The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 153 The Mysterious Island (38)
The engineer interfaced: "Yes, my dear Pencroft, but I need your help, for three quarters of all our work is suitable for you!"

Hubbert and the sailor boarded the "Lucky" again.Anchor up, sail up.Soon, the sea breeze sent it to the "Claw Cape".Two hours later, it was moored in the quiet waters of Balloon Harbour.

And how the stranger spent his first few days at Granite House.How is everyone judging him?Has his wildness been restrained?Is there a ray of light flickering in the depths of his darkened soul?Has the soul returned to the body?Yes, these are questions that are on everyone's mind every moment, even Cyrus Harding and journalists.

Accustomed to the unlimited freedom of Tabor Island, the stranger looked annoyed at first at Granite House.Sometimes it was feared that he would jump out of the window of Granite House onto the beach.Slowly, however, he calmed down and they stopped restricting his movements.So everyone felt that they saw hope, and it was a great hope.

The stranger seemed to be able to stop eating such beastly food, he seemed to have forgotten his carnivorous nature, and he no longer showed a strong aversion to cooked meat. The performance of raw meat seems to have changed a bit.

Cyrus Harding secretly trimmed his long, unkempt hair and beard while he was fast asleep.The beard and hair, like the mane, made him look even more brutish.He also changed him into more decent clothes, and of course threw away his rags.Through such cooking, the stranger regained his human form, as if his eyes had become less cold and fierce.One thing is certain, when he was a wise man he must have been a handsome man.

Every day Cyrus Harding set himself the task of spending a few hours with him.In order to attract his attention, he works around him, doing various things.Indeed, as long as there is a ray of light, this soul can be illuminated, as long as a little memory can pass over this brain, it can reawaken his bright reason.He had shown them this clearly aboard the Lucky during the storm!

The engineer also spoke loudly on purpose in order to stimulate his auditory and visual organs and stimulate his intellect.His companions, sometimes all, sometimes this, sometimes that, took turns with him.They deliberately talked about some topics related to navigation, hoping to impress the sailor.We found that sometimes the stranger seemed to pay attention to what they said, and we believed that he could understand part of it.Sometimes he has a facial expression of extreme pain, which indicates that he is very distressed, because facial expressions cannot be deceived.But he just didn't speak. Many times, they thought that a few words were on their lips, but they still didn't say them.

The poor man was melancholy, though calm.Is his calm just superficial?Was his melancholy the result of captivity?It's too early to tell.Everyone keeps in touch with him, and he seems to be used to being with everyone, and there is nothing dissatisfied.Because his food and clothing were much better than before, so, naturally, his physique gradually changed.

Did this new life touch him?Or is he only willing to listen to his master like an animal?It was these important questions which Cyrus Harding was trying to solve, but he would not be hasty in his patient!To him the stranger was a sick man!There will be a day when he recovers.

So the engineer is watching him all the time!Researching on his treatment method!

Every step of the treatment performed by Cyrus Harding was attended to with sincere and eager attention.They help him in this humanitarian work as much as they can.With the possible exception of Pencroft, every one was soon as hopeful as he was!
The stranger behaved calmly. It was obvious that he was most influenced by the engineer and had already shown a strong attachment to him.Cyrus Harding resolved to test him by taking him into another setting.Cyrus took him to the sea, and made him face the sea, which he was used to in the old days; and took him to the edge of the forest, which might remind him of another forest in which he had lived so many years!
Jardin Splane said: "So, can we expect him not to run away when he is free?"

The engineer said, "Just to test it out."

"Well," said Pencroft, "the fellow has freedom before him, and fresh air to breathe, and he will run as fast as he can!"

"I do not think so," replied Cyrus Harding.

"Give it a go," Jardin Splane said.

"Try it," replied the engineer.

It was October 10th, sunny and hot.Strangers have been 'shut down' at Granite Palace for nine days.

Cyrus Harding and Pencroft entered the room in which the stranger lived.They found him lying by the window, staring at the sky in a daze.

The engineer said to him, "Come on, my friend."

The stranger rose at once, looked at Cyrus Harding, and followed him.The sailor walked behind the stranger, and, to tell the truth, he had no hope of experimenting.

At the door, Cyrus Harding and Pencroft let the stranger into the lift, and the wicker basket down.At this moment Neb, Harbert, and Jardine Splane were waiting for them below Granite House.After a while, everyone gathered on the beach.

In order to give the stranger a little freedom, everyone left quietly.

The stranger took a few steps toward the sea, his eyes began to snap and leap over a beam of light, but he made no attempt to escape.He looked at the little waves that had been smashed by the island and disappeared in the sand.

Jardin Splane said: "It's just the sea, it probably won't wake him up to escape yet!"

"Yes," replied Cyrus Harding, "and take him up to the heights, where it is near the woods. That will be a better test."

Neb reminded: "The bridges are suspended, he cannot escape."

"Oh," said Pencroft, "but this is not a man for whom a brook can hold up! He might cross it with a single leap!"

