Chapter 26 Chapter Four

At six o'clock in the morning, everyone hurriedly finished breakfast, found a shortcut and set off to the west coast of the deserted island.How long will it take to get there?Cyrus.Smith had said it would take two hours, but of course it would depend on the nature of the obstacles they encountered.The Far West Forest is covered with a variety of shrubs as far as the eye can see.They may have to cut their way through weeds, shrubs, and creepers, so they have axes in hand.The guns were also at the ready, for the roaring of the wild beasts had been heard in the night. The exact location of the bivouac could be determined by the orientation of Mount Franklin, the volcano to the north down to three miles, and they had only to go straight southwest to reach the west bank.They fastened the barge carefully and set out.Pencroft and Neb had at least two or three days' provisions for the little party.This eliminates the need for hunting.The engineer advised everyone not to shoot casually, lest the shore know that there are people here.The first time they used their axes was in a frankincense grove not far above the waterfall; Cyrus.Smith led the way with a compass.

Most of the trees in the nearby forest have been seen by the lake and on Prospect Heights.Among them are Himalayan firs, western pine, tamarisks, rubber trees, eucalyptus, hibiscus, fir trees and other trees, all of which are of ordinary size, because the trees are too dense, which hinders their growth, and the residents need to open the road while walking, So can't go fast.According to the engineer's plan, it is planned to open a road here to connect with the road of the Red River. Since setting out, the inhabitants have moved from the alpine slopes of the deserted island to dry land.The lush vegetation here shows that it either absorbed the water of the underground swamp or was irrigated by some small rivers.But Cyrus.Smith remembered seeing no other source of water than the Red River and the Mercy River when he went to the crater.

On the first leg of their trip, they encountered numerous monkeys who were amazed to see humans they had never seen before.Ji Ding.Spilett joked that perhaps these cheerful quadrupeds would have considered them their degenerate brethren. Indeed, these hikers are hindered by bushes at every step, vines catch their clothes, and tree trunks block the way, while those dexterous animals can jump freely between the branches without hindrance, and they In comparison, humans are obviously much inferior.Fortunately, the monkeys showed no hostility. They also saw desiree, agouti, kangaroos, and other rodents, which Pencroft was very tempted to shoot.

Now dance and play, he said, and we'll pick you up when we get back! At half past nine, suddenly an unknown river thirty to forty feet wide blocked the way forward.The rushing water hit the rocks in the middle of the river, splashing white foam.The river is deep and clear, but it cannot be crossed at all. We have nowhere to go!cried Neb. No, said Herbert, the little river is nothing, and we can swim it easily. Why bother?Smith replied that the river obviously leads to the sea.We'll stay here and walk along the bank, and it'll be a wonder if we don't get to the beach right away.go ahead!

Wait a minute, says the correspondent, What's the name for the river, my friends?Don't leave gaps on our map. good!said Pencroft. Give it a name, boy.The engineer said to the boy. Wouldn't it be nice to wait until we reach the mouth of the river?replied Herbert. Very well, Cyrus.Smith said, let's not stop, let's go down the river as fast as we can. Wait a little longer!said Pencroft. What's up?asked the correspondent. Although hunting is not allowed, I guess fishing is always allowed, right?said the sailor. We cannot waste time.replied the engineer. Why!Just five minutes!Five minutes, continued Pencroft, for the sake of our breakfast!

Thereupon Pencroft threw himself upon the bank, stretched his arms into the water, and at once seized several dozen live lobsters from the crevices of the rocks. good!said Neb, going to help the sailor. I said, there is everything on the island, but there is no tobacco!Pencroft sighed, and murmured. Fishing took less than five minutes because the river was full of lobster prawns.They filled a bag full of azure blue shellfish.Then he continued on his way. They walk faster and easier on the banks of the river than in the forest.From time to time they found the tracks of an animal, a huge beast that probably came to the river to drink water, but in fact none of them could be seen. Apparently, the desiree was not shot in this forest. Pencroft had been hit by one of its broken teeth.

