The Nile.--The Trembling Mountain.--A Remembrance of the Country.--The Narratives1 of the Arabs.--The Nyam-Nyams.--Joe's Shrewd Cogitations.--The Balloon runs the Gantlet.--Aerostatic Ascensions.--Madame Blanchard.
"Which way do we head?" asked Kennedy, as he saw his friend consulting the compass.
"North-northeast."
"The deuce! but that's not the north?"
"No, Dick; and I'm afraid that we shall have some trouble in getting to Gondokoro. I am sorry for it; but, at last, we have succeeded in connecting the explorations from the east with those from the north; and we must not complain."
The balloon was now receding2 gradually from the Nile.
"One last look," said the doctor, "at this impassable latitude3, beyond which the most intrepid4 travellers could not make their way. There are those intractable tribes, of whom Petherick, Arnaud, Miuni, and the young traveller Lejean, to whom we are indebted for the best work on the Upper Nile, have spoken."
"Thus, then," added Kennedy, inquiringly, "our discoveries agree with the speculations5 of science."
"Absolutely so. The sources of the White Nile, of the Bahr-el-Abiad, are immersed in a lake as large as a sea; it is there that it takes its rise. Poesy, undoubtedly6, loses something thereby7. People were fond of ascribing a celestial8 origin to this king of rivers. The ancients gave it the name of an ocean, and were not far from believing that it flowed directly from the sun; but we must come down from these flights from time to time, and accept what science teaches us. There will not always be scientific men, perhaps; but there always will be poets."
"We can still see cataracts9," said Joe.
"Those are the cataracts of Makedo, in the third degree of latitude. Nothing could be more accurate. Oh, if we could only have followed the course of the Nile for a few hours!"
"And down yonder, below us, I see the top of a mountain," said the hunter.
"That is Mount Longwek, the Trembling Mountain of the Arabs. This whole country was visited by Debono, who went through it under the name of Latif-Effendi. The tribes living near the Nile are hostile to each other, and are continually waging a war of extermination10. You may form some idea, then, of the difficulties he had to encounter."
The wind was carrying the balloon toward the northwest, and, in order to avoid Mount Longwek, it was necessary to seek a more slanting11 current.
"My friends," said the doctor, "here is where OUR passage of the African Continent really commences; up to this time we have been following the traces of our predecessors12. Henceforth we are to launch ourselves upon the unknown. We shall not lack the courage, shall we?"
"Never!" said Dick and Joe together, almost in a shout.
"Onward13, then, and may we have the help of Heaven!"
At ten o'clock at night, after passing over ravines, forests, and scattered14 villages, the aeronauts reached the side of the Trembling Mountain, along whose gentle slopes they went quietly gliding15. In that memorable16 day, the 23d of April, they had, in fifteen hours, impelled17 by a rapid breeze, traversed a distance of more than three hundred and fifteen miles.
But this latter part of the journey had left them in dull spirits, and complete silence reigned18 in the car. Was Dr. Ferguson absorbed in the thought of his discoveries? Were his two companions thinking of their trip through those unknown regions? There were, no doubt, mingled19 with these reflections, the keenest reminiscences of home and distant friends. Joe alone continued to manifest the same careless philosophy, finding it QUITE NATURAL that home should not be there, from the moment that he left it; but he respected the silent mood of his friends, the doctor and Kennedy.
About ten the balloon anchored on the side of the Trembling Mountain, so called, because, in Arab tradition, it is said to tremble the instant that a Mussulman sets foot upon it. The travellers then partook of a substantial meal, and all quietly passed the night as usual, keeping the regular watches.
On awaking the next morning, they all had pleasanter feelings. The weather was fine, and the wind was blowing from the right quarter; so that a good breakfast, seasoned with Joe's merry pranks20, put them in high good-humor.
The region they were now crossing is very extensive. It borders on the Mountains of the Moon on one side, and those of Darfur on the other--a space about as broad as Europe.
"We are, no doubt, crossing what is supposed to be the kingdom of Usoga. Geographers21 have pretended that there existed, in the centre of Africa, a vast depression, an immense central lake. We shall see whether there is any truth in that idea," said the doctor.
"But how did they come to think so?" asked Kennedy.
"From the recitals22 of the Arabs. Those fellows are great narrators--too much so, probably. Some travellers, who had got as far as Kazeh, or the great lakes, saw slaves that had been brought from this region; interrogated23 them concerning it, and, from their different narratives, made up a jumble24 of notions, and deduced systems from them. Down at the bottom of it all there is some appearance of truth; and you see that they were right about the sources of the Nile."
"Nothing could be more correct," said Kennedy. "It was by the aid of these documents that some attempts at maps were made, and so I am going to try to follow our route by one of them, rectifying25 it when need be."
"Is all this region inhabited?" asked Joe.
"Undoubtedly; and disagreeably inhabited, too."
"I thought so."
"These scattered tribes come, one and all, under the title of Nyam-Nyams, and this compound word is only a sort of nickname. It imitates the sound of chewing."
"That's it! Excellent!" said Joe, champing his teeth as though he were eating; "Nyam-Nyam."
"My good Joe, if you were the immediate26 object of this chewing, you wouldn't find it so excellent."
"Why, what's the reason, sir?"
"These tribes are considered man-eaters."
"Is that really the case?"
"Not a doubt of it! It has also been asserted that these natives had tails, like mere27 quadrupeds; but it was soon discovered that these appendages29 belonged to the skins of animals that they wore for clothing."
"More's the pity! a tail's a nice thing to chase away mosquitoes."
"That may be, Joe; but we must consign30 the story to the domain31 of fable32, like the dogs' heads which the traveller, Brun-Rollet, attributed to other tribes."
"Dogs' heads, eh? Quite convenient for barking, and even for man-eating!"
"But one thing that has been, unfortunately, proven true, is, the ferocity of these tribes, who are really very fond of human flesh, and devour33 it with avidity."
"I only hope that they won't take such a particular fancy to mine!" said Joe, with comic solemnity.
"See that!" said Kennedy.
"Yes, indeed, sir; if I have to be eaten, in a moment of famine, I want it to be for your benefit and my master's; but the idea of feeding those black fellows--gracious! I'd die of shame!"
"Well, then, Joe," said Kennedy, "that's understood; we count upon you in case of need!"
"At your service, gentlemen!"
"Joe talks in this way so as to make us take good care of him, and fatten34 him up."
"Maybe so!" said Joe. "Every man for himself."
In the afternoon, the sky became covered with a warm mist, that oozed35 from the soil; the brownish vapor36 scarcely allowed the beholder37 to distinguish objects, and so, fearing collision with some unexpected mountain-peak, the doctor, about five o'clock, gave the signal to halt.
The night passed without accident, but in such profound obscurity, that it was necessary to use redoubled vigilance.
The monsoon38 blew with extreme violence during all the next morning. The wind buried itself in the lower cavities of the balloon and shook the appendage28 by which the dilating-pipes entered the main apparatus39. They had, at last, to be tied up with cords, Joe acquitting40 himself very skilfully41 in performing that operation.
He had occasion to observe, at the same time, that the orifice of the balloon still remained hermetically sealed.
"That is a matter of double importance for us," said the doctor; "in the first place, we avoid the escape of precious gas, and then, again, we do not leave behind us an inflammable train, which we should at last inevitably42 set fire to, and so be consumed."
"That would be a disagreeable travelling incident!" said Joe.
"Should we be hurled43 to the ground?" asked Kennedy.
"Hurled! No, not quite that. The gas would burn quietly, and we should descend44 little by little. A similar accident happened to a French aeronaut, Madame Blanchard. She ignited her balloon while sending off fireworks, but she did not fall, and she would not have been killed, probably, had not her car dashed against a chimney and precipitated45 her to the ground."
"Let us hope that nothing of the kind may happen to us," said the hunter. "Up to this time our trip has not seemed to me very dangerous, and I can see nothing to prevent us reaching our destination."
"Nor can I either, my dear Dick; accidents are generally caused by the imprudence of the aeronauts, or the defective46 construction of their apparatus. However, in thousands of aerial ascensions, there have not been twenty fatal accidents. Usually, the danger is in the moment of leaving the ground, or of alighting, and therefore at those junctures47 we should never omit the utmost precaution."
"It's breakfast-time," said Joe; "we'll have to put up with preserved meat and coffee until Mr. Kennedy has had another chance to get us a good slice of venison."
