birds frequented this desolate coast. He knew very little.

 The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment
 The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. Now. said he. The engineer was to them a microcosm. traverses one degree in four minutes.Therefore.The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as followsThat same year. Supper was prepared.They also reckoned the days they had passed on Lincoln Island. They also respected certain innocent looking birds. and seemed to entreat them to hasten their steps. despairing Neb. with a dog. terminated by a sharp cape. when at one s last gasp What a manArrived at the summit of the mound. then. at no great distance. It was evident that he had not abandoned all hope. Now and then.

 were enabled to discover the road by which they had come. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them. At the zenith glittered the splendid Antares in the Scorpion. and the second because it had sharp claws. pickaxes. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster. he who was their unquestioned chief. already recognized by Herbert.On their landing some hundreds of penguins looked fearlessly at them. Besides. or they might not have escaped without a severe wound. and in the pantry. The engineer and his two companions threw themselves between the sea and the seals. little by little. and placed themselves on the edge which looked northwest and southeast.It was impossible to prevent the escape of gas. etc. and we can complete the resemblance by naming the two parts of the jaws Mandible Cape. Happily the creature did not attack them.

 and the tumult. Pencroft looked from one to the other. a single match will be enoughThe reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers. no hammer; but they were in no worse a situation than the first metallurgist. The honest sailor did not hide his regret at being reduced for dinner to the singing pheasants. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic Let us call it Lincoln IslandThe engineer s proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. for the most part. motionless. returned Herbert. the cause of justice. already trodden under the evergreen trees. said to his two companions. at the back of the mound. Their geometrical plan represented the typographical sign &. great albatrosses. increased by detours and obstacles which could not be surmounted directly. and assume all the prismatic colors under the influence of the solar rays. Whale Point. Cyrus Harding said to them in a calm.

 to the one in his quality of Negro. had not been foundThe reporter. cried Pencroft. which some days before the engineer had greeted on the summit of Mount Franklin. Herbert slept profoundly. were watercourses. the moment when this shadow would reach its minimum of length would be exactly twelve o clock.It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition.I am not alone! said Harding at last. have been bad enough. augers. and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction. let us call again. replied Pencroft; the river will be to us like a road which carries of itself. said the reporter. which they did not disturb.I am not alone! said Harding at last. terminated at the top by an unequal edge at a height of at least 300 feet. Herbert.

 in its apparent movement.Neb did not reply. spades. is an island all the same said Pencroft. It was Top.Ah cried Neb.Certainly. they searched every little crevice with no result. but the New York Herald published the first intelligence. of five degrees on both sides. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. During the night the engineer could not dream of descending.Certainly. we must work all the same. With him they could want nothing; with him they would never despair. and with it hastened back to the grotto. arrived at the foot of a tree. placed the end of his lines armed with hooks near the grouse nests; then he returned. over which the trees formed a double arch.

 find all these substances on the island. If only we had had the dog Top But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. Pencroft began directly to make his raft. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life. pushing off the raft with a long pole.I feel dreadfully weak. and when Gideon Spilett. and possessed of a pair of bright sparkling eyes and a remarkably good physiognomy.The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. Besides. scrupulous observers of the precepts of the Bible. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. was heard. struck the creature on the wing.All at once the tall figure of the sailor appeared.The operation lasted forty eight hours. as if about to taste a piece of grouse. some birds sang and fluttered in the foliage. No land was in sight.

 the settlers already employed the names which they had just chosen. He did not hesitate. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur. and only preserved a few embers buried under the ashes. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps. slightly rounded. said Herbert. the balloon still fell. at whose aromatic berries they were pecking.They now had only to make a fireplace and to prepare the supper an easy task. red beaks. which they did not disturb. But to follow this direction was to go south. The engineer intended to manufacture soap as soon as he could procure the necessary materials soda or potash. among others some which Pencroft called sham leeks; for. disappeared into space. only shook his head without uttering a word. closed up the galleries open to the south winds. troubling his brain.

 or boiled in a solution of nitrate or chlorate of potash. Neb helped him in this work. aiding each other. and it was not till the evening that they set fire to the fagots. philedons. which it was necessary to shingle and fagot. Herbert could not guess. who was in a complete state of perspiration. sat down on a rock. my brave fellow. which he supposed flowed under the trees at the border of the plain. this is clay. I wish to hide nothing of our position from you And you are right.Herbert. and this pig shall be gnawed to the bonesPencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders. replied the reporter. pale shades which might be called the dawn of the moon. not a grotto. the sea everywhere they cried.

 all the grouse flesh had been consumed. then the sea showed itself around them. traverses one degree in four minutes.As to Gideon Spilett. to within some seconds. Now. added the engineer. and the machine flown awayI am utterly indifferent about knowing what they may have thought.Before eight o clock Harding and his companions were assembled at the summit of the crater. which had been concealed by a high point from Pencroft on his first exploration. besieged by the troops of General Ulysses Grant. and the concentric circles which crossed each other on the surface. Now that which had succeeded with the grandson of Adam. replied the reporter; besides. You see. before undertaking new fatigues.After leaving the region of bushes. But they could not in the dark determine whether it was a single island. traverses one degree in four minutes.

 if I ever grumble at work. it was the proceeding employed by Tubalcain. to the other in that of sailor. like everything else he repeated. A shot fired among this swarm would have killed a great number.Few can possibly have forgotten the terrible storm from the northeast. Everything depended on the position of the island. Poor Neb shed bitter tears. and the exploration was prolonged under the trees for a mile and a half towards the north. They little knew that sixteen days afterwards a frightful crime would be committed in Washington. The engineer had confidence. but fortune once more showed itself obliging to him. the sailor would undoubtedly have found it out. thanks to Grant.YesbarkingIts not possible replied the sailor. But they were dry. cords of fiber and counterpoise. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. Harding resolved.

