 Chapter forty-one of Five Weeks in a Balloon. Five Weeks in a Balloon, or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa, by Three Englishmen, by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland. Chapter forty-one. The Approaches to Senegal. The Balloon sinks lower and lower. They keep throwing out, throwing out. The Marabou Al-Haji. Mezzers Pascal, Vincent, and Lambert. Arrival of Mohammed. The Difficult Mountains. Kennedy's Weapons. One of Joe's Maneuvers. A halt over a forest. On the 27th of May, at nine o'clock in the morning, the country presented an entirely different aspect. The slopes, extending far away, changed a hill as they gave evidence of mountains soon to follow. They would have to cross the chain, which separates the basin of the Niger from the basin of the Senegal, and determines the course of the watershed, whether to the Gulf of Guinea, on the one hand, or to the Bay of Cape Verde on the other. As far as Senegal, this part of Africa is marked down as dangerous. Dr. Ferguson knew it through the recitals of his predecessors. They had suffered a thousand privations and been exposed to a thousand dangers in the midst of these barbarous Negro tribes. It was this fatal climate that had devoured most of the companions of Mungo Park. Ferguson, therefore, was more than ever decided not to set foot in this inhospitable region. But he had not enjoyed one moment of repose. The Victoria was descending very perceptively, so much so that he had to throw overboard a number more of useless articles, especially when there was a mountain top to pass. Things went on thus for more than one hundred and twenty miles. They were worn out with ascending and falling again. The balloon, like another rock of sycophus, kept continually sinking back toward the ground. The retunity of the concovering, which was now but little inflated, was collapsing already. It assumed an elongated shape, and the wind hollowed large cavities in the silken surface. Kennedy could not help observing this. There a crack or a tear in the balloon, he asked? No, but the gutter percher has immediately softened or melted in the heat, and the hydrogen is escaping through the silk. How can we prevent that? It is impossible. Let us lighten her. That is the only help. So let us throw out everything we can spare. But what shall it be, said the hunter, looking at the car, which was already quite bare? Well, let us get rid of the awning, for its weight is quite considerable. Joe, who was interested in this order, climbed up on the circle which kept together the cordage of the network, and from that place easily managed to detach the heavy curtains of the awning and throw them overboard. There is something that will gladden the hearts of a whole tribe of blacks, said he. There is enough to dress a thousand of them, for they are not very extravagant with cloth. The balloon had risen a little, but it soon became evident that it was again approaching the ground. Let us alight, suggested Kennedy, and see what can be done with the covering of the balloon. I tell you again, Dick, that we have no means of repairing it. Then what shall we do? We will have to sacrifice everything not absolutely indispensable. I am anxious. It all hazards to avoid a detention in these regions. The forests over the tops of which we are skimming are anything but safe. What are the lions in them, or hyenas, asked Joe, with an expression of sovereign contempt? Worse than that, my boy, there are men, and some of the most cruel, too, in all Africa. How is that known? By the statements of travelers who have been here before us. Then the French settlers, who occupy the colony of Senegal, necessarily have relations with the surrounding tribes. Under the administration of Colonel Faderbe, reconnaissance have been pushed far up into the country. Officers such as Mesut's Pascal, Vincent, and Lambert have brought back precious documents from their expeditions. They have explored these countries, formed by the elbow of the Senegal, in places where war and pillage have nothing left but ruins. What then took place? I will tell you. In 1854, a marabout of the Sengali's Futa al-Haji by name, declaring himself to be inspired like Muhammad, stirred up all the tribes to war against the infidels. That is to say, against the Europeans. He carried destruction and desolation over the regions, between the Senegal River and its tributary, the Fateme. Three hordes of fanatics led on by him scour the country, sparing neither a village nor a hut in their pillaging, massacring career. He advanced in person on the town of Sego, which was a long-time Britain. In 1857, he worked up farther to the Northwood, and invested the fortification of Medina, built by the