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Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Passengers of the Atlanta

from earth to moon 儒勒·凡尔纳 5589Words 2018-03-23
If the thundering news had come not over the wire, but in a sealed letter from the post office, if the telegraph owners in France, Ireland, Newfoundland, and the United States had not necessarily known the secret of the telegram, Barbara Bicon would not hesitate.Then he would be silent, for prudence, and to avoid re-studying his plan.The telegram, especially from a Frenchman, may have been a hoax.No one, however brave, would have dreamed of such a journey!If there is such a man, isn't he a madman who should be locked up in a madhouse instead of a cannonball? But the telegram was already known, for the telegraph machine itself was not capable of keeping secrets, and Michel Ardan's proposal had been circulated throughout the states of the United States.Barbicane had no reason to remain silent any longer.He summoned the members in Dhampa, and he did not express his opinion, did not discuss the reliability of the telegram, but only read the brief text of the telegram indifferently.

"Impossible!"—"This can't be true!"—"It's just a joke!" Words of doubt, absurdity, madness, and, in such cases, customary gestures, were given full play for a while.Everyone has different temperaments, some smile, some shrug their shoulders, some chuckle, and some laugh out loud.Only Maston had a punch line. "I say, that's a good idea!" he exclaimed. "Good idea!" said the staff officer, "but sometimes you can come up with such an idea, assuming you don't intend to carry it out at all." "Why not?" The secretary of the Cannon Club was about to jump into the debate, and asked quickly.But no one was in the mood to encourage him to continue.

Now, Michelle.Adam's name has become a household name in this small town.Natives and strangers looked at each other, asked questions, and made sarcasm, and it wasn't the European—that was a mythical figure; a whimsical fellow—but May Stone, because he believed that this mythical figure really existed.When Barbicane proposed sending a cannon ball to the moon; everyone thought it a reasonable and practical experiment.This is purely a matter of ballistics!However, a sane one: It is a visionary's suggestion, a joke, a farce, that man should volunteer to take this cannonball on an impossible journey, which, to use a correctly translated French saying, is "nonsense." !"

The jeers did not cease until the evening, and we may say that the whole United States was full of wild laughter.This is hardly noticeable in a country where propagandists, protégés, and accomplices can easily be found in the impossible business department. Nevertheless, Michel Ardan's proposal, like all new ideas, will not fail to disturb some people's minds.This changes the direction of the usual emotions. "We didn't think of that!" The accident, or even the mere inconceivability of it, quickly became a stubborn notion.Everyone is thinking about it.How many things that were denied one day became reality the next!Why didn't this trip come true one day?But in any case, whoever is willing to take the risk must be a madman, must be a madman, and since his plans should not be taken seriously, it is better not to mention them than to disturb everyone with his ridiculous nonsense. All right.

But, first, is there really such a person?Big question mark!The name Michel Ardan is not unfamiliar in the United States!The daring adventures of this European were often mentioned.Next, the telegram from the bottom of the Atlantic, and the ship and date of arrival of the Frenchman mentioned in it, all these circumstances point to a certain truth in his proposal.Should get to the bottom of it.So after a while, people gathered together in small groups, and then, driven by curiosity, condensed like atoms under the attraction of molecules, and finally became a dense crowd, and turned to Barbicane. The chairman's residence flocked.

Barbicane, since receiving the telegram, made no observations of his own: he gave Maston the opinion, expressing neither approval nor disapproval.He said nothing, intending to see how things went; but he did not expect the crowd to be impatient, so he looked dissatisfied at the Tampa crowd crowded under his window.The crowd complained, yelled and yelled, and soon he was forced out.We can see that he has the obligations of a celebrity, and therefore the troubles of a celebrity. He appeared, and there was a silence when a citizen spoke, and put the following question bluntly: "Is the Michel Adam man whom the telegram says is on his way to America?"

"Gentlemen," replied Barbicane, "I know no more than you." "It should be clear," several impatient voices sounded at the same time. "Time will tell," the chairman said dryly. "Time has no right to keep the nation in suspense," continued the orator. "Have you modified the shell pattern as requested by the telegram?" "Not yet, gentlemen! But, you are right, the matter must be cleared up first! Since the excitement was caused by the telegraph, it is also responsible for supplying us with new information." "To the telegraph office! To the telegraph office!" cried the crowd.

