Chapter 8 chapter eight

Nothing worth repeating occurred while Flip was away.The fire was still going strong, and Mark had restocked some bird eggs and razor clams.Flip brought back a capybara and a hundred cooers, and for some time he had nothing to worry about about food. Before telling the story of his expedition, Flip was more eager to cook, for the two hunters were hungry.They decided to save the cockles for the next day, and attacked the capybara first, and devoured this truly hungry delicacy first. The first process is to slaughter the prey.This, of course, was once again the task of the competent sailor, the all-powerful man, Flip.With skillful and graceful movements, he quickly skinned the rodent, cut the meat to size, fat and lean, and then set the bone-in pieces on the fire to grill.At the same time, razor clam meat has been boiled in the big pot serving as a soup pot, and bird eggs are also put into the charcoal ash to simmer and roast, making the dinner look very rich.The hind legs of the capybara were saved for early next morning, when Mrs. Clifton lit young twigs and smoked it into cured ham.

Not long after, the smell of grilled steaks rose in the air, and my mother deftly arranged the Saint-Jacques shells that served as plates. It was a fine day, and under the cliffs, in the cool shade, on the soft sand, the guests sat around the boiling cauldron.Although mussel razor clams have become an everyday staple, they are, as usual, warmly received.Grilled pork ribs is of course a unique and rare delicacy in the world.Honest Flip also repeatedly declared that he had never cooked or eaten such a good meal.So he munched greedily. When the hunger of the guests had subsided a little, Mrs. Clifton asked Flip to tell the story of their adventure, but Flip was content to cede the honor to his young fellow-traveler.Robert described their expedition vividly, but he spoke too hastily, sometimes with endless sentences, and sometimes lacked grammatical correctness.But in any case, he gave a complete description of their walks in the woods, batting cuckoos, fighting capybaras, and finding new roads on their return, and the lakes and the southernmost cliffs they encountered by chance.He speaks openly of his impatience and clumsiness, without exaggerating the bravery of his fight with the capybara, or the joy of his unforgettable victory, but Flippe adds it all up for him at the right moment.

Mrs. Clifton was so proud of her son that she took Robert in her arms and kissed him tenderly.Seeing that Mark was a little jealous of her younger brother's grades, Mrs. Clifton took her older son's hand again and thanked him for taking care of his mother and the camp in Flip's absence. Then the sailor recounted the stories that Robert had told, emphasizing those things that he thought were the most important, such as the discovery of freshwater lakes. "Mrs. Clifton, if we could settle between the lake and the shore, we would be living in Eden. The sea is always within our sight, for we can never be far from it; Everything, such as food. Because it is a place frequented by a large number of animals and water birds. In addition, there are lush trees and beautiful scenery. I also found it on the coast there. Anyway, it is very useful to us. coconut tree."

"But how are we going to build a house and live there?" asked Mrs. Clifton. "The worst thing at the moment," replied Flip, "is that this little boat-roofed hut won't stand up to a storm, and I don't believe we won't find a cave, even for a poor What about the little cave?" "We made a big hole in it," said Little Jack. "Yes, with my knife," replied Flip, smiling tenderly at the boy. "Or we could blow the hole open and make it big," Bell added. "Yes, my pretty lady, but it's a pity there's no dynamite. Let's punch it and punch holes to make a comfortable house, dry and warm in winter, and ventilated and cool in summer."

"And a beautiful cave," said the little girl, "like in fairy tales, with walls covered with precious stones." "It will, Miss Bell," replied Flip. "It's specially prepared for you, and there are also a group of fairies who are always at the beck and call of a well-behaved girl like you." Bell clapped his hands happily, and Flip was more than happy to sow some joy and hope in the hearts of the young men.Mrs. Clifton looked at him, a small smile playing on her pale lips. "We should take a closer look at the future campsite," said Flip. "Of course not today. It's too late now. Let's go together tomorrow."

"Is this lake far away?" Mark asked. "Not far, just over two miles. If you will allow me, Mrs. Clifton, tomorrow morning I will take Mark and Robert to explore the coast over there. It will only take two or three hours." "You are excellent in all that you do. Flip, our friend, are you not our Creator?" replied Mrs. Clifton. "What a Creator!" exclaimed the sailor, "a Creator who can only save you from your troubles with a knife." "Yes," continued Mrs. Clifton, "nothing but a knife, but in strong hands, which I believe will deliver us."

And so the plan was settled.All that's left is to rest and wait for tomorrow.Flip rested too, but in his own way—to gather more dry wood. Night fell, and the sky was clear, but chilly.Mrs. Clifton had baked the bed of sand and seaweed to dryness, and the children slept in their own beds, as warm as birds curled up in their nests. Mrs. Clifton insisted on guarding the fire in order to give Flip a few hours' rest.Flip obeyed, intending to sleep only for a blink of an eye.So in the dark of night, the mother was left alone by the crackling fire.She is absorbed in tending the fire, and immersed in the memory of the past, her heart floats on the sea and wanders in the rebellious ship.

The next day, after a brief breakfast, Flip signaled to his two young companions that it was time to go.After Mark and Robert hugged Mrs. Clifton goodbye, they set off in stride.After they rounded the sharp point of the cliff, Flip caught up.When passing the rocks, Flip found that there were still so many clams sucking on the rocks that it seemed that there was no end to eat.On the other side of the strait, on the small rectangular island, a large flock of seabirds was pacing leisurely and solemnly.These are some penguins, which are diving animals, and their sounds are very unpleasant, reminiscent of the neighing of a donkey.Although its flesh is a bit dark in color, it tastes delicious.Flip knew all about this, and he knew that these heavy, ungainly birds could be hit with sticks and rocks.He planned to cross the channel one day and go to the island to explore, there must be a lot of prey there.Only now he has to keep this plan secret, otherwise, Robert will immediately want to swim across the channel to the island to hunt penguins.

