the little balloon was now completed, and the demon and his affairs were forgotten. the balloon was rather clumsily constructed, it is true; but it promised to float well, and the cousins were enchanted with it. they bore it tenderly out into the back-yard, arranged it for flight, and were about to fire the prepared cotton batten, when henry cried excitedly: “wait, will! wait a minute! i’m going to fix a car under it! i see a little old straw-hat of the baby’s here in the yard, and i’ll just hitch it on for a car. of course; what’s a balloon without a car?”
henry hastened to do so, and the little bonnet was tied fast to the balloon, immediately under the gas-producing apparatus. then he set fire to the batten; very soon the[157] balloon quivered; and then up it rose, a really pretty sight. the boys shouted, cheered, and flung out their arms in wild delight.
it rushed up like a rocket—it flew along—it soared—it became smaller and smaller—the “car” took fire—the whole balloon blazed—it wavered—it fell headlong—it lit on the roof of a public building—it set it on fire!
the boys had watched its ascent with enthusiasm, cheering lustily; but when it took fire, their enthusiasm cooled, and in proportion as the balloon burned brighter, their hearts grew heavier. when it fell, their spirits fell with it. they grew sick with fear on seeing flames burst forth on the roof of the building, and looked at each other in utter helplessness. henry was the first to collect himself, and he gave the alarm by shouting “fire!” in thundering tones.
several householders, mrs. mortimer among them, flew to their doors at the dreadful cry of fire, to see whether their own buildings were the ones menaced. the fire was soon pointed out; the fire-engines rushed gallantly to the rescue; the hoses were adjusted; and the firemen sprang to their work. the two boys got over their terror sufficiently to throng to the scene of action. to henry it was a familiar sight; but to will it was entirely new, and he enjoyed it, in spite of himself.
the fire was soon extinguished, and but little harm was done to the building. the whole affair, from the time when henry attached the “car” to his balloon till the last spark was extinguished, took up only a few minutes.
as the cousins returned to the house, they felt that all was not over yet.
“that’s the worst thing, almost, that ever happened to me,” said will.
“never mind it, will; its over now, and not much harm done. i wouldn’t let that trouble me a minute. we boys in the city, don’t count that as much; we’re used to all sorts of horrible things happening to us; we get hardened to it; we expect it. but it was all that dismal straw-hat; that did the mischief. if i hadn’t flung it into the back-yard the other day, our balloon might be soaring[158] around yet! well, it’s burnt up now, from stem to stern.”
“yes, henry; but it isn’t a very good way to keep out of mischief; it—it makes me feel very miserable. george would say we are incendiaries.”
“who’s george? somebody that is nobody, i guess. well, at any rate, that isn’t the word. giantize is a great deal better. to giantize, will, is to eat like a giant; to do big things; to astonish the natives; to be a hero; to rescue captives. we’ll giantize to-morrow night when we rescue the man—if there is a man—in the demon’s cave. some day, will, i’ll take you to a bookstore, and show you a weekly paper with continued stories in it, and continual heroes in the stories. these heroes are very, very strong, and good, and brave, and handsome; and they make it a settled business to giantize.”
“oh, i know what those papers are, henry; i know a mr. horner that takes two or three of them; and he gets so excited over the stories that sometimes he can’t sleep at night. but his boy jim—timor we call him—is the biggest coward that ever ran away from a lapdog.”
the boys sat down to dinner with little appetite. mr. mortimer made inquiries about the fire, and they acknowledged their share in it. to say that mr. mortimer was vexed would hardly express the state of his feelings. in the afternoon a deputation of the city fathers waited on him, and he and the two cousins were closeted with them some time. what passed between them was never made known; but as they took their departure one of them observed: “yes, that makes it all right. well, i never realized before that a straw-bonnet would set fire to a roof. i must tell my boys never to make balloons; or, at least, to make them without cars. by the way, what was it that you dipped in alcohol to make the gas?”
will was too confused to make a reply. not so henry. “cotton batten, sir, is what we used,” he said, “but a sponge is better still.”
after they had gone, he said to will: “now he’ll get himself into trouble! his boys are always trying experiments; and if he tells them about our balloon, they’ll go to work and make one that’ll set the whole place on fire![159] oh, they’re awful boys! only a few days ago they poisoned off a dog with some dangerous gas, and drove the house-keeper’s cat into hysteric fits. why, will, their mother can’t keep a tea-kettle three weeks before they swoop down on it; and turn on a full head of steam; and plug up the spout; and batten down the lid; and blow it all to nothing. oh, that man will have his hands full of sorrow before long.”
“but what does their mother say about it? surely, she doesn’t like to keep on buying new tea-kettles! and their father,—doesn’t he get mad?”
“oh, as long as the boys don’t get hurt, their parents think they are smart; and they tell everybody that goes into the house that when the boys grow up, they will revolutionize chemistry and remodel the steam-engine.”
then the two talked of exploits that they had achieved; adventures that had befallen them; and perils through which they had passed. henry said that he had had the mumps, the measles, and the small-pox; will said he had had the sore throat, the chicken-pox, seven boils, lots and lots of warts, and the measles, too. henry said a circus horse once kicked him hard, and a circus monkey once stole his handkerchief; will said he once shot a cat with his father’s gun, and it fled away and lived all winter with the bullet in its heart. henry said that was nothing; he once shot a deer, and if somebody else hadn’t come along and killed it, he believed his ball would have killed it. will said he could beat that, for he was nearly drowned once. then henry said he one day drank so much water that he nearly died; and the next day those smart boys that he had spoken of set him on fire, and scorched his coat till he couldn’t recognize it.
then they talked of other things, and will told his cousin all about his school-fellows. then henry again referred to the demon and his wickedness.
judging by the performances of the last few hours, henry would be a strange companion to visit the demon’s cave with, at night, and armed with loaded pistols, “ready,” as he phrased it, “to defend themselves in case of danger.”
