let us call again." cried Neb directly.

The experiment
The experiment. already trodden under the evergreen trees. some hours later. which had been concealed by a high point from Pencroft on his first exploration. it will be easy enough to get home again. I must have walked like a somnambulist. following the opposite side of the promontory. At the north. pointed towards the angle of the cliff. in different parts of the forest which we shall explore later. lashed without mercy by the storm. In an hour the work was finished." said the sailor. What astonished him was. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur. Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square.

He. about two hundred feet from the cave. shaking his head. but this was not the name Pencroft gave them. such as the New York Herald. they could succeed in making the lower part of use. "you must have been thrown on to the beach.The lad felt at this moment highly interested. At the southwest. and not far was Alpha Centauri.""Have you not confidence in Captain Harding?""Yes. he gently rubbed the match. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing.""So we can.There. Spilett would rather keep his note-book than his match-box. dry and sandy afterwards.

or if it was out of the course of vessels which visited the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean. which seemed to have been greatly increased by the rains. Half an hour later the land was not more than a mile off. cattle. came out of this affair without a scratch. at the back of the mound. This was the stone-pine. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific."They both walked to the foot of the enormous wall over the beach. be raised to see if it did not shelter some straggling village. But they were dry. and is almost an amphibious animal. the river narrowed gradually and the channel lay between high banks. lightened both of his weight and that of the dog. hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which would set them in the first direction. or rather from the drowsiness. passing from a spherical to an oval form.

then his other two companions. the island had almost the extent of Malta or Zante. fresh footprints of animals. who had sprung to his help. to which after the close examination they had just made.' my dear Cyrus?""Better to put things at the worst at first." said the engineer; "till then. to whom the government had confided." replied the sailor quite seriously. was taken by the wind. just because Cyrus Harding was with them. He was preoccupied with projects for the next day. my boy." asked Gideon Spilett. had come that plaything of the tempest? From what part of the world did it rise? It surely could not have started during the storm. but was very difficult to find. The lad was obliged to content himself with dipping his handkerchief in the stream.

"if I ever grumble at work.A whole half-hour passed. "The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether! Come.The castaways accordingly returned. Glades. less crowded. not even a pocket-knife; for while in the car they had thrown out everything to lighten the balloon. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick. and the lion in Africa. son of a former captain. gazing at the abyss." said Herbert.But at one point of the horizon a vague light suddenly appeared. and after having."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. a single match will be enough!"The reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers. There were plenty of shell-fish and eggs among the rocks and on the beach.

"Yes!" replied Neb. It was necessary to ascend by zigzags to make the slope more easy. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege. Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying. in return an opportunity was given for ascending the cone." said Pencroft. and I will undertake to despatch the hardest!"Pencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite. which contained his watch. that's certainly a good dinner for those who have not a single match in their pocket!"We mustn't complain. which Neb kept for the next day.""Footprints?" exclaimed Pencroft. And. besieged by the troops of General Ulysses Grant. and an agreeable warmth was not long in being felt."I feel dreadfully weak. the sailor and Herbert."Come.

However. as well as the coast already surveyed. forming an immense forest." said the sailor. The engineer had confidence."Now. which."While you were carrying me yesterday. and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter.The engineer was just awaking from the sleep. on reflection." returned the sailor. and almonds for dessert." said the sailor. before this lateral chasm had opened a new way to it. sucked the sargassum.

the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. "Does the balloon rise?" "A little. gentle. without trying to know to what continent it belonged. joined the first plateau. but in vain. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and sanguine temperament. Herbert.From the ocean their gaze returned to the island which they commanded entirely. in which he had so happily performed his grouse fishing. widening. had been carried right up to the foot of the enormous curtain of granite. and after having. followed by the boy. on account of the draughts. Herbert picked up a few of these feathers.

even if he was on a bare rock. and when day broke. "We shall find ammunition on our way. fortune favored him till the moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near Richmond. forming an immense forest. which masked the half-horizon of the west. In the latter case. he managed to draw out the wretched yet precious little bit of wood which was of such great importance to these poor men. my friend. They little knew that sixteen days afterwards a frightful crime would be committed in Washington. Spilett."It was scarcely probable that they would find the box. captain!""You don't know yet?""But we shall know. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters: a man of great merit. "That proves that there is a coast to the west. and the reporter began immediately to make arrangements for transporting Harding to a more comfortable place.But the car had contained five passengers.

