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"But isn't there another thing to be done?" said Ben Zoof.
"What do you mean?" his master asked.
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"Why, to get off the comet before the shock comes."
"How could you get off Gallia?"
"That I can't say," replied the orderly.
"I am not sure that that could not be accomplished," said the lieutenant.
All eyes in a moment were riveted upon him, as, with his head resting on his
hands, he was manifestly cogitating a new idea. "Yes, I think it could be
accomplished," he repeated. "The project may appear extravagant, but I do not
know why it should be impossible. Ben Zoof has hit the right nail on the head;
we must try and leave Gallia before the shock."
"Leave Gallia! How?" said Count Timascheff.
Off on a Comet
CHAPTER XVI. A BOLD PROPOSITION
160
The lieutenant did not at once reply. He continued pondering for a time, and
at last said, slowly and distinctly, "By making a balloon!"
Servadac's heart sank.
"A balloon!" he exclaimed. "Out of the question! Balloons are exploded things.
You hardly find them in novels. Balloon, indeed!"
"Listen to me," replied Procope. "Perhaps I can convince you that my idea is
not so chimerical as you imagine." And, knitting his brow, he proceeded to
establish the feasibility of his plan. "If we can ascertain the precise moment
when the shock is to happen, and can succeed in launching ourselves a
sufficient time beforehand into Gallia's atmosphere, I believe it will
transpire that this atmosphere will amalgamate with that of the earth, and
that a balloon whirled along by the combined velocity would glide into the
mingled atmosphere and remain suspended in midair until the shock of the
collision is overpast."
Count Timascheff reflected for a minute, and said, "I think, lieutenant, I
understand your project. The scheme seems tenable; and I shall be ready to
cooperate with you, to the best of my power, in putting it into execution."
"Only, remember," continued Procope, "there are many chances to one against
our success. One instant's obstruction and stoppage in our passage, and our
balloon is burnt to ashes. Still, reluctant as I am to acknowledge it, I
confess that I feel our sole hope of safety rests in our getting free from
this comet."
"If the chances were ten thousand to one against us," said Servadac, "I think
the attempt ought to be made."
"But have we hydrogen enough to inflate a balloon?" asked the count.
"Hot air will be all that we shall require," the lieutenant answered; "we are
only contemplating about an hour's journey."
"Ah, a fireballoon! A montgolfier!" cried Servadac. "But what are you going to
do for a casing?"
"I have thought of that. We must cut it out of the sails of the
Dobryna
; they are both light and strong,"
rejoined the lieutenant. Count Timascheff complimented the lieutenant upon his
ingenuity, and Ben Zoof could not resist bringing the meeting to a conclusion
by a ringing cheer.
Truly daring was the plan of which Lieutenant Procope had thus become the
originator; but the very existence of them all was at stake, and the design
must be executed resolutely. For the success of the enterprise it was
absolutely necessary to know, almost to a minute, the precise time at which
the collision would occur, and
Captain Servadac undertook the task, by gentle means or by stern, of
extracting the secret from the professor.
To Lieutenant Procope himself was entrusted the superintendence of the
construction of the montgolfier, and the work was begun at once. It was to be
large enough to carry the whole of the twentythree residents in the volcano,
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and, in order to provide the means of floating aloft long enough to give time
for selecting a proper place for descent, the lieutenant was anxious to make
it carry enough hay or straw to maintain combustion for a while, and keep up
the necessary supply of heated air.
The sails of the
Dobryna
, which had all been carefully stowed away in the Hive, were of a texture
unusually close, and quite capable of being made airtight by means of a
varnish, the ingredients of which were rummaged out of the promiscuous stores
of the tartan. The lieutenant himself traced out the pattern and cut out the
strips, and all hands were employed in seaming them together. It was hardly
the work for little fingers, Off on a Comet
CHAPTER XVI. A BOLD PROPOSITION
161
but Nina persisted in accomplishing her own share of it. The Russians were
quite at home at occupation of this sort, and having initiated the Spaniards
into its mysteries, the task of joining together the casing was soon complete.
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