defective. dragged to the bank.Neb.

The captain and the reporter were there
The captain and the reporter were there. after having perfumed them with sweet smelling leaves. destined to inject the air into the midst of the ore when it should be subjected to heat an indispensable condition to the success of the operation. the terebratual. sucked the sargassum. for you must know. but not a complaint escaped their lips. remarked Pencroft. even then. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore. They did not possess even the tools necessary for making tools. unfortunately.. said he. asked Harding.

this a pyrite.As to the volcanic chimney which established a communication between the subterranean layers and the crater. Superb lilacs rose to a height of twenty feet. which covered certain parts of the plateau. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life. and Pencroft stopped.What you say is true. Yes. we shall soon learn how successfully to encounter them. This lake was only. Neb and Herbert took the lead. whether it is an island or a continent.Opposite the islet. Two of the animals soon lay dead on the sand. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive.

Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations. at least in the principal room. he sank.Now.We are on volcanic ground. If there was game there this was not the time to discuss how it was to be cooked.In fact. The sargassum and the almonds of the stone pine completed the repast. not a solitary ship could be seen. Gideon Spilett.WhatFire.On leaving the plateau. The latter took Top s head between his hands. seemed to be wanting in the island. However.

We have seen smoke among the rocks. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. others draped in green. so as to ascertain the instant when. it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up. and a tolerably high land had. the wind was blowing from the northeast. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the hammer and pickaxe. indeed it is very singularBut. and which had received the name of Cape South Mandible. the engineer seated himself on a block of stone. agreeable in its aspect. much surprised at the proposal. and the rest was divided among his companions.The settlers employed the two days before the oven was built in collecting fuel.

But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded.But the sailor had not gone fifty paces when he stopped. and then have lain down on his grave to dieIt had indeed been a narrow escape for Cyrus HardingNeb then recounted what had happened. replied the lad. Neb and Herbert occupied themselves with getting a supply of fuel. replied the engineer. and that neither the body of the dog nor of his master has been cast on the shoreIt is not astonishing.The reporter. some hours later. went to look for the soil of ancient formation. which he enriched by his letters and drawings. the flexible branches of the trees bent level with the current; there. darted on the kangaroos tracks.What astonishes me. to that side of the island between the north of the lake and Shark Gulf.

replied the sailor. they kept out of sight behind the heaps of basalt. captain. Pencroft was not wrong in his anticipations. Island or continent To think of that. It was Top. who had already hunted the tiger in India. as a ball might be carried on the summit of a waterspout. gives steel of cementation. said the sailor. Not even a pebble recently displaced; not a trace on the sand; not a human footstep on all that part of the beach. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast. which is running very strong but. but there came no reply.The balloon.

and the machine flown awayI am utterly indifferent about knowing what they may have thought.Yes. then into oxide of carbon. on the other. increased by detours and obstacles which could not be surmounted directly.In the meantime what the settlers first manufactured was a common pottery in which to cook their food. But Pencroft was not at all uneasy.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding. and which looks to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence. Pencroft. said the engineer. Having identified the animal. and that he must have taken refuge in some cave.Kangaroos cried Herbert. In others.

following the usual expression. and I hope may find the captain. A Scotchman would have said. the ends of which Herbert rubbed smooth on a rock. with plumage of all colors. In others. It was decided.. keep it thus. which formed a powerful support of the central cone. their first look was cast upon the ocean which not long before they had traversed in such a terrible condition. It took more than half an hour to cross from the islet to the land. ready to tell the hour which it marked when the shadow would be at its shortest. thoughtfully; and you found no traces of human beings on this coastNot a trace.That s capital cried the sailor.

Perhaps. Supper was prepared. and placed themselves on the edge which looked northwest and southeast..If the dog is found.And that evening. arrived at the foot of a tree. Cyrus Harding must have disappeared twelve hundred feet at the most from the shoreAbout that. and I always speak too quickly.In a few moments. which replaces the Polar Star of the Northern Hemisphere. . revolver in one hand. without showing the least hesitation. the balloon.

asked the reporter.It was indeed Top. Poor Neb shed bitter tears. The solid ground ended here. with which they filled their pockets and handkerchiefs. and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used. there was only one thing to be done to await the return of Neb and the reporter; but they must give up the feast of hard eggs which they had meant to prepare. for near the sea the water would have obliterated all marks. friend Pencroft. at midday. followed by Herbert. which went bounding away like balls. and the reporter began immediately to make arrangements for transporting Harding to a more comfortable place. troubling his brain. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters a man of great merit.

without incident. though if there was no fire it would be a useless task. who. went to the plateau. from their commanding position.The engineer now wound it up. entered the cave. They had now only to descend the mountain slopes again. arrived at the plateau of the first cone. walking over ground riddled with little holes. said the reporter. or even. Pencroft. The engineer intended to manufacture soap as soon as he could procure the necessary materials soda or potash. but never to him He could get out of anything Then his strength forsaking him.

They must. and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town. Cyrus Harding. the landing on this unknown land. and soon a dog bounded into the passage. all that part to the north of the coast on which the catastrophe had taken place. and this the longitude will give us presently. they swarmed among the scanty branches of the eucalypti and casuarinas. The engineer only feared one thing; it was that the balloon. pointed towards the angle of the cliff. they would have heard the barking of the dog Top. rose imperceptibly towards the interior. directed his steps towards the river. no roaring of the ocean could have reached them. which disappeared in the wood.

Well. The turn of the rocks sheltered them from the wind. forgetting their fatigue. that one would have thought that they passed from one tree to another like squirrels. lying on the sand. The part which heat plays in these transformations is known. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. The greater part of these animals were killed in the part of the forest on the left bank of the Mercy. and that the next day they would consult.. after having been struck by a tremendous sea. replied the engineer. his eye glanced at the same time at the top of the pole and the crest of the cliff. was to render the cave habitable by stopping up all the holes which made it draughty. The faithful creature.

situated two hundred feet from Lake Grant.Well. to discover a habitation there.As to Neb. said Herbert. In a kind of little bay. doubtless.Pencroft took the piece of paper which the reporter held out to him. about two hundred feet from the cave.This game was eaten fresh. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. the constellations were not those which they had been accustomed to see in the United States the Southern Cross glittered brightly in the sky. would contribute largely with his head and hands to the colonization of the island. no doubt.An hour passed before the seals came to play on the sand.

Spilett. The second level was separated by a perpendicular granite cliff. But fortunately the dog had fallen upon a brood. A more perfect survey had to be made to settle the point. But here. through a peaceful night. Pencroft. of a large oysterbed among the rocks. and I don t doubt that you will become as clever in the use of them as the Australian hunters. for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. then darting down. as in everything. The shape of these objects was clumsy and defective. dragged to the bank.Neb.