Chapter 29 Chapter Thirteen Steel Behemoth Explosion

At the sound, Mrs. Moreau fainted in her husband's arms. Without a moment's delay, the colonel rushed across the square, with Gumi close behind.He had already killed the sentry who stood up stupidly when he heard the sound of the cannon.The two rushed towards the narrow mountain road leading to the Ripoll Road. As soon as Mr. Edward Morrow and Gumi passed through the secret passage of the fortress, Nana Saib's group, who were suddenly awakened, rushed up to the high platform. The Indians didn't know what to do at first, which made it easier for the two fugitives. It turned out that Nana Saib seldom stayed in the fortress at night.Last night, after Colonel Moreau had been tied to the muzzle, he went to meet some of the tribal chiefs in the Vandias, since he never visited them in the daylight.And now that's his usual return time, he'll make an appearance soon.

Karagani, Nasin, Indian soldiers and Dakwa people totaled more than 100 people, and they were ready to chase the captives.At this time, there is a serious concern: they don't know anything about what happened.The Indian soldiers sent to guard the colonel died on the ground again, unable to tell anything. The most probable scenario, then, was that, by some accident, the cannon had been fired before the scheduled execution time, so that the prisoner was now in pieces! Karagani and others couldn't help cursing in unison: Nana Saib and they will not enjoy the pleasure of witnessing Colonel Moreau's execution.

But "Headman" isn't far from that.He must have heard the cannon too.He'll hurry back to the fort.What was the answer to him when he asked about the captives who remained here? As a result, they all hesitated at first, but gave the "fugitives" a head start before they were discovered. Mr. Edward Morrow and Gummi, after their miraculous escape, were sprinting hopefully down the crooked lane.Mrs. Moreau, though unconscious, was not very heavy on the Colonel's strong arms.What's more, the servants around can also help. Five minutes later after passing through the secret passage, the two had already descended to the middle of the high platform and the valley.But the day began to light, and the dawn shone into the deepest part of the ravine.

There was a wild howl from above their heads. Caragani leaned over the stack, just in time to vaguely see two figures running away.One of them was none other than Nana Saib's captive! "Moreau! It's Moreau!" cried Caragani, frantic with rage. Passing through the secret passage, he led his men and horses to chase down the mountain immediately. "We've been spotted!" said the colonel, not slowing down. "I'll stop the one ahead!" Gumi replied. "They'll kill me, but it might buy you time to get to the road." "Death at their hands together, or run away together!" cried Moreau.

The two have quickened their pace.You can trot in the second half of this mountain road which is not very steep.With forty paces to go they would be able to descend to the Ripoll fork, which led to the main road, and it would be easier to run on the fork. But the hunt would be just as easy.Finding a place to hide is not an option.The two will be spotted soon.It was therefore necessary to keep a distance from the pursuers, and, moreover, to pass before them by the last pass of Mount Vandias. Colonel Moreau made up his mind.He would not allow Nana Saib to capture him alive a second time.If you can't escape, use Gumi's dagger to kill the person who has just returned to your side, rather than let her fall into the hands of the "leader", and then commit suicide yourself!

The two had an advantage of nearly five minutes. When the Indians in the front ran through the secret passage of the fortress, Colonel Moreau and Gumi had vaguely seen the fork road connected to the mountain road, and the main road was only 1/4 mile away. . "Come on, master!" said Gumi, ready to cover the colonel with his body at any moment. "In less than five minutes we'll be on the main road to Jubilapor!" "God help us find help there!" whispered Colonel Moreau. The yelling of the Indian soldiers has become more and more clear. The moment the two "fugitives" set foot on the fork in the road, two other people in a hurry also arrived at the bottom of the mountain road.

At this time, the sky was already very bright, and each other could see their faces clearly. The two names, like two angry shouts, burst out at the same time: "Moreau!" "Nana Saib!" Sure enough, when he heard the roar of the cannon, the "leader" hurried back to the fortress.He didn't understand why his order was executed ahead of schedule. He was accompanied by an Indian soldier, but before the fellow could take a step or even move, Gumi knocked him down with his fist, and stabbed him to death with the same knife that had cut the Colonel's rope. "Come save me!" Nana Saib shouted to the minions who were descending the mountain.

