Schooner "Pilgrim" hunts whales. But there are also passengers on the schooner: this is the wife of the owner of the Pilgrim with her five-year-old son Jack. They are sailing to America to see Mr. Weldon, her husband and father. Cousin Benedict is with them - he is only interested in entomology (the science of insects).
Travelers met an abandoned ship at sea, where there were living creatures: a Dingo dog and five blacks. The huge Negro Hercules became good friend everyone, especially little Jack.
While hunting for a whale, a boat with a captain and crew perishes. Young Dick Sand takes over the ship. A smart guy would have done it, but Negoro's forensic cook messed up the compass. This cook is very suspicious. Here is the dog, he made friends with everyone, growls and barks at Negoro.
Finally we got to the shore. Travelers think they are in South America. Negoro says that he is familiar with this continent. Here they will get what city, they will contact Mr. Weldon, and he will save everyone. And strange things happen. The vegetation is not American, little Jack cannot see the promised hummingbird, Cousin Benedict rejoices that he saw an African insect in America. Suddenly everyone saw giraffes - but there are no such animals on the American continent.
The company meets a noble-looking gentleman named Harris. He says they ended up in Bolivia. He invites everyone to his hacienda (estate), where everyone can relax and wait for news from Mrs. Weldon's husband. It was a trap. Harris and Negoro are in a conspiracy. And the continent is not America at all. This is Africa!
Harris and Negoro only care about money. They are thieves. Blacks are sold into slavery. Only Hercules managed to escape. Harris forces Mrs. Weldon to write a letter to her husband. He and Negoro lured a woman with a son to take a considerable ransom. A faithful wife is afraid that her husband will also be lured into a trap and demand something completely unbelievable.
A woman with a son and a cousin settled among Negro savages.
Cousin Benedict is allowed to roam without guards, as they consider her husband out of his mind.
The entomologist really only sees his own insects. Suddenly what strong hand grabbed him and dragged him where he was. The disappearance of a cousin forced the protection of mother and son to be strengthened.
There was a big celebration in the African village. On such holidays, everyone is waiting for the arrival of the forest spirit - the sorcerer "Mganga". He usually appears all painted with strange colors, in a strange outfit. And here he is! It was a giant. He danced, jumped, shouted furiously, tossing spears, and chose two victims for himself: Mrs. Weldon and her son.
Nobody dared to resist him. He shouldered the victims and disappeared into the thicket. The woman lost consciousness. Jack beat the monster with his small fists.
It turned out that the one who stole Benedict and Mrs. Weldon with her son was not a sorcerer at all, but kind Hercules, grateful for his salvation at sea. The black giant also managed to save Wild Sand. A small group makes their way to the sea to board which ship. By chance they meet Negoro. Dick and Hercules do not have time to do anything: Dingo rushes at the insidious cook and gnaws his throat.
Unfortunately, before his death, the villain managed to plunge a dagger into the faithful dog, and the dog died. It turned out that when Negoro killed Dingo's first owner, Sam Vernon, for money.
Finally, everyone who escaped was lucky to get to America. Dick became Mrs. Weldon for her eldest son, Hercules for true friend. And the blacks were sold into slavery, subsequently found and bought by Mr. Weldon.
A feast was held to celebrate the return of the travelers. The first toast was to Wild Sand, a fifteen-year-old captain!
Readers of this novel will easily remember his summary. The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain is written in simple and vivid language. It captures the special entrepreneurial spirit of the 19th century, a century of discoveries and inventions. Perhaps only Jules Verne could do that.
Flight to San Francisco
Wrote great Frenchman about his contemporaries. Judge for yourself: the schooner-brig "Pilgrim" leaves the New Zealand port of Ocleanda on January 29, 1873, and the book itself was published in 1878. Its route, according to the original plan, runs along Pacific Ocean through the Chilean seaport of Valparaiso and ends in San Francisco.
The ship belongs wealthy man James Weldon. The voyage is whaling, the ship is led by an experienced captain Gul, under his command are five sailors, cabin boy Dick Send and cook Negoro.
