Chapter 9 Chapter 9 The "Albatross" flew nearly 10,000 kilometers, and finally ended with an astonishing leap
Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans were determined to escape.If the eight big men on the boat who deal with them are not all burly, maybe they will really do it.A daring attempt might turn you into the master of a flying machine so you can land somewhere in the United States.But with just two people—Fricoran could only ignore it—this kind of thing can only be thought about.Since force cannot be used, it should be outsmarted: of course, all of this will be done when the "Albatross" is landing.Phil Evans tried hard to make this known to his irascible colleague, who was always afraid that Uncle Prudden would push things too fast and mess things up.
Anyway, now is not the time.The aircraft was advancing at full speed over the North Pacific Ocean.The next day, the morning of June 10, the coast was gone.Since the coastline from Vancouver Island is an arc, if the course of the "Albatross" remains unchanged, it is likely to meet the end of this arc coastline.
The boundless night is so long for these two colleagues!They can't wait to get out of their cabins.When they came on deck this morning, the eastern light had been illuminating the horizon for hours.Near the summer solstice, in the northern hemisphere, this day is the longest day of the year, and at 60 degrees north latitude, there is almost no night.
As far as Engineer Robier was concerned, there was no haste, whether out of habit or on purpose, from the cabin.After he came out that day, he just greeted the two guests who met him at the stern of the boat.
Fricorin's eyes were bloodshot and dull from insomnia, and his legs were shaking.He ventured out of the cabin with the posture of a man who feels the ground unsteady under his feet.His first glance was at the horizontal propellers, which were spinning in a calm, regular and unworrisome manner.
After the black man finished reading, he stumbled towards the handrail.In order to maintain his balance, he grabbed the handrail with both hands. Obviously, he wanted to see with his own eyes the area at most 200 meters below the "Albatross".
Fricolan must have been very annoyed, otherwise he would not have taken such a risk. There is no doubt that it takes great courage to put himself under such a test.
Fricoland leaned back first before he went to see if the armrest was strong.Then he stood up straight, then bent down again, and poked his head out again.Needless to say, he performed this series of actions with his eyes closed, and finally he opened them.
That cry is really scary!How fast he retreated!My head is almost retracted into my shoulders!
At the bottom of the abyss, he saw the boundless sea.If it weren't for the fact that his hair was naturally curly, it would have been frightened to stand on end.
"Hai,... sea,..." he called out loudly.
If the chef hadn't caught him with his outstretched arms, he would have fallen face up on the platform.
The chef is French.Despite the name François Tapage, it's still possible he was.If not Gascon, the air he must have breathed in childhood.How did François Tapage become the engineer of Robier?What chance had brought him into the Albatross?Everything is unknown.Anyway, this slick guy speaks English like a real Yankee.
"Hey, stand up straight up straight up!" he said aloud, and hit the Negro hard on the waist to make him stand upright.
"Master Tapari! . . . " said the poor wretch, looking hopelessly at the propeller.
"Speak, Fricoland!"
"These sometimes go bad too, don't they?"
"It never broke, but it will eventually break."
"why why?……"
"Because, as they say back home, everything gets old. Bad, and broken."
"But below that is the sea!"
"If you want to fall, it's better to fall into the sea."
"That's sure to drown!"
"Definitely drowned, but never smashed to pieces!" François Tapage said with a pause.
In the blink of an eye, Fricolean was scrambling into his cabin. During the daytime on June 16, the speed of the aircraft was not too fast.It seemed to be flying close to the calm, golden sea, only about 100 feet away from the sea.
Uncle Pruden and his companions also stayed in the cabin so as not to meet Robier.Sometimes alone, sometimes with Tom Turner, the foreman, Robill smoked and walked.Only half of the propeller is spinning, which is enough for flying in the lower atmosphere.
At this altitude, if the waters of the Pacific Ocean are rich in fish resources, the people of the "Albatross" can really enjoy the joy of fishing and improve their food.However, only a few whales haunt the surface.This fish has a yellow abdomen and is 25 inches long. They are the most fearsome species of whales in the northern seas. Their amazing strength even professional whalers dare not mess with.
