We were now not half a mile ahead. The destroyers pursued us at top
speed, though being now directly behind, they were in poor position
for using their guns. Our captain seemed content to keep this
distance; though it would have been easy for him to increase it, and
then at nightfall, to dodge back behind the enemy.
Already Buffalo had disappeared on our right, and a little after
seven o'clock the opening of the Niagara River appeared ahead. If he
entered there, knowing that he could not return, our captain must
have lost his mind! And in truth was he not insane, this man who
proclaimed himself, who believed himself, Master of the World?
I watched him there, calm, impassive not even turning his head to
note the progress of the destroyers and I wondered at him.
This end of the lake was absolutely deserted. Freight steamers bound
for the towns on the banks of the upper Niagara are not numerous, as
its navigation is dangerous. Not one was in sight. Not even a
fishing-boat crossed the path of the "Terror." Even the two
destroyers would soon be obliged to pause in their pursuit, if we
continued our mad rush through these dangerous waters.
I have said that the Niagara River flows between New York and Canada.
Its width, of about three quarters of a mile, narrows as it
approaches the falls. Its length, from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is
about fifteen leagues. It flows in a northerly direction, until it
empties the waters of Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie into
Ontario, the last lake of this mighty chain. The celebrated falls,
which occur in the midst of this great river have a height of over a
hundred and fifty feet. They are called sometimes the Horse-shoe
Falls, because they curve inward like the iron shoe. The Indians have
given them the name of "Thunder of Waters," and in truth a mighty
thunder roars from them without cessation, and with a tumult which is
heard for several miles away.
Between Lake Erie, and the little city of Niagara Falls, two islands
divide the current of the river, Navy Island, a league above the
cataract, and Goat Island, which separates the American and the
Canadian Falls. Indeed, on the lower point of this latter isle stood
once that "Terrapin Tower" so daringly built in the midst of the
plunging waters on the very edge of the abyss. It has been destroyed;
for the constant wearing away of the stone beneath the cataract makes
the ledge move with the ages slowly up the river, and the tower has
been drawn into the gulf.
The town of Fort Erie stands on the Canadian shore at the entrance of
the river. Two other towns are set along the banks above the falls,
Schlosser on the right bank, and Chippewa on the left, located on
either side of Navy Island. It is at this point that the current,
bound within a narrower channel, begins to move at tremendous speed,
to become two miles further on, the celebrated cataract.
The "Terror" had already passed Fort Erie. The sun in the west
touched the edge of the Canadian horizon, and the moon, faintly seen,
rose above the mists of the south. Darkness would not envelop us for
another hour.
The destroyers, with huge clouds of smoke streaming from their
funnels, followed us a mile behind. They sped between banks green
with shade trees and dotted with cottages which lay among lovely
gardens.
Obviously the "Terror" could no longer turn back. The destroyers shut
her in completely. It is true their commanders did not know, as I
did, that an accident to her machinery had forced her to the surface,
and that it was impossible for her to escape them by another plunge.
Nevertheless, they continued to follow, and would assuredly maintain
their pursuit to the very last.
I marveled at the intrepidity of their chase through these dangerous
waters. I marveled still more at the conduct of our captain. Within a
half hour now, his course would be barred by the cataract. No matter
how perfect his machine, it could not escape the power of the great
falls. If the current once mastered our engines, we should inevitably
disappear in the gulf nearly two hundred feet deep which the waters
have dug at the base of the falls! Perhaps, however, our captain had
still power to turn to one of the shores and flee by the automobile
routes.
In the midst of this excitement, what action should I take
personally? Should I attempt to gain the shores of Navy Island, if we
indeed advanced that far? If I did not seize this chance, never after
what I had learned of his secrets, never would the Master of the
World restore me to liberty.
I suspected, however, that my flight was no longer possible. If I was
not confined within my cabin, I no longer remained unwatched. While
the captain retained his place at the helm, his assistant by my side
never removed his eyes from me. At the first movement, I should be
seized and locked within my room. For the present, my fate was
evidently bound up with that of the "Terror."
The distance which separated us from the two destroyers was now
growing rapidly less. Soon they were but a few cable-lengths away.
Could the motor of the "Terror," since the accident, no longer hold
its speeds? Yet the captain showed not the least anxiety, and made no
effort to reach land!
We could hear the hissing of the steam which escaped from the valves
of the destroyers, to mingle with the streamers of black smoke. But
we heard, even more plainly, the roar of the cataract, now less than
three miles away.
The "Terror" took the left branch of the river in passing Navy
Island. At this point, she was within easy reach of the shore, yet
she shot ahead. Five minutes later, we could see the first trees of
Goat Island. The current became more and more irresistible. If the
"Terror" did not stop, the destroyers could not much longer follow
her. If it pleased our accursed captain to plunge us into the vortex
of the falls, surely they did not mean to follow into the abyss!
Indeed, at this moment they signaled each other, and stopped the
pursuit. They were scarce more than six hundred feet from the
cataract. Then their thunders burst on the air and several cannon
shot swept over the "Terror" without hitting its low-lying deck.
The sun had set, and through the twilight the moon's rays shone upon
us from the south. The speed of our craft, doubled by the speed of
the current, was prodigious! In another moment, we should plunge into
that black hollow which forms the very center of the Canadian Falls.
