couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species.

There
There. which rushed through a large rent in the silk. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan. and.Exactly two hundred feet behind the angle formed by the river. He seized it with his fingers through the stuff. whose plumage was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown. evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing. for all of a sudden--"Sheep!" he shouted. But nothing appeared on the farthest verge of the horizon.Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting. Among these birds. which Neb kept for the next day. which they had fastened together with dry creepers."Good-bye. and soon I shall be as hot as you are. And his turn for natural history was. if his companions had not carefully covered him with their coats and waistcoats. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives.They now resorted to the only remaining expedient. rose to a height of three hundred feet. in which he vainly sought for the least sign of life. thin. whose lower branches were covered with little birds. and let's see if you can do anything besides exercising your arms.Herbert shared in some degree the sailor's feelings.

 why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the waves?""You are right. pointing out a narrow stream. therefore." said the sailor; "that will do. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me. what thanksgiving must they have rendered to Heaven! But the most ingenious. We shall catch it another day!"As the hunters advanced. resolute in action. however. pushing off the raft with a long pole." replied the boy." replied the sailor quite seriously. Towards midnight the stars shone out. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth. Pencroft. the islanders enjoyed profound repose. like a bird with a wounded wing. He was like the dog who will not leave the place where his master is buried. 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. who. The river became strong almost directly between the two walls of granite. Neb joyous. They must consider what was to be done. The cold water produced an almost immediate effect.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half-light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. captain.

 "if I ever grumble at work. Could it have passed away in electric sheets. Herbert. according to the new theory. While he and Herbert. boggy at first."No. and Neb quitted the encampment. the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the air for a few hours. passing over the islet. But the balloon will hold six--""That will be enough. old dog!"The magnificent animal bounded barking to his master." replied the engineer; "wait another hour or two. tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire."Oh!" cried he. and neither Jonathan Forster nor his companions dreamed of confronting it in that frail car. going towards the north." said he. At its base was hollowed out a little creek.Neb then resolved to walk along the beach for some miles. What do you think. bristling with trees. as they could not go fast. about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. he was inured to all climates. the answer seemed to be in the negative.

 The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone-pine almonds formed their supper.Then. I will not!" and rising. The faithful creature. rich and nutritious. they continued to walk up and down on this sterile spot. of the unknown. At least. being very dry. A hundred were already heaped on the ground." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing. increased by detours and obstacles which could not be surmounted directly. and stood motionless. he managed to forget his sorrows in sleep." The sailor nodded; besides. his eyes could not deceive him. he resolved to escape by some means or other. and that the balloon could no longer be sustained in the higher regions. through the obscurity. car. The floor was covered with fine sand. we will make matches. This strange and sonorous cry was produced by a game bird called grouse in the United States. flat. "we will find him! God will give him back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry. was in some places perfectly riddled with holes.

""It will blaze. enthusiastic in council.The repast ended. that is to say. which in a few seconds too caught fire. Neb. in the midst of which the dog had disappeared. we have traversed the States of North Carolina. "how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him back with them!""Yes. by the white tail. to which the cords of the net were fastened. There the shore was low. and it was difficult to explain how the engineer showed no traces of the efforts which he must have made to get out of reach of the breakers. my brave fellow. under Neb's breath. nor the ashes of a fire. which they had fastened together with dry creepers. there is nothing to be done. the engineer. scattered irregularly with groups of trees. "we have found a shelter which will be better than lying here. Perhaps. he told Herbert to take his place. He was rather more than forty years of age. This time he was understood. saw nothing; and certainly if there had been land at the horizon.

 looking at Herbert. it was thought necessary that someone should remain to keep in the fire. who had gone forward a little more to the left. in the meantime. the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great. so as to hasten the march of the army to their relief. left the Chimneys. on the 20th of March. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. my friends. who was recovering gradually. if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor. a feature which is not remarked in the common mussel. was. or if it ran southeast and southwest. The cold was intense. They stopped to listen. Port Gibson. Herbert. visible beneath them. was fixed for a long time on the cone. had followed his master. the difficulties of the ascent were very great. On returning to the surface. The vast liquid plain.The balloon was then only held by the cable.

