Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

The fire went out and the knife broke. Does the coming of these two disasters indicate that God also intends to abandon these unfortunate people who have been abandoned? After the knife snapped, Flip walked out of the cave and threw the hilt of the knife far away.The children were silent and motionless in their places, fully aware of the seriousness of this new unfortunate event. Mrs. Clifton stood up as soon as Flip came out of the cave.Her eyes were red and swollen with grief and fatigue, and her face was pale; she felt as if a rock was weighing heavily on her heart, and she couldn't help clutching her clothes tightly on her breast with one hand.She followed Flip out of the cave.

With his back to the cave, his arms folded, his eyes downcast, he stood like a stone statue in the night.Mrs. Clifton came up to him, calling his name softly. Flip didn't respond, he heard nothing. Mrs. Clifton came up to him and gave him a gentle tug on the arm. Flip turned around, and he was crying!Yes, big tears rolled down his cheeks. Mrs. Clifton took his hand. "Flap, our friend," she said to him softly and calmly, "when I first came ashore, when I was crushed by pain and utterly hopeless, you encouraged me with words of sincerity, and you said to me, for four I ought to live too, boy. You have made me strong. And today it is my turn to say the same thing to you, and I say to you, don't lose heart, friend Flip!"

Listening to the mother's heartfelt words of comfort, the venerable seaman was about to say something, but sobbing choked him out of a word. Mrs. Clifton saw her words begin to work, and the seaman gradually took control of his emotions.So she went on to encourage him in soft words, telling him that her children, and herself, had pinned all their hopes on him.If he was so desperate and gave up everything, then the future of them all would be even more miserable. They really had no hope, they were all lost. "You're right," said the seaman at last, who had recovered his composure.He went on to say, "You, a woman, have shown such determination and courage. It's not right for me to lose my courage. Yes, I will continue to fight and overcome bad luck. Your children are my children, and I will be like them." Fighting for them and working for them like my father did. But please forgive my frustration and gaffe just now, it was hard to control. But now it's all over!"

Flip shook Mrs. Clifton's hand firmly, but said nothing more.He picked up the broken handle, turned and entered the cave, and used the blade to pry open oyster shells one by one. These unfortunate people were so hungry that they quietly ate oysters, sargassum, and pine nuts, which was all they could eat.No one spoke, and the child, the mother, the sailor, were all very heavy, and disappointment seized every heart. In the next three days, the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth, Flip and the children tenaciously collected coconuts, sargassum and other things that could be used as food.Twice Flip sailed to Oyster Cay, and he brought back large quantities of oysters, which he kept in the sea under the cave walls.Oysters and seaweed became their daily staples.However, these molluscs that lack nutrition and have a light meat taste are far from satisfying the needs of the appetite.But the strong children have no complaints, and they don't want to add extra burdens to their mothers.

Mrs. Clifton could not ignore the growing emaciation of her children.Of course, Flip saw it too.But the poor seaman had done his best, and tried everything he could think of.But human strength is limited, and now he feels helpless.The whole family can only look forward to the rescue of the Creator. "God is always merciful, can't he help us through this time?" Flip thought silently. On this day, Flip decided to take a hike north along the coast.Maybe someone lives there?There was no longer any delay, he had to find out as soon as possible.Because the children were malnourished and weak, they could no longer walk very far.This time Flip intended to go so far that he would not be able to return even at night, so he decided to make the expedition alone, leaving the older children to stay with their mother through the night, just in case.

Flip told Mrs. Clifton what he thought, and she agreed to the plan.She thought maybe Flip could bring back luck, and though the chances were small, none should be missed anyway. Today is April twenty-ninth.At noon Flip bade his family good-bye and set out, his rations being only a few handfuls of pine nuts.Because he will go along the coast, he intends to pick oysters, seaweed, etc. along the way to satisfy his hunger. The weather was also very clear, with a slight breeze blowing from the land and slight ripples on the sea. Mark walks with Flip for a quarter of a mile and says goodbye to him.

"Take care of the little ones, Mark," said the seaman to him, "and don't worry about me if I don't come back at night." "Good-bye, Flip," said the young man. Mark walked back along the cliff.Flip walked towards the coast and the mouth of the river.Soon he arrived at the first campsite and saw that the original stove fire had already been extinguished.Looking at the black charcoal without a trace of spark, looking at the ruins that once used to support the boat, Flip could only sigh helplessly.He used to have a fluke mentality, hoping to find even a spark of charcoal here, but now...

