Speaker:
00:00:00
San the book and let's see what we can find.
Speaker:
00:00:31
Take it chapter by chapter, one bite at a time so many adventures and mountains we can climb take it word for word, like by line.
Speaker:
00:01:20
One bite at a time.
Speaker:
00:01:22
My name is Brie Carlyle and I love to read and wanted to share my passion with listeners like you.
Speaker:
00:01:28
If you want to know what's coming next and vote on upcoming books, sign up for our newsletter@byetatimebooks.com you'll also find our new t shirts in the shop, including podcast shirts and quote shirts from your favorite classic novels.
Speaker:
00:01:43
Be sure to follow my show on your favorite podcast platform so you get all the new episodes.
Speaker:
00:01:48
You can find most of our links in the show notes, but also our website, bytetimebooks.com, includes all of the links for our show, including to our Patreon to support the show and YouTube, where we have special behind the narration of the episodes.
Speaker:
00:02:03
We're part of the bite at a Time Books productions network.
Speaker:
00:02:06
If you'd also like to hear what inspired your favorite classic authors to write their novels and what was going on in the world at the time, check out the bite at a time books behind the story podcast.
Speaker:
00:02:18
Wherever you listen to podcasts, please note, while we try to keep the text as close to the original as possible, some words have been changed to honor the marginalized communities who've identified the words as harmful and to stay in alignment with bite at a time book's brand values.
Speaker:
00:02:36
Today we'll be continuing 20,000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne chapter 20 a few days on land I was much impressed on touching land.
Speaker:
00:02:50
Ned Land tried the soil with his feet, as if to take possession of it.
Speaker:
00:02:56
However, it was only two months before that we had become, according to Captain Nemo, passengers on board the Nautilus, but in reality, prisoners of its commander.
Speaker:
00:03:07
In a few minutes we were within musket shot of the coast.
Speaker:
00:03:10
The whole horizon was hidden behind a beautiful curtain of forests.
Speaker:
00:03:14
Enormous trees, the trunks of which attained a height of 200ft, were tied to each other by garlands of bindweed, real natural hammocks which light breeze rocked.
Speaker:
00:03:25
They were mimosas, figs, hibiscus, and palm trees mingled together in profusion, and under the shelter of their verdant vault grew orchids, meguminous plants, and ferns.
Speaker:
00:03:38
But without noticing all these beautiful specimens of papua and flora, the Canadian abandoned the agreeable for the useful.
Speaker:
00:03:45
He discovered a cocoa tree, beat down some of the fruit, broke them, and we drunk the milk and ate the nut with a satisfaction that protested against the ordinary food on the nautilus.
Speaker:
00:03:56
Excellent, said Ned Land.
Speaker:
00:03:58
Exquisite, replied conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:01
And I do not think, said the Canadian, that he would object to our introducing a cargo of coconuts on board.
Speaker:
00:04:08
I do not think he would, but he would not taste them.
Speaker:
00:04:12
So much the worse for him, said Conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:15
And so much the better for us, replied Ned land.
Speaker:
00:04:18
There will be more for us.
Speaker:
00:04:20
One word only, masterland, I said to the harpooner, who was beginning to ravage another coconut tree.
Speaker:
00:04:27
Coconuts are good things, but before filling the canoe with them, it would be wise to wreak a neuter and see if the island does not produce some substance, not less useful.
Speaker:
00:04:36
Fresh vegetables would be welcome on board the nautilus.
Speaker:
00:04:39
Master is right, replied conceal, and I propose to reserve three places in our vessel, one for fruits, the other for vegetables, and the third for the venison, of which I have not yet seen the smallest specimen.
Speaker:
00:04:52
Conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:53
We must not despair, said the Canadian.
Speaker:
00:04:56
Let us continue.
Speaker:
00:04:57
I returned in lie in wait.
Speaker:
00:05:00
Although the island seems uninhabited, it might still contain some individuals.
Speaker:
00:05:04
That would be less hard than we on the nature of game.
Speaker:
00:05:07
Ho, ho.
Speaker:
00:05:08
Said Ned land, moving his jaws significantly.
Speaker:
00:05:12
Well, Ned, said Conceal.
Speaker:
00:05:14
My word, returned the Canadian.
Speaker:
00:05:17
I began to understand the charms of anthropophagy.
Speaker:
00:05:21
Ned.
Speaker:
00:05:21
Ned, what are you saying?
Speaker:
00:05:23
You a man eater?
Speaker:
00:05:25
I should not feel safe with you, especially as I share your cabin.
Speaker:
00:05:29
I might perhaps wake one day to find myself half devoured.
Speaker:
00:05:32
Friend.
Speaker:
00:05:33
Conceal, I like you much, but not enough to eat you unnecessarily.
Speaker:
00:05:38
I would not trust you, replied conceal.
Speaker:
00:05:41
But enough.
Speaker:
00:05:42
We must absolutely bring down some game to satisfy this cannibal, or else one of these fine mornings, master will find only pieces of his servant to serve him.
