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

Chapter 162 The Mysterious Island (47)
Everything was guessed right! The Endeavor had weighed anchor, apparently approaching the island.The tide had to rise for another hour and a half, by which time the tide had stopped and the sailboat was not difficult to maneuver.But to enter the Channel, Pencroft and Ayrton were of the opposite opinion, and Pencroft believed it would not dare to attempt it.

At this time, the pirates occupying the island gradually moved to the opposite coast, and only a strait separated them from the land.They have no heavy weapons but guns, so they can't hurt the immigrants at all.What's more, the immigrants were either ambushing in the "chimney" or at the mouth of the "Grateful River".Also, the pirates were unaware that the settlers had long-range carbines and that they were being exposed to their range.So they swaggered up and down the island and ran to every corner of the island.

Their delusion lasted only a short time before the carbines of Ayrton and Jardin Splane greeted.They greeted two of them directly who said the foul language.I saw that the two men fell down with the sound of gunfire.

The pirates immediately became confused.The remaining ten people didn't care to take away their dead and wounded accomplices, and hurriedly moved to the other side of the island, and immediately jumped into the small boat they were in, paddled desperately, and fled in the direction of the sailboat.

"Eight are missing!" cried Pencroft. "Mr. Sprine and Ayrton seem to have agreed to shoot at the same time!"

"Gentlemen, don't get too excited," replied Ayrton, who was loading his carbines, "it looks like things are going to get worse. Look, the sailboat is sailing!"

"It's really weighed anchor! . . . " cried Pencroft.

"Yeah, the anchor has really been lifted."

Sure enough, the equipment on the ship started, and the clanging sound of the chain stopper hitting the windlass was heard clearly.At first the Endeavor was pulled back into place by the anchor, and then the anchor was pulled out entirely, and it headed for land.The wind on the sea bulged the jib and fore-sail, and the sailboat slowly approached the shore.

Immigrants ambushed at the two outposts of "Grateful River" and "Chimney" watched each other's situation.They held their breath and were very worried.At such a short distance, if they were attacked by the gunfire of that ship, they would be powerless to fight back, and the situation would be too bad.How can we stop the pirates from landing?
Cyrus Harding was conscious of the problem in the present situation, and was struggling to figure out how to deal with it.Everyone is waiting for his decision soon.But what decision can be made?If they hid in the "Granite Palace", they would be besieged by the other party, trapped inside for weeks, or even months?Fortunately, there are plenty of reserves inside.But then what to do?Pirates will also occupy "Lincoln Island" and will destroy it wantonly.Over time, those trapped in the "Granite Palace" will inevitably face failure.

However, there is another possibility, that is, Bob Harvey dare not take this risk.He dared not sail his boat into the strait, he would park it outside the island.That way he was half a nautical mile from shore.That way, his shelling would be less powerful, and perhaps not particularly harmful.

Pencroft said again and again: "Bob Harvey will never enter the strait, because he is an experienced sailor! He must know that if he does so, the sailboat will be in danger, if the sea conditions turn bad! What will he do without the ship?"

But at this time the ship was already approaching the island, and it could be seen that it was trying to reach the lower end of the island.

By this time the wind had softened and the strength of the current much lessened, and Bob Harvey could steer his boat as he pleased.

He could recognize the channel by the previous paths of the boats, if he wanted to venture into it.His plan was obvious: he was to drop anchor in front of Granite Palace, where he would return the resistance of the settlers with shells.By then, it will have taken a heavy toll on the immigrants.

Soon Endeavor reached the headland of the island and circled it safely.As a result, the back sail of the ship was also raised, and the brig sailed at a high speed under the front crosswind, and sailed to the side of the "Grateful River".

"The robbers are coming!" cried Pencroft.

At this moment Neb and Jardine Splane ran up to join Cyrus Harding, Ayrton, the sailor, and Harbert.

The reporter and his companions decided it was time to abandon the "Grateful River" post.There, they were no longer able to deal with the ship.For this, they should take the most sensible course.Before a decisive action is about to take place, it is better for the immigrants to get together.Jardin Splane slipped quietly from behind the rocks, but was hit by a hail of bullets which luckily missed him and he was unharmed.

"Splain! Neb! You're not hurt?" cried the engineer.

"It's all right, we're all fine!" replied the reporter, "just a little bruised at the turn! But that damned sailboat is already in the channel!"

"That's right!" replied Pencroft, "it seems that it will reach Granite Palace in less than ten minutes!"

"Any plans, Cyrus?" the reporter asked him.

"I think we'll have to hide in 'Granite House,' before the criminals see us, before it's too late, and..."

"I thought so too," said Jardine Splane, "but once we're in..."

"Let's play it by ear," replied the engineer.

"If you want to leave, hurry up!" The reporter urged.

"Do you want me and Ayrton to stay here, Mr. Cyrus?" asked the sailor.

"That will do no good, Pencroft," replied Cyrus Harding. "We shall not part, never!"

Not a moment was lost.Migrants evacuated from the "chimney".A small bulge of the parapet blocked the view, and those on board couldn't see them.Only two or three shots and the boom of shells on the rocks told them that the Endeavor was not far away.

