The weather changed during the first week of March. There had been a full moon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was still excessive. The atmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a period of some length of tempestuous2 weather was to be feared.
Indeed, on the 2nd, peals3 of thunder were heard, the wind blew from the east, and hail rattled4 against the fa?ade of Granite5 House like volleys of grape-shot. The door and windows were immediately closed, or everything in the rooms would have been drenched6. On seeing these hailstones, some of which were the size of a pigeon's egg, Pencroft's first thought was that his cornfield was in serious danger.
He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were already appearing, and, by means of a great cloth, he managed to protect his crop.
This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolled without cessation in the depths of the sky.
The colonists7, not having any pressing work out of doors, profited by the bad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, the arrangement of which was becoming more complete from day to day. The engineer made a turning-lathe, with which he turned several articles both for the toilet and the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want of which was greatly felt. A gun-rack had been made for the firearms, which were kept with extreme care, and neither tables nor cupboards were left incomplete. They sawed, they planed, they filed, they turned: and during the whole of this bad season, nothing was heard but the grinding of tools or the humming of the turning-lathe which responded to the growling8 of the thunder.
Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back, near the storeroom, a sort of cabin with a cot always full of good litter, which perfectly9 suited his taste.
"With good old Jup there is never any quarrelling," often repeated Pencroft, "never any improper10 reply! What a servant, Neb, what a servant!"
Of course Jup was now well used to service. He brushed their clothes, he turned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooms, he gathered wood, and he performed another admirable piece of service which delighted Pencroft—he never went to sleep without first coming to tuck up the worthy11 sailor in his bed.
As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bimana, quadrumana or quadrupeds, it left nothing to be desired. With their life in the open air, on this salubrious soil, under that temperate12 zone, working both with head and hands, they could not suppose that illness would ever attack them.
All were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inches in the year. His figure was forming and becoming more manly13, and he promised to be an accomplished14 man, physically15 as well as morally. Besides, he improved himself during the leisure hours which manual occupations left to him; he read the books found in the case; and after the practical lessons which were taught by the very necessity of their position, he found in the engineer for science, and the reporter for languages, masters who were delighted to complete his education.
The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky remained covered with clouds during the whole of this last summer month. The atmosphere, violently agitated16 by the electric commotions17, could not recover its former purity, and there was almost invariably rain and fog, except for three or four fine days on which several excursions were made. About this time the female onaga gave birth to a young one which belonged to the same sex as its mother, and which throve capitally. In the corral, the flock of musmons had also increased, and several lambs already bleated18 in the sheds, to the great delight of Neb and Herbert, who had each their favourite among these new-comers. An[Pg 95] attempt was also made for the domestication19 of the peccaries, which succeeded well. A sty was constructed near the poultry-yard, and soon contained several young ones in the way to become civilised, that is to say, to become fat under Neb's care. Master Jup, entrusted20 with carrying them their daily nourishment21, leavings from the kitchen, etc., acquitted22 himself conscientiously23 of his task. He sometimes amused himself at the expense of his little pensioners24 by tweaking their tails; but this was mischief25, and not wickedness, for these little twisted tails amused him like a plaything, and his instinct was that of a child. One day in this month of March, Pencroft, talking to the engineer, reminded Cyrus Harding of a promise which the latter had not as yet had time to fulfil.
"You once spoke26 of an apparatus27 which would take the place of the long ladders at Granite House, captain," said he; "won't you make it some day?"
"Nothing will be easier; but is this a really useful thing?"
"Certainly, captain. After we have given ourselves necessaries, let us think a little of luxury. For us it may be luxury, if you like, but for things it is necessary. It isn't very convenient to climb up a long ladder when one is heavily loaded."
"Well, Pencroft, we will try to please you," replied Cyrus Harding.
"But you have no machine at your disposal."
"We will make one."
"A steam machine?"
"No, a water machine."
And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural force at the disposal of the engineer which could be used without great difficulty. For this, it was enough to augment28 the flow of the little stream which supplied the interior of Granite House with water. The opening among the stones and grass was then increased, thus producing a strong fall at the bottom of the passage, the overflow29 from which escaped by the inner well. Below this fall the engineer fixed30 a cylinder31 with paddles, which was joined on the exterior32 with a strong cable rolled on a wheel, supporting a basket. In this way, by means of a long rope reaching to the ground, which enabled them to regulate the motive[Pg 96] power, they could rise in the basket to the door of Granite House.
