Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Niagara

Hours passed and still no land was seen.The sailor came up on deck to replace Banchang.The captain got up and watched the engine's operation carefully.Even as the boat picked up speed, the engines made no sound and were absolutely motionless and extremely smooth.Most engines operate with some kind of intermittence, owing to the occasional cessation of the piston's rotation; however, nothing of the kind occurred in the engine block of the Terror.From this I concluded that the rotation of the Terror's rotary engines never ceased whenever it was transformed.But I'm not quite sure about that yet.

The course of the "Horror" has not changed, and it has been heading northeast of Lake Erie, and its destination can only be Buffalo. I couldn't help wondering, why did the captain choose this course?It was by no means possible that he intended to anchor at Buffalo, for the waters there were frequently obstructed by the passing of ships of all kinds.If he intended to sail out of Lake Erie by water, the Niagara was the only option; but the Niagara Falls were simply impassable, not even by a ship like the Terror.Then, the only feasible path is through the Detroit River. However, the "Horror" is obviously far away from the waters of the Detroit River.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that perhaps the captain only intended to wait until evening to drive the Terror to the shores of Lake Erie.There, the ship Terror transforms into a car and speeds across the roads of neighboring states.If during this time I do not have the opportunity to escape, my hopes of being free will be dashed. Yes, supposing that in the meantime the captain does not seem to have the time to think about when to dispose of me—and this "disposition," as I said before, will not be what I expected; All the secrets of the "Terror" that no one knows until now.

I am very familiar with the northeast end of Lake Erie.I have been to this part of the state of New York many times--stretching west from Albany to Buffalo; and three years ago, on official business, I carefully visited the banks of the Niagara River, including on Niagara Falls and the waters below it with its drawbridge.I've also been to the two main islands between Buffalo and the small town by the falls of Niagara.I visited Levi Island and Gott Island; the two small islands that separate the border between the United States and Canada where the Nyala Falls are located. So, if such an opportunity for escape should ever arise, I would be in a territory not unfamiliar to me.But is there such a chance?And, do I really hope so, in the bottom of my heart?Or, can I seize this opportunity?The mystery is still unsolved, is the wish fulfilled-or doom is coming-these questions deeply trouble me!

Besides, there was not, in my opinion, any sufficient reason to conclude that I would have had any chance of landing on the banks of the Niagara. The Terror must have dared not venture into these trap-like waters with no exit.It's not even possible to sail to the end of Lake Erie. As the moonlight rests on the empty horizon, my mind has been restless and still preoccupied with these questions. There is always an irresistible question that puzzles me.Why did the captain himself write that threatening letter to me, and why is he spying on me in Washington?What is his connection with Airi Kyoho?There must be an underground passage to Lake Caldor.However, is it possible for him to pass through the impenetrable fortress of the giant mountain of Airi?No way!He can't possibly have that power!

By four o'clock in the afternoon, I knew from the speed and course of the Terror that we were near Buffalo; indeed, Buffalo was looming fifteen miles away.Several boats had been seen in the course of the Terror, but the Terror passed them at such a distance that the captain could control it at his will.Moreover, the hull of the Terror was always kept as low as possible on the water, making it difficult to spot it from a mile away. Now, at last, near Buffalo, the mountains surrounding the shore of Lake Erie resemble a funnel from which the water of Lake Erie flows into the Niagara Channel.On the right side of the lake, there are only a few rumbling sand dunes, and there are many bushes here and there.Several freighters and fishing boats appeared in the distance.Clouds of smoke filled the sky and were blown away by a breeze from the east.

For what purpose did the captain continue to steer the Terror towards Buffalo?Could it be that he was so blinded by his interests that he continued to take risks?I always thought he would slam the rudder at any moment and steer toward the west shore of Lake Erie.Or I even wondered, he'd take the Terror underwater.However, the bow is still facing the direction of Buffalo, which is really incomprehensible. Finally, the helmsman, who had been watching the lakeshore in the northeast direction, made a gesture to his companion at the bow.The man left the bow and went to the hatch in the middle of the deck and entered the engine room.Just then the captain came on deck, stood beside the helmsman, and talked to him in a low voice.

The helmsman raised his arm in the direction of Buffalo and pointed to two black spots on the shore about five or six miles off the port side.The captain watched the two black spots carefully.He shrugged and sat down in the stern. The Terror's course remained unchanged. Fifteen minutes later, I realized that two clouds of smoke had risen above the place they had carefully observed. The two black spots under the clouds were gradually visible, which were two long ships sailing from Buffalo Harbor. The boat is coming fast. It occurred to me that these were the two torpedo destroyers of which Mr. Ward was speaking, and which I had been told could be called upon to assist if necessary.