At the same time, Smith saw from the rapids that he and his companions were farther from the West Bank than he had thought.Indeed, if the mouth of the river were but a few miles from here, the rising tide must have pushed the river back by this time.But in fact it was not so, and the river flowed freely, and the engineer felt very strange. He took out his compass from time to time to see if the river turned a few turns and led them back to the Far West Forest. The river finally widened, and the river was not so fast.The right bank was as densely wooded as the left bank, and it was almost impossible to see through them, but this part of the forest was evidently deserted at the moment, for Top was not barking, and if there were strangers near, the alert dog would never There is no indication.

At ten-thirty, CyrusSmith suddenly heard Herbert stop not far ahead and shout: ocean! A few minutes later, the panorama of the west coast of the deserted island appeared in front of them. But how different it was from the East Coast where they had accidentally landed!There are no granite cliffs, no rocks, not even a sandy beach.The forest stretches all the way to the sea, and the tall trees lean over the sea, and the waves they stir up splash the branches and leaves.The general coast is either a wide sandy beach or piles of rocks, but the coast here is different from other places. It is a fringe with beautiful trees growing on it.The shore is a little above the water level, and this fertile soil has a substratum of granite, upon which grows a pleasant forest as firm as that which grows on the interior of the deserted island.

They came to an unknown port, which could barely accommodate two or three fishing boats.It is a strait leading to the New River, which is different in that its waters do not flow slowly to the sea, but pour down from a height of more than forty feet. The upper reaches of the river do not feel the cause of the high tide.Indeed, even at its highest tide the Pacific Ocean could never have risen as high as this river, and doubtless the tides would not have eroded the granite rocks into a true sea-water surface even in millions of years. of the estuary. It was agreed to name the river Falls River, and to the north, the edge of the forest continued for about two miles, then the trees thinned out, and further out, the picturesque hills formed an almost straight line from north to south, On the other hand, the coast between the Falls and Reptile's Point is full of forests, beautiful trees, some soaring to the sky, and others bending over the water, with the rough waves washing their roots.Now, they are going to search on this seashore, that is, the entire Pan Snake Peninsula, because this part of the coast is the natural habitat of the victims, and other empty and deserted coasts cannot be used for them to live.

It was a clear day, and Neb and Pencroft were preparing their breakfast on a rock, from which they could see far away.Not a single ship was around, nothing in sight.But the engineer refused to stop until the end of the coast of the Pan Snake Peninsula was searched. Breakfast was quickly over, and at half-past eleven the engineer gave the order to start.In order to continue to follow the coast, they did not go to the cliffs and sandy beaches, but walked under the shade of large trees. From Falls River to Reptilian Point is about twelve miles.If there is a flat road, it only takes four hours to walk, and they don't need to be in a hurry, but now it takes twice as long, because they have to walk around the big trees, cut down the bushes when they meet, and cut off the climbing vines. , was hindered at every step, and these difficulties greatly lengthened the journey.