Speaker:
00:05:51
While we were talking thus, we were penetrating the somber arches of the forest, and for 2 hours we surveyed it in all directions.
Speaker:
00:05:59
Chance rewarded our search for eatable vegetables, and one of the most youthful products of the tropical zones furnished us with precious food that we missed on board.
Speaker:
00:06:08
I would speak of the breadfruit tree, very abundant in the island of Gilboa, and I remarked chiefly the variety of destitute seeds which bears in Malaya the name of Rima.
Speaker:
00:06:20
Ned land knew these fruits well.
Speaker:
00:06:22
He had already eaten many during his numerous voyages, and he knew how to prepare the eatable substance.
Speaker:
00:06:28
Moreover, the sight of them excited him, and he could contain himself no longer.
Speaker:
00:06:33
Master, he said, I shall die if I do not taste a little of this breadfruit pie.
Speaker:
00:06:39
Tasted, friend Ned.
Speaker:
00:06:41
Taste it as you want.
Speaker:
00:06:42
We are here to make experiments.
Speaker:
00:06:44
Make them it won't take long, said the Canadian, and provided with a lentil, he lighted a fire of dead wood that crackled joyously.
Speaker:
00:06:54
During this time conceal and I chose the best fruits of the breadfruit.
Speaker:
00:06:58
Some had not then attained a sufficient degree of maturity, and their thick skin covered a white but rather fibrous pulp.
Speaker:
00:07:05
Others, the greater number, yellow and gelatinous, waited only to be picked.
Speaker:
00:07:09
These fruits enclosed no kernel.
Speaker:
00:07:12
Conceal brought a dozen to Nedland, who placed them on a coal fire, after having cut them in thick slices.
Speaker:
00:07:17
And while doing this, repeating, you will see, master, how good this bread is.
Speaker:
00:07:22
More so, when one has been deprived of it so long.
Speaker:
00:07:25
It is not even bread, added he, but a delicate pastry.
Speaker:
00:07:29
You have eaten, unmaster.
Speaker:
00:07:31
No, Ned.
Speaker:
00:07:32
Very well.
Speaker:
00:07:33
Prepare yourself for a juicy thing.
Speaker:
00:07:35
If you do not come for more, I am no longer the king of harpooners.
Speaker:
00:07:39
After some minutes, the part of the fruits that was exposed to the fire was completely roasted.
Speaker:
00:07:45
The interior looked like a white pasty, a sort of soft crumb, the flavor of which was like that of an artichoke.
Speaker:
00:07:52
It must be confessed the spread was excellent, and I ate of it with great relish.
Speaker:
00:07:57
What time is it now?
Speaker:
00:07:58
Asked the Canadian.
02 00:08:00
00 at least, replied conceal, how time flies on firm ground, sighed Ned land.
02 00:08:07
Let us be off, replied conceal.
02 00:08:10
We returned through the forest, and completed our collection by a raid upon the cabbage palms that we gathered from the tops of the trees.
02 00:08:18
Little beans that I recognized as the abru of the malaise, and yams of a superior quality.
02 00:08:24
We were loaded when we reached the boat, but Ned land did not find his provision sufficient.
02 00:08:30
Fate, however, favored us.
02 00:08:32
Just as we were pushing off, he perceived several trees from 25 to 30ft high, a species of palm tree.
02 00:08:39
At last, at 05:00 in the evening, loaded with our riches, we quitted the shore, and half an hour after we hailed the nautilus, no one appeared.
02 00:08:48
On our arrival.
02 00:08:49
The enormous iron plated cylinder seemed deserted.
02 00:08:53
The provisions embarked.
02 00:08:54
I descended to my chamber, and after supper, slept soundly.
02 00:08:58
The next day, 6 January.
02 00:09:00
Nothing new on board.
02 00:09:01
Not a sound inside, not a sign of life.
02 00:09:05
The boat rusted along the edge in the same place in which we had left it.
02 00:09:09
We resolved to return to the island.
02 00:09:12
Ned land hoped to be more fortunate than on the day before with regard to the hunt, and wished to visit another part of the forest.
02 00:09:19
At dawn we set off.
02 00:09:21
The boat, carried on by the waves that flowed to shore, reached the island in a few minutes.
02 00:09:26
We landed, and, thinking that it was better to give it to the Canadian.
02 00:09:30
We followed Ned land, whose long limbs threatened to distance us.
02 00:09:34
He wound up the coast towards the west.
02 00:09:37
Then, fording some torrents, he gained the high plain that was bordered with admirable forests.
02 00:09:42
Some kingfishers were rambling along the water courses, but they would not let themselves be approached.
02 00:09:48
Their circumspection proved to me that these birds knew what to expect from bipeds of our species, and I concluded that if the island was not inhabited, at least human beings occasionally frequented it.
02 00:10:01
After crossing a rather large prairie, we arrived at the skirts of a little wood that was enlivened by the songs and flight of a large number of birds.
