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 LIBRARY 
 
 ^Jniversity of Californ^ 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
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 IRVINE 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 MR. WARREN STURTEVANT
 
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 ^0, 37 
 
 Registrar
 
 A DANGEROUS MOMENT 
 
 The "Victoria" was flying almost above the troop of horsemen who 
 were riding with loose reins after Joe. The doctor in the front of the 
 car held the ladder extended, ready to launch it at the proper moment. 
 Joe still kept about fifty feet ahead of his pursuers. The "Victoria" 
 passed them. 
 
 "Attention! " cried Samuel to Kennedy. 
 
 "I am ready." 
 
 "Joe, look out !" cried the doctor in a ringing voice, as he threw 
 down the ladder, whose lowest rounds dragged up the dust as they fell. 
 
 At the doctor's summons, Joe, without checking his horse, turned 
 round. The ladder was close to him, and in a moment he had caught 
 it.— Page 367. 
 
 Vol. 1.
 
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 .1 ./<>v
 
 WORKS 
 
 vr 
 
 vj) 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 CHARLES F. HORNE. Ph.D. 
 
 Professor of English, College of the City of New York; 
 Author of "The Technique of the Novel," etc. 
 
 ^. 
 
 Vincent Parke and Company 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 t • • • 
 
 • • • • 
 
 LONDON
 
 V ' ; 
 
 Copyright, 1911, 
 BY Vincent Parkk and Company.
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 f' 
 
 ■*^ HE expander of horizons," is what a 
 TT^ ^ noted critic called Jules Verne. He 
 if' was the prophet, the foreseer and 
 AfaigiiT-.- foreteller of our great mechanical 
 
 -v«* 
 
 Vv»- 
 
 age. He belongs to-day not to France, but to the 
 world. Widely as his works have been read in his 
 own country, their popularity has been yet wider 
 in America and England. Much as he has been 
 honored at home, even higher glory has been ac- 
 corded liim, we are told, in far Japan. His books 
 have been translated not only into all the usual 
 languages, but into Hebrew, Japanese, Polish and 
 even Arabic. 
 
 Verne was a universal 
 teacher, both of youth and 
 age. From him the whole 
 world garnered knowledge 
 without effort; for all lis- 
 tened with pleasure while he 
 spun his tales. He was a su- 
 preme master of imagination, 
 
 vn 
 
 Jules Verne
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 and without imagination man is nothing; for all 
 greatness is but a phase of imagination. It is the 
 creative force of the world. Under Verne's guid- 
 ance his readers travel in every land, examine every 
 mode of life and labor, view all the strangest won- 
 ders of the universe. 
 
 The educators of youth have been swift to recog- 
 nize the high value of the masterworks of tliis 
 mighty magician. His simpler tales are used as 
 text-books in our American schools, both in French 
 and English. And the conscience of the moralist 
 can here approve the eager pleasure of the reader, 
 and bid youth continue to bask in this glorious 
 light of wonder and adventure. There is not an 
 evil nor uncleanly line in all the volumes. Never 
 did anyone lay aside one of Verne's books without 
 being a better, broader, nobler human being be- 
 cause of their perusal. 
 
 Surely the time is ripe when a definitive edition 
 of the master's works should be given to American 
 readers. Jules Verne died in 1905; and, though 
 he left behind him in the hands of his Paris pub- 
 lishers an unusually large number of unissued 
 works, the last of these has now been given to the 
 public. Moreover we can now estimate his work 
 calmly, unconfused by the tumultuous and very 
 varying opinions pronounced upon it by the French 
 critics of his own day. 
 
 viii
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 Verne's Home 
 
 Their obituary reviews of 
 his work differed widely as to 
 its value. On the one hand, 
 the noted critic, Morel, in the 
 authoritative "Nouvelle Re- 
 vue" declared Verne to be the 
 leading educator and perhaps 
 the most read author of the 
 new twentieth century. At the 
 other extreme were the un- 
 signed assaults of those who 
 could only make a mock of 
 v/hat was too open and too honest for them to com- 
 prehend. 
 
 Verne was no intricate analyst, elaborating such 
 subtleties of thought and ethics as only subtle folk 
 can understand. He spoke for the great mass of 
 men, giving them such tales as they could follow, 
 upholding always such a standard of courage and 
 virtue, simple and high, as each of us can honor for 
 himself and be glad to set before his children. 
 
 It is not only "boy's literature" that began with 
 Verne. One might almost say that man's litera- 
 ture, the story that appeals to the business man, 
 the practical man, began then also. The great 
 French "Encyclopedic Universelle" sums up his 
 books by saj^ing, "They instruct a little, entertain 
 much, and overflow with life." 
 
 ?^:.:¥^ 
 
 IX
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 Jules Verne was the establisher of a new species 
 of story-telling, that which interweaves the most 
 stupendous wonders of science with the simplest 
 facts of human life. Our own Edgar Allan Poe 
 had pointed the way; and Verne was ever eager to 
 acknowledge liis indebtedness to the earlier master. 
 But Poe died; and it was Verne who went on in 
 book after book, fascinating his readers with clev- 
 erly devised mysteries, instructing and astonishing 
 them with the new discoveries of science, inspir- 
 ing them with the splendor of man's destiny. 
 When, as far back as 1872, his earl 5^ works were 
 "crowned" by the French Academy, its Perpetual 
 Secretary, M. Patin, said in his official address, 
 "The well-worn wonders of fairyland are here re- 
 placed by a new and more marvelous world, created 
 from the most recent ideas of science." 
 
 More noteworthy still is Verne's position as the 
 true, the astonishingly true, prophet of the discov- 
 eries and inventions that were to come. He was 
 far more than the mere creator of that sort of 
 scientific fairyland of which Secretary Patin spoke, 
 and with which so many later writers, Wells, Hag- 
 gard and Sir Conan Doyle, have since delighted us. 
 He himself once keenly contrasted his own methods 
 with those of Wells, the man he most admired 
 among liis many followers. Wells, he pointed out, 
 looked centuries ahead and out of pure imagination
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 embodied the unknowable that some day might 
 perchance appear. "Wliile I," said Verne, "base 
 my inventions on a groundwork of actual fact." 
 He illustrated tliis by instancing his submarine, the 
 Nautilus. "This," said he, "when carefully con- 
 sidered, is a submarine mechanism about which 
 there is nothing wholly extraordinary, nor beyond 
 the bounds of actual scientific knowledge. It rises 
 and sinks by perfectly well-known processes. . . . 
 Its motive force even is no secret; the only point 
 at which I have called in the aid of imagination is 
 in the application of this force, and here I have 
 purj)osely left a blank, for the reader to form liis 
 own conclusion, a mere technical hiatus." 
 
 So it comes that Verne's prophecies already 
 spring to realization on every side. He foresaw 
 and in his vivid way described not only the sub- 
 marine, but also, in his "Steam-house," the auto- 
 mobile, in liis "Robur the Conqueror," the aero- 
 plane. Navigable balloons, huge aerial machines 
 heavier than air, the telephone, moving pavements, 
 stimulation by oxygen, compressed air, compressed 
 food, all were existant among liis clear-sighted 
 visions. And to-day as we read those even bolder 
 prophecies, accounts that excited only the laughter 
 of his earlier critics, it is with ever-increasing won- 
 der as to wliich will next come true. 
 
 His influence has been tremendous, not only 
 
 XI
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 upon story-telling, but upon life. One French 
 commentator cries with profound admiration that 
 Verne "wholly changed the conversation of the 
 drawing-rooms." Another, with perhaps broader 
 understanding, declares that he revolutionized the 
 thought of the young men of Iiis earlier days. "He 
 taught us that the forces of nature, enemies to man 
 in his ignorance, stood ready to be our servants 
 once we had learned to master and control them." 
 For a writer so much read, Jules Verne has been 
 very little talked about. His personality became 
 submerged in his work. Moreover he was not a 
 Parisian, not a member of the mutual admiration 
 club which exists perforce in every artistic center, 
 where the same little circle of able men constantly 
 meeting, and writing one about the other, impress 
 all their names upon the public. Verne early with- 
 drew from the turmoil and clamor of the French 
 capital to dwell in peace at Amiens. To ignore 
 Paris, to withdraw deliberatelv from its already 
 
 won caresses! Could anv 
 crime have been more heinous 
 in Parisian eyes? It explains 
 the rancor of at least some of 
 the French critics in their at- 
 titude toward our author. 
 
 Known thus only through 
 his books, yet by them known 
 
 Verne's Tower Workroom 
 
 Xll
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 so universall}^ Verne has al- 
 ready become a myth. Leg- 
 ends have gathered around 
 his form. In Germany writers 
 have ponderously explained 
 — and believed — that he was 
 not a Frenchman at all, but a -^ 
 Jew, a native of Russian Po- 
 land. They gave him a birth- 
 place, in the town of Plock, 
 and a name, Olshewitz, of 
 which Vergne or Verne was The saim Michel 
 
 only a French translation, since both words mean 
 the alder tree. In Italy about 1886 the report 
 became widespread that he was dead, or rather that 
 he had never lived, that he was only a name used 
 in common by an entire syndicate of authors, wlio 
 contributed their best works and best efforts to 
 popularize the series of books whose profits they 
 shared in common. Even in France itself men 
 learned to say, for the sake of the antithesis, that 
 tliis, the greatest of all wnters of travel, had gained 
 all his knowledge out of books and never himself 
 had traveled beyond Amiens. 
 
 Lest to American readers also, the man, the 
 truly lovable man, Verne, should become wholly 
 lost behind his books, let us make brief record of 
 liim here. He was born in Nantes, the chief city of 
 
 XUl
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 Brittany, on February 8, 1828. His father was 
 a lawyer in good circumstances, and Jules' early 
 training was also for the law. The chief pleasure 
 of his youth lay in a battered old sailing boat, in 
 which he and his brother Paul, taking turns at 
 being captain, played all the stories of the sea, and 
 explored every reach of the River Loire, even down 
 to the mighty ocean. That sloop still echoes through 
 his every book. 
 
 Sent to Paris to complete his studies, Jules soon 
 drifted away from the law. He became part and 
 parcel of all the Bohemian life of Paris, a student, 
 artist, author, poet, clerking all day that he might 
 live and dream and scribble all the night. A typi- 
 cal "son of the boulevards," they called him in 
 those days. He became a close friend of the 
 younger Dumas, and was introduced to his friend's 
 yet more celebrated father, the Alexander Dumas 
 of romance. The father guided and advised him; 
 the son collaborated with him in his first literary 
 success — if literarj^ it can be called — a little one act 
 comedy in verse, "Broken Straws," produced at the 
 "Gymnase" in 1850. Then came librettos for comic 
 operas, short stories for little-known story papers; 
 and young Verne was fairly launched upon a ca- 
 reer of authorship. 
 
 In 1857 he journeyed eighty miles to Amiens, 
 so the story is told, to act as best man at the wed- 
 
 XIV
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 ding of a friend. Before tliis he had long vowed 
 himself to a single life. Art, he said, and woman 
 were two different mistresses, and no man could 
 truly serve both. But at Amiens he arrived late, 
 the bridal party was already gone, and no one was 
 left to receive the laggard but a sister of the bride, 
 a young widow who had stayed at home to keep 
 from casting her gloom upon the festivity. Within 
 the hour both Jules and the young widow, Mme. 
 de Vianne, had abandoned all their former views, 
 and recognized each other as life companions. This 
 sounds like another legend; but it seems well 
 vouched for. Verne married Mme. de Vianne "with- 
 in the year. 
 
 In 1860 or shortly after, Verne met the one other 
 person who was most to influence liis life, the great 
 Parisian publisher, Hetzel, who had issued the 
 works of Hugo, of Georges Sand, and of DeMus- 
 set. Hetzel, who had been in exile in Brussels, 
 returned to Paris in 1860: and our author soon be- 
 gan writing for him. The two became warm friends. 
 
 Verne's first full length novel or story was issued 
 by Hetzel in 1863. This epoch-making book was 
 "Five Weeks in a Balloon." In it the vounsf au- 
 thor attained for the first time his characteristic 
 vein of explorations into unknown regions, inter- 
 mingling the new science with adventures and hero- 
 ism as old as man. 
 
 XV
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 The book was a tremendous success. The whole 
 world read, and was delighted. Hetzel started a 
 "Magazine of Education and Recreation," which 
 was chiefly supported by Verne's writings. Author 
 
 and publisher made a twen- 
 ty year contract, under 
 which Verne was to pro- 
 duce two books a year; and 
 being thus assured of finan- 
 cial independence, Verne in 
 1870 withdrew with his wife 
 to her native Amiens. There 
 he lived in quietude for 
 over thirty-five years, until 
 his death. 
 
 The legend that he never 
 quitted Amiens at all is, 
 however, false. Twice at 
 least he journeyed to the British Isles, and once, 
 though before his retirement to Amiens, to 
 America and once to Scandinavia. Moreover 
 his youthful love for sailing clung to him. In 
 a little ten ton boat, he cruised much in sum- 
 mer along the French coast; and later in life 
 he owned a handsome hundred foot steam yacht, 
 the "Saint Michel," in which he visited Mediterra- 
 nean Africa, Malta and much of the European 
 coast. 
 
 Verne's Tombstone 
 
 XVI
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 Chiefly, however, Verne's later life was devoted 
 to his books, and to the civic world of Amiens. He 
 was a member of the town council, an active and 
 earnest member, who won the devoted regard of 
 his fellow townsmen. 
 
 He and the grand cathedral of Amiens were the 
 city's twin celebrities, their pictures standing side 
 by side in shop-windows and decorating postal 
 cards. The Verne homestead was on one of the 
 principal boulevards, a handsome house with, at 
 its rear, a tow^er, the topmost room of wliich formed 
 a secluded den where the writer worked. 
 
 In this tower room, he continued steadily pro- 
 ducing his stories. As far back as 1872 he had been 
 a candidate for the celebrated French Academy, 
 with strong chances of election. But the Academy, 
 while it crowned Ms individual books, refused mem- 
 bership to their author, though after that first can- 
 didacy he in the course of liis later life watched the 
 entire membership of the Academy pass and be 
 renewed twice over. His friends, especially his 
 Amiens townfolk, declared that his exclusion was 
 due to Parisian jealousy, and that the Academy 
 lost far more honor than the author by ignoring 
 him. "Paris," said one of them, "had nothing 
 worthy of this great man. He sought a place for 
 work; Paris offers its great men only lounging 
 places." 
 
 xvii
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 Yet, in no spirit of unfciirness, we must admit 
 that Jules Verne's claim upon the Academy rather 
 decreased with added years. Most of his later books 
 by no means equal his earlier ones. A man over 
 seventy may well be pardoned if he no longer 
 writes with the fresh fanc}'^ and confident vigor of 
 thirty-five. To present all Verne's later work to 
 American readers would be fair neither to the 
 fame of the author nor to the pocket of the public. 
 Therefore a labor of selection has been necessary. 
 All the works that have made Jules Verne beloved, 
 all that present his imaginary inventions, his pro- 
 phecies of the future, every work that honest critics 
 have thought worth preserving, is included in this 
 edition. It presents not only those books crowned 
 by the French Academy, but all those crowned by 
 the verdict of that final judge, that best of judges 
 when long years run full, that judge to whom all 
 our work must be submitted in the end, the general 
 public. 
 
 To them this work is dedicated. 
 
 XVIIl
 
 CONTENTS 
 Volume Onk 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Jui.Es Verne in 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 A Drama in the Air 3 
 
 The Watch's Soul 21 
 
 A Winter in the Ice . . . . . .63 
 
 The Pearl of Lima 107 
 
 The Mutineers 159 
 
 Five Weeks in a Balloon 179
 
 II^IvUSTRATlONS 
 
 Voi,ume; One 
 
 
 
 PAGB 
 
 A Dangerous Moment 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 The Uprising . . . . , 
 
 176 
 
 A Mysterious Rivai. . . , . 
 
 . 304 
 
 Til
 
 INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME ONE 
 
 N this volume are included Verne's first master- 
 piece, " Five Weeks in a Balloon," and also all 
 such of his earlier stories as he himself 
 thought worth preserving. These he gathered 
 in later years, and had some of them reissued 
 by his Paris publishers. 
 
 "A Drama in the ^Air," was, as Verne himself tells us, 
 his first published story. It appeared soon after 18^0 in a 
 little-known local magazine called the " Musee des Families.''' 
 The tale, though somewhat amateurish, is very character- 
 istic of the master's later style. In it we can see, as it were, 
 the germ of all that was to follow, the interest in the new 
 advances of science, the dramatic story, the carefully col- 
 lected knowledge of the past, the infusion of instruction 
 amid the excitement of the tale. 
 
 Similarly we find " A Winter in the Ice " to be a not un- 
 worthy predecessor of " The Adventures of Captain Hat- 
 teras " and all the author's other great books of adventure 
 in the frozen world. Here, at the first attempt, a vigorous 
 and imp. ^ssive story introduces ns to the northland, thor- 
 oughly imderstood, accurately described, vividly appreciated 
 and pictured forth in its terror and its mystery. 
 
 " The Pearl of Lima " opens the way to all those stories 
 of later novelists wherein some ancient kingly race, some 
 forgotten civilization of Africa or America, reasserts itself 
 in the person of some spectacular descendant, tragically 
 matching its obscure and half-demonic pozvers against the 
 might of the modern world. " The Mutineers " inaugurates 
 our author's favorite geographical device. It describes a 
 remarkable and little-knozvn country by having the char- 
 ^acters of the story travel over it on some anxious errand, 
 tracing their progress step by step.
 
 2 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Thus, of these five early tales, " The Watch's SouV is 
 the only one differing sharply from Verne's later work. It 
 is allegorical, supernatural, depending not upon the scientific 
 marvels of the material world, but upon the direct inter- 
 position of supernal powers. 
 
 " Five Weeks in a Balloon," the last and by far the most 
 important story in this volume, is Verne's first complete and 
 accepted masterpiece. This book, published in i86^ with- 
 out preliminary display, made the author instantly a central 
 ^figure in the literary world. Like Byron he awoke one 
 morning and found himself famous. 
 
 Verne told his friends that before writing this book, he 
 had no knowledge whatever of practical ballooning. In- 
 deed the balloon was, to his view, quite a secondary part of 
 the tale. Always an omnivorous reader of works of travel, 
 he conceived the idea of writing into one book the descrip- 
 tions of parts of Africa gathered from the accounts of the 
 great explorers. These men he regarded as heroes of the 
 highest type, zvorthy of the most distinguished honor; and 
 he sought to honor them. 
 
 As he worked over the tale, the possibilities of scientific 
 and even more of dramatic interest to be gained from the 
 balloon, appealed to him more and more. To his friends he 
 confided thut he had conceived an idea or rather a combina- 
 tion of ideas by the publication of which he hoped he might 
 achieve real fame. 
 
 He was right. " Five Weeks in a Balloon " was unique 
 in the literature of the day. Its success was as immediate 
 and tremendous as it was deserved. The book is painstak- 
 ingly accurate in its following of the descriptions of the ex- 
 plorers, a truly valuable piece of geographical work. It is 
 almost inspired in its deductions as to the probable character 
 of the unknown land beyond their travels, its descriptions 
 of that mysterious heart of Africa zvhich even yet is largely 
 unexplored. In the handling of the fortunes of the balloon 
 and the balloonists, the elements of drama and suspense, the 
 book is an acknowledged masterpiece.
 
 A Drama in the Air 
 
 N the month of September, 185 — , I arrived 
 at Frankfort-on-the-Main. My passage 
 through the principal German cities had been 
 brilliantly marked by balloon accents; but as 
 yet no German had accompanied me in my 
 car, and the fine experiments made at Paris 
 by MM, Greene, Eugene Godard, and Poitevin had not 
 tempted the grave Teutons to essay aerial voyages. 
 
 But scarcely had the news of my approaching ascent 
 spread through Frankfort, than three of the principal 
 citizens begged the favor of being allowed to ascend with 
 me. Two days afterwards we were to start from the Place 
 de la Comedie. I began at once to get my balloon ready. 
 It was of silk, prepared with gutta percha; and its volume, 
 which was three thousand cubic yards, enabled it to ascend 
 to the loftiest heights. 
 
 The day of the ascent was that of the great September 
 fair, which attracts so many people to Frankfort. Lighting 
 gas, of perfect quality and great lifting power, had been 
 furnished me, and about eleven o'clock the balloon was 
 filled; but only three-quarters filled, — an indispensable pre- 
 caution, for, as one rises, the atmosphere diminishes in 
 density, and the fluid enclosed within the balloon, acquiring 
 more elasticity, might burst its sides. My calculations told 
 me exactly the quantity of gas necessary to carry up my com- 
 panions and myself. 
 
 We were to start at noon. The impatient crowd which 
 pressed around the enclosed square, overflowing into the 
 contiguous streets, and covering the houses from the ground- 
 floor to the slated gables, presented a striking scene. 
 
 I carried three hundred pounds of ballast in bags; the car, 
 quite round, four feet in diameter, was comfortably ar- 
 ranged; the hempen cords which supported it stretched 
 symmetrically over the upper hemisphere of the balloon; the 
 
 3
 
 4 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 compass was in place, the barometer suspended in the circle 
 which united the supporting cords, and the anchor put in 
 order. All was now ready for the ascent. 
 
 Among those who pressed around the enclosure, I re- 
 marked a young man with a pale face and agitated features. 
 The sight of him impressed me. He was an eager spectator 
 of my ascents, whom I had already met in several German 
 cities. With an uneasy air, he closely watched the curious 
 machine, as it lay motionless a few feet above the ground; 
 and he remained silent among those about him. 
 
 Twelve o'clock came. The moment had arrived, but my 
 traveling companions did not appear. 
 
 I sent to their houses, and learnt that one had left for 
 Hamburg, another for Vienna, and the third for London. 
 Their courage had failed them at undertaking one of those 
 excursions which, thanks to the improvement in aeronautics 
 are free from all danger. As they formed, in some sort, a 
 part of the programme of the day, the fear had seized them 
 that they might be forced to execute it faithfully, and they 
 had fled far from the scene at the instant when the balloon 
 was being filled. Their heroism was evidently in inverse 
 ratio to their speed — in decamping. 
 
 The multitude, half deceived, showed not a little ill humor. 
 I did not hesitate to ascend alone. In order to re-establish 
 the equilibrium between the specific gravity of the balloon 
 and the weight which had thus proved wanting, I replaced 
 my companions by more sacks of sand, and got into the car. 
 The twelve men who held the balloon by twelve cords, let 
 these slip a little between their fingers, and the balloon rose 
 several feet higher. There was not a breath of wind, and 
 the atmosphere was so laden that it seemed to forbid the 
 ascent. 
 
 "Is everything ready?" I cried. 
 
 The men put themselves in readiness. A last glance told 
 me that I might go. " Attention ! " 
 
 There was a movement in the crowd, which seemed to be 
 invading the enclosure. f 
 
 "Let go!" • 
 
 The balloon rose slowly, but I experienced a shock which 
 threw me to the bottom of the car. 
 
 When I got up, I found myself face to face with an un- 
 expected fellow-voyager, — the pale young man. 
 
 I
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 5 
 
 " Monsieur, I salute you," said he, with utmost coohiess. 
 
 " By what right " 
 
 "Am I here? By the right which the impossibihty of 
 your getting rid of me confers." 
 
 I was amazed ! His calmness put me out of countenance, 
 and I had nothing to reply. I looked at the intruder but 
 he took no notice of my astonishment. 
 
 " Does my weight disarrange your equilibrium, mon- 
 sieur? " he asked. "You will permit me — " and without 
 waiting consent, he picked up two bags and threw them into 
 space. 
 
 " Monsieur," said I, taking the only course now possible, 
 " you have come ; very well, you will remain ; but to me 
 alone belongs the management of the balloon." 
 
 " Monsieur," said he, " your urbanity is French all over: 
 it comes from my own country. I morally press the hand 
 you refuse me. Make all precautions, and act as seems 
 best to you. I will wait till you have done " 
 
 "For what?" 
 
 " To talk with you." 
 
 The barometer had fallen to twenty-six inches. We were 
 nearly six hundred yards above the city; but nothing be- 
 trayed the horizontal displacement of the balloon, for the 
 mass of air in which it is enclosed goes forward with it. A 
 sort of confused glow enveloped the objects spread out un- 
 der us, and fortunately obscured their outline. 
 
 I examined my companion afresh. He was a man of 
 thirty years, simply clad. The sharpness of his features 
 betrayed an indomitable energy, and he seemed very muscu- 
 lar. Indifferent to the astonishment he created, he remained 
 motionless, trying in the meantime to distinguish the objects 
 below us. 
 
 "Miserable mist!" said he, after a few moments. 
 
 I did not reply. 
 
 " You owe me a grudge? " he went on. " Bah ! I could 
 not pay for my journey, and it was necessary to take you 
 by surprise." 
 
 " Nobody asks you to descend, monsieur ! " 
 
 " Eh, do you not know, then, that the same thing hap- 
 pened to the Counts of Laurencin and Dampierrc, when 
 they ascended at Lyons, on the 15th of January, 1784? A 
 young merchant, named Fontaine, scaled the gallery, at the
 
 6 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 risk of capsizing the machine. He accomplished the 
 journey, and nobody died of it ! " 
 
 " Once on the ground, we will have an explanation," re- 
 plied I, piqued at the light tone in which he spoke. 
 
 " Bah ! Do not let us think of our return." 
 
 " Do you think, then, I shall not hasten to descend? " 
 
 "Descend!" said he, in surprise. "Descend? Let us 
 begin by first ascending." 
 
 And before I could prevent it, two more bags had been 
 thrown out of the car, without even having been emptied. 
 
 " Monsieur ! " cried I, in a rage. 
 
 " I know your ability," replied the unknown quietly, " and 
 your fine ascents are famous. But if Experience is the 
 sister of Practice, she is also a cousin of Theory, and I have 
 studied the aerial art long. It has got into my head ! " he 
 added sadly, falling into a silent reverie. 
 
 The balloon, having risen some distance farther, now be- 
 come stationary. The unknown consulted the barometer 
 and said, " Here we are, at eight hundred yards. Men are 
 like insects. See ! I think we should always contemplate 
 them from this height, to judge correctly of their propor- 
 tions. The Place de la Comedie is transformed into an im- 
 mense ant-hill. Observe the crowd which is gathered on the 
 quays ; and the mountains also get smaller and smaller. We 
 are over the Cathedral. The Main is only a line, cutting 
 the city in two, and the bridge seems a thread thrown be- 
 tween the two banks of the river." 
 
 The atmosphere became somewhat chilly. 
 
 " There is nothing I would not do for you, my host," 
 said the unknown. "If you are cold, I will take off my 
 coat and lend it to you." 
 
 " Thanks," said I dryly. 
 
 " Bah ! Necessity makes law. Give me your hand. I 
 am your fellow-countryman; you will learn something in 
 my company, and my conversation will indemnify you for 
 the trouble I have given you." 
 
 I sat down, without replying, at the opposite extremity 
 of the car. The young man drew a voluminous manuscript 
 from his coat. It was an essay on ballooning. 
 
 " I possess," said he, " the most curious collection of en- 
 gravings and caricatures extant concerning aerial manias. 
 How people admired and scoffed at the same time at this
 
 A^ DRAMA IN THE AIR 7 
 
 precious discovery! We are happily no longer in the age 
 in which Montgolfier tried to make artificial clouds with 
 steam, or a gas having electrical properties, produced by 
 ihe combustion of moist straw and chopped-up-wool." 
 
 " Do you wish to depreciate the talent of the inventors? " 
 I asked, for I had resolved to enter into the adventure. 
 " Was it not good to have proved by experience the pos- 
 sibility of rising in the air? " 
 
 " Ah, monsieur, who denies the glory of the first aerial 
 navigators? It required imxmense courage to rise by means 
 of those frail envelopes which only contained heated air. 
 But I ask you, has the aerial science made great progress 
 since Blanchard's ascensions, that is, since nearly a century 
 ago? Look here, monsieur." 
 
 The unknown took an engraving from his portfolio. 
 
 " Here," said he, " is the first aerial voyage undertaken 
 by Pilatre des Rosiers and the Marquis d'Arlandes, four 
 months after the discover)^ of balloons. Louis XVI. re- 
 fused to consent to the venture, and two men who were con- 
 demned to death were the first to attempt the aerial ascent. 
 Pilatre des Rosiers became indignant at this injustice, and, 
 by means of intrigues, obtained permission to make the ex- 
 periment. The car, which renders the management easy, 
 had not then been invented, and a circular gallery was placed 
 around the lower and contracted part of the Montgolfier 
 balloon. The two aeronauts must then remain motionless 
 at each extremity of this gallery, for the moist straw which 
 filled it forbade theni all motion. A chafing-dish with fire 
 was suspended below the orifice of the balloon; when the 
 aeronauts wished to rise, they threw straw upon this brazier, 
 at the risk of setting fire to the balloon, and the air, more 
 heated, gave it fresh ascending power. The two bold travel- 
 ers rose, on the 21st of November, 1783, from the Muette 
 Gardens, which the dauphin had put at their disposal. The 
 balloon went up majestically, passed over the Isle of Swans, 
 crossed the Seine at the Conference barrier, and, drifting be- 
 tween the dome of the Invalids and the Military School, ap- 
 proached the Church of Saint Sulpice. Then the aeronauts 
 added to the fire, crossed the Boulevard, and descended be- 
 yond the Enfer barrier. As it touched the soil, the balloon 
 collapsed, and for a few moments buried Pilatre des Rosiers 
 under its folds."
 
 8 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 " Unlucky augury," I said, interested in the story, which 
 affected me nearly. 
 
 " An augury of the catastrophe which was later to cost 
 this unfortunate man his life," replied the unknown sadly. 
 " Have you never experienced anything like it? " 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " Bah ! Misfortunes sometimes occur un foreshadowed ! " 
 added my companion. He then remained silent. 
 
 We were drifting southward, and Frankfort had already 
 passed from beneath us. 
 
 " Perhaps we shall have a storm," said the young man. 
 
 " We shall descend before that," I replied. 
 
 " Better to ascend. We shall escape it more surely." And 
 two more bags of sand were hurled into space. 
 
 The balloon rose rapidly, and stopped at twelve hundred 
 yards. I became colder; and yet the sun's rays, falling up- 
 on the surface, expanded the gas within, and gave it a 
 greater ascending force. 
 
 " Fear nothing," said the unknown. " We have still 
 three thousand five hundred fathoms of breathing air. Be- 
 sides, do not trouble yourself about what I do." 
 
 I would have risen, but a vigorous hand held me to my 
 seat. " Your name? " I asked. 
 
 " My name? What matters it to you? " 
 
 " I demand your name ! " 
 
 " My name is Erostratus or Empedocles, whichever you 
 choose ! " 
 
 This reply was far from reassuring. The unknown, be- 
 sides, talked with such strange coolness that I anxiously 
 asked myself whom I had to deal with. 
 
 " Monsieur," he continued, " nothing original has been 
 imagined since the physicist Charles. Four months after 
 the discovery of balloons, this man had invented the valve 
 which permits the gas to escape when the balloon is too 
 full, or when you wish to descend; the car, which aids the 
 management of the machine ; the netting, which holds the 
 envelope of the balloon, and divides the weight over its whole 
 surface; the ballast, which enables you to ascend, and to 
 choose the place of your landing; the india-rubber coating, 
 which renders the tissue impermeable ; the barometer, which 
 shows the height attained. Lastly, Charles used hydrogen, 
 which, fourteen times lighter than air, permits you to pene-
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 9 
 
 trate to the highest atmospheric regions, and does not ex- 
 pose you to the dangers of a combustion in the air. On the 
 1st of December, 1783, three hundred thousand spectators 
 were crowded around the Tuilleries. Charles rose, and the 
 soldiers presented arms to him. He traveled nine leagues 
 in the air, conducting his balloon with an ability not sur- 
 passed by modern aeronauts. The king awarded him a 
 pension of two thousand livres; for then they encouraged 
 new inventions." 
 
 The unknown now seemed to be under the influence of 
 considerable agitation. 
 
 " See, there is Darmstadt," said he, leaning over the car. 
 "Do you perceive the chateau? Not very distinctly, eh? 
 What would you have? The heat of the storm makes the 
 outline of objects waver, and you must have a skilled eye 
 to recognize localities." 
 
 "Are you certain it is Darmstadt? " I asked 
 
 " I am sure of it. We are now six leagues from Frank- 
 fort." 
 
 " Then we must descend." 
 
 " Descend ! You would not go down on the steeples," 
 said the unknown, with a chuckle. 
 
 " No, but in the surburbs of the city." 
 
 " Well, let us avoid the steeples ! " 
 
 So speaking, my companion seized some bags of ballast. 
 I hastened to prevent him; but he overthrew me with one 
 hand, and the unballasted balloon ascended to two thousand 
 yards. 
 
 " Rest easy," said he, " and do not forget that Brioschi, 
 Biot, Gay-Lussac, Bixio, and Barral ascended to still 
 greater heights to make their scientific experiments." 
 
 " Monsieur, we must descend," I resumed, trying to per- 
 suade him by gentleness. " The storm is gathering around 
 us. It would be more prudent " 
 
 " Bah ! We will mount higher than the storm, and then 
 we shall no longer fear it! " cried my companion. " What 
 is nobler than to overlook the clouds which oppress the 
 earth? Is it not an honor thus to navigate on aerial billows? 
 The greatest men have traveled as we are doing. The 
 Marchioness and Countees de Montalembert, the Countess 
 of Podenas, Mademoiselle la Garde, the Marquis de Mon- 
 talembert, rose from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine for these
 
 10 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 unknown regions, and the Duke de Chartres exhibited much 
 skill and presence of mind in his ascent on the 15th of July, 
 174. At Lyons, the Counts of Laurencin and Dampierre; 
 at Nantes, M. de Luynes; at Bordeaux, D'Arbelet des 
 Granges ; in Italy, the Chevalier Andreani ; in our own time, 
 the Duke of Brunswick, — have all left traces of their glory 
 in the air. To equal these great personages, we must pene- 
 trate still higher than they into the celestial depths! To 
 approach the infinite is to comprehend it ! " 
 
 The rarefaction of the air was fast expanding the hydro- 
 gen in the balloon, and I saw its lower part, purposely left 
 empty, swell out, so that it was absolutely necessary to open 
 the valve; but my companion did not seem to intend that I 
 should manage the balloon as I wished. I then resolved 
 to pull the valve-cord secretly, as he was excitedly talking; 
 for I feared to guess with whom I had to deal. It would 
 have been too horrible ! It was nearly a quarter before one. 
 We had been gone forty minutes from Frankfort; heavy 
 clouds were coming against the wind from the south, and 
 seemed about to burst upon us. 
 
 " Have you lost all hope of succeeding in your project? " 
 I asked with anxious interest. 
 
 " All hope ! " exclaimed the unknown in a low voice. 
 " Wounded by slights and caricatures, these asses' kicks have 
 finished me! It is the eternal punishment reserved for in- 
 novators ! Look at these caricatures of all periods, of which 
 my portfolio is full." 
 
 While my companion was fumbling with his papers, I 
 had seized the valve-cord without his perceiving it. I 
 feared, however, that he might hear the hissing noise, like a 
 water-course, which the gas makes in escaping. 
 
 " How many jokes were made about the Abbe Miolan ! 
 said he. " He was to go up with Janninet and Bredin. 
 During the filling their ballon caught fire, and the ignorant 
 populace tore it in pieces ! Then this caricature of * curious 
 animals ' appeared, giving each of them a punning nick- 
 name." 
 
 I pulled the valve-cord, and the barometer began to as- 
 cend. It was time. Some far-off rumblings were heard in 
 the south. 
 
 " Here is another engraving," resumed the unknown, not 
 suspecting what I was doing. " It is an imemnse balloon
 
 A" DRAMA IN THE AIR ii 
 
 carrying a ship, strong castles, houses, and so on. The 
 caricaturists did not suspect that their folhes would one day 
 become truths. It is complete, this large vessel. On the 
 left is its helm, with the pilot's box; at the prow are pleas- 
 ure-houses, an immense organ, and a cannon to call the at- 
 tention of the inhabitants of the earth or the moon; above 
 the poop there are the observatory and the balloon long- 
 boat; in the equatorial circle, the army barrack; on the left, 
 the funnel; then the upper galleries for promenading, sails, 
 pinions; below, the cafes and general storehouse. Observe 
 this pompous announcement : ' Invented for the happiness 
 of the human race, this globe will depart at once for the 
 ports of the Levant, and on its return the programme of its 
 voyages to the two poles and the extreme west will be an- 
 nounced. No one need furnish himself with anything; 
 everything is foreseen, and all will prosper. Thus pleasure 
 will be the soul of the aerial company.' All this provoked 
 laughter; but before long, if I am not cut off, they will see 
 it all realized." 
 
 We were visibly descending. He did not perceive it! 
 
 " This kind of ' game at balloons,' " he resumed, spreading 
 out before me some of the engravings of his valuable col- 
 lection, " this game contains the entire history of the aero- 
 static art. It is used by elevated minds, and displayed with 
 dice and counters, with whatever stakes you like, to be paid 
 or received according to where the player arrives." 
 
 " Why," said I, " you seem to have studied the science of 
 aerostation profoundly." 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, yes ! From Phaeton, Icarus, Architas. 
 I have searched for, examined, learnt everything. I could 
 render immense services to the world in this art, if God 
 granted me life. But that will not be! " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because my name is Empedocles, or Erostratus." 
 
 Meanwhile, the balloon was happily approaching the 
 earth ; but when one is falling, the danger is as great at a 
 hundred feet as at five thousand. 
 
 " Do you recall the battle of Fleurus? " resumed my com- 
 panion, whose face became more and more animated. " It 
 was at that battle that Contello. by order of the Government, 
 organized a company of ballonists. At the siege of Man- 
 benge General Jourdan derived so much service from this
 
 12 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 new method of observation that Contello ascended twice a 
 day with the general himself. The communications between 
 the aeronaut and his agents who held the balloon were made 
 by means of small white, red, and yellow flags. Often the 
 gun and cannon shot were directed upon the balloon when he 
 ascended, but without result. Where General Jourdan was 
 perparing to invest Charleroi, Contello went in the vicinity, 
 ascended from the plain of Jumet, and continued his ob- 
 servations for seven or eight hours with General Morlot, 
 and this no doubt aided in giving us the victory of Fleurus. 
 General Jourdan publicly acknowledged the help which the 
 aeronautical observations had afforded him. Well, despite 
 the services rendered on that occasion and during the Bel- 
 gian campaign, the year which had seen the beginning of 
 the military career of balloons saw also its end. The school 
 of Meudon, founded by the Government, was closed by 
 Buonaparte on his return from Egypt. And now, what 
 can you expect from the new-born infant? as Franklin said. 
 The infant was born alive; it should not be stifled! " 
 
 The unknown bowed his head in his hands for some mom- 
 ents; then rousing himself, he said, "Despite my prohibi- 
 tion, monsieur, you have opened the valve." 
 
 I dropped the cord. 
 
 " Happily," he resum^ed, " we have still three hundred 
 pounds of ballast." 
 
 " What is your purpose? " said I. 
 
 " Have you ever crossed the seas ? " he asked. 
 
 I turned pale. 
 
 "It is unfortunate," he went on, "that we are being 
 driven towards the Adriatic. That is only a stream; but 
 higher up we may find other currents." 
 
 And, without taking any notice of me, he threw over sev- 
 eral bags of sand; then, in a menacing voice, he said, " I let 
 you open the valve because the expanding gas threatened to 
 burst the balloon ; but do not do it again ! " 
 
 Then he went on, " You remember the voyage of Blanch- 
 ard and Jeffries from Dover to Calais? It was magnificent ! 
 On the 7th of January, 1785, there being a north-west wind, 
 their balloon was inflated with gas on the Dover coast. A 
 mistake of equilibrium, just as they were ascending, forced 
 them to throw out their ballast so that they might not go 
 down again, and they only kept thirty pounds. It was too
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 13 
 
 little ; for, as the wind did not freshen, they only advanced 
 very solwly towards the French coast. Besides, the per- 
 meability of the tissue served to reduce the inflation little by 
 little, and in an hour and a half the aeronauts perceived that 
 they were descending, 
 
 "'What shall we do?' said Jeffries. 
 
 " * We are only one quarter of the way over/ replied 
 Blanchard, * and very low down. On rising, we shall per- 
 haps meet more favorable winds.' 
 
 " * Let us throw out the rest of the sand.' 
 
 " The balloon acquired some ascending force, but it soon 
 began to descend again. Towards the m.iddle of the transit 
 the aeronauts threw over their books and tools. A quarter 
 of an hour after, Blanchard said to Jeffries, ' The bar- 
 ometer? ' 
 
 " * It is going up ! We are lost, and yet there is the 
 French coast.' 
 
 " A loud noise was heard. 
 
 " * Has the balloon burst ? ' asked Jeffries. 
 
 " * No. The loss of the gas has reduced the inflation of 
 the lower part of the balloon. But we are still descending. 
 We are lost ! Out with everything useless ! ' 
 
 " Provisions, oars, and rudder were thrown into the sea. 
 The aeronauts were only one hundred yards high. 
 
 " 'We are going up agin," said the doctor. 
 
 " ' No. It is the spurt caused by the diminution of the 
 weight, and not a ship in sight, not a bark on the horizon ! 
 To the sea with our clothing ! ' 
 
 " The unfortunates stripped themselves, but the balloon 
 continued to descend. 
 
 " * Blanchard,' said Jeffries, * you should have made this 
 voyage alone ; you consented to take me ; I will sacrifice my- 
 self ! I shall drop into the water, and the balloon, relieved 
 of my weight, will mount again.' 
 
 "*No, no! It is frightful!' 
 
 " The balloon became less and less inflated, and as it 
 doubled up its concavity pressed the gas against the sides, 
 and hastened its downward course. 
 
 " ' Adieu,' said the doctor * God preserve you ! ' 
 
 " He was about to throw himself over, when Blanchard 
 held him back. 
 
 " * There is one more chance,' said he. * We can cut the
 
 14 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 cords which hold the car, and chng to the net ! Perhaps the 
 balloon will rise. Let us hold ourselves ready. But — the 
 barometer is going down! The wind is freshening! We 
 are saved ! ' 
 
 " The aeronauts perceived Calais. Their joy was de- 
 lirious. A few moments more, and they had fallen in the 
 forest of Guines. I do not doubt," added the unknown, 
 " that, under similar circumstances, you would have fol- 
 lowed Doctor Jeffries' example ! " 
 
 The clouds rolled in glittering masses beneath us. The 
 balloon threw large shadows on them, and was surrounded 
 as by an aureola. The thunder rumbled below the car. All 
 this was terrifying. " Let us descend ! " I cried. 
 
 "Descend, when the sun is up there, waiting for us? 
 Out with more bags ! " 
 
 And more than fifty pounds of ballast were cast over. 
 
 At a height of three thousand five hundred yards we re- 
 mained stationary. The unknown talked unceasingly. I 
 was in a state of complete prostration, while he seemed to 
 be in his element. " With a good wind, we shall go far," 
 he cried. " In the Antilles there are currents of air which 
 have a speed of a hundred leagues an hour. When Na- 
 poleon was crowned, Garnerin sent up a balloon with 
 colored lamps, at eleven o'clock at night. The wind was 
 blowing north-north-west. The next morning, at daybreak, 
 the inhabitants of Rome greeted its passage over the dome of 
 St Peter's. We shall go farther and higher ! " 
 
 I scarcely heard him. Everything whirled around me. 
 An opening appeared in the clouds. 
 
 " See that city," said the unknown. " It is Spires ! " 
 
 I leaned over the car and perceived a small blackish mass. 
 It was Spires. The Rhine, which is so large, seemed an un- 
 rolled ribbon. The sky was a deep blue over our heads. 
 The birds had long abandoned us, for in that rarefied air 
 they could not have flown. We were alone In space, and I 
 in the presence of this unknown ! 
 
 " It is useless for you to know whither I am leading you," 
 he said, as he threw the compass among the clouds. " Ah! 
 a fall is a grand thing ! You know that but few victims of 
 ballooning are to be reckoned, from Pilatre des Rosiers to 
 Lieutenant Gale, and that the accidents have always been 
 the result of imprudence Pilatre des Rosiers set out with
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 15 
 
 Romain of Boulogne, on the 13th of June, 1785. To his 
 gas balloon he had affixed a Montgolfier apparatus of hot 
 air, so as to dispense, no doubt, with the necessity of losing 
 gas or throwing out ballast. It was putting a torch under 
 a powder-barrel. When they had ascended four hundred 
 yards, and were taken by opposing winds, they were driven 
 over the open sea. Pilatre, in order to descend, essayed to 
 open the valve, but the valve-cord became entangled in the 
 balloon, and tore it so badly that it became empty in an 
 instant. It fell upon the Montgolfier apparatus, overturned 
 it, and dragged down the unfortunates, who were soon 
 shattered to pieces! It is frightful, is it not? " 
 
 I could only reply, " For pity's sake let us descend! " 
 
 The clouds gathered around us on every side, and dread- 
 ful detonations, which reverberated in the cavity of the 
 balloon, took place beneath us. 
 
 " You provoke me," cried the unknown, " and you shall 
 no longer know whether we are rising or falling ! " 
 
 The barometer went the way of the compass, accompanied 
 by several more bags of sand. We must have been 5000 
 yards high. Some icicles had already attached themselves 
 to the sides of the car, and a kind of fine snow seemed to 
 penetrate to my very bones. Meanwhile a frightful tempest 
 was raging under us, but we were above it. 
 
 " Do not be afraid," said the unknown. " It is only the 
 imprudent who are ^ost. Olivari, who perished at Orleans, 
 rose in a paper Montgolfier ; ' his car, suspended below 
 the chafing-dish, and ballasted with combustible materials, 
 caught fire; Olivari fell, and was killed! Mosment rose, 
 at Lille, on a light tray; an oscillation disturbed his equili- 
 brium; Mosment fell, and was killed! Bittorf, at Manu- 
 heim, saw his balloon catch fire in the air; and he, too, fell, 
 and was killed ! Harris rose in a badly constructed balloon, 
 the valve of which was too large and would not shut; Harris 
 fell, and was killed ! Sadler, deprived of ballast by his long 
 sojourn in the air, was dragged over the town of Boston 
 and dashed against the chimneys; Sadler fell, and was killed! 
 Cokling descended with a convex parachute which he pre- 
 tended to have perfected; Cokling fell, and was killed! 
 Well, I love them, these victims of their own imprudence, 
 and I shall die as they did. Higher ! still higher ! " 
 
 All the phantoms of this necrology passed before my
 
 i6 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 eyes. The rarefaction of the air and the sun's rays added 
 to the expansion of the gas, and the balloon continued to 
 mount. I tried to open the valve, but the unknown cut the 
 cord several feet above my head. I was lost. 
 
 " Did you see Madame Blanchard fall ? " said he. " I 
 saw her; yes, I! I was at TivolJ, on the 6th of July, 1819. 
 Madame Blanchard rose in a small-sized balloon, to avoid 
 the expense of filling, and she was forced to inflate it en- 
 tirely. The gas leaked out below, and left a regular train 
 of hydrogen in its path. She carried with her a sort of 
 pyrotechnic aureola, suspended below her car by a wire, 
 which she was to set off in the air. This she had done 
 many times before. On this day she also carried up a sm.all 
 parachute ballasted by a firework contrivance, that would 
 go off in a shower of silver. She was to start this con- 
 trivance after having lighted it with a port-fire made on pur- 
 pose. She set out; the night was gloomy. At the mo- 
 ment of lighting her fireworks she was so imprudent as to 
 pass the taper under the column of hydrogen which was 
 leaking from the balloon. My eyes were fixed upon her. 
 Suddenly an unexpected gleam lit up the darkness. I 
 thought she was preparing a surprise. The light flashed 
 out, suddenly disappeared and reappeared, and gave the 
 summit of the balloon the shape of an immense jet of ignited 
 gas. This sinister glow shed itself over the Boulevard and 
 the whole Montmarrte quarter. Then I saw the unhappy 
 woman rise, try twice to close the appendage of the balloon, 
 so as to put out the fire, then sit down in her car and try to 
 guide her descent; for she did not fall. The combustion of 
 the gas lasted for several minutes. The balloon, becoming 
 gradually less, continued to descend, but it was not a fall. 
 The wind blew from the north-west and drove it towards 
 Paris. There were then some large gardens just by the 
 house No. 16, Rue de Provence. Madame Blanchard es- 
 sayed to fall there without danger; but the ballon and the 
 car struck on the roof of the house with a light shock. 
 ' Save me ! ' cried the wretched woman. I got into the 
 street at this moment. The car slid along the roof, and en- 
 countered an iron cramp. Madame Blanchard was thrown 
 out of her car and precipitated upon the pavement She was 
 killed!" 
 
 These stories froze me v;ith horror. The unknown was 
 
 V. I Verne i
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 17 
 
 standing with bare head, disheveled hair, haggard eyes! 
 There was no longer any illusion possible. I recognized 
 the horrible truth. I was in the presence of a madman ! 
 
 He threw out the rest of the ballast, and we must have 
 now reached a height of at least nine thousand yards. 
 Blood spurted from my nose and mouth ! 
 
 " Who are nobler than the martyrs of science? " cried the 
 lunatic. " They are canonized by posterity." 
 
 But I no longer heard him. He bent down to my ear and 
 muttered, " And have you forgotten Zambecarri's catas- 
 trophe? Listen. On the 7th of October, 1804, the clouds 
 seemed to lift a little. On the preceding days, the wind and 
 rain had not ceased; but the announced ascension of 
 Zambecarri could not be postponed. His enemies were al- 
 ready bantering him. It was necessary to ascend to save the 
 science and himself from becoming a public jest. It was 
 at Boulogne. No one helped him to inflate his balloon. 
 He rose at midnight, accompanied by Andreoli and 
 Grossetti. The balloon mounted slowly, for it had been 
 perforated by the rain, and the gas was leaking out. The 
 three intrepid aeronauts could only observe the state 
 of the barometer by aid of a dark lantern. Zambecarri 
 had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours. Grossetti was 
 also fasting. 
 
 " * My friends,' said Zambecarri, * I am overcome by cold, 
 and exhausted. I am dying.' 
 
 " He fell inanimate in the gallery. It was the same with 
 Grossetti. Andreoli alone remained conscious. After long 
 efforts, he succeeded in reviving Zambecarri. 
 
 "'What news? Whither are we going? How is the 
 wind? What time is it? ' 
 
 " * It is two o'clock.' 
 
 " * Where is the compass? ' 
 
 " * Upset ! ' 
 
 " * Great God ! The lantern has gone out ! ' 
 
 " * It cannot burn in this rarefied air," said Zambecarri. 
 
 " The moon had not risen and the atmosphere was plunged 
 in murky darkness. " * I am cold, Andreoli. What shall 
 I do?' 
 
 " They slowly descended through a layer of whitish 
 clouds. * Sh ! ' said Andreoli. * Do you hear? ' 
 
 " ' What ? ' asked Zambecarri.
 
 i8 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 " * A strange noise/ 
 
 " * You are mistaken. Consider these travelers, in the 
 middle of the night, listening to that unaccountable noise! 
 Are they going to knock against a tower? Are they about 
 to be precipitated on the roofs? 'Do you hear? One 
 would say it was the sea.' 
 
 "'Impossible!' 
 
 " * It is the groaning of the waves! ' 
 
 " ' It is true.' 
 
 " * Light! light! ' After five fruitless attempts, Andreoli 
 succeeded in obtaining light. It was three o'clock. 
 
 " The voice of violent waves was heard. They were al- 
 most touching the surface of the sea ! ' We are lost ! ' cried 
 Zambecarri, seizing a bag of sand. 
 
 "'Help! 'cried Andreoli. 
 
 " The car touched the water, and the waves came up to 
 their breasts. ' Throw out the instruments, clothes ! ' 
 
 " The aeronauts completely stripped themselves. The 
 balloon, relieved, rose with frightful rapidity. Zambecarri 
 was taken with vomiting. Grossetti bled profusely. The 
 unfortunate men could not speak, so short was their breath- 
 ing. They were taken with cold, and they were soon crusted 
 over with ice. The moon looked as red as blood. 
 
 " After traversing the high regions for a half-hour, the 
 balloon again fell into the sea. It was four in the morning. 
 They were half submerged in the water, and the balloon 
 dragged them along, as if under sail, for several hours. 
 
 " At daybreak they found themselves opposite Pesaro, 
 four miles from the coast. They were about to reach it, 
 when a gale blew them back into the open sea. They were 
 lost! The frightened boats fled at their approach 
 Happily, a more intelligent boatman accosted them, hoisted 
 them on board, and they landed at Ferrada. 
 
 "A frightful journey, was it not? But Zambecarri was 
 a brave and energetic man. Scarcely recovered from his 
 sufferings, he resumed his ascensions. During one of them 
 he struck against a tree; his spirit-lamp was broken on his 
 clothes ; he was enveloped in fire, his balloon began to catch 
 the flames, and he came down half consumed. 
 
 "At last, on the 21st of September, 1812, he made an- 
 other ascension at Boulogne. The balloon clung to a tree, 
 and his lamp again set it on fire. Zambecarri fell, and was
 
 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 19 
 
 killed! And in presence of these facts, we would still hesi- 
 tate ! No. The higher we go, the more glorious will be our 
 death!" 
 
 The balloon being now entirely relieved of ballast and of 
 all it contained, we were carried to an enormous height. It 
 vibrated in the atmosphere. The least noise resounded in 
 the vaults of heaven. Our globe, the only object which 
 caught my view in immensity, seemed ready to be annihi- 
 lated, and above us the depths of the starry skies were lost 
 in thick darkness. 
 
 I saw my companion rise up before me. 
 
 " The hour is come ! " he said. " We must die. We are 
 rejected of men. They despise us. We will not endure it. 
 Let us crush them ! " 
 
 "Mercy!" I cried. 
 
 " Let us cut these cords ! Let this car be abandoned in 
 space. The attractive force will change its direction, and 
 we shall approach the sun ! " 
 
 Despair galvanized me. I threw myself upon the mad- 
 man, we struggled together, and a terrible conflict took 
 place. But I was thrown down, and while he held me under 
 his knee, the madman was cutting the cords of the car. 
 "One!" he cried. 
 
 " My God 1 " 
 
 "Two! Three!" 
 
 I made a superhuman effort, rose up, and violently re- 
 pulsed the madman. 
 
 "Four!" The car fell, but I instinctively clung to the 
 cords and hoisted myself into the meshes of the netting. 
 
 The madman disappeared in space! 
 
 The balloon rose to an immeasurable height. A hor- 
 rible cracking was heard. The gas, too much dilated, had 
 burst the balloon. I shut my eyes 
 
 Some instants after, a damp warmth revived me. I was 
 in the midst of clouds on fire. The balloon turned over 
 with dizzy velocity. Taken by the wind, it made a hundred 
 leagues an hour in a horizontal course, the lightning flashing 
 around it. 
 
 Meanwhile my fall was not a very rapid one. When I 
 opened my eyes, I saw the country. I was two miles from 
 the sea, and the tempest was driving me violently towards 
 it, when an abrupt shock forced me to loosen my hold. My
 
 20 A DRAMA IN THE AIR 
 
 hands opened, a cord slipped swiftly between my fingers, 
 and I found myself on the solid earth ! 
 
 It was the cord of the anchor, which, sweeping along the 
 sm-face of the ground, was caught in a crevice; and my bal- 
 loon, unballasted for the last time, careered off to lose itself 
 beyond the sea. 
 
 When I came to myself, I was in bed in a peasant's cot- 
 tage, at Harderwick, a village of La Gueldre, fifteen leagues 
 from Amsterdam, on the shores of the Zuyder-Zee. 
 
 A miracle had saved my life, but my voyage had been a 
 series of imprudences, committed by a lunatic, and I had not 
 been able to prevent them. 
 
 May this terrible narrative, though instructing those who 
 read it, not discourage the explorers of the air. 
 
 THE END
 
 The Watch's Soul 
 
 OR 
 
 Master Zacharius
 
 The Watch's Soul 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 A winter's night 
 
 TNjj^ HE city of Geneva is situated at the western ex- 
 \ tremity of the lake to which it gives — or owes 
 p — its name. The Rhone, which crosses the 
 city on emerging from the lake, divides it 
 into two distinct quarters, and is itself divi- 
 ded, in the center of the city, by an island 
 rising between its two banks. This topographical situation 
 is often to be observed in the great centers of commerce 
 or industry. Doubtless the earliest inhabitants were se- 
 duced by the facilities of transportation afforded by the 
 rapid arms of the rivers, — >" those roads which advance 
 of themselves," as Pascal says. In the case of the Rhone, 
 they are roads which run. At the period when new and 
 regular buildings had not as yet been erected on this island, 
 anchored like a Dutch galiot in the midst of the river, the 
 wonderful mass of houses huddled the one against the 
 other offered to the eye a confusion full of charms. The 
 small extent of the island had forced some of these build- 
 ings to perch upon piles, fastened pell-mell in the strong 
 currents of the Rhone. These big timbers, blackened by 
 time and worn by the waters, looked like the claws of an 
 immense crab, and produced a fantastic effect. Some yel- 
 lowed nets, real spiders' webs stretched amid these vener- 
 able substructures, shivered and trembled in the shade as 
 if they had been the foliage of these old oaks, and the river, 
 engulfing itself in the midst of this forest of piles, foamed 
 with melancholy groans. 
 
 One of the habitations on the island struck the observer 
 by its strange appearance of extreme age. It was the resi- 
 dence of the old clockmaker. Master Zacharius, his daugh- 
 ter Gerande, Aubert Thun, his apprentice, and his old 
 servant, Scholastique. 
 
 What an original personage was this Zacharius! His 
 age seemed incalculable. The oldest inhabitants of Geneva 
 could not have told how long his lean head had wavered on 
 his shoulders, nor the first day on which he had been seen 
 
 23
 
 24 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 walking along the streets of the town, his long white locks 
 floating waywardly in the wind. This man did not live. 
 He oscillated after the manner of the pendulums of his 
 clocks. His features, dry and cadaverous, affected somber 
 tints. Like the pictures of Leonardo di Vinci, he had put 
 black in the foreground. 
 
 Gerande occupied the best room in the old house ; whence, 
 through a narrow window, her gaze rested sadly upon the 
 snowy summits of the Jura. But the bedroom and shop 
 of the old man were in a sort of cellar, situated on a level 
 with the river; the flooring rested on the piles themselves. 
 From an immemorial period Master Zacharius had not 
 been known to emerge thence, except at meal-time, and 
 when he went forth to regulate the different clocks of the 
 city. He passed the rest of the time at a bench covered 
 with numerous clockmaking instruments, which, for the 
 most part, he had himself invented. 
 
 For he was a man of talent. His works were very popu- 
 lar throughout France and Germany. The most indus- 
 trious workmen in Geneva freely admitted his superiority, 
 and that he was an honor to the city. They pointed him 
 put, saying, " To him is due the glory of having invented 
 the escapement! " 
 
 Indeed, it is from this invention, which the labors of 
 Zacharius will later make clear, that is to be dated the 
 birth of the real science of clockmaking. 
 
 One winter's evening old Scholastique was serving sup- 
 per, in which, according to ancient usage, she was aided 
 by the young apprentice. Though carefully prepared 
 dishes were offered to Master Zacharius in fine blue-and- 
 white porcelain, he ate nothing. He scarcely replied to the 
 soft questionings of Gerande, who was visibly affected by 
 the gloomy silence of her father; and the garrulousness of 
 Scholastique herself only struck his ear like the grumblings 
 of the river, to which he no longer paid attention. After 
 this silent repast the old clockmaker left the table without 
 embracing his daughter, nor did he, as usual, bid the rest 
 *' good-evening." He disappeared through the narrow 
 door which conducted to his retreat, and the staircase fairly 
 creaked under his heavy tread. 
 
 Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique remained silent for 
 some moments. The weather was gloomy; the clouds
 
 A WINTER'S NIGHT 25 
 
 dragged themselves heavily along the Alps, and threatened 
 to dissolve in rain; the severe temperature of Switzerland 
 filled the soul with melancholy, while the midland winds 
 prowled among the hills and whistled drearily. 
 
 " Do you know, my dear demoiselle," said Scholastique 
 at last, " that our master has kept wholly to himself for 
 some days ? Holy Virgin ! I see he has not been hungry, 
 for his words have remained in his stomach, and the Devil 
 himself would be adroit to force one out of him!" 
 
 " My father has some secret trouble which I cannot even 
 guess," replied Gerande, a sad anxiety betraying itself in 
 her countenance. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, do not permit so much sadness to over- 
 shadow your heart. You know the singular habits of Mas- 
 ter Zacharius. Who can read his secret thoughts in his 
 face ? Something annoying has no doubt happened to him, 
 but he will have forgotten it by to-morrow, and will repent 
 having made his daughter anxious." 
 
 It was Aubert who spoke thus, glancing at Gerande's 
 lovely eyes. Aubert was the first apprentice whom Master 
 Zacharius had ever admitted to the intimacy of his labors, 
 for he appreciated his intelligence, discretion, and goodness 
 of heart; and this young man had attached himself to 
 Gerande with that mysterious faith which presides over 
 heroic denouements. 
 
 Gerande was eighteen years of age. The oval of her 
 face recalled that of the artless Madonnas, whom venera- 
 tion still displays at the street corners of the antique towns 
 of Brittany. Her eyes betrayed an infinite simplicity. 
 She was beloved as the most delicate realization of a poet's 
 dream. Whilst, night and morning, she read her Latin 
 prayers in her iron-clasped missal, Gerande also discovered 
 a hidden sentiment in Aubert Thun's heart, and compre- 
 hended what a profound devotion the young workman had 
 for her. Indeed, the whole world in his eyes was con- 
 densed in this old house of the clockmaker, and he passed 
 all his time near the young girl, when, the hours of work 
 over, he left her father's workshop. 
 
 Old Scholastique saw all this, but said nothing. Her 
 loquacity exhausted itself in preference on the evils of the 
 times, and the little worries of the household. Nobody 
 tried to stop its course. It was with her as with the musi-
 
 26 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 cal snuff-boxes which they made at Geneva; once wound 
 up, unless you broke her, she would play all her airs 
 through. 
 
 Finding Gerande absorbed in a melancholy silence, 
 Scholastique left her old wooden chair, fixed a taper on 
 the end of a candlestick, lit it, and placed it near a small 
 waxen Virgin, sheltered in her niche of stone. It was the 
 family custom to kneel before this protecting Madonna of 
 the domestic hearth, and to beg her kindly watchfulness 
 during the coming night; but on this evening, Gerande re- 
 mained silent in her seat. 
 
 " Well, well, dear demoiselle," said the astonished 
 Scholastique, " supper is over, and it is time to go to bed. 
 Why do you tire your eyes by sitting up late? Ah, Holy 
 Virgin ! It is much better to sleep, and to get a little com- 
 fort from happy dreams! In these detestable times in 
 which we hve, who can promise herself a fortunate day? '* 
 
 "Ought we not to send for a doctor for my father?" 
 asked Gerande. 
 
 " A doctor ! " cried the old domestic. " Has Master 
 Zacharius ever listened to their fancies and pompous say- 
 ings ? He might accept medicines for the watches, but not 
 for the body ! " 
 
 " What shall we do ? " murmured Gerande. " Has he 
 gone to work, or has he retired? " 
 
 " Gerande," answered Aubert, softly, " some mental 
 trouble annoys your father, and that is all." 
 
 " Do you know what it is, Aubert ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, Gerande." 
 
 " Tell us, then," cried Scholastique, eagerly, prudently 
 extinguishing her taper. 
 
 " For several days, Gerande," said the young apprentice, 
 " something absolutely incomprehensible has been going 
 on. All the watches which your father has made and sold 
 for some years have suddenly stopped. Very many of 
 them have been brought back to him. He has carefully 
 taken them to pieces; the springs were in good condition, 
 and the wheels well set. He has put them together yet 
 more carefully; but, despite his skill, they have refused 
 to go." 
 
 " The devil's in it! " cried Scholastique. 
 
 "Why say you so?" asked Gerande. "It seems very
 
 A WINTER'S NIGHT 27 
 
 natural to me. All things are limited in the world. The 
 infinite cannot be fashioned by the hands of men." 
 
 " It is none the less true," returned Aubert, " that there 
 is in this something very mysterious and extraordinary. 
 I have myself been helping Master Zacharius to search for 
 the cause of this derangement of his watches; but I have 
 not been able to find it, and more than once I have de- 
 spairingly let my tools fall from my hands." 
 
 " But why undertake so vain a task? " resumed Scholas- 
 tique. " Is it natural that a little copper instrument should 
 go of itself, and mark the hours? We ought to have kept 
 to the sun-dial ! " 
 
 " You will not talk thus, Scholastique," said Aubert, 
 " when you learn that the sun-dial was invented by Cain." 
 
 " O Lord ! what are you telling me ? " 
 
 " Do you think," asked Gerande, simply, " that we might 
 pray to God to give life to my father's watches? " 
 
 " Without doubt," replied Aubert. 
 
 " Good ! These will be useless prayers," grumbled the 
 old servant, " but Heaven will pardon them for their good 
 intent." 
 
 The taper was relighted. Scholastique, Gerande, and 
 Aubert knelt down together upon the flags of the room. 
 The young girl prayed for her mother's soul, for a bless- 
 ing for the night, for travelers and prisoners, for the good 
 and the wicked, and more earnestly than all for the un- 
 known misfortunes of her father. Then the three devout 
 souls rose with somewhat of confidence in their hearts, for 
 they had laid their sorrow in God's bosom. 
 
 Aubert repaired to his own room ; Gerande sat pensively 
 by the window, whilst the last lights were disappearing 
 from the city streets. The terrors of this winter's night had 
 increased. Sometimes, with the whirlpools of the river, 
 the wind engulfed itself among the piles, and the whole 
 house shivered an dshook; but the young girl, absorbed in 
 her sadness, thought only of her father. After hearing 
 what Aubert told her, the malady of Master Zacharius took 
 fantastic proportions in her mind ; and it seemed to her as 
 if his dear existence, become purely mechanical, moved now 
 with pain and effort on its exhausted pivots. 
 
 Suddenly the shutters, impelled by the squall, struck 
 against the windows of the room. The young girl leaned
 
 28 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 out of the window to draw to the shutter shaken by the 
 wind, but she feared to do so. It seemed to her that the 
 rain and the river, confounding their tumultous waters, 
 were submerging the frail house, the planks of which were 
 creaking in every direction. She would have flown from 
 her chamber, but she saw below the flickering of a light 
 which appeared to come from Master Zacharius's retreat, 
 and in one of those momentary calms, during which the 
 elements keep a sudden silence, her ear caught plaintive 
 sounds. She tried to shut her window, but could not. 
 The wind violently repelled her, like a villain who was in- 
 troducing himself into a dwelling. 
 
 Gerande thought she would go mad from terror. What 
 was her father doing? She opened the door, and it es- 
 caped from her hands, and shook loudly under the attack 
 of the tempest. Gerande then found herself in the dark 
 supper-room, succeeded in gaining, on tiptoe, the staircase 
 which led to her father's shop, and, pale and fainting, 
 glided down. 
 
 The old watchmaker was upright in the middle of the 
 room, which was filled with the groans of the river. His 
 bristling hair gave him a sinister aspect. He was talking 
 and gesticulating, without seeing or hearing anything. Ge- 
 rande arrested her steps on the threshold 
 
 "It is death!" said Master Zacharius, in a thick voice; 
 " it is death ! Why should I live longer, now that I have 
 dispersed my existence over the earth? For I, Master 
 Zacharius, am really the creator of all the watches that I 
 have fashioned ! It is a part of my very soul that I have 
 shut up in each of these boxes of iron, silver, or gold! 
 Every time that one of these accursed watches stops, I feel 
 my heart cease beating, for I have regulated them with its 
 pulsations ! " 
 
 As he spoke in this strange way, the old man cast his 
 eyes on his bench. There lay all the pieces of a watch that 
 he had carefully taken apart. He took up a sort of hollow 
 cyliiider, called a barrel, in which the spring is enclosed, 
 and removed the steel spiral, which, instead of relaxing 
 itself, according to the laws of its elasticity, remained 
 coiled on itself, like a sleeping viper. It seemed knotted, 
 like those impotent old men whose blood has long been 
 congealed. Master Zachari'vs vainly essayed to uncoil it
 
 A WINTER'S NIGHT 29 
 
 with his thin fingers, the outHnes of which were exaggerated 
 on the wall ; but he tried in vain, and soon, with a terrible 
 cry of anguish and rage, he threw it through the peephole 
 into the boiling Rhone. 
 
 Gerande, her feet riveted to the floor, stood breathless 
 and motionless. She wished to approach her father, but 
 could not. Giddy hallucinations took possession of her. 
 Suddenly she heard, in the shade, a voice murmur in her 
 ears, " Gerande, dear Gerande! grief still keeps you awake! 
 Go in again, I beg of you; the night is cold." 
 
 " Aubert ! " whispered the young girl. " You ! " 
 
 " Ought I not to be disturbed by what disturbs you ? '* 
 
 These soft words sent the blood back into the young girl's 
 heart. She leaned on Aubert's arm, and said to him, " My 
 father is very ill, Aubert! You alone can cure him, for 
 this disorder of the mind would not yield to his daughter's 
 consolings. His mind is attacked by a very natural de- 
 lusion, and in working with him, repairing the watches, you 
 will bring him back to reason. Aubert," she continued, 
 " it is not true, is it, that his life confounds itself with that 
 of his watches ? " 
 
 Aubert did not reply. 
 
 ** Then it must be a calling reproved of God — that of 
 my father ? " 
 
 " I know not," returned the apprentice, warming the 
 cold hands of the girl with his own. " But go back to your 
 room, my poor Gerande, and with sleep recover hope ! " 
 
 Gerande slowly returned to her chamber, and remained 
 there till daylight; sleep did not weigh down her eyelids. 
 Meanwhile, Master Zacharius, always mute and motionless, 
 gazed at the river as it railed turbently at his feet. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE 
 
 The severity of a Geneva merchant in business matters 
 has become proverbial. He is rigidly honorable, and ex- 
 cessively just. What must, then, have been the shame of 
 Master Zacharius, when he saw these watches, which he 
 had so carefully constructed, returning to him from every 
 direction ?
 
 30 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 It was certain that these watches had suddenly stopped, 
 and without any apparent reason. The wheels were in a 
 good condition and firmly fixed, but the springs had lost 
 all elasticity. Vainly did the watchmaker try to replace 
 them; the wheels remained motionless. These unaccount- 
 able derangements were greatly to the old man's discredit. 
 His noble inventions had many times brought upon him 
 suspicions of sorcery, which now seemed confirmed. 
 These rumors reached Gerande, and she often trembled for 
 her father, when she saw the malicious glances directed to- 
 wards him. 
 
 Yet on the morning after this night of anguish, Master 
 Zacharius seemed to resume work with some confidence. 
 The morning sun inspired him with some courage. Aubert 
 hastened to join him in the shop, and received an affable 
 " good-day." 
 
 " I am getting on better," said the old man. " I don't 
 know what strange troubles of the head attacked me yester- 
 day, but the sun has quite chased them away, with the 
 clouds of the night." 
 
 " In faith, master," returned Aubert, " I don't like the 
 night for either of us ! " 
 
 " And thou art right, Aubert. If you ever become a 
 superior man, you will understand that day is as necessary 
 to you as food. A man of merit owes himself to the 
 homage of the rest of mankind who recognize his 
 worth." 
 
 " Master, it seems to me that the pride of science has 
 possessed you." 
 
 " Pride, Aubert ! Destroy my past, annihilate my pres- 
 ent, dissipate my future, and then it will be permitted to 
 me to live in obscurity! Poor boy, who comprehends not 
 the sublime things to which my art is wholly devoted! 
 Art thou not but a tool in my hands? " 
 
 " Yet, Master Zacharius," resumed Aubert, " I have 
 more than once merited your praise for the manner in 
 which I adjusted the most delicate pieces of your watches 
 and clocks." 
 
 " No doubt, Aubert ; thou art a good workman, such as 
 I love; but when thou workest, thou thinkest thou hast in 
 thy hands but copper, silver, gold; thou dost not perceive 
 these metals, which my genius animates, palpitating like
 
 THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE 31 
 
 living flesh! Thus thou wouldst not die, with the death 
 of thy works ! " 
 
 Master Zacharius remained silent after these words; 
 but Aubert essayed to keep up the conversation. " In- 
 deed, master," said he, " I love to see you work so unceas- 
 ingly! You will be ready for the festival of our corpora- 
 tion, for I see that the work on this crystal watch is going 
 forward famously." 
 
 " No doubt, Aubert/' cried the old watchmaker, " and it 
 will be no slight honor for me to have been able to cut and 
 shape the crystal to the durability of a diamond! Ah, 
 Louis Berghen did well to perfect the art of diamond-cut- 
 ting, which has enabled me to polish and pierce the hardest 
 stones ! " 
 
 Master Zacharius was holding several small watch pieces 
 of cut crystal, and of exquisite workmanship. The wheels, 
 pivots, and box of the watch were of the same material, 
 and he had employed remarkable skill in this very difficult 
 task. " Would it not be fine," said he, his face flushing, 
 " to see this watch palpitating beneath its transparent en- 
 velope, and to be able to count the very beatings of its 
 heart?" 
 
 " I will wager, sir," replied the young apprentice, " that 
 it will not vary a second in a year." 
 
 " And you would wager on a certainty ! Have I not 
 imparted to it all that is purest of myself? And does my 
 heart itself vary? " 
 
 Aubert did not dare to lift his eyes to his master's trans- 
 figured face. 
 
 " Tell me frankly," said the old man, sadly. " Have 
 you never taken me for a fool? Do you not think me 
 sometimes subject to dangerous folly? Yes; is it not? 
 In my daughter's eyes and yours, I have often read my 
 condemnation. Oh!" he cried, as if in pain, "to be not 
 understood by those whom one most loves in the world! 
 But I will prove victoriously to thee, Aubert, that I am 
 right! Do not bow thy head, for thou wilt be stupefied. 
 The day on which thou understandest how to listen to and 
 comprehend me, thou wilt see that I have discovered the 
 secrets of existence, the secrets of the mysterious union of 
 the soul with the bodv ! " 
 
 As he spoke thus, Master Zacharius appeared superb in
 
 32 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 his vanity. His eyes glittered with a supernatural fire, 
 and his pride illumined every feature. And truly, if ever 
 vanity was excusable, it was such vanity as that of Master 
 Zacharius ! 
 
 The watchmaker's art, indeed, down to his time, had re- 
 mained almost in its infancy. From the day when Plato, 
 four centuries before the Christian era, invented the night 
 watch, a sort of clepsydra which indicated the hours of the 
 night by the sound and playing of a flute, the science had 
 continued nearly stationary. The masters paid more at- 
 tention to the arts than to mechanics, and it was the period 
 of beautiful watches of iron, copper, wood, silver, which 
 were richly engraved, like one of Cellini's ewers. They 
 made a masterpiece of chasing, which measured time very 
 imperfectly, but was still a masterpiece. When the artist's 
 imagination was not directed to the perfection of modeling, 
 it sought to create clocks with moving figures and melodious 
 sounds, which were put in operation in a very diverting 
 fashion. Besides, who troubled himself, in those days, 
 with regulating the advance of the hours? The delays of 
 the law were not as yet invented; the physical and astro- 
 nomical sciences had not as yet established their calcula- 
 tions on scrupulously exact measurements; there were 
 neither establishments which were shut at a given hour, 
 nor trains which departed at a precise moment. In the 
 evening the curfew bell sounded; and at night the hours 
 were cried amid the universal silence. Certainly people 
 did not live so long, if existence is measured by the amount 
 of business done; but they lived better. The mind was 
 enriched with the noble sentiments born of the contempla- 
 tion of masterpieces. They built a church in two centu- 
 ries, a painter painted but few pictures in the course of 
 his life, a poet only composed one great work; but these 
 were so many masterpieces. 
 
 When the exact sciences began at last to make some prog- 
 ress, watch and clock making followed in their path, though 
 it was always arrested by an insurmountable difficulty, — 
 the regular and continuous measurement of time. 
 
 It was in the midst of this stagnation that Master 
 Zacharius invented the escapement, which enabled him to 
 obtain a mathematical regularity by submitting the move- 
 ment of the pendulum to a constant force. This invention 
 
 V. 1 Verne
 
 THE PRIDE OF SCIENCE 33 
 
 had turned the old man's head. Pride, swelhng in his 
 heart, hke mercury in the thermometer, had attained the 
 height of transcendent folly. By analogy he had allowed 
 himself to be drawn to materialistic conclusions, and as he 
 constructed his watches, he fancied that he had surprised 
 the hitherto undiscovered secrets of the union of the soul 
 with the body. 
 
 So it was that, on this day, perceiving that A'ubert lis- 
 tened to him attentively, he said to him in a tone of simple 
 conviction, "Dost thou know what life is, my child? 
 Hast thou comprehended the action of those springs which 
 produce existence? Hast thou examined thyself? No; 
 and yet, with the eyes of science, thou mightst have seen 
 the intimate relation which exists between God's work and 
 my own, for it is from his creature that I have copied the 
 combinations of the wheels of my clocks." 
 
 " Master," replied Aubert, eagerly, *' can you compare 
 a copper or steel machine with that breath of God which is 
 called the soul, which animates our bodies, as the breeze 
 lends motion to the flowers? What mechanism could be 
 so adjusted as to inspire us with thought? " 
 
 " That is not the question," responded Master Zacharius, 
 gently, but with all the obstinacy of a blind man walking 
 towards an abyss, " In order to understand me, thou 
 must recall the object of the escapement which I have in- 
 vented. When I saw the irregular working of clocks, I 
 understood that the movements shut up in them did not 
 suffice, and that it was necessary to submit them to the 
 regularity of some independent force. I then tliought that 
 the balance-wheel might accomplish this, and I succeeded 
 in regulating the movement! Now, was it not a sublime 
 idea that came to me, to return to it its lost force by the 
 action of the clock itself, which it was charged with regu- 
 lating?" 
 
 Aubert assented by a motion. 
 
 " Now, Aubert," continued the old man, growing ani- 
 mated, "cast thine eyes upon thyself! Dost thou not un- 
 derstand that there are two distinct forces in us, that of the 
 soul and that of the body, that is, a movement and a regu- 
 lator? The soul is the principle of life; that is, then, the 
 movement. Whether it is produced by a w^eight, by a 
 spring, or by an immaterial influence, it is none the less
 
 34 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 at the heart. But without the body this movement would 
 be unequal, irregular, impossible! Thus the body regu- 
 lates the soul, and, like the balance-wheel, it is submitted to 
 regular oscillations. And this is so true, that one falls ill 
 when one's drink, food, sleep — in a word, the functions of 
 the body — are not properly regulated ! As in my watches, 
 the soul renders to the body the force lost by its oscilla- 
 tions. Well, what produces this intimate union between 
 soul and body, if not a marvelous escapement, by which 
 the wheels of the one work into the wheels of the other? 
 This is what I have divined, applied; and there are no 
 longer any secrets for me in this life, which is, after all, 
 but an ingenious mechanism ! " 
 
 Master Zacharius was sublime to see in this hallucina- 
 tion, which transported him to the ultimate mysteries of 
 the infinite. But his daughter Gerande, standing on the 
 threshold of the door, had heard all. She rushed into her 
 father's arms, and he pressed her convulsively to his breast. 
 
 "What is the matter with thee, my daughter?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "HI had only a spring here," said she, putting her 
 hand on her heart, " I would not love you as I do, my 
 father." 
 
 Master Zacharius looked intently at Gerande, and did 
 not reply. Suddenly he uttered a cry, carried his hand 
 eagerly to his heart, and fell fainting on his old leathern 
 chair. 
 
 " Father, what is the matter?" 
 
 " Help ! " cried Aubert. " Scholastique ! " 
 
 But Scholastique did not come at once. Someone was 
 knocking at the front door; she had gone to open it, and 
 when she returned to the shop, before she could open her 
 mouth, the old watchmaker, having recovered his senses, 
 spoke : " I divine, my old Scholastique, that you bring me 
 still another of those accursed watches which have 
 stopped." 
 
 " O Lord, it is true enough ! " replied Scholastique, hand- 
 ing a watch to Aubert. 
 
 " My heart could not be mistaken ! " said the old man, 
 with a sigh. 
 
 Aubert carefully adjusted the watch, but it would not go.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A STRANGE VISIT 
 
 Poor Gerande would have lost her life with that of her 
 father, had it not been for the thought of Aubert, who still 
 attached her to the world. The old watchmaker was, little 
 by little, passing away. His faculties evidently grew more 
 feeble, as he concentrated thera on a single thought. By 
 a sad association of ideas, he referred everything to his 
 monomania, and human existence seemed to have departed 
 from him. Moreover, certain malicious rivals revived 
 the hostile rumors which had spread concerning his labors. 
 
 The news of the strange derangements which his watches 
 betrayed had a prodigious effect upon the master clockma- 
 kers of Geneva. What signified this sudden inertia of 
 their wheels, and why these strange relations which they 
 seemed to have with the old man's life? These were the 
 kind of mysteries which people never contemplate without a 
 secret terror. In the various classes of the town, from the 
 apprentices to the great lords who used his watches, there 
 was no one who could not himself judge of the singularity 
 of the fact. The citizens wished, but in vain, to penetrate 
 to Master Zacharius. He fell very ill; and this enabled 
 his daughter to withdraw him from incessant visits, which 
 thereupon degenerated into reproaches and recriminations. 
 
 Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of 
 this organic wasting away, the cause of which could not be 
 discovered. It sometimes seemed as if the old man's heart 
 had ceased to beat; then the pulsations were resumed with 
 an alarming irregularity. 
 
 A custom existed, in those days, of submitting the works 
 of the masters to the judgment of the people. The heads 
 of the various corporations sought to distinguish themselves 
 by the novelty or the perfection of their productions, and 
 it was among these that the condition of Master Zacharius 
 excited the most lively, because most interested, commiser- 
 ation. His rivals pitied him the more willingly, the less 
 he was to be feared. They never forgot the old man's suc- 
 cess, when he exhibited his magnificent clocks with moving 
 figures, his striking watches, which provoked the general 
 admiration, and commanded such high prices in the cities 
 of France, Switzerland, and Germany. 
 
 Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of 
 
 35
 
 36 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 Gerande and A'ubert, his strength seemed to return a Httle, 
 and in the tranquihty in which his convalescence left him, 
 he succeeded in detaching himself from the thoughts which 
 had absorbed him. As soon as he could walk, his daughter 
 lured him away from the house, which was still besieged 
 with dissatisfied intruders. Aubert remained in the shop, 
 vainly adjusting and readjusting the rebel watches; and the 
 poor boy, completely mystified, sometimes covered his face 
 in his hands, fearful that he, like his master, might go mad. 
 
 So it came about that the old watchmaker at last per- 
 ceived that he was not alone in the world. As he looked 
 upon his young and lovely daughter, himself old and 
 broken, he reflected that after his death she would be left 
 alone, without support. Many of the young mechanics of 
 Geneva had already sought to win Gerande's love ; but none 
 of them had succeeded in gaining access to the impenetrable 
 retreat of the watchmaker's household. It was natural, 
 then, that during this lucid interval the old man's choice 
 should fall on Aubert Thun. Once struck with this 
 thought, he remarked to himself that this young couple 
 had been brought up with the same ideas and the same be- 
 liefs, and the oscillations of their hearts seemed to him, as 
 he said one day to Scholastique, " isochronal." 
 
 The old servant, literally delighted with the word, though 
 she did not understand it, swore by her holy patron saint 
 that the whole town should hear it within a quarter of an 
 hour. Master Zacharius found it difficult to calm her, but 
 made her promise to keep on this subject a silence which 
 she never was known to observe. 
 
 So, though Gerande and Aubert were ignorant of it, 
 all Geneva was soon talking of their speedy union. But 
 it happened also that, while the worthy folk were gossiping, 
 a strange chuckle was often heard, and a voice saying, 
 " Gerande will not wed Aubert." 
 
 If the gossipers turned round, they found themselves 
 facing a little old man who was quite a stranger to them. 
 
 How old was this singular being? No one could have 
 told. People conjectured that he must have existed for 
 several centuries, and that was all. His big flat head rested 
 upon shoulders the width of which was equal to the height 
 of his body; this was not above three feet. This person- 
 age would have figured well on a pendulum fulcrum, for
 
 A STRANGE VISIT 37 
 
 the dial would have naturally been placed on his face, and 
 the balance-wheel would have oscillated at its ease in his 
 chest. His nose might readily be taken for the style of a 
 sun-dial, for it was small and sharp; his teeth, far apart, 
 resembled the gearing of a wheel, and ground themselves 
 between his lips ; his voice had the metallic sound of a bell, 
 and you could hear his heart beat like the tick-tick of a 
 clock. This little man, whose arms moved like the needles 
 on a dial, walked with jerks, without ever turning round. 
 If anyone followed him, it was found that he walked a 
 league an hour, and that his course was nearly circular. 
 
 This strange being had not long been seen wandering, 
 or rather circulating, around the town; but it had already 
 been observed that, every day, at the moment when the sun 
 passed the meridian, he stopped before the Cathedral of 
 Saint Pierre, and resumed his course after the twelve 
 strokes of midday had sounded. Excepting at this precise 
 moment, he seemed to become a part of all the conversations 
 in which the old watchmaker was talked of, and people 
 asked each other, in terror, what relation could exist be- 
 tween him and Master Zacharius. It was remarked, too, 
 that he never lost sight of the old man and his daughter 
 while they were taking their promenades. 
 
 One day Gerande perceived this monster looking at her 
 with a hideous smile. She clung to her father with a 
 frightened motion. 
 
 " Wliat is the matter, my Gerande ? " asked Master 
 Zacharius. 
 
 " I do not know," replied the young girl. 
 
 " But thou art changed, my child. Art thou going to 
 fall ill in thy turn? Ah, well," he added, with a sad smile, 
 "then I must take care of thee, and I will do it tenderly." 
 
 " O father, it will be nothing. I am cold, and I imag- 
 ine that it is " 
 
 "What, Gerande?" 
 
 " The presence of that man, who always follows us," 
 she replied in a low tone. 
 
 Master Zacharius turned towards the little old man. 
 " Faith, he goes well," said he, with a satisfied air, " for 
 it is just four o'clock. Fear nothing, my child; it is not 
 a man, it is a clock! " 
 
 Gerande looked at her father in terror. How could
 
 38 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 Master Zacharius read the hour on this strange creature's 
 visage ? 
 
 " By the by," continued the old watchmaker, paying no 
 further attention to the matter, "I have not seen Aubert 
 for several days." 
 
 " He has not left us, however, father," said Gerande, 
 whose thoughts turned into a gentler channel. 
 
 " What is he doing, then? " 
 
 " He is working." 
 
 " Ah ! " cried the old man. " He is at work repairing 
 my watches, is he not? But he will never succeed; for it 
 is not repairs they need, but a resurrection ! " 
 
 Gerande remained silent. 
 
 " I must know," added the old man, " if they have 
 brought back any more of those damned watches, upon 
 which the Devil has imposed an epidemic!" 
 
 After these words Master Zacharius fell into absolute 
 taciturnity, till he knocked at the door of his house, and 
 for the first time since his convalescence descended to his 
 shop, while Gerande sadly repaired to her chamber. 
 
 At this moment when Master Zacharius crossed the 
 threshold of his shop, one of the many clocks suspended 
 on the wall struck five o'clock. Usually the bells of these 
 clocks — admirably regulated as they were — struck simul- 
 taneously, and this rejoiced the old man's heart; but on 
 this day the bells struck one after another, so that for a 
 quarter of an hour the ear was deafened by the successive 
 noise. Master Zacharius suffered terribly; he could not 
 remain still, but went from one clock to the other, and beat 
 the measure for them, as an orchestra leader who has no 
 longer control over his musicians. 
 
 When the last had ceased striking, the door of the shop 
 opened, and Master Zacharius shuddered from head to 
 foot to see before him the little old man, who looked fixedly 
 at him and said, " Master, may I not speak with you a few 
 moments? " 
 
 "Who are you?" asked the watchmaker, abruptly. 
 
 " A colleague. I am charged with regulating the sun." 
 
 " Ah, you regulate the sun ! " replied Master Zacharius, 
 eagerly, without wincing. " I can scarcely compliment you 
 upon it. Your sun goes badly, to make ourselves agree with 
 it, we have to keep advancing and retarding our clocks ! "
 
 A STRANGE VISIT 39 
 
 tt 
 
 And, by the Devil's cloven foot," cried this weird per- 
 sonage, " you are right, my master ! My sun does not al- 
 ways indicate midday at the same moment as your clocks; 
 but some day it will be known that this is because of the in- 
 equality of the movement of the earth's transfer, and a 
 mean midday will be invented which will regulate this ir- 
 regularity ! " 
 
 " Shall I live till then ? " asked the old man, with glis- 
 tening eyes. 
 
 " Without doubt," replied the little old man, laughing. 
 " Can you believe that you will ever die ? " 
 
 "Alas! lam very ill." 
 
 ** Ah, let us talk of that. By Beelzebub ! that will lead 
 to just what I wish to speak to you about." 
 
 Saying this, the strange being leaped upon the old leather 
 chair, and carried his legs one under the other, after the 
 fashion of the bones which the painters of funeral hang- 
 ings cross beneath skulls. Then he resumed, in an ironical 
 tone, " See, Master Zacharius, what is going on in this 
 good town of Geneva? They say that your health is fail- 
 ing, that your watches have need of a doctor! " 
 
 "Ah, you believe that there is an intimate relation be- 
 tween their existence and mine?" cried Master Zacharius. 
 
 " Why, I imagine that these watches have faults, even 
 vices. If these wantons do not preserve a regular con- 
 duct, it is right that they should bear the consequences of 
 their irregularity. It seems to me that they have need of 
 reforming a little ! " 
 
 " What do you call faults ? " asked Master Zacharius, 
 reddening at the sarcastic tone in which these words were 
 uttered. " Have they not a right to be proud of their 
 ongm? 
 
 " Not too proud, not too proud," replied the little old 
 man. " They bear a celebrated name, and an illustrious 
 signature is graven on their cases, it is true, and theirs is 
 the exclusive privilege of being introduced among the 
 noblest families; but for some time they have become de- 
 ranged, and you can do nothing about it, Master Zacharius ; 
 and the stupidest apprentice in Geneva could prove it to 
 you!" 
 
 " To me, to me ! " cried Master Zacharius, with a flush 
 of outraged pride.
 
 40 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 "To you, Master Zacharius — ^you, who cannot restore 
 life to your watches ! " 
 
 " But it is because I have a fever, and so have they also ! " 
 replied the old man, as a cold sweat broke out upon him. 
 
 " Very well, they will die with you, since you are pre- 
 vented from imparting a little elasticity to their springs." 
 
 "Die! No, for you yourself have said it! I cannot 
 die, — I, the first watchmaker in the world ; I, who, by means 
 of these pieces and diverse wheels, have been able to regu- 
 late the movement with absolute precision! Have I not 
 subjected time to exact laws, and can I not dispose of 
 it like a despot? Before a sublime genius had disposed 
 regularly these wandering hours, in what vast waste was 
 human destiny plunged? At what certain moment could 
 the acts of life be connected with each other? But you, 
 man or devil, whatever you may be, have never considered 
 the magnificence of my art, which calls every science to its 
 aid! No, no! I, Master Zacharius, cannot die, for, as I 
 have regulated time, time would end with me! It would 
 return to the infinite, whence my genius has rescued it, and 
 it would lose itself irreparably in the gulf of chaos! No, 
 I can no more die than the Creator of this universe, sub- 
 mitted to its laws! I have become his equal, and I have 
 partaken of his power! If God has created eternity, Mas- 
 ter Zacharius has created time ! " 
 
 The old watchmaker now resembled the fallen angel, 
 defiant in the presence of the Creator. The little old man 
 seemed to breathe into him this impious transport. 
 
 " Well said, master," he replied. " Beelzebub had less 
 right than you to compare himself with God ! Your glory 
 must not perish! So your servant desires to give you 
 the method of controlling these rebellious watches." 
 
 "What is it? what is it?" cried Master Zacharius. 
 
 "You shall know on the day after that on which you 
 have given me your daughter's hand." 
 
 "My Gerande?" 
 
 "Herself!" 
 
 " My daughter's heart is not free," replied Master 
 Zacharius, who seemed neither astonished nor angry. 
 
 "Bah! She is not the least beautiful of watches; but 
 she will end by stopping also " 
 
 " My daughter, — my Gerande ! No ! "
 
 A STRANGE VISIT 41 
 
 " Well, return to your watches, Master Zacharius. Ad- 
 just and readjust them. Get ready the marriage of your 
 daughter and your apprentice. Temper your springs with 
 your best steel. Bless Aubert and the pretty Gerande. 
 But remember, your watches will never go, and Gerande 
 will not wed Aubert ! " 
 
 Thereupon the little old man disappeared so quickly 
 that Master Zacharius could not hear six o'clock strike 
 In his breast. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE CHURCH OF ST. PIERRE 
 
 Master Zacharius became more feeble in mind and 
 body every day. An unusual excitement, indeed, impelled 
 him to continue his work more eagerly than ever, nor 
 could his daughter entice him from it. From morning 
 till night discontented purchasers besieged the house, and 
 they got access to the old watchmaker himself, who knew 
 not which of them to listen to. 
 
 " This watch is too slow, and I cannot succeed in regu- 
 lating it," said one. 
 
 " This," said another, " is absolutely obstinate, and 
 stands still, as did Joshua's sun." 
 
 " If it is true," said most of them, " that your health 
 has an influence on that of your watches. Master Zacharius, 
 get well as soon as possible." 
 
 The old man gazed at these people with haggard eyes, 
 and only replied by shaking his head, or by a few sad 
 words : " Wait till the first fine weather, my friends. The 
 season Is coming which revives existence in wearied bodies. 
 The sun must come to warm us all ! " 
 
 "A fine thing, if my watches are to be ill through the 
 winter ! " said one of the most angry. " Do you know, 
 Master Zacharius, that your name is Inscribed in full on 
 their faces? By the Virgin, you do little honor to your 
 signature ! " 
 
 It happened at last that the old man, abashed by these 
 reproaches, took some pieces of gold from his old trunk, 
 and began to buy back the damaged watches. At news 
 of this, the customers came In a crowd, and the poor watch-
 
 42 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 maker's money fast melted away; but his honesty remained 
 intact, Gerande warmly praised his delicacy, which was 
 leading him straight towards ruin ; and Aubert soon offered 
 his own savings to his master. 
 
 Scholastique alone refused to listen to reason on the sub- 
 ject; but her efforts failed to prevent the unwelcome vis- 
 itors from reaching her master, and from soon departing 
 with some valuable object. Then her chattering was heard 
 in all the streets of the neighborhood, where she had long 
 been known. She eagerly denied the rumors of sorcery 
 and magic on the part of Master Zacharius, which gained 
 currency; but as at bottom she was persuaded of their 
 truth, she said her prayers over and over again to redeem 
 her pious falsehoods. 
 
 It had been noticed that for some time the old watch- 
 maker had neglected his religious duties. Time was, 
 when he had accompanied Gerande to church, and had 
 seemed to find in prayer the intellectual charm which it 
 imparts to thoughtful minds, as it is the most sublime exer- 
 cise of the imagination. This voluntary neglect of holy 
 practices, added to the secret habits of his life, had in 
 some sort confirmed the accusations leveled against his 
 labors. So, with the double purpose of drawing her father 
 back to God and to the world, Gerande resolved to call re- 
 ligion to her aid. She thought that it might give some 
 vitality to his dying soul; but the dogmas of faith and 
 humility had to combat, in the soul of Master Zacharius, an 
 insurmountable pride, and came into collision with that 
 vanity of science which connects everything with itself, 
 without rising to the infinite source whence first principles 
 flow. It was under these circumstances that the young 
 girl undertook her father's conversion, and her influence 
 was so effective that the old watchmaker promised to at- 
 tend high mass at the Cathedral on the following Sunday. 
 
 Old Scholastique could not contain her joy, and at last 
 found irrefutable arguments against the gossiping tongues, 
 which accused her master of impiety. She spoke of it to 
 her neighbors, her friends, her enemies, to those whom she 
 knew not as well as to those whom she knew. 
 
 " In faith, we scarcely believe what you tell us, dame 
 Scholastique," they replied ; " Master Zacharius has al- 
 ways acted in concert with the devil ! "
 
 THE CHURCH OF ST. PIERRE 43 
 
 (( 
 
 You haven't counted, then," replied the old servant, 
 "the fine bells which strike for my master's clocks? How 
 many times they have struck the hours of prayer and the 
 mass ! " 
 
 " No doubt," they would reply, " But has he not in- 
 vented machines which go all by themselves, and which 
 actually do the work of a real man? " 
 
 " Could a child of the devil," exclaimed dame Scholas- 
 tique, wrathfully, " have executed the fine iron clock of 
 the chateau of Andermatt, which the town of Geneva was 
 not rich enough to buy? A pious motto appeared at eacli 
 hour, and a Christian who obeyed them would have gone 
 straight to Paradise! Is that the work of the devil?" 
 
 This masterpiece, made twenty years before, had car- 
 ried Master Zacharius's fame to its acme; but even then 
 there had been accusations against him of sorcery. At 
 least, the old man's visit to the Cathedral w^ould reduce 
 malicious tongues to silence. 
 
 The Sunday so ardently anticipated by Gerande at last 
 arrived. The weather was fine, and the temperature in- 
 spiriting. The people of Geneva were passing quietly 
 through the streets, gayly chatting about the return of 
 spring. Gerande, tenderly taking the old man's arm, di- 
 rected her steps towards the Cathedral, while Scholastique 
 followed behind with the prayer-books. People looked 
 curiously at them as they passed. The old watchmaker 
 permitted himself to be led like a child, or rather like a 
 blind man. The faithful of Saint Pierre were .almost 
 frightened when they saw him cross the threshold, and 
 shrank back at his approach. 
 
 The chants of high mass were already resounding 
 through the church. Gerande advanced to her accustomed 
 bench, and kneeled with profound and simple reverence. 
 Master Zacharius remained standing beside her. 
 
 The ceremonies continued with the majestic solemnity 
 of that pious age, but the old man had no faith. He did 
 not implore the pity of Heaven with cries of anguish of 
 the " Kyrie " ; he did not, with the " Gloria in Excelsis," 
 sing the splendors of the celestial heights; the reading of the 
 Testament did not draw him from his materialistic revery, 
 and he forgot to join in the homage of the " Credo." This 
 proud old man remained motionless, as insensible and si-
 
 44 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 lent as a stone statue; and even at the solemn moment 
 when the bell announced the miracle of transubstantiation, 
 he did not bow his head, but gazed directly at the sacred 
 hsot which the priest raised above the heads of the faith- 
 ful. Gerande looked at her father, and a flood of tears 
 moistened her missal. 
 
 At this moment the clock of Saint Pierre struck half 
 past eleven. Master Zacharius turned quickly towards 
 this ancient clock which he had regulated and which still 
 spoke. It seemed to him as if its face was gazing steadily 
 at him; the figures of the hours shone as if they had been 
 engraved in lines of fire, and the hands darted forth elec- 
 tric sparks from their sharp points. 
 
 The mass ended. It was customary for the " Angelus " 
 to be said at noon, and the priests, before leaving the altar, 
 waited for the clock to strike the hour of twelve. In a 
 few moments this prayer would ascend to the feet of the 
 Virgin. But suddenly a harsh noise was heard. Master 
 Zacharius uttered a piercing cry. 
 
 The large hand of the clock, having reached twelve, had 
 abruptly stopped, and the clock did not strike the hour. 
 
 Gerande hastened to her father's aid. He had fallen 
 down motionless, and they carried him outside the church. 
 " It is the death-blow ! " murmured Gerande, sobbing. 
 
 When he had been borne home, Master Zacharius lay 
 upon his bed utterly crushed. Life seemed only to still 
 exist on the surface of his body, like the last whiflfs of 
 smoke about a lamp just extinguished. 
 
 When he came to his senses, Aubert and Gerande were 
 leaning over him. At this supreme moment the future 
 took in his eyes the shape of the present. He saw his 
 daughter alone, without support. " My son," said he to 
 Aubert, " I give my daughter to thee." 
 
 So saying, he stretched out his hand towards his two 
 children, who were thus united at his death-bed. 
 
 But soon Master Zacharius lifted himself up in a par- 
 oxysm of rage. The words of the little old man recurred 
 to his mind. " I do not wish to die ! " he cried ; " I cannot 
 die ! I, Master Zacharius, ought not to die ! My books, — 
 my accounts! " 
 
 He sprang from his bed towards a book in which the 
 names of his customers, and the articles which had been
 
 THE CHURCH OF ST. PIERRE 45 
 
 sold to them, were inscribed. He seized it and rapidly 
 turned over its leaves, and his emaciated thumb fixed itself 
 on one of the pages. 
 
 " There ! " he cried, " there I this old iron clock, sold to 
 Pittonaccio! It is the only one that has not been returned 
 to me! It still exists, — it goes, — it lives! Ah, I wish for 
 it, — I must find it! I will take such care of it that death 
 will no longer seek me ! " And he fainted away. 
 
 Aubert and Gerande knelt by the old man's bedside, and 
 prayed together. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE HOUR OF DEATH 
 
 Several days passed, and Master Zacharius, though al- 
 most dying, rose from his bed and returned to active life, 
 under a supernatural excitement. He lived by pride. 
 But Gerande did not deceive herself; her father's body and 
 soul were forever lost. 
 
 The old man got together his last resources, without 
 thought of those who were dependent upon him. He be- 
 trayed an incredible energy, walking, ferreting about, and 
 mumbling strange, incomprehensible words. One morning 
 Gerande went down to his shop. Master Zacharius was 
 not there. She waited for him all day. Master Zacharius 
 did not return. 
 
 " Where can he be? " Aubert asked himself. An Inspira- 
 tion suddenly came to his mind. He remembered the last 
 words which Master Zacharius had spoken. The old man 
 only lived now in the old iron clock that had not been re- 
 turned ! Master Zacharius must have gone in search of it. 
 Aubert spoke of this to Gerande. 
 
 " Let us look at my father's book," she replied. 
 
 They descended to the shop. The book was open on the 
 bench. All the watches or clocks made by the old man, 
 and which had been returned to him out of order, were 
 stricken out, excepting one. " Sold to M. Pittonaccio, an 
 iron clock, with bell and moving figures; sent to his cha- 
 teau at Andermatt." 
 
