Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Uncle Robinson!This name became the mantra on everyone's lips that day.Credit should go to Jack and Bell.The name has since become Flip's official title.At first Flip refused to accept the name, as he considered himself nothing more than a humble servant of the family.But the whole family unanimously told him that there is no distinction between master and servant here, and everyone is equal.So Flip accepted the name resignedly.Besides, didn't he change his name often?In Picardy, France, he's called Pierre Fantome; in America, he's called Flip; why can't he be called Uncle Robinson in the land of the Pacific!

Harry Clifton slept through the next afternoon.During his deep sleep, Uncle Robinson, or Uncle for short, and his new nephews were all anxious, fearing that the recovering patient would wake up and remember his "hot drink."Indeed, "hot drink" has become a "hot" problem. Uncle and Mrs. Clifton discussed a plan. "What do you mean? Madame, sooner or later we must admit our predicament, and if we find your husband, we shall surely find the fire! How, I do not know now, but there will always be." of." Mrs. Clifton shook her head speechlessly, but she doubted her uncle's optimistic promise.

The next day, May 2nd, Harry Clifton woke up feeling much better and managed to get out of the cave.After hugging his wife and children and shaking Uncle Robinson's hand, he admitted he was hungry. "Yes, sir," replied the uncle hastily, in a cheerful tone, "what shall we serve you? Please tell me, and you are welcome, we have very fresh oysters!" "Oysters are very good, uncle, but please add more," said Harry Clifton. "We also have coconut pulp, coconut milk, and it's hard to find anything better suited to the weak appetite of a recovering illness."

"I'm sure you're quite right, Uncle. I'm not a doctor, but a small piece of tender game roast is all right for my stomach, and won't do any harm?" "Why do you think so, sir?" replied the uncle, "you shouldn't have eaten such a rich meal at once. You were shipwrecked at sea for a long time, and you were hungry and thirsty on the beach, and almost died. Believe me Sir, the appetite of such a man cannot be satisfied at once." "Immediately, well, not immediately," Clifton said, "but tomorrow will be all right? I guess..."

"Sometimes, sir," said Flip with certainty, "sometimes it takes eight days of fasting, yes Mr. Clifton, and I can assure you one hundred per cent that it's a very difficult thing for a man at sea to be rescued." Eight days of fasting! I was shipwrecked once, rescued on a raft, and I nearly ate too much. Since then, my stomach..." "Excellent?" Clifton said. "Very well," replied Flip, "but in the end it's going to be bad luck." Everyone laughed at the inferences about Uncle Robinson. "Well," said the engineer, "I agree with the diet prescribed for me today, but I don't think you have any reason to stop me from having a hot drink?"

"Hot drink!" cried Uncle Robinson, who was cornered. "Hot drink, great sir, hot drink, how about a bowl of hot soup!" "OK." "Good! Mr. Robert and I will go to the woods and bring you a bowl of hot soup. I mean, an animal can make you a good bowl of hot soup. It's settled." This morning, Harry Clifton continued to eat sargassum, oysters, and coconut pulp.Then Uncle Robinson and Robert went to the "rabbit farm" and caught two rabbits by the trick.The uncle showed off their prey to the engineer, and promised to make him a bowl of hot soup that would restore his strength as soon as possible.

The children then went to pick the plants, the fruit, that had become the mainstay of their meals.Mrs. Clifton and Young Bell washed the meager change of clothes of the members of the clique.At this time, Uncle Robinson sat beside the engineer and talked with him. Harry Clifton asked his uncle if it ever occurred to him that there were wild animals on the coast, which were extremely dangerous to the unarmed.Uncle did not dare to discuss the matter further, and he only told the engineer that he had seen huge footprints in the sand in the cave three weeks ago. The engineer listened intently, thinking that a door should be made to block the hole as soon as possible.He also told his uncle to burn the fire more vigorously at night, because no wild beast would dare to cross the barrier of fire.

Uncle Robinson promised to do everything, and added that they were never short of firewood, because they had an inexhaustible forest. He then discussed food with the engineer.The engineer asked if he would never have to worry about food.Uncle believes that fruits, eggs, fish, and shellfish are abundant, and once hunting and fishing tools are improved, the situation will be even better. Then they talked about clothing again.How do you find replacements for kids whose clothes are ripping out quickly? Uncle Robinson thought that the question of dress should be dealt with separately.The problem of shirts should be postponed first, and outerwear can be replaced. For example, animal skin is the best material for outerwear.

"You know, Mr. Clifton, if we can't avoid the beast, let's borrow its skin for clothing." "But it won't be loaned to you automatically." "He doesn't want to borrow it automatically, so let's pick it up. Mr. Clifton, you don't have to worry about it. The important thing is that you recover as soon as possible!" On this day, Jack was outstanding in fishing.Using coconut fiber rope and a small piece of cloth, he caught a big frog by the lake.The scientific name of this amphibian is the brown toad.Its meat is tender, white, and rich in animal gelatin, making it a good material for soup, and very good for Mr. Clifton's recovery.However, Jack's harvest could not be used, but he was also highly praised by Uncle Robinson.

The following Friday, after a good night's rest, the engineer felt stronger and his wounds were healing quickly.Dissuaded by his uncle and Mrs. Clifton, he agreed to stay in bed for another day, and decided to go out of the cave tomorrow to see his surroundings. Uncle had been avoiding the question of fire with unreasonable obstinacy.Why does he refuse to admit the reality?Is he afraid that Mr. Clifton will not be able to bear this cruel reality that even women and children have accepted?Or because he wished Mrs. Clifton had put the question to his husband herself.But he should be told anyway.Indeed, Mrs. Clifton had silenced him about it.The lovely lady, seeing her husband's weakness, did not wish to add to his misery by fresh blows.

In any case, however, Uncle Robinson could no longer find an excuse to avoid the question.Whenever Mr. Harry Clifton was offered oysters and coconut meat, he always asked for the hot soup which had been solemnly promised to him.This afternoon, Uncle Robinson finally had no excuses. But fortunately a sudden change of weather took him out of his predicament.The sky was overcast with clouds, and the storm brought heavy rain, which lasted from the night before to the next.Big trees were blown down, and the sand blown up by the wind hit the beach like hail. "Ah, good rain, good rain!" cried the uncle. "Unlucky rain," said Mark, for he also wanted to collect oysters on the beach. "Great rain, Mr. Mark, the rain saved us." Mark didn't understand why his uncle was so pleased with the rain, but when they were inside the cave and what his uncle said to Mr. Clifton, he understood everything. "Ah, Mr. Engineer, what kind of weather is this, such a strong wind, such a heavy rain, our fire has gone out again, and we cannot keep it alive!" said the uncle in a hurried tone. "Well, my friend," replied Clifton, "the disaster is not serious, and we shall light the fire again when the storm dies down." "Yes, sir, we shall rekindle the fire. But it is not this that I am sorry for, but you." "Why are you sorry for me?" asked the engineer. "Yes, I made you a delicious frog soup, but unfortunately the strong wind blew it over." "What uncle are you talking about? How could this happen?" "It's all my fault," the uncle repeated.His well-intentioned deception may have gone a little too far. "It's all my fault, I should have made you soup yesterday, when my fire was burning brightly. Oh, what a fire, what a soup, or else you'd have a drink that's doing you a lot of good. Good hot drink." "Don't feel guilty, Uncle Robinson, I'll wait another day, but, my wife, how are the children going to cook?" "Well, sir, don't we have a stock of bacon and biscuits?" reserve!The good seaman knew, of course, that the last of the biscuits and bacon had been eaten by Mr. Clifton when he met Mr. Clifton while exploring the northern coast. "You know, Uncle," said Harry Clifton, "we ought to find a new place for our stove, and we can't put it where a gust of wind can blow it out." "Totally agree, Mr. Clifton, but how are you going to make a hole in this solid limestone arch for a chimney? I've checked the walls, and there isn't a single hole, not a crack. If you can trust me If so, after a while we must build a house, a real house." "A stone house?" "No, it is a wooden house, with beams and partitions. Now we have the ax you brought; you will see how your servants use this tool. Six months in a lumber mill in Buffalo will do." "Okay, my friend, it's up to you then. As for me, I will follow your orders." "You, an engineer!" cried Uncle Robinson. "If not you, who will draw the picture? It's a comfortable house, with a bedroom, a sitting room, a fireplace, a chimney, and especially don't forget the chimney. That way, when you come back from an expedition, you'll see a ray of The blue smoke rises to the sky, and you will say, look, there, there is a home waiting for us, and there are good friends celebrating our return." In this way, the sailor tirelessly painted his blueprint for the future, which brought hope and courage to everyone.It rained until late at night.On rainy days, of course, it was impossible to go out and explore, but everyone was busy with their own work in the cave.Uncle Robinson made many bamboo plates from Mr. Clifton's knife, which were used in place of the shell plates they had hitherto used, and he repaired his broken knives, and sharpened the blades on rocks.And the children were not idle, they were peeling coconuts and pine nuts, and pouring coconut milk into gourds to ferment into coconut milk wine, and Robert was polishing his father's pistol.The gun was rusty and dirty from seawater.Robert seemed to have pinned great hopes on the pistol.Mrs. Clifton was washing the children's clothes. The next day, May 3rd, was Saturday.The storm has passed and it's been a fine day.The wind blows to the northeast; the sun shines brightly.Uncle was making excuses to pretend to light the dead fire, when Harry Clifton was anxious to get out and see his surroundings.In addition, he also wants to bask in the sun, where he can recover his strength as soon as possible.So he asked his uncle to help him.And now my uncle could find no more convincing reason for refusing him to go out, so he let Mr. Clifton put his arm on his shoulders.Like an innocent victim about to be tortured, my uncle reluctantly helped him walk out of the cave slowly. Once out of the hole, Harry Clifton took a deep breath of satisfaction.What a clean, nourishing air!Clifton breathed in the fresh air like a stimulant.He saw the sea shining in the sun, and he walked towards it.He observed the rectangular islets, the narrow channels, the winding coastlines, and the open anchorages.He turned his head and looked at the cliff in front of him, the green forest barrier and lush grassland in the distance, the azure lake embedded in the dense green forest, and the main peak towering into the clouds overlooking the mountains.This beautiful natural scenery makes him feel relaxed and happy, and countless plans and plans can't help appearing in his mind, and he can't wait to implement these plans immediately. Harry Clifton, now leaning on his wife's arm, now being supported by Uncle Robinson, at last they came to the place where the stove had been, where the smoky black trace. "Is this where the fire is made to cook? I see, when the wind blows, the fire can easily be blown away. We'll find a better way, but we'll have to stay here for now, come on, boys , Mark, Robert, bring some firewood! Isn’t there no shortage of firewood, let’s light the fire.” Hearing what my father said, everyone looked at each other without any reaction. The uncle lowered his eyelids and looked at the ground with a guilty expression on his face. "Come on, boys," Clifton said again, "didn't you hear me?" Mrs. Clifton knew it was time for her to tell the truth. "My friend," she said, taking her husband by the hand, "I must tell you the truth." "What is it, my dear Alisa?" "Harry," said Mrs. Clifton in a grave tone, "we have no fire." "No fire?" Clifton exclaimed in surprise. "There's no way to light it again." Harry Clifton sat down on a rock and said nothing more.Mrs. Clifton told him what happened and the whole thing: from the moment they got ashore, they found only one match; and how they transported the fire to the second camp; how they guarded the stove carefully; but In the end the fire was blown out by the storm and so on.She does not mention Mark a word throughout the narrative, but her son Mark immediately steps up to Clifton and says: "It was while I was guarding the hearth that this unfortunate thing happened." Crestor took his son's hand and pulled him into his arms. "You guys don't even have a little tinder?" he asked. "No, my friend." Uncle wanted to interrupt this heavy topic, he said: "We're not all hopeless. It's impossible not to find a way to rekindle the fire. Mr. Clifton, do you know what I'm hoping for?" "I don't know, my friend." "Let's hope, sir, that Nature will one day give back what she has taken from us." "What kind of repayment?" "Use the method of thunder. A lightning strike can set the tree on fire, and we will be on fire again!" "Yes," replied the engineer, "are you resigning yourself to waiting for this problematic lightning strike to reignite the fire? But have you not tried the method of drilling fire?" "Tried," replied Robert, "but without success." "If only we had a lens," Mark joined in. "We can take the two glasses of a watch and put water between them to act as a lens," said Harry Clifton. "Very well, Mr. Clifton," said the uncle again, "do you have a watch? None of us!" "We can still," Clifton went on, "put the water in the closed jar and shake it hard, fast, until the water comes to a boil." "It's a good way to make hot soup, but unfortunately there is no barbecue. You see, Mr. Clifton, we tried everything, but it didn't work. In the end, we only found a mushroom that could replace the tinder." "But burnt cloth can also replace tinder." "I thought of that, too," replied Flip, "but I would remind Mr. Clifton that to have burnt rags, there must be a fire, and to have a fire there must be..." "There's an easiest way," Clifton went on. "What way?" Uncle Robinson waited with his eyes wide open. "Just use the tinder in my pocket." The children cheered, Uncle Robinson screamed with joy, he was going crazy with joy.Didn't he say that he is a person who can't excite and surprise him?And now, he even danced with joy the waist-twisting, leg-shaking jig that the Scots condemn.Then he took Jack and Bell's hands, formed a circle, and danced and sang: It was he who brought us the tinder, He is both brave and worthy of respect; It was he who brought us the tinder, We all went crazy with joy.