Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

"Has the connection to the church been made, Olvanik?" "Just finished." "Is everything ready in the bunker?" "It's all ready." "The bunker and the church are connected to the tower?" "right" "When the instrument is closed and the current is turned on, do we still have time to get out of here?" "Have time." "Have you checked that the tunnels of the road leading to the Vulcan Pass are clear?" "Checked." There was a moment of silence, and Olvanik lifted the lantern and shone into the depths of the church.

"Oh, my castle," cried the Baron, "whoever tries to break into it will pay dearly!" The tone of Rudolph's voice made the young count shudder. "Did you hear what the village of Welster was talking about?" he asked Olvanik. "Fifty minutes ago, the line to the 'King Matthias Hotel' carried their conversation." "An attack just tonight?" "No, at dawn." "When will that Rodzko return to Welster?" "Two hours ago, the police from Katzburg were brought in." "Very well then! Since the castle cannot be saved," the Baron de Golze continued, "at least it can die with that Franz de Derek and those who tried to save him."

after awhile: "What about that thread, Olvanik?" he asked again. "It must not be found that we use it to keep in touch with the village." "Nobody will know; I'll destroy it." I now feel that it is necessary to explain some of the phenomena in the story, which will soon be revealed. At that time—we must point out that this story took place at the end of the 19th century—the application of electricity, which is called the "soul of the universe" today, was at a fairly perfect stage. The famous scientist Edison and his disciples had already You're done.

Among all kinds of electrical appliances, the first push telephone is the most developed.It relies on the disk to absorb sound and then transmit it to the other party's ear, without relying on hearing aids.No matter how far apart they are, people can hear what people are saying, singing, and whispering. Even if two people are separated by thousands of rivers and mountains, using the phone is like talking face to face. The shadow of Rudolf de Golz, Olvanik, was a first-rate inventor many years before the practical application of electricity.But as we all know, his outstanding invention has not been recognized and valued by people.The academic world regarded him as a lunatic rather than a genius in electricity.He became cynical because of this unfair cold shoulder.

It was under such circumstances that Baron de Golz met the doomed Olvanik.He encouraged his research work and provided him with financial support.In the end the scholar agreed to follow him, and to attribute to the baron the proceeds of his invention, but no one but the baron should receive his benefit. In short, these two eccentrics have their own characteristics, but they are a match made in heaven, and they hit it off right away.They had never parted since their acquaintance, not even when Baron de Golze followed in Lastila's footsteps through the great cities of Italy. When the music fan was intoxicated by the voice of the unparalleled female singer, Olvanik immersed himself in the research of the discoveries of the predecessors, and constantly improved and improved the application of electricity to achieve the best results.

After the tragic events of Lastella, Baron de Golz disappeared, and no one knows what became of him.In fact, after leaving Naples, he took Orvak to hide in the Carpathian castle, and the latter was also happy to follow him. The baron decided to spend his whole life in the castle, he didn't want the villagers to know that he was back, he didn't want anyone to visit.Alvanik and him naturally have a way to live in the castle without worrying about food and clothing.In fact, there was a secret passage in the castle that led directly to the avenue of the Volcan Pass, and an unknown confidant of the baron regularly sent in the daily necessities needed by the two barons.

The interior of the castle, especially the central tower, is not as dilapidated as one might think.In terms of living conditions, it is more than enough to satisfy two weirdos.Therefore, Olvarnik has all the conditions for research, and he can use the results provided by physics and chemistry to perform his wonderful experiments.He also wants to use these research results to drive away uninterested people. Baron de Golze appreciated his idea.Therefore, Olvanik installed a special machine that can create magical phenomena to frighten the world. People who don't know the inside story only think that ghosts are making trouble here.

But the most important thing is to understand the movement in the village.Is there a way to overhear other people's conversations without being noticed?Yes, just install a telephone in the hall and castle of the "King Mathias Hotel" where the dignitaries of Welster village meet every evening. Olvarnik's approach is simple, but subtle and ingenious.An insulated copper wire was attached at one end to the second story of the tower, and drawn through the bottom of the Nyard Creek to Welsterwood.After the first step was completed, Olvanik disguised himself as a tourist, stayed overnight in the hotel, and connected the copper wire to the lobby.He fished the copper wire from the bottom of the creek and pulled it to the window in the back that never opened, which was not difficult.Then he set up a telephone, hid it in a thick pile of leaves, and connected it with copper wire.It was a wonderful telephone, capable of both speaking and receiving, so that Baron de Golz could not only hear all the conversations in the "King Mathias Hotel", but also pass on what he wanted to say.

