Chapter 27 chapter Five

Cyrus.Smith and his mates slept like groundhogs in the cave that the jaguar gave them. At sunrise they were all on the shore at the end of the cape, and watched the sea carefully; here they could see two-thirds of the surrounding horizon.The engineer concluded for the last time that there was neither a sailing ship nor a wreck of a shipwreck in the sea, and even a telescope could see nothing suspicious. On shore, too, there is nothing, at least in the straight line that forms the three miles south of the Cape, for the rest of the coast is shaded by raised plateaus, and Cape Claw is not visible even at the extremity of the Serpentine Peninsula.

The south shore of the deserted island has not been inspected.Are they going to start at once, and spend the whole of November 2 there? This was something they hadn't originally planned.When they abandoned their boats and landed at the source of the Mercy River, they only decided to observe the west bank, and then get on board and return to Granite Palace from the Mercy River.At that time, Smith believed that the West Bank could be inhabited, and that both ships in distress and ships in normal navigation might berth here.But he now found that there was no suitable place to drop anchor, so he intended to go south, where he might find what they had not found in the west.

Ji Ding.Spilett suggested further exploration in order to fully resolve the supposed distress, and he asked how far Cape Claw was approximately from the end of the peninsula. About thirty miles, replied the engineer, taking into account the tortuousness of the coast. Thirty miles!Spilett said.It's going to take a few days.However, I think we can go back to Granite Palace by the south coast. But, said Herbert, there was at least ten miles to Granite House from Claw Point. Count it forty miles, said the correspondent, and don't be afraid.We must always survey unfamiliar shores, so that we need not rediscover them later.

Very well, said Pencroft.But what about punts? The boat has been at the source of the Mercy River for a day, Gideon.Spilett replied, it doesn't matter if you stay for two days!So far, we have had no reason to think that there are thieves on the island! But, said the sailor, I can't believe it when I think about the turtle. Turtles!Turtles!Don't you believe, said the correspondent, that the sea turned it over? Who knows.the engineer murmured. But said Neb. Neb obviously wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth but didn't continue. What do you want to say, Neb.asked the engineer.

If we follow the coast back to Cape Claw, replied Neb, and round Cape Claw, our way will be blocked. Stopped by the Mercy River!Of course, continued Herbert, we have neither bridge nor boat to cross the river. But, Mr. Smith, added Pencroft, with a few trunks we can cross the river without difficulty. Never mind, said Spilett, if we are going to find a shortcut to the Far West Forest, we must build a bridge! a bridge!exclaimed Pencroft, yes, isn't Mr. Smith the best engineer?He can bridge us when necessary.As for everyone going to the other side of the Mercy River tonight, I can take responsibility for this and guarantee that you will not get a drop of water on your body.We still have a day's worth of provisions, and we can hunt plenty of game.let's go!

With the enthusiastic support of the sailors, the reporter's suggestion was unanimously approved by everyone. In fact, everyone hoped to solve the mystery and complete the expedition task by returning from Claw Point.But not even an hour was to be wasted now, for forty miles was a long journey, and they could not return to Granite House until dark. At six o'clock in the morning, the team set off.The guns were loaded for prudence, and Top was sent to search the fringes of the forest, and the others followed him. The end of the peninsula forms a cape, and from the extremity of the cape the coast extends for five miles in circumference.This stretch of coast was quickly searched, and even the most careful examination revealed no sign of a landing, past or present: no remnant, no sign of camp, no burning ashes, not a single footprint!

The inhabitants reached the promontory, where the arc ended, and then turned northeastward to form Washington Bay.From here one could see the whole of the southern coast, which ended at Cape Claw twenty-five miles away.Through the morning mist, the outline of the claw horn can be vaguely seen.Due to the illusion of people, it seems to be suspended between the land and the sea. From where they stood to the huge harbor on the opposite side, the coast can be divided into three parts. The front area is flat, with a forest in the background; Clawhorn is a black rock piled in a chaotic pattern. This is the situation in this part of the desert island. They stopped for a moment and took a general look.

If a ship comes here, said Pencroft, it must sink.Sandbars and reefs everywhere!This place is too dangerous! When a ship sinks, there is always something left behind.said the correspondent. There may be chips of wood on the rocks, but not on the sand.said the sailor. Why? For sand is more dangerous than stones, and whatever falls on it sinks.A large ship with hundreds of tons will disappear in just a few days! Then, Pencroft, asked the engineer, is it not strange if a ship has been wrecked here, and no trace of it is now found! Yes, Mr. Smith, with time and the storm, it is not surprising.It is inconceivable, however, that even under such circumstances no masts and logs were thrown out of reach of the waves.

