Page:Life in a thousand worlds.djvu/325

 "But I am no spirit," I said assuringly.

"You cannot be otherwise," she insisted.

"Believe what you wish, we have no time for parley. I am delighted to visit your world and I desire, if possible, to have some mysteries solved. Can you help me?"

Plume, for that is the name I called her, was much unsettled. She scanned my form with wild curiosity and I feared that she would at once use her wings at their swiftest.

"Pray do not fly hence," I quickly urged. "I will never harm you, even though we could converse together forever. Believe me true, and rest your wings and heart in peace."

My words had some effect toward calming her mind and with more placid features she still looked at me half shrinkingly.

"Are you not happy that you have wings with which fly?" I continued, hoping to create a more natural familiarity.

"Happy? No more than for my feet, my ears, or my life," she answered in a more composed manner. "You say that