With an eye of horror, I saw the shores of Goat Island flashed by,
then came the Isles of the Three Sisters, drowned in the spray from
the abyss.
I sprang up; I started to throw myself into the water, in the
desperate hope of gaining this last refuge. One of the men seized me
from behind.
Suddenly a sharp noise was heard from the mechanism which throbbed
within our craft. The long gangways folded back on the sides of the
machine, spread out like wings, and at the moment when the "Terror"
reached the very edge of the falls, she arose into space, escaping
from the thundering cataract in the center of a lunar rainbow.
Chapter 15
THE EAGLE'S NEST
On the morrow, when I awoke after a sound sleep, our vehicle seemed
motionless. It seemed to me evident that we were not running upon
land. Yet neither were we rushing through or beneath the waters; nor
yet soaring across the sky. Had the inventor regained that mysterious
hiding-place of his, where no human being had ever set foot before
him?
And now, since he had not disembarrassed himself of my presence, was
his secret about to be revealed to me?
It seemed astonishing that I had slept so profoundly during most of
our voyage through the air. It puzzled me and I asked if this sleep
had not been caused by some drug, mixed with my last meal, the
captain of the "Terror" having wished thus to prevent me from knowing
the place where we landed. All that I can recall of the previous
night is the terrible impression made upon me by that moment when the
machine, instead of being caught in the vortex of the cataract rose
under the impulse of its machinery like a bird with its huge wings
beating with tremendous power!
So this machine actually fulfilled a four-fold use! It was at the
same time automobile, boat, submarine, and airship. Earth, sea and
air,--it could move through all three elements! And with what
power! With what speed! Al few instants sufficed to complete its
marvelous transformations. The same engine drove it along all its
courses! And I had been a witness of its metamorphoses! But that of
which I was still ignorant, and which I could perhaps discover, was
the source of the energy which drove the machine, and above all, who
was the inspired inventor who, after having created it, in every
detail, guided it with so much ability and audacity!
At the moment when the "Terror" rose above the Canadian Falls, I was
held down against the hatchway of my cabin. The clear, moonlit
evening had permitted me to note the direction taken by the air-ship.
It followed the course of the river and passed the Suspension Bridge
three miles below the falls. It is here that the irresistible rapids
of the Niagara River begin, where the river bends sharply to descend
toward Lake Ontario.
On leaving this point, I was sure that we had turned toward the east.
The captain continued at the helm. I had not addressed a word to him.
What good would it do? He would not have answered. I noted that the
"Terror" seemed to be guided in its course through the air with
surprising ease. Assuredly the roads of the air were as familiar to
it as those of the seas and of the lands!
In the presence of such results, could one not understand the
enormous pride of this man who proclaimed himself Master of the
World? Was he not in control of a machine infinitely superior to any
that had ever sprung from the hand of man, and against which men were
powerless? In truth, why should he sell this marvel? Why should he
accept the millions offered him? Yes, I comprehended now that
absolute confidence in himself which was expressed in his every
attitude. And where might not his ambition carry him, if by its own
excess it mounted some day into madness!
A half hour after the "Terror" soared into the air, I had sunk into
complete unconsciousness, without realizing its approach. I repeat,
it must have been caused by some drug. Without doubt, our commander
did not wish me to know the road he followed.
Hence I cannot say whether the aviator continued his flight through
space, or whether the mariner sailed the surface of some sea or lake,
or the chauffeur sped across the American roads. No recollection
remains with me of what passed during that night of July thirty-first.
Now, what was to follow from this adventure? And especially
concerning myself, what would be its end?
I have said that at the moment when I awoke from my strange sleep,
the "Terror" seemed to me completely motionless. I could hardly be
mistaken; whatever had been her method of progress, I should have
felt some movement, even in the air. I lay in my berth in the cabin,
where I had been shut in without knowing it, just as I had been on
the preceding night which I had passed on board the "Terror" on Lake
Erie.
My business now was to learn if I would be allowed to go on deck here
where the machine had landed. I attempted to raise the hatchway. It
was fastened.
"Ah!" said I, "am I to be kept here until the 'Terror' recommences
its travels?" Was not that, indeed, the only time when escape was
hopeless?
My impatience and anxiety may be appreciated. I knew not how long
this halt might continue.
I had not a quarter of an hour to wait. A noise of bars being removed
came to my ear. The hatchway was raised from above. A wave of light
and air penetrated my cabin.
With one bound I reached the deck. My eyes in an instant swept round
the horizon.
The "Terror," as I had thought, rested quiet on the ground. She was
in the midst of a rocky hollow measuring from fifteen to eighteen
hundred feet in circumference. A floor of yellow gravel carpeted its
entire extent, unrelieved by a single tuft of herbage.
This hollow formed an almost regular oval, with its longer diameter
extending north and south. As to the surrounding-wall, what was its
height, what the character of its crest, I could not judge. Above us
was gathered a fog so heavy, that the rays of the sun had not yet
pierced it. Heavy trails of cloud drifted across the sandy floor,
Doubtless the morning was still young, and this mist might later be
dissolved.
It was quite cold here, although this was the first day of August. I
concluded therefore that we must be far in the north, or else high
above sea-level. We must still be somewhere on the New Continent;
though where, it was impossible to surmise. Yet no matter how rapid
our flight had been, the air-ship could not have traversed either
ocean in the dozen hours since our departure from Niagara.
