That afternoon, Hawks carried three plump lobsters and a bag of oysters with a wet umbrella cloth, and ran back to the camp while splashing in the waves.
When he, with the help of Sterling, took out the lobster meat and oyster meat and made it into a large can full of cans, Wei Ran and Captain Evans also walked back together carrying slender spearguns.
.
On Captain Evans' speargun, he not only carried two lobsters, but also several unknown sea fish.
On Wei Ran's speargun, in addition to coils of brown kelp, there were also several plump sea cucumbers that he fished personally from the bottom of the sea in an umbrella cloth.
There is no doubt that it was a fruitful afternoon for these shipwrecked people at the southern end of the island. In the constantly beating bonfire, Wei Ran blanched the kelp into a nice bright green color, and then cut it with his gravity knife.
Cut into thin strips, and cut the cooked sea cucumber into small circles.
Although the only seasoning is coarse salt that he made himself, after drizzling some oil and sprinkling some coconut milk, the taste turns out to be quite good.
He prepared a helmet full of cold vegetables, and Hawkes also cut all the catch into pieces and threw them into another helmet, and cooked a large pot of seafood porridge like yesterday.
Taking advantage of this little time, Evans also finished writing his diary, and even wrote down how to eat sea cucumbers after asking Wei Ran carefully.
"How's the sextant going?" Evans closed the notepad, took the steel cup filled with seafood soup, and asked Sterling at the same time.
"It's done." Sterling pointed to the top of his head. "If it's a little later, we can try it with Polaris. It should be fine."
"In this case, Victor, Sterling, let's go back to the stranded location tomorrow and try to see if we can repair the traffic boat."
Evans looked around at the crowd and said, "If the transport boat can be repaired, we will have a chance to leave here."
"Aren't we going to deal with those two pilots?" Hawks asked immediately.
"Of course we must deal with them, and we must deal with them, otherwise our ship will probably be robbed even if it is repaired."
Evans took a large bowl of cold kelp and shredded sea cucumbers from Wei Ran in a coconut shell bowl, and then continued, "So Hawks, starting tomorrow, you continue to prepare your bows and arrows. It doesn't matter if you fail, there are still things on this island."
There are so many trees available, you can always find the materials you need."
"After we deal with the two pilots and repair the boat, we can go fishing and collecting food on the rocks in the center of the lagoon."
Sterling took over the topic and continued, "When we have stored enough food, we can prepare to go to sea."
"In which direction shall we go to sea?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously, and at the same time, he also served the other party a bowl of homemade cold dishes.
"Northeast," the two captains said in unison, "to the main island of Palau."
"Where to go?" Wei Ran looked stunned, but he remembered that the two pilots had been crying and shouting that they wanted to go to Palau.
But it only took him a moment to realize that he really couldn't take the two pilots with him when repairing the ship to the north this time. They were too variable.
"right"
Sterling took the coconut shell bowl from Wei Ran's hand, "The Battle of Peleliu Island has been fought for a long time. Even if the people of the 1st Marine Division were all disabled, they should have won it long ago. We just need to get there.
, it can definitely be rescued.”
"How far is the distance?" Hawks swallowed subconsciously, "I need to prepare more food this time."
"About three hundred nautical miles"
Evans used the chopsticks made by Wei Ran to awkwardly pick up some kelp shreds and pull them into his mouth. While chewing, he said, "But if I remember correctly, we can encounter many islands along the way, and some of them are very likely to be lost."
There are indigenous people. Of course, it is more likely that there are also garrison troops recruited for nuclear weapons, which is why we cannot cooperate with Mr. Akira this time."
"It seems that I need to prepare more dried fish." Hawks swallowed, "The feeling of being hungry is terrible."
"Not just dried fish, but also fat and fresh water."
Wei Ran handed the other party a bowl of cold dishes and reminded, "We have been on the island for almost a week. Although our bodies have almost recovered, our weight has not returned to normal. What I mean is that we should also reserve enough food for ourselves.
Fat will do.”
“There’s still plenty of fresh water.”
Sterling reminded, "According to the knowledge I have learned about the ocean, after December the place will enter the dry season and the rainfall will decrease significantly. But the good thing is that many birds will come here to build nests during the dry season.
By then we might have a richer source of meat and eggs."
"But fresh water will be a problem, far more deadly than a lack of food."
Evans said worriedly, "We must get rid of Akira and his partners before the dry season comes."
"I will get the bow and arrow out as soon as possible!" Hawks promised seriously.
While chatting about the next plan, everyone began to enjoy a dinner of "one dish and one soup" in the company of the setting sun.
After eating and drinking, everyone rolled up a cigarette and lit it. Everyone lay down on their own beds, which were getting thicker, drier and more comfortable as the bedding became thicker and thicker. As usual, they discussed the enemy at the northern end of the island.
