Mary's Nineteenth Century

On the last day of 1869, almost every newspaper in Boston carried a story with a similar content.

"Flying at high altitude, safety or excitement, your choice?"

"According to our newspaper, at 12:30 on December 13, a trapeze appeared in Boston Harbor. Are you excited about the manned flight of a hot air balloon?"

"Minton; & Roman leads the most romantic way of dating in this century - between the sea and the sky, on a hot air balloon, there is only you by my side, in my eyes, in my heart."

In the 18s, the French invented the first manned hot air balloon.

Nearly 90 years later, hot air balloon travel is still rare, because the convenience and safety of operation have not been developed by leaps and bounds.

This makes the sighting of a hot air balloon over Boston a highly entertaining hit.

Not limited to the city of Boston, the news was spread through telegrams and other means, and other cities or countries also reprinted relevant news at the beginning of the new year.

From Boston to New York, across the Atlantic to London.

It spread from London to Paris and Berlin, all the way to the east, and even spread to the Eastern Continent.

After New Year's Day, the whole world reported M;&L's hot air balloon romantic date.

London Whitehall, His Excellency Matthew also looked at the newspaper in a daze.

Although he is very confident in the implementation of the background of "Mrs. Roman", it is enough to be fake, and the character of Roman is indeed a widow who travels to the United States to find a new love, but...

but what?

Facing the newspapers that published hot air balloon news, Matthew couldn't help but have a hard time saying a word.

Although high-profile exposure is the perfect way to conceal one's identity, the hot air balloon flying over Boston Harbor is a bit too high-profile.It was he who underestimated Mycroft. He thought he was a bit lazy, but he didn't expect to work so hard to complete the task.

At this moment, Matthew couldn't help but feel a little shaken.

Originally, he should firmly believe that the reason for choosing the hot air balloon was because Mycroft encountered an emergency, but now can he really be sure that Mrs. Roman is not going on a romantic date in a hot air balloon?

Of course, he believes that Mycroft will not like Mr. Minton, but who can guarantee that Mrs. Roman will not use this to improve the character setting?

Is it a little convoluted?

Matthew rubbed his temples.Forget it, the oriental said, "You will be away, and your fate will not be tolerated", so he also let Mycroft handle the affairs of the United States.

"Boston hot air balloon date" seems to be widely spread overnight, but the truth behind it is often little known.

Those who witnessed the hot air balloon news were not having a high-altitude romantic date at all.

On the contrary, the two had no choice but to choose such a dangerous way, just to seek a chance to escape from the black sand island of death.

At the beginning of the new year, the two rushed back to the small town of Salem, either to avoid being interviewed by reporters, or to deal with the follow-up of the Crystal Skull responsibly.

Different from the outside world, those who knew about the theft of the Crystal Skull knew that Minton and Roman went to sea with the treasure hunting team.

The two return to Boston in a hot air balloon, so are the others still alive?Has something terrible happened on Heisha Island?

"On December 12, the day after Christmas, I guessed that something was very likely to happen."

Director White said that a week ago, it was late at night on the second day after the treasure hunting team set off, and a carriage suddenly stopped in front of his house.

Old Sandy, the coachman, got up at night and found that the carriage on the street outside the window was motionless.Because it felt weird, I went out to find out, and then saw three unconscious people on the carriage, they were the three helmsmen hired by the treasure hunting team.

Curator White made an effort to bring the helmsmen to their senses.How could the three return to Salem first, or in a coma?

The three said they found Heisha Island in the early hours of Christmas, but at dusk that day, they were attacked from behind while staying on the boat.One of them tried to turn his head and saw the appearance of the murderer. His description was similar to that of Dracula who instigated the maid Antony.

The helmsmen did not know how they were transported back to Salem, and there was still a smell of acetylene on their bodies.

"At that time, I immediately thought of one person."

Director White immediately asked old Sandy to drive to Antony's house.

After the theft, he certainly couldn't use Antony as a maid again, but he didn't send people to prison either.

On the one hand, thinking about the ten-year old relationship between master and servant; on the other hand, thinking that it would be very tragic for Antony to be taken advantage of when she was unmarried and pregnant, so she was not sent to prison.

That night, Director White realized that Dracula had reappeared in Salem, but when he arrived at Antony's house, there was no one there.

"Let's go, clean and tidy. Antony took everything she saved, and there was no sign of her home being broken into. She must have eloped with Dracula willingly."

With this departure, it will be difficult to hear any more news.

It is known that Dracula has no shortage of money, enough money to allow him to take Antony to any town he wants to start a new life.It may not necessarily stay in the United States, and it may go to another country.

This result was also expected.

Dracula was like what he showed in the letter, even if he wanted to commit revenge and murder, he still tried his best not to involve innocent people, so he spared the lives of the three helmsmen.

