The Mysterious Island Jules Verne (red white royal blue txt) đ
- Author: Jules Verne
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Herbert thought that he recognized in this animal a cabiai, or water-hog, one of the largest specimens of the order of rodents. The water-hog did not fight the dog. Its great eyes, deep sank in thick layers of fat, rolled stupidly from side to side. And Neb, grasping his club firmly, was about to knock the beast down, when the latter tore loose from Top, leaving a piece of his ear in the dogâs mouth, and uttering a vigorous grunt, rushed against and overset Herbert and disappeared in the wood.
âThe beggar!â cried Pencroff, as they all three darted after the hog. But just as they had come up to it again, the water-hog disappeared under the surface of a large pond, overshadowed by tall, ancient pines.
The three companions stopped, motionless. Top had plunged into the water, but the cabiai, hidden at the bottom of the pond, did not appear.
âWait,â said the boy, âhe will have to come to the surface to breathe.â
âWonât he drown?â asked Neb.
âNo,â answered Herbert, âsince he is fin-toed and almost amphibious. But watch for him.â
Top remained in the water, and Pencroff and his companions took stations upon the bank, to cut off the animalâs retreat, while the dog swam to and fro looking for him.
Herbert was not mistaken. In a few minutes the animal came again to the surface. Top was upon him at once, keeping him from diving again, and a moment later, the cabiai, dragged to the shore, was struck down by a blow from Nebâs club.
âHurrah!â cried Pencroff with all his heart. âNothing but a clear fire, and this gnawer shall be gnawed to the bone.â
Pencroff lifted the carcase to his shoulder, and judging by the sun that it must be near two oâclock, he gave the signal to return.
Topâs instinct was useful to the hunters, as, thanks to that intelligent animal, they were enabled to return upon their steps. In half an hour they had reached the bend of the river. There, as before, Pencroff quickly constructed a raft, although, lacking fire, this seemed to him a useless job, and, with the raft keeping the current, they returned towards the Chimneys. But the sailor had not gone fifty paces when he stopped and gave utterance anew to a tremendous hurrah, and extending his hand towards the angle of the cliffâ â
âHerbert! Neb! See!â he cried.
Smoke was escaping and curling above the rocks!
XThe engineerâs inventionâ âIsland or continent?â âDeparture for the mountainâ âThe forestâ âVolcanic soilâ âThe Tragopansâ âThe Moufflonsâ âThe first plateauâ âEncamping for the nightâ âThe summit of the cone.
A few minutes afterwards, the three hunters were seated before a sparkling fire. Beside them sat Cyrus Smith and the reporter. Pencroff looked from one to the other without saying a word, his cabiai in his hand.
âYes, my good fellow,â said the reporter, âa fire, a real fire, that will roast your game to a turn.â
âBut who lighted it?â said the sailor.
âThe sun.â
The sailor could not believe his eyes, and was too stupefied to question the engineer.
âHad you a burning-glass, sir?â asked Herbert of Cyrus Smith.
âNo, my boy,â said he, âbut I made one.â
And he showed his extemporized lens. It was simply the two glasses, from his own watch and the reporterâs, which he had taken out, filled with water, and stuck together at the edges with a little clay. Thus he had made a veritable burning-glass, and by concentrating the solar rays on some dry moss had set it on fire.
The sailor examined the lens; then he looked at the engineer without saying a word, but his face spoke for him. If Smith was not a magician to him, he was certainly more than a man. At last his speech returned, and he said:â â
âPut that down, Mr. Spilett, put that down in your book!â
âI have it down,â said the reporter.
Then, with the help of Neb, the sailor arranged the spit, and dressed the cabiai for roasting, like a sucking pig, before the sparkling fire, by whose warmth, and by the restoration of the partitions, the Chimneys had been rendered habitable.
The engineer and his companion had made good use of their day. Smith had almost entirely recovered his strength, which he had tested by climbing the plateau above. From thence his eye, accustomed to measure heights and distances, had attentively examined the cone whose summit he proposed to reach on the morrow. The mountain, situated about six miles to the northwest, seemed to him to reach about 3,500 feet above the level of the sea, so that an observer posted at its summit could command a horizon of fifty miles at least. He hoped, therefore, for an easy solution of the urgent question, âIsland or continent?â
They had a pleasant supper, and the meat of the cabiai was proclaimed excellent; the sargassum and pistachio-nuts completed the repast. But the engineer said little; he was planning for the next day. Once or twice Pencroff talked of some project for the future, but Smith shook his head.
âTomorrow,â he said, âwe will know how we are situated, and we can act accordingly.â
After supper, more armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire, and the party lay down to sleep. The morning found them fresh and eager for the expedition which was to settle their fate.
Everything was ready. Enough was left of the cabiai for twenty-four hoursâ provisions, and they hoped to replenish their stock on the way. They charred a little linen for tinder, as the watch glasses had been replaced, and flint abounded in this volcanic region.
At half-past seven they left the Chimneys, each with a stout cudgel. By Pencroffâs advice, they took the route of the previous day, which was the shortest way to
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