Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Alright, Lux!

Forobel and his detachment had been on their way for nine days; what event had slowed down their progress?Are there robbers or animals lying in front of them or impassable obstacles?Why did they delay?Should it be inferred from this that Zon and Amory have stopped advancing completely?Could it not be considered that they were finally hopeless? Imprisoned in the fortifications on Mount Skolzew, the astronomers experienced alternating periods of hope and disappointment with apprehension, apprehension.Their colleagues and friends have been away for 9 days. In 5 days, at most 7 days, they should reach their destination.They were active, courageous, inspired men of scientific heroism, and the success of a great cause depended on their presence on Volgilia, and they knew it, and there would be no negligence, and the delay could not be blamed on them.So if nine days after they left, the marker lights still didn't light up on the summit of Volgilia, was it because they were dead or captured by nomadic tribes?

Such were the discouraging ideas, the painful assumptions, that formed in the minds of Colonel Everett and his colleagues.How anxiously they waited for the sun to disappear over the horizon so they could begin their night observations!How much care they put into this!All their hope rests on this eyepiece that should be able to catch the light in the distance!Their whole lives are concentrated in the narrow lens of a single lens! On March 3, they walked on the slopes of Skorzew, hardly speaking to each other, and a single thought dominated them.They feel pain like never before.No, neither desert heat, trekking in the tropical sun, nor thirst tortured them so much!

On this day, the last pieces of anteater flesh were swallowed, and the guards in the fortifications were reduced to food taken from the ant-hills. Night came, a moonless, calm and deep night, especially observant... But there was not a single ray of light showing the apex of Volgilia.Until the morning sun appeared, Colonel Everett and Strux, who replaced each other, were still watching the horizon, nothing appeared, and the sun soon made any observation impossible! As for the natives down the mountain, there is nothing to worry about.The Makroro seem determined to conquer the besieged with hunger.In fact, they are bound to succeed. On March 4th, hunger afflicted Skorzew's prisoners again, poor Europeans who could only relieve their anxiety by chewing on the bulbs of Glenn that grew among the rocks on the hillside.

prisoner!No!Colonel Everett and his companions are not prisoners!The steamboat, kept in the cove, could carry them at will, from the lake to a fertile field, where there was no shortage of game, nor fruit, nor leguminous plants!Many times they debated whether or not the Bushmen should be sent to the North Shore to bring back game for the Guard.But besides the discovery of the action by the natives, the danger of the steamboat, and therefore the safety of the whole, would be at stake when other Makororo tribes attacked the northern shore of Lake Ngami.This suggestion was rejected.Everyone had to run away together or stay together, and the abandonment of Skolzew Mountain before the completion of the geodetic experiments was even more out of the question.As long as all opportunities for success are not exhausted, they should wait, it's a matter of patience, and they will!

On this day, Colonel Everett said to his companions gathered around: "When Arago, Biot and Rodrigo decided to extend the longitude measurement from Dunkirk to Ibiza, they were almost in the same position as the We are in the same situation now. At that time, a triangle with a side length of more than 120 miles needed to connect the island to the coast of Spain. The astronomer Rodrigo stayed in the mountains of the island, where he burned an eternal lamp, while other French scientists Just over 100 miles away, in a tent in the desert of La Palma. For 60 nights, Arago and Bio looked forward to the appearance of the marker lights they wanted to determine their direction! They were finally disappointed and decided to give up observing. At this time, on the evening of the 61st day, a bright point of light that could not be confused with a 16th magnitude star appeared in the field of view of the objective lens only when it was stationary. 61 days of waiting! Gentlemen, French astronomers for an important scientific interest What the British and Russian astronomers could not have done?"

The answer from all the scientists was an affirmative cheer, but they should have answered Colonel Everett this way: neither Biot nor Arago suffered from hunger during their long stay in the La Palma desert! During the day, the Makorolo people stationed at the foot of Skolzev Mountain were extremely restless. Such comings and goings would not fail to arouse the worries of the Bushmans. Then when night came, they wanted to go to the mountain What about a renewed attack?Or are you going to evacuate the barracks?Morcum, watching carefully, thought he saw hostility in the commotion.The women and children who had joined the Makororo left the camp and returned to the east along the area around Ngami Lake, led by several guides, as they prepared their weapons.The besiegers probably intended to make one last attempt to take the fort before finally withdrawing from their capital, Marcodo.

