ably come down in a parachute," said Tom. "They generally do
that."
"No! No!" cried Ned. "He isn't going to jump. Something has
happened! The balloon is on fire! He'll be burned to death!"
Horror stricken, they all gazed aloft. From the mouth of the balloon
there shot a tongue of fire, and it was followed by a cloud of black
smoke. The big bag was getting smaller and seemed to be descending,
while the man on the trapeze was hanging downward by his hands to get
as far as possible away from the terrible heat.
CHAPTER XXII
THE RESCUE
"Jump! Jump!" cried Mr. Swift, leaping to his feet and motioning to
the man on the trapeze of the balloon. But it is doubtful whether or
not the performer heard him. Certainly he could not see the frantic
motions of the inventor. "Why doesn't he jump?" Mr. Swift went on
piteously to the two lads. "He'll surely be burned to death if he
hangs on there!"
"It's too far to leap!" exclaimed Tom. "He's a good way up in the air,
though it looks like only a short distance. He would be killed if he
dropped now."
"He ought to have a parachute," added Ned. "Most of those men do when
they go up in a balloon. Why doesn't he come down in that? I wonder
how the balloon took fire?"
"Maybe he hasn't a parachute," suggested Tom, while he slowed down the
motor-boat still more so as to remain very nearly under the blazing
balloon.
"Yes, he has!" cried Ned. "See, it's hanging to one side of the big
bag. He ought to cut loose. He could save himself then. Why doesn't
he?"
The balloon was slowly twisting about, gradually settling to the
surface of the lake, but all the while the flames were becoming fiercer
and the black clouds of smoke increased in size.
"There, see the parachute!" went on Ned.
The twisting of the bag had brought into view the parachute or big,
umbrella-shaped bag, which would have enabled the man to safely drop to
the surface of the lake. Without it he would have hit the water with
such force that he would have been killed as surely as if he had struck
the solid earth. But the boys and Mr. Swift also saw something else,
and this was that the balloon was on fire on the same side where the
parachute was suspended.
"Look! Look!" shouted Tom, bringing his boat to a stop. "That's why he
can't jump! He can't reach the parachute!"
By this time the balloon had settled so low that the actions of the man
could be plainly seen. That he was in
|