Chapter 8 Chapter Eight Covering the Cup

In my opinion, in this part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Alba will encounter no other islands but Bermuda.On the one hand, by the distance it has traveled since leaving the American coast;It sailed all the way south-south-east.According to the speed of the ship, it is about 900 to 1,000 kilometers. However, the sailboat did not slow down, and was still moving fast.Count Atticus and Engineer Sokol stood aft, beside the lookout.Captain Spard was at the bow. Aren't we going to go around this lonely island and go around it to the east? ... impossible.Because this day is exactly the time when the "Aiba" is expected to arrive at the port of registry.

At this time, all the sailors were lined up on the deck, ready to operate, and the boatswain Effhonda was ready to drop anchor. In two hours, I'll know what I'm supposed to do.The first problem that has plagued me since sailing into the open sea will be solved. However, it seems unlikely that the home port of the "Aiba" is located in the British Bermuda Islands-unless the Earl of Atticus kidnapped Thomas Roche for the benefit of Great Britain, this assumption is somewhat difficult to establish... One thing is certain, this queer figure was eyeing me with particular attention at this moment.Though he would not have guessed that I was the engineer Simon Hart, he must have wondered what I thought of this adventure.An insignificant man though the Guardian Guyton was, he cared less about his fate than any great man, even if he were the owner of this queer yacht.Under his focused gaze, I was a little uneasy.

If Count Atticus had known what was going on in my head, he would have had me thrown into the sea without hesitation... Therefore, I am more cautious than ever. In fact, I have lifted a corner of the veil of mystery, and have aroused no suspicion—not even Sokol, the cunning engineer. As the Aiba approached, the island, or rather the small island, loomed more and more clearly against the bright sky.The sun has sunk from the zenith, and the island is bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. It stands alone in the sea, or at least I don't find any island connected to it in the north, south and west.As the distance diminished, a corner of the island came into view, and now the horizon was behind it.

The structure of this small island is very strange, like an upside-down cup, from the bottom of which rises a gray steam.At the apex of the island—or the bottom of the cup—is more than a hundred meters above the ocean, with steep slopes on both sides. It is as green as the rocks at the bottom of the island that are constantly being pounded by waves. But one naturally occurring feature made the island easily identifiable to voyagers coming from the west, a rocky outcrop.It is naturally arched, like a cup through which the turbulent waves and sunlight pass, and its arches protrude eastward.From this point of view, it is very reasonable for people to call this small island the cup.

I know the island and recognize it.He is on the front end of Bermuda.I visited this "upside down mug" a few years ago...yep!I am not mistaken! ...then my feet trod its limestone, and walked across the valley to the east...yes...this is the Isle of Cup Covered. If I could not restrain myself for a moment, I would utter exclamations of surprise and joy, which would surely attract the attention of Count Atticus. Here's how I visited the tiny island of Cup Covered during my Bermuda tour. Located a thousand kilometers from North Carolina, Bermuda is made up of hundreds of islands and islets.The sixty-fourth parallel and the thirty-second parallel pass through the center of Bermuda.Bermuda has been part of the United Kingdom since the British Romulus died here in 1609. For this reason, the number of immigrants on the island has increased to 10,000.The reason why Britain annexed it was not because it produced cotton, coffee, indigo, bamboo silk and other products, but because it was a very suitable transit station for sea navigation on this piece of ocean adjacent to the United States of America.Its possession by the United Kingdom has not aroused opposition from other great powers, and Bermuda is currently administered by a British Governor with the assistance of Parliament and the House of Representatives.

St. David Island, Somerset Island, and St. George Island are the main islands of Bermuda.There is a free port on St. George Island, called St. George City, and it is also the center of Bermuda. The largest island is no more than twenty kilometers long and only four kilometers wide.If islands of equal size are deducted, what is left is a group of small islands and reefs scattered over an ocean surface of more than 40 square kilometers. Although the Bermuda Islands have a pleasant and healthy climate, they are also battered by Atlantic storms in winter, making navigating around it very difficult.

What the archipelago lacks most are rivers and lakes.However, the lack of fresh water is made up for by the fact that it rains so often that people collect rainwater for use by residents and crops.Hence the wide cisterns, which the rains fill with inexhaustible generosity.These works are admirable and fully demonstrate human talent. The purpose of my trip at that time was related to the construction of the cistern, and I wanted to visit this magnificent project full of curiosity. I was working as an engineer in a company in New Jersey. I took a few weeks off from the company and boarded a ship from New York to Bermuda.

However, while I stopped at Southenton Harbor on Hamilton Island, an incident occurred which interested geographers. One day a group of fishermen, men, women, and children, came to Thorsenton Harbour. For more than fifty years, these people have lived in the eastern Hamazura area of ​​"Kaibei" island.A wooden shed and stone chamber were built there.Where they live is rich in fish and shrimp, which is very conducive to the development of fisheries - especially in March and April, when they can catch the large number of sperm whales near Bermuda. Until that day, nothing has disturbed the peaceful life and fishing work of these fishermen.They never complained about the hard life here, and the easy access to Hamilton Island and St. George Island improved life to a certain extent.In exchange, they export fish and shrimp in dhows equipped with small boats, and at the same time import various daily necessities.