It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first time, and gave universal satisfaction. Henceforward all the loads, wood, coal, provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted33 by this simple system, which replaced the primitive34 ladder, and, as may be supposed, no one thought of regretting the change. Top particularly was enchanted35 with this improvement, for he had not, and never could have possessed36 Master Jup's skill in climbing ladders, and often it was on Neb's back, or even on that of the orang, that he had been obliged to make the ascent37 to Granite House. About this time, too, Cyrus Harding attempted to manufacture glass and he at first put the old pottery-kiln38 to this new use. There were some difficulties to be encountered, but after several fruitless attempts, he succeeded in setting up a glass manufactory, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert, his usual assistants did not leave for several days. As to the substances used in the composition of glass, they are simply sand, chalk and soda39, either carbonate or sulphate. Now the beach supplied sand, lime supplied chalk, sea weeds supplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric acid and the ground supplied coal to heat the kiln to the wished-for temperature. Cyrus Harding thus soon had every thing ready for setting to work.
The tool, the manufacture of which presented the most difficulty, was the pipe of the glass maker40, an iron tube, five or six feet long, which collects on one end the material in a state of fusion41. But by means of a long, thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, Pencroft succeeded in making a tube soon ready for use.
On the 28th of March the tube was heated. A hundred parts of sand thirty-five of chalk, forty of sulphate of soda, mixed with two or three parts of powered coal, composed the substance which was placed in crucibles42. When the high temperature of the oven had reduced it to a liquid, or rather a pasty state, Cyrus Harding collected with the tube a quantity of the paste, he turned it about on a metal plate previously43 arranged so as to give it a form suitable for blowing, then he passed the tube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other extremity44.
And Herbert, swelling45 out his cheeks, blew so much and so well into the tube—taking care to twirl it round at the same time—that his breath dilated46 the glassy mass. Other quantities of the substance in a state of fusion were added to the first, and in a short time the result was a bubble which measured a foot in diameter. Harding then took the tube out of Herbert's hands, and, giving to it a pendulous47 motion, he ended by lengthening48 the malleable49 bubble so as to give it a cylindro-conic shape.
The blowing operation had given a cylinder of glass terminated by two hemispheric caps, which were easily detached by means of a sharp iron dipped in cold water; then, by the same proceeding50, this cylinder was cut lengthways, and after having been rendered malleable by a second heating, it was extended on a plate and spread out with a wooden roller.
The first pane51 was thus manufactured, and they had only to perform this operation fifty times to have fifty panes52. The windows at Granite House were soon furnished with panes; not very white, perhaps, but still sufficiently53 transparent54.
As to bottles and tumblers, that was only play. They were satisfied with them, besides, just as they came from the end of the tube. Pencroft had asked to be allowed to "blow" in his turn, and it was great fun for him; but he blew so hard that his productions took the most ridiculous shapes, which he admired immensely.
Cyrus Harding and Herbert, whilst hunting one day, had entered the forest of the Far West, on the left bank of the Mercy, and, as usual, the lad was asking a thousand questions of the engineer, who answered them heartily55. Now, as Harding was not a sportsman, and as, on the other side, Herbert was talking chemistry and natural philosophy, numbers of kangaroos, capybaras, and agoutis came within range, which, however, escaped the lad's gun; the consequence was that the day was already advanced, and the two hunters were in danger of having made a useless excursion, when Herbert, stopping, and uttering a cry of joy, exclaimed,—
"Oh, Captain Harding, do you see that tree?" and he pointed56 to a shrub57, rather than a tree, for it was composed[Pg 99] of a single stem, covered with a scaly58 bark, which bore leaves streaked59 with little parallel veins60.
"And what is this tree which resembles a little palm?" asked Harding.
"It is a 'cycas revoluta,' of which I have a picture in our dictionary of Natural History!" said Herbert.
"But I can't see any fruit on this shrub!" observed his companion.
"No, captain," replied Herbert; "but its stem contains a flour with which nature has provided us all ready ground."
"It is, then, the bread-tree?"
"Yes, the bread-tree."
"Well, my boy," replied the engineer, "this is a valuable discovery, since our wheat harvest is not yet ripe; I hope that you are not mistaken!"
Herbert was not mistaken: he broke the stem of a cycas, which was composed of a glandulous tissue, containing a quantity of floury pith, traversed with woody fibre, separated by rings of the same substance, arranged concentrically. With this fecula was mingled61 a mucilaginous juice of disagreeable flavour, but which it would be easy to get rid of by pressure. This cellular62 substance was regular flour of a superior quality, extremely nourishing; its exportation was formerly63 forbidden by the Japanese laws.
Cyrus Harding and Herbert, after having examined that part of the Far West where the cycas grew, took their bearings, and returned to Granite House, where they made known their discovery.
