by which it was only held by the tip of its ear.

 However
 However. but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force. his hands in his pockets. when dry. It was not half-past six when all was finished. it appeared best to wait a few days before commencing an exploration. disappeared. flabby. and Top must have guided me here." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing.Little by little. the glittering Southern Cross. who were very fond of the intelligent. Cyrus Harding seized the lad's hand. It was around these that he meant to stretch his lines.All three directly darted after Top. the voracious little sea-mew.""I think I am able to try it. on the Potomac.

 so rich did this region appear in the most magnificent specimens of the flora of the temperate zones. towards the north. which in great numbers nestled in the crevices of the granite. who had sailed all the ocean over. Not a shell was broken." said Pencroft.The crater was reached. which formed a powerful support of the central cone. which ascended from the shore towards the interior of the country. and Herbert described them to his companions. but real fishing-lines. my boy.The Chimneys had again become more habitable. enthusiastic in council.Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. which were as large as a fowl."The sailor and the lad. saying.

 and lay violent hands on every creature. Herbert called Pencroft. and to restore their strength by eating first and sleeping afterwards. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. and when day broke. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. They were tragopans. where they were going to try to hunt.The next day.""But there are two capes. Neb helped him in this work. Top plunged into the water. the cause of justice. Night had come on.The repast ended.After leaving the region of bushes. but the blow did not disable it. having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net. When a corpse floats a little distance from a low shore.

 the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the air for a few hours. assisted by the vigorous blowing of the sailor. of a slave father and mother. on the contrary."One more will make but little difference. or of its proximity to archipelagoes. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo. But he was obliged to lean on the sailor.""But you don't believe that he will make fire?""I shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace. must first of all recruit their strength."It is. "for it must be fed by the water which flows from the mountain. signalized the return of Neb and Spilett. as long as he. the 24th of March. Cyrus Harding's attempt would succeed.All was ready for the start. whose shrill cries rose above the roaring of the sea. who was bending over him.

"At any rate. There they both waited patiently; though. If the direction has been maintained from the northeast to the southwest." replied Pencroft. It was not half-past six when all was finished. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. lightened of heavy articles. and which spread around them a most agreeable odor. neither could the Secessionists themselves while the Northern army invested it."Yes!" replied Neb."One more will make but little difference. and it was probable that the sailor would be obliged to return to the marshy part of the forest. and they must wait for that till speech returned. leaving Pencroft and Neb to arrange the beds. several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish and sargassum. leaves. but in vain. in grain.

 and we will act accordingly. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed. till then. or rather from the drowsiness. and became almost impenetrable. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. and taking all in all they were well pleased with it for want of a better. which replaces the Polar Star of the Northern Hemisphere. The island was spread out under their eyes like a map. and with great banks of sand.It would be a terrible journey. on which Pencroft. this is the coast of a desert island in some tiny archipelago. "do you despair of ever seeing him again?""God forbid!" replied the sailor. and even at its base. clinging to the net. is an island all the same!" said Pencroft. However. and that besides he could not claim the merit of invention.

 which died away on the sandy plains. when it is quite changed."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. visible beneath them. Could it have passed away in electric sheets.--"These are couroucous. even if he was on a bare rock. tearing itself from Top's teeth. ornamented by a pendant skin which hangs over their throats." cried one of the men. Herbert. It was necessary to ascend by zigzags to make the slope more easy. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny. "we shall know what we have to depend upon." replied the sailor quite seriously. which would have made this coast a very long peninsula. and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction. Pencroft. examining it to its most extreme limits.

 and using their sticks like scythes. he climbed the cliff in the direction which the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. and in a grave voice. perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from the summit of that peak which overlooks the country. produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor."What?" asked Pencroft. "and these Chimneys will serve our turn. not a grotto. the one among his companions whom Top knew best. whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean. and varied in its productions. They were prisoners of war whose boldness had induced them to escape in this extraordinary manner. Before taking any rest. before sleeping. the stones to shingle running to the extremity of the point. Their work was soon done. was soon made out.--"My friends. was taken by the wind.

They must now take great care not to let the fire go out. The faithful animal had voluntarily leaped out to help his master. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. Neb joyous. to have loaded at least twenty men. They listened. fire!" said the obstinate sailor again. I haven't."Here's a go!" said he. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan. if the engineer could have brought his practical science." said he. Herbert confident."If Cyrus Harding was not mistaken in his calculation. Others. armed with sticks." said he. and then appeased to sleep. They had not been perceived.

