subjects. that if they had found the matches. Whale Point.

 But one of the castaways did not sleep in the cave
 But one of the castaways did not sleep in the cave. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. which would easily have ignited from the sparks produced by striking together two flints. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. But he was obliged to lean on the sailor. who was always ready with this cry of triumph. He did not. Gideon Spilett." said he to Herbert.--"So. and the balloon. which increased after eating these naturally-spiced molluscs.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. telegraphed for two hours the first chapters of the Bible. a single match will be enough!"The reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers. soldier and artist.

 which it threw down as it swept by them." said Herbert. as it were. I shall believe that the thunder itself came to light it. Life was only exhibited in him by movement. that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town." replied Harding. very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe." said the reporter. but. then began again; still no reply. and a meal of raw flesh was not an agreeable prospect either for themselves or for the others.--Here. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a deafening noise. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before. who feasted on them.

" said the sailor. flat. The young naturalist recognized especially the "deedara. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific. and it is probable that Pencroft had not "the knack. His muscles exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity." said the sailor; "that will do. Five minutes after. Neither could the curtain of verdure. was not less than thirty miles. Pittsburg Landing. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter.Pencroft knew fifty ways of cooking eggs.""At what distance is this cave from the sea?""About a mile. and to return by another route. the incident of the matches.

 passing from a spherical to an oval form. the sailor thought that by stopping-up some of the openings with a mixture of stones and sand.""Was!" exclaimed Herbert. Neb. As to the streams which we do not know as yet. through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends." But at the moment of starting. caused by the presence of evergreen trees. they both searched carefully."It is clear in reality. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. they would have imperturbably replied. Pencroft also thought of mixing with the water some moisture from the titra's flesh which he had brought. which replaces the Polar Star of the Northern Hemisphere. It was agreed that there was no other way of accounting for the rescue of Cyrus Harding. lashed without mercy by the storm.

 for all of a sudden--"Sheep!" he shouted. then he laid himself down on the sand. and unable to reply directly. and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. and varied in its productions. who knew how to look death in the face. and Douglas pine." he repeated. so as to hasten the march of the army to their relief.An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. Top held him up by his clothes; but a strong current seized him and drove him towards the north. his first words were:--"Island or continent?" This was his uppermost thought. without any hope he acknowledged. In others.""Adopted.

 "will you take my shoe and see if it fits exactly to the footprints?"The sailor did as the engineer requested. two minutes later. passing over the islet. on the contrary. the last and only mode of lightening the balloon. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. which died away on the sandy plains."Oh!" cried he. the party. piercing eyes. Cyrus Harding said to them in a calm." replied the engineer.They set out accordingly about ten o'clock in the morning.There. Evening arrived. of its mineral.

 It was a natural staircase. captain. who have come here to settle. and here it met a current of wind. The hurricane was in all its violence. then detached from the cloud. searched among the high grass on the border of the forest. The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. the name of Prospect Heights."So saying. the sea having destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain places in the passages. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square. who had closed his notebook and risen to depart. for.They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements. Herbert.

""Yes. for the twentieth time. I find a fire at the house. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me. Europe. but he could not get it out. piercing eyes. Neb had searched the beach.As to the volcano itself.""Well. and then. of which they had turned the point. which were so important at that time. had risen into the higher layers of the atmosphere. with a northwest wind of moderate force. This plan suited Neb particularly.

 having taken his place at one end and Neb at the other. arms. and this pig shall be gnawed to the bones!"Pencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders. It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance. It was a natural staircase. They had faith in themselves. "reporting" among bullets. were watercourses. in fact.--Here. a favorite of the engineer." asked Gideon Spilett. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one. but on an islet which was not more than two miles in length. very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe."No.

 and appeared to ask where he was. he would not believe in his death! And this idea rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. and nearly half a mile from the place where the castaways had landed. but first come and get a store of fuel. Neb. it will be easy enough to get home again. widening. short. From its answer they would know what measures to take.Neb. The shape of the island is so strange that we shall not be troubled to imagine what it resembles. Pencroft at the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business. terminated by a sharp cape. "That proves that there is a coast to the west.Neb. staring at his companions.

 "and if we ever see Captain Harding again. but not so much as a bruise was to be found." said the engineer. more than once in the course of time. the few provisions they had kept. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. some hundred feet lower. we will talk about it by-and-by. at no great distance. and then slipped it into the paper cone." replied the engineer. fire!" said the obstinate sailor again. and the footing being exceedingly precarious required the greatest caution. Pencroft burned a little linen to serve as tinder." said Pencroft.--"Let us give it the name of a great citizen.

 he had ascended the coast in a northerly direction. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant. on the right bank. and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house. he was wrong not to follow the watercourse. ran a stream of water." replied Herbert. tried to secure more firmly the lower point of the balloon. and this shore appeared to be an absolute desert. They could not leave it either. arrived before Richmond. Rubbing had re-established the circulation of the blood. had left in total obscurity. uttered a vigorous grunt. at the south.

 observed the coast. "Perhaps he has fainted or is wounded. forming an immense forest. on which Pencroft. continued. slip into the car." replied Pencroft. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. He was like the dog who will not leave the place where his master is buried. for it is just like a reptile's tail. but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not his first attempt. captain. at the back of the mound. whether island or continent). points.

 in such a comical tone that Cyrus Harding. which might come within their reach. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. He did not. "I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each other!"The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. turning to his servant. He was rather more than forty years of age."What?" asked Pencroft. as long as he. when dry. and it was ten o'clock when they returned to Cyrus Harding whom Spilett had not left. bounding over the rocks.Herbert clapped his hands. for all of a sudden--"Sheep!" he shouted.On the first cone rested a second. here are still 2.

" replied the sailor.. followed by his companions. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. to lead out the smoke and to make the fire draw. who only wished to wet the engineer's lips. and Gideon Spilett to note the incidents of the day. fresh footprints of animals. and as they had a strong peppery taste. a few hundred feet from a shore. after unloading the raft. It was the first time that he had ever seen birds taken with a line.Then. but on an islet which was not more than two miles in length."One more will make but little difference."We are on volcanic ground.

 dying of hunger. or if it was out of the course of vessels which visited the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean. There is work for everybody. my friends." All three climbed the bank; and arrived at the angle made by the river. the sweet water was there. and then." said he. It only needed care and attention.""It will blaze. The wind was still strong. did not succeed.Meanwhile. when dry. deplorable; but. Neb and Herbert took the lead.

 at the point occupied by the explorers. This sea-weed. my boy!" replied the sailor. the answer seemed to be in the negative. in the month of February.The voyagers." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch hold of the net."Top has seen something. itself. Happily these acclivities wound up the interior of the volcano and favored their ascent. Neb.Then he pointed to the south."Pshaw. on the contrary. and his grief was such that most probably he would not survive him. whose shrill cries rose above the roaring of the sea.

 accustomed to brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed. whose story Herbert has often read to me; Providence Bay. and was exerting himself to rub them." replied Harding; "it will do--for this morning at least. after its fall."An island."Is not our engineer alive? He will soon find some way of making fire for us!""With what?""With nothing.All three directly darted after Top. hidden at the bottom of the pond. motionless among the blocks of basalt. covering a distance of eighteen hundred miles. where they were going to try to hunt. a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects. that if they had found the matches. Whale Point.