So, let's keep looking.Cyrus.Smith said. It was one o'clock in the afternoon when they had traveled twenty miles to the other side of Washington Bay. So they stopped to eat. From here the coast twists and turns, strewn with rocks and sandbars.The waves crashed against the rocks in the bay for a long time, forming a splashing edge.From this promontory to Cape Claw the coast is very narrow between forest and reef. Walking is now more difficult due to the many rocks on the beach.The further you go, the higher the cliff of granite rock, only green treetops can be seen on its top. After resting for half an hour, they continued on their way, checking here and there among the rocks.Pencroft and Neb rushed forward, even in the waves, if they saw anything.But they found nothing, only some strange shaped stones confused them.One thing they were sure of was that there were edible clams abound in the vicinity, but it was still very inconvenient to travel between the two sides of the Mercy River and transportation was difficult, so this discovery was of little value to them.

On shore, they found nothing to help them explain their supposed distress.Although nothing of note (such as the wreck of a shipwreck) could escape their eyes, and every spar and log might have washed ashore as well as the box twenty miles away, nothing not found. About three o'clock Smith and his companions came to a flowing brook.The creek forms a natural port, which is invisible in the sea and can only be accessed through a long and narrow strait. Behind the creek, violent earthquakes have split the rocky edge, and from a breach one can climb a slight slope to a plateau at least ten miles from Cape Claw. , so the straight-line distance between it and Prospect Heights is four miles.Ji Ding.Spilett suggested to his companions to rest here.It was at once agreed, for they were all very hungry after the journey, and though it was not yet time for meals, no one objected to a little game to satisfy their hunger.This meal would sustain them till supper time, which they intended to eat when they returned to Granite Palace.A few minutes later, when they were all seated under a clump of beautiful sea pines, Neb took food from his pocket, and they devoured it.

