Nikolai Nekrasov contemporaries. Poem "Contemporaries"

Francis Morgan, the wealthy heir of the owner of large enterprises, Richard Henry Morgan, is in lazy idleness wondering what to do. At this time, the former rival of the late R. G. Morgan in stock games, Sir Thomas Regan, learns from a certain Alvarez Torres that he knows the location of the treasure hidden by the founder of the Morgan family, the pirate Henry Morgan. Torres offers to equip the expedition. Regan, who once unsuccessfully tried to ruin Francis' father, now wants to settle scores with his son. Young Morgan's absence is to his advantage. Therefore, he, not at all believing in the existence of the treasure, agrees with the idea of the expedition, subject to the participation of his “young friend” in it, who supposedly needs to be saved from the temptations of the big city.

The possibility of an exciting journey seems tempting to Francis. He travels from New York to Panama and immediately finds himself on an adventure. On the shore where he landed, some beautiful girl starts a conversation with him - as if they had known each other for a long time. Either showering him with reproaches and threatening him with a revolver, or kissing him, she ends with an order to immediately and forever leave these places. Having understood nothing, the young man obeys.

Having reached one of the islands, Francis meets an angry man there, who immediately demands, like the girl, that he get away. This is where it comes down to hand-to-hand combat. Francis threatens to put the stranger on his shoulder, but he himself finds himself pinned to the ground. You have to endure humiliation and leave the island. In pursuit, the winner mockingly asks if the opponent will leave his business card? Snorting in response, Francis still gives his last name. Hearing her, the owner of the island makes the assumption that he had a fight with one of his distant relatives: his name is Henry Morgan. Looking at the portrait of the ancestor of the Morgans hanging in his hut, he realizes something else - the amazing external resemblance of the uninvited guest to the old pirate and to himself. Henry's attitude towards the enemy changes. Seeing Francis on the other side of the strait struggling to fight off the Indians who attacked him, he rushes to his aid, and then drags the exhausted man into the hut. A lot becomes clearer here. The young people say their names and come to the conclusion that they have a common ancestor, whose treasures they are both looking for. After listening to Francis's story about meeting a strange girl, Henry realizes that this is the daughter of the Spaniard Enrico Solano, Leoncia, to whom he was engaged and who mistook the stranger for him because of their striking resemblance. The wedding did not take place because the groom was accused of murdering Alfaro Solano, Leoncia's uncle. Henry did not commit murder, but by chance it was he who found Alfaro’s body with a knife in his back, and at that moment the gendarmes saw him. Due to a false accusation, Leoncia returned the wedding ring he had given to Henry, and Henry, in order to avoid reprisals, had to flee.

Francis undertakes to settle the misunderstanding, deliver the ring she returned to Leoncia and explain the true state of affairs. All this succeeds, but the general peace is hampered by the appearance of Torres. He is in love with Leoncia and has made it his goal to eliminate her fiancé by any means necessary. As a result of the intrigues, Francis and Henry almost lose their lives on the same charge of murdering Alfaro (the similarities played a role here too). But they manage to escape the gallows and escape from the pursuit, led by the police chief and Torres, into the depths of the Cordillera. The fugitives are accompanied by the entire Solano family. On the way, Francis saves the life of a slave who fled from the torture of his plantation owner. Suddenly an old Indian, the man's father, appears. In gratitude for saving his son, he offers to take Francis and his companions to the place where the Mayan treasures are kept. Francis hesitates: he should return to New York, to the affairs of the stock market, and most importantly, he is too attracted to Leoncia, and it is better to leave so as not to compete with Henry. Meanwhile, Leoncia realized that her feelings were divided: she loved both Morgans! Tormented by this, Leoncia still does not want to be separated from Francis, and, yielding to her wishes, he remains.

All participants in the events descend from the mountains. An expedition is being prepared. A week later she goes back to the Cordillera. An old Indian leads travelers to the foot of a high cliff. Having difficulty finding a crack in it, they penetrate inside and find themselves in a cave with many mummies and a pile of bones. These are the remains of those who once tried to find Mayan treasures. Danger lurks at every step of the new newcomers. The guide's son dies after falling into the abyss under the feet of the stone goddess Chia. From the opened void, water begins to gush out like a fountain and fills the cave; a collapse blocks the previously found entrance.

