Chapter 20 Chapter 5 Split

One day, six weeks later, at about 5 o'clock in the evening, the four young colonists went out and walked as far as the southern end of the family lake. That day was October 10th.They vaguely felt the warm season coming.Under the bushes and on the ground grew fresh and green grass and trees, wearing new spring clothes.A pleasant breeze caresses the water.At this time, the water surface is bathed in the afterglow of the sun.These few rays of afterglow lingered for a long time on the vast plain of the southern wilderness bordered by the narrow and long sandy land, refusing to leave.Flocks of birds chirped and flew overhead.They are preparing to spend the night in the shade of a tree or in a crevice of a cliff.A few larger pines, green oaks, and acres of firs break up the monotonous barren image of the land on Charman Island.

They lit a fire under a pine tree, and the scent of the pine tree soon filled the swamp.They roasted some more ducks over the fire.When dinner was over, the four boys had nothing to do but tuck themselves up tightly in blankets and watch while the other three slept.These four people are Donagan, Cross, Webb and Wilcox. During the final months of the island's second winter, relations between Donagan and Bryant were more tense than ever, mainly because of Donagan's seeing his rival elected as the new governor. envy. Donagan was even more jealous of Bryant than ever, and his temper had grown even more violent.This made it more difficult for him to obey the orders of the new Governor of Chaman Island.The reason he didn't openly rebel was that most people didn't support him.But there were times, when Bryant dutifully counseled him, that thought of rebellion.Since his blatant disobedience on that ice skating trip, his sense of rebellion has only grown stronger.Now is the time when Bryant has to punish him.

Gordon was deeply concerned about the situation.He made Bryant promise to restrain himself as much as possible.But Bryant felt he had run out of patience and now needed to set an example that obeying orders was for the common good.Gordon tried again in vain to keep Donagan in his place.If he had had any influence over Donagan in the past, he now found that his words had no effect at all.Donagan couldn't forgive Gordon for always siding with his opponents.There was nothing Gordon could do to reconcile the two men, and he watched the intricacies of events helplessly. The consequence of this incident was to destroy the necessary rapport in the French den.This tense atmosphere makes everyone's daily life unpleasant.Donagan and his three old companions were separated from each other except at mealtimes.If they had to stay in the cave due to bad weather, they would gather in a corner of the hall and whisper.

One day, Bryant said to Gordon, "Those four must be plotting something." "It's definitely not about you, Bryant," Gordon pointed out. "Donagan wouldn't take your place. He knows we're all on your side." "Maybe they want to leave us?" "Very likely, but I don't think we have a right to stop them from doing that." "But leave to build..." "They probably won't leave." "But they're on the move, and I saw Wilcox make a copy of Bowding's map, and..." "Did Wilcox really copy the map?"

"Yes, I really think that in order to end these disputes, I'd better resign. Let you be Governor, or let Donna take over, and all the disputes will be settled." "No, Bryant," Gordon said affirmatively, "you're only failing the expectations of those who elected you Governor." In the midst of these quarrels, winter ended. As soon as October begins, the severe cold disappears completely.The ice on lakes and rivers began to melt. On the evening of October 9, Donagan announced his intention to leave the French Den with Webb, Cross and Wilcox. "You want to abandon us?" Gordon asked.

"Abandoning you? No, Gordon!" Donagan argued. "Me and Cross, Wilcox, and Webb just agreed to move to another part of the island." "Why?" Baxter asked. "It's just that we want to live where we want. Frankly, we don't want to be at Bryant's mercy." "Why are you complaining about me like that?" Bryant wanted to know the answer. "Nothing, except you're our boss," Donagan replied. "We used to have a Yankee as the Colonial Governor, and now a Frenchman is calling the shots! Next time I guess it'll be a Negro, let's say Moko ..."

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked. "That's what I meant," Donagan said. "Neither my friend nor I would want to work for a foreigner." "Fine," Bryant agreed. "Wilcox, Webb, Cross, and you, Donagan! You can go now, and take your share." "Are you sure you don't regret it?" Gordon asked.He also thought it was useless to insist on persuasion. Here's Donagan's plan.In describing his expedition across the lake, Bryant had said that there was a small station in excellent condition on the east side of the island.There are many caves on the rocky coast, and there is plenty of fresh water in the small river.The forest stretches down to the beach, where there is an abundance of game and birds.It was as easy to live there as it was in Frenchman's Hole, and much easier than in Galleon Cove.Otherwise, the distance from there to Frenchman's Cave and the coast is only twelve miles, six miles across the lake, and six miles along the East River.So it is not difficult to connect with each other if necessary.

But Donagan wasn't planning to follow the waterway to Deception Bay.His plan was to head south along Family Lake, and then along the bank to the East River, where he would break new ground.It's a long trip, about 15 to 16 miles.But he and his friends will see the trip as an expedition, hunting as they go.So Donagan didn't need the little sailboat, and he was content to give them the "Howcott" rubber boat.For it was enough to get them across the East River and every other creek they might come across. This expedition is only the beginning.They have to look at finding a permanent home.This time I just went to Deception Bay to take a look.So Donagan didn't bring the extra tools he needed.Two rifles, four revolvers, two axes, gunpowder, some fishing line.A few blankets for traveling, a pocket compass, a rubber boat and some food make up his complete kit.

The expedition is expected to last a week.Once they had settled on their future "home," Donagan and his friends would return to the French Den, carting away their own belongings they had salvaged from the sailboat.If Gordon or anyone else were to visit them they would be more than happy to entertain them.But in the present situation, they can no longer stay in the French den, and nothing can shake their will to establish a colony of their own. As the sun rose, the four Insurgents left their companions.These companions watched their departure, feeling very sad.But neither Donagan nor his friends were moved by it.