02 00:10:10
There are only birds, said Conceal.
02 00:10:13
But they are eatable, replied the harpooner.
02 00:10:16
I do not agree with you, friend Ned, for I see only parrots there.
02 00:10:20
Friend conceal, said Ned gravely.
02 00:10:24
The parrot is like pheasant to those who have nothing else.
02 00:10:28
And I added, this bird, suitably prepared, is worth knife and fork indeed.
02 00:10:35
Under the thick foliage of this wood, a world of parrots were flying from branch to branch, only needing a careful education to speak the human language.
02 00:10:44
For the moment they were chattering with parrots of all colors and grave cockatoos, who seemed to meditate upon some philosophical problem, whilst brilliant red lorries pass like a piece of bunting carried away by the breeze.
02 00:10:57
Papoines, with the finest azure colors, and in all a variety of winged things most charming to behold, but few eatable.
02 00:11:06
However, a bird peculiar to these lands, and which has never passed the limits of the arrow in papoyan islands, was wanting in this collection, but fortune reserved it for me.
02 00:11:16
Before long after passing through a moderately thick cops, we found a plain obstructed with bushes.
02 00:11:23
I saw then those magnificent birds, the disposition of whose long feathers obliges them to fly against the wind.
02 00:11:30
Their undulating flight, graceful aerial curves, and the shading of their colors attracted and charmed one's looks.
02 00:11:38
I had no trouble in recognizing them.
02 00:11:41
Birds of paradise.
02 00:11:42
I exclaimed.
02 00:11:44
The malaise, who carried on a great trade in these birds with the Chinese, had several means that we could not employ for taking them.
02 00:11:51
Sometimes they put snares on the top of high trees that the birds of paradise prefer to frequent.
02 00:11:56
Sometimes they catch them with viscous bird lime that paralyzes their movements.
02 00:12:01
They even go so far as to poison the fountains that the birds generally drink from.
02 00:12:06
But we were obliged to fire at them during flight, which gave us few chances to bring them down, and indeed, we vainly exhausted one half our ammunition.
About 11 00:12:15
00 in the morning, the first range of mountains that formed the center of the island was traversed, and we'd killed nothing.
About 11 00:12:22
Hunger drove on us.
About 11 00:12:24
The hunters had relied on the products of the chase, and they were wrong.
About 11 00:12:28
Happily concealed to his great surprise, made a double shot and secured breakfast.
About 11 00:12:33
He brought down a white pigeon, and a wood pigeon, which, cleverly plucked and suspended from a skewer, was roasted before red fire of dead wood.
About 11 00:12:42
While these interesting birds were cooking, Ned prepared the fruit of the bread tree.
About 11 00:12:46
Then the wood pigeons were devoured to the bones and declared, excellent.
About 11 00:12:50
The nutmeg, with which they are in the habit of stuffing their crops, flavors their flesh and renders it delicious.
About 11 00:12:56
Eating now, Ned, what do you miss now?
About 11 00:13:00
Some four footed game, Monsieur Aranax.
About 11 00:13:03
All these pigeons are only side dishes and trifles.
About 11 00:13:06
And until I have killed an animal with cutlets, I shall not be content.
About 11 00:13:10
Nor I, Ned, if I do not catch a bird of paradise.
About 11 00:13:14
Let us continue hunting, replied conceal.
About 11 00:13:17
Let us go towards the sea.
About 11 00:13:19
We have arrived at the first declivities of the mountains, and I think we had better regain the region of forests.
About 11 00:13:26
That was sensible advice, and was swallowed out.
About 11 00:13:30
After walking for 1 hour, we had attained a forest of sago trees.
About 11 00:13:33
Some inoffensive serpents glided away from us.
About 11 00:13:37
The birds of paradise flooded our approach.
About 11 00:13:39
And truly I despaired of getting near one.
About 11 00:13:42
When concealed, who was walking in front, suddenly bent down, uttered a triumphal cry, and came back to me, bringing a magnificent specimen.
About 11 00:13:51
Ah, bravo.
About 11 00:13:52
Conceal.
About 11 00:13:53
Master is very good.
About 11 00:13:55
No, my boy, you have made an excellent stroke.
About 11 00:13:58
Take one of these living birds and carry it in your hand.
About 11 00:14:01
If master will examine it, he will see that I have not deserved great merit.
About 11 00:14:05
Why, conceal?
About 11 00:14:07
Because this bird is as drunk as a quail.
About 11 00:14:10
Drunk?
About 11 00:14:11
Yes, sir.
About 11 00:14:12
Drunk with the nutmegs that it devoured under the nutmeg tree under which I found it.
About 11 00:14:17
See, friend Ned, see the monstrous effects of intemperance.
About 11 00:14:21
My Jove.
About 11 00:14:22
Exclaimed the Canadian, because I have drunk gin for two months, you must need to reproach me.
About 11 00:14:29
However, I examined the curious bird.
About 11 00:14:31
Kensil was right.
