Chapter 9 10.missing child

The eastern foothills of the high and low rocks of the Andas Mountains are all long slopes, stretching out to the plain, gradually disappearing, and a new mountain suddenly stops on the plain.This new area is covered with deep pastures, lush trees stand tall, and there are countless apple trees. This large apple grove is shining with golden fruits.It seems that a piece of the rich Normandy province of France has been cut off and thrown in this plateau area.Passengers suddenly turn from desert to oasis, from snowy peaks to grasslands, from cold winter to scorching summer. If they are in an ordinary environment, they will be infinitely surprised by this sudden change.

At this time, the earth was silent.The earthquake has subsided.The force of the subterranean shock must have moved further away to destroy it.For there is always somewhere in the Andas that shakes or trembles.This time, the earthquake experienced by the passengers was indeed too violent.The whole mountain has changed.Take a look.All are brand-new peaks and ridges appearing under the blue sky.It is absolutely impossible for the guides on the steppe to find the signs of the old road. A clear day begins, the sun rises over the Atlantic, its rays slipping over the Argentine grasslands and out into the waves of the Pacific yonder.It was eight o'clock in the morning.

Under the first aid of the major, Glenarvan and his traveling companions gradually regained consciousness.Fortunately, they just fainted from the shock, without other injuries.The huge high and low rocks finally climbed over, and climbed to the foot of the mountain.Had it not been for the loss of one person, the loss of the young traveling companion Robert, everyone would have applauded this way of riding the force of nature and going down the mountain without moving their feet. This brave boy Robert was loved by all, especially Paganel, whom the major loved despite his withdrawn nature, and Corinarvan who loved him as much as his life.Glenarvan was terrified when he heard of Robert's disappearance, and he imagined that the poor child must have fallen into a deep pit, calling his "Second Father" at the top of his voice.

"Friends, my friends," said Golinarvan, almost in tears, "we must find him, we must find him! We cannot just throw him away! All the valleys, all the cliffs, all the We shall find the bottom of the pit! You tie me on a long rope and let me down, I must do it, do you understand? I must do it! God bless Robert live! Do we have the face to see his father without him? What's the point of sacrificing his son to save Captain Grant?!" The traveling companions listened to his words, but did not answer.They felt that Golinarvan was looking at them, and that they were looking for hope in their eyes, and they lowered their eyes.

"What's the matter?!" Golinarvan went on, "did you hear me? Why didn't you speak? Did you all think there was no hope? No hope?" There was another silence, and then it was the major who spoke first.he asks: "My friends, does any of you remember when Robert disappeared?" No one answered this question. "At least," the major went on, "you can always tell me who's with the boy when the rock falls down?" "With me," Wilson replied. "Well, well, until when did you feel he was there for you? Think about it. Tell me!"

"All I remember is this: We followed the landslide, didn't we hit at the end? Not two minutes before the hit, Robert Grant was by my side, still holding the moss with both hands." "Less than two minutes! Be careful, Wilson! Every minute seemed long then! Do you remember?" "I don't think I'm mistaken, . . . yes, . . . less than two minutes!" "Good!" said the major. "Was Robert on your left or on your right then?" "On my left. I remember his hood still patting my face." "What about yourself? You're in our..."

"Also on the left." "Robert must have disappeared here, then," said the major, pointing to the right with his face turned towards the hill, "and I can conclude that, given the time of his disappearance, the boy must have been lost in the This part of the mountain within 3 kilometers from the ground. If we want to find it, we should look for it in this part. Each person finds a zone, and we will find him in this part of the mountain." No one added a word.Immediately, the six people climbed up the slopes of the high and low rocks, stood at different heights, and began to search.They kept searching on the right side of the falling line, searching even the tiniest crevices in the rocks. The deep pits under the overhanging rocks had been partially filled by the falling rubble. They went down to the bottom of the pits to search. More than one person ran down at the risk of his life, tore his clothes, punctured his hands and feet, and crawled out bloody.The whole area of ​​Mount Andas, except for a few flat tops that cannot be climbed at all, was searched carefully and for a long time, and no one wanted to rest in the middle.But all efforts are in vain.Not only did the child die in the mountain, but he must have been crushed by a big rock and buried in the mountain forever.

At almost 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Glenarvan and his traveling companions were exhausted and returned to the original valley.Glenarvan was so sad that he said nothing but sighed: "I won't go! I won't go!" Everyone understood that his nerves were stimulated, which was why he had such a stubborn idea.Everyone understands him and accommodates him. "Let's wait," Paganel said to the major and Austin. "Let's take a rest and recover our strength. Whether we are going to search or continue to walk, there is a need for rest." "Yes, since Edward wants to do this, let's stay here! He still has hope. But what is there to hope for?!"

"God knows!" said Austin. "Poor Robert!" replied Paganel, wiping away his tears. There are many trees in the valley.The major chose a clump of tall trees and pitched a makeshift tent under it.All that remained of them were a few drapes, all their weapons, a little dried meat, and cold rice.Not far away is a small river with water available, but the river water was affected by the landslide and is still very turbid.Murati lit a fire on the grass, and soon gave his master a cup of hot water to drink to calm himself down, but Golinavan refused to drink, and lay down on the "canopy" very depressed.

