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

Chapter 77: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (8)
This makes me think of a question: How did the head of this floating house solve the problem of ventilation?Did he get the air chemically?Is the oxygen in the potassium chlorate released by heating, or is the carbon dioxide gas absorbed by potassium hydroxide?If this is the case, he has to maintain a certain connection with the land, otherwise he will not be able to obtain these chemical raw materials.Or did he just store the air in compression and release it as needed on board?may be.Or, he uses the simpler, more economical, and more feasible method, that is, like cetaceans, he has to float to the surface every 24 hours to breathe.In any case, whatever method is employed, I feel it is time to take a fresh breath, just to be on the safe side.

In fact, I had to breathe faster in order to get even a modicum of oxygen from the air in this cell.Sudden.A breath of fresh sea air blew in, lifting my spirits.This must be a sea breeze, a sea breeze with a lot of iodine!I opened my mouth wide and breathed freely, my lungs filled with fresh oxygen molecules.At the same time, I felt the boat swaying. The iron monster clearly floated to the surface and breathed in the way a whale breathes.Now I have finally figured out how this ship changes the air.

As I took a big gulp of fresh air, I looked for the air intake passage, or "breathing passage", and after a while, I found it.There is a ventilation hole above the door, and bursts of fresh air come in from the ventilation hole above the door to replace the stale air in the room.

While I was observing carefully, Ned Land and Conseil seemed to wake up almost at the same time, stimulated by the fresh air.The two rubbed their eyes, stretched their waists, and stood up at once.

"Did you sleep well, sir?" Conseil asked politely as usual.

"You slept well, Conseil," I replied. "Master Ned Land, did you sleep well?"

"I slept very sweetly, Professor. However, I don't know if I'm sleepy or not. It feels like the sea breeze I'm breathing now!"

Sailors cannot be wrong in such matters, and I told the Canadian what happened while they were asleep.

"Yes!" said he, "that roar which we heard when we saw this so-called narwhal on the 'Lincoln', and did not know what it was then, is fully understood now."

"Yes, Master Ned Land, that's the sound of its breathing!"

"However, Mr. Aronnax, I have no concept of time at all now. What time is it? Is it time for dinner?"

"Dinner time? Lunch time, I'm afraid, my dear harpooner. For we must have been asleep from yesterday."

"So we've had twenty-four hours of sleep," Conseil said.

"I think so." I replied.

Ned Land replied: "Whether it's dinner or lunch, I have no objection to your opinion. Anyway, no matter what the waiter brings, I welcome it."

"Dinner and lunch come together," Conseil said.

"Yes," replied the Canadian, "personally, I must try both meals. And we have a right to both meals."

"That's right! Wait a minute, Ned Land," I replied. "Obviously, these people don't want to starve us. If they wanted to, they wouldn't have brought us dinner last night."

"Otherwise we will be fattening us up first!" Ned Land replied.

"I don't agree with you," I replied, "the people we deal with are not man-eating savages!"

"Giving a meal doesn't mean anything," the Canadian replied seriously. "Whether these people haven't had fresh meat for a long time, no one knows. If that's the case, the professor, your servant and Three strong and healthy people like me..."

"Please don't think so, Master Ned Land," I said to the harpooner. "You will only make things worse by fighting with our master for your own ideas."

"Anyway," said the harpooner, "I'm so hungry now that my chest is on my back, and my dinner and my lunch haven't arrived anyway!"

"Master Ned Land," I said to him, "I think our appetite is ahead of mealtime. We'll follow the ship's regulations."

"That's good! Let our stomachs adapt to the meal time here!" Conseil replied calmly.

"I admire you in this matter, my friend Conseil," replied the impatient Canadian, "you don't know how to worry! You are always so calm when the sky is falling! You can put aside your prayers after dinner." Read before meals, I would rather starve to death than complain!"

"What problem does complaining solve?" Conseil asked.

"Of course it's useful, at least you can vent your anger, right? If these pirates—I say pirates are respectful to them, because the professor won't let me call them cannibal savages, and I don't want to make the professor unhappy—if these The pirates are very mistaken when they think they can keep me safe from my curses by shutting me up in this airless cage! Well, Mr. Aronnax, tell me straight up, you think they will last a long time Lock us up in this iron box?"

"My dear friend Ned Land, to be honest, I know nothing more than you do."

"Then how about you take a guess?"

"I think that through this accident we have learned a great secret. If the people on the submarine think that this secret has a great stake in them and must be kept, then I think the lives of the three of us are in danger. Conversely, if this is not the case, the monster that devours us can find a suitable opportunity to send us back to our human-inhabited continent."

"Otherwise they would have taken us into their crew," Conseil said, "and they've kept us in this way..."

