her.

Tom asked me what he'd better do, but I didn't know. He asked me if I
could hold on whilst he sailed away to a safe place and left the lion
behind. I said I could if he didn't go no higher than he was now; but if
he went higher I would lose my head and fall, sure. So he said, "Take a
good grip," and he started.

"Don't go so fast," I shouted. "It makes my head swim."

He had started like a lightning express. He slowed down, and we glided
over the sand slower, but still in a kind of sickening way; for it IS
uncomfortable to see things sliding and gliding under you like that, and
not a sound.

But pretty soon there was plenty of sound, for the lion was catching
up. His noise fetched others. You could see them coming on the lope from
every direction, and pretty soon there was a couple of dozen of them
under me, jumping up at the ladder and snarling and snapping at each
other; and so we went skimming along over the sand, and these fellers
doing what they could to help us to not forgit the occasion; and then
some other beasts come, without an invite, and they started a regular
riot down there.

We see this plan was a mistake. We couldn't ever git away from them
at this gait, and I couldn't hold on forever. So Tom took a think,
and struck another idea. That was, to kill a lion with the pepper-box
revolver, and then sail away while the others stopped to fight over
the carcass. So he stopped the balloon still, and done it, and then we
sailed off while the fuss was going on, and come down a quarter of a
mile off, and they helped me aboard; but by the time we was out of reach
again, that gang was on hand once more. And when they see we was really
gone and they couldn't get us, they sat down on their hams and looked up
at us so kind of disappointed that it was as much as a person could do
not to see THEIR side of the matter.

CHAPTER VI. IT'S A CARAVAN

I WAS so weak that the only thing I wanted was a chance to lay down, so
I made straight for my locker-bunk, and stretched myself out there. But
a body couldn't get back his strength in no such oven as that, so Tom
give the command to soar, and Jim started her aloft.

We had to go up a mile before we struck comfortable weather where it was
breezy and pleasant and just right, and pretty soon I was all straight
again. Tom had been setting quiet and thinking; but now he jumps up and
says:

"I bet you a thousand to one I know where we are. We're in the Great
Sahara