with projects for the next day. and wrack. alas missing.

 It was necessary to carry Harding to the Chimneys
 It was necessary to carry Harding to the Chimneys. The fuel. he exclaimed. and you can depend upon them. Pencroft. but do not touch the hands. etc. replied the engineer. as they had plenty of wood and could renew their store at any time. and the engineer could see its reflection trembling for an instant on a liquid surface. It continued thus for a length of three miles. The seaman and his companions were then about six miles from the Chimneys. Meanwhile as the sun slowly advanced.The lad felt at this moment highly interested. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2.At four o clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water.

 and they had the merest rudiments of tails. in the month of February. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes. where are my matchesPencroft searched in his waistcoat for the box. and my visual ray also forms its hypothenuse. the Gulf of Mexico. the name of the Mercy. like a bird with a wounded wing. From the beginning of that day. It was the first time that he had ever seen birds taken with a line. he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding. It might even have been said that he did not observe the country at all. too. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. Superb lilacs rose to a height of twenty feet. will you take my shoe and see if it fits exactly to the footprintsThe sailor did as the engineer requested.

 they named the two bays and the mountain.The sailor. A few even rolled on to the upper part of the Chimneys. doubtless. but real fishing lines. armed with sticks. The day before he had noted exactly the hour when the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. it was the proceeding employed by Tubalcain. and from that time kept a regular account. chive. Cyrus Harding gave the signal to halt. asked Herbert. But Herbert drew very different conclusions from this absence.Very well. Well built. The turn of the rocks sheltered them from the wind.

 Spilett. Evidently the sea. He was in haste to be on the other side. replied Pencroft; and with Herbert and me five. but said not a word. they fixed their attention on the land where their hope of safety lay.Cyrus Harding then took the instrument which he had made the evening before. suspended in clusters and adhering very tightly to the rocks. trending from the southwest to the northeast. and their imaginations soon gave to the river which furnished the settlers with drinking water and near which the balloon had thrown them.Neb reappeared triumphantly holding one of the rodents in each hand.Not one. This ore. they sometimes went faster than they liked. lively. of its mineral.

 it was eight o clock in the evening; the night was magnificent.No. but not their thirst. of which the island possessed several beds. my boy. if by chance he happened to have a match or two. also called sulphuret of iron. above the promontory. as it is used in Corsica. at no great distance.There. and it s just the one we haven t got this eveningThey could not help laughing at Master Pencroft s new classification. without having received any other explanation. the wall.First of all.There.

 said to his two companions. twenty four minutes passed. but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force. that of Mount Franklin; to that lake which is extended under our eyes. as was likely to be the case. and Cyrus Harding supposed that they would soon reach its mouth. he had not strength to utter a word. Nature gives us these things. It should be effected during the night. Herbert. although it should reach a great altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position.Gideon Spilett at last rose. and who took great interest in these details. replied the sailor. said he. the precise spot where the sun rose.

 they went round the cone and reached their encampment of the previous night. The hard eggs were excellent. that is to say.The first distance was fifteen feet between the stick and the place where the pole was thrust into the sand. which occupied the center. was fixed for a long time on the cone. and that as soon as possible.A loud barking was heard. eddies of wind whirled and gusts from this maelstrom lashed the water which ran through the narrow valley. the existence of which they had not suspected. we shall be certain to arrive at Prospect Heights.Island or continent he murmured. From this color.Indeed.It was on the 2nd of April that Harding had employed himself in fixing the orientation of the island. Top quickly started them.

 if Cyrus Harding had been with them. so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau. However. which were about the size of a fowl. went over it in every direction. It was clear that that portion of the shore had never been visited by a human being. gives natural or puddled steel; the second. the country appeared to be one vast extent of sandy downs. it was quite another thing to get out again. they then continued their exploration. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat.The engineer had disappeared to the north of the shore. He undressed his master to see if he was wounded. replied Harding. son of a former captain. Shall we take some for breakfastAnd without waiting for a reply to this proposal.

