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

Chapter 118 The Mysterious Island (3)
"Well, one more is all right!" said Pencroft, and removed the two sandbags from the basket.Then he untied the cable.It may be that the balloon started too violently and hit two chimneys near the square. The hanging basket staggered and drifted away obliquely, disappearing into the night sky.

At that time, it was night, and the storm was extremely violent. It was impossible for the engineers to let the balloon descend. When it was daytime, the surrounding thick fog blocked their vision again. They were surrounded by thick fog and could not see anything.It wasn't until five days after the flight that they saw the vast sea under the hanging basket, followed by the danger of the balloon falling into the sea at any time with the terrible wind speed.

Since the five people set off on March 3, until March 20, four of them were taken by balloons to a desolate coast, which is a full six thousand nautical miles away from their country!
The missing one of them was their chief, Cyrus Harding, the engineer, whom the four survivors had set out to rescue as soon as they had landed.

looking for companions
The engineer was swept through the mesh by the waves, and with him was the dog named Top.Top must have gone to rescue his master, who was a faithful dog.

"Go ahead and have a look!" the reporter yelled as he walked.

Jardine Splane, Harbert, Pencroft, and Neb started their arduous search, at which point they all forgot their own fatigue and hardship.Neb's emotions were agitated, even manic, and the disappearance of his master made him weep in despair.

The four of them hoped to find Cyrus Harding as soon as possible, and to bring him ashore.After all, it was only about 2 minutes between his disappearance and the four of them landing.

"Let's go find it! Come on!" cried Neb anxiously.

"We shall find him, Neb!" said Jardine Splane to him.

"He's still alive, isn't he?" Neb's tone was disturbed.

"It must be alive!" The reporter replied firmly.

"Can he swim?" asked Pencroft to Neb.

"Yes! Top will!" said Neb.

The sea was roaring, and the sailor shook his head listening to the sound of the huge waves.

The place where the engineer disappeared was north of the coast, about half a nautical mile from where they had landed.They followed the coastline and started looking north.It was already six o'clock in the evening, but the sky was very dark, and the fog had just risen.For them, the land under their feet is very strange. They don't even know where they are on this earth, and they were thrown here accidentally by a disaster and fate.There are many stones mixed in the sand under the feet, it seems that it is difficult for plants to grow.Moreover, the terrain is uneven and covered with many small pits. From time to time, some large and bulky birds take off from the pits, spread out, and disappear into the air.There are other birds, which fly more flexibly, and they fly in flocks, and they fly in the air like a big black cloud gathered together.The sailors judged that these two birds should be seagulls and falcons. These seabirds were screaming and fighting against the roaring sea.

The four of them stopped and called as they walked, and they had to listen carefully for the sound of calling from the sea.Actually, they didn't know if they were close to where the Engineer might have landed, but if the Engineer himself couldn't make a cry for help, Top's cry would have been heard.Disappointingly, there wasn't any sound other than the roar of the waves and the lapping of the shore.They went on, searching carefully nowhere on the coast.

After about 10 minutes, they had to stop. The edge of the land was already in front of them. The waves were rolling, but the land was gone.

"It's a headland, and we'll have to go back to land."

"But what if Mr. Cyrus is there?" Neb asked as he stretched out his finger to the vast sea, the huge waves became whiter and whiter in the dark night.

"Let's call him together!"

So the four shouted in unison, but there was no response.They waited for the sea breeze to calm down a little bit, and then continued to shout, but the result was still disappointing.Finally, they had to follow the opposite side of the headland and came to the other side. The land here was the same as before, with sand mixed with stones.Here, the sailors observed, the coast was steeper and higher.There were not as many seabirds on this side as before, and the sea seemed much calmer.Obviously, the ups and downs of the waves are significantly weaker than those on the other side, and the sound of the waves hitting the shore can barely be heard.This side of the headland, the sailor estimated, was a semicircle, forming a small bay, with a sharp spit sheltering the forceful rush of the sea.

They were now traveling in a southerly direction, opposite to the direction in which Cyrus Harding had fallen.After nearly a nautical mile, there was no bend in the shore that would allow them to turn around and head north.After running day and night in the storm, and then walking for so long, the few of them were exhausted.However, these are some brave people, still with hope, hoping to find a certain corner and let them return to the original direction.

Frustratingly, after about two nautical miles they were blocked by the sea again.They too were once again standing on a high, rocky sandspit.

"It's a small island, and we've walked around it," said the sailor.

Yes, the sailor was right.These victims did not come to a piece of land, but were thrown on a small island.It was a long and narrow island, not more than two nautical miles long, and its breadth was insignificant.Is this a desolate island with no grass growing on it, or is it connected to a larger archipelago?This question is not yet certain.The land that the victims saw from the balloon was vaguely covered in thick fog, and they couldn't tell the size of the land at all.To the west, however, Pencroft saw some heaps of stones, which looked somewhat dim, but the sailor's eye could see through the shadows, and he thought it to be a higher coast.

