“Br-rr-r!” shivered the unfortunate passenger. “Oh, don’t talk about it!”
“Get the aerodrome safety helmet on him,” pursued Hiram. “It will save his head if he tumbles.”
“Say, I don’t want to! You’ve got to stop! I’m an officer of the law and I order you to lower this balloon.”
“You want to drop, do you?” called back Hiram, “All right, if you say so, only——”
“No! no! no!” fairly bellowed the constable, as the pilot described a manœuvre pretty near to accomplishing a “shoot-the-chutes” dive in aviation. “You know best. I’ll do as you say.”
He allowed Elmer to fasten on the helmet as the machine steadied. It made his big shock-haired head look bigger than ever.
“Now then, the felt safety buffers,” directed Hiram, and his willing accomplice bundled the passenger in between two thick pads covering chest and shoulders like a wad of pillows.
“He’d better have the earflaps and respirators if you’re going up into the rarefied air,” suggested Elmer, solicitously.
“Don’t go! Say, I’m not well! This air is good enough for me,” remonstrated the constable.
“Now for the non-concussion girdle,” ordered the merciless pilot.