blue sky a
thousand feet above the still raging storm. They could still hear the
thunder and see the vivid flashes of lightning.

"Gee! What a place to see the moon and stars," thought Billy. "Now the
danger seems to be over, I wish we would stay away up here until dark
so I could see what the moon and the stars look like when we are so
near them. If we get near enough the moon, I should like to jump off
and make a visit there."

Poor stupid Billy! He knew nothing of the thousands and thousands of
miles between him and the moon, though it might look so very near.

When the dirigible was sailing quietly along, a waiter came in and
began setting the table. He did not see our friends, and went
whistling about his task. What most aroused the Chums' curiosity were
the funny little fences he fastened on the table. Then when everything
was ready, he sprinkled water on the tablecloth until it was quite
wet.

"What in the world is he wetting that perfectly clean cloth for? I
should like to know that," mused Billy. "I'll just watch and see."

Then before the waiter put down his sprinkling can, he took a plate
and set it on the cloth to see if it was wet enough to keep the plate
from slipping if the dirigible tipped or rolled to one side. Finding
it was wet enough, he left the saloon and came back with a tray of
goblets. These he fitted in holes made for them in the little railing
that ran around the whole table.

"Well, I never!" exclaimed Billy. "Did you ever see anything as slick
as that? Now the people won't have their plates or goblets slip into
their laps as they eat. I wonder who ever thought of that scheme
first. I should like to see how the kitchen looks. It must be as tiny
as those on the Pullman cars. And I bet they have some new fandangled
contraptions to keep the boilers of hot stuff and the frying pans from
slipping off the stove when cooking. I'd go and try to get a peek at
it but I'm afraid of being discovered and thrown overboard."

At this moment the waiter returned with a tray of spoons, knives and
forks. As the swinging door closed behind him, he found himself facing
a rolling ball of string coming straight toward him. As it reached his
feet, he stepped to one side and the ball hit the door with such force
that it flew open and the ball of string rolled through.

The waiter was so astonished that he braced himself against the
partition while trying to catch his breath. As he stood there staring,
he h