Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 39 Where is the ship?

Now, the most important thing is to cross the Snowy River quickly, and reach Tuff Bay before Pen Juss' gang of outlaws.The situation they are in does not allow them to be dejected, they can only actively think of ways to face it.

On the second day, January 2, John and Glenarvan ran to see that the water in the river had not receded. Under such circumstances, trying to cross the river was undoubtedly tantamount to death.

"Would you like me to swim there?" Meng Ge asked. "No, John, we'd better wait!" said Glenarvan, taking his hand.The two returned to the camp.The day was spent in anxiety.

Glenarvan went to the riverside to inspect it countless times a day, but there was still nothing he could do.Mrs. Helen has been taking good care of Mu Ladi.Fortunately, the knife did not hurt the vitals, but lost a lot of blood.So as long as you take a good rest for a while, you can recover.Mu Ladi was worried that he would drag everyone down due to his injury. He asked everyone to cross the river when they could cross the river, leaving Wilson to look after him.But still can't pass.Glenarvan was really anxious.

Thinking that Peng Juss had already boarded the ship, and that the Duncan was stepping into perdition step by step with full power; thinking that the crew members were going to death without knowing it, how could Jazz calm down?Both Mrs. Helen and the major tried their best to comfort him, but they could not calm down.

Menger, like Glenarvan, was equally anxious.He fashioned a boat out of chunks of gum bark, as the Australian aborigines did.

On January 1, John Mengel and Wilson went to the river to test the boat.However, as soon as the boat hit the rapids, it capsized, and the two almost lost their lives.The boat was also swept away by the rapids. In this way, January 18th and 1th passed.Still at a loss.

There was no hope of rescue of the Duncan.Peng Juesi has been gone for 5 days.Now, the cruise ship has reached the east coast and has fallen into the hands of the gangsters.At this point, thought Glenarvan, the little hope that remained was about to be dashed again.

However, the situation improved on the 21st.The flood came quickly and receded quickly.In the morning Paganel saw this and told Glenarvan.

"Hmph! What's the use of the river going back down! It's too late." Glenarvan said as if he had lost all hope.

"But we can't stay here forever!" said the major. "Yes. Maybe we can cross the river tomorrow," John said.

"Will my poor sailors be saved by crossing the river?" Glenarvan shouted to everyone. "Listen to me, sir," said John Mengel. "I know Tom Austin very well. He will certainly carry out your order to sail the boat. But who can guarantee that he will be able to sail? Who can be sure that the boat will be repaired when Peng Jusi arrives in Melbourne. What? If the ship can’t go to sea for the time being, it might be a few days later.”

"Yes, you're right, John. Then we're going to Tufte Bay. We're only thirty-five miles from Deleguit."

"That's right! Once there, we'll be able to find the means to inform the Duncan. Perhaps, it might be said, we can prevent this disaster from happening," said Paganel.

"Well, we'll be ready to go right away," said Glenarvan.John Mengel and Wilson immediately set about building a raft.It wasn't made until the next day.Just at this time, the water of the river has dropped significantly, but it is still turbulent.Menger believes that as long as you go downstream and control it properly, you can reach the other side.At 12 noon, people put the food needed for the two-day journey onto the raft.The remaining ox carts and tents were discarded.Murady's injury also recovered quickly, and it doesn't matter if he moves his body.Everyone got on the raft.

Lady Helene and Mary Grant sat in the middle next to Mulla.Glenarvan, the major, Paganel, and Robert were around them, ready to help.Menger installed a long oar on the right side of the raft, and Wilson was in charge to prevent the raft from being swept out of the course by the rapids.A large clumsy oar was also installed at the stern of the raft to control the direction of sailing.

"Wilson, are you ready?" Mengel asked. "Ready, Captain," replied Wilson, long oar in hand. "Be careful, don't let the water waves wash us away." Meng Ge quickly untied the rope that tied the big raft, and propped the raft smoothly into the river.At first, walking 15 meters was fine.But after a while, as soon as the raft encountered a whirlpool, it lost control, the oars and oars lost their function, and the raft was spinning.After half a mile the raft was in the middle of the river.The water here is extremely strong, but there is no eddy, and the raft is stable instead.Mengelson struggled to control the raft and finally approached the left bank.Unexpectedly, more than 50 meters away from the shore, the oar in Wilson's hand broke.The raft suddenly lost control and was swept away by the current.

Meng Geer tried his best to support the oar.Wilson, with blood on his hands, also came to his aid.After half an hour, they finally propped the raft to the shore.Suddenly the raft jumped steeply on the bank, and the tied rope broke and the river immediately rushed up.People hurriedly grabbed the small tree that had fallen into the river and quickly pulled the two ladies out of the water.In the end, everyone was saved.Except for the carbine carried by the major, all the weapons and food on the raft were washed away by the water.