However, it was too dark at this time, and it was impossible to determine the geographical situation of the island, let alone tell whether it was a single island or one of complex archipelagos.In any case, they must stay here tonight, surrounded by the endless sea, and the roar of the waves is still one after another.As for the task of finding an engineer, we have to wait until tomorrow to continue.Haven't heard back from him yet and don't know if he survived.

"It doesn't mean anything that Cyrus Smith didn't respond." The reporter said to everyone: "We must not be discouraged. Perhaps he is only temporarily unconscious or injured and unable to respond."

Then, the reporter came up with a good idea. He suggested that a fire be lit on the island, which could be used as a signal to the engineer.But the problem is, they searched and searched and couldn't find any burning things like dry branches or thorns, and there was nothing around except sand and stones.

The disappearance of Cyrus Harding was a painful event to his companions, who respected him and loved his tenacious and courageous character.What made them even more painful was that it was impossible to save him now.We can only wait until dawn tomorrow before making further plans.They hoped that the engineer had saved himself, was somewhere on the coast, and had found temporary shelter.Otherwise, he will disappear forever.

The few hours before dawn were particularly difficult and long for the victims.The four of them were very tired, and the weather was very cold.However, these few victims seemed to turn a blind eye to their own fatigue and the bad weather. They did not rest, even for a moment, but came and went on the island, looking for traces of Cyrus Smith, and kept heading towards the sea. shout.They searched and forgot themselves, and they hoped that Smith was still alive, forever.They shouted hard, listened carefully, and didn't miss any information.Slowly, the atmosphere seems to have returned to calm, the roar of the sea has gradually subsided, and their cries seem to be able to reach the distance.

Neb's call seemed to be answered, and the voice seemed to come from far away.Hubbert said to Pencroft:

"Perhaps there is a coast to the west, not far from here."

This sentence alerted the sailor and caught his attention, and he nodded in agreement.Moreover, I also believe in my own judgment just now.Although he only vaguely saw the land in the distance, he was sure that his eyes could see correctly.

However, Naboo's call only got one response, and the surrounding area of ​​the island was still silent.However, the fog gradually dispersed, the sky cleared, and at midnight, a few stars appeared in the night sky.Had the engineer seen these stars, he would have realized that they were no longer those of the northern hemisphere.In this new sky, the stars they were familiar with did not appear.

The night finally came to an end, it was already the morning of March 3, and it was around five o'clock now.At this time, the sky changed again. The sky was not completely bright yet, but with the dawn, thick fog also rose from the sea, and the thick fog spread out like a vortex, moving slowly.The sudden dense fog made the four people's line of sight only twenty paces away, and they couldn't distinguish the surrounding situation at all, and couldn't see anything.Neb and Splain looked out to sea, and Pencroft and Herbert searched the west coast, but now they could see no sign of land.

"It's nothing!" said Pencroft; "the mist keeps us from seeing the coast to the west, but I know it's there, and the land is over there, and I'm as sure as we are out of Richmond. !"

No matter how thick the fog is, it will still dissipate, not to mention that it is just a mist on a sunny day.Sure enough, at around 06:30, the sun had risen for about four to ten minutes. The warm sun shone through the upper layer of the mist, and the heat of the sun penetrated through the mist to reach the surface of the island.As the sun rises, this dense fog thickens at high altitudes, but dissipates at low altitudes.At this time, the shape of the island gradually appeared, and then the outline of the sea appeared, with the boundless sea to the east and a steep coast to the west.

That's land!Between the island and the coast, there is a distance of nearly half a nautical mile, and the water in this channel is very fast.At this time, one of them had rushed into the swift sea, and it was none other than Neb, who obeyed the call of his soul, and did not listen to the advice of his companions, nor even ask their consent, plunged into the sea, and swam westward. go.Pencroft called Neb back, but it was in vain, for Neb was so eager to swim across that he could not be stopped.But at this time, the reporter had to do the same as him, preparing to swim over.

Fortunately, Pencroft said to him:

"Do you want to swim there too?"

"Of course!" Jardine Splane replied in the affirmative.

"Wait a moment, believe me!" continued the sailor, "Neb is more than enough to help his master alone. If we swim now, we are likely to be swept into the sea by a violent current. But, you see, it is Low tide, the tide on the beach has already receded. If I am not mistaken, as long as we wait patiently for a while, and wait for the tide to recede, we can find a relatively shallow waterway and just wade across it.”

"Your judgment is correct!" The reporter replied: "Besides, at this time, it is best for us not to separate."

Neb was struggling in the current as they spoke, his black shoulders rising to the surface with each stroke.Neb was having a hard time swimming in the water, and he was drifting rather than swimming. His direction was obliquely forward. The distance was less than half a nautical mile, and he swam for more than half an hour.When he landed, it was thousands of feet away from the opposite side of the starting point, and the distance of the slope could be seen.Neb landed at the foot of a granite cliff, shook off the excess water vigorously, and then ran behind the spit.It was a rocky spit jutting out to sea, about the same height as the spit they had seen at the northern end of the island.