"It would be easy to deal with if I was just thrown on a desert island by myself, but now I have children, woman!" Flip thought silently. Flip was on the left bank of the river, and he was going to swim across.Swimming was easy for him, and he watched the opposite bank, which he found fascinating.There is a cliff that stretches along the coast, and it seems that there is no difficulty in climbing to the top of the cliff.He intends to climb up and observe the surroundings. Flip took off his clothes and tried to put it on his head.When he took off his coat and was folding it, suddenly, he felt something bulging in his pocket.I took it out and saw that it was a small bag neatly wrapped with wide sycamore leaves and tied firmly with coconut fiber rope.He was very surprised and didn't know what it was.He hurriedly untied the string, unfolded the leaves, and saw a biscuit and a small piece of bacon.His first reaction was to bring the food to his mouth immediately.

However, he immediately stopped himself.It was Mrs. Clifton who saw that he had gone on the journey with little food, and had smuggled to the sailor what might be his last stores. "What a noble and respectable man!" exclaimed the sailor. "If I eat this biscuit and bacon, she and the kids will have nothing." Thinking of this, Flip put the little bag away again, put it in his pocket, and determined to take it back with a clean finger.Then he folded his clothes and put them on his head and went into the river. The coolness of the river cheered Flip.After stretching his arms and swimming vigorously for a while, he reached the opposite bank.On the shore, he stepped on the soft yellow sand like silk and satin, and stood facing the wind, waiting for the wind to dry the river water on his body.Then put on your clothes and walk along the river beach to the cliff.Without much effort he climbed to the top of the cliff, about three hundred feet high.

Flip's first glance was towards the sea, which was always deserted, and the coastline bent in on the northwest, forming a little bay five or six nautical miles in circumference, from which the river emptied into the sea. It is a safe haven recessed into the land.The cliff extends about three or four kilometers into the sea. Suddenly, the land seems to disappear in the sea.What else is there over the cliff?unknown. On the eastern edge of the plateau, opposite the sea, was a vast green wood, tiered at the foot of the mountains.The mountain ridges converge and rise, gradually forming a towering main peak, which overlooks the surrounding hills and plains.The scenery here is spectacular and the land is fertile, in stark contrast to the barrenness of the south.