When the sun was completely swallowed by the sea level and stars appeared in the night sky, Sterling immediately brought his homemade sextant and called everyone to the beach. With the help of the horizontal liquid column on the compass, he used a
The thin line removed from the parachute rope was aimed at the North Star in the northern night sky, which was not much higher than the sea level.
"Putting the compass flat allows us to accurately identify the direction."
Sterling paused, pointed to the vertically fixed north needle in the middle of the simple sextant in his hand and said, "But when the north needle is used vertically, it is a simple sextant. It can tell us where north and south are.
How many degrees has the direction moved?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "But what's the use of this?" Hawks asked in confusion.
"The distance between the main island of Palau and our current location is about 4 to 5 latitudes."
As Sterling spoke, he used the thin string in his hand to stretch the compass fixed in the center of the sextant. After some observation, he said, "This sextant can be used."
"Tomorrow we will repair the ship!" Evans said confidently, and then walked towards the camp with an ax pipe that kept emitting green smoke.
"Victor, do you understand?" Hawkes asked Wei Ran, with a look of confusion written all over his sunburnt face.
"understood"
Wei Ran pointed to the North Star above his head, "To put it simply, the height of that star will not change, but the closer we are to it, the higher its angle will be."
"It's like a distant ship approaching?" Hawks said suddenly.
"The principle is similar. In short, Sterling's homemade sextant can help us guide the direction." Wei Ran concluded.
"Why didn't we get this before?" Hawks couldn't help but muttered as he followed Wei Ran towards the camp.
"How did you do it when there was nothing on the boat before?"
Wei Ran pointed to the north, "And there are those two pilots. If they get the sextant and learn how to use it, I'm afraid that the traffic boat will have been driven away by them by now. By then we will just have to
I can be a primitive here for the rest of my life.”
"makes sense"
Hawks scratched the back of his head, "But I still don't quite understand it, so I'll go make a hunting bow tomorrow. That's what I'm good at."
"Your hunting bow is the most important." Wei Ran patted the other party's shoulder, returned to the camp, and lay down on the bed covered with umbrella cloth again.
Near midnight, the stars in the night sky were once again shrouded in clouds, and the thunder that rang out at some unknown time unexpectedly woke up the shipwrecked people in the north and south of the island, interrupting their sweet dreams.
Turning over and taking a look at the bonfire still burning in the center of the camp and the sudden heavy rain outside the camp, Wei Ran yawned, turned over and continued to sleep deeply.
I slept amidst the crashing white noise until early the next morning. Although the heavy rain did not stop, it became much lighter and could not even block the rising sun that was about to jump out of the sea in the distance.
"Let's go"
Evans said, and was the first to leave the camp, taking Wei Ran and Sterling straight to the northeast.
The group of three people took advantage of the drizzle and the cover of the sky to bypass the two pilots' camps on the north side of the island. They were more than a kilometer apart and made an oversized circle along the atoll beach, which took more than half of the time.
It took a whole morning before we were back to where we were originally stranded.
Fortunately, although almost a week has passed, the traffic boat is still there. Even because no one disturbed it, there are still many large and small things in the cracked cabin of the traffic boat and the shell casings still thrown here.
of hermit crabs and several energetic crabs.
After catching all the unexpected gains and throwing them into the gas mask bag, the three of them circled the traffic boat and took a look.
"We need to make a replacement board"
Sterling was the first to say, "If we can chop open the shell casing with an axe, we should be able to repair the damage."
"We still have leaky life rafts for use," Wei Yan reminded from the side.
"Victor is right."
Evans nodded in agreement, "If we could repair the life raft first, we wouldn't have to take such a long detour."
“It’s a good idea”
Sterling's eyes immediately lit up, "We can dig a canal on the beach then, and when the tide comes in, we can float the boat into the inner lake, and then fix it with the life raft as before."
"Since the traffic boat is still here and there is a possibility of repair, we must act as soon as possible."
Evans looked around, pointed due south and said, "Well, let's go back immediately and try to repair the life raft first today."
"Take this shell shell back first and let Hawks process it into copper sheet first."
Sterling said, he had already taken off a piece of umbrella cloth from his waist, wrapped the shell shell and carried it on his shoulder. Weiyan took out the parachute rope and tied the stranded traffic boat to the nearby reef.
.
Not daring to waste time resting, the three of them immediately returned, following the footprints they left in circles, and returned to the camp at noon. Wei Ran, who deliberately walked at the end, also took the opportunity to complete his daily candid photos.
Task.
After rushing back to the camp and handing the shell casings to Hawkes, the three of them took the gas bottle they had been using as a kettle these days and the pump they had hidden. They also took two extra green coconuts and found the life raft along the atoll.
wreckage.
