I climbed fast, but long before I got into the cooler air above I was perspiring from every pore; the material of that garment, I imagine, must have been treated by some cunning chemical process, for it seemed to envelop the whole body in a strong glow of heat. And then began a chase which, like so much more I experienced on this adventure, would need the pen of a Poe or a De Quincey to describe. For some time I flew on in a downright delirium, unable to think this flight was not another wild, fantastic dream. The wonderful thrill of hurtling through the air at such speed; the uncanny power of these wings that bore me so easily and so well; the contrast between this swift retreat and our plodding, agonising tramp over the snows a month or two back--all combined to destroy my belief in the reality of what was happening. I had risen above the highest point of our route in what seemed a few minutes--though it can hardly have been less than an hour--and was whirling at a prodigious pace over the long gutter-like depressions which, fortunately for me, preserve in this region a general east-by-west trend. On either hand towered majestic peaks, wilder and grander in this eerie light even than they had looked to our fevered eyes when we came, and though my own altitude was far below their summits I knew I must be little short of four miles above sea level. Height-sickness I certainly felt: I could taste blood as it trickled down over my lips, and my breath came in long, violent gasps; yet this malady seemed to attack me far less dangerously than when moving on the ground--which I attributed in some degree to the glow of warmth I felt all over me from my clothing, and to the fact that I kept my arms for the most part through the thong loops of the wings, thus producing a violent exercise and augmented body-heat. I had glanced back several times for any sign of pursuit, but there was none. No doubt it was that that made me over confident. I must certainly have relaxed my vigilance, for now, suddenly looking up, I saw quite distinctly a figure flying ahead of me. How that form could have got past without my having any suspicion, I was utterly at a loss to imagine, yet there it was; and more uncanny still was the fact that when I now looked behind I saw _three_ figures only a few hundred yards from me. These were apparently the three pursuers I had seen over the city. I plunged furiously on. It seemed certain enough that if four enemies could "bracket" me in this way both behind and in front, they would have small difficulty in heading me off if I turned out of my course; moreover, to do that would necessitate climbing over the enormous ridges to north or south, at a height where the thin air might and probably would cause me to collapse altogether. In any case, safety lay to the east, safety and inhabited if uncivilised lands, and I knew that every minute was bringing me a mile nearer to it.