A Struggle of Generosity.--The Last Sacrifice.--The Dilating Apparatus. --Joe's Adroitness.--Midnight.--The Doctor's Watch.--Kennedy's Watch. --The Latter falls asleep at his Post.--The Fire.--The Howlings of the Natives.--Out of Range.
Doctor Ferguson's first care was to take his bearings by stellar observation, and he discovered that he was scarcely twenty-five miles from Senegal.
"All that we can manage to do, my friends," said he, after having pointed his map, "is to cross the river; but, as there is neither bridge nor boat, we must, at all hazards, cross it with the balloon, and, in order to do that, we must still lighten up."
"But I don't exactly see how we can do that?" replied Kennedy, anxious about his fire-arms, "unless one of us makes up his mind to sacrifice himself for the rest,--that is, to stay behind, and, in my turn, I claim that honor."
"You, indeed!" remonstrated Joe; "ain't I used to--"
"The question now is, not to throw ourselves out of the car, but simply to reach the coast of Africa on foot. I am a first-rate walker, a good sportsman, and--"
"I'll never consent to it!" insisted Joe.
"Your generous rivalry is useless, my brave friends," said Ferguson; "I trust that we shall not come to any such extremity: besides, if we did, instead of separating, we should keep together, so as to make our way across the country in company."
"That's the talk," said Joe; "a little tramp won't do us any harm."
"But before we try that," resumed the doctor, "we must employ a last means of lightening the balloon."
"What will that be? I should like to see it," said Kennedy, incredulously.
"We must get rid of the cylinder-chests, the spiral, and the Buntzen battery. Nine hundred pounds make a rather heavy load to carry through the air."
"But then, Samuel, how will you dilate your gas?"
"I shall not do so at all. We'll have to get along without it."
"But--"
"Listen, my friends: I have calculated very exactly the amount of ascensional force left to us, and it is sufficient to carry us every one with the few objects that remain. We shall make in all a weight of hardly five hundred pounds, including the two anchors which I desire to keep."
"Dear doctor, you know more about the matter than we do; you are the sole judge of the situation. Tell us what we ought to do, and we will do it."
"I am at your orders, master," added Joe.
"I repeat, my friends, that however serious the decision may appear, we must sacrifice our apparatus."
"Let it go, then!" said Kennedy, promptly.
"To work!" said Joe.
It was no easy job. The apparatus had to be taken down piece by piece. First, they took out the mixing reservoir, then the one belonging to the cylinder, and lastly the tank in which the decomposition of the water was effected. The united strength of all three travellers was required to detach these reservoirs from the bottom of the car in which they had been so firmly secured; but Kennedy was so strong, Joe so adroit, and the doctor so ingenious, that they finally succeeded. The different pieces were thrown out, one after the other, and they disappeared below, making huge gaps in the foliage of the sycamores.
"The black fellows will be mightily astonished," said Joe, "at finding things like those in the woods; they'll make idols of them!"
The next thing to be looked after was the displacement of the pipes that were fastened in the balloon and connected with the spiral. Joe succeeded in cutting the caoutchouc jointings above the car, but when he came to the pipes he found it more difficult to disengage them, because they were held by their upper extremity and fastened by wires to the very circlet of the valve.
Then it was that Joe showed wonderful adroitness. In his naked feet, so as not to scratch the covering, he succeeded by the aid of the network, and in spite of the oscillations of the balloon, in climbing to the upper extremity, and after a thousand difficulties, in holding on with one hand to that slippery surface, while he detached the outside screws that secured the pipes in their place. These were then easily taken out, and drawn away by the lower end, which was hermetically sealed by means of a strong ligature.
The Victoria, relieved of this considerable weight, rose upright in the air and tugged strongly at the anchor-rope.
About midnight this work ended without accident, but at the cost of most severe exertion, and the trio partook of a luncheon of pemmican and cold punch, as the doctor had no more fire to place at Joe's disposal.
Besides, the latter and Kennedy were dropping off their feet with fatigue.
"Lie down, my friends, and get some rest," said the doctor. "I'll take the first watch; at two o'clock I'll waken Kennedy; at four, Kennedy will waken Joe, and at six we'll start; and may Heaven have us in its keeping for this last day of the trip!"
