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

Chapter 74: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (5)
I looked at Conseil and found that his mood was somewhat affected by the atmosphere on board, at least I think so.Stimulated by curiosity, his nerves shook for perhaps the first time in his life.

I said to him, "Hey, Conseil, this is the last chance for the two thousand dollars."

Conseil replied: "Sir, allow me to say a word on the matter. I never counted on that prize, and the United States Government could promise a hundred thousand dollars, and it would not be impoverished by it." Woke up."

"Conseil, you are quite right. After all, it is a foolish thing, and we took part in it recklessly. So much time wasted and energy wasted! Otherwise, six months ago, we Returned to France six months ago..."

Conseil then replied: "I went back to my husband's small house, and back to my husband's museum. I have already classified my husband's biological fossils, and my husband's wild boar has long been placed in a cage in the botanical garden. All the curious people in the city are attracted to come and visit!"

"That's true, Conseil, I don't know how many people laughed at us!"

"Who says no?" Conseil replied calmly, "I think people will laugh at you sir. I have something else to say, I don't know if I should say..."

"Conseil, go on."

"Okay, then I'll say it. I think it's the mister's fault!"

"You're right!"

"A man who is fortunate enough to be a scholar like sir should never take the liberty of acting..."

Before Conseil could finish his "compliment", a voice rang out on the silent ship, Ned Land's voice, shouting:

"Come and see! The guy we've been looking for for so long is leaning towards us. Look! It's there!"

Full horsepower

As soon as Ned Land finished speaking, the entire crew ran towards the harpooner, from the captain, officers, bosun to sailors, trainees, and even engineers, leaving the machine behind, and the fireman also left the boiler .The order to stop the ship has been issued, and the battleship moved forward by inertia.

When I heard Ned Land's cry, my heart beat so hard that I was about to explode.I was thinking, how could this Canadian, with his good eyesight, see in such darkness?What did he see again?

But Ned Land was right, and we all saw what his hand was pointing at.

About 370 meters from the starboard side of the "Lincoln", the sea surface seemed to be illuminated by the light from the bottom of the water.No one could be mistaken that this light was not ordinary phosphorescence.As described by some captains in their reports, this monster lurked several meters deep in the bottom of the sea, emitting a strong and wonderful light.This mysterious and brilliant light can only be emitted from some huge luminous power.The luminous part forms a huge elliptical structure on the sea surface. There is an incandescent focus in the center of the elliptical structure. The light emitted there is particularly dazzling. The farther away from the focus, the weaker the light.

"It's nothing more than a collection of phosphorus molecules," said an officer.

"No, sir," I said firmly, "the mollusc asparagus or sea squirt can never emit such a strong light. This light can only be emitted by electricity. . . . Look! Look! It's moving! It's moving. Moving back and forth! It's coming at us!"

There was a shout on the battleship.

"Hush, everybody," said Captain Farragut, "rudder, windward, and back!"

The sailors rushed to the tiller, the engineers to the machines.The steam valve was closed immediately, and the "Lincoln" made a 180° turn from the port side, drawing a semicircle on the sea.

Captain Farragut yelled, "Turn starboard and go forward!"

The helmsman carried out the order, and the battleship quickly left the glowing center.

I was wrong.Our ship was about to leave, but the mysterious animal rushed towards us at double speed.

At that time, we were all stunned, it seemed that we had stopped breathing, and we stood there motionless.Our battleship was traveling at fourteen knots per hour with this animal, and the animal seemed to be joking with us, circling the battleship, turning the battleship with its great electric light, something like glowing dust. Surrounded.It then retreated two to three nautical miles in a phosphorescent trail, like the jet of air from the locomotive of a fast train.Suddenly, from the place where the sea and the sky meet, this monster rushed towards the "Lincoln" at an astonishing speed, and stopped suddenly on the sea surface twenty feet away from the destroyer's outer plating, and the light went out.It didn't sink to the bottom of the sea, because its light didn't go out gradually, but suddenly, like being cut off from the power supply.After a while, it reappeared on the other side of the battleship, perhaps coming around, perhaps diving from under the ship.A collision could happen at any time, and for us, that would be a fatal blow.

However, the action of the battleship surprised me.It was running, not attacking.It should have been chasing the monster, but now it was being chased by the monster instead.So I made my opinion to Captain Farragut.No matter what happened to Captain Farragut, he always had a calm face, but now his face was full of panic.

"Mr. Aronnax," he said to me, "I haven't figured out how powerful this monster is, and I don't want to risk my battleship rashly in such darkness. Besides, what should I do?" How about attacking this mysterious thing in a different way, and what kind of defense measures should be taken against it? I want to wait until dawn, when the situation will be different.”

"Captain, do you now have no doubts about the nature of this monster?"

"No, sir, it's evidently a gigantic narwhal, and an electric one at that."

"Maybe," I went on, "we'll keep it as far away as we would an electric eel or a mine!"

"Indeed," replied the captain, "if it had the power of lightning in it, it must be the most fearful animal ever made by the Creator. It is for this reason, sir, that I have to be especially careful. .”

