Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Uncle Prudang's Anger Is Proportional to the Square of Speed

If Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans had to give up all illusions, it would be the next fifty hours.Didn't Robier worry that his captives would be harder to keep as they crossed Europe?Maybe, and he knew that the captives were determined to escape at any cost. But in any case, any rash action during this period is tantamount to suicide; if jumping down from an express train at 100 kilometers per hour is just risking your life, then jumping down from an express train at 200 kilometers per hour is like suicide. It can only be courting death. This was the speed at which the Albatross was flying at the moment, and it was the highest speed it could reach.This speed has exceeded the swallow's speed of 180 kilometers per hour.

It is estimated that people have noticed that the northeast wind has been blowing strongly during this period, which is very beneficial to the flight of the "Albatross", because it has been flying in the same direction during this period, that is to say, it is basically flying west. of.Only now, the wind has started to stop, and because the flying speed is too high, people can no longer stand on the platform, making it difficult to breathe.On one occasion, two colleagues would have been thrown from the craft had it not been for the pressure of the atmosphere pushing them all the way up to the deck.

Fortunately, the helmsman found them through the window of the side cabin, and notified the person on duty in the front cabin with an electric bell. The four of them immediately crawled on the platform towards the stern of the ship. Anyone who has ever sailed the open ocean in a boat and remembers what it was like to stand against the wind in a storm must understand how powerful this pressure is.It's just that the current pressure is caused by the incomparable high speed of the "Albatross" itself. In the end they had to slow down, otherwise Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans would not be able to get back to their cabins.In the cabin of the "Albatross", as the engineer said, there will be no problem with normal breathing.

This machine can withstand such a high-speed flight, which also shows how strong it is!very impressive!As for the front and rear propellers, it is almost impossible to see that they are rotating, and they are cutting the atmosphere with infinite penetration. The last city seen from the platform of the craft was Astrakhan, near the northern shore of the Caspian Sea. The "Desert Star"--as some Russian poet must have called it--was now relegated from first to fifth or sixth.In a moment the simple administrative capital can be seen with its old walls with useless battlements, the ancient tower in the center of the city, the mosque adjoining the modern church, and the cathedral.The cathedral's five golden domes were dotted with blue stars, as if cut from the sky.All of this sits at the mouth of the Volga River, which is two kilometers long.

Since then, the "Albatross" has been struggling and galloping as if being dragged into space by that kind of horse that can run a mile with a flap of its wings. At 10 o'clock in the morning on July 4th, the aircraft basically flew northwest along the Volga Valley.The Don River steppe and the Ural steppe fly away from both sides of the river.Even if one were able to glimpse the vast expanse, it was hardly enough time to count the towns and villages.Night fell at last.The aircraft flew over Moscow before it could salute the Kremlin flag.It took only 10 hours to cover the 2,000-kilometer distance from Astrakhan to the old Russian capital.

From Moscow to Petersburg, the length of the railway line does not exceed 1,200 kilometers, so it is only half a day's journey.The "Albatross", which was as punctual as an express train, arrived in Petersburg and the banks of the Neva River at 2 o'clock in the morning.At this high latitude, where the scorching sun of June rarely gives up its favor, people can still have a panoramic view of the metropolis with the light of the white night. Later, the aircraft flew over the Gulf of Finland, the Apo Islands, and the Baltic Sea; flew over Sweden along the latitude line that passed through Stockholm; and flew over Norway along the latitude line that passed through.Flying 2,000 kilometers in just 10 hours!People may think that no human power can prevent the "Albatross" from flying at this speed along a trajectory around the earth formed by the combined force of its flight force and the gravitational force of the earth. .

However, it stopped, just over the famous Ryukanfors Falls in Norway.Mount Gusta, the highest peak in the charming Telemark region, seemed to be a huge boundary-post that should not be surpassed, preventing it from continuing westward. So, from here, the "Albatross" began to turn around and fly south again, and the speed remained undiminished. What was Fricoland up to during this haunting flight?Fricoland remained silent in his room.In addition to eating, he is trying to sleep. François Tapage was with him, making fun of his fears. "Hey! Hey! boy," he said, "you don't bark any more! Do you? . . . You don't need to be restrained. . . two hours at most. . . . What a wonderful air bath it would be!"

