"Jules Verne. Off on a Comet. WORKS" - читать интересную книгу автора

the descent of his servant to _terra firma_, Servadac bounded forwards,
to be on the other side of the ditch in time to break his fall.
But the muscular effort that he made carried him in his turn
to an altitude of thirty feet; in his ascent he passed Ben Zoof,
who had already commenced his downward course; and then, obedient to
the laws of gravitation, he descended with increasing rapidity,
and alighted upon the earth without experiencing a shock greater
than if he had merely made a bound of four or five feet high.

Ben Zoof burst into a roar of laughter. "Bravo!" he said,
"we should make a good pair of clowns."

But the captain was inclined to take a more serious view of the matter.
For a few seconds he stood lost in thought, then said solemnly,
"Ben Zoof, I must be dreaming. Pinch me hard; I must be either
asleep or mad."

"It is very certain that something has happened to us,"
said Ben Zoof. "I have occasionally dreamed that I was a swallow
flying over the Montmartre, but I never experienced anything
of this kind before; it must be peculiar to the coast of Algeria."

Servadac was stupefied; he felt instinctively that he was not dreaming,
and yet was powerless to solve the mystery. He was not, however,
the man to puzzle himself for long over any insoluble problem.
"Come what may," he presently exclaimed, "we will make up our minds
for the future to be surprised at nothing."

"Right, captain," replied Ben Zoof; "and, first of all,
let us settle our little score with Count Timascheff."

Beyond the ditch lay a small piece of meadow land, about an acre
in extent. A soft and delicious herbage carpeted the soil,
whilst trees formed a charming framework to the whole.
No spot could have been chosen more suitable for the meeting
between the two adversaries.

Servadac cast a hasty glance round. No one was in sight.
"We are the first on the field," he said.

"Not so sure of that, sir," said Ben Zoof.

"What do you mean?" asked Servadac, looking at his watch, which he had
set as nearly as possible by the sun before leaving the gourbi;
"it is not nine o'clock yet."

"Look up there, sir. I am much mistaken if that is not the sun;"
and as Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed directly overhead to where a faint
white disc was dimly visible through the haze of clouds.