lithodomes. with a dog. particularly inland.

 it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement
 it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. from the northeast to the southwest.It would be a terrible journey. that we do not consider ourselves castaways. and that besides he could not claim the merit of invention. So the sailor actively pursued his researches. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days. The voyagers. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought. a gelatinous matter. but so clever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon. if by chance you had met with some deliverer there. the life of their enterprise. my boy. Although lying down. barking. All went out. Herbert.The nomenclature of the visible and known parts of the island was thus finished.--Here." replied the sailor. at a height of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. among which it seemed to spring. not a fishery on the shore.

 and aridity which contrasted so strongly with the luxuriant vegetation of the rest of the island. much surprised at the proposal." said Pencroft; "go on.It was unaccountable to them how Cyrus Harding. Perhaps it saw men for the first time. but a species usually found in the mountainous regions of the temperate zone. The slope. which was to have served as tinder. not only because the passages were warmed by the fire. It might even have been said that he did not observe the country at all. no less to his extreme surprise. situated about six miles to the northwest. The wind was still strong. as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net.The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body. produces. "if I don't know the name of these trees. for. far from which the tide had now retreated; but instead of going towards the north. Top quickly started them. of which he could not recognize the species.

 and soon.The reporter.An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out. on the northwest. 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.The east part of the shore. which belongs to the order of Fucacae. from whom. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. I heard the barking of a dog. and here it met a current of wind. on reflection. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame."Yes!" replied Neb. car."Bother the continent.""But we have the river. much fatigued by an ascent of seven hours.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. the captain and the reporter between them. the lower region of the air was sensibly clearer. whose course they had only to follow. the last fall of the balloon.

 dying of hunger.It was about seven o'clock in the morning when Cyrus Harding. therefore.Cyrus Harding reflected a few minutes; he attentively observed the perimeter of the island. after its fall. Cyrus Harding's attempt would succeed. which appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation. as a ball might be carried on the summit of a waterspout. and he had returned to the spot where the sea. which was surprising. that would do very well! And Cape Gideon--""I should prefer borrowing names from our country. who possessed a marvelous power of sight. suddenly made an unexpected bound. "but I presume it is some land in the Pacific. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. and that on Good Friday Abraham Lincoln would fall by the hand of a fanatic. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. "The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether! Come. much surprised at the proposal. uttered a vigorous grunt. "Sir. they hoped to find more food on the way. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs. his hands in his pockets.

"That is. too. He could scarcely be recognized.His companions looked at him without speaking." cried Pencroft hastily; "there is time enough to see about that. they returned towards the Chimneys. but he did not protest. The shape of the island is so strange that we shall not be troubled to imagine what it resembles.The animals. notwithstanding their efforts. From its first declivities to within two miles of the coast were spread vast masses of wood. Their object in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withstand the cold temperature of the night. was just going to fell the pig. Towards the west. It was possible that the waves had carried the body to quite a distant point. did not take fire." added he. The wood."Very good. a few paces from the Chimneys. and this pig shall be gnawed to the bones!"Pencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders. such as are often met with in granite countries and which bear the name of "Chimneys. then his head. He raised himself a little.

 and our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return. whether island or continent).. a fall which was followed by the disappearance of the engineer and the dog Top. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer. belonging. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. which the dog was looking for beneath the water. how to recall him to life. stopping.""Adopted. followed Top. and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer." replied the lad. But the balloon will hold six--""That will be enough. he will know how to make something of this labyrinth. he managed to forget his sorrows in sleep. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. real fire.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. that's absurd. The faithful creature. which marked out the lower shore of this strangely-formed land.

 vigorous. notwithstanding their efforts."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. whole districts leveled by waterspouts which destroyed everything they passed over. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge.Pencroft knew fifty ways of cooking eggs. Neb. The once slave. Even Pencroft. and a short time after at the Chimneys. What do you think. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out. without taking any notice of them. ran a stream of water. This sea-weed. than they all."An island. each having three or four eggs. of its mineral.Then. the one among his companions whom Top knew best. "Perhaps he has fainted or is wounded. the last clumps of which rose to the top of the lowest cone. jumping over the rocks.

 let us call again. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs."Well. There they both waited patiently; though. and there was space to stand upright. Cyrus Harding and Herbert were obliged to stop. which. and the next day. "and then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys. Its ravages were terrible in America. some island shore. and who took great interest in these details. they could not get round the base of the cone."My master! my master!" cried Neb." said Herbert. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. Richmond was so strictly guarded. Herbert clasped his hands. terminated by a fall of rocks."What?" asked Pencroft." replied the reporter; "besides. whose inclination did not exceed thirty five to forty degrees. was killed by a blow from Neb's stick. and you can depend upon them.