And so the day passed.The night was just like last night, calm and peaceful.While the traveling companions lay resting, Golinarvan climbed up the rocky slopes again.He listened, hoping to hear a call.He leaned forward alone, walking very far and high, always putting his ear to the ground, listening, listening, holding back the beating of his heart, and calling out in a disappointed voice. The poor sir wandered all night in the hills.Sometimes Paganel and sometimes the major followed him, as he searched desperately to prevent him from falling off the slippery rock or the edge of the cliff.But still no results.The thousand voices of "Robert! Robert!" produced only a few echoes that repeated the dear name.

It was dawn again, and people had to run to the distant mountains to find Golinavan, and dragged him back to the tent involuntarily.His disappointment was terrible.Who dares to say "go" to him?Who dared to propose to him to leave this valley of sorrow?However, dry food is over.The Argentine guide and the horses necessary for crossing the grassland mentioned by the mule driver in the past should be met not far ahead.Can we go back now?Going back is more difficult than going forward.Besides, we made an appointment with the Duncan to gather on the Atlantic coast.No further delay is allowed for any reason, and for the benefit of all, the departure time cannot be delayed any longer. The major wanted to get Sir out of his grief.He persuaded for a long time, but Glenarvan seemed not to hear, just shook his head.But sometimes he also squeezed out a few words: "Let's go?" he said. "Yes, let's go." "Another hour!" "Well, wait another hour," replied the Honorable Major. An hour passed, and Sir begged for another hour.Looking at him like that, it seems that the death row prisoner is begging for another hour of his life.In this way, hour after hour, it was about noon.At this point the major, in accordance with the opinion of the whole group, without further hesitation, simply told Glenarvan that he must go, and that the lives of all his companions depended on his prompt decision. "Yes! Yes!" replied Glenarvan, "let us go! let us go!" However, as he spoke, he turned his eyes away from the major.His eyes fixed on a black spot in the sky.Suddenly, he raised his hand, pointed, and remained motionless, as if he had suffered a stroke. "There! There, look! Look!" he said. Everyone looked up to the sky and followed his firm direction.At this time, the black spot seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.It turned out to be a bird flying very high in the sky. "A vulture," said Paganel. "Yes, a vulture, who knows? It's coming! It's coming down! Wait!" Glenarvan replied. What did Glenarvan hope for?Is it insanity?He had said: "Who knows?" Paganel saw well, and the vulture saw more and more clearly.This kind of big bird was once regarded as a god by the local chiefs in the past.They grow unusually large in this area.Their strength is astonishing, and they can catch cattle and throw them into deep ravines.They often attack sheep, horses, and calves on the plains, and grab them to high altitudes with their claws.Flying and hovering at an altitude of 20,000 feet is nothing to them, and this altitude is already an insurmountable limit for human beings.So this king of the air, at such a height that man's best eyes cannot see him, yet he looks down on the ground with piercing eyes, discerns the most minute objects, and has a vision so powerful that all living things Scholars are amazed. What did the vulture see?Did you see a dead body?Did he just see Robert's dead body? "Who knows?" Golinarvan was always saying, never taking his eyes off the vulture.The huge bird was getting closer and closer, sometimes hovering, sometimes falling rapidly like an object thrown in the air, and after a while, circled several large circles at a height of less than 200 meters from the ground.People couldn't see it more clearly.It flew horizontally above 5.4 meters.The vigorous wings float in the air and hardly move, because the characteristic of a big bird is to fly with a majestic and leisurely look, while a small bird must flap its wings countless times per second to stay in the air. Both the major and Wilson had seized their carbines.Glenarvan stopped them with a gesture.Not a quarter of a mile from them, the vulture circled an unclimbable flat ridge on the mountainside at dizzying speed, its iron talons opening and closing, its crown swinging. . "There! There!" cried Golinarvan. Then, he suddenly had a thought, screamed again, and said: "If Robert is still alive! . . . The vulture will . . . shoot! Friends! Shoot!" It was too late, and soon, the vulture had circled behind a row of towering peaks.A second later—a second that seemed as long as a hundred years—the vulture came flying again, slowly rising with its heavy load.There was a cry of horror, and under the vulture's claws was a dead body, hanging and swinging, that was Robert Grant!The vulture grabbed his clothes and flew to the sky less than 45 meters away from the tent. It also saw the passengers, and it flapped its wings violently, beating the wind, trying to carry its heavy weight with it. The prey flew away. "Ah!" cried Glenarvan, "rather let Robert's body be broken on the rocks than that vulture..." Before he finished speaking, he grabbed Wilson's gun and tried to aim at the vulture.But his arms were trembling, his grip on the gun was unsteady, and his eyes were blurry. "Let me come!" said the major. Immediately, he aimed at the vulture with steady eyes and hands, and the vulture was already 150 meters away from him. But before his hand pulled the trigger, there was a loud gunshot in the valley.A white smoke came out from between the two snowflake rocks. The vulture, shot in the head, spun around and fell slowly, spreading its big wings like a parachute.It did not set down its prey, but it did so with a melodious fall, about ten paces from the bank. "It's in our hands! It's in our hands!" said Golinarvan. Without asking where the shot came from, he ran to the vulture, and his companions followed him. When they got there, the vulture was dead.Robert's body is concealed by its wide wings.Glenarvan threw himself on the body of the boy, dragged him out of his clutches, and lay down on the grass, listening with his ear to his chest. Never had a more startlingly louder cry of joy come from his mouth than this: "Alive! He's alive!" In a few moments Robert was stripped of his clothes, and cold water was poured over his face.He moved, opened his eyes, looked, spoke, and he simply said: "Ah! It's you, sir... my father! . . . " Glenarvan could not answer, choking him with emotion.He knelt down and cried beside the child. It was a miracle that the child was saved!