Foreign literature abridged. All works of the school curriculum in a brief summary. The fifteen year old captain, vern jules the fifteen year old captain read abbreviated

In the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain,” a summary of which you are now reading, events begin to unfold from the moment the schooner “Pilgrim” sets sail from New Zealand in 1873. It is equipped with everything necessary for whaling.

Everything is managed by the experienced captain Gul, with him five experienced and experienced sailors and a 15-year-old junior sailor named Dick Sand. He is an orphan. On the ship are also the cook Negoro and the wife of the owner of the ship - Mrs. Weldon with a five-year-old boy Jack. This company is complemented by her funny cousin, whom everyone around calls nothing less than Cousin Benedict, and, finally, the old nanny Nan.

Captain Gul's sailboat is sailing to America. The first trouble occurs a few days after the start of the journey. Jack notices the ship overturned on its side. There is a hole in his nose. The crew of the Pilgrim rescues five starving blacks and a dog named Dingo.

From the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” (reading a summary is faster than reading the entire work) we learn that their names are Tom, Bath, Austin, Hercules and Actaeon. They are all free US citizens. They say that they were returning from New Zealand, where they worked under contract, to America. Their ship, the Waldeck, collided with another ship, after which the captains and all crew members disappeared, leaving them alone. They continue their journey together with the heroes of the novel, and after some time they look completely healthy and restored.

Whale fishing

In the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain,” a brief summary of which helps you quickly remember the plot, the mysterious events do not stop there. The dog Dingo is acting suspiciously. Passengers on the Waldeck say their captain picked up the dog in Africa. He constantly growls ferociously as soon as he meets the cook Negoro. He seems to recognize him, constantly expressing his readiness to pounce at the first opportunity. Negoro tries not to be seen by the dog at all.

The only one who has an idea of how to control the ship is actually the cabin boy Dick Sand. He becomes a fifteen-year-old captain. A summary of the chapters of this novel helps to better understand the author's intentions.

Inexperienced captain

Dick patiently teaches the blacks the sailor's craft. He is a courageous and internally mature guy, but he still lacks knowledge about navigation, the ability to navigate the open ocean only using a compass and a device that measures the speed of the ship.

In addition, he does not know how to determine his location by the stars, which the insidious Negoro immediately takes advantage of. The cook breaks one of the compasses and, unnoticed by the others, changes the readings on the second. After that, he disables the lot. All this leads to the fact that the ship, instead of sailing to America, ends up near the coast of Angola. The ship runs aground.

Travelers in Africa

In the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” (a summary allows you to get acquainted with the main points of the work), Negoro manages to slip away from the ship unnoticed. Only he alone knows for sure where they sailed.

Dick, who went in search of local residents, runs into the American Harris. He is in cahoots with the cook, so he assures our heroes that they actually sailed to Bolivia. Promising them shelter and a roof over their heads, he lures them about a hundred kilometers deep into the mainland. Only after some time do Dick and Tom realize that somehow they ended up in Africa, and not in South America. Harris, realizing that they had discovered him, immediately hides in the forest and goes to meet Negoro.

Only at this point does something begin to become clearer for readers of Verne’s “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” (a summary will not replace the work itself). Harris is actually a slave trader, Negoro also used to be involved in the underground business. It all ended when the authorities in his native Portugal sentenced the cook to life in hard labor. He managed to escape two weeks later and was soon accepted onto the Pilgrim. After that, he immediately began to look for a moment to be in Africa again.

The death of the captain and the inexperience of Dick Sand played into his hands. Now there is a slave caravan nearby that is heading to Kazonde.

Betrayal

As soon as Harris disappears, Dick realizes that they have been betrayed. He decides to go along the stream until he comes to a large river. Assuming such a plan, Harris and Negoro are waiting for them on this path, hoping to take the travelers by surprise.

But until they meet the villains, the heroes of the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” by Jules Verne, a summary of which we are now considering, will have to experience the forces of nature. They are hit by rain and thunderstorms. The river overflows its banks, rising several feet above the ground.

