a quarter past ten o'clock
Already it was very cold , though my altimeter only marked nine thousand . The engines were working beautifully , and we went droning steadily upwards . The cloud - bank was thicker than I had expected , but at last it thinned out into a golden mist before me , and then in an instant I had shot out from it , and there was an unclouded sky and a brilliant sun above my head -- all blue and gold above , all shining silver below , one vast glimmering plain as far as my eyes could reach . It was a quarter past ten o'clock , and the barograph needle pointed to twelve thousand eight hundred . Up I went and up , my ears concentrated upon the deep purring of my motor , my eyes busy always with the watch , the revolution indicator , the petrol lever , and the oil pump . No wonder aviators are said to be a fearless race . With so many things to think of there is no time to trouble about oneself .