 It was this " moral " clock of which Scholastique had 
 spoken with so much enthusiasm.
 
 46 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 " My father is there ! " cried Gerande. 
 
 " Let us hasten thither," repHed Aubert. " We may still 
 save him! " 
 
 " Not for this life," murmured Gerande, " but at least 
 for the other." 
 
 *' By the grace of God, Gerande ! The chateau of An- 
 dermatt stands in the gorge of the * Dents-du-Midi,' 
 twenty hours from Geneva. Let us go ! " 
 
 That very evening Aubert and Gerande, followed by the 
 old servant, set out on foot by the road which skirts Lake 
 Leman. At last, late the next day, they reached the her- 
 mitage of Notre-Dame, which is situated at the base of the 
 Dents-du-Midi, six hundred feet above the Rhone. They 
 were nearly dead with fatigue. The hermit received the 
 wanderers as night was falling. They could not have gone 
 another step, and here they must needs rest. 
 
 The hermit could give them no news of Master Zach- 
 arius. They could scarcely hope to find him still living 
 amid these sad solitudes. The night was dark, the wind 
 howled amid the mountains, and the avalanches roared and 
 thundered down from the summits of the broken crags. 
 
 Aubert and Gerande, crouching before the hermit's 
 hearth, told him their melancholy tale. Their mantles, 
 covered with snow, were drying in a corner; and without, 
 the hermit's dog barked lugubriously, and mingled his voice 
 with that of the tempest. 
 
 " Pride," said the hermit to his guests, " has lost an an- 
 gel created for good. It is the obstacle against which the 
 destinies of man strike. You cannot oppose reasoning to 
 pride, the principal of all the vices, since, by its very nature, 
 the proud man refuses to listen to it. It only remains, 
 then, to pray for your father ! " 
 
 All four knelt down, when the barking of the dog re- 
 doubled, and someone knocked at the door of the hermit- 
 age. "Open, in the name of the devil!" 
 
 The door yielded under the blows, and a disheveled, hag- 
 gard, ill-clothed man appeared. 
 
 " My father ! " cried Gerande. It was Master Zach- 
 arius. 
 
 "Where am I?" said he. "In eternity! Time is 
 ended, — the hours no longer strike, — the hands have 
 stopped ! "
 
 THE HOUR OF DEATH 47 
 
 " Father ! " returned Gerande, with so piteous an emo- 
 tion that the old man seemed to return to the world of the 
 living. 
 
 "Thou here, Gerande?" he cried; "and thou, Aubert? 
 Ah, my dear betrothed ones, you are going to be married 
 in our old church ! " 
 
 " Father," said Gerande, seizing him by the arm, " come 
 home to Geneva, — come with us ! " 
 
 " Do not abandon your children ! " cried Aubert. 
 
 " Why return ? " replied the old man, sadly, " to those 
 places which my life has already quitted, and where a part 
 of myself is forever buried? " 
 
 " Your soul is not dead ! " said the hermit, solemnly. 
 
 " My soul ? O no, — its wheels are good ! I perceive 
 it beating regularly " 
 
 " Your soul is immaterial, — your soul is immortal ! " 
 replied the hermit, sternly. 
 
 " Yes, — like my glory ! But it is shut up in the cha- 
 teau of Andermatt, and I wish to see it again! " 
 
 The hermit crossed himself; Scholastique became almost 
 inanimate. Aubert held Gerande in his arms. 
 
 " The chateau of Andermatt is inhabited by one who is 
 damned," said the hermit, " one who does not salute the 
 cross of my hermitage." 
 
 " My father, go not thither ! " 
 
 " I want my soul ! My soul is mine " 
 
 " Hold him ! Hold my father ! " cried Gerande. 
 
 But the old man had leaped across the threshold, and 
 plunged into the night, crying, " Mine, mine, my soul ! " 
 
 Gerande, Aubert, and Scholastique hastened after him. 
 They went by difficult paths, across which Master Zacharius 
 sped like a tempest, urged by an irresistible force. The 
 snow raged round them, and mingled its white flakes with 
 the froth of the tumbling torrents. 
 
 The chateau of Andermatt was a ruin even then. A thick, 
 crumbling tower rose above it, and seemed to menace with 
 its downfall the old gables which reared themselves below. 
 The vast piles of jagged stones frowned gloomily to the 
 right. Several dark halls appeared amid the debris, with 
 caved-in ceilings, now become the abode of vipers. 
 
 A low and narrow postern, opening upon a ditch choked 
 with rubbish, gave access to the chateau. No doubt some
 
 4-8 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 margrave, half lord, half brigand, had inherited it; to the 
 margrave had succeeded bandits or counterfeiters, who 
 had been hung on the scene of their crime. The legend 
 went that on winter nights, Satan came to lead his diabolical 
 dances on the slope of the deep gorges in which the shadow, 
 of these ruins was engulfed. 
 
 But Master Zacharius was not dismayed by their sin- 
 ister aspect. He reached the postern. No one forbade 
 him to pass. A spacious and gloomy court presented itself 
 to his eyes. He passed along the kind of inclined plane 
 which conducted to one of the long corridors, the arches of 
 which seemed to banish daylight from beneath their heavy 
 springings. His advance was unresisted. Gerande, Au- 
 bert, and Scholastique closely followed him. 
 
 Master Zacharius, as if guided by an irresistible hand, 
 seemed sure of his way, and strode along with rapid step. 
 He reached an old worm-eaten door, which fell before his 
 blows, while the bats described oblique circles around his 
 head. 
 
 An immense hall, better preserved than the rest, was 
 soon reached. High sculptured panels, on which larves, 
 ghouls, and other strange figures seemed to agitate them- 
 selves confusedly, covered its walls. Several long and 
 narrow windows shivered beneath the bursts of the tem- 
 pest. 
 
 Master Zacharius, on reaching the middle of this hall, 
 uttered a cry of joy. On an iron support, fastened to the 
 wall, stood the clock in which now resided his entire life. 
 This unequaled masterpiece represented an ancient Roman 
 church, with its heavy bell-tower, where there was a com- 
 plete chime for the anthem of the day, the " Angelus," 
 the mass, and vespers. Above the church door, which 
 opened at the hour of the ceremonies, was placed a " rose," 
 in the center of which two hands moved, and the archivolt 
 of which reproduced the twelve hours of the face sculp- 
 tured in relief. Between the door and the rose, just as 
 Scholastique had said, a maxim, relative to the employ- 
 ment of every moment of the day, appeared on a copper 
 plate. Master Zacharius had regulated this succession of 
 devices with a really Christian solicitude; the hours of 
 prayer, of work, of repast, of recreation, and of repose 
 followed each other according to the religious discipline, 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE HOUR OF DEATH 49 
 
 and were infallibly to insure salvation to him who scrupu- 
 lously observed their commands. 
 
 Master Zacharius, intoxicated with joy, went forward 
 to take possession of the clock, when a frightful roar of 
 laughter resounded behind him. He turned, and by the 
 light of a smoky lamp recognized the little old man of 
 Geneva. " You here? " cried he. 
 
 Gerande was afraid. She drew closer to Aubert. 
 
 " Good day. Master Zacharius," said the monster. 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 " Signor Pittonaccio, at your service ! You have come 
 to give me your daughter! You have remembered my 
 words, — ' Gerande will not wed Aubert." 
 
 The young apprentice rushed upon Pittonaccio, who 
 escaped from him like a shadow. 
 
 "Stop, Aubert!" cried Master Zacharius. 
 
 " Good night," said Pittonaccio ; and he disappeared. 
 
 "My father, let us fly from this hateful place!" cried 
 Gerande. "My father!" 
 
 Master Zacharius was no longer there. He was pursu- 
 ing the phantom of Pittonaccio across the rickety corri- 
 dors. Scholastique, Gerande, and Aubert remained, 
 speechless and fainting, in the large gloomy hall. The 
 young girl had fallen upon a stone seat; the old servant 
 knelt beside her and prayed; Aubert remained erect 
 watching his betrothed. Pale lights wandered in the 
 darkness, and the silence was only broken by the movements 
 of the little animals which range among old wood, and 
 the noise of which marks the hours of " the clock of 
 death." 
 
 When daylight came, they ventured upon the endless 
 staircase which wound beneath these ruined masses; for 
 two hours they wandered thus, without meeting a living 
 soul, and hearing only a far-off echo responding to their 
 cries. Sometimes they found themselves buried a hundred 
 feet below the ground, and sometimes they reached places 
 whence they could overlook the surrounding mountains. 
 
 Chance brought them at last back again to the vast hall, 
 which had sheltered them during this night of anguish. 
 It was no longer empty. Master Zacharius and Pittonac- 
 cio were talking there together, the one upright and rigid 
 as a corpse, the other crouching over a marble table.
 
 so THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 Master Zacharius, when he perceived Gerande, went 
 forward and took her by the hand, and led her towards 
 Pittonaccio, saying, " Behold your lord and master, my 
 daughter. Gerande, behold your husband ! " 
 
 Gerande shuddered from head to foot. 
 
 " Never! " cried Aubert, " for she is my betrothed." 
 
 " Never ! " responded Gerande, like a plaintive echo. 
 
 Pittonaccio began to laugh. 
 
 " You wish me to die, then ? " exclaimed the old man. 
 " There, in that clock, the last which goes of all which 
 have gone from my hands, my life is shut up; and this 
 man tells me, * When I have thy daughter, this clock shall 
 belong to thee.' And this man will not adjust it. He can 
 break it, and plunge me into chaos. Ah, my daughter, you 
 no longer love me ! " 
 
 " My father ! " murmured Gerande, recovering con- 
 sciousness. 
 
 " li you knew what I have suffered, far away from 
 this principle of my existence!" resumed the old man. 
 " Perhaps its springs were left to wear out, its wheels to get 
 clogged. But now, in my own hands, I can nourish this 
 health so dear, for I must not die, — I, the great watch- 
 maker of Geneva. Look, my daughter, how these hands 
 advance with certain step. See, five o'clock is about to 
 strike. Listen well, and look at the maxim which is about 
 to be revealed." 
 
 Five o'clock struck with a noise which resounded sadly 
 in Gerande's soul, and these words appeared in red letters : 
 
 "you must eat of the fruits of the tree of 
 
 SCIENCE." 
 
 Aubert and Gerande looked at each other stupefied. 
 These were no longer the pious sayings of the Catholic 
 watchmaker. The breath of Satan must have passed 
 there. But Zacharius paid no attention to this, and re- 
 sumed : " Dost thou hear, my Gerande ? I live, I still 
 live! Listen to my breathing, — see the blood circulating 
 in my veins! No, thou wouldst not kill thy father, and 
 thou wilt accept this man for thy husband, so that I 
 may become immortal, and at last attain the power of 
 God ! " ' , . . . ...
 
 THE HOUR OF DEATH 51 
 
 At these blasphemous words old Scholastique crossed 
 herself, and Pittonaccio laughed aloud with joy. 
 
 " And then, Gerande, thou wilt be happy with him. See 
 this man, — he is Time ! Thy existence will be regulated 
 with absolute precision. Gerande, since I gave thee life, 
 give life to thy father! " 
 
 " Gerande," murmured Aubert, " I am thy betrothed." 
 
 " He is my father! " replied Gerande, fainting. 
 
 ** She is thine ! " said Master Zacharius. " Pittanaccio, 
 thou wilt keep thy promise ! " 
 
 " Here is the key of the clock," replied the horrible 
 man. 
 
 Master Zacharius seized the long key, which resembled 
 an uncoiled snake, and ran to the clock, which he hastened 
 to wind up with fantastic rapidity. The creaking of the 
 spring jarred upon the nerves. The old watchmaker wound 
 and wound the key, without stopping a moment, and it 
 seemed as if the movement were beyond his control. He 
 wound more and more quickly, with strange contortions, 
 until he fell from sheer weariness. 
 
 * There it is, wound up for a century ! " he cried. 
 
 Aubert rushed from the hall as if he were mad. After 
 long wandering, he found the outlet of the hateful chateau, 
 and hastened into the open air. He returned to the hermi- 
 tage of Notre-Dame, and talked so desperately to the holy 
 recluse, that the latter consented to return with him to the 
 chateau of Andermatt. 
 
 Master Zacharius had not left the hall. He ran every 
 moment to listen to the regular beating of the old clock. 
 Meanwhile the clock had struck, and to Scholastique's 
 great terror, these words had appeared on the silver face: 
 
 " MAN OUGHT TO BECOME THE EQUAL OF GOD." 
 
 The old man had not only not been shocked by these 
 impious maxims, but read them deliriously, and was pleased 
 with these thoughts of pride, while Pittonaccio kept close 
 by him. 
 
 The marriage-contract was to be signed at midnight. 
 Gerande, almost unconscious, saw or heard nothing. The 
 silence was only broken by the old man's words, and the 
 chuckling of Pittonaccio.
 
 52 THE WATCH'S SOUL 
 
 Eleven o'clock struck. Master Zacharius read in a loud 
 voice : 
 
 " MAN SHOULD BE THE SLAVE OF SCIENCE, AND SACRIFICE 
 TO IT RELATIVES AND FAMILY." 
 
 " Yes ! " he cried, " there is nothing but science in this 
 world!" 
 
 The hands slipped over the face of the clock with the 
 hiss of a serpent, and the movement beat with accelerated 
 strokes. Master Zacharius no longer spoke. He had 
 fallen to the floor, he rattled, and from his oppressed bosom 
 came only these half-broken words, "Life — science!" 
 
 The scene had now two new witnesses, the hermit and 
 Hubert. Master Zacharius lay upon the floor; Gerande 
 was praying beside him, more dead than alive. Of a sud- 
 den a dry, hard noise was heard, proceeding from the 
 striking-apparatus. 
 
 Master Zacharius sprang up. " Midnight! " he cried. 
 
 The hermit stretched out his hand towards the old watch- 
 maker, — and midnight did not sound. 
 
 Master Zacharius uttered a terrible cry, when these 
 words appeared: 
 
 " WHOEVER SHALL ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIMSELF THE 
 EQUAL OF GOD SHALL BE FOREVER DAMNED !" 
 
 The old clock burst with a noise like thunder, and the 
 spring, escaping, leaped across the hall with a thousand 
 fantastic contortions ; the old man rose, ran after it, trying 
 in vain to seize it, and exclaiming, " Aly soul, — my soul ! " 
 
 The spring bounded before him, first on one side, then 
 on the other, and he could not reach it. 
 
 At last Pittonaccio seized it, and, uttering a horrible 
 blasphemy, ingulfed himself in the earth. 
 
 Master Zacharius fell over. He was dead. 
 
 The old watchmaker was buried in the midst of the 
 peaks of Andermatt. 
 
 Then Aubert and Gerande returned to Geneva, and dur- 
 ing the long life which God accorded to them, they imposed 
 it on themselves to redeem by prayer the soul of the cast- 
 away of science. 
 
 THE END
 
 A Winter Amid the Ice 
 
 OR 
 
 The Cruise of the Jeune Hardie
 
 A Winter Amid the Ice 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BLACK FLAG 
 
 (^ •^^ HE cure of the ancient churcH of Dunkirk 
 i-r^ % ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ o'clock on the 12th of May, 18 — , 
 I X to perform, according to his custom, low mass 
 _ _^ j^ for a few pious sinners. 
 
 Attired in his priestly robes, he was ready 
 for the altar, when a man entered the sacristy, 
 at once joyous and frightened. He was a sailor of some 
 sixty years, but still vigorous and sturdy, with an open, hon- 
 est countenance. 
 
 " Monsieur the cure," said he, " stop a moment, please." 
 " What do you want so early in the morning, Jean Corn- 
 butte ? " asked the cure. 
 
 " Want? Why, to embrace you in my arms, i' faith! " 
 " Well, after the mass at which you are going to be pres- 
 ent " 
 
 " The mass ? " returned the old sailor, laughing. " Do 
 you think you are going to say your mass now, and that I 
 ■will let you do so? " 
 
 " And why should I not say my mass ? " asked the cure. 
 
 " Explain yourself. The third bell has sounded " 
 
 " Whether it has or not," replied Jean Cornbutte, " it will 
 sound many times to-day, monsieur, for you have promised 
 me that you will bless, with your own hands, the marriage 
 of my son Louis and my niece Marie! " 
 
 " He has arrived, then," said the cure joyfully. 
 " It Is nearly the same thing," replied Cornbutte, rubbing 
 his hands. " Our brig was signaled from the lookout at 
 sunrise, — our brig, which you yourself christened by the 
 good name of the ' Jeiine-Hardie ' ! " 
 
 " I congratulate you with all my heart, Cornbutte," said 
 the cure. " I remember our agreement. The vicar will 
 take my place, and I will put myself at your disposal against 
 your dear son's arrival." 
 
 55
 
 56 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 " And I promise you that he will not make you fast long," 
 replied the sailor, " You have published the banns, and you 
 will only have to absolve him from the sins he may have 
 committed between sky and water, in the Northern Ocean. 
 It is a grand idea, the marriage celebrated the very day he 
 arrives, and my son Louis shall leave his ship to go at once 
 to the church." 
 
 " Go, then, and arrange everything, Cornbutte," 
 
 " I fly, monsieur the cure. Good-morning!" 
 
 The sailor hastened with rapid steps to his house, which 
 stood on the quay, whence could be seen the Northern Ocean, 
 of which he seemed so proud. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte had amassed a comfortable sum at his 
 calling. After having long commanded the vessels of a rich 
 ship-owner of Havre, he had settled down in his native town, 
 where he had caused the brig Jeune-Hardie to be constructed 
 at his own expense. Several successful voyages had been 
 made in the North, and the ship always found a good sale 
 for its cargoes of wood, iron, and tar. Jean Cornbutte 
 then gave up the command of her to his son Louis, a fine 
 sailor of thirty, who, according to all the coasting captains, 
 was the boldest mariner in Dunkirk. 
 
 Louis Cornbutte had gone away deeply attached to Marie, 
 his father's niece, who found the time of his absence very 
 long and wear}^ Marie was scarcely twenty. She was a 
 pretty Flemish girl, with some Dutch blood in her veins. 
 Her mother, when she was dying, had confided her to her 
 brother, Jean Cornbutte. The brave old sailor loved her as 
 a daughter, and saw in her proposed union with Louis a 
 source of real and durable happiness. 
 
 The arrival of the ship, already signaled off the coast, 
 completed an important business operation, from which Jean 
 Cornbutte expected large profits. The Jeune-Hardie, which 
 had left three months before, came last from Bodoe, on the 
 west coast of Norway, and had made a quick voyage thence. 
 
 On returning home, Jean Cornbutte found the whole 
 house alive. Marie, with radiant face, had assumed her 
 wedding-dress. ** I hope the ship will not arrive before we 
 are ready ! " she said. 
 
 " Hurry, little one," replied Jean Cornbutte, " for the 
 wind is north, and she sails well, 3^ou know." 
 
 " Have our friends been told, uncle? " asked Marie.
 
 THE BLACK FLAG 57 
 
 " They have." 
 
 " The notary, and the cure? " 
 
 " Rest easy. You alone are keeping us waiting." 
 
 At this moment Clerbaut, an old crony, came in. " Well, 
 old Cornbutte," cried he, " here's luck ! Your ship has ar- 
 rived at the very moment that the government has decided 
 to contract for a large quantity of wood for the navy! " 
 
 " What is that to me? " replied Jean Cornbutte. " What 
 care I for the government? " 
 
 '* You see, Monsieur Clerbaut," said Marie, " one thing 
 only absorbs us, — Louis's return." 
 
 " I don't dispute that," replied Clerbaut. " But — in short 
 — this purchase of wood " 
 
 " And you shall be at the wedding," replied Jean Corn- 
 butte, interrupting the merchant, and shaking his hand as 
 if he would crush it. 
 
 " This purchase of wood " 
 
 " And with all our friends, landsmen and seamen, Cler- 
 baut. I have already informed everybody, and I shall in- 
 vite the whole crew of the ship." 
 
 "And shall we go and await them on the pier?" asked 
 Marie. 
 
 " Indeed we will," replied Jean Cornbutte. " We will 
 defile, two by two, with the violins at the head." 
 
 Jean Cornbutte's invited guests soon arrived. Though 
 it was very early, not a single one failed to appear. All 
 congratulated the honest old sailor whom they loved. 
 Meanwhile Marie, kneeling down, changed her prayers to 
 God into thanksgivings. She soon returned, lovely and 
 decked out, to the company ; all the women kissed her, while 
 the men vigorously grasped her by the hand. 
 
 It was a curious sight to see this joyous group taking its 
 way, at sunrise, towards the sea. The news of the ship's 
 arrival had spread through the port, and many heads, in 
 nightcaps, appeared at windows and half-opened doors. 
 Compliments and pleasant nods came from every side. 
 
 The party reached the pier in the midst of a concert of 
 praise and blessings. The weather was magnificent, and 
 the sun seemed to take part in the festivity. A fresh north 
 wind made the waves foam; and some fishing-smacks, their 
 sails trimmed for leaving port, streaked the sea with their 
 rapid wakes between the breakwaters.
 
 58 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 The two piers of Dunkirk stretch far out into the sea. 
 The wedding-party occupied the whole width of the north- 
 ern pier, and soon reached a small house situated at its ex- 
 tremity, inhabited by the harbor-master. The wind fresh- 
 ened, and the Jeune-Hardie ran swiftly under her topsails, 
 mizzen, brigantine, gallant, and royal. Jean Cornbutte, spy- 
 glass in hand, responded merrily to the questions of his 
 friends. 
 
 "See my ship!" he cried; "clean and steady as if she 
 had been rigged at Dunkirk! Not a bit of damage done, 
 — not a rope wanting ! " 
 
 " Do you see your son, the captain? " asked one. 
 
 " No, not yet. Why, he's at his business ! " 
 
 " Why doesn't he run up his flag? " asked Clerbaut. 
 
 " I scarcely know. He has a reason for it, I have no 
 doubt." 
 
 " Your spy-glass, uncle ? " said Marie, taking it from him. 
 " I want to be the first to see him." 
 
 " But he is my son, mademoiselle ! " 
 
 " He has been your son for thirty years," answered the 
 young girl, laughing, " and he has only been my betrothed 
 for two I " 
 
 The Jeune-Hardie was now entirely visible. Already the 
 crew were preparing to cast anchor. The upper sails had 
 been reefed. The sailors who were among the rigging 
 might be recognized. But neither Marie nor Jean Corn- 
 butte had yet been able to wave their hands at the captain 
 of the ship. 
 
 " There's the mate, Andre Vasling," cried Clerbaut. 
 
 " There's Fidele, the carpenter," said another. 
 
 " And our friend Penellan," said a third, saluting the 
 sailor named. 
 
 The Jeune-Hardie was only three cables' lengths from 
 the shore, when a black flag ascended to the gaff of the 
 brigantine. There was mourning on board the boat. A 
 shudder of terror seized the party and the heart of the 
 young girl. 
 
 The ship sadly swayed into port, and an icy silence reigned 
 on its deck. Soon it had passed the end of the pier. Marie, 
 Jean Cornbutte, and all their friends hurried towards the 
 quay at which she was to anchor, and in a moment found 
 themselves on board.
 
 THE BLACK FLAG 59 
 
 " My son ! " said Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 The sailors, with uncovered heads, pointed to the mourn- 
 ing flag. Marie uttered a cry of anguish, and fell into old 
 Cornbutte's arms. 
 
 Andre Vasling had brought back the Jcune-Hardie, but 
 Louis Cornbutte, Marie's betrothed, was not on board. 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 JEAN cornbutte's PROJECT 
 
 As soon as the young girl, confided to the care of the 
 sympathizing friends, had left the ship, Andre Vasling, the 
 mate, apprised Jean Cornbutte of the dreadful event which 
 had deprived him of his son, narrated in the ship's journal 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Near the Maelstrom, on the 26th of April, bad weather 
 and south-west winds. Perceived signals of distress made 
 by a schooner to the leeward. This schooner, deprived of 
 its mizzen-mast, was running towards the whirlpool, under 
 bare poles. Captain Louis Cornbutte, seeing that this ves- 
 sel was hastening into danger, resolved to board her. De- 
 spite the remonstrances of his crew, he had the long-boat 
 lowered into the sea, and got into it, with the sailor Cour- 
 tois and the helmsman Pierre Nouquet The crew watched 
 them until they disappeared in the fog. Night came on. 
 The sea became more and more boisterous. The Jeune- 
 Hardie was in danger of being engulfed by the Maelstrom. 
 She was obliged to fly before the wind. For several days 
 she hovered near the place of the disaster. The long-boat, 
 the schooner. Captain Louis, and the two sailors did not 
 reappear. Andre Vasling then called the crew together, took 
 command of the ship, and set sail for Dunkirk." 
 
 After reading this dry narrative, Jean Cornbutte wept 
 for a long time; if he had any consolation, it was that his 
 son had died in attempting to save his fellow-men. Then 
 the poor father left the ship, the sight of wliich made him 
 wretched, and returned to his desolate home. 
 
 The sad news soon spread throughout Dunkirk. The 
 many friends of the old sailor came to bring him their sin- 
 cere sympathy. Then the sailors of the Jeune-Hardic gave 
 a more particular account of the event, and Andre Vasling
 
 « 
 « 
 
 6o A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 told Marie, at great length, of the devotion of her betrothed 
 to the last. 
 
 When he ceased weeping, Jean Cornbutte, the next day 
 after the ship's arrival, said, " Are you very sure, Andre, 
 that my son has perished? " 
 
 Alas, yes. Monsieur Jean," replied the mate. 
 And you made all possible search for him? " 
 All, Monsieur Cornbutte. But it is unhappily but too 
 certain that he and the two sailors were sucked down in 
 the whirlpool of the Maelstrom." 
 
 " Would you like, Andre, to keep the second command 
 of the ship?" 
 
 " That will depend upon the captain. Monsieur Jean." 
 
 " I shall be the captain," replied the old sailor. " I am 
 going to discharge the cargo with all speed, make up my 
 crew, and sail in search of my son." 
 
 " Your son is dead ! " said Andre obstinately. 
 
 " It is possible, Andre," replied Jean Cornbutte sharply, 
 " but it is also possible that he saved himself. I am going 
 to rummage all the ports of Norway, and when I am fully 
 convinced that I shall never see him again, I will return here 
 to die ! " 
 
 Andre Vasling, seeing that this decision was irrevocable, 
 did not insist further, but went away. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte at once told his niece of his intention, and 
 he saw a few rays of hope glisten across her tears. It had 
 not seemed to the young girl that her lover's death could 
 be doubtful; but when this new hope entered her heart, she 
 embraced it without reserve. 
 
 The old sailor determined that the Jeune-Hardie should 
 put to sea without delay. The solidly built ship had no 
 need of repairs. Jean Cornbutte gave his sailors notice 
 that if they wished to re-embark' no change in the crew 
 would be made. He alone replaced his son in the command 
 of the brig. None of the comrades of Louis Cornbutte 
 failed to respond to his call, and there were hardy tars 
 among them, — Alaine Turquiette, Fidele Misonne, the car- 
 penter, Penellan the Breton, who replaced Pierre Nouquet 
 as helmsman, and Gradlin, Aupic, and Gervique, courageous 
 and well-tried mariners. 
 
 Jean again offered Andre Vasling his old rank 
 on board. The first mate was an able ofificer, who had
 
 JEAN CORNBUTTE'S PROJECT 6i 
 
 proved his skill in bringing the Jeune-Hardie into port. 
 Yet, from what motive could not be told, Andre made some 
 difficulties and asked time for reflection. 
 
 " As you will, Andre," replied Cornbutte. " Only re- 
 member that if you accept, you will be welcome." 
 
 Jean had a devoted sailor in Penellan the Breton, who 
 had long been his fellow-voyager. In times gone by, little 
 Marie was wont to pass the long winter evenings in the 
 helmsman's arms, when he was on shore. He felt a fath- 
 erly friendship for hep and she had for him an affection 
 quite filial. Penellan hastened the fitting out of the ship 
 with all his energy, all the more because, according to his 
 opinion, Andre Vasling had not perhaps made every effort 
 possible to find the castaways, although he was excusable 
 from the responsibility which weighed upon him as captain. 
 
 Within a week the Jeune-Hardie was ready to put to 
 sea. Instead of merchandise, she was completely provided 
 with salt meats, biscuits, barrels of flour, potatoes, pork, 
 wine, brandy, coffee, tea, and tobacco. 
 
 The departure was fixed for the 22nd of May. On the 
 evening before, Andre Vasling, who had not yet given his 
 answer to Jean Cornbutte, came to his house. He was 
 still undecided, and did not know which course to take. 
 
 Jean was not at home, though the house door was open. 
 Andre went into the passage, next to Marie's chamber, where 
 the sound of an animated conversation struck his ear. He 
 listened attentively, and recognized the voices of Penellan 
 and Marie. 
 
 The discussion had no doubt been going on for some time, 
 for the young girl seemed to be stoutly opposing what the 
 Breton sailor said. 
 
 '* How old is my uncle Cornbutte? " said Marie. 
 
 " Something about sixty years," replied Penellan. 
 Well, is he not going to brave danger to find his son? " 
 Our captain is still a sturdy man," returned the sailor. 
 " He has a body of oak and muscles as hard as a spare spar. 
 So I am not afraid to have him go to sea again ! " 
 
 " My good Penellan," said Marie, " one is strong when 
 one loves ! Besides, I have full confidence in the aid of 
 Heaven. You understand me, and will help me." 
 
 "No!" said Penellan. "It is impossible, Marie. Who 
 knows whither we shall drift, or what we must suffer? How 
 
 «(
 
 {( 
 
 62 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 many vigorous men have I seen lose their lives in these 
 seas ! " 
 
 " Penellan," returned the young girl, " if you refuse me, 
 I shall believe that you do not love me any longer." 
 
 Andre Vasling guessed the young girl's resolution. He 
 reflected a moment, and his course was determined on. 
 
 " Jean Cornbutte," said he, advancing towards the old 
 sailor, who now entered, " I will go with you. The cause 
 of my hesitation has disappeared, and you may count upon 
 my devotion." 
 
 " I have never doubted you, Andre Vasling," replied Jean 
 Cornbutte, grasping him by the hand. " Marie, my child! " 
 he added, calling in a loud voice. 
 
 Marie and Penellan made their appearance. 
 
 " We shall set sail to-morrow at daybreak, with the out- 
 going tide," said Jean. " My poor Marie, this is the last 
 evening that we shall pass together." 
 
 " Uncle ! " cried Marie, throwing herself into his arms. 
 Marie, by the help of God, I will bring your lover back." 
 Yes, we will find Louis," added Andre Vasling. 
 
 " You are going with us, then? " asked Penellan quickly. 
 
 " Yes, Penellan, Andre Vasling is to be my first mate," 
 answered Jean. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! " ejaculated the Breton, in a singular tone. 
 
 " His advice will be useful, for he is able and enterpris- 
 
 " And yourself, captain," said Andre. " You will set us 
 all a good example, for you have still as much vigor as ex- 
 perience." 
 
 " Well, my friends, good-by till to-morrow. Go on 
 board and make the final arrangements. Good-by, Andre; 
 good-by, Penellan." 
 
 The mate and the sailor went out together, and Jean and 
 Marie remained alone. Many bitter tears were shed during 
 that sad evening. Jean Cornbutte, seeing Marie so 
 wretched, resolved to spare her the pain of separation by 
 leaving the house on the morrow without her knowledge. 
 So he gave her a last kiss that evening, and at three o'clock 
 next morning was up and away. 
 
 The departure of the brig had attracted all the old sail- 
 or's friends to the pier. The cure, who was to have blessed 
 Marie's union with Louis, came to give a last benediction
 
 JEAN CORNBUTTE'S PROJECT 63 
 
 on the ship. Rough grasps of the hand were silently ex- 
 changed, and Jean went on board. 
 
 The crew were all there. Andre Vasling gave the last 
 orders. The sails were spread, and the brig rapidly passed 
 out under a stiff northwest breeze, whilst the cure, upright 
 in the midst of the kneeling spectators, committed the vessel 
 to the hands of God. "Whither goes this ship? She fol- 
 lows the perilous route upon which so many castaways have 
 been lost! She has no certain destination. She must ex- 
 pect every peril, and be able to brave them without hesitat- 
 ing. God alone knows where it will be her fate to anchor. 
 May God guide her! " 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A RAY OF HOPE 
 
 At that time of the year the season was favorable, and 
 the crew might hope promptly to reach the scene of the ship- 
 wreck. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte's plan was naturally traced out. He 
 counted on stopping at the Faroe Islands, whither the north 
 wind might have carried the castaways; then, if he was con- 
 vinced that they had not been received in any of the ports of 
 that locality, he would continue his search beyond the North- 
 ern Ocean, ransack the whole western coast of Norway as 
 far as Bodoe, the place nearest the scene of the shipwreck; 
 and, if necessary, farther still. 
 
 Andre Vasling thought, contrary to the captain's opin- 
 ion, that the coast of Iceland should be explored ; but Penel- 
 lan observed that, at the time of the catastrophe, the gale 
 came from the west; which, while it gave hope that the 
 unfortunates had not been forced towards the gulf of the 
 Maelstrom, gave ground for supposing that they might have 
 been thrown on the Norwegian coast. 
 
 It was determined, then, that this coast should be fol- 
 lowed as closely as possible, so as to recognize any traces 
 of them that might appear. 
 
 The day after sailing, Jean Cornbutte, intent upon a map, 
 was absorbed in reflection, when a small hand touched his 
 shoulder, and a soft voice said in his ear, " Have good cour- 
 age, uncle."
 
 64 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 He turned, and was stupefied. Marie embraced him. 
 
 " Marie, my daughter, on board! " he cried. 
 
 " The wife may well go in search of her husband, when 
 the father embarks to save Iiis child." 
 
 " Unhappy Marie ! How wilt thou support our fatigues ! 
 Dost know thy presence may retard our search? " 
 
 " No, uncle, for I am strong." 
 
 " Who knows whither we shall be forced to go, Marie ? 
 Look at this map. We are approacJiing places dangerous 
 even for us sailors, hardened though we are to the difficul- 
 ties of the sea. And thou, frail child? " 
 
 " But, uncle, I come from a family of sailors. I am used 
 to stories of combats and tempests. I am with you ;..:id my 
 old friend Penellan!" 
 
 "Penellan! It was he who concealed you on board? " 
 
 " Yes, uncle ; but only when he saw that I was deter- 
 mined to come without his help." 
 
 " Penellan ! " cried Jean. Penellan entered. 
 
 " It is not possible to undo what you have done, Pent • " 
 but remember that you are responsible for Marie's lit\'. 
 
 " Rest easy, captain," replied Penellan. "The httle o 
 has force and courage, and will be our guardian Jiir 
 And then, captain, you know it is my theory, that all in : - 
 world happens for the best." 
 
 The young girl was installed in a cabin, which the ziUc.r:. 
 soon got ready for her, and which they made as com-oiL- 
 able as possible. 
 
 A week later the Jeime-Hardie stopped at the Faroe Is- 
 lands, but the most minute search was fruitless. No wreck, 
 or fragments of a ship had come upon these coasts. The 
 brig resumed its voyage, after a stay of ten days, about the 
 loth of June. The sea was calm, and the winds were favor- 
 able. The ship sped rapidly towards the Norwegian coast, 
 which it explored without better result. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte determined to proceed to Bodoe. Per- 
 haps he would there learn the name of the shipwrecked 
 schooner to succor which Louis and the sailors had sacri- 
 ficed themselves. 
 
 On the 30th of June the brig cast anchor in that port. 
 
 The authorities of Bodoe gave Jean Cornbutte a bottle 
 
 found on the coast, which contained a document bearing 
 
 these words : " This 26th April, on board the Frooern, after 
 V. I V©m«
 
 A RAY OF HOPE 65 
 
 being accosted by the long-boat of the Jeiine-Hardie, we 
 were drawn by the currents towards the ice. God have pity 
 on us ! " 
 
 Jean Cornbutte's first impulse was to thank Heaven. He 
 thought himself on his son's track. The Frooern was a 
 Norwegian sloop of which there had been no news, but which 
 had evidently been drawn northward. 
 
 Not a day was to be lost. The Jciine-Hardie was at once 
 put in condition to brave the perils of the polar seas. Fidele 
 Misonne, the carpenter, carefully examined her, and as- 
 sured himself that her solid construction might resist the 
 shock of the ice-masses. 
 
 Penellan, who had already engaged in whale-fishing in 
 the arctic waters, took care that woolen and fur coverings, 
 many sealskin moccasins, and wood for the making of 
 sledges with which to cross the ice-fields were put on board. 
 The amount of provisions was increased, and spirits and 
 charcoal were added; for it might be that they would have 
 to winter at some point on the Greenland coast. They also 
 procured, with much difficulty and at a high price, a quantity 
 of lemons, for preventing or curing the scurvy, that terrible 
 disease which decimates crews in the icy regions. The 
 ship's hold was filled with salt meat, biscuits, brandy, etc., 
 as the steward's room no longer sufficed. They provided 
 themselves, also, with a large quantity of " pemmican," an 
 Indian preparation which concentrates much nutrition within 
 a small volume. 
 
 By order of the captain, some saws were put on board 
 for cutting the ice-fields, as well as picks and wedges for 
 separating them. The captain determined to procure some 
 dogs to be used for drawing the sledges on the Greenland 
 coast. 
 
 The whole crew was engaged in these preparations, and 
 displayed great activity. The sailors Aupic, Gervique, and 
 Gradlin zealously obeyed Penellan's orders; and he admon- 
 ished them not to accustom themselves to woolen garments, 
 though the temperature in this latitude, situated just beyond 
 the polar circle, was very low. 
 
 Penellan, though he said nothing, narrowly watched every 
 action of Andre Vasling. This man was Dutch by birth, 
 came from no one knew whither, but was at least a good 
 sailor, having made two voyages on board the Jcune-Hardie.
 
 66 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 Penellan would not as yet accuse him of anything, unless it 
 was that he kept near Marie too constantly, but he did not 
 let him out of his sight. 
 
 Thanks to the energy of the crew, the brig was equipped 
 by the i6th of July, a fortnight after its arrival at Bodoe. 
 It was then the favorable season for attempting explora- 
 tions in the Arctic Seas. The thaw had been going on for 
 two months, and the search might be carried farther north. 
 The Jeune-Hardie set sail, and directed her way towards 
 Cape Brewster, on the eastern coast of Greenland, near the 
 70th degree of latitude. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 IN THE PASSES 
 
 About the 23rd of July a reflection, raised above the sea, 
 announced the presence of the first icebergs, which, emerg- 
 ing from Davis's Straits, advanced into the ocean. From 
 this moment a vigilant watch was ordered to the look-out 
 men, for it was important not to come into collision with 
 these enormus masses. 
 
 The crew was divided into two watches. The first was 
 composed of Fidele Misonne, Gradlin, and Gervique; and 
 the second of Andre Vasling. Aupic, and Penellan. These 
 watches were to last only two hours, for in those cold regions 
 a man's strength is diminished one-half. Though the Jeune- 
 Hardie was not yet beyond the 63rd degree of latitude, the 
 thermometer already stood at nine degrees centigrade below 
 zero. 
 
 Rain and snow often fell abundantly. On fair days, 
 when the wind was not too violent, Marie remained on 
 deck, and her eyes became accustomed to the uncouth scenes 
 of the Polar Seas. 
 
 On the 1st of August she was talking with her uncle, 
 Penellan, and Andre Vasling. The ship was then entering 
 a channel three miles wide, across which broken masses of 
 ice were rapidly descending southwards. 
 
 " When shall we see land ? " asked the young girl, 
 
 " In four days at the latest," replied Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 ** But shall we find there fresh traces of Louis? " 
 
 "Perhaps so, my daughter; but I fear that we are still
 
 IN THE PASSES 67 
 
 far from the end of our voyage. It is to be feared that the 
 Frooern was driven farther northward." 
 
 " That may be," added Andre VasHng, " for the squall 
 which separated us from the Norwegian coast lasted three 
 days, and in three days a ship makes good headway when 
 it is no longer able to resist the wind." 
 
 " Permit me to tell you, Monsieur Vasling," replied Penel- 
 lan, " that that was in April, that the thaw had not then be- 
 gun, and that therefore the Frooern must have been soon 
 arrested by the ice." 
 
 " And no doubt dashed into a thousand pieces," said the 
 mate, " as her crew could not manage her." 
 
 " But these ice-fields," returned Penellan, " gave her an 
 easy means of reaching land, from which she could not have 
 been far distant." 
 
 " Let us hope so," said Jean Cornbutte, interrupting the 
 discussion' which was daily renewed between the mate and 
 the helmsman. " I think we shall see land before long." 
 
 "There it is!" cried Marie. "See those mountains!" 
 
 ** No, my child," replied her uncle. " Those are moun- 
 tains of ice, the first we have met with. They would shat- 
 ter us like glass if we got entangled between them. Penel- 
 lan and Vasling, overlook the men." 
 
 These floating masses, more than fifty of which now ap- 
 peared at the horizon, came nearer and nearer to the brig. 
 Penellan took the helm, and Jean Cornbutte, mounted on 
 the gallant, indicated the route to take. 
 
 Towards evening the brig was entirely surrounded by 
 these moving rocks, the crushing force of which is irresis- 
 tible. It was necessary, then, to cross this fleet of moun- 
 tains, for prudence prompted them to keep straight ahead. 
 Another difficulty was added to these perils. The direction 
 of the ship could not be accurately determined, as all the 
 surrounding points constantly changed position, and thus 
 failed to afford a fixed perspective. The darkness soon in- 
 creased with the fog. Marie descended to her cabin, and 
 the whole crew, by the captain's orders, remained on deck. 
 They were armed with long boat-poles, with iron spikes, to 
 preserve the ship from collision with the ice. 
 
 The ship soon entered a strait so narrow that often the 
 ends of her yards were grazed by the drifting mountains, 
 and her booms seemed about to be driven in. They were
 
 68 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 even forced to trim the mainyard so as to touch the shrouds. 
 Happily these precautions did not deprive the vessel of any 
 of its speed, for the wind could only reach the upper sails, 
 and these sufficed to carry her forward rapidly. Thanks to 
 her slender hull, she passed through these valleys, which 
 were filled with whirlpools of rain, whilst the icebergs 
 crushed against each other wath sharp cracking and splitting. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte returned to the deck. His eyes could not 
 penetrate the surrounding darkness. It became necessary 
 to furl the upper sails, for the ship threatened to ground, 
 and if she did so she was lost. 
 
 "Cursed voyage!" growled Andre Vasling among the 
 sailors, who, forward, were avoiding the most menacing 
 ice-blocks with their boat-hooks. 
 
 " Truly, if we escape we shall owe a fine candle to Our 
 Lady of the Ice! " replied Aupic. 
 
 " Who knows how many floating mountains we have got 
 to pass through yet? " added the mate. 
 
 " And who can guess what we shall find beyond them? " 
 replied the sailor. 
 
 " Don't talk so much, prattler," said Gervique, " and look 
 out on your side. When we have got by them, it'll be time 
 to grumble. Look out for your boat-hook ! " 
 
 At this moment an enormous block of ice, in the narrow 
 strait through which the brig was passing, came rapidly 
 down upon her, and it seemed impossible to avoid it, for it 
 barred the whole width of the channel, and the brig could 
 not heave-to. 
 
 " Do you feel the tiller? " asked Cornbutte of Penellan. 
 
 " No, captain. The ship does not answer the helm." 
 
 " Ohe, boys ! " cried the captain to the crew ; " don't be 
 afraid, brace your hooks against the gunwale." 
 
 The block was nearly sixty feet high, and if it threw itself 
 upon the brig she would be crushed. There was an unde- 
 finable moment of suspense, and the crew retreated back- 
 ward, abandoning their posts despite the captain's orders. 
 
 But at the instant when the block was not more than half 
 a cable's length from the Jeune-Hardie, a dull sound was 
 heard, and a veritable waterspout fell upon the bow of the 
 vessel, which then rose on the back of an enormous billow. 
 
 The sailors uttered a cry of terror; but when they looked 
 before them the block had disappeared, the passage was
 
 IN THE PASSES '69 
 
 free, and beyond an immense plain of water, illumined by 
 the rays of the declining sun, assured them of an easy navi- 
 gation. 
 
 " All's well ! " cried Penellan. " Let's trim our topsails 
 and mizzen ! " 
 
 An incident very common in those parts had just oc- 
 curred. When these masses are detached from one another 
 in the thawing season, they float in a perfect equilibrium; 
 but on reaching the ocean, where the water is relatively 
 warmer, they are speedily undermined at the base, which 
 melts little by little, and which is also shaken by the shock 
 of other ice-masses. A moment comes when the center of 
 gravity of these masses is displaced, and then they are com- 
 pletely overturned. Only, if this block had turned over two 
 minutes later, it would have fallen on the brig and carried 
 her down in its fall. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 LIVERPOOL ISLAND 
 
 On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immovable and 
 united ice-masses. The passages were seldom more than a 
 cable's length in width, and the ship was forced to make 
 many turnings, which sometimes placed her heading the 
 wind. 
 
 Penellan watched over Marie with paternal care, and, 
 despite the cold, prevailed upon her to spend two or three 
 hours every day on deck, for exercise had become one of 
 the indispensable conditions of health. 
 
 Marie's courage did not falter. She even comforted the 
 sailors with her cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly 
 attached to her. Andre Vasling showed himself more at- 
 tentive than ever, and seized every occasion to be in her 
 company; but the young girl, with a sort of presentiment, 
 accepted his services with some coldness. It may be easily 
 conjectured that Andre's conversation referred more to the 
 future than to the present, and that he did not conceal the 
 sHght probability there was of saving the castaways. He 
 was convinced that they were lost, and the young girl ought 
 thenceforth to confide her existence to someone else. 
 
 Marie had not as yet comprehended Andre's designs, for.
 
 70 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 to his great disgust, he could never find an opportunity to 
 talk long with her alone. Penellan had always an excuse 
 for interfering, and destroying the effect of Andre's words 
 by the hopeful opinions he expressed. 
 
 Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting on the 
 helmsman's advice, she set to work on her winter garments ; 
 for it was necessary that she should completely change her 
 clothing. The cut of her dresses was not suitable for these 
 cold latitudes. She made, therefore, a sort of furred pan- 
 taloons, the ends of which were lined with seal-skin; and her 
 narrow skirts came only to her knees, so as not to be in con- 
 tact with the layers of snow with which the winter would 
 cover the ice-fields. A fur mantle, fitting closely to the 
 figure and supplied with a hood, protected the upper part of 
 her body. 
 
 In the intervals of their work, the sailors, too, prepared 
 clothing with which to shelter themselves from the cold. 
 They made a quantity of high seal-skin boots, with which 
 to cross the snow during their explorations. They worked 
 thus all the time that the navigation in the straits lasted. 
 
 Andre Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times 
 brought down aquatic birds with his gun ; innumerable flocks 
 of these were always careering about the ship. A kind of 
 eider-duck provided the crew with very palatable food, 
 which relieved the monotony of the salt meat. 
 
 At last the brig came in sight of Cape Brewster. A long- 
 boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan reached 
 the coast, which was entirely deserted. 
 
 The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool 
 Island, discovered in 1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the 
 crew gave a hearty cheer when they saw the natives run- 
 ning along the shore. Communication was speedily estab- 
 lished with them, thanks to Penellan's knowledge of a few 
 words of their language, and some phrases which the natives 
 themselves had learnt of the whalers who frequented those 
 parts. 
 
 These Greenlanders were small and squat; they were not 
 more than four feet ten inches high; they had red, round 
 faces, and low foreheads; their hair, flat and black, fell over 
 their shoulders; their teeth were decayed, and they seemed 
 to be affected by the sort of leprosy which is peculiar to 
 ichthyophagous tribes.
 
 LIVERPOOL ISLAND 71 
 
 In exchange for pieces of iron and brass, of which they 
 are extremely covetous, these poor creatures brought bear 
 furs, the skins of sea-calves, sea-dogs, sea-wolves, and all 
 the animals generally known as seals. Jean Cornbutte ob- 
 tained these at a low price, and they were certain to become 
 most useful. 
 
 The captain then made the natives understand that he 
 was in search of a shipwrecked vessel, and asked them if 
 they had heard of it. One of them immediately drew some- 
 thing like a ship on the snow, and indicated that a vessel of 
 that sort had been carried northward three months before : 
 he also managed to make it understood that the thaw and 
 breaking up of the ice-fields had prevented the Greenlanders 
 from going in search of it; and, indeed, their very light 
 canoes, which they managed with paddles, could not go to 
 sea at that time. 
 
 This news, though meager, restored hope to the hearts of 
 the sailors, and Jean Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuad- 
 ing them to advance farther in the polar seas. 
 
 Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased 
 a pack of six Esquimaux dogs, which were soon acclimatized 
 on board. The ship weighed anchor on the morning of the 
 1 0th of August, and sailed north under a brisk wind. 
 
 The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, 
 the sun, in these high latitudes, did not set, and reached the 
 highest point of the spirals which it described above the 
 horizon. This total absence of night was not, however, 
 very apparent, for the fog, rain, and snow sometimes en- 
 veloped the ship in real darkness. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as 
 possible, began to take measures of health. The space be- 
 tween decks was securely enclosed, and every morning care 
 was taken to ventilate it with fresh air. The stoves were 
 installed, and the pipes so disposed as to yield as much heat 
 as possible. The sailors were advised to wear only one 
 woolen shirt over their cotton shirts, and to hermetically 
 close their seal cloaks. The fires were not yet lighted, for 
 it was important to reserve the wood and charcoal for the 
 most intense cold. Warm beverages, such as coffee and 
 tea, were regularly distributed to the sailors morning and 
 evening ; and as it was important to live on meat, they shot 
 ducks and teal, which abounded in these parts.
 
 72 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the main- 
 mast a " crow's nest," a sort of cask open at one end, in 
 which a look-out remained constantly, to observe the ice- 
 fields. 
 
 Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island 
 the temperature became suddenly colder under the influence 
 of a dry wind. Some indications of winter were perceived. 
 The ship had not a moment to lose, for soon the way would 
 be entirely closed to her. She advanced across the straits, 
 among which lay ice-plains thirty feet thick. 
 
 On the morning of the 3rd of September the Jeune-Hardie 
 reached the head of Gael-Hamkes Bay. Land was then 
 thirty miles to the leeward. It was the first time that the 
 brig had stopped before a mass of ice which offered no out- 
 let, and which was at least a mile wide. The saws must 
 now be used to cut the ice. Penellan, Aupic, Gradlin, and 
 Turquiette were chosen to work the saws, which had been 
 carried outside the ship. The direction of the cutting was 
 so determined that the current might carry off the pieces 
 detached from the mass. The whole crew worked at this 
 task for nearly twenty hours. They found it very painful 
 to remain on the ice, and were often obliged to plunge into 
 the water up to their middle; their seal-skin garments pro- 
 tected them but imperfectly from the damp. 
 
 Moreover, all excessive toil in those high latitudes is soon 
 followed by an overwhelming weariness ; for the breath soon 
 fails, and the strongest are forced to rest at frequent inter- 
 vals. At last the navigation became free, and the brig was 
 towed beyond the mass which had so long obstructed her 
 course. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE QUAKING OF THE ICE 
 
 For several days the Jeune-Hardie struggled against for- 
 midable obstacles. The crew were almost all the time at 
 work with the saws, and often powder was used to blow up 
 the enormous blocks of ice which closed the way. 
 
 On the 1 2th of September the sea consisted of one solid 
 plain, without outlet or passage, surrounding the vessel on 
 all sides, so that she could neither advance nor retreat. The 
 temperature remained at an average of sixteen degrees be-
 
 THE QUAKING OF THE ICE 73 
 
 low zero. The winter season had come on, with its suf- 
 ferings and dangers. The Jeune-Hardie was at this time 
 near the 21st degree of longitude west and the 76th 
 degree of latitude north, at the entrance of Gael-Hamkes 
 Bay. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte made his preliminary preparations for 
 wintering. He first searched for a creek whose position 
 would shelter the ship from the wind and breaking up of 
 the ice. Land, which was probably thirty miles west, could 
 alone offer him secure shelter, and he resolved to attempt to 
 reach it. 
 
 He set out on the 12th of September, accompanied by 
 Andre Vasling, Penellan, and the two sailors Gradlin and 
 Turquiette. Each man carried provisions for two days, for 
 it was not likely that their expedition would occupy a longer 
 time, and they were supplied with skins on which to sleep. 
 
 Snow had fallen in great abundance and was not yet 
 frozen over; and this delayed them seriously. They often 
 sank to their waists, and could only advance very cautiously, 
 for fear of falling into crevices. Penellan, who walked in 
 front, carefully sounded each depression with his iron- 
 pointed staff. 
 
 About five in the evening the fog began to thicken, and 
 the little band were forced to stop. Penellan looked about 
 for an iceberg which might shelter them from the wind, and 
 after refreshing themselves, with regrets that they had no 
 warm drink, they spread their skins on the snow, wrapped 
 themselves up, lay close to each other, and soon dropped 
 asleep from sheer fatigue. 
 
 The next morning Jean Cornbutte and his companions 
 were buried beneath a bed of snow more than a foot deep. 
 Happily their skins, perfectly impermeable, had preserved 
 them, and the snow itself had aided in retaining their heat, 
 which it prevented from escaping. 
 
 The captain gave the signal of departure, and about noon 
 they at last descried the coast, which at first they could 
 scarcely distinguish. High ledges of ice, cut perpendicu- 
 larly, rose on the shore; their variegated summits, of all 
 forms and shapes, reproduced on a large scale the phe- 
 nomena of crystallization. Myriads of aquatic fowl flew 
 about at the approach of the party, and the seals, lazily lying 
 on the ice, plunged hurriedly into the depths.
 
 74 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 " I' faith ! " said Penellan, " we shall not want for either 
 furs or game ! " 
 
 " Those animals," returned Cornbutte, " give every evi- 
 dence of having been already visited by men; for in places 
 totally uninhabited they would not be so wild." 
 
 " None but Greenlanders frequent these parts," said An- 
 dre Vasling. 
 
 " I see no trace of their passage, however ; neither any 
 encampment nor the smallest hut," said Penellan, who had 
 climbed up a high peak. " O captain ! " he continued, 
 " come here! I see a point of land which will shelter us 
 splendidly from the northeast wind." 
 
 " Come along, boys ! " said Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 His companions followed him, and they soon rejoined 
 Penellan. The sailor had said what was true. An elevated 
 point of land jutted out like a promontory, and curving 
 towards the coast, formed a little inlet of a mile in width at 
 most. Some moving ice-blocks, broken by this point, floated 
 in the midst, and the sea, sheltered from the colder winds, 
 was not yet entirely frozen over. 
 
 This was an excellent spot for wintering, and it only re- 
 mained to get the ship thither. Jean Cornbutte remarked 
 that the neighboring ice-field was very thick, and it seemed 
 very difficult to cut a canal to bring the brig to its destina- 
 tion. Some other creek, then, must be found ; it was in vain 
 that he explored northward. The coast remained steep and 
 abrupt for a long distance, and beyond the point it was 
 directly exposed to the attacks of the east wind. The cir- 
 cumstance disconcerted the captain all the more because An- 
 dre Vasling used strong arguments to show how bad the 
 situation was. Penellan, in his dilemma, found it difficult 
 to convince himself that all was for the best. 
 
 But one chance remained — to seek a shelter on the south- 
 ern side of the coast. This was to return on their path, but 
 hesitation was useless. The little band returned rapidly in 
 the direction of the ship, as their provisions had begun to 
 run short. Jean Cornbutte searched for some practicable 
 passage, or at least some fissure by which a canal might be 
 cut across the ice-fields, all along the route, but in vain. 
 
 Towards evening the sailors came to the same place where 
 they had encamped over night. There had been no snow 
 during the day, and they could recognize the imprint of their
 
 THE QUAKING OF THE ICE 75 
 
 bodies on the ice. They again disposed themselves to sleep 
 with their furs. 
 
 Penellan, much disturbed by the bad success of the ex- 
 pedition, was sleeping restlessly, when, at a waking moment, 
 his attention was attracted by a dull rumbling. He listened 
 attentively, and the rumbling seemed so strange that he 
 nudged Jean Cornbutte with his elbow. 
 
 "What is that? " said the latter, whose mind, according 
 to a sailor's habit, was awake as soon as his body. 
 
 " Listen, captain." 
 
 The noise increased, with perceptible violence. 
 
 " It cannot be thunder, in so high a latitude," said Corn- 
 butte, rising. 
 
 " I think we have come across some white bears," replied 
 Penellan. 
 
 " The devil ! We have not seen any yet." 
 
 ** Sooner or later, we must have expected a visit from 
 them. Let us give them a good reception." 
 
 Penellan, armed with a gun, lightly crossed the ledge 
 which sheltered them. The darkness was very dense; he 
 could discover nothing; but a new incident soon showed him 
 that the cause of the noise did not proceed from around 
 them. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte rejoined him, and they observed with ter- 
 ror that this rumbling, which awakened their companions, 
 came from beneath them. 
 
 A new kind of peril menaced them. To the noise, which 
 resembled peals of thunder, was added a distinct undulating 
 motion of the ice-field. Several of the party lost their bal- 
 ance and fell. 
 
 " Attention ! " cried Penellan. 
 
 " Yes ! " someone responded. 
 
 " Turquiette ! Gradlin ! where are you? " 
 
 " Here I am ! " responded Turquiette, shaking off the 
 snow with which he was covered. 
 
 " This way, Vasling," cried Cornbutte to the mate. 
 "And Gradlin?" 
 
 " Present, captain." 
 But we are lost ! " shouted Gradlin, in fright. 
 No! " said Penellan. " Perhaps we are saved! " 
 
 Hardly had lie uttered these words when a frightful crack- 
 ing noise was heard. The ke-h^"ld broke clear through, 
 
 *(
 
 ye A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 and the sailors were forced to cling to the block which was 
 quivering just by them. Despite the helmsman's words, 
 they found themselves in a most perilous position, for an ice- 
 quake had occurred. The ice masses had just " weighed 
 anchor," as the sailors say. The movement lasted nearly 
 two minutes, and it was to be feared that the crevice would 
 yawn at the very feet of the unhappy sailors. They anx- 
 iously awaited daylight in the midst of continuous shocks, 
 for they could not, without risk of death, move a step, and 
 had to remain stretched out at full length to avoid being 
 engulfed. 
 
 As soon as it was daylight a very different aspect pre- 
 sented itself to their eyes. The vast plain, a compact mass 
 the evening before, was now separated in a thousand places, 
 and the waves, raised by some submarine commotion, had 
 broken the thick layer which sheltered them. 
 
 The thought of his ship occurred to Cornbutte's mind. 
 
 " My poor brig! " he cried. " It must have perished! " 
 
 The deepest despair began to overcast the faces of his 
 companions. The loss of the ship inevitably preceded their 
 own deaths. 
 
 " Courage, friends," said Penellan. " Reflect that this 
 night's disaster has opened us a path across the ice, which 
 will enable us to bring our ship to the bay for wintering! 
 and, stop ! I am not mistaken. There is the Jeime-Hardie, 
 a mile nearer to us! " 
 
 All hurried forward, and so imprudently, that Turquiette 
 slipped into a fissure, and would have certainly perished, 
 had not Jean Cornbutte seized him by his hood. He got 
 off with a rather cold bath. 
 
 The brig was indeed floating tw^o miles away. After in- 
 finite trouble, the little band reached her. She was in good 
 condition; but her rudder, which they had neglected to lift, 
 had been broken by the ice. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 SETTLING FOR THE WINTER 
 
 Penellan was once more right ; all was for the best, and 
 this ice-quake had opened a practicable channel for the ship 
 to the bay. The sailors had only to make skillful use of the 
 currents to conduct her thither.
 
 SETTLING FOR THE WINTER ^*j 
 
 On the 19th of September the brig was at last moored in 
 her bay for wintering, two cables' lengths from the shore, 
 securely anchored on a good bottom. The ice began the 
 next day to form around her hull; it soon became strong 
 enough to bear a man's weight, and they could establish a 
 communication with land. 
 
 The rigging, as is customary in arctic navigation, re- 
 mained as it was ; the sails were carefully furled on the yards 
 and covered with their casings, and the " crow's-nest " re- 
 mained in place, as much to enable them to make distant 
 observations as to attract attention to the ship. 
 
 The sun now scarcely rose above the horizon. Since the 
 June solstice, the spirals which it had described descended 
 lower and lower; and it would very soon disappear al- 
 together. 
 
 The crew hastened to make the necessary preparations. 
 Penellan supervised the whole. The ice was soon thick 
 around the ship, and it was to be feared that its pressure 
 might become dangerous ; but Penellan waited until, by rea- 
 son of the going and coming of the floating ice-masses and 
 their adherence, it had reached a thickness of twenty feet; 
 he then had it cut around the hull, so that it united under the 
 ship, the form of which it assumed; thus enclosed in a mould, 
 the brig had no longer to fear the pressure of the ice, which 
 could make no movement. 
 
 The sailors then elevated along the wales to the height of 
 the nettings, a snow wall five or six feet thick, which soon 
 froze as hard as a rock. This envelope did not allow the 
 interior heat to escape outside. A canvas tent, covered with 
 skins and hermetically closed, was stretched over the whole 
 length of the deck, and formed a sort of walk for the 
 sailors. 
 
 They also constructed on the ice a storehouse of snow, in 
 which articles which embarrassed the ship were stowed away. 
 The partitions of the cabins were taken down, so as to form 
 a single vast apartment forward, as well as aft. This single 
 room, besides, was more easy to warm, as the ice and damp 
 found fewer corners in which to take refuge. It was also 
 less difficult to ventilate it, by means of canvas funnels which 
 opened without. 
 
 Each sailor exerted great energy in these preparations, 
 and about the 25th of September they were completed. 
 Andre Vasling had not shown himself the least active In
 
 78 A' WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 this task. He devoted himself with especial zeal to the 
 young girl's comfort, and if she, absorbed in thoughts of her 
 poor Louis, did not perceive this, Jean Cornbutte did not 
 fail soon to remark it He spoke of it to Penellan; he 
 recalled several incidents which completely enlightened him 
 regarding his mate's intentions; Andre Vasling loved Marie, 
 and reckoned on asking her uncle for her hand, as soon as 
 it was proved beyond doubt that the castaways were irrevoc- 
 ably lost; they would return then to Dunkirk, and Andre 
 Vasling would be well satisfied to wed a rich and pretty girl, 
 who would then be the sole heiress of Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 But Andre, in his impatience, was often imprudent. He 
 had several times declared that the search for the castaways 
 was useless, when some new trace contradicted him, and 
 enabled Penellan to exult over him. The mate, therefore, 
 cordially detested the helmsman, who returned his dislike 
 heartily. Penellan only feared that Andre might sow seeds 
 of dissension among the crew, and persuaded Jean Cornbutte 
 to answer him evasively on the first occasion. 
 
 The sky, always gloomy, filled the soul with sadness. 'A 
 thick snow, lashed by violent winds, added to the horrors 
 of their situation. The sun would soon altogether disap- 
 pear. Had the clouds not gathered in masses above their 
 heads, they might have enjoyed the moonlight, which was 
 about to become really their sun during the long polar night ; 
 but, wnth the west winds, the snow did not cease to fall. 
 Every morning it was necessary to clear off the sides of the 
 ship, and to cut a new stairway in the ice to enable them to 
 reach the ice-field. Penellan had a hole cut in the ice, not 
 far from the ship. Every day the new crust which formed 
 over its top was broken, and the water which was drawn 
 thence, from a certain depth, was less cold than that at the 
 surface. 
 
 All these preparations occupied about three weeks. It 
 was then time to go forward with the search. The ship 
 was imprisoned for six or seven months, and only the next 
 thaw could open a new route across the ice. It was wise, 
 then, to profit by this delay, and extend their explorations 
 northward.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PLAN OF THE EXPLORATIONS 
 
 On the 9th of October, Jean Cornbutte held a council to 
 settle the plan of his operations, to which, that there might 
 be union, zeal, and courage on the part of everyone, he 
 admitted the whole crew. Map in hand, he clearly ex- 
 plained their situation. 
 
 The eastern coast of Greenland advances perpendicularly 
 northward. The discoveries of the navigators have given 
 the exact boundaries of those parts. In the extent of five 
 hundred leagues, which separates Greenland from Spitz- 
 bergen, no land has been found. An island (Shannon 
 Island) lay a hundred miles north of Gael-Hamkes Bay, 
 where the Jeune-Hardic was wintering. 
 
 If the Norwegian schooner, as was most probable, had 
 been driven in this direction, supposing that she could not 
 reach Shannon Island, it was here that Louis Cornbutte 
 and his comrades must have sought for a winter asylum. 
 
 This opinion prevailed, despite Andre Vasling's opposi- 
 tion; and it was decided to direct the explorations on the 
 side towards Shannon Island. If Louis Cornbutte and his 
 comrades were still in existence, it was not probable that 
 they would be able to resist the severities of the arctic win- 
 ter. They must therefore be saved beforehand, or all hope 
 would be lost. Andre Vasling knew all this better than any- 
 one. He therefore resolved to put every possible obstacle 
 in the way of the expedition. 
 
 The preparations for the journey were completed about 
 the 20th of October. It remained to select the men who 
 should compose the party. The young girl could not be 
 deprived of the protection of Jean Cornbutte or of Penellan; 
 neither of these could, on the other hand, be spared from 
 the expedition. 
 
 The question, then, was whether Marie could bear the 
 fatigues of such a journey. She had already passed through 
 rough experiences without seeming to suffer from them, for 
 she was a sailor's daughter, used from infancy to the fatigues 
 of the sea, and even Penellan was not dismayed to see her 
 struggling in the midst of this severe climate, against the 
 dangers of the polar seas. 
 
 It was decided, therefore, after a long discussion, that she 
 should go with them, and that a place should be reserved 
 
 79
 
 8o A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 for her, at need, on the sledge, on which a little wooden 
 hut was constructed, closed in hermetically. As for Marie, 
 she was delighted, for she dreaded to be left alone without 
 her two protectors. 
 
 The expedition was thus formed : Marie, Jean Cornbutte, 
 Penellan, Andre Vasling, Aupic, and Fidele Misonne were 
 to go. Alaine Turquiette remained in charge of the brig, 
 and Gervique and Gradlin stayed behind with him. New 
 provisions of all kinds were carried; for Jean Cornbutte, 
 in order to carry the exploration as far as possible, had 
 resolved to establish depots along the route, at each seven 
 or eight days' march. When the sledge was ready it was 
 at once fitted up, and covered with a skin tent. The whole 
 weighed some seven hundred pounds, which a pack of five 
 dogs might easily carry over the ice. 
 
 On the 22nd of October, as the captain had foretold, a 
 sudden change took place in the temperature. The sky 
 cleared, the stars emitted an extraordinary light, and the 
 moon shone above the horizon, no longer to leave the 
 heavens for a fortnight. The thermometer descended to 
 twenty-five degrees below zero. The departure was fixed 
 for the following day. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE HOUSE OF SNOW 
 
 On the 23rd of October, at eleven in the morning, in a fine 
 moonlight, the caravan set out. Jean Cornbutte followed 
 the coast, and ascended northward. The steps of the travel- 
 ers made no impression on the hard ice. Jean was forced to 
 guide himself by points which he selected at a distance; 
 sometimes he fixed upon a hill bristling with peaks; some- 
 times on a vast iceberg which pressure had raised above the 
 plain. 
 
 At the first halt, after going fifteen miles, Penellan pre- 
 pared to encamp. The tent was erected against an ice-block. 
 Marie had not suffered seriously with the extreme cold, for 
 luckily the breeze had subsided, and was much more bear- 
 able; but the young girl had several times been obliged to 
 descend from her sledge to avert numbness from imped- 
 ing the circulation of her blood. Otherwise, her little hut, 
 
 y. I Verne
 
 THE HOUSE OF SNOW 8i 
 
 hung with skins, afforded her all the comfort possible under 
 the circumstances. 
 
 When night, or rather sleeping-time, came, the little hut 
 was carried under the tent, where it served as a bed-room 
 for Marie. The evening repast was composed of fresh 
 meat, pemmican, and hot tea. Jean Cornbutte, to avert 
 danger of the scurvy, distributed to each of the party a 
 few drops of lemon-juice. Then all slept under God's pro- 
 tection. 
 
 But the sailors soon began to suffer one discomfort — that 
 of being dazzled. Ophthalmia betrayed itself in Aupic 
 and Misonne. The moon's light, striking on these vast 
 white plains, burnt the eyesight, and gave the eyes insup- 
 portable pain. There was thus produced a very singlar ef- 
 fect of refraction. As they walked, when they thought they 
 were about to put foot on a hillock, they stepped down 
 lower, which often occasioned falls, happily so little serious 
 that Penellan made them occasions for bantering. Still, he 
 told them never to take a step without sounding the ground 
 with the ferruled staff with which each was equipped. 
 
 About the ist of November, ten days after they had set 
 out, the caravan had gone fifty leagues to the northward. 
 Weariness pressed heavily on all. Jean Cornbutte was pain- 
 fully dazzled and his sight sensibly changed. Aupic and 
 Misonne had to feel their way : for their eyes, rimmed with 
 red, seemed burnt by the white reflection. Marie had been 
 preserved from this misfortune by remaining within her hut, 
 to which she confined herself as much as possible. Penellan, 
 sustained by an indomitable courage, resisted all fatigue. 
 But it was Andre Vasling who bore himself best, and upon 
 whom the cold and dazzHng seemed to produce no effect. 
 His iron frame was equal to every hardship; and he was 
 secretly pleased to see the most robust of his companions 
 becoming discouraged, and already foresaw the moment 
 when they would be forced to retreat to the ship again. 
 
 On the I St of November it became absolutely necessary 
 to halt for a day or two. As soon as the place for the 
 encampment had been selected, they proceeded to arrange 
 it. It was determined to erect a house of snow, which 
 should be supported against one of the rocks of the pro- 
 montory. Misonne at once marked out the foundations, 
 which measured fifteen feet long by five wide. Penellan,
 
 82 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 Aupic, and Misonne, by aid of their knives, cut out great 
 blocks of ice, which they carried to the chosen spot and 
 set up, as masons would have built stone walls. The sides 
 of the foundation were soon raised to a height and thick- 
 ness of about live feet; for the materials were abundant, 
 and the structure was intended to be sufficiently solid to 
 last several days. The four walls were completed in eight 
 hours; an opening had been left on the southern side, and 
 the canvas of the tent, placed on these four walls, fell over 
 the opening and sheltered it. It only remained to cover 
 the whole with large blocks, to form the roof of this tem- 
 porary structure. 
 
 After three more hours of hard work, the house was 
 done; and they all went into it, overcome with weariness 
 and discouragement. Jean Cornbutte suffered so much that 
 he could not walk, and Andre Vasling so skillfully ag- 
 gravated his gloomy feelings, that he forced from him a 
 promise not to pursue his search farther in those frightful 
 solitudes. Penellan did not know which saint to invoke. 
 He thought it unworthy and craven to give up the search 
 for reasons which had little weight, and tried to upset them ; 
 but in vain. 
 
 Meanwhile, though it had been decided to return, rest 
 had become so necessary that for three days no prepara- 
 tions for departure were made. On the 4th of November, 
 Jean Cornbutte began to bury on a point of the coast the pro- 
 visions for which there was no use. A stake indicated the 
 place of the deposit, in the improbable event that new ex- 
 plorations should be made in that direction. Every day 
 since they had set out similar deposits had been made, so 
 that they were assured of ample sustenance on the return, 
 without the trouble of carrying them on the sledge. 
 
 The departure was fixed for ten in the morning, on the 
 5th. The most profound sadness filled the little band. 
 Marie with difficulty restrained her tears, when she saw her 
 uncle so completely discouraged. So many useless suffer- 
 ings! so much labor lost! Penellan himself became fero- 
 cious in his ill-humor; he consigned everybody to the nether 
 regions, and did not cease to wax angry at the weakness 
 and cowardice of his comrades, who were more timid and 
 tired, he said, than Marie, who would have gone to the end 
 of the world without complaint
 
 THE HOUSE OF SNOW 83 
 
 Andre Vasling could not disguise the pleasure which this 
 decision gave him. He showed himself more attentive than 
 ever to the young girl, to whom he even held out hopes that 
 a new search should be made when the winter was over; 
 knowing well that it would then be too late ! 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 BURIED ALIVE 
 
 The evening before the departure, just as they were about 
 to take supper, Penellan was breaking up some empty casks 
 for firewood, when he was suddenly suffocated by a thick 
 smoke. At the same instant the snow-house was shaken as 
 if by an earthquake. The party uttered a cry of terror, and 
 Penellan hurried outside. 
 
 It was entirely dark. A frightful tempest — for it was 
 not a thaw — was raging, whirlwinds of snow careered 
 around, and it was so exceedinly cold that the helmsman 
 felt his hands rapidly freezing. He was obliged to go in 
 again, after rubbing himself violently with snow. 
 
 " It is a tempest," said he. " May heaven grant that our 
 house may withstand it, for, if the storm should destroy it, 
 we should be lost ! " 
 
 At the same time with the gusts of wind a noise was 
 heard beneath the frozen soil ; icebergs, broken from the 
 promontory, dashed away noisily, and fell upon one another ; 
 the wind blew with such violence that it seemed sometimes 
 as if the whole house moved from its foundation; 
 phosphorescent lights, inexplicable in that latitude, flashed 
 across the whirlwinds of the snow. 
 
 " Marie ! Marie ! " cried Penellan, seizing the girl's hands. 
 
 " We are in a bad case ! " said Misonne. 
 
 " I know not if we shall escape," replied Aupic. 
 
 " Let us quit this snow-house ! " said Andre Vasling. 
 
 " Impossible! " returned Penellan. " The cold outside is 
 terrible; perhaps we can bear it by staying here." 
 
 " Give me the thermometer," demanded Vasling. 
 
 Aupic handed it to him. It showed ten degrees below 
 zero inside the house, though the fire was lighted. Vasling 
 raised the canvas which covered the opening, and pushed it 
 aside hastily; for he would have been lacerated by the fall
 
 84 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 of ice which the wind hurled around, and which fell in a 
 perfect hail-storm. 
 
 " Well, Vasling," said Penellan, "will you go out, then? 
 You see that we are more safe here." 
 
 "Yes," said Jean Cornbutte; "and we must use every 
 effort to strengthen the house in the interior." 
 
 " But a still more terrible danger menaces us," said 
 Vasling. 
 
 "What? "asked Jean. 
 
 " The wind is breaking the ice against which we are 
 propped, just as it has that of the promontory, and we shall 
 be either driven out or buried ! " 
 
 " That seems doubtful," said Penellan, " for it is freezing 
 hard enough to ice over all liquid surfaces. Let us see what 
 the temperature is." 
 
 He raised the canvas so as to pass out his arm, and with 
 difficulty found the thermometer again, in the midst of the 
 snow ; but he at last succeeded in seizing it, and, holding the 
 lamp to it, said, " Thirty-two degrees below zero ! It is the 
 coldest we have seen here yet ! " 
 
 " Ten degrees more," said Vasling, " and the mercury will 
 freeze ! " 
 
 A mournful silence followed this remark. 
 
 About eight in the morning Penellan essayed a second 
 time to go out to judge of their situation. It was neces- 
 sary to give an escape to the smoke, which the wind had 
 several timse repelled into the hut. The sailor wrapped 
 his cloak tightly about him, made sure of his hood by fasten- 
 ing it to his head with a handkerchief, and then raised the 
 canvas. 
 
 The opening was entirely obstructed by a resisting snow. 
 Penellan took his staff, and succeeded in plunging it into 
 the compact mass; but terror froze his blood when he per- 
 ceived that the end of the staff was not free, and was checked 
 by a hard body ! 
 
 " Cornbutte," said he to the captain, who had come up to 
 him, " we are buried under this snow ! " 
 
 " What say you ? " cried Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 " I say that the snow is massed and frozen around us and 
 over us, and that we are buried alive ! " 
 
 " Let us make an effort to clear the snow away," replied 
 the captain.
 
 BURIED ALIVE 85 
 
 The two friends buttressed themselves against the ob- 
 stacle which obstructed the opening, but they could not 
 move it. The snow formed an iceberg more than five feet 
 thick, and had become literally a part of the house. Jean 
 could not suppress a cry, which awoke Misonne and Vasling. 
 An oath burst from the latter, whose features contracted. 
 At this moment the smoke, thicker than ever, poured into 
 the house, for it could not find an issue. 
 
 " Malediction ! " cried Misonne. " The pipe of the stove 
 is sealed up by the ice ! " 
 
 Penellan resumed his staff, and took down the pipe, after 
 throwing snow on the embers to extinguish them, which 
 produced such a smoke that the light of the lamp could 
 scarcely be seen; then he tried with his staff to clear out 
 the orifice, but he only encountered a rock of ice ! A fright- 
 ful end, preceded by a terrible agony, seemed to be their 
 doom! The smoke, penetrating the throats of the unfor- 
 tunate party, caused an insufferable pain, and air would soon 
 fail them altogether. 
 
 Marie here rose, and her presence, which inspired Corn- 
 butte with despair, imparted some courage to Penellan. He 
 said to himself that it could not be that the poor girl was 
 destined to so horrible a death. 
 
 "Ah!" said she, "you have made too much fire. The 
 room is full of smoke! " 
 
 " Yes, yes," stammered Penellan. 
 
 " It is evident," resumed Marie, " for it is not cold, and it 
 is long since we have felt too much heat." 
 
 No one dared to tell her the truth. 
 
 " See, Marie," said Penellan bluntly, " help us get break- 
 fast ready. It is too cold to go out. Here is the chafing- 
 dish, the spirit, and the coffee. Come, you others, a little 
 pemmican first, as this wretched storm forbids us from hunt- 
 ing." 
 
 These words stirred up his comrades. 
 
 " Let us first eat," added Penellan, " and then we shall 
 see about getting off." 
 
 Penellan set the example and devoured his share of the 
 breakfast. His comrades imitated him, and then drank a 
 cup of boiling coffee, which somewhat restored their spirits. 
 Then Jean Cornbutte decided energetically that they should 
 at once set about devising means of safety.
 
 86 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 Andre Vasling now said, "If the storm is still raging, 
 which is probable, we must be buried ten feet under the ice, 
 for we can hear no noise outside." 
 
 Penellan looked at Marie, who now understood the truth, 
 and did not tremble. The helmsman first heated, by the 
 flame of the spirit, the iron point of his staff, and success- 
 fully introduced it into the four walls of ice, but he could 
 find no issue in either. Cornbutte then resolved to cut out 
 an opening in the door itself. The ice was so hard that it 
 was difficult for the knives to make the least impression on 
 it. The pieces which were cut off soon encumbered the 
 hut. After working hard for two hours, they had only 
 hollowed out a space three feet deep. 
 
 Some more rapid method, and one which was less likely 
 to demolish the house, must be thought of; for the farther 
 they advanced the more violent became the effort to break 
 off the compact ice. It occurred to Penellan to make use 
 of the chafing-dish to melt the ice in the direction they 
 wanted. It was a hazardous method, for, if their imprison- 
 ment lasted long, the spirit, of which they had but little, 
 would be wanting when needed to prepare the meals. 
 Nevertheless, the idea was welcomed on all hands, and was 
 put in execution. They first cut a hole three feet deep by 
 one in diameter, to receive the water which would result 
 from the melting of the ice; and it was well that they took 
 this precaution, for the water soon dripped under the action 
 of the flames, which Penellan moved about under the mass 
 of ice. The opening widened little by little, but this kind 
 of work could not be continued long, for the water covering 
 their clothes, penetrated to their bodies here and there. 
 Penellan was obliged to pause in a quarter of an hour, and 
 to withdraw the chafing-dish in order to dry himself. 
 Misonne then took his place, and worked sturdily at the 
 task. 
 
 In two hours, though the opening was five feet deep, 
 the points of the staffs could not yet find an issue through 
 the ice. 
 
 " It is not possible," said Jean Cornbutte, " that snow 
 could have fallen in such abundance. It must have been 
 gathered on this point by the wind. Perhaps we had better 
 think of escaping in some other direction." 
 
 "I don't know," replied Penellan; "but if it were only
 
 BURIED ALIVE 87 
 
 for the sake of not discouraging our comrades, we ougHt to 
 continue to pierce the wall where we have begun. We must 
 find an issue ere long." 
 
 " Will not the spirit fail us? " asked the captain. 
 
 " I hope not. But let us, if necessary, dispense with 
 coffee and hot drinks. Besides, that is not what most 
 alarms me." 
 
 " What is it, then, Penellan? " 
 
 " Our lamp is going out, for want of oil, and we are fast 
 exhausting our provisions." 
 
 The time for rest had come, and when Penellan Had 
 added one more foot to the opening, he lay down beside his 
 comrades. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A CLOUD OF SMOKE 
 
 The next day, when the sailors awoke, they were sur- 
 rounded by complete darkness. The lamp had gone out. 
 Jean Cornbutte roused Penellan to ask him for the tinder- 
 box, which was passed to him. Penellan rose to light the 
 fire, but in getting up, his head struck against the ice ceiling. 
 He was horrified, for on the evening before he could still 
 stand upright. The chafing-dish being lighted up by the 
 dim rays of the spirit, he perceived that the ceiling was a 
 foot lower than before. 
 
 Penellan resumed work with desperation. 
 
 Marie, by the light which the chafing-dish cast upon Penel- 
 lan's face, saw that despair and determination were strug- 
 gling in his rough features for the mastery. She went to 
 him, took his hands, and tenderly pressed them. 
 
 " She cannot, must not die thus ! " he cried. 
 
 He took his chafing-dish, and once more attcked the nar- 
 row opening. He plunged in his staff, and felt no resist- 
 ance. Had he reached the soft layers of the snow? He 
 drew out his staff, and a bright ray penetrated to the house 
 of ice! 
 
 " Here, my friends ! " he shouted. 
 
 He pushed back the snow with his hands and feet. With 
 the rays of light, a violent cold entered the cabin and seized 
 upon everything moist, to freeze it in an instant. Penellan 
 enlarged the opening with his cutlass, and at last was able to
 
 88 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 breathe the free air. He fell on his knees to thank God, 
 and was soon joined by Marie and his comrades. 
 
 A magnificent moon lit up the sky, but the cold was so 
 extreme that they could not bear it. They re-entered their 
 retreat ; but Penellan first looked about him. The promon- 
 tory was no longer there, and the hut was now in the midst 
 of a vast plain of ice. Penellan thought he would go to the 
 sledge, where the provisions were. The sledge had disap- 
 peared ! 
 
 The cold forced him to return. He said nothing to his 
 companions. It was necessary, before all, to dry their cloth- 
 ing, which was done with the chafing-dish. The ther- 
 mometer, held for an instant in the air, descended to thirty 
 degrees below zero. 
 
 An hour after, Vasling and Penellan resolved to venture 
 outside. They wrapped themselves up in their still wet 
 garments, and went out by the opening, the sides of which 
 had become as hard as a rock. 
 
 " We have been driven towards the northeast," said 
 Vasling, reckoning by the stars. 
 
 " That would not be bad," said Penellan, " if our sledge 
 had come with us." 
 
 "Is not the sledge there?" cried Vasling. "Then we 
 are lost ! " 
 
 " Let us look for it," replied Penellan. 
 
 They went around the hut, which formed a block more 
 than fifteen feet high. An immense quantity of snow had 
 fallen during the whole of the storm, and the wind had 
 massed it against the only elevation which the plain pre- 
 sented. The entire block had been driven by the wind, in 
 the midst of the broken icebergs, more than twenty-five 
 miles to the northeast, and the prisoners had suffered the 
 same fate as their floating prison. The sledge, supported 
 by another iceberg, had been turned another way, for no 
 trace of it was to be seen, and the dogs must have perished 
 amid the frightful tempest. 
 
 Andre Vasling and Penellan felt despair taking posses- 
 sion of them. They did not dare to return to their com- 
 panions. They did not dare to announce this fatal news to 
 their comrades in misfortune. They climbed upon the block 
 of ice in which the hut was hollowed, and could perceive 
 nothing but the white immensity w5iich encompassed them
 
 A CLOUD OF SMOKE 89 
 
 on all sides. Already the cold was beginning to stiffen their 
 limbs, and the damp of their garments was being trans- 
 formed into icicles which hung about them. 
 
 Just as Penellan was about to descend, he looked towards 
 Andre. He saw him suddenly gaze in one direction, then 
 shudder and turn pale. 
 
 " What is the matter, Vasling?" he asked. 
 
 " Nothing," replied the other. " Let us go down and 
 urge the captain to leave these parts, where we ought never 
 to have come, at once ! " 
 
 Instead of obeying, Penellan ascended again, and looked 
 in the direction which had drawn the mate's attention. A 
 very different effect was produced on him, for he uttered a 
 shout of joy, and cried, " Blessed be God ! " 
 
 A light smoke was rising in the northeast. There was 
 no possibility of deception. It indicated the presence of 
 human beings. Penellan's cries of joy reached the rest 
 below, and all were able to convince themselves with their 
 eyes that he was not mistaken. 
 
 Without thinking of their want of provisions or the 
 severity of the temperature, wrapped in their hoods, they 
 were all soon advancing towards the spot whence the smoke 
 arose in the northeast. This was evidently five or six miles 
 off, and it was very difficult to take exactly the right direc- 
 tion. The smoke now disappeared, and no elevation served 
 ■as a guiding mark, for the ice-plain was one united level. It 
 was important, nevertheless, not to diverge from a straight 
 line. 
 
 " Since we cannot guide ourselves by distant objects," 
 said Jean Cornbutte, " we must use this method. Penellan 
 will go ahead, Vasling twenty steps behind him, and I 
 twenty steps behind Vasling. I can then judge whether 
 or not Penellan diverges from the straight line." 
 
 They had gone on thus for half an hour, when Penellan 
 suddenly stopped and listened. The party hurried up to 
 him. " Did you hear nothing? " he asked. 
 
 " Nothing! " replied Misonne. 
 
 " It is strange," said Penellan. " It seemed to me I heard 
 cries off to one side from this direction." 
 
 " Cries? " repHed Marie. " Perhaps we are near our des- 
 tination, then." 
 
 " That is no reason," said Andre Vasling. " In these
 
 90 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 high latitudes and cold regions sounds may be heard to a 
 great distance." 
 
 " However that may be," replied Jean Cornbutte, " let us 
 go forward, or we shall be frozen." 
 
 " No ! " cried Penellan. " Listen ! " 
 
 Some feeble sounds — quite perceptible, however — were 
 heard. They seemed to be cries of distress. They were 
 twice repeated. They seemed like cries for help. Then 
 all became silent again. 
 
 " I was not mistaken," said Penellan. " Forward! " 
 
 He began to run in the direction whence the cries had 
 proceeded. He went thus two miles, when, to his utter 
 stupefaction, he saw a man lying on the ice. He went up 
 to him, raised him, and lifted his arms to heaven in despair. 
 
 Andre Vasling, who was following close behind with the 
 rest of the sailors, ran up and cried, " It is one of the -cast- 
 aways ! It is our sailor Courtois ! " 
 
 " He is dead ! " replied Penellan. " Frozen to death ! " 
 
 Jean Cornbutte and Marie came up beside the corpse, 
 which was already stiffened by the ice. Despair was written 
 on every face. The dead man was one of the comrades of 
 Louis Cornbutte! 
 
 " Forward! " cried Penellan. 
 
 They went on for half an hour in perfect silence, and 
 perceived an elevation which seemed to be land. 
 
 " It is Shannon Island," said Jean Cornbutte. 
 
 A mile farther on they saw smoke escaping from a snow- 
 hut, closed by a wooden door. They shouted. Two men 
 rushed out of the hut, and Penellan recognized one of them 
 as Pierre Nouquet. " Pierre ! " he cried. 
 
 Pierre stood still as if stunned, and unconscious of what 
 was going on around him. Andre Vasling looked at Pierre 
 Nouquet's companion with anxiety mingled with a cruel joy, 
 for it was not Louis Cornbutte. 
 
 " Pierre ! it is I " cried Penellan. " We are your 
 friends! " 
 
 Pierre Nouquet recovered his senses, and fell into his old 
 comrade's arms. 
 
 " And my son — and Louis ! " cried Jean Cornbutte, in an 
 accent of the most profound despair.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE RETURN TO THE SHIP 
 
 At this moment a man, almost dead, dragged himself out 
 of the hut and along the ice. It was Louis Cornbutte. 
 
 "My son!" 
 
 "My beloved!" 
 
 These two cries were uttered at the same time, and Louis 
 Cornbutte fell fainting into the arms of his father and 
 Marie, who drew him towards the hut, where their tender 
 care soon revived him. 
 
 " My father! Marie! " cried Louis; " I shall not die with- 
 out having seen you ! " 
 
 " You will not die ! " replied Penellan, " for all your 
 friends are near you." 
 
 Andre Vasling must have hated Louis Cornbutte bitterly 
 not to extend his hand to him, but he did not. 
 
 Pierre Nouquet was wild with joy. He embraced every- 
 body; then he threw some wood into the stove, and soon a 
 comfortable temperature was felt in the cabin. 
 
 There were two men there whom neither Jean Cornbutte 
 nor Penellan recognized. 
 
 They w^ere Jocki and Herming, the only two sailors of 
 the crew^ of the Norwegian schooner who were left. 
 
 " My friends, we are saved ! " said Louis. " My father ! 
 Marie! You have exposed yourselves to so many perils! " 
 
 " We do not regret it, my Louis," replied the father. 
 " Your brig, the Jeiinc-Hardic, is securely anchored in the 
 ice sixty leagues from here. We will rejoin her all to- 
 gether." 
 
 " When Courtois comes back he'll be mightily pleased." 
 said Pierre Nouquet. 
 
 A mournful silence followed this, and Penellan apprised 
 Pierre and Louis of their comrade's death by cold. 
 
 " My friends," said Penellan, " we will wait here until 
 the cold decreases. Have you provisions and wood?" 
 
 " Yes ; and we will burn what is left of the Froocni." 
 
 The Frooern had indeed been driven to a place forty 
 miles from where Louis Cornbutte had taken up his win- 
 ter quarters. There she was broken up by the icebergs 
 floated by the thaw, and the castaways were carried, with a 
 part of the debris of their cabin, on the southern shores of 
 Shannon Island. 
 
 91
 
 92 A -WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 They were then five in number — Louis Cornbutte, Cour- 
 tois, Pierre Nouquet, Jocki, and Herming. As for the rest 
 of the Norwegian crew, they had been submerged with the 
 long-boat at the moment of the wreck. 
 
 When Louis Cornbutte, shut in among the ice, realized 
 what must happen, he took every precaution for passing 
 the winter. He was an energetic man, very active and 
 courageous; but, despite his firmness, he had been subdued 
 by this horrible climate, and when his father found him he 
 had given up all hope of life. He had not only had to 
 contend with the elements, but with the ugly temper of the 
 two Norwegian sailors, who owed him their existence. 
 They were like savages, almost inaccessible to the most 
 natural emotions. When Louis had the opportunity to 
 talk to Penellan, he advised him to watch them carefully. 
 In return, Penellan told him of Andre Vasling's conduct. 
 Louis could not believe it, but Penellan convinced him that 
 after his disappearance Vasling had always acted so as to 
 secure Marie's hand. 
 
 The whole day was employed in rest and the pleasures 
 of reunion. Misonne and Pierre Nouquet killed some sea- 
 birds near the hut, whence it was not prudent to stray far. 
 These fresh provisions and the replenished fire raised the 
 spirits of the weakest. Louis Cornbutte got visibly better. 
 It was the first moment of happiness these brave people 
 had experienced. They celebrated it with enthusiasm in 
 this wretched hut, six hundred leagues from the North 
 Sea, in a temperature of thirty degrees below zero! 
 
 This temperature lasted till the end of the moon, and it 
 was not until about the 17th of November, a week after 
 their meeting, that Jean Cornbutte and his party could 
 think of setting out. They only had the light of the stars 
 to guide them; but the cold was less extreme, and even 
 some snow fell. 
 
 Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor 
 Courtois. It was a sad ceremony, which deeply affected 
 his comrades. He was the first of them who would not 
 again see his native land. 
 
 Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, 
 a sort of sledge for carrying the provisions, and the sailors 
 drew it by turns. Jean Cornbutte led the expedition by 
 the ways already traversed. Camps were established with
 
 THE RETURN TO THE SHIP 93 
 
 great promptness when the times for repose came. Jean 
 Cornbutte hoped to find his deposits of provisions again, 
 as they had become well-nigh indispensable by the addi- 
 tion of four persons to the party. He was therefore very 
 careful not to diverge from the route by which he had come. 
 
 By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had 
 stranded near the promontory where they had all run so 
 many dangers. The dogs, after eating their straps to 
 satisfy their hunger, had attacked the provisions in the 
 sledge. These had sustained them, and they served to 
 guide the party to the sledge, where there was a con- 
 siderable quantity of provisions left. The little band re- 
 sumed its march towards the bay. The dogs were har- 
 nessed to the sleigh, and no even of interest attended 
 the return. 
 
 It was observed that Aupic, Andre Vasling, and the 
 Norwegians kept aloof, and did not mingle with the others; 
 but, unbeknown to themselves, they were narrowly watched. 
 This germ of dissension more than once aroused the fears 
 of Louis Cornbutte and Penellan. 
 
 About the 7th of December, twenty days after the dis- 
 covery of the castaways, they perceived the bay where the 
 Jeune-Hardie was lying. What was their astonishment to 
 see the brig perched four yards in the air on blocks of ice! 
 They hurried forward, much alarmed for their compan- 
 ions, and were received with joyous cries by Gervique, 
 Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in good health, 
 though they too had been subjected to formidable dangers. 
 
 The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar 
 sea. The ice had been broken and displaced, crushed one 
 piece against another, and had seized the bed on which the 
 ship rested. Though its specific weight tended to carry it 
 under water, the ice had acquired an incalculable force, and 
 the brig had been suddenly raised up out of the sea. 
 
 The first moments were given up to the happiness in- 
 spired by the safe return. The exploring party were re- 
 joiced to find everything in good condition, which assured 
 them a supportable though it might be a rough winter. 
 The ship had not been shaken by her sudden elevation, and 
 was perfectly tight. When the season of thawing came, 
 they would only have to slide her down an inclined plane, 
 to launch her, in a word, in the once more open sea.
 
 94 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 But a bad piece of news spread gloom on the faces of 
 Jean Cornbutte and his comrades. During the terrible 
 gale the snow storehouse on the coast had been quite de- 
 molished ; the provisions which it contained were scattered, 
 and it had not been possible to save a morsel of them. 
 When Jean and Louis Cornbutte learned this, they visited 
 the hold and steward's room, to ascertain the quantity of 
 provisions which still remained. 
 
 The thaw would not come until May, and the brig could 
 not leave the bay before that period. They had therefore 
 five winter months before them to pass amid the ice, during 
 which fourteen persons were to be fed. Having made his 
 calculations, Jean Cornbutte found that he would at most 
 be able to keep them alive till the time for departure, by 
 putting each and all on half rations. Hunting for game 
 became compulsory in order to procure food in larger quan- 
 tity. 
 
 For fear that they might again run short of provisions, it 
 was decided to deposit them no longer in the ground. All 
 of them were kept on board, and beds were disposed for 
 the newcomers in the common lodging. Turquiette, Ger- 
 vique, and Gradlin, during the absence of the others, had 
 hollowed out a flight of steps in the ice, which enabled them 
 easily to reach the ship's deck. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE TWO RIVALS 
 
 Andre Vasling had been cultivating the good-will of 
 the two Norwegian sailors. Aupic also made one of their 
 band, and held himself apart, with loud disapproval of all 
 the new measures taken ; but Louis Cornbutte, to whom his 
 father had transferred the command of the ship, and who 
 had become once more master on board, would listen to no 
 objections from that quarter, and in spite of Marie's advice 
 to act gently, made it known that he intended to be obeyed 
 on all points. 
 
 Nevertheless, the two Norwegians succeeded two days 
 after, in getting possession of a box of salt meat. Louis 
 ordered them to return it to him on the spot, but Aupic
 
 THE TWO RIVALS 95, 
 
 took their part, and Andre Vasling declared that the pre- 
 cautions about food could not be any longer enfoiced. 
 
 It was useless to attempt to show these men that these 
 measures were for the common interest, for they knew it 
 well, and only sought a pretext to revolt. 
 
 Penellan advanced towards the Norwegians, who drew 
 their cutlasses; but, aided by Misonne and Turquiette, he 
 succeeded in snatching the weapons from their hands, and 
 gained possession of the salt meat. Andre Vasling and 
 Aupic, seeing that matters were going against them, did 
 not interfere. Louis Cornbutte, however, took the mate 
 aside, and said to him: 
 
 " Andre V^asling, you are a wretch ! I know your whole 
 conduct, and I know what you are aiming at, but as the 
 safety of the whole crew is confided to me, if any man of 
 you thinks of conspiring to destroy them, I will stab him 
 with my own hand ! " 
 
 " Louis Cornbutte," replied the mate, " it is allowable 
 for you to act the master; but remember that absolute 
 obedience does not exist here, and that here the strongest 
 alone makes the law." 
 
 Marie had never trembled before the dangers of the 
 polar seas; but she was terrified by this hatred, of which 
 she was the cause, and the captain's vigor hardly reassured 
 her. 
 
 Despite this declaration of war, the meals were par- 
 taken of in common and at the same hours. Hunting fur- 
 nished some ptarmigans and white hares; but this resource 
 would soon fail them, with the approach of the terrible 
 cold weather. This began at the solstice, on the 22d of 
 December, on which day the thermometer fell to thirty- 
 five degrees below zero. The men experienced pain in 
 their ears, noses, and the extremities of their bodies. They 
 were seized with a mortal torpor combined with headache, 
 and their breathing became more and more diflicult. 
 
 In this state they had no longer any courage to go hunt- 
 ing or to take any exercise. They remained crouched 
 around the stove, which gave them but a meager heat; and 
 when they went away from it, they perceived that their 
 blood suddenly cooled. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte's health was seriously impaired, and he 
 could no longer quit his lodging. Symptoms of scurvy
 
 96 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 manifested themselves in him, and his legs were soon 
 covered with white spots. Marie was well, however, and 
 occupied herself tending the sick ones with the zeal of a 
 sister of charity. The honest fellows blessed her from the 
 bottom of their hearts. 
 
 The 1st of January was one of the gloomiest of these 
 winter days. The wind was violent, and the cold insup- 
 portable. They could not go out, except at the risk of 
 being frozen. The most courageous were fain to limit 
 themselves to walking on deck, sheltered by the tent. 
 Jean Cornbutte, Gervique, and Gradlin did not leave their 
 beds. The two Norwegians, Aupic, and Andre Vasling, 
 whose health was good, cast ferocious looks at their com- 
 panions, whom they saw wasting away. 
 
 Louis Cornbutte led Penellan on deck, and asked him 
 how much firing was left. 
 
 " The coal was exhausted long ago," replied Penellan, 
 " and we are about to burn our last pieces of wood." 
 
 " If we are not able to keep off this cold, we are lost," 
 said Louis. 
 
 " There still remains a way — " said Penellan, " to 
 burn what we can of the brig, from the barricading to the 
 water-line; and we can even, if need be, demolish her 
 entirely, and rebuild a smaller craft." 
 
 " That is an extreme means," replied Louis, " which it 
 will be full time to employ when our men are well. For^" 
 he added in a low voice, " our force is diminishing, and 
 that of our enemies seems to be increasing. That is ex- 
 traordinary." 
 
 "It is true," said Penellan; "and unless we took the 
 precaution to watch night and day, I know not what would 
 happen to us." 
 
 " Let us take our hatchets," returned Louis, " and make 
 our harvest of wood." 
 
 Despite the cold, they mounted on the forward barri- 
 cading, and cut off all the wood which was not indispensably 
 necessary to the ship ; then they returned with this new pro- 
 vision. The fire was started afresh, and a man remained 
 on guard to prevent it from going out. 
 
 Meanwhile Louis Cornbutte and his friends were soon 
 tired out. They could not confide any detail of the life in 
 common to their enemies. Charged with all the domestic 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE TWO RIVALS 97 
 
 cares, their powers were soon exhausted. The scurvy be- 
 trayed itself in Jean Cornbutte, who suffered intolerable 
 pain. Gervique and Gradlin showed symptoms of the 
 same disease. Had it not been for the lemon-juice, with 
 which they were abundantly furnished, they would have 
 speedily succumbed to their sufferings. This remedy was 
 not spared in relieving them. 
 
 But one day, the 15th of January, when Louis Cornbutte 
 was going down into the steward's room to get some 
 lemons, he was stupefied to find that the barrels in which 
 they were kept had disappeared. He hurried up and told 
 Penellan of this misfortune. A theft had been committed, 
 and it was easy to recognize its authors. Louis Corn- 
 butte then understood why the health of his enemies con- 
 tinued so good ! His friends were no longer strong enough 
 to take the lemons away from them, though his life and that 
 of his comrades depended on the fruit; and he now sank, 
 for the first time, into a gloomy state of despair. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DISTRESS 
 
 On the 20th of January most of the crew had not the 
 strength to leave their beds. Each, independently of his 
 woolen coverings, had a buffalo-skin to protect him against 
 the cold ; but as soon as he put his arms outside the clothes, 
 he felt a severe pain which obliged him quickly to cover 
 them again. 
 
 Meanwhile, Louis having lit the stove fire, Penellan, 
 Misonne, and Andre Vasling left their beds and crouched 
 around it. Penellan prepared some boiling coffe, which 
 gave them some strength, as well as Marie, who joined 
 them in partaking of it. 
 
 Louis Cornbutte approached his father's bedside; the 
 old man was almost motionless, and his limbs were help- 
 less from disease. He muttered some disconnected words, 
 which carried grief to his son's heart. 
 
 "Louis," said he, " I am dying! I suffer! Save me! " 
 
 Louis took a decisive resolution. He went up to the 
 mate, and, controlling himself with difiiculty, said : " Do 
 you know where the lemons are, Vasling?"
 
 98 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 " In the steward's room, I suppose," returned the mate, 
 without stirring. 
 
 " You know very well they are not, as you have stolen 
 them!" 
 
 " You are master, Louis Cornbutte, and may say and do 
 anything." 
 
 " For pity's sake, Andre Vasling, my father is dying ! 
 You can save him, — answer!" 
 
 " I have nothing to answer," replied Andre Vasling. 
 
 "Wretch! " cried Penellan, throwing himself, cutlass in 
 hand, on the mate. 
 
 " Help, friends ! " shouted Vasling, retreating. 
 
