Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 54: Forbidden Mountain (1)
It seems that as long as you want to escape for your life, you have to climb over this mountain.About 100 feet from the summit now.If only Paganel was by his side now, he would be able to tell his companions where they were going after climbing the mountain, because the mountains in front of them made outsiders almost lost in confusion.

At this time, the Maori had chased to the foot of the mountain.Can no longer hesitate.Glenarvan waved his hands and shouted to his companions:
"Guys, come on! Don't worry about anything else for now, let's talk about climbing to the top of the mountain, hurry up!"

Everyone went up the mountain desperately.

Only 5 minutes, thrilling 5 minutes!They finally climbed to the top of the mountain.

Take a breath first, and then look back to see where the Maoris below have been chasing.Standing on the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of all the people and things in Daohubo.The quiet and open lake is sparkling, surrounded by mountains and forests.It can be clearly seen that the peaks of Bilongjia Mountain surround the lake to the north, and the south is the crater of Tongjialiluo Mountain, which is steaming with flames and black smoke.

To the east of the lake is surrounded by the Huaxi Tilian Mountains, where peaks and peaks are connected, and mountains and ridges are connected.

It is the mountain range in front of you that runs from Cook Bay to the East Point, obliquely running through the entire North Island.

According to the current situation, if you want to escape, you must first go to the other side of the mountain, and then advance through the deep valley.

But is there a way out there?Glenarvan's brain began to become a little confused and fuzzy.The sun radiates golden rays, and the mountain fog has been dispelled.But at this time, in the smallest valley below, the Maori were jumping back and forth frantically.Now, the straight-line distance between the fugitive and his pursuers is only 500 feet.

Glenarvan clearly realized at this moment: he must use all his strength to escape quickly, otherwise he would be overtaken or surrounded.

"Let's get down from the top of this mountain quickly, quickly!" He yelled desperately, forgetting his fatigue, "The sooner the better! Before they outflank!"

Mary and Lady Helene pulled themselves to their feet again, but at the moment they looked as if they were still in shock.

At this moment, McNabbs stopped them both: "Don't run in a hurry, hey, look!" During his speech, he gestured to the foot of the mountain.Everyone turned their heads in time.The Maori who were chasing after him suddenly stopped, and even stood still, as if they had received some orders.The angry and roaring crowd lined up at the foot of the mountain.Obviously, their angry roars could not be contained.Cursing, pointing, and waving the weapons in their hands vigorously, even the dogs barked at the top of the mountain.

However, no one dared to chase after him.It's inexplicable!
People standing on the top of the mountain at this moment, you look at me, I look at you, don't know what to do.

And just as everyone looked at each other, John let out a cry of sudden realization.He pointed to a fort on a high place to show his companions.

Robert exclaimed in surprise:

"Calatet's grave!" "Really? Exactly? Robert?" Glenarvan echoed. "True! True! I know it. Sir." It was true, and Robert's eyes were right, that it was Karatet's grave.

On the top of that hill, about fifty feet from them, there were many stakes all around, and it looked like it had just been painted.is not that right?They had seen it from a distance in the cottage, it was the new tomb of Chief Karatet.

It seems that they have already fled to Mount Mengganamu, and the more panicked people are, the less they can recognize their location.Jazz led the group to continue climbing up the slope until they reached the tomb that was "forbidden by God".I saw a particularly large gap in front of the cemetery, which was blocked by a straw mat—could this be considered the door of the tomb?

Glenarvan bolstered up his courage, he walked over and lifted the straw mat, wanting to get inside the "Udouba".

"Ah? Why is there such a big living person!" He was amazed. "There are living people in the grave? What the hell!" The major didn't believe it. "Really, I think it's a Maori!" "Then let's go in and have a look!" So Glenarvan, the major, Robert and John got into the tomb together.

