Chapter 20 Section 20

Before leaving the reef, Johnny let the two dolphins swim out on their own.Dolphins have perfect sonar systems, and their sound waves fill the dark ocean, but humans cannot hear them.Through the reflection of sound waves, dolphins can know exactly where they are and the direction they are sailing.Their sonar system can detect any obstacles or large fish within 100 feet.Dolphins (and bats) developed sophisticated sonar systems tens of thousands of years before humans invented radar.Sure, they use sound waves, not radio waves, but the principle is the same. The sea was choppy, but not violent.Sometimes the waves hit him, and the surfboard occasionally tipped over, but most of the time, Johnny was able to glide easily on the water.In the dark night, it is difficult to estimate the speed of taxiing.He turned on the flashlight and saw the sea water flowing past him at high speed.But he knew that the speed would not exceed 10 mph.

Johnny looked at his watch. Fifteen minutes had passed. Looking back, the island was no longer in sight.Originally, he thought he could still see some lights, but it was pitch black, and he was far away from the island.Now he was gliding furiously towards the mainland over the night-shrouded sea.A year ago such a special voyage would have scared him to death.And now, he wasn't afraid at all—at least, he could control his fear because, he knew, he was with his friends, and they would protect him from harm. Now, he had to adjust his course.He knew they would go where he wanted Suzy to go, and it was easy to do.The coastline of the Australian mainland stretches for thousands of miles; as long as he sails roughly westward, sooner or later he will land somewhere.He glanced at the compass.To his surprise, he didn't have to change course at all, Suzie was heading due west.

This fully proves Suzie how smart they are and how strong their comprehension ability is.Mick sent out the "help" signal, which was enough to make them understand the mission they were going to take on. There was no need to tell them where to find the "help" person, they already knew it.In fact, they are likely to be familiar with every inch of Queensland's coastline. But how fast Susie was swimming now Johnny didn't know.Should Suzie decide how fast to go, or should she push a button and tell her it's urgent?In the end, he decided to press the "fast" button.At least, it won't hurt to do so.

He felt the board lift up slightly, but he couldn't feel it picking up speed.He knew it was enough.He was convinced that Susie understood her mission well enough and was swimming as fast as she could.If he kept insisting on it going faster, it would just wear it out. The dark clouds left by the storm were still hanging low in the night sky, covering most of the starlight, and the night became more and more dense.The glowing microbes that used to be in the ocean are now gone, too.Perhaps, the storm has just passed, and the fluorescent creatures in the sea have not yet recovered from the shock.If they were around now, their faint phosphorescence was at least a comfort to him.He was alone in the dark sea, and sometimes he was frightened.Perhaps a huge wave, or a large rock, was waiting for him somewhere out of sight.He was gliding on a surfboard, just three inches above the water.Even though he trusted Susie fully, he couldn't help feeling this fear.He had to do his best to restrain himself.

Suddenly, he found a faint moonlight in the east.The clouds were still thick, and the moon hadn't shown up, but the moonlight was beginning to reflect around him.Although the light was very dim and it was difficult to distinguish things around him, his heart calmed down greatly when he saw the place where the sea and sky connected in the distance.Now, too, he could see that there were neither rocks nor coral reefs ahead.Suzy's senses were far better underwater than his eyesight, there was no question about that.Now, at least he has the help of Suzie and Sputnik. They have come to the vast and deep sea.At the beginning of the voyage, the surfboard was thrown up and down by the surging waves, making it uncomfortable to lie on.Here, with the crests separated by hundreds of feet, the surfboard glides along the rolling waves.Johnny had a hard time judging how high the waves were.From the perspective of Johnny lying on the surfboard, it is obviously much higher than the actual height.Susie used to creep up the wave, stay on the top of the wave for a while, and then rush down the valley-she repeated this process again and again, and before long, Johnny could adjust his center of gravity on the surfboard freely, let the surf The board climbs up the wave slope to the top of the wave, and then slides downhill to the wave valley.

A crescent moon emerged from the clouds.And then, for the first time, Johnny saw the great waves rolling around him, stretching out into the endless night.The crests of the waves glistened in the moonlight, making the valleys of the waves even deeper.The surfboard slides down dark troughs and slowly climbs forward moving peaks—waves, as if going from night to day, and from day to night. Johnny checked his watch and saw that they had been swimming in the ocean for four hours.That means, with any luck, they've swum at least 40 miles, and dawn is just around the corner.This helps him overcome sleepiness.Twice he dozed off, was thrown from his surfboard, and woke up to find himself struggling in the water.He had to swim in the dark sea, waiting for Suzie to come back to him - which was a terrible thing to do.

