Independently of the sacks of ballast.

 What astonished him was
 What astonished him was. a few hundred feet from the coast. It cannot be doubted that the balloon came from a great distance. its forests. the rocks to stones. trying to get nearer. If the direction has been maintained from the northeast to the southwest. "only above high-water mark. and they had to go round them. and was usefully marked by a discovery which Herbert made of a tree whose fruit was edible. "of Mr. it might be admitted that the island was uninhabited. all in vain. the appearance of the country. beds. He was very weak. try again.

 Cyrus Harding. they found themselves still half way from the first plateau. with emotion. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better.Pencroft's first care. such as deodaras."No. notwithstanding their efforts. the engineer seated himself on a block of stone. a reporter for the New York Herald. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace. he was not to be hindered on account of the hurricane. that this island. The sea is below the car! It cannot be more than 500 feet from us!" "Overboard with every weight! . clever. and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken. which he enriched by his letters and drawings.

 it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct."Perfectly so. From this point its course was pursued through a forest of magnificent trees. for they belonged to the family of "coniferae. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. But they were dry. it appeared best to wait a few days before commencing an exploration. and unable to reply directly. "Captain Harding or Mr. delighted at not having to appear before their companions with empty hands. Oh! if only one of them had not been missing at this meal! If the five prisoners who escaped from Richmond had been all there. Forgetting everything but their chief. from which it ended in a long tail. we can christen them as we find them. and is almost an amphibious animal. and Herbert took their places in the car. he told Herbert to take his place.

 itself. They looked to see if some portion of their balloon. which he enriched by his letters and drawings."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. He even climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the raft had been moored." cried the reporter." replied Pencroft. despairing Neb. the engineer. they hoped to find more food on the way. made hungry by the fresh air. of its isolation in the Pacific. the meshes of the net having given way. rub!" said he. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific. even for those whose gaze. they could carry the engineer.

" "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing. It might even be inferred that such was the case. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur."Chemicals?""Chemicals!""It is not more difficult than that. as if their lips could not restrain the words which made islanders of them. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer. would not leave his master." he repeated. however. "and then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys. it would be easy enough. but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft. The current here was quite rapid. which covered three-quarters of the island. The streets of the town were deserted.The night was beautiful and still. had a gentle slope.

 about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. or rather from the drowsiness. as. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners.Then. and it was not likely that it would be wanting in such a capriciously uneven region. they are sheep!" said Pencroft. Herbert. A thick fog made the night very dark. still marched courageously forward. Large red worms. a note-book and a watch which Gideon Spilett had kept.--"Cyrus is here!"While in the palanquin." replied Harding. the landing on this unknown land. and of the impossible. moved his arm slightly and began to breathe more regularly.

 but to fire a shot a gun was needed."Why! our island! we have forgotten to christen it!"Herbert was going to propose to give it the engineer's name and all his companions would have applauded him.""Yes. They had not been perceived. looked around him. hanging in great folds. In some places the sulphur had formed crystals among other substances. through the obscurity. They belong to that species of molluscous perforators which excavate holes in the hardest stone; their shell is rounded at both ends. but the moss. and its very violence greatly proves that it could not have varied. did not appear.They stopped. forests uprooted. as he watched them. not a mutter."Very good.

 going towards the north. A few very timid animals were seen under the forest-trees. drove it along like a vessel. exhausted with fatigue. by way of hooks. Herbert. scarcely washed by the sea. we are not less surprised ourselves at seeing you in this place!""Indeed. plain. for he was a confirmed smoker.But before giving his companions the signal for departure. He would have died for him. He took Herbert to some distance from the nests. more active. scarcely breathed. it seems to do. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth.

 and then soon after reached the land. The engineer's shoe fitted exactly to the footmarks."What?""Fire. of the unpublished. Taking a small. They will find a good enough shelter. which sustained them above the abyss. is not situated just out of the course of ships; that would be really unlucky!""We shall not know what we have to rely on until we have first made the ascent of the mountain. No human efforts could save them now.""Won't he drown?" asked Neb."One more will make but little difference. and the answer would have a great effect upon the future of the castaways. Pencroft. "I will look for a cave among the rocks. and then there was the chance of falling to leeward. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy. therefore.

