Chapter 46 51.maria theresa i.

It was not long before the whole ship learned that Ayrton's confession did not say anything about Captain Grant's position.The atmosphere on board was heavy, for Ayrton was expected to tell the secret, and he knew nothing enough to enable the Duncan to find the Britannia! Therefore, the cruise ship still keeps going the original way.All that remains to be done is to choose a deserted island and drop Ayrton there. Paganel and Mengele looked at the ship's map.It just so happens that an isolated island is drawn on the 37th line, named Maria Theresa, which is a cliff, hanging in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,900 kilometers away from the American coast and 810 kilometers away from New Zealand.To the north, the adjacent landmass is the French reserve of the Paumatu Islands.In the south, there is nothing all the way to the Antarctic ice field.Not a single ship has come to survey this lonely island.No sound in the world can reach this small island.Only storm-loving birds come to this island to rest during their long cross-sea flights.There are many maps that refuse to even write the name of this shore rock that was beaten by the Pacific waves.

If there is an absolutely lonely place on the ground, it can only be found on this small island far away from all routes.Ayrton was told the location of the island.He agreed to go to that small island to live a life away from the crowd.The bow of the Duncan thus pointed towards Mary Theresa Island.At this time, the Duncan could go in an absolute straight line, pass this small island, and go straight to Caltavano Bay. Two days later, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the sailor on lookout reported sighting land on the horizon.That is Maria Theresa, low and long, barely above the waves, like a big whale.It is still 16 kilometers away from the cruise ship, and the cruise ship is advancing at a speed of 9 kilometers per hour.

The silhouette of the island appeared on the horizon, gradually becoming clearer.The sun was sinking to the west, throwing its zigzag silhouette into sharp light.A few low mountains stand up here and there, inserted upside down in the sea of ​​light from the sun. At 5 o'clock, Menger seemed to see a puff of smoke floating into the sky. "Is that a volcano?" he asked Paganel, who was observing through a telescope. "I dare not say that the island is not well understood. However, we need not be surprised if its formation is the result of an undersea protrusion, that is to say, a volcanic island."

"Then," said Glenarvan, "if the volcano erupted it should have spewed it out, and wouldn't the volcano erupt it again?" "It's very unlikely. People have known about the existence of this island for hundreds of years. That's a guarantee. In the past, Yuria Island emerged from the Mediterranean Sea and was preserved on the surface for a few months before disappearing. ' replied Paganel. "Well, do you think we can land before dark, John?" said Glenarvan. "No, sir. I can't risk the Duncan in the dark and go off to unknown shores. I'm going to slow down and swing slowly, and tomorrow, at daylight, we'll land a skiff." John Menger said.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, although Maria Theresa Island was only 3 kilometers away, there was only a long shadow left, which was almost invisible.Still the Duncan swung slowly toward it. At nine o'clock, a rather strong red light, a fire lit up in the darkness.It is immobile and continuous. "That proves it's a volcano," said Paganel, observing it carefully. "However, volcanic eruptions always make loud noises. At such a short distance, we should be able to hear the sound, and the east wind is blowing from there. Why can't a little sound reach our ears?" Mengele Say.

"Yes, this volcano only glows and doesn't speak. Moreover, it seems to light up and then stop, just like an intermittent lighthouse." Paganel said. "You are right," replied Menger, "but we are not near the coast with the lighthouse. Ah!" he exclaimed suddenly, "another light has come out! On the beach, this time! Look! The fire is still shaking! And changing places!" Menger was not mistaken, another fire appeared, sometimes it seemed to be extinguished, and suddenly it was lit again. "So the island is inhabited?" said Glenarvan. "Inhabited by natives, of course." Paganel replied.

"Then we cannot leave Ayrton here." "No, it would be too bad a gift to give him to the natives," said the major. "Let's find another uninhabited island," said Glenarvan, smiling involuntarily, feeling that the major was "paying attention" to the natives. "I have promised him the safety of my life, and I cannot live without words." "Anyway, we have to be on our guard. The New Zealanders have a savage habit of lighting a fire to deceive passing boatmen, just as the Cornish people used to do. It is probable that the natives of this island now know this. A way of luring ships," Paganel added.

"Turn your head sideways. Tomorrow, as soon as the sun comes out, we'll know what's going on." Mengele shouted to the sailor at the helm. It's eleven o'clock.Both the passenger and Mengele went back to their rooms.There were only a few sailors on duty walking on the deck.In the stern only the helmsman was at the helm. At this moment Mary Grant and Robert came up to the roof of the cabin. The two boys of Captain Grant, crouching on the rail, looked mournfully at the glistening sea and the gleaming trough behind the Duncan.Mary considered her brother's future.Robert considered his sister's way out.Both were thinking about their father.He, dear father, is he still alive?Did you give up looking for his job?can't!How can you live without your father?What would they do without their father?Don't say they don't have a father anymore, but they don't have Sir Glenarvan and Lady Helen, they don't know what they have become.

