Chapter 30 Chapter Fourteen

Master Antifel and his four partners, including Bob Omar, headed for Bergen, one of the important ports in western Norway. Make up your mind and act immediately.Because Savuk has been ahead for 4 to 5 days, and there is no delay for an hour.Before the noon-day ball fell from the top of the Edinburgh Planetarium, the tram took the five gentlemen of us to Leith, where we hoped to find a steamer about to sail.Bergen is the first stop on the route to Spitsbergen. It is about 400 nautical miles from Edinburgh to the port of Bergen.From this port it will be easy to quickly reach Norway's northernmost port - Hammerfess.This voyage, in good season, can be reached all the way by boat travel.

From Bergen to Hammerfest is not more than 800 nautical miles, and from Hammerfest to the southernmost point of Spitsbergen is about 600 nautical miles.To pass this final stage, it is necessary to rent a ship capable of sailing the seas. There is still the question of money.This third treasure hunt must have cost a fortune, especially the voyage between Hammerfest and Spitsbergen, as a larger boat had to be hired.Since the departure from St. Malo, a lot of money has been spent, and Gilda and Tregoman have very little money left.Fortunately, the banker's signature is equal to gold.You can reach out and withdraw money in any bank in Europe, and Zambugo belongs to this kind of person with good fortune.He made the loan available to the heirs of the joint estate.Afterwards, the brother-in-law and brother-in-law will settle the accounts again.Whether there is treasure or not, that diamond can always be used to settle accounts.

Therefore, before leaving Edinburgh, the banker visited the Bank of Scotland.He received a warm reception and gained a lot.With money to ballast, our travelers can go to the ends of the earth, who knows if they can have a smooth journey and everything goes well! Leith is only 1.5 nautical miles to the Firth of Forth, where there are always plenty of boats.Might we catch a steamer preparing to set sail for the coast of Norway? This time Pierre seemed to be lucky enough to have a boat.Even if the ship does not sail that day, it will set sail the next day.She's a merchant ship, the Viken, and she's going to Bergen for a fair price, but she'll be there thirty-six hours.While waiting for the boat, Jewell's uncle was impatient and gritted his teeth.He didn't even allow Gilda and Jewell to wander the streets of Edinburgh--to the chagrin of our barge-captain, despite his interest in billions.

In the early morning of July 7th, the "Viken" finally sailed out from the berth, and took away Master Antifel and his party. One of them fell down as soon as the ship started—you can guess which one it is!As soon as the boat accelerated, it drove out of the harbor for 1 nautical mile. All in all, the sailing had been good for two days, and the steamer had crossed the Norwegian highlands, and came into the port of Bergen about three o'clock in the afternoon. Before leaving Edinburgh, Geuelle obtained a sextant, a chronograph, and a book of meteorology, to replace the books and instruments lost when the "Portalegre" sank in the waters of Mayumba.

Obviously, if a boat could be chartered in Leith to Spitsbergen, time could be bought; but the opportunity did not come. Besides, Maester Antifel, who was troubled by the thought of Savuk, had no test of patience in this port.The cruise ship from North Cape set sail every other day.However, these 36 hours were like years for Antifil and Zambugo!Neither of them agreed to leave the Scandinavian Hotel.Because, it was raining, like in Bergen, and it was rainy for 3 days.Bergen is surrounded by mountains, and the city is like the bottom of a large basin.Residents live right on the pelvic floor.

The rain did not hinder the captain of the barge and Jewell to take a stroll in the city in their spare time, and Master Antifel had recovered from his fever, so there was no reason to force them to stay by his side.Why bother?This unlucky concerto was added to the villain Savuk, but helplessly, he had already preempted the problem that could have been solved by two heirs. The absence of a spectacular view of Edinburgh was compensated by a stroll along Bergen Street.Bergen is also one of the important cities in China. She is fascinating, no less than a big fish market.Indeed, Gilda had never seen so many herrings, and the cod caught in the Lofoten Islands lay in great heaps, as did the salmon, which are sold in considerable quantities in Norway.Here, the smell of fish is everywhere, near the wharf where hundreds of small boats are docked, around the tall buildings with white smoke, in the various antique shops, in the white bear and black bear fur shops, and even in the museum. , floating all the way to the villas on either side of the Norwegian valley.A narrow island separates the valley from a large freshwater lake, surrounded by picturesque rural cottages.

