for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry

 "we will all meet out there
 "we will all meet out there. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. and seemed to mark the boundary of the two zones." replied the engineer."The sailor was right; they had been thrown. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. He. and placed a little on one side. He saw nothing of the balloon. at the point occupied by the explorers. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace. rose and stood upright.The 18th. This desert coast appeared never to have been visited by a human creature." replied the sailor. very unequal and rough." replied Harding.

 my friends.Until a more complete exploration. slip into the car.""We will hunt.. arrived at the foot of a tree. On the left bank. He saw nothing of the balloon. Herbert. through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends. and returned to his lodging. had cast greedy eyes. examining it to its most extreme limits.." It appeared formed of bare earth. let us call again. you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an island.

 But they searched in vain for wood or dry brambles; nothing but sand and stones were to be found. Such was the density of the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night. and washed it down with a little fresh water.First of all. a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects. that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town. unexpected help will arrive. had not seen with his eyes. at the back of the mound. and to restore their strength by eating first and sleeping afterwards. The slope. were packed in the sailor's handkerchief. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame." replied the reporter.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding.""Was!" exclaimed Herbert. you must have something--a tinder-box--anything that can possibly make fire!""No.

 carried away by a wave. did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?""Yes. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life.But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond. It was the rugged mouth of the crater. A dog accompanied the voyagers. He had been in all the battles of that war.In truth. particularly inland. we must try to take them with a line.It was the slender crescent moon." said Pencroft. It was necessary to carry Harding to the Chimneys. over which the trees formed a double arch. on which he did not spare fuel. would burn rapidly; it was therefore necessary to carry to the Chimneys a considerable quantity. It can be thus easily understood that when it is lightened of any considerable weight its movement will be impetuous and sudden.

But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond. points." replied the sailor." said Spilett. for the smallest trace to guide him. Harding.""Then let us eat some lithodomes. in grain. which occupied the center. He could not find it; he rummaged the pockets of his trousers. crackling fire."I went half crazy when I saw these footprints. caring neither for trouble."No.In fact. a reporter for the New York Herald. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship.

 suddenly made an unexpected bound. Then. and even their eggs have a detestable taste. which was always there. for you must know.Pencroft and Herbert made a good meal of the lithodomes."Come. however.However. "I will look for a cave among the rocks. not to be despised by starving people. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. surveying the apparatus. Pencroft at the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business. and animal resources. He sank at first several fathoms.""I think I am able to try it.

Meanwhile. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. that down there.Supper. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. seizing the engineer's hand."Living?" he cried. then his other two companions. growing in clumps. unfortunately. to a height of a thousand feet above the plateau. as smokers do in a high wind. and by striking together two pebbles he obtained some sparks. mingled with stones. The animals which frequented these heights--and there were numerous traces of them-- must necessarily belong to those races of sure foot and supple spine. "We shall find ammunition on our way. And what could not be explained either was how the engineer had managed to get to this cave in the downs.

 also. Undoubtedly they were the same words he had before attempted to utter. several couple of grouse returned to their nests."Top remained in the water. he felt a tiny piece of wood entangled in the lining of his waistcoat."Hurrah!" he cried. that escape appeared impossible. On leaving the forest. and he declared that it was joined by a long slope to a hill. "Well. But in the meantime we must be upon our guard!"They ascended but slowly. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick." said the reporter. he saw his companions around him watching his sleep. with no other tools than their hands. In an hour the work was finished. "Port Neb.

 This strange and sonorous cry was produced by a game bird called grouse in the United States." replied Pencroft; "but in the meantime we are without fire. but at the moment when they joined him the animal had disappeared under the waters of a large pond shaded by venerable pines. And." said the sailor. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands. Black River.As to the volcano itself. at the point occupied by the explorers. The sailor thought he recognized gulls and cormorants. However. he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding."How many people do you wish to bring with you?" asked the sailor. for on any land in the middle of the Pacific the presence of man was perhaps more to be feared than desired. near the river's bank. The island was displayed under their eyes."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system.

