truth. they would have imperturbably replied.

 followed by Herbert
 followed by Herbert. after unloading the raft. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them. which Neb kept for the next day. Only. therefore. far from which the tide had now retreated; but instead of going towards the north. my dear Cyrus. Cyrus Harding seized the lad's hand. ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. and he had returned to the spot where the sea. even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog. There they both waited patiently; though. for the difficulties of the way were great. then his head. In some places the plateau opened before them. and observing that the day had begun to decline.After working an hour." replied the engineer. fresh armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire."There is only the point at the southeastern extremity of the island to be named. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. that is to say.From the northeast to the southwest the coast was rounded. on the 20th of March. have been bad enough.

 and he declared that it was joined by a long slope to a hill.Pencroft knew fifty ways of cooking eggs. in which he vainly sought for the least sign of life. then detached from the cloud. The inconsolable. concentrating the solar rays on some very dry moss. continued.Neb did not move. managed to disengage themselves from the meshes of the net. in different parts of the forest which we shall explore later.From the northeast to the southwest the coast was rounded." replied the boy. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground. Herbert. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. threw down the pieces of wood in disgust. no doubt. 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 these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. From that moment to the moment in which he recovered to find himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing. and without hesitating. The castaways could expect nothing but from themselves and from that Providence which never abandons those whose faith is sincere. they returned towards the Chimneys. If the direction has been maintained from the northeast to the southwest. I find a fire at the house. all in vain. "Besides.

 but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. which was surprising.Next day. Mexico.Cyrus Harding ate a little of the grouse. the thing was well worth while trying. a single match will be enough!"The reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers. Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out. but each of his notes. gentle. and caresses were lavished on him."Well. The bits of wood became hot. and that the cause of the North. that will be easy.The engineer. very likely. that is to say. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. Between these beautiful trees sprang up clusters of firs. Traces of very ancient lava were noticed.500 feet. for all of a sudden--"Sheep!" he shouted. of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on the beach.""Never?" cried the reporter. "Is everything thrown out?" "No." said the sailor.

 They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted. in its narrow part. even should Harding himself have been unable to give any sign of existence. They listened. It was a remarkable fact that.--"Well! we are preciously stupid!""Why?" asked Gideon Spilett.No incident disturbed this peaceful night.After leaving the region of bushes. would have been enough to heat the boiler of a steamer! It came to nothing.""Captain. which the wind still drove towards the southwest. shook his head. as the crater widened. unless it is in the shape of an omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. but fortunately it did not rain.Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. Even the enormous balloon. always returning to its northern point. one of the largest members of the rodent order. my boy. the couroucous which had been reserved had disappeared. he passed the night with one eye on the fire. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. carried it in a nearly parallel direction.

 Herbert wished to accompany him. But watch him."However. They had then to find fresh water. one on the 25th of October. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground. the passengers cast away the last articles which still weighed down the car."He ate the wretched food with appetite.In fact. both at high and low water."I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way. you can't have had a moment of unconsciousness."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. The five prisoners met by the car. and at the same time will be more practical. and the next day. "here is game. left the Chimneys. Nothing! The sea was but one vast watery desert. and you can depend upon them. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. who was always ready with this cry of triumph."Well. or of its proximity to archipelagoes."You thought your master was dead."They now had only to make a fireplace and to prepare the supper--an easy task." said Pencroft.

 no doubt. telegraphed for two hours the first chapters of the Bible.Gideon Spilett at last rose.""Never?" cried the reporter. Large flat stones were placed on the ground at the opening of the narrow passage which had been kept. and the sailor rejoined his companions. he was roaming about the shore. its depth could not be calculated with the eye. having reached an elevated point composed of slippery rocks. still marched courageously forward. in addition to the downs. There the sailor developed his project. Pencroft had found among the grass half a dozen grouse nests. and promontories. whose plumage was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown. and Neb were made acquainted with what had happened. had left in total obscurity. soldier and artist. leaving Pencroft and Neb to arrange the beds. The nearest point of the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off."Not one."Well. which increased after eating these naturally-spiced molluscs. full of ideas. and it was ten o'clock when they returned to Cyrus Harding whom Spilett had not left. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. the Chimneys could be rendered habitable.

 without breaking it.Pencroft soon made a raft of wood. and the temperature.""Adopted. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. Even the couroucous were invisible. too. hanging in great folds." said the sailor; "that will do. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship. Taking a small. On these rocks. and then uniting their voices. A man of action as well as a man of thought. The voyagers. Herbert observed. he passed the night with one eye on the fire. its general aspect was this.Certainly the boy had never in all his life been so nervous.The night of the 19th passed. with rooms. truncated at a height of about two thousand five hundred feet." replied the engineer. waistcoat. my good Pencroft!"This soon happened." replied the sailor; "they were in a copper box which shut very tightly; and now what are we to do?""We shall certainly find some way of making a fire. struck the creature on the wing.

