“我們又在上升了嗎？”“不，正相反！我們在下降！”“比那還要糟，史密斯先生！我們正在往下掉！”“天哪！快把壓倉物扔出去吧！”“瞧！這最後的一袋都空了！”“氣球上升了嗎？”“沒有！”“我好象聽到波浪衝擊的聲音！”“吊籃下面就是海！”“離我們至多不過五百英尺了！”“把所有占分量的東西都扔下去！……所有的東西！”
這就是1865年3月23日下午四點鐘從遼闊的太平洋上空傳來的喊聲。
那年春分前後，那場從東北方吹來的駭人暴風是令人難忘的。從3月18日到26日，大風暴片刻不停地怒吼着。它從北緯35度斜穿赤道，直到南緯40度，掠過了一千八百英裏的地帶，給美洲、歐洲和亞洲造成了嚴重的災害。城市被吹毀；樹木被連根撥起；排山倒海似的巨浪衝毀了堤岸，僅僅根據已經發表的數字，一直拋上陸地的船就有幾百衹；有些竜捲風經過的地方，整個都變成了平地；好幾千人在陸上和海裏喪了命；這就是當時瘋狂肆虐的暴風過去以後所留下的罪證。1810年10月25日哈瓦那和1825年7月26日瓜德羅普的災情固然可怕，但是也比不上這一次。
就在這陸地和海洋上慘遭浩劫的時候，激蕩的高空中也演出了同樣驚心動魄的悲劇。
一隻輕氣球，象被竜捲風帶到水柱頂上的皮球一樣，捲進了一股氣流的旋渦中，它以每小時九十英裏的速度掠過太空，仿佛被什麽空中旋渦抓住了似的，不停地轉着。
氣球的下邊係着一隻吊籃，裏面坐着五個人，由於濃霧和水汽彌漫在整個的洋面上，人們很難看得清楚。
也許有人會問，這個氣球——暴風的玩具是從哪兒來的？它是從地球的哪個角落升起的？當然，它是不會在颳暴風的時候起飛的。但是，暴風已經颳了五天，並且在18日那天就已經有了要起風暴的徵兆。毫無疑問，這個氣球是從極遠的地方飛來的，因為大風一晝夜至少要把它帶走兩千英裏。
這些迷失方向的乘客，橫竪也沒法計算他們起航以來經歷了多少路程。奇怪的是，他們雖然在這怒吼的暴風中飄蕩，卻還是平安無事。他們被風拋來拋去，吹得團團亂轉，卻絲毫不覺得自己在滾動，也不覺得怎樣顛簸。
他們的目光沒法透過吊籃下面的濃霧。陰雲環抱着他們。他們分辨不清是白天還是黑夜。當時他們懸浮在高空中，周圍一片昏暗，既看不見地上的反光，也聽不到地上的人聲，連海洋的澎湃聲也傳不到他們的耳朵裏。衹有當急驟下降的時候，他們纔意識到會有慘遭滅頂的危險。他們扔下了彈藥、槍枝和糧食一些重負以後，便又升到四千五百英尺高度的空中。飛行的人們一發覺下面是汪洋大海，就覺得上面的危險總比下面小些，因此毫不猶豫地連他們最有用的東西都扔掉了，同時他們盡量想法不讓氣球漏掉一點氫氣，衹有這種氫氣，纔是他們的命根子，才能把他們懸在海洋上。
黑夜在驚險恐怖中過去了（如果是膽小的人，恐怕早已嚇死了）。白晝又來臨了。隨着白晝的來臨，暴風也逐漸和緩下來。從3月24日那一天清晨起，暴風有了減弱的徵象。黎明時分，一片片的輕雲嚮更高處升去。幾小時的工夫，颶風已經變成了“強風”，這就是說：大氣流動的速度已經減弱了一半。這時雖然還是水手們所說的“緊帆風”，然而風勢畢竟減弱不少了。
將近十一點鐘的時候，下層的空氣顯得比較明朗了。大氣已經發出象雷雨過後常有的那種濕潤的氣息。暴風似乎不再嚮西颳了。風力已經顯得有氣無力了。它會不會象印度洋上的臺風那樣，往往說停就停，一下子就煙消雲散呢？
可是，就在這時候，氣球顯然又在慢慢地下降了。看來它正在逐漸癟下去，氣囊愈伸愈長，從球形變成了橢圓形。到了中午，氣球離海面衹有兩千英尺了。氣囊能容納五萬立方英尺氣體，正因為它有這麽大容量，所以它才能在空中——或是嚮上升得很高，或是保持平行方向移動——停留很長時間。
乘客們感覺到自己有危險，把僅存的一些能夠使吊籃下墜的物品：少量存糧，每一件東西，甚至衣袋裏的小刀都扔掉了。這時，有一個人爬到套住網索的圓環上，打算把氣球的下部係得更牢一些。
然而，乘客們心裏都很明白，氫氣已經不足了，氣球不可能再維持在更高的空際。他們衹有死路一條了。
他們底下沒有大陸，甚至連一個小島也沒有。衹是一片汪洋，沒有一處可以讓他們着陸、也沒有任何地面可以讓他們下錨。
遼闊的大海上，仍然翻騰着驚濤駭浪！這片汪洋大海，即使人們居高臨下，視野擴大到半徑四十英裏，也同樣是一眼望不到邊。這流動的平原在暴風無情的鞭撻下激起洶涌的浪頭，真好比萬馬奔騰，那一片白色鬃毛還在迎風飄拂哩！看不到一寸陸地，也看不到一葉孤帆！這時必須不藉任何代價阻止氣球再往下降，否則就有被波浪吞沒的危險。乘客們在這緊急關頭顯然是盡了最大的努力。但是，儘管他們努力，氣球還是繼續下墜，同時順着東北風以極大速度移動。
這些不幸的人們所處的境況的確是驚險萬分！他們已經不是氣球的主人了。他們的一切努力都沒有用。氣球的氣囊愈來愈癟。氫氣不住地往外泄，沒有任何辦法可以堵塞。下降的速度顯然愈過愈快，午後一點鐘，吊籃離洋面已經不到六百英尺了。
氫氣從氣囊的一條裂縫在外衝，要阻止它往外衝是不可能的了。吊籃裏的東西都扔掉了，重量輕了，因此，幾個鐘頭以內，乘客們還可以在空中支持下去，不至於掉下來。但這僅僅是苟延殘喘而已，如果在天黑以前還找不到陸地，那麽乘客、吊籃和氣球肯定地都要葬身海底了。
這時候，他們拿出了最後的一着。他們顯然都是勇敢無畏、頭腦冷靜的人。他們沒有一句怨言。他們盡量想辦法延遲降落的時刻，他們决心要奮鬥到最後一分鐘。吊籃不過是個柳條編的籃子，不能在水上漂浮，萬一落到海裏，决沒有任何可能不沉下去。
兩點鐘的時候，氣球離水面僅僅四百英尺了。這時候，突然聽到一聲洪亮的聲音，從這聲音就知道這人一點也沒想到恐懼。回答他的聲音也同樣顯得堅強有力。“東西都扔了嗎？”“不，還有一萬金法郎。”一個沉重的錢袋立刻落到海裏。“氣球上升了嗎？”“上升了一點兒，但是一會兒又會下降的。”“還有什麽可扔的嗎？”“沒有了。”“有！……吊藍！”“讓我們抓住網索，把吊籃扔到海裏去吧！”
這的確是最後的唯一可以減輕氣球重量的方法了。係着吊籃的繩索割斷了，吊籃掉了下去，於是，氣球又上升了兩千英尺。
這五位乘客爬上了氣球網，緊緊攀住網眼，註視着下面的無底深淵。
大傢知道氣球對於重力的增減是最敏感的。即使扔下很輕的東西，也可以改變它的高度。這種在空氣中浮動的工具象一架極度精確的天平。不難想象，它衹要減輕一點點負擔，馬上就會急劇上升。這時的情形正是這樣。但是，沒一會兒工夫，氣球又開始下降了，氣體從裂縫中嚮外跑，這裂縫現在要補也沒法補。
這些人盡了最大的努力。現在人力已經不能輓救他們，衹好聽天由命了。
在四點鐘的時候，氣球離海面衹剩五百英尺了。
傳來一聲響亮的犬吠聲。原來飛航員們還帶着一隻狗！它緊緊地靠着它的主人攀在網眼上。
“托普瞧見什麽了？”一個人大聲說。接着馬上有人喊道：
“陸地！陸地！”
原來氣球從天亮到現在，隨着大風嚮西南飄行了足足有幾百英裏。現在前面出現了一片相當高的陸地。不過這片陸地還在三十英裏以外。如果一直飄去的話，至少也要一個鐘頭才能到那裏。
一個鐘頭！在這一個鐘頭裏氣球裏僅存的一點氣體會不會全跑光呢？
問題的嚴重性就在這裏！飛航員已經清清楚楚地望見了陸地，他們必須不藉任何代價到達那裏。他們並不知道那是什麽地方，是島嶼還是大陸，因為他們不知道颶風把他們吹到地球的哪一個角落來了。但是，他們衹好到那塊陸地去，不管那裏有沒有人，去得去不得。
氣球在四點鐘的時候，就已經支持不下去，現在它更貼近水面了！巨大的浪花好幾次舔着網的下部，使它更加沉重，氣球象一隻翅膀受了傷的鳥，要飛又飛不高。半小時後，距陸地衹有一英裏了，但是氣球已經耗盡了氣力，褶縐不堪地懸在那裏，衹有上層還剩下一些氣體。飛航員們緊緊地攀住氣球網，可是還嫌太重，不久，他們有半個身子浸在海裏了，洶涌的波浪衝擊着他們。又過了一會，氣球的氣囊變成了一個口袋，風象吹着帆片似的使它往前飄過去。它也許能就這樣到達陸地吧！
但是，當離岸衹有兩錨鏈遠的時候，四個人同時驚叫起來。那衹原以為决不能再飛的氣球，在一個巨浪的打擊下，竟突然出人意料地一下子升起來。一會兒工夫，它似乎又減輕了一部分重量，高升到一千五百英尺的上空，在那裏它遇到一陣風，這陣風並沒有把它吹上岸，反而吹得它沿着和陸地幾乎平行的方向飛去了。
兩分鐘以後，它終於又斜轉回來，最後降落在一個波濤衝擊不到的沙灘上。飛航員們彼此協助從網眼裏脫出身來。氣球由於失去了人們的重量，又被風吹起來，象一隻受傷的鳥，精神一恢復，便消失在空中了。
吊籃裏原來有五個人和一隻狗，可是現在隨氣球着陸的卻衹剩下四個人了。
失蹤的那一個人一定是浪濤衝擊氣球網的時候被捲到海裏去了，正因為這樣，氣球纔減輕了重量，纔會在着陸前不久突然一下子上升。這四個遇險的人腳一踏上了陸地，就發覺少了一個夥伴，馬上同聲喊道，“大概他會遊上岸來的。我們要救他！我們要救他！”
Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air, above the vast watery desert of the Pacific, about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March, 1865.
