"Well, those lads want to hurry if this balloon isn't to go sailing off
by itself! My, but the wind is blowing hard! I've a good notion to call
this off. I'm afraid we're in for a bad storm."

"We can't stop it now," said the second man. "The crowd expects us to go
up, and we'll have to go."

"Well, we'll try it. But we must tie the balloon down and put in more
gas. It won't go up very far only half filled as it is."

Suddenly some voices cried:

"One side! One side if you please!"

It was the men coming up with ropes to tie the balloon down.

Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey tried to gather the children close to them, to get
them out of the way of the men. But, in some manner, Flossie and
Freddie turned to one side, and before they knew it they were separated
from their friends. And then Flossie and Freddie found themselves pushed
close up against the balloon basket.

"Oh, let's get in!" cried Freddie.

"We'll just sit down for a minute and then get out," agreed Flossie.

The crowd was so excited, trying to get out of the way of the men with
the coils of rope, that no one noticed what the small Bobbsey twins did.
And so Freddie and Flossie climbed into the balloon basket and snuggled