Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen Two Gunshots

The next day, and for several days in early September, there was no sign of Aristobulus Ursyklaus again.Had he realized that he was wasting his time with Miss Campbell, and had left Jona Island by boat.No one can tell what is going on.In any case, it was good for him not to show himself, and the young girl showed disgust for him instead of mere indifference.He speaks of her green light without poetry, materializes her dreams, and speaks of Valkyrie's shawl as a fleeting optical phenomenon.Maybe she could forgive him for all his mistakes, but she couldn't forgive him for this alone. Miss Campbell did not even let the Melville brothers inquire about Aristoboulos.

Besides, what's the use of looking for him?What could they tell him, what more could they expect?In the future, can they still think about making these two incompatible people combine according to their ideas?Between them lies a gulf, like that between vulgar prose and noble poetry, the one obsessed with reducing everything to scientific formulas, the other living only in ideals and defying all causes, And content with impressions and sensations. Nevertheless, Partridge, at the instigation of Mrs. Bess, found out that this "young man's old scholar," as he called him, had not left, but had been staying with the fishermen, and that he People eat alone.

In short, the important thing is that people don't see Aristobulus Ursyklaus anymore.He often shuts himself in the house, doing some kind of advanced scientific speculation, or walking across the low sandy beach with a gun on his back.There, he did a real massacre of black mergansers or seagulls, birds that were worth nothing locally, and only then would his low mood be improved.Did he still have some kind of hope?I wonder if Miss Campbell will have a better opinion of him once her fantasy of green light is realized?From her personality, it is also possible. One day, however, a nasty accident occurred, and his end might have been disastrous had not the sudden arrival and generosity of his rival.

It was the afternoon of September 2nd when Aristobulus Ursyklaus went to study the rocks at the southern tip of the Isle of Jona.One piece of granite, a wave-eroded rock column, especially caught his attention.So he decided to climb to the top.However, it would be ill-advised to attempt to climb up, as the rocky surface is slippery and there is nowhere to tread on it. But Aristobulus never wanted to let his wish come true, and he would be very disappointed.So he climbed the rock wall and began to climb up. With the help of a few clumps of plants growing around, he took some effort and finally reached the top of the rock pillar.

Once there, he went about his daily work as a mineralogist.But it was not so easy for him to come down again.After carefully seeing which rock wall is more suitable for sliding down, he started to take risks. Suddenly, he landed on the ground, lost his balance, and would have fallen into the rough sea if a broken stake hadn't stopped him halfway through the fall. Aristobulus was thus in a precarious and ridiculous position, unable to climb up, but unable to descend. An hour passed like this.If Oliver Sinclair, carrying a backpack, hadn't passed by at this time, I don't know what would have happened to Aristobulus.Oliver stopped when he heard the shout.He couldn't help laughing at the sight of Aristobulus hanging thirty feet in the air like a figurine with firecrackers in a tavern window.However, it is conceivable that he did not hesitate to help him out of danger.

It really takes some effort.Oliver had to go up to the top of the rock pillar first, pull up the person who was hanging in the air, and then help him slide down from the other side. Aristobulus stepped on a safe place and said: "Mr. Sinclair, I planned to calculate the angle between the rock wall and the vertical line, so that I can slide down and hang there." Oliver replied: "Mr. Ursey Claus, I am very glad that I can be of help to you by such a coincidence!" "Let me express my thanks to you..." "You're welcome, sir. If I were to die, wouldn't you save me too?"

"certainly!" "Okay, I'll wait for you to help me too!" The two young men then bid farewell to each other. Oliver didn't feel the need to talk about it, and besides, it was all right.As for Aristobulus, he would say nothing.However, because he is very greedy for life, he is still very grateful to his love rival for helping him out of the predicament. What about the famous green light?Do you have to pray and pray specifically!However, there was no time to waste.Autumn will soon fill the sky with its tent of mist.At that time, there will be no such clear night sky again.At high altitudes, there are very few clear skies in September.There will no longer be a sky with clear lines drawn more like a circular plan than a painter's brush.Is it necessary to give up the observation of green light?It is the green light that keeps people moving around.Do we have to wait until next year or go elsewhere to catch it?

And that was what annoyed Miss Campbell and Oliver Sinclair.The two men were greatly annoyed when they saw that the sky of the Hebrides was filled with mist from the sea.Such was the misty first four days of September. Every evening, Miss Campbell, Oliver Sinclair, the Melville brothers, Mrs. Beth and Partridge sat on a rock gently swept by the tide, watching the sunset under the beautiful halo with rapt attention, if The sky is very pure, and the sunset must be even more magnificent. Facing this beauty, an artist should have applauded long ago.In front of me is the beautiful scenery that changes little by little at sunset. The color of one cloud gradually weakens from cloud to cloud, from the purple of the zenith to the golden red of the sky. waterfall of light.But here, the rock turned into a cloud, and the cloud swallowed up the disc of the sun, the last few rays of the sun, and the green light that everyone's eyes were looking for was also swallowed up.The sun is now asleep.Everyone stood up in disappointment, just like the audience watching a fantasy drama, who was disappointed not to see the wonderful last scene due to the mistakes of the set-up workers.Then, take the long detour back to the Old Dangan Inn.

"See you tomorrow, Greenlight!" said Miss Campbell. "See you tomorrow!" The two uncles agreed. "We have a hunch that tomorrow..." Every night, the brothers have a hunch, but in the end the hunch is always wrong.But it was fine early in the morning on September 5th, when the eastern mists were melted by the morning sun. The pointer of the barometer has been turning in the direction of good eyes for several days, and it is still rising, and finally it is set on the grid of sunny days.It was not so hot, and the sky was not soaked with the shivering moisture of summer heat, and the dry air was felt at sea, like the thin air on a mountain thousands of feet above sea level. As far as I can feel.

