CHAPTER III. RIDING THE TORNADO.
Whether it was that the air-ship itself had increased its speed duringthose few moments of dense obscurity, or whether the madly whirlingwinds had taken a retrograde movement at that precise time, could onlybe a matter of conjecture; but the ominous fact remained.
The aerostat was fairly over the danger-line, and, despite all effortsbeing made to the contrary, was being drawn directly towards thathowling, crashing, thundering mass of destructive energy.
Already the inmates felt themselves being sucked from theflying-machine, and instinctively tightened their grip upon hand-railand floor, gasping and oppressed, breath failing, and ribs apparentlybeing crushed in by that horrible pressure.
"Hold fast--for life!" pantingly screamed Professor Featherwit, as hestrove in vain to check or change the course of his aeromotor, now forthe first time beyond control of that master-hand.
A few seconds of soul-trying suspense, during which the flying-machineshivered from stem to stern, almost like a human creature in itsdeath-agony, creaking and groaning, with shrill sounds coming from thoseexpanded, curved wings, as the suction increased; then--
A merciful darkness fell over those sorely imperilled beings, and thevessel itself seemed about to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of sand anddirt and mixed debris. Then came a dizzy, rocking lurch, followed by ashock which nearly cast uncle and nephews from their frantic holds, andthe air-ship appeared to be whirled end for end, cast hither and yon,wrenched and twisted as though all must go to ruin together.
A blast as of superheated air smote upon them one moment, while in thenext they were whirled through an icy atmosphere, then tossed dizzily toand fro, as their too-frail vehicle spun upward as though on a journeyto the far-away stars.
A shrieking blast of wind served to briefly clear away the choking dust,affording the trio a fleeting glimpse of their immediate surroundings:hurtling sticks and stones, splintered tops of trees, shrubs with wildlylashing roots freshly torn from the bed of years, all madly spinningthrough a blinding, scorching, freezing mass of crazily battling winds,the different currents twining and weaving in and out, as so manyhideous serpents at play.
A moment thus, then that horrid uproar grew still more deafening,and the air-ship was whirled high and higher, in a dizzy dance, thoseluckless creatures clinging fast to whatever their frenzied hands mightclutch, feeling that this was the end of all.
Further sight was denied them. They were powerless to move a limb, saveas jerked painfully by those shrieking currents. Breath was taken away,and an enormous weight bore down upon them, threatening to produce afatal collapse through their ribs giving way.
Upward whirled the flying-machine, powerless now as those wretchedbeings within its cunning shape, smitten sharply here and there by someof those ascending missiles, yet without receiving material injury;until a last shivering lurch came, ending in a sudden fall.
A dizzying swoop downward, but not to death and destruction, for theaerostat alighted easily upon what appeared to be a sort of air-cushion,and, though unsteady for a brief space, then settled upon an even keel.
"Cling fast--for life!" huskily gasped the professor, unwittinglyrepeating the caution which had last crossed his lips, which he hadever since been striving to enunciate, faithful to his guardianship overthese, his sole surviving relatives.
"I don't--where are we?"
Waldo lifted his head to peer with half-blind eyes about them, in whichaction he was imitated by both brother and uncle; but, for a briefspace, they were none the wiser.
All around the aeromotor rose a wall of whirling winds, seeminglyimpenetrable, apparently within reach of an extended arm, changingcolour with each fraction of a second, hideously beautiful, yet nevertwice the same in blend or mixture.
A hollow, strangely sounding roar was perceptible; one instant coming asfrom the far distance, then from nigh at hand, causing the air-shipto quiver and tremble, as a sentient being might in the presence of atorturing death.
"Look--upward!" panted Bruno, a few seconds later, his face as pale asthat of a corpse, in spite of the dirt and blotches of sticky mud withwhich he had been peppered during that dizzy whirl.
Mechanically his companions in peril obeyed, catching breath sharply, asthey saw a clear sky and yellow sunshine far above,--so awfully farthey were, that it seemed like looking upward from the bottom of anenormously deep well.
And then the marvellous truth flashed upon the brain of PhaetonFeatherwit, almost robbing him of all power of speech. Still he managedto jerkily ejaculate:
"We're inside,--riding the--tornado--itself!"
Then those whirling winds closed quickly above them, shutting out thesunlight, hiding the heavens from their view, enclosing that vehicle andits occupants, as they were borne away into unknown regions, within thevery heart of the tornado itself!
Yet, incredible as it surely seems, no actual harm came to the trioor to their flying-machine as it swayed gently upon its airy cushion,although from every side came the horrid roar of destruction, while everand anon they could glimpse a wrestling tree or torn mass of shrubberywhizzing upward and outward, to be flung far away beyond the vortex ofelectrical winds.
Once more came that awful sense of suffocation. That painted pall closeddown upon them, robbing their lungs of air, one instant fairly crispingtheir hair with a touch of fire, only to send an icy chill to theirveins a moment later.
