[CHAPTER XXVIII]
THE RED BALLOON
“Catch him! Save him!” cried Bob.
Ned did not cry out, but he made a convulsive spring for the professor, just as he was disappearing.
Now, Nature had blessed the scientist with a pair of long legs, though she had made his body very short. Consequently, though his body was entirely out of the window, and his head was hanging down toward the earth, his feet had not yet passed over the sill. This Ned saw, and he took advantage of it like a flash.
He grabbed the professor’s ankles with all his strength and threw himself backward to counteract the effect of the pull caused by the involuntary tumble of the little man.
“Grab me, Bob!” cried Ned, and his chum had presence of mind enough to do as he was told without stopping to ask why.
The result was that the professor was caught just in time, and the grips of the two sturdy youths prevented him from falling. But they could not pull him in, as his loose trousers had caught on the sill. All they could do was to hold him there while Jerry, all unconscious of what had happened, was in the steering tower, sending the ship ahead at great speed.
“Help!” cried Bob.