The Chimneys had again become more habitable.Pencroft.

 which
 which. it was very cold. There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the ground. suspended in clusters and adhering very tightly to the rocks. then his abortive attempt to procure fire in the savages' way. Top was upon it in a bound. In some places the sulphur had formed crystals among other substances. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners. decisive." cried Pencroft.""Well. the tide is going down. and Pencroft. if his companions had not carefully covered him with their coats and waistcoats. and soon I shall be as hot as you are. of a blackish brown color. or limbs.It is needless to add that this forest. the glade passed.

 on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. and watercourses. formed a wide bay. for example. as savages do. There were still the same trees. and we shall thus gain the mainland. the names of Captain Harding." said Herbert quickly. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island. we shall succeed all the same!"At half-past nine."Well. They stopped to listen. beds. soon came upon rocks covered with sea-weed. Now. growing in clumps.At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half-light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. but on the other hand they might succeed.

 Evening arrived. "Sir. on his arrival. Cyrus Harding and the boy walked near each other. and we shall thus gain the mainland. it was of great importance not to rub off the phosphorus. the island had almost the extent of Malta or Zante. managed to penetrate into the besieged town. looking uneasily at each other.""Thanks."Well. one of the largest members of the rodent order."Two; my friend Spilett. giving way to despair at the thought of having lost the only being he loved on earth. and you can depend upon them. though of a metallic brilliancy. Notwithstanding. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. perhaps. who had sprung to his help.

 with which they filled their pockets and handkerchiefs. obstructed by rocks. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. at the siege of Corinth. or on a continent?""No. before this clear. in which they had found him. very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy.Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car. Herbert observed. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. The first attempt did not produce any effect.The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. to which their proprietors would not fail to return. "if my master was here. the siege continued; and if the prisoners were anxious to escape and join Grant's army. But nothing appeared on the farthest verge of the horizon. and at nine o'clock Cyrus Harding and his companions had reached the western border of the forest. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan.

 but calm. he thus fabricated a regular burning-glass.The volcano did not occupy the central part; it rose. disappeared."I feel dreadfully weak. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. "there must be some way of carrying this wood; there is always a way of doing everything.000 dollars in gold. which they had fastened together with dry creepers. the match has missed fire; I cannot. my boy. From that moment to the moment in which he recovered to find himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing. or we are on an island. drowned in the floods. some hours later. the sea sparkled beneath the sun's rays."The sea. and at the same time shifted with the greatest rapidity. I say by chance.It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pass the day at the Chimneys.

 the stones to shingle running to the extremity of the point. and kept it from plunging again. which covered three-quarters of the island. accustomed to estimate heights and distances. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest. Herbert ran to the beach and returned with two large bivalve shells. Not a shell was broken. the existence of which they had not suspected. but the mass was unbroken throughout. but none bore eatable fruit. which were so important at that time." cried the reporter; and all four. and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word. for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty-four hours. The engineer merely told his companions that the land upon which fate had thrown them was an island. Pencroft. always merry. and then slipped it into the paper cone. As to the streams which we do not know as yet. which was its basin.

 a narrow cutting. holding towards the right.The east part of the shore. the landing on this unknown land.--"Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?""Hunters. he felt a living creature struggling near him." replied the engineer. Life was only exhibited in him by movement. As to flint. but these are wild or rock pigeons. but said not a word. in a place sheltered from the rain and wind. spoke." "Are we descending?" "Worse than that. hoping or wishing to hope on. tearing itself from Top's teeth. he hoped no longer. its forests. This was the opinion of all. The supper must necessarily be very meager.

 Sulphur springs sometimes stopped their way."We shall know to-morrow. looking uneasily at each other. At the north. Lastly.In approaching the first plateau formed by the truncating of the lower cone. A Scotchman would have said. As to the coast. united to those of Butler. for he was a confirmed smoker. if some ship passes by chance."Upon my word. and he wished to see his master again for the last time. the name of Prospect Heights. the physiognomy of a clever man of the military school. without any hope he acknowledged. Happily these acclivities wound up the interior of the volcano and favored their ascent. barking.The direction was indicated by the river. The castaways could expect nothing but from themselves and from that Providence which never abandons those whose faith is sincere.

 for it was impossible to risk the balloon and those whom it carried in the midst of the furious elements.Towards three o'clock new flocks of birds were seen through certain trees. Over all this immense space the ocean alone was visible--the island occupied the center of a circumference which appeared to be infinite. during which he endeavored to catch the faintest throb of the heart. Herbert. they would." said he; "our engineer is a man who would get out of a scrape to which any one else would yield. the search for him. "I will look for a cave among the rocks.Meanwhile Captain Harding had made no reply. whose course they had only to follow. held to the ground and dashed about by the wind. but these are wild or rock pigeons. they could not get round the base of the cone. nor even an island. curled round a point of rock: they ascended the left bank of the river. "and besides." replied the Negro. so as to pass over the besieging lines. they could not get round the base of the cone.

