Chapter 8 chapter eight

Neb remained motionless, and Pencroft only asked: still alive? Neb made no answer, and Spilett's and the sailor's faces changed.Herbert clasped his hands and stood there dumbfounded.The poor Negro evidently neither saw his companion, nor heard the sailor, from his grief. The correspondent knelt down to Cyrus.Smith lay dead beside his body, undressed him, and put his ear to his chest. A minute is like a century!A minute passed with difficulty, and at this moment, he was trying to listen to the extremely faint beating of his heart. Neb straightened up a little, and his eyes were fixed, but he saw nothing.His countenance had been so altered by grief that he was hardly recognizable.He thought his master was dead.

After a long time of careful examination, Keating.Spilett stood up at last. Still alive!He said. Pencroft knelt beside the engineer, and he too heard a heartbeat, and even felt a breath on his lips. As soon as Herbert heard what the correspondent had said, he went out to find water.He found a clear stream a hundred feet away, the water rose probably because of the rain, and the sand in the stream filtered the water very clean.But Herbert could find nothing to hold the water, nor did he find a single shell on the dune.The boy could not think of anything, but dipped his handkerchief in the stream, and hurried back to the cave.

Fortunately, the wet handkerchief is enough for Ji Ding.Spilett applied it, he just wanted to moisten the engineer's lips, and the cold water did its magic almost immediately.A breath came out of Smith's chest and seemed to want to speak. We must save him!cried the correspondent. Neb, with another glimmer of hope at this, undressed his master to see if he was wounded; for there was not a single bruise on his head, body, or limbs, which is indeed surprising.It was thought that he must have fallen into the rocks, and then struggled to a place where the waves could not reach, but there were no traces, not even injuries on his hands, which was unreasonable.

But it won't be long before they get an answer.When Cyrus was able to speak, he would tell the story.The current problem is how to revive him. It seems that massage can be used to achieve this goal, so they massaged the sailor's fleece. After a burst of vigorous massage, the engineer came to life, he moved his arms slightly, and his breathing gradually became normal.He was paralyzed by exhaustion, and, surely, had the correspondent and his companions not arrived in time, Cyrus.Smith would not have survived. You thought your master was dead, didn't you?said the sailor to Neb. Yes, I think it's dead!replied Neb, if Top had not found you, and brought you here, I should have buried my master, and died on his grave!

Cyrus.What a near escape Smith! Then Neb related what had happened: He had left the grotto at dawn the day before, and climbed up to the heights of the seashore and walked northward until he came to the part of the coast where he had been. Neb had no hope of getting there. He searched on the shore, in the rocks, and in the sand, for the slightest clue, paying special attention to the beaches where the tide did not wash them, because the tide would take everything away from the sea. All traces were washed away.Neb had no desire to find his living master back.He just wanted to find the remains of his master and be able to bury him with his own hands!

He searched for a long time and still had no results.There seemed never to be a human presence on this desolate coast.Thousands of shells strewn out of the high tide line, none of which looked like they had been touched, all intact. So Neb decided to walk a few miles along the seashore.Perhaps the sea washed the body a considerable distance away.Generally speaking, if the coast is low and the body is floating not far away, it will be thrown ashore by the tide sooner or later.Neb knew this, and he wanted to see his master one last time. I walked another two miles along the seashore, observing carefully both the rocky reefs in the shallow water and the sandy shores in the high water.At last I despaired of finding anything, but only yesterday evening about five o'clock I found many footprints in the sand.

footprint?cried Pencroft. Yes!said Neb. Did these footprints start near the water?asked the correspondent. No, said Neb, it was all on the high-tide line, and the rest must have been swept away by the tide. Go on, Neb.Spilett said. When I saw these footprints, I was just crazy with joy.The footprints are very clear and go all the way to the dunes.I followed them for a quarter of a mile, keeping track of them as I ran.Five minutes later, it was getting dark, and I heard a dog barking.That's Top, which has brought me here, to the master! Neb at last spoke of his grief at finding the lifeless body, which he did not seem alive at all, and which at first thought only of finding his master's body, but when he had found it, he I further hope that he is alive.But he tried his best to no avail!He has no other choice but to fulfill his last responsibility to this most beloved person!Then Neb thought of his companions.No doubt they too wished to have another look at the unfortunate man.Was Top there at the time, and could he not trust the wisdom of the faithful brute?Of course not, Neb repeated again and again the name of the correspondent among his companions, the name Top was most familiar with. Then he pointed south, and Top ran in the direction he pointed.

