 Book 1, Chapter 17, of Off on a Comet. Upon re-embarking, the bewildered explorers began to discuss the question whether it would not now be desirable to make their way back to Gorby Island, which was apparently the only spot in their new world from which they could hope to derive their future sustenance. Captain Servidak tried to console himself with the reflection that Gorby Island was, after all, a fragment of a French colony, and as such almost like a bit of his dear and the plan of returning thither was on the point of being adopted when Lieutenant Prokope remarked that they ought to remember that they had not hitherto made an entire circuit of the new shores of the sea on which they were sailing. We have, he said, neither investigated the northern shore from the site of Cape Antibes to the strait that brought us to Gibraltar, nor have we followed the southern shore that stretches from the strait to the Gulf of Cain. It is the old coast, and not the new, that we have been tracing. As yet, we cannot say positively that there is no outlet to the south. As yet, we cannot assert that no oasis of the African desert has escaped the catastrophe. Perhaps, even here in the north, we may find that Italy and Sicily and the larger islands of the Mediterranean may still maintain their existence. I entirely concur with you, said Count Timischew. I quite think we ought to make our survey of the confines of this new basin as complete as possible before we withdraw. Servidak, although he acknowledged the justness of these observations, could not help pleading that the explorations might be deferred until after a visit had been paid to Gorby Island. Depend on it, Captain, you are mistaken, replied the Lieutenant. The right thing to do is to use the doberna while she is available. Available? What do you mean? asked the Count, somewhat taken by surprise. I mean, said Procope, that the farther this gala of ours recedes from the sun, the lower the temperature will fall. It is likely enough, I think, that before long the sea will be frozen over, and navigation will be impossible. Already you have learned something of the difficulties of traversing a field of ice, and I am sure, therefore, you will acquiesce in my wish to continue our explorations while the water is still open. No doubt you are right, Lieutenant, said the Count. We will continue our search while we can for some remaining fragment of Europe. Who shall tell whether we may not meet with some more survivors from the catastrophe to whom it might be in our power to afford assistance before we go into our winter quarters? Generous and altogether unselfish as this sentiment really was, it was obvious to the general interest that they should become acquainted and, if possible, establish friendly relations with any human inhabitant who might be sharing their own strange destiny in being rolled away upon a new planet into the infinitude of space. All difference of race, all distinction of nationality, must be merged into the one thought that, few as they were, they were the sole surviving representatives of a world which it seemed exceedingly improbable that they would ever see again, and common sense dictated that they were bound to direct all their energies to ensure that their asteroid should at least have a united and sympathizing population. It was on the 25th of February that the yacht left a little creek in which she had taken refuge, and setting off at full steam eastwards, she continued her way along the northern shore. A brisk breeze tended to increase the keenness of the temperature, the thermometer being, on average, about two degrees below zero. Salt water freezes only at a lower temperature than fresh. The course of the de Berna was therefore unimpeded by ice, but it could not be concealed that there was the greatest necessity to maintain the utmost possible speed. The nights continued lovely. The chilled condition of the atmosphere prevented the formation of clouds. The constellations gleamed forth with unsullied luster, and, much as Lieutenant Proculp, from nautical considerations, might regret the absence of the moon, he could not do otherwise than own that the magnificent nights of Galia were such as must awaken the enthusiasm of an astronomer. And, as if to compensate for the loss of the moonlight, the heavens were illuminated by a superb shower of falling stars, far exceeding, both in number and in brilliancy, the phenomena which are commonly distinguished as the August and November meteors. In fact, Galia was passing through that meteoric ring which is known to lie exterior to the Earth's orbit, but almost concentric with it. The rocky coast, its metallic surface reflecting the glow of the dazzling luminaries, appeared literally stippled with light, whilst the sea, as though spattered with burning hailstones, shone with a phosphorescence that was perfectly splendid. So great, however, was the speed at which Galia was receding from the sun, that this meteoric storm lasted scarcely more than four and twenty hours. The next day the direct progress of the diberna was arrested by a long projection of land, which obliged her to turn southwards, until she reached what formerly would have been the southern extremity of Corsica. Of this, however, there was no trace. The strait of Bonifacio had been replaced by a vast expanse of water, which had at first all the appearance of being utterly desert, but on the following morning the explorers unexpectedly sighted a little island, which, unless it should prove as was only too likely to be of recent origin, they concluded, from its situation must be a portion of the northernmost territory of Sardinia. The diberna approached the land as nearly as was prudent. The boat was lowered, and in a few minutes the Count and Servidec had landed upon the island, which was a mere plot of meadowland. Not much more than two acres in extent dotted here and there with a few myrtle bushes and lentists, interspersed with some ancient olives. Having ascertained, as they imagined, that the spot was devoid of living creature, they were on the point of returning to their boat when their attention was arrested by a faint bleeding, and immediately afterwards a solitary she-goat came bounding towards the shore. The creature had dark, almost black hair, and small curved horns, and was a specimen of that domestic breed which, with considerable justice, has gained for itself the title of the poor man's cow. So far from being alarmed at the presence of strangers, the goat ran nimbly toward them, and then, by its movements and plaintive cries, seemed to be enticing them to follow it. Come, said Servidec, let us see where it will lead us. It is more than probable it is not alone. The Count agreed, and the animal, as if comprehending what was said, trotted on gently for about a hundred paces, and stopped in front of a kind of cave or burrow that was half concealed by a grove of lentisks. Here, a little girl, seven or eight years of age, with rich brown hair and lustrous dark eyes, beautiful as one of Marillo's angels, was peeping shyly through the branches. Apparently discovering nothing in the aspect of the strangers to excite her apprehensions, the child suddenly gained confidence, darted forwards with outstretched hands, and in a voice, soft and melodious as the language which she spoke, said an Italian, I like you. You will not hurt me, will you? Hurt you, my child? Answered Servidec. No, indeed, we will be your friends. We will take care of you. After a few moments scrutiny of the pretty maiden, he added, tell us your name, little one. Nina, was the child's reply. Well, then, Nina, can you tell us where we are? At Maddalena, I think, said the little girl. At least, I know I was there when that dreadful shock came and altered everything. The count knew that Maddalena was close to Caprera, to the north of Sardinia, which had entirely disappeared in the disaster. By dint of a series of questions, he gained from the child a very intelligent account of her experiences. She told him that she had no parents, and had been employed in taking care of a flock of goats belonging to one of the landowners, when one day, all of a sudden, everything around her, except this little piece of land, had been swallowed up, and that she and Marzi, her pet goat, had been left quite alone. She went on to say that at first she had been very frightened, but when she found that the earth did not shake anymore, she had thanked the great God, and had soon made herself very happy living with Marzi. She had enough food, she said, and had been waiting for a boat to fetch her, and now a boat had come and she was quite ready to go away. Only they must let her go with her. They would both like so much to get back to the old farm. Here, at least, is one nice little inhabitant of Galia, said Captain Servidak, as he caressed the chowd and conducted her to the boat. Half an hour later, both Nina and Marzi were safely quartered on board the yacht. It is needless to say that they received the hardiest of welcomes. The Russian sailors, ever superstitious, seemed almost to regard the coming of the chowd as the appearance of an angel, and, incredible as it may seem, more than one of them wondered whether she had wings, and amongst themselves, they commonly referred to her as the Little Madonna. Soon, out of sight of Maddalena, the diberna for some hours held a southeasterly course along the shore, which here was 50 leagues in advance of the former coastline of Italy, demonstrating that a new continent must have been formed, substituted as it were for the old peninsula, of which not a vestige could be identified. At a latitude corresponding with the latitude of Rome, the sea took the form of a deep gulf, extending back far beyond the site of the eternal city, the coast making a wide sweep run to the former position of Calabria, and jutting far beyond the outline of the boot, which Italy resembles. But the beacon of Messina was not to be discerned. No trace, indeed, survived of any portion of Sicily. The very peak of Etna, 11,000 feet, as it reared itself above the level of the sea, had vanished utterly. Another 60 leagues to the south, and the diberna cited the entrance of the strait which had afforded her so providential a refuge from the tempest, and had conducted her to the fragmentary relic of Gibraltar. Hence to the gulf of Cape had already been explored, and as it was universally allowed that it was unnecessary to renew the search in that direction, the lieutenant started off in a traverse course toward a point hitherto uninvestigated. That point was reached on the 3rd of March, and thence the coast was continually followed, as it led through what had been Tunis, across the province of Constantine, away to the oasis of Zeban, where, taking a sharp turn, it first reached a latitude of 32 degrees, and then returned again, thus forming a sort of irregular gulf, enclosed by the same unvarying border of mineral concrete. This colossal boundary then stretched away for nearly 150 leagues over the Sahara Desert, and, extending to the south of Gorby Island, occupied what, if Morocco had still existed, would have been its natural frontier. Adapting her course to these deviations of the coastline, the diberna was steering northwards, and had barely reached the limit of the bay when the attention of all on board was arrested by the phenomenon of a volcano, at least 3,000 feet high. Its crater was crowned with smoke, which occasionally was streaked by tongues of flame. A burning mountain, they exclaimed. Galia, then, has some internal heat, said Servidak. And why not, Captain, rejoined the lieutenant? If our asteroid has carried with it a portion of the old earth's atmosphere, why should it not likewise retain something of its central fire? Ah, well, said the captain, shrugging his shoulders, I dare say there is caloric enough in