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

Chapter 163 The Mysterious Island (48)
The immigrants circled the hull in their canoes, and as the tide receded, they could at least see the effects, even if they still couldn't confirm the cause of the disaster.

In the part of the bow, seven or eight feet forward of the root of the stem, the sides of the keel were badly damaged, ripped open at least twenty feet.There, two leaky holes had emerged that were too big to plug.

The copper lining and cladding of the bottom of the boat were gone—it must have been blasted to powder, no doubt. Not only that, but the frame itself, and the wooden pegs and screws connecting the frame, had disappeared without a trace.A terrible and inexplicable force broke the whole hull including the rear part, and the decks were broken beyond support.The keel itself was damaged in several places at the stringers, and the whole was broken.

"Damn it!" cried Pencroft, "the ship can never sail again!"

"It can't even float anymore," said Ayrton.

"Anyway," Jardin Splane pointed out, "the explosion—if it ever happened—was a strange effect! It damaged the lower part of the hull, but left the deck and the water! If you ask me, these big holes are not caused by the explosion of the gunpowder magazine, but rather by hitting a rock!"

"Again, there are no rocks in the strait!" retorted the sailor, "I agree with everything you say, except hitting the rocks!"

"Let us try to get inside the ship and have a look," said the engineer, "and then perhaps we shall know what has destroyed the ship."

This idea was immediately agreed by everyone.In addition, it is indeed necessary to take an inventory of the belongings on board and try to preserve them to the best of your ability.

The water was low now and it was easy to get into the boat.And because of the overturning of the hull, the deck below becomes the top, which can be walked on.The ship's ballast was some heavy cast iron, and they had smashed through the hull in several places, and the settlers could hear the gurgle of sea water rushing through the cracks in the hull.

Together with his companions, ax in hand, Cyrus Harding advanced cautiously along the half-cracked deck.And the deck is full of all kinds of boxes. Since they have not been soaked in water for a long time, it is believed that the contents inside should not be lost much.

Now the migrants are busy moving all this cargo to safety.The high tide was only a few hours away, and they had to make the most of the hours.Ayrton and Pencroft found a double tackle with reversing pulleys in the opening of the hull, which could be used to lift barrels and boxes, and save the immigrants a lot of effort.Batches of found property were loaded onto the beach in canoes.They take what they see, and tidying up might as well be done later.

On the whole, the settlers were very satisfied, and they found on this ship a wide variety of goods and complete sets of goods, utensils, manufactured goods, tools, like those Polynesian pelagics doing large-scale coastal trade. As loaded on the wheel.Everything was there, and it was agreed that this was what the settlers on "Lincoln Island" needed.

Only Cyrus Harding was still watching silently.He was astonished to find that not only had the hull been badly damaged by some kind of impact, causing disaster—this has been said before, but not only that—all the internal fittings had also been destroyed, especially the bow.It was as if a powerful shell had exploded inside the ship, and the partitions and pillars were shattered.After the settlers removed the boxes, they could move unimpeded from bow to stern.These boxes are not some heavy and heavy items that are difficult to move, but just some very light and small items, but the labels on the boxes have become illegible due to water soaking.

The settlers came last to the stern, which used to be the poop deck.According to what Ayrton discovered during the investigation, the gunpowder magazine should be found here.Since it did not explode, Cyrus Harding thought, it might be possible to salvage several barrels, and powder is usually enclosed in a metal envelope, so that it is impossible to come into contact with water.

It happened exactly as Cyrus Harding had expected.Among the masses of shells they found some twenty barrels of gunpowder, all lined with copper casings.The powder kegs were carefully lifted out.It was only after Pencroft saw the intact gunpowder that he finally believed that the destruction of the "Endeavour" could never be caused by an explosion.It became clear that the part of the hull where the gunpowder depot was located was the least damaged.

"But how is this possible!" The stubborn sailor replied, still insisting on his own point of view, "It seems that it can only be caused by hitting a rock, but if it is said to be hitting a rock, I'm sure there is no rock in this strait. !"

"Well, who can tell me what the hell is going on?" asked Hubbert.

"I don't know," murmured Pencroft, "not even Mr. Smith, and I'm afraid no one knows how it is, and it may always be so!"

A few hours passed in the process of busy searching for various things, and now the tide in the channel has begun to rise.Rescue work had to be suspended.Besides, there was nothing to worry about. There was no way the sea would wash away the skeleton of the boat, because it was sunk deep in the sand and fixed like a double anchor.

Therefore, everyone can rest assured to wait until the next day when the tide ebbs to continue working.But the action should be quicker. Although the ship itself is completely unusable, the remaining materials in the ship must be rescued as soon as possible, because the quicksand in the strait will submerge the ship in a short time.

