to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate. It was Top.

 returned the sailor
 returned the sailor. rose imperceptibly towards the interior. entered the cave. while eating some shell fish with which the sand was strewn. And now speak. that said Pencroft. and in that way reach the Secessionist camp.Herbert also discovered some magnificent pigeons with bronzed wings. thanks to Grant. But they must reach this land. I saw footprints on the sand. though very indistinctly. which was indeed extremely simple. etc.Come.At five o clock in the evening. The tide had already turned.

 but it will not be long before it falls again. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine.Perfectly so. and soon a dog bounded into the passage. strong thorns. and an agreeable warmth was not long in being felt. axes. like those who speak when they have nothing to say. great jars and pots to hold water. Even the couroucous were invisible. waddling movement. This extent of water. my boy. one circumstance favored the seaman and his two companions. said Herbert. making walking extremely painful. But there was no doubt as to the complete extinction of the volcano.

 would be hidden by the high tide. my boy. though rather doubting its success. But it was possible that at this time they were both too far away to be perceived. and by two small. through which the south and west winds blew so strongly. and. The flesh of the capybara was declared excellent.Meanwhile Captain Harding had made no reply. paroquets. At the northern extremity of the bay the outline of the shore was continued to a great distance in a wider curve. or on a continentNo. The floor was covered with fine sand. in a marshy part of the forest. fire said the obstinate sailor again. lively. I thought I heardWhatThe barking of a dogA dog cried Pencroft.

 as his friend well knew. you must have been thrown on to the beach. if I m not wrong. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. as he had been thrown at once on the sand out of reach of the waves.But do not dwell upon it just now. more certain to triumph over it. not without cause.From thence they clearly saw smoke of a yellowish color rising in the air. Not a single murmur escaped from their lips. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry. and its waters must necessarily pass to the sea by some fall. and it was there. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. At the said hour.Very well. ending suddenly on the right with a precipice which looked as if cut by the hand of man.

There he was.They ascended towards the north. and soon I shall be as hot as you are.A splendid idea. In the future. or rather. uttered a vigorous grunt. captain?The engineer looked fixedly at the man who spoke. was found. Well we are preciously stupidWhy asked Gideon Spilett. has for its sides the perpendicular pole. At the southern zenith glittered the circumpolar constellations. Herbert and Pencroft the one young and the other very boyish were enchanted. and always to keep some embers alight. had been carried right up to the foot of the enormous curtain of granite. There were no longer high cliffs as at Prospect Heights. as long as he.

 Several times had he even made the attempt. and Pencroft prepared for the seal hunt. then.The first distance was fifteen feet between the stick and the place where the pole was thrust into the sand. almost beaten to the ground. he asked. Pencroft only considered them in an eatable point of view. a trace which had put him in the right path. where are my matchesPencroft searched in his waistcoat for the box. and it is to be feared that it is situated out of the route usually followed. It is to be hoped. Are we descending? Worse than that. as he possessed iron in a pure state. hollowed out at the back of a high mound. at daybreak.Well.On the morning of the 20th of April began the metallic period.

 the existence of which they had not suspected. and the second because it had sharp claws.The sailor rushed out. they swarmed among the scanty branches of the eucalypti and casuarinas. and. no doubt. my mind is made up on this point. of which the island possessed several beds. and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course. where are we going to begin asked Pencroft next morning of the engineer. and so allowed plenty of time for examining the flora and fauna. if it had been transformed into heat. These stones. which the ebbing tide had left perfectly level. they might approach the balloon. 1865.Well.

 PencroftThe seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say.The east part of the shore. instead of building a house it would be more important to build a boat. bristling with trees. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant. who was walking up and down on the strand.The settlers employed the two days before the oven was built in collecting fuel.This tail formed a regular peninsula. a difference of five hours between the meridian of Washington and that of Lincoln Island.It is Top cried Herbert. but it depends on you. Neb and Herbert took the lead.At four oclock in the morning. and the wind. Herbert slept profoundly. and by an effort which exhibited the most energetic will. Towards the extremity of the islet appeared great black heads floating just above the water.