"I feel like I'm falling apart!" Fricoland repeated. "That's quite possible, my good Fry! We're flying so fast that there's no way we'll fall! . . . You can be sure." "You really think so?" "On the credit of the Gascons!" Seriously, François Tapaday is not exaggerating.Due to the high speed of flight, the aircraft does not need to increase the speed of the propeller too fast. "Albatross" can glide through the atmosphere like a rocket. "Is it going to fly like this for a long time?" Fricoland asked. "Long? . . . oh no!" replied the cook. "That's it for the rest of my life!"

"Oh!" cried the Negro, and began to howl again. "Beware, Fry, beware!" cried François Tapage, "the boss will make you play on the swing, as we say at home!" So Fricoland had to swallow his pain together with a large piece of food that had been stuffed into his mouth. Meanwhile, Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans--they were by no means the sort to accuse--had just come up with an idea.Evidently, escape was impossible.Since it is impossible to return to the ground, is it not possible to let people on the earth know what happened to the chairman and secretary of the Weldon Society after they disappeared?Who kidnapped them?What kind of aircraft were they imprisoned on?Might as well prompt—for God's sake!By what means was this prompted--the bold attempt of their friend to rescue them from this Robier.

get in touch? ...how to contact?Imitate the shipwrecked sailor, write down the location of the accident, write it down, put it in a bottle, and then throw the bottle into the sea, is that enough? But here there is only air in the sea, and the bottle cannot float.Unless it happened to fall on the head of a passer-by—in which case it would probably smash his skull—it would never be discovered. However, what else do the two colleagues have to do?When they were about to sacrifice a bottle on the aircraft, Uncle Prudang suddenly had another idea.He smokes snuff, as the reader already knows, and an American will be excused for this slight, because the average American is much worse than that.Since he was a snuffer, he had a snuff-box—it was empty now.The snuff-box is aluminum, and if thrown down some honest citizen finds it and picks it up; if he picks it up he takes it to the police station.Then, at the police station, people will see their writing, and they can learn about the two people who were taken prisoner by Robier the Conqueror.

