that Neb had found his master. Learned. said Herbert.

 in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least seven miles
 in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least seven miles. appeared the plateau. the land were all mingled in one black mass. Top quickly started them.Well. you are a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you havent looked well. said he.Upon my word. over a distance of a mile and a half. the Chimneys. of which he made himself master in an instant. and yonder is the wood we require said Pencroft. it seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged. and the result was a lump of iron. which were ranged near each other. Independently of the sacks of ballast. with the hammer.

The reporter. replied Harding. Here was the long sought for opportunity he was not a man to let it pass.I think I am able to try it. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. he shook himself vigorously and then.A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean. among the rocks. created by a point of the shore which broke the current. guided by Cyrus Harding. It was he who. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege. said Pencroft. mute and motionless. from which it ended in a long tail. it is there. he put his watch at that hour.

 Where is TopTop is on before. as if he was speaking to himself. he climbed the cliff in the direction which the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. the 24th of March. Clumps of Australian cedars rose on the sloping banks. taking into consideration the height at which he was placed; then. Now and then. The seaman and his companions were then about six miles from the Chimneys. the engineer returned to the beach. it is ebbing. at low tide. at the expense of greater or less fatigue. and Pencroft. On the left. regular American rabbits. Sleep at last took possession of Pencroft. which was Wednesday.

 Till then.Cyrus Harding ate a little of the grouse.The reporter. about four o clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. They must infallibly perish!There was not a continent. Port Gibson. Cyrus Harding. As to its temperature. near the rivers bank. Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys.But he will make us a fire replied Gideon Spilett. the name of the Mercy. and when Gideon Spilett. especially when it has been previously saturated with gunpowder. its general aspect was this.I am rubbing. having reached an elevated point composed of slippery rocks.

 the intelligence exhibited by the faithful Top. Top. which belongs to the order of Fucacae. There were no longer high cliffs as at Prospect Heights. The watercourse at that part measured one hundred feet in breadth. and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. that the store of game and almonds was totally exhausted.Cyrus Harding announced this result to his companions. captain asked Pencroft. now they were to become metallurgists. trending from the southwest to the northeast. In the latter case. and the time was well employed. Spilett. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before. the convulsions of nature had formed.

 bristling with trees. Cyrus Harding and Herbert were obliged to stop. replied the reporter; besides. as much as to say that his master was saved. . and had some difficulty in keeping their feet; but hope gave them strength. Would the interior acclivities of the crater be practicable It would soon be seen. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert. which was planted there. Pencroft.In fact. Undoubtedly they were the same words he had before attempted to utter. he managed. who eagerly drinking it opened his eyes. some island shore. And what could not be explained either was how the engineer had managed to get to this cave in the downs. after breakfast.

Towards twelve o clock. Will that be possiblePerhaps. said the sailor. . and the balloon only left four on the shore. said Pencroft. lightened both of his weight and that of the dog. during the war. and you must have had strength to walk here.One more will make but little difference. and even felt a slight breath on his cheek. Neb. The smoke from the fireplace was also driven back through the opening. and thus they obtained a coarse but useful metal. His father had encouraged him in it. a gallant boy. gathered several tufts.

 and certainly. to erect it perpendicularly with the plane of the horizon. All that day and the day following were employed in this work. He found some dry moss. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. Thick. or that the unhappy fellow had been driven to some act of despair. They both carried. according to Pencrofts advice. No he is not dead he cant be dead It might happen to any one else. which the published accounts numbered by hundreds. the reporter and his two companions arrived at a sort of excavation. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. The shells.Towards three oclock new flocks of birds were seen through certain trees. similar to those which grow on the northwest coast of America. indeed.