This place is fifty or sixty feet above the sea.The surrounding views were good, but beyond the headland all that could be seen was Union Bay.The Isle and Prospect Heights were invisible and impossible to see here, as the raised ground and the forest formed a screen that hid the northern horizon. It is needless to say that, though they could see a great expanse of ocean, and though the engineer scanned the horizon with his telescope, he could find no sign of the ship. Naturally, the shore was examined with equal care, from the water's edge to the cliffs, and even instruments could reveal nothing. All right, Keating.Spilett said, it seems that we can rest assured that no one will come to compete with us for Lincoln Island! But that bullet, exclaimed Herbert, was not a figment of the imagination! Damn, no!cried Pencroft, thinking again of his missing teeth. So how to draw conclusions?asked the correspondent. That is, replied the engineer, three months ago, or perhaps earlier, a ship had been here, whether consciously or not! What!Do you think then, Cyrus, that it sunk in the sand without leaving a trace?cried the correspondent. No, my dear Spilett!You think, as we can be sure that someone has been on the island, we can also be sure that he has left here now. "Well, if I misunderstand, Mr. Smith," said Herbert, do you mean the ship is gone again? certainly. Have we missed an opportunity to return home?asked Neb. I'm afraid so. Well, since we've lost our chance, let's go on; there's no way.Pencroft said he could not help thinking of his old home at Granite Palace. They were just about to get up when they heard Top yelling that he had come running out of the forest with a muddy rag in his mouth. Neb snatched it up.This is a very strong cloth! Top was still barking, running to and fro, as if calling to his master to follow him into the woods. Now it's time to guess the bullet riddle!cried Pencroft. There are people in distress here!Herbert said. Maybe hurt!said Neb. Maybe dead!The correspondent added. They all ran with the dog under the big pine tree at the edge of the forest.Smith and his mates had their firearms ready, just in case. They walked for a while in the forest, but they still found no trace of anyone passing by here, and they couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.The shrubs and vines were not damaged, and they even needed an ax to chop them, as in the dense forest.It was hard to imagine that anyone had ever been here, but Top kept running back and forth, and the dog didn't look like he was looking for something at random, but like a man with a head on his mind. Seven or eight minutes later, Top stopped in a clearing between many big trees. They looked around, but there was nothing under the bushes or between the big trees. What's the matter, Top?Cyrus.Smith said. Top yelped louder, and hopped under a tall pine tree.Suddenly Pencroft exclaimed: Ah good!Very good! What?asked Spilett. We went to sea and land to find the wrecked ship! how? Why, now I found it in the air! The sailors pointed to a large piece of white cloth that had been hooked to the top of a pine tree, and it was a small piece that had fallen from it that Top gave them. This is not a broken ship!Ji Ding.said Spilett loudly. sorry!replied Pencroft. how?yes? Here's our ship, all that's left of our balloon, up there, on top of that tree! Pencroft was right, and exclaimed with delight: These cloths are great!These cloths will last us for several years.We can use it to make handkerchiefs and shirts!Haha, Mr. Spilett, what do you think of shirts growing on trees on this deserted island? After the last flight in the air, the balloon landed on the island, so that they lost it, this group of residents of Lincoln Island, whether they intend to keep it as it is, or use it to return to their homeland, or plan to The paint was well removed from the cloth, and it was a great joy to use these hundreds of yards of fine cotton.Everyone was therefore as happy as Pencroft. Now, first the mutilated balloon had to be removed from the tree and preserved, which was no easy task.Neb, Herbert, and the sailor climbed into the tree, and tried to free the deflated balloon. After two hours of work they had not only brought the bladder to the ground with its valve, spring and brass parts, but had also removed the net (that is, a great deal of rope), the collar and the sling.The airbag is intact except for a small part of which is only the lower part torn off. What a blessing. All the same, Mr. Smith, said the sailor, even if we decided to leave the island, we wouldn't go in a balloon, would we?This kind of spaceship will not be at our mercy, it will go wherever we like, we already have considerable experience in this regard!You see, we can build a boat of about twenty tons, and make a mainsail, a jib, and a jib out of that cloth.The remaining cloth is used to make clothes. Go on, Pencroft, Cyrus.Smith said, let's talk. Be sure to put it in a safe place before disposing of it.said Neb. Of course, they can't carry these cloths and ropes back to Granite Palace at present, because they are quite heavy, and they need to find a suitable vehicle to carry them. The wind blows.By joint effort they dragged it as far as the shore, where there was a hole in the stone, where, according to its position, no wind and rain could penetrate it. We need a chest, and we have it, said Pencroft, but we cannot lock it; for prudence, let the opening be barred.I'm not afraid of two-legged thieves, I'm afraid of those four-legged beasts! At six o'clock, when all was cleared up, they named the creek the apt Balloon Harbor, and moved on along Claw Point.Pencroft and the engineer discussed many plans, and they agreed that they should be carried out as soon as possible without delay. First, a bridge must be built over the Mercy to communicate with the southern part of the deserted island, and then carts should be brought to carry the balloons back. It could not be carried back by barges alone; as a next step they could build a decked ship, Pencroft intended to build a clipper sloop, which they could use to circumnavigate the island, and for other purposes. . At this time, night fell, and when they reached the relic corner where the treasure chest was found, it was already dark.Here, as elsewhere, there was still no trace of a shipwreck, confirming again Smith's previous conclusions. Relic Point was still four miles from Granite Palace, and they followed the coast to the mouth of the Mercy, and it was midnight when they reached the first bend of the Mercy. The river here was eighty feet wide, and it was very difficult to cross it, but Pencroft had promised to overcome the difficulty beforehand, so he had to bite the bullet and try to find a way.The group was exhausted.They had walked a long way, and had trouble getting the balloon down.They can't wait to go back to Granite Palace right away, have a good meal, and then go to bed. If there is a bridge on the river, they can get home in only a quarter of an hour. It was very dark.Pencroft intended to keep his promise, and build a raft to cross the Mercy.He and Neb each took a sharp axe, chose two trees by the river, and started to cut them down. Cyrus.Smith and Spilett sat on the bank, ready to help their companions, while Herbert lingered nearby.After the boy reached the river, he suddenly ran back and pointed at the Mercy River and shouted: What is floating there? Pencroft stopped working, and dimly saw something moving in the darkness. A punt!he shouted. Everyone ran forward, and there was a small boat going down the river, and they couldn't help being surprised. Attention to the boat!cried the sailor, and he did not consider whether it would be better to keep silent. There was no answer, and the boat drifted on; and when they were not more than twelve feet from them, the sailor suddenly cried out: It's our ship!Its rope broke, so it drifted down the current.Just in time. our ship?the engineer murmured. Pencroft was not mistaken.It was their flat-bottomed boat, whose ropes must have snapped, and which had come all the way up the Mercy.It must now be stopped, or the rapids would carry it from the mouth of the river, and Neb and Pencroft deftly lashed him with long poles. The flat-bottomed boat docked.The engineer jumped in first, and after examining it, found that the rope had indeed been worn off on the rock. Well, the correspondent whispered to him, that is a strange thing. Strange indeed!Cyrus.Smith replied. Strange or not, they are lucky.Herbert, the correspondent, Neb, and Pencroft all boarded the ship.There was no doubt that the rope was frayed, but the strange thing was that the boat was stopped by them halfway at this moment, and it would have drifted into the sea a quarter of an hour earlier or a quarter of an hour later. The era they live in is no longer the age of mythology, otherwise, they must think that there are some gods on the desert island who are secretly blessing them! After a few oars they reached the mouth of the Mercy.The flat-bottomed boat stopped on the sea near the grotto, and everyone ran to the ladder of the Granite Palace. But at this moment Top uttered a cry of rage, and Neb, who was looking for the ladder, also uttered a cry. The ladder is gone!