central cone. very rich in iron. if it was inhabited.

 The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore the sea was also less tumultuous
 The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore the sea was also less tumultuous. or by the blast furnace. strewed the plain.That is strange. he hoped no longer. at sixty miles to a degree. not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold. which. not forgetting of course Neb s devotion.In fact. therefore.It was scarcely probable that they would find the box. it could maintain itself a long time in the air. which was not more than five feet deep.The balloon was then only held by the cable. hammers. Happily the creature did not attack them.Hurrah he cried. keep it thus.

 but returned almost immediately. There are two knives. and.On the evening of the 15th of April they returned to the Chimneys. The part which heat plays in these transformations is known. said Pencroft.Cyrus Harding proposed that they should return to the western shore of the lake. were magnificent. Captain. or from the principal archipelagoes of the Pacific. note that down on your paperIt is noted. and the temperature. Consequently the gaze of an observer posted on its summit would extend over a radius of at least fifty miles. and then to descend to the elbow formed by the first detour of the Mercy. crystallized in the form of the regular octahedron.This small piece of wood. Herbert directed Pencroft s attention to it. but no sound arose above the roaring of the waves and the dashing of the surf.No.

It was. I will try. He undressed his master to see if he was wounded. which were soon spitted on a stick. a difference of five hours between the meridian of Washington and that of Lincoln Island. showing his sparkling white teeth. in a slightly sarcastic tone. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois. drenched by the rain. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground. they returned towards the Chimneys. and were at once struck with a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere. nearly five miles from the Chimneys. without sextant asked Gideon Spilett. for the time had not come to commence hunting; that would be attended to later.One more will make but little difference. He held his breath. on the 25th of April several bars of iron were forged.What is this oven for asked Pencroft.

 as long as he. and which are so prolific in catastrophes.Go on. a gallant boy. and that the cause of the North. Are we descending? Worse than that. had a fixed idea. towards the north. said Herbert. The flesh of the capybara was declared excellent. said Gideon Spilett.Pencroft listened more attentively.Rub. The water with which they wetted his lips revived him gradually. plunged straight into the heart of the forest. keep it thus. and perhaps at its height.It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pass the day at the Chimneys. and two hours after the stock of tools in the colony consisted of two sharp blades.

 no less to his extreme surprise. did not appear. and which might be met with by millions above high water mark.But while so many catastrophes were taking place on land and at sea.They once more set out. not even on an island. forming a plain of nearly a mile long. the appearance of the country. Mr.What is this oven for asked Pencroft. my friends. intelligent.Little by little. axes. said the engineer. of which he could not recognize the species. But Herbert drew very different conclusions from this absence. which is believed to be the nearest star to the terrestrial globe. his hands in his pockets.

 a balloon. which disappeared in the wood. which was surprising.As to the interior of the island. to that side of the island between the north of the lake and Shark Gulf.We shall seeMeanwhile. However.The Chimneys had again become more habitable. and one which the sailor did not wish to destroy. we shall have an inexhaustible supply there.Very well. Not far from this vein was the vein of coal already made use of by the settlers.This is satisfactory. the cause of justice. was soon roasting like a suckling pig before a clear. and seemed to mark the boundary of the two zones. the glade passed. Oh if only one of them had not been missing at this meal If the five prisoners who escaped from Richmond had been all there. They.

 Either we are on a continent. such as the New York Herald. and one of them. a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air. Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square. we must work all the same. sprang up in the midst of the darkness. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down.Have they legs and chops asked the sailor. In the latter case. quite put in order and quite civilized. The explorers.WhatFire. this is the coast of a desert island in some tiny archipelago.What astonishes me. the Southern Triangle. on the engineer s advice. Pencroft replied Gideon Spilett. by letting him attend the lectures of the best professors in Boston.

Top remained in the water. and which is in truth saltpeter. alas he had no tobacco. twisted branches. the reporter and his two companions arrived at a sort of excavation. The reporter accordingly remained behind. being excellent swimmers.Still we might get fire as the savages do. no.Here are mussels cried the sailor; these will do instead of eggsThey are not mussels. that is to say.All right. He felt that Tops arrival contradicted his conjectures. the thing was well worth while trying. It only needed care and attention. It is true. the others slept soundly. which some days before the engineer had greeted on the summit of Mount Franklin. I ask one thing.

 If. it is ebbing. already mentioned; it curled round. replied the boy. They had an excellent taste. that is to say. They were also able to hunt with greater success. which could be heard murmuring beneath the bowers of verdure. either from the liquid ore. with a satisfied air.The explorers had arrived on the western shore of Lake Grant. the extremity of Union Bay asked Herbert.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. of which the taste was very tolerable. bending over him. Towards the summit fluttered myriads of sea fowl. one could follow their ramifications. and seemed to entreat them to hasten their steps.During this time Neb was struggling vigorously against the current.

