Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 3

Poor Neb wept with grief and despair. But Smith’s companions hoped to find him.

– Look for him! – cried Neb.

– Yes, Neb, and we will find him, – replied Spilett.

– Alive?

– Alive!

– Can he swim? – demanded Pencroff.

– Oh, yes, – responded Neb. – And, besides, Top is with him.

The sailor looked at the roaring sea, and shook his head.

It was nearly 6 o’clock. The fog made the night very dark. The men went northward along the shore. Where are they? They could not guess their geographical situation.

After a walk of twenty minutes the four men were suddenly stopped by a rock. They found themselves[18 - found themselves – оказались]upon the extremity of a sharp point upon which the sea broke with fury.

– This is a promontory, – said the sailor, – we must turn back.

– But if he is there! – cried Neb.

– Well, let us call again.

And all together uttered a vigorous cry, but without response. They waited, and tried once more. And again there was no answer.

Then they turned back. They were following the opposite side of the promontory over ground equally sandy and rocky. However, Pencroff observed that the shore was bold there, and the birds were less numerous on this shore.

They were walking towards the south. Soon they found themselves again upon a high promontory of slippery rocks.

– We are on an island, – exclaimed Pencroff.

The words of the sailor were true. The castaways were not upon a continent, but upon an island not more than two miles long.

This desert isle, covered with stones, without vegetation, did it belong to a more important archipelago? They could not tell. It was necessary to wait until the next day to search for the engineer; who made no cry to signal his presence.

– The silence of Cyrus proves nothing, – said the reporter. He may be wounded, and unable to reply.

The reporter then offered to light a fire upon the point of the island. It can serve as a signal for the engineer. But they searched in vain[19 - in vain – напрасно]for wood or dry branches. Sand and stones were all they found.

One can understand the grief of Neb and his companions, who loved their brave comrade. It was evident that they could not help him now, and that they must wait till day. The engineer escaped.