They sailed across the Zeeland River in Moko's small sailboat, and then into the vast southern wilderness, walking along Family Lake. They killed several birds as they passed the edge of the swamp.Donagan knew he had to watch his gunpowder carefully, so hunting his daily ration was enough for him.The boys walked five or six miles that day.At about 5 o'clock in the evening, they reached the end of the lake and camped there for the night. The night was cool, but the fire made them more comfortable.All four were awake by the crack of dawn.The southern end of Family Lake is a sharp angle formed by two high banks.The right bank extends due north.The east side of the lake is still marshland, but it is not flooded because the terrain is a few feet above the lake level.Occasional small hills dotted with small trees break the monotony of this green expanse of flat land.Because this land is mainly composed of sand dunes, Donagan named it "Dune Land".They didn't want to go deep into this unknown land, so they decided to stay on the shore of the lake, leaving some places to explore later.

He pointed out: "If the map is correct, then we can find the East River 7 miles from here, so we can easily reach the East River before dark." "Why not go northeast? That way we can reach the mouth of the river directly," Wilcox asked. "That would save us a third of the way," Weber said. "Indeed," said Donagan, "but why are we crossing this swamp that we know nothing about? And risking repeating the same path? If we keep following the river bank, then we're stuck The chances are very small.” "And it's also important for us to explore the East River along the way," Cross added. "Obviously the river is a direct link between the bay and the family lake," Donagan said. "Also, if we go down the river, we can explore on the other side of the forest." Having made this important decision, they set off quickly.There was a path at a height of three or four feet above the lake.They walked across the dune field along this road.As the sun rose, they saw more clearly that the landscape, miles away, had changed.In fact, at about 11:00 AM they stopped by a small river and stopped for lunch in the shade of some large beech trees.For some reason they looked east, and all they could see was a vast expanse of lush green grass stretching to the horizon. An agouti that Wilcox had shot that morning was just the thing for their dinner.Meals are cooked by Cross and done well.He is now the cook of the expedition.After lunch, Donagan and his friends set off on foot again.The tree species in the riverside forest are similar to those in the trap forest, except that the evergreen species are more abundant.There are more pines, spruces, and green oaks here than birches and beeches, and they are all enormously tall.Donagan was pleased to see that the fauna was as varied as elsewhere on the island.Vicuna and llamas can be seen everywhere.There is a large herd of camels drinking water.The bushes are full of hares, bald storks, comb rats, squirrels and other birds. At about 6 p.m., they stopped again to rest.The banks are cut off by a small river that flows from the lake.This must be Donghe.Because Donagan found the ashes from the camp that Bryant had set up on the previous expedition with Jack and Moko.Therefore, it is not difficult to judge that this is Donghe.They camped in the same spot and built a fire in the ashes of the original, and slept under the same tree.Doing it this way seems like the best way. When Bryant stopped in the same place eight months ago, he never expected that his four friends would come here because they were trying to live alone in this part of Charman Island.Perhaps Cross, Wilcox, and Webb regretted a little when they realized they were far from the comfort of the Frenchman's bed.But their fate has become closely tied to that of Donagan.Donagan was too conceited to admit his mistakes, too stubborn to abandon his plans, too jealous to compromise with his opponents. He decided to cross the river immediately the next day. "After we crossed the river, we spent a day going down to the sea. It's less than six miles from here," he said. Cross agreed, "Yes. It's on the left bank that Moko finds the stone cones, and we can pick some food when we get there." They opened the dinghies.As soon as it slipped into the water, Donagan paddled across the bank in the rubber boat, dragging a rope behind him.After a few paddles, he quickly covered 40 feet.Then Donagan let out the line on his side, while Wilcox, Webb, and Cross pulled the line and hauled the boat back.The boat went back and forth four times, and all the boys were on the left bank of the river. After crossing the river, Wilcox folded the boat up again, like a traveling bag.He carried it on his back.It certainly won't be so tiring to sail down the East River in a small sailboat.As Bryant, Jack and Moko have done before.But the rubber boat can only carry one person at a time, so going down the river is not feasible. This is not an easy itinerary.The forest was too dense, the ground was overgrown with thorns, and now and then a branch broken off by a recent storm blocked the way.Most of the places they must pass through are swamps and mires.Donagan found no trace of Baoding's previous walks in the forest.There are traces of him walking in the trap woods.But there was no doubt that he had been here, for the map clearly indicated that the river flowed directly to the bay. At noon they stopped for lunch under a pine tree.There, Cross picked a lot of stone pine cones, which they used to feed their hunger.Then for the next 2 miles the boys had to weave through bushes, sometimes with axes, so they weren't very far from the river at this point.Because of these delays, they did not emerge from the forest until 7 p.m.As night fell, Donagan couldn't see the shoreline at all, all he could see was a line of foam; all he could hear was the crash of the waves lapping on the beach. They decided to camp right where they stopped.Some grouse were cooked for dinner.Burned all night.Today it was Donagan's turn to watch, and Wilcox, Cross, and Webb lay down under the huge canopy of the pine tree, exhausted from walking all day, and fell asleep quickly. up. Although sleepy, Donagan managed to stay awake.When it was his turn to wake up a companion to take his place, his friends were so fast asleep that he couldn't bear to wake any of them.It was as quiet in the woods as it was in a Frenchman's den.So after adding a few logs to the fire, he also fell under the tree, closed his eyes and fell asleep, and did not open his eyes until the sun illuminated the vast sea level.