The East" was gradually revealing its fish belly, and Baier looked back, waiting for the rising sun to jump out of the sea. At this time, Johnny recalled watching the dawn on the "Santa Ana" shipwreck. At that time, he was alone and helpless in the tropical The sun almost scorched him, but now he is calm and confident, although he can't turn back. At this moment, he is 50 miles from the land front and back. But the sun is no longer a threat to him, his skin has long since Tanned and glossy. The rising sun drove away the long night, and he felt the warmth of the sun on his back.At this time, he pressed the "stop" button.It was time for Suzy to rest and forage for breakfast.Johnny jumped off the surfboard himself and swam forward to unharness Suzy - who happily swam away and jumped into the air again and again to show her excitement, Sputnik out of sight. Shadow, maybe it catches fish somewhere.But as long as you call it, it will swim right away.

Johnny pushed the mask over his forehead.He wears them all night to keep the spray from getting in his eyes.He straddled his legs and rode on the surfboard, letting the waves sway slowly.A banana, two meat rolls, and a few mouthfuls of orange juice are enough for breakfast.Save the rest for later.Even if all goes well, it will take five or six hours to reach the shores of the Australian mainland. He let the two dolphins rest for 15 minutes while he rested on his surfboard as the waves rolled up and down.Then he pressed the button that summoned them both back and waited. Five minutes passed, and there was no sign of the two of them. Johnny was a little worried. They can swim 3 miles in 5 minutes, and they can't get that far from him.Soon, he saw the familiar flippers, parting the surface of the water and swimming towards him, the stone in his heart finally fell.

But within a second, he suddenly sat up on the surfboard.The flipper was of course very familiar, but it was not the flipper of the dolphin he was waiting for, but the flipper of a killer whale! The killer whale, a symbol of death, swam towards him at a speed of 30 knots per hour. In just a few seconds, it seemed to be frozen forever.Then, he wondered suspiciously, did the killer whale come after hearing his signal?Then, he still has a glimmer of hope of survival, that may be... Yes, when the orca's massive head emerged a few feet away from the water, he recognized the streamlined control box affixed to it.

"You gave me a big jump, sister Xue." He finally breathed out. "Don't scare me like this next time." That being said, he can't be said to be very sure of his own safety.According to recent reports, Xuemei no longer eats all kinds of fish.At least, no complaints from the dolphins were heard about it.But Johnny isn't a dolphin, and he's not Mick. Xuemei wiped the surfboard with her body, and Johnny shook up and down violently with the plastic steel plate.He held on to the edge of the board to keep from falling into the sea.And the truth is, it's the gentlest rub for an orca - considering it's 15 feet long!When he swam back and wiped the other side of the board with his body, Johnny was relieved.Obviously, it was a sign of friendship, and he was silently grateful to Mick in his heart.

