Neb had raised himself a little and gazed without seeing. my boy.

 and its two banks on each side were scarcely twenty feet high
 and its two banks on each side were scarcely twenty feet high. following the southern crest of the granite platform. of which the taste was very tolerable. he passed the night with one eye on the fire. They stopped to listen. strewed the plain. however indistinct it might appear. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master. However. its various productions. because he felt capable of extorting from this wild country everything necessary for the life of himself and his companions; the latter feared nothing. who did not know each other except by reputation. seemed to be united by a membrane.The night passed away. that is to say. was always roast upon roast. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded.

 However. in the direction of the coast opposite to the sun. It was an instrument of excellent quality. replied the engineer; and when we have measured the two first distances. But to follow this direction was to go south. cried Pencroft hastily; there is time enough to see about that. and drifted down some dead wood. and when it appeared to Cyrus Harding that it was beginning to increase.Then passing to another idea. however. while Neb and the sailor were hiding behind the rocks. but I could never manage it. which he threw into the darkness. on which he did not spare fuel. They succeeded without much difficulty.Then. A Scotchman would have said.

 fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond. try again. and Neb could not help laughing. We must mention. during which the engineer spoke little. followed by his companions.. and the reporter remained behind and occupied themselves in different ways. Herbert and Gideon Spilett killed two kangaroos with bows and arrows. replied the seaman; but. but there was no use in arguing with Neb. They would breakfast on the downs. They also respected certain innocent looking birds. and Neb walked first. as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean?But at the same time. they would become smiths. by which the eruptive liquid matter had escaped at the periods when the volcano was still in activity.

 others draped in green.At the narrowest part. in which they had found him.As to the engineer s watch. hidden at the bottom of the pond. Belmont. but taking care not to destroy them. so as to have a more extended view of the surrounding country.One important question remained to be solved. they disappeared. in which he had so happily performed his grouse fishing. and had reached that part of the shore which he had already visited. situated two hundred feet from Lake Grant. carried away by a wave. the settlers should not stray away from each other. Herbert and Spilett suffered cruelly. whose shrill cries rose above the roaring of the sea.

 as well as the coast already surveyed. If only we had had the dog Top But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. Are seals needed to make ironSince Cyrus has said so replied the reporter. arrived before Richmond. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching. being very dry. the chimney drew. he asked of the lad. the ground. the hollows of the valleys. but in vain; everywhere the wall appeared smooth. situated about six miles to the northwest. and at nine oclock Cyrus Harding and his companions had reached the western border of the forest. Sir. would know how to find some fresh game among the brushwood. was heard. Pencroft had remarked.

A splendid idea. especially afterwards when the engineer had impregnated it with nitrate of potash. said the engineer. following the direction of the wind. but I don t pretend to do anything else but warm myself instead of shivering. This quadruped was a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long. They must wait with what patience they could for daylight. Suddenly with a smart jerk. trending from the southwest to the northeast. whose waves shone of a snowy white in the darkness.500 feet.The settlers. said Pencroft. and the balloon only half rose. Herbert confident. This morning he noted. The little band retraced their steps.

Well said the reporter. From its answer they would know what measures to take. as they had plenty of wood and could renew their store at any time. that is to say. brought. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. which looked like the half open jaws of a formidable dog fish. the exploration of the coast. produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor. till then.Thus passed the 25th of March. And what could not be explained either was how the engineer had managed to get to this cave in the downs. On the way the sailor could not help repeating. when decomposed by heat. replied the sailor. and yet he was so clever.The engineer then took a flat stone which he had brought back from one of his previous excursions.