our little world to supply the wants of its population. Count Timoshev interrupted the silence that followed this conversation by saying, and now, gentlemen, as our course has brought us on our way once more towards Gibraltar, what do you say to our renewing our acquaintance with the Englishman? They will be interested in the result of our voyage. For my part, said Servidak, I have no desire that way. They know where to find Gorby Island. They can be taken themselves thither just when they please. They have plenty of provisions. If the water freezes, 120 leagues is no very great distance. The reception they gave us was not so cordial that we need put ourselves out of the way to repeat our visit. What you say is too true, replied the Count. I hope we shall show them better manners when they condescend to visit us. Hi, said Servidak, we must remember that we are all one people now, no longer Russian, French, or English. Nationality is extinct. I am sadly afraid, however, continued the Count, that an Englishman will be an Englishman ever. Yes, said the Captain, that is always their failing. And thus, all further thought of making their way again to the little garrison of Gibraltar was abandoned. But even if their spirit of courtesy had disposed them to renew their acquaintance with the British officers, there were two circumstances that just then would have rendered such a proposal very unadvisable. In the first place, Lieutenant Procope was convinced that it could not be much longer now before the sea would be entirely frozen. And, besides this, the consumption of their call, through the speed they had maintained, had been so great that there was only too much reason to fear that fuel would fail them. Anyhow, the strictest economy was necessary, and it was accordingly resolved that the voyage should not be much prolonged. Beyond the volcanic peak, moreover, the waters seemed to expand into a boundless ocean, and it might be a thing full of risk to be frozen up while the yacht was so inadequately provisioned. Taking all these things into account, it was agreed that further investigations should be deferred to a more favorable season, and that, without delay, the de Berna should return to Gorby Island. This decision was especially welcomed to Hector Servidak, who, throughout the whole of the last five weeks, had been agitated by much anxious thought on account of the faithful servant he had left behind. The transit from the volcano to the island was not long, and was marked by only one noticeable incident. This was the finding of a second mysterious document, in character precisely similar to what they had found before. The writer of it was evidently engaged upon a calculation, and probably continued from day to day as to the motions of the planet Galia upon its orbit, and committing the results of his reckonings to the waves as the channel of communication. Instead of being enclosed in a telescope case, it was this time secured in a preserved meat tin, hermetically sealed and stamped with the same initials on the wax that fastened it. The greatest care was used in opening it, and it was found to contain the following message. Another enigma exclaimed Servidak, and still no intelligible signature and no address, no clearing up of the mystery. I have no doubt, in my own mind, said the Count, that it is one of a series. It seems to me probable that they are being sent broadcast upon the sea. I wonder where the harebrained savant that writes them can be living, observed Servidak. Very likely he may have met with the fate of Esop's abstracted astronomer, who found himself at the bottom of a well. I, but where is that well, demanded the captain. This was a question which the Count was incapable of settling, and they could only speculate afresh as to whether the author of the riddles was dwelling upon some solitary island, or, like themselves, was navigating the waters of the new Mediterranean, but they could detect nothing to guide them to a definite decision. After thoughtfully regarding the document for some time, Lieutenant Procote proceeded to observe that he believed the paper might be considered as genuine, and accordingly, taking its statements as reliable, he deduced two important conclusions. First, that whereas, in the month of January, the distance traveled by the planet, hypothetically called Gallia, had been recorded as 82 million leagues, the distance traveled in February was only 59 million leagues, a difference of 23 million leagues in one month. Secondly, that the distance of the planet from the sun, which on the 15th of February had been 59 million leagues, was on the 1st of March, 78 million leagues, an increase of 19 million leagues in a fortnight. Thus, in proportion as Gallia receded from the sun, so did the rate of speed diminished by which she traveled along her orbit. Facts to be observed in perfect conformity with the known laws of celestial mechanism. And your inference, ask the count? My inference, replied the Lieutenant, is a confirmation of my surmise that we are following an orbit decidedly elliptical, although we have not yet the material to determine its eccentricity. As the writer adheres to the appellation of Gallia, do you not think, ask the count, that we might call these new waters the Gallian Sea? There is no reason to the contrary, count, replied the Lieutenant, and as such I will insert it upon my new chart. Our friend, said Servidak, seems to be more and more gratified with the condition of things. Not only has he adopted our motto, Neil Desperendum, but see how enthusiastically he has wound up with his unshante. The conversation dropped. A few hours later, the man on watch announced that Gorby Island was in sight. End of Book 1, Chapter 17. Book 1, Chapter 18 of Off on a Comet This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Off on a Comet, by Jules Verne. Translated by Anonymous. Book 1, Chapter 18. An Unexpected Population The Deberna was now back again at the island. Her cruise had lasted from the 31st of January to the 5th of March, a period of 35 days, for it was a leap year, corresponding to 70 days as accomplished by the New Little World. Many a time during his absence, Hector Servidak had wondered how his present vicitudes would end, and he had felt some misgivings as to whether he should ever again set foot upon the island and see his faithful orderly, so that it was not without a motion that he had approached the coast of the sole remaining fragment of Algerian soil. But his apprehensions were groundless. Gorby Island was just as he had left it, with nothing unusual in its aspect, except that a very peculiar cloud was hovering over it, at an altitude of little more than 100 feet. As the yacht approached the shore, this cloud appeared to rise and fall as if acted upon by some invisible agency, and the captain, after watching it carefully, perceived that it was not an accumulation of vapors at all, but a dense mass of birds packed as closely together as a swarm of herrings, and uttering deafening and discordant cries, amidst which from time to time the noise of the report of a gun could be plainly distinguished. The deburna signaled her arrival by firing her cannon, and dropped anchor in the little port of the chelif. Almost within a minute, Benzouf was seen running, gun in hand, towards the shore. He cleared the last ridge of rocks at a single bound, and then suddenly halted. For a few seconds he stood motionless, his eyes fixed, as if obeying the instructions of a drill sergeant. On a point some 15 yards distant, his whole attitude indicating submission and respect. But the sight of the captain, who was landing, was too much for his equanimity, and darting forward, he seized his master's hand and covered it with kisses. Instead, however, of uttering any expressions of welcome or rejoicing at the captain's return, Benzouf broke out into the most vehement ejaculations. Thieves, captain, beastly thieves, Bedouins, pirates, devils. Why, Benzouf, what's the matter? said Servidaq soothingly. They are thieves, downright desperate thieves. Those infernal birds. That's what's the matter. It is a good thing you have come. Here have I for a whole month been spending my powder and shot upon them, and the more I kill them, the worse they get. And yet, if I were to leave them alone, we should not have a grain of corn upon the island. It was soon evident that the orderly had only too much cause for alarm. The crops had ripened rapidly during the excessive heat of January, when the orbit of Galia was being traversed at its perihelion, and were now exposed to the depredations of many thousands of birds. And although a goodly number of stacks attested to the industry of Benzouf during the time of the de Bernes voyage, it was only to apparent that the portion of the harvest that remained ungathered was liable to the most imminent risk of being utterly devoured. It was, perhaps, only natural that this clustered mass of birds, as representing the whole of the feathered tribe upon the surface of Galia, should resort to Gorby Island, of which the meadows seemed to be the only spot from which they could get sustenance at all. But as the sustenance would be obtained at the expense, and probably to the series detriment of the human population, it was absolutely necessary that every possible resistance should be made to the devastation that was threatened. Once satisfied that Servidak and his friends would cooperate with him in the raid upon the Thieves, Benzouf became calm and content, and began to make various inquiries. And what has become, he said, of all our old comrades in Africa. As far as I can tell you, answered the captain, they are all in Africa still, only Africa isn't by any means where we expected to find it. And France, Montmartre, continued Benzouf eagerly. Here was the cry of the poor fellow's heart. As briefly as he could, Servidak endeavored to explain the true condition of things. He tried to communicate the fact that Paris, France, Europe, Ney, the whole world was more than 80 millions of leagues away from Gorby Island. As gently and cautiously as he could, he expressed his fear that they might never see Europe, France, Paris, Montmartre again. No, no, sir, protested Benzouf emphatically. That is all nonsense. It is altogether out of the question to suppose that we are not to see Montmartre again. And the orderly shook his head resolutely, with the air of a man determined, in spite of argument, to adhere to his own opinion. Very good, my brave fellow, replied Servidak, hope on, hope while you may. The message has come to us over the sea. Never despair, but one thing, nevertheless, is certain. We must forthwith commence arrangements for making this island our permanent home. Captain Servidak now led the way to the Gorby, which, by his servant's exertions, had been entirely rebuilt. And here he did the honors of his modest establishment to his two guests, the Count and the Lieutenant, and gave a welcome, too, to little Nina, who had accompanied them on shore, and between whom, and Benzouf, the most friendly relations had already been established. The adjacent building continued in good preservation, and Captain Servidak's satisfaction was very great in finding the two horses, Zephyr and Galette, comfortably housed there and in good condition. After the enjoyment of some refreshment, the party proceeded to a general consultation as to what steps must be taken for their future welfare. The most pressing matter that came before them was the consideration of the means to be adopted to enable the inhabitants of Galia to survive the terrible cold, which, in their ignorance of the true eccentricity of their orbit, might, for ought they knew, last for an almost indefinite period. Fuel was far from abundant. Of coal there was none. Trees and shrubs were few in number, and to cut them down in prospect of the