Relying on its almost magical intuition, Top finally found the grotto it had never been to, and found them. Neb's companions listened attentively to the passage. Cyrus.Smith must have escaped from the sea with some effort, over many rocks, and yet he was not wounded at all, which they could not comprehend.How the engineer managed to cover the mile-plus walk from the seashore to this cave in the dunes is even more inexplicable. So, Neb, said the correspondent, you didn't bring him here? No, not me.replied the Negro. It was evident that he had come here by himself.said Pencroft. The truth is obvious, said Spilett, but it is too hard to believe!

The matter had to be explained by the engineer himself, and they had to wait until he could speak.After massage, the blood flowed.Cyrus.Smith moved his arm again, then his head, and then he said a few words; but no one could make out what he was saying. Neb bent over and called to the engineer, but the engineer didn't seem to hear, his eyes were still closed.It was only from his movements that it was clear that he was still alive, that he hadn't fully regained consciousness. Pencroft regretted that there was neither fire nor fire, and unfortunately he forgot to take the charred cloth with him, otherwise the charred cloth could easily be set ablaze by the sparks from two flints.The engineer had nothing in his pocket except a pocket watch in his vest pocket.It was now unanimously agreed that Smith must be carried back to the Grotto as quickly as possible.

Under their intensive care, the Engineer began to regain consciousness more quickly than any of them had imagined.The water used to moisten his lips brought him back to life gradually.Pencroft thought of the grouse which he carried with him, and he thought of adding the juice of the chicken to the water for a drink.Herbert also ran to the seashore, and brought back two large clams.The sailor poured the drink into the engineer's mouth, and the engineer drank greedily, opening his eyes. Neb and the correspondent were prostrate over him. Owner!Owner!cried Neb. The engineer heard it, recognized first Neb and Spilett, then the other two companions, and shook their hands feebly.

