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

Chapter 95: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (26)
Among these shellfish, there are many arthropods of various shapes, the most representative of which is the coconut crab that Darwin once observed carefully.Nature has given this ferocious animal amazing strength and a terrifying appearance. It often rides the tide to the coast, and then climbs to the coconut tree to get the coconut off. Its big claws can peel off the coconut shell powerfully. , Take out the coconut meat and eat it.At the bottom of the bright water, coconut crabs move swiftly, even rampage, unstoppable.Contrary to the fast movement of coconut crabs, sea turtles live slowly and freely. The sea turtles here belong to the same type as those on the Malabar coast. They generally choose to pass slowly among the rocks.In addition, there are triangular frogs, and one of the specialties of this sea area-Big fish.

At seven o'clock, we finally reached the reef rock dike, on which there are countless thousands of pearl oysters.These valuable molluscs cling to rock and rarely move.In terms of freedom, pearl oysters are far inferior to seaweed, at least the hand of God has given seaweed the ability to move.

The two shells of pearl oysters are similar, both are round, with thick shell walls, and the shell's appearance is rough due to parasites.Some pearl oysters have light blue lines on their shells, and the ends of the lines glow faintly, which is the characteristic of younger pearl oysters.The surface of pearl oysters over ten years old will be rougher, darker in color, and can reach fifteen centimeters in size.

Captain Nemo showed me a large pile of pearls, and I understood how inexhaustible this treasure is. In some simple circumstances, the creativity of nature far exceeds the destructive power of human beings.At this time, Ned Land was carrying out this kind of sabotage, and he hurriedly stuffed the largest pearl oysters into his net bag.

We stopped only a moment, and continued to follow the captain, who followed a path known only to himself.The bottom of the water gradually rises, and I can reach out of the water by raising my arms. At the same time, the height of the rock veins is decreasing, and we will encounter tall, cone-shaped rocks from time to time.When circling these rocks, from time to time, you will find thick crustaceans hiding in the shadows, with their long claws erected, their eyes motionless, staring at us intruders vigilantly.

There are countless spiny fishes, vine fishes, coiled fishes and ring fishes crawling under their feet, as if they are on display, they all extend their tentacles and tendrils there specially.

Suddenly, in a rock pile covered with all kinds of seaweeds, a large cave suddenly appeared.As soon as I walked into the entrance of the cave, I found that the light here was very dim, and the sunlight that could shine here was very weak, even unable to penetrate the water layer, and the remaining light turned into lines soaked in the water.

Following the captain into the cave, my eyes quickly got used to the light inside, and I saw a very wide dome-like structure composed of natural stone pillars. At first glance, it seems to be an ancient ruin submerged in sea water.Why did our guide lead us to this mysterious underwater cave?I figured it out pretty quickly.

We went down a steep incline until we hit level ground.At this moment, Captain Nemo stopped, pointing his hand forward at something, and when the three of us took a good look at it, our eyes couldn't help but widen.

It was a huge shellfish, it was Chequ shellfish, and it was the crown of shellfish among marine life.I roughly estimate that the back of this car is about two meters wide, which is larger than the one in the living room of the "Nautilus".

Before I approached this rare mollusk in the world, the fiber band of its shell firmly fixed it on the granite slate, allowing it to grow smoothly in calm sea water.The weight of this shellfish is [-] kilograms. The adductor muscle of this kind of shellfish is very developed, it is estimated that it can have [-] kilograms of clean meat.

Undoubtedly, Captain Nemo knew about the existence of this king of shellfish.Judging from the path he chose, he has been to this place more than once, and he must have brought us here to show off his amazing discovery and private collection.But I was mistaken. Captain Nemo's trip has a special purpose. He came here just to learn about the situation behind the car.

The two huge shells of this car shell were half open. The captain went up and inserted a short knife between the two shells to prevent them from closing, and then pushed the mollusk's membranous skin apart with his hands.