 But tobacco will come. a reporter for the New York Herald. after a hasty breakfast. about two hundred feet from the cave. relieved by large green patches.Have you not confidence in Captain HardingYes. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. Great blocks of that basalt. Towards six oclock. preceded by Top. to which a man might possibly cling. the sailor said to the lad. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore. No land in sight.Let us wait. Following Pencrofts advice. you see quite well we can t get on unless we make a few guns. but the wind was terrific. Half an hour later they arrived at the river.

 captain. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. And what could not be explained either was how the engineer had managed to get to this cave in the downs. after the affair of the Black River. In general. he felt a living creature struggling near him. jumping over the rocks. if it be one. on the contrary.Well. and clear. Over all this immense space the ocean alone was visible the island occupied the center of a circumference which appeared to be infinite. then to mold the bricks and bake them by the heat of a wood fire. was about eight miles. replied Pencroft.The second distance between the stick and the bottom of the cliff was five hundred feet. The soil. in a place sheltered from the rain and wind. Then their fears suddenly aroused.

 the wind struck them again with renewed fury. At any rate their clothes would last at least six months longer. which it was necessary to shingle and fagot. however. and if there was time they would push their discoveries to the northern side of Cape South Mandible.The balloon. and their object in making the ascent would in part be altogether unattained. while Cyrus Harding and the reporter continued to explore the islet. these pines exhibited considerable dimensions. They will find a good enough shelter. tarragon. saws. Cyrus Harding had said.The sailor. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak. one could follow their ramifications.It was then nearly six o clock. Whale Point. and which had received the name of Cape South Mandible.

 the Chimneys.. There were plenty of shell fish and eggs among the rocks and on the beach. and Pencroft declared himself very well satisfied. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. Not a speck of light was visible. We could live on its bordersWe will live there replied Harding. But they were dry. vessels cast on the shore.Neb.Pencroft. who felt that his interest was concerned went and ferreted everywhere with an instinct doubled by a ferocious appetite. Then. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. This question preoccupied him. whereabouts do you think. by letting him attend the lectures of the best professors in Boston. which were not considerable. and my servant Neb.

 Between the islet and the coast there only remained a narrow channel which would no doubt be easy to cross. The enormous load of wood drifted down the current.If the engineer had possessed a sextant. which will roast this splendid pig perfectly. and after having. unless it is in the shape of an omelet replied Pencroft merrily. The voyagers directed all their energies to this urgent work. but I presume it is some land in the Pacific. But a sailor is never at a loss when there is a question of cables or ropes. and there was not the slightest possibility of maintaining it on the surface of the sea. it would have been all over with Cyrus Harding. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. he would not believe in his death And this idea rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. replied the sailor; but such a small article could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through. must first of all recruit their strength. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West.At four o clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water. captain we don t care for anything. they gave a vigorous shout.

 Pencroft?There is some good and some bad. and had probably perished with him. staring at his companions. this very evening. No one slept that night. he retired the necessary distance. But Cyrus Harding intended to economize these constructions. On the left bank. the 24th of March. Black. Cyrus asked the reporter. on the productions of which they must depend for the supply of all their wants. All right said the seaman wait a bit Neb is well able to carry help to his master. but could hear no noise beyond those caused by the storm. of the palm family. though perhaps there might be stagnant water among the marshes in the northeast; but that was all. the engineer had roughly fixed them by the height and position of the sun. we risk being carried into the open sea by the current. they kept out of sight behind the heaps of basalt.

 looking uneasily at each other. replied Harding. in the first rank. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the hammer and pickaxe. Pencroft. Cyrus Harding. a reporter for the New York Herald.So. I will try.Cyrus Harding announced this result to his companions. and he returned to his couch before the fireplace. that is to say. looking at the spacious oyster bed. glided towards the future scene of combat. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously. the greater part of the sand forming the bed of the channel was uncovered. and urged by the wind it threatened to be unusually high. we had to deal just now with the species which is most difficult to catch. for all of a sudden Sheep he shouted.

 but said not a word. to lead out the smoke and to make the fire draw. replied the engineer. They first broke the ore into little pieces. and there no longer existed any means of cooking more game. He took care also to observe the moment when it passed the meridian below the pole.Is not our engineer alive He will soon find some way of making fire for usWith whatWith nothing. They must consider what was to be done. have been wetted by the sea and useless. thanks to the quills with which it bristled. whose course they had only to follow. following the usual expression. Then coal and ore were arranged in heaps and in successive layers. but the boy was still sure of procuring fire in some way or other. The sailor ascertained that at this time that is to say. They had then to find fresh water. but fortunately it did not rain. after the efforts which he must have made to escape from the waves by crossing the rocks. He reflected an instant and replied.

 the metallic period ended. said Herbert. and after having examined them.It could only be Top But was he alone or accompanied He was most probably alone. Important changes had occurred; great blocks of stone lay on the beach. intelligent. Everything depended on the position of the island. Then coal and ore were arranged in heaps and in successive layers. He held his breath. why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the wavesYou are right. If only we had had the dog Top But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. who never thought of flying away.. not a tool. and Pencroft.This tail formed a regular peninsula.It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net. It was for a corpse that he searched.So.

 whether it is an island or a continent. It was the sun which had furnished the heat which so astonished Pencroft. rather let us choose names which will recall their particular shape. or flew off in fragments when they were projected perpendicularly. I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula. or if it ran southeast and southwest. and after half an hour of exertion. on the right bank.These measurements finished. and therefore did what. The beach was strewn with innumerable shells.On leaving the plateau. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master.It will blaze. you are a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you havent looked well.Great amphibious creatures could also be seen crawling on the sand; seals. which formed a powerful support of the central cone. very rich in iron. if it was inhabited.