Chapter 21 Controversy after the 21st reunion

After returning to the ship, everyone was immersed in the joy of reunion.Sir Glenarvan does not want to disappoint everyone by looking for failure, so the first sentence is: Be confident!Friends, have faith!Although our search failed this time, we are sure to find Captain Grant. This assurance was necessary in order not to disappoint the two ladies, Lady Helene and Miss Mary. Indeed, when the small boat was slowly approaching the big ship, Mrs. Helen and Miss Mary had been waiting anxiously. They watched the returning people carefully on the top of the poop.Miss Mary was both happy and desperate, as if she saw her father.Her heart was beating so hard that she could not speak, nor could she stand firmly, but fortunately Mrs. Helene put her arms around her.Captain Mengel stood beside her, watching the boat in silence.The sailor's eyes were so sharp that they could see things clearly in the distance, but they couldn't see the shadow of Captain Grant.

There he is!he came!my father!Miss Mary grumbled. However, the boat was getting closer and closer, and the illusion of deceiving myself was in vain.The returning passengers were less than a hundred meters away from the big ship.Lady Helene and the captain saw that Captain Grant was not in the boat, and Mary herself felt hopeless with tears in her eyes.At that moment Sir Glenarvan arrived, and in time he gave them a reassurance, and comforted them with his words of confidence. After a few hugs, they told Lady Helene, Miss Mary, and Captain Mengel about some of the unexpected hardships they had encountered in their land expedition.First, Sir Greenarvan referred to Paganel's keen wit for giving a new interpretation of the document.Then he praised little Robert, saying that he was brave and earnest, and that he was not afraid of danger, and Miss Mary should be proud of having such a good brother.Sir's words made little Robert so embarrassed that he did not know where to hide, but luckily his sister held him in her arms with outstretched arms.

Don't be ashamed, Robert, said Munger, and you are worthy of Captain Grant's son! He stretched out his arms and drew Robert out, and kissed his little cheek, which was still stained with Miss Mary's tears. Here we make a brief remark: MacNabbs and the geographer were warmly welcomed, and the generous Tarcaf was honorably spoken of.Lady Helene regretted not having the opportunity to shake the hand of the sincere Indian.After a good deal of cheering, the major retired to his room and shaved with his quiet, steady hand.As for Paganel, he was like a bee, running here and there, looking for this and that, absorbing the honey of people's praises and smiles from all sides.He wanted to kiss the entire crew of the Duncan, including Mrs. Helen and Miss Mary.So he started with the two of them and kissed them one by one until he reached Mr. Aubier.

O'Bierre felt that there was no better way to thank him for his kindness, so he announced lunch. Let's have lunch!cried Paganel. Yes, sir!O'Bill replied. Truly a great lunch!Am I really sitting at a table alone?Do you have cutlery?Do you have napkins?Paganel kept asking. Of course there is! So, no more dried meat, simmered eggs, and ostrich ribs today? Where did this come from, sir!The steward was not happy, and felt that his cooking skills were ironic. I am not trying to make fun of you, my friend, Paganel said with a smile, you know, we have been eating these things for a month, and not sitting on the table, but lying on the ground, or riding Eat on a branch.That's why you announced the dinner. To me, it's like dreaming, telling a story, or just dreaming!

Well, let's go and verify the authenticity of this lunch, Mr. Barnegal.replied Lady Helene, and could not help laughing. Let me take your arm.said the gallant geographer. Your Excellency has no orders for me about the Duncan?asked the captain. My dear Munger, replied Sir, we shall discuss our plans of exploration at leisure after lunch. The passengers and the captain of the cruise ship all came to the square hall.Menger ordered the engineer to maintain fire so that the ship could sail as soon as the order was received. After McNabbs shaved, the passengers also washed up quickly, and all gathered around the dining table.

The lunch prepared by the chief secretary, everyone laughed and said it was delicious, much better than the feast at the Banpass Grassland.Paganel took two servings of each dish, which he said was due to carelessness. Speaking of carelessness, Lady Helene asked the lovely Frenchman if he had ever been guilty of it.The major and the sergeant looked at each other and smiled knowingly.Paganel, on the other hand, laughed, so innocently, and promised with honor that he would never again be careless, and then he told with relish the hard work of Cammons and the things that the speaker could not understand. come out.

He finally added: In short, if you suffer a loss, you will gain a wisdom. In fact, I did not suffer from that mistake. My dear friend, what do you say?asked the major. It's very simple!Because of this mistake, I can speak not only Spanish, but also Portuguese, which kills two birds with one stone. It turns out that Rucheng can kill two birds with one stone!The major replied, Congratulations, sincere congratulations on your bilingual skills. Everyone congratulated Paganel, but he ate without stopping.He ate and talked to people.But there was a secret that he didn't discover during the dinner, but was noticed by the Sir: that is, Captain Mengel sat beside Miss Mary and was extremely courteous to her.Lady Helene winked at her husband, saying that it was always like this!Sir looked at the young man and woman with a kind of loving sympathy.He called Menger sharply, but that was not what he was asking.

