Chapter 2 Chapter Two Formal Introduction

During the three days of January 28th, 29th and 30th, Morcum and William.Amory never left the meeting place.While the Bushmen, driven by instinct, indiscriminately hunted wild game and beasts in the green near the waterfall, the young astronomer kept his eyes on the river.This prehistoric natural landscape intoxicated him and filled his soul with new emotions.He, the man of numbers, the scientist who prostrates himself day and night at his book, always bound to the eyepiece of his telescope, watching the rise and fall of the celestial bodies on the meridian or counting the number of occultations, now enjoys the wonderful time here.In the mountains, on the densely forested mountains, on the uninhabited peaks shrouded in mist from the waterfalls of Molkata.For him, it is a kind of joy to appreciate the poetry of the almost unknown emptiness and solitude here, and re-soak his spirit exhausted by number speculation in it.His new situation also speaks volumes for his enduring patience, which the Bushmans lacked.Therefore, scientists always give calm answers to the hunter's blind accusations, which cannot calm him down in the slightest.

On January 31st came the last day stated in the honorable Mr. Alley's letter.If the scientists mentioned still do not come on this day, William.Amory would have to travel home, which would be embarrassing for him.This delay, too, would continue indefinitely, yet how could he wait indefinitely? Mr. William, said the hunter, why don't you go and meet them?We may meet them on the road, and there is only one road, and that is the river.If they are going up this river, as the letter in your hand says, we shall meet them. Your idea is great!Morcum, said the astronomer, let us go down the falls to meet them, and return to camp from the valley to the north.But tell me, dear Bushmen, are you familiar with most of the Orange River?

Yes, sir.Twice I sailed up the Orange River from Walpass Point to the point where the Hart River joined it on the Transvaal frontier. Apart from Molkata Falls, are other sections of the river navigable? As you say, sir, but I'll add, the Bushmen go on, that in the latter part of the dry season the five or six miles above the mouth of the Orange River are nearly dry, so that the mouth forms a On the sandbar, the waves kept pouring in and were broken into waves. It does not matter, replied the astronomer, because the mouth of the Orange River was open to navigation when our Europeans landed from the sea, and there was no reason for their delay, so they will come.

The Bushman didn't speak, put his rifle on his shoulder, whistled to Thomp, and walked ahead of his companions on a narrow path.Four hundred feet below the road the valley receives the water from the waterfall. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the two explorers, really, they could be called, were making their way down the left bank of the river.The river has neither embankments nor paths to provide a level and easy path, but its steep banks, covered with briar bushes, disappear into a green promenade rich with trees.Those flowering filamentous parasites of which Pocher spoke, tangled from tree to tree, spread a green web before the two travelers.Therefore, the axes of the Bushmen were not idle, ruthlessly chopping down these garlands that blocked the way.William.Amory inhaled to his heart's content the delightful aromas of the woods, especially the scent of the camphor tree, which shed countless flowers.Fortunately, there were still some clearings, and some stretches of bare banks with quietly flowing water, and fish swimming in the river, which enabled the hunter and his companions to move westward more quickly.By eleven-thirty in the morning they had covered about four miles.

A breeze blew from the west, in the direction of the waterfall where the roar could no longer be heard.On the contrary, the noise could still be clearly distinguished as it traveled downstream along the river. William.Here Amory and the hunter stopped and saw the river go straight two or three miles ahead.Here the riverbed is deeply sandwiched between two chalky cliffs rising to a height of two hundred feet. Just wait here, and let us rest too, said the astronomer, I have no legs of your hunter, Master Morcum; I prefer to roam under the blue sky and white clouds than to travel.Let's take a break first.From here we could see the river for two or three miles, and if few steamboats appeared at the nearest bend, we could not miss them.

The young astronomer leaned against a tree four hundred feet high, from which he could see far across the river.The hunter, who seemed unaccustomed to sitting and waiting, continued to walk up and down the bank, while Thomp startled flocks of wild birds without attracting the slightest attention from his master. Just waited for half an hour, William.Amory found Morcumb a hundred paces away, looking down at the river.Had he discovered the steamboat they were anxiously waiting for? The astronomer left his moss seat and walked towards the river where the hunter was, and in a few moments he was at his side.