 Aupic and the two Norwegian sailors jumped from their 
 beds and placed themselves behind him. Turquiette, Penel- 
 lan, and Louis prepared to defend themselves. Pierre 
 Nouquet and Gradlin, though suffering much, rose to 
 second them. 
 
 " You are still too strong for us," said Vasling. " We 
 do not wish to fight on an uncertainty." 
 
 The sailors were so weak that they dared not attack the 
 four rebels, for, had they failed, they would have been lost. 
 "Andre Vasling!" said Louis, in a gloomy tone, "if my 
 father dies, you will have murdered him; and I will kill 
 you like a dog! " 
 
 Vasling and his confederates retired to the other end of 
 the cabin, and did not reply. 
 
 It was then necessary to renew the supply of wood, and, 
 in spite of the cold, Louis went on deck and began to cut 
 away a part of the barricading, but was obliged to retreat in 
 a quarter of an hour, for he was in danger of falling, 
 overcome by the freezing air. As he passed, he cast a 
 glance at the thermometer left outside, and saw that the 
 mercury was frozen. The cold, then, exceeded forty-two 
 degrees below zero. The weather was dry, and the wind 
 blew from the north. 
 
 On the 26th the wind changed to the northeast, and the 
 thermometer outside stood at thirty-five degrees. Jean 
 Cornbutte was in agony, and his son had searched in vain 
 for some remedy with which to relieve his pain. On this 
 day, however, throwing himself suddenly on Vasling, he 
 managed to snatch a lemon from him which he was about to 
 suck. Vasling made no attempt to recover it. He seemed
 
 DISTRESS 99 
 
 to be awaiting an opportunity to accomplish his wicked 
 designs. 
 
 The lemon-juice somewhat relieved old Cornbutte, but it 
 was necessary to continue the remedy. Marie begged Vas- 
 ling on her knees to produce the lemons, but he did not 
 reply, and soon Penellan heard the wretch say to his ac- 
 complices: "The old fellow is dying. Gervique, Gradlin, 
 and Nouquet are not much better. The others are daily 
 losing their strength. The time is near when their lives 
 will belong to us ! " 
 
 It was then resolved by Louis Cornbutte and his adhe- 
 rents not to wait, and lose the little strength still remaining 
 to them. They determined to act the next night, and to 
 kill these wretches, so as not to be killed by them. 
 
 The temperature rose a little. Louis Cornbutte ventured 
 to go out with his gun in search of some game. He pro- 
 ceeded some three miles from the ship, and, deceived by 
 the effects of the mirage and refraction, he went farther 
 than he intended. It was imprudent, for recent tracks of 
 ferocious animals were to be seen. He did not wish, how- 
 ever, to return without some fresh meat, and continued on 
 his route; but he then experienced a strange feeling which 
 turned his head. It was what is commonly called " white 
 vertigo." 
 
 The reflection of the ice hillocks and fields affected him 
 from head to foot, and it seemed to him that the dazzling 
 color penetrated him and caused an irresistible nausea. His 
 eye was attacked. His sight became uncertain. He thought 
 he should go mad with the glare. Without fully under- 
 standing this terrible effect, he advanced on his way, and 
 soon put up a ptarmigan, which he eagerly pursued. The 
 bird soon fell, and in order to reach it Louis leaped from 
 an ice-block and fell heavily; for the leap was at least ten 
 feet, and the refraction made him think it was only two. 
 The vertigo then seized him, and, without knowing why, 
 he began to call for help, though he had not been injured 
 by the fall. The cold began to take him, and he rose with 
 pain, urged by the sense of self-preservation. 
 
 Suddenly, without being able to account for it, he smelt 
 an odor of boiling fat. As the ship was between him and 
 the wind, he supposed that this odor proceeded from her, 
 and could not imagine why they should be cooking fat,
 
 loo A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 this being a dangerous thing to do, as it was likely to 
 attract the white bears. 
 
 Louis returned towards the ship, absorbed in reflections 
 which soon inspired his excited mind with terror. It 
 seemed to him as if colossal masses were moving on the 
 horizon, and he asked himself if there was not another ice- 
 quake. Several of these masses interposed themselves be- 
 tween him and the ship, and appeared to rise about its sides. 
 He stopped to gaze at them more attentively, when to his 
 horror he recognized a herd of gigantic bears. 
 
 These animals had been attracted by the odor of grease 
 which had surprised Louis. He sheltered himself behind 
 a hillock, and counted three, which were scaling the blocks 
 on which the Jeune-Hardie was resting. 
 
 A terrible anguish oppressed his heart. How resist these 
 redoubtable enemies? Would Andre Vasling and his con- 
 federates unite with the rest on board in the common peril? 
 Could Penellan and the others, half -starved, benumbed 
 with cold, resist these formidable animals, made wild by 
 unassuaged hunger? Would they not be surprised by an 
 unlooked-for attack? 
 
 Louis made these reflections rapidly. The bears had 
 crossed the blocks, and were mounting to the assault of 
 the ship. He might then quit the block which protected 
 him; he went nearer, clinging to the ice, and could soon 
 see the enormous animals tearing the tent with their paws, 
 and leaping on the deck. He thought of firing his gun to 
 give his comrades notice; but if these came up without 
 arms, they would inevitably be torn to pieces, and nothing 
 showed as yet that they were even aware of their new 
 danger. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE WHITE BEARS 
 
 After Louis Cornbutte's departure, Penellan Had care- 
 fully shut the cabin door, which opened at the foot of the 
 deck steps. He returned to the stove, which he took it 
 upon himself to watch, while his companions regained their 
 berths in search of a little warmth. 
 
 It was then six in the evening, and Penellan set about 
 preparing supper. He went down into the steward's room
 
 THE WHITE BEARS loi 
 
 for some salt meat, which he wished to soak in the boiHng 
 water. When he returned, he found Andre Vasling in his 
 place, cooking some pieces of grease in a basin. 
 
 " I was there before you," said Penellan roughly; "why 
 have you taken my place? " 
 
 " For the same reason that you claim it," returned Vas- 
 ling : " because I want to cook my supper." 
 
 " You will take that off at once, or we shall see ! " 
 
 " We shall see nothing," said Vasling ; " my supper shall 
 be cooked in spite of you." 
 
 " You shall not eat it, then," cried Penellan, rushing 
 upon Vasling, who seized his cutlass, crying, " Help, Nor- 
 wegians ! Help, Aupic ! " 
 
 These, in the twinkling of an eye, sprang to their feet, 
 armed with pistols and daggers. The crisis had come. 
 
 Penellan precipitated himself upon Vasling, to whom, no 
 doubt, was confided the task to fight him alone; for his 
 accomplices rushed to the beds where lay Misonne, Tur- 
 quiette, and Nouquet. The latter, ill and defenceless, was 
 delivered over to Herming's ferocity. The carpenter seized 
 a hatchet, and, leaving his berth, hurried up to encounter 
 Aupic. Turquiette and Jocki, the Norwegian, struggled 
 fiercely. Gervique and Gradlin, suffering horribly, were 
 not even conscious of what was passing around them. 
 
 Nouquet soon received a stab in the side, and Herming 
 turned to Penellan, who was fighting desperately. Andre 
 Vasling had seized him round the body. 
 
 At the beginning of the affray the basin had been upset 
 on the stove, and the grease running over the burning coals, 
 impregnated the atmosphere with its odor. Marie rose 
 with cries of despair, and hurried to the bed of old Jean 
 Cornbutte. 
 
 Vasling, less strong than Penellan, soon perceived that 
 the latter was getting the better of him. They were too 
 close together to make use of their weapons. The mate, 
 seeing Herming, cried out, " Help, Herming! " 
 
 " Help, Misonne! " shouted Penellan, in his turn. 
 
 But Misonne was rolling on the ground with Aupic, who 
 was trying to stab him with his cutlass. The carpenter's 
 hatchet was of little use to him. for he could not wield it, 
 and it was with the greatest difficulty that he parried the 
 lunges which Aupic made with his knife.
 
 •I02 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 Meanwhile blood flowed amid the groans and cries. Tur- 
 quiette, thrown down by Jocki, a man of immense strength, 
 had received a wound in the shoulder, and he tried in vain 
 to clutch a pistol which hung in the Norwegian's belt. The 
 latter held him as in a vice, and it was impossible for him 
 to move. 
 
 As Vasling was being held by Penellan close against the 
 door, Herming rushed up. He was about to stab the 
 Breton's back with his cutlass, but the latter felled him to the 
 earth with a vigorous kick. His effort to do this enabled 
 Vasling to disengage his right arm; but the door, against 
 which they pressed with all their weight, suddenly yielded, 
 and Vasling fell over. 
 
 Of a sudden a terrible growl was heard, and a gigantic 
 bear appeared on the steps. Vasling saw him first. He 
 was not four feet away from him. At the same moment 
 a shot was heard, and the bear, wounded or frightened, 
 retreated. Vasling, who had succeeded in regaining his 
 feet, set out in pursuit of him, abandoning Penellan. 
 
 Penellan then replaced the door, and looked around him. 
 Misonne and Turquiette, tightly garrotted by their antago- 
 nists, had been thrown into a corner, and made vain efforts 
 to break loose. Penellan rushed to their assistance, but was 
 overturned by the two Norwegians and Aupic. His ex- 
 hausted strength did not permit him to resist these three 
 men, and at a heavy blow he sank unconscious. Then, at 
 the cries of the mate, his accomplices hurried on deck, think- 
 ing that Louis Cornbutte was to be encountered. 
 
 Andre Vasling was struggling with a bear, which he had 
 already twice stabbed with his knife. The animal, beating 
 the air with his heavy paws, was trying to clutch Vasling; 
 he retiring little by little on the barricading, was apparently 
 doomed, when a second shot was heard. The bear fell. 
 Andre Vasling raised his head and saw Louis Cornbutte 
 in the ratlines of the mizzen-mast, his gun in his hand. 
 Louis had shot the bear in the heart, and he was dead. 
 
 Hate overcame gratitude in Vasling's breast; but before 
 satisfying it, he looked around him. Aupic's head was 
 broken by a paw-stroke, and he lay lifeless on deck. Jocki, 
 hatchet in hand, was with difficulty parrying the blows of 
 the second bear which had just killed Aupic. The animal 
 had received two wounds, and still struggled desperately.
 
 THE WHITE BEARS 103 
 
 A third bear was directing his way towards the ship's prow. 
 Vasling paid no attention to him, but, followed by Herming, 
 went to the aid of Jocki; but Jocki, seized by the beast's 
 paws, was crushed, and when the bear fell under the shots 
 of the other two men, he held a corpse in his shaggy arms. 
 
 " We are only two, now," said Vasling, with gloomy fero- 
 city, " but if we yield, it will not be without vengeance! " 
 
 Herming reloaded his pistol without replying. Before 
 all, the third bear must be got rid of. Vasling looked forward, 
 but did not see him. On raising his eyes, he perceived him 
 erect on the barricading, clinging to the ratlines and trying 
 to reach Louis. Vasling let his gun fall, which he had 
 aimed at the animal, while a fierce joy glittered in his eyes. 
 ** Ah," he cried to the bear, " you owe me that vengeance ! " 
 
 Louis took refuge in the top of the mast. The bear 
 kept mounting, and was not more than six feet from Louis, 
 when he raised his gun and pointed it at the animal's heart. 
 
 Vasling raised his weapon to shoot Louis if the bear fell. 
 
 Louis fired, but the bear did not appear to be hit, for he 
 leaped with a bound towards the top. The whole mast 
 shook. 
 
 Vasling uttered a shout of exultation. 
 
 " Herming," he cried, " go and find Marie! Go and find 
 my betrothed ! " 
 
 Herming descended the cabin stairs. 
 
 Meanwhile the furious beast had thrown himself upon 
 Louis, who was trying to shelter himself on the other side 
 of the mast; but at the moment that his enormous paw 
 was raised to break his head, Louis, seizing one of the 
 backstays, let himself slip down to the deck, not without 
 danger, for a ball hissed by his ear when he was half-way 
 down. Vasling had shot at him, and missed him. The 
 two adversaries now confronted each other, cutlass in hand. 
 
 The combat was about to become decisive. To glut his 
 vengeance, and to have the young girl witness her lover's 
 death, Vasling had deprived himself of Herming's aid. He 
 could now reckon only on himself. 
 
 Louis and Vasling seized each other by the collar, and 
 held each other with iron grip. One of them must fall. 
 They struck each other violently. Tlie blows were only 
 half parried, for blood soon flowed from both. Vasling 
 tried to clasp his adversary about the neck with his arm.
 
 104 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 to bring him to the ground. Louis, knowing that he who 
 fell was lost, prevented him, and succeeded in grasping his 
 two arms ; but in doing this he let fall his cutlass. 
 
 Pietous cries now assailed his ears; it was Marie's voice. 
 Herming was trying to drag her up. Louis was seized with 
 a desperate rage. He stiffened himself to bend Vasling's 
 loins; but at this moment the combatants felt themselves 
 seized in a powerful embrace. The bear, having descended 
 from the mast, had fallen upon the two men. Vasling was 
 pressed against the animal's body. Louis felt his claws en- 
 tering his flesh. The bear was strangling both of them. 
 
 ** Help ! help ! Herming ! " cried the mate. 
 
 " Help ! Penellan ! " cried Louis. 
 
 Steps were heard on the stairs. Penellan appeared, 
 loaded his pistol, and discharged it in the bear's ear; he 
 roared; the pain made him relax his paws for a moment, 
 and Louis, exhausted, fell motionless on the deck; but the 
 bear, closing his paws tightly in a supreme agony, fell, 
 dragging down the wretched Vasling, whose body was 
 crushed under him, 
 
 Penellan hurried to Louis Cornbutte's assistance. No 
 serious wound endangered his life; he had only lost his 
 breath for a moment. 
 
 " Marie ! " he said, opening his eyes. 
 
 " Saved ! " replied Penellan. " Herming is lying there 
 with a knife- wound in his stomach." 
 
 " And the bears " 
 
 " Dead, Louis ; dead, like our enemies ! But for those 
 beasts we should have been lost. Truly, they came to our 
 succor. Let us thank Heaven ! " 
 
 Louis and Penellan descended to the cabin, and Marie fell 
 into their arms. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 Herming, mortally wounded, had been carried to a berth 
 by Misonne and Turquiette, who had succeeded in getting 
 free. He was already at the last gasp of death; and the 
 two sailors occupied themselves with Nouquet, whose wound 
 was not, happily, a serious one.
 
 CONCLUSION 105 
 
 But a greater misfortune had overtaken Louis Cornbutte. 
 His father no longer gave any signs of life. Had he died 
 of anxiety for his son, delivered over to his enemies? Had 
 he succumbed in presence of these terrible events? They 
 could not tell. But the poor old sailor, broken by disease, 
 had ceased to live ! 
 
 At this unexpected blow, Louis and Marie fell into a 
 said despair; then they knelt at the bedside and wept, as 
 they prayed for Jean Cornbutte's soul. Penellan, Misonne, 
 and Turqulette left them alone in the cabin, and went on 
 deck. The bodies of the three bears were carried forward. 
 Penellan decided to keep their skins, which would be of no 
 little use; but he did not think for a moment of eating 
 their flesh. Besides, the number of men to feed was now 
 much decreased. The bodies of Vasling, Aupic, and Jockl, 
 thrown into a hole dug on the coast, were soon rejoined by 
 that of Herming. The Norwegian died during the night, 
 without repentance or remorse, foaming at the mouth with 
 rage. 
 
 Jean Cornbutte was buried on the coast. He had left 
 his native land to find his son, and had died in these ter- 
 rible regions! His grave was dug on an eminence, and 
 the sailors placed over it a simple wooden cross. 
 
 From that day, Louis Cornbutte and his comrades passed 
 through many other trials; but the lemons, which they 
 found, restored them to health. Gervique, Gradlln, and 
 Nouquet were able to rise from their berths a fortnight after 
 these terrible events, and to take a little exercise. 
 
 Soon hunting for game became more easy and its results 
 more abundant. The water-birds returned in large num- 
 bers. After the equinox, the sun remained constantly above 
 the horizon. The eight months of perpetual daylight had 
 begun. This continual sunlight, with the increasing though 
 still quite feeble heat, soon began to act upon the ice. 
 
 Great precautions were necessary in launching the ship 
 from the lofty layer of ice which surrounded her. She 
 was therefore securely propped up, and it seemed best to 
 await the breaking up of the ice ; but the lower mass, rest- 
 ing on a bed of already warm water, detached itself little by 
 little, and the ship gradually descended with it. Early in 
 April she had reached her natural level. 
 
 In May the thaw became very rapid. The snow which
 
 io6 A WINTER AMID THE ICE 
 
 covered the coast melted on every hand, and formed a 
 thick mud, which made it well-nigh impossible to land. 
 Small heathers, rosy and white, peeped out timidly above 
 the lingering snow, and seemed to smile at the little heat 
 they received. The thermometer at last rose above zero. 
 
 Twenty miles off, the ice masses, entirely separated, floated 
 towards the Atlantic Ocean. Though the sea was not quite 
 free around the ship, channels opened by which Louis Corn- 
 butte wished to profit. 
 
 On the 2 1 St of May, after a parting visit to his father's 
 grave, Louis at last set out from the bay. The hearts of 
 the honest sailors were filled at once with joy and sadness, 
 for one does not leave without regret a place where a friend 
 has died. The wind blew from the north, and favored 
 their departure. The ship was often arrested by ice-banks, 
 which were cut with saws, icebergs not seldom confronted 
 her, and it was necessary to blow them up with powder. 
 For a month the way was full of perils, which sometimes 
 brought the ship to the verge of destruction; but the crew 
 were sturdy, and used to these dangerous exigencies. 
 Penellan, Pierre Nouquet, Turquiette, Fidele Misonne, did 
 the work of ten sailors, and Marie had smiles of gratitude 
 for each. 
 
 The Jcune-Hardie at last passed beyond the ice in the 
 latitude of Jean-Mayen Island. About the 25th of June she 
 met ships going northward for seals and whales. She had 
 been nearly a month emerging from the Polar Sea. 
 
 On the 1 6th of August she came in view of Dunkirk. 
 She had been signaled by the look-out, and the whole popu- 
 lation flocked to the jetty. The sailors of the ship were 
 soon clasped in the arms of their friends. The old cure 
 received Louis Cornbutte and Marie with patriarchal arms, 
 and of the two masses which he said on the following day, 
 the first was for the repose of Jean Cornbutte's soul, and the 
 second to bless these two lovers, so long united in mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 THE END
 
 The Pearl of Lima 
 
 OR 
 
 Martin Paz
 
 The Pearl of Lima 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE " PLAZA MAYOR " 
 
 HE sun had just sunk behind the snowy peaks 
 of the Cordilleras, and, although the beautiful 
 Peruvian sky was being covered by the veil of 
 night, the atmosphere was clear and refreshing 
 in its balmy coolness. It was just the hour 
 when a European might enjoy the climate, and 
 with open veranda luxunate in the grateful breeze. 
 
 The stars were beginning to appear and the promenaders 
 betook themselves to the streets of Lima, where, protected 
 merely by their light capes, they discussed the most trivial 
 topics with the most profound gravity. The general direc- 
 tion of the throng was toward the grand square, the Plaza 
 Mayor, the forum of the ancient " City of the Kings." 
 
 The same cool atmosphere which tempted the population 
 to an evening stroll had the effect of bringing out the var- 
 ious hawkers, who threaded their way amidst the crowds 
 shouting aloud the praises of their different wares. The 
 women, wearing mantles which effectually concealed their 
 faces, glided, as it were, between the groups of smokers. 
 A few ladies there were in evening dress, with their coiffure, 
 composed of their own luxuriant hair, gracefully adorned 
 with natural flowers; but these were lounging back in the 
 iwide barouches. The Indians were seen making their sullen 
 way without once lifting their eyes, and indicating neither 
 by gesture nor by word the rancorous envy that was gnaw- 
 ing at their spirit, a contrast altogether with the half-breeds, 
 who, repudiated as themselves, protested more openly 
 against their civil wrongs. 
 
 As for the Spaniards, those haughty descendants of 
 Pizarro, they held their heads aloft as though they were 
 still entitled to the homage of the days of old, when their 
 ancestors had founded the city of the kings. They enter- 
 tained supreme contempt alike for the Indians whom they 
 had conquered, and for the half-breeds who had sprung 
 from their own connection with the people of the New 
 World. Like every other subjugated race, the Indians 
 
 109
 
 no THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 chafed at their condition, and regarded with common an- 
 tipathy not only the conquerors who had overturned the 
 ancient empire of the Incas, but also the half-breeds, that 
 upstart race, as arrogant as vulgar. With regard to these 
 half-breeds, it may be asserted that they were Spaniards 
 as far as their scorn of the Lidians could make them so, 
 while they were thorough Indians in the detestation in which 
 they held the Spaniards. The two sentiments were about 
 equally developed, and united in embittering their lives. 
 
 It was a party of the young half-breeds that was now 
 seen clustering near the fine fountain that adorns the center 
 of the Plaza Mayor. Each of them was wearing a " pon- 
 cho," which consisted simply of an oblong piece of cotton, 
 with an aperture in the middle to admit the head of the 
 wearer, and nearly all of them were arrayed in loose 
 trousers, gay with stripes of a thousand colors; on their 
 heads they had broad-brimmed hats made of straw from 
 Guayaquil. They gesticulated violently as they talked. 
 
 " You are right, Andre," said a little man named Milla- 
 flores, speaking in a most obsequious tone. 
 
 This Millaflores was a hanger-on, a sort of parasite of 
 Andre Certa, a young half-breed, and the son of a wealthy 
 merchant who had been killed in one of the late insurrec- 
 tions. Inheriting an ample fortune, Andre had sought by a 
 lavish prodigality to surround himself with a bevy of friends 
 from whom he exacted nothing more than the most servile 
 deference. 
 
 " And what good, I should like to know," said Andre, 
 raising his voice higher and higher as he spoke, " what good 
 ever comes of these changes of government, and these ever- 
 lasting pronunicamentos that are constantly agitating Peru. 
 As long as there is no equality established, it matters little 
 whether it be Gambarra or Santa Cruz that rules us." 
 
 " Well said ! well said, indeed ! " shrieked little Millaflores, 
 who, in spite of the passing of a law for universal equality, 
 could never be an equal to any man of spirit. 
 
 " Here am I," continued Andre Certa, *' the son of a 
 merchant, and how is it that I am not allowed a carriage 
 drawn by anything better than mules ! Whose ships were 
 they but mine that brought prosperity into the land? And 
 isn't an aristocracy of wealth far more than a match for 
 all the empty titles of the grandees of Spain? "
 
 THE " PLAZA MAYOR " 1 1 1 
 
 " Disgraceful ! " chimed in the voice of one of the young 
 half-breeds; "utterly disgraceful! Just look there! there 
 goes Don Fernando! see him how he drives along in his 
 chariot drawn by horses! Don Fernando d'Aguillo! he 
 can scarcely afford to buy a dinner for his coachman, and 
 yet look at the air with which he lords it about the Plaza ! 
 Look, there's another of them! the Marquis Don Vegal!" 
 
 A splendid carriage at that moment turned into the Plaza, 
 and proved in truth to belong to the Marquis Don Vegal, 
 Chevalier of Alcantara, of Malta, and of Charles IIL The 
 nobleman had come out only to relieve the tedium of the 
 evening, and with no thought of ostentation or display. As 
 he sat with his head bent in anxious care, he paid no re- 
 gard to the envious sneers with which the groups of half- 
 breeds greeted him while his carriage and four dashed 
 through the crowd. 
 
 " I hate that man," growled Andre Certa. 
 
 " Ah ! you will not need to hate him long," replied one 
 of the young men. 
 
 " Perhaps not," said Andre. " These lordlings have seen 
 nearly the last of their luxuries, and have pretty well ex- 
 hausted all their jewels and family plate." 
 
 "Yes, indeed; no one knows that better than yourself, 
 'familiar as you are with old Samuel the Jew." 
 
 "True; the old Jew's ledger shows plenty of credit and 
 lots of debt, and his strong box is full to the hasp with the 
 debris of the fine fortunes of the old aristocrats But the 
 day isn't far off, and a jolly day it will be, when these 
 Spaniards will all be beggars, like their own Caesar de 
 Bazan." 
 
 " Capital, Andre," put in Millaflores; " and then you will 
 mount upon your own millions, and double them besides. 
 But when do you marry old Samuel's daughter? Sarah is 
 a true child of Lima, a Peruvian to the very tips of her 
 fingers; nothing of the Jewess about her except her name." 
 
 " Oh, within a month," said Andre. " In another month 
 there will not be a fortune in the land to compete with 
 mine." 
 
 " But why," was the inquiry of one of the admiring 
 group, " why don't you marry the daughter of some 
 Spaniard who can boast a noble lineage?" 
 
 " Because I despise the race as much as I hate it," replied
 
 112 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 Andre; but he did not think it necessary to confess that his 
 acquaintancesliip had been ignominiously rejected in every 
 aristocratic circle to which he had endeavored to get an in- 
 troduction. 
 
 At this instant Andre was unceremoniously jostled by a 
 tall man with grisly hair, whose thick-set limbs indicated 
 more than an ordinary amount of physical strength. 
 
 The man was an Indian, a native of the mountains; he 
 wore a shirt of the coarsest serge, that, opening at the neck, 
 ■revealed the shaggiest of bosoms; his short linen trousers 
 were gaudy with green stripes, and his stone-colored stock- 
 ings were fastened at the knee with crimson garters ; a pair 
 of glittering ear-rings hung far below the border of his hat. 
 
 After jostling Andre, the man stood and stared at him. 
 
 " You vile Indian ! " exclaimed the assaulted half-breed, as 
 he raised his hand to strike him. 
 
 His companions held him back, and Millaflores cried, 
 " Andre, Andre ! mind what you are about ! " 
 
 " What does the wretched slave mean by daring to jostle 
 me ? " exclaimed Andre furiously. 
 
 " Never mind, he's only an idiot; it is Sambo ! " 
 
 The Indian continued steadily staring at the man whom 
 he had intentionally affronted. Andre, beside himself with 
 rage, laid his hand upon the dagger which he carried in his 
 belt, and was upon the point of attacking his aggressor, 
 when a shrill cry, like the note of the Peruvian linnet, re- 
 echoed above the tumult of the crowd, and in a moment 
 Sambo had disappeared. 
 
 "Miserable coward!" ejaculated the furious Andre. 
 
 Millaflores gently begged him to control his passion, and 
 leave the Plaza. The group of young men began to retire 
 towards the lower end of the promenade. 
 
 The Plaza Mayor was still the scene of bustling anima- 
 tion. Night had come on, and gliding about with their 
 identity completely disguised by their mantles, the women 
 of Lima truly deserved their name of the " tapadas," — the 
 " concealed." The noise and tumult seemed ever to be in- 
 creasing. The horse-guards, sentineled at the central gate- 
 way of the Viceroy's palace, had as much as they could do 
 to retain their places undisturbed by the thronging of the 
 busy crowd. Industry of every sort appeared to have found 
 a general rendezvous, and the whole place was well-nigh 
 
 y. I Verne
 
 THE " PLAZA MAYOR " 113 
 
 given up to the ex:hibition of articles for sale. The lower 
 story of the palace, and the very basement of the cathedral 
 had been converted into shops, and the entire locality was 
 thus transformed into a vast bazaar for all the varied pro- 
 ducts of the tropics. 
 
 Louder and louder waxed the noise; when all at once 
 the bell from the cathedral tower tolled out the Angelus, 
 and the tumult w^as completely hushed. The clamor of 
 business was replaced by the whisperings of prayer. The 
 ladies paused upon the promenade, and began to tell their 
 beads. 
 
 During the interval of the suspended traffic, and while 
 the mass of the people was still in the attitude of devotion, ', 
 a young girl, accompanied by an old duenna, was trying to 
 make her way through the thickest of the crowd. Angry 
 remonstrances met the ears of both as their movements in- 
 terrupted the prayers of those they passed. The girl 
 wanted to stand and wait, but the undaunted duenna 
 dragged her resolutely on. First some one w^ould say, 
 "What are these daughters of the devil doing? " and then 
 another would ask, "Who is this cursed ballet-girl?" till 
 at last, overwhelmed by confusion, the girl refused to ad- 
 vance a step 
 
 At that instant a muleteer was proceeding to take lier 
 by the shoulder and force her on to her knees; but he had 
 scarcely raised his hand for the purpose, when he was seized 
 by a strong arm from behind, and felled to the ground. 
 The incident, though it was quick as lightning, caused some 
 confusion for a moment. 
 
 " Make your escape, young lady," said a voice, gently 
 and respectfully, close to the girl's ear. 
 
 Pale with terror she cast a glance behind her, and saw a 
 tall young Indian standing w'ith folded arms and looking 
 defiantly at the muleteer before him. 
 
 " Alas, alas ! " cried the duenna, " we have got into 
 trouble," and hurried the girl away. 
 
 Bruised by his fall the muleteer rose to his feet, but not 
 deeming it prudent to demand satisfaction from an oppo- 
 nent of such resolute bearing as the young Indian, he retired 
 towards his mules, muttering angry but useless threats as 
 he went.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN INDIAN RIVAL 
 
 The town of Lima nestles as it were in the valley of the 
 Rimac, at about nine miles from the mouth of the river. 
 From east to west Lima is about two miles long, but not 
 more than a mile and a quarter wide from the bridge to 
 the walls. These walls, which are about twelve feet high, 
 and ten feet thick at their base, are constructed of a peculiar 
 kind of bricks, known as " adobes," dried in the sun. 
 
 This is the ancient " City of the Kings," founded in 1534 
 by Pizarro on the feast of the Epiphany, It has never 
 ceased to be the scene of revolution. Formerly it was the 
 chief emporium of America in the whole Pacific, to which 
 it was opened by the port of Callao. The climate makes 
 Lima one of the most agreeable places of residence in the 
 New World. The wind never deviates from one of two 
 directions; either it blows from the south-west, and brings 
 with it the refreshing influence which it has gained in 
 traversing the Pacific, or it comes from the south-east, in- 
 vigorating and cheering with the coolness which it has 
 gathered from the snowy summits of the Cordielleras. The 
 nights, too, at Lima are delightful as elsev^^here in the 
 tropics; the dew which rises is a bountiful source of nutri- 
 ment to a soil that is ever exposed to the rays of a cloudless 
 sun. 
 
 On the evening in question, the girl, still attended by her 
 duenna, arrived from the great square at the bridge of the 
 Rimac without further misadventure. Her excitement was 
 still intense, and made her start at every sound which 
 brought to her imagination either the ringing of the mule- 
 teer's bells, or the whistle of an Indian. 
 
 The girl was Sarah, the daughter of Samuel the Jew, and 
 she was now about to enter the house of her father. She 
 was dressed in a dark-colored skirt plaited round the bottom 
 in such close folds as to oblige her to take the very shortest 
 steps, giving her that graceful movement which is so gen- 
 erally characteristic of the young women of Lima. The 
 skirt was trimmed with lace and flowers, and was partially 
 concealed by a silk mantle, the hood of which enveloped her 
 head; stockings of fine texture, and pretty little satin slippers 
 were visible below her becoming dress; bracelets of con- 
 siderable value encircled her wrists, and her whole appear- 
 
 114
 
 AN INDIAN RIVAL 115 
 
 ance afforded a charming illustration of what the Spaniards 
 express so pointedly by their term " donayre." 
 
 Millaflores had only declared the truth when he had said 
 that Sarah had nothing Jewish about her but her name; 
 she was undeniably a type of the sefioras whose beauty has 
 commanded such universal homage. 
 
 The old duenna was a Jewess, with avarice and cupidity 
 stamped indelibly upon her features ; she was a devoted ser- 
 vant to Samuel, who knew what she was worth, and re- 
 munerated her accordingly. 
 
 Just at the moment that they entered the suburb of San 
 Lazaro, a man, dressed as a monk, with his cowl over his 
 head, passed them with a keen and scrutinizing look of in- 
 quiry. He was very tall, and had one of those commanding 
 figures which seem at once to indicate repose and benevo- 
 lence. It was Farther Joachim di Camarones. As he 
 passed the girl he gave her a kindly smile of recognition ; 
 she glanced hastily at her companion, and merely acknowl- 
 edge his greeting by a gentle movement of her hand. 
 
 " Has it come to this? " said the old woman, in a tone of 
 annoyance, " isn't it enough to be insulted by these Christ- 
 ian dogs, and here you must be bowing and smiling to one 
 of their priests ! I suppose some day we shall see you take 
 up a rosary, and go off to their fine services in church." 
 
 The girl colored as she replied, " You are indulging in 
 strange conjectures." 
 
 " Strange ! not more strange, I think, than your behavior. 
 What would my master say if he knew all that has passed 
 this evening? " 
 
 " It's no fault of mine, I should suppose," rejoined the 
 girl, " if a brutal muleteer insults me in the street." 
 
 " I know very well what I mean," grumbled the old 
 woman ; " I wasn't alluding to any muleteer." 
 
 " Then," inquired Sarah, " do you blame that young In- 
 dian for taking my part against the crowd? " 
 
 " Ah I ah ! but it isn't the first time the young fellow has 
 crossed your path." 
 
 Fortunately for her, the maiden's face was covered by 
 her mantilla, otherwise the evening shades would not have 
 been deep enough to conceal the girl's flush of excitement 
 from the inquisitive eye of the old domestic 
 
 " But never mind the Indian now," continued the old
 
 ii6 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 crone ; " I will keep my eye on that business. What troubles 
 me most now is that rather than interrupt those Christians 
 at their prayers, you should acutally stand still and wait 
 while they knelt, and I really believe you were going to 
 kneel too Ah ! senora, if your father were to know that I 
 could allow you to insult your faith like that, he would not 
 be long in sending me adrift." 
 
 The girl however, heard nothing of the reproof The 
 very mention of the Indian had turned her thoughts into a 
 sweeter channel. She recalled what was to her a provi- 
 dential interference on her behalf, and could not divest her- 
 self of a belief that her deliverer was still not far behind, 
 following in the shade. There was a certain fearlessness in 
 her character that became her marvelously. Proud she was 
 with the pride of a Spaniard, and if she felt her interest 
 awakened by the young Indian, it was chiefly because he, 
 too, was proud, and had not sought a glance of her eye as 
 an acknowledgment for his protection. 
 
 In truth, she was not far wrong in her surmise that the 
 Indian was not out of sight. After his interference in her 
 defence, he had resolved to make her retreat entirely secure ; 
 and accordingly, when the observers were dispersed, he 
 proceeded to follow her without being perceived. 
 
 A well-built man was Martin Paz, his figure being nobly 
 set off by the costume that he wore as an Indian of the 
 Mountains. Below the wide brim of his straw hat clustered 
 massive locks of thick black hair which harmonized per- 
 fectly with his dark complexion. His eyes were at once 
 brilliant and soft, and a well-formed nose rose above lips 
 so small as to be quite rare in any of his race. He was of 
 the lineage of the courageous Manco-Capac, and in his veins 
 coursed the ardent blood that was capable of great achieve- 
 ments 
 
 Martin Paz was attired In a poncho of many hues ; from 
 his girdle was suspended one of those Malay daggers which 
 are ever formidable in a practiced hand, and seem to be 
 welded to the arm that wields them Had he been in North 
 America, by the wild borders of Lake Ontario, he would, 
 to a certainty, have been a chief of those wandering tribes 
 who fought so heroically against their English foes. 
 
 Martin was quite aware not only that Sarah was the 
 daughter of the wealthy Jew, but also, that she was be-
 
 *t 
 
 ((I 
 
 AN INDIAN RIVAL 117 
 
 trotfied to the rich half-breed, Andre Certa; he knew that 
 her birth, her social position, and her fortune, alike pro- 
 hibited her from ever having any relations with himself; 
 but overlooking all impossibilities, he gave free license to his 
 infatuation 
 
 Plunged in his own reflections, he was hastening on his 
 way, when he was suddenly accosted by two other Indians. 
 
 " Martin Paz," said one of them, " don't you intend to go 
 to-night and meet our brothers in the mountains ? " 
 
 " I shall be there," was Martin's curt reply. 
 
 "The schooner Annunciation," went on the other, *'has 
 been seen off the heights of Callao. No doubt she will land 
 at the mouth of the Rimac, and our boats should be there to 
 disembark her cargo. Come, you must ! " 
 
 " I know my own duty," said Martin. 
 We speak to you here in Sambo's name." 
 Yes," said Martin, " and I answer you in my own." 
 How shall we account for your being here in San La- 
 zaro at this extraordinary hour of the night? " 
 
 " I go where I please," was the only answer. 
 
 " In front of the Jew's house, too ! " 
 
 " Such of my brethren as are offended at it may meet 
 me, and tell me of it this very night upon the hills." 
 
 The eyes of the three men flashed, but no more was said. 
 The two retreated towards the bank of the Rimac, and the 
 sound of their footsteps was soon lost in the distance. 
 
 Martin Paz had come quite alone to the residence of the 
 Jew. Like all the houses in Lima it was only two storys 
 high. The basement was built of bricks, and upon this was 
 raised another story composed of plaited canes, plastered 
 over and painted to match the walls below. This is a con- 
 trivance which is best adapted to resist the convulsions of 
 the frequent earthquakes. The roof was flat, and being 
 covered with flowers, it made a most fragrant and agree- 
 able resort. 
 
 A broad gateway between two lodges gave access to a 
 courtyard within, but according to the custom of the place, 
 those lodges had no windows opening into the road. 
 
 The church clock had struck eleven, and there was the 
 deepest silence all around. And why is it that the Indian 
 lingers here before the walls? Only because a dim shadow 
 has been seen moving amidst those flowers, of which night
 
 ii8 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 only hides the form, without depriving them of their de- 
 lightful odors. 
 
 With an involuntary impulse Martin lifts his hands in 
 ardent admiration. The dim figure starts and shrinks away 
 as if in terror. Martin Paz withdraws his gaze from the 
 roof to find himself face to face with Andre Certa. 
 
 " And for how long have the Indians been accustomed 
 to pass their nights thus? " asked Andre, hot with rage. 
 
 " Ever since Indians have trodden the soil of their an- 
 cestors," sternly answered Martin Paz, without moving an 
 inch. Andre advanced towards him. 
 
 " Wretch ! " he angrily exclaimed, " will you not leave the 
 place?" 
 
 " No ! " cried Martin Paz, and in an instant daggers 
 flashed in the right hands of both. They were of equal 
 height, and seemed of equal strength. Quickly Andre 
 raised his arm, but still more quickly it dropped; his poig- 
 nard had met that of his antagonist, and he fell to the ground 
 wounded in the shoulder. 
 
 " Help, help ! " he shouted. 
 
 The gate of the Jew's house was quickly opened. Some 
 half-breeds ran out hastily from an adjacent building; a 
 part of them set out in pursuit of the Indian, who had at 
 once made off, while the others attended the wounded man. 
 
 " Who is he? " asked a bystander. " If he is a sailor, he 
 had better be carried off to the Hospital of St. Esprit; if he 
 is an Indian, let him be taken to St. Anne's." 
 
 But at this point an old man approached, and having 
 given a glance at the wounded Andre, said, " Take him 
 into my house ! " and then muttered to himself, " what 
 strange piece of business is this? " 
 
 It was Samuel the Jew, who had thus recognized in the 
 wounded man the intended husband of his daughter. 
 
 Meanwhile Martin Paz, favored by the darkness of the 
 night and by his own fleetness, succeeded in escaping the 
 hot pursuit of those who followed him. He was flying for 
 his life. Could he only reach the open country, he would 
 be safe; but the gates of the town, which were closed every 
 night at eleven, would not be opened until four. 
 
 He reached the bridge, which he had crossed not long 
 before. The half-breeds, with some soldiers who had 
 joined them, pressed him closely from behind; an armed
 
 AN INDIAN RIVAL 119 
 
 guard made its appearance right in front. Martin, unable 
 either to advance or to retreat, bounded over the parapet, 
 and leaped into the rapid stream that was dashing along 
 its rocky bed. The soldiers rushed to the bank below the 
 bridge to catch the fugitive as he reached the shore; but 
 their effort was in vain. Martin Paz was nowhere to be 
 seen. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE Jew's anger 
 
 Once safely lodged in the house of Samuel, and placed 
 upon a couch that was quickly prepared for him, Andre 
 Certa recovered his consciousness, and grasped the hand of 
 the Jew. The surgeon who had been summoned was soon 
 in attendance, and pronounced the wound to be unimpor- 
 tant, the shoulder having received the blow in such a way 
 that the poignard had merely made a flesh wound ; and there 
 was no doubt that in a few da3^s Andre would be con- 
 valescent. 
 
 When Andre found himself alone with Samuel he said 
 to him, " I think you ought to block up the doorway that 
 leads up to the terrace on the roof." 
 
 " Why? " rejoined the Jew. " What is there to be afraid 
 of?" 
 
 " I don't think," continued Andre, " that it is right for 
 Sarah to expose herself to the gaze of those Indians. It 
 was from no burglar, it was simply from a rival that I re- 
 ceived the cut that might have caused me serious injury: 
 it was only by a miracle that I escaped." 
 
 " Ah! by the holy Bible! " shrieked the Jew, " you must 
 be mistaken. My daughter will make you an accomplished 
 wife, and I have always taken care that she shall do nothing 
 that will damage your reputation." 
 
 Andre Certa lifted himself on to his elbow, and said sig- 
 nificantly, " Are you not rather forgetting that I am to pay 
 for Sarah's hand the price of no less than a hundred thou- 
 sand piastres? " 
 
 " By no means," said the Jew with a greedy grin, " and I 
 am quite ready to give you a receipt when I get the hard 
 cash." And as he spoke he took from his portfolio a paper, 
 of which Andre took no notice.
 
 120 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 " There will be no bargain between us, Master Samuel, 
 until Sarah becomes my wife; and that she won't be, if there 
 is to be any difficulty about a rival. You know my object; 
 I want to be a match for those haughty aristocrats, who 
 now treat me with such vile contempt" 
 
 " And that is in your reach, Andre. Once married you 
 will find the haughtiest Spaniards coming to your recep- 
 tions." 
 
 "Where has your daughter been this evening?" asked 
 Andre. 
 
 " To the synagogue with old Ammon, her companion." 
 
 " Why do you make your daughter attend those serv- 
 ices? " said Andre. " What good can they be to her? " 
 
 " I am a Jew," replied the father, " and Sarah would not 
 be my daughter if she did not fulfil the offices of our re- 
 ligion." 
 
 A villainous rascal was Samuel the Jew. Trading in 
 commodities of any kind, however questionable, he was 
 worthy to be a direct descendant of the Iscariot who be- 
 trayed his Master for thirty silver shekels. He had settled 
 in Lima some ten years previously. Equally to please his 
 taste and to serve his interests he had chosen a residence 
 on the outskirts of the suburb of San Lazaro, where he ap- 
 plied himself to the most unscrupulous practices. Gradu- 
 ally his home assumed more and more of luxury, till at 
 length he had a mansion sumptuous in its furniture, a numer- 
 ous retinue of servants, and such splendid equipages as only 
 belonged to men of unbounded affluence. 
 
 When Samuel first took up his abode in Lima his daugh- 
 ter was eight years of age. Already graceful and captivat- 
 ing in her manner, she was the very idol of the Jew. Her 
 beauty increased with her age, and attracted universal ad- 
 miration, and before long it was generally understood that 
 Andre Certa, the rich half-breed, was desperately smitten 
 with her; what would have appeared inexplicable was that 
 the sum of a hundred thousand piastres should be the price 
 of Sarah's hand, but that part of the contract was a secret. 
 Besides, it was a part of old Samuel's nature to make a 
 profit out of sentimental emotions just as though they were 
 marketable products. Banker, usurer, broker, and ship- 
 owner, he had a faculty for doing business with everyone 
 who came in his way. The schooner Annunciation, which
 
 THE JEW'S ANGER 121 
 
 tKat very night was seeking to land at the mouth of the 
 Rimac, was his property. 
 
 Eagerly devoted as he was to the transactions of busi- 
 ness, this man, with the persistence of his race, found time 
 to fulfil the religious offices of his creed with the most punc- 
 tilious regularity, and his daughter had been strictly trained 
 in the same faith; consequently, after Andre, in the course 
 of their conversation, had let it be seen how much the fact 
 displeased him, the old man sat for a time pensive and silent. 
 Andre at length broke the silence. 
 
 " You must be aware," he said, " that the motive under 
 which I contemplate marrying your daughter will compel 
 her to become a Catholic." 
 
 " True," answered Samuel in a mournful tone, " but, by 
 the holy Bible, as sure as Sarah is my daughter, Sarah will 
 be a Jewess still ! " 
 
 At this moment the door was opened, and the steward of 
 the household entered. 
 
 *' Has the assassin been arrested? " asked the Jew. 
 
 " We believe him dead," replied the steward. 
 
 " Dead ! " exclaimed Andre, with a gesture of delight. 
 
 " So 'tis thought; he found himself upon the bridge witK 
 us pursuing him from behind, and a guard of soldiers just 
 in front, and in order to escape, he jumped over the parapet 
 and flung himself into the stream." 
 
 " But what makes you think that he did not reach one of 
 the banks? " asked Samuel. 
 
 " Because the melting of the snow has swollen the stream 
 into a torrent," replied the steward. " Besides, we hurried 
 to each side of the river, but the man was never seen. The 
 sentinels have been left to watch the banks." 
 
 " Well," said the old man, " if he is drowned, he has only 
 executed just sentence upon himself But did you recog- 
 nize who he was? " 
 
 " Yes, it was Martin Paz, the Indian of the mountains." 
 
 " You mean the man who has now been so long watching 
 my daughter? " 
 
 " Of that I know nothing," said the servant indifferently. 
 
 The Jew then desired that Ammon, the old duenna, 
 should be sent to him, and the steward retired. 
 
 "Strange!" exclaimed the old man. "These Indians 
 have so many secret conspiracies; it ought to be knowai
 
 122 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 how long this fellow has been carrying on his game." 
 
 By this time the duenna had entered the room, and stood 
 waiting her master's pleasure. 
 
 " Does my daughter know anything of what has occurred 
 to-night ? " he inquired. 
 
 " I only know," was Ammon's reply, " that when I was 
 roused by the clamor in the house, I hurried to the sefiora's 
 room, and found her motionless with fright." 
 
 " Go on," he said impatiently, " tell me all." 
 
 " I pressed her to tell me the cause of her alarm; but she 
 could not be induced to speak, and insisted upon going to 
 bed; she would not allow me to attend her, and I was 
 obliged to leave her to herself." 
 
 " This Indian, do you often meet him? " 
 
 " I can hardly say often," she replied, " but I must ac- 
 knowledge that I know him very well by sight about the 
 streets of San Lazaro, and this very evening he came to 
 the sefiora's assistance in the Plaza Mayor," 
 
 " To her assistance ! what do you mean? " 
 
 After the duenna had detailed the incident, the old Jew 
 muttered wrath fully, " Is it true, then, that Sarah wanted to 
 kneel down amongst those hateful Christians? " And then 
 raising his voice, he threatened that Ammon should quit 
 his service. 
 
 " Oh ! forgive me, master, forgive me," was her depre- 
 cating cry. 
 
 "Out of my sight!" shouted Samuel harshly, and the 
 duenna retreated in abashed confusion. 
 
 " There is no time to lose, you see," said Andre Certa, 
 " it is high time that this marriage of ours should come off. 
 But I want rest now, and shall be glad to be left alone." 
 
 The old man slowly retired ; but before going to his own 
 bed he wished to satisfy himself about the condition of his 
 daughter, and accordingly he entered her apartment as 
 gently as he could. 
 
 Sarah was sleeping very restlessly on a bed that was 
 hung round with the richest of silk draperies. An elaborate 
 lamp hung from the decorated boss upon the ceiling, and 
 threw a soft light upon her face, whilst the window was 
 opened just enough to admit the delicious perfume of the 
 aloes and magnolias that were planted outside. With lav- 
 ish luxury and consummate taste, articles of precious value
 
 THE JEW'S ANGER 123 
 
 were arranged about the chamber, and it might have been 
 imagined that the mind of the sleeper was reveling amidst 
 their beauties. 
 
 Her father came close to her side and bent down to watch 
 her slumber. She was evidently agitated by some painful 
 dream, and once the name of Martin Paz escaped her lips. 
 The old man went to his room. 
 
 At break of day Sarah arose in eager haste. She sum- 
 moned Liberta, an Indian attached to her service, and bade 
 him saddle a horse for himself and a mule for her. 
 
 It was no long task for her to array herself in such a 
 toilette as suited her design. A broad-brimmed hat, and 
 her loosely-flowing tresses of black hair sheltered her face 
 from observation, and the better to conceal the thoughts by 
 which she was preoccupied, she placed a small perfumed 
 cigarette between her lips. 
 
 She was no sooner mounted than she started off with 
 her attendant across the country in the direction of Callao. 
 The harbor was all alive with excitement, the coastguards 
 having had to keep watch all night long upon the schooner, 
 whose uncertain tackings indicated a fraudulent design. 
 At one moment it would seem as though the vessel was 
 waiting near the river's mouth for some suspicious-looking 
 boats; but before they came alongside she was off again to 
 avoid the long-boats belonging to the harbor. Many were 
 the surmises about her destination. Some said that she had 
 brought a body of Columbian troops, and intended to take 
 possession of Callao, and to avenge the insult offered to the 
 BoHvian soldiers who had been ignominiously expelled from 
 Peru. Others maintained that she was merely a schooner 
 driving a contraband trade in European wool. 
 
 To Sarah these speculations were all indifferent. She 
 had only come to the port as a pretext, and now returned 
 to Lima, which she reached at the point nearest to the river. 
 Following the banks of the stream she went as far as the 
 bridge, whence she noticed the groups of soldiers and half- 
 breeds gathered along shore. 
 
 Liberta had made the girl acquainted with the events of 
 the night. In obedience to her orders he now inquired 
 further particulars from some of the soldiers, and learnt that 
 although Martin Paz was doubtless drowned, his body had 
 not yet been recovered.
 
 124 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 Ready to faint, Sarah had to gather up all her strength 
 of mind to avoid giving way to bitter grief. Amongst the 
 people who were wandering up and down the bank she 
 caught sight of a wild-looking Indian, whom she immedi- 
 ately recognized as Sambo. Passing close beside him, she 
 heard him mournfully exclaim, "Alas! alas! they have 
 killed the son of Sambo! My son is dead! " 
 
 The girl presently recovered her self-possession, and mak- 
 ing a sign to Liberta to follow her, and not troubling herself 
 as to whether she was observed or not, she directed her way 
 to the church of St. Anne, and having left her mule in Li- 
 berta's care, she entered the Catholic house of prayer, and 
 after she had asked for Father Joachim, she knelt upon the 
 flagstones and prayed for the soul of Martin Paz. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE MARQUIS DON VEGAt 
 
 Excepting Martin Paz there was scarcely another man 
 in all the world to whom the torrent of the Rimac would not 
 have proved a sure destruction. But his strength of body 
 was amazing, and his strength of will resistless ; and he was, 
 moreover, greatly aided by that imperturbable sang froid 
 which is characteristic of the free Indians of the New World. 
 
 Knowing intuitively that the soldiers would reckon on 
 capturing him below the bridge, where the stream was too 
 powerful to be combated, he put forth all his energy, and 
 succeeded in stemming the torrent the other way. He 
 found the resistance less in the side-currents, and contrived 
 to reach the bank, where he concealed himself behind a 
 cluster of mangroves. 
 
 But what would happen next? Soon the soldiers would 
 change their tactics and explore the river upwards ; and then 
 what would be his chance of escape? His determination 
 was soon taken; he would re-enter the town and find a 
 refuge there. 
 
 To elude the observation of any of the residents who 
 might be out late, it would perhaps have been best to take 
 the wider streets. But he could not resist the impression 
 that he was watched, and he dared not hesitate. All at once 
 he caught sight of a house still brilliantly lighted up; the
 
 THE MARQUIS DON VEGAL 125 
 
 gateway was open to allow the carriages to pass out, and the 
 very elite of the Spanish aristocracy were thence returning 
 to their own homes. 
 
 Without being seen he entered the house, and the gates 
 were almost immediately closed behind him. He hurried 
 on, ascending a cedar staircase adorned with costliest tapes- 
 try, and after passing through apartments still brilliantly 
 illuminated, but absolutely empty, he found a place of con- 
 cealment in a dark chamber beyond. 
 
 Before long the lamps were all extinguished, and silence 
 reigned throughout the house. Martin ventured from his 
 hiding-place to reconnoiter the situation. He found that 
 the window of the room opened on to a garden below; 
 escape seemed to him to be quite practicable, and he was on 
 the point of leaping down when he was startled by a voice 
 behind him : " Stop, seiior, you have forgotten to take the 
 diamonds that I left on the table." 
 
 He looked back. There stood a haughty-looking man 
 pointing to a jewel case that lay before him. 
 
 Thus assailed, Martin approached the Spaniard, who was 
 still standing without moving a muscle, and drawing a dag- 
 ger, which he pointed towards his own heart, he said, with 
 a voice trembling with agitation, " Repeat your words, and 
 you find me dead at your feet ! " 
 
 Dumb with amazement, the Spaniard gazed steadily at 
 the Indian, and felt an involuntary sympathy rising up 
 within him. He went to the window and shut it gently; 
 then, turning to the Indian, who had let his dagger fall to 
 the ground, he asked him who he was, and whence he had 
 come. 
 
 " I am Martin Paz. I was escaping the pursuit of the 
 soldiers. I had wounded a half-breed with my dagger. I 
 was defending myself. The man I struck is betrothed to 
 the girl I love. It rests with you to save me, or to sur- 
 render me, as you think best." 
 
 The Spaniard stood in silent thought. After a while he 
 said, " To-morrow I am going to the baths of Chorillos. 
 If it will answer your purpose, go with me. For a time, 
 at least, you will be safe, and you will not have to complain 
 of any lack of hospitality from the Marquis Don Vegal." 
 
 Martin Paz bent his head in tacit assent. 
 
 " But now," continued Don Vegal, " you had better take
 
 126 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 a few hours* rest. No one in the world will suspect your 
 hiding place." 
 
 The Spaniard retired to his own apartment. Martin was 
 deeply touched by the generosity with which he had met, 
 and, relying on the good faith of the marquis, resigned him- 
 self to a peaceful slumber. 
 
 Next morning, at daybreak, the marquis gave his orders 
 for starting, but previously arranged to have an interview 
 with Samuel the Jew. First of all, however, he went to the 
 early morning mass. The Peruvian aristocracy w^ere al- 
 ways constant in their attendance at this service. From its 
 earliest foundation Lima had always been pre-eminently 
 CathoHc. Besides its numerous churches, it counted at that 
 time no less than twenty-two convents, seventeen monas- 
 teries, and four pensions for ladies who had not actually 
 taken the veil. To each of these separate establishments 
 was attached its own chapel, so that altogether there could 
 not be less than a hundred places of worship, in which about 
 eight hundred secular and regular priests, and three hun- 
 dred nuns, besides lay brotherhoods and sisterhoods, de- 
 voted themselves to the offices of religion. 
 
 As he entered St. Anne's the eye of the marquis was at- 
 tracted by the kneeling figure of a girl, who was weeping as 
 she prayed. So great was her agitation, that he could not 
 repress his sympathy, and was about to address her in some 
 words of kind encouragement, when Father Joachim whis- 
 pered, " Do not disturb her, marquis, I pray you ! " 
 
 And then he beckoned to the girl, who followed him into 
 a dim and empty chapel. Don Vegal made his way to the 
 altar and attended mass, but could not dismiss from his 
 memory the image of the girl who had so strangely arrested 
 his attention. 
 
 Upon his return home he found Samuel the Jew await- 
 ing his commands. Samuel seemed to have entirely forgot- 
 ten the incidents of the past night; the prospect of gain had 
 made him quite oblivious of all besides, and gave a keen vi- 
 vacity to the expression of his face. " I await your lord- 
 ship's commands," he said. 
 
 " I must have thirty thousand piastres within an hour." 
 
 " Thirty thousand ! " cried the Jew. " How is it possi- 
 ble? By our holy David, I should have more difficulty in 
 finding them than you seem to think."
 
 THE MARQUIS DON VEGAL 127 
 
 Without taking any notice of what the usurer was saying, 
 the marquis explained that, besides his vahiable cases of 
 jewels, he had a piece of land near Cusco that he would sell 
 at a price far below its real value. 
 
 " Land ! " exclaimed Samuel. " Why, it's land that ruins 
 us! We can't get any labor to till the land since the In- 
 dians have withdrawn to the mountains. Land! why, its 
 produce does not pay its expenses ! " 
 
 " But, tell me," said the marquis, " at how mucH do you 
 value the diamonds alone? " 
 
 The old man drew from his pocket a small pair of jewel- 
 er's scales, and proceeded to weigh the gems with an air of 
 minute precision, at the same time, according to his habit, 
 keeping up a running current of depreciation. 
 
 " Diamonds ! yes, they are diamonds ; but see how badly 
 set ! One might as well bury his money in the ground. Look 
 here ! what a stone ! no purity about it. I can assure your 
 lordship that I shall find it very difficult to get a customer 
 at all for this costly purchase. Perhaps if I send them to 
 the States, the Northerners will buy them in order to get 
 rid of them to some English purchaser. No doubt they will 
 make a good profit out of them, but then the loss would all 
 fall upon me. Upon my word, your lordship, you must 
 be satisfied with ten thousand piastres. It seems a little, 
 but " 
 
 " I have already told you that ten thousand piastres are of 
 no use to me," said the marquis, with an air of profound con- 
 tempt. 
 
 " Not one half-real more. I could not afford it," rejoined 
 the inflexible Jew. 
 
 *' Then take the caskets ; only let me have the sum I ask, 
 and give it me at once. Thirty thousand I must have, and 
 you shall have a bond upon this house of mine. Substan- 
 tial, is it not?" 
 
 " Ah, your lordship, but there are so many earthquakes 
 here. One never knows who may be alive and who may 
 be dead from one moment to another, nor yet which houses 
 may stand, or which may fall." 
 
 And all the time the Jew was talking he kept stamping 
 with his foot upon the inlaid floor, as if to test its real sta- 
 bility. He paused for an instant, and then resumed, " How- 
 ever, to oblige your lordship, it shall be as you wish; al-
 
 128 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 though just now I am indisposed to part with ready cash', 
 as I am marrying my daughter to the young squire, Andre 
 Certa. Do you know him? " 
 
 " Not at all. But lose no time : our bargain is made. 
 Take the caskets, and give me the gold." 
 
 "Would your lordship wish for a receipt?" asked 
 Samuel. 
 
 The marquis condescended to give no reply, and left the 
 room. 
 
 " Arrogant Spaniard ! " muttered the Jew, and gnashed 
 his teeth in wrath. " Would that I could crush your pride 
 as I can ruin your estate ! By Solomon ! 'tis clever practice 
 to make one's interests and one's wishes agree so well." 
 
 After leaving the Jew, the marquis had gone to Martin 
 Paz. He found him in a state of the gloomiest dejection. 
 
 " Well ! how now ? " he said kindly. 
 
 " Ah, sefior ! the daughter of that Jew is the girl I love." 
 
 " A Jewess ! " exclaimed the marquis, in a tone of ab- 
 horrence which he could ill disguise; but compassionating 
 the sorrow of the Indian, he only said, " Now then, it is 
 time to start; we will talk about these things as we go 
 along." 
 
 Within an hour Martin Paz, after changing his clothes, 
 left the town in company with the Marquis Don Vegal, who 
 took no other attendants. 
 
 The sea-baths of Chorillos are two leagues distant from 
 Lima. It is a parish inhabited by Indians, and has a pretty 
 church. During the warm season it is a favorite resort of 
 all the elite of Lima, for the public gaming-tables, which 
 are forbidden in the city, are here kept open throughout 
 the summer. The ladies especially show a remarkable en- 
 thusiasm for this amusement, and during the season many 
 a wealthy knight has seen his large fortune pass away into 
 the hands of his fair opponents. 
 
 Just at that time Chorillos was almost deserted, and Don 
 Vegal and Martin Paz, in their retired cottage on the sea- 
 shore, were free to contemplate in peaceful solitude the wide 
 expanse of the Pacific. 
 
 The Marquis Don Vegal, a scion of one of the most an- 
 cient Spanish families in Peru, was the only surviving rep- 
 resentative of that noble lineage of which he was so justly 
 proud. Traces of the deepest melancholy were ever visible 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE MARQUIS DON VEGAL 129 
 
 on his countenance, and although, 'during a considerable 
 portion of his life, he had been engaged in political affairs, 
 the perpetual revolutions, instigated as they had been by 
 motives of mere personal aggrandizement, so disgusted him 
 fwith the outer world, that he withdrew from it altogether, 
 and passed his time in a seclusion from which only matters 
 of the strictest etiquette could ever induce him to emerge. 
 
 Little by Httle his fortune, once so immense, was dwin- 
 dling away; he could with difficulty obtain credit for ad- 
 vances of capital, so that not only had his estates fallen into 
 a condition of great neglect, but he had been obliged to 
 mortgage them very heavily. The prospect of ultimate ruin 
 stared him in the face, but in spite of the hopeless aspect of 
 his affairs he never flinched for a moment. The heedless- 
 ness, characteristic of the Spanish race, together with the 
 weariness induced by his objectless life, combined to make 
 him utterly indifferent to the future. He had no domestic 
 ties to bind him to the world; a beloved wife and charming 
 little daughter, the sole objects of his affection, had been 
 snatched from him by a melancholy fate; and he was con- 
 tented passively to take his chance and await the chapter of 
 events. 
 
 But cold and deadened as he had deemed his heart to be, 
 his contact with Martin Paz had done something to awaken 
 him from his habitual lethargy. The fiery temperament 
 of the Indian did something towards rekindling the smoul- 
 dering ashes of the Spaniard's sensitiveness. The marquis 
 was worn out by his association with his fellow-countrymen, 
 in whom he had no confidence; he was disgusted with the in- 
 solent half-breeds who were ever encroaching upon the 
 prerogatives of his own order; and so he seemed to turn for 
 relief to that primitive race which had fought so valiantly 
 to defend its soil against the soldiers of Pizarro. 
 
 According to the information which the marquis received, 
 it was currently reported that the Indian was dead. Worse 
 than death, however, it appeared to Don Vegal that Martin 
 Paz should ally himself in matrimony to a Jewess, and ac- 
 cordingly he resolved to rescue him doubly by allowing the 
 daughter of Samuel to be married without interference to 
 Andre Certa. He could not do otherwise than observe the 
 depression which weighed upon Martin, and he hoped to 
 divert him from his melancholy by avoiding the topic en-
 
 I30 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 tirely, and by calling his attention to indifferent matters. 
 
 One day, however, distressed at noticing the saddened 
 preoccupation of his guest, he could not resist asking him, 
 " How is it that the innate nobility of your nature does not 
 revolt against what must be so deep a degradation? Re- 
 member your ancestor, the redoubtable Manco-Capac; his 
 patriotism exalted him to the highest rank of heroes, and no 
 one with a noble part to play should condescend to an ig- 
 noble passion. Do you not burn to regain the independence 
 of your soil? " 
 
 " Ah, senor," said the Indian, " we never lose sight of 
 that glorious enterprise, and the day is not far off when my 
 brethren will rise en masse to accomplish it ! " 
 
 "I understand to what you refer," replied the marquis; 
 *' you are thinking of that secret war which you are plan- 
 ning in the retirement of the mountains; you are going to 
 descend in full array, and at a concerted signal pounce upon 
 the town below. Yes, you may come, but you will come, 
 as you have always come, only to be vanquished. You have 
 not the faintest chance of making good your hold amidst 
 the continual revolutions of which Peru must be the scene, — 
 revolutions which elevate the half-breeds to the detriment 
 alike of Indians and of Spaniards." 
 
 " Nay, but we will save our country ! " was Martin's eager 
 remonstrance. 
 
 " Save it? yes, you may; if only you comprehend your 
 proper part. But listen to me for a moment. I would speak 
 to you as tenderly as though you were my son. I tell you, 
 although I own it with the deepest sorrow, that we Spaniards 
 are degenerate sons of a once powerful race : our energy is 
 gone, and we entirely lack the vigor to regain the supremacy 
 we have lost. But it rests with you to prevail; and prevail 
 you can if you will only crush the mischievous spirit of 
 Americanism which is refusing to tolerate the settlement of 
 foreigners as colonists amongst us. Be sure of this: there 
 is only one policy that can save the old Peruvian Empire; 
 you must have a European immigration. The intestine war 
 which you are contemplating can effect no good at all ; it will 
 only trample out every grade but the one you want to ex- 
 tinguish. Nothing can be done except you frankly stretch 
 out the hand of welcome to the laboring population of the 
 Old World."^
 
 THE MARQUIS DON VEGAL 131 
 
 " Indians, senor," replied Martin Paz, " must ever be the 
 sworn foes of strangers, let them come whence they will. 
 Indians will never tolerate the claims of foreigners to plant 
 their footsteps upon their soil or to breathe their mountain 
 air. My control over them is of such a character that it 
 would not last a moment longer than I should denounce 
 death to every oppressor of their liberty. It must be borne 
 in mind, too," he continued, in a tone of mournful despon- 
 dency, " that I am myself a fugitive with not three hours to 
 live if I were to venture into the streets of Lima." 
 
 " Lima ! " exclaimed the marquis, " you must promise me 
 at least that you will not trust yourself in Lima ! " 
 
 " Were I to pledge myself to that," said Martin, " I should 
 be disguising the true intention of my heart." 
 
 Don Vegal sat and mused in silence. There was no room 
 to doubt that the Indian's passion was growing more in- 
 tense from day to day, and the marquis knew that if he 
 should presume to enter Lima he would to a certainty be ex- 
 posing himself to an immediate death. What could he do 
 but resolve by any and all means at his command to hurry 
 on the marriage of the young Jewess to Andre Certa. 
 
 To convince himself of the true state of affairs the mar- 
 quis rose betimes one morning and made his way from Cho- 
 rillos back into the town. He was there informed that 
 Andre Certa had so far recovered from his wound that he 
 was about again, and that his approaching marriage was the 
 subject of general gossip. 
 
 Desirous of seeing the maiden who had so completely 
 captivated Martin Paz, the Marquis Don Vegal directed his 
 steps towards the Plaza Mayor at the evening hour, when 
 the throng was invariably very great, and on his way en- 
 countered his old friend. Father Joachim. The monk was 
 extremely astonished at being informed that Martin Paz was 
 still alive, and nothing could exceed the eagerness with 
 which he undertook to keep a watch on behalf of the young 
 Indian, and to acquaint the marquis with any intelligence 
 which might be of interest to him. 
 
 While the two were conversing, the attention of the mar- 
 quis was arrested by a young girl enveloped in a black man- 
 tle, who was reclining on the low seat of a barouche. 
 
 "Who is that handsome young lady?" he inquired of 
 Father Joachim.
 
 132 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 " That is old Samuel's daughter, the girl who is on the 
 point of marrying Andre Certa," said the monk. 
 
 " That the daughter of a Jew ! " involuntarily exclaimed 
 Don Vegal; but he restrained further expression of his as- 
 tonishment, shook hands with his friend, and retraced his 
 way to Chorillos. 
 
 His surprise bewildered him still more when he came to 
 consider that perchance she was not really a Jewess ; he had 
 recognized her as the girl whom he had seen kneeling in 
 prayer within the Church of St Anne. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE PLOT BETRAYED 
 
 All this time, however, a very unusual agitation was going 
 on amongst the Indians; those of them who resided in the 
 town keeping up a vigorous communication with those who 
 habitually made their homes amongst the mountains. They 
 seemed for a time to have shaken off the dullness of their 
 native apathy. No longer lounging wrapped in their pon- 
 chos and basking in the sunshine, they were ever and again 
 hurrying to and fro in the direction of the open country; 
 they greeted one another significantly as they met; they 
 were ever making mysterious signs of mutual recognition, 
 and continually held their meetings in out-of-the-way, 
 second-rate hotels, where they could carry on their confer- 
 ences without any risk of being observed. 
 
 This unusual commotion was for the most part obvious 
 in one of the loneliest quarters of the town. At the corner 
 of a street there was a dejected tenement, only one story 
 high, the miserable appearance of which could not fail to 
 attract observation. It was a kind of tap-room, of the 
 low^est description, kept by an old Indian woman, who 
 found her customers entirely among the most abject of the 
 poor, who bought her beer made from fermented maize, or, 
 failing that, contented themselves with a decoction of 
 sugar-canes. 
 
 It was only at certain hours that there was any gathering 
 of Indians at that spot, the signal of meeting being a long 
 pole displayed on the roof of the building. But whenever 
 notice was given there was soon a motley assemblage of
 
 THE PLOT BETRAYED 133 
 
 the lowest class of the natives; there were cabriolet- 
 drivers, muleteers, and carmen hurrying to the, place of 
 rendezvous, without loitering for a moment outside. The 
 hostess was all on the alert, and, leaving the care of her 
 counter to the charge of a servant-maid, hastened herself to 
 give her best attention to her habitual guests. 
 
 A few days after the disappearance of Martin Paz there 
 was a concourse larger than usual collected in the large 
 room of the inn. The apartment was dim with clouds of 
 tobacco-smoke, and it was with much difficulty that any- 
 one of the habitues of the place could be distinguished 
 from another. Altogether there were about fifty Indians 
 congregated around the long table, some of whom were 
 chewing a kind of tea-leaf mixed with a morsel of fragrant 
 earth, while others w^ere drinking fermented liquor from 
 huge cans; but none of them seemed so much absorbed in 
 their own doings as to prevent them from attending to the 
 speech in which an old Indian was addressing them. 
 
 This Indian was no other than Sambo, and the whole 
 assembly appeared to be following him with an eager in- 
 terest. He looked with a keen scrutiny round the circle 
 of his audience, and, after a brief pause, continued his 
 appeal. 
 
 " The Children of the Sun can now discuss their own 
 affairs quite unmolested. No perfidious spy can overhear 
 them here. All round about are friends who, disguised as 
 wandering street-singers, attract the passers-by, and prevent 
 all interruption, so that now we may enjoy an uncontrolled 
 and ample liberty. 
 
 And while he spoke the notes of a mandolin were heard 
 thrumming in the thoroughfare hard by. Certified as to 
 their security, the whole gathering of Indians prepared to 
 pay a yet closer attention to the words of Sambo, who 
 manifestly enjoyed their largest confidence. One of the 
 party, however, interrupted him by asking abruptly : " Can 
 Sambo give us any tidings of Martin Paz? " 
 
 "None whatever," he replied; "nor can I tell you 
 whether he is alive or dead : the Great Spirit alone knows 
 that. But I am expecting some of our brethren back who 
 have been exploring the river down to its very mouth, and 
 they perchance will have something to relate about the 
 lost body of your chief."
 
 134 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 " Ay, he might be a good leader," said an Indian named 
 Manangani, with the fierce, bold manner that belonged to 
 him; "but why was he wanting in his duty, and absent 
 from his post on the very night that the schooner arrived 
 with our arms ? " 
 
 The question elicited no reply. Sambo hung his head in 
 silence. 
 
 " Are our brethren aware," continued Manangani, " that 
 there was an exchange of shots that night between the 
 schooner and the coastguards, and do they know that the 
 capture of the Annunciation would have been fatal to our 
 enterprise? " 
 
 A murmur of assent ran through the assembly. 
 
 Sambo now took up the conversation, saying that all who 
 would wait to judge the matter would be welcome. 
 
 " And who knows," he said, " whether my son shall not 
 some day reappear? Be patient still. Even now the arms 
 which we received from Sechura are in our keeping; safe 
 they are in the mountain recesses of the Cordilleras, and 
 ready to fullfil their work when you are prepared to do 
 your duty." 
 
 " And what shall hinder us ? " exclaimed a young Indian ; 
 " our weapons are sharpened, and we only bide our time." 
 
 " The hour will come," said Sambo ; " but do our breth- 
 ren know on whom the blow ought first to fall ? " 
 
 The voice of one of the party was heard protesting that 
 the first to perish ought to be the half-breeds who had 
 treated them so insolently, chastising them like restive 
 mules. 
 
 " Not so," declared another ; " the first that we should 
 strike should be the appropriators of the soil we tread." 
 
 " Mistaken are ye altogether ! " shouted Sambo, with a 
 voice raised in eagerness. " You must let your blows fall 
 first in another quarter. It is not those of whom you speak 
 that have dared for three centuries to plant their foot upon 
 our ancestral soil ; rich as they are, it is not they who have 
 dragged the descendants of Manco-Capac to the tomb. 
 No; rather 'tis the haughty Spaniards who are the true 
 conquerors, and who have reduced you to the condition of 
 being their very slaves. Their riches may have gone, but 
 their authority survives, and they it is who, in spite of any 
 emancipation that should give liberty to Peru, still trample
 
 THE PLOT BETRAYED 135 
 
 our natural rights beneath their feet. Let us forget what 
 we are, just that for once we may remember what our 
 fathers were." 
 
 " True ! true ! " was the shout that burst forth from many 
 a voice in the excited company. 
 
 Then ensued a few moments of silent consideration, when 
 Sambo proceeded to make inquiries of some of the con- 
 spirators and to satisfy himself that their allies in Cusco 
 ^nd throughout Bolivia were ready to rise as one man. 
 
 His enthusiasm soon again broke out in speech. " And 
 our brethren on the mountains, brave Manangani, only 
 let them cherish in their souls a hatred such as yours, and 
 arm themselves with your courage, too, and they shall fall 
 upon Lima as an avalanche might come crashing down 
 from the Cordilleras." 
 
 " Sambo shall not need to complain," said Manangani ; 
 " their firmness will not fail them at the proper time. Go 
 but a few yards beyond the town and you shall find groups 
 of eager Indians fired with the passion of revenge. In the 
 gorges of San Cristoval and the Amancaes many a one be- 
 neath his poncho wears his poignard hanging in his belt, 
 and only waits to have the rifle trusted to his hand. Never 
 will they forget to exact the vengeance that is due from 
 the Spaniards for their defeat of Manco-Capac." 
 
 " Good ! " replied Sambo ; " it is the God of hatred that 
 inspires your lips. My brethren shall soon know what 
 their chiefs have decided. All that Gambarra wants now 
 is to consolidate his power; Bolivar has retired; Santa Cruz 
 has been chased away, and we can act in perfect safety. 
 Wait but a few days and our adversaries will be taking 
 their pleasure at the coming festival of the Amancaes. 
 Then will be our time ; then must we set ourselves in motion, 
 and the summons must be heard even to the remotest vil- 
 lage of Bolivia." 
 
 Three Indians at this moment entered the room. Sambo 
 received them with the eager inquiry: 
 
 "Well, what news? Is he found?" 
 
 " No," replied one of the three ; " the body is nowhere to 
 be found. Though we have searched every foot of the 
 river bank, and sent the most skillful of our divers down to 
 search the depths, we find no trace of Sambo's son. Doubt- 
 less he has perished in the waters of the Rimac."
 
 136 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 " Have they then killed him? Is he lost? Woe, woe to 
 them if they have slain my son!" Then, repressing his 
 passion, he added, " Let my brothers now go quietly away. 
 Go ye away to your place, but be on your guard and ready 
 for the call." 
 
 All the Indians gradually took their departure, leaving 
 Sambo and Manangani alone behind. 
 
 " Do you know," asked Manangani, " what was the 
 motive that took your son that night to the quarter of San 
 Lazaro? Are you sure of him?" 
 
 " Sure of him ! " said Sambo, re-echoing the words, with 
 a flash of indignant wrath in his eyes beneath which Manan- 
 gani involuntarily recoiled, " sure of him ! If Martin Paz 
 should be a traitor to his friends, I would first slay every 
 soul to whom he had given his friendship; nay, I would 
 not spare them to whom he had yielded his dearest love; 
 and then I would kill him; and, last of all, I would kill 
 myself. Perish everything beneath the sun rather than 
 dishonor shall befall our race." 
 
 His fervid speech was interrupted by the hostess bringing 
 in a letter addressed to him. 
 
 "Who gave you this?" he asked. 
 
 " I cannot tell," replied the woman ; " it was left, appar- 
 ently by design, as if forgotten by one of the men who 
 have been drinking at one of the tables," 
 
 "Have any but Indians been in here?" he inquired. 
 
 " None whatever but Indians," was her prompt reply. 
 
 As soon as the woman had gone he unfolded the docu- 
 ment and read it aloud : " A young girl has been praying 
 for Martin Paz. She cannot forget one who has imperiled 
 his life for the sake of hers. Has Sambo any tidings of 
 his son? If he has news of him, let him bind a scarlet 
 band around his arm. There are eyes ever on the watch 
 to see him pass." 
 
 Crumbling up the paper, he exclaimed : " Unhappy fool ! 
 to be entangled by the fascinations of a pretty girl ! " 
 
 "Who is she?" inquired Manangani. 
 
 " No Indian maid," said Sambo, " some dainty damsel 
 full of airs. Ah, Martin Paz, you are beside yourself ! I 
 know you not ! " 
 
 " Do you mean to do what the woman asks ? " 
 
 " No ! " said the Indian vehemently, " let her abandon
 
 THE PLOT BETRAYED [137 
 
 all hope of setting eyes upon my son again, and let her die 
 in ignorance ! " And while he spoke he angrily tore the 
 paper into fragments. 
 
 " It must have been an Indian who brought the letter," 
 observed Manangani. 
 
 " Not one of our party. It is known well enough that 
 I am often here, but I shall not come again. Now do 
 you return to the mountains. I will keep watch in the 
 town. The feast day comes, and we shall see whether it 
 be a festival of rejoicing for the oppressors or the op- 
 pressed." With this parting direction the two Indians each 
 departed on his own way. 
 
 The plot of the Indians had been deeply laid, and the 
 time for its execution was adroitly chosen. The population 
 of Peru was reduced to a comparatively small number of 
 Spaniards and half-breeds. From the forests of Brazil, 
 from the mountains of Chili, from the plains of La Plata, 
 the hordes of Indians had been summoned, and would find 
 it an easy task to cover the whole territory which was to 
 be the theater of revolution. Once let the larger towns, 
 Lima, Cusco, and Puno, fall into their hands, and victory 
 was all their own. There was no fear of the Columbian 
 troops, who had recently been driven out by the Peruvian 
 government, returning to assist their adversaries in the hour 
 of their necessity. 
 
 And it can hardly be doubted that this revolutionary 
 movement would have resulted in entire success if its in- 
 tention had been confided to none but Indian breasts : 
 among them there was no fear of treachery. 
 
 But they knew not that there was a man who already 
 had obtained a private audience with Gambarra, and had 
 apprized him that the schooner Annunciation had been 
 unlading firearms of every description into the canoes and 
 pirogues of the Indians at the mouth of the Rimac; they 
 knew not that that man had gone to claim a reward from 
 the Peruvian Government for the very service of exposing 
 their own proceedings. 
 
 A double game was this. The man who for a large 
 payment had chartered his ship to Sambo for the convey- 
 ance of the arms, had gone at once to the president and 
 betrayed the existence of the conspiracy. 
 
 The man was Samuel the Jew.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE Jew's secret 
 
 As soon as he was restored to health, Andre Certa, still 
 believing in the death of Martin Paz, began to hurry on his 
 marriage. His intended bride continued to regard him 
 with the most complete indifference; but this did not occa- 
 sion him any concern; he regarded her solely as a costly 
 article for which he had to pay the handsome price of 
 100,000 piastres. 
 
 It must be alleged that Andre had no confidence at all 
 in the Jew, and he was right in entertaining mistrust. If 
 the contract had been void of honesty, so were the con- 
 tractors void of principle. Accordingly Andre was now 
 anxious for a private interview with Samuel, and for that 
 purpose took him for a day to Chorillos, where he also 
 hoped to have the chance of trying a little gambling before 
 his marriage. 
 
 The gaming-tables had been opened at the baths a few 
 days after the marquis's arrival, and ever since they had 
 been the means of keeping up an incessant traffic along the 
 road to Lima. Some came on foot, who returned with 
 the luxury of a carriage; while others came only fairly to 
 exhaust the remnant of a shattered fortune. 
 
 Neither Don Vegal nor Martin Paz took any share in 
 the play; the restlessness of the young Indian was caused 
 by a far nobler game. After their evening walks Martin 
 would take leave of the marquis, and, going to his own 
 room, would lounge with his elbows on the window-sill, and 
 spend hours in silent reverie. 
 
 The marquis ever and again recalled to his recollection 
 the young girl whom he had seen praying in the Catholic 
 church, but he did not venture to entrust the secret to his 
 guest, although he took occasion little by little to acquaint 
 him with the essentials of the Christian faith. He hesi- 
 tated to allude to the girl, because he was fearful of reviv- 
 ing the very interest that he was anxious to allay. It was 
 necessary that the Indian should renounce every hope of 
 obtaining the hand of Sarah. Only let the police, he 
 thought, abandon their search for Martin, and his protector 
 did not doubt that in the course of time he could procure 
 him an introduction into the first circle of Peruvian society. 
 
 But Martin Paz would not surrender himself to despair 
 
 138
 
 THE JEW'S SECRET 139 
 
 without assuring himself of the hopelessness of his chance. 
 He resolved at all risks to know the actual destiny of the 
 young Jewess. Screened from suspicion by his Spanish 
 attire, he thought he might enter into the gambling-halls, 
 and so hear the conversation of those who habitually fre- 
 quented them. Andre Certa was a person of sufficient note 
 to make his marriage, as it drew near, a topic of consider- 
 able talk. 
 
 One evening, therefore, instead of turning his steps to- 
 wards the seashore, the Indian bent his way towards the 
 high cliffs on which the principal houses in Chorillos were 
 built, and entered a house that was approached by a large 
 flight of stone steps. This was the gambling-house. 
 
 The day had been trying to more than one of the people 
 of Lima. Some of them, worn out by the fatigue of the 
 preceding night, were reposing on the ground, covered with 
 their ponchos. The other gamblers were seated before a 
 large table covered with green baize, and divided into four 
 compartments by two lines that cut each other at right 
 angles in the middle. Each of these compartments was 
 marked with either the letter A., or the letter S., the initial 
 letters of the Spanish words " asar," and " suerte," hazard 
 and chance. The players put their money upon whichever 
 of the letters they chose, a croupier held the stakes, and 
 threw two dice upon the table, and the combined readings 
 of the points determined whether A. or S. was the winner. 
 
 At this particular moment there was a general animation, 
 and one half-breed could be noticed persevering against ill- 
 luck with a feverish determination. 
 
 " Two thousand piastres ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 The croupier shook the dice, and a muttered curse fell 
 from the player's lips. 
 
 " Four thousand piastres ! " he said. 
 
 But again he lost. 
 
 Protected by the shadows of the hall, Martin Paz caught 
 a glimpse of the player's face. It was Andre Certa, and 
 close beside him stood the Jew Samuel. " There," said 
 Samuel, " that's play enough. The luck is all against you 
 to-day." 
 
 " Curse the luck I " said Andre impetuously, " it does not 
 matter to you." 
 
 The Jew whispered in the young man's ear : " It may
 
 140 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 not matter to me; but to you it matters much, and you 
 should desist from the practice for the few days before 
 your marriage." 
 
 " Eight thousand piastres ! " was the only reply that 
 Andre made, as he laid his stake upon the S. 
 
 " A. wins," was the immediate decision of the dice, and 
 the half-breed's blaspheming oaths were hardly covered by 
 the croupier's summons, " Make your game, gentlemen ; 
 make your game." 
 
 Taking a roll of notes from his pocket, Andre was on 
 the point of hazarding a still larger sum; he was placing 
 them on the table, and the croupier was already shaking his 
 dice box. 
 
 The Jew bent his head again towards the ear of Andre, 
 and said : " You will have nothing left to-night to close 
 our bargain. Everything will then be broken off." 
 
 Andre shrugged his shoulders, and uttered an ejaculation 
 of rage ; but he took up the money he had staked, and went 
 out of the room. 
 
 " You may go on now," said Samuel, addressing the 
 croupier; "you may ruin that gentleman if you like, but 
 not until after his marriage." 
 
 The croupier bowed obsequiously. The Jew was the 
 originator and proprietor of the gaming-house. Wherever 
 there was gold to be won, he was sure to be found. 
 
 Following the young half-breed out, he overtook him 
 upon the stone steps, and telling him that he had matters of 
 great importance to communicate to him, asked where they 
 might converse in uninterrupted security. 
 
 ** Where you please ! " said Andre, with abrupt dis- 
 courtesy. 
 
 " Let me advise you, sefior," said Samuel, " not to let 
 your bad temper interfere with your future advantage. 
 My secret is not to be revealed within the best closed doors ; 
 no, nor yet in the most secluded wilderness. It is a secret 
 for which you think you are paying me a good high price, 
 but let me assure you it is well worth keeping." 
 
 While they were thus talking they came to the spot where 
 the bathing-houses were erected ; but they had no idea how 
 they were being overlooked and overheard by Martin Paz, 
 who had glided after them like a serpent. 
 
 " Let us take a boat," said Andre, " and put out to sea."
 
 THE JEW'S SECRET 141 
 
 He then loosened a light boat from its moorings on the 
 shore, and flinging some money to its owner, he made 
 Samuel get in, and pushed off into the open water. 
 
 No sooner did Martin Paz observe the boat leave the 
 shore than, concealed by a projecting rock, he hastily un- 
 dressed, and taking the precaution to fasten on his belt, to 
 which he attached a poignard, he swam with all his strength 
 in the same direction. By this time the sun had sunk be- 
 low the horizon, and the obscurity of twilight enveloped 
 both sea and sky. 
 
 One thing Martin had forgotten. He did not call to 
 mine, that ihe waters of these latitudes were infested with 
 snarks of the most ferocious kind; but, plunging recklessly 
 into the fatal flood, he made good his way till he was near 
 enough to the boat just to catch the voices of the two as 
 they spoke. 
 
 " But what proof am I to give the father of the girl's 
 identity?" were the first words he heard Andre say. 
 
 "Proof! why, you must detail the circumstances under 
 which he lost his child." 
 
 "What were the circumstances?" asked Andre. 
 
 " Listen, and you shall hear," replied the Jew. 
 
 Martin Paz could only by an effort keep his position 
 within ear-shot of the boat, and what he heard he failed to 
 comprehend. 
 
 The Jew proceeded to say : " It was in Chili, at Concep- 
 tion, that Sarah's father lived. He is a nobleman that 
 you already know, and his wealth was according to his 
 rank. He was obliged, by business of a pressing nature, 
 to come to Lima. He came alone, leaving behind his wife 
 and a little daughter only five months old. In every re- 
 spect the climate of Peru was agreeable to him, and he sent 
 for his lady to join him there. Bringing with her only a 
 few trusty servants, she embarked on the San Jose, of Val- 
 paraiso. On that ship it chanced that I was myself a pas- 
 senger. The San Jose was bound to put into harbor at 
 Lima; but just off the point of Juan Fernandez she was 
 exposed to a terrific hurricane, which disabled her, and 
 laid her upon her beam-ends. The whole of the crew, and 
 the passengers, betook themselves to the long-boat. The 
 marchioness refused to enter the boat, but clasping her 
 infant in her arms, resolved at all hazards to remain where
 
 142 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 she was. I remained with her. The long-boat made off, 
 but before it had proceeded a hundred fathoms from the 
 ship, it was swallowed up in the angry waters. The two 
 of us remained alone. The storm came on with increasing 
 fury. As I had not my property on board, I was not 
 reduced to a condition of absolute despair. The San Jose, 
 with five feet of water in her hold, drove upon the rocks 
 and was dashed to pieces. The lady with her child was 
 thrown into the sea. It was my fortune to be able to rescue 
 the little girl, although I saw the mother perish before my 
 eyes; and with the child in my arms, I contrived to reach 
 the shore." 
 
 "Are these details all correct?" asked Andre. 
 
 "Yes, to the most minute particular. The father will 
 not deny them. Ah! I did a good day's work when I 
 earned that 100,000 piastres which you are going to pay 
 me. 
 
 Perplexed beyond measure, Martin could not suppress 
 the ejaculation, "What does all this mean?" 
 
 " Here," said Andre, " here is your money." 
 
 " Thanks ! " replied Samuel, eagerly pocketing the cash, 
 " and here is your receipt. I guarantee to return you twice 
 the sum if you do not find yourself a member of one of the 
 noblest Spanish families." 
 
 Martin Paz was more bewildered than ever. He could 
 give no meaning to what he heard. The boat began to 
 move in his direction, and he was about to dive below the 
 water to elude observation when he saw a huge black mass 
 rolling onwards towards him. 
 
 It was a tintorea, a shark of the most voracious kind. 
 
 Although the Indian dived immediately, he was soon 
 obliged to come to the surface to take breath. As he rose 
 he was struck by the tail of the shark, and felt the slimy 
 scales against his breast. In order to grasp its prey, the 
 animal, according to its habit, rolled over on its back, and 
 displayed its monstrous jaw armed with its triple rows of 
 teeth; but in an instant, Martin, catching a glimpse of its 
 white belly, made a desperate effort, and plunged in his 
 dagger to its very hilt. 
 
 The waves around him were all red with blood ; he made 
 another dive, and, rising about ten fathoms away, had 
 entirely lost sight of the boat. A few more strokes, and he
 
 THE JEW'S SECRET 143 
 
 regained the shore, hardly conscious of the hairbreadth 
 escape he had had from the most terrible of deaths. 
 
 Next day he was gone from Chorillos, and Don Vegal, 
 harassed by misgivings, hurried with all speed to Lima, in 
 the hope of finding him. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 
 THE BRIDE DISAPPEARS 
 
 Quite an event was the approaching marriage of Andre 
 Certa with the daughter of the affluent Jew. The ladies 
 had no time for repose; the necessity of inventing new 
 fashions and for preparing elaborate costumes to grace the 
 occasion occupied every thought and taxed every resource. 
 
 The mansion of the Jew was especially the scene of 
 bustle, as he was resolved to give a most sumptuous enter- 
 tainment in honor of Sarah's wedding. The frescoes which 
 decorated the walls in Spanish fashion were restored at a 
 large expense; hangings of the most costly quality were 
 hung at every window and over every door ; handsome 
 furniture, carved of fragrant wood, diffused a pleasant 
 odor throughout the spacious rooms, while plants of the 
 rarest and loveliest growth, the products of the most lux- 
 uriant regions of the tropics, adorned the balconies and 
 terraces at every turn. 
 
 The maiden herself, however, was the victim of despair. 
 Sambo had no longer any hope, otherwise he would have 
 worn the red token on his arm. Her servant Liberta had 
 been sent to keep a watch upon the old Indian, but he had 
 been unable to discover anything. 
 
 Could the girl only have been free to follow the dictates 
 of her heart she would not have hesitated an instant to have 
 sought a refuge in the nearest convent, and to have made 
 her vows for all her future life. Attracted as she was with 
 the doctrines of the Catholics as they had been irresistibly 
 expounded to her by the eloquence of Father Joachim, she 
 would have surrendered herself with the most genuine of 
 zeal to the influences of that faith which was winding itself 
 so sympathetically around the longings of her heart. 
 
 The monk, anxious to avoid every suspicion of scandal, 
 and being better read in his breviary than in the passions
 
 144 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 of human nature, allowed Sarah to believe in the death of 
 Martin Paz. The girl's conversion seemed to him the mat- 
 ter of supreme importance, and presuming that this would 
 be secured by her marriage with Andre, he tried to recon- 
 cile her to the union, without at all knowing the conditions 
 under which it was concluded. 
 
 At length the day arrived, a day so full of congratula- 
 tions to one party, so heavy in misgivings to the other. 
 Andre Certa had issued his invitation to well-nigh the whole 
 town, but had the mortification of finding that, under some 
 pretext or other, all the superior families had excused 
 themselves. 
 
 The hour struck at which the marriage contract had to 
 be signed, and expectation rose to its height, when all be- 
 came aware that the bride had not appeared. 
 
 The annoyance and alarm of the old Jew were intense. 
 The frown that lowered on the brow of Andre Certa was 
 the witness of mingled anger and amazement. Embar- 
 rassment seized every guest; and the whole scene was 
 brought out in singular distinctness by the thousands of wax 
 hghts, whose rays were reflected from the countless mirrors. 
 
 Meanwhile, outside in the general thoroughfare, there 
 was a man pacing up and down in a state of the wildest 
 excitement. That man was the Marquis Don Vegal. 
 
 CHAPTER Vni 
 
 THE RESCUE 
 
 Throughout this period Sarah, a prey to the bitterest 
 anguish, remained in the solitude of her own room. Noth- 
 ing could induce her to quit it. Once, half stifled by her 
 emotion, she sought relief by going to the balcony that 
 overhung the garden below. 
 
 At that very instant she caught sight of a man wending 
 his way through the groves of magnolias, and recognized 
 her servant Liberta. To all appearance he was stealthily 
 watching someone who did not see him. At one moment 
 he was concealing himself behind a statue, at the next he 
 was crouching on the grass. 
 
 Then all at once the girl mrned pale. There was Liberta 
 struggling with a tall man w^ho had thrown him to the 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE RESCUE 145 
 
 ground, and who was pressing his hand over his mouth so 
 that he could only utter a feeble groan. She was about to 
 cry out, when she saw the two men rise together from the 
 ground, and deliberately make a survey of each other. 
 
 " You ! you ! is it you ? " said Liberta. 
 
 There had risen to her vision what appeared to be a 
 phantom from another world, and as Liberta now followed 
 the man who had felled him to the earth, she recognized 
 Martin Paz, and was unable to do more than re-echo the 
 words she had heard, " You! you ! is it you? " 
 
 Gazing at her intently, Martin addressed her -with, an 
 earnest appeal. 
 
 "Does the bride hear the revelry of the bridal feast? 
 Are not the guests speeding to the hall, that they may 
 rejoice in the beauty of her charms? The victim, is she 
 prepared for the sacrifice? Is it with these pale cheeks, 
 and trembling lips, that she is going to surrender herself to 
 the bridegroom? " 
 
 She scarcely understood him, but he continued his pathetic 
 address, " Why should the maiden weep ? There is peace 
 there; far away from the house of her father; far away 
 from the home where she drops her tears of bitterness; there 
 is peace there." 
 
 And drawing himself to his full height, he stood pointing 
 W'ith his finger to the summits of the Cordilleras, as if show- 
 ing that there was a refuge in the mountains to which she 
 might escape. 
 
 The girl felt herself constrained by an irresistible impulse. 
 There were voices close to her very chamber; she heard 
 the sound of approaching footsteps; her father was on his 
 way, perchance the man to whom she was betrothed was 
 coming too. Suddenly Martin Paz extinguished the lamp 
 that hung above her head, and his whistle, just as on that 
 evening on the Plaza-Mayor, resounded shrilly through the 
 gathering shades of night. 
 
 The door burst open. Samuel and Andre Certa hurried 
 in. The darkness was all bewildering. The servants has- 
 tened to bring some lanterns ; but the room was empty. 
 
 " Death and fury! " shrieked the half-breed. 
 
 " Where is she? " exclaimed the Jew. 
 
 " For this," said Andre, with the coarsest insolence, " I 
 hold you responsible."
 
 146 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 A cold sweat came over the old man, and uttering a cry 
 of anguish, he rushed away, followed by his servants. 
 
 All this time Martin Paz had been flying, at fullest speed, 
 along the streets of the town. Summoned by his well- 
 known signal, at about two hundred paces from Samuel's 
 house, there were several Indians ready at his call. 
 
 " Away to our mountains ! " he cried. 
 
 " To the Marquis Don Vegal's ! " came from a voice close 
 behind. The Indian turned, and found the marquis stand- 
 ing by his side. 
 
 " Will you not trust the maiden to me? " said Don Vegal. 
 
 Martin bowed his head in token of assent, and said in a 
 smothered voice : " To the house of Don Vegal ! " 
 
 Thus yielding her to the marquis, Martin had every 
 confidence that the girl would be in safety, and from a feel- 
 ing of what was owing to propriety, he resolved that he 
 would not himself pass the night under the marquis's roof. 
 
 He made his way in another direction; his head was hot, 
 and a fevered blood was throbbing in his veins ; but he had 
 hardly gone a hundred yards, when a party of half a dozen 
 men threw themselves across his path, and in spite of his 
 obstinate resistance, secured his arms, and blindfolded him. 
 He raised a cry of desperation, supposing that he had fallen 
 into the hands of his foes. 
 
 It did not take many minutes to convey him to a neigh- 
 boring resort, and on the bandage being removed from his 
 eyes, he saw that he was in a low room of the tavern where 
 his associates had organized their scheme of revolution. 
 
 Sambo, who had been present at the rescue of the young 
 girl, was there; Manangani and some others were standing 
 round him. Martin's eyes flashed angrily. 
 
 " No pity had my son for me," said Sambo. " Shame 
 that for so long he should permit me to believe that he was 
 dead." 
 
 " Is it fair," asked Manangani, " that on the very eve of 
 a revolution, Martin Paz, our chief, should betake himself 
 to the quarters of the enemy." 
 
 Not a word fell from the lips of the prisoner in reply to 
 either one or the other. 
 
 " Why should it be tolerated," demanded Manangani, 
 "that our interests should be sacrificed to a woman? " and 
 as he spoke he approached nearer to Martin, holding a
 
 THE RESCUE 147 
 
 poignard in his hand. Martin Paz did not even glance at 
 him, but still stood perfectly unmoved. 
 
 " Let us speak first," said Sambo, " and act afterwards. 
 If my son is disloyal to his brethren, I shall know how to 
 exact a proper vengeance. Let him be on his guard ! That 
 Jew's daughter is not concealed so closely as to elude our 
 grasp. He must think betimes. Let him once be con- 
 demned to die, and there will not be a stone in the town 
 on which he could rest his head ; let him, on the other hand, 
 be the deliverer of his country, and he may crown that head 
 with perpetual glory ! " 
 
 Although Martin Paz did not break his silence, it was 
 obvious that a mighty struggle was going on within his soul : 
 Sambo had succeeded in stirring the depths of that ardent 
 nature. 
 
 For all the projects of insurrection Martin Paz was in- 
 dispensable. His was an influence over the Indians of the 
 town which none but himself enjoyed; he bent them at his 
 will; he had but to give the word, and they were prepared 
 to follow him to death. 
 
 By Sambo's order the bonds were removed from his arms, 
 and he stood at liberty. The old Indian looked at him 
 steadily, and bade him once more listen. " To-morrow," 
 he said, " is the feast of the Amanacaes. While the festival 
 is at its height, our brethren will fall like an avalanche upon 
 the unarmed and unsuspecting men of Lima. Now take 
 your choice. There is the way to the mountains: there is 
 the way to the town. You are free ! " 
 
 " To the mountains ! to the mountains ! " shouted Martin ; 
 " and death to our foes ! " 
 
 And the first rays of the rising sun cast a ruddy glow 
 into the council-chamber of the Indian chiefs in the heart 
 of the Cordilleras. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE FESTIVAL 
 
 And now the great annual fete of the Amanacaes had ar- 
 rived. It was the 24th of June. On foot, on horseback, in 
 carriages, the bulk of the population made its way to the 
 well-known spot about half a league from the town. In-
 
 148 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 dians and half-breeds were wont alike to share the mutual 
 recreation; kinsmen and acquaintances marched gayly to 
 the festive scene. Each group carried its own stock of 
 provisions, and many of them were headed by a musician, 
 who accompanied the popular melodies which he sung with 
 the notes of his guitar. Starting through the fields of maize 
 and indigo, they entered the banana-groves beyond, and 
 traversed the charming avenues of willows which led them 
 to the woods, where the aromatic odor of citrons and oranges 
 mingled with the wild perfume of the hills. All along the 
 route the itinerant vendors hawked a liberal supply of beer 
 and brandy, which served to excite the merriment, and at 
 times to stimulate the boisterousness of the pleasure-seeking 
 multitude. Equestrians made their horses prance in the very 
 middle of the crowd, vying with one another in displaying 
 their speed and dexterity. 
 
 The festival derives its name from the little flowers that 
 grow on the mountains. There is a universal license, yet 
 it is exceedingl}^ rare for the noise of a quarrel to be heard 
 mingling with the thousand demonstrations of general joy. 
 A few lancers here and there, wearing their flashing 
 cuirasses, are more than sufficient to preserve order among 
 the teeming crowds. 
 
 But whilst the festive crowd was enjoying the fair pros- 
 pect, a bloody tragedy had been prepared below the snowy 
 summits of the Cordilleras. Whilst the homes of Lima were 
 being deserted by their occupants, a great number of Indians 
 were wandering about the streets. They had been usually 
 accustomed to join the general festivity, but on this occasion 
 they went to and fro in the town, silent and preoccupied. 
 Every now and then a busy chief would give them some 
 secret order, and pass quickly on his way. Little by little 
 they concentrated all their force upon the richest quarters of 
 the town. 
 
 Thus the day of rejoicing passed on, and as the sun began 
 to sink into the west, the time arrived in which the aristo- 
 crats in their turn went out to join the general throng. The 
 costliest of dresses were seen in the handsomest of carriages 
 which lined the avenues on either side of the road that led to 
 the Amancaes, and pedestrians, horses, and vehicles were 
 mingled in inextricable confusion. 
 
 The cathedral clock now tolled the hour of five.
 
 THE FESTIVAL 149 
 
 Up from the town there rose a mighty cry. At a con- 
 certed signal, masses of armed Indians from many a by- 
 way and many a house, rushed out and filled the streets. 
 The wealthiest districts were almost in a moment invaded 
 by troops of the revolutionary tribe, not a few of whom 
 were brandishing lighted torches high above their heads. 
 
 " Death to the Spaniards ! Death and destruction to the 
 tyrants! " were the watch-words of the rebels. Forthwith 
 from the surrounding heights came trooping in a multitude 
 of other Indians, hurrying to aid their brethren in the general 
 uproar. 
 
 Imagination can scarcely realize the alarming aspect of 
 the town at this moment. The revolutionists had pene- 
 trated in all directions. At the head of one party, Martin 
 Paz was waving a black flag, and whilst some detachments 
 were assaulting the houses that were doomed to pillage, he 
 led his troops towards the Plaza-Mayor. Close beside him 
 was the ferocious Manangani, bellowing out his infuriated 
 orders. 
 
 But forewarned of the revolt, the soldiers of the Govern- 
 ment had ranged themselves in a line along the front of 
 the president's palace, and a general fusillade startled the 
 insurgents as they approached. Taken thoroughly by sur- 
 prise at this reception, and seeing many of their number 
 fall, the Indians, frantic with excitement, made a tremen- 
 dous rush upon the troops, and great was the melee that 
 ensued. Both Martin Paz and Manangani performed 
 prodigies of valor, and it was only marvelous how they 
 escaped with their lives. It was of all things most essential 
 that the palace should be taken, and that they should establish 
 themselves within its walls. 
 