About 11 00:14:33
The bird drunk with the juice, was quite powerless.
About 11 00:14:37
It could not fly.
About 11 00:14:38
It could hardly walk.
About 11 00:14:40
This bird belonged to the most beautiful of the eight species that are found in Papua and in the neighboring islands.
About 11 00:14:47
It was the large emerald bird, the most rare kind.
About 11 00:14:51
It measured 3ft in length.
About 11 00:14:53
Its head was comparatively small, its eyes placed near the opening of the beak, and also small.
About 11 00:15:00
But the shades of color were beautiful, having a yellow beak, brown feet and claws, nut colored wings with purple tips, pale yellow at the back of the neck and head, and emerald color at the throat, chestnut on the breast and belly.
About 11 00:15:15
Two horned downy nets rose from below.
About 11 00:15:17
The tail nut prolonged the long, light feathers of admirable fineness, and they completed the whole of this marvellous bird that the natives have poetically named the bird of the sun.
About 11 00:15:28
But if my wishes were satisfied by the possession of the bird of paradise, the Canadians were not.
About 11 00:15:33
Yet happily, about 02:00, Ned land brought down a magnificent hog from the brood of those the natives call Barry Otang.
About 11 00:15:42
The animal came in time for us to procure real quadruped meat, and he was well received.
About 11 00:15:48
Ned land was very proud of his shot.
About 11 00:15:50
The hog, hit by the electric ball fell stone dead.
About 11 00:15:54
The Canadians skinned and cleaned it properly, after having taken half a dozen cutlets, destined to furnish us with a grilled repast.
About 11 00:16:02
In the evening.
About 11 00:16:03
Then the hunt was resumed, which was still more marked by Ned and conceal's exploits.
About 11 00:16:08
Indeed, the two friends, beating the bushes roused a herd of kangaroos that fled and bounded along on their elastic paws.
About 11 00:16:16
But these animals did not take the flight so rapidly.
About 11 00:16:19
But what the electric capsule could stop their course.
About 11 00:16:22
Ah, professor.
About 11 00:16:23
Cried Ned land, who was carried away by the delights of the chase.
About 11 00:16:27
What excellent game.
About 11 00:16:28
And stewed too.
About 11 00:16:30
What a supply for the nautilus.
About 11 00:16:31
Two, three, five, down.
About 11 00:16:34
And to think that we shall eat that flesh and that the idiots on board shall not have a crumb.
About 11 00:16:39
I think that in the excess of his joy, the Canadian, if he had not talked so much, would have killed them all.
About 11 00:16:46
But he contented himself with a single dozen of these interesting marsupians.
About 11 00:16:51
These animals were small.
About 11 00:16:53
They were a species of those kangaroo rabbits that live habitually in the hollows of trees, and whose speed is extreme.
About 11 00:17:01
But they are moderately fat and furnish at least esteemable food.
About 11 00:17:05
We were very satisfied with the results of the hunt.
About 11 00:17:08
Happy, Ned proposed to return to this enchanting island the next day, for he wished to depopulate it, of all the eatable quadrupeds.
About 11 00:17:16
But he had reckoned without his host.
At 06 00:17:18
00 in the evening, we had regained the shore.
At 06 00:17:21
Our boat was moored to the usual place.
At 06 00:17:24
The nautilus, like a long rock, emerged from the waves 2 miles from the beach.
At 06 00:17:29
Ned land, without waiting, occupied himself about the important dinner business.
At 06 00:17:33
He understood all about cooking well.
At 06 00:17:36
The Barry Outeng, grilled on the coals, soon scented the air with the delicious odor.
At 06 00:17:41
Indeed, the dinner was excellent.
At 06 00:17:44
Two wood pigeons completed this extraordinary menu.
At 06 00:17:47
The sego pastry, the artocarpus bread, some mangoes, half a dozen pineapples, and the liquor fermented from some coconuts overjoyed us.
At 06 00:17:58
I even think that my worthy companion's ideas had not all the plainness desirable.
At 06 00:18:03
Suppose we do not return to the nautilus this evening, said conceal.
At 06 00:18:07
Suppose we never return, added Ned Land.
At 06 00:18:11
Just then a stone fell at our feet and cut short the harpooner's proposition.
At 06 00:18:17
Thank you for joining bite at a time books today while we read a bite of one of your favorite classics again, my name is Brie Carlyle, and I hope you come back tomorrow for the next byte of 20,000 leagues under the sea.
At 06 00:18:31
Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter@bytetimebooks.com, and check out the shop.
At 06 00:18:37
You can check out the show notes or our website, bytitimebooks.com, for the rest of the links for our show.
At 06 00:18:44
We'd love to hear from you on social media as well.
At 06 00:19:11
Dump in the book and let's see what we can find.
At 06 00:19:43
Taking chapter by chapter, one at a time so many adventures and mountains we can climb.
At 06 00:19:59
Take it word for word, line by line, one bite at a time.