There are also passengers on board. This is the wife of the owner of the ship - Mrs. Weldon, his five-year-old son Jack, the boy's nanny - an elderly black woman Nan and, finally, an eccentric entomologist who is the uncle of the boy, whom everyone refers to as "Cousin Benedict".
Unexpected fellow travelers
About the restless, adventure-filled voyage of the Pilgrim, a brief summary follows. "Fifteen-year-old captain" from the first chapter introduces intrigue into the plot. Five-year-old Jack Whalon is the first to notice an overturned ship in the distance and informs others about it. The wrecked ship "Waldeck" is doomed. On board - Negro Americans left in a hurry in their cabin by an escaped crew. They return home after completing contract work on a New Zealand plantation. There are five of them: old man Tom with his son Bat, as well as young people Actaeon, Hercules and Austin. With them is a large dog Dingo, picked up by the captain of the Waldeck somewhere in Africa. Moreover, the dog, apparently, knows Negoro, since it shows aggression towards him.
Trouble
Soon, disaster strikes on the Pilgrim - five sailors and the captain die, having gone on a boat for a whale. Further, a brief summary testifies to the strength of the spirit of Dick Send, an orphan, a junior sailor. The fifteen-year-old captain (that's how old Dick was), without hesitation, takes command of the ship.
However, his knowledge of navigation is clearly not enough. He knows how to choose the direction with a compass and measure the speed of movement with the help of a lot. How to determine his location, using the stars, he does not know.
The dark personality of Negoro
The Portuguese Negoro (we will learn about this a little later) is an escaped convict. He was sentenced by the authorities of his country for the slave trade, but he escaped and wants to get back to Africa in order to continue to engage in the same criminal business. That is why Negoro got a job as a cook on the departing ship "Pilgrim". The death of the captain and experienced sailors significantly increased the chances of the convict to quickly end up in Africa. To do this, it was only necessary to deceive Dick Send, sending him instead of the Pacific to the Indian Ocean.
Further, a brief summary tells us about the implementation of the criminal plan. The fifteen-year-old captain is really disoriented. After all, one compass was broken by the criminal, and the second one shows south instead of the north direction. This trick - "taming the compass needle" - was performed by the convict Negoro, who was familiar with navigation firsthand, by placing an ax under the device. The ship instead of San Francisco is approaching the coast of Angola.
On the coast of Angola
"Pilgrim" is thrown ashore by the waves. Negoro is in secret.
However, further trials and challenges await Dick Send. He is met here by Negoro's accomplice American Harris, who convinces travelers that they are in Bolivia. The classic gang of villainous slave traders brings intrigue to the further narrative (summary testifies). The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain (Chapter 2) begins with the fact that, as an imaginary guide, he lures travelers a hundred miles deep into the African forest with the promise of shelter and rest with his brother. The joint criminal plan of Negoro and Harris is to sell some of the travelers into slavery, and to receive a generous ransom of -100,000 dollars for the relatives of the rich Weldon. Not far from the place where Harris sent Dick Send with fellow travelers, a caravan with slaves, led by Negoro's acquaintance Alvets, stopped.
Travelers guess the deception
The villains act in a coordinated manner, they succeed in almost everything (as evidenced by the summary). The fifteen-year-old captain, however, begins to suspect Harris of lying. Travelers led by him (supposedly through the Bolivian selva) notice circumstances that do not at all identify their location with South America. Approaching the riverbed, they alarmed several hippos resting in shallow water, as well as giraffes (the latter, due to the fact that they were at a considerable distance, were mistaken for ostriches). One day, Cousin Benedict was almost stung by a fly that looked like a tsetse fly. As an entomologist, he immediately asked the appropriate questions. Moreover, the lenses of the scientist's glasses soon turned out to be completely broken, someone stepped on them. After all, even in the absence of experienced trackers among the Americans, they quickly navigated and learned along the way. This command intelligence of theirs just emphasizes the summary. The “fifteen-year-old captain” (Jules Verne) gradually brings the imaginary guide - the liar Harris, to whom distrust is growing, to He is also forced to flee after the travelers discover a terrible find associated specifically with the cannibalism of Africa - severed hands.
