Jules Verne

"Mysterious Island"

March 1865 In the United States during the Civil War, five brave northerners escape from Richmond, which was captured by the southerners, in a hot air balloon. A terrible storm throws four of them ashore on an uninhabited island in the Southern Hemisphere. The fifth man and his dog are hiding in the sea near the shore. This fifth - a certain Cyrus Smith, a talented engineer and scientist, the soul and leader of a group of travelers - for several days involuntarily keeps his companions in suspense, who can nowhere find either him or his loyal dog Top. The one who suffers the most is the former slave, and now Smith’s devoted servant, the Negro Neb. In the balloon were also a war journalist and Smith’s friend, Gideon Spilett, a very energetic and decisive man with a vigorous mind; sailor Pencroft, a good-natured and enterprising daredevil; fifteen-year-old Harbert Brown, the son of the captain of the ship on which Pencroff sailed, who was left an orphan, and whom the sailor treats as his own son. After a tedious search, Neb finally finds his inexplicably saved master a mile from the shore. Each of the island's new settlers has irreplaceable talents, and under the leadership of Cyrus and Spilett, these brave people rally and become a single team. First, using the simplest means at hand, then producing more and more complex objects of labor and household items in their own small factories, the settlers arrange their lives. They hunt, collect edible plants, oysters, then even breed domestic animals and engage in farming. They make their home high in the rock, in a cave freed from water. Soon, thanks to their hard work and intelligence, the colonists no longer needed food, clothing, or warmth and comfort. They have everything except news about their homeland, about the fate of which they are very worried.

One day, returning to their home, which they called the Granite Palace, they see that monkeys are in charge inside. After a while, as if under the influence of insane fear, the monkeys begin to jump out of the windows, and someone’s hand throws out to the travelers the rope ladder that the monkeys lifted into the house. Inside, people find another monkey - an orangutan, which they keep and call Uncle Jupe. In the future, Yup becomes a friend, servant and indispensable assistant to people.

Another day, the settlers find a box on the sand with tools, firearms, various instruments, clothes, kitchen utensils and books on English language. The settlers wonder where this box could have come from. Using the map, also found in the box, they discover that next to their island, not marked on the map, is the island of Tabor. The sailor Pencroft is eager to go to him. With the help of his friends, he builds a bot. When the bot is ready, everyone takes it on a test voyage around the island. During it, they find a bottle with a note saying that a shipwrecked man is waiting for rescue on Tabor Island. This event strengthens Pencroft's confidence in the need to visit the neighboring island. Pencroft, journalist Gideon Spilett and Herbert set sail. Arriving at Tabor, they discover a small shack where, by all indications, no one has lived for a long time. They scatter around the island, not hoping to see a living person, and try to find at least his remains. Suddenly they hear Harbert scream and rush to his aid. They see that Harbert is fighting with a certain hairy creature that looks like a monkey. However, the monkey turns out to be a feral man. The travelers tie him up and transport him to their island. They give him a separate room in the Granite Palace. Thanks to their attention and care, the savage soon becomes a civilized man again and tells them his story. It turns out that his name is Ayrton, he is a former criminal, he wanted to take possession of the sailing ship "Duncan" and, with the help of the same dregs of society as he was, turn it into a pirate ship. However, his plans were not destined to come true, and as punishment twelve years ago he was left behind. desert island Tabor, so that he realizes his act and atones for his sin. However, the owner of Duncan, Edward Glenarvan, said that someday he would return for Ayrton. The settlers see that Ayrton sincerely repents of his past sins, and he tries to be useful to them in every possible way. Therefore, they are not inclined to judge him for past misdeeds and willingly accept him into their society. However, Ayrton needs time, and so he asks to be given the opportunity to live in the corral that the settlers built for their domesticated animals at some distance from the Granite Palace.

When the boat was returning from Tabor Island at night during a storm, it was saved by a fire that, as those sailing on it thought, had been lit by their friends. However, it turns out that they were not involved in this. It also turns out that Ayrton did not throw the bottle with the note into the sea. The settlers cannot explain these mysterious events. They are increasingly inclined to think that besides them, there is someone else living on Lincoln Island, as they have dubbed it, their mysterious benefactor, who often comes to their aid in the most difficult situations. They even undertake a search expedition in the hope of discovering his whereabouts. However, the search ends in vain.

The next summer (for five months had already passed since Ayrton appeared on their island until he told them his story and summer was over, and sailing in the cold season is dangerous) they decide to get to Tabor Island to leave a note in the hut. In the note they intend to warn Captain Glenarvan if he returns that Ayrton and five other castaways are waiting for help on a nearby island.

The settlers have been living on their island for three years. Their life, their economy achieved prosperity. They are already harvesting rich harvests of wheat grown from a single grain discovered in Herbert’s pocket three years ago, have built a mill, and are raising poultry, completely furnished their home, made themselves new warm clothes and blankets from mouflon wool. However, their peaceful life is overshadowed by one incident that threatens them with death. One day, looking at the sea, they see a well-equipped ship in the distance, but a black flag flies above the ship. The ship anchors off the shore. It shows beautiful long-range guns. Ayrton sneaks onto the ship under cover of darkness to conduct reconnaissance. It turns out that there are fifty pirates on the ship. Miraculously escaping them, Ayrton returns to shore and tells his friends that they need to prepare for battle. The next morning two boats descend from the ship. On the first, the settlers shoot three, and she returns back, but the second lands on the shore, and the six pirates remaining on her hide in the forest. Cannons are fired from the ship, and it approaches even closer to the shore. It seems that nothing can save the handful of settlers. Suddenly a huge wave rises under the ship and it sinks. All pirates on it die. As it turns out later, the ship was blown up by a mine, and this event finally convinces the inhabitants of the island that they are not alone here.

At first they are not going to exterminate the pirates, wanting to give them the opportunity to lead a peaceful life. But it turns out that the robbers are not capable of this. They begin to loot and burn the settlers' farms. Ayrton goes to the corral to check on the animals. The pirates grab him and take him to a cave, where they torture him to get him to agree to come over to their side. Ayrton doesn't give up. His friends go to his aid, but in the corral Harbert is seriously wounded, and his friends remain in it, unable to move back with the young man who is dying. A few days later they still go to the Granite Palace. As a result of the transition, Harbert develops a malignant fever and is near death. IN Once again Providence intervenes in their lives and the hand of their kind, mysterious friend gives them the necessary medicine. Harbert makes a full recovery. The settlers intend to deal the final blow to the pirates. They go to the corral, where they expect to find them, but they find Ayrton exhausted and barely alive, and nearby the corpses of robbers. Ayrton reports that he does not know how he ended up in the corral, who carried him from the cave and killed the pirates. However, he reports one sad news. A week ago, the bandits went to sea, but, not knowing how to control the boat, they crashed it on the coastal reefs. The trip to Tabor has to be postponed until a new means of transportation is built. Over the next seven months, the mysterious stranger does not make himself known. Meanwhile, a volcano awakens on the island, which the colonists thought was already dead. They are building a new large ship that, if necessary, could take them to the inhabited earth.

One evening, as they are preparing to go to bed, the inhabitants of the Granite Palace hear a bell. The telegraph they ran from the corral to their home works. They are urgently called to the corral. There they find a note asking them to follow the additional wire. The cable leads them to a huge grotto, where, to their amazement, they see submarine. In it they meet its owner and their patron, Captain Nemo, the Indian prince Dakkar, who fought all his life for the independence of his homeland. He, already a sixty-year-old man who buried all his comrades, is dying. Nemo gives his new friends a chest of jewelry and warns that if a volcano erupts, the island (this is its structure) will explode. He dies, the settlers batten down the hatches of the boat and lower it under the water, and they tirelessly build a new ship all day long. However, they do not have time to finish it. All living things die when the island explodes, leaving only a small reef in the ocean. Settlers who spent the night in a tent on the shore are thrown into the sea by an air wave. All of them, with the exception of Jupe, remain alive. For more than ten days they sit on the reef, almost dying of hunger and no longer hoping for anything. Suddenly they see a ship. This is Duncan. He saves everyone. As it later turns out, Captain Nemo, when the boat was still safe, sailed on it to Tabor and left a note for the rescuers.

Returning to America, with the jewelry donated by Captain Nemo, the friends buy a large plot of land and live on it the same way they lived on Lincoln Island.

In the spring of 1865, during the American Civil War, southerners captured Richmond. Five guys fly away from the city in a hot air balloon, but a storm throws them off their path, and they find themselves in the Southern Hemisphere on a desert island. The fifth daredevil, Cyrus Smith, who led this journey, failed to get ashore. His dog Top also disappeared. For several days, travelers continue their search: the servant of the missing Neb, the journalist Gideon Spilett, the sailor Pencroft and his 15-year-old ward Harbert Brown. And suddenly Smith is found a mile from the shore. The settlers are trying to settle down in a new place, equipping their home at a height in a cave, and begin to engage in animal husbandry and agriculture. One day, monkeys climbed into their home, and after the owners arrived, everyone fled, except for one orangutan, whom people nicknamed Yupa and allowed to live with them.

The settlers discovered a box on the island with valuables: tools, weapons, books, clothes and kitchen utensils. There they find a map on which they see the nearby island of Tabor. The settlers build a boat and make a test voyage, during which they catch a bottle in the sea with a note from a shipwrecked man from a neighboring land. Herbert, Pencroft and Spilett sail to Tabor, but find no one in the discovered hut. During the search, a 15-year-old boy is attacked by a feral man, whom they tie up and decide to transport to their island in the evening. Upon returning back, people are caught in a storm, and only thanks to the blazing fire do they find their way home. But on the island it turns out that it was not their friends who started the fire. The savage turns out to be the criminal Ayrton, who 12 years ago wanted to capture the sailing ship Duncan and become a pirate, and for this he was landed on a desert island, promising to return for him someday. He also insisted that he did not write any rescue note. The settlers take pity on Ayrton and accept him into their collective. But the savage asks to live for some time away from them in a building they built for animals.

Friends begin to suspect that someone else lives on the island and is secretly helping them. They search, but find nothing. Over the three years they lived on the island, the friends made their stay comfortable: they increased wheat yields, built a mill, and learned how to make clothes. One day a pirate ship sailed to their island, the settlers desperately defended themselves, but the forces were unequal. Suddenly the ship hit a mine and sank. The surviving pirates do not want peaceful cohabitation, they constantly harm their economy and capture Ayrton. During his release, Harbert is seriously wounded, causing the young man to develop a fatal fever. But his life is saved by a medicine that came from nowhere. The next time they try to rescue Ayrton, the settlers discover a barely alive friend who does not remember how all the pirates were killed.

A few months later, a volcano wakes up on the island, and the friends begin to build a ship to save them. After the meeting with the pirates, a means of communication with the home was installed in the ship. One day they heard a signal, and when they arrived at the place, they found a note and a cable that led them to a grotto with a submarine. Inside it, they meet their secret patron, 60-year-old Captain Nemo, who gave them jewelry before his death. The friends do not have time to complete their ship when the volcano explodes. They were able to escape on a small reef, where they were discovered by the captain of the Duncan, who sailed for Ayrton.

Essays

Late Novels of Jules Verne What Nautilus can do and what it has Captain Nemo's Nautilus is not only a literary phenomenon

What makes any book interesting is not only the exciting plot. A recipe for good literary work is unthinkable without a bright character, such that readers believe in the reality of his existence. The artistic “dishes” “Two Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and “The Mysterious Island” were a success: the writer combined noble origin, the sharp mind of an inventor, resentment and thirst for revenge, seasoned everything with a flair of mystery and revealed to the world a captain with the symbolic name Nemo.

History of creation

Before starting work on the first work, the main character of which was Captain Nemo, Jules Verne studied underwater vehicles - both operating and those appearing in the literary heritage.

Of course, the biblical Noah's Ark first attracted close attention. Interesting option The underwater ship was presented back in 1627 by the philosopher in “New Atlantis.” The author then moved on to actual inventions. Humanity has long used an underwater bell that dives to shallow depths. And at the end of the 18th century, inventor Robert Fulton presented citizens with a project for the Nautilus submarine, which managed to travel half a kilometer under water.

The writer borrowed engineering developments. But the ship, which allows us to reveal the secrets of the depths of the sea, had to find an equally outstanding owner.

Captain Nemo, in the author's original idea, was a Polish revolutionary hiding in the vast expanses of the ocean - the idea was inspired by the recent Polish uprising. However, publisher Jules Etzel, Verne's friend, considered the idea not entirely successful, because France in the mid-1860s was trying to improve relations with Russia. Such a plot would lead to the book being banned, he believed.

As a result, the hero turned into a Hindu named Nana Sahib, Prince of Dakkar, who became the leader of the rebellion against British enslavement. England won, the conquerors captured and killed Sahib's family, and the prince himself disappeared without a trace. Jules Verne allowed himself to fantasize about where the rebel of Indian nationality was hiding. The depths of the sea are a better place on Earth for these purposes.

Readers met the mysterious Captain Nemo in 1869 in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, where the character remains incognito until the very end of the book. And only in the work “The Mysterious Island,” published in 1874, the veil of secrecy is completely lifted.

Image

The author put bright qualities into the characterization of the hero. The Indian prince received an excellent education in Europe and speaks several languages. Plus, he has a scattering of innate talents: an understanding of art (masterpieces of literature, original paintings and sculptures are stored on the ship, works of great composers are played, and the hero himself plays music well), abilities in engineering and design. Captain Nemo independently created the first submarine that can long time surf the expanses of the sea depths.

Disillusioned with life on land, having lost his homeland and even his name (Nemo means “nobody” in Latin), the man of his own free will becomes a hermit. He is confident that the ocean can give real freedom. At the same time, Nemo managed to maintain an interest in life. Cruelty in him is adjacent to the breadth of soul and compassion - the former prince helps people and saves those who were almost destroyed by the sea. Jules Verne created an incredibly romantic image, mixing mystery, conflict with society, spiritual loneliness and love for the powerful elements in the hero.

The age of the captain is a separate issue. The author of the novels created real confusion about this matter. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nemo did not cross the half-century threshold. And in the next work, which tells about the events on the eve of 1869, the navigator already says goodbye to life as an “ancient old man,” while in the same book readers can easily calculate the character’s date of birth - 1819. However, there is also an inconsistency here: Jules Verne describes the events of the hero’s life that spanned no less than 100 years.

Captain Nemo in books and films

The plot of the first novel starring Captain Nemo takes place in 1866. The ship "Nautilus", built on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, appears from time to time on the surface of the seas, frightening sailors. Researchers are at a loss as to what this is. the new kind life. A mysterious animal becomes an object of hunting. It is with the goal of catching an unknown creature that the ship Abraham Lincoln sets sail.

The scientist Pierre Aronnax with his servant and the whaler Ned Land got on board. After the crash of the Abraham Lincoln, these three are captured by Captain Nemo. The 20,000-league voyage around the world is filled with exciting adventures. In the end, the captives barely manage to escape from the submarine. The writer does not disclose full information about Nemo's personality, the whole picture appears only at the end of the second book.

In The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne took on the popular Robinson theme by sending fugitive heroes from a besieged American city to an uninhabited piece of land in the Southern Hemisphere during the Civil War. They managed to escape using a balloon, but the aircraft crashed.

The Americans settled well in their new place of residence, even learning to grow wheat and sew warm clothes. But throughout their entire stay on the island, they have the feeling that someone else lives here. This someone helps the fugitives - then suddenly a toolbox appears out of nowhere, then out of the blue a pirate ship is blown up.

By the end of the novel, the inhabitants of the island meet a frail, dying old man who told the secrets of his life and gave them a chest of jewelry. The patron of the island was buried in the Nautilus - the ship ran aground and remained forever in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Verne's novels about a rebel in voluntary exile have undergone a number of film adaptations, both in the form of full-length films and TV series:

• "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1916)
• "Mysterious Island" (1941)
• "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1954)
• "Mysterious Island" (1961)
• "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City" (1969)
• “The Mysterious Island” (1973) (the film was released in Russian distribution only in 1976 under the title “The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo”)
• "Captain Nemo" (1975)
• "Mysterious Island" (1995)
• "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1997)
• "Mysterious Island" (2005)
• "Nautilus: Master of the Ocean" (2007)

Some films are only partially in touch with the book original. For example, the actions in the 2007 film work are moved to the present day.

The image of the legendary character was tried on by different actors. Allen Holubar was the first to reincarnate as Nemo. On the threshold of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet director Eduard Penzlin turned to the motifs of the French adventure novel, filming “The Mysterious Island,” where Nikolai Komissarov played the role of the captain of the Nautilus. The next time the Russians returned to the image of Nemo in 1975 - in a three-part film the viewer saw the actor.

James Mason, Herbert Loma and... succeeded in conveying the character of the cruel but fair Indian. He saved heroes in trouble, Nemo in the person of Robert Ryan, and other stars of the world's screens.

In addition, the name of the mysterious submarine captain is used in an allegorical sense. Thus, at the end of 2017, Russian hockey fans are promised to present a documentary film “Captain Nemo”, dedicated to the birthday of the man who died in a car accident in 2011. The picture opens unknown facts life of a champion, member of the Lokomotiv team.

• Jules Verne had a thirst for adventure since childhood. At the age of 11 he ran away from home to go to India. The plan was close to being realized - the boy was accepted onto the schooner Coralie as a cabin boy. True, the adults realized it in time and brought the romantic back home. Verne later regretted becoming a writer rather than a sailor.

• The novel “The Mysterious Island” contains many recipes for young chemists. The colonists who crashed the aircraft receive sulfuric acid from pyrites, soda from algae, nitric acid and nitroglycerin from saltpeter. Using the last extracted substance, they blow up the rock. Naturally, young readers immediately tried to repeat the experiments, but nothing explosive came out of them. The fact is that Jules Verne, when describing recipes, consulted with chemists. As a result, they came up with a “safe technology” for creating the substances the islanders needed.

• The 1975 Soviet film glorified Vasily Levin (still considered best job director) and decorated the Russian collection of adventure films. It is filled with mesmerizing shots of the underwater world. Music and lyrics were written by

  “Oh, how happy is he who can live and die in his own country!”

  “I have always done good where I could, but did not retreat from evil where my opponents deserved it. Forgiving offenses to enemies does not mean being fair at all.”

  “You can go against human laws, but you cannot resist the laws of nature.”

  “Look at the ocean, isn’t it a living thing? Sometimes angry, sometimes tender! At night he slept, just like us, and now he wakes up in a good mood after a restful sleep!

  "Genius has no age."

Captain Nemo in books

Nemo - originally conceived as a Polish revolutionary, but later turned into the Bundelkhand prince of Dakkar, who led the Indian sepoy uprising against the British invaders who enslaved him in the 50s of the 19th century home country. The uprising ended in the defeat of the sepoys, India again found itself under British rule, and a huge price was placed on the head of the crown prince and leader of the rebels. According to some reports, Dakkar’s wife and two children were taken hostage and killed in captivity, and he himself was forced to go into hiding. Thanks to the brilliant, versatile education Dakkar received in Europe and his numerous talents, he was able to build the world's first operational submarine ship, together with a handful of people loyal to him, on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, from where he began his voyage.

Since then, the first person who stepped into the depths of the ocean lost, in his own words, his faith, his homeland, and his name - and began to be called Captain Nobody (Nemo). He claimed that he was forever dead for the earth and all people, thus declaring a protest to the whole world. Fundamentally not using substances of terrestrial origin for any needs of his life and trying not to go onto land, Nemo was unable to find peace of mind in the ocean. In love with the sea, Nemo believed that only there a person could be saved from the injustices of society and live a truly free life.

Nemo is described as a strong-willed person, tough and sometimes even cruel (in front of the eyes of Professor Aronnax and his companions who were caught on the Nautilus, Nemo sinks an English - in the original plan a Russian - military frigate), but he is also characterized by a breadth of soul and indifference to the fate of the world : declaring his detached position, Nemo still helps freedom fighters in Crete, saving a pearl diver, risking his life.

Nemo is a man of mystery. He combines pride, determination, iron will, detachment - and mercy, the ability to vigorously express feelings, and a keen interest in everything.

A few years after meeting Professor Aronnax, Captain Nemo is left alone, all the members of his crew die, and he is forced to find refuge in an underground lake of a volcanic island east of Australia, where for some time he helps travelers who suddenly find themselves on the island (“The Mysterious Island”). . To them he reveals the secret of his life and soon dies. Summing up his life, Captain Nemo says:

Despite the plot completeness of Jules Verne's novels, the complex personality and fate of Captain Nemo cannot be fully described, which is why his image is often used by many to this day.

Captain Nemo is a talented engineer, designer, ocean explorer, but he also understands art. His “Nautilus” contains real masterpieces of literature, poetry, original paintings and sculptures of great masters. Nemo reads many languages ​​of the world and is fluent in at least French, English, German and Latin. He is a connoisseur of music, has a harmonium and scores of great composers on board the Nautilus, performs them and plays music himself.

Chronology of novels and age of the captain

The image of Captain Nemo, or rather his mysteriously rapid aging, clearly emphasizes the chronological confusion in Jules Verne's trilogy. So the action of the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” ends in 1868, when the Captain is a man in the prime of his strength and health, no older than 50 years old, and by the standards of that time - even less. But in the novel “The Mysterious Island” already on the eve of 1869, Nemo appears as an ancient dying old man, he is almost 70 years old.

In chapters 15–17 of the third part of the novel “The Mysterious Island,” Jules Verne indirectly gives the exact date the captain's death on October 16, 1868, and in Chapter 16 he sets out the story of the Prince of Dakkar, indicating that he returned to India in 1849 at the age of 30. This implies the captain's date of birth - around 1819, and therefore at the time of his death in 1868, Captain Nemo should have been about 49 years old. But according to the facts presented in this same chapter, the captain is much older than this age and must be at least “the same age as the century,” or even born at the end of the 18th century. Perhaps the only attempt by Verne himself to ease the contradictions was the phrase he put into the mouth of Professor Aronnax at the time of his first meeting with the captain:

Comparison of the chronology of the novels “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “The Mysterious Island” also leads to contradictions. If in the same chapter of the 16th novel “The Mysterious Island” it is stated that Prince Dakkar took an active part in the sepoy uprising that began in 1857, then in the chapter of the first part of the first novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” the year 1857 is named as the probable first meeting of the ship "Castillan" with the "Nautilus". Moreover, in Chapter 11 it is stated that the Nautilus was built no earlier than 1865. The first meeting of the Nautilus with the ship Moravia, firmly confirmed by Jules Verne, is dated March 5, 1867; in the novel The Mysterious Island, the chronological framework of the presence of Pierre Aronnax and his companions on board the submarine is clearly defined - from November 6, 1866 to June 22, 1867 of the year . However, they do not coincide with the dates of Aronnax’s journey in the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” which indicates the period between November 6, 1867 and June 17–22, 1868. In any case, Captain Nemo during this period could not help the inhabitants of the island, since he was far from these places. Moreover, he could not save Cyrus Smith on March 24, 1865, since the newly built Nautilus had not yet become a prisoner of the island cave, but was just beginning its journey across the seas and oceans.

