Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen On Board the Terror

When I regained consciousness, it was already daytime.From the narrow cabin, some sunlight penetrates through the thick glass portholes. I don’t know who put me here—I don’t know how many hours ago!However, judging by the slanted sunlight, the sun must have risen very high on the horizon. I lay on a bunk in the cabin; the bed was narrow and covered with a quilt.My dry clothes hang in the corner.My belt, torn in half by a hook, was thrown on the floor. I felt that I was neither wounded nor physically damaged except a little weak.The reason why I lost consciousness is that I believe that no one has ever beaten me.My head must have been pulled into the water as I got caught on the cable.If I hadn't been dragged out of the lake, I would have suffocated.

Now, am I on board the Terror?Whether the captain and two of his crew were the only ones besides me, that is probable, and must be.The scene at that time appeared before my eyes again. Hart fell on the bank due to gunshot wounds; Wells fired back and forth; when the hook hooked my belt, Walker immediately fell to the ground!How are they doing now?Did they think I must have been buried in Lake Erie? Where is the "Terror" now, where is it going, and will it be turned into a car?Passing highways in neighboring states at high speed?If so, if I had been unconscious for hours, this monster of extraordinary power must have been far from Lake Erie long ago.Or, am I still on the sub, which is diving under Lake Erie?

No, the Terror was evidently sailing on some open water.Sunlight filtering into the cabin showed that the windows were not flooded.Also, I didn't feel the wobble that the car produces even on the smoothest highways.Therefore, it can be concluded that the "Terror" was not traveling on land. As for what appears to be it still in the waters of Lake Erie, that's another story.Did the captain decide to return to the Detroit River and thus enter Lake Huron, or even Lake Superior?It's hard for me to judge. In any case, I decided to go on deck, and from there I might draw conclusions.I struggled to get up from the bed, went to get the clothes, and finally put them on.I wonder if I'm locked in this cabin!The only exit seemed to be through a ladder and hatch over my head.With the hatch within easy reach, I finally climbed onto the deck.

I cautiously looked back and forth, and also to the sides of the fast-moving Terror.There is a vast water area in front of you, and the waves are vast!No land in sight, nothing but the horizon where water and sky meet! I could easily tell whether the Terror was sailing on the lake or the sea. The "Terror" was galloping fast, the water was split by the bow, and the water splashed frantically on both sides as the hull advanced, and the waves rushed towards me wantonly. I tasted the drops and it was fresh water, most likely Lake Erie water.The sun was still halfway from the zenith, so it was not seven or eight hours since the Terror sped away from Blackstone Bay.

It must have been the next day, the morning of the eleventh of July. Considering that Lake Erie is 220 miles long and over 50 miles wide, I certainly couldn't see the American shores in the southwest, or the Canadian shores in the northwest. At this time, there were two men on the deck, one on guard at the bow and the other at the stern.From the position of the sun, I judged that the man was sailing northeast at the helm.I recognized the man at the bow as the one who climbed the canyon at Blackstone Cove, and the man at the stern as the companion with the lantern.I found no one they called the captain.He's not on deck.

You will understand how anxious I am to stand in front of the violent, and has been and will be the center of world opinion, the inventor of the incomparable submarine, the defiant inventor who is unafraid to Fight to the death with all mankind, openly claiming to be the "master of the world". I walked towards the man at the bow, and after a moment of silence, I asked him, "Where is the captain?" He looked at me with half-closed eyes, as if he couldn't understand what I was saying, however, I heard he was still speaking English last night.In addition, I also noticed that he was not surprised to see me stepping out of the cabin, turned his back to me, and continued to pay attention to the front.