Few can possibly have forgotten the terrible storm from the northeast, in the middle of the equinox of that year. The tempest raged without intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March. Its ravages were terrible in America, Europe, and Asia, covering a distance of eighteen hundred miles, and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel. Towns were overthrown, forests uprooted, coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them, vessels cast on the shore, which the published accounts numbered by hundreds, whole districts leveled by waterspouts which destroyed everything they passed over, several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury, left by this devastating tempest. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe, one on the 25th of October, 1810, the other on the 26th of July, 1825.
But while so many catastrophes were taking place on land and at sea, a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air.
In fact, a balloon, as a ball might be carried on the summit of a waterspout, had been taken into the circling movement of a column of air and had traversed space at the rate of ninety miles an hour, turning round and round as if seized by some aerial maelstrom.
Beneath the lower point of the balloon swung a car, containing five passengers, scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean.
Whence, it may be asked, had come that plaything of the tempest? From what part of the world did it rise? It surely could not have started during the storm. But the storm had raged five days already, and the first symptoms were manifested on the 18th. It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance, for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty-four hours.
At any rate the passengers, destitute of all marks for their guidance, could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. It was a remarkable fact that, although in the very midst of the furious tempest, they did not suffer from it. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree, or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal position.
Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car. Dark vapor was all around them. Such was the density of the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night. No reflection of light, no sound from inhabited land, no roaring of the ocean could have reached them, through the obscurity, while suspended in those elevated zones. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. However, the balloon, lightened of heavy articles, such as ammunition, arms, and provisions, had risen into the higher layers of the atmosphere, to a height of 4,500 feet. The voyagers, after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them, and thinking the dangers above less dreadful than those below, did not hesitate to throw overboard even their most useful articles, while they endeavored to lose no more of that fluid, the life of their enterprise, which sustained them above the abyss.
The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to less energetic souls. Again the day appeared and with it the tempest began to moderate. From the beginning of that day, the 24th of March, it showed symptoms of abating. At dawn, some of the lighter clouds had risen into the more lofty regions of the air. In a few hours the wind had changed from a hurricane to a fresh breeze, that is to say, the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half. It was still what sailors call "a close-reefed topsail breeze," but the commotion in the elements had none the less considerably diminished.
Towards eleven o'clock, the lower region of the air was sensibly clearer. The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. It appeared to have exhausted itself. Could it have passed away in electric sheets, as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean?
But at the same time, it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. It appeared as if it were, little by little, collapsing, and that its case was lengthening and extending, passing from a spherical to an oval form. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2,000 feet. It contained 50,000 cubic feet of gas, and, thanks to its capacity, it could maintain itself a long time in the air, although it should reach a great altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position.
Perceiving their danger, the passengers cast away the last articles which still weighed down the car, the few provisions they had kept, everything, even to their pocket-knives, and one of them, having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net, tried to secure more firmly the lower point of the balloon.
It was, however, evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing, and that the balloon could no longer be sustained in the higher regions. They must infallibly perish!
There was not a continent, nor even an island, visible beneath them. The watery expanse did not present a single speck of land, not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold.
It was the open sea, whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean, without any visible limits, even for those whose gaze, from their commanding position, extended over a radius of forty miles. The vast liquid plain, lashed without mercy by the storm, appeared as if covered with herds of furious chargers, whose white and disheveled crests were streaming in the wind. No land was in sight, not a solitary ship could be seen. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course, and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves. The voyagers directed all their energies to this urgent work. But, notwithstanding their efforts, the balloon still fell, and at the same time shifted with the greatest rapidity, following the direction of the wind, that is to say, from the northeast to the southwest.
Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. All their attempts were useless. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. The gas escaped without any possibility of retaining it. Their descent was visibly accelerated, and soon after midday the car hung within 600 feet of the ocean.
It was impossible to prevent the escape of gas, which rushed through a large rent in the silk. By lightening the car of all the articles which it contained, the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the air for a few hours. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded, and if land did not appear before night, voyagers, car, and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves.
They now resorted to the only remaining expedient. They were truly dauntless men, who knew how to look death in the face. Not a single murmur escaped from their lips. They were determined to struggle to the last minute, to do anything to retard their fall. The car was only a sort of willow basket, unable to float, and there was not the slightest possibility of maintaining it on the surface of the sea.
Two more hours passed and the balloon was scarcely 400 feet above the water.
At that moment a loud voice, the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear, was heard. To this voice responded others not less determined. "Is everything thrown out?" "No, here are still 2,000 dollars in gold." A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. "Does the balloon rise?" "A little, but it will not be long before it falls again." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net, and into the sea with the car."
This was, in fact, the last and only mode of lightening the balloon. The ropes which held the car were cut, and the balloon, after its fall, mounted 2,000 feet. The five voyagers had hoisted themselves into the net, and clung to the meshes, gazing at the abyss.
The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. The apparatus in the air is like a balance of mathematical precision. It can be thus easily understood that when it is lightened of any considerable weight its movement will be impetuous and sudden. So it happened on this occasion. But after being suspended for an instant aloft, the balloon began to redescend, the gas escaping by the rent which it was impossible to repair.
The men had done all that men could do. No human efforts could save them now.
They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements.
At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water.
A loud barking was heard. A dog accompanied the voyagers, and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net.
"Top has seen something," cried one of the men. Then immediately a loud voice shouted,--
"Land! land!" The balloon, which the wind still drove towards the southwest, had since daybreak gone a considerable distance, which might be reckoned by hundreds of miles, and a tolerably high land had, in fact, appeared in that direction. But this land was still thirty miles off. It would not take less than an hour to get to it, and then there was the chance of falling to leeward.
An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?
Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. They were ignorant of what it was, whether an island or a continent, for they did not know to what part of the world the hurricane had driven them. But they must reach this land, whether inhabited or desolate, whether hospitable or not.
It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net, making it still heavier, and the balloon only half rose, like a bird with a wounded wing. Half an hour later the land was not more than a mile off, but the balloon, exhausted, flabby, hanging in great folds, had gas in its upper part alone. The voyagers, clinging to the net, were still too heavy for it, and soon, half plunged into the sea, they were beaten by the furious waves. The balloon-case bulged out again, and the wind, taking it, drove it along like a vessel. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?
But, when only two fathoms off, terrible cries resounded from four pairs of lungs at once. The balloon, which had appeared as if it would never again rise, suddenly made an unexpected bound, after having been struck by a tremendous sea. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight, it mounted to a height of 1,500 feet, and here it met a current of wind, which instead of taking it directly to the coast, carried it in a nearly parallel direction.
At last, two minutes later, it reproached obliquely, and finally fell on a sandy beach, out of the reach of the waves.
The voyagers, aiding each other, managed to disengage themselves from the meshes of the net. The balloon, relieved of their weight, was taken by the wind, and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant, disappeared into space.
But the car had contained five passengers, with a dog, and the balloon only left four on the shore.
The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea, which had just struck the net, and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time, and then soon after reached the land. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground, than they all, thinking of the absent one, simultaneously exclaimed, "Perhaps he will try to swim to land! Let us save him! let us save him!"
這就是1865年3月23日下午四點鐘從遼闊的太平洋上空傳來的喊聲。
那年春分前後，那場從東北方吹來的駭人暴風是令人難忘的。從3月18日到26日，大風暴片刻不停地怒吼着。它從北緯35度斜穿赤道，直到南緯40度，掠過了一千八百英裏的地帶，給美洲、歐洲和亞洲造成了嚴重的災害。城市被吹毀；樹木被連根撥起；排山倒海似的巨浪衝毀了堤岸，僅僅根據已經發表的數字，一直拋上陸地的船就有幾百衹；有些竜捲風經過的地方，整個都變成了平地；好幾千人在陸上和海裏喪了命；這就是當時瘋狂肆虐的暴風過去以後所留下的罪證。1810年10月25日哈瓦那和1825年7月26日瓜德羅普的災情固然可怕，但是也比不上這一次。