Without waiting to be coaxed, the doctor's two companions stretched themselves at the bottom of the car and dropped into profound slumber on the instant.
The night was calm. A few clouds broke against the last quarter of the moon, whose uncertain rays scarcely pierced the darkness. Ferguson, resting his elbows on the rim of the car, gazed attentively around him. He watched with close attention the dark screen of foliage that spread beneath him, hiding the ground from his view. The least noise aroused his suspicions, and he questioned even the slightest rustling of the leaves.
He was in that mood which solitude makes more keenly felt, and during which vague terrors mount to the brain. At the close of such a journey, after having surmounted so many obstacles, and at the moment of touching the goal, one's fears are more vivid, one's emotions keener. The point of arrival seems to fly farther from our gaze.
Moreover, the present situation had nothing very consolatory about it. They were in the midst of a barbarous country, and dependent upon a vehicle that might fail them at any moment. The doctor no longer counted implicitly on his balloon; the time had gone by when he manoevred it boldly because he felt sure of it.
Under the influence of these impressions, the doctor, from time to time, thought that he heard vague sounds in the vast forests around him; he even fancied that he saw a swift gleam of fire shining between the trees. He looked sharply and turned his night-glass toward the spot; but there was nothing to be seen, and the profoundest silence appeared to return.
He had, no doubt, been under the dominion of a mere hallucination. He continued to listen, but without hearing the slightest noise. When his watch had expired, he woke Kennedy, and, enjoining upon him to observe the extremest vigilance, took his place beside Joe, and fell sound asleep.
Kennedy, while still rubbing his eyes, which he could scarcely keep open, calmly lit his pipe. He then ensconced himself in a corner, and began to smoke vigorously by way of keeping awake.
The most absolute silence reigned around him; a light wind shook the tree-tops and gently rocked the car, inviting the hunter to taste the sleep that stole over him in spite of himself. He strove hard to resist it, and repeatedly opened his eyes to plunge into the outer darkness one of those looks that see nothing; but at last, yielding to fatigue, he sank back and slumbered.
How long he had been buried in this stupor he knew not, but he was suddenly aroused from it by a strange, unexpected crackling sound.
He rubbed his eyes and sprang to his feet. An intense glare half-blinded him and heated his cheek--the forest was in flames!
"Fire! fire!" he shouted, scarcely comprehending what had happened.
His two companions started up in alarm.
"What's the matter?" was the doctor's immediate exclamation.
"Fire!" said Joe. "But who could--"
At this moment loud yells were heard under the foliage, which was now illuminated as brightly as the day.
"Ah! the savages!" cried Joe again; "they have set fire to the forest so as to be the more certain of burning us up."
"The Talabas! Al-Hadji's marabouts, no doubt," said the doctor.
A circle of fire hemmed the Victoria in; the crackling of the dry wood mingled with the hissing and sputtering of the green branches; the clambering vines, the foliage, all the living part of this vegetation, writhed in the destructive element. The eye took in nothing but one vast ocean of flame; the large trees stood forth in black relief in this huge furnace, their branches covered with glowing coals, while the whole blazing mass, the entire conflagration, was reflected on the clouds, and the travellers could fancy themselves enveloped in a hollow globe of fire.
"Let us escape to the ground!" shouted Kennedy, "it is our only chance of safety!"
But Ferguson checked him with a firm grasp, and, dashing at the anchor-rope, severed it with one well-directed blow of his hatchet. Meanwhile, the flames, leaping up at the balloon, already quivered on its illuminated sides; but the Victoria, released from her fastenings, spun upward a thousand feet into the air.
Frightful yells resounded through the forest, along with the report of fire-arms, while the balloon, caught in a current of air that rose with the dawn of day, was borne to the westward.
It was now four o'clock in the morning.
