Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 3

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With the help of Neb, the sailor arranged the spit. The engineer and his companion made good use of their day[28 - had made good use of their day – провели день с пользой]. Smith recovered his strength. They had a pleasant supper. The engineer said little; he was planning for the next day. After supper, the party lay down to sleep. The morning found them fresh and eager for the expedition.

Everything was ready. At half past 7 they left the Chimneys, each with a stout cudgel. By Pencroff’s advice, they took the route of the previous day, which was the shortest way to the mountain. They turned the southern angle, and followed the left bank of the river. They took the path under the evergreens, and soon reached the northern border of the forest. The soil was flat and swampy, then dry and sandy. Among the trees appeared a few animals. The engineer was going to the top of the mountain.

The mountain was composed of two cones. The first was truncated about 2,500 feet up, and supported by fantastic spurs. Between these spurs were narrow valleys. On the northeast side of the mountain, vegetation was scanty.

On the first cone lay the second one, slightly rounded towards the summit. The surface seemed bare. The object of the expedition was to reach the top of this cone, and their best way was along the edge of the spurs.

– We are in a volcanic country, – said Cyrus Smith, as they began to climb. They were gradually ascending. At noon, when the little company halted to dine, they were still half way from the first plateau, and could hardly reach it before nightfall. From this point the sea was beneath their feet. On the left they could see directly north for several miles; but the northwest was concealed from them.

At 1 o’clock, the ascent again began. The easiest route slanted upwards towards the southwest, through the thick copse. The climbers reached a terrace, almost bare of trees, whose soil was evidently volcanic. From hence, their course was a zigzag towards the east. Neb and Herbert led the way, then came Smith and the reporter; Pencroff was last.

They all stopped fifty feet from large animals, with thick horns curved backwards and flattened at the end, and with woolly fleece. They were not the common sheep. Their name, according to Herbert, was а Moufflon[29 - Moufflon – муфлон].

As the ascension continued, the traces of lava were more frequent, and little sulphur springs[30 - little sulphur springs – сольфаторы (небольшие вулканы)]intercepted their route. As they neared the first plateau, the ascent became very difficult. By 4 o’clock they passed the last belt of trees. Fortunately for the engineer and his party, it was a pleasant, mild day. The sky overhead was extremely bright and clear. A perfect calm reigned around them. The sun was hidden by the upper mountain, which cast its shadow westward to the edge of the sea.

There were only 500 feet between the explorers and the plateau where they wanted to encamp for the night. It was almost night when the party arrived at the top of the first cone.

Now they must pitch their camp, and think of supper and sleep. The sailor built up a fireplace with huge stones. Neb and Herbert soon brought a load of thistles.

The night was beautiful and still; and not very dark. They walked together in silence. Sometimes the plateau was wide and easy, sometimes very encumbered with rubbish. There were yet 1,000 feet to climb. Fortunately, the long and sinuous declivities made a staircase, and greatly helped their ascent. The volcano was not only quiet, but extinct.

It was nearly 8 o’clock when they set foot on the summit[31 - set foot on the summit – вышли на вершину]of the cone. The darkness was by this time complete, and they could hardly see around them. Was the land an island or a continent? They could not yet discover. At one point of the horizon suddenly appeared a vague light. The line of the horizon was now cloudless, and as the moon touched it, the engineer seized the boy’s hand.

– An island! – said he.

Chapter XI

Then they walked back to the camp. The country is an island, and tomorrow they will consider what to do.

The next day, March 30, after breakfast, they started out for the summit of the volcano. All desired to see the isle. Maybe they will spend their lives here. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning when they left the camp.

– Bah! – said Pencroff, – we got out of Richmond without the permission of the authorities, and it will be strange if we can’t get away from this place!

It was a superb day, and the southern side of the mountain was sunny. The crater was a huge shaft gradually opening to a height of 1,000 feet above the plateau. The interior of the crater was easily scaled. They saw on the way traces of ancient lava. As to the volcano chimney, its depth was lost in obscurity. Before 8 o’clock, they were standing at the summit of the crater.

– The sea! the sea everywhere! – was their exclamation. There it lay, an immense sheet of water around them on every side. Nothing appeared to the horizon-line, a radius of more than fifty miles. Not a sail was in sight. Around the island stretched an ocean.

Silent and motionless, they surveyed every point of the horizon. Then they looked down upon their island. Spilett asked:

– How large do you think this island is?

– It seemed small enough in the midst of the infinite ocean.

– My friends, – said Smith, – I think, the coast of the island is more than 100 miles around.

