ABOVE THE CLOUDS.

Lake County Press, Issue 1063, 7 May 1903, Page 6

ABOVE THE CLOUDS.

" One thing I could never understand,'* said the judge, as he looked around at three or four guests after dinner, "is why everybody seems to expect a man when telling ;* story orally to confiue himself strictly to t>,o truth, while no one ever demands anytime* of the sort from a writing story-teller. It isn't fair. Besides, it is based on wrou,j principles. When a man tells a story, ha ought to make it just as interesting as 1.0 cau regardless of all considerations of truth." " Dangerous doctrine. Might be exticmcly demoralising." observed the dominie. "I can't think so." returned the judge. "Take the case of a host, for instance. I hold that il is not only his privilege, but hi.i duty, to entertain his guests with tho be»-c stories he can toll, and give uo thought to tiuth. Audi 11 undertake to show you that it is not demoralising iu any way. You remember having heard me mention the tramp trip which I took around the world when I was a young man, I presume ?" " I believe so," answered tho major, doubtfully. " I wasn't of course exactly what we picture when we think of a tramp, but I didn't have much money, and naturally I fell in with all sorts and conditions of men. I reached my lowest ebb financially in Sydney, Australia. At a cheap boarding house I bec-ime acquainted with a man who was by profession an aeionaut. Hib namo was Mudgelt, though on the bills he scintillated as Signor Campanella. 'lie was an excellent story teller and a good fellow; though, like mysilf, he was passing through a regular Oakhurstiau streak of bad luck. He had lost his balloon. It seemed that the thing had blown away one particularly windy afternoon just before the ascent, and the poor follow was waiting in hopes that it would be found out in the bush somewhere and brought in. It used to be quite pathetic to see him search through the want advertisements in the inorniug papers looking for the heading of ' Found Balloon.' but he never came across it. He also advertised it himself, giving a full description of the balloon and offering a reward of £lO for its return; but in this be was equally unsuccessful. "At last ha gave up all hope. ' Some women found that balloon 'ho would say, ' and couldn't resist the temptation to cut it up for silk dresses. Well, she's fixed for a SjoDd while anyhow; that balloon ought to make an ordinary-sized woman about 200 dresses, though I'll bet a shilling she'll gat tired of the last half of the Becond 100.' It was before tho day of big sleeves, so lam right about the number. " But my fiii.il 1s fortunes changed finally, temporarily at least. He found a man willing to furnish money for a new balloon, and after it was finished ho made regular daily ascents for a foi might. He asked me to accompany him, and I did so several times. However, illluck still pursued Campanella, and two weeks after he got his new balloon he one day had a row with a drunken sailor and went to the hospital with a broken head. " The manager came to mo in despair. Could not I make the ascent? I agreed, and went over to the grounds. Here I put oo the signor's gorgeous apparol and climbed into the basket. Theie was a trapeze below tbe basket on which the signor was wont to hang by his toes and otherwise to playfully disport himself while going up, but I judiciously kept off and stuck to the basket. "The crowd made a great uproar about this, feeling that they were not getting their money's worth unless they see a man endanger his life. I could hear the manager explaining that I would begin to perform as soon as 1 was up high enough to make it worth while,, and later I understood that after I had passed out of sight above the clouds he assured thom that I was doing tho most blood-curdling feats on that trapezo that any human being ever attempted. " There was a rather stiff breeze blowing, and 1 sailed along at a good late. I had shot up six thousand or seven thousand feet, aod far below me was a mighty ocean of white cloud. Where 1 was the sun shone brightly, and it was cool and pleasant, but I could soon sec tho lightning thrashing about below and hear the thunder growl. I had no desire to go down into a thunderstorm, so I sailed on. "At tho end of two hours I was Bti'i driving along at the rate, I estimated, of. fifty or sixty miles an hour. I had grow«i tired of watching tho raging storm below, and looked off toward what I suppose I may call the horizon. Far away against the sky I saw a speck. I thought it was a bird at first, but as we approached nearer what waa my astonishment to see that it was another balloon. " We were being driven by currents blowing at right angles, and were rapidly coming closer together. Soon I could make out another person in tho other balloon. I waTed my hand at him. and, as he was a hundred feet above me, I threw out a few handfuls of ballast. I rose anJ. inßtantly saw that wo were going to meet. I prepared a ropo; and, as tho sides of our great bags.touched, I threw one end into the oncoming basket. As the other aeronaut straightened up from making the end fast I was further astouishel when my eyes mot those of a beautiful young woman. " The line was holding us only ten or twelve feet apart. 1 took off my hat, and as a total stranger apologised for addressing her, but hoped that the unusual circumstances of our meetiug would excuse my ap< parent rudeness. Besides, I fancied that her face seemed familiar, though this, of course, was a flat lie. She smiled and gracefully accepted my apology, tf.be was young, bright, and 1 thought the handsomest girl I had ever seen. She was tastefully dressed iu a fancy costume, with skirtß reaching ju»t below the knee.. " We were soon chatting pleasantl* together, and I learnt that she had gone up. or come up, rather, that afternoon from M«dbourne.and had been drivine before the wind above the storm, as 1 had myself been doiog. It was, she said, only her third ascent, bat sho was perfectly cool, and laughed gayly over our somewhat strange meeting. 1 happened to look closely at her balloon, and suddenly it struck me that it answered the description of the one the signor had lost, t asked her delicately where she got it, and she said it had come down one day in her father's front garden; and, after a diligent attempt to find the owner by advertising in all of the Melbourn* papers and putting up a notice in the post-oflice, she had decided to begin making agents with tbe balloon herself, since there was a heavy mortgage ou her father's farm and danger of his losing it if £SOO was not raised soon. " She was much embarrassed when I told her that 1 knew the owner of the balloon,and instantly said she- wonld return it to him at the earliest possible moment. I was by this time so taken by her that I told her she should do nothing of the sort; that as tho signor had got another balloon I would se© that she was not dispossessed, though I had not the least idea how I should ever pay for it. "At this she blushed, thauked me, bat said that mamma would not allow her to accept such a gift from a comparative stranger. 1 was deeply touched by her delicacy in the matter, but resolved that she should own the balloon nevertheless. In fact, to tell the truth, I was, as you may guess, falling in love with tho girl aB rapidly as it is possible for any man to fall iu love with any young woman. " And, to make a long story short, by the time the storm was over arid wo began to descend, I was engaged to her, Bubject to the consent of her parents. As we settled towards the earth and I gazed iuto her great liquid eyes and sawtheiethe light of awakening love I was the happiest man above the Australian continent. But one dark thought: crossed my mind—that of my utter poverty. "Wo soon reached terra firma, and a delicious thrill shot through ine as I touched Iter hand for the first time in assisting her from her basket. I then turned and picked up a stone to use in staking down our balloons. 1 Baw something gleam on iu I examined it closeiy. Gold! A glance showed moie all about ou the ground. I used nay stakes in marking out a claim. It became the celebii'ted Gai Bag mine, of which yqu. have heard, and a month later I sold it for £IO,OOO. We were married in Woolloomoolloo." " See here, judge," broke in the dominie, " l thought this story was going to introduce an incident to prove that lying is not demoralising!" ■' I promised nothing of the sort," returned the judge. '-Tins story is an <-xnmple» not an incident, to prove anything. However, there may be proof in it after all. I have told it, and I'll leave it to anyone) here if 1 am deuuiiaiiiK-d."