Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 2 Shark
On July 1864, 7, in the strait between Northern Ireland and Scotland, under the strong northeasterly wind, a super luxury cruise ship was sailing on the wide sea with full power.

The Union Jack on the stern and the owner's blue flag on the mainmast fluttered with dignity.

On the blue flag, embroidered in gold thread are two striking, golden letters: "EC", which is the initials of Sir Edward Glenarvan, the owner of the ship, and above these two letters is the Duke's Signet.

Sir Glenarvan, the owner of the cruise ship named "Duncan", is not only one of the 12 Scottish elders of the British House of Lords, but also the most famous member of the famous Royal Thames River Cruise Club in the UK.

At this moment there were the Duke, the young Lady Helen, and one of the Duke's cousins, Major MacNabbs, on board the Duncan.

Technically speaking, the Duncan is on her maiden voyage.It had just entered a few nautical miles beyond the Firth of Clyde and was now heading towards Glasgow.

Just as the ship was approaching Alan Island, the sailors on the observation deck ran over quickly and reported that a big fish was following the cruise ship.

Sir John Mungle, the captain, immediately sent for the news to Sir Glenarvan.

When he heard the news, Sir and Major MacNabbs came to the poop and asked the captain what kind of fish it was.

"That's rare, sir, and I think it's a shark!" replied Munger. "Strange, there are sharks here too?" the Duke asked in surprise.

"Your Excellency, there is a shark called 'Libra fish', no matter how high or low the sea temperature is, it can adapt. If I read correctly, this is a 'Libra fish'."

"If your Excellency agrees, and of course Madam is willing to take a look at the novel and unique fishing method, we will use this villain to demonstrate."

The captain replied calmly and methodically. "Well, MacNabbs, how about a try?" asked the Duke.

"Of course, I agree," said the major calmly.

"The number of this kind of shark is extremely large, and it is also extremely harmful. It is a great deed to catch it today and fall into our hands. It can be used for everyone to watch and entertain, and it can also eliminate harm for the people. It is a great deed. He Le Why not!"

Captain Mengel added. "Okay then, let's do it."

said the duke.So he sent to inform Madame, who was very pleased to enjoy this fascinating spectacle, and came up to the poop at once.

Through the clear blue water, people can clearly see the vigorous and brave shark, which is diving up and down, closely following the big ship.

At the moment, Captain Menger is giving orders one by one.The sailors threw a thick rope into the sea from the starboard side according to the instructions.

There was a big hook at the end of the thick rope, and there was a piece of bacon hooked on the hook.

The shark, which was 50 yards away, immediately smelled the smell of bacon, and rushed up like an arrow.

I saw its gray-black double fins violently slapping the sea water and rushing straight towards the bacon.The two big eyes are round and round, with a lustful and irresistible look, as if the bacon will get lost if you are not careful.

The shark's head is very wide, like a double-headed hammer; when turning over, you can still see its sharp white teeth.

Captain Menger's eyesight is quite accurate, it is indeed "Libra fish", and the French call it "Jewish fish".

The sailors and passengers on the Duncan stared at the shark intently, and saw the guy rushing to the hook, swallowing the bacon in one bite, and rolling, the thick rope was straightened immediately .

The sailors turned the windlass at the other end of the line quickly, and the shark turned and wobbled and was caught out of the water.

Immediately, the sailors tied another rope into a noose, caught the shark's tail, and then tightened it so hard that the shark could not move.

The sailors quickly hoisted the shark up and slammed it onto the deck; one sailor tiptoed over and slammed down the shark's tail with a sharp blow of the axe.

So far, the shark fishing performance has come to an end; however, people's curiosity has not been satisfied.

According to the past practice, after killing a shark, it must be disembowelled and searched in its stomach.Because sharks eat just about anything, this search is usually rewarding.

Mrs. Glenarvan did not wish to witness such filth and cruelty, so she went back to her room alone.

The shark whose tail was severed is still panting.I saw that it was ten feet long and weighed more than six hundred catties; this is not the largest among sharks.However, this "Libra fish" can be classified as the most ferocious among sharks.

The sailors only took a few strokes to open the shark's stomach. It was empty, and it could be seen that it hadn't eaten for a long time.

When the slightly disappointed sailors were about to throw it back into the sea, the bosun carefully noticed a rough-looking mass in the shark's belly.

"What's that?" he cried. "Oh, really! It looks like a stone. I think it swallows stones to keep its balance." Said a sailor.

"Forget it, it must be a cannonball! It's been shot into its stomach, and it hasn't been digested yet!" Another sailor expressed his different views.

