Fortune-telling valve _ trick of fortune-telling valve

Two Wan Li under the Sea: Chapter VI to 10, Part I.

Hearing this cry, all the crew, from the captain, officers and boatswain to sailors, trainees and even engineers, left the machine, and the firemen left the boiler, and everyone ran towards the harpooner. The order to stop the ship was given, and the ship walked with residual power.

It was dark then. No matter how good the Canadian's eyesight is, I have to consider what he thinks and what he can see. My heart is beating fast and exploding.

But Ned Land didn't make a mistake. We all saw what his finger was pointing at.

About 370 meters from the starboard side of the Lincoln, the sea seems to be illuminated by light from the bottom of the sea. This kind of light is not ordinary phosphorescence, and no one can make a mistake. This monster radiates a very strong and mysterious light a few meters below the water surface, just as some captains pointed out in their reports. This particularly bright light must come from some great luminous power. The luminous part forms a huge oval structure and movement law on the sea surface, which promotes the changes of social reality. For capitalism, it is very long, and the center of the ellipse is the focus of white heat, which emits unobtrusive luminosity and gradually fades out.

"That's just a collection of countless phosphorus molecules." An officer said.

"No," I answered confidently, "Folad or Shaer has moved away.

Things must never emit such a strong luminosity. This light can only be electric light ... Look! Look! It moved! It moves forward and backward! It's coming towards us. "

There were shouts everywhere on the warship.

"Quiet," said Captain Farragut. "Steady the rudder, the ship faces the phoenix: open backwards!"

The sailors ran to the rudder and the engineers ran to the machine. The valve closed immediately, and Lincoln turned from port 180 degrees.

Captain farragut shouted, "starboard, forward!"

The above orders were carried out and the warship quickly left the center of light.

I made a mistake. Our ship was about to leave, but the mysterious animal approached at the speed of borrowing power.

We can't breathe. There was more shock than fear at that time, which made us silent. The animal rushed at us at sea as if joking. It surrounded the warship (which was moving at the speed of 14 nautical miles per hour) and covered the warship in the electro-optical network like light dust. Then it walked out of two or three nautical miles, dragging a phosphorescent tail behind it, like a cloud of smoke-like gas left by an express locomotive. Suddenly, this monster appeared from the end of the horizon. It suddenly rushed to the Lincoln at an alarming speed and stopped suddenly on the sea 20 feet away from the hull. All the light went out-not diving into the water, because its light didn't dissipate slowly, but suddenly, like the light source suddenly broke! Soon it appeared on the other side of the warship, or around it, or sneaked in from the bottom of the ship. Every moment, it may give us a fatal blow. But I don't understand the actions of our warships. It's running, not attacking. I was supposed to chase the monster, but now I'm being chased, so I gave Captain Farragut a suggestion. Captain Farragut's usually calm face now looks very flustered.

"Mr. Pierre Aronnax," he answered me, "I don't know how bad this monster I am dealing with is. I don't want warships to take risks in such darkness. Besides, how does this mysterious thing attack and defend itself? Wait until dawn, things will be different. "

"Captain, don't you have any doubts about the nature of this animal now?"

"There is no doubt, Sir. Obviously, this is a huge narwhal and a charged narwhal. "

"Maybe," I added, "we can't get close to it any more than we can get close to the electric eel or the mine!"

"Indeed," replied the captain, "it has the power of thunder and lightning. It must be the most terrible animal created by the creator. It is for this reason, sir, that I must be very careful. "

At night, all the crew stood and watched, and no one thought of sleeping. Lincoln can't compete with this behemoth in speed, so he can only keep a low speed and drive slowly. The narwhal imitates a warship and swings freely on the waves, as if it is not going to leave this championship.

However, towards midnight, it disappeared, or more accurately, it stopped emitting light like a big firefly. Did it escape? I'm afraid it will escape. We don't want it to escape. But at 0: 53 in the morning, there was a deafening whistle, like the whistle of a water column squeezed out by strong pressure.

Captain farragut, Ned Land and I were all in the back building, staring at the deep darkness.

"Ned Land," the captain asked, "have you ever heard of whales barking?"

"I often hear it, sir, but I have never heard a cry like this whale. It has won me a prize of two thousand dollars now."

"Yes, you deserve this bonus. But please tell me, is this the sound that whales make when they spit water through their nostrils? "

"It's the voice, Sir, but now the voice I don't know how many times bigger. So no one can make mistakes. The thing in the sea in front of us is undoubtedly a whale. " The harpooner added, "Sir, please allow me to say a few words to him at dawn tomorrow."

"I'm afraid it won't have the patience to listen to you, Master Ned Land. Sunseeker, I answered in a skeptical tone.

