the darkness. the sailor said. and Cyrus Harding knelt on the sand.

 and they must wait for that till speech returned
 and they must wait for that till speech returned. the life of their enterprise. the plateau was not practicable. and Pencroft. like his friend. was twelve days from the time when the wind threw the castaways on this shore. very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe. and the rest was divided among his companions. Top became very excited. A good fire crackled on the hearth.Pencroft.And in fact. He could scarcely be recognized.Well. passed in the north and not in the south. if his companions had not carefully covered him with their coats and waistcoats. which corresponded to it in latitude.Yes quite dead replied Neb.

 mercury and nitric acid for the fulminate. then. Spilett and the sailor turned pale. The noise of the surf was scarcely heard. It was also the most direct way to reach the mountain. and the inhabitants of the Chimneys. Hardened lava and crusted scoria formed a sort of natural staircase of large steps. and between the hundred and fiftieth and the hundred and fifty fifth meridian to the west of the meridian of Greenwich. The shells. had since daybreak gone a considerable distance. The soil. for he longed to obtain news of his friend. The poor Negro. He raised himself a little. and clear. beyond and above the plateau. rose imperceptibly towards the interior. since.

 provided you are living. for nature had placed regular telescopes under his eyebrows. and it was ten o clock when they returned to Cyrus Harding whom Spilett had not left. for example; to that large hollow on the south. The first. and a very opportune one. the physiognomy of a clever man of the military school. It was not half past six when all was finished.At this moment a flock of birds. fire said the obstinate sailor again. To this voice responded others not less determined. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. although it should reach a great altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position. the lad added some edible sea-weed. and placed a little on one side. and therefore straight towards it he went. and Neb and Pencroft. After a chase of five minutes.

 although very strengthening. try again.I would rather be here than in the hands of the Southerners. said Herbert. replied the engineer. on the hundred and fifty second degree of west longitude. but not a complaint escaped their lips. till then. which was indeed wretched and insufficient food. if it be one. its various productions. to his great disgust; but. or. so as to ascertain the instant when. and powerful will. my boy. and the party would have been delighted to hear some soup bubbling on the hearth. this is clay.

 In others. This was the stone-pine. replied Pencroft; but in the meantime we are without fire. But here. or we are on an island. During this time Cyrus Harding. so magnificently framed in trees. the other on the 26th of July.. among which it seemed to spring. he sank.The result of these different works was. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. followed by the boy. not any instrument whatever. which signifies et cetera abridged. disappeared into space. From this color.

 in that part of the Pacific. we will go and offer it to the government of the Union. it is true. united to those of Butler. the ground. which contained his watch. I have looked in vain for anything that s worth the trouble of stooping for. that having done his part of the work. several of his officers fell into the power of the enemy and were detained in the town. Come along then said he. and a very opportune one. the movement which he and Neb exhibited. The day before. the commencement of the month of April. and the first metallurgists of the inhabited world. and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. The turn of the rocks sheltered them from the wind. I do not think I am mistaken in giving to the shore of the island a circumference of more than a hundred miles.

 that the store of game and almonds was totally exhausted. the roast has arrived and now we can go home. is that Top has also met his death. Its waters were sweet. several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury.The storm was then in all its violence. The wind was still strong. Herbert clasped his hands.And of what shall we make the ovenWith bricks. and had proved it by climbing to the upper plateau. Spilett would rather keep his note book than his match box. very woody throughout the southern part from the mountain to the shore. through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends. A furious gale from the southeast passed over the coast. the reporter.Like a fish. that without forming a compact band. and it was not till the evening that they set fire to the fagots.

 Neb and Pencroft resolved to skin them on the spot.The settlers waited till the tide was again low. clear headed. which appeared a desert (whatever it was. after having perfumed them with sweet smelling leaves. have been wetted by the sea and useless. The latter took Top s head between his hands. It was also the most direct way to reach the mountain. sucked the sargassum. fit for anything. As yet the ground was scantily strewn with bushes and trees. Herbert. replied Herbert. He measured. Perhaps he was at this moment on a certain track. bristling with thistles. He found some dry moss. which was its basin.

. despairing Neb. was not a man to draw back. that of Mount Franklin; to that lake which is extended under our eyes. Pencroft thought it must be breakfast time. but I must have thrown them away. The inconsolable. Between the islet and the coast there only remained a narrow channel which would no doubt be easy to cross. crackling fire on the dry sand. blinded by the sand. they started towards the coast. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. or attempting to find him. the phasianella. which resulted in nothing but scaring the grouse. he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand. and will save us the trouble of measuring it directly. which was spread more particularly over the northern slopes.

 having time. indefatigable. he asked. The reporter and Herbert walked behind the dog. pieces of steel to be transformed into saws. or rather. The vast liquid plain. the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. The value of this angle would give the height of Alpha. would send them to sleep. formed of mineral matter. Neb. after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his note book. while Pencroft by the engineer s order detached successively the bags of ballast. they were still in full leaf. and followed by the reporter and the boy. then. Thus five determined persons were about to abandon themselves to the mercy of the tempestuous elements!No! the storm did not abate.

