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

Chapter 87: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (18)
The Armillary Sphere arrived at Tikopia Island on February 1828, 2, found a deserter living on the island as a guide and interpreter, and sailed to Vanikoro Islands.On the 10th of the same month, the Vanikoro Islands appeared before their eyes. They sailed around the reef of this island until the 12th, and did not stop until the 14th in the breakwater of the small haven of Vanu. On the 20rd, several crew members on board searched the island and found a few unimportant remnants. The locals always refused to take them to the place of death.This attitude is very suspicious, and it will make people believe that they have mistreated the shipwrecked people. They seem to be very afraid that Dumont Cuvier is coming to avenge La Perouse and his miserable companions. . On the 23th, the natives on the island received some gifts and knew that Dumont Cuvier would not take any retaliation against them, so they decided to lead them to the place where Yajuno, the second officer of the ship, died.

The place where the wreck was lost was between the reefs of the two islands of Bagu and Vanu. The longboat and whaling ship of the "armillary sphere" sailed to this place, and found some anchors, cannons, irons, etc. at a depth of five to six and a half meters Both the limestone and the lead are stuck to the limestone sediment layer and piled up there in all directions.It took a lot of effort for the crew on board to salvage an anchor weighing [-] jin, an iron cannon with a diameter of eight cents, a large piece of lead and two bronze cannons.

Dumont Cuvier also learned from the native population that after losing two boats on the reef near the island, La Bairousi built a smaller boat and set off.However, he disappeared again, and no one knew where he disappeared.So Captain Dumont Juvier erected a monument under a mangrove tree to commemorate the famous navigator and his companions.The monument is built on a coral stone base, in the shape of a simple four-cornered pyramid, without any metal ornaments erected on it, so as not to arouse the greed of the natives.

Dumont Cuvier planned to return, but his crew all suffered from fever, which was caused by the bad climate of the island, and he himself was seriously ill, so the return time was postponed until August 8th.

During this period, the French government worried that Dumont Cuvier would not understand the progress of Di Yong's work, so he sent Legolam de Tourangerin to command the small battleship "Bayanni" to the Vanikoro Islands. The battleship was then anchored off the western coast of America.So, a few months after the Armillary Sphere left, the "Bayani" arrived at Vanikoro Island and found no new material, but only confirmed that the natives did not destroy La Bairousi's tombstone.

This is the main content of the story I told Captain Nemo.

After listening to my story, he said to me: "So, no one knows where the third ship built by the victims of the wreck in the Vanikoro Islands was destroyed?"

"Still don't know."

Captain Nemo said nothing more, but made a gesture for me to follow him into the drawing room.By this time, the Nautilus had dived several meters below the surface, and the panels of the living room had been opened.

I hurried over to the open panel, looked out to sea through the glass partition, and saw that the base of the coral reef was covered with fungi, tube plants, emerald seagrass, carnation grass, tens of thousands of each There are a variety of good-looking fish under it, these fish include abalone, glyph fish, trumpet fish, split bone fish, goldfish and so on.I recognized some scraps that the salvage machine couldn't pick up, all left over from wrecked ships, iron stirrups, anchors, guns, shells, capstans, bow scraps, etc., all of which were now overgrown flowers and plants.

As I was contemplating these forlorn remnants, Captain Nemo said to me in a serious tone:

Captain La Perouse set off on December 1785, 12, commanding the two ships "Compass" and "Armillary Sphere".He first docked at Botany Bay, inspected the Ai Islands and New Caledonia, and then set off for the Santa Cruz Islands, stopping at Namoga Island in the Habayi Islands.Then the two ships came to the reefs of the Vanikoro Islands, which they did not know about.The "Compass" driving ahead collided with a rock on the south coast. The "armillary sphere" came to rescue, but also collided with the reef.The first ship, the Compass, sank quickly, and the second, the Armillary Sphere, lingered for days on the ground below.The local natives kindly entertained the shipwrecked crew.The shipwrecked crew built a smaller ship on the island using materials from the two damaged ships.Several sailors voluntarily stayed on the Vanikoro Islands.The rest of the weak and sick sailors set off with La Perouse and sailed to the Solomon Islands.As a result, the ship was wrecked between Capes Disappointment and Cape Satisfaction on the west coast of the main island of the archipelago.

"How do you know these things?" I exclaimed in surprise.

"I have here the information found at the scene of the accident on the last ship."

Captain Nemo took out a white iron box with the French national emblem printed on it, which had been corroded by salt water, and opened the iron box. I saw a roll of official documents inside. Although the color of the paper had turned yellow, the writing on it was still clear. Recognizable.

This is an order from the French Minister of the Navy to Captain La Perouse, and there is an imperial seal written by King Louis XVI on the edge!

Captain Nemo then said: "Such a death is well deserved for a sailor! This coral tomb is a quiet tomb. I hope my companion and I will not die in another land!"

