Kitabı oku: «The Mysterious Island. B2 / Таинственный остров», sayfa 13
Now they must pitch their camp, and think of supper and sleep. The sailor built up a fireplace with huge stones. Neb and Herbert brought a load of thistles. The night was beautiful and not very dark. Cyrus decided to go further and Herbert accompanied him. Sometimes the plateau was wide and easy, sometimes very encumbered with rubbish. There were yet 1,000 feet to climb.
It was nearly 8 o’clock when they reached thesummit of the cone. They hardly saw around them. Was the land an island or a continent? At one point of the horizon suddenly appeared a weak light. The line of the horizon was now cloudless, and as the moon touched it, the engineer seized the boy’s hand.
– An island! – said he.
Glossary:
cudgel – дубина
summit – вершина
beneath – под
ascent – подъем
horizon – горизонт
seize – схватить, сжать
Chapter XI
Then they walked back to the camp. The country is an island, and tomorrow they will consider what to do.
The next day, March 30, after breakfast, they started out for thesummit of the volcano. All desired to see the isle. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning when they left the camp.
It was asuperb day, and the southern side of the mountain was sunny. The crater was a huge shaft gradually opening to a height of 1,000 feet above the plateau. They saw on the way traces of ancient lava. At 8 o’clock, they were standing at the summit of the crater.
– The sea! the sea everywhere! – was their exclamation.
Yes, water around them on every side. Around the island stretched an ocean. They were silent and motionless. Spilett asked:
– How large is this island?
– Small enough in the infinite ocean.
– My friends, – said Smith, – I think, the coast of the island is more than 100 miles around.
If Smith was right, the island was about the size ofMalta. The eastern coast was a curve, it was embracing a large bay. On the northeast, two other capes shut in the bay. Between them lay a narrow gulf. From northeast to northwest the coast was round and flat. Then came a hump, whose centre was occupied by the volcanic mountain. From this point the coast ran directly north and south. For two-thirds of its length it was bordered by a narrow creek; then it finished in a long cue. The narrowest part of the island, between the Chimneys and the creek, on the west, was ten miles wide.
