Mysterious Island

Author: Jules Verne
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: "Are we going up again?" "No, we're going down!" "Mr. Smith, it's not going down, it's falling!" "Good heavens! Quickly throw out the ballast!" "The last bag was emptied!""Is the balloon rising?" "No!" "I seem to hear the sound of waves hitting!" "The basket is right above the sea!" "It's no more than five hundred feet away from us!" "Throw out all the heavy things! All the heavy objects!" These were the words heard over the vast Pacific Ocean around 4 p.m. on March 23, 1865. That spring, around the time of the vernal equinox, an unforgettable storm blew in from the northeast. From March 18th, the fierce storm raged without respite until the 26th. Cities were destroyed, trees were uprooted, and embankments were swept away by towering waves. Statistics showed that hundreds of ships were tossed ashore by the waves. Many areas were flattened. Thousands of people lost their lives. Meanwhile, in the turbulent sky, a heartbreaking tragedy unfolded. A light balloon was caught in a vortex of air currents, sweeping through the sky at a speed of ninety miles per hour. Below the balloon hung a basket, swaying violently. In the basket were five people, their faces obscured by fog. These five lost souls no longer knew how many miles they had traveled since taking flight. Strangely enough, despite being caught in the storm, they remained unharmed. However, the basket was rapidly descending, and they realized the danger was imminent. After discarding their weapons, ammunition, and food, the balloon rose to an altitude of four thousand five hundred feet. Seeing the sea below, the passengers in the basket believed it was safer to be floating above than to continue descending, so they threw out as much as possible to reduce the balloon's load and prevent further falling. The night finally passed, and daylight arrived, with the storm gradually weakening. Several hours later, the storm subsided, turning into a strong wind, with the air currents slowing by half. But at that moment, the balloon began to descend gradually, as if deflating, changing from a spherical shape to an oval. At noon, it was only two thousand feet above sea level. The balloon envelope could hold five hundred thousand cubic feet of gas, a massive capacity that allowed it to stay aloft for a long time. To prevent further descent, the passengers threw out the last of their supplies—some stored food and other items. But this only delayed the inevitable. Before nightfall, they would no longer see land, certain to crash into the sea and be devoured by the fish! The ocean was vast and boundless, with waves and no sight of land or ships. They tried every possible means to stop the balloon from falling, but to no avail. The balloon continued to descend, drifting rapidly southwestward along the northeast wind. The rate of descent was accelerating. Around 1 p.m., it was less than six hundred feet above sea level. By 2 p.m., it was only four hundred feet up. Suddenly, a loud voice rang out. P1-2