These two destroyers were the newest and fastest destroyers ever built in the United States.Its engines are of the latest construction and are powerful enough to travel about thirty miles an hour.Of course, the Terror was much faster.However, if the navigation is hindered, it is impossible to reach its top speed, and it must dive underwater to avoid pursuit.In fact, the destroyer had to be a submarine itself if it had hoped to have any chance of victory when it attacked the Terror.However, I understand that this is impossible, and even if the destroyer can be submerged, it will not be able to match the "Terror".

Furthermore, I think it is quite evident that the commanders of the two destroyers had been informed in advance that our attack on the Terror had failed.Perhaps it was Mr. Wells who had telegraphed the people concerned after his swift return to Toledo after the attack.Moreover, the two destroyers also apparently spotted the "Terror", because they were speeding up and approaching the "Terror".However, the captain of the "Terror" seemed to dismiss this at all, and continued to let the "Terror" move towards the Niagara River channel. How will the torpedo destroyer behave?Perhaps they would try to block the Terror in the narrow waters of Lake Erie, from which she had no chance of finding any passage into the Niagara.

The captain himself is now at the helm himself.Of the other two, one remaining in the bow and the other in the engine room, will I be ordered to enter the cabin as well? To my great joy no one ordered me to enter the cabin.To be honest, no one was paying attention to me at the moment, as if I wasn't on the boat at all.I was full of thoughts at the moment, watching the destroyer draw closer and closer to the Terror.When within two miles of the Terror, the two destroyers kept a distance from each other so as to keep the Terror within their fire. As for the "master of the world" himself, at this time, his attitude shows that he is extremely concerned about this action against him.He seemed convinced that the destroyer was powerless against him, as long as he pressed the manipulator, no matter how the destroyer chased and intercepted the "Terror". The Terror must have thrown the destroyer far away! The "Terror"'s engine only needs to be turned a few times, and it will rush out of the encirclement under the fire of the guns!Moreover, once it transforms into a submarine and sinks underwater, it will be difficult for any bullets or artillery fire to track it down! Five minutes later, with only a mile between the Terror and the destroyer that was chasing it, the captain deliberately let the destroyer continue to approach, and then he pressed the lever, and the Terror's thrusters doubled, The hull jumped across the lake, it was obviously teasing the destroyer!Instead of turning and running away, it continued to move forward.No one can predict whether it will dare to pass between the two enemy boats and lure the enemy boats to pursue them until night falls, causing the enemy boats to give up their futile interception! The city of Buffalo was now clearly visible on the shore of the lake.I saw the city's sky-high buildings, churches, tower tops, and barns with elevators.Just four or five miles away, the Niagara River flows north. How do I get out of this new situation?Should I have thrown myself into the river as the Terror passed ahead of the destroyers, perhaps, among them!I'm good at swimming, nothing to fear, and this may be the last chance.It was impossible for the captain to stop the Terror in order to capture me.However, after I dived, can I get out safely, even without being hit by a bullet?One of the two destroyer boats must have spotted me, and perhaps the commander of the boat must have been informed of my presence on the Terror.Will the commander send a small boat to rescue me because of this? Obviously, my chances of escaping the Terror would be greater, if the Terror entered the narrow waters of the Niagara, and once at Levi's Island I could set foot on ground I knew so well.But what if the captain of the Terror insisted on entering the Niagara, and risked his way over the Falls!But the odds are huge!Therefore, I decided to wait until the destroyer boat approached the "Terror" again, and make a decisive decision at the last moment. To be honest, though, I wasn't entirely determined to run away.I do not wish to lose the opportunity to unravel this mystery once and for all.As a police officer, I have an instinctive reluctance to do this!Shall I see the Terror escape?never!I must not be free under these conditions!However, what will be my fate? Where will the Terror take me if I remain on board? It was a quarter past six, and due to the fast speed, the hull of the destroyer shook violently and was approaching the "Terror".They were apparently going at full speed, and the distance between the two destroyers was about twelve or thirteen feet. The "Terror" did not accelerate. At this time, one destroyer was galloping to the port side of the "Terror"; the other was approaching from the starboard side. I still didn't move a step, the sailor in the bow was not far from me.The captain frowned, his eyes were piercing, he held the rudder firmly, and waited.Maybe he was trying to figure out how to get out of the pursuit of the destroyers one last time. Suddenly, a