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

Chapter 174 The Mysterious Island (59)
The sky was so dark that there was not even a moon. The thick dark clouds formed a low and heavy vault, covering all the stars.Just as Hubbert said, the storm is coming.Only the lightning and thunder in the sky made the distant horizon flash in a momentary light.

It's going to be a stormy night.It is very likely that within a few hours, the sky will be full of thunder.However, no matter how dark the sky is or how heavy the rain is, it cannot stop everyone from walking towards the "corral".They walked along the left bank of the "Grateful River", turned over "Prospect Heights", crossed the bridge over the "Glycerine River", and crossed the forest.

They were excited and brisk on their feet.For them, there is no doubt that the answer they have been looking for is finally about to be revealed, and the name of the mysterious person will finally be known.He once went deep into their lives and gave them generous and selfless help. In everyone's mind, he is omnipotent!Indeed, this mysterious person has already been involved in their lives, and he knows all about the big and small things in their lives. Maybe he has heard all their conversations in the "Granite Palace", otherwise why can he help each time in time? Woolen cloth?

Everyone was thinking deeply and walking in a hurry.The boundless trees looked like huge vaults, and it was so dark that even the road could not be seen clearly.The forest was so still that not even the animals and birds moved or made a sound.There is no wind, and the leaves are motionless.There was only the sound of everyone's footsteps on the hard ground.

During the first quarter of an hour or so of the walk, Pencroft broke the silence with the words: "We should take a lantern."

The engineer responded immediately: "There's one in the 'corral'."

The distance between the mouth of the Thanksgiving River and the Corral was five miles, and Cyrus Harding and his party left Granite House at 47:[-], and at [-]:[-] they had covered three miles.At this moment, lightning bolts streaked across the sky, and the bright light of the lightning dazzled people, making them unable to see clearly what was in front of them.The lightning gradually became stronger and more dazzling, and the distant thunder rumbled past, and the air was suffocating.It was clear that a storm was coming soon.

Everyone walked quickly, as if there was an irresistible force pushing them forward behind them.

At a quarter past ten a bright light revealed the fenced field before their eyes.Before they could go through the door, there was a thunderclap.

After a while, everyone passed through the "corral" and came to the house.

It was from this house that the telegram had been sent, and it was probable that the stranger was there.However, the house was pitch black and there was no light coming in from the windows.

The engineer knocked on the door.No one in the house agreed.

Cyrus Harding opened the door, and they all entered the room, which was quite dark.

Neb struck the scythe and lighted the lantern, and with it they scanned every corner of the room...the things in the room remained intact.All this shows that no one has been there.

Cyrus Harding whispered: "Have we hallucinated?"

No!This is impossible!The telegram clearly read: "Please come to the 'corral' quickly."

Everyone approached the telegraph desk.The batteries and their boxes, as well as the transmitter and receiver were left untouched.

The engineer asked, "Who was here the last time?"

Ayrton replied: "Mr. Cyrus, it is I."

"That is……"

"Four days ago."

Hubbert suddenly pointed to a piece of paper on the table and said, "Ah! There is a message!"

There were these words written in English on the paper: "Please follow the new electric wire."

Cyrus Harding understood that the telegram had been sent from the mysterious abode, and not from the "corral."A wire was attached to the old line, directly linking it to Granite Palace."Let us go!" cried Cyrus Harding.

Neb hastened to get his lighted lantern, and they all left the "corral."At this time, thunder broke out.The sky was dim, and the only thing that could show them the way was the electric light brought by the hideous lightning bolts.The alternation time between each lightning bolt and each thunderclap is getting shorter and shorter.Torrential rain will soon blanket "Franklin Peak" and the entire island.In the non-stop lightning, the steaming volcanic top is also presented in front of people's eyes.

In that part of the "corral" between the house and the fence, there was nothing but earth battered by the storm, without any telegraph wires.But stepping through the door, in the lightning, the engineer found the first pole, the new wire hanging from the insulator and dragging to the ground.The engineer ran straight over.

