Two years already! and for two years the colonists had had no communication with their fellow-creatures! They were without news from the civilized world, lost on this island, as completely as if they had been on the most minute star of the celestial hemisphere!
What was now happening in their country? The picture of their native land was always before their eyes, the land torn by civil war at the time they left it, and which the Southern rebellion was perhaps still staining with blood! It was a great sorrow to them, and they often talked together of these things, without ever doubting however that the cause of the North must triumph, for the honor of the American Confederation.
During these two years not a vessel had passed in sight of the island; or, at least, not a sail had been seen. It was evident that Lincoln Island was out of the usual track, and also that it was unknown,--as was besides proved by the maps,--for though there was no port, vessels might have visited it for the purpose of renewing their store of water. But the surrounding ocean was deserted as far as the eye could reach, and the colonists must rely on themselves for regaining their native land.
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然而,还有一个得救的机会,在四月的第一周内,移民们有一天在“花岗石宫”的餐厅里讨论起这个机会来了。
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However, one chance of rescue existed, and this chance was discussed one day on the first week of April, when the colonists were gathered together in the dining-room of Granite House.
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他们最初谈到美国,谈到故乡;要想再看到故乡,希望实在是太小了。
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They had been talking of America, of their native country, which they had so little hope of ever seeing again.
"Decidedly we have only one way, said Spilett, "one single way for leaving Lincoln Island, and that is, to build a vessel large enough to sail several hundred miles. It appears to me, that when one has built a boat it is just as easy to build a ship!"
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“有了大船,”赫伯特补充道,“我们就可以象到达抱岛去一样,毫不困难地到帕摩图群岛去了。”
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"And in which we might go to the Pomoutous," added Herbert, "just as easily as we went to Tabor Island."
"I do not say no," replied Pencroft, who had always the casting vote in maritime questions; "I do not say no, although it is not exactly the same thing to make a long as a short voyage! If our little craft had been caught in any heavy gale of wind during the voyage to Tabor Island, we should have known that land was at no great distance either way; but twelve hundred miles is a pretty long way, and the nearest land is at least that distance!"
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“在这种情况下,你不打算冒险吗,潘克洛夫?”通讯记者问道。
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"Would you not, in that case, Pencroft, attempt the adventure?" asked the reporter.
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“只要你们愿意,我什么风险都敢尝试,史佩莱先生,”水手答道,“你们知道,我是天不怕地不怕的!”
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"I will attempt anything that is desired, Mr. Spilett," answered the sailor, "and you know well that I am not a man to flinch!"
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“并且,你们不要忘了,现在我们之中又多了一个水手呢。”纳布说。
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"Remember, besides, that we number another sailor amongst us now," remarked Neb.
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“谁?”潘克洛夫问道。
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"Who is that?" asked Pencroft.
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“艾尔通。”
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"Ayrton."
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“不错。”赫伯特说。
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"If he will consent to come," said Pencroft.
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“那要看他肯不肯和我们一起走了,”潘克洛夫说。
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"Nonsense!" returned the reporter; "do you think that if Lord Glenarvan’s yacht had appeared at Tabor Island, while he was still living there, Ayrton would have refused to depart?"
"You forget, my friends," then said Cyrus Harding, "that Ayrton was not in possession of his reason during the last years of his stay there. But that is not the question. The point is to know if we may count among our chances of being rescued, the return of the Scotch vessel. Now, Lord Glenarvan promised Ayrton that he would return to take him off from Tabor Island when he considered that his crimes were expiated, and I believe that he will return."
"Yes," said the reporter, "and I will add that he will return soon, for it is twelve years since Ayrton was abandoned."
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“对,”通讯记者说,“我还要补充一句,他很快就会来的,因为艾尔通被放在荒岛上已经十二年了!”
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"Well!" answered Pencroft, "I agree with you that the nobleman will return, and soon too. But where will he touch? At Tabor Island, and not at Lincoln Island."
"That is the more certain," replied Herbert, "as Lincoln Island is not even marked on the map."
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“这更可以肯定了,”赫伯特说,“地图上根本就没有林肯岛。”
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"Therefore, my friends," said the engineer, "we ought to take the necessary precautions for making our presence and that of Ayrton on Lincoln Island known at Tabor Island."
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“因此,朋友们,”工程师说,“我们必须在达抱岛上做一些准备,使人们知道艾尔通和我们在林肯岛上。”
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"Certainly," answered the reporter, "and nothing is easier than to place in the hut, which was Captain Grant’s and Ayrton’s dwelling, a notice which Lord Glenarvan and his crew cannot help finding, giving the position of our island."
"It is a pity," remarked the sailor, "that we forgot to take that precaution on our first visit to Tabor Island."
