The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-04-23
"a Terrible Situation"

Ine lOllOWlng passage rom Jule.
Verne's new wonder book, "Th'
Mysterious Island" now appearing
serially in Scribner's Monthly, givel
an idea of the apparently hopeless
plight in which this author delights
in placing his heroes:
"A terrible situation, that of these
unfortunates They were evidently nc
longer masters of the balloon. Theil
endeayors were fruitless; the en-
velope of the air-ship decreased with
out any possibility of retaining it
The descent was visibly accelerated
and an hour after noon, the car was
suspended no more than six feet
above the ocean.
1t was, in fact, impossible to pre-.
vent the flight of the gas, which
escaped freely through large rent in
the sack of the balloon. -,
BY tightening the car of all the oh.
jects which 1t contained, the passen-
gers had been able to prolong their
suspension in tho air for some hours.
But the inevitable catastrophe could
only be delayed, and If some land did
not disclose itself ere nightfall,
passengers, car and balloon would
have finally disappeared beneath the
waves.
The only maneuver still left to per-
form was accomplished ut that
moment. The balloon passengers
were evidently energetic people, who
knew how to look death in the face.
Not single murmIr had been heard
to escape from their lips. The car
was only kind OF wicker case, unfit
to float, and there was no possibility
of maintaining ii on the surface ofthe
the sea, If it fell there.
AT two O'Clock the balloon was
scarcely two hundred feet above the
water. ...u
At that monument, q manly voice,
that of one whose heart was inaccessi-
BILE to fear, made itself heard. To
that voice responded no less energetic
voices. .arst ,tga,.
"Is everything thrown Out?"
"NO there is still ten thousand
francs in gold"
A heavy sack fell, at the same IN
slant, into the Sell.
SIS the balloon rising again ~
"a little, but it will not be long in
falling back"
"What is there left to throw away?"
"Nothing."
"But there is The carp
"IIet us cling to the net, and into
the sea with the carp
1t was indeed the last and only
means OF tightening the air-ship. The
cords which held the car were cut,
and after its fall the balloon assembled
two thousand feet.
The five passengers had hOisted
themselves into the net, above the
ring, and supported themselves in the
labyrinth Of meshes, looking down
into the abyss.
Every one knows with what static
scnsibility balloons are endowed. TO
throw out the lightcst object is suf-
iicient to provoke u toppling from a
vertical line. The apparatus, floating
in the air, is like q balance, of
mathematical precision. One COM
prehends, then, how, when it is
lightened of a relatively considerable
weight, the tOppling will be inn
portant and abrupt. That is what
happened on this occasion.
But, after having poised itself an
lilStuiit III tiC upper Soii.o, 'hO pdiiooh
began to redescena. The gas con-
tinued escaping from the rent, which
it was impossible to repair.
The passengers had done all they
could. Uenceforth no human means
could save them. They had nothing
more save the aid Of God to count on.
AT four O'Clock the balloon was
only five hundred feet above the
surface OF the waves.
a sonorous barking was heard. A
dog accompanied the passengers, and
held himself embedded near his
master i'm the meshes of the net.
"Top sees something!" cried one of
the passengers.
Then, at the same instant, a strong
voice was heard.
Gland! I,andp'-,ScyiJney's MOnhiy