As for Mary and Mycroft, they are not the targets of revenge. If they don't have hot air balloons, how can they escape from Black Sand Island?

Maybe it's because Dracula thinks that those who know that the black sand island is not safe and want to go are not worthy of sympathy, or he also knows that it is impossible to 100% guarantee that the innocent will not be implicated when he chooses to shed blood for revenge.

Now, Dracula has fled, and it is impossible to ask what he thinks.

The follow-up of the Crystal Skull will not stop here.

22 collectors died, wouldn't their relatives and friends come to look for them?

After all, it is not a top secret that the Crystal Skull dropped from the sky and smashed out the sea chart, so will there be another wave of treasure hunters?

Even though Director White doesn't want to mention this secret again, the helmsmen are alive, and townspeople have heard rumors about it in places such as the Broom Hotel.

Trouble, trouble.

Mary and Mycroft came to the town to avoid the reporters chasing them to cover the hot air balloon date, but there were also trivial troubles that could not be avoided.

If you can't hide, you don't have to hide.

The two unified their caliber, saying to the public that they got on the hot air balloon in a daze, and couldn't remember anything that happened on the black sand island.Anyway, some of the helmsmen were knocked out first, and it was only natural that there were other accidents.

They can respond vaguely to the outside world, but the two themselves have to figure out some things.First of all, I would like to thank a special person-the freckle shopkeeper who provided the invincible escape tool.

On January 1, the "Alchemy Stone House" opened normally after the festival, and the escaped turkey had already been reduced to a meal.

"You want to buy the bones and feathers of that turkey?"

The owner of the freckle shop was confused. Although he claimed to sell all kinds of second-hand goods, there were always customers who could break through his cognition. "Aren't you going to let its bones go, in order to avenge the pecking at the beginning?"

The owner of the freckle shop didn't say the second half of the sentence. Normal people can't do this level of revenge.

This brain circuit is also possible.

Mary smiled and didn't explain her suspicion that the origin of the turkey was related to Heisha Island.

Why was she attacked by a turkey that day?Did it have something to do with the food pills spit out by Dracula's owl in her pocket at the time?

The origin of the turkey has been inquired before, and the owner buys it from mobile vendors in the open-air market.

The street vendors are unfamiliar faces, and they have sold other poultry, such as big geese, on Christmas Eve.The ingredients looked quite normal, and the owner didn't feel any discomfort after eating it.

At the moment, Mary just has nothing to buy the turkey carcass.

Facing the shopkeeper's doubts, she asked instead, "Why did you think of giving me a hot air balloon? With all due respect, a normal person cannot give such an apology. Thank you for your gift, which made me surrounded by reporters. "

The owner of the freckle shop scratched his hair in embarrassment, "I'm telling the truth, don't be angry, it has something to do with a supernatural event. Actually, I'm not sure if it's vertigo."

At midnight three months ago, the owner of the freckle shop went out to collect the goods and returned to the city.

Near the coast, he saw a shadow flying across the sky.

Not any normal bird he knew, because of its size and its own light.

"There were clouds covering the moon from time to time that day, so I couldn't see what was flying in the sky. The first time I thought it was a hot air balloon. It needs fuel, and it's normal to have a fire in the air."

The owner of the freckle shop was aroused and wanted to buy a hot air balloon for fun, but recycling second-hand rare items required patience, and he had just purchased a semi-finished product until recently.

"that's it?"

Mycroft looked at the freckled shopkeeper, whose face suggested something else.

"Well, how can I put it better? Afterwards, the more I think about it, the more I feel something is wrong. Did I really see a round balloon?"

The freckle shopkeeper, although he deals in strange items, doesn't really believe in magic and witchcraft.Some memories, but the more I think about them, the more they permeate.

"The glowing shadow that flew in the sky that night looked more like a person than a hot air balloon. Yes, it was a vampire with wings."

Some thoughts flashed, but there would be no proof.

The owner of the freckle shop thinks that memories can be deceiving, so he doesn't think too much about it, but the theft of the crystal skull happened on Christmas Eve.

"You came to inquire about the rumors of Black Sand Island. Later, a large group of people went out to sea for adventure, which reminded me of the shadow in the sky that night. According to legend, the werewolf came from Black Sand Island to Witch Town to avenge H; in reality, Does anyone know if there are any vampires on the island?"

Out of unreliable guesswork, he sent out hot air balloons that were not repaired.Although I don't know if the black sand island is dangerous, it can be regarded as a way out anyway.

Having said that, the air in the store suddenly became quiet.

Mary and Mycroft looked at each other, and immediately thought of two questions.

First of all, the two did not meet Dracula head-on on the black sand island.

