The Mayor stood looking very undecided, but when he saw the crowd beginning to shake their fists at him as well, he gave a jump, caught the Giant’s boot, and raised himself into a sitting position on the toe of it.
“Will you promise to do your best to get off if I come up and have a look?” he asked in a shaking voice.
“Of course we will,” said Peggy soothingly.—“Don’t look such a big frightened baby!” she added reprovingly to the Giant.—“Draw your boot up gently. There, that’s right”—as the Mayor was sidled carefully off into the front seat; “now I wish we could go on!”
The car shook itself all over, then leapt upwards, and once more set off at breakneck speed, but this time straight upwards into the sky! Something at the same moment fell out with a heavy flop. Peggy turned her head hastily, just in time to see the Giant falling through the air behind them. But the car was rising upwards at such a pace that the next moment he and the whole town disappeared from view!
“Stop!” said a frightened voice at her side, and she turned and saw the Mayor, whom for the moment she had quite forgotten. His face was no longer purple, but as white as a sheet.
“I can’t!” said Peggy. “I’ve only one wish left, and that’s got to take me home. You asked me to get off the spire, you know, and I have! The Giant’s wearing his seven-leagued boots, so he’ll soon catch us up when he gets balanced again.” She skirted the edge of a pink sunset cloud as she spoke, and drove right up through a lemon-coloured one. “Oh, how lovely!” she went on delightedly. “I got a great chunk of it in my mouth, and it tasted just like pineapple. Did you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the Mayor. “We’ve just been through an awful fog, and I insist on you stopping the car at once. If you can’t—and I see you don’t understand the first rudiments of driving—I can!”
He leant across her and seized the steering-wheel, but it at once came off in his hand, rolled down his arm, and jumped out of the car.
“There!” said Peggy triumphantly, to the now speechless Mayor. “See what comes of meddling!” (She felt quite like Nurse when she spoke like that.) “Never mind, my car goes just as well without that bit!” and she leant back in her seat and crossed her arms grandly. “The only thing I’m worrying about,” she went on, “is, if the Giant will ever find us! You don’t see him coming, do you? Look down through the hole in the car.”
“Unless you stop, I shall jump out,” said the Mayor in a desperate voice. And he stood up and really looked as though he meant to!