Ben Zoof’s first care on the following morning was to provide a good breakfast. To use his own phrase, he was as hungry as the whole population of three million Algerians, of whom he was the representative, and he must have enough to eat. The catastrophe12 which had overwhelmed the country had left a dozen eggs uninjured, and upon these, with a good dish of his famous couscous, he hoped that he and his master might have a sufficiently13 substantial meal. The stove was ready for use, the copper14 skillet was as bright as hands could make it, and the beads15 of condensed steam upon the surface of a large stone al-caraza gave evidence that it was supplied with water. Ben Zoof at once lighted a fire, singing all the time, according to his wont16, a snatch of an old military refrain.
Ever on the lookout17 for fresh phenomena18, Captain Servadac watched the preparations with a curious eye. It struck him that perhaps the air, in its strangely modified condition, would fail to supply sufficient oxygen, and that. the stove, in consequence, might not fulfill19 its function. But no; the fire was lighted just as usual, and fanned into vigor20 by Ben Zoof applying his mouth in lieu of bellows21, and a bright flame started up from the midst of the twigs22 and coal. The skillet was duly set upon the stove, and Ben Zoof was prepared to wait awhile for the water to boil. Taking up the eggs, he was surprised to notice that they hardly weighed more than they would if they had been mere23 shells; but he was still more surprised when he saw that before the water had been two minutes over the fire it was at full boil.
“By jingo!” he exclaimed, “a precious hot fire!”
Servadac reflected. “It cannot be that the fire is hotter,” he said, “the peculiarity24 must be in the water.” And taking down a centigrade thermometer, which hung upon the wall, he plunged25 it into the skillet. Instead of 100 degrees, the instrument registered only 66 degrees.
“Take my advice, Ben Zoof,” he said; “leave your eggs in the saucepan a good quarter of an hour.”
“Boil them hard! That will never do,” objected the orderly.
“You will not find them hard, my good fellow. Trust me, we shall be able to dip our sippets into the yolks easily enough.”
The captain was quite right in his conjecture26, that this new phenomenon was caused by a diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere. Water boiling at a temperature of 66 degrees was itself an evidence that the column of air above the earth’s surface had become reduced by one-third of its altitude. The identical phenomenon would have occurred at the summit of a mountain 35,000 feet high; and had Servadac been in possession of a barometer27, he would have immediately discovered the fact that only now for the first time, as the result of experiment, revealed itself to him — a fact, moreover, which accounted for the compression of the blood-vessels which both he and Ben Zoof had experienced, as well as for the attenuation29 of their voices and their accelerated breathing. “And yet,” he argued with himself, “if our encampment has been projected to so great an elevation30, how is it that the sea remains31 at its proper level?”
Once again Hector Servadac, though capable of tracing consequences, felt himself totally at a loss to comprehend their cause; hence his agitation32 and bewilderment!
After their prolonged immersion33 in the boiling water, the eggs were found to be only just sufficiently cooked; the couscous was very much in the same condition; and Ben Zoof came to the conclusion that in future he must be careful to commence his culinary operations an hour earlier. He was rejoiced at last to help his master, who, in spite of his perplexed34 preoccupation, seemed to have a very fair appetite for breakfast.
“Well, captain?” said Ben Zoof presently, such being his ordinary way of opening conversation.
“Well, Ben Zoof?” was the captain’s invariable response to his servant’s formula.
“What are we to do now, sir?”
“We can only for the present wait patiently where we are. We are encamped upon an island, and therefore we can only be rescued by sea.”
“But do you suppose that any of our friends are still alive?” asked Ben Zoof.
“Oh, I think we must indulge the hope that this catastrophe has not extended far. We must trust that it has limited its mischief35 to some small portion of the Algerian coast, and that our friends are all alive and well. No doubt the governor general will be anxious to investigate the full extent of the damage, and will send a vessel28 from Algiers to explore. It is not likely that we shall be forgotten. What, then, you have to do, Ben Zoof, is to keep a sharp lookout, and to be ready, in case a vessel should appear, to make signals at once.”
“But if no vessel should appear!” sighed the orderly.
“Then we must build a boat, and go in search of those who do not come in search of us.”