Why did they leave the island and never want to go back and live there? ...this is because their safety is no longer as assured as it once was. Two months ago, some fishermen first noticed the muffled sound coming from the inside of the "covered cup", and they were worried about it.At the same time, the top of the island,—that is, the bottom of the cup,—was filled with smoke and flames flew.People have never known that this island used to be a volcano, and the top of the island was a crater, because the slope was so steep that it was impossible to climb it.However, there is no doubt that the "covered cup" island was once a volcano, and it was about to explode, threatening the whole village.

For two months there was a dreadful rumbling from the interior of the island, a rather noticeable shaking of the whole island, and long streams of flame from the tops of the hills,—especially at night,—sometimes the rumbling was very loud,— So many indications of deep work in the subsea parts of the island are unmistakable signs that a volcanic eruption is imminent.Some great catastrophe threatened the coast, and since it offered no shelter from the lava, the inhabitants fled the island without hesitation, fearing that the island would be completely wiped out.They put all their belongings on the fishing boat, boarded the boat, and came to the port of Thorsenton.

After hearing this news, a feeling of panic enveloped the Bermuda Islands, and a volcano that had been dormant for hundreds of years woke up in the west of the archipelago.But while some are terrified, others are curious.I'm one of those curious ones.In addition, it is important to study this phenomenon to determine whether fishermen are overstating the consequences. The "Cupped" Island stands in the west of Bermuda, and it is connected with Bermuda by a series of jagged islets and inaccessible reefs in the east.It cannot be seen from either St. George Island or Hamilton Island, since the highest point of the island is less than a hundred meters above sea level. A few explorers and I took a speedboat from Sorsenton Harbor to the shore of "Cupped" Island, where some shacks abandoned by Bermuda fishermen stood. There was a constant crackling sound inside, and puffs of steam spewed from the crater. There is no doubt: the former volcanoes of the "Cupped" island are active again under the action of the underground fire.Volcanoes can erupt anytime. We tried in vain to ascend the crater.However, it is impossible to climb these steep and smooth slopes, there is no room for foot or hand climbing, and the slope is seventy-five to eighty degrees.I have never seen a more precipitous place than this rocky carapace, where only a thin layer of humus grows a few sparse clumps of wild alfalfa. After several unsuccessful attempts, we attempted to circle the island.However, except for the villages established by the villagers, the north, south, and west sides of the island are piled up with rocks and are impassable. Knowledge of the island is limited to this unsuccessful expedition.In short, seeing the flaming smoke rising from the crater, hearing the muffled rolling sound of the inner shaking, and sometimes even the explosion, we can only agree with the fishermen's abandonment of the island, and predict that the volcano will erupt soon. This is what happened to me when I visited the Covered Cup, so when its strange shape caught my eye, I automatically remembered its name. No!If ... the "Aiba" were to anchor on this island (which is difficult to accept, since there is no port on the island), it would not please Count Atticus that the watchman Guedon recognized the island. The sailboat gradually approached the island, and I observed this island that no Bermudian would return to after leaving.This fishing spot is now abandoned, so I cannot explain why the Aiba anchored there. Perhaps Count Atticus and his associates had no intention of landing on the shores of the Cup-Covered?Even if the Aiba had found shelter among the rocks deep in the narrow bay, a wealthy owner might have intended to make the barren, conical, battered by the violent storms of the Western Atlantic. Islands as places to live?For the fishermen, this is a suitable place to live, but for Count Atticus, Engineer Sokol, Captain Spard and crew, it is not. It is only half a nautical mile away from the "covered cup" island.His hills are not covered with the dense shade of trees like other islands in Bermuda.Even among the crevices grow some of Bermuda's chief wealth, juniper and gaunt cedar, in very few numbers.The rocks at the bottom of the mountain were covered with thick short seaweed, and the waves kept sweeping away the old and bringing back new.There are also some fibrous plants, the innumerable species of Sargassum, which are common to the islands of the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, and which the waves wash up in great numbers on the reefs of the "Cupped" islands. The only inhabitants of this uninhabited island are some fowls, gray finches, a bird with light blue feathers called "Maoda Sila Ciari", and thousands of silver Europeans and seagulls vibrate. Wings raced through the billowing fog of the crater. Four hundred meters from the island the sailboat slowed down and came to a halt—or rather—at the entrance to a channel artfully arranged by the rocks dotted along the water's edge. I secretly wondered if the "Aiba" was going to venture through this winding channel. No, the best surmise is that the sailing vessel anchored here for a few hours--I don't know why it came there--and then proceeded eastward. I saw no preparations for berthing, that is certain.The anchors were still hanging on the davits, the chains had not been fixed, and the crew had never launched the skiffs into the sea at all. At this time, Earl