There was no sign of any recent shipwreck here.Ji Ding.Spilett was right that what was left could have been washed away by the sea, so they could not assume that there were no ships in distress on the coast because they could not find a trace. The correspondent was right, and the matter of the bullets proved that shots must have been fired on Lincoln Island within the last three months. It was five o'clock and they were still two miles from the end of the Serpentine Peninsula.It was clear that Smith and his companions, having reached Reptilian Point, were too late to return to their camp at the headwaters of the Mercy before dark, and had to spend the night on the Cape.Happily they were not short of provisions, and though there were no animals on the shore, there were plenty of birds of woodpecker, pheasant, pheasant, grouse, orangutan parrot, parrot, red parrot, pheasant, pigeon, and many other birds.In every tree there is a bird's nest, and in every bird's nest there are birds. Near seven o'clock the explorers trudged wearily to Reptilian Point.Here is the end of the forest by the sea, and the coast has returned to its original appearance: scattered rocks, reefs and sand.There was a good chance that something would be found here, but night had fallen and further searches had to wait until tomorrow. Pencroft and Herbert hastened to find a place suitable for camping.At the end of the Far West forest, the boy found several densely packed bamboo clumps. Well, he said, it was a valuable discovery. What's the value?asked Pencroft. Of course, replied Herbert, I can tell you, Pencroft, that bamboos can be whittled into soft bamboos for weaving baskets; Bamboo poles and pipes are made to carry water; huge bamboos are excellent building materials because they are light and strong, and they are not afraid of insects.Also, the bamboo joints are sawn into sections, with a knot at one end, which can be used as cups. This kind of cups is very popular in China, but you will not be interested in this.But But what? In case you don't know, I can tell you that Indians eat bamboo as asparagus. Thirty-foot asparagus!The sailor cried, is it delicious? Delicious, replied Herbert, but not thirty-foot-high bamboo poles, but young shoots. Well done, boy, well done!replied Pencroft. I might add that peeling the tender stems and soaking them in vinegar makes a fine seasoning. The more you say the better, Herbert! Finally, there is a sweet juice in the bamboo, which can be used to make a very delicious drink. Is it finished?asked the sailor. It's over! Can it be used as a cigarette? No, poor Pencroft. Herbert and the sailor soon found a place to spend the night.There are many caves in the rock, which are mostly formed by the waves stirred up by the southwest wind. Living in these caves can avoid the cool wind at night.But they were about to go into a hole when they heard a roar. move back!exclaimed Pencroft, Our guns are full of pellets, and the beast does not seem to care so loudly!Thereupon the sailor seized Herbert by the shoulders, and drew him behind a rock, at which moment a colorful beast appeared at the mouth of the cave. It was a jaguar, at least about the size of an Asiatic species, that is to say, five feet long in its whole body.Its golden-yellow fur has eyebrow-like stripes and neat oval black spots, which contrast sharply with its snow-white chest.Herbert knew that it was the great enemy of the tiger, and it was as terrible a beast as the leopard, the great enemy of the jackal! It took a step forward, looked around with piercing eyes, and its hair stood on end, as if this was not the first time it smelled human. Just then the correspondent came running out from behind a stone, and Herbert, thinking he had not seen the beast, was about to rush to stop him, Gideon.Spilett made a gesture to him and told him not to move.He had already had experience with tigers, and when he came within ten feet of the beast, he stood motionless, resting his gun on the hollow of his shoulder, keeping all the muscles of his body completely still.The beast was just about to spring over, when a shot hit the leopard between the eyes, and it fell dead on the ground. Herbert and Pencroft ran to it.Neb and Smith came running also, and after looking at the lying beast for a while, they could not help thinking how beautifully the halls of Granite Palace were adorned with its beautiful hides. Ah, Monsieur Spilett, how I envy you and envy you!Herbert couldn't help shouting enthusiastically. Well, boy, replied the correspondent, you can do it too. I!So composed! Herbert, you can shoot him with great composure when he is only a hare. Yes, replied Pencroft, it is no more cunning than a rabbit! Now, Gideon.Spilett said it had given up its nest, my friends, why don't we go in and spend the night? Maybe there are other beasts coming.said Pencroft. A fire was kindled at the entrance of the cave, and the correspondent said that the wild beasts would not dare to enter. Then, go to the leopard's den!Said the sailor dragging the beast. So Neb stayed to skin the leopard, and his companions went to the forest to gather a lot of dry wood and piled it at the entrance of the cave. Cyrus.When Smith saw the clump of bamboo, he cut some off and put it in a pile with the wood. After finishing these things, they went into the cave, and the cave was full of bones. They prepared their guns in case of sudden attack; after dinner, before going to bed, they lit the bonfire at the entrance of the cave. .A burst of explosions (or rather, a series of explosions) broke the surrounding silence!It was the sound of bamboo, and when the flame hit them, they exploded like firecrackers.Any daring beast would have been terrified at the sound. This loud explosion was not invented by engineers; according to Marco Polo, it had been used by the Tartars of Central Asia for centuries to disperse wild beasts that approached their tents.