The Washington times., 1910-01-27

no, II did not soar gracefully upward
Il hurtIed aIoft like cannon ball
had been half in, half out of the
wicker basket car Grimoldi, spring
iDS forward. had had both hands on
TIM vars ledge preparatory 10 vault
lnS aboard The upward jerk OF tAt
released balloon knocked me backward
IN q 5TearLIess heap 20 the bottom or
lire Whining basket
struggled to my feet dizzy sick be-
U-i-dered by the uUWouted motion.
cIUtched q rope and the ears ledge ana
looked downward at the scene below
seemed TO have been in the air
scarcely second Yet already the bal
loon was a fun Two hundred lesl above
ground.
tGrimoldi. as afterward learned, had
been tossed high in air before he could
release his hold on the edge OF the
basket, and had been saved from
broken neck only bV falling into the
dense crowd. instead OF 20 the earth
al buL reached the 1dl9pnr ndo 9etA
stuck and knocked fiat by a reCoilug
end OF the suddenly severed r0pe)
As I looked down my nrSI impression
vas Of a thousand Tiu5isE-wLite blurred
faces. all staring upward OF TAT man
dancing freuzie5ly about the broken in
closure of ELatchford dazedIy strUs-
Cling 10 his feet
Then-lt was like an ocular deiusion
the peoples faces steadily ana swiftly
shTank 10 mere T,.--s-0-eas- The line OF
occuuaurs. transformed itself into a
Enulti-col0-ed bar no longer than my
arm.
and indeed thought the balloon had
somehow come 20 stop In uldalrlr
the whole fair grounds al. az once took
The place OF the r.rse-UaCEed t1TuDE OF
cnLooke-S beneath me ana -aeL JlrHEe
became q little black C-Uun- tucked
away at one side OF the grounds
Then the fair ground itself shrank
= q
center or mass OF surrounding iaud-
scape that seemed TO rush In upon my
rlsion from all sides
II was not such landscapes as one
sees from llT buildings or even from
l-llrC1S- cit was. rather like a great
nat map picked Qua tl VAR rEC shades
Of green dotted -e-e and there 7itl
specE Ike houses and crlSScrgsSed by
r-uE. EeIDW--wUire roads. with here and
there the merest silver thread OF a
Mountain and valley were alike fat
tened ou-. alike SO remote as 10 render
The scene in few minutes mere
tUre on which TO center the bewi-dere1
Eaze-
It was not the vanishing Of the
familiar scenes. but the sudden Seus1-
ton Of sharp and windIess cold that
ward glare
SllverinE- my teeth a-chatter- Crop
Ing about among the few neatly slowed
furnishings Of the basket came uuou
pair OF strapped wooden blankets
could now well understand why such
articles were part OF a baloou's equip
ueut
undld the straps and svathed my
self IN the blankets gray folds
Ny eyes once more moved from the
earth / could not 10 save my soul.
ci~rpFe- whether or not ] was still
n mot5n- nor whether. If I were. the
ra--oon was rising sinking or moving
With TO stationary point whereby 10
take bearings there was no possible
way OF deteru ming motion. IL was
unique uueauuv sensation
-70ped uD in the ul-smelTiu- dark
rsS5 Or Matthew'S cart I had been no
more ignorant as % u- direction.
Il was as though mother earth had
cast me from her and I was uiUn-iuE
WHITTIER heaven alone knew 7 was
no more Of earth 40 more mortal but
a UeueleSS- lIrerLDuleSs atom. driven
through sky space al the whim Of the
four winds
And 7 -riDDed the narrow seat and
fought for seIf-courro-. fought against
the awful SeuSeLc~S panic thar was seek
lnE 10 conquer me-SeekinE To overthrow
my waIrliuE reason and lure me to
throw myself mEi-v from the swavfnE
side Of the car into space. with a mad
longing 70 set hack 10 earth again.
j these thoughts OF mine sound more
Ike the -aVfGES Of a dISordered brain
IRAN the l--s~c niU-s of normal. grown
man. can ONLY SaE-let the man judge
no mas $50 a calmly balanced mind
But I f, Eht arI won 7 drove from
me the gGreaS01 -DC fear. the craving
70 throw r7vS-f- sack --u0U r-0r5-aT
earth And hit bv a.L. I forced myself
10 become normal
\ scrap OF newspaper thar had been
lying among the blanket folds became
C-sl1d-cd Orr sudden motion of my
BODY. II fell E70I the ledge Of the car
fIttered outward and simply vanished
raaH In
disappeared as thoroughly as IT Snatched
Tx some invisible hand
The Phenomenon puzzled me. 7 picked
ND q larger OH or newspaper tore an
other fragment from ID and rested ID
on tle ledge Again the same IzEtuf-a
disappearance II was lot uurT me
rause- So rapidly was the balloon
wllirliue upward that the instant the
paper fell over The side we few far
colder grew the air Colder and daz-
zl1uSiy clear Then All tu an instant
everything was Ch~rureF IN an o---rzr
o. gray. dreurhiuE imDe0et-a bile mist
ba1tlCd for mere breath in the cold
vet. sitting UUrE- 7 wondered if
II trfce wc were out 1T ir and iu
colder even more brilliantly Lea air
gain. E7e san pouring down uuru mo
and turning the balloons yellow SfIke-
shape into sphere of sEimmerluE
Ther 7 understood We had passed
straight through a cloud I summoned
courage 10 look over the side azai0.
Earth had quite disappeared Directly
below me lay q gray, lowering bank Of
mist
was literally above the clouds
Whethe- 7 was a mile above earth or
tro or three miles 10 not Yet know
But remembered having read some
where that after reaching certain
height il becomes impossible for NOR
tails % breathe
And already whether from real cause
or from OverstirIIl lated imaEina ton
nv breath came shorter and there was
2 Tightening band about my chest
I looked about me. seeking for some
means whereby TO guide OF rramuei
this huge aerial monster which was
uhirlinE ne uoueutarIy higher
Before 7 60 on let me ask YOU who
read What would YOU have dOne2 I
don't mean what would you have done