The Avenger left a letter stating that he had sailed away from the island.Judging from the timeline, if you return to Salem by sea boat, it will be too late to confirm with your own eyes that all the collectors were poisoned and died.

Did not verify the deaths of the enemies face to face, is Dracula very confident in his poisoning skills, or did he haunt the coast at a certain moment but

Not found?

In addition, Dracula's book mentioned that neighbor Rich made a transformation potion.In order to prevent the terrible careerist from being born, he first killed him with poison.

Now that Rich has successfully produced a werewolf transformation medicine, why deny the possibility of transforming into a vampire.The two grew up together, and Dracula's poison skills are also outstanding. Is it true that only the dead Rich has mastered the transformation potion?

Mary has a few more questions to ask.

Does the "∞" symbol on the Diamond point to Heisha Island?Rich can make a strange transformation potion. Who taught him that there is some organization behind the scenes?

In late January, relatives and friends of the collectors arrived in Salem one after another.

These people either want to retrieve the bodies of the victims, or are jealous of the treasures that have not been retrieved, and another group of people headed to Heisha Island on the full moon.

The three surviving helmsmen went to sea again under high commission.

Mary and Mycroft boarded the ship again to collect more evidence.Previously, the two left Heisha Island in a hurry, because the conditions at that time did not support them to study the answers carefully, and they might find something new when they landed on the island for the second time.

This time it did not coincide with the blood moon, but he still successfully found Heisha Island.

Something unexpected happened.

The island with lush vegetation was obviously hit by a fire. After the raging fire passed through, the island was left with only charcoal and ashes.

On the coast, the 22 corpses were far away from the woods and close to the sea, so they became one of the few intact bodies preserved in the fire.

As for those treasures, they were completely deformed by burning.In addition to picking up some precious metal remnants, such as pearls, jade, gems, etc., were either completely destroyed or lost their original value after the fire.

None of the animals and plants on the island were spared, and none of the wooden houses on the other side were burned down.

Mycroft tried to find the fire point, and finally locked on the center of the island, which was a big tree that was dying.

The big tree was not struck by lightning, and no evidence such as footprints or igniters left by man-made arson was found. Perhaps there was a sky fire or spontaneous combustion.

No other suspicious fire points were found. The fire on Heisha Island seemed to spread from the center of the island to all directions, and gradually burned the entire island.

The intensity of the fire was astounding.

After the fire, any secrets the island might have held were lost forever in the ashes.For example, whether or not the transformation potion is made from small island plants has become a mystery that cannot be tested again.

"Very thoroughly, the fire annihilated any possible clues."

Mary was a little helpless, but she could only return without success. "Mrs. Roman, do you think this fire was man-made or a choice of nature?"

On the deck, Mycroft looked back at the black sand island full of ashes.

Losing the green forest and vitality, it has really become the strange and terrifying dark island in the rumors.

"I hope it's nature's choice and that means some trouble ends there."

Mycroft also couldn't give a definite answer, "You must be very clear that if it is arson, it means that someone wants to destroy the corpse. It may not be that Dracula went and returned to the island again, or it may be a third party who wants to go to the island. To cover up the secrets of transfiguration potions or other dark research."

Undoubtedly, that means that the existence of Heisha Island is not an exception. Is there an invisible black hand behind the scenes?

"Well, let's talk about the future."

Mary turned around and didn't look at the black sand island left behind.Soldiers come to block water and earth to cover, she has never been unfounded.

**

Before we knew it, 1870 came.

It's been a month and a half, and there are still a few people left who care about what happened last year.

The shadows of death, such as crystal skulls and black sand islands, seem to have completely disappeared, ending with the sad departure of relatives and friends of the collectors.

There is something new in America every day, and time takes everything away.

Of course, there are always some exceptions to everything, and despite the efforts of those involved in it to divert attention from the public, something continues to dominate the news lists of major newspapers.

M;&L The hot air balloon dating incident, people have been talking about it for more than a month.

There is no unprovoked news enthusiasm. The reason is that the United States and even countries around the world with some strength can produce hot air balloons. Businessmen are keen to seize business opportunities and actually start hot air balloon sightseeing projects.

Manned hot air balloons have been around for nearly 90 years. In the past, there were activities of flying into the sky to enjoy the scenery, but they were always limited to safety reasons and did not explode.

After all, it is different from the activities on the ground. If there is a problem in the mid-air, you can only escape by parachuting, but how many tourists can safely skydive at high altitudes?

However, just because it wasn’t popular in the past doesn’t mean it can’t become a hit now.

Businesses deliberately promoted it, newspapers bombarded it with reports, and there were a bunch of witnesses to prove it. Everyone knew that there was no third person on the hot air balloon date above Boston.