Soon, they rushed into the elevator, came to the door of "Granite Palace", and rushed to the lobby.But Top and Jup had been shut up in the palace since the day before.

It's dangerous!Through the branches, the settlers could see that the endlessly firing Endeavor had become smoky and had sailed into the strait.They had to step aside because the fire never stopped.The shells fired by the four artillery pieces blindly landed on the deserted "Grateful River" sentry post and the "chimney".The rock was shattered, and the roar of each explosion was accompanied by the cheers of the pirates.

Happily, Cyrus Harding had taken precautions in advance, and covered the windows of Granite House, which had been hoped to be spared, when a shell grazed the lintel and passed into the corridor.

"Damn it! We must have been discovered?" cried Pencroft.

The emigrants might not have been spotted, but Bob Harvey thought a cannonball should be fired through the foliage, which he always found suspicious, covering part of the cliff.He became more skeptical, and immediately ordered another launch.When a cannonball broke through the curtain of leaves, a large hole was exposed in the granite.

This immediately put the settlers in a desperate situation, and the hideout was finally discovered.They were helpless against the projectiles and the debris flying around them.They had to hide in the upper corridor of "Granite Palace" and watched the residence be destroyed.Unexpectedly, there was a muffled sound in the distance, followed by screams of panic!

Cyrus Harding and his companions rushed to a window...

The sailboat in the distance was lifted up by a tornado of water, and the hull split in two.In less than ten seconds, that ship was mercilessly swallowed by the sea water together with those evil crew members!

fortune from shipwreck

"The ship is sunk!" cried Hubbert.

"Yes! It's as if Ayrton had set fire to dynamite!" said Pencroft, jumping into the lift with Neb and the boy.

"But can anyone tell me what happened?" asked Jardin Splane, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Ah! We shall know about that! . . . " replied the engineer quickly.

"Know what?..."

"Don't worry! Don't worry! Come on, Spline. Stop thinking about those useless things. The most important thing is that those pirates have been killed!"

Cyrus Harding dragged the reporter and Ayrton to the sand.There they joined Pencroft, Neb, and Harbert.

Now the brig was completely lost in the vast sea, and not even the tall masts could be seen.Tossed by that great wave, it fell on its side, and sank in that position into the sea.There was probably a huge hole where the water was leaking too badly.But here we were near the shore, and the deepest part of the strait was no more than twenty feet, so when the tide went down the sides of the sunken ship would surely be exposed again.

Part of the wreck is floating in the sea.One can see a complete set of spare parts consisting of masts and beams; cages for chickens - even the chickens in them are still alive; and also some boxes and barrels.After these things floated out of the hatch, they gradually surfaced.Strangely, the drifters could not find any wreck fragments, neither deck boards nor shell boards. The "Endeavour" seemed to be suddenly dragged into the water by an invisible hand.

Soon, however, the two masts, which had snapped off a few feet above the spars, had at last freed themselves from the stays and floated up to the surface of the channel, even with sails on them, some spread out on the water, and Others are rolled together.But the tide ebbed very quickly on the island, and lest the ebb tide should carry away the wealth, Ayrton and Pencroft quickly jumped into their canoes, with the intention of hauling the flotsam to the coast of "Lincoln Island," or the Isle.

But when they were about to board the boat, a word from Jardine Splane stopped them.

"Where are the six criminals who landed on the right bank of the 'Grateful River'?" he said.

This is a big event, and we must be vigilant against those six vicious criminals.Their boat was smashed against the rocks, but they landed at Drift Head.

The settlers looked in that direction for a while, but could not see any fugitives.The greatest possibility is that they fled to the island after seeing the sailboat sinking in the strait.

"Let's deal with them later," said Cyrus Harding. "We are still in danger, because they are armed. But at any rate the two sides are equal, and we are six against six. The most urgent must be dealt with first." Let's do it."

Ayrton and Pencroft got into the canoe, and rowed hard towards the drift of the wreck.

The sea is at low tide, but the water level is still high because of the new moon two days ago.It was at least a full hour before the side of the brig emerged from the water.

With brisk movements Ayrton and Pencroft made the hawsers to the mast and the logs, and the ends of the ropes were slung on the sands of Granite House.With the joint efforts of the immigrants, these drifting objects were finally pulled up.Then Ayrton and Pencroft pulled up other floating objects in their canoes, including chicken coops, barrels, and boxes.These things are immediately transported to the "chimney".

At this time, several corpses floated on the sea.Ayrton recognized the body of Bob Harvey among them.He pointed to him, and said excitedly:
"This is what I used to be, Pencroft!"

"Perhaps, but now you are a reborn man, good Ayrton," said the sailor aloud.

The settlers were surprised to find so few bodies floating.They counted and counted, and there were only five or six corpses in total. Now that the tide is slowly starting to ebb, these corpses have been taken to the sea.The other criminals probably had no time to escape because of the sudden sinking of the ship, and it happened that the ship capsized sideways, so most of them were crushed under the bulwarks.In any case, it is a good thing that the low tide will carry the bodies of these criminals to the high seas.This saves the settlers the drudgery of burying them somewhere in the island.