cold seemed a very questionable policy. But there was no doubt that some expedient must be devised to prevent disaster, and that without delay. The victualing of the little colony offered no immediate difficulty. Water was abundant, and the cisterns could hardly fail to be replenished by the numerous streams that meandered along the plains. Moreover, the galleon sea would air long be frozen over, and the melted ice, water in its congealed state being divested of every particle of salt, would afford a supply of drink that could not be exhausted. The crops that were now ready for the harvest, and the flocks and herds scattered over the island, would form an ample reserve. There was little doubt that throughout the winter the soil would remain unproductive, and no fresh fodder for domestic animals could then be obtained. It would therefore be necessary if the exact duration of Galleus' year should ever be calculated, to proportion the number of animals to be reserved to the real length of the winter. The next thing requisite was to arrive at a true estimate of the number of the population. Without including the 13 Englishmen at Gibraltar, about whom he was not particularly disposed to give himself much concern at present, Servadeck put down the names of the eight Russians, the two Frenchmen, and the little Italian girl, eleven in all, as the entire list of the inhabitants of Gorby Island. Oh, pardon me, interposed Benzouf, you are mistaking the state of the case altogether. You will be surprised to learn that the total of people on the island is double that. It is twenty-two. Twenty-two, exclaimed the captain, twenty-two people on this island. What do you mean? The opportunity has not occurred, answered Benzouf, for me to tell you before, but I have had company. Explain yourself, Benzouf, said Servadeck. What company have you had? You could not suppose, replied the orderly, that my own unassisted hands could have accomplished all that harvest work that you see has been done. I confess, said Lieutenant Prokope, we do not seem to have noticed that. Well, then, said Benzouf, if you will be good enough to come with me for about a mile, I shall be able to show you my companions, but we must take our guns. Why take our guns? asked Servadeck. I hope we are not going to fight. No, not with men, said Benzouf, but it does not answer to throw a chance away for giving battle to those thieves of birds. Leaving little Nina and her goat in the goreby, Servadeck, Count Timischew, and the Lieutenant, greatly mystified, took up their guns and followed the orderly. All along their way they made unsparing slaughter of the birds that hovered over and around them. Nearly every species of the feathered tribe seemed to have its representative in that living cloud. There were wild ducks in the thousands, snipe, larks, rooks, and swallows, a countless variety of seabirds, whigeons, gulls, and seamews, beside a quantity of game, quails, partridges, and woodcocks. The sportsmen did their best, every shot told, and the depredators fell by dozens on either hand. Instead of following the northern shore of the island, Benzouf cut obliquely across the plain, making their progress with the unwanted rapidity which was attributable to their specific lightness. Servadeck and his companions soon found themselves near a grove of sycamores and eucalyptus masked in picturesque confusion at the base of a little hill. Here they halted. Ah, the vagabonds, the rascals, the thieves, suddenly exclaimed Benzouf, stamping his foot with rage. How now? Are your friends the birds at their pranks again? Asked the captain. No, I don't mean the birds. I mean those lazy beggars that are shirking their work. Look here, look there. And as Benzouf spoke, he pointed to some scythes and sickles and other implements of husbandry that had been left upon the ground. What is it you mean? Asked Servadeck, getting somewhat impatient. Hush, hush, listen, was all Benzouf's reply, and he raised his finger as if in warning. Listening attentively, Servadeck and his associates could distinctly recognize a human voice, accompanied by the notes of a guitar and by the measured click of castanets. Spaniards, said Servadeck. No mistake about that, sir, replied Benzouf. A Spaniard would rattle his castanets at the cannon's mouth. But what is the meaning of it all? Asked the captain, more puzzled than before. Hark, said Benzouf, it is the old man's turn. And then a voice, at once gruff and harsh, was heard with sifferating. My money, my money, when will you pay me my money? Pay me what you owe me, you miserable mages. Meanwhile, the song continued. Tu senduga y cigarro y una cana de hieres, mi yemergo y un tabuco, que magloria puede haver. Servadeck's knowledge of Gaskhan enabled him partially to comprehend the rollicking tenor of the Spanish patriotic air, but his attention was again arrested by the voice of the old man growling savagely. Pay me, you shall. Yes, by the God of Abraham, you shall pay me. A Jew, exclaimed Servadeck. I, sir, a German Jew, said Benzouf. The party was on the point of entering the thicket when a singular spectacle made them pause. A group of Spaniards had just begun dancing their national fandango, and the extraordinary lightness which had become the physical property of every object in the new planet made the dancers bound to a height of 30 feet or more into the air considerably above the tops of the trees. What followed was irresistibly comic. Four sturdy mages had dragged along with them an old man incapable of resistance, and compelled him, Nolan's volans, to join in the dance. As they all kept appearing and disappearing above the bank of foliage, their grotesque attitudes, combined with the pitiable countenance of their helpless victim, could not do otherwise than recall most forcibly the story of Sancho Panza tossed in a blanket by the merry drapers of Sergovia. Servadeck, the Count, Procope, and Benzouf now proceeded to make their way through the thicket until they came to a little glade, where two men were stretched idly on the grass, one of them playing the guitar and the other a pair of castanets. Both were exploding with laughter as they urged the performers to greater and yet greater exertions in the dance. At the sight of strangers they paused in their music, and simultaneously the dancers, with their victim, alighted gently on the suede. Breathless and half exhausted as was the Jew, he rushed with an effort toward Servadeck, and exclaimed in French, marked by a strong Teutonic accent, Oh, my Lord Governor, help me, help! These rascals defraud me of my rights. They rob me. But in the name of the God of Israel, I ask you to see justice done. The captain glanced inquiringly towards Benzouf, and the orderly, by a significant nod, made his master understand that he was to play the part that was implied by the title. He took the cue, and promptly ordered the Jew to hold his tongue at once. The man bowed his head in servile submission, and folded his hands upon his breast. Servadeck surveyed him leisurely. He was a man of about fifty, but from his appearance might well have been taken for at least ten years older. Small and skinny, with eyes bright and cunning, a hooked nose, a short yellow beard, unkempt hair, huge feet, and long bony hands, he presented all the typical characteristics of the German Jew, the heartless, wily userer, the hardened miser and skinflint. As iron is attracted by the magnet, so was this shylock attracted by the sight of gold, nor would he have hesitated to draw the lifeblood of his creditors if by such means he could secure his claims. His name was Isaac Hakobot, and he was a native of Cologne. Nearly the whole of his time, however, he informed Captain Servadeck, had been spent upon the sea, his real business being that of a merchant trading at all the ports of the Mediterranean. A tartan, a small vessel of 200 tons burden, conveyed his entire stock of merchandise, and, to say the truth, was a sort of floating emporium, conveying nearly every possible article of commerce, from a Lucifer match to the radiant fabrics of Frankfurt and Epinal. Without wife or children, and having no settled home, Isaac Hakobot lived almost entirely on board the Hansa, as he had named his tartan, and engaging a mate with a crew of three men as being adequate to work so light a craft, he cruised along the coasts of Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece, visiting, moreover, most of the harbors of the Levant. Careful to be always well supplied with the products in most general demand, coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, cotton stuffs, and gunpowder, and being at all times ready to barter and prepared to deal in second hand wares, he had contrived to amass considerable wealth. On the eventful night of the 1st of January, the Hansa had been at Shuta, the point on the coast of Morocco exactly opposite Gibraltar. The mate and three sailors had all gone on shore, and, in common with many of their fellow creatures, had entirely disappeared, but the most projecting rock of Shuta had been undisturbed by the general catastrophe, and half a score of Spaniards, who had happened to be upon it, had escaped with their lives. They were all Andalusian mages, agricultural laborers, and naturally as careless and apathetic as men of their class usually are, but they could not help being very considerably embarrassed when they discovered that they were left in solitude upon a detached and isolated rock. They took what mutual counsel they could, but became only more and more perplexed. One of them was named Negriti, and he, as having traveled somewhat more than the rest, was tacitly recognized as a sort of leader, but although he was by far the most enlightened of them all, he was quite incapable of forming the least conception of the nature of what had occurred. The one thing upon which they could not fail to be conscious was that they had no prospect of obtaining provisions, and consequently their first business was to devise a scheme for getting away from their present abode. The Hansa was lying offshore. The Spaniards could not have had the slightest hesitation in summarily taking possession of her, but their utter ignorance of seamanship made them reluctantly come to the conclusion that the more prudent policy was to make terms with the owner. And now came a singular part of the story. Negriti and his companions had meanwhile received a visit from two English officers from Gibraltar. What passed between them the Jew did not know. He only knew that, immediately after the conclusion of the interview, Negriti came to him and ordered him to set sail at once for the nearest point of Morocco. The Jew, afraid to disobey, but with his eye ever upon the main chance, stipulated that at the end of their voyage the Spaniards should pay for their passage, terms to which, as they would to any other, they did not demur, knowing that they had not the slightest intention of giving him a single real. The Hansa had weighed anchor on the 3rd of February. The wind blew from the west, and consequently the working of the tartan was easy enough. The unpracticed sailors had only to hoist their sails and, though they were quite unconscious of the fact, the breeze carried them to the only spot upon the little world they occupied which could afford them a refuge. Thus it fell out that one morning Benzouf, from his lookout on Gourby Island, saw a ship, not the de Berna, appear upon the horizon, and make quietly down towards what had formally been the right bank of the Shalif. Such was Benzouf's version of what had occurred, as he gathered it from the newcomers. He wound up his recital by remarking that the cargo of the Hansa would be of immense service to them. He expected, indeed, that Isaac Hakobot would be difficult to manage, but considered there could be no harm in appropriating the goods for the common welfare, since there could be no opportunity now for selling them. Benzouf added, as to the difficulties between the Jew and his passengers, I told him that the Governor-General was absent on a tour of inspection, and that he would see everything equitably settled. Smiling at his orderly's tactics, Servedek turned to Hakobot and told him that he would take care that his claims should be duly investigated and all proper demands should be paid. The man appeared satisfied, and, for the time at least, desisted from his complaints and importunities. When the Jew had retired, Count Timischef asked, but how in the world can you ever make those fellows pay anything? They have lots of money, said Benzouf. Not likely, replied the Count, when did you ever know Spaniards like them to have lots of money? But I have seen it myself, said Benzouf, and it is English money. English money, echoed Servedek, and his mind again reverted to the excursion made by the Colonel and the Major from Gibraltar about which they had been so reticent. We must inquire more about this, he said. Then, addressing Count Timischef, he added, altogether I think the countries of Europe are fairly represented by the population of Galia. True, Captain, answered the Count, we have only a fragment of a world, but it contains natives of France, Russia, Italy, Spain, and England, and even Germany may be said to have a representative in the person of this miserable Jew. And even in him, said Servedek, perhaps we shall not find so indifferent a representative as we at present imagine. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Off on a comment by Jules Verne, translated by Anonymous. Book 1, Chapter 19, Galia's Governor-General The Spaniards who had arrived on board the Hansa consisted of nine men and a lad of 12 years of age named Pablo. They all received Captain Servedek, whom Benzouf introduced as the Governor-General, with due respect, and returned quickly to their separate tasks. The Captain and his friends, followed at some distance by the eager Jew, soon left the glade and directed their steps towards the coast where the Hansa was moored. As they went, they discussed their situation. As far as they had ascertained, except Gorby Island, the sole surviving fragments of the Old World were four small islands. The bit of Gibraltar occupied by the Englishmen, Shuta, which had just been left by the Spaniards, Maddalena, where they had picked up the little Italian girl, and the site of the tomb of St. Louis on the coast of Tunis. Around these there was stretched out the full extent of the Galleon Sea, which apparently comprised about one half of the Mediterranean, the whole being encompassed by a barrier-like framework of precipitous cliffs, of an origin and a substance alike unknown. Of all these spots, only two were known to be inhabited, Gibraltar, where the 13 Englishmen were amply provisioned for some years to come, and their own Gorby Island. Here there was a population of 22 who would all have to subsist upon the natural products of the soil. It was indeed not to be forgotten that, perchance, upon some remote and undiscovered isle there might be the solitary writer of the mysterious papers which they had found, and if so, that would raise the census of their new asteroid to an aggregate of 36. Even upon the supposition that at some future date the whole population should be compelled to unite and find a residence upon Gorby Island, there did not appear any reason to question but that 800 acres of rich soil under good management would yield them all an ample sustenance. The only critical matter was how long the cold season would last. Every hope depended upon the land again becoming productive. At present, it seemed impossible to determine even if Galleon's orbit were really elliptic, when she would reach her aphelion, and it was consequently necessary that the Galleons for the time being should reckon on nothing beyond their actual and present resources. These resources were, first, the provisions of the de Berna consisting of preserved meat, sugar, wine, brandy, and other stores sufficient for about two months. Secondly, the valuable cargo of the Hansa, which sooner or later, the owner, whether he would or not, must be compelled to surrender for the common benefit. And lastly, the produce of the island, animal and vegetable, which with proper economy might be made to last for a considerable period. In the course of the conversation, Count Timischew took an opportunity of saying that, as Captain Servodak had already been presented to the Spaniards as governor of the island, he thought it advisable that he should really assume that position. Every body of men, he observed, must have a head, and you, as a Frenchman, should, I think, take command of this fragment of a French colony. My men, I can answer for it, are quite prepared to recognize you as their superior officer. Most unhesitatingly, replied Servodak, I accept the post with all its responsibilities. We understand each other so well that I feel sure we shall try and work together for the common good, and even if it be our fate, never again to behold our fellow creatures, I have no misgivings but that we shall be able to cope with whatever difficulties may be before us. As he spoke, he held out his hand. Count took it, at the same time making a slight bow. It was the first time since their meeting that the two men had shaken hands. On the other hand, not a single word about their formal rivalry had ever escaped their lips. Perhaps that was all forgotten now. The silence of a few moments was broken by Servodak saying, do you not think we ought to explain our situation to the Spaniards? No, no, Your Excellency, burst in benzoof, emphatically. The fellows are chicken-hearted enough already. Only tell them what has happened, and in sheer despondency they will not do another stroke of work. Besides, said Lieutenant Procope, who took very much the same view as the orderly, they are so miserably ignorant they would be sure to misunderstand you. Understand or misunderstand, replied Servodak, I do not think it matters. They would not care. They are all fatalists. Only give them a guitar and their castanets, and they will soon forget all care and anxiety. For my own part, I must adhere to my belief that it will be advisable to tell them everything. Have you any opinion to offer? Count? My own opinion, Captain, coincides entirely with yours. I have followed the plan of explaining all I could to my men aboard the de Berna, and no inconvenience has arisen. Well, then, so let it be, said the Captain, adding, It is not likely that these Spaniards are so ignorant as not to have noticed the change in the length of the days. Neither can they be unaware of the physical changes that have transpired. They shall certainly be told that we are being carried away into unknown regions of space, and that this island is nearly all that remains of the old world. Ha Ha, Lafbenzuf allowed. It will be fine sport to watch the old Jews face when he is made to comprehend that he is flying away millions and millions of leagues from all his dead wars. Isaac Hakobot was about 50 yards behind, and was consequently unable to overhear the conversation. He went shambling along, half whimpering and not unfrequently invoking the God of Israel. But every now and then a cunning light gleamed from his eyes, and his lips became compressed with a grim significance. None of the recent phenomena had escaped his notice, and more than once he had attempted to entice Benzuf into conversation upon the subject. But the orderly made no secret of his antipathy to him, and generally replied to his advances either by satire or by banter. He told him that he had everything to gain under the new system of nights and days. For, instead of living the Jews' ordinary life of a century, he would reach to the age of two centuries. And he congratulated him upon the circumstance of things having become so light, because it would prevent him feeling the burden of his years. At another time, he would declare that, to an old user like him, it could not matter in the least what had become of the moon, as he could not possibly have advanced any money upon her. And when Isaac, undaunted by his jeers, persevered in besetting him with questions, he tried to silence him by saying, only wait till the Governor-General comes. He is a shrewd fellow and will tell you all about it. But will he protect my property? Poor Isaac would ask tremulously. To be sure he will. He would confiscate it all rather than that you should be robbed of it. With this job's comfort, the Jew had been obliged to content himself as best he could, and to await the promised arrival of the Governor. When Servodak and his companions reached the shore, they found that the Hounsa had anchored in an exposed bay, protected but barely by a few projecting rocks, and in such a position that a gaol rising from the west would inevitably drive her onto the land, where she must be dashed in pieces. It would be the height of folly to leave her in her present moorings. Without the loss of time, she must be brought round to the mouth of the Shalif, in immediate proximity to the Russian Yacht. The consciousness that his tartan was the subject of discussion made the Jew give way to such vehement ejaculations of anxiety that Servodak turned round and preemptorily ordered him to desist from his clamor. Leaving the old man under the surveillance of the Count and Benzuf, the Captain and the Lieutenant stepped into a small boat and were soon alongside the floating emporium. A very short inspection suffice to make them aware that both the tartan and her cargo were in a perfect state of preservation. In the hold were sugar loaves by the hundreds, chests of tea, bags of coffee, hogs heads of tobacco, pipes of wine, casks of brandy, barrels of dried herrings, bales of cotton, clothing of every kind, shoes of all sizes, caps of various shape, tools, household utensils, china and earthenware, reams of paper, bottles of ink, boxes of lucifer matches, blocks of salt, bags of pepper and spices, a stock of huge Dutch cheeses and a collection of almanacs and miscellaneous literature. At a rough guess the value could not be much under £5,000 sterling. A new cargo had been taken in only a few days before the catastrophe, and it had been Isaac Hakobat's intention to cruise from Shuta to Tripoli, calling wherever he had reason to believe there was likely to be a market for any of his commodities. A fine hall, Lieutenant, said the Captain. Yes, indeed, said the Lieutenant, but what if the owner refuses to part with it? No fear, no fear, replied the Captain. As soon as ever the old rascal finds that there are no more Arabs or Algerians for him to fleece, he will be ready enough to transact a little business with us. We will pay him by bills of acceptance on some of his old friends in the old world. But why should he want any payment? Inquired the Lieutenant. Under the circumstances, he must know that you have a right to make a requisition of his goods. No, no, quickly rejoin Servidak. We will not do that. Just because the fellow is a German, we shall not be justified in treating him in German fashion. We will transact our business in a business way. Only let him once realize that he is on a new globe with no prospect of getting back to the old one, and he will be ready enough to come to terms with us. Perhaps you are right, replied the Lieutenant. I hope you are. But anyhow, it will not do to leave the tartan here. Not only would she be in danger in the event of a storm, but it is very questionable whether she could resist the pressure of the ice if the water were to freeze. Quite true, procope, and accordingly I give you the commission to see that your crew bring her round to the chalif as soon as may be. Tomorrow morning shall be done, answered the Lieutenant