Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Anti-five

For a full hour I wandered among the stones under the dark arches of the cup-covered island, until I came to the end of the cave where I had repeatedly sought an exit, a crack in the wall. , hoping to slip out of it all the way to the beach area of ​​the island. My search was in vain.Now, I am tormented by various unspeakable visions. Now I seem to see these stone walls thickening... now I seem to see the walls of the prison slowly thinning... and now they seem to come towards me. i crush... How long did this mental disorder last? ……I have no idea. I'm back in Behev, facing the house, I don't want to rest, I don't want to sleep...sleep, when the brain is overwhelmed...sleep, when this situation is coming to an end, and it will last for many year……

But what will be my end? ...What was the result of the attack on the "Cupped Cup" island?I can't guarantee its victory, because I failed to kill Thomas Roche... As soon as the warship enters the danger zone, his missiles will start firing, and it will be destroyed even if it is not hit... Anyway, I had to stay in my room for the last hours of the night.It's time to go back.When the day comes, I'll know what to do.Did I know that before the warships attacked the island tonight, the explosion of the "Rosh Lightning" would tear the island apart? ... At this moment, I took a last look around Bihaifu.Across the way, lights flickered...the only light...the lights of the laboratory, reflected in the shimmering lagoon.

The shores of the lake were deserted, and so was the pier... It occurred to me that Bihifu must be deserted at this time, with the pirates at their fighting posts... Impelled by an irresistible instinct, I did not return to the hut, but walked quietly along the stone wall, listening to the movement around the voyeur, ready to slip into the rock and hide at the first sound of footsteps or voices... I came to the entrance of the passage like this... Thank God! ...this place is unguarded...free passage... I didn't have time to think, so I rushed down the dark path... I groped my way on the stone wall... Soon, a fresher air came in front of me--air with the salty sea, and I was five years old. Light didn't breathe it... I gulped for fresh air...

The other end of the corridor is reflected in the starry night sky.There's nothing clogging...maybe I'll be able to get out of the cup-covered island... I lay on the ground and slowly and silently crawled forward. When I came to the entrance of the cave, I poked my head out and looked around... Nobody...nobody! I walked eastward close to the bottom of the island, which was full of rocks and ships could not get close to it, so it must be unguarded. I came to a narrow hole-about 200 meters away, a promontory facing the sea. Prominent to the northwest. Finally... I came out of the cave—not yet free, but this is the beginning of freedom.

The sky was very clear, and the stars looked especially bright on winter nights. On the horizon to the northwest, the signal lights of warships formed a bright line of light. The sky in the east was pale, and I estimated it was about five o'clock in the morning. — November 18. —It is now light enough that I may continue my diary with details of my visit to Thomas Roche's laboratory—perhaps these are my last lines... I started to write, and as the battle progressed, various events would appear in my notebook. The thin, damp steam that covered the sea like a light mist disappeared without a trace under the blowing of the breeze.I finally saw the warship...

There were five warships, lined up, at least six nautical miles away—out of the range of the Rosh missiles. This removed one of my worries—I had been apprehensive that these warships, after passing Bermuda, would continue their voyage to the Antilles and Mexican waters... No!They stopped there...waiting for daylight before attacking Cup-Covered Island... At this time, there was movement on the beach.Three or four pirates ran out from the last rock.The sentry on the headland returned to the ranks.All pirates are by the sea. They did not hide in the cave at all, because they knew that the warship could not approach the island, and their shells would not hit the island.

The ditch I'm hiding in has covered my head, I won't be found, and the pirates are unlikely to come here, but there may be a very bad situation for me: this is, Engineer Soko Or anyone else wondering if I'm in the house or needing to lock me in... what do I have to scare them? ... At seven-twenty-five Gail Carage, Engineer Sokol, and Captain Spud came to the head of the headland from where they surveyed the sea level to the northwest.Behind them stood six launchers, their bombardiers supporting self-propelled missiles.When the explosives are ignited, they shoot out from the launcher, drawing a long ballistic trajectory to the explosion area, and their explosion will cause the surrounding air layer to vibrate.