00:00:00
San the book and let's see what we can find.
Speaker:
00:00:31
Take it chapter by chapter, one bite at a time so many adventures and mountains we can climb take it word for word, like by line.
Speaker:
00:01:20
One bite at a time.
Speaker:
00:01:22
My name is Brie Carlyle and I love to read and wanted to share my passion with listeners like you.
Speaker:
00:01:28
If you want to know what's coming next and vote on upcoming books, sign up for our newsletter@byetatimebooks.com you'll also find our new t shirts in the shop, including podcast shirts and quote shirts from your favorite classic novels.
Speaker:
00:01:43
Be sure to follow my show on your favorite podcast platform so you get all the new episodes.
Speaker:
00:01:48
You can find most of our links in the show notes, but also our website, bytetimebooks.com, includes all of the links for our show, including to our Patreon to support the show and YouTube, where we have special behind the narration of the episodes.
Speaker:
00:02:03
We're part of the bite at a Time Books productions network.
Speaker:
00:02:06
If you'd also like to hear what inspired your favorite classic authors to write their novels and what was going on in the world at the time, check out the bite at a time books behind the story podcast.
Speaker:
00:02:18
Wherever you listen to podcasts, please note, while we try to keep the text as close to the original as possible, some words have been changed to honor the marginalized communities who've identified the words as harmful and to stay in alignment with bite at a time book's brand values.
Speaker:
00:02:36
Today we'll be continuing 20,000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne chapter 20 a few days on land I was much impressed on touching land.
Speaker:
00:02:50
Ned Land tried the soil with his feet, as if to take possession of it.
Speaker:
00:02:56
However, it was only two months before that we had become, according to Captain Nemo, passengers on board the Nautilus, but in reality, prisoners of its commander.
Speaker:
00:03:07
In a few minutes we were within musket shot of the coast.
Speaker:
00:03:10
The whole horizon was hidden behind a beautiful curtain of forests.
Speaker:
00:03:14
Enormous trees, the trunks of which attained a height of 200ft, were tied to each other by garlands of bindweed, real natural hammocks which light breeze rocked.
Speaker:
00:03:25
They were mimosas, figs, hibiscus, and palm trees mingled together in profusion, and under the shelter of their verdant vault grew orchids, meguminous plants, and ferns.
Speaker:
00:03:38
But without noticing all these beautiful specimens of papua and flora, the Canadian abandoned the agreeable for the useful.
Speaker:
00:03:45
He discovered a cocoa tree, beat down some of the fruit, broke them, and we drunk the milk and ate the nut with a satisfaction that protested against the ordinary food on the nautilus.
Speaker:
00:03:56
Excellent, said Ned Land.
Speaker:
00:03:58
Exquisite, replied conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:01
And I do not think, said the Canadian, that he would object to our introducing a cargo of coconuts on board.
Speaker:
00:04:08
I do not think he would, but he would not taste them.
Speaker:
00:04:12
So much the worse for him, said Conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:15
And so much the better for us, replied Ned land.
Speaker:
00:04:18
There will be more for us.
Speaker:
00:04:20
One word only, masterland, I said to the harpooner, who was beginning to ravage another coconut tree.
Speaker:
00:04:27
Coconuts are good things, but before filling the canoe with them, it would be wise to wreak a neuter and see if the island does not produce some substance, not less useful.
Speaker:
00:04:36
Fresh vegetables would be welcome on board the nautilus.
Speaker:
00:04:39
Master is right, replied conceal, and I propose to reserve three places in our vessel, one for fruits, the other for vegetables, and the third for the venison, of which I have not yet seen the smallest specimen.
Speaker:
00:04:52
Conceal.
Speaker:
00:04:53
We must not despair, said the Canadian.
Speaker:
00:04:56
Let us continue.
Speaker:
00:04:57
I returned in lie in wait.
Speaker:
00:05:00
Although the island seems uninhabited, it might still contain some individuals.
Speaker:
00:05:04
That would be less hard than we on the nature of game.
Speaker:
00:05:07
Ho, ho.
Speaker:
00:05:08
Said Ned land, moving his jaws significantly.
Speaker:
00:05:12
Well, Ned, said Conceal.
Speaker:
00:05:14
My word, returned the Canadian.
Speaker:
00:05:17
I began to understand the charms of anthropophagy.
Speaker:
00:05:21
Ned.
Speaker:
00:05:21
Ned, what are you saying?
Speaker:
00:05:23
You a man eater?
Speaker:
00:05:25
I should not feel safe with you, especially as I share your cabin.
Speaker:
00:05:29
I might perhaps wake one day to find myself half devoured.
Speaker:
00:05:32
Friend.
Speaker:
00:05:33
Conceal, I like you much, but not enough to eat you unnecessarily.
Speaker:
00:05:38
I would not trust you, replied conceal.
Speaker:
00:05:41
But enough.
Speaker:
00:05:42
We must absolutely bring down some game to satisfy this cannibal, or else one of these fine mornings, master will find only pieces of his servant to serve him.