In short, Gilda and Jewell had seen enough of the city and its environs. On the morning of July 11, the mail ship stopped at Bergen. At 10 o'clock, the ship was fully loaded with passengers and set sail again. Everyone wanted to take this opportunity to watch the midnight sun in the North Point skyline. Master Antifel, Zambugo, and Bo Omar were indifferent to all this, and the notary was lying on the cabin bed like a cod that had been gutted. What a pleasant voyage. The Viken sailed along the coast of Norway, flanked by deep valleys, gleaming glaciers, some ice almost parallel to the sea.The mountains in the distance soared into the clouds, hidden in the mist.

The berthing of the cruise ship, a place that curious tourists are eager to visit, irritates Maester Antifel greatly.Thinking that Savuk had probably been ahead for several days, he became very angry when he saw that he was about to park.The captain of the mail-boat threatened to disembark him immediately if he continued to disturb the peace on board, and the Saint-Malo man stopped cursing. Therefore, Antiphere had nothing to do, and the "Viken" stopped in Trondheim, the ancient city of St. Olaf.The city is not as spectacular as Bergen, but more interesting than Bergen. It was customary for Antifil and Zambugo to refuse to disembark.As for Gilda and Jewell, they took advantage of their spare time to wander around the city.

In China, tourists can feast their eyes to a certain extent, but the road is paved with broken bottles, with sharp stones everywhere, and the feet suffer a lot. "The shoemakers in this place will probably get rich quickly," said the barge captain seriously.He tried in vain not to wear the soles of his shoes. It was under the vault of the cathedral that the two friends found a place to stay. .Jeweler found this Roman-Gothic building to be of real historical value and worthy of a good restoration. Gilda Tregoman and Jewell earnestly tour the cathedral and its surrounding burial grounds.Then the two walked along the broad Nieder, whose water rose and fell with the tide.The river flows through the city, and on both sides are long wooden fences that serve as piers.In the fish market, needless to say, you can smell a strong smell of salted fish, which is by no means inferior to Fu'ergen here.The two walked through the vegetable market again, and almost all the vegetables were shipped from the UK.At last they reached the other side of the Nieder, and wandered into the countryside, where stood an old church.After wandering around, Gilda and Jewele returned to the boat exhausted.That night, Joelle sent a letter to Ernocate of Saint-Malo, and the captain of the barge, with his thick hand, appended a few words at the end of the letter in bold letters.

The next day, at dawn, the "Viken" set sail, and several new passengers were added.The ship sailed to the high latitudes.Always mooring endlessly, Maestro Antiphere cursed constantly for it!When he reached the Arctic Circle, people drew a symbolic line on the deck, and he refused to jump over it; Gilda happily followed the tradition.The steamer headed north, rounding the famous Meisterg, where the waves are rolling and the waves are roaring.Then, on to the Lofoten Islands, an archipelago that appears to the west and is frequented by Norwegian fishermen. On the 17th, the "Viken" anchored in the port of Tromso.

