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

Chapter 21 Captain Grant's Children (21)
When Talcaf spoke of "Aguala," Sir Glenarvan knew that it was the red wolf that the Indians often spoke of.This kind of animal is a carnivorous animal, and its scientific name is "Maned Dog". Its body is as strong as a big dog, but its head is shaped like a fox. Their fur is brownish red, except for a long black hair on the back.These red wolves are agile and fast and are used to living in swampy areas.Often mallards to catch animals on the water surface.Their living habit is to sleep in the cave during the day, and then go out of the cave to hunt outside at night; they often attack livestock secretly, and cows and horses are also very afraid of red wolves when they see red wolves!So these red wolves are a big scourge in the area.Individual red wolves aren't scary, but packs of hungry wolves are dangerous!Hunters on the prairie would rather face a jaguar or a black-spotted tiger than provoke a large pack of red wolves.In front of tigers or leopards, hunters can shoot and kill them from the front; but a pack of wolves attacking from the front, back, left, and right directions is really overwhelming!
At this time, on the silent pampas prairie, the howling of wolves sounded again.Sir Glenarvan saw countless black figures floating on the grassland again, and knew that something was wrong.It can be seen that the group of red wolves gathered on the banks of the Guamini River is coming for people and horses.If they don't eat enough, they will never go back to the wolf's den!

At this time, the encirclement of the wolves was also slowly shrinking, and the three horses were pawing the ground and breaking free from their reins, jumping in panic.Especially Baoju "Taojia", jumping and struggling the most, it seems that it means to rush out of the yard.Tarcaf patted it lightly and comforted it with kind words, and it slowly calmed down.

Sir Glenarvan and Robert Jr. were waiting at the entrance of "Ramata".They loaded their guns with bullets, and were ready to fire at the one who was rushing to the front of the pack.Seeing this, Takaf immediately grabbed their guns.

"What does he mean?" asked Sir Robert Jr. Glenarvan.

"We are not allowed to shoot!" Sir replied.

"Why on earth is this?"

"Maybe I feel like I haven't waited for the opportunity!"

Tarcaf did not allow them to shoot, and for good reason.He lifted the pouch containing the bullets and turned it over again, a gesture that showed that it was almost empty.Sir Glenarvan understood at once what he meant.

"What's the matter?" Robert Jr. was still puzzled and asked.

"Oh, Tarcaf means that we must save bullets. You know, today we went hunting during the day, and there are not many bullets left, less than twenty rounds!?"

Little Robert didn't say a word after listening.

"Little Robert, my child, are you afraid?"

"Sir, I'm not afraid at all!"

"Son, you are really good!"

As soon as the words fell, there was a "bang" gunshot.It turned out that a bold red wolf was about to rush forward, but was shot and killed by Tarcaf.The densely packed pack of wolves originally wanted to charge forward, but when they heard the gunshot, they backed away in fright, and piled up together about a hundred steps away from the yard.

Tarcave, a Patagonian, waved gently to Sir Glenarvan.Jazz understood, and immediately ran over to stand where he was standing.Tarcaf ran to the center of the yard, piled up hay, dried alfalfa, and some combustible materials at the entrance of "Ramata", and then pointed a burning, glowing red charcoal towards it. Throw it over.In an instant, a raging fire started to burn, and the flames turned red; in the burning fire, groups of red wolves could be seen hiding nearby.It was the first time Sir Glenarvan had seen such a large number of red wolves, and felt that it was really difficult to deal with them.The red "fire wall" ignited by Takaf stopped the attack of the wolves, but also ignited the anger of the red wolves.A few bold red wolves rushed to the fire, but their claws were burned by the flames.

It seems that these howling and jumping red wolves must be given a break to scare them from attacking.So the three of them took turns shooting, and after an hour, more than a dozen red wolves fell to their deaths on the grassland.