This monster moved very fast, and the "Lincoln" was no match for it in speed, so it had to drive slowly at a low speed.And the narwhal also imitated the way of the battleship, swinging freely with the waves, as if it had no intention of leaving the arena.And the whole crew stood watch at night, and no one wanted to go to sleep.

At midnight, the monster suddenly disappeared, or more accurately, it disappeared like a big firefly.It wouldn't be running away, would it?This is what we fear, and we don't want it to escape.However, at seven minutes to one in the morning, there was a deafening whistling sound similar to that made by a jet of water being expelled under great pressure.

At that time, Captain Farragut, Ned Land and I were all on the poop, searching the dark sea intently.

"Ned Land," asked the captain, "have you ever heard the sound of a whale?"

"Sir, I can often hear it, but I have never heard a whale call like this one. If you find it, you will get a $[-] bonus."

"Indeed, the prize should go to you. Still, please tell me, is this the sound of the cetacean spitting water from its nostrils?"

"That's the sound, sir. But the whale is much louder now. So it's unmistakable that we have a cetacean under our noses." The harpooner added, "Permit, sir. I'll say a few words to it after daylight."

"Master Ned Land, it depends on whether it has the patience to listen to you." I said in a tone of disbelief.

"If he's only four harpoons away from me, then he can't help not listening to me!" the Canadian said.

"Shouldn't I get you a whaler when you're going to get close to it?" said the captain.

"Of course, sir."

"Taking a small boat is risking my crew's life!"

"That's risking my life!" the harpooner replied simply.

At about two o'clock in the morning, on the surface of the sea five nautical miles in front of the "Lincoln", the luminous focus gave off the same strong light again.Although it was far away from the luminous point and accompanied by the sound of wind and waves, the sound of the monster stirring the water with its tail was clearly heard, and its panting could still be heard.When the gigantic narwhal came to the surface to breathe, the air rushed into its lungs like steam into the cylinders of a two-thousand-horsepower machine.

"Well!" thought I, "this whale is as strong as a regiment of cavalry, and it must be a great whale!"

Until dawn, everyone did not dare to relax their vigilance at all, and were always ready for battle.There are various fishing equipment beside the railing of the boat.The second mate had the heavy caliber short-hinge loaded with powder, which could shoot the harpoon a distance of over a mile, and the long gun which opened the flower, which was deadly, Even the most powerful animals are not immune.Ned Land himself had been sharpening his harpoon there, and in his hands the harpoon was a deadly weapon.

It was six o'clock, and dawn was breaking.The lightning of the narwhal was drowned out by the morning light.At about seven o'clock, the sky was bright, but the morning fog was very thick, and the visibility was very low. Even with the best binoculars, nothing could be seen clearly.Everyone's frustration and annoyance reappeared.

I climbed up to the mizzen, where there were already quite a few officers standing.

At eight o'clock, a thick fog rolled over the sea, but the big fog was dissipating bit by bit.The sky became wider and things became clearer.

Suddenly, just like last night, Ned Land's voice sounded again: "That guy is behind the port side of the ship!"

Everyone looked in the direction of his fingers.

On the ocean surface about one and a half nautical miles away from the battleship, a long black body floated out.It beat its tail vigorously, stirring up a huge vortex on the ocean surface.Never before has a fish's tail hit the water with such force.Wherever the monster passed, it would leave behind its tail a huge, blindingly white trail of water, drawing a long arc.

As our warship approached the cetacean, I made a general observation and estimate.It seems to me that the reports of the Shannon and the Helvetia are somewhat exaggerated in regard to the size of this monster. Its length is only about 150 feet, and its breadth is somewhat difficult to estimate.In short, it seems to me that the proportions of the length, breadth, and height of this animal are very even.

When I was observing this monster, two jets of water and steam suddenly spewed out from its nostrils, and the spray reached a height of more than ten meters. Through this, I have a certain understanding of its breathing method.I finally came to the conclusion that this monster belonged to the phylum Vertebrate, the class Mammalia, the subclass Porphyridae, the order Fish, and the order Cetacea.There are three families of cetaceans, namely: fin whales, big head whales and dolphins, and narwhals are classified in the dolphin family.Each of these families is divided into several genera, each of which is divided into species, and each species has several varieties.To what species, what genus, and family this monster belonged, I cannot yet determine, but I trust that, with the help of God and Captain Farragut, I will be able to ascertain the classification of this animal.

The crew waited anxiously for the captain's order.After observing the monster carefully, the captain sent someone to call the engineer over.The engineer hurried over.

"Sir, is the air pressure enough?" asked the captain.

"Enough, sir," replied the engineer.

"Okay then, increase the firepower and move forward at full speed!"

Hearing the captain's order, everyone cheered.The time to fight has come!Soon, black smoke spewed out from the two chimneys of the battleship, and the deck vibrated with the vibration of the boiler.

Under the violent push of the wheels, the "Lincoln" rushed straight towards the monster.The monster didn't pay attention to the battleship at all. When the distance between the battleship and it was only about half an anchor chain, it still didn't bother to dive. It just made a little evasive movement and didn't go far. Keep half the anchor chain distance.