puff of smoke was sprayed from the destroyer on the left side of the "Terror", and a torpedo skimmed the water and flew in front of the "Terror", and at the same time, the destroyer on the right side of the "Terror" also accelerated. . I looked around anxiously.The sailor standing beside me watching me seemed to be waiting for a cue from the captain.At this time, the captain was still calm, and he didn't even turn his head. The strong contempt on his face will be unforgettable for a lifetime. Just then, I was suddenly pushed violently through the hatch, which then closed.Almost at the same moment, the other hatch was closed, and the deck was sealed tight; and I heard a slight throbbing sound from the hull of the Terror, which evidently had submerged and disappeared from the surface of the lake. I heard the great echo of the torpedo still roaring in the water where the Terror sank, and then all was still.All I could see was a gleam of light coming through the hole in my hatch. The submarine "HMS Terror" moved smoothly in the deep water, and hardly any rumble was heard. I have seen with my own eyes how easily and with astonishing speed the Terror transforms into a submarine, and I believe, perhaps, that it will do the same when it transforms into a car! What does this "master of the world" want to do now?Maybe, he might change course.Unless, in fact, he still wanted to dock the Terror and continue on the road from there.Moreover, there is a great possibility that he will turn around and head west, and enter the Detroit River after completely getting rid of the pursuit of the destroyers. The "Terror" may only need to drive out of the torpedo shooting area underwater, or wait until night, when the destroyer has to give up its pursuit, and then it will be safe and sound. However, fate is destined to make this shocking pursuit have an unexpected ending.Ten minutes passed, and at this time the ship seemed a little less calm.I heard hurried conversation from the engine room, and at that moment the Terror, advancing steadily, made a sort of restlessness, and wobbled a little.I immediately suspected that some accident must have forced the submarine to the surface. My guess was right.The half-darkness of the cabin in which I was placed was flooded with sunlight. The "Terror" was now on the water.I heard footsteps on the deck, all the hatches including mine were reopened, and I went up the deck by the cabin ladder. The captain was at the helm at this time, and the other two sailors took their positions in the cabin.I keep an eye out, is the destroyer still on the surface?yes!Just a quarter mile away!The destroyers had already spotted the "Terror", and they were apparently following the government's order, and they were now preparing to continue their pursuit. The "Terror" was once again galloping towards the Niagara River. I must admit, I don't see why the Terror would do that?Due to an accident, the "Terror" can no longer sneak underwater, and surfacing is tantamount to a self-inflicted trap. The "Terror" can indeed temporarily evade the pursuit of destroyers, but it must find that if it tries to retreat , whose course had been intercepted by the destroyer; did it intend to land, and if so, could it outrun the telegram?Because the telegram will notify every agent waiting for its appearance at any time! The Terror was not half a mile from the destroyer.The destroyers were pursuing at full speed, and although right behind the Terror, the distance and position prevented them from launching torpedoes on the Terror.The captain seemed content to keep this distance; though it would have been quite easy for him to speed up the Terror so that he could wait until night to escape the pursuit of the enemy. Buffalo was out of sight to the starboard side of the Terror.After seven, the mouth of the Niagara River loomed ahead.Knowing that it is impossible to return, but he still wants to let the "Terror" enter the Niagara River. If the captain does this, he will definitely make a mistake.But in fact, could this self-proclaimed, and believed to be, the "master of the world" captain be so delirious? As I watched him, he remained unmoved, not even turning his head to look at the approaching destroyer, much to my confusion. This stretch of water at the end of Lake Erie looks very bleak.There are not many freighters going to the towns on the upper Niagara River; it is extremely unsafe to navigate here.At this moment, no freighter can be seen on the water.Not even a fishing boat appeared in the channel of the "Terror".Even the two destroyers would soon have to suspend their pursuit if the Terror continued on to these treacherous waters. I have said that the Niagara River, which flows across the frontier between the State of New York and Canada, is less than a mile wide, and narrows even more as it approaches the falls.Its length is about 15 leagues from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.The Niagara River flows north, and then flows into Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Erie, and finally into Lake Ontario in the western part of the Lake District.The world-famous Niagara Falls in the middle of the Niagara River are 150 feet high and are sometimes called the "Horshoe" Falls because they curve inward like horseshoes.The Indians named Niagara Falls "Thundering Waters".In