their kites.

"A city's no place to fly kites," said Laddie. "We ought to be in the
country."

"We ought to be at Grandma Bell's," agreed Russ. "That was a dandy place
to fly kites--big fields and no telegraph wires to tangle the tail in."

However, they managed, after some hard work, to get their kites up into
the air, and then they sat in the lot, holding the strings and sending
up messengers.

CHAPTER XX

THE JUMPING ROPE

"My kite's higher than yours," said Laddie, as he looked at his
plaything, away up in the air, and then at his brother's.

"Well, I haven't let out all my string yet," Russ answered. "I can make
mine go up a lot higher than yours when I unwind some more cord, and I'm
going to."

"I'm going to send up another messenger," said Laddie. "I haven't got
any more string to let out, but maybe I could get some."

He took a small piece of paper, put a hole in it, and then slipped
through this hole the stick to which his kite cord was tied. Then the
piece of paper went sailing up the kite string, twirling around and
around until it was half way to the kite itself.

"Look at my messenger go!" cried Laddie, as the piece of paper whirled
around and around in a brisk breeze. "Why don't you send up one, and we
can have a race?"

"I will!" exclaimed Russ. "We'll have a race with the paper messengers,
and then I'll get some more string, and send my kite higher."

"So'll I," decided Laddie. "Oh, Russ, we can even have a race with the
kites!" he went on. "We'll see whose kite will go highest."

"Yes, we can do that," agreed the older boy. "Now I'll make a
messenger."

So Russ did that, and as the messenger Laddie had put on was, by this
time, nearly up to his kite, he put another on the string. The boys held
them from going up until both were ready, and then, just as when they
sometimes had a foot race, Russ cried:

"Go!"

They took their hands off the paper messengers, and up the strings they
shot, the wind blowing them very fast.

"Look at 'em go! Look at 'em!" cried Laddie, dancing about in delight.

"And you'd better look out and not let go of your kite string, or
that'll go, too," said Russ. "Your kite'll fly away same as Rose's
balloon airship did."

"I wonder if they'd go to the same place," said Laddie. "If my kite
would be sure to fly to where Rose let the balloons fly to I'd let it
go."

"Why would you?" asked Russ.

"'Cause then I could find Rose's doll for her. I could