Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Engineer Robier's Behavior, Almost Like Winning the Montillon Award (Note)

(Note) The Montillon Virtue Award was established in 1782 and is awarded annually by the French Academy.Montillon (1733︱1820), French administrator and philanthropist.He donated most of his fortune to charity. After the Albatross has been flying around the world for so long, the question must be asked: What the hell is this Robbie doing?Until now, all the reader knows is the name.His whole life has been spent in the sky?Does his flying machine never rest?Was there a camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere where, if he didn't need to rest, at least he was supposed to go to replenish his supplies?It would be surprising if it wasn't.Even the fiercest bird has a nest somewhere.

Also, what did the Engineer plan to do with the two troublesome captives?To hold them down and force them on an endless flight?Or take them on a tour of Africa, South America, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean first, so that they have to be convinced, and then give them back their freedom and say to them: Now, gentlemen, I hope you will have less doubts about the heavier-than-air problem in the future! Such a question has no answer yet.This is a mystery of the future, and perhaps its veil will be lifted someday in the future! At any rate, Robier's bird did not seek his nest on the north coast of Africa.Over Tunisia, from Cape Benedict to Cape Carthage, against the twilight, sometimes up and down, sometimes gliding, flying as it pleases, very uncomfortable.Later it began to fly inland, first through the wondrous Maijerda valley, along yellowish streams hidden among cacti and oleander bushes.Along the way, it startled hundreds of parrots, perched on wires as if waiting for a telegram en route, to be carried away under their wings.

When it was getting dark, the Albatross flew over the Krumiri (Note: Located in the mountains in eastern Algeria and northern Tunisia.) Over the border area.Had there been any survivor of the Krumirians, he would have prostrated himself on the ground and begged Allah for protection at the sight of this gigantic eagle. The next morning, it flew over the city of Boni (Note: the city of Annaba in Algeria.) and saw the beautiful mountains around it.Later, I went to Philippeville (Note), which is now known as Little Algiers, and saw its newly built arched embankment and pleasant vineyards; green grapes are everywhere in the fields, It really looks like it was grown from Bordeaux or Burgundy.

(Note) It is the city of Skikda in Algeria, which was built by the French in 1838 to commemorate King Louis.Philip was named Philipville (Philipeville, meaning Philip City) in 1962, after Algeria became independent, it was renamed Skikda. It reached the Kasbah in Algiers just before noon, thus marking the end of a five-hundred-kilometre tour over the Great and Little Cabirias.For the passengers on the aircraft, the scenery here is really beautiful!The open anchorage from Madifort Point to the Pesca Spit, there are palaces, mosques, seashores lined with villas, green valleys full of grapes all over the mountains, and blue Mediterranean seas that seem to be the size of steamboats. Passenger ships across the Atlantic plowed ripples on the sea.This beautiful scenery continues to the picturesque city of Oran.Those who lingered in the gardens of the city must have seen the Albatross mingling with the night stars,

Uncle Prudden and Phil.Evans has been wondering what whimsical idea prompted engineer Robier to drag the flying prison that imprisoned them in Algeria, an extension of France on the other side of the ocean known as the Lake of France (Note: That is the Mediterranean Sea.) Wandering above.Two hours after sunset they thought he had had enough of the whim, for with a turn of the helmsman's stick the Albatross began to fly southeast.The next day, when I came out of Teller Mountain, a red sun was rising over the Sahara Desert. During the daytime on July 8, the flight route of the aircraft was as follows: First, it passed through the small town of Gerriver (like Lagowat, the town was also built on the edge of the desert in order to conquer the Sahara in the future); Ridge Pass.This mountain pass crossing is not easy, mainly because it has to fly against the wind, and the wind is quite strong; the next step is to fly across the desert.Sometimes the aircraft hovered slowly over the green desert oasis, sometimes over the castle;On several occasions, the flight attendants had to fire at the fearsome flocks of bearded vultures.Those bearded vultures, a group of twelve to fifteen, rushed towards the aircraft without fear, which frightened Fricoland.

If the bearded vulture's response was nothing more than a hideous cry or a beak-cracking claw, the natives, who were equally savage, did not spare their bullets, especially when flying over the Salt Mountains. Green-purple mountain beams protrude from Yanshan's silver-white coat.The vast Sahara Desert is at your feet.Abdel.The ruins of the camp of Kader (Note: An Algerian chief who once led the war against the French invaders.) sleep here.For European travellers, this area, especially the Beni-Mzal Joint Jurisdiction, is always a dangerous place. The Simon wind dragged the reddish grains of sand across the ground like knives, much like the tidal head of a vast ocean rolling in on the surface of the water.To avoid the jumping Simon winds, the Albatross had to ascend higher into the sky.The gray-black lava slag on the bare Sheboga Plateau has been spread to the refreshing and shaded Ann.Ma Xin Valley.The whole area can be seen at a glance, but the change of the surface is unimaginable. Behind the woods and bushy mountains, there are pale gray rolling hills behind, like the great Arab cloak, The folds of the great cloak create wonderful undulations on the ground.In the distance, there is the raging desert season river, palm groves and patches of thatched huts built on a small hill around a mosque.This mosque is none other than Metlidi, a great religious leader, the Islamic hermit Sidi al-Sidi.It is here that Schick lives a monotonous life all year round.

It was still dark, and the aircraft had already flown hundreds of kilometers over the wilderness scattered with big sandsmiths.For a break, the Albatross could have landed at the Ouargla Oasis, in the midst of a vast palm grove.From the aircraft, you can clearly see the three districts of the city: a fortified castle in the Old Sultan Palace, a house made of sun-dried earth bricks, and an artesian well dug in the valley.The Albatross could have replenished its water here, but, because of its incredible speed, although it had come to the African desert, the water tanks in the Kashmir Valley had not yet been exhausted from the Indus River.

Was the Albatros seen by the mixed Arabs, Mzabs and blacks in Ouargla?No doubt, because it had been greeted by hundreds of bullets, only those bullets began to fall before they touched it. Then came night, that silent night of the desert, that of Felicien.Davide (Note: French composer. He wrote a symphony called "Desert" in 1854.) once wrote down the night with all its mysteries in musical scores very poetically. A few hours later, the aircraft turned southwest, traversing the roads leading to the city of Gulea.One of these roads was discovered in 1859 by the tenacious Frenchman Du Verrier.

The night was so dark that the Trans-Saharan railroad that was being built according to Du Pontcher's plan could not be seen at all.According to the plan, this long iron link will pass through Lagovat and Kardaya, connect Algiers and Timbuktu, and then lead to the Gulf of Guinea. At this time, the Albatross had crossed the Tropic of Cancer and came to the equatorial region.A thousand kilometers from the northern tip of the Sahara, it flew over the road where Major Lane died in 1846, and over the trade route from Morocco to the Sudan.In the desert area where the Tuaregs wantonly blocked roads and robbed, the so-called desert song can be heard from the aircraft.The soft, plaintive moan seemed to come from the ground.

The only accident was that a group of locusts rushed all over the sky and landed on the platform, adding a heavy load to the aircraft, which almost sank.The flight attendants hurriedly drove off the burden, only Francois.Tapa Day left hundreds of them for consumption.The locusts were cooked so deliciously that even Fricoland forgot for a moment the fear that had not disappeared for a moment. Just like shrimp!He said. At this time, the aircraft was already 1,800 kilometers away from Ouargla, and it was close to the northern border of the vast Sultan Kingdom. In this way, at two o'clock in the afternoon, a city appeared at the bend of a big river.This river is the Niger River.This city is exactly Timbuktu.

If so far only travelers from the Old World, such as Batuda, Imbert, and MungoParker, Adams, Lane, Kaye, Bath, Lenz, etc. have been to this African city of Mecca, so from now on, two more Americans, by chance brought about by the strangest encounter, will be able to If they can really go back and talk about what they saw, heard, and even smelled after returning to the United States! What they saw was because they were able to see every corner of this triangular city with a side length of five or six kilometers; The olfactory nerves were strongly stimulated by the unpleasant smell from Yub Kami Square, where, next to the palace of King Somais, there was a large butcher's shop. In short, the engineer saw no need to keep the president and secretary of the Weldon Institute from knowing that the city they had the privilege of viewing was the very Sultanate that had fallen to the Tuaregs in Tagagne. Gentlemen, Timbuktu has arrived.The voice was the same as when he said to them, gentlemen, India has arrived twelve days ago. Then he said: Timbuktu is located at 18 degrees north latitude, 5 degrees 56 minutes west of the Paris meridian, and has an average altitude of 245 meters.This is an important town with 12,000 to 13,000 inhabitants, once famous for its development of arts and sciences, do you intend to stop here for a few days? This suggestion from the engineer's mouth is nothing but irony. However, he added, for foreigners, the blacks who ran to occupy the place.Among the Berbers, Fulanas, and Arabs, that's a very dangerous thing to do. Especially, I might add, they might not be very happy that we're here by air. Sir, Phil.Evans replied in the same tone, in order to get the pleasure of breaking up with you, we would rather take the risk of being treated coldly by the natives.Prison for prison, the Lumbuktu is better than the Albatross! It depends on each person's preference, the engineer retorted, anyway, I will not take this risk, because I am responsible for the safety of the guests who are willing to save face and travel with me So, engineer Robier, Uncle Prudden can no longer contain his anger, and you are not content to be our watchman, are you?In addition to murdering us, you want to wantonly insult us? Alas, where!Irony at best! Are there any weapons on the aircraft? Yes, everything! Two pistols are enough, I'll take one, sir, you take one! To duel?cried Robier, and duel, so that one of us shall die. I am very sure of that. No, President of the Weldon Society, I would rather let you live! It would be wiser to let yourself live! Wise or not, it suits me anyway.Think what you like; complain to whomever you like, if you can. Already done, Engineer Robier! real? Would it be that hard to drop a letter as we fly through inhabited parts of Europe? What did you do?Robier could not contain his anger. So what if we did this? if you do that you should what should i do It's time to meet your letter outside the aircraft! Then please throw us down, roared Uncle Prudden, that's what we did! Robier approached the two colleagues.He gestured, Tom.Turner and several other accomplices all surrounded him at once.Yes, the engineer desperately wanted his words to be fulfilled.Maybe he really did it because he was worried that he would not be able to control himself. He hurriedly walked towards his cabin. good!Phil.Evans cheered from the sidelines. He has no guts!Uncle Prudang said, I am not afraid!I would do it myself! At this time, in the square of Timbuktu.The streets and the terraces in front of the houses built like amphitheatres were full of people.No matter in the rich areas such as Sankar and Salahama, or in the poor areas full of dilapidated cone-shaped huts, the imams climbed to the top of the mosque and issued the most disgusting curses to this flying demon.But after all, this is much more peaceful than bullets. The aircraft has not yet arrived at Kabala Port, which is located at the bend of the Niger River, but the crew on the fleet there are already busy.Needless to say, if the Albatross landed at this time, it would be smashed to pieces. The chattering flocks of storks, partridges, and white ibis followed behind to compare their speed and flew for several kilometers in a row.However, it didn't take long for the flock of birds to be left far behind. It was getting dark.There was the roar of elephant herds and buffalo herds everywhere.The land in this area is extremely fertile, and there are countless herds of elephants and buffaloes living in it. For twenty-four hours, the Albatross flew over the zero-degree longitude and the second-degree west longitude.The whole area in the bend of the Niger. Indeed, if a geographer had such a machine, he could without difficulty map the country, find out the altitude, determine the course of the river and its tributaries, and mark the places of cities and towns.In this way, there will be no more large blank spaces on the map of Central Africa, and no more dotted boxes, with those vague markers that frustrate map workers. On the morning of the 11th, the Albatross crossed the mountains of northern Guinea between Sudan and the Gulf of Guinea; After leaving Timbuktu, Uncle Prudang and Phil.Evans found that the direction of flight