In the first few years, the tranquility of the castle was not disturbed in any way.Its terrifying reputation puts the villagers of Welster at bay.Everyone knew that the castle fell into disrepair after the death of the last servants of the baron's house.But one day, at the beginning of this story, the shepherd Frick saw smoke coming from the chimney of the tower through the binoculars.Since then, people have started to talk about it again, and what happened later is clear to you. At this time, the telephone came into play, and Degolz and Olvanik knew the situation in the village like the back of their hands.Through the telephone line, they knew that Nick Deckard was going to break into the castle. Through the telephone line, the threatening voice sounded from the "King Matthias Hotel", trying to force him to give up.Since the ranger ignored the warning and persisted, Baron de Goltz resolved to give him a good lesson so that he would never again have such delusions in his life.That night, Olvanik's always-on-call electromechanical produced a series of purely physical phenomena that terrified the neighborhood; There are ghostly and strange colors on the objects; the sharp screams are the terrible howls of beasts due to the compression of the air; the ghosts are projected by huge reflectors, and metal plates are installed in the weeds of the moat. As soon as the current was turned on, the doctor's boots with iron nails were tightly sucked. Finally, when the forest ranger grabbed the iron ring on the suspension bridge, he knocked him down with the electric current from the laboratory.

Baron de Golz expected it right. After all the unexplainable phenomena happened, and after Nick Deckard returned from a disastrous defeat, people's talk about the castle turned pale. Regardless of the bounty or silver reward, no one dared to approach it. The block is apparently haunted by the ruins. Rudolf Degolz should be quite confident that no one will inquire about the castle out of curiosity now. Unexpectedly, Franz Degerek came to the village of Weierst at this time. When Franz inquired about the situation with Jonas, the village chief Kurtz, and other villagers, the telephone line at the bottom of Niard Creek immediately reported his arrival to the Baron.Thinking of the old events in Naples, the hatred in the Baron's heart was burning again.Besides, Franz was not only in the village a few miles away from the castle, but he was openly laughing at the foolish superstitions of the big men, breaking the veil of secrecy that protected the castle, and he even wanted to inform the Kazburg police , Let them come forward to clarify the truth of the matter!

The baron is determined to lure Franz into the castle, and the reader has learned by what means he employs it.The voice of Lastella, which came to the hotel from the telephone, made the young count decide to take a detour to the castle. The figure of the singer on the turret made Franz strongly want to enter the castle; the light in front of the tower window led him to the castle. In the open secret door; Franz hears Lastella's heartwarming singing through the walls of the lighted cellar, and brings him food in his drowsy sleep.In this way, Franz was imprisoned in the dungeon deep in the castle, with the prison door closed, and fell into the hands of the baron.The baron wanted him to stay there forever, never to see the light of day. This is what the Baron achieved in close cooperation with his accomplice Olvanik.But the baron deeply regretted that Rodzko did not follow his master into the castle, but went to Calzburg to report to the authorities, and he had to be on guard.A small detachment of policemen has moved into the village of Welster, and Baron de Golze faces a contest of disproportionate strength.How did Olvanik and the two of them fight so many people?How trivial was the means of frightening Nick Deckard and Dr. Batak at this moment, because the police don't believe in ghosts.So they decided to destroy the castle completely, and do it only when the time came.Explosives have been buried under towers, turrets, and churches, and the wires for detonation and ignition have also been connected.The apparatus for generating and delivering the electric current gave the Baron and his accomplices ample time to escape from the tunnel.Once the explosive explodes, the young earl and many people who want to break into the castle will be buried with him. At that time, the two have already fled, and there is no need to find their traces. Franz learned the whole story from the conversation between the two.He knew now that there was a telephone line between the Carpathian castle and the village of Welster.He also knew that the castle was about to be blown up, jeopardizing the lives of him and the policeman Rodzko had brought, and he also knew that the two would have time to escape—with the delirious Lastira. what!Why couldn't Franz break into the church and rush at those two men! ...He's going to beat them up, break them down, keep them from wrecking.He wants to stop the terrible destruction! But it's impossible to do so right now, we'll have to wait.When they were out of the church Franz intended to follow them to the tower.God is limited, good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil. The Baron and Olvanik had retreated behind the altar of the church.Franz watched their every move closely.Where are they going from?Whether there is a door leading to the courtyard of the castle, whether there is a secret passage connecting the church and the tower.Because it seems that all the buildings in the castle have secret passages connected to each other.As long as the count does not encounter insurmountable obstacles, nothing else matters. At this moment, Baron de Golz spoke a few more words to Olvanik. "Is there nothing else going on here?" "there is none left." "Then let's break up." "You still want to be alone in the castle! . . . " "Yes, Olvanik, you will leave the tunnel in a while." "But you?..." "I won't leave until the last minute." "Then as we agreed, I will wait for you at Bistritz." "Yes, see Bistritz." "Then you may stay, Baron, since it is your wish." "Yes... I want to hear her singing again... On the last night in the castle, I want to hear it again!" After a while, the two left the church. Although Lastella's name was not mentioned in the conversation, Franz understood that it was her that Baron Rudolf had just spoken of.