"Oh, do stop teasing," pleaded Jerry, "and tell me."
"It's a balloon," replied Uncle Billy. "Would you like to go up in it?"
"Oh, yes," she answered, her eyes dancing with delight. "Will it sail away off?"
"No, Jerry, it won't or you wouldn't catch me going up in it. I'm going to look it all over first to find out if it's perfectly safe."
"But suppose the rope should break?" insisted Jerry as they hurried along.
"We'd let the gas escape from the bag, and that would make the balloon sink slowly to the earth. Of course we would not let all of the gas out, but just enough to let it sink to the ground. Why, you little monkey," added Uncle Billy, "I believe you wanted it to break away," and he laughed at her daring.
After the balloon ropes were well tested, both climbed into the basket where two women passengers were already standing beside the attendant.
"Only fifty cents for ten minutes above the clouds," shouted the man selling tickets, "step this way and get off the earth."
"He's trying to be funny, isn't he?" laughed Jerry as she held tightly to the basket's edge.