At this moment, I saw the captain come from an opening in the rocks,
probably a grotto, at the base of this cliff hidden in the fog.
Occasionally, in the mists above, appeared the shadows of huge birds.
Their raucous cries were the sole interruption to the profound
silence. Who knows if they were not affrighted by the arrival of this
formidable, winged monster, which they could not match either in
might or speed.
Everything led me to believe that it was here that the Master of the
World withdrew in the intervals between his prodigious journeys. Here
was the garage of his automobile; the harbor of his boat; the hangar
of his air-ship.
And now the "Terror" stood motionless at the bottom of this hollow.
At last I could examine her; and it looked as if her owners had no
intention of preventing me. The truth is that the commander seemed to
take no more notice of my presence than before. His two companions
joined him, and the three did not hesitate to enter together into the
grotto I had seen. What a chance to study the machine, at least its
exterior! As to its inner parts, probably I should never get beyond
conjecture.
In fact, except for that of my cabin, the hatchways were closed; and
it would be vain for me to attempt to open them. At any rate, it
might be more interesting to find out what kind of propeller drove
the "Terror" in these many transformations.
I jumped to the ground and found I was left at leisure, to proceed
with this first examination.
The machine was as I have said spindle-shaped. The bow was sharper
than the stern. The body was of aluminium, the wings of a substance
whose nature I could not determine. The body rested on four wheels,
about two feet in diameter. These had pneumatic tires so thick as to
assure ease of movement at any speed. Their spokes spread out like
paddles or battledores; and when the "Terror" moved either on or
under the water, they must have increased her pace.
These wheels were not however, the principal propeller. This
consisted of two "Parsons" turbines placed on either side of the
keel. Driven with extreme rapidity by the engine, they urged the boat
onward in the water by twin screws, and I even questioned if they
were not powerful enough to propel the machine through the air.
The chief aerial support, however, was that of the great wings, now
again in repose, and folded back along the sides. Thus the theory of
the "heavier than air" flying machine was employed by the inventor, a
system which enabled him to dart through space with a speed probably
superior to that of the largest birds.
As to the agent which set in action these various mechanisms, I
repeat, it was, it could be, no other than electricity. But from what
source did his batteries get their power? Had he somewhere an
electric factory, to which he must return? Were the dynamos, perhaps
working in one of the caverns of this hollow?
The result of my examination was that, while I could see that the
machine used wheels and turbine screws and wings, I knew nothing of
either its engine, nor of the force which drove it. To be sure, the
discovery of this secret would be of little value to me. To employ it
I must first be free. And after what I knew--little as that really
was--the Master of the World would never release me.
There remained, it is true, the chance of escape. But would an
opportunity ever present itself? If there could be none during the
voyages of the "Terror," might there possibly be, while we remained
in this retreat?
The first question to be solved was the location of this hollow. What
communication did it have with the surrounding region? Could one only
depart from it by a flying-machine? And in what part of the United
States were we? Was it not reasonable to estimate, that our flight
through the darkness had covered several hundred leagues?
There was one very natural hypothesis which deserved to be
considered, if not actually accepted. What more natural harbor could
there be for the "Terror" than the Great Eyrie? Was it too difficult
a flight for our aviator to reach the summit? Could he not soar
anywhere that the vultures and the eagles could? Did not that
inaccessible Eyrie offer to the Master of the World just such a
retreat as our police had been unable to discover, one in which he
might well believe himself safe from all attacks? Moreover, the
distance between Niagara Falls and this part of the Blueridge
Mountains, did not exceed four hundred and fifty miles, a flight
which would have been easy for the "Terror."
Yes, this idea more and more took possession of me. It crowded out a
hundred other unsupported suggestions. Did not this explain the
nature of the bond which existed between the Great Eyrie and the
letter which I had received with our commander's initials? And the
threats against me if I renewed the ascent! And the espionage to
which I had been subjected! And all the phenomena of which the Great
Eyrie had been the theater, were they not to be attributed to this
same cause--though what lay behind the phenomena was not yet clear?
Yes, the Great Eyrie! The Great Eyrie!
But since it had been impossible for me to penetrate here, would it
not be equally impossible for me to get out again, except upon the
"Terror?" Ah, if the mists would but lift! Perhaps I should recognize
the place. What was as yet a mere hypothesis, would become a starting
point to act upon.
However, since I had freedom to move about, since neither the captain
nor his men paid any heed to me, I resolved to explore the hollow.
The three of them were all in the grotto toward the north end of the
oval. Therefore I would commence my inspection at the southern end.
Reaching the rocky wall, I skirted along its base and found it broken
by many crevices; above, arose more solid rocks of that feldspar of
which the chain of the Alleghanies largely consists. To what height
the rock wall rose, or what was the character of its summit, was
still impossible to see. I must wait until the sun had scattered the
mists.
In the meantime, I continued to follow along the base of the cliff.
None of its cavities seemed to extend inward to any distance. Several
of them contained debris from the hand of man, bits of broken wood,
heaps of dried grasses. On the ground were still to be seen the
footprints that the captain and his men must have left, perhaps
months before, upon the sand.
