It took, of course, much more minute
observation and a much longer time to test the effect produced by the
regulation of the movement, since whether I traveller forty,
forty-five, or forty-two thousand miles in the course of one hour made
scarcely any difference in the diameter of the Earth's disc, still
less, for reasons above given, in the gravity. By midnight, however, I
was satisfied that I had not attained quite 1,000,000 miles, or 275
terrestrial radii; also that my speed was not greater than 45,000
miles (11-1\4 radii) per hour, and was not, I thought, increasing. Of
this last point, however, I could better satisfy myself at the end of
my four hours' rest, to which I now betook myself.
I woke about 4h. 30m., and on a scrutiny of the instruments, felt
satisfied that I was not far out in my calculations. A later hour,
however, would afford a more absolute certainty. I was about to turn
again to the interesting work of observation through the lens in the
floor, when my attention was diverted by the sight of something like a
whitish cloud visible through the upper window on my left hand.
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