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

Chapter 48 Captain Grant's Children (48)
While thinking about it, he stood up alone and grabbed the newspaper suddenly.He kept shaking the newspaper with his hands, as if he wanted to say a lot, but he couldn't say it for a while, so he just stayed there in a daze.Mrs. Helen, Miss Mary, Robert Jr., and Sir Glenarvan on the side looked at him, feeling bewildered, and really didn't know why he was in a daze!

Afterwards, Paganel danced like mad again; but after a while, he calmed down and showed a look of satisfaction, and he sat down securely again, and said calmly:

"Sir, please read on! I am waiting!"

Sir Glenarvan continued to narrate in person: "Tom Austin, please set sail as soon as possible, and drive the 'Duncan' to the point at 37° south latitude, which crosses the east coast of Australia..."

"Ah! Is it Australia?" said Paganel. "Oh, yes, it should be Australia!"

When Paganel had finished writing the dictated letter, he gave it to Sir Glenarvan.Sir Glenarvan needed to sign the letter, but unfortunately he could only sign his own crookedly because of his hand injury.When the letter was finished, Paganel was so excited that his hands trembled with excitement, he wrote the name and address of the recipient on the envelope:

Melbourne "Duncan"

First Mate Tom Austin

After that, Paganel walked away, away from the cart; but he walked like a madman, and murmured to himself dancing and dancing: "aland! aland! New Zealand!"

anxious
After writing this letter, the day passed unharmed.Muradi was ready to go.

Paganel, too, was back to normal.However, from his eyes, it can be guessed that he has a secret in his heart, but he is unwilling to say it.The major also noticed that he seemed to be engaged in a violent ideological struggle, and he kept muttering:
"Forget it, let's not talk about it! Everyone won't believe what I say! Besides, it's too late to say it now, it's useless!"

Since Paganel decided not to speak, he immediately explained to Muradi what he needed to know on the way to Melbourne.He laid out the map first, and pointed out with his fingers the route that Muradi should take.As you can see, on the grassland, there are many small roads leading to the Lucano Highway, and then the Lucano Highway extends to the south, and after reaching the coast, it turns again and leads directly to Melbourne.

The road was clear and simple, and it was impossible for Muradi to get lost while walking.

Speaking of danger, it must be Ben Joyce and his gang, hidden within a few miles of the Jazz and his party's camp; if they rushed out of the ambush range of these gangsters, there would be no danger.

At six o'clock the travelers finished their supper.At this time, it was raining cats and dogs, and even the tents couldn't resist the rain, so everyone could only squeeze into the bullock cart.Now, although the bullock cart is stuck in the mud and remains motionless, it has become a solid and safe fortress.The travelers also had seven carbines and seven pistols, and were well supplied with provisions and ammunition; and if the outlaws came to attack, they were fully capable of withstanding them for a long time, until the sailors of the "Duncan" came to their aid. when.

At eight o'clock it was quite dark and it was time to start.The companions brought in the horse on which Muradi was riding; as a precaution, the horse's hooves were wrapped in cloth so that it would not make a sound when it galloped.

The major specifically reminded Muradi that if he rushed out of the ambush circle, he should take good care of the horse, and don't waste time with haste; he would rather spend half a day at night than let the horse run to exhaustion; The situation is even worse.

John Mengel handed Moradi a pistol, and loaded six bullets in the gun; so that even if he encountered bandits, he could shoot them in a few seconds without being afraid of them.

Muradi jumped into the saddle immediately.

"Take this letter with you to Tom Austin, the mate," ordered Sir Glenarvan, "and tell him to sail as soon as possible without delay! When the ship reaches Dufford Sound, If they do not meet us, it means that we have not crossed the Snowy River; bid them come to our aid as soon as possible. Now, go, my good sailor, and God bless you!"

Then, Sir Glenarvan, Lady Helen, and Miss Mary shook hands with Muradi one by one and said goodbye.