My jailers, being doubtless very busy in their cabin, did not show
themselves until they had arranged and packed several large bundles.
Did they purpose to carry those on board the "Terror?" And were they
packing up with the intention of permanently leaving their retreat?
In half an hour my explorations were completed and I returned toward
the center. Here and there were heaped up piles of ashes, bleached by
weather. There were fragments of burned planks and beams; posts to
which clung rusted iron-work; armatures of metal twisted by fire; all
the remnants of some intricate mechanism destroyed by the flames.
Clearly at some period not very remote the hollow had been the scene
of a conflagration, accidental or intentional. Naturally I connected
this with the phenomena observed at the Great Eyrie, the flames which
rose above the crest, the noises which had so frightened the people
of Pleasant Garden and Morganton. But of what mechanisms were these
the fragments, and what reason had our captain for destroying them?
At this moment I felt a breath of air; a breeze came from the east.
The sky swiftly cleared. The hollow was filled with light from the
rays of the sun which appeared midway between the horizon and the
zenith.
A cry escaped me! The crest of the rocky wall rose a hundred feet
above me. And on the eastern side was revealed that easily
recognizable pinnacle, the rock like a mounting eagle. It was the
same that had held the attention of Mr. Elias Smith and myself, when
we had looked up at it from the outer side of the Great Eyrie.
Thus there was no further doubt. In its flight during the night the
airship had covered the distance between Lake Erie and North
Carolina. It was in the depth of this Eyrie that the machine had
found shelter! This was the nest, worthy of the gigantic and powerful
bird created by the genius of our captain! The fortress whose mighty
walls none but he could scale! Perhaps even, he had discovered in the
depths of some cavern, some subterranean passage by which he himself
could quit the Great Eyrie, leaving the "Terror" safely sheltered
within.
At last I saw it all! This explained the first letter sent me from
the Great Eyrie itself with the threat of death. If we had been able
to penetrate into this hollow, who knows if the secrets of the Master
of the World might not have been discovered before he had been able
to set them beyond our reach?
I stood there, motionless; my eyes fixed on that mounting eagle of
stone, prey to a sudden, violent emotion. Whatsoever might be the
consequences to myself, was it not my duty to destroy this machine,
here and now, before it could resume its menacing flight of mastery
across the world!
Steps approached behind me. I turned. The inventor stood by my side,
and pausing looked me in the face.
I was unable to restrain myself; the words burst forth--"The Great
Eyrie! The Great Eyrie!"
"Yes, Inspector Strock."
"And you! You are the Master of the World?"
"Of that world to which I have already proved myself to be the most
powerful of men."
"You!" I reiterated, stupefied with amazement.
"I," responded he, drawing himself up in all his pride, "I,
Robur--Robur, the Conqueror!"
Chapter 16
ROBUR, THE CONQUEROR
Robur, the Conqueror! This then was the likeness I had vaguely
recalled. Some years before the portrait of this extraordinary man
had been printed in all the American newspapers, under date of the
thirteenth of June, the day after this personage had made his
sensational appearance at the meeting of the Weldon Institute at
Philadelphia.
I had noted the striking character of the portrait at the time; the
square shoulders; the back like a regular trapezoid, its longer side
formed by that geometrical shoulder line; the robust neck; the
enormous spheroidal head. The eyes at the least emotion, burned with
fire, while above them were the heavy, permanently contracted brows,
which signified such energy. The hair was short and crisp, with a
glitter as of metal in its lights. The huge breast rose and fell like
a blacksmith's forge; and the thighs, the arms and hands, were worthy
of the mighty body. The narrow beard was the same also, with the
smooth shaven cheeks which showed the powerful muscles of the jaw.
And this was Robur the Conqueror, who now stood before me, who
revealed himself to me, hurling forth his name like a threat, within
his own impenetrable fortress!
Let me recall briefly the facts which had previously drawn upon Robur
the Conqueror the attention of the entire world. The Weldon Institute
was a club devoted to aeronautics under the presidency of one of the
chief personages of Philadelphia, commonly called Uncle Prudent. Its
secretary was Mr. Phillip Evans. The members of the Institute were
devoted to the theory of the "lighter than air" machine; and under
their two leaders were constructing an enormous dirigible balloon,
the "Go-Ahead."
At a meeting in which they were discussing the details of the
construction of their balloon, this unknown Robur had suddenly
appeared and, ridiculing all their plans, had insisted that the only
true solution of flight lay with the heavier than air machines, and
that he had proven this by constructing one.
He was in this turn doubted and ridiculed by the members of the club,
who called him in mockery Robur the Conqueror. In the tumult that
followed, revolver shots were fired; and the intruder disappeared.
That same night he had by force abducted the president and the
secretary of the club, and had taken them, much against their will
upon a voyage in the wonderful air-ship, the "Albatross," which he
had constructed. He meant thus to prove to them beyond argument the
correctness of his assertions. This ship, a hundred feet long, was
upheld in the air by a large number of horizontal screws and was
driven forward by vertical screws at its bow and stern. It was
managed by a crew of at least half a dozen men, who seemed absolutely
devoted to their leader, Robur.
After a voyage almost completely around the world, Mr. Prudent and
Mr. Evans managed to escape from the "Albatross" after a desperate
struggle. They even managed to cause an explosion on the airship,
destroying it, and involving the inventor and all his crew in a
terrific fall from the sky into the Pacific ocean.
Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans then returned to Philadelphia. They had
learned that the "Albatross" had been constructed on an unknown isle
of the Pacific called Island X; but since the location of this
hiding-place was wholly unknown, its discovery lay scarcely within
the bounds of possibility. Moreover, the search seemed entirely
unnecessary, as the vengeful prisoners were quite certain that they
had destroyed their jailers.
Hence the two millionaires, restored to their homes, went calmly on
with the construction of their own machine, the "Go-Ahead." They
hoped by means of it to soar once more into the regions they had
traversed with Robur, and to prove to themselves that their lighter
than air machine was at least the equal of the heavy "Albatross." If
they had not persisted, they would not have been true Americans.
On the twentieth of April in the following year the "Go-Ahead" was
finished and the ascent was made, from Fairmount Park in
Philadelphia. I myself was there with thousands of other spectators.
We saw the huge balloon rise gracefully; and, thanks to its powerful
screws, it maneuvered in every direction with surprising ease.
Suddenly a cry was heard, a cry repeated from a thousand throats.
Another airship had appeared in the distant skies and it now
approached with marvelous rapidity. It was another "Albatross,"
perhaps even superior to the first. Robur and his men had escaped
death in the Pacific; and, burning for revenge, they had constructed
a second airship in their secret Island X.
Like a gigantic bird of prey, the "Albatross" hurled itself upon the
"Go-Ahead." Doubtless, Robur, while avenging himself wished also to
prove the immeasurable superiority of the heavier than air machines.
Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans defended themselves as best they could.
Knowing that their balloon had nothing like the horizontal speed of
the "Albatross," they attempted to take advantage of their superior
lightness and rise above her. The "Go-Ahead," throwing out all her
ballast, soared to a height of over twenty thousand feet. Yet even
there the "Albatross" rose above her, and circled round her with ease.
Suddenly an explosion was heard. The enormous gas-bag of the
"Go-Ahead," expanding under the dilation of its contents at this
great height, had finally burst.
Half-emptied, the balloon fell rapidly.
Then to our universal astonishment, the "Albatross" shot down after
her rival, not to finish the work of destruction but to bring rescue.
Yes! Robur, forgetting his vengeance, rejoined the sinking
"Go-Ahead," and his men lifted Mr. Prudent, Mr. Evans, and the
aeronaut who accompanied them, onto the platform of his craft. Then
the balloon, being at length entirely empty, fell to its destruction
among the trees of Fairmount Park.
The public was overwhelmed with astonishment, with fear! Now that
Robur had recaptured his prisoners, how would he avenge himself?
Would they be carried away, this time, forever?
The "Albatross" continued to descend, as if to land in the clearing
at Fairmount Park. But if it came within reach, would not the
infuriated crowd throw themselves upon the airship, tearing both it
and its inventor to pieces?
The "Albatross" descended within six feet of the ground. I remember
well the general movement forward with which the crowd threatened to
attack it. Then Robur's voice rang out in words which even now I can
repeat almost as he said them:
"Citizens of the United States, the president and the secretary of
the Weldon Institute are again in my power. In holding them prisoners
I would but be exercising my natural right of reprisal for the
injuries they have done me. But the passion and resentment which have
been roused both in them and you by the success of the 'Albatross,'
show that the souls of men are not yet ready for the vast increase of
power which the conquest of the air will bring to them. Uncle
Prudent, Phillip Evans, you are free."
The three men rescued from the balloon leaped to the ground. The
airship rose some thirty feet out of reach, and Robur recommenced:
"Citizens of the United States, the conquest of the air is made; but
it shall not be given into your hands until the proper time. I leave,
and I carry my secret with me. It will not be lost to humanity, but
shall be entrusted to them when they have learned not to abuse it.
Farewell, Citizens of the United States!"
Then the "Albatross" rose under the impulse of its mighty screws, and
sped away amidst the hurrahs of the multitude.
I have ventured to remind my readers of this last scene somewhat in
detail, because it seemed to reveal the state of mind of the
remarkable personage who now stood before me. Apparently he had not
then been animated by sentiments hostile to humanity. He was content
to await the future; though his attitude undeniably revealed the
immeasurable confidence which he had in his own genius, the immense
pride which his almost superhuman powers had aroused within him.
It was not astonishing, moreover, that this haughtiness had little by
little been aggravated to such a degree that he now presumed to
enslave the entire world, as his public letter had suggested by its
significant threats. His vehement mind had with time been roused to
such over-excitement that he might easily be driven into the most
violent excesses.
As to what had happened in the years since the last departure of the
"Albatross," I could only partly reconstruct this even with my
present knowledge. It had not sufficed the prodigious inventor to
create a flying machine, perfect as that was! He had planned to
construct a machine which could conquer all the elements at once.
Probably in the workshops of Island X, a selected body of devoted
workmen had constructed, one by one, the pieces of this marvelous
machine, with its quadruple transformation. Then the second
"Albatross" must have carried these pieces to the Great Eyrie, where
they had been put together, within easier access of the world of men
than the far-off island had permitted. The "Albatross" itself had
apparently been destroyed, whether by accident or design, within the
eyrie. The "Terror" had then made its appearance on the roads of the
United States and in the neighboring waters. And I have told under
what conditions, after having been vainly pursued across Lake Erie,
this remarkable masterpiece had risen through the air carrying me a
prisoner on board.