In the layers of skin and leaf-shaped folds, a coconut-sized pearl can be seen, very regular spherical, and completely transparent.

This is an immeasurable rare treasure, and my curiosity drove me to reach out, wanting to take this huge pearl, weigh it, and touch its surface.

The captain stopped me, he drew his dagger, and the two shells of the car were closed.

I understood Captain Nemo's intention to keep the pearl in the shell, and the mollusk secretions accumulated layer by layer on the surface of the pearl, and it would continue to grow larger.It was Captain Nemo who discovered this natural cave and the rare treasure inside. It can be said that this is the pearl he cultivated. Sooner or later, this treasure will appear in his display cabinet. At that time, I don’t know if I am still on the ship.The captain can even imitate the Chinese or Indians, and stuff foreign objects into the shell, and over time, new pearls will be produced.In any case, this pearl is the largest I have ever seen, much larger than the captain's collection, and it is worth at least ten million francs.

It is a natural display jewel, not a luxury jewellery, because no woman's ear can withstand the weight of this large bead.

After viewing the huge Chequbei, Captain Nemo led us out of the cave and back to the reef.In the clear water, there is no work of pearl divers, only a few of us who have nothing to do here for a walk.We didn't file all the way when we came, but walked away scatteredly, walking or stopping at random, and I had already forgotten the ridiculous thing that had disturbed me for a long time.The seabed here is also very close to the sea surface, like an underwater plateau, my head is only one meter above the water surface.Conseil came over, touched mine with his brass hat, winked his eyes, and gave me another friendly salute.The area of ​​the underwater plateau is not large, and soon we walked back to the deep water. After 10 minutes, Captain Nemo suddenly stopped moving.I thought he was going to stop and go somewhere else, and then he gestured for us to crouch close to him in a wide depression.We were wondering, I saw him pointing to a direction in the water, and I tried to identify it.

Five meters away from us, a dark figure appeared above the water, sinking rapidly.Is it a shark?After a while, I finally saw clearly that it was not the sea monster I was afraid of.

It was a man--a real man, a Negro from India, of course he came to fish for pearls.This is a poor man. He was driven by his master to work before the season for pearl fishing came.I could see the bottom of the skiff he was in, just a few feet above his head in the water.He dived into the water, made a few moves and then came up again, with a loaf-shaped stone between his feet, and a rope tied to the stone, connected to the small boat, which was his lifeline.I observed his whole movement carefully. When he got to the bottom of the sea about five meters deep, he immediately knelt down, stuffed the pearl shells he could get into his pocket, and then dived quickly.Empty your pockets on the boat and go into the water again with the stones in your hands. This up and down takes only 30 seconds.

Because of the distance and angle, the pearl fishers couldn't see us.How could this poor Indian think that there was a group of armed people beside him, watching his every move.

He worked several times back and forth, and each time he went into the water, he could only collect a dozen or so shells.The shells are firmly glued to the rock and can only be picked by pulling hard. It is still unknown whether there are pearls in these snails.

I watched his movements without blinking. He seemed experienced and methodical in his work. For half an hour, nothing disturbed him.Suddenly, the Indian pearl diver stopped. I saw him make a frightened gesture, and immediately got up, and jumped up vigorously, trying to float to the surface of the sea immediately.

At this time, a huge black shadow appeared above the unfortunate pearl fisherman's head, and I understood the reason for his fear, it was a huge shark.With terrifyingly bright eyes and a huge mouth full of teeth, it charged at the pearl fisherman.The nightmare became reality, and I was so frightened that my limbs went limp and I couldn't move.

This is obviously a hungry shark, otherwise they would not actively attack humans.This gigantic creature flicked its fins vigorously, and rushed towards the pearl fisherman. The poor Indian was still in danger. He dodged deftly, avoiding the deadly sharp teeth of the shark, but he could not escape the attack of the shark's tail. The fish tail hit him and knocked him to the bottom of the water all at once.

