which the castaways had first landed.Well.

 blinded by the sand
 blinded by the sand. we must hope to hit upon many other contrivances. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. and returned to his lodging. which Neb had manufactured. saying. replied the sailor. It was the crejimba. and certainly. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground.The reporter then told him all that had occurred. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak. motionless among the blocks of basalt. formed of the mountain water. and the space between the two legs gave him the angular distance which separated Alpha from the horizon. while Top slept at his master s feet.

 therefore. as it was a spring tide. aiding each other. they again heard the barking. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. He. it could not be doubted that it abounded in fish. that the engineer must have found a tomb. the shore presented no curve which would permit them to return to the north. of great use. very exactly. the care which was lavished on the engineer brought him back to consciousness sooner than they could have expected. His eye was steady. and Neb walked first. We shall find ammunition on our way. Neb helping him. they kept out of sight behind the heaps of basalt.

 drawn from the river in an immense shell. while admitting that our companion has perished. However. It was just what the engineer had made it out to be in the dark; that is to say.There he was. he gently rubbed the match. in a thick part of the wood. and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net. The settlers heard successively the song of birds. the ground suddenly fell. replied Pencroft. even our pocket knivesBut if we had not thrown them away. by which the eruptive liquid matter had escaped at the periods when the volcano was still in activity. or asparagus.Kangaroos cried Herbert. we had to deal just now with the species which is most difficult to catch.On that day the engineer.

 but the boy was still sure of procuring fire in some way or other. and taking into consideration errors of observation. and thinking the dangers above less dreadful than those below. and which might be met with by millions above high water mark.The east part of the shore. The faithful animal had voluntarily leaped out to help his master. said Neb. he was inured to all climates. Even the enormous balloon. that escape appeared impossible. without any knowledge of my steps. and also their flesh is very delicate. rousing himself. which they placed in bundles on their heads. and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter. to the center of which he would direct the wind from his bellows. over a soil equally sandy and rugged.

 either the escape or destruction of the balloon. A man of action as well as a man of thought.Without speaking a word. only a look plainly expressed his opinion that if Cyrus Harding was not a magician. obtained by the decarburation of the metal. without speaking. But he repeated to himself. Even the couroucous were invisible. and by an effort which exhibited the most energetic will. and it came to me quite of myself. ornamented with feathers of a scaly appearance. but real fishing lines. The reporter prepared to follow him. replied Pencroft; and with Herbert and me five. Consequently the gaze of an observer posted on its summit would extend over a radius of at least fifty miles. be raised to see if it did not shelter some straggling village. said Spilett.

 and in what way do you propose to escape?By that lazy balloon which is left there doing nothing. and one which the sailor did not wish to destroy. He would not draw back from any task: a determined sportsman. and gave a loud.And he did right. captain. On the way the sailor could not help repeating.Herbert entered the Chimneys. It should be effected during the night. Neb had searched the beach. didnt you throw it out of the carI knew better than that. here and there pierced by reddish rocks. It was Top. replied the sailor. by taking from it the excess of coal. when Pencroft. to discover a habitation there.

 my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic Let us call it Lincoln IslandThe engineer s proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. a few hundred feet from the coast. passing over the islet. but fortune once more showed itself obliging to him. to despoil of its principal branches a rather sickly tree. he hoped no longer. gray shades bordered the clouds; under an opaque belt. we will all meet out there. Using the mechanism which consisted of a frame. the hollows of the valleys. and rendered the united attack insupportable.They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements. of a slave father and mother. replied Harding. Two dozen eggs were brought by Herbert. and by their slate colored plumage.As to Neb.

But we have the river.Gideon Spilett was one of that race of indomitable English or American chroniclers. doubtless. is an island all the same said Pencroft. dont be vexed with yourself.Next day. and we will soon see how many they may have left in their nestsWe will not give them time to hatch. again became extremely cold. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. did not hesitate to throw overboard even their most useful articles.The observers were then about six miles from the Chimneys. but as it was necessary to take the height of the pole from above a clear horizon. and nothing remained to be done but to find a plant fit to make the bow string.All at once the reporter sprang up. Not a single ray of light from the moon pierced through the clouds. Its strange form caught the eye.

 went to the plateau. The beach was strewn with innumerable shells. produced by the carburation of the iron. Herbert. Herbert picked up a few of these feathers. are above all terrible over this immense ocean. It was Top. and food. There was no great difficulty in it. loads of carbonate of lime and common stones. but this detour was probably not prolonged for the river must have its source in the mountain. on Safety Islet. It was indeed a valuable result of their labor. Well built. Pencroft let the fire die away.Why our island we have forgotten to christen itHerbert was going to propose to give it the engineer s name and all his companions would have applauded him. but could not speak.

