In Search of the Castaways Book One Chapter II - The Three Documents

**Eddie Winter** (0:00)
Book I, Chapter II, of In Search of the Castaways. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org. Recording by Eddie Winter. In Search of the Castaways, or The Children of Captain Grant, by Jules Verne. Book I, Chapter II, The Three Documents. All that could be discovered, however, in these pieces of paper, was a few words here and there, the remainder of the lines being almost completely obliterated by the action of the water.
Lord Glenarvon examined them attentively for a few minutes, turning them over on all sides, holding them up to the light, and trying to decipher the least scrap of writing, while the others looked on with anxious eyes.
At last he said, There are three distinct documents here, apparently copies of the same document, in three different languages. Here is one in English, one in French, and one in German. But can you make any sense out of them? asked Lady Helena. That's hard to say, my dear Helena. The words are quite incomplete. Perhaps the one may supplement the other, suggested Major McNabbs. Very likely they will, said the Captain. It is impossible that the very same words should have been effaced in each document, and by putting the scraps together, we might gather some intelligible meaning out of them. That's what we will do, rejoined Lord Glunarvon. But let us proceed methodically. Here is the English document first. All that remained of it was the following.
Gal.
Sink. Stra. Aland. Skip. Grr. That Monnet of Long. End. Sistence. Lost. There's not much to be made out of that, said the major, looking disappointed. No, but it is good English, anyhow, returned the captain. There's no doubt of it, said Glunarvon. The words sink, aland, lost, are entire. Skip is evidently part of the word skipper, and that's what they call ship captains, often in England. There seems a Mr. Grr. mentioned, and that most likely is the captain of the shipwrecked vessel. Well, come, we have made out a good deal already, said Lady Helena. Yes, but unfortunately there are whole lines wanting, said the major, and we have neither the name of the ship, nor the place where she was shipwrecked. We will get that by and by, said Edward. Oh, yes, there is no doubt of it, replied the major, who always echoed his neighbour's opinion. But how? By comparing one document with the other. Let us try them, said his wife. The second piece of paper was even more destroyed than the first. Only a few scattered words remained here and there. It ran as follows.
Sieben, Juni, Glas, Zwei, Atrozen, Gross, Brinkt, Enen.
This is written in German, said John Mangles, the moment he looked at it. And you understand that language, don't you? asked Lord Glunarvon. Perfectly. Come, then, tell us the meaning of these words. The captain examined the document carefully and said, Well, here's the date of the accounts first.
Zeben Uni means June 7th, and if we put that before the figures 62 we have in the other document, it gives us the exact date, 7th June, 1862 Capitol! exclaimed Lady Helena. Go on, John. On the same line, resumed the young captain, there is the syllable, Glass. And if we add that to the gal we found in the English paper, we get the whole word, Glasgow, at once. The documents evidently refer to some ship that sailed out of the port of Glasgow. That is my opinion too, said the major. The second line is completely effaced, continued the captain. But here are two important words on the third. There is zwei, which means two, and atrozen, or matrosen, the German, for sailors.
Then I suppose it is about a captain and two sailors, said Lady Helena. It seems so, replied Lord Glenarvon. I must confess, Your Lordship, that the next word puzzles me. I can make nothing of it. Perhaps the third document may throw some light on it. The last two words are plain enough. Brint enon means bring them. And if you recollect, in the English paper, we had assistants. So by putting the parts together, it reads thus, I think. Bring them assistants. Yes, that must be it, replied Lord Glenarvon. But where are the poor fellows? We have not the slightest indication of the place meantime, nor of where the catastrophe happened.
Perhaps the French copy will be more explicit, suggested Lady Helena. Here it is, then, said Lord Glenarvon, and that is in a language we all know.
The words it contained were these.
Toi, a, tanya, conni, astral, abord, contra, pr, cruel, indy, jet, onget, et trent-sept, degrés, onze, minute, lat. There were figures, exclaimed Lady Helena. Look.