Chapter 23 25.The wrecked crew of the Britannia

These few words caused indescribable consternation in the audience.The jazz jumped up, left his seat, and cried: "Who said that?" "It's me," replied a farmhand across the table. "You, Ayrton!" said Omor, as surprised as the others. "It is I," said Ayrton, excitedly but firmly. "I, like you, sir, am a Scot, and a shipwrecked member of the Britannia." This announcement had a huge impact. Miss Mary felt dizzy, almost fainted with joy, and fell into Mrs. Helen's arms involuntarily.Mengele, Robert, the major and others also gathered around Ayrton.

Ayrton was a man of forty-five, with a stern face and deep-set eyes.He must have had extraordinary strength, though thin.He is full of muscles and bones, and the fat seems to have nothing to do with him. He is of medium build, with a broad body, resolute actions, a stern face, and his expression is full of wisdom and perseverance.All this makes people feel good at first sight.He seemed to have suffered recently, and the stamp of that suffering upon his countenance increased his sympathy.He is a person who can not only endure hardship, but is not afraid of suffering, and can overcome suffering.

Sir and his friends felt this at first glance, and Ayrton was a man who could not be ignored when approached.Sir Sir spoke on behalf of the group and asked many questions, all of which were answered by Ayrton.The two of them met their bosom friend and compatriots by chance on such an occasion, and they had mixed feelings in their hearts. Therefore, Jazz's initial questions were all haphazard, as if they came out involuntarily. "Are you a shipwrecked crew member of the Britannia?" he asked. "Yes, sir, I am the bosun of that ship." "Did it escape with them after the shipwreck?"

"No, ser. I was flung from the side of the boat in that dreadful moment, and thrown ashore by the sea." "Aren't you one of the two sailors mentioned in the document?" "What file? I don't know about it!" "And what about the captain?" "I thought he was drowned, lost, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I always thought I was the only one out there!" "But you said just now that the captain is still alive!" "No, I just said that if the captain is still alive..." "You added just now that he must be living on the Australian mainland!

..." "Yes! He can only be on this continent." "So, don't you know where the hell he is?" "I don't know, ser. I repeat, I thought he was buried at the bottom of the sea, or crashed on a rock. You told me he might be alive." "Well, what else do you know?" Sir asked. "All I know is that if Captain Grant is alive, he's on the Australian mainland." "Where did the accident happen to the ship?" the major finally couldn't help it. This should have been the first question, but was delayed by a vague conversation between Sir and Ayrton.Now, the conversation is on the right track and more organized. After a while, the dark historical plot began to become clear.

Ayrton replied to the question posed by the Major as follows: "I was thrown out just as the bow was making contact with the sails, and the Britannia was heading for the coast of Oceania, and she was not more than two miles offshore at the time. So that must have been where it happened." "On the 37th parallel south?" asked Mengele. "Yes!" said Ayrton. "Is it on the west coast?" "No, on the east coast," corrected the bosun. "at what time?" "The night of June 27, 1862." "Yes, exactly," exclaimed Sir.

"You see, sir," added the bosun, "that if Grant is alive, he must be found on the Continent, and nowhere else." "We must go and find them and free them, my friends!" cried the Geographer. "Ah! precious papers," he added naively, "you must be said to have fallen into the wisest hands." No doubt no one listened to the geographer's flattering words.The Colinavans, Marie, and Robert flocked to Ayrton again.They held Ayrton's hand, as if Captain Grant's safety was assured in the presence of this man.Since the sailors escaped safely, couldn't the captain escape the disaster?Ayrton also happily repeated the words that Grant should be with him.Everyone asked him many questions, and he explained them all.Miss Mary held his hand as he spoke.This is one of my father's companions!It's a crew member of the Britannia!He had lived with Captain Grant!They sailed across the ocean together, at the same risk!Miss Mary stared at his weather-beaten face, weeping with emotion.

Up to this point no one had doubted the bosun's identity.Only the major, and perhaps Menger included, wondered whether Ayrton's words could be fully believed.This unexpected coincidence can raise several doubts.The boatswain, of course, gave many facts and many dates which corresponded to each other, and many touching particulars.But the details, though correct, are not necessarily true, for the cheats are often far more sophisticated, and everyone knows that.Therefore, the major reserved his attitude and refused to make an immediate conclusion. As for Captain Mengele, his doubts were soon reassured by the sailor's words.When he heard the sailor talk to Mary about her father, he thought that Ayrton was really Captain Grant's companion.Ayrton knew the captain's boy very well.He had also seen them in Port Glasgow when they set off.On that day, he said, the captain bid farewell to his friends, and a banquet was held, and both children came to eat.At that time, little Robert was less than 10 years old, and the captain entrusted the sailor Dick to look after him, but he secretly climbed to the beam on the mast, making a false alarm!

