Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 127: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ME AND FLAPJACK AND THE MARTIANS 125 been August 6th or maybe August 7th, sometimes you lose track in the desert. Anyway, I opened my eyes when I heard Flapjack bray, real indignant- like. I knew something was up; Flap- jack doesn’t use that tone of bray unless. I stuck my head out of the tent just in time to see this here— well, balloon was what I thought it was at first—balloon on fire. Fire was shootin’ out from beneath it like crazy. I expected a big explosion any minute. But it didn’t explode. The balloon settled down no more than maybe fifty feet away, and the flames died out. ‘““Holy Hominy,” I said to myself and to Flapjack, “‘it must’ve blowed all the way from some fair some- wheres.”’ I crawled the rest of the way out of the tent, figurin’ on gettin’ over to. where that thing had come down to investigate-like. I didn’t expect no folks to be there cause there wasn’t no basket slung underneath. And if there had been, both the basket and the folks in it would’ve been fried to a crisp, the way that thing had been spouting fire as it came down. I’d plumb forgot about Flapjack. You can’t blame him for feeling kind of skittish, but instead of runnin’ away he’d backed up toward the tent. And then he heard me movin’ behind him, he let go with his hind hoofs real ECoOmichooksnco im