Chapter 17
IN THE NAME OF THE LAW
What was to be the issue of this remarkable adventure? Could I bring
it to any denouement whatever, either sooner or later? Did not Robur
hold the results wholly in his own hands? Probably I would never have
such an opportunity for escape as had occurred to Mr. Prudent and Mr.
Evans amid the islands of the Pacific. I could only wait. And how
long might the waiting last!
To be sure, my curiosity had been partly satisfied. But even now I
knew only the answer to the problems of the Great Eyrie. Having at
length penetrated its circle, I comprehended all the phenomena
observed by the people of the Blueridge Mountains. I was assured that
neither the country-folk throughout the region, nor the townfolk of
Pleasant Garden and Morganton were in danger of volcanic eruptions or
earthquakes. No subterranean forces whatever were battling within the
bowels of the mountains. No crater had arisen in this corner of the
Alleghanies. The Great Eyrie served merely as the retreat of Robur
the Conqueror. This impenetrable hiding-place where he stored his
materials and provisions, had without doubt been discovered by him
during one of his aerial voyages in the "Albatross." It was a retreat
probably even more secure than that as yet undiscovered Island X in
the Pacific.
This much I knew of him; but of this marvelous machine of his, of the
secrets of its construction and propelling force, what did I really
know? Admitting that this multiple mechanism was driven by
electricity, and that this electricity was, as we knew it had been in
the "Albatross," extracted directly from the surrounding air by some
new process, what were the details of its mechanism? I had not been
permitted to see the engine; doubtless I should never see it.
On the question of my liberty I argued thus: Robur evidently intends
to remain unknown. As to what he intends to do with his machine, I
fear, recalling his letter, that the world must expect from it more
of evil than of good. At any rate, the incognito which he has so
carefully guarded in the past he must mean to preserve in the future.
Now only one man can establish the identity of the Master of the
World with Robur the Conqueror. This man is I his prisoner, I who
have the right to arrest him, I, who ought to put my hand on his
shoulder, saying, "In the Name of the Law--"
On the other hand, could I hope for a rescue from with out? Evidently
not. The police authorities must know everything that had happened at
Black Rock Creek. Mr. Ward, advised of all the incidents, would have
reasoned on the matter as follows: when the "Terror" quitted the
creek dragging me at the end of her hawser, I had either been drowned
or, since my body had not been recovered, I had been taken on board
the "Terror," and was in the hands of its commander.
In the first case, there was nothing more to do than to write
"deceased" after the name of John Strock, chief inspector of the
federal police in Washington.
In the second case, could my confreres hope ever to see me again? The
two destroyers which had pursued the "Terror" into the Niagara River
had stopped, perforce, when the current threatened to drag them over
the falls. At that moment, night was closing in, and what could be
thought on board the destroyers but that the "Terror" had been
engulfed in the abyss of the cataract? It was scarce possible that
our machine had been seen when, amid the shades of night, it rose
above the Horseshoe Falls, or when it winged its way high above the
mountains on its route to the Great Eyrie.
With regard to my own fate, should I resolve to question Robur? Would
he consent even to appear to hear me? Was he not content with having
hurled at me his name? Would not that name seem to him to answer
everything?
That day wore away without bringing the least change to the
situation. Robur and his men continued actively at work upon the
machine, which apparently needed considerable repair. I concluded
that they meant to start forth again very shortly, and to take me
with them. It would, however, have been quite possible to leave me at
the bottom of the Eyrie. There would have been no way by which I
could have escaped, and there were provisions at hand sufficient to
keep me alive for many days.
What I studied particularly during this period was the mental state
of Robur. He seemed to me under the dominance of a continuous
excitement. What was it that his ever-seething brain now meditated?
What projects was he forming for the future? Toward what region would
he now turn? Would he put in execution the menaces expressed in his
letter--the menaces of a madman!
The night of that first day, I slept on a couch of dry grass in one
of the grottoes of the Great Eyrie. Food was set for me in this
grotto each succeeding day. On the second and third of August, the
three men continued at their work scarcely once, however, exchanging
any words, even in the midst of their labors. When the engines were
all repaired to Robur's satisfaction, the men began putting stores
aboard their craft, as if expecting a long absence. Perhaps the
"Terror" was about to traverse immense distances; perhaps even, the
captain intended to regain his Island X, in the midst of the Pacific.
Sometimes I saw him wander about the Eyrie buried in thought, or he
would stop and raise his arm toward heaven as if in defiance of that
God with Whom he assumed to divide the empire of the world. Was not
his overweening pride leading him toward insanity? An insanity which
his two companions, hardly less excited than he, could do nothing to
subdue! Had he not come to regard himself as mightier than the
elements which he had so audaciously defied even when he possessed
only an airship, the "Albatross?" And now, how much more powerful had
he become, when earth, air and water combined to offer him an
infinite field where none might follow him!
Hence I had much to fear from the future, even the most dread
catastrophes. It was impossible for me to escape from the Great
Eyrie, before being dragged into a new voyage. After that, how could
I possibly get away while the "Terror" sped through the air or the
ocean? My only chance must be when she crossed the land, and did so
at some moderate speed. Surely a distant and feeble hope to cling to!
