A youth volunteers for spy activity in the Civil War and is instructed to get information about Island Number Ten, a Confederate strongpoint in the Mississippi.
Tells about the high points of ballooning from the time of experimentation with paper bags in the late 18th century to the launching of a huge space balloon by a two-stage rocket in Virginia in 1959. Includes information on dirigibles, on the flight of the Piccard twins and on astronomy balloons.
