Unknown

“ The two men in the gondola of the balloon had made many flights in the past. They had been up in the air during storms, they had crossed black cloud masses while there was lightning all around them and the thunder was terrible.
But never had they felt the kind of horror they felt now as the strange craft approached them with such unbelievable certainty. The force which drove it through the ocean of the air had to be extraordinary. The two men looked at each other as if they did not trust their senses. ”

“ I am the ruler of the sky, I want to remain the ruler. I have been driven from the earth, have been declared an outlaw, like a wild animal I have been hunted to death, but up here I will tolerated no one else. ”

“ Twice the vehicle circumnavigated the balloon while its occupants felt completely powerless.
They felt that they were completely at the mercy of the people who had to be in the enclosed cabins. One touch of the iron ram would be enough to tear the balloon to tatters and send the two men hurtling towards the ground as shapeless masses.
Now the unusual craft had flown around the balloon for the second time, when suddenly it came up from behind and hovered next to the balloon. ”