就在這陸地和海洋上慘遭浩劫的時候，激蕩的高空中也演出了同樣驚心動魄的悲劇。
一隻輕氣球，象被竜捲風帶到水柱頂上的皮球一樣，捲進了一股氣流的旋渦中，它以每小時九十英裏的速度掠過太空，仿佛被什麽空中旋渦抓住了似的，不停地轉着。
氣球的下邊係着一隻吊籃，裏面坐着五個人，由於濃霧和水汽彌漫在整個的洋面上，人們很難看得清楚。
也許有人會問，這個氣球——暴風的玩具是從哪兒來的？它是從地球的哪個角落升起的？當然，它是不會在颳暴風的時候起飛的。但是，暴風已經颳了五天，並且在18日那天就已經有了要起風暴的徵兆。毫無疑問，這個氣球是從極遠的地方飛來的，因為大風一晝夜至少要把它帶走兩千英裏。
這些迷失方向的乘客，橫竪也沒法計算他們起航以來經歷了多少路程。奇怪的是，他們雖然在這怒吼的暴風中飄蕩，卻還是平安無事。他們被風拋來拋去，吹得團團亂轉，卻絲毫不覺得自己在滾動，也不覺得怎樣顛簸。
他們的目光沒法透過吊籃下面的濃霧。陰雲環抱着他們。他們分辨不清是白天還是黑夜。當時他們懸浮在高空中，周圍一片昏暗，既看不見地上的反光，也聽不到地上的人聲，連海洋的澎湃聲也傳不到他們的耳朵裏。衹有當急驟下降的時候，他們纔意識到會有慘遭滅頂的危險。他們扔下了彈藥、槍枝和糧食一些重負以後，便又升到四千五百英尺高度的空中。飛行的人們一發覺下面是汪洋大海，就覺得上面的危險總比下面小些，因此毫不猶豫地連他們最有用的東西都扔掉了，同時他們盡量想法不讓氣球漏掉一點氫氣，衹有這種氫氣，纔是他們的命根子，才能把他們懸在海洋上。
黑夜在驚險恐怖中過去了（如果是膽小的人，恐怕早已嚇死了）。白晝又來臨了。隨着白晝的來臨，暴風也逐漸和緩下來。從3月24日那一天清晨起，暴風有了減弱的徵象。黎明時分，一片片的輕雲嚮更高處升去。幾小時的工夫，颶風已經變成了“強風”，這就是說：大氣流動的速度已經減弱了一半。這時雖然還是水手們所說的“緊帆風”，然而風勢畢竟減弱不少了。
將近十一點鐘的時候，下層的空氣顯得比較明朗了。大氣已經發出象雷雨過後常有的那種濕潤的氣息。暴風似乎不再嚮西颳了。風力已經顯得有氣無力了。它會不會象印度洋上的臺風那樣，往往說停就停，一下子就煙消雲散呢？
可是，就在這時候，氣球顯然又在慢慢地下降了。看來它正在逐漸癟下去，氣囊愈伸愈長，從球形變成了橢圓形。到了中午，氣球離海面衹有兩千英尺了。氣囊能容納五萬立方英尺氣體，正因為它有這麽大容量，所以它才能在空中——或是嚮上升得很高，或是保持平行方向移動——停留很長時間。
乘客們感覺到自己有危險，把僅存的一些能夠使吊籃下墜的物品：少量存糧，每一件東西，甚至衣袋裏的小刀都扔掉了。這時，有一個人爬到套住網索的圓環上，打算把氣球的下部係得更牢一些。
然而，乘客們心裏都很明白，氫氣已經不足了，氣球不可能再維持在更高的空際。他們衹有死路一條了。
他們底下沒有大陸，甚至連一個小島也沒有。衹是一片汪洋，沒有一處可以讓他們着陸、也沒有任何地面可以讓他們下錨。
遼闊的大海上，仍然翻騰着驚濤駭浪！這片汪洋大海，即使人們居高臨下，視野擴大到半徑四十英裏，也同樣是一眼望不到邊。這流動的平原在暴風無情的鞭撻下激起洶涌的浪頭，真好比萬馬奔騰，那一片白色鬃毛還在迎風飄拂哩！看不到一寸陸地，也看不到一葉孤帆！這時必須不藉任何代價阻止氣球再往下降，否則就有被波浪吞沒的危險。乘客們在這緊急關頭顯然是盡了最大的努力。但是，儘管他們努力，氣球還是繼續下墜，同時順着東北風以極大速度移動。
這些不幸的人們所處的境況的確是驚險萬分！他們已經不是氣球的主人了。他們的一切努力都沒有用。氣球的氣囊愈來愈癟。氫氣不住地往外泄，沒有任何辦法可以堵塞。下降的速度顯然愈過愈快，午後一點鐘，吊籃離洋面已經不到六百英尺了。
氫氣從氣囊的一條裂縫在外衝，要阻止它往外衝是不可能的了。吊籃裏的東西都扔掉了，重量輕了，因此，幾個鐘頭以內，乘客們還可以在空中支持下去，不至於掉下來。但這僅僅是苟延殘喘而已，如果在天黑以前還找不到陸地，那麽乘客、吊籃和氣球肯定地都要葬身海底了。
這時候，他們拿出了最後的一着。他們顯然都是勇敢無畏、頭腦冷靜的人。他們沒有一句怨言。他們盡量想辦法延遲降落的時刻，他們决心要奮鬥到最後一分鐘。吊籃不過是個柳條編的籃子，不能在水上漂浮，萬一落到海裏，决沒有任何可能不沉下去。
兩點鐘的時候，氣球離水面僅僅四百英尺了。這時候，突然聽到一聲洪亮的聲音，從這聲音就知道這人一點也沒想到恐懼。回答他的聲音也同樣顯得堅強有力。“東西都扔了嗎？”“不，還有一萬金法郎。”一個沉重的錢袋立刻落到海裏。“氣球上升了嗎？”“上升了一點兒，但是一會兒又會下降的。”“還有什麽可扔的嗎？”“沒有了。”“有！……吊藍！”“讓我們抓住網索，把吊籃扔到海裏去吧！”
這的確是最後的唯一可以減輕氣球重量的方法了。係着吊籃的繩索割斷了，吊籃掉了下去，於是，氣球又上升了兩千英尺。
這五位乘客爬上了氣球網，緊緊攀住網眼，註視着下面的無底深淵。
大傢知道氣球對於重力的增減是最敏感的。即使扔下很輕的東西，也可以改變它的高度。這種在空氣中浮動的工具象一架極度精確的天平。不難想象，它衹要減輕一點點負擔，馬上就會急劇上升。這時的情形正是這樣。但是，沒一會兒工夫，氣球又開始下降了，氣體從裂縫中嚮外跑，這裂縫現在要補也沒法補。
這些人盡了最大的努力。現在人力已經不能輓救他們，衹好聽天由命了。
在四點鐘的時候，氣球離海面衹剩五百英尺了。
傳來一聲響亮的犬吠聲。原來飛航員們還帶着一隻狗！它緊緊地靠着它的主人攀在網眼上。
“托普瞧見什麽了？”一個人大聲說。接着馬上有人喊道：
“陸地！陸地！”
原來氣球從天亮到現在，隨着大風嚮西南飄行了足足有幾百英裏。現在前面出現了一片相當高的陸地。不過這片陸地還在三十英裏以外。如果一直飄去的話，至少也要一個鐘頭才能到那裏。
一個鐘頭！在這一個鐘頭裏氣球裏僅存的一點氣體會不會全跑光呢？
問題的嚴重性就在這裏！飛航員已經清清楚楚地望見了陸地，他們必須不藉任何代價到達那裏。他們並不知道那是什麽地方，是島嶼還是大陸，因為他們不知道颶風把他們吹到地球的哪一個角落來了。但是，他們衹好到那塊陸地去，不管那裏有沒有人，去得去不得。
氣球在四點鐘的時候，就已經支持不下去，現在它更貼近水面了！巨大的浪花好幾次舔着網的下部，使它更加沉重，氣球象一隻翅膀受了傷的鳥，要飛又飛不高。半小時後，距陸地衹有一英裏了，但是氣球已經耗盡了氣力，褶縐不堪地懸在那裏，衹有上層還剩下一些氣體。飛航員們緊緊地攀住氣球網，可是還嫌太重，不久，他們有半個身子浸在海裏了，洶涌的波浪衝擊着他們。又過了一會，氣球的氣囊變成了一個口袋，風象吹着帆片似的使它往前飄過去。它也許能就這樣到達陸地吧！
但是，當離岸衹有兩錨鏈遠的時候，四個人同時驚叫起來。那衹原以為决不能再飛的氣球，在一個巨浪的打擊下，竟突然出人意料地一下子升起來。一會兒工夫，它似乎又減輕了一部分重量，高升到一千五百英尺的上空，在那裏它遇到一陣風，這陣風並沒有把它吹上岸，反而吹得它沿着和陸地幾乎平行的方向飛去了。
兩分鐘以後，它終於又斜轉回來，最後降落在一個波濤衝擊不到的沙灘上。飛航員們彼此協助從網眼裏脫出身來。氣球由於失去了人們的重量，又被風吹起來，象一隻受傷的鳥，精神一恢復，便消失在空中了。
吊籃裏原來有五個人和一隻狗，可是現在隨氣球着陸的卻衹剩下四個人了。
失蹤的那一個人一定是浪濤衝擊氣球網的時候被捲到海裏去了，正因為這樣，氣球纔減輕了重量，纔會在着陸前不久突然一下子上升。這四個遇險的人腳一踏上了陸地，就發覺少了一個夥伴，馬上同聲喊道，“大概他會遊上岸來的。我們要救他！我們要救他！”
Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air, above the vast watery desert of the Pacific, about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March, 1865.
Few can possibly have forgotten the terrible storm from the northeast, in the middle of the equinox of that year. The tempest raged without intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March. Its ravages were terrible in America, Europe, and Asia, covering a distance of eighteen hundred miles, and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel. Towns were overthrown, forests uprooted, coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them, vessels cast on the shore, which the published accounts numbered by hundreds, whole districts leveled by waterspouts which destroyed everything they passed over, several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury, left by this devastating tempest. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe, one on the 25th of October, 1810, the other on the 26th of July, 1825.
But while so many catastrophes were taking place on land and at sea, a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air.
In fact, a balloon, as a ball might be carried on the summit of a waterspout, had been taken into the circling movement of a column of air and had traversed space at the rate of ninety miles an hour, turning round and round as if seized by some aerial maelstrom.
Beneath the lower point of the balloon swung a car, containing five passengers, scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean.
Whence, it may be asked, had come that plaything of the tempest? From what part of the world did it rise? It surely could not have started during the storm. But the storm had raged five days already, and the first symptoms were manifested on the 18th. It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance, for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty-four hours.
At any rate the passengers, destitute of all marks for their guidance, could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. It was a remarkable fact that, although in the very midst of the furious tempest, they did not suffer from it. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree, or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal position.
Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car. Dark vapor was all around them. Such was the density of the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night. No reflection of light, no sound from inhabited land, no roaring of the ocean could have reached them, through the obscurity, while suspended in those elevated zones. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. However, the balloon, lightened of heavy articles, such as ammunition, arms, and provisions, had risen into the higher layers of the atmosphere, to a height of 4,500 feet. The voyagers, after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them, and thinking the dangers above less dreadful than those below, did not hesitate to throw overboard even their most useful articles, while they endeavored to lose no more of that fluid, the life of their enterprise, which sustained them above the abyss.
The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to less energetic souls. Again the day appeared and with it the tempest began to moderate. From the beginning of that day, the 24th of March, it showed symptoms of abating. At dawn, some of the lighter clouds had risen into the more lofty regions of the air. In a few hours the wind had changed from a hurricane to a fresh breeze, that is to say, the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half. It was still what sailors call "a close-reefed topsail breeze," but the commotion in the elements had none the less considerably diminished.
Towards eleven o'clock, the lower region of the air was sensibly clearer. The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. It appeared to have exhausted itself. Could it have passed away in electric sheets, as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean?
But at the same time, it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. It appeared as if it were, little by little, collapsing, and that its case was lengthening and extending, passing from a spherical to an oval form. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2,000 feet. It contained 50,000 cubic feet of gas, and, thanks to its capacity, it could maintain itself a long time in the air, although it should reach a great altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position.
Perceiving their danger, the passengers cast away the last articles which still weighed down the car, the few provisions they had kept, everything, even to their pocket-knives, and one of them, having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net, tried to secure more firmly the lower point of the balloon.
It was, however, evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing, and that the balloon could no longer be sustained in the higher regions. They must infallibly perish!
There was not a continent, nor even an island, visible beneath them. The watery expanse did not present a single speck of land, not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold.
It was the open sea, whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean, without any visible limits, even for those whose gaze, from their commanding position, extended over a radius of forty miles. The vast liquid plain, lashed without mercy by the storm, appeared as if covered with herds of furious chargers, whose white and disheveled crests were streaming in the wind. No land was in sight, not a solitary ship could be seen. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course, and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves. The voyagers directed all their energies to this urgent work. But, notwithstanding their efforts, the balloon still fell, and at the same time shifted with the greatest rapidity, following the direction of the wind, that is to say, from the northeast to the southwest.
Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. All their attempts were useless. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. The gas escaped without any possibility of retaining it. Their descent was visibly accelerated, and soon after midday the car hung within 600 feet of the ocean.
It was impossible to prevent the escape of gas, which rushed through a large rent in the silk. By lightening the car of all the articles which it contained, the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the air for a few hours. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded, and if land did not appear before night, voyagers, car, and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves.
They now resorted to the only remaining expedient. They were truly dauntless men, who knew how to look death in the face. Not a single murmur escaped from their lips. They were determined to struggle to the last minute, to do anything to retard their fall. The car was only a sort of willow basket, unable to float, and there was not the slightest possibility of maintaining it on the surface of the sea.
Two more hours passed and the balloon was scarcely 400 feet above the water.
At that moment a loud voice, the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear, was heard. To this voice responded others not less determined. "Is everything thrown out?" "No, here are still 2,000 dollars in gold." A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. "Does the balloon rise?" "A little, but it will not be long before it falls again." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net, and into the sea with the car."
This was, in fact, the last and only mode of lightening the balloon. The ropes which held the car were cut, and the balloon, after its fall, mounted 2,000 feet. The five voyagers had hoisted themselves into the net, and clung to the meshes, gazing at the abyss.
The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. The apparatus in the air is like a balance of mathematical precision. It can be thus easily understood that when it is lightened of any considerable weight its movement will be impetuous and sudden. So it happened on this occasion. But after being suspended for an instant aloft, the balloon began to redescend, the gas escaping by the rent which it was impossible to repair.
