And yet, three months before I could tell my terrible story of starvation, as I thought it. As a boy I used to make frequent excursions in the neighborhood of the Professor's house.
My uncle always acted on system, and he believed that, in addition to the day of rest and worship, there should be a day of recreation. In consequence, I was always free to do as I liked on a Wednesday.
Now, as I had a notion to combine the useful and the agreeable, my favorite pastime was birds' nesting. I had one of the best collections of eggs in all the town. They were classified, and under glass cases.
There was a certain wood, which, by rising at early morn, and taking the cheap train, I could reach at eleven in the morning. Here I would botanize or geologize at my will. My uncle was always glad of specimens1 for his herbarium, and stones to examine. When I had filled my wallet, I proceeded to search for nests.
After about two hours of hard work, I, one day, sat down by a stream to eat my humble2 but copious3 lunch. How the remembrance of the spiced sausage, the wheaten loaf, and the beer, made my mouth water now! I would have given every prospect4 of worldly wealth for such a meal. But to my story.
While seated thus at my leisure, I looked up at the ruins of an old castle, at no great distance. It was the remains5 of an historical dwelling6, ivy7-clad, and now falling to pieces.
While looking, I saw two eagles circling about the summit of a lofty tower. I soon became satisfied that there was a nest. Now, in all my collection, I lacked eggs of the native eagle and the large owl8.
My mind was made up. I would reach the summit of that tower, or perish in the attempt. I went nearer, and surveyed the ruins. The old staircase, years before, had fallen in. The outer walls were, however, intact. There was no chance that way, unless I looked to the ivy solely9 for support. This was, as I soon found out, futile10.
There remained the chimney, which still went up to the top, and had once served to carry off the smoke from every story of the tower.
Up this I determined11 to venture. It was narrow, rough, and therefore the more easily climbed. I took off my coat and crept into the chimney. Looking up, I saw a small, light opening, proclaiming the summit of the chimney.
Up—up I went, for some time using my hands and knees, after the fashion of a chimney sweep. It was slow work, but, there being continual projections12, the task was comparatively easy. In this way, I reached halfway13. The chimney now became narrower. The atmosphere was close, and, at last, to end the matter, I stuck fast. I could ascend14 no higher.
There could be no doubt of this, and there remained no resource but to descend15, and give up my glorious prey16 in despair. I yielded to fate and endeavored to descend. But I could not move. Some unseen and mysterious obstacle intervened and stopped me. In an instant the full horror of my situation seized me.
I was unable to move either way, and was doomed17 to a terrible and horrible death, that of starvation. In a boy's mind, however, there is an extraordinary amount of elasticity18 and hope, and I began to think of all sorts of plans to escape my gloomy fate.
In the first place, I required no food just at present, having had an excellent meal, and was therefore allowed time for reflection. My first thought was to try and move the mortar19 with my hand. Had I possessed20 a knife, something might have been done, but that useful instrument I had left in my coat pocket.
I soon found that all efforts of this kind were vain and useless, and that all I could hope to do was to wriggle21 downwards22.
But though I jerked and struggled, and strove to turn, it was all in vain. I could not move an inch, one way or the other. And time flew rapidly. My early rising probably contributed to the fact that I felt sleepy, and gradually gave way to the sensation of drowsiness23.
I slept, and awoke in darkness, ravenously24 hungry.
Night had come, and still I could not move. I was tight bound, and did not succeed in changing my position an inch. I groaned25 aloud. Never since the days of my happy childhood, when it was a hardship to go from meal to meal without eating, had I really experienced hunger. The sensation was as novel as it was painful. I began now to lose my head and to scream and cry out in my agony. Something appeared, startled by my noise. It was a harmless lizard26, but it appeared to me a loathsome27 reptile28. Again I made the old ruins resound29 with my cries, and finally so exhausted30 myself that I fainted.
How long I lay in a kind of trance or sleep I cannot say, but when again I recovered consciousness it was day. How ill I felt, how hunger still gnawed31 at me, it would be hard to say. I was too weak to scream now, far too weak to struggle.
Suddenly I was startled by a roar.
"Are you there, Henry?" said the voice of my uncle; "are you there, my boy?"
I could only faintly respond, but I also made a desperate effort to turn. Some mortar fell. To this I owed my being discovered. When the search took place, it was easily seen that mortar and small pieces of stone had recently fallen from above. Hence my uncle's cry.
"Be calm," he cried, "if we pull down the whole ruin, you shall be saved."
They were delicious words, but I had little hope.
Soon however, about a quarter of an hour later I heard a voice above me, at one of the upper fireplaces.
"Are you below or above?"
"Below," was my reply.
In an instant a basket was lowered with milk, a biscuit, and an egg. My uncle was fearful to be too ready with his supply of food. I drank the milk first, for thirst had nearly deadened hunger. I then, much refreshed, ate my bread and hard egg.
They were now at work at the wall. I could hear a pickax. Wishing to escape all danger from this terrible weapon I made a desperate struggle, and the belt, which surrounded my waist and which had been hitched32 on a stone, gave way. I was free, and only escaped falling down by a rapid motion of my hands and knees.
In ten minutes more I was in my uncle's arms, after being two days and nights in that horrible prison. My occasional delirium33 prevented me from counting time.
I was weeks recovering from that awful starvation adventure; and yet what was that to the hideous34 sufferings I now endured?
