Kitabı oku: «Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 3», sayfa 2
At 4 o’clock they saw that the balloon could not sustain itself much longer. It grazed the surface of the sea.
A half hour later, and the land was a mile distant. The balloon jumped into the air. It rose 1,500 feet, and soon, however, it fell upon the sand. The passengers, assisting each other, hastened to the ground.
The basket contained five passengers and a dog. Four men were upon the shore. The fifth one, then, was in the water. His friends cried:
– Perhaps he is trying to swim ashore. Save him! Let us save him!
Chapter II
They were neither professional aeronauts nor amateurs. They were prisoners of war who succeeded to escape. Their aerial voyage lasted five days. How did it happen?
This same year, in the month of February, 1865, many officers were captured by the enemy. One of the most famous of them wasCyrus Smith6. Cyrus Smith was an engineer by profession, and a scientist, to whom the Government gave the direction of the railways.
He was thin, bony, lean, about forty-five years old, withheavy moustache7. His muscles showed remarkable firmness. He was highly educated, practical, and clear-headed, his temperament was superb. Cyrus Smith was also the personification of courage.
At the same time with Cyrus Smith another man fell into the hands ofthe Southerners8. This was Gideon Spilett9, reporter to the New York Herald10. Gideon Spilett obtained exact information and transmitted it to the journal. He was a well-known reporter.
A man of great merit; energetic, prompt, and ready; full of ideas; soldier and artist; resolute in action.
He also was in all the battles, revolver in one hand and notebook in the other. Gideon Spilett was tall. He was forty years old or more. Sandy-colored whiskers encircled his face. His eye was clear and lively.
Cyrus Smith had a devoted servant. This man was black, he was born of slave parents. Smith freed them, but the servant had no desire to leave his master. He was a man of thirty years, vigorous, agile, adroit, intelligent, quick, always smiling and honest. His name wasNebuchadnezzar11, but everybody called him Neb.
All these people were inRichmond12, and it was very difficult to get out. They were prisoners. The reporter wanted to get out of Richmond at any risk.
Meanwhile, the siege continued. Among the people in the town there wasJonathan Forster13, who was a violent Southerner. This Jonathan Forster conceived the idea of passing over the lines of the besiegers in a balloon.
So a balloon was made and placed at the disposal of Forster and five of his companions. They found arms and food. The departure of the balloon was on the 18th of March. On the morning of the 18th there were symptoms of a storm, and soon the tempest began.
The balloon was ready, but the weather was terrible. The night of the 19th and 20th passed, but in the morning the storm was hard, and departure was impossible.
On this day Cyrus Smith in one of the streets of Richmond met a man whom he did not know. It was a sailor namedPencroff14, aged from thirty-five to forty years, strongly built, his eyes were bright and glittering. Pencroff came to Richmond on business, he had with him Herbert Brown15, of New Jersey16, a lad fifteen years old, the son of Pencroff’s captain, and an orphan. Pencroff loved the boy as his own child. He also wanted to get out. He did not hesitate to address Mr. Smith without ceremony.
– Mr. Smith?
The engineer looked at the man who added in a low voice:
– Mr. Smith, do you want to escape?
– How? – answered the engineer, quickly. – Who are you? – he demanded, in a cold voice.
Pencroff told him about himself.
– Well, – replied Smith. – And how do you propose to escape?
– By this idle balloon which is doing nothing, and is ready to take us!
The engineer seized Pencroff by the arm and hurried him to his house. There the sailor explained his project, which was simple enough. The storm was terrible, it is true; but a skilful engineer like Smith knew well how to manage a balloon. He saw many storms in his life.