The men had done all that men could do. No human efforts could save them now.
They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements.
At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water.
A loud barking was heard. A dog accompanied the voyagers, and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net.
"Top has seen something," cried one of the men. Then immediately a loud voice shouted,--
"Land! land!" The balloon, which the wind still drove towards the southwest, had since daybreak gone a considerable distance, which might be reckoned by hundreds of miles, and a tolerably high land had, in fact, appeared in that direction. But this land was still thirty miles off. It would not take less than an hour to get to it, and then there was the chance of falling to leeward.
An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?
Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. They were ignorant of what it was, whether an island or a continent, for they did not know to what part of the world the hurricane had driven them. But they must reach this land, whether inhabited or desolate, whether hospitable or not.
It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net, making it still heavier, and the balloon only half rose, like a bird with a wounded wing. Half an hour later the land was not more than a mile off, but the balloon, exhausted, flabby, hanging in great folds, had gas in its upper part alone. The voyagers, clinging to the net, were still too heavy for it, and soon, half plunged into the sea, they were beaten by the furious waves. The balloon-case bulged out again, and the wind, taking it, drove it along like a vessel. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?
But, when only two fathoms off, terrible cries resounded from four pairs of lungs at once. The balloon, which had appeared as if it would never again rise, suddenly made an unexpected bound, after having been struck by a tremendous sea. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight, it mounted to a height of 1,500 feet, and here it met a current of wind, which instead of taking it directly to the coast, carried it in a nearly parallel direction.
At last, two minutes later, it reproached obliquely, and finally fell on a sandy beach, out of the reach of the waves.
The voyagers, aiding each other, managed to disengage themselves from the meshes of the net. The balloon, relieved of their weight, was taken by the wind, and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant, disappeared into space.
But the car had contained five passengers, with a dog, and the balloon only left four on the shore.
The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea, which had just struck the net, and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time, and then soon after reached the land. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground, than they all, thinking of the absent one, simultaneously exclaimed, "Perhaps he will try to swim to land! Let us save him! let us save him!"
那幾個剛纔被颶風拋擲在海岸上的人，根本不是什麽氣球飛行員——既不是職業的，也不是業餘的，而是一群戰俘。正因為他們個個英勇，人人豪邁，所以纔想出這種異想天開的辦法來逃脫。”
他們出生入死已經有幾百次了！他們也有數百次幾乎從破裂的氣球上掉到海洋的深淵。但是不知為什麽，上天卻別具用心地保全了他們的生命。在3月20日那天，他們逃出了裏士滿，在空中連續飛行了五天，現在他們離開那弗吉尼亞的首府已經有七千英裏了。在可怕的南北戰爭期間，裏士滿是南方的要塞，當時正被尤利斯·格蘭特將軍的部隊包圍。
戰俘們逃跑的經過是這樣的：
1865年2月間，格蘭特將軍打算出奇製勝，占領裏士滿，可是沒有成功，結果他部下的幾個軍官卻落到敵人手裏，被囚禁在城內。其中最突出的一個是聯邦參謀部的賽勒斯·史密斯。他是馬薩諸塞州人，一位淵博的學者，在戰爭期間，政府曾委派他負責當時在戰略上極其重要的鐵路的管理工作。他是一位道地的北方人，瘦骨嶙峋的，約有四十五歲，他的短頭髮和一小撮濃鬍子都已經灰白了。他的頭部長得非常端正，仿佛生來是為了鑄在勳章上似的，兩眼炯炯有光，嘴形莊嚴，從面貌看，他顯得是一個激進派的學者。他是一個從舞錘弄斧做起的工程師，正如一個行伍出身的將軍一樣。他不但腦子靈，而且手也巧。他的筋肉顯得非常強壯。他是一個活動傢，同時又是一個思想傢。他熱情樂觀，任何一件事都難不倒他。他見多識廣，善於隨機應變，在任何緊要關頭，他都能保持清醒的頭腦，無限的信心和堅強的毅力；這三個條件使他永遠是他自己的主人。他常常引用十六世紀奧蘭治的威廉的話作為自己的座右銘：“即使已經沒有成功的希望，我也能夠承擔任務，堅忍不拔。”
賽勒斯·史密斯就是勇敢的化身。他參加過南北戰爭的各次戰役。他自從在伊利諾斯州自願投效尤利斯·格蘭特麾下以來，曾在巴丟卡、柏爾夢特、匹茲堡埠頭等地作戰，在圍攻科林斯、吉布森港、黑河、差坦諾加、魏爾德涅斯、頗陀馬剋等地的戰役中，始終是勇猛善戰，並沒有辜負那位說“我决不計算我的傷亡”的將軍的訓導。史密斯好幾百次幾乎成為威嚴的格蘭特所不計算的陣亡將士。但是，他在這些戰鬥中，直到在裏士滿戰場上受傷被俘以前，一直是很幸運地平安無事。就在史密斯被俘的那一天，還有一位重要人物也落到南軍手裏。這就是《紐約先驅報》的通訊記者吉丁·史佩萊，他是奉命跟隨北軍作戰地報道的。
吉丁·史佩萊在英、美新聞采訪員當中，也是一位有名的人物，正象史坦萊等人一樣，不管什麽睏難也不能使他退縮，他也要采訪到正確消息，並且在最短時間內把消息送給自己的報刊。聯邦的許多報紙，例如《紐約先驅報》，都擁有堅強的實力，報刊的通訊記者就是它們的代表。吉丁·史佩萊又是第一流的記者：他是一位精明強於、體力充沛、辦事敏捷、善於開動腦筋的人；他環遊過世界各地；他是一個兵士，也是一個藝術傢；他在談話時很熱情，行動時很堅决，既不顧慮勞累，也不害怕危險；采訪新聞的時候，他首先是為了自己，也是為了他的報刊；凡是新奇的、沒有發表過的、別人不知道同時也沒法采訪到的事物，他全都知道；他是一位渾身是膽的戰地記者，慣於在槍林彈雨中寫稿，危險，對於他來說，就是最好的報道資料。
他參加過各次戰役，每次都在最前綫，一手拿着左輪槍，一手拿着筆記簿；葡萄彈從來也沒有使他的鉛筆顫抖；他决不象有些人沒話找話說，而總是不厭其煩地打着電報；他的每一篇報道都很簡短有力、明確、能夠說明要點。此外，他還很幽默。黑河的戰事結束以後，决心不藉任何代價獨占電報局窗洞的就是他。他在嚮他的報刊報道了戰役的結果以後，接着就拍發聖經的前幾章，一共拍了兩個鐘頭之久，雖然花費了兩千美元，但《紐約先驅報》卻首先登載了這個消息。
吉丁·史佩萊身材高大，大約有四十來歲。淡紅色的鬍須圍繞着他的面龐。眼光堅定活潑，而且變化迅速。衹要目光一掃，他就可以把一切景象一覽無遺了。他體格健壯，能夠適應各種氣候，好象一根在冷水中淬硬了的鋼筋。
吉丁·史佩萊擔任《紐約先驅報》的通訊記者已經有十年了。他不但文筆美妙，並且精於繪畫，他的通訊和插圖大大充實了報刊的內容，他被俘的時候，還正在描寫戰役和畫素描，他的筆記簿中的最後一句是：“一個南軍正拿槍對着我，但是……”然而那個南軍的兵士並沒有打中吉丁·史佩萊，他一嚮是幸運的，在這次事件中也沒有受一點傷。
賽勒斯·史密斯和吉丁·史佩萊過去衹是聞其名而沒有見過面，他們一起被押送到裏士滿。工程師的創傷很快就痊愈了，就在他養傷的期間他認識了這位通訊記者。他們一見面就建立了友誼。不久以後，他們産生了一個共同的目的，那就是逃回格蘭特的軍中，為了聯邦的統一而繼續戰鬥。
這兩個美國人一開始就想找機會逃跑；雖然他們能夠自由地在市鎮裏溜達，但是裏士滿戒備嚴密，逃脫似乎是不可能的。在這期間，史密斯遇到了一個昔日的僕人，他是一個願意為史密斯竭盡忠誠的人。他是一個勇士，也是一個黑人，是在工程師傢裏出生的，他的父母都是奴隸。但是，賽勒斯在信仰上和道義上都反對奴隸製，因此早就讓他自由了。這個曾經當過奴隸的人，雖然得到了自由，還是不願意離開他的主人。他情願為他的主人效死，他大約有三十歲，強壯、活潑、聰明、伶俐、溫柔、和順、有時還有點天真，平時總是一團高興，勤懇而誠實。他的名字叫做納布加尼察，但他已經習慣讓人們簡稱他為納布了。
納布聽到主人被俘的消息，就毫不猶豫地離開了馬薩諸塞來到裏士滿，憑着他的機智，冒了二十多次生命的危險之後，終於潛入了被圍的城市。史密斯瞧見納布時的喜悅和納布找到主人的高興，那是難以形容的。
納布雖然能夠進入裏士滿，但要想再溜出去就完全不同了，因為北軍戰俘被看守得非常嚴格。要想順利地逃跑，除非遇到特別的機會！這種機會不但不會送上門來，而且很難找到。
在這期間，格蘭特將軍還在繼續作戰。他以重大的代價贏得了匹茲堡的勝利。然而在裏士滿戰綫上，他和巴特萊部隊聯合進攻還不能取得勝利，因此戰俘們想要早日獲得釋放是沒有什麽希望的。
在這枯燥無味的囚禁生活中，沒有一點值得記述的事情，通訊記者再也不能忍耐了。他那一嚮靈活的頭腦衹想着一件事——怎樣能夠不藉任何代價逃出裏士滿。他甚至嘗試了幾次，但都被不能剋服的障礙阻擋住了。圍困還在繼續着！如果說戰俘急切要逃回格蘭特的軍中，那末，被圍的人也迫切希望和南軍取得聯繫，其中約拿旦·福斯特就是南軍中的一個熱切希望如此的人。被俘的北軍固然不能出城，而南軍也同樣離開不了，因為他們都給北軍包圍了。裏士滿的總督很久沒能和李將軍取得聯繫了，他很想把當地的情況告訴李將軍，以便迅速得到援兵。於是約拿旦·福斯特就建議利用輕氣球越過包圍綫，直達南軍的兵營。
總督批準了這個計劃。造了一隻輕氣球供福斯特使用，另外還派了五個人做他的動手。他們攜帶了降落時自衛用的武器，並準備了幹糧，以備航程拖延時食用。
氣球預計在3月18日啓航。起飛必須在夜間進行，還要有和緩的西北風。據飛行員的估計，他們在幾個鐘頭之內就可以到達李將軍的軍營了。
但是，颳的卻不是什麽和緩的西北風。從18日起它分明已經變成颶風了。風暴很快就猛烈起來，福斯特衹好延期動身，因為乘客和氣球是不能在這種險惡的天氣裏冒險的。
輕氣球灌足了氣，放在裏士滿的一個廣場上，衹等風勢稍弱，就要啓航。睏守在城裏的人盼望着暴風緩和的心情是不難想象的。
3月18、19兩天過去了，天氣並沒有什麽轉變。拴在地上的氣球被狂風猛烈地衝過來撞過去，甚至要保護這個氣球都很睏難。
19日的夜晚過去了。第二天早上暴風加倍猛烈，氣球更不可能起飛了。
那天，工程師賽勒斯·史密斯在裏士滿的一條大街上，被一個素不相識的人喊住了。這是一個水手，名叫潘剋洛夫，年紀大約三十五歲到四十歲，體格強壯，皮膚曬得黝黑。長着一對炯炯發光的眼睛和非常英俊的面龐。潘剋洛夫是一個美國的北方人，他航遍了各大洋，參加過一切可能和幾乎不可能的探險，一切不長翅膀衹長腿的生物所能碰到的遭遇他都遇到過了。可想而知，他是一個大膽而勇猛的傢夥，敢作敢為，什麽也嚇不倒他。年初的時候，潘剋洛夫有事到裏士滿來，他帶着一個新澤西的男孩子，這是過去一個船長的孤兒，纔十五歲，潘剋洛夫象對待親生子女似的愛護他。在圍城以前，他沒有能離開這座城市，等到發覺自己被圍在城裏的時候，感到十分懊喪。但是他從來不肯嚮睏難低頭，因此他决定要想法子逃出去。他聽說過這位工程師軍官的大名，他瞭解這位堅強的男子漢在囚禁中的苦悶。因此，這一天他毫不猶豫，直截了當地嚮工程師招呼道：“史密斯先生，你在裏士滿待夠了嗎？”
工程師呆呆地看着對他說話的人，對方又低聲補充了一句：
“先生，你打算逃跑嗎？”
“什麽時候？”工程師連忙問道，這句話顯然是脫口而出的，因為他還沒有看清楚這個跟他說話的陌生人是誰。但是當他用敏銳的眼光打量了一下水手爽朗的面孔之後，他就確信對方是一個誠實的人。
“你是誰？”他簡短地問道。
潘剋洛夫作了自我介紹。
“好吧，”史密斯回答說，“你打算用什麽法子逃呢？”
“用那衹氣球，它在那裏什麽也不幹，我看它正是為我們預備的……”
水手的話沒有說完，工程師就明白他的意思了。他抓住潘剋洛夫的胳膊，把他拉到自己住的地方去。在那裏，這位水手說出了他的計劃。計劃倒是十分簡單，除了生命危險以外，什麽危險也用不着冒。當然，颶風的威力正大，但是，象賽勒斯·史密斯這樣精明強幹的工程師是完全懂得怎樣操縱氣球的。假如潘剋洛夫對飛行技術，正好象對航海一樣熟悉，那麽他一定早就毫不猶豫地帶着他的小朋友赫伯特出發了；他慣於在海裏冒狂風駭浪的危險，這場颶風是難不住他的。
史密斯一言不發地傾聽着水手的講話，他的眼中閃耀着滿意的光芒。想望已久的機會終於來到了——他决不是坐失良機的人。這個計劃是可以實行的，但必須承認，非常危險。夜間雖然有崗哨，他們還可能走近氣球，潛入吊籃，然後割斷係住吊籃的繩索。當然，他們可能被打死，但另一方面，他們也有成功的希望。要是沒有這場風暴多好啊！——不過話要說回來，要是沒有這場風暴，氣球早已啓航了，這個千載難逢的機會也就不會出現了。