It will be recalled that after our arrival at the Great Eyrie, I had
attempted to obtain some response from Robur, as to his purpose with
me; but I had failed. On this last day I made another attempt.
In the afternoon I walked up and down before the large grotto where
my captors were at work. Robur, standing at the entrance, followed me
steadily with his eyes. Did he mean to address me?
I went up to him. "Captain," said I, "I have already asked you a
question, which you have not answered. I ask it again: What do you
intend to do with me?"
We stood face to face scarce two steps apart. With arms folded, he
glared at me, and I was terrified by his glance. Terrified, that is
the word! The glance was not that of a sane man. Indeed, it seemed to
reflect nothing whatever of humanity within.
I repeated my question in a more challenging tone. For an instant I
thought that Robur would break his silence and burst forth.
"What do you intend to do with me? Will you set me free?"
Evidently my captor's mind was obsessed by some other thought, from
which I had only distracted him for a moment. He made again that
gesture which I had already observed; he raised one defiant arm
toward the zenith. It seemed to me as if some irresistible force drew
him toward those upper zones of the sky, that he belonged no more to
the earth, that he was destined to live in space; a perpetual dweller
in the clouds.
Without answering me, without seeming to have understood me, Robur
reentered the grotto.
How long this sojourn or rather relaxation of the "Terror" in the
Great Eyrie was to last, I did not know. I saw, however, on the
afternoon of this third of August that the repairs and the
embarkation of stores were completed. The hold and lockers of our
craft must have been completely crowded with the provisions taken
from the grottoes of the Eyrie.
Then the chief of the two assistants, a man whom I now recognized as
that John Turner who had been mate of the "Albatross," began another
labor. With the help of his companion, he dragged to the center of
the hollow all that remained of their materials, empty cases,
fragments of carpentry, peculiar pieces of wood which clearly must
have belonged to the "Albatross," which had been sacrificed to this
new and mightier engine of locomotion. Beneath this mass there lay a
great quantity of dried grasses. The thought came to me that Robur
was preparing to leave this retreat forever!
In fact, he could not be ignorant that the attention of the public
was now keenly fixed upon the Great Eyrie; and that some further
attempt was likely to be made to penetrate it. Must he not fear that
some day or other the effort would be successful, and that men would
end by invading his hiding-place? Did he not wish that they should
find there no single evidence of his occupation?
The sun disappeared behind the crests of the Blueridge. His rays now
lighted only the very summit of Black Dome towering in the northwest.
Probably the "Terror" awaited only the night in order to begin her
flight. The world did not yet know that the automobile and boat could
also transform itself into a flying machine. Until now, it had never
been seen in the air. And would not this fourth transformation be
carefully concealed, until the day when the Master of the World chose
to put into execution his insensate menaces?
Toward nine o'clock profound obscurity enwrapped the hollow. Not a
star looked down on us. Heavy clouds driven by a keen eastern wind
covered the entire sky. The passage of the "Terror" would be
invisible, not only in our immediate neighborhood, but probably
across all the American territory and even the adjoining seas.
At this moment Turner, approaching the huge stack in the middle of
the eyrie, set fire to the grass beneath.
The whole mass flared up at once. From the midst of a dense smoke,
the roaring flames rose to a height which towered above the walls of
the Great Eyrie. Once more the good folk of Morganton and Pleasant
Garden would believe that the crater had reopened. These flames would
announce to them another volcanic upheaval.
I watched the conflagration. I heard the roarings and cracklings
which filled the air. From the deck of the "Terror," Robur watched it
also.
Turner and his companion pushed back into the fire the fragments
which the violence of the flames cast forth. Little by little the
huge bonfire grew less. The flames sank down into a mere mass of
burnt-out ashes; and once more all was silence and blackest night.
Suddenly I felt myself seized by the arm. Turner drew me toward the
"Terror." Resistance would have been useless. And moreover what could
be worse than to be abandoned without resources in this prison whose
walls I could not climb!
As soon as I set foot on the deck, Turner also embarked. His
companion went forward to the look-out; Turner climbed down into the
engine-room, lighted by electric bulbs, from which not a gleam
escaped outside.
Robur himself was at the helm, the regulator within reach of his
hand, so that he could control both our speed and our direction. As
to me, I was forced to descend into my cabin, and the hatchway was
fastened above me. During that night, as on that of our departure
from Niagara, I was not allowed to watch the movements of the
"Terror."
Nevertheless, if I could see nothing of what was passing on board, I
could hear the noises of the machinery. I had first the feeling that
our craft, its bow slightly raised, lost contact with the earth. Some
swerves and balancings in the air followed. Then the turbines
underneath spun with prodigious rapidity, while the great wings beat
with steady regularity.
Thus the "Terror," probably forever, had left the Great Eyrie, and
launched into the air as a ship launches into the waters. Our captain
soared above the double chain of the Alleghanies, and without doubt
he would remain in the upper zones of the air until he had left all
the mountain region behind.
But in what direction would he turn? Would he pass in flight across
the plains of North Carolina, seeking the Atlantic Ocean? Or would he
head to the west to reach the Pacific? Perhaps he would seek, to the
south, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. When day came how should I
recognize which sea we were upon, if the horizon of water and sky
encircled us on every side?
