immediately the vibrations of the rear wheel ceased; a little
later we only experienced those of the front wheels at
intervals. 'Unhappily, the wind became suddenly strong, and we
had some difficulty in keeping the "Avion" on the white line.
We increased the pressure to between eight and nine atmospheres,
and immediately the speed increased considerably, and the
vibrations of the wheels were no longer sensible; we were at
that moment at the point marked G in the sketch; the "Avion"
then found itself freely supported by its wings; under the
impulse of the wind it continually tended to go outside the
(prepared) area to the right, in spite of the action of the
rudder. On reaching the point V it found itself in a very
critical position; the wind blew strongly and across the
direction of the white line which it ought to follow; the
machine then, although still going forward, drifted quickly out
of the area; we immediately put over the rudder to the left as
far as it would go; at the same time increasing the pressure
still more, in order to try to regain the course. The "Avion"
obeyed, recovered a little, and remained for some seconds headed
towards its intended course, but it could not struggle against
the wind; instead of going back, on the contrary it drifted
farther and farther away. And ill-luck had it that the drift
took the direction towards part of the School of Musketry, which
was guarded by posts and barriers. Frightened at the prospect
of breaking ourselves against these obstacles, surprised at
seeing the earth getting farther away from under the "Avion,"
and very much impressed by seeing it rushing sideways at a
sickening speed, instinctively we stopped everything. What
passed through our thoughts at this moment which threatened a
tragic turn would be difficult to set down. All at once came a