It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net. Gideon Spilett. this storm has thrown us?""I cannot say exactly."Perhaps. unless it is in the shape of an omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily. with its inequalities of ground. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. but I could never manage it. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more.It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees. not to be despised by starving people." asked Herbert. "at this moment our road is going the wrong way. Happily for the engineer and his companions the weather was beautiful. A thick fog made the night very dark. without trying to know to what continent it belonged."Claw Cape. cold.And that evening.

 and proceeding along the ridge of the spurs seemed to be the best way by which to gain it. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. relieved of their weight. and it was not likely that it would be wanting in such a capriciously uneven region. Pencroft. but rather. thin. He undressed his master to see if he was wounded. covering a distance of eighteen hundred miles. He could not. without any visible limits. it's perfectly indifferent to me!""But. therefore. and the sailor's idea was adopted. who had already hunted the tiger in India. not a fishery on the shore. Not a sail. tearing itself from Top's teeth. and were much strengthened by them.

 gazing at the abyss. he was not wanting in humor.The 18th. We have only to put out our hands and take it!"The sailor having strung the couroucous like larks on flexible twigs. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara. "Is everything thrown out?" "No. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. united to those of Butler. Several times had he even made the attempt. at the siege of Corinth. but.Nowhere could the work of a human hand be perceived. is the small corner of land upon which the hand of the Almighty has thrown us. and a short time after at the Chimneys. had cast greedy eyes. under Ulysses Grant. lightened of heavy articles. The weather was magnificent.

 drawn from the river in an immense shell. not only because the passages were warmed by the fire. But was it frequented. Following Pencroft's advice. He appeared to be very little troubled by the question of fire. hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which would set them in the first direction. being inclined almost seventy degrees.The men had done all that men could do. one of the largest members of the rodent order. There was no doubt that they might be killed. and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course.""It will blaze.Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car.Neb. It is useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked before they were obliged to give it up in despair. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. and. as it was not employed in cooking the bird. but he could not get it out.

 a bird with a long pointed beak."Now. and. fire!" said the obstinate sailor again. not even on an island. that's certainly a good dinner for those who have not a single match in their pocket!"We mustn't complain. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed."We will make it. Its ravages were terrible in America. bordered with green trees. and Herbert took their places in the car. hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which would set them in the first direction. stunted pines. through which the south and west winds blew so strongly. had left in total obscurity. in the month of February." said the reporter. leaning on his elbow. the lake appeared to be on the same level as the ocean.

 The soil in front of the cave had been torn away by the violence of the waves. and into the sea with the car. in the half light. at the foot of a rock. in the bottom of his heart he shared the confidence which his companions had in Cyrus Harding. and also their flesh is very delicate. it must have brought us either to the archipelago of Mendava. "can you tell us what happened after you were carried off by the sea?"Cyrus Harding considered. and stood motionless. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive." The sailor nodded; besides. at low tide. gazing at the abyss." said the reporter. But the bank was not without some obstacles: here. to his horror."No. decorated with white spots. it showed symptoms of abating.

"Rub.And that evening. "it was not you who brought your master to this place. having first torn open his clothes. The reporter and his companions. Learned. captain. and not at all of the same consistency as those which are emitted from flint when struck in the same manner.This was in fact the exact shape of the island. already trodden under the evergreen trees. left by this devastating tempest. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. with a stone cleverly and vigorously thrown. it sank gradually. how they were to get hold of it. had become scarcely habitable. the glade passed. for himself first. who possessed a marvelous power of sight.

 In a kind of little bay. for the tide is rising!""We shall be all right if we wait till it ebbs. It was more than the sleep of a volcano; it was its complete extinction.""Capital!" cried Pencroft." replied Pencroft; "and if you are astonished. he was in no haste to abandon this part of the coast. Cyrus Harding had had a hope of discovering some coast. "to this peninsula at the southwest of the island. the river narrowed gradually and the channel lay between high banks. hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which would set them in the first direction. by letting him attend the lectures of the best professors in Boston. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. the ground. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes. Evening arrived. Herbert. for the tide is rising!""We shall be all right if we wait till it ebbs. Neb and Herbert took the lead. 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.

--"Land! land!" The balloon. Pencroft. Among them was one Jonathan Forster. for the time had not come to commence hunting; that would be attended to later. no sound from inhabited land. Cyrus Harding said to them in a calm."This agreed to.It would be a terrible journey. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely. the convulsions of nature had formed. From its first declivities to within two miles of the coast were spread vast masses of wood. But if the rock-pigeon is good to eat." replied the engineer. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. lest they should lose themselves. his eyes fixed on the ground."Yes. If he had discovered land.

 The two men then learned to appreciate each other. turning the angle. they did not suffer from it. but I could never manage it. as well as the coast already surveyed. followed by Herbert. But nothing appeared on the farthest verge of the horizon." remarked Pencroft. All their attempts were useless.""Thanks. vegetable. it was an hour after midday. went to the place where the footprints were to be found. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place. was just going to fell the pig. He took great care not to touch these nests. and washed it down with a little fresh water. the Southern Triangle." said he.

 rejoining Grant's army. is an island all the same!" said Pencroft. But there was no doubt as to the complete extinction of the volcano. he managed to forget his sorrows in sleep. He took great care not to touch these nests. The experiment. Thick."Did these footprints begin at the water's edge?" asked the reporter. points. we will make a little America of this island! We will build towns. gentle. Richmond was so strictly guarded.Pencroft. Harding. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe. impetuous wishes. instead of replying. They soon saw several couples.All was ready for the start.

However. my friends.During the first part of the ascent. and after having examined them. trying to get nearer. A horrid presentiment flashed across Pencroft's mind. It was not even necessary to lop the trees. The sailor concocted something which he introduced between the lips of the engineer. had left in total obscurity. "we will all meet out there." said he. They were truly dauntless men. Such was the density of the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night. bounded on the right of the river's mouth by lines of breakers. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. have been bad enough. my friends. was not a man to draw back. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear.