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At any rate, when I got near the tree instead of cutting the power and gracefully gliding to [[strikethrough]] the tree [[/strikethrough]] a stop I accelerated. I slammed into the tree head on, did a graceful swan-dive over the handlebars and landed in a heap almost at their feet.  Both men rushed to aid me. M. Dumont won the sprint. He turned to Mr. Curtiss with a sly smile and with his wonderful French accent summarized the situation with, "Monsieur, Zee lettle lady does not need [[strikethrough]] to have any air [[/strikethrough]] ze plane to fly, she flies by herself."  More than my face was red by this happening!

The 'kangaroo' exercises at the field continued.  I hopped higher and higher daily. This wasn't enough. I became increasingly impatient. I seemed suspended half-way between blowing my stack and stripping my gears. Since we could only fly during the early morning and at sundown our midday gab sessions became very interesting.  They had two subjects.  Flying and Finances.  Some financial aid was trickling in to the aviation pioneers.  Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell was quietly backing some of Glenn Curtiss' experiments.  Mrs. Bell suppled the money but Dr. Bell handled the business affairs.  Currently there were two young men who Doctor Bell had sent [[strikethrough]] in [[/strikethrough]] as consultants to Mr. Curtiss. They were John and Lucien Mc Curdy.  Their exact relationship to Dr. and Mrs. Bell I never knew. I did realize the tie was a close one.  John became a famous pioneer pilot and years later was Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia.  It has slipped from my memory whether Lucien did any flying at Hammondsport or the exact nature of his business.  I do, however, recall one incident that recurs to me frequently even now.  There was much discussion one day about sending a two or three hundred word telegram to Dr. Bell and how much said telegram would cost.  A long distance phone call to Canada to the Bell home would take five to eight hours, but it was possible.  I suggested that they write out