Mysterious Island Page #2

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he needs some hot food.

Bring some of those coals,

and I'll cook up a giant oyster stew.

Where do you think this fire came from

if the Captain didn't light it?

Of course he lit it somehow.

He just doesn't remember,

that's all.

One giant oyster stew special,

coming up.

-It smells good.

-It is, son.

Don't touch that, Captain.

It's the seasoning.

-What is it?

-Seaweed.

Captain, any idea where we are?

No.

That wind must have taken us

thousands of miles.

-Fiji, maybe.

-Or New Zealand. Anywhere.

Anywhere? On the other hand,

could be nowhere. Eh, Captain?

Gentlemen, we're going to climb that.

What for, Captain, the exercise?

No, for survival, Mr. Spilett.

From up there, we might be able to see

where we are and how to escape.

Escape to where this time?

And on the way, we'll hunt and forage.

We need meat and vegetables.

And how will we kill the game?

You threw our only guns away.

-Herbert?

-Yes, sir?

-Have you still got your knife?

-Yes, sir.

Good. Then you and Neb

will be spear-makers.

Pencroft, you'll be the vegetable-finder.

I'm in the Confederate Army, not yours.

The arrangement was, once we landed,

I stopped being your prisoner.

The agreement was we'd go our own ways.

Either you come my way, under my command,

or you can fend for yourself.

All right.

-I'll find vegetables.

-Good.

And don't try and eat any of the food

you find until our cook has tasted it.

And who is ''our cook''?

You are.

I'm a civilian.

I don't have to take orders from you,

whatever army you're in.

That's legally correct, Mr. Spilett,

but I was under the impression...

...that you'd joined my command.

Joined? I was drafted.

Captain, why don't we turn this island

into a democracy and elect a leader?

One who won't keep escaping to places

which need escaping from.

Because all of us here are still at war,

and I happen to be the ranking officer.

Still at war! All right, I'll cook.

I thought you would, Mr. Spilett.

I'm the butcher man. I'll keep you busy.

Hey, take it easy.

The landscape everywhere was a mixture

of the strange and the beautiful.

Volcanoes surrounded by tropical palms

and sandy beaches.

A riot of wonderful

hues and fantastic colours.

And except for that fire we found

on the first day...

...there was no evidence

that man had ever set foot here before.

We saw birds, and many overgrown plants,

as if patches of nature had gone wild.

t was a rugged trek upwards.

Our physical condition

caused us to tire readily...

...and we were never

sure of our footing.

Then finally we came to the shore

of what must have been...

...the other side of the island.

So help me, whales.

Those aren't whales.

They're geysers.

Now we know where

we can get a hot bath.

All right, gentlemen,

we'll make this our rendezvous.

Now, Mr. Spilett, I'll take Neb.

You take Pencroft and Herbert.

Take them where, Captain?

To hunt for food.

Neb.

The animals will wait.

Let's take a swim.

Come on, Pencroft.

Help me! Help me!

Get down here!

You almost got him.

Don't let him get away!

Pencroft, the rope. Come on!

Come on!

Pull it!

I'll get him.

Here, get hold of this.

Don't let him get away!

Hang on, Pencroft!

Try and turn it over on its back.

Look after him, Spilett!

Try and get it over the edge!

Heave!

That's the best crab I ever cooked.

We'd be more impressed, Mr. Spilett,

if you'd put it in the pot by yourself.

Dance!

Scoot in there. That a boy.

That's a mighty big crab.

Captain, how do you suppose

it ever got that big?

-I'd like to know myself.

-From eating the giant oysters obviously.

-I guess I didn't help you much with it.

-You did all right, son.

No, I was scared.

It was the same with

getting in the balloon.

I couldn't move until I was shot at.

One shot,

and my mind was made up, too.

You don't understand.

I ran away from a battle.

I've been running ever since.

I got caught running away.

Son, your whole Union Army's

been running from mine...

...for the last three years.

Now we're running away from you.

You needn't feel special about it.

All right. We want to reach

that crater before nightfall.

Just once more around to the

top, Captain. Not too far.

Too far for me.

Oh, for the energy of youth.

Let's try a shortcut.

Give me the rope.

You mean you're

going to lasso that, Captain?

Mr. Harding, permit me.

With pleasure, Mr. Spilett.

Don't you think you ought to stick

to newspaper writing, Mr. Spilett?

Hey!

I'm surprised you're so handy

with a rope, Mr. Spilett.

Now, you just watch a good

balloonist climb one.

You just watch a gentleman.

Hey, he's doing it.

Good morning.

Look what we've got up here,

giant mice.

There are some more.

Come on, Spilett.

We're going to try and catch some goat.

Get up! Get up there!

We can build a corral

for these and keep them.

Yeah, there's nothing like cheese

made from goat milk.

-Would you like that, Captain?

-Very nice, Neb.

Hey, Captain,

can you see anything over there?

This is an island all right.

Nothing but water all around.

Hardly more than a volcano

pushed its way up out of the sea.

Harding!

-Harding!

-What?

Look out there. It's a small boat.

It must be.

-It seems to be only drifting.

-Maybe we could use it to get away.

She's beautiful.

Better than that, she's alive.

-How about this one, Captain?

-Yeah, she's alive, too.

Well, here's one that isn't.

Thank you.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Will you have some of my soup, madam?

No, thank you.

Are you English?

No, ma'am. We're not English.

We're Americans.

It's made of shellfish.

A kind of French bouillabaisse.

There's only one kind of bouillabaisse.

-Auntie, you must have something.

-Leave me alone, child.

-Are you in charge?

-Yes, ma'am.

I take it that we're not in Marseilles...

...in spite of what the

gentleman offered us to eat.

No, ma'am.

We're somewhere in the Pacific.

On an island, to be exact.

But surely you weren't on our ship.

We came by balloon.

I beg your pardon?

I said, we came by-

Please don't talk nonsense.

I shall address myself to you.

But he's right, ma'am.

We were held in a Confederate prison and

escaped in one of their observation balloons.

Yes, I'm quite sure of it.

But we can't possibly stay here.

How soon may we leave?

I'm not quite sure, ma'am.

My name is Lady Mary Fairchild.

And this is my niece, Elena.

Ma'am. My name is Cyrus Harding.

Captain in the United States Army Engineers.

I take it you've met these others.

But where's the sailor

who was on our boat?

I'm sorry to have to tell

you, ma'am, that he's dead.

I see now.

Then how soon do you propose to leave?

Just as soon as we build a boat.

I hope it will be soon.

We were travelling home from Valparaiso.

My brother, who is Elena's father,

is British consul in Chile.

He didn't want her to make this voyage,

but I promised him she would be safe.

-How are you, my dear?

-I'm much better, thank you, Auntie.

But I think we're both

a little tired, don't you?

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