My friends, this is iron ore, this a pyrite, this is clay, this is limestone, this is charcoal.
Chapter XIII
First, it was necessary to make an oven.
Why oven? asked Pencroff.
To make the pottery, replied Smith.
And how will we make an oven?
With bricks.
And how will we make the bricks?
With the clay.
I need a knife! cried the sailor, I can make a bow and arrows.
A knife. Something that will cut, said the engineer. Come here, Top, he called.
The dog bounded to his master, and Smith took off its collar. He broke it into halves, and said:
Here are two knives, Pencroff.
Tops collar was made from steel. They will sharpen it!
The engineer decided to return to the western bank of the lake, where he saw the clay. They crossed Prospect Plateau, and after a walk, they arrived at a glade. On the way, Herbert discovered a tree from which the South American Indians make bows. The ground was composed of that clay which is used for bricks and tiles. The labor was not difficult. It was only necessary to clean the clay of sand, mould the bricks, and then bake them before a wood fire.
During the two days they hunted in the neighborhood, very successfully. Pencroff had dozens of arrows with very sharp points. Top brought a porcupine, it had perfect quills[42]. The men fastened those quills to the ends of the arrows. Soon they got enough food.
By the 9th of April the engineer had about enough bricks. They, therefore, began at once the construction of an oven. Five days later, the oven was supplied with coal. The colonists moulded pots and mugs, plates and jars, tubs and vessels. Their form was rude and defective, but they finally had real kitchen utensils.
The work lasted until the 15th of April. The colonists became potters. This evening the colonists were seating in the central chamber. Neb prepared some agouti soup. Before going to sleep, the party went to the beach. It was 8 oclock, and the night was magnificent. The moon was shining above the constellations. For some moments the engineer gazed at it attentively. Then he said:
Tomorrow will be one of the four days in the year when the mean and real time are the same. Tomorrow the sun will pass the meridian. If, therefore, the weather is clear, I think I will be able to tell the longitude of the island.
The next day the engineer began his astronomical observation. He chose a smooth dry place upon the sand. Smith knelt down upon the sand and began to mark the decrease in the length of the shadow. His companions watched the operation with interest.
The shadow diminished little by little. When it began to lengthen Smith exclaimed:
We are at least 1,200 miles from Tahiti[43] and from the Low Archipelago, fully 1,800 miles from New Zealand[44], and more than 4,500 miles from the coast of America.
But Cyrus Smith did not remember any island in the Pacific which occupied the position of Lincoln Island.
Chapter XIV
One day the engineer proposed to explore the eastern and western shores of the lake. The landscape was charming. Smith and his companions moved over this unexplored neighborhood. Bows and arrows and sticks were their sole weapons.
They soon reached the mouth of Red Creek. On this side the bank, clumps of trees, here and there, made a picturesque landscape. The whole extent of the lake was visible. The colonists were following the southern bank of the lake, when Top suddenly stopped. It raised one foot, and looked into the water. Then it barked furiously.
At first neither Smith nor his companions paid any attention to the dogs actions. But Tops barking became incessant.
What is it, Top? asked the engineer.
The dog bounded towards his master and rushed back to the bank. Then, suddenly, it threw himself into the lake.
Come back, Top! cried the engineer.
Whats going on under there? asked the sailor. He was examining the surface of the lake.
Top smelt some animal, answered Herbert.
It must be an alligator, said the reporter.
I dont think so, answered Smith. Alligators do not live in this latitude.
Smith called the dog again. Suddenly an enormous head emerged from the water.
Herbert recognized it, the comical face, with huge eyes and long silky moustaches. It was a dugong[45]. The huge monster caught the dog. The dog disappeared under the water.
A struggle was going on under the water, and what a struggle! That struggle was becoming more terrible with each moment. The poor dog will die! But suddenly, through the midst of a circle of foam, Top appeared. Some unknown force shot the dog upward, ten feet in the air. Then Top fell again into the tumultuous waters, from which it escaped to the shore. The dog was miraculously saved.
Cyrus Smith and his companions were amazed. But the struggle under water continued. Some more formidable animal attacked the dugong. This did not last long. The water grew red with blood. The body of the dugong floated on at the southern angle of the lake.
The colonists ran to the animal. It was dead. Its body was enormous, between 15 and 16 feet long and weighed between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds. On its neck, yawned a wound, some sharp instrument made it. What killed the dugong? Nobody knew the answer.
Chapter XV
Cyrus Smith stood upon the border of the lake, thinking about the incident. He wanted to solve the mystery of that combat.
Well, Cyrus, said the reporter, The wound on this beast is strange enough, and I cant understand how Top was thrown out of the water. There was a strong arm, and that same arm killed the dugong.
Its very strange, indeed, answered the engineer. There is something here which I cannot understand. And we cant explain how I myself was saved. Therefore, I am sure there is a mystery which we will discover some day.
Neb and Pencroff were extracting the fat from the dugong and preserving the flesh for food. Now the colonists have a lot of food!
The next day, near the lake they saw a passage. The opening was twenty feet wide, but only two feet high.
What are we waiting for, Mr. Smith? cried the sailor. He wanted to begin the exploration.
Примечания
1
Mr. Smith мистер Смит
2
the Pacific Тихий океан
3
ninety miles an hour 90 миль в час
4
in a few hours через несколько часов
5
Is everything thrown out? Всё ли выброшено?
6
Top Топ ( кличкасобаки )
7
the Southerners южане
8
Cyrus Smith Сайрес Смит
9
Gideon Spilett Гидеон Спилет
10
Richmond Ричмонд
11
Pencroff Пенкроф
12
Herbert Brown Герберт Браун
13
found themselves оказались
14
lithodomes литодомы
15
devour жадно есть
16
keep up the fire поддерживать огонь
17
cudgel дубина
18
couroucous куруку ( птицаизпородыворон )
19
The barking of a dog! Лай собаки!
20
stretcher носилки
21
ascent подъем
22
Malta Мальта
23
two-thirds две трети
24
Union Bay бухта Соединения
25
Washington Bay бухта Вашингтона
26
Mount Franklin гора Франклина
27
Lake Grant озеро Гранта
28
Serpentine Peninsula полуостров Извилистый
29
Reptile End Змеиный мыс
30
Shark Gulf залив Акулы
31
North Mandible Северная Челюсть
32
South Mandible Южная Челюсть
33
Claw Cape мыс Коготь
34
the Mercy река Благодарения
35
Safety Island остров Спасения
36
Prospect Plateau плато Кругозора
37
Forests of the Far West леса Дальнего Запада
38
Lincoln Island остров Линкольна
39
sulphur spring сернистый источник
40
Red Creek Красный ручей
41
agouti агути ( млекопитающие отряда грызунов, обитающие преимущественно в тропических лесах и саваннах )
42
quill зд. иголка дикобраза
43
Tahiti Таити
44
New Zealand Новая Зеландия
45
dugong дюгонь ( род водных травоядных млекопитающих отряда сирен )