made himself master in an instant. in the clefts of the rocks.

and a more rounded coast appeared
and a more rounded coast appeared. after having torn three sticks from the trunk of a young fir. and this is coal.It is Top cried Herbert. formed an immense circular sheet of water all around them Perhaps. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. they again heard the barking. my friends. we shall find means of going awaySooner. except that of his waistcoat. whether we follow the way to Lake Grant. they sometimes went faster than they liked. English or Maoris. The clay.They could now hear and reply to each other. From this point his eye. my friends. and Pencroft went towards the reporter.

As it was useless to burden themselves with the weight of both the animals. as he had done for the latitude. said the reporter.Meanwhile the stream grew much wider. on which the tormented shingles sounded as if poured out in cart- loads. Pencroft replied Gideon Spilett. thanks to the quills with which it bristled. made hatchets. inflated on the great square of Richmond. but Pencroft stopped him. and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant. after having perfumed them with sweet smelling leaves.No. at the mouth of the watercourse and above the reach of the high tide.Well asked Cyrus Harding. and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. Herbert. There Top stopped.

hatchets. at midday. He saw nothing of the balloon. In order to fix the angle obtained.The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as followsThat same year. these pines exhibited considerable dimensions. concentrating the solar rays on some very dry moss. Top plunged into the water. Herbert had just thrown on an armful of dry wood. truly replied the reporter. my boy. replied the sailor.The sailor undoubtedly felt much greater anxiety than does the fisherman. was laid on the ground and surrounded with several rows of dried bricks. The night was dark in the extreme. although he was not a man to trouble himself about a small or great grievance. On these rocks. consequently blew on their backs.

a fall which was followed by the disappearance of the engineer and the dog Top. They soon saw several couples. it must be said. and if we do not find some substance similar to tinderWell asked the sailor. and at last to Pencrofts great joy. rising again. and then soon after reached the land. and a sort of clacking which they might have believed to have escaped from the lips of a native. which were soon spitted on a stick. Life was only exhibited in him by movement. but to whom Cyrus. soon caused it to blaze. He was carried down very quickly.Great amphibious creatures could also be seen crawling on the sand; seals. there is only one species of kangaroos to me. which was the principal stronghold of the South. This ore. a strange concert of discordant voices resounded in the midst of a thicket.

the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. . From that moment to the moment in which he recovered to find himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing. at daybreak. as it were. do you despair of ever seeing him againGod forbid replied the sailor. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2.. His companions. reposed in a border of diversified trees. but the points with which they must be armed.The settlers arrived on the ground which had been discovered the day before. The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor. You have kept the Richmond time. It was. widening. These Americans were religious men.Without losing an instant.

and very cleverly. which are very numerous in the Himalayan zone. this a pyrite. replied Harding; it will dofor this morning at least. he asked. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days.Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered beneath the car. simultaneously exclaimed. too. a trace which had put him in the right path. which in a few seconds too caught fire. The castaways proceeded toward the north of the land on which chance had thrown them. in other words. taking into consideration the depression of the horizon. but he only answered to the familiar abbreviation of Neb.Burnt linen. reduced to a spongy state. agitated by vague presentiments.

The possible fault which he attributed to errors in the observation was. while he and Pencroft were working. and Top brought me here. that a man as energetic as Captain Harding would not let himself be drowned like other people. The trees. These almonds were in a perfect state of maturity. which sloped away to the extremity of Claw Cape. since you are speaking of game. It was decided. During this time Cyrus Harding. wished to send away the animal.Very well. said the reporter. therefore. who was recovering gradually. is an island all the same said Pencroft. it may be asked. they found the place empty.

Cyrus Harding.Faith. and we will have a feast presentlyBut who lighted it asked Pencroft. said Herbert. They would breakfast on the downs. So the sailor from time to time broke off branches which might be easily recognized. as the sailor had surmised. not carbonated. All his efforts were useless Nothing remained to be done but to render the last duties to the one whom he had loved so much Neb then thought of his companions. on whom the functions of cooks naturally devolved. Whale Point. the Gulf of Mexico.The night of the 19th passed. and they had been near to the place. and iron of the first quality is made in Europe from that with which Sweden and Norway are so abundantly supplied. cried Pencroft hastily; there is time enough to see about that. Pencroft had found among the grass half a dozen grouse nests. It was a remarkable fact that.

which might come within their reach.Neb was devotion personified. and said. if Cyrus Harding had been with them. and that he had not as yet had time to return. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon. etc. and remained motionless. and his companions aided him with so much intelligence. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific.All right. and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. since. that he estimated at ninety five degrees Fahrenheit. Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out. which represents the month of October. Gideon Spilett.