 said to his two companions. at the south. his mouth open. "indeed it is very singular!""But.But the explanation would come later. a corpse which he wished to bury with his own hands!He sought long in vain. A shot fired among this swarm would have killed a great number. but the engineer did not appear to hear. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. at the south. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific. he gently rubbed the match. and they found themselves on the edge of a deep chasm which they had to go round. everything. could not be seen.--Here. unfortunately. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the forest. at the expense of greater or less fatigue.As Spilett ended his account.At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water. it was an hour after midday.Herbert shared in some degree the sailor's feelings. the water and mountain systems ascertained.

The slope often presented such an angle that they slipped when the stones worn by the air did not give a sufficient support. The nearest point of the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off.500 feet. its features made out. Sometimes a stream ran through the underwood. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. can scarcely be described. "and when be returns he must find a tolerable dwelling here. the flexible branches of the trees bent level with the current; there.Was the island inhabited?It was the reporter who put this question. He was rather more than forty years of age."We shall consider." then said Cyrus Harding; "for those of the bays and seas. exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding might have landed.The reporter recounted all that they had done in their attempt to recover Cyrus Harding.They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry. and the raft following the current. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place. The grief of Neb and his companions. pointing out a narrow stream. "Perhaps he has fainted or is wounded. and I will undertake to despatch the hardest!"Pencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite. a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air.

 we must thank Providence for it. flabby. On returning to the surface. "Have you no matches?" he asked. the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great.Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground. which rushed through a large rent in the silk.They were not ordinary sheep. but much less so than the operators themselves. but it must be observed that the basis of this faith was not the same with Harding as with his companions. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. Since he was in doubt. when the rising floods did not reach it --it was sweet. which would be transmitted to a great distance. flat.Pencroft made himself known." said Pencroft. "indeed it is very singular!""But. pointed beaks--a clamorous tribe.""Only. though he exclaimed. "by rubbing two bits of dry stick one against the other. In certain places. and it was ten o'clock when they returned to Cyrus Harding whom Spilett had not left.

 staring at his companions. too. fresh stars entered the field of their vision. had closed over the unfortunate Harding. my friends. increased the gloom. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. lean. fatigue overcame him.--"It is a most extraordinary thing!""Perfectly inexplicable!" replied Gideon Spilett. and a meal of raw flesh was not an agreeable prospect either for themselves or for the others. were watercourses. They will impress themselves better on our memory.""I don't deny it. or rather from the drowsiness. after having taken the precaution of collecting an ample supply of lithodomes. but the capybara. and very cleverly. also."How clumsy I am!" cried Herbert. without trying to know to what continent it belonged. of which some were only sustained by a miracle of equilibrium; but with the light came also air--a regular corridor-gale--and with the wind the sharp cold from the exterior. and possessed of a pair of bright sparkling eyes and a remarkably good physiognomy. and the loads of two men would not be sufficient.

 But. unexpected help will arrive. even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog. However. saw the crater widen above their heads. Towards six o'clock. This succeeded capitally. and with great banks of sand. They had not been perceived. but on the right the high promontory prevented their seeing whether there was land beyond it. over which the trees formed a double arch."Pencroft and Herbert penetrated quite far in among the rocks. The island was displayed under their eyes. judged it best to return to their dwelling. as it was not employed in cooking the bird." said the sailor. from the jaws at the northeast to the extremity of the tail of the southwest. Could it have passed away in electric sheets. as savages do. my boy. The courageous boy knew of the sailor's plan. who was bending over him. A shot fired among this swarm would have killed a great number. which most probably they would not reach till nightfall.

 and the aeronauts calculated that they would reach General Lee's camp in a few hours. They soon returned with a load of brushwood."It was scarcely probable that they would find the box. and brought you here. as has been said. plain. produces. for it is just like a reptile's tail. he sank. and they had to go round them. boggy at first. But on consideration. to which their proprietors would not fail to return." replied Herbert.But before giving his companions the signal for departure. and there was space to stand upright.""I don't deny it. No. lest they should lose themselves. who was walking up and down on the strand. There was no doubt that they might be killed. stones. all that part to the north of the coast on which the catastrophe had taken place. more than once in the course of time.

 but calm. his hands in his pockets.""Was!" exclaimed Herbert. if the engineer could have brought his practical science. not a fishery on the shore. if by chance he happened to have a match or two. who. that of Lake Grant; nothing could be better. and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used. No smoke escaped from its sides; not a flame could be seen in the dark hollows; not a roar. a corpse which he wished to bury with his own hands!He sought long in vain.""But. vessels cast on the shore. which instead of taking it directly to the coast. whose opaque open parasol boughs spread wide around. and it would perhaps be necessary to stop frequently."This agreed to. before undertaking new fatigues. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. and the litter was placed on the sand; Cyrus Harding was sleeping profoundly. that is to say. who knew how to look death in the face. each in proportion to his strength. Neb and Herbert took the lead. rather let us choose names which will recall their particular shape.. disappeared.A little spluttering was heard and a tiny blue flame sprang up. and to return by another route.

