The next day Leo lost no time in interviewing Adam Lambert concerning
Mart.
"He is clever and will in time make a good acrobat and balloonist," he
said.
The matter was talked over, and that afternoon Mart joined the "Greatest
Show on Earth" on trial. He was to assist Leo in the balloon, Larry
Greson having now to spend much of his time with Professor Ricardo, who
was worse in health.
A week later found the circus in Denver. In the meantime nothing had
been heard of Porler, but one night Leo came face to face with him.
The balloonist scowled and was about to speak, but suddenly changed his
mind and walked away.
"You must be on guard against that man," said Leo to Mart.
"I will be," was the reply.
The ascension from the circus grounds in Denver attracted great
attention.
When the time came for the balloon to go up Leo and Mart entered the
basket.
Up and up went the great monster, gayly decorated on every side.
Below hung several swinging bars and a rope ladder.
Mart began to perform on the ladder, while the young gymnast leaped from
one trapeze to another.
It was a marvelous sight, and the crowd went wild with enthusiasm.
But suddenly, when the balloon was well up over the buildings near by, a
cry of horror arose.
A man was seen to lean out of a window not far away.
He held a rifle in his hand, and the weapon was pointed at the balloon.
Crack!
The weapon spoke and the ball pierced the silken sides of the floating
monster.
Leo heard the sound of the rifle and he at once felt that something was
wrong.
Suddenly Mart Keene gave a cry of terror.
"Oh, Mr. Dunbar, look out. There is a man in one of the buildings who is
aiming a gun at the balloon!"
Crack!
The rifle spoke again, and the people, looking upward, saw Leo make a
leap.
The trapeze had been struck.
Leo had leaped to where hung his parachute.
He caught it with his left hand.
Down he came, the parachute in his grasp.
The catch gave way and out shot the ribs of the parachute, and the young
gymnast's headlong flight to earth was stayed.
A cheer went up.
"He is safe!"
The crowd gathered around to where Leo had reached the earth, in the
center of a field of grass.
"He was struck!"
"Is he badly hurt?"
The youth lay unconscious on the grass, his face as pale as a sheet.
A few thought him dead, and the report that he had been killed quickly
circulated.
The police ran into the building in search of the rascal who had done
the firing, but could not find their man.
Taking advantage of the excitement, Porler, for it was he, had left the
grounds as fast as possible.
He knew that if caught the crowd might be incensed enough to lynch him
on the spot.
Luckily two physicians were present, and both hurried to Leo's side.
It was found that he was suffering quite a little from his fall.
An ambulance was summoned, and the young gymnast was conveyed to a
hospital.
Here he was given every attention, and by the following morning he felt
nearly as well as ever, although his breast was still sore and had to be
kept tightly bandaged.
In the meanwhile the balloon had sailed away from the fair grounds with
Mart clinging to the ropes.
The boy was terribly frightened over what had occurred.
He became faint and felt for a minute that he must fall from his lofty
perch.
But he recovered and held fast, and thus the balloon drifted far away.
He imagined the man who had fired the shots was Porler, but was not
certain.
On and on went the balloon over the city, and then across a wide stretch
of farming land.
Finally it began to settle in a neighborhood full of brush and trees.
Mart looked out anxiously, and it was with much satisfaction that he saw
the balloon was about to fall in a cleared spot, where no damage would
come to it, and from which he could easily escape.
Down and down came the monster, until it touched the ground as lightly
as would a drifting feather.
The lad leaped away to escape the great mass of falling silk and ropes.
Soon the balloon lay a flat mass where it had struck.
Mart wondered if it would be safe to leave the thing until some one came
for it.
Usually Greson attended to such matters, but now he might have his hands
full with Leo Dunbar.
As Mart thought of Leo his eyes filled with tears.
He thought a good deal of his champion.
He was the first person in the world who had really befriended him.
"Oh, I hope he isn't seriously hurt!" he murmured to himself.
While he stood by the fallen balloon wondering what was best to do he
heard the sound of wagon wheels.
They came from a country road a few hundred feet to his right.
"It must be Greson or one of the others coming for the balloon," he said
to himself.
The wagon came to a stop, and he ran forward to meet the newcomer that
he might inquire about Leo.
Then of a sudden his heart seemed to stop beating.
The man approaching from the wagon was Porler!