 " Forward ! " cried Martin Paz, as again and again he 
 urged his followers to the assault. 
 
 Although they had been routed in many quarters, the 
 besiegers nevertheless succeeded in causing the battalion 
 of soldiers that guarded the front of the palace to beat a 
 retreat, and Manangani had already placed his foot upon 
 the flight of steps when he was brought to a sudden stand. 
 The reserve troops behind had unmasked two pieces of 
 artillery, and were preparing to open fire. 
 
 There was not a moment to lose; the battery must be 
 captured before it could be brought into action.
 
 150 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 " We two must do It," shouted Manangani vehemently. 
 
 But Martin did not hear him ; he was attending to a negro, 
 who was whispering in his ear that the house of the Marquis 
 Don Vegal was being plundered, and that there was every 
 chance that the marquis himself would be assassinated. 
 
 Martin Paz began to retreat. To no purpose did Man- 
 angani rally him to the attack, and all at once the roar of the 
 cannon was heard, and the Indians were swept down on 
 every side. 
 
 " Follow me ! " shouted Martin, and gathering a handful 
 of companions around him, he succeeded in effecting a pas- 
 sage back through the line of soldiers. 
 
 It was a retreat that had all the evil consequences of an 
 act of treachery. The Indians believed themselves aban- 
 doned by their chief, and in vain did Manangani urge them 
 to renew the fight. A heavy fusillade threw them into 
 utter disorder, and their rout was soon complete. Flames 
 at a little distance attracted some of the fugitives to the 
 work of pillage, but the soldiers pursued them with their 
 swords, and killed them in considerable numbers. 
 
 Meanwhile Martin Paz had reached the residence of Don 
 Vegal, and found it the scene of a furious struggle. Sambo 
 was there taking the lead in the work of destruction. He 
 had a double motive to urge him on ; not only was he eager 
 to plunder the Spaniard, but he was anxious to get posses- 
 sion of Sarah as a pledge of his son's fidelity. 
 
 The gate and the walls of the great courtyard were thrown 
 down, and revealed the marquis, sword in hand, supported 
 by his servants, and making a vigorous defence against the 
 mob that was assailing him. His determined attitude and 
 indomitable courage gave a certain sublimity to his appear- 
 ance; he stood foremost In the fray, and his own arm had 
 laid low the corpses that were on the ground before him. 
 
 But altogether hopeless seemed the struggle he was mak- 
 ing against the numbers of Indians, which were now re- 
 cruited by the arrival of those who had been vanquished on 
 the Plaza-Mayor. He was all but succumbing to the su- 
 perior force of his opponents, when, like a thunderbolt, 
 Martin Paz fell upon the insurgents in the rear, compelling 
 them to face about, and then making his way through a 
 shower of bullets to the marquis's side, he protected him 
 with his own body from the blows which assailed him.
 
 THE FESTIVAL 151 
 
 " Well done ! well done ! my friend ! " shouted Don Vegal, 
 clasping his defender's hand, 
 
 " Well done ! well done ! Martin Paz," repeated another 
 voice that went to his very soul. 
 
 He recognized Sarah; her words gave redoubled vigor 
 to his arm, and a veritable circle of bleeding figures lay 
 stretched around him. 
 
 Sambo's troops meanwhile were forced to yield. Twenty 
 times did the modern Brutus make his unsuccessful assaults 
 upon his son, and twenty times did Martin Paz withhold 
 his hand, which was able, if he would, to strike down his 
 father. 
 
 Covered with blood, Manangani suddenly took his stand 
 at Sambo's side, and spurred him on to vengeance. " Your 
 oath !" he cried. " Remember your oath ! You have sworn 
 to avenge the traitor's guilt upon his kinsman, upon his 
 friends, upon himself! The time has come! See, here are 
 the soldiers, and Andre Certa is with them ! " 
 
 " Come on, then," said Sambo, with the laugh of a maniac ; 
 " come on now ! " 
 
 Then leaving the courtyard, the two together made their 
 way towards a body of troops who were hastening to the 
 scene; they were aimed at by the advancing corps, but not 
 in the least intimidated, Sambo made his way straight up to 
 Andre Certa. 
 
 " You are Andre Certa," he said. " Your bride is in Don 
 Vegal's house, and Martin Paz is going to carry her off to 
 yonder mountains." 
 
 He said no more, and both the Indians disappeared. In 
 this way Sambo had prevailed to bring the two mortal antag- 
 onists face to face. The soldiers were misled by the pres- 
 ence of Martin Paz, and rushed onwards to attack tlie house. 
 
 Maddened with fury was Andre Certa. As soon as he 
 caught sight of Martin he made a dash upon him. The 
 young Indian, as he recognized the half-breed, howled out 
 a challenge of defiance, and quitted the flight of steps which 
 he had so valiantly defended. 
 
 Here then stood the rivals : foot to foot, breast to breast, 
 face to face. Keen was the survey that each took of the 
 other. Neither friend nor enemy ventured to approach; all 
 alike looked on in terror, and with bated breath. Andre 
 first made a desperate lunge at Martin Paz, who had dropped
 
 152 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 his dagger; but, just in time to escape the blow, Martin had 
 grasped Andre's uphfted arm. Andre tried in vain to dis- 
 engage it, and Martin, wresting the poignard from his ad- 
 versary's hand, plunged it into his very heart. 
 
 Martin threw himself into the arms of the marquis, who 
 shouted impetuously, " Now quick, off, off to the mountains ; 
 wait no further bidding, but fly ! " 
 
 At this instant old Samuel made his appearance, and fling- 
 ing himself upon Certa's body, drew out a small pocketbook 
 which the dead man had upon him. The action did not 
 however escape the observation of Martin, who, turning 
 upon the Jew, snatched the book from his hands, and turn- 
 ing over the leaves, extracted a paper, which, with an ex- 
 clamation of joy, he handed to the marquis. 
 
 The marquis looked confounded as he slowly read the 
 words, " Received of Senor Andre Certa the sum of 100,000 
 piastres: which I undertake to restore, if Sarah, whom I 
 saved from the wreck of the San Jose, should not prove to 
 be the daughter and sole heiress of the Marquis Don Vegal." 
 
 " Daughter ! my daughter ! " exclaimed the bewildered 
 Spaniard, and hurried towards the apartment where Sarah 
 was concealed. 
 
 The girl had gone. Father Joachim was there, covered 
 in blood, and could only utter a few disjointed words, 
 " Sambo . . . carried off . . . Rio Madeira ! " 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 UNITED IN DEATH 
 
 " Off/' said Martin Paz, " let us be off ! " 
 
 And without saying a word, the marquis quickly followed 
 the Indian's lead. His daughter! Yes, at all hazards he 
 must find his daughter. 
 
 Mules were brought without delay, and the two men 
 mounted. They had buckled on large gaiters below their 
 knees, and put on broad-brimmed straw hats to shade their 
 heads; they carried pistols in their holsters, and their rifles 
 were slung to their sides. Martin had fastened his lasso 
 around him, attaching one end to the harness of his mule. 
 
 Well enough did he know every plain and every pass of 
 that mountain-chain, and had no doubt as to the district
 
 UNITED IN DEATH 153 
 
 into which Sambo would attempt to convey the maiden; 
 his betrothed he longed to call her; but did he dare thus 
 to think of Don Vegal's daughter? 
 
 One thought, one aim, occupied alike the Indian and the 
 Spaniard, as they penetrated the gorges of the Cordilleras, 
 darkened by the plantations of pines and cocoa-trees. They 
 had left behind the cedars, the cotton-trees, and the aloes; 
 they had passed beyond the fields planted with luzerne and 
 maize. To traverse the mountains at this season was a 
 perilous undertaking. The melting of the snow beneath the 
 rays of the summer sun had swollen the streams to cataracts, 
 and continually immense masses came rolling down from the 
 peaks above into the chasms below. 
 
 But neither by day nor night did the father and the lover 
 permit themselves to rest. They had reached the point, the 
 very highest in the chain, and, worn out with fatigue, seemed 
 ready to fall into that condition of despair which deprives 
 men of all power to act. It required almost a superhuman 
 effort to go on; but turning to the eastern declivity of the 
 mountain-range, they fell upon traces of the fugitives, and 
 with rekindled energy began the descent. 
 
 Reaching the almost boundless virgin forests that cover 
 the regions between Brazil and Peru, they made their way 
 through woods that might have proved inextricable had 
 not the practiced sagacity of Martin stood them in good 
 stead. Nothing escaped his observation ; and the ashes of an 
 extinguished fire, some vestiges of footsteps, some twigs 
 broken off from the branches, and the character of certain 
 fragments in the path — all attracted his experienced eye. 
 
 Don Vegal feared that his ill-fated daughter had been 
 conveyed on foot over the crags and through the thickets, 
 but the Indian pointed out to him some indications in the 
 stony ground which were undoubtedly the impressions of 
 an animal's feet ; and, above all, the branches had been broken 
 back in the same direction, and that at a height which could 
 only be reached by a person that was mounted. The mar- 
 quis too gladly yielded his conviction, and rejoiced to think 
 that for Martin Paz there was no obstacle insurmountable, 
 and no peril that he could not overcome. 
 
 At length one evening, postively worn out by fatigue, 
 they made a halt. They had just come to the banks of 
 a river. It was the upper stream of the Madeira, which
 
 154 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 the Indian knew perfectly well. Enormous mangroves 
 overhung the water and connected themselves with the trees 
 on the farther bank by creepers hanging in fanciful festoons. 
 
 The question at once arose about the fugitives. Had 
 they gone up the stream, or followed it farther down? or 
 had they contrived by any means to go straight across? 
 It was all important to decide, and Martin took unbounded 
 pains to follow up some footprints for a distance along the 
 rocks till he came to a glade which was somewhat less 
 dense than the surrounding woods. There he observed 
 such indentations in the soil, as left him no doubt that a 
 group of people had crossed the river at that very spot. 
 
 " To-morrow," he said, " perhaps our journey may be 
 
 over." 
 
 " Nay, let us go on now," said the marquis. 
 
 " We must cross the river," replied Martin. 
 
 " Well, why not swim across at once? " 
 
 And without delay they proceeded to undress, and tying 
 up their clothes in a bundle, that Martin proposed to carry 
 over on his head, they made their way into the stream as 
 noiselessly as possible, that they might not disturb any of 
 the alligators that are abundant in all the rivers both of 
 Peru and Brazil. 
 
 On arriving safely at the farther bank Martin Paz made 
 it his first care to search for the track which the Indians 
 must have made, but after a long search amidst the fallen 
 leaves, and along the pebbly shore, he was able to discover 
 nothing. Remembering, however, that the strength of the 
 current had very probably made them drift away from 
 a straight course, they reascended the bank for a considerable 
 distance, when they came upon footprints so decided that 
 they could not be mistaken. 
 
 It was manifestly the place where Sambo had effected 
 his passage over the Madeira with his troop, which had 
 been largely increased on its way. The truth was that the 
 Indians of the mountains and the plains, who had been 
 impatiently expecting the success of their insurrection, now 
 learned that it had miscarried through treachery; burning 
 with rage, and finding that there was a victim on whom to 
 vent their wrath, they had joined themselves to the old 
 Indian's retinue. 
 
 The young girl had little consciousness of what was go-
 
 UNITED IN DEATH 155 
 
 ing on around her. She went forwards because there w^ere 
 hands that urged her forwards,. Had they left her in the 
 middle of the wilderness she would not have stirred a step 
 to escape death. The memory of the young Indian would 
 now and then flit across her mind, yet she was little other- 
 wise than an inanimate burden upon the neck of the mule 
 that carried her. Beyond the river, when two of the men 
 dragged her along on foot, she left a trace of blood, marking 
 every spot on which she trod. 
 
 It did not occur to Sambo, and therefore gave him no 
 uneasiness, that the dotted crimson streak was an index to 
 point out the way they went. He was approaching the limit 
 of his flight, and soon the rushing cataracts of the river were 
 heard with their deafening roar. 
 
 The party halted at an insignificant village, comprising 
 about a hundred huts, made of canes and clay. As they 
 entered, a multitude of women and children greeted them 
 with boisterous acclamations; but all their delight was 
 changed to rage as soon as they heard of the supposed treach- 
 ery of Martin Paz. 
 
 Without quailing in any way before her enemies, Sarah 
 surveyed them with a languid gaze. Though they insulted 
 her with the vilest gestures, and assailed her ears with 
 obloquy and savage threats, she was passive and unmoved. 
 
 "Where is my husband?" demanded one of the angry 
 crones ; " he has been killed through you." 
 
 " My brother too," added another, " he has not come back 
 again ; my brother has lost his life for you ! " 
 
 Then the general chorus rose aloud, " Die ! you shall die ! 
 and your flesh shall be given piecemeal to us all! " 
 
 And as they shouted, they brandished their knives aloft, 
 waved torches of burning fire, took up stones of prodigious 
 weight, and heaped repeated menaces on her head. 
 
 " Stop! " cried Sambo, " let us hear the judgment of the 
 chiefs!" 
 
 In obedience to his order they stayed their demonstrations 
 of revenge, and contented themselves with casting angry 
 glances at the girl, who had sunk down for rest, bespattered 
 as she was with blood, upon the stony margin of the stream. 
 
 Just below the village, the Rio Madeira, after being pent 
 up between narrow confines, made its escape in a roaring 
 cataract, which precipitated itself in a mighty volume to a
 
 156 THE PEARL OF LIMA 
 
 depth of more than a hundred feet. The sentence passed 
 on Sarah was that she should be cast into the flood imme- 
 diately above the point from which the rapid made its 
 start. At the first dawn of morning she was to be tied to 
 a canoe of bark, and left to the mercy of the current of the 
 Madeira. 
 
 That the execution of the sentence was deferred till the 
 morrow, was not for the purpose of giving respite to the 
 condemned victim, but only that she might be reserved for 
 a niglit of terror and alarm. 
 
 The publication of the verdict was a signal for universal 
 joy, and a frantic outburst of delight spread all around. 
 
 The night was spent in the wildest orgies. The Indians 
 became intoxicated with their draughts of burning brandy; 
 they danced in derisive revelry around the passive girl; 
 they rushed about with disheveled hair, and scoured the 
 wilderness around, waving aloft great flaming pine-branches. 
 Thus they continued till the early twilight of the morning; 
 and thus, with yet frantic frenzy, they saluted the first rays 
 pf the rising sun. 
 
 The fatal hour arrived, and no sooner was the girl 
 liberated from the stake to which she had been secured, 
 than a hundred arms were voluntarily outstretched to bear 
 her to the scene of punishment. The name of Martin Paz 
 escaped her lips, and the outcry of hatred and revenge 
 waxed louder than before. In order to reach the highest 
 level of the stream, they had to clamber by the roughest 
 paths up the rocks that overhung the bed of the river, so 
 that when she arrived Sarah was besprinkled once again 
 with blood. They found the bark canoe in readiness at 
 about a hundred yards above the waterfall, and having 
 laid their prisoner down they lashed her in her place with 
 cords that cut deeply into her very flesh. 
 
 The cry of the multitude went up as the cry of one man — 
 " Vengeance ! " 
 
 Whirling round and round, the canoe was carried rapidly 
 along. At this moment, upon the opposite bank, were seen 
 two men, Martin Paz and Don Vegal. 
 
 " My daughter ! my daughter ! " shouted the father as he 
 fell upon his knees. 
 
 The canoe swept onwards nearer to the fall. Mounted 
 upon a rock, Martin Paz unwound his long lasso, which
 
 UNITED IN DEATH 157 
 
 whistled round his head, and at the very instant when the 
 canoe was being sucked into the eddy of the cataract, the 
 long leather lash was uncoiled, and caught the canoe in its 
 sliding noose. 
 
 " Death and destruction! " howled the horde of Indians, 
 beside themselves with rage. 
 
 Martin Paz raised his tall figure to its fullest height, and 
 gently drew the canoe, which had been hovering over the 
 abyss, nearer and nearer to himself. 
 
 Suddenly an arrow came whizzing through the air, and 
 Martin Paz, falling forwards into the frail bark that carried 
 Sarah, was swallowed up with her in the whirlpool of the 
 cataract. Within a moment another arrow had pierced Don 
 Vegal's heart. 
 
 It was bliss to Sarah to know that she and Martin Paz 
 were joined in eternal nuptials, and the last thouglit of the 
 maiden was that he was thus baptized into the faith which 
 in her heart she loved. 
 
 THE END
 
 The Mutineers 
 
 OR 
 
 A Tragedy of Mexico
 
 The Mutineers 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 FROM GUAJAN TO ACAPULCO 
 
 N the 1 8th of October, 1825, the Asia, a higK- 
 built Spanish ship, and the Constanzia, a brig 
 of eighteen guns, cast anchor off the island of 
 Guajan, one of the Mariannas. The crews of 
 these vessels, badly-fed, ill-paid, and harassed 
 with fatigue during the six months occupied 
 by their passage from Spain, had been secretly plotting a 
 mutiny. 
 
 The spirit of insubordination more especially exhibited 
 itself on board the Constanzia, commanded by Captain Don 
 Orteva, a man of iron will, whom nothing could bend. The 
 brig had been impeded in her progress by several serious 
 accidents, so unforseen that they could alone, it was evident, 
 have been caused by intentional malice. The Asia, com- 
 manded by Don Roque de Guzuarte, had been compelled 
 consequently to put into port with her. One night the 
 compass was broken, no one knew how; on another the 
 shrouds of the foremast gave way as if they had been cut, 
 and the mast with all its rigging fell over the side. Lastly, 
 during important maneuvers, on two occasions the rudder- 
 ropes broke in the most unaccountable manner. 
 
 Don Orteva had especially to keep an eye on two men 
 of his crew — his lieutenant Martinez and Jose the captain of 
 the maintop. Lieutenant Martinez, who had already com- 
 promised his character as an officer by joining in the cabals 
 of the forecastle, had in consequence been several times 
 under arrest, and during his imprisonment, the midshipman 
 Pablo had done duty as lieutenant of the Constanzia. 
 
 Young Pablo was one of those gallant natures whose 
 generosity prompts them to dare anything. He was an 
 orphan who, saved and brought up by Captain Orteva, would 
 readily have given his life for that of his benefactor. 
 
 The evening before they were to leave Guajan, Lieutenant 
 Martinez went to a low tavern, where he met several petty 
 officers, and seamen of both ships. 
 
 161
 
 i62 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 " Comrades ! " exclaimed Martinez, " thanks to the acci- 
 dents which so opportunely happened, the ship and the brig 
 were compelled to put into port, and I have been enabled to 
 come here that I might discuss secretly with you some im- 
 portant matters ! " 
 
 " Bravo ! " replied the party of men, with one voice. 
 
 *' Speak, lieutenant," exclaimed several of the sailors, 
 " and let us hear your plans." 
 
 " This is my scheme," answered Martinez. " As soon as 
 we shall have made ourselves masters of the two vessels, we 
 will steer a course for the coast of Mexico. You must know 
 that the new Confederation possesses no ships of war; she 
 will, therefore, be eager to buy our ships without asking 
 questions, and not only shall we regularly receive our pay 
 for the future, but the price we obtain for Ihe ships will be 
 fairly divided among us." 
 
 "Agreed!" 
 
 "And what shall be the signal for acting in concert on 
 board the two ships ? " asked Jose the topman. 
 
 " A rocket fired from the Asia," answered Martinez ; 
 " that shall be the moment for action. We are ten to one, 
 and the officers of the ship and the brig will be made prison- 
 ers before they will have time to know what is happening." 
 
 " When shall we look out for the signal ? " asked one 
 of the boatswain's mates of the Constanzia. 
 
 " In a few days hence, when we shall be off the island of 
 Mindanao." 
 
 " But the Mexicans, will they not receive our ships with' 
 cannon shots?" inquired Jose in a hesitating tone. " If I 
 mistake not, the Confederation has issued a decree to pro- 
 hibit any Spanish ships from entering her harbors, and 
 instead of gold it will be iron and lead they will be sending 
 on board us ! " 
 
 " Don't trouble yourself about that, Jose. We will let 
 them know who we are from a distance," answered 
 Martinez. 
 
 " How is that to be done? " 
 
 " By hoisting the Mexican colors at the gaffs of our 
 ships;" and saying this. Lieutenant Martinez displayed be- 
 fore the eyes of the mutineers, a green, white, and red flag. 
 
 The exhibition of this emblem of Mexican independence 
 was rceived with gloomy silence.
 
 GUAjAN TO ACAPULCO 163 
 
 "Do you already regret the flag of Spain?" cried the 
 lieutenant in a mocking tone. " Very well, let those who 
 feel such regrets at once separate from us, and pleasantly 
 continue the voyage under the orders of Captain Don Roque, 
 or Commander Don Orteva. As for us, who do not wish 
 any longer to obey them, we shall soon find the means of 
 rendering them helpless." 
 
 " We'll stick by you," cried the whole party with one 
 accord. 
 
 During this time Don Orteva was sadly troubled with 
 sinister forebodings. He was well aware how completely 
 fallen was the Spanish navy; that insubordination had 
 greatly contributed to its destruction. On the other hand 
 his patriotism would not allow him to reflect calmly on the 
 successive reverses which had overtaken his country, to 
 which, as it seemed to him, the revolt of the Mexican States 
 had put the finishing stroke. He was frequently in the habit 
 of conversing with the midshipman Pablo on these serious 
 matters, and he especially took a satisfaction in talking to 
 him of the former supremacy of the Spanish navy in every 
 part of the ocean. 
 
 " My boy," said he one day, " we have no longer dis- 
 cipline among our sailors. There are, especially, signs of 
 mutiny on board this vessel; and it is possible — indeed I 
 have a foreboding — that some abominable treason will de- 
 prive me of life! But you will avenge me, will you not? 
 You will at the same time avenge Spain; for will not the 
 blow which strikes me, be really aimed at her? " 
 I swear it. Captain Orteva ! " answered Pablo. 
 Do not make yourself the enemy of anyone on board the 
 brig, but remember when the day comes, my boy — that un- 
 happy time — the best mode of serving one's country is first 
 to watch, and then to chastise, the wretched beings who 
 would betray her." 
 
 *' I promise you that I will die! " answered the midship- 
 man, " yes, that I will die, should it be necessary, to punish 
 the traitors ! " 
 
 Pablo went below. Martinez remained alone on the poop 
 and turned his eyes toward the Asia, which was sailing to 
 leeward of the brig. The evening was magnificent, and 
 presaged one of those lovely nights in the tropics which are 
 both fresh and calm. 
 
 t(
 
 i64 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 The lieutenant endeavored to ascertain in the gloom who 
 were the men on watch. He recognized Jose and those 
 sailors with whom he had held the meeting at the island of 
 Guajan. Martinez immediately approached the man at the 
 helm. He spoke two words to him in a low voice, and that 
 was all. But it might have been observed that the helm was 
 put a little more a-weather than before, so that the brig 
 sensibly drew nearer the larger ship. 
 
 Contrary to the usual custom on board ship, Martinez 
 paced up and down on the lee side, in order that he might 
 obtain an uninterrupted view of the Asia. Restless and 
 agitated, he kept turning a speaking-trumpet round and 
 round in his hand. 
 
 Suddenly a report was heard on board the ship. 
 
 At this signal Martinez leaped on to the hammock- 
 nettings, and in a loud voice, " All hands on deck ! " he cried. 
 " Brail up the courses ! " 
 
 At that moment Don Orteva, followed by his officers, came 
 out of his cabin, and addressing himself to the lieutenant, 
 " Why was that order given? " 
 
 At this moment some fresh reports were heard from on 
 board the Asia. 
 
 Don Orteva, turning to the few men who remained near 
 him, " Stand by me, my brave lads ! " he cried. And advanc- 
 ing towards Martinez, " Seize that officer! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Death to the commander ! " replied Martinez. 
 
 Pablo and two officers drew their swords and held their 
 pistols in their hands. Some seamen, led by the honest 
 boatswain Jacopo, were rushing to their support, but, quickly 
 stopped by the mutineers, were disarmed and rendered in- 
 capable of giving assistance. 
 
 The marines and the crew, drawn up across the entire 
 width of the deck, advanced towards their officers. The 
 men who had remained staunch to their duty, driven into 
 a corner of the poop, had but one course to take — it was 
 to throw themselves on the mutineers. Don Orteva pointed 
 the muzzle of his pistol at Martinez. 
 
 At that moment a rocket was seen to rise from the deck 
 of the Asia. 
 
 " Our friends have succeeded ! " cried Martinez. 
 
 The bullet from Don Orteva's pistol was lost in space. 
 The captain crossed swords with the lieutenant, but, over-
 
 GUAJAN TO ACAPULCO 165 
 
 whelmed by numbers and severely wounded, he was borne to 
 the deck. His officers in a few seconds shared his fate. 
 
 Bkie lights were now let off in the rigging of the brig, 
 and replied to by others from the Asia. The mutiny had 
 at the same moment broken out and proved triumphant 
 on board the ship. Lieutenant Martinez was master of the 
 Constanzia, and his prisoners were thrust pell mell into the 
 main cabin. 
 
 *' To the yard-arm with them ! " shouted several of the 
 most savage. 
 
 " Trice them up, trice them up ! Dead men tell no tales ! " 
 
 Lieutenant Martinez, at the head of these bloodthirsty 
 mutineers, was rushing towards the main cabin, but the rest 
 of the crew strongly objected to so cruel a massacre, and the 
 officers were saved. 
 
 " Bring Don Orteva up on deck," cried Martinez. 
 
 His orders were obeyed; and the captain was bound to 
 the rail of the brig, concealed by the mainsail. While there 
 he was heard to shout out to his lieutenant, " Oh, you 
 scoundrel ! You base traitor ! " 
 
 Martinez, losing all control over himself, leaped on the 
 poop with an axe in his hand. Being prevented from reach- 
 ing the captain, with a single vigorous stroke he cut the main 
 sheet. The main boom, forced violently by the wind, struck 
 the hapless Don Orteva on the head, and he fell lifeless on 
 the deck. 
 
 A cry of horror rose from the crew of the brig. 
 
 ** His death was accidental ! " exclaimed Lieutenant 
 Martinez. "Heave the body overboard!" 
 
 The two vessels, keeping close together, ran towards the 
 coast of Mexico. The next morning an island was seen 
 abeam. The boats of the Asia and Constanjsia were lowered, 
 and the officers, with the exception of the midshipman Pablo 
 and Jacopo the boatswain, who had both submitted to 
 Martinez, were landed on its desert shore. But a few days 
 subsequently they were all happily taken off by an English 
 whaler and conveyed to Manilla. 
 
 Some weeks after the events which have been described, 
 the two vessels anchored in the Bay of Monterey, on the 
 coast of Old California. Martinez, going on shore, in- 
 formed the military governor of the port of his intentions. 
 He offered to carry to Mexico the two Spanish vessels with
 
 i66 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 their stores and guns, and to place their crews at the com- 
 mand of the Confederation. In return, all he asked was that 
 the Mexican government should pay the whole of the wages 
 due to them since they quitted Spain. 
 
 In reply to these overtures, the governor said that he had 
 not sufficient authority to treat with him. He recommended 
 Martinez to sail for Mexico, where he could himself easily 
 settle the matter. The lieutenant followed this advice, and 
 leaving the Asia at Monterey, after a month devoted to 
 pleasure on shore, he again sailed in the Constanzia. Pablo, 
 Jacopo, and Jose formed part of the crew of the brig, which 
 with a fair wind under all sail, made the best of her way for 
 the port of Acapulco. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 FROM ACAPULCO TO CIGUALAN 
 
 Of the four ports which Mexico possesses on the side of 
 the Pacific Ocean, namely, San Bias, Zacatula, Tehuantepec, 
 and Acapulco, the last offers the greatest accommodation to 
 shipping. The town, it is true, is badly built and unhealthy, 
 but the anchorage is secure, and the harbor can easily con- 
 tain a hundred vessels. Lofty cliffs shelter the ships at an- 
 chor from every wind, and form so tranquil a basin, that a 
 stranger arriving by land looks down upon what he may sup- 
 pose to be a lake surrounded by mountains. 
 
 Acapulco was at this time protected by three forts flank- 
 ing it on the right side, while the entrance was defended by 
 a battery of seven guns which could, when necessary, cross 
 their fire at a right angle with those of Fort San Diego. 
 That fort, armed with thirty pieces of artillery, completely 
 commanded the harbor, and would inevitably have sent to the 
 bottom any craft which might have attempted to force an 
 entrance into the port. 
 
 The town had therefore nothing to fear, notwithstanding 
 which, a universal panic seized the inhabitants three months 
 after the events which have just been related. 
 
 It happened thus: A ship was signaled approaching the 
 port. So completely did the people of Acapulco doubt the 
 intentions of the stranger, that nothing would make them 
 believe that she came as a friend. That which the new
 
 ACAPULCO TO CIGUALAN 167 
 
 Confederation mostly feared, and not without reason, was to 
 be again brought under the dominion of Spain. This was 
 because, notwithstanding that a treaty of commerce had been 
 signed with Great Britain, and a charge d'affaires had ar- 
 rived from London, which court had acknowledged the Re- 
 public, the Mexican Government did not possess a single 
 ship to protect their coast. However that might be, the 
 strange vessel was evidently some hardy adventurer, which 
 the northwesterly gales, blustering on their shores from the 
 autumnal equinox to the spring, had probably driven hither 
 with shivered canvas. 
 
 If this was not the case, the people of Acapulco could not 
 tell what to think, and at all events they were making every 
 possible preparation to resist the expected attack of the 
 stranger, when the suspicious vessel ran up to her peak the 
 flag of Mexican independence ! 
 
 Having got to about half cannon-shot from the port, the 
 Constanzia, whose name could be clearly read on her counter, 
 suddenly came to an anchor, her sails were furled, and a 
 boat, which was at once lowered, pulled rapidly towards 
 the harbor. 
 
 Lieutenant Martinez, having disembarked from her, pro- 
 ceeded at once to the governor, to whom he explained the cir- 
 cumstances which brought him to the place. The latter 
 highly approved of the resolution taken by the lieutenant to 
 join the Mexicans, and assured him that General Guadalupe, 
 President of the Confederation, would certainly agree to 
 purchase the two vessels. 
 
 No sooner was the news known in the town than the 
 people broke out into transports of joy. The whole popula- 
 tion turned out to admire the first vessel of the Mexican 
 navy, and saw in their new possession, with this proof of 
 the disorganization prevailing in the Spanish service, the 
 means of more completely defeating all fresh attempts which 
 might be made by their former and much hated oppressors 
 to overcome them. 
 
 Martinez returned on board the brig. Some hours after- 
 wards the Constanz'm was anchored in the port, and her crew 
 were quartered among the inhabitants of Acapulco. When, 
 however, Martinez called over the roll of his followers, 
 neither Pablo nor Jacopo answered to their names. They 
 had both disappeared !
 
 i68 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 The following day two horsemen set out from Acapulco 
 on the deserted and mountainous road for Mexico City. 
 The horsemen were Martinez and Jose. The sailor was well 
 acquainted with the road. He had on numerous occasions 
 climbed these mountains of Anahuac. So well did he know 
 it, that although an Indian guide had offered his services 
 they had been declined. 
 
 " Let us ride faster ! " said Martinez, sticking his spurs 
 into his horse's flanks. " I have my doubts about this dis- 
 appearance of Pablo and Jacopo. Can they mean to make 
 the bargain for themselves, and rob us of our shares? " 
 
 " By St. Jago 1 they won't be very far wrong there," 
 sulkily repiled the seaman. " It will be a case of thieves rob- 
 bing thieves, such as we are." 
 
 " How many days will it take us to reach Mexico? " 
 
 " Four or five, lieutenant — a mere walk ; but not so fast ; 
 you surely see what a steep hill there is before us." 
 
 In reality they had reached the first slopes which form 
 the sides of the mountains rising above the wide plains. 
 
 " Our horses are not shod," said the seaman, pulling up, 
 " and their hoofs will soon be worn out on these granite 
 rocks." 
 
 " Let us push on," exclaimed Martinez, setting the ex- 
 ample. " Our horses come from the farms of Southern 
 Mexico, and in their journeys across the Savannahs they are 
 unaccustomed to these inequalities in the ground. Let us 
 profit therefore by the evenness of the road, and make the 
 best of our way out of these vast solitudes, which are not 
 formed to put us in good spirits." 
 
 " Does Lieutenant Martinez feel any remorse-? " asked 
 Jose, shrugging his shoulders. 
 
 "Remorse! No." 
 
 Martinez fell back into perfect silence, and the two 
 travelers made their steeds move on at a rapid trot.. The 
 sun had sunk beneath the horizon when they reached the 
 village of Cigualan. The village is composed of a few huts 
 inhabited by poor Indians, who are generally known as tame 
 Indians — that is to say, they cultivate the soil. 
 
 The two Spaniards were received with but scant hos- 
 pitality. The Indians recognized them as belonging to the 
 nation of their ancient oppressors, and showed themselves 
 but little inclined to render them assistance. This was in
 
 ACAPULCO TO CIGUALAN 169 
 
 consequence of the fact, that two other travelers had a short 
 time before passed through the village, and had laid violent 
 hands on the small amount of available food which they 
 could discover. The lieutenant and his comrade paid no 
 attention to these circumstances, which indeed appeared to 
 them nothing extraordinary. 
 
 In a short time they secured food, and dined, as men do 
 after a long journey, with sharp appetites. The repast 
 finished, they stretched themselves on the ground with their 
 daggers in their hands ; they then, notwithstanding the hard- 
 ness of their couches, and the incessant biting of the mos- 
 quitos, overcome by fatigue, quickly fell asleep. 
 
 During the night Martinez frequently started up and, in 
 an agitated voice, repeated the names of Jacopo and Pablo, 
 whose disappearance so completely occupied his mind. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 FROM CIGUALAN TO CUERNAVACA 
 
 The next morning at daybreak, the horses were saddled 
 and bridled. The travelers, taking a worn-away path which 
 wound like a serpent before them, directed their course 
 towards the east, where the sun was just then seen ascend- 
 ing above the mountain tops. 
 
 "When shall we get over the mountains, Jose?" 
 
 " By to-morrow evening, lieutenant, and from their sum- 
 mit — although too far off it is true — we shall perceive the 
 end of our journey, that golden town of Mexico. Do you 
 know what I am thinking of, lieutenant? " 
 
 Martinez did not reply. 
 
 " I ask myself what can have become of the officers of 
 the ship and brig which we abandoned on the desert island." 
 
 Martinez trembled. " I do not know," he answered 
 sullenly. 
 
 " I most heartily hope that all those great persons have died 
 of hunger," continued Jose, " or perhaps when we landed 
 them, some of them may have tumbled into the sea, and there 
 is on those shores a kind of shark — the tintorea, who 
 never lets anybody escape him. Holy Mary ! should Captain 
 Don Orteva have come to life he may have the chance of 
 being swallowed up by a fish. But, happily, his head was
 
 lyo THE MUTINEERS 
 
 struck by the mainboom, and by the noise it made must have 
 been completely crushed." 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! " replied Martinez. 
 
 The sailor rode on with closed mouth. " See what cur- 
 ious scruples this man has," said Jose to himself; he then 
 added in his usual voice, " On my return I shall settle down 
 in this charming country of Mexico, where one can enjoy, 
 without stint, these beautiful ananas and bananas, and where 
 one can eat off plates of gold and silver." 
 
 " Was it for this you mutinied? " asked Martinez. 
 
 "Why not, lieutenant? it was an affair of dollars." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Martinez with disgust. 
 
 "And you, why did you mutiny? " inquired Jose. 
 
 " I ! It was an affair of wounded honor. The lieutenant 
 wished to be revenged on his captain." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Jose with contempt. 
 
 There was not much difference between these two men 
 whatever were their motives. 
 
 " Hold ! " cried Martinez, pulling up short, " what do I 
 see down there? " 
 
 Jose rode towards the edge of the cliff ." I can see no 
 one," he replied. 
 
 " I saw a man suddenly disappear," repeated Martinez. 
 
 " Imagination ! " 
 
 " I did see him," replied the lieutenant impatiently. 
 
 " Very well, look for him at your leisure," and Jose con- 
 tinued to ride on. 
 
 Martinez proceeded towards a clump of mangroves, the 
 branches of which, taking root as they touched the ground, 
 formed an impenetrable thicket. The lieutenant dismounted. 
 It was a perfect solitude. Suddenly he perceived a spiral 
 form moving about in the shade. It was a small species of 
 serpent, the head held fast under a piece of rock, while the 
 hinder part twisted about as if it had been galvanized. 
 
 " There has been someone here," cried the lieutenant. 
 Guilty and superstitious, he looked around in every direc- 
 tion. He began to tremble. " Who, who can they be ?" he 
 murmured. 
 
 " Well! what is the matter? " asked Jose, who had now 
 rejoined him. 
 
 " It is nothing," answered Martinez ; " let us go on. 
 
 The evening approached. Martinez followed some paces 
 
 >»
 
 CIGUALAN TO CUERNAVACA 171 
 
 behind his guide Jose, and the latter, not without difficulty, 
 found his way in the midst of the increasing darkness. 
 
 Looking out for a practicable path, swearing now at a 
 stump against which he ran, now at the branch of a tree 
 which struck him, threatening to put out the excellent cigar 
 he was smoking, the lieutenant let his horse follow that of 
 his companion. Useless remorse agitated him, and he gave 
 himself up to the melancholy forebodings with which he was 
 oppressed. 
 
 The night had now completely set in. The travelers 
 pushed forward. They traversed without stopping, the little 
 villages of Contepec and Iguala, and at length arrived at 
 the town of Tasco. Here, little as they relished their food, 
 their hunger was satisfied, and fatigue made even Martinez 
 and Jose sleep until an hour after sunrise the next morning. 
 
 The lieutenant was the first to awake. "Let us start, 
 Jose," he cried out. 
 
 The two Spaniards hastened to the stable, ordered their 
 horses to be saddled, filled their saddle-bags with cakes of 
 maize, grenadas, and dried meat, for among the mountains 
 they would run a great risk of finding nothing to eat. The 
 bill paid, they mounted their beasts and took the road once 
 more. 
 
 " Have we nothing to fear among these solitudes? " asked 
 Martinez. 
 
 " Nothing, excepting it may be a Mexican dagger ! " 
 
 " That is true," answered Martinez, " the Indians of these 
 elevated regions are still attached to the use of the dagger." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied the seaman, laughing. " What a 
 number of words they have to designate their favorite 
 arm — estoqe, verdugo, puna, anchillo, beldoque, navaja. 
 The names come as quickly to their lips as the dagger does to 
 their hands. Very well ! so much the better. Holy Mary! 
 at least we shall not have to fear those invisible balls from 
 long carbines. I do not know anything more provoking 
 than not to be able to discover the wretch who has killed 
 one!" 
 
 "Who are the Indians who inhabit these mountains?" 
 asked Martinez. 
 
 " Indeed, lieutenant, who can count the different races 
 which have mukiplied so rapidly in this El Dorado of 
 Mexico? Just consider the various crosses, which I have
 
 172 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 studied carefully, with the intention of some day making 
 an advantageous marriage. We here find the Mestisa, born 
 of a Spaniard and an Indian woman ; the Castisa, of a Cas- 
 tilian woman and a Spaniard; the Mulatto, of a Spanish 
 woman and a Negro; the Monisque, born of a Mulatto 
 woman and a Spaniard ; the Albino, of a Monisque woman 
 and a Spaniard; the Tintinclaire, of a Tornatras man and a 
 Spanish woman; the Lovo, born of an Indian woman and a 
 Negro; the Caribujo, of an Indian woman and a Lovo; the 
 Barsino, born of a Coyote and a Mulatto woman; the Grifo, 
 born of a Negress and a Lovo; the Albarazado, born of a 
 Coyote and an Indian woman ; the Chanesa, born of a Metis 
 and an Indian man; the Mechino, born of a Lovo and a 
 Coyote!" 
 
 Jose spoke the truth ; the mixture of races in this country 
 causes wonderful difficulties to anthropological students. 
 Notwithstanding this learned conversation of the seaman, 
 Martinez continually fell again into his previous taciturnity ; 
 he indeed sometimes pushed on ahead of his companion, 
 whose presence seemed to annoy him. 
 
 In a short time two torrents crossed the road before them. 
 The lieutenant pulled up at the first, disappointed on seeing 
 that its bed was dry, for he had reckoned on watering his 
 horse at it. 
 
 " Here we are, In a fix, lieutenant, without food and with- 
 out water ! " exclaimed Jose. " Never mind ; follow me. 
 We will look among these rocks and cliffs for the tree which 
 is called the ' ahuehuelt,' which advantageously takes the 
 place of the wisps of straw which decorate the fronts of inns. 
 Under its shade one can always enjoy a cool draught, and, 
 in a word, it is not only what some call water, but it is the 
 wine of the desert." 
 
 The horsemen hunted about, and before long discovered 
 the tree in question, but the promised fountain had been 
 emptied, and they discovered it must have been visited only 
 a short time previously. 
 
 " It Is singular," observed Jose. 
 
 " It is indeed singular," said Martinez, growing pale. 
 " Let us push forward." 
 
 The country now assumed an extremely rugged aspect. 
 Gigantic peaks rose up before them, their basaltic summits 
 stopping the clouds wafted by the winds from the Pacific.
 
 CIGUALAN TO CUERNAVACA 173 
 
 Doubling a large rock there appeared high above them the 
 Fort of Cochicalcho, built by the ancient Mexicans on a spot 
 elevated nineteen thousand feet above the sea. The 
 travelers directed their course towards the base of this vast 
 cone, which was crowned by tottering rocks and crumbling 
 ruins. 
 
 After having dismounted and fastened their horses to 
 the trunk of a tree, Martinez and Jose, wishing to ascertain 
 the direction of their road, climbed up to the summit of the 
 cone, assisted by the ruggedness of the sides. 
 
 Night now coming on made the outline of objects appear 
 very indistinct, and assume the most fantastic forms. The 
 old fort did not ill-resemble an enormous bison, crouching 
 down, its head immovable; but as Martinez looked at the 
 figure, his disordered imagination made him fancy that he 
 saw the body of the monstrous animal move. He did not, 
 however, say anything lest he should lay himself open to 
 the railleries of the unscrupulous Jose. The latter hastily 
 made his way round a part of the hill, and after he had dis- 
 appeared for some time behind some broken fragments, he 
 summoned his companion with the loudness of his " Saint 
 lagos ! " and " Saint Marias ! " 
 
 All of a sudden, an enormous night-bird, uttering a hoarse 
 shriek, slowly rose on its outstretched wings. 
 
 Martinez stopped short; a vast mass of rock was seen to 
 shake about thirty feet above him, then a portion of the 
 mass became detached, and, shattering everything in its pass- 
 age with the rapidity of a cannon-ball, came crashing down- 
 wards, and was engulfed in the abyss below. 
 
 " Santa Maria ! " cried the seaman. " Hello, lieutenant, 
 what has happened? " 
 
 "Jose!" 
 
 " Here ! " The two Spaniards joined each other. 
 
 " What a fearful avalanche descended on us ! " exclaimed 
 the seaman. Martinez followed him without saying a word, 
 and the two soon regained the lower plateau. 
 
 Here a large furrow marked the passage of the rock. 
 
 "Santa Maria!" exclaimed Jose. "Look here! Our 
 two horses have disappeared — crushed dead ! " 
 
 " It is too true ! " said Martinez. 
 
 " See here ! " The tree to which the two animals had been 
 fastened had been indeed carried away with them.
 
 174 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 " If we had been under it! " philosophically observed the 
 seaman, with a shrug of his shoulder, 
 
 Martinez was seized with a violent feeling of terror. 
 " The serpent ! — ^the fountain ! — ^the avalanche ! " he mur- 
 mured. 
 
 Then he turned his haggard eyes on Jose. 
 
 " How is it that you do not speak to me of Captain 
 Orteva? " he cried, his lips contracted with anger. 
 
 Jose drew back. " Oh, do not talk nonsense, lieutenant ! 
 Let us give the finishing stroke to our poor steeds and then 
 push on. It will not do to stop here while the old mountain 
 is combing her hair." 
 
 The two Spaniards proceeded on their road without say- 
 ing a word, and in the middle of the night they arrived at 
 Cuernavaca ; but it was impossible to procure horses, so the 
 next morning they directed their course on foot towards the 
 heights of Popocatepetl. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FROM CUERNAVACA TO POPOCATEPETL; 
 
 The temperature was cold and the country was devoid 
 of vegetation. These inaccessible heights belonged to the 
 icy zones, known as the cold territory. Already the fir trees 
 of the foggy regions showed their withered outlines among 
 the last oaks of these lofty elevations, and springs became 
 more and more rare among the rugged rocks, consisting 
 chiefly of porphyry and granite. 
 
 After six long hours the lieutenant and his companion 
 began to drag themselves forward with difficulty, tearing 
 their hands against rough masses of rock, and cutting their 
 feet on the sharp stones in their path. At length fatigue 
 compelled them to sit down. Jose occupied himself in pre- 
 paring something to eat " What a cursed idea not to have 
 taken the ordinary road ! " he murmured. 
 
 They both, however, hoped to find at Aracopistla — a vil- 
 lage completely shut in among the mountains — the means 
 of transport to enable them to reach the end of their journey. 
 But, after all, they might deceive themselves, and meet with 
 the same want of accommodation and hospitality which they 
 had encountered at Cuernavaca. They must, however, at 
 all events, get there.
 
 CUERNAVACA TO POPOCATEPETL 175 
 
 The road was fearfully parched and dry; on every side 
 fathomless precipices were to be seen in the sides of the 
 mountains, and rocks appeared ready to fall on the heads of 
 the travelers. To regain the chief road it was necessary 
 to cross a portion of these muontains at a height of five 
 thousand four hundred feet, near a rock known by the In- 
 dians as the " smoking rock," for it still exhibited signs of 
 recent volcanic action. Dark chasms yawned on every side. 
 Since the last journey of the seaman Jose some fresh out- 
 breaks had completely changed the appearance of these 
 solitudes, so that he could not recognize them ; thus he com- 
 pletely lost himself among the inaccessible cliffs. He stopped 
 to listen to some rumbling sounds which came issuing forth 
 here and there from the cliffs. 
 
 ** I can do no more ! " at length cried Jose, sinking to the 
 ground with fatigue. 
 
 "Push on!" cried Martinez with feverish impatience. 
 
 Some claps of thunder reverberated amid the gorges of 
 Popocatepetl. " Now may Satan take me, for I may count 
 myself among the lost souls!" 
 
 " Rise up and push on," roughly exclaimed Martinez. 
 
 He compelled Jose to get up, and the sailor stumbled for- 
 ward. " And not a human being to guide us," murmured 
 Jose. 
 
 " So much the better," observed the lieutenant gruffly as 
 he moved forward. 
 
 " You do not know, then, that every year a thousand 
 murders are committed in Mexico, and how many in the 
 environs nobody can calculate ! " said Jose. 
 
 " So much the better," answered Martinez. 
 
 Large drops of rain began to fall on the rocks around 
 them, brightened by the last fading light in the sky. 
 
 " The points we lately saw so clearly around us, where 
 are they now? " asked the lieutenant. 
 
 " Mexico is on the left, Puebla on the right," replied 
 Jose, " if we could see anything, but nothing can now be 
 distinguished." 
 
 It became fearfully dark. " Before us should be the 
 mountain of Icetacihualt, and in the ravine at its base a good 
 road; but what if we should not reach it! " 
 
 " Push on ! " cried the lieutenant. 
 
 The thunder claps were now repeated with extreme
 
 176 THE MUTINEERS 
 
 violence among the mountains. The rain and the wind, 
 which had hitherto been silent, increased the loudness of 
 the echoes. Jose went swearing on at every step. Lieuten- 
 ant Martinez, pale and silent, gazed with sinister looks at his 
 companion, whom he regarded as an accomplice he would 
 gladly get rid of. 
 
 Suddenly a flash of lightning illuminated the obscurity. 
 The seaman and the lieutenant were on the edge of an 
 abyss. 
 
 Martinez hurried up to Jose, and after the last clap of 
 thunder he said to him, " Jose, I am afraid ! " 
 
 " Do you dread the storm? " 
 
 " I do not dread the storm in the sky, Jose ; but I fear 
 the storm which agitates my breast ! " 
 
 "Oh, you are still thinking of Don Orteva! Come on, 
 lieutenant! you make me laugh," answered Jose. He, how- 
 ever, did not laugh, as Martinez surveyed him with his 
 haggard eyes, 
 
 A terrible clap of thunder burst over them. 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! hold your tongue ! " cried Martinez, 
 who appeared to be no longer master of himself. 
 
 " The night is a favorable one for preaching to me ! " 
 replied the seaman. " H you have any fear, lieutenant, shut 
 up your eyes and your ears.'* 
 
 *' It seems to me," cried Martinez, " that I see the captain 
 < — Don Orteva — with his head crushed — there, there ! " 
 
 A dark shadow, illuminated the next moment by a flash 
 of lightning, arose within twenty feet of the lieutenant and 
 his companion. 
 
 At the same instant Jose saw close to him Martinez, his 
 countenance pale and distorted with passion, his hand grasp- 
 ing a dagger. 
 
 *' What is there ! " he cried out. 
 
 A flash of lightning environed them both. 
 
 " What ! Kill me ! " cried Jose. The next moment he 
 fell, a corpse, and Martinez fled in the midst of the tempest, 
 his bloody weapon in his hand. 
 
 A few moments afterwards two men hung over the dead 
 body of the seaman, saying, " This is one of them! " 
 
 Martinez fled like a madman across the dark solitudes; 
 
 his head uncovered, regardless of the rain, which came down 
 
 in torrents. 
 y. I Verne
 
 
 
 ,t .loV
 
 i-vi) 
 
 ' every ster 
 
 iii acconipi*ce he wo a, 
 
 red the obscurii 
 on the edge - 
 
 :* the last clap 
 
 .,-4 I " 
 
 . but I f ea r- 
 Orteva! Come oi. 
 
 THE UPRISING 
 
 Don Orteva, turned to the few men who remained near him, 
 "Stand by me, my brave lads !" he, cried. And advancing toward 
 Martinez, "Seize that officer !" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Death to the commander !" replied Martinez. * * * * 
 The bullet from Don Orteva' s pistol was lost in space. The 
 captain crossed swords with the lieutenant, but, overwhelmed by 
 numbers and severely wounded, he was borne to the deck. — Page 164. 
 
 there ! 
 t by : 
 •..1 ujc j-icutenar 
 
 «e to him Mar 
 
 m the 
 his 
 
 A Is 
 
 Vol. 1,
 
 .CUERNAVACA TO POPOCATEPETL 177 
 
 " Kill ! kill ! " he shrieked out, stumbling over the slippery 
 rocks. 
 
 Suddenly he heard a hoarse sound in the depths beneath 
 his feet. He stopped, knowing that it was the roaring of a 
 torrent. 
 
 It was the little river Ixtolucca, which rushed on five hun- 
 dred feet below him. Some paces off, over the torrent, was 
 thrown a bridge formed of ropes. It was secured on both 
 sides by some piles driven into the rock. The bridge 
 oscillated in the wind like a thread extended in space. 
 
 Clinging to the ropes, Martinez made his way across the 
 bridge, and by a great effort he reached the opposite bank. 
 
 There, a shadow rose before him. 
 
 Martinez retreated, without saying a word, towards the 
 bank he had just left. 
 
 There, another human form appeared. 
 
 Martinez fell upon his knees in the middle of the bridge, 
 his hands clasped in despair. 
 
 " Martinez, I am Pablo ! " said a voice. 
 
 " Martinez, I am Jacopo ! " said another voice. 
 
 " You are a traitor ! You shall die ! " 
 
 " You are a murderer ! You shall die ! " 
 
 Two loud blows were heard, the piles which secured the 
 ropes at the extremity of the bridge fell beneath the ax. A 
 horrible shriek rent the air, and Martinez, his hands ex- 
 tended, was precipitated into the abyss. 
 
 A league higher up, the midshipman and the boatswain 
 rejoined each other, after having passed by a ford the river 
 Ixtolucca. 
 
 I have avenged Don Orteva ! " said Jacopo. 
 And I," replied Pablo, " have avenged Spain ! " 
 
 It was thus that the navy of the Mexican Confederation 
 had its origin. The two Spanish ships, delivered up by the 
 traitors, were taken possession of by the new Republic, and 
 became the nucleus of that small fleet which fought unsuc- 
 cessfully for Texas and California, against the fleet of the 
 United States of America. 
 
 THE END. 

 
 Five Weeks in a Balloon
 
 Five Weeks in a Balloon 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 RECEPTION OF DR. FERGUSON 
 
 N the 14th of January, 1862, there was a very- 
 large attendance of the members of the 
 Royal Geographical Society of London, 3 
 Waterloo Place. The President, Sir Fran- 
 cis M , made an impromptu communica- 
 tion to his colleagues in a speech frequently 
 interrupted by applause. This rare specimen of oratory 
 ended at length with some grandiloquent phrases, in which 
 patriotism was displayed in well-rounded sentences, thus : 
 " England has always appeared at the head of all other 
 nations in the way of geographical discovery. (Hear, 
 hear.) Doctor Samuel Ferguson, one of her glorious 
 children, will not disgrace the land of his birth. (No, no.) 
 If his attempt succeed (It will, it will!) it will bind to- 
 gether in a complete form the isolated maps of the African 
 continent. If it fail (Never, never!) it will remain at 
 least on record as one of the boldest conceptions of the 
 human mind." (Loud applause.) 
 
 " Hurrah, hurrah ! " shouted the assembly, quite elec- 
 trified by these stirring words. 
 
 " Hurrah for the undaunted Ferguson ! " cried one of 
 the members, more enthusiastic than the rest. 
 
 The enthusiasm then rose to a high pitch. The name 
 of Ferguson was in every mouth, and there is no reason to 
 believe that it lost anything in its emancipation from the 
 British throat. The whole assembly was in a ferment. 
 
 Yet there were present in that assembly a number of 
 individuals grown old in travel : bold explorers, whose 
 wandering disposition had led them to all parts of the 
 world. All of them, either physically or morally, had es- 
 caped shipwreck, fire, the tomahawk of the Indian, the 
 club of the savage, the stake, or Polynesian cannibals. 
 But nothing could still the throbbing of their breasts dur- 
 
 181
 
 1 82 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 ing Sir F. M.'s speech; it was without doubt the greatest 
 oratorical success of the Royal Geographical Society within 
 the memory of man. 
 
 In England, enthusiasm is not by any means confined to 
 words. It can produce money more quickly than the ma- 
 chinery of the Royal Mint. A sum of £2,500 was imme- 
 diately voted and placed at Doctor Ferguson's disposal. 
 The subscription was in proportion to the importance of 
 the undertaking. 
 
 One of the members of the Society asked the President 
 .whether Doctor Ferguson might not be officially presented. 
 
 " The doctor awaits the pleasure of the meeting," re- 
 plied Sir Francis M . 
 
 "Let him come in!" they cried; "admit him! It is 
 right that we should become acquainted with a man of such 
 extraordinary daring." 
 
 " Perhaps," said an old apoplectic commodore, " this 
 incredible suggestion is nothing but a hoax after all." 
 
 " I do not suppose that there is any such person," said 
 a malicious member. 
 
 " We must invent him then," replied a joking associate. 
 
 " Request Doctor Ferguson to be good enough to come 
 in," said Sir Francis M , quietly. 
 
 The doctor accordingly made his appearance, and was 
 greeted with thunders of applause. He did not, however, 
 appear to be in the least elated by his reception. He was 
 a man of about forty years of age, of no remarkable ex- 
 terior. His sanguine temperament displayed itself in the 
 ruddiness of his complexion. His face was impassive, 
 with regular features and a prominent nose. This was 
 like the prow of a vessel — the nose of a man destined for 
 discovery. His eyes were soft, and, being more intelligent 
 than bold, imparted a great charm to his face. His arms 
 were long, and his feet were planted upon the floor with 
 the firmness of a practical pedestrian. A certain quiet self- 
 possession pervaded the doctor's whole appearance, and no 
 one could believe him capable of the most innocent hoax. 
 
 The shouts and plaudits never for one moment ceased 
 until Doctor Ferguson intimated his desire for silence by 
 a gesture. He advanced towards the arm-chair prepared 
 for his reception, then, standing perfectly upright, with a 
 determined expression of countenance he pointed the fore-
 
 RECEPTION OF DOCTOR FERGUSON 183 
 
 finger of his left hand towards the ceiling, and uttered the 
 word " Excelsior ! " 
 
 Never had an unexpected popular measure of Messrs. 
 Cobden or Bright — never had a demand by Lord Palmer- 
 ston for an extra vote to arm the English coast defenses 
 met wath equal success. The doctor was at once sublime, 
 powerful, unassuming, and prudent. He had struck the 
 key-note of the situation. 
 
 "Excelsior!" 
 
 The old commodore, completely "brought up in the 
 wind " by this extraordinary man, moved that the entire 
 speech of Doctor Ferguson be entered in the Proceedings 
 of the Royal Geographical Society. 
 
 Now, who was this Doctor Ferguson, and to what enter- 
 prise was he about to devote himself ? The father of Fer- 
 guson was a captain in the English merchant service, and 
 had accustomed his son, from his earliest years, to the dan- 
 gers and risks of his own profession. The brave lad, who 
 knew not what fear meant, soon displayed an adventurous 
 spirit and desire for information, and a remarkable pred- 
 ilection for scientific research. He also showed a won- 
 derful aptitude for getting out of scrapes, and he was 
 never embarrassed, not even when using a fork for the 
 first time, in which attempt children are not generally suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 As he grew older, his imagination became stimulated by 
 tales of hairbreadth escapes and records of maritime dis- 
 covery. He followed diligently the routes of those trav- 
 elers who made the first part of the nineteenth century 
 famous in history. He longed for the glories of Mungo 
 Park, of Bruce, Caille, and Levaillant, and even of Sel- 
 kirk and Robinson Crusoe, which were to him in no way 
 inferior. How many happy hours had he passed in the 
 Island of Juan Fernandez? He sometimes approved of 
 the ideas of the shipwrecked sailor, sometimes he denied 
 the propriety of his plans and projects. He would himself 
 have acted differently, to better effect perhaps, or at least 
 as well, at any rate. 
 
 However, one thing was certain: he would never have 
 quitted that pleasant island, where he would have been as 
 happy as a king without subjects — no, not if they had of- 
 fered to make him First Lord of the Admiralty !
 
 i84 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 I leave my readers to judge how these tendencies devel- 
 oped themselves during the adventurous days passed in all 
 quarters of the globe. His father, an educated man, did 
 not fail to further consolidate this quickness of intelligence 
 by some serious study — hydrography, physics, and mechan- 
 ics, with a trifle of botany, medicine, and astronomy 
 thrown in. At the death of the worthy captain, Samuel 
 Ferguson, then twenty-two years old, had already been 
 round the world. He joined a regiment of Bengal En- 
 gineers, and distinguished himself on several occasions. 
 But a soldier's life did not suit him. He did not like his 
 commanding officer, and obedience was irksome, so he ob- 
 tained his discharge, and, sometimes hunting, sometimes 
 botanising, he made his way towards the North of India, 
 and crossed it from Calcutta to Surat. Just a pleasant 
 walk — nothing more. 
 
 From Surat he went to Australia, and in 1845 took part 
 in Captain Stuart's expedition to discover that Caspian Sea 
 which is supposed to exist in the interior of New Holland. 
 In 1850 Samuel Ferguson returned to England, and more 
 than ever possessed by the desire of discovery, in 1853 he 
 accompanied Captain M'Clure in the expedition that tra- 
 versed the American Continent from Behring's Strait to 
 Cape Farewell. 
 
 Despite hardships and change of climate, Ferguson's con- 
 stitution remained unimpaired. He lived at ease in the 
 midst of the greatest privations. He was the type of a per- 
 fect traveler, whose appetite can be controlled at will, whose 
 limbs can adapt themselves equally to a bed whether it be 
 long or short, who can sleep at any hour of the day, and 
 awake at any hour of the night. So there was nothing very 
 astonishing in finding our indefatigable traveler engaged, 
 during the years 1855 to 1857, ^^ exploring the west of 
 Thibet, in company with the brothers Schlagintweit, whence 
 he brought back many curious ethnographical records. 
 
 During these several expeditions Samuel Ferguson was 
 the most active and interesting correspondent of the Daily 
 Telegraph, a penny journal, whose circulation is 140,000 
 copies a day, and scarcely suffices for millions of readers. 
 Thus the doctor was very well known, although he was not 
 a member of any scientific institution, neither of the Royal 
 Geographical Society of London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, or
 
 RECEPTION OF DOCTOR FERGUSON 185 
 
 St. Petersburg; nor of the Travelers' Club; nor even of the 
 Polytechnic Institution, presided over by his friend Kock- 
 burn, the statistician. This gentleman proposed to him one 
 day the following problem, with the intention to pay him a 
 compliment: " Given the number of miles traversed by the 
 doctor round the world, how much farther had the head 
 moved than the feet in consequence of the difference in the 
 length of radii." But Ferguson kept aloof from such 
 learned people, and being rather of the acting and not of the 
 talking disposition, he found his time better employed in 
 exploration than in argument, in discovery rather than dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 It has been related that an Englishman came to Geneva 
 with the intention to view the Lake. He got into one of 
 those old carriages in which people sit at the sides like in 
 an omnibus. Now it happened that this Englishman w^as 
 seated with his back to the Lake. The carriage peacefully 
 accomplished its round without his ever turning his head; 
 and he returned home, charmed with the Lake of Geneva! 
 
 But Doctor Ferguson had turned round, and more than 
 once during his travels, and to such purpose that he had 
 seen nearly everything. In this, as in other things, he 
 obeyed the dictates of his nature, and we have reason to 
 believe that he was somewhat of a fatalist, but of a very 
 orthodox pattern, relying upon himself as well as upon 
 Providence. He used to say that he was impelled rather 
 than attracted to his expeditions, and ran about the world 
 something like a locomotive which does not direct its own 
 course, but is directed by the route it follows. 
 
 "I do not pursue my way," the doctor would remark; 
 " my way pursues me." 
 
 It is not astonishing, therefore, that he received the 
 plaudits of the Royal Society without any show of emotion. 
 He was superior to that, and being neither proud nor vain, 
 he perceived nothing extraordinary in the proposition he had 
 made to the President, and did not appear to notice the great 
 effect he had produced. 
 
 After the meeting was dissolved the doctor was conducted 
 to the Travelers' Club in Pall Mall, where a splendid ban- 
 quet was prepared in his honor, the dimensions of the vari- 
 ous dishes being proportionate to the importance of the 
 guest, and the sturgeon, which was a prominent figure in
 
 i8t> FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 this magnificent repast, was only three inches shorter than 
 Samuel Ferguson himself. 
 
 Numerous toasts were proposed to the healths of those 
 celebrated travelers who had distinguished themselves on 
 the soil of Africa, and duly honored. They drank to 
 their healths in alphabetical order. To Abbadie, Adams, 
 Adamson, Anderson, Arnaud, Baikie, Baldwin, Barth, 
 Batouder, Beke, Beltram de Berba, Bimbachi, Bolognesi, 
 Bolwick, Bolzoni, Bonnemain, Brisson, Browne, Bruce, 
 Brun-Rollet, Burchell, Burckhardt, Burton, Caillaud, Caille, 
 Campbell, Chapman, Clapperton, Clot-Bey, Colomieu, Cour- 
 vall, Cumming, Cuny, Debono, Decken, Denham, Desa- 
 vanchers, Dicksen, Dickson, Dochard, Du Chaillu, Duncan, 
 Durand, Duroule, Duveyrier, Erhard, d'Escayrac de Lau- 
 teur, Ferret, Fresnel, Galinier, Galton, Geoffroy, Golberry, 
 Hahn, Halm, Harnier, Hecquart, Heuglin, Hornemann, 
 Houghton, Imbert, Kaufmann, Knoblecher, Krapf, Kum- 
 mer, Lafargue, Laing, Lajaille, Lambert, Lamiral, Lam- 
 priere, John Lander, Richard Lander, Lefebvre, Lejean, Le- 
 vaillant, Livingstone, Maccarthy, Maggiar, Maizan, Malzac, 
 Moffat, Mollieu, Monteiro, Morrisson, Mungo Park, Nei- 
 mans, Overweg, Panet, Partarrieau, Pascal, Pearse, Peddie, 
 Peney, Petherick, Poncet, Prax, Raffenel, Rath, Rebmann, 
 Richardson, Riley, Ritchie, Rochet d'Hericourt, Rongawi, 
 Roscher, Ruppel, Saugnier, Speke, Steidner, Thibaud, 
 Thompson, Thornton, Toole, Tousny, Trotter, Tuckey, Tyr- 
 witt, Vaudey, Veyssiere, Vincent, Vinco, Vogel, Wahlberg, 
 Warrington, Washington, Werne, Wild, and lastly to Doc- 
 tor Samuel Ferguson, who, by his unheard-of project, was 
 about to bind together the works of all these travelers, and 
 complete the series of African discoveries. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN ARTICLE IN THE " TELEGRAPH " 
 
 In its issue of the next day, the Daily Telegraph pub- 
 lished the following article : 
 
 " Africa is about to yield the secret of its vast solitudes 
 at last. A modern QEdipus will find the key to the problem 
 which the learned of sixteen centuries have not been able to 
 solve. Formerly, to seek the sources of the Nile — fontes
 
 AN ARTICLE IN THE " TELEGRAPH " 187 
 
 Nili queer ere — was regarded as the act of a madman; a chi- 
 mera, in fact. 
 
 " Doctor Barth, by following as far as Soudan the route 
 traversed by Denham and Clapperton ; Doctor Livingstone, 
 by extending his undaunted researches from the Cape of 
 Good Hope to the basin of the Zambezi; Burton and Speke, 
 by the discovery of the Great Inland Lakes, have opened up 
 three routes to modern civilization. To the point of in- 
 tersection of these routes, no traveler has hitherto been able 
 to penetrate; it is in the very heart of Africa. It is to that 
 point that all our efforts should be directed. 
 
 " The works of these hardy pioneers of science are now 
 about to be supplemented by the spirited attempt of Dr. 
 Samuel Ferguson, whose wonderful expeditions have so 
 often been appreciated by our readers. This hardy ex- 
 plorer proposes to cross the continent of Africa from east 
 to west in a balloon. If we have been correctly informed, 
 the point of departure of this extraordinary enterprise will 
 be the island of Zanzibar upon the eastern coast. Where 
 the point of arrival will prove to be — Heaven alone can tell ! 
 
 " This exploit was yesterday proposed officially to the 
 members of the Royal Geographical Society, and a sum of 
 £2,500 was voted to defray the expenses of the expedition. 
 We will keep our readers duly informed upon the various 
 events in connection with the projected enterprise, which is 
 without precedent in geographical annals." 
 
 This article, as was intended, had an enormous circula- 
 tion. It first aroused a tempest of incredulity, and Doctor 
 Ferguson was looked upon as a visionary, an invention of 
 Barnum, who, having exhausted the United States, was 
 about to do the British Isles ! 
 
 A quizzical notice appeared in Geneva in the February 
 number of the Proceedings of the Geographical Society, 
 which gently rallied the Royal Society in London, the 
 Travelers' Club, and the wonderful sturgeon. But Mr. 
 Petermann, in his Mitheilungen, published in Gotha, shut 
 up the Geneva paper completely. Mr. Petermann was ac- 
 quainted with Dr. Ferguson, and bore testimony to the 
 hardihood of his (Petermann's) courageous friend. 
 
 Soon, however, doubt was no longer possible. Prepara- 
 tions for the expedition were being made in London. 
 Firms at Lyons had received orders for striped taffetas for
 
 i88 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the balloon, and the English Government had placed a 
 transport, the Resolute, commanded by Captain Penney, at 
 the disposal of Dr. Ferguson. Encouragement and good 
 wishes were showered from all sides. The details of the 
 enterprise appeared in the Transactions of the Geo- 
 graphical Society of Paris. A very remarkable article was 
 published in the Nouvelles yinnales des Voyages de la 
 Geographie, de I'Histoire, et de I'Archeologie, by M. V. A. 
 Malte-Brun. A particular account was published in the 
 Zeitschrift fiir Allegemaine Erdkunde, by Dr. W. Koner, 
 demonstrating the possibility of the journey, its chances of 
 success, the nature of the obstacles to be encountered, and 
 the immense advantages of locomotion by means of bal- 
 loons. He found fault only with the place of departure, 
 and hinted that Masuah, a small port of Abyssinia, whence 
 James Bruce started in his search for the sources of the 
 Nile, would be preferable. In all other respects, he ap- 
 plauded unreservedly the wonderful energy of Dr. Fergu- 
 son, and the stout brain and heart that could conceive and 
 execute such an enterprise. 
 
 The North American Review was rather annoyed 
 that so much honor was likely to fall to the lot of a 
 " Britisher." It accordingly ridiculed the whole proceed- 
 ing, and suggested that the doctor should go over to Amer- 
 ica while he was about it. 
 
 In fact, not to go further into detail, there was not a 
 scientific periodical, from the Journal of the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society, to the Algerine and Colonial Review; 
 from the Annals of the Society for tlie Propagation of the 
 Gospel, to the Church Mission Intelligencer, which did 
 not discuss the subject in all its bearings. Some consider- 
 able bets were made in London, and in England generally. 
 I. Upon the actual existence of Dr. Ferguson. 2. Upon 
 the journey itself, which some said would never be entered 
 upon, some declaring the contrary. 3. Whether it would 
 succeed or fail. 4. On the probabilities of the Doctor's re- 
 turn. Immense sums were betted on those issues, as freely 
 as at Epsom Races. 
 
 Thus believers, skeptics, the ignorant, and the learned, 
 all had their attention fixed on the doctor. He was the 
 lion of the day, without his even suspecting that he carried 
 a name. He willingly gave information respecting the ex-
 
 AN ARTICLE IN THE " TELEGRAPH " 189 
 
 pedltion. He was easily accessible, and the most unaffected 
 man in the world. Many a bold adventurer called upon him 
 with the object of being permitted to share the glory and 
 perils of the undertaking, but the doctor always declined, 
 without giving any reason for his refusal. Many patentees 
 came to him to propose their plans to direct the course of 
 balloons; he would accept none of them. To those who 
 inquired whether he had discovered anything of that nature 
 for himself, he refused explanation, and turned to the com- 
 pletion of his arrangements with greater diligence than ever. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE doctor's friend 
 
 Doctor Ferguson possessed a friend. Not another self, 
 an alter ego — friendship cannot exist between two people of 
 like disposition. But if Dick Kennedy and Samuel Fer- 
 guson possessed different qualities, tastes, and tempera- 
 ments, they possessed the same heart, and that did not em- 
 barrass them in the least. Quite the contrary ! 
 
 Dick Kennedy was a Scotchman, in the true acceptation 
 of the term. He was honest, resolute, and obstinate. He 
 lived at Leith, a suburb of " Auld Reekie." He was some- 
 thing of a fisherman, but above all and everything an in- 
 defatigable sportsman, which was the less astonishing in a 
 Scot somewhat accustomed to roam the Highlands. He 
 was quoted as a wonderful shot with the rifle, for not only 
 could he split a bullet on the blade of a knife, but could 
 divide it into two such equal parts that, when weighed, there 
 was no perceptible difference between them. 
 
 In appearance Kennedy resembled Halbert Glendinning, 
 as pictured by Walter Scott in the " Monastery." He was 
 more than six feet high, of graceful and easy bearing. He 
 appeared to be gifted with Herculean strength. His face 
 was bronzed by exposure to the sun, his eyes were black and 
 piercing. He possessed a naturally fearless temperament, 
 and, in fact, everything about him prepossessed one in his 
 favor. 
 
 The two friends had become acquainted in India, where 
 they were serving in the same regiment. While Dick used 
 to hunt the tiger and the elephant, Samuel was occupied in
 
 190 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the pursuit of plants or insects. Each was an adept in his 
 own line, and many a rare plant became the prey of the 
 doctor, which cost as much to obtain as a pair of ivory 
 tusks. These young people had never any occasion to save 
 each other's life, nor to render any service whatever to each 
 other. But a strong friendship existed between them. 
 Fate might part them perhaps, but Friendship would al- 
 ways unite them again. Since their return to England they 
 had frequently been separated in consequence of the long 
 expeditions undertak-en by the doctor, but upon his return 
 he never failed to spend some weeks with his friend the 
 Scotchman. 
 
 Dick talked of the past, Samuel prepared for the future. 
 The one looked ahead, the other looked back. Ferguson 
 was of a restless disposition, Kennedy was perfectly con- 
 tented. For two years after his travels in Thibet the doctor 
 did not speak of any new expeditions. Dick thought that 
 his friend's taste for traveling, and his appetite for adven- 
 ture, had been satisfied. He was delighted. That kind of 
 thing is sure to end badly some day or other, he thought, 
 whatever experience one has had of people; one cannot' 
 travel with impunity among cannibals and wild beasts. 
 Kennedy, therefore, begged Samuel to " put the drag on " 
 a bit, he having already done quite enough for science, and 
 too much for human gratitude. 
 
 To this request the doctor made no reply, he remained 
 buried in thought. Then he went to work again at his 
 secret calculations, passing whole nights in working out his 
 figures, and experimentalising upon curious machines of 
 which no one knew anything. People, therefore, fancied 
 that he had conceived some very grand notion in his busy 
 brain. 
 
 " I wonder what he is thinking about," said Kennedy, 
 when his friend had left him and returned to London in 
 January. He made the discovery one morning in the 
 columns of the Daily Telegraph. 
 
 " Good Heavens ! " he cried, " the idiot, to think of cross- 
 ing Africa in a balloon! This was all that was necessary 
 to complete his vagaries ! That is, then, what he has been 
 thinking of these two years ! " 
 
 If the reader will kindly substitute for the foregoing notes 
 of exclamation certain hard blows of Kennedy's fist ap-
 
 THE DOCTOR'S FRIEND 191 
 
 plied to his own head, he will have some slight idea of the 
 gentle exercise indulged in by Dick as he spoke. 
 
 When his housekeeper, old Elspeth, gently suggested that 
 perhaps there might yet be nothing in it after all, he cried, 
 " Why, don't you think I know the man ? Is it not he all 
 over? Going to travel through the air, indeed! He will 
 be jealous of the eagles now! But, by Jove, this shall not 
 be if I can prevent it. If you only leave him to himself, 
 he will be setting off some fine morning tip to the moon! " 
 The same evening, Kennedy, half angry, half uneasy, took 
 the train at the General Railway Station, and next morning 
 arrived in London. 
 
 Three-quarters of an hour afterwards a cab left him at 
 the door of the doctor's house in Greek Street, Soho; as- 
 cending the steps he knocked loudly five times. 
 
 Ferguson himself opened the door. "Why, Dick?" he 
 exclaimed, apparently not much surprised at his friend's 
 appearance. 
 
 " Yes, Dick himself," replied Kennedy. 
 
 ** My dear Dick, how is it that you are up in town [when 
 the hunting is going on? " 
 Yes, I am in London." 
 And why have you come up? " 
 To prevent a foolish action." 
 
 it 
 
 tt 
 
 "A foolish action? " echoed the doctor. 
 Is this true ? " asked Kennedy, holding out the article in 
 
 the Daily Telegraph for his friend's inspection. 
 
 " Ah ! that is what you are driving at. How very indis- 
 creet these newspapers are. But take a chair, Dick, old 
 fellow." 
 
 " No, I shan't," said Dick. " Then you are quite de- 
 termined to undertake this journey? " 
 
 " Quite. My arrangements are being made, and I- 
 
 u 
 
 Your arrangements! I should like to knock your ar- 
 rangements to pieces." The worthy Scot was waxing very 
 angry. 
 
 " Calm yourself, my dear Dick," said the doctor. " I can 
 understand your irritation. You are vexed because I have 
 not sooner made you acquainted with my new plans." 
 
 " He talks of new plans, indeed ! " 
 
 " I have been very busy," continued Samuel, without 
 noticing the interruption ; " there has been so much to do.
 
 192 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 But rest assured I should not have gone without writing to 
 you " 
 
 " Ah ! you are making a fool of me now." 
 
 " Because I had intended to get you to accompany me." 
 
 The Scot gave a bound that would have done credit to a 
 chamois. "Ah, that, indeed," said he; "then I suppose 
 you wish us both to be shut up in Bedlam together.? " 
 
 " I have positively counted upon you, my dear Dick, and 
 have chosen you to the exclusion of everybody else." 
 
 Kennedy remained in a state of stupefaction. " When 
 you have listened to me for about ten minutes," continued 
 the doctor, quietly, " you will thank me." 
 
 "Are you serious?" 
 
 "Perfectly." 
 
 " And suppose I refuse to go with you? " 
 
 " But you will not refuse." 
 
 "Yet if I do?" 
 
 " I shall go alone, that's all." 
 
 " Look here ; let us sit down," said the Scot, " and talk 
 this business over calmly. If you are not joking, it is worth 
 our while to discuss it." 
 
 " Well, then, let us discuss it at breakfast, if you have 
 no objection, my dear Dick." 
 
 The two friends accordingly sat down, a great plate of 
 sandwiches, and an enormous teapot between them. " My 
 dear Sam," said the sportsman, " your project is a foolish 
 one; it is impossible. There is nothing tangible nor prac- 
 ticable in it." 
 
 " We shall see, after we have attempted it." 
 
 " But that is not the point. It is not necessary to try it." 
 
 " Why not, if you please? " 
 
 " Why, look at the dangers and obstacles of all kinds 
 involved in it." 
 
 " Obstacles," replied Ferguson seriously, " are only in- 
 vented to be overcome; as for danger, who can ever escape 
 it? Life is made up of dangers. It is, perhaps, very dan- 
 gerous to sit down at this table, or to put on one's hat ; we 
 must, however, look upon what is likely to happen as having 
 already happened, and see only the present in the future; 
 for the future is merely the present a little farther off." 
 
 " What ! " cried Kennedy, shrugging his shoulders, " so 
 you are still a fatalist.'' " 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE DOCTOR'S FRIEND 193 
 
 " !?[lways, but in the good sense of the term. We need 
 not, therefore, worry ourselves about the fate in store for 
 us ; let us not forget the proverb, * He that is born to be 
 hanged will never be drowned. ' " 
 
 There was obviously no direct reply to be made to this, 
 but that fact did not prevent Kennedy from producing a 
 series of arguments easy to imagine, but too long to repeat 
 here. " But, after all," he said, after about an hour's dis- 
 cussion, " if you really must cross Africa, and if it is neces- 
 sary for your happiness to do so, why don't you go by the 
 ordinary routes? " 
 
 "Why?" replied the doctor with animation, "because 
 all such attempts have failed. Because from Mungo Park 
 murdered on the Niger, till the time when Vogel disap- 
 peared in the Wada'i ; from Oudney dead at Murmur, Clap- 
 perton at Sackatou, to the time when Maizan was cut to 
 pieces; from the period that Major Laing was killed by 
 the Touaregs to the massacre of Roscher in the beginning 
 of the year i860, such a number of victims have had their 
 names written in the record of African martyrdom. Be- 
 cause, to fight against the elements, against hunger, thirst, 
 fever, and wild animals, and tribes even more ferocious, is 
 impossible. Because that which cannot be accomplished 
 one way must be accomplished in another. Finally, be- 
 cause when one is unable to pass through a place, one must 
 pass either at the side of it or over it." 
 
 "If it were only a question of getting across," replied 
 Kennedy ; " but to pass over the top " 
 
 " Well," said the doctor, with the greatest coolness, 
 "what have I to fear? You will confess that I have taken 
 precautions to guard against a fall from my balloon. If, 
 however, such a thing did happen, I should only then be in 
 the normal condition of travelers; but my balloon will not 
 fail me, so we need not speak of that." 
 
 " On the contrary, we must consider that point." 
 
 " Not so, my dear Dick ; I have quite made up my mind 
 not to part from it until we have reached the western coast 
 of Africa. With it everything is possible, without it I fall 
 into all the dangers and difficulties of former expeditions. 
 With my balloon I need fear neither heat nor cold, torrent 
 nor tempest, simoom nor unhealthy climates, wild beasts 
 nor men. If I feel too hot, I can ascend; if I feel cold, I
 
 194 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 can come down again ; is there a mountain, I can pass over 
 it ; a precipice, I can clear it ; a river, I can cross it ; a storm, 
 I can go above it ; a torrent, I can skim over it like a bird ; 
 I can travel without fatigue ; I can stop without having need 
 to repose; I can overlook new cities; I can fly with the 
 rapidity of a hurricane. Sometimes high up in the air, 
 sometimes within a few feet of the earth, and the whole 
 of Africa will be mapped out beneath my eyes in the great 
 atlas of the world." 
 
 The brave Kennedy was impressed, notwithstanding that 
 the prospects spread before his mind's eyes made him feel 
 somewhat giddy. He gazed at Samuel with admiration, 
 not unmixed with fear, and felt as if he were already sus- 
 pended in space. 
 
 " Let us see about this, my dear Samuel. Have you dis- 
 covered any means to direct the balloon? " 
 
 " Not one. It is a Utopian idea altogether." 
 
 " But you will nevertheless go? " 
 
 " Where Providence may will, but all the same from east 
 to west 1 " 
 
 "Why so?" 
 
 " Because I count upon the trade-winds to assist me ; 
 their direction is invariable." 
 
 " Oh, indeed," muttered Kennedy ; " the trade-winds, 
 certainly — they might for once in a way — there is some- 
 thing " 
 
 " Something! No, my dear friend, there is everything 
 in it. The Government have placed a transport at my dis- 
 posal. It has also been agreed that three or four vessels 
 shall proceed to the western side about the anticipated time 
 of my arrival there. In three months, at farthest, I shall 
 be at Zanzibar, where I shall set about the inflation of my 
 balloon, and we shall start from there." 
 
 "We!" exclaimed Dick. 
 
 "Have you then any objection to make? Speak, friend 
 Kennedy." 
 
 "One objection! I have a thousand. But, between 
 ourselves, tell me if you count upon seeing the country; if 
 you intend to ascend and descend at will, you must expend 
 a quantity of gas, and there are no other means of pro- 
 ceeding. It is this fact which has hitherto prevented any 
 long journeys through the air."
 
 THE DOCTOR'S FRIEND 195 
 
 ** My dear Dick, I shall only tell you one thing. I shall 
 not lose an atom of gas — not a particle." 
 
 " And you will descend when you please? " 
 
 " I will descend when I please." 
 
 "And how will you manage this? " 
 
 " That is my secret, friend Richard. Have faith in me, 
 and my motto may be yours — * Excelsior ! ' " 
 
 " Agreed. ' Excelsior ' be it," replied the hunter, who 
 did not understand a word of Latin. But he made up his 
 mind to offer all the opposition in his power to the departure 
 of his friend. He pretended to be of his opinion, and con- 
 tented himself with watching. As for the doctor, he went 
 to inspect his preparations. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 AFRICAN EXPLORATION 
 
 The direction which Dr. Ferguson intended to follow in 
 his balloon had not been chosen at hap-hazard. He had 
 seriously considered his point of departure, and it was not 
 without reason that he had resolved to ascend from the 
 island of Zanzibar. 
 
 This island, situated close to the east coast of Africa, is 
 in the 6th degree of South latitude, or 430 geographical 
 miles below the equator. The last expedition which went 
 by way of the great lakes to discover the source of the Nile 
 started from Zanzibar. 
 
 But perhaps it may be as well to mention what expedi- 
 tions Doctor Ferguson was hoping to connect together. 
 There were two principal ones — that of Doctor Barth in 
 1849, and that of Lieutenants Burton and Speke in 1858. 
 
 Doctor Barth was a native of Hamburg, who obtained 
 permission for himself and for his countryman, Overweg, 
 to join the English expedition under Richardson, who was 
 charged with a mission into the Soudan. This immense 
 district is situated between the 15th and loth degrees of 
 North latitude ; that is to say, that to arrive there it is neces- 
 sary to travel more than 1,500 miles into the interior of 
 Africa. Up to the period mentioned the country was only 
 known from the expeditions of Denham, Clapperton, and 
 Gudney, between the years 1822 and 1824.
 
 196 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 Richardson, Earth, and Overweg, desirous of pushing 
 their researches farther, went to Tunis and TripoH, hke their 
 predecessors, and penetrated to Mourzouk, the capital of 
 Fezzan. They then quitted the direct line of march and 
 made a detour to the west, towards Ghat, guided, and not 
 without difficulty, by the Touaregs, After undergoing a 
 thousand perils and attacks, their caravan arrived, in Octo^ 
 ber, at the great oasis of the Asben. Here Doctor Barth 
 separated himself from his companions and made an ex- 
 cursion to the town of Aghades. Rejoining the expedition, 
 it marched again on the 12th December, and having reached 
 the province of Damaghou, the three travelers separated. 
 Barth took the route to Kano, where he eventually arrived 
 in safety, thanks to his indomitable patience and the pay- 
 ment of considerable tribute. 
 
 In spite of a severe attack of fever, he quitted Kano on 
 the 7th of March, accompanied only by one servant. The 
 principal aim of his journey was to explore Lake Tchad, 
 from which he was distant 350 miles. He advanced, there- 
 fore, in an easterly direction, and reached Zouricolo, in the 
 Bornou, which town is the capital of the great central em- 
 pire of Africa. 
 
 It was there that he heard of Richardson's death caused 
 by fatigue and privation. Passing on, he reached Kouka, 
 the capital of Bornou, situated on the Lake. At length, 
 after a further period of three weeks, on the 14th of April, 
 twelve months and a half after quitting Tripoli, he arrived 
 at the town of Ngornou. 
 
 We find him once more in company with Overweg, start- 
 ing on the 29th March, 1851, to visit the kingdom of 
 Adamaon, at the south side of the Lake. He succeeded in 
 reaching Yola, a little below the 9th degree of North lati- 
 tude. That was the extreme southerly point reached by 
 this intrepid traveler. 
 
 In August he returned to Kouka, thence he reached In 
 succession Mandara, Berghimi, and Kanem, attaining his 
 eastern limit at Mazena in 17*' 20' W. long. 
 
 In November, 1852, after the death of Overweg, his 
 latest companion, he plunged into the west, visited Sockoto, 
 crossed the Niger, and finally arrived at Timbuctoo, where 
 he was obliged to languish for eight tedious months, ex- 
 posed to incessant annoyance by the sheik, to ill-treatment.
 
 AFRICAN EXPLORATION 197 
 
 and wretchedness. But the presence of a Christian in the 
 town could not be tolerated longer, and the Foullaunes 
 threatened to beset him. 
 
 So the doctor departed on the 17th March, 1854, and 
 sought refuge on the frontier, where he remained thirty- 
 three days in terrible destitution. He returned to Kano in 
 November, and thence to Kouka. Here he struck the 
 former route of Denham, after four months' detention. 
 About the end of the year 1855 he got back to Tripoli, and 
 reached London on the 6th September, the sole survivor 
 of his party. Such was the extraordinary journey of Barth. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson had noted carefully that Barth did not 
 penetrate beyond 4° N. lat. and 17° W. long. 
 
 Now let us see what Burton and Speke accomplished in 
 Eastern Africa. 
 
 The various expeditions which ascended the Nile were 
 all unable to reach its source, apparently shrouded in mys- 
 tery. According to the account of the German doctor, 
 Ferdinand Werne, the expedition projected in 1840, under 
 the auspices of Mehamet Ali, was stopped at Gondokoro 
 between the 4th and 5th parallels of N. lat. 
 
 In 1855 Brun-Rollet, a Savoyard, Sardinian consul in 
 the Soudan in the place of Vauday, who had been killed, 
 quitted Karthoum, and, in the disguise of a merchant deal- 
 ing in gum and ivory, he reache'd Belenia just beyond 4°, 
 and returned to Karthoum sick. He died there in 1857. 
 
 Neither Doctor Beney, chief of the Egyptian Medical 
 Service, who in a small steamer reached to one degree be- 
 low Gondokoro, and returned to die of exhaustion at 
 Karthoum; nor the Venetian Miani, who, by avoiding the 
 cataracts below Gondokoro, touched the second parallel ; nor 
 the Maltese merchant, Andrea Debono, who pushed on 
 farther still, was able to pass that insurmountable barrier. 
 
 In 1859, M. Guillaume Lejean, sent out by the French 
 Government, reached Karthoum by way of the Red Sea, 
 and embarked on the Nile with a crew of twenty-one men 
 and twenty soldiers, but he could not get beyond Gondokoro, 
 and incurred the greatest danger from the negro tribes, then 
 in full revolt. The expedition under the direction of M. 
 Escayrac de Lauture made an equally vain attempt to reach 
 these famous sources. 
 
 That fatal barrier always stopped would-be explorers.
 
 198 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 The people sent by Nero had in his time reached the 9th 
 degree of latitude, so in 1800 years we have only gained 
 five or six degrees, or about 300 to 360 geographical miles. 
 
 Many travelers have attempted to reach the sources of 
 the Nile from the west side of the continent. During the 
 years 1768-72, the Scotchman, Bruce, departing from 
 Masuah, a port of Abyssinia, sailed up the Tigris, visited 
 the ruins of Axum, actually beheld the sources of the Nile 
 where they did not exist, and returned without obtaining 
 any other remarkable success. 
 
 In 1844, Doctor Krapf, an Anglican missionary, estab- 
 lished a station at Monbez on the coast of Zanguebar, and 
 discovered, in company with the Reverend Mr. Rebmann, 
 two mountains at a distance of 300 miles from the coast. 
 These are Kilimandjaro and Kenia, that Heuglin and 
 Thornton ascended together. 
 
 In 1845, Maizan, a Frenchman, disembarked alone at 
 Bazamaye, opposite Zanzibar, and got as far as Deje la 
 Mhora, where he was put to death with cruel tortures. 
 
 In 1859, in the month of August, Roscher, of Hamburg, 
 a young traveler, set out with a caravan of Arab merchants, 
 and reached Lake Nyassa, where he was murdered in his 
 sleep. 
 
 Finally, in 1857, Lieutenants Burton and Speke, both 
 officers of the Bengal army, were dispatched by the Geo- 
 graphical Society of London, to explore the great African 
 Lakes. On the 17th of June they quitted Zanzibar, and 
 directed their course to the west. 
 
 After four months of incredible suffering, their baggage 
 pillaged, their porters worn out and dispirited, they arrived 
 at Kazeh, the meeting center for merchants and caravans. 
 They were in the true land of the moon. There they col- 
 lected many valuable documents respecting the manners, 
 government, religion, and the fauna and flora of the 
 country. 
 
 Thence they journeyed towards the first of the great 
 lakes, Tanganyika, situated between the 3° and 8° of South 
 latitude. They reached it on the 14th of February, 1858, 
 and made themselves acquainted with the various tribes 
 along its banks, who were chiefly cannibals. Leaving the 
 lake on the 20th May, they re-entered Kazeh on the 20th 
 June. Here Burton, quite knocked up, remained ill for
 
 AFRICAN EXPLORATION 199 
 
 several months, and during that time Speke traveled north- 
 wards more than 300 miles, as far as Lake Onkereone, 
 which he sighted on the 13th August, but could only see 
 the opening of it in 2° 30' longtitude. He then returned 
 to Kazeh on the 25th, and with Burton retraced his steps 
 to Zanzibar, which they reached in March of the following 
 year. These two intrepid travelers then came back to Eng- 
 land, and the Geographical Society of Paris bestowed upon 
 them its annual prize. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson had also carefully noted that they had 
 not passed either the 2° of South latitude nor the 29° longi- 
 tude East. 
 
 He therefore set himself to the task of joining the dis- 
 coveries of Burton and Speke to those of Doctor Barth, and 
 to pass over a tract of country extending to more than 
 twelve degrees. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MAP OF AFRICA 
 
 Doctor Ferguson kept pressing forward the prepara- 
 tions for his departure; he personally directed the construc- 
 tion of his balloon, following out certain modifications, 
 respecting which he maintained an absolute silence. 
 
 For some time previously, he had been applying himself 
 to the study of Arabic, and of various patois, and thanks 
 to his arrangement of the dialects, he made rapid progress. 
 
 In the meantime, his friend never left him for a moment; 
 'he was doubtless apprehensive that the doctor would take 
 flight, and he still brought to bear upon the subject his 
 most persuasive arguments, which had no effect whatever 
 upon Samuel Ferguson, who would endeavor to escape 
 under cover of the most moving entreaties, by which he 
 appeared little touched himself. Dick felt that he was 
 slipping through his fingers. 
 
 The unfortunate Scot was really to be pitied; he could 
 never think of the azure vault of Heaven without a fit of 
 the "blues"; he realized, when asleep, the giddy suspen- 
 sion, and every night he felt as if he were falling from an 
 immense height. 
 
 We ought to state that, while under these terrible night-
 
 200 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 mares, he fell out of bed once or twice. His first notion 
 [was to exhibit a great contusion on his head. 
 
 " There," he said, with a smile, " look at that, and only 
 caused by a fall of three feet. Now, what do you think? " 
 
 This insinuation, full of sadness though it was, had no 
 effect upon the doctor. 
 
 " We shall not fall out," he said slyly. 
 
 " But suppose we do? " 
 
 " We shall not, I tell you." 
 
 This was decisive, and Kennedy had nothing to say. 
 
 What particularly aggravated Dick was that the doctor 
 appeared completely to ignore his (Dick's) individuality, 
 and looked upon him as fated to become his aerial compan- 
 ion. There was not a shadow of doubt about that. 
 
 Samuel was accustomed to make a shameful abuse of 
 the first person plural. 
 
 " We " go. " We " shall be ready. " We " shall leave. 
 And then the adjective .(possessive) — "Our" balloon. 
 " Our " boat. " Our " undertaking. And again in the 
 plural — " Our " preparations. " Our " discoveries. " Our" 
 ascents. 
 
 Dick shuddered at all this, although determined not to 
 stir, but he did not wish to thwart his friend. Let us con- 
 fess, indeed, that, without saying anything about it, he had 
 caused some clothes and his best rifles to be forwarded to 
 him secretly from Edinburgh. 
 
 One day, having gone so far as to confess that, with 
 good luck, one might have a chance of success, he pre- 
 tended to agree with the doctor, but in order to delay the 
 journey, he quoted a number of the most wonderfully varied 
 and hairbreadth escapes. He fell back upon the use and 
 expediency of the journey. Was it really a necessity to 
 discover the sources of the Nile? Would their work really 
 prove of benefit to the human race? Suppose, after all, 
 the tribes of Africa should be civilized, how much better off 
 will they be then ? Was it by any means certain, moreover, 
 that they were not already as civilized as Europe? Per- 
 haps so. And, in the first place, why couldn't they wait a 
 little longer? Surely Africa could be crossed one day in 
 a less dangerous fashion? In a month, in six months, be- 
 fore the year was out, some explorer would indubitably 
 present himself.
 
 THE MAP OF AFRICA 301 
 
 These insinuations produced an effect the very opposite 
 to the speaker's wishes, and the doctor quivered with im- 
 patience. 
 
 " Do you wish, then, you unhappy man, that this glory 
 shall be shared with someone else? Is it, then, necessary 
 to fib about it; to enlarge upon obstacles which are not 
 serious; to repay, by cowardly hesitation, what has been 
 done for me by the Government and the Royal Society? " 
 
 " But," replied Kennedy, who was very much addicted 
 to the use of this word. 
 
 " But ! " echoed the doctor, " do not you know that my 
 journey ought to contribute to the success of enterprises 
 already undertaken? Are you not aware that fresh expedi- 
 tions are advancing into the center of Africa? " 
 
 " Still " 
 
 " Listen to me, Dick. Just look at this map." 
 
 Dick regarded it with a resigned expression. 
 
 " Follow up the course of the Nile " 
 
 " I am following it," replied the Scot resignedly. 
 
 "Have you reached Gondokoro?" 
 
 " I am there." And Kennedy thought how easy it would 
 be to make a similar voyage — on a map. 
 
 " Now," said the doctor, *' place one of the points upon 
 that town which the bravest travelers have with difficulty 
 passed." 
 
 " I have fixed it." 
 
 " And now look on the coast line for the island of 
 Zanzibar in the 6th degree of south latitude." 
 
 " I have got it." 
 
 " Follow now this parallel and you arrive at Kazet." 
 
 " All right." 
 
 " Now go up by the 33rd degree of longitude as far as 
 the commencement of Lake Onkereone, at the spot where 
 Lieutenant Speke halted." 
 
 " I am there. I shall be in the lake in a minute." 
 
 " Now do you know what is the natural deduction from 
 the information gathered from the tribes on the borders of 
 the lake?" 
 
 " I have not the faintest notion." 
 
 " It is that this lake, whose lower end is in 2** 30' lati- 
 tude, ought to extend equally two and a half degrees above 
 the equator."
 
 202 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 "Really?" 
 
 " Now, from this northern extremity runs a stream which 
 ought to flow into the Nile, if it be not the Nile itself." 
 
 " That is extremely interesting." 
 
 " Now place the other point of that compass on this 
 (extremity of the lake" 
 
 " It is done," said Ferguson. 
 
 " How many degrees do you make it between the 
 points.? " 
 
 " Scarcely two." 
 
 " Do you know how far that is, Dick? " 
 
 *' Haven't an idea ! " 
 
 " It is but 120 miles; a mere nothing." 
 
 "Well, scarcely nothing, Samuel." . 
 
 " Now, do you know what is actually taking place at this 
 moment? " 
 
 " No, upon my life, I don't. 
 
 " Well, the Geographical Society considers it very im- 
 portant that this lake, discovered by Speke, should be ex- 
 plored. Under its direction. Lieutenant, now Captain, 
 Speke has joined with Captain Grant of the Indian Army; 
 they have been put at the head of a numerous caravan, and 
 with ample funds. They have been commissioned to go up 
 the lake, and to return as far as Gondokoro. They have 
 been subsidized to the amount of £5,000, and the Governor 
 of the Cape has placed Hottentot soldiers under their or- 
 ders. They left Zanzibar at the end of October, i860. 
 During this time, John Petherick, H. M. Consul at Kar- 
 thoum, has received from the Foreign Office about £700. 
 He has orders to provide a steamer, and, with a plentiful 
 supply of provisions, to proceed to Gondokoro, there to 
 await the arrival of Captain Speke's party, and to assist 
 them if necessary." 
 
 " That is a well-conceived plan," said Kennedy. 
 
 " You can now perceive that we have no time to lose if 
 we would participate in this expedition. And that is not 
 all; while they are marching on foot to discover the sources 
 of the Nile, other travelers are bravely penetrating into the 
 very heart of Africa." 
 
 "On foot?" exclaimed Kennedy incredulously. 
 
 " Yes," replied the doctor, without noticing the insinua- 
 tion. " Doctor Krapf proposes to push towards the west
 
 THE MAP OF AFRICA 203 
 
 by the Djob, a river below the Equator. Baron Decken has 
 left Monbaz, and revisited the mountains Kenia and Kili- 
 mandjaro, and is still advancing towards the interior." 
 
 "Also on foot?" 
 
 ** Either on foot or with mules." 
 
 " All the same as far as I am concerned," replied 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " Finally," continued the doctor, " M. Heuglin, the 
 Austrian vice-consul at Karthoum, is about to organize a 
 very important expedition, of which the chief aim will be 
 the search for the explorer Vogel, who, in 1853, was sent 
 into the Soudan to join forces with Dr. Barth. In 1856 he 
 quitted Bornou, resolved to explore the unknown region 
 which extends between Lake Tchad and Darfour. Since 
 then he has not been heard of. Letters arrived in i860 at 
 Alexandria stating that he had been assassinated by the 
 orders of the King of Wadai, but subsequent communica- 
 tions addressed by Dr. Hartmann to Vogel's father, that, 
 according to the report of a fellatah of Bornou, Vogel was 
 only kept a prisoner at Wara; all hope, therefore, is not 
 lost. A committee has been formed under the presidency 
 of the Regent of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. My friend Peter- 
 mann is the secretary. A national subscription has been 
 set on foot to support the expedition, to which several 
 savants have already attached themselves. M. Heuglin left 
 Masuah in June, and while he searches for Vogel, he has 
 instructions to explore the country lying between the Nile 
 and Lake Tchad, that is to say, to connect the discoveries 
 of Speke and Barth, and then Africa will have been crossed 
 from east to west ! " 
 
 " Well," said the Scot, " as that is all so nicely arranged 
 I don't see what there is for us to do." 
 
 Doctor Ferguson made no reply to this beyond a shrug 
 of his shoulders. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 A RARE SERVANT 
 
 Doctor Ferguson had a man-servant who rejoiced in the 
 name of Joe. An excellent fellow, entirely devoted to his 
 master, and serving him with a boundless attention. Some-
 
 204 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 times he even anticipated his orders, and carried them out 
 with the greatest intelligence. Never grumbling, and al- 
 ways in good humor, people said that, had he been made on 
 purpose, he could not have been better. 
 
 Ferguson placed himself in Joe's hands entirely and 
 rightly. Rare and honest Joe ! A servant who orders your 
 dinner exactly to your taste, who packs your portmanteau 
 and never forgets the shirts and socks, who keeps your keys 
 and your secrets, and never give up either. 
 
 But what a master the doctor was to Joe! With what 
 respect and confidence he welcomed his decisions! When 
 Ferguson had spoken, it would be folly to reply. All that 
 he thought was right; everything he said was correct; all 
 that he ordered to be done, feasible; all he undertook was 
 possible; all that he accomplished, magnificent! You 
 might have cut Joe in pieces, which would have been, 
 doubtless, very unpleasant, but he would not have changed 
 his opinion respecting his master. Thus, when the doctor 
 broached the project of crossing Africa in a balloon, Joe 
 looked upon the feat as already accomplished; no obstacles 
 existed for him. As soon as the doctor had resolved to set 
 out, he would be there with his faithful servant of course; 
 for the brave lad, without ever having mentioned the sub- 
 ject, knew very well that he would be of the party. He 
 would, besides, be able to render important service, in con- 
 sequence of his activity and intelligence. If it had been 
 necessary to appoint a professor of gymnastics to the 
 monkeys in the Zoological Gardens, who are pretty lively 
 now, Joe would certainly have obtained the situation. To 
 jump, climb, to impel himself through the air, to execute a 
 thousand almost impossible antics, was child's play to Joe. 
 
