Chapter 21 Chapter 21 A Storm in the Cave

Oliver was unharmed and remains in a safe place.It was so dark in the cave that you couldn't see your fingers.Only in the interval between the two waves, the entrance is only half exposed, and the color can be penetrated.Oliver is still trying to find Miss Campbell, where will she find a hiding place? ...but it was useless. He shouted: "Ms. Campbell! Miss Campbell!" Suddenly, he heard a voice answering him: "Mr. Oliver! Mr. Oliver!" How he felt at this moment is indescribable. Miss Campbell lived. But where would she have escaped the waves? On the berm, Oliver climbed along the inner wall of the deep cavern.

On the rock wall on the left, due to the shrinkage of the basalt, a piece of the rock wall is recessed, like a small nest, and the pillars there are also divided into two sides.The mouth of the alcove is still quite wide, but the inside becomes narrower and narrower, and can only accommodate one person. The legend calls this alcove "Finger's Chair". It was here that Miss Campbell was hiding, frightened by the influx of the sea. A few hours earlier, the tide had fallen and the entrance to the cave was easily passed.The bold girl just walked in and went through her daily visits.There she fell into idle thoughts again, unaware that the rising tide was approaching her, she didn't notice anything happening outside, when she wanted to go out, the water had already swarmed in, and she could no longer find the exit , At this moment, how scared she is!

But Miss Campbell was still in her head; she tried to hide, tried two or three times to get to the outer post, failed, and risked being swept away several times, until at last she came to Finger's chair. Oliver saw her curled up there before the waves hit her. "Ah! Miss Campbell!" he cried, "how careless you are to be here when the storm is coming! We thought you were lost!" "You have come to save me, Mr. Oliver," said Miss Campbell, deeply impressed by the young man's bravery, and less afraid of the risk she was about to take. "I have come to help you out, Miss Campbell, and with God's help I shall succeed! You are not afraid?"

"I'm not afraid anymore... I'm not afraid!... I'm not afraid of anything when you're here... Besides, in front of the majestic landscape here, can I feel anything but admiration!...Look!" Miss Campbell retreated all the way into the alcove.Suddenly, a wave rose violently, and it was about to hit her. Oliver quickly stood in front of her, trying to protect her. Both were silent.Does Oliver still need to talk to make her understand?And how weak words are to express Miss Campbell's inner feelings at this moment! The young man looked anxiously at the growing danger outside. He was not worried about himself, but worried about Miss Campbell.Hearing the howling of the wind and the roaring of the sea, didn't she know that the storm had come and was getting worse?Didn't he see the waterline rising with the tide?In a few more hours, the tide will fill the cave with water.

Where will the sea rise?Swells in the open sea will make it rise beyond normal?Unpredictable, but it's clear that the cavern is filling up with water little by little.If it is not completely dark inside, it is because the crest of the waves is still dimly soaked in the light from outside.There were also broad phosphor panels scattered here and there, flickering like a kind of electric light.Phosphor panels hung from the basalt rock corners, illuminating the edges of the prisms, leaving a trail of dull white light. In a flash of light, Oliver turned to Miss Campbell.He looked at her excitedly, and it wasn't just the danger that excited her.

Miss Campbell smiled, attracted by the magnificent landscape, ah!A storm in the cave! Then a stronger swell reached the alcove of Finger's chair.Oliver thought that both he and she must be swept out. He hugged the young girl like a treasure, and the sea was going to take her from him. "Oliver! Oliver! . . . " Miss Campbell could not help exclaiming in alarm. "Don't be afraid, Helena!" replied Oliver, "I protect you, Helena! . . . I . . . " He said, he wants to protect her!But how to protect her?If the waves are getting stronger and the water is getting higher and higher, even the depths of this alcove cannot be kept, how can he prevent her from being attacked by the fierce waves?Where should he go to find another hiding place?Where can he find shelter from the churning sea?It is difficult to say whether these may be realized.

