Nobody had been hurt, although not a few had been frightened when the weight of the monstrous bag first settled down upon them. The balloon was rolled up and placed on one side of the road and the loose guns picked up.
“Guess it must be a runaway balloon,” suggested Pepper.
“I believe it has been used for exhibition purposes,” said Captain Putnam. “See there is a trapeze. Probably the performer jumped from the balloon and used a parachute for reaching the ground.”
“Was there to be an exhibition around here?” asked Jack.
“I believe one was advertised to take place at Menville. The wind is blowing from that direction.”
There was nothing to do but to leave the balloon by the roadside, and after a brushing up and a readjustment of equipments the battalion moved on once more. Half a mile was covered when they were halted by two men in a long farm-wagon.
“Excuse me!” shouted one of the men. “But have you seen anything of a balloon around here?”
“I should say we had,” answered Captain Putnam, who was marching by Jack’s side. “It came down in the roadway, directly on our heads.”
“What! I reckon you were scared,” and the man grinned.
“We shouldn’t care to repeat the experiment,” said the captain, coldly. “Some of my students were knocked down, and if they had not held up the balloon with their guns they might have been smothered.”