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

Chapter 82: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (13)
Because there was no reference in the water, we felt that the "Nautilus" seemed to be motionless.Occasionally, however, the waterlines that parted the bows passed swiftly back before our eyes.

We all held our breaths, leaning against the glass window, and no one broke the silence.Suddenly Conseil shouted:
"Brother Ned Land, didn't you want to see it? Now you can!"

The Canadian couldn't resist the temptation of the beautiful scenery at this time, and threw his anger and his escape plan to the sky. He shouted excitedly: "It's so beautiful! It's a wonder in the world! In order to see such a beautiful scenery , I will come no matter how far I run!"

I followed suit: "Ah! Now I finally understand this man's life! He has opened up another world for himself, and this world has given him the most amazing wonders!"

"But why didn't I see it?" said the Canadian. "Where is the fish?"

"Brother Ned Land," Conseil said to him, "it doesn't matter if you don't see it, you can't tell what a fish is anyway."

"What are you saying? I don't know fish? You have to find out, I'm a fisherman!" Ned Land shouted.

The two men began to argue about this issue, because they both knew fish, but in different ways.

It is well known that fishes are the fourth and last class in the vertebrate phylum.The exact definition of a fish is this: dual-circulatory, cold-blooded, gill-breathing, water-dwelling vertebrates.Fish are composed of two types of bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes are fishes with bony backbones, and cartilaginous fishes are fishes with cartilaginous backbones.

Canadians may know this distinction, but Conseil knows more.Now he and Ned Land are very good friends, and he cannot admit that he knows less than Ned Land, so he said:

"Brother Ned Land, you are indeed a fisherman, a very capable fisherman. Although you have caught many interesting animals. But I bet you that you don't know how to classify fish."

"How come I don't know how to classify them?" the harpooner replied with a serious face. "People divide them into two categories, that is, fish that can be eaten and fish that cannot be eaten!"

Conseil replied: "Your classification is given by those who eat and drink. Do you know the difference between bony fish and cartilaginous fish? Please tell me."

"I might know, Conseil."

"Do you know the subclassifications of these two large groups of fish?"

"I don't think I don't know," replied the Canadian.

"Listen, brother Ned Land, and remember! The bony fishes can be divided into six orders. The first order is the bony fishes, the upper gills are comb-shaped, and the upper jaw is complete and mobile. This order includes Fifteen families, that is to say, among the fish we already know, three quarters belong to this order. Crucian carp is a typical example of this order.”

"That fish is quite tasty," Ned Land replied.

Conseil continued: "The second order is the pelvic fishes. The pelvic fins do not grow on the shoulder bones, but hang down under the belly and behind the ribcage. This order is divided into five families, and most of the freshwater fish belong to this order. Carps , male fish are typical for this purpose."

"Hmph!" said the Canadian in a scornful tone, "just some freshwater fish!"

"The third order is the parafin fishes," Conseil went on, "the pelvic fins are attached to the underside of the pectoral eels and hang from the shoulder bones. This order is divided into four families, butterfly fishes, flounders, sole fishes, halibuts." Waiting is a typical representative."

"These fish are delicious, delicious fish!" said the harpooner excitedly, who had classified the fish only from the point of view of taste.

Conseil said more and more vigorously: "The fourth order is the pelvic fish. This kind of fish has a long body, no pelvic fin, and a skin that is thick and sticky; this order has only one family. Eels, eels, eels, Electric eels are typical."

"Oh! This fish tastes mediocre! Very mediocre!" Ned Land replied.

"The fifth order is the total gill fish," said Conseil, "the gills are complete and mobile, consisting of many small brushes, arranged in pairs on the gill segments. There is only one family in this order. Seahorse fish, The dragon horse fish is a typical representative."

"Not so good! Not so good!" said the harpooner, shaking his head.

Conseil said: "The last sixth order is the jawfish. The jawbone is firmly fixed on the side of the intermaxillary bone of the tooth jaw. The arch bone of the upper jaw is connected with the suture of the cranium, and the jawbone cannot move. Fish do not have true ventral fins and are divided into two families. Soul fishes and silver eels are typical representatives."

"It's a waste of pot to make this kind of fish!" the Canadian said dismissively.

"Brother Ned Land, do you understand what I have said?" Conseil asked, looking like a scholar.

"My brother Conseil, I don't understand at all," replied the harpooner, "but you can go on, because you are interested in it."

"As for the cartilaginous fishes," Conseil continued calmly, "there are only three orders."

"That's a lot easier," said Ned Land.

"The first order, the round-mouthed fish, the gills are connected to form a rotatable circle, and there are several gills. This order has only one family, and the human eel is a typical representative."

"Well, this is our favorite fish." Ned Land replied.

"Second order, Jun fish, its gills are very similar to those of round mouth fishes, but its lower gills are movable. This is the most important order among cartilaginous fishes, including two families. Sharks, gills Fish are typical."

"What are you talking about, brother Conseil?" Ned Land shouted. "Sharks and gill fishes belong to the same order, yes! But for the sake of gill fishes, I advise you not to put them in the same order." In a fish tank!"