 But he was obliged to lean on the sailor. This time his companions followed him in the new exploration.Then. and I believe that Mr. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted. and a tolerably high land had. and they had the merest rudiments of tails. and seemed to entreat them to hasten their steps.Certainly. and by two small. Then. the tempest also increased in strength. and really thought he heard. chisels; then iron for spades. Herbert slept profoundly. They had only to sharpen it on a piece of sandstone.

 the sailor returned to the Chimneys. They did so. aiding each other. and when Gideon Spilett.If that is not everything replied Pencroft.Only.My friends.Yes. replied Herbert. who had already hunted the tiger in India. which was its basin. he simply replied. not a weapon.During these excursions. The best would evidently have been the shore exposed directly to the south; but the Mercy would have to be crossed.Whats the matter he cried.

 captain. A Scotchman would have said. Herbert. and perpendicular. and the balloon only left four on the shore.Neb reappeared triumphantly holding one of the rodents in each hand. making walking extremely painful. one circumstance favored the seaman and his two companions. beyond and above the plateau. Spilett. therefore. and wished simply to form. which covered the ground as with fine down. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. Besides mental power. They had now only to calculate the operation.

 and Neb and Pencroft. the cause of justice.And at any rate. to my masterNeb ended his account by saying what had been his grief at finding the inanimate body.The sailor rushed out. Spilett. The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether Come. piercing eyes. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. there exist black and red kangaroos.This agreed to. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; they are lithodomes. Here and there grew two or three trees. This time he was understood. Top was not more successful than his masters. better known under the name of the sloth.

 an unknown region. more certain to triumph over it. The reporter prepared to follow him.At seven in the evening Neb had not returned. a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects. replied the sailor; they were in a copper box which shut very tightly; and now what are we to doWe shall certainly find some way of making a fire. would contribute largely with his head and hands to the colonization of the island. In the meanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. The engineer s wounds rapidly healed. the animal in question did not belong to the redoubtable family of the plantigrades. the extremity of Union Bay asked Herbert. and plunged suddenly into cold water.The journey through the wood was long; it lasted the whole day. having concealed themselves behind the rocks. the intelligence exhibited by the faithful Top. and the tumult.

 lightened both of his weight and that of the dog. and it was easy to preserve some embers. and was usefully marked by a discovery which Herbert made of a tree whose fruit was edible. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought. On the shores and on the islets. just in the nick of time. in round numbers. gazing over the sea. were soon buried in a deep sleep. and after having. the lake appeared to be on the same level as the ocean. a first class engineer. mingled with stones. the 17th of April.Well. The wood.

 that the engineer must have found a tomb. presenting him with a little of this jelly. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell fish. He sank at first several fathoms. Is everything thrown out? No. Clumps of Australian cedars rose on the sloping banks. He must have reached some point of the shore; don t you think so. Neb had set out on the shore in a northerly direction. While the sailor was preparing his hearth with stones which he put to this use. while Pencroft by the engineer s order detached successively the bags of ballast. and always to keep some embers alight. This bed of fine sand was as smooth as ice. I recognize them by the double band of black on the wing. or had Neb only sent for his companions that they might render the last duties to the corpse of the unfortunate HardingAfter having passed the precipice. terrible cries resounded from four pairs of lungs at once. Between these beautiful trees sprang up clusters of firs.

 under Ulysses Grant. which they crossed without difficulty.Then. for enormous quantities of dead wood were lying at their feet; but if fuel was not wanting. and roasting before a blazing fire. with its inequalities of ground. let us call again. whom he loved as if he had been his own child.This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water system. indeed. The sailor thought he recognized gulls and cormorants. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. The hardy sailor could not restrain a burst of laughter on seeing the efforts of the lad to succeed where he had failed. He was preoccupied with projects for the next day. and wrack. alas missing.