It is unclear how Aronnax’s story became known to the islanders, because the professor, who had fled from Captain Nemo, had to not only return to Paris in four to 16 months, but also write and publish a book, which was then supposed to go on sale and spread throughout the world. And the only means of delivering the book to Cyrus Smith and his comrades was a ship captured by pirates, which approached the island on October 17, 1867, when, according to one version, Aronnax had not yet reached the Nautilus, and according to the second, he had been at large for a little more than three months. Nevertheless, on the night of October 15-16, 1868, having entered the island cave, Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett, independently of each other, immediately recognized the “Nautilus” and Smith whispered the name of the captain, which “obviously was familiar to the journalist, because it impressed him deep impression."

During the same period - three months and 24 days, if the date of June 22, 1868, indicated in the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” is accurate, Captain Nemo should have lost his entire crew and grew old on Lincoln Island. At the same time, Captain Nemo himself claims in his dying conversation that he has been living in the depths of the sea for thirty years (that is, since 1838) and has no connection with the outside world, and has been on the island for six years (that is, since 1862). In the same conversation, contradicting himself, the captain convinces the islanders that Professor Aronnax came to his ship 16 years ago, that is, in 1852 (and not in 1866, as Nemo himself later told them), five years before the uprising sepoys, which prompted him to break with the world of people. It would be reasonable if this period would refer the reader to 1882, as the year of the captain's death, which would remove some of the time paradoxes of Captain Nemo, but in this case Cyrus Smith and his companions would have spent 17 years on Lincoln Island and would have turned into elderly people, and the teenager Herbert would have been about thirty years old.

The image of Nemo in films

The interpretation of the image of Captain Nemo in films varies very widely.

In some films, the image of the Captain is almost similar to the literary one - he is a strong, strong-willed, cruel to his enemies, but not devoid of compassion for people, a real scientist, passionate about his work, explorer of the depths of the sea. He cannot be unambiguously defined as an unconditionally positive or negative hero.

In the Soviet film “Captain Nemo,” Nemo is shown with obvious sympathy and sympathy; his personal fate and struggle with the English colonialists, which fits perfectly into the Soviet interpretation of the national liberation struggle and the assessment of its heroes, justify in the eyes of the audience both the harsh character of the captain and his evil , which he is forced to bring to people. In accordance with this interpretation, the film is supplemented with episodes of the captain’s “extra-ship” life, the transmission of messages to Aronnax’s wife that the professor is alive, and the ending of the story is significantly corrected: the captain is aware of the escape plans and follows the actions of Aronnax, Land and Conseil to the end, but deliberately allows their flight, that is, in fact, voluntarily releases the captives to freedom. Moreover, through a metal box abandoned on the shore, he gives a letter and their belongings to the escapees. The film does not explicitly show that the captain helped the fugitives escape when their boat was broken in a whirlpool, but such a conclusion suggests itself from the circumstances of the rescue.

However, in some films, Nemo is shown as a criminal, an egoist seeking power, or even as a madman.

Film adaptations

• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - USA,
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (film, 1954) - USA, 1954.
• Stolen airship - Czechoslovakia,
• Captain Nemo and the Underwater City - UK,
• Mysterious island - Spain - Italy - France,
• Mysterious Island - Canada-New Zealand,
• Mysterious Island - USA,

In the works of other authors

There is a series of novels “The Children of Captain Nemo” by V. Holdbein, which tells about the son of Captain Nemo, Mike.

In music

• The song “Captain Nemo” by composer Y. Dubravin, lyrics by V. Suslov.
• Mentioned in the song Nemo by Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish.
• "Captain Nemo" is a song by the St. Petersburg band Chimera.
• "Captain Nemo" is a song by American singer Sarah Brightman.
• “Captain Nemo” is a song by the Russian VIA “Bombay Espagnols”, written to the verses of Nikolai Stolitsyn.
• Ace of Base.
• "Captain Nemo" - song by Dschinghis Khan ( album "Helden, Schurken Und Der Dudelmoser").
• Mentioned in the song of the group "Zimovye Zverey" "The Myth of Loneliness".

Links

• Sergey MAKEEV In search of Captain Nemo // Top Secret.
• How Jules Verne created the image of Captain Nemo // Ekaterinburg News. 25 March 2005.

Categories:

• Jules Verne characters
• Fantasy characters
• Fictional men
• Fictional Indians
• Fictional princes
• Fictional sailors
• Fictional captains
• Fictional scientists
• Fictional inventors
• Fictional travelers
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• Characters of the Famous Captains Club

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Who was he really - the famous Captain Nobody?
In a good book, everything should be good: plot, characters, composition, style.
And yet, what makes it a masterpiece is its vibrant, credible protagonist.
“Just like alive,” readers say about this.

Literary heroes who have real prototypes are distinguished by their exceptional authenticity. When creating his hero, Jules Verne combined a mysterious past, immense wealth, a thirst for revenge and added a new component - an unprecedented technical ability to carry out his plans. And a character was born with the Latin name Nemo - Nobody.

"Captain Nemo is known throughout the world as a talented engineer, designer and ocean explorer. Few know that he was an Other. And only a few realize that he was the creator of the strongest amulet that protects the owner’s mind...

The reasons that prompted the brave captain to create this item are lost in the dust of the past years, but in order to somehow shed light on them, you can try to turn to his youth...

Nemo is the Indian prince of Dakkar, who led the uprising of Indian sepoys against the British invaders who enslaved his native country in the 50s of the 19th century. Despite the numerical superiority, the uprising ended in the defeat of the sepoys. Official sources claim that the reason for the defeat of the rebels was the military advantage of the British, by and large they are not so far from the truth, but the reason for this advantage was the incubus (according to other sources, a strong magician-sorcerer), who managed to suppress the will of the rebels...
India was once again under British rule, and a huge price was placed on the head of the crown prince and rebel leader. The prince became the first person to step into the depths of the ocean; he lost, in his own words, his faith, his homeland, and his name - and began to be called Captain Nobody (Nemo). Time passed, the depths of the sea replaced human society for him, life on the surface began to be forgotten... But the resentment towards that nameless incubus, who caused the death of his army and the expulsion of the prince-captain himself, did not go away. Years passed, but the time for revenge did not come, and quick revenge is not so terrible as delayed, deliberate, every step towards which is calculated and verified many times... And here it is, the sweet hour of reckoning, the revenge for which the captain has been waiting for so long has been accomplished. Rejoice Others, tremble Incubi! Long live the Soul Amulet! May the soporific and enchanting hordes not encroach on the minds of honest Others!" (http://byaki.clan.su/index/8-6)

A comprehensively gifted aristocrat, embodied not as the savior of his people, but as an Evil Genius - an image that is all the more dangerous because it is so aesthetically designed. This narcissistic, proud man did not bring happiness to any of his people; he doomed everyone to isolation and death - he threw them into a beautiful prison. But he got bored, and he needed to have fun - to torment the guests, dashingly showing off. A wonderful image of another tracing paper from Dennitsa in the form of a man.

Summing up his life, Captain Nemo says:
- All my life I have done good when I could and evil when necessary. Forgiving offenses to enemies does not mean being fair.
(Jules Verne. The Mysterious Island.)

If you look at it, Captain Nemo is the first full-blooded image of a terrorist in literature. Moreover, a terrorist in the most modern sense of the word - possessing advanced technologies of destruction and destruction. He pressed a button, connected contacts or simply dialed a number - and trains derailed, planes crashed, houses with peacefully sleeping people exploded... Jules Verne also understood this, he hesitated, and was tormented by doubts. Yes, he defended the “vengeful angel” to the publisher. But at the same time, his character, personifying the conscience of the scientist, Professor Aronnax, condemned Nemo’s actions and did not hide it, although he was completely in the power of the captain. Jules Verne expressed both of these irreconcilable positions, made both convincing and left the choice to us. This is the honesty of the writer, even if he is a science fiction writer a thousand times over.

There is ecstasy in battle
And the dark abyss on the edge,
And on the angry ocean,
Among the menacing waves and stormy darkness,
And in the Arabian hurricane,
And in the breath of the Plague.

Verses from the dramatic scene “A Feast in the Time of Plague”, words from a song sung at the feast by its Chairman, and the image of Captain Nemo involuntarily give rise to the same emotional condition, without the experience of which life would be very insipid food.

________________________________________ _______________________________________-

Where did Captain Nemo go?
...Everyone has seen him, but no one knows him by sight
K. Yu. Starokhamskaya

Was the mysterious Captain Nemo just a literary character created by Jules Verne?

In the novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” it is said that Captain Nemo is the Indian Prince Dakkar, who led the Indian sepoy uprising against Britain. The uprising ended in the defeat of the sepoys, and Dakkar's wife and two children were taken hostage and killed in captivity. Since then, he left society and devoted himself to revenge.

Thanks to his brilliant, versatile education and numerous talents, he was able to build the world's first operational submarine ship, together with a handful of his supporters, on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, from where he began his voyage. He abandoned his name and began to be called Captain Nobody (Nemo - lat.). Moreover, he fundamentally abandoned everything earthly and used only the gifts of the ocean for all his needs.

In the novel, Captain Nemo is quite tough, and sometimes even Cruel person: he sank an English frigate, refused to release Professor Aronnax and his companions who were captured by him. But at the same time, he saved a poor pearl diver, is interested in the science of the underwater world, and has achieved considerable success in its exploration. He has an excellent understanding of art; on board the Nautilus there is an excellent library, a collection of masterpieces of art, and sheet music with scores of great musicians.

There is another interesting side to the description of Captain Nemo's life on the Nautilus. Despite living in a submarine, Captain Nemo is in excellent shape and does not suffer from lack of appetite, excess weight, or vitamin deficiency. He eats his food, seasoning it with “a sauce made from seaweeds, the so-called porphyry and laurencia.” He drinks water, always adding to it “a few drops of fermented infusion prepared... from algae known as palmate rhodium.” Spirulina algae provides a useful addition to tea. That is, Captain Nemo actually discovered what is now called a dietary supplement. (Due to the dominance of various scammers and aggressive marketing, this phenomenon is already in our teeth, and dietary supplements are called just about anything, just to make money, but among them there are also products containing truly useful substances).

And many scientists consider this spirulina to be an alien from outer space. It is believed that 3.5 billion years ago it was she who brought indomitable biological energy to the dead planet. American astronauts received food from spirulina that was incredibly rich in complete, balanced protein and other substances important for life. The largest scientific centers have developed strains of spirulina, which has a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol levels and protects people from heart and vascular diseases. There is evidence that spirulina effectively strengthens the immune system and reduces the risk of cancer and diabetes. It also improves metabolism, cleanses the body of waste, toxins, heavy metals, and removes radionuclides. If at least some of this is scientifically confirmed, it will already be useful.

A few years after meeting Professor Aronnax, Captain Nemo was left alone, all the members of his crew died, and he found refuge in an underground lake of a volcanic island east of Australia, where for some time he helped travelers who suddenly found themselves on the island (“Mysterious Island”). To them he revealed the secret of his life and died.

