THIS DREADFUL SIGHT was the first of a whole series of maritime1 catastrophes2 that the Nautilus would encounter on its run. When it plied3 more heavily traveled seas, we often saw wrecked4 hulls5 rotting in midwater, and farther down, cannons6, shells, anchors, chains, and a thousand other iron objects rusting8 away.
Meanwhile, continuously swept along by the Nautilus, where we lived in near isolation9, we raised the Tuamotu Islands on December 11, that old "dangerous group" associated with the French global navigator Commander Bougainville; it stretches from Ducie Island to Lazareff Island over an area of 500 leagues from the east-southeast to the west-northwest, between latitude10 13 degrees 30' and 23 degrees 50' south, and between longitude11 125 degrees 30' and 151 degrees 30' west. This island group covers a surface area of 370 square leagues, and it's made up of some sixty subgroups, among which we noted12 the Gambier group, which is a French protectorate. These islands are coral formations. Thanks to the work of polyps, a slow but steady upheaval13 will someday connect these islands to each other. Later on, this new island will be fused to its neighboring island groups, and a fifth continent will stretch from New Zealand and New Caledonia as far as the Marquesas Islands.
The day I expounded14 this theory to Captain Nemo, he answered me coldly:
"The earth doesn't need new continents, but new men!"
Sailors' luck led the Nautilus straight to Reao Island, one of the most unusual in this group, which was discovered in 1822 by Captain Bell aboard the Minerva. So I was able to study the madreporic process that has created the islands in this ocean.
Madrepores, which one must guard against confusing with precious coral, clothe their tissue in a limestone15 crust, and their variations in structure have led my famous mentor16 Professor Milne-Edwards to classify them into five divisions. The tiny microscopic17 animals that secrete18 this polypary live by the billions in the depths of their cells. Their limestone deposits build up into rocks, reefs, islets, islands. In some places, they form atolls, a circular ring surrounding a lagoon19 or small inner lake that gaps place in contact with the sea. Elsewhere, they take the shape of barrier reefs, such as those that exist along the coasts of New Caledonia and several of the Tuamotu Islands. In still other localities, such as Réunion Island and the island of Mauritius, they build fringing reefs, high, straight walls next to which the ocean's depth is considerable.
While cruising along only a few cable lengths from the underpinning20 of Reao Island, I marveled at the gigantic piece of work accomplished21 by these microscopic laborers22. These walls were the express achievements of madrepores known by the names fire coral, finger coral, star coral, and stony23 coral. These polyps grow exclusively in the agitated24 strata25 at the surface of the sea, and so it's in the upper reaches that they begin these substructures, which sink little by little together with the secreted26 rubble27 binding28 them. This, at least, is the theory of Mr. Charles Darwin, who thus explains the formation of atolls--a theory superior, in my view, to the one that says these madreporic edifices29 sit on the summits of mountains or volcanoes submerged a few feet below sea level.
I could observe these strange walls quite closely: our sounding lines indicated that they dropped perpendicularly30 for more than 300 meters, and our electric beams made the bright limestone positively31 sparkle.
In reply to a question Conseil asked me about the growth rate of these colossal32 barriers, I thoroughly33 amazed him by saying that scientists put it at an eighth of an inch per biennium.
"Therefore," he said to me, "to build these walls, it took . . . ?"
"192,000 years, my gallant34 Conseil, which significantly extends the biblical Days of Creation. What's more, the formation of coal-- in other words, the petrification of forests swallowed by floods-- and the cooling of basaltic rocks likewise call for a much longer period of time. I might add that those 'days' in the Bible must represent whole epochs and not literally35 the lapse36 of time between two sunrises, because according to the Bible itself, the sun doesn't date from the first day of Creation."
When the Nautilus returned to the surface of the ocean, I could take in Reao Island over its whole flat, wooded expanse. Obviously its madreporic rocks had been made fertile by tornadoes37 and thunderstorms. One day, carried off by a hurricane from neighboring shores, some seed fell onto these limestone beds, mixing with decomposed38 particles of fish and marine39 plants to form vegetable humus. Propelled by the waves, a coconut40 arrived on this new coast. Its germ took root. Its tree grew tall, catching41 steam off the water. A brook42 was born. Little by little, vegetation spread. Tiny animals--worms, insects--rode ashore43 on tree trunks snatched from islands to windward. Turtles came to lay their eggs. Birds nested in the young trees. In this way animal life developed, and drawn44 by the greenery and fertile soil, man appeared. And that's how these islands were formed, the immense achievement of microscopic animals.
Near evening Reao Island melted into the distance, and the Nautilus noticeably changed course. After touching45 the Tropic of Capricorn at longitude 135 degrees, it headed west-northwest, going back up the whole intertropical zone. Although the summer sun lavished46 its rays on us, we never suffered from the heat, because thirty or forty meters underwater, the temperature didn't go over 10 degrees to 12 degrees centigrade.
