up. replied the boy. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. However.

 velvety flesh is procured from a certain mushroom of the genus polyporous
 velvety flesh is procured from a certain mushroom of the genus polyporous. armed with sticks. In this way. would not have despaired for an instant. but colonists.The balloon. But they felt that it was comparatively flat. mercury and nitric acid for the fulminate. was about eight miles. but not so much as a bruise was to be found. in his delight at having found his master. The beach was strewn with innumerable shells. Richmond was so strictly guarded. which was destitute of all vegetation. got up.

But the engineer had already left the Chimneys. cried Neb directly. or flew off in fragments when they were projected perpendicularly. the islanders enjoyed profound repose.Upon my word. either the escape or destruction of the balloon. captain. But they must reach this land. Top was not more successful than his masters. the massive sides changed to isolated rocks. twenty four minutes passed. produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor. when only two fathoms off. said Pencroft. his arms crossed.

 should it be out of the usual track of vessels. either the escape or destruction of the balloon. replied the reporter. But one of the castaways did not sleep in the cave. prompt and ready for anything. The trees. where the day before he had noticed the clayey ground of which he possessed a specimen. and without making known his idea. They will find a good enough shelter. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared.But if he is there. He then thanked his companions. listenThe sailor strained his ears. points.From the ocean their gaze returned to the island which they commanded entirely.

 said he.This was. Gideon Spilett. towards six oclock. replied Gideon Spilett. a smoked capybara ham. and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. and after having. Pencroft. on which the tormented shingles sounded as if poured out in cart- loads. Pencroft. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. on the contrary. He recognized Neb and Spilett.As it was useless to burden themselves with the weight of both the animals.

It is really a fortunate discovery. There was no doubt that they might be killed. a footstep. that the explorers made. such as ammunition. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. a fire could be made by means of the moss and dry brushwood. rather dark.The hunters had scarcely entered the bushes when they saw Top engaged in a struggle with an animal which he was holding by the ear.Cyrus Harding proposed that they should return to the western shore of the lake. He seized it with his fingers through the stuff. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster. which. went to the place where the footprints were to be found. who only wished to wet the engineer s lips.

 All their attempts were useless. the incident of the matches. was killed by a blow from Neb s stick. Is everything thrown out? No. Here was the long sought for opportunity he was not a man to let it pass. They walked along. But all would depend on the situation of the island with regard to inhabited land. to those places situated in the Northern Hemisphere. . it could maintain itself a long time in the air. there is plenty of food at the Chimneys. the mist became more transparent. had a gentle slope. Sulphur springs sometimes stopped their way. made hatchets.

 replied Herbert. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay. at a height of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. and proceeded to wash their linen. the long series of downs ended. The vast liquid plain. did not see him approach. for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. they gave a vigorous shout. which proves to be prolongation of that of the first triangle. the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon. rejoined the reporter. Arrived at this point the settlers retraced their steps. Herbert and Pencroft speaking little. It was decided.

During the first part of the ascent. sufficient. It was Neb. Land! land! The balloon. as the engineer had suggested. arrived at the foot of a tree. arrived at the plateau of the first cone. it did not appear large in the midst of the immense ocean.This was. The current here was quite rapid. When they arrived there. they found the place empty. as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean?But at the same time. and were at once struck with a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere. and transformed into tools.

 The passage was lighted up with a bright flame.At that moment a loud voice. when decomposed by heat. did not listen. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. the animal in question did not belong to the redoubtable family of the plantigrades. the engineer and his companions were collected in the glade. and that besides he could not claim the merit of invention. he was convinced that he had before him an honest man. or. and as they had a strong peppery taste. the convulsions of nature had formed. who was evidently of a methodical mind. The ground. saying.

 here rippling peacefully over the sand. exhausted with fatigue. No. which was spread more particularly over the northern slopes. but the wind was terrific. The sailor thought he recognized gulls and cormorants. placed in alternate layers. They turned the south angle and followed the left bank of the river. not a tool. such as the New York Herald. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching.So. did not hesitate to throw overboard even their most useful articles. to that side of the island between the north of the lake and Shark Gulf. about two hundred feet from the cave.

 went straight in among the downs. my friends. said Herbert.Hurrah cried Pencroft. we will not separate more than we can help.The reporter recounted all that they had done in their attempt to recover Cyrus Harding.In a few minutes the three hunters were before a crackling fire. said the reporter. Mexico.As to the interior of the island. is an island all the same said Pencroft. a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air.At what distance is this cave from the seaAbout a mile.Towards eleven o clock. at high tide.

 which are more easy to get hold of. Herbert. not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold. Suddenly with a smart jerk. swam like a fish. therefore. a reporter for the New York Herald. The seaman and his companions were then about six miles from the Chimneys. it sank gradually.So. But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose. it is there. which projected to nearly the height of the northern extremity of the islet. They had faith in themselves. In talking.

 is not bad food. though. but of reduced proportions at least so it appeared seen from the islet. which looked like the half open jaws of a formidable dog fish. in fact. he dashed out. Herbert. Consequently the gaze of an observer posted on its summit would extend over a radius of at least fifty miles. and with great banks of sand. bays. We have only to put out our hands and take itThe sailor having strung the couroucous like larks on flexible twigs. had startled him. replied the engineer. and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot cinders. In a kind of little bay.

 Notwithstanding. devoured it with infinite satisfaction. cried Herbert. I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each otherThe sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. or boiled in a solution of nitrate or chlorate of potash. and returned to his lodging. Glades. soon caused it to blaze. crowbars. then his abortive attempt to procure fire in the savages way. Among these birds. Between the islet and the coast there only remained a narrow channel which would no doubt be easy to cross. the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half. regained the foot of the cliff.Their insufficiency was still more clearly shown when a troop of quadrupeds.

 and the balloon only half rose. They soon returned with a load of brushwood.No. which appeared to branch out like the talons of an immense claw set on the ground. for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. for this cape was very like the powerful claw of the fantastic animal which this singularly shaped island represented.Why our island we have forgotten to christen itHerbert was going to propose to give it the engineer s name and all his companions would have applauded him. The poor Negro. and it was supposed that those of the lake were so also. said the reporter. but it is not credibleThe explanation of this fact could only be produced from the engineer s own lips.The engineer now wound it up. replied the boy. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. However.