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“真可惜,”水手说,“我们第一次到达抱岛去的时候,竟没有想到这样做。”
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"And why should we have done it?" asked Herbert. "At that time we did not know Ayrton’s history; we did not know that any one was likely to come some day to fetch him, and when we did know his history, the season was too advanced to allow us to return then to Tabor Island."
"That is not probable," replied the engineer, "for Lord Glenarvan would not choose the winter season to venture into these seas. Either he has already returned to Tabor Island, since Ayrton has been with us, that is to say, during the last five months and has left again; or he will not come till later, and it will be time enough in the first fine October days to go to Tabor Island, and leave a notice there."
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“假如邓肯号恰好在几个月以前刚到这儿来过,”纳布说,“那就太可惜了!”
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"We must allow," said Neb, "that it will be very unfortunate if the ’Duncan’ has returned to these parts only a few months ago!"
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“但愿实不是那样,”赛勒斯·史密斯说,“但愿上天不剥夺我们仅仅剩下的这机会。”
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"I hope that it is not so," replied Cyrus Harding, "and that Heaven has not deprived us of the best chance which remains to us."
"I think," observed the reporter, "that at any rate we shall know what we have to depend on when we have been to Tabor Island, for if the yacht has returned there, they will necessarily have left some traces of their visit."
"That is evident," answered the engineer. "So then, my friends, since we have this chance of returning to our country, we must wait patiently, and if it is taken from us we shall see what will be best to do."
"At any rate," remarked Pencroft, "it is well understood that if we do leave Lincoln Island, it will not be because we were uncomfortable there!"
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“不错,潘克洛夫,”工程师说,“而是因为我们不愿远离世界上最亲切的东西:家庭、朋友和故乡!”
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"No, Pencroft," replied the engineer, "it will be because we are far from all that a man holds dearest in the world, his family, his friends, his native land!"
Matters being thus decided, the building of a vessel large enough to sail either to the Archipelagoes in the north, or to New Zealand in the west, was no longer talked of, and they busied themselves in their accustomed occupations, with a view to wintering a third time in Granite House.
However, it was agreed that before the stormy weather came on, their little vessel should be employed in making a voyage round the island. A complete survey of the coast had not yet been made, and the colonists had but an imperfect idea of the shore to the west and north, from the mouth of Falls River to the Mandible Capes, as well as of the narrow bay between them, which opened like a shark’s jaws.
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航海的计划是潘克洛夫提出来的,赛勒斯·史密斯完全同意,因为他自己也想看看他的这部分领地。
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The plan of this excursion was proposed by Pencroft, and Cyrus Harding fully acquiesced in it, for he himself wished to see this part of his domain.
The weather was variable, but the barometer did not fluctuate by sudden movements, and they could therefore count on tolerable weather. However, during the first week of April, after a sudden barometrical fall, a renewed rise was marked by a heavy gale of wind, lasting five or six days; then the needle of the instrument remained stationary at a height of twenty-nine inches and nine-tenths, and the weather appeared propitious for an excursion.
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他们决定4月14日动身,乘风破浪号停在气球港,装足了粮食,准备作一次时间相当长的航行。
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The departure was fixed for the 16th of April, and the "Bonadventure," anchored in Port Balloon, was provisioned for a voyage which might be of some duration.
Cyrus Harding informed Ayrton of the projected expedition, and proposed that he should take part in it, but Ayrton preferring to remain on shore, it was decided that he should come to Granite House during the absence of his companions. Master Jup was ordered to keep him company, and made no remonstrance.
On the morning of the 16th of April all the colonists, including Top, embarked. A fine breeze blew from the south-west, and the "Bonadventure" tacked on leaving Port Balloon so as to reach Reptile End. Of the ninety miles which the perimeter of the island measured, twenty included the south coast between the port and the promontory. The wind being right ahead it was necessary to hug the shore.
It took the whole day to reach the promontory, for the vessel on leaving port had only two hours of ebb tide and had therefore to make way for six hours against the flood. It was nightfall before the promontory was doubled.
About noon the "Bonadventure" arrived at the mouth of Falls River. Beyond, on the left bank, a few scattered trees appeared, and three miles further even these dwindled into solitary groups among the western spurs of the mountain, whose arid ridge sloped down to the shore.
What a contrast between the northern and southern part of the coast! In proportion as one was woody and fertile so was the other rugged and barren! It might have been designated as one of those iron coasts, as they are called in some countries, and its wild confusion appeared to indicate that a sudden crystallization had been produced in the yet liquid basalt of some distant geological sea. These stupendous masses would have terrified the settlers if they had been cast at first on this part of the island! They had not been able to perceive the sinister aspect of this shore from the summit of Mount Franklin, for they overlooked it from too great a height, but viewed from the sea it presented a wild appearance which could not perhaps be equaled in any corner of the globe.