The hurricane was in all its violence, it is true, but so clever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon.

Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship, Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out, of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for, accustomed to brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean, he was not to be hindered on account of the hurricane.
Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word, but his eyes shone with satisfaction.

Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass.

The plan was feasible, though, it must be confessed, dangerous in the extreme.

In the night, in spite of their guards, they might approach the balloon, slip into the car, and then cut the cords which held it.