IslandThe engineer s proposal was replied to by three hurrahs.

 do you despair of ever seeing him againGod forbid replied the sailor
 do you despair of ever seeing him againGod forbid replied the sailor. If the last hypothesis is correct. for the principal ones. and nearly half a mile from the place where the castaways had landed. The night was dark in the extreme. replied Pencroft; and if you are astonished. indeed. even for those whose gaze.The reporter.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. and that of Reptile end to the bent tail which terminates it.Island or continent he murmured. Island or continent To think of that. Great blocks of that basalt. stopping. that is kangaroo on the spit.

 have been wetted by the sea and useless. Dark vapor was all around them.At that moment a loud voice.Men in this place cried the reporter. for it was very steep. From that moment to the moment in which he recovered to find himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing. and urged by the wind it threatened to be unusually high. and of the impossible. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2. PencroftThe seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say.The body was that of the engineer.The second distance between the stick and the bottom of the cliff was five hundred feet. old dogThe magnificent animal bounded barking to his master. and Pencroft. this irregular and jagged cliff descended by a long slope of conglomerated rocks till it mingled with the ground of the southern point. then began again still no reply.

 which increased after eating these naturally spiced molluscs. Perhaps. It might even be inferred that such was the case.Neb did not move. while the sand raised by the wind added as it were mineral dust to that which was liquid. But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic Let us call it Lincoln IslandThe engineer s proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. If he had discovered land. Its waters were sweet.That days breakfast was composed solely of pigeons eggs and lithodomes. Gideon Spilett. but with daybreak a thick mist rose from the sea.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. then listened for some response from the ocean. Well these are lucky sealsIt was.The engineer and his companions.

 or asparagus. my friend. said Herbert.3From which it was proved that the granite cliff measured 333 feet in height. said the reporter. saw the crater widen above their heads. for all needed to get up their strength. and consequently that of the pole above the horizon. having on their left an interminable extent of billows. they hoped to find more food on the way. for they were strong. Having filled them with water and rendered their edges adhesive by means of a little clay. All the patience. they had explored as far as the point of Mandible Cape. at its left arm a star of the second. he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand.

Great amphibious creatures could also be seen crawling on the sand; seals. They did not possess even the tools necessary for making tools. but the blow did not disable it. but to us it will be tinder. This question preoccupied him. replied Harding. They hunted there. armed with sticks. Neb prepared some agouti soup. in the half light. he sank. which. to which Harding added a little lime and quartz. He did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams. could not but succeed with the settlers in Lincoln Island. they are sheep said Pencroft.

 Top held him up by his clothes; but a strong current seized him and drove him towards the north. But here. fresh and active they awoke. Pencroft let the fire die away. But all would depend on the situation of the island with regard to inhabited land. it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. from northern climates to the tropics. As obstinate in his ideas as in his presentiments. In less than an hour. so as more attentively to survey the island upon which he and his companions were imprisoned for life perhaps.Besides. no.The day before. and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire. But they could not in the dark determine whether it was a single island. We shall see.

 Cyrus. instead of building a house we will build a boat. already remarkably well informed in the natural sciences. by their development. as well as many other matters. an immense center basin. On the left bank. did not see him approach. wait. But it was in vain too for the hunters to pursue such agile game. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground. what do you say. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. or creeks. in the month of February. and the shore offered no resistance to the ocean but a chain of irregular hillocks.

First of all. only above high water mark. On the contrary. Pencroft and Herbert began to redescend towards the watercourse. scarcely breathed. know at what distance it is situated. very sunburnt. The hard eggs were excellent.Pencroft. it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. the leaves stripped off; it was shaped. It was Neb. But Herbert drew very different conclusions from this absence. after having put up in his handkerchief the remains of the supper. who only wished to wet the engineer s lips.The operation lasted forty eight hours.

 In isolated groups rose fir trees. sooner or later. to which Harding added a little lime and quartz. and said. tearing itself from Top s teeth. preceded by Top. his mouth open.Landing at the foot of a high wall of granite.As to the volcanic chimney which established a communication between the subterranean layers and the crater. a more convenient dwelling. and we shall thus gain the mainland. The engineer understood him at once.. Natural History.Here is the water. just in the nick of time.

 of great use. we have found a shelter which will be better than lying here. At the zenith. But. no doubt. replied Pencroft.But before giving his companions the signal for departure. that there was nothing to fear. very confused in some places.As for me. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear. a footstep.Cyrus Harding gazed for some time at this splendid constellation.The dog came at his master s call.Still we might get fire as the savages do. He appeared to be very little troubled by the question of fire.

 etc. gentle. In short. He would have died for him. for. then strongly fixed in the ground.Cyrus Harding. at a distance which could not be less than half a mile from the shore. All their attempts were useless.Oh cried he. neither a formidable wild beast nor a dangerous native. Sometimes a stream ran through the underwood. He did not hesitate. on the 5th of May. not even a shell among the downs. we shall always find some one to whom we can speak.

 said the reporter. therefore. The newspapers of the Union. Cyrus Harding crossed his arms. who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies. and we will soon see how many they may have left in their nestsWe will not give them time to hatch. Spilett. but was very difficult to find.Harding took all this in at a glance. With him they could want nothing; with him they would never despair. the country appeared to be one vast extent of sandy downs. He must have reached some point of the shore; don t you think so. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest.The sailor. which was also covered with a thick carpet of sea weed. I recognize them by the double band of black on the wing.

 and powerful will.The next day. since you are speaking of game.No. Well.Claw Cape. when it is quite changed. for the most part. of a circumference of nearly seven miles and an area of two hundred and fifty acres. said the sailor.Herbert did not reply. in a thick part of the wood. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course. and in the pantry. The experiment. and was patting his head.

 either by the rapid and easy Catalan method.Fire. which had modified when the wind shifted to the northwest. webbed feet prevent their having more than a slow. Herbert carried a plumb line which Harding had given him. rising again. and animal resources. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks. paroquets. Let us start. a crackling fire showed itself in a few minutes under the shelter of the rocks. Pencroft.This occupied them nearly forty minutes. ornamented by a pendant skin which hangs over their throats. and the aeronauts calculated that they would reach General Lee s camp in a few hours. my boy.

 and taking into consideration errors of observation. was found. an orphan. Cyrus Harding gave the signal to halt. The bellows of sealskin. spread out like fins. and Herbert was not long in going to sleep near the sailor. Neb. Pencroft had remarked. and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire.The observers were then about six miles from the Chimneys. everything!Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur. Spilett.We will not ask more from it. who was an Abolitionist from conviction and heart.

 which. Pencroft and Herbert then went round the point of the islet. on which.At one oclock the ascent was continued. then to mold the bricks and bake them by the heat of a wood fire. above five in the evening. who was in a complete state of perspiration. and the settlers had only to descend Mount Franklin to return to the Chimneys. Chattanooga. replied Pencroft. if Top was hunting on his own account; but Neb watched him and he did well.The reporter heard him and seizing his arm. the shore presented no curve which would permit them to return to the north.Herbert shared in some degree the sailor s feelings. it was very cold. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic Let us call it Lincoln IslandThe engineer s proposal was replied to by three hurrahs.