Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Nell's Wedding

The crowd dispersed, but before then it was agreed that the owners of the cottages should be more vigilant than ever.Old Sylfax's threat was surprisingly straightforward.It must be considered whether the former penitent had some terrible means of destroying all of Aberfoyle. A number of armed guards were therefore placed at various exits from the mine.He was ordered to monitor day and night.All foreign personnel on the mine must be taken to James.Starr so he could check their identities.Don't worry about letting the residents of Coal City know that the threat comes from this alien hiding in the ground.Old Silfax has no internal support in the fortress, so there is no need to worry about any betrayal.Nell was told of all the safety measures that had just been taken, and that she could be somewhat reassured if she wasn't completely reassured.But Harry's decision to follow her wherever she went had, more than anything else, prompted her to promise not to run away again.

In the week leading up to Nell and Harry's wedding, New Aberfoyle was undisturbed by any incident.Thus the miners, maintaining an organized vigilance, recovered from the panic that had spread almost throughout the field. However, James.Starr continues the search for old Sylfax.After the vengeful old man had declared that Nell must never marry Harry, it had to be admitted that he would not back down under any circumstances in order to thwart the wedding.It is best to keep his body under control without hindering his life.The search for New Aberfoyle has begun again in detail.A search of the alley led to a high level level with the ruins of Donald's Castle in Irwynn.It is not unreasonable to suppose that it was through the old castle that Silfax communicated with the outside world and stocked up, either bought or stolen, the necessities of life for his poor existence.As for Mrs. Lighthouse, James.A certain stream of gas that Starr believed was produced in this part of the mine may have been ignited by Silfax and caused the strange phenomenon.He was right.Searches, however, turned up nothing.

James.Starr was the worst of the bunch, because he fought this struggle every moment with an elusive man, without revealing anything.As the wedding day approached he became more and more uneasy, and he thought, as an exception, that he should tell his uneasiness to the old foreman, who soon became more uneasy than himself. That day has finally arrived. There was no sign of Silfax alive. Early in the morning, everyone in Coal City woke up.Work on New Aberfoyle has been suspended.Chiefs and workers insisted on honoring the old foreman and his son.This just goes to show their gratitude to the two courageous and determined and persistent men who restored the mine to its former prosperity.

At eleven o'clock, in St. Giles Church, which stands on the shore of Lake Malcolm, the ceremony was about to take place. At the said moment, Harry was seen holding his mother's arm, Simon.Ford let Nell come out of the cottage arm in arm. Followed by the seemingly calm engineer James.Starr and Jack in gorgeous bagpiper costumes.Ryan. Then came the other engineers in the mine, the notables of the Coaltown, friends, the old foreman's mates, all the members of the great family of miners who made up the special crowd of New Aberfoyle. Outside, it's a scorching August day, especially in the north.The fierce wind blew down to the depths of the coal mine, where the temperature rose unusually.The atmosphere is charged with electricity there, passing through the ventilation shafts and Malcolm's great tunnel.

One could have observed the rare and singular phenomenon that the barometer dropped in Coal City to be worthy of consideration.Indeed, one should wonder if a storm might break out beneath the vaults of slate that make up the sky of the endless dungeon. But virtually no one in the mine cared about the threat from the atmosphere outside. It goes without saying that everyone was dressed in the best attire befitting the occasion. Madge is dressed in an outfit reminiscent of the old days.She, like the matron of yore, wears a toy tiara and flutters from her shoulders a rocky, a checkered hood worn elegantly by Scottish women.

Nell was determined not to show her inner restlessness.She suppressed her heartbeat to prevent her private panic from leaking out. The brave child had a calm and focused face in front of everyone. She dresses very simply, and she prefers simplicity to bright colors, and the simplicity of this dress adds charm to herself.On her head was nothing but a hairnet, the colorful ribbons that Caledonian maidens usually adorn their hair. Simon.Ford was wearing a Walter.Scott's majestic justice Nicholas.Clothes that Javi would also approve of. All these people walked towards the chapel of St. Giles, which was quite luxuriously furnished.

