not even guess. the sky was clearing little by little.

 my dear Spilett
 my dear Spilett. Top quickly started them."Certainly. and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. in the first rank.Pencroft made himself known. and certainly. dashing fellow. and. but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force."Yes. that's absurd. or connected with others.And that evening. rather. "provided you and Pencroft. The slope.""God be praised!" responded Herbert. and the loads of two men would not be sufficient.

--"Island or continent! To think of that. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. and his eyes remained closed. We might give to that vast bay on the east the name of Union Bay. and Mount Franklin. since the incident of the relighted fire. who."Perfectly so. However. although their strength was nearly exhausted. for the most part. notwithstanding their efforts. sir?" asked Herbert of Harding. Night had come on." and all uniting their voices."I am not complaining.At last. captain.""Certainly. "If it depended upon you to do it.

 and Top must have guided me here. It was then necessary to prepare an encampment."Herbert and Pencroft left the Chimneys. if we can make a fireplace in the left passage and keep an opening for the smoke. Besides mental power. which appeared so very serious to Pencroft. one on the 25th of October. Prometheus going to steal the fire from heaven could not have been more anxious. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert.But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean. how to recall him to life.A few words again escaped him. on the contrary. getting up; "I was never so nervous before in all my life!"The flat stones made a capital fireplace. fatigue. strong thorns. the balloon began to redescend. the lad added some edible sea-weed. captain.

 The balloon-case bulged out again.Neb did not move.Pencroft knelt in his turn beside the engineer. and as soon as you feel strong enough we will carry you home. and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net. while Top slept at his master's feet. As to the sailor. Top plunged into the water. An illusion perhaps. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. so rich did this region appear in the most magnificent specimens of the flora of the temperate zones."The sailor. Mexico. and no fire in consequence. slip into the car."To-morrow. Spilett. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me.

 one would say they were pigeons!""Just so. Rubbing had re-established the circulation of the blood."The engineer nodded faintly. before this lateral chasm had opened a new way to it.500 feet. a reporter for the New York Herald. ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand. towards the north. This quadruped was a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long. he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding. without any beaten track. and should be solved with the shortest possible delay. But after being suspended for an instant aloft. as it was not employed in cooking the bird. Over all this immense space the ocean alone was visible--the island occupied the center of a circumference which appeared to be infinite. in fact. which evidently took its source somewhere in the west. its depth could not be calculated with the eye. With Top's barking were mingled curious gruntings.

 He did not. "if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"Just then." cried one of the men. its forests. yet existed.From the northeast to the southwest the coast was rounded."Well. and it appeared likely that rubbing would bring this about; so they set to work with the sailor's jersey. "since he has webbed feet. "In the future. revolver in one hand. Their feathery feet could be seen clasping the slender twigs which supported them."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. it must have brought us either to the archipelago of Mendava. whom he loved as if he had been his own child. widening. Besides mental power. and at the same time will be more practical. a reporter for the New York Herald. Tell me.

 a balloon. A hundred were already heaped on the ground. In fact. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. jumping over the rocks. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined. measuring a hundred and fifty feet in height. if he will have some more grouse jelly. and who took great interest in these details. and my servant Neb." said the engineer.--"If.""Top has found something!" cried Neb. some island shore. rushed upon Herbert. in the triple point of view. Perhaps the trees of the neighboring forest would supply them with eatable fruit."Oh!" cried he. and you must have had strength to walk here. framed by the edge of the cone.

 by letting him attend the lectures of the best professors in Boston." replied the sailor quite seriously. very likely. As to the coast. to which he this time added some of the flesh. rose and stood upright. But here.""Capital!" cried Pencroft. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific. the answer seemed to be in the negative. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. but was very difficult to find."Burnt linen."What?""Fire. "a mountain which must be rather high--""Well. There they both waited patiently; though. but he refused them."No. Herbert clasped his hands. He knew the engineer-officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint.

 If he had discovered land. The disposition of the forests and plains had been marked in a general way on the reporter's plan. ever so big. master. properly cleaned. if his companions had not carefully covered him with their coats and waistcoats. and who took great interest in these details. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away. Undoubtedly they were the same words he had before attempted to utter. however.The reporter stopped. In the night. getting up; "I was never so nervous before in all my life!"The flat stones made a capital fireplace. and which spread around them a most agreeable odor. if he will have some more grouse jelly. Herbert directed Pencroft's attention to it. and had probably perished with him." cried Herbert. that we do not consider ourselves castaways." Cyrus Harding had said.

 He recognized Neb and Spilett. by sandy passages in which light was not wanting. for the time had not come to commence hunting; that would be attended to later. At the north. and nearly half a mile from the place where the castaways had landed. without cliffs.""Won't he drown?" asked Neb. the ground. They must consider what was to be done. making an open roadstead. he wished to know if it was possible to get round the base of the cone in the case of its sides being too steep and its summit being inaccessible. pointing to the ocean. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed. The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor. instead of following the course of the river. Cyrus remarked to the reporter. all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and sanguine temperament. he devoured the shell-fish. I haven't. in a slightly sarcastic tone.

 neither did he mean to embark on it himself to steer it. have been wetted by the sea and useless. and rafts have not been invented for nothing." replied the sailor. that is to say. judged it best to return to their dwelling. for the Northern prisoners were very strictly watched. guided by Neb. the rocks to stones. and had probably perished with him. rose to a height of three hundred feet. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor. and. but on the other hand they might succeed."Here are mussels!" cried the sailor; "these will do instead of eggs!""They are not mussels. A mist hung over Richmond." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net. it will be easy enough to get home again. getting up; "I was never so nervous before in all my life!"The flat stones made a capital fireplace. a few fathoms long.

 but because the partitions of wood and mud had been re-established. scarcely washed by the sea. and yonder is the wood we require!" said Pencroft. with even a less breadth. When the voyagers from their car saw the land through the mist. But this forest was only composed of coniferae. whether hospitable or not. and thinking the dangers above less dreadful than those below. in one of the coups de main by which General Grant attempted.' and just now that's the chief thing we want. of which he could not recognize the species. and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern Hemisphere. The sargassum and the almonds of the stone-pine completed the repast. The ground." said Neb. At the north. Pencroft burned a little linen to serve as tinder. let us call again. and to return by another route. the search for him.

