He turned away and commenced to examine the machine, to see that it had not been damaged in alighting—and to give Rupert a chance of recovering himself. The latter was trembling from head to foot. He had been brave enough when he had been hunted by armed men through the fog, and his nerve had not deserted him when he came out from his place of concealment at Post Bridge Hall and begged to be given a chance to fight for his life. And all the time he had been hidden in the semi-darkness of the cellar adjoining Jim Crichton’s workroom at the Hall he had felt confident that he would eventually obtain his freedom. But now that the hour had come, now that he stood on the vast moorland beneath the glorious blue sky, no longer wearing the badge of shame, to all intents and purposes free, his nerve failed him and his courage suddenly oozed through his feet. He started at every sound—the call of a curlew, a distant sheep bell, the rattle of a stone beneath his boot. Jim unstrapped a parcel from the front seat of the monoplane and threw it on to the turf. "Now then, Dale, you’ve got to be quick," he said brusquely, as if giving orders to one of his own men. "Undo that suit case. You’ll find a uniform; take off the suit you’re wearing and get into it. You mustn’t waste a moment. I may have been seen descending, but I don’t think it’s likely from the height I was up." Again Rupert tried to speak, but the words rattled incoherently in his throat. He commenced to change his clothes in a way that would have won the approval of a quick-change music-hall artist. When he had finished he packed up the blue suit of clothes and Jim strapped the case on to the monoplane again. Then he looked at Rupert critically. "Yes, you’ll do. You had better brush your moustache up a bit—so." He gave a little laugh. "Gad, you would make a very good soldier. Let’s see you salute." Rupert cast an anxious eye round the horizon. "You said there wasn’t a moment to lose—some one may have seen you descend—this means life or death to me! ... and for you, the risk——" Jim stepped forward and laid his hand on Rupert’s shoulder. "Come, pull yourself together, man. You’ll want all your courage in an hour’s time when we land at Plymouth. You haven’t forgotten what I’ve told you? ... I started from Netheravon with my soldier servant, Jackson. Dropped him at Chard, and he went on by rail to Exeter, where I picked him up again—you’re Jackson!" "Yes, I remember all that," Rupert replied hastily. "Now, when we arrive at Plymouth be careful not to speak a word. Yes or no will be quite enough. Go straight to the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, and refuse all invitations to the canteen or mess. You know what to do at the hotel? Now, try that salute again, the first was rotten. It’s more important than you think. We mustn’t take the slightest risk of failure now."