Speaker:
00:05:51
While we were talking thus, we were penetrating the somber arches of the forest, and for 2 hours we surveyed it in all directions.
Speaker:
00:05:59
Chance rewarded our search for eatable vegetables, and one of the most youthful products of the tropical zones furnished us with precious food that we missed on board.
Speaker:
00:06:08
I would speak of the breadfruit tree, very abundant in the island of Gilboa, and I remarked chiefly the variety of destitute seeds which bears in Malaya the name of Rima.
Speaker:
00:06:20
Ned land knew these fruits well.
Speaker:
00:06:22
He had already eaten many during his numerous voyages, and he knew how to prepare the eatable substance.
Speaker:
00:06:28
Moreover, the sight of them excited him, and he could contain himself no longer.
Speaker:
00:06:33
Master, he said, I shall die if I do not taste a little of this breadfruit pie.
Speaker:
00:06:39
Tasted, friend Ned.
Speaker:
00:06:41
Taste it as you want.
Speaker:
00:06:42
We are here to make experiments.
Speaker:
00:06:44
Make them it won't take long, said the Canadian, and provided with a lentil, he lighted a fire of dead wood that crackled joyously.
Speaker:
00:06:54
During this time conceal and I chose the best fruits of the breadfruit.
Speaker:
00:06:58
Some had not then attained a sufficient degree of maturity, and their thick skin covered a white but rather fibrous pulp.
Speaker:
00:07:05
Others, the greater number, yellow and gelatinous, waited only to be picked.
Speaker:
00:07:09
These fruits enclosed no kernel.
Speaker:
00:07:12
Conceal brought a dozen to Nedland, who placed them on a coal fire, after having cut them in thick slices.
Speaker:
00:07:17
And while doing this, repeating, you will see, master, how good this bread is.
Speaker:
00:07:22
More so, when one has been deprived of it so long.
Speaker:
00:07:25
It is not even bread, added he, but a delicate pastry.
Speaker:
00:07:29
You have eaten, unmaster.
Speaker:
00:07:31
No, Ned.
Speaker:
00:07:32
Very well.
Speaker:
00:07:33
Prepare yourself for a juicy thing.
Speaker:
00:07:35
If you do not come for more, I am no longer the king of harpooners.
Speaker:
00:07:39
After some minutes, the part of the fruits that was exposed to the fire was completely roasted.
Speaker:
00:07:45
The interior looked like a white pasty, a sort of soft crumb, the flavor of which was like that of an artichoke.
Speaker:
00:07:52
It must be confessed the spread was excellent, and I ate of it with great relish.
Speaker:
00:07:57
What time is it now?
Speaker:
00:07:58
Asked the Canadian.
02 00:08:00
00 at least, replied conceal, how time flies on firm ground, sighed Ned land.
02 00:08:07
Let us be off, replied conceal.
02 00:08:10
We returned through the forest, and completed our collection by a raid upon the cabbage palms that we gathered from the tops of the trees.
02 00:08:18
Little beans that I recognized as the abru of the malaise, and yams of a superior quality.
02 00:08:24
We were loaded when we reached the boat, but Ned land did not find his provision sufficient.
02 00:08:30
Fate, however, favored us.
02 00:08:32
Just as we were pushing off, he perceived several trees from 25 to 30ft high, a species of palm tree.
02 00:08:39
At last, at 05:00 in the evening, loaded with our riches, we quitted the shore, and half an hour after we hailed the nautilus, no one appeared.
02 00:08:48
On our arrival.
02 00:08:49
The enormous iron plated cylinder seemed deserted.
02 00:08:53
The provisions embarked.
02 00:08:54
I descended to my chamber, and after supper, slept soundly.
02 00:08:58
The next day, 6 January.
02 00:09:00
Nothing new on board.
02 00:09:01
Not a sound inside, not a sign of life.
02 00:09:05
The boat rusted along the edge in the same place in which we had left it.
02 00:09:09
We resolved to return to the island.
02 00:09:12
Ned land hoped to be more fortunate than on the day before with regard to the hunt, and wished to visit another part of the forest.
02 00:09:19
At dawn we set off.
02 00:09:21
The boat, carried on by the waves that flowed to shore, reached the island in a few minutes.
02 00:09:26
We landed, and, thinking that it was better to give it to the Canadian.
02 00:09:30
We followed Ned land, whose long limbs threatened to distance us.
02 00:09:34
He wound up the coast towards the west.
02 00:09:37
Then, fording some torrents, he gained the high plain that was bordered with admirable forests.
02 00:09:42
Some kingfishers were rambling along the water courses, but they would not let themselves be approached.
02 00:09:48
Their circumspection proved to me that these birds knew what to expect from bipeds of our species, and I concluded that if the island was not inhabited, at least human beings occasionally frequented it.
02 00:10:01
After crossing a rather large prairie, we arrived at the skirts of a little wood that was enlivened by the songs and flight of a large number of birds.