He said, "Here it is!"

The wire drags across the ground, and it's all wrapped in an insulating substance, like a submarine cable, that protects the current from passing freely.Looking carefully at its direction, it seems that it has passed through the woods and the southern ridge branch of "Franklin Peak", so it is going west.

Cyrus Harding said: "Walk along it!"

Everyone hurried forward along the road marked by electric wires, with the dim light of lanterns and occasional lightning flashes in the sky.Thunder roared, as if a rabid lion was roaring in their ears.The sound drowned out their voices.Fortunately, they don't need to communicate.The most important thing now is to hurry, not talk.

Cyrus Harding and the company, first ascending the branch of the ridge which rises between the valley of the "corral" and the valley of the "waterfall", chose the narrow part of the river to cross.The wire was sometimes found on a low branch, and sometimes stretched across the ground, as if the owner of the wire hadn't cared for it, letting it hang carelessly like a wild vine.But point them in the right direction.

The engineer had expected that the wire might end at the bottom of the valley, where the mysterious man's residence might be.But he soon discovered that his guess was wrong.

There was no dwelling there at all, nothing but grass.We had no choice but to climb up the branch of the mountain ridge in the southwest, and then descend to the desolate high ground.The highlands were bounded by grotesquely piled basalt cliffs.From time to time each of us would bend down and run our hands over the wires to make sure we were oriented correctly, correcting if necessary.But there is no doubt that this wire points to the sea.There, it is estimated that at a certain bottom of the igneous rock, there will be a hidden place that everyone has been looking for, but has not been found until now.

Lightning continued one after another, and the sky seemed to be burning with fire, making people breathless.Several bolts of lightning even struck the top of the volcano and rushed into the smoke of the crater, which looked like the mountain was spewing flames.

At a little before eleven o'clock we came to the high boundary overlooking the western Atlantic.The wind was raging, and the waves crashed against the shore, making a roaring sound.

Cyrus Harding reckoned that he and his companions had traveled a nautical mile and a half since they set out from the "corral."

Here, the wire entered between the rocks and stretched along the steep slope of a tight and irregular gully, like the trail of a snail crawling.Everyone walked in, regardless of the possible collapse caused by the unbalanced accumulation of rocks, and the danger of falling into the sea.The farther they go, the more dangerous the road is, but they have already put their own safety aside.For they were now possessed by an irresistible force, which drew them like a magnet to iron, to that mysterious place.

In this way, almost subconsciously, they walked through this gully, and this gully, even in broad daylight, can be said to be difficult to pass.It was nothing short of a miracle that everyone passed through safely in the dark of night.The rolling stones, gleaming like bolides in the lightning, threatened those who would pass.Cyrus Harding led, Ayrton led.They are careful in every step, supporting each other; when passing slippery stones, they will slide over like a slide, and then straighten up and continue on their way.

Eventually, the wire swerved and hit rocks on the seashore.And this seashore is densely covered with reefs, and the waves should be able to hit them when the tide is high.We have come to the lower boundary of the basalt cliffs.

There, there is a narrow steep slope leading vertically and parallel to the sea.The wires still went along it, and everyone followed it up the slope.Before they could walk a hundred steps, the steep slope slowed down and became a gentle slope, so that everyone came to sea level.

The engineer grabbed the wire and found that the wire was leading to the bottom of the sea.

The partners who stopped beside him were all stunned.There was an almost desperate cry from their mouths!Do they need to dive to the bottom of the ocean to find underwater caves?
Their minds and bodies were in a state of euphoria at the time.So, without thinking, they prepared to go to sea.The engineer paused for a moment before stopping them.

Cyrus Harding led them all under a hollow in the rock, and pointing to it, said:
"It's high tide, and when the tide goes out, the road will appear. We'll wait here."