promptly. Upon returning to the shore, it was arranged that the whole of the little colony should forthwith assemble at the Gorby. The Spaniards were summoned and Isaac, although he could only with reluctance take his wistful gaze from his tartan, obeyed the Governor's orders to follow. An hour later and the entire population of 22 had met in the chamber adjoining the Gorby. Young Pablo made his first acquaintance with little Nina, and the child seemed highly delighted to find a companion so nearly of her own age. Leaving the children to entertain each other, Captain Servodak began his address. Before entering upon further explanation, he said that he counted upon the cordial cooperation of them all for the common welfare. Negriti interrupted him by declaring that no promises or pledges could be given until he and his countrymen knew how soon they could be sent back to Spain. To Spain, do you say? Asked Servodak. To Spain, echoed Isaac Hackabutt with a hideous yell. Do they expect to go back to Spain till they have paid their debts? Your Excellency, they owe me 20 reels apiece for their passage here. They owe me 200 reels. Are they to be allowed? Silence, Mordecai, you fool, shouted Benzouf, who was accustomed to call the Jew by any Hebrew name that came uppermost to his memory. Silence. Servodak was disposed to appease the old man's anxiety by promising to see that justice was ultimately done. But, in a fever of frantic excitement, he went on to implore that he might have the loan of a few sailors to carry his ship to Algiers. I will pay you honestly. I will pay you well, he cried, but his ingrained propensity for making a good bargain prompted him to add, provided you do not overcharge me. Benzouf was about again to interpose some angry exclamation, but Servodak checked him and continued in Spanish. Listen to me, my friends. Something very strange has happened. A most wonderful event has cut us off from Spain, from France, from Italy, from every country of Europe. In fact, we have left the old world entirely. Of the whole earth, nothing remains except this island on which you are now taking refuge. The old globe is far, far away. Our present abode is but an insignificant fragment that is left. I dare not tell you that there is any chance of your ever seeing your country or your homes. He paused. The Spaniards evidently had no conception of his meaning. Negriti begged him to tell them all again. He repeated all that he had said and by introducing some illustrations from familiar things, he succeeded to a certain extent in conveying some faint idea of the convulsion that had happened. The event was precisely what he had foretold. The communication was received by all alike with the most supreme indifference. Hakkaba did not say a word. He had listened with manifest attention, his lips twitching now and then as if suppressing a smile. Servedek turned to him and asked him whether he was still disposed to put out to sea and make for Algiers. The Jew gave a broad grin, which, however, he was careful to conceal from the Spaniards. Your excellency jests, he said in French, and turning to Count Timoshev, he added in Russian, the governor has made up a wonderful tale. The Count turned his back in disgust, while the Jew saddled up to little Nina and muttered in Italian, a lot of lies, pretty one, a lot of lies. Count found the nave, exclaimed Benzouf. He gables every tongue under the sun. Yes, said Servedek, but whether he speaks French, Russian, Spanish, German, or Italian, he is neither more nor less than a Jew. End of Book 1 Chapter 19 Book 1 Chapter 20 of Off on a Comet This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Off on a Comet by Jules Verne. Translated by Anonymous Book 1 Chapter 20 A Light on the Horizon On the following day, without giving himself any further concern about the Jews in credulity, the captain gave orders for the Hansa to be shifted run to the harbor of the Shalif. Hakkabut raised no objection, not only because he was aware that the move ensured the immediate safety of his tartan, but because he was secretly entertaining the hope that he might entice away two or three of the Diberna's crew and make his escape to Algiers or some other port. Operations now commenced for preparing proper winter quarters. Spaniards and Russians alike joined hardly in the work. The diminuation of atmospheric pressure and of the force of attraction contributing such an increase to their muscular force has materially facilitated all their labors. The first business was to accommodate the building adjacent to the Gorby to the wants of the Little Colony. Here for the present, the Spaniards were lodged, the Russians retaining their berths upon the yacht, while the Jew was permitted to pass his knights upon the Hansa. This arrangement, however, could only be temporary. The time could not be far distant when the ship's sides and ordinary walls would fail to give adequate protection from the severity of the cold that must be expected. The stock of fuel was too limited to keep up a permanent supply of heat in their present quarters, and consequently they must be driven to seek some other refuge, the internal temperature of which would be at least bearable. The plan that seemed to commend itself most to their consideration was that they should dig out for themselves some subterraneous pits similar to silos, such as are used as receptacles for grain. They presumed that when the surface of Galleus should be covered by a thick layer of ice, which is a bad conductor of heat, a sufficient amount of warmth for animal vitality might still be retained in excavations of this kind. After a long consultation, they failed to devise any better expedient, and were forced to resign themselves to this species of troglodyte existence. In one respect, they congratulated themselves that they should be better off than many of the whalers in the polar seas, for as it is impossible to get below the surface of a frozen ocean, these adventurers have to seek refuge in huts of wood and snow erected on their ships, which at best can give but slight protection from extreme cold. But here, with a solid subsoil, the Galleans might hope to dig down 100 feet or so and secure for themselves a shelter that would enable them to brave the hardest severity of climate. The order, then, was at once given. The work was commenced. A stock of shovels, mattocks, and pickaxes was brought from the Gorby, and with Benzoof as overseer, both Spanish Majos and Russian sailors set to work with the will. It was not long, however, before a discovery, more unexpected than agreeable, suddenly arrested their labors. The spot chosen for the excavation was a little to the right of the Gorby, on a slight elevation of the soil. For the first day, everything went on prosperously enough. But at a depth of eight feet below the surface, the navies came in contact with a hard surface, upon which all their tools failed to make the slightest impression. Cervodac and the Count were at once appraised of the fact, and had little difficulty in recognizing the substance that had revealed itself as the very same which composed the shores as well as the subsoil of the Gallean Sea. It evidently formed the universal substructure of the new asteroid, means for hollowing it failed them utterly. Harder and more resisting than granite, it could not be blasted by ordinary powder. Dynamite alone could suffice to rend it. The disappointment was very great. Unless some means of protection were speedily devised, deaths seemed to be staring them in the face. Were the figures in the mysterious documents correct? If so, Gallean must now be a hundred million leagues from the Sun, nearly three times the distance of the Earth at the remotest section of her orbit. The intensity of the solar light and heat, too, was very seriously diminishing. Although Gorby Island, being on the equator of an orb which had its axes always perpendicular to the plane in which it revolved, enjoyed a position that gave it a permanent summer. But no advantage of this kind could compensate for the remoteness of the Sun. The temperature fell steadily. Already, to the discomforture of the little Italian girl, nurtured in sunshine, ice was beginning to form in the crevices of the rocks, and manifestly the time was impending when the sea itself would freeze. Some shoulder must be found before the temperature should fall to 60 degrees below zero. Otherwise death was inevitable. Hitherto, for the last few days, the thermometer had been registering an average of about six degrees below zero, and it had become a matter of experience that the stove, although replenished with all the wood that was available, was altogether inadequate to affect any sensible mitigation of the severity of the cold. Nor could any amount of fuel be enough. It was certain that air along the very mercury and spirit in the thermometers would be congealed. Some other resort must assuredly be soon found, or they must perish. That was clear. The idea of betaking themselves to the de Berna and Hansa could not for a moment be seriously entertained. Not only did the structure of the vessels make them utterly insufficient to give substantial shelter, but they were totally unfitted to be trusted as to their stability when exposed to the enormous pressure of the accumulated ice. Neither serve a deck, nor the count, nor Lieutenant Procope were meant to be easily disheartened. But it could not be concealed that they felt themselves in circumstances by which they were equally harassed and perplexed. The sole expedient that their United Council could suggest was to obtain a refuge below ground, and that was denied them by the strange and impenetrable substratum of the soil. Yet hour by hour the sun's disc was lessening in its dimensions, and although at midday some faint radiance and glow were to be distinguished, during the night the painfulness of the cold was becoming almost intolerable. Mounted upon Zephyr and Galette, the captain and the count scoured the island in search of some available retreat. Scarcely a yard of ground was left unexplored. The horses clearing every obstacle as if they were, like Pegasus, furnished with wings. But all in vain. Soundings were made again and again, but invariably with the same result. The rock, hard as adamant, never failed to reveal itself within a few feet of the surface of the ground. The excavation of any silo being thus manifestly hopeless, there seemed nothing to be done except to try and render the buildings alongside the gorby impervious to frost. To contribute to the supply of fuel, orders were given to collect every scrap of wood, dry or green, that the island produced, and this involved the necessity of felling the numerous trees that were scattered over the plain. But toil as they might at the accumulation of firewood, Captain Servidak and his companions could not resist the conviction that the consumption of a very short period would exhaust the total stock, and what would happen then. Studious if possible to conceal his real misgivings, and anxious that the rest of the parties should be affected as little as might be by his own uneasiness, Servidak would wander alone about the island, racking his brain for an idea that would point the way out of the serious difficulty. But still all in vain. One day he suddenly came upon Ben Zuf, and asked him whether he had no plan to propose. He orderedly shook his head, but after a moment's pondering, said, Ah, Master, if only we were at Montmartre, we would get shelter in the charming stone quarries. Idiot! replied the Captain. Angrily, if we were at Montmartre, you don't suppose that we should need to live in stone quarries. But the means of preservation which human ingenuity had failed to secure were at hand from the felicitous provision of nature herself. It was on the 10th of March that the Captain and Lieutenant