02 00:10:10
There are only birds, said Conceal.
02 00:10:13
But they are eatable, replied the harpooner.
02 00:10:16
I do not agree with you, friend Ned, for I see only parrots there.
02 00:10:20
Friend conceal, said Ned gravely.
02 00:10:24
The parrot is like pheasant to those who have nothing else.
02 00:10:28
And I added, this bird, suitably prepared, is worth knife and fork indeed.
02 00:10:35
Under the thick foliage of this wood, a world of parrots were flying from branch to branch, only needing a careful education to speak the human language.
02 00:10:44
For the moment they were chattering with parrots of all colors and grave cockatoos, who seemed to meditate upon some philosophical problem, whilst brilliant red lorries pass like a piece of bunting carried away by the breeze.
02 00:10:57
Papoines, with the finest azure colors, and in all a variety of winged things most charming to behold, but few eatable.
02 00:11:06
However, a bird peculiar to these lands, and which has never passed the limits of the arrow in papoyan islands, was wanting in this collection, but fortune reserved it for me.
02 00:11:16
Before long after passing through a moderately thick cops, we found a plain obstructed with bushes.
02 00:11:23
I saw then those magnificent birds, the disposition of whose long feathers obliges them to fly against the wind.
02 00:11:30
Their undulating flight, graceful aerial curves, and the shading of their colors attracted and charmed one's looks.
02 00:11:38
I had no trouble in recognizing them.
02 00:11:41
Birds of paradise.
02 00:11:42
I exclaimed.
02 00:11:44
The malaise, who carried on a great trade in these birds with the Chinese, had several means that we could not employ for taking them.
02 00:11:51
Sometimes they put snares on the top of high trees that the birds of paradise prefer to frequent.
02 00:11:56
Sometimes they catch them with viscous bird lime that paralyzes their movements.
02 00:12:01
They even go so far as to poison the fountains that the birds generally drink from.
02 00:12:06
But we were obliged to fire at them during flight, which gave us few chances to bring them down, and indeed, we vainly exhausted one half our ammunition.
About 11 00:12:15
00 in the morning, the first range of mountains that formed the center of the island was traversed, and we'd killed nothing.
About 11 00:12:22
Hunger drove on us.
About 11 00:12:24
The hunters had relied on the products of the chase, and they were wrong.
About 11 00:12:28
Happily concealed to his great surprise, made a double shot and secured breakfast.
About 11 00:12:33
He brought down a white pigeon, and a wood pigeon, which, cleverly plucked and suspended from a skewer, was roasted before red fire of dead wood.
About 11 00:12:42
While these interesting birds were cooking, Ned prepared the fruit of the bread tree.
About 11 00:12:46
Then the wood pigeons were devoured to the bones and declared, excellent.
About 11 00:12:50
The nutmeg, with which they are in the habit of stuffing their crops, flavors their flesh and renders it delicious.
About 11 00:12:56
Eating now, Ned, what do you miss now?
About 11 00:13:00
Some four footed game, Monsieur Aranax.
About 11 00:13:03
All these pigeons are only side dishes and trifles.
About 11 00:13:06
And until I have killed an animal with cutlets, I shall not be content.
About 11 00:13:10
Nor I, Ned, if I do not catch a bird of paradise.
About 11 00:13:14
Let us continue hunting, replied conceal.
About 11 00:13:17
Let us go towards the sea.
About 11 00:13:19
We have arrived at the first declivities of the mountains, and I think we had better regain the region of forests.
About 11 00:13:26
That was sensible advice, and was swallowed out.
About 11 00:13:30
After walking for 1 hour, we had attained a forest of sago trees.
About 11 00:13:33
Some inoffensive serpents glided away from us.
About 11 00:13:37
The birds of paradise flooded our approach.
About 11 00:13:39
And truly I despaired of getting near one.
About 11 00:13:42
When concealed, who was walking in front, suddenly bent down, uttered a triumphal cry, and came back to me, bringing a magnificent specimen.
About 11 00:13:51
Ah, bravo.
About 11 00:13:52
Conceal.
About 11 00:13:53
Master is very good.
About 11 00:13:55
No, my boy, you have made an excellent stroke.
About 11 00:13:58
Take one of these living birds and carry it in your hand.
About 11 00:14:01
If master will examine it, he will see that I have not deserved great merit.
About 11 00:14:05
Why, conceal?
About 11 00:14:07
Because this bird is as drunk as a quail.
About 11 00:14:10
Drunk?
About 11 00:14:11
Yes, sir.
About 11 00:14:12
Drunk with the nutmegs that it devoured under the nutmeg tree under which I found it.
About 11 00:14:17
See, friend Ned, see the monstrous effects of intemperance.
About 11 00:14:21
My Jove.
About 11 00:14:22
Exclaimed the Canadian, because I have drunk gin for two months, you must need to reproach me.
About 11 00:14:29
However, I examined the curious bird.