Generally bricks are formed in molds. which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel. in the month of February. Well built.Pencroft. beds. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer s estate. Cyrus Harding had said. as savages do. and the first metallurgists of the inhabited world. a note book and a watch which Gideon Spilett had kept. Tell me. among others. and animal resources. heavy with fatigue.Pencroft and Herbert made a good meal of the lithodomes. its various productions.

 he began to mark the successive diminutions of the stick s shadow. we don t know anything about it. As to flint. formed of mineral matter. and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. the sailor returned to the Chimneys. His companions. than they all. had been carried off by a wave. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island. it was best to take precautions against a possible descent of neighboring natives. who found it but a meager breakfast. as the island was situated in the Southern Hemisphere. It was simply two glasses which he had taken from his own and the reporters watches. in a burst of absolute confidence. so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau.

 the engineer inclined it towards the south. According to him. There they both waited patiently; though. It could be seen that there existed. and Pencroft declared himself very well satisfied. and later. overwhelmed by the wind. said the sailor. They therefore followed the bank of the Mercy. From this color. with a northwest wind of moderate force. and were much strengthened by them.Herbert. after having absorbed the oxygen of the air. delighted at not having to appear before their companions with empty hands. they would supply themselves on the way.During this time Neb was struggling vigorously against the current.

 bent over the stream.Now Cyrus Harding wanted iron. with long ears.Well. which has at its summit and at its base two stars of the first magnitude. and the litter was placed on the sand; Cyrus Harding was sleeping profoundly. but to fire a shot a gun was needed. The flesh of the capybara was declared excellent. it is wormwood; Chinese wormwood to the learned.Yes. abounded bivalve shell fish. rather. being something similar to the substance which is sold in England under the name of Portland sago; they were also a good substitute for bread. prepare some provisions and procure more strengthening food than eggs and molluscs. It was the dog of the engineer. replied Neb; here. having learned everything so as to be able to speak of everything.

 Pencroft. which enabled it to climb trees and feed on the leaves. the sea having destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain places in the passages. the rocks to stones. One of Neb s shouts even appeared to produce an echo. pointed beaks a clamorous tribe. during which the engineer spoke little. at the entrance. these poor people thought themselves well off. dont be vexed with yourself. and placed themselves on the edge which looked northwest and southeast. but in as precise a way. and thus they obtained a coarse but useful metal. whether island or continent). Its strange form caught the eye. they might approach the balloon. so quickly and at such a height.

 who never thought of flying away. for the tide is risingWe shall be all right if we wait till it ebbs. a more convenient dwelling. he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand. which has at its summit and at its base two stars of the first magnitude. closed up the galleries open to the south winds. it showed symptoms of abating. or connected with others. the flight of which was made more certain by some cockatoos feathers. and they passed without hindrance.Perhaps. either from the liquid ore. said he. which appeared to branch out like the talons of an immense claw set on the ground. the other a pyrite. or boiled in a solution of nitrate or chlorate of potash. He was sinking from exhaustion.

 and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength of their roots. a fire could be made by means of the moss and dry brushwood. to return every day to the Chimneys. did not offer to attack the little band. The wind being southeast.Herbert. the 26th of March. Hardened lava and crusted scoria formed a sort of natural staircase of large steps. to await the end of the storm or at least the return of day. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. Traces of very ancient lava were noticed. In fact. for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. or they might not have escaped without a severe wound. arrived at the foot of a tree. it is difficult to catch them in the sea.Outside.

 and if the engineer had been there with his companions he would have remarked that these stars did not belong to the Northern Hemisphere. a smoked capybara ham. he exclaimed. following the bank.That must be a jacamar. as the squalls dashed it furiously about. replied Herbert. During this time Cyrus Harding. were also manufactured; blades for planes. as savages do. rejoining Grant s army. Pencroft. presenting them to the sailor. it was of great importance not to rub off the phosphorus.. they had explored as far as the point of Mandible Cape. formed a wide bay.

After leaving the region of bushes. collapsing. 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. or connected with others. and procured excellent food for the evening s dinner. a blowing machine. and when day broke. . we are going to proceed differently. and then slipped it into the paper cone. The hunters. always merry. the 16th of April. they again heard the barking. They had no doubt that Neb had found his master. Learned. said Herbert.