If Smith was right, the island was about the size of Malta[32 - Malta – Мальта]; but it was more irregular than it. The eastern coast was a curve, it was embracing a large bay. On the northeast, two other capes shut in the bay, and between them lay a narrow gulf. From northeast to northwest the coast was round and flat, like the skull of a wild beast. Then came a hump, whose centre was occupied by the volcanic mountain. From this point the coast ran directly north and south. For two-thirds of its length it was bordered by a narrow creek; then it finished in along cue, like the tail of a gigantic alligator. The narrowest part of the island, between the Chimneys and the creek, on the west, was ten miles wide, but its greatest length was not less than thirty miles.

The southern part, from the shore to the mountain, was covered with woods; the northern part was arid and sandy. Between the volcano and the eastern coast there was a lake, surrounded by evergreens.

– So, it is a fresh water lake? – asked Pencroff.

– Yes, of course, – said the engineer.

– I can see a little river there, – said Herbert. He was pointing to a narrow brook.

The volcano did not occupy the centre of the island. It rose in the northwest. On the southwest, south, and southeast, the beginnings of the spurs were lost in masses of verdure.

They remained for an hour at the summit of the mountain. The island lay stretched before them. They understood the configuration of the entire island, but there remained a great question: was the island inhabited? It was the reporter who put this question. Nowhere could they perceive the handiwork of man; no late settlement on the beach, not even a lonely cabin or a fisherman’s hut. No smoke.

The exploration of the island was finished. They drew a map of it, and calculated its size. They wanted now to descend the declivities of the mountain, and to examine into the animal, vegetable, and mineral resources of the country. But before the departure, Cyrus Smith, in a calm, grave voice, addressed his companions.

– Look, my friends, upon this little corner of the earth. Here, perhaps, we may long dwell.

– Mr. Smith, – said the sailor, – we will make a little America here. We will build cities, lay railroads, establish telegraphs. We will be not castaways, but colonists. Well, let’s start!

– One minute, my friends, – said the engineer; – let’s name the island, the capes, promontories, and water-courses.

– Yes, – said Smith, – for instance, let us call the great bay to the east Union Bay[33 - Union Bay – бухта Объединения], the southern indentation Washington Bay[34 - Washington Bay – бухта Вашингтона], the mountain on which we are standing Mount Franklin[35 - Mount Franklin – гора Франклина], the lake beneath our feet Lake Grant[36 - Lake Grant – озеро Гранта]. These names will recall our country and its great citizens. What will you say, my friends?

The engineer’s proposal was unanimously applauded. Spilett put down the names over the proper places, and the geographical nomenclature of the island was complete.

– Now, – said the reporter, – to that peninsula projecting from the southwest I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula[37 - Serpentine Peninsula – полуостров Извилистый], and to call the twisted curve at the termination of it Reptile End [38 - Reptile End – Змеиный мыс]. It is just like a snake’s tail.

– And the other extremity of the island, – said Herbert, – the gulf is like a pair of jaws, let us call it Shark Gulf[39 - Shark Gulf – залив Акулы].

– Good enough, – said Pencroff, – and we may call the two capes North Mandible[40 - North Mandible – Северная Челюсть]and South Mandible[41 - South Mandible – Южная Челюсть]. Now we must name the southwestern extremity of the island.

– Claw Cape[42 - Claw Cape – мыс Коготь], – suggested Neb.

The river with fresh water they called the Mercy[43 - the Mercy – Милосердие]. The islet on which they first arrived, was Safety Island[44 - Safety Island – остров Спасения]; the plateau at the top of the high granite wall above the Chimneys, from which the whole sweep of the bay was visible, Prospect Plateau [45 - Prospect Plateau – плато Кругозора]. And, finally, that mass of impenetrable woods which covered Serpentine Peninsula, the Forests of the Far West[46 - Forests of the Far West – леса Дальнего Запада].

The colonists were going to descend the mountain, when Pencroff cried:

– Why, what idiots we are!

– Why so? – said Spilett, who had closed his note-book.

– We have forgotten to name our island!

Cyrus Smith said quietly:

– Let us give it the name of a great citizen, my friends, of the defender of American unity! Let us call it Lincoln Island[47 - Lincoln Island – остров Линкольна]!

Chapter XII

The colonists of Lincoln Island walked around the verge of the crater. Half an hour afterwards they were again upon the lower plateau. Pencroff thought it was breakfast time.

As they were leaving the plateau, Smith proposed to his companions to take a new road back to the Chimneys. He wished to explore Lake Grant. The colonists used only the names which they invented, and found that they could express themselves much more easily. Herbert and Pencroff were delighted, and the sailor said as they walked along:

– Well, Herbert, this is jolly! We can’t lose ourselves now, my boy, since, whether we follow Lake Grant or get to the Mercy through the woods of the Far West, we must come to Prospect Plateau, and so to Union Bay.

