LUYỆN ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH QUA TÁC PHẨM VĂN HỌC-JULES VERNE -THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND -CHAPTER 19 pot

the door, since the passage offered a natural staircase, through which it would always be easy to enter Granite House.. "By an outside ladder," replied Cyrus Harding, "a rope ladder, whi

JULES VERNE THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

CHAPTER 19

The next day, the 22nd of May, the arrangement of their new dwelling was commenced In fact, the settlers longed to exchange the insufficient

shelter of the Chimneys for this large and healthy retreat, in the midst of solid rock, and sheltered from the water both of the sea and sky Their former dwelling was not, however, to be entirely abandoned, for the

engineer intended to make a manufactory of it for important works Cyrus Harding's first care was to find out the position of the front of Granite

House from the outside He went to the beach, and as the pickaxe when it escaped from the hands of the reporter must have fallen perpendicularly to the foot of the cliff, the finding it would be sufficient to show the place where the hole had been pierced in the granite

The pickaxe was easily found, and the hole could be seen in a

perpendicular line above the spot where it was stuck in the sand Some rock pigeons were already flying in and out of the narrow opening; they

evidently thought that Granite House had been discovered on purpose for them It was the engineer's intention to divide the right portion of the

cavern into several rooms, preceded by an entrance passage, and to light it

by means of five windows and a door, pierced in the front Pencroft was much pleased with the five windows, but he could not understand the use of

the door, since the passage offered a natural staircase, through which it would always be easy to enter Granite House

"My friend," replied Harding, "if it is easy for us to reach our dwelling

by this passage, it will be equally easy for others besides us I mean, on the contrary, to block up that opening, to seal it hermetically, and, if it

is necessary, to completely hide the entrance by making a dam, and thus causing the water of the lake to rise."

"And how shall we get in?" asked the sailor

"By an outside ladder," replied Cyrus Harding, "a rope ladder, which, once drawn up, will render access to our dwelling impossible."

"But why so many precautions?" asked Pencroft "As yet we have seen no dangerous animals As to our island being inhabited by natives, I don't believe it!"

"Are you quite sure of that, Pencroft?" asked the engineer, looking at the sailor

"Of course we shall not be quite sure, till we have explored it in every direction," replied Pencroft

"Yes," said Harding, "for we know only a small portion of it as yet But

at any rate, if we have no enemies in the interior, they may come from the exterior, for parts of the Pacific are very dangerous We must be provided

against every contingency."

Cyrus Harding spoke wisely; and without making any further objection, Pencroft prepared to execute his orders

The front of Granite House was then to be lighted by five windows and a door, besides a large bay window and some smaller oval ones, which would admit plenty of light to enter into the marvelous nave which was to be

their chief room This facade, situated at a height of eighty feet above

the ground, was exposed to the east, and the rising sun saluted it with its first rays It was found to be just at that part of the cliff which was

between the projection at the mouth of the Mercy and a perpendicular line traced above the heap of rocks which formed the Chimneys Thus the winds from the northeast would only strike it obliquely, for it was protected by the projection Besides, until the window-frames were made, the engineer meant to close the openings with thick shutters, which would prevent either wind or rain from entering, and which could be concealed in need

The first work was to make the openings This would have taken too long with the pickaxe alone, and it is known that Harding was an ingenious man

He had still a quantity of nitro-glycerine at his disposal, and he employed

it usefully By means of this explosive substance the rock was broken open

at the very places chosen by the engineer Then, with the pickaxe and

spade, the windows and doors were properly shaped, the jagged edges were smoothed off, and a few days alter the beginning of the work, Granite House was abundantly lighted by the rising sun, whose rays penetrated into its most secret recesses Following the plan proposed by Cyrus Harding, the

space was to be divided into five compartments looking out on the sea; to the right, an entry with a door, which would meet the ladder; then a

kitchen, thirty feet long; a dining-room, measuring forty feet; a sleeping- room, of equal size; and lastly, a "Visitor's room," petitioned for by