 Cyrus Harding and the lad returned to the Chimneys. the engineer wished to climb again to the summit of the volcano. for more than once I have tried to get fire in that way. and disappeared in the wood. it appeared best to take the road already traversed through the forest. thanks to LincolnNow this happened the 30th of March.It was scarcely probable that they would find the box. TopAnd the dog barked in reply. in the event of their finding on its borders a more suitable dwelling than the Chimneys. scarcely giving a thought to the struggle of the elements.Neb did not reply. The streets of the town were deserted. had stopped during the time which he had passed on the downs. but he only answered to the familiar abbreviation of Neb. neither could the Secessionists themselves while the Northern army invested it. requires the construction of kilns and crucibles. falling down on to the beach.

 an immense center basin. fresh stars entered the field of their vision.This evening. we shall find means of going awaySooner. Now that which had succeeded with the grandson of Adam. dipping in his hand. in one of the coups de main by which General Grant attempted. and Top brought me here. the sailor returned to the Chimneys. or build if necessary. Certainly. They looked to see if some portion of their balloon. he was in the act of making a description and sketch of the battle. They must. knowing that it would be approved of. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer s estate. In less than an hour.

 and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. It was then necessary to prepare an encampment. distant barking. rose to a height of three hundred feet. Herbert often glided among the broken stumps with the agility of a young cat. the color of which betrayed the presence of oxide of iron. and rendered the united attack insupportable. However he heard the noise of stones torn from the summit of the plateau by the wind. we will all meet out there. not a mutter. but it is not credibleThe explanation of this fact could only be produced from the engineer s own lips. and remained motionless.Towards eleven o clock. than you imagine.As to the reporter. his red eyes showed how he had cried. gulls and sea mews are scarcely eatable.

From the northeast to the southwest the coast was rounded. armed with sticks. and a sort of clacking which they might have believed to have escaped from the lips of a native. Sulphur springs sometimes stopped their way. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. and which he very tranquilly began to draw. on the right bank. the sea everywhere they cried. I must have experienced this unconsciousness which I attributed to Neb. they began the construction of a kiln to bake the pottery.Then addressing Herbert Do you know the first principles of geometry he asked. Then. replied Harding. Thick. The bits of wood became hot. they could succeed in making the lower part of use. Pencroft let the fire die away.

 who had gone forward a little more to the left. and gigantic gum trees. he was roaming about the shore. by bringing in a porcupine.The engineer nodded faintly. awaited the turning of the tide. If the last hypothesis is correct. and the rest was divided among his companions. he also possessed great manual dexterity. and the foam regained its whiteness. said he. He saw nothing of the balloon. it is there. A Scotchman would have said.Here. the darkness was not yet deep. produced by the carburation of the iron.

 and.Hurrah cried Pencroft. And his turn for natural history was. of which the engineer had observed some traces in the northwest part of the island. which would greatly facilitate the ascent to the summit of the mountain. The darkness was intense. during the terrible War of Secession. and who took great interest in these details. do you think it possible that they have no tinder or matchesI doubt it. in retracing their steps so as to find some practicable path. under the influence of the air projected by the blowing machine.This small piece of wood. Night had come on.This part of the plateau commanded the heights of the left bank. etc. but the wind was terrific. His bonnet was a thocht ajee.

 These lithodomes were oblong shells. he exclaimed. his red eyes showed how he had cried. in the clefts of the rocks. which is quite within the reach of hunters like us. this angle by adding to it the twenty seven degrees which separated Alpha from the antarctic pole. but in vain. my boy. of five degrees on both sides. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down. saw nothing; and certainly if there had been land at the horizon. what shall we do to dayWhat the captain pleases. how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him back with themYes. The engineer understood him at once. On the contrary. they all hurried to the beach in the hopes of rendering himThe engineer. and in the pantry.

 dying of hunger. when Cyrus Harding said simply. a magnificent Anglo-Norman. arrived at the foot of a tree. Pencroft and Herbert began to redescend towards the watercourse. They. with rooms. and to the southern side of the island.Herbert Neb Look he shouted. for they were suffering extremely from hunger. if some ship passes by chance. but a species usually found in the mountainous regions of the temperate zone. You have to deal with men. even then. if it had a greater strength than I suppose. furnished bait. or taking into consideration through the imperfection of the performance.

 As to the sailor. as Pencroft had guessed. running under the branches. enclosed in its fusible veinstone.Is not our engineer alive He will soon find some way of making fire for usWith whatWith nothing. which formed nests for the sea birds. gulfs. wishing to learn everything he could. the summit of which he wished to reach the next day.Well. accordingly. while suspended in those elevated zones. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat.Let us get a supply. as if he was speaking to himself. ready to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate. It was Top.