In other words, without hiring additional pilots, couples can smoothly and safely operate hot air balloons for sightseeing in the sky, just like driving a horse-drawn carriage for an outing.

This kind of dating in the sky has really appeared, and the living examples are placed in front of everyone, so why dare not try it?

As a result, sky tourism has become popular in big cities in many countries.

At this point, Mary was speechless.What can she say, debunking the hot air balloon date report?

Compared with the troubles caused by disclosing the Black Sand Island tragedy, it is the best excuse for Mr. Minton and Mrs. Roman to gossip, and the other party has exactly the same intention.

Or, is she going to pour cold water on a group of people who yearn to fly in the sky?Just tell people to be sober, don't think that you can easily learn from real examples, it depends on who is used as an example, how many Madame Romans can there be in the world.

It is useless for Mr. Minton to say such things, it will only be defined as being blinded by love, as if only Mrs. Roman is the best in the world.

God testifies.

Mary has no extra feelings at all, she just wants to ridicule the IQ and learning ability of most people.

However, here lies the strange thing.

It is rare that when she speaks the truth sincerely, there are always very few people who believe her.On the contrary, rhetoric or purposeful words are regarded as the maxim or the motto of great kindness.

Have fun with people.

The last kind reminder given by Mary, anonymously wrote a manuscript on the precautions for hot air balloon launch.

The article includes concerns about slow wind direction, clothing, first aid equipment, etc. It also has to pay attention to the danger not only from birds in the sky, but also to be careful of bullets and other items shot from the ground.

Earlier, the Hermes Agency's fraud case rescued a reporter Weasley who was buried alive.

This article was published in the "New York Daily" with good sales through Weasley's channel, but it didn't make the headlines on the front page, and I don't know how many people would take it to heart.

Mary also stopped paying attention and did what she wanted without much empathy.

Not everyone is out of their minds.

After staying in the United States for three months, Bentley decided to return to the UK, before leaving to say goodbye formally.

"Whether it's Boston or New York, life in a big city is too messy."

Bingley is very grateful to Mr. Minton for his help, but please forgive him for not being around anymore.

"The stock ticker is not a popular product. The order in the United States is almost full, and it is time for me to go home. The experience of recent months has made me realize that I prefer a slightly slower pace of life."

Therefore, Bentley also came to discuss the transfer of the quotation machine production line.

"I have no objection, just make your choice."

Mary doesn't like to be bound by specific business matters, she just needs to find a reliable next door.

The two negotiated a general intention on this, and then contacted in time through a transoceanic telegram.

Mary asked politely, "Have you booked the ferry ticket back home? You said the big city is too messy, so you plan to stay in London?"

"Thank you for your concern, the ferry ticket has been booked, this time I did not choose the "Diamond". "

Bentley is still haunted by the deaths on his trip to America, and he has no plans to live in London permanently.

"I really won't stay in London for too long. In the past two years, I want to go to the countryside for a walk. The wheat waves in the countryside, the grass and trees are clear and fragrant, and maybe I will meet a beautiful and charming girl."

Speaking of this, he thought of something, and suddenly fell silent.

The expression on this face was hesitant to speak but couldn't hide his curiosity, which made Bentley's expression involuntarily tangled.

What else is there to worry about?

Of course, it is a topic of entanglement in the news dominance. M;&L has been called the most romantic couple in the new year by major newspapers.

Bingley did not think that his position was not firm, but that the newspapers said it too strongly.

He asked himself whether he was partial to listening or believing, and he had observed the two of them closely.Although the contact time is not long, it is inevitable to find suspicious clues.

Not to mention anything else, why did the two of them go to sea together for the matter of Heisha Island?

Bentley understood that after the missing Crystal Skull was found, there was no need for Minton and Roman to take any more risks.

They happened to go together, and he also heard some gossip from the collectors in the hotel, saying that Mrs. Roman liked to hunt for novelties, and Mr. Minton accompanied him specially.Or, is it possible the other way around?

Assuming the reverse is also true, wouldn't this be equivalent to mutual affection?

The problem was that his intuition didn't detect that there was already a taste of love between the two.

True and false, repeated over and over again, false and true, made his mind a mess.

If you can't solve the mathematical conjectures that plague the world, if you can't create new inventions that change your life, if you can't control the financial city like clouds and rain, that's all.

Could it be that he couldn't even see through the relationship between the two people he knew around him?

This is very frustrating.

At the moment, Bentley's brain became hot, thinking that he was going to leave the United States anyway, so he boldly asked directly:

"Mr. Minton, the newspapers are talking about romantic dates in hot air balloons. I should know that some of them are nonsense, but are you really not pursuing Mrs. Roman? Or, isn't that lady pursuing you?"