Chapter 19 Chapter 19 The Last Threat

In New-Aberfoyle, work was well under way that day.In the distance, there was the crackling sound of explosive cartridges exploding on carbonaceous ore veins.Here, the clang of picks and crowbars mining coal; there, the drill bit of a rock drill creaks a hole in a fault in sandstone or slate.The deep voice rang for a long time.The air drawn in by the machine diffuses in the ventilation lane.The wooden door was slammed shut again under this violent push.In the lower tunnel.A series of mechanically driven dump trucks passed by at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, and an automatic bell notified the workers to hide in a safe place.The cages are pulled up and down continuously by the huge drums of the machines on the ground.Coal City is brightly illuminated by well-powered discs.

Mining is being directed most actively.The veins are scattered in dump trucks that come down the shafts of the mining shafts by the hundreds to empty the veins in grab buckets.When some of the miners rested from the night shift, the teams on the day shift worked without delay. Simon Ford and Madge sat in the yard of the cottage after lunch.The old foreman was taking his lunch break as usual.He was smoking his pipe stuffed with the best French tobacco.The couple were talking, about Nell, their son, James Starr, and the excursion on the ground.Where are they now?What are they doing now?Why don't you miss the coal mines and stay outside for so long?

At this moment, there was suddenly a terrible roar, which made people think that a heavy rainstorm was rushing into the coal mine. Simon Ford and Madge suddenly stood up. The water in Malcolm Lake swelled almost immediately.A tall wave, surging like a raging tide, dipped the shore and came rushing up to smash against the cottage walls. Simon Ford grabbed Madge and quickly pulled her to the second floor of the residence. At the same time, the entire Coal City shouted at the sudden threat of flooding.The inhabitants fled in search of shelter until they reached the high slates that formed the lagoon's edge.

too terrifying.Already several families scrambled in half-madness towards the tunnels to climb to the upper seams.They may be worried about the flooding of seawater into the coal mine whose drifts go down to the bottom of the North Canal.No matter how big the dungeon is, it will be completely submerged.None of the residents of New-Aberfoyle were spared death. However, when the first escapees reached the entrance of the tunnel, they faced Simon Ford who had left the cottage immediately. "Stop, stop, friends!" cried the old foreman to them, "if our city is going to be flooded, and the flood is going faster than yours, no one can escape! But the water is no longer rising! It seems All dangers have been ruled out."

"But what about our fellows in underground engineering?" cried some of the miners. "Don't worry about them at all," replied Simon Ford, "mining is done on the level above the lake bed!" The facts will show that the old foreman was right.The water came in suddenly, but, distributed under the great coal mine, its effect was only to raise the level of Malcolm Lake a few feet.The Coal City was thus spared, and it may be hoped that the flood which entered the lowest part of the unworked coal mine did not cause any deaths. As to whether this flood was caused by the seepage of water from the cracks in the lower layer of the rock mass, or whether some water flow from the ground suddenly broke through the river bed and poured into the lowest layers of the mine, Simon Ford and his partners still cannot say for sure.As for thinking it was just an accident, that happens in coal mines, and no one doubts it.

However, that night, everyone knew what was going on.The county newspapers reported in detail the strange phenomenon, and Lake Catlin was the stage for this bizarre phenomenon.Nell, Harry, James Starr and Jack Ryan, who hastened back to the cottage, confirmed the news, not without relief to learn that New-Aberfoyle suffered only some material damage. It was concluded that the lake bed of Lake Catlin collapsed abruptly.The water from the lake poured into the coal mine through a large fissure.All that's left of the Scottish novelist with a fondness for the loch is the Lady of the Loch's beautiful feet getting wet - at least in its entire south.A pond of a few acres, limited because the bottom there was lower than the part that collapsed.

What a sensation this strange phenomenon caused!Undoubtedly, for the first time, a lake emptied deep underground in an instant.All that needs to be done now is to paint the lake on the map of the United Kingdom until it is refilled - through public donations - after the cracks have been pre-plugged.Walter Scott would die of despair—if he lived in this world! In short, this unexpected event is difficult to explain.In fact, between the deep cave and the lake bed, due to some special geological layout of the rock mass, the layer of the second formation has shrunk into a thin layer. However, whether the landslide appears to have been caused by natural causes, James Starr, Simon, and Harry Ford wonder whether it needn't be attributed to malice.Suspicions arose all the more strongly in their hearts.Will the evil spirit really give up his attack on the mining of this rich coal mine?