Oops, there is a Maori!
All I saw was that he was wearing a Formion cloak, and he was seriously arranging the meals.Because of the dim light, he couldn't see his face clearly.But it can be felt from the feeling that he is not so fierce and rude, and he does not show any surprise.

Glenarvan was about to speak just now, but the Maori spoke first - he spoke fluent English, and his tone was gentle, which sounded extraordinarily friendly.

"Sit down, my dear sir! Breakfast is ready for you!" Hey, it's Paganel!Everyone shouted with joy and stretched out their arms to embrace him, and at this time people outside the tomb also rushed in when they heard Paganel's name.Ah, what a surprise that the great geographer has appeared again!
This time we have a guide.Everyone kept asking him what was the matter, and Paganel didn't know who to answer first.But Glenarvan reminded loudly: "There are so many Maori chasing us down the mountain!" After hearing this, Paganel shrugged nonchalantly and said:
"Maori? Huh! I'm not afraid of them! What are you afraid of?"

"Aren't you afraid of them?..."

"Yes! They're all a bunch of idiots! Don't be afraid of them!"

With that said, Paganel led the group out of "Udouba".I saw the group of Maori still yelling and shouting without moving.

"You idiots! Go shouting as much as you want! Idiots! Even if your throat breaks, you will never dare to chase us for half a step!" Paganel cursed triumphantly.

"Why?" Glenarvan asked. "Because that hated and hateful chief is buried here! So this whole mountain is 'forbidden' by God! We are absolutely safe!"

"Is the whole mountain 'forbidden by the gods'?"

"Yes, my fellows, that's why I fled here! Just like those unfortunate people fled to the Holy Land in the Middle Ages in Europe."

"Thank God for keeping us safe!" Madam Helen raised her hands and prayed to the sky.Yes, it was this forbidden mountain that protected them.

Although it cannot be safely said that he is free from all dangers, he can temporarily avoid disaster at this moment.

Now, everyone has a feeling of narrow escape.At this time, Glenarvan was full of emotions, and even had a gut-wrenching feeling—if he hadn't been able to escape, he might have died at the hands of the Maori by now.

Paganel comforted everyone: "Hmph, wanting to besiege us? That's just daydreaming! I assure everyone, we can definitely get rid of these idiots in less than two days!" "How can we get rid of it?" Gerry Na Fan was a little suspicious in it.

"For the time being, I can't say for sure," but Paganel showed a sure-fire look, "However, we definitely have a way!"

There was a moment of calm.After a little reassurance, the partners all wanted to know how the geographer escaped from the cottage. Everyone was very curious and waited for him to speak, but he changed his habit of talking eloquently, and stopped talking after a few words.

"Why does Paganel look like a different person?" McNabbs pondered deeply.

The attitude he displayed was really puzzling. This Paganel unconsciously wrapped his Formion cloak tightly around him, as if he was afraid that his companions would scrutinize his appearance carefully.In the face of everyone's repeated questioning, he always evaded his words as if he was embarrassed.

So, everyone stopped asking questions, and deliberately found some other topics.But as soon as Paganel talked about other things, he stopped hemming and hawing, and even talked and laughed as before.From his few words and general introduction, the companions generally understood Paganel's experience.It turned out that, like Robert, he escaped from the stronghold in the chaos when Calate was killed.Unfortunately, however, he ran into another Maori tribe.The chief of that tribe is handsome and tall, looks smart and can speak fluent English.He was friendly and rubbed the tip of his nose against Paganel's in a very friendly manner.The geographer was still in fear, afraid of being tied up by them again, so he was always on guard.However, the chief received him in a very cordial manner and stayed with him at every step.So Paganel knew what to do.

The chief's name is "Xiyi", which means "sunshine".On the surface, he doesn't look like a particularly vicious person.He wanted to use this method to win over the scholar, because in his heart he felt that Paganel's glasses and binoculars were quite valuable.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Paganel was bound with hemp rope only at night, and was comfortable and free during the day.

(End of this chapter)