舍生取义——最后的牺牲——气体膨胀设备——机灵的乔——夜半时分——博士值班——肯尼迪值班——他睡着了——火灾——吼叫声——脱离火海
弗格森博士做的第一件事，就是根据星星的地平纬度测出他们所在的位置。他发现离塞内加尔河还有将近25英里。
“朋友们，我们唯一可做的，就是渡过塞内加尔河去。”博士在地图上标出记号后说，“不过河上既没桥也没船，所以我们只能不惜一切代价乘气球过去。要达到目的，我们还应该再减轻气球的载重。”
“可是，我实在看不出怎么做才好。”猎人回答，他是在为他的枪担心，“除非我们中间有一个决心牺牲自己，留下来在后边……。好啦，该轮到我了，我请求给我这份荣誉。”
“您说什么呀，肯尼迪先生！”乔抢着说，“难道我不习惯……。”
“朋友，我说的可不是从吊篮里往下跳，而是步行到非洲海岸。我善于走路，打枪在行……。”
“我决不同意！”乔坚定地说。
“亲爱的朋友，你们这种自我牺牲精神的确高尚。可是现在争论这些没用。”弗格森博士说话了，“但愿我们到不了那一步。话说回来，如果真的非这么做不可，我们也决不分离，宁可一起留下步行穿过这个地方。”
“讲得太好啦！”乔叫道，“一次小小的散步对我们没有什么害处。”
“不过在此之前，我们还要做最后一搏，把我们的‘维多利亚号’变得更轻些。”博士说。
“怎么搏？”肯尼迪问，“我倒很想知道你有什么高招。”
“我们可以把带氢氧喷嘴的箱子、本生电池和蛇形管统统去掉。这些东西加起来差不多有900斤重呢！”
“不过，弗格森，你以后怎么使气体膨胀呢？”
“我不让气体膨胀了，我们放弃这种办法。”
“可是，毕竟……”
“听我说，朋友们。我已经非常精确地计算过现在剩下的升力。它足以把我们3人加上剩下的一点东西带走。 包括我打算留着的两只锚在内，我们总的重量不到500斤。”
“亲爱的弗格森，”猎人说，“在这方面你比我们能干。你是唯一能审时度势的。你说我们怎么干就行了，剩下的我们包了。”
“我听您的吩咐，主人。”
“朋友们，我再给你们说一遍，不管这个决定的后果有多么严重，我们都必须把仪器舍弃掉。”
“那就舍弃吧！”肯尼迪毫不犹豫地说。
“动手干吧！”乔说道。
这可不是一件小活：设备的部件必须一个个地拆下来；先去掉气体混合箱，然后卸装氢氧喷嘴的加热箱，最后取下水分解箱。这些容器都牢牢地嵌在吊篮最下面。乔的手脚灵巧，弗格森脑筋转得快，他们最终达到了目的。各种各样的部件随卸随扔，把下面的树林砸坏了一大片，最后吊篮全空了。
“在林子里看见这么多稀奇古怪的玩意儿， 黑人肯定感到很惊奇。 ”乔说，“他们说不定把这些东西供起来呢！”
接下去，该拆插入气球里的直管了。这些直管的另一头与蛇形管相连。乔爬到吊篮上方几尺高的地方切断了橡胶接头。但是卸这些管子可比拆水箱等难得多，因为管子的上端是用黄铜丝紧紧地系扎在活门的圆柜上的。
这个时候，乔显示了他那无与伦比的灵巧。为了不划破气囊，他不顾气球摇晃，赤着脚抓着网罩一直爬到气球的最上面。在那儿他费了不少劲，最后终于一只手扒住光滑的球面，另一只手拧下了固定管子的螺帽。接着，他轻而易举地就把管子拆掉，从气球底部的密封附件中取了出来。
“维多利亚号”甩掉了这么个重包袱，一下子重新笔直地悬在了空中，把锚索绷得紧紧的。
午夜时分，尽管一个个精疲力尽，全部工作总算完成。大家匆匆吃了些干肉饼，喝了点冷酒权当一顿饭。现在没有了燃烧嘴的火，乔无法做饭。再说，乔和肯尼迪都快要累倒了。