By December 15 we had left the alluring47 Society Islands in the west, likewise elegant Tahiti, queen of the Pacific. In the morning I spotted48 this island's lofty summits a few miles to leeward49. Its waters supplied excellent fish for the tables on board: mackerel, bonito, albacore, and a few varieties of that sea serpent named the moray eel50.
The Nautilus had cleared 8,100 miles. We logged 9,720 miles when we passed between the Tonga Islands, where crews from the Argo, Port-au-Prince, and Duke of Portland had perished, and the island group of Samoa, scene of the slaying51 of Captain de Langle, friend of that long-lost navigator, the Count de La Pérouse. Then we raised the Fiji Islands, where savages52 slaughtered53 sailors from the Union, as well as Captain Bureau, commander of the Darling Josephine out of Nantes, France.
Extending over an expanse of 100 leagues north to south, and over 90 leagues east to west, this island group lies between latitude 2 degrees and 6 degrees south, and between longitude 174 degrees and 179 degrees west. It consists of a number of islands, islets, and reefs, among which we noted the islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Kadavu.
It was the Dutch navigator Tasman who discovered this group in 1643, the same year the Italian physicist54 Torricelli invented the barometer55 and King Louis XIV ascended56 the French throne. I'll let the reader decide which of these deeds was more beneficial to humanity. Coming later, Captain Cook in 1774, Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux in 1793, and finally Captain Dumont d'Urville in 1827, untangled the whole chaotic57 geography of this island group. The Nautilus drew near Wailea Bay, an unlucky place for England's Captain Dillon, who was the first to shed light on the longstanding mystery surrounding the disappearance58 of ships under the Count de La Pérouse.
This bay, repeatedly dredged, furnished a huge supply of excellent oysters60. As the Roman playwright61 Seneca recommended, we opened them right at our table, then stuffed ourselves. These mollusks belonged to the species known by name as Ostrea lamellosa, whose members are quite common off Corsica. This Wailea oysterbank must have been extensive, and for certain, if they hadn't been controlled by numerous natural checks, these clusters of shellfish would have ended up jam-packing the bay, since as many as 2,000,000 eggs have been counted in a single individual.
And if Mr. Ned Land did not repent62 of his gluttony at our oyster59 fest, it's because oysters are the only dish that never causes indigestion. In fact, it takes no less than sixteen dozen of these headless mollusks to supply the 315 grams that satisfy one man's minimum daily requirement for nitrogen.
On December 25 the Nautilus navigated63 amid the island group of the New Hebrides, which the Portuguese64 seafarer Queirós discovered in 1606, which Commander Bougainville explored in 1768, and to which Captain Cook gave its current name in 1773. This group is chiefly made up of nine large islands and forms a 120-league strip from the north-northwest to the south-southeast, lying between latitude 2 degrees and 15 degrees south, and between longitude 164 degrees and 168 degrees. At the moment of our noon sights, we passed fairly close to the island of Aurou, which looked to me like a mass of green woods crowned by a peak of great height.
That day it was yuletide, and it struck me that Ned Land badly missed celebrating "Christmas," that genuine family holiday where Protestants are such zealots.
I hadn't seen Captain Nemo for over a week, when, on the morning of the 27th, he entered the main lounge, as usual acting65 as if he'd been gone for just five minutes. I was busy tracing the Nautilus's course on the world map. The captain approached, placed a finger over a position on the chart, and pronounced just one word:
"Vanikoro."
This name was magic! It was the name of those islets where vessels66 under the Count de La Pérouse had miscarried. I straightened suddenly.
"The Nautilus is bringing us to Vanikoro?" I asked.
"Yes, professor," the captain replied.
"And I'll be able to visit those famous islands where the Compass and the Astrolabe came to grief?"
"If you like, professor."
"When will we reach Vanikoro?"
"We already have, professor."
Followed by Captain Nemo, I climbed onto the platform, and from there my eyes eagerly scanned the horizon.
In the northeast there emerged two volcanic68 islands of unequal size, surrounded by a coral reef whose circuit measured forty miles. We were facing the island of Vanikoro proper, to which Captain Dumont d'Urville had given the name "Island of the Search"; we lay right in front of the little harbor of Vana, located in latitude 16 degrees 4' south and longitude 164 degrees 32' east. Its shores seemed covered with greenery from its beaches to its summits inland, crowned by Mt. Kapogo, which is 476 fathoms69 high.
After clearing the outer belt of rocks via a narrow passageway, the Nautilus lay inside the breakers where the sea had a depth of thirty to forty fathoms. Under the green shade of some tropical evergreens70, I spotted a few savages who looked extremely startled at our approach. In this long, blackish object advancing flush with the water, didn't they see some fearsome cetacean that they were obliged to view with distrust?
Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the shipwreck71 of the Count de La Pérouse.
"What everybody knows, captain," I answered him.
"And could you kindly72 tell me what everybody knows?" he asked me in a gently ironic73 tone.
"Very easily."
I related to him what the final deeds of Captain Dumont d'Urville had brought to light, deeds described here in this heavily condensed summary of the whole matter.
