CHAPTER 579: THE AIR PUMP

TL: Rui88

“Take a look, this is the so-called air pump.”

Paul patted the thing called an air pump, or vacuum pump. It seemed to be fixed to the tabletop.

Wells moved closer to it, examining it carefully.

The main body of this thing was a metal canister. At one end of the metal canister were two valves: one could only open inwards, and the other could only open outwards. A metal rod extended from the other end of the canister. This metal rod was connected to a second metal rod by a movable pivot, and the other end of the second metal rod was fixed to the edge of a flywheel. To say it was fixed was not quite accurate, as it was also mounted on the flywheel with a pivot. And on the flywheel, there was a handle.

Guy Burns began to introduce it to him voluntarily. He first pointed to the metal canister and said, “Great chemist, look carefully. This is the air cylinder. Inside, there is a piston. These two valves, one is called the intake valve, and the other is the exhaust valve. When the piston is pulled outwards, the intake valve opens, and the exhaust valve closes, drawing air into the cylinder. And when the piston is pushed inwards, the intake valve closes, and the exhaust valve opens, expelling the air from inside the cylinder.”

He then pointed to the connecting rod and flywheel behind the canister and said, “This is called a crank and connecting rod mechanism. Its function is to convert the rotational motion of the flywheel into the reciprocating motion that pushes and pulls the piston. Of course, on other machines, it can also work in reverse. Then, we turn this handle, and we can make the piston in the cylinder move in and out.”

After hearing his introduction, Wells praised it sincerely, “It is indeed a marvellous device. So, Lord Grayman, you intend to use this air pump to evacuate the space between the layers of the bottle into a so-called vacuum?”

“Yes,” Paul snapped his fingers.

“When making this thing, the piston inside was a bit troublesome. At first, we used oil-soaked linen, but that kind of piston was not airtight enough and would leak after some pumping. Later, a usable piston was made from animal leather.”

As Paul spoke, he picked up a short metal tube, connected one end to the hole on the glass bottle and the other to the intake port of the air pump. Both ends of the short tube were wrapped in a thin layer of leather, which should also be for ensuring airtightness.

After doing all this, Paul shouted, “Someone!”

The workshop door was pushed open, and the guard standing outside came in. “Lord Grayman, what are your orders?”

Paul pointed to the flywheel behind the air pump and commanded, “You, turn it.”

The guard glanced at the air pump, somewhat bewildered, but he still obeyed the command. He walked over to the machine, grasped the handle with his right hand, and began to turn it. As he turned, the rotating flywheel began to push the connecting rod in and out, constantly pushing and pulling the piston in the air cylinder.

Paul, Wells, and Burns watched the bottle with unblinking eyes.

To Wells and Burns, it seemed that nothing had changed; after all, air was transparent.

Only the connecting rod pushing the piston was constantly moving. But gradually, they saw that the guard turning the handle was clearly exerting more force. After that, it seemed that turning the handle became increasingly difficult for him.

The air pump’s exhaust valve opened and closed, proving that gas was continuously being expelled. However, just then, something unexpected happened. With a crack, the bottle made of double-layered glass shattered, turning into a pile of fragments. Fortunately, the bottle did not explode, so no one nearby was injured.

This change startled everyone. Wells and Burns stared blankly at the glass fragments, while the guard was dumbfounded, even at a loss.

“Lord Grayman, I’m sorry, I… I didn’t expect to break it,” the guard said, blushing and repeatedly apologizing to Paul.

“Ah, it’s alright. This was always a possibility.”

Only then did Wells and Burns notice that the Count’s face was calm, as if he was not surprised at all that the glass bottle had shattered.

“Very strange,” Guy Burns asked, scratching his head. “Why did the glass bottle break? It wasn’t hit by anything.”

Yes, everyone had been staring at the unfortunate bottle. Nothing had flown over and hit it.

“Indeed, why did the bottle break?” Paul also asked, but to Wells’s ears, there was no sense of confusion in the Count’s words.

“There must have been something that exerted a ‘force’ on the bottle, which is why it broke,” Paul said.

What could that be? Hearing the Count’s words, Wells thought that it seemed only air was present.

Hmm, air? Haha, what a joke. He dismissed the thought from his mind.

“Alright, in any case, we need a sturdier bottle. Perhaps we should thicken the glass walls,” Paul concluded. “I need to have someone remake it. Oh, right, Wells.” Ŗ₳ΝÒ𐌱Ε𝘚

Paul looked at the alchemist. “What did you come to see me about?”

Ah, right, he had important business to discuss with the lord. Wells remembered his purpose for coming to the manor.

“That…” he said with some trepidation, “Lord Grayman, I have a student, he…”

“What about him?” Paul waited for Wells to continue.

“Er… he is a very talented person in chemistry, with a lively mind and excellent grades. He has been a great help to us in the laboratory.”

“Mmm, so? Are you asking me to grant him some position? Don’t you and Hoffman manage everything in the chemistry lab? You don’t need to come to me for that.” Paul was a little puzzled. Was Wells here to pull strings? Or did he and Hoffman have some disagreement about this student that needed his judgment?

“But unfortunately…” Wells lowered his head and said in a low voice, “This student… his surname is Fajeyev.”

Fajeyev? Paul narrowed his eyes. If he remembered correctly, Fajeyev seemed to be a gentry family that had participated in that rebellion.

“So… this student of yours…” Paul’s tone had lost its earlier enthusiasm. “Is he in prison now?”

The interrogation of the rebels was currently underway. All the families involved in the rebellion had been detained, clan by clan.

“Yes, Lord Grayman.”

“Then, what did you come to see me for?” Paul asked Wells again about his purpose for being here, his words now carrying a hint of impoliteness.

Wells felt the change in the Count’s tone, and his heart beat faster. The Count seemed very sensitive about this.

“I wish to ask you, Lord Grayman, if you could… if you could show leniency to this student of mine.”

Wells cautiously voiced his request. Coming from Crystal Shine, he knew that many lords, when dealing with those involved in rebellions, would at best banish them, and the crueler ones might just kill them all.

He did not believe that his student would have actually participated in the rebellion, but what would the Count think?