Away below, the crowd of people looked like little insects as they gazed up at the balloon.

Grasping the ropes that led from the basket to the balloon, I stood and waved at them and could hear the shouts come up from a thousand feet below.
I was not frightened.

There was no sensation of motion as long as the balloon was ascending.

Aside from looking at the wonderful scene that opened out before me, I believe I thought chiefly about where I should land in case the wire broke.

The balloon would undoubtedly go many miles before descending, and five miles in any direction would lead me into a primitive jungle or veldt.