Procote started off once more to investigate the northwest corner of the island. On their way their conversation naturally was engrossed by the subject of the dire necessities which only two manifestly were awaiting them. A discussion more than usually animated arose between them, for the two men were not altogether of the same mind as to the measures that ought to be adopted in order to open the fairest chance of avoiding a fatal climax to their exposure. The Captain persisted that an entirely new abode must be sought, while the Lieutenant was equally bent upon devising a method of some sort by which their present quarters might be rendered sufficiently warm. All at once, in the very heat of his argument, Procote paused. He passed his hand across his eyes as if to dispel a mist, and stood with a fixed gaze centered on a point towards the south. What is that, he said, with a kind of hesitation. No, I am not mistaken, he added. It is a light on the horizon. A light, exclaimed Serva Deck, show me where. Look there, answered the Lieutenant, and he kept pointing steadily in its direction, until Serva Deck also distinctly saw the bright speck in the distance. It increased in clearness in the gathering shades of evening. Can it be a ship, asked the Captain? If so, it must be in flames. Otherwise we should not be able to see it so far off, replied Procote. It does not move, said Serva Deck, and unless I am greatly deceived, I can hear a kind of reverberation in the air. For some seconds the two men stood straining eyes and ears in rapt attention. Suddenly an idea struck Serva Deck's mind. The volcano, he cried. May it not be the volcano that we saw? Wilt'st we were on board the diberna? The Lieutenant agreed that it was very probable. Heaven be praised, ejaculated the Captain, and he went on in tones of keen excitement. Nature has provided us with our winter quarters. The stream of burning lava that is flowing there is a gift of a bounteous providence. It will provide us all the warmth we need. No time to lose. Tomorrow, my dear Procote, tomorrow we will explore it all. No doubt the life, the heat we want, is reserved for us in the heart and bowels of our own Gallia. Wilt'st the Captain was indulging in his expressions of enthusiasm. Procote was endeavoring to collect his thoughts. Distinctly he remembered the long promontory which had barred the diberna's progress while coasting the southern confines of the sea, and which had obliged her to ascend northwards as far as the former latitude of Iran. He remembered also that at the extremity of the promontory there was a rocky headland crowned with smoke, and now he was convinced that he was right in identifying the position, and in believing that the smoke had given place to an eruption of flame. When Servidac gave him a chance of speaking, he said, The more I consider it, Captain, the more I am satisfied that your conjecture is correct. Beyond a doubt, what we see is the volcano, and tomorrow we will not fail to visit it. On returning to the Gorby, they communicated their discovery to Count Timischew only, deeming any further publication of it to be premature. The Count at once placed his yacht at their disposal, and expressed his intention of accompanying them. The yacht, I think, said Procote, had better remain where she is. The weather is beautifully calm, and the steam launch will answer our purpose better. At any rate, it will convey us much closer to shore than the schooner. The Count replied that the Lieutenant was by all means to use his own discretion, and they all retired for the night. Like many other modern pleasure yachts, the DeBerna, in addition to her four ore, was fitted with a fast-going little steam launch. It's screw being propelled on the Oriole system by means of a boiler, small but effective. Early next morning, this handy little craft was sufficiently freighted with coal, of which there was still about ten tons on board the DeBerna, and manned by nobody except the Captain, the Count, and the Lieutenant, left the harbor of the Shalif, much to the bewilderment of Benzouf, who had not yet been admitted into the secret. The orderly, however, consoled himself with the reflection that he had been temporarily invested with the full powers of Governor General, an office of which he was not a little proud. The eighteen miles between the island and the headland were made in something less than three hours. The volcanic eruption was manifestly very considerable, the entire summit of the promontory being enveloped in flames. To produce so large a combustion, either the oxygen of Gallia's atmosphere had been brought into contact with the explosive gases contained beneath her soil, or perhaps, still more probable, the volcano, like those in the moon, was fed by an internal supply of oxygen of her own. It took more than a half an hour to settle on a suitable landing place. At length, a small semicircular creek was discovered among the rocks. Which appeared advantageous, because, if circumstances should so require, it would form a safe anchorage for both de Berna and the Hansa. The launch was securely moored. The passengers landed on the side of the promontory opposite to that on which a torrent of burning lava was descending to the sea. With much satisfaction they experienced, as they approached the mountain, a sensible difference in the temperature, and their spirits could not do otherwise than rise at the prospect of having their hopes confirmed, that a deliverance from the threatened calamity had so opportunely been found. On they went, up the steep eclivity, scrambling over its rugged projections, scaling the irregularities of its gigantic strata, bounding from point to point with the agility of Chamois, but never alighting on anything except on the accumulation of the same hexagonal prisms with which they had now become so familiar. Their exertions were happily rewarded. Behind a huge pyramidal rock they found a hole in the mountain site, like the mouth of a great tunnel. Climbing up to this orifice, which was more than 60 feet above the level of the sea, they ascertained that it opened into a long dark gallery. They entered and groped their way cautiously along the sides. A continuous rumbling that increased as they advanced, made them aware that they must be approaching the central funnel of the volcano. Their only fear was lest some insuperable wall of rock should suddenly bar their further progress. Servodak was some distance ahead. Come on, he cried cheerily, his voice ringing through the darkness. Come on, our fire is lighted, no stint of fuel. Nature provides that. Let us make haste and warm ourselves. Inspired by his confidence, the Count and the Lieutenant advanced bravely along the unseen and winding path. The temperature was now at least 15 degrees above zero, and the walls of the gallery were beginning to feel quite warm to the touch, an indication not to be overlooked, that the substance of which the rock was composed was metallic in its nature and capable of conducting heat. Follow me, shouted Servodak again. We shall soon find a regular stove. Onwards they made their way, until at last a sharp turn brought them into a sudden flood of light. The tunnel had opened into a vast cavern, and the gloom was exchanged for an illumination that was perfectly dazzling. Although the temperature was high, it was not in any way intolerable. One glance was sufficient to satisfy the explorers that the grateful light and heat of this huge excavation were to be attributed to a torrent of lava that was rolling downwards to the sea, completely subtending the aperture of the cave. Not an aptly might the scene be compared to the celebrated grotto of the winds at the rear of the central fall of Niagara, only with the exception that here, instead of a curtain of rushing water, it was a curtain of roaring flame that hung before the cavern's mouth. Heaven be praised, cried Servodak, with glad emotion. Here is all that we hoped for, and more besides. Off on a Comet, by Jules Verne, Book 1, Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Winter Quarters The habitation that had now revealed itself well-lighted and thoroughly warm was indeed marvellous. Not only would it afford ample accommodation for Hector Servodak and his subjects, as Ben Zoof delighted to call them, but it would provide shelter for the two horses, and for a considerable number of domestic animals. This enormous cavern was neither more or less than the common junction of nearly twenty tunnels, similar to that which had been traversed by the explorers, forming ramifications in the solid rock and the pores, as it were, by which the internal heat exuded from the heart of the mountain. Here, as long as the volcano retained its activity, every living creature on the new asteroid might brave the most rigorous of climates, and as Count Tomaschev justly remarked, since it was the only burning mountain they had sighted, it was most probably the sole outlet for Galea subterranean fires, and consequently the eruption might continue unchanged for ages to come. But not a day, not an hour, was to be lost now. The steam launch returned to Gorby Island, and preparations were forthwith taken in hand for conveying man and beast, corn and fodder, across to the volcanic headland. Loud and hardy were the acclimations of the little colony, especially of the Spaniards, and great was the relief of Nenya, when Servodak announced to them the discovery of their future domicile, and with re-quickened energies they labored hard at packing, anxious to reach their genial winter quarters without delay. For three successive days, the Dobrynya, laden to a very gunwale, made a transit to and fro. Ben Zoof was left upon the island to superintend the stowage of the freight, while Servodak found abundant occupation and overlooking its disposal within the recesses of the mountain. First of all, the large store of corn and fodder, the produce of the recent harvest, was landed and deposited in one of the vaults. Then on the fifteenth, about fifty head of live cattle, bullocks, cows, sheep, and pigs, were conveyed to their rocky stalls. These were saved for the sake of preserving the several breeds, the bulk of the island cattle being slaughtered, as the extreme severity of the climate ensured all meat remaining fresh for almost an indefinite period. The winter which they were expecting would probably be of unprecedented length. It was quite likely that it would exceed the six months duration by which many arctic explorers have been tried. But the population of Galiya had no anxiety in the matter of provisions, their stock was far more than adequate, while as for drink, as long as they were satisfied with pure water, a frozen sea would afford them an inexhaustible reservoir. The need for haste in forwarding their preparations became more and more manifest. The sea threatened to be unnavigable very soon, as ice was already forming which the noondane sun was unable to melt. And if haste were necessary, so also were care, ingenuity, and forethought. It was indispensable that the space at their command should be properly utilized, and yet that the several portions of the store should all be readily accessible. On further investigation an unexpected number of galleries was discovered, so that, in fact, the interior of the mountain was like a vast beehive, preferrated with innumerable cells. And in compliment to the little Italian, it was unanimously voted by the colony that their new home should be called Nina's Hive. Their first care of Captain Servodak was to ascertain how he would make the best possible use of the heat which nature had provided for them so opportunally and was so lavish a hand, by opening fresh vents in the solid rock, which by the action of the heat here was capable of fissure. The steam of burning lava was diverted into several new channels, where it