Conseil went on to say: "The third order: the order of fin fishes, with opercle bones growing beside the gills, and the gills usually have only one slit. This order includes four families. The yellow croaker is a typical representative."

"Ah! My friend Conseil, you saved the best for last! At least I think so. Have you finished now?"

"Yes, that's it, good friend Ned Land, but I have to remind you that it's not enough just to know these things, because families are divided into genera, and genus into subgenera, species, varieties..."

"My dear Conseil," cried the harpooner, laying his face on the glass, "a lot of fish are coming!"

"Yes, it's really a fish!" Conseil also exclaimed, "we seem to be in an aquarium!"

"Not an aquarium," I replied, "because an aquarium is a cage for fish, and the fish are free, like birds flying in the sky."

Ned Land said: "Brother Conseil, can you tell me the names of these fish now? Please tell me the names of these fish!"

Conseil replied: "There are so many fish, I can't tell. I'd better ask my master!"

Conseil was indeed an avid taxonomist, but he was not a biologist. I don't think he could even tell the difference between carp and finfish.Anyway, he was the exact opposite of the Canadians, who could name the fish without thinking about it.

"It's a swordfish," I said, pointing to a school of fish swimming up.

Ned Land replied, "It's a Chinese swordfish."

"Swordfish genus, Scleroderma, Phytognathidae." Conseil whispered the classification of this fish.

I thought that Ned Land's and Conseil's combined knowledge would certainly make an excellent biologist.

The Canadian was right, there was indeed a school of swordfish in front of him.These fish have flattened bodies, wrinkled skin, and a chain-of-arrow weapon on their backs.They swam around the "Nautilus" with four rows of spikes on both sides of their tails.Their skin was wonderful, gray above and white below, with golden spots shining in the swirls of the waves.Among the swordfish, there are also gill fish swimming around, like a curtain of water blown by the wind.I was very happy to see my favorite Chinese ray among the gill fish. It has a black and yellow upper body, a light rose color under its belly, and three thorns behind its eyes.It was a fish so rare that Lacebed even doubted its existence at the time. He had only seen it in a Japanese picture book.

For two hours, this army of aquariums has been advancing around the "Nautilus".They are playing, these fish are more beautiful, more gorgeous, and faster. When they are jumping and playing, I recognize the green hole head fish; the sea bream with two black lines on its body; the whole body is white, A goby with purple spots on its back and a round tail; a beautiful blue-bodied white-headed fish in the Sea of ​​Japan; without too many words to describe, its beauty can be imagined just from its name - blue glass fish; Striped snapper with blue and yellow stripes on its fins; red snapper with stripes of different colors and a black band trailing its caudal fin; six bands on its body like a gilled fish in an elegant bodysuit; long mouth pipefish with mouths resembling flutes or trumpets, some as long as a meter; Japanese salamanders;

We were in high spirits on the boat, and kept sighing.Ned Land reported the names of the fish, and Conseil classified them.Looking at these beautiful and lively fish in various shapes, I felt ecstatic.I've never seen so many fish in their natural environment, alive and free, swimming in the water they were born in.

We were dazzled by the variety of fish in the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​China, and I really can't list them all.These fish may have been attracted by the electric light, and they all ran towards the boat. It seemed that there were more birds in the air.

Suddenly, the living room brightened up.The cover on the side of the boat was closed, and the fascinating scenery disappeared.For a long time, I kept thinking about everything I had just seen, until my eyes caught the machinery hanging on the wall.The compass is always pointing to the east-northeast, and the air pressure shows that there are five atmospheres, indicating that the submarine is traveling 50 meters below the water surface. The electric odometer tells us that the current sailing speed is fifteen knots per hour.

I waited for Captain Nemo, but he just didn't show up.The big clock is pointing to five o'clock.

Ned Land and Conseil went back to their cabins, and I went back to my room.Dinner is ready and placed on the table in the room.Among them was a soup made of the most delicious sea turtle; a plate of thinly sliced ​​white meat of sea herring carp;

In the evening, I spend my time reading, writing and thinking about problems.Later, when I was sleepy, I lay down on a bed made of seaweed leaves and fell into a deep sleep.While I was asleep, the Nautilus moved swiftly through the Kuroshio Current.

an invitation letter
The next day was November 11th, and I slept for twelve hours.Conseil came to my cabin, greeted me as before, "Did you sleep well last night", and then started to work.The Canadian looked like a person who could only sleep all his life, and Conseil didn't disturb him, leaving him in the cabin to continue sleeping.

I let this faithful servant babble, and whatever he said, I never answered him.I've been thinking, why haven't I seen Captain Nemo since the gathering until now?I hope he can show up today.

In no time I was dressed in my garments of shellfish.Conseil expressed emotion over the material of this suit more than once.I told him that the material of the suit was made of the luminous, silky fibers that are produced on sea stones by a shellfish like the "pigcoel" that is abundant on the Mediterranean coast.In the past, people used this stuff to make nice clothing fabrics, socks, gloves, because they were soft to the touch and kept warm. The crew of the "Nautilus" can wear high-quality and cheap clothes with this material, without using cotton, wool and silk on land.

I got dressed and went to the living room.The living room was empty.

