filled the room. The balloon lay outside the building, but the end of its enormous gondolaâa sword-shaped cradleâhad pierced the wall. A ramp fell open from the front and men started pouring into the room. The invaders were dressed in brown shirts with matching pants and cap. Their belts were black leather, as were their boots.
âWhat the hell is going on?â Paul Harker demanded of the nearest invader. The man clubbed him to the ground.
âFather!â Lucy cried.
Jack raised his head. His absolute shock had paralysed him. Scarlet produced her gun, but one of the men wrestled it from her grasp and delivered a punch to her jaw. She sagged. Mr Doyle leapt to his feet and tackled the assailant. During the tussle, another man came up behind the detective and hit him across the back of the head. He dragged Mr Doyle away as Scarlet was lifted from the ground.
All this time Lucy had been holding her father in her arms. Now she was thrown out of the way. Jack struggled to stand. It seemed to take him an eternity. His legs were shaking. He felt powerless. These men seemed capable of anythingâeven murder.
One of the invaders lifted Mr Harker from the ground. In one smooth action he and Scarlet were carried into the airship. Scarlet was barely conscious. A small, black-haired man with a postage-stamp moustache stood in the entrance. He seemed to be monitoring the operation. Mr Doyle struggled to his feet. Lucy Harker lay still on the floor. The man gave a nod of satisfaction before he and his men marched back into the gondola.
Jack felt like he was in a dream. The roar of the wind was terrible. The cold was mind numbing. It was almost impossible to breathe in the exposed air of the room. At the same time he noticed a vase hovering on the edge of the bookcase. It fell, as if in slow motion, to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. Jack woke from his stupor.
The ramp slid up into place. The gondola was moving. It was withdrawing from the buildingâwith Scarlet and Paul Harker inside!
No! Jack thought. Iâve got to do something.
He ran. He had to stop the airship. He had to save Scarlet and Mr Harker. Jack may have fallen into some sort of shock at the sudden turn of events, but now he knew what he had to do. The gondola pulled away from the building, its distance increasing with every second. Three feet. Four feet. Five feet.
Jack put all his strength into the run as he leapt across the gap from the building to the gondola.
âNo!â Mr Doyle bellowed.
A chain ran across the bottom of the ramp. Jack grabbed it and pulled it close to him between shaking hands. He was hanging on to the outside of the shipâmiles above the earth. Looking back, he saw the shattered metrotower moving away from themâbut that was an optical illusion. They were moving away from it. Lucy had her arms outstretched. Jack saw the great detective struggle to his feet, looking around desperately, and then dive into a pile of broken rubble and draw something from it.
A sword.
The detective raced to the shattered window and flung the weapon like a javelin. It sailed through the air and struck the balloon, sticking fast. After a few seconds the effect of gravity and the movement of the airship caused it to drop, tearing the canvas. The vessel would be forced to land or risk falling from the sky.
Jack looked back one last time to see Lucy Harker and Mr Doyle standing at the edge of the building.
Good old Mr Doyle , Jack thought, as he was carried away from the metrotower.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jack hung to the chain for dear life. He was chilled by the wind, as if he had leapt into an icy lake. It was unbearable, howling like a banshee and tearing at Jack with a mind of its own, determined to yank him free of the airship.
His weight had pulled the chain taut, but he was able to twist the length around both wrists. Jack thought it may have been used to hold the ramp in place when the ship was tethered to
âWhat the hell is going on?â Paul Harker demanded of the nearest invader. The man clubbed him to the ground.
âFather!â Lucy cried.
Jack raised his head. His absolute shock had paralysed him. Scarlet produced her gun, but one of the men wrestled it from her grasp and delivered a punch to her jaw. She sagged. Mr Doyle leapt to his feet and tackled the assailant. During the tussle, another man came up behind the detective and hit him across the back of the head. He dragged Mr Doyle away as Scarlet was lifted from the ground.
All this time Lucy had been holding her father in her arms. Now she was thrown out of the way. Jack struggled to stand. It seemed to take him an eternity. His legs were shaking. He felt powerless. These men seemed capable of anythingâeven murder.
One of the invaders lifted Mr Harker from the ground. In one smooth action he and Scarlet were carried into the airship. Scarlet was barely conscious. A small, black-haired man with a postage-stamp moustache stood in the entrance. He seemed to be monitoring the operation. Mr Doyle struggled to his feet. Lucy Harker lay still on the floor. The man gave a nod of satisfaction before he and his men marched back into the gondola.
Jack felt like he was in a dream. The roar of the wind was terrible. The cold was mind numbing. It was almost impossible to breathe in the exposed air of the room. At the same time he noticed a vase hovering on the edge of the bookcase. It fell, as if in slow motion, to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. Jack woke from his stupor.
The ramp slid up into place. The gondola was moving. It was withdrawing from the buildingâwith Scarlet and Paul Harker inside!
No! Jack thought. Iâve got to do something.
He ran. He had to stop the airship. He had to save Scarlet and Mr Harker. Jack may have fallen into some sort of shock at the sudden turn of events, but now he knew what he had to do. The gondola pulled away from the building, its distance increasing with every second. Three feet. Four feet. Five feet.
Jack put all his strength into the run as he leapt across the gap from the building to the gondola.
âNo!â Mr Doyle bellowed.
A chain ran across the bottom of the ramp. Jack grabbed it and pulled it close to him between shaking hands. He was hanging on to the outside of the shipâmiles above the earth. Looking back, he saw the shattered metrotower moving away from themâbut that was an optical illusion. They were moving away from it. Lucy had her arms outstretched. Jack saw the great detective struggle to his feet, looking around desperately, and then dive into a pile of broken rubble and draw something from it.
A sword.
The detective raced to the shattered window and flung the weapon like a javelin. It sailed through the air and struck the balloon, sticking fast. After a few seconds the effect of gravity and the movement of the airship caused it to drop, tearing the canvas. The vessel would be forced to land or risk falling from the sky.
Jack looked back one last time to see Lucy Harker and Mr Doyle standing at the edge of the building.
Good old Mr Doyle , Jack thought, as he was carried away from the metrotower.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jack hung to the chain for dear life. He was chilled by the wind, as if he had leapt into an icy lake. It was unbearable, howling like a banshee and tearing at Jack with a mind of its own, determined to yank him free of the airship.
His weight had pulled the chain taut, but he was able to twist the length around both wrists. Jack thought it may have been used to hold the ramp in place when the ship was tethered to
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