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

Chapter 68 Captain Grant's Children (68)
After being on the island, everyone traveled all over Captain Grant's "territory".The island was not very large, indeed, but only a small flat land protruding from the sea on the top of a great mountain under the sea; on the island, it was all alabaster and the remnants of volcanoes.There is no doubt that this small island is a mountain that protrudes from the ocean when a submarine volcano erupts.After the surface of the sea was exposed, the hilltop formed materialized soil, and many plants grew on it.Some passing ships, such as whaling ships, brought some livestock such as pigs and sheep to this island, and these livestock gradually multiplied on the island, and then gradually formed wild boars and wild sheep; thus, animals, plants, Minerals, the three substances that exist in nature, are all available on this island.

After the victims on the "Britannia" came to this island, through their own hard work, the island has been completely remodeled, showing vitality.During these two and a half years, Captain Grant and his two sailors have transformed the island through their labor.The desolate island in the past now has plowed land with crops and green vegetables growing on it.

We all walked to the front of the shack together.This shack faces the sea, surrounded by green gum trees, and the sun is abundant.Captain Grant walked under the shade and asked his sailors to move the table here, and everyone sat around the table.After a while, a goat leg, some natto bread, two or three wild endives, several bowls of milk and some cool water were placed on the table; although this meal was not a "food feast", it was But it has a unique flavor.

Paganel was the most excited, because it reminded him of the Robinson story.

"Actually, Ayrton is really lucky to be able to stay on such a nice island!" Paganel said with admiration, "This island can be said to be a paradise!"

"It's really a paradise!" Captain Grant added, "The three of us survived the shipwreck, and under the guidance of God, we came to this paradise! It's just that Maria Theresa Island is too small. The island is also barren and desolate, with no great river, but a small stream, and a 'bay' washed out by the waves; indeed, it is only a small puddle!"

"What does it matter if the island is smaller, Captain?" said Sir Glenarvan.

"I think if it's a bigger island, a Scottish immigration area can be established in the Pacific Ocean!"

"Ah! Captain, you still miss this colony now! Because of your feat, the people of Scotland miss you now!"

"Sir, I have always thought of this plan! I know now that God sent you to my rescue to help me continue this unfinished business. I have always thought that our ancient Caledonian countrymen, And all the suffering Scottish people should find a piece of land on the sea, establish an immigration area, enjoy the happiness of independence and freedom, and live a happy life that Europeans have not been able to live!"

"Captain Grant, it's great!" Madam Helen praised, "Your plan is too grand and majestic! But this island..."

"That's right, the island is just too small. The place is just as big as a hand, and it's a piece of rock. It's hard to feed a few people! To successfully establish an immigration area, you need a rich and vast land."

"Yes, Captain!" Sir Glenarvan praised, "We need a large piece of land rich in resources. Let's go find it together with you!"

When Captain Grant heard this sentence, he was very moved and held Jazz's hand tightly.

Afterwards, Captain Grant saw that Sir Glenarvan and his party wanted to know their experience here very much; so he began to tell the story of more than two years on this island:

"My success in surviving here is actually similar to the story of Robinson Robinson. When I fell into this field, on this uninhabited island, there was no other good way but to rely on myself and God in the dark. Survive in the struggle against nature!
"The incident dates back to the night of June 1862, 6, when six days of continuous storms broke the sails of the 'Britannia' and was finally wrecked by the rocks of Maria Theresa Island. At that time , the sea was very rough, and we couldn't get any rescue. Only two sailors, Bob Lears and Joe Bell, and I, and the rest of the sailors were killed and passed away. Then, the three of us struggled to climb to the shore .Climbed up, fell down again; continued to climb, continued to fall again. After a lot of hard work, finally climbed to land.

"But when we got to the land, we realized that this is a small uninhabited island, only two miles wide and five miles long. There are only more than 30 trees on the island, a few small patches of grass and a stream; fortunately, The creek never runs dry all year round.

"The three of us did not lose heart on this island, especially my two sailors, Bob Lears and Joe Bell, lived bravely on the island like Robinson. So, we With my own hands, I brought the tools from the broken ship, some guns and ammunition, and a bag of seeds to the island. In the first few days, our life was very difficult because of the lack of food; after that, we relied on hunting and fishing to catch I live on shrimps; thanks to God, there are many wild goats on this island, and there are also a lot of fish and shrimps along the coast;

"At that time, there was a measuring instrument among the tools I picked up from the broken ship, so I was able to determine the exact position of the island. But after measuring, I found that there was no route passing through the island, and I wanted to be rescued by passing ships , This hope is very slim, unless something unexpected happened. At that time, I missed my relatives who were still in the motherland very much, but my reason restrained me, and I insisted on living no matter what!

"Afterwards, we tried our best to open up wasteland and farm land on the island in order to survive. We first planted vegetables in the ground, and some potatoes, chicory, sorrel, etc. grew one after another. After that, a bed of vegetables also emerged from the ground , sprouted one after another. We caught a few more wild goats and domesticated them, so that we can eat goat milk and butter. In the muddy swamp, we also found a lot of natto, and used them to make bread, which is nutritious It’s still rich! In this way, you can eat without worry. The material conditions of life have been well improved, and there is no need to worry about the future.

"The next step is to solve the problem of living. When we built the shack, we used the wood from the broken ship, and the roof was made of canvas. In order to prevent the rainwater from soaking through, we also coated it with asphalt; No worries. In the past two years, the three of us have talked about countless plans and dreamed many wonderful dreams in the shack, but the best dream is the one that came true today.

"I originally wanted to make a small boat out of broken ship boards, and try my luck on the sea to see if there is any possibility of rescue. However, the closest land to here is the Paumatu Islands, but they are at least [-] meters away from us. A distance of [-] nautical miles. How can this thin boat bear such a long distance? So this dream can only be given up! Therefore, we gave up our plan to actively seek help, and we can only obey God's will and wait for a miracle to appear .

"Oh! You can't imagine that kind of feeling. At that time, I was watching the coast every day to see if there were any passing ships coming here; this time, I have been waiting for two and a half years! In the past two and a half years, I have only witnessed two or three sailing boats, but they were all far away and disappeared in an instant; the mood at that time was really depressed! Fortunately, although I was disappointed, I never despaired !

"In this way, I waited and hoped, and finally came to this day, that is, yesterday, when I was climbing to the highest peak of the island, I suddenly saw a thin wisp of smoke appearing in the west, and the smoke was getting bigger and bigger. Not long after, I saw a ship on the sea, and it seemed to be heading towards us! I was happy for a while, but then I thought, there is no place to anchor on this small island, and I might leave in a while!
"At that time, I was in a hurry, like an ant on a hot pot, and I didn't know what to do. So I immediately called the two sailors who were in trouble with me, and quickly climbed to the top of another mountain to light a fire. But, Until late at night, we couldn't see any response from the ship. I just couldn't be reconciled, this is a precious hope of survival, and we must not miss it like this!
"The night was getting darker and darker. We all speculated that the boat might have gone around the island. I jumped into the sea and swam bravely in the direction of the boat. The hope of survival inspired me to move forward. I got more and more energy. After some chopping, I saw myself getting closer and closer to the boat; unfortunately, when I was less than 30 feet away from the boat, the bow turned around direction!

"This time, I was in such a panic! I raised my voice and yelled hoarsely. It seemed that only my two children, perhaps relying on my telepathy, had heard my call for help. They Thought it was an illusion, but it was really not an illusion, it was indeed their biological father calling them.

"I watched the boat go away, and then I had to go back to the island. I was so tired that my whole body was paralyzed by fatigue and anxiety, and I was paralyzed on the ground; my two sailors quickly helped me back. , What a hard time to go through! At that time, I thought that I would never have any chance of being rescued in this life, so I could only die in a foreign country, on this desolate island. But when the day was just getting bright, I saw the boat slowly heading towards the island. After that, I saw the lifeboat you put down... At this time, I knew everything, we all survived! And, I also saw my child , right in front of my eyes, waving at me..."

When the siblings, Mary and Robert Jr., couldn't control themselves when they heard this, they threw themselves into their father's arms, embraced him, and kissed wildly.

By this time Captain Grant and the two sailors were at last rescued.After all, their chances of being rescued by this were greatly helped by a few letters written by Captain Grant in the week after the shipwreck.If you want to be grateful, you need to thank that drifting bottle!

What was going on in Paganel's mind as Captain Grant told the story of his own peril here?He was thinking and pondering those three letters over and over again.Now that he thinks about it, it seems that his three explanations are completely wrong!The word Maria Theresa Island does not seem to be on the letter paper corroded by sea water.After thinking about it, Paganel couldn't control himself, so he grabbed Captain Grant's skirt tightly and asked loudly:
"Mr. Captain, can you tell us what you mean in your letter?"

After his reminder, the rest of the people were also very curious and eager to know the specific content of the letter.You know, in the past nine months, everyone has racked their brains to guess the meaning of the letter.

"Captain, can you still remember exactly what you wrote in the letter?" Paganel asked hastily.

"Of course I remember it, and I remember it word by word; because that was the only thing we were rescued from at the time, so I silently recited what was written in the letter all day long."

"Captain, how is this written?" Sir Glenarvan asked hastily, "Can you say it again? Now it seems that we have guessed wrong!"

"Okay! I'll tell you again! However, the three letters I put in the drift bottle are actually expressed in three languages. Which letter do you want to know the meaning of?"

"The contents of these three letters are actually different!?" Paganel couldn't believe it, and shouted.

"That's not true, it's just that there is a different place name!"

"Okay, Captain, let's talk about the French letter first!" Sir Glenarvan said, "The French letter is relatively complete, and we use it as the basis for every interpretation!"

"Well, sir, the French letter reads thus:

On June 1862, 6, the three-masted ship 'Britannia' belonging to the British Glasgow Bay sank in the southern hemisphere waters 27 nautical miles from Patagonia.Three survivors, Captain Grant and two sailors, took refuge on Tabor Island. "

"Alas!" Paganel sighed.

Captain Grant went on reading the French letter:
"As a result, we were separated from the crowd and became desperate people. We dropped this distress letter at longitude 153° and latitude 37°11'. Please rescue it quickly!"

Paganel couldn't bear it anymore, stood up abruptly, and said loudly:

"How can it be written as Tabor Island, not Maria Taylor Island?"

"Mr. Paganel, what is the matter!" Captain Grant calmly explained, "this island is marked as Maria Theresa Island on British and German maps; but on French maps, it is marked as Tabor. El Island."

At this moment, Paganel received a punch on the shoulder suddenly, and turned his head to see that it was the major who had hit him; moreover, the major changed his solemn and serious demeanor, and jokingly said:
"What a great geographer you are!"

(End of this chapter)