 If Ferguson was the head and Kennedy the arm, Joe was 
 certainly the right hand. He had already traveled a great 
 deal with his master, and possessed some smattering of 
 science suitable to his position, but he distinguished him- 
 self above all by a philosophic calmness, and a charming 
 talent for looking on the bright side. Everything to him 
 was easy, logical, and natural, and consequently he never 
 complained nor swore. 
 
 Besides these attributes he possessed a most astonishing 
 range of vision. He, equally with Moestlin, Kepler's 
 teacher, enjoyed the curious faculty of being able to see
 
 A RARE SERVANT 205 
 
 the moons of Jupiter with the naked eye, and to count 
 fourteen stars in the Pleiades, which last are of the ninth 
 magnitude. He was not proud of this at all; on the con- 
 trary, he would salute you respectfully, and, on occasion, 
 he could make use of his eyes to some purpose. 
 
 With the confidence Joe displayed towards the doctor, it 
 is not astonishing that frequent discussions would arise be- 
 tween Kennedy and the worthy domestic, with all due re- 
 gard to their relative positions. 
 
 One doubted, the other had faith ; one represented a clear- 
 sighted prudence, the other, blind confidence. So the doctor 
 was situated between skepticism and belief, and, I am bound 
 to add, he paid no attention to either. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Kennedy," said Joe. 
 
 "Well, my lad." 
 
 " The time is approaching. It seems that we are about 
 to set off to the moon." 
 
 " You mean the land of the moon, which is not quite so 
 far, but quite sufficiently dangerous; so be easy in your 
 mind." 
 
 "Dangerous! with a man like Doctor Ferguson?" 
 
 " I do not wish to dissipate your delusions, my good Joe, 
 but his enterprise is simple madness. He will never enter 
 upon it." 
 
 " Not go ? Then you haven't seen the balloon in the 
 workshop of Messrs. Mitchell, in the Borough? " 
 
 " I shall take very good care not to go to see it." 
 
 " Then you will lose a splendid sight, sir. What a 
 beautiful thing it is ; what a lovely shape, and what a charm- 
 ing car! How jolly we shall all be in it! " 
 
 " Then you have really made up your mind to accom- 
 pany your master.? " 
 
 " I ! " replied Joe decisively. " I would go wherever 
 he pleased. As if I should ever let him go alone when we 
 have been round the world together. Who would there be 
 to assist him when he was fatigued if I were not there? 
 Whose strong hand to help him over a precipice? Who 
 would nurse him if he were to fall ill? No, Mr. Richard, 
 Joe will aways be at his post beside the doctor, or rather, 
 I should say, all round him." 
 
 " You are a brave fellow." 
 
 " Besides, you will come with us," said Joe.
 
 2o6 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Oh, of course," said Kennedy, " that is to say, I shall 
 accompany you with the view to stop you at the last mo- 
 ment from putting such folly into execution. I will follow 
 the doctor as far as Zanzibar in the hope that he may even 
 then be dissuaded from his mad project." 
 
 " With all due respect to you, Mr. Kennedy, you will 
 not have the slightest effect. My master is not one of your 
 hair-brained sort. He has been pondering over this under- 
 taking for a long time, and once his resolution is taken, the 
 devil himself cannot compel him to change his mind." 
 
 " That remains to be proved," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Don't you flatter yourself with any such idea," con- 
 tinued Joe. " Besides, it is very important that you should 
 come too. A sportsman like yourself will be in his very 
 element in Africa. So you see for every reason you will 
 not regret your journey." 
 
 " No, certainly. I shall not regret it if this idiotic 
 scheme can ever be carried out." 
 
 " By-the-bye," said Joe, " do you know that this is the 
 day to be weighed ? " 
 
 " What do you mean by weighed? " 
 
 " Well, weighed — you and I and my master." 
 
 "What, like jockeys?" 
 
 " Yes, like jockeys. Only be assured you will not be 
 obliged to train if you are too stout. They will take you as 
 you are." 
 
 " I shall certainly not allow myself to be weighed," said 
 the Scot with some warmth. 
 
 " But, sir, it is necessary for the balloon that you should." 
 
 " Well, the balloon must do without, that's all." 
 
 " Oh, very well, and if in consequence of wrong estimates 
 the balloon should not be able to take us " 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean that, of course." 
 
 "Well, shall we, Mr. Kennedy? My master will be 
 coming to look for us in a moment." 
 
 " I shall not go," said Kennedy. 
 
 " I am sure you would not wish to annoy him." 
 
 " I cannot help that." 
 
 "Capital," cried Joe, laughing; "you only say that be- 
 cause he is not here, but when he comes in and says to you, 
 * Dick,' (begging your pardon, sir) ' Dick, I want to know 
 exactly what you weigh,' you will go, take my word for it."
 
 A RARE SERVANT 207 
 
 " I tell you I shall not." 
 
 At this moment the doctor entered the study where this 
 conversation had been carried on. He looked towards 
 Dick, who did not feel quite at his ease. 
 
 " Dick," said the doctor, " come with Joe, will you, I 
 want to ascertain what you two weigh." 
 
 " But " began Kennedy. 
 
 " You needn't take off your hat — come along." 
 
 And Kennedy went accordingly. 
 
 They presented themselves at the workshop of Messrs. 
 Mitchell, where a steel-yard had been got ready. It was 
 absolutely necessary that the doctor should know the weight 
 of his companions, so as to be able to ascertain the floating 
 power of his balloon. He requested Dick to get upon the 
 platform of the scales; he did so without resisting, but he 
 muttered, " Very well, but this commits me to nothing." 
 
 " One hundred and fifty-three pounds," said the doctor, 
 writing the weight on his note-book. 
 
 "Am I too heavy?" said Kennedy. 
 
 "Oh dear no, Mr. Kennedy," said Joe; "besides, I am 
 so light that it will equalize the matter." 
 
 As he said this, Joe took his place with alacrity on the 
 machine. He was very nearly upsetting the whole thing in 
 his excitement, and he posed himself after the attitude of 
 the Duke of Wellington as Achilles in Hyde Park, and was 
 very grand even without the buckler " One hundred and 
 twenty pounds," wrote the doctor. 
 
 " Ha, ha! " cried Joe, with a radiant satisfaction. Why 
 he smiled he never could have explained. 
 
 "Now it is my turn," said Ferguson; and he entered 
 135 lbs. on his own account. "We three," he added, "do 
 not weigh more than 400 lbs." 
 
 " But, sir," said Joe, " if it were necessary I could starve 
 myself a little, and come down twenty pounds or so." 
 
 " There will be no necessity for that, my lad," replied 
 the doctor; " you may eat as much as you like, and here is 
 half-a-crown, so that you may indulge your tastes a little."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS APPARATUS 
 
 Doctor Ferguson had been occupied for a long time in 
 the details of his expedition. One can quite understand 
 that the balloon, the wonderful vehicle destined to transport 
 him through the air, was the object of his solicitude. 
 
 To begin with, and so as not to have the balloon too 
 large, he resolved to inflate it with hydrogen gas, which is 
 14^ times lighter than the atmospheric air. This gas is 
 easily made, and by its use has been the means of obtain- 
 ing the best aerostatic observations. 
 
 The doctor, after careful calculation, found that, with the 
 indispensable articles of the journey, clothes, &c., it would 
 be necessary to carry a weight of 4,000 lbs. He must 
 therefore provide an ascensional power capable of lifting 
 this weight, and also ascertain what its capacity would be. 
 
 A weight of 4,000 lbs. is represented by a displacement 
 of 44,877 cubic feet of air; in other words, that amount of 
 air weighs about 4,000 lbs. 
 
 By giving to his balloon the capacity of 44,877 cubic 
 feet of air, and filling it, in lieu of air, with hydrogen gas 
 (which, being 143^ times lighter than air, would not weigh 
 more than 275 lbs.), there would remain a difference in 
 the equilibrium to the amount of 3,724 lbs. This is the 
 difference between the weight of the gas in the balloon and 
 the weight of the exterior air, which difference constitutes 
 the ascensional power of the balloon. 
 
 Now, if we were to introduce the said 44,877 cubic feet 
 of gas into the balloon it would be completely filled, and 
 that would never do, because the higher the balloon rises 
 into the atmosphere, the less dense is the air, and the gas 
 would very quickly burst the covering. So a balloon is 
 usually filled to the extent of two-thirds its capacity. 
 
 But the doctor, following out an idea of his own, resolved 
 to fill the balloon only half full, and, inasmuch as he was 
 obliged to carry 44,877 cubic feet of hydrogen, to make his 
 balloon almost double the usual size. 
 
 He designed it of an elongated form, which appeared to 
 be the best. The horizontal diameter was fifty feet, the 
 vertical diameter seventy-five. He thus obtained a spheroid 
 capable of containing (in round numbers) 90,000 cubic feet 
 of gas. 
 
 y, I Verne 2O8
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS APPARATUS 209 
 
 If Dr. Ferguson had been able to make use of two 
 balloons, his chances of success would have been increased, 
 and if one happened to burst in the air, he could, by casting 
 out ballast, save himself by means of the other. But the 
 maneuvering of two balloons would have been very difficult 
 when it was necessary to preserve an equal ascending power 
 in both. 
 
 After much reflection, Ferguson, by an ingenious con- 
 trivance, united the utility of two balloons without their in- 
 convenience; he constructed two of unequal size and en- 
 closed one within the other. The exterior balloon, in 
 which he adhered to the dimensions given above, contained 
 a smaller one of the same shape, only forty-five and sixty- 
 eight feet respectively, of horizontal and vertical diameter. 
 The capacity of this interior balloon then was only 67,000 
 cubic feet. It floated in the fluid surrounding it. A valve 
 opened from one balloon to the other, and admitted of com- 
 munication between them. 
 
 This arrangement had this advantage — viz., that if it 
 were at any time necessary to let the gas escape, it could be 
 let off from the larger balloon. Even if they were obliged 
 to empty it altogether, the smaller one would remain intact ; 
 they could then detach the exterior covering — a useless 
 drag on them — and the second balloon by itself would not 
 ofYer the same resistance to the wind as a partially-filled 
 balloon. 
 
 Furthermore, if by accident the outer balloon were in- 
 jured, the other would be intact. Both balloons were 
 made with striped taffetas from Lyons, coated with gutta- 
 percha. This resinous-gummy substance is perfectly water- 
 proof, and is unaffected by acids or gas. The taffetas were 
 placed side by side double, stretching upwards to the top, 
 where almost all the weight was. 
 
 This envelope could retain the gas for an unlimited 
 period. It weighed half a pound to nine square feet. Now 
 as the surface of the exterior balloon was about 11,600 
 square feet, its envelope weighed 650 lbs. The envelope 
 of the second balloon had a surface of 9,200 cubic feet, and 
 weighed only 510 lbs.; altogether they weighed 1,160 lbs. 
 
 The netting to hold the car was made of the strongest 
 hempen cord; the valves became objects of the most minute 
 care, as if they had been the rudder of a ship. The car was
 
 2IO FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 of circular form, and fifteen feet in diameter, of osier, 
 strengthened by a light iron covering, and fastened to the 
 lower part by elastic springs, with a view to break the force 
 of concussion. Its weight, including the net, did not exceed 
 280 pounds. 
 
 The doctor caused to be made also four chests of sheet- 
 iron about one-eighth of an inch thick. These were joined 
 together by tubes furnished with taps. He added a coil 
 about two inches wide, which terminated in two straight 
 branches of unequal lengths, of which the greater was twen- 
 ty-five feet high, and the shorter fifteen feet only. The 
 chests were fitted into the car so as to occupy the least pos- 
 sible space. The large tap, not easily fitted, was packed 
 separately, as well as a large galvanic battery. This ap- 
 paratus had been so ingeniously contrived that it only 
 weighed 700 pounds, and contained as much as twenty-five 
 gallons of water in one case alone. 
 
 The instruments prepared for the journey were two 
 barometers, two thermometers, two compasses, a sextant, 
 two chronometers, an artificial horizon, and an instrument 
 to take the levels of distant and inaccessible objects. He 
 had access to the Greenwich Observatory. He, however, 
 did not propose to make any experiments in physics, he 
 wished merely to become acquainted with his intended route, 
 and to determine the position of the principal rivers, moun- 
 tains, and towns. 
 
 He provided three grapnels of well-tested iron, also a 
 silken ladder, tough and tight, about fifty feet in length. 
 
 He also estimated the weight of his provisions; they con- 
 sisted of tea, coffee, biscuits, salt meat, and pemmican, a 
 preparation which, in a very small compass, contains a great 
 deal of nourishment. Besides a reserve of brandy, he stowed 
 away two tanks of water. 
 
 The consumption of these viands would, by degrees, di- 
 minish the weight of the balloon. For it is very necessary 
 to know that in the air a balloon is sensible of the least dif- 
 ference of weight. An almost inappreciable loss is sufficient 
 to make a considerable difference in displacement. 
 
 The doctor had not forgotten a tent, which could cover 
 up part of the car; neither rugs, which composed all their 
 bed-clothes during the journey; nor the rifles and ammuni- 
 tion.
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS APPARATUS 211 
 
 The following is the statement of his different calcula- 
 tions : 
 
 Ferguson I35 lbs. 
 
 Kennedy I53 
 
 Joe 120 " 
 
 Weight of first balloon 650 
 
 Weight of second balloon 510 
 
 Car and netting .280 
 
 Grapnels, instruments, guns, rugs, tent, and various utensils. 190 " 
 
 Meat, pemmican, biscuits, tea, coffee, and brandy 386 " 
 
 Water 400 " 
 
 Apparatus 700 
 
 Weight of hydrogen 276 " 
 
 Ballast 200 " 
 
 Total 4,000 lbs. 
 
 Such was the detail of the 4,000 pounds that Doctor Fer- 
 guson proposed to raise. He only carried 200 pounds of 
 ballast, " merely for a contingency," said he, for, thanks 
 to his arrangements, he did not anticipate to be obliged to 
 use it. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE FAREWELL DINNER 
 
 About the loth of February the preparations were near 
 completion; the balloons, enclosed one within the other, 
 were entirely finished; they had been subjected to a tre- 
 mendous pressure, and this " proving " raised high opinions 
 as to their powers of endurance, and bore witness to the care 
 brought to bear upon their construction. 
 
 Joe was beside himself with joy; he was perpetually mov- 
 ing between Greek Street and the workshop of the Messrs. 
 Mitchell — always busy, but always in good spirits ; volun- 
 teering information on all sides, delighted above all things 
 to accompany his master. I am of opinion that, to show 
 the balloon, to explain the doctor's ideas, even to let him be 
 seen at a window or during his walk through the streets, 
 gained this worthy lad many a half-crown. He did not 
 intend this altogetlier, but he certainly had the right to profit 
 a little by the admiration and curiosity of his contemporaries. 
 
 On the 1 6th February the Resolute cast anchor at Green- 
 wich. She was a screw steamer of 800 tons, a fast sailer, 
 and had been commissioned to revictual the expedition to
 
 212 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the Arctic Regions under Sir James Ross. Captain Penney 
 was a good-natured man, and was particularly interested in 
 the doctor's journey, which he saw the value of some 
 time before. Penney was more of a savant than a sailor, 
 but that did not mihtate against his carrying four carronades 
 on board, which, however, had never done any harm, and 
 only made the least warlike of reports. 
 
 The hold of the Resolute was fitted up for the reception 
 of the balloon. It was put on board most carefully on the 
 1 8th February, and stowed away at the bottom of the vessel 
 so as to avoid the chance of accident. The car and its ac- 
 cessories, the grapnels, the ropes, the provisions, the water- 
 tanks (which were to be filled on arrival), were all stowed 
 under the eyes of Ferguson himself. They also put on 
 board ten tons of sulphuric acid, and ten tons of old iron, 
 for the manufacture of hydrogen gas. This was a more 
 than sufficient quantity, but it was necessary to guard against 
 possible loss. The apparatus for developing the gas, includ- 
 ing about thirty barrels, was placed in the hold. 
 
 These various preparations were completed by the evening 
 of the 1 8th February. Two well-arranged cabins had been 
 prepared for the doctor and Kennedy. The latter, all the 
 time vowing that he would not go, came on board with a 
 perfect armory of guns and rifles, two excellent double- 
 barreled breech-loaders, and a carbine, tested by Purday, 
 Moore, and Dickson, of Edinburgh. With such a weapon 
 the sportsman would have no difficulty to lodge a bullet in 
 the eye of a chamois at 2,000 yards. Added to these he had 
 two Colt's " six-shooters " with the latest improvements ; his 
 powder-flask, shot-pouch, lead, and bullets in sufficient quan- 
 tity did not exceed the weight laid down by the doctor. 
 
 The three travelers went on board on the 19th February 
 and were received with great distinction by the captain and 
 officers. The doctor was quite self-possessed but unusually 
 preoccupied with his expedition. Dick was much moved, 
 but tried not to betray his feelings. Joe jumped about, mak- 
 ing absurd remarks, and was at once installed as the wag 
 of the forecastle, where a berth had been reserved for him. 
 On the 20th, a grand farewell dinner was given in honor 
 of Doctor Ferguson and his friend Kennedy, by the Royal 
 Geographical Society. Captain Penney and his officers had 
 also been invited, who were very cheerful, and had their
 
 THE FAREWELL DINNER 213 
 
 healths proposed in flattering terms. Healths were drank 
 in sufficient number to ensure for each guest an existence of 
 centuries. Sir Francis M presided, with repressed emo- 
 tion, but in a very dignified manner. 
 
 To the unutterable confusion of Dick Kennedy, he came 
 in for a large share of the festive compliments. After 
 having drunk to " the bold Ferguson, the glory of England," 
 they found it necessary to toast " the no less courageous 
 Kennedy, his brave companion." 
 
 Dick blushed deeply, which was put down to modesty; 
 the applause was redoubled. Dick blushed still more. 
 
 A telegram from the Queen was received at dessert. She 
 presented her compliments to the travelers, and her good 
 wishes for the success of their enterprise. 
 
 This incident necessitated a new toast to the " Health of 
 Her Most Gracious Majesty." 
 
 At midnight, after the most touching farewells and warm 
 grasps of the hand, the guests separated. 
 
 The boats of the Resolute were in waiting at Westminster 
 Bridge, the captain took his place in company with his of- 
 ficers and passengers, and a rapid ebb tide quickly carried 
 them to Greenwich. At one o'clock they were all fast 
 asleep on board. 
 
 The next morning, the 21st, at three o'clock, the fires were 
 lighted; at five, the anchor was weighed, and with the as- 
 sistance of her screw, the Resolute threaded her way to the 
 sea. 
 
 There is no necessity for us to repeat the conversation 
 which, on board, turned solely upon Dr. Ferguson's expedi- 
 tion. By his bearing, equally as by words, he inspired such 
 confidence that, save the Scot, no one questioned the success 
 of his undertaking. During the long, idle hours on board, 
 the doctor instituted a regular geographical lecture in the 
 ward-room. The young men were passionately interested 
 in the discoveries which had been made during forty years in 
 Africa. He related the explorations of Barth, Burton, 
 Speke, and Grant ; he described to them that mysterious land 
 given up on all sides to scientific research. In the north the 
 young Duveyrier had explored the Sahara, and brought 
 back the Touareg chiefs to Paris. Two expeditions, under 
 the authority of the French Government, were being pre- 
 pared, which, descending from the north to the west, would
 
 it 
 
 214 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 meet at Timbuctoo. In the south the indefatigable Living- 
 stone was continually advancing towards the equator, and, 
 since March, 1862, he had advanced with Mackenzie up the 
 river Rovoonia. The century would certainly not pass 
 away without Africa being compelled to reveal the secrets 
 hidden in her breast for 6,000 years. 
 
 The interest of Dr. Ferguson's audience was more excited 
 than ever when he made them acquainted with the details 
 of his preparations. They wanted to verify his calculations, 
 they argued, and the doctor entered frankly into the discus- 
 sion. 
 
 Generally they were surprised by the relatively limited 
 quantity of food carried. One day they questioned him on 
 this point. 
 
 Does that astonish you?" asked the doctor. 
 Certainly it does." 
 
 " But for what length of time do you suppose I shall con- 
 tinue my journey? Whole months? That is a mistake on 
 your part. If it be extended we shall be lost, and shall never 
 get back at all. Are you not aware that it is only 3,500 
 miles, say 4,000 miles, from Zanzibar to Senegal coast? 
 Now, at the rate of 240 miles in twelve hours, not nearly the 
 speed of our railways, by day and night, seven days would 
 be ample to cross the African continent." 
 
 " But then you will not be able to see anything, nor to 
 make geographical observations, nor to take notes of the 
 country." 
 
 " Well," replied the doctor, " if I be master of my bal- 
 loon, if I can ascend or descend when I please, I shall be able 
 to halt when I choose, and whenever the winds are so violent 
 as to threaten my safety." 
 
 " And you will encounter them," said Captain Penney. 
 ** There are hurricanes there which rush at the rate of 240 
 miles an hour." 
 
 " So, you see," replied the doctor, " that at that pace you 
 could cross Africa in twelve hours. You might start from 
 Zanzibar and sleep at St. Louis." 
 
 " But," asked an officer, " is it possible that a balloon can 
 be impelled at such a pace? " 
 
 " That has been proved," replied Ferguson. 
 
 "And the balloon resisted the pressure?" 
 Perfectly. It occurred during the year 1804. Garnerin, 
 
 ((
 
 THE FAREWELL DINNER 215 
 
 the aeronaut, started from Paris at eleven o'clock at night a 
 balloon, on which was inscribed in golden letters, * Paris, 
 25th month, 13th year, coronation of the Emperor Napoleon 
 by Pope Pius the Seventh.' The following morning, at five 
 o'clock, the inhabitants of Rome perceived the identical bal- 
 loon hovering above the Vatican; it crossed the Campagna, 
 and fell into the Lake of Bracciano. So you see, gentlemen, 
 that a balloon can exist in such a rapid transit," 
 
 "A balloon, yes; but how about a man? " Kennedy asked. 
 
 "Just as well. For a balloon is always motionless, in 
 consequence of the air surrounding it. It is not the man 
 who moves, it is the mass of the air itself; so that, if you 
 were to light a candle in the car, the flame would not flicker. 
 An aeronaut in Garnerin's balloon would not have suffered 
 by the rate of progression. However, I do not propose to 
 try such a rapid flight, and if I can anchor during the night 
 to some tree or to some uneven ground, I shall be all right. 
 We shall carry, moreover, provisions for tw^o months, and 
 nothing will prevent our skillful sportsman here from shoot- 
 ing any quantity of game when we get to the ground." 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Kennedy, you will, indeed, have some splendid 
 sport," said a young midshipman, with an envious glance 
 at the Scotchman. 
 
 " Without counting the double pleasure of partaking in 
 the glory of the expedition," said another. 
 
 " Gentlemen," replied Kennedy, " I am very sensible of 
 your kind compliments, but I cannot accept them, I fear." 
 
 ** Hallo, what's this! " was heard on all sides. ** Do you 
 not intend to go? " 
 
 " I shall not go." 
 
 "You will not accompany Doctor Ferguson?" 
 
 " Not only shall I not go with him, but I am here for the 
 express purpose of stopping him even at the last moment! " 
 
 Everyone looked at the doctor. 
 
 " Don't listen to him," said Ferguson calmly. " It is a 
 subject we never need discuss with him. He knows per- 
 fectly well at heart that he will go ! " 
 
 " By St. Andrew," cried Kennedy, " I swear " 
 
 " Don't swear, Dick, my friend ; you have been measured 
 and weighed, you and your powder and shot, your guns and 
 your rifles, so there is no use talking about it." 
 
 And it is a fact that, from that day until the day they
 
 2i6 FIVE WEEKS IN A" BALLOON 
 
 ireached Zanzibar, Diclc did not open his mouth upon that 
 subject or any; other. Dick was dumb ! 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 DOUBLING THE CAPE 
 
 The Resolute made rapid progress towards the Cape, 
 meeting with fine weather, but with occasionally heavy 
 seas. Upon the 30th March, twenty-seven days after they 
 had left London, Table Mountain appeared upon the hor- 
 izon. Cape Town, situated at the foot of an amphitheater 
 of hills, could be distinguished by the glasses, and the i^^"^- 
 'plute soon cast anchor in the harbor. But the captain only 
 waited to " coal," which was accomplished in a day, and 
 upon the following one the ship's head was put to the south 
 to double the most southerly point of Africa and enter the 
 Mozambique Channel. 
 
 As this was by no means Joe's first voyage, he very soon, 
 made himself at home on board. Everyone liked him for 
 his frankness and good humor. No inconsiderable portion 
 of his master's fame was reflected upon him, he was lis- 
 tened to as an oracle, and he had not the slightest doubt 
 that he was anything else. 
 
 Now, while the doctor was continuing his course of lec- 
 tures in the cabin, Joe was mounted on the forecastle telling 
 stories in his own way, a proceeding in imitation of the 
 greatest writers of all ages. The subject of the aerial voy- 
 age was naturally discussed. Joe had had some trouble to 
 overcome the stubborn spirits of his companions; but now 
 the enterprise was an accepted fact, the imagination of the 
 sailors, stimulated by Joe's stories, believed everything to be 
 possible. 
 
 This dazzling narrator had persuaded his hearers that 
 after this voyage there would be many more undertaken. 
 it was only the commencement of a long series of super- 
 human expeditions. " Don't you see, my friends, that when 
 one has had a taste of this kind of locomotion one can be no 
 longer contented, so in our next expedition, instead of going 
 sideways, we shall go directly upwards." 
 
 " What! right up into the moon, then? " cried his aston- 
 ished audience.
 
 DOUBLING THE CAPE 217 
 
 (( 
 
 Into the moon?" rejoined Joe; "no, faith, that is too 
 commonplace. Everybody now goes up to the moon. More- 
 over, there is no water there, and one would be obliged to 
 carry a quantity of provisions, and even air in bottles to 
 be able to breathe." 
 
 " Well, it would be all right if one could find some grog 
 up there," said a sailor who had only lately experienced the 
 taste of that mixture. 
 
 " That's enough, my lad, we shall not go to the moon, but 
 we shall sail about amongst the stars in the midst of those 
 beautiful planets of which my master has often spoken tcj 
 me. We shall commence by visiting Saturn." 
 
 " That one with the ring? " asked the quartermaster. 
 
 " Yes, a \yedding-ring, only no one knows what has be- 
 come of his wife." 
 
 "Hullo! are you going so far as that?" said a cabin- 
 boy, utterly astounded. " Why your master must be the 
 devil in person ! " 
 
 " The devil ! oh dear no ; he is too good for that." 
 
 " But where are you going after Saturn? " asked one of 
 the most impatient of the audience. 
 
 " After Saturn? Well, we shall visit Jupiter, a most ex- 
 traordinary country, where the days are only nine hours and 
 a half long, which is a great blessing for idle people; and 
 where the years, by-the-by, last as long as twelve of ours, 
 which is a great source of satisfaction to people who have 
 only six months to live. That gives them a little longer lease 
 of hfe." 
 
 " Twelve years ! " exclaimed the cabin boy. 
 
 " Yes, my boy ; so in that country you would not be weaned' 
 yet, and that old fellow over there, who is nearly fifty, 
 would be only a child four years and a half old." 
 
 " That is not true! " cried all the men. 
 
 " Perfectly true ! " said Joe, with assurance. " But what 
 can you expect if you will persist in vegetating in this world? 
 You learn nothing, and you remain as ignorant as a por- 
 poise. Come up to Jupiter for a little, and you will see. 
 You must hold on pretty tight up there, for there are satel- 
 lites knocking about which are occasionally inconvenient." 
 
 They laughed at this, but they did not half believe him. 
 Then he spoke to them about Neptune, where sailors were 
 always so well received, and of Mars, where soldiers take
 
 2i8 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the wall, which conduct on their part invariably leads to a 
 fight As for Mercury, it is a wretched place, full of rob- 
 bers and tradesmen, who are so much alike, that it is diffi- 
 cult to distinguish one from the other. Finally, he drew 
 them a truly enchanting picture of Venus; " and when we 
 shall have returned from that expedition we shall be dec- 
 orated with the Southern Cross." 
 
 " And well you will have won it," cried the sailors. 
 
 Thus, in animated conversation, the long evenings were 
 passed on the forecastle. All this time the interesting con- 
 versations with the doctor continued. 
 
 One day, when they were conversing respecting the guid- 
 ance of balloons, Ferguson was asked to give his opinion on 
 the question. 
 
 " I do not think," he said, " that we shall ever be able to 
 direct the course of a balloon. I am acquainted with all the 
 systems which have been proposed or attempted. Not one 
 has succeeded; not one is practicable. You may very well 
 imagine that I have myself been engaged in this matter, 
 which ought to possess a very great interest for me, but I 
 have never been able to solve it by means of our present 
 knowledge of mechanics. It would be necessary to discover 
 a motive power of extraordinary strength and of an impos- 
 sible lightness. Even then, one could not resist any consid- 
 erable currents. As it is, one is much more anxious to direct 
 the car than the balloon. That's a mistake." 
 
 " Nevertheless," said someone, " there is a great resem- 
 blance between the balloon and a ship, which can be guided 
 at will." 
 
 " Not at all," replied Doctor Ferguson ; " there is little or 
 no resemblance. Air is infinitely less dense than water, in 
 which, moreover, a ship is only half submerged, while the 
 balloon is entirely surrounded by the atmosphere, and re- 
 mains stationary on account of the fluid which encircles it." 
 
 " Then you are of opinion that science is exhausted upon 
 that point.? " 
 
 " Not so, not so ; it has become necessary to look for other 
 means by which, if a balloon cannot be guided, it can be kept 
 up in favorable atmospheric currents. As one rises higher, 
 these currents become more uniform, and are more constant 
 in their direction, as they are not interfered with by the 
 valleys and mountains which intersect the face of the earth;
 
 DOUBLING THE CAPE 219 
 
 and here is the principal cause, as you are aware, of the 
 changes of the force and direction of the wind. Now once 
 these zones have been determined, the balloon will only have 
 to be placed in the currents which will be met there." 
 
 " But," replied the captain, " to hit upon these currents 
 you must be always ascending or descending. There is the 
 true difficulty, my dear doctor." 
 
 " Why, my dear captain ? " 
 
 " Let us understand each other ; it would only be an ob- 
 stacle in the way of long journeys, not for small ascents." 
 
 " Your reasons, if you please? " 
 
 " Because you can only ascend by throwing out ballast, 
 you can only descend by letting the gas escape; and under 
 these circumstances your store of gas would be very soon 
 exhausted." 
 
 " My dear Penney, that is the point of the whole thing. 
 There is the difficulty which science should endeavor to over- 
 come. It is not a question of directing the course of a bal- 
 loon so much, as it is a question of moving up and down 
 without losing the gas, which is the strength, the blood, the 
 soul, so to speak, of a balloon." 
 
 " Quite right, doctor; but this difficulty is not overcome; 
 the means to accomplish this have not yet been found." 
 
 " Excuse me, they have been." 
 
 "By whom?" 
 
 " By me." 
 
 "By you!" 
 
 " Why, you must understand that without this power I 
 should not have run the risks of crossing Africa in a balloon. 
 Why, in about twenty-four hours I should have had no gas 
 left." 
 
 " But you have never spoken of this in England ! " 
 
 " No, I did not think it desirable to discuss it in public. 
 That seemed to me useless. I made secretly some prehm- 
 inary experiments, and I am satisfied. I have not any need 
 of learning anything further on that point." 
 
 " My dear Ferguson, may one ask to be made acquainted 
 with your secrets? " 
 
 " Here it is, gentlemen, and my plan is a very simple one." 
 
 The curiosity of the audience was raised to the highest 
 pitch, while the doctor calmly addressed himself to his sub- 
 ject as follows.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS 
 
 (( 
 
 Attempts have been made frequently, gentlemen, to 
 ascend and descend at will, without losing the gas in a bal- 
 loon. A French aeronaut, M. Meumier, attempted to do 
 this by compressing the air, A Belgian, Dr. Van Hecke, 
 by means of wings and paddles, gained a vertical force, 
 which has proved ineffective in the majority of instances. 
 The practical results obtained by the above means are in- 
 significant. 
 
 " I then resolved to go Into the question boldly, and at 
 once put the ballast on one side, if it were not a case of ab- 
 solute necessity as to the breaking of my apparatus, or in 
 case of being obliged to rise suddenly to avoid any obstacle. 
 
 " My means of ascent and descent consist equally in the 
 dilation or contraction by varying temperatures of the gas 
 confined in the balloon. And this Is how I manage it. 
 
 " You have already seen put on board certain chests with 
 the car, of which you did not understand the utility. These 
 chests are five in number. 
 
 " The first contains about twenty-five gallons of water, 
 to which I add sulphuric acid to increase its conductibility, 
 and I resolve it into Its component parts by means of a 
 strong Bautzen galvanic battery. Water, as you are aware, 
 is composed of two volumes hydrogen gas to one of oxygen. 
 
 " The oxygen under the battery action goes off by the 
 positive pole into a second chest. A third chest, placed on 
 the top of it, and of about twice the size, receives the hydro- 
 gen which enters it by the negative pole. 
 
 " Two taps, one of which has an opening double that of 
 the other, keep up a communication between these two cases 
 and a fourth, which is known as the mixing chest. Here In 
 fact the gases arising from the decomposition of the water 
 mingle together. The capacity of this chest is about forty- 
 one cubic feet. In the upper part of it Is a platinum tube 
 with a stop-cock. 
 
 " You will already have perceived, gentlemen, that the 
 apparatus I have described is nothing more than an oxy- 
 hydrogen blow-pipe, the heat evolved by which surpasses 
 that of a forge fire. 
 
 " That matter settled, I pass on to the second part of the 
 apparatus. 
 
 220
 
 PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS 221 
 
 " From the lower part of my balloon, which is hermet- 
 ically closed, two tubes pass out at a short distance from 
 each other. One of these leads from the upper volume of 
 hydrogen, the other from the lower. They both descend as 
 far as the car, and terminate in a cylindrical iron chest called 
 the heat chest. It is closed at each extremity by a strong 
 disc of the same metal. 
 
 " The tube from the lower part of the balloon enters the 
 cylindrical chest through the lower disc, and there assumes 
 the shape of a coil, whose upper rings occupy nearly the 
 entire height of the box. Before leaving the chest, the coil 
 is led into a little cone, whose base, concave, like a round 
 cap, is directed downwards. 
 
 " It is at the top of this cone that the second tube makes 
 its exit, and it terminates, as I have said, in the upper folds 
 of the balloon. 
 
 " The spherical cap of the little cone is made of platinum, 
 so that it may not be melted under the action of the blow- 
 pipe, for this is placed at the bottom of the iron case in the 
 center of the coil, and the flame lightly licks this cap. 
 
 " You know those stoves used for warming rooms? You 
 know how they act? The air of the room is forced through 
 the tubes and comes back warmer. So that what I have 
 been describing is, after all, only a stove. 
 
 " And, in fact, what takes place? Once the blow-pipe is 
 lighted, the hydrogen is warmed and rises rapidly by the tube 
 to the upper part of the balloon. A vacuum is caused below, 
 and the gas from the lower part is attracted to fill it, which, 
 in its turn, is warmed, and is continually replaced, so that 
 an extremely rapid current of gas is generated, leaving the 
 balloon, returning, and being warmed without cessation. 
 
 " Now, gases increase 1/480 of their volume for every de- 
 gree of heat. If, then, I create a temperature of 18°, the 
 hydrogen in the balloon will increase 18/480, or 1,614 cubic 
 feet; it will then displace 1,674 cubic feet of air more, which 
 will increase its power of ascent 160 pounds. That comes, 
 then, to the same weight of ballast. If I increase the tem- 
 perature to 180°, the gas expands 180/480, it displaces 6,740 
 cubic feet, and the ascending force amounts to 1,600 pounds. 
 
 " You can understand, gentlemen, that I am easily able to 
 obtain considerable changes of equilibrium. The volume of 
 my balloon has been calculated in such a way that, when half
 
 222 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 inflated, it displaces a weight of air exactly equal to the 
 envelope of hydrogen gas and of the car occupied by the 
 travelers and their belongings. At this point of inflation it 
 is in exact equilibrium in the air; it will neither rise nor fall. 
 
 " In order to ascend, I bring the gas to a temperature 
 higher than the ambient temperature, by means of my blow- 
 pipe; by this access of heat, a strong tension is created, and 
 fills the balloon, which rises so long as I expand the hy- 
 drogen. 
 
 " The descent is, naturally, made by moderating the heat, 
 and permitting the temperature to cool. The ascent will 
 generally be much more rapid than the descent. But that 
 is a very good feature, for one never wants to descend 
 quickly, and it is, on the contrary, a quick upward movement 
 by which I avoid danger beneath me, not above the balloon. 
 
 " However, as already hinted, I have a certain quantity of 
 ballast which can be got rid of, and enable me to rise still 
 more quickly if desirable. The valve at the top is only a 
 safety-valve. The balloon itself looks after its supply of 
 hydrogen; the variations of temperature which I can pro- 
 duce in the center of the gas reservoir are only applied to 
 the ascending and descending movements. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, I will just add a few practical details. 
 
 " The combustion of hydrogen and oxygen at the end of 
 the blow-pipe produces only watery vapor. I have there- 
 fore provided the lower part of the cylindrical case with an 
 escape-pipe acting with the pressure of two atmospheres. 
 Consequently, so soon as that pressure has been reached, 
 the vapor makes its escape of its ov/n accord. 
 
 " Here are the exact figures. 
 
 " Twenty-five gallons of water, resolved into their con- 
 stituent elements, yield 200 pounds of oxygen and 25 pounds 
 of hydrogen. That represents, at the tension of the air, 
 1,890 cubic feet of the former and 3,780 cubic feet of the 
 latter; altogether, 670 cubic feet of the mingled gases. 
 
 " Now the top of the blow-pipe, fully open, gives twenty- 
 seven cubic feet per hour, with a flame at least six times 
 more powerful than the largest lamp. On an average, then, 
 and so as not to be too high up, I shall only burn nine cubic 
 feet in the hour, so my twenty-five gallons of water repre- 
 sents 630 hours of aerial navigation, or rather more than 
 twenty-six days.
 
 PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS 223 
 
 " As I can descend at pleasure and obtain water on my 
 route, my journey is practically indefinite. 
 
 " There is my secret, gentlemen ; it is very simple, and, 
 like all simple things, it cannot but succeed. My plan is 
 only the extension and contraction of the gas in the balloon, 
 which necessitates no wings nor mechanical power of mo- 
 tion. A stove to produce changes of temperature and a 
 blow-pipe to warm it are neither heavy nor in the way. 
 I believe that I have overcome all the serious difficulties of 
 the undertaking." 
 
 Here Doctor Ferguson ended his discourse, and was 
 heartily applauded. No one had any objections to advance. 
 Everything appeared provided for and carried out. 
 
 " Nevertheless," said the captain, " it may be very dan- 
 gerous." 
 
 " What does that matter," rejoined the doctor, " if it be 
 practicable ? " 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 ARRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR 
 
 Favoring breezes had hurried the Resolute towards her 
 destination. The Mozambique Channel proved particularly 
 kind to her. The sea voyage was held as a good omen for 
 the success of the air journey. Everyone on board wished 
 for the moment of arrival, and vied in assisting Doctor 
 Ferguson in his final preparations. 
 
 At length the vessel came in sight of the town of Zan- 
 zibar, situated upon the island of the same name, and on 
 the I5tii April, at 11 a. m._, she cast anchor in the harbor. 
 
 Zanzibar belongs to the Imaum of Muscat, an ally of 
 England and France, and it is certainly a beautiful posses- 
 sion. The harbor shelters a great number of ships hailing 
 from neighboring ports. The island is only separated from 
 the mainland by a channel about thirty miles wide. 
 
 Zanzibar enjoys a large traffic in gum, ivory, and, above 
 all, ebony, for it is a celebrated slave market. Here are 
 concentrated all the booty taken in the battles which are 
 being incessantly waged by the chiefs in the interior. This 
 traffic extends to the whole eastern coast, almost up to the 
 Nile region, and M. Lejean has seen them carrying on the 
 traffic close to the French consul's residence.
 
 224 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 So soon as the Resolute had arrived the Enghsh consul 
 came on board, to offer his assistance to the doctor whose 
 intentions the European journals had some time before an- 
 nounced. But up to that time the consul had enrolled 
 himself among the skeptics. 
 
 " I confess I did doubt you," said he, extending his 
 hand to Doctor Ferguson, " but I doubt no longer." 
 
 He placed his house at the disposal of the doctor, of 
 Kennedy, and, naturally, of Joe also. While enjoying these 
 attentions the doctor saw several letters which the consul 
 had received from Captain Speke. The captain and his 
 companions had undergone terrible sufferings from hunger 
 and bad weather before reaching the territory of Ugogo. 
 They only advanced with extreme difficulty, and gave up 
 all hope of forwarding intelligence quickly. 
 
 " Those are some of the perils and privations which we 
 shall avoid," said the doctor. 
 
 The baggage of the three travelers was sent up to the 
 consul's house. They made preparations to land the balloon 
 upon the beach at Zanzibar; they had there fixed upon a 
 convenient spot close to the signal station, near to an enor- 
 mous building which sheltered them from the east wind. 
 This immense tower, like a tun standing on end, and com- 
 pared to which the great tun of Heidelberg is but a small 
 barrel, was used as a fort, and upon the platforms Be- 
 loutchis, armed with lances, kept watch — a lazy, noisy gar- 
 rison. 
 
 But when the balloon was about to be landed, the consul 
 was warned that the population of the island would oppose 
 the disembarkation by force. This was only their blind 
 fanatical passions showing themselves. The news of the 
 arrival of a Christian, who was about to rise up into the air, 
 was received with much irritation. The blacks, more ex- 
 cited than the Arabs, saw in this project intentions hostile 
 to their religion, for they imagined the white men were 
 about to go up to the sun and moon. As the sun and moon 
 are both worshiped by the African tribes, these people 
 determined to oppose this sacrilegious expedition. The 
 consul being acquainted with these intentions of the negroes, 
 conferred respecting them with the doctor and Captain 
 Penney. The latter had no desire to yield to menace, but 
 his friend caused him to regard it in a different light. 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 ARRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR 225 
 
 " We shall accomplish our object," said he, " and even 
 the Imaum's soldiers would assist us if necessary; but my 
 dear captain, an accident very easily occurs — an unfortunate 
 blow would do irreparable damage to the balloon, and the 
 journey would be hopelessly deferred; it is much better to 
 take precautionary measures." 
 
 " But what can you do? If we disembark anywhere on 
 the coast, it will be all the same. What can you do? " 
 
 " Nothing easier to answer," said the consul. " Do you 
 perceive those islands outside the harbor? Disembark your 
 balloon there, establish a cordon of sailors round you, and 
 you will have nothing to fear." 
 
 " Capital," cried the doctor, " and we shall be able to 
 make our preparations in comfort." 
 
 The captain yielded to this advice. The Resolute hauled 
 up alongside the island of Koumbeni. During the morning 
 of the 1 6th April the balloon was safely bestowed in the 
 midst of an open space, shaded from the sun by large sur- 
 rounding trees. 
 
 Two masts, each twenty-eight feet high, were placed at 
 some distance apart, and pulleys fixed to them, so as to 
 raise the balloon to the center of the rope stretched between 
 them. The balloons were quite empty. The inner one 
 was fastened to the top of the outer one, so that it could 
 be raised with it. 
 
 To the lower extremity of each balloon were fixed the 
 tubes for the introduction of the hydrogen. The whole of 
 the 17th was passed in arranging the apparatus for making 
 the gas. It consisted of thirty casks, in which the decom- 
 position of the water was carried on by means of iron and 
 sulphuric acid mixed with a quantity of water. The hydro- 
 gen gave off into a vast vat in the center, having been 
 purified in transit, and thence it passed into the balloons 
 through the tubes. In this manner each was filled with an 
 accurately-known quantity of gas. In this operation 1,866 
 gallons of sulphuric acid, 16,500 pounds of iron, and 966 
 gallons of water were employed. 
 
 This operation was begun about three o'clock on the 
 following morning, and continued till eight. The next day 
 the balloons, covered by the net, were balanced gracefully 
 above the car, which was held down by a number of bags 
 of earth. The apparatus for the dilation was put in with
 
 226 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 great care, and the pipes leading from the balloon were 
 fastened into the cylindrical chest. 
 
 The grapnels, ropes, instruments, rugs, tent, the provi- 
 sions, and arms were placed in the car as previously ar- 
 ranged. Water was provided at Zanzibar. Two hundred 
 pounds of ballast w^re taken in in fifty sacks, and placed at 
 the bottom of the car within reach. The preparations were 
 ended about 5 p. m. The sentinels patroled continually 
 around the island, and the boats of the Resolute kept watch 
 in the channel. 
 
 The negroes continued to display their anger by cries, 
 grimaces, and contortions. The sorcerers w^ent about 
 amongst the excited people fanning their indignation. 
 Some fanatics endeavored to swim across to the island, 
 but they were easily repulsed. 
 
 Then the charms and incantations commenced. The 
 rain-compellers, who pretended to be able to control the 
 clouds, summoned up hurricanes and hailstones to their 
 assistance. For that object they collected leaves of all the 
 different trees in the country and made a fire, and sacri- 
 ficed a sheep by driving a long needle into its heart. But, 
 notwithstanding their ceremonies, the sky continued cloud- 
 less, and they were no better for their sheep and their grim- 
 aces. 
 
 The negroes then abandoned themselves to the most 
 terrible orgies, and got tremendously drunk with " tembo," 
 a potent spirit derived from the cocoa-nut tree, or upon a 
 very " heady " species of beer called " togwa." Their songs 
 without melody, but of correct rhythm, were heard all 
 through the night. 
 
 About 6 P. M. a farewell dinner was given to the three 
 travelers on board the Resolute. Kennedy, to whom no- 
 body addressed many questions, muttered some indistinct 
 sentences, and never took his gaze from Doctor Ferguson. 
 This was a very melancholy repast. The near approach 
 of the moment for parting inspired many sad reflections in 
 everyone. What fate was in store for these venturesome 
 travelers? Would they ever return to their friends and 
 their happy homes? If their means of transport failed, 
 what would become of them in the midst of savage tribes 
 in an unknown territory in the embrace of an illimitable 
 desert.
 
 ARRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR 227 
 
 These fancies, hitherto put in the background, and to 
 which they had attached httle importance, now began to 
 prey upon their already excited feehngs. Doctor Ferguson, 
 always cool and collected, spoke of other things and other 
 people, but even he struggled in vain to dissipate the pre- 
 vailing sadness; he could not overcome that. 
 
 As some fears had been expressed respecting the safety 
 of the doctor and his companions, they slept that night on 
 board the Resolute. At 6 a. m. they quitted their cabin and 
 landed on the island of Koumbeni. The balloon floated 
 gracefully in the light easterly breeze. The bags of earth 
 had been replaced by twenty sailors. Captain Penney and 
 his officers were present at this last solemn farewell. 
 
 At this moment Kennedy walked up to the doctor, and 
 took his hand. " Is it really decided, Samuel, that you are 
 going?" 
 
 " It is really decided, my dear Dick." 
 
 " I have done all I could to hinder your voyage ? " 
 
 " Everything ! " 
 
 " Then my conscience is clear, and I shall go with you ! " 
 
 " I was sure you would," replied the doctor, as the tears 
 started to his eyes. 
 
 The moment for the final adieu had now arrived. The 
 captain and his officers all embraced their courageous 
 friends, not excepting the worthy Joe, proud and joyful that 
 day. All the sailors wished to shake hands with Doctor 
 Ferguson. 
 
 At nine o'clock the three traveling companions took 
 their places in the car. The doctor lighted his blow-pipe, 
 and heated it so as to produce a high temperature. The 
 balloon, which had hitherto remained in eqmlibrio, began to 
 sway. The sailors were obliged to slacken the ropes they 
 held. The car ascended twenty feet. 
 
 " My friends," cried the doctor, coming forward and 
 waving his hat, " let us give our aerial vessel a name which 
 carries happiness everywhere — let us call it the * Vic- 
 toria!'" 
 
 A ringing cheer was the reply. " God save the Queen ! 
 Hurrah for Old England ! " 
 
 At this moment the ascending force reached a tremen- 
 dous pitch. Ferguson, Kennedy, and Joe waved a last 
 adieu to their friends.
 
 228 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 "Let go, all!" cried the doctor. And the "Victoria" 
 rose rapidly, while the four carronades of the Resolute 
 thundered out a salute as she glided upwards on her perilous 
 journey. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 CROSSING THE STRAITS 
 
 The air was clear, the wind was moderate, the "Vic- 
 toria " mounted almost perpendicularly to a height of 1,500 
 feet, which was indicated by a depression of nearly two 
 inches in the barometrical column. 
 
 At this elevation, a more decided current carried the 
 balloon towards the southwest. What a magnificent pano- 
 rama unfolded itself beneath the eyes of the travelers! 
 The island of Zanzibar was in sight from end to end, and 
 stood out in its rich coloring as upon a huge board; the 
 fields presented an appearance of patchwork, and the large 
 clumps of trees indicated the woods and coppices. 
 
 The inhabitants appeared like insects. The cheers and 
 cries died away in the air by degrees, and the reports of the 
 ship's guns vibrated only in the lower concavity of the 
 balloon. " How splendid all that is! " cried Joe, breaking 
 the silence for the first time. 
 
 No reply was vouchsafed. The doctor was occupied in 
 observing the barometrical changes and taking note of the 
 various details of the ascent. Kennedy stared at it and 
 could not take it all in. 
 
 The sun added to the heat of the blow-pipe and in- 
 creased the expansion of the gas. The " Victoria " reached 
 a height of 2,500 feet. The Resolute now appeared like a 
 small barque, and the African coast loomed in the west like 
 an enormous line of foam. 
 
 " Why don't you speak? " said Joe. 
 
 " We are making observations," replied the doctor, as 
 he turned his glass towards the continent. 
 
 " Well, I feel as if I must speak," said Joe. 
 
 " Fire away, Joe ; talk as much as you like." 
 
 Joe therefore gave way to a tremendous string of ex- 
 clamations. The " ohs," the " ahs," and the " good hea- 
 vens " were something astonishing. 
 
 While they were crossing the sea, the doctor thought it
 
 CROSSING THE STRAITS 229 
 
 better to maintain this elevation, as he could observe a 
 greater extent of coast ; the thermometer and the barometer, 
 suspended in the interior of the half-opened tent, were 
 almost incessantly consulted; a second barometer, placed 
 outside, was for use during the night. 
 
 After two hours the " Victoria," impelled at a rate of a 
 little over eight miles, neared the coast. The doctor de- 
 termined to approach the earth; he moderated the flame 
 of the blow-pipe, and soon the balloon descended to within 
 300 feet of the ground. 
 
 He perceived that he was just over Mrima, a name 
 bestowed on this portion of the coast of Eastern Africa; 
 thick lines of mango bushes lined the shore, their roots, 
 lacerated by the Indian Ocean, were left plainly visible by 
 the ebb-tide. The sand-hills, which formerly constituted 
 the coast line, rose above the horizon, and Mount Nguru 
 showed its head in the northwest. 
 
 The " Victoria " passed close to a village, which, from 
 the map, the doctor pronounced to be Kaole. All the 
 population assembled to utter yells of anger and fear as the 
 travelers passed. Arrows were vainly directed against the 
 air monster, which floated majestically above the reach of 
 their futile fury. 
 
 The wind went round to the south, but the doctor was 
 not disturbed by this ; on the contrary, he was rather glad to 
 follow the route traversed by Captains Burton and Speke. 
 
 Kennedy at last had become as loquacious as Joe, and 
 they mutually exchanged remarks expressive of their ad- 
 miration. "What is a diligence after this?" said one. 
 
 " Or a steamer? " said the other. 
 
 " Or a wretched railway? " rejoined Kennedy, " in which 
 you pass through the country without seeing it." 
 
 " Give me a balloon," said Joe, " where you needn't stir, 
 and nature takes the trouble to unroll herself at your feet." 
 
 "What a magnificent prospect! how splendid it all is! 
 like a beautiful dream in a hammock." 
 
 " I wonder if we are to have any breakfast," said Joe, to 
 whom the pure air had given an appetite. 
 
 " Happy thought, my lad," said Kennedy. 
 
 "Oh! the cooking won't take long; it is only biscuits 
 and preserved meat." 
 
 " With as much coffee as you like," added the doctor.
 
 230 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Allow me to borrow a little heat from my blow-pipe ; there 
 is plenty of it. In this way we shall have no fear of fire." 
 
 "That would be terrible," said Kennedy. "It is like 
 sitting under a magazine." 
 
 " Not at all," said Ferguson; "if the gas did happen to 
 take light it would burn by degrees, but we should come 
 down to the ground, which would be inconvenient. But 
 never fear, our balloon is hermetically sealed." 
 
 " Well, let us have something to eat," said Kennedy. 
 "Here you are, gentlemen," said Joe; "and while I 
 follow your example in eating I will go and prepare a coffee 
 of which you shall tell me the origin." 
 
 "The fact is," said the doctor, "that Joe, amongst a 
 thousand virtues, has an extraordinary talent for preparing 
 this delicious beverage. He makes it of all kinds of^ things 
 which he never wishes me to know anything about." 
 
 " Well, sir, since we are in the open air, I can confide 
 my recipe to you. It is, in fact, a mixture of equal parts of 
 Mocha, Bourbon, and Rio Nunez." 
 
 Shortly afterwards three steaming cups were served, 
 which brought a substantial breakfast to a termination, and 
 each one resumed his post of observation. 
 
 The country was distinguished by its extreme fertility. 
 Winding and narrow pathways were hidden by arches of 
 verdure. They passed over fields of tobacco, maize and bar- 
 ley in full growth. Here and there immense rice-fields with 
 their straight stalks and ruddy flowers. Sheep and goats 
 were enclosed in raised pens, to preserve thern from 
 the attacks of leopards. A luxurious vegetation displayed 
 itself upon this prodigal soil. In the numerous villages the 
 cries and the astonishment were renewed at the sight of 
 the " Victoria," and Doctor Ferguson kept prudently out of 
 reach of arrows; the inhabitants, assembling around their 
 thickly-grouped huts, pursued the travelers for long dis- 
 tances with vain yells and imprecations. 
 
 At noon, the doctor, referring to the map, was of opinion 
 that they were above the town of Uzaramo. The country 
 bristled with cocoa-nut, papaw, and cotton trees, over which 
 the " Victoria " idly disported itself. Joe took all this as a 
 matter of course, ever since he had made up his mind to 
 come to Africa. Kennedy descried hares and quails, which 
 desired no better fate than to be killed by his gun, but it
 
 CROSSING THE STRAITS 231 
 
 would have been powder wasted, as it was impossible to 
 recover the game. 
 
 The travelers moved at the rate of about twelve miles 
 an hour, and soon found themselves in 38° 20' longitude, 
 over the village of Tounda. " That is the place," said the 
 doctor, " where Burton and Speke succumbed to fever, and 
 for a time believed their expedition must be given up. They 
 were as yet but a little distance from the coast, but already 
 fatigue and privation began to tell upon them." 
 
 In fact, in this region a perpetual malaria exists. Even 
 the doctor could only escape its attacks by rising in the 
 balloon above the miasma, which the burning sun caused to 
 rise from the swampy earth. 
 
 Sometimes they could perceive a caravan reposing in a 
 "kraal," waiting for the cool hours of evening to resume 
 their journey. These " kraals " stand in large cleared spaces 
 surrounded by hedges and jungle, where the traders are 
 secure, not only from the attacks of wild beasts, but from 
 those of the pillaging native tribes. The natives fled in 
 every direction at the appearance of the " Victoria." Ken- 
 nedy wished to have a nearer view, but the doctor would 
 not hear of it. 
 
 " The chiefs are armed with muskets," he said, " and 
 our balloon is too good a shot for them." 
 
 "Would a bullet-hole bring the balloon down?" asked 
 Joe. 
 
 " Not immediately ; but the aperture would soon ex- 
 tend to an immense fissure, through which all our gas would 
 escape." 
 
 " Then I vote we keep at a respectful distance from 
 those wretches. I wonder what they think of us up here. 
 I am sure they want to worship us ? " 
 
 " Let them worship us as much as they please at a dis- 
 tance. That pleases us all round. Look here, the country 
 is already changing, villages are fewer, the mangoes have 
 disappeared ; their growth ceases in this latitude. The land 
 is hilly, a sign we are approaching mountains. In fact," 
 said Kennedy, " I fancy I can descry some mountains this 
 side of us." 
 
 " In the west — those are the first chain of the Ourizara — 
 Mount Duthumi, no doubt, behind which I hope we shall 
 encamp for the night. I will stir up the blow-pipe a little,
 
 232 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 for we shall be obliged to rise here to about 500 or 600 
 feet." 
 
 "That is a first-rate idea of yours, sir," said Joe; "the 
 movement is neither difficult nor fatiguing; just turn a tap, 
 and it is all done." 
 
 " We shall be more comfortable," said Kennedy, " when 
 the balloon is higher up; the reflection from that red sand 
 is very trying." 
 
 "What splendid trees those are!" exclaimed Joe; 
 " though quite natural, they are magnificent. Why, a dozen 
 of them would make a forest! " 
 
 " They are the ' baobab,' " replied Doctor Ferguson. 
 " See, one of their trunks must be almost 100 feet in cir- 
 cumference. It was, perhaps, at the trunk of that very 
 tree that the unfortunate Frenchman, Maizan, was mur- 
 dered in 1845, for we are just above the village of Deje la 
 Mhora, whither he penetrated alone. He was captured by 
 the chief of this territory, tied to the foot of the tree, and 
 then the savage negro cut him slowly limb from limb, while 
 he chanted a war-song. Then, making a deep incision in 
 his victim's throat, he stopped to sharpen his knife, and 
 literally tore the half-severed head from the body of the 
 unfortunate Frenchman. He was only twenty-six." 
 
 "And did not France demand satisfaction for such a 
 crime? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " France did so, and the Sa'id of Zanzibar did all he 
 could to arrest the murderer, but without success." 
 
 " I hope I shall not be stopped in that way," said Joe. 
 " Up higher, sir, if you have any regard for me." 
 
 " And the more willingly, Joe, that Mount Duthumi is 
 peering at us. If my calculations be correct, we shall have 
 passed it before 7 p.m. 
 
 " Shall we travel during the night?" asked the Scot. 
 
 " No ; not unless we are obliged to do so. With pre- 
 caution and careful watching we might do so in safety. 
 But it is not enough to cross Africa, we must see it too." 
 
 " Hitherto we have not had much to complain of, sir. 
 The country is the best cultivated and the most fertile in 
 the world; not a desert, as the geographies would have us 
 believe." 
 
 About half-past six the " Victoria " was opposite Mount 
 Duthumi. It was necessary, to avoid it, to rise more than
 
 CROSSING THE STRAITS 233 
 
 3,000 feet, and for that the doctor had only to raise the 
 temperature eighteen degrees. It might be said that he 
 worked the balloon with his hand. Kennedy warned him 
 of the obstacles to avoid, and the " Victoria " rose through 
 the air skimming past the mountain. 
 
 At eight o'clock they descended on the opposite side, 
 but the descent was slower than the ascent. The grapnels 
 were cast out, and one after the other came in contact with 
 the branches of an enormous Indian fig, where they fastened 
 themselves. Then Joe let himself slip down by the cord 
 and secured the balloon as firmly as possible. The silk 
 ladder was then thrown to him, and he reascended briskly. 
 The balloon remained almost motionless, shaded from the 
 wind. 
 
 The evening meal was prepared. The travelers, with 
 appetites excited by their aerial trip, made a great hole in 
 their provisions. 
 
 " What distance have we made to-day? " asked Kennedy, 
 "while masticating some troublesome morsels. 
 
 The doctor ascertained the day's work by means of 
 lunar observations, and consulted the excellent map which 
 served him as a guide — it was part of the atlas published in 
 Gotha by his friend Petermann, which he had sent to him. 
 This atlas would serve the doctor for the whole journey, 
 for it contained the route of Burton and Speke to the great 
 lakes, that to the Soudan undertaken by Barth, to the lower 
 Senegal by William Lejean, and to the delta of the Niger 
 by Dr. Baike. 
 
 Ferguson also possessed a book which contained all the 
 speculations written respecting the Nile, and entitled, " The 
 Sources of the Nile; being a general survey of the basin 
 of that river, and of its head stream, with the history of 
 the Nilotic discovery. By Charles Beke, D.D." 
 
 He also had the excellent maps published in the Trans- 
 actions of the Royal Geographical Society of London, so 
 any point of the country hitherto discovered could not now 
 escape him. 
 
 Following the map, he found that the latitudinal route 
 had been two degrees, or 120 miles, to the west. Kennedy 
 remarked that the route turned towards the north; this 
 direction satisfied the doctor, wlio wished as soon as pos- 
 sible to follow up the tracks of his predecessors.
 
 234 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 It was decided that the night should be divided into 
 three watches, so that each could in his turn keep guard for 
 the others. The doctor took the 9 p.m. watch, Kennedy 
 the midnight turn, and Joe that at 3 a.m. So Kennedy and 
 Joe, wrapped up in their rugs, laid down under the awning, 
 and slept calmly while the doctor kept his vigil. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 TRAVELING BY LAND 
 
 The night was calm: nevertheless, upon the following 
 morning (Saturday), Kennedy, on waking, complained of 
 lassitude and shivering. The weather began to change, 
 and the sky became covered with heavy clouds, as if pre- 
 paring for a second deluge. Zungomero is a very " weep- 
 ing " region indeed, for in that delightful locality it rains 
 all the year round except perhaps for about fifteen days in 
 January. 
 
 The heavy rain was not slow to assail the travelers. 
 Below them the paths, intersected by " nullahs," the beds of 
 mountain torrents, became impassable, choked as they were 
 besides with bindweed and prickly plants. The travelers 
 distinctly perceived the odor of sulphuretted hydrogen 
 spoken of by Captain Burton. 
 
 " As he declared," said the doctor, " and he was right, 
 one can almost believe that a dead body is hidden beneath 
 each bush." 
 
 " A villainous country, certainly," said Joe, " and it 
 seems to me that Mr. Kennedy is none the better for having 
 passed the night in it." 
 
 " Well, to tell the truth, I have got a pretty strong touch 
 of fever," said the Scot. 
 
 " My dear Dick, that is nothing wonderful; we are now 
 in one of the most unhealthy spots in Africa. But we shall 
 not be here long. Let us go." 
 
 Thanks to a rapid maneuver of Joe's, the grapnel was 
 detached, and by means of the ladder he regained the car. 
 The doctor at once expanded the gas and the " Victoria " 
 resumed her voyage, impelled by a fairly strong breeze. 
 
 Some huts were scarcely visible in the pestilential mist 
 beneath, but the country began soon to change its aspect.
 
 TRAVELING BY LAND 235 
 
 It is often the case in Africa that malarious regions of small 
 extent border upon the most perfectly healthy districts. 
 
 Kennedy was suffering, and the fever prostrated him. 
 
 *' This is scarcely the place to be laid up in," said he, as 
 he wrapped himself in his rug and lay down. 
 
 " Just a little patience, Dick," replied the doctor, " and 
 you will recover rapidly." 
 
 " Recover! By Jove, my dear Samuel, if you have any 
 drug that will set me up, let me have it at once. I will 
 swallow it with my eyes shut." 
 
 " I know something better than that, friend Dick. I will 
 give you a dose that will cost nothing." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " It is very simple. I am about to mount right over 
 these clouds which are drowning us, and get free from this 
 pestilential atmosphere. I only ask ten minutes to expand 
 the gas." 
 
 The ten minutes had scarcely elapsed, when the balloon 
 had passed out of the wet zone. 
 
 " Now, wait a little, Dick, and you will soon feel the 
 benefit of the pure air and sunshine." 
 
 " There is indeed a remedy," cried Joe. " It is really 
 wonderful ! " 
 
 " Not at all— only natural." 
 
 " Oh ! I don't doubt it is perfectly natural ! " 
 
 " I only send Dick into purer air, as people are sent 
 every day in Europe." 
 
 "Ah!" cried Kennedy, who already was beginning to 
 feel better. " This balloon is really * paradise.' " 
 
 " In any case it leads there," said Joe seriously. 
 
 The view beneath the balloon at that moment was a 
 curious spectacle; the masses of cloud were piled up in 
 magnificent array, moving one above the other, and tinged 
 with the glorious rays of the sun. The " Victoria " had 
 attained an altitude of 4,000 feet, and the thermometer in- 
 dicated a fall in the temperature. The earth was invisible. 
 About fifty miles westward. Mount Rubeho raised its spark- 
 ling head, which indicated the limit of the country of 
 Ugogo, in 36° 20' longitude. The wind had the force of 
 twenty miles an hour, but the travelers felt nothing of this 
 rapid movement; they experienced no inconvenience what- 
 ever, indeed they were scarcely aware of the progress they
 
 236 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 made. Three hours later, the prediction of Doctor Fergu- 
 son was verified. Kennedy's fever had departed, and he 
 breakfasted with a good appetite. 
 
 " This is better than sulphate of quinine," said he, with 
 evident satisfaction. 
 
 " Decidedly," cried Joe. " I shall come up here when 
 I grow old." 
 
 About six o'clock in the morning the atmosphere cleared. 
 They perceived an opening in the clouds; the earth re- 
 appeared, and the " Victoria " insensibly approached it. 
 Doctor Ferguson was on the look-out for a current to carry 
 the balloon towards the northeast, and at about 600 feet 
 from the ground he fell in with it. The country became 
 uneven, and even hilly. The district of Zongomero was 
 lost in the east, and with it the last cocoa-nut trees of that 
 latitude. 
 
 The mountains soon began to assume a more decided 
 form. Some peaks shot up here and there. It was neces- 
 sary to keep a watchful eye upon the sharp peaks, which 
 appeared to rise up in an unexpected manner. " We are 
 amongst the breakers," said Kennedy. 
 
 " All right, Dick. Don't be uneasy, we shall not touch 
 them," said the doctor. 
 
 " This is a first-rate way to travel, all the same," said 
 Joe. 
 
 The doctor managed his balloon with a wonderful dex- 
 terity, certainly. 
 
 "If we had been obliged to go on foot over that marshy 
 ground," said the doctor, " we should have had to crawl 
 slowly along in a regular slimy morass. Since our departure 
 from Zanzibar, in that case, half our beasts of burthen 
 would have been now dead with fatigue. We should have 
 been looking like ghosts, and despair would have been gnaw- 
 ing at our hearts. We should have had incessant disputes 
 with our guides and porters, and exposed to their attacks. 
 During the day we should have suffered from a damp 
 steamy air insupportable, and altogether enervating. At 
 night there is frequently an almost intolerable coldness in 
 the atmosphere, and the bites of a species of fly, which can 
 pierce the stoutest cloth, would drive us mad. All these 
 little enjoyments we should have had, without counting wild 
 beasts and ferocious people."
 
 TRAVELING BY LAND 237 
 
 u 
 
 ti 
 
 I vote we don't try it," said Joe simply. 
 
 " I am not exaggerating in the least," said the doctor, 
 
 for at the recitals of travelers who have had the pluck to 
 venture into these latitudes, the tears would actually come 
 into your eyes." 
 
 About eleven o'clock they passed over the basin of the 
 Imenge; the natives scattered about upon the hills vainly 
 threatened the " Victoria " with their weapons, and the 
 balloon soon arrived above the last spurs of the high ground 
 which leads to the Rubeho, which forms the third chain, and 
 highest mountain of the ranges of Usagara. 
 
 The travelers took careful notes of the orographical fea- 
 tures of the country. The three ramifications, of which the 
 Duthumi forms the first line, are separated by vast plains. 
 The lofty ridges are rounded off at the summit, and the 
 ground is strewn with large blocks of stone at intervals, 
 amid the shingle. The steepest side of these mountains is 
 towards Zanzibar, the western declivity being merely a 
 gentle slope. The more level portions of the plain are 
 covered with a black and fertile soil, where vegetation is 
 luxuriant. Numerous watercourses run towards the east 
 and flow into the Kingani in the neighborhood of gigantic 
 clumps of sycamores, tamarinds, gourds, and palms. 
 
 " Listen," said Doctor Ferguson. " We are now ap- 
 proaching the Rubeho mountains, whose name being trans- 
 lated, means ' Passage of Winds.' We shall do well to 
 cross the sharp peaks at a considerable altitude. If my 
 map be correct, we must ascend to 5,000 feet." 
 
 " Shall we have to attain such an altitude frequently ? " 
 asked Kennedy. 
 
 "No; very seldom. The height of the African moun- 
 tains appears to be relatively small compared to the Eu- 
 ropean and Asian peaks. But, in any case, the * Victoria ' 
 will have no difficulty to overcome them." 
 
 In a short time the gas was dilated and the balloon 
 took a very decided upward course. The expansion of the 
 hydrogen had nothing dangerous in its character either, 
 for the vast balloon was not filled to more than three- 
 quarters its capacity. The barometer now. by a depression 
 of eight inches, showed they had attained an elevation of 
 6,000 feet. 
 
 " Shall we travel like this long? " asked Joe.
 
 238 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " The terrestrial atmosphere extends to a distance of 
 6,000 fathoms from the earth," rephed the doctor. " With 
 a very large balloon we could go a great height. Messrs. 
 Brioschi and Gay-Lussac did so, but the blood gushed from 
 their ears and mouth. The air could not be breathed. 
 Some years ago two hardy Frenchmen, Banel and Bixio, 
 also made an expedition into the higher regions, but their 
 balloon split." 
 
 " And they fell down ? " demanded Kennedy anxiously. 
 
 "Certainly; but, as scientific men ought to fall, without 
 sustaining any injury." 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said Joe, " you are quite at liberty 
 to begin your tumbling; but, for my part, as I am merely a 
 commonplace person, I prefer to remain in the happy 
 medium, neither too high nor too low. There is no use in 
 being ambitious ! " 
 
 At 6,000 feet elevation the density of the air became 
 sensibly diminished, sounds were with difficulty transmitted, 
 and speaking was not distinctly heard. Views of objects 
 became confused, the vision could not distinguish anything 
 more than confused masses. Men and other animals be- 
 came absolutely invisible. The roads became threads, and 
 the lakes ponds. 
 
 The doctor and his companions were in a very abnormal 
 state. An atmospheric current of great violence carried 
 them over the mountains, upon whose summits the large 
 snow-fields caused them some astonishment. The appear- 
 ance of these mountains betokened some convulsion of the 
 sea during the first ages of the world's existence. 
 
 The sun shone in the zenith, and his rays fell directly 
 upon these deserted summits. The doctor made an exact 
 plan of these mountains, which are formed of four distinct 
 elevations almost in a straight line, and of which the most 
 northern is the longest. 
 
 The " Victoria " soon descended on the farther side of 
 the Rubeho, and passed over a wooded region in which 
 trees of a peculiarly dark green were freely scattered. Then 
 came crests and ravines in a sort of desert, which approaches 
 the territory of Ugogo. Lower down they sailed over 
 yellow plains, scorched, fissured, and here and there amongst 
 the desolation appeared saline plants and thorny bushes. 
 Some coppices, not far removed from actual forests,
 
 TRAVELING BY LAND 239 
 
 studded the horizon. The doctor now approached the 
 ground, the grapnels were cast out, and one of them soon 
 got fixed in the branches of an immense sycamore. 
 
 Joe, sHding quickly into the tree, fixed the grapnel with 
 great care. The doctor left his blow-pipe sufficiently active 
 to ensure a certain ascensional force in the balloon, which 
 would keep it upright. The wind had rather suddenly 
 dropped. 
 
 " Now," said Ferguson, " take a couple of guns, friend 
 Dick, for yourself and Joe, and see if you two cannot bring 
 back some prime slices of antelope for dinner." 
 
 " Hurrah for the chase ! " cried Kennedy. 
 
 They descended, Joe let himself slide from branch to 
 branch, as if he wished to dislocate his limbs. The doctor, 
 relieved of the weight of his companions, was enabled to 
 reduce his blow-pipe altogether. 
 
 " Don't you fly away, sir, please," cried Joe. 
 
 "Be quite easy, my lad; I am firmly fixed here. I am 
 about to put my notes in order. Good sport to you, and 
 be prudent. Meantime, from my post I shall keep a good 
 look-out, and at the least suspicious incident I will fire a 
 shot. That shall be the signal for return." 
 
 " All right," replied the sportsmen. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ARRIVAL AT KAZEH 
 
 The country, arid and parched, of a clayey soil that 
 cracked with the heat, appeared deserted. Here and there 
 some traces of caravans might be perceived, and the 
 blanched bones of men and animals, half gnawed, lay 
 mingling in the same dust. 
 
 After half an hour's walking, Dick and Joe plunged into 
 a gum-tree forest, with eyes on the alert, and their fingers 
 upon the triggers of their rifles. They did not know with 
 what they might meet. Without being a first-rate shot, Joe 
 could manage firearms very well. 
 
 " It does one good to walk, Mr. Dick, though this 
 country is not the most level," said Joe, kicking aside some 
 of the fragments of rock with which the ground was strewn. 
 
 Kennedy signed to his companion to hold his tongue,
 
 240 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 and to stop. They were obliged to dispense with dogs, and 
 despite the agihty of Joe, he did not possess the nose of 
 a pointer or of a harrier. In the bed of a torrent, where 
 some small pools still lingered, a herd of twelve antelopes 
 were quenching their thirst. These graceful animals, scent- 
 ing danger, appeared restless; between each draught they 
 would raise their pretty heads quickly, and sniff the air with 
 their mobile nostrils. 
 
 Kennedy passed around some massive trees, while Joe 
 remained motionless. The Scot leveled and fired. The 
 herd disappeared in the twinkling of an eye, all except a 
 fine buck, which, hit in the shoulder, fell dead. Kennedy 
 rushed forward to secure the booty. It was a " blawe- 
 bock," a splendid animal of a pale blue tint, tending to 
 gray; the belly and inside of the legs was of a snowy 
 whiteness. 
 
 " A capital shot," cried the sportsman. " This is a very 
 rare species of antelope, and I hope I shall be able to pre- 
 pare his skin." 
 
 " You really think of doing so, Mr. Dick ? " 
 
 " Certainly; what a splendid coat the fellow has got." 
 
 " But what will Doctor Ferguson say to such an addi- 
 tional weight ? " 
 
 " Right, Joe. But it is a pity to leave such a splendid 
 animal as that." 
 
 " Altogether, no, sir; we will cut off the best bits, and, if 
 you will allow me, I will do it as well as the Lord Mayor's 
 butcher himself." 
 
 " Very well, my friend, but nevertheless you must know 
 that it is no more difficult for me to cut up the game than 
 to kill it." 
 
 "I am quite sure of that, Mr. Dick; so, if it will not 
 trouble you, make a fireplace out of three stones; there is a 
 quantity of dead wood, and I only ask a few minutes before 
 I shall be ready to make use of your hot embers." 
 
 " That will not be long," said Kennedy, who proceeded 
 to the construction of his fireplace, which was ready, blaz- 
 ing, a minute or two later. 
 
 Joe meantime had cut from the antelope a dozen ex- 
 cellent cutlets and the tenderest portions of the fillet, which 
 were soon transformed into a most savory grill. 
 
 " Won't this please friend Samuel," said Dick. 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 ARRIVAL AT KAZEH 241 
 
 " Do you know what I am thinking of, Mr. Richard ? " 
 
 "Of what you are about; the steaks, no doubt." 
 
 " Not at all. I am thinking what a figure we should cut 
 if we could not find the balloon." 
 
 " Goodness ! Do you imagine that the doctor would 
 abandon us ? " 
 
 " Oh no ! But suppose the grapnel got loose ? " 
 
 " Impossible. Besides, Samuel would not be at any diffi- 
 culty to come down again. He can manage it very well." 
 
 " But suppose the wind caught it; he would not be able 
 to bring it back to us in that case." 
 
 "Oh! bother, Joe, a truce to your suspicions; you are 
 a regular * Job's comforter.' " 
 
 "Ah! sir, everything is possible in this world; so, as 
 anything might happen, it is well to be prepared for every- 
 thing " 
 
 At that moment the report of a gun was heard. 
 
 " Listen ! " cried Joe. 
 
 " My carbine ! I know the sound," cried Kennedy. 
 
 "A signal!" 
 
 " Danger for us ! " 
 
 " Or for him, perhaps." 
 
 " Let us go at once." 
 
 The sportsmen rapidly packed up the products of their 
 shooting and retraced their steps by means of the " blaze " 
 made by Kennedy upon the trees. The thickness of the 
 foliage prevented them from seeing the "Victoria," from 
 which they could not be very far distant. 
 
 A second report was now heard. 
 
 ** The matter is serious," said Joe. 
 Yes, there's another! " 
 It seems as if he were defending himself." 
 
 " Let us make haste," said Kennedy, and running as 
 quickly as possible, they arrived at the skirts of the wood, 
 and all at once beheld the " Victoria " in its place and the 
 doctor in the car. 
 
 " Good gracious ! " exclaimed Joe. 
 
 " What do you see? " asked the Scot. 
 
 "A whole tribe of black men down there besieging the 
 balloon." 
 
 In fact, about two miles away a number of individuals 
 were pressing, shouting, and jumping at the base of the 
 
 It
 
 242 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 sycamore. Some of them having dimbed into the tree were 
 advancing to the highest branches. The danger appeared 
 imminent. 
 
 " My master is lost ! " cried Joe. 
 
 " Let us get on, Joe; coolness and a sharp eye. We hold 
 the lives of four men in our hands. Go ahead." 
 
 They had covered a mile vi^ith great speed when another 
 shot from the car sent a great fellow, who had been climb- 
 ing up the rope of the grapnel, tumbling from branch to 
 branch a corpse; he remained suspended twenty feet from 
 the ground, his arms and legs swinging in the air. 
 
 " Now, I wonder how the devil he manages that," said 
 Joe. 
 
 " Never mind," cried Kenhedy, " let us get on." 
 
 " Ha ! Mr. Kennedy," cried Joe, with a peal of laughter, 
 " it is by his tail — by his tail. He is an ape ; they are only 
 apes, all of them ! " 
 
 " That is better than being men just now," replied Ken- 
 nedy, as he charged into the midst of the howling band. 
 
 It was a troop of apes, and very formidable ones. Fero- 
 cious and brutal, they were horrible to behold. However, 
 some further shots easily persuaded them, and this grim- 
 acing horde departed, leaving many dead upon the ground. 
 
 In a moment Kennedy ascended the ladder, Joe pulled 
 himself into the sycamore, and detached the grapnel; the 
 ladder was close to him, and he entered the balloon without 
 difficulty. Some minutes afterwards the " Victoria " rose 
 in the air and departed towards the west. 
 
 " There was an attack ! " said Joe. " We began to think 
 you were besieged by the natives." 
 
 " They were only apes, fortunately," replied the doctor. 
 
 "At a distance the difference is not striking, my dear 
 Samuel." 
 
 " Not even when you are close," said Joe. 
 
 " However that m.ay be," replied Ferguson, " the apes' 
 attack might have had serious consequences. If the grapnel 
 had given way under their repeated assaults who knows 
 whither the wind might have carried me." 
 
 " What did I tell you, Mr. Kennedy? " said Joe. 
 
 " Quite right, Joe ; but, correct as you are, nevertheless, 
 will you prepare some of those steaks of which the sight 
 alone has given me an appetite."
 
 ARRIVAL AT KAZEH 243 
 
 " That I can readily believe," said the doctor; " the flesh 
 of the antelope is delicious." 
 
 " You can now judge for yourself, sir; dinner is ready," 
 
 " Faith," said Kennedy, " these slices of venison have a 
 strange sort of flavor not to be despised." 
 
 " Right ! I could live upon antelope for ever," cried Joe, 
 with his mouth full, " particularly if I had a glass of grog to 
 wash it down." He prepared the beverage in question, 
 which was relished in silence. 
 
 " So far so good," said Joe. 
 
 " Very good," added Kennedy. 
 
 " I say, Mr. Richard, do you now regret having accom- 
 panied us? " 
 
 " I should very much like to see the man who could 
 have prevented my coming," said Dick, with a resolute look. 
 
 It was then four o'clock in the afternoon. The " Vic- 
 toria " encountered a more rapid current, the earth was left 
 insensibly, and soon the barometrical column marked an 
 elevation of 1,500 feet above the level of the sea. The 
 doctor was then obliged to keep up his balloon by a strong 
 expansion of hydrogen gas and the blow-pipe worked in- 
 cessantly. Towards seven o'clock the " Victoria " crossed 
 the basin of the Kanyeme, the doctor took observations 
 also of this vast clearing of ten miles in width, with its 
 villages hidden among baobabs and gourds. There one of 
 the sultans of Ugogo has his residence, and civilization is 
 perhaps less backward. They very seldom sell members 
 of their families there, but beasts and men all live together 
 in the round, unfitted huts, which look like haystacks. 
 
 After passing Kanyeme the ground became arid and 
 stony, but after an hour in a fertile valley, vegetation reap- 
 peared in all its luxuriance at a little distance from Mdaburu. 
 The wind went down with the sun, and the air even seemed 
 to go to sleep. The doctor searched in vain for a current 
 at different altitudes, and seeing how still everything was he 
 resolved to pass the night in the air, and for greater safety 
 he went up to 1,000 feet high. The " Victoria " remained 
 motionless. The night was starlit, and passed without in- 
 cident. 
 
 Dick and Joe stretched themselves upon their quiet couch 
 and slept soundly during the doctor's watch. At midnight 
 the doctor was replaced by Kennedy.
 
 244 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Mind you wake me up if the slightest thing occurs," 
 said the doctor; "and, above all things, keep your eyes 
 upon the barometer. That is our compass." 
 
 The night was cold. There were twenty-seven degrees 
 difference between its temperature and that of the day. 
 With darkness rose the nocturnal concert of the animals 
 which hunger and thirst drove from their lairs: the frogs 
 sang their soprano, increased by the yelpings of the jackals, 
 while the basso prof undo of the lions sustained the music of 
 this living orchestra. 
 
 When he got up in the morning Doctor Ferguson con- 
 sulted his compass, and perceived that the wind had changed 
 during the night. The " Victoria " had drifted about 
 thirty miles to the northwest in about two hours. It had 
 passed over Mabunguru, a very stony region, strewn with 
 blocks of syenite of a beautiful polish, and dotted with 
 rocks upon the shelving ridges; conical masses, like the 
 pillars of Karnak, stuck up from the ground as high as 
 Druidical " dolmens." Numerous skeletons of buffaloes 
 and elephants lay blanching here and there. There were 
 few trees except in the east, where some villages lay con- 
 cealed in the midst of deep woods. 
 
 About seven o'clock a round rock, nearly two miles in 
 extent, appeared, wearing the appearance of the back of an 
 enormous tortoise. 
 
 " We are having a pleasant trip," said Doctor Ferguson. 
 " There is Jihoue-la-Mkoa, where we shall stay for a little 
 time. I must replenish the water-tanks; let us catch hold of 
 something." 
 
 " There are very few trees," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Let us try, nevertheless. Joe, throw out the grapnels." 
 
 The balloon, by degrees, lost its ascending power, and 
 approached the ground, the fluke of one of the grapnels 
 caught in a fissure of a rock, and the " Victoria " halted. 
 
 You must not imagine that Doctor Ferguson was able to 
 completely stop the action of the blow-pipe during these 
 halts. The equilibrium of the balloon had been reckoned 
 at the level of the sea ; now the country was continually on 
 the ascent, and they were elevated 600 or 700 feet above 
 the sea level, so the balloon had the tendency to descend 
 lower even than the surface of the ground. It was, there- 
 fore, necessary to sustain it by a certain expansion of gas.
 
 ARRIVAL AT KAZEH 245 
 
 Only in the event of the absence of all wind, if the doctor 
 had left the car to sleep on the ground, the balloon, then 
 divested of a considerable weight, would be maintained in 
 its position without the assistance of the blow-pipe. 
 
 The maps showed vast pools of water upon the western 
 side of Jihoue-la-Mkoa. Joe went off with a barrel which 
 might contain a dozen gallons; he found the place indi- 
 cated without difficulty, not far from a small deserted vil- 
 lage, took a supply of water, and returned to the balloon in 
 less than three-quarters of an hour. He had seen nothing 
 particular, except immense elephant traps; he narrowly es- 
 caped falling into one of them, in which a half-eaten car- 
 cass was lying. He found and brought back a sort of med- 
 lar, which the monkeys eat voraciously. The doctor recog- 
 nized it as the fruit of the " mbenbu," a very common tree 
 on the west part of Jihoue-la-Mkoa. Ferguson waited 
 somewhat impatiently for Joe, for even a short stay upon 
 that inhospitable land filled him with fear. 
 
 The water was hoisted in without difficulty, for the car 
 was brought close to the ground. Joe was able to take up 
 the grapnel and mount nimbly after his master, who at once 
 set the flame going, and the " Victoria " resumed her aerial 
 voyage. 
 
 They were then 100 miles from Kazeh, an important 
 settlement in the interior, where, thanks to a southeasterly 
 current, the travelers had hopes of arriving during the day. 
 They progressed at about fourteen miles an hour, the man- 
 agement of the balloon became rather difficult, they could 
 not rise very high without expanding too much gas, for the 
 country was already nearly 3,000 feet high. The doctor 
 preferred to restrain the expansion as much as possible, 
 so he very adroitly followed the windings of a somewhat 
 steep declivity, and passed very near to the villages of 
 Themba and Tura Wells. This latter is situated in Unyam- 
 wezy, a magnificent region, where the trees attain enormous 
 dimensions, and the cactus amongst others, which are gi- 
 gantic. 
 
 About two o'clock, in splendid weather, beneath a scorch- 
 ing sun, which absorbed the least current of air, the " Vic- 
 toria " hovered above the town of Kazeh, situated about 
 350 miles from the coast. 
 
 " We left Zanzibar at nine o'clock in the morning," said
 
 246 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 Doctor Ferguson, consulting his notes, and after two days' 
 traveling we have accomplished, including our deviations, 
 nearly 500 geographical miles. Captains Burton and Speke 
 took four months and a half to accomplish the same dis- 
 tance. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE SONS OF THE MOON, 
 
 Kazeh, an important place in Central Africa, is scarcely 
 a town properly so called ; there is not a town in the interior, 
 and Kazeh is only a collection of six immense intrenched 
 camps. Within these are collected the houses and huts of 
 slaves with small courts and gardens, carefully cultivated 
 with onions, yams, melons, pumpkins, and mushrooms of a 
 perfect flavor there grown to perfection. 
 
 Unyamwezy is the veritable Land of the Moon, the 
 fertile and beautiful park of Africa, in the center of the 
 district of the Unyanembe, a delightful country, where some 
 Omani families, who are Arabs of the purest blood, live in 
 idleness. These people have for a long time trafficked in 
 the interior of Africa and in Arabia; they deal in gum, 
 ivory, striped cloths, slaves; their caravans penetrate these 
 equatorial regions in all directions; they there seek upon 
 the coast objects of pleasure and luxury for the rich mer- 
 chants, and they, surrounded by wives and slaves, live in 
 this beautiful country and enjoy an existence the least 
 agitated and the most horizontal possible, always stretched 
 at full length, laughing, smoking, or sleeping. 
 
 Around the camps are numerous native huts, large spaces 
 for the market fields of cannabis and datuna, of lovely trees 
 and most refreshing shade. Such is Kazeh. 
 
 There is also the general rendezvous for the caravans, 
 those from the south with slaves and ivory, and from the 
 west, which bring cotton and glassware to the tribes around 
 the Great Lakes. Also in the market there is a continual 
 movement, a regular hubbub, in which the cries of the half- 
 breed porters mingle with the sound of drums and cornets, 
 the whinnying of mules, the braying of donkeys, the songs 
 of women, the crying of children, and the blows of the 
 rattan of the jemidar, who beats the time in this pastoral 
 symphony.
 
 THE SONS OF THE MOON 247 
 
 There are the wares exposed for sale without any kind 
 of order, even in a charming disorder. Showy stuffs, 
 colored glass beads, ivory rhinoceros' teeth, sharks' teeth, 
 honey, tobacco, and cotton. There they carry on the most 
 strange bargains, each object having just so much value as 
 it excites desire. 
 
 Suddenly this hubbub and movement ceased, the noise 
 immediately subsided. The " Victoria " had appeared in 
 the sky, sailing along majestically and descending slowly 
 without losing its vertical position. Men, women, children, 
 slaves, merchants, Arabs, and negroes all disappeared and 
 glided away into the " tembes " and beneath the huts. 
 
 " My dear Samuel," said Kennedy, " if we continue to 
 produce such an effect as this we shall have some difficulty 
 to establish commercial relations with these people." 
 
 *' There is, nevertheless, one very simple mercantile trans- 
 action to be carried out," said Joe; " that is, to quietly de- 
 scend and carry away the most valuable merchandise with- 
 out troubling the merchants. We should then get rich." 
 
 " You see," said the doctor, " that the natives have only 
 been terrified for the moment. They will not delay to 
 return, impelled either by superstition or curiosity." 
 
 "You think so, sir?" 
 
 " We shall soon see, but it will be prudent to keep at a 
 little distance. The ' Victoria ' is neither an ironclad nor 
 armored. There is no shelter from a bullet nor from an 
 arrow." 
 
 " Do you then intend to enter into conference with these 
 Africans, my dear Samuel? " 
 
 " Perhaps so — why not ? There ought to be in KazeH 
 Arab merchants who are not ignorant men. I remember 
 that Messrs. Burton and Speke were much pleased with the 
 hospitality of this town. So we can try our luck." 
 
 The " Victoria " gradually approached the earth, and 
 made fast one of the grapnels to the top of a tree near the 
 market-place. 
 
 The entire population now turned out; heads were 
 cautiously advanced. Many " Waganga," easily recogniz- 
 able by their badges of shell-fish, advanced boldly. They 
 were the sorcerers of the place. They carried at the waist 
 small gourds rubbed over with grease, and many objects of 
 magic use of a dirtiness, nevertheless, quite professional.
 
 (I 
 
 248 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 By degrees the crowd advanced to the sorcerers, the women 
 and children surrounding them, the drummers rivaled each 
 other in din, hands were clasped and held up towards the 
 sky. 
 
 "That is their manner of praying," said Doctor Fer- 
 guson. "If I am not in error, we shall be called upon to 
 undertake an important part." 
 
 " Very well, sir," said Joe, " play it." 
 Even you, my brave Joe, may perhaps become a god." 
 Well, sir, that won't worry me much, and the incense 
 will be rather agreeable than otherwise." 
 
 At this moment one of the sorcerers, a " Waganga," 
 made a gesture, and the clamor sank into profound silence. 
 He addressed some words to the travelers, but in a tongue 
 unknown to them. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson, not understanding what was said, re- 
 plied at hazard in a few words of Arabic, and was imme- 
 diately answered in that language. 
 
 The orator then delivered a flowing speech, very flowery 
 and very distinct. The doctor had no difficulty in perceiv- 
 ing that the " Victoria " was actually taken for the moon 
 in person, and that this amiable goddess had deigned to 
 approach the town with her three sons, an honor which 
 would never be forgotten in that country — beloved by the 
 sun. 
 
 The doctor replied, with great dignity, that the moon 
 made every thousand years a departmental tour, feeling the 
 necessity of showing herself to her worshipers. He then 
 prayed them to take advantage of her divine presence by 
 making known their wants and vows. 
 
 The sorcerer replied that the sultan, the " Mwani," had 
 been ill for many years, had asked the assistance of Heaven, 
 and he now begged the sons of the moon to come to him. 
 
 The doctor imparted the invitation to his companions. 
 
 " And will you go to that nigger king? " said the Scotch- 
 man. 
 
 " Certainly. These people appear to me to be well dis- 
 posed, the day is calm, there is scarcely a breath of wind. 
 We have nothing to fear for the " Victoria." 
 
 " But what will you do? " 
 
 " Be quiet, my dear Dick ; with a little medicine I will 
 manage to get out of it."
 
 THE SONS OF THE MOON 249 
 
 Then addressing the crowd he said : " The moon, taking 
 pity upon the sovereign, so dear to the people of Unyam- 
 wezy, has confided his recovery to our hands. Let him pre- 
 pare to receive us." 
 
 The cries, shouts, and gesticulations were redoubled, and 
 the entire vast " ant-hill " of black heads was in motion. 
 
 " Now, my friends," said Doctor Ferguson, " it will be 
 necessary to be ready for anything; we may be obliged to 
 retreat at any moment. Dick shall remain in the car, and 
 by means of the blow-pipe, keep up a sufficient ascensional 
 power. The grapnel is firmly fixed, so there is no danger on 
 that score. I will get down, Joe will also get out, but will 
 remain at the foot of the ladder." 
 
 " What, are you going alone to this blackamoor's 
 house ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Samuel, don't you wish me to accompany 
 you through this ? " said Joe. 
 
 " No, I shall go alone : these people imagine that the 
 moon has come to pay them a visit. I am protected by 
 their superstition, so have no fear, and let each one remain 
 at his post as I have arranged." 
 
 " Since you wish it," said the Scot, " it shall be so." 
 
 " Mind you attend to the expansion of the gas." 
 
 " All right." 
 
 The cries of the natives again increased, they demanded 
 the intervention of heaven very energetically indeed. 
 
 "Do you hear?" cried Joe. "I think they are a little 
 too dictatorial to their beautiful moon and her sons." 
 
 The doctor, supplied with his medicine-chest, came out 
 of the balloon, preceded by Joe, and descended. The lat- 
 ter was as grave and dignified as was in his nature to be. 
 He sat down at the foot of the ladder, and crossed his legs, 
 Arab-fashion — a portion of the crowd surrounded him at a 
 respectful distance. 
 
 Meantime, Doctor Ferguson, preceded by musicians, and 
 escorted by religious dancers, advanced slowly towards tlie 
 royal " tembe," situated some distance from the town. It 
 was now about three o'clock, and the sun was shining hotly 
 — he could not do less under the circumstances. 
 
 The doctor advanced with dignity; the Waganga sur- 
 rounded him, and kept back the crowd. Ferguson was 
 soon joined by the natural son of the sultan, a well-made
 
 250 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 young fellow, who, following the custom of the country, 
 was the sole inheritor of the parent's goods and posses- 
 sions, to the exclusion of legitimate children. He pros- 
 trated himself before the son of the moon, who raised him 
 with a gracious gesture. 
 
 Three-quarters of an hour afterwards, through shady 
 paths in the midst of a luxuriant tropical vegetation, the 
 enthusiastic procession arrived at the palace of the sultan, 
 a kind of square house, called Ititenya, and situated upon 
 the slope of a hill. A species of veranda, made by the 
 straw roof, covered the exterior, and was supported by 
 wooden posts, with some pretension to carving displayed 
 upon them. Long streaks of reddish clay ornamented the 
 walls, attempts to depict men and snakes, the latter being 
 naturally more successful than the former. The roof of 
 this habitation did not rest directly upon the walls, so the 
 air could circulate freely, though there were no windows 
 and scarcely a door. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson was received with great honors by the 
 guards and favorites, men of a handsome race, the Un- 
 yamwezi, a pure type of the population of Central Africa, 
 strong and healthy, well made, and erect in their bearing. 
 Their hair, divided into a quantity of small curls, fell down 
 upon their shoulders; and by means of incisions colored 
 black or blue, they tattooed their cheeks from the temples 
 to the mouth. Their ears, very much distended, were or- 
 namented with discs of wood and gum copal; they were 
 clothed with emeu, brilliantly colored ; the soldiers, well 
 armed with bows and arrows — the latter poisoned and 
 barbed — with cutlasses and " simes," a long saw-toothed 
 sword, and hatchets. 
 
 The doctor entered the palace. There, in describing 
 the sultan's symptoms, the hubbub, already great, was re- 
 doubled. The doctor remarked on the lintel of the door 
 that tails of hares and zebras' manes were suspended as 
 talismans. He was received by a troop of Her Majesty's 
 ladies to the harmonious accompaniment of the " upatu," a 
 kind of cymbal constructed from the bottom of copper pots, 
 and of the " kilindo," a drum about five feet high, hollowed 
 out from the trunk of a tree, and which is played by two 
 performers, hammering it as hard as possible with their 
 fists.
 
 THE SONS OF THE MOON 251 
 
 The greater number of the women appeared very pretty, 
 and laughingly smoked tobacco and " thang " in large 
 black pipes. They appeared to be well formed, so far as 
 the long and graceful robe permitted their figures to be 
 seen, and wore a kind of kilt of calabash fibers fastened 
 round their waists. 
 
 Six of them, though destined to be sacrificed, were by no 
 means the least gay of the assembly. At the death of the 
 sultan they were to be buried alive with him, so as to keep 
 him company in his otherwise somewhat distressing soli- 
 tude. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson, having taken all this in at a glance, 
 advanced towards the monarch's couch. There he saw a 
 man of about forty, perfectly brutalized by dissipation of 
 all kinds, and for whom he could do nothing. His malady, 
 which had lasted some years, was nothing but constant in- 
 toxication. This royal drunkard had by degrees lost con- 
 sciousness, and all the ammonia in the world could not 
 cure him. 
 
 The favorites and the women, bending their knees, 
 bowed themselves down during this solemn visit. By 
 means of a few drops of a strong cordial, the doctor for 
 a moment animated the stupefied body. The sultan 
 moved, and for a corpse which had given no sign of ex- 
 istence for hours, to move at all was hailed with acclama- 
 tion in honor of the doctor. 
 
 He, who had had enough of it, put his would-be worship- 
 ers aside by a rapid movement, and quitted the palace. 
 He made towards the " Victoria," for it was now six 
 o'clock. 
 
 Joe, during his master's absence, waited patiently at the 
 foot of the ladder, the crowd paying him the greatest at- 
 tention. As a true son of the moon he accepted the posi- 
 tion. For a god he had the appearance of a brave man 
 enough, not at all proud, even with young African ladies, 
 who never ceased to stare at him. He also conversed 
 amicably with them. 
 
 "Keep worshiping, ladies, keep it up," he said. "I 
 am a pretty good sort of devil, although the son of a 
 goddess." 
 
 They offered him propitiatory gifts, usually placed in 
 the " mzimu " or fetish-houses. These consisted of barley
 
 252 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 and " pembe." Joe felt himself constrained to taste this 
 species of strong beer, but his palate, though not unaccus- 
 tomed to gin or whisky, could not stand that. He made a 
 fearful grimace, which the audience took for an amiable 
 smile. 
 
 Then the young girls, setting up a slow sort of chanting, 
 executed a solemn dance round him. 
 
 " Ah ! you dance, do you ? Very well, I will not be be- 
 hind-hand with you, and will show you a dance of my 
 country." 
 
 He then began a most extraordinary kind of a jig, turning 
 over, throwing himself about in all directions, dancing on 
 his feet, on his knees, on his hands, and twisting himself in 
 the most extraordinary contortions and incredible posi- 
 tions, accompanied by the most horrible grimaces, thus 
 giving the people a strange notion of the manner in which 
 the gods dance in the moon. 
 
 Now all Africans are as imitative as apes, and very 
 quickly did his audience reproduce his behavior, gambols, 
 and contortions; they did not lose a gesture, they did not 
 forget an attitude; the result being a hubbub and commo- 
 tion of which it is difficult to give the least idea. In the 
 midst of all this festivity Joe perceived the doctor. 
 
 He was approaching hastily in the center of a yelling 
 and disordered crowd. The sorcerers and priests appeared 
 to be the most excited. They surrounded and pressed upon 
 the doctor with threatening gestures. What a strange 
 alteration. What had happened? Had the sultan unfor- 
 tunately died under the celestial doctor's hands? 
 
 Kennedy, from his position, perceived the danger with- 
 out comprehending the cause. The balloon, pulling 
 strongly, was stretching the rope that held it as if impa- 
 tient to rise into the air. 
 
 The doctor came to the foot of the ladder. A super- 
 stitious fear still kept back the crowd, and prevented their 
 using violence ; he rapidly ascended and Joe followed. 
 
 " There is not an instant to lose," said his master. 
 " Never mind detaching the grapnel. We must cut the 
 cord. Follow me." 
 
 " What is it? " said Joe, ascending. 
 
 " What has happened ? " cried Kennedy, carbine in 
 hand.
 
 THE SONS OF THE MOON 253 
 
 " Look there ! " replied the doctor, pointing towards the 
 horizon. 
 
 "Well?" asked the Scot. 
 
 "Well! it's the moon!" 
 
 In fact the moon, red and glorious as a globe of fire 
 upon an azure background, was then rising — she and the 
 " Victoria " together. 
 
 Either, therefore, there were two moons, or the strangers 
 were nothing but impostors and false gods. Such were 
 the natural thoughts of the crowd. Hence the change. 
 
 Joe could not help laughing heartily. The people of 
 Kazeh, beginning to understand that their prey would es- 
 cape, gave vent to prolonged howls, and bows and guns 
 were directed towards the balloon. But at a sign from 
 one of the sorcerers the weapons were lowered, he jumped 
 into the tree with the intention to seize the rope of the 
 grapnel and bring the balloon to the ground. 
 
 Joe leaned over with a hatchet in his hand. 
 
 "Shall I cut it? "he asked. 
 
 " Wait a little," said the doctor. 
 
 " But that nigger " 
 
 " We may perhaps save our grapnel, and I think so. 
 We can cut it at any time." 
 
 The sorcerer, having gained the tree, went to work so 
 vigorously in the branches that he detached the grapnel, 
 which, being violently dragged by the balloon, caught the 
 sorcerer between the legs, and so he, astride on this unex- 
 pected steed, set out for the region of the sky. 
 
 The crowd were stupefied to perceive one of their 
 Waganga launched into space. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried Joe, as the " Victoria " mounted very 
 rapidly. 
 
 "He holds tight," said Kennedy; "a little journey will 
 do him good." 
 
 "Shall we let him go altogether?" suggested Joe. 
 
 " For shame ! " rephed the doctor. " We will put him 
 gently down presently, and I believe that after such an 
 adventure his magical power will be singularly increased in 
 his companions' estimation." 
 
 " I daresay they will make a god of him," said Joe. 
 
 The " Victoria " had now arrived at an elevation of 
 about 1,000 feet. The negro held on to the cord with tre-
 
 254 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 mendous energy. He was quite silent, and his eyes were 
 fixed. His terror mastered his astonishment completely. 
 A light breeze carried the balloon below the town. 
 
 Half an hour later, the doctor, seeing the coast was 
 clear, m.oderated the blow-pipe, and approached the earth. 
 At twenty feet from the ground the sorcerer took courage 
 and dropped, fell upon his feet, and ran towards Kazeh at 
 the top of his speed, while the " Victoria " once more 
 ascended into the air. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 
 
 " There ! " cried Joe, " that comes of being sons of the 
 moon without leave. That satellite was very nearly play- 
 ing us a shabby trick. Do you think, now, sir, that you 
 in any way compromised her reputation by your medi- 
 cine?" 
 
