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

Chapter 33 Captain Grant's Children (33)
"Our Captain John is really good!" Sir Glenarvan praised loudly when he saw the two ladies.

"That's right!" echoed Paganel, "now, I am reminded of the line that your great Shakespeare said in The Tempest, where the anchorman shouted to the king in his galley "Go away, you go away! If you can't calm the storm, you must keep your mouth shut and be silent; get back to your cabin as soon as possible! To tell you the truth, it's better not to stop me road!'"

At this time, Captain Menger, in order to get rid of the current dangerous situation, is concentrating on directing the operation of the ship with all his strength.When the propeller got stuck and couldn't turn, he decided to use his strength, use a small number of sails, and rely on the wind to keep the ship moving forward without deviating too much from the original voyage route.Under the calm command of Captain Menger, the sailors on the ship hoisted the front sail again, and on the auxiliary pole of the main mast, raised a triangle sail head-on.Fortunately, the "Duncan" has the advantages of being strong and strong, and with good performance. With the help of the huge wind force of the strong wind, the sail is like an arrow leaving the string, and it is speeding forward.

This kind of voyage is not without danger. If the ship falls into the valley of the waves, it will never come out again. At that time, it is really irreparable.Captain Mengel tied himself to the shrouds in order to stand firm, and kept a close watch over the howling sea.The other sailors of the ship gathered around him, ready to be at the captain's disposal.

This night, people spent in a state of fear.It had been hoped that after daybreak the storm at sea would slowly subside.But the situation was not as good as people imagined. At 36 o'clock in the morning, the wind continued to increase, and the wind speed reached a maximum of [-] meters per second.It seems that this kind of wind must be a hurricane.

Although Captain John Mengel was calm on the surface, he was worried about the life of the ship and everyone on board.In the roaring wind and waves, the hull tilted severely, and the pillars on the deck creaked and creaked non-stop.Sometimes, the auxiliary mast protruding from the mainmast of the ship was submerged by the high waves, and the ship dangerously entered the valley of the waves, but fortunately, it climbed up in time.The boat kept shaking violently, so repeatedly, the consequences of continuing would be really unimaginable.Captain Menger thought of another strategy and decided to pull up the jib again.It took several hours and I don't know how many times it was pulled repeatedly. Finally, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the small triangle sail was pulled onto the auxiliary pole.

Driven by this small triangle sail, the "Duncan" immediately sped up.In the ferocious waves, the "Duncan" dashed from left to right, like a whale, bravely rushing through the huge waves sweeping across the deck one after another, heading northeast.

During the day and night of December 12, the "Duncan" was in a dangerous situation surrounded by danger.Captain Meng Geer did not eat, drink or sleep, and stood at his post all the time; although his expression was calm and calm, his heart was burning with anxiety, and his eyes were fixed on the foggy shadow to the north.He has always had such a premonition that a catastrophe will happen.Indeed, the hurricane caused the "Duncan" to deviate from its original route and rushed towards the Australian coast; danger was always approaching, and if it touched a reef, the ship would be wrecked and people would be killed.Moreover, the "Duncan" is only twelve nautical miles away from the coast of Australia.If the boat is close to the coast, it will really happen that it will run aground.Therefore, Captain Menger's current thinking is that he hopes that the ship can still stay on the sea surface, even if the wind is high and the waves are rough, there are still ways to save it.

Therefore, Captain Mengel went to Sir Glenarvan, and described all the dangers and predicaments he was about to face; he also specifically explained that if necessary, he had to take the risk of stopping on the shore.

"Sir, this was done to save everyone on board. It was a desperate operation, and there was hope of survival."

"My dear John, you are now in charge, so you should act decisively and act according to circumstances!" Sir Glenarvan said.

"What about Miss Grant and Mrs. Helen?"

"It's all up to me. When the ship can't stay on the sea, please let me know in time!"

"Sir, yes!"