“Very good. But what sort of a sailor are you?”
“Everyone can be a sailor when he must,” said Servadac calmly.
Ben Zoof said no more. For several succeeding days he scanned the horizon unintermittently with his telescope. His watching was in vain. No ship appeared upon the desert sea. “By the name of a Kabyle!” he broke out impatiently, “his Excellency is grossly negligent36!”
Although the days and nights had become reduced from twenty-four hours to twelve, Captain Servadac would not accept the new condition of things, but resolved to adhere to the computations of the old calendar. Notwithstanding, therefore, that the sun had risen and set twelve times since the commencement of the new year, he persisted in calling the following day the 6th of January. His watch enabled him to keep an accurate account of the passing hours.
In the course of his life, Ben Zoof had read a few books. After pondering one day, he said: “It seems to me, captain, that you have turned into Robinson Crusoe, and that I am your man Friday. I hope I have not become a negro.”
“No,” replied the captain. “Your complexion37 isn’t the fairest in the world, but you are not black yet.”
“Well, I had much sooner be a white Friday than a black one,” rejoined Ben Zoof.
Still no ship appeared; and Captain Servadac, after the example of all previous Crusoes, began to consider it advisable to investigate the resources of his domain38. The new territory of which he had become the monarch39 he named Gourbi Island. It had a superficial area of about nine hundred square miles. Bullocks, cows, goats, and sheep existed in considerable numbers; and as there seemed already to be an abundance of game, it was hardly likely that a future supply would fail them. The condition of the cereals was such as to promise a fine ingathering of wheat, maize40, and rice; so that for the governor and his population, with their two horses, not only was there ample provision, but even if other human inhabitants besides themselves should yet be discovered, there was not the remotest prospect41 of any of them perishing by starvation.
From the 6th to the 13th of January the rain came down in torrents42; and, what was quite an unusual occurrence at this season of the year, several heavy storms broke over the island. In spite, however, of the continual downfall, the heavens still remained veiled in cloud. Servadac, moreover, did not fail to observe that for the season the temperature was unusually high; and, as a matter still more surprising, that it kept steadily43 increasing, as though the earth were gradually and continuously approximating to the sun. In proportion to the rise of temperature, the light also assumed greater intensity44; and if it had not been for the screen of vapor45 interposed between the sky and the island, the irradiation which would have illumined all terrestrial objects would have been vivid beyond all precedent46.
But neither sun, moon, nor star ever appeared; and Servadac’s irritation47 and annoyance48 at being unable to identify any one point of the firmament49 may be more readily imagined than described. On one occasion Ben Zoof endeavored to mitigate50 his master’s impatience51 by exhorting52 him to assume the resignation, even if he did not feel the indifference53, which he himself experienced; but his advice was received with so angry a rebuff that he retired54 in all haste, abashed55, to résumé his watchman’s duty, which he performed with exemplary perseverance56. Day and night, with the shortest possible intervals57 of rest, despite wind, rain, and storm, he mounted guard upon the cliff — but all in vain. Not a speck58 appeared upon the desolate59 horizon. To say the truth, no vessel could have stood against the weather. The hurricane raged with tremendous fury, and the waves rose to a height that seemed to defy calculation. Never, even in the second era of creation, when, under the influence of internal heat, the waters rose in vapor to descend60 in deluge61 back upon the world, could meteorological phenomena have been developed with more impressive intensity.
But by the night of the 13th the tempest appeared to have spent its fury; the wind dropped; the rain ceased as if by a spell; and Servadac, who for the last six days had confined himself to the shelter of his roof, hastened to join Ben Zoof at his post upon the cliff. Now, he thought, there might be a chance of solving his perplexity; perhaps now the huge disc, of which he had had an imperfect glimpse on the night of the 31st of December, might again reveal itself; at any rate, he hoped for an opportunity of observing the constellations62 in a clear firmament above.
The night was magnificent. Not a cloud dimmed the luster64 of the stars, which spangled the heavens in surpassing brilliancy, and several nebulae which hitherto no astronomer65 had been able to discern without the aid of a telescope were clearly visible to the naked eye.
