Page:O que eu vi, o que nós veremos (1918).pdf/32

 sion from the Aero Club, I set off for the Eiffel Tower. In a few minutes, I was next to the Tower; I turned and followed, with no surprises, to the Bois de Boulogne. The sun is now out and a breeze is beginning to blow, a light one it is true, but enough at this time to almost stop the aircraft in motion. For many minutes, my engine struggles against the breeze, which is already turning into wind. I see that I am about to leave the Bois and perhaps fall into the city. I speed up the descent and the aircraft comes to rest on the trees of the beautiful park of the Baron of Rotschild. It was necessary to disassemble everything, with great care, so that it would not be damaged, because I intended to repair my craft to compete again for the Deutsch prize.

That day I had woken up at three o'clock in the morning to personally check the state of my apparatus and accompany the hydrogen production, because from one day to another, the balloon lost about twenty cubic meters. I always followed the motto: "Those who want to, go. Those who don't want to, are in charge"... The day was ending and I wouldn't leave my balloon for a single instant, despite the terrible hunger.