"Goodbye, sir!" After Muradi said his last farewell words, he rode his horse and disappeared on the path by the woods for a while.

In the night sky at this time, the wind was blowing more violently; in the strong wind, the branches of the trees were rattling; the Snowy River was constantly rolled by the strong wind.The large dark clouds in the sky were almost sticking to the ground, rolling away to the east like pieces of smoke. It was really a terrifying night!

When Muradi was gone, everyone gathered in the bullock cart.Lady Helene, Miss Grant, Sir Glenarvan, and Mr. Paganel sat in the front half of the ox-cart; Aubinet, Wilson, and Robert Jr. sat in the rear; Major MacNabbs and Munger Captain Al took turns serving as the sentry guard.They all know that on dark and windy nights, it is the time when gangsters are rampant, so they need to be extra vigilant.

The two sentinels, the major and Menger, were holding their breath, listening carefully to any abnormal movements around them.Then, the wind roared, and it was difficult for people to hear any strange sounds from the noise.Only for a moment when the wind died down was the groaning of the Snowy River and the gum woods heard; suddenly, in the moment when the wind died down, a scream was heard.

John Mengel approached the major and asked:

"Just now, did you hear anything?"

"Well, I heard it. But I can't tell whether it's the cry of a man or the roar of a beast?" said the major uncertainly.

"It should be a human cry!"

Afterwards, the major and Menger pricked up their ears and listened to everything around them.Suddenly, there was another inexplicable scream in the air; after a while, there was another gunshot, but the violent wind made all these sounds indistinct.The impact of the strong wind made it impossible for the two of them to hear what the other was saying, so they had to go to the leeward side to discuss.

At this moment, Sir Glenarvan lifted the hide of the cart and got out of the cart.He was in the car and also heard gunshots and screams.

"Which direction should this voice come from?" He asked.

"It should be over there." John Mengel said, pointing to the small road in the night, which was the direction Muradi was going.

"How far is it estimated?"

"Generally speaking, when the wind is strong, the sound transmission will be strong; I estimate it should be three miles away." Menger said.

"Now, let's go and see!" said Sir Glenarvan, shouldering his carbine.

"We still can't go!" The major hurriedly stopped him, "I think this is a trap designed by the gangsters, trying to trick us into leaving the bullock cart!"

"But what if it was Muradi who was attacked by those gangsters?" said Sir Glenarvan, shaking the Major's hand nervously.

"When daylight comes, all this will be revealed!" The major replied calmly, determined not to let Sir go first.

"Sir, you can't go; it's only me!" said John.

"None of you are allowed to go!" The major ordered decisively with a determined expression on his face. "Don't you want these bastards to beat you to death one by one! If it is really Muradi's misfortune, this is really a sad thing, But you can’t add more misfortunes to this sorrow and misfortune! Muradi was chosen to take on this task; if I was chosen, I would be the same as him, and I will not hesitate to take this responsibility.”

At any rate, the Major was quite right in stopping Sir Glenarvan and John Mengel.Because on this dark and windy night, if the gangsters set up an ambush and go forward desperately, it would be crazy and irrational behavior.

But Sir Glenarvan would not listen to it.Holding the carbine tightly in his hand, he wandered around the bullock cart.He thought of the possibility that his sailors might encounter an accident, and knew that the situation was more or less fatal, but he was helpless and sat there waiting to die. He was really anxious!The major didn't have anything to pay attention to at the moment, what he was most afraid of was that the Jazz would be confused for a while, and he would go forward desperately to die!Therefore, he could only stay close to Jazz, and kept persuading:

"Edward, what you need now is to calm down! Be sure to listen to other people's opinions! Now, you need to think about Mrs. Helen, Miss Grant, and our team. Moreover, we don't know the exact location of the incident, So where and how to find it, in this dark night?..."

The major was comforting so earnestly, when suddenly a cry for help came, as if it was an answer to the major's question about the specific location.

"Listen! Listen!" cried Sir Glenarvan.