French on the bank of the river. This stronghold was defended by Paul Hol, who, for several months, without provision or ammunition, held out until Colonel Faderbe came to his relief. Al-Haji and his bands then were passed to Senegal and reappeared in the Carta, gatering their repine and murder. Well, here below us is the very country in which he has found refuge, with his hordes of banditi, and I assure you that it would not be a good thing to fall into his hands. We shall not, said Joe, even if we have to throw a border or close to save the Victoria. We are not far from the river, said the doctor, but I foresee that our balloon will not be able to carry us beyond it. Let us reach its banks at all events at the scot, and that will be so much gained. That is what we are trying to do with joint Ferguson. Only that one thing makes me feel anxious. What is that? We shall have mountains to pass, and that will be difficult to do, since I cannot augment the essential force of the balloon, even with the greatest possible heat that I can produce. Well, wait a bit, said Kennedy, and we shall see. The poor Victoria, said Joe, I had got fond of her as a sailor does of a ship, and I will not give her up so easily. She may not be what she was at the start, granted, but we shouldn't say a word against her. She has done us good service, and it would break my heart to desert her. Be it Jareese, Joe, if we leave her, it will be in spite of ourselves. She will serve us until she is completely worn out, and I ask of her only twenty-four hours more. She is getting used up. She grows thinner and thinner, said Joe, dullfully while he eyed her. Poor balloon. Unless I am deceived, said Kennedy, there on the horizon are the mountains of which you were speaking, doctor. Yes, there they are indeed, exclaimed the doctor, after having examined them through a spy glass, and they look very high. We shall have some trouble in crossing them. Can we not avoid them? I am afraid not, Dick. See what an immense space they occupy, nearly one-half of the horizon. They even seem to shut us in, added Joe. They are gaining on both our right and our left. We must then pass over them. These obstacles, which threaten such imminent peril, seem to approach with extreme rapidity, or to speak more accurately, the wind, which was very fresh, was hurrying the balloon to ward the sharp peaks. So rise it must or be dashed to pieces. Let us empty our tank of water, said the doctor, and keep only enough for one day. There it goes, shouted Joe. Does the balloon rise at all, asked Kennedy? A little, some fifty feet, replied the doctor, who kept his eyes fixed on the barometer. But that is not enough. In truth the lofty peaks were starting out so swiftly before the travelers that they seemed to be rushing down upon them. The balloon was far from rising above them. She lacked an elevation of more than five hundred feet more. The stock of water for the cylinder was also thrown overboard, and only a few prines were retained. But still, all that was not enough. We must pass them, though, urged the doctor. Let us throw out the tanks. We have emptied them, said Kennedy. Over with them. There they go, panted Joe. But it is hard to see ourselves dropping off this way by piecemeal. Now, for your part, Joe, make no attempts to sacrifice yourself, as you did the other day. Whatever happens, swear to me that you will not leave us. Have no fear, as my master, we shall not be separated. The Victoria had ascended some hundred and twenty feet, but the crest of the mountain still towered above her. It was an almost perpendicular ridge that ended in a regular wall, rising abruptly in a straight line. It still rose more than two hundred feet over the aeronauts. In ten minutes, said the doctor to himself, our car will be dashed against those rocks unless we succeed in passing them. While doctor acquired Joe, keep nothing but our Pemmigan, and throw out all the heavy meat. Thereupon the balloon was again lightened by some fifty pounds, and it rose very perceptibly. But that was of little consequence, unless it got above the line of the mountaintops. The situation was terrifying. The Victoria was rushing on with great rapidity. They could feel that she would be dashed to pieces, that the shock would be fearful. The doctor glanced around him in the car. It was nearly empty. It needs be, Dick. Hold yourself in readiness to throw over your firearms. Sacrifice my firearms, repeatedly to the sportsman, with intense feeling. My friend, I ask it. It will be absolutely necessary. Samuel, doctor, your guns and your stock of powder and ball might cost us our lives. We are close to it, cried Joe. Sixty feet. The mountain still overtopped the balloon by sixty feet. Joe