Cyrus Harding said a word: "Wait and see!" His eyes never let go of his patient's eyes.

The stranger was taken again to the mouth of the "Grateful River".Then everyone went up along the left bank of the river and boarded "Looking Heights".

Near the edge of the forest, where the trees are verdant, and the leaves are shaking under the breeze.The air here is also very fresh and fragrant. The stranger let out a long breath from his chest, as if he was intoxicated in the refreshing air, and his mind was relaxed.

Everyone stood behind, ready to stop him if he showed any sign of fleeing.

As expected, the poor man stretched his legs straight, and jumped into the river that separated him from the forest, but... in an instant, he closed his legs again, and fell half-slumped on the ground, with a big drop Tears slowly overflow!

Cyrus Harding exclaimed: "Ah, my friend! Behold you weep, and you are man again!"

Return of the Savage

yes!The poor man wept!It may be that there is a recollection of some past event in the mind, Cyrus Harding was right, and tears made him human again.

They left him alone on the high ground for a while, to give him a little room to be free, to realize that he was a free man, but obviously he didn't want that freedom.So Cyrus Harding brought him back to Granite House.

Two days later, the stranger seemed to have an idea of ​​wanting to blend in with the crowd.Everyone has seen clearly that he can hear and understand others; at the same time, it is also known that he is very determined not to communicate with everyone in words.Pencroft had put his ear to his door one evening, and heard him say to himself, "No! Here! Me! Never!"

The sailor informed his companions of this matter.

Said Cyrus Harding: "The poor man must have a painful secret!"

He was there alone, as if he was only concerned with himself.The engineer told everyone not to disturb him as much as possible and to respect his solitude, but he didn't seem to want everyone to get close to him.If one of his companions came near him, he would recoil, and begin to sob, sobbing bitterly, his chest heaving up and down, as if filled with so many painful memories!Could it be that he did something wrong to make him suffer so much?
One day Jardine Splane couldn't help but say to the crowd: "The reason why he keeps it to himself is I think it's because what he has to say is very serious!"

Still need to be patient.

A few days later, on November 11, when the stranger was working on the high ground, he stopped suddenly and dropped the shovel in his hand to the ground.Cyrus Harding, who was watching him closely, saw him weeping again.Cyrus couldn't restrain his pity for him, walked over and touched his arm lightly.

He whispered: "Dear friend!"

The stranger's eyes did not meet him, and when Cyrus Harding tried to take his hand, he drew back quickly.

Cyrus Harding said to him with still greater force: "My dear friend, watch me!"

The stranger looked at the engineer involuntarily, and then, as if by magic, he seemed to change.He seemed to want to avoid it, but his face seemed to change accordingly.His eyes gradually brightened, and his lips were squirming as if something was about to be blurted out.He finally couldn't take it anymore! …with arms crossed, a low voice came out from between his lips:
"Who are you?" he asked Cyrus Harding.

The engineer said very excitedly: "Just like you, you are also a lost person. We brought you here to return you to the midst of your kind."

"My kind! . . . I have no kind!"

The engineer added: "You are among friends..."

The stranger looked struggling, buried his head deeply in his palms and shouted, "Friend!...my...friend!...no...never...leave me alone! leave me alone!"

Immediately afterwards, he fled to the high ground where he could overlook the sea, and stood there blankly, motionless.That's it, for a long time.

Cyrus Harding returned to the company, and related what had just happened.

Jardine Splane said: "Yes, there must be secrets in this man's heart, and it seems that he can only be re-entered among human beings through confession."

Sailor said: "He has a secret... I really don't know what kind of man we have brought."

Cyrus Harding said quickly: "We cannot ask him, and besides, if he has done anything wrong, he has atoned for it by suffering so much. He is forgiven, in our opinion."

For two full hours, the stranger remained alone on the beach.Apparently he's recalled his entire past—possibly an unfortunate one.Everyone stopped giving him any interference and let him vent to his heart's content.

Two hours later he came to Cyrus Harding, and seemed to have reached a certain resolution.His eyes were red from tears, but he was no longer crying.He looked very polite, and he also seemed very reserved and timid, with his eyes downcast, always looking at the ground, afraid of attracting attention.

He said to Cyrus Harding: "Are you all English, sir?"

The engineer replied, "No, we are Americans."

The stranger gave an ah, and then said in a low voice, "I'd rather be like this!"

"Where are you from, my friend?" asked the engineer.

He said eagerly: "British."

As if these words made him very uneasy, he seemed emotional.He left the beach to the waterfall, and from the waterfall to the mouth of the Thanksgiving River, looking restless.

Finally, he stopped beside Hubbert and asked with a choked voice, "What month is it now?"

Hubbert replied, "November."

"What year is it?"

"1866."

He shouted: "12 years! 12 years!" After speaking, he left suddenly.

Harbert told the poor man's questioning and his own answers.