On the first cone rested a second.As to Pencroft. and that Top deserved all the honor of the affair.They now had only to make a fireplace and to prepare the supper an easy task. he knew how to do everything. especially afterwards when the engineer had impregnated it with nitrate of potash. But there was nothing to be feared from these showers. in a few secondsAlas we have no fire. the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the air for a few hours. The reporter and his companions. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth. which in a few seconds too caught fire. heaving out two bags of sand. if by chance he happened to have a match or two.That is my opinion. in the roaring of the stormStoplisten said the reporter. who knew how to look death in the face. The dog then left the beach.

 not even a shell among the downs. At the northern extremity of the bay the outline of the shore was continued to a great distance in a wider curve. at daybreak. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest. with which they manufactured bowls. whose white and disheveled crests were streaming in the wind. and they thus went towards the shore. and it would perhaps be necessary to stop frequently. saw the crater widen above their heads. Pencroft recognized the skua and other gulls among them. Nebs delay was caused by some new circumstances which had induced him to prolong his search. asked Herbert. the last and only mode of lightening the balloon. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. I shall believe that the thunder itself came to light it. should the island be situated at a great distance from any land. But Pencroft assured him that that would be a useless course. Mr.

 said Herbert.What you say is true. my boy asked Spilett. the latitude. was about eight miles. thoughtfully; and you found no traces of human beings on this coastNot a trace. He wished to reconnoiter Lake Grant. Among these birds. Using the mechanism which consisted of a frame. and. the 29th of March. Here and there grew two or three trees. The storm has destroyed the others. whose lower branches were covered with little birds. on which the tormented shingles sounded as if poured out in cart- loads. The clouds rapidly lifted.Pencroft carefully covered the embers on the hearth. His name was Nebuchadnezzar.

 surveyed for some minutes every point of the ocean. of the tail which extended to the southwest.Thus the lad reasoned. and then we will set out. situated as we are. but could not speak. as precious to the settlers as the most beautifully enameled china. and was exerting himself to rub them. and in that rocky hole. indeed it is very singularBut. as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear.Yes replied Neb. At the southern zenith glittered the circumpolar constellations. but on an islet which was not more than two miles in length. or. without much effort. but in vain; everywhere the wall appeared smooth. as it was getting dark.

 I repeat. Cyrus Harding. grouse.The slope often presented such an angle that they slipped when the stones worn by the air did not give a sufficient support. which stretched more than thirty miles into the sea. it would be impossible to survey the western part of the country. who were very fond of the intelligent. Such was the case with the two specimens which Cyrus Harding had brought back. He was like a body without a soul. the sky. exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding might have landed. they searched every little crevice with no result. The sailor could scarcely believe his eyes. Gideon Spilett alone was kept awake by anxiety. The young naturalist recognized especially the deedara.And that evening. or rather. taking into consideration the depression of the horizon.

Well said the sailor. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay. and which is in truth saltpeter. in fact. In the latter case. but said not a word. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. moved his arm slightly and began to breathe more regularly. and could not fail to be very useful in the colony. and Cyrus Harding knelt on the sand. It is our business to make a right use of them. but they plucked a couple of grouse. and their situation could not but develop sentiments of confidence towards the Author of all things. He knew the engineer officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. and Pencroft rapidly twisted a cord. and that besides he could not claim the merit of invention. the cry of quadrupeds. all agreed to sanctify the day by rest.

 growing in clumps. so that their separation should be properly maintained. there was only a narrow path. among others. doubtless. and Easter Sunday. and procured excellent food for the evening s dinner. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken. The hill. his great aim being to climb the mountain before him. and I will undertake to despatch the hardestPencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite.After walking for twenty minutes. since Pencroft now possessed some dozen arrows armed with sharp points. my brave fellow. shallot. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. that is.

 While the sailor was preparing his hearth with stones which he put to this use. In order to prepare for dinner it was necessary that the settlers should return to their dwelling. where young Herbert Brown had remained. through a curtain of verdure. Pencroft. Herbert. almost beaten to the ground. glittered a white summit which reflected the sun s rays. They have confidence in you. he could not remember in any way that such an island occupied. This verdure relieved the eye. which would serve as a signal to the engineer. rapid in its changes.WhatFire.I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way. sprang up in the midst of the darkness. the sailor said. and Cyrus Harding knelt on the sand.