"Get off the telephone tube, you idiot. You are sitting on it," he shouted. "We can't speak to one another." "Telephone be damned!" I managed to shout. "Get back to your seat. Don't play monkey-tricks up here." If you can imagine yourself fourteen thousand feet above the earth, sitting in an aeroplane, and the pilot letting go all his controls, as he stands on his feet shouting in your ear, you will be able to realise, but only to a very slight extent, what my feelings were at this precise moment. He returned to his seat. He was smiling. I fumbled about underneath and found the tube. Putting it to my mouth, I asked him what he meant by it. "That's all right, my dear chap," he said, "there's no need to get alarmed. The old bus will go along merrily on its own." "I'll believe all you say. In fact I'll believe anything you like to tell me, but I'd much rather you sit in your seat and control the machine," I replied. He chuckled, apparently enjoying the joke to the full, but during the remainder of the journey I made sure I was not sitting on the speaking tube. The mist was gradually clearing now. The sun shone gloriously, the clouds, a long way beneath us, looked more substantial; through the gaps in their fleecy whiteness the earth appeared. It seemed a long time since I had seen it. We were again coming to the edge of a cloud bank. The atmosphere beyond was exceedingly clear. "We are nearly home," said my companion. "Are you going to take any more scenes?" "Yes," I said, "I suppose you'll spiral down?" "Right-ho!" "I'll take a film showing the earth revolving. It'll look very quaint on the screen." "Here goes then. We are going to dive down to about six thousand feet, so hold on tight to your strap." The engines almost stopped. Suddenly we seemed to be falling earthwards. Down--down--down! We were diving as nearly perpendicular as it is possible to be. Sharp pains shot through my head. It was getting worse. The pain was horrible. The right side of my face and head seemed as if a hundred pin-points were being driven into it. I clutched my face in agony; then I realised the cause. Coming down from such a height, at so terrific a speed, the different pressure of the atmosphere affected the blood pressure on the head. Suddenly the downward rush was stopped. The plane was brought to an even keel. "I'm going to spiral now," said the pilot. "Ready?"