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

Chapter 47 Captain Grant's Children (47)
"Get into the cart! Get into the ox cart!" cried Captain John Mengel, pulling Mrs. Helen and Miss Grant toward the cart.Immediately afterwards, the two women jumped into the bullock cart and hid behind the thick decking.

Munger, McNabbs, Paganel, and two sailors reacted quickly, drew their pistols, and prepared to fight back; the wounded Sir Glenarvan, Robert Jr., and the two ladies hid in the ox cart ; At this critical moment, Aubinette also got down from the bullock cart, holding a pistol, and prepared to fight back with his companions.

It happened like lightning.Captain Menger picked up his pistol and carefully observed the surrounding woods.When Ben Joyce ran into the gum forest, the gunfire stopped.Surrounded by death-like silence, there are still a few clouds of white smoke floating on the gum tree branches.

The major and Menger seized this opportunity and slipped to the edge of the gum forest to observe the changing situation.They saw that the gang of gangsters had fled, and there were only some footprints on the ground, and some gunpowder primers that were smoking.The major has always been very careful in doing things. Just in case, he stepped on the gunpowder primer that was still emitting white smoke.Because once these sparks touch the dead wood, it will cause the entire forest to burn and cause a fierce fire.

"The criminals have all run away!" said Menger.

"I ran away, but I think there will be a bigger conspiracy. I still hope to confront these gangsters head-on. You know, poisonous snakes in the grass are more difficult to deal with than tigers on the plains. Therefore, we still It's best to go around the bullock cart and check carefully." The major said.

The major and Menger searched the area around the ox cart together, from the edge of the woods all the way to the edge of the Snowy River, but they didn't find a single fugitive.The fact that this group of exiles disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye is really puzzling.For this reason, everyone has increased their defensive mentality.The bullock cart is treated as a defensive fortress, and every two people are on duty, and they take turns guarding the side.

Lady Helene and Miss Grant were doing their best to bandage Sir Glenarvan's wound.Fortunately, Jazz was only scratched a little by the bullet, and the muscles and bones inside the flesh were not injured, but the blood flowed too much.Sir Glenarvan endured the pain and forced a smile to comfort everyone.After that, please share your views on this matter.

Among the Jazz and his party, except for Muradi and Wilson, who were on duty, the others were crowded into the bullock cart.The major was the first to express his opinion.

Before he spoke of the matter, the major told the two ladies what they did not know, and showed them the Australia and New Zealand newspaper.The major said that Ben Joyce was a perpetrator of crimes and crimes, and that the police were offering a reward and doing everything in their power to bring him down.

But, it was thought, how did Major McNabbs find out that Ayrton was Ben Joyce?Everyone is puzzled by this.So the major began to tell the story from the beginning.

McNabbs instinctively had some doubts about Ayrton at the beginning.Ayrton has many suspicious points, such as: when he was on the Vimela River, he exchanged glances with the blacksmith who changed the horseshoe; when the procession was about to pass through the town, Ayrton always had some hesitant expressions ; he repeatedly asked the "Duncan" to sail to the east coast; as long as the cattle and horses he took care of, they would always die inexplicably one after another; and his speech sometimes faltered and his actions were evasive... All these made the major Suspicions are growing.

If it hadn't been for the fact that the major, relying on the light from the fungus on the night before, spotted those suspicious figures and crept there quietly, he would not have dared to be sure that Ayrton was the one the police were looking for. Bandit leader Ben Joyce.

On that night, he found three figures.These figures were carefully examining the marks on the ground; by the light, he recognized a figure as the blacksmith standing on the horseshoe on the black spot.The major also overheard the conversation of the three men.

"It's them," said one.

"Yes, that's right. Look, there's still a trefoil horseshoe here," said another.

"Well, starting from the Vimay River, it's all these footprints."

"Looks like all their horses are dead."

"Near here are herbs that can poison horses."

"There are a lot of these poisonous weeds. It's Stomach Grass. It's really effective! It's enough to kill a team of cavalry horses!"

McNabbs continued: "When we got to this point, several people left without saying a word. I wanted to hear more clearly and figure out some things, so I continued to lie on the ground and crawl forward."

Afterwards, the major narrated again:

Then I heard the voices of those people talking again, and the blacksmith said: "Ben Joyce is really capable! He can weave the incident of the shipwreck so vividly and seamlessly that he has deceived some people. He is really a sailor. If this trick really succeeds, we may be rescued! It seems that Ayrton is not an easy man!" Immediately afterwards, another person said: "We still call him Ben Joyce Let's go! This name is more resounding!" After finishing speaking, these people walked out of the gum forest again.

At the end, the major concluded: "Now, I have told everything I heard. After that, I went back to the tent, thinking in my heart, these must be the exiles who were escorted to Australia and escaped halfway; it is not like As Paganel said, he would put down his butcher knife in Australia and become a Buddha immediately. Don’t be offended by my statement, Paganel!”

After listening to the major's narration, everyone lowered their heads and fell into deep thought.Sir Glenarvan turned pale with rage.

