Chapter 7 Chapter Seven Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans Still Unconvinced

The president of the Welton Society was astonished, and his companions were astonished.But neither of the two of them wanted to let this obviously natural surprise show. The footman, Fricoland, did not hide his fear of being carried through the air by such a machine, and he did not want to hide it at all. All the while, the lifting propellers were spinning rapidly above their heads.Although the speed is already very fast, if the "Albatross" wants to fly to a higher area, the speed can be increased to three times the current speed. As for the propulsion propellers, they turn relatively slowly, only pushing the aircraft forward at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

The two passengers on the "Albatross" leaned over and looked out of the platform. Below their eyes was a long, winding strip of water, much like an ordinary stream.The creek snakes its way through a lagoon that shimmers in undulating terrain and is filled with slanting sunlight.The creek is actually a big river, and one of the largest in the country.On the left bank of the river, there is a continuous mountain range. "Will you tell us where this is?" said Uncle Pruden in a voice trembling with anger. "I have no need to tell you," replied Robier. "Can you tell us where this is going?" Phil Evans said too.

"Through the sky." "how long?……" "As long as it takes." "Is this traveling the world?" asked Phil Evans sarcastically. "Not only that," replied Robier. "What if we don't want to make this trip? . . . " asked Uncle Pruden. "You must agree!" This is a preview of the future relationship between the master and his guests on board the Albatross (in case: his captives).But he seemed to be trying to give them time to recover, to admire the amazing flying machine they were traveling through space, and perhaps to praise its inventor, So he pretended to be pacing back and forth from one end of the platform to the other end of the platform, so that they could look at the mechanical equipment and configuration on the aircraft at will, or enjoy overlooking the ups and downs of the scenery unfolding below them.

"Uncle Prudden," said Phil Evans, "if I'm not mistaken, we are now over the middle of Canada. The river to the northwest is the Lawrence River. The city behind us is Quebec City." It is indeed the old town of Champlain, where the tin roofs shone like mirrors in the sun.So the Albatross had flown to 46 degrees north latitude—no wonder the dawn was so early and the dawn so unusually long. "Yes," said Phil Evans again, "that amphitheater-like city, look at that hill with the castle on it, and the Straits of Gibraltar in North America! There's an English cathedral, a French cathedral! There , the one with the British flag on the dome is the Customs House!"

Before Phil Evans finished speaking, this important town in Canada has gradually drifted away.The aircraft began to enter the stratus cloud area, and the view overlooking the earth was also blocked. Seeing that the attention of the chairman and secretary of the Welton Society turned to the external structure of the "Albatross", Robier came over and asked: "Well, gentlemen, by now you must believe that machines heavier than air can fly?" It's hard to deny an obvious fact.Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans, however, made no answer. "You don't talk?" said the engineer again, "you must be so hungry that you can't speak! ... But since I am in charge of taking you to heaven, please believe that I will not entertain you with this kind of atmosphere that does not have much nutrition .Your first lunch is waiting for you."

Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans were hungry, and now was not the time for politeness.A meal, no obligation, and when Robbier lowered them back to the ground, they would still have complete freedom of movement with him. The two were led to a small dining room in the aft cabin of the deck, where a clean table of meals was already set.This trip, they will dine here alone.The dishes are all kinds of canned food.Among them is something like a steamed bun, which is half of flour and half of minced meat, and some fat is mixed in it to enhance the taste.When this stuff is boiled with water, it becomes a very tasty soup.In addition, there are some fried slices of ham and brewed tea.

Fricoland has not been forgotten either.At the front of the deck he also gets a thick soup made of this steamed bun.He must be very hungry, otherwise he would not be able to eat if he was given food: he was so frightened that his upper and lower jaws were shaking, and he couldn't control it at all. "What if the spaceship breaks!... What if the spaceship breaks!..." the unfortunate black man kept repeating. This terrifies him.think about it!Falling from a height of 1,500 meters, how can you smash people into meat sauce! An hour later, Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans were on the platform again.Robier is here.In the glass cabin at the rear, the helmsman stared at the compass, calmly and strictly following the route specified by the engineer.

Everyone else is probably eating lunch in the cabin.Only one mechanic's assistant, who was in charge of the machine, went from one cabin to another, patrolling back and forth. The "Albatross" had flown out of the cloud zone, and the earth reappeared 1,500 meters below them.Although they know that the flying speed of the aircraft is very fast, the two colleagues can only make some rough guesses about how fast it is. "It's unbelievable!" said Phil Evans. "Let's not believe it," replied Uncle Pruden. They went to the front and looked towards the western horizon.

"Oh! Another city!" said Phil Evans. "Can you recognize it?" "Yes! I feel a lot like Montreal." "Montreal? ... But we're only two hours away from Quebec!" "This shows that the flight speed of this aircraft is at least 25 per hour." The speed of the "Albatross" is indeed so high.Passengers felt no discomfort because they were flying downwind.Flying this speed in calm weather would make them feel very uncomfortable, because it is almost equivalent to the speed of an express train.It would be even more unbearable to fly under headwind conditions.

Phil Evans is not wrong. Below the Albatross is Montreal, easily recognizable by the Victoria Bridge.Like the viaducted railway bridge over the Lagoon in Venice, this is a tubular bridge over the St. Lawrence River.Then they recognized Montreal's wide avenues, its huge shops, its bank buildings, and its recently completed cathedral, modeled after St. Peter's in Rome.Later, they also recognized the Royal Peak, which overlooks the city and is now a beautiful park. Fortunately Phil Evans had visited the major cities of Canada, so he could recognize some of them without asking Robier.After Montreal, around 1:30 in the afternoon, they came over Ottawa again.Looking down from above, the waterfalls are like a pot of boiling water, rolling and overflowing, which is magnificent.

"That's the Houses of Parliament," said Phil Evans. He pointed to what looked like a Nuremberg toy on top of the hill.This colorful toy-like structure is like the Houses of Parliament in London, just as Montreal's cathedral is like St. Peter's in Rome.But it doesn't matter, it is holding Taihua, which is a fact that can be disputed. After a while, the holding Taihua began to become smaller and smaller on the horizon, and soon became a bright spot on the earth. It was nearly two o'clock when Robier reappeared.Foreman Tom Turner accompanied him.Robier spoke only three words to him, which he passed on to his two assistants in the forward and stern cabins.The helmsman was instructed to change the course of the "Albatross" and flew in a direction of two degrees to the southwest.At the same time, Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans discovered that the propulsion propellers of the aircraft were also rotating faster than before. In fact, the speed of the vehicle can be doubled, which can exceed the speed of the fastest powered machine on the earth. Everyone can think about it!The speed that a torpedo can reach is 22 knots per hour, or 40 kilometers; the speed of a train on the British and French railways is 100 kilometers per hour; the speed of an ice sled on an American glacier is 115 kilometers per hour; , the speed on the Lake Erie line is 130 kilometers per hour; the locomotive speed between Trenton and Jersey City is 137 kilometers per hour. And if the "Albatross"'s propeller propeller reaches its maximum power, it can fly at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, which is close to 50 meters per second. This speed is equivalent to the speed of a hurricane that can uproot a big tree. It is equivalent to the speed of a gale of 194 kilometers per hour in the storm on September 21, 1881. It is equivalent to the flying speed of a carrier pigeon. It can fly 67 meters) and Swift (which can fly 89 meters per second) can fly faster than it. That is, as Rober said, if the Albatross had used its propellers to their full potential, it could circle the globe in 200 hours, or eight days. The length of the railway on Earth at that time was 450,000 kilometers—the equivalent of 11 times around the earth along the equator—but, whatever it is, what does it have to do with flying machines?The whole atmosphere is its support! Now, do I need to say more?That singular phenomenon that has so captivated the publics of the New and Old Worlds was the flying machine of Engineer Robier; the trumpet that resounded through the sky was that of Foreman Tom Turner; The flag on the building is the flag of Robier the Conqueror and his "Albatross". In the past, in order not to be recognized by others, engineers took some cautious measures: try to sail at night as much as possible, and occasionally use side lights to illuminate the road; in the daytime, they disappear above the clouds.Now, he seemed to no longer want to keep his success a secret.What had he come to Philadelphia to appear in the chamber of the Weldon Institution, if not to make public his astonishing invention, to convince the most unconvinced by the fact itself? We now know how he was received, and now we shall see how he will take revenge on the President and Secretary of the Weldon Society. Robier approached the two colleagues.Both pretended not to be surprised by what they saw and experienced involuntarily.Obviously, the two Anglo-Saxons still have such deep-rooted stubbornness in their heads. Robier did not allow himself the slightest sign of awareness.Although their conversation had been interrupted for more than two hours, he said as if continuing an uninterrupted conversation. "Gentlemen, you must be wondering if this air-flying machine can stand up to higher speeds? If it can't eat space, it's