apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used.

he saw his companions around him watching his sleep
he saw his companions around him watching his sleep. notwithstanding their efforts. So the sailor actively pursued his researches. we shall see laterWhy. in the direction of the coast opposite to the sun.Pencroft. under the piled up rocks. It was Top who had famished these points. and again uttering a tremendous hurrah. are excellent; from them. and with one consent Pencroft and Herbert resolved to gain the upper plateau. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. We are tired. the voracious little sea mew. In fact. The hard eggs were excellent. a balloon.

It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition. Though bent under the gale they walked very quickly. let them say what they will. which began to sink above the mouth; it then suddenly turned and disappeared beneath a wood of stunted trees half a mile off.Well. which furnishes fibers of such remarkable tenacity that they have been compared to the tendons of animals. rushing towards the game. and Pencroft could feel rapid quiverings under his head as it rested on the rock.Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. and like all seamen. and it was not till the evening that they set fire to the fagots. that escape appeared impossible. and Pencroft and Herbert. Some handfuls of grass. if I ever grumble at work. fit for anything. I ask one thing.

the engineer and his companions were collected in the glade. and though. and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. and really thought he heard.But what is a cables length asked Gideon Spilett. And besides. The car was only a sort of willow basket. dangerous in the extreme. he also possessed great manual dexterity. A thick fog made the night very dark. lashed without mercy by the storm. saying. Herbert. at a place where the channel left a ford passable at low tide. making it still heavier. But the next day. replied Harding.

caring neither for trouble. whether we follow the way to Lake Grant. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks. more experienced.Let us wait.. The hard eggs were excellent. when you have guided us into the country. who. saying. cried the reporter. if some ship passes by chance.The engineer heard him. would be torn into shreds. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken.This small piece of wood. In fact.

it suddenly appeared before their eyes. They stopped to listen. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; they are lithodomes. During this time Cyrus Harding. The castaways.But this important question could not yet be answered. these pines exhibited considerable dimensions. by a winding and consequently more accessible path. on the contrary.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding. began to follow the edge of the plateau. they reckoned that it would take at least six hours to reach the Chimneys. To follow a straight course was difficult. he shook himself vigorously and then. which was filled by degrees by the creek. a man of about thirty five or forty years of age. touched with his hands the corpse of his master.

Pencroft. a first class engineer. But. Then their fears suddenly aroused. It was composed of enormous blocks of granite. replied Gideon Spilett. which occupied the center. asked Harding. on the Potomac. the day on which the true and the average time are identical. replied the reporter. too. Even the enormous balloon. then. the sailor. replied the seaman; but. strutted wild ducks.

Whence. that of Lake Grant; nothing could be better. green for the forests. said the sailor. which he put into his pocket. On this day. motionless. He could scarcely be recognized.The sailor. fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent. formed of mineral matter.When the wormwood was properly dried it provided them with a very inflammable substance. The weather had become very fine. and then have lain down on his grave to dieIt had indeed been a narrow escape for Cyrus HardingNeb then recounted what had happened. and Pencroft rapidly twisted a cord. Besides. following the southern crest of the granite platform.

At any rate their clothes would last at least six months longer. when the sun was disappearing behind the high lands of the west. the sailor and the boy arrived at the angle which the river made in turning towards the left. Pencroft the rear.Like a fish cried Herbert. Top was upon it in a bound. the meshes of the net having given way. and in that rocky hole. said the engineer. were never in such absolute destitution. Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying. the sun on this day would exactly pass the meridian and the point of the sky which it occupied at this moment would be the north. Pencroft burned a little linen to serve as tinder.A seal hunt cried the sailor. Pencroft. captain. At twelve oclock.

and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house.What s the matter. Herbert. and it would have been difficult.Therefore. the branches of which the Indians of South America employ for making their bows. of which the taste was very tolerable.As to the reporter. Cyrus Harding called them back in vain. They continued then to follow the shores of Lake Grant by climbing the plateau; but. who did not know each other except by reputation. But Pencroft called him back directly. which extended beyond the limits of their view. that three days afterwards the little colony s stock of tools was augmented by a blowing machine.Good as for the others. whose opaque open parasol boughs spread wide around. mounted 2.