Torres Strait

On the night of December 12th and 27th, the "Nautilus" left the waters of the Vanikoro Islands at an extremely fast speed and sailed northwestward. It traveled 28 miles in three days, from La Bai Rus Islands pass through the southeastern tip of the Papua Islands.

On New Year's Day in 1868, Conseil came to the platform early in the morning to find me, and he said to me:

"Sir, please allow me to send you holiday blessings and wish you a smooth year!"

"Conseil, I appreciate your well wishes. However, I would like to ask you, what do you mean by 'a good year' in the situation we are in? Captivity on the ship? Or a year of continuing this strange voyage?"

Conseil replied: "Sir, I don't know what to say to Mr. Indeed, we have seen many bizarre and interesting things. For two months, what we saw every day was a miracle, and we didn't feel bored at all. .If it continues like this, I really don't know how it will end in the future. But I think we may never find such an opportunity."

"Such an opportunity will never be found, Conseil."

"In addition, Mr. Nemo is indeed just like his Latin name implies. His presence or absence will not be a hindrance."

"Conseil, what do you mean?"

"If sir doesn't mind what I say, I think a smooth year is a year where we can see everything..."

"You want to see everything? Conseil, that would take a long time! Besides, what would Ned Land think?"

"Ned Land's thinking is exactly the opposite of mine," Conseil replied. "He is practical and greedy. However, he is not satisfied with watching and eating fish every day. To a To a true Saxon, who is accustomed to his steak, and always to have a little brandy or a genie with his meal, it is hard to live without wine, bread, and meat!"

"Conseil, I'm quite used to the eating and drinking conditions on board, so for me, the problem of eating and drinking doesn't bother me."

Conseil replied: "I am the same as my husband, so I want to stay here, but Master Ned Land wants to escape, so if the new year satisfies me, it will dissatisfy him." ; and vice versa. In this way, one of us will always get what we want. After all, I still want to wish Mr. what he wants."

"Thank you, Conseil, but we can only talk about the New Year's gift later. Let me replace it with a handshake! Other than that, I have nothing."

"Sir has never been so generous," Conseil replied.

After speaking, the boy and I left.

By January 1, counting from the point of departure in the Sea of ​​Japan, we had traveled 2 nautical miles, or 340 miles.The dangerous waters of the Coral Sea in the northeast of Australia is what the "Nautilus" is now facing.Our submarine sailed along the coast, only a few nautical miles from the terrible reef. On June 250, 1770, Cook's ship almost sank here.Cook's own boat collided with a rock, and the boat was saved from sinking because a piece of coral rock that was knocked off happened to be stuffed into the hole in the hull that was knocked open.

I would very much like to see this 360 mile long reef.The turbulent water crashed on the reef, making a loud thunderous sound, like rumbling thunder.However, the tilting plane of the "Nautilus" is taking us to a deeper seabed, and I can only pass by the Great Wall made of coral.All I could see were the different kinds of fish caught in the nets.Among the many fishes that were salvaged, I found Jammon, which is as big as a whale, with light blue sides and horizontal stripes on its body. As the fish grows, the horizontal stripes gradually disappear.This kind of fish followed us in groups and provided us with particularly delicious dishes; the fishing net also caught a lot of blue and white bream, which is about five centimeters in length and has a taste similar to sea tripper; we also caught Cone horned flying fish, it is a veritable submarine swallow, which can emit phosphorescent light, and sometimes fly into the air and sometimes into the sea in the dark night.I also found several mollusks and zoophytes in the fishnet, such as emerald worms, seaweeds, rough fish, spur fish, compass fish, cherry fish, and glass fish.There are also some plants and flowers hit by fishing nets, mainly floating beautiful seaweed, blade algae and macrocystis, which have a kind of mucus secreted from the pores on the body.In this seaweed, I picked a very beautiful colloidal seaweed. In the museum, this kind of seaweed is considered a rare thing in nature.

After two days through the Coral Sea, we reached the coast of Papua on January 1th.At this time, Captain Nemo told me that he intended to go to the Indian Ocean through the Torres Strait.Other than that, he didn't say a word to me.Ned Land felt that this road brought him close to the European sea, and he was very happy.

On both sides of the Torres Strait, New Holland Island is on one side, and Papua Island, also known as New Guinea Island, is on the other.This strait is a very dangerous area. Not only are there dense reefs in the strait, but also the natives of this coast often come and go.

Papua Island is located between 0°19′ and 10°20′ south latitude and between 128°23′ and 146°15′ west longitude. It is about 130 miles long and [-] miles wide, with a total area of ​​about [-] square miles.At noon, when the ship's officer came to measure the height of the sun, I saw the top of Ahuas, where there were steep peaks, rising one after another.

In 1511, the Portuguese Francis Serrono discovered the island. In the later time, people came here one after another, including Don Jose de Minasses who came in 1526; Came in 1527; Spanish general Alva de Saavedra came in 1528; Jugo Ortiz came in 1545; Dutchman Shutian came in 1616; Nicolas Suleuk, Tasman , Humer, Cartier, Edward, Bushville, Cook, and Holest came in 1753; Doublie came in 1823;Rainz said: "Papua is the black base that occupies all of Malaya." I'm sure this voyage will bring me up to the dreaded Andamanni.

