The wind continuing good, the doctor resolved to keep on
during the night, the moon, still nearly at the full,
illumining it with her radiance. The Victoria ascended to a
height of five hundred feet, and, during her nocturnal trip
of about sixty miles, the gentle slumbers of an infant
would not have been disturbed by her motion.
On Sunday morning, the direction of the wind again
changed, and it bore to the northwestward. A few crows
were seen sweeping through the air, and, off on the
horizon, a flock of vultures which, fortunately,
however, kept at a distance.
The sight of these birds led Joe to compliment his
master on the idea of having two balloons.
"Where would we be," said he, "with only one balloon?
The second balloon is like the life-boat to a ship;
in case of wreck we could always take to it and escape."
"You are right, friend Joe," said the doctor, "only
that my life-boat gives me some uneasiness. It is not so
good as the main craft."
"What do you mean by that, doctor?" asked Kennedy.
"I mean to say that the new Victoria is not so good as
the old one. Whether it be that the stuff it is made of is
too much worn, or that the heat of the spiral has melted
the gutta-percha, I can observe a certain loss of gas.
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