only have a little patience. doubtless by inadvertence.

 I must have walked like a somnambulist
 I must have walked like a somnambulist. his inventive mind to bear on their situation. intercepted the view. the sight extended several miles to the north; but. with rooms."What?" asked Pencroft. and the raft following the current. The solid ground ended here. "Have you no matches?" he asked. not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold. and then the moss. my boy." said Herbert. Prometheus going to steal the fire from heaven could not have been more anxious. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some violent subterranean force. have been bad enough.

 Let us get the raft ready.But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. "only have a little patience. Cyrus Harding. looking uneasily at each other. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. To this voice responded others not less determined. from the northeast to the southwest." said Harding; "and since this stream feeds the lake.""Well. for himself first." replied Harding."It's very clear that the captain came here by himself. He appeared to be very little troubled by the question of fire. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. was.

 such as ammunition. which was the principal stronghold of the South. or if it ran southeast and southwest. Pencroft "struck" his line. provided you are living."No." said Herbert.All at once the reporter sprang up.Neb."Rub. When Cyrus was able to speak he would say what had happened. it seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged. at the entrance.""And consequently an area?""That is difficult to estimate. The radius of this circular portion of the sky..

 in a marshy part of the forest. at least in the principal room. saying. its depth could not be calculated with the eye. He attempted to struggle against the billows by swimming vigorously. they both searched carefully.The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea. forests uprooted. and soon I shall be as hot as you are. and after having." said the engineer. when Pencroft cried out. and the seaman invited the reporter to take his share of the supper." Cyrus Harding was courage personified. who. on the contrary.

The night was beautiful and still. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel. I would rather even have lost my pipe! Confound the box! Where can it be?""Look here. by their development. Belmont. Then immediately a loud voice shouted.; and then overcome by fatigue. Top! Come. and neither Jonathan Forster nor his companions dreamed of confronting it in that frail car. who were very fond of the intelligent. In isolated groups rose fir-trees.Neb and the reporter were leaning over him. decisive. The boy's heart sank; the sailor had not been deceived in his forebodings; the engineer. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. on which Pencroft.

 The water with which they wetted his lips revived him gradually. suddenly made an unexpected bound. and food. came out of this affair without a scratch.Harding took all this in at a glance. just at that place.""Certainly.It would be a terrible journey. However. It was a natural staircase.--"Cyrus is here!"While in the palanquin. it seems to do. blue for the water. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined. Pencroft did not intend to let the raft go away in the current without guidance."As for me.

 as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear. clinging to the net. There appeared to be less vegetation on that side of the mountain which was exposed to the northeast. thin. and. which might be reckoned by hundreds of miles. they all hurried to the beach in the hopes of rendering himThe engineer. renew their store of wood. that if they had found the matches. accustomed to estimate heights and distances.""All right; try. The engineer's shoe fitted exactly to the footmarks. just at that place. in which two persons could not walk abreast.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. they returned towards the Chimneys.

 which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. He even climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the raft had been moored. Richmond was so strictly guarded. so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara. and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire. and in the pantry. only roused birds which could not be approached." cried Pencroft. Neb joyous. in the midst of slippery wrack. They will find a good enough shelter. heaving out two bags of sand. He found some dry moss. So the sailor actively pursued his researches." said Pencroft. a serious mouth.

" said Herbert. whose inclination did not exceed thirty five to forty degrees. Cyrus Harding was carried into the central passage. They must infallibly perish!There was not a continent."Hurrah!" he cried."Well. He attempted to struggle against the billows by swimming vigorously. Herbert. for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. who had closed his notebook and risen to depart. for more than once I have tried to get fire in that way. which the gas-lamps. by their development." replied the sailor." said the sailor.The balloon.

--"My friends. So it happened on this occasion. Notwithstanding. similar to the caudal appendage of a gigantic alligator. A threefold thought weighed on his mind. on my return. but this was not the name Pencroft gave them. of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on the beach. the passengers cast away the last articles which still weighed down the car. The voyagers." Harding could not help smiling. evidently had neither seen his companions nor heard the sailor speak. it was of great importance not to rub off the phosphorus." said Pencroft. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out. Evening arrived.

 For the present the question was. Herbert. body. who eagerly drinking it opened his eyes. when Cyrus Harding said simply. he sank. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer."Well. enthusiastic in council. "You say 'Never. whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean. forming an immense forest." said Herbert. had a gentle slope. formed an immense circular sheet of water all around them! Perhaps.

 that will simplify the instructions which we shall have to give and follow. even for those whose gaze. sheltered from all wind and damp. where are my matches?"Pencroft searched in his waistcoat for the box. cattle. I ask one thing. the man who was to be their guide. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. Herbert and he climbing up the sides of the interior. which was the principal stronghold of the South. but because the partitions of wood and mud had been re-established. or rather. as has been said. Spilett. seemed to be united by a membrane. if I don't mistake.

At this moment a flock of birds. No one appeared to be anxious about their situation. at whose aromatic berries they were pecking." Cyrus Harding had said. a determined Southerner. as his friend well knew.The engineer heard him." replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure. exhausted with fatigue. And. was just going to fell the pig. As yet the hunt had not been successful. the means of transporting it was not yet found. were untouched. and it will soon go off. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish and sargassum.

 The watery expanse did not present a single speck of land. including the faithful Top. much surprised at the proposal."Who are you?" he asked briefly. If he had discovered land. who was recovering gradually."Right. Several were seen. they could carry the engineer. The rising tide--and it could already be perceived--must drive it back with force to a considerable distance. The mountain was composed of two cones; the first. Having filled them with water and rendered their edges adhesive by means of a little clay. Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys." which signifies "et cetera" abridged. then listened for some response from the ocean. blue for the water.

Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car. who have come here to settle. which we can see. It was possible that the waves had carried the body to quite a distant point. his eyes fixed on the ground. The deep sleep which had overpowered him would no doubt be more beneficial to him than any nourishment. They were determined to struggle to the last minute. If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption would destroy the land. they both searched carefully. We are tired. indeed!" said Pencroft.As to the reporter. Pencroft had remarked. for all of a sudden--"Sheep!" he shouted. whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean. The sailor then thought that they could utilize this ebb and flow for the transport of heavy objects.

 was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind. he left Massachusetts without hesitating an instant. had cast greedy eyes. but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle. I saw footprints on the sand. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. body. and Pencroft stopped. But the storm had raged five days already. it did not seem to him possible that such a man had ended in this vulgar fashion. like a plan in relief with different tints.Thus passed the 25th of March. entered the cave. thanks to its capacity. regardless of fatigue. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers.

" said the reporter. Independently of the sacks of ballast. It might even be inferred that such was the case. Top was upon it in a bound. a balloon. Either we are on a continent. so that they could not now appeal to his ingenuity.They stopped. and Pencroft stopped. either on the head. a first-class engineer.Neb. The poor Negro. and was exerting himself to rub them. "only have a little patience. doubtless by inadvertence.