fact, the sound of the falls is like thunder, uninterrupted, and its din can be heard for miles. Between Lake Erie and the small town of Niagara Falls, two islands divide the main stream of the river; Levi's Island sits a league above the falls; Gort Island divides the falls in the United States and Canada.In fact, at the lower end of Gort Island once stood the "Trapin Tower", built in the rapids at the bottom of the abyss.However, this building, known for its bold conception, has been destroyed, because the rocks under the waterfall have been eroded for many years, causing the rock formation to slowly flow into the river, and the Trapin Tower sank into the abyss. Port Erie is located at the mouth of the Niagara River on the Canadian side, and there are two other towns along the banks of the falls.On the right bank is Schlosser and on the left bank is Chippewa at the end of Levi Island.It was here that the main flow turned into a very narrow channel and began to rush rapidly, forming Niagara Falls, which is more than two miles long. The Terror has passed Port Erie, and the edge of the horizon on the Canadian side has been shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun in the west; a pale moon rises in the mist along the south.An hour later, night will fall. A thick cloud of smoke rose from the destroyer's funnel, only a mile from the Terror.They run along the water between the two banks, lined with shady trees and here and there wooden houses set in lovely gardens. Obviously, the "Terror" could no longer turn around and escape, and had been completely blocked by destroyers.The commander of the destroyer, of course, did not know, as I did, that the Terror had to be forced to the surface by an accident with the machinery, and that it was impossible to submerge and escape.Naturally, the destroyer was desperate. I am in awe of the tenacious pursuit of the destroyer in such treacherous waters.But what amazed me even more was the reaction of the captain of the Terror in such a situation.In half an hour the Terror's course would be blocked by the waterfall.No matter how perfect his invention is, he cannot escape from the power of the Great Falls.If the turbulence once caused the engine on the "Terror" to lose control, the "Terror" would inevitably be swallowed by the abyss nearly two hundred feet deep formed by the rushing water at the bottom of the waterfall!Still, perhaps, the captain would be sure to land somewhere on the shore and escape by road. In this critical moment of danger, what should I do personally?Should I try to land on Levi, if the Terror went on like this?If I do not seize this opportunity, the "Master of the World" will never set me free, since I already know his secret. However, I doubt if I could succeed now if I escaped.It seems that there is no such possibility.There is a possibility that I will be locked in the cabin and watched.While the captain was at the helm, the eyes of his assistant beside me were fixed on me.I thought, I'm going to be shut up in the cabin by him.At this moment, my fate was evidently linked with the Terror. The distance between the "Terror" and the two destroyers became shorter and shorter, and soon, it was about to approach the "Terror".Could it be that the engines on the "Terror" could no longer keep the "Terror" at her speed because of the accident!However, the captain looked calm and did not intend to dock! We could hear the hiss of steam rushing from the destroyer's pistons, mixed with the billowing smoke.Now, however, what we heard more clearly was the roar of the Great Falls, not three miles away. The Terror is now passing Levi Island on a left-hand tributary of the Niagara River.Here it landed easily, yet it kept going.Five minutes later, I could see the bushes on Gort Island.At this time, the water became more and more turbulent.If the Terror had not come to a stop, it would have been impossible for the destroyers to pursue her.If the destroyer forces the captain to drive the "Terror" into the vortex of the waterfall, the destroyer will never dare to take the risk, because if you continue to pursue it, you will be drawn into the abyss! In fact, at that moment the two destroyers signaled each other to cease their pursuit, only about six hundred feet from the falls.Then, several torpedoes from the destroyer were fired with a deafening sound, whistling over the Terror, but missed the low deck of the Terror. The sun had gone down, and from the southern sky the clear light of the moon shone on the Terror through the dusk.Due to the momentum of the torrent, the speed of the "Terror" is unstoppable at this moment!In a split second, the Terror will plunge into the black hole formed by the central area of ​​the falls on the Canadian side. With horror and horror I saw Gort's Island passing by, and then there was the Three Sisters before me, drowned by the spray from the abyss. I sprang up, desperate to jump into the water, hoping to get ashore from here to survive.But was caught by a man behind. Suddenly I heard the screeching of the mechanism of the Terror.The long aisles on either side of the deck retracted and folded, spreading out like the wings of an airplane.At that moment, the Terror had reached the edge of the waterfall, leaped into space, and escaped from the center of the thunderous waterfall like a moonbow.