CHAPTER XVI
ON THE ISLAND
There was great excitement down on the ground when the cry of Mrs.Bobbsey told her husband, the other children, and the big crowd thatFlossie and Freddie had been carried away in the balloon. At first somedid not believe it, and even Mr. Bobbsey found it hard to imagine thatsuch a thing could happen.
But one look up at the swaying basket dangling from the runaway balloonshowed him the faces of Flossie and Freddie looking down at the earthwhich seemed to be dropping away from them.
"Oh, my children! My children! Flossie! Freddie!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey,tears streaming down her cheeks, as she raised her hands toward theswiftly rising balloon.
"Get them down!"
"We'll catch 'em if they jump!"
"Get a ladder!"
"Have the man in the aeroplane go after them!"
These were some of the cries--foolish cries in some cases--that soundedon all sides as Flossie and Freddie were carried away. For how could anyladder be long enough to reach up to the balloon?
"Oh, can't we do something?" wailed Mrs. Bobbsey, holding to herhusband.
"We'll save them! We'll save Flossie and Freddie," said Mr. Bobbsey. Nanwas crying also, and Harry and Bert looked at each other with strangefaces. They didn't know what to do or say.
Mr. Bobbsey felt the wind blowing stronger and stronger and saw thegathering storm. As he saw how fast the balloon was moving upward andonward, away from the fair grounds, he, too, was much frightened.
"How did those children get in there?" asked one of the balloon men.
"They must have crawled in the basket when we weren't looking," answeredMr. Bobbsey.
"Is there any way of saving my little children?" cried Mrs. Bobbsey.
"Now don't you worry," said the balloon man kindly. "They'll be allright if they stay in the basket. The balloon hasn't all its gas in, andit won't blow very far. It will soon come down to the ground."
"But won't they be killed?"
"No, a balloon comes down very gently when the gas gives out." said theman. "It's almost like a parachute. Your children will come down likefeathers. We'll get up a searching party and go after them." He knewthere was great danger but he did not want to add to Mrs. Bobbsey'sfears.
"Oh, yes! Do something!" cried Mrs. Bobbsey. "We must save them!"
While down below there was all excitement and while a searching partywas getting ready to start out to rescue Flossie and Freddie, the twolittle children themselves were safe enough in the balloon basket. Thatis they were safe for the time being, for they could not fall unlessthey climbed over the side of the basket, and they would hardly do this.They were also safe from banging into anything, for they were now highin the air, well above all trees and buildings, and there were no otherballoons or any aeroplanes in sight.
At the fair grounds was an aeroplane, but it had not gone up yet, andcould not, for the engine was broken, and the man had to mend it beforehe could make a flight. So as long as Flossie and Freddie remained inthe basket they were safe.
They did not even feel the wind blow, for as they were being carriedright along in the gale, being a part of it, so to speak, they did notfeel it as they had when standing on the ground.
But, in spite of all this, Flossie's little heart was beating very fastand tears came into her eyes.
"Oh, Freddie!" she half sobbed, "what you s'pose's goin' to happen tous?"
"I don't know," he answered. "But anyhow we're up in a balloon and we'rehaving a fine sail. I like a balloon, don't you, Flossie?"
Flossie thought it over for a moment. Now that the first fright waspassed she rather enjoyed the quiet, easy motion. For there were nobumps as in an automobile, and there was no swaying as on themerry-go-round. It was like flying with the birds, and Flossie hadalways wanted to be a bird.
"It is--yes, I guess it is nice," she said. "Are we high up?"
"Not very," Freddie answered. "Don't look over the edge or you mightfall out of the basket," he told his sister, as he saw her getting readyto stand on her tiptoes and peer down. Freddie had looked down once, ashad Flossie, when they first felt themselves going up, and it had madehim a little dizzy. He did not want Flossie to fall out.
"Let's see if we can find something to eat," suggested the little boy."I'm hungry."
"So'm I," agreed Flossie. This was something new to think about.
They poked among the things in the balloon basket. There were funnyobjects, the uses of which they could only guess at, but there were alsosome crackers and sandwiches, as well as a bottle of milk, and somewater.
"Oh, we can have a regular camp-out!" laughed Flossie. "We'll makebelieve we're on a steamer."
"It'll be lots of fun," agreed Freddie. So they ate and were quitehappy, while those they had left behind were very much worried andmiserable.
The wind blew harder and harder, but, as I have said, Flossie andFreddie did not notice it. Soon, however, they began to notice somethingelse, and this was some drops of water.
"Oh, the balloon's leaking!" cried Flossie, as she felt a damp spot onher red cheek.
Freddie also felt some wet splashes, but he saw at once what they were.
"It's raining!" he cried. And so it was. The storm had broken.
"Raining!" cried Flossie. "And we hasn't got any umbrella!"
"We don't need one," said the little boy. "The balloon's so big it willbe like an umbrella over us."
This was partly true. The bag of the balloon bulged out over the headsof the children, keeping off most of the rain. But some blew in sidewaysover the top of the basket, and the children would have been quite wethad they not wrapped themselves in blankets. These kept them warm anddry, for one of the blankets was of rubber.
Thus the little Bobbsey twins sailed on in a balloon, the first ride ofthis kind they had ever taken. Their first fright was over, but theybegan wondering what would happen next.
Suddenly Flossie discovered a hole in the bottom of the basket, throughwhich she could look down to the earth. And as she looked she cried:
"Oh, Freddie, we're going down into a lake!"
Freddie looked and saw what his sister had seen. The balloon was nowgoing down. Probably the gas had leaked out, or there may not have beenmore than enough to carry the balloon a short distance. At any rate itwas now falling, and, as the children saw, straight toward a body ofwater.
"Shall we fall into the water?" asked Flossie.
"No--no, I don't guess so," Freddie answered. He hoped that was notgoing to happen. But as he looked down and saw the water seeminglycoming nearer and nearer, though of course it was the balloon goingdown, the little boy did not feel at all sure but they would drop rightinto the lake.
"We'd better hold on hard to the basket," said Freddie, after thinkingover the best thing to do. "When we get in the lake we can hold on tothe basket until somebody comes."
This idea made Flossie feel a little better. She was glad she hadFreddie with her, and Freddie was glad Flossie was with him.
Down, down the balloon gently dropped. The rain was pouring hard now,splashing into the lake, which was covered in some places with a blanketof fog.
Then, just when it seemed that Flossie and Freddie and the balloon wouldsplash into the water, an island loomed in sight.
"Oh, if we could only land on the island!" cried Freddie.
And that's just what happened! Through the branches of trees the ballooncrashed, this helping to stop it more gently. Down to the island itfell, the basket banging on the ground. The basket tipped over sideways,spilling Flossie and Freddie out, but not hurting them as they fell in apile of dried leaves. Some of the things in the basket fell out withthem.
Once the children were out of the balloon it rose a little, was blownalong a short distance by the wind, and then, getting tangled in thetree branches, came to a stop.
"Well, we're all right now," said Freddie, as he arose and brushed theleaves from him.
"But I'm getting all wet!" sobbed Flossie. "I'm s
oaked!"
And so she was, as well as Freddie, for it was raining hard.