So I buried myself in the conchological treasures that were stacked in those glass cases.I also looked through the large herbarium with great concentration. The library is full of the rarest marine plants. Although they have been dried, their colors are still bright and beautiful.Among these precious aquatic plants, I saw seaweed whorls, Padina spp., Grape leaf algae, granular water purslane, bright red soft seaweed, fan-shaped sea gardens, and mushrooms shaped like squashed mushrooms. Sucker grass, for a long time sucker grass has been classified as a phytophyte, and finally I saw a whole group of seaweeds.

A whole day passed, and Captain Nemo did not show up.The porthole in the living room had not been opened either.Maybe people don't want us to get in touch with those beautiful things too much. The "Nautilus" was still heading east-northeast at a speed of 50 knots in water 60 to [-] meters above the sea surface.

On November 11, the third day, it was still deserted, and no one came to pay attention to us.Ned Land and Conseil spent most of the day with me. The captain's absence was inexplicable and surprised both of them. Could it be that this eccentric man was ill?Or is it to change the plan of disposing of us?

However, we don't need to care about these things at all. Just like what Conseil said, we have good food and drink, and we have complete freedom. What happened to him actually made us receive such good treatment. Based on this alone, we have no reason to blame him.

From this day on, I began to keep a diary, and recorded our adventure in detail and accurately.What amazed me was that my diary was written on paper made of eelweed in the sea.

In the early morning of November 11th, the cabin of the Nautilus was filled with fresh air, and I knew we were now at the surface again for oxygen.I walked up the central staircase and onto the landing.

It was six o'clock in the morning.I sat on the ledge of the dinghy's hull and breathed the fresh sea air quite comfortably.The sky was overcast and the sea was gray, but the sea was calm with few waves.I hope to meet Captain Nemo on the platform. I wonder if he will come?All I saw was the helmsman locked in the cockpit.

The sun rose slowly from the east, and the sun gradually dispelled the thick fog, and the sea surface was shining golden by the sun.The clouds floating in the sky, dyed by the sun in different shades of color, look refreshing.However, there are patches of "cat's tongue cloud" cat's tongue cloud, small patches of light white clouds with jagged edges.It shows that there will be strong winds all day today.

However, for the "Nautilus", the storm is not afraid, let alone the ordinary wind?

While I was enjoying the sunrise, I suddenly heard someone's footsteps on the platform.

I thought it was Captain Nemo, and was about to greet him, only to realize that it was not him but his deputy who came up.He walked straight ahead, as if I was air and didn't exist.Holding a telescope with a large multiple in his hand, he concentrated on observing various points on the horizon.After observing, he approached the hatch and said a word.I jotted it down because I hear it every morning in the same situation.The phonetic spelling of this sentence is exactly the same as the following:
"Northulon--Respo--Roy--Wilch."

As for what this sentence means, I don't know.

After saying this, the mate went down to the cabin.I think the "Nautilus" may dive into the bottom of the sea again.So I went to the hatch, and went down the narrow passage to my room.

Five days passed and nothing changed.Every morning I stepped out onto the platform, saw the same people, heard the same words, and never saw Captain Nemo.

I made up my mind that I would never think of seeing him again.And on November 11, when I returned to my room with Ned Land and Conseil, I saw a letter lying on my desk.

I picked up the letter and opened it immediately.The handwriting on the letter was clear and smooth, but with an archaic style reminiscent of a German script.

The letter reads:
Professor Aronnax:

It is hereby scheduled to go hunting at Crespo Island tomorrow morning, and Professor Aronnax must be present.I would be very happy if Mr. Professor could come with two companions.

Nemo, captain of the Nautilus

Nov. 1867, 11

"Hunting!" cried Ned Land.

"In the forest of Crespo Island!" Conseil added.

Ned Land added: "Is this eccentric going to land?"

"I think this letter has made it very clear." I said while re-reading the content of the letter.

"That's great, this invitation must be accepted," the Canadian said excitedly, "as soon as we set foot on land, we will know exactly what to do. In addition, being able to eat a few pieces of fresh game also makes me feel happy." Very happy thing."

Didn't Captain Nemo always hate the mainland and the islands?Why now invite us to go hunting in the woods instead?I didn't think much about this puzzling question, but said with satisfaction:

"Let's go and see what kind of place Crespo Island is."

So, I checked the plan map and found that this small island is located at 32°40′ north latitude and 167°50′ west longitude. It was discovered by Captain Crispo in 1801. Loga de la Prada, which translates to "Silver Reef".We are now about eighteen hundred nautical miles from our point of departure, and the Nautilus has changed course slightly, and he is now heading southeast.

This small island is in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. I pointed to the small island and said to my companions:
"If Captain Nemo wants to go to land occasionally, then the place he chooses must be deserted."

Ned Land shook his head, said nothing, and left with Conseil after a while.The silent, expressionless waiter brought me my dinner.After I finished dinner, I lay in bed thinking about hunting tomorrow, and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

The next day, November 11th, I awoke to the feeling that the Nautilus had stopped moving.So, I quickly put on my clothes and came to the living room.

(End of this chapter)