Did he die?

There is some inconsistency in Jules Verne's description of the end of his life. In the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the action takes place in 1868, and Captain Nemo is in the prime of his life and health. But in the novel “The Mysterious Island” already in 1869, Nemo appears as an ancient old man and dies. Something is wrong here. And here we smoothly move on to another hero of literature and cinema...

There lived at the same time a man known as Duke Juan Nort. It is known that in 1895 he visited India, where he had an affair with a certain woman, with whom he had children. Under the name Garn, with the rank of artillery sergeant, he participated in the Boer War. Towards the end of the war he became aide-de-camp to Lord Edward Beltham of Scotwell Hill and fell in love with his youngest daughter Lady Maud Beltham. When her husband discovered their affair and wanted to shoot his wife, Garn killed him with a hammer. From then on, he embarked on a path of crime, and this horrified Lady Beltham so much that she committed suicide.

For his criminal purposes, he used amazing devices - a powerful submarine, cars that transformed into airplanes, and even missiles. He, just like Captain Nemo, lived completely secluded, having with him a team of the same silent, faithful accomplices, and just like Captain Nemo, he appeared and disappeared at the most unexpected moments...

You already guessed, of course, that it was Fantômas. The name comes from the word fantom, that is, something non-existent. It is absolutely clear that Captain Nemo - still in excellent physical shape (thanks to sea food and spirulina extracts) - was slightly damaged due to revenge on all humanity and embarked on the path of abstract evil... Maybe he overate underwater fly agarics, or maybe Perhaps he was not any Indian prince Dakkar at all, but simply told Pierre Aronnax this romantic version, imagining himself as a noble avenger?
Now no one will know this.

Fantômas (French Fantômas) is a fictional character, a brilliant criminal who hides his face, one of the most famous negative characters French literature and cinema. Fantômas was created by French writers Marcel Allen and Pierre Souvestre in 1911. Fantômas appears in 32 novels co-written by Allen and Souvestre, and in 11 novels written by Allen after his co-author's death.

The day has come. Not a single ray of sun penetrated into the deep cave. It was high tide, and the sea flooded the entrance to it. The artificial light, long sheaves of which burst out from the walls of the Nautilus, did not fade, and the water still sparkled around the underwater ship. Exhausted from fatigue, Captain Nemo fell onto the pillows. There was no need to even think about moving him to the Granite Palace, since he expressed a desire to remain among the treasures of the Nautilus, which could not be bought for millions, and there await his inevitable death.

Enough for a long time he lay completely motionless, almost unconscious. Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett carefully watched the patient. It was clear that the captain's life was gradually fading away. The strength was soon to leave his body, once so powerful, but now representing only a fragile shell of a soul ready to die. His whole life was concentrated in his head and heart.

The engineer and the journalist were talking in low voices. Did the dying person need care? Was it possible, if not to save his life, then at least to extend it by a few days? He himself said that there was no cure for his illness, and calmly awaited death, without fear of it.

“We are powerless,” said Gideon Spilett.

- But why is he dying? asked Pencroft.

“It’s fading,” the journalist answered.

- What if we move it into the free air, into the sun? Maybe he will come to life then? - suggested the sailor.

“No, Pencroff, it’s not worth trying,” answered the engineer. In addition, Captain Nemo will not agree to leave his ship. He lived for thirty years on the Nautilus and wants to die on the Nautilus.

Captain Nemo apparently heard Cyrus Smith's words.

- You're right, sir. I must and want to die here. I have one request for you.

Cyrus Smith and his companions moved closer to the sofa and adjusted the pillows so that the dying man could lie more comfortably. Captain Nemo looked around at all the treasures of this hall, illuminated by the electric light that dissipated as it passed through the patterns of the ceiling; he looked at the pictures on the walls covered with luxurious wallpaper; on masterpieces of French, Flemish, Italian, Spanish masters; on marble and bronze sculptures standing on pedestals; on the magnificent organ, pushed towards the back wall; to the display cases surrounding the pool in the center of the room, which contained the most beautiful seafood: sea plants, zoophytes, priceless pearls. Finally his eyes fell on the motto that adorned the pediment of this museum - the motto of the Nautilus:

- “Mobilis in mobili.” It seemed that he wanted to please his eyes for the last time with the sight of these masterpieces of art and nature, which he had admired for so many years in the depths of the seas.

Cyrus Smith did not break Captain Nemo's silence. He waited for the dying man to speak.

Several minutes passed. During this time, his whole life probably passed before the elder. Finally, Captain Nemo turned his head to the colonists and said:

“Do you, gentlemen, think that you owe me gratitude?”

“Captain, we would willingly sacrifice ourselves to save your life.”

“Okay,” continued Captain Nemo, “okay.” Promise me that you will fulfill my last wish, and I will be rewarded for what I have done for you.

“We promise you this,” replied Cyrus Smith. This promise obliged not only him, but also his comrades.

“Gentlemen,” continued Captain Nemo, “tomorrow I will die.”

With a movement of his hand he stopped Herbert, who began to object.

“Tomorrow I will die, and I want the Nautilus to be my grave.” This will be my coffin. All my friends lie at the bottom of the sea, and I want to lie there too.

Deep silence was the answer to these words of Captain Nemo.

“Listen to me carefully, gentlemen,” he continued. “The Nautilus is captive in this cave, the exit from which is locked. But if he cannot leave the prison, then he can plunge into the abyss and keep my remains within himself.

The colonists reverently listened to the words of the dying man.

“Tomorrow, when I die,” the captain continued, “you, Mr. Smith, and your comrades will leave the Nautilus.” All the wealth that is stored here must disappear with me. Prince Dakkar, whose story you now know, will leave you with just one gift as a keepsake. This casket contains several million diamonds - most of them preserved from the time when I was a husband and father and almost believed in the possibility of happiness - and a collection of pearls that I collected with my friends at the bottom of the seas. This treasure will help you do a good deed at the right time. In the hands of people like you and your comrades, Mr. Smith, money cannot be an instrument of evil. Weakness forced Captain Nemo to rest a little. After a few minutes he continued:

- Tomorrow you will take this casket, leave the hall and close the door. Then you will go up to the top platform of the Nautilus, close the hatch and screw on the lid.

“We will do so, captain,” replied Cyrus Smith.

- Fine. Then you will board the boat that brought you here. But before you leave the Nautilus, open the two large taps that are located on the waterline. Water will penetrate the tanks, and the Nautilus will gradually begin to sink and lie to the bottom.

Cyrus Smith made a movement with his hand, but Captain Nemo calmed him down:

- Don't be afraid, you will bury the dead man. Neither Cyrus Smith nor his comrades considered it possible to object to Captain Nemo. These were his last orders, and all that remained was to carry them out.

- Do you promise me this, gentlemen? - asked Captain Nemo.

“We promise, captain,” answered the engineer. Captain Nemo thanked the colonists with a sign and asked them to leave him alone for a few hours. Gideon Spilett offered to stay with the sick man in case a crisis came, but Captain Nemo refused.

“At least I’ll live until tomorrow, sir,” he said.

Everyone left the hall, walked through the library and the dining room and ended up at the bow, in the engine room, where the electric machines were parked. Warming and illuminating the Nautilus, they were at the same time the source of its motive power.

The Nautilus was a technological marvel that contained many other marvels. They delighted the engineer.

The colonists came out onto a platform that rose seven or eight feet above the water, and stopped near a large glass shaped like a lentil, from behind which shone a beam of light. Behind the glass was visible the cabin with the helm, in which the helmsman sat when he had to steer the Nautilus through layers of water illuminated by electricity for a considerable distance.

Cyrus Smith and his friends said nothing at first: everything they had just seen and heard made a strong impression on them, and their hearts sank in their chests at the thought that the patron who had saved them so many times, with whom they had met only a few hours ago, must die so soon.

- What a man! - said Pencroft. “To think that he lived like that, at the bottom of the ocean!” But perhaps it was just as restless there as on earth.

“Perhaps the Nautilus could help us leave Lincoln Island and get to inhabited land,” said Ayrton.

- Thousand devils! - exclaimed Pencroff. “As for me, I would never dare to lead such a ship!” On the surface of the water I agree, but underwater - no!

“I think, Pencroff, that it is not at all difficult to control such an underwater ship as the Nautilus and that we would soon get used to it,” said the journalist. “Underwater there are no dangers of storms or pirate attacks. A few feet below the surface, the ocean is as calm as a lake.

“Perhaps,” the sailor objected, “but I prefer a nice storm on a well-equipped ship.” Ships are made to float on water, not under water.

“There’s no point in arguing about submarines, at least as far as the Nautilus is concerned,” the engineer intervened. - Nautilus does not belong to us, and we do not. We have the right to dispose of it. However, he could not serve us under any circumstances: the elevation of basalt rocks prevents him from leaving this cave. In addition, Captain Nemo wants the ship to sink to the bottom with him after his death. His will is expressed quite definitely, and we will fulfill it.

After talking for some time, Cyrus Smith and his comrades went down inside the Nautilus. Having lightly refreshed themselves with food, they returned to the hall. Captain Nemo came out of his stupor; his eyes sparkled as before. A faint smile played on the elder’s lips.

The colonists approached him.

“Gentlemen,” the captain told them, “you are brave, noble, kind people.” You have all dedicated yourselves to the common cause. I often watched you, I loved you and love you. Your hand, Mr. Smith.

Cyrus Smith held out his hand to the captain, who shook it in a friendly manner.

“Okay...” he whispered. “Enough talking about me,” continued Captain Nemo, “let’s talk about yourself and Lincoln Island, on which you found refuge.” Do you expect to leave him?

“Only to return, captain,” Pencroft answered briskly.

“Go back?... Yes, Pencroft, I know how much you love this island,” the captain answered with a smile. “Thanks to you, he has changed and rightfully belongs to you.”

– Would you like to entrust us with something? – the engineer asked lively. – To give something as a souvenir to friends left in the mountains of India.

- No, Mr. Smith. I don't have any more friends. I am the last representative of my family, and I died long ago for those who knew me... But let's get back to you. Solitude and loneliness are a difficult thing, beyond human strength. I'm dying because I thought I could live alone. Therefore, you must do everything possible to leave Lincoln Island and see again the places where you were born. I know that these scoundrels destroyed the ship you built.

“We are building a new ship,” said Gideon Spilett, “a ship that is large enough to carry us to the nearest inhabited land.” But even if we ever manage to leave Lincoln Island, we will return here. There are too many memories that bind us to this island for us to forget it.

“After all, here we recognized Captain Nemo,” said Cyrus Smith.

“Only here will we find a memory of you,” added Herbert. “And here I will rest in eternal sleep, if...” said Captain Nemo.

He fell silent and, without finishing the sentence, turned to the engineer:

- Mr. Smith, I would like to talk to you in private. Respecting the patient’s wishes, the engineer’s companions left. Cyrus Smith spent only a few minutes alone with the captain. Soon he called his friends again, but did not share with them what the dying man wanted to convey to him.

Gideon Spilett examined the patient. It was certain that the captain was supported only by spiritual forces, and that soon he would not be able to fight physical weakness.

The day passed, and there was no change in the patient’s condition. The colonists did not leave the Nautilus for a second.

Night soon fell, but in the underground cave it was impossible to notice that it was dark.

Captain Nemo did not suffer, but his strength was exhausted.