When Sir Glenarvan returned to the cabin where the female passengers were, the two ladies had a premonition that the situation was very bad, but they didn't know the extent of the danger.At this time, geographer Paganel was telling Robert Jr. about atmospheric circulation and explaining the difference between tornadoes and typhoons in West Africa.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, the storm at sea was a little smaller, and the fog gradually dissipated.Captain Menger saw a piece of land about six nautical miles downwind. The "Duncan" headed for a piece of low land.At this time, a row of huge waves rolled up on the sea in front of the bow, the waves were frighteningly high, overwhelming mountains and seas.At this time, Captain Meng Geer thought that the reason why the waves jumped so high was because of the huge resistance!
"There's a reef here!" he called to Austin.

"Yes! I think so too." Austin said.

"It seems that this time, our lives are in God's will. If there is no gap in this reef, or if God does not allow our 'Duncan' to face the gap, we can escape this disaster!"

"Captain, look, the tide is rising now, maybe we can break through this dangerous shoal."

"Austin! Look again, how high this wave is. Can our boat be higher than that wave? So let's pray to God for blessing!"

Driven by the raised small triangle sail, the "Duncan" rushed towards the coast at an extremely fast speed.When at a distance of about two nautical miles from the dark beach, Captain John Mengel observed that the water was calmer behind a sheet of foam floating on the surface.Then he thought, if the boat can sail safely into that piece of sea, it will be calm and safe.

So Captain John Mengel told all the passengers to stand on deck.Because he didn't want to see his friend still locked in the cabin before the ship sank.When Sir Glenarvan and the others stepped onto the deck, they couldn't help but back away in fright when they saw the white waves surging into the sky.Miss Grant turned pale with fright.

"My dear John," said Sir Glenarvan quietly to Captain Mungle, "I will still try to save my wife. If I can't save her, I will choose to die with her. As for you, you I will be responsible for rescuing Miss Grant."

"I will do as you wish, sir," said Captain Mengel, with tears in his eyes.

At this time, the "Duncan" was getting closer and closer to the dark beach, only a few chains away.Coincidentally, at this time, the sea was at high tide, and it happened to be able to send the boat across the reef.But unfortunately, the waves were too high, and the boat was suddenly thrown up and down when it went up and down on the sea surface, and the rear part of the bottom of the boat was likely to touch the reef.The problem facing Captain Mengele is, how to calm the tide?

Finally, Captain John Mengel thought of a desperate plan, and shouted to the sailors:
"Brothers, oil! Pour oil! Pour oil!"

Captain Menger did this because he thought that if the oil floated on the sea, it could suppress the turbulence of the waves and temporarily keep the sea calm.However, this method is only temporary and can only achieve immediate results in a short period of time, but it is not a long-term solution.Because once a ship passes by, the waves will become rougher, and the ships behind will suffer even more. There are also express provisions in the "Navigation Law", if the ships behind come up, the ships sailing in front must not use them. This method of pouring oil to hold down the waves.

At this moment of life and death, the sailors increased their strength and used their axes to hack through the lids of the oil barrels one after another, and hung the oil barrels on the left and right sides of the ship one after another. All fell into the sea.

Under the command of the captain, all the oil was dumped into the sea water.At this moment, the oil suppressed the white-capped sea, and the sea calmed down for a while. The "Duncan" seized this opportunity, crossed the dangerous reef in the blink of an eye, and sailed into the calm sea behind.

Not long after, on the surface of the sea where the ship passed, it struggled to break free from the shackles of the oil layer, and galloped more violently and turbulently.

catastrophe corner

At this time, Captain John Mengel dropped two anchors on each side of the ship, so that the ship was firmly anchored.The water here was about five feet deep, and the bottom was mostly coarse sand that an anchor could pick up.These anchors also don't slip during low tide, so the boat doesn't get stranded.In this way, on the stormy sea, the "Duncan" fought hard for several hours, and finally found a natural shelter.Moreover, it is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the sea breeze cannot enter everywhere, so it is very safe.