Misfortune brings the captives of the mountain together with Torres, who quietly sneaks into its belly after them. Then we have to act together, helping each other. With difficulty they manage to find a saving passage through which, not finding treasures and almost losing their lives, they get out into the open. Below lies a valley called the Valley of Lost Souls. The tribe living there greets foreigners with hostility. For a decision on their fate, the old priest turns to the highest ruler of the tribe. This is a beautiful young woman with a golden tiara on her head - a real queen, according to Henry. Her decision is unexpected: all the captives will remain alive only if one of the men marries her. Since no one expresses a desire to become the queen's chosen one, Leoncia suggests casting lots. He falls to Henry, but Francis, trying, despite his own feelings, to save the union of his friend and his bride, announces that he is ready to become the queen’s husband. (This is the most desirable choice for her: it is Francis who is dear to her from the first minute.) Meanwhile, Torres, having discovered that there is a chest full of precious stones in the royal chambers, tries to take possession of the wealth (although he does not know that he sees treasures in front of him, in ancient times stolen by the Lost Souls from a hiding place in a Mayan cave). But the thief is caught by the queen in the act. Having entered into a struggle with her, he makes a careless move and falls into a foaming stream near the house, which carries him under a rock.

The priest performs the wedding ceremony between Francis and the queen, but immediately after the ceremony he himself and the entire population of the valley begin a decisive offensive against the foreigners. All that's left to do is run. On the queen's orders, Francis lowers the chest of jewelry into a secret hatch under the floor of the house, and all four jump into the stream, which carries Torres away. An underground river carries them to safety. After some time, the fugitives reach the city of San Antonio, where the expedition began, and the Solano family, who had already considered everyone dead, takes them into their arms. Then Francis receives a telegram saying that he urgently needs to return to New York, since his financial situation is in jeopardy. He and the queen leave.

In New York, Francis plunges into business, and his wife, with some difficulty, masters the wonders of civilization. Having once heard Francis's conversation with a friend, to whom he confesses that he is married to one woman and loves another, and seeing a portrait of Leoncia, the queen realizes that she has been deceived in her husband's feelings and leaves the house. Searches are unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Torres appears in San Antonio, having escaped in the same way as the others. He shows the jeweler one of the few stolen stones, according to his estimate, he guesses the value of the entire treasure in the millions and decides to go after it. The Solano family unexpectedly learns two important secrets, supported by strong evidence: Leoncia, adopted by Enrico as a child, is actually English and is Henry’s sister (there will be no wedding!), and Alfaro’s killer is Torres.

The Queen comes to San Antonio with the intention of destroying her rival. However, after a frank conversation with Leoncia, she has one desire left - to help Francis defeat his enemies. Therefore, she wants to return for her jewelry to give it to him. Henry equips an expedition that advances in the mountains at the same time as Torres’s detachment, only on a different road. Torres is the first to reach his goal. The chest is found, but it is not possible to take possession of it, as a hail of arrows falls on the thieves: the Lost Souls decided to kill anyone who approaches the village. At this time, Henry and the queen appear on the rock ledge. Seeing them, Torres shoots and his bullet kills the queen. Fleeing from the attacking Souls, he runs from the valley, but falls into the gorge and, unable to get out of it, dies.

Meanwhile, in New York, Francis and his broker finally figure out who is ruining the heir of R. G. Morgan. However, a direct conversation with Regan does not change the situation - disaster is approaching. And then Henry and Leoncia appear at Francis’s house with a suitcase full of jewelry. This is millions of dollars. Francis is saved, but Regan faces ruin. Henry talks about everything that happened after his friend left and says that since Leoncia turned out to be his sister, now nothing prevents Francis from marrying her.

Retold

Jack London
Hearts of three

Having reached one of the islands, Francis meets an angry man there, who immediately demands, like the girl, that he get away. This is where it comes down to hand-to-hand combat. Francis threatens to put the stranger on his shoulder, but he himself finds himself pinned to the ground. You have to endure humiliation and leave the island. In pursuit, the winner mockingly asks if the opponent will leave his business card? Snorting in response, Francis still gives his last name. Hearing her, the owner of the island makes the assumption that he had a fight with one of his distant relatives: his name is Henry Morgan. Looking at the portrait of the ancestor of the Morgans hanging in his hut, he realizes something else - the amazing external resemblance of the uninvited guest to the old pirate and to himself. Henry's attitude towards the enemy changes. Seeing Francis on the other side of the strait struggling to fight off the Indians who attacked him, he rushes to his aid, and then drags the exhausted man into the hut. A lot becomes clearer here. The young people say their names and come to the conclusion that they have a common ancestor, whose treasures they are both looking for. After listening to Francis's story about meeting a strange girl, Henry realizes that this is the daughter of the Spaniard Enrico Solano, Leoncia, to whom he was engaged and who mistook the stranger for him because of their striking resemblance. The wedding did not take place because the groom was accused of murdering Alfaro Solano, Leoncia's uncle. Henry did not commit murder, but by chance it was he who found Alfaro’s body with a knife in the back, and at that moment the gendarmes saw him. Due to a false accusation, Leoncia returned the wedding ring he had given to Henry, and Henry, in order to avoid reprisals, had to flee.

Meanwhile, Torres appears in San Antonio, having escaped the same way as the others. He shows the jeweler one of the few stolen stones, according to his estimate, he guesses the value of the entire treasure in the millions and decides to go after it. The Solano family unexpectedly learns two important secrets, supported by strong evidence: Leoncia, adopted by Enrico as a child, is actually English and is Henry’s sister (there will be no wedding!), and Alfaro’s killer is Torres.

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To better prepare for a literature lesson, we recommend reading online a chapter-by-chapter summary of “The Heart of Three.” A retelling of the book will also be useful for the reader's diary.
Main characters

Francis Morgan is a wealthy heir, a true gentleman, an even and decent young man.
Henry Morgan is a real adventurer, a hot-tempered, determined, fearless young man.
Leoncia is a spoiled, impulsive beauty, the adopted daughter of Enrico Solano and the sister of Henry Morgan.

Other characters

Enrico Solano is the head of the Solano family, a smart, rich, hot-tempered man.
Alvarez Torres is a rogue, greedy and treacherous.
Thomas Regan is a stockbroker and Francis Morgan's main rival in financial matters.
The Queen is the high priestess of the natives of the Valley of Lost Souls.

Summary
Chapters 1-8
Francis Morgan, the young heir to his father's million-dollar fortune, was "sluggishly ignorant" about his future. While he was thinking about what to do with his life, his father's main rival in the stock exchange games, Thomas Regan, wasted no time. From a certain Alvarez Torres, he learned about the location of an impressive treasure that belonged to Francis' distant ancestor, the pirate Henry Morgan.
Stockbroker Regan hated the late Mr. Francis with all his heart, and now dreamed of ruining his son. He did not at all believe Torres’ story about the treasure, but decided, under a plausible pretext, to get rid of Francis, sending him on a dangerous “treasure journey, full of adventure, requiring physical exertion.” When Francis learned about the upcoming trip, he was happy - it was a great way to overcome boredom.
On the schooner Angelica, Morgan set off for the distant shores of Panama. When he landed, a beautiful girl ran up to him and began to talk to him as if they knew each other well. She ordered Francis to immediately leave these places, and the young man, not understanding anything, obeyed her.
Having reached one of the islands, Morgan met a young man who ordered him to get away. A shootout ensued between the heroes, and only when the cartridges ran out did they continue the dialogue. Francis “felt as if he had seen this man somewhere before, although it never occurred to him that he was looking at an exact copy of himself.” It turned out that the stranger's name is Henry Morgan, and he, like the polished gentleman Francis, is a descendant of a pirate. The young people were distant relatives - “second cousins or something like that.”
Francis spoke about the strange behavior of an unfamiliar girl. Henry explained that it was his fiancée, the beautiful Leoncia, who had mistaken Francis for her betrothed. They were supposed to get married, but the wedding did not take place due to a sad event. One day, Henry and Leoncia's uncle, Alfaro Solano, had a big fight and "swore to kill each other." Solaro's body was soon found, and everyone decided that Henry was his killer. Leoncia returned the ring to her lover and he, hiding from the gendarmes, was forced to flee.
Francis promised his brother to reconcile him with his bride. He met with Leoncia and explained everything to her. He then placed Henry's wedding ring on her finger, and she, "without knowing why, reluctantly took it back." This scene was observed by Torres, who was in love with the beautiful Leoncia. Thanks to his intrigues, Henry ended up behind bars, but Francis saved him from certain death. The heroes managed to escape the pursuit of the gendarmes, and soon the trio, accompanied by the Solano family, went in search of Captain Morgan's treasure. By that time, Francis had fallen in love with Leoncia, and the girl was tormented, having feelings for both Henry and Francis.
Chapters 9-16
Francis told his friends that the treacherous Torres, who was considered the best friend of the Solano family, had gone after them. He received orders from Regan to make sure Francis never returned home. In addition, he dreamed of getting rid of Henry and taking possession of Leoncia.
On the way, Francis saved a peon, an impoverished Indian native who had escaped from a cruel plantation owner, from a difficult fate. His father, an old Indian, as a sign of gratitude, offered to take Francis and his companions to a secret place where ancient Mayan treasures were kept.
Francis hesitated because he needed to return to New York, where “not some people or entertainment, but business” awaited him. However, Leoncia managed to persuade him to stay. Preparations for the expedition began.
The old Indian kept his word and led the travelers to the foot of a high cliff. Having found a hidden crevice in it, he led the heroes deep into the cave, which contained many remains of treasure lovers. Many dangers and deadly traps awaited travelers in the cave.
Soon, Torres joined the treasure hunters and quietly sneaked into the cave after them. Finding themselves in a difficult situation, they were forced to act together and help each other.
The travelers managed to find a way out of the cave, which led them to the Valley of Lost Souls. According to ancient belief, “whoever once entered this valley will never leave here again.”
Chapters 17-23
The local tribe met the foreigners with great hostility. To find out what to do with them, the natives turned to their mistress, a beautiful young woman, for advice. Her decision was very original: the prisoners would save their lives if one of the men married her. However, no one was ready for such a step. Then Leoncia invited the men to cast lots, and it fell to Henry. In a noble impulse, Francis, who decided to save the union of Leoncia and Henry, announced that he was ready to become the husband of the high priestess. At the same time, “Henry sighed with such relief as if he had been saved from certain death.”
Meanwhile, Torres managed to find out that in the royal chambers there was a chest full of precious stones. He tried to take possession of it, but was caught in the act. Torres, taking a wrong step, fell into a seething stream - he was “drawn into a whirlpool from which there is no return.”
The priest performed the wedding ceremony between Francis and the queen, but immediately after the ceremony he incited the tribe to attack the foreigners. The heroes had only one thing to do - run. The queen ordered Francis to lower the chest of jewels into a secret hatch, and all four rushed into the stream, which carried Torres away.
An underground river carried the heroes to safety and they soon united with the Solano family. Francis received an alarming telegram from New York and went to America with his wife.
Chapters 24-29
The Queen, finding herself in New York, was not at all at a loss; on the contrary, she “accepted everything with royal carelessness, as a gift from her royal husband.” One day she overheard a conversation between Francis and a friend, to whom he admitted that he loved another woman. Seeing Leoncia's portrait, the queen realized who her rival was. Being a very proud woman, she left her husband’s house, and the search for her led nowhere.
Meanwhile, no less important events were taking place in Panama. So, a witness to the murder of Uncle Leoncia appeared, who said that none other than Torres “stabbed a knife into the back of Senor Alfaro Solano.” In addition, it turned out that Leoncia and Harry are “brother and sister”, and there can be no talk of any wedding between them.
Tormented by jealousy, the queen arrived in San Antonio to destroy her rival. However, after a frank conversation with Leoncia, the woman changed her plans. She decided to use her strength to help Francis. The Queen convinced Henry to go with her to the Valley of Lost Souls to retrieve the chest of jewels. Torres also went after the treasure, only along a different route. He was the first to reach the goal, but he failed to take the chest - the thieves were attacked by the inhabitants of the valley.
At that moment the second detachment appeared. Torres, who did not want to share the treasure, fired and “hit the queen right in the heart.” Fleeing from the natives, he fell into a gorge, where death overtook him.
Francis realized that the villain Regan was to blame for all his financial problems, but a direct conversation with him did not change the situation. Francis understood that he was on the edge of an abyss. Unexpectedly, old friends appeared in his house: Henry and Leoncia. They brought with them a chest of precious stones, and thereby saved Francis from ruin. But the greatest happiness for him was the news that Leoncia was free, and he could take her as his wife.
Conclusion

In his work, Jack London wanted to show how important it is to remain a decent person under any circumstances. True value lies in love and friendship, and no treasure can compare with them.
After reading the brief retelling of “The Heart of Three,” we recommend reading the work in its full version.