The noble face of the old man, covered with death’s pallor, was calm. Sometimes barely audible words escaped his lips; he spoke about various events of his extraordinary life. It was felt that life was gradually leaving his body; Captain Nemo's legs and arms began to get cold.

Once or twice he spoke to the colonists who stood near him, and smiled at them with that last smile that does not leave his face until his death.

Finally, shortly after midnight, Captain Nemo made a convulsive movement; he managed to cross his arms over his chest, as if he wanted to die in this position.

By one o'clock in the morning his whole life was concentrated in his eyes. The pupils flashed for the last time with the fire that once sparkled so brightly. Then he quietly breathed his last.

Cyrus Smith leaned down and closed the eyes of the one who had once been Prince Dakkar, and was now no longer Captain Nemo. Herbert and Pencroff were crying. Ayrton furtively wiped away a tear. Neb was kneeling next to the journalist, who was as motionless as a statue.

A few hours later, the colonists, fulfilling their promise to the captain, carried out his last wish.

Cyrus Smith and his comrades left the Nautilus, taking with them a gift that their benefactor had left them as a souvenir: a casket containing untold riches.

The magnificent hall, still flooded with light, was carefully locked. After this, the colonists screwed the roof of the hatch so that not a single drop of water could penetrate inside the Nautilus.

Then they got off into a boat, which was tied to an underwater ship. The boat was taken to the stern. There, at the waterline level, two large taps were visible, communicating with tanks that ensured the Nautilus was immersed in water. The colonists opened the taps, the tanks were filled, and the Nautilus, gradually sinking, disappeared under the water.

For some time the colonists could still follow him with their eyes. A bright light illuminated the clear waters, but the cave became increasingly dark. Finally, the powerful sparkle of electricity faded, and soon the Nautilus, which became the coffin of Captain Nemo, already rested in the depths of the ocean.

CHAPTER 18

Reflections of the colonists. – Resumption construction work. – January 1, 1869. - Smoke over the top of the volcano. – First signs of an eruption. - Ayrton and Cyrus Smith in the corral. – Exploration of the Dakkar Cave. - What did Captain Nemo say to the engineer?

At dawn, the colonists walked in deep silence to the entrance to the cave, which they named Dakkar Cave in memory of Captain Nemo. At this time the tide was low, and they easily managed to pass under the arch, oh basalt walls which the sea waves crashed.

The towboat was left right there, in a place protected from the waves. As a precaution, Pencroff, Neb and Ayrton pulled her onto a small sandbank adjacent to the cave on one side, and thus the boat was not in any danger.

As morning came, the storm subsided. The last rumbles of thunder were fading in the west. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still covered with clouds. In general, October, the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere, promised not to be very good, and the wind tended to shift from one point to another, which did not allow us to count on stable weather.

Cyrus Smith and his comrades, having left the Cave of Dakkar, again took the road to the corral. On the way, Neb and Harbert did not forget to untie the wire with which the captain connected the cave with the corral. It could come in handy later.

Returning, the colonists said little. The events of that night made a deep impression on them. The stranger who had protected them so often, the man they thought of as their good genius, had died. Captain Nemo and his Nautilus were buried at the bottom of the sea. The colonists felt even more alone than before. They were, so to speak, accustomed to hope for the imperious intervention of a force that was no longer there, and even Gideon Spilett and Cyrus Smith were not free from this feeling. Therefore, they all remained deeply silent as they headed to the corral.

Around nine o'clock in the morning the colonists returned to the Granite Palace.

It was decided to continue the construction of the ship as quickly as possible; Cyrus Smith devoted all his time and thoughts to this cause. No one could know what the future would bring. For the colonists, a strong ship that could withstand even strong storm and, if necessary, make a long journey. If, after finishing the ship, they did not decide to leave Lincoln Island and go to one of the Polynesian islands or to the shores of New Zealand, they could at least make a trip to Tabor Island to leave a note concerning Ayrton there. This was absolutely necessary in case the Scottish yacht should again appear in these waters, and nothing could be neglected to achieve this goal.

Construction of the ship was immediately resumed.

Cyrus Smith, Pencroff and Ayrton, with the help of Neb, Gideon Spilett and Harbert, began this work, interrupting it only when other urgent business called upon them. The new ship had to be completed in five months, that is, by the beginning of March, in order to be able to go to Tabor Island before the menacing storms began. Therefore, the carpenters did not waste a single minute. However, they did not have to worry about the rigging, since the rigging of the “Bystry” was completely saved. First of all, the skeleton of the ship had to be completed.

The last months of 1868 were devoted to these important work, which almost overshadowed all other matters. After two and a half months, the frames were installed and the first boards were sewn. Now one could already see that Cyrus Smith's drawings turned out to be excellent, and that the ship would hold up well at sea.

Pencroff threw himself into his work with consuming ardor and did not hesitate to grumble when one of his comrades exchanged a carpenter's ax for a hunter's gun. However, it was necessary to replenish supplies for the Granite Palace, keeping in mind the coming winter. But still, the sailor was unhappy when there were not enough workers in the shipyard. In these cases, he continued to grumble, as if out of malice he was working for six.

The whole summer this year was stormy. There was intense heat for several days, and the clouds, saturated with electricity, erupted into terrible thunderstorms. The distant rumbles of thunder hardly died down. There was a dull, continuous hum in the air, as often happens in the equatorial zones of the globe.

January 1, 1869 was marked by a particularly severe thunderstorm, and lightning seemed to cut through the island more than once. The electric current struck the trees and split many of them, including the huge frames that grew in the poultry house on the south side of the lake. Was this atmospheric phenomenon related to the processes that took place deep in the earth? Was there anything in common between the state of the air and the interior of the earth? Cyrus Smith thought it was, since the increase in thunderstorms coincided with an increase in volcanic activity. On the third of January, Herbert, who had climbed to the Far View plateau at dawn to mount one of the onagas, noticed a huge plume of smoke rising from the crater. The young man immediately reported this to the colonists, who immediately joined him and fixed their eyes on the top of Mount Franklin.

- Now these are not couples! - shouted Pencroff. “It seems that our giant not only breathes, but also smokes.”

The image used by the sailor correctly reflected the change in the activity of the volcano. For three months now, more or less thick vapors had been escaping from the crater, but this was only the result of the boiling of mineral substances. Now, instead of steam, there appeared dense smoke, which stretched in the form of a grayish column at the foot of the mountain more than three hundred feet wide and diverged at an altitude of seven to eight thousand feet above the top of the volcano, resembling a huge mushroom.

“A fire broke out in the crater,” said Gideon Spilett.

- And we won’t be able to extinguish it! - exclaimed Herbert.

“They should send chimney sweeps to the volcano,” Neb remarked with a most serious look.

- Great, Neb! - answered Pencroft. -Won't you take on this matter?

And the sailor laughed loudly.

Cyrus Smith, stepping aside, carefully observed the thick smoke rising above Mount Franklin, and sometimes listened, as if trying to catch some distant rumble. Then he returned to his companions and said:

“My friends, a serious change has occurred. You shouldn't hide this from yourself. Volcanic substances no longer just boil. They have flared up, and we are undoubtedly in danger of an eruption in the near future.

“Well, Mr. Smith, we will look at this eruption and applaud if it succeeds,” said Pencroft. “It seems to me that this shouldn’t worry us too much.”

“No, Pencroff,” replied Cyrus Smith, “the old road is always open to the lava, and hitherto it has always flowed north.” And still…

“And yet, since there is no benefit from the eruption, it would be better if it did not happen,” said the journalist.

“Who knows,” answered the sailor, “maybe this volcano contains some useful and precious substances that it will kindly erupt, and we will be able to make good use of them.”

Cyrus Smith shook his head, not expecting anything good from this suddenly revealed phenomenon. He did not look as lightly as Pencroft on the consequences of the eruption. If, due to the location of the crater, lava flows did not directly threaten parts of the island covered with forests and fields, then there could be other complications. Indeed, eruptions are often accompanied by earthquakes, and an island such as Lincoln Island, formed from a wide variety of elements: basalt, granite, lavas in the north and loose soils in the south - elements that were not tightly connected to each other, could always suffer from the eruption. Therefore, even if the eruption of volcanic substances did not pose such a serious danger, then any movement of the earth’s crust that would shake the island could have very important consequences.

“It seems to me,” said Ayrton, who lay down on the ground and pressed his ear to it, “that I hear a dull rumble, as if a cart loaded with iron was driving.”

The colonists listened carefully and were convinced that Ayrton was not mistaken. The underground rumbles were sometimes mixed with a roar, which either intensified or subsided, as if gusts of wind were sweeping through the depths of the globe. But explosions, in the proper sense, had not yet been heard. Consequently, vapors and smoke found a free exit through the central crater. The valve was apparently wide enough that there was no risk of an explosion.

“Damn it,” said Pencroft, “shouldn’t we get back to work?” Let Mount Franklin smoke, scream, moan, spew out fire and flames as much as it pleases - this is no reason not to work! Ayrton, Neb, Harbert, Mr. Cyrus, Mr. Spilett - everyone must put their hands to work today! We will be installing bulkheads, and a dozen extra hands would not be enough. I want our new Bonaventure to be in no later than two months - won’t we keep this name for the ship? – was already rocking on the waves of the Balloon harbor. So, let's not waste a single hour.

All the colonists from whom Pencroft required work went to the shipyard and began to strengthen the bulkheads, that is, the thick planks that make up the belt of the ship and connect the individual parts of the frame together. It was long and hard work in which everyone had to participate.

On January 3, the colonists worked diligently all day. They did not think about the volcano, which, moreover, was not visible from the coast of the Granite Palace, but a thick shadow eclipsed the sun several times as it made its daily journey through a completely clear sky, and a dense cloud of smoke blocked it from the island. The wind blowing from the sea carried all these vapors to the west. Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett saw these shadows and often told each other that an eruption was apparently developing, but they did not interrupt their work. From all points of view, it was extremely important to complete the construction of the ship in the shortest possible time. Due to possible complications, the safety of the colonists with the presence of a ship would be much more ensured. Who knows if this ship might one day be their only refuge!

In the evening, after dinner, Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett and Herbert again climbed the plateau of the Far View. Night had already fallen, and in the darkness it was easier to determine whether the vapors and smoke that accumulated above the crater were mixed with flames or flaming substances erupted by the volcano.

- The crater is on fire! - exclaimed Herbert; More agile than his companions, he was the first to climb onto the plateau.

Mount Franklin, about six miles distant, seemed like a gigantic torch with a twisting flame; the flame, however, was mixed with so much smoke and ash that its light did not stand out very sharply in the darkness of the night. But still, a pale light illuminated the island, vaguely highlighting the forest areas. Huge clouds of smoke rose to the sky. Rare stars sparkled through the smoke.

“The eruption is developing quickly,” said the engineer.

“That’s not surprising,” the journalist answered. – Vulcan awakened a long time ago. Do not forget, Cyrus, that the smoke first appeared while we were searching the spurs of the mountain to discover the hideout of Captain Nemo. It was, if I'm not mistaken, around the fifteenth of October?

“Yes,” replied Herbert, “two and a half months have passed since then.”

“This means that the fire was incubated underground for ten weeks,” continued Gideon Spilett. “It’s no wonder he’s raging with such fury now.”

– Do you feel underground vibrations? asked Cyrus Smith.

“Yes, I feel it,” answered Gideon Spilett. - But from this until the earthquake...

