Catherine Broekhart held back the despair clamouring in her mind and pushed her baby into the world. He arrived without a cry, reaching out to grip his father’s finger.

‘A boy,’ he said. ‘My strong son.’

Catherine gave herself not a minute to recover from her brief labour. She leaned forward and grasped her husband’s lapel.

‘You cannot let him die, sir.’ It was an order, plain and simple.

Vigny swaddled the newborn in his blue Aeronautical Squadron jacket.

‘We can but pray,’ he said.

Declan Broekhart climbed to his feet, taking in the literal gravity of their situation at a glance. The basket was in virtual freefall now, slicing east directly towards Lady Liberty’s head. Any considerable impact would surely result in the baby’s death, and he had been forbidden to allow that. But how to avoid it?

Fortune saved them, at least temporarily. The envelope spent its last breath, then impaled itself on the third and fourth rays of Liberty’s crown. The material ripped, bunched and jammed between the rays, halting the basket’s murderous descent.

‘Providence,’ breathed Captain Broekhart. ‘We are spared.’

The basket swung like a pendulum, grazing the lower curve of Lady Liberty’s cheek with each pass. The copper bust rang, attracting gawkers like church worshippers. Catherine held on to her baby son, absorbing the impact as best she could. The envelope’s threads popped with cracks like gunfire.

‘The balloon will not hold,’ said Vigny. ‘We are still twenty feet up.’

Declan nodded. ‘We need to lash her to the statue.’ He grabbed Le Soleil’s anchors, tossing one to Vigny. ‘A case of the finest red wine if you make the shot.’

Vigny tested the anchor’s weight. ‘Champagne, if you don’t mind.’

Both men threw their anchors high between the last two rays of Lady Liberty’s crown. Their aim was true and the anchors bumped the statue’s ringlets, then slid back down, raising sparks as the metal surfaces cracked together. The anchors bit on both sides of the crown and stuck fast. Declan and Vigny quickly pulled a loop of rope through the basket’s bow and stern rings, cinching them tight.