Home Categories Novel Corner The Adventures of Captain Hatteras

Chapter 53 Chapter 21 The Ocean of Freedom

The next morning, Johnson and Bell set about loading the bivouac items on board.At eight o'clock, when the preparations for the departure were complete, and the time to leave the shore approached, the doctor began to think about the travelers who had left their footprints, and he couldn't help worrying about it. These people want to conquer the North?What gear are they equipped to cross the Arctic Ocean?Is it still possible to meet them on these new journeys? For three days there was no sign of the travellers; surely, in any case, they had not yet set foot in Port Altamon, which was still uninhabited and virgin territory.

Following his thoughts, the doctor wanted to browse the scenery here for the last time. He climbed up to a height of more than 100 meters, where he could scan the entire south. When he reached the top of the mountain, he put on the binoculars. It was so strange that he couldn't see anything. Needless to say, he couldn't see the plains in the distance, even a few steps away from him!This surprised him so much; he checked again, and finally he saw that the telescope lens was missing. lens!he yelled. It was to be understood what this momentary discovery meant to him; he uttered a loud cry, and his companions were shaken, and they were greatly disturbed to see him running down the hill.

oh!What happened again?Johnson asked. The doctor was out of breath and could not utter a sound; at last he managed to utter a few words: Footsteps Squad! So, what?Hatteras asked, Strangers here? No!No!The doctor took the words, the lens my lens is mine He showed the missing part of the telescope to his companions. ah!The Americans exclaimed, what did you lose? right. So, these footprints It's ours too, friends, it's ours!Says the doctor, we're lost in the fog!We turned around and finally turned back to the original position! So how to explain this shoe print?Hatteras asked.

They were Bell's shoes, Bell's own leather shoes, remember, when Bell's snowshoes crashed, he walked in the snow all day in leather shoes. Indeed, Bell said. The evidence was so convincing that everyone could not help laughing, except Hatteras, who was not at all happy about the discovery. How ridiculous we are!When the laughter and uproar had subsided, the doctor said: How rich our imaginations are!Strangers on this shore!What a result!It seems that you have to think in situ before imagining.In the end, the worries were eliminated, and all that had to be done was to set off.

Set off!Hatteras said. A quarter of an hour later, everyone boarded the skiff and sat down. The foremastsail was unfurled, the mizzensail was hoisted, and the skiff sailed out of Altamont Harbor quickly. The voyage began on Wednesday, July 10; the voyagers were now very close to the North Pole, one hundred and seventy-five leagues to be exact. 】; Such a short distance, sea navigation is the easiest shortcut to reach. There was little wind, but a tailwind.The thermometer marked ten degrees Celsius, and the weather was hot. The dinghy didn't suffer as many ordeals as the sledge; the dinghy was in good shape and easy to maneuver.Johnson took the helm; the Doctor, Bell and the American reclined in their most comfortable positions.Maintain the balance of the ship.

Hatteras sat on the bow, staring at the mysterious North Pole. His whole body was attracted by a powerful force, like a magnet being drawn to the North Pole.If several coasts appeared in front of him, he was the first to explore, and the honor belonged to him. In addition, he discovered that the surface of the Arctic Ocean was formed by the freezing of many small waves, as if the sea was blocked.He saw another sign of land showing there, and the doctor agreed with his observation. It's easy to appreciate Hatteras' strong desire to discover land in the Arctic.How important it was in his grand plan to conquer the North Pole to see how little land stretched out from the unpredictable and fickle sea.However, how to give this undetermined piece of land in the ocean a unique name?How to erect the national flag of our country around the sea?And how to occupy a piece of land belonging to His Majesty's name in the flowing sea?

At this moment, Hatteras focused his eyes, held a compass in one hand, and greedily threw it to the north. Nothing can limit the stretch of the Arctic Basin towards the horizon; in the distance, the sea blends with the blue sky.A few icebergs, fleeing far away, seemed to give way to these intrepid navigators. Does the strange landscape of this area make explorers extremely excited and highly excited?It's hard to tell.But the doctor, in his journal of the expedition, described the strange landscape of the Arctic Ocean; the beauty of these regions, as Penny described them, a most exciting feature dotted with thousands of sea creatures. ocean map.

The sea presents the multi-level changes of the open sea. At this moment, it is surprisingly clear and quiet, and it seems to have extraordinary dispersing power, as if they are composed of sulfuric acid carbides.This transparency makes people want to explore the bottomless sea; the Arctic submarine basin is illuminated from below like a huge glass aquarium; what a magical landscape, produced on the seabed, illuminates the deepest layer of the seabed.The boat also seems to be suspended in a bottomless abyss. Thousands of birds fly in gangs like dense clouds or storms over these amazing water surfaces.Traveling birds and seabirds all form part of the large family of aquariums. Albatrosses from the south and penguins from the northern ocean exist in considerable proportions.Their calls are deafening and continuous.Just looking at them, the doctor forgets his natural science.He couldn't name all kinds of wonderful birds; he would subconsciously bow his head when they came whizzing by with powerful, indescribable wings.

Several kinds of gigantic birds stretched out, with a wingspan of twenty paces, and they flew down sufficiently to cover the boat in its entirety.Flocks of birds occur here, some of which have never been listed in the London Index of Ornithology. The doctor was shocked.In short, he was dismayed at his own scientific poverty. As he turned his eyes from the wonderful sky to the calm surface of the sea, he saw not only the amazing animal world of birds, but also others.The jellyfish, which can be as large as thirty paces across, is often a plentiful meal for birds, as it floats among the algae, forming tiny crystal-clear islands.What a fascinating subject!I would like to ask, what is the difference between the jellyfish here and the same kind living in the Greenland Sea observed under the microscope of Scones?It is amazing how this navigator multiplied the jellyfish to 230,888,800,000,000 in a radius of 2 square nautical miles!