It has been half an hour since we left the campsite.Flip, Mark and Robert had reached the southernmost point of the cliff.Only when the tide ebbs does the area become exposed.Then they came to the meadow between the shore and the lake that Flip had discovered yesterday.Mark found the place fascinating.The coconut trees are tall and strong, behind the coconut trees is a coniferous forest, forming a green barrier along with the rugged terrain.There are larch in this coniferous forest, and there are more than three dozen elm trees, and tall flowering ash trees, also known as Virginia hackberry.

Flip and his two young companions explored the entire eastern shore of the lake.This lake seems to be rich in fish.In order to prove this, there must be a fishing rod, fishing line and hook.Flip promised Mark and Robert that he would make them some fishing tackle once their little group settled down. On the western shore of the lake, Flip found the tracks of large beasts, which might have come to drink from the shores of the wide freshwater lake.However, the explorers did not find any traces of humans being here.It's a coastline that has everything but no humans. Flip returned to the bottom of the cliff again, and he wanted to examine the southern end of the cliff carefully.This end faces the sea, shaded by hackberry trees, forming a sharp gorge, which gradually disappears into the sea water.

Prospectors scoured the rocky crags diligently, and it was at stake whether a cave large enough to be settled could be found.Fortunately, the result of the search was that Mark found a cave that met his wish.This is a granite cave, thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, and ten feet high.The ground is covered with a thick layer of soft yellow sand, and dotted with shimmering mica fragments.The upper part of the cave wall is uneven and extremely rough; while the lower part is very smooth, as if the waves had once polished and polished the lower part of the cave wall.The opening is triangular in shape to let in enough light.It was not a very difficult project for Flip to make this hole more regular and larger. Mark entered the hole first, and he neither cheered nor got carried away rolling and tumbling on the sand, which are all Robert's patented movements.Thus, a long track in the sand was left untouched, but the careful Mark found it.Flip came over to examine the ruins.It was apparently a large series of footprints left by a running mammal that walked on the soles of its feet rather than its toes.From the analysis of the footprints left on the sand, this is a toed animal. It must be tall and strong, with great strength, and there are sharp hooked toenails on its toes. Flip didn't want to startle his young companions, but said it wasn't a big deal.Then, erase the footprints.But in his own mind he asked himself silently: Is a cave where wild beasts once haunted a safe haven for a defenseless man?After careful observation, he thought that although wild beasts had visited the cave, it was still a good shelter from the wind and rain.Because, during the observation, he did not find any feces and gnawed bones, so he hoped that the visit of this giant beast was just accidental, and hoped that it would never come back again in the future.In addition, the entrance of this cave can be blocked with stones, and the lit fire is a barrier that all kinds of wild animals are afraid of crossing. Therefore, this cave can be inhabited. Flip decided to make the spacious cave their primary residence.After carefully inspecting the inside of the cave, he came out to observe the environment outside the cave.It is a rocky hill, about five hundred feet high.Its top slopes slightly back, like the roof of Louis XIII.The cave is located 300 meters away from the beach and 200 meters away from the lakeshore, like a rock fortress that can block the wind and rain blowing from both sides.The sea cannot be seen from the front of the cave, but the southern end of the strait can be seen from the side.The main peaks of the mountains behind the cliff cannot be seen from the entrance of the cave, but the azure lake spreads in front of people like a velvet carpet.On the right bank of the lake, there are dense forests, and on the left bank, the undulating sand dunes are connected with the sky in the distance. The beautiful scenery is really refreshing. Not far from the tree-shaded lake, between the grassy meadows and the sea, the location of the cave was so desirable that Flip decided to take Mrs. Clifton and her family there that very day.The idea delighted the two boys, and the three immediately set off on their way back to camp. They passed by the cliff when they came, and they neither hunted nor fished, but when they returned, the children refused to return empty-handed.Robert went to dig out the eggs, and Mark still went to collect the razor clams.They also caught a giant crab whose forehead and the upper edge of its shell were jagged and five-heavy!The giant claw of the crab is strong and strong. Mark dodged clumsily and managed to avoid being caught, while Robert quickly picked out the bird eggs. He got a dozen or so, but broke half of them.He was sloppy and thankful he didn't break all the eggs. At ten o'clock Flapp and his two companions reached camp.Cooking smoke curls up from the cliff.It was Jack and Bell who tended the fire, and they took their task very seriously. Mrs. Clifton, nimbly preparing lunch, cut up giant crabs and stewed them in seawater in a large pot. The crabs smelled like lobsters from European seas. Flip informed Mrs. Clifton of his intention to move, and she fully agreed.But after lunch, the weather suddenly changed. The climate at the end of March was unpredictable. The cold wind at the vernal equinox drove away the sunny sky and brought cloudy clouds.Flip had to postpone his relocation plans.The strong wind, with raindrops blowing from the northwest, beat the rock wall like countless whips, and the rainwater slowly poured into the shelter under the roof of the boat, directly threatening the beds made of sand and seaweed.All day and all night, the Clifton family lived under the threat of a violent storm, which made them miserable.In order to keep the fire, they also exhausted their energy.They longed for a hermetically sealed dwelling now with an eagerness they had never felt before.

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