 " By-the-by," said the Scot, " who is this sultan of 
 Kazeh?" 
 
 " An old, half-dead drunkard, whose loss will not be 
 very much felt; but the moral of the thing is this: that 
 honors are ephemeral, and we ought only to taste them," 
 
 "So much the worse," said Joe; "that was my case. 
 To be adored, to play the god at one's pleasure, when, all 
 of a sudden, the mioon rises with a very red face to show 
 she does not approve of it." 
 
 During this conversation, and subsequently, while Joe 
 was examining the evening star from an entirely new point 
 of view, the sky towards the north was covering itself with 
 heavy clouds — with heavy and threatening clouds too. A 
 pretty brisk breeze had sprung up at 300 feet from the 
 ground, and was impelling the " Victoria " towards the 
 north-northwest. The sky was clear, but the air felt heavy. 
 
 The travelers found themselves about eight o'clock in 
 32° 40' longitude, and latitude 4° 17'; the atmospheric cur- 
 rents, under the influence of an approaching storm, hur- 
 ried them forward at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour. 
 The fertile and undulating plains of Mfuto passed rapidly 
 beneath. The view was worthy of admiration, and was 
 duly admired.
 
 THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 255 
 
 " We are now regularly in the country of the moon," 
 said Doctor Ferguson, " for it has retained this name, 
 which was anciently bestowed upon it, doubtless, because 
 the moon has been always worshiped here. It is indeed 
 a magnificent district, and it would be difficult to find a 
 more beautiful vegetation." 
 
 " That sort of thing would not be natural near London," 
 said Joe, *' but it would be very pleasant. Why are all 
 those lovely things reserved for these barbarous coun- 
 tries?" 
 
 " How do you know that some day this country will not 
 have become the center of civilization? The people of the 
 future ages may come here when the countries of Europe 
 can no longer support their inhabitants." 
 
 " Do you believe that? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " Certainly, my dear Dick. Look at the march of events, 
 consider the successive emigrations of the human race, and 
 you will arrive at the same conclusion as I have. Is it not 
 true that Asia was the first nurse of the world? For 
 4,000 years, perhaps, she was fruitful and bore her chil- 
 dren, and then when stones appear where the golden crops 
 of Homer appeared, her children leave her dry and withered 
 bosom. They then are seen invading Europe, young and 
 strong, which nourishes them for 2,000 years. But she 
 is already losing her fertility, her producing qualities are 
 diminishing every day; these new evils each year which 
 attack the produce of the soil, the deceptive harvests, the 
 insufficient supplies, all are undoubted signs of decreasing 
 vitality, of approaching weakness. Also, you can already 
 perceive that people are throwing themselves upon the 
 richer bosom of America, not indeed inexhaustible, but 
 still inexhausted. In its turn, this newer Continent will 
 become old. Its virgin forests will fall under the ax of 
 industry, its soil will be enervated, because it had produced 
 too much, as too much was demanded of it. 
 
 " There, where two crops would grow every year, 
 scarcely one will come to the sickle. Then Africa will 
 offer to new generations the accumulated treasures of cen- 
 turies. The fatality of the climate to strangers will yield 
 to the purifying influence of distribution of crops and 
 drainage; the scattered streams will be united in one nav- 
 igable river; and this district, over which we are passing,
 
 256 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 more fertile, richer, quicker producing than the others, 
 will become some great kingdom, where discoveries will 
 be made even more wonderful than steam and the electric 
 ■telegraph," 
 
 " Ah, sir," said Joe, " I should like to see all that." 
 
 " You were born a trfle too soon," said the doctor. 
 
 " After all, that will be perhaps a more tiresome period, 
 in which industry will absorb all to its profit. In conse- 
 quence of inventing machines, men will be devoured by 
 them. I am always picturing to myself that the last day 
 of the world will be when some immense boiler, heated up 
 to three thousand millions of atmospheres, will blow our 
 globe into space." 
 
 " And I daresay the Americans will not be the last to 
 work at the machine," said Joe. " In fact, those people are 
 wonderful tinkers ; but, without letting ourselves be carried 
 away by such discussions, let us admire the * Land of the 
 Moon,' since we are in a position to see it." 
 
 The sun was pouring his last rays beneath the heaped-up 
 masses of cloud, and was gilding the small elevations with 
 a golden crest. The huge trees, arborescent herbs, the 
 cut corn, all had a share of the luminous rays. The earth, 
 gently undulating, rose here and there into little conical 
 hills. There were no mountains to break the horizon. 
 Immense brambly palisades, impassable hedges, thorny 
 jungles separated the clear spaces in which numerous 
 villages were spread out. The gigantic euphorbia sur- 
 rounded them with natural fortifications, entwining them- 
 selves with the coral-like branches of the shrubs. 
 
 They soon came in sight of the Malagazari, the princi- 
 pal tributary of Lake Tanganyika, which wound round the 
 verdant masses of vegetation. Into this river ran numer- 
 ous watercourses, born of the torrents overflowed during 
 the great rising of the waters, or from ponds hollowed out 
 in the clayey soil. It appeared to the observers, elevated 
 as they were, that a regular network of rivulets was flow- 
 ing over the face of the country. 
 
 Immense beasts with humps were feeding in the 
 prairies, and occasionally disappeared altogether in the 
 long grass ; the forests, of a wonderful species of trees, ap- 
 peared like enormous bouquets, but in these bouquets, lions, 
 leopards, hyenas, and tigers took refuge from the declin- 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 257 
 
 ing heat of the day. Sometimes an elephant made the 
 coppices shake, and they distinctly heard the crashing of 
 the trees which gave way before his tusks. 
 
 " What a hunting country ! " exclaimed Kennedy, en- 
 thusiastically ; "a bullet sent in there at hazard, right into 
 the forest, would meet with game worthy of it. Can we 
 not have a try at it ? " 
 
 " No, no, my dear Dick ; night is upon us, and a rather 
 * nasty ' night too, bringing a storm up with it. Storms in 
 this country are no joke, I can tell you, where the earth 
 plays the part of an immense electric battery." 
 
 *' You are right, sir," said Joe ; " the heat is becoming 
 stifling, the breeze has quite died away, and one feels that 
 something is going to happen." 
 
 " The atmosphere is surcharged with electricity," re- 
 plied the doctor; "every living thing is aware of the state 
 of the air which precedes a conflict of the elements; but I 
 confess I never have been impregnated with it at such a 
 height myself." 
 
 " Well," said the Scot, " should we not rather descend? " 
 
 " On the contrary, Dick, I would rather go higher up. 
 I fear only to be hurried out of my course during the cross 
 atmospheric currents." 
 
 " Do you wish, then, to abandon our route towards the 
 coast ? " 
 
 "If possible," replied Ferguson, " I will go more di- 
 rectly towards the north for seven or eight degrees. I will 
 endeavor to go up towards the supposed latitude of the 
 sources of the Nile. Perhaps we shall discover some 
 traces of Captain Speke's expedition, or even the caravan 
 of M. de Heuglin. If my calculations be correct, we are 
 in 32° 40" longitude, and I should like to go up beyond 
 the equator." 
 
 " Look here," cried Kennedy, interrupting, " look at 
 those hippopotomi swimming about the pools — what masses 
 of flesh they are — and see the crocodiles gasping in their 
 attempts to breathe." 
 
 " They are choking," said Joe. " Ah ! what a splendid 
 way this is to travel, and how we can despise all those hor- 
 rible vermin. Mr. Samuel, Mr. Kennedy — look at those 
 bands of animals marching closely together. There must 
 be 200 of them, at least; they are wolves."
 
 258 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 "No, Joe, but wild dogs; a famous breed, which have 
 no scruple in attacking lions. To meet such a pack is the 
 most fearful experience a traveler can undergo. He would 
 be immediately torn in pieces." 
 
 " Well, it will not be Joseph who will endeavor to muz- 
 zle them," replied that pleasant youth; " after all, it is their 
 nature, and one needn't see much of them." 
 
 All this time a dread silence was falling around little by 
 little, under the influence of the approaching storm. It 
 seemed as if the heavy air had become incapable of trans- 
 mitting sounds; the atmosphere appeared thickened, and, 
 like a room hung with tapestry, lost all sonorousness. The 
 pigeons, the crested crane, the red and blue jays, the mock- 
 ing birds, the moucherolles, hid themselves in the leafy 
 trees. All nature betrayed the symptoms of an approach- 
 ing convulsion. At nine o'clock in the evening, the " Vic- 
 toria " was hanging motionless above Msene, a large col- 
 lection of villages scarcely distinguishable in the gloom. 
 Sometimes the reflection of stray beams of light in the 
 dark water indicated the regularly placed ditches, and, by 
 an opening in the clouds, they could descry the dark forms 
 of palms, tamarinds, sycamores, and the gigantic euphorbia. 
 
 " I am stifled," said the Scot, taking a full breath. 
 "We are not moving any longer. Shall we descend?" 
 
 " But kow about the storm?" said the doctor, who was 
 not very comfortable. 
 
 "If you are afraid of being carried away by the wind, it 
 seems to me you can do nothing else." 
 
 " The storm may not burst to-night," replied Joe ; " the 
 clouds are very high." 
 
 " That is the very reason I am hesitating to pass them ; 
 we should have to go so very high up, and lose sight of the 
 earth, and would not know all night whether we were 
 making any ' way,' or, if so, in what direction we were 
 moving." 
 
 " Well, make up your mind, my dear Samuel ; time 
 presses." 
 
 " It is very annoying that the wind has dropped," said 
 Joe ; " it might have carried us out of reach of the storm." 
 
 " That is certainly to be regretted, my friends, as the 
 clouds are very dangerous; they contain opposing currents, 
 which may enclose us in their whirlwinds, and the light-
 
 THE FUTURE OF AFRICA 259 
 
 ning may set us on fire. On the other hand, the force of 
 the squall might precipitate us to the ground if we made 
 fast the grapnel to the top of a tree." 
 
 "Then what is to be done?" 
 
 " We must keep the " Victoria " in a middle zone be- 
 tween the earth and the perils of the sky. We have a suf- 
 ficient quantity of water for the blow-pipe, and our 200 
 lbs. of ballast is intact." 
 
 " We are going to sit up with you," said the Scot. 
 
 " No, my friends ; put the provisions under cover and go 
 to bed. I will call you if necessary." 
 
 " But, sir, why will you not take some rest yourself, 
 since nothing threatens us yet? " 
 
 " No, thank you, my lad, I would rather watch. We 
 are motionless, and if circumstances do not change we 
 shall find ourselves in the same place to-morrow." 
 
 " Good-night, sir." 
 
 " Good-night, if that be possible." 
 
 Kennedy and Joe then lay down, and the doctor re- 
 mained by himself — alone in space. Nevertheless, the 
 clouds insensibly descended and the darkness became pro- 
 found. 
 
 The black arch of heaven spread across the terrestrial 
 globe as if about to overwhelm it. 
 
 Suddenly a vivid flash lit up the gloom; the opening in 
 the cloud had scarcely closed when a terrific peal of thun- 
 der shook the depths of the sky. 
 
 " Get up, get up ! " cried Ferguson. The two sleepers, 
 roused by the appalling thunder-crash, held themselves in 
 readiness to execute his orders. 
 
 " Are you going down ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 "No; the balloon would never hold out there. Let us 
 ascend before the rain comes and the wind gets up." And 
 he rapidly urged the flame of the blow-pipe. 
 
 Tropical storms are developed with a rapidity propor- 
 tionate to their violence. A second flash broke the cloud, 
 and was immediately followed by twenty others. The sky 
 was radiant with electric sparks, which shriveled up under 
 the heavy drops of rain. 
 
 " We have delayed too long," said the doctor. " We 
 must now pass through a belt of fire with our balloon filled 
 with inflammable air."
 
 260 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " But the ground, the ground ! " repeated Kennedy. 
 
 " The risk of being struck would be ahnost the same, 
 and we should be quickly knocked to pieces against the 
 branches of trees," said the doctor. 
 
 " We are ascending, Mr. Samuel." 
 
 "Quicker! quicker!'* 
 
 In this part of Africa, during the equinoctial gales, it is 
 not an uncommon experience to count thirty to thirty-five 
 flashes of lightning per minute. The sky is literally on fire, 
 and the thunder is continuous. The wind rages with ter- 
 rific violence in this fiery atmosphere, it twists and tears 
 the clouds, and it has been compared to the blowing of an 
 immense bellows which keeps all this fire in activity. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson maintained his blow-pipe at full pres- 
 sure; the balloon expanded and ascended. On his knees 
 in the center of the car Kennedy kept hold of the curtains 
 of the tent. The balloon gyrated enough to give the trav- 
 elers vertigo, and they suffered from the uneven oscilla- 
 tions. Huge hollows showed in the shape of the balloon 
 pressed upon by the blasts. The silk covering strained to 
 the utmost and crackled like a volley of pistol shots. 
 
 A sort of hail, preceded by a rushing sound, hissed 
 through the air and rattled upon the " Victoria." It nev- 
 ertheless continued to ascend; the lightning described 
 flaming tangents from its circumference ; it was in the very 
 heart of the storm. 
 
 " God preserve us ! " said Ferguson, " we are in His 
 hands. He alone can save us. Let us be prepared for 
 any event, even for fire; our fall cannot be very rapid." 
 
 The doctor's voice was scarcely heard by his compan- 
 ions, but they could see him standing unmoved in the midst 
 of the flashing lightnings; and he kept looking at the 
 " corpse-light " that flickered upon the network of the 
 balloon. The balloon itself swayed and rolled, but kept 
 ascending; at the end of fifteen minutes it had passed the 
 line of storm-cloud. The electric discharges were now 
 beneath it like an immense crown of artificial fire hanging 
 from the car. 
 
 This was one of the most beautiful sights that nature 
 could present to man. Below the storm raged. Above 
 was the starry, quiet, and silent Heaven, with the moon 
 throwing her peaceful rays upon the angry clouds.
 
 THE FUTURE OF AFRICA] 261 
 
 Doctor Ferguson looked at the barometer; it indicated 
 12,000 feet elevation. The time was eleven o'clock. 
 
 " Thank Heaven the danger is over," said he; " we have 
 now only to remain here as we are." 
 
 " It was awful," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Yes," replied Joe, " that gives a little change to our 
 journey, and I am not sorry to have seen a storm from 
 such a height. It was a magnificent sight indeed." 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 NIGHT ON THE GROUND 
 
 About six o'clock in the morning (Sunday) the sun 
 rose above the horizon, the clouds dispersed and a most 
 pleasant breeze tempered the first rays of the morning 
 light. 
 
 The sweetly-refreshed earth again became visible to the 
 travelers. The balloon, having been turning round in the 
 midst of opposing currents, had scarcely drifted at all, and 
 the doctor, permitting the gas to contract, descended at 
 length to strike a more northerly direction. For a long 
 time his search was in vain, the breeze carried him to the 
 west, even within sight of the celebrated Mountains of the 
 Moon, which rise up in a semicircle round the end of Lake 
 Tanganyika. Their chain, but little broken, stood out 
 against the bluish horizon — a natural fortification, as it 
 were, impassable to explorers of the center of Africa; 
 some of the peaks bore traces of eternal snow. 
 
 " We are now in an unexplored country," said the doc- 
 tor; "Captains Burton and Speke advanced far into the 
 west, but they were not able to reach these celebrated moun- 
 tains. Burton even denied their existence as affirmed by 
 his companion ; he pretended that they only existed in the 
 imagination of the latter. For us, my friends, no doubt 
 is possible." 
 
 " Shall we pass over them?" asked Kennedy. 
 
 " I hope not. I expect to find a favorable wind to bring 
 me back to the equator. I will wait for it even, if neces- 
 sary, and treat the ' Victoria ' like a ship that casts anchor 
 when the wind is contrary." 
 
 The prognostications of the doctor were soon realized.
 
 262 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 After having tried different elevations, the " Victoria " 
 sailed away to the northeast at a moderate speed. 
 
 " We are in the right direction," said he, consulting the 
 barometer as he spoke, " and scarcely 200 feet from the 
 ground; the circumstances are most favorable to explore 
 these unknown regions. Captain Speke, when proceeding 
 to discover Lake Ukereone, went up more to the east in a 
 straight line above Kazeh." 
 
 " Shall we go long in this direction? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " Perhaps. Our aim is to strike a point near the sources 
 of the Nile, and we have more than 600 miles to traverse 
 to the extreme limit reached by the explorers from the 
 north." 
 
 " And shall we not put our feet on the ground in order 
 to stretch our legs? " said Joe. 
 
 " Yes, certainly. We must also be sparing of our lar- 
 der, and on the way you will be able to provide us with 
 fresh meats." 
 
 " As soon as ever you like, friend Samuel." 
 
 " We shall also have to replenish our supply of water. 
 Who knows we may not be borne away towards barren 
 districts? We must therefore take precautions." 
 
 At mid-day the " Victoria" was in 29° 15' long, and 3** 
 15' lat. It passed over the village of Uyofu, the northern 
 boundary of Unyamwezi, abreast of the Lake Ukereone, 
 which they had not hitherto been able to perceive. The 
 tribes near the equator appear to be a little more civilized, 
 and are governed by absolute monarchs, whose despotism 
 is unlimited. Their very close union constitutes the pro- 
 vince of Karaywah. 
 
 The three travelers decided that they would descend at 
 the first favorable landing-place. They proposed to make 
 a lengthy halt, and the balloon was to be carefully exam- 
 ined ; so the flame of the blow-pipe was moderated. The 
 grapnels, thrown from the car, soon came in contact with 
 the high grass of an immense prairie; at a little distance it 
 appeared to be covered with close verdure, but in reality 
 the grass was seven or eight feet high. 
 
 The " Victoria " skimmed over the grass without bend- 
 ing it, like an immense butterfly. Nothing was in sight; 
 it was like an ocean of verdure without a single wave. 
 
 " We may go a long time like this," said Kennedy. " I
 
 NIGHT ON THE GROUND 263 
 
 do not perceive a tree to which we can fasten ourselves. It 
 appears to me that the chase must be given up." 
 
 "Wait, my dear Dick; you never could hunt in grass 
 higher than yourself. We shall find a favorable place pres- 
 ently." 
 
 It was, indeed, a charming excursion — a veritable navi- 
 gation upon this sea — so beautifully green, almost trans- 
 parent — undulating softly at the breathing of the wind. 
 The boat now justified its name, and appeared to cleave 
 the waves, except when a fliglit of birds with splendid plu- 
 mage escaped sometimes from the high grass, and with a 
 thousand joyous cries broke the illusion. The grapnels 
 plunged into this lake of flowers and formed a furrow 
 which immediately closed behind them like the wake of a 
 vessel. 
 
 All at once the balloon experienced a great shock; the 
 grapnel had no doubt been caught in the fissure of a rock 
 concealed beneath the gigantic mass. " We have caught," 
 said Joe. 
 
 " All right, throw out the ladder," said Kennedy. 
 
 These words had scarcely been uttered, when a sharp 
 cry resounded through the air, and was thus commented 
 upon by the travelers. " What's that?" said one. 
 
 " A most singular cry ! " 
 
 ** Hollo ! we are moving." 
 
 " The anchor has detached." 
 
 " No, it is all right," said Joe, who was hauling at the 
 rope. " It is the rock that moves." 
 
 A great disturbance was now perceived in the grass, 
 and soon a long and sinuous form raised itself over them. 
 " A serpent ! " cried Joe. 
 
 " A serpent ! " said Kennedy, snatching up a carbine. 
 No," said the doctor, " it is the trunk of an elephant.'* 
 An elephant, Samuel?" and Kennedy, as he spoke, 
 brought the gun to his shoulder. 
 
 " Wait, Dick, wait." 
 
 " Without doubt, the animal will pull us along." 
 
 " And in the right direction, Joe." 
 
 The elephant advanced with some rapidity, and soon 
 arrived at an open space, where they had an uninterrupted 
 view of him. In his enormous bulk, the doctor recognized 
 the male- of a magnificent spjecies; he had two beautiful 
 
 it 
 tt
 
 264 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 tusks, with a most graceful curve, which appeared about 
 eight feet long — the flukes of the grapnel were firmly fas- 
 tened between them. 
 
 The animal tried in vain with his trunk to loose the cord 
 that bound him to the car. 
 
 " Go ahead cheerily ! " cried Joe delighted, and doing his 
 best to urge on this strange turn-out. " Here is quite a 
 new way of traveling. Talk of a horse, indeed! An ele- 
 phant, if you please." 
 
 "But where will he lead us to?" asked Kennedy, shift- 
 ing his gun from hand to hand. 
 
 " He will take us wherever he likes, my dear Dick; have 
 a little patience." 
 
 " Wig-a-more ! wig-a-more ! as the Scotch peasants say," 
 cried the delighted Joe. " Go on, go on." 
 
 Th animal broke into a rapid gallop, he flung his trunk 
 from right to left, and in his boundings he gave some vio- 
 lent shocks to the car. The doctor, ax in hand, was ready 
 to cut the rope if occasion demanded. 
 
 " But," said he, " we will not give up our anchor till the 
 last moment." 
 
 This race at the tail of an elephant lasted nearly an hour 
 and a half. The animal did not appear in any way fa- 
 tigued. These enormous quadrupeds can keep up a trot for 
 a considerable time, and day after day they accomplish 
 immense distances, like the whales, whose size and speed 
 they possess. 
 
 " I believe it is a whale we have harpooned," said Joe, 
 " and we are only imitating the maneuvers of the whalers 
 when fishing." 
 
 But a change in the nature of the ground obliged the 
 doctor to modify his mode of progression. 
 
 A thick wood appeared towards the north of the prairie, 
 about three miles distant; it then became absolutely neces- 
 sary that the balloon should be separated from its con- 
 ductor. 
 
 So Kennedy was assigned the duty of stopping the ele- 
 phant. He shouldered his carbine, but his position was 
 not favorable to strike the animal successfully. The first 
 ball fired at the skull was flattened as if against an iron 
 plate. The elephant did not appear the least inconven- 
 ienced. At the sound of the discharge he accelerated his
 
 NIGHT ON THE GROUND 265 
 
 pace, and his speed was now that of a horse at full gallop. 
 
 " The devil ! " exclaimed Kennedy. 
 
 " What a hard head he must have," said Joe. 
 
 " We must try a conical bullet in the shoulder," said 
 Dick, loading his gun with great care. He fired. The 
 elephant uttered a fearful scream, but still went on gal- 
 lantly. 
 
 " Look here," said Joe, taking up one of the rifles, " I 
 must help you, Mr. Dick, or we shall never get to the end 
 of this." 
 
 And two bullets were quickly lodged in the flank of the 
 animal. He stopped, raised his trunk high in the air, and 
 then continued his rapid course towards the wood. He 
 kept shaking his enormous head, and blood began to flow 
 from his wounds. 
 
 " Let us keep firing, Mr. Dick," said Joe. 
 
 " Yes, and well-sustained fire, too," said the doctor; " we 
 are only a few yards from the wood." 
 
 Ten shots were rapidly fired ; the elephant made a terrific 
 bound; the car and the balloon cracked as if they were 
 coming to pieces. The shock caused the doctor to drop 
 the ax to the ground. 
 
 Their situation was critical. The rope of the grapnel 
 was fastened so tightly that it could not be detached, nor 
 could it be cut by the knives the travelers possessed. The 
 balloon was rapidly nearing the wood when the elephant 
 received a bullet in the eye at the moment he raised his 
 head. He stopped, appeared to hesitate for a moment, 
 then his knees bent beneath him, and he exposed his flank 
 to the assailants. 
 
 " Now for a bullet in his heart," cried Kennedy, as he 
 discharged his carbine for the last time. 
 
 The elephant uttered a roar of agony and distress, half 
 raised himself for an instant as he waved his trunk to and 
 fro, and then fell with all his immense weight upon one of 
 his tusks, which was broken short off. He was dead. 
 
 " His tusk is broken," cried Kennedy. " That ivory 
 would fetch thirty-five guineas the hundredweight in Eng- 
 land." 
 
 " So much for that," said Joe, as he lowered himself to 
 the ground by the grapnel-rope. 
 
 " Why these regrets, my dear Dick? " replied the doctor.
 
 266 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 ** We are not ivory merchants, and we have not come here 
 to make our fortunes, have we ? " 
 
 Joe inspected the grapnel. It was still firmly fastened 
 to the remaining tusk. Samuel and Dick got down on the 
 ground while the half-inflated balloon hovered above the 
 carcass of the elephant. 
 
 " What a splendid beast," cried Kennedy. " What an 
 enormous mass he is. I have never, even in India, seen 
 such a fine fellow." 
 
 " That is not so surprising, my dear Dick. The ele- 
 phants of Central Africa are the biggest naturally. They 
 have been hunted so much in the neighborhood of the Cape 
 by the Andersons and the Cummings, that they have mi- 
 grated towards the equator, where we shall frequently 
 meet them in large numbers." 
 
 " In the meantime," said Joe, " I hope we shall have a 
 taste of this fellow. I will pledge myself to provide you a 
 savory meal at this gentleman's expense. Mr. Kennedy 
 can go hunting for an hour or two; Mr. Samuel can in- 
 spect and overhaul the * Victoria,' and I will play the cook.'* 
 
 " That is well arranged," replied the doctor. " So each 
 to his occupation." 
 
 " Well, I shall take the two hours' liberty that Joe has 
 been so kind as to give me," said Kennedy, 
 
 " By all means, my friend, but don't be rash. Do not 
 go too far." 
 
 "You may be easy on that score," said Dick; and, 
 armed with his rifle, he plunged into the wood. 
 
 Then Joe set about his avocations. First, he made a 
 hole in the ground about two feet deep, which he filled with 
 the dead branches of trees which strewed the ground in 
 consequence of the passages forced through the woods by 
 the elephants, traces of which were clearly seen. The hole 
 filled up, he thrust in at the top a log about two feet long, 
 and set fire to it. 
 
 He then turned to the elephant, which had fallen only 
 about fifty yards from the wood, and dexterously cut off 
 the trunk, which measured nearly two feet wide at the head. 
 He chose the most delicate portions, and added one of the 
 sponge-like feet. These are considered the tid-bits of the 
 animal, as is the buffalo-hump, the paws of the bear, or the 
 boar's head.
 
 NIGHT ON THE GROUND 267 
 
 When the log was completely consumed inside and out- 
 side, the hole, emptied oi the cinders and ashes, was very 
 hot, so the pieces of the elephant's flesh, wrapped in aro- 
 matic leaves, were laid at the bottom of this improvised 
 furnace, and covered with the hot embers. Then Joe 
 placed a second log over all, and when the wood was burned 
 out, the meat was done to a turn. 
 
 Then Joe took the dinner from the oven, placed it upon 
 green leaves, and laid the repast in the center of a meadow- 
 like space. He brought the biscuits, brandy, and cofTee, 
 and fetched some fresh and sparkling water from a neigh- 
 boring stream. 
 
 The feast thus sent up was pleasant to behold, and Joe, 
 without vanity, thought that it would be very good to 
 eat. 
 
 " Here," he said to himself, " here is a journey without 
 danger, meals when you choose, and sleep when you like: 
 what can a man want more ? And that good Mr. Kennedy 
 did not want to come ! " 
 
 Doctor Ferguson, for his part, was devoting himself to a 
 thorough examination of his balloon. It did not appear to 
 have suffered by the storm, the taffetas and gutta-percha 
 had resisted wonderfully. Taking the actual distance from 
 the ground, and calculating the ascensional force of the 
 balloon, he perceived with satisfaction that the hydrogen 
 was still in the same volume. The envelope up to this 
 time had remained impermeable. 
 
 It was only five days since the travelers had quitted 
 Zanzibar, the pemmican had not been cut, the store of 
 biscuit and preserved meat was sufficient for a long period, 
 and they had only to renew their reserve of water. The 
 tubes and the coil appeared to be in perfect order; thanks 
 to their india-rubber joints, they yielded to all the oscilla- 
 tions of the balloon. 
 
 Having finished his inspection, the doctor put his notes 
 in order. He made a most successful sketch of the sur- 
 rounding country, with the immense prairie as far as the 
 eye could reach, the forest, and the balloon standing mo- 
 tionless over the body of the enormous elephant. 
 
 At the end of the two hours Kennedy returned with a 
 string of partridges and a haunch of venison cut from the 
 oryx — a sort of gemsbok, the most agile species of ante-
 
 268 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 lopes. Joe took upon himself to prepare this addition to 
 the repast. 
 
 " Dinner is ready ! " he soon cried, in his cheery voice. 
 And the three travelers had only to seat themselves upon 
 the verdant meadow. The feet and trunk of the elephant 
 were pronounced exquisite. They drank to " Old Eng- 
 land," as usual, and some delicious havanas perfumed the 
 air of this beautiful region for the first time. 
 
 Kennedy ate, drank, and talked enough for four. He 
 was intoxicated with the surroundings. He seriously pro- 
 posed to the doctor to remain in that forest, and to con- 
 struct a leafy cabin, and begin a sort of African Robinson 
 Crusoe life. This proposition was not otherwise followed 
 up, although Joe promised himself to take the part of 
 " Friday." 
 
 The country appeared so quiet, so deserted, that the 
 Doctor determined to pass the night on the ground. Joe 
 made a circle of fire, an indispensable barricade against 
 wild beasts. Hyenas, cougars, and jackals, attracted by 
 the scent of the elephant's carcass, came prowling around. 
 Kennedy occasionally sent a shot after the most pressing of 
 these visitors, but the night passed without any unpleasant 
 incident. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A NIGHT ON AN ISLAND 
 
 Next morning, at five o'clock, they prepared to depart. 
 Joe, with the ax which he had fortunately recovered, cut 
 off the elephant's tusks. The " Victoria," restored to 
 liberty, carried our travelers to the northeast at a speed of 
 eighteen miles an hour. 
 
 The doctor had carefully ascertained his position by the 
 altitude of the stars during the night. He made it 2° 4' 
 latitude below the equator, or say 160 geographical miles 
 distant from it. They now passed over several villages 
 without noticing the cries their appearance provoked. 
 He took notes of the form of the locality with rapid 
 sketches. He crossed over the slopes of the Rubemhe, 
 almost as steep as the summits of the Ousagara, and later 
 on reached the Tenga, the first spurs of the Karagwah 
 chain, which, according to him, are the commencement of
 
 A NIGHT ON AN ISLAND 269 
 
 the Mountains of the Moon. Now the old legend, which 
 states that these hills are the cradle of the Nile, appears to 
 be not far from the truth, inasmuch as they border upon 
 Lake Ukereone, the supposed reservoir for the waters of 
 the big river. 
 
 From Kafuero, the central market of the native mer- 
 chants, he perceived at length on the horizon the long- 
 sought lake which Captain Speke got a glimpse of on the 
 3rd of August, 1858. 
 
 Samuel Ferguson was moved. He had almost arrived 
 at one of the principal points of his expedition, and, tele- 
 scope in hand, he did not lose a corner of this mysterious 
 country which his gaze thus drank in. 
 
 Beneath him the ground appeared generally exhausted; 
 there was scarcely a hollow cultivated; the plain, dotted 
 here and there with mounds of medium elevation, became 
 level as it approached the lake; fields of barley took the 
 place of rice. There was the plantain, from which the 
 wine of the country is made, and the " mwani," a wild 
 plant that yields coffee. A collection of fifty circular huts, 
 covered with a flowery thatch, constituted the capital of 
 Karagwah. They could easily distinguish the astonished 
 faces of a race apparently good-looking and of a yellowish- 
 brown color. Women of a most incredible corpulence 
 were working in the fields, and the doctor astonished his 
 companions by informing them that this stoutness, which 
 is highly appreciated, is obtained by an obligatory diet of 
 curdled milk. 
 
 At mid-day the "Victoria" was in 1° 45' South lati- 
 tude; in an hour the wind carried it over the lake. Cap- 
 tain Speke called this Lake " Victoria " Nyanza. In this 
 place it measures ninety miles wide. At its southern ex- 
 tremity the captain found a group of islands which he 
 designated the Archipelago of Bengal. He pushed his 
 researches as far as Muanza on the eastern side, where he 
 was well received by the sultan. He made a triangulation 
 of this part of the lake; but he could not procure a boat 
 either to cross it or to visit the great island of Ukereone. 
 This very populous island is governed by three sultans, and 
 only forms a peninsula at low water. 
 
 The " Victoria " approached the lake more towards the 
 north to the doctor's great disappointment, who wanted to
 
 270 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 note the lower bends. The banks bristled with thorny 
 thickets and tangled brushwood, and were entirely hidden 
 under a cloud of millions of mosquitoes of a clear brown 
 color; the country then appeared to be uninhabitable and 
 uninhabited. They could see troops of hippopotami wal- 
 lowing amidst the reeds, whence they plunged beneath the 
 pellucid water of the lake. 
 
 The lake, seen from above, extended to such a distance 
 towards the west as almost to appear a sea. The distance 
 between the opposite sides of the lake is too great for the 
 establishment of communications; besides, the storms are 
 frequent and fierce, for the winds rage terribly in that ele- 
 vated and open basin. 
 
 The doctor had some difficulty to manage the balloon — 
 he was afraid of being carried away towards the sea; but 
 fortunately a current bore him directly to the north, and at 
 6 P. M. the " Victoria " pulled up at a small desolate island 
 in o° 30' lat. and 32° 52' long., about twenty miles from 
 the border of the lake. 
 
 The travelers were enabled to make the balloon fast to 
 a tree, and the wind having dropped as evening came on, 
 they remained quietly at anchor. They did not venture 
 to get down on the ground, for here, as upon the banks of 
 the Nyanza, legions of mosquitoes covered the earth in a 
 thick cloud. Joe returned from the tree even covered with 
 bites, but he did not trouble himself about them, as he 
 fancied that such conduct was only "the nature of the 
 animal." 
 
 Nevertheless, the doctor, somewhat less of an optimist, 
 let out the rope to its furthest extent with the view to es- 
 cape these pestilent insects, which were hovering about 
 with a never-resting " trumpeting." 
 
 The doctor reckoned that the height of the lake above 
 the level of the sea was as determined by Captain Speke; 
 that is to say, 3,750 feet. 
 
 "So we are on an island!" cried Joe, scratching him- 
 self as if he would dislocate his wrists. 
 
 " We shall have quickly made the tour of it," replied the 
 Scot, " and, except these blessed insects, I don't think there 
 is a living thing on it." 
 
 " The islands, with which the lake is studded," replied 
 Doctor Ferguson, " are only, in fact, the summits of sub-
 
 A NIGHT ON AN ISLAND 271 
 
 merged hills, but we are fortunate in unuing shelter here, 
 for the shores of the lake are inhabited by ferocious tribes. 
 So go to sleep in peace, as the sky gives assurance of a 
 quiet night." 
 
 " Are you not going to do the same, Samuel? " 
 
 " No, I cannot close my eyes. My thoughts are such as 
 to banish sleep. To-morrow, my friends, if the wind be 
 favorable, we shall proceed due north, and perhaps dis- 
 cover the sources of the Nile — the impenetrable secret ! 
 So near to the sources of the Great River I cannot sleep." 
 
 Kennedy and Joe, whose scientific cogitations did not 
 trouble them to so great an extent, did not hesitate to sleep 
 soundly under the doctor's guardianship. 
 
 On Wednesday, April 23rd, the " Victoria " set out at 
 four o'clock under a gray sky. The darkness seemed 
 loath to leave the waters of the lake, which was enveloped 
 in a thick mist. Soon, however, a strong breeze dispersed 
 all this fog. The " Victoria " was for some minutes bal- 
 anced, in more senses than one, and at last made up its 
 mind and set off directly towards the north. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson clapped his hands joyously. 
 
 " We are now in the right track," he cried ; " to-day or 
 never we shall see the Nile. My friends, now we are cross- 
 ing the equator — we are entering our own hemisphere." 
 
 " Oh! " cried Joe. " Do you think, sir, that the equator 
 does pass by here ? " 
 
 " At this very spot, my brave lad ! " 
 
 " Well, * saving your presence,' sir, it seems to me advis- 
 able to ' wet ' it without further loss of time." 
 
 " Go and fetch the grog," said the doctor, laughing; " you 
 have a way of understanding cosmography which is not to 
 be despised." 
 
 And that was how they celebrated the " crossing of the 
 line " in the " Victoria." 
 
 The balloon continued to glide rapidly along. In the 
 west they could perceive the low and somewhat undulating 
 coast; at the end, the more elevated plains of Uganda and 
 Usoga. The wind now blew with great force. 
 
 The waters of the Nyanza rose and broke in billows, like 
 those of the ocean. From the observation of certain waves, 
 which kept breaking a long time after the wind lulled, the 
 doctor reckoned that the lake was of great depth. Only one
 
 2^2 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 or two large boats were descried during the rapid transit. 
 
 " This lake," said the doctor, " is evidently, from its ele- 
 vated position, the natural reservoir of the rivers in the east- 
 ern parts of Africa. Heaven gives it again in rain what it 
 absorbs in vapors from its effluents. It appears to me cer- 
 tain that the Nile ought to have its source here." 
 
 " We shall soon see," said Kennedy. 
 
 Towards nine o'clock the coast towards the west was 
 neared: it appeared desert and wooded. The wind backed 
 a little to the east, and they could get a glimpse of the other 
 side of the lake. It trended so as to terminate in a very 
 obtuse angle, about 2° 40' North latitude. High mountains 
 stood up with arid peaks at this end of the Nyanza, but be- 
 tween them a deep and winding gorge gave vent to a rip- 
 pling stream. 
 
 All the while he was regulating the balloon, Doctor Fer- 
 guson kept examining the country with an anxious gaze. 
 
 " There it is, my friends, there it is ! " he cried; " the ac- 
 counts of the Arabs were correct. They spoke of a river 
 by which the Lake Ukereone discharged itself towards the 
 north, and this river exists. We will descend with it, and it 
 flows with a rapidity equal to ours. And this drop of water 
 which passes under our feet is surely on its way to mingle 
 with the Mediterranean waves. It is the Nile ! " 
 
 " It is the Nile," replied Kennedy, who had yielded to 
 the enthusiasm of Samuel Ferguson. 
 
 " Long live the Nile ! " cried Joe, who cried long live 
 anything when he was pleased. 
 
 The enormous rocks here and there hindered the course 
 of this mysterious river. The water boiled up, forming 
 rapids and cataracts, which confirmed the doctor in his sup- 
 positions. These surrounding mountains gave rise to num- 
 erous torrents foaming in their fall, which could be counted 
 by hundreds. They could see little scattered jets of water 
 springing from the earth, crossing each other, mingling to- 
 gether, and vying in speed, and all hastening to this new- 
 born stream, which became a river after it had absorbed 
 them all. 
 
 " That is really the Nile," replied the doctor, now con- 
 vinced. " The origin of the name has puzzled the learned as 
 much as the source of its waters. They have declared it 
 comes from the Greek, from the Coptic, from the Sanscrit. 
 
 v. I Verne
 
 A NIGHT ON AN ISLAND 273 
 
 After all it is not much matter, since they could not disclose 
 the secret of its source." 
 
 " But," said the Scot, " how are we to be assured of the 
 identity of this river with that which travelers from the 
 north have discovered?" 
 
 " We shall have certain irresistible and infallible proofs," 
 replied Ferguson, " if the wind only favor us for another 
 hour." 
 
 The mountains fell back, giving place to numerous vil- 
 lages, to fields cultivated with the oil plant, dourrah, and 
 sugar-canes. The tribes of these countries appeared excited 
 and hostile. They approached nearer to anger than adora- 
 tion ; they looked upon the travelers as strangers, and not as 
 gods. It seemed to them that in coming to the sources of 
 the Nile they had come to steal something. The " Vic- 
 toria " was obliged to keep out of musket range. 
 
 " To land here would be difficult," said the Scotchman. 
 
 " Well," said Joe, " so much the worse for the natives — ^ 
 we shall deprive them of the benefit of our conversation." 
 
 " I must descend, nevertheless," replied Doctor Fergu- 
 son, " if only for a quarter of an hour. Otherv/ise I shall 
 not be able to verify the results of our exploration." 
 
 " Is that really indispensable, Samuel? " 
 
 ** It is, and we shall descend without the firing of a gun." 
 
 " That is my business," rephed Kennedy, patting his car- 
 bine. 
 
 " Whenever you choose, sir," said Joe, preparing himself 
 for fighting. 
 
 " This will not be the first time," said the doctor, " that 
 one has worked for science arms in hand; a similar thing 
 happened to a French professor in the Spanish mountains 
 when he was measuring the terrestrial meridian." 
 
 You be quiet, Samuel, and trust to your bodyguard." 
 Are we at the place now, sir? " asked Joe. 
 
 " Not yet. Indeed we must ascend in order to learn the 
 * lie of the land ' a little." 
 
 The hydrogen was expanded, and in less than ten minutes 
 the " Victoria " was floating at a height of 2,500 feet. 
 
 They could distinguish from that elevation an inextric- 
 able network of streams, which the river received. It flowed 
 more from the west between the hills, in the midst of a fer- 
 tile country. 
 
 tt
 
 274 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " We are not ninety miles from Gondokoro," said the doc- 
 tor, referring to the map, " and scarcely five miles from the 
 point reached by the discoverers from the north. Let us 
 now approach the earth, but cautiously." 
 
 The " Victoria " descended more than 2,000 feet. 
 
 " Now, my friends, be ready for anything." 
 
 " We are ready," replied Dick and Joe. 
 
 " Good," said the doctor. 
 
 The " Victoria " sailed over the bed of the river at a 
 height of scarcely 100 feet. The Nile measured fifty fath- 
 oms at this spot ; and the inhabitants were tremendously ex- 
 cited in the villages along the banks. At the second decree 
 the river formed a cascade about ten feet high, and was con- 
 sequently impassable for boats. 
 
 " There is the very waterfall spoken of by M. Debono! " 
 cried the doctor. 
 
 The bed of the river became extended and dotted with 
 numerous islands, which Ferguson scanned narrowly. He 
 seemed to be seeking a landmark which he had not hitherto 
 perceived. 
 
 Some negroes were advancing in a boat beneath the bal- 
 loon, Kennedy saluted them with a shot, which, without 
 touching them, sent them back to the bank pretty quickly. 
 
 " Pleasant voyage ! " shouted Joe; " in their place I would 
 not take the chance of returning. I should have a whole- 
 some fear of a monster who could hurl thunder at me at his 
 will." 
 
 But now the doctor suddenly seized his telescope and di- 
 rected it towards an island situated in the center of the 
 river. 
 
 " Four trees ! " he cried. " Do you see them down there? 
 In fact four solitary trees were observable at the extremity 
 of the island. 
 
 " 'Tis the isle of Benga ; it is indeed ! " he shouted. 
 
 " Well, what then? " asked Dick. 
 
 " There we must descend, please goodness." 
 
 " But it appears to be inhabited, Mr. Samuel ! " 
 
 " Joe is right; if I do not mistake, there are about twenty 
 natives assembled there." 
 
 " We must put them to flight, that will not be a difficult 
 matter," said Ferguson. 
 
 "All right!" said Dick.
 
 it 
 t( 
 
 A NIGHT ON AN ISLAND 275 
 
 The sun was in the zenith. The " Victoria " approached 
 the island. 
 
 The negroes, who appeared to be of the Makado tribe, 
 uttered discordant cries. One of them waved his bark head- 
 covering in the air. Kennedy took aim, fired, and the hat 
 was knocked to pieces. There was a general stampede. The 
 natives precipitated themselves into the river, and swam 
 across. From both banks there came a hail of bullets and 
 a shower of arrows, but without any hurt to the balloon, 
 whose grapnel had become fastened in a fissure of a rock. 
 Joe let himself slide down to the ground. 
 
 "The ladder, the ladder," cried the doctor. "Follow 
 me Kennedy! " 
 
 " What are you going to do? " 
 
 " To descend. I want a witness." 
 
 " Here I am, then." 
 Joe, keep guard, mind." 
 
 All right, sir; I am responsible for everything." 
 Come, Dick," said the doctor, putting his foot on the 
 ground. 
 
 He led his companion towards a mass of rock that rose 
 up at the extremity of the island. There, after searching 
 for some time, hunting about amongst the brushwood till his 
 hands were cut and bleeding, suddenly he grasped the Scot's 
 arm. 
 
 "Look there!" said he. 
 
 " Letters ! " cried Kennedy. 
 
 In fact, two letters engraven In the rock appeared in all 
 their pristine sharpness of outline. They distinctly read: 
 
 A. D. 
 ^ "A. D.," said the doctor. " Andrea Debono! The ini- 
 tials of that very traveler who mounted to the highest point 
 of the course of the Nile." 
 
 " That is unimpeachable evidence, friend Samuel." 
 
 "Are you now convinced? " 
 
 " It is the Nile; we can have no doubt about it." 
 
 The doctor took a " last fond look " at tlie precious initials, 
 of which he made a tracing. 
 
 ** Now," said he. " for the balloon ! " 
 
 " Quick, then, for there are some natives preparing to 
 cross the river." 
 
 "That does not matter much to us now. If the breeze
 
 276 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 will only hold to us a few hours we shall reach Gondokoro 
 and shake hands with our own countrymen." 
 
 Ten minutes afterwards the " Victoria " rose majestically, 
 and Dr. Ferguson, as a signal of success, unfurled the Royal 
 Standard of England as they sailed along. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE NILE 
 
 <( 
 
 In what direction are we going? " asked Kennedy, see- 
 ing his companion looking at the compass. 
 
 " Nor-nor-west," was the reply. 
 
 " The devil! That is not north, is it.^ " 
 
 " No, Dick. And I think we shall have some difficulty 
 to reach Gondokoro. I am sorry for it, but, at any rate, 
 we have united the exploration of the east to those of the 
 north, so we must not complain." 
 
 The " Victoria " now edged away from the Nile. 
 
 " A last look," said the doctor, " at this insurmountable 
 latitude, which the most intrepid travelers have never been 
 able to pass. There are surely those intractable tribes men- 
 tioned by Pethwick, Arnaud, Miani, and the young explorer 
 Lejean, to whom we are indebted for the best works upon 
 the Upper Nile." 
 
 " So," said Kennedy, " our discoveries are in accord with 
 the forecastings of science." 
 
 " Entirely. The sources of the White River of the 
 Bahr-el-Abiad are immersed in a great lake like a sea. It 
 takes its rise there. There poetry lost it. They loved to 
 fancy that this king of rivers had a heavenly origin; the 
 ancients called it * ocean ' and it was not a difficult thing 
 to believe that it descended directly from the sun. But it is 
 necessary to refute or to accept, from time to time, that 
 which science has laid down. There will not be learned 
 men for ever, perhaps ; but there will always be poets ! " 
 
 " There are more cataracts," said Joe. 
 
 " Those are the cataracts of Makedo in the 3rd degree of 
 latitude. Nothing is more certain. Fancy our being able 
 thus to follow the course of the Nile for hours! " 
 
 " And farther down," said the Scot, " I can perceive the 
 summit of a mountain."
 
 THE NILE 277 
 
 " That is Mount Logwek, the * Shaking Mountain ' of 
 the Arabs. All this part has been visited by M. Debono, 
 who explored it under the name of Latif Effendi. The 
 neighboring tribes are hostile to each other and keep up a 
 war of extermination. You can thus estimate without diffi- 
 culty the extent of the perils he had to overcome." 
 
 The breeze now carried the " Victoria " towards the north- 
 east- In order to clear Mount Logwek it was necessary 
 to seek a more inclined current. 
 
 " My friends," said the doctor to his companions, " we 
 are now about to commence our journey across Africa in 
 real earnest. So far we have only been following the foot- 
 steps of our predecessors. We are now about to penetrate 
 into the * unknown.' Your courage will not fail? " 
 
 " Never! " cried Dick and Joe in one breath. 
 
 " Let us go on then, and may Heaven guide us on our 
 way ! " 
 
 At ten o'clock at night, passing over ravines, forests, and 
 villages, the travelers reached the side of the " Shaking 
 Mountain," beside whose slopes they ascended. 
 
 In this memorable journey of the 23rd April, during a 
 sail of fifteen hours, they had, under the influence of a strong 
 wind, accomplished a distance of 315 miles. 
 
 But this latter part of the journey had left a trace of 
 sadness behind it. Complete silence reigned in the car. Was 
 Doctor Ferguson absorbed in the contemplation of his dis- 
 coveries? Were his companions thinking of this expedition 
 into the unknown regions? There was all that, without 
 doubt, mingled with very vivid recollections of England and 
 absent friends. Joe was the only one to assume a carelessly 
 philosophic manner, feeling it only natural that his native 
 land was no longer there when he had quitted it; but he re- 
 spected the silence of the doctor and Kennedy. 
 
 The " Victoria " now anchored, " broadside on," to the 
 " Shaking Mountain " ; they were enabled to make a sub- 
 stantial meal, and all slept under the successive guard of the 
 other alternately. 
 
 Next day, more cheerful thoughts arrived with the work- 
 ing hours. They had a lovely day, and the wind blew in 
 the proper direction, A breakfast, much enlivened by Joe, 
 sufficed to put them into better spirits. 
 
 The country passed over just then was very extensive.
 
 (( 
 
 2y^ FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 It stretched from the Mountains of the Moon to those of 
 Darfour, a space as broad as the width of Europe. 
 
 *' We shall undoubtedly cross what is supposed to be the 
 kingdom of Usoga," said the doctor. " Some geographers 
 have pretended that, in the center of Africa exists a vast de- 
 pression, an immense central lake. We shall see if this 
 hypothesis has any foundation in fact." 
 
 But how have they arrived at such a conclusion ? '* 
 From the reports of the Arabs, these people are great 
 story-tellers; too much so, perhaps. Some travelers, arriv- 
 ing from Kazeh, or the Great Lakes, have seen slaves 
 brought from the central districts. They have questioned 
 these people respecting their country, they have put together 
 a heap of these various statements, and have thence made 
 their deduction. At the bottom of all this there is a sub- 
 stratum of truth, and you have seen that they did not mis- 
 take in the origin of the Nile so much after all." 
 
 " Nothing could be more correct," said Kennedy. 
 
 " It is from these documents that trial-maps have been at- 
 tempted. So I am about to follow up my route upon one of 
 these, and to rectify it when necessary." 
 
 " Is all this region inhabited? " asked Joe. 
 Certainly, but thinly." 
 I suspect so." 
 
 " These scattered tribes are comprised under the general 
 denomination of Nyam-Nyam, and this name is only an- 
 other name for ' onomatopy ' ; it reproduces the sound of 
 mastication." 
 
 " Perfectly," replied Joe. " Nyam-Nyam." 
 
 " My good Joe, if you were the original cause of this 
 * onomatopy,' you would not be so perfect? " 
 
 " What do you mean? " 
 
 " Merely that these people are cannibals ! " 
 
 "Is that certain?" 
 
 " Quite certain People also pretended that these tribes 
 had tails, but it was soon discovered that the tails were those 
 of the animals in whose skins they were clothed." 
 
 " So much the worse. A tail is a very useful appendage 
 to keep off the mosquitoes," said Joe. 
 
 " Possibly, but we must relegate that tale to the ranks of 
 fable, just like the story told by Brun-Rollet of certain tribes 
 having dogs' heads." 

 
 THE NILE '279 
 
 " Dogs* Hea3s ! Most convenient for Barking, and for 
 cannibals." 
 
 " What has been proved is unfortunately this, that the 
 people are most savage, and they are very desirous of human 
 flesh, which they seek for with avidity.'" 
 
 " All I ask is," said Joe, " that they won't seek me indi- 
 vidually so anxiously." 
 
 "I say! "cried Dick. 
 
 " I mean it this way, Mr. Dick. If ever I am to be eaten 
 in a moment of scarcity, I hope that it will be for your ad- 
 vantage, and for my master's. But to sustain those black- 
 amoors, never! I should die of shame! " 
 
 " Well, then my brave Joe, now that is understood, we 
 may count upon you at a pinch," said Kennedy. 
 
 " At your service, gentlemen," said Joe. 
 
 " Joe talks like that," said the doctor, " so that we may 
 take great care of him, and feed him up." 
 
 " Very likely," replied Joe. " Man is a terribly selfish 
 animal." 
 
 During the afternoon the sky was hidden by a thick mist, 
 which made the earth damp. The fog scarcely allowed ob- 
 jects to be distinguished on the ground, and, fearful of strik- 
 ing against some invisible peak, the doctor ascended for 
 about five hours. The night passed without accident, but it 
 was necessary to be doubly vigilant in the profound darkness. 
 
 The trade-wind blew with extreme violence during the 
 early part of the following day. The wind roared in the 
 lower part of the balloon, and shook the appendages by 
 which the tubes of dilatation penetrated with great force. 
 They were compelled to fasten them with ropes, in which 
 work Joe acquitted himself very skillfully. 
 
 They ascertained, at the same time, that the opening at 
 the top of the balloon remained hermetically sealed. " This 
 is of the utmost importance to us," said Doctor Ferguson. 
 "We obviate the escape of the precious gas; besides, we 
 leave nothing round us of an inflammable nature by which, 
 if a light were applied, we should be stopped altogether." 
 
 " That would be a very unpleasant incident of our jour- 
 ney," said Joe. 
 
 " Should we be precipitated to the ground ? " asked Dick. 
 
 " No, not precipitated. The gas would burn quietly, and 
 we should descend by degrees. A similar accident happened
 
 28o FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 to the French aeronaut, Madame Blanchard. She set fire 
 to the balloon while setting off fireworks, but she did not 
 fall; and she would not have lost her life had her car not 
 been hurled against a chimney, and she herself thrown to 
 the ground." 
 
 " Let us trust that no such accident will happen to us," 
 said Dick. ** So far our journey has not appeared to me 
 dangerous, and I see no reason why we should not reach our 
 destination" 
 
 " Nor do I, my dear Dick. Accidents, moreover, have 
 always been caused either by imprudence on the part of the 
 aeronauts, or by the badly-constructed apparatus they make 
 use of. So, out of many thousands of aerial ascents, we 
 can reckon only about twenty fatal accidents. Generally it 
 is the landings or the departures which offer most danger. 
 So, in like case, we ought not to neglect any precautions." 
 
 " It is breakfast time," said Joe; " we must content our- 
 selves with preserved meat and coffee until Mr. Kennedy 
 has the opportunity to treat us to a haunch of venison." 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 FIGHT OF THE TRIBES 
 
 The wind was becoming violent and squally. The " Vic- 
 toria " made " tacks " in the air. Sometimes tossed to the 
 north, sometimes to the south, it could not meet with any 
 steady slant of wind. 
 
 " We are going very fast without advancing much," said 
 Kennedy, as he remarked the frequent oscillations of the 
 magnetic needle. 
 
 " The * Victoria ' is flying at a speed of nearly thirty 
 leagues an hour," said Ferguson. " Lean over and see how 
 quickly the country disappears from beneath us. Mind, 
 this forest appears as if it were about to precipitate itself 
 against us ! " 
 
 " The forest is already an open space," said Kennedy. 
 
 "And the open space is now a village," added Joe, a 
 few seconds later. " Look at the astonished faces of the 
 niggers ! " 
 
 " No wonder," replied the doctor, " The French 
 peasants, when they first saw balloons, ran away, taking
 
 FIGHT OF THE TRIBES 281 
 
 them for monstrous air-sprites; so we must not be sur- 
 prised at the natives of the Soudan looking astonished." 
 
 " I declare," said Joe, as the " Victoria " just skimmed 
 over a village about 100 feet above it. "I have a great 
 mind to shy an empty bottle at them if you have no ob- 
 jection, sir. If it arrive unbroken they will worship it, if 
 it smash they will make * charms ' of the pieces." 
 
 And as he spoke he threw a bottle over; it of course 
 was broken to fragments, while the natives ran into their 
 huts uttering loud cries. 
 
 A little farther on Kennedy cried: 
 
 " Look at that extraordinary tree — it appears to be of 
 one species at the top and another lower down ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Joe ; " this is apparently a country where 
 trees grow one on top of the other! " 
 
 " It is only the trunk of a fig-tree," replied the doctor, 
 ** upon which a little mold has fallen. One fine day the 
 wind happened to bring a seed of the palm here, and the 
 palm tree has grown up accordingly." 
 
 " A capital plan," said Joe, " and one I shall introduce 
 into England. It would answer capitally in the London 
 parks, not to mention that it would be a way of multiplying 
 fruit trees ; one might have gardens in the air, which would 
 be quite to the taste of small proprietors." 
 
 At this moment they were obliged to elevate the " Vic- 
 toria " to about 300 feet, so as to avoid a forest of high 
 trees — very ancient banyans. 
 
 "What magnificent trees!" cried Kennedy; "I know; 
 nothing finer than these old forests. Look, Samuel ! " 
 
 " The height of these banyans is truly marvelous, my 
 dear Dick ; yet they are not to be compared with the Ameri- 
 can forests." 
 
 " What ! are there bigger trees in America ? " 
 
 " Certainly ! amongst those called * mammoth trees.* 
 Thus in California there is a cedar 450 feet high, which 
 is higher than the tower of the Houses of Parliament or 
 even than the great Pyramid of Egypt. The trunk is 120 
 feet round at the base, and the concentric rings of the tree 
 declare it to be more than 4,000 years old ! " 
 
 " Well, sir," said Joe, " that is not very wonderful. 
 When you have lived 4,000 years it is only natural that you 
 should be very big."
 
 282 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 During the above conversation the forest had given place 
 to a large collection of huts, disposed in a circle round a 
 clear space. In the center rose an extraordinary tree. 
 Joe cried out when he saw it: "Well, if that tree has 
 produced such flowers as those for 4,000 years, I shall not 
 pay it any compliment." 
 
 It was a gigantic sycamore, whose trunk was completely 
 concealed by a heap of human bones. The " flowers " 
 of which Joe spoke were human heads lately cut off, and 
 suspended by daggers fixed in the bark. 
 
 " The ' war-tree ' of the cannibals," said the doctor. 
 ** The Indians take the scalp, the Africans the entire head." 
 
 " A matter of taste," said Joe. 
 
 But the village of the bleeding heads was fast disap- 
 pearing on the horizon ; yet another farther on offered a not 
 less horrible spectacle. Half-eaten human bodies, crum- 
 bling skeletons, human remains, were scattered about, and 
 were left to be devoured by the hyenas and jackals. 
 
 "Those are doubtless the bodies of criminals, and, as is 
 the practice in Abyssinia, they are exposed to the attacks 
 of wild beasts, who devour them at their leisure, having 
 first killed them with teeth and claws." 
 
 " It is not much more cruel than hanging," said the Scot, 
 " it is more horrible, that's all." 
 
 "In the south of Africa," replied the doctor, "they 
 merely shut the offender up in his own hut with the wild 
 beasts; perhaps his family is also included. The hut is 
 then set on fire and the occupants are all roasted together. 
 I do call that cruelty, but I agree with Kennedy that if 
 hanging be less cruel it is equally barbarous." 
 
 Joe, with the excellent sight which served him so well 
 now, cried that he could perceive some birds of prey ap- 
 pearing above the horizon. 
 
 " They are eagles," replied Kennedy, after having exam- 
 ined them with his telescope; " splendid birds! — their flight 
 is as rapid as our own." 
 
 " Heaven preserve us from their attacks ! " said the doc- 
 tor ; " they are more to be dreaded than the most ferocious 
 beasts or the most savage tribes." 
 
 " Bah ! " replied Dick, " we shall drive them off with 
 our rifles." 
 
 " I should very much prefer not to be obliged to resort
 
 FIGHT OF THE TRIBES 283 
 
 to your skill, my dear Dick. The taffeta could not resist 
 their beaks. Fortunately they appear to be more fright- 
 ened than attracted by our balloon." 
 
 " Yes, but I have got an idea," said Joe, " for ideas are 
 tumbling in by dozens to-day. If we were to procure a 
 team of eagles, we might harness them to the car, and they 
 would draw us through the air." 
 
 "The proposal is seriously made," said the doctor; 
 " but I very much question its practicability with such very 
 restive animals." 
 
 "We might train them," replied Joe; "instead of bits 
 we could guide them with blinkers, which would cover their 
 eyes completely. Unloose one eye, they would go to the 
 right or left as the case might be; blind them again, and 
 they would stop." 
 
 " You must allow me, my good Joe, to prefer a favor- 
 able wind to your harnessed eagles. It costs less to keep — 
 that is certain, at any rate." 
 
 " Oh, by all means, sir; but I will keep my idea all the 
 same." 
 
 It was mid-day. For some time the " Victoria " had 
 been going along steadily, not flying as it lately had been. 
 Suddenly cries and whistling sounds reached the ears of 
 the travelers; they leaned over and perceived in the open 
 plain a sight not easily to be forgotten. Two tribes were 
 engaged in deadly combat and exchanging clouds of 
 arrows. The combatants were so deeply engaged that they 
 did not perceive the " Victoria." They numbered about 
 300, and were mingled in an inextricable melee; the greater 
 part of them were reddened with the blood in which they 
 appeared literally steeped. It was a horrible sight. At 
 the appearance of the balloon there was a pause, the shouts 
 were redoubled, some arrows were launched at the car, and 
 one of them came near enough for Joe to catch it. 
 
 " We must get out of reach," said the doctor. " No 
 imprudence, we cannot allow that." 
 
 The battle continued. So soon as an enemy "bit the 
 dust," his opponent hastened to decapitate him. The 
 women mixed in this rout, collected the bleeding heads, and 
 piled them up at either extremity of the battle-field, and 
 often fought among themselves for possession of these 
 hideous trophies.
 
 284 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Horrible scene," said Kennedy, with profound disgust. 
 
 " Wretched creatures," cried Joe. " They only want a 
 uniform now to be like all other soldiers." 
 
 " I have a great mind to interfere in the battle," cried 
 Kennedy, brandishing a carbine. 
 
 " Not so," replied the doctor ; " nothing of the sort. Let 
 us mind our own business. How do you know who is right 
 or wrong, that you should play the part of Providence? 
 Let us get farther away from this repulsive scene. If 
 great generals could only look down as we do upon their 
 fields of battle, they would end, perhaps, in losing their 
 taste for blood and conquest." 
 
 The chief of one of the bands of savages was remarkable 
 for his tall form and Herculean strength. With one hand he 
 plunged his lance into the thick masses of his enemies, and 
 with the other he cleared the way with tremendous blows of 
 his hatchet. Presently he cast his gory lance from him, and 
 cast himself upon a wounded man, whose arm he swept off 
 with a blow of his hatchet. He then seized the arm and 
 began to devour it on the spot. 
 
 " Ugh! " cried Kennedy, " the brute! I can't stand any 
 more." And the warrior, hit by a bullet in the forehead, fell 
 dead on his back. 
 
 At his fall, a profound terror seized his band. This 
 supernatural death served to reanimate the ardor of their 
 adversaries, and in a moment the battle-field was abandoned 
 by half the combatants. 
 
 " Let us seek a higher current to take us along," said the 
 doctor, " I am sick of this." 
 
 But they could not get away so quickly, but that they 
 could perceive the victorious tribe seize upon the dead and 
 wounded, and fight over the still warm flesh, and devour it 
 eagerly. " Pugh," said Joe, " that is sickening." 
 
 The "Victoria " rose. The shouts of the frenzied crowd, 
 followed them for some moments, but at length, impelled 
 towards the south, they escaped from this scene of carnage 
 and cannibalism. 
 
 The country appeared undulating with several water- 
 courses, which ran towards the east, and fell doubtless into 
 the affluents of the lake Nu, or of the River of Gazelles, 
 respecting which M. Lejean has given some curious de- 
 tails. When night fell the ** Victoria " dropped anchor in
 
 it 
 
 FIGHT OF THE TRIBES 285 
 
 27° E. longitude, and 4° 20' N. latitude, after a journey 
 of 150 miles. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK 
 
 The night was very dark. The doctor had not been able 
 to recognize the country. He made fast to a tall tree, of 
 which he could scarcely distinguish the confused mass in 
 the gloom. According to arrangement, he took the nine 
 o'clock watch, and at midnight Dick came to relieve him. 
 Watch carefully, Dick, please; very carefully." 
 Anything new, then?" 
 
 " No ; I believe I have heard some strange noises below 
 us, and I do not know quite where the wind has carried 
 us. A little extra prudence, then, cannot do any harm." 
 
 " You have heard cries of wild beasts? " 
 
 " No, it appeared to me something quite different. How- 
 ever, at the least alarm do not fail to wake us." 
 
 " All right," replied Dick. 
 
 After listening attentively once more, and hearing noth- 
 ing, the doctor retired, and slept soundly. 
 
 The sky was covered with thick clouds, but not a breath 
 of wind was stirring. The "Victoria," held by a single 
 grapnel, felt no movement. 
 
 Kennedy leaned upon the car so as to watch the action 
 of the blow-pipe, and began to think of this Erebus-like 
 gloom. He scanned the horizon, and as it happens to 
 restless or preoccupied persons, he fancied he could perceive 
 at times a faint glimmering of light. At one moment he 
 actually believed he saw it 200 paces distant, but it was 
 only a flash, after which he could perceive nothing. It was 
 doubtless one of those luminous sensations which the eye 
 produces in the midst of profound darkness. 
 
 Kennedy was satisfied, and resumed his contemplative 
 mood, when a sharp whistle broke the silence. Was it the 
 cry of an animal or of a bird of night? Or did it emanate 
 from human lips ? 
 
 Kennedy, recognizing all the gravity of the situation, 
 was about to rouse his companions, but he considered that 
 in any case, whether man or beast, it was out of range.
 
 286 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 He looked to his arms, however, and, with the night-glass, 
 resumed his scrutiny into the darkness. 
 
 He soon fancied that he could distinguish below him 
 shadowy forms, which glided towards the tree. By a ray of 
 moonlight, which glinted like a lightning flash between two 
 clouds, he perceived distinctly a group of people moving 
 about in the gloom. 
 
 The adventure with the apes came to his mind; he laid 
 his hand on the doctor's shoulder. Ferguson woke imme- 
 diately. 
 
 " Silence ! " whispered Kennedy. 
 
 " Is anything the matter? " 
 
 " Yes, wake Joe." 
 
 So soon as Joe was awake, the Scot related what he had 
 seen. 
 
 " Those cursed apes again," said Joe. 
 
 " Possibly ! but we must take our precautions. Joe and 
 I will descend into the tree by the ladder," said Kennedy. 
 
 " And in the meantime," said the doctor, " I will take 
 steps to ensure a rapid retreat upwards." 
 
 "Agreed!" 
 
 " Let us get down," said Joe. 
 
 " Do not resort to firearms except in the last necessity," 
 said the doctor. " It is no use to reveal our whereabouts in 
 these parts." 
 
 Dick and Joe signed assent and glided noiselessly into 
 the tree. They took their position upon the fork of two 
 large branches which the grapnel had caught. 
 
 For some minutes they listened mute and motionless in 
 the tree. At a certain crackling of the bark Joe seized the 
 Scot's hand. 
 
 " Don't you hear something? " 
 
 " Yes; it is approaching." 
 
 " If it be a serpent? The hissing you heard " 
 
 " No, it is something human." 
 
 " I prefer savages to serpents," said Joe. " Those rep- 
 tiles are most repugnant to me." 
 
 " The noise is increasing," said Kennedy some moments 
 afterwards. 
 
 " Yes, they are ascending — creeping up." 
 
 " Do you watch this side; I will look out on the other." 
 
 " All right, sir."
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK 287 
 
 They found themselves isolated upon the main branch, 
 growing right in the middle of the miniature forest, which 
 a " baobab " tree makes. The obscurity, increased by the 
 thickness of the foliage, was profound; nevertheless Joe, 
 stooping to Kennedy's ear, and pointing to the lower por- 
 tion of the tree, said : " Niggers ! " 
 
 Some words in a low voice then reached even to the 
 ears of the travelers. Joe shouldered his rifle. 
 
 " Wait a bit," said Kennedy. 
 
 The savages had actually scaled the "baobab." They 
 rushed along it on every side, creeping along the branches 
 like snakes — approaching slowly but surely; but they be- 
 trayed their presence by the smell of the horrible grease 
 with which their bodies were smeared. 
 
 Soon two heads presented themselves to our travelers' 
 gaze on a level with the very branch which they occupied. 
 
 " Attention ! " cried Dick. " Fire ! " 
 
 The double discharge echoed like thunder, and arose 
 amid cries of distress. In a moment all the crowd had 
 disappeared. 
 
 But in the midst of the shoutings a most extraordinary 
 cry arose. It was incredible — impossible ! A human voice, 
 and speaking French! 
 
 " Help, help !" it cried. 
 
 Kennedy and Joe were stupefied. They regained the 
 car with all speed. 
 
 " You heard it? " asked the doctor. 
 
 " Most decidedly a supernatural cry — * Help ! help ! ' " 
 
 " 'Tis a Frenchman in the hands of the savages ! " said 
 the doctor. 
 
 "AtravelerV 
 
 " A missionary, very likely ! " 
 
 " The unhappy man! " cried Kennedy. " They are about 
 to kill him — to make him suffer martyrdom ! " The doctor 
 endeavored in vain to hide his emotion. 
 
 " There can be no doubt," said he, " some unhappy 
 Frenchman has fallen into the hands of the savages. But 
 we will not leave this spot till we have made every effort to 
 rescue him. The sound of our guns he looked upon as 
 inspired succor — a providential intervention. We will not 
 render this last hope false. Is this your opinion? " 
 
 " It is, Samuel, and we are ready to obey you."
 
 288 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Let us then arrange our plans, and so soon as daylight 
 comes we will endeavor to release him." 
 
 " But how shall we drive away those horrible negroes ? " 
 
 " It seems to me," said the doctor, " that after the way 
 in which they dispersed, they were not acquainted with 
 firearms. We must then profit by their fright; but it will 
 be necessary to wait for daylight, and we will form our plan 
 of rescue according to the circumstances." 
 
 " This unhappy man cannot be very far distant," said 
 Joe. "For r 
 
 " Help, help ! " cried the voice, but this time in weaker 
 accents. 
 
 " The barbarians ! " cried Joe angrily. " Suppose they 
 kill him to-night?" 
 
 "Yes, Samuel!" said Kennedy. "If they murder him 
 to-night?" 
 
 " That is not likely, my friends. These savage tribes kill 
 their prisoners in open day : the sun is necessary for them." 
 
 " Suppose I were to take advantage of the darkness," 
 said the Scot, " to approach this poor victim ? " 
 
 " I will go with you, Mr. Dick." 
 
 " Stop, stop, my friends. This suggestion does equal 
 honor to your courage and your feelings; but you will 
 put everything in jeopardy, and will only endanger the man 
 we want to save." 
 
 "How so?" asked Kennedy. "The savages are 
 frightened and dispersed. They will not return." 
 
 " Dick, obey me, I beg of you. I ask it for the com- 
 mon safety. If by any chance you were discovered, every- 
 thing would be lost." 
 
 " But this poor wretch who is waiting and hoping all 
 this time. No one answers him, no one comes to his assist- 
 ance. He will think his senses have deceived him; that 
 he has heard nothing." 
 
 " He can be reassured," said the doctor. 
 
 And standing up in the darkness and putting his hands 
 to his mouth, the doctor called out to the stranger, in 
 French : 
 
 " Whoever you are, be confident. Three friends watch 
 over you." 
 
 A terrible uproar was the reply, which doubtless drowned 
 the prisoner's answer. 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK 2S9 
 
 " They are about to murder him," cried Kennedy. " Our 
 interference has only served to hasten the hour of his death. 
 We must act." 
 
 " But how, Dick ? What can you do in this darkness ? " 
 
 " Oh ! if it were only day ! " cried Joe. 
 
 "Well, if it were day?" said the doctor, in a peculiar 
 tone. 
 
 " Nothing easier then," said Kennedy. " I would de- 
 scend and disperse this rabble with a few shots." 
 
 "And you, Joe?" asked the doctor. 
 
 " I, sir, would act more prudently, In making known to 
 the prisoner that he should escape in the proper direction." 
 
 "And how would you convey this advice? " 
 
 " By means of this arrow, which I caught flying, and to 
 which I would fasten a note; or by simply calling to him 
 in a loud voice. The negroes would not understand his 
 language." 
 
 Your plans are impracticable, my friends ; the greatest 
 difficulty would be for this unfortunate man to save himself, 
 even admitting that he could escape the vigilance of his 
 executioners. As for you, my dear Dick, with much cour- 
 age and by profiting by the fright excited by our firearms, 
 your plan might perhaps succeed; but if it failed you would 
 be lost, and we should have two persons to save instead of 
 one. No, we must have all the chances on our side, and act 
 otherwise." 
 
 "Very well, but act at once," replied Kennedy. 
 
 " Perhaps," replied Samuel, dwelling on the word. 
 
 "Are you not capable of dispelling this darkness, sir? " 
 
 "Who knows, Joe?" 
 
 " Ah, if you could do a thing like that, I should say you 
 are the cleverest man in the world." 
 
 The doctor remained silent for some minutes In deep 
 thought. His companions contemplated him with some 
 emotion. They were over-excited by this extraordinary 
 Incident. Ferguson soon spoke. 
 
 "This is my plan," he said. "We have still 200 lbs. 
 of ballast, as the bags in which we brought it have remained 
 untouched. I take for granted that this prisoner, a man 
 evidently worn-out by hardships, weighs as much as one of 
 us. There will remain, therefore, 60 Ids. to throw away in 
 order that we may rise rapidly."
 
 290 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " How do you intend to act, then?" asked Kennedy. 
 
 " This way, Dick. You admit, no doubt, that if I suc- 
 ceed with the prisoner and throw away a quantity of bal- 
 last equal to his weight, nothing will be changed so far as 
 the equilibrium of the balloon is concerned; but then if I 
 want to secure a rapid ascent to escape this tribe of negroes, 
 I must use stronger measures than the blow-pipe; now in 
 throwing over this weight of ballast at the right moment i 
 am sure to rise with great rapidity." 
 
 " That is evident." 
 
 " Yes ; but there is great Inconvenience in it. For in- 
 stance, to descend slowly, I must lose a quantity of gas 
 proportionate to the excess of ballast I shall have thrown 
 away. Now this gas is a very precious commodity, but 
 we must not regret the loss where the safety of a fellow- 
 creature is concerned." 
 
 " You are right, Samuel, we must sacrifice everything to 
 save him." 
 
 " Well, let us be up and doing. Dispose these bags so 
 that they may be thrown down at once. 
 
 " But the darkness ■" 
 
 " Will hide our preparations, and will not be gone until 
 they are completed. Take care to have all the arms within 
 reach. It may be necessary to give them a volley ; we have 
 one shot in the carbine, four in the two guns, twelve in the 
 two revolvers — seventeen in all — which can be fired in a 
 quarter of a minute. But we may not be obliged to resort 
 to this. Are you ready? " 
 
 " We are," replied Joe. 
 
 The bags were arranged, and the arms laid ready for 
 action. 
 
 " Good," said the doctor. " Keep a good look-out. Joe 
 shall have the duty of throwing the ballast over, and Dick 
 shall take up the prisoner, but nothing may be done without 
 my orders. Joe, go and loose the grapnel and come back 
 3,s quickly as possible." 
 
 Joe let himself slide down by the rope, and reappeared 
 in a few minutes. The " Victoria " thus freed, floated in 
 air, scarcely moving at all." 
 
 Meantime the doctor assured himself that there was si 
 sufficient quantity of gas in the " mixing-chest " to support 
 |;he blow-pipe, if necessary, .without making it obligatory, to
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK ■ ■ 291: 
 
 resort to the Buntzen " pile." He raised the two perfectly 
 isolating conducting rods which were used to decompose 
 the water, then searching in his traveling-bag he drew out 
 two pieces of charcoal cut to a point, which he fastened to 
 the end of each wire. 
 
 His two friends watched him without understanding his 
 object, but they said nothing until the doctor had finished. 
 He then stood upright in the center of the car and took one 
 of the pieces of charcoal in each hand and touched one 
 against the other. Suddenly an intense and dazzling light 
 was produced of an insupportable brightness between the 
 two parts of the charcoal. An immense band of electric 
 light literally burnt through the obscurity of the night. 
 
 "Oh!" said Joe. "Sir " 
 
 " Hold your tongue," said the doctor. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE RESCUE 
 
 Ferguson directed his electric light towards various 
 points, and stopped at the spot whence the cries of terror 
 were heard. His two companions regarded it fixedly. 
 
 The *' baobab," above which the " Victoria " was hover- 
 ing, was growing in the center of an open space. Between 
 the oil-plant fields and the sugar-canes they distinguished 
 fifty huts of low and conical appearance, around which a 
 numerous tribe had congregated. 
 
 A hundred feet below the balloon a stake had been pre- 
 pared. At the foot of this stake lay a human being, a 
 young man about thirty years old, with long black hair; he 
 was half naked, emaciated, stained with blood, and covered 
 with wounds. His head was bent forward on his chest. 
 
 Some hairs more closely shaven on tlie top of the head 
 indicated the place where the tonsure had been half effaced. 
 
 "A missionary! a priest! " cried Joe. 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " said the Scot. 
 
 " We will save him, Dick," said the doctor. 
 
 The crowd of negroes perceiving the balloon, which ap- 
 peared like an enormous comet with a dazzling tail, were 
 seized with a panic, as may readily be imagined. At their 
 cries, the prisoner raised his head. His eyes sparkled with
 
 1292 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 a rapid feeling of hope, and, without understanding all that 
 was going on, he extended his hands towards his would-be 
 helpers. 
 
 " He lives, he lives ! " cried Ferguson. " Heaven be 
 praised ! These savages are in a most excellent fright. .We 
 shall save him. Are you ready, friends ? " 
 
 " We are quite ready, Samuel." 
 
 " Joe, slacken the blow-pipe." 
 
 The doctor's orders were obeyed. A scarcely perceptible 
 breeze carried the " Victoria " gently over the prisoner, at 
 the same time that it was gradually lowered by the contrac- 
 tion of the gas. For about ten minutes it remained floating 
 in the midst of the waves of electric light. Ferguson darted 
 amongst the crowd his sparkling clusters of light, which 
 shot here and there in rapid and brilliant gleams. The 
 tribe, under the influence of indescribable terror, disap- 
 peared gradually into their huts, and the neighborhood of 
 the stake was deserted. The doctor had been right to count 
 upon the fantastic appearance of the " Victoria," which 
 darted rays as from the sun into the darkness. 
 
 The car approached the ground. But some negroes, 
 bolder than the rest, began to comprehend that their victim 
 would escape, and returned, yelling loudly. Kennedy seized 
 his rifle, but the doctor ordered him not to fire. 
 
 The priest was kneeling down, not having sufficient 
 strength to stand upright ; he was not even tied to the stake, 
 as his weakness rendered bonds useless. At the moment 
 that the car touched the ground, the Scot leaned over, and, 
 seizing the priest round the waist, placed him in the car. 
 At the same moment, Joe threw overboard the 200 lbs. of 
 ballast. The doctor expected to ascend with extreme rapid- 
 ity: but, contrary to his hopes, the balloon, after rising 
 about three or four feet from the ground, remained sta- 
 tionary. 
 
 " What is delaying us ? " he exclaimed, in terrified ac- 
 cents. 
 
 Some savages now came running up and uttering fierce 
 cries. 
 
 "Oh!" cried Joe, leaning over, "one of those cursed 
 niggers is holding on to the balloon." 
 
 " Dick, Dick ! " cried the doctor, " the water-tank ! " 
 
 Dick understood, and raising one of the chests of water.
 
 THE RESCUE 293 
 
 which weighed more than 100 lbs., he threw it overboard. 
 
 The "Victoria," suddenly lightened, made a bound of 
 300 feet into the air, amidst the yells of the tribe, from 
 whom the prisoner had escaped in a flash of dazzling light. 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried the doctor's companions. 
 
 Suddenly the balloon gave another bound, which carried 
 it up to an elevation of 1,000 feet. 
 
 " What is it? " asked Kennedy, who had nearly lost his 
 equilibrium. 
 
 " Nothing ! It is only that blackguard who has let go," 
 replied the doctor calmly. 
 
 And Joe, looking quickly over, could still perceive the 
 savage with extended hands tumbling over and over in the 
 air, and he soon fell crushed upon the ground. The doctor 
 then separated the two electric wires, and the obscurity 
 became profound. It was one o'clock in the morning. 
 
 The Frenchman, who had fainted, at length opened his 
 eyes. 
 
 " You are saved ! " said the doctor. 
 
 " Saved ! " he answered in English, with a sad smile, 
 " saved from a cruel death. My brothers, I thank you ; 
 but my days are numbered, even my hours are fast running 
 out, and I have not long to live " 
 
 And the missionary, utterly exhausted, relapsed into in- 
 sensibility. 
 
 " He is dead ! " exclaimed Dick. 
 
 " No, no," replied Ferguson, as he bent over him, " but 
 he is very weak; let us lay him down in the tent." 
 
 They laid down gently upon the coverings the poor 
 emaciated body, covered with scars and still bleeding 
 wounds, and on which the iron and the fire had left a hun- 
 dred saddening traces. The doctor made some lint from 
 a handkerchief, which he placed upon the wounds, after 
 having washed them carefully. He did all this with the 
 practiced hand of a doctor, then taking a cordial from the 
 medicine-chest he poured a few drops down his patient's 
 throat. 
 
 The priest feebly touched his quivering lips, and had 
 scarcely strength to murmur " Thank you ! " 
 
 The doctor perceived that it was necessary to leave him 
 in perfect repose, so he drew the curtains of the tent and 
 resumed his guidance of the balloon.
 
 ^94 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 The balloon, taking into account the weight of its new 
 guest, had been divested of nearly i8o lbs. weight. It 
 therefore kept itself up without the assistance of the blow- 
 pipe. At daybreak a current drove it gently towards the 
 west-nor'west. Ferguson had been contemplating the un- 
 conscious priest for some time, when Dick inquired: 
 
 " Can we preserve the life of this companion whom 
 Heaven has sent ? Have you any hope ? " 
 
 " Yes, Dick, with care and pure air." 
 
 " How the man has suffered ! " said Joe, with feeling. 
 
 " He has done a much bolder thing than we have, in 
 coming alone amongst these tribes." 
 
 " No doubt about that," replied the doctor. 
 
 During all that day the doctor would not permit the 
 sleep of his patient to be disturbed. It was a long rest, 
 interrupted occasionally by painful murmurings, which did 
 not reassure Ferguson. 
 
 Towards evening the " Victoria " rested motionless in 
 the gloom, and during that night, while Joe and Kennedy 
 laid down by the side of the invalid, Ferguson kept watch. 
 
 The following morning they perceived that the " Vic- 
 toria " had drifted very slightly towards the west. The day 
 promised to be fair and beautiful. The invalid was able to 
 address his friends in a stronger voice, they pulled back 
 the curtains of the tent, and he breathed with delight the 
 crisp morning air. 
 
 " How do you feel ? " asked Ferguson. 
 
 " Rather better," replied he. " But, my friends, I have 
 scarcely seen you but as it were in a dream. I can hardly 
 understand what has happened. Tell me who you are, so 
 that your names may be remembered in my last prayer." 
 
 " We are English travelers," said Samuel, " and are at- 
 tempting to cross Africa in a balloon, and during our pas- 
 sage we have had the happiness to render you assistance." 
 
 " Science has its heroes," said the missionary. 
 
 " And religion has its martyrs," replied the Scotchman. 
 
 " You are a missionary, then ? " said the doctor. 
 
 " I am a priest of the Mission of the Lazarists. Heaven 
 sent you to me, and Heaven be praised for it. The sacri- 
 fice of my life was offered. But you come from Europe! 
 Speak to me of Europe, and of France! I have had no 
 news for five years ! "
 
 THE RESCUE 295 
 
 " Five years alone, amongst those savages ! " exclaimed 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " There were souls to be saved," said the young priest. 
 " Ignorant brothers, barbarians, whom religion alone is able 
 to instruct and to civilize." 
 
 Samuel Ferguson, yielding to the desire of the mis- 
 sionary, talked to him for a long time of France. The 
 priest listened eagerly, and tears gathered in his eyes. The 
 poor young man took by turns the hands of Kennedy and 
 Joe in his feverish grasp, th 1 doctor prepared some cups of 
 tea, of which he gladly partook. He had then sufficient 
 strength to sit up a :::tie, and smiled at seeing himself 
 carried through such a pure atmosphere. 
 
 " You are certainly wonderful travelers," he said, " and 
 you will succeed in your bold enterprise. You will see 
 your parents, your friends, your country once again, 
 you " 
 
 The weakness of the young priest here becamic so great 
 that he was obliged to lie down again. During the pros- 
 tration of some hours which followed, he was like one dead 
 under Ferguson's hands. He could not contain his emotion, 
 he felt his patient's life was speeding. Were they then to 
 lose so quickly he whom they had snatched from mar- 
 tyrdom? He dressed the patient's wounds once more, and 
 sacrificed the greater part of the supply of water, in order 
 to refresh the sick man's burning limbs. He bestowed the 
 most tender and discriminating care upon his patient, who 
 recovered little by little, and returned to consciousness, if 
 not to life. 
 
 " Speak your native tongue," he said. " I understand it. 
 
 The doctor learnt his history in disconnected sentences. 
 
 The missionary was a poor young man from the village 
 of Aradon, in Bretagne, in the plain of Morbihan; his first 
 instincts led him towards an ecclesiastical career. To that 
 life of self-denial he wished to unite a Hfe of danger, and 
 entered into the order of mission priests, of which St. Vin- 
 cent de Paul was the glorious founder. At twenty years of 
 age he quitted his native land for the inhospitable plains of 
 Africa. Then, by degrees, overcoming obstacles, enduring 
 privations, praying and marching, he advanced into the 
 midst of the tribes which dwell by the affluents of the upper 
 Nile. During two years his religion was scoffed at, his
 
 296 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 zeal despised, his kindness of heart misunderstood; he re- 
 mained the prisoner of one of the most cruel people of the 
 Nyambarra, the object of a thousand ill-treatments. But he 
 continued to pray, and to instruct, both by example and 
 precept. The tribe was dispersed, and left him for dead, 
 after one of those combats which so frequently take place 
 between neighboring tribes; instead of retracing his steps, 
 he continued his evangelical pilgrimage. The most peaceful 
 time he enjoyed was that when he was taken for an idiot; 
 and having become famiharized with the dialects of the 
 country, he continued his good work. Finally, after two 
 more long years, he penetrated these barbarous regions, 
 impelled by that superhuman force which comes from God 
 alone. For one year he had dwelt with this tribe of Nyam- 
 Nyam, called Barafia, and one of the most savage. The 
 chief having died some days before, they attributed his 
 sudden death to the missionary, and resolved to kill him; 
 his punishment had already lasted forty hours, and, as the 
 doctor had supposed, he was to have died at noon. 
 
 When he heard the report of firearms. Nature asserted 
 herself, and he cried aloud for help; he almost believed 
 he was dreaming when a voice came from heaven bearing 
 him words of consolation. 
 
 " I do not regret the existence which I am about to 
 quit," added he; "my life is with God." 
 
 "Do not abandon all hope," replied the doctor; "we 
 are with you — we will save you from death as we have 
 saved you from suffering." 
 
 " I do not ask so much from Heaven," replied the re- 
 signed priest; "blessed be God for having permitted me 
 the happiness of clasping friendly hands and hearing my 
 native tongue once more before I die." 
 
 The missionary sank back again. The day passed thus 
 alternating between hope and fear. Kennedy was visibly 
 affected, and Joe wiped his eyes unobserved. 
 
 The " Victoria " made but little way, and the wind ap- 
 peared to be desirous of taking care of its precious freight. 
 
 Joe gave notice in the evening that he could perceive 
 a strong light in the west. In higher latitudes it might 
 have been thought to be an immense aurora borealis — ■■ 
 the sky seemed on fire. The doctor examined this phe- 
 nomenon attentively.
 
 THE RESCUE 297 
 
 (( 
 
 It is nothing but an active volcano, after all," he said. 
 
 "But the wind will carry us right over it," said Joe. 
 
 ** Well, we will clear it at a safe distance." 
 
 Three hours afterwards the " Victoria " was amongst 
 mountains; the exact position was 24° 15' long., and 4° 42' 
 lat. In front a fiery crater poured molten lava and belched 
 forth large rocks to an immense height, while streams of 
 liquid fire ran down in cascades of dazzling beauty. It was 
 a grand and fearful sight, for the wind, with a fixed 
 direction, carried the balloon towards the burning moun- 
 tain. 
 
 This obstacle, which they could not avoid, they must 
 pass over. The blow-pipe was warmed to full pressure, 
 and the " Victoria " ascended to 6,000 feet, leaving a dis- 
 tance of 300 fathoms between it and the volcano. 
 
 From his bed of pain the dying priest was able to watch 
 the crater from which a thousand sheaves of fire were scin- 
 tillating with a roar. 
 
 " How splendid it is ! " he said, " and the power of 
 God is infinite, even in these terrible manifestations." 
 
 This outpouring of burning lava clothed the sides of the 
 mountain in a veritable carpet of fire. The lower part of 
 the balloon shone brightly in the darkness, a tremendous 
 heat reached even to the car, and Doctor Ferguson hastened 
 to escape from this perilous position. 
 
 Towards ten o'clock in the evening the mountain was 
 only a red spot on the horizon, and the " Victoria " peace- 
 fully continued her journey in a less elevated zone. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A GOOD man's death 
 
 The night was splendid. The priest continued to sleep 
 in a prostrate condition. 
 
 " He will never wake again," said Joe. " Poor young 
 man! scarcely thirty years old." 
 
 " He will die in your arms," said the doctor, in despair. 
 " His already feeble breathing has grown weaker still. I 
 can do nothing to save him." 
 
 " Those infamous rascals," cried Joe, upon whom these 
 sudden fits of anger occasionally seized, " and to think that
 
 298 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 this worthy priest has found words actually to plead for, 
 to excuse, and pardon them ! " 
 
 " Heaven has sent us a lovely night, Joe ; it may be his 
 last night, perhaps. He will suffer but little longer, and he 
 will pass away in a peaceful sleep." 
 
 The dying man pronounced some disjointed words; the 
 doctor went to him. The invalid's breathing had become 
 labored; he asked for air. The curtains were drawn aside 
 and he respired with delight the pure air of the calm, clear 
 night. The stars sent down to him their trembling light, 
 while the moon wrapped him in the pure refulgence of her 
 beams. " My friends," said he, in a feeble voice, " I am 
 going! May God reward you and bring you safely home, 
 and pay my debt of gratitude." 
 
 "Do not relinquish hope," said Kennedy; "it is only a 
 temporary weakness. You will not die. How could anyone 
 die this lovely summer night?" 
 
 " Death is here, I know it! " said the missionary. "Let 
 me look it in the face. Death, the commencement of joys 
 eternal, is only the end of earthly cares. Place me upon 
 my knees, my friends, I beg of you." 
 
 Kennedy raised him up, and was shocked to see his 
 helpless limbs give way beneath him. 
 
 " My God ! my God ! " exclaimed the dying apostle. 
 " Have mercy upon me I " His face lighted up. Far away 
 from that earth v/here he had never known happiness; in 
 the midst of that night which wrapped him in its sweetest 
 rays of light; on the road to that heaven towards which 
 he raised himself in a miraculous assumption, he appeared 
 to be •entering upon another life. 
 
 His last gesture was to bless his friends of a day; and 
 he fell back in the arms of Kennedy, whose face was bathed 
 in tears. 
 
 "Dead!" said the doctor, bending over him. "Alas! 
 dead!" And with one accord the three men fell upon 
 their knees. 
 
 " To-morrow," said Ferguson, at length, " We will bury 
 him in this soil of Africa, which he has sprinkled with his 
 blood. 
 
 During the remainder of the night the body was watched 
 in turn by the doctor, Kennedy, and Joe, and not a singk 
 word broke the holy silence of the time;
 
 A GOOD MAN'S DEATH 299 
 
 Next day the wind sprang from the south, and the " Vic- 
 toria " passed slowly over a vast range of mountains. Here 
 were extinct craters, there barren ravines; not a drop of 
 water lay in these arid crests; heaped-up masses of rock, 
 erratic blocks of stone, and white marl-pits, all denoted 
 the profound sterility of the district. 
 
 Towards mid-day the doctor, in order to bury the body, 
 determined to descend to a ravine surrounded by volcanic 
 rocks of primitive formation; the surrounding mountains 
 acted as shelter, and permitted him to bring the car down 
 upon the earth, for there was no tree which could be utilized 
 as a hold for the grapnels. 
 
 But, as he had explained to Kennedy, in consequence of 
 the loss of the ballast at the time of the rescue of the priest, 
 he could not now descend without letting a proportionate 
 quantity of the gas escape : he then opened the safety valve 
 of the exterior balloon. The hydrogen escaped, and the 
 " Victoria " descended quietly towards the ravine. 
 
 So soon as the car touched the ground the doctor closed 
 the valve, Joe jumped out, but kept one hand upon the edge 
 of the car, and with the other he collected a number of 
 stones which soon equaled his own weight. He then set 
 to work with both hands, and soon placed in the car more 
 than 500 lbs. weight of stone, when the doctor and Kennedy 
 were able to descend in their turn. The " Victoria " was 
 thus balanced, and its ascensional force was not sufficient to 
 raise her. 
 
 Moreover, it was not necessary to use a great number of 
 these blocks of stone, for those thrown in by Joe were of a 
 very great weight; a fact which at once directed Ferguson's 
 attention to them. The ground was strewn with quartz and 
 porphyritic rocks. 
 
 " Here is a curious discovery! " said the doctor to him- 
 self. 
 
 Meantime Kennedy and Joe were seeking a suitable spot 
 for the grave. It was fearfully hot in the ravine, shut 
 in as it was like a kind of furnace. The mid-day sun poured 
 his rays directly upon it. 
 
 It was necessary first to get rid of the rocky fragments 
 which encumbered the ground; then a grave was dug suffi- 
 ciently deep to preserve the body from the attacks of wild 
 beasts. Then the body of the priestly martyr was interred
 
 300 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 with profound respect. The earth was thrown upon the 
 mortal remains, and the great fragments of rock were dis- 
 posed above hke a tombstone. 
 
 The doctor still remained motionless and lost in thought. 
 He paid no attention to the summons of his companions, 
 nor did he return with them to seek shelter from the noon- 
 tide heat. 
 
 "What are you thinking of, Samuel?" inquired Ken- 
 nedy. 
 
 " Of the curious contrasts nature presents and the ex- 
 traordinary effect of chance. Do you know in what ground 
 this man of self-denial and simplicity has been buried? " 
 
 " What do you mean, Samuel ? " 
 
 " This priest who had vowed himself to poverty now 
 rests in a gold mine ! " 
 
 " A gold mine ! " exclaimed Kennedy and Joe. 
 
 " Yes, a gold mine! " replied the doctor. " These stones, 
 which you trample upon, as upon stones of no value, are of 
 great mineral purity." 
 
 " Impossible, impossible ! " repeated Joe. 
 
 " You will not have to search long amongst these fissures 
 of the schist without finding some large nuggets," said the 
 doctor. 
 
 Joe threw himself at once upon the scattered fragments, 
 and Kennedy was not long in following his example. 
 
 " Steady, my brave Joe," said his master. 
 
 " Oh ! sir, you speak about it very calmly." 
 
 "What? a philosopher of your stamp " 
 
 " Ah ! sir, yours is the only philosophy ! " 
 
 "Let us see; reflect a little. What good will all this 
 gold do; we cannot carry it away? " 
 
 " We cannot carry it away ! Why not, for instance ? " 
 
 " It is too heavy for our car. I was hesitating whether 
 I should tell you at all, for fear of exciting your regret." 
 
 " What ! " cried Joe, " abandon all this treasure — a for- 
 tune to us — our own — abandon that ! " 
 
 " Take care, take care, my friend. Have you caught the 
 gold fever? Has not yonder dead body, which we came 
 here to bury, taught you the vanity of all earthly things? " 
 
 "That is all very true," replied Joe; "but there is the 
 gold after all. Mr. Kennedy, will you not aid me in col- 
 lecting a few of these millions?"
 
 A GOOD MAN'S DEATH 301 
 
 "What should we do with them, my poor Joe?" said 
 the Scot, who could not help smiling. " We did not come 
 here to make our fortune, and we ought not to bring it 
 back with us." 
 
 " These millions are too heavy," replied the doctor, " and 
 not easily carried in the pocket. 
 
 " But," said Joe, driven to his last intrenchments, " why 
 cannot we carry this mineral as ballast, instead of sand?" 
 
 "Well, I have no objection to that," said Ferguson; 
 " but don't you feel disappointed when we have to throw 
 some thousands of pounds overboard." 
 
 " Thousands of pounds ! " repeated Joe. " Is it possible 
 that there is so much gold? " 
 
 " Yes, my friend ; this is a reservoir in which Nature 
 has amassed her treasure for centuries. There is sufficient 
 here to enrich whole countries — an Australia and a Cali- 
 fornia united at the bottom of a desert." 
 
 "And all that will remain useless? " 
 
 " Perhaps so. In any case, listen to what I propose for 
 your consolation." 
 
 " That will be difficult to accomplish," replied Joe, with 
 a grieved air. 
 
 " Listen. I will take the exact bearings of this place, 
 I will make you a present of it, and on your return to 
 England you can share with your friends — if you think so 
 much gold will make them happy." 
 
 " Let us go, sir ; I see you are right — I give up, since 
 I must. Let us fill the car with this precious mineral. 
 What remains at the termination of the journey will be so 
 much gained." 
 
 So Joe set to work with a will. He soon collected about 
 1,000 lbs. of quartz fragments, in which the gold was em- 
 bedded as if in a vein of great thickness. 
 
 The doctor watched him with a smile; during this work 
 he took the levels and found the bearings of the tomb of 
 the missionary were 22° 23' long, and 4° 55' N. lat. Then, 
 casting a last look at the spot where the poor Frenchman 
 lay, he approached the balloon. He had wished to erect a 
 modest yet substantial cross upon the tomb thus abandoned 
 in the midst of African wilds, but not a tree was to be seen 
 in the neighborhood, 
 
 " God will know where to find it," he muttered.
 
 302 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 A very serious thought now began to occupy the doc- 
 tor's mind. He would have given a good deal of this gold 
 to discover a little water. He wanted to replace what had 
 been thrown away during the elevation of the negro; but 
 this was impossible in these sterile plains, and this fear tor- 
 mented him. Obliged to keep the blow-pipe continually at 
 work, he began to be short of water for drinking purposes, 
 and so made up his mind not to neglect any opportunity to 
 replenish it. 
 
 On his return to the car he found it encumbered with 
 the stones thrown in by the avaricious Joe, but he got in 
 without making any remark. Kennedy took his usual place 
 and Joe brought up the rear — not without directing a covet- 
 ous glance at the treasure in the ravine. 
 
 The doctor lit the blow-pipe, the coil was warmed, the 
 current of hydrogen was formed in a few minutes, the gas 
 expanded, but the balloon did not stir. 
 
 Joe's face wore an expression of uneasiness, but he said 
 nothing. 
 
 " Joe," said the doctor. 
 
 Joe, did not answer. 
 
 "Joe, do you hear me?" 
 
 Joe made a sign that he heard, but did not wish to un- 
 derstand, 
 
 " Will you be so good," continued Ferguson, " to throw 
 some of that mineral over? " 
 
 " But, sir, you allowed me " 
 
 " I allowed you to replace the ballast — no more." 
 
 " Still "^ 
 
 " Do you wish us to remain in this desert forever ? " 
 
 Joe cast a beseeching glance at Kennedy, but the Scot 
 had all the appearance of a man who could not interfere. 
 
 " Well, Joe." 
 
 " Your blow-pipe isn't working yet," said Joe. 
 
 " My blow-pipe is working, as you may see, but the bal- 
 loon will not rise until you have got rid of a little ballast." 
 
 Joe scratched his ear and took up a fragment of quartz, 
 the smallest of all. He weighed it, re-weighed it, passed it 
 from hand to hand (it was about 3 or 4 lbs. weight), and 
 threw it over. 
 
 The " Victoria " did not stir. 
 
 " Hang it, it is not moving yet ! " said Joe.
 
 A GOOD MAN'S DEATH 303 
 
 tc 
 
 « 
 
 Not yet," said the doctor. " Go on! " 
 
 Kennedy laughed, Joe threw away about 12 lbs. 
 
 The balloon remained immovable. Joe got pale. 
 
 ** My poor fellow," said Ferguson, " Dick, you, and 
 myself weigh, I believe, about 400 lbs. ; you must then get 
 rid of a weight at lest equal to ours, since it replaces us." 
 
 " Throw away 400 lbs. ? " cried Joe piteously. 
 
 " And something over, so that we may ascend. Go on ; 
 courage." 
 
 The worthy lad, heaving deep sighs, commenced to throw 
 the ballast over. From time to time he stopped. 
 
 " We are ascending," he would say each time. 
 
 "We are not," the doctor would invariably reply. 
 
 " It moves ! " he said at last. 
 Go on," repeated Ferguson. 
 It is ascending, I am sure ! " said Joe. 
 Go on still," answered Ferguson. 
 
 Then Joe, taking up the last block, desperately threw it 
 ^way from the car. 
 
 The " Victoria " rose about 100 feet, and the blow-pipe 
 being at work, it soon passed the neighboring summits. 
 
 " Now, Joe," said the doctor, " there still remains a large 
 fortune if we can retain it until the end of our journey, and 
 you will be a rich man to the end of your days." 
 
 Joe made no reply, and lay down gently upon his bed of 
 minerals. 
 
 " Just look, my dear Dick, at the influence this metal 
 has exercised upon the best lad in the world. What pas- 
 sions, what desires, what crimes might not be born of the 
 knowledge of such a mine! It is melancholy." 
 
 In the evening the " Victoria " had made ninety miles 
 towards the west; it was then a direct line of 1,400 miles to 
 Zanzibar, 
 
 CHAPTER XXiy 
 
 THE DESERT 
 
 The " Victoria " was fastened to an almost withered and 
 solitary tree, and the night passed tranquilly. The travelers 
 were thus enabled to enjoy a little of that sleep of which 
 they stood in so great need. The incidents of the past 
 .few days had left some sad memories.
 
 304 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 Towards morning the sky appeared in all its warmth 
 and light. The balloon rose, and after many failures it 
 encountered a current less rapid than before, which carried 
 it towards the northwest. 
 