It was only a matter of an instant, the shark had already turned around, and it was about to bite the pearl diver in one bite.At this time, I felt that Captain Nemo beside me made a move. With a short knife in his hand, he swam straight to the shark. He wanted to rescue the pearl fisherman from the shark's mouth.

Just as the shark was about to bite the pearl fisherman, it saw a new enemy approaching. Being aggressive by nature, it immediately turned around and rushed towards the captain.

Captain Nemo braced himself for the huge enemy.The shark rushed in front of him very quickly. Its huge mouth and fangs made people shudder. The captain quickly dodged aside to avoid the sharp edge of the shark, and at the same time pierced the belly of the fish with a short knife.A battle of mermaids has begun.

The stabbed shark went crazy, ignoring the blood gushing from its wound, this guy seemed not afraid of pain.The sea water was muddy by the mackerel, and the bloody water completely blocked the sight.We hurried to the bright place, only to see the brave Captain Nemo grabbing the fin of the shark with one hand and stabbing the belly of the shark with a knife, but due to the wrong angle and the short length of the knife, he failed to kill the shark. place.The shark couldn't do anything about this brave warrior for a while, it rolled up and down furiously, and the sea water it brought up almost knocked me over.

I really wanted to step forward to help the captain, but I was firmly suppressed by the fear in my heart, and I couldn't move a little bit.

At this time, the situation of the battle between the man and the shark changed drastically. The captain couldn't withstand the strength of the shark, and was thrown off by its huge body and fell to the bottom of the water.The shark is indeed a killer in the sea, once it succeeds, it immediately attacks, and the captain is about to die under the sharp teeth of the shark.At the critical moment, Ned Land rushed forward with a harpoon in his hand, and he threw out the harpoon swiftly and powerfully, which just hit the mackerel.

Immediately, a large amount of blood gushed out of the shark, and it struggled desperately, but the harpoon pierced its heart, and in its last gasp, its tail overturned Conseil, who leaned over to watch, and the shark finally twitched killed.

Ned Land helped Captain Nemo to his feet. The captain was not injured, but was a little weak.He stood up, walked to the pearl diver, cut the rope connecting him to the stone, picked him up, and quickly floated to the surface of the sea.

Captain Nemo first checked whether he could save the unfortunate pearl fisherman. I hope the captain can save him. Although the poor man was unconscious in the water for a short time, if he was swept by the shark's tail, he would die from serious injuries. die.

Under the timely treatment by Conseil and the captain, the pearl fisher gradually regained consciousness.When he opened his eyes and saw four strange copper heads looking at him, he must have been filled with fear.

Captain Nemo took out a cloth bag full of pearls from his pocket and put it in the hands of the pearl divers. This was alms given to the lowest class people in Ceylon by a legendary figure who swore never to set foot on land again. and help.The pearl fisherman's hands trembled, and his eyes showed reverence and worship for the gods. This small cloth bag was undoubtedly his life-saving money.

Captain Nemo motioned for us to return to the reef and retrace our steps.Half an hour later, we saw the anchor chain on the "Nautilus" boat.After boarding the ship, the crew helped us remove the heavy brass cap. Captain Nemo first said to Ned Land:
"Mr. Lan, thank you for saving me just now."

"Captain, that is your reward for saving us earlier." Ned Land replied.

A smile appeared on the captain's lips, and he turned to the crew and said, "Go back to the 'Nautilus'."

The dinghy was moving fast on the water, and a few minutes later we saw the carcass of a shark floating on the surface.Judging by its dark fins, I recognized this as the most aggressive black mackerel in the Indian Ocean.Its body is generally more than 25 feet long, and its terrifying mouth accounts for a third of its total length.From its half-open mouth, it can be vaguely seen that the upper jaw has six rows of teeth that are almost equilateral triangles, so it can be determined that this is an adult shark.

When we were looking at the dead shark carefully, more than a dozen sharks appeared around the boat. Obviously they were attracted by the bloody smell in the sea, so they ignored us and rushed towards the dead shark , competing for its meat.