“我不衹是一個人！”史密斯最後說。
“你要帶幾個人？”水手問道。
“兩個人。我的朋友史佩萊，還有我的僕人納布。”
“那就是三個人，”潘剋洛夫說，“連赫伯特和我一共是五個人。氣球能載六個……”
“那就行了，我們一定走。”史密斯堅决地說。
這個“我們”包括史佩萊在內，因為史密斯非常瞭解，這位通訊記者不是膽小如鼠的人。史佩萊聽到這個計劃以後，表示完全同意。使他驚奇的是：這麽簡單的辦法自己以前竟沒有想到。至於納布，他是到處追隨着他的主人的。
“那麽，今天晚上，”潘剋洛夫說，“大傢都到那裏集合。”
“今天晚上十點鐘，”史密斯回答說，“但願上天保佑，在我們離開以前，風勢不要減弱。”
潘剋洛夫辭別了工程師，回他的寓所去了。年輕的赫伯特·布朗還獨自留在那裏。這個勇敢的少年知道水手的計劃，焦急地盼望着嚮工程師提議的結果。這五個意志堅决的人就這樣打算在暴風雨中碰碰運氣了！
沒有！風勢並沒有減退，約拿旦·福斯特和他的夥伴們都不願意在不保險的吊籃裏任憑 風吹雨打。
這一天是不好過的。工程師衹擔心一件事，擔心那係在地面上的氣球在大風猛烈的撞擊下可能被撕成碎片。他在幾乎空曠無人的廣場上來回踱了幾個鐘頭，看着這個飛行工具。潘剋洛夫也采取了同樣的行動，他雙手插在衣袋裏，好象設法消磨時間似的，不時打着呵欠，但是實際上也象他的朋友那樣，十分擔心氣球會不會損壞，風會不會颳斷它的繩索，把它颳到天空去。天晚了。夜色非常昏暗。大霧象烏雲一般彌漫在地面上。天空同時下着雨和雪。氣候非常寒冷。濃霧籠罩着裏士滿。強烈的風暴似乎在攻和守的雙方之間造成了休戰狀態，大炮的聲音在怒吼的狂風中一點也聽不到了。城市的街道上不見人影，在這麽惡劣的天氣裏，官方似乎沒有想到會丟失氣球，因此覺得沒有必要在廣場上設崗。這一切都是俘虜們脫逃的有利條件，但是，他們在狂風暴雨中所作的冒險嘗試最後會怎麽樣呢？
“天氣真壞！”潘剋洛夫喊道，他一拳壓住了頭上那頂要被風颳走的帽子。“但是，啊，我們還是會成功的！”
九點半鐘，史密斯和他的夥伴們從不同的方向來到廣場，大風吹滅了汽燈，廣場上一片漆黑。連那幾乎被吹倒在地上的大氣球也看不見了。網索是係在沙囊上的，而吊籃卻是單獨用一根結實的鋼纜穿在便道的一個鐵環裏。五個俘虜在吊籃旁邊會合了。他們沒有被人發現，由於天色昏黑，甚至他們彼此都看不見。
史密斯、史佩萊、納布和赫伯特一言不發地在吊籃裏各自坐了下來，潘剋洛夫按照工程師的指示把沙囊一一解開。衹花了幾分鐘的工夫，水手就回到他的夥伴們身邊來了。
係着氣球的衹剩下一根鋼纜，衹要工程師一聲號令就可以起飛了。
就在這時候，突然有一隻狗跳到吊籃裏來。原來是工程師的愛犬托普。這衹忠實的畜生掙斷鏈索，趕上了它的主人。工程師怕這份外加的重量會影響他們的上升，想打發它走。
“可憐的畜生！就多它一個吧！”潘剋洛夫一面說，一面把兩袋沙土扔了出去，減輕了吊籃的重量，然後解開鋼纜，氣球斜着往上升去，由於起勢猛烈，吊籃在兩個煙囪上碰了一下，然後纔消失得無影無蹤。
颶風可怕地怒吼着。在夜間下降，工程師連想也不敢想；拂曉時，下面的大地被濃霧遮蔽得一點也看不見。
五天以後他們纔從雲隙中看到下面的一片汪洋大海。在颶風的推送下，氣球以驚人的速度飛行着。
大傢都知道：在3月20日起飛的這五個人，後來在3月24日有四個人被拋棄在遠離祖國六千英裏的荒涼海岸上，一個人丟失了！這個丟失的人就是他們的領袖，工程師史密斯！他們剛剛着陸，就連忙趕到海灘上去，打算援救他。
A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny, and after having, on the 20th of March, escaped from Richmond, besieged by the troops of General Ulysses Grant, they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia, which was the principal stronghold of the South, during the terrible War of Secession. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days.
The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as follows:
That same year, in the month of February, 1865, in one of the coups de main by which General Grant attempted, though in vain, to possess himself of Richmond, several of his officers fell into the power of the enemy and were detained in the town. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. He was a native of Massachusetts, a first-class engineer, to whom the government had confided, during the war, the direction of the railways, which were so important at that time. A true Northerner, thin, bony, lean, about forty-five years of age; his close-cut hair and his beard, of which he only kept a thick mustache, were already getting gray. He had one-of those finely-developed heads which appear made to be struck on a medal, piercing eyes, a serious mouth, the physiognomy of a clever man of the military school. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the hammer and pickaxe, like generals who first act as common soldiers. Besides mental power, he also possessed great manual dexterity. His muscles exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity. A man of action as well as a man of thought, all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and sanguine temperament. Learned, clear-headed, and practical, he fulfilled in all emergencies those three conditions which united ought to insure human success--activity of mind and body, impetuous wishes, and powerful will. He might have taken for his motto that of William of Orange in the 17th century: "I can undertake and persevere even without hope of success." Cyrus Harding was courage personified. He had been in all the battles of that war. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois, under Ulysses Grant, he fought at Paducah, Belmont, Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of Corinth, Port Gibson, Black River, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, on the Potomac, everywhere and valiantly, a soldier worthy of the general who said, "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself, fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. This was no other than Gideon Spilen, a reporter for the New York Herald, who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies.
Gideon Spilett was one of that race of indomitable English or American chroniclers, like Stanley and others, who stop at nothing to obtain exact information, and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible time. The newspapers of the Union, such as the New York Herald, are genuine powers, and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters: a man of great merit, energetic, prompt and ready for anything, full of ideas, having traveled over the whole world, soldier and artist, enthusiastic in council, resolute in action, caring neither for trouble, fatigue, nor danger, when in pursuit of information, for himself first, and then for his journal, a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects, of the unpublished, of the unknown, and of the impossible. He was one of those intrepid observers who write under fire, "reporting" among bullets, and to whom every danger is welcome.
He also had been in all the battles, in the first rank, revolver in one hand, note-book in the other; grape-shot never made his pencil tremble. He did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams, like those who speak when they have nothing to say, but each of his notes, short, decisive, and clear, threw light on some important point. Besides, he was not wanting in humor. It was he who, after the affair of the Black River, determined at any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office, and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle, telegraphed for two hours the first chapters of the Bible. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars, but the New York Herald published the first intelligence.
Gideon Spilett was tall. He was rather more than forty years of age. Light whiskers bordering on red surrounded his face. His eye was steady, lively, rapid in its changes. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. Well built, he was inured to all climates, like a bar of steel hardened in cold water.
For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald, which he enriched by his letters and drawings, for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. When he was captured, he was in the act of making a description and sketch of the battle. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me, but--" The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett, who, with his usual fortune, came out of this affair without a scratch.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, who did not know each other except by reputation, had both been carried to Richmond. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed, and it was during his convalescence that he made acquaintance with the reporter. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. Soon their common aim had but one object, that of escaping, rejoining Grant's army, and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals.
