Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

Why can't I sleep?Godfrey was speculating about a new man in his new situation, so boring, so thoughtless, so thoughtless, and he was just letting himself go.Indeed, worrying about tomorrow never disturbed his sleep.He could sleep for ten hours straight in his well-to-do mansion on Montgomery Street, and a letter with a rose petal could not disturb his sleep. But he will never do that again.On this strange island, he deeply felt that he was completely cut off from the rest of the world. , and feel overwhelmed.No doubt, because the Phantasm has not been seen again, people will start looking for it.But can you find them both?It is 1000 times more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack and a grain of sand in a sea!Uncle Koldrup's immeasurable wealth is not the solution to all problems!

So, although he had found a decent shelter, Godfrey couldn't sleep well, his mind had never worked like this before.Because all kinds of thoughts flooded into his mind: regretting the past bitterly, striving to create the present, and more worrying about the future! But, in the face of these ordeals, and the reason which so naturally arose, and the reasoning which followed, bit by bit broke from the vagueness which hitherto slumbered in him, Godfrey resolved to be with Fight against bad luck, try every means possible to get out of the predicament.If he can save himself from his bad luck, he will never forget this lesson in the future.

At daybreak, he got up, wanting to make this home more comprehensive.The problem of food and drink, and especially that of fire in connection with it, is the most important of all other problems, such as making any tool or weapon, the replacement of clothes that must be obtained, or will soon be dressed like a Polynesian. It has to be solved first. Tatley was still asleep, unable to see him in the shadows but hear him.The poor man who had survived the shipwreck, at the age of forty-five, was as superficial as his pupils had hitherto been, and could not have been a great spiritual force for him.He will even be burdened by the fact that his needs must be met; but this is a partner after all!In short, he is more valuable than the most intelligent dog, though, no doubt, he may be less useful!Here is a man who can talk, even if it is nonsense, can talk, although always about things that cannot be taken seriously; can complain, almost endlessly!Either way, Godfrey could hear a human voice.Much better than Robinson Crosoe's parrot!Even with a Tatley, he wasn't alone any more, and nothing knocked him down more than the vista of the inseparable.

"What a difference between the Robinson before Friday and the Robinson after Friday!" he thought. But he wasn't sad that he was alone that morning, June 29, in putting his plan into action to explore the area around the sequoias.Perhaps he'll be lucky enough to find some fruit, some edible root vegetable, to bring back to the Professor's great satisfaction.So he left Tartley in his sleep and set off. A mist still hangs over the edge of the sea; but this mist has begun to rise on the north and east under the sun, and will be condensed by the sun, and it must be excellent weather.

Godfrey, having cut a stout stick with his knife, walked the two miles, and remounted that part of the coast which he had not yet surveyed, whose jutting angle formed the extended promontory of Fina Island. There he prepared a primitive meal of shellfish, mussels, and especially of the best small oysters, which are so abundant there. "When you have to," thought he, "these won't starve! There are thousands of dozen oysters there, with which to silence the most eager stomach! If Tattley complains, It's because he doesn't like these molluscs! . . . well, he'll like them!"

To be sure, if oysters cannot absolutely replace bread and meat, as long as they can be absorbed in large quantities, they are also a food that can provide rich nutrition.However, because the mollusk is so easily digested, it can be eaten without risk of overeating. After this breakfast Godfrey took up his stick again, and walked straight south-east from the ramp to regain the right bank of the creek.The road would lead him across the prairies until the grove he had seen the next day outside the long rows of brambles and bushes, and he wanted to take a closer look. Godfrey therefore walked about 2 miles in this direction.He walked along the steep bank covered with short, velvety grasses.Flocks of birds that lived by the water's edge took flight, crying loudly in the presence of a man they had never seen who came and disturbed their domain.There were also several species of fish gliding to and fro in the current of the creek, which was estimated to be four or five yards wide.

It's obviously not difficult to catch these fish, but being able to cook them has always been a difficult problem. Fortunately, when Godfrey came to the front of the small bushes, he recognized two kinds of fruits or root grasses, some of which could not be eaten after being overfire, but others could be eaten raw. Both plants are often eaten. The first is a small shrub called 'Kama' that grows even on any cultivated land.Their roots are like an onion and can be used to make a gluten-rich meal that's extremely nutritious, if you don't fancy eating them like potatoes.However, they must be subjected to some kind of boiling or roasting.

