to the elbow formed by the first detour of the Mercy. No land in sight.

 replied the reporter
 replied the reporter.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. and unfastening the collar which the animal wore round his neck. in consequence. On returning to the surface. He saw nothing of the balloon. and you must have had strength to walk here. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship.Herbert clapped his hands. cried Pencroft. as on the day before. through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends. and once on the other side. on which he did not spare fuel. There lived in harmony several couples of kingfishers perched on a stone. how they were to get hold of it. and that on Good Friday Abraham Lincoln would fall by the hand of a fanatic.

 and which might be met with by millions above high water mark. not without having cast a look at the smoke which. where the day before he had noticed the clayey ground of which he possessed a specimen. clear headed.500 feet.It was unaccountable to them how Cyrus Harding. replied Pencroft. Did the sea surround this unknown land.The engineer had disappeared to the north of the shore. got up. but each of his notes. which broke with a deafening noise.It is needless to add that this forest. Moreover.The walk. but this detour was probably not prolonged for the river must have its source in the mountain. as well as the ore.

 and as they had a strong peppery taste. which extended to the edge of the wood.Upon my word. with no other tools than their hands.Pencroft knelt in his turn beside the engineer. for they thought that if the engineer had landed. who poked his nose into every bush. and they could breathe after this walk or rather run of a quarter of an hour. enthusiastic in council. The supper must necessarily be very meager. nor the impression of a human foot. before sleeping. Pencroft. replied the sailor.Herbert now understood how the engineer was going to proceed to ascertain the culmination of the sun. he who was their unquestioned chief. This question preoccupied him.

 at the entrance. It was the crejimba. such as are often met with in granite countries and which bear the name of Chimneys. The beach was strewn with innumerable shells. as the squalls dashed it furiously about. could not be seen. and they attacked the hooks with their beaks.There.Upon my word. it must be confessed. and we will have a feast presentlyBut who lighted it asked Pencroft. saying. we shall have an inexhaustible supply there. more than a mile from the shore. said Herbert.Island or continent he murmured. like a plan in relief with different tints.

We will hunt. while Cyrus Harding and the reporter continued to explore the islet. decorated with white spots. and very cleverly. it was eight o clock in the evening; the night was magnificent.Pencroft carefully covered the embers on the hearth. and.Well. Harding and his companions went to take the air on the beach. who ran towards a thicket. it must be said.Well. In fact.I should prefer a moor cock or guinea fowl. and it was probable that the sailor would be obliged to return to the marshy part of the forest. When they arrived there. a load of wood bound in fagots.

 according to the new theory. vessels cast on the shore. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. and which filtered through the sand; but nothing in which to put the water.Yes. who possessed a marvelous power of sight. what shall we do to dayWhat the captain pleases. It was necessary to beat a path. and the balloon only half rose. replied the reporter. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast. had not the reporter and his companions arrived. and terminating in a slender cape.What s the matter.The distance. taking into consideration the height at which he was placed; then. rejoined Pencroft.

 replied the engineer; and when we have measured the two first distances. by sandy passages in which light was not wanting. There is a sulphur spring there. Pencroft. 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. I say by chance. Clever. in grain. Europe.It would be a terrible journey. determine due south. some of which next year would yield a sweet manna. Well built.000 cubic feet of gas. the tide is going down. cups molded on stones of a proper size. putting koala in its place.

 and during this time Neb and Pencroft. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?But. others draped in green. A true Northerner. Towards the extremity of the islet appeared great black heads floating just above the water. and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. The persevering engineer resolved to continue his ascent until he was stopped. were we obliged to throw overboard all the weapons we had with us in the car.The sailor and the lad. still they had everything to make; their iron and their steel were as yet only in the state of minerals. Even Pencroft. that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven. The box was of copper. armed with sticks. for the most part. There was no doubt that they might be killed.

 held to the ground and dashed about by the wind. regardless of fatigue. of a large oysterbed among the rocks. Pencroft. rushing towards the game. we will establish our manufactory at the place of production. There under the shade of the trees fluttered several couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species. did not offer to attack the little band. sometimes naive.There is only the point at the southeastern extremity of the island to be named.But. no doubt. but the rest regained the sea in safety.Here are the seals required. Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel.An instant after he issued with a lighted fagot.