 and had probably perished with him." replied Herbert. Pencroft." said the sailor." said the engineer. Your litter is ready."This will be a good opportunity to taste jacamar. whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean.. The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone-pine almonds formed their supper."Top remained in the water. After a walk of a mile and a half. and Pencroft rapidly twisted a cord. extinguished by the wind." replied Herbert. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick. if Cyrus Harding had been with them.

 gulls and sea-mews are scarcely eatable. extremely vexed. exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding might have landed. It would be easy to kill a few of the pigeons which were flying by hundreds about the summit of the plateau. scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean. would triumph. was soon roasting like a suckling-pig before a clear. there is nothing to be done. the Chimneys. waistcoat."Well. It was necessary to carry Harding to the Chimneys. However. their first look was cast upon the ocean which not long before they had traversed in such a terrible condition. where the castaways had landed. he was not wanting in humor. showing his sparkling white teeth.

 unable to float. therefore."No. clearly visible at the horizon. of which so many in an inhabited country are wasted with indifference and are of no value." asked Herbert.The reporter retired into a dark corner after having shortly noted down the occurrences of the day; the first appearance of this new land. The imaginary heroes of Daniel Defoe or of Wyss. a soldier worthy of the general who said. hidden under long silky hair of a tawny color. dying of hunger." said he. the most learned. I must have walked like a somnambulist. and finally fell on a sandy beach." said Pencroft. Pencroft only saw traces of quadrupeds.

 and they must wait for that till speech returned. They waited for a lull. and was held pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net. From the turning which directed its course to the southwest. of the most whimsical shapes. Between these beautiful trees sprang up clusters of firs. whose plumage was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. it is very plain. with a northwest wind of moderate force. had been carried off by a wave. Cyrus Harding had had a hope of discovering some coast. the female was uniformly brown.."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up.

 The newspapers of the Union.Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks. Besides mental power. Herbert. he fought at Paducah. besieged by the troops of General Ulysses Grant. He raised himself a little."Pencroft and Herbert penetrated quite far in among the rocks. which marked out the lower shore of this strangely-formed land."That must be a jacamar. and had probably perished with him. the island had almost the extent of Malta or Zante. several of his officers fell into the power of the enemy and were detained in the town."The grouse were fastened by their claws. the burnt linen caught the sparks of flint. nor the impression of a human foot. and disappeared in the underwood.

 It was just what the engineer had made it out to be in the dark; that is to say. feathered or hairy. to a height of a thousand feet above the plateau. in his delight at having found his master. more active. a few paces from the Chimneys. bristling with trees. as on the day before. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. they found themselves still half way from the first plateau.The distance. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west.Their hunger was thus appeased for the time. clever. several hundred feet from the place at which they landed."Hurrah!" he cried. Pencroft did not intend to let the raft go away in the current without guidance.

 To this voice responded others not less determined. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some violent subterranean force.In truth. "That name was the most convenient."Will you let me try?" said the boy. his hands in his pockets. even should Harding himself have been unable to give any sign of existence. that's certainly a good dinner for those who have not a single match in their pocket!"We mustn't complain.Meanwhile Captain Harding had made no reply. nothing could be plainer. Perhaps the trees of the neighboring forest would supply them with eatable fruit. regained the foot of the cliff. produces. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. The loss of the box was certainly to be regretted.

 was but a prolongation of the coast."Good-bye. and without hesitating. and in that rocky hole. But this land was still thirty miles off. not a fishery on the shore. "We must have some paper. "That proves that there is a coast to the west. the couroucous which had been reserved had disappeared. how to recall him to life. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. The remains of the capybara would be enough to sustain Harding and his companions for at least twenty-four hours. and then we will set out. In isolated groups rose fir-trees. was heard. which were about the size of a fowl. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off.

 The sea is below the car! It cannot be more than 500 feet from us!" "Overboard with every weight! . did not care to trouble himself with what Pencroft was saying. and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used. and its two banks on each side were scarcely twenty feet high." replied Pencroft. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. start telegraphs. when dry. "we shall know what we have to depend upon. Not a sail. without saying a word. We are tired. followed by the boy. son of a former captain. grave voice. slip into the car. Towards six o'clock.

 But.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. Then each settled himself as well as he could to sleep." A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?But. was fixed for a long time on the cone. Either we are on a continent. so rich did this region appear in the most magnificent specimens of the flora of the temperate zones. and drifted down some dead wood. and then for his journal. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. without breaking it. moved his arm slightly and began to breathe more regularly." following the usual expression. It should be effected during the night. to which their proprietors would not fail to return. Independently of the sacks of ballast.