Another small shrub with an oval-shaped bulb is known locally as "Yanfu", and although it may not contain as many nutrients as "Kama", it is more popular in this environment because it can be eaten raw . Godfrey was so pleased with this discovery that he immediately ate several of this excellent root grass, and, not forgetting to prepare a lunch for Tatley, he picked a large bundle, carried it on his shoulders, and turned back "Will Tree". Needless to say, how welcome he was when he arrived at the Will Tree with his collection of "Florus".The professor enjoyed this delicacy greedily, and his students had to ask him to restrain himself.

"Hi!" he replied, "we can have these roots for lunch today, who knows if we can have them tomorrow?" "Absolutely rest assured," Godfrey retorted, "Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, there will always be! Just go and collect!" "Okay, Godfrey, what about that 'karma'?" "This 'Kama', when we have a fire, make them into flour and bread!" "Fire!" the professor shouted, shaking his head, "Fire! How did you get the fire?..." "I don't know anything about it yet," replied Godfrey, "but, in one way or another, we shall succeed!"

"God heard you say that, my dear Godfrey! And when I think of how many people can get fired just by rubbing a tiny piece of wood on the sole of a shoe! I'm so annoyed! No! I never Believe that some day bad luck will bring me so poor! You can't walk more than three paces in Montgomery Street, and you will meet a gentleman with a cigar in his mouth. He will gladly give it to you and let you light it, But here..." "Here, not in San Francisco, nor in Tatley, nor in Montgomery Street, and I think it wiser not to rely on the help of passers-by!" "However, there is another question. Why must bread and meat be cooked? Why doesn't nature make us live on the air that is always available?"

