Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Preparing for Winter

The next day, March 8, Captain Servadac, whether Isaac believed his speech or not, ordered the Hansa to sail to Sharif.Isaac didn't say anything about it, because it would be to his advantage anyway.He had been hoping to secretly bribe two or three Russian sailors to help him sail to Algiers or some other port along the coast. The severe winter is approaching, so we must hurry up to prepare the housing for the winter.Fortunately, these Spaniards are burly men, and they can contribute a lot.They quickly acclimatized to the oddities of reduced gravity and thinner air.Their breathing was much faster than before, but they didn't notice it at all.

The Spaniard and a few Russian sailors then set to work in full swing.They first cleaned the rocky cliff.The Spaniards lived here every night, while the Russians and Jews temporarily stayed overnight on their respective ships. But whether it is a boat or a stone house, it can only be a temporary residence.Due to lack of fuel, it is necessary to find a safe and reliable place before the severe winter comes.A place that can maintain a higher temperature allows everyone to live in it and resist the bone-piercing cold. need to be able to do this.Only dig some deeper holes in the ground.When the land of Gallia was covered with white snow and ice, because the ice and snow did not transfer heat, the depths of these caves could maintain the temperature that people could bear.People seem to be back in the cave age, but there is nothing else to do.

They are now in better condition than those who explore and hunt whales at the poles of the earth.Those people often can't find land to settle on the vast ice sheet, and they can't dig a place underground that can keep out the cold.They either stayed on the boat, or built a simple house on the ice with planks and ice blocks, so the conditions for keeping out the cold were much worse. Servadac and others are different, they are on land.They can dig caves hundreds of meters deep here and live in them.At that time, no matter how mercilessly the mercury column on the temperature gauge on the ground dropped, they were still safe and sound.

So the work of digging the hole began.The reader must remember that some shovels, picks and picks were stored in the stone house, so there is no shortage of tools.The Spaniards and Russian sailors worked hard under Ben-Zov's supervision. But not long after the excavation, troubles came. This burrow is located on a small hill on the right side of the stone house.On the first day, things went very well.But after digging down to a depth of two or three meters, the ground suddenly became extremely hard, no matter what tools were used, it was useless. Ben-Zov reported this situation to Captain Selvadak and Count Iron Mashov. They came to have a look and recognized that this stratigraphic structure was exactly the same as that of the Gallia coast and the seabed.Apparently, the entire Gallian crust is made up of this material.It is impossible to continue digging.This substance is harder than granite, and it cannot be exploded by ordinary explosives. I am afraid that only the use of nitroglycerin explosives can solve the problem.

"My God! What kind of rock is this?" cried Servadac. "How can our planet, since it is a fragment separated from the earth, have such inexplicable rocks?" "It's a riddle that cannot be solved," said Count Ironmashev, "but if we don't dig a hole, we'll freeze to death in no time." Indeed, if the figure given by the note is correct, and if, according to the laws of mechanics, Gallia's distance from the sun has been increasing during this period, then its distance from the sun should now be 400 million kilometers. It is about three times the distance from the far eye point of the earth to the sun.At such a distance, it is conceivable to what extent the light and heat from the sun to Galia have been reduced.True.Due to the 90° angle between Galia's axis of rotation and the plane of its orbit, the Sun never leaves the equator.And Goulbi Island is located at the latitude of zero degrees, and it also receives the most light and heat from the sun, so that the climate on the island can be said to be summer all the year round.However, as Gallia moved away from the sun, its privileged position gradually disappeared, and the temperature has been dropping inexorably.The sea water in the offshore area has begun to freeze, and little Nina is very happy to see it.Before long, the whole sea will be frozen.

The temperature will soon drop below -60°C, without a proper shelter, they will not even think about surviving.Now that the temperature has just dropped to around -6°C, it is difficult to maintain the temperature in the stone house. Although a lot of firewood is burned in the stove, it is not necessarily warmer.Therefore, it is impossible to rely on firewood for heating, and we must think of a perfect plan to survive the long and severe winter.It is conceivable that before long, even the mercury column or alcohol in the temperature gauge will condense! As for the Dobrina and the Hansa, we have already said that these two ships cannot withstand the extreme cold, and there is no hope of going there for the winter.What's more, when huge ice blocks gradually accumulate near the hull, God knows what consequences will happen!

If Selvadak and Earl Ironmashev were weak-willed, it would be easy to be discouraged at this time.Since the ground is so hard, it is impossible to continue digging, and it seems that this road has been blocked.Besides, is there any better way? But the situation is very urgent.The sun disk has become smaller and smaller.At noon, when the sun passed through the zenith, the direct sunlight shone on people, and it was still a little warm, but at night, it was cold. Captain Selvadak and Earl Ironmashv mounted two steeds and circled the island, looking for an ideal place to escape the cold.But to no avail.They dug in several places, but as long as they dug down to a depth of one or two meters, they would always encounter the extremely hard rock.It seemed that the idea of ​​spending the winter underground had to be given up.

So they decided to do everything possible to spend the winter in the stone house.Servadac immediately ordered everyone to cut down all the trees on the island, whether they were dry or wet. But they knew very well in their hearts, how could this little firewood be useful?It will burn out in a few days.Selvadak was in a state of anxiety, but his appearance was still very calm. He walked around the island all day long, and was very distressed because he couldn't think of a perfect solution. One day he asked Ben-Zoff: "Hey, have you come up with any good ideas?" "No, Captain," piped his orderly.But then he added:

"I wish I were in Montmartre, where there are many caves." "Fool!" said Servadac. "If it were Montmartre, there would be no need for digging." However, just when they were at a loss and couldn't think of any way to deal with the chilling cold, nature provided them with a unique place.The situation is this: On March 10, Second Officer Prokop and Captain Servadac visited the southwestern tip of the island.As they walked, they chatted about how cold it would be here in the future.Their conversation was very lively, and they had different opinions on how to prevent this extreme cold.One advocated to continue looking for a suitable place to dig a hole, and the other wanted to adopt a new method of heating in the stone house.This second opinion was put forward by Prokop.He was telling Selvadak his thoughts, but he stopped suddenly after saying a few words.He was standing facing south at this time, and he rubbed his eyes with his hands, and looked there intently.