Several hours passed; and how long they seemed to me! I made no
effort to find forgetfulness in sleep. Wild and incoherent thoughts
assailed me. I felt myself swept over worlds of imagination, as I was
swept through space, by an aerial monster. At the speed which the
"Terror" possessed, whither might I not be carried during this
interminable night? I recalled the unbelievable voyage of the
"Albatross," of which the Weldon Institute had published an account,
as described by Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans. What Robur, the Conqueror,
had done with his first airship, he could do even more readily with
this quadruple machine.
At length the first rays of daylight brightened my cabin. Would I be
permitted to go out now, to take my place upon the deck, as I had
done upon Lake Erie?
I pushed upon the hatchway: it opened. I came half way out upon the
deck.
All about was sky and sea. We floated in the air above an ocean, at a
height which I judged to be about a thousand or twelve hundred feet.
I could not see Robur, so he was probably in the engine room. Turner
was at the helm, his companion on the look-out.
Now that I was upon the deck, I saw what I had not been able to see
during our former nocturnal voyage, the action of those powerful
wings which beat upon either side at the same time that the screws
spun beneath the flanks of the machine.
By the position of the sun, as it slowly mounted from the horizon, I
realized that we were advancing toward the south. Hence if this
direction had not been changed during the night this was the Gulf of
Mexico which lay beneath us.
A hot day was announced by the heavy livid clouds which clung to the
horizon. These warnings of a coming storm did not escape the eye of
Robur when toward eight o'clock he came on deck and took Turner's
place at the helm. Perhaps the cloud-bank recalled to him the
waterspout in which the "Albatross" had so nearly been destroyed, or
the mighty cyclone from which he had escaped only as if by a miracle
above the Antarctic Sea.
It is true that the forces of Nature which had been too strong for
the "Albatross," might easily be evaded by this lighter and more
versatile machine. It could abandon the sky where the elements were
in battle and descend to the surface of the sea; and if the waves
beat against it there too heavily, it could always find calm in the
tranquil depths.
Doubtless, however, there were some signs by which Robur, who must be
experienced in judging, decided that the storm would not burst until
the next day.
He continued his flight; and in the afternoon, when we settled down
upon the surface of the sea, there was not a sign of bad weather. The
"Terror" is a sea bird, an albatross or frigate-bird, which can rest
at will upon the waves! Only we have this advantage, that fatigue has
never any hold upon this metal organism, driven by the inexhaustible
electricity!
The whole vast ocean around us was empty. Not a sail nor a trail of
smoke was visible even on the limits of the horizon. Hence our
passage through the clouds had not been seen and signaled ahead.
The afternoon was not marked by any incident. The "Terror" advanced
at easy speed. What her captain intended to do, I could not guess. If
he continued in this direction, we should reach some one of the West
Indies, or beyond that, at the end of the Gulf, the shore of
Venezuela or Colombia. But when night came, perhaps we would again
rise in the air to clear the mountainous barrier of Guatemala and
Nicaragua, and take flight toward Island X, somewhere in the unknown
regions of the Pacific.
Evening came. The sun sank in an horizon red as blood. The sea
glistened around the "Terror," which seemed to raise a shower of
sparks in its passage. There was a storm at hand. Evidently our
captain thought so. Instead of being allowed to remain on deck, I was
compelled to re-enter my cabin, and the hatchway was closed above me.
In a few moments from the noises that followed, I knew that the
machine was about to be submerged. In fact, five minutes later, we
were moving peacefully forward through the ocean's depths.
Thoroughly worn out, less by fatigue than by excitement and anxious
thought, I fell into a profound sleep, natural this time and not
provoked by any soporific drug. When I awoke, after a length of time
which I could not reckon, the "Terror" had not yet returned to the
surface of the sea.
This maneuver was executed a little later. The daylight pierced my
porthole; and at the same moment I felt the pitching and tossing to
which we were subjected by a heavy sea.
I was allowed to take my place once more outside the hatchway; where
my first thought was for the weather. A storm was approaching from
the northwest. Vivid lightning darted amid the dense, black clouds.
Already we could hear the rumbling of thunder echoing continuously
through space. I was surprised--more than surprised, frightened!--by
the rapidity with which the storm rushed upward toward the zenith.
Scarcely would a ship have had time to furl her sails to escape the
shock of the blast, before it was upon her! The advance was as swift
as it was terrible.
Suddenly the wind was unchained with unheard of violence, as if it
had suddenly burst from this prison of cloud. In an instant a
frightful sea uprose. The breaking waves, foaming along all their
crests, swept with their full weight over the "Terror." If I had not
been wedged solidly against the rail, I should have been swept
overboard!
There was but one thing to do--to change our machine again into a
submarine. It would find security and calm at a few dozen feet
beneath the surface. To continue to brave the fury of this outrageous
sea was impossible.
Robur himself was on deck, and I awaited the order to return to my
cabin--an order which was not given. There was not even any
preparation for the plunge. With an eye more burning than ever,
impassive before this frightful storm, the captain looked it full in
the face, as if to defy it, knowing that he had nothing to fear.
It was imperative that the terror should plunge below without losing
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