The Bushmen communicated their observations to Colonel Everett.They decided to carry out a closer surveillance at night, and put all their weapons on the alert. The besiegers were so numerous that nothing prevented them from falling in their hundreds on the slopes of Mount Skorzew, the walls of the fortifications. It was destroyed in many places and could easily allow a group of indigenous people to pass through.It would therefore be prudent for Colonel Everett to take some precautions and abandon their geodes if they had to retreat.The steamship was always ready to sail, and one sailor, the mechanic of the Queen and Tsar, was ordered to light the steam ovens and maintain tension in preparation for the necessary escape.But he had to wait until after sunset, lest he should reveal to the natives the existence of the steamboat on the water.

There were termites and grunge for dinner, some miserable food for someone who was about to go into battle!Yet they were determined, they could overcome all weakness, and they waited bravely for the last hour. At about six o'clock in the evening, night fell with characteristic rapidity in this tropic region, and the mechanic climbing down the slopes of Skolzew would heat the steamer's steam furnace. It goes without saying that Colonel Everett was only in the last desperate, impossible He will only consider running away when he continues to hold on to the fortifications.He was not happy about giving up the observation point, especially at night, when Amory and Zorn's marker lights could be lit on Volgilia Hill at any moment.

Other sailors were deployed at the foot of the wall and ordered to defend the breach at all costs.The weapons were ready, the machine guns were loaded, and the supply of ammunition was sufficient.The formidable barrels of machine guns jutted out through the holes. They have been waiting many hours.Colonel Everett and the Russian astronomer stood guard in the narrow main tower, taking turns observing the mountain peak framed into the field of view of the objective lens.The horizon was still dark, but there were beautiful stars shining on the top of the southern sky, and not a breath of wind stirred the atmosphere, and the deep silence of nature was solemn.

At this moment the Bushmen sat on a ledge and listened to the noise from the plain.Gradually, the voice became clearer. Morcum's judgment was correct, and the Makroro were preparing to launch the final attack on Skolzev Mountain. By 10 o'clock the attackers had not moved.They put out the fire, and the camp and the plain were obscured in darkness.Suddenly the Bushmans caught a glimpse of dark shadows moving up the hillside, and the assailants were within a hundred yards of the platform beneath the fortifications. "There is a case! There is a case!" cried Morcum. The guards immediately went out of the fortifications, defended the south, and began to shoot at the attackers. The Makororo responded with war calls. They ignored the continuous volleys of fire on the mountain and continued to climb. With the light of the gunfire, Thick masses of the natives can be found, and they are so numerous that any resistance seems impossible.The bullets fired into the crowd, every bullet must hit, caused a terrible carnage, and the hordes of Makorolo fell, stacked on top of each other, and rolled straight to the bottom of the mountain.In the momentary cessation of gunfire, the besieged heard their bestial roars.They lined up and rushed upwards, not having time to shoot an arrow, but still wanting to reach the summit of Skolzew.