The grim situation of being surrounded by wolves has also been slightly relieved.It can be seen that as long as the bullets are not exhausted and the firewall is still burning, the attacks of these wolves are not to be feared.However, they are worried, if these bullets run out and the fuel burns out, how should they deal with it?
At this time, Sir Glenarvan turned his head to look at little Robert beside him, feeling a burst of sadness.His pain is not thinking about himself, but worrying about this child.Although little Robert's face was gray with fear, he still insisted on holding the weapon in his hand, and waited firmly for the red wolf to pounce on him.The courage displayed by this child is so inconsistent with his young age!

Sir Glenarvan made a serious analysis and careful consideration of the situation before him.He realized that in another hour the bullets would run out and the wall of fire would go out, so he made up his mind.Because it will be too late to make a decision at that time.

He turned his head to look at Tarcaf at the side, put together the few Spanish words he knew, and barely communicated with Tarcaf, and shot at the wolf while talking.

It took a lot of effort for the two people to finally understand each other's meaning.Fortunately, Sir Glenarvan has long been proficient in the characteristics of the red wolf, so looking at Tarcaf's lips and gestures, he can roughly understand what he wants to express.Even so, it took Sir Glenarvan an hour to fully understand what Tarcalf meant, and conveyed it to Robert Jr.

Sir Glenarvan first said that he asked the Patagonian what he should do in the current situation, and if there was any way to get out of this predicament!

"And what did he come up with?" asked little Robert.

"Tarcaf said that no matter what, we must persist until there is light in the sky. Because this kind of 'Aragua' red wolf is characterized by being active at night, it will naturally return to the wolf den at dawn."

"Then let's find a way to hold on until dawn!"

"Yes! But my child, after a short time, when the bullets run out, you can only kill with a knife!"

While they were talking, Takaf gave them a demonstration: When a red wolf ran to the wall of fire, Takaf had quick hands and eyes, held a knife, quickly stretched it across the wall of fire, and then immediately threw the wolf into the fire wall. The bloody knife was drawn back.

When it was almost two o'clock in the morning, the situation was really grim, the ammunition was about to run out, and the raging wall of fire was about to disappear. When Tarcaf threw the last bundle of firewood on the wall of fire, there was only Got the last five rounds.

Sir Glenarvan looked around, and a pang of sadness rose from his heart.At this time, he thought of the little boy beside him, his traveling companion, and the people he loved and missed.Little Robert didn't say a word. Perhaps, the idea of ​​death hadn't appeared in his mind at this time.But Sir Glenarvan thought of it first, and what emerged in his mind was a tragic scene: this innocent, lively and lovely child was bitten to pieces by these ferocious hungry wolves!Thinking about it, he couldn't restrain the pain in his heart, so he hugged little Robert and kissed the child's forehead. Two lines of hot tears flowed down and dripped on the child's head.

Robert Jr. looked at Jazz with an innocent smile.

"I'm really not afraid!" said the child.

"Yes, well said, we need not be afraid, there is no need to be afraid!" said Sir Glenarvan firmly. "We will wait two more hours, and as soon as the day breaks, these dangers will disappear. Tarcaf, fight Well done, you played really beautifully! You are really a famous Patagonian guy!" Jazz was admiring loudly.At this time, Takaf was using the gun butt in his hand to hit two red wolves who were trying to rush through the wall of fire, smashing their heads to pieces.

However, in the flames that were about to be extinguished, Takaf still saw a large group of red wolves, staring at each other, densely packed, and about to rush over!
It seems that this human-wolf war is coming to the most critical moment!The wall of fire was getting lower and lower, and the grassland that was originally illuminated by the fire gradually disappeared into the darkness. Only the phosphorescent light in the eyes of the red wolf flashed in the darkness.In a few minutes, all these wolves will be crushed into the yard!

Tarcaf fired the one shot he had, and it was indeed all gone when a red wolf plopped to the ground.He could only fold his arms and lower his head, as if he was racking his brains.Is he thinking of a clever plan that can break the boat and struggle to the death?Sir Glenarvan dared not interrupt to ask.