I went back to the stern, determined to ask the same question again: where is the captain?But when I came up to him, the helmsman waved me away, but otherwise he didn't respond. I had to watch the ship there.It was because of it that we had to be compelled to shoot when we had caught its cable. I sat in the stern and looked at the structure of the ship carefully, although I don't know where it will take me?The deck and upper hull are all made of some metal I don't know.In the middle of the deck, a small half-open window covered the engine room, where the engines ran rhythmically and almost silently.The ship had no masts, and no rigging, as I had seen before!At the stern, there isn't even any flagpole!The bow has a periscope cover through which the Terror is guided underwater.On the sides of the boat there are two rear tandems, similar to the broadside entrances on Dutch ships, I don't see what they are for.

At the bow, again, was seen a third hatch leading to the deck, below which perhaps the two sailors rested when the Terror was at rest. In the stern, there is a hatch that may have communicated with the captain's cabin; he has not been seen so far.Once these various hatches are closed, there is a kind of rubber on them to seal them tightly; when the ship is under the sea, it can prevent water from entering the interior of the cabin.As to the engine that produced such high speeds, I know nothing, and I see no propellers.All I could see was a long, smooth trail of water left behind by the Terror as it galloped by.The extremely beautiful shape of the hull makes it hardly make any waves, and it can also be brisk and comfortable even in the stormy waves of the violent sea.

As is well known, the motive power for such a drive is neither steam, nor oil, or other similar liquid fuels known by smell, as are often used in ordinary automobiles or submarines.Apparently, the power on board is electric, and it is on board that it is launched, and it is very powerful.Naturally, I couldn't help but wonder, the power comes from the river; battery packs or accumulators?But how are these battery packs or accumulators charged?Unless—and this must undoubtedly be—electricity is produced directly from the surrounding air or water by some as yet unknown generative process.I couldn't help wondering whether I could discover all these secrets in the situation in front of me.

Then I thought of my two assistants who remained on the shore of Blackstone Bay.I knew that one of them had been shot, and so might the other.Did they think I was captured by the Terror, seeing me being dragged aboard by cables?Probably not!No doubt the news of my death must have reached Mr. Ward by telephone from Toledo.Under such circumstances, who would dare to launch another attack on the "world ruler"? I couldn't get rid of these thoughts, even while I was waiting for the captain to appear on deck, however, he still didn't appear. I am suddenly so hungry that I must have been without food for nearly twenty-four hours.After a quick meal in the woods last night, I haven't eaten anything yet.My stomach ached so badly that I even wondered if I had been taken aboard two days ago--or even more than two days ago.