Under the command of Evans, he first pulled out the life raft that had sunk into the water. Wei Ran carefully enlarged the damaged hole that was not that big at first, and then wrapped the two green coconuts in soft
The umbrella cloth was stuffed in.
After some adjustments, the damaged opening was located in the center of the two coconuts. Weiyan and Stirling worked together to tie the two ends of the two coconuts tightly with ropes. Then they took out a piece of umbrella cloth prepared in advance and covered the damaged area.
Together with the two coconuts stuffed inside, it was wrapped around and around and tied tightly.
Everything was ready, and Evans, who was already prepared, immediately started squeezing the pump. As the three people took turns, the originally dry life raft gradually inflated and finally floated on the water.
"The shape and color remind me of the endless Vienna sausages on the USS Alden, which contained more starch than the people on the USS Alden."
Evans sat on the rocks and joked while moving his arms, which were slightly sore from the backlog of pumps.
"I kind of think it looks like a vasectomy donut."
Sterling was busy squeezing the pumps he held in both hands and said breathlessly, "Those two coconuts are like high pills that have become shriveled due to ligation, and I am trying to help those two high pills become useless.
Blow the donuts. Victor, it’s your turn to blow.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As he spoke, Sterling handed the pump in his hand to Wei Ran.
"Thank you so much for your broken metaphor."
Wei Ran took the pump unhappily and squeezed the air in. At the same time, the two captains also relied on their own weight to press the tied damaged opening into the water and waited patiently.
Fortunately, until the two of them could no longer hold down the life raft with their weight, no bubbles emerged from the damaged area at all, which was undoubtedly good news for them.
After tightening the inflating port, the three of them looked at each other. Without any time to rest, they pushed the life raft into the deep water of the lagoon and flipped into the life raft in no particular order.
"This life raft is here to stay"
Evans leaned on the inflated buoyancy bag and said, "Sterling, starting tomorrow, Victor and I will use this life raft to go further to collect supplies, and you will prepare the planks and other materials for repairing the ship."
"We still lack nails," Sterling said, looking at the head of his head dyed red by the sunset, "We still need nails."
"There will be a way, now we should go back." Evans said, already turning over and jumping into the water.
The three of them dragged the inflated life raft to the beach and tied it to the rocks, and returned to the camp together with exhaustion and hope.
Far away, they noticed that on the beach outside the camp, a bonfire was burning with thick smoke. Outside the bonfire, there was a small cone-shaped tent surrounded by umbrella cloth.
When the sea breeze brought thick smoke to the shop floor, the three of them also smelled a slight smell of meat mixed with the thick smoke.
"You are back"
Hawkes waved his hand from a distance and said proudly, "I caught a dozen sea fish in my trap during the low tide, and I made them all into smoked fish."
"It seems that our hope of leaving here is getting bigger and bigger." Evans and Sterling looked at each other. There was a strong look of hope in the eyes of the two captains.
In the next three or four days, Captain Evans continued to explore this huge lagoon every day, either alone or with a life raft on the repaired life raft, and also shared the results and experiences of these days.
, all recorded in detail on the notepad.
Sterling was nestled in the camp. With the help of Hawkes, he used the pipe ax that was not very practical to chop down a silver leaf tree, and with difficulty he cut out a piece of wood that was enough to repair the ship.
of wooden boards.
During these days, Hawks still couldn't find any wood that could be used to make a hunting bow, but his trap, which used various offal and food scraps as bait, unexpectedly caught a lot of sea fish.
Along with this, more and more dried smoked fish were hung on the coconut trees next to the camp.
As for Wei Ran, he seized every opportunity and recorded the fruits of everyone's labor with his camera.
However, what puzzled him was that he had touched the northern end of the island twice in the past few days, but these two times, through the camera, he found that Jiro's physical condition seemed to be getting better and better, but Ah
Kira seemed to have a physical problem, he was wearing his one-piece flight suit from beginning to end, and needed Jiro's help to eat and drink.
Early that morning, the biting sea breeze blew up sparks from the still-burning bonfire and blew up the fine white sand, waking up everyone who was sleeping.
Glancing at the gloomy sky in the distance, Evans glanced at the time on his watch, sat up and said, "It looks like the weather is going to change, so don't sleep. Let's reinforce the shelter before the wind and rain come."
.”
"Wait a moment"
Hawkes, who also sat up, pointed to the sea on the west side of the island facing him and shouted, "What do you see that is?!"
Hearing this, everyone subconsciously turned around and looked at the lagoon sea surface that was ruffled by the sea breeze on the west side of the island. Sure enough, there seemed to be something floating on the sea surface!
"Telescope!" Evans and Sterling shouted in unison.
Hearing this, Wei Ran subconsciously handed the telescope he just picked up to Evans.
After taking the telescope, Evans only took one look and his breathing became rapid, "It's a life preserver! It seems to be Hawks' life preserver!"