After chasing like this for about three quarters of an hour, it was very difficult for the warship to get close to the whale by four meters.Obviously, if you keep chasing like this, you will never be able to catch up with it.

Captain Farragut twisted the bushy beard under his chin, and it could be seen that he was very upset at this moment.

"Where is Ned Land?" he called.

The Canadians responded.

"Well, Master Ned Land," he asked the Canadian, "do you think it's time to put the boat out to sea?"

Ned Land replied: "No, sir, we cannot catch this monster unless it is willing to be captured."

"Then what should we do?"

"Sir, if our man-of-war is able to do it, go as hard as you can, and go at full speed. I stand guard on the rope ladder at the foremast, and when we are within harpoon throw I put the harpoon Cross-throw it. Of course you need to get permission first."

The captain replied, "Ned Land, just do as you say." Then he called out again, "Engineer, put more power on!"

The horsepower was pumping as hard as it could, the wheels were spinning at 43 rpm, and steam was blasting out of the valves.Throwing the odometer down, it was found that the speed of the "Lincoln" at this time was eighteen and a half knots per hour.Ned Land also took up his post.

However, that nasty monster was also advancing at a speed of eighteen and a half knots per hour.

The battleship traveled at such a speed for a full hour, and it was impossible to close the distance by two meters!For one of the fastest warships in the U.S. Navy, it was a shame.The officers and soldiers couldn't help sulking, and the sailors were cursing the monster, but whatever happened to the people on the battleship, the monster ignored them.Captain Farragut wasn't just twirling his bushy beard now, he was twisting it desperately.

The engineer was called over by him again: "Has the horsepower reached the maximum?" the captain asked.

"Yes, Captain," he replied.

"Are the intake valves tight?"

"Up to six and a half pressures."

"Now increase them to ten atmospheres."

This is a very typical American order.Even on the Mississippi River, it is probably impossible to do this in order to throw off the opponent's boat!
"Conseil," I said to the faithful servant standing beside me, "did you know that our ship might explode!"

"Sir, just blow it up." Conseil replied.

This is the answer!But I have to admit that when I see this opportunity, I am willing to touch it even at the risk of explosion.

The intake valves were all turned on, the furnace was filled with coal, the bellows fed air incessantly, and the blazing coal fire made the Lincoln speed up again, the mast was trembling, and even the base of the mast was shaking. It was trembling, because the chimney was too narrow, and the billowing smoke seemed to be unable to find a way out.

The speed was measured again with the odometer.

"What's the speed now?" Captain Farragut asked.

"Nineteen thirty miles, Captain."

"Keep the fire going again."

The engineer did as he was ordered.The pressure performance is: the air pressure has reached ten.The monster, however, presumably stoked the fire too, for the speed was effortlessly increased to nineteen-and-a-half knots.

This scene of you chasing after me really excited me, and I can no longer describe my emotions in words.Ned Land held on to his post, harpoon in hand.Several times, the monster let us get a little closer.

"We've got it! We've got it!" cried the Canadian.

However, just as he was about to throw the harpoon, the guy ran away quickly. It moved very sensitively, and I estimated that its speed was not less than thirty knots per hour.To add to the annoyance, it was able to circle the boat while our boat was running at top speed, as if to tease us!The people on the battleship were so angry that they screamed!Fighting until noon, we were as far from the monster as it was at eight o'clock in the morning, without any progress.

So Captain Farragut decided to take a more direct approach.

He said, "Hmph! Well, you can outrun the Lincoln! Well! Then see if she can dodge our cones. Boatswain, get the gunners forward." come to the cannon."

So, the gunner immediately loaded the cannon on the front deck with shells, aimed and fired.The shell was fired, but missed, and just passed over the animal half a mile away.

"Any other gunner who can shoot accurately!" shouted the captain. "Whoever can hit this devil will give a prize of five hundred dollars!"

An old gunner with a gray beard walked in front of the cannon with a calm gaze and a calm expression. His original appearance is still vivid in my memory.He adjusted the position of the gun and took a long time to aim.There was only a loud noise, and the whole crew cheered loudly.

The shell hit the target, right on the monster's body, but missed its vital parts, but slid past its round body and landed in the sea water two miles away.

The old gunner said furiously: "Strange! Isn't the bastard wearing six inches of armor?"

Captain Farragut also shouted: "This damned devil!"

A new round of chasing began again.Captain Farragut leaned over me and said:

"I will continue to chase until our ship explodes!"

"Yes, Mr. Captain, you are quite right!" I replied.

We hope to exhaust the monster from such a chase, which cannot be as indefatigable as a steam engine.However, after so long, it is not tired at all.

However, in this fierce battle, the tenacious spirit of the "Lincoln" is worthy of praise.I reckon it covered no less than five hundred miles on the ill-fated day of November 11th!It was dark again, and night shrouded the turbulent sea.

At this point, I thought our expedition was over, that we would never see this strange creature again.But I was wrong.

(End of this chapter)