"But how did you know that—" asked Pencroft.

"He wouldn't have asked us to come if we couldn't figure out a way to get to him!"

Cyrus Harding's voice was firm and confident.Everyone has no objection.Besides, his point of view is logical.There was, to be sure, an opening at the foot of the cliff, which should be passable at low tide, but which is presently obscured by the waves.

Need to wait several hours.It began to rain, and the clouds, torn apart by lightning, soon turned into downpours.The rumbling thunder produced bursts of echoes, making it even louder and more majestic.So, everyone had to hide in a deep rocky recess like a colonnade.

Everyone was extremely excited, and countless weird and unbelievable ideas emerged in their minds.They imagined a tall superman image, because only such a superman is the mysterious protector of the island in their minds.

At midnight Cyrus Harding, carrying his lamp, went down until he was level with the beach.By this time the tide had ebbed for two hours.

Engineers are correct.The arching curve of a large hole began to appear in the water, like an open mouth.There the wire turns at right angles and enters the mouth.

Cyrus Harding returned to his companions, and said to them, "In an hour we shall be able to pass through the hole."

"Ah, is there really a hole?" asked Pencroft.

Cyrus Harding replied: "Don't you believe it?"

"But that hole should be able to fill with water up to a certain height," Hubbert said.

"If that hole is drained, we'll go in, and if it's not, there's bound to be a boat or something for us to use."

after an hour.We went down in the rain and came to sea level.In three hours, the tide dropped fifteen feet.The curved roof outlined by the arched curve is overlooking the sea level at a height of at least eight feet.It seems to be a bridge hole. Under the bridge hole, there are constantly surging waves of water flowing.

The engineer bent down, saw a black object floating on the surface of the sea, and pulled it towards him.It turned out to be a small boat, and a rope tied it to a protrusion outside the stone wall.The boat is made of iron, and there are two oars inside.

"Let us aboard," said Cyrus Harding.

The boat passes through the vault, which at first is low and then rises abruptly.It's just that the brightness of the portable lamp is not enough, and it is too dark inside to make out the size of the cave, how wide, how high, and how deep it is.In this underground cave, there is awe-inspiring silence.No sound from outside can come in, and even the loud noise of thunder and lightning cannot penetrate its thick rock walls.

There are such huge caves in some parts of the earth, which are natural basements formed by geological changes.Some are connected to sea water, and some contain lakes on their sides.Fingal's cave, for example, on the island of Staffa in the Hebrides; Mogar's cave, on the Gulf of Duvarnay in Brittany; Nifacio Cave, Lysfjorden Cave in Norway, such as Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, which is five hundred feet high and twenty miles long, enormous in size!In many places on the earth, the magic ax of nature excavated these basements and preserved them, making them tourist attractions for human beings.

But can the cave you are in extend all the way to the center of the island?For a quarter of an hour the boat had been going along the winding cavern, and the engineer's urgent voice reminded Pencroft when it was necessary to turn.Suddenly, at a certain moment, he ordered: "Click to the right again!"

The boat changed direction and soon followed the right wall.The engineer wanted to see if the wires were still running along the rock face.He has a reason for doing so.

Wires still dangle from overhangs of the rock.

Said Cyrus Harding: "Go on!"

Then, the two oars were drawn, and the boat continued to move forward.

The boat walked for another quarter of an hour, and it may have been half a nautical mile from the entrance to here.At this moment Cyrus Harding spoke again: "Stop!"

The boat stopped, and everyone saw that there was a strong light shining on a huge basement dug deep in the island.

Now everyone knows that they are not dreaming, this cave is real.Now everyone has the opportunity to observe this cave in detail.

The circular vault was a hundred feet high, supported by columns of basalt that seemed to have been cast in a mold.Random ribbed, irregular keystones rest against these columns.Thousands of such pillars were formed in the early days of the earth's formation.These interlocking basalt columns, [-] feet high, dip only to the base.Although the waves are rough outside, the water inside is calm and serene.The light from the light source mentioned by the engineer fell on every edge, as if it could penetrate the stone walls, making them all translucent, and making even the smallest protrusion on the wall of this cave shine like gems. Hui.