This daring move by Neb worried his companions, who watched him from the other bank, and saw him disappear behind the spit.Then, their eyes turned to this piece of land, where they hoped to get a safe shelter.At the same time, they collected shells from the beach and used them as food. It was not a delicacy, but there was something to eat.

The opposite coast forms a harbor, which is quite wide, and at the top of the south is a sand spit, which looks sharp and is also a place where there is no grass.The spit is connected to the headland, leaning on a huge rock; the northern harbor has a wide opening, forming a semicircular coast, with a distance of about eight or nine nautical miles.The shape of the small island looks like a huge whale, and the widest area is only a quarter of a sea mile.

At the front of the island is a beach covered with rocks. At this time, the tide is slowly falling, and these rocks are gradually exposed to the sea.In the middle of the island is a steep but straight wall of rock, reaching a height of nearly three hundred feet at the top.This high place on the coast is bare of any trees, just a bare platform, at least as seen from the side of the island.But the other side of the rock wall, that is, the right side, is a cut surface, but green branches and leaves can be seen behind it.It can be judged that it is a large forest, and the area is beyond the line of sight.Seeing the bare rock walls will inevitably make people feel desolate, but seeing the shade of green trees is pleasing to the eyes and heart.Looking farther away, about seven miles away, there seemed to be a mountain, and the sun shone on it, reflecting white light.

Is this an island or a continent?There is no way of knowing.But judging from the condition of the rocks on the left, a geologist would not hesitate to conclude that it was the product of a volcanic eruption.

Looking at the land, Jardine Splane, Pencroft, and Harbert thought, how long they would live here, perhaps only for a temporary refuge.However, if this place is not on any route and no ships pass by, then they may stay here for many years, or even grow old here and die here.

"What do you think?" asked Harbert to Pencroft.

"Everything has two sides. It is a bad thing and a good thing. Let's talk about it while watching. You see, the tide has already ebbed. In a few hours, we will try to go there. Go there first, find Mr. Smith, and then Discuss the solution and try to get out of the predicament," replied the sailor.

The sailor was right. About three hours later, the sea receded and the channel became shallower, and the sand at the bottom could be seen.At this time, there was only a ditch between the island and the coast, and it was much easier to cross it than before.

By about ten o'clock in the morning, they were ready to go.Everyone took off their clothes first, packed them and put them on top of their heads to avoid getting in the sea water.Then they jumped into the channel, and after trying it they found out that the water was not more than five feet deep, but it was still a little too deep for Hubbert, and he had to swim through it, but he was a good swimmer.They reached the other side without much effort.After landing, waited for the sun to dry the body, put on clothes again, and began to discuss the next move.

Temporarily living in the "chimney"

Spline resolved to go to Cyrus Harding, and he followed the direction in which Neb had gone hours before, to find them.Soon, he disappeared, and it was obvious that he was anxious to get news from the engineer.Harbert would have liked to go with the reporter, but the sailor persuaded him to stay with him until they returned.

"Son, you should stay!" said the sailor. "We must find a place to live, and something to eat, which must be better than those shells. Besides, when they come back, they will definitely need food supplements." Physical strength. Everyone's mission is different, and you should stay."

"You're right, I accept the mission!" Hubbert replied.

"Okay! Then let's get started! The most important thing now is to find a place to live, make a fire, and of course, get something to eat. After all, we are tired and hungry. The wood in the forest can make a fire, and the bird's nest There will definitely be birds' eggs in it, and then it's just a matter of finding a place to settle down," said the sailor.

"Then I'll look over the rocks, and there will always be a cave we can drill into!" Hubbert said.

"Very well, go, lad!" said the sailor.

After the tide ebbed, huge cliffs emerged from the sea.They came to the bottom of the cliff, but instead of going north, they walked in the opposite direction.The sailors first noticed that just a few hundred meters from where they landed, the shore was shaped like a narrow gap.This, he judged, must be the outlet of a river or brook.Here, there is a source of drinking water, and, perhaps, the current will carry Cyrus Harding here.Anyway, it's a great place to camp.

The cliff was nearly three thousand feet high, and its great vertical face was made of hard granite, but there were no cracks in the whole rock wall, including the bottom that the sea water could touch.However, because the cliff is very hard, sea water cannot erode it.It seems that there is no rock crevice where they can temporarily settle down for them to live.On the top of the cliff, there is a large group of seabirds flying around. Among them are many webbed seabirds. They are not afraid of people at all, and they love to call.Their mouths are long, flat, and pointed. This may be the first time they have seen humans.Pencroft knew several of these birds, some of which were Rabe's skuas, which belong to the class of gulls, and are commonly called just skuas.Others are little gulls, a gluttonous little gull, whose nests are built in hollows in the rocks.If only I had a gun now, one shot would kill a lot of birds.But neither Pencroft nor Harbert had a gun, and yet the birds were not edible, and their eggs were not very tasty food either.

(End of this chapter)