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

Chapter 45 Captain Grant's Children (45)
"Haha! Who would think of opening an inn in such a remote place? Can you make a fortune in this way? This is really a ridiculous thing!" Paganel said.

"Anyhow, it will be of great use to us! It will show us the way," said Sir Glenarvan. "Now, let us go in!"

Then Sir Glenarvan entered the inn first, followed by Ayrton.On this inn, there is a big sign that reads "Green Forest Hotel".The innkeeper has a fleshy face and a tall and strong body.The shop sells shochu, brandy and whiskey.Usually, this inn is rarely visited by people, and only the shepherds who pass by will come here.

Sir Glenarvan, using Ayrton as interpreter, asked the shopkeeper some questions.The innkeeper reluctantly answered a few words, although there were not many words; but Ayrton found out the direction of the road through short sentences.Sir Glenarvan gave the shopkeeper some money as a token of his gratitude.But when Jazz walked out of the shop, he suddenly saw a notice posted on the wall:
This is a wanted notice issued by the colonial authorities, which reads: Perth has found a group of exiles, the leader is Ben Joyce.If anyone can capture this person, please take him to the police as soon as possible, and the reward can reach a hundred pounds.

"This Ben Joyce, it seems, is a man of crimes, and should be hanged," said Sir Glenarvan to Ayrton.

"Then catch him! The reward is quite a lot, one hundred pounds! This guy is not worth so much money!" said Ayrton.

"I don't think the owner of the shop is a good man, even though he put this notice on the wall," Sir Glenarvan added.

"I think so," replied Ayrton.

Afterwards, when Sir Glenarvan and Ayrton came to the ox cart, the party continued on to the end of the Luke Nor Road.At the end, there is a winding path that runs between the mountainsides.

The road up the mountain is indeed difficult.The slope of the road was so high that people in vehicles and on horseback got down and walked several times.Because the car is too heavy, people need to push it when going uphill; when going downhill, people need to pull it behind;On several occasions, Ayrton also hitched several exhausted horses to the cart and helped the cattle to pull them together.

I don't know if it was too tired or for other reasons, but on this day, a horse died on the road.The horse didn't show any signs before it died, it just fell to the ground and died instantly.The horse was still led by Muradi, and he tugged at it, but to no avail.

Ayrton himself approached the dead horse, but could not give any reason.

"It may be caused by a ruptured blood vessel," said Sir Glenarvan, after observing it.

"Well, it must be." Ayrton echoed.

"Mulady, you'd better ride my horse, and I'll take the ox cart!" Sir Glenarvan ordered.

Muradi accepted the arrangement.The group continued to walk up the mountain, but the dead horse had to be thrown on the road and was pecked by crows.

To be honest, the Australian Alps are really not big mountains.It is also less than eight miles wide from east to west.If Ayrton chose a road leading to the east, the team might be able to cross the mountain in 48 hours.A group of people continued to move forward, and they could walk to the beach without any obstacles.

On this day on the 10th, Jazz and his party finally climbed to the highest peak of the mountain, which is about two thousand feet above sea level.On the top of this high mountain, the field of vision is very wide, and you can see distant places.Travelers can see that in the north is Lake Ogilvy, with sparkling water and the shadows of waterfowl; on the other side of the lake is the wide plain of the Murray River Basin; The boundless green grassland is covered with green grass, which is as soft as a carpet.

That night, Jazz and his party camped on the top of the mountain.The next day, the group began their journey down the mountain.Compared with the way up the mountain, the way down the mountain is much faster.Then, on the way, a burst of heavy hail suddenly fell from the sky, and everyone hurriedly sought shelter.The roof of the bullock cart had many holes smashed by these hailstones.It lasted for about an hour, and the hailstones finally stopped, and we continued our journey down the mountain on a wet mountain road.

The bullock cart was bumping and shaking on the road, and several places on the carriage board were knocked out of their tenons.Fortunately, the body is quite strong, and there is no serious problem.In the evening, Jazz and his party had crossed the lowest steps of the Alps.The tall Alps have finally been crossed.In front of this pedestrian was the main road leading to Gippsland; here they camped.

At dawn on the 12th, the jazz and his party embarked on the journey again.Everyone was in high spirits and in high spirits, hoping very much to reach the coast in a short time and successfully reach the place of wreck of the "Britannia".Because only there can some clues of the victims be found.

At this time, Ayrton urged Sir Glenarvan again, hoping that he would send someone to convey orders to the "Duncan" and sail the ship to the Pacific coast, which would be very beneficial to the search work.And he also said that the road from Lukenow to Melbourne is relatively easy; after this, there are no smooth roads, so now is the best time to convey orders.

This statement also sounds reasonable.Paganel also advised Sir Glenarvan, who believed that if the "Duncan" got there, it would also be helpful for the search.

Sir Glenarvan might have followed Ayrton's advice, had Major MacNabbs not strenuously objected.The plan now has the Jazz balking.The Major's objection was that the procession could not proceed without Ayrton, since only Ayrton knew the situation best.If you really found any clues about Captain Grant and continued to follow and search, you could only rely on Ayrton.Moreover, he alone knew where the Britannia had died.

