He had
attributed this weakness to the fact that she was a woman, although
he had been rather troubled by the apparent inconsistency of
his hatred for her and his repeated protection of her when danger
threatened.
With an irritable toss of his head he wheeled suddenly toward the
west as though by turning his back upon the fast disappearing plane
he might expunge thoughts of its passengers from his memory. At
the edge of the clearing he paused; a giant tree loomed directly
ahead of him and, as though actuated by sudden and irresistible
impulse, he leaped into the branches and swung himself with apelike
agility to the topmost limbs that would sustain his weight. There,
balancing lightly upon a swaying bough, he sought in the direction
of the eastern horizon for the tiny speck that would be the British
plane bearing away from him the last of his own race and kind that
he expected ever again to see.
At last his keen eyes picked up the ship flying at a considerable
altitude far in the east. For a few seconds he watched it speeding
evenly eastward, when, to his horror, he saw the speck dive suddenly
downward. The fall seemed interminable to the watcher and he
realized how great must have been the altitude of the plane before
the drop commenced. Just before it disappeared from sight its
downward momentum appeared to abate suddenly, but it was still
moving rapidly at a steep angle when it finally disappeared from
view behind the far hills.
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