Travelers try to wait out the elements in an empty termite mound with thick clay walls. But, having got out of there, they immediately find themselves captured. Dick, Nan and the blacks are sent on the road along with the caravan. Only the resourceful Hercules manages to escape. Mrs. Weldon and her relative are taken away in an unknown direction.

Path in a caravan

Having joined the caravan, Dick and his comrades will endure terrible hardships. They witness the brutal treatment of slaves. Old Nan, unable to withstand the suffering, dies.

In Kazonda, slaves are distributed among barracks. Harris tells Dick that Mrs. Weldon and her son have died. But it was again a deception. Sand, not yet knowing this, in despair snatches the dagger from him and kills the slave trader.

Slave Fair

One of the climaxes of the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” (a summary for the reader's diary can be found in this article) is the slave fair. After this, Dick's execution must take place. Negoro, who had seen the scene of the murder of his American comrade and now reasonably fears for his own safety, has already agreed on this with influential people in Kazonda.

The owner of a caravan of slaves named Alvets promises the local king Muani-Lung fire water in case of a successful execution. He readily agrees, because he has not been able to live without alcohol for a long time. It turns out that this was a sophisticated execution for Muani-Lungu himself. Alvets presents him with too strong a punch. When the chief begins to drink, he sets the drink on fire. The king's body, soaked in alcohol, catches fire, and he rots down to his very bones.

His wife Queen Muana arranges a magnificent funeral. During the ceremony, according to tradition, all the other wives of the king are killed so that they will follow him to the afterlife. They are dumped into a pit and filled with water. In the same pit is Dick, who was previously tied to a post.

Hostages from "Pilgrim"

At the same time, Mrs. Weldon, along with her son and cousin, lived in Kazonda near Alvets. They are held hostage, Negoro expects to receive a substantial ransom from the owner of the ship.

At his insistence, Mrs. Weldon writes a letter to her husband, with whom Negoro goes to San Francisco. Meanwhile, the hostages live more or less at ease. Cousin Benedict, who has always been interested in collecting insects, is one day pursuing a particularly rare ground beetle. In this pursuit, he accidentally falls into a wormhole and finds himself free. Without noticing this at first, he runs another two miles through the forest in the hope of overtaking the insect. At the end of his journey, Benedict meets Hercules, who has been nearby all this time, hoping to somehow help his friends.

Rain in the village

In the novel "The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain" rare and anomalous events often occur. The next thing is an uncharacteristically heavy and prolonged rain, which floods the fields and threatens to destroy the entire harvest.

Queen Muana calls the sorcerers for help. Hercules catches one of these elders in the forest. Taking his clothes, she pretends to be a mute shaman driving away clouds. He takes the queen by the hand and persistently leads her to Alvets’s estate. With signs, he indicates that a white woman and a little boy must answer for all the troubles of her people. So he helps them free themselves from the village. Alvets tries to resist this, but retreats before the onslaught of savages.

Only after walking eight miles through the jungle and freeing himself from those accompanying him does Hercules reveal himself to Mrs. Weldon and her son. Here they meet Dick, who was also saved by Hercules, as well as Benedict and the dog Dingo. In conclusion, only the blacks remain, who have already been sold and driven away from the village.

Path to the Ocean

The heroes of “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain,” a summary of which in a few minutes will remind you of the main ups and downs of the novel, are making another attempt to get to the ocean. They go down the river on their boat.

Soon they encounter a village of cannibals. But thanks to the fact that their boat was disguised as a floating island, they manage to sail past.

During the next stop, Dingo, as soon as he finds himself on the shore, rushes forward, sensing someone's trail. He leads them to a hut with human bones scattered throughout. There are two bloody letters on the wall - "S.V." The same letters are engraved on the dog's collar. There is also a note in the shack, from which the travelers learn that Samuel Vernon suffered at the hands of Negoro, who was his guide. The insidious villain mortally wounded him and robbed him.