A few days later James Starr was at the cottage talking to the old foreman and his son. "Simon," said he, "it seems to me that, although the matter itself is explained, I seem to have a presentiment that this is of the same kind as those for which we are seeking the cause!" "I think as you do, Mr. James Starr," replied Simon Ford, "but if you can trust me, never tell the story, and I will investigate myself." "Ah!" cried the engineer, "I already know the result of the investigation in advance!" "Hi! What result?" "We'll find evidence of that malice, but not the villain!"

"But he exists!" replied Simon Ford. "Where does he hide? How could a single man, however evil he may be, have such a wicked idea to collapse a lake? Seriously." Yes, I'm going to end up believing, like Jack Ryan, that it's some elf in the mines who hates us for trespassing on his domain!" Needless to say, Nell avoided these secret conversations as much as possible.Besides, she hoped that no one would suspect her of it.However, her demeanor suggests she shares her adoptive family's concerns.Her melancholy face expressed the inner struggle that disturbed her.

In any case, James Starr, Simon and Harry Ford decided to go back to the landslide and try to find out its cause.They told no one of their plans.The views of James Starr and his friends may absolutely not be accepted by anyone who does not understand the whole incident which was the cause of this landslide. A few days later the three men boarded a small boat, steered by Harry, to examine the natural pillars that supported the hollow at the bottom of Lake Catlin. This check proved them right.Those pillars have been blasted.The blackened marks are still visible because the water, reduced by penetration, can go all the way to the foundations of the subterranean structure.The collapse of this vault of the dome was planned and carried out by human hands.