About 11 00:14:31
Kensil was right.
About 11 00:14:33
The bird drunk with the juice, was quite powerless.
About 11 00:14:37
It could not fly.
About 11 00:14:38
It could hardly walk.
About 11 00:14:40
This bird belonged to the most beautiful of the eight species that are found in Papua and in the neighboring islands.
About 11 00:14:47
It was the large emerald bird, the most rare kind.
About 11 00:14:51
It measured 3ft in length.
About 11 00:14:53
Its head was comparatively small, its eyes placed near the opening of the beak, and also small.
About 11 00:15:00
But the shades of color were beautiful, having a yellow beak, brown feet and claws, nut colored wings with purple tips, pale yellow at the back of the neck and head, and emerald color at the throat, chestnut on the breast and belly.
About 11 00:15:15
Two horned downy nets rose from below.
About 11 00:15:17
The tail nut prolonged the long, light feathers of admirable fineness, and they completed the whole of this marvellous bird that the natives have poetically named the bird of the sun.
About 11 00:15:28
But if my wishes were satisfied by the possession of the bird of paradise, the Canadians were not.
About 11 00:15:33
Yet happily, about 02:00, Ned land brought down a magnificent hog from the brood of those the natives call Barry Otang.
About 11 00:15:42
The animal came in time for us to procure real quadruped meat, and he was well received.
About 11 00:15:48
Ned land was very proud of his shot.
About 11 00:15:50
The hog, hit by the electric ball fell stone dead.
About 11 00:15:54
The Canadians skinned and cleaned it properly, after having taken half a dozen cutlets, destined to furnish us with a grilled repast.
About 11 00:16:02
In the evening.
About 11 00:16:03
Then the hunt was resumed, which was still more marked by Ned and conceal's exploits.
About 11 00:16:08
Indeed, the two friends, beating the bushes roused a herd of kangaroos that fled and bounded along on their elastic paws.
About 11 00:16:16
But these animals did not take the flight so rapidly.
About 11 00:16:19
But what the electric capsule could stop their course.
About 11 00:16:22
Ah, professor.
About 11 00:16:23
Cried Ned land, who was carried away by the delights of the chase.
About 11 00:16:27
What excellent game.
About 11 00:16:28
And stewed too.
About 11 00:16:30
What a supply for the nautilus.
About 11 00:16:31
Two, three, five, down.
About 11 00:16:34
And to think that we shall eat that flesh and that the idiots on board shall not have a crumb.
About 11 00:16:39
I think that in the excess of his joy, the Canadian, if he had not talked so much, would have killed them all.
About 11 00:16:46
But he contented himself with a single dozen of these interesting marsupians.
About 11 00:16:51
These animals were small.
About 11 00:16:53
They were a species of those kangaroo rabbits that live habitually in the hollows of trees, and whose speed is extreme.
About 11 00:17:01
But they are moderately fat and furnish at least esteemable food.
About 11 00:17:05
We were very satisfied with the results of the hunt.
About 11 00:17:08
Happy, Ned proposed to return to this enchanting island the next day, for he wished to depopulate it, of all the eatable quadrupeds.
About 11 00:17:16
But he had reckoned without his host.
At 06 00:17:18
00 in the evening, we had regained the shore.
At 06 00:17:21
Our boat was moored to the usual place.
At 06 00:17:24
The nautilus, like a long rock, emerged from the waves 2 miles from the beach.
At 06 00:17:29
Ned land, without waiting, occupied himself about the important dinner business.
At 06 00:17:33
He understood all about cooking well.
At 06 00:17:36
The Barry Outeng, grilled on the coals, soon scented the air with the delicious odor.
At 06 00:17:41
Indeed, the dinner was excellent.
At 06 00:17:44
Two wood pigeons completed this extraordinary menu.
At 06 00:17:47
The sego pastry, the artocarpus bread, some mangoes, half a dozen pineapples, and the liquor fermented from some coconuts overjoyed us.
At 06 00:17:58
I even think that my worthy companion's ideas had not all the plainness desirable.
At 06 00:18:03
Suppose we do not return to the nautilus this evening, said conceal.
At 06 00:18:07
Suppose we never return, added Ned Land.
At 06 00:18:11
Just then a stone fell at our feet and cut short the harpooner's proposition.
At 06 00:18:17
Thank you for joining bite at a time books today while we read a bite of one of your favorite classics again, my name is Brie Carlyle, and I hope you come back tomorrow for the next byte of 20,000 leagues under the sea.
At 06 00:18:31
Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter@bytetimebooks.com, and check out the shop.
At 06 00:18:37
You can check out the show notes or our website, bytitimebooks.com, for the rest of the links for our show.
At 06 00:18:44
We'd love to hear from you on social media as well.
At 06 00:19:11
Dump in the book and let's see what we can find.
At 06 00:19:43
Taking chapter by chapter, one at a time so many adventures and mountains we can climb.
At 06 00:19:59
Take it word for word, line by line, one bite at a time.