At the same moment, Dingo takes off and grabs the throat of the sneaking Negoro. Before sailing to America, he decided to return to the scene of the crime to retrieve the money stolen from Vernon from the cache. Negoro wounds the dog with a knife, and he dies, unable to avenge his owner. But Negoro still cannot escape fair punishment.

Meeting with the savages

But this is not all the tests for the characters in the novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain.” In the summary it is necessary to mention the episode of the meeting with the cannibals.

Having dealt with Negoro, Dick decides to cross to the right bank, fearing the cook’s comrades from the Pilgrim. But there he is attacked by cannibals, whom they met a few days ago and were not aware that they were pursuing them overland. They noticed the boat with people, but at the very last moment, when it was already far away.

A hail of arrows falls on Dick, the savages jump straight into his boat. She is rapidly carried towards the waterfall. All the savages die, and only the 15-year-old captain escapes by hiding in a boat.

Finally, the travelers reach the ocean. They manage to board a ship and sail to California. Dick is accepted as a son into the Weldon family. At the age of 18, he completed his courses and became captain of one of Weldon's schooners.

Both Hercules and the blacks, who manage to be redeemed from slavery and freed, remain a friend of the family. The novel ends with the date November 15, 1877. It is then that four blacks, who have endured so many dangers, finally find themselves in the friendly arms of the Weldons.

One of the most outstanding novels of the great French writer Jules Verne was first published in 1878. The 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 “Captain of the Pilgrim”).

The schooner-brig Pilgrim, intended 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. Cook Negoro is on the team. In addition, on board is Mrs. Weldon, the wife of the owner of the ship with her five-year-old son Jack, nanny Nan and the Weldon relative cousin Benedict. The schooner is heading to San Francisco.

After a few days of travel, Mrs. Weldon's son notices an overturned ship in the ocean. As it turned out, this ship is called "Waldeck". It could not continue its journey due to a hole in the bow. The passengers of the Pilgrim found five blacks on the Waldeck. All of them were free citizens of America, but lived for some time in New Zealand, where they worked on plantations under contract. On the way to America, the Waldeck collided with another ship. Suddenly, all crew members disappeared. Five friends were doomed to starvation.

The crew of the Pilgrim takes on board the passengers of the Waldeck. A few days later, the dark-skinned Hercules, Austin, Tom, Actaeon and Bath managed to come to their senses. In addition to the 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 first minutes of his stay on the Pilgrim, begins to show aggression towards the cook Negoro. On the dog’s collar you can see 2 letters: “C” and “B”.

The adventure begins...

Several more days of travel passed. The sailors of the Pilgrim and Captain Gul transfer to the boat and go to catch a whale that was spotted not far from the ship. The leadership of the Pilgrim is entrusted to the youngest sailor of the team, Dick Sand. Gul 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 brave and courageous, he lacks some navigational knowledge. Dick can't navigate by the stars. Sand can only find out the location of the schooner by using the lot and a 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 on the shores of Angola, where the ship washed ashore. All passengers survived. Negoro, taking advantage of the general turmoil, leaves the travelers. Dick goes in search of some settlement and meets the American Harris. A new acquaintance assures Dick that the travelers are in Bolivia. Harris invites travelers to his brother's hacienda, where the Pilgrim's passengers can find shelter. In fact, the American lures travelers deep into the tropical forest.

On the way to the hacienda, Tom and Dick realized that they were on the African continent. When Harris notices that his deception has been revealed, he immediately hides in the forest. The reader then watches the meeting between the American and Negoro. From a conversation between old friends, it becomes clear that the ship's cook is a secret agent of the slave traders. Its main task is to supply living goods to those who sell them. Negoro has been engaged in his trade for several years. The authorities of Portugal, where the cook was from, sentenced the secret agent to lifelong hard labor. 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 Nanny Nan did not survive. The mystery of the mysterious letters “C” and “B”, which turned out to be initials, is also revealed. Dingo's owner's name was Samuel Vernon. Cook Negoro contributed to his death.

