A hearty laugh followed this remark, but the aeronaut did not venture a reply until the squire said,—
“What do you think of that, gentlemen?”
“Perhaps the sportsman was on other people’s property,” said Harry Goodall.
“That is a question we will leave for the present,” replied the squire.
“Is Doctor Peters still in the park, Bennet?”
“I believe he has gone to the post-office, squire, about an answer to a telegram he sent to Sydenham when the balloon arrived.”
“Oh, that’s it, is it? Well, the doctor may be on the staff of the Times for what I know; he is a most singular character. One can scarcely take seriously all that he has to say of himself. But you go on in advance, Bennet, and say that we are on our way down.”
“What may be your pilot’s name, pray?” asked Squire Dove.
“Tom Trigger,” replied the aeronaut.
“An expressive name. Is he a good shot?”