尼罗河——“颤抖山①”——思乡——阿拉伯人的传说——“尼阿姆—尼阿姆”——乔的合理想法——“维多利亚号”有惊无险——气球的几次上升——布朗夏尔夫人
①传说中，只要伊斯兰教徒的脚一踏上这座山，它便开始颤抖。
“我们现在往什么方向去？”肯尼迪见他的朋友在查看罗盘，便问。
“西北偏北。”
“见鬼！这么飞，可不是往北去呀！”
“当然不是了，肯尼迪。而且，我认为我们有点麻烦，到不了刚多科罗了。对此，我也觉得挺可惜。不过，我们毕竟已经把从东方和北方两边来的探险队所做的事连起来了，所以，没有什么可抱怨的。”
“维多利亚号”渐渐地离尼罗河越来越远。
“再向这个不可逾越的地方看最后一眼吧！”博士依依不舍地说，“这儿就是连最无畏的旅行家们也从未能跨越过的那片土地。这儿的部落就是佩特利克，阿尔诺·米亚尼和年轻旅行家勒让所指的那些极难打交道的部落。对了，提到勒让，我们该好好谢谢他。他对上尼罗河做的那些卓有成效的考察对我们的帮助真不小。”
“这么说来，我们的发现与那些科学假说是相一致的喽？”肯尼迪问。
“完完全全一致。白尼罗河，也就是阿拉伯语中的巴赫尔·埃尔·阿比亚德，它的源头就被遮掩在一个像海一样的湖里。换句话说，尼罗河就发源于这个大湖。事实总归是事实，那些诗篇中的东西毫无疑问不会再像以前那样受人重视了。过去人们总喜欢把这河中之王想象成是通天的。古人把它称为大洋，甚至相信它是直接从太阳上流下来的！不过，我们还是应该丢掉原来的那些美好想象，一步步地接受科学教给我们的知识。将来也许并不总有科学家，但诗歌却是永存的。”
“前面又有一些瀑布。”乔说。
“那是玛克多瀑布， 在北纬3度上。瞧，再精确不过了！要是我们刚才有可能沿着尼罗河再飞上几个小时，该有多好啊！”
“瞧那边！就在我们前面，”猎人突然喊道，“我看见了一座山峰。”
“那是洛格维克山，就是阿拉伯人说的‘颤抖山’。德博诺先生曾化名拉蒂夫·埃芳迪走遍了这个地区。尼罗河邻近的部落互为仇敌，他们之间经常进行仇杀。不用想，你们就能猜到德博诺先生当时该冒多大的危险了。”
这时，风吹着“维多利亚号”向西北方向飞去。为了避开洛格维克山，免得撞上，博士不得不寻找一股更加斜向些的气流。
“朋友们，”博士对他的两位同伴说，“我们穿越非洲的旅行现在才真正开始。因为，到目前为止，我们主要是沿着先前的探险家的足迹行进的。现在，我们就要大胆地进入从未被人所知的地区了。大家都有这份勇气吗？”
“从来就有！”肯尼迪和乔异口同声地应道。
“好，上路！愿上帝保佑我们！”
三位旅行家乘着气球越过条条细谷、块块森林和座座散落的村庄，于晚上10点来到“颤抖山”的山腰上空。“颤抖山”的山坡坡度小，气球就沿着这些缓坡移动。
在4月23日这个值得纪念的日子里，3位旅行家在一股劲风的吹送下，15个小时内飞行了315英里之多。
然而，这次旅程的最后一段时间里，一种忧郁沉闷的气氛不知不觉影响了每个人。大家一言不发，整个吊篮里一片沉静。弗格森博士的注意力全被他的那些发现吸引住了吗？他的两位同伴琢磨着这次在陌生区域里的旅行吗？这些当然都有关系。不过，除此之外，无疑每个人心头都怀有一股浓浓的思念英国，思念远方朋友之情。惟独乔表现出一付无忧无虑，旷达超脱的模样。他认为远离祖国的时候，祖国就不在你身边，这是很自然的。不过，他尊重弗格森·弗格森和肯尼迪·肯尼迪的感情，不去打搅他们。
晚上6点钟， 因为飞越了“颤抖山”，“维多利亚号”也“腿软”了。气球停了下来。 3人吃了顿营养丰富的晚餐，随后全都痛痛快快地睡了一觉。当然，仍旧是轮流值班守卫。
第二天醒来后，大家的心情稳定了下来。天气很好，而且风向合适。早饭时，乔一直逗得大家很开心。饭吃完了，每个人也都恢复了以前的那种欢快情绪。
眼下他们经过的地区非常辽阔，从某种程度上说，与欧洲一样大。出了这块广渺的土地就是月亮山和达尔福尔山①。
①位于苏丹西部地区。
“毫无疑问，我们正在飞越的地方，就是被猜想为乌索加王国的国土。一些地理学家曾认为，在非洲中心存在着一个很大的凹地，一个浩瀚的中心湖。我们来看看这种说法是否有几分道理。”
“可是，这种假设是凭什么作出的呢？”肯尼迪问。
“凭阿拉伯人的传说。那些人很会讲故事，也许太会讲了。有几位到过卡泽赫或大湖的旅行家见过一些来自非洲中心地区的奴隶。旅行家们向这些奴隶了解过他们国家的情况，并搜集了不少这方面的资料，最后从中推断出种种假设。不管怎么说，这里面总要有点真实的东西。其实，你也看见了，对尼罗河源头的假设，就没弄错嘛。”
“不错，完全正确。”肯尼迪回答说。
“正是利用这些资料，人们试着编制了一些地图，我的手中就有这么一份。我打算根据它来继续我们的航程，必要时，对它作些校正。”
“这整个地区都有人居住吗？”乔问。
“当然有人住了，不过住得可不怎么样。”
“这一点，我早就料到了。”
“这些分散的部落有个总的名称，叫‘尼阿姆—尼阿姆’。这个名字不过是个拟声词，没别的意思。当地人嚼东西时，嘴里总发出这种声响，于是这些部落就叫‘尼阿姆—尼阿姆’了。”
“太妙了！”乔赞赏道，“尼阿姆！尼阿姆！”
“天真的乔，如果你和这个拟声词有直接的利害关系，你就不会觉得这个名称美妙了。”
“您是说……？”
“我是说这些部落的人被看作是吃人肉的人。”
“这事能肯定吗？”
“非常肯定。人们过去还认为这些土人有尾巴，就像四条腿的动物一样。可是很快弄清楚了，原来他们屁股上的东西是他们遮身的兽皮。”
“真是的！有条尾巴赶蚊子用挺不错的嘛。”
“这倒可能，乔。可是，这些应该算是奇谈怪论吧，就像旅行家布伦—罗莱认为某些土著人长着狗头一样。”
“长着狗头？那叫起来，甚至吃起人肉来可就方便了！”
“不幸的是，有一件事已经得到证实，那就是这些人很残暴，非常贪吃人肉。他们一心想找到人肉吃。”
“我希望他们别一心想着我的肉。”乔忧心忡忡地说。
“你想哪儿去了！”猎人责备道。
“是这样嘛，肯尼迪先生。万一哪一天真的没吃没喝的，只能拿我充饥时，我也希望给您和我的主人吃掉。可是，喂这些黑家伙，呸！我羞也要羞死了！”
“好极了！可爱的乔。”肯尼迪夸赞道，“那就一言为定。到那时候，我们就指望你了。”
“先生们，愿为你们效劳。”
“乔这么说，是想让我们好好照顾他，把他养得胖胖的。”博士开玩笑地说。
“也许吧！”乔回答，“人就是一种非常自私的动物嘛！”
下午，从地面上弥漫开的一团热雾笼罩了整个天空。从气球上很难看清楚地面的物体。博士担心撞上哪座意料不到的山峰，将近5点时，他决定暂时停止进。
一夜平安无事。但是在浓浓的黑夜中，还是少不了要提高警惕。
第二天早上，天上刮起了异常强劲的季风。风拼命往气球下方的空穴里灌，猛烈地摇动着气球上插输送膨胀气体管子的附属件。三位旅行家不得不用绳子把这部分牢牢固定住。这件活，由乔出色地完成了。
他在固定附属件时，注意到气球上插管子的这个部分仍然密封得很严，丝毫不漏气。
“对我们来说，这加倍的重要。”弗格森博士说，“我们首先要避免消耗宝贵的氢气；其次，我们不能在周围留下一丝易燃物。否则的话，我们最终会弄出场火灾的。”
“要是旅行中闹出这么一件事故来，那才叫人恼火呢。”乔说。
“如果真的着了火，我们不能迅速着陆吗？”肯尼迪问。
“迅速着陆？不行！氢气会逐渐燃烧，我们也只能一点点地下降。这样的事故，法国女飞行家布朗夏尔夫人遇到过。她在燃放焰火时，不小心烧着了自己乘坐的气球。不过她没掉下来。如果她的吊篮不是撞到了烟囱，把她从那儿甩到了地上，她可能就不会死了。”
“但愿我们别遇到这类事。”猎人感触地说，“直到现在，我觉得我们的旅行还是挺安全的，而且我也看不出有什么问题可以阻碍我们到达目的地。”
“亲爱的肯尼迪，我也看不出来。再说，意外都是因为气球操作不谨慎或气球装置质量差造成的。不过，人类已进行过好几千次气球飞行了，造成死亡事故的还不到20次。一般说来，气球着陆和离地时最危险，因此，在这种时候，我们不应有任何疏忽。”
“哦，该吃午饭了。”乔说，“在肯尼迪还没办法弄到大块野味肉款待我们前，我们吃罐头肉，喝咖啡也凑合。”
收听单词发音 |
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narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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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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intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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undoubtedly
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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impelled
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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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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pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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geographers
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| 地理学家( geographer的名词复数 ) | |
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recitals
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| n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 )；独奏会；小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等；一系列事件等的详述 | |
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interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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rectifying
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| 改正，矫正( rectify的现在分词 )； 精馏； 蒸流； 整流 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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appendage
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| n.附加物 | |
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appendages
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| n.附属物( appendage的名词复数 )；依附的人；附属器官；附属肢体（如臂、腿、尾等） | |
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consign
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| vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托 | |
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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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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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fatten
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| v.使肥，变肥 | |
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oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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monsoon
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| n.季雨，季风，大雨 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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acquitting
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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junctures
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| n.时刻，关键时刻( juncture的名词复数 )；接合点 | |
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