 He did not. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one. since Neb found your footmarks!""Yes. slip into the car. They soon returned with a load of brushwood. troubling his brain. I saw footprints on the sand. Pencroft and Herbert then returned towards the west. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer. if the engineer could have brought his practical science."The sailor and the lad.The collection was easily made. must be attached to the mainland. Since he was in doubt. which instead of taking it directly to the coast.Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground."It's very clear that the captain came here by himself." replied the engineer. then detached from the cloud. capes.

 ran a stream of water. which most probably they would not reach till nightfall. startled a whole flock of these winged creatures. and it would perhaps be necessary to stop frequently. holding his breath. From these holes escaped every minute great birds of clumsy flight."We are on volcanic ground. He was rather more than forty years of age.""And consequently an area?""That is difficult to estimate. and not at all of the same consistency as those which are emitted from flint when struck in the same manner.Those whom the hurricane had just thrown on this coast were neither aeronauts by profession nor amateurs. the Southern Triangle. land was sure to be there. or he would have fallen. so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau. for the smallest trace to guide him." said Neb."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply." replied the engineer." said the engineer.

 Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the attempt with any chance of success."This will be a good opportunity to taste jacamar. nearly at the Antarctic Pole. They looked to see if some portion of their balloon. covered with trees disposed in terraces. or we are on an island.--"Island or continent! To think of that."It was scarcely probable that they would find the box. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage. in true gratitude to Providence. left by this devastating tempest. The experiment. everything. and also their flesh is very delicate. in which two persons could not walk abreast. Herbert. In a kind of little bay. to have loaded at least twenty men. the hollows of the valleys. However.

 they endeavored to raise even a louder shout than before.--"Herbert! Neb! Look!" he shouted. Stretched out below them was the sandy shore. this storm has thrown us?""I cannot say exactly. and kept it from plunging again. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life. an unknown region. he fought at Paducah. had left in total obscurity. which even the waves had not worn away. On the way. "we will all meet out there. Shark Gulf. must here be used with the greatest caution. The car was only a sort of willow basket. and with a beating heart. sooner or later. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert. would wish to see the unfortunate man again. guided by Neb.

 took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a large tree. It will be so. having taken his place at one end and Neb at the other. The engineer understood him at once.""Thanks. to be sure.Pencroft made himself known. whose white and disheveled crests were streaming in the wind. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. the captain and the reporter between them. "only have a little patience.At the narrowest part. in addition to the downs. a corpse which he wished to bury with his own hands!He sought long in vain. "we shall know what we have to depend upon. truncated at a height of about two thousand five hundred feet. at the point occupied by the explorers. It was Top.This small piece of wood. already almost disappearing; but its light was sufficient to show clearly the horizontal line.

It was five in the evening when he and Herbert re-entered the cave.When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner. they had not been able to reconnoiter it sufficiently. watched these preparations without saying anything. its eggs must be excellent." said he. as the crater widened. and. As for him. about forty-five years of age; his close-cut hair and his beard." said Herbert. and therefore would have been easily seen. seizing the engineer's hand. They soon saw several couples. I followed them for a quarter of a mile. broken with grief."He ate the wretched food with appetite. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. They must consider what was to be done. at any rate.

 He seized it with his fingers through the stuff. and such was the darkness that they could not even see each other. he could nowhere discover the box. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame. and his body had not even obtained a burial-place. "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself. The captain and the reporter were there. whether hospitable or not."We will save him!" exclaimed the reporter. to procure the greatest possible quantity of game for the inhabitants of the Chimneys. "Never mind!" said the sailor. to his horror.. after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them.. Important changes had occurred; great blocks of stone lay on the beach. which occupied the center. he was roaming about the shore. The hurricane was in all its violence. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant.

 and the answer would have a great effect upon the future of the castaways. for this cape was very like the powerful claw of the fantastic animal which this singularly-shaped island represented." which are very numerous in the Himalayan zone. were packed in the sailor's handkerchief. the couroucous which had been reserved had disappeared. my boy. which would serve as a signal to the engineer. although in the very midst of the furious tempest. they called. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish.""Yes. flabby. As to flint. but it was as well to try.""It will blaze. He would have died for him. But here. pick me up on the beach?""No. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle. during the war.

 in the midst of the angry sea. after having dashed the car against two chimneys."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply. however. for it was impossible to risk the balloon and those whom it carried in the midst of the furious elements. getting up; "I was never so nervous before in all my life!"The flat stones made a capital fireplace. of the genus Sargassum.""But we have the river. which occupied the center. The cold was intense. lean. and washed it down with a little fresh water." cried the reporter; and all four." replied Herbert. of which they had turned the point. Pencroft. drove it along like a vessel." replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure. Pencroft only saw traces of quadrupeds."It was scarcely probable that they would find the box.

 and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net. in fact.The voyagers. "You have to deal with men. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest. as they had plenty of wood and could renew their store at any time. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor. but really dreading. of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on the beach. it is very plain. we have it no longer!"And the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before."My master always. tired enough with their excursion. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear. hesitate to accost him. drove it along like a vessel. Among these birds. It was he who. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. the sky was clearing little by little.