happy, while those they had left behind were very much worried and
miserable.

The wind blew harder and harder, but, as I have said, Flossie and
Freddie did not notice it. Soon, however, they began to notice something
else, and this was some drops of water.

"Oh, the balloon's leaking!" cried Flossie, as she felt a damp spot on
her red cheek.

Freddie also felt some wet splashes, but he saw at once what they were.

"It's raining!" he cried. And so it was. The storm had broken.

"Raining!" cried Flossie. "And we hasn't got any umbrella!"

"We don't need one," said the little boy. "The balloon's so big it will
be like an umbrella over us."

This was partly true. The bag of the balloon bulged out over the heads
of the children, keeping off most of the rain. But some blew in sideways
over the top of the basket, and the children would have been quite wet
had they not wrapped themselves in blankets. These kept them warm and
dry, for one of the blankets was of rubber.

Thus the little Bobbsey twins sailed on in a balloon, the first ride of
this kind they had ever taken. Their first fright was over, but they
began wondering what would happen next.

Suddenly Flossie discovered a hole in the bottom of the basket, through