"Until one day a ship of war faster or more nimble than the 'Lincoln' subdued the nest, and carried its occupants and us aboard the main-mast beams, leaving them free and breathing as best they could. Up to one air," Ned Land replied.

"Well said, Master Ned Land," said I, "but, as far as we know, no advice has been made to us on the matter, and it is useless for us to discuss what we should do now." .I have repeatedly said that since there is nothing to do, there is no need to look for trouble. We have to wait."

The harpooner replied stubbornly, "Professor, I think exactly the opposite of what you think! I think something has to be done."

"Master Ned Land, what are you going to do?"

"Get out."

"It is not an easy task to escape from a prison on land, let alone escape from a prison under the sea. This is absolutely impossible."

"How about it, Ned Land?" Conseil asked. "How do you refute Monsieur's objection? I'm sure an American will not be left helpless!"

It could be seen that the harpooner was a little embarrassed, and he stopped talking.Under the current circumstances, it is absolutely impossible to escape.However, this Canadian should be considered half French, as can be seen from Master Ned Land's answer.

He thought for a while and said, "Mr. Aronnax, what should the prisoner who cannot escape from the prison do, have you thought about it?"

"Not at all, my friend."

"It's too simple, just find a way to stay inside."

"Yes!" said Conseil, "it's better to stay inside than above or below!"

"However, the first thing to do is to get rid of the guards, guards and gatekeepers," Ned Land added.

"What? Ned Land, do you really want to take this ship?
"Yes, Professor," replied the Canadian.

"How is this possible?"

"Why not, sir? There might be a good opportunity, and I don't think there's anything stopping us from taking advantage of it. If there were only twenty men on this machine ship, I don't think they'd be able to stop two A Frenchman and a Canadian!"

For the Harpooner's proposal, it's better to accept than to discuss.So, I had to answer like this:
"Master Ned Land, let us wait for such an opportunity, and then we will figure out a solution. However, I beg you, don't be impatient, and wait patiently before the opportunity comes. We must learn to outsmart and discover Temper cannot create good opportunities. So don't get too excited, you have to promise me."

"I promise you that you won't lose your temper, Mr. Professor." Ned Land replied in an unreliable tone, "I won't say a word of foul language, and I won't reveal any rude actions that are against me. I have eaten, but the food has not been delivered, and I promise not to get angry."

"Okay! Ned Land, let's make a deal!" I said to the Canadian.

Then we stopped talking, each thinking about his own thoughts.Personally, I admit, I have no illusions about the Harpooner's words despite his assurances.I don't think there will be an opportunity like the one Ned Land is talking about.The reason why this submarine can be driven so steadily shows that there must be a lot of people on it. If we fight with each other, we will definitely face a powerful opponent.Plus, we have to be free to act, and we're not free right now.I couldn't even think of how to escape from this tightly closed iron house.As long as the strange captain of this submarine has even the slightest secret to keep, he won't let us roam freely aboard, at least for now.How he will deal with us, kill us with violence, or abandon us in a certain corner one day, these are things that cannot be predicted now.I think these assumptions are plausible, only a Harpooner would want to be free again.

I could see that Ned Land was thinking constantly, and the thoughts in his head would become more and more intense.I heard him mumbling and cursing again, and his appearance became more and more frightening.He stood up, like a caged tiger, slinking back and forth, kicking, punching, or punching and kicking against the wall.Time passed little by little, and my stomach became more and more uncomfortable, but the waiter who delivered the food did not come.If these people really have good intentions for us, the situation of us sufferers is really neglected now.

Ned Land has a big appetite. He is already starving and angry, and despite his assurances, I fear he will lose his nerve at the sight of the people on board.

In the blink of an eye, another two hours later, Ned Land finally couldn't hold back his anger. He yelled, but it was useless because the iron wall was soundproof.I can't even hear the slightest noise from this ship, it's like everyone on board is dead.The boat was motionless, because when it moved, I could clearly feel the vibration of the hull driven by the propeller.It is estimated that it has dived to the depths of the seabed and has lost contact with the land.The deathly silence is terrifying!

I can't imagine how long we will be trapped in this house and be neglected by others.The hopes that had arisen after meeting the captain of the ship were now dying.The person's kind eyes, kind expression, and elegant manner have all disappeared from my memory.Dancing in front of my eyes was a ruthless and eccentric.I think he is inhuman, doesn't know what pity is, is a cruel enemy of human beings, and he has deep-rooted hatred for human beings!

But, does this person lock us up in this small cell like this, let us think wildly in hunger, until we starve to death?This dreadful thought was all over my head, and it grew stronger, and I felt that I was haunted by an inexplicable fear.Conseil remained calm, while Ned Land was furious.

At this moment, footsteps came from the metal floor.Then, someone was unlocking the lock, and the waiter pushed the door open and walked in.

