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

Chapter 124 The Mysterious Island (9)
No sooner had the hunters entered the undergrowth than they saw Top wrestling with some animal, and biting the animal's ear.The animal looked like a pig, and was about two feet long, with coarse, stiff, but not dense fur.The body of this pig is dark brown, and the color of the abdomen is slightly lighter than that of the body.Its toes are close to the ground, as if connected by a membrane.

Hubbert recognized the animal.It's not a pig, it's a capybara, one of the larger species of rodents.

At this moment, the capybara stopped fighting with Top.It looked at the hunters, its two big eyes sunken deep in a thick layer of fat rolled, this should be the first time it saw humans.

Neb shook the stick in his hand, and was about to step forward and beat him to death.In an instant, it broke away from Top, left an ear, and fled.It let out a yelp, nearly bumped into Harbert, and disappeared into the jungle.

"Ah, the rascal!" said the sailor.

The three of them followed Top all the way into the jungle.Just when they were about to catch up with Top, a hundred-year-old pine tree appeared in front of them, and a large pool of water was hidden behind the tree.The capybara disappeared into the pool at once.

Top jumped into the water, but the capybara hid in the water and never appeared again.The three of them stood by the pool, motionless.

"We'll wait and see, it'll surface soon because it needs to breathe," Hubbert said.

"Will it not drown?" asked Neb.

"No, it has webbed feet, like an amphibian. We'll just have to wait!" Hubbert replied.

Top remained in the water, and the sailor, Harbert, and Neb each held a corner, thus cutting off the retreat of the capybara.Top swam on the water looking for signs of prey.

Sure enough, as Hubbert expected, after a few minutes, the capybara surfaced.Top jumped up and threw himself on top of it.Then it can't dive again.A moment later, Top dragged the prey ashore, and Neb killed the capybara with a club.

"Hurrah!" was the voice of the sailors cheering.He likes to celebrate like this. "Now we only need a pile of burning charcoal to cook this capybara. It is estimated that it will be gnawed to the bone!"

So saying, the sailor took the animal on his shoulders.Judging from the height of the sun, it should be two o'clock at this time, and it is time to go back.

Top's instinct was so important to these hunters, thanks to his wit and cleverness, he quickly found the way he had come.It took half an hour before they returned to the corner of the river.

As before, Pencroft built a raft in the shortest time possible, though, as there was no fire, he considered the work quite useless.The raft went down the river, and the hunters and Top walked along the river to the Chimney.

About 50 meters away from the chimney, the sailor stopped suddenly, pointed to the corner of the cliff, and said to his companions in a voice almost cheering:

"Look! Harbert, Neb, look!" he cried.

A wisp of smoke is slowly drifting out, lingering above the rocky cliff.

volcano tour
The three hunters had come to the stove, and there was a crackling sound in the stove.Cyrus Harding and Jardine Splain stood by the fire, and Pencroft, with the capybara in his hand, looked at them both in speechless astonishment.

"Hey, friend! You see it rightly, it's fire! A real fire! It'll cook this game nicely, and we'll be eating it in no time!" said the reporter to the sailor.

"But who started the fire?" asked the sailor in doubt.

"It's the sun!"

That's right, the reporter's answer is absolutely true, it was the sun that lit the fire.Pencroft was so amazed at this that he could hardly believe his eyes, and was so amazed that he did not even think to ask the engineer how it was done.

Or Hubbert asked:
"Mr. Smith, do you have a lens?"

"No, my boy! But I made one!"

While talking, the engineer took out the device he made, which is to use this device as a lens.It turned out that these were just two pieces of glass, the case of his and the reporter's watch.The engineer removed the glass from the watch, filled it with water, and glued the edges with clay so that it became a real lens.The stones were covered with dry moss, and the lenses focused the sunlight on the moss enough to cause them to burn.

