“Tuck, I’m bored with this here, hollow,” said Curtis.
“This isn’t the first time you told me that. Do you remember what happened last time?” Tucker asked.
“He he, yea. We darn near drowned trying to sail to Africa in that boat we made from old wine barrels,” answered Curtis.
“Didn’t even get out of the lake if I recall. If you suggest another sailing adventure, I will stay on dry land. Thank you very much,” remarked Tucker.
“T’ain’t that at all. We can fly,” suggested Curtis.
“How are we gonna fly? Let me guess, grow wings. Shoot, you’re goofy, too,” mocked his friend.
“Sounds silly, but I was down at the general store, and Mr. Cummings had a copy of Adventurers sitting out, so I took a gander. Know what I saw?” Curtis asked his friend.
“I haven’t a clue,” replied Tucker. “I’m certain it’s going to cost me my spending money. It will also give me multiple cuts and bruises to boot.”
“As I said, I was looking through the pages. Then, I saw a man in a balloon trying to go around the world. Can you imagine that?” asks Curtis.
“Balloon, as in the kind old man Thompson sells at the carnival? Dang, you are thick in the head. Do you know how much that would cost?” chided Tucker.
“No, not that balloon. This was a big one, and Mr. Cumming said it was made from animal hides covered with sap to keep the hydrogen gas from escaping,” said Curtis.
Tucker was unusually quiet. Then his eyes lit up. “Holy Moly,” Tucker said excitedly. “Granddaddy told me he served General Lee as a balloon lookout. It was during the war against northern aggression.”
“What in tarnation are you going on about?” asked Curtis.
Tucker explains that his grandfather had built and maintained gas balloons during the war. When the fighting stopped, he kept one of the balloons, hoping he would use it again someday.
“Come on, it’s up in the loft of our barn,” said Tucker excitedly. The two boys found the balloon and cleaned it up.
The two then set about finding a basket. Ms. Clemens gave them an old buggy with no wheels. Tying the balloon’s net to the axle posts did the trick.
“How do we get some hydrogen to do the lifting,” asked Curtis.
“Granddad said he used a cask to make hydrogen in by pouring sulfuric acid over iron filings,” said Tucker.
“We don’t have one of those, but I got an idea,” said Curtis. The boys snuck into the woods and borrowed an old moonshine still as a hydrogen maker.
The adventures spent several days gathering scrap metal along the railway line to make iron filings.
Tucker used his spending money to buy a jug of acid from Mr. Cummings’s store, telling him they were cleaning rust off an old plow they found.
“Tomorrow, we head to Africa,” said Curtis with a big grin.
They met behind Tucker’s barn at dawn and filled the balloon with gas. At noon, they were set to go.
“I snuck some crackers and jam to hold us until we reach Africa. I figure we should be there by dinner time,” said Curtis.
The two boys climbed on the buggy and cut the line. Up they shot. “Now this here is adventuring,” said Curtis.
The last anyone saw the boys was off the coast, moving eastward with the prevailing winds.
No one knows if they made it to Africa, but folks in these parts like to think the two did. They’re considered heroes who will return home after they finish their adventures.
For More Fun Visit:
Folksburywoods Story Blog 
Leave a comment