Chapter XX
THE WRECK OF THE ALBATROSS
It was then twenty minutes after midnight. Five or six shots had beenfired from the aeronef. Uncle Prudent and Frycollin, supporting PhilEvans, had taken shelter among the rocks. They had not been hit. Forthe moment there was nothing to fear.
As the "Albatross" drifted off from Pitt Island she rose obliquely tonearly three thousand feet. It was necessary to increase theascensional power to prevent her falling into the sea.
When the look-out man had got clear of his gag and shouted, Robur andTom Turner had rushed up to him and torn off his bandage. The matehad then run back to the stern cabin. It was empty! Tapage hadsearched Frycollin's cabin, and that also was empty.
When he saw that the prisoners had escaped, Robur was seized with aparoxysm of anger. The escape meant the revelation of his secret tothe world. He had not been much concerned at the document thrownoverboard while they were crossing Europe, for there were so manychances that it would be lost in its fall; but now!
As he grew calm, "They have escaped," said he. "Be it so! But theycannot get away from Pitt Island, and in a day or so I will go back!I will recapture them! And then--"
In fact, the safety of the three fugitives was by no means assured.The "Albatross" would be repaired, and return well in hand. Beforethe day was out they might again be in the power of the engineer.
Before the day was out! But in two hours the "Albatross" would beannihilated! The dynamite cartridge was like a torpedo fastened toher hull, and would accomplish her destruction in mid-air. The breezefreshened, and the aeronef was carried to the northeast. Although herspeed was but moderate, she would be out of sight of the ChathamIslands before sunrise. To return against the wind she must have herpropellers going, particularly the one in the bow.
"Tom," said the engineer, "turn the lights full on."
"Yes, Sir."
"And all hands to work."
"Yes, Sir."
There was no longer any idea of putting off the work till tomorrow.There was now no thought of fatigue. Not one of the men of the"Albatross" failed to share in the feelings of his chief. Not one butwas ready to do anything to recapture the fugitives!
As soon as the screw was in place they would return to the island anddrop another anchor, and give chase to the fugitives. Then only wouldthey begin repairing the stern-screw; and then the aeronef couldresume her voyage across the Pacific to X Island.
It was important, above all things, that the "Albatross" should notbe carried too far to the northeast, but unfortunately the breezegrew stronger, and she could not head against it, or even remainstationary. Deprived of her propellers she was an unguidable balloon.The fugitives on the shore knew that she would have disappearedbefore the explosion blew her to pieces.
Robur felt much disappointment at seeing his plans so interferedwith. Would it not take him much longer than he thought to get backto his old anchorage?
While the work at the screw was actively pushed on, he resolved todescend to the surface of the sea, in the hope that the wind wouldthere be lighter. Perhaps the "Albatross" would be able to remain inthe neighborhood until she was again fit to work to windward.
The maneuver was instantly executed. If a passing ship had sightedthe aerial machine as she sunk through the air, with her electriclights in full blaze, with what terror would she have been seized!
When the "Albatross" was a few hundred feet from the waves shestopped. Unfortunately Robur found that the breeze was stronger herethan above, and the aeronef drifted off more rapidly. He risked beingblown a long, way off to the northeast, and that would delay hisreturn to Pitt Island. In short, after several experiments, he foundit better to keep his ship well up in the air, and the "Albatross"went aloft to about ten thousand feet. There, if she did not remainstationary, the drifting was very slight. The engineer could thushope that by sunrise at such an altitude he would still be in sightof the island.
Robur did not trouble himself about the reception the fugitives mighthave received from the natives--if there were any natives. That theymight help them mattered little to him. With the powers of offensepossessed by the "Albatross" they would be promptly terrified anddispersed. The capture of the prisoners was certain, and once he hadthem again, "They will not escape from X Island!"
About one o'clock in the morning the fore-screw was finished, and allthat had to be done was to get it back to its place. This would takeabout an hour. That done, the "Albatross" would be headed southwestand the stern-screw could be taken in hand.
And how about the match that was burning in the deserted cabin? Thematch of which more than a third was now consumed? And the spark thatwas creeping along to the dynamite?
