HUDSON HONORED IN NEW YORK 417 



During luncheon Mr. Wright was asked how fast his machine was going 

 on its way back from Bedlow's Island. 



"I made no particular observations," he answered. "The wind was at my 

 back, I was probably going at the rate of a little over fifty miles an hour." 



"Do you expect to go some distance up the river this afternoon?" he 

 was asked. 



"Oh, I think I will make a flight up the river — maybe about 4 o'clock," 

 he said. 



That was sufficient to arouse the visitors to the island to the highest state 

 of expectation. Flags hung limp about the harbor. Persons who had never 

 seen a flying machine before but had read in newspapers the disadvantages 

 that lurk in winds grew eloquent in pointing out that at last ideal conditions 

 were at hand. 



AND WRIGHT ATE PIE. 



<n 



'How long will it take Mr. Wright to reach Albany?" became an oft- 

 repeated question by these enthusiasts, who were most seriously in earnest. 



Meanwhile Mr. Wright sat calmly lingering over his favorite dessert — 

 pie — and the momentous concern of the high-keyed spectators grew apace. 



"When he says 4 he means 4," maintained the faithful. 



He came on time, but there rose in a few minutes a gusty breeze of per- 

 haps twelve miles velocity that made the flags stand out straight to the west 

 and caused the flight to Albany to be omitted from casual talk. The wind 

 did not die down, but became more rapid and more uncertain. When 4 130 

 o'clock came the aeroplane was seen to leave the shed. Oldtimers at aero- 

 nautic carnivals here and abroad said: "He does not mean to risk himself 

 in this wind." 



Soldiers were busy clearing the one hundred acres of field of all except 

 a dozen spectators. Reporters and photographers were driven back to the 

 edge of the sand plot, while other soldiers pulled the aeroplane about a quar- 

 ter of a mile to the monorail. 



Nothing further was done until 5:19 o'clock, when, to the amazement of 

 those who understood what the existing weather conditions meant to the 

 aviator, and to the delight of those who didn't, the propellers were again 

 started. 



Wright was off in another moment or two, and, while not so spectacular 

 as his former ones, the flight showed an ability to meet unwelcome conditions 



