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

Chapter 137 The Mysterious Island (22)
However, the confinement period is coming to an end, and everyone is eager to go outdoors to feel the breath of spring. If not, at least they want to see the end of this annoying cold as soon as possible.If only they had warm enough clothes to survive the cold, they would be able to go out many times, maybe to the "Dune" or "Duck Moor"!Surely those animals are easy to come by too, and the hunters will have a lot to gain.

But Cyrus Harding insisted that every one should love his body, for he needed our help in many things.So they all heeded his advice.

It must be said, however, that Pencroft was first, and Top second, most dissatisfied with his confinement.The faithful dog was weary of the cramped quarters of Granite House.It keeps moving from room to room, back and forth, to show its attitude towards life in captivity.

Cyrus Harding often observed that Top made strange noises whenever he saw him near the dark well, which was connected with the sea, and which opened towards the end of the storehouse.Top always circled the boards covering the wellhead.Sometimes its claws will reach under the board, as if to lift the board.At this time, it will make a very sharp cry to express its uneasiness and anger.

This behavior of the dog has been observed many times by the engineer.Why is this clever animal so frightened?What is in this abyss?There is no doubt that the well leads to the sea.Could there be a passage through the entire island in this well?Is it also connected to some other dark holes?Is there a certain water monster that often comes to the bottom of this well to breathe?The engineer didn't know what to think about, and couldn't help thinking about it.He was very scientific and practical.He himself finds it incomprehensible that he can't help his wild, grotesque, and unrealistic fantasies.So, how to explain Top's performance?You know Top is one of those intelligent, sensible dogs who never bark for no reason.It listens and smells persistently, trying to find out what happened to the abyss.If there is nothing to worry about in it, what is it that makes it uneasy?Cyrus Harding was bewildered by Top's unusual behavior.

Anyway, the engineer only told Jardin Splane what he thought.He didn't want everyone to think about these things he didn't want to think about. Maybe it was just a careless gesture of Top that caused him to think about it.

The severe cold finally passed.Although there were rainy days, windy and snowy weather, hailstorms, and wind, these bad weathers were short-lived.All the snow and ice melted.The highlands, beaches, forests, and the banks of the "Grateful River" have returned to the way they were passable before.The spring finally came made the owners of "Granite Palace" very happy, and soon, most of them were outdoors, and "Granite Palace" became only a place for them to sleep and eat.

From the second half of September onwards they began to go hunting frequently, and Pencroft again and again clamored for guns, which, he said flatly, Cyrus Harding had agreed to give.And Cyrus Harding knew well that he could not make a functioning gun without special tools, and so he always put the work back.In addition, he specifically emphasized that Jardine Splain and Harbert were already skilled archers.For them agouti, capybaras, kangaroos, pigeons, ducks, bustards, sand pheasants, and all other delicious animals, in short, prey, whether fur or feather, are difficult to escape their arrows.Therefore, there is no need to worry about the gun, you can wait a little longer.But the stubborn sailor didn't think so, and held on to the engineer, insisting that the engineer fulfill his wish.Also, Pencroft had the support of Jardine Splane.

He said: "If there are beasts hidden on the island as guessed, then we have to find a way to defeat and eliminate them. At that time, this will be our top priority."

But at that time Cyrus Harding was not thinking of guns, but of clothes.The clothes on everyone have been worn for a winter, and these clothes cannot be worn until the next winter.In any case, they had to get the furs of carnivores or ruminants. Besides, there were a lot of blue sheep on the island anyway, so they had to consider raising a flock to meet everyone's needs.The next step is to build a corral and also a poultry farm.In short, finding a place to build a farm on the island is two important plans to be implemented after the land rejuvenates.

Therefore, for the next step of the arrangement, what is urgently needed now is to go deep into the unknown part of "Lincoln Island" to investigate.That is to say, they were to survey the Serpentine Peninsula from the mouth of the river, and possibly the entire west coast, under the tall forests that extended to the right bank of the "Grateful River."This cannot begin until the weather has stabilized, and it will be a month before this useful survey can be undertaken.

So they couldn't wait, but something happened suddenly, which aroused everyone's strong desire to conduct a comprehensive survey of the territory.

It was the 10th of October, and on this day Pencroft went to inspect the traps, to see if any animal had fallen into them.In one of the traps he found three animals, a female and two chicks.This is sure to be popular with immigrants.

Satisfied with his catch, Pencroft, returning to Granite House, displayed as much as before.

He cried out, lest they should not be heard: "Come, Mr. Cyrus, and let us have a good meal! Mr. Splain, you too, and you will have something good this time!"

The reporter replied: "I really want to eat it, but what can I eat?"

"Eat suckling pig."

"Ah! Listening to what you said just now, is there really a suckling pig to eat? I thought you brought back a young partridge made of wild rice!"

said Pencroft aloud: "What? Don't you despise suckling pigs?"