Jardine Splane said: "The poor man can't tell the days from the moon!"

Hubbert added: "Yes! He had been alone on the island for 12 years when we found him!"

Cyrus Harding replied: "Twelve years! It's been a hell of a life. Twelve years of isolation and loneliness are enough to kill a man's reason!"

"It is more or less certain," said Pencroft, "that he was exiled for some crime, and was not shipwrecked at Tabor Island."

"It is probable," said the correspondent, "that it is true, Pencroft; and if so, those who banished him may some day come to him!"

"And they won't find him," Hubbert said.

Pencroft went on: "But, if that's the case, we'll have to go back, and besides..."

Said Cyrus Harding: "Then, my friends, we will do our business properly, and return to the subject. I think that the poor man, whatever crimes he may have committed then, has paid dearly for his mistakes. He has been punished for the price. Now, he feels depressed and needs to vent. Let’s not ask about his past! After this period of time, maybe he will take the initiative to tell us, when he explains, We'll have to play it by ear then. Besides, whether he still wants to go back to his country, only he will know. But I doubt he wants to go back!"

"Why?" asked the reporter.

"Because, if he was sure he would be released after a certain period of time in captivity, he would have waited for that time rather than throwing the letter for help into the sea. In most cases, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in that On the island until he dies, he will never see his own kind!"

"But there's one thing I don't quite understand," said the sailor.

"what's up?"

"If this man has been alone on Tabor Island for 12 years, it is quite certain that he has been in this barbaric form for several years!"

Cyrus Harding replied, "It is possible."

"So, that letter should have been written by him several years ago!"

"Maybe...but that letter seems to have been written recently!..."

"Besides, who would believe it would take years for the letter bottle to float from Tabor Island to 'Lincoln Island'?"

The reporter replied: "Perhaps it is possible. Could it not be shelved near 'Lincoln Island'?"

"No," replied Pencroft, "for it was still adrift. We must not suppose that the bottle, having been on shore for a time, would be washed away by the sea, for the south coast is all rocky, and there it must have been washed away. smashed!"

"It is true," replied Cyrus Harding, reflecting on it.

The sailor added, "Also, if the letter had been written many years ago, and it had been in this bottle for several years, it would have been damaged by damp, but it has been preserved very well."

The sailor's meaning was very clear, and it was so strange that when everyone found the letter in the bottle that day, it did seem to have been written recently.Furthermore, it provides the exact latitude and longitude of Tabor Island, suggesting that the writer had a level of knowledge of hydrogeography beyond the reach of an ordinary sailor.

The engineer said: "This is another unexplainable thing, but let's not ask a stranger to tell it. One day he will take the initiative to tell it. Friends, let's prepare to listen carefully!"

For the next few days, the stranger remained silent and remained in the Prospect Heights enclosure.He worked without rest, without rest, and kept his distance from others.He didn't go back to Granite Palace at mealtimes, it didn't matter what you called him, and he ate a few raw vegetables.When night came, he didn't go back to the room prepared for him, but stayed in the field, under the tree.When the weather is bad, they curl up in the recesses of the rocks.In this way, he returned to his original life.At that time, he only relied on the forests of Tabor Island for protection from wind and rain.Everyone feels that everything they insist on doing to change him is useless.We had to wait patiently.

At last the moment came, and as if driven by his conscience, he couldn't help but couldn't wait to say the frightening thing in his heart.

On November 11, at eight o'clock in the evening, it got dark.At this time, a stranger suddenly appeared in front of everyone.They were chatting under the arbor at the time.His eyes shone brighter than ever before, but his appearance returned to the rough look he had when he first met him.

The stranger's agitation seemed uncontrollable, he was shaking like a patient with a fever, and his teeth were chattering.Cyrus Harding and his companions were astonished to see him in this state.What's the matter with him?Could he not bear the sight of his own kind?Is he tired of this fair and just living environment?Does he miss the rough and barbaric way of life in the past?That's how they had to look at him when they heard him tell in disjointed words.

"Why am I here?...Why did you bring me here from my island? Do you have anything to do with me? You know who I am...where I come from...I do What the hell...why am I there...and alone? Do you know my past? Did I steal, did I kill...any of you know I wasn't abandoned there...I wasn't Sentenced to die there? Am I...a sinner...a hateful...one who has to live like a wild animal...well off...you know all this?"

These incomplete and incoherent confessions were uttered from the poor man's heart and involuntarily, and everyone listened attentively without interrupting him.Cyrus Harding tried to approach him to comfort him, but he drew back abruptly.

He shouted, "No! No! I just want to know... am I free?"

The engineer replied, "Yes, you are free."

He said loudly, "Goodbye, then!" and ran away in a frenzy.

Neb, Pencroft, and Harbert immediately followed and chased towards the edge of the forest...but they were still the same when they came back.

Cyrus Harding said: "Let him be!"

cried Pencroft: "He certainly won't come back..."

The engineer said confidently: "He will definitely come back."

(End of this chapter)