Fitzhugh and Barry make their way through the forest toward a rumored circus, but discover that it's apparently gone. As they prepare to go back to the camp, they hear pipe organ music and go to investigate. They find a bear, Willy, chained up. The Gypsy owner, Carlos, feeds him and looks for Pepi, his nephew. Carlos complains that Pepi was supposed to tie Willy up, but the bear wandered off. As Carlos takes the bear back to camp, Pepi hides and blows up a balloon. He knocks it into the air and blows up another one, and then lets the air out on Fitzhugh and Barry, knocking them over. Pepi then puts a box over them and takes them prisoner, and goes back to the circus camp.
At the camp, Steve and Mark are working with some piping when Chipper runs up. Dan, Valerie, and Betty stay at the camp while Steve and Mark go to see if they're in trouble.
At the camp, Carlos tries to train Willy while Luigi plays the calliope. Carlos finally yells at Luigi to pick up the pace, and a pipe falls off of the calliope. Pepi arrives while Dan and Steve show up in the underbrush. The boy shows Carlos Fitzhugh and Barry, and Carlos figures that Pepi has made their fortune. Luigi warns that it's illegal to keep the little people, but Carlos figures that he can sell them to one of the general circuses that will bribe the right officials. He tells Pepi to keep his eye out for other Earthlings and sends him to get some food. Carlos then tells Luigi to fix the truck engine so that they can get to the circus that night, and assures him that he'll get a slice of the profit.
Carlos goes to find a cage, and Willy pokes his nose into the box holding the prisoners. The Gypsy orders the bear back and puts the prisoners in the cage on top of the calliope. Carlos assures Fitzhugh that they're his fortune and he won't let anything happen to them until he sells them. Steve calls in the others and they wait until nightfall. Meanwhile, Pepi feeds the prisoners and assures them that he'll take care of them. He says that he had to capture them to keep Carlos from beating him, and Barry admits that he might have done the same thing. Fitzhugh tells Pepi to prove he's a nice boy by letting them go, but he refuses. He inflates a balloon with helium, and Carlos tells him to help them with the engine.
Steve, Dan, and Mark go over to the calliope and climb up to the cage As they work on the hasp, they knock over the pipe and are forced to climb back down. They hide just in time as Carlos, Luigi, and Pepi come over. Carlos says that they're leaving immediately and has Pepi put the cage in the truck. Steve sends Valerie and Betty off with pie pans, and then he and the other two men move closer to the truck.
The women bang the pans and the Gypsies go over to investigate. Each of them grabs a spark plug and hides it. The Gypsies find nothing and come back, and Luigi discovers that the spark plugs are gone. Carlos figures that Pepi took them, but believes the boy's denials. He has Pepi help Luigi search for them, and then takes Willy into the forest. Steve goes to investigate and sees the Gypsy coming, and yells at the others to run. However, Carlos corners them and Steve can only watch as the Gypsy puts them in the cage with Barry and Fitzhugh. He asks where the spark plugs are, and when the Earthlings refuse to talk he tells Luigi to get a stake and some hoops.
Pepi searches for Steve, who calls him over and points out that giving up the spark plugs won't save his friends. He tells Pepi that it's up to him to help them, and asks him to call the police anonymously. Pepi refuses and runs off, and Steve moves the spark plugs toward the camp. Meanwhile, Luigi ties Mark to the stake and Carlos throws hoops at it. He hits Mark in the head with the fourth one, and Steve throws the axe to hit Carlos in the cheek. Carlos gives Steve ten seconds to surrender and bring in the spark plugs, or he'll finish off Mark.
As Steve prepares to surrender, a police car sounds in the distance. Carlos and Luigi untie Mark and hide him with the others in the calliope pipes, and Pepi finds Steve and admits that he called the police. Carlos has Luigi play, deafening the Earthlings, The police offer comes over and asks where the little people are, and Carlos claims that he has no idea what the officer is talking about. The officer looks around and finds nothing, and advises Carlos to get out of the area in an hour once they fix the truck engine. Steve tells Pepi to tell the officer where they are, but the boy refuses. When Steve goes to tell the giant, Pepi throws a handkerchief over Steve to delay him long enough. The boy apologizes and assures Steve that he wouldn't have hurt him.
Carlos says that once they're sure the officer is gone, he'll go back to his "game." Steve asks Pepi to get Carlos and Luigi away from the calliope, and gives Pepi one spark plug and tells him to get the men to help him. He says that he'll need fifteen minutes and gives Pepi the spark plug, and Pepi goes back and shows it to them. He convinces them to help him look, and Steve climbs up to the calliope once they go. He pushes over the loose pipe with Mark and Barry inside, enough for them to crawl out. They're unable to shift the other pipes, and Luigi finds the other two spark plugs.
Steve, Mark, and Barry climb down, Barry first, and hide behind the box with Pepi's balloons. Carlos discovers that Mark and Barry are gone, and he and Luigi search for them. The Earthlings get in the box Pepi sees them and tells them to lie still, and he'll help them escape. Carlos comes back and figures that Pepi is talking to himself, and tells the boy to get the cage. Carlos puts the four captives in it, and tells Luigi to put the spark plugs in. Luigi does so and starts the engine up, and Carlos tells the prisoners that it's only a 20-mile drive. He put them in the back of the truck and goes to the cab.
Steve climbs out of the balloon box and approaches his friends. Steve tells them that they have to stay inside in case Carlos looks in, and says that Pepi is going to help them get away. The truck starts up and Luigi drives to the circus. Carlos has Luigi stop near the circus, and says that he wants to be able to back out if the owners get cheap. He has Luigi put Willy where he can watch the truck, and insists that Pepi come with him. Luigi tells the Earthlings that he and Willy will be outside.
Steve gets an idea and he, Mark, and Barry push Pepi's box over to the balloon box and the helium tank. Barry finds some netting, and they put the largest balloon in the box and cover it with the netting. They tie off the netting and Steve discovers that the tank valve is rusty and screeches when turned. He tells the captives to yell as a diversion, and then turns the valve under cover of the noise. Luigi comes over Betty feigns being sick. Unimpressed, Luigi chains Willy to the back of the truck to watch them and walks away.
As the balloon inflates, Mark frees the others and they get into the makeshift gondola. Steve and Mark find some papers and start a fire in the cage. When Luigi sees the smoke, he comes over and takes the canvas top off of the truck bed as Carlos and Pepi return. The balloon floats clear and Carlos shoots at it with his rifle. He hits the gondola but not the balloon, and the Earthlings let the helium out of the balloon to stop rising. They drift back toward their camp and let out more helium to go down. Once they land, they start hiking back to Spindrift.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 23, 2017