Because of reflections, the surface of the water reflected these various lights, and the boat seemed to be floating between two bands of shimmering light.

The light emitted from the center of this light source was white and straight and extremely clear, as if every corner and every edge in the cave was hit by the strong light and was about to be shattered.In this way, everyone will not be mistaken, this light comes from the power source.It is the sun of this cave, and it illuminates the whole cave as bright as day.

With a wave of Cyrus Harding's hand, the oars fell and splashed some water, which seemed to rain jewels in the white light.The boat rowed toward the light source, and soon it was only half a chain away.

In this place, the great expanse of water is about 350 feet wide, but on the other side of the light source, there is a huge wall of basalt rock, so there is no entrance or exit there.The cave was thus much larger, and the sea water formed a small lake there.The vaults, the back walls, the side walls, all those columns, prisms, and cones, seemed to everyone to be shrouded in electric light, as if the light were their own.It should be said that these expensive diamond-like stones are constantly shining by themselves!

In the middle of the lake, quietly floating on the surface of the water was a long, fusiform object, motionless.The light was coming from its sides, as if from two furnace mouths heated to a fever pitch.This configuration is about 250 feet long, ten to twelve feet above sea level, and resembles the body of a giant whale.

The boat slowly moved closer.Cyrus Harding stood in the bow, and watched with the utmost excitement.After that, he suddenly grabbed the reporter's arm and shouted: "It's him! It can only be him!"

Then he sat down again on the ship's bench and whispered a name that only Jardine Splane could hear.

The reporter should be very familiar with this name, because this name once caused a great shock to him, only to hear him reply in a low voice: "It is him, an omnipotent person!"

Cyrus Harding said: "Yes, it is he!"

Under the command of the engineer, the boat approached the floating object and moored on its left half.Here a ray of light shines through the thick glass.Cyrus Harding and his companions mounted the platform.There is an open entrance tower there.Everyone rushed into the entrance excitedly.Below the stairs is a longitudinal interior passage, brightly lit.At the end of the passage was a door, which Cyrus Harding pushed open.

Everyone quickly passed through a magnificently decorated hall and came to the study room next to it.Here, a glow is cast from the bright ceiling.

There was a closed door at the end of the study, and the engineer pushed it open.

What appeared in front of everyone was a large living room.It is like a museum, full of all kinds of rare treasures, as well as some works of art and industrial masterpieces.Seeing all this, everyone was stunned, thinking that they were brought to the dream world by magic.

They saw a man lying on a luxurious couch, who seemed unaware of their presence.

Then Cyrus Harding uttered aloud the following words, which greatly astonished the crowd: "Did you ask us to come? Captain Nemo, here we come!"

a lone hero
Hearing what Cyrus said, the lying man stood up.People can clearly see his face under the lamp: high forehead, imposing appearance, proud eyes, white beard, thick hair pulled back.

He propped up the back of the sofa he had just left with his hands.Apparently he was suffering from a chronic disease that was debilitating physically, but his voice was strong and powerful.He said in English, in a tone of great surprise: "Sir, I have no name."

Cyrus Harding replied, "I know you!"

Captain Nemo stared at the engineer with fiery eyes, as if trying to destroy him.Afterwards, he lay on the pillow of the sofa again, and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter, I'm going to die anyway."

Cyrus Harding approached Captain Nemo.Jardine Splane took his hand and felt his hand as hot as fire.Ayrton, Pencroft, Harbert, and Neb stood respectfully in a corner of the sumptuous drawing-room, which was brightly lit.

However, Captain Nemo immediately withdrew his hand and gestured for the engineer and the reporter to sit down.

(End of this chapter)