CHAPTER XXIV

INTO THE RIVER

For a moment the announcement struck such a chill of terror to the hearts of the boys that they did not know what to say. The thought of being more than a mile above the earth was fearful to the lads who had never been even on a high mountain. Now they were far up in the air, with only the frail willow basket, and the lifting power of the gas in the silken bag, between them and death.

"Maybe it's a fog from the river. Perhaps we've dropped down," said Fenn, anxious to derive some consolation from their perilous position.

"We haven't come down a foot," said Bart. "Might as well admit it."

He tossed some more pieces of the torn paper over the side. This time they remained stationary.

"At any rate we've stopped going up," he called out. "We're standing still!"

His companions watched the scraps of paper anxiously. Slowly they began to settle toward the earth.

"That proves it," said Bart. "We're standing still."

"Lot of good it will do us," came from Ned. "How long will we have to stay here?"

"Hard to say," Bart replied. "But you wanted this to happen so you ought to be satisfied."

"If I'd known it was like this I'd never wished for it even in fun," spoke Ned. "Don't you s'pose we can get down?"

"Sure; sometime. The gas can't stay in the bag forever. Some is bound to leak out and we'll descend. Besides, as it gets colder we'll drop some."

"How?" asked Frank.

"Why the man told me the cold sort of condenses the gas. Makes it so there isn't so much of it, and it hasn't the same lifting power. But there's one disadvantage to that."

"How?" inquired Fenn.

"Why as soon as it gets warm again, when the sun comes out, it expands the gas and we'll rise."

"Keep on going back and forth, eh?" asked Ned.

"That's about it," said Bart.

"I've got a plan," suggested Fenn.

"What, Stumpy?" inquired his chums eagerly.

"I could cut a hole in the bag with my knife and let some of the gas out."

"How could you reach the bag? The lowest end of it, the neck, where the gas went in, is ten feet over our heads."

"I could climb up the cordage. I read of a fellow doing that once."

"Too risky," decided Bart.

"I'll chance it," declared Stumpy.

"We'll wait a while," Bart decided. "We may come down without doing that."

But there did not seem much chance of it. The big balloon was still in the midst of the clouds. Which way they were going the boys had no means of knowing. They could see nothing but the mass of gray vapor, which, now and then, swirled aside long enough to disclose the black bag above their heads.

Meanwhile there was great excitement on the fair grounds. The crowd ran to and fro vainly seeking some means of bringing the balloon down. Word was quickly sent to the boys' parents and relatives, and they came hurrying to the place, well nigh distracted. By this time the airship was a mere speck in the heavens. A little later it disappeared above the clouds.

There were some threats of arresting the manager of the enterprise, but wiser counsel prevailed. It was shown that the accident was unavoidable. The catch that fastened the wire cable to the drum had become loosened by the many ascensions and let the rope slip away.

"There's no danger," the manager declared, but he had hard work to make any one believe him. Indeed his own drawn face showed he was alarmed for the safety of the boys.

"They're bright lads," he insisted. "One of my helpers was explaining to them the other day about the valve cords. They will pull them and the balloon will come down. It may sail a few miles from here, but they'll be all right."

"Suppose they pull the wrong cord?" asked Mr. Wilding who with Bart's and Fenn's parents, and Frank's uncle had gathered about the manager.

"Oh, they wouldn't do that," said the owner of the balloon. "They're too smart for that."

"Well, there's no good in worrying," decided Mr. Keene. "Maybe the boys can take care of themselves, but they're in a ticklish place."

His words served to comfort the others somewhat, though Mrs. Keene and Mrs. Masterson could not stop crying.

Meanwhile there was nothing the boys could do. They could only wait for something to happen. And that something was for the gas to leave the bag gradually so they could descend.

"It's almost five o'clock," said Bart, looking at his watch. "I guess we're good for all night."

"It's going to be cold," said Ned, with a shiver.

Already the mist was beginning to tell on the boys. Their clothes were covered with the fine fog which clung to them like frost. They knew it would be quite chilly before morning.

"And not a thing to eat," said Bart with a sigh. "The next time I come ballooning I'm going to bring a sandwich."

"The next time I come ballooning I'll be a great deal older than I am now," came from Frank. "No more for yours truly."

"What I can't understand," said Fenn, "is what become of those cords. They must be on the balloon. I saw them the first day."

"Suppose we take another look," suggested Ned. "I don't fancy staying here all night."

"If we don't find 'em I'm going to climb up and poke a hole in the bag," declared Stumpy.

The boys took their positions one on each side of the big basket and began staring aloft, through the mist, for a sight of the cords. There was such a maze of ropes and netting that it was hard to distinguish anything. The mist too, bothered them.

