at Johnny Thompson saw as he rounded the
point of the hill in his wild flight from the Bolshevik band.

With his dogs grouped about him, he stood and gazed at it in speechless
astonishment. Where had it come from? What was its mission? Whither was it
going? These and many other questions sped through his mind as the balloon
rose lazily in air.

Scarcely a moment had passed when a sound arrested his attention. It was
the thunder of a powerful gasoline engine. He guessed that it was the
motor of his own airplane. He had not long to doubt, for in a second the
machine came swooping into sight. It made directly toward the clumsy
sausage. Lithe and bird-like it tore away after the balloon.

Was this a friendly visit or an attack? The answer came in a series of
noisy punctuations--the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun.

This balloon then was an enemy. Dimly the truth entered Johnny's mind. He
was beginning to connect the balloon with the little yellow men who had
attacked him, and with the earth shudder, but how it all fitted in he
could not tell. Who was the enemy?

His eyes were on the two ships of the sky. The airplane, having circled
close to the cabin of the balloon, had fired a volley, whether directly at
it or above or below it, he could not tell. Now the plane circled close
again. But what was this? A man was climbing to the upper rigging of the
plane. Now he was standing, balancing himself directly on top. Johnny
recognized the slim figure of Pant. Now the plane, with engine dead,
drifted toward the cabin of the balloon. They were almost even with it.
There came three snorts of the engine and the plane shot beneath the
cabin, then out on the other side. But Pant? Where was he? He was not on
the upper surface of the plane nor climbing down on the rigging.

Johnny sat down dizzily. Cold perspiration stood out on his brow. The
excitement, following hours of fatigue and near starvation, was too much
for him; his head swam; his eyes blurred.

But he shook himself free from these sensations and gazed skyward. He
expected to see Pant come crashing down to earth. He did not. There could
be but one answer: he had leaped in midair for the underrigging of the
cabin of the balloon and had caught it. What a feat! It made Johnny's head
dizzy to think of it. He did not doubt for one moment that Pant would do
it. But what could be his purpose? Had the balloon broken loose? Was it
drifting free, a derelict? This he could not believe,