Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Colonies

The boys had searched along the cliff, hoping to find another cave.If they could find a cave, they could use it as a storeroom.Move in what is now out in the open.But they have not been able to do so, so they have to expand their living space by digging out the existing caves. Digging holes in soft limestone is not very difficult.In this way, in the cold winter, the children will not have nothing to do.It's not out of the question that they can expect to have the hole dug in the following spring, provided there are no accidents of collapse or water leakage. There is no need to resort to explosive means.They had enough tools to dig a chimney for the stove in the hole.Baxter, on the other hand, was very able, and, with much difficulty, he managed to enlarge the open space of the cave, and fitted in it a door which had been brought over from the sailboat.Two holes were cut in the walls of the cave on the left and right sides of the door to allow light and air to enter the cave.

A week ago, the weather started to turn bad.The wind howled across the island.But because the cave is facing north and south, it is not in the wind.The rain and snow gradually disappeared once it passed the top of the cliff.Children who like to hunt can only go around the lake.The wild ducks, sand chicks, Jing Yan, crakes, rocs and white pigeons by the lake were not affected by the bad weather at all.The lakes and rivers are not frozen, but as long as overnight, the dry air after the storm will freeze the lakes and rivers. Work on enlarging the cavern began briefly, with the official excavation on May 27.

The first thing to dig is the right side of the cave. "If we dig at an angle," Bryant said, "we can dig another exit, coming out of the lake. That way we can have a better lookout. If not, we can come out from that side." There are real benefits to doing this, and it's easy to succeed. The distance between the caves to the east is forty or fifty feet apart. If you excavate to the right, it is easy to open a porch. It is worth noting that the roof of the cave must be prevented from collapsing.Baxter proposed digging a narrow tunnel first and then widening it as needed.The two spaces of the cave can be connected by a corridor.A closed door may be provided at both ends of the corridor.Digging a porch to the left and right would add some room to the cave.This proposition is clearly feasible.Just be careful when excavating the rocks and watch out for groundwater that pops up suddenly.As a last resort, you have to give up digging.

During the three days from the 27th to the 30th, the excavation work went very smoothly.The crunchy limestone is easily broken with a knife.They used logs to support the porch roof, which was an easy job.The excavated gravel was transported outside the cave so as not to occupy the space inside the cave.The boys had to take turns as there wasn't enough ground for everyone to dig at the same time.When the rain and snow stopped, Gordon and the big boys dismantled the raft again, preparing to put the raft materials to a new use.They hauled up the raft material and piled it on the edge of the cliff, simply covering it with tarpaulins.

The tedious excavation work moved forward step by step.They stopped now and then, listening carefully before deciding to dig boldly forward.After digging four or five feet deep, on the afternoon of May 30, something unexpected happened. Bryant digs on his knees like a coal miner.Suddenly, he heard a slight sound from inside the rock. He stopped digging and listened carefully, only to hear the sound again. Bryant immediately ran out of the cave and told Gordon and Baxter who were standing at the entrance of the cave. "That's your hallucination!" Gordon asserted, "I'm afraid it's your imagination!"

"Well, you can put your ear against the cave wall and listen." Gordon went into the hole and remained there for a few minutes. "It's true what you said," Gordon admitted. "I heard a howl, too." Baxter came in and believed it too. "What is it?" he thought to himself. "Let's not tell Donagan and the others about this just yet," Gordon said. "Don't tell the kids," Bryant said. "It'll scare them." But at this time they all came in for dinner, so the secret could not be kept. Donagan, Wilcox, Webb, and Garnett all went over to listen carefully, but the noise stopped again.Since they heard nothing, they thought their companions were mistaken.

Mistakes or not, the boys decided to keep digging.As soon as I finished eating, I immediately started digging again.But they heard nothing all afternoon.At around 9 p.m., they could clearly hear howling from within the rock. Little Mi slipped into the small hole he was digging, and came out looking furious.The hair on the body stood on end, the teeth in the mouth were exposed, and it barked loudly, as if demonstrating to the howling in the cave. In this way, the children who were originally frightened became even more frightened at this time.Bryant tried his best to comfort Toney, Costa, Jenkins and Evanson, and finally persuaded them to go to bed.