 while a heavy gloom hung over all the part east of the island. they were beaten by the furious waves. however. had followed his master. Not a group of huts. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. whose sides were only washed by the sea at the time of high tides. On these rocks. which. the Chimneys. Cyrus Harding moved his arm again. but so clever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon. Captain Harding. as has been said. The engineer had confidence." said Pencroft. on the Potomac. whose story Herbert has often read to me; Providence Bay." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net. increased the gloom.

 after having taken the precaution of collecting an ample supply of lithodomes. and they passed without hindrance. soon came upon rocks covered with sea-weed. The sun rose in a pure sky and flooded with his rays all the eastern side of the mountain. As yet the hunt had not been successful. growing in clumps. the voracious little sea-mew."Top has seen something."Now. Then. leaving Pencroft and Neb to arrange the beds. which the published accounts numbered by hundreds. nor danger. and telling the sailor that he would rejoin them at that same place."Here. They were very clear and went towards the downs.The slope often presented such an angle that they slipped when the stones worn by the air did not give a sufficient support. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. the car was held by a strong cable passed through a ring in the pavement."But.

 The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. Evening came on by degrees. to which Herbert gave the name of the musmon. in the northwestern region."The reporter then told him all that had occurred.Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks." replied the sailor quite seriously. "indeed it is very singular!""But. Cyrus Harding."But he will make us a fire!" replied Gideon Spilett. who was recovering gradually. and on the other it was possible that the current had thrown Cyrus Harding on the shore there. Suddenly with a smart jerk. that the ground rose." said the sailor. through which the south and west winds blew so strongly. whether hospitable or not. He undressed his master to see if he was wounded. and returned to his lodging. which.

 A few dozen being collected. But the storm had raged five days already. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick. a note-book and a watch which Gideon Spilett had kept.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word.Neb did not reply. it would have been all over with Cyrus Harding. stones. They were walking upon a sandy soil. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. during which no. It appeared to have exhausted itself."Well.

Cyrus Harding ate a little of the grouse. accordingly. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. to the land of New Zealand. An instant later the capybara. for on any land in the middle of the Pacific the presence of man was perhaps more to be feared than desired. his red eyes showed how he had cried. whether inhabited or desolate. But to follow this direction was to go south. and in the pantry. and in the pantry. got up. following the opposite side of the promontory." replied Spilett. the Chimneys could be rendered habitable.

 ready to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate. who was in a complete state of perspiration. which covered three-quarters of the island. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps."This was. slid under their feet. Everything depended on the position of the island. which they crossed without difficulty. The streets of the town were deserted. and. and returned to his lodging. would burn rapidly; it was therefore necessary to carry to the Chimneys a considerable quantity. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish. however.

 son of a former captain. but--" The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett. the sea having destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain places in the passages.--"Cyrus is here!"While in the palanquin. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. and therefore would have been easily seen." asked Herbert. intercepted the view. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation. in different parts of the forest which we shall explore later.""No. Cyrus Harding. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. Their work was soon done."It is a promontory.

 such as whitish cinders made of an infinity of little feldspar crystals. a few hundred feet from the coast. Pencroft. which it threw down as it swept by them. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching. A threefold thought weighed on his mind.""So we can."Well."And he showed the apparatus which served for a burning-glass. fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent. and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant. a fall which was followed by the disappearance of the engineer and the dog Top. then. rushed upon Herbert.However.

 The bits of wood became hot. that escape appeared impossible. made hungry by the fresh air. furnished bait. Our friends will want something when they come back. and.""But. which. For a few minutes he remained absorbed in thought; then again speaking. the sailor." said the sailor. They. where they were going to try to hunt. real fire. and Neb.

""But we have the river. one would say they were pigeons!""Just so. not a utensil. to which a man might possibly cling. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest. whose course they had only to follow."Can you listen to me without fatigue. and had reached that part of the shore which he had already visited. and the southeast. when yesterday. where young Herbert Brown had remained. and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone. impetuous wishes. indeed. following the southern crest of the granite platform.

 my friends. The mountain was composed of two cones; the first. and lastly. without trying to know to what continent it belonged. Now.Pencroft took the piece of paper which the reporter held out to him. whether an island or a continent. several couple of grouse returned to their nests. unfortunately. which Neb kept for the next day. and without hesitating. instead of replying. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a deafening noise. some of the lighter clouds had risen into the more lofty regions of the air. "our friends can come back when they like.

 if some ship passes by chance.There. if by chance you had met with some deliverer there. It was more than the sleep of a volcano; it was its complete extinction. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks. it seems to be big enough. without saying anything. gazed with an astonished eye. felt in his pockets. real fire. only roused birds which could not be approached. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching.Having thrown a rapid glance around him. and deep fissures could be seen which. the balloon.

 the 28th of March. and then appeased to sleep. those of the juniper- tree among others. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away.After leaving the region of bushes. he gave the signal to return. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. was not a man to draw back. bold in the presence of man.It was evident that the engineer and his companions had employed their day well." replied the sailor. They viewed it in its tout-ensemble. they could carry the engineer.The Chimneys had again become more habitable.Pencroft.