During the voyage, it rained 16 hours out of 24 hours a day. What is mentioned here is just a time figure. The verb "to rain" is far from describing the scene of the torrential rain.At any rate, the cascading rain did not disappoint our travellers.It shows that the temperature is still quite high.However, for those who want to go to the 77th latitude line, the most frightening thing is that the cold current of the North Pole will come against them. In that case, it will be difficult, or even impossible, to reach Pitsimonergen.In the July season, it is too late to sail in this area.A gust of wind blows and the sea freezes over.In the event of an accident, Maestro Antifil would have to stop at Hammerfest until the first ice had moved south.So, can a fishing boat handle it?Is it too cautious?So it was a nuisance, and Jewel was very worried about it. One day Gilda asked, "What if the sea freezes all of a sudden? . . . " "If the sea freezes, my uncle will spend the winter in the North Point and wait for the next season." "Oh, boy, but we can't give up those billions of francs! . . . " retorted the captain of the barge. The old sailor on the Rance River "does not shed tears until he sees the coffin"!What can I do!Mayumba's diamonds took over his head! However, it was hard enough to come to the Arctic Ocean in northern Norway after being exposed to the scorching sun of Luango! ... That ghost governor is really good at playing tricks! ...Why would he hide his treasure in such a ghostly place? The "Viken" was only in Tromso for a few hours, where the passengers made their first contact. On the morning of July 21, the ship entered the narrow valley of Hammerfest. There, Master Antipher and his party finally disembarked.Omar was like a dried fish.The next day, the "Viken" will take passengers all the way to the northernmost point of Norway - the North Cape.Pierre misses the North Cape very much, but even the famous Rocky Island is nowhere near the 3rd island in the Spitsbergen area! It just so happened that the Hotel Arctic was found in Hammerfest, where the Saint-Maloist and his entourage were staying. Now they came to the most outlying cities of the habitable zone.There are about 2,000 residents here, all living in wooden houses. There are about 30 Catholics, and the rest are Protestants.The Norwegians are physically fit, especially the sailors and fishermen, who are unfortunately addicted to alcohol.As for the Laplanders, they are very small, but have big mouths, ugly faces, thick noses, yellow skin, and unkempt hair like a horse's mane.It should be noted that they are intelligent and hardworking. As soon as Maester Antifel and his companion had booked a room at the Hotel Arctic, they set off in search of a ship which would take them to Spitsbergen.They walked towards the port, where clear water entered the port from a beautiful river.The port is supported by wooden fences, above which are houses and shops, all exuding the fishy smell of a fish drying platform. Hammerfest is a famous fishing city with all kinds of aquatic products.Dogs eat fish, animals eat fish, sheep and goats also eat fish, and the hundreds of boats operating on these wonderful waters bring a lot of fish, and it is impossible to eat them all.In short, Hammerfest is also a strange city, with rainy days, long days in summer and long nights in winter, and the night sky is often illuminated by the spectacular Northern Lights. At the entrance to the port, Maester Antiffel and his companions stopped at the foot of a granite column built by Oscar I to commemorate the gap between the Danube and the mouth of Hammerfest. The measurement of the meridians of engineering.The capital of the column is a Norwegian weapon made of copper, and the column stands on the earth.From here our travelers made their way to the wooden palisade, under which moored a motley variety of vessels of various sizes and equipment, all fishing boats, large and small, for fishing in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Yet, people ask, how do they make their words understood?Do any of them speak Norwegian? ...No, but, Geule can speak English, relying on this universal language, in Scandinavian countries, it is completely possible to deal with. Before dark, pay an expensive rent-are you afraid of spending big money? ——I rented a fishing boat, the nearly 100-ton "Clone", commanded by the owner of Olaf, with 11 crew members.The boat is chartered to Spitsbergen.It transported its guests to Spitsbergen, where the ship waited for the travelers while they searched for treasure.Then, randomly load some suitable goods for transportation, and send the passengers back to Hammerfest. For Maestro Antiphere, this is a rare opportunity!It seemed to him that he had won again.Jeweler asked if a foreigner had been to Hammerfest a few days ago, if anyone had taken a boat to Spitsbergen... The answer was no.So it follows that Savuk—oh, that rascal Najim! ——Not ahead of the two heirs, unless he took another route to the third island... But this is just a hypothesis, isn't the current route the shortest? The rest of the day was spent in walks.Master Antifel and the banker Zambugo are convinced that this time, they are finally close to their destination. When everyone went to bed at about 11 o'clock at night, the sky was still bright, and the afterglow of the setting sun had just gone out, and the first light of dawn flashed immediately. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the "Clone" took the southeast wind, left the port with full sail, and headed north. You have to sail about 600 nautical miles, and if the weather is good, it will take up to 5 days.During this part of the voyage, there is no need to worry about encountering ice blocks moving south, and there will be no ice on the shore of Spitsbergen.The temperature is normal, and the wind blowing is unlikely to cause sudden freezing.The sky was cloudy, and sometimes it rained, but there was no snow, and there was nothing disturbing about it.Sometimes, the sun passes through the gaps in the clouds, and Juel can count on the sun's disc to show up, and with a sextant in hand, he can determine the position of the third island. Luck has been good, Governor Kamilke has led his heirs to the ends of Europe, and he will not send them thousands of miles away from Spitsbergen for the fourth time in a whimsical way! The wind filled the sails, and the "Clone" kept moving fast.Olaf, the owner of the ship, said that he had never encountered such a smooth sailing. At 4 o'clock in the morning on July 26, a highland appeared on the skyline of a sea of ​​ice in the north. This is the frontier of Spitsbergen, and the owner of the ship is familiar with it, having often fished in those waters. About 20 years ago, few people visited this corner of the earth, and it has gradually become a tourist destination.It may not be long before the round-trip ticket to this Norwegian territory will be sold, just like the round-trip ticket to the North Cape is sold now, and one day it will go to the North Pole. What was known at the time was that Spitsbergen was an archipelago extending to 80 degrees north latitude.It consists of 3 islands: Spitsbergen, Southeast and Northeast.Does it belong to Europe, or does it belong to America?This is a problem that belongs entirely to the field of science, and we have not yet solved it.To be sure, especially those ships of the Danes, English, and Russians come here to hunt whales and seals.In short, it did not matter to the heirs of Governor Camilque's estate what nationality the archipelago belonged to.All it has to do is hand over billions of francs to them. The word Spitsbergen indicates that it is an archipelago of sharp rocks, which is extremely steep and difficult to approach.The British discovered the island in 1553, and the Dutch named the island.This archipelago includes not only 3 main islands, but also several smaller islands around the big island. After marking the position of 15° 11' east longitude and 77° 19' north latitude on the map, Jeule ordered Captain Olaf to anchor at Southeast Island, the southernmost part of the archipelago. The sea breeze is blowing, the sail is full and the boat is fast, and it takes less than an hour to reach 5 nautical miles. The Clone dropped anchor two chains from a small island at the end of which rose a straight promontory. The time is 12:15 noon.Master Antifel, Zambugo, Bo Omar, Gilda Tregoman, and Jewele jumped on a boat of the "Clone" and sailed to the island. The arrival of these uninvited guests startled a flock of seagulls and many other Arctic seabirds, which fled away with deafening cries.The seal group was in a mess, let out a cry of mourning, and fled quickly. Hey!The treasure is well buried! There were no cannons and no small flags. As soon as Master Antifelter arrived at the small island chosen by Camille, he stepped on it fiercely, indicating that he had occupied this priceless piece of land. Already the end of the mountain, now is the willow and the flowers!The treasure hunter landed in one direction of the earth at once without even choosing among the rock piles.This is where the rich Egyptians buried their treasures! It goes without saying that the island is uninhabited.Not a soul...not even an Eskimo...on the sea, no ships in sight...just the vastness of the Arctic Ocean! Maester Antiphere and Zambo the banker could hardly hold back.The notary looks like a fainting fish, and at this moment, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes!Gilda Tregoman had never been so excited since his departure, with his back hunched and legs spread apart, it was impossible to recognize him.In short, why should he not be happy with his friend's happiness? What is even more pleasing is that there are no footprints on the island.It can be concluded that no one has been here recently, otherwise footprints would be left.There is no doubt that the bastard Savuk never came.Mhaad's naughty son, maybe he was arrested on the way, maybe he was one step late, it would be nothing. As indicated