“I’m not saying we’re in danger of an earthquake,” said Cyrus Smith. - God save us from this! No, these tremors are caused by underground fire. The earth's crust is nothing more than the walls of a cauldron, and you know that the walls of a cauldron vibrate under gas pressure, like a sounding record. This is exactly what is happening currently.

– What beautiful sheaves of fire! - exclaimed Herbert.

At this time, something like fireworks flew out of the crater, and even thick smoke could not dim its brilliance. Thousands of luminous fragments and bright points rushed in different directions. Some of them flew above the smoke, quickly piercing it and leaving behind sparkling dust. Following these splashes of light, shots resembling volleys of grapeshot were heard.

After spending an hour on the plateau of the Far View, Cyrus Smith, the journalist and the youth went ashore and returned to Granite Palace. The engineer was thoughtful and seemed so preoccupied that Gideon Spilett thought it necessary to ask him if he foresaw any danger in the near future, directly or indirectly connected with the eruption.

“Yes and no,” answered Cyrus Smith.

“However,” the journalist continued, “the greatest disaster that threatens us is an earthquake that would destroy the island.” I do not think that this should be feared, since the vapors and lava found a free outlet.

“That’s why I’m not afraid of an earthquake in the usual sense of the word, that is, a displacement of the earth’s crust caused by the expansion of underground gases,” answered Cyrus Smith. “But other reasons can lead to great disaster.

– What kind, dear Cyrus?

– I don’t know very well myself. I need to look... explore the mountain... In a few days I will probably know.

Gideon Spilett did not insist, and soon, despite the explosions that became increasingly stronger and echoed loudly across the island, the inhabitants of the Granite Palace were fast asleep. Three days passed - January 4, 5 and 6. The colonists continued to work on building the ship. The engineer, without entering into further explanations, tried in every possible way to speed up the work.

Mount Franklin was shrouded in a dark, gloomy cloud and, along with the flames, spewed flaming rocks that sometimes fell back into the crater. Pencroft, who tried to see only the funny side of this phenomenon, said:

- Look, the giant is playing the billbok! The giant is juggling!

In fact, the erupted substances again fell into the abyss, and it seemed that the lava, swollen from internal pressure, did not yet reach the opening of the crater. At least from the northeastern vent, which was partly visible, nothing poured onto the southern slope of the mountain.

However, no matter how much the colonists rushed with the construction, they still had to break away and visit various points on the island for other matters. First of all, it was necessary to go to the corral, where the herds of mouflons and goats were locked up, and renew the supply of food for these animals. Ayrton decided to go there the next day, January 7th. Usually he alone coped with this work, to which he had become accustomed. Therefore, Pencroft and the other colonists, not without surprise, heard what the engineer said to Ayrton:

- Since you are going to the corral tomorrow, I will go with you.

- What are you talking about, Mr. Cyrus! - the sailor cried. “We have only a few days left to work, and if you also leave, four hands will not be enough at once.”

“We’ll be back the day after tomorrow,” answered Cyrus Smith. – I need to go to the corral. I have to see how far the eruption has progressed.

- Eruption, eruption! - Pencroft grumbled with displeasure. - What importance is this eruption! Well, it doesn’t bother me at all!

Despite the sailor's objections, the study planned by the engineer was still scheduled for tomorrow. Harbert really wanted to accompany Cyrus Smith, but he was afraid to upset Pencroff by leaving.

The next day, just before dawn, Cyrus Smith and Ayrton got into a cart drawn by two onags and rode at a good trot along the road to the corral.

Thick clouds rushed over the forest, into which the crater of Mount Franklin constantly added smoke. These clouds, floating heavily in the sky, consisted of a wide variety of elements. It wasn't just the smoke from the volcano that made them so thick and heavy. Dispersed minerals, pozzolana and fine grayish ash, like fine flour, hung in the air. This ash is so light that it sometimes stays in the air for months on end. After the eruption in Spain in 1783, the atmosphere was saturated with volcanic dust for more than a year, and even the rays of the sun barely penetrated it.

But most often these sprayed substances fall to the ground.

This is what happened now. Before Cyrus Smith and Ayrton had time to arrive at the corral, blackish dust fell, similar to hunting gunpowder, which dramatically changed the surrounding view: trees, meadows - everything disappeared under a dark layer several inches thick. But, fortunately, the wind blew from the northeast, and the cloud soon almost disappeared.

- This is a strange phenomenon, Mr. Smith! - said Ayrton.

“This is a very important circumstance,” answered the engineer. – Fine pozzolana, pumice, all this mineral dust indicate how deep the disturbance is in the lower layers of the volcano.

– But is there really nothing we can do?

– No, we can only monitor the development of the eruption. Take care of the corral, Ayrton, while I go up to the sources of the Red Creek and see what the situation is on the southern slopes of the mountain. And then…

- And then, Mr. Smith?

– Then we will go to Dakkar Cave. I want to see... in short, I'll be back for you in two hours.

Ayrton entered the corral yard and, while awaiting the engineer's return, busied himself with the mouflons and goats, who seemed alarmed by the first signs of an eruption.

Meanwhile, Cyrus Smith climbed to the top of the eastern spurs, went around Red Creek and came to the place where the colonists discovered a sulfur spring during their first expedition. How everything around has changed! Instead of one column of smoke, the engineer counted thirteen. They beat out of the ground, as if pushed out by some kind of piston. Obviously, Earth's crust was subjected to extreme pressure in this place. The air was filled with sulfur dioxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide mixed with watery vapor. Cyrus Smith felt the volcanic tuffs that covered the ground tremble. It was essentially powdery ash, which over time turned into solid stone. But the engineer did not see any traces of fresh lava.

Cyrus Smith stated the same thing after examining the southern slope of Mount Franklin. Plumes of smoke and flames burst out of the crater; small stones fell to the ground in a hail, but no lava flowed from the mouth of the crater, and this proved that volcanic substances had not yet risen to the upper opening.

“I wish it had already happened,” Cyrus Smith said to himself. “At least I would be sure that the lava flowed in the usual way.” Who knows if it won't come out through some new outlet? But this is not the danger; Captain Nemo foresaw this. No, that’s not the danger!”

Cyrus Smith reached the wide road that ran along the narrow Shark Bay. Here he could quite clearly see traces of former lava flows. It seemed certain to him that the previous

The volcanic eruption happened a long time ago. After that, he moved back, listening to the underground rumble, which was like continuous thunder. Occasionally, isolated loud shots were heard. At nine o'clock in the morning the engineer returned to the corral.

Ayrton was expecting him.

“The animals are provided with food, Mr. Smith,” he said.

- Okay, Ayrton.

– They: seem to be worried, Mr. Smith.

- Yes, their instinct spoke, but instinct does not deceive. -. Take a lantern and a flint, Ayrton, and let’s go,” said the engineer.

Ayrton carried out the order. The Onags were unharnessed and wandering around the corral. The explorers locked the gate from the outside, and Cyrus Smith walked ahead of Ayrton to the west along a narrow path that led to the shore.

The ground was covered like cotton wool with a powdery substance that had fallen from the sky. Not a single animal was visible among the trees. Sometimes the oncoming wind stirred up layers of ash, and the colonists, surrounded by a thick whirlwind, could not see each other. They covered their eyes and mouth with a scarf so as not to suffocate or go blind.

Under such conditions, Cyrus Smith and Ayrton naturally could not move quickly. In addition, the air was heavy, as if some of the oxygen had burned out, and it was difficult to breathe. Every hundred steps I had to stop and take a breath. It was just past ten o'clock when the engineer and his companion reached the top of the gigantic mass of basaltic and porphyritic rocks that form the northwestern coast of the island.

Ayrton and Cyrus Smith began to descend from this steep bank, moving along approximately the same bad road along which they had walked that stormy night, heading for Dakkar Cave. During the day the descent seemed less dangerous; In addition, the layer of ash that covered the smooth rocks did not allow the foot to slide on the sloping surface.

Soon the colonists reached a rampart that served as a continuation of the shore, at an altitude of about forty feet. Cyrus Smith remembered that this shaft sloped gently down to the sea.

Even though the tide was low, the shore was not visible, and the waves, covered with volcanic dust, crashed against the basalt rocks.

Cyrus Smith and Ayrton easily found the entrance to the Dakkar Cave and stopped under the last rock, which represented the lower platform of the shaft.

“The towboat should be here,” said the engineer.

“Yes, she’s here, Mr. Smith,” confirmed Ayrton, pulling a light boat to the village, hidden under the arches of the cave.

- Let's sit in it, Ayrton!

The colonists boarded the boat. She slid along the waves under the low arches of the cave. Ayrton struck a fire and lit the lantern. Then he took hold of the oars and placed the lantern on the stem. Cyrus Smith sat at the helm, and the boat sailed on in the darkness.

The Nautilus no longer illuminated the gloomy cave with its lights. Perhaps the electric rays, still emanating from the powerful source of energy, continued to shine in the depths of the sea, but no light penetrated from the abyss where Captain Nemo rested. The flash of the lantern, although weak, allowed us to move forward along the right wall of the cave. Deathly silence reigned under its arches, at least in the front part. However, Cyrus Smith soon heard a rumble coming from within the mountain.

“It’s a volcano,” he said.

A few moments later Cyrus Smith felt a sharp bad smell, and sulfurous fumes began to choke the engineer and his companion.

“That’s what Captain Nemo was afraid of,” whispered Cyrus Smith, turning slightly pale. “However, we must reach the end.”

- Forward! - Ayrton answered; he leaned on the oars and drove the boat to the end of the cave.

After twenty-five minutes of travel, the boat approached the back wall of the cave and stopped.

Cyrus Smith stood on a bench and shined his lantern on various parts of the wall that separated the cave from the central chamber of the volcano. How thick was this wall: a hundred feet or ten? This could not be said. But the wall might not have been particularly thick, since the underground rumble could be heard very clearly.

Having examined the wall horizontally, the engineer attached a flashlight to the end of the oar and again illuminated the basalt rock at a higher height.

There, through barely visible cracks between loosely connected stones, acrid smoke passed through, filling the cave with its smell. The wall was full of breaks; some of them, deeper ones, descended almost to the water.

Cyrus Smith pondered for some time; then he said:

- Yes, the captain was right. Danger lurks here, and the danger is terrible.

Ayrton said nothing, but at a sign from Cyrus Smith, he took up the oars again, and half an hour later both were leaving the Dakkar Cave.

CHAPTER 19

Cyrus. Smith talks about his expedition. – Construction work is accelerating. – Last visit to the corral. – A battle between water and fire. – What remains on the surface of the island. - The colonists decide to launch the ship. – Night of March 9th.

The next day, January 8, after spending a day in the corral and arranging all their affairs there, Cyrus Smith and Ayrton returned to Granite Palace.

The engineer immediately gathered his comrades and informed them that Lincoln Island was facing the greatest danger, which no human power could prevent.

“My friends,” he said in a deeply emotional voice, “Lincoln Island is not one of those islands that will exist as long as the Earth exists. He is doomed to more or less imminent death, the cause of which lies in himself, and nothing can save him.

The colonists looked at each other and fixed their eyes on the engineer. They did not understand what Cyrus Smith was trying to say.

“Explain yourself, Cyrus,” said Gideon Spilett.

“I’ll explain now, or rather, I’ll tell you what Captain Nemo told me during our short conversation in private,” answered the engineer.

- Captain Nemo! - the colonists cried out in unison.