"It's all nonsense! Is it possible that this guy is an alcoholic? It's not counted if he drank alcohol, and even drank the bottle into his stomach."

First Mate Tom Austin immediately contradicted his men. "Oh, there's a bottle in that shark's belly?" exclaimed Sir Glenarvan in surprise. "Yes, it's a bottle. Only this bottle didn't come out of the wine cellar."

replied the bosun. "Austin, go and take out that bottle carefully. There are often important letters in the bottle at sea." The jazz ordered. "You really think so?" asked Major McNabbs. "I think it's at least possible."

"Oh, I don't want to argue with you; maybe there's some secret in that bottle!"

replied the major. "The answer will be revealed in a moment. How is it, Austin?" Jazz asked eagerly.

"Look!" The bosun turned around, and carefully showed Sir the thing that had been taken out of the shark's belly with great effort, and only the outline of the bottle could be vaguely seen.

"Okay, tell someone to wash it quickly and bring it to the poop." Austin immediately carried out Sir's order, cleaned the bottle, and sent it to the table in the square hall.Sir Glenarvan, Major MacNabbs, and Captain Mungle sat around the table together; generally speaking, women are more curious, so Mrs. Glenarvan also stood aside.

At sea, any little thing will be treated as a big thing by people.

Everyone stared at the mysterious bottle silently, and guessed what it contained in their minds: Is it a distress letter from a wrecked ship?Or a doggerel written by a bored voyager?

Sir Glenarvan came to examine the bottle himself.I saw that he looked very focused and his movements were very careful, just like a British prosecutor looking for clues in a serious case.

Sir Glenarvan did not seem to make a fuss at all, because there are often important clues under the seemingly ordinary appearance.

This is a thin-necked wine bottle, and it is very strong, the glass is very thick, and there are several turns of wire wrapped around the mouth of the bottle; from these appearance characteristics, it can be seen that it is a product of the Champagne province of France. If you use it to smash the chair leg, the chair leg will break. And the bottle won't break.

This is why the bottle has survived countless collisions without breaking. "It's a bottle from the Keliker Winery." The major said casually. "It doesn't matter which winery made it, the most important thing now is to know where it comes from. Isn't it, Major?" said the Duchess. "I will know, dear Helen," said the Duke. "From the fact that the solidified substance on the outside of the bottle is close to the ore, it can be judged that it came from a very distant place! And before being swallowed by the shark, It has been drifting at sea for a long time."

"Yes, there are such thick impurities on the outside of the bottle, which means that it has drifted a long way." The major also agreed.

"Then where did it come from?" Madam Helen looked anxious and asked again.

"Don't worry, my dear, all the answers are hidden in this bottle, it needs to wait patiently."

Sir said, scratching at the seal on the bottle.Soon, the cork was revealed, but it had been badly corroded by sea water.

"It's such a pity that it wouldn't be complete even if there were letters in it."

"Yes," agreed the major. "However, this can fully explain a problem: if the cork is not tightly closed, it will sink soon after being thrown into the sea; thanks to the shark swallowing it in time, it can be preserved."

said the duke thoughtfully. "That's right, but if we had taken the bottle straight out of the ocean, we'd have important latitude and longitude clues; and by studying the air currents and currents, we'd be able to tell exactly where it drifted. Now we're taking it out of the shark's belly. , so it is impossible to judge."

Captain Mengel replied. "Well, let us study it a little more," said Sir Glenarvan.

He pulled out the cork extremely carefully, and a sea smell rushed out immediately.

"What is it?" Madam Helen asked impatiently because of a woman's usual impatience.

"It should be a letter, if I read correctly," replied Sir Glenarvan. "Letter? Letter!" Madam Helen cried after hearing this. "However, these papers are all wet and stick to the side of the bottle, so it's hard to take them out." Glenarvan said.

"Break the bottle," said the major. "No, I don't want to smash the bottle." Glenarvan expressed his dissent. "Of course that's good." The major changed his mind immediately.

"Of course it's best not to smash the bottle, but the letter inside is more important than the bottle, so what should we do if we don't smash it?" Mrs. Helen asked.

"Your Excellency only needs to break the thin neck of the bottle, and you can get the letter out."

Captain Mengel suggested. "Yes, that's it, my dear Edward," cried Mrs. Helene again.It had to be like this, although Sir Glenarvan was still unwilling, but there was really no other way in front of him.Even the layer of mineralization on the bottleneck cannot be smashed without a hammer.

Presently the neck of the bottle was smashed; Sir Glenarvan carefully drew some papers from the bottle.

He carefully uncovered the paper layer by layer and spread it on the table.Lady Helene, the major, and the captain all stared intently at Sir's hand.

(End of this chapter)