"No! I'm not mistaken!" said he to himself. "There is indeed a fire over there." "Fire?" "Yes, it's over there." "There is a fire." Servadac looked over there and said. The facts cannot be doubted.There was indeed a very bright fire in the southern sky, which was growing brighter in the dim twilight. "Could it be a ship?" Servadac asked. "No. It's so far away from us, if it were a side light, we wouldn't want to see it." "Also," continued Servadac, "the flame doesn't seem to move, and it seems to have a stronger halo."

The two of them looked there for a while again intently.The captain suddenly remembered, and exclaimed: "Hey! That's a volcano! It's the one we saw the other day when we came back from the Dobrina." Then, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, so he said to the second officer: "Second Officer Prokop, we've been racking our brains for the past few days, but we've come up with nothing. We didn't expect that nature has prepared a wonderful place for us, and this volcano is exactly what we're looking for. You think, this never-ending eruption Can't we use the hot magma that comes out to keep out the cold? Ah! This is really a rewarding effort. We will go there tomorrow to have a look. In order to survive, in order not to freeze to death, if necessary, we can go down Go deep into the strata of Gallia." While Captain Servadac was talking about his grand vision there with great interest, Prokop was also trying to search his brains.He remembered that there was indeed a volcano over there.He remembered that when they sailed along the southern shore of the Sea of ​​Galia in the Dobrina that day, a large promontory blocked their way and obliged them to turn around at the latitude where Oran had been.When they got there, they saw a high mountain with thick smoke rising from the top.Evidently, the billowing smoke had been replaced by fiery flames or magma, which now reddened the southern sky and the clouds in the night sky. "You're quite right, Captain," said Prokop. "Yes, it's a volcano. We'll see it tomorrow." They immediately set off on their way home.After returning to the hut, they only told Count Ironmashev about their plans for tomorrow. "I will go with you," said the count. "We can go in the Dobruna." "I don't think there is any need to use the Dobruna," said Prokop. "The weather is so good that we can take a small boat for a distance of more than thirty kilometers." "Then do as you please," said Count Ironmashev. Like many luxury ketch pleasure boats, the Dobrina is equipped with a fast boat.Its propeller was driven by a small, powerful boiler.Prokop felt that since the landing place was unknown, it was better to go in a light boat, and then he could freely search for the landing place in the small bay. The next day, March 11, the skiff was loaded with the remaining coal from the Dobrina, and the three of them left Sharif with them.Ben-Zov knew nothing about their trip to the volcano, and was surprised to see them leave in a hurry.However, it is a matter of great honor to him that he can now act as acting governor and exercise full power over the island. Thirty kilometers away, they arrived in less than three hours.The top of the headland was ablaze, and lava was erupted from the crater in large quantities.Was this raging fire the result of mixing the jets with the oxygen Gallia brought from Earth?Otherwise, will this volcano, like the volcano on the moon, have its own source of oxygen? Small boats searched for a landing point along the coast.After half an hour, I finally found a small bay surrounded by mountains, which is an ideal safe haven. In the future, the Dobrina and Hansa can also dock here. The boat docked in one place.On the other side of the mountain not far away, lava spewed from the crater poured into the sea along the hillside.Servadac they landed.It feels that the temperature here is significantly higher than elsewhere.It seems that the problem that the captain has been worrying about these days can finally be solved.As long as a larger cave can be found nearby for everyone to live in, they will not have to worry about being unable to survive the long and severe winter. They searched everywhere at the foot of the mountain and on the slopes, quickly identifying one rock and jumping from another.The rocks encountered under the feet, without exception, are all hexagonal prism structures, and it seems that the entire Gallia is formed of this kind of rock. God pays off those who work hard.Behind a big mountain rock whose top reaches the sky like a spire, a hole suddenly appears on the mountainside, and the mouth is about 20 meters away from the sea level.There seemed to be a twisted tunnel in the cave, and they immediately got into it. The cave was dark, so they had no choice but to grope along the stone wall.The thunderous sound from the eruption of lava can be heard very clearly here, which shows that this tunnel is not far from the crater.What they were most worried about was that the scorching stone wall suddenly lay in front of them, making it impossible for them to move forward. But Servadac was full of confidence and unwavering, and this spirit deeply infected the earl and Prokop. "Go ahead!" he cried, "we have to find a special way to deal with this special environment! Here is a ready-made 'stove'. Nature has provided us with unexpected advantages. My God! We can do without burning." Chai, there is no need to pay any price!" The temperature in the tunnel is at least 15°C.They put their hands on the stone wall and felt that the stone wall was quite hot.It seems that the rock is made of some kind of metal that conducts heat. "Do you see," said Servadac, "that this thing is an excellent heat exchanger!" Before long, the light brightened ahead, followed by a large cave.The temperature in the cave is very high, but people can stay there completely. In such a deep hole, where does the light and such a high temperature come from?This is because there is a hole on the hillside facing the sea where the rock flow pours down, and the light and heat in the cave come in from this hole.People stand here, just like standing at the entrance of Jiang Cave to watch Niadangira Falls.The difference is that the waterfall seen from this cave is not a stream of water, but a stream of fire. "Oh, thank God!" exclaimed Servadac, relieved, "this is a wonderful place to go!"