"Is that so?" asked little Robert, smiling. The boatswain talked about many small things casually, as if they were insignificant, but the captain regarded them as very important.When he rested, Mary begged him softly: "Go on, M. Ayrton, and tell us about our father." The boatswain did his best to accommodate their demands.Sir didn't want to interrupt him, but there were more questions crowded in his mind, Lady Helene let him see Mary's happy mood, and didn't let him speak. It was during this conversation that Ayrton recounted the history of the Britannia and her voyages across the Pacific.Mary also knew part of the voyage, for news of the ship did not disappear until May 1862.During the year, the ship had docked in major continents in Oceania. They had been to New Guinea, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Most of these lands were colonies, so they were discriminated against by the British authorities everywhere.Then, they actually found a stronghold on the west coast of Papua, where they thought they could build a colony and ensure its prosperity.Indeed, if there is a halfway station between the Moluccas and the Philippines, it will definitely attract many ships, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, the route through the Cape of Good Hope will be cancelled.Captain Grant is a man with a sense of justice, and he opposes those political struggles that disregard the common interests of the international community.

After the Britannia surveyed Papua, it went to Callao to get food. It left the port of Callao on May 30, 1862, and planned to return to the European continent via the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope.Three weeks after departure, a terrible storm wrecked the ship.The ship was almost capsized and the mast had to be cut.The hole in the bottom of the ship began to seep in water, and it couldn't be blocked.The whole crew didn't close their eyes for several days and nights, they were almost exhausted, and they couldn't do without the pump for a moment.The ship was bumped in the storm for 8 days and 8 nights, the water depth in the cabin was 6 meters, and the hull gradually sank.And the boats were all blown away in the storm.Everyone had to wait to die on the boat, and at this time, as geographers speculated, the boat looked out to the east coast of Australia.After a while, the boat hit the shore and sank.At first a violent touch, Ayrton was swept in by the wave, struck a coral reef, and fainted.After regaining consciousness, he has fallen into the hands of the natives.When he was taken inland, he was never heard from the Britannia again.The narrative of Captain Grant ends here.This statement caused more than one exclamation, and the major no longer cared about the facts that the bosun said, otherwise, it would be too unfair.With the documents, coupled with Ayrton's personal experience, it is more realistic for this search, all of which fully prove that Captain Grant and his companions did not die at the bottom of the sea.What had happened to the three persons was reasonably conjectured, and Ayrton was again asked to describe his state in the interior.This narrative is very simple and popular.

