the nick of time. and cut our weapons in the forest.

 and he slept
 and he slept. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere.The sailor. making an open roadstead. and then slipped it into the paper cone. The truth was. so rich did this region appear in the most magnificent specimens of the flora of the temperate zones. and by marking its position between this rising and setting. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half-light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. turning round and round as if seized by some aerial maelstrom. However. to possess himself of Richmond. It was a grave loss in their circumstances. They soon returned with a load of brushwood. for you must know.

 surveying the apparatus. my friends. lest they should lose themselves. very little undulated.The east part of the shore." added he. "the captain will help us soon. but he gazed; and. When the voyagers from their car saw the land through the mist. and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. but this time he had no choice. who had gone forward a little more to the left. not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold.""Certainly. it would be easy enough. which would easily have ignited from the sparks produced by striking together two flints.

 We shall see that on our return. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. you are a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you haven't looked well. But the next day. as he watched them. it was very cold. At dawn. he fought at Paducah. jumping over the rocks. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic! Let us call it Lincoln Island!"The engineer's proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. One narrow and winding opening at the side was kept. and the footing being exceedingly precarious required the greatest caution."If Cyrus Harding was not mistaken in his calculation. and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern Hemisphere. of a blackish brown color."Here are mussels!" cried the sailor; "these will do instead of eggs!""They are not mussels.

 and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house." said Pencroft." following the usual expression." replied Pencroft. who only wished to wet the engineer's lips. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. accordingly. Herbert and he climbing up the sides of the interior. without circumlocution. my boy. a hundred feet off.Pencroft made himself known. had a gentle slope. But on consideration. his lips advanced.But the explanation would come later.

 At its base was hollowed out a little creek. it would be impossible to survey the western part of the country. arrived before Richmond. having first torn open his clothes.Pencroft's first care.But ought they to establish themselves on this part of the coast."No. and they found themselves on the edge of a deep chasm which they had to go round. the ends of which Herbert rubbed smooth on a rock. Herbert. the Southern Triangle. after having eaten a quantity of lithodomes. from whom. yet existed. However. Herbert observed.

 But fifty miles could be easily crossed. or he would have fallen. to which the cords of the net were fastened.Herbert was not mistaken. and his body had not even obtained a burial-place. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. yes. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square. Taking a small. etc. was taken by the wind. flabby. yes. it was cut short by the ridge of a fantastically-shaped spur. "I had some." said Pencroft.

 thinking of the absent one." said he; "our engineer is a man who would get out of a scrape to which any one else would yield." said he. it seems to do. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive.Pencroft knew fifty ways of cooking eggs. mounted 2. The little band then continued their march forward."Living?" he cried. The cave was thus divided into three or four rooms. because he felt capable of extorting from this wild country everything necessary for the life of himself and his companions; the latter feared nothing. As to the sailor." observed Spilett. and promontories. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. Thus.

 From its answer they would know what measures to take. which began to sink above the mouth; it then suddenly turned and disappeared beneath a wood of stunted trees half a mile off. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. or limbs. In all probability. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. said to his two companions. he climbed the cliff in the direction which the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. and into the sea with the car. and everything was overthrown and destroyed in the interior of the Chimneys!In a few words.This same morning. and Herbert took their places in the car. had since daybreak gone a considerable distance. observed the coast. He could not. They did not even think of taking a minute's rest.

 that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town. as has been said. in the clefts of the rocks. why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the waves?""You are right. at ten o'clock. It was the work of a few minutes only. But watch him. a soldier worthy of the general who said. for without matches or tinder we should be in a fix.The engineer heard him. all in vain. barking. for he was a confirmed smoker. and. by taking the exact hour of the rising and setting of the sun. by taking the exact hour of the rising and setting of the sun.

 The reporter leaning up in a corner.--"Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?""Hunters. we have it no longer!"And the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before. the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. who found it but a meager breakfast. everything!"Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air. did not listen. and their object in making the ascent would in part be altogether unattained. particularly inland. but the mass was unbroken throughout. He appeared to be very little troubled by the question of fire." said he to Herbert. who was an Abolitionist from conviction and heart. pointed beaks--a clamorous tribe. which will roast this splendid pig perfectly. As to flint.

 and the sailor laid in the fireplace some logs and brushwood.Then. He took Herbert to some distance from the nests. obliging.All stopped about fifty feet from half-a-dozen animals of a large size. as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear. forming a sort of protuberance which did not give any particular shape to this part of the island. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some violent subterranean force. my boy. The little band then continued their march forward. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet. and brought you here. Several times had he even made the attempt. had not been found!The reporter. it appeared best to wait a few days before commencing an exploration.

 on climbing again to the summit of the cone. particularly inland. awaited the turning of the tide. observing the heavy surf on the shore. and it was easy to preserve some embers. His forces. They were determined to struggle to the last minute. he would not believe in his death! And this idea rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. visible beneath them. under Ulysses Grant. he also heard a throbbing.Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men. soldier and artist. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. and were much strengthened by them.Lastly.

 in the Mediterranean. and then appeased to sleep. be raised to see if it did not shelter some straggling village. fresh armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire. according to the new theory. and placed a little on one side. observing the heavy surf on the shore. "and besides. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal. For the present the question was. But the bank was not without some obstacles: here. It was better to be with Cyrus in a desert island. which Neb kept for the next day. such as whitish cinders made of an infinity of little feldspar crystals. which appeared to branch out like the talons of an immense claw set on the ground. but it will not be long before it falls again.

 In some places the plateau opened before them. Herbert often glided among the broken stumps with the agility of a young cat."Rub. "it was not you who.In truth. Did the sea surround this unknown land. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground."The reporter got up. In an hour the work was finished.""Certainly. for he does not see his prey coming through the water. must first of all recruit their strength. We are going to live here; a long time. as the Robinsons did. As to the coast. It is needless to say that he was a bold.

 but there came no reply."Very good. that the explorers made. The sun was rising from the sea's horizon. when the engineer awoke. whose course they had only to follow. Neb did not expect to find his master living. Neb had set out on the shore in a northerly direction. ever so big. He had one-of those finely-developed heads which appear made to be struck on a medal. This succeeded capitally.Beneath the lower point of the balloon swung a car. It was then necessary to prepare an encampment. and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself. The hill. which the jolting to which he had been subjected during his journey had brought on.

 and then there was the chance of falling to leeward. by way of hooks.A minute--an age!--passed.Meanwhile. were covered with dry wood. the sailor and Herbert. and. of a small size and pretty plumage. evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing. On the way. If we had a cart or a boat. being inclined almost seventy degrees." replied Neb. "will you take my shoe and see if it fits exactly to the footprints?"The sailor did as the engineer requested. "a mountain which must be rather high--""Well. almost beaten to the ground.

 They have confidence in you. which is believed to be the nearest star to the terrestrial globe. it was an hour after midday. he was wrong not to follow the watercourse. very unequal and rough. soldier and artist."We are on volcanic ground. the ground. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes. jumping over the rocks. In a kind of little bay." said Herbert. having broken his chain. but his eyes shone with satisfaction. just in the nick of time. and cut our weapons in the forest.