The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 111: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (42)
"In a church?" cried the Canadian.

"Yes, Ned, that's a picture of this octopus painted on the church ceiling!"

"Hahaha!" Ned Land laughed loudly. "So Mr. Conseil was just kidding me!"

"Ned, Conseil is right," I said. "I've heard people say that this painting is based on a legend. From a biological point of view, we need to look at these legends objectively. Legend has Exaggerated elements, but not all out of thin air. In addition, when people talk about monsters, they like to imagine the horror side. Some people say that these octopuses can pull away ships. He had seen a cephalopod a mile long. It was more like an island than an animal. It is said that the Bishop of Ituros raised his altar one day on a rocky heap, After he finished mass, the rocks moved, jumped into the sea, and turned into a big octopus."

"Have you finished?" the Canadian asked with a sneer.

"No," said I, "and there is a bishop named Peng Shipidan de Boer, who also speaks of an octopus, which is so large that it can hold a troop of cavalry."

"The old bishops really knew how to make up stories!" said Ned Land.

"Finally, the biologists of ancient times spoke of a monster whose mouth was like a bay and whose body was so wide that it could not even swim through the Strait of Gibraltar."

"How wonderful!" said the Canadian.

"Is there anything real in these stories?" Conseil asked.

"No, my friends, at least as far as the taxonomy of the species is concerned, they say the size is ridiculously large. Still. The storyteller's imagination, not necessarily always has a real reason, but at least always has a hypothetical I think one cannot deny the existence of larger octopuses and calamari, even without the cetacean size. Aristotle once said that we should no longer doubt what he said. I saw a calamari 27 meters long. Fishermen now often see calamari, and they are generally more than [-] meters long. The museums in Duristy and Montbury Field have some octopus skeletons, They are two meters long. Besides, biologists have calculated that an animal of this genus, if it is six feet long, can have antennae and arms as long as twenty-seven feet, which would make them monsters to be feared by all."

"Has anyone ever shot them?" the Canadian asked.

"No, but some sailors have at least seen it with their own eyes. A friend of mine, Captain Paul Baus of Havre, has often told me that he once encountered a monster of this size in the Indian Ocean. In addition to this, a few years earlier, in 1861, a terrible event had occurred."

"How is it?" Ned Land asked.

"It's like this. In 1861, in the northeast sea of ​​Tienilifu Island, the latitude is almost the same as our current latitude. The crew of the communication ship 'Aredon' saw a huge calamari floating on the sea surface. Captain Boog ordered to approach it. This thing, the crew attacked it with harpoons and guns, but it didn't respond. The bullets and harpoons pierced the squid's cotton-like flesh, as if inserted into completely rotten slime. After several rounds of attack, it was completely Unmoved, the crew finally tied the rope around the mollusk's body like a noose, and the rope slid directly to its tail fin and stopped. The crew tried to pull the strange thing up, but its body was too heavy because it was dragged by the rope. , the squid's body was separated from its tail, and when it lost its tail, it dived into the water and disappeared."

"At last there is something more real," said Ned Land.

"It's a sure thing, Ned, that someone named the squid 'Boog's Calamari,' after the captain."

"How long is it?" asked the Canadian.

"Is it six meters long?" Conseil said, standing by the glass, looking at the rugged cliff.

"Yes, exactly six meters long." I replied.

"Aren't its eyes set on top of its forehead and large?"

"Yes, Conseil."

"Is it's mouth, like a parrot's, monstrously large?"

"How do you know, Conseil?"

"Professor, please forgive me," Conseil replied quietly, "if what I see now is not Boog's calamari, at least it is its brother, the giant octopus."

I looked at Conseil puzzled, and Ned Land quickly ran to the glass window.

"It's a terrible thing," he cried.

I ran over to see it too, but was almost scared to sit on the ground. It was that terrifying giant octopus moving in front of my eyes. The scene reminded me of hell.

The octopus in front of me was huge, eight meters long.It waved its limbs and walked quickly backwards, in the same direction as the "Nautilus".It stared at us with its big blank eyes, making us shudder.Its eight arms, or rather eight feet, grew from its head, hence the animal's name cephalopod.It seemed very long, twice the size of its body, and its eight hideous limbs stretched and swayed in the water, fluttering like the hair of a mad woman.We can clearly see the 250 hemispherical dome-shaped suction cups that line its limbs.These suckers are the sharp weapons of the octopus. In front of our eyes, this octopus sticks the sucker to the glass of the living room without fear, and the center of the sucker becomes a vacuum.The beak of the monster was bony, like a parrot, and it kept opening and closing vertically in the water.There are several rows of sharp teeth in its bony mouth, which is a pair of real big iron tongs.The quirks of nature give a mollusk a beak!The octopus has a spindle-shaped body with a bulging waist that creates a large mass of flesh.The monster weighed no less than twenty tons, and the color of its body changed with its mood, from gray and white to reddish brown one after another.