took the blankets and other coverings and tossed them out. Then without a word to Kennedy, he threw over several bags of bullets and lead. The balloon went up still higher. It surmounted the dangerous ridge, and the rays of the sun shone upon its uppermost extremity. But the car was still below the level of certain broken messes of rock, against which it would inevitably be dashed. Kennedy, Kennedy, throw out your firearms or we are lost, shouted the doctor. Wait, sir. Wait one moment, they heard Joe exclaim. On looking around, they saw Joe disappeared over the edge of the balloon. Joe! Joe! cried Kennedy. Wretched man was the doctor's agonized expression. The flat top of the mountain may have had about twenty feet in breadth at this point, and on the other side the slope presented a less declivity. The car just touched the level of this plane, which happened to be quite even, and it glided over a soil composed of sharp pebbles that grated as it passed. We're over it! We're over it! We're clear! cried an exulting voice that made Ferguson's heart bleed to his throat. The daring fellow was there, grasping the lower rim of the car and running afoot over the top of the mountain, thus lightening the balloon of his whole weight. He had to hold on with all his strength, too, for it was likely to escape his grasp at any moment. When he had reached the opposite to clivity and the abyss was before him, Joe, by a vigorous effort, hoisted himself from the ground, and clambering up by the cordage rejoined his friends. That was all he coolly ejaculated. My brave Joe, my friend, said the doctor with deep emotion. Oh, what I did laugh the other, was not for you. It was to save Mr. Kennedy's rifle. I owed him that good term for the affair with the Arab. I like to pay my debts, and now we are even, added he, handed to the sportsman's favorite weapon. I'd feel very badly to see you deprived of it. Kennedy hardly shook the brave fellow's hand without being able to utter a word. The Victoria had nothing to do now but to descend. That was easy enough, so that she was soon at a height of only two hundred feet from the ground, and was then in equilibrium. The surface seemed very much broken, as though by a convulsion of nature. It presented numerous inequalities, which would have been very difficult to avoid during the night, with a balloon that could no longer be controlled. Evening was coming on rapidly, and notwithstanding his repugnance, the doctor had to make up his mind to halt until morning. We now look for a favorable stopping-place, said he. Ah, replied Kennedy, you have made up your mind, then, at last. Yes, I have for a long time been thinking of our plan which we'll try to put into execution. It is only six o'clock in the evening, and we shall have time enough. Throughout your anchors, Joe. Joe immediately obeyed, and the two anchors dangled below the balloon. I see large forests ahead of us, said the doctor. We are going to sweep along their tops, and we shall grapple to some tree, for nothing would make me think of passing the night below on the ground. But can we not descend, asked Kennedy? To what purpose? I repeat that it would be dangerous for us to separate, and besides, I claim your help for a difficult piece of homework. The Victoria, which was skimming along the tops of immense forests, soon came to a sharp halt. Her anchors had caught, and the wind falling at dusk came on. She remained motionlessly suspended above a vast field of verdure, formed by the tops of a forest of sycamores. End of Chapter 41 of Five Weeks in a Balloon Recording by Alexi Tallander. Roosevelt, California. Chapter 42 of Five Weeks in a Balloon. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Alexi Tallander. Roosevelt, California. Five Weeks in a Balloon. Or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa. By Three Englishmen. By Jules Verne. Translated by William Lackland. Chapter 42 A Struggle of Generosity. The Last Sacrifice. The Dilating Apparatus. Joe's Adortness. Midnight. The Doctor's Watch. Kennedy's Watch. The Letter Falls asleep at his post. The Fire. The Howlings of the Natives. Out of Range. Dr. Ferguson's first care was to take his bearings by stellar observation, and he discovered that he was scarcely 25 miles from Senegal. All that we can manage to do, my friends, that 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 firearms, 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 honour. You indeed, remonstrated Joe did. 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 friend. 