However, they can be caught without risk if you use ordinary fish darts or whaling gun arrows (such equipment is equipped with aircraft).
Why is this senseless massacre necessary?However, perhaps in order to let the two members of the Welton Society show the ability of his flying machine, Robier decided to catch this huge and terrifying whale.
Hearing "Whale! Whale!" Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans came out of the cabin.Perhaps there were whaling ships nearby... If so, the two of them would rather jump into the sea and put their lives in the hands of a ship that might come to rescue them if they could escape this prison-like craft.
All the personnel of the "Albatross" have lined up on the deck, waiting for orders.
"That means we're going to touch them, Captain Robill?" asked Tom Turner, the foreman.
"Yes, Tom," replied the engineer.
In the computer room, the mechanic and his two assistants who stick to their posts will operate as long as Robbir gestures. The "Albatross" immediately lowered its altitude towards the sea and stopped in the air only about 50 feet above the sea.
The two companions saw no ships in the sea, nor did they see any land.Otherwise, assuming Robbier didn't try to get them both back, they could swim all the way to land.
Several clusters of mist and water jets from the whale's nostrils indicate that the whale is about to surface to breathe.
Tom Turner, assisted by a buddy, stood at the nose of the craft with a California-made whaling gun fired from a musket.It was a metal cylinder-like thing topped by a cylindrical bomb with a pointed barbed metal rod.
Robier had just boarded the duty bench at the front, and he commanded the mechanic with his right hand and the helmsman with his left hand.In this way, the movement of the aircraft in any direction, vertical or horizontal, is under his control.The speed and accuracy with which the aerial machine carried out his orders was unbelievable. It was almost an organic whole, and the soul of this whole was Robier.
"Whales! . . . whales!" cried Tom Turner again.
Sure enough, seven or eight hundred meters ahead of the "Albatross", the back of a whale was exposed.
The Albatross chased the whale and came to a stop only 60 feet away.
Tom Turner shouldered the musket on a fork in the armrest.As soon as the gun went off, the bomb trailed a long trail.A rope attached to the platform hit the whale in the body.The explosive-filled shell exploded, ejecting a small, two-headed swim bladder, which plunged into the whale's flesh.
"Careful!" Turner yelled.
Although Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans were full of displeasure, they were also interested in the scene before them.
The badly injured whale flicked its tail violently, causing the sea water to splash all the way to the front of the aircraft. Then, it dived deeply into the water again, and people quickly put down the rope.The rope was coiled in a large wooden barrel, which was filled with water, mainly to prevent friction from starting a fire.The whale surfaced again all of a sudden, and fled northward desperately.
One can imagine how fast the "Albatross" was dragged forward!The propelling propeller of the aircraft has been turned off, allowing the whale to drag forward and only keep in line with it.Tom Turner watched carefully there, and cut the cable in case the whale dived into deep water again and was in danger.
The "Albatross" was dragged in this way for half an hour, almost six nautical miles.It was now evident that the whale was beginning to lose its strength.
Robier immediately made a gesture, and the mechanic's assistant started to reverse the car, and the propeller thrusters began to create a certain resistance to the whale, making it gradually approach.
After a while, the craft was only 25 feet above the whale.But the whale was still rolling in the water, and slammed its tail against the water surface with incredible force. Suddenly, a huge vortex was stirred up on the water surface.
Suddenly it burst out and plunged headlong into the water with such speed that Tom Turner had no time to release the cable.
The aircraft was pulled to the surface of the sea at once.A vortex formed where the whale disappeared.The sea water like a huge wave beat over the handrail.
Fortunately, Tom Turner cut the cable with an axe, and the "Albatross" broke free, and rose to a height of 200 meters by increasing the power of the propeller.
And Robier commanded the entire aircraft calmly, not panicking at all.
A few minutes later, the whale surfaced again - this time dead.Seabirds from all directions fell on its carcass, and their cries were deafening to the ears of all members of Congress.
The whale carcass was of no use to the Albatross, which continued westward.