Having met his master's killer again, Dingo throws himself on his neck and tries to gnaw his throat out. 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 Weldon couple redeem Austin, Tom, Actaeon and Bath who were enslaved and accept Dick into their family. The young man receives the necessary education and becomes the captain of one of his adoptive father's ships.

Dick Sand was left an orphan at an early age. The main character of the novel was found on the street by a random passer-by, after whom the boy was subsequently named. Diku's surname was given in memory of the place where he was discovered.

Little Dick was precocious 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. He managed to prove himself well on the ship. 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 his best side. A difficult childhood and the endurance gifted by nature tempered the young captain. Dick had to take the place of the deceased Ghoul and make his own decisions. The ability to not get lost in an unfamiliar environment allowed Sand not only to survive, but to receive the most desired reward - the family he never had.

Author's philosophy

Readers of different ages may be interested in completely different things in the same novel. Teenagers 12-16 years old are only interested in adventure. A fifteen-year-old boy, the same age as them, 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 in the novel the worldview of its author. Jules Verne puts events first in his works. That is why the writer’s philosophy often goes unnoticed and fades into the background.

In fact, adventure is only the background against which the development of interpersonal relationships occurs. Everyday life is not capable of revealing the character of people living by inertia. Finding himself in an unusual and dangerous environment, a person will definitely show his true colors.

Denying racism and slavery, Jules Verne agrees with another great writer of the 19th century - Mark Twain. It is no coincidence that Hercules can be seen among the positive characters. The main villain turns out to be a native of Portugal. It is also no coincidence that 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. Verne 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 people of the African continent.

The novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” by Verne was written in 1878. This is a story about the exciting adventures of a young sailor who took responsibility for the fate of the crew of the whaling ship Pilgrim.

Main characters

Dick Sand- a fifteen-year-old sailor, a brave and determined young man.

Mrs. Weldon- the wife of the ship owner, a brave, persistent woman.

Jack- Mrs. Weldon's little son.

Benedict- Mrs. Weldon's cousin, a passionate entomologist.

Tom, Bath, Hercules, Austin, Actaeon- blacks rescued from a sunken ship.

Negoro- a slave trader hiding from the authorities, a vile and cruel person.

Other characters

Nan- Jack's elderly nanny.

James Weldon- a wealthy shipowner.

Captain Gul- Captain of the whaling ship "Pilgrim".

Harris- slave trader, accomplice of Negoro.

Antonio Alvetz- owner of a slave caravan.

Muani-Lunga- old king Kazonde.

Muana- Muani-Lunga's first wife, Queen Kasonde.

Part one

Chapter 1. Schooner-brig "Pilgrim"

In February 1973, the Pilgrim "was equipped in San Francisco for a whale hunt in the South Seas." It belonged to “the wealthy Californian shipowner James Weldon,” who entrusted the command of his schooner to Captain Gul. Under the captain's command "there were five experienced sailors and one novice." In addition, he was forced to take on board passengers - Mrs. Weldon, her five-year-old son Jack and cousin Benedict, the old black nanny Nan.

Chapter 2. Dick Sand

All the sailors of the Pilgrim “knew each other for a long time” and got along well with each other, and only the Portuguese Negoro did not really like the captain, who “did not have time to make inquiries about the past of the new cook.”

The youngest and most inexperienced sailor on the ship was a fifteen-year-old orphan boy, Dick Sand. But, despite his age, he was distinguished by his intelligence and courage, and “already made decisions and brought to the end everything that he had deliberately decided on.”

Chapter 3. Wrecked ship

After several days of sailing, the crew of the Pilgrim noticed a “vessel overturned on its side” with a hole in the bow. Captain Gul decided to explore it, and on board the sunken ship the sailors found five blacks and a dog dying of thirst.

Chapter 4. Rescued from the Waldeck

The unfortunates were transferred aboard the Pilgrim, where they received proper care. It turned out that the blacks - old Tom, his son Bath, as well as Hercules, Austin and Actaeon - were not slaves, but free citizens of America. Their ship was hit by some unknown ship and disappeared.