Barbicane came down and led the crowd towards the telegraph office. A few minutes later they sent a telegram to the chairman of the Liverpool Boat Brokers Association.Ask him to answer the following questions: What kind of ship is the Atlanta?When will you leave Europe? Was there a Frenchman named Michel Ardan on board? Two hours later, Barbicane received the undoubtedly correct news that the Liverpool Atlanta had put to sea on October 2nd, sailing directly to Tampa, with a Frenchman on board, whose name, according to the passenger register, It's Michel Ardan. After receiving the first telegram confirming the news, the chairman's eyes suddenly lit up, he clenched his fists, and he was heard murmuring:

"Then it is true! It is possible! There is a Frenchman!" He's coming in half a month!Must be a madman!A guy with a hot head... I didn't expect that..." That being said, he wrote a letter to Bridgewell that very evening, asking it to suspend the manufacture of shells until new orders were received. Now, to describe how excited the whole of America is, and how excited the crowd is, ten times more excited than it was after hearing Barbicane's report last year; to describe what was said in the newspapers of the United States, how they received the news, and with what songs they welcomed it. The hero of the Old World; to describe how Americans are like ants on a hot pot, counting the time hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second: to describe (even if the description is not very clever) also) how the same thought troublingly haunts the minds of all: to point out how all work has yielded to this matter: no more work, no more business, ready to go to sea The ships are still anchored in the port, for fear that the Atlanta will not be seen entering the port. Fleets of merchant ships are full of passengers when they come, and the ships are empty when they return. Large and small steamers, cruise ships, yachts, and speedboats row from time to time. Breaking the water surface of Espiritu Santo Bay; counting thousands of spectators (Tampa's population has tripled in half a month, so many people have to live in tents like the marching army Li): In short, this is a job that cannot be done by manpower, and no one dares to undertake it rashly.

At nine o'clock in the morning on October 20, a signal machine in the Bahama Channel sent a thick cloud of smoke in the sky.Two hours later a large steamer exchanged signals with the signal office.Immediately word spread in Tampa about the Atlanta.At four o'clock the British ship entered the waterway of Espirito Santo Bay.At five o'clock, it hit full throttle and crossed Espírito Santo Bay.At six o'clock the anchor was dropped in the port of Tampa. Before the anchor could catch the sand on the bottom of the sea, five hundred or so ships were attacking the Atlanta from all directions.Barbicane was the first to step over the gunwale, and exclaimed in a voice that could not be concealed:

"Michel Ardan!" "Yes!" replied a man from the poop. With arms folded and mouth shut, Barbicane gazed questioningly at the passenger on the Atlanta. This man was about four years old, tall, but already a little hunchbacked like a pillar carrying a balcony.His big head like a lion swings his fiery red hair like a lion's mane from time to time.Broad face, big temples, two upturned beards on the upper lip like a cat's whiskers, thick yellow hair on the cheeks, and a pair of short-sighted eyes, round and a little confused It is messy, which makes his face look more like a cat, but the nose line is very bold, the mouth is very human, the high forehead, an intelligent face, covered with horizontal stripes, as if a piece of land has never been fallow crop land.Finally, his muscular upper body standing on two long legs, his strong arms like strong levers, and his firm step constitute the strong and powerful figure of this European, which, in metallurgical terms, He was "not poured out of latte juice, but forged out of hard work". "Which one of La Fata or Grazilet's disciples could see in this man's head and countenance the indisputable marks of combativeness, that is to say, the ability to smash obstacles without giving up. Besides, See the marks of honesty and novelty pursuit, this instinct makes people have a special temperament, and loves superhuman careers; but on the contrary, there is no bone that expresses greed, possessiveness and greed. To complete the description of the figure of the passenger on the Atlanta, we should say that his clothes were baggy, with wide shoulders, and that his trousers and overcoat were so baggy that he himself made one for himself. The nickname of "The Nemesis of Clothing", the loose tie, a strong neck exposed from the casually opened shirt collar, and two vigorous hands protruding from the open cuffs.We can feel that even in the coldest winter and the most dangerous moment, this person will not feel cold—not even the slightest chill in his eyes. He, on the other hand, remained on deck, pacing up and down among the crowd. Never stopping, always, as sailors say, "dragging the anchor," gesticulating, never addressing anyone with "you," and biting his fingers greedily.It was one of those eccentrics that the Creator created on a whim and then destroyed the mold. To tell the truth, Michel Ardan's mental outlook, to the psychoanalyst: Provides a broad research field.This strange man lives forever in a natural hyperbole, his age has not yet reached the superlative adjective, objects are reflected on his retina with a particularly large size, resulting in a great combination of ideas, he sees everything. Great, only difficult and human exceptions. Besides, this man was full of energy, a born artist, a talented bachelor, and although his witticism could not be fired like a cannonball, he was a good sniper, and he could hit the enemy's vitals with a single shot.When arguing with others, he doesn't pay much attention to logic, and always fights against deductive method, never using syllogism. He has his own trump card.This is an expert who is easy to hold back, and he specifically uses what the other party has said as a chest to throw at the other party, and hits it with one hit.He loves to plead hopeless cases with the strength of his mouth and claws. His most prominent quirk is that he often calls himself "the most ignorant man in the world" like Shakespeare, and keeps saying that he looks down on scientists. "These people," he said, "are only worthy of our poker points." In short, this is a tramp in a strange country, an adventurous man, but not an adventurer, a daredevil, a driver. Phaidon galloping in a solar chariot, an Icarus with a pair of replacement wings.In addition, he dared to give his life and was very generous.He plunges headlong into mad adventures, sets fire to ships, takes more delight than Agadocles, is ready to break his bones, and always falls with his feet on the ground, like a child's elder puppet. Same. His motto is "I have my opinion!" As Bob's quip puts it, his love of the impossible is his "main passion." However, this adventurous person has strengths and weaknesses!As the saying goes, nothing takes risks.Ah Shi often took risks, but he didn't get rich either!This is a bottomless bucket, a person who spends money without bottom.Besides, this man is so selfless, as passionate as he is brave, helpful, and chivalrous, that even his cruelest enemy would not call him "a man who deserves to be hanged," for ransoming a black person. He could be sold into slavery. In France and Europe everyone knew this rowdy and famous man. Wasn't he the one who commanded the hundred sandy throats of Goddess Fama to talk about themselves incessantly?Isn't it he who lives in a glass house and confides his most hidden secrets to the whole universe?However, he swung Zhao two times, opened the way in the crowd, hurt people, injured them, knocked them down mercilessly, and indeed made many enemies. But generally he said that everyone liked him and treated him like a spoiled child.As the saying goes: "Either your friend is your enemy." Although he is such a person, everyone has made friends with him.Everyone was interested in his daring ventures, and everyone's eyes followed him anxiously.They knew he was too reckless, too bold: every time a friend tried to stop him and told him that misfortune was about to happen, he would always answer with a lovely smile on his face: "The trees don't catch fire, the woods don't." Burn." He did not know that he was quoting one of the most beautiful Arabic proverbs. The passenger on the Atlanta was such a person.On board he was always agitated, agitated, not so much about what he had come to do in America—he didn't even think about it—but because of what he had done. The effects of fiery body build.If two people can form a sharp contrast, then these two people are the Frenchman Michel Ardan and the American Barbicane. Although they are different in approach, they are both full of adventurous spirit and strong self-confidence , the sky is not equal to the earth. The chairman of the Cannon Club gazed dreamily at the contender who had relegated himself to the second place, but his musings were soon interrupted by the crowd's "Hurrah!" and "Hurrah!" " The cry interrupted.The cries of the crowd were so frantic, and their enthusiasm for Michel Ardan himself reached such a degree that he shook hands with thousands of them, nearly broke ten fingers, and had to Hide in the cabin. Barbicane followed him in without saying a word. "Are you Barbicane?" asked Michel Ardan at once, when they were alone, in a tone as if he were addressing a friend of twenty years. "Yes," replied the chairman of the Cannon Club. "Ah: hello, Barbicane. How is it? Very good? Ah! very good! very good!" "Then," said Barbicane, straight to the point, "you have made up your mind to go?" "Completely decided." "Nothing can make you change your mind?" "Nothing. Did you change the shape of your shells as my telegram requested?" "I am waiting for you. But Barbicane asked again: "Have you thought it over?" " "Thought it over! Do I have time to waste? I found an opportunity to go around the moon and take advantage of it right away, that's all. In my opinion, this is not worth thinking about. " The man spoke of his plans with such ease, carelessness, and optimism that Barbicane could not help looking at him blankly, and asking: "At least you always have a plan and a way of carrying it out?" "My methods are marvelous, my dear Barbicane. Allow me, however, to say what I think: I wish to tell everyone what I have done, so that it will never have to be mentioned again. This will avoid Repeat. So if you don't have a better idea, please bring your friends, your members, the whole city, all the people of Florida, if you will bring together the citizens of the United States, I will prepare tomorrow Tell them my method of carrying out my plan, and answer all their objections. Rest assured, I will stand my ground. Can you see it? " "Yes," replied Barbicane. Speaking of which, the chairman came out of the cabin and took Michel.Adam's words told the crowd.His words were greeted with dancing and joyful cheers.All the difficulties were solved at once.The next day everyone can enjoy the European hero to his heart's content.But there were a few special (stubborn) who were unwilling to leave the deck of the Atlanta, and they stayed on board overnight. Maston was one of these men, and he hooked his iron hook to the poop rail, and it was impossible to drive him from there without a winch. "Here is a hero! A hero!" he exclaimed, breathlessly with excitement, "we are all weak women compared to this European! As for the chairman, he advised the visitors to go home, and then returned to the passenger's cabin, and did not leave until the ship's clock struck a quarter past zero. So these two popular people shook hands enthusiastically, Michel, Ardan has begun to use "you" to address President Barbicane without restraint.
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