could be available for daily use. And thus Mochil, that Obrina's cook, was furnished with an admirable kitchen, provided with a permanent stove, where he was duly installed with all his culinary apparatus. What a saving of expense it would be, exclaimed Ben Zoof, if every household could be furnished with its own private volcano. The large cavern at the general junction of the galleries was fitted up as a drawing room, and arranged with all the best furniture both of the Gorbi and of the cabin of the Dobryna. Hither was also brought to the Schooner's Library, containing a good variety of French and Russian books. Lamps were suspended over the different tables, and the walls of the apartment were tapestryed with the sails and adorned with flags belonging to the yacht. The curtain of fire extended over the opening of the cavern provided it, as already stated, with light and heat. The torrent of lava fell into small, rock-bound basin that had no apparent communication with the sea, and was evidently the aperture of a deep abyss, of which the waters, heated by the descent of the eruptive matter, would no doubt retain their liquid condition long after the Galean Sea had become a sheet of ice. A small excavation to the left of the common hall was allotted for the special use of servodak and account. Another on the right was appointed to the lieutenant and Ben Zoof, whilst a third recess, immediately at the back, made a convenient little chamber for Nina. The Spaniards and the Russian sailors took up their sleeping quarters in the adjacent galleries and found the temperature quite comfortable. Such were the internal arrangements of Nina's hive, the refuge where the little colony were full of hope, that they would be able to brave the rigors of the stern winter time that lay before them, a winter time during which Galea might possibly be projected even to the orbit of Jupiter, where the temperature would not exceed one-twenty-fifth of the normal winter temperature of the earth. The only discontented spirit was Isaac Hakobot. Throughout all the preparations which roused even the Spaniards to activity, the Jew, still incredulous, and deafed to every representation of the true state of things, insisted upon remaining in the creek at Gorby Island. Nothing could induce him to leave his tartan, where like a miser, he would keep guard over his precious cargo, ever grumbling and growling. But with his weather eye open in the hope of catching sight of some passing sail, it must be owed that the whole party were far from sorry to be relieved of his presence. His uncomely figure and repulsive continence was a perpetual bugbear. He had given out in plain terms that he did not intend to part with any of his property, except for current money, and Sir Vadak equally resolute, had strictly forbidden any purchases to be made, hoping to wear out the rascals' obstinacy. Hakobot persistently refused to credit the real situation. He could not absolutely deny that some portions of the terrestrial globe had undergone a certain degree of modification, but nothing could bring him to believe that he was not, sooner or later, to resume his old line of business in the Mediterranean. With his wanted disrupts of all with whom he came in contact, he regarded every argument that was urged upon him only as evidence of a plot that had been devised to deprive him of his goods. Repudiating, as he did utterly, the hypothesis that a fragment had become detached from the earth. He scanned the horizon for hours together with an old telescope, the case of which had been patched up till it looked like a rusty stovepipe, hoping to decry the passing trader with which he might affect some bartering upon advantageous terms. At first he professed to regard the proposed removal into winter quarters as an attempt to oppose upon his credulity, but the frequent voyages made by the Dobryna to the south, and the repeated consignments of corn and cattle, soon served to make him aware that Captain Cervadoch and his companions were really contemplating a departure from Gorby Island. The movement said him thinking. What, he began to ask himself, would a fall that was told him was true? What if the sea was no longer the Mediterranean? What if he should never again behold his German fatherland? What if his march for business were gone forever? A vague idea of ruin began to take possession of his mind. He must yield to necessity. He must do the best he could. As the result of his cogitations, he occasionally left his tartan and made a visit to the shore. At length he endeavored to mingle with the busy group, who were hurrying on their preparations, but his advances were only met by jeers and scorn, and ridiculed by all the rest. He was feigned to turn his attention to Ben Zoof, to whom he offered a few pinches of tobacco. No, old Zebulon said Ben Zoof, steadily refusing the gift, is against orders to take anything from you. Keep your cargo to yourself. Eat and drink it all if you can. We are not to touch it. Finding the subordinates incorruptible, Isaac determined to go to the fountain-head. He addressed himself to Servadoch and begged him to tell him the whole truth, pietously adding that surely it was unworthy of a French officer to deceive a poor old man like himself. Tell you the truth, man, cried Servadoch. Conn found it. I have told you the truth twenty times. Once for all, I tell you now, you have let yourself barely time enough to make your escape to Yonder Mountain. God and Mahomet have mercy on me, Mother the Jew, whose creed frequently assumed a very ambiguous character. I will tell you what, continued the Captain. You shall have a few men to work the hensah across, if you like. But I want to go to Algiers, whimpered hackabut. How often am I to tell you that Algiers is no longer in existence? Only say yes or no. Are you coming with us to winter quarters? God of Israel, what is to become of all my property? But mind you, continued the Captain, not heeding the interruption. If you do not choose voluntarily to come with us, I shall have the hensah, by my orders, removed to a place of safety. I am not going to let your cursed obstinacy incur the risk of losing your cargo altogether. Merciful Heaven, I shall be ruined, moaned Isaac in despair. You are going the right way to ruin yourself, and it would serve you right to leave you to your own devices. But be off, I have no more to say. And turning contemptuously on his heel, Survadak left the old man for syphirating bitterly, and with uplifted hands protesting vehemently against the rapacity of the Gentiles. By the twentieth all preliminary arrangements were complete, and everything ready for a final departure from the island. The thermometer stood on an average at eight degrees below zero, and the water in the cistern was completely frozen. It was determined, therefore, for the colony to embark on the following day and take up their residence in Nina's hive. A final consultation was held about the hensah. Lieutenant Prokope pronounced his decided conviction that it would be impossible for the tartan to resist the pressure of the ice in the harbor of the Shalif, and that there would be far more safety in the proximity of the volcano. It was agreed on all hands that the vessel might be shifted, and accordingly orders were given. Four Russian sailors were sent on board, and only a few minutes elapsed after the Dobrina had weighed anchor, before the great Latine sail of the tartan was unfurled, and the shop ship, as Benzouf delighted to call it, was also on her way to the southward. Long and loud were the laminations of the Jew. He kept exclaiming that he had given no orders, that he was being moved against his will, that he had asked for no assistance and needed none, but it required no very keen discrimination to observe that all along there was a lurking gleam of satisfaction in his little grey eyes, and when a few hours later he found himself securely anchored, and his property in a place of safety he quite chuckled with glee. God of Israel, he said in an undertone, they have made no charge. The idiots have piloted me here for nothing. For nothing! His whole nature exalted in the consciousness that he was enjoying a service that had been rendered gratuitously. Destitute of human inhabitants, Gorbiolin was now left at the tendency of such birds and beasts as had escaped their recent promiscuous slaughter. Birds, indeed, that had migrated in search of warmer shores, had returned, proving that this fragment of the French colony was the only shred of land that could yield them any sustenance, but their life must necessarily be short. It was utterly impossible that they could survive the cold winter that would soon ensue. The colony took possession of their new abode with but few formalities. Everyone, however, approved of all the internal arrangements of Nina's hive, and were profuse in their expressions of satisfaction at finding themselves located in such comfortable quarters. The only malcontent was Hakobut. He had no share in the general enthusiasm, refused even to enter or inspect any of the galleries, and insisted on remaining on board his tartan. He is afraid, said Ben Zoof, that he will have to pay for his lodgings, but wait a bit. We shall see how he stands the cold out there. The frost, no doubt, will drive the old fox out of his hole. Towards evening the pots were set boiling, and a bountiful supper to which all were invited was spread in the central hall. The stores of the Dobrina contained some excellent wine, some of which was broached to do honor to the occasion. The health of the Governor-General was drunk, as well as a toast, success to his consul, to which Ben Zoof was called upon to return thanks. The entertainment passed off merrily, the Spaniards were in the best of spirits, one of them played the guitar, another the castanets, and the rest joined in a ringing chorus. Ben Zoof contributed the famous Zo'huav refrain, well known throughout the French army, but rarely performed in finer style than by this virtuoso. Mistigoth Dada Tirila, flick-flock-flak Liri et Lyra, far la rira, tour ta la rire, tour la ribade, Rick and O, sans repose, repeat, repeat, repose, ris pot, ripete, si vous attrapez mon refrain, famu voetes. The concert was succeeded by a ball, unquestionably the first that had ever taken place in Galiya. The Russian sailors exhibited some of their national dances which gained considerable applause, even although they followed upon the marvelous fandangos of the Spaniards. Ben Zoof, in his turn, danced a pas swell, often performed in the Lisi Montmartre, with an elegance and vigor that earned many compliments from Negrite. It was nine o'clock before the festivities came to an end, and by that time the company, heated by the high temperature of the hall and by their own exertions, felt the want of a little fresh air. Accordingly the greater portion of the party, escorted by Ben Zoof, made their way into one of the adjacent galleries that led to the shore. Cervadoch with the Count and Lieutenant did not follow immediately, but shortly afterwards they proceeded to join them, when on their way they were startled by loud cries from those in advance. Their first impression was that they were cries of distress, and they were greatly relieved to find that there were shouts of delight, which the dryness and purity of the atmosphere caused to re-echo like a volley of musketry. Reaching the mouth of the gallery they found the entire group pointing with eager interest to the sky. Well, Ben Zoof asked the captain, what's the matter now? Oh, your Excellency, ejaculated the orderly, look there, look there, the moon, the moon's come back. And sure enough, what was apparently the moon, was rising above the mists of evening. Off on a comet by Jules Verne, translated by Anonymous. Book 1, Chapter 22. A Frozen Ocean The moon she had disappeared for