Gordon and others went on to discuss the incredible phenomenon.They heard howling intermittently, and Mimi barked too.Too tired, they went to bed anyway, leaving Bryant and Moko to watch the night, and the French cave fell silent until dawn. The next day, everyone got up early in the morning.Baxter and Donagan went to the digging to listen again, but heard nothing.The dog was also running around there as if nothing had happened, but there was no restlessness like wanting to rush in the night before. "Let's keep digging!" Bryant suggested. "Yes," Baxter continued, "if we heard any more inexplicable noises, we'd still have time to run away."

Donagan said, "Is there a spring gurgling in the rock?" "Then we should be able to hear now," Wilcox said, "but we can't hear now." "That's right," agreed Gordon. "I think it's quite probable that the wind is blowing in through the cracks at the top of the cliff and whistling." "Then let's go to the top of the cliff and have a look." Sovis said. Everyone accepted his proposal. At about 40 yards, a small trail leads to the top of the hill.After a while, Baxter and two or three other boys climbed to the top of the Frenchman's Hole.But their trip was in vain.Because the top of the cliff is covered with short weeds, there is no gap where air flow or stream flows.When these big boys came down from the top of the cliff, they knew that they were as hard to explain this strange phenomenon as children, and it could only be attributed to a supernatural phenomenon.

Excavation work continued until dark.Although the strange noise was never heard again, Baxter inspected the cave walls, which sounded hollow.Has the tunnel in the hole been dug to the end?Did that magical sound come from inside the cave?Was there another cave near the one they were digging?If there were caves, their digging would be much easier.As you can imagine, the children dig harder.This day is the most tiring day of their lives.Had Gordon not discovered that the dog was missing, the excavation would have gone on without a break. Usually, when it's time to eat, you will see Xiao Mi squatting beside the owner, but now even the shadow of the dog is gone.

