Captain Nemo_ The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius - Kevin J Anderson [94]
The morning air was clear and still, but as they reached sufficient altitude, the breezes grasped them and nudged the balloon westward toward the mainland. For a long time, Nemo could hear the Zanzibaris celebrating below.
Soon they left the island behind, drifting across the straits that separated Zanzibar from the coast. The Victoria set off across the huge unexplored continent of Africa.
Part VI
FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON
i
African Continent, 1853
Upon reaching the mainland, the balloon drifted over low country covered with tall grasses and rich vegetation. They observed tall forests, trees studded with flowers or fruits, others covered with thorns. Dr. Fergusson’s hazel eyes drank in the scenery with boundless enthusiasm, taking copious notes for his expedition records.
Nemo shared the spyglass with Caroline as they looked down upon the unfolding landscape. She studied the maps and charts purchased from Zanzibar merchants, but it didn’t take long to discover inconsistencies and gross errors. She diligently corrected each one, using the evidence of her own eyes.
Fergusson leaned over the balloon’s basket, pursing his lips so that his mustache bunched up like a hissing black cat. “Far south of here, Dr. David Livingstone took his wife and four children deep inland. Amazing that a man -- and an Englishman, yet -- would even attempt to bring his family, eh?”
“Some might call it foolhardy,” Caroline said, appalled at Livingstone’s callousness. “What about the safety of his wife, his children?”
“He was a missionary,” Fergusson said, as if that explained everything. “They took a wagon across the Kalahari Desert, without water and without food. I should say it’s amazing they survived at all, eh?” The explorer patted the basket. “Indeed, my friends, this is the correct way to travel across hostile territory.”
The Victoria continued at a gentle but respectable speed, and many miles passed beneath them. All that first day, the expedition seemed like a charming country outing. As they ate fresh supplies, Nemo imagined himself on a pleasurable picnic with Caroline, rather than venturing into unexplored and unfriendly wilderness.
At nightfall, Nemo operated the balloon’s gaseous recondensing apparatus, cooling the enclosed hydrogen and decreasing their buoyancy so that the Victoria descended with effortless grace. They could have continued to float through the hours of darkness, but then Dr. Fergusson would not have been able to see the landscape or take notes. Nemo tossed down one of their iron anchors, and the grappling hooks snagged in the tall trees. Thus, tethered to the ground yet still aloft in safety, they spent their first night with the evening breezes swaying the basket like an infant’s cradle. . . .
Over the next several days, the Victoria drifted inland, generally westward but with a tendency toward the north. The river they had followed from the coast took a sharp turn to the right and flowed out of sight. Before long the ground rose, and to the north they spotted the bulwarks of an enormous mountain far greater than anything Nemo had ever seen. Its crest was adorned with a glittering white that could not be explained by clouds.
Nemo stared and studied, then passed the spyglass to Caroline. “Snow,” he said.
“Impossible,” Fergusson answered, taking the spyglass from her. “We’re on the equator. There cannot be snow at the equator.” Then he let out a sharp cry of recognition. “Ah, indeed! I remember recent reports by a German missionary who also went inland from Zanzibar. He claimed to have seen a snow-covered peak in eastern Africa, and he became a laughingstock. He was German, after all.”
Nemo thought for a moment. “Rebmann? Could that be Johann Rebmann’s mountain?”
“Yes, the natives named it Kilimanjaro. Now it appears he was right.” Fergusson began scribbling notes in his journal,