CHAPTER XXII

UP IN A BALLOON

It was a good thing the fair came during the vacation season, otherwise there would have been slim classes in the schools of Darewell, judging by the throng of boys and girls at the small city of tents, the next day. It seemed that every youngster in the county was on hand long before the time set for the opening.

Many came to watch the men put the big tent up, and the four chums were among this crowd. There was much to interest them in the way the canvas was handled, and to see what appeared a tangled mass of ropes and coverings be evolved into a big shelter, gay with flags and bunting.

"I want to watch 'em get the balloon ready," said Ned, after they had seen the main tent well under way.

"So do I," chimed in Bart.

The big bag that was destined to sail through the air was being prepared off to one side, and men were laying pipes from a gas main to where it was to be filled. It was a modern affair, intended to be inflated with illuminating vapor instead of hot air as is sometimes the case.

"I wonder how high up it goes?" asked Bart.

"Let's inquire of one of the men," suggested Frank.

There was such a big crowd around the laborers that they found it almost impossible to work. They fairly had to shove some of the boys and other spectators out of the way.

"Don't believe they'll have much time to answer questions," ventured Fenn.

Just then a big man, who seemed to be in charge of matters, called to one of the assistants, a short chap.

"Hi, Sam, bring five of those ballast bags over here and get a move on! Don't go to sleep! We haven't got all day!"

The little man glanced at a pile of bags of sand near where the boys were standing. Each bag had a rope handle with a hook attached to it. The little man dropped the coil of rope he had in his arms.

"Bring five of 'em over!" he exclaimed. "Must think I'm Sandow. It's all I can do to lift one. They weigh forty pounds a piece," and, still grumbling, the little man tackled the bags.

It was evident that two, at the most, were all he could manage. Ned, who was watching him saw an opportunity.

"Come on, fellows," he whispered to his chums. "We'll give him a hand and maybe he'll tell us something about the balloon."

An instant later the four boys hurried to the pile of ballast.

"We'll help you," said Bart. "Where do you want 'em?"

"Oh!" exclaimed the little man evidently somewhat surprised at the offer of help. "Right over there where the boss is. Say, you boys are all right!"

The four chums each took hold of a bag. They found them about all they wanted to carry.

"How high up does the balloon go?" asked Fenn, determined to take advantage of the opportunity.

"Thousand feet," the man replied. "It's held fast by a thin wire cable that goes over a drum. You boys going up?"

"I guess so," replied Ned.

"Interested in balloons; eh?"

"Sure thing," replied Bart. "Have you been running 'em long?"

"Fifteen years. Ain't much I don't know about 'em, though I don't go up very often. I won't do the parachute business, and they want a man who does that now-a-days. I'm getting too old for that."

By this time the ballast had been deposited where the man in charge wanted it.

"Hook it into the cordage now," he ordered to the little man, "and you take charge around here, Bill. She's filling now and I'm going to breakfast."

"All right," responded Bill, the newly-made acquaintance of the chums. The boys wanted to ask him more questions, but he saved them the trouble.

"Ever see a balloon fill?" he inquired.

"No. How do they do it?" asked Frank.

"First we spread the bag out on the ground," the little man explained. "Then we see to the top valve. That's to let the gas out when it's up in the air. There's a cord runs from the valve down to the basket. You pull it a little bit and two little trap doors, worked by springs open, and the vapor escapes from the top. Then we have what's called the 'ripping cord.' That's colored red. It hangs down just as the other one does. Only if you yank that it tears a strip out of the balloon and lets the gas out in a hurry."

"What happens then?" asked Ned.

"You come down in a hurry, that's all. It's only used for emergency. Well, after we get the bag laid out the way we want it, and the gas pipes connected, we lay the cordage or net over it. Then the balloon begins to fill. We hook on the sand bags, all round the edge of the netting, so's to keep her steady as she fills. When the gas begins to lift the bags a bit we hook 'em on lower down in the netting, and so on, until the balloon is full. Then we hitch on the basket, put in the proper amount of ballast, and it's all ready to go up."

"You let it go up a thousand feet and then pull it down by the wire cable?" asked Bart.

"That's it. It can make a lot of trips during a day with one filling of gas. When it begins to collapse we put in more."

"Suppose it should break away?" asked Ned.

"It never has happened with this outfit, though of course it might. I had one get away once."

"What happened?"

"Why my assistant and myself were in it. We didn't get scared, as we were old hands at the business. We just pulled the valve cord and let ourselves down easy. The bad part of it was it was at the seashore and we came down in the ocean. We lost the balloon but we saved our lives."

"Did you ever have to pull the ripping cord?" asked Bart.

"Once. You see that's to use when you want to land in a hurry. I was up in the balloon once and it began to descend. Gas leaked out and I didn't know it. There was a strong wind and I was being blown out across Lake Michigan that time. It was a case of coming down quick and hard on dry land or being blown out over the lake. I yanked the ripping cord."

"What happened?" asked Fenn, as the little man stopped.

"Broke both legs," he replied. "Laid up two months. That sort of discouraged me and I haven't gone up much since. Make enough money as a helper and I sleep better nights."

"Is there much danger in a captive balloon?" asked Ned.

"Hardly any. In fact none to speak of," was the answer. "We've got a tested wire cable. It winds over a drum and when the drum is turned it winds the cable up and the balloon comes down."

"I guess we'll risk it," said Ned. "Eh, fellows."

"You can't leave me behind," said Bart, and the others agreed they would take a chance in the balloon.

All this while the big bag had been filling. The man and several others who were assisting, kept hooking the ballast lower in the cordage loops as the balloon arose in the air. It was over half full now.

The boys took a look at the square basket, or car, that was to be attached to the airship, and at the windlass which brought the captive balloon back to earth.

"Let's go home and get breakfast and come back," suggested Bart, as the boys had arisen early that morning. "We'll take the trip this afternoon."

The boys returned to the grounds about nine o'clock. It was after ten o'clock before the first ascension was made. Four young men from town went up, that being all the car would hold. The manager cautioned them about touching the cords and then, while the anxious throng watched and waited, the cable began to unwind and the balloon went up.

"That looks easy enough," declared Bart. "Us for the trip next time."

Up and up the balloon went until it looked about the size of an apple. It remained up about ten minutes and then the windlass was turned by the steam engine, which was part of the outfit, and the airship came slowly down.

"How'd you like it?" asked the manager as the young men got out.

"Fine!" they exclaimed as one. "It was great. I could see clear to Woodport."

"Now who's going to be the next?" asked the manager in his professional voice. "Try a trip in the airship! View the earth spread out like a map beneath you, the fields mere patches of green, the river a silver ribbon and the forest a mere bit of fuzz like the wool on Mary's little lamb. Who's next?"

"We are!" cried Bart, and he and his chums paid their money and took their places in the basket.

"Let her go," cried the manager, and the boys, looking over the edge of the car, saw the earth dropping away below them.