At this moment, the original shrill howls disappeared, and the prairie returned to a deathly silence, and the wolves seemed to have escaped.

"Maybe, they really slipped away!" Little Robert said.

"Well, it's possible!" Sir Glenarvan said, listening carefully to the movement around him.

But Takaf was shaking his head vigorously.He knew that these ferocious red wolves would not voluntarily give up their mouthfuls of fat!They won't go back to their nests until dawn!
Just when the three were puzzled and guessing, the red wolves changed their attacking methods.Because they saw the fire wall in front of the "Ramata" and the guarding guns, they gave up direct attack, copied to the back and side of the yard, and launched attacks from these three directions.This approach made the situation of the three people in the yard even worse. It can be said that it was at a critical moment!

Suddenly, in the silent night sky, the sound of wolf claws scratching the wooden pillars that were about to decay, amidst the noise, many wolf claws and wolf mouths protruded through the gaps of these swaying wooden pillars.The horse was also frightened and ran wildly around the yard.Sir Glenarvan immediately embraced little Robert, trying to protect him until the last moment of his life.In order to save his life, he even wanted to run out of the yard and risk it all; so, he set his hopeful eyes on the Patagonian—Tarcaf.

At this time, Takaf, like a trapped beast, kept going in circles in "Ramata".All of a sudden, he rushed to "Taojia", and at this time "Taojia" was also emotional.He quickly saddled Toka, and checked every button and strap carefully.The red wolf's mournful howl sounded continuously, but he didn't care.Sir Glenarvan watched him with pain and alarm.

"He must be trying to leave us alone!" Jazz blurted out as Tarcalf reined in his horse.

"No, I believe he won't do that!" Little Robert said confidently.

Indeed, the Patagonian would not abandon his friends.In fact, he did this because he wanted to sacrifice himself in exchange for the safety of the lives of these two friends.

This "Taojia" is ready to go.It chewed the iron, kicked and kicked the ground, its eyes were full of anger, it seemed that it knew the master's plan!
The Patagonian was clutching his horse's mane and was about to rush out when Ser Glenarvan caught him by the arm.

"Ah! Do you want to go?" He pointed to the wilderness without wild wolves in front of him and asked the Patagonian.

"That's right." Tarcaf replied, and at this moment he understood what the Jazz meant.

Then he said something aloud in Spanish, which meant:

"My good horse 'Taojia', hurry up and lead these wolves aside!"

"My God, Tarcave!" exclaimed Sir Glenarvan.

"Quick!" Takaf said to "Taojia" again.At this time, Sir Glenarvan was so moved that tears filled his eyes, and he was so choked up that he couldn't speak.

"My good friend, Tarcaf!" Little Robert rushed up immediately, and took Tarcaf by the hand, shouting, "Tarcaf, my good friend! Don't leave me, don't leave us!"

"No! He will not abandon us!" said Sir Glenarvan.Then the sergeant said to Tarcafe again: "Let's go outside together, three of us!" he said, pointing to the other two horses, which were terrified and leaned against the post.

"It won't work!" The Indian retorted, understanding the meaning of Sir's expression, "it won't work, those two horses are not good horses. And now they are frightened and can't run away; and 'Taojia' is a fine horse Baoju, it's not afraid."

"Very well, we shall do so!" replied Sir Glenarvan, "Little Robert is beside Tarcalf. I will ride on horseback and lead the wolves away, and you will stay close to Tarcalf."

After finishing speaking, Sir Glenarvan grabbed the reins of "Taojia" and shouted: "Let me come!"

"No!" said the Patagonian firmly.

"I've made up my mind now!" Sir Glenarvan grabbed the reins and shouted loudly, "Let me do it, Tarcalf! You will take care of this child, and I will leave everything to you!"

Sir Glenarvan was in such agitation that he confused English and Spanish as he spoke.However, in this moment of life and death, what language does not matter, gestures and expressions can express everything!Now it was Sir who was going to take the risk, but Tarcaf disagreed, and here the two argued; The sound of breaking.

