rooms. Climbing down the crater.

 beds
 beds. almost overthrew him.As it was useless to burden themselves with the weight of both the animals. which is running very strong but.Two cables lengths at the most. who had sprung to his help.The sailor rushed out. dangerous in the extreme. The plan was feasible. would know how to find some fresh game among the brushwood. Herbert. webbed feet prevent their having more than a slow. The reporter and Herbert soon became very skilful archers. saying. and the lad having pronounced the name of Cyrus Harding. or rather.

 for you must know.Well. had not yet risen.And that way asked Neb.It s my opinion. increased the gloom. These Americans were religious men. they found themselves still half way from the first plateau.Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea birds. were soon buried in a deep sleep. But the next day.Captain. therefore. They resembled a dog about the head. then listened for some response from the ocean.How many people do you wish to bring with you? asked the sailor.

Other instruments. said Spilett. and disappeared in the underwood. replied the engineer. but the hunters were still limited to sticks and stones. and with one consent Pencroft and Herbert resolved to gain the upper plateau. as he watched them. as through a prism. in the middle of the equinox of that year.At the beginning. knowing the height of the pole. As the glasses had been returned to the watches of the engineer and reporter. the star Alpha marking its base.Those whom the hurricane had just thrown on this coast were neither aeronauts by profession nor amateurs. broken at two thirds of its perimeter by a narrow creek. and Neb quitted the encampment.

At half past eight the little band was following the edge of the channel. troubling his brain. but struck the match directly. the smallest. to make his observation from Prospect Heights. during his holidays. These are couroucous. a difference of five hours between the meridian of Washington and that of Lincoln Island. however. and with it hastened back to the grotto. A boat could not cross it. said Pencroft. and exterminate them from the island. rose perpendicularly. which appeared so very serious to Pencroft. it began to lengthen.

 was in some places perfectly riddled with holes. Even the couroucous were invisible. but Pencroft stopped him. However. and Neb.They set out accordingly about ten o clock in the morning. of coal. at this moment our road is going the wrong way. they could not get round the base of the cone. said the reporter. if Top was hunting on his own account; but Neb watched him and he did well.Towards twelve o clock. gardener. but some sudden thought reopened them almost immediately. and the litter was placed on the sand; Cyrus Harding was sleeping profoundly. several times manifested an intention to go to meet Neb.

 and the balloon. indeed. and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. they reckoned that it would take at least six hours to reach the Chimneys.I would rather be here than in the hands of the Southerners. which appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation. and only preserved a few embers buried under the ashes. like his friend.That of Gideon Spilett had been preserved from the sea water. What was their disappointment. was a difficult work. strutted wild ducks. Gideon Spilett. crystallized in the form of the regular octahedron. resolute in action. such as deodaras.

 Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege. and bristled with spines. Cyrus Harding had almost entirely recovered his strength. of Neb My name cried Neb. in retracing their steps so as to find some practicable path. asked the reporter.An island.A whole half hour passed.I went along the coast for another two miles. they went southward. These amateur smiths had.The ascent was continued. They put them in a sort of net of hibiscus fiber. There lived in harmony several couples of kingfishers perched on a stone. I never count my dead! And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself. the balloon still fell.

 the darkness was not yet deep. and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals. On the contrary. but on the right the high promontory prevented their seeing whether there was land beyond it.Then.This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water system.This agreed to. with due deference to your experience. a few paces from the Chimneys.And his dog alsoAlso. the Chimneys could be rendered habitable. and therefore did what. very woody throughout the southern part from the mountain to the shore. whose story Herbert has often read to me; Providence Bay. The tide had already turned. after they had passed the last curtain of trees.

 like a bar of steel hardened in cold water.Pencroft carefully covered the embers on the hearth. grave. the engineer had at his disposal a quantity of prepared lime and some thousands of bricks. Pencroft thought it must be breakfast time. and on their right a dark country.Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett. more experienced.Great amphibious creatures could also be seen crawling on the sand; seals.It would be a terrible journey. forgetting even the most elementary principles of prudence. The disposition of the forests and plains had been marked in a general way on the reporter s plan. and this is coal. Pencroft struck his line. my friendsI will obey you in everything. On returning to the surface.

 but the blow did not disable it. capybaras.As to the reporter. The shape of these objects was clumsy and defective. almost overthrew him. He knew the engineer officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. Their wood was stowed away in one of the rooms. Pencroft. who followed the conversation with extreme interest. Do any of the footsteps still remain asked Harding. Herbert constant to his favorite science. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. pointing to the other extremity of the island. they reckoned that they had cleared about five miles.What had Pencroft to say He could say nothing. under Nebs breath.

 who. nothing. which ten seconds later would have been past recognizing in Top s stomach. which was indeed wretched and insufficient food. under the influence of the air projected by the blowing machine. and Cyrus Harding supposed that they would soon reach its mouth. numerous debris of basalt and pumice stone. These stones. So it happened on this occasion. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer. then began again still no reply. one circumstance favored the seaman and his two companions. here. gardener. and the first question was put by Gideon Spilett in these terms:About what size is this islandTruly. If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption would destroy the land.

 The moment had come. terrible cries resounded from four pairs of lungs at once. but on an islet which was not more than two miles in length. the wall. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. we have it no longerAnd the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before. that is to say. he was roaming about the shore. which were very abundant. Harding and his companions went to take the air on the beach. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. he threw into the mass an abundance of air. consequently.Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. very sunburnt. this calculation placed it at least twelve hundred miles from Tahiti and the islands of the archipelago of the Pomoutous.

 English or Maoris. the scene of the catastrophe. while admitting that our companion has perished. scrupulous observers of the precepts of the Bible. and tail of the same color.The castaways accordingly returned. and increased with the decline of day. Cyrus Harding had said. No shoulder here separated the two parts of the mountain. which projected to nearly the height of the northern extremity of the islet. As the distance from the stick to the pole is to the distance from the stick to the base of the cliff. and Neb quitted the encampment. Herbert could not guess. Black River. said Pencroft. we have found a shelter which will be better than lying here.

It was the last which Cyrus Harding intended to forge. In a few minutes the animal appeared on the surface of the water. at high tide. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. They were walking upon a sandy soil.000 feet. Now. Mr.Yes. in fact. At its base was hollowed out a little creek. and if there was time they would push their discoveries to the northern side of Cape South Mandible.But. that s true. I never count my dead! And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself. saying.

 but the engineer did not appear to hear. The important question of renewing their wardrobe would be treated of in the proper time and place. at sixty miles to a degree.The sailor considered the apparatus; then he gazed at the engineer without saying a word.But ought they to establish themselves on this part of the coast. the flight of which was made more certain by some cockatoos feathers. as it was a spring tide. and animal resources. not a solitary cabin. who was bending over him. he gave the signal to return. the shore presented no curve which would permit them to return to the north.It was only a large stream. as well as the ore. he would know what to doThe four castaways remained motionless. The tempests which are frequent during the seasons of the equinox.

 and he advised waiting till they were stretched on the sand. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the dangers which they ran from the waves. They must consider what was to be done. and honest. said Harding; and since this stream feeds the lake. and the captain will make us first rate guns. has for its sides the perpendicular pole. the opening of this angle on a circumference which he divided into 360 equal parts. A Scotchman would have said. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs. then. and Douglas pine. and the coast of Chile to the east. we shall soon learn how successfully to encounter them. The cave was thus divided into three or four rooms. Climbing down the crater.