“Time for our first competition!” Sky announced suddenly.
“We’re starting with Hare and Hounds.” She explained that one balloon, the hare, would take off first. Shortly after, the other balloons would follow. Whoever landed closest to the hare would win.
“Who’s the hare?” someone asked.
“We’ll choose by lottery,” Matt said. He held up a bowl. In it were folded slips of paper. “On one of these is the word hare.”
Excitement shot through the group as the pilots lined up. One by one, they reached into the bowl. One after another, they said, “Hound.”
Don Fister pulled out his paper. He read it, then held it high over his head. “Hare!” he proclaimed.
Sky handed each pilot a map.
Matt said, “I just talked with the weather service. Conditions are perfect.” He turned to the Aldens. “Wait here,” he said. He went to the shed and came out with two small balloons on strings. He handed one to Soo Lee and one to Benny. “When I give the signal, let these balloons go,” he directed.
Violet looked puzzled. These were ordinary party balloons. She couldn’t imagine why they were needed.
Sky answered her unspoken question. “These balloons are filled with helium. Like hot air, it’s lighter than the surrounding atmosphere. We use them to test the winds.”
Matt said, “Now!” and Soo Lee and Benny released the balloons.
Everyone watched the balloons climb and drift. Finally satisfied that they had enough information to make successful flights, the balloonists hurried to their launch sites.
Sky and Matt were not going up today, so they didn’t need the Aldens’ help. “You can watch Don get ready,” Sky suggested.
Don and his crew unpacked their balloon and carefully spread it over the ground. Then, they installed the propane tanks in the basket and tipped it on its side.
“Getting ready to fly is a lot of work,” Benny observed.
“Yes, it is,” Don said. “Especially with my crew, they’re so slow,” he complained.
“And it has to be done correctly,” Henry said, “or they may have trouble.”
Finally, all the equipment was in place and the cables and ropes attached. The crew chief tested everything. Then, he started a gasoline-powered fan. Two crew members lifted the edges of the balloon, opening it to let in the fan’s airstream.
“Henry, you were certainly right,” Violet commented. “Pete Moran couldn’t have launched Brad Golder’s balloon alone.”
“It might have taken more than two people,” Jessie said.
Held down by crew members, the colorful balloon puffed up, swaying gently in the breeze. Don Fister ducked inside.
“Why is he going inside the balloon?” Soo Lee asked.
“He’s checking for tears,” Jessie answered.
“And he’s making sure the opening in the top of the balloon is closed tightly,” Henry said. “It’s called the crown,” he added.
“Why is there an opening in the top of the balloon?” Benny asked. “If it has to be closed anyway . . .”
“It’s called a deflation port,” Henry explained. “When the pilot wants to come down, he pulls a cord to open it.”
Now Benny understood. He nodded. “And that lets air out.”
Don Fister emerged from inside the balloon. “Now for some heat,” he said. He turned a valve and lit the burner. With a loud whoosh, a yellow-blue flame shot through the balloon’s mouth, heating the air inside.
Pete Moran, a volunteer crew member, turned off the fan. Others held tight to the balloon ropes. As Don directed a series of heat bursts into the balloon covering, the balloon struggled to be free.
“Ease off!” the crew chief shouted, and the rope handlers loosened their hold.
Then, Don gave the order to let go of the ropes. The balloon rose, swaying, to an upright position.
“It’s going to take off!” Mary England cried.
The crew rushed forward. Mary joined them. They grabbed hold of the basket just as Don Fister hopped inside.
After one last check, Don released another blast of heat. “Hands off!” he instructed, and everyone stood back.
The balloon and basket rose slowly skyward.
“Wow!” Benny exclaimed. “Look at it go!”
Pete Moran started his station wagon. Another volunteer hopped into the passenger seat. They would follow Don’s balloon to its landing site.
Everyone else was busy preparing their own balloons for flight. Before long, five more balloons took off, filling the sky with brilliant color.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Matt said.
“It sure is!” the Aldens agreed.
Five cars pulled out of the port.
“There go the chase crews,” Benny observed.
Mary England came up beside them. “I ripped my stockings on that basket,” she said.
“You shouldn’t have grabbed the basket like that,” Matt said. “That’s the crew’s job.”
Mary ignored him. “I’m going home to change,” she said. “I’ll be back later.”
“Take your time,” Matt said, but Mary was already headed for her car.
One hour later, Brad Golder and his chase crew returned.
“I couldn’t find Fister anywhere,” Brad told them. “It was as if he just . . . disappeared.”
One after another, the balloonists returned, each with the same story: Don Fister was nowhere to be found. The Hare and Hounds contest was canceled.
“That’s strange,” Sky said. “He’s a good pilot, and we marked the maps with the best landing spots.”
“He’ll turn up,” Matt assured her.
When Pete returned without Don, even Matt looked worried.
“Don wasn’t following the course, and we just couldn’t keep up with him,” Pete said.
“Maybe we should all go looking for him,” Benny suggested.
Sky shook her head. “If his own crew couldn’t find him . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“Is there anything we can do?” Jessie asked.
Sky shrugged. “Pete can take the chase crew out for another search, and we can wait here to see if Don calls,” she answered.
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