Colonel Everett led the charge, his companions followed him bravely, and Ballendre was no exception, perhaps firing for the first time.His Excellency was now on one rock, now on another, now kneeling, now lying, his rifle was hot from constant rapid fire, and had scalded his hands.As for the Bushman, he was the patient, bold, confident hunter again during the bloody battle. However, the bravery of the besieged.Accurate shooting and excellent weapons are all unable to resist the enemies coming from a steady stream.One native died and twenty came to replace him, which was too many for ten Europeans, and after half an hour of fighting Colonel Everett understood that they were surrounded. Indeed, swarms of besiegers kept coming up not only from the southern slope of Skorzev, but also from both sides. Some corpses were used as stepping ladders by other living people, and some living people used the dead as shields to block their bodies from going up. the climb.All this, seen with the help of violent and rapid gunfire, is gloomy and terrifying.One feels that no forgiveness can be expected from such an enemy.The attack of these savage marauders was the attack of wild beasts, more ferocious than even the most savage beasts in Africa.Apparently, they are the tigers that this continent lacks. At 10:30, the first group of natives reached the top platform of Skolzew. The besieged were unable to engage in hand-to-hand combat unless their weapons allowed them, so they had to find an emergency shelter behind the wall.Thankfully, the guard did not suffer any losses, as the Makroro did not use bows and spears. "Withdraw!" The colonel's voice overwhelmed the chaos of the battle. After the last shot, the besieged followed the colonel behind the walls of the fortification. Several terrible cries cheered their retreat, and at once the natives appeared at the gap in the middle, attempting to ascend. Suddenly, people heard a terrible sound, like the tearing sound of an electric discharge, which suddenly increased the gunfire.This is Mr. John, talking to himself and starting to operate the machine gun.The 25 cannon barrels distributed in a fan shape vertically covered a range of more than 100 feet on the platform crowded with natives.Bullets fired continuously by an automated system rained down on the attackers like hailstones, and a sweeping burst of fire quickly wiped out the area.Amidst the terrifying sound of missile shooting, there was a roar first, which was quickly suppressed again, and then arrows were shot out.But no harm was done to the besieged. "This baby is doing a great job!" The Bushman approached Sir John and said calmly, "If you are tired from playing..." At this moment, the machine gun stopped.Because the Makorolo people were looking for a place to hide from the rain of guns and bullets, and they have disappeared.They left the platform covered with corpses and ran to the side of the fortification. What were Colonel Everett and Strux doing during this interval of fighting?They have returned to their posts in the main tower, and with their eyes close to the lens of the re-measurement theodolite, they are observing the Volgirian peak in the dark.Neither shouts nor danger should alarm them!They are peaceful, clear-eyed, and unusually cool-headed.Taking turns waiting in front of the objective, watching and observing with the unerring precision with which they worked under the dome of the observatory.At this time, the roar of the Makororo sounded again after a brief pause, telling them that the battle had started again.The two scientists took turns guarding the precious instrument. The fighting had just resumed, and groups of natives appeared at various gaps, uttering fatal cries, machine guns were no longer sufficient to hit them, and it was in this situation that the fighting continued again in front of the gaps that were guarded step by step For half an hour, under the cover of firepower, the besieged suffered only a few scratches from the tip of the spear.The tenacity on both sides remained undiminished, but the anger grew in this hand-to-hand combat. Just then, around eleven-thirty, in the thickest melee, amidst the rattling fire, Mathieu Strux appeared beside Colonel Everett, bright and frightened, and An arrow had just penetrated his hat, and it was still trembling slightly on the top of his head: "Beacon lights! Beacon lights!" "Oh!" replied Colonel Everett, who had just reloaded. "That's right! The marker light!" "You read it!" "right!" At this, the colonel emptied his rifle, gave a cry of triumph, and ran to the main tower, followed by his intrepid comrades. The colonel knelt beside the lens, suppressing his heartbeat, and watched.what!His whole life is betting on this "look" at this moment!Yes, the marker light is shining in the middle of the reticle!Yes, the lights are shining on the Volgirian hills!Yes, the last triangle has finally found its fulcrum! What a spectacle of two scientists operating amidst the din of battle!The aborigines with a large number of people had already captured the wall. His Excellency John and the Bushmen fought for their territory step by step, and they responded to the bullets with arrows, spears, and axes.At this time, Colonel Everett and Strux took turns leaning over the instrument, observing continuously. They increased the number of repetitions to correct reading errors, while the heavy Barendre wrote down their observation results in his notebook. .Arrows grazed the tops of their heads more than once and broke off on the inner walls of the main tower.They kept aiming at the marker lights on Mount Volgiria, and then checked the indications of the vernier calipers with a magnifying glass, and one of them kept checking the results of the other. "One more observation," Strux said, sliding the lens on the dial. In the end, a boulder thrown by the natives knocked the record book out of Barendre's hands, overturned and smashed the retesting theodolite. But the observation is done!The angle of the marker light is calculated using the approximation method of one thousandth of a second! Now, it is time to flee, and it is time to preserve the fruits of this glorious and great work.The natives have already entered the shelter and will appear on the main tower in an instant.Colonel Everett and two colleagues re-armed, Ballandre picked up the valuable records and fled through a gap.Their buddies were fighting, and one was slightly wounded, preparing to take cover and flee. As they descended the northern slopes, Strux called: "Our signal!" Yes, a luminous signal should answer the marker lights of the two young astronomers. At the end of the geodetic experiment, Amory and Zorn are to aim for the Skolzew summit. Perhaps, the summit they are occupying waits anxiously The fire that will appear. "Just a little longer!" cried Colonel Everett. When his companions repelled the Marco Rolo again with superhuman perseverance, he returned to the main tower. The main tower was built with a complex wooden frame structure, which could be set ablaze by a spark, and the Colonel set it ablaze with a fuse.Immediately the wood sputtered and burned, and the colonel rushed out and returned to his companions. A few minutes later, in a shower of arrows and corpses falling from the heights of Skolzew's peak, the Europeans climbed down the slope, bringing their machine guns to their faces as they did not want to lose them, and again with a deadly volley. After shooting off the natives, they went to the steamboat. The mechanic, following the colonel's orders, kept the steamer under pressure.The cables were undone, the propellers were turned, and the Queen and Tsar moved swiftly across the dark lake. Soon, the steamer was far away, and the people on board could see the peak of Skolzew Mountain. The burning main tower shone like a lighthouse, which would easily transmit strong light all the way to Volgilia. peak. The English and the Russians saluted the gigantic torch with a single cry, and its radiance broke the darkness of the night in a vast great circle. Neither Amory nor Zorn will complain! They show a star and the friends respond with a sun!