After dreaming for some time, and thinking of this and other matters, I once more looked around me. We were still ascending35 with fearful rapidity. Every now and then the air appeared to check our respiration36 as it does that of aeronauts when the ascension of the balloon is too rapid. But if they feel a degree of cold in proportion to the elevation37 they attain38 in the atmosphere, we experienced quite a contrary effect. The heat began to increase in a most threatening and exceptional manner. I cannot tell exactly the mean, but I think it must have reached one hundred twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit39.
What was the meaning of this extraordinary change in the temperature? As far as we had hitherto gone, facts had proved the theories of Davy and of Lidenbrock to be correct. Until now, all the peculiar40 conditions of refractory41 rocks, of electricity, of magnetism42, had modified the general laws of nature, and had created for us a moderate temperature; for the theory of the central fire, remained, in my eyes, the only explainable one.
Were we, then, going to reach a position in which these phenomena43 were to be carried out in all their rigor44, and in which the heat would reduce the rocks to a state of fusion45?
Such was my not unnatural46 fear, and I did not conceal47 the fact from my uncle. My way of doing so might be cold and heartless, but I could not help it.
"If we are not drowned, or smashed into pancakes, and if we do not die of starvation, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we must be burned alive."
My uncle, in presence of this brusque attack, simply shrugged48 his shoulders, and resumed his reflections—whatever they might be.
An hour passed away, and except that there was a slight increase in the temperature no incident modified the situation.
My uncle at last, of his own accord, broke silence.
"Well, Henry, my boy," he said, in a cheerful way, "we must make up our minds."
"Make up our minds to what?" I asked, in considerable surprise.
"Well—to something. We must at whatever risk recruit our physical strength. If we make the fatal mistake of husbanding our little remnant of food, we may probably prolong our wretched existence a few hours—but we shall remain weak to the end."
"Well, only let a chance of safety present itself—only allow that a moment of action be necessary—where shall we find the means of action if we allow ourselves to be reduced to physical weakness by inanition?"
"None, my dear Henry, none. But will it do you any good to devour50 it with your eyes? You appear to me to reason like one without will or decision, like a being without energy."
"Then," cried I, exasperated52 to a degree which is scarcely to be explained, "you do not mean to tell me—that you—that you—have not lost all hope."
"Certainly not," replied the Professor with consummate53 coolness.
"While there is life there is hope. I beg to assert, Henry, that as long as a man's heart beats, as long as a man's flesh quivers, I do not allow that a being gifted with thought and will can allow himself to despair."
What a nerve! The man placed in a position like that we occupied must have been very brave to speak like this.
"Well," I cried, "what do you mean to do?"
"Eat what remains of the food we have in our hands; let us swallow the last crumb57. It will bel Heaven willing, our last repast. Well, never mind—instead of being exhausted skeletons, we shall be men."
"True," muttered I in a despairing tone, "let us take our fill."
"We must," replied my uncle, with a deep sigh, "call it what you will."
My uncle took a piece of the meat that remained, and some crusts of biscuit which had escaped the wreck58. He divided the whole into three parts.
Each had one pound of food to last him as long as he remained in the interior of the earth.
Each now acted in accordance with his own private character.
My uncle, the Professor, ate greedily, but evidently without appetite, eating simply from some mechanical motion. I put the food inside my lips, and hungry as I was, chewed my morsel59 without pleasure, and without satisfaction.
Hans, the guide, just as if he had been eider-down hunting, swallowed every mouthful, as though it were a usual affair. He looked like a man equally prepared to enjoy superfluity or total want.
Hans, in all probability, was no more used to starvation than ourselves, but his hardy60 Icelandic nature had prepared him for many sufferings. As long as he received his three rix-dollars every Saturday night, he was prepared for anything.
The fact was, Hans never troubled himself about much except his money. He had undertaken to serve a certain man at so much per week, and no matter what evils befell his employer or himself, he never found fault or grumbled61, so long as his wages were duly paid.
Suddenly my uncle roused himself. He had seen a smile on the face of our guide. I could not make it out.
"What is the matter?" said my uncle.
"Schiedam," said the guide, producing a bottle of this precious fluid.
We drank. My uncle and myself will own to our dying day that hence we derived62 strength to exist until the last bitter moment. That precious bottle of Hollands was in reality only half full; but, under the circumstances, it was nectar.
It took some minutes for myself and my uncle to form a decided63 opinion on the subject. The worthy64 Professor swallowed about half a pint65 and did not seem able to drink any more.
"Fortrafflig," said Hans, swallowing nearly all that was left.
"Excellent—very good," said my uncle, with as much gusto as if he had just left the steps of the club at Hamburg.
I had begun to feel as if there had been one gleam of hope. Now all thought of the future vanished!
We had consumed our last ounce of food, and it was five o'clock in the morning!
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1
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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2
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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3
copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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5
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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6
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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7
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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10
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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13
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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14
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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15
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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16
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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17
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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18
elasticity
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| n.弹性，伸缩力 | |
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19
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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20
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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21
wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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22
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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23
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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24
ravenously
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| adv.大嚼地，饥饿地 | |
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25
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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26
lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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29
resound
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| v.回响 | |
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30
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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31
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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32
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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33
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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34
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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35
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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36
respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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37
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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38
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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39
Fahrenheit
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| n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的) | |
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40
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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41
refractory
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| adj.倔强的，难驾驭的 | |
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42
magnetism
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| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
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43
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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44
rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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45
fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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46
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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47
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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48
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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49
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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50
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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51
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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52
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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53
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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54
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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55
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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56
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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57
crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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58
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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59
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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60
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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61
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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62
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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63
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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64
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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65
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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