Mengele, how is your voyage going? very smooth.The captain replied, however, we have not passed through the Strait of Magellan. OK!The geographer shouted, I am not on board, you carry me around Cape Horn! Don't regret not seeing Cape Horn, said the great geographer, sir, how can you be in several places at the same time unless you have a double body?You have run across the Banpass Meadows, can you round Cape Horn at the same time? Although it can't, it's a pity after all.The scholar countered. Everyone stopped teasing him to continue, and his words became the conclusion of this side issue.The captain continued to narrate their voyage.They followed the coast of America, surveyed all the islands to the west, and found no trace of the Britannia.Arriving at Cape Pilar, near the mouth of the Strait of Magellan, with a favorable wind, we sailed straight south.The Duncan then sailed along the islands of Soraciona to the sixty-seventh parallel south, then rounded Cape Horn, followed Tierra del Fuego, crossed the Strait of Lemaire, and followed the Patagonian coast. go north.When it sailed to a place at the same latitude as Cape Corinth, it encountered a storm, and the strong wind also violently hit Glenarvan and his party who were investigating on the Banpass grassland.But the pleasure boat remained unharmed, and it sailed close to shore for three days, anxiously awaiting their return, until it heard the shots.As for Lady Helene and Miss Mary, it would be very unfair if Captain Mengel did not respect them.Because they are not afraid in the face of stormy waves, although sometimes they show a little irritability, it is because their kind hearts are thinking of their friends who are traveling on the grasslands of Argentina!

Thus ended the captain's account, and Glenarvan rewarded him.Then, turning to Miss Mary, she said: My dear lady, I find that Menger agrees with your views, and I think you will not be in a hurry on his ship. how could be?The young lady replied, looking at Lady Helene, and seemed to be looking at the young captain at the same time. ah!My sister is very fond of you, Captain, cried Mary's brother, and I am very fond of you too. My dear children, I also love you very much.replied the captain.The child was a little embarrassed by this, and Miss Mary flushed.In order to change the subject, the captain went on to say: I have finished talking about the voyage of the Duncan. Can you tell me the details of the journey across the American continent and the deeds of our little hero?

Nothing Lady Helene and Miss Mary loved to hear more than this.Therefore, Jazz quickly satisfied their curiosity.In detail, scene after scene, he narrates the journey between the two oceans.Climbing the Andes, an earthquake, Robert disappearing, a vulture capturing him, a shot from Tarcave, a fierce battle with the red wolf, the child's sacrifice, Sergeant Manuel, the flood, in Ombi The refuge in the tree, the lightning strike on the dead tree, the tree fire, the crocodile, the hurricane, the night on the shore of the Atlantic, all this, whether it is pleasant or terrible, is told in its original form, which alternately delights and frightens the audience .There are many times in the narrative that Robert is comforted by his sister and Lady Helene.Never before had a child received as many hugs and kisses as he did right now.