was always from north to south.Therefore, they speculated: If the heading remains the same, if you fly another six degrees of latitude, you should reach the equator.Could it be that the Albatross is going to leave the land and fly over the sea again?This time it's not the Bering Sea or the Caspian Sea, nor the North Sea or the Mediterranean Sea, but the Atlantic Ocean! Thinking of this, the two colleagues could not help feeling worried that their hopes of escape would be completely ruined. At this time, the speed of the Albatross slowed down, as if it was a little hesitant before leaving the African continent.Engineers really want to go back the same way?no.It was the scene below the aircraft that caught his attention. Everyone knows that he himself is not unaware that this is the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the coastal powers in West Africa.Being able to compete with its neighboring country, the Kingdom of Asantis, already shows that it is quite powerful.Although its territory is very limited, only 120 leagues from north to south, and 60 leagues from east to west, its population has reached 700,000 or 800,000 people since it annexed the independent states of Adela and Vida. Although the Dahomey Kingdom is small in size, it is not small in reputation.Especially the horrific massacres during the annual festivals when people worship ancestors, bury the old king and celebrate the new king's ascension to the throne, are even more famous overseas.There is also a grand etiquette in Dahomey: when the king receives foreign dignitaries or envoys, there is a way to surprise the people received, that is, the king orders twelve heads to be cut off to express his warm welcome.It was Mingham, the Minister of Justice himself, who was extremely skilled in the executioner industry, who executed the beheading. On the day when the Albatross arrived in the sky over Holland America, King Bahadu passed away, and the whole country was busy preparing for the enthronement ceremony of the new king.Robier saw this busy scene. From all over the Dahomey countryside a long procession was advancing towards Abomey, the capital of the kingdom.The road is flat and leads in all directions.The vast plains are covered with deep grasses; the cassava fields stretch as far as the eye can see; the beautiful woods have palms, coconuts, acacias, citrus trees, and mango trees; the fragrance of the fruits wafts up to the Albatross; Thousands of parrots and finches fly from the green sea.The place is truly picturesque! The engineer leaned over the railing, lost in thought, occasionally chatting with Tom.Turner said a few words. The Albatross did not seem to cause those beneath the weather-proof canopy.It is often the attention of this group of active people who never expect to see a human figure from top to bottom, probably because the aircraft is flying too high and there are thin clouds. Around eleven o'clock in the morning, the capital emerged.The city is surrounded by walls, and outside the city walls is a moat more than 20 kilometers long; the terrain in the city is flat, and the streets are wide and tidy.On the north side of the square is the royal palace; in the whole building, the altar near the sacrificial room is the tallest.It is from this altar that the captives bound in wicker baskets are thrown to the spectators on festivals—it is hard to imagine in what an atmosphere of madness those poor fellows were torn to pieces. In the palace compound, there is a place where a royal army is stationed. The 4,000 warriors are definitely not people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. If there is any debate about whether there really are women's troops on the banks of the Amazon, there is no doubt about it in Dahomey.Some of the female soldiers wore blue shirts, blue or red shawls on their shoulders, blue trousers on white background, white caps with bullet belts around their waists; That is, female hunting elephants are equipped with heavy carbines, short knives and daggers, and wear iron rings on their heads, and two antelope horns are fixed on the iron rings; The young girls wear blue jackets and white trousers, all virgins, as pure as Diana (Note: Hunting Goddess.), and like her, they also carry bows and arrows. In addition to these female soldiers, there were five or six thousand male soldiers wearing shorts, cotton jackets, and a piece of cloth around their waists.You have seen the whole army of Dahomey. On this day, Abome, the capital, was deserted.The king, the royal contingent, men and women of the army, and all the people of the city, flocked out of the capital into an open field surrounded by towering trees a few miles away. The king's enthronement ceremony will be held here.A large number of captives taken during recent raids will be killed here in celebration of the festival. At about two o'clock, the Albatross flew over the plain and began to descend in a cloud of fog.The fog obscured the view of the Dahomey, so it remained undiscovered for a while. People from Vida, Krabei, Adela, Dongboli, and even the most remote villages from all over the country gathered here, at least 60,000 people. The new king is called Bu.Nadi's burly, jovial lad of