It was now five o'clock in the evening.The immigrants spend their days in a busy way, which is really hard enough.So they had a great appetite for this dinner, and they ate it hungrily.Almost exhausted, they couldn't resist examining the crates salvaged from the ship, which contained the Endeavor's cargo.

What a surprise, the immigrants found that most of the boxes contained ready-made clothes, and this time they didn't have to worry about running out of clothes.There are clothes of various uses and leather shoes of various sizes in the box.

"We're so rich now!" cried Pencroft excitedly, "but what shall we do with these things?"

The merry sailor, examining the contents of the chest, cheered now and then, as he saw casks of spirits, chests of tobacco, some firearms and swords, bales of cotton, some farming implements, and the tools of the carpenters and blacksmiths , and many more boxes of seeds of various kinds—which, luckily, hadn't been in the water long, and hadn't spoiled at all.what!If they had discovered this two years ago, they would have regarded it as a priceless treasure!But in any case, even now that these industrious immigrants have made their own tools, this precious wealth can still come in handy.

The warehouse at Granite Palace was spacious, but it was too late to get everything into the warehouse.But also put part of the energy on defense.Don't forget that the six criminals on the "Endeavour" have successfully landed on "Lincoln Island", and they are a group of incurable criminals.Notwithstanding the bridges over the Thanksgiving River and others that have been hoisted, a river or stream cannot hold back the criminals, driven by desperation these cornered rogues will do anything.

The proper way to deal with these villains can only be discussed later, and the most important thing now is to look after the boxes piled up near the "chimney".To this end, the migrants had to take turns on duty at night.

It was dawn, and the night passed safely, but there were no signs of the criminals' attempt to invade.Master Jupp and Top stood guard at the foot of Granite Palace.They have very sensitive senses of smell and hearing, and they will immediately give an alarm if there is a situation.

Over the next three days, October 10, 19, and 20, the migrants raced against the clock to salvage everything in the wreck that might be valuable or useful, whether it was cargo or sailing rigging.Every day when the tide falls, they move things from the cargo hold to the island; every day when the tide rises, they put the rescued goods into storage by category.Most of the copper plates covering the hull had been torn off by them, and the hull sank deeper and deeper into the quicksand every day.But this is nothing to regret, the settlers have tried their best to save these precious materials-just before the quicksand swallowed up the heavy objects that sank to the bottom of the ship, Ayrton and Pencroft dived to the bottom of the channel several times, and they Using the buoyancy of the empty barrel, the chains and anchors of the brig, the iron blocks of the ballast, and even the four cannons were salvaged ashore.

Both the arsenals of the settlers and the warehouses of Granite Palace had been enriched by the wreck.Pencroft, always keen to make plans, had already begun to contemplate building a battery that could control the channel and the mouth of the river from a commanding height.With four cannons, he can stop any fleet that dares to invade the waters of "Lincoln Island", no matter how powerful it is, they will not be afraid!
Just when the sailboat had been removed by the emigrants, leaving only a useless shell, bad weather came, and the violent wind and waves finally destroyed it.Cyrus Harding had intended to blow it up, and then clear up the wreck on the coast, but the wind and waves from the northeast prevented him from saving some powder.

During the night of the 23rd-24th the whole hull disintegrated completely, and part of the wreckage was thrown onto the beach by the waves.

Though Cyrus Harding had searched the poop cabinets, he could find not a trace of the ship's papers.The pirates had apparently destroyed everything about the Endeavor's captain or owner, and since the name of the port of registry was not painted on the stern panels, the settlers had no way of knowing its nationality.Both Ayrton and Pencroft, however, believed that the ship was of English origin, from some peculiar shape of the prow.

A week after this catastrophe—or rather this fortunate and unexplained good fortune, for it allowed the migrants to survive—the boat was completely invisible, even at low tide.Its remains were scattered, and Granite Palace received nearly all of its riches.

If it were not for Neb's fault, perhaps the secret of the brig's bizarre destruction would never have been revealed.Neb was wandering on the beach that day when he accidentally discovered a thick iron cylinder with obvious explosion marks on it.The edges of this cylinder are incomplete, and its deformation looks like it was caused by the explosion of explosives.

Neb brought this iron object to his master, while the engineer was busy with his companions in the workshop of the Chimney.

Cyrus Harding examined the cylinder of unknown origin, and turning to Pencroft said:
"My friend, do you still insist that Endeavor was not sunk?"

"Yes, Mr. Smith," replied the sailor, "on this point you are as well aware as I am that there are no reefs in the channel."

"Okay, but what happens if it hits this piece of iron?" the engineer asked, pointing to the broken cylinder.

"What, you mean this broken iron cylinder?" cried Pencroft, in a very suspicious tone.

"Friends," continued Cyrus Harding, "you will perhaps remember that the ship was thrown up by a jet of water before it sank?"