weeks, was she now returning? Had she been faithless to the earth? And had she now approached to be a satellite of the newborn world? Impossible, said Lieutenant Prokof. The earth is millions and millions of leagues away, and it is not probable that the moon has ceased to revolve about her. Why not, Remonstrated Surferdek? It would not be more strange than the other phenomena we have lately witnessed. Why should not the moon have fallen within limits of Gallia's attraction and become her satellite? Upon that supposition put into account, I should think that it would be altogether unlikely that three months would elapse without her seeing her. Quite incredible continued Prokof, and there is another thing which totally disproves the captain's hypothesis. The magnitude of Gallia is far too insignificant for a power of attraction to carry of the moon. But, persisted Surferdek, why should not the same convulsion that tore us away from the earth have torn away the moon as well? After wondering about, as she would for a while in the solar regions, I do not see why she should not have attached herself to us. The Lieutenant repeated his conviction that it was not likely. But why not, again, asked Surferdek impetuously? Because I tell you, the mass of Gallia is so inferior to that of the moon that Gallia would become the moon's satellite. The moon could not possibly become hers. Assuming, however, continued Surferdek such to be the case, I am afraid, said the Lieutenant interrupting him, that I cannot assume anything of the sort even for a moment. Surferdek smiled good humorously. I confess you seem to have the best of the argument. And if Gallia had become a satellite of the moon, it would not have taken three months to catch sight of her. I suppose you are right. While this discussion had been going on, the satellite, or whatever it might be, had been rising steadily above the horizon, and had reached a position favorable for observation. Telescopes were brought, and it was very soon a certain, beyond the question, that the new luminary was not the well-known Phoebe of terrestrial night. It had no future in common with the moon. Although it was apparently much nearer to Gallia than the moon to the earth, its superficies was hardly one-tenth as large, and so feeble did it reflect the light of the remote sun, that it scarcely emitted radiance enough to extinguish the dim luster of stars in the eight magnitude. Like the sun, it had risen in the west, and was now at its full. To mistake its identity with the moon was absolutely impossible. Not even Surferdek could discover a trace of the seas, chasms, craters, and mountains which have been so minutely delineated in lunar charts, and it could not be denied that any transient hope that had been excited as to their once again being about to enjoy the peaceful smells of the queen of the night must all be resigned. Count Timosha finally suggested, though somewhat doubtfully, the question of the probability that Gallia, in her course across the zone of the minor planets, had carried off one of them. But whether it was one of the 169 asteroids already included in the astronomical catalogues, or one previously unknown, he did not presume to determine. The idea, to a certain extent, was plausible, inasmuch as it has been a certain that several of the telescopic planets are of such small dimensions that a good walker might make a circuit of them in four and twenty hours. Consequently, Gallia, being of superior volume, might be supposed capable of exercising a power of attraction upon any of these miniature microcosms. The first night in Ninus Hive passed without special incident. And next morning, a regular scheme of life was definitely laid down. My Lord Governor, as Benzouf, until he was preventably forbidden delighted to call Servedec, had a wholesome dread of idleness in its consequences, and insisted upon each member of the party undertaking some special duty to fulfill. There was plenty to do. The domestic animals required a great deal of attention. A supply of food had to be secured and preserved. Fishing had to be carried on while the condition of the sea would allow it. And in several places, the galleries had to be further excavated to render them more available for use. Occupation, then, need never be wanting. And the daily round of labour could go on in orderly routine. A perfect concord ruled the little colony. The Russians and Spaniards amalgamated well, and both did their best to pick up various scraps of French, which was considered the official language of the place. Servedec himself undertook the tuition of Pablo and Nina, Benzouf being their companion in play hours, when he entertained them with enchanting stories in their best Parisian French about a lovely city at the foot of a mountain, where he always promised one day to take them. The end of March came, but the cold was not intense to such a degree as to confine any of the party to the interior of their resort. Several excursions were made along the shore, and for a radius of three or four miles the adjacent district was carefully explored. Investigation, however, always ended in the same result. Turned their course in whatever direction they would, they found that the country retained everywhere its desert character, rocky, barren, and without a trace of vegetation. Here and there a slight layer of snow, or a thin coating of ice arising from atmospheric condensation, indicated the existence of superficial moisture, but it would require a period indefinitely long, exceeding human reckoning before that moisture could collect into a stream and roll downwards over the stony strata to the sea. It seemed at present, out of their power, to determine whether the land upon which they were so happily settled was an island or a continent. Until the cold was abated, they feared to undertake any lengthened expedition to a certain the actual extent of the strange concrete of metallic crystallization. By ascending one day to the summit of the volcano, Captain Servedeck and the Count succeeded in getting a general idea of the aspect of the country. The mountain itself was an enormous block rising symmetrically to a height of nearly three thousand feet above the level of the sea, in the form of a truncated cone of which the topmost section was crowned by a wrath of smoke issuing continuously from the mouth of a narrow crater. Under the old condition of terrestrial things, the scent of this steep eclivity would have been attended with much fatigue, but as the effect of the altered condition of the law of gravity, the travellers performed perpetual prodigies in the ways of agility and in little over an hour reached the edge of the crater without much sense of exertion than if they had traversed a couple of miles on level ground. Gallia had its drawbacks, but it had some compensating advantages. Telescopes in hand, the explorers from the summit scanned the surrounding view. Their anticipations had already realized what they saw. Just as they expected, on the north, east and west lay the galleon sea, smooth and motionless as a sheet of glass, the cold having as it were congealed the atmosphere so that there was not a breath of wind. Towards the south there seemed no limit to the land and the volcano from the apex of a triangle of which the base was beyond the reach of vision. Viewed even from this height, when the distance would do much to soften the general disparity, the surface nevertheless seemed to be bristling with its myriad of hexagonal lamellae, and to present difficulties which to an ordinary profession would be insurmountable. Oh, for some wings or else a balloon quite serve a deck, as he gazed around him, and then, looking down to the rock upon which they were standing, he added, we seem to have been transplanted to his soils, strange enough in its chemical character to bewilder this avance at a museum. And do you observe, Captain? asked the Count, how the convexity of our little world co-tails our view. See how circumscribed is the horizon. Servitec replied that he had noticed the same circumstance from the top of the cliffs of Gerbe Island. Yes, said the Count, it becomes more and more obvious that ours is a very tiny world, and that Gerbe Island is a sole productive spot upon its surface. We have had a short summer, and who knows whether we are not entering upon a winter that may last for years, perhaps centuries. Though we must not mind Count, said Servitec, smiling, we have agreed, you know, that, come what may, we also be philosophers. Hey, true, my friend, rejoined the Count, we must be philosophers, and something more, we must be grateful to the good protector, who has it or two befriended us, and we must trust his mercy to the end. For a few moments they both stood in silence and contemplated land and sea, then having given a last glance over the dreary panorama, they prepared to wind their way down the mountain. Before, however, they commenced their descent, they resolved to make a closer examination of the crater. They were particularly struck by what seemed to them almost the mysterious calmness with which the eruption was affected. There was none of the wildest order and deafening tumult that usually accompanied the discharge of volcanic matter, but the heated lava, rising with the uniform gentleness, quietly overran the limits of the crater, like the flow of water from the bosom of a peaceful lake. Instead of a boiler exposed to the action of an angry fire, the crater rather resembled a brimming basin, of which the contents were noiselessly escaping. Nor were there any igneous stones or red-hot cinders mingled with the smoke that crowned the summit. The circumstances are quite accorded with the absence of pumice stones, obsidians, and other minerals of volcanic origin with which the base of a burning mountain is generally strewn. Captain Servedek was of opinion that this peculiarity augured favorably for the continuance of the eruption. Extreme violence in physicals, as well as with moral nature, is never of long duration. The most terrible storms like the most violent fits of passion are not lasting, but here the calm flow of the liquid fire appears to be supplied from a source that was inexhaustible. In the same way as the waters of Niagara, gliding on steadily to their final plunge would defy all efforts to arrest their course. Before the evening of this day closed in, the most important change was effected in the condition of the galleon sea by the intervention of human agency. Notwithstanding the increasing cold the sea and rough it as it was by a breath of wind still retained its liquid state. It is an established fact that water under this condition of absolute stillness will remain ungungealed at a temperature several degrees below zero, whilst the experiment at the same time shows that a very slight shock will often be sufficient to convert it into solid ice. It had occurred to Servedek that if some communication could be opened with Gerbie Island there would be a fine scope for hunting expeditions. Having this ultimate object in view he assembled his little colony upon a projecting rock at the extremity of the promontory, and having called Nina and Pablo out to him in front he said, Now Nina, do you think you could throw something into the sea? I think I could, replied the child, but I am sure that Pablo would throw it a great deal further than I can. Never mind, you shall try first. Putting a fragment of ice into Nina's hand he addressed himself to Pablo. Look out Pablo, you shall see what a nice little fairy Nina is. Throw Nina, throw as hard as you can. Nina balanced a piece of ice two or three times in her hand and threw it forward with all her strength. A sudden thrill seemed to vibrate across the motionless waters to the distant horizon and the galleon sea had become a solid sheet of ice. End of book one chapter twenty-two