But with all the hurry and bustle we found that everything could not be ready by Friday the thirteenth, and that a postponement until 4 A. M. on the Saturday was essential.
FEATHERING THE WINGS—SETTING UP THE FLIER AT ST. JOHN'S, N. F.
THE LAST TOUCHES—ADJUSTING THE BRACING WIRES
By Friday evening the last coat of dope was dry, and nothing had been overlooked. The only articles missing were some life-saving suits, which we were expecting from the United States. Long afterwards we discovered that these had been delivered to the Bank of Montreal, where the officials, believing that the case contained typewriters, stored it in their cellars.
Alcock and I went to bed at 7 P. M. on Friday while the mechanics remained all night with the machine, completing the filling of the tanks and moving it to the position chosen for the start. We were called before dawn, and joined them on the aërodrome at 3:30 A. M. on June the fourteenth.