Free Jules Verne by A Voyage in a Balloon Page A

ingenious
experiments of aeronauts, are deprived of all danger. As they made, as
it were a part of the programme of the fête, they had feared being
compelled to fulfil their agreements, and had fled at the moment of
ascension. Their courage had been in inverse ratio to the square of
their swiftness in retreat.
    The crowd, thus partly disappointed, were shouting with anger and
impatience. I did not hesitate to ascend alone. To re-establish the
equilibrium between the specific gravity of the balloon and the weight
to be raised, I substituted other bags of sand for my expected
companions and entered the car. The twelve men who were holding the
aerostat by twelve cords fastened to the equatorial circle, let them
slip between their fingers; the car rose a few feet above the ground.
There was not a breath of wind, and the atmosphere, heavy as lead,
seemed insurmountable.
    "All is ready!" exclaimed I; "attention!"
    The men arranged themselves; a last glance informed me that everything
was right.
    "Attention!"
    There was some movement in the crowd which seemed to be invading the
reserved enclosure.
    "Let go!"
    The balloon slowly ascended; but I experienced a shock which threw me to
the bottom of the car. When I rose, I found myself face to face with an
unexpected voyager,—the pale young man.
    "Monsieur, I salute you!" said he to me.
    "By what right?"—
    "Am I here? By the right of your inability to turn me out."
    I was confounded. His assurance disconcerted me; and I had nothing to
say in reply. I looked at him, but he paid no regard to my astonishment.
He continued:
    "My weight will disturb your equilibrium, Monsieur: will you permit
me—"
    And without waiting for my assent, he lightened the balloon by two bags
of sand which he emptied into the air.
    "Monsieur," said I, taking the only possible course, "you are
here,—well! you choose to remain,—well! but to me alone belongs the
management of the aerostat."
    "Monsieur," replied he, "your urbanity is entirely French; it is of the
same country with myself! I press in imagination the hand which you
refuse me. Take your measures,—act as it may seem good to you; I will
wait till you have ended—"
    "To—"
    "To converse with you."
    The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches; we had attained a height
of about six hundred metres, and were over the city; which satisfied me
of our complete quiescence, for I could not judge by our motionless
flags. Nothing betrays the horizontal voyage of a balloon; it is the
mass of air surrounding it which moves. A kind of wavering heat bathed
the objects extended at our feet, and gave their outlines an
indistinctness to be regretted. The needle of the compass indicated a
slight tendency to float towards the south.
    I looked again at my companion. He was a man of thirty, simply clad; the
bold outlines of his features betokened indomitable energy; he appeared
very muscular. Absorbed in the emotion of this silent suspension, he
remained immovable, seeking to distinguish the objects which passed
beneath his view.
    "Vexatious mist!" said he, at the expiration of a few moments.
    I made no reply.
    "What would you? I could not pay for my voyage; I was obliged to take
you by surprise."
    "No one has asked you to descend!"
    "A similar occurrence," he resumed, "happened to the Counts of Laurencin
and Dampierre, when they ascended at Lyons, on the 15th of January,
1784. A young merchant, named Fontaine, scaled the railing, at the risk
of upsetting the equipage. He accomplished the voyage, and nobody was
killed!"
    "Once on the earth, we will converse!" said I, piqued at the tone of
lightness with which he spoke.
    "Bah! do not talk of returning!"
    "Do you think then that I shall delay my descent?"
    "Descent!" said he, with surprise. "Let us ascend!"
    And before I could prevent him, two bags of sand were thrown out,
without even being emptied.
    "Monsieur!" said I, angrily.
    "I know your skill," replied he, composedly; "your brilliant ascensions
have made some