Despite the lingering fear, Johnny reached out and patted Xuemei's smooth back as it swam close.Its skin feels similar to that of a dolphin, rubbery and elastic.This is of course quite natural.It's easy to get lost and think that this ocean reaper is just another kind of dolphin, only bigger than normal. Xuemei seemed to like Johnny's touch very much, so she swam back and hoped that Johnny would pat her smooth back again. "I suppose you must be lonely by yourself," Johnny said sympathetically.But as soon as the words came out, he froze in fright. Xuemei is not alone, she is not alone.Its boyfriend is swimming towards here leisurely - he is 30 feet long! Those flippers are taller than a man.Only male killer whales have such huge flippers.The black triangular flippers, like sails, swam slowly toward the surfboard Johnny was sitting on.Johnny was too scared to move.He's just thinking: You're not conditioned—you're not Mick's friend. This was really the biggest animal Johnny had ever seen--it looked as big as a boat--and Snowy was only about the size of a dolphin compared to Snowy.Although Xuemei is small in stature, she is the master——the hostess.As his gigantic boyfriend cruised around the board, he circled the inside of the board, keeping his boyfriend and Johnny apart. At one point, the male stopped, poked his head 6 feet out of the water, and jumped over Snowy, trying to pounce on Johnny's back.There was hunger and intelligence and ferocity in those eyes - just not a hint of friendliness!Perhaps, Johnny's high imagination has exaggerated his image.But it keeps circling the surfboard, and the circle gets smaller and smaller.After a while, it will squeeze to Xuemei's side. However, Xuemei has another clever trick. When her boyfriend is only 10 feet away from Johnny, her huge body has blocked Johnny's view.At this time, Xuemei headbutted the male orca's mid-middle.Johnny could even clearly hear a heavy thud coming from the water.That's enough force to pierce the planks of a boat. The big killer whale understood Xuemei's intentions and started to swim out, which finally made Johnny heave a sigh of relief.Fifty feet away, Xuemei poked it again.This time it's better.Minutes later, Xuemei and her boyfriend swam straight north, before disappearing in the waves.As Johnny watched them swim away, he thought that such a huge "giant" suddenly became a "henpecked" husband who couldn't even eat a snack.Johnny was very grateful to Xuemei in his heart. Johnny sat on the surfboard, trying to regain his composure.He had never been so afraid in his life, and he wasn't ashamed of it.How many terrible things had happened to him!Finally, he stopped looking back from time to time in fear, and his mind began to clear up.Now, the first big thing: where are Suzie and Sputnik? There was no sign of either of them nearby.Johnny wasn't surprised.Undoubtedly, they also sensed that the killer whale was nearby, so they deliberately swam away to avoid it.Even though they can trust Xuemei, they are reluctant to approach her boyfriend. Did the orcas scare them away?Or, the orcas would have swallowed them long ago—a terrifying thought!If Suzie and Xuemei didn't come back, Johnny knew that he was finished.It's at least 40 miles from the coast of Australia! He didn't dare to press the call button again, for fear of attracting the killer whale back.The frightening scene just now, even if the ending wasn't bad, he didn't want to go through it again.Now, he just sits and waits, looking around.If any flippers less than a foot high emerged above the water, it was Suzy Talia. A full 15 minutes passed, and the time seemed extremely long.Sputnik and Suzy finally swam toward Johnny from the south.They may have waited for the orcas to travel far before swimming back.Johnny was overjoyed to see the two dolphins swimming toward him, and he couldn't have been so happy to see people coming.As he jumped off the surfboard and put the harness over Sputnik's head, he stroked them and patted their backs—he knew they loved his petting and patting.He also kept talking to them as if they could understand him.In fact, it's entirely possible that they do, because although they understand only a few English words, they are particularly sensitive to tone of voice.From Johnny's tone of voice, they could often tell whether the kid was happy or angry.Now, they must have realized Johnny's mood at this moment, and they were greatly relieved along with Johnny. Johnny tightened the straps of the harness around Sputnik's head, double-checked that the straps were clear of the snorkel and fins, and climbed back onto the board.As soon as he lay flat, Sputnik began to swim out. This time, instead of traveling straight west toward Australia, Sputnik swam south. "Hi!" Johnny said. "Wrong direction!" But he immediately thought of the orcas and knew they were a good idea to swim this way.He should have let Sputnik decide how to swim. They were moving so fast now, Johnny felt, that he had never been so fast on a surfboard before being dragged by them.When people are so close to the water surface, it is difficult to accurately judge the speed of gliding.But Johnny wouldn't be surprised if they were swimming at 15 miles an hour.Sputnik was actually swimming at 20 miles per hour.Then, just as Johnny had predicted and hoped, they began to swim west.With any luck, they're heading straight for Australia. At ninety o'clock in the morning, Sputnik was slowing down, but still swimming fast.Johnny thought that he couldn't stop and rest until he saw the coastline.At that time, he will let Suzie drag him again, it should have enough rest.If his speed estimate was correct, the Australian mainland was less than 10 miles away, and the coastline could be ahead at any moment. He remembered the first time he saw Dolphin Island.The situation then was similar to now, but very different.Dolphin Island shivered in the heat fog like a small cloud on the horizon.Now, he was not going to an island, but a continent with thousands of miles of coastline.The worst sailor would be there--and besides, he was surrounded by two of the best navigators.He didn't have to worry about that, but he was still a little uneasy. A big wave tossed him aloft, and suddenly he had his first glimpse of the shore ahead.He paused for a while on the top of the waves, looking up desperately.In the distance ahead, a white line stretches along the horizon... He was so excited that his heart was about to jump out.The blood rushed straight to his face.In another hour or two, he will be safe, and the professor will be saved.His voyage across the ocean on a surfboard could have come to an end. Thirty minutes later, a higher wave broke out in the sea.This time, the distant coastline can be seen more clearly.Later, he realized that the sea hadn't teased him enough, and his real test was yet to come!