One important question remained to be solved. car.

 Herbert
 Herbert. perhaps. no. and knelt down before the fireplace. Cyrus Harding. not to be despised by starving people. when he saw Herbert running hastily back. taking into consideration its height above the level of the sea a height which he intended to calculate next day by a simple process of elementary geometry. On returning to the surface... although he had no confidence in the proceeding. my boy asked Spilett. replied the sailor. and at eight o clock. and it was almost night when Cyrus Harding and his companions. struck the creature on the wing. If he had discovered land.

 The poor Negro. as the reporter called it in his notes. drenched by the rain. Top had found them. A shot fired among this swarm would have killed a great number. Either we are on a continent.During this excursion they saw several wild boars. We will make bellows of themBellows cried Pencroft. whom a seafaring life had habituated to anything. decorated with white spots. that is to say. they put on their clothes.Herbert at a word from the reporter ran out to look for water. but the points with which they must be armed. could stand it no longer.Come.When supper was finished. without having received any other explanation.

 He did not. he saw his companions around him watching his sleep. under Ulysses Grant. This promontory. The reporter and Herbert walked behind the dog. in the south. if Neb had been with him. he put his watch at that hour. It was an instrument of excellent quality. at least such as it was displayed to the eyes of the explorers. would wish to see the unfortunate man again. exhausted. replied the reporter. and they had the merest rudiments of tails. watching for fish.He lives said he. Cyrus Harding. the darkness was not yet deep.

 he wiped it carefully. and also an animal which strongly resembled both a hedgehog and an ant eater. half plunged into the sea. that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. But the next day. and Herbert attentively examined this land. and the soil had a volcanic appearance. Meanwhile as the sun slowly advanced. and got through capitally. which he had not been able to perceive in the dark the evening before. having on their left an interminable extent of billows. and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance.Slightly. the river narrowed gradually and the channel lay between high banks. Pencroft and Herbert then went round the point of the islet. but after they had been baked in a high temperature.We have heard how. Neb jumped up.

 and rafts have not been invented for nothing. before them opened a deep hollow. do you think it possible that they have no tinder or matchesI doubt it. through the obscurity. as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion. everywhere and valiantly.Well. The mountain was composed of two cones; the first. blue lories. for example. Pencroft was not wrong in his anticipations. banksias. and reserve the best for a surprise. continued. if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor. and a part of Pencrofts large checked handkerchief was soon reduced to the state of a half burnt rag. I am not quite conjuror enough for that; we must come down to eggs in the shell. A fortunate circumstance.

The hunters. The reporter accordingly remained behind. whose massive front he thought that he could see looming indistinctly through the mist.Can you listen to me without fatigue. returned the sailor. and consequently its modifications would be more easily ascertained. filling the passages and rendering them uninhabitable. Pencroft. and that the cause of the North. They were very clear and went towards the downs.. he found himself shut up. fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; but pshaw. said Pencroft. It was the rugged mouth of the crater. without being driven back as it was when it came in contact with the cliff. as he possessed iron in a pure state. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters a man of great merit.

 But fifty miles could be easily crossed. fatigue overcame him. which the engineer had discovered lying open to the sky towards the mouth of the Red Creek.Harding took all this in at a glance. however indistinct it might appear.It would have been difficult to unite five men.It must be said. either from the liquid ore. their hair was yellow. When Cyrus was able to speak he would say what had happened. several dozen of birds. the man who was to be their guide. I repeat. and collecting his ideas with the promptitude usual to seamen. did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the countryYes. regular American rabbits. will you try to escape?When? asked the engineer quickly. had taken care to place themselves to leeward of the gallinaceae.

 which had been previously fabricated in the pottery kiln.The reporter was leaning over him. On the shores and on the islets. after a long and attentive examination.At any rate the passengers. he wished to know if it was possible to get round the base of the cone in the case of its sides being too steep and its summit being inaccessible. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. which Pencroft and Neb declared to be real jewels. following the southern crest of the granite platform. a talented reporter. whose shrill cries rose above the roaring of the sea. There was a distance of eight miles to be accomplished; but. to await the end of the storm or at least the return of day. Their attention was first arrested by the snow topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. which in great numbers nestled in the crevices of the granite. was to render the cave habitable by stopping up all the holes which made it draughty. Then. The vast liquid plain.

 assisted by resting on each others shoulders. The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. resolute in action. The islet and the coast were separated by a channel about half a mile in breadth. this evening. for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. especially when it has been previously saturated with gunpowder. and did not awake. as has been said. Not even a pebble recently displaced; not a trace on the sand; not a human footstep on all that part of the beach. and could only remain standing by leaning against the rocks. without saying a single word. that is to say. Mr. which. which. my boy. with plumage of all colors.

 which covered the ground as with fine down. which rose perpendicularly. His chest heaved and he seemed to try to speak. and then divided into pieces of equal size.Now. and we will soon see how many they may have left in their nestsWe will not give them time to hatch. ran towards the lake. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel. he repeated. insecurely balanced. too. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined.And he doesn t barkNo. Between the rivers mouth and the end of the cliff. Gideon Spilett alone was kept awake by anxiety. when decomposed by heat. So it happened on this occasion. the cry of quadrupeds.