The next day the settlers went to collect some and returned to Granite House with an ample supply of cycas stems. The engineer constructed a press, with which to extract the mucilaginous juice mingled with the fecula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, which Neb soon transformed into cakes and puddings. This was not quite real wheaten bread, but it was very like it.
Now, too, the onaga, the goats, and the sheep in the corral furnished daily the milk necessary to the colony. The cart, or rather a sort of light carriole which had replaced it, made frequent journeys to the corral, and when it was Pencroft's turn to go he took Jup, and let him drive, and Jup, cracking his whip, acquitted himself with his customary intelligence.[Pg 100]
Everything prospered64, as well in the corral as in Granite House and certainly the settlers, if it had not been that they were so far from their native land, had no reason to complain. They were so well suited to this life, and were, besides, so accustomed to the island, that they could not have left its hospitable65 soil without regret!
And yet so deeply is the love of his country implanted in the heart of man, that if a ship had unexpectedly come in sight of the island, the colonists would have made signals, would have attracted her attention, and would have departed!
It was the 1st of April, a Sunday, Easter Day, which Harding and his companions sanctified by rest and prayer. The day was fine, such as an October day in the northern hemisphere might be.
All, towards the evening after dinner, were seated under the verandah on the edge of Prospect66 Heights, and they were watching the darkness creeping up from the horizon. Some cups of the infusion67 of elder berries, which took the place of coffee, had been served by Neb. They were speaking of the island and of its isolated68 situation in the Pacific, which led Gideon Spilett to say,—
"My dear Cyrus, have you ever, since you possessed the sextant found in the case, again taken the position of our island?"
"No," replied the engineer
"But it would perhaps be a good thing to do it with this instrument, which is more perfect than that which you before used."
"What is the good?" said Pencroft. "The island is quite comfortable where it is!"
"Well, who knows," returned the reporter, "who knows but that we may be much nearer inhabited land than we think?"
"We shall know to morrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "and if it had not been for the occupations which left me no leisure, we should have known it already."
"Good!" said Pencroft. "The captain is too good an observer to be mistaken, and, if it has not moved from its place, the island is just where he put it."
"We shall see."
On the next day, therefore, by means of the sextant, the [Pg 102]engineer made the necessary observations to verify the position which he had already obtained, and this was the result of his operation. His first observation had given him for the situation of Lincoln Island,—
In west longitude69: from 150° to 155°;
In south latitude70: from 30° to 35°.
The second gave exactly:
In longitude: 150° 30′;
In south latitude: 34° 57′.
So then, notwithstanding the imperfection of his apparatus, Cyrus Harding had operated with so much skill that his error did not exceed five degrees.
"Now," said Gideon Spilett, "since we possess an atlas71 as well as a sextant, let us see, my dear Cyrus, the exact position which Lincoln Island occupies in the Pacific."
Herbert fetched the atlas, and the map of the Pacific was opened, and the engineer, compass in hand, prepared to determine their position.
Suddenly the compasses stopped, and he exclaimed,—
"But an island exists in this part of the Pacific already!"
"An island?" cried Pencroft.
"Tabor Island."
"An important island?"
"No, an islet lost in the Pacific, and which perhaps has never been visited."
"Well, we will visit it," said Pencroft.
"We?"
"Yes, captain. We will build a decked boat, and I will undertake to steer72 her. At what distance are we from this Tabor Island?"
"About a hundred and fifty miles to the north-east," replied Harding.
"A hundred and fifty miles! And what's that?" returned Pencroft. "In forty-eight hours, with a good wind, we should sight it!"
And, on this reply, it was decided73 that a vessel74 should be constructed in time to be launched towards the month of next October, on the return of the fine season.
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1
hydraulic
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| adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的 | |
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tempestuous
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| adj.狂暴的 | |
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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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commotions
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| n.混乱，喧闹，骚动( commotion的名词复数 ) | |
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bleated
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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domestication
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| n.驯养，驯化 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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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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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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augment
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| vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张 | |
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overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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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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cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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kiln
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| n.（砖、石灰等）窑，炉；v.烧窑 | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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crucibles
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| n.坩埚，严酷的考验（ crucible的名词复数 ） | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pendulous
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| adj.下垂的；摆动的 | |
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lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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malleable
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| adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的；(性格)可训练的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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51
pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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53
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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55
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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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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cellular
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| adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的 | |
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63
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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67
infusion
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| n.灌输 | |
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68
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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69
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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70
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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71
atlas
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| n.地图册，图表集 | |
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72
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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73
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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74
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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