60 
IN AFRICA 
Lawrence, who had charge of the ascension, was ap¬ 
prehensive. He feared to fill the balloon to its ca¬ 
pacity lest the expansion of the gas due to the hot 
sun should explode it. 
At half past three the basket was attached and it 
looked small—about the size of a large bushel bas¬ 
ket, three feet in diameter and three feet deep. The 
balloon, heavily laden with sand-bags, was lightened 
until it could almost rise, and in this condition was 
led across to an open spot sufficiently far from the 
nearest trees. The crowd thronged up pop-eyed 
and quivering with excitement. Then there was a 
long wait until the wind had died down a bit, which 
it did after a while. The eventful moment had ar¬ 
rived, and Mr. Stephenson, of our party, climbed 
into the basket. He is only six feet five inches in 
height and weighs only two hundred and thirty 
pounds. He had on a pair of heavy hunting boots, 
for we were leaving for the hunting grounds im¬ 
mediately after the ascension. One by one the 
restraining bags of sand were taken off, but still 
the balloon sat on the ground without any inclina¬ 
tion to do otherwise. 
A wave of disappointment spread over the 
crowd. Suddenly a brilliant inspiration struck the 
gallant aeronaut. He took off one of his heavy 
hunting boots and cast it overboard. The balloon 
arose a foot or two and then sagged back to earth. 
Then the other boot was cast over and the balloon 
rose several feet, swaying and whipping savagely 
over the heads of the crowd. The wind was now 