The two Americans had from the first determined to seize every chance; but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town, Richmond was so strictly guarded, that escape appeared impossible. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's estate, of a slave father and mother, but to whom Cyrus, who was an Abolitionist from conviction and heart, had long since given his freedom. The once slave, though free, would not leave his master. He would have died for him. He was a man of about thirty, vigorous, active, clever, intelligent, gentle, and calm, sometimes naive, always merry, obliging, and honest. His name was Nebuchadnezzar, but he only answered to the familiar abbreviation of Neb.
When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner, he left Massachusetts without hesitating an instant, arrived before Richmond, and by dint of stratagem and shrewdness, after having risked his life twenty times over, managed to penetrate into the besieged town. The pleasure of Harding on seeing his servant, and the joy of Neb at finding his master, can scarcely be described.
But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond, it was quite another thing to get out again, for the Northern prisoners were very strictly watched. Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the attempt with any chance of success, and this opportunity not only did not present itself, but was very difficult to find.
Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought. His forces, united to those of Butler, had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond, and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance.
The reporter, to whom his tedious captivity did not offer a single incident worthy of note, could stand it no longer. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought--how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. Several times had he even made the attempt, but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle. However, the siege continued; and if the prisoners were anxious to escape and join Grant's army, certain of the besieged were no less anxious to join the Southern forces. Among them was one Jonathan Forster, a determined Southerner. The truth was, that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town, neither could the Secessionists themselves while the Northern army invested it. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee, and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town, so as to hasten the march of the army to their relief. Thus Jonathan Forster accordingly conceived the idea of rising in a balloon, so as to pass over the besieging lines, and in that way reach the Secessionist camp.
The Governor authorized the attempt. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster, who was to be accompanied by five other persons. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted, and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged.
The departure of the balloon was fixed for the 18th of March. It should be effected during the night, with a northwest wind of moderate force, and the aeronauts calculated that they would reach General Lee's camp in a few hours.
But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. The tempest soon became such that Forster's departure was deferred, for it was impossible to risk the balloon and those whom it carried in the midst of the furious elements.
The balloon, inflated on the great square of Richmond, was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind, and, as may be supposed, the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great.
The 18th, the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the ground, as the squalls dashed it furiously about.
The night of the 19th passed, but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force. The departure of the balloon was impossible.
On that day the engineer, Cyrus Harding, was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. This was a sailor named Pencroft, a man of about thirty-five or forty years of age, strongly built, very sunburnt, and possessed of a pair of bright sparkling eyes and a remarkably good physiognomy. Pencroft was an American from the North, who had sailed all the ocean over, and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter. It is needless to say that he was a bold, dashing fellow, ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. Pencroft at the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business, with a young boy of fifteen from New Jersey, son of a former captain, an orphan, whom he loved as if he had been his own child. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege, he found himself shut up, to his great disgust; but, not accustomed to succumb to difficulties, he resolved to escape by some means or other. He knew the engineer-officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. On this day he did not, therefore, hesitate to accost him, saying, without circumlocution, "Have you had enough of Richmond, captain?"
The engineer looked fixedly at the man who spoke, and who added, in a low voice,--
"Captain Harding, will you try to escape?"
"When?" asked the engineer quickly, and it was evident that this question was uttered without consideration, for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor, he was convinced that he had before him an honest man.
"Who are you?" he asked briefly.
Pencroft made himself known.
"Well," replied Harding, "and in what way do you propose to escape?"
"By that lazy balloon which is left there doing nothing, and which looks to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us--"
There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence. The engineer understood him at once. He seized Pencroft by the arm, and dragged him to his house. There the sailor developed his project, which was indeed extremely simple. They risked nothing but their lives in its execution. The hurricane was in all its violence, it is true, but so clever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship, Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out, of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for, accustomed to brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean, he was not to be hindered on account of the hurricane.
Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word, but his eyes shone with satisfaction. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. The plan was feasible, though, it must be confessed, dangerous in the extreme. In the night, in spite of their guards, they might approach the balloon, slip into the car, and then cut the cords which held it. There was no doubt that they might be killed, but on the other hand they might succeed, and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself.
"I am not alone!" said Harding at last.
"How many people do you wish to bring with you?" asked the sailor.
"Two; my friend Spilett, and my servant Neb."
"That will be three," replied Pencroft; "and with Herbert and me five. But the balloon will hold six--"
"That will be enough, we will go," answered Harding in a firm voice.
This "we" included Spilett, for the reporter, as his friend well knew, was not a man to draw back, and when the project was communicated to him he approved of it unreservedly. What astonished him was, that so simple an idea had not occurred to him before. As to Neb, he followed his master wherever his master wished to go.
"This evening, then," said Pencroft, "we will all meet out there."
"This evening, at ten o'clock," replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure."
Pencroft took leave of the two friends, and returned to his lodging, where young Herbert Brown had remained. The courageous boy knew of the sailor's plan, and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer. Thus five determined persons were about to abandon themselves to the mercy of the tempestuous elements!
No! the storm did not abate, and neither Jonathan Forster nor his companions dreamed of confronting it in that frail car.
It would be a terrible journey. The engineer only feared one thing; it was that the balloon, held to the ground and dashed about by the wind, would be torn into shreds. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square, surveying the apparatus. Pencroft did the same on his side, his hands in his pockets, yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time, but really dreading, like his friend, either the escape or destruction of the balloon. Evening arrived. The night was dark in the extreme. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground. Rain fell mingled with snow. it was very cold. A mist hung over Richmond. it seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged, and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. The streets of the town were deserted. It had not even appeared necessary in that horrible weather to place a guard in the square, in the midst of which plunged the balloon. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners, but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--
