The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1909-01-20
Cupid on
The. Air Line.
u
BY LlTTELl, M'cLUNG.
Copyrighted. 1909. by Associated
Literary Press.

"Look, Grant," exclaimed the girl,
touching the arm Of her companion as
they passed the exhibit of vegetables
on the fair grounds. There's the cap
tive balloon they've all been talking 80
much about. Bessie and Sam went up
In it yesterday, and they thought It
simply dandy"
The young man glanced ahead to
where q crowd surrounded some taut
guys that stretched up to big balloon
floating gracefully in the air 300 feet
over their heads.
A man stepped upon platform and
began to address his auditors In stem
torian yet persuasive tones.
AL right, Lila. we'll see 1t through,
too" declared Grant Allen, and they
hurried up close to the speaker. -
This way. ladies and gentlemenr
he cried. who'll be the next to go up
In the big gas bag? Here's glorious
chance to see the world as bird sees
1t! This balloon Is as safe as trolley
car and safer. Experts say so.
ut is fastened securely to the earth,
ladies and gentlemen, and stays up ten
minutes with each ascension, giving
you plenty OF time to enjoy the mag
| nihcent scenery. Come! Who'll be the
next? The balloon holds only two at q
time. Tickets are 80 cents apiece, two
for a.
"I'll take two tickets for the next
trip" said Grant, pushing forward
with the necessary dollar in his hand.
The man handed him the coupons to
fame and stepped down from the plat
form to engineer the next ascension.
| By turning a sort Of handle and
wheel device that resembIed wind
lass the balloon was towed back to
earth. A young man and girl step
| ped out Of the basket" smiling tri-
umphantly, and Lila and Grant step
| ped In. The wheel to which the guide
rope was attached began to turn again.
and slowly the balloon rose above the
fair grounds. When the rope gave out
the basket was high enough for its &C.
cupants to see the level country for
miles around.
'+Oh, isn't 1t just perfectly grundv'
cooed the girl, clapping her hands and
peerfng down at the upturned faces.
Eyes, it really is" he answered. ''You
feel apart from the world and above
everything in more senses than one.
No wonder aeronautics are almost epd-
demic."
The great bag above them swung of
in a semfcircle and then stood motion
less, the basket swinging gently to
and fro. Suddenly Lila glimpsed a
thick cloud of dust whirling spiral
fashion across the fair grounds.
what is all that dust, Grant?'' SHE
asked innocently.
"Why, IT'S whirlwind," he. ex-
claimed. "and big one at that, and,
what's more, it's coming directly to
ward US. II 1t strikes us We'll get q
lively little swing around in the air. I
hope 1t does!'
But the girl seemed apprehensive
and chung to his arm. Evidently his
wish was about to be realized, for the
whirlwind, gathering momentum ev-
cry second, was bearing straight down
on the guide ropes Of the balloon, car
rying with it dozen or more hats it
had gathered from the crowds.
In another second it hit the balloon,
whirling it around like bubble in a
hundred foot circle. Lila gave little
Shrek of fear, but Grant laughed.
Don't be nervous" he said. We're
| getting a fine ride"
Then his face whitened as the sound
of swapping ropes struck his ears. He
glanced below to see uprooted pegs
and stakes flying into the air. An
other crack followed, and the balloon
tore loose the last line that bound it to
earth
For second it paused; then, like u
rocket, it shot cloudward several hun
dred feet and, encountering upper
currents" fioated off across the fair
grounds.
Over the girls face flashed an eX-
preston of terror, but by a superhu-
man effort Grant kept calm. Below
they could hear the wild shouts of the
people who were running in the direc-
ton the balloon had taken.
keep your nerve, Lila urged
Grant quietly. "rhere is really no dam
ger. Don't you see the gas can't pos
sibly get out of the bag, and we'll be-
gin to so down when the wind slack
ems a little"
But the wind continued strong, and
the balloon declined to descend an
inch. Neither did 1t rise. 1t simply
1oated along rapidly, but steadily,
about six or seven hundred feet above
the ground. In five minutes the fair
Enclosure was fading in the distance
and i'll another five minutes so was the
town
Don't you see, Lila" said Grant,
with assurance, 1--WE are perfectly safe!
We've joined the first class aeronauts,
and we're going on tour of the
world. Just think how famous We'll be
II we discover the north pole"
This forced lev1ty dispelled Lila's
terrified look, and gradually the color
came back into her face.
Pm glad of one thing" she said as
her courage returned. "PaDa. mamma