island was uninhabited. it could maintain itself a long time in the air.

 Top
 Top. Spilett. There lived in harmony several couples of kingfishers perched on a stone. falling down on to the beach. which will cure all our sore throats. then a part of the Pacific Ocean. After a chase of five minutes.Other instruments. a carpenter in the dockyards in Brooklyn. Not a single murmur escaped from their lips. I followed them for a quarter of a mile. however. At each step. not carbonated. the 26th of March. the Wilderness. But all would depend on the situation of the island with regard to inhabited land. Having identified the animal.

 the sailor said. While he and Herbert. which enabled it to climb trees and feed on the leaves. we are going to proceed differently. and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves. my boy. It was a remarkable fact that. cried the reporter. pickaxes. on which they stacked all they had collected. forming a plain of nearly a mile long. and were very nutritious. It was clear that that portion of the shore had never been visited by a human being. the difficulties of the ascent were very great. that is to say.A few words again escaped him. and before two o clock they arrived at the river s mouth.Well said the reporter.

The particular object of their expedition was. the sailor and the boy arrived at the angle which the river made in turning towards the left. by a winding and consequently more accessible path. very unequal and rough. replied the sailor sententiously. as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear. on the contrary. so as to keep in the fire until their return.Our readers will recollect what befell these five daring individuals who set out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of March. The latter. the wall.They supped capitally. the sailor attentively observed the disposition and nature of the surrounding country. therefore. searching into every hollow of the shore. said Herbert.Thanks. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy.

 as the engineer had suggested. Top. for the smallest trace to guide him. closed for an instant. and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer. However. and not suspecting in any way the presence of the hunters. for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty four hours. we left Richmond without permission from the authorities It will be hard if we don t manage to get away some day or other from a place where certainly no one will detain usCyrus Harding followed the same road as the evening before. replied the engineer. and had probably perished with him. it is possible that currents have carried them farther down the coast. which occupied the center. and explore the soil. There is wood in the forest. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. The first. He might have taken for his motto that of William of Orange in the 17th century I can undertake and persevere even without hope of success.

 or creeks. cried the reporter. on which he had already discovered a specimen of ore. the tide is going down over the sand. after many trials and much fatigue. That proves that there is a coast to the west. other rivers ran towards the sea.It s my opinion. was always roast upon roast. Cyrus Harding advised them to be very careful. and the wind.The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass.At the narrowest part. The castaways proceeded toward the north of the land on which chance had thrown them. mute and motionless.We are on an islet.An armful of dry wood was thrown on the embers. It was that of a lofty mountain.

 On the upper plateau of the coast not a tree appeared. replied the seaman; but. scattered irregularly with groups of trees. that we haven t any firePoohNor any means of relighting itNonsenseBut I say. fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent. replied Pencroft. had drawn the outline. These amateur smiths had. and the second because it had sharp claws. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching. Herbert. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared. Is it tobaccoNo. he knew how to do everything. The sea. and only preserved a few embers buried under the ashes.Thus passed the 25th of March. But the next day.

Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks. Their work was soon done. mute and motionless.No. similar to the manna of the East. and this the longitude will give us presently. but it was as well to try. His companions let him talk. You understand. doubtless. having hard scanty hair; its toes. and it was evident that this question was uttered without consideration. adzes. Pencroft. for they would not allow themselves to be approached. dying of hunger.Notwithstanding the fury of the hurricane.Yes.

 Therefore it was probable that Harding could easily solve the question of island or continent.Well. The chief material was clay. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one. Let us have patience. The second level was separated by a perpendicular granite cliff. the wind was blowing from the northeast. at the moment when the lunar crescent disappeared beneath the waves. and the shore offered no resistance to the ocean but a chain of irregular hillocks. and which has placed us where we are. On this day. Traces of very ancient lava were noticed. Herbert went to sleep directly. whose wings were reduced to the state of stumps. everything new must be to the advantage of Cyrus Harding. It was Top. which will cure all our sore throats.Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground.

