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

Chapter 7 Captain Grant's Children (7)
When he finished speaking, everyone present understood how he had come to this ship.It turned out that the knowledgeable French geographer was on the wrong boat.While the entire crew of the Duncan was praying at St. Mungo's Church, he was on the wrong ship.But now the audience is clear, but this well-educated scholar doesn't understand.Everyone is thinking, if you tell him what ship he is on and where he is going, how will he react?

"Then, my lord Monsieur Paganel," Sir Glenarvan inquired again, "are you bound to choose Calcutta as the starting point for your research travel to India?"

"Yes, sir. It has always been my greatest wish to visit India. This is a beautiful dream I have accumulated for many years, and it is also my long-cherished wish that I most hope to realize. Thinking that now I will go to that mysterious 'Elephant Country' ', the dream has come true step by step, I am really happy!"

"Mr. Paganel, I want to ask you again. It would be very nice if you visited another place!"

"Sir, how can this be possible! I will never change places, and besides, I have a letter of introduction to Sir Somerset, Governor-General of India. Besides, there is an assignment from the Geographical Society for me. Finish it yourself."

"Ah! Do you still have tasks?"

"Yes, and besides, I'm going to try a worthy and wonderful expedition. This plan was arranged for me by a knowledgeable friend of mine, M. Vivienne de Saint-Martin. I did it. The purpose is to follow in the footsteps of such travelers as the brothers Shlajinvi, Colonel Vogue, Webb, Hudson, and the two missionaries Yuck and Garber, and inherit their careers of exploration and adventure. If in India, I In 1846, I must complete the unrealized career where the Creek priest unfortunately failed. In short, my job is to survey the course of the Yarlung Zangbo River. You know, this river flows along the northern foothills of the Himalayas. , and it still flows for [-] kilometers in Tibet. I must find out whether this river meets the Brahmaputra River in the northeast of Assam. This is also a geographical problem that needs to be verified. It is a great problem. My honor Sir, I even thought that if any traveler can solve this problem, he will definitely get a gold medal."

This Paganel was indeed extraordinary.He spoke with great vigor, joy, and relish, and he freely and boundlessly soared his imagination.His eloquent posture seems to flow through Schaffhausen Schaffhausen, the name of an administrative region in Switzerland.The rushing Rhine River in the region.

"But, my lord Monsieur Paganel," Sir Glenarvan began to inquire again after a moment of silence, "we all know that your ideals are indeed lofty and your plans for adventure travel are excellent, I believe that The scientific community will sincerely thank you. However, I do not want to keep you in the dark. We must let you know that, at least for now, you must give up your plans to travel to India."

"Ah! Give up! Why?"

"Because your direction is away from the Indian Peninsula."

"What, honorable Captain Burton..."

"I'm not some Captain Burton," Captain Mengel replied.

"But what about the Scotia?"

"This ship is not the 'Scottia'!"

Mr. Paganel was stunned by these few words.He first looked at Sir Glenarvan in a daze, his expression was always serious; then he turned to look at the two ladies, Lady Helene and Mary, and saw expressions of sympathy and regret on their faces; Captain Gale, seeing him smiling, turned to look at the major, but he did not move.Finally, at a loss for what to say, he shrugged his shoulders, pushed his spectacles up to his forehead, and called out, "Sir, are you trying to make fun of me?"

At this moment, his eyes fell on the rudder wheel, and he saw two lines of large characters on it:

"Duncan"

"Glasgow"

"Ah! It's the 'Duncan'! 'Duncan'!" Paganel shouted desperately.

After that, he quickly climbed down the stairs in a flash, and slipped straight into his cabin.

As soon as the hapless scholar had gone away, no one on board the "Duncan", except the major, who remained calm, burst into laughter, especially among the busy sailors.everybody knows.If you got on the wrong train, that's still excusable.For example, if you're going to Dumbartonshire and you accidentally get on a train to Edinburgh, it all makes sense.But how could this well-educated scholar get on the wrong boat? !Like him, he was planning to take a boat to Calcutta, India in the northern hemisphere, but boarded a boat bound for Chile in the southern hemisphere. Isn’t this careless and confused to the extreme?

"However, I do not find it surprising that Paganel did this stupid thing. In the academic world, the story of his carelessness has always been circulated, and it has been passed down by many people as a joke. It is too many to tell. I heard that once he published a famous map of the Americas in a magazine, he was confused and included Japan in the northern hemisphere. However, although there are some shortcomings, it does not affect that he is an outstanding map. scholar, the reputation of a distinguished geographer in France," said Sir Glenarvan.

"But what should we do with this poor scholar? We can't just take him to Patagonia like this." Mrs. Helen asked anxiously.

"Why not?" said the major with a serious expression. "We are completely irresponsible for his carelessness! Think about it, if he takes the wrong train, will the train stop just for him?" ?”

"Well, we can't stop," Mrs. Helen thought for a while and said, "However, we think it's okay. If we reach a port where the ship can berth, we can tell him to go down."

"Well, that's the only way. If he likes, he can do it." Sir Glenarvan said. "It seems that we can only go to the next seaport; tell him to go down and look for ships to India. gone."

At this moment, the unfortunate scholar Paganel, after seeing that all his luggage was on board, went to the top deck with a face of shame.Everyone saw his embarrassing expression, a pitiful look.He also kept muttering his unfortunate name: "'Duncan'! 'Duncan'!" It seemed as if that was all he could say.He walked up and down on the deck, and carefully looked at the equipment of this cruise ship; then he looked up at the endless horizon on the sea, and finally walked up to Jazz alone, asking:

"This 'Duncan' finally arrived..."

"Monsieur Paganel, to America."

"Ah, exactly from America..."

"Concepcion, Concepcion, a provincial capital city in Chile."

"My God! To Chile! To Chile!" cried the unfortunate geographer in despair. "Then how shall I accomplish my mission to India? And the President of the Geographical Society, the Honorable Gart How would M. Faz reproach me? By the way, Mr. Dafossa, M. Gautambert, and, besides, Mr. Vivian de Saint-Martin, these famous scholars must criticize me? I What should I do, what face do I have to attend these academic conferences in the future?"

"Dear Mr. Paganel, don't worry," Sir Glenarvan said. "There is no hopelessness, and a solution can be found. It's just a matter of time. You know, the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet We are waiting for your arrival in the deep mountains and dense forests. By the way, we are now sailing to Madeira, an island in the Atlantic Ocean that is rich in fine wine. We will anchor there, and you can take the boat back to Europe and start over plan."

"Thank you very much, my lord sir, this is the only way to go." said the scholar annoyedly, "I can honestly say that this is the most bizarre experience I've ever had. Maybe it's just me. Kind of thing. But what about my reserved cabin on the Scotia?"

"Oh, 'Scotia,' you have to give up completely."

"Oh!" Paganel sighed, and looked at the ship again and said, "This is really a pleasure boat!"

"Yes, my lord. You know, it belongs to our Sir Glenarvan." Captain Mengel replied.

"I hope you will accept my hospitality," said Sir Glenarvan.

"Thank you very much, my lord," said Paganel, "thank you for your kind invitation. But allow me to make a small suggestion to you: this India is a fine place, and there you will find many wonderful Thing. And these two ladies, must not have been to India... Now, with a slight turn of the helm, the 'Duncan' turns for Calcutta, which is not as smooth as going to Concepcion, Chile Is it? Also, since they are all traveling..."

Seeing that everyone was shaking their heads, Paganel stopped talking, ashamed to continue.

"My dear Mr. Paganel," Mrs. Helen explained, "if the purpose of our voyage is only for sightseeing, then I must very much agree with your suggestion, and I am sure Sir Glenarvan will also support it. However, the 'Duncan' is going to Take on an honorable and sacred mission. It is to rescue a few unfortunate people who were lost at sea and later abandoned on the coast of Patagonia, and return them to their homeland. Therefore, this just act cannot be changed ..."

After a while, Paganel figured out the ins and outs of this plan while talking with everyone: the drift bottle given by God, everything about Captain Grant, and Mrs. Helen's justice plan.After hearing this, Paganel was deeply moved.

"My dear lady," said the scholar, "I commend you with all my heart, and commend you for your generosity and selflessness in this project. Now let the Duncan go on its way, I really hate to see This plan has been delayed."

"Then, dear sir, would you like to go with us to find these troubled people?" Mrs. Helen asked.

"Dear madam, this is really impossible. I also have urgent tasks to complete. So, when I get to the first port ahead, I must go down."

"In this case, it is best to go down in Madeira Island." Captain Menger said.

"Then it's Madeira Island! I know that the island is only 180 miles away from Lisbon. One fare is equivalent to 440 four meters. I'm right there, waiting for the boat back to Lisbon."

"Okay, that's what you want, my lord sir. Actually, it's my greatest honor to entertain you on board for a few days. You don't have to be polite, and take this place as your own home."

"Ah! So, my lord sir, it seems that although I took the wrong boat, I was lucky enough to miss such a happy outcome! And, to be honest, it's a big joke too: a man who's going to People from India in the northern hemisphere boarded a ship to America in the southern hemisphere.”

Thinking of this, he felt a little sullen, with melancholy and regret, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he had no choice but to hold back his temper and live on this boat for a few days.After that, in the life with the people on board, everyone saw that he was cute, funny, lively and cheerful, but he also had some carelessness in doing things.He has a great personality and the two ladies on board liked him very much.So, in less than a day, he made friends with everyone on board.Out of scholarly curiosity, he asked Sir Glenarvan to show him the papers; after careful study and careful analysis bit by bit, he also thought that these judgments were extremely correct, without What redundant explanation.He is very kind-hearted, caring about the situation of Grant's children, and placing great hopes in the lives of the two siblings.He has a very clear view on the prospect, and he said that the "Duncan" will definitely reach Chile smoothly.This made young Miss Grant laugh.He himself said that if he had no mission, he would follow everyone on the ship to rescue the captain.

