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

Chapter 19 Captain Grant's Children (19)
Not long after, they finally saw the real situation of these Indians, seeing that there were a dozen or so of them; seeing this, Tarcaf felt at ease.When the line of Indians had gone a hundred paces or so, their true faces were clearly seen.They are all local indigenous people, it should be 1835, General Rosas Rosas, the dictator of the Argentine country.Conquered tribes of Indians.These Indians have brown-black skin, high foreheads, and protrude forward; they are tall and burly, with a kind of Indian bodybuilding.On their bodies, they are dressed in camel cloth or skunk fur. In addition to carrying long guns, they also carry weapons such as knives, slingshots, "pull ropes" and "paola".It can be seen that they are good at riding, their postures and movements are very graceful, and they look heroic.

However, when they were about 100 meters away, they stopped immediately when they saw Jazz and his party; then they gathered together, gesticulating and yelling, as if they were discussing something.Sir Glenarvan wanted to show his friendliness, and approached him, but before he had gone four meters away, the natives reined in their horses, turned around and ran, and disappeared without a trace in a short time.

"What a bunch of bears!" Paganel cursed loudly.

"I think they don't look like good people running so fast!" Major McNabbs added.

"What race are these Indians supposed to be?" Paganel asked Tarcave.

"Supposed to be some gaucho gaucho, a mixture of Spanish and Indians."

"Ah! So it's the Gauchos!" Paganel turned his head and said to his companions, "It was really some Gauchos just now. In fact, we don't need to be so nervous. There is really nothing to be afraid of!"

"Why is that?" asked the major.

"It's very simple. The people of Gaozhuo have always been kind farmers."

"Dear Paganel, do you really think so?"

"Of course. It can be seen that those gauzhuo people regarded us as thieves, so they turned around and ran away in fright."

"It seems to me that they dare not attack us," said Ser Glenarvan.Jazz was very annoyed. He originally wanted to communicate with anyone he met.But now they ran away after hearing the news, which made this plan come to nothing.

"I think so too," the major added. "If I'm not mistaken, these gauchos should be out-and-out bandits, not friendly farmers."

"How can you think so?" Paganel retorted loudly.

Then, Paganel began to talk about ethnological knowledge with eloquence, and his expression became more and more excited as he talked, which made the major unable to restrain himself, and couldn't help arguing with him.

"Paganel, I think your views are not correct!"

"Ah, isn't it?"

"Yes, you are not right! Look, Tarcaf regarded them as thieves from the beginning, and I think his view is justified."

"This time, Tarcaf's point of view is wrong!" Paganel argued, speaking in a rather angry tone, "Actually, the Gauchos are just farmers and herdsmen, not any other race. You want You know, I once wrote a small book about the life of the indigenous people in the Pampas Prairie. It is very popular with readers, and there is a special discussion in this book!"

"Monsieur Paganel, you are even more wrong!"

"Mr. McNabbs, you say I've made a mistake again?"

"It was your carelessness that caused the mistake!" The major then approached step by step, and said further, "If your book is going to be republished, you must correct it carefully."

With these words, Paganel heard that he was not only criticizing himself, but also mocking himself, his complexion changed drastically, and he couldn't calm down.

"Sir, you know, none of the books I wrote need to be corrected!"

"It needs to be corrected, it needs to be corrected, at least, this time it needs to be carefully corrected and corrected!" Major McNabbs continued to refute without giving in.

"I see, monsieur, that you are trying to find fault," said Paganel.

"I can see that you want to lose your temper today!" The major also confronted him, confronting him.

It can be seen that it was actually a trivial matter, but these two people are about to quarrel, which is beyond the scope of harmony!So, Sir Glenarvan on the side began to adjust:

"To tell the truth!" said the Jazz, "You two, one is deliberately mocking others, and the other is too tempered! So I am surprised by your behavior!"