There came a little puff of wind which made the big balloon sway so that the boys clutched the sides of the willow car. There was a peculiar sensation as though the bottom of their stomachs had dropped out.

"We're going down!" cried Bart.

The mist seemed to break away. The bag could be plainly seen. Hurriedly Bart tore up some more scraps of paper and tossed them over. They remained stationary an instant and then began to settle earthward.

"False alarm," said Bart with despair in his voice.

But they had gone down a few feet, or else the mist had lifted, for they were no longer in the cloud. They could see nothing of the earth, however.

All at once Fenn who had resumed his upward-gazing gave a cry.

"What is it, Stumpy?" called Bart.

"The cords! The cords! I see them!" the boy exclaimed.

"Where?" and they all came around to his side.

"There, right near where the mouth of the bag is fastened to the cordage. Don't you see them?"

"Sure enough! There they are!" exclaimed Bart.

Then the others beheld the brown and red cords that connected, one with the valve in the top, and the other with the strip, to be ripped out, in case of emergency.

"We can't reach 'em," said Ned. "They're ten feet up."

This was so. The ends of the cords had, in some way, been caught in the netting and were held at least ten feet above the edge of the basket. To reach them meant a dizzy and dangerous climb.

Stumpy looked first from one side of the basket and then from the other, at the cords that meant so much to them. He took off his coat and vest and began removing his shoes.

"What are you going to do?" asked Bart.

"I'm going to get those cords down where we can reach 'em," said Fenn shortly.

"How? You can't!"

"You watch me! Didn't I take the prize at school for high trapeze work?" and Stumpy went on unlacing his shoes.

"Are you going to climb up in that cordage?" demanded Ned.

"That's what I am."

"We won't let you!"

"It's the only way!" said Fenn earnestly. "We may be killed if I don't. There's no danger boys. I'll climb from the inside. If I fall, I'll only fall into the basket! I'm going up!"

Before the others could stop him he had reached up and taken a firm hold of the cords just above the edge of the basket. They were very strong, and there were so many of them that they would have held a much greater weight than that of Fenn.

But it was a ticklish thing to climb up the netting of a balloon, more than half a mile above the earth. True, he was right over the basket, and if he slipped would land into it. But it was a daring thing to do, and his chums held their breaths as they watched him.

Up and up Stumpy went. His stockinged feet gave him a good purchase on the netting, and, clinging with his hands in a desperate grip, he mounted higher and higher toward where the caught cords dangled. It was only about ten feet but to Stumpy and his chums it seemed like a thousand.

Now he was but three feet away from the cords. Cautiously he kept on. The balloon swayed with the unusual weight on one side and the basket tilted.

For a moment Fenn hesitated. He was getting dizzy. Then he gritted his teeth and went on. Steadying himself as best he could, in the insecure and waving netting, he reached out one hand and managed to grasp the red cord. He loosened it and it fell so that it hung within reach of his comrades. Then he released the brown one and it, too, fell free.

"Come down!" called Ned, and Stumpy, his dangerous task accomplished, began to descend. He was trembling like a leaf when he crouched down in the basket again. His chums, each in turn, silently pressed his hand. They could not speak for a few moments.

"Now for home!" exclaimed Bart as he grasped the brown cord. "Lie down in the bottom of the basket, all of you. No telling what will happen when the gas begins to go out."

He pulled the cord slightly. There was a sudden lurch to the balloon and again came that strange feeling as if the bottom of their stomachs were dropping out.

"We're going down!" cried Frank joyfully.

It was so. The gas escaped through the valve as Bart pulled the cord, and the big airship, its journey almost ended, was nearing the earth.

As the valves would only stay open when the cord was taut, springing shut when it was slack, Bart kept giving it little jerks, regulating them according to the sensation of falling. He did not want the balloon to come down too swiftly.

It was now dusk, and, as they looked over the side of the basket they could dimly distinguish the earth coming up to meet them.

"Can you see where we are?" asked Ned.

"Too dark," replied Bart.

He opened the valve wider. The balloon shot downward with a sickening swiftness.

"Not so fast," called Frank.

He got up to look over the edge. As he did so he uttered a cry.

"We're near the river!" he exclaimed.

Bart let out more gas, hoping to land the balloon before the water was reached, but he miscalculated. An instant later the airship, with the big bag almost collapsed, came down with a rush and the willow basket struck the water with a great splash.

"Jump out and swim for it!" yelled Bart. "The balloon will smother you!"

He dived over the side of the basket. His companions followed him. There was a sickening smell of gas in the air.