Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 2

A balloon rushed through space with a velocity of ninety miles an hour[3 - ninety miles an hour – 90 миль в час]. Below the balloon, there was a basket with five men.

The storm was terrible. The passengers were unable to determine the course. They did not know where they were. They did not see anything. The thick fog was under the balloon. Around them everything was obscure. The clouds were very dense. No light, no sound.

The balloon rose to a height of 4,500 feet. The passengers discovered that the sea was beneath them.

The night passed. At dawn, the clouds rose high into the heavens. In a few hours[4 - in a few hours – через несколько часов], the whirlwind disappeared. The balloon was again sinking slowly.

There was no land, not even an island, beneath them. It was a terrible situation. These men were unfortunate. The gas continued to escape. They fell fast. At 1 o’clock they were 600 feet above the sea.

These men were strong. They were silent. They were ready to struggle. It was 2 o’clock, and the balloon was only 400 feet above the waves. Then they heard a voice:

– Is everything thrown out?[5 - Is everything thrown out? – Всё ли выброшено?]

– No, we have 10,000 francs in gold.

A heavy bag fell into the sea.

– Does the balloon rise?

– A little, but it will soon fall again.

– Now the basket!

The basket fell into the sea. They wanted to lighten the apparatus. The five passengers clambered into the net around the hoop. The balloon went up. But soon it began to descend.

At 4 o’clock, their dog began to bark.

– Top[6 - Top – Топ ( кличкасобаки )] saw something! Land! Land!

They saw a land. But it was very far. Was it an island or a continent? Where were they? How to reach that land? At 4 o’clock the balloon grazed the surface of the sea.

Then the balloon jumped into the air. It rose 1,500 feet, and soon, however, it fell upon the sand. The passengers hastened to the ground. The basket contained five passengers and a dog. Four men were upon the shore. The fifth one was in the water. His friends cried:

– Perhaps he will swim here. Save him! Let us save him!

Chapter II

Who were those men? They were prisoners, and they succeeded to escape.