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

Chapter 143 The Mysterious Island (28)
Jardine Splane and Harbert came back to dine briefly, and Top kept watch under the window.After dinner, they each returned to their posts.

Two hours later, the situation was still the same.The monkeys didn't move at all, and it felt like they had disappeared without a trace.But it was understood that what was most realistic would be that the gunshots and the death of a monkey frightened them, so that they all hid somewhere in the chambers of Granite House, or stayed in warehouses, not daring to Out.But when everyone thought of the hard work to get those properties in the warehouse, they became angry.Despite the engineer's pleas to be patient, it was, to be honest, irritating.

The reporter finally spoke: "This matter is really ridiculous, and I really can't think of any good way to end it!"

"The rascals must get out of here," said Pencroft loudly. "Even if there are many of them, we shall surely defeat them. If we need to fight them hand-to-hand, we can do it! Alas! But there is no way." Where are they?"

A thought suddenly flashed into the engineer's mind and said, "Okay, there is a way."

"What is it?" said Pencroft, "what is it? Tell me, what is it?"

The engineer said confidently: "We can go to the "Granite Palace" from the earliest drainage channel before low tide."

The sailor exclaimed happily: "Ah! Yes, hell! Why can't I think of such a good way!"

It's really the only way to get into Granite Palace, and once you're in, give the monkeys a good look and drive them away.It is true that a cemented stone wall has sealed the drain, and now that the wall is about to be destroyed, there is really nothing to lose except that it needs to be rebuilt.It was Cyrus Harding's original plan to flood this outlet with the water of the lake.For the sake of safety, fortunately, this plan has not been implemented yet, and it will take some time to implement it.

After noon, all armed, with picks and picks, they left the Chimney, and when they passed under the windows of Granite House, they gave Top a second order to keep their posts.Then they walked up the left bank of the "Grateful River" to "Prospect Heights".

They had hardly gone fifty paces when they heard the barking of dogs.There seemed to be despair in the voice.

They stop immediately.

"Run!" said Pencroft.

So, everyone quickly went down the coast.

Turning the corner, I saw that things had changed.

I don't know what happened, the monkeys seemed to be extremely frightened, and they were desperately trying to escape.Two or three monkeys went nimbly from window to window, running and jumping like clowns.They hadn't had time to put the ladder back in place, and there might have been something so frightening about them that they had forgotten this simple means of escape.Soon, five or six monkeys were fully exposed, in positions to be shot.It was easy for everyone to shoot and hit them.Some of these monkeys were injured and screamed and fell in the room, and some were shot dead.Others rushed out desperately and fell to their deaths on the spot. After a while, it was confirmed that there was no monkey in the "Granite Palace".

"Ah! ah! ah!" exclaimed Pencroft.

Jardin Splane said: "How good this will be!"

Sailor replied: "Why not, they are all dead."

"That's true, but that doesn't mean we'll have an unhindered return to Granite Palace."

Pencroft returned: "Then let us go to the Tunnel!"

"Maybe it's about to be done, but it's better to..." the engineer said

Suddenly, as if echoing Cyrus Harding's words, the ladder slid up to the door, opened, and fell to the ground.

The sailor looked at Cyrus Harding, and exclaimed, "Ah! How such a thing should have happened, it is beyond imagination! Who would believe such a thing!"

The engineer said naturally to himself: "It's really unbelievable!" After speaking, he was the first to rush to the ladder.

cried Pencroft: "Mr. Cyrus, take care! In case there are a few apes left..."

While continuing to climb up, he replied: "Let's talk about the situation."

Everyone climbed up, and after 1 minute, they entered the room.

They rummaged around.There was nothing in the warehouse or in the room. To their delight, the warehouse was intact and nothing had been damaged by monkeys.

The sailor said loudly: "It's so, but where is the ladder? Which friend gave it back to us?"

At this time, there was a shout, and Neb was chasing a big monkey, which was rushing into the living room, and it was hiding in the passage when everyone entered the door.

"Ah! you wretch!" exclaimed Pencroft.

He swung the axe, and was about to strike the monkey's head, when Cyrus Harding stopped him, and said to him:
"Leave it alone, Pencroft."

"Do you want me to forgive this thing?"

"Yes! That's what gave us back the ladder!"

The engineer said this in such a strange tone that it was impossible to know whether he meant it or not.

However, everyone still dealt with the monkey together.After the monkey struggled hard, it was still thrown to the ground by everyone and tied up firmly.

"Ouch! what shall we do with it now?" cried Pencroft.

Hubbert replied, "Let him be our servant!"

What the young man said was not a joke at all, because he knew how to tame animals, especially a smart monkey like this, which can be tamed to serve people.

So, everyone approached the monkey and looked at it carefully.It should be an ape.Its face angle is not small compared with Australians and Holden Doots.This should be an orangutan. An orangutan like this is gentler than a baboon, smarter than a macaque, cleaner than a marmoset, and much better than a tailless macaque and a dog-faced baboon.These characteristics of orangutans are related to the ape family, and from these characteristics, these animals seem to have basically human intelligence.Many orangutans are used in the family, they can clean the room, serve meals, shine leather shoes, maintain clothes, and deftly use spoons, knives and forks, and even drink...their level and the best servants Basically the same.As you know, Buffon, a French naturalist and writer, was born in 1707 and died in 1788.There was once a "servant" monkey, which served him for a long time like a loyal and diligent servant.