Seven thirty-five.Several light smokes rose from the warships, and they were ready to set sail, heading towards the missile range of the "Fu Cup" island. There was a yelp and cheer of terrible joy from the mob, like the howling of wild animals. At this moment, the engineer Sokol left Gail Karage and the captain Spard, and he walked towards the entrance of the passage and entered the cave. He must be looking for Thomas Roche. Will Thomas Roche remember what I just said to him when he fired missiles at the warship on the orders of Gail Karaj? ... Doesn't he resent the crime he's committed? ...will he refuse to obey orders? ...no...I'm so sure of that! ...why am I still delusional about it? ... Isn't this the home of the inventor? ...he has said it over and over...he is convinced...they are coming against him...he will defend himself!

However, the five warships advanced slowly, with their bows pointed at the headland of the small island.Perhaps the people on board thought that Thomas Roche hadn't yet betrayed the last secret to the pirates on Cup Covered, and he hadn't done so when I threw the cask into the lagoon.However, if the commander intends to land on the island, if the warship ventures into this one nautical mile wide area, then there will soon be only fragments of broken wrecks on the sea. Thomas Roche came down accompanied by Engineer Sokol.After walking out of the passage, the two walked towards a launcher, which was aiming in the direction of the leading warship.

Gail Calage and Captain Spud are waiting for them both here. As expected, Thomas Roche was very calm.He knows what to do.The poor wretch, disoriented by hatred, showed no hesitation that would disturb the mood. Between his fingers was a gleaming white glass tube containing an explosive liquid. He looked at the nearest general warship, which was about five nautical miles away. This is a medium-sized cruiser, weighing at most 2,500 tons. No flag was hoisted on board; however.Judging from its shape, this warship belongs to a country that the French do not like very much. The other four warships stayed behind.

