Читать книгу The Mysterious Island. B2 / Таинственный остров - Жюль Верн, Жуль Верн - Страница 13

Then they walked back to the camp. The country is an island, and tomorrow they will consider what to do.

The next day, March 30, after breakfast, they started out for the summit of the volcano. All desired to see the isle. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning when they left the camp.

It was a superb day, and the southern side of the mountain was sunny. The crater was a huge shaft gradually opening to a height of 1,000 feet above the plateau. They saw on the way traces of ancient lava. At 8 o’clock, they were standing at the summit of the crater.

– The sea! the sea everywhere! – was their exclamation.

Yes, water around them on every side. Around the island stretched an ocean. They were silent and motionless. Spilett asked:

– How large is this island?

– Small enough in the infinite ocean.

– My friends, – said Smith, – I think, the coast of the island is more than 100 miles around.

If Smith was right, the island was about the size of Malta. The eastern coast was a curve, it was embracing a large bay. On the northeast, two other capes shut in the bay. Between them lay a narrow gulf. From northeast to northwest the coast was round and flat. Then came a hump, whose centre was occupied by the volcanic mountain. From this point the coast ran directly north and south. For two-thirds of its length it was bordered by a narrow creek; then it finished in a long cue. The narrowest part of the island, between the Chimneys and the creek, on the west, was ten miles wide.

The southern part, from the shore to the mountain, was covered with woods. The northern part was arid and sandy. Between the volcano and the eastern coast there was a lake.

– So, it is a fresh water lake? – asked Pencroff.

– Yes, of course, – said the engineer.

– I see a little river there, – said Herbert. He pointed to a narrow brook. The volcano did not occupy the centre of the island. It rose in the northwest.

They remained at the summit of the mountain for an hour. It was the island, but was the island inhabited? They did not perceive the handiwork of man; no houses on the beach, no fisherman’s hut. No smoke.

The exploration of the island was finished. They drew a map of it, and calculated its size. They wanted now to examine the animal, vegetable, and mineral resources of the country. But before the departure, Cyrus Smith addressed his companions.

– Look, my friends, upon this little corner of the earth. Here, perhaps, we may long dwell.

– Mr. Smith, – said the sailor, – we will make a little America here. We will build cities, railroads, telegraphs. We will be not castaways, but colonists!

– One minute, my friends, – said the engineer; – let’s name the island, the capes, promontories, and water-courses.

– Yes, – said Smith, – for instance, let us call the great bay to the east Union Bay, the southern indentation Washington Bay the mountain on which we are standing Mount Franklin, the lake beneath our feet Lake Grant.

Spilett put down the names over the proper places, and the geographical nomenclature of the island was complete.

– Now, – said the reporter, – I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula, and to call the curve at the termination of it Reptile End. It is just like a snake’s tail.

– And the other extremity of the island, – said Herbert, – the gulf is like a pair of jaws, let us call it Shark Gulf.

– Good, – said Pencroff, – and we may call the two capes North Mandible and South Mandible. Now we must name the southwestern extremity of the island.

– Claw Cape, – suggested Neb.

The river with fresh water they called the Mercy. The isle on which they first arrived, was Safety Island; the plateau at the top of the high granite wall above the Chimneys, Prospect Plateau. And, finally, the woods which covered Serpentine Peninsula, the Forests of the Far West.

The colonists were going to descend the mountain, when Pencroff cried:

– We forgot to name our island! Cyrus Smith said quietly:

– Let us call it Lincoln Island!

Glossary:

summit – вершина

superb – превосходный

Malta – Мальта

bay – залив

two-thirds – две трети

companion – товарищ

Union Bay – бухта Соединения

Washington Bay – бухта Вашингтона

Mount Franklin – гора Франклина

beneath – под

Lake Grant – озеро Гранта

Serpentine Peninsula – полуостров Извилистый

Reptile End – Змеиный мыс

Shark Gulf – залив Акулы

North Mandible – Северная Челюсть

South Mandible – Южная Челюсть

Claw Cape – мыс Коготь

the Mercy river – река Милосердия

Safety Island – остров Спасения

Prospect Plateau – плато Кругозора

Forests of the Far West – леса Дальнего Запада

descend – опускаться

Lincoln Island – остров Линкольна