The monkey being tied up in the living room of the Granite Palace is tall and well-proportioned, about six feet tall, with a broad chest, a face angle of about 65 degrees, a moderately sized head, a rounded top, a protruding nose, and a smooth, soft and shiny layer. The hair is evenly covered with the skin.Although its eyes are slightly smaller than human beings, they are very energetic and look very intelligent; it also has a small group of light brown and slightly curly beard, and white and shiny hair is exposed under the beard. teeth.In front of everyone, this is a perfect ape.

"What a handsome fellow," said Pencroft, "if only he could understand his words, and talk to him!"

Neb asked: "Then, my lord, is it really so? We want it to be a servant?"

The engineer smiled and replied, "Yes, Neb, but don't be jealous!"

Hubbert added: "Just hope he'll be a good servant, looks like he's still young and should be easy to train, but we're not going to tame him by force or pull out his fangs like the others. I believe it is very attached to the owner who treats it well.”

"We'll treat him favorably," said Pencroft. His resentment against the monkeys who had played tricks on them was gone.

Then he approached the gorilla and asked, "Hey, boy, is this okay?"

The orangutan agreed softly, and it seemed that the orangutan was not bad.

"So you are willing to join our little army?" asked the sailor. "Will you then obey Mr. Cyrus Harding from now on?"

The monkey barked again, agreeing.

"Our reward for labor is only food, is there any objection?"

To express agreement, the monkey barked a third time.

"It's so tedious to talk to," Jardin Splane said.

Pencroft disagreed, saying: "It's better not to talk! The best servant is the one who talks the least. But, boy, there's no wages for working here--do you hear me? Maybe not for now." You pay wages, but if we are satisfied with you, we will double your compensation in the future."

In this way, a new member joins this small team, which can do many projects for them.Everyone also gave it a name. In memory of another monkey he knew, the sailor wanted it to be called Jupiter, and his nickname was Jupu.

Look, Master Zhu Pu lived in "Granite Palace" as a matter of course.

built suspension bridge

Finally, the residence was taken back without going through the original drainage channel. This is the best, so as not to have to rebuild the wall again.Thinking back, it was really lucky, just when they were about to do something, the group of monkeys suddenly became extremely frightened for no reason, as if a catastrophe was imminent, and they were driven out of the "Granite Palace" by this opportunity.Could these animals have the foresight and premonition that people will attack them violently from another channel?Apart from this, there is really no other reason to explain their flustered behavior.

When it was getting dark, everyone carried the monkeys' bodies into the woods and buried them.Then, they began to tidy up the room. The arrival of these monkeys only messed up the furniture in the room, and did not destroy anything.Neb started to light a fire and cook, and the pantry contained enough food for a good supper.Everyone ate with gusto.

Everyone has not forgotten Jupu.He devoured some roots and some pine seeds, and he had a big meal.Pencroft undid its arms first, and its legs were still temporarily bound.He thinks he can't fully untie it until it's fully compliant.

Before going to bed, Cyrus Harding and his companions sat round the table to discuss the plans which required immediate action.The most important and most urgent plan to make the southern part of the island and Granite Palace passable as soon as possible was to build a bridge over the Thanksgiving River and build a livestock pen for blue sheep and other easy-to-catch wool-producing animals.

It can be known that these two plans are mainly to solve the serious problem of lack of clothes for everyone as soon as possible.It is true that the air-bags provide cloth, and the air-bags can be shipped soon after the bridge is built; the wool can make winter clothes, and the livestock pens can get wool.

In order for ruminants to find pastures and obtain abundant and fresh food, Cyrus Smith suggested that the livestock pen be built at the source of the "Red River". A road has been made between Prospect Heights and the source, and if there is a better cart than the original one, preferably to catch a driving animal, it will be easy to transport things. too much.

However, the distance from Granite House was all right for the stables, but not for the poultry farm, Neb reminded everyone of that.Indeed, poultry are best kept close to the kitchen, where cooking is much quicker and easier for the chef.But for raising poultry, it is best to set up only the part of the lakeshore that is close to the original drain.There, aquatic plants are plentiful, and waterfowl can grow like other birds.By the way, the pair of flowers caught when I went out last time can be used for the first domestication experiment.

At dawn, on November 11, the new work began.The first thing to do is to build the bridge.This is an important and huge project, so all hands participated.Everyone is now a carpenter again.They carried axes, saws, and chisels on their shoulders, and came to the sand.

There, Pencroft made a suggestion: "What if, on a whim, Master Jupp, in our absence, takes away the ladder that was returned to us as a flattery?"

Cyrus Harding replied, "Then we shall try to fix it."