The river is crossed, but the people have almost nothing left.Thirty-five miles to Deleguite, all along the way in a deserted place.Everyone set off immediately without stopping.

For fear of dragging everyone down, Murad insisted on staying alone, and he wanted to wait for people from Delegit to pick him up.

"No, my friend. I don't want to leave anyone. I will never leave you here alone. Come, let us all make a soft bag and take turns carrying you," said Glenarvan.

Soft pockets were quickly woven from eucalyptus branches.People put Murat on it.Glenarvan was the first to carry, he carried one end, Wilson carried the other end in his back pocket, and they all set off.

Every 10 minutes, everyone changes shifts.The weather is hot and dry, and the road is difficult, and people are still being carried on the road.Think about how hard it is, but no one said it was hard.

In the evening, we camped by the Ronggala River at the foot of Bubula Mountain.There was only one roast mouse for supper, which McNabbs had caught.

On the 23rd, although people were exhausted, they persisted on the road.There is no food today.It was so hot that people were so hungry and thirsty that they couldn't even walk half a mile an hour.If there is no more food, they will fall to the ground.Fortunately, they encountered a coral-like shrub that bore fruit full of water, and they all drank their fill.Paganel also discovered a leaf plant with spores growing on the leaves, which was ground into flour with stones and could be used to make coarse bread.Aubinette picked a lot and saved it.for later use.

On the 24th, Mu Ladi walked for a while by himself, and the wound was almost completely healed.At this time, it was less than 10 miles from Delguite.That night, a group of people slept on the border of South Wales, which happened to be 149 degrees east longitude.At dawn on the second day, everyone set off again. At 2 o'clock, Delegit was seen from a distance.It is 11 miles from Tuff Bay.Here, people quickly find a good means of transportation, and in another 50 hours, they can reach Tufu Bay.

Glenarvan's heart kindled a fire of hope again, if the Duncan was delayed a little, he would be able to reach Tuff Bay before it.

At noon, everyone had a good meal, and then took a 5-horse mail coach and flew away from Delegit.

On the second day, when the sun just rose above the horizon, I heard the faint sound of sea waves passing through my ears, indicating that it was not far from the ocean.The mail car they took had to go around the coast on the 2° line of Tuff Bay, which is where Tom Austin sailed to pick them up.After a while, as soon as the sea appeared, people looked out to the sea, hoping to find the Duncan as they had done at Cape Corinth.But not even a shadow of the sail could be seen.

Was it because the sea was so rough that Tom Austin sailed to the inner harbor of Tuff Bay to drop anchor?Everyone is still speculating in this way with a glimmer of hope.

"To Eden City," said Glenarvan.The mail coach immediately turned right, took the road that circled the harbor, and headed straight for the small town of Eden, five miles away.The car stopped near the port.

Glenarvan, Menger, and Paganel got out of the car and went straight to the customs. They asked the customs staff and checked the registers of ships entering the port in recent days.For a week, however, not a single boat had come to Tuff Bay.Not one was flying the flag of Macomb.

"Could it be that they didn't set sail? Maybe we arrived ahead of time." Glenarvan said to himself, he always didn't want to think about the hopeless side, and tried his best to think about the good side.

But John Mengel shook his head.He knew Tom Austin so well that he would never delay an order for ten days without carrying it out.

"No matter what, I must know the result. I would rather get a reliable bad news than torment me with such doubts." A quarter of an hour later, he sent a telegram to the Melbourne Ship Insurance Managers Association.After the telegram was sent, the group boarded the mail van and came to the Victoria Hotel to rest.Information awaiting reply.At two o'clock in the afternoon a telegram was sent to Glenarvan, which read:

The Sir Glenarvan Duncan, Eden City, Tuff Bay, sailed on the 18th of this month, and the destination is unknown. Andrew, the ship insurance manager.

After reading the telegram, I saw the telegram slipping from Glenarvan's hand.Needless to say, everything is clear.The noble Scotch galley has fallen into the hands of Penn Juss, transformed into a corsair.The trip across Australia had been so promising.But after going through too many hardships, the final result is not satisfactory.It ended so hopelessly again.Perhaps Captain Grant and the crew were never to be found again.It even cost the lives of the entire fleet crew.

Glenarvan felt exhausted and hopeless at the moment.Natural disasters on the Pampas grasslands did not knock this brave man down, but man-made disasters on the Australian mainland subdued him.Hopes were shattered time and time again, and the courage that mustered was shattered time and time again.

(End of this chapter)