By a natural impulse, Servadac’s first thought was to observe the position of the pole-star. It was in sight, but so near to the horizon as to suggest the utter impossibility of its being any longer the central pivot66 of the sidereal67 system; it occupied a position through which it was out of the question that the axis of the earth indefinitely prolonged could ever pass. In his impression he was more thoroughly68 confirmed when, an hour later, he noticed that the star had approached still nearer the horizon, as though it had belonged to one of the zodiacal constellations.
The pole-star being manifestly thus displaced, it remained to be discovered whether any other of the celestial69 bodies had become a fixed70 center around which the constellations made their apparent daily revolutions. To the solution of this problem Servadac applied71 himself with the most thoughtful diligence. After patient observation, he satisfied himself that the required conditions were answered by a certain star that was stationary72 not far from the horizon. This was Vega, in the constellation63 Lyra, a star which, according to the precession of the equinoxes, will take the place of our pole-star 12,000 years hence. The most daring imagination could not suppose that a period of 12,000 years had been crowded into the space of a fortnight; and therefore the captain came, as to an easier conclusion, to the opinion that the earth’s axis had been suddenly and immensely shifted; and from the fact that the axis, if produced, would pass through a point so little removed above the horizon, he deduced the inference that the Mediterranean73 must have been transported to the equator.
Lost in bewildering maze74 of thought, he gazed long and intently upon the heavens. His eyes wandered from where the tail of the Great Bear, now a zodiacal constellation, was scarcely visible above the waters, to where the stars of the southern hemisphere were just breaking on his view. A cry from Ben Zoof recalled him to himself.
“The moon!” shouted the orderly, as though overjoyed at once again beholding75 what the poet has called:
“The kind companion of terrestrial night;”
and he pointed76 to a disc that was rising at a spot precisely77 opposite the place where they would have expected to see the sun. “The moon!” again he cried.
But Captain Servadac could not altogether enter into his servant’s enthusiasm. If this were actually the moon, her distance from the earth must have been increased by some millions of miles. He was rather disposed to suspect that it was not the earth’s satellite at all, but some planet with its apparent magnitude greatly enlarged by its approximation to the earth. Taking up the powerful field-glass which he was accustomed to use in his surveying operations, he proceeded to investigate more carefully the luminous78 orb79. But he failed to trace any of the lineaments, supposed to resemble a human face, that mark the lunar surface; he failed to decipher any indications of hill and plain; nor could he make out the aureole of light which emanates80 from what astronomers81 have designated Mount Tycho. “It is not the moon,” he said slowly.
“Not the moon?” cried Ben Zoof. “Why not?”
“It is not the moon,” again affirmed the captain.
“Why not?” repeated Ben Zoof, unwilling82 to renounce83 his first impression.
“Because there is a small satellite in attendance.” And the captain drew his servant’s attention to a bright speck, apparently84 about the size of one of Jupiter’s satellites seen through a moderate telescope, that was clearly visible just within the focus of his glass.
Here, then, was a fresh mystery. The orbit of this planet was assuredly interior to the orbit of the earth, because it accompanied the sun in its apparent motion; yet it was neither Mercury nor Venus, because neither one nor the other of these has any satellite at all.
The captain stamped and stamped again with mingled85 vexation, agitation, and bewilderment. “Confound it!” he cried, “if this is neither Venus nor Mercury, it must be the moon; but if it is the moon, whence, in the name of all the gods, has she picked up another moon for herself?”
The captain was in dire86 perplexity.
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1
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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displacement
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| n.移置，取代，位移，排水量 | |
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7
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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8
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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14
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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15
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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26
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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27
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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28
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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attenuation
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| n.变薄；弄细；稀薄化；减少 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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maize
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| n.玉米 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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42
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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43
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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45
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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46
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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49
firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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50
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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51
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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52
exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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53
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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54
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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55
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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57
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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58
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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59
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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60
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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61
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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62
constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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constellation
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| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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64
luster
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| n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉 | |
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65
astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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66
pivot
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| v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的 | |
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sidereal
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| adj.恒星的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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71
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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72
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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73
Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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74
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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75
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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76
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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77
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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78
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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79
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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80
emanates
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的第三人称单数 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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81
astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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82
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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83
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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84
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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85
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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