In 1785 the Count de La Pérouse and his subordinate, Captain de Langle, were sent by King Louis XVI of France on a voyage to circumnavigate the globe. They boarded two sloops75 of war, the Compass and the Astrolabe, which were never seen again.
In 1791, justly concerned about the fate of these two sloops of war, the French government fitted out two large cargo76 boats, the Search and the Hope, which left Brest on September 28 under orders from Rear Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. Two months later, testimony77 from a certain Commander Bowen, aboard the Albemarle, alleged78 that rubble from shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coast of New Georgia. But d'Entrecasteaux was unaware79 of this news--which seemed a bit dubious80 anyhow--and headed toward the Admiralty Islands, which had been named in a report by one Captain Hunter as the site of the Count de La Pérouse's shipwreck.
They looked in vain. The Hope and the Search passed right by Vanikoro without stopping there; and overall, this voyage was plagued by misfortune, ultimately costing the lives of Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux, two of his subordinate officers, and several seamen81 from his crew.
It was an old hand at the Pacific, the English adventurer Captain Peter Dillon, who was the first to pick up the trail left by castaways from the wrecked vessels. On May 15, 1824, his ship, the St. Patrick, passed by Tikopia Island, one of the New Hebrides. There a native boatman pulled alongside in a dugout canoe and sold Dillon a silver sword hilt bearing the imprint82 of characters engraved83 with a cutting tool known as a burin. Furthermore, this native boatman claimed that during a stay in Vanikoro six years earlier, he had seen two Europeans belonging to ships that had run aground on the island's reefs many years before.
Dillon guessed that the ships at issue were those under the Count de La Pérouse, ships whose disappearance had shaken the entire world. He tried to reach Vanikoro, where, according to the native boatman, a good deal of rubble from the shipwreck could still be found, but winds and currents prevented his doing so.
Dillon returned to Calcutta. There he was able to interest the Asiatic Society and the East India Company in his discovery. A ship named after the Search was placed at his disposal, and he departed on January 23, 1827, accompanied by a French deputy.
This new Search, after putting in at several stops over the Pacific, dropped anchor before Vanikoro on July 7, 1827, in the same harbor of Vana where the Nautilus was currently floating.
There Dillon collected many relics84 of the shipwreck: iron utensils85, anchors, eyelets from pulleys, swivel guns, an eighteen-pound shell, the remains86 of some astronomical87 instruments, a piece of sternrail, and a bronze bell bearing the inscription88 "Made by Bazin," the foundry mark at Brest Arsenal89 around 1785. There could no longer be any doubt.
Finishing his investigations90, Dillon stayed at the site of the casualty until the month of October. Then he left Vanikoro, headed toward New Zealand, dropped anchor at Calcutta on April 7, 1828, and returned to France, where he received a very cordial welcome from King Charles X.
But just then the renowned91 French explorer Captain Dumont d'Urville, unaware of Dillon's activities, had already set sail to search elsewhere for the site of the shipwreck. In essence, a whaling vessel67 had reported that some medals and a Cross of St. Louis had been found in the hands of savages in the Louisiade Islands and New Caledonia.
So Captain Dumont d'Urville had put to sea in command of a vessel named after the Astrolabe, and just two months after Dillon had left Vanikoro, Dumont d'Urville dropped anchor before Hobart. There he heard about Dillon's findings, and he further learned that a certain James Hobbs, chief officer on the Union out of Calcutta, had put to shore on an island located in latitude 8 degrees 18' south and longitude 156 degrees 30' east, and had noted the natives of those waterways making use of iron bars and red fabrics92.
Pretty perplexed93, Dumont d'Urville didn't know if he should give credence94 to these reports, which had been carried in some of the less reliable newspapers; nevertheless, he decided95 to start on Dillon's trail.
On February 10, 1828, the new Astrolabe hove before Tikopia Island, took on a guide and interpreter in the person of a deserter who had settled there, plied a course toward Vanikoro, raised it on February 12, sailed along its reefs until the 14th, and only on the 20th dropped anchor inside its barrier in the harbor of Vana.
On the 23rd, several officers circled the island and brought back some rubble of little importance. The natives, adopting a system of denial and evasion96, refused to guide them to the site of the casualty. This rather shady conduct aroused the suspicion that the natives had mistreated the castaways; and in truth, the natives seemed afraid that Dumont d'Urville had come to avenge97 the Count de La Pérouse and his unfortunate companions.
But on the 26th, appeased98 with gifts and seeing that they didn't need to fear any reprisals99, the natives led the chief officer, Mr. Jacquinot, to the site of the shipwreck.
At this location, in three or four fathoms of water between the Paeu and Vana reefs, there lay some anchors, cannons, and ingots of iron and lead, all caked with limestone concretions. A launch and whaleboat from the new Astrolabe were steered100 to this locality, and after going to exhausting lengths, their crews managed to dredge up an anchor weighing 1,800 pounds, a cast-iron eight-pounder cannon7, a lead ingot, and two copper101 swivel guns.
Questioning the natives, Captain Dumont d'Urville also learned that after La Pérouse's two ships had miscarried on the island's reefs, the count had built a smaller craft, only to go off and miscarry a second time. Where? Nobody knew.
The commander of the new Astrolabe then had a monument erected102 under a tuft of mangrove103, in memory of the famous navigator and his companions. It was a simple quadrangular pyramid, set on a coral base, with no ironwork to tempt104 the natives' avarice105.
Then Dumont d'Urville tried to depart; but his crews were run down from the fevers raging on these unsanitary shores, and quite ill himself, he was unable to weigh anchor until March 17.
Meanwhile, fearing that Dumont d'Urville wasn't abreast106 of Dillon's activities, the French government sent a sloop74 of war to Vanikoro, the Bayonnaise under Commander Legoarant de Tromelin, who had been stationed on the American west coast. Dropping anchor before Vanikoro a few months after the new Astrolabe's departure, the Bayonnaise didn't find any additional evidence but verified that the savages hadn't disturbed the memorial honoring the Count de La Pérouse.
This is the substance of the account I gave Captain Nemo.
"So," he said to me, "the castaways built a third ship on Vanikoro Island, and to this day, nobody knows where it went and perished?"
"Nobody knows."
Captain Nemo didn't reply but signaled me to follow him to the main lounge. The Nautilus sank a few meters beneath the waves, and the panels opened.
I rushed to the window and saw crusts of coral: fungus107 coral, siphonula coral, alcyon coral, sea anemone108 from the genus Caryophylia, plus myriads109 of charming fish including greenfish, damselfish, sweepers, snappers, and squirrelfish; underneath110 this coral covering I detected some rubble the old dredges hadn't been able to tear free-- iron stirrups, anchors, cannons, shells, tackle from a capstan, a stempost, all objects hailing from the wrecked ships and now carpeted in moving flowers.
And as I stared at this desolate112 wreckage113, Captain Nemo told me in a solemn voice:
"Commander La Pérouse set out on December 7, 1785, with his ships, the Compass and the Astrolabe. He dropped anchor first at Botany Bay, visited the Tonga Islands and New Caledonia, headed toward the Santa Cruz Islands, and put in at Nomuka, one of the islands in the Ha'apai group. Then his ships arrived at the unknown reefs of Vanikoro. Traveling in the lead, the Compass ran afoul of breakers on the southerly coast. The Astrolabe went to its rescue and also ran aground. The first ship was destroyed almost immediately. The second, stranded114 to leeward, held up for some days. The natives gave the castaways a fair enough welcome. The latter took up residence on the island and built a smaller craft with rubble from the two large ones. A few seamen stayed voluntarily in Vanikoro. The others, weak and ailing111, set sail with the Count de La Pérouse. They headed to the Solomon Islands, and they perished with all hands on the westerly coast of the chief island in that group, between Cape115 Deception116 and Cape Satisfaction!"
"And how do you know all this?" I exclaimed.
"Here's what I found at the very site of that final shipwreck!"
Captain Nemo showed me a tin box, stamped with the coat of arms of France and all corroded117 by salt water. He opened it and I saw a bundle of papers, yellowed but still legible.
They were the actual military orders given by France's Minister of the Navy to Commander La Pérouse, with notes along the margin118 in the handwriting of King Louis XVI!
"Ah, what a splendid death for a seaman119!" Captain Nemo then said. "A coral grave is a tranquil120 grave, and may Heaven grant that my companions and I rest in no other!"
上面看到的可怕景象，是诺第留斯号在航程中碰到的一连串海中灾祸的开始，自从它到了船只往来比较多的海中，我们时常看见遇难的船只在海水中腐烂了，在更深的地方，海底下面，看到上了锈的大炮、子弹、锚、链以及其他许多铁器。
不过，诺第留斯号总是带着我们前进。我们在船上很孤独地生活。12月11日，我们望见了帕摩图群岛， 这群岛位于南纬13度30分和23度50分之间，西经125度30分和151度30分之间， 从度西岛直至拉查列岛，由东南偏东至西北偏西，在长五百里的海面上罗列起来。群岛的面积共三百七十平方里，由约莫六十个小群岛组成，在这些小群岛中间，我看到了法国占领的作为它的保护地的甘比尔群岛。这些小群岛全是珊瑚岛。由于珊瑚这种腔肠动物所起的作用，造成地面缓慢地，但连续地上升，因此，将来一定有一天会把这些小岛连接起来。以后，连接起来的新岛又跟邻近的群岛衔接，久而久之，从新西兰和新喀里多尼亚岛起，至马贵斯群岛止，便要出现一个新大陆，那就是未来的第五大洲。
那天，我在尼摩船长面前谈我的新大陆构成的理论，他很冷淡地这样回答我：
“地球上所需要的并不是新的大陆，而是新的人！”
在这次航行中，诺第留斯号偶然开到克列蒙端尼岛——群岛中最有兴昧的一个岛·它是1822年，曲米涅娃①号船长贝尔发现的。我因此得以研究太平洋中的小岛所构成的造礁珊瑚体系。造礁珊瑚跟普通珊瑚不能混为一谈，它们的纤维组织蒙上一层石灰质的表皮，表皮构造的各种变化使我著名的老师密尔·爱德华先生把它们分为五部。这些以分泌物累积成珊瑚树的细小微生动物，是数以亿万计地生活在细胞里面。它们分泌的石灰质逐渐累积，组成了岩石、礁石、小岛、岛屿。在某一处，它们形成一个圆形的环，围绕着一个珊瑚洲或一个内湖，边缘有缺口，可与大海相通。在另一处，它们形成一些礁石的悬崖，跟新喀里多尼。亚海岸和帕摩图群岛好些小岛所有的情形相仿。在别的地方，比如在联合岛和毛利斯岛，它们筑起礁石脉，跟壁立的）高墙一样，高墙附近的海是非常之深的。
沿着克列蒙端尼岛的悬崖仅仅走了几百米，我对于这些微生物中的劳动者所完成的巨大工程十分赞赏。这些悬崖大半是称为千孔珊瑚、滨珊瑚、星珊瑚和脑形珊瑚的造礁珊瑚类的杰作。造礁珊瑚类动物在海波激荡的表面一层特别繁衍，因此，它们的造礁工作是从上层开始，渐次及于下层的，上层带着剩余的分泌物，渐渐沉到下面去。达尔文②的学说就是这样，他应用这学说来说明环状珊瑚岛的构成——照我的意思，这学说比那以海面下几米有浮出的山岭或火山的峰顶作为造礁珊瑚的工作基地的学说，较为优越，较为合理。
