Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 42
When everyone fell asleep, Will and his sailors took advantage of everyone's rest to put down the small canoe in the dark, and left here quietly.

John said to Sir: "It's good that these drunkards are gone, so that we don't have to worry about it."

"Yes! It's better this time, you can be the captain! How about us, even if you are temporary sailors on your ship! In terms of technology, we are definitely not good enough, but we promise to obey your command!" Glenarvan said humorously. talking.

Everyone applauded and got excited after hearing this, and then they stood in line on the deck in a decent manner, waiting for the captain's inspection and orders.

"Just give the order!" Glenarvan said to John seriously.The young captain looked first at the sea and then at the mast, thought for a moment and said:

"Now there are two ways: one is to drive the boat out; the other is to make a raft and paddle to the shore."

"In my opinion, the first method is better! Try to get the boat out!" Glenarvan suggested.

"But, we landed nearby, don't we have tools?" "Oh, if this is the case, we must be more careful, we must not land in the wilderness, this is New Zealand!" Paganel reminded the captain.

"We're a bit southerly right now, but we're past Oakland! It's all the fault of that drunk! I'll test again at noon. I'm afraid we'll have to go back," John told everyone.

"Can this boat still sail?" Mrs. Helen asked quickly.

"Yes, ma'am," John replied. "We'll fix it up and get a makeshift mast. It's not a big problem. If we drive slowly, we can still make it to Oakland. If there is a problem on the way, we will land nearby!" Then go overland to Auckland."

"Then let's check the ship first, so as not to cause trouble!" The major asked for instructions.This suggestion is quite good.Glenarvan, John, and Murady immediately opened the large hatch and entered the cargo compartment.

It was full of boiled hides, and was piled in a disorderly manner, about 200 tons, which were all thrown overboard to lighten the ship.The bottom of the boat was finally exposed.

There are two cracks on the left side of the bottom of the boat.Wilson plugged the crack with hemp thread and nailed it with copper.Use the water pump to drain all the accumulated water in the bilge.The hull of the boat was not seriously damaged.

Wilson dived into the water again to find out where the bottom of the boat probably sank.All that was seen was a steep mud-sand covering most of the keel of the bow.But most of the hull is still floating in the water.And the rudder can also move.Therefore, there is a high possibility of launching the Mercalli.

The boat was leaning more and more, and the outboard stanchions were hardly needed at all.So John was going to make a makeshift mast on the boat with a jib, but it would take a day.

"Let's do it!" John began to call everyone to do things together.Everyone was working hard, and I saw that some sails were curled up, and some climbed up the mast plate; the mainsail and topsail all fell down under everyone's efforts.Glenarvan asked John: "What should we do without a boat?" "Build a raft with a broken mast and wine barrels. At present, it is not easy to anchor, but it is not absolutely impossible. The anchor of the Megali is not big. .As long as the anchor stays strong, I can do something." John replied firmly.

"Then let's get on with it, and don't waste any more time, John."

Using a sextant, John first measured the height of the meridian of the sun from the ground at 68 minutes and 30 seconds, and thus calculated that the distance between the sun and the center of the sky was 21 minutes and 30 seconds (because the sum of the two numbers is 90 degrees).And today is February 2rd, check the Greenwich Almanac again, the time is: 3 minutes and 16 seconds.Adding the degrees to the distance from the center of the sky equals 30 degrees - which is also the latitude.East longitude 38°171′, south latitude 13°.Remove the error of the instrument, which is around this number.Check on the map, this is the port of Austria, north of Kahuajian, it is the seaside of Auckland Province.Auckland is on the 38° south latitude line, and now the Mercalli is one latitude south, so it only needs to sail northward by one latitude to reach Auckland.

Glenarvan said lightly: "No, it's just another 25 nautical miles, not far, not far!"

"Oh, 25 nautical miles is not far in the sea, but it is not close on land!" Paganel said with deep feeling.

"So we have to, we have to get the Mercury out!" John took over.

2 p.m.The raft is finally finished!Aubine made a particularly good meal for the big guys.Everyone ate to their heart's content, and seemed to have forgotten their fatigue and hunger, and were full of energy!After the midnight wind, John observed the change of the wind direction——Wilson and Murady also observed, and they agreed—the next day we sailed!
He discussed with Glenarvan: "At the moment, everyone is so tired that we are stumbling around, and we really don't have the energy to deal with it again. The other main reason is that it is dark and there are many hidden reefs. There is also danger, and we will not be able to see clearly! Tomorrow, the wind will definitely change its direction, and the sky will just let us take advantage of the wind to walk. The wind presses the stern, and the tide lifts the bow. It is God helping us! The northwest wind! How right! Pulling up the sail on the mainmast will add a lot of strength to the hull!"

As expected, the northwest wind blew early the next morning.It's true!

9 am.4 hours until full tide.Taking advantage of this time, everyone put the mast and sails of the Macquarie in place.

It's 1:[-] noon!The tide has reached its highest point, and the tide will begin to ebb.Maybe this is just a moment!It's fleeting!

John shouted: "Turn the winch!" "Come on! Come on!" the captain was shouting, "Come on everyone!" This is the critical moment!If you slow down, the full tide will pass.Everyone is working hard, and everyone knows that success or failure depends on it!
The wind was blowing very fiercely, and the hull was shaking, as if there was a sense of fluttering!Ah, if you add a little more strength, you will succeed!

"Helen! Mary! Come on! Master!" Glenarvan shouted at the two ladies.

They also came to push the lever.I saw that the Galli was still as stable as Mount Tai.At this time, the tide had already gone down, and it seemed that more than a day of waiting and hard work was in vain.

If the first method does not work, then quickly implement the second method!Time is life, everyone really counts against the clock!The boat can't stand the storm.

Hurry up and make a raft!Gain all the time to get everyone on board to the shores of New Zealand.Just do it!Everyone started to make rafts.Nails nailed, saw sawed, and beaten, everyone can't wait to race against time.

(End of this chapter)