Captivity
Dick Send tracks down Negoro and Harris and overhears their conversation, suggesting a criminal conspiracy. Realizing themselves in danger, they try to get out of the forest, but they are vigilantly watched by slavers. One morning, after spending the night in a termite mound that protects from tropical rain, travelers are captured on a tip from these two scoundrels by thugs from a caravan of slaves. Moreover, Hercules manages to escape from these robbers.
A brief summary tells us about the long difficult journey of the captives. Captain Fifteen (Jules Verne) describes their humiliation and suffering on their way to Angola's infamous slave market, Kazonda. An elderly black woman, the nanny of five-year-old Jack, Nan, dies on the route of this difficult campaign. However, several travelers who are caught and destined for ransom by the scoundrels (Mrs. Weldon, her son and cousin Benedict) are transported by Negoro in more comfortable conditions.
Kazonda. Punishment to the villain
Slaves who arrived in Kazonda are placed in barracks. Dick Send worries about the fate of Mrs. Weldon and her son. Those are transported separately and placed in the trading post of the caravan master, Weldon. Having met the deceiver Harris in Kazenda, he tries to ask him about it. However, the villain, having decided to mock the guy, deceives him, saying that they are dead. However, he does not expect that he is saying this to an already adult man who has matured in difficult circumstances, as evidenced by the next episode (more precisely, its very brief content). The fifteen-year-old captain draws Harris's knife and fatally stabs him. Travelers have one less dangerous enemy.
Negoro wants Dick Send to be executed
The murder of his associate in dark deeds is watched by Negoro from afar. He decides to destroy Dick Send. To do this, he only has to agree with his human trafficking partner, who has influence in the slave market, Alvets. The fifteen-year-old captain, they decide, will be publicly executed as soon as the slave sale is completed. To implement this plan, Alvets must obtain formal permission for this execution from the ruler of the Angolan tribe of natives, Muani-Lungu.
Alvets had experience in settling such cases. He knew the fee that Muani-Lungu would charge for permitting a public ritual murder. It is enough to present the leader with a punch in an amount equivalent to the amount of blood in the body of the unfortunate victim. The native king, dependent on alcohol, is a pitiful sight. He was an alcoholic at the last stage.
Unsightly death of a leader
Alvets succeeds, and even at the best price, to sell all the dark-skinned slaves. However, Negoro hopes for even more earnings than the owner of the caravan (a rich ransom in the amount of a fortune - $ 100,000). Therefore, he keeps Mrs. Weldon, her son Jack, who is seriously ill with malaria, and their cousin Benedict under round-the-clock security in a separate house.
Negoro also succeeds, by deceiving Mrs. Weldon with the news of the alleged death of Dick Send, to get a ransom letter written by her hand. However, the villains fail to immediately initiate the execution of the former cabin boy.
The further summary of the story looks tragicomic. The fifteen-year-old captain actually receives a reprieve, but now they are not going to destroy him alone. Events took a different turn because of ... the joy of the huckster Alvets from the profits. To celebrate, the slave trader Alvets decided to offer Muani-Lung a punch in the most presentable, burning form. However, he did not take into account that he was dealing with a complete alcoholic. When the leader touched the bowl with his lips, his body, alcoholized by many years of outpourings, flared up, and the leader burned out in a matter of minutes.
The savages now had no time for the execution of some pale-faced boy there, because the funeral of the leader was coming! Instead of a separate execution of the former cabin boy "Pilgrim", a mega-execution of all his wives (except for his beloved) and slaves, including Dick, was planned.
The real hero is Hercules. The rescue
The above is a summary of the "Fifteen-year-old Captain" chapter by chapter, as you noticed, it completely falls under the genre of a Robinsonade novel with a happy ending. It seems that not only circumstances, but nature itself helps our travelers.
The Negro Hercules, who escaped from the slave traders, is hiding in the neighborhood of the Alvets trading post, waiting for the moment to help his comrades. And then there is an accident that activates his actions. Eccentric cousin Benedict, not understanding how, chasing a butterfly net with a butterfly net, suddenly finds himself free. There he meets Hercules, and he has a plan to save his friends. Now the mighty Negro knows where Mrs. Weldon and her son are. undergoes famine due to the flooding of fertile lands by rains. Superstitious people are looking for the cause of trouble in evil witchcraft.