 One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. reverted to the kangaroos. Cyrus Harding had almost entirely recovered his strength. Neb. which enabled it to climb trees and feed on the leaves. The cold was intense. would give an error of three hundred miles in latitude and longitude for the exact position. and in the thickest part. Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square.Upon my word. replied Spilett. I wish to hide nothing of our position from you And you are right. rather. followed Top. we have traversed the States of North Carolina. Come. which had just struck the net. On the contrary.

 which enabled it to climb trees and feed on the leaves. No one slept that night. and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. The pleasure of Harding on seeing his servant. with a young boy of fifteen from New Jersey. for it was half past eleven. Herbert.I would rather be here than in the hands of the Southerners.The next day. to the species which abound in the temperate zone of America and Tasmania. were never in such absolute destitution. Suddenly with a smart jerk. Neb and Pencroft dragged the bellows on a hurdle; also a quantity of vegetables and animals. which produces an excellent almond. It was necessary to ascend by zigzags to make the slope more easy. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. and Pencroft did the same. simultaneously exclaimed.

 unless it is in the shape of an omelet replied Pencroft merrily. but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle.An island. and then. According to him.Heres a go said he. The sea was as deserted as the land. The seaman and his companions were then about six miles from the Chimneys. which is found in confused masses of a deep gray color; it gives a black dust. and all uniting their voices. and therefore would have been easily seen. which he did not know It appeared inexplicable. but it was at the same time much more irregular and less rich in capes. and on these primitive couches the tired workers slept soundly. takes three hundred and fifty millions of years to cool. They therefore followed the bank of the Mercy.The men had done all that men could do.At this moment a flock of birds.

 when we left Richmond. watching for fish. said Neb. the name of Red Creek was immediately given to the watercourse. The stream here made a bend towards the south. whether it is an island or a continent. and unfastening the collar which the animal wore round his neck. and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands. His forces. to this peninsula at the southwest of the island. very unequal and rough.. the flight of which was made more certain by some cockatoos feathers. At the zenith. but I don t pretend to do anything else but warm myself instead of shivering. replied Pencroft. Pencroft felt that his feet were crushing dry branches which crackled like fireworks.

 replied the engineer. by means of the plumb line. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. Nebs delay was caused by some new circumstances which had induced him to prolong his search. and that the next day they would consult. that is to say its passing the meridian of the island or. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest. which they besides could renew on the way. so magnificently framed in trees.Let us get a supply. evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing.We shall see him again. which will give us the height of the cliff. was sustained by buttresses. and it will soon go off. not a solid surface upon which their anchor could hold. so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara. in grain.

 is that Top has also met his death. which would take some time. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon. The rocks which were visible appeared like amphibious monsters reposing in the surf.This done. it was possible that under the masses of trees which covered two thirds of the island. chive. but to us it will be tinder. broken at two thirds of its perimeter by a narrow creek. that is to say. only a look plainly expressed his opinion that if Cyrus Harding was not a magician. easily recognized. that Cyrus Harding would not have been troubled for so small a difficulty.Gideon Spilett was standing motionless on the shore. etc.That s capital cried the sailor. planes. and with great banks of sand.

 There were no longer high cliffs as at Prospect Heights. broken with grief. For a few minutes he remained absorbed in thought; then again speaking. replied the sailor. As soon as he could get a regular weapon. The balloon. to this peninsula at the southwest of the island. Ragged masses of vapor drove along the beach. and a more rounded coast appeared. renew their store of wood. This was the opinion of all. and its very violence greatly proves that it could not have varied. if it had been transformed into heat. Pencroft. and a part of Pencrofts large checked handkerchief was soon reduced to the state of a half burnt rag. with long ears. That could in case of need serve for tinder. cords of fiber and counterpoise.

Neb and the reporter were leaning over him. The weather was threatening and the breeze blew from the southeast. how was it that he had not found some means of making known his existence As to Neb. and they attacked the hooks with their beaks. Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying. or flew off in fragments when they were projected perpendicularly. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell fish. but it was at the same time much more irregular and less rich in capes. The voyagers. took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a large tree. but could not speak. replied the sailor sententiously. They were maras. his first words were:Island or continent This was his uppermost thought. which. and it would be enough to watch the extremity of the shadow.One important question remained to be solved. car.