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 and 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 Bunsen 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 sentiental force left to us, and it is sufficient to carry us every one with the few objects that remain. We shall make an all-await 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 affected. The united strength of all three travels 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 would be vitally astonished, said Joe, at finding things like those in the woods, though 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 cow-chuk joining of 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 honing 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 the most severe exertion, and the trio partook of a luncheon of pimecan and cold punch, as the doctor had no 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 wake in Kennedy. At four Kennedy will wake in Joe, and at six we'll start, and may heaven have us in its keeping for this last day of the trip. Without waiting week hoax, the doctor's two companions stretched themselves at the bottom of the car, and dropped in a profound slumber on the instant. The night was calm. A few clouds broke against the last quarter of the moon, whose uncertain rays scarcely pressed 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 rustlings of the leaves. He was in that mood, which solitude makes more cleanly, 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 were more vivid, one's emotions keener. The point of arrival seems to fly farther from our gaze. Moreover, the present situation had nothing very consultory about it. They were in the midst of a barbarous country, and depended 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 maneuvered 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 of the vast forest around him. He even fancied that he saw a swift gleam of fire shining between the trees. He looked sharply, and turned his nightglass 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, in joining upon him to observe the extremist 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 treetops and gently rocked the car, inviting the hunter to taste the sleep that stole over him in the spot of himself. He strove hard to resist it, and repeatedly opened his eyes to plunge into the out-of-darkness, one of those looks that see nothing, but at last, yielding to fatigue, he sent back and slumbered. How long he had been buried in the 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 hurled under the foliage, which was now illuminated as brightly as the day. Ah, the savages cried Joe again. They had set fire to the forest, says to be the more certain of burning us up. The Talabas, Al-Haji's Mara-boots, 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 travelers 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 in with a firm grasp, and dashing at the anchor-rope, severed it with one directed blow of his hatchet. Meanwhile the flames, lifting up with the balloon, already quivered on its illuminated sides, but the Victoria, released from her fastening, spun up with a thousand feet into the air. Frightful yells resounded through the forest, along with a report of firearms, while the balloon, caught in a current of air that rose with the dawn of day, was born to the westward. It was now four o'clock in the morning. End of Chapter 42 of Five Weeks in a Balloon Recording by Alex C. Tlander, Roseville, California. Chapter 43 of Five Weeks in a Balloon This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Alex C. Tlander, Roseville, California. Five Weeks in a Balloon Or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen by Jules Verne Translated by William Lackland Chapter 43 The Talibus The Pursuit A Devastated Country The wind begins to fall. The Victoria sinks. The last of the provisions. The leaps of the balloon. A defence with firearms. The wind freshens. The Senegal River. The cataracts of Bina. The hot air. The passage of the river. Had we not taken a precaution to lighten the balloon yesterday evening, we should have been lost beyond redemption, said the doctor, after a long silence. See what's gained by doing things at the right time, replied Joe. One gets out of scrapes then, and nothing is more natural. We are not out of danger yet, said the doctor. What do you still apprehend? queried Kennedy. The balloon can't descend without your permission, and even were it to do so. Were it to do so, Dick? Look! They had just passed the borders of the forest, and the three friends could see some thirty-mounted men clad in broad pantaloons and the floating bernousses. They were armed, some with lances and other with long muskets, and they were following, on their quick, fiery little steeds, the direction of the balloon, which was moving at only a moderate speed. When they caught sight of the aeronauts, they uttered savage