Desperate natives called in a powerful sorcerer from a neighboring village to "solve the issue". Hercules, having tied up a real cleric and disguised himself in his outfit, presents himself as a mute sorcerer. He comes to the dowager queen (the former beloved wife), without further ado takes her by the hand and leads to the Alvets estate. He is followed by a crowd of fanatics who believe the sorcerers unquestioningly. To the Queen, he shows the cause of all misfortunes - a white woman and her son. It becomes clear to everyone: only by taking them outside the village and performing the ritual of killing the infidels, the sorcerer will return fertility to the earth.
Hercules, taking advantage of the status of Mgannga's sorcerer, thus manages to take out Mrs. Weldon, her son Jack, cousin Benedict and Dick Send in a boat. Alvets, whom Negoro instructed to guard the hostages, turned out to be powerless in front of a crowd of fanatics. Travelers are saved.
Fifteen-year-old captain leads friends to freedom
Unfortunately, the Negroes, friends of Hercules, have already been sold and taken by buyers.
Travelers, hoping to return to America, float along the river to the ocean, disguising the boat as a floating island, hiding from the eyes of cannibals. The roar of a waterfall is heard ahead, and Dick Send stops the boat on the left bank. Suddenly, Dingo rushed forward, following the trail. Travelers for the dog came to the dugout, where, restless, lay the remains of the owner of Dingo - Samuel Vernon, treacherously killed by his guide - Negoro. Next to the body were the last notes of a mortally wounded man containing this accusation. Suddenly, the travelers heard the growl of a dog and the cry of Negoro, they intertwined in their last duel. The convict mortally wounded the dog with a knife, and the dog tore his throat.
Negoro, to his misfortune, came to the hut to take money from the hiding place. He needed them for a trip to America for a ransom from Mr. Weldon.
Meeting at home
Then the travelers happily reach the coast of the Indian Ocean and on August 25, 1874 they sail to the California coast. Does J. Verne's Fifteen-Year-Old Captain have life-affirming content? Grateful Mr. Weldon adopts Dick Send, gives him proper maritime education, and he becomes a captain on the ship of his named father. An orphan acquires a family! Hercules, on the other hand, enters Mr. Weldon's house as a true friend of the family.
Four blacks, satellites of Hercules, Mr. Weldon manages to redeem from slavery, and those (Tom, Bath, Austin and Acteon) sail in November 1877 from Africa to the hospitable house of Weldon.
Output
Jules Verne, "Fifteen-year-old Captain" ... The summary does not convey all the charm of this work, it must be re-read in its entirety. The novel can be interpreted in different ways. Like Robinsonade. As an example for young men - be courageous and take responsibility. As an example of maintaining human relations in the most difficult situation. Everyone finds something of their own in this novel ... Of course, he is most loved among children and youth. This fascinating book has been popular for the third century and attracts readers.
One of the most outstanding novels of the great French writer Jules Verne was first published in 1878. Adventure novel was filmed several times: in 1945 (USSR), in 1974 (co-production of Spain and France) and in 1986 (USSR, the film was called "The Captain of the Pilgrim").
The schooner-brig "Pilgrim", designed for whaling, sets sail from the port of Auckland. The schooner is led by an experienced captain Gul, who has several sailors under his command. The youngest of them is 15 years old. The team consists of cook Negoro. In addition, on board is Mrs. Weldon, the wife of the owner of the ship with her five-year-old son Jack, Nan's nanny and cousin Benedict, a relative of the Weldons. The schooner heads to San Francisco.
A few days later, Mrs. Weldon's son notices an overturned ship in the ocean. As it turned out, this ship is called "Waldeck". It could not continue on its way due to a hole in the nose. The passengers of the Pilgrim found five Negroes on the Waldeck. All of them were free citizens of America, but lived for some time in New Zealand, where they worked on a plantation under contract. On the way to America, the Waldeck collided with another ship. All of a sudden, all the crew members were gone. Five friends were doomed to starvation.
