one of great danger, seated as he
was in that slender car miles above the earth, and so numbed by the cold
that he could not hold the ropes. He reached the valve-cord at last,
however, and, seizing it between his teeth, gave it two or three
vigorous jerks. The balloon stopped ascending. Hooking his numbed arms
over the ring, he dropped safely into the car. As he did so, he noticed
that the blue hand of the barometer stood perpendicular. _The balloon
had ceased to climb at seven miles high!_

His efforts to restore Mr. Glaisher were soon successful, and, by the
time the earth was again reached, no ill effects from the wonderful
adventure were to be felt.

We must mention six other passengers that took part in the journey:
these were pigeons. One was liberated at three miles high, but dropped
with wide-open wings like a sheet of paper until denser air was reached.
A second, at four miles, was evidently a stronger bird, for it flew
vigorously round and round, gradually descending. A third, dropped a
little higher, fell like a stone; and another, thrown out at four miles,
on the way down, took a comfortable perch on the top of the balloon.

This famous flight of Messrs. Coxwell and Glaisher is still a record. No
other balloon has ever ascended to so great a height, and, when a
similar attempt was made in France by three celebrated aeronauts, two of
them lost their lives at a height of five miles, owing to the rarity of
the atmosphere they had to breathe.

The illustration of the scene in the balloon, on page 265, is copied
from Mr. Glaisher's _Travels in the Air_, published by Messrs. Macmillan
& Co., Ltd., who have kindly given leave for its reproduction.

JOHN LEA.

AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK.

A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.

(_Continued from page 259._)

CHAPTER IX.

When Charlie arrived at his home, in an unmistakably ill-fitting suit of
clothes and accompanied by a Chinaman, equally badly dressed, he caused
great surprise to his family. If he had returned dressed in
'fear-noughts' and a jersey, or even in 'oilies,' they would not have
been surprised, but there was nothing nautical about his present
attire.

'Well, my boy,' Charlie's father said to him, after Ping Wang had been
introduced, 'have you had a good time?'

'Well, not exactly,' Charlie answered, 'but I have discovered that
Skipper Drummond is an old rascal, and that he believes he will have no
difficulty in swindli