First, be calm.Oliver remained calm and acted decisively. He needs to be calm even more, otherwise, the young girl will eventually lose her mental strength, at least physically.This protracted battle had made her exhausted, which would reflect on her body.Already Oliver felt that she was getting weaker and weaker.Although he himself felt that there was no hope, he still wanted to reassure her. "Helena... my dear Helena!" he whispered. "On my return to Oban... I found out...it was you...thanks to you, I was rescued from the Korrivelkan Vortex!" "Oliver . . . you know it all!" replied Miss Campbell, in a dying voice.

"Yes...I'm here to repay you today!...I'm going to get you out of Finger's Grotto!" The water wave had hit the corner of the recess, how could Oliver dare to save her out!He could barely protect his companion from being attacked by the water waves.Two or three times he was nearly swept away... He held back because he felt Miss Campbell's arms around him, and made an extraordinary effort to hold back, knowing that the sea would take her with him. up. It would have been half past nine in the evening.It's time for the storm to be at its strongest.The surging water rushed into the cave and slammed into the depths of the cave and the rock wall like an avalanche, the sound was deafening.The sea was so fierce that blocks of basalt fell from the walls, smashing black holes in the phosphorescent foam.

Under this unstoppable attack, will the rock pillars collapse stone by stone?Will the vault fall?Oliver thought about this.He himself felt a little weak, but he resisted and did not give up.This is due to the lack of fresh air in the cave.The air comes in with the waves, and is brought back out when the waves return, where it is sucked clean by the waves. Miss Campbell, exhausted and exhausted under the circumstances, fell into a swoon. "Oliver! . . . Oliver! . . . " she whispered, falling into his arms. Oliver and the young girl huddled in the deepest alcove.He already felt her body was cold and she lost consciousness.He wanted to warm her up and pass on all the remaining heat from his body to her.

But the water has reached his waist, if he also loses consciousness, both of them will be finished! But brave young men can resist for hours.He supported Miss Campbell and shielded her from the water, and he leaned hard on the basalt and struggled.He wrestled in the darkness.The phosphorescence disappeared, and the cave was completely dark.It was filled with a constant slamming, roaring, and whistling sound.Now, no Thelma's voice echoed through the palace of Finger!It is full of the terrible barking of Kamchatka, dogs, Michelle said well: "a great pack, thousands of them, barking in the long night to the roaring waves, they fought fiercely with the Arctic Ocean. !"

Finally, the tide began to fall.As the water went down Oliver could see that the waves out there had subsided a little.At that time, it was pitch black inside the cave, compared to the day outside.The jumping sea water no longer blocked the exit of the cave, and in the semi-darkness, the exit was vaguely revealed. Soon, there was only a few waves hitting the threshold of Finger's chair.Now, there is no longer a lasso with a wave pattern to pull it over and pull it out.Another ray of hope sprouted in Oliver's heart. Judging from the sea outside, midnight was past.For another two hours there would be no waves sweeping over the berm.People can also walk from above.Try to see this ray of light in the dark, and it will surely come eventually. The time has come to leave the cave. But Miss Campbell has not yet regained consciousness.Oliver held her, she was not angry at all.He slid out of Finger's chair and began to walk down the narrow ledge where the sea had bent and pulled out the iron posts and shattered them. A wave rushed over, and he paused, or took a step back.Finally, just as Oliver was near the outer corner, the last wave rolled over and engulfed him entirely.He thought that Miss Campbell and he would be smashed against the rock wall and smashed into pieces, or washed into the whirlpool roaring at their feet... He made a last effort, he held himself, and took advantage of the water to withdraw When he was free, he ran out of the cave. In an instant he was on the head of the cliff, and found the Melville brothers, Partridge, and Mrs. Beth.They waited there all night. She escaped with him.At this moment, the peak of Oliver's mental and physical strength disappeared suddenly.After he put Miss Campbell into Mrs. Beth's arms, he himself fell at the foot of the rock, unable to move. Without his sacrifice, without his bravery, Helena would not have come out of Finger's Cave alive.