The crew of the Pilgrim takes the passengers of the Waldeck aboard. A few days later, dark-skinned Hercules, Austin, Tom, Actaeon and Bat managed to recover. In addition to five blacks, a dog named Dingo was found on the Waldeck. The only surviving passengers of the lost ship claim that their captain found the animal off the coast of the African continent. For some unknown reason, Dingo, from the very first minutes of his stay on the Pilgrim, begins to show aggression towards Negoro's cook. On the dog's collar, you can see 2 letters: "C" and "B".
Adventure begins...
A few more days passed. The sailors of the "Pilgrim" and Captain Gul change to a boat and go to catch a whale, which was seen not far from the ship. The leadership of the Pilgrim is entrusted to the youngest sailor of the team - Dick Sand. A ghoul and five sailors die in a fight with a whale. Dick is forced to take over as captain for the remainder of the voyage. Despite the fact that the young captain is quite bold and courageous, he lacks some navigational knowledge. Dick doesn't know how to navigate by the stars. Sand can find out the location of the schooner only by lot and compass.
Negoro took advantage of the young captain's inexperience. He broke one compass and disabled the lot. Then the insidious cook changed the readings on the second compass. As a result, the Pilgrim arrived at the shores of Angola, where the ship washed ashore. All passengers survived. Negoro, taking advantage of the general turmoil, leaves the travelers. Dick goes looking for someone locality and meets American Harris. A new acquaintance assures Dick that the travelers are in Bolivia. Harris invites travelers to his brother's hacienda, where the passengers of the Pilgrim can find shelter. In fact, the American lures travelers deep into the rainforest.
On the way to the hacienda, Tom and Dick guessed that they were on the African continent. When Harris notices that his deceit has been exposed, he immediately hides in the woods. The reader then observes the meeting between the American and Negoro. From the conversation of old friends, it becomes clear that the ship's cook is a secret agent of the slave traders. Its main task is to deliver a living commodity to the one who sells it. Negoro has been engaged in his craft for more than a year. The authorities of Portugal, where the cook was from, sentenced the secret agent to life imprisonment. However, Negoro did not stay in hard labor for long. He managed to escape and get a job on the Pilgrim. The secret agent dreamed of returning to Africa. Circumstances worked out in the best way for Negoro.
After numerous adventures and escape from slavery, almost all the heroes find themselves together again. Only Nan's nanny couldn't survive. The secret of the mysterious letters "C" and "B", which turned out to be initials, is also revealed. The owner of the Dingo was named Samuel Vernon. Cook Negoro contributed to his death.
Having again met with the killer of his master, Dingo throws himself on his neck and tries to gnaw through his throat. The secret agent managed to kill the dog, but he himself also could not escape retribution and died. The travelers were able to safely reach California. The Weldons redeem Austin, Tom, Actaeon, and Bath, who have fallen into slavery, and take Dick into their family. The young man receives the necessary education and becomes the captain of one of the ships of his adoptive father.
Dick Sand was orphaned early. The protagonist of the novel was found on the street by a passerby, in whose honor the boy was subsequently named. Dick's surname was given in memory of the place where he was discovered.
Little Dick was developed beyond his years and already at the age of four he learned to count, write and read. At the age of eight, the boy went to work as a cabin boy. On the ship, he managed to prove himself well. The owner of the ship, Weldon, decided to send Dick to school. Then the young man became a sailor on the Pilgrim.
During the journey described in the novel, Dick Sand was also able to show himself with better side. A difficult childhood and the endurance gifted by nature hardened the young captain. Dick had to take the place of the deceased Ghoul and make his own decisions. The ability not to get lost in an unfamiliar environment allowed Sand not only to survive, but to receive the most coveted reward - a family that he never had.
Philosophy of the author
Readers different ages In the same novel, completely different things can be of interest. Teenagers aged 12-16 are only interested in adventure. A fifteen-year-old boy, their age, finds himself face to face with severe trials, from which he emerges victorious.
Features of Jules Verne's style
More mature readers will be able to see the worldview of its author in the novel. Jules Verne puts events in the first place in his works. That is why the philosophy of the writer often goes unnoticed and fades into the background.