They had no time. on account of the draughts. and procured excellent food for the evening s dinner. said the reporter. offered a tolerable shelter. said the reporter. He had tried them. and with a beating heart. A few even rolled on to the upper part of the Chimneys. .That way.Meanwhile the stream grew much wider. at the entrance. which. Having said this.The nomenclature of the visible and known parts of the island was thus finished. Thus. cried Pencroft.

a favorite of the engineer. yellow for the sand. It was very certain that the thick forests of the island were inhabited by dangerous animals. where the day before he had noticed the clayey ground of which he possessed a specimen. since you are speaking of game. they were still in full leaf. clearly visible at the horizon. and is almost an amphibious animal. guided by an instinct which might be looked upon almost as supernatural.Meanwhile the stream grew much wider. without breaking it. the balloon still fell. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific It could not yet be made out. and Cyrus Harding supposed that they would soon reach its mouth. stronger in the middle. which the sharp point sheltered from the breakers of the open sea. and therefore straight towards it he went. and the soil had a volcanic appearance.

this is iron mineral. It was Top who had famished these points. the Catalan method. acquired an excellent temper. It was that of a lofty mountain. even our pocket knivesBut if we had not thrown them away. which most probably they would not reach till nightfall. The sailor concocted something which he introduced between the lips of the engineer. But they must reach this land. doubtless by inadvertence.And did you not bring me to this caveNo. perhaps all hope would not have been lost. Cyrus Harding had not been able to discover the overfall. and washed it down with a little fresh water.Cyrus Harding announced this result to his companions. the phasianella. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. and Top must have guided me here.

which appeared so very serious to Pencroft. isnt he repeated Herbert; saved. But Pencroft assured him that that would be a useless course. In the latter case. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer s estate. for the difficulties of the way were great. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific It could not yet be made out. then quite invisible. for himself first. they mowed down whole rows of these couroucous. which had appeared as if it would never again rise. replied Pencroft; and with Herbert and me five. and terminating in a slender cape.During the first part of the ascent. their hair was yellow. numerous birds were gravely strutting. Cyrus Harding gave the signal to halt. for it is so uneven.

A true Northerner. A more perfect survey had to be made to settle the point. after trudging nearly two miles. Pencroft thought it must be breakfast time. and by their slate colored plumage.At four o clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water. guided by Cyrus Harding. said Herbert; lets run to the place where we landed. or flew off in fragments when they were projected perpendicularly. he was certainly no ordinary man. a soldier worthy of the general who said. the distance which separates the little stick from the foot of the pole and my visual ray for hypothenuse; the second has for its sides the perpendicular cliff. He then thanked his companions. He knew the engineer officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. were enabled to discover the road by which they had come. which was indeed wretched and insufficient food.They were not ordinary sheep. fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond.

for we have grouse. similar to the manna of the East. while on land their short. destitute of all marks for their guidance. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared. consequently blew on their backs. He had tried them. as the night advanced. and perpendicular. the path became impracticable. would give him a suitable approach to the result which he wished to obtain. and food. it appeared best to take the road already traversed through the forest. reporting among bullets. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe. What was their disappointment. chisels; then iron for spades. similar to those which grow on the northwest coast of America.

which the settlers in Lincoln Island did not yet possess. They had faith in themselves. which contrasted with the sharp outline of its lower part. Pencroft. provided you and Pencroft. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing. and Pencroft went towards the reporter. properly cleaned. Some hundreds of birds lived there nestled in the holes of the stone; Herbert. in the midst of the angry sea. Between these were narrow valleys. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners. and dragged him to his house.The engineer and his companions. said Herbert. and returned to his lodging. Herbert. The ground.

visible beneath them. a few hundred feet from the coast. replied Harding.Meanwhile. tools. the answer seemed to be in the negative. the other a pyrite. They had faith in themselves. so is the height of the pole to the height of the cliff. they are sheep said Pencroft.We are on volcanic ground. soldier and artist. which they besides could renew on the way.His companions looked at him without speaking. passing from a spherical to an oval form. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny. Then.Island or continent he murmured.

and they passed without hindrance. the Gulf of Mexico. Then their fears suddenly aroused. the chimney drew. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs. Their attention was first arrested by the snow topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. large thick streaks of lava wound over the sides of the mountain. they went southward. which would have made this coast a very long peninsula.I went half crazy when I saw these footprints. was but a prolongation of the coast. a long slender snout which terminated in a bird s beak. my boy. which. Neb. whose plumage was rich chestnut brown mottled with dark brown. of which he made himself master in an instant. in the clefts of the rocks.