It was from the side of the gunfire that the cry for help came, and it was less than half a mile away.Sir Glenarvan shoved the major aside, and ran in the direction of the path, when again the cry of "Help! Help!" came again.

Everyone heard it clearly, the sound was about three hundred steps away from the bullock cart, and the sound was very shrill.Meng Geer and the major rushed to follow the sound.

After a while, they saw a figure running towards the edge of the woods, groaning in pain.

Everyone looked carefully, this figure was exactly Muradi.At this time, he was seriously injured; when his friends helped him, they found that his hands were covered with blood.

Now, as the rain fell hard and the wind blew fiercely, Glenarvan, McNabbs, and Menger rushed to help Muradi back together.

At this time, all the traveling companions on the ox cart were awakened.Paganel, Robert Jr., Wilson, and Aubinet all got out of the ox cart; Madam Helene ordered Moradi to lie down in his compartment; the major hurriedly took off Moradi's coat, seeing the rain and The blood and water were mixed together and dripped down.After some inspection, the major found a knife wound on his right rib, and blood was flowing out from the knife wound.Looking at Muradi's pale face and shortness of breath, he knew that he was seriously injured.So, the major immediately cleaned the wound for Muradi, and applied a thick layer of tinder to the wound, and then wrapped it with several layers of gauze to wrap it up.After the wound was bandaged, the bleeding finally stopped.Muradi was lying on his side on his right side, with his head and ribs padded high.Mrs. Helen herself fed him a few sips of water.

At the end of an hour, Moradi, who was as still as dead, moved; then he opened his eyes slightly, and his lips moved slightly, as if trying to say something, but the voice was extremely faint; and the major put his ear close to , heard him repeating a few words to himself:

"Sir...Letter...Ben Joyce..."

When the major relayed to his companions what he had heard, no one could understand what it meant.Everyone can't understand, what is the purpose of the gangster Ben Joyce in robbing Muradi?And I don't know what happened to that letter...

At this moment, Sir Glenarvan touched the pocket of Muradi's coat by the way, and really found that the letter addressed to Tom Austin had disappeared!

This night, everyone spent in a state of anxiety.Seeing that Muradi's high fever persisted, everyone worried about his life.Lady Helene and Miss Mary Grant were always by his side, and looked after him with tender care.

When it was daylight, the rain stopped; in the clear sky, there was still a large mess of clouds churning fast.The ground was littered with broken branches.Soaked by the heavy rain, the carts sank deeper into the clay, making it difficult for people to climb up and down.However, the bullock cart seems to have sunk to the bottom and will not continue to fall.

At daybreak Mengel, Paganel, and Sir Glenarvan searched the surroundings carefully.They saw a blood-stained path left last night, so they walked all the way to find the place where the accident happened last night.Seeing two corpses lying there, they should have been beaten to death by Muradi.One of the corpses was the blacksmith who met at Blackpoint Station.

Sir Glenarvan did not dare to go on, did not dare to continue his search, for fear of being unsafe, he walked back again.He thought over and over as he walked, with a very serious expression on his face.

"There's really no way to send people to Melbourne now," Jazz said.

"Sir! But it's really impossible not to ask people to go," said John Mengel. "What Mulady can't do, let me do it now."

"John, this is really impossible. How can I walk two hundred miles without horses!"

Indeed, Muradi's horse, the only horse in the party, had not yet appeared; had it been killed?Or run away?Or was it robbed by those gangsters?

"At any rate, in order to avoid sacrifice, let us not part!" said Sir Glenarvan. "We wait here! Even a week, or two weeks, we must wait! As far as the Snowy River When the water receded, we rushed to Dufoe Bay immediately, and then tried to find a way to contact the 'Duncan' and ask the people on board to pick us up."

"In the current situation, we can only adopt this method!" Paganel said.

"Therefore, my friends! We must all gather together now, and we must never be separated again. Know that bandits are rampant, haunted, and dangerous here! Therefore, everyone should act together, and must not act alone. May God bless Mullah Dee got through this, God keep us safe."

