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We do not know; but down she came till she was within a few hundred feet of the ground. Robur then came out of his cabin, and the crew came on to the deck to breathe the ambient air. Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans took care not to miss such an excellent opportunity. They left their deck-house and walked off away from the others so as to be ready at the propitious moment.
On the boat's stern was the name of the ship to which she belonged the "Jeannette" of Nantes. "Hallo, there!" shouted Turner, loud enough for the men to hear, for the boat was only eighty feet below him. There was no answer. "Fire a gun!" said Robur. The gun was fired and the report rang out over the sea. One of the men looked up feebly. His eyes were haggard and his face was that of a skeleton.
But from the passion kindled in them by the success of the "Albatross" I see that their minds are not prepared for that important revolution which the conquest of the air will one day bring, Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans, you are free!" The president, the secretary, and the aeronaut had only to jump down. Then Robur continued.
But it is as well to repeat it this belonged entirely to Robur. He kept it a close secret. And, if the president and secretary of the Weldon Institute did not happen to discover it, it would probably be lost to humanity. It need not be shown that the apparatus possessed sufficient stability. Its center of gravity proved that at once.
Everyone knew of the appearance of the mysterious engineer named Robur Robur the Conqueror and the tumult among the balloonists, and his inexplicable disappearance. But it was quite another thing when all the town heard that the president and secretary of the club had also disappeared during the night. Long and keen was the search in the city and neighborhood! Useless!
The "Albatross" dropped towards the sea, and remained, about fifty feet above it. There was no ship in sight of that the two colleagues soon assured themselves nor was there any land to be seen to which they could swim, providing Robur made no attempt to recapture them. Several jets of water from the spout holes soon announced the presence of the whales as they came to the surface to breathe.
When the curtain of mist was drawn aside there lay below them an immense city, with palaces, villas, gardens, and parks. Even without seeing it Robur had recognized it by the barking of the innumerable dogs, the cries of the birds of prey, and above all, by the cadaverous odor which the bodies of its executed criminals gave off into space.
Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans, whatever were their feelings towards Robur, could not help joining him in such a work of humanity. "Let us free the prisoners!" they shouted. "That is what I am going to do!" said the engineer.
At night time the cold became very keen; but as there was no scarcity of clothing on board, the colleagues, well wrapped up, remained a good deal on deck thinking over their plans of escape, and watching for an opportunity. Little was seen of Robur; since the high words that had been exchanged in the Timbuktu country, the engineer had left off speaking to his prisoners.
On the shore there were no tide-marks, and this tended to confirm Robur in his opinion as to his position for the ebb and flow are almost imperceptible in the Pacific. At the northwest point there was a conical mountain about two hundred feet high. No natives were to be seen, but they might be on the opposite coast.
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