Rheims

I saw the hero of the day in his aeroplane shed. As is always the case in such circumstances, he had little to say. All had gone well with him during the long aerial voyage. Had it not done so he would  not have gained the prize. Though he had taken the precaution to put on three woollen jackets, one over the other, he felt the cold severely immediately he began the journey, and it was with infinite pleasure that he lit a cigarette as soon as he got out of the crowd. He explained to me that he had remained low during the whole flight because the carburation of his motor was better at the low altitude, and he wished to spare his petroleum, of which he had but 63 litres. He ran his Gnome motor at low speed for the same reason. It was only this afternoon that the motor was fixed on the aeroplane definitely. Some people complained that he had done nothing during the first five days of the meeting. It was due to nothing but the extreme bad luck he had with his [Vivinus] motor.