Invention for Destruction

Mr. Simon Hart narrates the greatest adventure of his life as captured in his journal. It was a period of good progress. Simon and his friends dreamed of emulating the heroes of Jules Verne novels - Robur the Conqueror, Barbican, Captain Nemo. Hart is slated to assist Professor Roch in his research. To get to his current location, he is a passenger on the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, flies in a propeller driven balloon, and rides in a submarine. He finally arrives at the sanitarium where Roch was resting after his last invention. Unaware to both of them, sea captain Spade signals a ship offshore to send in a party of men to subdue and kidnap Roch and Hart. They end up aboard the three-masted ship belonging to Count Artigas. A search is sent out to find them. It fails because the two kidnap victims are moved to a submarine that is attached to their boat with a rope. The rope is mistaken as being part of the ship's anchor system. When night falls, the submarine tows the ship out to sea. Anyone watching would think it strange to see a vessel move without its sails deployed. Professor Roch is treated as a special guest while Hart is locked in the brig. Roch is fascinated in watching underwater scenes slide by the large submarine window. Artigas tells Roch that with his assistance they can rule the seas. He has laboratories and factories that await his inventions. Now well away from shore, Roch is transferred back to the 3-masted sailing ship to watch the arrival at Count's secret base. He is introduced to Mr. Serko, a future technical collaborator, and Captain Spade. They come within sight of a becalmed merchant ship, the Amelia. Artigas has the submarine crew ram the vessel to sink it for plundering its cargo and valuables. Jana, a female passenger, survives the attack by holding on to floating debris and is taken aboard. Everyone is excited when the Back Cup base is spotted. It is located inside the cone of an extinct volcano. What appears to be a nascent eruption is actually smoke from his factories. The entrance is through a submerged tunnel. Professor Roch is given quarters in the Count's fancy castle-like home. Hart is dropped off at a shack on the far side of the interior lagoon. Roch begins his experiments to release the forces tied up in matter. He is naive in thinking his results will be used for the good of all humankind. His progress is so slow that Serko decides maybe Simon could speed things up. They supply a lab set-up in the shack. He also seeks assistance with an aircraft that could be used to deliver bombs. Simon knows what the end use will be and is not going to be complicit in their plans. The Professor builds an iron chamber to test some of his explosive material. He feels the trial is a failure, but the Count realizes it will suffice for his needs. Simon is desperate to talk to the professor, to tell him he is delivering his invention to madmen. First, he writes a summary of the situation and sends it aloft in a balloon to announce to the world what is taking shape. The balloon-borne note is received on the mainland. A serious response is launched to stop the Count. Simon also sends a note across the lagoon via a toy boat to Jana as she has the run of the Count's home. She delivers it to Roch, but he sets it aside. A gust of wind scatters it along with many other papers, so he never reads it. The Count's submarine returns from another foray. They are aware of the retaliatory forces that have been dispatched in their direction. The submarine was even fired upon at one location. Artigas demands that shell production using Roch's invention be stepped up. Serko consults Simon about the tunnel that to be built above ground that will allow a Supergun to be put in place on Back Cup's outer coast. Serko gets a call about a damaged underwater communications cable. Simon volunteers to help out, planning to use the opportunity to escape. He flees during the repair and eludes the other crew members, but he has insufficient oxygen. A reconnaissance mini-sub finds Simon shortly after his supply is depleted. The crew tell him that he is among friends. The Count's sub spots them and rams their vessel. Simon is able to escape. He swims to shore and climbs a drainage pipe to a window in the Count's palace. It is actually Jana's bed chamber. He is asked to withdraw while she dresses. He convinces her that the Count has evil intentions. As they look for the professor, Simon overhears plans for the upcoming confrontation with the world forces. He hears that their big gun can shoot long before the world forces are within their weapons' range. Simon decides that he and Jana can overpower the two spotters that will be sent aloft by balloon to help the Count. Simon grabs their telephone cable and snags it. When the men come to free it, they knock them out. They don the equipment to hide their identities and climb into the balloon. Once aloft, they chop the tether rope to free themselves. On the ground, Roch finally realizes what is going on. When the Count and his cronies are distracted, he climbs up and intercepts the shell that is about to be loaded into the Supergun. He releases it from the carrying cart and lets it tumble down the shore. It explodes when it hits the rocks, taking Artigas and his evil gang with it.