In fact, adventure is just the backdrop against which development takes place. interpersonal relationships. Everyday life is not capable of revealing the character of people living by inertia. Once in an unusual and dangerous environment, a person will definitely show his true face.
Denying racism and slavery, Jules Verne is in solidarity with another great writer of the 19th century, Mark Twain. It is no coincidence that among the positive characters you can see Hercules. The main villain is a native of Portugal. It is also not accidental that the people of the white race fall into slavery. The author invites whites to be in the place of blacks and feel everything that black slaves have to go through. Vern sees no difference between the two skin colors. The superiority of one color over another is nothing more than a stereotype. If the oppression of blacks seems logical to a white American, then the enslavement of whites seems no less logical to the indigenous inhabitants of the African continent.
Schooner "Pilgrim" hunts whales. But there are also passengers on the schooner: this is the wife of the owner of the Pilgrim with her five-year-old son Jack. They are sailing to America to see Mr. Weldon, her husband and father, there. Cousin Benedict is with them - he is only interested in entomology (the science of insects).
Travelers met an abandoned ship in the sea, where there were living creatures: a Dingo dog and five blacks. The huge Negro Hercules became a good friend to everyone, especially to little Jack.
While hunting for a whale, a boat with a captain and crew perishes. Young Dick Sand takes over the ship. A smart guy would have done it, but Negoro's forensic cook messed up the compass. This cook is very suspicious. Here is the dog, who made friends with everyone, growls and barks at Negoro.
Finally we got to the shore. Travelers think they are in South America. Negoro says that he is familiar with this continent. If they get to any city, contact Mr. Weldon, and he will save everyone. And strange things happen. The vegetation is not American, little Jack cannot see the promised hummingbird, Cousin Benedict rejoices that he saw an African insect in America. Suddenly everyone saw giraffes - but there are no such animals on the American continent.
The company meets a noble-looking gentleman named Gerris. He says they ended up in Bolivia. He invites everyone to his hacienda (estate), where everyone can relax and wait for news from Mrs. Weldon's husband. It was a trap. Gerris and Negoro in collusion. And the continent is not America at all. This is Africa!
Gerris and Negoro only care about money. They are thieves. Blacks are sold into slavery. Only Hercules managed to escape. Gerris forces Mrs. Weldon to write a letter to her husband. He and Negoro lured a woman with a son to take a considerable ransom. A faithful wife is afraid that her husband will also be lured into a trap and demand something completely unbelievable.
A woman with a son and a cousin settled among black savages.
Cousin Benedict is allowed to wander unguarded because he is considered a man out of his mind.
The entomologist really only sees his own insects. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed him and dragged him somewhere. The disappearance of a cousin forced the protection of mother and son to be strengthened.
A big celebration took place in the African village. On such holidays, everyone is waiting for the arrival of the forest spirit - the sorcerer "mganga". He usually appears all painted with amazing colors, in a strange outfit. And here he is! It was a giant. He danced, jumped, shouted furiously, throwing up his spear, and chose two victims for himself: Mrs. Weldon and her son.
Nobody dared to oppose him. He shouldered his victims and disappeared into the thicket. The woman lost consciousness. Jack beat the monster with his small fists.
It turned out that the one who stole Benedict and Mrs. Weldon with her son was not a sorcerer at all, but kind Hercules, grateful for his salvation at sea. The black giant also managed to save Dick Send. A small group makes their way to the sea to board some kind of ship. By chance they meet Negoro. Duc and Hercules do not have time to do anything: Dingo rushes at the insidious cook and gnaws his throat.
Unfortunately, before his death, the villain managed to plunge a dagger into the faithful dog, and the dog died. It turned out that when Negoro killed Dingo's first owner, Sam Vernon, for money.
Finally, everyone who escaped was lucky to get to America. Duc became Mrs. Weldon for the eldest son, Hercules - for a true friend. And the Negroes, who were sold into slavery, were subsequently found and ransomed by Mr. Weldon.
A feast was held to celebrate the return of the travelers. The first toast was to Dick Send, a fifteen-year-old captain!