They called out the dog's name, but there was no answer.Gordon went outside the cave and called a few times, but still couldn't hear the dog barking. Donagan and Wilcox also ran out of the cave.One looked along the bank of the river, and the other walked along the lake, but there was no sign of the dog. They searched every nook and cranny for hundreds of yards around the Frenchman's Cave, but they could not find Mimi. Apparently, the fans didn't hear their call.Because usually when they hear the call, the little fans will run out immediately.Did Xiaomi go the wrong way?This is unlikely.Was Xiaomi taken away by wild beasts?That's possible, and the best explanation for Mimi's disappearance. It was 9 o'clock in the evening, and the night shrouded the cliffs and lakes.The work of finding dogs can only come to an end temporarily. The children went back to the cave sullenly.Thinking of Mimi's disappearance, the children felt uneasy and sad because they would never see Mimi again. Some of them stretched their limbs on the bed, and some sat around the table, with no desire to sleep at all.More than ever, they feel that sense of loneliness and loss away from their homeland and their loved ones. Suddenly, a long howl broke out in the silence.A cry of pain lasted for nearly a minute. "From over there, over there," Bryant yelled, running toward the tunnel. The children stood up involuntarily, quietly waiting for the ghost to appear.Fear enveloped the hearts of every child, and they were so frightened that they hurriedly covered themselves with clothes. When Bryant returned, he said, "There must be a hole over there, probably at the foot of the cliff." "Some animal might have spent the night there," Gordon added. "Yes," said Donagan, "we must try to find it tomorrow." Just then came the sound of a dog barking, and then another howling from within the rock. "Is Mimi fighting some animal?" asked Wilcox. Bryant went back to the tunnel again, put his ear against the cave wall and listened carefully, but couldn't hear anything again.Obviously, no matter where Mi was, the hole would definitely lead to the outside, and the entrance was likely to be in that pile of bushes. That night, no further barking or howling was heard afterwards. At dawn the next day, they began to search for the entrance of another cave, but they were as fruitless as before.Although they still shouted Xiaomi's name around, they still didn't see Xiaomi come back. Bryant and Baxter continued to take turns digging the tunnel with pick and shovel.They dug 2 feet all morning and stopped to listen for movement, but they still couldn't hear anything. After eating, they continued digging.Because I was worried that after the iron pick knocked through the wall of the cave, some beast would jump out.They took some precautions.The younger children were taken to the river.Donagan, Wilcox, and Webb stood there with guns in hand, ready for the unexpected. At about two o'clock, Bryant suddenly let out a cry.He knocked through a piece of limestone with an iron pick, and after the rock collapsed, a huge hole was exposed. He quickly retreated to his companions; Si, they still didn't understand what was going on. Before they could open their mouths to speak, an animal suddenly jumped into the tunnel and ran into the hole. It turned out to be a little fan. The first thing Xiaomi rushed out was to run to a bucket of water and drink up.Immediately afterwards, it wagged its tail and never showed its original angry look.It jumped up and down in front of Gordon.Obviously, there is no danger in the cave. Bryant walked into the tunnel with the lamp in his hand, and the rest followed behind him.Soon they were in the center of the dimly lit hole, from which no light from outside could get in. This is a new hole they found.The inside of the cave is about the same height and width as the Frenchman's Cave, but this one is longer.There are nearly 50 square yards of fine sand on the ground inside the cave. Because the cave is not connected to the outside world, they worry that the air in the cave is not conducive to breathing.But since the flame on the lamp was burning so vigorously, there must have been a vent hole in the hole.How did the little fan get in in the first place? Suddenly, Wilcock's foot tripped over something, and he quickly touched it with his hand.There was something cold and immobile. Bryant quickly brought the lamp over. "It's the carcass of a jackal!" exclaimed Baxter. "Wow! It turned out that the little fan killed the jackal." Bryant said. "This solves our mystery," Gordon said. Even we couldn't find the population, so how did the jackal get into the hole? Bryant returned to Frenchman's Cave, then walked out of the cave and ran along the cliffs surrounding the lake.He ran and yelled.The children in the cave also responded and followed.Before long, Bryant found a narrow opening in the bushes, the entrance level with the ground.The jackal probably got into the hole through here, but the mud at the entrance may have collapsed because of the pursuit of the little fan.Because of the discovery of this entrance, the original unsolved mystery is also revealed.All they heard was the howling of the jackals and the barking of the mites, as they were locked up there for 24 hours. Now all problems are solved.Not only did the little fans return to the little master, but their digging mission was also considered a success.As Toney said, such a large "ready-made" hole even the Frenchman Baoding did not think of its existence.Just by making the opening bigger, they could install a gate facing the lake.This way they are much more convenient.When the boys walked into the new cave, they couldn't help cheering a few times, and even a fan joined in. They aggressively expanded that tunnel into a hallway, and they called this second hole the "hall" because of its size, which could be used as a dormitory and studio.While the first hole is used as a kitchen and dining room.But Gordon suggested that the first hole be called "the storage room," and the group agreed to his suggestion. Soon they moved the beds neatly and orderly into the sandy floor of the hall, where there was enough space to lay out the beds.The furniture on the sailboat, including sofas, armchairs, tables, wardrobes, etc., and all useful things, even the stove on the sailboat were also moved in.At the same time they cleared the entrance to the lake, dug it larger, and installed a door from the sailboat.The task took Baxter a lot of effort.On both sides of the door, they also cut two holes to let the light of day shine into the hole.At night, as long as an oil lamp is hung in the center of the cave ceiling, the entire cave can be illuminated. It took them two weeks to complete these trivial tasks.Not long after it was finished, things began to change.Although the weather was not very cold, they could not go hunting or fishing because