Whether it was that the air-ship itself had increased its speed during
those few moments of dense obscurity, or whether the madly whirling
winds had taken a retrograde movement at that precise time, could only
be a matter of conjecture; but the ominous fact remained.
The aerostat was fairly over the danger-line, and, despite all efforts
being made to the contrary, was being drawn directly towards that
howling, crashing, thundering mass of destructive energy.
Already the inmates felt themselves being sucked from the
flying-machine, and instinctively tightened their grip upon hand-rail
and floor, gasping and oppressed, breath failing, and ribs apparently
being crushed in by that horrible pressure.
“Hold fast--for life!” pantingly screamed Professor Featherwit, as he
strove in vain to check or change the course of his aeromotor, now for
the first time beyond control of that master-hand.
A few seconds of soul-trying suspense, during which the flying-machine
shivered from stem to stern, almost like a human creature in its
death-agony, creaking and groaning, with shrill sounds coming from those
expanded, curved wings, as the suction increased; then--
A merciful darkness fell over those sorely imperilled beings, and the
vessel itself seemed about to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of sand and
dirt and mixed debris. Then came a dizzy, rocking lurch, followed by a
shock which nearly cast uncle and nephews from their frantic holds, and
the 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 the
next they were whirled through an icy atmosphere, then tossed dizzily to
and fro, as their too-frail vehicle spun upward as though on a journey
to 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 wildly
lashing roots freshly torn from the bed of years, all madly spinning
through a blinding, scorching, freezing mass of crazily battling winds,
the different currents twining and weaving in and out, as so many
hideous 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, those
luckless creatures clinging fast to whatever their frenzied hands might
clutch, feeling that this was the end of all.
Further sight was denied them. They were powerless to move a limb, save
as jerked painfully by those shrieking currents. Breath was taken away,
and an enormous weight bore down upon them, threatening to produce a
fatal collapse through their ribs giving way.
Upward whirled the flying-machine, powerless now as those wretched
beings within its cunning shape, smitten sharply here and there by some
of 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 the
aerostat 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, unwittingly
repeating the caution which had last crossed his lips, which he had
ever since been striving to enunciate, faithful to his guardianship over
these, his sole surviving relatives.
“I don't--where are we?”
Waldo lifted his head to peer with half-blind eyes about them, in which
action he was imitated by both brother and uncle; but, for a brief
space, they were none the wiser.
All around the aeromotor rose a wall of whirling winds, seemingly
impenetrable, apparently within reach of an extended arm, changing
colour with each fraction of a second, hideously beautiful, yet never
twice the same in blend or mixture.
A hollow, strangely sounding roar was perceptible; one instant coming as
from the far distance, then from nigh at hand, causing the air-ship
to quiver and tremble, as a sentient being might in the presence of a
torturing death.
“Look--upward!” panted Bruno, a few seconds later, his face as pale as
that of a corpse, in spite of the dirt and blotches of sticky mud with
which he had been peppered during that dizzy whirl.
Mechanically his companions in peril obeyed, catching breath sharply, as
they saw a clear sky and yellow sunshine far above,--so awfully far
they were, that it seemed like looking upward from the bottom of an
enormously deep well.
And then the marvellous truth flashed upon the brain of Phaeton
Featherwit, almost robbing him of all power of speech. Still he managed
to jerkily ejaculate:
“We're inside,--riding the--tornado--itself!”
Then those whirling winds closed quickly above them, shutting out the
sunlight, hiding the heavens from their view, enclosing that vehicle and
its occupants, as they were borne away into unknown regions, within the
very heart of the tornado itself!
Yet, incredible as it surely seems, no actual harm came to the trio
or to their flying-machine as it swayed gently upon its airy cushion,
although from every side came the horrid roar of destruction, while ever
and anon they could glimpse a wrestling tree or torn mass of shrubbery
whizzing upward and outward, to be flung far away beyond the vortex of
electrical winds.
Once more came that awful sense of suffocation. That painted pall closed
down upon them, robbing their lungs of air, one instant fairly crisping
their hair with a touch of fire, only to send an icy chill to their
veins a moment later.