"Let me take a look!" Before Sterling finished speaking, Evans had already handed over the telescope.
After just one glance, Sterling handed the binoculars back to Weiran and said with certainty, "It's Hawks's lifebuoy. I also saw Victor's lifejacket! There must be a weapons bag tied under it!"
"
"It is indeed ours!" As soon as Wei Ran finished speaking, the telescope in his hand was snatched away by Hawks. At this time, the two captains had already ran out of the camp and towards the sea!
"Let's go too!" Hawks dropped the telescope and ran out.
"Fortify the camp!" Sterling shouted back, speeding up to overtake Evans, chasing the lifebuoy floating on the beach and running to the north.
Wei Ran and Hawks looked at each other, "Would you like to take a look?"
"Of course I want to go!" Hawkes said as he climbed up the coconut tree, "But before that, help me get all the dried fish down quickly, I don't want them to be blown away."
Hearing this, Wei Ran, who had already walked out of the camp, could only turn around and come back. He patiently took the dried smoked fish that Hawks pulled down and threw them onto a spread umbrella cloth.
It took less than two minutes to collect all the dried fish, wrap them up and tie them firmly to the tree trunk. Wei Ran was the first to run out of the camp and chase after them.
Seeing this, Hawkes even forgot to take out the ax from his waist and rushed out.
At this time, Evans had already passed the center point of the island, and even surpassed the floating objects in the water. He himself also splashed into the sea and swam towards the lifebuoy, which continued to be pushed north by the wind and current.
Evans continued to run north, trying to stop the lifebuoy a little further ahead.
But the two of them did not notice that at this time, Jiro, who was also awakened by the strong wind in the camp at the northern end of the island less than a hundred meters away from them, and was peeing on the beach outside the camp, also noticed
Floating objects in the water!
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Ignoring the faucet on the lower body, Jiro rubbed his sleepy eyes, then reacted immediately, and hurriedly pulled out the 1911 pistol from his waist, trembling.
He put the bullet in his hand and ran over wearing only a dirty crotch cloth!
Almost the moment it ran onto the beach, Wei Ran noticed each other and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs to remind the two captains who were more than a hundred meters away from them. But in the howling wind, the two captains
How could a captain hear his voice?
Fortunately, Captain Evans, who was about to go into the water, also noticed Jiro, but the unarmed Indian captain just looked back at Weiran and Hawks, and then at Ste, who still hadn't caught up with the lifebuoy.
Lin, then actually bent down to pick up a stone and rushed towards Jiro!
Also not stopping was Hawkes. He didn't even shout, but subconsciously pulled out the pipe ax from his waist!
Gritting his teeth and knowing that he could not help at all, Wei Ran took a deep breath, took out his camera bag with determination, and in the yellow sand in the sky, used his body to block the flying sea sand, and replaced the camera as quickly as possible.
He picked up a super telephoto lens, and then he lay down, relying on the camera bag itself, and aimed the lens at Vice Captain Sterling swimming towards the lifebuoy in the morning glow, and at the person holding a stone, such as Johns.
Captain Evans, who launched a death charge like the USS Don, aimed at Hawks, who was running fast with an ax in his hand, and also at the man who was wearing only a crotch cloth and holding a 1911 pistol in his hand.
Jiro!
Thanks to the structural characteristics of the clockwork camera itself, I knew that I could not change the history of health at all, and my shooting speed reached unprecedented efficiency.
As the shutter opened and closed again and again, Jiro finally raised the 1911 pistol with both hands, pointed at Captain Evans who had already raised the stone and was about to throw it, and pulled the trigger!
"boom!"
While the sound of gunshots was blown into his ears by the strong wind, Wei Ran also briefly released the shutter. Captain Evans couldn't help but let go of the stone in his hand, and threw himself to the ground while hugging him.
Take one of Jiro's legs!
After anxiously looking at Hawks running towards him, and then at Sterling in the sea, Jiro finally pointed the gun at Vice Captain Sterling and pulled the trigger without hesitation!
"Bang!" There was another gunshot carried by the wind, and Wei Ran released the shutter again.
But at this time, his eyes did not leave the viewfinder, but looked at Hawks' back. He raised the ax in his hand and pressed the shutter again.
In the delicate sound of the shutter, the Indian pipe ax ignored the muzzle of the gun pointed at him, ignored Jiro's threatening shouts, and flew out of his hand in a circle. After flying a long distance, here
Before the last frame of the film ran out, it was accurately framed on Jiro's chest!
Wei Ran secretly sighed, put away his camera and camera bag as quickly as possible, got up again, braved the sea breeze and the blinding fine sand, and ran as fast as possible towards Ai, who was still hugging Jiro's thigh.
Captain Vince ran towards the water stained red with blood, and also towards Hawks who finally let out a heart-rending roar.
