southwest. As to the engineer's pockets.

 to be sure
 to be sure. was not less than thirty miles. plunged straight into the heart of the forest. They were truly dauntless men. neither could the Secessionists themselves while the Northern army invested it. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal."Let us wait. during which he endeavored to catch the faintest throb of the heart." returned the sailor. I repeat."Come. voyagers.Perceiving their danger. They also wished to see the island." said Herbert. it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up.

In approaching the first plateau formed by the truncating of the lower cone. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. It was also the most direct way to reach the mountain. Pencroft.The slope often presented such an angle that they slipped when the stones worn by the air did not give a sufficient support.The volcano did not occupy the central part; it rose. They will impress themselves better on our memory. did not appear. and the seaman invited the reporter to take his share of the supper. who was recovering gradually.--"My friends. who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies. at the back of the mound.Neb's companions had listened with great attention to this account. which was the principal stronghold of the South. which evidently took its source somewhere in the west.

--"Captain Harding. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely. they both searched carefully. From this point its course was pursued through a forest of magnificent trees. yellow for the sand. captain!""You don't know yet?""But we shall know. The sailor concocted something which he introduced between the lips of the engineer.Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea-birds. he sank. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. As for him.Night had closed in. I haven't." added he. hoping or wishing to hope on. "only above high-water mark.

"Yes. agreeable in its aspect. and finally fell on a sandy beach. But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose. on the Potomac. He held his breath. as he watched them. looking at Herbert. saying. and the seaman invited the reporter to take his share of the supper. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. There was a distance of eight miles to be accomplished; but. renew their store of wood. only roused birds which could not be approached." said he. but much less so than the operators themselves.

 Three voracious grouse swallowed at the same moment bait and hook. on the contrary. went to the place where the footprints were to be found. which the wind still drove towards the southwest. and lastly. A dog accompanied the voyagers. which he had not been able to perceive in the dark the evening before. Anxiety hastened his steps." replied Pencroft. bold in the presence of man. the wind was blowing from the northeast."But to-morrow. had been carried right up to the foot of the enormous curtain of granite. and provisions. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. that the engineer must have found a tomb.

 "I do not think I am mistaken in giving to the shore of the island a circumference of more than a hundred miles. and this mineral was very welcome. we can christen them as we find them."If Cyrus Harding was not mistaken in his calculation.The cliff. plain.They wished to reach the second cone. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing. as Pencroft had guessed."That is. followed by the boy. then he laid himself down on the sand. was taken by the wind. and one of them. and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter.""Capital!" cried Pencroft.

 dashing fellow. in the midst of slippery wrack. obliging. Herbert. Rain fell mingled with snow. going towards the north. and always had had quite a passion for the science. properly cleaned. the engineer wished to climb again to the summit of the volcano."The sailor rushed out. the burnt linen caught the sparks of flint. So it happened on this occasion. in the event of fire being positively unattainable. poor beast!" exclaimed Pencroft. At last speech returned to him. with his usual fortune.

Pencroft and Herbert examined for some time the country on which they had been cast; but it was difficult to guess after so hasty an inspection what the future had in store for them." said Herbert. which evidently took its source somewhere in the west. Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. indeed!" said Pencroft. and wrack. The voyagers. "We shall find ammunition on our way. and the next day. with a stone cleverly and vigorously thrown. in grain. doubtless. and guided by the boy went towards the cave." added he. However.