He said a few more words, and it could be seen that even at this moment, something was going on in his head.This time everyone understood.That was undoubtedly what he was going to say just now. Desert island or mainland?he murmured. Who cares about the mainland desert island?There is time to see, cried Pencroft, involuntarily, and we care nothing as long as you live. The engineer nodded feebly, then seemed to fall asleep. They did not disturb his sleep, and the correspondent prepared to carry Smith to a more comfortable place at once.Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft left the cave, and ran towards a high hill, on the top of which were some rickety trees.All the way the sailor couldn't help repeating: Desert island or mainland?I was still thinking about this with only one breath left, what an amazing person! Having climbed the hill, Pencroft and his two companions set to work, without any tools, and were obliged to wrestle a thick branch of a tree with their bare hands.It was a sea fir-like tree, and it was quite dry. They planned to use these branches as a stretcher, and spread weeds and leaves on it to carry the engineer. It took them nearly forty minutes to complete the stretcher. During this period, Spilett never left the engineer. When they returned, it was already ten o'clock in the morning. They return to the cave to find that the engineer has just woken up from a dream (or coma).His face was always as pale as a dead man's, and it was not until this time that he gradually returned to normal.He raised himself up a little and looked around, as if wondering where he was. Don't you get tired of listening to me, Cyrus?asked the correspondent. Not tired.said the engineer. I think, said the sailor, that if Mr. Smith had some grouse jelly, it would sound more labor-saving.Mr. Smith, we have grouse here.As he spoke, he gave Smith some aspic, to which he added some meat. Cyrus.Smith ate only a little of the grouse, and the remainder was shared among his companions.They were very hungry, and this breakfast was too little for them. right!Says the sailor, there's plenty to eat in the grotto, you know, Mr. Smith, and we've got a house with rooms and beds and a fire, and a dozen birds in the mess-room, and we've got a house down south from here, Herbert called them golden pheasants.The stretcher is ready for you, and we will carry you home as soon as you regain your strength. Thank you, my friend, replied the engineer, and leave in an hour or two.Now you talk, Spilett. So the correspondent recounted their experiences: how the balloon fell for the last time on this desert-like strange land (regardless of whether it is a desert island or a continent); A piece of sincerity, wisdom of faithful Top, and many other things.He talked about everything Smith didn't know. Then, asked Smith in a faint voice, didn't you pick me up on the beach? No.replied the correspondent. Didn't you bring me into this hole? no. How far is this cave from the sea? About half a mile, replied Pencroft, are you surprised, Mr. Smith, that we are surprised to see you here! Indeed, said the engineer, he was recovering by this time, and how curiously he took such an interest in these matters! But, continued the sailor, can you tell us what happened to you after you fell into the sea? Cyrus.Smith mused.He knows very little.The waves rolled him through the balloon net and into the sea.He sank a few fathoms at first.As he rose to the surface he had a dim sensation of something alive struggling beside him.That was Top, who had jumped from the balloon to save him.At that time the balloon had disappeared.Because of reducing the weight of him and the dog, the balloon flew up like an arrow. So he fell in this raging sea, which was at least half a mile from shore.He swam desperately, intending to fight the waves.Top bit his clothes and kept him afloat.But a torrent came upon him, and carried him straight to the north, where, after struggling for half an hour, he sank with Top to great depth.From then until he woke up in his friend's arms, he couldn't remember anything. At any rate, said Pencroft, you must have been washed ashore by the sea, and then mustered all your strength to come here, for Neb has found your footprints! Yes, of course the engineer replied thoughtfully, haven't you found any traces of people on the seashore? Not at all, said the correspondent, and besides, if someone happened to pick you up at a critical moment, why did you throw you down again when you were out of the sea? You are right, my dear Spilett.Tell me, Neb, said the engineer, turning to his servant, it wasn't you You wouldn't lose consciousness for a moment then no, that was queer and now there are footprints left there?Smith asked. Yes, master, said Neb, here, at the entrance, behind the hill, there are still places where the wind and rain cannot reach.The rest were washed away by the storm. Pencroft, Cyrus.Smith said, please compare my shoes to see if they are my footprints, will you? The sailor did as the engineer said.When Neb led him and Herbert in search of footprints, Cyrus said to the correspondent: What a strange thing this is! It is simply incomprehensible!Ji Ding.Spilett said. Don't think about it now, my dear Spilett, we will talk about it later. Presently Neb and Herbert entered. There is no doubt that the engineer's shoes and footprints fit perfectly.So the footprints in the sand must be Cyrus.Smith left. Well, said he, just now I thought Neb had lost consciousness, so it must have been me.I must be walking sleepwalking, and Top must have dragged me out of the sea and brought me here, Top!Come here, my dog! The beautiful animal, barking, jumped up to his master, and Smith fondled it heartily.Everyone thought that there was no other reason to explain Cyrus.Smith's was saved.The credit for this is entirely due to Top. About twelve o'clock Pencroft asked the engineer if they could carry him now.Smith did not answer, he showed a strong will, actually managed to stand up.But he had to lean on the sailor, or he would fall. good!said Pencroft, and fetch the stretcher. The stretcher was carried, and the crossed branches were covered with weeds and leaves.Smith lay on it, Pencroft and Neb each carried one head, and they set off for the sea.This distance is eight miles.Since they could not go very fast and had to stop and stop, they estimated that it would take at least six hours to reach the grotto.The wind was still strong, but fortunately it was no longer raining at this time.The engineer lay on a stretcher, still propped up on his arms, observing the coast, especially inland.He did not speak, but opened his eyes wide and looked at the surrounding scenery. The uneven terrain, forests and various products undoubtedly left an impression on his mind, but after walking for two hours, he felt tired and fell asleep. . At half past five they passed under the cliff, and were soon back in the grotto. They stopped and put the stretcher on the sand, Cyrus.Smith hadn't woken up from his deep sleep. The face of the place was greatly changed by the terrible storm.Pencroft could not help being startled.There has been a huge change here: a lot of big rocks have been added to the beach.It is covered with a thick layer of waterweed, seaweed and other aquatic plants that have come ashore.The water that overflowed the island had evidently once washed all the way to the bottom of the great granite walls.The soil in front of the cave has been swept away by the raging waves.Suddenly a terrible thought flashed through Pencroft's mind.He hurried down the passage, but came back almost at once.He stood there blankly, staring at his companions as the fire was extinguished, the ashes were soaked into a puddle of mud, and the scorched cloth used to replace the tinder was gone!The sea water poured all the way to the innermost part of the channel, and everything in the grotto was washed down and destroyed!