After Ayrton became a captive of the natives, he worked in the valley of the Grand Canal.He lived very poorly, because the tribe itself was poor, but he was not mistreated.After two years of hard slave life, he still had the hope of regaining his freedom in his heart.In spite of the many dangers of escaping, he waits for the slightest chance of escape. One night in October 1864, he took advantage of the lax defense of the natives and ran to hide in the virgin forest.After hiding for a whole month, he ate grass roots, leaves, bark, etc., and wandered back and forth in the vast and uninhabited areas.Relying on the sun during the day and the stars at night, he often falls into desperate situations.In this way, he crossed swamps, rivers, mountains, and walked through places that many explorers dared not go to.In the end, he was exhausted from running, dying, and dying, before he came to the kind man's house, Omor, and exchanged labor for a happy life. "Ayrton is very grateful to me, and I am very satisfied with him," said the Irish immigrant, after hearing this account; "he is a wise and brave man, and this will always be his home if he wills." The bosun made a gesture of thanks to the Irishman, and he waited for further questions to be asked.Then he thought to himself that his audience had good reasons for asking this question, and that they should be satisfied.However, some of the questions he answered have been asked several times, so what new questions are there?Therefore, Jazz asked everyone to discuss how to formulate the next search plan based on the current situation.The major turned to the bosun and asked: "You said you were Captain Grant's subordinate, do you have any proof?" "It goes without saying," replied Ayrton without hesitation. However, he felt that the major had some mistrust of him, so he added. "I have a certificate of service on board." With that said, he immediately walked out of the hall to get the certificate.He comes and goes in less than a minute.O'Mer took advantage of this moment to say: "Sir, I can assure you that Ayrton is an honest man. He has been working with me for two months without a single reproach. I knew beforehand that he A fallen captive. He is a man of honor who deserves your trust." Sir was explaining to the owner that he had never doubted Ayrton's identity, when Ayrton came with the certificate.The certificate was signed by both the owner and Captain Grant, and Mary recognized her father's handwriting.The certificate read, "Thom Ayrton, Seaman First Class, Bosun of the HMS Britannia, a three-masted ship in Glasgow." There was no room for doubt as to Ayrton's identity. "Now," said Sir, "I am asking for your opinion as to what to do in the future. Your opinion, Ayrton, will be very useful. If you give me any more advice, we shall be very grateful." The boatswain thought for a while, and then replied: "Thank you for your trust in me, and I will try my best to live up to your expectations. I also know a thing or two about the customs here, if I can help you..." "Of course you can help us!" said Sir. "I think what everyone else thinks," continued the boatswain, "since the captain and his two companions escaped from the catastrophe and did not go to the British possessions, and there is no news now, they can't help but suspect what happened to me. They were taken captive by the natives." "What you said is exactly what I expected," echoed the geographer, "the victims were obviously captured by the natives, and they also expected it in the documents. But can we guess that they went to the same place as you, north of the 37th parallel south latitude?" "Very likely, sir," replied the boatswain, "that the natives who discriminated against the Europeans rarely lived in the English colonies." "It will make it much harder for us to find it," said the sergeant, with no idea in mind. "How can we find a captive inland with such a large landmass?" After a long silence, Mrs. Helen asked all the traveling companions with her eyes, but got no reply. Even the outspoken geographer was exceptionally speechless. Captain Mengele paced up and down in the hall, Also feel a little embarrassed. "What good idea do you have, Mr. Ayrton?" Lady Helene asked the bosun at last. "What would you do if it were you?" "If I will, madam," said Ayrton rather quickly, "not go back to the Duncan, but go directly to the place where it happened. There I will play by ear, so that I may perhaps find a clue, and then reconsider." deal with." "That's all right," said the sergeant, "only till the Duncan is repaired." "Is the ship broken?" asked Ayrton. "Yes," replied the captain. "Is it bad enough?" "Not bad, but some repair tools are needed. One of the steam turbine blades is twisted, and it can't be fixed until Melbourne." "Can't we sail with sail?" asked the boatswain again. "Yes, yes, but with a slight headwind, it would be a waste of time for the Duncan to go to Tuff Bay. No matter what, I still have to go to Melbourne." "Well, let it be repaired first," cried the Geographer, "we will not go to Tuff Bay by boat." "Walking?" asked the captain. "Trans-Australia is the same as trans-Ameria, we just follow the 37th parallel." "But what about the Duncan?" asked the bosun, with an air of great concern. "Get us when the Duncan is repaired. Anyone object to the plan? How about the Major?" "I have no objection," replied the major, "as long as the trans-Australia is practicable." "That's all right," said the Geographer, "and I suggest that Lady Helen and Miss Mary go together!" "You mean it, Paganel?" asked the sergeant. "To be honest, my dear lord. It's only 580 kilometers, 30 kilometers a day, and it takes less than a month. It takes about the same time to repair the Duncan. Ah! If you want to go a little further north To travel on the latitude, to cross the widest part of Australia, to go through those great scorching deserts, and in short to do what many of the most daring expeditions have not done is different. The journey , if you like, you can take a light carriage or a dirt cart, which is more interesting, and it is equivalent to a tour from London to Ireland, nothing else." "What if there are beasts?" Jazz wanted to ask all possible questions. "There are no beasts in Australia." "What about the barbarians?" "There are no natives in this parallel. If there are, they are not as vicious as the natives of New Zealand." "And the English exiles?" "There are no exiles in the southern provinces of Australia, only in the eastern colonial areas. Victoria Province, which passes through the 37th parallel, not only refuses entry to exiles, but also enacts laws that even exiles released from other provinces are not allowed to enter. Even this year The Victoria provincial government also notified the shipping company that if there is a port that accepts exiles, it will prohibit future coal transportation and stop subsidies to the company." "Yes," Omor confirmed Paganel's statement, "not only Victoria did this, but South Australia, Queensland, and even Tasmania followed suit. "As far as I am concerned, I have never met one," echoed Ayrton. "Don't worry, my friends," said the geographer, "there are no natives, no beasts, no outlaws, and there is no such good area in Europe! Now, everyone should agree to this plan." ?" "What do you mean, madam?" asked the sergeant. "I agree with you, my dear Edward," answered Mrs. Helene, and turning her head to them, said: "On your way, my friends!"