of the strong wind and heavy rain. Because of the strong wind, the waves in the lake were as rough as the sea.The wind and waves beat violently against the shore, making it impossible to navigate the lake in a normal fishing boat or canoe.They had to tow the small sailboat ashore to avoid being swept away by the waves.Sometimes, the strong wind caused the river to set off waves of turbulence, and the river splashed to the bank.Thankfully, the two caves that served as halls and storerooms were not exposed to the westerly wind.The fire in the stove was burning vigorously, and they had already collected enough dry wood. Thankfully they had the foresight to seal everything off the sailboat.Even if the weather is bad, the food will not rot.Although the cold winter kept Gordon and his friends in the cave, they used the time to create a comfortable shelter for themselves.They enlarged the corridors in the cave and dug two additional basements.One of them was used to store ammunition. In order not to cause an explosion, they locked the door. While hunters can't hunt far from Frenchman's Hole, there are plenty of waterfowl nearby.From time to time they caught waterfowl to add game to Moko's pantry.In order not to let everyone get tired of eating waterfowl, Moko sometimes marinated the waterfowl he caught. When everything was done, Gordon proposed to draw up a program.After this program is passed through a vote, everyone must abide by this program.How long will they live on this island?Once they have the chance to leave this small island, will they regret wasting their time here?They brought all the books from the library on the ship, so that the big boys can teach the little boys to read and at the same time increase their knowledge, which is a perfect thing.They can spend this long winter full and happy. However, before drafting the platform, they adopted another suggestion. On the evening of June 10, everyone sat around the fire in the hall after eating.Everyone chattered and turned the topic to the problem of naming the main topographical features of the island. "That's useful," Bryant said. "Yeah, let's get names!" Evanson agreed. "Some good names." "Whether it's true or not, we're going to do what Crusoe did," Webb suggested. "What happened," Gordon pointed out, "is it just us?" "A bunch of Crusoe-like characters!" Sovis interrupted. "And," continued Gordon, "we should give names to the bays, rivers, woods, lakes, cliffs, swamps, and headlands here, so that they can be easily identified." The group immediately agreed to the proposal and couldn't wait to think about what to name them. “We already had the name Galleon Cove, where our sailboat wrecked,” Donagan said. “I think we should keep the name that everyone is already familiar with.” "You're quite right," Cross agreed at once. "Similarly, in memory of that poor Frenchman, Mr. Boding, we should also keep the Frenchman's Cave as our cave name." Although Bryant made the claim, no one, not even Donagan, raised objections. "Now," asked Wilcox, "what shall we name the river that flows into Galleon Bay?" "The Sealand River," said Baxter, "reminds us of our motherland, New Zealand. "agreed, agreed!" Everyone said in unison. "What's the name of the lake?" Garnett asked. "Since you named the river the Sealand River in honor of your homeland," Donagan said, "why don't we name this lake 'Family Lake,' in honor of our loved ones." This proposition has also been unanimously approved by everyone.By analogy, they named the cliff Oakland Hills.He also adopted Bryant's suggestion and called the promontory "mistake point" because he once stood on the promontory and mistook the lake to the east for the sea. They also adopted some other names.The place where the trap was found is called "Trap Wood"; the area from the sailboat bay to the cliff top is called "Swamp Wood"; The creek is called "Xiaoba Creek"; the beach where the sailboat is stranded is called "Wreck Beach"; the flat land from the river bank to the lake is called "Sports Ground", where they can engage in various activities. Other parts of the island also took names based on what was discovered at the time.Of course these places are what they experienced.But someone suggested that the main capes drawn on Mr. Baoding's map should also be named, so there are North Cape and South Cape.It was also suggested that the three western headlands should be named after the colonial countries, namely English Point, American Point and French Point. Wow!They have a colony!This suggested that they would not be staying here for the time being; the idea must have come from Gordon, who preferred to do some organizational work in this new territory rather than try to find a way out.The boys were no longer shipwrecked passengers but colonists of the island. But what kind of island is this, the island itself deserves a name. "Yes! Yes! I know how to name it!" Costa exclaimed. "You're really promising, little Costa!" Garnett said. "Did you call it Little Island?" Sauvis said with a smile. "Hey, don't make fun of him," Bryant said, "let's hear what he thinks." The little one fell silent. "Speak up, Costa," Bryant urged him, "I think you must have a good idea, come on!" "Well," Costa hesitated for a while and said, "We are all from Charmain School, so we should call this island Charmain Island!" Nobody could think of a better name than that.They adopted the name by unanimous acclamation, much to the pride of Costa. Charman Island!What a great name!It is as good as any geographical name in the atlas. Everyone is about to wrap up the naming ceremony contentedly and get ready for bed.That's when Bryant suggested that he had something to say. "Guys," he said, "now that we have named the island, shall we not choose a leader to rule it?" "Choose a leader?" Donagan asked. "Yes, there are advantages to electing a leader," Bryant continued. "Only one of us has authority over the others! So why can't we do what can be done elsewhere?" "Yes, choose a leader! Choose now!" "Then let's choose!" Donagan said, "provided that the leader's term of office should be limited to, say, one year." "But he can be re-elected," Bryant said. "I agree! Who should I choose?" Donagan asked impatiently. That's what the jealous little guy said, but he was secretly worried that everyone would choose Bryant as the leader, but he soon understood. "Who?" Bryant said. "The smartest of us, of course—our friend Gordon." "Good! Good! Long live Gordon!" At first, Gordon wanted to refuse the honor imposed on him by his partners, saying that he was only suitable for some organizational work, not good at leading work.He also knew that although the children were now as enthusiastic as adults, this enthusiasm might cause trouble in the future.Therefore, he also felt that this kind of leadership power might also play a role. Gordon was thus sworn in as Governor of the Isle of Charman colony.