Therefore, the major insisted on continuing to move forward, and Captain John Mengel also agreed with the major, arguing that it would be the most appropriate time to order someone to send a message to the "Duncan" when they arrived in Dufford Bay.After some discussion, the Major's claim prevailed.At this time, the major glanced at Ayrton and found that he looked a little disappointed, but he didn't make a sound.

Under the Australian Alps, there is a wide and flat plain.Only the east side appears to be slightly lower.On this plain, you can see clumps of trees such as eucalyptus and gum trees.Besides that, there are some stomach bean shrubs with showy flowers.As we walked, there were several streams in front of us blocking the way, and travelers could only wade across.From a distance, you can see flocks of bustards, emus and hopping kangaroos; these animals run around when they see people coming.Sir Glenarvan and his party were exhausted at this time, very tired, and had no intention of hunting.Coupled with the hot weather, it is hard to cheer up and can only keep moving forward.Only the sound of Ayrton yelling for the ox cart to move quickly broke the silence of the sweltering weather.

From twelve noon to two in the afternoon, Jazz and his party walked through the ferns.Here the ferns, about thirty feet high, were in showy bloom; their slender branches hung down to the ground; Passers-by felt a bit of coolness; Paganel could not help feeling very moved after seeing this strange scene; he hadn't noticed it himself, and his exclamation startled a group of parrots, causing the birds to sing everywhere.

When Paganel sighed in triumph, his companions found him dangling on the horse, and fell to the ground after a while.What's going on here?Is it heatstroke?Everyone immediately ran over and surrounded him.

"Paganel! Paganel! My dear friend, what is the matter?" Sir Glenarvan called to him loudly.

"My dear friend, what is the matter? Why am I not on my horse?" replied Paganel, hastily pulling his foot out of the stirrup.

"Ah! What's the matter? Your horse..."

"Yeah, what a sudden death! Like Muradi's horse..."

Glenarvan, Menger, and Wilson rushed to check Paganel's horse, but it was indeed dead on the ground.

"It's incredible!" exclaimed Captain John Mungle.

"Yes, this is too strange!" the major also muttered to himself.

This was yet another unexpected disaster, and Sir Glenarvan grew anxious.In this uninhabited area, there were no replenishing horses to be found.If all these horses were stricken with deadly equine plague and all died, it would be very difficult to move on.

As expected, before evening, the horses seemed to have suffered from the deadly "horse plague", and the horse on which Wilson was sitting also died; what was more serious was that the three cows also died.In this way, there are only four horses and three oxen left to pull the cart, and there are still people to ride.

Things are getting serious.The man can walk on foot without a horse; then, what will the two women do if there is no ox to pull the cart?With 120 miles to go to Dufoe Bay, will the two women be able to walk?

Captain John Mungle and Sir Glenarvan were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.The two went to inspect the horses and cattle that were still alive, trying to find ways to curb the deterioration of the situation; but after the inspection, they found that they were not sick, and there were no signs of weakness.It seemed that the cows and horses looked healthy and strong, and there should be no problem in continuing the long journey.Sir Glenarvan could only pray silently, hoping that no more cattle and horses would die.

Ayrton also said he hoped nothing like this would happen again.He said that he also felt strange, how could these cows and horses suddenly die?
Everyone continued on their way.People without horses had to walk on foot, and when they were too tired, they sat in the ox cart to rest for a while; at the end of the day, the team only covered ten miles.

On the second day, January 1th, the day was safe and sound, and there were no more deaths of cattle or horses, and we passed it peacefully.Travelers are all in high spirits.Drinks were especially needed because of the heat; this kept Mr. Aubinette dizzy with his work.It didn't take long for the half-barrel of Scotch beer stashed to be empty.

This day also went smoothly. Everyone was full of energy and walked fifteen miles in one breath. They walked through a piece of undulating red soil with ease.Here travelers are anxious to reach the banks of the Snowy River and camp that night.The Snowy River flows through southern Victoria and finally flows into the Pacific Ocean.When the sun was setting, people looked from a distance and saw a cloud of fog ahead, and knew that it was the ever-flowing Snowy River.The travelers pushed their cattle and horses forward with great speed.After walking for a few miles, I came to a hill.After turning over the hill, everyone saw a forest at the bend of the road.Travelers drove weary oxen and horses through this forest again.After coming out of the forest, it was also seen that the River Snowe was less than five miles away.However, at this critical moment, the ox cart got stuck in the mud, and the mud and water swallowed up to the axle of the cart.

"Be careful!" At this moment, Ayrton turned his head and shouted to the rider behind him.

"What happened?" asked Sir Glenarvan hastily.

"The cart is stuck in the mud," said Ayrton.

Ayrton lashed his whip, and yelled, urging the oxen to press on; but the oxen were too deep in the mire to use their strength.

"Now, we can only camp here," said Captain John Mengel.

"That's the only way to do it. We can only wait for dawn and try to pull the car out." Ayrton said.