"Maybe there will be such a day!" Godfrey replied with a cheerful smile. "You think so?..." "I think, at least, some scholars are worrying about it!" "Is it possible? And on what grounds are they seeking this new feeding world?" "According to this reasoning," replied Godfrey, "since digestion and respiration are related functions, one of them may be able to take the place of the other. Thus, some day, chemistry makes it possible for the food which a man must feed to be absorbed by respiration, Problem solved, it just involves making the air nutritious. One breathes his supper instead of eating it, and that's it!" "Ah! it is exasperating that this precious discovery has not been discovered!" exclaimed the Professor, "for I shall gladly breathe a half-dozen sandwiches and a small piece of corned beef, if that is what I want to eat!" So Tattley was immersed in a kind of physical half-sleep and half-awake. In this state, he vaguely saw the delicious atmospheric dinner, opened his mouth involuntarily, and took a big breath, forgetting to talk to him in the habitual way. There is hardly anything to eat. Godfrey pulled him out of his contemplation and brought him back to reality. A home must be settled in a relatively comprehensive way inside the "Will Tree". The first step to consider is doing your best to clean your future residence.The first thing to do is to remove several pieces of plant debris that are no longer than half a leg all over the floor.Two hours of labor barely dealt with this heavy work, and finally this layer of powder that flew everywhere was removed from the room. The ground is solid and firm, and the branches of the giant sequoia roots on the ground are like laying parquet floors on the ground with solid floor shelving.Two corners were chosen for the bunks, and a few bales of grass dried in the sun would make up the complete bedding on the bunks.As for other furniture, benches, poufs, or tables, which were most needed, were not impossible to make, for Godfrey had a knife with saw and hatchet.Indeed, when the weather is bad, you must stay in this tree to eat and work.The light is still there, because it can shine in a lot through the opening.At a later time, if greater safety considerations had to close the opening, Godfrey would try to cut a window or two in the bark of the sequoia. As for seeing how high the hollow part of the trunk is, Godfrey couldn't do it without light.All he could ascertain was that when he moved a 10- to 12-foot-long pole over his head and moved it, it was still space. But this problem is not the most urgent, and we will solve it later. The day passes in these labors which cannot be done before sunset.The rather toiled Godfrey and Tartley found excellent bedding made only of this hay, of which they had stored a good deal; tree".Godfrey therefore thought that it would be more appropriate to choose another tree in this group of giant sequoias to build a chicken coop, and only by blocking the common room with thorns could they be prohibited from entering.It is very fortunate that neither the eunuch, nor the agouti, nor the goat feel the same desire.The animals stayed outside quietly and didn't even want to get over the useless fence. The next few days were devoted to different tasks, setting, tidying and collecting: picking up eggs and shellfish, collecting the root grass of javelin and the fruit of manzanilla, going to the sandbars on the coast every morning to dig oysters, all this had to be done. Take your time, time flies. Household utensils are also limited to the large shells of some bivalve molluscs used as cups or saucers.Seriously, there's no need for more than the kinds of foods that will-tree owners can only eat.The underwear had to be washed in the clear water of the creek, which took up Tatley's leisure.The task fell to him: besides, it involved only the two shirts, the two handkerchiefs, and the two pairs of socks, of which the wardrobes of the two victims consisted. For this operation, therefore, Godfrey and Tartley wore nothing but their trousers and overalls; but, with the blazing sun of this latitude, all these dried quickly. In this way, until July 3rd, they were neither rained nor blown by wind. For Godfrey and Tatley, who had been cast upon this island in a state of want, such a settlement was almost a good one. However, those unlikely external opportunities for rescue should not be overlooked.Godfrey, therefore, came daily to observe the whole extent of the sea on this sector, which stretches beyond the headland from east to northwest.This part of the Pacific has always been deserted.Not a huge ship, not a fishing boat, not a wisp of smoke clearly visible on the horizon to indicate that any steamer was passing open sea.The Fina Island appears to be off the route of commercial and passenger traffic.Therefore, one must wait patiently and trust in the Almighty who never abandons the weak. In the meantime, when he was no longer busy with the necessities of life, Godfrey, especially at the urging of Tatley, returned to the important and vexing problem of fire. At first, since tinder was so unfortunately lacking, he tried to substitute another similar material.And certain types of mushrooms that grow in the hollows of those old trees may become a combustible substance if they are exposed to the sun for a longer period of time. Several species of these mushrooms are thus gathered together and passed through the direct sun until they are powdered.Then, mistaking the back of his knife for a fire knife, Godfrey made some sparks from a piece of flint fall on the substance...to no avail.This spongy substance does not burn. Godfrey then thought of using that fine plant powder that had been dried for so many centuries, which he found on the ground inside the Will tree. He has had no greater success. At the end of his wits, he tried again and decided to use a fire knife to set fire to a sponge that grew under rocks. His luck was no better.Particles of steel ignited by the impact of the flint fell on this substance, but were extinguished immediately. Godfrey and Tatley were really desperate, and the fire could not be spared.They are beginning to tire of fruits, roots, molluscs, and their stomachs have shown an absolute refusal to such foods.They watched--especially the Professor--the capons, the agouti, and the hens going round and round the Will tree.Hungry at the sight of this, they devour the living flesh with their eyes! No!Can't go on like this! But an unforeseen circumstance - we say providence, if you say so, will help them. During the night of July 3-4, the weather that had been subject to change for several days, after a period of unbearable sweltering heat that could not be blown away by sea winds, turned into thunderstorms. Godfrey and Tatley were awakened at nearly one o'clock in the morning by thunder rumbling in a veritable lightning pyrotechnic.It is not yet raining; but it will soon be raining.That would be a real downpour as steam condenses rapidly from cloudy terrain. Godfrey got up and went out to check the sky. Above the dome of the big tree, everything hugged, and the leaves showed a fiery red in the air, as if they were beautifully cut out of a Chinese shadow play. . Suddenly, in a light of average brightness, a fiery lightning streaked across the air.The thunder sounded immediately, and the Will tree was struck by the electric current from top to bottom. Godfrey was half-knocked by a counter-shock, and rose again in a mass of fire that fell around him.That lightning strike burned the dry branches among the higher foliage.The same amount of hot charcoal crackled continuously on the ground. Godfrey summoned his companions with a cry. "fire Fire!" "Fire!" replied Tatley, "thank God for sending us fire!" Immediately, the two rushed into the rising flames, some of which were still burning, and others had been burned out and had no flames.While picking up these burning objects, they also picked up a considerable number of dead branches at the foot of the giant sequoia. The trunk of the giant sequoia was only scratched by lightning.Then they returned to their gloomy dwelling, and at that moment the rain poured down and extinguished the fire that promised to devour the upper branches of the Will tree.

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