"There is nothing to doubt," said James Starr, "if the landslide brought water from a sea instead of this small lake, who knows what it would be like!" "Yes," cried the old foreman, full of pride, "the waters of one sea will not suffice to drown our Aberfoyle! But there is still the problem of whoever destroys our mining What good is he doing?" "It's incomprehensible," replied James Starr, "that it doesn't involve a bunch of rough wretches who come out of their caves and scatter all over the place stealing and looting! A bad thing like that, three years It's long overdue. And it's not involved, as I've thought several times on the subject, that smugglers or counterfeiters hide their criminal trades in some as yet unknown deep, and therefore want to drive us out of here. No one makes fake sand or smuggles items for collection! But it's clear. There is a sworn enemy sworn to destroy New-Aberfoyle, in some interest Pushed, to do everything possible to vent his hatred against us! There is no doubt too weak to do it openly, and his tricks are prepared in the dark, but the intelligence he displays makes him a terrible He holds more secrets of our realm than we do, my friends, for he has eluded us for so long! This is the expert, the cunning of cunning, sure, Simon. We find His way of doing things is a proof of that. Let's see, have you ever had any personal enemies that you should suspect? All this has happened, caused by a cruel and patient madness, which requires you to go all the way back to your remotest things at this point." Simon Ford didn't answer.It could be seen that the decent foreman was honestly reviewing all his past before making an explanation.Finally, he raised his head again: "No," he said, "neither Madge, nor I, have done wrong to anyone before God. We do not believe we have a single enemy, not even one!" "Ah!" cried the engineer, "if Nell will speak!" "Mr Starr, and you, my father," replied Harry, "let us all keep our investigation a secret, I beg you! Don't ask me poor Nell Already I feel her anxious and tormented. I am sure how hard it is for her to keep a secret that is suffocating her. If she does not speak, either because she has nothing to say, or because She doesn't think it right! We can't doubt her feelings for us, for all of us! Some time later, if she tells me things that she's kept silent until now, I'll tell you right away." "Well, Harry," replied the engineer, "however, if Nell knows something, this silence is inexplicable!" Seeing Harry was about to scream again. "Don't worry," the engineer added, "we won't tell the one who will be your wife." "And this need not wait any longer. If you will, my father!" "Son," said Simon Ford, "in a month's time, on this very day, your wedding--you'll take the place of Nell's father, Mr. James?" "Trust me, Simon," replied the engineer. James Starr and his two companions returned to the cottage.Nothing was said about the results of their exploration, and the collapse of the vault was still regarded as a mere accident by the owners of the mine.There is one less lake in Scotland. Little by little Nell returned to her daily tasks.This ground tour of the Upper County had left an indelible impression on her, and Harry had used it to educate her.But this enlightenment of life outside did not leave her any regrets.She loved the Dark Realm as much as she had before this expedition, and after she had dwelt here as a child and a maiden she would continue to live here as a wife. At the time, the impending wedding of Harry Ford and Nell was a sensation in New-Aberfoyle.Words of praise flooded the cottage.Jack Ryan wasn't the last to congratulate him.He was also caught in the distance preparing his best songs for the festival to which all of Coal City would attend. But in the month leading up to the wedding, New-Aberfoyle suffered as it had never suffered.It could be said that the imminence of Nell and Harry's union invites disaster after disaster.Those accidents mainly occurred in underground engineering, but the real cause of these events was not known. Thus a fire engulfed the scaffolding of a level alley below, and the lamps which had been used by the arsonists were recognized.Harry and his mates had to risk their lives to put out the fire that threatened to destroy the mine, and they were only able to put it out after using fire extinguishers filled with a carbonated water, the Prepared out of caution. On another occasion, a landslide was caused by broken pillars in a mine, which James Starr ascertained had been sawn off beforehand.Harry, who was monitoring the project from this position, was buried under the rubble, only to be saved from death by a miracle. A few days later, on a mechanically towed tram, the dump truck Harry was traveling in slammed into an obstacle and flipped over.It was later identified that a beam had been laid across the road. In short, these incidents occurred so frequently that panic broke out among the miners.Their heads must be present in order to keep them on the project. "But they're a whole lot, these rascals!" repeated Simon Ford, "and we haven't caught a single one!" The search started again.The county police were on the lookout day and night, but found nothing.James Starr's categorical forbidding of Harry's solitary ventures away from the heart of the Works seemed directed at him more directly. The same was done with Nell, but, at Harry's urging, withheld from her all these sinful attempts to remind her of her past.Simon Ford and Madge watched over her day and night with a certain sternness, or rather a brusque concern.The poor child was aware of it, but made no complaints or complaints.Does she think in her heart that if others do this, it is for her own good?Yes, possible.Still, she seems to care about others in her own way, and she only seems reassured when everyone she loves gathers at the cottage.In the evening, when Harry returned, she could not contain a surge of ecstasy that didn't go well with her more reserved than shown nature.Once the night was over, she got up before everyone else.In the morning, when it was time to go underground, she felt uneasy again. Harry had thought that they would have a wedding just to reassure her.He felt that in the face of this irrevocable bond, the hostility would be tempered by being rendered meaningless, and that Nell would only feel relieved when she became his wife.Besides, James Starr is just as anxious as Simon Ford and Madge.Everyone is counting the days. In fact, everyone is under the threat of the most foreboding forebodings.This hidden enemy, who knew neither where to get him nor how to fight him, it was whispered that nothing that concerned Nell would doubtless leave him indifferent.The grand event of Harry and the young girl's wedding may be used by him to create some new conspiracy to vent his anger. one morning.It was 8 days before the day when the ceremony had been confirmed, Nell was obviously driven by some sense of ominous feeling, and finally she was the first to leave the cottage, wanting to observe the surroundings of the cottage. As she reached the door, she uttered a cry of indescribable terror. The call was heard throughout the residence, and in an instant drew Madge, Simon, and Harry to her side. Nell was pale as death, pale, with an indescribable horror on her face.She was speechless, her eyes fixed on the cottage door she had just opened.Her convulsed fingers pointed to these lines written in the night, which made her pale when she saw them: "Simon Ford, you stole from me the last lode of our old coal mine! Harry, your son, stole Nell from me! Woe to you! Woe to all Misfortune to New-Aberfoyle! sylfax" "Sylfax!" cried Simon Ford and Madge at the same time. "Who is this man?" Harry asked, looking alternately at his father and at the young girl. "Sylfax!" Nell repeated in despair, "Sylfax!" While muttering the name, her whole body trembled, and Ma Deqi controlled her, almost pulling her back to her room with force. James Starr arrived.After reading and rereading this menacing sentence: "The hand that wrote these lines," said he, "is the hand that wrote me the letter contrary to yours. Simon! This man's name is Sylfax! From your trembling I see You know him! Who is this Sylfax?"