"None, unless we could patch up the hole in the gas bag while we are up
aloft. I can hold the ship there for a while yet. Another reason why I
do not want to land is that we are over a thickly settled portion of the
state now, and if I go down to earth we will be surrounded by a curious
crowd that will delay us."

"Is that netting strong?" asked Mark, suddenly, pointing to the cords
that confined the gas bag.

"Two strands would support a man's weight," said Mr. Henderson.

"And have you anything to mend the silk bag with?" went on the boy.

"Yes, but why do you ask?"

"Because," answered Mark, "if you'll let me I'll climb up and mend the
hole the eagle made."

"Dare you do it?" cried the old professor, hope shining in his face.

"Try me and see."

The professor quickly prepared a piece of silk, kept on hand to repair
breaks in the bag. It was coated with a very strong and fresh cement.
The silk was to be inserted in the tear made by the eagles, when it
would at once harden and prevent the further escape of gas.

Mark made ready for the perilous ascent. He took off his coat, and
removed his shoes so his feet could better cling to the frail-looking
though strong cords.

"Slow down the ship!" commanded the captain. "Now, Mark, try! I hope
you succeed! Move cautiously. You don't want to lose your life!"

Mark said nothing. He grasped the piece of oiled silk, coated with the
cement, in his teeth, clinching it by a strip that was free from the
sticky substance. Then he stood on the rail of the _Monarch_ and began
his climb aloft. Surely few ascents were made under such fearful
conditions. The airship was now more than a mile above the earth. One
false step and the boy would plunge into eternity. Nothing could save
him.

Up and up he went, testing every cord and mesh before he trusted his
weight to it. On and on he advanced. The frail gas bag swayed in the
wind that was springing up. It seemed like a thing alive.

"Careful! Careful!" cautioned the professor in strained tones. Everyone
on the ship held his breath. Up and up Mark went. At last he reached the
place where the eagle's beak had torn the bag.

He braced himself in the meshes of the net. Then, leaning forward, he
fixed the patch under the rent, and pressed it into place. The cement
did not take hold at first. Mark pressed harder. Would the leak be
stopped?

"Will he make it?" asked one.

"I don't think so."

"He must make it!"

"If not we a