Mary came in with sandwiches and coffee, and with straws it turned out all right. Duchess did her usual lapping. There wasn't anything else to do but wait, so Johnny brought me the morning paper. Let me tell you, that's no snap, trying to read a paper that's continually trying to pull away from you. My arms got awfully tired after awhile so I gave that up. Noticing it was rather stuffy, I asked Johnny to lower the upper sash of the dormer so the air could circulate a bit, and as it became more comfortable, I must have dropped off to sleep again. * * * * * The next thing I knew I was awakened rather forcibly by loud screams and yells from the garden just outside the window. When I got my wits together and looked, the first thing I noticed was that Duchess was nowhere around. About that time, Johnny burst into the room, tears streaming down his face, and crying as though his heart would break. Close on his heels was Mary, also crying, and Jim was bringing up the rear. "What in the world's the matter?" I asked. "Oh, Ralph," Mary sobbed, "It's Duchess ... she's gone!" "She just flew right up in the air!" Johnny added. "What do you mean, 'flew right up in the air', what are you all talking about?" "She got out of the window, Dad," Jim said. "We were out in the garden talking, and I guess she heard us. Looks like she went to the window, scratched the screen loose, and out she went." "Oh, Ralph, it was just horrible," Mary sobbed. "That poor thing, going up just like a balloon ... getting smaller and smaller." "Yeah, Dad," Johnny sniffed, "We watched her till she went clear out of sight ... she was kickin' her legs and we could hear her barkin' too." "For heaven's sake, Ralph," Mary cried, "don't you go near that window!" "Yes, you'd go up too, Dad," Jim added. Clutching tightly to the mattress, I assured them I wouldn't go near the window, or the door either, for that matter. Just the thought of that poor dog sailing up in the air made me sick in the pit of my stomach. "How high will she go, Jim?" I asked. "Gee, I don't know, Dad. But I think she'll just keep right on going, clear up out of the air." Jim had a hard time keeping a sob out of his voice too. "What'll happen to her, son?" "Well, you see, between the cold and the lack of oxygen, she'll just go to sleep.... I remember reading about fliers at high altitude." "Thank Heaven," Mary breathed. And I added a silent "Amen." About 3:30 Professor Jordan arrived and Jim brought him in and introduced us. The professor was probably 40, but looked hardly older than Jim, and was built along the same tall and gangly lines. A very business-like man though, thank heaven, and he got right to the point. After the first shock of seeing me on the ceiling, he turned to Jim, "Now, tell me. Exactly what happened, and what is this rig you have here?" * * * * *