Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-09-14
II.

Come on, then" said the manager,
leading the way.
They stepped from the gloom of the
Office into the glare of the afternoon
sunshine, the girl breathing fast and
clinging tightly to the mans arm; the
man stumbling along awkwardly, his
eyes fixed vacantly on the bits Of cloud
in the sky; and the manager moving
along majestically before them, his red
face wreathed in smiles Of professional
courtesy for the benefit of the crowd.
In the bandstand the musicians strug-
gled manfully with the Mendelssohn
wedding march; and the great event of
the day-"an aerial wedding, 500 feet
above the EARTH" as the posters an
nounced it-having arrived at last, the
crowd let itself loose and howled. Thus
they made their way through the lane
opened up in the crowd, and came finally
to the balloon, where a solemn-faced
young clergyman awaited them.
The manager turned and caught the
girl in his arms.
I'm we CO." he said, cheerfully, as he
lifted her into the car.
The groom-to-be clambered in clumsi-
ly, and the clergyman followed, his
method of embarkation detracting
somewhat from his dignity. The rope
was unreeled from the big windlass. and
as the balloon crept slowly upward, the
cheers of the crowd redoubled. The
young man slipped an arm about the
girl.
Don't look down." he cautioned.
II amt scairt, jim" she replied,
bravely, although he felt her trembling
r Presently they were aware the bal
loon was stationary. The clergyman
opened book and began the ceremony.
AS the service droned on, the man es-
sayed one look over the side of the car,
but those upturned faces far below gave
him a queer sensation, and drawing the
girl yet closer to him, he fixed his eyes
on the >clergyman's face.
A moment later there was a slight
shock. He was aware of a feeling of
the crowd far below. The ceremony
stopped short. Indeed, the clergyman
dropped the book from his nerveless
hands. The girl chung unsteadily to the
side of the car, while the two men
clutching the ropes, peered over the
side.
What they saw struck terror to their
hearts. The crowds, the fair grounds,
the whole earth, was falling away from
them with sickening rapidity. Many
feet below them the broken end of the
treacherous rope swayed and dangled in
the breeze
We've broke loose!" gasped Jim, in
tones of horror.
The three, white-faced and trembling,
stood staring at one another, stunned by
the suddenness of 1t all. 1t was the girl
who recovered her wits first
"We-we-can't help it," she faltered,
"but anyway, we'll be married"
1t was indeed strange wedding. The
clergyman chung to one side of the car,
which swayed and rocked dangerously,
and the contracting parties grasped the
other side. But somehow the service
was hustled through, and just as the
balloon was lost to sight in the cloud
bank, the two were pronounced man and
wife.
For nearly an hour they fioated along
above the clouds. Then the great ball
above them began to shrivel somewhat,
and they sank gently. At sunset they
were quite near the earth, travelling as
they could plainly see, rapidly towards
the northwest. Fields and villages flew
past beneath them-and always they
sank lower as the hot air in the balloon
gradually cooled.
Presently they were brushing the tree
tops, which tilted the car sharply and
threatened momentarily to spill them
to earth. The clergyman, poking be-
meath the seats on either side of the car,
emerged triumphantly with a grapple
anchor and coil of light rope. Breath
lessly he cast the anchor over the side.
For time 1t swung to and fro like
huge pendulum, then caught fast in the
branches of an elm near big, white
farmhouse. The rope pulled taut; the
car jerked and tilted and swayed; then
the balloon sank gently into the
branches Of huge apple tree, and the
perilous voyage was at an end.
From their perch in the apple tree
they saw men running towards them
with ladders, and three women follow
ing sturdily in the wake of the men. In
few minutes the unwilling voyagers
were standing on solid earth again, an
swering as best they could the many
questions Of the chattering group about
them.
May l ask where we are?" the cler-
gyman ventured, when the curiosity Of