"It is true, Mr. Smith!" replied Harbert.

"Well, do you want to find out what caused this jet of water? The answer is this." The engineer pointed to the broken pipe.

"Is this?" Pencroft was still doubtful.

"Yes! This iron cylinder is all that is left after a mine explodes!"

"A mine!" shouted the engineer's companions.

"Then who put the mine there?" asked Pencroft, not wanting to give way.

"I can only tell you that I did not do it!" replied Cyrus Harding; "but it is true, it was there, and you can already estimate its power!"

What to do with the remaining criminals

It is now clear that the mine exploded on the bottom of the sea and caused everything that followed.Cyrus Harding was never mistaken.Because during the Civil War, he had experimented with this terrible weapon.This iron cylinder contained a mixed explosive - nitroglycerin, picrate or other similar substances. The current penetrated the bottom of the sailboat, and it sank immediately.That's why after a ship has been severely damaged, it can no longer float.

A mine is enough to blow up an armored ship as easily as blowing up an ordinary fishing boat. No wonder the "Endeavour" is doomed!
yes!Now the truth is out... there's only one question left - how did that mine end up in the channel!
"My friends," continued Cyrus Harding, "it is now certain that there is a mysterious figure on 'Lincoln Island. The reason why I say this is to let Elton know all the strange things we have encountered in the past two years. I really can't imagine what kind of character is that strange do-gooder? He has repeatedly shot out what happened on the island. Intervened, and his interventions were very beneficial to us. But after doing so many good things, he went into hiding. So why did he do it?

"I really can't figure it out. But in any case, the good things he has done have really helped us. This man must have amazing abilities. Ayrton, like us, has been indebted to him. If It was the stranger who rescued me from the waves after I fell from the balloon, so obviously he also wrote the distress letter and dropped the drift bottle on the channel of the channel, letting us know that our companions where they were lost for rescue.

"I'll add some facts that you may not have noticed. It was he who lured the box that happened to contain all the supplies we needed, and let it run aground on Drift Head. High on the island. It was he who lit the bonfire and let you land safely; , What we do not understand, is the work of this mysterious person. Therefore, no matter who he is, whether it is a man killed or a person exiled on this island, we all pay tribute to him. We are most grateful, or we would be ungrateful. We have owed a debt of favor which I hope to pay someday."

"You are quite right, my dear Cyrus," replied Jardine Splane, "and I feel the same way, that there is an almost omnipotent being hiding in some part of the Great benefit to our little group. I would add that I feel this stranger possesses some supernatural powers, if there are any in real life. Did he pass 'Granite Palace' Did the well spy on us, and thus know all our plans? Did he throw us that bottle, on the first voyage of the canoe at sea? Did he throw Top out of the lake, And killed the dugong? Did he save you, Mr. Smith, from the waves? I think everyone will agree that in the above circumstances, an ordinary person cannot do it. If the above All he said was done by himself, so he has a special ability to dominate natural forces."

The reporter was right, and everyone in the room felt the same way.

"Yes," replied Cyrus Harding, "if there was indeed a man who took part in the whole thing we speak of, I think he possessed superhuman abilities. It is still a mystery. But if we could put When the man is found, the mystery is solved. Now the question is: should we respect the wishes of this generous benefactor and let him remain anonymous, or should we do everything possible to find him and express our gratitude to him? What's your opinion on this?"

"It is my opinion," replied Pencroft, "that whoever he is, he is a remarkable man, and I have great respect for him."

"Well said," went on Cyrus Harding, "but it is no answer, Pencroft."

"My lord," said Neb, "it seems to me that we should try our best to find the mysterious figure just mentioned, but we must also respect his wishes, and let him appear only when he himself is willing. "

"That's a good idea, Neb," said Pencroft.

"I also agree with Neb," said Jardine Splane. "Respecting his wishes is no reason not to go to him. Whether we can find this merciful man or not, we must at least do our duty. "

"And you, my boy, give your opinion," said the engineer, turning to Harbert.

"Ah!" Hubbert exclaimed excitedly, with endless brilliance in his eyes, "I want to thank him in person, because he saved you first, and then saved us with great mercy!"

"Of course, my boy," said Pencroft, "I must thank him too, and we all must thank him! I am not a curious man, but I would have paid for the sight of this mysterious figure face to face. The price of eyes! In my imagination, he must be good-looking, tall and strong, with a beautiful beard and hair that shines. He may be lying on the cloud, holding a big ball in his hand!"

"Come on, Pencroft," answered Jardine Splane, "you paint us the image of the Creator!"

"It is possible, Mr. Splane," replied the sailor; "I am not exaggerating, that is what I imagine him to be!"

"And what is your opinion, Ayrton?" asked the engineer.

(End of this chapter)