From the flowing water surface to the quiet deep sea, the masters in the extraordinary world shuttle and jump; these sea elves with a complete range of tens of thousands sometimes dive into the deepest layer of mystery, making people's eyes follow the ever-changing Small, vanishing shadows wander in the labyrinth of the sea; sometimes they vacate the dreamlike seabed, floating on the surface of the ocean, revealing their bodies leisurely.The giants of the sea are not afraid of the arrival of small boats.Navigators can't help stroking their large anal fins; here, professional whalers have real reason to panic, while navigators are completely unaware of the danger they face, when certain animals at sea have reached formidable numbers. the point.

Young and strong sailors are playing with them; dolphin-like magical narwhals, with their sharp cone-shaped defensive weapons, pierce the ice freely, chasing the most timid of the cetacean family; , spraying spectacular water column and mucus through their nostrils, the sea surface is filled with their unique calls; the northern whale with a thick tail fin, relying on a nimble tail, breaks through the wind and waves at a speed like the wind, while not forgetting Add the same agile scombs and other delicacies to yourself; while the lazy beluga whale quietly enjoys the same lazy and gentle molluscs as itself. Deeper in the ocean, warm whales with sharp mouths, elongated and dark granling whales, huge sperm whales, all kinds of whales are scattered in the depths of the ocean, or swim in the amber seabed, or devote themselves to the tragic blood-stained Desperate battles on the surface of several miles of ocean; cylindrical sea animals, giant sea beasts in Labrador, dolphins with sharp backs like daggers, all families of seals and families of walruses, fur seals, sea horses, sea bears, sea lions, walruses , like grazing in a sea pasture in the Arctic Ocean; through the crystal clear marine zoo, the doctor admires the countless marine animal world composed of crabs, shrimps, fish, etc. How beautiful, how rich, how magical nature is!How amazing and incredible everything is in the ocean near the North Pole! The sky is supernaturally clear; it can be said that there is too much oxygen, and the navigators breathe this sweet air that adds passion to life, without thinking about what the energy supply means at this time; their emotional functions, digestive functions, breathing functions, They are all running with supernatural energy, highly stimulating the imagination of the brain, and playing to the extreme: for one hour, they enjoy the beauty of the whole day. In amazement and wonder, the dinghy sailed leisurely through the ocean, accompanied by the breeze brought by the fluttering wings of the huge albatross. Towards dusk, the coast of New America disappeared from the sight of Hatteras and his companions. The hours of the temperate night are as distinct as in the equatorial regions; but here the spiral disk of the sun is elongated and traces a complete circle, forming a landscape exactly like that of the Arctic Ocean.The boat, bathed in its setting sun, cannot leave this shining center. Animals active in high latitudes clearly feel the coming of night, as if the dazzling stars were robbed and locked behind the horizon.All the birds, fish, and whales disappeared.Where?Highest point in the sky?Or the deepest layer of the ocean?Who can tell?After their hooting, hissing, and the throbbing of the waves raised by the breath of the wonders of the sea, there is an eerie calm and peace; , regaining its tranquility. Since leaving Altamon Harbor the boat had advanced another degree to the north; and the next day the sky showed no sign, either of distant peaks of land, or special markings of islands or islands to which the sailors were eager to approach. land. The wind is fair and mild; the sea is calmer; the seabirds and fish are returning in groups like the day before; the doctor leans towards the sea and sees the whales leaving their deep palaces of rest and gradually reemerging from the surface of the ocean; The floes drifted one way or another, filling the monotony of the sea. In short, the ice floes were so small that they would not hinder the navigation of the ship.The sailing was as smooth as that of Disco Bay into Baffin Bay.This is no surprise.Therefore, the whole summer is like a tiger with wings added to sailing. This observation plays an important role in reality; in fact, if the whaling crews could pass through the northern oceans of America, or the northern oceans of Asia, to the Arctic ocean basin, there is no doubt that they will return with full rewards, because there seems to be all gathered together. Sea whales, seals and various marine animals are the treasure house of the marine animal world. At noon, the sea level and the horizon interweave to form a line of sea and sky; doctors began to doubt the existence of land in high latitudes. However, from the point of view of reasoning, the existence of land in the North Pole is unavoidable; in fact, at the beginning of creation, after the crust cooled, the water formed by the solidification of the air mass in the atmosphere should rush towards the equator under the action of centrifugal force, leaving the stationary pole of the earth, from Here, the Arctic neighborhood suddenly arises.The doctor thought his reasoning was quite correct.It seems to be similar to Hatteras' idea. The captain's eyes wanted to pierce the clouds in the sky.The binoculars never left his eyes for a moment.He seeks in the multicolored waters, looks in the shapes of the waves, and in the whistling of the wind for signs of lands to be discovered.His brow stretched forward, deeply intoxicated with visions of adventure to be revealed.Who can decipher from his gestures the multiple frenetic desires and anxious doubts contained therein.
Press "Left Key ←" to return to the previous chapter; Press "Right Key →" to enter the next chapter; Press "Space Bar" to scroll down.
Chapters
Chapters
Setting
Setting
Add
Return
Book