Robert had grown mature through adversity, and he guessed what was on his sister's mind.He took Mary's hand and put it in his own. "Mary, don't ever be disappointed. Remember what my father taught us. Courage can replace everything in the world. The kind of courage that never turns back, the kind of courage that enabled him to overcome everything, we should also have. Until now , Sister, you are working hard for me, now it is my turn to work hard for you." "Dear brother!" Mary answered. "I have something to tell you, don't you get angry, sister?"

"How could I be angry, my little brother?" "Will you let me do it?" "What do you mean by that?" asked Mary, feeling uneasy. "Sister! I want to be a sailor..." "Are you leaving me?" cried Mary, clasping her brother's hand. "Yes, sister! I am going to be a seaman like my father, and a seaman like Captain John! Mary, my dear Mary! Captain John is not entirely disappointed, he! His chivalry, you must and Like me, I can trust him! He promised me that he will train me to be an excellent and great sailor in the future. While training me, he will go to find our father with me! Sister, you say, you say yes If we got lost, our father would go all over the world to find us. Now that he is gone, our responsibility, at least, my responsibility is to go all over the world to find him! I My life has a purpose, and I should devote my whole life to this purpose: the purpose is to find—forever, the one who will never abandon us! Dear sister, he is too good, our father!"

"Noble and generous! I know, my brother, my father is already the glory of our country. If it weren't for bad luck not allowing him to complete his career, he should already be one of the great men of our country!" "How could I not know?!" said Robert. Mary threw her brother to her breast, and the little boy felt tears dripping down his brow. "Sister! Sister!" he cried, "despite what they say, our friends, in spite of what they dare not say, I have hope, and I always have hope! A man like my father , will not die until the cause is not successful!" Mary just whimpered and couldn't speak.When she thought of finding his father in the future, and thinking of Captain Menger's chivalrous heart, thousands of feelings rushed in her heart. "Is Mr. John still hoping?" she asked. "Still hoping," replied Robert, "he's a big brother who will never abandon us. I'll be a seaman too, will you, sister? Be a seaman and go with him to our father, will you? ?" "Why don't you want to! However, our siblings have to separate!" "You won't be alone, sister, I know, the captain told me, Lady Helene won't let you leave her. You are a girl, you, you can, you should accept her kindness If you don't accept it, you are ungrateful to her! But, I am a boy, and a man should be self-reliant. My father has said this to me countless times." "What about our old home in Dundee, our dear old home full of memories?" "We keep it, sister! These, our friend Captain John, and sir, have all been decided, and thoughtfully decided. Sir will keep you at Malcolm House as his own daughter, sir. Told my good friend John himself, and he told me again! You were there as at home, someone to talk to you about our father, while waiting for John and me, one day we will get him back and you See you again! What a joyful day it will be!" cried Robert, his forehead glowing with excitement. "My little brother, my dear boy," answered Mary, "how glad our father would be if he could hear you! You are as father, my dear brother, as we are." Lovely father, it seems that you have grown up to be exactly like father!" "I hope so, sister," said Robert, flushing with a holy and filial pride. "But how can we repay the kindness of Sir and Lady Glenarvan?" Mary said again. "Ah! that's easy to say!" exclaimed Robert, with childish innocence. "We love them, respect them, we always say that to them, kiss them more, and one day, when the time comes, I'll Die for them!" "Don't die for them, live for them!" cried Mary, kissing her brother's forehead wildly. "They would rather you live for them—and I would rather you!" Then the two children sank into endless dreams again, looking at each other in the dim shadows of the night.However, although they stopped talking with their mouths, they were still talking in their hearts, asking each other questions and answering each other.Long swells rolled gently on the calm sea, rising and falling slowly, and the propeller stirred the shining waves in the dark.At this moment, there was a miracle, a truly miraculous thing happened.The two brothers and sisters seem to have a magnetic force that mysteriously connects their two minds, and they feel the same illusion at the same time and all of a sudden.From the center of those flickering waves, both Mary and Robert seemed to hear a voice, a voice so sad and sad that the whole heart-strings of both were twitching. "Help me! Help me!" cried the voice. "Did you hear me, sister? Did you hear me?" said Robert. The two quickly slammed on the railing, bent down, and searched in the dark night. But they saw nothing, only darkness unfolded before their eyes. "Robert," said Mary, turning pale with emotion, "I seem to... yes, I hear it as you do... we are both dreaming, my brother!" However, another cry for help came to their ears, this time the illusion was so real that the same cry burst out from the hearts of both of them at the same time: "Father! Father! . . . " Mary couldn't bear it.She was overstimulated and passed out in Robert's