Tarcave, the Patagonian, listened.Although I don't understand the content of the argument between the two, it is obvious that there is a quarrel.So, with a smile, he said calmly:
"Actually, if you want to blame, you can only blame Beifeng for being bad!"

"What's wrong with the North Wind? What does this have to do with the North Wind?!" Paganel became even more angry and argued loudly.

"Yes, yes, it's the north wind that is bad!" exclaimed Sir Glenarvan, "but it seems to me that it is the north wind that makes you angry. I have always heard it said that the north wind in South America is the worst It's easy to stimulate people's nerves!"

"Dear Edward, St. Patrick (377-460), a Christian saint respected and worshiped by the Scots. I can testify that what you said is absolutely right!" After the major finished speaking, he, who was always stern, also said: Laugh out loud.

This time, Paganel was really angry.Sir Glenarvan's words seemed to him to be mischief, and he clung to them.

"Hmph, Sir, what are you talking about!" He refused to give up, and asked, "You actually said that my nerves were stimulated?!"

"Yes, yes. Paganel, it is true that the north wind is very exciting! This wind has always caused people to commit crimes in the pampas, just like the wind blowing from the mountains in the Roman countryside, the French. They all say that the place east of the Alps is called "outside the mountain". Same!"

"Hmph, crime!" Paganel replied even more angrily, "Do you think I will commit a crime?"

"I didn't say you would commit a crime!"

"You might as well say, I want to kill you, it's better!"

"Haha!" Sir Glenarvan couldn't bear it anymore, and he also burst out laughing, "To be honest, I was really afraid that you would kill me. Fortunately, the north wind only blows for one day!"

When everyone heard this sentence, they laughed together with Jazz.Paganel was really furious. When he got angry, he pinched his feet and galloped away on his horse.A person ran to the front and slowly calmed down.But an hour later, he came back and put the annoyance behind him!

At eight o'clock in the evening, Tarcaf told everyone that the salt lake was approaching, and showed them the dry ditch leading to it.So the team galloped for another hour and reached the embankment of the salt lake.Everyone collectively turned over the shore and walked to the lake.What I saw immediately was really disappointing. The bottom of the lake was just dry without any water residue!

Water source
Salt Lake is the gathering place of a chain of lakes in the pampas.All along, here is rich in sodium chloride - table salt.People come here to buy salt after a long journey from Buenos Aires.But for now, the hot weather has evaporated the lake, leaving only some salt to condense on the bottom of the lake.The salt turned the lake into a huge mirror.

Before that, Takaf said that as long as you reach the salt lake, you will have water to drink, referring only to the lakes and streams that criss-cross the salt lake.But now he didn't expect that these streams and lakes, like this salt lake, would all evaporate and dry up due to the hot and dry weather.Therefore, when Jazz and his group saw this situation, they were all stunned.Now, some of the only water in the leather barrels they brought has also deteriorated, making it undrinkable.The most painful thing for everyone is thirst, and the body is so dry that it is uncomfortably dry.Hunger and tiredness are secondary.This night, they found a leather tent abandoned by the aborigines.The locals called this tent "Luka" and it was set up in the ridge.The group could only rest inside.As for their mounts—the horses, they were just on the shore of the salt lake, weakly chewing the salty withered grass and some reeds on the shore.

After resting in "Luca", Paganel couldn't wait to ask Tarcaf, do you have any plans, and what should we do next?Sir Glenarvan listened attentively, and occasionally understood a word or two in the rapid conversation between the two.Tarcaf said calmly all the time, while Paganel was gesticulating while speaking, with a very excited expression.But a few minutes later, Takaf folded his arms, thinking about something calmly.

"What did you say?" Sir Glenarvan seized this idle opportunity and asked Paganel. "From the few words you said, I heard that he asked for our team to be separated."

