as the party was leaving. "I want to talk to him."

"I don't know," was the boy's answer. "He doesn't stay at the
merry-go-round as much as he used to. He lets me and one of his men run
it. He's away a lot."

"Well, you tell him I want to see him," went on Mr. Bobbsey. "I shall be
here to-morrow and the next day."

"I'll tell him," promised Bob Guess.

"Now let's go see the balloon," suggested Bert.

"They're getting ready to send it up!" exclaimed Harry, as they neared
the place where the big bag, already partly filled with gas, was swaying
to and fro. Over the bag was a net work of strong cords, and the cords
were fastened to the rim of a large square basket. To the basket were
tied ropes, and to the ends of these ropes were bags of sand, thus
holding the balloon to the ground.

"What makes it go up?" asked Flossie, as she watched the swaying bag.

"Gas," explained Mr. Bobbsey. "They put in the big bag some gas,
sometimes one kind and sometimes another, just like the gas in your toy
balloons. This gas is so very light--it's not even so heavy as air--that
it wants to go up into the air, all by itself. And when it is inside a
bag the gas takes the bag up into the air with it."

"And the basket too? Doesn't it take the basket?" Freddie asked.