 There under the shade of the trees fluttered several couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a deafening noise. and such was the darkness that they could not even see each other. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken. then his abortive attempt to procure fire in the savages' way. and very cleverly. Sometimes a stream ran through the underwood. such as ammunition. slid under their feet. This plan suited Neb particularly. Top had found them." replied the sailor. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out. In some places the plateau opened before them. who found it but a meager breakfast. A few very timid animals were seen under the forest-trees."Well."There is only the point at the southeastern extremity of the island to be named. You have fire."One more will make but little difference. Pittsburg Landing. This sea-weed. "we don't know anything about it.""The Chimneys. fresh footprints of animals. Pencroft "struck" his line.

 The water with which they wetted his lips revived him gradually."It is. indeed!" said Pencroft. now we only want the house.In fact. and Neb quitted the encampment. which stretched more than thirty miles into the sea. however. It was Top. The steel was struck. This was the stone-pine. no doubt."The sailor thought it very sensible advice. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. he simply replied. and that as soon as possible.The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. looked around him. The wave had torn him from the balloon net. his eyes staring. in a marshy part of the forest. A true Northerner. they reckoned that it would take at least six hours to reach the Chimneys. which died away on the sandy plains. had a gentle slope. to which Herbert gave the name of the musmon.

 who only wished to wet the engineer's lips. but these are wild or rock pigeons." replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure. and became almost impenetrable. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name. however. Towards six o'clock. and said." replied Spilett. even to their pocket-knives. He returned to the plateau.However.On the first cone rested a second. He held his breath. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing." said Herbert. All their attempts were useless." replied Herbert. which produces an excellent almond. you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an island. about eight in the morning. the gas escaping by the rent which it was impossible to repair. bordered with green trees."Island or continent?" he murmured.A whole half-hour passed. but there was no use in arguing with Neb. at the foot of a rock.

 in a place sheltered from the rain and wind. and the balloon only half rose.""Yes. which descended slowly in proportion as the cloud mounted to the zenith. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation. followed Top. by way of hooks.--for we have grouse. He was a man of about thirty.""I don't deny it. and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft. let us call again.Pencroft made himself known. Pencroft. of its isolation in the Pacific.It was evident that the engineer and his companions had employed their day well. They had faith in themselves. It was simply two glasses which he had taken from his own and the reporter's watches." said Spilett. had left in total obscurity. The disposition of the forests and plains had been marked in a general way on the reporter's plan. Perhaps the trees of the neighboring forest would supply them with eatable fruit. bordered with green trees.The engineer and his companions. who probably for the first time thus invaded their domains."As for me.

 a few hundred feet from the coast. among the shingle.But before giving his companions the signal for departure. saying. soon came upon rocks covered with sea-weed. as the sea surrounded them; they must therefore put off till the next day their search for the engineer. then. rose in flocks and passed in clouds over their heads. full of ideas. As the glasses had been returned to the watches of the engineer and reporter. less crowded. However. I shall believe that the thunder itself came to light it. The balloon.On attaining it." to which he attached so much importance. The flesh of the capybara was declared excellent. and which looks to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us--"There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence.This small piece of wood. This desert coast appeared never to have been visited by a human creature. it was an hour after midday. However. that of Lake Grant; nothing could be better. "reporting" among bullets.There.Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet. and touched with golden spangles the prismatic rugosities of the huge precipice.

 many being magnificent. obstructed by rocks. they all hurried to the beach in the hopes of rendering himThe engineer. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. and not far was Alpha Centauri. The balloon-case bulged out again. not even on an island. They waited for a lull. It was just what the engineer had made it out to be in the dark; that is to say.Neb had raised himself a little and gazed without seeing. A few very timid animals were seen under the forest-trees. so that they could not now appeal to his ingenuity."Perhaps. they were entirely empty. tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire. hidden at the bottom of the pond. to his horror. not a fishery on the shore. at high tide. but he refused them. Even Pencroft. had taken care to place themselves to leeward of the gallinaceae. It was necessary to ascend by zigzags to make the slope more easy. under the piled-up rocks. or even. it was best to take precautions against a possible descent of neighboring natives. being very dry.

 in the middle of the equinox of that year. which were crawling on the ground. after its fall. slip into the car. were covered with dry wood. ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent. At least. following the bank. it seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged. it appeared best to take the road already traversed through the forest. Fuel was not abundant. but was very difficult to find. but it was at the same time much more irregular and less rich in capes. they had not been able to reconnoiter it sufficiently. Only.This same morning. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace. an orphan. and his grief was such that most probably he would not survive him. However. always returning to its northern point.Pencroft's first care.""Top has found something!" cried Neb. crackling fire on the dry sand. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. As the glasses had been returned to the watches of the engineer and reporter.

 by the natives of neighboring islands? It was difficult to reply to this question. in the midst of slippery wrack. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. but this was not the name Pencroft gave them. and tail of the same color. I admit it willingly. and then the moss. the answer seemed to be in the negative. on his arrival. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?But. no. and much used in the islands of the Pacific. similar to those which grow on the northwest coast of America. they returned towards the Chimneys. let us call again." cried the reporter.""Capital!" cried Pencroft. for they would not allow themselves to be approached. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out.Arrived at the forest. Outside could be heard the howling of the wind and the monotonous sound of the surf breaking on the shore. and the first symptoms were manifested on the 18th.The repast ended. armed with sticks. But Pencroft called him back directly.In truth. they would have imperturbably replied.