 " We do not make much progress," said the doctor. 
 " If I do not mistake, we have accomplished the half of our 
 journey in ten days, but at the rate we are now going it will 
 take months to finish. That is so much the more to be 
 regretted, as we are threatened with a scarcity of water." 
 
 "But we shall find some," replied Dick; "it is impos- 
 sible that we should not fall in with some river, stream, or 
 pond in this enormous stretch of country." 
 
 " I hope so, I'm sure." 
 
 " Don't you think it is Joe's baggage that keeps us 
 back?" 
 
 Kennedy said this to tease the lad, and did so the more 
 willingly that he had himself for a moment experienced the 
 hallucinations of Joe; but not having let it appear, he as- 
 sumed a stern countenance, laughing in his sleeve all the 
 time. 
 
 Joe gave him a piteous look. But the doctor did not 
 reply. He was thinking, not without secret terror, of the 
 vast solitudes of the Sahara. Three weeks pass without 
 the caravans meeting with a well where they can 
 slake their thirst. So the travelers watched most anxiously 
 for the least depressions of the ground. These precautions 
 and the late incidents had had a sensible effect upon the 
 spirits of all. They spoke less, and retired more into them- 
 selves. 
 
 The worthy Joe had not been the same man since his 
 thoughts had plunged into the ocean of gold. He was 
 silent, and thinking deeply about those stones heaped up in 
 the car — to-day worthless, to-morrow, priceless. 
 
 The appearance of this part of the country was really 
 alarming. The desert was opening up by degrees. Here 
 were no villages, not even a collection of huts. Vegetation 
 was gradually disappearing. A few stunted bushes as on 
 Scotch moors, a whitish sand, flint stones, some mastic trees, 
 and brushwood, that was all. In the midst of this sterility 
 the primary formations of the world could be distinguished 
 in the faces of the high and sharp-edged rocks.. 
 
 These tokens of barrenness supplied Doctor Ferguson 
 
 V. 1 Verne
 
 A MYSTERIOUS RIVAL 
 
 In fact, 200 paces distant, a balloon was floating in the air, with car 
 and travelers complete. It was following exactly the same route as 
 the "Victoria." 
 
 "Well," said the doctor, "it onlj remains for us to make them a 
 sipjnal. Take the flag, Kennedy, and show them our colors." 
 If.; ,- It seemed that the travelers in the other balloon had conceived the 
 ' *8Stme idea at the same time, for a similar flag repeated the identical 
 .101! signal in a hand which held it in the same position. 
 "What is the meaning of that?" asked the Scot. 
 "They are monkeys," said Joe, "and they are imitating us." — Page 
 
 ay pr 
 
 At the 
 
 Vol. 1.
 
 :m^ 
 
 
 
 9g«*3 
 
 ,9o{ bisa 
 
 .1 lov
 
 THE DESERT 305 
 
 with much food for thought. It did not appear to him that 
 a single caravan had ever traversed this desert region; it 
 would have left behind it visible traces of its encampment in 
 the bleaching skeletons of man or beast. 
 
 But there was nothing, and they could but be aware that 
 a boundless extent of sand was taking possession of the 
 whole region. 
 
 However, as it was impossible to return, they must go 
 forward. The doctor desired no better. He had been 
 wishing for a storm to carry him beyond the limits of this 
 region. But there was not a cloud in the sky. At the end 
 of that day the " Victoria " had not accomplished thirty 
 miles. 
 
 If only water were not required! But in all, they had 
 but three gallons remaining. Ferguson put aside one gal- 
 lon to assuage the burning thirst which the heat at ninety 
 degrees rendered intolerable. Then two gallons remained 
 for the blow-pipe; they could only produce 490 cubic feet 
 of gas, and the blow-pipe required about nine cubic feet an 
 hour; so they could only proceed therefore for fifty-four 
 hours longer. This was a mathematical certainty. 
 
 "Fifty-four hours," said the doctor to his companions. 
 " Now, as I have decided not to travel during the night, so 
 as not to run the risk of passing a stream, a spring, or lake, 
 we have just three days and a half more to travel, and 
 during that period, we must obtain water at any price. I 
 thought I ought to make you acquainted with the serious 
 circumstances of the case, my friends, for I have put aside 
 only one gallon for drinking purposes, and we must submit 
 to a small allowance of it." 
 
 " By all means * allowance ' us," replied the Scot, " but we 
 need not despair; you say we have three days before us 
 still?" 
 
 " Yes, Dick." 
 
 " Well, complaining will do no good ; In three days it will 
 be time enough to take that line ; till then, let us keep a good 
 look-out." 
 
 At the evening meal, the water was strictly measured, 
 the quantity of brandy was rather increased in the grog, 
 but it was necessary to be cautious in using this liquor, 
 more likely to cause thirst than to quench it. 
 
 The car rested during the night upon an immense plain,
 
 3o6 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 which was at a very low level. The height was scarcely 
 800 feet above the level of the sea. This circumstance gave 
 the doctor some hope. He recalled the theories broached 
 by geographers, respecting the existence of a vast expanse 
 of water in the interior of Africa. But, if such a lake 
 existed, they must arrive at it; still there was no change in 
 the unruffled sky. 
 
 To a calm and starlit night succeeded a burning, stag- 
 nant day. From its earliest dawn, the temperature was 
 broiling. At five o'clock in the morning the doctor gave 
 the signal for departure, and for a long time the " Vic-^ 
 toria " remained stationary in the leaden atmosphere. 
 
 The doctor had the power to escape this intense heat, by 
 attaining a greater altitude, but to do this would necessitate 
 the expenditure of a quantity of water, a thing now impos- 
 sible. So he was constrained to maintain the balloon at a 
 height of 100 feet, where a gentle breeze carried them 
 towards the west. Breakfast consisted of dried meat and 
 pemmican. At mid-day the " Victoria " had scarcely made 
 any progress. 
 
 " We cannot go faster," said the doctor ; " we do not 
 command — we obey." 
 
 " Ah, my dear Samuel," said the Scot, " this is one of 
 the occasions in which a propeller is not to be despised." 
 
 "No doubt, Dick, always admitting that it did not de- 
 pend upon the action of water to move it, for in that case 
 the position would be exactly similar. Up to the present 
 time, however, nothing practical has been invented. Bal- 
 loons are now at the point where ships were before the 
 invention of steam. It took 6,000 years to bring out the 
 paddle and the screw, so we have plenty of time to wait." 
 
 " Confound this heat," muttered Joe, wiping his fore- 
 head. " If we had sufficient water, this heat would do us 
 good service, for it would expand the hydrogen, and we 
 should not require so great a flame in the coil. It is true 
 that, were we not at the end of our water-supply, we should 
 not need to economize it. Ah! that cursed savage who 
 obliged us to cast away that precious tank ! " 
 
 " Do you regret what you have done, Samuel ? " 
 
 " No, Dick, since we have been able to rescue that poor 
 fellow from a horrible death. Yet the 100 lbs. of water 
 which we cast away .would have been very useful; thgr^
 
 THE DESERT 307 
 
 would then have been twelve or thirteen days* journey cer- 
 tain, and we could have crossed this desert in that 
 time." 
 
 " I suppose we have got over half the journey at least," 
 said Joe. 
 
 "In distance, yes, in time, no; if the wind drops. At 
 present it appears likely to give out altogether." 
 
 " Well, let us go on," replied Joe, "there is no use com- 
 plaining. We have got on pretty well hitherto, and what- 
 ever I do I am not going to despair. We shall find water, 
 mark my words." 
 
 The ground, however, was still level, mile after mile, the 
 last spurs of the " golden " mountains died upon the plain, 
 these were the last efforts of exhausted nature! Scattered 
 herbs began to take the place of the trees of the eastern 
 side; a few patches of verdure here and there fought 
 stoutly against the ever-encroaching sand. Great rocks, 
 fallen from the neighboring heights, and broken in their 
 fall, lay scattered in sharp pebbles, which soon became a 
 coarser sand, and finally an imperceptible dust. 
 
 " There is Africa as it is represented, Joe. I am right 
 in counseling patience. 
 
 "Well, sir," replied Joe, "this is nature, at any rate; 
 between the sand and the heat, it would be absurd to 
 search for anything in such a country as this. Don't you 
 see," added he, laughing, " that I have no faith in your 
 forests and your prairies. It is unreasonable. What was 
 the use of coming so far to see merely a country like 
 England? I now, for the first time, believe that I am in 
 Africa, and I am not altogether sorry to see something 
 of it." 
 
 In the evening the doctor calculated that the " Victoria " 
 had not traveled twenty miles during that broiling day. A 
 warm haze enveloped them as soon as the sun had set 
 behind the horizon, which could be traced as distinctly as 
 a straight line. 
 
 Next day was Thursday, the ist of May, but the days 
 succeeded each other with depressing monotony. One 
 morning exactly resembled the preceding; mid-day brought 
 its own rays, ever inexhaustible; and the night condensed 
 in its gloom the scattered heat which the following day 
 bequeathed to its successor, night. The wind, scarcely
 
 3o8 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 perceptible, became more like a breath than a breeze, and 
 they could prophesy the moment when this breath would 
 itself die away. 
 
 The doctor tried to overcome the weariness of the posi- 
 tion. He retained the self-possession and coolness of a 
 man inured to hardship. Glass in hand, he scanned the 
 horizon in every direction. He perceived the east hills 
 insensibly disappear, and the last traces of vegetation, 
 vanish away. Before him stretched the wide extent of the 
 desert. 
 
 The responsibility which devolved upon him affected 
 him a great deal, and the more as he sought to conceal 
 the feeling. Those two men, Dick and Joe, friends both, 
 he had brought from a distance almost by the force of 
 friendship and duty. Had he done rightly? Was not 
 this to attempt forbidden paths? Was not he in this 
 journey attempting to pass the limits of the impossible? 
 Had not Providence reserved the knowledge of this un- 
 grateful continent for future generations. 
 
 All these thoughts, as he grew less hopeful, increased in 
 his mind, and by an irresistible association of ideas, Samuel 
 reasoned himself beyond his logic, and his better sense. 
 After having made up his mind that there was nothing that 
 it behooved him to do, he began to ask himself what he 
 ought to do. Was it impossible to return? Did not some 
 upper currents exist which would carry them back to less 
 torrid climates. Sure of the regions passed, he was ig- 
 norant of the country in front. His conscience reproached 
 him, and he determined to explain the circumstances 
 frankly to his companions, and tell them the worst. He 
 would show them what he had done, and what remained to 
 do. If absolutely necessary, they might return — attempt 
 to do so at least. What was their opinion? 
 
 " I have no opinion other than my master's," said Joe. 
 " What he can endure, I can endure ; or better than he. 
 Where he goes I will go." 
 
 "And you, Kennedy?" 
 
 " I, my dear Samuel ? I am not a man to despair ; no 
 one ignores less than I do the dangers of this expedition, 
 but I have not particularly desired to examine them since 
 the moment I determined to meet them with you. I am 
 yours, body and soul. Under the circumstances, my ad-
 
 ! THE DESERT 309 
 
 vice is that we ought to persevere — just go on to the end. 
 So let us onward, you may reckon upon us." 
 
 " Thanks, my worthy friends," repHed the doctor with 
 visible emotion. " I anticipated your devotion, but these 
 encouraging words were necessary to me. Once more I 
 thank you from my heart." 
 
 And the three friends shook hands warmly. 
 
 " Listen to me," said Ferguson. " According to my 
 calculations, we cannot be more than 300 miles from the 
 Gulf of Guinea; the desert cannot therefore extend in- 
 definitely, since the coast is inhabited and explored to a 
 certain distance into the interior. If it become necessary, 
 we must direct our course towards this coast, and it is im- 
 possible for us not to meet with some oasis or well where 
 we can replenish our store of water. But we require 
 wind, and without it we are kept becalmed in the air." 
 
 "Let us wait patiently," said Kennedy. 
 
 But each in his turn vainly scanned the desert. During 
 the interminable day nothing appeared that could give birth 
 to any hope. The last undulations of the ground disap- 
 peared as the sun was setting, and his rays stretched in long 
 lines of fire over the immense plain. It was indeed the 
 desert. 
 
 The travelers had not gained fifteen miles, having lost, 
 including the previous day, 135 cubic feet of gas to keep 
 the blow-pipe in action, and two pints of water out of 
 eight had to be sacrificed to quench their raging thirst. 
 
 The night was quiet — too quiet. The doctor did not 
 sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE UNEXPECTED BALLOON 
 
 The next day there was the same clear sky and the same 
 calm. The " Victoria " floated at about 100 feet high, but 
 the little drift towards the west was scarcely perceptible. 
 
 " We are in the midst of the desert," said the doctor. 
 " Look at the expanse of sand — what a strange sight — 
 what a singular arrangement of nature! Why should 
 there be such luxuriant vegetation farther back, and this 
 extreme barrenness here, and this in the same latitude, un- 
 der the same rays of the sun? "
 
 3IO FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " The reason, my dear Samuel, does not disquiet me," 
 replied Kennedy ; " the ' why ' preoccupies me less than 
 the fact. It is thus, and that's the great point after all." 
 
 "It is a good thing to be something of a philosopher, 
 my dear Dick — that can do no harm at any rate." 
 
 "Let us philosophize; I wish to do so very much. We 
 have plenty of time — we are scarcely moving." 
 
 "The wind is afraid to blow; it is asleep." 
 
 "This cannot last," said Joe. "I fancy I see some 
 streaks of cloud in the east." 
 
 " Joe is right," said the doctor. 
 
 " Good ! " cried Kennedy. " I wonder whether we shall 
 reach that cloud, with the beautiful rain and the strong 
 >vind it can give us." 
 
 " We shall soon see, Dick." 
 
 "This is Friday, sir; and I do not like Fridays." 
 
 " Well, I hope that even to-day you will lose your dis- 
 trust for them." 
 
 "I hope so, sir. Ouf!" he cried, wiping his face. 
 " Heat is an excellent thing, particularly in winter, but in 
 summer it need not take such a mean advantage of us." 
 
 " Are you not afraid of the effects of the sun upon your 
 balloon? " asked Kennedy of the doctor. 
 
 " No, the gutta-percha with which the silk is coated is 
 able to endure a much higher temperature. I have some- 
 times submitted it inside to a heat of 158 degrees, and the 
 * envelope ' does not appear to have suffered." 
 
 " A cloud, a real cloud ! " cried Joe at this juncture, 
 whose sharp eyes beat all glasses. 
 
 In fact, a thick and solid band was distinctly rising 
 slowly above the horizon; it appeared large and bloated. 
 It was a pile of small clouds which always kept their orig- 
 inal shapes, from which the doctor concluded that no cur^ 
 rent of air existed in their masses. 
 
 This compact heap had appeared about eight o'clock in 
 the morning; at eleven it had reached the sun, which dis- 
 appeared entirely behind this thick curtain. At this very 
 moment the lower end of the cloud rose above the horizon, 
 which appeared clear and bright. 
 
 " It is only a single cloud, and we must not count upon 
 it. Look, Dick, its form is exactly the same as it was this 
 morning."
 
 THE UNEXPECTED BALLOON 311 
 
 " So, Samuel, there is neither rain nor wind for us, at 
 least." 
 
 " I fear not, it keeps up very high." 
 
 " Well, Samuel, so we are going to hunt this cloud, 
 which will not break over us? " 
 
 " I do not think that would do much good," replied the 
 doctor; "that would expend a quantity of gas and water. 
 But in a position such as ours, it will not do to neglect any- 
 thing; we will go up higher." 
 
 The doctor developed a tremendous heat from the blow- 
 pipe, and the balloon soon rose under the influence of the 
 expanded hydrogen. 
 
 About 1,500 feet from the ground, they encountered a 
 thick mass of cloud, and entered into a thick mist pervading 
 at this height, but they did not find the least breath of wind. 
 The fog even appeared to be deprived of moisture, and 
 objects exposed to contact with it were scarcely wetted. 
 The " Victoria," enveloped in this vapor, perhaps proceeded 
 a little faster there, but that was all. 
 
 The doctor was with sadness considering the very mea- 
 ger result obtained from his maneuver, when he heard Joe 
 cry out in surprised accents: 
 
 "Oh! look here!" 
 
 "What is it, Joe?" 
 
 " Oh, sir! oh, Mr. Kennedy! is not that extraordinary! " 
 
 " What have you there ? " 
 
 " We are not alone here ! There are intruders ; they 
 have stolen our invention from us." 
 
 " Has he gone mad ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 Joe stood as immovable as a statue. 
 
 " I think the lad is suffering from sunstroke," said thg 
 doctor, turning towards him. 
 
 " What do you say? " said he. 
 
 " Look there, sir," said Joe, indicating a. certain direc- 
 tion. 
 
 " By St. Patrick ! " cried Kennedy, in his turn, " that is 
 scarcely creditable. Samuel, Samuel, look here ! " 
 
 "I see," replied the doctor quietly; "another balloon,; 
 with other travelers like ourselves." 
 
 In fact, 200 paces distant, a balloon was floating in thl 
 air, with car and travelers complete. It was following 
 exactly the same route as the "Victoria."
 
 312 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Well," said the doctor, " it only remains for us to 
 make them a signal. Take the flag, Kennedy, and show 
 them our colors." 
 
 It seemed that the travelers in the other balloon had 
 conceived the same idea at the same time, for a similar 
 flag repeated the identical signal in a hand which held it in 
 the same position. 
 
 " What is the meaning of that?" asked the Scot. 
 
 "They are monkeys," said Joe, "and they are imiating 
 US." 
 
 " It means," replied Ferguson, laughing, " /that it is 
 yourself who is making the signal to you, my dear Dick; 
 that is to say, that we ourselves are in the other car, and 
 that that balloon is really our own 'Victoria.' " 
 
 " Well, sir, with all due respect to you," said Joe, " you 
 :will never make me believe that." 
 
 " Get up on the edge of the car, Joe, and wave your 
 arms; then you will see if I am right." 
 
 Joe obeyed, and his gestures were exactly and instan- 
 taneously repeated. 
 
 " It is only the effect of mirage," said the doctor, " noth- 
 ing more — a simple optical delusion — and is due to the un- 
 equal rarefaction of the air-strata — that's all." 
 
 " It is most extraordinary," said Joe, who could not 
 take it all in. and kept waving his arms about to convince 
 himself on the subject. 
 
 " A curious sight, indeed ! " said Kennedy. " It is pleas- 
 ant too to see our brave 'Victoria.' Do you know she has 
 quite a grand appearance, and floats in a right royal 
 manner." 
 
 " You have explained this appearance very well in your 
 own way," said Joe, " but it is a singular effect all the 
 same." 
 
 But the "double" of the "Victoria" gradually disap- 
 peared, the clouds ascended to a great height above the 
 balloon, which did not attempt to follow them, and in 
 about an hour they disappeared. 
 
 The wind, even hitherto scarcely perceptible, appeared 
 to drop altogether. The doctor, in despair, descended to- 
 wards the ground. 
 
 The travelers, who had been aroused from their pre- 
 occupation by the appearance of the mirage, again yielded
 
 THE UNEXPECTED BALLOON 313 
 
 to their gloomy thoughts, overcome by the tremendous 
 heat. 
 
 Towards four o'clock Joe signaled some objects stand- 
 ing in relief against the sandy background, and soon he 
 was able to announce that two palm-trees were visible at 
 a short distance. 
 
 "Palms!" cried Ferguson; "then there is a fountain 
 or a well there." He took up a telescope to assure himself 
 that Joe had not made a mistake. 
 
 "At last!" he cried. "Water, water! we are saved; 
 for although we are going very slowly, we are moving, and 
 we must get there." 
 
 " Well, sir," said Joe, " suppose we have a drink in the 
 meantime — the heat is stifling." 
 
 " By all means, my lad." 
 
 No one had any objections, and a pint of water was 
 distributed. The store was now reduced to three and a 
 half pints. 
 
 "Ah! that does one good," cried Joe. "Better than all 
 Barclay and Perkins's brewings." 
 
 " Such are the advantages of privation," said the doctor. 
 
 " They are small, taking them altogether," said Kennedy; 
 " and though I should never be allowed again to experience 
 the pleasure of drinking a glass of water, I would consent 
 to lose the pleasure as the condition of never being de- 
 prived of the substance." 
 
 At six o'clock the " Victoria " was floating about the 
 palms. They were two miserably small, dried-up trees — * 
 two specters of trees, without foliage — more dead than 
 alive. Ferguson contemplated them with fear in his heart. 
 
 At their base the broken stones of a well were dis- 
 cernible, but these stones, baked by the sun, seemed little 
 more than dust. There was not the faintest trace of wa- 
 ter. Ferguson's heart sank within him, and he was be- 
 ginning to share the terrors of his companions, when their 
 exclamations attracted his attention. 
 
 Stretching out of sight to the westward was extended a 
 long line of whitened bones. Fragments of skeletons sur- 
 rounded the fountain; evidently a caravan had reached 
 thus far, marking its passage by a trail of bones ! The 
 weakest had fallen, one after the other, upon the distant 
 sand; the stronger ones had struggled on to the desired
 
 314 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 fountain, and on its brink had found a horrible death. 
 
 The travelers gazed with whitened faces at these dread- 
 ful signs. 
 
 " Do not descend," said Kennedy ; " let us fly this hor- 
 rible sight. There is not a drop of water to be obtained." 
 
 " Not so, Dick. Let us do our best about this. We 
 may as well pass the night here as anywhere else. We 
 will sound these wells — a spring has existed here — ^perhaps 
 there are traces of it still." 
 
 The " Victoria " was brought to the ground. Joe and 
 Kennedy threw into the car a weight of sand equivalent to 
 their own, and they got out. They ran towards the wells, 
 and penetrated into the interior by means of a stairway, 
 already crumbling to dust. The spring appeared to have 
 been dried up for years. They dug into the dry and pow- 
 dered sand — that most arid of all sands — but there was not 
 even a trace of dampness. 
 
 The doctor saw them returning, perspiring, disheveled, 
 and covered with fine dust; they were defeated, discour- 
 aged, and desperate. He perceived the failure of their 
 search. He had expected such a result, and said nothing. 
 He felt that from this day forward he must have courage 
 and energy for all three. 
 
 Joe had brought up the remains of an old dried leather 
 bottle, which he threw angrily amongst the bones scattered 
 around him. During supper, not a word was spoken by 
 the travelers ; they ate without appetite. And yet they had 
 not hitherto really suffered the torments of thirst, and they 
 only despaired for the future. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 A DESPAIRING SEARCH 
 
 The distance accomplished by the " Victoria " during 
 the preceding day did not exceed ten miles, and to sustain 
 her in the air they had used 162 cubic feet of gas. 
 
 On Saturday morning the doctor gave the signal for 
 departure. 
 
 " The blow-pipe," said he, " can only work for six hours 
 longer. If in that time we do not reach a well or spring, 
 God alone knows what will become of us."
 
 A DESPAIRING SEARCH 315 
 
 " There is very little wind this morning," said Joe ; " but 
 perhaps it will increase," added he, seeing the scarcely-con- 
 cealed anxiety of Ferguson. 
 
 Vain hope! The air was perfectly still — one of those 
 calms which, in tropical climates, keep ships helpless for 
 days. The heat became intolerable, and the thermometer 
 marked 130° in the shade. 
 
 Joe and Kennedy lay side by side, and sought in sleep, 
 or rather torpor, to forget the terrors of their position. 
 This forced inactivity was most distressing. A man is to 
 be pitied who is unable to divert his thoughts by work or 
 occupation ; but here there was nothing to watch over or to 
 attempt to do any longer. They were obliged to submit 
 to the situation, without any power to better it. 
 
 The sufferings arising from thirst now began to assert 
 themselves cruelly. Brandy, far from allaying, rather in- 
 creased them, and well does it merit the name of " tiger's 
 milk," which has been bestowed upon it by the natives of 
 Africa. About two pints of warm liquid was all that re- 
 mained. Each one gloated over these precious drops, but 
 no one dared to wet his lips. Two pints of water in the 
 midst of the desert! 
 
 Then Doctor Ferguson began to reflect whether he had 
 been wise in what he had done. Would it not have been 
 better to have preserved the water he had decomposed to 
 no purpose to maintain the balloon in the air? He had no 
 doubt made a little progress, but were they any better for 
 it? When he found he had gained sixty miles in this lati- 
 tude, what did it matter, since they were in want of water 
 at that place ? The wind, if it did get up, would blow lower 
 down as well as up there — even less strongly up there if it 
 came from the east. But hope impelled Samuel forward. 
 And yet those two gallons of water, expended in vain, 
 would have sufficed for a nine-days' halt in the desert. 
 And what changes might not nine days bring forth? Per- 
 haps, however, while preserving this water, had he been 
 able to ascend by throwing out ballast, he must have let 
 the gas escape when he wished to descend. But the gas 
 of the balloon was its very existence, its life-blood! 
 
 These thoughts, and a thousand others, passed through 
 the doctor's brain. He sat for hours, his head clasped 
 between his hands, and stirred not.
 
 3i6 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " We must make a final effort," he said to his compan- 
 ions, about six o'clock. " We must endeavor to find an 
 atmospheric current which will carry us forward. We 
 must risk everything." 
 
 And while his friends slept he brought the hydrogen in 
 the balloon to a very high temperature. The balloon 
 filled out as the gas expanded, and mounted perpendicu- 
 larly upwards. The doctor sought vainly for a breath of 
 wind from a hundred feet to nearly five miles up. His 
 point of departure w^as exactly beneath. A dead calm ap- 
 peared to reign even up to the last limit of the atmospheric 
 air. 
 
 At length the water failed; the blow-pipe ceased for 
 want of gas; the Buntzen-pile stopped working; and the 
 " Victoria," collapsing, descended quietly upon the sand, 
 where the car had already hollowed out its impression. 
 
 It was mid-day; the bearings were 19° 35' long., 6° 51' 
 lat. — nearly 500 miles from Lake Tchad, more than 400 
 miles from the western coast of Africa. 
 
 As the balloon touched the ground, Dick and Joe 
 aroused from their torpor. 
 
 " We are stopping," said the Scot. 
 
 "We have no choice," replied the doctor in a grave 
 tone. 
 
 His companions understood him. The level of the 
 ground was of the level of the sea, in consequence of its 
 uniform flatness; so the balloon maintained itself in per- 
 fect equilibrium, and was absolutely motionless. 
 
 The weight of the travelers was replaced by an equiva- 
 lent charge of sand, and they alighted. Each was ab- 
 sorbed in thought, and for many hours no one spoke. Joe 
 prepared supper of biscuit and pemmican, of which they 
 ate little; a sip of tepid water completed this melancholy 
 repast. No one kept watch during the night, yet no one 
 slept. The heat was suffocating. Next day there was 
 only half a pint of water remaining — ^the doctor put it by, 
 resolved that it should not be touched, except in the last 
 extremity. 
 
 " I am suffocating," Joe soon cried ; " the heat is greater 
 than ever. But that does not astonish me," he added, af- 
 ter consulting the thermometer; " it is 140° ! " 
 
 "The sand is baking you," said the Scot, "as if it were
 
 A DESPAIRING SEARCH 317 
 
 an oven. And not a cloud to be seen in that fiery sky. 
 It is maddening." 
 
 " We must not despair," said the doctor. " These great 
 heats are invariably succeeded by storms in this latitude, 
 and they arise with extreme rapidity. Notwithstanding 
 the wonderful serenity of the sky, a great change may 
 arise within an hour." 
 
 " But, after all, something must indicate it," said Ken- 
 nedy. 
 
 " Well," replied the doctor, " it appears to me that the 
 barometer is a trifle lower." 
 
 " Heaven grant it, Samuel, for we are now bound to 
 earth like a bird with broken wings." 
 
 " With this difference, my dear Dick, that our wings 
 are whole, and I have great hope they will serve us well 
 yet." 
 
 " Oh for a wind ! for wind ! " cried Joe, " to waft us to 
 a stream, or a well, and we should want nothing more ; our 
 provisions are sufficient, and with water we could remain a 
 month without any trouble. But thirst is an awful thing." 
 
 Not only thirst, but there was the incessant contempla- 
 tion of the desert to fatigue the mind; there was no rising 
 ground, no sand-heap, not even a stone, upon which to fix 
 the eyes. This flatness was irritating, and gave rise to 
 what is denominated " the desert sickness." The impassi- 
 bility of the blue dryness of the sky and the yellow expanse 
 of the sand was terrifying. In this burning atmosphere 
 the heat seemed to quiver as over a furnace; the mind 
 grew desperate in beholding the fearful calm, and could 
 not get a glimpse of any reason why or when such a state 
 of things would have an end. The immensity was a sort 
 of eternity. 
 
 Thus these unfortunate people, deprived of water in 
 this torrid heat, began to experience symptoms of hallu- 
 cination; their eyes grew hollow, and their vision became 
 troubled. 
 
 When night fell the doctor resolved to shake off this 
 feeling by a rapid walk; he wished to explore the sandy 
 plain for several hours — not for exploring, but for walk- 
 ing's sake. 
 
 "Come!" said he to his companions; "believe me, it 
 will do you good."
 
 3i8 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 (( 
 
 Impossible!" replied Kennedy, "I cannot stir a step." 
 I would rather sleep," said Joe. 
 " But sleep or repose is deadly, my friends. Struggle 
 against this languor. Come along ! " 
 
 The doctor could prevail nothing, so he went away alone; 
 into the midst of the starry and transparent night. His 
 first steps were made with difficulty — the steps of a man 
 weakened and unaccustomed to walking — but he was well 
 aware that the exercise would do him good. He advanced 
 many miles towards the west, and his mind was already 
 feeling more consoled, when suddenly he was seized with 
 faintness; he fancied he was falling into a pit, he felt 
 his knees give way beneath him — the vast solitude fright- 
 ened him. He felt the central point of an infinite circum- 
 ference, that is to say, nothing. The " Victoria " disap- 
 peared altogether in the darkness. The doctor was seized 
 by a fearful foreboding — he, the cool, intrepid traveler. 
 He wanted to return, but in vain. He called out; there 
 was not even an echo to reply, and his voice fell into space 
 like a stone cast into a bottomless abyss. He cast himself, 
 almost swooning, upon the sand, alone amidst the terrible 
 solitude of the desert. 
 
 At midnight he regained consciousness in the arms of 
 his faithful Joe, who, anxious at his master's prolonged 
 absence, had followed his tracks, firmly printed in the 
 plain. He found him senseless. 
 
 " What has been the matter, sir? " inquired Joe. 
 
 " Nothing, my brave Joe ; a momentary weakness, that's 
 all." 
 
 "That will be nothing to hurt, sir; but get up and lean 
 on me, and we will regain the ' Victoria.' " And the doc- 
 tor, assisted by Joe, retraced his steps. 
 
 "It was imprudent of you sir; you should not have 
 ventured alone. You might have been robbed," he added, 
 laughing. " But seriously speaking, sir " 
 
 " Well, I am listening." 
 
 " We must really do something; we cannot go on thus 
 for many days longer and if no wind gets up, we are 
 lost." 
 
 The doctor did not reply. 
 
 " Well, someone must sacrifice himself for the good of 
 the rest; and it is only natural that I should."
 
 A DESPAIRING SEARCH 319 
 
 ti 
 
 What do you say? What is your plan? " 
 A very simple plan, indeed. To take some food, and 
 go straight ahead until I reach some place, which I cannot 
 fail to do. Meantime, if Heaven send you a favorable 
 wind, you need not wait for me — you can go. I, on my 
 part, if I come to a village, will explain the circumstances 
 with the words of Arabic you will write down for me, and 
 I will bring you assistance if I lose my skin. What do you 
 say to my plan? " 
 
 " It is madness, but worthy of your brave heart. It is 
 out of the question that you can leave us." 
 
 "Well, we must try something, sir! it cannot hurt you, 
 and, I repeat, you need not wait for me — ^perhaps I shall 
 succeed." 
 
 " No, Joe, no ; we must not separate — that would be an 
 additional trouble to us. It was decreed that this should 
 happen, and very likely it is decreed that something else 
 shall happen later. So let us wait with resignation." 
 
 " So be it, sir; but I warn you of one thing. I will give 
 you another day, I will not wait longer. This is Sunday, 
 or rather Monday, as it is now one o'clock in the morning; 
 if Tuesday does not see us off, I shall try my plan — that is 
 decided." 
 
 The doctor made no reply, and they soon arrived at the 
 balloon, where they sat down beside Kennedy. He was 
 plunged in a silence so deep, that it could not have been 
 sleep that bound him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 DELUSIONS 
 
 The doctor's first care on the morrow was to consult 
 the barometer. It did not appear that the mercury had 
 fallen in any appreciable degree. " Nothing," he said, 
 " nothing to hope for." 
 
 He came out of the car and looked at the sky; there 
 was the same heat, the same clearness, the same stillness. 
 " Must we then really relinquish all hope ? " he cried in 
 vain. 
 
 Joe did not say a word — he was still pondering upon 
 his project. Kennedy got up, but was very ill, and a prey
 
 320 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 to a restless excitement. He was suffering terribly from 
 thirst. His tongue and lips were so swollen that he could 
 scarcely utter a sound. 
 
 There were still a few drops of water remaining. Each 
 man knew it, each thought of it, and felt attracted by it, 
 but nobody dared to approach it. 
 
 These three companions and friends now looked at each 
 other with haggard eyes, and with a feeling of horrible 
 longing, which displayed itself in Kennedy chiefly. His 
 powerful frame was less able to tolerate these privations. 
 During all that day he was a prey to delirium; he moved 
 about, uttering hoarse cries, biting his fingers, and ready to 
 open a vein to assuage his thirst. 
 
 " Ah ! " he cried. " Country of thirst, you are well 
 named the region of despair 1 " Then he fell into a pro- 
 found lethargy, and nothing could be heard but the sound 
 of his breathing between his swollen lips. 
 
 Towards evening Joe was seized with symptoms of 
 madness. The vast stretch of sand appeared to him an 
 immense pond filled with clear and sparkling water. More 
 than once he cast himself upon the burning ground to 
 drink, and raising his mouth, filled with sand, would ex- 
 claim with anger: "Curse it, it is salt water!" 
 
 Afterwards, while Kennedy and Ferguson lay motion- 
 less, he was seized with an invincible desire to drink the 
 few remaining drops of water kept in reserve. The wish 
 overpowered him. He crept towards the car on all-fours; 
 he devoured the contents of the bottle with his eyes; he 
 cast a cautious look around, and seizing it, put it to his 
 lips. 
 
 At this moment the words " Give me some, give me a 
 drink," were uttered in despairing accents. 
 
 It was Kennedy, who had dragged himself towards Joe. 
 The unhappy man was to be pitied; he begged upon his 
 knees, he even wept. Joe wept too, and handed him the 
 bottle, which Kennedy finished to the last drop. 
 
 " Thank you," he said. But Joe did not hear him, he 
 had fallen, like Kennedy, upon the sand. 
 
 We will pass over the horrors of that night. But on 
 Tuesday morning, under the fiery rays of the sun that 
 bathed their limbs, the unfortunate travelers felt them with- 
 ering up by degrees. When Joe attempted to rise, he 
 
 V. 1 Verne
 
 DELUSIONS 321 
 
 found it was impossible to get up — he was unable to carry- 
 out his plan. 
 
 He looked around him. In the car the doctor, quite 
 exhausted, his arms folded across his chest, was gazing 
 into space, with a fixed and lack-luster look. Kennedy- 
 was really alarming, and kept shaking his head from side 
 to side like a wild beast in a cage. Suddenly- the Scot's 
 glance fell upon his carbine, the stock of which protruded 
 over the side of the car. 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " he cried, raising himself by an almost super- 
 human effort. He made a dart to secure the gun; mad- 
 dened and foolish, he directed the muzzle to his mouth. 
 
 "Sir, sir! "cried Joe, throwing himself upon Kennedy. 
 They struggled furiously together. 
 
 " Go away, or I will kill you ! " cried Kennedy. 
 
 But Joe held him with all his force, and thus they con- 
 tended, without the doctor appearing to observe them, for 
 nearly a minute. In the struggle the carbine suddenly ex- 
 ploded. At the noise of the discharge the doctor rose like 
 a specter and looked around him. 
 
 " Down there; look there! " he cried. 
 
 He pointed to a certain point so energetically that Joe 
 and Kennedy separated by mutual consent, and looked at 
 him and then in the direction indicated. 
 
 The plain was agitated like a tempestuous sea. Waves 
 of sand were tossed one upon the other in the midst of a 
 fearful dust-cloud. An immense pillar of sand came from 
 the southeast, whirling and eddying with tremendous swift- 
 ness. The sun disappeared behind a thick cloud, whose 
 shade extended even to the " Victoria." The grains of 
 fine sand glistened like liquid beads, and this rising sea 
 gained upon them by degrees. 
 
 A swift beam of hope leaped from Doctor Ferguson's 
 eyes. 
 
 " The simoon ! " he cried. 
 
 " The simoon ! " repeated Joe without understanding 
 him. 
 
 "So much the better!" exclaimed Kennedy, with the 
 anger of despair, " so much the better — we shall die ! " 
 
 " So much the better," replied the doctor, " for, on the 
 contrary, we shall live." And he began to cast out the 
 sand which ballasted the car.
 
 322 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 His companions, understanding him, at last came to his 
 assistance, and soon took their places in the car. 
 
 " Now, Joe," said the doctor, " throw over about fifty- 
 pounds of your mineral treasures." 
 
 Joe did not hesitate, though a pang of regret shot 
 through him. The balloon began to rise. 
 
 " Just in time," said the doctor. 
 
 In fact the simoon came upon them like a thunderbolt. 
 A little later and the " Victoria " would have been 
 smashed, torn to pieces, annihilated. 
 
 The terrible whirlwind struck them and the balloon was 
 covered with a shower of sand. 
 
 " More of that ballast, Joe," cried the doctor. 
 
 " There it goes," said Joe, throwing over an immense 
 piece of quartz. 
 
 The " Victoria " mounted rapidly above the whirlwind, 
 but surrounded by an immense vacuum of air, it was hur- 
 ried along by the current at a frightful pace above the 
 foaming sea of sand. 
 
 Neither Samuel, Dick, nor Joe spoke a word. They 
 looked on in hope, and were, moreover, refreshed by the 
 wind of this tempest. 
 
 At three o'clock the storm abated; the sand in falling 
 formed a quantity of little heaps, the sky reappeared in all 
 its former tranquillity. The " Victoria," now motionless, 
 was in full view of an oasis, a little isle covered with 
 green trees and rising from the surface of this ocean. 
 
 " Water ! water ! " exclaimed the doctor, and immediately 
 opening the valve he permitted the escape of the hydrogen 
 and descended gently at about 200 paces from the oasis. 
 During a period of four hours they had traveled 240 miles. 
 
 The car was duly balanced, and Kennedy, followed by 
 Joe, got down on the ground. 
 
 " Take your rifles," said the doctor, " and be cautious." 
 
 Dick caught up his carbine, Joe took one of the rifles. 
 They advanced quickly up to the trees and penetrated 
 amid the fresh verdure which announced the abundance of 
 water. They took no notice of some large footprints and 
 of the fresh trail which was indicated upon the damp 
 ground. 
 
 Suddenly a roar resounded within twenty paces. 
 
 " 'Tis the roar of a lion ! " cried Joe.
 
 DELUSIONS 323 
 
 "All -the better," replied the exasperated Scotchman; 
 " one feels strong when there's fighting to be done." 
 
 "Do be prudent, Mr. Dick, pray be prudent — on the 
 life of one depends the life of all now." 
 
 But Dick, who did not hear him, advanced with blazing 
 eyes and loaded gun, terrible in his rashness. Beneath a 
 palm tree an enormous lion with black mane was crouched. 
 Scarcely did he perceive the hunter than he sprang at him ; 
 but he had not touched ground again when a bullet through 
 the heart settled him. He fell dead. 
 
 " Hurrah ! hurrah ! " cried Joe. 
 
 Kennedy hurried towards the wells, slipping upon the 
 damp steps, and stretched himself down beside a spring, in 
 which he eagerly laved his swollen lips. Joe followed his 
 example, and they heard nothing save the cries of the ani- 
 mals which they had disturbed by their approach. 
 
 " Be cautious, Mr. Dick," said Joe, as he took breath, 
 " do not drink too much at first." 
 
 But Dick, without replying, continued drinking. He 
 plunged his head and hands into the grateful water — he 
 was like a man intoxicated. 
 
 " And about Mr. Ferguson ? " said Joe. 
 
 This recalled Kennedy to himself. He filled a bottle he 
 had brought and hurried up the steps. But what was his 
 surprise — an enormous body closed up the opening! Joe, 
 who followed Dick, drew him back with him. 
 
 "We are shut in!" 
 
 " It is impossible — what do you say " 
 
 But Dick did not finish his sentence. A terrible roaring 
 gave him to understand with what new enemy he had to do. 
 
 " Another lion ! " cried Joe. 
 
 "No, a lioness — ah, wait a minute, you beast!" said 
 Dick, quickly reloading his carbine. 
 
 He fired a moment after, but the animal had disappeared. 
 " Come along," cried he. 
 
 " No, no, Mr, Dick, you have not killed her — she is 
 crouching close here, and she will spring at the first who 
 approaches, and he will be lost." 
 
 " But what can you do ? We must get out. And Sam- 
 uel is waiting for us." 
 
 " Let us * draw ' her. Take my gun and give me your 
 carbine."
 
 324 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " What is your plan ? " 
 
 " You shall see." 
 
 Joe took off his jacket, and placing it upon the end of 
 his gun, held it as a bait above the opening. The furious 
 beast sprang down. Kennedy waited her appearance and 
 gave her a bullet in the shoulder. The lioness roared and 
 rolled down the steps, upsetting Joe. He was already 
 fancying the enormous claws of the animal upon him, when 
 a second shot was heard, and Doctor Ferguson appeared at 
 the entrance, his rifle, still smoking, in his hand. Joe 
 quickly got upon his feet, jumped over the carcass, and 
 handed his master the bottle of water. To carry it to his 
 lips and half empty it was for Ferguson the work of an 
 instant, and the three travelers thanked Heaven, from the 
 bottom of their hearts, for having so miraculously pre- 
 served them from a terrible death. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE HURRICANE 
 
 The evening was beautiful, and was passed by our trav- 
 elers under the grateful shade of the mimosas, after an 
 excellent repast, in which tea and grog were not spared. 
 
 Kennedy had searched the little island in every direction ; 
 he had scoured the bushes, and the travelers were the only 
 occupants of this terrestial paradise. They stretched 
 themselves on the ground beneath their rugs, and enjoyed 
 a quiet night's rest, which brought them forgetfulness of 
 all their troubles. 
 
 Next day, the 7th of May, the sun shone brilliantly, but 
 his rays were unable to penetrate the thick curtains of 
 shade. They had provisions in plenty, and the doctor de- 
 termined to remain at that place until a favorable wind 
 rose. 
 
 Joe had got out his portable kitchen, and devoted him- 
 self to a series of culinary combinations, while he made use 
 of the water with careless prodigality. 
 
 " What a strange succession of disappointment and 
 pleasure ! " cried Kennedy. " All this abundance after the 
 privations we endured; luxury succeeding to despair. 
 Ah! I was very nearly going mad! "
 
 THE HURRICANE 325 
 
 €( 
 
 My dear Dick," said the doctor, "had it not been for 
 Joe, you would not be sitting there holding forth upon the 
 mutability of human affairs." 
 
 " My brave friend," said Dick, extending his hand to 
 Joe. 
 
 " Oh, do not mention it," replied Joe. " You would do 
 as much for me again, Mr. Dick; but I trust the oppor- 
 tunity to render me a simialr service will not arise." 
 
 " Ours is a poor nature," said Ferguson, " to allow itself 
 to be overcome by so little." 
 
 "By so little water you mean, sir. That element is 
 very necessary to life." 
 
 " Doubtless, Joe, and people deprived of food can exist 
 longer than those deprived of water." 
 
 " I can quite believe it. Moreover, if necessary, one 
 can eat anything, even one's fellow-creatures, although that 
 would be a repast likely to last for a long time." 
 
 " Savages don't find it so, nevertheless," said Kennedy. 
 " That is because they are savages, and accustomed to eat 
 uncooked meat, but that is to me a disgusting habit." 
 
 "It is very distasteful, certainly," replied the doctor; 
 " in fact, no one credits the accounts of the first African 
 explorers, who have related that many tribes live on raw 
 meat, and refused generally to admit the fact. A singular 
 adventure happened to James Bruce under these circum- 
 stances." 
 
 " Tell us what it was, sir, we have plenty of time," said 
 Joe, casting himself lazily upon the green grass. 
 
 " Willingly," replied the doctor. " James Bruce was a 
 Scotchman, a native of Stirling, and who, in 1768-72, 
 traversed Abyssinia as far as Lake Tyana, in his search for 
 the sources of the Nile. He then returned to England, 
 where he published his travels in 1790 or thereabouts. 
 His statements were received with incredulity (an incredu- 
 lity doubtless also in reserve for us). The habits of the 
 Abyssinians appeared so very different from the British 
 usages and customs, that no one would credit the accounts. 
 Amongst other details James Bruce had stated that the 
 tribes of eastern Africa were in the habit of eating raw 
 meat. This statement raised a regular outcry against him. 
 He might talk as he liked, they did not see it at all! 
 Bruce was a very brave but a very quick-tempered man.
 
 326 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 These insinuations and doubts worried him very much. 
 One day in a drawing-room in Edinburgh, a Scotchman 
 repeated in Bruce's presence the subject of the daily jokes; 
 and as to the uncooked meat, he did not beHeve it was 
 either possible or true. Bruce made no remark. He went 
 out of the room and shortly afterwards returned with a 
 raw beefsteak, salted and peppered after the African 
 manner. 
 
 " * Sir,' said he to the Scot, * in throwing doubt upon 
 what I have declared to be true, you have gravely insulted 
 me, and in disbelieving the possibility of the occurrence, 
 you have made a great mistake. Now, to prove it, you 
 are going to eat this raw steak, or give me satisfaction!' 
 The Scot was a coward, and he ate the §teak with many 
 grimaces. Then, with great coolness, Bruce added : * Sup- 
 posing, even, that the thing is not true, sir, you will hardly 
 in future maintain that it is impossible ! ' " 
 
 " A capital retort," said Joe. " If the Scot got indi- 
 gestion, it was no more than he deserved; and if, when we 
 return to England, anyone cast doubts on our journey " 
 
 ''Well, Joe, what will you do?" 
 
 " I will make the skeptics eat the fragments of the * Vic- 
 toria,' without salt or pepper ! " 
 
 All laughed at Joe's determination. So the day wore 
 on in pleasant chat; with strength, hope returned — with 
 hope, boldness. The past was effaced by the future with 
 providential rapidity. Joe did not wish to leave this de- 
 lightful asylum. It was the country of his dreams; he 
 felt at home here, he obliged his master to take the exact 
 bearings, and he wrote it with much ceremony in his note- 
 book, 15° 43' longitude, 8° 32' latitude. Kennedy only 
 regretted his inability to hunt or shoot in that miniature 
 forest; in his eyes the place only wanted a few wild beasts, 
 to be perfectly charming. 
 
 " Well, my dear Dick, you have a very bad memory. 
 How about that lion and lioness?" said the doctor. 
 
 " That's nothing," replied Dick, with a true hunter's 
 contempt for what he had killed. " But, as a matter of 
 fact, we may suppose their presence in this oasis is indi- 
 cating our approach to more fertile regions." 
 
 " By no means a certain proof, Dick; these animals, im- 
 pelled by hunger or thirst, often travel immense distances.
 
 THE HURRICANE 32; 
 
 During the approaching night we must watch with re- 
 doubled vigilance, and light fires." 
 
 "In this heat!" cried Joe. "However, if necessary, it 
 must be done. But it is a great pity to burn this pretty 
 wood, which has been so welcome to us ! " 
 
 " We will take great care not to set it on fire," said the 
 doctor, " so that other people may find in it a refuge in the 
 midst of the desert." 
 
 " It shall be taken care of. But, sir, do you think this 
 oasis is known to exist? " 
 
 " Certainly. It is a halting-place for the caravans which 
 frequent the center of Africa, and their visit might not be 
 acceptable to you, Joe." 
 
 " Are those horrible Nyam-Nyams here then ? " 
 
 " Without doubt that is the general name of all these 
 people; and under the same climate the same race have 
 like customs." 
 
 "Pooh!" said Joe; "after all, it is very natural. If 
 savages possessed the tastes of gentlemen where would be 
 the difference? For example, look at these brave people 
 who would not have to be asked to swallow the beefsteak 
 of the Scotchman — or even the Scot himself." 
 
 With this rational remark, Joe proceeded to get the 
 wood piles ready for the night, making them as small as 
 possible. These precautions were happily unnecessary, 
 and each one in turn enjoyed a good night's rest. 
 
 Next day the weather was unchanged — it remained ob- 
 stinately fine. The balloon would be motionless until a 
 breeze arose to move it. The doctor began to feel uneasy 
 once more. If the journey became thus extended the pro- 
 visions would not hold out. After having survived the 
 want of water, were they to be reduced to die of hunger? 
 
 But he felt reassured when he perceived a decided fall of 
 the mercury in the barometer ; there were evident symptoms 
 of a change. He determined, therefore, to prepare for 
 departure and profit by the very first opportunity. The 
 supply tank and the water tank were both filled. 
 
 Ferguson then set about the re-establishment of the 
 equilibrium of the balloon, and Joe was obliged to sacri- 
 fice a quantity of the precious mineral he possessed. With 
 renewed health, ambition reasserted itself. He made more 
 excuses than before ere he obeyed his master, but the latter
 
 328 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 pointed out how impossible it was to raise such a weight. 
 It was a choice between water and ore. Joe hesitated no 
 longer, and cast away upon the sand a quantity of his 
 beloved pebbles. 
 
 " They will serve for those who follow us," he said. 
 " They will be very much astonished to find a fortune in 
 such a place." 
 
 " Suppose," said Kennedy, " that some learned traveler 
 should meet with these specimens ? " 
 
 *' No doubt he would be very much surprised, my dear 
 Dick, and would equally publish his surprise. Some day 
 we shall hear of a wonderful deposit of auriferous quartz 
 in the midst of the sandy desert of Africa." 
 
 " And Joe will have been the cause." 
 
 The idea of mystifying some learned professor some- 
 what consoled this brave lad, and he smiled. 
 
 During the remainder of the day the doctor watched in 
 vain for a change in the sky — the heat became greater, and 
 without the shade of the oasis would have been intolerable. 
 The thermometer in the sun marked 149°. A regular rain 
 of fiery rays traversed the air. This was the greatest heat 
 they had yet noted. 
 
 Towards evening Joe prepared the watch-fires, and dur- 
 ing the vigils of the doctor and Kennedy nothing particular 
 occurred. But towards three in the morning — Joe was 
 watching — the temperature fell suddenly, the sky became 
 obscured', and the darkness increased. " Get up ! " cried 
 Joe, waking his companions ; " get up — the wind is com- 
 ing!" 
 
 " At last ! " cried the doctor, looking up at the sky. 
 
 " It is a regular storm ! To the balloon — to the * Vic- 
 toria!'" 
 
 They were only just in time. The " Victoria " was 
 bending beneath the force of the storm, and was dragging 
 the car across the sand. Had any part of the ballast been 
 out of her the balloon would have sailed away, and then all 
 hope of regaining her would have been lost. 
 
 But Joe, quick as ever, ran as hard as he could and 
 stopped the car, while the balloon beat along the sand, at 
 the risk of being torn to pieces. The doctor took his usual 
 place, lighted up the blow-pipe, and threw out the excess 
 weight.
 
 THE HURRICANE 329 
 
 The travelers took a last look at the trees of the oasis, 
 which were bending with the force of the wind, and soon, 
 running before the east wind at about 200 feet above the 
 ground, they disappeared into the darkness of the night. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 MOUNT ATLANTIKA 
 
 From the moment of departure our travelers went at a 
 tremendous pace — they longed to quit this desert, which 
 had nearly proved so fatal. Towards nine o'clock some 
 appearance of vegetation was perceived — herbs floating, 
 as it were, upon the sea of sand, and announcing, as to 
 Christopher Columbus, the approach of land — green blades 
 pushed themselves up timidly between the stones which 
 were themselves the rocks in this ocean. 
 
 A low-lying chain of hills appeared upon the horizon; 
 their profile, dwarfed by the haze, was rather indistinct, 
 but the monotony was over. The doctor joyously saluted 
 this new region, and, like a sailor, he was on the point of 
 exclaiming, " Land ! land ! " 
 
 An hour later the continent was extended before his 
 gaze — still wild, but less flat, less bare, for some trees rose 
 against the gray sky. 
 
 '* We are, then, in a civilized country at last ! " said the 
 Scot. 
 
 " Civilized, Mr. Dick? that is your way of looking at it; 
 we can see no inhabitants yet." 
 
 " We shall soon," replied Ferguson, *' at the rate we are 
 going." 
 
 " Shall we always be among negroes, Mr. Samuel ? " 
 
 " Always, Joe, until we arrive amongst Arabs." 
 
 "Arabs, sir; real live Arabs, with camels?" 
 
 " No, without the camels ; these animals are scarce, not 
 to say unknown, in these districts; we must go some de- 
 grees farther north to meet them." 
 
 " That is unfortunate." 
 
 "Why, Joe?" 
 
 " Because, if the wind shifted, we might make them 
 help us!" 
 
 "How?"
 
 330 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Sir, it is an idea that has come into my head. We 
 could yoke them to the car, and be dragged by them. What 
 do you think of it? " 
 
 " My poor Joe, this idea has been started before. It 
 has been exploded by a very excellent French writer — in a 
 romance, it is true. Travelers harness camels to their 
 balloon; they come in contact with a lion, who eats the 
 camels, swallows the harness, and does the dragging instead 
 of the camels — and so on. You see that all this is imagina- 
 tion, and has nothing in common with our system of loco- 
 motion." 
 
 Joe, who was somewhat humiliated at the thought that 
 his notion had been already made use of, began to think of 
 some animal who could devour a lion, but, finding none, he 
 set about examining the country again. A lake of moder- 
 ate extent was now in sight, with an amphitheater of hills, 
 which had not yet attained the dignity of mountains. 
 Here numerous fertile valleys were stretched out, and 
 boasted an inextricable variety of trees. 
 
 " The country is splendid," said the doctor. 
 
 "Look at those animals; men cannot be far distant," 
 said Joe. 
 
 " Ah ! what magnificent elephants," said Kennedy. " Is 
 there no chance of a little shooting? " 
 
 " How on earth are we to stop, my dear Dick, with a 
 current of this velocity. No, you must taste a little of the 
 torture of Tantalus. You shall have amends by and by." 
 
 There was something to excite the hunter's imagination. 
 Dick's breast bounded and his hands mechanically gripped 
 his " Purdey." 
 
 The fauna of the country equaled the flora. The wild 
 oxen disported in the thick grass, in which they were en- 
 tirely concealed; elephants, gray, black, and yellow, of 
 enormous size, passed like a hurricane through the forest, 
 crashing, biting, destroying, as they went, and making their 
 progress by devastation. On the wooded slope of the hills, 
 cascades and streams ran down towards the north. There 
 the hippopotami bathed with much noise; and the man- 
 atees, twelve feet in length, vvith fish-like bodies, dis- 
 ported themselves on the banks, raising towards the sky 
 their rounded breasts distended with milk. 
 
 It was a rare menagerie in a wonderful conservatory,
 
 MOUNT ATLANTIKA 331 
 
 where birds without number, of a thousand different hues, 
 presented varied changes of color as they flew amongst the 
 arborescent plants. 
 
 At this prodigality of nature the doctor was reminded of 
 the superb kingdom of Adamosa. "We are now drawing 
 near the traces of modern discovery," he said. " I have 
 caught up the missing trace of the travelers; It Is by a 
 happy fatality, my friends, that we are enabled to connect 
 the labors of Captains Burton and Speke with the explora- 
 tions of Doctor Barth. We quitted England to find a 
 Hamburgher, and we shall soon reach the extreme point 
 attained by that adventurous professor." 
 
 *' It appears to me," said Kennedy, " that between the 
 two discoveries there Is a vast extent of country, if one 
 may judge from the distance we have traveled." 
 
 " It is easy to calculate ; take the map, and see what Is 
 the longitude of the southern point of Lake Ukereone at- 
 tained by Speke." 
 
 " Close upon the 37th degree." 
 
 " And the town of Yola, which we shall see to-night, 
 and to which Barth penetrated — how Is It situated ? " 
 " On the 1 2th degree of longitude nearly." 
 " That makes it twenty-five degrees, which, at sixty miles 
 each, is 1,500 miles." 
 
 " A nice journey," said Joe, " for people who walk." 
 " That will nevertheless be accomplished. Livingstone 
 and Moffat are always advancing towards the interior; the 
 Nyassa, which they have discovered, is not very far distant 
 from Lake Tanganyika, found by Burton; before the end 
 of the century these immense tracts will be explored. 
 But," added the doctor, as he consulted the compass, " I re- 
 gret that the wind is carrying us so much towards the west; 
 I would have preferred to go northward." 
 
 After twelve hours' progress the " Victoria " arrived at 
 the boundary of Nigritia. The first inhabitants of this 
 territory, the Chouan Arabs, were feeding their horned 
 flocks. The vast summits of Mount Atlantika appeared 
 above the horizon, mountains which no European foot had 
 ever trodden, and whose altitude is estimated at 7,800 feet. 
 Their western slopes determine the direction of the streams 
 of this part of Africa to the ocean. They are the " Moun- 
 tains of the Moon " of this region.
 
 332 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 At length a true river greeted the eyes of the travelers, 
 and by the immense ant-hills which bordered it, the doctor 
 recognized the Benoue, one of the great tributaries of the 
 Niger, that which the natives have named the " Source of 
 Waters." 
 
 " This river," said the doctor to his companions, " will 
 one day become the natural channel of communication with 
 the interior of Nigritia. Under the command of one of 
 our brave captains, the Pleiad advanced as far as the town 
 of Yola. You see that we are in a known country." 
 
 Numerous slaves were employed in tilling the fields, 
 cultivating the " sorgho," a species of millet which forms 
 the staple food of the community. The most stupid as- 
 tonishment was apparent as the " Victoria " passed like a 
 meteor. In the evening our travelers stopped at forty 
 miles from Yola, and in front, but at a distance, the two 
 sharp peaks of the Mount Mendif raised themselves. 
 
 The doctor threw out the grapnels, and they caught in 
 the summit of a high tree, but the high wind bent the 
 " Victoria " down almost horizontally, and rendered the 
 position of the car very dangerous. 
 
 Ferguson did not close his eyes all night, he was fre- 
 quently on the point of cutting the cable and flying before 
 the hurricane. At last the storm lulled and the oscillations 
 of the balloon were no longer alarming. 
 
 Next day the wind was more moderate, but it carried 
 the travelers beyond the town of Yola, which, newly built 
 by the Foulannes, had excited the curiosity of Ferguson. 
 Nevertheless he was obliged to resign himself to be carried 
 to the north, and even a little to the east. 
 
 Kennedy suggested a halt for hunting purposes. Joe 
 pretended that the want of fresh meat was beginning to be 
 felt; but the savage customs of the country, the attitude of 
 the population, some shots sent in the direction of the 
 " Victoria," all determined the doctor to continue his jour- 
 ney. They then crossed a region — a theater of massacres 
 and burnings, where fighting is incessant, and in which the 
 sultans rule their kingdoms in the midst of the most hor- 
 rible slaughter. 
 
 Numerous and populous villages, composed of long huts, 
 appeared between splendid pastures, of which the thick 
 grass was mixed with violet blossoms; the huts resembled
 
 MOUNT ATLANTIKA 332, 
 
 vast hives, and were screened behind bristhng pahsades. 
 The wilder slopes of the hills recalled to Kennedy's mind 
 the glens of the Scottish Highlands, and he frequently made 
 the remark. 
 
 Despite the doctor's efforts the balloon was drifted to- 
 wards the northeast, in the direction of Mount Mendif, 
 which was hidden in the clouds. The high summits of 
 these mountains separate the basin of the Niger from that 
 of Lake Tchad. 
 
 Bagale, with its eighteen villages hung upon its flanks, 
 soon appeared, like a group of children round their mother ; 
 a magnificent group for those who, being overhead, could 
 take the whole in at once. At three o'clock the " Victoria" 
 was opposite Mount Mendif. They could not avoid it, so 
 were obliged to go over it. The doctor, by means of a 
 temperature of 180°, gave to the balloon a new ascensional 
 force of nearly 1,600 lbs. It rose more than 8,000 feet. 
 This was the greatest elevation obtained during the jour- 
 ney, and the temperature was so low that the doctor and 
 his companions were glad to make use of their rugs. 
 
 Ferguson hastened to descend, for the envelope of the 
 balloon threatened disruption. He had time, however, to 
 verify the volcanic origin of the mountain, whose extinct 
 craters were only deep chasms. Great agglomerations of 
 the dung of birds gave the sides of the Mendif the appear- 
 ance of calcareous rocks, and there was sufficient there to 
 manure the whole United Kingdom. 
 
 At five o'clock the " Victoria," impelled by the south 
 wind, sailed slowly along the slopes of the mountain, and 
 halted in a large open space at a distance from any habita- 
 tion. So soon as they touched the ground, precautions were 
 taken to secure the balloon firmly, and Kennedy, gun in 
 hand, started in the plain. He was not long before he 
 returned with half-a-dozen wild ducks and a sort of snipe, 
 which Joe served up to the best of his ability. The meal 
 was a pleasant one, and the night passed without any dis- 
 turbance.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE INCENDIARY PIGEONS 
 
 Next day, the nth of May, the "Victoria" resumed 
 her adventurous course; the travelers had in her the same 
 confidence as a sailor feels in his ship. 
 
 Fearful hurricanes, tropical heat, dangerous ascents, even 
 more dangerous descents, were experienced by the " Vic- 
 toria," and happily overcome always and through every- 
 thing. One might say that Ferguson guided her by a ges- 
 ture; and without knowing the point of arrival, the doctor 
 had no fear respecting the issue of the journey. But in this 
 land of barbarians and fanatics, prudence obliged him to 
 take the greatest precautions, and he enjoined his com- 
 panions to keep their eyes open ready for anything at any 
 time. 
 
 The wind carried them a little more to the north, and 
 towards nine o'clock they came in sight of the large town 
 of Mosfeia, built upon an eminence shut in between two 
 high mountains. It was situated in an impregnable posi- 
 tion ; a road between a marsh and a wood was the only ap- 
 proach to it. 
 
 At this moment a sheik, accompanied by a mounted 
 escort, clad in bright-colored robes, preceded by trumpeters 
 and runners who cut down the opposing branches, was 
 about to make his entry into the city. 
 
 The doctor descended so as to see the natives a little 
 nearer, but scarcely had the balloon come into their range 
 of vision when signs of terror began to manifest themselves, 
 and they scampered away as fast as their legs or their 
 horses could carry them. The sheik alone did not move, he 
 cocked his long musket and waited proudly. 
 
 The doctor approached within 150 paces, and, in his 
 most pleasant tone, addressed to him the Arab welcome. 
 
 But at these words falling from the sky, the sheik dis- 
 mounted, and prostrated himself in the dust of the road; 
 and the doctor was not able to prevent this act of wor- 
 ship. 
 
 " It is impossible," said he, " but that these people should 
 take us for supernatural beings, since, on the arrival of 
 the first Europeans amongst them, they believed them to 
 be a divine race. And when this sheik speaks of this 
 encounter in future he will not fail to elaborate the details 
 
 334
 
 THE INCENDIARY PIGEONS 335 
 
 with all the resources of an Arab's imagination. Judge 
 then what their legends will be respecting us some of these 
 days." 
 
 " That will be rather disappointing from the civilization 
 point of view," replied Kennedy. " It would be better to 
 pass for simple men, who would give these negroes an ex- 
 cellent idea of European power." 
 
 "Agreed, my dear Dick; but what could we do here? 
 You might explain at length to the wise men the mechanism 
 of the balloon, which they would not understand, and would 
 always suppose it to be a supernatural appearance." 
 
 " Sir," said Joe, " you have spoken of the first Euro- 
 peans who explored this country; who were they, if you 
 please ? " 
 
 " My dear boy, we are precisely on the track of Major 
 Denham. It was at this very Mosfeia that he was received 
 by the Sultan of Mandara; he had left the Bornou. He 
 accompanied the sheik in an expedition against the Fella- 
 tabs; he assisted at the attack on the town, which resisted 
 bravely with its arrows against the Arabs' bullets, and put 
 the troops of the sheik to flight; all this was but a pretext 
 for murder, pillage, and raids. The major was completely 
 stripped, and had it not been for a horse, beneath whose 
 belly he crept, and which enabled him to escape his con- 
 querors by its headlong gallop, he would never have re- 
 entered Kouka, the capital of Bornou." 
 
 " But who was this Major Denham? " 
 
 "A brave Englishman, who from 1822 to 1824, com- 
 manded an expedition into the Bornou, in company with 
 Captain Clapper ton and Doctor Oudney. They left Tripoli 
 in the month of March, arrived at Mourzouk, the capital 
 of Fezzan; and, following the route which Doctor Barth 
 traversed afterwards on his return to Europe, they arrived 
 on the 1 6th of February, 1823, in Bornou, in the Mandara, 
 and at the eastern side of the lake. During this time, on 
 the 15th December, 1823, Captain Clapperton and Doctor 
 Oudney penetrated into the Soudan as far as Sackatou, 
 and Oudney died of fatigue and privation at Murmur." 
 
 "This part of Africa," said Kennedy, " has then paid a 
 large tribute of victims to science." 
 
 "Yes! this region is indeed fatal. We are tending di- 
 rectly towards the kingdom of Barghimi, which Vogel
 
 336 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 crossed in 1856 to pentrate into the Wadai, where he dis- 
 appeared. This young man of twenty-three was despatched 
 to co-operate in the explorations of Doctor Barth ; they met 
 on the 1st December, 1854, then Vogel commenced to ex- 
 plore the country; about 1856 he announced in his last 
 letters his intention to examine the kingdom of Wadai", into 
 which no European had ever previously penetrated. It 
 seems he reached Wara, the capital, where, according to 
 some accounts, he was made prisoner; according to others 
 he was put to death, for having attempted to ascend a 
 sacred mountain in the neighborhood. But we must not 
 lightly accept the report of the death of travelers, for that 
 would obviate any search for them; thus, how often was 
 the death of Doctor Barth officially announced, a circum- 
 stance which naturally caused him great irritation. It was 
 therefore very possible that Vogel had been kept a prisoner 
 by the Sultan of Wada'i, in the hope to obtain ransom. 
 Baron Neimaus set out for Wadai, but he died at Cairo in 
 1855. We know now that M. Heuglin, with the expedition 
 despatched from Leipsic, followed up the traces of Vogel. 
 Thus we ought to be soon assured of the fate of this youth- 
 ful and interesting traveler." 
 
 Mosfeia had long since disappeared on the horizon. 
 Mandara betrayed its astonishing fertility to the eyes of the 
 travelers, with its acacia forests, the red-flowering locust 
 plant, and the herbaceous plants in the cotton and indigo 
 fields. The Shari, which flows into Lake Tchad eighty 
 miles farther on, here rolled its impetuous course along. 
 
 The doctor followed with his companions the maps of 
 Barth. " You see," said he, " that the works of this savant 
 are wonderfully precise. We are traveling right over the 
 district of Loggoum, and perhaps even upon Kernak, its 
 capital. There poor Toole died, when scarcely twenty- 
 two. He was a young Englishman, an ensign in the 80th 
 foot, who had for some weeks been with Major Denham 
 in Africa, and he there quickly found his death. Ah ! they 
 may well call this country the ' Cemetery of Europeans,' " 
 
 Some canoes about fifty feet long were descending the 
 Shari. The "Victoria," 1,000 feet above them, attracted 
 little attention from the natives, until the wind, which 
 had hitherto been blowing strongly, showed signs of di- 
 minishing. 
 V. I Verne
 
 THE INCENDIARY PIGEONS 337 
 
 "Are we again going to be becalmed, I wonder?" said 
 the doctor. 
 
 " Well, sir, we have neither the want of water nor the 
 desert to fear now." 
 
 " No, but the population is still very formidable." 
 
 " There " said Joe, eagerly, " is something that resembles 
 a town." 
 
 " It is Kernak. The last breath of wind will carry us 
 thither, and if it suits us, we can take an exact plan of 
 the place." 
 
 " Can we not go nearer to it ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " Nothing is more easy, Dick," said the doctor. " We 
 are exactly over the town. Allow me to turn the tap of 
 the blow-pipe a little, and we shall soon descend." 
 
 In half an hour the " Victoria " was floating motionless, 
 about 200 feet from the ground. 
 
 " We are here nearer to Kernak," said the doctor, " than 
 a man would be to London, if he were perched on the dome 
 of St. Paul's. So we can observe at our ease all that is 
 going on." 
 
 " What is that sound of mallets that we hear on all 
 sides?" 
 
 Joe watched attentively, and perceived that the noise 
 was produced by the number of weavers, who were beating 
 their cloths stretched upon the large trunks of trees. 
 
 The capital of Loggoum was viewed in its entirety, like 
 a plan unrolled at their feet. It was a veritable town, with 
 lines of houses and good-sized streets. In the center of a 
 large square a slave-market was held, and there was a large 
 concourse of purchasers; for the Mandara women, with 
 their little hands and feet, are very much sought after, and 
 are sold for high prices. 
 
 At sight of the " Victoria," the oft-produced effect was 
 again repeated — first cries, then profound stupefaction; 
 business was abandoned, work suspended, the noise was 
 hushed. The travelers remained immovable, and did not 
 lose a detail of this populous city; they even descended to a 
 distance of sixty feet from the ground. 
 
 Then the governor of Loggoum came out of his house, 
 displaying his green flag, and accompanied by his musicians, 
 who blew enthusiastically with the full force of their lungs 
 into their hoarse buffalo horns. The crowd assembled round
 
 338 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 him. Doctor Ferguson wished to make himself heard, but 
 he could not succeed. 
 
 The people, who had high foreheads, curly hair, and 
 almost aquiline noses, appeared proud and intelligent, but 
 the presence of the " Victoria " disturbed them mightily. 
 The travelers perceived horsemen galloping in all directions ; 
 soon it became evident that the soldiers were being assem- 
 bled to give battle to this extraordinary enemy. Joe had 
 lavishly displayed handkerchiefs of various colors, but with- 
 out any result. 
 
 However, the sheik, surrounded by his court, proclaimed 
 silence, and made a speech in a mixed language of Arabic 
 and Baghimi, of which the doctor did not understand a 
 word. He comprehended, however, by the universal lan- 
 guage of signs, that he was particularly requested to depart; 
 he asked for nothing better, but in default of wind it had 
 become impossible. His immobility angered the governor, 
 and his courtiers begged him to give loud orders for the 
 departure of the monster. 
 
 They were curious people, these courtiers, with their five 
 or six motley shirts upon their bodies ; they were enormously 
 stout, and some appeared to wear artificial stomachs. The 
 doctor astonished his companions by telling them that this 
 was the mode of paying court to the Sultan. The rotundity 
 of the abdomen indicated the ambition of the people. 
 These fat men gesticulated and shouted, and one more than 
 all the rest, who ought to have been prime minister if his 
 size met with any favor. The crowd of negroes joined 
 their shouting to that of the courtiers, repeating their ges- 
 ticulations like so many monkeys, and which resulted in a 
 curious and instantaneous effect in the simultaneous move- 
 ment of 10,000 arms. 
 
 To these modes of intimidation, which appeared to be 
 insufficient, they added others more formidable. Soldiers, 
 armed with bows and arrows, were drawn up in order of 
 battle; but the "Victoria" had already been inflated, and 
 moved quietly out of range. The governor then seized a 
 musket and leveled it at the balloon, but Kennedy was on 
 the watch, and with a ball from his carbine, shattered the 
 musket in the sheik's grasp. 
 
 At this unlooked-for blow there was a general retreat; 
 each one took shelter in his house as quickly as possible,
 
 THE INCENDIARY PIGEONS 339 
 
 and during the rest of the day the town remained absolutely 
 deserted. 
 
 Night arrived; the wind had dropped. It was resolved 
 to pass the night at 300 feet from the ground. Not a gleam 
 shone through the darkness — a deathlike silence reigned 
 around. 
 
 The doctor redoubled his watchfulness; this calm be- 
 tokened some treachery. 
 
 And Ferguson was right to watch as he did. Towards 
 midnight all the town appeared on fire; hundreds of fiery 
 streaks crossed each other like rockets, forming a network 
 of flame. 
 
 ** That is very curious," said the doctor. 
 
 " But, God bless me ! " cried Kennedy, " It appears that 
 the fire is ascending and approaching us." 
 
 In fact, at the sound of frightful cries, and amid the 
 discharges of muskets, this mass of fire rose up towards 
 the " Victoria." Joe made ready to throw out the ballast. 
 Ferguson did not stop to ascertain the cause of the phe- 
 nomenon. 
 
 Thousands of pigeons, their tails furnished with squibs, 
 had been let loose against the " Victoria." Terrified, they 
 ascended, marking their flight with fiery zigzags. Kennedy 
 was about to discharge all the firearms into the midst of the 
 crowd of birds, but what could he accomplish against such 
 an innumerable host ? Already the pigeons had surrounded 
 the car and the balloon, of which the sides, reflecting the 
 light, appeared wrapped in flames. 
 
 The doctor did not hesitate, and throwing over a large 
 lump of quartz, he rose above the reach of these dangerous 
 birds. For two hours they could perceive them flying back- 
 wards and forwards in the darkness ; by degrees their num- 
 bers diminished and finally they disappeared. 
 
 " Now we can sleep in peace," said the doctor. 
 
 " Rather a happy thought of the savages," said Joe. 
 
 " Yes ; they very commonly employ pigeons to burn the 
 thatches of houses in the villages, but this time the village 
 flew up higher than their winged incendiaries." 
 
 " A balloon has decidedly no enemies to fear," said 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " Yes, indeed it has," replied the doctor. 
 
 "Who, then?"
 
 340 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " The imprudent people whom it carries in its car ; so, 
 my friends, vigilance above everything — vigilance always ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 A LOST BULLET 
 
 About three o'clock in the morning, during Joe's watch, 
 the town appeared to move beneath them, and the " Vic- 
 toria " sailed away. Kennedy and the doctor awoke. 
 
 The latter consulted the compass, and perceived with 
 satisfaction that the wind was bearing them to the nor- 
 nor-east. 
 
 " We are getting on capitally," said he. " All goes well, 
 and we shall come in sight of Lake Tchad this very day," 
 
 "Is it a large expanse of water?" asked Kennedy. 
 
 " A very considerable size, my dear Dick ; at its greatest 
 length and breadth it measures 120 miles." 
 
 " It will be a little change for us to sail over such a 
 sheet of water." 
 
 " Well, it seems to me that we have nothing to grumble 
 at; the country is very varied, and we are enjoying it under 
 the most pleasant conditions." 
 
 " No doubt, Samuel. Except the privations of the desert 
 we have not encountered any serious danger." 
 
 " Certainly, our tight little ' Victoria ' has behaved won- 
 derfully. To-day is the 12th of May; we started on the 
 1 8th of April, so we have been traveling twenty-five days. 
 Ten days more and we shall reach the end of our journey." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " I do not know ; but what does that matter ? " 
 
 " You are right, Samuel ; let us trust in Providence to 
 take care of us and keep us in good health, as we are. We 
 do not look much like people who have been traversing the 
 most pestilential country in the world." 
 
 " We have been able to keep up so high, that is the 
 reason we have been so well." 
 
 "Hurrah for aerial traveling!" cried Joe. "Here we 
 are after twenty-five days, in good health, well fed, well 
 rested; indeed, rather too well rested, for my limbs are 
 getting stiff, and I should not be sorry to take the stiffness 
 off with a thirty mile walk."
 
 A LOST BULLET 341 
 
 "You shall indulge yourself in that way in the streets 
 of London, Joe. But to wind up, we are a party of three 
 like Denham, Clapperton, and Overweg — like Earth, Rich- 
 ardson, and Vogel, and happier than our predecessors. 
 All three of us are together still. But it is very important 
 not to separate. If, during the absence of one of us on 
 the ground, the * Victoria ' were obliged to ascend in order 
 to avoid some sudden and unforseen danger, who knows 
 whether we might come together again. So I tell you 
 frankly, Kennedy, I do not wish you to go far away under 
 the pretext of hunting." 
 
 " You must, nevertheless, allow me, my dear Samuel, to 
 overcome this fancy; there is no great harm in renewing 
 our stock of provisions. Besides, before our departure 
 from home, you put before me a series of wonderful hunt- 
 ing exploits, and, up to this time, I have done very little 
 in the way of Anderson or Gumming." 
 
 " Surely, my dear Dick, your memory fails you; or your 
 modesty stands in the way of your prowess. It appears 
 to me that, without reckoning smaller game, you have al- 
 ready an antelope, an elephant, and two lions on your con- 
 science." 
 
 " Well, what is that for an African sportsman, who can 
 have a shot at every created animal? Look here! look at 
 this drove of giraffes ! " 
 
 " Those giraffes ! " cried Joe. " Why, they are only as 
 big as my fist! " 
 
 "Because we are 1,000 feet above them," replied Ken- 
 nedy; "but if you were nearer, you would see they were 
 three times as high as you; and there are some ostriches 
 going like the wind ! " 
 
 "Ostriches!" said Joe; "they are fowls, and nothing 
 more ! " 
 
 " Cannot we get nearer to them, Samuel? " 
 
 " Yes, we can approach them, but cannot land. And 
 what good, after all. is there in shooting animals which are 
 of no use to us? If the question were the destruction of a 
 lion, a tiger-cat, or a hyena, I could understand it, there 
 would be always a dangerous beast the less ; but to destroy 
 an antelope, or a gazelle, without any profit but to satisfy 
 the vanity of the sportsman, is not worth the trouble. 
 However, my friend, we will keep at about 100 feet above
 
 342 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the ground, and If you can perceive any wild animal you 
 can send a bullet to his heart." 
 
 The " Victoria " descended by degrees, but still kept up 
 at a safe distance. In this savage and thickly-populated 
 country it was necessary to be on one's guard against un- 
 expected danger. 
 
 The travelers followed the course of the Shari. The 
 pleasant banks of this river were hidden beneath the shade 
 of the variously tinted trees; the bind-weed and creeping 
 plants wound in all directions, and produced curious com- 
 binations of colors. The crocodiles sported in the sun 
 and plunged into the water with the activity of the lizard, 
 and in their play they crossed numerous green islets, which 
 rose amid the stream. 
 
 Thus, in the enjoyment of a luxurious and verdant nat- 
 ural scenery, the district of Maffatay was passed. To- 
 wards nine in the morning Ferguson and his companions 
 at length reached the southern coast of Lake Tchad. 
 There was the Caspian of Africa, whose existence was for 
 a long time regarded as fabulous. This inland sea, to 
 which only the expeditions of Denham and Barth had 
 hitherto penetrated, lay before them. 
 
 The doctor attempted to decide its actual form, already 
 very different from its shape in 1847; in fact, the map of 
 this lake it is impossible to reconcile with the lake itself. 
 It is surrounded by miry marshes which are almost impass- 
 able, and in which Barth nearly perished. From year to 
 year these marshes, covered to a height of fifteen feet with 
 reeds and papyrus, become absorbed into the lake, and 
 often the towns established upon its banks are half sub- 
 merged, as happened at Ngornou, in 1856, and now alli- 
 gators and hippopotomi swim about in the very spots 
 where the habitations of the natives once stood. 
 
 The sun poured down his rays upon this calm sheet of 
 water, and in the north, sky and water seemed to unite 
 upon the horizon. 
 
 The doctor was desirous to ascertain the nature of the 
 water, which was for a long time believed to be saline; 
 there was no danger in approaching the surface of the 
 lake, and the car skimmed over it like a bird, at five feet 
 distance. 
 
 Joe plunged a bottle into it and raised it half filled; the
 
 A LOST BULLET 343 
 
 water was not very drinkable, and possessed a flavor of 
 natron. 
 
 While the doctor was noting down the result of his 
 experience, the report of a gun resounded beside him. 
 Kennedy had not been able to resist sending a bullet at 
 a monstrous hippopotamus, which quietly disappeared at 
 the sound of the discharge, and the conical bullet did not 
 appear to have caused him the least inconvenience. 
 
 " You had better have harpooned him," said Joe. 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " With one of our grapnels. That would have been a 
 good hook for such an animal." 
 
 " By Jove ! " cried Kennedy, " Joe has really got an 
 idea." 
 
 '* Which I trust you will not put into execution," re- 
 plied the doctor. " The animal would quickly hurry us 
 where we should be helpless." 
 
 " Particularly now that you have decided upon the qual- 
 ity of the water of Lake Tchad." 
 
 " Is that fish good to eat, Mr. Ferguson ? " 
 
 " Your fish, Joe, is a mammiferous animal of the pachy- 
 derm species; his flesh is excellent, they say, and is art 
 article of commerce amongst the lake tribes." 
 
 " Then I regret that Mr. Dick's bullet was not more 
 effectual." 
 
 " This animal is only vulnerable in the belly and be- 
 tween the thighs; the bullet did not even break the skin. 
 But, if the ground be suitable, we shall halt, and at the 
 southern end of the lake there Kennedy will find a full 
 menagerie, and he can indemnify himself at his ease." 
 
 " Well, I hope that Mr. Dick will do a little hippopota- 
 mus hunting. I want to taste this amphibious animal. It 
 is no use coming into the center of Africa if we are to live 
 upon snipe and partridges just as if we were in England! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXn 
 
 THE FALL 
 
 After arriving: at Lake Tchad, the " Victoria ** met si 
 current which carried it more to the west, some clouds 
 tempered the heat, and occasionally a breeze was felt over
 
 344 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 this vast expanse of water. But, towards one o'clock, the 
 balloon having slanted across this part of the lake, ad- 
 vanced once more inland for a distance of seven or eight 
 miles. 
 
 The doctor, who was first annoyed at this direction, did 
 not complain when he perceived the town of Kouka, the 
 celebrated capital of Bornou. He could obtain a bird's- 
 eye view of it, surrounded by walls of white clay; some 
 mosques of considerable size towered above the Arab 
 houses. 
 
 In the courts of the houses, and in the public squares 
 were palm trees, and caoutchouc plants, crowned by a dome 
 of foliage lOO feet in extent. Joe remarked that these 
 immense umbrellas were suited to the heat of the sun's 
 rays, and he drew very comfortable conclusions from this 
 dispensation of Providence. 
 
 Kouka is really composed of two distinct towns, sepa- 
 rated by the " dendal," a wide boulevard of great length, 
 crowded by foot-passengers and horsemen. Upon one 
 side lay the aristocratic quarter of the town, with its high 
 and airy houses; on the other cowered the poorer quarter, 
 a wretched assemblage of low conical huts, where an in- 
 digent population dragged on a mere existence — for Kouka 
 is neither commercial nor industrial. 
 
 Kennedy found some resemblance to Edinburgh, which 
 was built on a plain, with its two perfectly distinct towns. 
 
 But the travelers had scarcely time to observe all these 
 details, when a contrary wind, with the changeableness 
 which characterizes the air-currents in Africa, suddenly 
 laid hold of them and carried the balloon forty miles across 
 Lake Tchad. ? 
 
 There a novel sight awaited them; they were able to 
 count the numerous islets in the lake, inhabited by the 
 Biddiomahs, very notorious and sanguinary pirates, and 
 whose vicinity was as much to be dreaded as that of the 
 Touaregs of the Sahara. These savages bravely prepared 
 to receive the " Victoria " with showers of arrows and 
 stones; but the balloon had soon passed their isles, over 
 which it appeared to hover like a gigantic winged beetle. 
 
 At this moment Joe, who was gazing at the horizon, 
 said to Kennedy, " Faith, Mr, Dick, you are always dream- 
 ing of shooting. Here is something which will suit you! "
 
 ♦the fall 345 
 
 " What is it, Joe? " 
 
 ** And this time my master will not object to your firing 
 your gun." 
 
 "But what is it?" 
 
 ** Do you see that flock of large birds over there, which 
 are approaching us ? " 
 
 " Birds ? " said the doctor, seizing his telescope. 
 
 "I see them," cried Kennedy. "There are at least si 
 dozen of them." 
 
 " Fourteen, if you have no objection," said Joe. 
 
 " Please goodness, they are sufficiently mischievous that 
 the tender-hearted Samuel may not object to my shooting 
 some." 
 
 " I shall not say a word," said Ferguson, " but I should 
 very much prefer to see them at a greater distance." 
 
 "You are afraid of these birds, then? " said Joe. 
 
 "They are condors, Joe, and of the largest size, and 
 if they do attack us " 
 
 " Well, we shall defend ourselves, Samuel. We have 
 an arsenal ready to receive them. I do not suppose that 
 these creatures are very formidable." 
 
 " Who can tell ? " replied the doctor. 
 
 Ten minutes afterwards the flock was within range. 
 These fourteen birds filled the air with their hoarse cries. 
 They flew at the " Victoria " more irritated than alarmed 
 by its appearance. 
 
 " How they scream," said Joe; " what a fearful row! " 
 
 "They probably regard us as intruders upon their do- 
 main, and think that we have no business to fly like them- 
 selves." 
 
 " Truly," replied Kennedy, " they are sufficiently for- 
 midable and quite as dangerous as if they were armed with 
 Purdey's guns." 
 
 "They have no need of them," replied Ferguson, who 
 had suddenly become very serious. 
 
 The condors flew round in wide circles, and their orbits 
 gradually got smaller and smaller. They flashed through 
 the sky with fantastic rapidity, sometimes darting dowrt 
 with the utmost velocity, and breaking their line with sharp 
 angular flights. 
 
 The doctor, feeling nervous, resolved to ascend, in order 
 to escape from such a dangerous neighborhood; he in-
 
 346 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 flated the balloon, which mounted at once. But the fal- 
 cons mounted with him, but little disposed to let him 
 escape. 
 
 " They appear determined to have their own way," said 
 Kennedy, taking up a carbine. The birds continued to ap- 
 proach; and more than one came within fifty paces of the 
 car, as if to brave Kennedy's carbine. " I have a great 
 mind to fire up at them," said Kennedy. 
 
 " No, Dick ; do not, do not make them angry without 
 reason. It would only incite them to attack us." 
 
 " But I can soon polish them off ! " 
 
 " You are mistaken, Dick." 
 
 " We have a bullet for each of them? " 
 
 " And if they attack the upper part of the balloon how 
 will you reach them? You imagine that you are dealing 
 with lions on land, or with sharks in the open sea. For 
 aeronauts, the situation is very critical." 
 
 "Are you serious, Samuel?" 
 
 " Quite serious, Dick." 
 
 ** Let us wait, then." 
 
 " Yes ; be ready in the event of attack ; but do not fire 
 without my orders." 
 
 The birds then collected at a little distance; the travelers 
 could distinguish their bare throats extended with the ef- 
 forts to scream; their gristly heads adorned with violet 
 crests, which bristled with anger. They were of large size, 
 their bodies being more than three feet long, and the under 
 part of their white wings glistened in the sunlight. They 
 have been termed air " sharks," to which fish they bore 
 some resemblance. 
 
 " They are following us," said the doctor, as they rose 
 with the balloon. " We have ascended well, and they can 
 fly higher than we can go." 
 
 " Well, what is to be done ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 The doctor did not answer. 
 
 "Listen, Samuel," said Kennedy; "there are fourteen 
 of these birds, and we have seventeen shots at our disposal, 
 if we fire them all. Are there no means by which we can 
 destroy or disperse them. I will account for some of them, 
 I promise you," 
 
 " I don't question your skill, Dick, and I willingly look 
 upon those birds as dead which fly across your range; but
 
 THE FALL 347 
 
 I repeat, if they attack the upper part of the balloon you 
 will not be able to see them, they will tear the silk which 
 keeps us up, and we are 3,000 feet above the ground!" 
 
 At this moment one of the fiercest of the birds swooped 
 right down upon the "Victoria," with beak and claws ex- 
 tended, ready to bite and rend. 
 
 " Fire ! " roared the doctor. 
 
 Scarcely had the word passed his lips, when the bird, 
 shot dead, went tumbling into space. 
 
 Kennedy seized one of the double-abrrelled guns; Joe 
 shouldered the other. 
 
 Frightened by the report, the falcons drew back for an 
 instant, but they returned to the charge almost immediately 
 with increased fury. Kennedy, with one bullet cut the 
 head clean off the nearest bird; Joe broke the wing of 
 another. 
 
 " Only eleven more," said he. 
 
 But now the birds changed their tactics and simulta- 
 neously rose above the " Victoria." Kennedy looked at 
 Ferguson. 
 
 The latter, notwithstanding his energy and fortitude, 
 turned pale. There was a moment of terrified silence. 
 Then a rending noise was heard, as when silk is torn, and 
 the car sank beneath the feet of the three travelers. 
 
 " We are lost ! " cried Ferguson, as he gazed at the 
 barometer, which was rapidly rising. Then he added: 
 
 " Throw out the ballast ; out with it ! " 
 
 In a few seconds all the quartz had disappeared. 
 
 " We are falling still. Empty the water-tanks, do you 
 hear. We are falling into the lake ! " 
 
 Joe obeyed. The doctor looked down. The lake ap- 
 peared to be coming up to meet him, objects became more 
 distinct, the car was not 200 feet from the surface of Lake 
 Tchad. 
 
 " The provisions ! " cried the doctor, and the case which 
 contained them was hurled into space. 
 
 The descent became less rapid, but the unhappy trav- 
 elers still were falling. 
 
 " Throw out more ! " cried the doctor for the last time. 
 
 " There is nothing left," replied Kennedy. 
 
 "Yes," said Joe, laconically; and, with a rapid farewell 
 gesture, he threw himself from the balloon.
 
 348 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Joe, Joe ! " cried the terrified doctor. 
 
 But Joe could no longer hear him. The "Victoria," 
 lightened now, resumed her ascent, and reached a height 
 of 1,000 feet; and the wind whistling through the torn silk 
 covering of the balloon, carried them towards the northern 
 side of the lake. 
 
 " He is lost ! " cried Kennedy, despairingly. 
 
 " Lost to save us ! " replied Ferguson. 
 
 And these brave men felt big tears rolling down their 
 cheeks. They leaned over the side of the car, in the vain 
 hope to distinguish some trace of the unfortunate Joe; but 
 they were too far away. 
 
 " What is to be done now? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " We must descend to earth as soon as we can, Dick, 
 and then wait." 
 
 After a run of sixty miles, the "Victoria" descended 
 on a deserted spot at the north end of the lake. The grap- 
 nels caught in a low tree, and Kennedy fastened them se- 
 curely. 
 
 Night came on, but neither Ferguson nor Kennedy had 
 a moment's sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 Kennedy's sporting 
 
 The next morning, the 13th of may, the first thing the 
 travelers did was to search the part of the lake border 
 where they were situated. It was a species of island com- 
 posed of firm land in the midst of an extensive marsh. 
 Around this piece of terra firma large reeds grew, as high 
 as average European trees, and extended as far as eye 
 could reach. 
 
 These trackless swamps rendered the position of the 
 " Victoria " secure ; it was only necessary to explore the 
 lake shore; the immense sheet of water expanded towards 
 the east, and nothing was visible on the horizon — neither 
 islet nor continent was to be seen. 
 
 The two friends had not yet ventured to speak of their 
 unfortunate companion. Kennedy was the first to im- 
 part his surmises to the doctor. 
 
 " Perhaps Joe is not lost, after all," said he. " He is a
 
 KENNEDY'S SPORTING 349 
 
 sharp lad and a first-rate swimmer. He had no difficulty 
 in swimming across the Firth of Fourth at Edinburgh. 
 ,We shall see him again, depend upon it; I cannot say how 
 or when, but do not let us neglect anything that might give 
 him an opportunity to rejoin us." 
 
 " Heaven grant it may be as you suggest ! " replied the 
 doctor, in a voice choked with emotion. " We will do 
 everything in the world to find our friend. Let us put 
 things to rights at once; and first of all let us take off the 
 exterior covering of the balloon, which will relieve us of 
 650 lbs. weight, and is surely worth the trouble to get rid 
 of." 
 
 The doctor and Kennedy set to work, they overcame 
 the greatest difficulties. It was necessary to tear the tough 
 taffetas away bit by bit, and to cut it into strips to pull it 
 through the meshes of the network. The rent made by the 
 birds' beaks was many feet in length. 
 
 This operation occupied at least four hours; but at 
 length the interior balloon, entirely freed, did not appear 
 to have suffered at all. The " Victoria " was now dimin- 
 ished by a fifth. This difference was sufficient to astonish 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " Will it carry us ? " he asked. 
 
 "We need fear nothing on that score," said the doctor; 
 " I will re-establish the equilibrium, and if our poor Joe 
 return, we shall be able to resume our route as usual." 
 
 "At the moment he fell, Samuel, if my recollection 
 serve me, we were not far from an island." 
 
 " I remember ; but this isle, like all those in Lake Tchad, 
 is no doubt inhabited by a race of pirates and murderers. 
 These savages have been witnesses of our accident, and if 
 Joe has fallen into their hands, unless superstition protects 
 him, what will become of him? " 
 
 " He is a man of resource, I tell you; I have great con- 
 fidence in his pluck and intelligence." 
 
 " I hope he will prove so. Now, Dick, you can go and 
 shoot in the neighborhood, without going too far, mind. 
 It is absolutely necessary for us to replenish our larder, of 
 which the greater part has been sacrificed." 
 
 " All right, Samuel, I shall not be long away." 
 
 Kennedy took a double-barrelled gun, and advanced into 
 the giant reeds towards a coppice at no great distance, and
 
 350 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 soon the reports of his gun in quick succession told the doc- 
 tor that the sportsman was successful. 
 
 Meantime, the doctor employed himself in overhauling 
 the remaining contents of the car, and in establishing the 
 equilibrium of the second balloon. There remained thirty- 
 pounds of pemmican, some tea and coffee, about a gallon 
 and a half of brand}^ an empty water-tank; all the salted 
 meat had disappeared. 
 
 The doctor was aware that, by the loss of the hydrogen 
 from the first balloon, his ascensional force was reduced 
 to about 900 lbs. He must, therefore, base his calculations 
 for the establishment of the equilibrium on this difference. 
 The new " Victoria's " " content " was 67,000 feet of gas; 
 the dilating apparatus appeared to be in good order, neither 
 the pile nor the serpentine had received any injury. 
 
 The ascensional force of the new balloon was then about 
 3,000 lbs., and adding the weight of the apparatus, the 
 travelers, and the water, the car and accessories, and put- 
 ting on board fifty gallons of water, and 100 lbs of fresh 
 meat, the doctor arrived at a total of 2,830 lbs. He could 
 therefore, carry 170 lbs. of ballast for contingencies, and 
 the balloon would then be in equilibrium with the atmos- 
 pheric air. 
 
 His dispositions were made accordingly; he replaced 
 the weight of Joe by ballast. The entire day was occupied 
 in these preparations, and were finished when Kennedy 
 returned. He had had good sport. He brought a quan- 
 tity of geese, wild ducks, snipe, teal, and plover. He em- 
 ployed himself in preparing the game and smoking it. 
 Each bird was spitted through with a small stick, and sus- 
 pended above a fire of green wood. When the operation 
 appeared complete, the whole were carefully packed within 
 the car. 
 
 Next day the sportsman determined to complete the 
 stock of provisions. 
 
 Evening surprised the travelers while still at work. 
 
 Their supper consisted of pemmican, biscuits, and tea. 
 Fatigue, having given them appetite, ensured them sleep. 
 Each during his watch peered anxiously into the darkness, 
 sometimes almost fancying they heard the voice of Joe; 
 but, alas! that voice they so desired to hear was far away. 
 
 At daybreak the doctor aroused Kennedy.
 
 KENNEDY'S SPORTING 351 
 
 " I have been thinking," said he, " what we must do to 
 recover our companion." 
 
 " What is your suggestion, Samuel ? I agree to every- 
 thing. Speak." 
 
 " First of all, it is important that Joe should have knowl- 
 edge of our whereabouts." 
 
 " Certainly, or he will think we mean to leave him to 
 his fate." 
 
 "He! He knows us too well to think that; he would 
 never think of such a thing; but he must be told where 
 we are." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " We must take our places in the car and ascend again." 
 
 " But if the wind carry us away? " 
 
 "Fortunately it will do nothing of the kind. Look, 
 Dick; the wind will bring us back again over the lake, and 
 this, which would have been annoying yesterday, is to-day 
 most propitious. We must therefore direct all our efforts 
 to maintain ourselves above the lake all day. Joe will not 
 fail to see us up there, where he will be anxiously looking 
 for us. Perhaps he will be able to tell us where 
 he is." 
 
 "H he be alone, and at liberty, he will certainly do so." 
 
 " And if he be a prisoner," replied the doctor, " as the 
 natives do not incarcerate their prisoners, he will see us, 
 and understand the object of our maneuvers." 
 
 " But if, after all," said Kennedy, " for we must be 
 prepared for every contingency, if he has left no trace, 
 what can we do? " 
 
 " We must endeavor to regain the northern side of the 
 lake, keeping ourselves in view as much as possible. There 
 we will wait, explore the banks, search the edges of the 
 lake, which Joe would certainly endeavor to reach; and we 
 will not leave the neighborhood without making every ef- 
 fort to find him." 
 
 " Let us go, then," said Kennedy. 
 
 The doctor took the exact bearings of the piece of dry 
 ground they were about to leave; he estimated that, ac- 
 cording to the map and his observations, they were to the 
 north of Lake Tchad, between the town of Lari and the 
 village of Ingernini, both of which had been visited by 
 Major Denham. Meantime Kennedy completed the pro-
 
 352 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 visioning of the balloon. In many places he perceived the 
 tracks of rhinoceros, manatees, and hippopotomi, but he 
 never encountered any of these formidable beasts. 
 
 At seven in the morning, and not v^ithout great difficulty, 
 which poor Joe would have made light of, the grapnel was 
 detached from the tree. The gas was dilated, and the new 
 " Victoria " ascended 200 feet into the air. After some 
 coquetting with the wind, it fell in with a pretty strong cur- 
 rent, and sailed over the lake, and was soon progressing 
 at twenty miles an hour. 
 
 The doctor steadily m.alntained an elevation of between 
 200 and 500 feet, Kennedy often discharged his carbine. 
 The travelers even approached imprudently near to the is- 
 lands, examining the coppices, the brushwood, the bushes, 
 and every shaded place, in which their late companion could 
 have found shelter, then descended close to the long pi- 
 rogues which skimmed over the lake. The fishermen on 
 their approach threw themselves into the water, and swam 
 to the island with every demonstration of terror. 
 
 " We can discover nothing," said Kennedy, after a search 
 of two hours. 
 
 "Patience, Dick; let us not be discouraged, we cannot 
 be very distant from the scene of the accident." 
 
 At eleven o'clock the " Victoria " had made ninety miles; 
 it then encountered a new current, which carried it at al- 
 most right angles to its previous course for sixty miles to- 
 wards the east. It hovered over a large and thickly-inhab- 
 ited island, which the doctor pronounced to be Fanam, the 
 capital of the Biddiomahs. They were in hopes to see Joe 
 rise out of each bush, escaping and calling to them for as- 
 sistance. If free, they could have taken him up without 
 any difficulty; if a prisoner, they must put the same plan 
 in practice to rescue him as they had for the missionary's 
 release. He would soon have rejoined his friends, but 
 nothing appeared, nothing was stirring. They were begin- 
 ning to despair. 
 
 At half-past two the " Victoria " came in sight of Tan- 
 galia, a village situated upon the eastern side of the Tchad, 
 and which was the extreme point attained by Denham in 
 his expedition. 
 
 The doctor became uneasy at this persistent direction of 
 the wind. He felt he was being driven towards the east, 
 
 V. I V«rn«
 
 KENNEDY'S SPORTING 353 
 
 pushed back into the center of Africa, towards the track- 
 less deserts. 
 
 " We must halt," said he, " and come down to the earth; 
 for Joe's sake, before everything, we must return above the 
 lake; but first we must find a current in the opposite di- 
 rection." 
 
 For a quarter of an hour they searched at different alti- 
 tudes. The "Victoria" always drifted over the land. 
 But fortunately, at 1,000 feet, a very violent wind carried 
 them to the northwest. 
 
 It was scarcely possible that Joe had remained on one 
 of the islands, else he would have found some means to 
 make his presence known. Perhaps he had reached terra 
 firma. Thus the doctor reasoned when he regained the 
 north side of the lake. 
 
 As to fancy Joe drowned was ridiculous. A terrible 
 idea had occurred to both Kennedy and Ferguson, viz., 
 the number of alligators existing in these places. But 
 neither had the courage to give vent to their supposition. 
 At length it was impossible not to refer to the ever-present 
 thought, and the doctor said boldly : 
 
 " Crocodiles are only met with upon the banks or is- 
 lands of the lake. Joe has skill enough to avoid them; 
 besides, they are not dangerous, and the Africans bathe 
 fearlessly and with impunity." 
 
 Kennedy did not reply; he preferred silence to the dis- 
 cussion of such a terrible eventuality. 
 
 The doctor perceived the town of Lari about five o'clock 
 in the afternoon. The inhabitants were gathering their 
 cotton crops before their huts of plaited straw, in the midst 
 of their own well-kept enclosures. This assemblage of 
 fifty houses occupied a small depression in the valley, which 
 extended between the bases of the mountains. The vio- 
 lence of the wind carried the doctor too far, but it again 
 changed, and he descended at the exact point of departure 
 in the little island of hard ground where they had passed 
 the previous night. The grapnel, instead of being fastened 
 to a tree, was secured to the reeds mixed with the thick 
 mud of the marsh, which gave a good holding ground. 
 The doctor had considerable trouble to control the balloon, 
 but at length the wind fell and the two friends kept watch 
 together, almost despairing.
 
 CHAPTER XXXiy 
 
 LOSS OF AN ANCHOR 
 
 At 3 A, M. the wind rose to a hurricane, and blew with 
 such violence that the " Victoria " could not remain at 
 anchor without danger; the reeds beat upon the silk and 
 threatened to tear it in pieces. 
 
 " We must be off, Dick," said the doctor. " We cannot 
 stay here under these circumstances." 
 
 "But Joe, Samuel?" 
 
 "I shall certainly not abandon him; and if the storm 
 carries us lOO miles to the north, I shall return here; but 
 at present we are endangering the safety of all." 
 
 "Going without him, then?" said the Scot, with de- 
 spairing tone. 
 
 " Do you not believe that my heart is as heavy as your 
 own, and that I am only yielding to dire necessity ? " 
 
 " I am at your orders," replied Kennedy. " Let us go." 
 