In vain they struggled, fighting for breath, as a fish gasps when swung
from 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 madly
circling currents, once again affording a glimpse of yonder far-away
heavens, 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 with
comparatively pure air,--pity there was so little of it to win!
Professor Featherwit still had thought and care for his nephews rather
than himself alone, and pantingly spoke, as he dragged himself to the
snug 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 of
working which had so often been explained by their relative.
Once more the tube became a chamber, and that horrid force threatened
to flatten their bodies; but the worst had passed, for that precious
cylinder now gave them air to inhale, and they were enabled to wait for
the lifting of the cloud once more.
Thanks to this important agency, strength and energy both of body and
of mind now came back to the air-voyagers, and after a little they could
lift their heads to peer around them with growing wonder and curiosity.
There was little room left for doubting the wondrous truth, and yet
belief was past their powers during those first few minutes.
All around them whirled and sped those maddened winds, curling and
twisting, rising and falling, mixing in and out as though some unknown
power might be weaving the web of destiny.
Now dull, now brilliant, never twice the same, but ever changing in
colour as in shape, while stripes and zigzags of lightning played here
and there with terrifying menace, those walls of wind held an awfully
fascinating power for uncle and nephews.
From every side came deadened sounds which could bear but a single
interpretation: the tornado was still in rapid motion, was still tearing
and rending, crushing and battering, leaving dire destruction and ruin
to mark its advance, and these were the sounds that recorded its ugly
work.
In goodly measure revived by the compressed air, which was regulated
in flow to suit his requirements by a device of his own, Professor
Featherwit now looked around with something of his wonted animation,
heedless of his own peril for the moment, so great was his interest in
this marvellous happening.
So utterly incredible was it all that, during those first few minutes
of rallying powers, he dared not express the belief which was shaping
itself, gazing around in quest of still further confirmation.
He took note of the windy walls about their vessel, rising upward
for many yards, irregular in shape and curvature here and there, but
retaining the general semblance of a tube with flaring top. He peered
over the edge of the basket, to draw back dizzily as he saw naught but
yeasty, boiling, seething clouds below,--a veritable air-cushion which
had served to save the pet of his brain from utter destruction at the
time of falling within--
Yes, there was no longer room for doubt,--they were actually inside the
distorted balloon, so dreaded by all residents of the tornado belt!
“What is it, uncle?” huskily asked Bruno, likewise rallying under that
beneficial 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 face
and eyes, the youngster had suffered more severely than either of his
comrades in peril.
Professor Featherwit broke into a queerly sounding laugh, as he waved
his free hand in exultation before speaking:
“Where no living being ever was before us, my lads,--riding the tornado
like a--ugh!”
The air-ship gave an awkward lurch just then, and down went the little
professor to thump his head heavily against one corner of the locker.
Swaying drunkenly from side to side, then tossing up and down, turning
in unison with those fiercely whirling clouds, the aeromotor seemed at
the point of wreck and ruin.
Desperately the trio clung to the life-lines, clenching teeth upon the
life-giving tubes as that terrible pressure increased so much that it
seemed impossible for the human frame to longer resist.
Fortunately that ordeal did not long endure, and again relief came to
those so sorely oppressed. A brief gasping, sighing, stretching as the
aerostat resumed its level position, merely rocking easily within that
partial 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 Professor
Featherwit took it for earnest, and made quick reply:
“That is precisely the case, my dear lad, and I am greatly joyed to
find that you are not so badly frightened but that you can assist me in
taking notes of this wondrous happening. To think that we are the ones
selected for--”
“I say, uncle Phaeton.”
“Well, my lad?”
“If this thing is really sick at the stomach, when will it erupt? I'd
give 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, busily
studying those eddying currents like one seeking a fairly safe method of
extrication from peril. “It may come far sooner than you think, and
with results more disastrous than feeble words can tell. We surely are
a burden such as a tornado must be wholly unaccustomed to, and I really
believe these alternations are spasmodic efforts of the cloud itself to
vomit us forth; hence you were nearer right than you thought in making
use of that expression.”
Just then came a rush of icy air, and Bruno pantingly cried:
“I'm swelling up--like Aesop's--bullfrog!”