Pencroft, and which was next to the great hall These rooms, or rather this suite of rooms, would not occupy all the depth of the cave There would be also a corridor and a storehouse, in which their tools, provisions, and

stores would be kept All the productions of the island, the flora as well

as the fauna, were to be there in the best possible state of preservation, and completely sheltered from the damp There was no want of space, so that

each object could be methodically arranged Besides, the colonists had still at their disposal the little grotto above the great cavern, which was like the garret of the new dwelling

This plan settled, it had only to be put into execution The miners

became brickmakers again, then the bricks were brought to the foot of Granite House Till then, Harding and his companions had only entered the cavern by the long passage This mode of communication obliged them first

to climb Prospect Heights, making a detour by the river's bank, and then to descend two hundred feet through the passage, having to climb as far when they wished to return to the plateau This was a great loss of time, and

was also very fatiguing Cyrus Harding, therefore, resolved to proceed without any further delay to the fabrication of a strong rope ladder,

which, once raised, would render Granite House completely inaccessible

This ladder was manufactured with extreme care, and its uprights, formed

of the twisted fibers of a species of cane, had the strength of a thick

cable As to the rounds, they were made of a sort of red cedar, with light, strong branches; and this apparatus was wrought by the masterly hand of Pencroft

Other ropes were made with vegetable fibers, and a sort of crane with a tackle was fixed at the door In this way bricks could easily be raised

into Granite House The transport of the materials being thus simplified, the arrangement of the interior could begin immediately There was no want

of lime, and some thousands of bricks were there ready to be used The framework of the partitions was soon raised, very roughly at first, and in

a short time, the cave was divided into rooms and storehouses, according to the plan agreed upon

These different works progressed rapidly under the direction of the

engineer, who himself handled the hammer and the trowel No labor came amiss to Cyrus Harding, who thus set an example to his intelligent and zealous companions They worked with confidence, even gaily, Pencroft always having some joke to crack, sometimes carpenter, sometimes rope- maker, sometimes mason, while he communicated his good humor to all the members of their little world His faith in the engineer was complete;

nothing could disturb it He believed him capable of undertaking anything and succeeding in everything The question of boots and clothes assuredly

a serious question, that of light during the winter months, utilizing the fertile parts of the island, transforming the wild flora into cultivated

flora, it all appeared easy to him; Cyrus Harding helping, everything would

be done in time He dreamed of canals facilitating the transport of the

riches of the ground; workings of quarries and mines; machines for every industrial manufacture; railroads; yes, railroads! of which a network would certainly one day cover Lincoln Island

The engineer let Pencroft talk He did not put down the aspirations of

this brave heart He knew how communicable confidence is; he even smiled

to

hear him speak, and said nothing of the uneasiness for the future which he felt In fact, in that part of the Pacific, out of the course of vessels,

it was to be feared that no help would ever come to them It was on

themselves, on themselves alone, that the settlers must depend, for the

distance of Lincoln Island from all other land was such, that to hazard

themselves in a boat, of a necessarily inferior construction, would be a

serious and perilous thing

"But," as the sailor said, "they quite took the wind out of the sails of

the Robinsons, for whom everything was done by a miracle."

In fact, they were energetic; an energetic man will succeed where an

indolent one would vegetate and inevitably perish

Herbert distinguished himself in these works He was intelligent and

active; understanding quickly, he performed well; and Cyrus Harding

became

more and more attached to the boy Herbert had a lively and reverent love for the engineer Pencroft saw the close sympathy which existed between the two, but he was not in the least jealous Neb was Neb: he was what he would

be always, courage, zeal, devotion, self-denial personified He had the same faith in his master that Pencroft had, but he showed it less

vehemently When the sailor was enthusiastic, Neb always looked as if he would say, "Nothing could be more natural." Pencroft and he were great friends