What do you see, Morcum? No, I didn't see anything, Mr. William.However, if my ears are used to natural sounds, I seem to hear a seldom-heard murmur downstream. Having said these words, the Bushman told his companion to be quiet, and then he put his ear to the ground and listened intently. After a few minutes, the hunter stood up, shook his head, and said, "Maybe I was mistaken."The sounds I thought I heard were nothing but the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves or the water flowing over the stones on the bank.But The hunter still listened attentively, but heard nothing.

Morecombe, William.Said Amory, if what you thought you heard was the engine of the steamboat, it would be heard more clearly on the water.Water transmits sound faster and more accurately than air. You're right, Mr. William, that's how I've heard hippos go by in the river several times. Clutching wild vines and grass with both hands, the Bushman climbed down the steep bank until the water reached his knees, then stooped and put one ear flat on the water.After listening attentively for a few minutes, he exclaimed: Yes Yes!I am not mistaken.The sound was just a few miles downstream, the sound of slapping water.It was a monotonous sound that continued underwater.

Is it the sound of propellers? Very likely, Mr. Amory.The sound is not far from us. William.Amory knew the hunter's natural senses, whether of sight, hearing, or smell, and did not doubt his judgment.The hunter climbed up to the bank, and the two resolved to wait where they were, from which they could easily monitor the Orange River. Half an hour passed, William.Even with his natural equanimity, Amory found the wait simply too long.How many times had he thought he saw the outline of a moving boat on the water, but each time his eyes had deceived him.Finally, a cheer from the Bushmen made his heart beat violently.

cigarette!cried Morcum. William.Amory looked in the direction the hunter pointed, and saw without difficulty a wisp of smoke floating upward just at the bend in the river.There is nothing left to doubt. The boat came quickly.Soon, William.Amory could clearly see the black smoke constantly spewing from the chimney, mixed with the white steam.Evidently the crew was speeding up with full firepower to reach the meeting point, but the steamer was still about seven miles from the Molcutta Falls. It was already midday, and the place of waiting was not conducive to the steamboat docking, and the astronomer decided to return to the bottom of the waterfall.As soon as he told the hunter his idea, the latter walked up the road that had been opened up when he came here without saying a word.William.Amory followed his companion, and looking back for one last time at the bend in the river, he caught sight of the Union Jack flying over the stern.

The way back was very smooth, and an hour later the Bushmen and the astronomer stopped a quarter of a mile from the falls.Here the banks form a semicircular creek.In its deep, bank-to-bank waters, steamboats can easily moor and dock. The steamer should not be far, for it must have been going faster than the two walkers.But it still cannot be seen from the bank, because the tall trees that shade the banks slope towards the river and block the view.Yet, if not the hiss of steam, at least the shrill whistle was heard, which stood out against the incessant roar of the falls. The sound of the whistle has not been interrupted.The crew tried to communicate in this way that they had reached the waterfall.This is greeting. The hunter fired his gun in answer, and the sound of the gunfire became a repeated echo on the river bank. The steamboat finally showed up.William.Amory was also discovered by the upstream men. Under the signal of the astronomer, the steamboat turned to the creek and slowly moored.A cable was thrown up, caught by the Bushmans, and tangled around a stump. Soon, a tall man jumped briskly onto the bank and walked towards the astronomer.Others began to come ashore one after another. William.Amory immediately went up to him and asked: Is this Colonel Everett? You are William.Mr. Amory?replied the Colonel. Astronomers greet and shake hands with their colleagues at the Cambridge Observatory. Gentlemen, said Everett, allow me to introduce to you the venerable William C.Amory.Mr. Amory had come to meet us at Molkata Falls. The four fellow passengers stood beside Colonel Everett, each greeting and accepting the young astronomer's greeting.Then the colonel introduced with his British coolness very formally: Mr. Amory, John of Devon.Your Excellency Mari, your countryman; three Russian scientists representing the Tsarist government on our committee:Mr Strux, Nikolai from the Helsinki ObservatoryMr. Ballendre, Michelle from the Kiev Observatory.Mr Zorn.