Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Triple Fire

India, along with parts of Brazil, such as Rio de Janeiro, is the most storm-struck place on earth.In European countries such as France, England, and Germany, there are only twenty days of lightning and thunder in a year, while in the Indian peninsula, the number exceeds fifty. This is roughly the weather conditions.And on the Fourth of June, we are sure to have a very violent storm, according to the circumstances that have unfolded. Once back in the steam room, I immediately looked at the barometer.The column of mercury had suddenly dropped two inches—from twenty-nine to twenty-six inches. (approximately 730mm).

I brought the change to Colonel Moreau's attention. "I'm really worried about Captain Ord and his companions who are still out there," he replied. "The storm is coming, it's getting late, and it's getting darker in the woods. And the hunters don't know what to expect." How could they find their way back to camp in the dark?" "These lunatics!" said Bonkers. "They don't make sense! It's obvious they shouldn't have left!" "Perhaps so, Bonkers, but since they are out," replied Colonel Moreau, "everything should be done to bring them back."

"Isn't there some signal to show where we are?" I asked the engineer. "Yes," replied Bonkers, "we can turn on the headlights, and they'll be visible from a great distance. I'll go and plug them in." "Bonkers, that's a brilliant idea." "Do you think I should go out and look for Captain Ord?" asked the sergeant. "No, my Rael," replied Colonel Moreau, "not only will you not be able to find him, but you will be lost yourself." Bonkers began to light the headlights.The battery was put into use, the power was switched on, and the eyes of the steel behemoth quickly emitted two strong beams of light like headlights, passing through the dark banyan forest.In such a dark night, these two beams of lightning will surely reach far and guide our hunters back to the camp.

Suddenly a violent hurricane blew up.It knocked down the tops of the banyan tree, and the bent branches hang low to the ground. The wind whistling between the pillars of the banyan tree is like shuttling between the loud pipes in the wooden shell of an organ. The same deafening sound. The hurricane was coming fast. The dead branches and leaves blown by the wind poured down like a torrential rain, covering the road.It made a whining sound as it hit the roof of the steam room, and then continued to slide to the ground. We had to hide in the living room and shut all the windows, but the rain still hadn't fallen.

"It's a 'thorfian' phenomenon," Bonkers said. Indians call this ferocious and rapid hurricane "Tofan", which brings especially serious disasters to mountainous areas, so locals are always afraid of hurricanes. "Stoll!" Bonkers called to the mechanic. "Have you shut all the windows on the turret?" "It's closed, Mr. Bonkers," replied the mechanic. "You can rest easy." "Where's Karut?" "He was just filling the water tank in the tender." "Tomorrow, we only need to pick up the firewood on the ground! This wind is a good woodcutter, and he has done a lot of work for us! Stoll, keep the pressure in the steam oven, and then go back to rest." The engineer said.

"Okay, I'll go right away, sir." "Is the tank full, Karut?" Bonkers asked. "Yes, Mr. Bonkers," replied the fireman, "the tank is now full." "Great! Go back! Go back!" The mechanic and fireman were soon back in the second car. At this time, lightning appeared continuously in the sky, and the charged dark clouds collided with each other, making a dull rumbling sound.The hurricane did not cool the air, but it was as hot as coming out of a stove. Mr. Edward Morrow, Mark Rael, Bonkers and I walked back from the living room to the balcony.Looking up, the outline of the dense branches and leaves of the banyan tree in the sky seems to be inlaid with fine black lace.Whenever a bolt of lightning cuts across the sky, thunder can be heard a few minutes later.The lingering sound of the previous burst of thunder continued, and a new echo continued.So this deep bass continues continuously, from which there are blunt explosions from time to time. Lucles once compared it vividly to the sharp and harsh sound heard when tearing a piece of paper.

"Why hasn't the storm brought them back?" asked Colonel Moreau. "Perhaps," replied the sergeant, "Captain Ord and his mates have found shelter in the woods, in a hollow tree or rock, for example, and won't be back till morning! Wait for them here!" Bonkers shook his head apprehensively.It seems that he does not agree with Mark Rael's statement. At this time—as close to nine o’clock in the evening—it began to rain cats and dogs.There were also large pieces of hailstones in the rain, which slammed on the roof of the steam room like drums.Even if there is no thunder at this moment, we can't hear what the other party is saying.The banyan tree leaves that were knocked down by the hail were flying all over the sky.

Amid the deafening din, we were almost deaf, and all we could see was Bonkers raising his arm, motioning us to see the hailstones crashing against the iron hide of the steel behemoth. It's unbelievable!The hailstones collided with the hard iron body to create countless flashes of light.It seemed that what fell from the dark clouds were really drops of molten metal, hitting the iron sheet with radiance and spreading out.That's enough to give us an idea of ​​how highly charged the atmosphere is.Moreover, thunder and lightning flashed continuously in the sky, and the whole world seemed to be on fire.