cries and brandished their weapons. Anger and menace could be read upon their swarly faces, made more ferocious by thin but bristling beards. Meanwhile, they galloped along without difficulty, over the low levels and gentle declivities that led down to the Senegal. It is indeed they, said the doctor, the cruel Talabas, the ferocious Maribus of Al-Haji. I would rather find myself in the middle of the forest encircled by wild beasts than fall into the hands of these Banditi. They have a very obliging look, assented Kennedy, and they are rough stalwart fellows. Happily, those brutes can't fly, remarked Joe, and that's something. See, said Ferguson, those villages and ruins, those huts burned down? That is their work. Where vast stretches of cultivated land were once seen, they have brought barrenness and devastation. At all events, however, in opposed Kennedy, they can't overtake us, and if we succeed in putting the river between us and them, we are safe. Perfectly decked, replied Ferguson, but we must not fall to the ground, and as he said this, he glanced at the barometer. In any case, Joe, added Kennedy, it would do us no harm to look to our firearms. No harm in the world, Mr. Dick. We are lucky that we didn't scatter them along the road. My rifles are the sportsmen. I hope that I shall never be separated from it. And so saying, Kennedy deluded the pet piece with the greatest care, for he had plenty of powder and ball remaining. At what height are we, he asked the doctor. About 750 feet, but we no longer have the power of seeing favorable currents, either going up or coming down. We are at the mercy of the balloon. This is vexatious, rejoined Kennedy. The wind is poor, but if we had come across a hurricane, like some of those we've met before, these violent brigands would have been out of sight long ago. The brassicals follow us at their leisure, said Joe. They're only at a short gallop, quite a nice little ride. If we were within range, said the sportsmen, I should amuse myself with dismounting a few of them. Exactly, said the doctor. But then they would have you within range also, and our balloon would offer only two plain to target, to the bullets from their long guns, and if they were to make a hole in it, I leave you to judge what our situation would be. The pursuit of the Taliban continued all morning, and by eleven o'clock the aeronauts had made scarcely fifteen miles to the westward. The doctor was anxiously watching the least cloud on the horizon. He feared, above all things, a change in the atmosphere. Should he be thrown back toward the Niger, what would become of him? Besides, he remarked that the balloon tended to fall considerably. Since the start, he had already lost more than three hundred feet, and the Senegal must be about a dozen miles distant. At this present rate of speed, he could count upon travelling only three hours longer. At this moment, his attention was attracted by fresh cries. The Taliban appeared to be much excited, and was spurring their horses. The doctor consulted his barometer, and at once discovered the cause of these symptoms. Are we descending, asked Kennedy? Yes, replied the doctor. The mischief thought, Joe. In the lapse of fifteen minutes, Victoria was only one hundred and fifty feet above the ground, but the wind was much stronger than before. The Taliban has checked their horses, and soon a volley of musketry peeled out in the air. Too far, you fools, bawled Joe, I think it would be well to keep those scamps at a distance. And as he spoke, he aimed at one of the horsemen, who is farthest to the front and fired. The Taliban fell headlong, and his companions, halting for a moment, the balloon gained upon them. They are prudence, said Kennedy, because they think that they are certain to take us, replied the doctor. And they will succeed if we descend much farther. He must absolutely get higher into the air. What can we throw out, asked Joe? All there remains of our stock of Pemekin? That will be thirty pounds less weight to carry. Out of goes, sir, said Joe, obeying orders. The car, which was now almost touching the ground, rose again, and made the cries of the Taliban. But half an hour later, the balloon was again falling rapidly, because the gas was escaping to the pores of the covering. Air along the car was once more, grazing the soil, and al-Haji's black riders rushed toward it. But as it weakly happens in light cases, the balloon had scarcely touched the surface, air it rebounded, and only came down again a mile away. So we shall not escape, said Kennedy, between his teeth. Throw out our reserve store of brandy, Joe, cried the doctor, our instruments, and everything that is any weight, even to our last anchor, because they must