"Yes, save you!" While speaking, Gu Mi rushed towards the "headman" like lightning. His intention was,--if not to kill Nana Saib at once--at least to fight him, so that Colonel Moreau would have time to run to the road.But the "headman" grabbed him with iron-like hands, and the knife in his hand was pinched off. Gumi, who had no weapon, became more and more angry. He grabbed the opponent's belt, hugged the "headman" to his chest, and wrapped it tightly with his strong arms, intending to jump off the cliff with Nana Saib to die together. . However, Caragani was already approaching with his men, and would soon be running down the pass--then there would be no hope of escape.

"Keep going!" Gumi said again, "Using the body of their 'leader' as a cover, I can hold on for a few more minutes! Run, Master, leave me alone!" But at this time, the distance between the two of them and the pursuers was less than three minutes, and the "headman" called Karagani hoarsely again. Suddenly, someone shouted from 20 steps ahead: "Moreau! Moreau!" There was Bunkers, standing on the Ripoll fork, and Captain Ord, Mockley, Sergeant Mark Real, Fox, and Palazard, about a hundred paces behind them on the main road, The "Steel Behemoth" was breathing thick smoke, waiting for them together with Stoll and Karut.

It turned out that after the last carriage of the "steam house" was also destroyed, the engineers and others could only adopt one method: use the elephant body that the Daqua people failed to destroy as a vehicle.So they got on the "steel behemoth" and immediately left Putiriya Lake and rushed to Jubilel Pol, but just as they passed by the fork leading to the fort, a deafening roar sounded above their heads , everyone stopped. Some kind of premonition, or intuition, prompted them to embark on this fork in the road.What do you expect to find?They can't tell either. In any case, the fact was that a few minutes later they saw Colonel Moreau,--who was shouting at them:

"Help my wife!" "Catch Nana Saib, it's true!" Gummi also yelled. As he spoke, he pushed the "leader" to the ground with all his strength, and then Captain Ord, Rael and Fox rushed up and grabbed the strangled guy. Before they had time to ask further questions, Bonkers and the others hurried back to the "steel behemoth" parked on the main road. The colonel wanted to hand over Nana Saib to the British court, so in accordance with his order, the "headman" was temporarily tied to the iron elephant's neck.They put Mrs. Moreau in the conning tower again, and the Colonel sat beside her to take care of her.His thoughts were all on his wife, hoping that she, who had gradually regained consciousness, would regain some sense of reason. Engineers and other traveling companions also quickly climbed onto the back of the "steel behemoth". "Full speed ahead!" Bonkers yelled. By this time it was broad daylight.A group of Indian soldiers running in the front was only a dozen steps away.It was contrived to reach the Jubilee Poor camp before them, whose outpost was at the last pass of the Vendikis. The Iron Behemoth is fully watered and fully fueled, allowing for constant steam pressure and maximum speed.But there are many sharp turns on this road, so we can't rush forward blindly. The Indians shouted louder, and the whole team was about to come. "Self-defense," said Sergeant Mark Rael. "Counterattack!" Captain Ord responded. 12 rounds left.Not a single grain should be wasted, because the Indian soldiers have guns, but they have to be kept at a certain distance. Captain Ord and Fox, carbines in hand, lay on the elephant's arm a little behind the conning tower. Gummi sat in front, with a rifle over his shoulder, in a position where he could shoot with his head tilted.Mark Rael was standing next to Nana Saib, holding a revolver in one hand and a dagger in the other, ready to stab the "headman" to death if any Indian soldiers rushed forward.Karut and Palazzard are filling the furnace with fuel.Bonkers and Stoll are naturally responsible for manipulating the direction of the "Iron Behemoth". The hunting game has lasted 10 minutes.The distance between Bonkers and others and the Indian soldiers behind them was at most two hundred steps.While bandits can run faster, artificial elephants can run longer.So the trick is to stop them from approaching. Indian soldiers opened fire. About 10 bullets whizzed past the head of the "steel behemoth", but only one hit the tip of its nose. "Don't shoot yet! Shoot when you are safe!" Captain Ord shouted. "We've got to save bullets! They're still far away!" Bonkers saw a mile of almost straight road ahead, and he cranked up the horsepower, and the Iron Behemoth gained speed, throwing his pursuers hundreds of paces away. "Hurrah! Long live our behemoth!" cried Captain Ord, unable to restrain himself. "Ha! A mob! They can't catch up!" However, after passing this straight section, there is the last valley pass on the southern slope of Vandias Mountain. So still in hot pursuit. The "Iron Behemoth" quickly drove to the pass between the two high mountain rock walls. Slow down and proceed with extreme caution.After such a delay, the pursuers caught up again.They imagined that if there was no hope of saving Nana Saib who could be stabbed to death at any time, at least they would avenge him. Soon, gunshots rang out again, but none of the passengers on the "Iron Behemoth" was injured. "Take it seriously!" Captain Ord said, holding up his gun. "aim!" Gumi pulled the trigger at the same time as he did.The two Indian soldiers who ran closest were hit in the chest and fell to the ground. "Two are missing!" Gumi said as he reloaded the bullets. "Two percent!" Captain Ord shouted. "It's not enough! Let them pay a greater price!" So the captain's and Gummi's carbines, together with Fox's rifle, killed three more Indian soldiers. But it is impossible to go fast through this steep pass.While the road surface tightened a little bit, the slope also increased sharply.But in any case, after all, it is only half a mile to cross the last ridge of Vandias Mountain. The "Iron Behemoth" will be only a hundred paces away from the British outpost by then, and Jupiter will almost be seen. Leport station. Those Indian soldiers were not the ones who flinched from the guns of the captain and his companions.They would spare their lives as long as they could rescue Nana Saib or avenge him.Maybe ten or twenty of them will fall under the guns, but the remaining eighty will chase hard, and finally pounce on the "steel behemoth" and fight to the death with the small team above the mobile fortress. Besides, Caragani would not be ignorant of the fact that Captain Ord and the others were nearly out of ammunition, and that the rifles and carbines in their hands would soon be useless. The "fugitives" had indeed consumed half their ammunition and would soon be unable to return fire. They still fired four more shots, and four Indian soldiers fell down. Now, only Captain Ord and Fox still have two bullets in their hands. Suddenly, Caragani, who had been carefully hiding behind, rushed to the front of the line unexpectedly. "Ha! It's you! I'll hit you!" cried Captain Ord, aiming at him with the utmost composure. The bullet flew out of the captain's carbine and hit the traitor's top door. He struggled with his hands a few times, turned around on the spot and fell to the ground. At this time, the southern end of the pass appeared. The "Iron Behemoth" rushed forward with all its might for the last time.Fox's carbine fired a final shot.The last Indian soldier fell to the ground immediately. But almost immediately the bandits sensed that the gunfire had stopped, and they swarmed towards the elephant, which was only fifty paces away. "Jump! Jump to the ground!" Bonkers yelled. right!Due to the situation, it is best to abandon the "steel behemoth" and run to the post not far away. Colonel Moreau picked up his wife and jumped to the ground. Captain Ord, Mokley, Sergeant, and others jumped off the elephant's back at once. Only Bonkers remained in the conning tower. "That bastard!" Captain Ord shouted, pointing to Nana Saib hanging around the elephant's neck. "Let me handle it, Captain!" Bonkers' tone was a little weird. Then, turning the regulating valve another turn, he also jumped out. Everyone ran away, holding the dagger tightly in their hands, ready to fight to the death. Although the "steel behemoth" has been abandoned at this time, it is still continuing to climb up the slope driven by the steam.But after all, there was no one driving it, and it hit the rock wall on the left side of the road head-on like a ram trying to top it, and stopped suddenly, almost blocking the mountain road. When those Indians flocked to the "steel behemoth" to rescue Nana Saib, Bonkers and the others had already run more than thirty steps away. Suddenly, a terrible explosion, like a thunderous thunder, shook the atmosphere extremely violently. It turned out that before leaving the conning turret, Bonkers had plugged the valve of the cylinder tightly.The density of the steam increased sharply, and when the "steel behemoth" hit the rock wall, the airflow gathered inside could no longer be released from the drum, so it exploded the boiler, and the fragments scattered everywhere. "Poor monster! He sacrificed himself to save us!" lamented Captain Ord.