Chapter 16 Chapter 16 may make the reader regret that the result has not been seen

It is already 0:20.Another five or six shots were fired from the aircraft.Uncle Prudden and Fricoland helped Phil Evans to lie down behind the reef before the rabbit died.Now, they have nothing to fear. At the beginning, the "Albatross" rose abruptly to 900 meters when it left Chatham Island.In order not to fall into the sea, it has to accelerate its ascent. As soon as the lookout spat out the gag, with the first cry, Robbier and Tom Turner rushed to him, tore off the pieces of canvas that bound him, and untied him.Immediately afterwards, the foreman went straight to the room of Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans: it was empty!

François Tapage searched Friccolin's room too: there was no one there! Seeing the escape of the prisoner, Robbier was furious.Once Uncle Prudden and Phil Evans escape, his secret and himself are exposed.He wasn't worried about the letter he dropped while flying over Europe, because there was a good chance it would be lost when it fell! ...But, now! Then he calmed down. "Well, even if they escape," he said, "they won't escape Chatham Island for a few days, I'll be back! . . . I'll search! . . At that time..." Indeed, the safety of the three fugitives is far from guaranteed.After the "Albatross" regained control of its course, it would immediately return to Chatham Island. It was impossible for the fugitives to escape from the island so quickly.In less than half a day, they would be in the hands of the engineer again.

Not half a day!However, within two hours, the "Albatross" ceased to exist!Isn't that dynamite cartridge just like a mine placed on the side of the ship?It has to complete the explosive mission in the air. At this time, the sea breeze is stronger.The aircraft was scraped to the northeast.Slowly, but by sunrise Chatham Island would be out of sight from them. To sail back against the wind, the propulsion propeller, at least the forward propeller, must be able to operate. "Tom," said the engineer, "turn on the brightest light." "Yes, Captain Robill."

"Everyone do it together!" "Yes, all!" replied the foreman. Without further ado, we have to do it today.Don't care about fatigue! All the people on the "Albatross" understood their leader's mood, and they were all ready to go all out to capture the fugitive.Once the front propeller was commissioned and installed, they could return to Chatham Island, stop on the island again, hunt down the fugitives, and then work on repairing the aft propeller.In this way, the aircraft can safely and boldly continue its voyage on the Pacific Ocean to return to the island of X.

It was important that the Albatross did not drift too far to the northeast; however, the current situation was very infuriating.The wind is getting stronger and stronger, not only can the aircraft not drive back against the wind, but it can't even stay still.Without thrusters, it also becomes an unsteerable balloon.The escapees stood on the beach and watched, convinced that the craft would disappear into the distance before it was blown to pieces. This situation cannot but make Robier anxious about future arrangements.Shouldn't the return to Chatham Island be postponed again?Therefore, while speeding up repairs, he decided to lower the altitude to see if the low-altitude airflow was weaker. In this way, the "Albatross" might not drift out of this sea area until it regained its fighting power to win the storm.

Without further ado.How frightened the sailors would be if a ship saw the series of maneuvers performed by the machine under the veil of lights! The Albatross came to a halt just a few hundred feet below the surface. Unfortunately, the wind is stronger in the low-altitude area, and the aircraft floats faster.It was likely to be blown far to the northeast, and the return to Chatham Island would inevitably be delayed even further. All in all, after some attempts, they felt that they should stay at a high altitude with relatively stable airflow, so the "Albatross" rose back to an altitude of 3,000 meters.At this altitude, if not completely stopped, at least float slowly.The engineer hoped to still be able to see the Chatham Island waters from here at dawn.In fact, he had determined exactly where the island was.

As to whether the few fugitives would be warmly received by the natives-if the island was inhabited-Robier did not think about this question at all.Even if the natives help, it is nothing more than a trivial matter to him, and the attack methods of the "Albatross" can quickly scare the natives into fleeing.There is no problem in capturing the fugitive, once captured... "No one can escape from X Island!" said Robier. At about 1 o'clock in the night, the forward propeller was repaired.Just spend another hour installing it.As soon as these were completed, the Albatross could proceed southwest, and the dismantling of the aft propulsion propellers could begin.

The fuse was burning in the empty room!More than one-third of it has been burned!The fire is getting closer and closer to the dynamite cartridge! Of course, if the people on the aircraft were not so busy, maybe someone heard the faint crackling sound from the cabin and smelled the smell of burning gunpowder, he would pay attention, and he would inform the engineer or Tom Turner, everyone will search around, and they will find the box of explosives... Then it is not too late to save the amazing "Albatross" and its people. But the crew all worked on the bow, that is to say, they were 20 meters away from the escapee's cabin.There is no need for them to come to this side of the platform, and there is no need to be distracted from this work that requires their full attention.