go. Joe flung out the barometers and thermometers, but all that amounted to little, and the balloon, which had risen for an instant, fell again toward the ground. The Taliban's fleet awarded it, and a length were not more than two hundred paces away. Throw out of the two fouling pieces, said Ferguson. Not without discharging them, at least, responded the sportsman, and four shots in quick succession struck the thick of the advancing group of horsemen. Four Taliban's fell, and made the frantic howls and implications of their comrades. The Victoria ascended once more, and made some enormous leaps, like a huge gum-elastic ball, bounding and rebounding through the air. A strange sight it was to see these unfortunate men endeavoring to escape by those huge aerial strides, and seeming like the giant Anteas to receive fresh strength every time they touched the earth, but this situation had to terminate. It was now nearly noon, the Victoria was getting empty and exhausted, and assuming a more and more elongated form every instant. Its outer covering was becoming flaccid, and floated loosely in the air, and the folds of the silk rustled and grated on each other. Heaven abandoned us, said Kennedy. We have to fall. Joe made no answer. He kept looking intently at his master. Notice at the latter, we have more than one hundred and fifty pounds yet to throw out. What can it be, then, said Kennedy, thinking that the doctor must be going mad. The car was his reply. We can cling to the network. There we can hang on in the meshes until we reach the river. Quick, quick! And these daring men did not hesitate a moment to avail themselves of this last desperate means of escape. They clutched the network, as the doctor directed, and Joe, holding on by one hand, with the other cut the cords that suspended the car, and the ladder dropped to the ground, just as the balloon was sinking for the last time. Hurrah! Hurrah! shouted the brave fellow exultingly, as the Victoria, once more relieved, shut up again to a height of three hundred feet. The Talavas spurred their horses, which now came tearing on at a furious gallop, but the balloon, falling in with a much more favourable wind, shot ahead of them, and was rapidly carried toward a hill that stretched across the horizon to the westward. This was a circumstance favourable to the aeronauts, because they could rise over the hill, while Adhaji's horde had to diverge to the northward in order to pass this obstacle. The three friends still clung to the network. They had been able to fasten it under their feet, where it had formed a sort of swinging pocket. Suddenly, after they had crossed the hill, the doctor exclaimed, The river, the river, the Senegal, my friends, and about two miles ahead of them, there was indeed the river, rolling its broad mass of water, while the Father Bank, which was low and fertile, offered a sure refuge, and a place favourable for descent. Another quarter of an hour said Ferguson, and we are saved, but it was not to happen thus. The empty balloon descended slowly upon a tract, almost entirely bare of vegetation. It was made up of long slopes and stony plains, a few bushes and some coarse grass, scorched by the sun. The Victoria touched the ground several times and rose again, but a rebound was diminishing in height and length. At the last one, it caught by the upper part of the network in the lofty branches of a bowel-bab, the only tree that stood there, solitary and alone, in the midst of the waste. It's all over, said Kennedy, and at a hundred paces only from the river had grown, Joe. The three hapless aeronauts descended to the ground, and the doctor drew his companions toward the Senegal. At this point the river sent forth a prolonged roaring, and when Ferguson reached his bank, he recognized the falls of Guyna, but not a boat, not a living creature was to be seen. With a breadth of two thousand feet, the Senegal precipitates itself for a height of one hundred and fifty, with a thundering reverberation. It ran where they saw it, from east to west, and the line of rocks that barred its course extended from north to south. In the midst of the falls, rocks of strange forms started up like huge antediluvian animals, petrified there amid the waters. The impossibility of crossing this gulf was self-evident, and Kennedy could not restrain the gesture of despair. But Dr. Ferguson, with an energetic accent of undaunted daring, exclaimed, All is not over. I knew it, said Joe, with that confidence in his master, which nothing could ever shake. The sight of the dried-up grass had inspired the doctor with a bold idea. It was the last chance of escape. He let his friends quickly back to where they had left the covering of the bloom. We