where he belonged and I guess he's dead
yet for all I know. He faced a good many bee-lines, that's one sure
thing. Anyway, we should bother about him because we had our own
bee-line hike to finish, only the worst was yet to come.

CHAPTER XVIII

ONE, TWO, THREE, GO!

After that, for as much as about ten yards, we didn't have any more
adventures. Then we had to climb over the band-stand, but that wasn't
much of an adventure.

The next thing we passed was a lot of cookies I had in my pocket. I
passed them around. After that we came to the place where Daredevil
Dennell used to go up in a balloon and just beyond there is the
ferris-wheel.

Now it was about half past three or so, or maybe four o'clock, when we
came near the ferris-wheel. The sun was over on the ridge, anyway, and
it was all kind of glinted up with yellow up there, and it was getting
more that way all the time. I was glad we were going up there, you can
bet.

"What do you say we take a rest in the ferris-wheel?" Westy said. "It's
just about in our path."

"Suits me," I said.

Now I'll tell you the way that wheel was. There were six cars and one of
them was exactly at the top and one of them was exactly at the bottom.
The trestle that the wheel hung on was only half as high as the wheel.
Up near the top of the trestle was the axle. So as we came along in the
same direction that the wheel was standing, the next car to the one on
the bottom was right in front of us and hanging just about low enough so
we could reach it. Those cars were not so big and they were boarded up
just like everything else was in that old park.

Maybe you'll say that the easiest thing would have been for us to climb
into the lowest car which was hanging right plunk underneath. But that
one seemed to be all boarded up tight. Besides, my patrol is crazy, just
as I told you. The next car on the side of the wheel nearer to us was
partly open on account of the boards being broken away. So what did
Westy do but take a running jump with the rest of us all after him. As
soon as three or four of us grabbed hold of the car, the old wheel
began creaking and the car started moving down. Then all of us went
sprawling out all over the ground.

"Try it again!" the kid shouted. "One--two----"

"Wait till it stops," they all shouted.

I can't tell you how far around that wheel went before it stopped. All I
know is it kept creaking and creaking and then it stopped and there was
a c