"Yes," thought Flip, "our little people ought to live happily and prosper on this shore. As long as we have our tools and our fire, we have a hope and a future." Flip thought as he walked forward with firm steps.He kept walking on top of the rugged cliff, observing the surrounding terrain as he walked.An hour later, he came to the point where the land suddenly disappeared into the sea.Here the cliffs form a promontory where the northern shore of the bay ends.The coastline extends eastward from here, forming a pointed headland. Below the cliff, about two hundred feet under Flip's eye, appeared to be a swampy country, that is to say, a wide swamp with many stagnant pools, about four kilometers long and wide.At a distance of three or four hundred feet from the sea, between the swamp and the shoreline, a line of sand dunes stretches from south to north along the varied shape of the shoreline. Flip felt that the swamp stretched too far inland, so he decided not to go around the swamp, but to walk along the boundary line between the dunes and the swamp.A section of the cliff gave way, and Flip fell down the slope of the collapse to the ground below. The ground was covered with a thick layer of silt, which was formed by the accumulation and decay of silica clay and the debris of various marine flora and fauna; here and there clumps of rushes, clastworts, and scorpions were scattered on the ground. On the ground, there are small puddles shining in the sun.It can be seen that the accumulated water is neither left over from the heavy rain nor the result of the river flooding, but seeps from the ground. On the aquatic plants, on the surface of small ponds, there are groups of water birds perched.A hunter who shoots waterfowl in the swamp can hit a hundred shots here.Those wild ducks, pintail ducks, and dumb ducks live and breed here in groups.They don't seem too scared of people and people can get close to them.Even, Flip can hit them with just a throw of a rock. But what's the use of hitting?These tempting meaty delicacies can only cause deep regret to seafarers.In a fit of anger, he turned away from looking at the waterfowl, and stepped on the mud towards the beach at a faster pace.As he walked, he used his stick to explore the way, poking the water plants so as not to step into puddles or get stuck in mud.Although he nimbly avoided puddles and mud, he could only walk very slowly, very slowly. At last, around three-thirty in the afternoon, he reached the westernmost edge of the swamp and took the easier path between the sea and the dunes.This is a solid road covered with fine sand, and various shells are scattered here and there on the ground.Flip picked up his pace, chewing on the only food he had: a few pine nuts.When he was thirsty he drank the stagnant water that seeped from the ground and remained in puddles.There were few reefs on this coast, and therefore no shellfish to which Flip's appetite had grown accustomed.Fortunately, Flapp had both the spirit and appetite of a philosopher, and he knew how to deal with the difficulties at hand. He continued to explore north.On this desolate beach, what exactly did he hope to encounter?An aboriginal hut?Fragments of some shipwrecked ship?Or a floater that works for him?No, rather, the brave sailor, in spite of all his efforts to restrain himself, had lost all confidence and walked mechanically, with no fixed thoughts, no definite aim, and, one might add, no objection. hope for the future. He walked aimlessly for several kilometers in this way, and the scenery was monotonous and rarely changed: always the ocean on one side and the swamp on the other.In this natural world, in Flip's eyes, there is desolation and loneliness everywhere.There was no sign or foreshadowing of what was to come.Flip wondered why an expedition?Why should he undertake such a fruitless and self-sacrificing search?Did he have a vague and hazy premonition that something would happen sooner or later? Flip sat down between two clumps of rushes, the roots of which reached into the sand and little dunes formed around them.Flip folded his hands on his knees, and with his head on them, did not even glance at the heaving sea before him, and remained thus for half an hour in silence.Finally, he stood up slowly, intending to return to camp. At this moment, he faintly heard a strange sound, which immediately attracted the attention of the seaman.This sound is by no means like the chirping of a mallard, but more like the whimpering of a puppy or a fox. Flip jumped up a large sand dune and looked out over the swamp. He saw nothing but a flock of waterfowl fluttering up from among the tall weeds. "There's some animal over there," said Flip. "Some reptile must have alarmed the waterfowl." Flip watched intently, but the tall aquatic plants remained motionless, and the strange cry never sounded again.It seems that there are other living animals hidden in the swamp where the wild birds fly.The sailor waited silently for a few minutes, then turned his face to the beach and dunes.What dangerous visitor might be lurking behind the dunes?Flip clenched his stick, ready for a sudden attack, but the rushes on the dunes did not budge. "Maybe I misheard." Flip said as he jumped off the dune and walked towards the beach. He planned to return to the camp the same way. When the seaman had walked forward for five minutes, the whimpering sounded again, and seemed to come closer. The seaman stopped immediately, thinking that he must have heard it right this time. It was the low, exhausted bark of a dog. "A dog here, on this shore!" muttered Flip dubiously. Flip listened in silence, and two or three more whining dogs came to his ears. Flip stepped back a few more steps and listened. "Yes, a dog," he said, "but not a wild dog, for wild dogs don't know how to bark. What's the matter?" An inexplicable excitement made the seaman's heart beat violently.Why is there a dog on this shore?Are there native huts here, or shelters for shipwrecked?The situation should be clarified at any cost. Flip jumped onto the dunes again.He felt unusually tense and agitated.He jumped off this dune and onto another dune.The dog's voice seemed to be a little far away, and he could only hear it but see nothing. A clump of tall, dense weeds grew beside a puddle.Suddenly, the clump of grass opened and an animal emerged from it.What Flip saw was a skinny, muddy, dying dog struggling to crawl forward on the ground. Flip ran to the dog, which seemed to be waiting for him.It was a tall dog with drooping ears and a fluffy tail that was wet and muddy; it had a broad head and an intelligent aspect.It can be seen that this is a smart long-haired dog.It stretched out its claws, what kind of claws are these!There was blood all over it.And its head is also muddy.But its eyes are gentle, kind, and pleasing.Flip knew he had no need to be afraid of the animal. The dog crawled closer to Flip.Flip held out his hand to it.The dog licked Flip's hand, then bit his trousers and tried to pull him toward the sea. Suddenly, Flip stopped and squatted down. He held the dog's head closer, and carefully recognized the muddy face, and then cried out involuntarily: "It! Impossible!" Then he brushed the mud off the dog's head and looked and looked. "Fido!" he cried at last. Hearing the name, the dog made a very special reaction. It wanted to jump up, but it had no strength. It could only wag its tail vigorously, expressing that it was very happy to be recognized. "Fido," the seaman called the dog repeatedly, "is that you? Fido, you are here!" It is not difficult to understand, but it is difficult to describe the astonishment of the sincere seaman when he saw the dog on this deserted coast.Flip knew that Fido was the engineer's companion and the children's best friend, and he had often petted it on board the Vancouver.Fido also recognizes Flip. "But it can't be here alone!" cried Flip. "What happened to the Vancouver?" Fido seemed to understand the sailor's question, and it wanted to answer him. It barked and bit the sailor's pants, barely tearing them.Flip immediately understood what the clever dog meant. "Then what else?" he said. "Okay, let's go and see." He followed the clever dog. Flip, led by the dog, tandem across the dunes to the beach.Fido seemed to regain his vitality. He ran back and forth, urging the sailor to quicken his pace all the way.The sailors were also extremely excited.He secretly hoped, but he could not say what he hoped for.He forgot his fatigue, the road he had already traveled, and the long and difficult road he still had to walk back, and just trotted forward closely following the dog. It was almost five o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was almost setting on the horizon.Flip and Fido reach a higher dune.Fido looked at Flip, let out another strange whimper, and rushed towards the path between the two dunes.Flip followed Fido, and as he rounded a clump of rushes, he saw a man lying on the sand, and he cried out involuntarily. Flip hurried forward, recognizing Engineer Clifton.