Just do it.The letter was short, but said all that needed to be said, and addressed the Welton Institute, and requested that the letter be forwarded there. Then, after Uncle Prudang put the letter into the snuff bottle, he wrapped it tightly with thick woolen strips.This prevents it from opening during a fall and prevents it from shattering if it hits the ground.Now is the time to wait. In fact, in the process of flying over Europe at high speed, the most difficult thing is to get out of the cabin and crawl forward on the platform. The danger may be that you will be swept away by the wind, and others will not even know it.Moreover, the snuff bottle must not fall into the ocean, lake, or any river, otherwise, it would be a waste of effort. However, it is not impossible for the two colleagues to reconnect with the human world in this way. It's just that it's still too bright now, and it's best to wait until night, when you're slowing down or resting, before slipping out of the cabin.By then, it might be possible to go all the way to the edge of the platform and leave this precious snuff bottle in some city. However, even if all these conditions were met, the plan would not be implemented, at least not for that day. Since the "Albatross" left Norwegian territory from Gusta, it has been flying south, exactly along the zero-degree meridian-in Europe, this is the longitude of Paris.It flew over the North Sea to the natural consternation of thousands of ships drifting between England, Holland, France and Belgium.If the snuff bottle does not land exactly on the deck of a ship, it is likely to fall to the bottom of the sea. Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans had to wait for a more opportune moment.Besides, as the reader will see, wonderful opportunities are at hand right before them. At 10 o'clock in the evening, the "Albatross" flew to the coast of France, and it was very dark near Dunkirk; Intertwined with the lights of Dover.Subsequently, the "Albatross" maintained an average altitude of 1,000 meters and continued to advance towards the hinterland of French territory. It didn't slow down at all, and it flew past countless cities and villages in the rich northern provinces of France like a bullet.It still followed the line of longitude through Paris, and since Dunkirk, it has flown over Durance, Amiens, Clay, Saint-Denis;Just like that, it flew over the "City of Light" around midnight.Even if all the residents are asleep or should be asleep, this city is worthy of this title. On what whim did the engineer stop over Paris?unknown.It is an irrefutable fact that the Albatross descended to within a few hundred feet of the city.At this moment, Robier walked out of his cabin, and all the flight attendants came to the platform to breathe the surrounding air. Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans could not miss this golden opportunity; they left the cabin and kept as far away as possible, so as to choose the most opportune moment, and above all, to avoid being seen. The "Albatross" flew slowly over the big city like a huge scarab.The boulevards are brightly illuminated by the electric light invented by Edison.The sound of vehicles still running on the street, the rumble of people and cars running on the railways radiating from Paris to all directions, has been transmitted to the aircraft.Then it flew near the tallest buildings, as if to bump into the dome of the Patriarchs or the cross on top of the Invalides, the two minarets of the Trocadero and the huge reflective lampshades on top.While illuminating the entire capital, it flew back and forth non-stop. This air walk, this night tour, lasted about an hour, and it was like an air nap before continuing on the never-ending journey. Perhaps the engineer Robier wanted the Parisians to admire a meteor that their astronomy had not foreseen. All the lights on the Albatross were turned on.Two beams of dazzling light shot from the sky to the square, to the park, to the green space in the middle of the street, and swept across the palace and the roofs of 60,000 houses in the city. The huge beams of light shot from one end of the horizon to the other. This time the "Albatross" must have been seen--not only seen clearly, but heard, for Tom Turner put his mouth to the trumpet and blew a brass piece loud and clear across the city.It was at this moment that Uncle Prudang leaned over the railing and let go of the snuff bottle in his hand... Almost at the same time, the "Albatross" quickly rose to a high altitude. At this moment, the sky over Paris resounded with cries, the cries of the crowds still thronging in the avenues, cries of astonishment at the strange meteor. Suddenly, all the lights on the aircraft went out, and it returned to darkness and silence, continuing on its way at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. That's all the people in the French capital saw. At 4 o'clock in the morning, the "Albatross" crossed French airspace obliquely.Then, so as not to waste time flying over the Pyrenees or the Alps, it skimmed the ground and headed straight for the tip of the Cape via Provence. At 9 o'clock, St. Peter's faithful gathered on the terrace of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome watched it fly over the "Eternal City".Two hours later, the craft flew over the Gulf of Naples, shivered for a while in the smoke swirls of Mount Vesuvius, and then slanted across the Mediterranean Sea.It was spotted by a lookout post in the Tunisian port city of Goulet just after 1 p.m. The aircraft flew from America to Asia, and then from Asia to Europe. In less than 23 days, this wonderful machine ran more than 30,000 kilometers! Now, it's coming to those known or as yet unknown parts of the African continent? ! Perhaps the reader wants to know what happened to that precious snuff bottle after it fell? The snuff bottle fell across 210 Via de Livoli.The street was empty when it fell, and an honest street sweeper picked it up the next day and hastened it to the police station. In the police station, people first thought it was an explosive, and carefully untied the rope, removed the cloth strip, and opened it. Suddenly, there was an explosion... The director of the Security Bureau couldn't control it and sneezed loudly. The letter was drawn from the snuffbox.In a state of astonishment, people read the following passage in the letter: Uncle Prudden, president of the Welton Society of Philadelphia, and Phil Evans, secretary, were killed by Engineer Robell Kidnapped, now on the "Albatross" aircraft. Please inform relatives and friends. Uncle Prudang Phil Evans That unexplainable phenomenon has finally been unveiled to the inhabitants of both the old and new continents.Scholars at the myriad observatories scattered across the face of the planet can also calm down.

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