Jardin Splane, looking less enthusiastic, replied: "It's not like that, don't keep eating it..."

The sailor didn't like people belittling his prey, and immediately retorted: "Well, well, Mr. Reporter, are you picky? Seven months ago, when we first came to the island, if we could get such a prey, You can't be happy?..."

The reporter replied: "That's right, that's right, people have flaws, and it's not easy to be satisfied."

"Anyway," said Pencroft, "I hope Neb will do the best. You see! These two peccaries are not three months old! They are as fresh as quails."

The sailor then went to the kitchen and devoted himself to cooking, with Neb following.

Everyone let him cook according to his own ideas.He and Neb cooked up an excellent supper: two cymbals, a prosciutto, some pine nuts, a pot of kangaroo soup, dragon's blood, Oswego tea--in short, yes The best for everyone.Of course, among these dishes, the delicious grilled oysters rank first.

At five o'clock, everyone began to have dinner.The steaming kangaroo soup exudes aroma on the table, and everyone feels that it tastes good.

The soup was followed by roasted oysters, and Pencroft himself cut a large piece for everyone present.

It did have a delicious taste of suckling pig, and Pencroft ate it with gusto.Suddenly he gave a cry, followed by another curse.

"What's the matter?" asked Cyrus Harding.

The sailor faltered, "I...I...I just broke a tooth!"

Jardine Splane said, "Why! Do you have any stones in your cymbals?"

Pencroft replied helplessly, "I have to think so." At the same time, he took out from his mouth the hard thing that shattered the teeth.

This is clearly a lead bullet, where is the stone...

turtle missing
The passengers on the balloon have lived helplessly on "Lincoln Island" for seven months.From then on, no matter how hard they searched, no one was found.There was never a wisp of smoke or a trace of man-made carvings to prove that anyone existed or came here, ancient or recent.The island is not only now uninhabited, but probably never was.But in front of them, an ordinary buckshot is presented in front of people, and all these previous views have been overturned.What they didn't expect was to find a buckshot in the body of a rodent that never hurt people!That being so, the buckshot must have come from a firearm, but what kind of creature but man would use such a weapon?
In this regard, they were very surprised!They looked carefully at the buckshot that Pencroft had placed on the table.This incident seemed insignificant on the surface, but its essence was unusual. Its possible consequences in the future suddenly tightened their heartstrings.So much had they been astonished if a supernatural being had suddenly appeared before them.

This unexpected and shocking incident gave rise to all kinds of speculation, which Cyrus Harding was the first to suggest without thinking.He picked up the buckshot, rubbed it with his forefinger and thumb, and turned it around to examine it carefully.Then he asked Pencroft, "Are you sure that Xihou, who was shot, was only three months old?"

Pencroft replied: "Mr. Cyrus, it's really only three months old. He was sucking his mother's milk in the pit when I found him."

"Well," said the engineer, "that in itself proves that a shot was fired on 'Lincoln Island' not more than three months ago."

Jardin Splane added: "While not fatal, the buckshot hit the critter anyway."

Cyrus Harding continued: "There can be no doubt from this incident that either the island was inhabited before our arrival, or that men had landed there at least three months before. These came by chance. Whether they came here specially, whether they were in distress or landing, or... This will only be known later. Who are they, Malays or Europeans, friends or enemies? We can't guess now, and Whether they are still living on the island or have left is unknown. These issues are too much for us, so we must hurry to find out."

The sailor got up from his seat and said loudly: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Impossible anyway! There will be no one else on 'Lincoln Island' except us! Damn it! The island is so small, if people live, we must be there early." Just found a few of them!"

"Indeed," said Hubbert, "it would be a wonder if there were any."

"But I think it would be even more strange if Xihou was born with this lead bullet in his body."

Neb said solemnly, "Could it be that Pencroft had..."

Pencroft retorted: "That's how you see things, Neb. I had this bullet in my mouth five or six months ago, and we didn't feel it! Where can it be hidden?" added the sailor, at the same time. He opened his mouth, revealing 32 neat teeth, "Nab, look carefully, if you can find out that a tooth is fake, then I will let you pull out half a dozen of these teeth!"

Cyrus Harding went on to say: "Indeed, Neb's conjecture is unacceptable," he couldn't help laughing though he was thinking seriously, "someone must have fired a gun on 'Lincoln Island', At least three months ago. But I think those who landed on this coast only stopped briefly, or they were just passing by. For when the island is surveyed from the top of "Franklin Peak", if someone is on the island Inhabited, we were easily spotted, or we were spotted by "them". It is therefore likely that a storm some weeks ago threw some victims somewhere on the coast. At any rate, to clarify the matter, It's very important to us."

"We should be more careful from now on," the reporter said.

Cyrus Harding replied: "I think so too, because now I am very worried that the Malay pirates who landed on the island!"

"Mr. Cyrus," asked the sailor, "before we go to search, shall we not build a boat? That way we may sail up the river, or round the coast if need be. No one should be caught off guard."

The engineer replied: "Pencroft, your idea is very good, but it is too late. It will take at least a month to build a boat..."

The sailor replied: "It takes a lot of time to build a real boat, but we don't need to build a sailing boat. A canoe is enough for sailing on the "Thanksgiving River". I promise, in five days at most, I will be able to builds canoes."

Neb yelled, "Can you build a boat in five days?"

"Yes, Neb, an Indian boat."

Neb obviously didn't believe it, and asked suspiciously, "Do you need wood?"

Pencroft replied firmly: "Wood! Bark, to be precise. Don't worry, Mr. Cyrus, it will be finished in five days!"

The engineer replied, "Well, in five days!"

Hubbert said: "But in the meantime, we still have to be on our guard!"

Cyrus Harding replied: "My friends, we are on the whole defense. Don't go far when hunting, but stay near Granite House."

The dinner was over, and the atmosphere today was solemn, without the cheerful atmosphere that Pencroft had hoped for.

Therefore, in addition to these people, there are other people who have lived or passed on the island. The lead bullet incident tells everyone this irrefutable fact.This important discovery caused everyone to panic.

Cyrus Harding and Jardine Splain had a long talk on these matters before going to bed.Could this event, they wondered, be somehow related to some unexplained coincidence of the engineer's rescue?Is it also related to other special and weird situations that have shocked them many times?But Cyrus Harding, after weighing the matter over and over again, said: "At any rate, my dear Sprine, would you like to know my opinion?"

"Yes, Cyrus."

"Well, my opinion is that no matter how detailed we survey the island, we shall find nothing!"

After daybreak Pencroft set to work on his canoe.This is not to build a boat with a complicated deck and sides, but to build a flat-bottomed man-carrying tool that can float on water.It can run flexibly on the "Grateful River", especially in places where the water is not too deep and close to the water source.Butting and sewing pieces of bark to each other will inevitably form a light and convenient boat, even if it encounters natural obstacles, because it is not bulky, it is easy to move.Pencroft intends to sew the bark together with rivets, which have strong adhesion and will ensure that the boat is perfectly sealed.

This requires finding trees with flexible bark suitable for boat building.The bark of many fir trees, which had just been blown down by the last hurricane, was used for such boats.There are a few firs down on the ground, just strip them of their bark.The job was extremely difficult because everyone did not have complete tools.But in the end they overcame difficulties and completed it.

With the help of engineers, the sailors kept busy.During this period, Jardine Splane and Hubbert were not idle either.They brought a steady stream of food for everyone.The young man was very skillful with the bow and arrow or the spear, so the reporter admired the young man very much and liked him very much.Hubbert also acted very calm and brave, which can be called "great wisdom and courage".Moreover, the two hunting companions were obedient to Cyrus Harding, and restricted their movements to an area of ​​two nautical miles around Granite House.Although the traps have not yielded much since the end of the severe cold, this part of the forest ahead has provided game such as capybara, agouti, peccary, kangaroo, etc., at least a little bit of what the rabbit forest provides.This is enough to ensure the food supply for the big guys.

While hunting, too, Hubbert often spoke to Jardine Splane about the buckshot incident and the engineer's view of it. On October 10, he said to Spline:
"Mr. Splane, if there are really a few victims on this island, but they haven't shown up until now, isn't it incredible?"

The reporter replied: "If they are still there, it is very strange. But if they have left, it is normal!"

Hubbert asked again: "So you think they've left the island?"

"It should be so, lad, because if they've been on the island a long time, especially if they're still living on the island, there should be some clues."

The young man reminded again: "But if they can walk, then they can't be called victims?"

"Harbert, yes, at most we can call them castaways. That may be the case, perhaps a gust of wind forced them to the island, and their boat was undamaged. When the gust passed, they sailed away again. gone."

Hubbert continued: "One thing is certain, Mr. Smith seems to be afraid of people on the island, not wishing for people on the island."

The reporter replied: "Because, he seems to just see some villains like Malays coming here often, so he is very worried."

"Mr. Splane," said Harbert again, "perhaps some day we shall be able to trace their presence on this island. Perhaps it will be done, and perhaps we shall have some way of doing it?"

"Young man, you are right. A pile of ashes, a piece of remains after life, these are the clues they left behind. We should pay attention to looking for these next time we investigate."

The two hunters had a deep conversation by the "Grateful River".They were surrounded by lush woods, rustling with the breeze.In this forest, there are several tall and straight coniferous trees nearly [-] feet tall, which the New Zealanders call "Kari Pines".

Hubbert said: "Mr. Splane, I have a good idea. If I can climb to the top of a carrison tree, I will have a wider view and better observe this place!"

The reporter replied: "That's a good idea, but how can you climb to the top of these giant trees?"

Hubbert replied: "Anyway, I must try it.".

(End of this chapter)