Part 23 (1/2)
”I see what you mean,” said he; ”it is a pylone that has been used for some geodesic survey.”
The next moment the sail was filled, and the yawl was bearing down upon the object with inconceivable swiftness, both Captain Servadac and the lieutenant too excited to utter a word. Mile after mile the distance rapidly grew less, and as they drew nearer the pylone they could see that it was erected on a low ma.s.s of rocks that was the sole interruption to the dull level of the field of ice. No wreath of smoke rose above the little island; it was manifestly impossible, they conceived, that any human being could there have survived the cold; the sad presentiment forced itself upon their minds that it was a mere cairn to which they had been hurrying.
Ten minutes later, and they were so near the rock that the lieutenant took in his sail, convinced that the impetus already attained would be sufficient to carry him to the land. Servadac's heart bounded as he caught sight of a fragment of blue canvas fluttering in the wind from the top of the pylone: it was all that now remained of the French national standard. At the foot of the pylone stood a miserable shed, its shutters tightly closed. No other habitation was to be seen; the entire island was less than a quarter of a mile in circ.u.mference; and the conclusion was irresistible that it was the sole surviving remnant of Formentera, once a member of the Balearic Archipelago.
To leap on sh.o.r.e, to clamber over the slippery stones, and to reach the cabin was but the work of a few moments. The worm-eaten door was bolted on the inside. Servadac began to knock with all his might. No answer.
Neither shouting nor knocking could draw forth a reply.
”Let us force it open, Procope!” he said.
The two men put their shoulders to the door, which soon yielded to their vigorous efforts, and they found themselves inside the shed, and in almost total darkness. By opening a shutter they admitted what daylight they could. At first sight the wretched place seemed to be deserted; the little grate contained the ashes of a fire long since extinguished; all looked black and desolate. Another instant's investigation, however, revealed a bed in the extreme corner, and extended on the bed a human form.
”Dead!” sighed Servadac; ”dead of cold and hunger!”
Lieutenant Procope bent down and anxiously contemplated the body.
”No; he is alive!” he said, and drawing a small flask from his pocket he poured a few drops of brandy between the lips of the senseless man.
There was a faint sigh, followed by a feeble voice, which uttered the one word, ”Gallia?”
”Yes, yes! Gallia!” echoed Servadac, eagerly.
”My comet, my comet!” said the voice, so low as to be almost inaudible, and the unfortunate man relapsed again into unconsciousness.
”Where have I seen this man?” thought Servadac to himself; ”his face is strangely familiar to me.”
But it was no time for deliberation. Not a moment was to be lost in getting the unconscious astronomer away from his desolate quarters.
He was soon conveyed to the yawl; his books, his scanty wardrobe, his papers, his instruments, and the blackboard which had served for his calculations, were quickly collected; the wind, by a fortuitous Providence, had s.h.i.+fted into a favorable quarter; they set their sail with all speed, and ere long were on their journey back from Formentera.
Thirty-six hours later, the brave travelers were greeted by the acclamations of their fellow-colonists, who had been most anxiously awaiting their reappearance, and the still senseless _savant_, who had neither opened his eyes nor spoken a word throughout the journey, was safely deposited in the warmth and security of the great hall of Nina's Hive.
END OF FIRST BOOK
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I. THE ASTRONOMER
By the return of the expedition, conveying its contribution from Formentera, the known population of Gallia was raised to a total of thirty-six.
On learning the details of his friends' discoveries, Count Timascheff did not hesitate in believing that the exhausted individual who was lying before him was the author alike of the two unsigned doc.u.ments picked up at sea, and of the third statement so recently brought to hand by the carrier-pigeon. Manifestly, he had arrived at some knowledge of Gallia's movements: he had estimated her distance from the sun; he had calculated the diminution of her tangential speed; but there was nothing to show that he had arrived at the conclusions which were of the most paramount interest to them all. Had he ascertained the true character of her orbit? had he established any data from which it would be possible to reckon what time must elapse before she would again approach the earth?
The only intelligible words which the astronomer had uttered had been, ”My comet!”
To what could the exclamation refer? Was it to be conjectured that a fragment of the earth had been chipped off by the collision of a comet?
and if so, was it implied that the name of the comet itself was Gallia, and were they mistaken in supposing that such was the name given by the _savant_ to the little world that had been so suddenly launched into s.p.a.ce? Again and again they discussed these questions; but no satisfactory answer could be found. The only man who was able to throw any light upon the subject was lying amongst them in an unconscious and half-dying condition.
Apart from motives of humanity, motives of self-interest made it a matter of the deepest concern to restore animation to that senseless form. Ben Zoof, after making the encouraging remark that _savants_ have as many lives as a cat, proceeded, with Negrete's a.s.sistance, to give the body such a vigorous rubbing as would have threatened serious injury to any ordinary mortal, whilst they administered cordials and restoratives from the _Dobryna's_ medical stores powerful enough, one might think, to rouse the very dead.