The Canadian pounced on the poor waiter immediately, and I had no time to stop him.He pinned the waiter to the ground and grabbed him by the throat.The waiter was almost suffocated by his big powerful hand.

Conseil was about to pull the waiter who was about to be strangled from the harpooner's hand, and I was about to go to help, when I heard some French words, which made me freeze there, unable to move:

"Master Ned Land, please calm down. And you, Mr. Professor, please listen to me!"

Underwater people

The man who said this was the captain of the ship.

Hearing these words, Ned Land stood up immediately.The half-strangled waiter saw his master beckon and staggered out without showing any resentment towards the Canadian, which showed the captain's prestige on board was very high.Conseil's face was full of inexplicable expressions, and I was also stunned. We waited quietly together to see how this scene would end.

The captain leaned against the corner of the table, with his arms folded across his chest, and regarded us with great concentration.But he didn't speak, did he have any concerns?Or do you regret having spoken French just now?Maybe both.

Neither of us spoke, neither wanted to break the silence.After a while, he finally spoke, his voice was very calm and pleasant.

"Gentlemen, I can speak French, English, German and Latin. I could have spoken to you when we first met, but I wanted to get to know you first before I thought about it. You presented the facts in four languages. After repeating it four times, the content is exactly the same, which makes me affirmed your identities. I now know that the fate brought me before my eyes was Pierre, a professor of biology at the Paris Museum who was sent abroad to undertake scientific research missions. Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and Canadian Ned Land, the harpooner on board the battleship USS Lincoln of the United States Admiralty."

I nodded, agreeing with what he said.The captain wasn't asking me questions, and I didn't have to answer them.The man spoke French very well, without the slightest accent.His words are appropriate and precise, and his expressions are fluent and fluent.But I don't feel that he is my fellow Frenchman.

He went on to say:

"Gentlemen, you may feel that I am a little too late for my second visit to you. That is because I have to reconsider what I am going to do to you after I have found out who you are. I am very embarrassed. Yours Arrival has disrupted my life, I am a man who has severed ties with humanity..."

"It wasn't intentional," I said.

"Isn't it really intentional?" The man raised his voice, "Isn't it intentional that the 'Lincoln' chased me all over the sea? Wasn't it intentional that you boarded that battleship? You bombarded me with shells. Didn't he do it on purpose? Didn't Master Ned Land harpoon my boat on purpose?"

From his words, I could feel the unbearable anger deep in his heart.However, I can give a very reasonable answer to his question, and I say:

"Sir, you don't know about the controversy your question has aroused in America and Europe, do you? You don't know about the accidents that have been rammed by your submarine that have rocked both continents, do you? People In order to explain the countless assumptions made by the mysterious phenomenon that only you know the mystery of, I don't want to tell you for the time being. But you need to know that the "Lincoln" has been chasing you to the north of the Pacific Ocean, and still believes that the pursuer is A sea monster that wants to remove it from the ocean at all costs."

The captain smiled slightly, and then said in a milder tone:

"Mr. Aronnax, your warships are not chasing submarines but chasing sea monsters. Are you sure about this?"

It is difficult for me to answer this question, because Captain Farragut will certainly not hesitate.He considered it his duty to destroy such ships, as it was to kill a gigantic narwhal.

"Please understand, sir," continued the man, "that I have a right to regard you as my enemies."

I didn't answer anything.What more can I say?What's the point of discussing such things when might can triumph over justice?

The captain went on to say: "I hesitated for a long time and felt that I have no obligation to receive you. If I want to leave you, I have no need to visit you again. You have taken refuge on the platform of this submarine, and I can take you Put it back there, and then I'll go down to the bottom of the ocean and forget about it. Isn't that my right?"

"It may be the right of the savage, not of the civilized man," said I.

The captain replied emotionally: "Professor, I am not what you call a civilized person. I have severed ties with the entire human society. Whether the reasons are correct or not, I alone have the right to judge. I have already I no longer obey, and I advise you not to mention these rules in front of me in the future."

This was said very simply and clearly.Anger and contempt flashed from his eyes.Not only does he not take human laws seriously, but he also makes himself absolutely independent and free, without any constraints.I vaguely felt that he must have experienced an extraordinary life, and he didn't even gain the upper hand against him on the sea surface, let alone chase him under the sea!The impact force of this submarine is so powerful, no matter how thick the steel plate is, none of them can withstand the impact of its angle of attack.Who would dare to go down to the bottom of the sea and chase him?What ship could take the onslaught of his submarine?No matter how thick the steel plate is, which ironclad ship can withstand the impact of its angle of attack?For what he did, no one came out to question him.If God and conscience are what he believes, then only God and conscience can judge him.

The above thoughts flashed through my mind.At that time, this strange man was silent and ignored our existence, as if he was concentrating on something.I watched him, nervously and curiously, the way Oedipus watches the Sphinx.

(End of this chapter)