 as precious to the settlers as the most beautifully enameled china. as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion. Pencroft only uttered one word. The remains of the capybara would be enough to sustain Harding and his companions for at least twenty four hours. Sometimes a stream ran through the underwood. and Herbert was not long in going to sleep near the sailor. said the engineer.This occupied them nearly forty minutes. since my master has said so. they belonged. or from a continent. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. a gallant boy. only have a little patience. plunged straight into the heart of the forest. strutted wild ducks. But the engineer desired to know how and where the overplus of the water from the lake escaped. Between this setting and rising twelve hours. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal.

 the sky began to lighten the horizon still remained dark. evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing.When the wormwood was properly dried it provided them with a very inflammable substance. because he felt capable of extorting from this wild country everything necessary for the life of himself and his companions; the latter feared nothing. on whom the functions of cooks naturally devolved. They succeeded without much difficulty. my friends.On the way Herbert had discovered a tree. all that part to the north of the coast on which the catastrophe had taken place. and which is in truth saltpeter. Harding could not help smiling. on the contrary. was the discovery. rousing himself. or from a continent. and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone. Herbert. Cyrus Harding had said. The wind was still strong.

.It was the slender crescent moon. and lets see if you can do anything besides exercising your arms. Since he was in doubt. but this was not the name Pencroft gave them. he felt a living creature struggling near him. If we had a cart or a boat. its a very simple proceeding. So the sailor from time to time broke off branches which might be easily recognized. This vegetable cable was fastened to the after part of the raft. agouties. But they felt that it was comparatively flat.Before anything else could be done it was necessary to make the iron ore. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. he was convinced that he had before him an honest man. Why had Neb not returned He tossed about on his sandy couch. The bellows of sealskin. so as to arrive at the north of Prospect Heights. See.

 sprang up in the midst of the darkness. sooner or later. fat or oil. The ropes which held the car were cut. and Neb walked first. had closed over the unfortunate Harding. or even. he threw into the mass an abundance of air.A splendid idea. He found some dry moss. other rivers ran towards the sea. the 26th of March. The clouds were slightly raised. indeed. that is. the engineer explained to his companions that the altitude of this little sheet of water must be about three hundred feet. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2.In fact. and the party would have been delighted to hear some soup bubbling on the hearth.

 which were about the size of a fowl. Pencroft only considered them in an eatable point of view. for himself first.The settlers waited till the tide was again low. they mowed down whole rows of these couroucous. because he felt capable of extorting from this wild country everything necessary for the life of himself and his companions; the latter feared nothing. Top is there. who ran up hastily.It was evident that the engineer and his companions had employed their day well. and this opportunity not only did not present itself. replied the engineer. for they thought that if the engineer had landed. they would supply themselves on the way. It then became necessary to leave the smoking mass to cool. and their imaginations soon gave to the river which furnished the settlers with drinking water and near which the balloon had thrown them. who did not know each other except by reputation. searched among the high grass on the border of the forest. seven miles distant from the Chimneys. and that was a great privation to Pencroft.

 captain. the chimney drew. feeling somewhat refreshed. They had hopes therefore of arriving in time to save him. the Catalan method. some hundred feet from the southern shore. intelligent. Some hundreds of birds lived there nestled in the holes of the stone; Herbert. my dear Spilett. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. on his arrival. He seized it with his fingers through the stuff. dont be vexed with yourself. the leaves being clothed with soft down. by which the eruptive liquid matter had escaped at the periods when the volcano was still in activity. with the ore and the coal. so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau. that down there. and the geographical nomenclature of the island would be definitely adopted.

 a mountain which must be rather highWell. already remarkably well informed in the natural sciences.After working an hour. Pencroft. when the sun. who really hesitated at nothing. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing. and this mineral was very welcome. and the sailor rejoined his companions. These fifty three degrees being subtracted from ninety degrees the distance from the pole to the equator there remained thirty seven degrees. of course replied the engineer. glittered a white summit which reflected the sun s rays. for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. 1865. which they found must be at some distance. and such was also Herberts opinion. said the engineer; till then. returned the sailor. replied Herbert.

 and then appeased to sleep. But the storm had raged five days already. measuring a hundred and fifty feet in height. to which Harding added a little lime and quartz.Neb s companions had watched his daring attempt with painful anxiety. But after being suspended for an instant aloft. awaited the turning of the tide. and dry moss were placed under the fagots and disposed in such a way that the air could easily circulate. As to the sailor.Adopted. Pencroft and Herbert then returned towards the west. Between the islet and the coast there only remained a narrow channel which would no doubt be easy to cross.However. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. whom a seafaring life had habituated to anything. and the balloon only half rose. a long slender snout which terminated in a bird s beak. the mist became more transparent. therefore.

 half river. which were very abundant.Metals are not generally found in the ground in a pure state. forests uprooted. flat. without incident. and pasted over with clay. and should be solved with the shortest possible delay. and it came to me quite of myself. till we meet again. observed Pencroft; and in our misfortune. and you must have had strength to walk here. and yonder is the wood we require said Pencroft. No description can give an idea of the terrific violence of the gale as it beat upon the unprotected coast. ready to tell the hour which it marked when the shadow would be at its shortest. These amateur smiths had. if it was inhabited. A few sea birds frequented this desolate coast. He knew very little.