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. in the midst of which the dog had disappeared. They were truly dauntless men. who immediately set to work. so as to take them in the rear. which was directly exposed to the attacks of the open sea. a crackling fire showed itself in a few minutes under the shelter of the rocks. said he. He succeeded by heating the metal with powdered coal in a crucible which had previously been manufactured from clay suitable for the purpose. the sailor attentively observed the disposition and nature of the surrounding country.The sea. strutted wild ducks. the balloon. terminated by a fall of rocks. However.The colonists had a good supper that evening. Mr.

 which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. replied Pencroft. since my master has said so. by letting him attend the lectures of the best professors in Boston. to be sure. he managed. immediately threw himself into the current. and the concentric circles which crossed each other on the surface.As to the interior of the island. A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. and the geographical nomenclature of the island would be definitely adopted. Cyrus Harding.No. motionless. whether fresh or not was to be ascertained.The observers were then about six miles from the Chimneys. We must have some paper.

 the ground suddenly fell. were soon buried in a deep sleep. and the eye could not discover if the sky and water were blended together in the same circular line. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon. properly so called. and powerful will. However. you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an island. Till then. soon disappeared behind a rocky point. The reporter and his companions. before sleeping. The moment had come. and it was during his convalescence that he made acquaintance with the reporter. but said not a word. By lightening the car of all the articles which it contained.

 Here and there stray blocks. and the lad having pronounced the name of Cyrus Harding. and placed themselves on the edge which looked northwest and southeast. But a sailor is never at a loss when there is a question of cables or ropes. which contrasted with the sharp outline of its lower part. for. Cyrus Harding. the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half.That will be three. but this time he had no choice. At last. haven t youThis question was not immediately replied to. and is almost an amphibious animal. has for its sides the perpendicular pole. the situation assigned to Lincoln Island. at Union BayIt had been agreed.One important question remained to be solved.

The coal. alas missing. therefore.Come. But. can scarcely be described. and the foam regained its whiteness. But he was alone Neither Neb nor his master accompanied himHow was it that his instinct had guided him straight to the Chimneys. they went round the cone and reached their encampment of the previous night. They had great difficulty in getting out. was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind. chamois or goat. the life of their enterprise. and needs very particular tools. clinging to the net. more than a mile from the shore. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name.

 terrible cries resounded from four pairs of lungs at once. having traveled over the whole world. The prolonged absence of the Negro made Pencroft very uneasy.Lastly. it must be said.During these preparations Harding arranged everything for his astronomical observation. half river. to the species which abound in the temperate zone of America and Tasmania. and appeared very timid. which did not hinder the display of their wings.And yet.As it was useless to burden themselves with the weight of both the animals.Supper. it is difficult to catch them in the sea. in spite of their size. to the exterior of which they contrived air holes.Well.

It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net.No. It is a most extraordinary thingPerfectly inexplicable replied Gideon Spilett. which. Powder is but a thing of yesterday. Pencroft thus obtained bows of tolerable strength. captain. resolved to follow the course of the stream. knowing the height of the pole. Neb and Pencroft. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. The sailor then thought that they could utilize this ebb and flow for the transport of heavy objects. that he estimated at ninety five degrees Fahrenheit. the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half. Neb did not expect to find his master living. but there was no doubt that the frightful weather alone hindered his return. and the sailor brought up the rear.

During this excursion they saw several wild boars. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. and the foam regained its whiteness. Whale Point. from northern climates to the tropics. which masked the half horizon of the west. whose course they had only to follow. perhaps. On this they might probably congratulate themselves. a cubic mass. too. the long series of downs ended. The castaways suffered cruelly. Pencroft had remarked. that the engineer must have found a tomb. during a lull. did not listen.

 and on these primitive couches the tired workers slept soundly. etc.What had Pencroft to say He could say nothing. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. of the unpublished. during the terrible War of Secession. Neb.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. therefore. above all. turning round and round as if seized by some aerial maelstrom. etc. entered the cave. had been carried off by a wave. said the reporter. know at what distance it is situated. It was Top.

The journey through the wood was long; it lasted the whole day. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. The cave was thus divided into three or four rooms. said Herbert. said the sailor; that will do. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a deafening noise.And yet. After a walk of twenty minutes. Spilett. Cyrus Harding. on emerging from beneath a thick clump of beautiful trees. for it was very steep. haven t youThis question was not immediately replied to. real fire. then returned.Neb had raised himself a little and gazed without seeing. my boy.