"Camp here!" Sir Glenarvan ordered.

After a while, after the sun went down, night fell.The weather at night is still very hot.On the far horizon the night sky was lit up by streaks of lightning; on the other side it was seen to be raining heavily; the travelers pitched their tents under the trees;

It took Ayrton a lot of effort to pull the three cows out of the mud one by one.Then he took the oxen and the four horses together, and fed them some good fodder.Sir Glenarvan was even more moved when he saw that Ayrton, who was conscientious and careful, was now taking good care of the cattle and horses.Because there were only three oxen left in the team, and they had to rely on them to pull the oxcart loaded with luggage.

Jazz and his party had a simple dinner.The weather was sweltering, and the traveler went to rest after being tired on the pommel horse.Mrs. Helen and Miss Grant said good night to their companions and went back to the car to rest.

Slowly, everyone fell into a sweet dreamland.In the night sky at this time, large swathes of dark clouds gathered, which made the night sky darker.There was no wind in the sweltering air, and it was quiet all around, only the hooting of a few owls could be heard.

At eleven o'clock the major woke up abruptly.Because of the exhaustion from the journey, he didn't sleep well.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, and suddenly found a bright light flickering indistinctly in the woods.This light is like the sparkling light on the lake, and like a floating white silk and satin.

At first, he thought the ground was on fire.He immediately got up from the ground and walked towards the woods.But upon closer inspection, one can't help but be a little surprised. It turns out that this is the phosphorescence emitted by an endless field of fungi.

The major, unwilling to enjoy this spectacle alone, wanted to go forward and wake up Paganel, so that the geographer could also feast his eyes.At this moment, however, the major saw something he hadn't expected; so he stopped and listened.

It was the phosphorescence of these fungi that illuminated half a mile of woods.In this glowing phosphorescence, the major saw a few shadowy shadows; those shadows were just passing by the edge of the woods.The major thought, was he dazzled by his vision, or was he hallucinating after many days of exhaustion?

So, he lay down on the ground and carefully inspected it carefully.This time, he saw clearly, it was the figures of a few people who were bending and bending, as if they were looking for something on the ground.

In the middle of the night, what are these people trying to do?The major thought he must find out.He decided not to disturb his companions; just lying on the ground alone, he slowly got into the grass to watch the movement of these uninvited guests.

expose the conspiracy
That night, the weather was very bad.At two o'clock in the morning, the gathered dark clouds suddenly poured down with rain.These tents could not withstand the heavy rain, so Sir Glenarvan and his companions had to go to the ox cart and rest while sheltering from the rain.However, sleeping is impossible, and everyone can only chat to pass the time.Only the major stood there sullenly, listening to everyone's chatter.In the first half of the night, no one noticed that he had been out of the tent for a long time.This rain keeps falling, and if it continues like this, it may cause flooding in the Snowy River.Therefore, Muradi, Ayrton, and Meng Geer ran out of the bullock cart from time to time to check the water level.When they came back, they were all drenched in water.

Fortunately, when it was dawn, the rain stopped, but the sun did not appear.The ground was watery and sweltering with hot fog; the air was so humid that it was unbearably sweltering.

Sir Glenarvan was most worried about the ox cart; it was only by pulling it out of the mud that the procession could go on.But they saw that the front part of the ox cart was almost sunk in the mud, and the rear of the cart was swallowed up to the axle by the mud.It seems that it is even more difficult to pull this heavy car out of the mud at once.Even if everyone pulls hard with the ox and the horse, the hope is very slim.

"But we'll do it right away, anyway. Because when this sticky mud dries up, it's going to be harder for us to get the car out," said Captain John Mengel.

"Let's hurry up!" said Ayrton.

So Sir Glenarvan, Mungle, Ayrton, and two sailors, went together to the woods where the horses and cows were pastured at night, and brought back the cows and horses.

This forest is a rubber forest, all of which are dead trees, and it looks very bleak.These trees are far away from each other. Looking at the peeling of the bark, it is known that they have survived for at least hundreds of years.The distance between the top of the tree and the ground was about two hundred feet, and these dry branches stretched in every direction without a single leaf on them.Not a single bird made its nest in the trees, and there was an air of death in the woods, as if from the plague.In fact, this phenomenon is not uncommon in Australia.But no one can tell what is the reason?
When Ayrton hurried to the place where the horses and oxen were tied, he was surprised that the horses and oxen were gone.He was shocked.Because these cows and horses are all tied with trip ropes, they shouldn't run away!

Everyone hurriedly searched everywhere in the woods, but no matter how hard they searched, they could not find any traces of cattle or horses.Ayrton called out loudly, but there was still no echo from cattle or horses.

Everyone searched anxiously for another hour, but they still didn't see any shadow, and they felt even more anxious.Sir Glenarvan was now about a mile from the cart, and was about to turn back when he heard the neighing of a horse, and the lowing of a cow.

"So there they are!" exclaimed Captain John Mengel, and burrowed into the pea grass.The mesquite grows so tall that if a herd of cows and horses were hidden in it, no one would be able to see it.

(End of this chapter)