It is simply indescribable, how anxiously everyone is watching the weather changes at different stages of the day.A cloud rose in the sky, and their hearts beat wildly.It would be rash to say how restlessly they watched the course of the sun that day. Fortunately, there was a light breeze blowing on the ground, very light but continuous.The breeze crossed the mountains to the east and slid across the long grasslands in the distance, carrying no more moisture molecules from the expanse of water evaporated or from the night winds off the coast. How long is the day!Miss Campbell was restless, forgetting the scorching heat of the dog days, and kept walking back and forth on the ground, while Oliver ran to the high ground of the island to check the sky conditions in the distance.The two uncles impatiently emptied half of the snuff box, and Partridge stood there like a sentry, like a country policeman appointed to guard the heavenly plain.

That day, everyone agreed to have dinner at five o'clock in the evening, so as to arrive at the observatory earlier. The sun will only set at 6:49, and there is still time for everyone to follow it until it sets. "I believe we've got him this time," said Sam, rubbing his hands. "I believe it too." Sieb agreed, rubbing his hands together. But at almost three o'clock, everyone panicked.A large cloud, like the rudiment of a cumulus cloud, rose in the east and was moving towards the sea due to the breeze blowing on the ground. Miss Campbell was the first to see the cloud.She couldn't help but let out a cry of disappointment. "There's only one cloud, we don't have to worry about it!" said an uncle, "It will spread out soon..." "Or it is going faster than the sun, and it will disappear below the sea level before the sun." Oliver also said. "Isn't this cloud a harbinger of a great fog?" asked Miss Campbell. "Then have to go and see." Oliver ran to the former site of the monastery.From there he could see beyond the hills of the Isle of Mull, farther behind, sharply defined, with their ridges like a curve drawn with a brush on a beautiful background, with no other vapor in the sky , Benmore was clearly visible, and there was not a trace of fog above three thousand feet above sea level. Half an hour later, Oliver came back with news that reassured everyone.This cloud is just a lost child in the universe who cannot find sustenance in this dry air and will starve to death on the way. But this whitish cloud was walking towards the zenith, and everyone was very unhappy to see that it also followed the sun, and was moving towards the sun under the breeze.Clouds glide across space, structures changing in vortices of air currents.From the original dog-head shape, it becomes a painted fish shape, like a giant ray.Then it rolled into a ball again, dark in the center and glowing all around, and at that moment it blocked the sun's disc. Miss Campbell gave a scream and stretched her arms to the sky. The luminous star is hidden behind the barrier of fog, and a large shadow has just covered it, and no light can shine on the island of Jona, which is within the direct range of the sun. But soon the shadow moved away.The sun showed its radiant round face again.The cloud was falling toward the sky, and before it reached the sea level, it disappeared. It took half an hour, as if a hole had opened in the sky. "It's gone at last," cried the young girl, "will there still be a cloud behind it!" "No, please rest assured, Miss Campbell." Oliver said. "The cloud disappeared so quickly and disappeared all at once, because it did not encounter other water vapor in the atmosphere, and the entire universe to the west was absolutely pure." At six o'clock in the evening, everyone gathered in a relatively open place and looked at the sky intently. That was at the northern end of the island, on the upper ridge of Mount Abbe.Looking around from the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the raised part of the Isle of Mull.To the north, Stafford Island, looks like a giant tortoise shell, stranded in the Hebrides waters.In the distance, the islands of Elva and La Gomeida stand out clearly on the long coastline of the Big Island.The boundless sea stretches west, southwest, and northwest. The sun descended rapidly along a slanted line.The horizon is a black line, as if drawn with Chinese ink.On the contrary, the windows of the people's houses on the island of Yona shone like fire in the evening light, and the flames of the fire should be golden. Miss Campbell, Oliver Sinclair, the Melville brothers, Mrs Beth, and Partridge were stunned by the majestic scene before them, and all were silent.They half-opened their eyes and looked at the disk. The disk was changing shape, expanding a little bit parallel to the water surface, forming a huge bright red hot air balloon. At this time, there was no trace of moisture on the outer sea. "I believe we'll catch it this time," Sam repeated. "So do I," added Sieb. "Quiet, uncles!" cried Miss Campbell. The two closed their mouths and held their breath, as if fearing that their breath would condense into a light cloud that would cover the sun's disk, and the lower part of the star finally bit the sea level.The sun was widening, and still widening, as if filled with a glowing fluid.Everyone's eyes are eagerly waiting for the last few rays of light to appear. Ter Ahaju is stationed in the Palma desert on the coast of Spain, awaiting the flare gun that should appear on the summit of Avico Island to close the last triangle of the north-south line!Finally, as the sun skims across the water, only a thin layer of the upper half of the arc remains.Fifteen seconds more and the Supreme Light will be thrown out into the universe, leaving a glimpse of heavenly green to the eyes waiting there for everything. Suddenly, two loud noises sounded from the rocks by the sea below the mountain.A puff of smoke rose, and in the lingering smoke, a cloud of seabirds, gulls, silver oxen, and petrels stretched out.It was the untimely sound of the gun that woke them up.The cloud went straight up, folded like a screen between the sky and the island, and just as the sun was throwing its last rays on the water, it passed in front of the fading star.At this moment, the inescapable Aristobulus Ursyklaus could be seen standing on the top of a cliff, his gun still smoking, his eyes on the whole flock of birds. "Ah! It's him again, that's enough!" cried Seb. "Too much!" Sam yelled too. "I should have let him hang on that rock," thought Oliver. "If I don't help him, then, at least, he might still hang there." Miss Campbell, with shut lips and staring eyes, could not utter a word. Once again, she hadn't seen the green light because of Aristobulus Ursyklaus' fault!