During the next two hours Cyrus Harding and his companions were busy hauling the logs up to the sand, and taking off the sails which were in good condition, and drying them on the sand.They were so absorbed in their work that they seldom talked to each other, but their minds were constantly on and on, and they were thinking a lot!To get this brig by accident, or to be precise, to get the contents of this ship, is tantamount to owning a huge fortune.Indeed, a boat is like a small world.Many useful items will be added to the settlers' storage.This is similar to the box you found at Drift Head, only bigger.

There was a bolder idea in Pencroft's mind, "Why can't this sailing ship be anchored again? If there is a hole in the bottom of this ship, just plug it up. This is a ship of three or four hundred tons. How much more valuable is the ship than our 'Lucky'! Just think, we can go far in it! And go wherever we like! I and Cyrus Harding, Ayrton must check it out, it's definitely worth the extra effort!"

Indeed, if the schooner could be repaired, the hopes of the "Lincoln Island" settlers might well be fulfilled.However, in order to solve this important problem, they had to be patient, and they had to wait until the water was low after ebb tide, before they could inspect the condition of various parts of the hull.

Having deposited all the valuables of the wreck safely on the sand, Cyrus Harding and his companions took a few minutes to eat their lunch.They were half starved to death by this time.Fortunately, it was not far from the pantry, and Neb was a well-known cook with quick hands and feet.So, everyone ate hungrily by the "chimney".You don't need to ask, the conversation of the partners during the meal has always revolved around the miracle of the immigrants' accidental escape.

"It can only be said to be a miracle," repeated Pencroft. "How timely the criminals were bombed! Granite House was almost failing!"

"What do you think is the matter, Pencroft," asked the reporter, "how did it happen, and how did this explosion come about?"

"Well, Mr. Splain, it's a very simple matter," replied Pencroft, carelessly. "A corsair is not so well managed as a man-of-war, and the criminals are not good sailors! The powder magazine of the galleon was It must be open, and they keep bombarding us, and any carelessness of any daredevil or fool is enough to blow up that ship!"

"Mr. Smith," said Harbert, "I find it a little strange that, if it was an explosion, it was not a very powerful one. Not much. That ship was more likely to be sunk than blown up."

"Does that seem strange to you, boy?" asked the engineer.

"Yes, Mr. Smith."

"I wonder, too, Harbert," replied the engineer, "but there will be an answer, and when we have examined the hull, I suppose it will all be clear."

"Oh, you think so," said Pencroft. "You don't mean to think that the Endeavor sank on the rocks?"

"It's not impossible?" Neb pointed out, "What if there happens to be a reef in the strait?"

"Never mind, Neb," replied Pencroft, "you did not see it at the critical moment. I saw the ship sinking, and a great wave threw it up, and then let it go. It went over on the left side. If it had run aground, this would not have been the case. It should have gone down peacefully, like any other normal ship on the reef."

"That just shows that it is not a normal ship!" replied Neb.

"There is no need to argue, we will get to the bottom of it, Pencroft," continued the engineer.

"Of course, we'll find out," continued the sailor, "but I'll bet my head that there's absolutely no reef in this strait. Oh, Mr. Smith, let's get this out of the way, don't you think What else is incomprehensible?"

Mr. Smith did not answer.

"However it happened," said Jardine Splane, "whether it hit the rocks or exploded, you must agree, Pencroft, that it happened at the right time!"

"Yes! . . . yes! . . . " replied the sailor, "but that is not the question at hand. I am asking Mr. Smith if he sees anything strange in the matter."

"I cannot tell, Pencroft," said the engineer, "that is all I can give you now."

This answer did not satisfy Pencroft.He still stands by his view that it was an explosion.He knows very well that the bottom of this strait is covered with a thick layer of fine sand, which is as flat as a beach, and he often crosses it when the tide is low, so he absolutely does not believe that there is a piece of sand in it that he does not know. reef.In addition, the sailboat sank at high tide, which meant that the water potential was very high, so it was impossible for it to hit the reefs that would not be exposed even at low tide.Therefore, the ship did not suffer any impact, so it was not hit on the rocks, and the conclusion was that it was blown up.

It must be admitted that the sailor's reasoning is not without reason.

Around 01:30, the migrants boarded their canoes and headed towards the spot where the wreck ran aground.It is a pity that the two boats on the sailing boat were destroyed. One of them has been explained before that it was smashed into the mouth of the "Grateful River" and is completely unusable; while the other was with the brig It sank, presumably because it was crushed by a big ship and failed to float up again.

At this time, the hull of Endeavor began to slowly emerge from the water.The settlers were surprised to see that the sailboat was more than just overturned sideways, because the weight of the displaced ballast when the ship fell down broke the mast, and after the violent vibration, the whole ship lost its center of gravity.It's almost on its back now.It is certain that it was turned over by an astonishing unexplained force from the bottom of the sea, accompanied by a huge jet of water.

(End of this chapter)