For the next hour the steady hum of the great propeller was the only sound heard by the airmen, but just as Crewkerne had been passed a new note sounded—a steady umph! umph! umph! like the distant throbbing of a drum. "Jackson, do you hear that?" "Yes, sir—cylinder misfiring?" "We shall have to come down. What’s that ahead?" "Looks like another railway line, sir; and there is a town there, too—I can make out houses with the glasses." "That must be Chard. I shall come down when I see a good field." The monoplane began to drop. Fields and hedges were plainly visible. "Just put your glasses on to that big, green patch away to the right." "Racecourse, sir. First-class landing by the looks of it." The aeroplane banked steeply as Jim swung round to the right and commenced to descend. He stopped the engine and the machine dived down steeply, only to be checked as it neared the ground by a sudden rush of the propeller again, which stopped when it had given the necessary momentum. Now the wheels touched the turf as lightly as a bird, and after running along the ground for a short distance, it stopped nearly opposite the grand stand. Already people were running towards the racecourse from every direction, and Jim realised that the chance of his servant getting away unreported would be small. "Look here, Jackson, you must go by the South Western to Exeter, then change to the Great Western and book to Millbay station, Plymouth. When I order you to meet me at Exeter, remember that is only a ’blind’ for any reporters who may see you go, so you must stick to the story that you are meeting me there with more petrol. Understand?" "All right, sir." People began to arrive and questions were showered on Jim, who replied good-humouredly, and warned each newcomer not to come too near as he was about to start the engine again—a warning which was immediately emphasised by the throb of the engine itself, as Jackson tested the ignition. "All right, sir." Jim lit a cigarette, and taking a telegraph form from his pocket, wrote out a message to his Commanding Officer and handed it to Jackson. "Send this off at once and go on to Exeter by train. Have the petrol ready there for me, and I’ll pick you up at the place of which I told you." Jim said this in a voice which could be heard by every one present. Then he climbed into his seat again. "Stand back, please!" The crowd scattered, leaving a free run up the course. A minute later the monoplane was speeding away over the tree-tops and was soon lost to sight in the West. CHAPTER XXIII. SUCCESS.