Robier himself was there.Dressed in a mechanic's attire, he did it himself.While supervising the work, he never missed any detail, everything must be done accurately.He needs to regain full control of his machine.If he did not bring back the fugitives, they would eventually return to their own country.At that time, someone will come to investigate, X Island may be discovered, and this kind of life established by the "Albatross" people-an extraordinary, outstanding life-will be completely destroyed in an instant! Tom Turner approached the engineer.It was exactly 1:15 at this time.

"Captain Robier," said he, "I think the wind seems to be abating, and tending to the west, indeed." "How about the barometer?" Robier asked, looking at the sky. "Basically stable," replied the foreman, "but I think there are clouds over the Albatross." "It's true, Tom Turner, and that means there's a good chance of rain at sea. But as long as we stay above the thunderstorm zone, it doesn't matter! Our repairs won't be affected." "If it rains," went on Tom Turner, "it may be a drizzle—at least the clouds show it, and the wind may have died down altogether."

"Possibly, Tom," replied Robier, "but I think it best not to go any further. Once the propeller is repaired we shall have freedom of movement, which is of the utmost importance." A few minutes after 2 o'clock, the repair work came to an end.The front propellers were installed and the batteries that provided power for them were also connected. The rotation of the propellers gradually accelerated, and the "Albatross" turned to the southwest and flew towards Chatham Island at a medium speed. "Tom," said Robbier, "we've been drifting northeast for about two and a half hours. The wind hasn't changed, and I've looked at the compass to prove I was right. So I figure an hour at the most, and we'll be back in Chuck." Tam Island waters." "I think so too, Captain Robier," replied the foreman. "We're traveling at twelve meters per second. At three or four o'clock in the morning, the Albatross will be back where it left off." "That's great, Tom!" replied the engineer. "We'd better get there by night, and land there unnoticed. The fugitives thought we were flying far north. Let us relax our guard. When the 'Albatross' is close to the ground, we will try to hide it behind the big rocks on the island. Then, even if we have to stay on Chatham Island for a few days..." "Then we shall stay, Captain Robill. If we have to fight the natives..." "Fight, fight! Tom, we're going to fight for the Albatross!" With that, the engineer turned to his men, who were at the ready. "Friends," said Robier to them, "it is time to rest and work till dawn!" All are ready. Repairs must now be made to the rear propellers as to the front propellers.The same problem, the same reason, that is to say, they were all damaged by storms while flying over the Antarctic continent. However, to remove the propeller, it is best to stop the aircraft for a few minutes, or even reverse it.According to Robbier's order, the technician's assistant turned the front propeller in the opposite direction and started to reverse.Thus, the aircraft began to slowly reverse. When everyone was about to go to the back of the machine, Tom Turner suddenly smelled a strange smell. "Huh?" the foreman snorted. "What's going on?" asked Robier. "Didn't you smell it? . . . It seemed like gunpowder was burning." "No, Tom!" "The smell is from the aft cabin." "Yes... that's the house..." "Did those rascals set fire? . . . " "Why! If it were only the fire..." cried Robier, "throw the door open, Tom, knock the door open!" Just as the foreman took a step toward the stern, there was an explosion that shook the entire Albatross.The cabin was blown to pieces and the searchlights went out.The electricity suddenly cut off, and the entire aircraft was pitch black.Although most of the lift propellers were blown out of shape, broken or disabled, the few at the bow were still turning. The batteries driving the forward propulsion propellers are in the first cabin.At this time, the outer shell of the aircraft suddenly broke not far behind the first cabin, and the second half of the platform rolled down in the air. The last few lifting propellers also stopped rotating almost at the same time, and the "Albatross" fell into the abyss. The eight people on board were like victims of the sea, clinging to the front half of the wreck, they were about to fall 3,000 meters! The front half stood upright and fell straight down.Especially the forward propeller was still spinning, which made the fall even faster. Robier was calm and calm in the face of danger.He slid to the remaining half of the cabin, grabbed the start lever, and changed the direction of propeller rotation, and the propulsion function was converted to the lifting function. Although the time of falling can be prolonged, the aircraft will eventually fall.But at least the wreckage won't fall with the acceleration of gravity in free fall.Even if the "Albatross" eventually fell into the sea, at least the victims would not suffocate to death due to the inability to breathe during the high-speed descent. After the explosion, at most 80 seconds, the remaining fragments of the "Albatross" were swallowed by the waves of the sea.