Page:The Zeppelin Destroyer.djvu/70

 'But—darling but—what has happened?' I managed to ask, looking up into those dear eyes of hers utterly amazed.

'May I tell him, nurse?' she inquired, turning to the buxom woman beside her.

The nurse nodded assent, whereupon she said:

'Well—you've had a nasty spill! One of your wings suddenly buckled—and you fell. It's a perfect miracle that you were not killed. I saw the accident just as I was going up in a spiral, and came down again as fast as ever I could. When I reached you, I found you pinned beneath the engine, and everybody believed you to be stone-dead. But, happily, they got you out—and brought you here.'

'What is this place?' I asked, gazing around in wonderment. 'Where am I?'

'The Hendon Cottage Hospital,' was her reply.

'How long have I been here?'

'Four days. The papers have had a lot about your accident.'

'The papers make a lot of ado about nothing,' I replied, smiling. 'To them, every airman who happens to have a nose-dive is a hero. But how did it happen?'

'Nobody knows. You seemed to be ascending all right, when suddenly I saw your right-hand plane collapse, and you came down plumb,' she said. 'As you may imagine, darling, I rushed back, fearing the worst, and through these four awful days I have dreaded that you might never speak to me again.'

'What does Theed say?'