Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 6.djvu/224

 Grant, whose ship the Britannia had been lost, crew and cargo, a year before.

"This is the reason the yacht at this time lay off the coast of Australia. Six months before, a bottle, enclosing a document, had been found in the Irish Sea by the Duncan. This document stated in substance that there still existed three survivors from the wreck of the Britannia, that these survivors were Captain Grant and two of his men, and that they had found refuge on some land, of which the document gave the latitude, but of which the longitude, effaced by the sea, was no longer legible.

"This latitude was 37° 11' south; therefore, the longitude being unknown, if they followed the thirty-seventh parallel over continents and seas, they would be certain to reach the spot inhabited by Captain Grant and his two companions.

"It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to traverse Australia as he had already traversed America, and he disembarked. A few miles from the coast was established a farm, belonging to an Irishman, who offered hospitality to the travelers. Lord Glenarvan made known to the Irishman the cause which had brought him to these parts, and asked if he knew whether the Britannia, had been lost on the west coast of Australia. The Irishman had never heard of this wreck; but, to the great surprise of the bystanders, one of his servants came forward and said, 'My lord, praise and thank God! If Captain Grant is still living, he is living on the Australian shores.'

"'Who are you?' asked Lord Glenarvan.

"'A Scotchman like yourself, my lord,' replied the man; 'I am one of Captain Grant's crew—one of the castaways of the BritanniaBritannia' [sic].

"This man was called Ayrton. He was, in fact, the boatswain's mate of the Britannia, as his papers showed. 'Only,' added he, 'it was not on the west coast, but on the east coast of Australia that the vessel was lost; and if Captain Grant is still living, as his document indicates, he is a prisoner among the natives, and it is on the other coast that he must be looked for.'

"This man spoke in a frank voice and with a confident look; his words could not be doubted. Lord Glenarvan, therefore, believed in the fidelity of this man, and, by his