So, everyone buried two wooden stakes firmly in the sand to fix the lower end of the ladder.Then everyone went up the left bank of the "Grateful River" and soon came to the bend of the river.After stopping, start to investigate this place to see if it is feasible to build a bridge here.Having looked it over, it seemed like the location would be appropriate.

Because, from here to the "balloon port" surveyed yesterday, it is only three and a half nautical miles long.After careful inspection, the immigrants found that it was easy to open a road for traffic from the bridge to the port.In this way, the traffic from "Granite Palace" and the south of the island is very convenient.

Cyrus Harding also related a plan which he had been pondering for a long time.The plan is very simple and easy to implement. It is to completely isolate the "Granite Palace" so that the "Granite Palace" will not be attacked by any animals.Once implemented, the entire upper portion of Granite Palace, the Chimneys, poultry farms, and Prospect Heights, used for planting, will be resistant to destruction and encroachment by animals.This plan is very simple, it depends on how it works.

Whether it is man-made or naturally formed, "Looking Hill" is now surrounded by water on three sides.

In the northwest direction, blocked by the bank of "Grant Lake", from the corner leaning against the original spout, to the porthole blasted on the lake bank for the discharge of water;
In the north direction, from the porthole to the sea, hindered by the new current, the bed of which is on Prospect Heights and the beach, upstream and downstream of the falls, in fact, the excavation of the bed of this creek has made it impassable for animals. That's it;

The sea is the best defense on the whole east-west margin, from the mouth of the little creek to the mouth of the "Grateful River";

Finally, to the south, from this estuary to the corner of the Thanksgiving River.It is planned to build a bridge at this corner.

There is also the western portion of Prospect Heights, including between the corner of the Thanksgiving River and the corner of Grant Lake.Although this distance is not long, less than one nautical mile, it is the most dangerous, because this part is open to everyone without any obstacles.Consider digging a wide and deep trench to hold it back.This method is also very easy to implement.If the ditch is filled with water, the excess water will be poured into the "Grateful River" by the second waterfall.As this was the second discharge, the level of the lake must have dropped a little, but Cyrus Harding had judged that the considerable volume of the Red River would be sufficient to secure the success of his plans.

The engineer added: "Then Prospect Heights will be surrounded by water on all sides, and will become a true island. No animal will ever think of us, and there will be no other way than to cross a few bridges: there are two are built upstream and downstream of the waterfall, one will be built on the 'Grateful River', one will be built on the ditch we plan to dig, one will be built on the left bank of the 'Grateful River', and finally there will be two more Bridges to be built. If all the bridges, large and small, could be erected at will, put away as soon as people walked over them, then Prospect Heights would be much safer from any attack."

In order to let everyone understand his plan, Cyrus Harding took out the "Prospect Heights" map that he had drawn in advance, and facing the map, everyone became clearer.Everyone was unanimously approving of such a good idea, and impatient Pencroft, waving his carpenter's ax, said to them all:
"Come on, let's build a bridge first!"

Building bridges is urgent work.Therefore, everyone immediately began to select trees, cut them down, and cut off the branches of the trees, and then saw them into planks of different thicknesses, together with the beams.Part of this bridge is fixed on the right bank of the "Grateful River", and the other part is connected to the left bank of the river. The bridge connected to the left bank must be movable because it needs to be lifted with a counterweight, just like some gate bridges. Lift it up, and everyone will be much safer.This project is actually very complicated and huge. Everyone knows that the "Grateful River" is [-] feet wide. Even if it is done well, it will take a long time.First of all, in order to support and fix the bridge deck, wooden piles must be driven in the riverbed, so a piling frame needs to be installed, so that the wooden piles will form two bridge arches, so that the bridge can bear a greater load.

Fortunately, all the tools and parts needed to build the bridge are available.All the tools for carpentry and metal parts for strengthening wood are complete, and designers and engineers who are proficient in engineering construction are all present. The last thing I want to mention is that everyone's enthusiasm for bridge construction is also unprecedented.Over the past seven months, they have withstood the tempering of nature and have already possessed strong hands-on ability.It can be said that Jardine Splain is very smart, even comparable to the sailor, but the sailor "in any case never thought that an ordinary reporter could be so capable"!
For three consecutive weeks, everyone was busy with the bridge construction project on the "Grateful River".The weather is also very face-saving, with clear skies.Every day, everyone came to work on the construction site early in the morning, and settled on the construction site for lunch, and did not return to the "Granite Palace" until dinner time.

Everyone also found that after this period of adaptation, Master Zhu Pu has gradually adapted to the new environment, gradually familiarized himself with the new owner, and always cast curious eyes on everyone.Pencroft, however, still restrained it, and did not grant it full freedom of action.It's better to be careful, he wants to wait until the planned project is completed, when the perimeter of "Prospect Heights" is impassable, and then return it to complete freedom.His thinking is correct.Top and Jupp get along very well, they often play together, and Jupp is very careful in everything he does.

On November 11, the bridge was completed.Its movable parts can be easily moved by using a counterweight.The moving parts of the bridge can be opened without much effort.The drawbridge, once erected, will have a gap of twenty feet, a width that no animal can cross.

(End of this chapter)