Chapter 5. “C” and “B”

Another creature rescued from the sinking ship was a large dog named Dingo, whose collar was engraved with two letters - "C" and "B". “Dingo soon became the favorite of the entire crew,” and only Negoro he hated fiercely for an unknown reason. The cook tried not to show himself to the dog, who apparently recognized him.

Chapter 6. Whale on the horizon

After some time, the sailor on watch noticed a whale on the horizon. It was "a very large specimen of a minke whale." The sailors began to lively discuss their future prey - “the whole crew passionately wanted to hunt.”

Chapter 7. Preparations for the hunt

Despite the great risk, the whalers could not miss the opportunity to catch a giant sea animal and “fill the hold of the ship - the temptation was great.” Together with five sailors, he boarded the boat, leaving Dick Sand "as his deputy during the hunt."

Chapter 8. Stripe

Experienced whalers began to hunt minke whales. They managed to wound him with a harpoon, but the unexpectedly wounded whale, “hitting the water with force with its fins, rushed at the people.” The enraged whale crushed the boat with a powerful blow of its tail and “in its death throes furiously beat its tail on the water” - none of the whalers managed to survive.

Chapter 9. Captain Sand

“A ship that has lost its captain and sailors” could easily become a weak-willed toy of currents and winds. Of the entire crew, only fifteen-year-old Dick Sand remained alive, and “this boy was now supposed to replace the captain, the boatswain, and the entire crew.” The young man decided to take on the functions of a captain and teach the rescued blacks the sailor's craft. They happily agreed to help him.

Chapter 10. The next four days

Everyone had one desire - to quickly get to “some other port on the American coast.” Dick knew how to use a compass and a lot, but “the young captain did not yet know how to make astronomical observations” that influenced the location of the ship. Suddenly, “there was a problem with the compass that was in the captain’s cabin” - it fell off the hook and fell to the floor. There was still one more compass left to work, but the insidious Negoro also spoiled it - so the “Pilgrim” strayed from the intended course.

Chapter 11. Storm

A week later, the sky became cloudy, a strong wind rose - everything foreshadowed the beginning of a storm. “The ship held up well in the waves” and continued to move forward confidently. Thanks to the efforts of Negoro, the lot was disabled, and “Dick Sand lost the ability to determine the speed of the ship.”

Chapter 12. Island on the horizon

On the same day, “a hurricane, the most terrible form of storm, broke out,” and did not stop for a week. According to Dick's calculations, they should have already reached the shores of America. He became more and more confident that the navigation instruments had been deliberately damaged by someone. Suddenly, the outline of land appeared overboard - it was an island.

Chapter 13. “Earth! Earth!"

Dick was sure that they had seen Easter Island, and he directed the ship along the correct course, as it seemed to him. Soon everyone noticed land, but there was "no human habitation, no port, no river mouth where the ship could find a safe refuge." At the sight of the shore, Dingo “howled protractedly and pitifully.”

Chapter 14. What to do?

After seventy-four days of sailing, the Pilgrim was thrown ashore and smashed on the reefs. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Dick Sand could not understand where they ended up. Meanwhile, Negoro quietly left the detachment, hiding in the thicket of the forest. It soon became clear that he was the first to arrive on the destroyed ship and seized all of Mrs. Weldon's money.

Chapter 15. Harris

After some time, the heroes met an American named Harris. He assured the travelers that they had been shipwrecked off the coast of Bolivia. Mr. Harris suggested that they take a break from the unrest at his brother's hacienda, which required crossing the rainforest.

Chapter 16. On the road

Having collected food supplies and necessary things, the small detachment set off. This transition was especially interesting for cousin Benedict, an entomologist, who began to enthusiastically study local insects.

