Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

The inhabitants of Lincoln Island took a last look around them, then climbed down the crater, rounded the cone, and in about half an hour they reached the heights where they had spent the night, and Pencroft felt that it was time for breakfast, so they went to It occurred to me that the correspondent's watch should be compared with the engineer's. Ji Ding.Spilett's watch was not intruded by the sea, because he landed on the sand where the sea could not wash.It was a fine piece of equipment, a pocket watch in such perfect condition that the correspondent never forgot to wind it up every day with care.The engineer's watch was stopped during the time he was on the dunes.

Now the engineer had fully wound up his watch, and by the height of the sun he had determined that it was about nine o'clock in the morning, and adjusted it to that time. Ji Ding.Spilett, too, was about to set his watch to the local time, but the engineer stopped his hand and said: No, my dear Spilett, wait a moment.Your watch is Richmond time, isn't it? Yes, Cyrus. So the time on your watch is based on the Richmond meridian.And Richmond and Washington have almost the same meridian, right? certainly. Fine, just keep it that way.Remember to wind it every day, but don't turn the needle on the watch.This might work for us.

What is the use of this?thought the sailor to himself. They had a hearty meal, and the rest of the game and pine nuts were all eaten up.But Pencroft was not at all troubled, and they could add up along the way.A portion for Top was quite to his liking, and he would find fresh game in the bushes.The sailor also wanted the engineer to make a shotgun or two and some gunpowder, which he thought would be no difficulty for the engineer. After getting off the high ground, the engineer suggested to his partners not to go back to the grotto by the original road, but to choose a new road.He wanted to inspect the beautiful Lake Grant, surrounded by trees.So they followed the ridge of one of the spurs, which formed the trickle of Grant's Lake, which probably originated between these spurs.The residents have already used the new place names in their conversations, and these place names have greatly facilitated their mutual expression of meaning.Young Herbert and innocent Pencroft were both fascinated, and the sailor said as they went:

Hey Herbert!It sounds so pleasing to the ear!We shall not get lost again, boy, and whether we walk toward Lake Grant, or follow the River of Mercy through the Far West Woods, we shall make it to Prospect Heights, and then to Union Bay! Everyone agreed that they must wait until they are all together before leaving, and never leave alone.There must be ferocious and terrifying beasts in the dense forest of the island, and it is prudent to be on guard.Ordinarily, it was Pencroft, Herbert, and Neb who led the way, with Top leading the way, drilling between every clump of trees, the correspondent and the engineer walking side by side, and Gilbert leading the way. Man.Spilett was always ready to record what happened, the engineer often said little, sometimes he walked away alone to pick up something, maybe minerals, maybe plants, and he always put the things he picked up in his pocket without saying a word inside.

What is he picking up?murmured Pencroft, I have searched and found nothing worth stooping to pick up. Near ten o'clock the party descended the last step of Mount Franklin.The trees here are still sparse.They walked across a yellow, calcareous soil that formed a plain almost a mile long, reaching to the edge of the forest.According to Biskov's theory, it takes 350 million years for the large pieces of basalt to weather and spread throughout the plains in a very irregular manner.But there is no lava that is unique to the northern slopes here. Cyrus.Smith intended to travel without incident to the source of the brook, which he supposed rose from the foot of the woods at the edge of the plain; when suddenly he saw Herbert hurrying back, while Neb and the sailor hid behind rocks.

What's the matter, kid?asked Spilett. Smoke, replied Herbert, we saw smoke rising from the stone clump a hundred paces from us. Is there anyone here?cried the correspondent. We must not expose ourselves until we know each other's origins, Cyrus.Smith replied, I don't think there are any natives on this island, and I am most afraid of meeting them.Where did Top go? Top is ahead. Didn't it bark? No. strangeness.But we should try to call it back. Not much work, engineer, Ji Ding.Spilett and Herbert gathered together with their other two companions, who likewise hid behind the basalt cairns.

From there they distinctly saw a wisp of yellow smoke rising into the sky. Calling Top back with a soft whistle from his master, he made a sign to his companions to wait for him, and slipped quietly out of the rock.The settlers waited impatiently for the results of the inquiries, when they heard the engineer's cry, and they all rushed forward.They soon came to him, only to feel a pungent stench in the air. It was not without reason that the engineer was taken aback at first sight of the smoke, but the smell was so easy to discern that he guessed its source as soon as he smelled it. The fire, he said, or the smoke, was entirely natural.There is a sulfur spring there, and if we have a sore throat, it will be cured.