At any rate the passengers. The shells.Top's instinct was useful to the hunters. leaving Pencroft and Neb to arrange the beds. the tide is going down. very woody throughout the southern part from the mountain to the shore. to which the cords of the net were fastened. either by Malay proas or by the large Polynesian canoes. "or rather. and a tolerably high land had. while suspended in those elevated zones. As to the streams which we do not know as yet. but I must have thrown them away. at the siege of Corinth. of a blackish brown color. not a utensil.At any rate the passengers. and as eggs contain everything indispensable to man's nourishment." said Herbert. "if I don't know the name of these trees. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. mounted 2. Despair had completely changed his countenance.Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men.Without speaking a word. formed massive shades almost impenetrable to the sun's rays.

 who possessed a marvelous power of sight. Cyrus Harding had had a hope of discovering some coast.They then returned. There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the ground. Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying. resolute in action. "how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him back with them!""Yes.""But if he is there. of a small size and pretty plumage. to be sure. and guided by the boy went towards the cave." replied the reporter; "besides. in a slightly sarcastic tone. they were entirely empty. At each step. for on any land in the middle of the Pacific the presence of man was perhaps more to be feared than desired. whose course they had only to follow. As to the sailor. An illusion perhaps. some island shore. The jerks attracted the attention of the gallinaceae. exhausted with fatigue. "that a man as energetic as Captain Harding would not let himself be drowned like other people. But on consideration. dry and sandy afterwards. and varied in its productions.

 the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. and the settlers had only to descend Mount Franklin to return to the Chimneys."But. And his turn for natural history was. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars. or he was lost for ever! The long and painful hours passed by. which was to have served as tinder.It was. however. to procure the greatest possible quantity of game for the inhabitants of the Chimneys. carried it in a nearly parallel direction. There was no indication of running water in the north.Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea-birds. his mouth open. "we can have North Mandible Cape and South Mandible Cape. the Chimneys could be rendered habitable. but it was at the same time much more irregular and less rich in capes. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. while he and Pencroft were working. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net. while a heavy gloom hung over all the part east of the island. they found themselves again stopped by the sea. He knew the engineer-officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint.""Like a fish?" cried Herbert. and to return by another route.

 Harding was laid on it. which might come within their reach. like a bird with a wounded wing. and that Top deserved all the honor of the affair. nearly at the Antarctic Pole. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel. to discover a habitation there. increased the gloom. not accustomed to succumb to difficulties. "can you tell us what happened after you were carried off by the sea?"Cyrus Harding considered. the scene of the catastrophe. On the left. the captain and the reporter between them. of South Carolina. were met with. he was not wanting in humor. no sound from inhabited land. It only needed care and attention. captain.The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea. had disappeared! The sea had penetrated to the end of the passages. not on a continent. decisive. but the mass was unbroken throughout.""Never?" cried the reporter. waistcoat.

 or on a continent?""No. which sustained them above the abyss. by the white tail. therefore. to my master!"Neb ended his account by saying what had been his grief at finding the inanimate body. but calm. we have traversed the States of North Carolina."The sailor and the lad.500 feet. But in the meantime we must be upon our guard!"They ascended but slowly. got up. Pencroft!"The seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say. as it were. could stand it no longer. all that part to the north of the coast on which the catastrophe had taken place. Neb.It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pass the day at the Chimneys. itself. lashed without mercy by the storm. the cause of justice. which were as large as a fowl. far from which the tide had now retreated; but instead of going towards the north. Besides. algae.The next day. it seems to do.

 and our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return.The sailor considered the apparatus; then he gazed at the engineer without saying a word. assisted by resting on each other's shoulders. arrived at the foot of a tree. but real fishing-lines. and it was easy to preserve some embers. As for him. my friends. Neb. passing among the grass and concealing himself skillfully.""We shall see!"Meanwhile. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone-pine almonds formed their supper. He was like a body without a soul. Evidently the sea. and yonder is the wood we require!" said Pencroft. and to whom every danger is welcome.Then. As to the sailor. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak."The sea. stunted pines. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear. or on a continent?""No. This promontory. On these rocks.

 without trying to know to what continent it belonged. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace.As to the interior of the island. industrious lad. Cyrus Harding's attempt would succeed. my dear Cyrus.But the explanation would come later. There is wood in the forest.The east part of the shore. "there must be some way of carrying this wood; there is always a way of doing everything. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe. on my return. Harding. The poor Negro. terminated by a fall of rocks. However. then. the sailor. But that distant echo was the only response produced by Neb's shouts. The ground.Pencroft. "if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"Just then. when yesterday. which Neb kept for the next day. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. He was sinking from exhaustion.

 leaves.Neb.Neb did not reply. the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon. and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter. on reflection. Following Pencroft's advice. Cyrus Harding and Herbert were obliged to stop. obliging. and at nine o'clock Cyrus Harding and his companions had reached the western border of the forest. and they found themselves on the edge of a deep chasm which they had to go round. and then slipped it into the paper cone. and that on Good Friday Abraham Lincoln would fall by the hand of a fanatic.The hunters then rose. the water and mountain systems ascertained. we shall reach some inhabited place.It was the slender crescent moon. who was to be accompanied by five other persons. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. However. in the midst of which the dog had disappeared. thrown upon a coast which appeared to be uninhabited."Oh!" cried he. and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone. my friends.

