Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Chapter Three: Listening to Your Excellency, Sir (People's Education Publishing House)

Upon receipt of j. A few seconds before Hobson's letter, the thought of chasing the narwhal was not as strong as the thought of crossing the northwest of the United States. But a few seconds after reading the honorable Secretary of the Navy's letter, I finally understood my true wish, and my only goal in life was to capture this anxious monster and remove it from the world.

However, I had just made a hard trip, Kurama Lawton, exhausted, and in desperate need of rest. I wanted to return to my homeland, to visit friends, to my residence with the botanical garden, and to admire my treasured collections. But now, I have left all this behind, I have forgotten all fatigue, friends, collections, etc., and resolutely accepted the invitation of the US government.

"Besides," I thought, "all roads lead to Europe, and maybe the narwhal is so cute that it leads me to the French coast!" This majestic animal may have caught it in European waters to please me, and the ivory halberd of the whale I brought back to the Museum of Natural History in Paris must not be less than half a meter long. ”

However, I now have to go to the northern Pacific Ocean to look for this narwhal, which is exactly the opposite of my return to my homeland.

Consei (Consei: coneil in French, meaning "suggestion.") Also translated as "Consel")! I shouted impatiently.

Conseil is my servant. He was a loyal lad and he followed me every time I traveled. He was an upright Flemish (Flemish: Flandre region between NorthwestErn Europe, between Belgium and France) and I liked him very much and he loved to serve me. He has a steady personality, is well-behaved, and enthusiastic; life is sudden and unexpected, and he never makes a fuss. He's smart and he can do anything. Although his name was Conseil, he never gave any advice, even when asked of him.

As a result of his frequent contact with those of us in the circle of scholars of the Botanical Garden in Paris, Conseil was fascinated and gradually learned a lot. I think he's almost an expert. He was well versed in the classification of naturalism. Like an acrobat, he can deftly distinguish the doors, orders, families, genera, genera, species, varieties, etc., clearly. However, his schooling was limited to this. He is very familiar with classification, and other aspects are not good. He was well versed in taxonomic theory, but lacked practice, and I think he might have even joined the sperm whale (sperm whale: aka "giant whale", a species of whale distributed in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The head is huge, it can account for one-third of the body) and the average whale is not clear! But he was a decent and honest lad!

So far, for ten years, Consei has followed me everywhere on scientific expeditions. He never considered the journey far away, Kurama Lawton. No matter which country he went to, whether he went to China or Congo, he was ready to pack his bags, and he would leave without saying a word. He didn't care where he went, he didn't even ask. In addition, he is strong and muscular, no illness can hurt him, and he is always calm, easy-going, never angry, in short, he is kind-hearted and very easy to get along with.

The young man was thirty years old, and the ratio of his master's age was fifteen to twenty. Forgive me for using this method to illustrate that I am forty years old this year.

However, Conseil also has a drawback. He was overly formal, talked to me too politely, and used a third person.

"Conseil!" I screamed again as I excitedly set about packing.

Of course, I can rest assured of this loyal young man. Usually, I never asked him if he could travel with me. But this time it was different, it was an expedition, I don't know how long it would take, and it was dangerous to chase a big animal that could crush a destroyer like a walnut. Even those who are calm and calm must weigh this kind of thing. What would Conseil say?

"Conseil!" I called him for the third time.

Conseil came.

"Sir call me?" He asked as he walked into the room.

"Yes, boy. Prepare for me, and prepare yourself. We set off two hours later. ”

"Listen to your honor, sir." Conseil answered calmly.

"Not a minute can be delayed. Take all my travel necessities, clothes, shirts, socks, etc., don't count, take as much as you can, and stuff them into my big box. Hurry up and pack it up! ”

"What about the gentleman's specimen?"

"I'll talk about it later."

"How? What about the skeleton specimens of the original beasts, the hoofed rabbits, the antelope, and other animals? ”

"Let's save it in the hotel."

"What about the gentleman's live deer dolphin?"

"When we're away, ask someone else to feed it." In addition, you have people transport our animals for research back to France. ”

"So we're not going back to Paris?" Conseil asked.

"Back... Of course I have to go back..." I replied, "but you have to take a detour." "Sir like to go around the bend."

"Ah! It's no big deal! It's just a slight detour. We're going to take the Abraham Lincoln. ”

"Sir, if you think it's appropriate." Conseil replied calmly.

"You know, my friend, it's about that monster... It's that deep-sea narwhal... We're going to get it out of the sea... I am the author of the four-volume, two-volume book "The Secret of the Seabed", and I cannot but go to sea with Captain Farragut. This task is glorious, but... It's also a dangerous mission! We don't know where to look for it! This animal can be varied and capricious! But we still have to find it! Fortunately, we have a bold and careful captain..."

"Wherever sir goes, I'll follow you." Conseil replied.

"You better think about it!" I really don't hide it, this kind of voyage is likely to have no return! ”

"Listen to your honor, sir."

After a quarter of an hour, our boxes were packed and stopped. Conseil did this without any trouble, and I'm sure he wouldn't forget anything, for the lad had sorted out his clothes and shirt and was as familiar as he had sorted birds and mammals.