But Sir Glenarvan and Tarcalf had no intention of giving in at this moment.The Patagonian was so anxious that he grabbed Sir and pulled him to the gate of the yard. He pointed to the grassland where the red wolves could not be seen, and said excitedly: "There is not much time left. There can be no more delay. If the attempt to lure away the wolves fails, those who stay behind will be even more dangerous!" Only he, the master, understands "Taojia"'s temper best; only he can make "Taojia" run the fastest, Successfully lure the wolves away so that everyone can live in peace.The impatient Sir Glenarvan did not understand what the Patagonian meant, and insisted on taking on this important task himself!
At this juncture, he was suddenly pushed away.At this time, "Taojia" raised its front hooves forward and jumped over the fire wall and a lot of wolf corpses in front of it like lightning. A child's voice resounded in the darkness:

"Sir, Tarcaf, I will do it!"

Before the Jazz and Tarcafe had time to react, Robert Jr. had already jumped on the back of "Taojia", grabbed its mane tightly, rushed out like an arrow, and then disappeared into the endless darkness.

"My boy, little Robert, don't mess around!" Sir Glenarvan didn't know what to do, he could only shout without thinking.

However, his shout was drowned out by a sudden burst of howls, and even Takaf on the side didn't pay attention.At this time, when the group of red wolves saw the horse jumping out of the yard, they swarmed forward and chased after it. While uttering shrill screams, they galloped westward at high speed like arrows leaving the string.

Tarcaf and Sir Glenarvan rushed out of the yard immediately, and saw that the grassland had returned to tranquility; there was only a vaguely undulating red line flying in the distant night.

At this time, Sir Glenarvan was so anxious that he fell to the ground and rubbed his hands with a desperate expression.He glanced at Tarcaf, but found him smiling and unfazed.

"'Taojia' is a rare BMW, and this child is so smart, I believe there will be no danger!" Takaf said while admiring.

"But what if he falls off his horse?" asked Sir Glenarvan anxiously.

"He won't fall, I believe in this kid's ability!"

Although Tarcafe was so confident and sure, Jazz was very anxious and didn't know what to do; until the dawn, the hanging heart still couldn't calm down.Although the wolves are gone, there is no feeling of safety.He felt that he must go to find little Robert, but Talcaf insisted that he would not allow it, because the two horses could not catch up with "Taojia"; Far away.In other words, in this dark night sky, nothing can be seen; only when the sky is bright can we look for little Robert.

At four o'clock in the morning, the sun poked its head shyly from the east.Not long after, a dense fog rose, and the pale silver light sprinkled on the grassland.Dewdrops shone on the grass, and the long green grass was blown by the morning wind and swayed gently.

Now, it's time to set off to find Robert Jr.

"Let's go!" Tarcaf greeted.

Sir Glenarvan said nothing, but he was already on young Robert's horse.The two men rode away at a gallop westward, and galloped along the straight line from which their companions would not go.

They galloped for about an hour, looking about for any sign of little Robert, and fearful of seeing the bloody body of the boy.Sir Glenarvan kept on galloping the horse, which was almost pierced by him in the belly.Until at last, they heard one shot after another, so regular that it was obviously a flare gun.

"Ah! Companion!" exclaimed Sir Glenarvan joyfully.

The two of them sped up their horses again and galloped away. It didn't take long before they saw another team led by Paganel, and the two teams joined together like this.Sir naturally let out a cheerful cry, and his eyes lit up, because he saw little Robert was riding on "Taojia" in the company of his companions, and he was still so alive; and when "Taojia" saw his own The master, Takaf, also neighed excitedly.

"God! my boy, my boy!" cried Sir Glenarvan, still excited and loving, and then he dismounted from his horse, and young Robert dismounted at the same time.The adults and the children hugged each other tightly. After a while, Tarcaf also walked up and hugged the brave and kind son of Captain Grant tightly into his arms.

"God, my boy, you're alive! You're alive!" cried Sir Glenarvan, still muttering to himself.

(End of this chapter)