- Yes, he did, and this was his last service before his death.

- Last favor! - exclaimed Pencroff. - Last favor! You'll see: even dead, he will still provide us with many services.

-What did Captain Nemo tell you? – asked the journalist.

“Know, friends,” replied the engineer, “that Lincoln Island is in different conditions than the other islands of the Pacific Ocean.” The peculiarity of the structure of our island, which Captain Nemo told me about, should sooner or later lead to the destruction of its underwater part.

- It will collapse! Lincoln Island will collapse! What do you! - exclaimed Pencroff.

Despite all his respect for Cyrus Smith, he could not help shrugging his shoulders incredulously.

“Listen to me, Pencroft,” continued the engineer. – This is what Captain Nemo established and what I managed to establish myself yesterday when exploring the Dakkar Cave. This cave extends under the island all the way to the volcano, and is separated from the central hearth only by a back wall. This wall is dotted with fractures and crevices, through which sulfur dioxide gas, formed inside the volcano, is already passing.

- Well, what then? asked Pencroft, wrinkling his brow.

“Well, I’m convinced that these cracks are gradually increasing under the influence of internal pressure, that the basalt wall is gradually splitting and that in a more or less short time it will give way to the ocean water that fills the cave.

- Great! - said Pencroff, who once again tried to joke. “The water will extinguish the volcano, and everything will be over.”

“Yes, it will all be over,” answered Cyrus Smith. – On the day when the sea breaks through the wall and penetrates through average stroke into the interior of the volcano, where volcanic substances boil - on that day, Pencroft, the island of Lincoln will explode, as Sicily would explode if the Mediterranean Sea flowed into Etna.

The colonists could not answer this decisive statement of the engineer. They understood how great the danger facing them was.

It must be said that Cyrus Smith was by no means exaggerating. It has already occurred to many that perhaps it is possible to extinguish the volcanoes, which almost all rise on the shores of seas or lakes, by allowing water access to these volcanoes. But those who think so do not understand that in this case part of the globe would explode, like a steam boiler that was shot from a gun. Water, rushing into a closed space, where the temperature reaches several thousand degrees, would turn into steam, and an amount of energy would be formed that the hardest shell could not withstand.

So, there was no doubt that the island was in danger of destruction in the near future and that it would exist only as long as the wall of the Dakkar Cave could withstand. It was not a matter of months or weeks or days, but perhaps hours!

The colonists' first feeling was deep sadness. They did not think about the danger that threatened them: they were more upset by the destruction of the island on which they found shelter, the island that they loved and wanted to make prosperous and fertile. So much work is wasted in vain, so much effort wasted! Pencroff could not hold back his tears and did not try to hide the fact that he was crying. The conversation continued for some time. The colonists discussed what their chances of salvation were, and in the end they came to the conclusion that they did not have to lose a single hour.

The construction and equipment of the ship had to be completed as soon as possible. This was the only opportunity for the inhabitants of Lincoln Island to escape. Everyone got to work together. What was the point now of reaping bread, harvesting, hunting and increasing the reserves of the Granite Palace? What was in the warehouse and kitchen was more than enough to supply the ship for the voyage, however long it might be. The most important thing for the colonists was to have a ship at their disposal before the inevitable disaster occurred.

The work continued with feverish haste. Around January 23, the ship was half sheathed. By this time, the state of the volcano had not changed: steam and smoke, mixed with fire and flaming stones, were still flying out of the crater. But on the night of the 24th, lava, which reached the level of the upper part of the volcano, demolished its conical top. There was a terrible roar. The colonists decided that the island was falling apart and ran out of the Granite Palace. It was about two o'clock in the morning.

The sky was on fire. The upper cone, a mass a thousand feet high and weighing several billion pounds, crashed onto the island. The ground shook from the impact. Fortunately, this cone was directed to the north and fell on a plain covered with sand and tuff, which stretched between the volcano and the sea. Such a bright light shone from the expanded mouth of the crater that the entire air around seemed to be on fire. The lava flow swelled and poured out in long cascades, like water from an overfilled vessel. Thousands of fiery jets snaked along the slopes of the volcano.

- To the corral! To the corral! - Ayrton shouted.

Indeed, the lava rushed towards the corral, following the direction of the new crater. Disaster threatened the fertile parts of the island, Red Creek, and the Yacamara forest.

Hearing Ayrton's cry, the colonists rushed to the stables. The Onags were immediately harnessed to the cart. All the colonists had one thing in mind: to run to the corral and free the animals locked there.

It was not yet three o'clock in the morning when the colonists reached the corral. A loud roar indicated that the mouflons and goats were gripped by fear. A stream of flaming lava and molten minerals rushed from the spurs into the meadows, reaching the very fence. Ayrton unlocked the gate, and the terror-stricken animals fled in all directions.

An hour later, boiling lava filled the corral, turning the water of the stream into steam, and set fire to the house, which burst into flames like a sheaf of straw. The fence was burned down to the last post; there was nothing left of the corral.

The colonists decided to fight against this invasion, but all their crazy attempts were fruitless: in the face of grandiose catastrophes, human efforts are in vain.

The morning of January 24 arrived. Before returning to Granite Palace, Cyrus Smith and his friends wanted to determine in which direction this lava flow would rush. The general slope of the surface led from Mount Franklin to the eastern shore, and it was feared that, despite the obstacle posed by the dense Yacamara forest, the boiling lava would reach the plateau of the Far View.

“The lake will protect us,” said Gideon Spilett.

“I hope so,” answered Cyrus Smith briefly.

The colonists wanted to reach the plain on which the top of Mount Franklin had fallen, but the lava blocked their path. On the one hand, it flowed along the valley of the Red Stream, on the other, along the valley of the Waterfall Stream, turning both of these streams into steam on its way. There was no way to go through the lava; on the contrary, I had to retreat in front of her. The volcano, deprived of its peak, was unrecognizable. In place of the former crater there was something like a flat surface. From two vents formed on the southern and eastern sides of the mountain, streams of lava continuously poured out, forming two separate streams. Clouds of smoke and ash hung above the new crater, merging with the sky clouds. Loud rumbles of thunder were heard, echoed by the roar of underground forces. The crater of the volcano threw out flaming stones; soaring a thousand feet, they burst into the clouds and fell like fragments of grapeshot. The sky responded with flashes of lightning to the volcanic eruption.

Around seven o'clock in the morning the situation of the colonists, who were trying to find refuge on the edge of the Yacamara forest, became unbearable. They were threatened not only by the rocks falling like rain around them, but also by the streams of lava that overflowed the bed of Red Creek and threatened to cut off the road to the corral. The first rows of trees burst into flames, and their juice, suddenly turning into steam, tore apart the trunks, like children's firecrackers. Other trees, drier ones, were not affected. The colonists continued on their way. They walked slowly, turning back very often. But the lava, following the slope of the surface, quickly moved east.

As soon as its lower layers had time to harden, boiling waves covered them again.

In addition, the main stream, rushing in the direction of the Red Brook, became more and more threatening. The forest in this part was all on fire; huge clouds of smoke floated above the trees, the base of which was filled with lava.

The colonists stopped near the lake, half a mile from the mouth of the Red Brook. Soon the question had to be decided whether he should live or die.

Cyrus Smith was used to understanding difficult situations. Knowing that he was dealing with people who were ready to hear the truth, whatever it may be, the engineer said:

“Either the lake will stop the flow and part of the island will be saved from complete destruction, or the lava will flood the forest of the Far West, and not a single tree or plant will remain on the surface of the earth.” Then we will die on these bare rocks; death will not be slow to come when our island explodes.

“In that case,” said Pencroft, stamping his foot and crossing his arms, “we don’t need to build a ship anymore, do we?” “We must fulfill our duty to the end, Pencroft,” answered Cyrus Smith.

Meanwhile, the stream of lava, making its way among the magnificent trees that it devoured on its way, rolled to the lake. In this place the soil was slightly raised. If the barrier were a little higher, it could hold back the boiling stream.

- Get to work! - cried Cyrus Smith. Everyone immediately understood the engineer’s thought. The lava flow had to be dammed, so to speak, and forced to flow into the lake.

The colonists ran to the shipyard and brought shovels, spades, and axes from there. Within a few hours, the earth and fallen trees formed a dam three feet high and several hundred steps long. The dam was finished, and it seemed to the colonists that they had only worked for an hour.

A few more minutes and it would have been too late. Liquid lava reached the base of the shaft. The torrent swelled like a river in flood trying to overflow its banks, and threatened to sweep away the only obstacle that prevented it from spreading throughout the entire region of the Far West. But the dam still held it back. A few agonizing seconds passed, and the lava fell from a height of twenty feet into Lake Granta. The colonists stood still and silently, with bated breath, watched the struggle between the two elements.

What a terrible sight - a battle between water and fire! Whose pen will describe this battle, so terrible and at the same time beautiful? Whose brush can paint it? The water hissed and evaporated as the lava approached. Steam flew into the air and swirled at an immeasurable height, as if the valves of a huge boiler had suddenly opened. But no matter how much water there was in the lake, it had to eventually evaporate, since the loss of water was not replenished, while the lava, the source of which was inexhaustible, was constantly rolling new and new flaming waves.

The first streams of lava, flowing into the lake, immediately froze, and soon a mountain formed above the water. New lava was piled on its surface, which also turned into a stream of stones rushing towards the center of the mountain. Gradually a sandbank appeared that threatened to fill the entire lake. The water could not overflow its banks, since its excess immediately turned into steam. A deafening hiss and whistle was heard in the air; The steam carried by the wind turned into rain and fell into the sea. The sandbank became longer and longer, blocks of lava were piled on top of each other. Where the calm waters of the lake had recently swayed, a huge pile of smoking stones appeared, as if the earth had risen and pushed thousands of underwater cliffs out of the lake. Imagine that a hurricane disturbed the waters of the river, and then they suddenly froze at twenty degrees below zero, and you can imagine what the lake looked like three hours after the lava streams poured into it.

This time fire defeated water.

The fact that lava rushed into Lake Grant was favorable for the colonists. They had a few days of respite. Far View Plateau, Granite Palace, and the shipyard were temporarily saved. During these days it was necessary to sheathe the ship and carefully caulk it. Then it will be lowered to sea, and the colonists will go on board the ship in order to equip it on the water. Due to the threat of an explosion that would destroy the island, it was very dangerous to remain on the ground. The walls of the Granite Palace, this once such a reliable refuge, could collapse at any moment.

Over the next six days - from January 25 to 30 - the colonists worked tirelessly. They hardly rested, since the light of the flames erupting from the crater allowed them to work day and night. The lava continued to flow, but perhaps not as abundantly. This was very good, since Lake Granta was almost completely filled, and if new volcanic substances were added to the old lava, they would undoubtedly spread over the plateau of the Far View and along the shore near the Granite Palace.

But if this part of the island was out of danger, then its southern tip remained defenseless.

In fact, the second stream of lava, rushing along the valley of Waterfall Creek - it was a wide valley, descending on both sides of the river - did not encounter any obstacles in its path. Liquid flames spread through the forest of the Far West. The trees, completely dry from the terrible heat that had stood all this time, instantly caught fire, and a fire broke out simultaneously above, in the branches, and below, at the roots. The branches were densely intertwined, and the fire spread quickly. It even seemed that a stream of flame was running along the tops of the trees faster than the river of lava at their feet.

The peaceful and predatory inhabitants of the forest, terrified - jaguars, wild boars, wild pigs, kulans and all kinds of feathered game - sought salvation on the banks of the Gratitude River and in the Kazarok swamp, on the other side of the Balloon harbor. But the colonists were too busy with their own business to pay attention to the most terrible animals. They even left the Granite Palace and, not wanting to take refuge in the Pipes, lived in a tent near the mouth of the Gratitude River.

Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett went out every day to the plateau of the Far View. Sometimes they were accompanied by Herbert. As for Pencroff, he did not want to look at the island, which had undergone almost complete destruction.

Indeed, Lincoln Island was a sad sight. The entire wooded part of it was now exposed. Only a few green trees survived on the edge of the Snake Peninsula. Here and there blackened trunks with broken branches stuck out. The place where the forest used to be was more deserted than the Kazarok swamp. The lava completely destroyed the vegetation. In place of magnificent forests, volcanic tuffs were now piled up in disarray. Along the valley of the Falls Creek and the Gratitude River there was no longer a drop of water flowing into the sea, and if Lake Grant had completely dried up, the colonists would have had nothing to quench their thirst. But, fortunately, its southern side was not damaged. It turned into something like a pond, where all the stock was drinking water available on the island. In the north-west, the spurs of the volcano were clearly and sharply drawn, looking like a giant clawed paw. What a sad sight! What a terrible sight! What grief for the colonists, who from a fertile island, covered with forest, irrigated with water and sown with cereals, seemed to be transported in an instant to a deserted rock! If they did not have old food supplies, they would have nothing to eat.

“My heart breaks,” Gideon Spilett once said.

“Yes, Spilett, it’s a sad sight,” answered the engineer. – If only we had time to complete the ship! Now this is our only hope.

“Don’t you think, Cyrus, that the volcano is beginning to calm down?” It still spews lava, but, if I'm not mistaken, not so much.

“It doesn’t matter,” replied Cyrus Smith. – The fire continues to rage in the depths of the mountain, and the sea can burst into the volcano any minute. We are in the position of passengers on a burning ship who cannot put out the fire and know that the fire will sooner or later reach the powder magazine. Let's go, Spilett, let's go, let's not waste an hour!

For another whole week, that is, until February 7, the lava continued to pour out, but did not go beyond its previous limits. Cyrus Smith's greatest fear was that the lava would reach the shore at Granite Palace, and the colonists would not be able to defend the shipyard. Soon they felt tremors in the bowels of the island, which worried them extremely.

It was February 20th. There was still a month of work to be done before the ship was launched. Will the island survive until then? Pencroff and Cyrus Smith intended to lower the ship as soon as its frame became impenetrable. The decking and rigging can be done later. For the colonists, the most important thing was to provide themselves with a safe refuge off the island. It may even be necessary to take the ship to Balloon Harbor, that is, perhaps further from the center of the eruption. At the mouth of the Gratitude River, between Salvation Island and the granite wall, the ship could be crushed if the island were destroyed. Therefore, the colonists tried their best to finish the ship’s skeleton as soon as possible. March 3rd arrived. It could be expected that the ship would be launched within ten days.

Hope returned to the hearts of the colonists, who had to endure so many trials in the fourth year of their stay on Lincoln Island. Even Pencroft seemed to have left the gloom that had gripped him after the death and destruction of his possessions. True, he could not think about anything except the ship, on which all his hopes were concentrated.

- We will finish building it, Mr. Cyrus, we will definitely finish building it! - said the sailor. “It’s time, it’s time, time is passing, and the equinox will soon come.” If necessary, we will land at Tabor Island and spend the winter there. But what is Tabor Island after Lincoln Island? Woe is me! Little did I know that I would ever see something like this!

- We must hurry! - the engineer invariably answered. The colonists worked without wasting a minute.

“Master,” Neb asked a few days later, “do you think all this would have happened if Captain Nemo had been alive?”

“Yes, Neb,” replied Cyrus Smith.

“Well, I think not,” Pencroff whispered in the black man’s ear.

“Me too,” answered Neb seriously.

During the first week of March, Mount Franklin again assumed a formidable appearance. Thousands of glass threads formed from liquid lava rained down to the ground. The crater was again filled with volcanic substances, which poured out along all the slopes of the volcano. Their streams rushed over the hardened tuffs and finally burned the skinny skeletons of the trees that had survived the first eruption. This time, a river of lava flowed along the southwestern shore of Lake Grant, passed Glycerin Creek and flooded the Far View Plateau. This last disaster finally ruined all the work of the colonists. The mill, buildings on the poultry house, and stables disappeared without a trace. Frightened birds scattered in all directions. Top and Jupe expressed in their own way the great horror that gripped them: instinct warned them that a catastrophe was approaching. Most of the animals that inhabited the island died during the first eruption. The surviving animals could find salvation only in the Kazarok swamp; only a few of them took refuge on the plateau of the Far View, but now this last refuge was taken from them.

Streams of lava overflowed the wall, and a river of fire rushed to the shore at the Granite Palace. It was an indescribably terrible sight. At night, it seemed as if a real Niagara of molten cast iron was falling: fiery vapors above, boiling lava below.

The colonists had nowhere else to retreat. Although the top seams of the ship had not yet been caulked, our heroes decided to launch it.

Pencroff and Ayrton began to prepare for the descent, which was to take place the next day, March 9.

But on the night of the 9th, a huge column of smoke, more than three thousand feet high, rose from the crater amid the roar of deafening explosions. The wall of the Dakkar Cave, obviously, could not withstand the pressure of the gases, and the sea, penetrating through the central hearth into the fire-breathing abyss, turned into steam. The crater did not give this mass of steam a sufficiently spacious outlet. An explosion that could have been heard a hundred miles away shook the air. Mount Franklin was broken into pieces and crashed into the sea. A few minutes later, the waves of the Pacific Ocean covered the place where Lincoln Island was.

CHAPTER 20

Lonely rock in the Pacific Ocean. – The last refuge of the inhabitants of Lincoln Island. - Death lies ahead. - Unexpected rescue. - How and why it came. - The last good deed. - An island in the middle of the mainland. - Captain Nemo's grave.

A solitary rock thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, protruding no more than ten feet from the water—that was the only place on an island that was spared by the waves of the ocean.

This is all that remains of the Granite Palace massif! The wall was first knocked over, then collapsed. Several rocks piled on top of each other formed this cliff sticking out of the water. Everything around him disappeared into the abyss: the lower cone of Mount Franklin, which had shattered from the explosion, the jaws of Shark Bay, the Far View Plateau, Salvation Island, the granite cliffs of Balloon Harbor, the basalt walls of Dakkar Cave, and even the long Serpentine Peninsula, so far removed from the center of the eruption. All that remained of Lincoln Island was this narrow cliff, which now served as a refuge for the six surviving colonists and their dog Top.

Animals also died during the disaster. The birds, like other representatives of the island's fauna, were crushed or drowned. Even poor Jup, and he, alas, met death, falling into some kind of abyss.

Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Harbert, Pencroff, Neb and Ayrton were saved only because, while in a tent, they were thrown into the sea when the island split into pieces.

Having climbed to the surface of the water, they saw piled rocks not far from them, swam to them and climbed onto the cliff.

They had now been living on this cliff for nine days. Meager supplies captured from the Granite Palace, a little rainwater in the recesses of the rocks - that's all that these unfortunates had left. The ship, their last hope, was destroyed. There was no way for them to leave the cliff. Having no fire, they could not get it from anywhere. Inevitable death awaited them.

On March 18, the colonists had only two days of provisions left, although they spent it more than sparingly. All their science, all their ingenuity was now useless. They were entirely dependent on fate.

Cyrus Smith was calm. Gideon Spilett, more nervous, and Pencroft, overcome with dull rage, paced back and forth. Harbert did not leave the engineer for a moment and looked at him as if asking for help that Cyrus Smith could not provide. Neb and Ayrton dutifully waited for the end.

“Lord, Lord,” Pencroff often repeated, “if only we could get to Tabor Island in a nutshell!” But we have nothing, nothing!

“Captain Nemo died in time,” Neb once said.

Five more days passed. Cyrus Smith and his comrades observed the strictest economy and ate only as much as they needed so as not to die of hunger. Everyone was very weak. Herbert and Neb sometimes became delirious.

Did the colonists have even a shadow of hope? No! What could they expect? What will the ship appear in sight of the rock? But they knew very well from experience that ships never enter this part of the Pacific Ocean. Could it be expected that, as fate would have it, Glenarvan’s yacht would now return to Tabor Island for Ayrton? It was unlikely. Moreover, even if “Duncan” returned to Tabor Island, the captain of the yacht, after fruitless searches, would again go to sea and head to lower latitudes. After all, the colonists did not have time to deliver a note to Tabor Island indicating Ayrton’s new location.

No, they could no longer have any hope of salvation. Was expecting them terrible death on the rock - death from hunger and thirst.

They lay on this rock, powerless, not realizing what was happening around them. Only Ayrton, straining all his strength, raised his head from time to time and looked at the deserted sea with a gaze full of despair.

Suddenly, on the afternoon of March 24, Ayrton stretched out his hands to the sea. He knelt, then rose to his feet, trying to signal with his hand. There was a ship in sight of the island. It was no coincidence that this ship passed here. The cliff served as a definite target for him, and the ship was heading towards it at full speed. The colonists, if they had been able to observe the horizon, could have noticed this ship several hours ago.

- "Duncan"! – Ayrton managed to whisper and fell to the ground without moving.

When Cyrus Smith and his comrades came to their senses, they saw that they were in the cabin of a steamer. None of them understood how Km managed to avoid death. But one word from Ayrton was enough to clarify this.

- "Duncan"! - he whispered.

- "Duncan"! - repeated Cyrus Smith.

Indeed, they were on Glenarvan's yacht, commanded at that time by Robert Grant. The Duncan headed for Tabor Island to take Ayrton on board and take him home after twelve years of exile.

The colonists were saved. They were all returning home.

“Captain Robert,” asked Cyrus Smith, “why did you decide, without finding Ayrton on Tabor Island, to go another hundred miles to the northeast?”

“Mr. Smith, we followed not only Ayrton, but all of you,” replied Robert Grant.

- Behind all of us?

- Yes, of course, to Lincoln Island.

- To Lincoln Island? - Gideon Spilett, Herbert, Neb and Pencroff cried in unison, surprised to the last degree.

– How do you know about the existence of Lincoln Island? “After all, this island is not even marked on the maps,” asked Cyrus Smith. “From the note you left on Tabor Island,” Robert Grant answered.

- From a note? - cried Gideon Spilett.

“Well, yes, here it is,” said Robert Grant and handed the journalist a piece of paper on which the latitude and longitude of Lincoln Island were indicated, “where Ayrton and five other castaways are currently located.”

- Captain Nemo! - said Cyrus Smith, reading the note and making sure that it was written in the same hand as the document found in the corral.

- So, it was he who took our Bonaventure and ventured to Tabor Island alone? - cried Pencroff.

“And he left this note there,” said Herbert.

“My friends,” said Cyrus Smith in a deeply moved voice. – We will always remember Captain Nemo, who saved us. At the last words of the engineer, his comrades uncovered their heads, repeating in a whisper the name of Captain Nemo.

At that moment Ayrton approached the engineer and asked him very simply:

-Where should I put this box?

Ayrton was holding a box in his hands, which he saved, risking his life, when the island collapsed into the sea. Now he honestly returned it to the engineer.