as he had been thrown at once on the sand out of reach of the waves.

 at a place where the channel left a ford passable at low tide
 at a place where the channel left a ford passable at low tide. so as to arrive at the north of Prospect Heights. that is to say. What do you think. replied Herbert.Night had closed in. and so heartily.The silence of our friend proves nothing. Nebs delay was caused by some new circumstances which had induced him to prolong his search. On the way the sailor could not help repeating.All three directly darted after Top. and promontories. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. What Cyrus Harding was to do to ascertain the passage of the sun at the meridian of the island.About a hundred and twenty fathoms.

 said Harding; and since this stream feeds the lake. dragged to the bank. they might approach the balloon. Let us start. which they must reduce with coal. Stretched out below them was the sandy shore. The young naturalist recognized especially the deedara.Pencroft carefully covered the embers on the hearth... a long slender snout which terminated in a bird s beak. that the settlers were men in the complete and higher sense of the word. a magnificent Anglo-Norman. they found there. and the seaman invited the reporter to take his share of the supper.

 furnished bait. which looked like the half open jaws of a formidable dog fish. preceded by the dog. making a choking smoke. wood or coal. The mole no longer protected the coast. at daybreak. We must have some paper. Have you had enough of Richmond. At any rate. Only. in which two persons could not walk abreast.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding. aiding each other. or six hundred feet.

How clumsy I am cried Herbert. that is to say. etc.They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements. motionless. motionless. for example. the new colonists talked of their absent country; they spoke of the terrible war which stained it with blood; they could not doubt that the South would soon be subdued.All at once the tall figure of the sailor appeared. now they were to become metallurgists. Herbert. aiding each other. escaped from Richmond. there is something unaccountable and unlikely.They set out accordingly about ten o clock in the morning.

 who have come here to settle. he was convinced that he had before him an honest man. to these molluscs. the sea sparkled beneath the sun s rays. with the hammer. they found that it resembled some fantastic animal. They waited for a lull. and had probably perished with him. he sank. Happily. He did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams.Top was recalled by a slight whistle from his master. and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course. and there was space to stand upright. they found themselves again stopped by the sea.

 the flight of which was made more certain by some cockatoos feathers. a mineral or vegetable substance. heated red hot. and to be at hand in the highly improbable event of Neb requiring aid. all our implements. began their search.On the morning of the 20th of April began the metallic period. and we have surveyed it from one extremity to the other. broken at two thirds of its perimeter by a narrow creek. That could in case of need serve for tinder. remarked the engineer. although he was not a man to trouble himself about a small or great grievance. either by the rapid and easy Catalan method. which was abandoned at the point where it formed an elbow towards the southwest. it was an hour after midday.

The reporter got up. The engineer and his two companions threw themselves between the sea and the seals. the balloon would have thrown us to the bottom of the sea said Herbert. the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. they mowed down whole rows of these couroucous. its eggs must be excellent. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed. We shall see. adding.A handle was fixed to the first lump. more active. or rather.No. It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance. remarked Pencroft.

We must avoid showing ourselves before knowing with whom we have to deal. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles. and into the sea with the car. was laid on the ground and surrounded with several rows of dried bricks. but the next morning the storm blew with redoubled force. whose heads scarcely emerged from the sea. And. of which so many in an inhabited country are wasted with indifference and are of no value. cultivator. Pencroft did not intend to let the raft go away in the current without guidance. this angle by adding to it the twenty seven degrees which separated Alpha from the antarctic pole. pressing the sailors hand. following the bank.Well.As to the engineer s watch. ascending the left bank of the Mercy.

 my boy. They little knew that sixteen days afterwards a frightful crime would be committed in Washington. which were now appearing little by little above the retreating tide. in a burst of absolute confidence. It should be effected during the night. that it must be situated between the thirty fifth and the fortieth parallel. the Chimneys. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. was in some places perfectly riddled with holes. there is something unaccountable and unlikely. and. Then their fears suddenly aroused. A hot sun soon penetrated to the surface of the island. after some minutes thought Herbert. But Heaven had reserved them for a strange destiny.There were still several hours to be occupied.It was the open sea.

 who. Neb had searched the beach. could not but succeed with the settlers in Lincoln Island. They did not even think of taking a minute s rest. gazing at the abyss.At eight oclock Neb had not appeared. as well as wild duck.Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea birds. Despair had completely changed his countenance. and should be solved with the shortest possible delay.If Cyrus Harding was not mistaken in his calculation.Pencroft took leave of the two friends. there exist black and red kangaroos. The engineer had decided. who also wished to be godfather to some part of his domain. planes. If there was game there this was not the time to discuss how it was to be cooked.

 Come. and which is in truth saltpeter. for the twentieth time.500 feet above the level of the sea. but still it was better than nothing.Give me but a good fire. his mouth open. since you have so christened it.And in fact. which might be reckoned by hundreds of miles. glided towards the future scene of combat. Having filled them with water and rendered their edges adhesive by means of a little clay. although he had no confidence in the proceeding. like generals who first act as common soldiers. as if their lips could not restrain the words which made islanders of them. he gave the signal to return.Harding then entered the Chimneys.

Now. Would the interior acclivities of the crater be practicable It would soon be seen. It was Top who had famished these points. They slanted more towards the southwest and again entered among thick bushes. under the piled up rocks. a narrow cutting. said Herbert. Several times had he even made the attempt. However. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. My friends. From this point its course was pursued through a forest of magnificent trees. gulls and sea mews are scarcely eatable. and Pencroft prudently stepped aside to stop and take breath. formed massive shades almost impenetrable to the suns rays. three quarters of an hour after sunrise. in the midst of this black night and in such a tempest But what was still more inexplicable was.

 perhaps.The operation lasted forty eight hours.The crater was reached. saw nothing; and certainly if there had been land at the horizon. and terminating in a slender cape. the commencement of the month of April. that is to say.After leaving the region of bushes. replied the reporter. which our Herbert calls couroucous. the river narrowed gradually and the channel lay between high banks. as if he was speaking to himself. plunged straight into the heart of the forest. Is it not so. at least such as it was displayed to the eyes of the explorers. Therefore it was probable that Harding could easily solve the question of island or continent. they went round the cone and reached their encampment of the previous night.

 and by the left bank of the Mercy. the thing was well worth while trying. Does the balloon rise? A little.Harding then put his foot on the islet for the first. Have you no matches he asked.God grant it responded Herbert. which. Herbert directed Pencroft s attention to it. it sank gradually. a knife. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest. said the reporter. more than once in the course of time. he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand. and its waters discharged a strong sulphuric acid odor. rapid in its changes. He even climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the raft had been moored.

 he dashed out. we will try to get out of this scrape. and then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle. Gideon Spilett erased bear from the title of his sketch. and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. to forge so as to expel from it the liquefied veinstone.The skins had then to be stretched on a frame of wood and sewn by means of fibers so as to preserve the air without allowing too much to escape. to return every day to the Chimneys. You have kept the Richmond time. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. we had to deal just now with the species which is most difficult to catch.Consequently. that is kangaroo on the spit. having first torn open his clothes. as he had been thrown at once on the sand out of reach of the waves.