"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft, fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw, we shall succeed all the same!"
At half-past nine, Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square, which the gas-lamps, extinguished by the wind, had left in total obscurity. Even the enormous balloon, almost beaten to the ground, could not be seen. Independently of the sacks of ballast, to which the cords of the net were fastened, the car was held by a strong cable passed through a ring in the pavement. The five prisoners met by the car. They had not been perceived, and such was the darkness that they could not even see each other.
Without speaking a word, Harding, Spilett, Neb, and Herbert took their places in the car, while Pencroft by the engineer's order detached successively the bags of ballast. It was the work of a few minutes only, and the sailor rejoined his companions.
The balloon was then only held by the cable, and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word.
At that moment a dog sprang with a bound into the car. It was Top, a favorite of the engineer. The faithful creature, having broken his chain, had followed his master. He, however, fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent, wished to send away the animal.
"One more will make but little difference, poor beast!" exclaimed Pencroft, heaving out two bags of sand, and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction, disappeared, after having dashed the car against two chimneys, which it threw down as it swept by them.
Then, indeed, the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. During the night the engineer could not dream of descending, and when day broke, even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog.
Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet, now lashed into the maddest fury by the gale.
Our readers will recollect what befell these five daring individuals who set out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of March. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast, seven thousand miles from their country! But one of their number was missing, the man who was to be their guide, their leading spirit, the engineer, Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet, they all hurried to the beach in the hopes of rendering him assistance.
他們出生入死已經有幾百次了！他們也有數百次幾乎從破裂的氣球上掉到海洋的深淵。但是不知為什麽，上天卻別具用心地保全了他們的生命。在3月20日那天，他們逃出了裏士滿，在空中連續飛行了五天，現在他們離開那弗吉尼亞的首府已經有七千英裏了。在可怕的南北戰爭期間，裏士滿是南方的要塞，當時正被尤利斯·格蘭特將軍的部隊包圍。
戰俘們逃跑的經過是這樣的：
1865年2月間，格蘭特將軍打算出奇製勝，占領裏士滿，可是沒有成功，結果他部下的幾個軍官卻落到敵人手裏，被囚禁在城內。其中最突出的一個是聯邦參謀部的賽勒斯·史密斯。他是馬薩諸塞州人，一位淵博的學者，在戰爭期間，政府曾委派他負責當時在戰略上極其重要的鐵路的管理工作。他是一位道地的北方人，瘦骨嶙峋的，約有四十五歲，他的短頭髮和一小撮濃鬍子都已經灰白了。他的頭部長得非常端正，仿佛生來是為了鑄在勳章上似的，兩眼炯炯有光，嘴形莊嚴，從面貌看，他顯得是一個激進派的學者。他是一個從舞錘弄斧做起的工程師，正如一個行伍出身的將軍一樣。他不但腦子靈，而且手也巧。他的筋肉顯得非常強壯。他是一個活動傢，同時又是一個思想傢。他熱情樂觀，任何一件事都難不倒他。他見多識廣，善於隨機應變，在任何緊要關頭，他都能保持清醒的頭腦，無限的信心和堅強的毅力；這三個條件使他永遠是他自己的主人。他常常引用十六世紀奧蘭治的威廉的話作為自己的座右銘：“即使已經沒有成功的希望，我也能夠承擔任務，堅忍不拔。”
賽勒斯·史密斯就是勇敢的化身。他參加過南北戰爭的各次戰役。他自從在伊利諾斯州自願投效尤利斯·格蘭特麾下以來，曾在巴丟卡、柏爾夢特、匹茲堡埠頭等地作戰，在圍攻科林斯、吉布森港、黑河、差坦諾加、魏爾德涅斯、頗陀馬剋等地的戰役中，始終是勇猛善戰，並沒有辜負那位說“我决不計算我的傷亡”的將軍的訓導。史密斯好幾百次幾乎成為威嚴的格蘭特所不計算的陣亡將士。但是，他在這些戰鬥中，直到在裏士滿戰場上受傷被俘以前，一直是很幸運地平安無事。就在史密斯被俘的那一天，還有一位重要人物也落到南軍手裏。這就是《紐約先驅報》的通訊記者吉丁·史佩萊，他是奉命跟隨北軍作戰地報道的。
吉丁·史佩萊在英、美新聞采訪員當中，也是一位有名的人物，正象史坦萊等人一樣，不管什麽睏難也不能使他退縮，他也要采訪到正確消息，並且在最短時間內把消息送給自己的報刊。聯邦的許多報紙，例如《紐約先驅報》，都擁有堅強的實力，報刊的通訊記者就是它們的代表。吉丁·史佩萊又是第一流的記者：他是一位精明強於、體力充沛、辦事敏捷、善於開動腦筋的人；他環遊過世界各地；他是一個兵士，也是一個藝術傢；他在談話時很熱情，行動時很堅决，既不顧慮勞累，也不害怕危險；采訪新聞的時候，他首先是為了自己，也是為了他的報刊；凡是新奇的、沒有發表過的、別人不知道同時也沒法采訪到的事物，他全都知道；他是一位渾身是膽的戰地記者，慣於在槍林彈雨中寫稿，危險，對於他來說，就是最好的報道資料。
他參加過各次戰役，每次都在最前綫，一手拿着左輪槍，一手拿着筆記簿；葡萄彈從來也沒有使他的鉛筆顫抖；他决不象有些人沒話找話說，而總是不厭其煩地打着電報；他的每一篇報道都很簡短有力、明確、能夠說明要點。此外，他還很幽默。黑河的戰事結束以後，决心不藉任何代價獨占電報局窗洞的就是他。他在嚮他的報刊報道了戰役的結果以後，接着就拍發聖經的前幾章，一共拍了兩個鐘頭之久，雖然花費了兩千美元，但《紐約先驅報》卻首先登載了這個消息。
吉丁·史佩萊身材高大，大約有四十來歲。淡紅色的鬍須圍繞着他的面龐。眼光堅定活潑，而且變化迅速。衹要目光一掃，他就可以把一切景象一覽無遺了。他體格健壯，能夠適應各種氣候，好象一根在冷水中淬硬了的鋼筋。
吉丁·史佩萊擔任《紐約先驅報》的通訊記者已經有十年了。他不但文筆美妙，並且精於繪畫，他的通訊和插圖大大充實了報刊的內容，他被俘的時候，還正在描寫戰役和畫素描，他的筆記簿中的最後一句是：“一個南軍正拿槍對着我，但是……”然而那個南軍的兵士並沒有打中吉丁·史佩萊，他一嚮是幸運的，在這次事件中也沒有受一點傷。
賽勒斯·史密斯和吉丁·史佩萊過去衹是聞其名而沒有見過面，他們一起被押送到裏士滿。工程師的創傷很快就痊愈了，就在他養傷的期間他認識了這位通訊記者。他們一見面就建立了友誼。不久以後，他們産生了一個共同的目的，那就是逃回格蘭特的軍中，為了聯邦的統一而繼續戰鬥。
這兩個美國人一開始就想找機會逃跑；雖然他們能夠自由地在市鎮裏溜達，但是裏士滿戒備嚴密，逃脫似乎是不可能的。在這期間，史密斯遇到了一個昔日的僕人，他是一個願意為史密斯竭盡忠誠的人。他是一個勇士，也是一個黑人，是在工程師傢裏出生的，他的父母都是奴隸。但是，賽勒斯在信仰上和道義上都反對奴隸製，因此早就讓他自由了。這個曾經當過奴隸的人，雖然得到了自由，還是不願意離開他的主人。他情願為他的主人效死，他大約有三十歲，強壯、活潑、聰明、伶俐、溫柔、和順、有時還有點天真，平時總是一團高興，勤懇而誠實。他的名字叫做納布加尼察，但他已經習慣讓人們簡稱他為納布了。
納布聽到主人被俘的消息，就毫不猶豫地離開了馬薩諸塞來到裏士滿，憑着他的機智，冒了二十多次生命的危險之後，終於潛入了被圍的城市。史密斯瞧見納布時的喜悅和納布找到主人的高興，那是難以形容的。
納布雖然能夠進入裏士滿，但要想再溜出去就完全不同了，因為北軍戰俘被看守得非常嚴格。要想順利地逃跑，除非遇到特別的機會！這種機會不但不會送上門來，而且很難找到。
在這期間，格蘭特將軍還在繼續作戰。他以重大的代價贏得了匹茲堡的勝利。然而在裏士滿戰綫上，他和巴特萊部隊聯合進攻還不能取得勝利，因此戰俘們想要早日獲得釋放是沒有什麽希望的。
在這枯燥無味的囚禁生活中，沒有一點值得記述的事情，通訊記者再也不能忍耐了。他那一嚮靈活的頭腦衹想着一件事——怎樣能夠不藉任何代價逃出裏士滿。他甚至嘗試了幾次，但都被不能剋服的障礙阻擋住了。圍困還在繼續着！如果說戰俘急切要逃回格蘭特的軍中，那末，被圍的人也迫切希望和南軍取得聯繫，其中約拿旦·福斯特就是南軍中的一個熱切希望如此的人。被俘的北軍固然不能出城，而南軍也同樣離開不了，因為他們都給北軍包圍了。裏士滿的總督很久沒能和李將軍取得聯繫了，他很想把當地的情況告訴李將軍，以便迅速得到援兵。於是約拿旦·福斯特就建議利用輕氣球越過包圍綫，直達南軍的兵營。
總督批準了這個計劃。造了一隻輕氣球供福斯特使用，另外還派了五個人做他的動手。他們攜帶了降落時自衛用的武器，並準備了幹糧，以備航程拖延時食用。
氣球預計在3月18日啓航。起飛必須在夜間進行，還要有和緩的西北風。據飛行員的估計，他們在幾個鐘頭之內就可以到達李將軍的軍營了。
但是，颳的卻不是什麽和緩的西北風。從18日起它分明已經變成颶風了。風暴很快就猛烈起來，福斯特衹好延期動身，因為乘客和氣球是不能在這種險惡的天氣裏冒險的。
輕氣球灌足了氣，放在裏士滿的一個廣場上，衹等風勢稍弱，就要啓航。睏守在城裏的人盼望着暴風緩和的心情是不難想象的。
3月18、19兩天過去了，天氣並沒有什麽轉變。拴在地上的氣球被狂風猛烈地衝過來撞過去，甚至要保護這個氣球都很睏難。
19日的夜晚過去了。第二天早上暴風加倍猛烈，氣球更不可能起飛了。
那天，工程師賽勒斯·史密斯在裏士滿的一條大街上，被一個素不相識的人喊住了。這是一個水手，名叫潘剋洛夫，年紀大約三十五歲到四十歲，體格強壯，皮膚曬得黝黑。長着一對炯炯發光的眼睛和非常英俊的面龐。潘剋洛夫是一個美國的北方人，他航遍了各大洋，參加過一切可能和幾乎不可能的探險，一切不長翅膀衹長腿的生物所能碰到的遭遇他都遇到過了。可想而知，他是一個大膽而勇猛的傢夥，敢作敢為，什麽也嚇不倒他。年初的時候，潘剋洛夫有事到裏士滿來，他帶着一個新澤西的男孩子，這是過去一個船長的孤兒，纔十五歲，潘剋洛夫象對待親生子女似的愛護他。在圍城以前，他沒有能離開這座城市，等到發覺自己被圍在城裏的時候，感到十分懊喪。但是他從來不肯嚮睏難低頭，因此他决定要想法子逃出去。他聽說過這位工程師軍官的大名，他瞭解這位堅強的男子漢在囚禁中的苦悶。因此，這一天他毫不猶豫，直截了當地嚮工程師招呼道：“史密斯先生，你在裏士滿待夠了嗎？”
工程師呆呆地看着對他說話的人，對方又低聲補充了一句：
“先生，你打算逃跑嗎？”
“什麽時候？”工程師連忙問道，這句話顯然是脫口而出的，因為他還沒有看清楚這個跟他說話的陌生人是誰。但是當他用敏銳的眼光打量了一下水手爽朗的面孔之後，他就確信對方是一個誠實的人。
“你是誰？”他簡短地問道。
潘剋洛夫作了自我介紹。
“好吧，”史密斯回答說，“你打算用什麽法子逃呢？”
“用那衹氣球，它在那裏什麽也不幹，我看它正是為我們預備的……”
水手的話沒有說完，工程師就明白他的意思了。他抓住潘剋洛夫的胳膊，把他拉到自己住的地方去。在那裏，這位水手說出了他的計劃。計劃倒是十分簡單，除了生命危險以外，什麽危險也用不着冒。當然，颶風的威力正大，但是，象賽勒斯·史密斯這樣精明強幹的工程師是完全懂得怎樣操縱氣球的。假如潘剋洛夫對飛行技術，正好象對航海一樣熟悉，那麽他一定早就毫不猶豫地帶着他的小朋友赫伯特出發了；他慣於在海裏冒狂風駭浪的危險，這場颶風是難不住他的。
史密斯一言不發地傾聽着水手的講話，他的眼中閃耀着滿意的光芒。想望已久的機會終於來到了——他决不是坐失良機的人。這個計劃是可以實行的，但必須承認，非常危險。夜間雖然有崗哨，他們還可能走近氣球，潛入吊籃，然後割斷係住吊籃的繩索。當然，他們可能被打死，但另一方面，他們也有成功的希望。要是沒有這場風暴多好啊！——不過話要說回來，要是沒有這場風暴，氣球早已啓航了，這個千載難逢的機會也就不會出現了。
“我不衹是一個人！”史密斯最後說。
“你要帶幾個人？”水手問道。
“兩個人。我的朋友史佩萊，還有我的僕人納布。”
“那就是三個人，”潘剋洛夫說，“連赫伯特和我一共是五個人。氣球能載六個……”
“那就行了，我們一定走。”史密斯堅决地說。
這個“我們”包括史佩萊在內，因為史密斯非常瞭解，這位通訊記者不是膽小如鼠的人。史佩萊聽到這個計劃以後，表示完全同意。使他驚奇的是：這麽簡單的辦法自己以前竟沒有想到。至於納布，他是到處追隨着他的主人的。
“那麽，今天晚上，”潘剋洛夫說，“大傢都到那裏集合。”
“今天晚上十點鐘，”史密斯回答說，“但願上天保佑，在我們離開以前，風勢不要減弱。”
潘剋洛夫辭別了工程師，回他的寓所去了。年輕的赫伯特·布朗還獨自留在那裏。這個勇敢的少年知道水手的計劃，焦急地盼望着嚮工程師提議的結果。這五個意志堅决的人就這樣打算在暴風雨中碰碰運氣了！
沒有！風勢並沒有減退，約拿旦·福斯特和他的夥伴們都不願意在不保險的吊籃裏任憑 風吹雨打。
這一天是不好過的。工程師衹擔心一件事，擔心那係在地面上的氣球在大風猛烈的撞擊下可能被撕成碎片。他在幾乎空曠無人的廣場上來回踱了幾個鐘頭，看着這個飛行工具。潘剋洛夫也采取了同樣的行動，他雙手插在衣袋裏，好象設法消磨時間似的，不時打着呵欠，但是實際上也象他的朋友那樣，十分擔心氣球會不會損壞，風會不會颳斷它的繩索，把它颳到天空去。天晚了。夜色非常昏暗。大霧象烏雲一般彌漫在地面上。天空同時下着雨和雪。氣候非常寒冷。濃霧籠罩着裏士滿。強烈的風暴似乎在攻和守的雙方之間造成了休戰狀態，大炮的聲音在怒吼的狂風中一點也聽不到了。城市的街道上不見人影，在這麽惡劣的天氣裏，官方似乎沒有想到會丟失氣球，因此覺得沒有必要在廣場上設崗。這一切都是俘虜們脫逃的有利條件，但是，他們在狂風暴雨中所作的冒險嘗試最後會怎麽樣呢？
“天氣真壞！”潘剋洛夫喊道，他一拳壓住了頭上那頂要被風颳走的帽子。“但是，啊，我們還是會成功的！”
九點半鐘，史密斯和他的夥伴們從不同的方向來到廣場，大風吹滅了汽燈，廣場上一片漆黑。連那幾乎被吹倒在地上的大氣球也看不見了。網索是係在沙囊上的，而吊籃卻是單獨用一根結實的鋼纜穿在便道的一個鐵環裏。五個俘虜在吊籃旁邊會合了。他們沒有被人發現，由於天色昏黑，甚至他們彼此都看不見。
史密斯、史佩萊、納布和赫伯特一言不發地在吊籃裏各自坐了下來，潘剋洛夫按照工程師的指示把沙囊一一解開。衹花了幾分鐘的工夫，水手就回到他的夥伴們身邊來了。
係着氣球的衹剩下一根鋼纜，衹要工程師一聲號令就可以起飛了。
就在這時候，突然有一隻狗跳到吊籃裏來。原來是工程師的愛犬托普。這衹忠實的畜生掙斷鏈索，趕上了它的主人。工程師怕這份外加的重量會影響他們的上升，想打發它走。
“可憐的畜生！就多它一個吧！”潘剋洛夫一面說，一面把兩袋沙土扔了出去，減輕了吊籃的重量，然後解開鋼纜，氣球斜着往上升去，由於起勢猛烈，吊籃在兩個煙囪上碰了一下，然後纔消失得無影無蹤。
颶風可怕地怒吼着。在夜間下降，工程師連想也不敢想；拂曉時，下面的大地被濃霧遮蔽得一點也看不見。
五天以後他們纔從雲隙中看到下面的一片汪洋大海。在颶風的推送下，氣球以驚人的速度飛行着。
大傢都知道：在3月20日起飛的這五個人，後來在3月24日有四個人被拋棄在遠離祖國六千英裏的荒涼海岸上，一個人丟失了！這個丟失的人就是他們的領袖，工程師史密斯！他們剛剛着陸，就連忙趕到海灘上去，打算援救他。
A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny, and after having, on the 20th of March, escaped from Richmond, besieged by the troops of General Ulysses Grant, they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia, which was the principal stronghold of the South, during the terrible War of Secession. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days.