Sir Glenarvan shook the young captain's hand, and said gratefully, "My dear John, thank you very much!"

With just a few words, Captain John Mengel felt the greatest reward.

The work to be done now is to find out where the "Duncan" is and how far it is from Cape Benoy?Captain Meng Geer immediately began to measure, and while observing the surrounding situation, he took notes on the chart.

Not long after, the measurements came out.All was well, it seemed, and the "Duncan" was now at 136°12'E and 35°7'S, only two degrees off course.This place is called "Cape Disaster", and it is located on a tip of southern Australia, only three hundred nautical miles from Cape Benoy. The name "Corner of Calamity" sounds unbearably frightening.Across the Explorer Strait is Kangaroo Island, which is far away from it.On the north side of the strait, it connects with the Gulf of Spencer, and on the south side with the Gulf of St. Vincent.On the east coast of Port St. Vincent, there is Port Adelaide, the capital city of southern Australia.This port capital city was built in 1836. The city has a population of about [-] and is rich in resources.However, the residents of this city are mainly engaged in farming, and they also grow citrus, grapes and some other crops. Industry and commerce are not valued by the locals.

The next important issue is to build the "Duncan" as soon as possible.In order to understand the damage of the ship, Captain Meng Geer immediately sent sailors into the sea to carefully check the condition of the rear bottom of the ship.When the sailor dived and checked, he reported to the captain that one of the propeller blades had been twisted and pressed against the tailbone of the dragon, making the propeller unable to rotate.Such a situation reflects that the ship is so damaged that only special tools can repair it.But there will be no repair tools of this type in Port Ared.

After deliberation and careful research, Sir Glenarvan and Captain John decided to let the "Duncan" continue to sail along the coast of Australia with the help of sails, and inquire about the "Britannia" ship along the way. whereabouts.After that, the ship stopped for a while at Cape Benoy, and then continued to sail south until Melbourne.

Everyone has been supportive of this decision.Therefore, Captain Mengel stayed where he was, waiting for a favorable wind before he dropped anchor and set sail.Fortunately, in the evening, the howling hurricane had completely stopped, and the southwest wind was blowing.The captain seized the opportunity, and at four o'clock in the morning, the sailors began to turn the capstan and slowly hoisted the anchor. The "Duncan" raised and opened its mainsail, foresail, topsail, schooner, and auxiliary sail.In this way, with the help of the southwest wind, sail forward.

About two hours later, the "Duncan" entered Explorer's Strait.The disaster island disappeared behind the ship.In the evening of this day, the "Duncan" successfully rounded the Cape Poda and continued to sail a few chains off the coast of Kangaroo Island.People on the boat can look at groups of kangaroos from a distance, jumping in the woods or grasslands on the island.This Kangaroo Island is the largest of Australia's many islands, and many of the people living on it are prisoners who escaped from Australia.On the second day, the passengers on the ship boarded the dinghy of the "Duncan" and went ashore to search together.At this time, the ship's mooring position is on the 36° south latitude line.Sir Glenarvan did this because he wanted to conduct a series of intensive visits between the 36° line and the 38° line.

Throughout the day of December 12, the "Duncan" kept close to the shore of Encounter Bay, sailing forward.

For this voyage, the small boat came in handy.They sat in small boats at night, moored to the shore, and went ashore to search during the day.Although Sir Glenarvan, Paganel, Robert Jr. and the sailors all went out to inquire about Captain Grant, they still found nothing.However, they are serious about every visit and never miss a single place.

In this way, they walked and visited all the way, kept searching, and finally on December 12, they reached the end of Racibede Bay, which is Cape Benoy.Although there is no trace of any ship sinking here, it does not prove that the "Britannia" and Captain Grant did not come to this place.It has been two years since the wreck of the Britannia.The wreckage of the ship will definitely be washed away without a trace by the sea, so it is normal to find no trace.Here, it is also possible that the local aborigines saw the shipwreck and came immediately after hearing the news, and hijacked Captain Grant and his two companions to the inland.