When Paganel heard that Lady Helene was the daughter of the famous traveler William Tuffnell, he couldn't help crying out in surprise and uttering a series of eloquent compliments.He said to Mrs. Helen that he had known her father a long time ago, what a brave, wise and far-sighted scholar he was!And he also said that he and Mrs. Helen's father were both correspondents of the Paris Geographical Society.There have been frequent correspondence between each other before!And, it was he and another member, Matt Brown, who introduced William Tufnell to the Geographical Society!He sighed again and again: "This is really a coincidence bestowed by God! It is the happiest thing to be able to travel on a ship with William Tufnell's daughter!"

Finally, he asked to kiss Lady Helene on the forehead; Lady Helene granted it.Although this ceremony is indeed inappropriate in the eyes of the British.The original text is in English.Britain and France are very different in etiquette.When Paganel first met Mrs. Helen, he kissed her on the forehead. In the eyes of the British, it was a little rude.

The "Duncan" has another good-hearted man
Now the "Duncan" is sailing on the current in northern Africa, heading towards the equator quickly.On August 8, the shadow of Madeira can be seen from the boat.Sir Glenarvan fulfilled his promise and let the "Duncan" anchor on the island so that Paganel could disembark.

"My lord, we are already very familiar with each other, so I won't say some polite words to you," Paganel said, "I want to inquire whether you have done anything before I mistakenly boarded the 'Duncan'. Madeira plans to moor?"

"No," said Sir Glenarvan.

"Since this is the case, sir, please allow me to continue to be wrong! I think that countless scholars have finished the study of this archipelago. Everything that needs to be said has been said, rewritten and discussed. The situation of Madeira Island Everyone knows that the island is rich in grapes, but now the grape production has plummeted and cannot be compared with that of the past. For example, in 1813, the island’s wine production could reach as high as 1845 barrels per barrel. , about 690 liters. But in [-], the wine production fell to [-] barrels, and now it is only [-] barrels! It is really distressing! As a geographer, I think there is really nothing to study It is necessary. If you give me another convenience, can you stop at the next stop, the Canary Islands?"

"No problem, let's anchor in the Canary Islands!" Sir Glenarvan said, "This does not deviate from our planned route."

"My dear sir, I know all this. In the Galena Islands, there are three groups of islands that are worth studying. There is also the famous Mount Tenerife on the island, which I have always wanted to climb. So, this is a Great opportunity, I will take advantage of the God-given opportunity to climb this famous mountain myself before waiting for the ship back to Europe."

"My dear Paganel, everything is according to your wishes." Sir Glenarvan could not help but smile slightly.

Sir Glenarvan's nod of agreement also had its own reasons.You know, the Canary Islands are not far from the Madeira Islands, only 250 nautical miles or about [-] miles.For a fast ship like the "Duncan", this distance is really insignificant.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on August 8, Captain Mengele and Paganel were walking on the deck of the "Duncan".Paganel, a Frenchman, kept asking Captain Menger about the situation in Chile.Suddenly, Captain Menger interrupted his inquiry, pointing to the horizon of the southern sea and asked:

"Dear Monsieur Paganel..."

"My dear captain, what happened there?"

"Please look over there carefully, you can see something."

"But I can't really see anything."

"Well, don't look at the horizon, just look in the clouds."

"Well, in the clouds? But I can't see anything."

"Well, you should look in the direction of the auxiliary sail frame that touches the mast."

"But I still don't see anything."

"It's just that you don't want to see it! But anyway, it's only about forty miles apart, but on the horizon, we can both see the peak of Tenerife clearly, you understand what I mean!"

At this moment, Paganel may or may not wish to watch.In a few hours, this peak will clearly appear in front of him, and only a blind man will say that he cannot see it.

"Now, you should see clearly, right?" Captain Mengel asked.

"Yes, it's clear, this is what people call Tenerife's summit?" He replied disdainfully.

"Yeah, that's right."

"But it's really not that high."

"But it's a good eleven thousand feet above sea level."

"I don't think it can compare to the height of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps in eastern Europe."

"Well, that's possible too. But I think it's high enough when you get up."

"Ah! my dear Captain, you ask me to climb. Then I ask you, what's the use of climbing to the top of the mountain? The great Mr. Hampton has already climbed to the top of this mountain, and He described the beauty of the mountain peak vividly and vividly without any omission. Mr. Han Bao also conducted a comprehensive investigation and research on this mountain peak. He concluded that there are five zones in this mountain: grape belt, laurel belt, pine forest belt, The Alps is a shrub belt, the barren belt at the highest point. When he climbed to the top of the mountain, he found that there was not even a place to sit on the top of the mountain. On the top of the mountain, he looked around and saw an area equivalent to A quarter of the vast land of Spain. After that, he also traveled to the volcano there, and drilled into the crater, personally inspecting the deepest part of the extinct caldera. So, you know, Mr. Captain, this great scientist After doing such perfect research, what's the point of me going to climb again?"

"Well, that's exactly what you said. There is indeed nowhere to study." Captain Mengel replied, "It's a pity that waiting for a ship in the port of Tenerife and having nothing to do is really boring. , there is really nothing to relieve your boredom."

(End of this chapter)