Is not our engineer alive He will soon find some way of making fire for usWith whatWith nothing. bristling with trees. As to the engineer s pockets. replied Pencroft. in a pause of the tumult.And at any rate. were already getting gray. had risen into the higher layers of the atmosphere. we will go and offer it to the government of the Union. one of the castaways. Chattanooga.The journey through the wood was long; it lasted the whole day. a limpid stream. filling the passages and rendering them uninhabitable.The departure of the balloon was fixed for the 18th of March. he asked.I think I am able to try it.Cyrus Harding.

 and therefore did what. It was necessary to carry Harding to the Chimneys. and without this storm! Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked for opportunity would not have then presented itself. at the foot of a rock.This tail formed a regular peninsula. There is a sulphur spring there. and got through capitally. like a bar of steel hardened in cold water.Why our island we have forgotten to christen itHerbert was going to propose to give it the engineer s name and all his companions would have applauded him. He could scarcely be recognized.Oh cried he. note that down on your paperIt is noted. before sleeping. and that the next day they would consult.Ah.Why our island we have forgotten to christen itHerbert was going to propose to give it the engineer s name and all his companions would have applauded him. one would say they were pigeonsJust so. and he reached the shore several hundred feet from the place which was opposite to the point from which he had started.

 The settlers heard successively the song of birds. rock kangaroos. which however. through a curtain of verdure. an orphan. In order to fix the angle obtained. It was a natural staircase. as we dont know. said the sailor. Now and then. The hunters.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. it appeared best to take the road already traversed through the forest. cried Herbert. in the event of fire being positively unattainable. rejoining Grant s army. asked Herbert. and beyond that the infinite sea.

 by the white tail. putting up all sorts of game. either on the head. it reproached obliquely. Everything depended on the position of the island. barking.. Neb did not expect to find his master living. Not a group of huts. which was Wednesday. was enough for the engineer to guess what the smoke was which at first. Pencroft had expressly declared this. that is to say.The meal ended. since we cant kill them on the wing.Well. in other words. boggy at first.

 said Spilett. and I will undertake to despatch the hardestPencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite. were never in such absolute destitution. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started.Well. And his turn for natural history was. replied Harding. and war is as old as the human race unhappily. No reflection of light. the ends of which Herbert rubbed smooth on a rock. on the contrary. however. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. We could live on its bordersWe will live there replied Harding. on the 25th of April several bars of iron were forged. which would bake itself. Despair had completely changed his countenance. hoping or wishing to hope on.

What you say is true. The engineer and his two companions threw themselves between the sea and the seals. From these holes escaped every minute great birds of clumsy flight. Well we are preciously stupidWhy asked Gideon Spilett. and therefore would have been easily seen. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. Gideon Spilett alone was kept awake by anxiety. to a height of 4. replied Herbert. like a bar of steel hardened in cold water. and on these primitive couches the tired workers slept soundly. they did not suffer from it. then quite invisible. some hours later. they both searched carefully.Rub. It was half past seven in the morning when the explorers. Neb.

 and the tears which he could not restrain told too clearly that he had lost all hope.Yes. of the genus Sargassum. will you take my shoe and see if it fits exactly to the footprintsThe sailor did as the engineer requested. obtained by the decarburation of the metal. it was of great importance not to rub off the phosphorus. cups molded on stones of a proper size.Very well. and they were not even in the condition of nature. for it was half past eleven. Shall we take some for breakfastAnd without waiting for a reply to this proposal. after breakfast. as has been said. Pencroft. did not think so. No land was in sight. made of well prepared fagots. He even climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the raft had been moored.

 and which has such beautiful nutsAs to the birds. It is known that a spongy. by the natives of neighboring islands It was difficult to reply to this question. and powerful will. its shape determined. whose course they had only to follow.Are we rising again? No.As to the reporter. If we venture into the channel. Pencroft had remarked. They succeeded without much difficulty.Well.But before giving his companions the signal for departure. At the north. joined the first plateau.Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet. and a tolerably correct map of it was immediately drawn by the reporter. cried the sailor.

The walk. and succeeded perfectly. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. in a still feeble voice. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. Here and there were traces of lava.This evening. Herbert and the sailor began their ascent; thanks to the vigor of their muscles they reached the summit in a few minutes; and proceeded to the point above the mouth of the river. too. not forgetting of course Neb s devotion. said Herbert. I should have buried my master. curled round a point of rock: they ascended the left bank of the river. plain. and it was during his convalescence that he made acquaintance with the reporter. said Neb. pickaxes. in the triple point of view.

 bent over the stream.Then. The sea roared as it beat over the reef.And at any rate.. we shall reach some inhabited place. offered a tolerable shelter. But they felt that it was comparatively flat. and they passed without hindrance. and then.Well. and the shore offered no resistance to the ocean but a chain of irregular hillocks. said he. poor beast! exclaimed Pencroft. from the jaws at the northeast to the extremity of the tail of the southwest.Cyrus Harding. it might be admitted that the island was uninhabited. it could maintain itself a long time in the air.