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I came down in an open pasture some twelve miles from the fair. No one was to be seen but soon several automobiles arrived. With help I succeeded in getting the motor started and then started for the exposition grounds. But the motor had become temperamental again and refused to function. Before I could make another landing we had traveled twenty miles away. It was nearing darkness and I was wondering if I should deflate when Tom arrived in a car. We then decided to tow the airship back to the grounds. I tied the trail rope to the frame in order to have two separate lines one hundred feet long. When we reached high tension or other wires, I would throw one rope over and it would be fastened to the automobile after which the other line was released and I would pull it up and be ready for more wires. [[strikethrough]] I believe [[/strikethrough]] We passed over many different electric power lines before arriving at the outer fence of the fair.
We hoped that our troubles were over as it seemed a simple matter now to pass over the fence and then walk the machine into the hangar. But we were mistaken. A trolly line had to be passed over. We attempted it in the dark with the aid of six men. Fortunately I had dismounted, for suddenly the machine became loose and disappeared in the darkness. Just how it had managed to get away we were now able to determine, but after some unhappy speculation about where it would go, we did the only sensible thing and went to bed and had a good night's rest. The following day we recovered the ship about twenty miles away. It had settled gently in a corn field and a farmer had tied the rope to a tree just as he would have done with a horse.
We packed the machine on a hay rack and drove back to the grounds. I was thoroughly disgusted with the motor. Just when