As to Gideon Spilett, he took part in the common work, and was not less skilful in it than his companions, which always rather astonished the

sailor A "journalist," clever, not only in understanding, but in

performing everything

The ladder was finally fixed on the 28th of May There were not less than

a hundred rounds in this perpendicular height of eighty feet Harding had been able, fortunately, to divide it in two parts, profiting by an

overhanging of the cliff which made a projection forty feet above the ground This projection, carefully leveled by the pickaxe, made a sort of platform, to which they fixed the first ladder, of which the oscillation was thus diminished one-half, and a rope permitted it to be raised to the level of Granite House As to the second ladder, it was secured both at its lower part, which rested on the projection, and at its upper end, which was fastened to the door In short the ascent had been made much easier

Besides, Cyrus Harding hoped later to establish an hydraulic apparatus, which would avoid all fatigue and loss of time, for the inhabitants of Granite House

The settlers soon became habituated to the use of this ladder They were light and active, and Pencroft, as a sailor, accustomed to run up the masts

and shrouds, was able to give them lessons But it was also necessary to give them to Top The poor dog, with his four paws, was not formed for this sort of exercise But Pencroft was such a zealous master, that Top ended by properly performing his ascents, and soon mounted the ladder as readily as his brethren in the circus It need not be said that the sailor was proud

of his pupil However, more than once Pencroft hoisted him on his back, which Top never complained of

It must be mentioned here, that during these works, which were actively conducted, for the bad season was approaching, the alimentary question was not neglected Every day, the reporter and Herbert, who had been voted purveyors to the colony, devoted some hours to the chase As yet, they only hunted in Jacamar Wood, on the left of the river, because, for want of a bridge or boat, the Mercy had not yet been crossed All the immense woods,

to which the name of the Forests of the Far West had been given, were not explored They reserved this important excursion for the first fine days of the next spring But Jacamar Wood was full of game; kangaroos and boars abounded, and the hunters iron-tipped spears and bows and arrows did wonders Besides, Herbert discovered towards the southwest point of the lagoon a natural warren, a slightly damp meadow, covered with willows and aromatic herbs which scented the air, such as thyme, basil, savory, all the sweet-scented species of the labiated plants, which the rabbits appeared to

be particularly fond of

On the reporter observing that since the table was spread for the

rabbits, it was strange that the rabbits themselves should be wanting, the two sportsmen carefully explored the warren At any rate, it produced an

abundance of useful plants, and a naturalist would have had a good

opportunity of studying many specimens of the vegetable kingdom Herbert gathered several shoots of the basil, rosemary, balm, betony, etc., which possess different medicinal properties, some pectoral, astringent,

febrifuge, others anti-spasmodic, or anti-rheumatic When, afterwards, Pencroft asked the use of this collection of herbs,

"For medicine," replied the lad, "to treat us when we are ill."

"Why should we be ill, since there are no doctors in the island?" asked Pencroft quite seriously

There was no reply to be made to that, but the lad went on with his

collection all the same, and it was well received at Granite House Besides these medicinal herbs, he added a plant known in North America as

"Oswego

tea," which made an excellent beverage

At last, by searching thoroughly, the hunters arrived at the real site of

the warren There the ground was perforated like a sieve

"Here are the burrows!" cried Herbert

"Yes," replied the reporter, "so I see."

"But are they inhabited?"

"That is the question."

This was soon answered Almost immediately, hundreds of little animals, similar to rabbits, fled in every direction, with such rapidity that even

Top could not overtake them Hunters and dog ran in vain; these rodents escaped them easily But the reporter resolved not to leave the place,

until he had captured at least half-a-dozen of the quadrupeds He wished to stock their larder first, and domesticate those which they might take

later It would not have been difficult to do this, with a few snares

stretched at the openings of the burrows But at this moment they had

neither snares, nor anything to make them of They must, therefore, be satisfied with visiting each hole, and rummaging in it with a stick, hoping

by dint of patience to do what could not be done in any other way

At last, after half an hour, four rodents were taken in their holes They

were similar to their European brethren, and are commonly known by the name

of American rabbits

This produce of the chase was brought back to Granite House, and figured

at the evening repast The tenants of the warren were not at all to be

despised, for they were delicious It was a valuable resource of the

colony, and it appeared to be inexhaustible

On the 31st of May the partitions were finished The rooms had now only

to be furnished, and this would be work for the long winter days A chimney was established in the first room, which served as a kitchen The pipe