Said Sir: "Then I know that fellow Ayrton has led us here; to be robbers, to rob us, and to kill us!"

"Yes, it appears to be so!" said the major.

"In this way, this villain is not a sailor on the 'Britannia' at all! He must have embezzled Ayrton, a sailor's certificate of employment on the ship, and used his name to deceive the world!"

At this time, everyone focused their attention on McNabbs, wondering whether he had considered this issue.

"I find it complicated!" said the major calmly. "The man's real name, I think, is Ayrton. Ben Joyce is only a nickname he gave himself after he became a robber. I think he must have known Captain Harry Grant, and had even been a sailor on the Britannia. From the actual details of Ayrton's initial conversation with us, there is no doubt about it. From The content of the conversations of those exiles can also be used as circumstantial evidence. Therefore, it can be said with certainty that Ayrton and Ben Joyce are actually the same person! In other words, they may be the original "Britannia" Sailor, and later became the leader of a band of bandits!"

The major's explanation was considered reasonable by all.

"Well, let us analyze it now," said Sir Glenarvan. "Since this man was originally a sailor on the 'Britannia', how could he be in Australia?"

"Why is it in Australia? I really don't know. I'm afraid even the police don't know about this issue. There must be a reason, but I don't know for a while now; The day the truth comes out!"

"Maybe the police don't know that Ayrton and Ben Joyce are the same person!" Meng Ge said.

"John, you are right!" said the major. "If the police know, it will definitely help them catch the criminal!"

"So," Madam Helen suddenly realized, "that gangster sneaked into the estate of the Irishman Paddy Ormore, looking for an opportunity to commit crimes?"

"That's absolutely certain!" said MacNabbs. "It may be that he originally intended to attack the Irish family, but now he has a better opportunity; that is to say, we took the initiative to send it to the door. So, he changed his original plan and set his hands on us! It is also possible that he heard the account of Sir Glenarvan's coming here and knew about the death of the 'Britannia'. He tried his best to make up these perfect lies to deceive us. When we made a plan to cross the Australian outback, he conspired with his accomplice, that is, the blacksmith; in order to allow his accomplice to follow all the way, He had the blacksmith do something to Sir Glenarvan's horse, that is, put a trefoil on the horse's hoof, so that there would be a mark. They may think so, when we came to Snowway By the river, you can manipulate us around like puppets!"

When the major analyzed these behaviors of Ben Joyce in detail, everyone came to their senses.

Although these things are figured out.But it can be seen that the consequences of the matter are very serious.Miss Mary Grant listened to everyone's conversation and realized the seriousness of the matter.She was alone, silently thinking about what might happen in the future.Captain John Mengel was the first to notice Miss Mary's pale face and infinitely disappointed expression, and immediately guessed what she was thinking, so he said hastily:

"Miss Grant! Miss Mary, why are you crying?"

"Dear child, why are you crying?" Mrs. Helen also asked with concern.

"Ma'am! My father...he!" Mary choked up and couldn't go on.

Miss Mary couldn't go on talking, and everyone knew how she felt at this moment.

The Major exposed Ayrton's plot, and so hope was dashed.It seems that the original thought that the "Britannia" ran aground in Dufford Bay, and that Captain Harry Grant had been to the Australian mainland, these are all fantasies!All of this was caused by a misunderstanding of these letters!
Everyone could only anxiously look at the sad faces of Grant's two children, but they couldn't find the right words to comfort them.Little Robert threw himself into his sister's arms, choking and sobbing; Paganel kept muttering and blaming himself with an annoyed expression:

"Hey! It seems that I should be damned. I misunderstood! It made everyone miserable!"

The lovely and venerable scholar slapped himself on the head as if to break his own head; he could be seen to be angry with himself.

Sir Glenarvan tried to relieve his gloom, and went out of the tent to Mulady and Wilson, who were standing sentry in the ox-cart.From the edge of the forest to the river bank, there is a quiet plain.The dark clouds in the sky kept rolling, and the air was unbearably hot.There are a large group of birds perched on the branches; a few kangaroos are grazing leisurely on the grass; in the bushes, a pair of windbirds boldly stick out their little heads.It seems that the Ben Joyce gang is far away.

"Have you noticed any movement during this hour?" Sir Glenarvan asked the two sailors on watch.

"Your Excellency, really not," Wilson said, "Maybe, those gangsters have escaped a long way."

"I think these gangsters knew that they were not strong enough to attack us, so they left," Muradi said. "It is very likely that Ben Joyce will go to gather people and continue to attack us!"

"Mulady, your analysis is possible," Sir Glenarvan said, "these exiles must know that we have sophisticated weapons, so they dare not take risks. Maybe they will sneak attack on us in the middle of the night .So we must be more careful in the dark. Well, if only we could get out of this swamp and go to the coast. What a pity! These swollen rivers blocked our way! Now The most important thing for us is to find a raft that can carry us across the river, no matter how much money we spend!"

"Why don't we build a raft by ourselves? Take a look, isn't there a lot of trees here?" Wilson suggested.

"Wilson, this is impossible! As you can see, this Snowy River is different from ordinary rivers. The water flows so fast that it is difficult to cross the river bank."