I'm curious, why is this mollusk so excited?Maybe it's because the Nautilus is faster and bigger than it is, and its suction cups can't contain us.I must admit that these octopuses are indeed terrifying monsters. The creators endowed them with many amazing abilities. They are extremely powerful when they exercise, and they have three hearts in their bodies!

This is a godsend opportunity for me to observe this monster up close.I cherished the opportunity, and after overcoming my distaste for its appearance, I picked up a pencil and began sketching it.

"Is this monster the same thing that the crew of the Alledon saw?" Conseil asked.

"Certainly not," the Canadian replied confidently. "This one is complete, and the 'Argenton' is missing its tail."

"Not necessarily," I replied, "the arms and tails of these animals, like geckos, can gradually accumulate and re-grow. After seven years, it is possible for Boog's calamari to grow back their tails." of."

"Professor," Ned immediately continued, "if this isn't the 'Alledon', then perhaps one of the many is it!"

Following Ned Land's words, I found several more octopuses appeared in front of the glass window on the starboard side of the ship. I counted them, and there were seven in total.These monsters traveled with the "Nautilus", and I could even hear their sharp mouths clucking on the steel plate.They must be using our hulls as tasty food.I continue my sketch work, these strange things maintain the same speed as us very accurately in the sea water near us, it seems that they are standing still, I can even copy them down on the glass with paper .At this time, the "Nautilus" was traveling very slowly.

Suddenly, the "Nautilus" stopped, and a huge impact shook the hull.

"Did we hit something again?" I asked with lingering fear.

"It doesn't seem to be an impact," the Canadian replied. "It's strange that we floated."

The Nautilus was floating, but it was still stuck, we couldn't hear the hum of the thrusters, and it was obvious that we had lost power.After about a minute, Captain Nemo walked into the living room, followed by the first officer on board.

I hadn't seen the captain for a long time, and he looked so sad that I hadn't seen him look so sad even when he was stranded underwater in the Southern Ocean.The captain did not speak to us, or at all did not see us, but went straight to the panel, glanced at the octopuses, and said a few words to his mate.The mate went out, and before long the panels were closed and the ceiling lights were brightened.

I went up to the captain and said to him of my own accord:
"Mr. Captain, this is really a novel species of octopus." I said it calmly, like a fish lover talking in front of an aquarium.

"Yes, sir," Captain Nemo answered me, "but now we must fight them hand-to-hand and drive them away."

I stared at the captain because I didn't understand what he was saying.

"Melee?" I repeated the key words.

"Yes, Mr. Professor. The Nautilus' propellers stopped, and I reckoned that an octopus must have inadvertently inserted its tentacles into the vanes, thereby hindering the ship's movement."

"What do you want to do?"

"It's very simple, we surfaced, went out and slaughtered this monster."

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Something, we can't use firearms. Electric bullets have nothing to do with these soft meats. There is not enough resistance in the soft meat, and the bullets cannot explode. We can only learn the primitive hunting methods of our ancestors and use axes to deal with them .”

"A harpoon is also acceptable, Mr. Captain," said the Canadian. "If you don't refuse me, I will come forward."

"Thank you, I accept your help, Mr. Lan."

"We're going with you, and it's our duty to deal with these monsters," I said.

In this way, we followed Captain Nemo to the central staircase.A dozen or so people had already gathered by the stairs, they were holding assault axes, ready to attack at any time.Conseil and I took two axes, while Ned Land held a harpoon.

At this time, the "Nautilus" had already surfaced.A sailor stood on the top step of the staircase and unscrewed the panels.No sooner had the nut been unscrewed than the panel was violently lifted, apparently by a suction cup on one of the octopus' arms.In an instant, a very long arm slid in through the opening like a snake. Captain Nemo had quick eyesight and quick hands. He cut off this huge tentacle with just one swing of the axe, and the remaining tentacle curled up immediately. Backed away from the stairs.

We had just reached the platform, huddled together, when the arms of the other two octopuses, lashing the air like twin whips, fell on a sailor in front of Captain Nemo, and swept him away with lightning-fast force.With a cry, Captain Nemo jumped onto the platform, and we jumped out with us.

It was a sight never to be forgotten, as the hapless crew, swept away by the octopus, was firmly glued to the suction cup and swung wildly through the air with the massive limb.He was panting and choked by the octopus, he shouted with all his might, "Come on, save me!" He said it in French and I was shocked, I had a compatriot on board and his life was in danger .There may have been other Frenchmen on board, and I shall never forget this poor countryman's cry for help.