我可以挨近这些新奇的墙垣观察，因为它们是垂直的，测探器指示的深度超过三百米，我们船上的阵阵电光把这光辉的石灰石照亮了。
康塞尔问我这些巨大的墙垣积累起来要花多少时间，我回答他的这个问题说，根据学者们的意见，积累八分之一寸厚的珊瑚墙需要一个世纪，即一百年左右的时间，他十分惊异。
"那么，”他问我，“造成这些墙垣要多少时间呢?"
”要十九万二千年，老实的康塞尔，这就把《圣经》记载的时间①特别拉长了。此外，煤炭的形成，即被洪水冲积的森林的矿化作用，玄武岩的冷化作用，需要更长久的时间。再说，《圣经》中的时间只是表明一个一个时期，并不指两次旧出之间的时间，因为，照《圣经》的说法，太阳并不是开夭，辟地第一天就存在。”
当诺第留斯号回到海面上来的时候，我可以望见这个低洼的和多树的克列蒙瑞尼岛发展的全部过程。岛上的珊瑚石显然是由于旋风和风暴的冲刷，变成了肥饶的沃上。不知什么时候，一些谷粒果核被暴风带到邻近土地，落在石灰质的地上，地里夹杂了鱼类和海产植物分解出来的渣滓，成为很好的草木肥料。随后又有一些可可果核被波浪冲来，漂到了这边新开辟的海岸。不久种子发芽生根，渐渐长大，成树，成林，贮蓄了水蒸气。水流于是形成了。植物也就渐渐生长繁殖。叉有些微生动物，爬虫，昆虫，附在被大风吹倒的其他海岛的树干上，输送到这边。龟鳖到这里来下蛋，禽鸟在嫩枝上结巢。动物就这样在岛上活跃起来。不久，人类被岛上的青葱和肥饶的土地所吸引，也在岛上出现了。这就是群岛——微生动物的惊人杰作的形成过程。
傍晚时候，克列蒙端尼岛在远处隐没不见了，诺第留斯号的航路显然是改变了方向。 在西经135度上接触到南回归线的时候，船又上溯南北两回归线间的海水，向西北偏西驶去. 虽然夏季的太阳光十分厉害，但我们一点不受炎热的影响，因为在水底三十至四十米的深度，温度总不超过十度到十二度。
12月15日，我们在东边望到了使人留恋的社会群岛和作为太平洋玉后的啊娜多姿的塔希提岛。我早晨在距离几里的下方，望见了这岛上的高耸的山峰。沿岛水产供应我们船上餐桌许多美味的鱼，鳍鱼、鲤鱼、乳白鱼，以及好几种属于鳗鱼类的海蛇。
诺第留斯号已经走了八千一百海里的海程了。当它穿过东加塔布群岛和航海家群岛之间的时候，测程器的记录已经到了九千七百二十海里；汤加塔布群岛是从前阿尔戈号、太子港号和博兰公爵号的船员丧生的地方，航海家群岛是拉·白鲁斯①的朋友、郎格尔船长被杀的所在。不久我又望见了维蒂群岛，岛上的土人曾经屠杀过和合号的水手和指挥可爱的约瑟芬号的南特人布罗船长。
这群岛所占的面积，从北至南为一百里，从东至西为九十里，位于南纬6度至2度，西经174度至179度之间。这群岛是由很多小岛如维蒂岛、万奴岛和甘杜朋等岛组成的。
这群小岛是塔斯曼①在1643年发现的，那一年也就是托利色利②发明风雨表和路易十四③即位的一年。人们可以想一想，这三件事究竟那一件对人类最有益处、”随后，库克在1714年，当土尔加斯朵④在1793年，杜蒙·居维尔⑤在1827年都曾来过，群岛的地理形势是经杜蒙·居维尔勘察后，才弄清楚的。诺第留斯号驶近了魏利阿湾，那位狄勇船长在这里遇到过惊人冒险的事件，狄勇船长就是第一个把拉白鲁斯沉船的秘密弄明白的人。
在海湾中我们打了好几次鱼，我们打到很多好吃的牡蛎我们是按照薛尼克⑤的方法，在饭桌上把牡蛎剥开，尽量无节制地吃。大家知道，这种软体动物是属于贝壳蛇类，在地中海科西嘉岛非常普遍。魏利阿海湾中一定有十分丰富的壮蜗，如果没有各种消灭它们的原因，这些团结成群的动物必然要把这一带海湾都填满，因为光是一个牡蜗就可以产两百万个卵。
尼德·兰师傅在这次大吃牡蛎中，对于他的贪食没有后悔，因为牡蛎是从来不使人饱胀的唯一的食品。是的，供给一个人每日营养所需的三百一十五克氮素，要二百个左右牡蛎呢。
12月25 日， 诺第留斯号在新赫布里底群岛间行驶，这群岛在1606年由居洛斯①发见，1768年，布几威尔②来探险，1773年，库克才把现在新赫布里底的名字给了它。这一群岛屿由丸个主要大岛组成，形成一条从西北偏北至东南偏南的一百二十里的长带， 位于南纬15度至2度，西经164度至168度之间。我们的船沿着奥卢岛岸边走过，在正午时刻观察，这岛好像一堆青绿的树林，有一座很高的山峰耸立在上面。这一天是圣诞节，尼德·兰似乎很后悔不能过节，因为圣诞节是基督教徒所热爱的家庭团聚节。
我有七八天没有看到尼摩船长了，27 H早晨，他进客厅来，脸上的神气总是像跟你分手不过五分钟时间的样子。
我正在看那平面图上的诺第留斯号所走的航路。船长走向前来，手指着地图上的一点，单单说出了这个名字：
“万尼科罗群岛。”
万尼科罗这名字是有迷惑力的；它是拉·白鲁斯的探险船只在那里失踪的群岛的名字。我立即站起来。
“诺第留斯号带我们到万尼科罗群岛吗？”我问。
“是的， 教授。”船长回答。"我可以去访问罗盘号和浑天仪号毁坏沉没的有名的岛屿吗?"
“如果您高兴，教授，我们可以去访问。”
“我们什么时候到万尼科罗群岛呢?"
"我们就到了，教授."
我跟着尼摩船长，走上平台，从平台上，我眼光急急地向天际了望。
在东北方，现出两座大小不等的由火山形成的岛屿，有四十海里长的环形珊瑚礁围绕。我们现在就在万尼科罗岛面前了，杜蒙·屠维尔一定要叫它搜索岛，它是在万奴岛的天然小港前面，位于南纬16度4分和东经164度32分之间。岛上土地从岸边的海滩，一直到内部的高峰，都好像有青纱帐蒙起来，岛上有高九百米左右的加波哥山矗立，俯视全岛。
诺第留斯号从窄狭的水道，穿过外围的一道石带，走在暗礁岩石里面了，这里的海水深度为五十米至六十五米左右。我看见红树荫下有十二三个土人，他们看见我们的船开来，表示极端惊怪。看见这长长的灰黑东西在水面上行走，他们可能认为是他们应当警戒的一条很厉害的鲸科动物呢？
