Коралловый остров/Coral Island (Роберт Баллантайн). Страница 66 из 154

Понятно

Понятно

Для того чтобы воспользоваться закладками, необходимо

Войти или зарегистрироваться

Отмена

Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо

Войти или зарегистрироваться

Отмена

Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа

Купить PRO-доступ

Отмена

Предыдущая страница

"

Very

true

,

"

said

I.

"

There

is

nothing

I

desire

so

much

as

to

have

a

closer

inspection

of

them

.

"

"

And

I

think

,

"

said

Jack

,

"

that

you

had

better

remain

at

home

,

Peterkin

,

to

take

care

of

the

cat

;

for

I

'm

sure

the

hogs

will

be

at

it

in

your

absence

,

out

of

revenge

for

your

killing

their

great-grandmother

so

recklessly

.

"

"

Stay

at

home

!

"

cried

Peterkin

.

"

My

dear

fellow

,

you

would

certainly

lose

your

way

,

or

get

upset

,

if

I

were

not

there

to

take

care

of

you

.

"

Отключить рекламу

"

Ah

,

true

!

"

said

Jack

gravely

;

"

that

did

not

occur

to

me

.

No

doubt

you

must

go

.

Our

boat

does

require

a

good

deal

of

ballast

;

and

all

that

you

say

,

Peterkin

,

carries

so

much

weight

with

it

that

we

wo

n't

need

stones

if

you

go

.

"

Now

,

while

my

companions

were

talking

,

a

notable

event

occurred

,

which

,

as

it

is

not

generally

known

,

I

shall

be

particular

in

recording

here

.

While

we

were

talking

,

as

I

have

said

,

we

noticed

a

dark

line

,

like

a

low

cloud

or

fog-bank

,

on

the

seaward

horizon

.

The

day

was

a

fine

one

,

though

cloudy

,

and

a

gentle

breeze

was

blowing

;

but

the

sea

was

not

rougher

,

or

the

breaker

on

the

reef

higher

,

than

usual

.

At

first

we

thought

that

this

looked

like

a

thundercloud

,

and

as

we

had

had

a

good

deal

of

broken

weather

of

late

,

accompanied

by

occasional

peals

of

thunder

,

we

supposed

that

a

storm

must

be

approaching

.

Gradually

,

however

,

this

line

seemed

to

draw

nearer

without

spreading

up

over

the

sky

,

as

would

certainly

have

been

the

case

if

it

had

been

a

storm-cloud

.

Still

nearer

it

came

,

and

soon

we

saw

that

it

was

moving

swiftly

towards

the

island

;

but

there

was

no

sound

till

it

reached

the

islands

out

at

sea

.

As

it

passed

these

islands

we

observed

,

with

no

little

anxiety

,

that

a

cloud

of

white

foam

encircled

them

,

and

burst

in

spray

into

the

air

;

it

was

accompanied

by

a

loud

roar

.

This

led

us

to

conjecture

that

the

approaching

object

was

an

enormous

wave

of

the

sea

;

but

we

had

no

idea

how

large

it

was

till

it

came

near

to

ourselves

.

When

it

approached

the

outer

reef

,

however

,

we

were

awestruck

with

its

unusual

magnitude

;

and

we

sprang

to

our

feet

,

and

clambered

hastily

up

to

the

highest

point

of

the

precipice

,

under

an

indefinable

feeling

of

fear

.

Отключить рекламу

I

have

said

before

that

the

reef

opposite

Spouting

Cliff

was

very

near

to

the

shore

,

while

just

in

front

of

the

bower

it

was

at

a

considerable

distance

out

to

sea

.

Owing

to

this

formation

,

the

wave

reached

the

reef

at

the

latter

point

before

it

struck

at

the

foot

of

Spouting

Cliff

.

The

instant

it

touched

the

reef

we

became

aware

,

for

the

first

time

,

of

its

awful

magnitude

.

It

burst

completely

over

the

reef

at

all

points

with

a

roar

that

seemed

louder

to

me

than

thunder

,

and

this

roar

continued

for

some

seconds

while

the

wave

rolled

gradually

along

towards

the

cliff

on

which

we

stood

.

As

its

crest

reared

before

us

we

felt

that

we

were

in

great

danger

,

and

turned

to

flee

;

but

we

were

too

late

.

With

a

crash

that

seemed

to

shake

the

solid

rock

,

the

gigantic

billow

fell

,

and

instantly

the

spouting-holes

sent

up

a

gush

of

waterspouts

with

such

force

that

they

shrieked

on

issuing

from

their

narrow

vents

.

It

seemed

to

us

as

if

the

earth

had

been

blown

up

with

water

.

We

were

stunned

and

confused

by

the

shock

,

and

so

drenched

and

blinded

with

spray

that

we

knew

not

for

a

few

moments

whither

to

flee

for

shelter

.

At

length

we

all

three

gained

an

eminence

beyond

the

reach

of

the

water

.

But

what

a

scene

of

devastation

met

our

gaze

as

we

looked

along

the

shore

!

This

enormous

wave

not

only

burst

over

the

reef

,

but

continued

its

way

across

the

lagoon

,

and

fell

on

the

sandy

beach

of

the

island

with

such

force

that

it

passed

completely

over

it

and

dashed

into

the

woods

,

levelling

the

smaller

trees

and

bushes

in

its

headlong

course

.

On

seeing

this

,

Jack

said

he

feared

our

bower

must

have

been

swept

away

,

and

that

the

boat

,

which

was

on

the

beach

,

must

have

been

utterly

destroyed

.

Our

hearts

sank

within

us

as

we

thought

of

this

,

and

we

hastened

round

through

the

woods

towards

our

home

.

Предыдущая страница

Предыдущая

Следующая

Следующая страница

Следующая страница