, and sickened. Nor was Alain in a posture to listen. My kick had
sent Moleskin flying on top of him; and borne to earth, prone beneath
the superincumbent bulk of his retainer, he lay with hands outspread
like a swimmer's and nose buried in the plashy soil.

CHAPTER XXXIII

THE INCOMPLETE AERONAUTS

All this I took in at a glance: I dare say in three seconds or less. The
hubbub beneath us dropped to a low, rumbling bass. Suddenly a woman's
scream divided it--one high-pitched, penetrating scream, followed by
silence. And then, as a pack of hounds will start into cry, voice after
voice caught up the scream and reduplicated it until the whole enclosure
rang with alarm.

"Hullo!" Byfield called to me: "what the deuce is happening now?" and
ran to his side of the car. "Good Lord, it's Dalmahoy!"

It was. Beneath us, at the tail of a depending rope, that unhappy
lunatic dangled between earth and sky. He had been the first to cut the
tether; and, having severed it below his grasp, had held on while the
others cut loose, taking even the asinine precaution to loop the end
twice round his wrist. Of course the upward surge of the balloon had
heaved him off his feet, and his muddled instinct did the rest.
Clutching now with both hands, he was borne aloft like a lamb from the
flock.

So we reasoned afterwards. "The grapnel!" gasped Byfield: for Dalmahoy's
rope was fastened beneath the floor of the car, and not to be reached by
us. We fumbled to cast the grapnel loose, and shouted down together--

"For God's sake hold on! Catch the anchor when it comes! You'll break
your neck if you drop!"

He swung into sight again beyond the edge of the floor, and uplifted a
strained, white face.

We cast loose the grapnel, lowered it and jerked it towards him. He
swung past it like a pendulum, caught at it with one hand, and missed:
came flying back on the receding curve, and missed again. At the third
attempt he blundered right against it, and flung an arm over one of the
flukes, next a leg, and in a trice we were hauling up, hand over hand.

We dragged him inboard. He was pale, but undefeatedly voluble.

"Must apologise to you fellows, really. Dam silly, clumsy kind of thing
to do; might have been awkward too. Thank you, Byfield, my boy, I will:
two fingers only--a harmless steadier."

He took the flask and was lifting it. But his jaw dropped and his hand
hung arrested.

"He's going to faint," I cried. "The strain----"