have at least an hour's start of those bandities, said he. Let us lose no time, my friends. Gather a quantity of this dried grass. I want a hundred pounds of it, at least. For what purpose, asked Kennedy, surprised. I have no more gas. Well, I'll cross the river with hot air. Ah, doctor, exclaimed Kennedy. You are indeed a great man. Joe and Kennedy had once went to work, and soon had the immense pile of dried grass heat up near the Baobab. In the meantime, the doctor had enlarged the orifice of the bloom by cutting it open at the lower end. He then was very careful to expel the last remnant of hydrogen through the valve, after which he heat up a quantity of grass under the balloon and set fire to it. It takes but a little while to inflate a balloon with hot air. A head of 180 degrees is sufficient to diminish the weight of the air it contains to the extent of one half by rarifying it. Thus the Victoria quickly began to assume a more rounded form. There was no lack of grass. The fire was kept in full blast by the doctor's assiduous efforts, and the bloom grew fuller every instant. It was then a quarter to four o'clock. At this moment the band of telebots reappeared about two miles to the Northwood, and the three friends could hear their cries, and the clatter of their horses galloping at full speed. In twenty minutes they will be here, said Kennedy. More grass, more grass, Joe. In ten minutes we shall have our full of hot air. Here it is, doctor. The Victoria was now two-thirds inflated. Come, my friends, let us take hold of the network as we did before. All right, they answered together. At about ten minutes a few jerky motions by the balloon indicated that it was disposed to start again. The telebots were approaching. They were hardly five hundred paces away. Hold on fast, quite a vergeson. Have no fear, master. Have no fear. And the doctor, with his foot pushed another leap of grass upon the fire. With this the balloon, now completely inflated by the increased temperature, moved away, sweeping the branches of the bow-bab in her flight. We're off, shouted Joe. A volley of musketry responded to his exclamation. A bullet even plowed his shoulder, but Kennedy, leaning over and discharging his rifle wither on one hand, brought another of the enemy to the ground. Cries of fury, exceeding all description, hailed the departure of the balloon, which had at once ascended nearly eight hundred feet. A swift current caught and swept it along with the most alarming oscillations, while the intrepid doctor and his friends saw the gulf of the cataracts yawning below them. Ten minutes later, and without having exchanged a word, they descended gradually toward the other bank of the river. There, astonished, speechless, terrified, stood a group of men clad in a French uniform. Judge of their amazement when they saw the balloon rise from the right bank of the river. They had well and I taken it for some celestial phenomenon, but their officers, a lieutenant of Marines and a naval ensign, having seen mention made of Dr. Ferguson's daring expedition in the European papers, quickly explained the real state of the case. The balloon, losing its inflation little by little, settled with the daring travelers still clinging to its network, but it was doubtful whether it would reach the land. At once some of the brave Frenchmen rushed into the water, caught the three aeronauts in their arms, just as the Victoria fell at the distance of a few fathoms from the left bank of the Senegal. Dr. Ferguson exclaimed the lieutenant. The same sir replied the doctor quietly, and his two friends. The Frenchmen escorted our travelers from the river, while the balloon, half empty and borne away by a swift current, sped on to plunge like a huge bubble, headlong with the waters of the Senegal, into the cataracts of Guine. The poor Victoria was Joe's farewell mark. The doctor could not restrain a tear, extending his hands, his two friends rung them silently, with that deep emotion which requires no spoken words. End of Chapter 43 of Five Weeks in a Balloon Recording by Alex C. Tillander, Roseville, California, Chapter 44 of Five Weeks in a Balloon This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Alex C. Tillander, Roseville, California Five Weeks in a Balloon or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen by Jules Verne Translated by William Lackland Chapter 44 The Last Chapter Conclusion The Certificate The French Settlements The Post of Medina The Basilic St. Louis The English Frigate The Return to London The expedition upon the bank of the river had been sent by the Governor of Senegal. It consisted of two officers, Mezers du Freyze, Lieutenant of Marines, and Rotamel, Naval Anson, and when these