The works of D. London are familiar to every lover of adventure literature. His characters are brave, strong-willed, decisive people who can find a way out of any situation. Such a man can be called a fourteen-year-old boy from the story "On the shores of Sacramento." Reader reviews indicate that his action deserves the title “feat”.
Meet Jerry - son and father
The epigraph to the story was an excerpt from the song of the sailors. She was often sung by the main character - a boy with red hair, blue eyes and white skin covered with freckles. He had never seen the sea, but he had heard a lot about it from his father, old Jerry. Once he decided to leave the ship to look at the Sacramento River, and so the donkey is here. He got married, entered the Yellow Dream mine, where he continued to work to this day. His job as a ranger with ropes was to transport an ore carriage to the other side.
After death, Margeret himself began to raise his son, Jerry Jr., giving him all his love. So begins the story "On the shores of Sacramento."
Stayed for the owner
Little Jerry’s meeting with Hall, the Yellow Dragon Ranger of the Yellow Dragon mine, makes it clear that his father had left for San Francisco the day before. The boy was left alone, which he was very proud of. He tries to act like an adult in conversation, and even when he finds out that Hall is going to the gorge to hunt, he remarks: “It looks like rain is gathering.”
The weather really turned bad, and Jerry went to the house, from where he was not going to leave today.
Summary "On the shores of Sacramento": the beginning
At noon there was a knock on the door, and the Spillen couple “burst into” the room. They were looking for Hall, as they urgently needed to cross to the other side. These services were provided to residents only by the Yellow Dragon. Upon learning that the caretaker went to the gorge, they were very upset. Over the river there was an explosion in the mine, and Mrs. Spillen's father was seriously injured. Now the spouses had one option - to cross the cable, which was watched by old Jerry.
Jack London puts his young hero in a difficult situation. A crisis came on the shores of Sacramento, and the Yellow Dream had been idle for quite some time. In addition, the cable was not designed to transport people. The boy does not dare to take up the crossing, since he never did it himself, without the supervision of his father. Finally, Mr. Spillan managed to convince him that there was simply no other way to get to that shore.
Jerry knew how to fuse a cable, but now he had to do it alone. Moreover, instead of ore, there were people in the trolley, and the rain and wind were incredibly intensified.
Summary "On the shores of Sacramento" will continue to describe the incredible courage and ingenuity of the hero.
People in danger
Jerry's task was to adjust the speed of the trolley. To do this, it was necessary to monitor the spinning drum. Now the crossing was complicated by a strong gusty wind and lack of visibility. It seemed that the spouses on the road were immediately swallowed by the abyss.
Simultaneously with the loaded trolley, an empty cabin moved from the other side, helping to maintain balance. At first everything went well. However, at some point, the cable stopped and did not react at all to the boy’s actions. This meant one thing: the mechanism that had not been working for a long time had deteriorated, and people hung somewhere in the mist above the raging river. While the boy was examining the drum in the hope of finding a malfunction, the clouds cleared, and at some point he saw the raging Sacramento, and Mr. and Mrs. Spillen hanging over it. What to do: leave everything as it is or try to extract people from this captivity - Jack London presents his hero with such a choice.
“On the shores of Sacramento”: the climax
Jerry, who understood that the cause of the malfunction should be sought on the other side, rushed to the "Yellow Dragon" ... But the kid did not find any problems in the second reel. Mr. Spillan examined his trolley. Her wheels were also working. So the whole thing is in an empty trolley.
The boy did not have time to think. The summary “On the Sacramento Coast” does not include details prior to the dangerous “journey”. Taking the necessary tools, constructing a loop that played the role of a booth for him, Jerry set off along the cable in the opposite direction. His knees shook with fear, everything froze inside, but he, stripping his palms, stubbornly moved towards his goal. About an hour and a half it took him to put the pop-up wheel in place. It was not easy. Sometimes it seemed that everything was hopeless, and he would never cope with the rusted mechanism. But the boy again and again made a new attempt until a decision came to his mind. The old nail, miraculously lying in a pocket, helped to fix the breakdown.
Climbing into the trolley, tired and psychologically exhausted, Jerry headed towards the shore.
Denouement
Having reached the place, the boy slowly got out. Then he strengthened the trolley. And only after that he fell to the ground and sobbed. Unbearable pain in tattered palms, experienced fear, incredible nervous tension, finally, joy for the saved people - all this caused tears, which he was not at all ashamed of.
Summary “On the shores of Sacramento” ends prosaically. Staggering, Jerry Jr. got to the house. Tears gave way to pride, because without false modesty he could appreciate what he had done. And only one thought disturbed him now: “If only father could see!”