Pencroff, Herbert, and Neb walked in front, preceded by Top, who poked his nose into every corner. The reporter and engineer walked together. The reporter was ready to note down every incident, the engineer seldom spoke, and was picking up sometimes one thing, sometimes another, vegetable or mineral, which he put in his pocket.

About 10 o’clock the little company descended the last declivities of Mount Franklin. A few bushes and trees were scattered over the ground. They were walking on a yellowish soil, which extended to the border of the wood. Suddenly they saw Herbert, he was running back.

– What’s the matter, my boy? – said Spilett.

– Smoke, – answered Herbert. – We saw smoke, it was ascending from among the rocks, a hundred steps in front.

– Men in this region! – cried the reporter.

– We must not show ourselves till we know with whom we have to deal, – answered Smith. Where is Top?

– Top is on ahead.

– And did it bark?

– No.

– That is strange. Still, let us try to call him back.

In a few moments the three rejoined their companions. They saw, very evidently, a yellowish smoke. Top was recalled by a low whistle from his master.

– Nature is responsible for that smoke, – said Smith, – It is nothing but a sulphur spring[48 - sulphur spring – сернистый источник], which will be good for our sore throats.

– Good! – said Pencroff; – what a pity that I haven’t got a cold!

The colonists walked towards the smoke. There they beheld a spring of sulphate of soda, which flowed in currents among the rocks, and whose waters, absorbing the oxygen of the air, gave off a lively odor. Smith dipped his hand into the spring and found it oily.

The colonists walked towards the thick border of the forest, a few hundred paces distant. There they saw a brook with bright limpid waters between high, reddish banks. Its color showed the presence of oxide of iron. They named the water course Red Creek[49 - Red Creek – Красный ручей]. It was a large mountain brook, deep and clear. It was a mile and a half long; its breadth varied from thirty to forty feet. Its water was fresh.

Happily, there was neither wild beast nor savage native, but merely mountain pheasants. Some crows and magpies flew about. The colonists had nothing but stones and sticks, very insufficient weapons. Suddenly a troop of quadrupeds[50 - quadrupeds – четвероногие]leaped away through the underbrush.

– Kangaroos! – cried Herbert.

– Can you eat them? – said Pencroff.

– They make a delicious stew, – said the reporter.

The sailor with Neb and Herbert rushed after the kangaroos. Smith tried in vain to recall them. After five minutes’ chase, they came back.

– You see, Mr. Smith, – said Pencroff, – we need guns. Will it be possible to make them?

– Perhaps, – replied the engineer; – but first we will make bows and arrows.

– Bows and arrows! – said Pencroff. – They are for children!

– Don’t be so proud, my friend, – said the reporter. – Bows and arrows were sufficient for many centuries for the warfare of mankind. Powder is an invention of yesterday.

– That’s true, Mr. Spilett, – said the sailor. – I always speak before I think. Forgive me.

Top rushed hither and thither. About 3 o’clock Top disappeared into the rushes, from which came grunts and growls. Neb rushed in. Top was greedily devouring an animal. Neb reappeared in triumph with a rodent in each hand. They were a sort of agouti[51 - agouti – агути (млекопитающие отряда грызунов, обитающие преимущественно в тропических лесах и саваннах)], American hares with long ears.

– Hurrah! – cried Pencroff, – the roast is here; now we can go back to the house.

As the party emerged from a massive thicket of fine trees, the lake suddenly appeared before them. They were now on its left bank, and a picturesque region opened to their view. The smooth sheet of water, about seven miles in circumference and 250 acres in extent. It lay among the trees. Towards the east, appeared a shining horizon of sea. To the north the curve of the lake was concave. Numerous aquatic birds frequented the banks of this lake. The waters of the lake were fresh and limpid, somewhat dark, and were evidently full of fish.

– How beautiful this lake is! – said Spilett. – We could live on its banks.

– We will live there! – answered Smith.

The colonists went down towards the angle formed at the south by the junction of the banks. After a two miles’ walk they came upon the thick turf of the plateau, and saw before them the infinite ocean. To get back to the Chimneys they had to walk across the plateau for a mile to the elbow formed by the first bend of the Mercy. It was now half past 4. The party reached the Chimneys by the left bank of the Mercy. Then the fire was lighted, and Neb and Pencroff broiled the agouti. When the meal was over, Smith drew from his pocket little specimens of various kinds of minerals, and said quietly,