twenty-five stood on a knoll under the shadow of a large grove of trees, surrounded by a crowd of his new royal family, his troop of women, and his subjects. Below the hill, more than fifty musicians are playing various musical instruments of the barbaric tribe: there are hoarse ivory, buckskin-covered drums, gourd guitars and small bells with iron tongues in the middle.Among the mixed music, the scream of the bamboo flute is the most prominent.From time to time the soldiers fired muskets, muskets, and cannons, and the gun mounts trembled and almost ran over the female gunners; the cheers of the crowd almost drowned out the thunder and lightning. In one corner of the field were the prisoners who were guarded by soldiers and huddled together to accompany the late king to another world.Nor can the king lose any of his privileges by going to death.Bahadu killed 3,000 people at the funeral of his father Gozo, and now Bu.Nadi couldn't kill less than his father.Shouldn't more messengers be sent to inform the gods and all the guests in heaven to gather to welcome the ascended king? For a whole hour there were speeches, speeches, tributes, and various dances in between.There are dances danced by recruited dancers, and there are also dances performed by female soldiers that shine with martial spirit. The moment of massacre drew nearer.Knowing the bloody customs of Dahomey, Robier never took his eyes off the captives, men, women, and children who were specially prepared for this slaughter. Minghan stood at the foot of the hill, holding a scimitar. There was a metal bird on the tip of the knife. With the weight of the bird, the knife could be swung more stably. He was not alone in this execution, and it was impossible for him to complete the work alone.Around him, there were hundreds of other executioners who could cut off heads with a single knife. The Albatross flew closer and closer in a slash through constant adjustments to its propellers and propellers. Soon, it emerged from the hidden clouds and appeared in the air less than a hundred meters above the ground. It was the first time that it was exposed. It's true. What is different from usual is that these ferocious natives actually regarded it as a god who came down from the sky to pay tribute to King Bahadu. Therefore, the natives showed indescribable enthusiasm for this divine bird of the upper world, which undoubtedly came to take the body of the late king to the paradise of the Dahomeys: the calls were one after another, the begging was deafening, and everyone was praying. At this time, the first head had rolled from under Minghan's knife and fell to the ground.Immediately afterwards, hundreds more captives were brought before their respective executioners. Suddenly, the Albatross fired a shot, and Attorney General Mingham fell face down and fell to the ground. Well done, Tom!Rober said. Oh, hit the crowd!replied the foreman. Like him, his companions were all armed with live ammunition, waiting for the engineer's order to start shooting. There was an uproar in the crowd.They understood that the winged monster was not a friendly god at all, but a bad god who was at war with the good people of Dahomey; and when Minham fell, there was a roar of vengeance on all sides.Immediately afterwards, there was a burst of gunfire over the field. These threats did not prevent the Albatross from descending valiantly to less than a hundred and fifty feet above the ground.Regardless of Uncle Prudang and Phil.Regardless of Evans' feelings for Robier himself, they took part in this humanitarian act. right!Rescue those captives!they shouted. That's exactly what I mean!Robier replied. Like the crew, the Albatross's repeating rifle was perfectly fired in the hands of the two companions, firing volleys of bullets into the crowd.Even the little cannon in the cabin was turned to the minimum angle, and a few shots were fired with good effect. The captives didn't care to figure out what the rescue from heaven was all about, and took advantage of the loopholes when the guards were busy fighting back at the aircraft, they broke their ropes one by one.One bullet hit the front propeller, and several more hit the vehicle's hull.Fricoland, who was hiding in the innermost part of the cabin, was almost shot. Hurrah!They want to taste that stuff!Tom.Turner spoke up. So he rushed to the ammunition bay, brought twelve nitroglycerin cartridges, and distributed them to each of his companions.At a gesture from Robbier, the powder cartridges all flew towards the hillock, and exploded like little bombs as soon as they hit the ground. Suffering such a sudden attack, the king, the royal family, the army and the people were all terrified, and they all fled under the tree in a panic!Seeing the captives fleeing, no one thought of arresting them. The coronation ceremony of King Dahomey was thus disturbed.Uncle Prudden and Phil.Evans also understood the power of the machine and what it could do for humans. Then, the Albatross unhurriedly rose into the air and flew past Vader.It was not long before this desolate coast, lapped by huge waves from the southwest and making it impossible for ships to dock, disappeared from view. It flew over the Atlantic Ocean.