"Yes, Tarcaf's idea is to divide the team into two parts," Paganel continued, "because the current situation is that the horses are tired and thirsty, and those who can't survive will follow the direction of 37°. Go forward slowly; those who can walk on horses should go on to find the Guamini River. We all know that the Guamini River is about 31 miles from here and flows to the St. Add it to the lake. If the river is full of water, you should stay on the river bank and continue to wait for the people behind to come; if you find that the river is dry, you should go back immediately and tell the people who come behind, don’t let everyone waste their time on the wrong road.”

"What should I do if there is no water!" Austin replied.

"Then you can only continue to go south, and you have to continue walking for 75 miles until you reach several starting mountain ranges in the Ventana Mountains. Because there are more rivers there."

"That's a very good suggestion," said Sir Glenarvan. "Now, let's do it. Time is short, and we cannot wait any longer. I can see that my horse can take it, and now I Go with Tarcaf!"

"Oh, my dear sir, take me with you!" cried little Robert, as if he were going to play.

"My child, you can't keep up!"

"My horse is a good horse and keeps running forward, so I trust him, and he will definitely keep up! Sir, just take me, please, take me..."

"My child, then I promise you," Sir Glenarvan agreed, and in fact he also needed the child. "The three of us, if we can't find water all the time, we are really stupid." .”

"So, what about me?" Paganel asked hastily.

"Oh, my dear Paganel, let me say you," said the major immediately, "and now you are in the reserve with the others. Because you are so familiar with the 37° line, if you The Guamini River, and the Pampas, so we need you to stay with us. And Muradi, Wilson, and my horses can't keep up with Tarcaf, so we don't have the energy to make it to the agreed Location. What we are doing now, can only move forward with confidence under the leadership of Paganel - you."

"I can only reluctantly agree," Paganel said.You could tell he wasn't happy being the boss.

"But, my venerable scholar, you must not be careless!" continued the major. "Don't take us where we are not worth going. To the coast of the Pacific or something, that would be terrible!"

"Well, you annoying major, I really wish I could take you to the Pacific coast!" Paganel asked with a smile again, "But, my dear Sir Glenarvan, how do you talk to Taka? Husband to communicate!"

"That's what I think," said the Jazz. "Tarcaf has nothing to say to me. And I can speak a little Spanish. If an emergency requires us to communicate, I can also make him understand me. I'm sure he'll understand what I mean too!"

"In that case, my dear friends, set off like this!" said Paganel.

"Now, let's finish our supper!" said Sir Glenarvan. "If we can sleep, then we should have a good sleep and then set out the next day!"

Because there is no water, it is really difficult for everyone to swallow dry food to satisfy their hunger.No way, everyone can only lie down and sleep.In his sleep, Paganel dreamed of the emergence of many torrents, waterfalls, rivers, rivers, lakes, streams, and even saw himself holding a bottle of cool mineral water in his dreams.

At six o'clock the next morning Tarcafe, Glenarvan, and Robert Jr. had their horses ready, and some water was given to them.But the water had a bad taste, and the three horses could barely drink some.Afterwards, the three of them got on their horses and left.

"Good-bye, friends, good-bye!" shouted the major, Austin, Wilson, and Muradi together.

"Better find the water and don't come back!" Paganel added.

After the horse ran for a certain distance, the three people looked back and saw that their companions were no longer there, and they couldn't help feeling a little melancholy in their hearts.

The three of them raced on over a solid terracotta field in the Salt Lake District, and the vegetation around them was becoming scarcer.Occasionally, some shriveled shrubs about six feet high were seen, and a woody mimosa, the native Indian called "Gulamamere," and a species called "Ru wood," Contains a clumping shrub of soda.There are clean salt flats everywhere around here, like a huge mirror, reflecting the incoming sunlight.In the local language, this kind of salt flat is called "Balero", and when it congeals, it is as slippery as ice.Reflecting the hot sun, no one would mistake these salt flats for ice.It's just that this piece of dry and scorched barren land and the glistening salt flats like a glacier lake are gathered together, forming an interesting contrast, which is really interesting.