arms. "Help!" cried Robert. "My sister! My father! Help!" The man at the helm ran to help Mary up.The sailors on duty also came running, and then Mengele, Lady Helen and Sir were suddenly awakened and came running. "My sister is dying, and my father is there!" cried Robert, pointing to the waves.People were baffled when they heard it. "Yes," he cried again, "my father is there! I hear my father's voice! My sister hears it, too!" At this moment, Mary woke up, her eyes were open, and she was crying like a madman: "My father! My father is there!" The poor girl climbed up, climbed onto the railing, and bent over to throw herself into the sea. "Sir! madam!" she cried, clasping her hands, "I say my father is there! I assure you, I heard his voice, from the waves, like a wail, like dying It's like saying goodbye!" At this moment, the poor child was convulsed again, and his whole body was convulsed.She trembled.They had to immediately carry her to her room, and Lady Helene followed her into her room to attend to her, while Robert called: "My father! My father is there! I am not mistaken, ser!" In the face of this miserable scene, people thought that the two children were fascinated by a hallucination.But how can I explain it when I am so fascinated? But Golinarvan wanted to try it, and twice took Robert by the hand, and said to him: "Did you hear your father's voice, child?" "Yes, sir, there, among the waves! He cried: Help me! Help me!" "Do you hear your father's voice?" "Why didn't you hear me, sir! Ah! I heard it very well, I could swear it! My sister heard it too, and she heard it as well as I did! Think how we could both Mistake? Ser, let's save my father! Let the boat go! Let the boat down!" Jazz knew that the child was so fascinated that he couldn't explain it for a while.Yet he wanted to make one last effort, and he called for the sailor at the helm. "Hawkins," he asked him, "were you at the helm when Miss Mary suddenly fainted?" "Yes, sir." "Did you not see anything, did you hear anything?" "Nothing." "That's right, Robert." "If it had been Hawkins' father calling," replied Robert, with undeniable firmness, "Hawkins would not have said he heard nothing. It was my father! Sir! My father." ! My father! . . . " Robert's throat was blocked by crying.He was pale and silent, and passed out after his sister.Glenarvan had him carried to his bed, and the child was overstimulated, and fell into a deep slumber. "Two poor orphans!" said Mengele. "How cruel God was to them!" "Yes, they were overwhelmed with grief, so they both had the same hallucination at the same time," said Sir. "Two at the same time!" said Paganel to himself, "how strange! Scientifically it cannot happen!" Then Paganel himself bent down to face the sea, tilted his ears, and waved his hands to tell others to be quiet and listen carefully.There was a deep silence everywhere.Paganel called out again, but there was no answer. "It's really weird!" he kept saying, walking back to the room, "the inner intersection of longing and pain is not enough to explain an objective phenomenon!" The next day, March 8th, at 5 o'clock in the morning, just before dawn, the passengers on board, including the Roberts and brothers - because no one could keep them in the cabin - all gathered on the deck. up.All of them wanted to see the piece of land that they could only barely see last night. All the binoculars hungrily searched here and there for the main points of the island.The cruise ship is only 1 kilometer away from the island and slowly drives along the shore.People's eyesight can see the smallest details on the shore.Suddenly, Robert gave a cry, saying that he saw three men running on the bank, waving their arms, while another was waving a flag. "It's the Union Jack," Mengele called after grabbing his binoculars. "It's true!" cried Paganel, looking back at Robert at once. "Sir!" said Robert, his voice trembling with excitement, "sir, if you will not let me swim to the island, please lower a boat. Sir! I beg you, let me be the first Login!" No one on board dared to speak.What's going on!On this small island where the 37th parallel passes, there are three people, three victims, three Englishmen!So everyone thought about the scene last night, and the voice that Robert and Mary heard at night! ... The two children were probably mistaken only in one point: a voice might have reached their ears, but how could that voice be their father's?Impossible!well!Anyway, it's impossible!So everyone thought: there will be another big disappointment waiting for them, and they are afraid that their physical strength will not be able to withstand this blow again.But what can be done to stop them and prevent them from going ashore!The Jazz didn't have the guts to stop them. "Let the boat down!" he called. In just one minute, the boat was in the sea.Captain Grant's two sons, Jazz, Menger, and Paganel all rushed into the boat, which was rowed desperately by six sailors, and soon left the ship. Still 20 meters away from the shore, Mary cried out in horror: "My father!" There was really a person standing on the shore, sandwiched between two people.His tall and strong figure, and his mild and bold countenance, showed a perfect blend of Mary's and Robert's features.That was exactly the man the two children kept describing!Their hearts had not deceived them: it was indeed their father, Captain Grant! Hearing Mary's call, the captain opened his arms and fell down on the beach as if struck by lightning.