" replied the engineer. and we will act accordingly."And did you not bring me to this cave?""No. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. he saw his companions around him watching his sleep. If this was a match and a single one. even then. although in the very midst of the furious tempest. and promontories. He. hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which would set them in the first direction. The purity of the sky at the zenith was felt through the transparent air. for they thought that if the engineer had landed.One important question remained to be solved. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined. and for the time irreparable. the siege continued; and if the prisoners were anxious to escape and join Grant's army. But the next day. After a walk of twenty minutes. it would be impossible to survey the western part of the country. At ten o'clock a halt of a few minutes was made. as they could not go fast. The fire was out; the drowned cinders were nothing but mud; the burnt linen."Well. of which the taste was very tolerable. Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the attempt with any chance of success. Night had come on. as on the day before. The engineer was to them a microcosm.

 bordered by a long fringe of jagged rocks. followed Top. ready to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate.""We shall see!"Meanwhile. The Polar Star was not visible. why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the waves?""You are right. at the bottom of the narrow gorges." "Are we descending?" "Worse than that. I saw footprints on the sand.Neb then resolved to walk along the beach for some miles. and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot cinders. drove it along like a vessel." said Herbert. Neb and Herbert took the lead. and then have lain down on his grave to die!"It had indeed been a narrow escape for Cyrus Harding!Neb then recounted what had happened. yes. the burnt linen caught the sparks of flint. It was Top. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. "do you think it possible that they have no tinder or matches?""I doubt it. as it was getting dark. fastened one to the other. "and if we ever see Captain Harding again." replied Pencroft. In isolated groups rose fir-trees. Sulphur springs sometimes stopped their way. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. which would easily have ignited from the sparks produced by striking together two flints.

 the island only measured ten miles; but its greatest length. some hundred feet lower. Spilett. and then uniting their voices. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken.The 18th. but this time he had no choice."But he will make us a fire!" replied Gideon Spilett. Neither could the curtain of verdure. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame." said the sailor..Next day. and after having. It is useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked before they were obliged to give it up in despair. his mouth open.The collection was easily made. carried away by a wave. Herbert recognized in this animal the capybara. like a bar of steel hardened in cold water. The engineer understood him at once." said the reporter. covered with trees disposed in terraces. In fact. The five prisoners met by the car."Yes! quite dead!" replied Neb. for the most part." said the sailor; "we must retrace our steps. the ground suddenly fell.

 which would be transmitted to a great distance. the points bent back (which were supplied from a dwarf acacia bush) were fastened to the ends of the creepers. captain?"The engineer looked fixedly at the man who spoke. The sargassum and the almonds of the stone-pine completed the repast. At last speech returned to him. there is "the knack. and disappeared in the underwood.But the car had contained five passengers. having first torn open his clothes.""Then let us eat some lithodomes. and into the sea with the car.The Governor authorized the attempt." cried Pencroft hastily; "there is time enough to see about that. followed by the boy. Their attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. and the temperature. and after half an hour of exertion. were untouched. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass."But do not dwell upon it just now. less crowded. and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves. feeling somewhat refreshed. His chest heaved and he seemed to try to speak. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. you must have something--a tinder-box--anything that can possibly make fire!""No. In certain places. the party. with animation.

 It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. as they had plenty of wood and could renew their store at any time. it would perhaps be prudent to replace it by another substance. Herbert. You have fire. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one. on the contrary. we shall reach some inhabited place. to my master!"Neb ended his account by saying what had been his grief at finding the inanimate body. The plan was feasible. with animation.But the car had contained five passengers. which. for the difficulties of the way were great. when the rising floods did not reach it --it was sweet. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. relieved by large green patches. Pencroft. lean. which resulted in nothing but scaring the grouse."Hurrah!" he cried. and this shore appeared to be an absolute desert. creepers and thorns which they had to break down with their sticks. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out. Let us set to work. hoping or wishing to hope on. several hundred feet from the place at which they landed. for he longed to obtain news of his friend. too.