这个时候，尼摩船长向我打听拉·白鲁斯失事遇难的情形，这事我是知道的。
“船长，我所知道的不过是大家都知道的罢了。”我回答他。
“您可以把大家知道的情形告诉我吗？”他带些讥讽的神气说。
“那很容易。”
我把杜蒙·居维尔关于这事的最后著作中所谈到的情形告诉了他，下面就是简单的概述。
拉·白鲁斯和他的副手郎格尔船长于1785年受路易十六①的派遣，作环游地球的航行。他们乘罗盘号和浑天仪号两艘三级舰出发，以后就再没有听见他们的消息了。
1791年，法国政府很关心这两艘战舰的命运，装备了两艘大运输舰，搜索号和希望号， 准备出发，做寻找的工作。，这两艘大运输舰于9月28日离开布勒斯特海港，由当上尔加斯朵指挥。“但两个月后，从指挥阿伯马尔号船的船长，名叫波温的这个人送来的报告知道，失事的两艘战舰的残骸在新佐治岛沿岸看到了。当，土尔加斯朵并不知道这个报告——而且这报告也不很可靠——他向海军部群岛出发，前去找寻，固他根据韩德船长的一个报告，说这群岛是拉·白鲁斯失事遇难的地点。
他的搜寻完全没有结果，完全落空了。希望号和搜索号甚至于经过万尼科罗群岛面前没有停留，总起来说，这次、航行很不幸，因为当土尔加斯朵，他的两名副手和他船员中的好几名水手都丢了性命。．第一个把这次遇难人的无可争辩的可靠遗物找出来的，是一位经常航行在太平洋上的老航海家狄勇船长。1824年5月15日，他的船圣巴土利克号，经过新赫布里底群岛之一的第克贝亚岛附近。在那里，一个印第安人乘着独木舟，靠近他的船边，卖给他－把银质的刀柄，柄上有镂别的文字痕迹。这个印第安人又说，六年前，他在万尼科罗岛住下来的时候，曾看见过两个欧洲人，他们是一只遇难船砌船员，这船多年前撞在岛附近的暗礁上了。
狄勇立即猜想到，这一定是拉白鲁斯船上的遇难人员，周为这些船只的失踪是众所周知的，曾经震动世界。他打算到万尼科罗群岛去，据印第安人说，那里还有遇难船只的、许多遗物，可是大风和海浪阻挡了他，无法前往。
狄勇回到加尔备答。在加尔各答；他想法使亚洲学会和印度公司注意他的发现。他于是得到一只船， 这只船命名为搜索号，由他指挥，1827年1月23月，他由一个法国人陪着，乘船出发，前往搜寻。
搜索号在太平洋好几处停锚找寻， 于1827年7月了日：到万尼科罗群岛前面停泊了，地点就是此刻诺第留斯号所在的这个万奴岛的天然小港中。
在这个地方，狄勇收集了遇难船只的许多遗物：铁制的用具，锚，滑车的铁链环，小炮，一颗十八号炮弹，残破的天文仪器，船后部断片：另外还有一口铜钟，上面有款识，写着“巴赞给我造的”，这是1785年左右，布勒斯特军械局铸造厂的标记。这事是十分明确，不可以怀疑的了。
狄勇为了使自己所获得的材料更完备起见，他在这遇难的地方留下，一直到同年十月。然后他离开了万尼科罗群岛，去新西兰，1828年4月7日到了加尔各答，然后回法掴，到了法国，他受到查理十世①的热情招待。可是, 这个时候,杜蒙.居惟尔不知道狄勇所作的工作结果，已经先出发向别处找寻失事的地点了。因为他从一只捕鲸船的报告知道，有好些徽章和一种圣路易十字勋章在路易西安尼省和新喀里多尼亚岛的土人手里发现。
杜蒙。居维尔于是指挥着浑天仪号，向大洋出发，在狄勇离开了万尼科罗群岛两个月后，他的船停在何巴市面前。在何已市，他知道了狄勇所获得的结果，此夕）他又从加尔各答轮船公司的和合号的船副。———个名叫何伯斯的人那里知道，他在南纬8度18分和东经： 56度30分之间的一个小岛，看到这些地方的土人使用一些铁条和红色毛布。
杜蒙，居维尔心中相当为难，不知道对于这些不太可靠的报刊所登载的记事是否应该相信，最后他决定开到狄勇曾经到过的地方去。
1828年2月10n日，浑天仪号到了提科皮亚岛面前，请了一个落户在岛上的逃兵作向导和翻译， 他向万尼科罗群岛出发，2月12日，望见了万尼科罗群岛，直至14日他都是沿着群岛的礁石脉行驶，到20日，才停泊在礁石圈里面，即万奴岛的天然港内。
23日，好几名船上的人员在岛上走了一圈，得到一些不重要的残余物品。当地土人采取一种不认账和逃避的方法，不愿意带他们到遇难失事的地方去看。这种暖昧不明的行为更让人相信他们是曾经虐待过船中的遇难人员，他们也正是好像伯杜蒙·居维尔要给拉·白鲁斯和他的苦命同伴报仇似的。但在26日，土人由于得到了礼物，并且知道他们不至于受到任何报复，他们这才带领船副雅居诺，到了船只遇难的地方。
在这个地方，五米至六米半的水深处，在巴古和万奴两岛的礁石间，堆积着的锚、炮、铁块和铅块都被石灰质的沉积层粘住了。浑夭仪号的大艇和捕鲸船开到了这个地方，费了很大气力，船上人员才把一个重一千八百斤的锚，一门口径八分的铁铸大炮，一大块铅和两尊铜炮打捞上来。
杜蒙·居维尔详细询问土人，知道拉·白鲁斯在岛附近暗礁上损失了他的两只船后，又造了一只较小的船，他乘新造的船出发，第二次又失踪了…在什么地方失踪呢？没有人知道。这位指挥浑天仪号的船长于是在一株红树华盖下，建造了一座衣冠墓，纪念那位著名的航海家和他的同伴。家是一座简单的四角形金字塔，建筑在珊瑚石的基地上，上面没有竖立什么可以引起土人的贪心的铁架。
杜蒙·居维尔要离开这岛出发了；但他的船员受了海岛不良气候的影响，很多人患了热病，他本人也病得很厉害，一直到8月17日才拔锚动身。
当时法国政府怕杜蒙·屠维尔不知道狄勇的工作结果，派出巴沿尼号小战舰到万尼科罗群岛，战舰由列哥郎·德·土浪美林指挥，当时停在美洲西部海岸。巴沿尼号在浑天仪号离开了几个月后，开到了万尼科罗岛面前，并没有找到什么新的材料，仅仅看见土人对于拉·白鲁斯的墓没有破坏。
上面就是我给尼摩船长说的关于这件事的材料。
“那么,"他对我说，“在万尼科罗群岛失事的遇难人所建造的第三只船，究竟在什么地方遇难沉没了，人们还是不知道吗?"