Atticus, engineer Sokol, and captain Spard walked towards the bow, and then the sailboat moved inexplicably. I followed the port bulwark to the fore-mast, and saw a small buoy floating in the water, which a sailor was hoisting up to the bow. The otherwise clear water here turned cloudy almost immediately, and I seemed to see a black mass rising from the bottom.Could it be a sperm whale that came out of the water to take a breath? …Would the Alba be hit hard by its tail? ... I see it all... I know what machinery drives the sailboat at such unearthly speed, without sail or propeller, that its indefatigable engine floats out of the water and drags it Towed from the coast of the United States all the way to the Bermuda Islands...it's there, floating beside it...it's a submarine, an underwater tugboat, driven by propellers, with the help of current from battery packs or high energy batteries used in this case sailing... On top of this slender, spindle-shaped tug was a platform with a door leading to the inner cabin.A periscope protrudes from the front of the platform, a "lookout" similar to a cockpit, with lens-shaped glass portholes cut into the walls, which can electrically illuminate the cabin under the sea.Now, after relieving the weight of the ballast -- the water -- the tugboat surfaced.The upper hatch opened—pure air let in.Did it sink under the water during the day, surface at night, and drag the "Aiba" on the water? ... There is one more problem, however.If it is electricity that generates the tugboat's mechanical energy, then there must be a generator room to power it.But where is this powerhouse located? ...I don't think it's on the "covered cup" island... So why do sailboats use this type of tug that moves underwater? ...why isn't it inherently sporty like other yachts? ... But, at the moment, I don't have time to think about these questions, or try to explain so many incredible things. The tugboat was alongside the Aiba.The hatch just opened.Several people boarded the platform—they were the crew of the submarine, and Captain Spard communicated with them through the electronic indicator on the front of the sailboat, which had a wire connection before the indicator and the tugboat.In fact, the "Aiba" pointed the course. Engineer Sokol came up to me and said to me: "We're on board." "On board?..." I asked back. "Yes... get on the tugboat... hurry up!" As usual, I obeyed orders and hurried over the bulwark. At this time, Thomas Roche boarded the deck accompanied by a sailor. He looked calm and indifferent, and he did not make any resistance when he boarded the tugboat.He came to the door and sat down beside me, while Count Atticus and Engineer Cole entered the cabin. Captain Spard and the sailor remained on board the schooner, and the four sailors disembarked into the skiff, which had just been lowered to the surface.They carried a long cable, probably used to tow the Alba across the reef.Could it be that amongst these rocks the galley of Count Atticus found a safe haven from the storm? ... Could this be his homeport? ... The "Aiba" left the tugboat, and the cable connecting it to the boat was tightened. A hundred meters away, the sailors tied the cable to the iron anchor ring fixed on the reef.Then, the sailors tugged hard on the cables and slowly pulled the sailboat over. Five minutes later, the "Aiba" disappeared into the rock pile.Doubtless even its mast-tops could not be seen from the distant ocean. Who would have thought that there would be a ship moored so often in the distant hidden seas of Bermuda? ...Who would have thought that this wealthy ship owner, famous in all the ports on the west coast of America, would be a frequent visitor to the "Cupped Cup" island in the wild sea? ... Twenty minutes later, the boat returned to the tugboat with four sailors on board. Apparently, the submarine was waiting for them before they set off...to...where? In fact, the entire crew was on the platform, with the dinghy towed behind, and the sub began to advance, the propellers beating the water in small circles, and the sub headed for Cup-covered Island, rounding the southern reef. After driving for 600 meters, a second channel leading to the island appeared, and the tugboat detoured in it.As soon as it approached the shore, two men were ordered to tow the skiff to a narrow, untouched sandy beach, from which it could easily meet the sailboat when the Alba sailed next. . After finishing the work, the two sailors returned to the tugboat, and the engineer Sokol motioned me to go down to the cabin. An iron ladder led to an atrium, in which were piled all sorts of parcels that might no longer have room in the overcrowded hold of the sailing ship.I was pushed into the next room, the door closed, and I was once again plunged into deep darkness. I recognized the cabin when I entered.This is where I spent the long night after being kidnapped from the sanitarium, and was only released when I reached the ocean far from Dabangpoliko Sovender Lake. Obviously, Thomas Roche was in the same situation as I was, and he must be locked up in another room. There was a dull closing sound, and the submarine immediately sank into the water. In fact, I could feel the tug sinking due to seawater pouring into the tank. The submarine is in continuous motion—a motion that propels the submarine through the layers of the water. Three minutes later, they're moving, and I think we're starting to rise back to the surface... There was another sound of the door moving, this time opening. The door of my house let me pass, and I took a few steps to the platform. I look around... The tugboat has just entered the interior of the "covered cup" island. Count Atticus and his associates lived on this mysterious and remote island - so to speak - isolated from the rest of the world!