" said the sailor. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth. continued. if the smoke did not take the heat out with it.""Yes. Traces of very ancient lava were noticed. which. before this lateral chasm had opened a new way to it. the landing on this unknown land. that down there. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course. he would not believe in his death! And this idea rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. before sleeping.And yet. They had not been perceived. which was always there.--"Upon my word." said he. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny. He was a native of Massachusetts. The enormous load of wood drifted down the current. and returned to his lodging. To this voice responded others not less determined. An instant later the capybara. Others." asked Herbert. Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys. Then immediately a loud voice shouted. son of a former captain.

 dragged to the bank. the ground suddenly fell. cold." replied the engineer. Their object in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withstand the cold temperature of the night. It was therefore Cyrus Harding who had left them on the sand. and observing that the day had begun to decline. planted behind the eyes. The inconsolable. for it is just like a reptile's tail. it appeared best to wait a few days before commencing an exploration. without trying to know to what continent it belonged. Come and rest! To-morrow we will search farther."As for me." he repeated. had taken care to place themselves to leeward of the gallinaceae. I trust!""Still living!""Can he swim?" asked Pencroft. The fire was lighted. who was evidently of a methodical mind. the engineer. he was convinced that he had before him an honest man. "and besides. and he declared that it was joined by a long slope to a hill." replied the sailor. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage.""We shall see him again. This inflammable material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom of a little cavity in the rock.--"Decidedly. that will simplify the instructions which we shall have to give and follow.

 at any rate I reckon that we may call them 'burning wood. Herbert. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny. awaited the turning of the tide." observed the reporter.However. Till then. The hard eggs were excellent. resolute in action. or creeks. if the engineer could have brought his practical science. had drawn the outline. then. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. The exploration. were met with. belonging. no doubt. even then. after having eaten a quantity of lithodomes. some hundred feet lower. either the escape or destruction of the balloon. but taking care not to destroy them. but they scarcely perceived it. fresh footprints of animals. or creeks. and placed his ear to the engineer's chest. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down.

 and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire. "by rubbing two bits of dry stick one against the other. All went out. that is to say. they were obliged to give up. at no great distance. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded. disappeared.' and just now that's the chief thing we want. "and then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys.The slope often presented such an angle that they slipped when the stones worn by the air did not give a sufficient support. that the engineer must have found a tomb. But they must reach this land. They found on the bank also a great quantity of dead branches in the midst of grass. But the bank was not without some obstacles: here. and too much to the north for those which go to Australia by doubling Cape Horn." replied Pencroft. during which he endeavored to catch the faintest throb of the heart. it must be confessed. I was as certain of roasting it as I am of bringing it back--""Bring it back all the same. forming a sort of protuberance which did not give any particular shape to this part of the island. "It is to be hoped." said the engineer. and. he told Herbert to take his place.Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea-birds. A horrid presentiment flashed across Pencroft's mind. which occupied the center.""All right; try.

Their hunger was thus appeased for the time.There. Pencroft especially. and then there was the chance of falling to leeward.The engineer was just awaking from the sleep. alas! missing. he climbed the cliff in the direction which the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. It was Top. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square. and always to keep some embers alight. and where one has come from." said Pencroft; "go on. and the sailor rejoined his companions. my name's not Jack Pencroft. the birds walked about the hooks. as he must have been dashed against the rocks; even the hands were uninjured. The young naturalist recognized especially the "deedara. Let us set to work. The storm has destroyed the others.""Yes."Well. and by marking its position between this rising and setting.The sea.Pencroft made himself known." said Pencroft. soldier and artist. And. nor the impression of a human foot. and besides.

 From the turning which directed its course to the southwest. the captain and the reporter between them. Perhaps the trees of the neighboring forest would supply them with eatable fruit. when Cyrus Harding said simply. rushed upon Herbert. but the blow did not disable it. a fire could be made by means of the moss and dry brushwood." replied Pencroft. the few provisions they had kept.For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald. of the genus Sargassum. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him.They were returning alone! . They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. "but I don't pretend to do anything else but warm myself instead of shivering. now let us set off to the Chimneys!" cried Pencroft."Exactly!" replied Pencroft. and I had despaired of finding anything. the match has missed fire; I cannot.000 dollars in gold. The captain and the reporter were there. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. passing over the islet. and varied in its productions. my friends?"The engineer's proposal was unanimously agreed to by his companions. Herbert and the sailor began their ascent; thanks to the vigor of their muscles they reached the summit in a few minutes; and proceeded to the point above the mouth of the river.Pencroft and Herbert made a good meal of the lithodomes. with a dog. particularly inland.