After a while, Menger, McNabbs, and Paganel stepped out of the tent one after another and came here.They also observed that the current of the Snowy River was turbulent.It may be that the recent heavy rains have caused the river to swell wildly; the current water level is one foot higher than usual; due to the rapid current, there are many eddies on the river surface.

John Mengel asserted that it was impossible to cross this river.

"But," Menger continued, "now, we can't just wait here. That's just waiting to die. We need to think of something else, and we need to do something before Ayrton comes here. "

"What do you want to express, John?" asked Sir Glenarvan.

"What I mean is that we need to find a way to get rescue. Since we can't reach Dufu Bay, we should send an envoy to Melbourne to contact. By the way, we still have one horse left, please let me ride the horse Son, fly to Melbourne."

"John! It's too dangerous for you! Three hundred miles in this uninhabited wilderness, and it's dangerous all the way! You know, Ben Joyce's bastard alone is hard to deal with, And his companions are too dangerous! Now, they must be blocking all the roads and byways," said Sir Glenarvan.

"I've thought about that too. But, sir, you know, the situation is too dangerous to allow us to keep delaying like this! Ayrton said to bring the men from the 'Duncan' here. Come on, it will take seven or eight days; I think it will only take six days, what do you think?"

"Well, I think the most urgent thing now is to send people to Melbourne as soon as possible. But John Mengel is the captain! I can't take such a big risk, so let me do this task!" Paganel immediately take a stand.

"What you say is still very reasonable. But Paganel, why should I ask you to go?" interrupted the major.

"And we can go too!" Muradi and Wilson said at the same time.

"Don't you think I can't ride two hundred miles?" asked the major.

Seeing everyone scrambling for the first place and not giving in to each other, Sir Glenarvan said:

"Then, my friends, only the drawing of lots will determine who will be sent! Now, Paganel, please take out a piece of paper and write our names..."

"Your Excellency, your name cannot be written on..." Meng Geer immediately interrupted Sir Glenarvan.

"Why..." Jazz said unhappily.

"Is your wound not healed yet? Also, how can you leave Madam Helen?"

"Sir, you can't leave everyone." Paganel also expressed his objection.

"Edward, you are the soul of the team, so you must not leave!" the major continued.

"It is very dangerous to send a letter to Melbourne. Why can't I share the responsibility of mitigating the danger with everyone? How can I only care about my own safety and let everyone take risks? Paganel, you still do as I say , Write down the names of all of us, I very much hope that I will be drawn!"

Sir Glenarvan's attitude was so firm that these friends were too embarrassed to object, so they had to write his name as usual.After that, everyone began to draw lots.In the end, it was the sailor Muradi who jumped for joy.

Sir Glenarvan could only shake hands with Muradi, and everything was explained without saying a word.After that, he ordered the major and Meng Geer to stand guard here, and then he went to the ox cart.

After a while, Mrs. Helen knew the result of the lottery.She told Muradi what to watch out for, told him to be careful along the way, and encouraged him to do it successfully; this moved Muradi deeply.It was also known that Muradi was not only physically strong, but also intelligent, resourceful, and fearless; and they were assured that he was going to complete the task.

Everyone discussed and decided that at eight o'clock in the evening, Muradi set off.Wilson was in charge of preparing the horse for him.Moreover, Wilson also removed the three-leafed hoof from the horse's left fore hoof, and replaced it with a horse's hoof randomly found from the dead horse's carcass.In this way, no identifiable traces are left, preventing criminals from continuing to follow.

Meanwhile, Sir Glenarvan was writing a letter to Tom Austin, for Mulady to carry.However, due to the injury of his right arm, he could not hold the pen himself, so he had to ask Paganel to do it for him.But Paganel was thinking about something, not paying attention to what was going on around him.What he was thinking about was the three letters that he misunderstood, and he was always thinking over and over every word and phrase in the letters, hoping to sort out a clue from them.However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he still couldn't come up with a result.

Therefore, when Sir Glenarvan asked Paganel to write, the lovely scholar did not hear at all; and when Sir Glenarvan called him again, repeating the words, he said casually:

"Oh! Ah! Well, I'll write for you now."

After speaking, Paganel mechanically took out his notebook, tore off a sheet, and picked up a pencil; when the Sir said a sentence, he wrote a sentence.Sir Glenarvan read thus:
Tom Austin, please set sail as soon as possible and put the "Duncan" on...

Just as Paganel was writing the word "arrive", his eyes caught a glimpse of the "Australia and New Zealand Newspaper" on the ground.The newspapers were stacked on top of each other, showing only the letters "aland" on the headlines.At this point Paganel stopped writing, completely forgetting that he was dictating Sir Glenarvan.

"Paganel, what is the matter with you now?" asked Sir Glenarvan, bewildered.

"Ah! Oh!" Paganel exclaimed suddenly, as if he had an epiphany.

"What the hell are you thinking?" asked the major.

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing!" Paganel quickly denied.

After that, he murmured eloquently like chanting: "aland! aland! aland!"

(End of this chapter)