"'What's the bottle for?' asked the mate.
"'Just for a sort of ballast,' I answered.
"'What do you have the flag for?' asked one of the men.
"'Oh, for instance,' I answered, in school-boy fashion.
"I now lighted the flare in the neck of my balloon, and had the pleasure of seeing my contrivance slowly but surely inflated with the heated air. In good time it was ready to rise, and as I released it, to my intense satisfaction it gently rose toward the sky, carrying the bottle with it.
"'Hooray for the Fourth o' July!' cried one of the sailors, and the crew gave three hearty cheers.
"Then they all stood about, watching it as it soared away into the nor'west like a comet.
"'If some ship sights that thing,' said one old fellow, 'she'll think a picnic has got lost.'
"'By the great hook block!' exclaimed the mate, 'maybe they'll hunt around and find us.'
"'If that should happen,' said the Captain, 'it would turn out that your sport paid, Elias.'