The "Nautilus" is now sailing into the mouth of the most dangerous strait on earth, a strait that even the most daring navigator dare not pass. It was here that several of Dumont Cuvier's ships ran aground in 1840, almost to the point of wreckage.Our "Nautilus", which has conquered all the dangers of the sea, is now coming to compete with this coral reef group.

Although the width of the Torres Strait is about 34 miles, it is very difficult to cross it, because the strait is blocked by countless islets, islands, reefs and rocks.Therefore, Captain Nemo was particularly cautious when passing through this strait. The "Nautilus" was traveling at a moderate speed on the sea.Like a whale's tail, the submarine's thrusters slowly hit the water.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I came to the empty platform with my two companions.In front of us was the navigator's cockpit, and if I'm right, Captain Nemo himself was in it commanding the Nautilus himself.

A very detailed map of the Leeds Strait was in front of me, and I looked at it very intently.This map was drawn by the hydraulic engineer Vincent Don Dugerin, former ensign and now admiral of the Gougo de Boia, who was a part of the Dumont Cuvier during his last round-the-world voyage. One of the staff members.This map is the same as Captain King's, and it is the most complete map that can guide us through this narrow waterway avoiding danger.

The surroundings of the "Nautilus" were choppy, and the waves ran from southeast to northwest at a speed of two and a half nautical miles, beating on the coral reefs scattered around the sea.

"What a ferocious storm this sea is!" Ned Land said to me.

"Yes, indeed," I answered, "and a ship like the Nautilus can't handle it so easily."

The Canadian added: "That strange captain must be very familiar with the route he took, because I saw a lot of coral reefs there, and just touching it could smash his submarine to pieces."

Yes, our situation is indeed dangerous, but the Nautilus does not follow the course taken by the Armillary Sphere and the Zealot, which fatally struck Dumont Cuvier, it seems With magic, it is possible to slide safely among these dangerous reefs.It keeps to the north, travels along Mollie Island, and then turns back to the southwest towards the Cumberland Sea Passage.I thought he'd drive all the way to Cumberland, but then he turned abruptly to the northwest, passing through many unknown islets and islands, towards Tondee and Morvey Strait.I wondered at the time whether this reckless Captain Nemo was going to steer his ship into the dangerous path where Dumont Cuvier's ship was almost sunk.Unexpectedly, he changed his course again and headed straight to the west—to Gueboroa Island.

At this time, it was three o'clock in the afternoon.The waves rolled and the tide rose. The "Nautilus" approached Gueborole Island. There is a beautiful Banda forest on the island, which is still as impressive as it is in front of my eyes.When the submarine walked about two miles along the island, suddenly, a violent impact knocked me down. The "Nautilus" collided with a reef and was immobilized, leaning a little to the left.When I stood up, I saw Captain Nemo and his mate come onto the platform.They checked the condition of the boat, and then said something I couldn't understand.

Gueborole Island was now about two nautical miles to the starboard side of our submarine, and the coast of the island looped from north to west like a gigantic arm, some of the coral tops being exposed by the ebb tide.The hull of our submarine was very strong and was not damaged.The tide in this area is usually not high, and our submarine is stranded here.Although the submarine was not sunk or damaged, the low tide made it very difficult for the submarine to return to the sea, and it might be stranded here forever.If that was the case, Captain Nemo's diving boat would be over.

I was thinking wildly, but Captain Nemo walked up to me confidently without feeling nervous.

I quickly asked him, "Did something happen?"

He replied, "No, it's just a small problem." He answered me.

"But this little problem has the potential to make you the land dweller you don't like to be again!" I continued.

Captain Nemo looked at me strangely, and then made a negative gesture to me.This means that his conviction is firm, and nothing can compel him to return to the mainland.After a while of silence, he said to me again:
"Mr. Aronnax, our underwater journey has just begun. The 'Nautilus' has not been damaged yet, and it can still take you to see the secrets of the ocean. It is my honor to be able to travel under the sea with you. Hope our trip is over so soon."

"Captain Nemo, the 'Nautilus' is stranded in a sea with low tide. Even if the tide rises, it is difficult to float such a large submarine. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to leave the reef and return to the sea. I I don't know what else you can do." I said to him, not noticing the sarcasm in what he had just said to me.

Captain Nemo answered me: "Professor, you are right. The tide in the Pacific Ocean does not rise very high. But there is a difference of one and a half meters between the high tide and the low tide in the Torres Strait. Today is January 1th, 4th." Days from now the moon will be round, and then this lovely moon will lift the waters high, and lend me strength to bring me back to the sea!"

After Captain Nemo had finished speaking, he returned to the "Nautilus" with the mate who followed him.And this big boat seemed to be firmly fixed on the reef by the glue secreted by those coral polyps, and it remained motionless.

After the captain left, Ned Land came up to me and asked me, "How is it, sir?"

(End of this chapter)