Дети капитана Гранта / The Children of Captain Grant. Жюль Верн

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СКАЧАТЬ on the Scotia appear as short as agreeable.”

      Lady Helena and Miss Grant were too astonished to be able to utter a single word. Lord Glenarvan was more collected, and said, “Sir, to whom have I the honor of speaking?”

      “To Jacques Eliacin Francois Marie Paganel[35], Secretary of the Geographical Society of Paris, Corresponding Member[36] of the Societies of Berlin, Bombay, Darmstadt, Leipzig, London, St. Petersburg, Vienna, and New York; Honorary Member[37] of the Royal Geographical and Ethnographical Institute of the East Indies.”

      Chapter VII. Jacques Paganel is Undeceived

      The Secretary of the Geographical Society was evidently an amiable personage, for all this was said in a most charming manner. His geographical works, his papers on modern discoveries, and his world-wide correspondence, gave him a most distinguished place among the scientists of France. Lord Glenarvan welcomed such a guest, and shook hands cordially.

      “And now that our introductions are over,” he added, “you will allow me, Monsieur Paganel, to ask you a question?”

      “Twenty, my Lord,” replied Paganel; “it will always be a pleasure to converse with you.”

      “Was it last evening that you came on board this vessel?”

      “Yes, my Lord, about 8 o’clock. I jumped into the Scotia, where I had booked my cabin before I left Paris. It was a dark night, and I saw no one on board, so I found cabin No. 6, and went to my berth immediately, for I had heard that the best way to prevent sea-sickness is to go to bed as soon as possible. And, moreover, I had been traveling for thirty hours.”

      Paganel’s listeners understood the whole mystery, now, of his presence on the Duncan. The French traveler had mistaken his vessel. All was explained.

      “So you wanted to travel to Calcutta, M. Paganel, right?”

      “Yes, my Lord, to see India has been a purpose of my life. It will be the realization of my dreams, to find myself in the country of elephants!”

      “Monsieur Jacques Paganel,” said Lord Glenarvan, after a brief pause, “I must tell you that you must give up the pleasure of a visit to India.”

      “Give it up? And why? What! Captain Burton!”

      “I am not Captain Burton,” said John Mangles.

      “But the Scotia.”

      “This vessel is not the Scotia.”

      It would be impossible to depict the astonishment of Paganel. John Mangles could not suppress a smile. At last the poor fellow shrugged his shoulders, pushed down his spectacles over his nose and said:

      “You are joking.”

      But just at that very moment his eye fell on the wheel of the ship, and he saw the two words on it: Duncan. Glasgow.

      “The Duncan! The Duncan!” he exclaimed, with a cry of despair, and rushed down the stairs, and away to his cabin.

      “However,” said Lord Glenarvan, “I am not much astonished at it in Paganel. He is quite famous for such misadventures. One day he published a celebrated map of America, and put Japan in it! But for all that[38], he is one of the best geographers in France.”

      “But what shall we do with the poor gentleman?” said Lady Helena; “we can’t take him with us to Patagonia.”

      “Why not?” replied McNabbs, gravely. “We are not responsible for his mistakes.”

      “Well, if he likes; he can disembark at the first place where we touch.”

      While they were talking, Paganel came up again on the poop, looking very woebegone and crestfallen. He kept repeating incessantly the unlucky words, “The Duncan! The Duncan!”

      He could find no others in his vocabulary. He gazed inquiringly over the wide ocean, at the far horizon. At length[39] he accosted Lord Glenarvan once more, and said—

      “And this Duncan—where is it going?”

      “To America, Monsieur Paganel,” was the reply.

      “And to what particular part?”

      “To Concepcion.”

      “To Chili! To Chili!” cried the unfortunate geographer.

      “Come, Monsieur Paganel, don’t despair. It can all be managed. We shall soon put in at Madeira, and you will get a ship there to take you back to Europe.”

      “Thanks, my Lord. But people will say it is a most extraordinary adventure, and it is only to me such things happen… But the Duncan is a pleasure yacht, is it not?” began Paganel again, after a fresh examination of the vessel.

      “Yes, sir,” said John Mangles, “and belongs to Lord Glenarvan.”

      Chapter VIII. The Geographer’s Resolution

      Meantime the yacht was making rapid progress toward the equator. On the 30th of August they sighted the Madeira group of islands, and Glenarvan, true to his promise, offered to put in there, and land his new guest.

      But Paganel said:

      “My dear Lord! Tell me, did you intend to stop at Madeira before I came on board?”

      “No,” replied Glenarvan.

      “Well, then, if it is all the same to you, we might go on to the Canary Isles[40] instead.”

      “Certainly. It will not the least interfere with our route.”

      “I know it will not, my dear Lord. In the Canary Islands, you see, there is much to study. This is an opportunity, and I should make the ascent of the famous mountain while I am waiting for a ship to take me back to Europe.”

      “As you please[41], my dear Paganel,” said Lord Glenarvan.

      Next day, about 2 PM, John Mangles and Paganel were walking on the poop. The Frenchman was assailing his companion with all sorts of questions about Chili, when the captain interrupted him, and pointing toward the southern horizon, said:

      “Monsieur Paganel?”

      “Yes, my dear Captain.”

      “Please look in this direction. Don’t you see anything?”

      “Nothing.”

      “You’re not looking in the right place. It is not on the horizon, but above it in the clouds.”

      “In the clouds? I might well not see. I see nothing.”

      “Then СКАЧАТЬ