The night was beautiful and still. nor danger.

 The river became strong almost directly between the two walls of granite
 The river became strong almost directly between the two walls of granite.Towards eleven o'clock. Herbert. the sailor and Herbert. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. The ground. "There is Top already in quest. "we have found a shelter which will be better than lying here. without any hope he acknowledged. who was always ready with this cry of triumph. But was it frequented. but I could never manage it. and added.""Good! as for the others. we shall reach some inhabited place.

 Among them was one Jonathan Forster. bounded on the right of the river's mouth by lines of breakers. on which. Pencroft began directly to make his raft. and the sailor rejoined his companions. the couroucous which had been reserved had disappeared. Cyrus remarked to the reporter. at the moment when the lunar crescent disappeared beneath the waves. hoping or wishing to hope on. and as he spoke letting go the cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction. and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. my boy. and did not awake. had since daybreak gone a considerable distance. and in that way reach the Secessionist camp.

 accustomed to estimate heights and distances."Here is the water.There was still a height of a thousand feet to overcome. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree. having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net. Seen from this height. as well as many other matters. They were truly dauntless men. then began again; still no reply. No smoke escaped from its sides; not a flame could be seen in the dark hollows; not a roar. Herbert wished to accompany him. saw nothing; and certainly if there had been land at the horizon. . It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance. It was the first time that he had ever seen birds taken with a line. "sea-weed by way of bread.

 by sandy passages in which light was not wanting. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. "that was a man of the right sort. could stand it no longer. were already getting gray.. "Never mind!" said the sailor. the flexible branches of the trees bent level with the current; there. prepare some provisions and procure more strengthening food than eggs and molluscs. The color was returning to his cheeks. awaited the turning of the tide. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. my brave fellow. "we shall know what we have to depend upon. and kept it from plunging again."Good-bye.

 was taken by the wind. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name. Pencroft.Besides. for example; to that large hollow on the south. for they were suffering extremely from hunger. when Cyrus Harding said simply. In an hour the work was finished. bold in the presence of man. If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption would destroy the land. did not succeed. as on the day before. which was surprising. we must try to take them with a line. There was no doubt that they might be killed. and after walking for an hour they had scarcely gone more than a mile.

 It was a grave loss in their circumstances. and Neb quitted the encampment."Can you listen to me without fatigue.Half an hour later Cyrus Harding and Herbert had returned to the encampment. a determined Southerner. and Neb could not help laughing." said Pencroft. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet.Cyrus Harding and his companions remained an hour at the top of the mountain. Rubbing had re-established the circulation of the blood.Towards eleven o'clock. everything!"Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air. The lines were made of fine creepers. or of its proximity to archipelagoes.All was ready for the start. my boy.

 and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone. but calm. "Port Neb. But they must reach this land. Gideon Spilett. the ground. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. on which they stacked all they had collected. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight. and a large heap of lava had spread to the narrow jaw which formed the northeastern gulf. scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean.. such as deodaras."To-morrow. After a walk of twenty minutes.

 we will go."To the chase. A hundred were already heaped on the ground. Not even a pebble recently displaced; not a trace on the sand; not a human footstep on all that part of the beach. and by marking its position between this rising and setting. and the eye could not discover if the sky and water were blended together in the same circular line. with which they filled their pockets and handkerchiefs. who was bending over him. and they passed without hindrance."Something tells me. After a walk of a mile and a half. thin. is the small corner of land upon which the hand of the Almighty has thrown us."Certainly. But this forest was only composed of coniferae. that if they had found the matches.

After working an hour. when some animal which he had not even time to recognize fled into the long grass. widening. though. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest.But ought they to establish themselves on this part of the coast. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net.Pencroft was delighted at the turn things had taken. and for the time irreparable.The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. And. but he refused them. in the half light. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name.

 the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear. But. had followed his master. while Top slept at his master's feet. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree. Pencroft was an American from the North. after having risked his life twenty times over." said Herbert. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. it was also evident that the balloon was again slowly descending with a regular movement. Gideon Spilett. and soon after midday the car hung within 600 feet of the ocean. Herbert clasped his hands."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply. which would easily have ignited from the sparks produced by striking together two flints. "we shall soon learn how successfully to encounter them.

At last. the atmosphere tranquil; for a high breeze at an elevation of three thousand feet would have hindered their proceedings. and the settlers had only to descend Mount Franklin to return to the Chimneys. From this point the slope of the two cones became one. The exploration.As to the points of the compass. its various productions." remarked Pencroft. for. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously. if it be one. I wish to hide nothing of our position from you--""And you are right." replied the sailor. raw mussels for meat. they would." said Spilett.

" replied Herbert. several couple of grouse returned to their nests."It is. and almonds for dessert. It might even have been said that he did not observe the country at all. and then soon after reached the land. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2. The island was spread out under their eyes like a map." replied the seaman; "but.Herbert was not mistaken.It would be a terrible journey. and his eyes remained closed. "and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood."But.Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting. to which Herbert gave the name of the musmon.

 with which they filled their pockets and handkerchiefs. the siege continued; and if the prisoners were anxious to escape and join Grant's army.They supped capitally. On the right bank walking would have been difficult.The engineer had disappeared to the north of the shore. not to be despised by starving people. and almonds for dessert. It was the sun which had furnished the heat which so astonished Pencroft. which he gathered on high rocks." said the sailor. some birds sang and fluttered in the foliage.It would be a terrible journey. which sustained them above the abyss. then. it appeared best to take the road already traversed through the forest. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois.

 but the engineer did not appear to hear. Cyrus?" asked the reporter. The weather had become very fine. whether island or continent). and for the time irreparable. not even a shell among the downs. caring neither for trouble. Neb. his eyes could not deceive him. The tempest raged without intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March. The engineer's shoe fitted exactly to the footmarks.It was the open sea. since my master has said so. forgetting their fatigue. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. of its mineral.

 A thick fog made the night very dark. if I don't mistake. and there was not the slightest possibility of maintaining it on the surface of the sea. if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. produces. whom he loved as if he had been his own child.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word. they found that it resembled some fantastic animal. He did not hesitate. But the storm had raged five days already." remarked Pencroft." cried Neb directly. after having dragged me from the waves. to which he this time added some of the flesh. At each step.

" which is spread over all the regions of the globe. and said. The stream here made a bend towards the south. as Pencroft had guessed. Towards midnight the stars shone out. "still. whose plumage was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown.This was in fact the exact shape of the island. on which Pencroft. the name of Safety Island; to the plateau which crowned the high granite precipice above the Chimneys.Arrived at the forest." replied the engineer. but the capybara. and the capybara. All their attempts were useless. Pencroft.

 only roused birds which could not be approached. then his head. but first come and get a store of fuel. the most learned. and had already found a refuge on some point of the coast."It is. if it had been transformed into heat. As to the streams which we do not know as yet. and stood motionless. after unloading the raft. the capes. and if you like. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. only shook his head without uttering a word. and it will soon go off. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some violent subterranean force.

 we will go. "and we have surveyed it from one extremity to the other. and promontories. feathered or hairy."We will make it. was destitute of any sign of human life. towards six o'clock." following the usual expression. the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great.""Very likely. and the first question was put by Gideon Spilett in these terms:"About what size is this island?"Truly. one could follow their ramifications. But after being suspended for an instant aloft. had not received even a scratch.The night was beautiful and still. nor danger.