In vain they struggled, fighting for breath, as a fish gasps when swungfrom its native element. While that horrid pressure endured, man, youth,and boy alike were powerless.
Again the pall lifted, folding back and blending with those madlycircling currents, once again affording a glimpse of yonder far-awayheavens, so marvellously clear, and bright, and peaceful in seeming!
Weakened by those terrible moments, Bruno and Waldo lay gasping,trembling, faint of heart and ill of body, yet filling their lungs withcomparatively pure air,--pity there was so little of it to win!
Professor Featherwit still had thought and care for his nephews ratherthan himself alone, and pantingly spoke, as he dragged himself to thesnug locker, where many important articles had been stowed away:
"Here--suck life--compressed air!"
With husky cries the brothers caught at the tubes offered, the method ofworking which had so often been explained by their relative.
Once more the tube became a chamber, and that horrid force threatenedto flatten their bodies; but the worst had passed, for that preciouscylinder now gave them air to inhale, and they were enabled to wait forthe lifting of the cloud once more.
Thanks to this important agency, strength and energy both of body andof mind now came back to the air-voyagers, and after a little they couldlift their heads to peer around them with growing wonder and curiosity.
There was little room left for doubting the wondrous truth, and yetbelief was past their powers during those first few minutes.
All around them whirled and sped those maddened winds, curling andtwisting, rising and falling, mixing in and out as though some unknownpower might be weaving the web of destiny.
Now dull, now brilliant, never twice the same, but ever changing incolour as in shape, while stripes and zigzags of lightning played hereand there with terrifying menace, those walls of wind held an awfullyfascinating power for uncle and nephews.
From every side came deadened sounds which could bear but a singleinterpretation: the tornado was still in rapid motion, was still tearingand rending, crushing and battering, leaving dire destruction and ruinto mark its advance, and these were the sounds that recorded its uglywork.
In goodly measure revived by the compressed air, which was regulatedin flow to suit his requirements by a device of his own, ProfessorFeatherwit now looked around with something of his wonted animation,heedless of his own peril for the moment, so great was his interest inthis marvellous happening.
So utterly incredible was it all that, during those first few minutesof rallying powers, he dared n
ot express the belief which was shapingitself, gazing around in quest of still further confirmation.
He took note of the windy walls about their vessel, rising upwardfor many yards, irregular in shape and curvature here and there, butretaining the general semblance of a tube with flaring top. He peeredover the edge of the basket, to draw back dizzily as he saw naught butyeasty, boiling, seething clouds below,--a veritable air-cushion whichhad served to save the pet of his brain from utter destruction at thetime of falling within--
Yes, there was no longer room for doubt,--they were actually inside thedistorted balloon, so dreaded by all residents of the tornado belt!
"What is it, uncle?" huskily asked Bruno, likewise rallying under thatbeneficial influence. "Where are we now?"
"Where I'm wishing mighty hard we wasn't, anyhow!" contributed Waldo,with something of his usual energy, although, judging from his faceand eyes, the youngster had suffered more severely than either of hiscomrades in peril.
Professor Featherwit broke into a queerly sounding laugh, as he wavedhis free hand in exultation before speaking:
"Where no living being ever was before us, my lads,--riding the tornadolike a--ugh!"
The air-ship gave an awkward lurch just then, and down went the littleprofessor to thump his head heavily against one corner of the locker.Swaying drunkenly from side to side, then tossing up and down, turningin unison with those fiercely whirling clouds, the aeromotor seemed atthe point of wreck and ruin.
Desperately the trio clung to the life-lines, clenching teeth upon thelife-giving tubes as that terrible pressure increased so much that itseemed impossible for the human frame to longer resist.
Fortunately that ordeal did not long endure, and again relief came tothose so sorely oppressed. A brief gasping, sighing, stretching as theaerostat resumed its level position, merely rocking easily within thatpartial vacuum, and then Waldo huskily suggested:
"Looks like the blame thing was sick at the stomach!"
No doubt this was meant for a feeble attempt at joking, but ProfessorFeatherwit took it for earnest, and made quick reply:
"That is precisely the case, my dear lad, and I am greatly joyed tofind that you are not so badly frightened but that you can assist me intaking notes of this wondrous happening. To think that we are the onesselected for--"
"I say, uncle Phaeton."
"Well, my lad?"
"If this thing is really sick at the stomach, when will it erupt? I'dgive a dollar and a half to just get out o' this, science or no science,notes or no notes at all!"
"Patience, my dear boy," gravely spoke the little man of science, busilystudying those eddying currents like one seeking a fairly safe method ofextrication from peril. "It may come far sooner than you think, andwith results more disastrous than feeble words can tell. We surely area burden such as a tornado must be wholly unaccustomed to, and I reallybelieve these alternations are spasmodic efforts of the cloud itself tovomit us forth; hence you were nearer right than you thought in makinguse of that expression."
Just then came a rush of icy air, and Bruno pantingly cried:
"I'm swelling up--like Aesop's--bullfrog!"
The Lost City Page 3