The morning call., 1893-12-17

stiii pTOspeTlDg In Inc rlRDG uIrectlOD, AUG
then the palace and park OF Versailles
were beneath their feet, and the spiked
Deimets could be seen by the thousand
marching along the broad roads, and
groups on the balconies and in the gardens
were gazing at The balloon, with possibly
the feelings Of a cat watching sparrow.
run puff went some OF tie small field
pieces, and even the aim of some needle
guns was apparently tried. Nor was 1t
brutum fulmen altogether. The balloon
had fallen good deal lower in that hour
OF useless drifting, and, by either the luck
or the skill of a well-amed rifle. whZz
came bullet right into the silk near the
neck. haviI glanced off the iron ring with
a. sharp ping" and taken slanting direc-
ton.
"Ventre bleu! the dogs are biting as
well as barkipgP' Jacque roared as he
Jumped 10 the side and unlocked one of
the pendant bags of ballast, which he
poured over the rim with a rush. IF
that goes between you and your shirt, NJ.
Bismarck, you will feel as comb rtab bic as
If you had a hedgehog for Dedfellow."
by criky that was a narrow squeak,
ductor.'
''Oh, yes. Henry w.; but never 90 until
you are called. A fellow may have bullet
In his neck and dance Quadrille with his
sweetheart at the end of a week. That
hole IN the balloon is worse wound to
attend TO than bullet in your Leg"
LII was, indeed, misadventure which
might nave disastrous consequences. but
Jacque thought the rent was too low down
TO let much gas out. To do what he could,
Eowever, he clambered over the ring and
summed up two of the stays as nimbly as a
spider-talled monkey, and there he leaned
over and with thread and needle stitched
a lap over the damaged part, which for
tunately was small. The neck of the
balloon was also tied as close as possible
TO prevent diuton of the gas and escape
as far as possible. By the time JacQue
dropped again into the basket Versailles
was lett far to the north. but still visible
10 the clear air, and vast stretch OF uD-
dulaiing, picturesque country lay around
them in the direction whittier they were
drifting. with here and there hamlet or
church heche as landmark. aud Occa-
sionally town dimly discernlble. Wall
yet the twilight fingered the voyagers
thought they could make out Chartres to
the eastward and Alencon to the west,
and consulting map they concluded that
IL the wind held thew would fetch up In
perfect safety within two or three hours
II mattered not where so that on alig htiDg
again on the sacred soil of France they
were OF in the clutches of the Germans,
although personally Drummond and the
doctor would not have been much dis
commoded by capture, since as non-com-
batants they were unworthy OF the digni-
ties of military prison.
and also bottle of champagne and a an
other of veritable cOgnac, At the sight of
which jacques eyes gllnted with eXhllara-
ton and his mouth watered at the posi-
billy of a relishabIe meal. Poor man.
when a huge tranche of horse flesh, which
did not happen to be emaciated. was pre-
scented to him on generous cut Of bread.
he DID not so much eat as bolt the food,
and when this was followed by half
chicken not quite of the starveling species.
be vowed it was the feast of his life. After
being repleDished with a little wine and
two good glasses Of cognac he drew his
jacket tighter around him and declared
hat he would voyage to the moon If he
could be cOmfurted in that manner.
Neither did Drummond and the doctor
srare the provisions, and morsel of
cheese and some dried figs left nothing to
be desired for final course.
1t was cold up there under the dark
dOme of heaven, and so still that they were
startled with the sound of their own
voices after apses of solemn silence, dur
ing which hey were gazing into nothing
ness over the edge of the basket Even the
ocean al night is animation compared with
The solitude and deaihlike quiet of bal
loon fiOatiu g on imuercepiibly in the dark
ness OF winter. nothing beneath Or around
but vague sensation OF presence utterly
undt fina BILE, and nothing overhead but
space and scin Hating points in the mys-
FERROUS Fl mament l. was so painful to be
thus adrifi Without knowing it, to be
caTeeriDg through the air without noticing
motion or having the slightest sensation
of air tanning the face or agtating the
lightest trifle of cordage, that Henry w.
endeevored to scare off the COLLINS Which
were harassing his thoughts in a
eere manner, and in sheer bravado broke
into song, ana that took the CHEEKY form of
"The Red. White and Blue" which
was compliment to France as well as
America, fact which pleased Boulu not
little, and hp hummed strain Of "Nanni
Go w" In return. The c0gnac had begun
10 warm the blood SO pleasantly hat all ap-
rrehenslOn of danger had vanished and
the doctor faceti0usly instructed the
pigeons TO rerort provincial France about
to fall on the Prussians like an avalanche
and roll them into the Rhine-a patriotic
duty which no doubt the pigeons performed
according to the tenor of Gambetta's post
scripts when thev flew back to Paris.
A couple OF hours had thus passed, md
Jaeque, who had no lamp to guide him,
peered anXiOusly down on the dark land
scape, hoping to discern some Indication
of suitable landing. He could distin-
guish only dark slimmering gray which
might be forest, and a lighter gray which
was probably open country. 1t could not
be very bad for a landing, and enough of
time had passed, if the wind had lasted, to
carry them far beyond the region of Ger
man occupation. He determined TO make
the venture. Opening a trapdoor in the
bottom of the basket, the existence of
which DrummOnd and the doctor had not
suspected, but W hirh they now thought of
with the shudder OF visitors looking down
the mouth Of a cOalpit. 'cque unlaosed
a grapnel hung by its fiukes over The side
and dropped 1t through the opening. The