After Sir finished his narration, he added another sentence: Now, my friends, think of the present; the past is past, the future is ours, and let us speak of the Captain Grant we are looking for. Lunch is over.They all ran into Lady Helene's little drawing room, and sat down around a table.The table is piled with colorful maps, and the conversation starts right away. My dear Helen, said sir, I told you when I came aboard: the wrecked crew of the Britannia did not come back with us, but we had every hope of finding them.The result of our trip across America was to give people such confidence, or more properly, such a certainty that the shipwreck was neither on the Pacific coast nor on the Atlantic coast.In short, we misunderstood the meaning of the document, and the interpretation of Patagonia is completely wrong.Thankfully the geographer Paganel had an idea, spotted the error, and reinterpreted the document, so there should be no more doubts in our minds.He explained it with the French document.In order to make everyone feel more at ease, let's ask him to explain again. Paganel accepted the request and spoke at once.He speaks gonie and indi, two completely different words, with eloquence.Paganel forcefully put Australia [Note: Australie. 】The word austral is explained from the word austral, which proved that when Captain Grant left the coast of Peru and returned to Europe, he might have been drifted by the westerly wind to the coast of Oceania due to the failure of the ship's machinery.In the end, his ingenious assumptions and fine reasoning convinced the stubborn captain, who was not easily deceived by fantasy, to fully agree with this point of view. After the geographer had finished speaking, Sir announced that the Duncan was sailing for Oceania. At this point, Major McNabbs asked for a small comment before ordering to turn around and sail east. Say it.Greenervan said. My purpose is not to weaken the conclusions of our friend Paganel, still less to overthrow it, said McNabbs. I think his inferences are cautious, sharp, and fully worthy of our attention, but they can only be used as our future. The basis of the search.Therefore, I hope that you will give these documents one last scrutiny, in order to reach the level where there is nothing beyond reproach and no one to criticize. Everyone didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd of the cautious major, and they were a little disturbed to hear his words. Go on, Major, said the Geographer, and I am ready to answer all your questions. My question is very simple, McNabbs said, five months ago, when we were studying these three documents in the Firth of Clyde, I felt that the meaning we explained was very clear.Apart from the east coast of Patagonia, no other coast can be assumed as the site of the wreck.Of this we have not even the shadow of a doubt. You are right!Sir said. Later, McNabbs said that Paganel had boarded our ship carelessly as if by some kind of ghost, and we showed him the papers, and he unreservedly agreed with our search on the coast of America. I agree with you, sir!The geographer replied. However, we were headed in the wrong direction, says McNabbs. Yes, we are going in the wrong direction, said the geographer, imitating him.Then he yelled: "However, people are bound to make mistakes. If you make mistakes and keep making mistakes, you are a complete fool." When I have finished, Mr Expert, replied the major, don't be so hasty.By no means am I asking to keep searching in America. At this time, Jazz couldn't wait any longer: So what are you going to say? Nothing else, I just want you to admit it.As long as you admit that Oceania now seems to be the scene of the accident of the Britannia, as America appeared to be the scene of the accident of the ship Captain Grant commanded. Of course we do.The geographer replied. Now that he admitted this, McNabbs said again, let me tell you based on your words: your imagination seems to be too rich, what is obvious today will be obvious tomorrow, and what is obvious today will negate yesterday, and what will be obvious tomorrow will be obvious. Would deny today.If this cycle continues, who can guarantee that after we search Oceania, we will find that the New World is as obvious as America and Oceania?Who can guarantee that if we fail to search in Oceania, you feel that it should be obvious to look elsewhere? The jazz and the geographer looked at each other, unable to say a word.McNabbs was so right that they were amazed. Then McNabbs said: I therefore request that we make one last verification before setting sail for Oceania.Here are the files and maps.Study again the various points that the thirty-seventh parallel south passes through, and see if there are other places marked in the document. This is too easy and does not take long, replied the geographer, because fortunately, this line of latitude passes through very little land. Let's study it.McNabbs said, opening a piece of the British version of Mercator [Note: A geographer in a region in the northern half of Flemish Belgium. 】The earth plane map printed by the projection method, the entire terrain is presented in front of everyone. The map was placed in front of Mrs. Helen, everyone gathered together to find a suitable location, and listened to the geography expert's explanation based on the map. I have told you, said Paganel, that after the thirty-seventh parallel passes through South America, there lies the Quenya Islands of Tristan.I don't think there is a single word in the document that is associated with the name of the archipelago. After careful examination, everyone had to admit that the geographer was right, and they unanimously dropped the archipelago. Looking further down, Paganel added, out of the Atlantic, we come to the Cape of Good Hope, two degrees below thirty-seven degrees, and then we enter the Indian Ocean.We could only come across the Amsterdam Islands on the way.Let's check the papers again, just like Thorius explored the Quenya Islands. Everyone searched carefully again.In the end, the Amsterdam Islands were also abandoned.The English, French and German documents, complete or incomplete, have nothing to do with this group of islands in the Indian Ocean. Now that we have reached Oceania, geographers say that the thirty-seventh parallel passes through the Australian continent, enters from Baiyijiao, and exits from Tuff Bay.I think you agree with me that the stra in the English document and the austral in the French document are obviously suitable for Australia [Note: Australie. ] This word.I don't need to say more. Soon everyone was in favor of the geographer's conclusion.The possibility of the location of the accident was concentrated on him. look ahead.McNabbs said. Look further on, Paganel replied. Traveling on a map is very easy.Leaving Tufu Bay and passing through the strait to the east of Oceania is the island country of New Zealand.First of all, I would like to remind everyone that the word continent on the French document refers to the meaning of the continent.Because New Zealand is only a small island, it is impossible for Captain Grant to escape there.Even so, we still need to do more research, compare and review every word to see if it is New Zealand. No way!The captain replied immediately, I have carefully observed the documents and maps. Impossible, everyone said that, including the major, it was impossible, and New Zealand had nothing to do with it. Now, Paganel added, the thirty-seventh parallel south passes only through a deserted and inhabited island between the island of New Zealand and the vast seas off the coast of America. what is it call?McNabbs asked. You look at the map, it's called Maria｜Theresa Island, I can't find any trace of this name in these three documents. Yes, indeed there are no traces.Jazz responded. Therefore, my friends, let's discuss, if you can't say with certainty, is it possible to be on the Australian mainland? This is obvious!All the passengers and the captain agreed unanimously. So the Jazz asked: Meng Geer, are coal and oil enough? Enough, my lord, I refueled well at Talcahuano, and we can easily refuel at the Cape of Good Hope. so good, sail to I have another comment.McNabbs interrupted the Sir's order. Say it, Mr. Major. No matter what Oceania can do to guarantee our success, we will stop for a day in Telis to explore Quenya and Amsterdam, shall we?Both of these islands are in our sailing route, and without turning, we may be able to search for traces of the sinking of the Britannia there. Suspicious major, you are still stubborn.exclaimed the geographer.