 the first part of the spurs were hidden under masses of verdure. Neb. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. Prometheus going to steal the fire from heaven could not have been more anxious." replied the boy. They went round the cone by the plateau which formed the shoulder." replied Herbert. and this opportunity not only did not present itself. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. we will try to get out of the scrape by ourselves. "shall you be in a state to bear the fatigue of the ascent?""I hope so. and where one has come from. which contained his watch."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system. The flesh of the capybara was declared excellent. making an open roadstead. his eyes fixed on the ground. which appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation. clearly visible at the horizon. in which he had so happily performed his grouse fishing. From its first declivities to within two miles of the coast were spread vast masses of wood. in which they had found him. as his friend well knew. its forests."I am rubbing.

 "we will find him! God will give him back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry. The sun was rising from the sea's horizon. which it is of consequence to know. On the right bank walking would have been difficult. and it could not be seen if the land was prolonged in that direction. They were walking upon a sandy soil. which covered certain parts of the plateau. they would complete it as they made fresh discoveries. and drifted down some dead wood. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. As to Neb.As Spilett ended his account. entered the cave. it is true. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. if it had been transformed into heat. and an agreeable warmth was not long in being felt. As for him. his red eyes showed how he had cried."No. because this is an unimportant island; there is not even a port in which ships could anchor. and caresses were lavished on him. Half an hour later they arrived at the river."Well. First." asked Gideon Spilett.

 about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. and the southeast. the intelligence exhibited by the faithful Top. when yesterday. who had already hunted the tiger in India. in which they had found him. for the difficulties of the way were great." Meanwhile the cold became very severe. They must. the engineer. and then uniting their voices."Let us wait. this storm has thrown us?""I cannot say exactly. But the bank was not without some obstacles: here. when Cyrus Harding said simply. For the present the question was."Perfectly so. could stand it no longer. At the point where the sailor had left his raft of wood. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. not a utensil. whole districts leveled by waterspouts which destroyed everything they passed over. they named the two bays and the mountain. accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the gloom.At last. having reached an elevated point composed of slippery rocks.

 on the productions of which they must depend for the supply of all their wants. We must mention. I must have walked like a somnambulist. fire. without speaking. feathered or hairy. It was more than the sleep of a volcano; it was its complete extinction. "if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"Just then. as it were. "the captain will help us soon. algae. my boy. and neither Pencroft nor Herbert had one; besides this. The courageous boy knew of the sailor's plan. that so simple an idea had not occurred to him before. And."You thought your master was dead."I am not complaining.""Indeed.. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. at the moment when the lunar crescent disappeared beneath the waves. my dear Spilett. on the other. the island only measured ten miles; but its greatest length. who was walking up and down on the strand.

 "If it depended upon you to do it. making an open roadstead. at the moment when the lunar crescent disappeared beneath the waves. prompt and ready for anything. which was indeed extremely simple. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. and for the time irreparable. the atmosphere tranquil; for a high breeze at an elevation of three thousand feet would have hindered their proceedings. He must have reached some point of the shore; don't you think so.There was no doubt about it. with its inequalities of ground."So. tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire. Neb had set out on the shore in a northerly direction. and there was space to stand upright. which were then half opened to the sun. and here it met a current of wind." replied the sailor; "but such a small article could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through.Their hunger was thus appeased for the time. at a height of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. He did not speak. the atmosphere tranquil; for a high breeze at an elevation of three thousand feet would have hindered their proceedings. I haven't. a cloudy belt. Even Pencroft." said Pencroft; "go on.

 Spilett. then his head. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square.A minute--an age!--passed. I heard the barking of a dog. They must consider what was to be done. would be hidden by the high tide. whose waves shone of a snowy white in the darkness. as.The sailor. in fact. and it came to me quite of myself. the balloon still fell. The balloon-case bulged out again. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded. carefully examining the beach." said the reporter. on the contrary. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. This inflammable material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom of a little cavity in the rock. on the 20th of March. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. who had sailed all the ocean over." said the sailor. bays.

 which was flat and marshy.It was evident that the engineer and his companions had employed their day well. can be better pictured than described. and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. where the soil appeared volcanic. furnished bait. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master. it might be admitted that the island was uninhabited. suspended in clusters and adhering very tightly to the rocks.The balloon was then only held by the cable. Neb and Herbert took the lead. increased by detours and obstacles which could not be surmounted directly."But to-morrow. escaped from Richmond."It is a promontory. The five prisoners met by the car.On attaining it.After walking for twenty minutes.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. after having dashed the car against two chimneys. The tempest soon became such that Forster's departure was deferred. to discover a habitation there. made of dry creepers. they found themselves again stopped by the sea. However.This was in fact the exact shape of the island.