Mr Smith!cried Pencroft, what a pity I have no cold! So the residents walked towards the place where the smoke rose.There they saw a sulfur spring gushing from between the rocks, and the water, having absorbed the oxygen in the air, gave off a strong smell of sulfuric acid. Cyrus.Smith put his hand into the spring water, which felt creamy.He tasted it and it was quite sweet.The temperature of the water he estimated at ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit.Herbert asked him on what basis he had calculated the temperature of the water. Simple, boy, he said, because when I put my hand in the water I feel neither hot nor cold.So its temperature is about the same as human body temperature, and human body temperature is around ninety-five degrees.

The sulfur spring was of no practical use to the inhabitants, so they walked towards the edge of the dense forest a few hundred paces away. Sure enough, as they expected, the clear river water flows out from here.The banks of the small river are very high and are all red soil. This color shows that the soil contains iron oxide.According to this earthy color, they immediately named the river the Red River. This is actually a big river. The river is deep and clear. It is formed by the confluence of mountain streams. It is half like a river, half like a torrent. Sometimes it flows quietly over the sand and gravel, and sometimes it hits the rocks. Or it falls straight down from a high place, forming a waterfall, which flows from here to Grant Lake, more than a mile and a half long, and thirty or forty feet wide.The river is fresh water, and so is the water in the lake, presumably.If only a more suitable dwelling than a grotto could be found by the lake.

The river flowed a few hundred feet away, and its banks were shaded by trees, more of the species common in the temperate regions of America and Tasmania, rather than the conifers they had seen when they explored a few miles from Prospect Heights. .It was the beginning of April, which is equivalent to October in the northern hemisphere, that is, early autumn, and the branches and leaves of the trees were still very lush.There are mainly tamarisks and eucalyptus trees in the forest, and some of them will produce a kind of sweet nectar next year, which is similar to oriental nectar.The sloping banks are overgrown with Australian fir, and the ground is covered with a tall grass which New Holland calls hosiery; but the coconut palm, which abounds in the Pacific islands, is absent, no doubt from the high latitude.