“朋友， 你们赶紧躺下睡一觉吧。”弗格森关切地说，“我来值第一班。2点时，我叫醒肯尼迪。乔4点接班。6点钟我们准时出发。但愿最后这一天里，老天仍能保佑我们。”
两位同伴毫不客气，立即摊手摊脚在吊篮里躺下来，很快进入了梦乡。
夜晚一片宁静，一钩下弦残月在几缕薄云中若隐若现。昏淡的月光几乎难以冲破茫茫黑暗。弗格森倚着吊篮，时时环顾四周，目光关注地察视着脚下树叶中的动静。夜间，茂密的树叶犹如一块黑黑的幕布遮住了目光，使博士难以看到地面。哪怕一丁点响动，他都觉得可疑。甚至树叶轻微的沙沙声，他也要弄个明白。在这种草木皆兵的心态下，弗格森又一次倍感孤单，各种各样可怕的事模模糊糊涌入了脑海。克服了那么多的艰难险阻，旅行终于接近了尾声。在即将抵达目的地之时，弗格森反而更加担心，更加紧张了。他觉得终点好像正在从眼前悄悄溜掉。
再者，目前的处境实在让人放心不下：他们正待在野蛮人生活的地区，而且他们使用的交通工具随时可能出问题飞不了，所以博士已经不再完全指望气球把他们送到目的地；过去，他可以放心大胆地操纵气球，因为他对它有把握；但是现在情况完全不同了。
由于脑子里总想着这些，博士有时觉得好像这片浩瀚的森林中传来某种捉摸不定的嘈杂声，甚至以为看到树林中闪了一下火光。他急忙举起夜间望远镜朝那个方向查看，但是什么也没出现，周围甚至更加宁静了。
弗格森显然产生了幻觉。他稳了稳神仔细倾听，附近一丁点儿声响也没有。这个时候，他值班的时间已经过去。他叫醒了肯尼迪，叮嘱他一定要高度警惕，然后在乔身边躺下。此时，乔正睡得像个死人似的。
肯尼迪使劲揉了揉眼睛，平心静气地点上烟斗。他的眼皮沉重得几乎抬不起来。他靠在吊篮的一角，为了驱赶睡意，开始抽起烟来。
他的周围弥漫着一片无涯的寂静。微风拂动着树梢，轻轻摇曳着吊篮，仿佛在给这位困得不支的猎人催眠。阵阵睡意袭来，肯尼迪不由自主地闭上了眼睛。他想抵御睡魔，一次又一次地用力撑开眼皮，把目光投向黑暗，但是什么也看不见。最后，他还是抵挡不住刚才工作的劳累，伏在吊篮边上睡着了。
他这样睡了多久？连他自己也不知道。朦胧中他突然被劈里啪啦的着火声惊醒了。他揉揉眼睛，直起身。一股烤人的热气扑面而来。树林成了一片火海……。
“救火呀！救火！”他急促喊道，一点不明白事情怎么发生的。
两位同伴听到喊声，立即跳了起来。
“出了什么事？”弗格森问。
“着火啦！”乔大惊失色，“可是谁能……。”
就在这时，被火光映得通红的树下发出了一片吼叫声。
“哎呀！是野人！”乔惊叫道，“他们把树林点着了，竟然想稳稳当当地烧死我们！”
“这些该死的塔利巴人！毫无疑问，他们是阿尔—哈吉手下的亡命徒！”博士说道。
“维多利亚号”被火光团团围住。枯木燃烧的劈劈啪啪声与绿树枝着火的咝咝声交织一起。滕、叶，所有生机勃勃的植物在摧毁一切的熊熊烈火中都被烧得蜷缩起来。眼前一片火光，烈焰中，大树表面烧得乌黑，烧焦的树枝成了灼热的木炭。这片火光冲天，映红了空中的浮云。3位旅行家明白自已被包围在这团火海中了。
“快逃！”肯尼迪叫道，“到地上去！这是我们唯一的生路了！”
但是，弗格森一把紧紧抓住他，紧接着自己冲过去，一斧头砍断了锚索。大火向气球逼近，火舌已经舔到吊篮易燃的四壁。“维多利亚号”挣脱羁绊后，上升了1000英尺，钻入天空中。
下面林子里发出可怕的喊叫声，其间夹杂着震耳欲聋的枪声。气球被随着天亮刮起的大风挟住，向西飞去。
这时是凌晨4点钟。