in the first document for the search for islet #1, the second document states that the search should go to a highland in the south.Those protruding parts have clear outlines, neither covered with seaweed nor covered with snow, which is very convenient for searching. Once you get lucky, just obey the dictates of fate.In this way, Pierre Servan Marlowe came before a rock which seemed to mark the progress of the Arctic voyagers. "Here...here!" a voice trembling with trembling. Everyone ran over...watched... On the front of the stele is the abbreviated name of Governor Kamilk—double K, which is engraved so deeply that even the arctic climate has not been able to peel it off. Everyone was silent, and it should be admitted that they found that they seemed to have come to the tomb of a hero.In fact, it's just a simple hole. Will there be billions of francs hidden in this hole? ...but, needless to say, believe me, this is it. Digging begins.This time, the pickaxe and foreign pick were used together, and they immediately struck at the foot of the stele.With every knock, everyone was expecting the iron to hit the hoop of the barrel, or smash the staves... Suddenly, there was a strange sound under the pickaxe of Master Antiphere. "Found it at last!" he shouted, taking out the stone flakes that covered the hole. However, following the joyful cry, there was a disappointed cry—the sound was so loud that it could be heard a kilometer away... This is the cry made by the protagonist of the story after throwing away the pickaxe. There is a metal box in the cave, marked with double K, which is exactly the same as the two boxes in the Gulf of Oman and Mayumba Bay! "Another box!" cried the captain of the barge, raising his arms to the sky. The word "again" couldn't be more appropriate.Indeed, another box!Obviously, we still have to find a fourth island... Master Antiphere was furious, picked up the foreign pickaxe, struck the giant hard, and smashed it... A piece of parchment flew out, yellowed, dirty, and tattered from the rain and snow that had soaked into the box. This time, there are no diamonds for Priest Tilkemeler, which is wonderful!Had the diamond been given to him by such a madman, he would have emptied it at once! However, let’s get back to the parchment!Only Jewel was calm. He picked up the paper and opened it carefully for fear of tearing it. Anticipation threatened the sky with his fists, Zambugo was downcast, Bo Omar was in a state of desperation, and Gilda was concentrating on it without saying a word. It was just a piece of parchment, the upper half of which was not soaked, and a few lines of writing were written on it, written in French, as previously recorded, and legible. Jewell reads it almost without a break, and it reads: "I have troubled 3 people and I want to thank them. The reason why I put 3 files on 3 different islands is because I want these 3 people to connect and form a strong relationship during the trip. friendship……" The great governor has succeeded! "Besides, in order to obtain this property, they did go through hardships, but they will never suffer as much as I did when I buried the treasure for them!" "Those three are: Frenchman Antifel, Maltese Zambugo, and Scotchman Tierke Meller. If death takes their lives and they are no longer alive, their natural heirs are entitled to This property. I appoint Bob Omar as my executor, and in his presence, after opening this box and obtaining this document--this is the last document, joint heirs may go straight to No. 4 Island, where three oak barrels containing gold, diamonds, and jewels are hidden." The thought of having to travel again made them all very distressed, but Maester Antifel and the rest breathed a sigh of relief that, at last, Isle No. 4 was the last one!Just know where it is. "To find the island," Eller continued, "just ask..." Unfortunately, the bottom half of the parchment was soaked and the writing was illegible... most of the writing was illegible... Jewele wanted to guess, but it was in vain: "Island...is located in...geometry...theorem..." "Read! . . . read!" cried Antiphere. But Jeweler couldn't read any more.The words on the lower part of the parchment were blurred, and it was useless for him to read them over and over... As for the numbers of longitude, there were no traces... Jewele hastily repeated that sentence: "In ... a geometric theorem ..." Finally, the last word was recognized—it was the word "extreme"... "Pole?" he cried. "Why... that's probably the North Pole?" "I hope it's not Antarctica!" the barge captain muttered in despair. This must be a well-arranged trick! ...Extremely, now, extremely! ... Has anyone ever been to the poles? Master Antiphere jumped in front of his nephew, grabbed the document, and he tried to read it too, but when he saw the blurred words, he faltered... Nothing... nothing, it's really hard to find the location of the No. 4 island... When Master Antiphere realized that the gamble had been completely lost, he fell straight to the ground like a thunderbolt.