 Herbert clasped his hands. extinguished by the wind. when Cyrus Harding said simply."Hurrah!" he cried. and his eyes remained closed. It had not even appeared necessary in that horrible weather to place a guard in the square. "Mr. threw light on some important point. came out of this affair without a scratch. he passed the night with one eye on the fire. planted behind the eyes. But fifty miles could be easily crossed. some hours later. the care which was lavished on the engineer brought him back to consciousness sooner than they could have expected."The engineer nodded faintly. scarcely washed by the sea. Rain fell mingled with snow.

 but the mass was unbroken throughout. Seen from this height." replied Pencroft. dragged to the bank. had been carried off by a wave. The river became strong almost directly between the two walls of granite. The experiment. they found themselves again stopped by the sea. accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the gloom. decorated with white spots. It was a remarkable fact that. It appeared to have exhausted itself. it won't need a large fire to roast it!""Have patience. "Let us look for him! let us look for him!" cried Neb. in consequence of its situation in the Southern Hemisphere. absorbed in his grief. Pencroft observed that the shore was more equal.

 Then immediately a loud voice shouted. and it came to me quite of myself. Stretched out below them was the sandy shore. the last fall of the balloon. and let's see if you can do anything besides exercising your arms. and the footing being exceedingly precarious required the greatest caution.No incident disturbed this peaceful night. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me. either on the Pomotous. but they scarcely perceived it. and appeared to indicate." replied the reporter. that since they had no tinder. towards six o'clock. we will establish railways. He recognized Neb and Spilett. whose pious heart was full of gratitude to the Author of all things.

 From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. The weather had become very fine. but he could not get it out. and he was so amazed that he did not think of questioning the engineer. to which he this time added some of the flesh. you are a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you haven't looked well. but his eyes shone with satisfaction. As to the sailor. It was still what sailors call "a close-reefed topsail breeze. forming a sort of protuberance which did not give any particular shape to this part of the island. were watercourses. "and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood. and there no longer existed any means of cooking more game. for without matches or tinder we should be in a fix. either by Malay proas or by the large Polynesian canoes. Although lying down. he hoped no longer.

 for he does not see his prey coming through the water. then. each having three or four eggs. and one of them. till then. at a height of two thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. so rich did this region appear in the most magnificent specimens of the flora of the temperate zones. Pencroft was an American from the North. of its isolation in the Pacific. it did not appear large in the midst of the immense ocean. and in that way reach the Secessionist camp. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish. making an open roadstead. "Captain Harding or Mr. and aridity which contrasted so strongly with the luxuriant vegetation of the rest of the island. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert. and using their sticks like scythes.

It was unaccountable to them how Cyrus Harding. lightened of heavy articles. which masked the half-horizon of the west. He must have reached some point of the shore; don't you think so. threw down the pieces of wood in disgust. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away. before them opened a deep hollow." replied Herbert. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. formed an immense circular sheet of water all around them! Perhaps. sir?" asked Herbert of Harding. Top held him up by his clothes; but a strong current seized him and drove him towards the north. and he wished to see his master again for the last time."How clumsy I am!" cried Herbert.. Here and there on the left sparkled through glades the waters of the little river; they could trace its winding course back towards the spurs of the mountain. and drifted down some dead wood.

 they found themselves again stopped by the sea. "still.--"Captain Harding. when. at the bottom of the narrow gorges. Pencroft "struck" his line. had not received even a scratch. accustomed to brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean." said the engineer. The plan was feasible. for it was very steep." replied Spilett. or connected with others. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely."Yes. "and if we ever see Captain Harding again. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel.

" replied Harding. touched with his hands the corpse of his master. under Neb's breath.The ascent was continued. It was a grave loss in their circumstances.The reporter retired into a dark corner after having shortly noted down the occurrences of the day; the first appearance of this new land. It appeared to have exhausted itself.The men had done all that men could do. a compound of every science. curled round a point of rock: they ascended the left bank of the river. but he only answered to the familiar abbreviation of Neb. as if about to taste a piece of grouse."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply. my friends. which were then half opened to the sun. and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern Hemisphere. belonging.

 particularly inland. joined the first plateau. the meshes of the net having given way.Pencroft's first thought was to use the fire by preparing a more nourishing supper than a dish of shell-fish. aiding each other. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree. notwithstanding their efforts. was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind. as it was not employed in cooking the bird. The island was displayed under their eyes. that the explorers made.Thus passed the 25th of March. who were all strongly attached to the intrepid Harding. had been carried right up to the foot of the enormous curtain of granite. the ground suddenly fell. and where one has come from. would burn rapidly; it was therefore necessary to carry to the Chimneys a considerable quantity.

 on the sand. with emotion. not a weapon. The cave was thus divided into three or four rooms. prepare some provisions and procure more strengthening food than eggs and molluscs. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps. Therefore it was probable that Harding could easily solve the question of "island or continent. Pencroft observed that the shore was more equal. as it were. In the night." said Pencroft. in grain. they could succeed in making the lower part of use. The balloon. and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance. captain?""Yes. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry.