Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

The uncle agreed to keep his conversation with the engineer secret.Mr. Clifton's conclusions about the horned chicken are also logical.There can be no doubt that someone had been to Flip Island two years ago.Is this person still on the island now?Uncle is skeptical because he has found no trace of humans on the island until now.It seems that this problem can only be solved during the next year's round-the-island inspection. October passed in gusts of autumn wind and rustling autumn rain.In order to prevent the boat from being damaged by the impact of the waves, people dragged the boat to the foot of the cliff, turned it upside down, and dried it in the sun for the winter.The firewood shed is neatly piled up with bundles of firewood, and the meat reserves are also quite abundant.Housewives and children are busy raising these feathered animals.Grandparents thriving in the poultry pen; the pair of large wader-like chickens clustered among a group of young chickens, characterized by a ring of long feathers under their necks, like samurai armor, they like to eat grass and small insect.There are also those ducks full of children and grandchildren, playing happily in the big and small pots prepared for them.A pair of black chickens led many chicks walking up and down in the fence.Also known as the Mozambique chicken, it gets its name from its black comb and dark skin, although its meat is actually white and tasty.

Inside the cave, my uncle has installed some cabinets and partitions.One corner is dedicated to stacking plant food, which has a lot of pine nuts and many eggplant roots, which are woody plants that can be found all over the world. It exudes a fragrance and tastes slightly bitter, but Very refreshing.Japanese people like to eat this kind of food very much in winter.My uncle also ate this plant in Tokyo, and he said it was delicious. Thanks to Uncle Robinson's rich life experience and positive advice, another ardent wish of the mother was fulfilled. It was one day in early November when Mr. Harry Clifton said to his wife:

"My dear, you'd be very happy if you had sugar for sweets, wouldn't you?" "Of course!" replied Mrs. Clifton. "Then we'll produce some sugar for you." "Have you found the sugar cane?" "No." "Found the beets?" "Not at all, but on this island, nature has given us a very common but precious tree, the maple tree." "Can sugar be made from maple trees?" "yes." "Why have I never heard of it, who said it?" "Uncle said." Uncle Robinson was not mistaken.The maple tree is a very useful tree.It is widely distributed and in the tropics, the tree can be found in Europe, Asia, northern India, and North America.There are more than 60 species of maple, of which Canadian maple is the most widely used because it contains a lot of sugar.This is the kind of tree that my uncle and the engineer found in the hilly area when they visited the southern part of the island.

Winter is the best season for refining sugar, and people decided to use the first half of November to do this work.So, father, uncle, Mark, and Robert went to the maple forest to cut down trees, and left the Alissa palace to Fido and Zhu Bo to guard.As he approached the hare field, my uncle excused himself by taking a small detour to check out his bear pit, but the pit was still empty, to his great disappointment. After arriving at the maple forest, Robert looked at these so-called sugar trees and laughed a little contemptuously.However, no one cared about the child's somewhat frivolous habits, and everyone immediately threw themselves into enthusiastic labor.

Uncle used his ax to cut deep cuts in the trunks of more than a dozen maple trees, and immediately a large amount of transparent sweet liquid flowed out.People immediately caught the liquid in clay pots they brought.When all the jars are filled, they return to Alisa Palace. The freshly harvested maple sap was a white, syrupy liquid, which was not the table sugar Mrs. Clifton wanted.A purification process should also be carried out.Fortunately, this work is not difficult, just pour the liquid into the pot and put it on the fire to boil.The liquid began to evaporate, and a white foam formed on the surface.When the liquid started to become viscous, my uncle stirred the liquid vigorously with a large wooden spoon, one to speed up the evaporation, and the other to prevent the liquid from scorching.When almost all the water in the liquid has evaporated, the viscous syrup is poured into clay molds of various shapes made by my uncle.The next day, the syrup cooled and solidified into many small round and rectangular pieces.The result is a reddish-brown, but almost clear, tasty lump of sugar.Mrs. Clifton was very pleased with this.In addition to her, Jack and Bell seem to have seen future biscuits, cakes and other snacks.But the happiest one was Master Zhu Bo, he seemed a bit gluttonous, but people forgive him for this little shortcoming.

Sugar has become an indispensable substance for small communities. First, it can be used to make a mixed drink, which can enrich the singularity of coconut drinks.This drink is made like this: Mr. Clifton knew that, on ocean voyages, a drink was often made from the young leaves of a conifer to prevent scurvy.Young branches and leaves of pine trees can be found on the first slope of the island's main peak.Under Clifton's leadership, the members of the small community brought back a large number of shoots, boiled it in a pot, and sweetened the pine water with maple sugar.After the water is cooled, it is fermented, and a delicious and hygienic drink is made in this way.Anglo-Americans call this drink spring beer, also known as pine beer.

Before winter and the cold snap came, there was another important job to do, which was to plant Little Bell's wheat.Although there is only one grain of wheat, it will bring a great harvest in the future.One grain of wheat can grow ten ears of wheat, and each ear can have eighty seeds, a total of eight hundred; at such an altitude can be sown twice a year; after two years, four hundred million grains of wheat can be obtained . The key issue is to protect this single grain of wheat from any damage, so it must be sown in a place where it cannot be blown by strong winds or hit by waves.Miss Bell will tend it herself, catching bugs and watering it.

At the end of November, the weather turns cold and rainy.Fortunately, everything is ready for the winter in the cave, only the heating equipment is missing, and this problem should be solved as soon as possible.However, this is a heavy and difficult project that requires a lot of groping and trying.In the end, it was the uncle who invented a stove made of terra cotta that benefited the whole family.This stove is big and tall, and a lot of firewood can be stuffed into it, and the heat it emits is enough to warm the entire cave.Then there is the problem of solving the chimney, which is the most important problem.It is impossible to open a hole for the chimney to stick out directly on the top of the cave with thick granite.Mr. Clifton and Uncle Robinson searched, determined, and finally decided to open a small hole in the front of the cave, on the thinner wall. This is a job that requires time and patience.Lacking tools, my uncle pulled out a large nail from the boat as a chisel. He finally achieved his goal and opened a small hole.Uncle used a long bamboo tube as a chimney, and the smoke was discharged out of the hole through a small hole.In order to prevent the bamboo chimney from being burned, my uncle also specially made a bent clay pipe with one end directly connected to the stove.The heating equipment works well, and my uncle is very satisfied.

After the end of November, the rainy season comes, and only indoor activities can be carried out.Uncle once harvested a large number of firecracker willows, and he taught the children to weave baskets and baskets with wicker.He made a fence with wicker himself, enlarged the poultry fence, and smeared clay mud on the fence to block the cold wind, so that the poultry can also spend the winter warmly.Using the same method, he built a new residence for Master Zhu Bo.During the construction process, Zhu Bo has been his good assistant, helping him carry materials and deliver tools, and they have become real good partners.After the completion of Zhu Bo's new residence, it was very satisfied, and it only needed to express its compliment to the architect in words.The children also highly praised the new house, which was exaggeratedly named "Zhu Bo Mansion".

In early December, the weather has become very cold.The whole family put on new clothes.The fur facing outwards made the members of the small society look very comical. "How much we have become like Zhu Bo!" said the uncle with a smile. "The only difference is that we can take off our furs, but Jubo cannot take off his furs." The Cliftons look like a bunch of Eskimos.But they don't care about these, as long as they have seasonal clothes to keep warm and keep out the cold, they feel very content. In mid-December, there was heavy rain, flash floods broke out, and the Serpentine River swelled violently.The first bivouac had been submerged, and the floodwaters were reaching the foot of the cliff.Lake Ontario is also rising rapidly.Clifton was very concerned about the lake flooding, which would destroy the vegetation along the coast and threaten Alissa Palace.He understood that in the future it would be necessary to build a dyke to hold back the floods, since parts of the coast were lower than the lake.

Fortunately, the rainstorm stopped in time.However, in the continuous storm, the forest was greatly devastated, many big trees were uprooted, and there were occasional chattering sounds of tree trunks being blown off their sides.Uncle didn't seem to complain too much about this. He said that the storm should be engaged in its job of chopping firewood, which would save uncle a lot of labor in the future, and he and Zhu Bo only had to bend down to collect firewood. However, it was as warm as spring in Alisa's palace.There is enough fuel why not burn the fire red?The crackling of dry wood in the stove is like the sound of children's happy conversation.Everyone stayed in the hole and went about their work.Some make arrows, some weave baskets, others sew and cook.Each was engaged in his professional labor, under a plan laid down by Mr. Clifton. Cultural and moral education has not been relaxed. Every day, Mr. Clifton gathers the children and gives them lectures.Mr. Clifton also found several sheets of paper which he had kept in his underwear pocket when he left the Vancouver.He recorded exactly their island life in very brief words on paper, so that one day they might have solid evidence to retell their historical story. Thus passed 1861.The Cliftons have lived on the island for nine months.Living conditions, initially very difficult, gradually improved.They now have a warm and comfortable cave, with protective fences, they have a poultry fence with flocks of chickens and ducks, they have endless oysters, and a livestock farm that is about to be completed; they also have bows and arrows, gunpowder, bread, and fruit. Benevolence.But do they have a future?The answer is yes. But there's always a serious sense of crisis haunting Clifton and Uncle Robinson, and there's a constant discussion between them about the horned chicken, and has anyone ever set foot on the island?The answer is beyond doubt.But is this man still on the island?It should be said that there is no, because no trace of any other human beings has been found after many investigations.At last the worry about this problem began to fade in their minds.They don't even think about it anymore.However, one day, an unexpected event changed their views. On December 29th, Mark caught a little hare, which is said to have been caught far away from the rabbit hole.After slaughtering it, roast it, and share it with everyone at dinner.Uncle got a nice piece of thigh meat. The kind-hearted sailor ate with great relish, and suddenly coughed, and something scratched his teeth, and he couldn't help but let out a cry. "What's the matter with you?" asked Mrs. Clifton. "Nothing, ma'am, I almost knocked out a tooth." "Really? What's in the rabbit meat?" asked Mr. Clifton. "A little pebble, sir," replied the uncle, "it may be a little pebble just for me." "Poor uncle," said Bell, "you've lost a tooth!" "Ah, madam," replied the uncle, "I have thirty-two teeth, because I have an extra one." Everyone laughed and dinner continued. But after supper my uncle took Mr. Clifton aside and said to him: "This is the pebble in question, please tell me, sir, what you call it." "A buckshot!" exclaimed Mr. Clifton. It was indeed a lead bullet.