Chapter XLII

An isolated rock, thirty feet long, fifteen feet wide, rising ten feet above the surface of the water, this was the sole solid point which had not vanished beneath the waves of the Pacific.

It was all that remained of Granite House! The wall had been thrown over, then broken to pieces. All else had disappeared in the surrounding abyss: the lower cone of Mount Franklin, torn to pieces by the explosion; the lava jaws of Shark Gulf; Prospect Plateau, Safety Islet, the granite of Balloon Harbor; the basalt of Crypt Dakkar; Serpentine Peninsula had been precipitated into the eruptive centre! All that remained of Lincoln Island was this rock, the refuge of the six colonists and their dog Top.

All the animals had perished in the catastrophe. The birds as well as the beasts, all were crashed or drowned, and poor Jup, alas! had been swallowed up in some crevasse in the ground!

Smith, Spilett, Herbert, Pencroff, Neb, and Ayrton had survived, because they had been thrown into the sea, at the moment when the debris of the island rained down upon the water.

Their last hope, their ship, had been broken to pieces. They had no means of leaving this reef. No fire, nor anything with which to make it.

During the five days which followed, Smith and his companions ate very little. Their feebleness was extreme. Herbert and Neb began to show signs of delirium.

No hope, no chance to be saved! Ships never visit this part of the Pacific. Already they lay stretched out, inanimate, unconscious of what was going on around them. Only Ayrton, by a supreme effort, raised his head, and cast a despairing look over this desert sea.

But, behold! On this morning of the 24th of March, Ayrton extended his arms towards some point in space; he rose up, first to his knees, then stood upright; he waved his hand.

A ship was in sight of the island!

“The Duncan!” murmured Ayrton, and then he fell senseless upon the rock.

* * *

When Smith and his companions regained consciousness, they found themselves in the cabin of a steamer. A word from Ayrton was sufficient to enlighten them.

“It is the Duncan,” he murmured.

“The Duncan!” answered Smith and exclaimed: “God saved us!”

It was, indeed, the Duncan, Lord Glenarvan’s yacht, at this time commanded by Robert, the son of Captain Grant, who had gone to Tabor Island to search for Ayrton and bring him home after twelve years of expatriation. The colonists were saved, they were already on the homeward route!

Ayrton, approaching the engineer, said to him, simply:

“What will be done with the coffer?”

Ayrton had saved this coffer at the risk of his life, at the moment when the island was engulfed. He now faithfully returned it to the engineer.

“Ayrton! Ayrton!” exclaimed Smith, greatly affected.

Grant was informed of all the story of Captain Nemo and the colonists of Lincoln Island. Fifteen days later the colonists landed in America, which they found at peace after the terrible war. They purchased a vast tract of land in Iowa. Here they founded a great colony, to which they gave the name of the island which had disappeared in the depths of the Pacific. They found here a river which they called the Mercy, a mountain to which they gave the name of Franklin, a little lake which they called Lake Grant, and forests which became the forests of the Far West. It was like an island on the ground. Here, finally, all were happy.

Vocabulary

A

abate — v уменьшать(ся)

abode — n жилище

abrupt — adj отрывистый, резкий, внезапный

abruptly — adv отрывисто, резко, внезапно

absolute — adj полный; совершенный; неограниченный

abundance — n изобилие

abundant — adj (из)обильный

abut — v прилегать; примыкать

abyss — n бездна, пропасть

accessible — adj доступный

accomplice — n соучастник, сообщник

accost — v приставать (с разговором)

accustomed — adj обычный, привычный

acre — n акр

adapt — v приспособлять

adhere — v прилипать

administer — v управлять

admirable — adj замечательный, прекрасный, достойный восхищения

adroit — v ловкий; умелый, искусный

advantage — n преимущество, достоинство

adventurer — n искатель приключений; авантюрист

adventurous — adj смелый; предприимчивый; рискованный

adze — n тесло

aerial — n антенна; adj воздушный

afloat — adj & adv на воде; на плаву

agile — adj проворный, ловкий

agitation — n волнение; возбуждение

agricultural — adj сельскохозяйственный

alarm — n тревога; v тревожить

allay — v успокаивать; смягчать

altogether — adv в общем; в целом

aluminium — n алюминий

ammunition — n боевые припасы

ankle — n лодыжка, щиколотка

anxiety — n беспокойство; тревога

ape — n обезьяна

apparatus — n прибор, инструмент; аппаратура; оборудование; аппарат

appearance — n вид, наружность, внешность

application — n прикладывание; наложение

appreciate — v оценивать; (высоко) ценить

approach — v приближаться

aquatic — adj водяной; водный

arch — n арка; свод, дуга; v перекрывать сводом; выгибаться, изгибаться

archway — n сводчатый проход; проход под аркой

arid — adj сухой, пересохший; засушливый

armful — n охапка, большое количество

arouse — v пробуждать

arrange — v планировать; устраивать; приводить в порядок

arrangement — n приготовление; удобства

artillery — adj артиллерия

artist — n художник

ascend — v подниматься

ascension — n восхождение

ascent — n подъём

ascertain — v выяснять; удостоверяться

assistance — n помощь

assuredly — adv несомненно

astound — v изумлять; поражать

astringent — adj вяжущий; суровый

astronomical — adj астрономический

attach — v прикреплять; привязывать

attract — v притягивать; привлекать

auger — n сверло; бур

authoritatively — adv авторитетно

authority — n власть; полномочие