not worthy to conquer space. I had hoped that the atmosphere would be a strong fulcrum , and indeed it is. I knew that to fight the wind you had to be stronger than it, and I did. I didn't need any sails to propel me, nor did I need oars or wheels, and I didn't need rails to make it I run faster. The atmosphere is enough. The atmosphere around me is like the water surrounding the submarine. My thrusters rotate in the air and the propeller of the steamboat rotates in the water. This is what I solve A solution to the problem of flight. This is something that balloons or other lighter-than-air devices could never do." The two colleagues said nothing.The engineer didn't care, he just smiled slightly, and then asked: "You may be thinking, in addition to this ability to move horizontally, does the Albatros have the same ability to move vertically? That is, can it compete with airships when it reaches the upper atmosphere? Well, I don't want to advise you to race the 'Forward' against it." The two colleagues shrugged.Maybe that's where they want to outdo engineers. Robier made a gesture, and the propeller stopped immediately. The "Albatross" continued to fly for more than a thousand meters under the influence of inertia, and then stopped motionless. Robier made another gesture, and the rotation of the propeller was increased immediately, and the sound of the blades was like a siren being tested.The roar is basically equivalent to an increase of 8 degrees, but its intensity has become smaller because of the thinner air.The aircraft is like a screaming skylark, soaring straight into the sky. "Master! . . . Master! . . . It must not fall apart!" cried Fricoland again and again. Robier only smiled contemptuously.In just a few minutes, the "Albatross" rose to an altitude of 2,700 meters, and their field of vision suddenly expanded to 70 miles away.Then, they rose to an altitude of 4,000 meters, as evidenced by the drop of the barometer to 480 mm. After the test was over, the "Albatross" landed again.The upper atmospheric pressure is low, the oxygen content in the air is low, and the oxygen in the blood will also decrease accordingly.Some balloonists have had accidents for this reason.Robbier saw no need to take the risk. So the "Albatross" dropped to its usual height.The thrusters turned again, taking them southwest at a faster speed. "Gentlemen, if that is the question you were thinking just now, you can now answer it yourself," said the engineer. Then, he leaned on the railing and looked down, immersed in reverie. When he raised his head again, the chairman and secretary of the Weldon Society had already stood in front of him. "Engineer Robier," Uncle Prudden could no longer hold back his anger, "we have never thought about the question you think we are thinking about. But we would like to ask you a question and hope you will answer it." "Say it." "What right do you have to surprise us at Fairmont Park in Philadelphia? What right do you have to lock us up in your cabin? What right do you have to hijack us onto this aircraft against our will?" "Then what right do you have? Messrs. Balloonists," Robier retorted, "what right do you have to insult, heckle, and threaten me in your academy? I can survive that kind of situation, myself They were all surprised." "A rhetorical question is not the same as an answer," said Phil Evans. "I'll ask you again, what right do you have...?" "You want to know?..." "Speaking!" "That's good! This is the power of the strong!" "What audacity!" "That's the truth!" "Then how long will you last, citizen engineer," Uncle Prudang finally couldn't bear it anymore, "how long will you have to exercise this power?" "Why, gentlemen," replied Robier sarcastically, "ask me such a question when you have only to glance down to enjoy a view that is unparalleled in the world?" At this time, the "Albatross" just came to the sky above Lake Ontario, and its shadow was clearly reflected on the calm lake.It had just flown over the region Cooper had sung so poetically.Now it is flying along the south bank of this boundless group of great lakes, towards the famous river that flies all the way down and brings the water of Lake Erie here. In an instant, a majestic, storm-like roar spread all the way to the aircraft.The air was visibly cooler, as if someone had sprinkled a mist of moisture into the atmosphere. Below, a horseshoe-shaped water curtain flew down.Under the refraction of sunlight, the water mist forms thousands of rainbows, reflecting this huge crystal flow, which is very spectacular. In front of the waterfall is a small bridge, which tightly connects the two banks together like a taut thread.A little further downriver, 3 miles away, was a suspension bridge on which a train was coming from Canada to the United States. "Niagara Falls!" cried Phil Evans. When Uncle Prudang was trying his best not to appreciate these wonders, he cried out. A minute later, the "Albatross" crossed the river that separates the United States from the British colonial Canada and came to the vast northern territory of the United States.

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