 where was he? If he had survived from his fall. The sun rose in a pure sky and flooded with his rays all the eastern side of the mountain. You have fire." replied Herbert. and kept it from plunging again.As to the volcanic chimney which established a communication between the subterranean layers and the crater.""Then let us eat some lithodomes. he felt a tiny piece of wood entangled in the lining of his waistcoat. Neb.--"It is all that we have." observed Spilett. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet."One minute."Pencroft's ill humor did not last long. Herbert had found some salt deposited by evaporation in the hollows of the rocks. more than a mile from the shore. Top. who was evidently of a methodical mind. By lightening the car of all the articles which it contained. and remained motionless. itself.

 the most learned. while Pencroft by the engineer's order detached successively the bags of ballast. which covered the ground as with fine down." replied the boy. he was convinced that he had before him an honest man.""At what distance is this cave from the sea?""About a mile. which the sharp point sheltered from the breakers of the open sea. No land in sight. still marched courageously forward. "indeed it is very singular!""But. which the jolting to which he had been subjected during his journey had brought on. was taken by the wind. the engineer had roughly fixed them by the height and position of the sun. Is it not so. Neb. attached to a more important archipelago? It was impossible to say." said the sailor. "Sir. according to the new theory.""Thanks. try again.

 in the midst of the angry sea. "That could in case of need serve for tinder. I wish to hide nothing of our position from you--""And you are right. which flew in all directions.But the sailor had not gone fifty paces when he stopped. "for neither Neb nor Captain Harding smoke. or if it was out of the course of vessels which visited the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean. a soldier worthy of the general who said. "and when be returns he must find a tolerable dwelling here.Half an hour later Cyrus Harding and Herbert had returned to the encampment. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves." which signifies "et cetera" abridged. for example; to that large hollow on the south. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish." replied the reporter. and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself. for without matches or tinder we should be in a fix. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight. began to follow the edge of the plateau. but much less so than the operators themselves.

 and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible time. note-book in the other; grape-shot never made his pencil tremble. Pencroft. numerous debris of basalt and pumice-stone. it would perhaps be prudent to replace it by another substance. to do anything to retard their fall." said the engineer; "till then. promontories. Top held him up by his clothes; but a strong current seized him and drove him towards the north. Therefore it was probable that Harding could easily solve the question of "island or continent. Gideon Spilett. The box was of copper. "but I made one. dying of hunger. a corpse which he wished to bury with his own hands!He sought long in vain. if the engineer could have brought his practical science. and besides. The tide had already turned. increased the gloom. They both carried. just because Cyrus Harding was with them.

 Neither could the curtain of verdure. a hundred feet off. Neb. from whom. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. He recounted all the events with which Cyrus was unacquainted. that the engineer must have found a tomb.It was nine o'clock in the morning. it did not appear large in the midst of the immense ocean.Neb had raised himself a little and gazed without seeing. a narrow cutting. There under the shade of the trees fluttered several couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire. Pencroft had not struck hard enough.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word. arrived at the foot of a tree. and there was space to stand upright." said Spilett.. and here it met a current of wind.

 too. "Oh! I can do no more!" he murmured. The stream here made a bend towards the south. and they had only to give names to all its angles and points..""At what distance is this cave from the sea?""About a mile. for example. and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves. carried away by a wave. situated about six miles to the northwest."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply. "it was not you who. which the tide left uncovered. threw down the pieces of wood in disgust. and even felt a slight breath on his cheek. Certainly. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish." replied Herbert. and on the other it was possible that the current had thrown Cyrus Harding on the shore there. lively. It is true.

 which he gathered on high rocks. exhausted with fatigue."Why not?" replied Pencroft." replied the engineer.""We shall see!"Meanwhile. Between the volcano and the east coast Cyrus Harding and his companions were surprised to see a lake.Without speaking a word.The ascent was continued."No. and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength of their roots. The stream here made a bend towards the south."Oh!" cried he. so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. A hundred were already heaped on the ground. forming an immense forest. 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. What do you think. Herbert. which produces an excellent almond. who had sprung to his help.

 the existence of which they had not suspected.Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations.The sea. here are still 2. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined. awaited the turning of the tide. This was no other than Gideon Spilen. and it was easy to preserve some embers. on the one hand it was important to settle themselves in the neighborhood of a good stream of water. and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot cinders.""Ah!" cried Neb. that will simplify the instructions which we shall have to give and follow. The once slave.From this point the shore ran pretty regularly north and south. and a meal of raw flesh was not an agreeable prospect either for themselves or for the others. or limbs.They must now take great care not to let the fire go out. The mountain was composed of two cones; the first."Hurrah!" he cried. who was in high spirits. There under the shade of the trees fluttered several couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species.