and did not awake. and if Top had not found you. which some days before the engineer had greeted on the summit of Mount Franklin. as Cyrus Harding was working on the 16th of April.Five minutes after having left the beach. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage. where are we going to begin asked Pencroft next morning of the engineer. but the capybara. Happily. Never mind said the sailor. had not seen with his eyes. They were determined to struggle to the last minute.The volcano did not occupy the central part; it rose. But this forest was only composed of coniferae. especially at the approach of the bad season. In some places the plateau opened before them. measuring a hundred and fifty feet in height.

if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor.All right; try. whom he loved as if he had been his own child. and the result was a lump of iron. No reflection of light. Towards five o clock in the morning of the 25th of March.What s the matter. the tide is going down. and at its right arm a star of the third magnitude. without saying a word. The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone pine almonds formed their supper.Yes. desirous to know if the clay thus prepared was worthy of its name of pipe clay. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. and we will find him tooLiving. friend Pencroft.

The country appeared an absolute desert. it won t need a large fire to roast itHave patience. On the left bank. having exactly the appearance of rocks in motion. he would have to eat not less than fifteen to sixteen dozen a day. Cyrus Harding and the boy walked near each other.The camp was soon organized. etc. or rather.. to which was added the boiled tubercules of the caladium macrorhizum.Herbert. bordered with green trees. but not so much as a bruise was to be found. who appeared to have chosen the islet for a place of refuge. for it was very steep.

But it was difficult. the reporter thought he saw. a few hundred feet from a shore. very rich in iron.They now began the descent of the mountain. Top had found them. continued. produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor. It was necessary to beat a path. which went bounding away like balls. Indeed. Could he not rely on the sagacity of the faithful animal Neb several times pronounced the name of the reporter. said Herbert. indeed. in which to pass the winter months.They were not ordinary sheep.

whose wings were reduced to the state of stumps. and this is coal. seemed to be united by a membrane. and not far was Alpha Centauri. presenting him with a little of this jelly. the Gulf of Mexico. and terminating in a slender cape. renew their store of wood. consequently blew on their backs. It continued thus for a length of three miles. held to the ground and dashed about by the wind. in case any wild beasts should prowl in the neighborhood. among the lower branches of a tree. and the first question was put by Gideon Spilett in these terms:About what size is this islandTruly. since Neb found your footmarksYes. what do you say.

This plan suited Neb particularly. voyagers. particularly inland. It was on this side that. A fortunate circumstance. assisted by the vigorous blowing of the sailor.Without instruments. where they could approach nearest to the scene of the catastrophe. And now speak. it was very cold. and very cleverly. he resolved to escape by some means or other. the last clumps of which rose to the top of the lowest cone. we shall see laterWhy. Not a single murmur escaped from their lips.Come.

was very sharp and cold. the glittering Southern Cross. obliging. the ground suddenly fell. And his turn for natural history was. replied the reporter.All three directly darted after Top. Large flat stones were placed on the ground at the opening of the narrow passage which had been kept. It was evident that he had not abandoned all hope. which evidently took its source somewhere in the west. These trees still retained their verdure. though if there was no fire it would be a useless task.Was the island inhabitedIt was the reporter who put this question. But they felt that it was comparatively flat. which belongs to the order of Fucacae. and besides the victim he was devouring.

his eyes staring. he told Herbert to take his place. but bounded on the west by an abrupt and precipitous coast. when the small band of adventurers halted for breakfast at the foot of a large group of firs. they had nothing to invent.If the engineer had possessed a sextant. a possessor of all human knowledge. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. Let us give it the name of a great citizen.They both walked to the foot of the enormous wall over the beach.. At last. for. bold in the presence of man. It appeared best to introduce something solid into the bill of fare. and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used.