Chapter 17. One Hundred Miles in Ten Days

Dick and his dark-skinned friends were surprised that during the hike they did not meet a single familiar tree or animal, but Mr. Garris managed to dispel their doubts. When Cousin Benedict cried out in pain at night, he found out that he had been bitten by a tsetse fly. The entomologist was very pleased with his discovery, since “not a single scientist has ever found tsetse in America.”

Chapter 18. Terrible word

The detachment made its way through the forest for twelve days, covering over a hundred miles during this time. Gradually, Dick began to discover the truth, “which became more and more clear and undeniable every hour” - they were in equatorial Africa, the country of “slave traders and slaves.”

Part two

Chapter 1. Slave trade

The Pilgrim crashed off the coast of Angola. This was one of the most dangerous regions of Equatorial Africa, where cannibalistic savages still lived, local tribes were constantly at odds, but the worst thing was that the slave trade was in full swing here.

Chapter 2. Harris and Negoro

Harris, who had left the detachment by that time, met with Negoro. From their conversation it became clear that these were old friends who lived in the slave trade. They agreed to wait for the slave caravan "to capture Dick Sand and his companions."

Chapter 3. A Hundred Miles from the Shore

Dick Sand realized that Negoro was the culprit of their troubles, and Harris was his accomplice. Only one thing remained unclear - “what were these scoundrels up to?” " The young man planned to return to the coast as quickly as possible and “reach the nearest Portuguese trading post,” where they would be safe. To do this, it was necessary to find a river and go down to the ocean on a raft.

Chapter 4. Along the difficult roads of Angola

On the way, the friends were overtaken by a terrible thunderstorm and heavy rain. They managed to hide from bad weather in an empty termite mound.

Chapter 5. Lecture on termites given in a termite mound

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cousin Benedict gave his friends an informative lecture about the builders of this impressive structure - termites.

Chapter 6. Diving bell

At night, water began to flow into the termite mound - “due to the rain, the river overflowed its banks and overflowed across the plain.” Dick compared their shelter to a diving bell, in which the air is under high pressure. To escape, the friends cut through the top of the termite mound and got out to freedom.

Chapter 7. Camp on the shores of Kwanzaa

Noticing a native camp nearby, the friends hurried towards them. However, this was a slave caravan, driving slaves to "the main market for black goods." Once in the camp, "Dick Sand and his companions immediately turned into slaves." Mrs. Weldon, Jack and cousin Benedict were immediately separated, Dick was disarmed and taken under guard, and the blacks were added to the caravan.

Chapter 8. From Dick Sand's notebook

The strong man Hercules miraculously managed to escape, and his friends, shackled, were jealous of him - “he was free and could fight for his life.” Dick was entirely occupied with thoughts of Mrs. Weldon and little Jack. Old lady Nan was among the exhausted slaves who were hacked to death with axes.

Chapter 9. Kasonde

Only “half of the total number of captured slaves” reached Kazonda, the largest slave market. The slaves were distributed among cramped barracks. The owner of the caravan, Antonio Alvets, was especially happy with the young and strong blacks from America - he could demand a high price for them. From Harris, Dick learned about the death of Mrs. Weldon and Jack. “In a fit of uncontrollable anger,” the young man killed the traitor.

Chapter 10. Fair

Alvets wanted to immediately execute Dick, but Negoro asked him to be patient a little. On the day of the fair in Kazonda, Alvets brought out all his slaves for sale. Tom, Bath, Actaeon and Austin were very lucky, and “they were sold into one hand.”

Chapter 11. Royal Punch

In the midst of the fair, “His Majesty Muani-Lunga, King of Kazonde” appeared, looking more like a decrepit gorilla. He was accompanied by numerous wives and a retinue of flatterers. Alvets, knowing about the local king’s addiction to alcohol, invited him to drink a strong punch. When the old drunkard drank the flaming drink, “his majesty, thoroughly intoxicated, burst into flames” and died on the spot.

Chapter 12. The King's Funeral

Muani-Lung's first wife, "Queen Muana was to inherit the royal throne." She hastened to organize her husband's funeral and consolidate her position. A large pit was dug, where, according to the old tradition, the remaining wives of the king were thrown. According to Negoro’s plan, the tied up Dick was to be thrown there, and then the pit was to be flooded with water.