Bonkers gestured for us to return to the living room and closed the door to the balcony.Standing outdoors is certainly at risk of being hit by an electrical current. The room was so dark against the lightning outside that we sat in the darkness and were amazed to find that even our own spittle glistened!We are also strangely contaminated by the charged air around us. "We breathe fire out of our mouths," is the phrase that captures this extremely rare and frightening phenomenon.In fact, amidst the continuous explosions, the inside and outside seemed to be on fire, and the earth-shattering lightning made a deafening rumble, and even the most determined heart could not help speeding up in the face of these explosions. The speed of the beating.

"They!" Colonel Moreau couldn't help shouting. "They! . . . yes! . . . they!" replied Bonkers. This is simply too worrying.Captain Ord and his companions must be in serious danger, and there is nothing we can do to help them. If they had found any hiding place, it could only have been under a tree, but we knew how dangerous it must be to hide there in a storm like this.However, the woods here are so dense, and the branches are too long to reach. How could they find an open space five or six meters away from the trunk? —as men caught in a thunderstorm in the woods are often told to do.

All this was going on in my mind when I suddenly heard another, more crisp thunderclap, separated only half a second from the flash of lightning. The steam house was shaken by the thunder, as if lifted by its enormous power.I think our train is about to be overturned. At the same time there was a pungent smell in the air--a strong smell of nitric acid--which must have been caused by the nitrous acid contained in the rainwater of the storm. "The thunder stopped..." Mark Rael said. "Stoll! Kalut! Palazard!" Bonkers yelled. The three quickly ran to the living room.Fortunately, none of them were struck by lightning. The engineer pushed open the balcony door and walked out of the living room. "There! . . . Look! . . . " he said. On the left side of the path, more than ten steps away from us, a huge banyan tree had just been knocked down by lightning.Under the electric light, we can see it as clearly as in daylight.The thick trunk, whose roots were no longer able to support the ground, leaned against a nearby tree.Moreover, all the bark on the trunk was stripped off, and the strong wind blew the peeled off bark like a snake, twisting and beating crazily.It must have been a huge thunder that rose from the bottom just now and completely stripped the tree into this appearance. "In a little while, the steam house will be knocked down!" said the engineer, "but let's stay here. It's still safer than under the tree!" "Stay there!" Colonel Moreau replied. At this time, we heard several shouts.Could it be that our partners have finally returned? "Palazard's voice," Stoll said. It was indeed the cook on the back balcony who was shouting at the top of his voice. We ran over immediately. Not a hundred meters to the right rear of the camp, a banyan forest was really on fire.The highest branches had disappeared in a curtain of fire, and the flames were growing beyond belief, rushing towards the steam room at a speed we could not have imagined. The danger is imminent.A prolonged drought and three months of hot season heat have scorched branches, shrubs and weeds here.These extremely flammable plants burst into flames, providing plenty of fuel for fires.This happens so often in India that entire forests are in danger of being engulfed in flames. The fire in front of us is spreading crazily, getting closer and closer to us.If it had reached the camp, the two cars would have been reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes, for their thin panels were no match for the thick iron walls of the safe. We were all silent in the face of danger.Colonel Moreau folded his arms. "Bonkers," he said simply, "it's up to you to help us out!" "Yes, Moreau," replied the engineer, "since there is no way to put out the fire, we must flee!" "With feet?" I yelled. "No, take our train." "What about Captain Ord and his companions?" Mark Reel asked. "We can't help them! Even if they don't come back before we leave, we still have to get out of here!" "They can't be left alone!" said the colonel. "Moreau," explained Bonkers, "when the train is safe from the fire, we'll come back and search the woods to find them!" "Then do as you say, Bonkers," Colonel Morrow had to surrender to the engineer.In fact, his opinion was the only feasible way at the time. "Stoll," Bonkers began to order, "get to the machine! Karut, go to the steam oven and crank up the fire!  … What's the pressure on the barometer?" "Two atmospheres," replied the mechanic. "Must add four in two minutes! Go! Friends! Go!" The mechanic and the fireman did not dare to neglect for a moment, and immediately took their positions.After a while, the elephant seemed to ignore the downpour, and puffs of thick black smoke spewed out of its trunk, mixing with the rain.The sparks billowing in the smoke reflected the overwhelming flames.A puff of steam was already rising from the chimney, and the hand-pulled blower made the firewood that Karut had stuffed into the hearth burn even hotter. Meanwhile, Mr. Edward Morrow, Bonkers, and I remained on the back balcony watching the progress of the forest fire.We were terrified by the incredible speed of the fire.Tall trees fell one after another in the sea of ​​flames, the crackling of branches sounded like the sound of pistols, and the vines twisted and twisted between the branches, and a new sea of ​​​​fire quickly spread.Within five minutes, the fire had moved fifty meters forward and was blown in a mess by the strong wind. It could be said that the tattered flames shot up into the sky, blazing in all directions. "We've got to get out of this place in five minutes," Bonkers said, "or we're going to be in flames." "But the fire goes away too fast!" I replied. "We'll be faster than it!" "If only Ord and his companions had returned!" said Mr. Edward Morrow. "Horn, honk!" Bunkers yelled. "Maybe they'll hear!" After finishing speaking, he quickly ran to the front of the car, and we soon heard several sharp and piercing whistles coming from the air through the low thunder, and they must be able to travel far away. The situation at that time can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words. On the one hand, we must escape as quickly as possible; on the other hand, we must wait for those who have not yet returned! Bonkers was back with us on the back porch again.At this point, the edge of the fire was within fifty feet of our steam room.The unbearable heat waves hit in waves, and the scorching air became more and more suffocating.Sparks have been bursting into the train frequently.Luckily the downpour protected our train to some extent, but the rain obviously couldn't save it from the fire either. Although the shrieking sirens continued, Ord, Fox and Gummi were still missing. At this time, the mechanic came to see Bonkers. "We have enough air pressure," he said. "Well, get on your way, Stoll!" replied Bonkers, "but don't go too fast! . . . Just get out of this fire!" "Wait, Bonkers, wait!" said Colonel Moreau, who still couldn't bear to leave the camp. "Then wait three more minutes, Moreau," replied Bonkers solemnly. "No more. In three minutes, the rear of the train will be on fire!" Two minutes passed.We can't stay on the back porch any longer.The hot iron sheet began to deform, and I couldn't even touch it with my hands.Staying for a few more seconds is extremely dangerous! "Go, Stoll!" Bonkers yelled. "Ah!" cried the sergeant suddenly. "They..." I couldn't help shouting. Captain Ord and Fox emerged from the right side of the road.The two carried the corpse-like Gumi with their hands and walked to the steps at the rear of the car. "He's dead!" exclaimed Bonkers. "No, it was just a lightning strike, and the shotgun was shattered in his hand," replied Captain Ord. "His left leg is paralyzed." "God bless!" said Colonel Moreau. "Thank you, Bonkers!" went on the captain. "If we hadn't heard your sirens, we would never have found camp!" "Go! Go!" Bunks ordered loudly. Ord and Fox rushed into the car and carried Gumi, still unconscious, to his own room. "What's the air pressure now?" Bonkers asked the mechanic. "Almost almost five atmospheres," Stoll replied. "Go!" repeated Bonkers again. It was ten thirty in the evening.Bonkers and Stoll are still stuck in the turret.The regulating valve was opened, a large amount of steam from the steam oven poured into the cylinder, and it began to roar like a horse neighing. The train moved forward slowly under the triple light of the forest fire, the headlights and the lightning in the sky. Captain Ord began to tell us what had happened to the three of them.He and his companions saw no animals in the forest.They had not imagined that the woods would be pitch black so quickly before the storm came.They were no less than three miles from their bivouac when the first thunderclap was heard.So the three of them planned to go back, but no matter how hard they tried to find out the direction, they still quickly got lost in this banyan forest, which was exactly the same everywhere, not knowing which way to go. Soon the storm came down with great momentum.The three of them were too far away to see the beam of train headlights, and it was impossible to follow the beam directly back to the steam room.At this time, the torrential rain poured down with hail.But the three of them had no hiding place at all except under the canopy, which would soon be struck by lightning. Suddenly, there was a loud thunder in a strong lightning.Gumi, beside Captain Ord, was struck by lightning and fell at Fox's feet.The shotgun in his hand was nothing but an empty casing.The barrel, magazine, and trigger all made of metal disappeared without a trace in an instant. Both Ord and Fox thought he was dead.Fortunately, he was still alive, but his left leg, which was not hit by the electric current, was just barely walking in the dark woods, and his life would be in danger at any time. With no sign or sign to tell them the right direction, Ord and Fox hurried to and fro in the banyan forest, hesitated, stopped, and continued on for two weeks. hours of time. Fortunately, amidst the din of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, a sharp siren that was more penetrating than the sound of a shotgun came from the strong wind.It was the cry of the Iron Behemoth. A quarter of an hour later, just as we were about to leave the campsite, the three of them finally came back to us.It couldn't have been more timely! However, if the train can run fast on this spacious and flat road in the banyan forest, the speed of the fire will not be slower than it.And, as so often happens when a storm hits, the