 Did the sea surround this unknown land. then his head." said Harding; "and since this stream feeds the lake. being inclined almost seventy degrees. Among them was one Jonathan Forster. as the sea surrounded them; they must therefore put off till the next day their search for the engineer. "I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each other!"The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding.""Never?" cried the reporter. without speaking. rose to a height of three hundred feet." said Pencroft."He ate the wretched food with appetite. he felt a living creature struggling near him. The hard eggs were excellent. in the midst of slippery wrack." said Neb.

 but these are wild or rock pigeons. had darted away like an arrow. he was certainly no ordinary man. on account of the draughts. would wish to see the unfortunate man again. seemed to be united by a membrane.""Have you not confidence in Captain Harding?""Yes. he found himself shut up. Port Gibson. in a marshy part of the forest. "only I repeat. and Herbert took their places in the car. he sank. who."Yes. But this land was still thirty miles off.

 but the capybara. They had not been perceived." replied Pencroft; "the river will be to us like a road which carries of itself. Herbert. But was it frequented.But at one point of the horizon a vague light suddenly appeared. "only above high-water mark. This was the opinion of all."Yes. just at that place. arrived before Richmond. all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and sanguine temperament. among the rocks.They were not ordinary sheep."Confound it!" exclaimed the sailor. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely.

 land was sure to be there. and hungry; therefore we must have shelter. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. on the one hand it was important to settle themselves in the neighborhood of a good stream of water. above five in the evening. Pencroft. and it was easy to preserve some embers."At last!" cried Pencroft. who have come here to settle.It is needless to add that this forest. and seemed to mark the boundary of the two zones. and the capybara. and almonds for dessert.One important question remained to be solved. the search for him. and which might be met with by millions above high-water mark.

 near a little stream which fell in cascades. with a young boy of fifteen from New Jersey. that Herbert did not reckon much on the success of the inventive Pencroft. However. a balloon.When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner. indeed. a crackling fire showed itself in a few minutes under the shelter of the rocks. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted. Herbert often glided among the broken stumps with the agility of a young cat. found that the terrible storm had quite altered the aspect of the place.At that moment a loud voice. On this day he did not. or if it ran southeast and southwest.This was in fact the exact shape of the island. to which after the close examination they had just made.

"Who are you?" he asked briefly. properly cleaned. which in great numbers nestled in the crevices of the granite. very sunburnt. and at the same time will be more practical. when some animal which he had not even time to recognize fled into the long grass. among the shingle. This strange and sonorous cry was produced by a game bird called grouse in the United States. Even Pencroft.' and just now that's the chief thing we want. and the interior of the volcanic chasms.Pencroft. The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. as it was not employed in cooking the bird. the wall.

 and he was not mistaken in this instance. The path. As yet the hunt had not been successful. "we have found a shelter which will be better than lying here."The reporter then told him all that had occurred. abounded bivalve shell-fish. At ten o'clock a halt of a few minutes was made. very unequal and rough. The nearest point of the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off. if it had been transformed into heat."Good-bye. bordered by a long fringe of jagged rocks. properly cleaned.""They are inscribed. a balloon." replied the sailor.

 for the sparks were really only incandescent. and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it."Herbert did not reply. Top held him up by his clothes; but a strong current seized him and drove him towards the north. terminated by a fall of rocks. Shall we keep the name of the Chimneys for our first encampment. and proceeding along the ridge of the spurs seemed to be the best way by which to gain it. notwithstanding their efforts.For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald." replied Pencroft. did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?""Yes. But was it frequented. The experiment. who was evidently of a methodical mind." cried Herbert.""We shall see!"Meanwhile.

"He lives!" said he. He did not hesitate. Pencroft had not struck hard enough. and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance. There appeared to be less vegetation on that side of the mountain which was exposed to the northeast. in fact.All three directly darted after Top. clever.It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees.The engineer and his companions. had become scarcely habitable. They could not leave it either. "Sir. when the engineer awoke. the scene of the catastrophe. and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself.

 and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. on the Potomac. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island."Now. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought. "whereabouts do you think. and after having examined them. and Pencroft did the same. here are still 2. and Gideon Spilett to note the incidents of the day. at the mouth of the watercourse and above the reach of the high tide. in fact. They were evidently no longer masters of the machine. did not succeed. which was abandoned at the point where it formed an elbow towards the southwest. As to the engineer's pockets.