Chapter 13. At the trading post

Harris lied that Mrs. Weldon, Jack and Cousin Benedict were dead - they were in Kazonda, alive and unharmed. Negoro placed them at the Alvets trading post in the hope of receiving a large ransom for them. He told Mrs. Weldon to write a letter to her husband, with whom he was going to San Francisco.

Chapter 14. News of Doctor Livingston

Having accidentally overheard Alvetz's conversation with his guest, Mrs. Weldon learned that “perhaps help is approaching, which seems to be sent by Providence itself.” The famous traveler Dr. Livingstone "will probably arrive at Kazonda with his escort in the next few days." However, these plans were not destined to come true - the doctor died on the eve of his visit.

Chapter 15. Where the manticore can lead

Having received a letter from Mrs. Weldon, Negoro set off. Meanwhile, Benedict, who had been freely hunting for insects all this time, in pursuit of a rare ground beetle, found himself outside the walls of the trading post. Unbeknownst to himself, he traveled a couple of miles in the hope of catching an insect.

Chapter 16. Mgannga

A period of prolonged rains began, threatening to flood all the fields. Queen Muana decided to seek help from Mgannga, a famous sorcerer from Northern Angola. It turned out to be Hercules in disguise, who made it clear to the queen that the white woman and her child were to blame for all the troubles. He took them with him, and even Alvets could not stop him from doing this.

Chapter 17. Downstream

Hercules brought his “trophies” to the boat, where Dick Sand, Benedict and Dingo, whom he had saved, were located. All that was missing was Tom, Bath, Austin and Actaeon, who were driven out of the village towards the Great Lakes. Having disguised the boat as a floating island, the friends began to go down “down the river to the ocean coast.”

Chapter 18. Miscellaneous Events

During their rafting, travelers from time to time went ashore to hunt. The area seemed uninhabited, but one day they sailed past the village, and only by miracle the savages did not notice them. The friends were forced to moor to the shore as the river rushed down in a “rapid, majestic waterfall.”

Chapter 19. “S. IN."

As soon as he was on the shore, Dingo rushed forward, picking up someone's trail. A smart dog led travelers to a miserable shack in which human bones lay. Nearby on the tree were visible “two large half-erased red letters” - S. V. Dick found out that the deceased was the traveler Samuel Vernon, who became a victim of the treacherous guide Negoro.

Suddenly, “a terrible scream was heard outside” - it was Dingo who attacked Negoro, who, before sailing, returned to the scene of his crime to take Vernon’s money from the hiding place. Negoro mortally wounded the dog, but he “clenched his jaws with all his might” and gnawed the throat of his old enemy.

Chapter 20. Conclusion

A real gift of fate for travelers was a meeting with a trade caravan that belonged to Portuguese merchants. In complete safety they reached the port, where they boarded a ship and arrived safely in America. Dick Sand became Weldon's adopted son, and Hercules became a great friend of the family. The young man “graduated with honors from hydrographic courses” and was preparing to become a captain. The general joy was overshadowed only by thoughts of the bitter fate of dark-skinned friends. However, thanks to Mr. Weldon's connections, all four blacks were returned to their homeland.

Conclusion

With his work, Jules Verne sought to show that any person, regardless of class and the thickness of his wallet, is capable of achieving great heights through work, courage and kindness.

After reading the brief retelling of “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain,” we recommend reading the novel in its full version.

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Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.7. Total ratings received: 271.

Year: 1878 Genre: novel

Main characters: junior sailor Dick, slave trader and cook, Mrs. Weldon and the dog Dingo

During a whale hunt, the captain and sailors of the schooner Pilgrim died. The ship was led by 15-year-old captain Dick Sand. On board was the criminal Negoro, who took advantage of the young sailor's inexperience and led everyone into a dead end. Instead of America, the travelers ended up in Africa, where almost everyone ended up in a slave caravan. The brave black man Hercules saves his friends, but his relatives have already been sold before this moment. Mr. Weldor redeems Hercules' loved ones from slavery. Dick adopts. He is completing a navigator's course and is ready to become a professional captain.