"If I am only four harpoons away from it," replied the Canadian, "then it has to listen to me!"

But when you get close to it, said the captain, I must give you a whaling ship for your use.

"Certainly, sir."

"Isn't it risky to take my people's lives by boat?"

"Is my life a fortune teller?" The harpooner answered simply.

By about two o'clock in the morning, the focus of this light, five nautical miles in front of the Lincoln, emitted the same intense light. Despite the distance and the sound of wind and waves, we can clearly hear the sound of animal tails stirring. Hear its wheezing. When this huge narwhal comes to breathe in the ocean, the air is sucked into its lungs, just like steam is sent into the vat of a 2000 horsepower machine.

"Hoo!" I thought, "This whale is as powerful as a cavalry. It must be a big whale! " "

Everyone has been on alert until dawn, and everyone is preparing for the battle. All kinds of fishing gear are placed beside the railing of the ship. The second mate is equipped with a large-caliber short hinge, which can shoot the harpoon a mile away, and is also equipped with a long warehouse of flowering bullets. A single blow is fatal, even to the most powerful animals. Ned Land himself just grinds his harpoon there, and the harpoon is a terrible weapon in his hand.

At six o'clock, the morning light appeared, and the light of the morning light erased the lightning of the narwhal. At seven o'clock, it was dawn, but the thick morning fog narrowed the field of vision, and even the best telescope was useless. Everyone was disappointed and annoyed.

I have been climbing the stern mast, and some officers have already stood on it.

At eight o'clock, the dense fog rolled heavily on the sea, and its huge air mass gradually dispersed. The sky gradually expanded and became clear.

Suddenly, like last night, Ned Land cried.

"What we are looking for is behind the port side of the ship!" The fish shouted again.

Everyone's eyes turned to the place where his finger was.

Over there, about one and a half nautical miles away from the warship, a long black body surfaced for the future. Its tail was stirred by water and stirred into a whirlpool. Nothing's tail can hit the sea so forcefully. The animal passed by, leaving a huge and dazzling white waterline behind its tail and describing it as a long curve.

Our warship approached the whale. I took a casual look. The reports of two ships, Shan Nong and Helvi Dia, exaggerated its size. I estimate that it is only 250 feet long. As for the width, it is difficult for me to estimate; In a word, this animal seems to me: the ratio of length, width and height is very symmetrical.

When I observed this strange animal, two streams of water and steam spurted out of its nostrils and went straight to the height of ten meters, confirming its breathing mode. I finally came to the conclusion that this animal belongs to the only subclass of vertebrates, mammals and dolphins, fish, whales, ... I can't go on here. Cetaceans have three families: fin whales, whales and dolphins, and narwhals belong to the last family. Each family is divided into several genera, genera and species, and species and varieties. I don't know the species, species, genera and families, but I don't doubt that with the help of God and Captain farragut, I can complete the classification of this animal.

The crew on the ship are tired of waiting for orders from their leaders. After observing the animals carefully, the captain called the engineer. Here comes the engineer. The captain asked:

"Sir, is the air pressure enough?"

"That's enough, sir." The engineer replied.

"Well, increase the firepower and go all out!"

Everyone cheered three times to meet this order. The horn of the battle sounded. After a while, the two chimneys on the warship spewed black smoke and the deck shook under the vibration of the boiler.

The Lincoln, propelled by wheels, has been rushing towards the monster. Monsters don't care. When the warship was about half an anchor chain away from it, it didn't dive into the water, just dodged slightly, didn't go far, just kept this distance.

This half-baked chase lasted about three quarters of an hour, and it was impossible for the warship to get four meters near the whale. I know very well that if we continue like this, we can never be forced.

Captain Farragut was very upset and stroked a bushy beard under his chin.

"Where is Ned Land?" He shouted.

The Canadian ran ahead.

"Well, Master Ned Land," he asked, "now do you think we should put the boat into the sea?"

"No, sir," Ned Land replied, "because this thing will not be caught unless it is voluntary."

"What shall we do?"

"Sir, increase strength as much as possible. Of course, I have to ask your permission first. I'll stay on the rope ladder on the foremast of the bow. When we get to the distance where we can throw the harpoon, I will throw the harpoon. "

"Ned Land, let's get started." The captain replied. He shouted again, "Engineer, increase the horsepower."

Ned Land took office. Fire as much as possible, the wheel turns 43 revolutions per minute, and steam runs out of the piston. Put down the log and measure Lincoln's speed as 18.5 nautical miles per hour.

But the speed of that damned animal is also 18 nautical mile and a half per hour.

For a whole hour, the warship can only keep this speed, and it can't be more than two meters! This is really embarrassing for one of the fastest warships in the US Navy. The crew was furious. The sailors cursed the monster, but the monster ignored them. Captain Farragut not only touched his bushy beard, but now he began to twist it.

He called the engineer again.

"Have you turned the horsepower to the maximum?" Asked the captain.

"Yes, captain, the horsepower has been increased to the maximum." He replied.

"Is the piston tightened? …"

"Up to six and a half atmospheres."

"Increase the pressure to 10 atmospheric pressure."

This is purely an American order. I'm afraid on the Mississippi River, competing with others and betting on winning or losing ships can't do this!

"Conseil," I said to the honest man standing beside me, "Look, our ship may explode!"

"Your husband can say anything." Conseil replied.

I admit, I am happy to seize this opportunity.

The pistons are all installed. Coal fell into the stove, and the phoenix box sent air in, which fanned the fire. Lincoln's speed increased again, and the mast even shook. Because the chimney is too narrow, the smoke coming out can hardly find a way out.

The wood was thrown down again.

"What's the speed now?" Captain Farragut asked.

"Captain, 19.3 nautical miles."

"Increase manpower again."

The engineer did as he said. The barometer means+air pressure. But the whale also increased its firepower because it walked at a speed of 19.3 nautical miles without any difficulty.

What a fierce chase! No, I really can't describe the emotion that excited me at that time. Ned Land stood in his post with a harpoon in his hand. This animal has been approached several times.

"We caught up! We caught up, "shouted the Canadian.

However, when he was ready to throw a fork, the whale ran away at once. It is very agile. In my opinion, its speed is at least 30 nautical miles per hour. Even when our ship is sailing at the fastest speed, it can still circle the ship, which is a joke to us! Angry shouts come from everyone's chest!

At noon, as at eight o'clock in the morning, we made no progress.

Captain Farragut decided to take a more direct approach.

"Oh!" He said, "This thing runs faster than Lincoln! All right, J, let's see if it can avoid our cone shells. Sun Bo, tell the gunner to come to the gun position in front of the ship. "

The gun in front of the ship was immediately loaded with shells and sent out. The cannon fired, but the shell flew over the animals half a mile away and missed.

"Change a good gunner!" The captain shouted, "whoever hits this demon will pay 500 dollars!" " "

An old gunner with a gray beard-he is still alive in front of my eyes-has a calm eye and a calm face. He walks to the front of the cannon, sets the gun position and aims for a long time. With a bang, the cheers of the crew were endless.

The shell hit the animal, but it didn't give it a fatal blow. Instead, it slipped from the round body and landed in the sea two nautical miles away.

"How strange!" The old gunner flew into a rage and said, "This bastard must have six inches of armor!" " "

"Damn thing!" Captain Farragut shouted.

The chase started again. Captain Farragut bent down and said to me:

"I will chase our boat until it explodes!"

"Yes, you are right!" I answered.

People only expect this animal to be exhausted. It can't be as tired as a steam engine. But I'm not tired at all. After such a long time, it did not show any fatigue.

In addition, we should praise the indomitable spirit of the aircraft carrier Lincoln in this vicious struggle. I estimate that it ran more than 500 kilometers on the fascinating day of165438+1October 6! As night falls, shadows hang over the rough sea. .

At this time, I thought our expedition was over and I would never see this strange animal again. But I was wrong.

At 0: 50 in the evening 10, lightning flashed on the sea three nautical miles ahead of the warship, still as brilliant and as strong as last night.

The narwhal seems to be motionless. Maybe I'm tired from running during the day. It fell asleep and rippled with the sea. This is a good opportunity, and Captain Farragut decided to make good use of it.

He gave the order. In order not to wake the enemy, the Lincoln slowed down and advanced cautiously. It is not surprising to meet a sleeping whale in the sea and successfully attack them. Ned Land stabbed the whales more than once when they were asleep. The Canadian returned to his original position under the bowsprit.

The battleship moved slowly without a sound. When it is about 370 meters away from the animal, the valve is closed and the ship is now moving only by the remaining strength. I can't even hear the breathing on the boat. The deck was silent. People are less than 100 feet away from the white-hot focus, and the brightness is stronger, which makes our eyes faint.

At this time, I fell on the railing in front of the bow and saw Ned. Lan was under me, pulling the rigging in one hand and waving a sharp harpoon in the other. It is only twenty feet away from the sleeping animals.

Suddenly, his arm stretched out hard and the harpoon was thrown out. I heard the harpoon make a loud noise, as if it had hit the hard shell.

The lightning across the street suddenly went out, and two huge currents swooped down on the deck of the warship, rushing from the bow to the stern like a torrent, knocking down the people on board and breaking the ropes of the mast.

Then the ship was hit hard, and I was thrown into the sea from the railing before I could stand firm.