At about 08:30, we returned to the "Nautilus".

Sitting opposite Captain Nemo in the ship's lounge, I reflected on my trip to the Mannar Reef just before and after.There are two points worth mentioning, one is Captain Nemo's courage to single out the black mackerel, and the other is his heartfelt and selfless rescue and help to the pearl divers.The eccentric did not quite cut off his affection for his fellow landmen.

When I confronted me with this idea, Captain Nemo sounded a little excited, and said:

"Professor, this Indian pearl fisher comes from a country that has been oppressed for a long time. As long as I have a little life left, my heart will be with this country and the people of this country!"

Red Sea
On January 1, the Nautilus left Ceylon and entered the curved waters between the Maldives and the Laccadives. Our speed was twenty knots and soon left Ceylon behind. horizon.We drive along Gitan Island, a coral island discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 29 and one of the nineteen main islands of the Laccadives, located at latitudes 1499° and 10°14 N. ' between 30° and 69°50' E.

According to my records, we have sailed 220 nautical miles, or [-] miles, since our departure from the Sea of ​​Japan.

On January 1, the "Nautilus" surfaced, and I went to the platform to watch, but there was no land here.The bow of the ship is facing the direction of north-northwest, which is going to the Sea of ​​Oman.The Sea of ​​Oman is located between the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Peninsula, and is the necessary sea area from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

Obviously, if the ship sails into the Persian Gulf, it cannot go on to Europe. We have to return. Where is Captain Nemo going to take us?I am also confused about this issue.

The Canadian was very dissatisfied with the present situation, and I advised him:
"Ned Land, let's go with the captain. We can go wherever he wants us to go."

"What do you mean by following the captain?" The Canadian didn't agree with this, "Then he must not take us on a wrong road. There is no exit from the Persian Gulf. If we foolishly crash into it, we will soon be dispirited. way back."

"Okay, then let's go back. The 'Nautilus' is going to go to the Red Sea, and it can enter from the Bab Ermante Strait (Arabic, which means the Mandeb Strait)."

"Professor," Ned Land was somewhat dissatisfied with my words, "should I remind you that the Red Sea is as inaccessible as the Persian Gulf, and the Isthmus of Suez has not yet been dug through. It’s just a strange ship, and it can’t pass in the waterway with dikes and locks. So, we can’t go back to Europe by taking the route of the Red Sea.”

"Yes, it did, that's why I said we might go back to Europe."

"Then how do you estimate?"

"I think Captain Nemo will let the 'Nautilus' sail through the waters of Arabia and Egypt, return to the Indian Ocean, and then go southward, passing through the Mozambique Strait or the sea at the east gate of Madagascar, and circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope."

"What about after rounding the Cape of Good Hope?" The Canadian's stubbornness came to the fore.

"Then we can enter the Atlantic Ocean, which we have never been to, my friend! Are you tired of traveling under the sea like today? How can you remain indifferent to such a strange and varied underwater world? This type of travel is unique and I would be very sorry if it ended so quickly."

"Professor Aronnax," said the Canadian, "I have to remind you again that we have been under house arrest on this ship for almost three months. Don't you want to go back to land?"

"No, Ned, I don't know, and I don't want to know, I don't count the hours to get through each day. We can't decide our own future, so it's completely useless to discuss too much about how to leave. Ned, if one day You said to me: 'We have a chance of escape.' I will discuss it with you again, but this is not the case. Besides, I can tell you frankly that Captain Nemo will probably never risk going to the seas of Europe. .”

From January 1 to February 31, in four days, the "Nautilus" sailed through the Sea of ​​Oman at different water depths and at variable speeds. Cross the Tropic of Cancer.

When we left the Sea of ​​Oman, we overlooked the city of Muscat, which is the largest city in Oman. The terrain surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea makes its appearance strange and spectacular.But we had no time to savor it, and the Nautilus soon dived into deep water.

(End of this chapter)