it's a pity!Such a useful tree, said Herbert, with such good fruit! The birds swarmed among the sparse branches of the eucalyptus and tamarisk, the branches not covering their wings at all.Black, white, and gray cockatoos, colorful parakeets, red-headed fishdogs glistening with green, blue parrots, and other colorful birds around are like a kaleidoscope.They flapped their wings and chattered so loudly that they almost deafened their ears.Suddenly, there seemed to be a strange ensemble in the jungle, and many discordant voices rang out together.The residents successively heard the singing of birds, the roar of wild animals, and a sound that seemed to come from the mouth of the natives.Neb and Herbert rushed towards the bushes, forgetting even the most elementary principles of precaution.Fortunately, they found neither ferocious beasts nor terrible natives there, but only six songbirds who are good at imitating various calls, the so-called mountain pheasants.A few well-placed blows with a stick, and their ensemble is broken at once, and the inhabitants can make a good supper out of them. Herbert also found some beautiful pigeons, some with bronze wings, some with magnificent crests, and some all green, like the pigeons of Port Macquarie, but it was very difficult to catch them. Impossible, and those crows and magpies flying in groups cannot be caught either. As long as there is a shotgun, a large group of them can be killed in a short period of time, but the only throwing weapons at hand of hunters are stones, and only sticks are used as guns. These primitive weapons cannot meet the needs of hunting. Presently another group of animals ran by in the jungle. They ran and jumped, making leaps of thirty feet. They were real flying beasts, jumping so fast and so high that they looked almost like squirrels. and jumped up to another tree; by this time the inhabitants felt that the weapon was useless. kangaroo!cried Herbert. Is it tasty?asked Pencroft. Kangaroo, said the correspondent, is stewed and worth the best cured meat! Ji Ding.Before Spilett could finish his seductive words, the sailor led Neb and Herbert towards the kangaroo.Cyrus.Smith tried in vain to call them back.The swift animals leap away like a ball when they see a man approaching, and it is likewise in vain for the hunter to pursue them.They ran for five minutes without being able to catch their breath, but all the kangaroos disappeared into the forest.Nor was Top any more resourceful than his masters. Mr. Smith, Pencroft and other engineers and correspondents came and said, look!It is necessary to make a few guns. Do you think it is possible to make them? Maybe, the engineer replied, but our first step is to make some bows and arrows. I believe you can use them as skillfully as the Australian hunters. bow and arrow!Pencroft said with contempt that it was a children's play! Be not proud, my Mr. Pencroft, says the correspondent, For ages the bow and arrow have stained the earth with blood.Gunpowder was only available not so long ago, but war, unfortunately, has been around since the beginning of human beings! Yes, you are right, Monsieur Spilett, said the sailor, I always speak without thinking.please forgive me. Herbert, who had always been interested in his favorite natural history, returned to the subject of kangaroos: And we now have the most elusive species to deal with, which is a large kangaroo, with long gray hair; and, if I remember correctly, black and red kangaroos, rock kangaroos and leeches, those Kangaroos are easier to catch.According to statistics, there are about twelve kinds of Herbert, the sailor said bluntly, there is only one kind of kangaroo, as far as I can see, and that is the kangaroo on the spit, and we didn't catch it tonight! They could not help laughing at Pencroft's new classification.In the evening, he had to eat pheasant. The faithful sailor made no secret of his regret, but he had another good luck. Top searched everywhere for his own benefit, and the hungrier he was, the more keen his intuition became.If Top had gone hunting privately, there would have been nothing left for the hunters of any game that had fallen into his hands; but now that Neb was watching him, he had to be obedient. About three o'clock he disappeared into the bushes, and a low growl indicated that he was wrestling with some animal.Neb rushed in after it, and immediately saw Top devouring a small animal with all his might, which would have been swallowed whole by him ten seconds later.Happily Top had attacked a litter, and besides what he had eaten, two other rodents (these animals belonged to this class) lay limp on the grass. Neb came back victorious, one in each hand.They are slightly larger than rabbits, with yellow fur speckled with green, and their tails are reduced to a short one. The proper name for the rodent didn't baffle the American citizens.They are a species of agouti called a mara, slightly larger than their tropical counterparts and the common American rabbit, with a pair of long ears and, unlike the agouti, five molars on one side of their mouth. Ha ha!cried Pencroft, here comes the roast!We can go home now. They stopped for a while and then went on.Tamarix, mountain luxuriant and tall rubber trees form an arch, and the clear red river flows below.There are beautiful lilac trees twenty feet high, and many trees unknown to the young naturalist.They hung low over the little river, which murmured in the shade of the banks. The river is much wider here, Cyrus.Smith reckoned they would reach the mouth of the river before long.Sure enough, when they got out from under a clump of beautiful dense forest, they found that it had come to an end. Explorers came to the west shore of Lake Grant.The scenery here is worth watching.The circumference of the lake is about seven miles, the area is about two hundred and fifty acres, and trees of various kinds grow around the lake.On the higher shores to the east there is a picturesque screen of green, through which a line of ocean glistens through it.The northern edge of the lake shore appears to be winding, in sharp contrast to the steep contours of the south.There are many waterfowl on the shores of this small Lake Ontario, and there are many rocks out of the lake a few hundred feet from the south shore. They are equivalent to the Thousand Islands in Lake Ontario.Several pairs of fishdogs lived there in harmony, stopped motionless on a stone, quietly waiting for fish to swim, and whenever they found any fish, they screamed and dived into the bottom of the water, followed by the fish with their mouths in their mouths. Get out.There are many waterfowl swaggering on the shore and on the islets, among them mallards, gannets, waterfowl, red-billed jays, waterfowl with brush tongues, and a beautiful lyrebird or two with their brightly colored tails spread out like liras. . This is a freshwater lake, the color of the lake is very deep, but it is also very clear. There are often several places on the surface of the water with blisters, and countless ripples ripple around and then touch each other. will be less. This lake is so beautiful!Ji Ding.Spilett said we had better live near the lake! We will live here!Smith said. The residents planned to choose the shortest way back to the grotto, so they walked down towards the corner on the south side of the lake.The shrubs and jungles here have never been walked by people, and it is not easy to carve a way out of them.In this way they walked towards the coast, intending to reach the north side of Prospect Heights.They made their way two miles in this direction, through the last of the trees, and the plateau lay before their eyes.The high ground is covered with a thick layer of greenery, and further forward is the endless ocean. To get back to the Grotto, just walk a mile diagonally across the plateau, then down to the first corner of the Mercy River.The engineer, however, wanted to know where and how the water escaped when it was full, and they continued their exploration for a mile and a half north through the trees.There were probably waterfalls in the vicinity, and no doubt poured down through clefts in the granite rocks.Simply put, this lake is a huge central basin, which is gradually filled by the flowing water of the small river, and the lake water will inevitably form a waterfall and flow to the sea.If so, the engineer thought it might be possible to harness the power of the waterfall, which otherwise would be wasted.They then climbed up to the plateau, and continued along Grant's Pond, but walked a mile in this direction, Cyrus.Smith still hadn't discovered the inevitable waterfall. It was already half past four.Residents had to go back to their homes in order to prepare dinner.So the team turned back to the original path and returned to the grotto along the left bank of the Mercy River. A bonfire was lit.Neb and Pencroft, who had always been the cooks, a negro and a sailor, both had this skill, and soon some agouti was roasted, and they all feasted to their heart's content. Dinner is finally finished.Everyone is going to bed, Cyrus.Smith suddenly took out several small pieces of different ores from his pocket, and he said simply: Friends, this is iron ore, this is pyrite, this is clay, this is limestone, and this is coal.Nature provides us with these things.It is up to us to make good use of them.We start working tomorrow.