Freddy and the Perilous Adventure Read Free Page B

admiration and congratulations of his friends, for he felt—very sensibly, I think—that he might as well get all the glory he could out of the ascension beforehand, in case he drifted out to sea and was never heard of again. And when, after dinner, the animals set out for the fair grounds, he and the two ducks rode in the place of honor, in the back seat of the phaeton.
    The Bean animals were very popular in Centerboro, and Freddy bowed and waved to many old friends as they went along through the fair grounds to where the balloon, now almost fully inflated with gas, was tugging in the breeze at the ropes that held it to the ground. The sideshows and the merry-go-round were almost deserted, for everyone had crowded up to listen to Freddy’s speech and see the ascension. Mr. Golcher greeted them warmly.
    â€œHow’s this for a crowd?” he said. “We’re going to have an ascension today that is an ascension! And these are the two ducks? Happy to meet you, I’m sure. And all these are your friends? Golcher welcomes you, one and all.”
    On the ride over from the farm the two spiders had climbed up on to the top of Freddy’s head, where they had prudently anchored themselves to a few strands of web spun between his ears. But when Mr. Golcher had led Freddy and the ducks over and helped them into the basket which was swung from cords that formed a net over the bulging surface of the balloon above them, the spiders found a safer place in a crevice of the basket, where they would be out of the way and still see all that was going on.
    â€œNow,” said Mr. Golcher, “you want to know what all these things are for. This here cord is attached to a valve that lets the gas out of the balloon. If you want to come down, you let a little gas out. If you’re coming down too fast, you throw out some of these bags of sand, fastened along the side of the basket. If you’re drifting along close to the ground and want to stop, you throw out this grapnel,” he said, picking up a thing that looked like a sort of four-pronged anchor, which was fastened to the end of a coil of rope.
    â€œThis here cord is attached to a valve …”
    â€œBut we don’t need to know about those things,” said Freddy. “I mean, you’ll know better than we would what to do.”
    â€œI would if I was with you,” said Mr. Golcher.
    â€œYou don’t mean you’re going to send us up alone ?” said the pig.
    â€œWhy, sure. ’Twouldn’t draw a crowd if I just took a pig up with me. Pig goes up alone—there, now you’ve got something.” He took a handbill out of his pocket. “That’s the way we advertised it, see? ‘See the Flying Pig! Daring animal aeronaut braves dangers of the stratosphere! Hear the talking pig! Accomplished porker delivers patriotic address. Witness this breath-taking, super-stupendous phenomenon—the first and only quadrupedal orator and balloonist will make a balloon ascension at four P.M. sharp.’ and so on and so on.”
    â€œThat’s very nice,” said Freddy. “Only I’ve never—er, driven a balloon.”
    â€œI’m sure you’ll drive it very capably, Freddy,” said Alice calmly. She and her sister were sitting on the edge of the basket, watching the crowd.
    â€œOh, dear,” said Emma; “are you sure it’s quite, quite safe, Mr. Golcher?”
    â€œBe still, sister,” said Alice severely. “Of course it isn’t safe. But it won’t be any safer if you tremble all over. What would Uncle Wesley say if he could hear your bill chattering?”
    â€œI’ll try to stop it,” said Emma. “Oh, here’s that nice sheriff.”
    The sheriff, who had come over to the fair grounds with some of the prisoners, came up and wished Freddy a pleasant journey, and handed him a large paper bag. “Some of the candy the boys pulled