The vast liquid plain, lashed without mercy by the storm, appeared as if covered with herds of furious chargers, whose white and disheveled crests were streaming in the wind.

No land was in sight, not a solitary ship could be seen.

It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course, and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves.

The voyagers directed all their energies to this urgent work.
But, notwithstanding their efforts, the balloon still fell, and at the same time shifted with the greatest rapidity, following the direction of the wind, that is to say, from the northeast to the southwest.
Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men.

They were evidently no longer masters of the machine.