were a sergeant and seven soldiers. For two days they had been engaged in reconnoitering the most favorable situation for a post at Guina, when they became witnesses of Dr. Ferguson's arrival. The warm greetings and felicitations of which our travelers were the recipients may be imagined. The Frenchmen and they alone, having had ocular proof of the accomplishment of the daring project, naturally became Dr. Ferguson's witnesses. Hence the doctor at once asked them to give their official testimony of his arrival at the cataracts of Guina. You would have no objection to signing a certificate of the fact, would you? He inquired of Lieutenant du Freyze. At your orders, the latter instantly replied. The Englishmen were exhorted to a provisional post established on the bank of the river, where they found the most assiduous attention, and everything to supply their wants. And there the following certificate was drawn up in the terms in which it appears today, in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society of London. We, the undersigned, do hereby declare that, on the day herein mentioned, we witnessed the arrival of Dr. Ferguson and his two companions, Richard Kennedy and Joseph Wilson, clinging to the cordage and network of a balloon, and that the said balloon fell at a distance of a few paces from us into the river, and being swept away by the current was lost in the cataracts of Guina. In testimony whereof we have hereon too set our hands and seals beside those of the persons here and above named, for the information of all whom it may concern. Done at the cataracts of Guina, on the 24th of May, 1862, signed Samuel Ferguson, Richard Kennedy, Joseph Wilson, Dufres, Lieutenant of Marines, Rodamel, Naval Ensign, Dufres, Sergeant, Flipeau, Mayor, Pellissier, Lois, Privates, Raskanie, Guillaume, Lebel. Here ended the astonishing journey of Dr. Ferguson and his brave companions, as vouched for by undeniable testimony, and they found themselves among friends in the midst of most hospitable tribes whose relations with the French settlements are frequent and amicable. They had arrived at Senegal on Saturday, the 24th of May, and on the 27th of the same month, they reached the post of Medina, situated a little farther to the north but on the river. There the French officers received them with open arms and leveraged upon them all the resources of their hospitality. Thus aided the doctor and its friends were unable to embark almost immediately on the small steamer called the Basilic, which ran down to the mouth of the river. Two weeks later, on the 10th of June, they arrived at St. Louis, where the Governor gave them a magnificent reception, and they recovered completely from their excitement and fatigue. Besides, Joe said to everyone who chose to listen, that was a stupid trip of ours after all, and I wouldn't advise anybody who is greedy for excitement to undertake it. He gets very tiresome at the last, and if it hadn't been for the adventures on Lake Chad and at the Senegal River, I do believe that we'd have died of yawning. An English frigate was just about to sail, and the three travelers procured a passage on board of her, on the 25th of June they arrived at Portsmouth, and on the next day at London. We would not describe the reception they got from the Royal Geographical Society, nor the intense curiosity and consideration of which they became the objects. Kennedy set off at once Reddenborough, with his famous rifle, for he was in haste to relieve the anxiety of his faithful old housekeeper. The doctor and his devoted Joe remained the same men that we have known them, accepting that one change took place of their own suggestion. They ceased to be master and servant in order to become bosom friends. The journals of all Europe were untiring in their praises of the bold explorers, and the daily telegraph struck off an edition of 377,000 copies on the day when it published a sketch of the trip. Dr. Ferguson, at a public meaning of the Royal Geographical Society, gave a recital of his journey through the air, and obtained for himself and his companions the gold and metal, set apart to reward the most remarkable exploring expedition of the year 1862. The first result of Dr. Ferguson's expedition was to establish, in the most precise manner, the facts and geographical surveys reported by Meso's Barth, Burton, Speke, and others. Thanks to the still more recent expeditions of Meso's Speke and Grant, DeHugling, and Moonsinga, who have been ascending to the sources of the Nile, and penetrating to the center of Africa, we shall be enabled ere long to verify, in turn, the discoveries of Dr. Ferguson in that vast region comprised between the 14th and 33rd degrees of East Longitude.