out to

in the hurry of their departure, he looked about for a suitable landing-place, where the finishing touches might be given. The coast was rocky and precipitous, and the tops of the cliffs were strewn for a considerable distance inland with innumerable boulders, large and small, which would render landing dangerous, and starting perhaps more dangerous still. At length, however, just as he was thinki

, Roddy," he said, as the

er," replied Rodier. "We can perhaps make

anything of the kind occurs again our

you say t

e you are no

scratches. You came in th

little at the Frenchman's mistake. "That's why we had bet

eed, but it was no longer visible. In a few minutes, however, the smoke again came into view, and as they rapidly approached it Smith was delighted to see that it came from the funnel of a small gunboat, which was steaming in the same direc

roplane planed down and soared over it at its own pace, ju

houted Smith thr

urward, bound for Bombay. W

ith, of the Imperturbab

What do you call t

g. "I say, sir, I've no time for expl

s my be

ifty miles up the coast, that's

nks for the tip. Can

re's a short jetty. Sorry I can't give you latitude and longitude. You

the aeroplane soared on like a swallow its d

mister," Rodier baw