As I said before, if you find that the Guamini River is dry, you can only continue to go south, and when you walk about seventy or eighty miles, you will reach the Ventana Mountains.The environment there is completely different from this desolate salt lake area.In 1835, Captain Fitz Rowe, who commanded an expedition ship "Hound Dog", carefully surveyed there.There, there is a piece of fertile land, green and tender pastures, and rolling hills. To the northwest is a grassy slope, like a green carpet, until it reaches the lush forest at the foot of the mountain.In addition, in that place, a cassia tree called "Algarobo" grows; when the cassia fruit is dried, it can be ground into powder, which can be made into bread, which is the Indian's favorite food.In addition, there is a kind of broken axe tree, which is white all over, like the weeping poplar in Europe, with long branches, and the branches and leaves hang down curlingly.There is also a kind of broken axe tree, which is red in color, the wood is very hard, and it will never be damaged; in addition, there is a tree called "Naudubo", which is easy to ignite and burns when it sees fire, often causing a fire. forest fires; there is a tree called "vilado," which is full of purple flowers in layers and looks like a pyramid; Put a "big umbrella" with a height of more than 20 meters; the dense shade of the tree can provide a herd of cattle and sheep to rest under the tree.The rich resources in this place have made Argentines want to immigrate to this area many times, but due to the hatred and opposition of the Indians, their wishes have not been realized.

In such a rich place, people would naturally guess that there must be rivers flowing out of the mountains to provide abundant water for this area.This kind of conjecture is very reasonable. In fact, these big rivers will never dry up even in the hottest and driest season.It's just that if people think of the basins of these great rivers, they need to continue walking south, which is about 130 miles away.Therefore, Takaf suggested to go to the Guamini River to find water sources first, which is completely correct.And in this way, there is no need to deviate from the planned route, and the distance is much shorter than the route to Mount Ventara.

The three horses ran very happily, and one could see these clever horses and know where the owner wanted them to be.The most outstanding is the steed "Taojia", running forward tirelessly; that kind of brave energy, like a bird, flew over the dry swamp, jumped over the "Gulamamere" tree jungle, and kept going. Neighing with joy.By comparison, Sir Glenarvan's and Robert's horses looked calmer.However, led by "Taojia", the horse behind was also chasing bravely.Tarcaf sat on the saddle of "Taojia" with a calm and calm expression, just as "Taojia" encouraged the two horses, encouraging his companions by his example.

Tarcaf, who was walking in the front, likes to look back at the kid Robert Grant often.In fact, the boy, Robert Jr., in spite of his young age, was composed and strong on horseback.The waist is very flexible, the shoulders are slightly bent sideways, the feet are naturally drooping, and the knees are tightly attached to the saddle.Seeing this situation, Tarcaf was very happy, and he kept praising him.Indeed, this Robert Grant Jr. is indeed a first-class rider, and he is very worthy of the praise of Tarcaf, a Patagonian.

"Well, very good, little Robert!" Sir Glenarvan also praised greatly, "Look, Tarcalf's expression shows how satisfied he is with you! My child, it seems that he really appreciates it. you!"

"Why, sir?"

"It's because you ride a horse, and you ride very well!"

"Ah! In fact, I just rode with confidence." Little Robert replied shyly when he heard these compliments.

"Little Robert, in fact, the key to riding a horse is your mentality, you must be calm and steady!" Sir Glenarvan said, "You are too modest, I can assure you that you will be a master of equestrianism in the future!"

"That's really great!" Little Robert replied with a smile, "But, remembering that my father has always wanted to train me to be a sailor; if I become a master of horsemanship, after seeing my father, I don't know what to say. "

"Being a good rider does not prevent you from being a good sailor. A good sailor will also make a good rider. Generally speaking, people who are used to riding on a sail stand will feel comfortable riding a horse. As for It is easy to learn operations such as reining in the horse, turning, and jumping."

(End of this chapter)