The sailor looked at the device carefully, and then at the engineer, too surprised to say a word, his eyes meant a lot!Obviously, in the eyes of the sailor, the engineer is a superman, if not a god!At last the sailor spoke.he shouted:

"It must be written down, Mr. Reporter, on your paper!"

"Write it down!" The reporter replied.

Then, the sailors began to prepare the capybara for roasting, with Neb helping at the side, and soon the grilling iron was ready, and the capybara also cleaned its internal organs, and began to roast it in front of the crackling flames.

The "chimney" is again inhabitable, not only because of the warmth of the fire, but also because the sand and stone partition wall washed away by the sea has been built again.

It can be seen that neither the engineer nor the reporter was idle during the day.Cyrus Harding had regained his strength.He tried to climb up to the high ground. His eyes had long been used to assessing the height and distance, and he stared at the opposite volcanic pile for a long time, thinking about how to climb to the top tomorrow.The location of that mountain was about six nautical miles from their "chimney," and he estimated its height to be about [-] feet.Therefore, if one observes from the top of a mountain, the field of view can reach at least fifty nautical miles.At that time, the question that has always plagued engineers, that is, "is it a continent or an island" will be solved.For this problem, the engineer put it at the forefront.

We had a sumptuous dinner together, the capybara meat was delicious, and the sargassum and white pine nuts made the meal perfect.The engineer hardly spoke, and was still thinking about tomorrow's arrangements.

Once or twice during the meal, the sailor commented on certain arrangements, but Cyrus Harding shook his head.He is a methodical man.

"Tomorrow, we will know how to respond and take action." This is what he has repeatedly emphasized.

After eating, they put a few bundles of firewood on the stove, and then they all went to rest.Everyone fell into a deep sleep, including Top.It was a quiet night, nothing disturbed.The next morning, March 3th, they awoke refreshed and ready to embark on their hike, and it was a fateful hike!

The preparations before departure have been stopped.There was enough capybara meat left over from last night to feed the engineer and his companions for a whole day.Moreover, they may find some new discoveries as supplies on the way!The two panes of glass which the engineer had taken from the watch had already been put back on, so the sailor burned a bit of char cloth to serve as tinder.As for flint, there is no shortage here.

At 07:30 in the morning, they left the "chimney" with sticks in their hands and headed towards the top of the mountain.According to Pencroft's advice, it was best to go through the woods, by the way you had gone before, and return by another way.Moreover, this road is also a direct route to the top of the mountain.So they rounded the corner and followed the left bank of the river.When you walk to the west-facing bend of the river, you can open a path under the green trees.At nine o'clock they reached the western edge of the forest.

Here, the ground does not have too many ups and downs. First, it passes through a swamp, and then it is a dry and sandy area. Moreover, the terrain has an obvious slope, and the terrain gradually increases from the coast to the inland.There are a few animals running under the Jolin, looming.Top went after them at once, but was soon called back by his master, and now was not the time to catch prey.Engineers are not the type to change their minds all the time.He is neither surveying the terrain nor observing the properties here. His only goal is to climb to the top of that mountain.Absolutely yes, he is a man with clear goals and not easily distracted.He walked straight there.

After another hour, around ten o'clock, everyone took a break and continued on.Walking out of the forest, the landform in front of you is completely in the shape of a mountain.That mountain is made of another volcanic pile.The first rose to a height of about twenty-five hundred feet, supported by fickle branches that looked like giant claws gripping the ground.As a result, many narrow valleys are formed between the branches of the mountain ridges, and there are many trees in the valleys.But the vegetation on the northeast side of the mountain is not as dense as here, and some deep stripes can be seen, probably lava flows.The second volcanic mound rests on top of the first volcanic mound, with a slightly sloping top, showing a round top, like a large round cap worn over the ear.The land of this volcanic pile is bare, with reddish rocks exposed in many places.

Their goal was to climb to the top of the second volcanic pile, and the branching ridges of those ridges provided the best climbing conditions.

"We're in a volcanic field," Smith said, though he's said it before.He led his companions along the back of the branch of the mountain ridge, climbing up bit by bit, the road was winding, relatively safer and easier to pass.

There are many bumps in the ground, surrounded by a large number of boulders, basalt fragments of pumice and obsidian.These bumps are all independent, standing among the coniferous trees.The trees, in the depths of the narrow valley, formed a dense clump, hardly penetrated by the sun.

While climbing the slope below, Hubbert spotted some footprints.This indicates that there is a large animal nearby, either a beast of prey or something else.

"The beasts will not give us our territory willingly!" said Pencroft.

"Then come on, pay attention, we have to get rid of them, it's better to be careful now." The reporter said that he was a brave man who had hunted tigers in India and lions in Africa.

They climbed gradually, and some corners and obstacles were impossible to cross, which made the distance longer.Sometimes, the ground suddenly disappears, and they stand on the edge of the crack, only to walk around.It took more time to go back and forth and walk along some paths in this way, and the physical exertion was also greater.At noon they stopped under a large clump of fir trees for lunch.Here is a stream that flows straight down.This creek was in the middle of the first platform they were going to, and as it stood, they couldn't get there until dusk.

From here, the sea level appeared wider, but the view to the right was blocked by a sharp headland to the southeast, so that it was impossible to determine whether the shore connected with some distant land by a sharp turn.The line of sight to the left extended for several miles, but from the northwest to the point they occupied it was cut off by a grotesque branch of a ridge.This branch seems to be the most favorable support for the volcanic pile.Therefore, as to the question which concerned Cyrus Harding, no answer can be found, nor can any conjecture be made.

At one o'clock they resumed their climb.To move forward, one must make a detour towards the southwest and enter the dense undergrowth.Under the green shade there, there are several pairs of birds flying around.These pairs of birds belong to the pheasant order Galliformes, but they are actually pheasants, with wattles hanging from the lower throat, and they are about the size of a domestic rooster, except that there are two thin antennae behind the eyes.The hens are brown and the males are shiny with teardrop-shaped red feathers.Jardin Splane picked up a stone and threw it at them with such deftness and force that it killed one.At this time, the sailor was already hungry again, and he couldn't help but salivate looking at the pheasant.

Leaving the undergrowth, the engineer and his companions, helping each other, climbed a very steep section of broken road, a distance of perhaps a hundred feet.After that, we reached the upper level.The trees here are not dense, and there are traces of volcanoes on the ground.They had to turn back and go eastward, zigzagging in this way, to make the slope easier to climb.It's very steep here, so you have to be careful with every step and choose your foothold.Neb and Harbert led the way, the sailors last, and the engineer and reporter in the middle.Judging from the footprints on the ground, this is also a place where animals often come and go. It might be animals such as bloodthirsty chamois or Pyrenees chamois.These animals are generally found in highlands, and they have a firm foot and a soft spine.Sure enough, they saw several of them, whose names the sailor did not know, and evidently mistook him, for suddenly he exclaimed:

"sheep!"

Everyone stopped, and there were six or seven animals standing fifty steps away.They are huge and have thick horns on their heads.These horns have a flattened shape with a curved tip towards the back.Moreover, the bodies of these animals are covered with fluffy down, covered with long dense and smooth brown hair.

However, this is not an ordinary sheep, but a kind of sheep that grows in temperate mountainous areas. Hubbert calls them rock sheep.

"Do they have hind legs and chops?" asked the sailor.

"Of course!" replied Hubbert.

"That's a sheep!" said the sailor.

The animals stood motionless among the basalt fragments.Their eyes were full of surprise, as if they were seeing a bipedal person for the first time.Suddenly, perhaps aware of their fear, they hopped onto the rock and disappeared.

"Oh, good-bye!" cried the sailor glibly, and his tone amused everyone.

After this little episode, the climb continued.On some slopes, some traces of lava can be easily seen in irregular striations.There will also be some small sulfur vents, which will cut off their way at this time, and they will have to go around the edge again.In several places, sulfur has crystallized and deposited among some materials.The stone wall lava flow arrived first, and they were some pomegranate ash, that is, off-white ash composed of many crystals.This substance is in the form of irregular granules and has been roasted at high temperature.

As soon as we reached the first platform, the climbing process became more difficult.The first platform is formed by a flat section of the volcanic pile below.Around four o'clock they passed through the end of the woods, where only a few strangely shaped pines remained.They are thin and bony, but they are full of vitality, otherwise they would not be able to resist the furious sea wind at such a high altitude.Fortunately, the weather was fine and the atmosphere was stable at this time.If a strong wind blows at an altitude of [-] feet, it is not a good thing for the engineer and his companions, and it will definitely affect the climb.The clean air at this time made them feel the purity of the sky, but the surroundings were completely silent.They could no longer see the sun, and the volcanic pile above was like a big barrier, blocking the sun.This volcanic pile blocks the western half of the sky, and its shadow stretches down to the coast, gradually widening as the sun changes throughout the day.Some light fog appeared in the east, which should be light fog rather than clouds, and against the sunlight, it was dyed with spectral colors.

At this time, the distance to the first platform is only [-] feet, which is where the climbers are going to reach and spend the night there.But the road was twists and turns, and the distance of five hundred feet might take two nautical miles.Also, the slopes often had such sharp corners that their feet could barely touch the ground, and they often slipped on lava flows.Those streaks are eroded by air and have no support points at all.Finally, after seven hours of climbing, the group of them arrived at the first platform.By this time it was already dark, and Cyrus Harding and his companions were exhausted.

The next thing to do is to arrange camp and prepare dinner.They need food, sleep, in order to restore their strength.The second tier of the mountain rises on a rock foundation, and between these rocks it is easy to find a place to camp.But the fuel here is not enough, only dry moss and bushes can be used as fuel.These plants cover the corners of the platform.The sailor deliberately moved some stones and prepared to light a fire on them.Neb and Hubbert were in charge of the fuel.Soon, the two of them came back with some thorns.As soon as the flint hit, the sparks ignited the charred cloth, and in a moment, in the lee of the rock, a fire quickly burned and crackled.After a while, the fire was already burning very vigorously.

This fire was not for roasting the pheasant, which Neb would eat till tomorrow.It's just that the temperature at night is very low, so it's just right to use this fire to keep warm.For supper, leftover capybara meat and pinecone nuts will suffice.After dinner, it was about 06:30 in the evening.

Next, Cyrus Harding began to survey the surrounding terrain.The large circular base supports the volcanic pile above.Before he rested, he still had a task to complete, which was to find out if he could bypass the volcanic pile at the base.In case the sides are too steep, there is no way to reach the top from there.This question is what worries engineers the most.If it is impossible to get around the base of the volcanic pile, or to reach the summit, then the western part of the area cannot be observed, which means that the mission of this climb cannot be completed.

So the engineer put Neb and the sailors in charge of setting up the camp, while Jardine Splane was in charge of recording everything that happened that day.And the engineer himself, indefatigable, began to walk north along the circular edge of the platform.Harbert followed him.

It was a beautiful and quiet night, and it was not completely dark at this time.Cyrus Harding and Harbert walked side by side, without saying anything.Some places were wide open, and the two men passed without difficulty, while other places were blocked by landslides, and only narrow passages could be passed through.The two couldn't walk side by side at all.After walking for about 10 minutes, the two had to stop.At this point, the slopes of the two volcanic mounds begin to meet, without the cliff that divides the mountain into two parts.It is impossible to go around this mountain on a seventy-degree slope.

The engineer and Hubbert had to give up their detour.In other words, they can only climb the volcanic pile directly, which is more likely.

(End of this chapter)