The unfortunate man was dying. Who could rescue him from the powerful entanglement of the octopus?Captain Nemo jumped on the octopus bravely, and with another blow of the axe, he chopped off the other arm of the octopus.The first officer also fought bravely and fought furiously with the other octopuses crawling on the sides of the "Nautilus". The crew swung their axes and slashed and killed.The Canadian, Conseil, and I also chopped our weapons into these large clumps of meat, and a strange smell filled the air.For a moment, I thought gleefully that the octopus' entangled crew member might be freed from its powerful suction cups, as seven of the octopus' eight arms had been severed, and the only remaining tentacle held the crew member. Flick in the air like a pen.When Captain Nemo and the first mate jumped on it, the thing suddenly spewed out a stream of black liquid, which was the black water secreted from its stomach, and it was also the magic weapon for this animal to escape.Our eyes were dazzled by the black water, and when the thick black mist dissipated we found the octopus gone, and with it my unfortunate compatriot!

We were extremely angry, screaming and fighting desperately with the remaining octopuses, wishing to chop these monsters back to hell and prevent them from being reborn forever.At this time, about ten or twelve octopuses climbed onto the platform, and we stood firm on the platform without retreating a step, chopping these countless monster tentacles into jumping pieces of meat.These hideously viscous tentacles are like the heads of hydras, which have just been severed on one side and popped up on the other.Ned Land's harpoon was inseparable from the octopus' vitals, and almost every harpoon would hit the octopus' eye, and then the Canadians would viciously goug out the monster's eyeball.But no matter how brave the harpooner is, it is impossible to avoid the monster's surprise attack. A monster's tentacles suddenly wrapped Ned Land and knocked him to the ground. The octopus's terrifying big mouth bit Ned Land. Seeing this unfortunate man will be bitten in two.I hastened to rescue him, but Captain Nemo was ahead of me, and before I did, his ax sank into the octopus' two enormous rows of teeth, and the Canadian was saved.Ned Land stood up again and plunged the entire harpoon into one of the octopus' three hearts.

"I am very glad to have this opportunity to repay you, Mr. Lan." Captain Nemo panted to the Canadian.

Ned nodded, but did not answer.

This fierce battle lasted for a quarter of an hour, and the monsters were completely defeated. They died or were injured, and finally exited the platform in a panic, dived into the water and disappeared.

Captain Nemo's whole body was blood red, the blood of the octopus. He stood near the searchlight, motionless.He stared blankly at the sea that had swallowed one of his crew, large tears streaming silently from his eyes.

warm atlantic current

The fierce battle on April 4th was a test of life and death. I believe that everyone among us will always remember that bloody and cruel scene. Driven by strong emotions, I recorded it in detail.I read it to Conseil and Ned Land, and they both felt that what I described was very reasonable, and it was exactly the same as the actual situation, but the effect was not as shocking and strong as the scene.If we are to paint this picture truthfully, we must have a master like Raphael among us.

Although the dead are gone, I can't forget Captain Nemo's eyes full of tears. His pain is as deep as the sea.It was the second companion he had lost since we came on this ship.And the death of this crewman was so terrible. He was squashed, suffocated and twisted alive by the thick arms of an octopus, and then was crushed by the iron teeth of the octopus. The companions who took a step are quietly buried in the coral cemetery on the seabed!
For me personally, that last desperate cry of that unfortunate fellow man in battle tore my heart out.The poor Frenchman, who had forgotten the language agreed upon on board, spoke the language of his country from the bottom of his heart, and made it his last cry of his life. All the crew members of the "Nautilus", united with infinite loyalty to Captain Nemo, avoided human beings just as much as he did.One of them was my countryman, and was he the only one who represented France in this mysterious group?The question kept coming to me, but it was bound to be unanswerable.

After this fierce battle, Captain Nemo became invisible again, and I could not see him for some time.If I judge from some superficial signs of the "Nautilus", he is the soul of the ship, and the ship should fully follow his induction. He should be depressed and frustrated now.In fact, the "Nautilus" did not maintain a certain direction, it was always walking around, like a dead body, drifting with the current.Without the danger of the octopus, the propeller on the boat has been freed and free, but it seems that it does not need this propeller anymore, and it is drifting without a fixed direction.Did it not want to leave the scene of this battle--the sea that swallowed up a relative of the captain?

After drifting freely in this way for ten days, until May 5st, the "Nautilus" entered the waterway of the Bahamas. After seeing the Liujiayi Islands in the distance, we sailed to the waterway to the north.We are traveling along the largest ocean current in the North Atlantic Ocean. This ocean current has its own source, its own fish and its own temperature. We call it the Atlantic Current.

This warm current flows freely in the Atlantic Ocean, and its waters do not mix with those of the Atlantic Ocean.Its average depth is three thousand feet, and its average breadth is sixty nautical miles.In several places it flows at four kilometers an hour, and holds more water than any other river on earth.

(End of this chapter)