We took the elevator to the lobby on the second floor of the hotel. I went down a few steps to the first floor. At the large counter, which was always crowded with people, I settled the bill. I instructed the people at the hotel to mail the taxidermy stuffed with straw and the dried plant specimens to Paris. I also left some money, enough for someone to feed my deer and dolphin. After that, Conseil set off with me in a cow.

The carriage ran this trip for twenty francs. We went straight to United States Plaza via Broadway Avenue, then along Fourth Avenue to the intersection with Bowery Avenue, turning Onlin Avenue and driving to Pier 34. We boarded the Catlin ferry and arrived in Brooklyn with horses and cars. It belongs to the New York Region and is located on the left bank of the Este River. A few minutes later, we arrived at the dock where the Abraham Lincoln was moored. The two large smokers of the destroyer were emitting thick smoke, and the steam engine had raised the air pressure to wait for departure.

Our luggage was immediately carried onto the deck of the destroyer. I hurried to board the ship and asked where Captain Farragut was. A sailor led me to the stern tower (艉楼: the arm of the ship at the stern of the ship), and I saw an imposing officer who held out his hand to me.

"Is it Mr. Pierre Aronnax?" He asked me.

"Exactly," I replied, "you are Captain Farragut?" ”

"Yes. Welcome, Mr. Professor. Your cabin is ready. ”

I resigned so as not to delay the captain's preparations for the voyage. The sailors led me to the cabin that had been prepared for me.

The Abraham Lincoln was specially selected and modified for this new task. It was a fast destroyer: equipped with a high-pressure steam engine, steam up to seven atmospheres (atmospheric pressure: that is, "standard atmospheric pressure", a non-statutory unit of measurement of pressure. 1 standard atmospheric pressure = 101.325 kPa) With such a large air pressure, the average speed of the Abraham Lincoln can reach eighteen points and three nautical miles. That's a lot of speed, but it's not inferior to wrestle with the cetacean.

The internal equipment of the destroyer met the requirements of this voyage. I was also happy with my cabin. My cabin was at the stern of the ship, and opposite the door was the officers' lounge.

"We would be very comfortable staying here." I said to Conseil.

"Sir, don't be surprised, it's like a hermit crab staying in a moth's shell." Conseil replied. I asked Consei to stay in the cabin to secure our cages, while I went up to the deck myself to see how we were ready to set sail.

At this time, Captain Farragut was ordering the last few cables that had tied the Abraham Lincoln to the Brooklyn docks. So, if I had arrived a quarter of an hour late, or even a quarter of an hour, the ship would have left without waiting for me, and I would have missed this particularly wonderful and incredible voyage. To be honest, even if this voyage is truly recorded, there will be doubts.

Captain Farragut did not want to delay for a day or even an hour, in order to sail as quickly as possible to the waters where the monster had recently haunted. He had the mechanic on the ship called in.

"Is the pressure of the ship enough?" He asked the mechanic.

"Very sufficient, sir." The mechanic replied.

"Anchor!" The Farragut captain commanded in a loud voice.

Command to reach the engine room under the compressed air device. The engineer received the order to immediately get the wheels running. Steam with a whistle rushes into the half-closed and half-closed intake valve. The long pistons arranged horizontally make a popping sound and push the linkage rod of the shaft. The blades of the propeller were speeding up, slapping powerfully against the surface of the water. The Abraham Lincoln set sail solemnly between hundreds of ferries and dinghies stationed with send-offs.

On the Pier in Brooklyn, on the banks of the Este River, it was packed with curious people. Half a million people shouted "Long live" in unison, and the sound was tremendous. Thousands of handkerchiefs waved above the black-pressed human head to bid farewell to the Abraham Lincoln until the ship sailed into the Hudson River (Hudson River: A 507-kilometer-long river in the State of New York, USA, that originates in the Adirondack Mountains. Downstream is the border between New York and New Jersey) until the top of the elongated peninsula that makes up New York City is invisible.

The scenery on the right bank of the Hudson River is beautiful, and the villas are closely connected. The destroyer sailed along the coast of New Jersey, passing through the fortress when the salute was fired to send off the Abraham Lincoln. In return, the Abraham Lincoln raised the flag with thirty-nine shining stars on its rear mast three times in a row. The ship then sped up and sailed into the navigational channel, which extended all the way to the arced inner bay formed by the Sandy Hook Sandbar. As the destroyer sailed over the sandbar, it was once again cheered by the thousands of spectators waiting there.

The sending ferry and dinghy followed the destroyer until it left the signal ship, which had two lights indicating that it was the exit of the New York route.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. The navigator boarded his dinghy and headed for a two-masted schooner waiting for it at the downwind outlet. The destroyers added coal and fire, and the propellers slapped faster on the surface of the water. It is driving along the low yellow coast of Long Island (long island: an island in the Atlantic Ocean, on the east coast of North America, belonging to the U.S. state of New York). At eight o'clock in the evening, the lights of Long Island disappeared in the northwest direction, and the destroyers were moving at full speed on the dim surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

The end of the film

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