However, if this is the case, it will be different from Paganel's original speculation.Paganel originally asserted that the latitude mentioned in the letter was the place of detention, not the place of death of the Britannia.If the bottle was thrown in the Pampas prairie, where there are many branches of the river, the drifting bottle must have drifted into the sea along with the river.But if the drifting bottle is in Australia, the situation is different.In the Australian area on the 37° line, there are not many rivers.And, by comparison, in the Colorado and Negro rivers, both flow into the sea from uninhabited areas, where no one lives.But in Australia, the tributaries of the Murray River, the Taolun River, the Yarra River, and the Darling River are criss-crossed, and there are many ships coming and going.Besides, how can a fragile bottle float from the river into the sea without any harm?
Obviously, Paganel reasoned that the drifting bottle drifted from the inland river to the sea. This statement is very illogical and impossible.Therefore, the latitude mentioned in the letter clearly refers to the location of the wreck.

However, all this does not overturn the assumption that Captain Grant was kidnapped.The reason is simple, the letter shows that it was robbed by the local aborigines.In this way, it is unreasonable for these seekers to follow the 37° line and not to search elsewhere.Therefore, everyone discussed this issue repeatedly for a long time, and finally reached a consensus: If there is no clue of the "Britannia" ship in the area around Cape Benoy, this time the search work can only be carried out. It's over, Sir Glenarvan and his party have finally fulfilled their obligations, and everyone can only return to Europe.

After discussing such a decision, everyone felt a little disappointed, and the Grant siblings were even more frustrated.So, when the brothers and sisters boarded the boat with Sir Glenarvan, Captain Mengel, Paganel, Major MacNabbs and others on land, what were the thoughts that went through their minds? Yes, success or failure depends on this action!

Mrs. Helen on the side kept comforting Miss Grant: "There is hope! We will have hope, and there will always be hope!"

Cape Benoy, which juts out into the sea, is about two miles long.At the top of the corner, there is a gentle slope.Jazz and his party slowly paddled into a small natural harbor in a small boat, which was full of natural reefs.Here, the jazz and his party of the "Duncan" successfully landed on land.They saw that this was an uninhabited land, and the rocks stood upright on the coast, naturally forming a natural barrier with a height of six or seven feet.It is difficult to climb without tools such as ladders and hooks.Fortunately, Captain Mengel's sharp eyes spotted a gap half a mile to the south.This gap is obviously formed by the erosion of waves and the collapse of rock walls.

Sir Glenarvan and his party bent over, slipped in through the gap, and slowly climbed up along a steep slope.Little Robert was very flexible, like a cat, and he was the first to climb to the highest place.Seeing this scene, Paganel felt very upset. He felt that he was a 40-year-old adult, and he was not as capable as a 12-year-old child.Fortunately, behind him was Major McNabbs, climbing up calmly and calmly.Seeing this, Paganel felt a lot more balanced.

When we climbed to the top of the rock, we could see a vast plain as far as the eye could see.On the plains, some sparse shrubs grow.It seems that there is no one living in the vicinity, but when I look into the distance, I find some buildings.Judging from the appearance of the house, it should be a place where people live, not like the residence of some savages.

"Look, there's a windmill!" cried Robert Jr.

Everyone followed the direction that Robert Jr. pointed, and saw a wind mill three miles away, slowly turning its wings in the wind.

"This wind mill is really good, very practical, and its shape is also very delicate, which is very pleasing to the eye." Paganel raised his binoculars and looked at it for a while.

"It looks like a bell tower in a church!" Mrs. Helen added.

"Dear madam, you are right! You know, the wind mill provides people with material food. The existence of the church is to provide people with spiritual food. Therefore, the two are very similar." Paganel Then he said.

"Well, it looks good! Now let's go towards the windmill!" said Sir Glenarvan.

(End of this chapter)