The next day, at 6:00 a.m. on June 17, the shadow of a landmass appeared on the horizon, a long chain of reefs in the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.
The "Albatross" flew over this obstacle.There was a large breeding population of the fine fur seals that the Aleuts hunted for the Russian-American joint company.Catching these six to seven foot long, rust colored, 300-500 kg amphibians is a real bargain!Thousands of seals stayed there, lined up endlessly, like soldiers lined up in an orderly forward position.
When the "Albatross" passed by, they were not disturbed.It's just that the water birds reacted quickly: they dived into the water one after another, their hoarse calls filled the sky, as if they were threatened by some terrible aerial monster.
From the first islands of the Aleutians to the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula, it took only one day and one night to fly the 2,000 kilometers of the Bering Sea.As for Uncle Prudden's and Phil Evans' escape plan, it was no longer in a position to carry it out: there was little hope of escape from the wild coasts of the Far East or the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk.It appears that the "Albatross" is now flying towards Japan or China.Although it may not be a good idea to hand over one's fate to the Japanese or the Chinese, the two colleagues are determined to run away whenever the aircraft stops anywhere in the two countries.
will it stayIt is not like a bird, which gets tired after flying for too long; nor is it like a balloon, which has to land when it runs out of gas.It has enough supplies for several weeks, and its parts are so strong that there will be no fatigue or failure.
During the daytime on June 18, they flew over the Kamchatka Peninsula at once, and the buildings of Petropavlovsk and the Kryuchev volcano were already faintly visible.Then, with another jump, it flew over the Sea of Okhotsk near the Kuril Islands.Each small island is like a dam of the Sea of Okhotsk cut off by a thousand ditches. On the morning of the 19th, the "Albatross" came to the Strait of La Perouse between the northern tip of Japan and Japan, the narrow strait where the big river in Siberia enters the sea.
At this time, the sky was full of dense clouds and fog, and the aircraft had to fly upwards.This is not to say that it has to go above the clouds to see its direction. At this height, it doesn't have to worry about encountering any obstacles. There are no tall buildings in the way, and there are no mountains that will smash it to pieces.There is not much relief in this area.It's just that this thick fog gives people a very uncomfortable feeling, and it makes everything on the boat wet.
So, I had no choice but to fly above the thick fog that was three or four hundred meters thick.The propellers turned faster, and the Albatross was again in the sunny sky above the fog.
Under such conditions, even if Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans could leave the aircraft, it would be difficult to carry out their escape plan.
That day, as he passed them, Robier stopped and said casually:
"Gentlemen, it is very troublesome if a sailboat or a steamboat cannot get out of a dense fog. It can only sail while honking or blowing a horn, and must slow down. Always worry about collision accidents. The Albatross has no such concerns: since it can get rid of the fog, what can the fog do to it? The whole space belongs to it!"
Having said this, without waiting for or asking for an answer, Robier resumed his poised walk, the wisps of his pipe disappearing into the blue sky.
"Uncle Prudden," said Phil Evans, "looks like the amazing 'Albatross' has nothing to fear!"
"We'll have to see it!" replied the chairman of the Weldon Society.
On June 19, 20, and 21, the heavy fog lasted for three consecutive days, and it was regrettably stubborn.To avoid Japan's Mount Fuji, they were forced to ascend.However, when the curtain of fog was torn apart, a huge city first appeared before their eyes, with palaces, villas, wooden houses, gardens, and parks in sight.Even without eyes, Robier could identify which city it was just by the barking of countless dogs, the cry of birds of prey, and especially the corpse-like smell emitted into the air by the bodies of those tortured.
The engineers took note of these markings for future use when navigating through the fog.At this time, the two colleagues were also on the platform.Robbiel said to them:
"Gentlemen, I have no reason to keep you secret: this city is Kyoto, the capital of Japan."
Uncle Pruden did not answer.Upon seeing the engineer, he felt suffocated as if his lungs were not enough to breathe.
"The scenery of this capital is really interesting," Robier continued.
"Even if the scenery is interesting..." Phil Evans retorted.