The work teaches that all people are absolutely equal regardless of race, skin color, social status and religion.

Read the summary Jules Verne The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain

The plot of the work takes place in 1873. The schooner Pilgrim sets sail for America. Present on the ship are the brave captain Gul, sailors, 15-year-old sailor Dick Sand, the wife of the schooner owner with her little son and cousin, the cook Negoro and the elderly nanny Nun. Some time later, a five-year-old boy discovers an overturned ship with five black people inside. Then it turned out that the ship was shipwrecked, and this family miraculously managed to survive. Among them was an elderly man and his four sons, as well as the dog Dingo, who took a dislike to the cook from the very beginning. Negoro tried not to be near the dog, who recognized him.

A couple of days later, the captain and the sailors decided to continue the whale hunt. They die. Now the schooner is led by junior sailor Dick, who could only navigate by compass. This plays into Negoro's hands. He purposefully breaks all compasses and leads all travelers to a dead end. Instead of America, the ship sails to the shores of Africa. Negoro finds himself in his native land and immediately disappears. Dick Sand and his travelers are met by the American Harris, who collaborates with Negoro. He claims that the ship's passengers are in Bolivia and leads them deep into the forest. Soon Dick and old Tom realize that this is not America, but Africa.

Gerris guesses that the travelers have realized something is wrong and is hiding. He arrived at the appointed meeting place with Negoro. From their conversation, it becomes clear that the American is involved in the slave trade and Negoro previously collaborated with him until he was detained and sentenced to hard labor. A couple of weeks later, he escaped and ended up on the ship Pilgrim, where he got a job as a cook. In Africa, he killed one person, Dingo’s owner, which is why the dog reacted to Negoro the way he did. He, in turn, took advantage of the inexperience of the fifteen-year-old captain and led the schooner to his native shores. Near the meeting place of Negaro and Gerris there is a caravan of slaves who are being led to the fair.

The slave traders hope that Dick will lead his travelers to the river, where they will trap them. The blacks and Dick are captured, only Hercules was lucky and managed to escape. Mrs. Weldon, her son and cousin are led away in another direction. The criminals have other plans for them. Negaro wants to get a huge ransom from Weldon for them. Dick and his friends endure severe torment during the passage of the caravan. Old lady Nun can't stand it and dies.

Dick meets Geriss. He hates him for betraying them. Taking this opportunity, the young man grabs a knife and kills his enemy. Negaro witnesses the death of his comrade and wants to deal with Dick. He negotiates with old acquaintances Alvets, who leads a caravan of slaves and Muani-Lung, so that they order the execution of Dick Send.

Mrs. Weldon's slightly strange cousin wants to catch a rare insect and doesn't even notice how he finds himself outside the territory in which he is kept with his sister and nephew. Hercules meets him. A brave black youth dresses up as a sorcerer. Queen Muana invites sorcerers to influence the weather, since lately there have been constant rainfalls that will adversely affect the harvest. The chief sorcerer reports that the woman and the boy are to blame. Takes Mrs. Weldon and Jackson and leaves. After this, the woman discovers that this is their savior Hercules. He saves Dick, but does not have time to rescue his brothers and father, who have already been sold into slavery.

The fugitives disguise the boat and sail for several days. After some time, the travelers stop at the shore, as there is a waterfall ahead. On this island are the remains of Samuel the Faithful, Dingo's master. This man was robbed and killed by Negaro, who returned to the place again to collect the stolen money. The dog grabbed his throat and was killed with a knife. But Negaro didn’t get away with it so easily.

The boat's passengers were saved. Dick was adopted by the Weldons; by the time he came of age, he was taking sailing courses and was ready to serve as a captain. Black friends were bought by Mistel Weldon.