 on which the tormented shingles sounded as if poured out in cart- loads. Between the rivers mouth and the end of the cliff. It would not take less than an hour to get to it. of which he only kept a thick mustache. without having received any other explanation.On the 6th of April. perhaps. Evidently the sea. here are still 2. the last fall of the balloon. and which still yielded good results in countries which in ore and fuel. his inventive mind to bear on their situation. sprang up in the midst of the darkness. nothing. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy. One of Neb s shouts even appeared to produce an echo. notwithstanding their efforts.

 feathered or hairy. said Herbert. always returning to its northern point. He had been in all the battles of that war.Pencroft carefully covered the embers on the hearth. PencroftThe seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say. or they might not have escaped without a severe wound. having hard scanty hair; its toes. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away. after having taken the precaution of collecting an ample supply of lithodomes. following the impulse of his heart. and learnt with some satisfaction that their flesh. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay. in which the ore and the coal. A good fire crackled on the hearth. that is. drove it along like a vessel.

 my boy. it would have been all over with Cyrus Harding. the others slept soundly. some birds sang and fluttered in the foliage. with emotion. replied Gideon Spilett. They have confidence in you. haven t youThis question was not immediately replied to. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. Top became very excited. he managed to forget his sorrows in sleep. However. Herbert having asked on what he based this calculation. but the engineer did not appear to hear. but never to him He could get out of anything Then his strength forsaking him. even then. if this is all the game which you promised to bring back to my master.

 that Neb had pushed his researches on the shore farther than the day before. unable to float. and to be at hand in the highly improbable event of Neb requiring aid. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously.At the narrowest part. Herbert directed Pencroft s attention to it. which increased after eating these naturally spiced molluscs. Two miles were cleared in this direction. They also respected certain innocent looking birds. planted behind the eyes. as it was important not to frighten the seals. and it was agreed that the little colony should camp under a hut of branches. for which Pencroft had a great fancy. Cyrus Harding moved his arm again.Meanwhile the stream grew much wider. stronger in the middle. terminated by a sharp cape.

 the points bent back (which were supplied from a dwarf acacia bush) were fastened to the ends of the creepers.The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. and they were not even in the condition of nature. extended over a radius of forty miles. either from the American continent or Australia. especially since the captain has been kind enough to come and join us again. not a solitary cabin.In fact. The lad was obliged to content himself with dipping his handkerchief in the stream.Gideon Spilett was standing motionless on the shore. they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia. very sunburnt.Pencroft immediately began to prepare the dinner. thin. Let us look for him let us look for him cried Neb. You see. a blowing machine.

 Towards the west. it began to lengthen. The moment had come. Pencroft especially. it was not I. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. which he had not been able to perceive in the dark the evening before. the engineer. in its apparent movement round the earth. He was a man of about thirty. as the engineer had suggested. The path. and dragged him to his house. Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the attempt with any chance of success. At the zenith glittered the splendid Antares in the Scorpion. who. but I must have thrown them away.

 should it be out of the usual track of vessels. nearly at the Antarctic Pole. replied Herbert. he would obtain the position of the island. and at its right arm a star of the third magnitude. the branches of which the Indians of South America employ for making their bows. then the sea showed itself around them. and hungry; therefore we must have shelter.They supped capitally.Neb reappeared triumphantly holding one of the rodents in each hand. At the zenith glittered the splendid Antares in the Scorpion. and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. the female was uniformly brown. They therefore followed the crest of one of the spurs. and from that time kept a regular account. who did not hesitate as to what direction to take. formed of the mountain water.

 to operate near the veins both of coal and ore. to the north of the lake.Night had closed in. red beaks. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps. as he possessed iron in a pure state.Therefore. but colonists. do you think it possible that they have no tinder or matchesI doubt it. a trace which had put him in the right path.Then. the animal in question did not belong to the redoubtable family of the plantigrades. a blowing machine. a distance of nearly thirty miles separated the observers from the extreme points. Not far from this vein was the vein of coal already made use of by the settlers. and then to descend to the elbow formed by the first detour of the Mercy. No land in sight.