The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as follows:
That same year, in the month of February, 1865, in one of the coups de main by which General Grant attempted, though in vain, to possess himself of Richmond, several of his officers fell into the power of the enemy and were detained in the town. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. He was a native of Massachusetts, a first-class engineer, to whom the government had confided, during the war, the direction of the railways, which were so important at that time. A true Northerner, thin, bony, lean, about forty-five years of age; his close-cut hair and his beard, of which he only kept a thick mustache, were already getting gray. He had one-of those finely-developed heads which appear made to be struck on a medal, piercing eyes, a serious mouth, the physiognomy of a clever man of the military school. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the hammer and pickaxe, like generals who first act as common soldiers. Besides mental power, he also possessed great manual dexterity. His muscles exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity. A man of action as well as a man of thought, all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and sanguine temperament. Learned, clear-headed, and practical, he fulfilled in all emergencies those three conditions which united ought to insure human success--activity of mind and body, impetuous wishes, and powerful will. He might have taken for his motto that of William of Orange in the 17th century: "I can undertake and persevere even without hope of success." Cyrus Harding was courage personified. He had been in all the battles of that war. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois, under Ulysses Grant, he fought at Paducah, Belmont, Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of Corinth, Port Gibson, Black River, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, on the Potomac, everywhere and valiantly, a soldier worthy of the general who said, "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself, fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. This was no other than Gideon Spilen, a reporter for the New York Herald, who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies.
Gideon Spilett was one of that race of indomitable English or American chroniclers, like Stanley and others, who stop at nothing to obtain exact information, and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible time. The newspapers of the Union, such as the New York Herald, are genuine powers, and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters: a man of great merit, energetic, prompt and ready for anything, full of ideas, having traveled over the whole world, soldier and artist, enthusiastic in council, resolute in action, caring neither for trouble, fatigue, nor danger, when in pursuit of information, for himself first, and then for his journal, a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects, of the unpublished, of the unknown, and of the impossible. He was one of those intrepid observers who write under fire, "reporting" among bullets, and to whom every danger is welcome.
He also had been in all the battles, in the first rank, revolver in one hand, note-book in the other; grape-shot never made his pencil tremble. He did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams, like those who speak when they have nothing to say, but each of his notes, short, decisive, and clear, threw light on some important point. Besides, he was not wanting in humor. It was he who, after the affair of the Black River, determined at any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office, and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle, telegraphed for two hours the first chapters of the Bible. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars, but the New York Herald published the first intelligence.
Gideon Spilett was tall. He was rather more than forty years of age. Light whiskers bordering on red surrounded his face. His eye was steady, lively, rapid in its changes. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. Well built, he was inured to all climates, like a bar of steel hardened in cold water.
For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald, which he enriched by his letters and drawings, for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. When he was captured, he was in the act of making a description and sketch of the battle. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me, but--" The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett, who, with his usual fortune, came out of this affair without a scratch.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, who did not know each other except by reputation, had both been carried to Richmond. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed, and it was during his convalescence that he made acquaintance with the reporter. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. Soon their common aim had but one object, that of escaping, rejoining Grant's army, and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals.
The two Americans had from the first determined to seize every chance; but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town, Richmond was so strictly guarded, that escape appeared impossible. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's estate, of a slave father and mother, but to whom Cyrus, who was an Abolitionist from conviction and heart, had long since given his freedom. The once slave, though free, would not leave his master. He would have died for him. He was a man of about thirty, vigorous, active, clever, intelligent, gentle, and calm, sometimes naive, always merry, obliging, and honest. His name was Nebuchadnezzar, but he only answered to the familiar abbreviation of Neb.
When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner, he left Massachusetts without hesitating an instant, arrived before Richmond, and by dint of stratagem and shrewdness, after having risked his life twenty times over, managed to penetrate into the besieged town. The pleasure of Harding on seeing his servant, and the joy of Neb at finding his master, can scarcely be described.
But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond, it was quite another thing to get out again, for the Northern prisoners were very strictly watched. Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the attempt with any chance of success, and this opportunity not only did not present itself, but was very difficult to find.
Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought. His forces, united to those of Butler, had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond, and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance.
The reporter, to whom his tedious captivity did not offer a single incident worthy of note, could stand it no longer. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought--how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. Several times had he even made the attempt, but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle. However, the siege continued; and if the prisoners were anxious to escape and join Grant's army, certain of the besieged were no less anxious to join the Southern forces. Among them was one Jonathan Forster, a determined Southerner. The truth was, that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town, neither could the Secessionists themselves while the Northern army invested it. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee, and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town, so as to hasten the march of the army to their relief. Thus Jonathan Forster accordingly conceived the idea of rising in a balloon, so as to pass over the besieging lines, and in that way reach the Secessionist camp.
The Governor authorized the attempt. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster, who was to be accompanied by five other persons. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted, and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged.
The departure of the balloon was fixed for the 18th of March. It should be effected during the night, with a northwest wind of moderate force, and the aeronauts calculated that they would reach General Lee's camp in a few hours.
But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. The tempest soon became such that Forster's departure was deferred, for it was impossible to risk the balloon and those whom it carried in the midst of the furious elements.
The balloon, inflated on the great square of Richmond, was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind, and, as may be supposed, the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great.
The 18th, the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the ground, as the squalls dashed it furiously about.
The night of the 19th passed, but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force. The departure of the balloon was impossible.
On that day the engineer, Cyrus Harding, was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. This was a sailor named Pencroft, a man of about thirty-five or forty years of age, strongly built, very sunburnt, and possessed of a pair of bright sparkling eyes and a remarkably good physiognomy. Pencroft was an American from the North, who had sailed all the ocean over, and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter. It is needless to say that he was a bold, dashing fellow, ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. Pencroft at the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business, with a young boy of fifteen from New Jersey, son of a former captain, an orphan, whom he loved as if he had been his own child. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege, he found himself shut up, to his great disgust; but, not accustomed to succumb to difficulties, he resolved to escape by some means or other. He knew the engineer-officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. On this day he did not, therefore, hesitate to accost him, saying, without circumlocution, "Have you had enough of Richmond, captain?"
The engineer looked fixedly at the man who spoke, and who added, in a low voice,--
"Captain Harding, will you try to escape?"
"When?" asked the engineer quickly, and it was evident that this question was uttered without consideration, for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor, he was convinced that he had before him an honest man.
"Who are you?" he asked briefly.
Pencroft made himself known.
"Well," replied Harding, "and in what way do you propose to escape?"
"By that lazy balloon which is left there doing nothing, and which looks to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us--"
There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence. The engineer understood him at once. He seized Pencroft by the arm, and dragged him to his house. There the sailor developed his project, which was indeed extremely simple. They risked nothing but their lives in its execution. The hurricane was in all its violence, it is true, but so clever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship, Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out, of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for, accustomed to brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean, he was not to be hindered on account of the hurricane.
Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word, but his eyes shone with satisfaction. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. The plan was feasible, though, it must be confessed, dangerous in the extreme. In the night, in spite of their guards, they might approach the balloon, slip into the car, and then cut the cords which held it. There was no doubt that they might be killed, but on the other hand they might succeed, and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself.
"I am not alone!" said Harding at last.
"How many people do you wish to bring with you?" asked the sailor.
"Two; my friend Spilett, and my servant Neb."
"That will be three," replied Pencroft; "and with Herbert and me five. But the balloon will hold six--"
"That will be enough, we will go," answered Harding in a firm voice.
This "we" included Spilett, for the reporter, as his friend well knew, was not a man to draw back, and when the project was communicated to him he approved of it unreservedly. What astonished him was, that so simple an idea had not occurred to him before. As to Neb, he followed his master wherever his master wished to go.
"This evening, then," said Pencroft, "we will all meet out there."
"This evening, at ten o'clock," replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure."
Pencroft took leave of the two friends, and returned to his lodging, where young Herbert Brown had remained. The courageous boy knew of the sailor's plan, and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer. Thus five determined persons were about to abandon themselves to the mercy of the tempestuous elements!
No! the storm did not abate, and neither Jonathan Forster nor his companions dreamed of confronting it in that frail car.
It would be a terrible journey. The engineer only feared one thing; it was that the balloon, held to the ground and dashed about by the wind, would be torn into shreds. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square, surveying the apparatus. Pencroft did the same on his side, his hands in his pockets, yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time, but really dreading, like his friend, either the escape or destruction of the balloon. Evening arrived. The night was dark in the extreme. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground. Rain fell mingled with snow. it was very cold. A mist hung over Richmond. it seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged, and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. The streets of the town were deserted. It had not even appeared necessary in that horrible weather to place a guard in the square, in the midst of which plunged the balloon. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners, but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--
"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft, fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw, we shall succeed all the same!"
At half-past nine, Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square, which the gas-lamps, extinguished by the wind, had left in total obscurity. Even the enormous balloon, almost beaten to the ground, could not be seen. Independently of the sacks of ballast, to which the cords of the net were fastened, the car was held by a strong cable passed through a ring in the pavement. The five prisoners met by the car. They had not been perceived, and such was the darkness that they could not even see each other.
Without speaking a word, Harding, Spilett, Neb, and Herbert took their places in the car, while Pencroft by the engineer's order detached successively the bags of ballast. It was the work of a few minutes only, and the sailor rejoined his companions.
The balloon was then only held by the cable, and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word.
At that moment a dog sprang with a bound into the car. It was Top, a favorite of the engineer. The faithful creature, having broken his chain, had followed his master. He, however, fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent, wished to send away the animal.
"One more will make but little difference, poor beast!" exclaimed Pencroft, heaving out two bags of sand, and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction, disappeared, after having dashed the car against two chimneys, which it threw down as it swept by them.
Then, indeed, the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. During the night the engineer could not dream of descending, and when day broke, even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog.
Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet, now lashed into the maddest fury by the gale.
Our readers will recollect what befell these five daring individuals who set out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of March. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast, seven thousand miles from their country! But one of their number was missing, the man who was to be their guide, their leading spirit, the engineer, Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet, they all hurried to the beach in the hopes of rendering him assistance.