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98

There was a stunned silence that hung suspended in the warm California air.  Then the crowd roared. They'd been bilked, taken, fooled thoroughly and right up to the hilt.  They took it big as we exited with a background of thunderous applause.

The Meet was a tremendous success in every way including financially. Many people called on us to ask all sorts of questions.  Among them was a gal by the name of Ruth Law. I'd never met her before but I did know about her brother Rodman Law. I'd heard a great deal of his aerodynamic experiments. He was way ahead of the times.  His thinking was another 50 or 60 years in the future for shortly after meeting Ruth her brother was killed by an explosion of a rocket he was building. So rocketry isn't a new science. Men were thinking of them in 1912. Miss Law wanted to know if I thought it would be profitable for her to [[learn]] to fly.  I told her that if she wanted to take the chances necessary it could be as profitable for her as it had been for me. I also added that in addition to the money I really loved flying and enjoyed it.  She then told me she'd been negotiationg [[sic]] with the Wright Brothers about buying a plane, but they, like Glenn Curtiss, were reluctant to teach a woman to fly.  Apparently they came to a meeting of the minds for shortly after this meeting Ruth went to the old Wright Field at Dayton, Ohio. As I had been the only woman taught by Glenn Curtiss, she became the only women taught by the Wright Brothers.  Afterward she became one of the most noted women flyers.

During the meet I'd seen a great deal of Glenn Martin, and sensing the publicity value of a woman pilot at Air Meets, he suggested that I remain in California as there were plans afoot for a big Aerial Circus to be managed by Dick Ferris. I decided to stay. In the final arrangements, Martin was to be one of the pilots and again Beachy and myself were to be the feature attractions. This booking was to take us north along the coast to San Francisco and beyond as well as to several of the inland cities.

Transcription Notes:
It is not clear if the author meant 'me' or 'men' in the sentence "I told her that if she wanted to take the chances necessary it could be as profitable for her as it had been for men."