Another doubt assailed me, which gave me a certain pleasure; if they did not want me to starve, what food would they let me eat, when the sailor in the bow left his post and went down to the cabin, On deck again.Then he put some food in front of me, without saying a word, and went back to the bow.Canned meat, dried fish, biscuits, and a pitcher of strong ale which I had to add water to drink, these were the provisions for me, and did satisfy me.They had evidently eaten before I left the cabin. There is nothing that can attract my attention, and I ponder again, how will this adventure of mine end?Will I finally get to see the hitherto unseen captain?Does he set me free?No matter what he's going to do to me, is there any way I can escape from the Terror?It all depends on the situation!But how could I escape if the Terror had been kept far from land, or if she had gone underwater?Unless I go ashore, after the submarine turns into a car, I will spare no effort to escape. However, I have to admit that it would never give me peace to escape without knowing anything about the Terror's secrets.I am not sure that my efforts will be successful.Although I almost lost my life for this purpose, and it must be difficult to achieve it; nevertheless, I have taken a step towards it.Obviously, if I can never have any connection with the outside world; if, like this "master of the world" who willingly put himself outside the law, I am now completely cut off from the outside world, then even though I am here On board the Terror, what was the point? The Terror continued to sail northeast on Lake Erie.The speed of the boat was cut in half, and if it had been going at full speed, it would have reached the northeast edge of Lake Erie a few hours ago. The only outlet on the northeast edge of Lake Erie is where the Niagara River joins the Niagara River and thence into Lake Ontario.But now the Niagara River is blocked by the famous waterfall fifteen miles from the important city of Buffalo.As the Terror was still heading up the Great Lakes toward the Detroit River, how could it escape from these waters?Unless it gallops over land. The sun has crossed the meridian.The sky was clear; the sun was blazing but pleasant because of the light wind that came with sailing.The shores of Lake Erie on the Canadian and U.S. sides remain deserted. Was the captain determined not to show himself?Is there any reason for him to continue to do so?This was the sign that he would release me when the Terror reached the now invisible shore at night. At two o'clock, however, I heard a soft noise, and the hatch in the center of the deck was opened.I have been impatiently waiting for the Captain to appear on deck. I should confess that, like his sailors, he ignored me and walked straight aft to steer the wheel himself; he whispered a few words to his replacement, who departed, from the fore-deck Hatch into the cabin.The captain stared at the horizon ahead, adjusted the compass, the course changed obviously, and the "Terror" moved forward at full speed. The man who attracted my attention and the world's attention was about fifty years old, of medium build, with broad, straight shoulders; a large head, thick gray hair, clean-shaven, and a short, curved chin. beard.His broad chest and well-defined jaw all reflect his extraordinary energy, and his two bushy eyebrows are tightly knit.He clearly has an iron-like physique, a lot of energy, and under his sun-tanned skin flows blazing bright red blood. Like his companions, the captain wears sailing clothes, a waterproof jacket, and a beanie that can be turned down completely to cover the top of his head when he thinks it necessary. Needless to say, the captain of the Terror was the other of the two men who were watching me on Long Island.However, just as I recognized him, he must also know that I am Inspector Straker, who was ordered to investigate into the peak of Airi. I eyed him curiously; and he tried to avoid my gaze, at least not to conceal that he was not much interested in a stranger in his boat. As I looked at him, a thought came to me--it didn't occur to me when I first saw him in Washington, that I already actually had an impression of his features: as if this face had been Appeared in the photographs held by the police department, or just seen in the photographs displayed in the window of a certain house?However, the similarity is not obvious.Maybe it's just my imagination. I will not mention the above questions for the time being, although his companion is very indifferent to me and doesn't bother to answer my questions.But maybe, he'll be gentler, he speaks the same language as me, although I'm not sure he's an American.He may have tried to avoid talking to me about me as a prisoner by pretending not to understand me. If so, what will he do with me?Does he intend to continue to ignore me?Or is he thinking of throwing me overboard when it's night?Or, though I knew so little about him, he thought I was still a great danger to him, and therefore must get rid of me?If so, however, he had better leave me on shore at the end of the voyage, so that he need not bother to drown me. I got up, walked to the stern, and stopped in front of him.He stared at me with sharp eyes. "Are you the captain?" I asked. He was silent. "This ship! Is this the Terror?" To this question, he still did not answer.I approached him and grabbed his arm. It didn't take much for him to push me away, but it showed his incredible self-control. I walked up to him again and said loudly, "What are you going to do with me?" It seemed that he was about to blurt out the words, but in the obvious irritation, the words were suppressed, as if pondering how to answer, he turned his head to one side, and then his hand touched something like a regulator, The speed of "Horror" immediately increased. I was completely seized by anger.I want to shout, "Whatever you want! Be silent! I know who you are, and I know that the monster you invented has been seen in Madison, Boston, and Caldall Lake. Yes, you are crazy On our roads, seas, and lakes! Your ship is the Terror, and you are its captain. It is you who write letters to the government. It is you who want to fight the world with your whims. It is you who call yourself the "master of the world." !" Can he deny all this?Just then, I saw the well-known initials clearly written on the rudder! Fortunately, I reined in myself, not minding any reaction to my questions, and returned to my seat in the hatchway near my cabin. For a long time—perhaps hours—I gazed patiently at the distant horizon, hoping that land would appear soon.Yes, I'll have to sit there and wait!Because that's all I can do!wait!There was no doubt that the Terror would reach the end of Lake Erie before dark, for she was now making steady progress on her northeast course.