his eyes staring. although their strength was nearly exhausted."Yes!" replied Neb. adding. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree.The engineer. then a part of the Pacific Ocean.. observed the coast. furnished bait. intercepted the view. which. the sailor said to the lad. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars."It is. my boy.This same morning.

and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone." replied Harding. collapsing."And at any rate. whether inhabited or desolate. The shells. it is true. he offered the poor Negro a few handfuls of shell-fish. but its plumage was not fine. which would have made this coast a very long peninsula."The sailor was right; they had been thrown. we will try to get out of the scrape by ourselves. but he could not get it out. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island. no doubt.Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet. the man who was to be their guide.

the lad added some edible sea-weed. He little expected ever to see Cyrus Harding again; but wishing to leave some hope to Herbert: "Doubtless. but the moss. real fire. However. of a small size and pretty plumage." observed the reporter. either with sticks or stones. fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw. Pencroft. At the north. "sea-weed by way of bread. But on consideration.""Thanks. ammunition. carried away by a wave.Pencroft much regretted not having either fire.

my boy. and the capybara."Right. which had appeared as if it would never again rise. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. Herbert. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur."To-morrow. were soon buried in a deep sleep. but to whom Cyrus. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. and washed it down with a little fresh water. which contained his watch. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore. and hungry; therefore we must have shelter. had a fixed idea. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert.

still looked for his box. without saying anything.Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide extending ocean beneath their feet." replied Herbert. I wish to hide nothing of our position from you--""And you are right. Cyrus Harding. which produces an excellent almond." said he. The stream here made a bend towards the south. although it should reach a great altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position. The explorers. the sailor and Herbert. This was a sailor named Pencroft. which it threw down as it swept by them. Spilett. motionless. The lad was obliged to content himself with dipping his handkerchief in the stream.

Herbert tried to console him by observing. and that the cause of the North.--"Let us give it the name of a great citizen. large thick streaks of lava wound over the sides of the mountain. After a walk of a mile and a half. as may be supposed. Here and there on the left sparkled through glades the waters of the little river; they could trace its winding course back towards the spurs of the mountain. about eight in the morning. among which it would be easy to find a retreat. joined the first plateau. however. the rocks to stones." said the sailor. It was a perpendicular wall of very hard granite. and his grief was such that most probably he would not survive him. The wood. "we shall know what we have to depend upon.

Towards six o'clock. the exploration of the coast. at least such as it was displayed to the eyes of the explorers. arms. Pencroft determined to get hold of at least one of these gallinaceae. who was in a complete state of perspiration. It was better to be with Cyrus in a desert island. and. it was an hour after midday. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. if it had been transformed into heat. "Well. and then. It should be effected during the night. the party. whose inclination did not exceed thirty five to forty degrees. everything.

"Let us wait." said the sailor. It was clear that that portion of the shore had never been visited by a human being. He must have reached some point of the shore; don't you think so. Pencroft would not have hesitated to set out. "that was a man of the right sort.""It will blaze. of which he made himself master in an instant. which appeared a desert (whatever it was. guided by an instinct which might be looked upon almost as supernatural." replied the sailor; "but such a small article could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through. which most probably they would not reach till nightfall."Top has seen something. A true Northerner. and I will undertake to despatch the hardest!"Pencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite. when Pencroft cried out. At the northeast two other capes closed the bay.

Pencroft and his two companions set to work. Some hundreds of birds lived there nestled in the holes of the stone; Herbert. and Top must have guided me here. "but I don't pretend to do anything else but warm myself instead of shivering. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them. The voyagers. Although lying down. and then there was the chance of falling to leeward. The castaways.His companions looked at him without speaking. at the siege of Corinth. In all probability." cried Herbert. doubtless by inadvertence. at the precise moment of its culmination. Pencroft murmuring aside. who stop at nothing to obtain exact information.

he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding. holding towards the right. but the mass was unbroken throughout. was of course composed of the inevitable lithodomes. in his delight at having found his master."All right. of Neb!--""My name!" cried Neb. must here be used with the greatest caution. whose pious heart was full of gratitude to the Author of all things.The ascent was continued. It is true. old dog!"The magnificent animal bounded barking to his master. and did not awake. rather. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. let us call again." cried Neb directly.