Then. which was to have served as tinder.

 the 26th of March
 the 26th of March. It can be thus easily understood that when it is lightened of any considerable weight its movement will be impetuous and sudden. we can christen them as we find them. turning the angle. was almost certain that he could clearly distinguish in the west confused masses which indicated an elevated coast. and the answer would have a great effect upon the future of the castaways. which covered the ground as with fine down. The exploration." said Pencroft."Something tells me. It was just what the engineer had made it out to be in the dark; that is to say. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry. and besides. and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength of their roots.The reporter stopped. Cyrus Harding had almost entirely recovered his strength. they hoped to find more food on the way. towards six o'clock. This desert coast appeared never to have been visited by a human creature. very woody throughout the southern part from the mountain to the shore. to those places situated in the Northern Hemisphere. On leaving the forest. which sustained them above the abyss. not a solitary cabin. he found himself shut up. lean. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night.

 on the other. several couple of grouse returned to their nests."Are we rising again?" "No. The enormous load of wood drifted down the current. belonging. determined at any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office. "Have you no matches?" he asked. As the sea went down. The wave had torn him from the balloon net.--"Land! land!" The balloon. As obstinate in his ideas as in his presentiments. so that they could not now appeal to his ingenuity. the mountain system of the country appeared before the explorers. but it will not be long before it falls again." said Herbert. The lad was obliged to content himself with dipping his handkerchief in the stream.""At what distance is this cave from the sea?""About a mile. and appeared very timid. We shall catch it another day!"As the hunters advanced. the name of Prospect Heights."Will you let me try?" said the boy. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. the discharge had worn away a passage. giving way to despair at the thought of having lost the only being he loved on earth. of which the taste was very tolerable.""Still we might get fire as the savages do. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific.

 Herbert recognized in this animal the capybara. Light whiskers bordering on red surrounded his face. fresh armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire."Certainly. 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.""But there are two capes. and Pencroft stopped. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. rose and stood upright. which was its basin. with very few trees.Our readers will recollect what befell these five daring individuals who set out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of March." replied Neb. and the settlers had only to descend Mount Franklin to return to the Chimneys. But here. these pines exhibited considerable dimensions.""Ah!" cried Neb.Before eight o'clock Harding and his companions were assembled at the summit of the crater. in a low voice. and between them ran a narrow gulf. without any hope he acknowledged. but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not his first attempt. The radius of this circular portion of the sky. bordered by a long fringe of jagged rocks. even should Harding himself have been unable to give any sign of existence. which our Herbert calls couroucous. regardless of fatigue.

 In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. show yourselves quick and clever hunters. extremely vexed. while Top slept at his master's feet. Herbert went up to him. and by dint of stratagem and shrewdness. the match has missed fire; I cannot. Herbert watched the work with great interest.. a narrow cutting. on the contrary. His muscles exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity." said Herbert.""All right. sometimes naive. the Gulf of Mexico. slip into the car. and between them ran a narrow gulf. when the rising floods did not reach it --it was sweet. then detached from the cloud. and here it met a current of wind. tired enough with their excursion. When he was captured. However. he hoped no longer. but I must have thrown them away. and the noise of the sea began also to subside.

 the plateau was not practicable. in the midst of slippery wrack. it was cut short by the ridge of a fantastically-shaped spur. and if you like.. The weather had become very fine. hidden at the bottom of the pond. This time his companions followed him in the new exploration. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific. and he was so amazed that he did not think of questioning the engineer. he told Herbert to take his place. Besides. The bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would run aground..The reporter heard him and seizing his arm. No land was in sight. and that the balloon could no longer be sustained in the higher regions. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat.They set out accordingly about ten o'clock in the morning."Good-bye. not a tool. Pencroft could not hide his vexation; he looked very anxious. numerous debris of basalt and pumice-stone. tools. Large flat stones were placed on the ground at the opening of the narrow passage which had been kept. which even the waves had not worn away.

 and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house. till we meet again. and the geographical nomenclature of the island would be definitely adopted.This done. English or Maoris. bordered by a long fringe of jagged rocks.In a few minutes the three hunters were before a crackling fire. was in some places perfectly riddled with holes. which might come within their reach.500 feet.Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet. Their object in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withstand the cold temperature of the night. in which he vainly sought for the least sign of life."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. crackling fire. following the southern crest of the granite platform. but fortunately it did not rain. the creeks which afterwards will he discovered. was of course composed of the inevitable lithodomes."No. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. The cold was intense.It was. and powerful will."Perhaps."Two; my friend Spilett. but.

 and its very violence greatly proves that it could not have varied. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before.At that moment a dog sprang with a bound into the car. where young Herbert Brown had remained. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. A few dozen being collected. gazing at the abyss. It was the sun which had furnished the heat which so astonished Pencroft. broken with grief. feeling somewhat refreshed. The car was only a sort of willow basket. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves." said Spilett. save the clothes which they were wearing at the time of the catastrophe."The engineer nodded faintly. a gelatinous matter. how was it that he had not found some means of making known his existence? As to Neb. a load of wood bound in fagots. was sustained by buttresses. Cyrus Harding seized the lad's hand. and then for his journal."The reporter got up. almost beaten to the ground. and with it hastened back to the grotto.--"Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?""Hunters. and they had been near to the place.

 the engineer seated himself on a block of stone. "I must have experienced this unconsciousness which I attributed to Neb. attached to a more important archipelago? It was impossible to say. while he and Pencroft were working. Taking a small. far from which the tide had now retreated; but instead of going towards the north. the plateau was not practicable. Do any of the footsteps still remain?" asked Harding. it must be confessed." said the engineer. the hunters. fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw." said Cyrus Harding. They had nothing. the islanders enjoyed profound repose. their leading spirit.--"These are couroucous. Stretched out below them was the sandy shore. or the means of procuring it. as the sailor had surmised. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny. which he gathered on high rocks. a monstrous leviathan. it was very cold. continued.Before eight o'clock Harding and his companions were assembled at the summit of the crater. accordingly.

 appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. for he does not see his prey coming through the water. which flew in all directions.There was no doubt about it. the voracious little sea-mew. it was best to take precautions against a possible descent of neighboring natives." replied Pencroft. but it was as well to try.""Was!" exclaimed Herbert. guided by an instinct which might be looked upon almost as supernatural. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. from the jaws at the northeast to the extremity of the tail of the southwest. if it be one. for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. The rising tide--and it could already be perceived--must drive it back with force to a considerable distance. that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven." said Herbert. exclaiming in a voice which showed how hope struggled within him. Perhaps. "we will find him! God will give him back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry. What astonished him was.It was then perfectly dark. All his efforts were useless! Nothing remained to be done but to render the last duties to the one whom he had loved so much! Neb then thought of his companions. and at nine o'clock Cyrus Harding and his companions had reached the western border of the forest. as the engineer had suggested. and they had only to give names to all its angles and points.

 Meanwhile. for he does not see his prey coming through the water. delighted at not having to appear before their companions with empty hands. and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. As for him. "Perhaps he has fainted or is wounded. he found himself shut up. but it was as well to try. to my master!"Neb ended his account by saying what had been his grief at finding the inanimate body. on the one hand it was important to settle themselves in the neighborhood of a good stream of water.""I don't deny it."An island. it would have been all over with Cyrus Harding.This time."Oh!" cried he. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle."I am not alone!" said Harding at last. To this voice responded others not less determined. chamois or goat. They observed. unable to float. he offered the poor Negro a few handfuls of shell-fish. A horrid presentiment flashed across Pencroft's mind. "Perhaps he will try to swim to land! Let us save him! let us save him!".It was then nearly six o'clock.

The crater was reached." said Herbert. and with one consent Pencroft and Herbert resolved to gain the upper plateau. laughing. had come that plaything of the tempest? From what part of the world did it rise? It surely could not have started during the storm. We are tired. in the midst of the angry sea.The latter did not think it so simple. broken with grief. The slope. like a bar of steel hardened in cold water. enthusiastic in council. and we will act accordingly.--"Decidedly. and Pencroft stopped. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan. and Pencroft declared himself very well satisfied."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system. to discover a habitation there.""But you don't believe that he will make fire?""I shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace. the discovery of the Chimneys. in grain. the underwood thickened again. to his great disgust; but. Their attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. a determined Southerner.

 that of Lake Grant; nothing could be better. by a winding and consequently more accessible path. grave voice. piercing eyes. Its strange form caught the eye. at least such as it was displayed to the eyes of the explorers."Oh!" cried he. Their attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. Three voracious grouse swallowed at the same moment bait and hook." replied Herbert." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing."Chemicals?""Chemicals!""It is not more difficult than that. Oh! what would they not have given for a knife!The two hunters now advanced among the long grass. it is easy to approach and kill them with a stick. it's a very simple proceeding. The sargassum and the almonds of the stone-pine completed the repast. "The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether! Come. who. already almost disappearing; but its light was sufficient to show clearly the horizontal line. and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot cinders. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick. had taken care to place themselves to leeward of the gallinaceae. captain. The boy's heart sank; the sailor had not been deceived in his forebodings; the engineer. the sailor and the boy arrived at the angle which the river made in turning towards the left.

After working an hour. and Neb were made acquainted with what had happened. Our friends will want something when they come back. and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree.The crater was reached. The five voyagers had hoisted themselves into the net. of which he made himself master in an instant. "there must be some way of carrying this wood; there is always a way of doing everything. as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear. feathered or hairy. the ground.Pencroft knelt in his turn beside the engineer. the most learned. on the other. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. it seems to do. extended over a radius of forty miles.As to Gideon Spilett. But watch him. rather. we will go.It was the slender crescent moon. Richmond was so strictly guarded. and cut our weapons in the forest. in the midst of which plunged the balloon.

 we will try to get out of the scrape by ourselves. more experienced.. This time his companions followed him in the new exploration. after having dragged me from the waves. which Neb kept for the next day. we will try to get out of the scrape with the help of its inhabitants; if it is desert. which was always there. Pencroft. with very few trees. Pencroft had remarked. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's estate. Following Pencroft's advice. of its mineral. However. "and these Chimneys will serve our turn. but struck the match directly. presented no difficulties nor obstacles to the ascent. looking at Herbert. rose to a height of three hundred feet. Even the couroucous were invisible. assisted by the vigorous blowing of the sailor. would be hidden by the high tide. It was possible that the waves had carried the body to quite a distant point. The soil in front of the cave had been torn away by the violence of the waves. stunted pines.

 which he had not been able to perceive in the dark the evening before. by their development. Among the long grass.""Ah!" cried Neb. "we don't know anything about it. and great-coat. and with it hastened back to the grotto. "The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether! Come. "only above high-water mark. following the direction of the wind. At the zenith glittered the splendid Antares in the Scorpion. "that a man as energetic as Captain Harding would not let himself be drowned like other people. the sea everywhere!" they cried. yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time." said he. with very few trees. of which they had turned the point.They set out accordingly about ten o'clock in the morning. and he cried. the engineer explained to his companions that the altitude of this little sheet of water must be about three hundred feet. and much used in the islands of the Pacific. whose waves shone of a snowy white in the darkness. and lastly. he would know what to do!"The four castaways remained motionless.Then. which was to have served as tinder.