wind is always changing.At this time, the wind no longer blows from the side, but threateningly from the back to the front, like a blower that constantly fills the furnace with oxygen, making the fire burn more vigorously.The fire spread wildly.Like an erupting crater, a thick cloud of ash rose from the ground, while the branches of the trees above were burned in clouds of sparks and rained down.We can really only compare this fire to a stream of brilliant lava, devouring everything around it with willfulness. Bonkers also noticed that the terrible fire was growing stronger.But maybe you don't have to see it, you can feel it, based on the blazing heat that wafts through the air. Although it is dangerous to drive fast when we are not familiar with the road conditions, we can no longer take care of this much.It's just that there are gullies of different depths everywhere on the road soaked by rain, and the speed of the train is not as fast as the engineer imagined. At about half past eleven, a long flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and then the rumbling of a huge thunder was heard again!Suddenly there was a cry in my ear.We all thought that Bonkers and Stoll, who were driving the train in the turret, were struck by lightning. Unfortunately, after all, it has nothing to do with us.It was only one of the elephant's long, drooping ears that had been electrocuted just now. Fortunately, it didn't damage the machine hair, and the steel behemoth seemed to ignore the lightning and thunder and run faster. "Wow!" Captain Ord couldn't help but be full of praise, "Wow! If it were a flesh and blood elephant, it would have been killed by lightning! And you, no fear, rain or shine! Iron giant, you are so amazing! Too It's amazing!" In the next half hour, the train kept a certain distance from the fire as much as possible, and the speed was not very fast.Because Bonkers was worried that the too fast train would slam into some obstacle, so he just wanted not to be burned. Colonel Moreau, Captain Ord, and I had been sitting on the back porch when we saw tall figures bouncing about in the light of fire and lightning.It turned out to be a group of brown-haired beasts! Captain Ord immediately grabbed his shotgun, for the terrified beasts might charge into the train and use it as a hiding place. As expected, a big tiger wanted to try this; it jumped suddenly, but was unfortunately caught by two banyan tree vines.Although the tree trunk had been bent in the storm, the two vines strangled the tiger alive like two thick and strong ropes. "Poor fool!" said Fox. "These brown beasts," replied Captain Ord angrily, "should all be shot by the carbines! Yes! Poor fool!" What a misfortune for Captain Ord!When he looked around for tigers, he couldn't see any of them, and when he was no longer with me, the tigers appeared flying in front of him again, and before he had time to shoot them, they seemed to fall into the rodent trap again strangled to death like a mouse. At one o'clock in the morning, our perilous situation became even more difficult. The wind was blowing, the fire had engulfed the front of the road, and we were completely engulfed in an ocean of fire. At this time, the thunderstorm was over and much weaker.As the atmosphere flows over the forest, the trees support and gradually weaken the charged substances in the atmosphere, so thunderstorms always have such a changing process.Although the lightning in the sky became less and less, the intervals between the thunders became longer and longer, and the rain became weaker and weaker, the wind on the ground was always fierce and strong like a rage. No matter what the cost, even if you hit an obstacle or get stuck in a big mud hole on the road, you must speed up. This was exactly the decision that Bonkers made. He did not lose his mind, but was exceptionally calm, his eyes fixed on the transparent glass on the porthole of the turret, and he stared intently ahead, keeping his hands on the regulating valve. The road was extremely narrow between the two burning walls of fire.But we have to go through the firewall. Bonkers drove the train into the wall of fire without hesitation at a speed of six to seven kilometers per hour. Several times I thought the train would be forced to stop, especially when we came to a place that was extremely cramped by the fire.The wheels of the train creaked and rolled over the thick layer of charcoal that covered the road, and a huge heat wave immediately surged up and surrounded the entire train. But we finally wore it out! At two o'clock in the morning, there was an occasional flash of lightning across the sky, illuminating the edge of the woods before our eyes.The fire turned into a wide panorama of flames behind us, and it was always going to burn the last banyan tree of this great forest to ashes, otherwise it would not go out. At dawn, the storm had completely subsided, and the train finally stopped running wildly and took a rest. Our elephants were quickly and meticulously inspected.It was found that its right earlobe was full of holes. If it were any other animal other than the tin elephant, after being hit by such a lightning strike, it would definitely collapse on the ground, unable to get up again, and the train trailing behind would be burned to ashes in an instant! At six o'clock in the morning, after a short rest, we were on the road again, and at twelve o'clock we arrived near Leva and settled down.