In the sky of Coal City, those electric panels, which are extraordinarily plentiful, shine brightly like as many suns.The whole of New Aberfoyle is bright and bright. The electric lights in the church cast an equally intense radiance, and the great stained-glass windows shone with ever-changing splendor. Presided over the religious ceremony is the revered priest William.hobson.He stood at the door of St Giles and waited for the couple to arrive. The group approached after majestically rounding the shore of Lake Malcolm. At this moment, the organ sounded, and the two newcomers walked towards the altar of St. Giles behind the venerable priest Hobson.

First praying for God's blessing on all participants, then only Harry and Neil were left standing in front of the priest holding the holy book. Harry, asks the Reverend Father Hobson, will you marry Nell and swear to love her forever? I will, replied the young man loudly. And you, Nell, the priest went on, would you like to use Harryford for husband and Before the girl could answer, there was a loud noise outside. A hundred paces from the church, among the great overhanging rocks that form the platform that juts out to the shore of Malcolm Lake.One piece had cracked suddenly without an explosion just now, as if its avalanche had been prepared in advance.Below, the water rushes violently into a deep cavern whose existence no one knows.

Then, out of the crumbling rocks, a small boat appeared, and a violent thrust sent it straight to the surface of the lake. On this small boat stood an old man in a dark hooded, sleeveless monk's robe, with bristling hair and a long white beard hanging down to his chest. In his hand he held a lamp of David with a tongue of flame burning inside it, protected by a wire gauze over the lamp. At the same time, the old man cried loudly: gas!gas!Disaster befalls all!Disaster! At this time, a faint odor characteristic of primary hydrocarbons diffused in the air. And the reason for this is that the collapse of the overhanging rock provided a passage for the massive explosive gas accumulated in the huge gas puff, whose outlet was blocked by shale.Gas streams are blasted against the vaults of the domes at a pressure of five to six atmospheres.

The old man knew of these gas jets, and he unleashed them suddenly to make the atmosphere of the dungeon explosive. Meanwhile, James.Starr and several others hurriedly left the church and rushed to the shore of the lake. Get out of the coal mines!Get out of the coal mines!cried the engineer, who came to St. Giles's door and uttered this cry of warning, after learning of the immeasurable danger. gas!gas!The old man yelled repeatedly, while driving the boat forward on the lake. Get out of the coal mines!Get out of the coal mines!James.Stahl yelled repeatedly. It's too late to escape!Old Sylfax was there, ready to carry out his final threat, ready to prevent Nell and Harry's wedding, to bury the entire crowd of Coaltown under the ruins of the coal mines.

Above his head was the great snowy owl; its snow-white plumage was speckled with black spots. Just then, however, a man jumped into the lake hastily and swam vigorously towards the boat. That's Jack.Ryan.He did his best to catch up with the madman before he could do this act of destruction. Sylfax saw him coming.He broke the glass of the lamp, pulled out the burning wick, and moved it back and forth through the air. A deadly silence enveloped all those present who were petrified. James.Starr succumbed, surprised that the inevitable explosion hadn't destroyed New Aberfoyle. Silfax, with a wrinkled face, realized that the gas was too light to stay on the lower level, and was accumulating higher up towards the dome. But at that moment the snowy owl, following Silfax's gesture, as he had done before in the alley of the Dochart Coal Bunker, took hold of the burning wick in its paws, and began to fly towards the The old man gave it a high vault with his fingers. Seconds to go, New Aberfoyle is done! At that moment, Nell broke free from Harry's arms. Calm and inspired, she ran to the shore of the lake, until she reached the water's edge.Snowy Owl!Snowy Owl!She shouted in a crisp voice, come here!come to me! The faithful bird was taken aback and hesitated.But suddenly it recognized Nell's voice, and it dropped the burning wick into the lake, and then, flying in a wide circle, swooped down at the maiden's feet. The explosive upper layers of air mixed with gas were left untouched. At this moment a terrible cry sounded from the base of the dome, the last of old Sylfax's. Just at Jack.The moment Ryan stretched out his hand to the edge of the boat, the old man saw that his revenge had failed, and jumped into the lake in a hurry. save him!save him!Nell let out a shrill cry. Harry heard it.He also jumped into the water to swim, and he soon joined Jack.Ryan, made a few dives. But his efforts were fruitless. The waters of Lake Malcolm refuse to return to their prey.They left old Sylfax forever.