"It's not comparable to Beijing, is it?" the engineer shot back. "I think so too. It won't be long before you have a chance to comment."
It couldn't be more gracious than that!
The "Albatross" had been flying southeast, and at this time it made a big circle, trying to find a way to go east.
At night, the fog lifted.There are various indications that a typhoon is passing by not far away.The barometer dropped rapidly, the fog disappeared, and ellipsoidal clouds floated in the copper-colored sky; a few touches of carmine clearly and longly cut through the blue-gray sky in the west; The sky was bright; the glass-flat water was scarlet in the evening light.
Fortunately, the typhoon is only raging further south.It has no other effect except that the thick fog that has accumulated for three days has been swept away by it.
It took them an hour to fly across the 200-kilometer-wide Korean Strait.Then, it flew over the southern tip of the Korean peninsula.When the southeast coast of China was hit by a typhoon, the "Albatross" was already flying over the Yellow Sea; on the 22nd and 23rd, it flew over the Bohai Bay; the capital.
The two colleagues leaned over the platform.As Robbier told them, they saw this vast city clearly: the city wall that divided the whole city into two parts, Manchu and Han, the 12 suburban towns around the city, and the wide roads radiating from the city center to the surroundings. , the temples with yellow-green roofs under the sunlight, the gardens in the houses of dignitaries and dignitaries; the 668-hectare Huangcheng in the center of Manchu City; the White Pagoda, Imperial Garden, artificial lake and Jingshan overlooking the whole city in Huangcheng.Located in the center of the Yellow City, the Red City, or the Imperial Palace, is like a jigsaw puzzle embedded in another jigsaw puzzle.
At this moment, below the Albatross, a strange harmony filled the air, as if an aerial harp concert were taking place.There are hundreds of kites of all kinds flying in the air, some in the shape of palm leaves and some in the shape of pandanus leaves. The upper part is made of light wood like a bow, and a piece of thin bamboo is stretched under the bow. piece.Under the blowing of the wind, these bamboo pieces, like the reeds of a harmonica, emit melancholic low-pitched sounds in different tones—in this environment, the air people breathe seems to be musicalized.
On a sudden whim, Robier flew close to the air orchestra.So the "Albatross" was slowly rafting in the sound waves emitted by the kite through the air.
In doing so, it immediately had an extraordinary effect on the endless crowd.The sound of drums and other inexplicable instruments among Chinese instruments, hundreds of gunshots.There was a chorus of gunfire, all aimed at driving the flying machines away.Even if the Chinese astronomers identified the flying machine as the moving object that had caused countless disputes that day, millions of Chinese subjects, from the humblest commoner to the most prominent officials, would regard it as a place in the world of the Bodhisattva. A monster from the apocalypse of the Bible appeared.
The guns couldn't hit the Albatross, so no one cared; it was just that the strings that tied the kites in the Royal Garden were either cut or jerked violently.Some of these light kites made a sharper whistle and fell quickly to the ground; some fell like birds whose wings have been hit by lead bullets, and the music died away with their last breath.
At this time, Tom Turner's brass horn played loud and clear military music resounded over the capital, drowning the last few notes of the air concert.But this did not silence the sound of gunfire on the ground, and the place where a shell exploded was only twenty feet from the deck. The "Albatross" was forced to rise again to a height out of reach of the guns.
What happened in the next few days?Nothing happened that the two captives could take advantage of.Where is the aircraft heading?The aircraft has been flying in a southwest direction.This shows that they have a plan to go to Hindustan.And as the ground is obviously rising, the "Albatross" has to increase its flight altitude as the terrain rises.About ten hours after leaving Beijing, that is, after Uncle Prudang and Phil Evans had vaguely seen a section of the Great Wall on the Shaanxi border, in order to avoid the Kunlun Mountains, they flew along the Yellow River valley and flew over the Tibet border. beyond the boundaries of the Celestial Empire.
There is no grass on the barren Tibetan plateau, and there are snow peaks, dry valleys and glacial rivers everywhere.Depressions covered in shiny salt formations and lakes surrounded by lush woods.The winds in this area are often biting.