Assuredly if the men of the aeronef had not been so busy one of themwould have heard the feeble sputtering that was going on in thedeck-house. Perhaps he would have smelt the burning powder! He woulddoubtless have become uneasy! And told Tom Turner! And then theywould have looked about, and found the box and the infernal machine;and then there would have been time to save this wonderful"Albatross" and all she bore!
But the men were at work in the bow, twenty yards away from thecabin. Nothing brought them to that part of the deck; nothing calledoff their attention from their work. Robur was there working with hishands, excellent mechanic as he was. He hurried on the work, butnothing was neglected, everything was carefully done. Was it notnecessary that he should again become absolute master of hisinvention? If he did not recapture the fugitives they would get awayhome. They would begin inquiring into matters. They might evendiscover X Island, and there would be an end to this life, which themen of the "Albatross" had created for themselves, a life that seemedsuperhuman and sublime.
Tom Turner came up to the engineer. It was a quarter past one. "Itseems to me, sir, that the breeze is falling, and going round to thewest."
"What does the barometer say?" asked Robur, after looking up at thesky.
"It is almost stationary, and the clouds seem gathering below us."
"So they are, and it may be raining down at the sea; but if we keepabove the rain it makes no difference to us. It will not interferewith the work."
"If it is raining it is not a heavy rain," said Tom. "The clouds donot look like it, and probably the wind has dropped altogether."
"Perhaps so, but I think we had better not go down yet. Let us getinto going order as soon as we can, and then we can do as we like."
At a few minutes after two the first part of the work was finished.The fore-screw was in its place, and the power was turned on. Thespeed was gradually increased, and the "Albatross," heading to thesouthwest, returned at moderate speed towards the Chatham Islands.
"Tom," said Robur, "it is about two hours and a half since we gotadrift. The wind has not changed all the time. I think we ought to beover the island in an hour."
"Yes, sir. We are going about forty feet a second. We ought to bethere about half-past three."
"All the better. It would suit us best to get back while it is dark,and even beach the "Albatross" if we can. Those fellows will fancy weare a long way off to the northward, and never think of keeping alook-out. If we have to stop a day or two on the island--"
"We'll stop, and if we have to fight an army of natives?"
"We'll fight," said Robur. "We'll fight then for our "Albatross.""
The engineer went forward to the men, who were waiting for orders."My lads," he said to them, "we cannot knock off yet. We must worktill day comes."
They were all ready to do so. The stern-screw had now to be treatedas the other had been. The damage was the same, a twisting from theviolence of the hurricane during the passage across the southern pole.
But to get the screw on board it seemed best to stop the progress ofthe aeronef for a few minutes, and even to drive her backwards. Theengines were reversed. The aeronef began to fall astern, when TomTurner was surprised by a peculiar odor.
This was from the gas given off by the match, which had accumulatedin
the box, and was now escaping from the cabin. "Hallo!" said themate, with a sniff.
"What is the matter?" asked Robur.
"Don't you smell something? Isn't it burning powder?"
"So it is, Tom."
"And it comes from that cabin."
"Yes, the very cabin--"
"Have those scoundrels set it on fire?"
"Suppose it is something else!" exclaimed Robur. "Force the door,Tom; drive in the door!"
But the mate had not made one step towards it when a fearfulexplosion shook the "Albatross." The cabins flew into splinters. Thelamps went out. The electric current suddenly failed. The darknesswas complete. Most of the suspensory screws were twisted or broken,but a few in the bow still revolved.
At the same instant the hull of the aeronef opened just behind thefirst deck-house, where the engines for the fore-screw were placed;and the after-part of the deck collapsed in space.
Immediately the last suspensory screw stopped spinning, and the"Albatross" dropped into the abyss.
It was a fall of ten thousand feet for the eight men who wereclinging to the wreck; and the fall was even faster than it mighthave been, for the fore propeller was vertical in the air and stillworking!
It was then that Robur, with extraordinary coolness, climbed up tothe broken deck-house, and seizing the lever reversed the rotation,so that the propeller became a suspender. The fall continued, but itwas checked, and the wreck did not fall with the acceleratingswiftness of bodies influenced solely by gravitation; and if it wasdeath to the survivors of the "Albatross" from their being hurledinto the sea, it was not death by asphyxia amid air which therapidity of descent rendered unbreathable.
Eighty seconds after the explosion, all that remained of the"Albatross" plunged into the waves!