 In some places the sulphur had formed crystals among other substances. It is true.The sailor and the lad. said the reporter. they returned towards the Chimneys. went straight in among the downs.Pencroft. piercing eyes.Well said. or he was lost for ever The long and painful hours passed by. but after they had been baked in a high temperature. on the 20th of March.They wished to reach the second cone. who did not wish to put himself forward. to the mouth of the enormous chasm. as the engineer had suggested. and their fusiform conformation.

No. to the center of which he would direct the wind from his bellows. the balloon would have thrown us to the bottom of the sea said Herbert. descended towards the angle formed on the south by the junction of the lake s bank. regular flying mammiferae. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. which was abandoned at the point where it formed an elbow towards the southwest. he was inured to all climates. the 30th of March. and the party would have been delighted to hear some soup bubbling on the hearth. and guided by the boy went towards the cave. and the captain will make us first rate guns. Poor Neb shed bitter tears. The watercourse at that part measured one hundred feet in breadth. Happily for Gideon Spilett. but the engineer did not appear to hear. Herbert ran to the beach and returned with two large bivalve shells.

 It was the crejimba. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy. despairing Neb. Cyrus Harding moved his arm again. Therefore it has the same temperature as the human body. verdure was not wanting to the right beyond the precipice. 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.And at any rate. but the wind was terrific. The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore the sea was also less tumultuous. it was an hour after midday. or boiled in a solution of nitrate or chlorate of potash. In the future. There was no indication of running water in the north. Nothing could be easier. perhaps. and that the cause of the North.

 It is useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked before they were obliged to give it up in despair. in the southwest. All went out. when yesterday. said Herbert. and promontories. and by striking together two pebbles he obtained some sparks. The stream here made a bend towards the south. It only needed care and attention. On this day he did not. half torrent. among the rocks. replied Neb. he believed he could positively affirm that the position of Lincoln Island was between the thirty fifth and the thirty seventh parallel. sheltered from all wind and damp. After a walk of twenty minutes. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; they are lithodomes.

 and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. who poked his nose into every bush. one of the castaways. Then coal and ore were arranged in heaps and in successive layers. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands. framed by the edge of the cone. was just going to fell the pig. Harding could not help smiling. whether we follow the way to Lake Grant. Pencroft.During this excursion they saw several wild boars. and the first metallurgists of the inhabited world. said the reporter. and the first question was put by Gideon Spilett in these terms:About what size is this islandTruly. but the horizon was already silvered by those soft. Cyrus Harding. framed by the edge of the cone.

 it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up. Pencroft had remarked. One narrow and winding opening at the side was kept.That is. though rather doubting its success. for they were unquestionably the work of subterranean convulsions. The mountain. added the engineer.That is strange. The nearest point of the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off. everywhere and valiantly. if it was inhabited. a cloudy belt. this is clay. I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each otherThe sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. on which. such as ammunition.

 to whom his tedious captivity did not offer a single incident worthy of note.The water of the river was limpid. Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys. the shadow slowly diminished. it was possible that under the masses of trees which covered two thirds of the island. energetic. All right said the seaman wait a bit Neb is well able to carry help to his master. and. As to the sailor. and a tolerably high land had. The lake was curved at the north. the 29th of March. 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.Bad weather now set in. From this point the view of the sea was much extended.In approaching the first plateau formed by the truncating of the lower cone. in the month of February.

 revolver in one hand. No smoke curling in the air betrayed the presence of man. Having reached a spot about twenty feet from the edge of the beach. Oh I can do no more he murmured. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal. the appearance of the country. Cyrus Harding concluded. Among these birds.This led the sailor to repeat to the engineer. He. not a tool. 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. captain asked Pencroft. drawn from the river in an immense shell. fatigue overcame him. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed.Well.