 But the departure involved great difficulties. The grap- 
 nel, which had sunk deeply, resisted all their efforts, and 
 the balloon, dragging it, fastened it still tighter. Kennedy 
 could not disengage it; besides, in their position, such an 
 attempt, if successful, would have been very dangerous, for 
 the " Victoria " might have taken flight before Kennedy 
 could have rejoined her. 
 
 The doctor, who did not wish to run such a risk, made 
 the Scot enter the car, and determined to cut the rope. 
 The " Victoria " bounded 300 feet into the air, and made 
 directly towards the north. Ferguson was obliged to yield 
 to the storm. He folded his arms and remained absorbed 
 in his own sad reflections. After some minutes he turned 
 towards Kennedy, who was equally taciturn, and said, " We 
 have been tempting Providence, perhaps. It scarcely 
 seems man's province to undertake such a journey." 
 And a deep sigh escaped him. 
 
 "But a few days ago," replied Kennedy, " we were con- 
 gratulating ourselves at having so well escaped danger; 
 we were shaking hands all round." 
 
 " Poor Joe, what an excellent disposition he possessed, 
 arid a brave and honest heart! At one time dazzled by his 
 riches, but he willingly sacrificed his treasure. He is now 
 far away from us, and the wind still hurries along with 
 irresistible violence ! " 
 
 354
 
 LOSS OF AN ANCHOR 355 
 
 " Let us see, Samuel ; admitting that he has found 
 refuge among the lake tribes, cannot he do as other travel- 
 ers have done — like Denham and Barth ? They came home 
 safely." 
 
 " My dear Dick, Joe does not know a word of the lan- 
 guage — he is alone and without means. The travelers of 
 whom you speak never advanced without sending the chiefs 
 numerous presents with an escort armed and prepared for 
 these expeditions. And even then they did not escape 
 hardships and sufferings of the worst kind. What, then, 
 do you think, can have become of our unfortunate compan- 
 ion .^^ It is horrible to think of, and this is one of the great- 
 est troubles I have ever had to deplore." 
 
 " But we shall go back again, Samuel ? " 
 
 *' We shall, of course, Dick. We will abandon the 
 * Victoria,' if it be necessary, to regain Lake Tchad on 
 foot, and communicate with the Sultan of Bornou. The 
 Arabs cannot have retained a bad opinion of the first Euro- 
 peans." 
 
 " I will follow you, Samuel," replied Kennedy, with 
 energy; "you may depend upon me. We will rather re- 
 linquish the object of our journey — Joe is devoted to us — ^ 
 we will sacrifice ourselves for him." 
 
 This resolution gave fresh courage to those brave men. 
 They felt strong in the same purpose. Ferguson did all in 
 his power to drift into a current which might take him back 
 to the Tchad, but that was then impossible, and it was 
 impracticable to descend upon such a deserted ground and 
 in such a storm. 
 
 Thus the " Victoria " crossed the country of the Tib- 
 bons. It passed over Belad and Djerid, a thorny desert, 
 which forms the boundary of the Soudan, and reaches to 
 the sandy deserts marked by the long track of caravans; 
 the last line of vegetation is soon mingled with the sky on 
 the southern horizon, not far from the principal oases of 
 this region, whose fifty wells are shaded by most magnifi- 
 cent trees. But the balloon could not stop. An Arab en- 
 campment, with their striped tents, and their camels 
 stretched upon the sand, gave life to the scene, but the 
 " Victoria " passed away like a meteor, and accomplished 
 a distance of sixty miles in three hours, without Ferguson 
 having any command over this headlong flight.
 
 356 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 o 
 
 "We cannot stop, we cannot descend," he said; "there 
 is not a tree to be seen, not a mound; we are about to pass 
 over the Sahara. Surely Heaven is against us." 
 
 He spoke thus with the energy of despair, when he per- 
 ceived in the north the sands of the desert whirled up in 
 the midst of a blinding dust, and gyrating under the in- 
 fluence of opposing currents. 
 
 In the midst of this whirlwind — scattered, and broken, 
 and overturned — was a caravan, which was disappearing 
 in this avalanche of sand; the camels, hurrying hither and 
 thither, uttered lamentable sounds — the cries and shouts 
 ascended from this suffocating sand-fog. Sometimes a 
 striped garment would display its bright colors in the chaos, 
 and the roaring of the tempest added to this scene of de- 
 struction. 
 
 The sand quickly fell into dense masses, and there, 
 where but lately stretched a level plain, was now a mound, 
 still moving, the immense tomb of the buried caravan. 
 
 The doctor and Kennedy turned pale at the sight, they 
 could not manage the balloon, which turned round and 
 round in the contrary currents, and would not obey the ex- 
 pansion or contraction of the gas. 
 
 Caught in these eddies of air the " Victoria " whirled 
 about giddily, the car oscillated fearfully, the instruments 
 suspended in the tent were shaken almost to pieces, the 
 tubes of the serpentine bent as though they would break. 
 The travelers were deafened, and they were obliged to hold 
 tightly to the cordage to keep their positions during the 
 fury of the storm. Kennedy, with hair disheveled, sat 
 still, and did not speak a word. The doctor had resumed 
 his old courage at the approach of danger, and no trace of 
 his emotion was now apparent, not even when, after a last 
 somersault, the "Victoria" suddenly was left in an unex- 
 pected calm, the wind from the north seized it and drove it 
 back upon the course it had been taking since the morning, 
 and at an equally rapid pace. 
 
 "Where are we going?" cried Kennedy. 
 
 " Where Providence wills, my dear Dick. I was 
 wrong to doubt whatever happens is for the best, and we 
 are now returning towards the places we never hoped to 
 see again." 
 
 The ground so flat, so level, when they first passed over
 
 LOSS OF AN ANCHOR 357 
 
 it, now appeared like the waves after a storm; a series of 
 small mounds jotted the desert; the wind blew stiffly, and 
 the " Victoria " flew into space. 
 
 The direction now taken by the balloon was slightly 
 different from that followed in the morning; so at about 
 nine o'clock, instead of finding themselves on the borders 
 of Lake Tchad, they saw that the desert extended before 
 them. Kennedy observed this. 
 
 " It does not much matter," replied the doctor ; " the 
 important point is to get down south; we shall there come 
 upon the towns of Boarnou, Woaddie, or Kouka, and I 
 shall not hesitate to stop there." 
 
 " If you are satisfied, I am," replied Kennedy, " but 
 Heaven grant that we may not be obliged to cross the des- 
 ert, like those unfortunate Arabs. That was a fearful 
 sight." 
 
 Dick frequently referred to this. The crossing of the 
 desert includes all the dangers of the ocean, even the 
 chances of being swallowed up in its depths, and, m.ore- 
 over, unbearable fatigue and privations. 
 
 " It appears to me," said Kennedy, " that the wind is 
 less violent, the dust is less thick, the sand-waves are less 
 high, and the horizon is clearing." 
 
 " So much the better; we will scan it carefully with our 
 glasses, and no point shall escape us." 
 
 " I will take that duty, Samuel, and when the first tree 
 appears you shall be told at once." And Kennedy, tele- 
 scope in hand, placed himself in the front of the car. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THE ISLE OF BIDDIOMAHS 
 
 What had become of Joe during the vain search made 
 for him by his master? 
 
 When he fell into the lake his first act, after rising to 
 the surface, was to cast his eyes upwards ; he saw the " Vic- 
 toria " already above the water, mounting fast ; little by 
 little it diminished, and soon, meeting with a rapid cur- 
 rent, disappeared in the north. His master and his friend 
 were saved. 
 
 " It was a very happy idea of mine to throw myself into
 
 358 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 the Tchad," said Joe to himself. " Mr. Kennedy would 
 have done the same if he had thought of it, for it is only 
 natural that one man should sacrifice himself to save tw^o 
 others. That is mathematical. — O. E. D. ! " 
 
 Reassured upon this point, Joe began to consider his 
 position; he was in the midst of an immense lake, sur- 
 rounded by unknown, and probably savage, tribes. All 
 the more reason then for him to get out of the scrape, and 
 to trust no one but himself; he was then no longer afraid. 
 
 Before the attack by the birds of prey, which, according 
 to him, had conducted themselves like true condors, he 
 had noticed an island on the horizon. He now resolved 
 to make for it, and determined to put in practice all his 
 knowledge of swimming, after he had got rid of part of 
 his clothing. He did not trouble himself about a little 
 swim of jfive or six miles; so, while he was in the open lake, 
 he thought of nothing but of swimming straight and vig- 
 orously. 
 
 At the end of an hour and a half the distance between 
 him and the island was much less. But as he approached 
 the land, a thought at first fugitive, and then more definite, 
 weighed upon his mind. He knew that the banks were 
 frequented by enormous alligators, and he was aware of 
 their voracity. So ready was the brave lad to believe 
 everything in the world was " natural," that he did not 
 feel very much moved; he feared that white flesh was par- 
 ticularly tasteful to crocodiles, and he advanced with 
 extreme caution, with eyes strained to watch. 
 
 He was not more than lOO yards from the shadowy 
 bank, when a smell of musk pervaded the air around him. 
 
 "Ha!" he muttered; "as I feared, the alligator Is not 
 far off." 
 
 He dived at once, but not sufiiclently to avoid the con- 
 tact of an immense body, whose scaly skin scraped him as 
 it passed. He gave himself up for lost, and began to swim 
 with desperate energy. He came to the surface, took 
 breath, and again dived. He endured a quarter of an hour 
 of poignant agony which all his philosophy was unable to 
 overcome, and fancied he heard behind him the noise of 
 the immense jaws ready to snap him up. He was swim- 
 ming then as quietly as possible to land, when he was seized 
 by one arm, and then around the waist.
 
 THE ISLE OF BIDDIOMAHS 359 
 
 Poor Joe, he gave a last thought to his master, and be- 
 gan to fight desperately, but felt himself drawn, not to- 
 wards the bottom of the lake, as crocodiles have the habit 
 of doing to devour their prey, but to the surface. Scarcely 
 had he drawn breath and opened his eyes, than he perceived 
 two negroes, of an ebony hue; these Africans held him 
 tightly and uttered strange cries. 
 
 "Hollo!" cried Joe. "Niggers instead of crocodiles. 
 Faith, I prefer the former. But how do these fellows dare 
 to bathe in such places as this ? " 
 
 Joe forgot that the inhabitants of the islands on the 
 lake, like all black people, can bathe with impunity in water 
 swarming with alligators without heeding them. The am- 
 phibious inhabitants of this lake have a great reputation for 
 being inoffensive saurians. 
 
 But Joe was only " out of the frying-pan into the fire." 
 He determined to wait the issue of events, and as he could 
 not do otherwise, he permitted himself to be conducted to 
 the bank without displaying any fear. 
 
 " Evidently," thought he, " these people have seen the 
 * Victoria ' skimming the lake like an aerial monster ; they 
 have been distant witnesses of my fall, and they cannot but 
 feel respect for a man who has fallen from Heaven. Let 
 them go on." 
 
 Joe was reflecting thus when he was landed in the midst 
 of a shouting crowd of both sexes and all ages, but not of 
 every color. He was with a tribe of Biddiomahs of a 
 splendid black tint. There was no reason for him to blush, 
 even at the lightness of his clothing; he was in "desha- 
 bille," the latest fashion of the country. 
 
 But ere he had time to take in all the situation he could 
 not mistake the adoration of which he became the object. 
 
 This fact did not reassure him, when the affair of Kazeh 
 recurred to his memory. 
 
 " I see that I am about to become a god — a son of the 
 Moon perhaps. Well, that will do as well as any other 
 when there is no choice. What is necessary is to gain 
 time. If the ' Victoria ' happens to pass, I will profit by 
 my new position to give my worshipers a view of a mi- 
 raculous apotheosis." 
 
 While Joe was thus reflecting the crowd was assembling 
 round him; they prostrated themselves, they shouted, they
 
 36o FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 touched him, even became familiar; but at last they hacl 
 the forethought to offer him a splendid feast, composed of 
 sour milk with rice, pounded up with honey. The lad, 
 who took everything as it came, made one of the best meals 
 he had ever enjoyed in his life, and gave the people some 
 idea of the fashion in which gods eat on great occasions. 
 
 When evening arrived the sorceress took Joe respectfully 
 by the hand and conducted him to a kind of hut surrounded 
 by " charms " ; before entering he cast an anxious glance 
 upon the heaps of bones which were piled up around this 
 sanctuary; he had, however, plenty of time to reflect upon 
 his position after he was locked in. 
 
 During the evening and a part of the night he heard the 
 songs of the feasting multitude, the noise of a species of 
 drum and of old iron pots, very sweet to the African ear; 
 the choruses were shouted as accompaniment to inter- 
 minable dances, which enclosed the cabin in their mazes. 
 
 Joe heard this deafening clamor through the mud and 
 reed-lined walls of the hut. Perhaps, in other circum- 
 stances, he might have taken an interest in these strange 
 ceremonies, but his mind was disturbed by unpleasant fore- 
 bodings. Looking even at the bright side of things, it was 
 sad and depressing to be lost amongst a savage people. 
 Few travelers who had ventured so far as this had ever 
 returned. Moreover, could he pride himself upon the wor- 
 ship already accorded him. He had good reason to dis- 
 trust human grandeur, and asked himself whether, in that 
 region, worship was not only a preparation for being de- 
 voured. 
 
 Notwithstanding this doleful prospect, after some hours 
 devoted to reflection, fatigue overcame him, and Joe fell 
 into a deep sleep, which would, doubtless, have continued 
 till daylight if an unexpected dampness of the earth had not 
 awakened him. 
 
 He soon perceived that the water was rising, and so 
 quickly that it soon reached his waist. 
 
 "What can this be?" said he; "an inundation — a wa- 
 ter-spout — a new mode of sacrifice? By Jove! I shall 
 wait no longer, it will soon be up to my neck." As he 
 spoke, he burst through the wall by a vigorous application 
 of his shoulder, and found himself — where? — in the open 
 lake!
 
 THE ISLE OF BIDDIOMAHS 361 
 
 " Rather a bad sort of country for the owners," said Joe, 
 as he again set out swimming vigorously. One of those 
 phenomena by no means un frequent in Lake Tchad had 
 released the brave lad. More than one island has com- 
 pletely disappeared which had seemed to possess the solid- 
 ity of rock, and the tribes on the banks of the lake are 
 obliged to rescue the unfortunate inhabitants who have es- 
 caped. 
 
 Joe was not aware of this peculiarity, but he did not fail 
 to profit by it. He perceived a boat drifting about, and 
 rapidly secured it. It appeared hollowed out from the 
 trunk of a tree. A pair of paddles were fortunately in it, 
 and Joe, profiting by a rapid current, let himself drift. 
 
 " Let me see where I am," he said. " The polar star, 
 which is honestly doing his duty in pointing out the route 
 to the north, will assist me." 
 
 He remembered with satisfaction that the current was 
 bearing him towards the north end of Lake Tchad, and he 
 let it do so. About two in the morning he landed upon a 
 promontory, covered with reeds, which were very trouble- 
 some, even to his philosophy, but a tree seemed to be 
 growing for the express purpose of offering him a bed 
 amid its leaves. Joe twined himself in the branches, and, 
 without daring to sleep, awaited the first rays of morning. 
 
 The day broke with the suddenness usual in equatorial 
 regions. Joe threw a comprehensive view around and over 
 the tree in which he had passed the night. The branches 
 were literally covered with serpents and chameleons — the 
 leaves were hidden beneath their folds — a tree of quite a 
 new species to produce such reptiles. Under the influence 
 of the sun's rays they began to crawl about and twist in all 
 directions. Joe experienced a sharp terror, mingled with 
 disgust, and jumped from the tree amid the hissings of 
 the snakes. 
 
 " That is a thing that no one would credit," thought he. 
 
 Lie did not know that the last letters of Doctor Vogel 
 had announced this peculiarity of the banks of the Tchad, 
 where the reptiles are more numerous than in any other 
 country. After this experience, Joe determined to travel 
 with more circumspection for the future, and turning to- 
 wards the sun, he then struck out to the northeast. He 
 took good care to avoid cabins, huts, or caves, and, in a
 
 362 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 word, any place that might serve as shelter for any human 
 being. How often did he look up at the sky! He hoped 
 to see the " Victoria," and though he had vainly sought 
 her all the day, that did not diminish his confidence in his 
 master; he must have had great firmness of character to 
 accept the situation so philosophically. Hunger now be- 
 gan to unite with fatigue, for a diet of roots, the marrow 
 of the arbutus, from which " mele " is made, or the fruit 
 of the trees do not refresh a man; and yet, according to his 
 estimate, he had traversed a thousand miles to the west. 
 His body bore the marks of the thorns and prickly reeds, 
 through which he had pushed his way, and his wounded 
 and bleeding feet rendered his progress very painful. But 
 still he could fight against his sufferings, and, as evening set 
 in, he determined to pass the night on the borders of the 
 lake. 
 
 There he had to submit to the bites of myriads of in- 
 sects. Flies, mosquitoes, ants, half an inch long, swarmed 
 around him. At the end of two hours Joe had not a rag 
 of clothing left, the insects had devoured everything. 
 This was a terrible night, which brought no sleep to the 
 weary traveler. All this time the boars, the wild oxen, the 
 ajorib, a sort of rhinoceros and equally dangerous, raged 
 in the copses and beneath the waters of the lake. This 
 concert of wild beasts was kept up into the middle of the 
 night. Joe did not dare to move. His determination and 
 patience scarcely held out under such circumstances. 
 
 At length day dawned. Joe rose hurriedly, and judge 
 of his horror when he perceived that he had unwittingly 
 shared his bed with an enormous frog, about five inches 
 broad, a monstrous disgusting reptile, which kept staring at 
 Joe with its great round eyes. Joe felt his heart beat, and 
 distaste lending him strength, he ran away as hard as he 
 could and plunged into the lake. This bath assuaged the 
 itching that tormented him, and having munched some 
 leaves, he resumed his route with an obstinacy and per- 
 sistence for which he could not account; he was no longer 
 conscious of his actions, but, nevertheless, he was aware 
 of the existence of a power wathin him superior to despair. 
 
 Now the pangs of hunger began to assail him, and he 
 was obliged to tie a band of weed around his body. For- 
 tunately his thirst could be quenched at every step, and
 
 THE ISLE OF BIDDIOMAHS 363 
 
 while recalling the sufferings of the desert, he found some 
 consolation in not having to endure that terrible expe- 
 rience. 
 
 "What can have become of the * Victoria?'" thought 
 he. " The wind is from the north. It might return to the 
 lake. Without doubt Mr. Samuel has gone to establish 
 the equilibrium anew, but yesterday was sufficient for that; 
 
 it is not, then, impossible that to-day But I must 
 
 act as if I were never likely to see him again. After all, 
 if I do reach one of those great towns on the lake I shall 
 only be in the same position as those great travelers of 
 whom master has spoken. Why should I not do as well 
 as they? They have returned — some of them! why, the 
 devil Well, courage ! " 
 
 As he was thinking thus and pressing onward, Joe fell 
 amongst a troop of savages in a wood. He stopped in 
 time, and was not seen by them. The negroes were en- 
 gaged in poisoning their arrows with the juice of the eu- 
 phorbia, an important proceeding in these countries, and 
 almost rising to the dignity of a religious ceremony. 
 
 Joe stood still and held his breath, and hid in the midst 
 of a brake, when rising before him, seen through an open- 
 ing in the leaves, he perceived the " Victoria," — the " Vic- 
 toria"' herself — directing her course towards the lake, 
 scarcely 100 feet above him. It was impossible to make 
 himself heard — impossible for the occupants to see him. 
 
 Tears came into his eyes, not of despair, but of recog- 
 nition. His master was searching for him, he had not 
 been abandoned. He was obliged to await the departure 
 of the negroes; he could then leave his retreat and run 
 across to the border of the lake. 
 
 But the " Victoria " soon disappeared in the distance. 
 Joe resolved to wait its return, for it would surely come 
 again. It did actually pass, but more to the east. Joe ran, 
 gesticulated, shouted, all in vain. A violent wind hurried 
 her away. 
 
 For the first time, energy and hope failed Joe. He 
 thought he was lost; he believed his master had gone never 
 to return. He did not wish to reflect — he did not dare. 
 
 Completely overcome, with bleeding feet and wounded 
 limbs, he plodded on during the whole of that day and 
 a, part of the night. He dragged himself on his way, some-
 
 364 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 times on his hands and knees. He already foresaw the 
 moment his strength would fail him, and when he must 
 die! 
 
 As he proceeded, he suddenly found himself opposite a 
 marsh — or rather, to that which he felt very soon was a 
 marsh, for the night was very dark. He fell unexpectedly 
 into the thick mud, and, notwithstanding his struggles and 
 a desperate resistance, he felt himself sink by degrees into 
 this miry ground; some minutes later he was engulfed up 
 to his waist. " Death is here at last," he said ; " and such 
 a death!" 
 
 He fought despairingly, but all his efforts only served to 
 plunge him more deeply into the grave which the unhappy 
 man believed to be his own. Not a fragment of wood to 
 support him, not a reed to hold to. He fancied it was all 
 over. His eyes closed. "Master, master, save me!" he 
 cried. 
 
 And this despairing cry, already almost stifled, and to 
 which no echo replied, lost itself in the thick darkness of 
 the night. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 TAKEN UP FLYING 
 
 Since Kennedy had taken up his post of observation in 
 front of the balloon, he had not ceased to search the horizon 
 attentively. After some time he turned towards the doc- 
 tor and said, "If I be not mistaken, there is a troop of 
 horsemen moving over there — I cannot distinguish them 
 yet. At any rate they are disturbed, for they are raising 
 a cloud of dust." 
 
 " May it not be a contrary wind ? " said Samuel ; " a cur- 
 rent which may carry us to the north ? " And he got up to 
 examine the horizon. 
 
 "I do not think that, Samuel," replied Kennedy; "it is 
 a herd of gazelles, or wild oxen." 
 
 " Perhaps, Dick, but the gathering is at least nine or ten 
 miles off; and, for my part, even with the telescope, I can 
 make nothing of them." 
 
 " Well, I shall not lose sight of them, there is something 
 extraordinary going on which interests me, it is something
 
 TAKEN UP FLYING 365 
 
 like the movements of cavalry. Ha! I was not mistaken, 
 they are horsemen — look! " 
 
 The doctor scanned the group attentively. 
 
 " I believe you are right," said he. " It is a detachment 
 of Arabs from Tibbous ; they are flying in the same direc- 
 tion as we, but we are going faster, and will easily over- 
 take them. In half an hour we shall be within sight, and 
 be able to determine upon our course of action." 
 
 Kennedy had again seized the glass, and was attentively 
 studying the group. They had become more visible; some 
 of them were separated from the others. 
 
 " It is evident," replied Kennedy, " that it is some 
 maneuver being executed, or it is a hunt. They seem to 
 be chasing something. I should like to know what it is." 
 
 " Patience, Dick, we shall soon have come up with them, 
 and even passed them, if they continue to keep the same 
 course. We are going at twenty miles an hour, and no 
 horse can keep up such a pace as that." ' 
 
 Kennedy resumed his scrutiny, and some minutes after- 
 wards he said : 
 
 " These Arabs are going at top speed — I can distinguish 
 them perfectly. There are about fifty of them — I see 
 their bournous flying in the wind. It is cavalry exercise, 
 their chief is a hundred paces in front, and they are after 
 him." 
 
 " Whatever they may be, we need not fear them ; and, 
 if necessary, I can ascend." 
 
 " Wait — wait a moment, Samuel ! " 
 
 " This is very odd," added Dick, after examining the 
 troop anew ; " there is something that I do not understand. 
 In their headlong speed and the irregularity of their forma- 
 tion these Arabs have rather the appearance of pursuers 
 than followers." 
 
 "Are you sure of that, Dick?" 
 
 " It is certain ; I am not mistaken. It is a chase, but a 
 man-chase. It is not their chief they are pursuing, after 
 all; it is a fugutive." 
 
 " A fugutive ! " said Samuel, with emotion. 
 
 *' Yes." 
 
 " We must not lose sight of them — but wait." 
 
 They quickly gained upon the troop, which was going, 
 nevertheless, at a great pace.
 
 366 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Samuel, Samuel ! " cried Kennedy, in a tremulous 
 voice. 
 
 "What is it, Dick?" 
 
 " Is it a dream — is it possible ? " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Wait a second ;" and the Scot rapidly arranged the 
 glasses and looked again. 
 
 " Well," said the doctor. 
 
 "'Tishe, Samuel!" 
 
 "He!" exclaimed the latter. They both said "he," 
 there was no necessity to name him. 
 
 " 'Tis he on horseback, and scarcely a hundred paces in 
 advance of his enemies. He is flying from them," 
 
 " It is Joe, indeed," said the doctor, growing pale. 
 
 " He cannot see us in his flight," said Kennedy. 
 
 " He shall very soon see us, then," said the doctor, lower- 
 ing the flame of the blow-pipe. 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " In five minutes we shall be within fifty feet of the 
 ground, in fifteen close above him." 
 
 " I had better fire a shot to attract his attention." 
 
 " No, he cannot retrace his steps ; he is cut off." 
 
 " What is to be done then? " 
 
 " Wait." 
 
 " Wait ! with those Arabs there ? " 
 
 " We shall catch them ! We shall pass them ! We are 
 only two miles distant, and provided Joe's horse holds out." 
 
 " Great Heaven ! " exclaimed Kennedy. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 Kennedy had uttered a cry of despair at beholding Joe 
 thrown to the ground. His horse, evidently exhausted and 
 worn out, fell beneath him. 
 
 " He sees us! " cried the doctor; " he raised his arm as 
 a signal to us." 
 
 " But the Arabs will take him! what is he waiting for! 
 Ah ! the brave fellow ! Hurrah ! " cried Dick, who could no 
 longer contain himself. 
 
 Joe had immediately jumped up after his fall, and at the 
 moment when one of the foremost horsemen came riding 
 down upon him, he bounded up like a panther, avoided his 
 blow by a step aside, threw himself upon the horse, seized 
 the Arab by the throat in his muscular hands, and strangled
 
 TAKEN UP FLYING 367 
 
 him, threw him upon the sand, and continued his headlong 
 course, 
 
 A simultaneous shout from the Arabs rent the air, but, 
 occupied in their pursuit, they had not observed the " Vic- 
 toria " 500 paces behind them, and only thirty feet above 
 the ground. They were now within twenty lengths of 
 the fugitive. 
 
 One of them nearly approached Joe, and was about to 
 thrust his lance into his body, when Kennedy, with firm 
 eye and steady hand, stopped him neatly with a bullet, and 
 he rolled on the plain. 
 
 Joe did not even turn round at the report. 
 
 A portion of the troop halted, and fell on their faces in 
 the dust before the " Victoria," the remainder continued 
 the pursuit. 
 
 " But what is Joe about? why doesn't he stop? " 
 
 " He knows better than to do that, Dick. I understand 
 him. He keeps going in the same direction as the balloon. 
 He depends upon us. Brave lad! We will take him out 
 of the very jaws of these Arabs. We are only fifty paces 
 off." 
 
 What must be done? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 Put your gun aside." 
 
 There it is," said the Scot, as he laid it down. 
 
 "Can you hold 500 lbs. of ballast in your arms? " 
 
 " More than that." 
 
 " No, that will be sufficient." 
 
 And the bags of sand were then piled up by the doctor 
 upon Kennedy's arms. 
 
 " Now wait at the back of the car, and be ready to throw 
 all that ballast out at once. But, for your very life, do not 
 do so till I tell you." 
 
 "All right." 
 Without that we cannot help Joe, and he will be lost." 
 
 " You may depend upon me." 
 
 The " Victoria " was flying almost above the troop of 
 horsemen who were riding with loose reins after Joe. The 
 doctor in the front of the car held the ladder extended, ready 
 to launch it at the proper moment. Joe still kept about 
 fifty feet ahead of his pursuers. The " Victoria " passed 
 them. 
 
 " Attention ! " cried Samuel to Kennedy. 
 
 it 
 
 it
 
 368 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " I am ready." 
 
 " Joe, look out ! " cried the doctor in a ringing voice, as 
 he threw down the ladder, whose lowest round dragged up 
 the dust as they fell. 
 
 At the doctor's summons, Joe, without checking his 
 horse, turned round. The ladder was close to him, and 
 in a moment he had caught it. 
 
 " Throw out the ballast ! " roared the doctor. 
 
 " Done," replied Kennedy; and the "Victoria," lightened 
 by a weight more than that of Joe, rose 150 feet into the 
 air. 
 
 Joe held on tightly to the ladder during its tremendous 
 oscillations; then, making an indescribable gesture to the 
 Arabs, and climbing up with the agility of a clown, he 
 arrived at the car, where his companions received him in 
 their arms. The Arabs uttered yells of surprise and rage 
 when they perceived the " Victoria " bearing away the fugi- 
 tive, and rapidly increasing her distance. 
 
 "Master — Mr. Dick!" Joe had said, and, yielding to 
 emotion and fatigue, he had fainted, while Kennedy, with 
 delirious joy, cried out " Saved — saved ! " 
 
 " Well — yes ! " said the doctor, who had regained his 
 usual impassibility. 
 
 Joe was almost naked, his arms bleeding and his body 
 covered with wounds; all these told of his sufferings. The 
 doctor dressed his hurts and laid him down in the tent. 
 
 Joe soon regained consciousness, and asked for a glass 
 of brandy, which the doctor did not refuse, Joe not being a 
 person to be treated like an ordinary individual. After 
 drinking it he shook hands with his two companions, and 
 declared himself ready to relate his adventures. 
 
 But they would not permit him to speak, and the brave 
 lad fell into a sound sleep, of which he was in great need. 
 
 The " Victoria " then took an oblique course towards 
 
 the west. In consequence of a strong wind, it arrived at 
 
 the confines of the thorny desert above the palm trees, bent 
 
 and torn by the tempest, and after having completed a 
 
 journey of 200 miles since Joe had been received on board 
 
 again, it passed the tenth degree of longitude towards 
 
 evening. 
 V. I Verne
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 A NIGHT NEAR AGHADES 
 
 The wind dropped during the night, and the "Vic- 
 toria " remained quietly at the summit of a large sycamore; 
 the doctor and Kennedy watched in turn, and Joe profited 
 by this arrangement to sleep soundly and uninterruptedly 
 for twenty-four hours. 
 
 " That is what he wanted to set him up," said Ferguson ; 
 " Nature has taken upon herself to cure him." 
 
 At daylight the wind again blew pretty strongly, but in 
 gusts: it first came from the north, then from the south; 
 but at length the " Victoria " was driven to the westward. 
 
 The doctor, map in hand, noted the kingdom of Da- 
 maghou, an undulating region of wonderful fertility, with 
 its villages built of long reeds, entwined with branches of 
 the asclepia; corn ricks were raised up in the small culti- 
 vated fields upon little platforms, to preserve them from the 
 attacks of mice and ants. The balloon soon reached the 
 town of Zinder, recognizable by its vast square used for 
 executions — in the center of which is the " death-tree." At 
 the foot of this tree the executioner watches, and whoso- 
 ever passes beneath its shade is immediately hanged. 
 
 On consulting the barometer, Kennedy could not help 
 saying : " Why, we are going towards the north ! " 
 
 "What does that matter? If we get to Timbuctoo we 
 shall have no reason to complain. Never has a happier 
 journey been accomplished under more pleasant circum- 
 stances." 
 
 " Nor in better health," said Joe, who just then popped 
 his cheery face between the curtains of the awning. 
 
 " Here is our brave friend," cried Kennedy ; " our pre- 
 server. How do you feel now? " 
 
 " Much as usual, Mr. Dick, much as usual, thank you, 
 and as well as ever. There is nothing to set a man up like 
 a little pleasant traveling after a bath in Lake Tchad; is it 
 not so, sir? " 
 
 " You are indeed a noble fellow," replied Ferguson, as 
 he shook Joe by the hand. " What anxiety and fear you 
 have caused us ! " 
 
 "Well, and you too. Can you believe that I was easy 
 about you? You can boast of having given me a fine 
 fright." 
 
 369
 
 370 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " We shall never understand each other, Joe, if you take 
 things in that way." 
 
 " I see that his fall has not changed him a bit," said 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " Your devotion has been sublime, my lad ; you have 
 saved us, for had the * Victoria ' fallen into the lake, nothing 
 could have extricated her." 
 
 " But if my devotion, as you are pleased to call my 
 somersault, has preserved you, have you not also saved 
 me? Since here we are, all three in good health, conse- 
 quently we have none of us any reason to reproach each 
 other, after all." 
 
 " The fellow is just as impossible as ever he was," said 
 the Scot. 
 
 " The best way to understand each other," said Joe, " is 
 not to talk about it. What is done, is done. Good or bad, 
 it can never be recalled." 
 
 "Mad as ever," said the doctor, laughing. "At least, 
 will you tell us your adventures? " 
 
 "If you really desire it. But first I must get this plump 
 goose ready for cooking, for I perceive that Mr. Dick has 
 not been idle lately." 
 
 " Do as 3'-ou say, Joe." 
 
 " Well, then we shall see how African game suits the 
 European stomach." The goose was quickly grilled over 
 the flame of the blow-pipe and soon afterwards eaten. Joe 
 took his share like a man who had eaten nothing for many 
 days. After the usual tea and grog he related his adven- 
 tures. He spoke with visible emotion, while he looked the 
 incidents in the face with his habitual philosophy. 
 
 The doctor could not refrain from pressing him by the 
 hand frequently when he perceived that the faithful servant 
 had been more concerned about his master's safety than his 
 own; and referring to the phenomenon in the isle of the 
 Biddiomahs, the doctor explained its frequent occurrence 
 on Lake Tchad. 
 
 At length Joe, continuing his recital, reached the time, 
 when, plunged in the marsh, he uttered that despairing cry 
 for assistance, " I believed myself lost, sir," he said, " and 
 my thoughts went forth to you, I began to struggle to rise, 
 how, I will not tell you. I had decided not to be swallowed 
 up without an effort, when at two paces from me I per-
 
 A NIGHT NEAR AGHADES 371 
 
 celved the end of a newly-severed cord. I made a last 
 attempt, and by good luck reached the cable. I pulled, it 
 resisted. I hauled myself along it, and finally reached 
 terra firma. At the other end of the cord was an anchor." 
 
 " Ah, sir, I have indeed the right to call it the Anchor 
 of Hope. I recognized an anchor of the * Victoria.' You 
 had, then landed at this place. I followed the direction 
 of the cord which told me your route and after much 
 exertion I drew myself out of the slough. I recovered my 
 strength v/ith my courage, and I walked during part of the 
 night away from the lake. I arrived at length on the bor- 
 der of an immense forest. There, in an enclosure, some 
 horses were feeding, unaware of my approach. There are 
 some moments when everyone can ride, is it not so? I 
 did not lose time in reflecting. I jumped on the back of 
 one of the animals, and we were soon flying towards the 
 north with great speed. I will not tell you about the towns 
 I did not see, nor the villages which I avoided. No. I 
 crossed cultivated fields, I cleared the bushes, I leaped pali- 
 sades, I pushed my horse to his speed. I got excited, my 
 spirits rose. I reached the border of the desert. Good; 
 that suited me. I could see before me more plainly. Hop- 
 ing always to catch sight of the * Victoria ' waiting for me. 
 But no! About three hours after I fell in, like a fool, with 
 an Arab encampment. Ah, what a chase that was! You 
 see, Mr. Kennedy, a hunter never knows what a hunt is till 
 he has been chased himself; and if you will take my advice 
 do not try it. My horse fell from fatigue, the Arabs were 
 close upon me, I tumbled down, but soon jumped behind 
 an Arab horseman. I did not intend it, and I hope he bears 
 me no malice for having throttled him. But I had seen you 
 — ^you know the rest. The ' Victoria ' followed me closely, 
 and you picked me up flying like a knight, playing at the 
 quintain and bearing off the ring. Was I not right to de- 
 pend upon you, eh, Mr. Samuel? So that was easy enough 
 Nothing is more natural. I am ready to begin again if you 
 will be in any way benefited ; and so, as I said, sir, it is not 
 worth speaking about." 
 
 " My brave Joe," replied the doctor, with emotion, " w^e 
 were not wrong in trusting to your intelligence and 
 pluck.'* 
 
 " Bah ! sir, one has only to follow events, and you will
 
 372 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 be all right. The surest way is to take whatever comes as 
 it comes." 
 
 During Joe's narrative, the balloon had rapidly passed 
 over a large extent of country. Kennedy remarked a col- 
 lection of huts on the horizon, and the doctor, referring to 
 the map, declared that it was the small town of Tagelel, in 
 the Damerghou. 
 
 " Here," he said, " we shall strike Earth's route. Here 
 he left his two companions, Richardson and Overweg. The 
 first followed the route to Zanzibar, the second to Maradi ; 
 and you recollect that Earth was the only one who returned 
 to Europe." 
 
 " Thus," said the Scot, tracing the course of the " Vic- 
 toria " on the map, " we are going to the north." 
 
 " Due north, my dear Dick." 
 
 " And are you not disturbed by so doing? " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " That direction leads to Tripoli and the Great Desert." 
 
 " Oh ! we shall not go so far, my friend ; at least, I hope 
 not." 
 
 " But where do you expect to stop ? " 
 
 " Well, Dick, have you no curiosity to visit Timbuctoo? " 
 
 "Timbuctoo!" 
 
 " Certainly," replied Joe, " it would be absurd to come 
 upon a journey to Africa without seeing Timbuctoo ! " 
 
 " You will then be the fifth or sixth European who has 
 visited this mysterious town." 
 
 " Let us go to Timbuctoo." 
 
 "Then we must get between the 17th and i8th degrees 
 of latitude, and there find a favorable breeze to carry us to 
 the west." 
 
 " Good," replied Kennedy, " but have we not still a long 
 journey to make to the north? " 
 
 "About 150 miles." 
 
 " In that case," said Kennedy, " I shall get a little sleep." 
 
 " Do you also sleep, sir," said Joe to the doctor, " you 
 have need of repose, for I have given you an immense 
 amount of watching." 
 
 Kennedy lay down in the tent, but the doctor, who was 
 little affected by fatigue, remained at his post. 
 
 After about three hours the " Victoria " was passing very 
 rapidly over a stony tract of land with high mountains of
 
 A NIGHT NEAR AGHADES 373 
 
 granitic formation. Some isolated peaks were 4,000 feet 
 high. Giraffes, antelopes, and ostriches, bounded with sur- 
 prising agility amongst the acacias, mimosas, " sonahs," and 
 date-trees. After the sterility of the desert, vegetation was 
 regaining the upper-hand. It was the country of the 
 Kailouas, who conceal their faces by a cotton bandage like 
 their dangerous neighbors, the Touaregs. 
 
 At ten o'clock at night, after a splendid " run " of 250 
 miles, the " Victoria " halted above an important town. By 
 the moonlight they could perceive that it was half in ruins, 
 some of the mosques were interlaced here and there with 
 broad bands of white light. The doctor made an obser- 
 vation by the stars, and found he was within the latitude of 
 Aghades. 
 
 This town, formerly a great commercial center, had 
 already fallen into ruins at the time Doctor Barth visited it. 
 
 The " Victoria," unperceived, took the ground two miles 
 beyond Aghades, in a large field of millet. The night was 
 quiet, and day broke at five o'clock, when a gentle wind 
 began to impel the balloon towards the west and even a 
 little southwards. Ferguson was very anxious to profit by 
 this good fortune. He rose rapidly and fled away along the 
 extended beams of the rising sun. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 RAPID TRAVELING 
 
 The 17th of May passed quietly and without incident. 
 The desert was again encountered, a moderate wind im- 
 pelled the " Victoria " to the southwest, it deviated neither 
 to the right nor left, and its shadow was traced in a direct 
 line upon the sand. 
 
 Before his last departure the doctor had taken care to 
 replenish his store of water. He was afraid of not being 
 able to obtain v/ater in those countries infested by the 
 Touaregs. The plain, about 1,800 feet above the level of 
 the sea, depressed towards the south. The travelers having 
 crossed the route from Aghades to Mourzouk frequented by 
 caravans, arrived in the evening in 16° lat. and 4° 55' long., 
 having had a long and monotonous journey of 180 miles. 
 During that day Joe cooked the last head of game, which
 
 374 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 was very summarily prepared. He sent up a most appetizing 
 little supper of frochette of snipe. The wind being favor- 
 able, the doctor resolved to continue his journey by night, 
 as the full moon was shining brightly. The " Victoria " 
 rose to 500 feet, and during this night journey of about 
 60 miles, an infant's slumber would not have been disturbed. 
 
 On Sunday there was another change in the wind, viz., 
 to the northwest. Some ravens were perceived, and further 
 off a flock of vultures, who fortunately kept aloof. 
 
 The sight of these birds induced Joe to compliment his 
 master upon his idea of two balloons. 
 
 " Where should we be now," said he, " if we had had 
 but one envelope? This second balloon is like a ship's 
 launch ; in case of shipwreck, one can always take to it for 
 safety." 
 
 " You are right, my friend, only my launch makes me a 
 little nervous, it is not like the ship." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " I say that the new ' Victoria ' is not up to the old one. 
 Whether the tissues have been stretched, or whether the 
 gutta-percha is melted with heat of the serpentine, I am 
 aware of a certain escape of gas. This is not much matter 
 at present, but it is appreciable ; we have a tendency to fall, 
 and to keep us up I am obliged to dilate the hydrogen to a 
 greater extent." 
 
 " Whew ! " cried Kennedy, " I don't see any remedy for 
 that!" 
 
 " There is none, my dear Dick. That is the reason we 
 are pressing on, and even at night." 
 
 Are we far from the coast? " asked Joe. 
 What coast, my lad? We cannot tell where chance 
 may lead us; all I can say is, that Timbuctoo is 400 miles 
 to the west." 
 
 " And what time shall we take to get there?" 
 
 *' If the wind do not drop, I expect to see the town on 
 Tuesday afternoon." 
 
 " Then," said Joe, pointing out a long train of men and 
 beasts on the plain, " we shall arrive before that caravan! " 
 
 Ferguson and Kennedy leaned over, and saw a vast mul- 
 titude; there were more than 150 camels of the kind which, 
 for twelve golden " mutkals," march from Timbuctoo to 
 Tafilet, with a load of 500 lbs. 
 
 <<
 
 RAPID TRAVELING 375 
 
 These camels of the Touaregs are of the best breed. 
 They can travel from three to seven days without water, and 
 for two days without food ; their speed excels that of horses, 
 and they obey the commands of the " khatir," or leader of 
 the caravan. They are known in the country by the name 
 of " Mehari." 
 
 Such were the details furnished by the doctor, while his 
 companions were studying this multitude of men, women, 
 and children, traveling over the yielding sand with difficulty. 
 The wind effaced their traces almost as soon as they had 
 passed. 
 
 Joe asked how it was that the Arabs succeeded in guiding 
 themselves in the desert, and reaching the wells so sparsely 
 scattered throughout the immense solitudes. 
 
 " The Arabs," replied Ferguson, " have naturally a won- 
 derful instinct for finding their way — where a European 
 would be entirely puzzled an Arab would not hesitate; 
 a small stone, a pebble, a tuft of grass, a shadow, the 
 difference in the sand, will suffice for their safe direction. 
 During the night they guide themselves by thg polar star; 
 they do not travel more than two miles an hour, and rest 
 during the great heat of the day; so you can calculate what 
 time they take to traverse the Sahara, a desert more than 
 900 miles long." 
 
 The " Victoria " had by this time disappeared from the 
 wondering gaze of the Arabs, who envied her her rapid 
 progress. In the evening the three travelers came to long. 
 2° 20', and during the night they made more than another 
 degree. 
 
 On Monday the weather changed completely. It rained 
 tremendously. They were obliged to put up waterproof to 
 resist this deluge, and the consequent increase of weight in 
 the balloon and the car. This continual rain accounted for 
 the marshes and swamps, which spread over the surface of 
 the country. Here vegetation reappeared, with mimosas, 
 baobabs, and tamarinds. 
 
 Such was Souray, with its villages roofed in the shape of 
 Arminian caps. There were few mountains, but hills suffi- 
 cient to make ravines and reservoirs, over which the guinea- 
 fowl and snipe skimmed ; here and there an impetuous tor- 
 rent crossed the road. The natives crossed these by passing 
 hand over hand from one branch to another of the over-
 
 376 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 hanging trees. The forests now gave place to jungles, in 
 which sported the alligator, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros. 
 
 " It will not be long before we see the Niger," said the 
 doctor, " the country usually alters in the neighborhood of 
 large rivers. These moving roads, as they have been rightly 
 termed, first brought vegetation, and subsequently civiliza- 
 tion. Thus in its course of 2,500 miles, the Niger has 
 sprinkled on its banks the largest cities in Africa. 
 
 " Ah ! " said Joe, " that reminds me of the story of the 
 great admirer of Providence, who extolled the great care 
 which had sent rivers flowing through great cities ! " 
 
 At mid-day, the " Victoria " passed over a small town of 
 wretched-looking huts, called Gao, which had been formerly 
 a celebrated capital. 
 
 " 'Twas here," said the doctor, " that Barth crossed the 
 Niger on his return to Timbuctoo. This was a famous 
 stream in old days — the rival of the Nile, to which Pagan 
 superstition gave celestial origin. Like the Nile, it has 
 occupied the attention of travelers for ages, and like it, also, 
 has claimed numerous victims." 
 
 The Niger, with a wide stream, ran with great rapidity 
 southwards; but the travelers, carried along, as they were, 
 could scarcely note its curious windings. 
 
 " I wish to speak about this river," said Ferguson ; " it 
 is already at some distance. Under the names of Dhiouleba, 
 Mayo, Egghirreon, Quorra, and others, it flows through an 
 enormous tract of country, and rivals the Nile in length. 
 All its titles signify simply * The River,' according to the 
 language of the region through which it flows." 
 
 "Has Doctor Barth followed this route?" asked Ken- 
 nedy. 
 
 " No, Dick ; when he departed from Lake Tchad he 
 visited the chief towns of Bornou, and crossed the Niger 
 at Say, four degrees below Gao. He then penetrated into 
 the midst of the unexplored region enclosed by the bend of 
 the Niger, and after eight months of unheard-of suffering, 
 he arrived at Timbuctoo, where we shall be in three days if 
 the wind lasts like this." 
 
 "Has the source of the Niger been discovered?" asked 
 Joe. 
 
 " Long ago," replied the doctor, " The discovery of 
 the Niger and its affluents attracted numerous expeditions,
 
 RAPID TRAVELING 377 
 
 of which I can mention the principal ones. From 1749 to 
 1758 Adamson surveyed the river and visited Goree. From 
 1785 to 1788, Goldberry and Geoff roy penetrated the des- 
 erts of the Senegambia and ascended as far as the Maures 
 country, where Saugnier, Brisson, Adam, Riley, Cochelet, 
 and many others were murdered. Then there was the cele- 
 brated Mungo Park, the friend of Walter Scott, and a Scot 
 likewise. Sent out by the African Society of London, in 
 1795, he reached Bambarra and the Niger, marched 500 
 miles with a slave dealer, discovered the Gambia river, and 
 returned to England in 1797. On the 30th January, 1805, 
 he started again with Anderson, his brother-in-law, Scott, 
 the draughtsman, and thirty-five soldiers, revisited the Niger 
 on the 19th August, but by that time, owing to fatigue, 
 privation, ill-treatment, bad weather, and an unhealthy 
 country, only eleven out of forty Europeans remained alive. 
 On the 1 6th November the last letters of Mungo Park 
 reached his wife, and a year later they learnt, through a 
 merchant, that the unfortunate traveler, having reached 
 Boussa on the Niger, on the 23rd December, his boat was 
 upset in the rapids, and that he had been murdered by the 
 natives. 
 
 "And did not his sad fate deter others? " 
 
 " On the contrary, Dick, for then they had not only 
 to explore the river but to find the travelers' papers. In 
 the year 18 16, an expedition was organized in London, in 
 which Major Gray took part, which arrived at Senegal, 
 penetrated into Fonta Djallon, visited the Foullahs and 
 Manduignes, and returned to England without having 
 achieved anything further. In 1822, Major Laing explored 
 all the western part of Africa, bordering upon the British 
 possessions, and it was he who first reached the sources 
 of the Niger, and according to his report the source of 
 this immense river is only two feet wide ! " 
 
 " All the easier to jump over! " said Joe. 
 
 " Yes, easy enough," replied the doctor. " If we can 
 credit tradition though, whoever attempts to jump over this 
 source is immediately swallowed up in the act. and whoever 
 wishes to draw water there is pushed away by an invisible 
 hand." 
 
 "I suppose we needn't believe all that unless we like?" 
 said Joe.
 
 378 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 " Just as you please. Five years later Major Laing jour- 
 neyed across the Sahara and penetrated up to Timbuctoo, 
 and was strangled some miles beyond it by the Oulad- 
 Shiman, who wanted to become a Mussulman." 
 
 "Another victim!" said Kennedy. 
 
 " Then a brave young fellow undertook, with his limited 
 resources, and actually succeeded in making the most won- 
 derful of modern journeys. I refer to the Frenchman, Rene 
 Caille. After frequent trials in 1819 and 1824, he set out 
 anew upon the 19th April, 1827, from Rio Nunez; on the 
 3rd August he arrived at Time, so completely exhausted, 
 that he could not resume his journey for six months. He 
 then joined a caravan, and protected by his oriental cos- 
 tume, reached the Niger on the loth March, entered the 
 town of Jeune, took boat on the river and descended it as 
 far as Timbuctoo, where he arrived on the 30th April. 
 
 "Another Frenchman, Imbert, in the year 1670, and ^n 
 Englishman, Robert Adams, in 18 10 had perhaps beheld 
 this curious town; but Rene Caille is entitled to the credit 
 of being the first European who brought back authentic 
 reports. On the 4th May he left that queen of the desert; 
 on the 9th, he visited the very place where Major Laing 
 had been killed; on the 19th, he arrived at El-Eraouan, 
 and left that flourishing town to cross, amid a thousand 
 dangers, the vast solitudes included between the Soudan 
 and the northern regions of Africa. At length he reached 
 Tangier, and on the 28th September he embarked for 
 Toulon. So, in nineteen months, notwithstanding one hun- 
 dred and ninety days of sickness, he had crossed Africa 
 from west to north. Ah ! if Caille had been born in Eng- 
 land he would have been honored as the greatest traveler 
 of modern times — as the equal of Mungo Park. But in 
 France he is not sufficiently appreciated." 
 
 "He was a brave fellow. .What became of him?" 
 asked Kennedy. 
 
 " He died at the age of thirty-nine, worn out by fatigue. 
 It was thought reward sufficient to award him the prize of 
 the Geographical Society in 1828; the greatest honor 
 would have been paid him in England. Finally, while he 
 was occupied in this wonderful journey, an Englishman 
 started on the same enterprise, with as much courage, but 
 not the same good fortune. This was Captain Clapperton,
 
 RAPID TRAVELING 379 
 
 the companion of Denham. In 1829, he entered Africa 
 by the west, at the Gulf of Benin; he took up the traces of 
 Mungo Park and Laing, found in Boussa the documents 
 relating to the death of the former traveler, and arrived at 
 Sackatou on the 20th of August, where he was kept a pris- 
 oner, and subsequently died in the arms of his faithful 
 follower, Richard Lander. 
 
 "And what became of this Lander?" asked Joe, who 
 was much interested. 
 
 " He regained the coast and returned to England, bring- 
 ing with him the captain's papers, and an exact account of 
 his travels. He then offered his services to the Govern- 
 ment to complete the survey of the Niger. His brother 
 John joined him, and these two, from 1829 to 183 1, re- 
 descended the Niger from Boirssa nearly to its mouth, de- 
 scribing it village by village, and mile after mile." 
 
 ''Then these brothers escaped the usual fate?" said 
 Kennedy. 
 
 '' Yes, for the time at least, but in 1833 Richard under- 
 took a third journey to the Niger, and was killed by an 
 unknown hand close to the mouth of the river. So you 
 see, my friends, that this country which we are traversing 
 has witnessed noble acts of devotion, which have but too 
 often met with their reward in death! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 TIMBUCTOO 
 
 During the monotony of the journey on Monday, Doc- 
 tor Ferguson took pleasure in giving his companions many 
 details respecting the country they were passing over. 
 The flat ground offered no obstacle to their progress. The 
 only care the doctor had was caused by the northeast wind, 
 which blew strongly, and carried them away from Tim- 
 buctoo. 
 
 The Niger, having turned towards the north as far as 
 that town, curves roundly, and falls into the Atlantic in a 
 great stream. In the bend the country is very varied — ^ 
 sometimes of luxurious fertility, sometimes of great barren- 
 ness — uncultivated plains succeed fields of maize, which, 
 in their turn, are followed by vast heath-covered tracts.
 
 38o FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 All kinds of aquatic birds, pelicans, teal, kingfishers, live 
 in hundreds on the borders of the torrents and pools. A 
 Touareg camp appeared from time to time, in which the 
 women did the work and milked their camels and smoked 
 like so many chimneys. 
 
 The " Victoria," at eight o'clock p. m._, had got more than 
 200 miles to the west, and the travelers were then witnesses 
 to a magnificent sight. Some of the moon's rays were 
 bursting through the clouds, and glinting among the rain- 
 drops, fell upon the chain of Mount Hombori. Nothing 
 could be more strange than those crests of basaltic appear- 
 ance. Their profiles stood out in fantastic outlines against 
 the cloudy sky — they might be likened to the legendary 
 ruins of a town of the middle ages, or, as in dark nights, 
 the icebergs of the Frozen Ocean appear to the astonished 
 beholder. 
 
 " There is a site for the * Mysteries of Udolpho,' " said 
 the doctor ; " Mrs. Radcliffe could not have depicted these 
 mountains under a more terrible aspect." 
 
 " Faith," replied Joe, " I should not care to walk at 
 night alone in this ghostly country. If it were not so 
 heavy we might carry all this place into Scotland. It 
 would do very well on the border of Loch Lomond, and 
 tourists would rush in hundreds to see it." 
 
 " Our balloon is not large enough to admit of your idea 
 being carried into execution. But it seems to me that our 
 direction is changing. All right; the sprites of the place 
 are rather amiable in sending us a breeze from the south- 
 east, and putting us in a proper direction." 
 
 In fact the " Victoria " then resumed her route more 
 to the north, and on the morning of the 20th it passed 
 above the network of canals, torrents, and rivers, a concat- 
 enation of the tributaries of the Niger. Many of these 
 canals were covered by thick grass like prairie grass. Here 
 the doctor found out Earth's route when he embarked to 
 descend to Timbuctoo. Of great breadth, at this point the 
 Niger flows between its banks rich with crucifers and tama- 
 rinds ; gazelles bounded away in troops, plunging their long 
 curled horns into the high grasses, where the alligators lay 
 watching silently for their prey. 
 
 Long files of asses and camels, loaded with goods from 
 Jeune, were forcing their way under the thick trees. An
 
 TIMBUCTOO 381 
 
 amphitheater of small houses appeared at the bend of the 
 river; on the roofs and terraces was collected all the prov- 
 ender received from the neighboring districts. 
 
 " There is Kabra," cried the doctor, joyfully. " It is 
 the port of Timbuctoo, the town is not five miles dis- 
 tant." 
 
 " Are you satisfied now, sir? " asked Joe. 
 
 " Delighted, my lad." 
 
 " So much the better," said Joe. 
 
 In two hours, the " Queen of the Desert," the mysterious 
 Timbuctoo — which at one time possessed, like Rome and 
 Athens, its professors and philosophers — unfolded itself be- 
 fore the travelers' eyes. 
 
 Ferguson perceived that Earth's plan of it was correct 
 in its minutest detail. The town describes a vast triangle 
 upon a plain of white sand. The apex is towards the 
 north. There is nothing in the neighborhood but a little 
 grass, some mimosas, and stunted trees. 
 
 As for the appearance of Timbuctoo, its streets were 
 narrow, and bordered with one-storied houses made of 
 bricks, and huts of straw and reeds; the former of a conical 
 shape, the latter square. Over the terraces some of the 
 inhabitants were lazily extended, robed in gaudy colors, 
 lance or musket in hand. 
 
 No women, however, were visible at that hour. 
 
 "But it is said they are beautiful," added the doctor. 
 " Do you see the three towers of the three mosques, which 
 are all that are left of a great number. The town is much 
 divested of its former splendor. At the apex of the tri- 
 angle rises the Mosque of Sankore, with its ranges of 
 galleries supported by arcades of a very pure style. Fur- 
 ther on is the quarter of Sana Gungu, the mosque of Sidi 
 Yahia, and some two-storied houses. There are no palaces 
 nor monuments. The sheik is only a trader, and his resi- 
 dence, a shop." 
 
 " It appears to me," said Kennedy, " that there are 
 some broken ramparts." 
 
 " They were destroyed by the Foullanes in 1826, when 
 the town was larger by a third; for Timbuctoo, from the 
 eleventh century, was an object coveted generally, and be- 
 longed successively to the Touaregs, to the Sourayens, to 
 the Marocuins, and Foullanes; and this great center of
 
 382 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 civilization, where a savant named Ahmed Baba possessed, 
 in the sixteenth century, a library of 1,600 manuscripts, is 
 now nothing but a warehouse for the commerce of Cen- 
 tral Africa. 
 
 The town appears to be given up to carelessness; it is 
 impregnated with the supineness which is epidemic with 
 decaying cities. Great heaps of rubbish were piled up in 
 the outskirts, and these, with the market hill, formed the 
 only undulations of the ground. 
 
 As the " Victoria " passed by there was some little move- 
 ment; the drums were beaten, but scarcely had the last 
 learned man had time to observe this novel phenomenon 
 when the travelers, impelled by the wind from the desert, 
 were wafted along the river, and Timbuctoo was nothing 
 more than a souvenir of their rapid journey. 
 
 " Now," said the doctor, " Heaven may guide us where 
 it pleases." 
 
 " Provided it be towards the west," replied Kennedy. 
 
 "Well," said Joe, "if it should happen to us to be sent 
 back the way we have come, and to cross the ocean to 
 America, that would not trouble me." 
 
 " We must first have the power to do so, Joe." 
 And how is that wanting?" 
 
 Gas, my boy, gas. The ascensional force of the 
 balloon is sensibly diminishing; and we shall have to use 
 great care to reach the coast. I shall even be compelled 
 to throw out ballast. We are too heavy." 
 
 " Such are the results of doing nothing, sir. By lying 
 here all day, like a sluggard, in a hammock, we get fat and 
 heavy. It is a lazy journey; and when we return we shall 
 find ourselves very stout." 
 
 " These are remarks worthy of Joe," replied Kennedy. 
 " But wait until the end : how do you know what Heaven 
 has in store for us ? We are still a long way from the ter- 
 mination of our journey. Where do you expect to touch 
 the coast, Samuel ? " 
 
 " I should be puzzled to answer, Dick ; we are at the 
 mercy of variable winds, but I shall consider it fortunate if 
 we reach Sierra Leone or Portendick. We may meet 
 friends in those neighborhoods." 
 
 " And glad to shake hands with them ; but are we fol- 
 lowing the desired route?" 
 
 ti
 
 TIMBUCTOO 383 
 
 "Scarcely, Dick; look at the compass; we are tending 
 south towards the sources of the Niger." 
 
 " We shall have a capital opportunity to discover them 
 then, if they have not been already explored," said Joe. 
 " Is it the etiquette not to find any more of them?" 
 
 " No, Joe; but be easy. I hope not to go so far." 
 
 At nightfall the doctor threw out the last sacks of bal- 
 last. The "Victoria" rose; the blow-pipe, although in 
 full action, could scarcely maintain her. She was then at 
 sixty miles to the south of Timbuctoo, and next day saw 
 the travelers on the borders of the Niger, not far from 
 Lake Debo. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 STILL TO THE SOUTH 
 
 The course of the river was divided by large islands, and 
 in those narrow branches it ran with a swift current. On 
 one of these islets some shepherds' huts were erected, but 
 it was impossible to take the exact bearings, for the speed 
 of the " Victoria " kept increasing. Unfortunately it in- 
 clined more to the south, and very soon passed over Lake 
 Debo. 
 
 Ferguson sought for other currents at different eleva- 
 tions, but in vain. So he abandoned the attempt, which 
 had still more diminished the gas, as the dilation pressed 
 it against the failing envelope of the balloon. 
 
 He said nothing, but began to feel very uneasy. The 
 obstinate wind blowing to the south had overturned all his 
 calculations. He did not know what to think. If he did 
 not reach English or French territory, what would become 
 of them in the midst of the barbarians infesting the coast 
 of Guinea? How could they obtain a vessel to take them 
 thence to England? And the actual direction of the wind 
 was hurrying them towards the kingdom of Dahomey, 
 amongst the most savage tribes, at the mercy of a king who, 
 at public displays, sacrifices thousands of human victims. 
 There they would be lost. 
 
 On the other hand, the balloon was rapidly falling, and 
 the doctor felt it. However, the weather cleared a little, 
 and he hoped that the termination of the rain would bring 
 about a change in the atmospheric currents.
 
 384 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 He was disagreeably reminded of the circumstance by 
 Joe saying: 
 
 " Well, the rain is heavy enough, but this time there is 
 going to be a deluge, if we may judge by the cloud now 
 approaching us." 
 
 " Another cloud ! " said Ferguson. 
 
 " A regular big fellow this time," replied Kennedy. 
 
 "I have never seen such a one," replied Joe; "it seems 
 to have been laid out with rule and line." 
 
 " I can breathe again," replied the doctor, putting down 
 the telescope. " It is not a cloud after all." 
 
 " What ? " exclaimed Joe. 
 
 " No, it is a swarm " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " A swarm of locusts." 
 "That a swarm of locusts? 
 
 " Yes, of millions of locusts, which pass over the ground 
 like a waterspout, and very unfortunately for the district, 
 for if they alight it will be devastated." 
 
 " I should like to see that." 
 
 " Just wait a little, Joe ; in ten minutes we shall have 
 met the cloud, and then you can judge for yourself." 
 
 Ferguson was right; this thick cloud, extending for 
 many miles, came upon them with a deafening noise, cast- 
 ing an immense shadow on the ground. It proved to be 
 an innumerable host of those grasshoppers known as field- 
 crickets. At a hundred paces from the " Victoria " they 
 alighted upon a green expanse; a quarter of an hour later 
 the mass again took flight, and the travelers could then 
 perceive that the trees and bushes were completely stripped 
 — 'the fields looked as if they had been mown. Not even a 
 severe winter could do more damage. 
 
 "Well, Joe?" 
 
 " Well, sir, it is extraordinary, but quite natural. 
 Though the locust is small, the numbers make him im- 
 portant." 
 
 " It is a terrible calamity — worse than hail in its ef- 
 fects," said Kennedy. 
 
 " And it is impossible to guard against them," said 
 Ferguson. " The natives sometimes have conceived the 
 idea of burning the forests, even the crops, in order to 
 arrest the flight of these insects; but the leading files flew; 
 
 V. I Verne
 
 STILL TO THE SOUTH 385 
 
 into the flames and actually extinguished them by mere 
 force of numbers, so that the rest passed in safety. Hap- 
 pily, in these countries, there is a compensation for their 
 ravages — the natives catch and eat them with avidity." 
 
 " They are the shrimps of the air, which," said Joe, 
 " as an experience, I regret not having tasted." 
 
 The country became more swampy as they proceeded ; 
 the forest gave place to isolated miles of trees; upon the 
 banks of the river they perceived some tobacco plantations, 
 and marshes thick with grass. On a large island was the 
 town of Jeune, with the two towers of its mosque built of 
 mud, which gave harbor to hundreds of swallows, whose 
 nests exhaled a most unpleasant smell. The tops of trees 
 appeared between the houses, and even during the night 
 the town seemed very busy. Jeune is really a very indus- 
 trious town, and furnishes Timbuctoo with all its needs; 
 its boats and its caravans transport thither the various pro- 
 ductions of its industry. 
 
 " If it would not have prolonged our journey too much," 
 said the doctor, " I should have made an attempt to descend 
 in this town. We might see more than one Arab who had 
 traveled to France or England, and who is not unacquainted 
 with our method of locomotion. But it would not be 
 prudent." 
 
 " We can call again during our next excursion," said 
 Joe, laughing. 
 
 " Besides," continued the doctor, " if I do not mistake, 
 the wind has a tendency to blow from the east. We can- 
 not afford to lose such a chance." 
 
 The doctor threw overboard some useless articles-^ 
 empty bottles, and an old preserved meat box — he thus 
 succeeded in raising the " Victoria " into a zone more 
 suitable for his plans. At 4 a. m. the first rays of the sun 
 lighted up Sego, the capital of Bambara, easily to be known 
 by the four towns composing it, its Moorish mosqikes, and 
 the continual movement of the ferry-boats used in trans- 
 porting the occupants to the various quarters. But the 
 travelers were not more seen than they themselves saw, 
 and fled rapidly and directly to the northwest, as the doc- 
 tor's fears calmed down by degrees. 
 
 " Two days more in this direction, and at this pace, will 
 see us at the Senegal River," said he.
 
 386 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 "In a friendly country?" asked Kennedy. 
 
 "Not altogether; at a pinch, if the 'Victoria' fail us, 
 we must gain some French settlement. But if we can 
 hold on for a couple of hundred miles, we shall arrive at 
 the east coast comfortably." 
 
 " And that will be the end of it," said Joe. " So much 
 the worse. If it were not for the telling of it, I should 
 never wish to put foot on earth again. Do you think peo- 
 ple will believe us, sir? " 
 
 " Who knows, my brave Joe ? However, there is one 
 indisputable fact. Thousands of people witnessed our de- 
 parture from one side of Africa, and thousands will see us 
 descend on the other." 
 
 " In that case it will be difficult to doubt our having 
 crossed the continent." 
 
 " Ah, sir," replied Joe, with a deep sigh, " I shall often 
 regret that golden ore. Look what weight it would have 
 given to our narratives. A grain of gold for each auditor, 
 I should have had a pretty big crowd to listen to and even 
 to admire me." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 HIGH MOUNTAINS 
 
 On the 27th of May, at 9 a. m., the country presented a 
 new aspect. The long slopes rose into hills which prom- 
 ised mountains. It was necessary to cross the chain which 
 separated the basins of the Niger and Senegal, and deter- 
 mine the fall of the waters to the Gulf of Guinea or Cape 
 Verd. 
 
 As far as Senegal the country is reported as dangerous. 
 Doctor Ferguson knew that, from the reports of his prede- 
 cessors — they had suffered a thousand privations and en- 
 countered a thousand dangers amongst these barbarians. 
 The deadly climate carried off the majority of Mungo 
 Park's companions. Ferguson was therefore more than 
 ever decided not to set foot upon this inhospitable 
 soil. 
 
 But he had not a moment's rest. The " Victoria " was 
 settling down in a most unmistakable manner. It became 
 necessary to throw out a number of articles more or less
 
 STILL TO THE SOUTH 387 
 
 useless, and particularly when there was a mountain to be 
 cleared. 
 
 This continued for more than 120 miles; they got tired 
 of ascending and descending. The balloon, like the stone 
 of Sisyphus, kept falling back continually. The contour 
 of the balloon already was losing its roundness, and the 
 wind hollowed out large " pockets " in its loose covering. 
 
 Kennedy could not help remarking this. 
 
 " Is there a hole in the balloon? " he asked. 
 
 " No," replied the doctor ; " but the gutta-percha has 
 evidently become softened by the heat, and the hydrogen 
 escapes." 
 
 " How can we prevent that? " 
 
 " It is impossible to do so. Let us lighten the balloon ; 
 it is our only way. Throw out all we can spare." 
 
 "But what?" asked the Scot, looking round the half- 
 denuded car. 
 
 " The tent — it is very heavy." 
 
 Joe, whom this order concerned, mounted above the 
 ring which fastened the cords to the netting, and quickly 
 detached the thick curtains and threw them down. 
 
 " There is a treat for a whole tribe of negroes," he said. 
 " There is sufficient to clothe a million of them ; they are 
 very sparing of the material." 
 
 The balloon rose a little, but it soon became evident that 
 it again was approaching the ground. 
 
 " Let us descend, and see if we cannot repair the en- 
 velope," said Kennedy. 
 
 " I tell you, Dick, we have no means to repair it." 
 
 *' Well, what are you going to do? " 
 
 " We will sacrifice everything not absolutely indispens- 
 able. I wish at all cost to avoid a halt in these regions. 
 The forests we skimmed just now are nothing but dens." 
 
 " What, of lions or hyenas?" asked Joe. 
 
 " Worse than that — of men, and the most cruel men in 
 Africa." 
 
 " How do you know that? " 
 
 " From travelers who have preceded us ; then the French 
 who occupy the colony of Senegal, have had dealings with 
 the neighboring tribes. Under Colonel Faidherbe a re- 
 connaissance was made into the country ; officers, such as 
 Pascal, Vincent, and Lambert, have brought back the pre-
 
 2^8 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 cious documents of their expeditions. They explored the 
 country formed by the bend of the Senegal, where war and 
 pillage have left only ruin." 
 
 " How did it come to pass? " 
 
 " This way. In 1854, a marabout, of Fouta, named 
 Al-Hadji, said he was inspired by Mahomet, and incited all 
 the tribes to war against the infidels, viz., the Europeans. 
 He carried desolation and destruction between the Senegal 
 and its affluent the Falune. Three bands of fanatics, 
 guided by him, marched through the country with fire and 
 sword. He even advanced into the valley of the Niger to 
 the town of Sego, which was threatened for a long time. 
 In 1857 he went up northwards and invested Fort Medina, 
 built by the French on the banks of the river. This place 
 was defended by a hero, Paul Holl, who for many months, 
 without food or supplies, held out till Colonel Faidherbe 
 came to his rescue. Then Al-Hadji and his band repassed 
 the Senegal and returned into Koarta to continue their 
 rapine and murder. Now this is the country to which he 
 has fled with his troops of bandits, and I assure you I 
 would rather not fall into their hands." 
 
 " We shall not do so," said Joe, " if we have to sacrifice 
 our boots to lighten the * Victoria.' " 
 
 " We are not far from the river," said the doctor ; " but I 
 foresee our balloon will not carry us even so far." 
 
 " If we arrive on the banks, that will be something," said 
 Kennedy. 
 
 " That is what we must try to do," said the doctor ; " but 
 one thing worries me," 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " We have to cross some mountains, and that will be a 
 difficult operation, since I cannot increase the ascensional 
 force of the balloon, even by the greatest possible heat." 
 
 " Wait," said Kennedy, " we shall see." 
 
 " Poor ' Victoria ! ' " said Joe. " I am as attached to it 
 as a sailor to his ship, and I shall not leave it without 
 regret. It is not what it was at the outset, certainly; but 
 then we need not speak evil of it. It has done us excel- 
 lent service, and it will break my heart to abandon it." 
 
 " Rest assured, Joe, if we do abandon it, it will be against 
 our will. It will serve us to the best of its ability. I only 
 ask for twenty-four hours longer."
 
 ti 
 
 HIGH MOUNTAINS 389 
 
 "It is exhausted," said Joe, looking at it carefully; "it 
 is * done up,' its life has departed. Poor balloon! " 
 
 " If I mistake not," said Kennedy, " I can see the moun- 
 tains of which you spoke, Samuel." 
 
 " Those are they, no doubt," said the doctor, having ex- 
 amined them with his glass. " They appear to me to be 
 very high; we shall have some trouble to clear them." 
 
 " Cannot we avoid them? " 
 
 "I do not think so, Dick; look at the extent of them, 
 nearly half the horizon." 
 
 " They seem to enclose us on all sides," said Joe. 
 
 " We must cross over them," said the doctor. 
 
 These dangerous obstacles appeared to approach with 
 extreme rapidity, or rather the "Victoria" approached 
 them, and she must ascend at any risk. 
 
 " Empty our water-cask," said Ferguson, " we have 
 enough for to-day." 
 
 "It is done," said Joe. 
 Is the balloon relieved at all ? " inquired Kennedy. 
 A little, about fifty feet higher," replied the doctor, 
 who did not take his eyes from the barometer, " but that is 
 riot sufficient." 
 
 The peaks now appeared ready to fall upon the travelers, 
 who were very far from the tops. The water for the 
 blow-pipe was then thrown out, they only kept a few pints, 
 but this was still insufficient. 
 
 " We must pass them," said the doctor. 
 
 " Throw out the chests, they are empty," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Out with them." 
 
 " There they go," said Joe, " it is to die by inches," 
 
 "As for you, Joe, don't you attempt to repeat your de- 
 voted act of the other day. Whatever happens, swear you 
 will not leave us ! " 
 
 "All right, sir, we will not separate." 
 
 The " Victoria " had regained a good height, but the 
 mountain peak still overlooked her. It was a straight 
 edge, which terminated in a regular peaked rampart. It 
 was then more than 200 feet above the travelers. 
 
 " In ten minutes our car will be in contact with those 
 rocks if we cannot pass them." 
 
 " Well, then, Mr. Samuel," said Joe. 
 
 " Keep only the pemmican, throw out all the rest.'
 
 390 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 The balloon was again lightened by about fifty pounds, it 
 rose sensibly, but not far, and not above the mountains. 
 The situation was terrible. The " Victoria " was going at 
 a great rate, and the expected shock they knew would 
 break her to pieces. 
 
 The doctor looked round the car. It was almost empty. 
 
 "If necessary, Dick, you must throw the guns out." 
 
 " Sacrifice my rifles ! " exclaimed the Scot. 
 
 " My friend, if I ask you, it will only be when abso- 
 lutely necessary. 
 
 "Samuel!" 
 
 " The arms and ammunition may cost us our lives." 
 
 " We are close now," cried Joe. 
 
 "Ten fathoms!" 
 
 The mountain was then ten fathoms higher than the 
 " Victoria." 
 
 Joe took the rugs, and the boxes of ammunition, and, 
 without telling Kennedy, threw them over. 
 
 The balloon rose and passed the dreaded peak, the 
 silk caught the sun's rays overhead, but the car was still 
 below the rocks, against which it must inevitably be 
 broken. 
 
 " Kennedy, Kennedy ! " cried the doctor, " throw out 
 the arms, or we are lost." 
 
 "Wait, Mr. Dick," said Joe, "wait a moment!" And 
 Kennedy, turning round, saw him disappear over the side 
 of the car. 
 
 " Joe ! Joe ! " he cried. 
 
 " Unhappy man ! " exclaimed the doctor. 
 
 The top of the mountain was at this place about twenty 
 feet wide, and the other side was less steep. The car ar- 
 rived at the edge of this plateau, and glided along upon the 
 pebbles, which were ground beneath it 
 
 " We are passing — we are passing — we have passed ! " 
 cried a voice which made Ferguson's heart bound. 
 
 The brave Joe was holding on by his hands to the bot- 
 tom of the car and ran along the summit of the mountain, 
 thus relieving the balloon of his weight; but he was obliged 
 to hold very tightly, for the balloon was inclined to escape 
 him. 
 
 When he reached the opposite side, and the precipice 
 opened before him, Joe, by a vigorous effort, raised him-
 
 HIGH MOUNTAINS 391 
 
 self up, and, clutching the cordage, remounted beside his 
 companions. 
 
 " It was not more difficult than that," he said. 
 
 " My brave Joe — my friend ! " exclaimed the doctor, 
 with emotion. 
 
 " It was not for you I did it," said Joe, " it was for Mr. 
 Dick's rifle. I have owed him something ever since that 
 affair with the Arab. I like to pay my debts, and now we 
 are quits," added he, handing the sportsman his favorite 
 gun. " I should have been very sorry to have seen you 
 separated." 
 
 Kennedy shook him warmly by the hand without speak- 
 ing. 
 
 The " Victoria " had only to descend, which was not 
 difficult. It was soon within 200 feet of the ground and in 
 equilibrium. The earth showed traces of convulsion, and 
 presented many hillocks very difficult to avoid at night with 
 a balloon not under control. Night fell rapidly, and, not- 
 withstanding his objections, the doctor was constrained to 
 halt till morning. 
 
 " We will search for a favorable place," said he. 
 Ah," replied Kennedy, "you have decided at last?" 
 Yes. I have been thinking of a plan which I am about 
 to put into execution. It is only six o'clock. We have 
 plenty of time. Throw out the grapnels, Joe." 
 
 Joe obeyed, and the two anchors hung suspended from 
 the car. 
 
 " I can see a vast forest," said the doctor, " we shall run 
 above it, and make fast to some tree. I would not consent 
 to pass the night on the ground for anything." 
 
 " Why cannot we descend ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " For what reason ? I repeat it would be dangerous to 
 separate. Besides, I require your aid in a difficult ope- 
 ration." 
 
 The " Victoria " skimmed the tops of the trees, and did 
 not fail to "pull up" quickly; the anchors had caught, the 
 wind fell as evening advanced, and the balloon remained al- 
 most motionless above the vast extent of foliage formed by 
 the tops of the forest of sycamores. 
 
 ft
 
 it 
 « 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 A LAST SACRIFICE 
 
 Doctor Ferguson ascertained his position by the obser- 
 vation of the stars, and found that he was scarcely twenty- 
 five miles from the Senegal. 
 
 "All that we can do, my friends," said he, pointing to 
 the map, " is to cross the river ; but as there are no boats we 
 must cross it in the balloon, and for that purpose we must 
 lighten it still more." 
 
 " But I do not see how we can," replied Kennedy, who 
 Vras anxious on the score of his guns, " unless one of us 
 decides to sacrifice himself and remain behind; and as it is 
 my turn, I claim that honor." 
 
 Why," cried Joe, " is it not my place? " 
 It is not a case of throwing yourself down, my friend," 
 said Kennedy; "but to gain the coast of Africa on foot; 
 now I am a good walker, a sportsman." 
 
 "I will never agree to that," said Joe. 
 
 " Your generous contention is useless, my brave friends," 
 said Ferguson. " I trust we shall not be put to such 
 straits; besides, in case of necessity we must not separate at 
 all; we must cross the country together." 
 
 " Be it so," said Joe, " a little walk will do us good." 
 
 " But first," said the doctor, " we must do our utmost to 
 lighten the ' Victoria.' " 
 
 " By what means ? " asked Kennedy. " I am curious to 
 know." 
 
 " We must throw away the dilating apparatus, the 
 Buntzen pile, and the coil; in that there is nearly 900 lbs. 
 weight to drag with us." 
 
 " But, Samuel, how then shall you obtain the expansion 
 of the gas? " 
 
 " I shall not obtain it. We must do without." 
 
 " But r 
 
 " Listen to me, my friends. I have calculated to a 
 nicety what ascensional force is left in the balloon. It is 
 sufficient to carry us with the few articles still remaining; 
 we weigh scarcely 500 lbs,, including those two grapnels, 
 which I wish to keep." 
 
 " My dear Samuel," replied the Scot, " you are more 
 competent than we in such cases — you are the best judge. 
 Tell us what we ought to do, and we will do it." 
 
 392
 
 A LAST SACRIFICE 393 
 
 " I am of course at your orders, sir." 
 
 " I repeat, my friends, grave though the decision may 
 be, we must sacrifice our apparatus." 
 
 "Let us sacrifice it," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Let us go to work, then," said Joe. 
 
 It was by no means an easy matter, it was necessary to 
 remove the apparatus piece by piece. First the " mixing " 
 chest was got up — then the blow-pipe, and at last the chest 
 in which the decomposition of the water took place. It 
 required the united strength of the travelers to remove the 
 recipients from the bottom of the car in which they were 
 firmly let in; but Kennedy was so powerful, Joe so skillful, 
 and Ferguson so ingenious, that they succeeded at last. 
 The various pieces were successively thrown overboard, and 
 they disappeared, making large fissures in the foliage of 
 the sycamores. 
 
 " The negroes will be considerably astonished," said Joe, 
 "at seeing such articles in the woods; they will very likely 
 make idols of them." 
 
 At last they were obliged to remove the pipes fastened 
 in the balloon, and which had been attached to the ser- 
 pentine. Joe cut the joints of the india-rubber some feet 
 above the car, but as to the pipes it was more difficult, for 
 they were fixed at the upper end by brass wire to the rings 
 of the safety-valve itself. 
 
 It was at this juncture that Joe displayed his skill; with 
 bare feet, so as not to tear the envelope, he ascended by 
 the netting, and, notwithstanding the oscillation, climbed up 
 to the top of the balloon. There, after much difficulty, 
 holding by one hand to the slippery surface, he detached 
 the screws which fastened the pipes. They were then 
 easily taken down through the lower part of the balloon and 
 the apertures hermetically fastened up. The " Victoria," 
 thus relieved of a considerable weight, rose in the air and 
 tugged hard at the anchors. 
 
 At midnight this work was successfully accomplished, 
 with much labor, however. A hasty repast was eaten, con- 
 sisting of pemmican and cold grog, for the doctor had no 
 heat to put at Joe's disposal. 
 
 Joe and Kennedy were overcome with fatigue. 
 
 " Lie down and sleep, my friends," said Ferguson. " I 
 will take the first watch. At two o'clock I will wake Ken-
 
 394 FIVE .WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 nedy; at four Kennedy will wake Joe; at six we shall be 
 off, and may Heaven guard us through this last day ! " 
 
 Without saying anything, the doctor's two companions' 
 lay down at the bottom, of the car and slept profoundly. 
 
 The night was calm; some clouds passed over the moon, 
 whose rays at that time scarce broke the obscurity. Fer- 
 guson, leaning against the car, looked about in all direc- 
 tions; he steadily watched the dark carpet of foliage which 
 lay spread beneath and intercepted his view of the ground. 
 The least noise appeared to him suspicious, and he sought 
 for reasons for even a trembling of the leaves. He was 
 in that over-excited state of mind which solitude renders 
 more nevous, and in which all kinds of vague terrors 
 arise. 
 
 At the termination of a similar journey, having overcome 
 all obstacles, at the moment of success, fears are so strong, 
 emotions so great, that the point of arrival seems to disap- 
 pear altogether. 
 
 Besides, the situation offered nothing reassuring in the 
 midst of a barbarous country, and with means of transport 
 which, in fact, might fail at any moment. The doctor did 
 not rely absolutely upon his balloon, the time had passed 
 in which he could maneuver it fearlessly. 
 
 With these impressions upon him the doctor believed he 
 could hear vague murmurs in that vast forest, and fancied 
 he perceived a fire rapidly flitting between the trees. He 
 kept his gaze fixed, and leveled his night-glass in the same 
 direction, but nothing appeared, and the silence was most 
 profound. 
 
 Ferguson had doubtless been under a delusion, he lis- 
 tened without hearing the slightest sound. The period of 
 his watch having now expired, he woke Kennedy, enjoined 
 upon him the utmost vigilance, and lay down beside Joe, 
 who was sleeping soundly. 
 
 Kennedy lit his pipe and rubbed his eyes, which he 
 could scarcely keep open. He leaned his elbows upon the 
 corner of the car, and smoked vigorously to keep himself 
 awake. 
 
 The most absolute silence reigned around, a gentle 
 breeze moved the tops of the trees, and swayed the car in a 
 most sleep-inviting manner, which Kennedy could scarce 
 resist. He struggled against the feeling, opened his eye-
 
 (( 
 
 A LAST SACRIFICE 395 
 
 lids, looked steadily into the darkness with lack-luster eyes, 
 and at length yielding to fatigue he fell asleep. 
 
 How long was he thus? He could not tell when he 
 woke, for he was suddenly disturbed by an unexpected 
 crackling. 
 
 He rubbed his eyes and jumi>ed up. An intense heat 
 scorched his face. The forest was in flames. 
 
 " Fire, fire ! " he cried, scarcely understanding what had 
 happened. 
 
 His two companions got up. 
 What is the matter?" asked Ferguson. 
 Fire ! " cried Joe. " But who " 
 
 At this moment yells arose beneath the burning trees. 
 
 ** Ah ! the savages," cried Joe, " they have fired the forest 
 to burn us, no doubt." 
 
 " The Talibas, the marabouts of Al-Hadji, depend upon 
 it," said the doctor. 
 
 The " Victoria " was regularly surrounded by fire, the 
 crackling of the dead wood was mingled with the hissing 
 of the green branches, twining plants, leaves, all the living 
 vegetation was embraced in the destructive element. On 
 all sides an ocean of flame only was visible. Great trees 
 stood out against the glow with their branches covered with 
 burning embers. This burning mass was reflected upon 
 the clouds, and the travelers appeared enveloped in a globe 
 of fire. 
 
 " Let us fly! " cried Kennedy; " let us get out! it is our 
 only chance of safety." 
 
 But Ferguson stopped him with a firm hand, and with a 
 trenchant blow he severed the grapnel-ropes. The flames, 
 leaping up towards the balloon, were already licking its 
 sides, but the " Victoria," freed from its bonds, rose more 
 than i,ooo feet into the air. 
 
 Horrible yells resounded through the forest, mingled 
 with the loud reports of firearms, but the balloon, wafted 
 by a current which had arisen with daybreak, continued 
 her journey towards the west.
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 A WASTED COUNTRY 
 
 (( 
 
 If we had not taken the precaution to lighten the 
 balloon last night," said the doctor, "we should have been 
 lost past recovery." 
 
 " That shows the benefit of doing things in time," said 
 Joe, " so we have escaped, and nothing is more natural." 
 
 " We are not out of danger yet," replied Ferguson in a 
 cautious manner. 
 
 "What do you fear now?" asked Dick; "the 'Vic- 
 toria ' cannot descend without your permission, and when 
 it should do so." 
 
 " When it should do so ! — look ! " 
 
 The border of the forest was passed, and the travelers 
 could descry about thirty horsemen clothed in wide trousers, 
 and bournous floating in the air. Some were armed with 
 lances, others with long muskets. They pursued the " Vic- 
 toria," which was going along slowly, at a hand-gallop. 
 
 At sight of the travelers they raised savage cries and 
 brandished their weapons — their anger and menaces v^ere to 
 be read in their sunburnt faces, rendered more ferocious 
 by the short but bristling beard. They passed easily over 
 the low plains and gentle declivities that descend to the 
 Senegal. 
 
 " They are indeed the cruel Talibas," said the doctor, 
 " the ferocious marabouts of Al-Hadji. I would rather be 
 in a forest in the midst of wild beasts, than in the hands of 
 those men." 
 
 " They have not the most amiable appearance, cer- 
 tainly," said Kennedy, "and they are powerful fellows 
 too." 
 
 " Happily, the ruffians cannot fly ; there is always some 
 consolation," said Joe. 
 
 " Do you see those ruined villages, those burned houses ? 
 that is their handiwork; and where at one time were culti- 
 vated pastures, they have now left nothing but sterility and 
 devastation." 
 
 " At any rate, they cannot touch us here," said Ken- 
 nedy, " and if we can put the river between us, we shall be 
 safe." 
 
 " Quite so, Dick, but we must not fall," said the doctor, 
 looking at the barometer. 
 
 396
 
 A WASTED COUNTRY 397 
 
 "In any case, Joe, it will do no harm to look to our 
 
 arms." 
 
 " That will not hurt us, certainly, Mr. Dick ; we now find 
 what a good thing it was not to have thrown them away." 
 
 " I trust I shall never part with my rifle," said Ken- 
 nedy. And he loaded it carefully, for some ammunition 
 still remained. 
 
 " At what height are we now? " 
 
 " About 750 feet," replied Ferguson ; " but we have no 
 means left to seek a favorable current, and in ascending 
 or descending we are entirely at the mercy of the balloon." 
 
 " That is a pity," replied Kennedy, " the wind is so light, 
 and if we had only met a storm similar to that a few days 
 ago, we should soon give these robbers the slip." 
 
 " They are following us at their ease," said Joe ; " it is 
 only gentle exercise for them." 
 
 " If we were within range," said Kennedy, " I could 
 amuse myself by dismounting a few of them." 
 
 " Yes ; but they might also have the range," said Fer- 
 guson, " and our ' Victoria ' offers an excellent mark for 
 their long musket bullets, and if they were to tear the silk, 
 I leave you to judge what our fate would be." 
 
 The Talibas continued their pursuit all the morning. 
 About II A. M. the travelers had made fifteen miles towards 
 the west. 
 
 The doctor scanned the smallest cloud on the horizon. 
 He feared a change. If they should happen to be driven 
 towards the Niger, what would become of them? More- 
 over, the balloon was visibly sinking; since their departure 
 it had already lost more than 300 feet, and the Senegal 
 was still twelve miles away, and at the pace they were 
 traveling it would take three hours to reach it. 
 
 At this time their attention was attracted by renewed 
 yells. The Talibas were pressing their horses forward. 
 The doctor consulted the barometer and perceived the cause 
 of these cries. 
 
 We are descending," said Kennedy. 
 Yes!" replied Ferguson. 
 
 "The devil!" said Joe. 
 
 In about a quarter of an hour the car was not more 
 than 150 feet from the ground, but the wind was blowing 
 more strongly now. 
 
 ((
 
 398 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 The Talibas spurred their horses, and soon a volley of 
 musketry rent the air. 
 
 ** Too far, you idiots ! " cried Joe. " We had better 
 keep those scamps at arm's length," and taking aim, he 
 fired. One of the Talibas rolled on the ground; his com- 
 panions pulled up, and the "Victoria" thus gained a little. 
 
 " They are prudent," said Kennedy. 
 
 " Because they believe themselves sure of us," said the 
 doctor, " and they will succeed if we descend any lower. 
 We must absolutely ascend." 
 
 " What is there to be thrown over? " asked Joe. 
 
 " All the pemmican that is left. We can thus get rid of 
 30 lbs. weight." 
 
 " There; it is gone, sir," said Joe. 
 
 The car, which had been almost touching the ground, 
 ascended again amid the cries of the Talibas; but, half an 
 hour later, the " Victoria " redescended rapidly — the gas 
 pouring from the folds of the silk. The car soon touched 
 the ground; the adherents of Al-Hadji hastened towards it; 
 but, as happened before, scarcely had it touched the earth 
 when the " Victoria " bounded about a mile farther on. 
 
 " We shall not escape after all ! " cried Kennedy in a 
 rage. 
 
 "Throw out the brandy, Joe," cried the doctor; "and 
 the instruments — everything of any weight, and our last 
 anchor. We must do it." 
 
 Joe threw away the barometers and thermometers, but 
 these were not much, and the balloon, which had gone up 
 for an instant, soon fell to earth again. The Talibas came 
 flying after it, and were not 200 yards distant now. 
 
 " Throw away two of the guns," said the doctor. 
 
 " Not until I have discharged them, at least," replied 
 Kennedy. 
 
 Four successive shots pierced the crowd of horsemen — 
 four Talibas fell amid the frantic raging of the troop. 
 
 The " Victoria " ascended once more, it bounded im- 
 mense distances, like a great india-rubber ball. A strange 
 sight was that of these unfortunate men seeking to escape 
 by means of these gigantic leaps, and the balloon, Ant?eus- 
 like, seemed to derive new strength each time it touched 
 the earth. But the end must come. It was nearly noon. 
 The " Victoria " shuddered and collapsed ; the envelope be-
 
 A WASTED COUNTRY 399 
 
 came "flabby" and loose; the plaits of the taffetas dis- 
 tended, rubbing against each other. 
 
 " Heaven has abandoned us," said Kennedy. " We 
 must fall." 
 
 Joe did not reply — he looked at his master. 
 
 " No! " said the latter, " we have still 150 lbs. to throw 
 away." 
 
 " What next ? " cried Kennedy, thinking the doctor had 
 lost his senses. 
 
 " The car," said Ferguson. " We must lash ourselves 
 to the netting, we can hold on to the meshes, and thus 
 reach the river. Quick, quick ! " 
 
 And these resolute men did not hesitate to seize such a 
 chance of safety. They suspended themselves to the 
 meshes, as the doctor had suggested, and Joe, holding by 
 one hand, with the other cut the cords that fastened the 
 car; it fell at the moment the balloon was definitely lost. 
 
 " Hurrah, hurrah ! " he cried, as the balloon rose again 
 300 feet into the air. 
 
 The Talibas spurred their horses to full speed, but the 
 "Victoria" encountering a stronger breeze, left them be- 
 hind, and sailed rapidly away towards a hill which bounded 
 the horizon in the west. This was a very favorable cir- 
 cumstance for the travelers, as they could pass over it, while 
 the band of Al-Hadji would be obliged to take a detour to- 
 wards the north to get round it. 
 
 The three friends held tightly to the netting, they had 
 tied it beneath their feet, and so it formed a resting-place. 
 
 After having cleared the hill, the doctor suddenly ex- 
 claimed, " The river, the Senegal ! " 
 
 There, at two miles' distance, was the river rolling along 
 in its wide bed. The opposite bank, low and fertile, offered 
 a safe retreat and a convenient spot upon which to descend. 
 
 " In another quarter of an hour we shall be saved," 
 cried Ferguson. 
 
 But it was not to be. The empty balloon fell by degrees 
 upon a spot almost denuded of vegetation. There were 
 long slopes and stony plains, a few bushes, and thick grass, 
 dried up by the heat of the sun. 
 
 The " Victoria " touched the ground many times, and 
 rebounded, but less and less each time. At last it caught 
 by the upper part of the net to the high branches of a
 
 400 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 baobab — an isolated tree in the midst of this desert region. 
 " It is all over," said Kennedy. 
 
 " And within a hundred paces of the river," said Joe. 
 The three unfortunate travelers descended, and the doc- 
 tor dragged his two companions to the Senegal. 
 
 At this moment they heard a long sullen roar proceeding 
 from the direction of the river, and when they reached the 
 bank Ferguson recognized the cataracts of Gouina. Not a 
 boat upon the river — not a living being to be seen. 
 
 The Senegal, 2,000 feet wide, fell here a height of 150 
 feet with a sonorous roar. It flowed from east to west, 
 and the line of rocks that barred its course stretched from 
 north to south. In the midst of the fall the rocks assumed 
 strange forms, like some antediluvian animals petrified in 
 the midst of the water. 
 
 The utter impracticability of this gulf was evident. 
 Kennedy could not restrain a gesture of despair. 
 
 But Doctor Ferguson with his old energy cried out, " All 
 is not yet lost ! " 
 
 " I know that well," replied Joe, with that confidence in 
 his master that never deserted him. 
 
 The sight of the dry grass had inspired the doctor with a 
 bold idea. It was the only chance of safety. He drew his 
 companions rapidly towards the balloon. 
 
 " We are at least an hour ahead of those robbers," he 
 said; "let us lose no time, my friends; collect a quantity of 
 this dry grass, at least 100 lbs. weight." 
 
 " For what purpose ? " asked Kennedy. 
 
 " I have no more gas, so I will cross the river by means 
 of hot air." 
 
 " Ah ! my brave Samuel," cried Kennedy, " you are in- 
 deed a great man." 
 
 Kennedy and Joe set to work, and soon an enormous 
 heap of grass was collected close to the tree. Meantime 
 the doctor had enlarged the opening at the lower part of the 
 balloon and had taken care to let all the hydrogen escape 
 by the valve ; he then piled some of the dry grass under the 
 envelope and set fire to it. 
 
 A short time suffices to dilate a balloon with hot air; a 
 heat of 180° is sufficient to diminish the weight of the air 
 one-half by rarefaction, so the " Victoria " soon began to 
 reassume her rounded appearance. There was no lack of 
 
 y. I Yeriitt
 
 it 
 it 
 
 it 
 « 
 
 A WASTED COUNTRY 401 
 
 grass, the fire was kept up by the doctor, and the balloon 
 swelled visibly. 
 
 It was then a quarter to i p. m. 
 
 At this moment, two miles to the north, the Talibas re- 
 appeared; their cries and the galloping of their horses were 
 distinctly heard. 
 
 " In twenty minutes they will be here," said Kennedy. 
 
 " More grass, Joe ! more grass ! In ten minutes we shall 
 be high in the air." 
 
 "There is the grass, sir." 
 
 The " Victoria " was two-thirds filled. 
 My friends, hold on to the netting as before." 
 All right," said Kennedy. 
 
 In about ten minutes some lunges of the balloon gave 
 indication that she would soon be ofT. 
 
 The Talibas approached, they were scarcely 500 paces 
 distant. 
 
 Hold tight," cried Ferguson. 
 Never fear," said his companions. 
 
 The doctor's feet pushed more grass into the fire. The 
 balloon, completely filled by the increase of temperature, 
 rose up, brushing the branches of the baobab as it went. 
 
 "We're ofif!" cried Joe. 
 
 A volley of musketry was the reply, one bullet even 
 grazed Joe's shoulder; but Kennedy, holding by one hand, 
 discharged his rifle with the other, and an enemy fell. 
 
 Cries of rage, impossible to describe, accompanied the 
 ascent; the balloon rose to nearly 800 feet. A rapid wind 
 then seized it, and it oscillated dangerously, while the brave 
 doctor and his friends were obliged to contemplate the 
 cataracts opening beneath them. 
 
 Ten minutes afterwards, not a word having been ex- 
 changed in the interval, the intrepid travelers descended 
 gradually towards the other bank of the river. 
 
 There, surprised and alarmed, stood a group of men 
 wearing the French uniform. Their astonishment may be 
 guessed when they saw a balloon rising from the opposite 
 bank of the river. They fancied it a miracle. But their 
 officers, a lieutenant of marines, and a second lieutenant, 
 were aware, from the accounts in the European papers, of 
 the bold attempt of Doctor Ferguson, and they told the 
 facts to their companions.
 
 402 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 The balloon collapsed by degrees, and was falling with 
 the brave travelers holding to the netting, — they were 
 doubting whether they should ever reach land, when the 
 Frenchmen rushed into the river and received the three 
 Englishmen in their arms at the moment when the " Vic- 
 toria " sank at some distance from the bank. 
 
 " Doctor Ferguson ? " cried the lieutenant. 
 
 " The same," replied the doctor, quietly, " and his two 
 friends." 
 
 The Frenchmen carried the travelers to the bank, while 
 the balloon, still slightly inflated, was borne by the rapid 
 current, like an immense ball, over the cataracts of the 
 Gouina. 
 
 "Poor 'Victoria!'" said Joe. 
 
 The doctor could not repress a tear. He opened his 
 arms, and he and his friends embraced each other, under 
 the influence of the emotion which affected them all. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 The expedition which had fallen in with the travelers 
 had been sent by the governor of Senegal. It was com- 
 posed of two officers, M. Dufraisse, a lieutenant of ma- 
 rines, and M. Rodamel, a second lieutenant, with a ser- 
 geant and seven men. For the last two days they had been 
 engaged in seeking the most favorable situation for the 
 establishment of a station at Gouina, when they were wit- 
 nesses of the arrival of Doctor Ferguson. 
 
 One can easily imagine the congratulations which were 
 extended to the travelers. The French being in a position 
 to testify to the accomplishment of the bold design, nat- 
 urally became witnesses for Doctor Ferguson, when he 
 asked them to testify officially to his arrival at the cata- 
 racts of Gouina. 
 
 " You will not refuse to sign an official statement, I 
 daresay?" the doctor said to Lieutenant Dufraisse. 
 
 " I am ready, whenever you please," replied the latter. 
 
 The English were conducted to a guard-house on the 
 bank of the river, where they experienced the greatest 
 attention, and were well entertained. There was drawn
 
 CONCLUSION 403 
 
 up the official testimony, which is in the archives of the 
 Geographical Society to this day. 
 
 ** We, the undersigned, declare that on the said day, we 
 saw arrive here, suspended to the netting of a balloon, 
 Doctor Ferguson, and his two companions, Richard Ken- 
 nedy and Joseph Wilson. The said balloon fell at a few 
 yards distant from us into the river, and was carried away 
 by the current over the cataracts of the Gouina, In testi- 
 mony whereof we have hereto set our names. Done at the 
 cataracts of the Gouina on this twenty-fourth day of May, 
 one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two. 
 " {Signed) Samuel Ferguson, 
 
 Richard Kennedy, 
 
 Joseph Wilson. 
 
 DuFRAissE, Lieutenant. 
 
 RoDAMEL, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 DuFAYS, Sergeant. 
 
 Flippeau, 
 
 Mayor, 
 
 Pelissier, 
 
 LoROis, Soldiers 
 
 Rascagnet, 
 
 GUILLON, 
 
 Here terminated the wonderful journey of Dr. Fergu- 
 son and his brave companions. They found themselves 
 amongst friends, in the midst of hospitable tribes, whence 
 communications with the French stations are frequent. 
 
 They reached the Senegal on Saturday, the 24th of May, 
 and on the 27th they reached Medine, situated upon the 
 river a little more to the north. Here the French officers 
 received them with open arms, and extended to them all 
 the hospitality in their power. It was found that the 
 travelers could embark almost immediately in the steamer 
 Basilisk, which was going down the river. 
 
 Fourteen days afterwards, on the loth of June, they 
 reached St. Louis, where the governor welcomed them 
 heartily; they had by this time quite recovered from their 
 fatigues. Joe told all who would listen to him that. " It 
 was not much of a Journey after all, and if anyone is 
 anxious for excitement I would not advise him to under- 
 take such an one; it becomes tedious at last, and indeed,
 
 404 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON 
 
 without the adventures on Lake Tchad and at the Senegal, 
 I verily believe we should have died of ennui." 
 
 An English frigate was about to sail, and the three 
 travelers were taken on board. On the 25th of June they 
 arrived at Portsmouth, and on the following day they 
 reached London. We shall not attempt to describe the 
 welcome they received from the Royal Geographical So- 
 ciety, nor the cordiality of their general reception. Ken- 
 nedy set out for Edinburgh with his famous rifle to reas- 
 sure his old housekeeper of his existence. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson and his faithful Joe are still the same, 
 although change has come upon them; they have become 
 friends — no longer master and servant. 
 
 The European journals were unanimous in their praises 
 of the explorers, and the Daily Telegraph issued 977,000 
 copies on the day they published an extract from the jour- 
 nals of the voyage. 
 
 Doctor Ferguson read the account of the expedition at 
 a public meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, and 
 the Gold Medal was bestowed upon him and his two com- 
 panions, for having achieved the most remarkable expedi- 
 tion of the year 1862. 
 
 . The result of the journey of Doctor Ferguson was to 
 confirm in the most precise manner the facts and statements 
 reported by Barth, Burton, Speke, and others. Thanks to 
 the still more recent expeditions of Speke and Grant, 
 Heuglin and Munzinger, who ascended to the sources of 
 the Nile, where they spread towards the center of Africa, 
 we shall soon be able to confirm in their turn Doctor Fer- 
 guson's own discoveries in that immense territory com- 
 prised between the fourteenth and thirty-third degree of 
 longitude. 
 
 THE END
 
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