This cruiser will lead the attack on the island. It began to fire, as the pirates let it approach, and hoped its first shot would hit Thomas Roche as soon as it was within range! ... Engineer Sokol pinpointed the cruiser's position, while Thomas Roche stood in front of the launch pad.There are three missiles loaded with explosives on this launcher, there is no need to rotate it, the deflagration will ensure the length of its trajectory, which is different from the rotating missile (the rotating missile was invented by Du Bo, it relies on rotation to ensure the length of its trajectory) ballistic length).Moreover, it only needs to explode a few hundred meters away from the battleship to destroy it in one fell swoop. Time is up. "Thomas Roche!" shouted Engineer Sokol. He pointed his hand at the cruiser.It was heading slowly towards the northwest headland, only four or five nautical miles away... Thomas Roche made an affirmative statement that he wanted to be alone in front of the launch pad. Gail Karage, Engineer Sokol, and Captain Spard stepped back more than fifty paces. Thomas Roche opened the white glass tube in his right hand, and continuously poured a few drops of liquid from the handle into the three missiles to mix it with the deflagration. Forty-five seconds (the time necessary for the chemical reaction) passed, and my heart seemed to stop beating for fifty-five seconds... The terrible howling sound tore through the air, and the three missiles drew an arc of nearly a hundred meters in the air, surpassing the cruiser... Did they miss the mark? ...has the danger disappeared? ... no!The missile returns in the form of a disc shell used by a Chapelle, like the Aboriginal Australians used...   The atmosphere immediately shook violently, as if the Manin or Dana explosives had exploded.The low-altitude atmosphere has been pushed to the "covered cup" island, and the ground of the island is also shaking... I look at... The cruiser disappeared, was dismembered, broke off in the middle, sank to the bottom ... This is the effect of Tolinsky's shells, but their effectiveness has been increased a hundredfold thanks to the powerful "Rosh lightning". The pirates cheered and rushed to the top of the headland.Gail Carage, Engineer Sokol, and Captain Spud were all motionless, and could hardly believe what they were seeing! Thomas Roche stood that morning with his arms folded, his eyes bright and his face full of joy. I understand the inventor's triumph that disgusts me, hatred with vengeance to the heart's content! ... If other warships approached, the end would be the same as this cruiser.They will inevitably be wiped out under the same circumstances and cannot escape this fate! ……Ok!Why let my last hope perish with them, if only they would escape, run to the open sea, and give up their futile assaults! ...The governments of various countries will reach an agreement to take another way to destroy the island! ... They can use warships to surround the "Cupped Cup" island, and the pirates will not be able to cross this wall, and they will starve to death in the bandit den, just like wild animals starve to death in the cave! ... But—I know,—ships have no right to call back, even if defeat is certain.The remaining battleships sailed one after another without hesitation, regardless of the danger of being buried in the vast waves! In effect, information is being exchanged between the ships.Soon a thicker puff of smoke blackened the horizon, and a northwesterly wind blew it in another direction.The four warships started sailing again. One of them went ahead, hastening to within range of the shell to fire it... I risked everything to come out of the cave...I watched, eyes sparkling with utter excitement...I waited helplessly for the second catastrophe... The larger and larger warship in sight was almost the same tonnage as the previous one.There was no flag flying on top of the ship, and I couldn't make out which country it was from.Apparently, it was sailing at full speed to clear the danger zone before the new missile was launched.But since they can attack it from the back, how does it evade their powerful destructive force? ... Thomas Roche stood in front of the second launcher. At the same time, the warship came to the abyss, where it would sink to the bottom of the sea following the warship just now... Although there were a few gusts of wind blowing from the distant ocean, the water was still calm. Suddenly, the drums sounded from the cruiser...the drums boomed...the sound of the brass instruments floated to me... I recognize the drums... French drums... God! ... This is the battleship of the Fatherland, which is ahead of the others, and a French inventor is about to destroy it! No! ...can't do this...I'm going to rush to Thomas Roche...I'm going to tell him loudly that the ship is French...he doesn't recognize it...he will recognize it... At this time, engineer Sokol made a gesture, and Thomas Roche raised the glass test tube in his hand... At this time, the drums became louder and more powerful.This is a tribute to the flag...a flag unfurling...the tricolor, blue, white and red, shining brightly against the sky. what! ……what happened! ……I see! ... Seeing the national flag, Thomas Roche seemed to be possessed! ... As the national flag slowly rises to the sky, his hand gradually hangs down! ...then he stepped back...and covered his eyes with his hands, as if to prevent them from seeing the folds of the tricolor... Thank God! ... In this wounded heart, patriotism is not completely wiped out, because after seeing the national flag of the motherland, it beats in the heart again! ... I'm as excited as he is! ... risking being seen (what does it matter?) I crawled along the rocks ... I wanted to help Thomas Roche, prevent him from changing his mind! ...Even if it costs my life, I will beg him for the last time in the name of the motherland! . . . and I will say to him aloud: "Frenchman, this ship is flying the tricolor! . . . Frenchman, what is approaching is a part of France! . . . Frenchman, are you guilty enough to strike it? . . . However, my intervention was not necessary...Thomas Roche was no longer afflicted by disease or depressed by it, he was now his own master... When he faced the flag, he understood...he stepped back... Several pirates came over, trying to pull him to the launch pad... He pushed them away... he struggled... Gail Karage and Engineer Sokol come running...they point him at the fast-moving warship...they order him to fire missiles... Thomas Roche refused. Captain Spard and the other pirates, furious, threatened him... insulted him... beat him...they tried to take the glass test tube from him... Thomas Roche threw the glass test tube on the ground and crushed it with his heel... How frightened these bastards are! ...The cruiser passed the danger zone, the pirates were unable to return fire to the shells that fell on the island, and the rocks were blown away... But where is Thomas Roche? ...was he hit by a shell? ...no...the last time I saw him he was running down the passage... Gail Calabi engineer Sokol and captain Spud followed him to find a hiding place inside the "Cupped Cup" island... I... will not return me to the cave at any cost, even if killed in this place!I shall write the last note, and when the French navy comes to the headland, I shall... The end of Engineer Simon Hart's diary.

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