Just as the narrator starts the ascent of his balloon, a stranger jumps into its car. The unexpected passenger only intent is to take the balloon as high as it will go, even at the cost of his and pilot&#39;s life. The intruder takes advantage of the long journey to recount the history of incidents related to the epic of lighter-than-air travel. This short story foreshadows Verne&#39;s first novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon.<br />&nbsp;