“人们还是不知道。”
尼摩船长并不答话，他对我做个手势，要我跟他到客厅中去。诺第留斯号潜入海水下几米深，嵌板打开了。
我急急走到玻璃隔板面前观看，只见珊瑚礁石的基地盖满了菌生植物、管状植物、翡翠海草、石竹小草，在它下面，在成千成万物十分可爱的鱼类《鲍鱼、雕纹鱼、卿筒鱼、裂骨鱼、金鱼）中间，我认出了打捞机无法打捞的一些残废物品，如铁马磴、锚、炮、炮弹、绞盘架、船头废料等等，全是遇难船只留下的东西，现在都披上活生生的花朵了。
当我注视这些使人心中难受的遇难船只的残骸时，尼摩船长用很严肃的声音对我说：
“拉·白鲁斯船长于1785年12月7日率领了罗盘号和浑夭仪号两船出发。 他最初停泊在植物湾，访问了友爱群岛，新喀里多尼亚，向圣克鲁斯群岛出发，停在哈巴衣群岛的奈摩加岛面前。然后，到了以前不知道的万尼科罗群岛的礁石上面。走在前头的罗盘号撞在南边海岸的礁石上。浑天仪号前来援救，但也碰上暗礁。第一只船罗盘号立即撞破沉下去，第二只船浑天仪号搁浅在下方，仍然支持了好几天。当地土人对遇难船员相当欢迎，善意招待。遇难船员便住在岛上，利用两艘破损的大船，把材料拼凑起来，建造了一只较小的船。有些水手愿意居住在万尼科罗群岛上， 不想走了。别的船员，体弱有病，跟拉·白鲁斯一同出发.他们向所罗门群岛开去，他们所有的一切，身体和财物，都在这群岛的主岛的西部海岸，失望呷和满意呷之间沉没了。
“您怎么知道呢？”我喊道。；
“这不是我在那最后遇难失事的地方所找到的文件吗！”
尼摩船长给我看一个白铁盒，上面印有法国国徽的标记，全都被盐水所侵蚀了。他打开铁盒，我看见一卷公文，虽然纸色发黄，但字迹还清楚可读。
这公文是法国海军大臣给拉，白鲁斯船长的训令，边缘还有路易十六亲笔的批语呢！
“啊！”尼摩船长于是说，“对于一位海员来说，这真是死得漂亮：这座珊瑚坟墓实在是太幽静了！愿上天让我的同伴和我不要葬在别样的坟墓中！”
收听单词发音 |
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maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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catastrophes
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| n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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hulls
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| 船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚 | |
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cannons
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| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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rusting
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| n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 ) | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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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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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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microscopic
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| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
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18
secrete
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| vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘 | |
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19
lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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underpinning
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| n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强 | |
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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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laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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27
rubble
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| n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾 | |
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28
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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29
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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30
perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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32
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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34
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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36
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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37
tornadoes
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| n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 ) | |
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38
decomposed
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| 已分解的，已腐烂的 | |
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39
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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40
coconut
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| n.椰子 | |
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41
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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42
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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44
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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45
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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46
lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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48
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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49
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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50
eel
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| n.鳗鲡 | |
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51
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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52
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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53
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
physicist
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| n.物理学家，研究物理学的人 | |
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55
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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56
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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58
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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oyster
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| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
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60
oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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61
playwright
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| n.剧作家，编写剧本的人 | |
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62
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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navigated
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| v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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67
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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68
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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70
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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71
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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72
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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74
sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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75
sloops
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| n.单桅纵帆船( sloop的名词复数 ) | |
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76
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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77
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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78
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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79
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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80
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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81
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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82
imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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83
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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84
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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85
utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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86
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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87
astronomical
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| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
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88
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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89
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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90
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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91
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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92
fabrics
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| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
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93
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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94
credence
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| n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证 | |
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95
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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96
evasion
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| n.逃避，偷漏(税) | |
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97
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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98
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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99
reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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100
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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101
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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102
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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103
mangrove
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| n.(植物)红树，红树林 | |
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104
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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105
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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106
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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107
fungus
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| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
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108
anemone
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| n.海葵 | |
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109
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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110
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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111
ailing
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| v.生病 | |
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112
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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113
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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114
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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115
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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116
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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117
corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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118
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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119
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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120
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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