The barometer dropped to 450 mm, indicating that they had ascended to 4,000 meters above sea level.Even in the hottest months in the northern hemisphere, such high temperatures rarely reach zero degrees; the cold temperature and the high speed of the "Albatross" made it unbearable.Despite the warm travel clothes to keep out the cold, the two colleagues preferred to go back to the cabin.
It goes without saying that all horizontal propellers must spin at extremely high speeds in order for the aircraft to maintain the necessary altitude in thin air.In this way, their operation is still so harmonious, and the wings vibrate slightly, making people feel like they are in a cradle.
On this day, people in Gyalok, the capital of the Gary Kursong region in western Tibet, saw the "Alien" the size of a homing pigeon flying over them.
On June 27, Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans saw a huge barrier from a distance, blocking their vision, and snow peaks towered above it.The two leaned their bodies against the front cabin hard to resist the instability caused by the excessive speed, and looked at the huge monsters, giving people the feeling that they were rushing towards the aircraft.
"This must be the Himalayas," said Phil Evans. "This Rober may have just circled the foot of the mountain, and there's no way he'd try to fly over the top to India."
"It deserves it!" said Uncle Pruden. "In this vast land, maybe we can..."
"Unless he bypasses Myanmar to the east or Nepal to the west."
"Anyway, I'd like to see how he flies over the top of the mountain!"
"Really?" a voice answered.
The next day, June 28, the "Albatross" came over the Sangsang area and came in front of the huge mountain range of the Himalayas.On the other side of the mountain is Nepal.
In fact, there are three mountains that cut off the road to India from the north.The two mountain ranges to the north, through which the Albatross had drilled like a ship passing between giant reefs, were the first two levels of the Central Asian barrier.
The first mountain range is the Kunlun Mountains, and the second is the Karakorum Mountains.Between the two mountains is the longitudinal gorge, parallel to the Himalayas, almost to the summit line that divides the valleys of the Indus and Brahmaputra from east to west.
What a majestic mountain system!The heights of over 200 peaks have been measured, 17 of which are over 25,000 feet!Standing in front of the "Albatross" is the 8,840-meter-high Mount Everest; on the right is the 8,200-meter-high Mount Shishapangma; on the left is the 8,592-meter-high Mount Yuchengjunga. It only took a back seat to second place after the height was remeasured.
Obviously, Roberl didn't have the luxury of flying over these peaks, but he certainly recognized the various passes in the Himalayas, including the 6,800-meter Ibigamin Pass that the Shrakantwitt brothers crossed in 1856 .The aircraft was heading firmly towards the mountain pass.
Those few hours spent crossing the pass were thrilling, almost unbearable.Although the air was not so thin that special equipment was needed to oxygenate the cabin, the temperature was bitterly cold.
Robier, who has been guarding the front of the aircraft, is calmly directing the operations of various departments, with his masculine face exposed under the hood.Tom Turner held the steering wheel; the mechanic watched closely for the batteries; luckily the batteries were safe from freezing.The propellers were spinning at maximum power, and the sound was getting higher and higher.Despite the extremely low density of the air, the sound is extremely loud.The barometer has dropped to 290 mm, which means the altitude of the aircraft is around 7,000 meters.
This chaotic mountain is magnificent!There are white peaks everywhere.There are no lakes, just glaciers that extend below 10,000 feet above sea level.Except for a few flowering plants near the plant lifeline, there is almost no grass, and there is no such thing as the amazing pines and forests on the mountainside, the thick ferns and the bushes of the tropical jungle. Those who climb from one plant to another.There are parasitic plants all over the mountains and plains in coiled knots.No animals of any kind: no wild horses, no yaks, and no Tibetan cattle.Occasionally, a lost Tibetan antelope will rush all the way to this high place.Except for a few pairs of small-billed crows flying to this high place where the air is extremely thin, there are no other birds in the air.
Finally flew out of the mountain pass, the "Albatross" began to descend.Out of the mountain pass, outside the forest area is an endless wilderness.
At this moment Robier approached his guests, and said politely:
"Gentlemen, India has arrived."
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