[160]
it was morning. the cousins were standing in the commons. a crowd of people was assembled. in the centre of the inclosure a colossal balloon (do not smile, gentle reader) towered up into the air. its manager, prof. ranteleau, was haranguing the people. in a few minutes he would ascend in his balloon—who wished to accompany him? he was an adept in the science of a?ronautics, and would insure every one a safe, novel, and delightful voyage through the a?rial regions. when they had sailed among the clouds to their satisfaction, he would return and descend on the common.
a few people said “good-bye” to their friends, and climbed into the car. the cousins did likewise. the fastenings were cast loose; the professor seated himself with a complacent smile; and with a great lurch the balloon began to ascend.
the people began to make poetical remarks upon the “sublimity,” the “immensity,” the “profundity” of the scene, before the car was fifty feet above the ground.
will and henry sat still and looked on; for to their untutored minds the scene did yet seem particularly sublime.
but the balloon rapidly gained in speed, and soon whirled its occupants along at an astonishing rate. things below became more and more indistinct, and were gradually lost to view. then the balloonists felt in their pockets for sundry barometers and thermometers; buttoned their over-coats up to their ears; and prepared to enjoy themselves.
the professor reached out his hand to adjust some part of the mechanism. but a valve refused to open, the bulky monster gave a great lurch forward, and he perceived that it had become unmanageable! his benign countenance assumed an air of woe, but he hoped that all was not yet lost. he was deceived.
suddenly the balloon careened over, and sailed through the air in a horizontal position, very unpleasant to the balloonists. striking a certain parallel of latitude, it[161] circled round this world of ours like a beam of light. in vain the professor attempted to get control of the unwieldy monster. dropping their barometers and thermometers, the unhappy ?ronauts clutched the sides of the car with an agonized grip. nothing was now said about the “sublimity” of things below; for no one durst cast his eyes to the ground.
soon they were circumnavigating the world in the twinkling of an eye; and the balloon increased in speed till it exceeded the wildest calculations made by man respecting motion. the wretched travelers of the sky could no longer maintain their hold, and were one by one flung from the fated balloon like missiles from a catapult. they went whirling through space with a rotary motion, like balls from a rifle; while, from a peculiarity in the way in which they were flung, they took a different course from that taken by the balloon, more downward and southward.
thus the pedagogue’s question, whether anything can be discharged from a motive power in motion, is set at rest forever.
in spite of the awfulness of his situation, will could not help pitying whatever obstacle they should bring up against, for there would be a frightful collision.
for the thirtieth time the rocky mountains rose before them, and a large man, built on the approved dicken’s model, was shot from the balloon. to the spectator’s horror, he went right through one of the loftiest mountains, just below the limit of perpetual snow, tearing a hole eight feet in circumference through the solid rock. when the “hardy mountaineer” comes upon that hole, he will call it a “freak of nature,” and be at a loss to account for its usefulness. “ah! he didn’t ought to come!” the professor managed to articulate. but he was not heard, for in an instant an ocean of ether rolled between him and his words.
one by one the unfortunates were hurled from the balloon, till out of thirteen only the professor and the two cousins remained. the monster circumnavigated the globe one hundred times; then quivered, hesitated, slackened[162] its speed, and finally, taking a new start, it left the earth entirely behind, and swiftly drew near one of the planets. it redoubled its exertions, and soon exceeded its former velocity. the air became warmer and warmer, nearer and nearer they came to the planet. the professor determined to make one more effort to check their wild flight, and took his right hand from the support it clutched, to pull a rope leading to a valve.
that movement was fatal: the professor himself was shot out of the balloon. he, however, took an upward course. the balloon seemed to know that he was gone; and quivering with joy and relief, it once more assumed a perpendicular position. the boys relaxed their hold, and gladly stretched their stiffened limbs. but its velocity seemed only to increase.
six seconds later, the boys felt an awful crash above them. the balloon had overtaken its latest projectile, the professor, and a great collision was the result. then the gas coming from the professor’s throat, and the gas inside of the balloon, met; and an explosion that jarred the planet they were drawing near,—though it was still three thousand miles away,—took place.
the balloon immediately collapsed, and then a strange thing happened. will dilated till he reached the dimensions of the last exhumed new jersey fossil, and then a cry of pain broke from his lips. he opened his eyes.
a calm september sun was shining into the bedroom window; the birds were singing gayly outside; while down stairs he heard henry’s merry laugh.
“a dream!” will exclaimed, in great relief! “only a dream. but it seemed more real than any dream i ever had! oh, dear! even in dreams i get into trouble! what will become of me next? shall i always keep on making blunders? shall i always get into disgrace, like an idiot or a bothersome dog?”
after a pause, he continued: “well, i do feel a pain, sure enough! i suppose i ate too much pudding for dinner.”
in this observation he was partially correct. boys,[163] listen to this glorious precept: never eat heartily when you feel as will felt that afternoon.
“i wonder how a genuine balloon would behave itself?” will mused, as he jumped out of bed. “not much like professor ranteleau’s, surely. if i could see george, now, i guess he could tell me all about it. perhaps henry knows how it would be. well, i don’t care for such dreams; they make me feel homesick. poor stephen! i wonder how he is this morning. oh! oh! this is the day for the visit to the demon’s cave!”
having said that, he went down stairs in search of henry.