Sir Glenarvan's words are very reasonable.In reality these travelers were not too far, not thirty-five miles, from Delegit, the first frontier town in South Wales; means of transport.Meanwhile, when the traveler reaches Dufford Sound, he can send a telegram to Melbourne calling for the Duncan to come there.

This approach is very sensible.If he had thought about it earlier, and hadn't taken the method of sending Muradi to Melbourne along the Lucano Highway, maybe Muradi would not have this disaster.

When Sir Glenarvan walked back to the ox cart, little Robert immediately ran over and said:

"Better! He's better at last!"

"Is Muradi better..."

"Edward, it's like this," Madam Helen said, "Now the injury is healed, and the major told us that his life is not in danger."

"And MacNabbs?" Sir Glenarvan asked hastily.

"With him now. He's trying to speak to the major now, so it's better to leave them alone."

Muradi had been awake for more than an hour.The high fever also subsided slowly.As soon as he regained his senses, he wanted to see either Sir Glenarvan or Major MacNabbs.The major at the side saw that he was too weak, so he told him to rest well and talk less.But he would talk to death, the major had no choice but to let him.

It was not long before the curtains of the ox cart were raised, and the major got down from the cart and walked under the big gum tree that supported the tent.Although the major looked calm, others could still see that he was preoccupied.At Sir Glenarvan's repeated urging, he related what he had heard from Mulady:
"When Muradi rode up the path, he galloped on; about two miles had gone, when suddenly, out of the dark, five figures sprang up and rushed up to the horse, scaring it. Muradi immediately raised his gun and heard what seemed to be the sound of two black figures falling to the ground. By the faint light of the neutron bullet in the night, he recognized that Ben Joyce was among the five. Inside. Before he had time to react, he was stabbed in the right rib of his body, and immediately fell off the horse. But he was not completely unconscious at the time, but the gangsters thought he was dead. He felt someone touching himself groping, and shouting 'Found the letter!' he heard Ben Joyce say: 'Give me that letter, and with it we shall have the Duncan!' Immediately afterwards, Ben ·Joyce said again: "Get the horse back to me, and I can board the 'Duncan' in only two days, and drive the 'Duncan' to Dufu in only six days." It’s too late. Haha! Now let Jazz and his gang just soak in the muddy pond! You first hurry up to the Gembir Bridge, cross the river from there, and then wait for me on the coast, and I will figure out a way to get rid of it. You get on the boat. Then you drive all the people from the 'Duncan' into the sea to feed the fish! Once we have the 'Duncan', we will always be the king in the Indian Ocean! After hearing this, these gangsters cheered together Congratulations. Unfortunately, when we met Muradi, Ben Joyce had already galloped on his horse and headed for the Lukenow Highway; the other partners ran southeast. Although Muradi Badly injured, but still able to walk. He walked back on his own, until we met him, brought him back and rescued him. That's how it all happened. Now, I also understand, why Muradi always wants to talk!"

As soon as the Major had finished speaking, everyone panicked.

"Ah! I know, it's pirates! So they are a bunch of vicious pirates! Now our sailors will be doomed! This time, the 'Duncan' fell into these vicious pirates!" cried Ser Glenarvan.

"That's right! This time the 'Duncan' may really fall into the clutches of Ben Joyce!" said the major.

"The top priority is, we should go to Dufu Bay first before the bandits!" Paganel said.

"But we can't cross the Snowy River!" Wilson said helplessly.

"We may follow their example and cross the river by the Gambler Bridge!" said Sir Glenarvan.

"But, what about Muradi, you can't leave him alone!" said Mrs. Helen.

"Then we'll carry him! We'll take turns carrying him! We can't just watch my sailor die like this!"

It is possible to cross the river on the Genbubil Bridge, but it is very risky.Because these bandits might be entrenched on that bridge.Now, the only way is to break through!

(End of this chapter)