The schooner "Pilgrim" moves towards San Francisco. There are a lot of people on board, among them Captain Gul, five experienced sailors, a fifteen-year-old junior sailor - the orphan Dick Send, the ship's cook Negoro, as well as the wife of the owner of the Pilgrim, James Weldon, Mrs. Weldon with her five-year-old son Jack, her eccentric relative, whom everyone called "Cousin Benedict", and the old nanny Negro Nun.
On the way, they pick up five emaciated blacks: Tom, Bat, Austin, Actaeon and Hercules, and the dog Dingo. Their boat collided with another vessel, causing their vessel to malfunction. The sailors from the Pilgrim left these people, and for some reason Dingo, at the sight of the cook Negoro, showed a grin, as if he knew him.
Some time later, Captain Gal and five other sailors die on a whale hunt. The authority of the captain of the Pilgrim dares to take the fifteen-year-old youth Dick Send.
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But due to the inability to use navigation, the ship lands not in America, but in Africa, which the guy does not suspect.
Kok Negoro disappears unnoticed by everyone when the ship was washed ashore. As it turned out later, he enters into an agreement with his old friend Harris. It consisted in the fact that Harris tells the arriving sailors that they are on the shores of Bolivia, although they were in Africa.
As it turned out, Negoro and Harris had known each other for a long time, when Negoro was involved in the slave trade. Kok was sentenced to life imprisonment, but he was able to escape and got a job on the Pilgrim brig.
Harris led the sailors deep into the rainforest, but the deceived began to guess that they were far from America, they realized that Africa was around them. Dick Send regards the disappearance of Harris as a betrayal, who disappeared with Negoro, in turn, wants to grab Dick Send, blacks, Nun, Mrs. Weldon with her son, and cousin Benedict.
Dick Send and his people decide to swim across the river on a raft, but the river suddenly bursts its banks and the travelers are forced to hide in a termite mound. But when they left there, the Negroes, Dick and Nun were taken prisoner by the head of the slave caravan, who was an acquaintance of Harris, Mrs. Weldon and her son were taken away to no one knows where. Later, Nun dies, unable to withstand the transition of the camp, and Dick, having heard from Harris that Mrs. Weldon and her son died, kills him, but Dick did not know that it was a lie. Negoro, in turn, wants to take revenge on Dick for his friend, so he asks permission to kill Dick Send from Alvets, the owner of the slave caravan and a very influential person in Kazonda, as well as from Muani-Lung, the local king. Later, Muani-Lunga burns to the ground, after drinking the punch that Alvets prepared for him.
Dick is about to be executed. On the day of Muani-Lung's funeral, he is tied to a pole and hung over a boiling pit, in which, according to tradition, all the wives lie, except for the one who arranged the funeral.
At this moment, Mrs. Weldon with her son and cousin Benedict are held hostage by Negoro, who wants to get a large ransom for them from Mr. Weldon. But this intention was not destined to come true.
Negoro travels to San Francisco and leaves the hostages in Alvec's care. Cousin Benedict was very fond of insects, and when he enthusiastically ran after one of the flying specimens, he suddenly found himself free. There he meets Hercules, who was able to escape even before his brothers were captured. Hercules figures out how to help his friends and brothers. When it rained for a long time in the village, the wife of the deceased Muani-Lungi, Queen Muana, calls the sorcerer who pretends to be Hercules. The guy, being supposedly a mute sorcerer, shows with signs that the captives are the culprits of the rains. In general, he saved Dick Send from death, Mrs. Weldon, her son, cousin Benedict and the dog Dingo, but he could not save his brothers, since they managed to be sold into slavery. Then all the surviving captives go on a boat disguised as a floating island, go down the river, but it so happened that they swim through the island of cannibals. Travelers stop on the opposite bank so as not to fall into the waterfall. There they discover human bones, a note, and an inscription in blood on wood, "S. IN.". Suddenly, Dingo takes off, and a human cry is heard not far away. The dog grabbed the throat of Negoro, who once killed the owner of Dingo Samuel Vernon, and now he came to take the money hidden in a cache, after which he wanted to leave for America. Negoro kills the dog with a knife, and he himself dies from the bite.
