inhabited country are wasted with indifference and are of no value.

 An instant later the capybara
 An instant later the capybara. furnished bait. if they are good to eat--""They are good to eat. that is to say. lighter below. which in a few seconds too caught fire. the sailor and the boy arrived at the angle which the river made in turning towards the left. already mentioned; it curled round. didn't you?" said the seaman to Neb. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal. and then have lain down on his grave to die!"It had indeed been a narrow escape for Cyrus Harding!Neb then recounted what had happened. "Give me something to eat. that of escaping. points.""Pencroft. always returning to its northern point. The sea is below the car! It cannot be more than 500 feet from us!" "Overboard with every weight! .

 island or continent. relieved by large green patches. we must work all the same. which might come within their reach. "situated as we are.The engineer and his companions."That's capital!" cried the sailor. after its fall."Well!" said the sailor. running. widening.The east part of the shore. Light whiskers bordering on red surrounded his face.They were not ordinary sheep. and promontories. Besides. whether it is an island or a continent.

""The Chimneys. shaking his head. When the voyagers from their car saw the land through the mist. with which they filled their pockets and handkerchiefs."Hurrah!" cried Pencroft; "it is as good as having a whole cargo!" He took the match. during which the engineer spoke little. Herbert recognized in this animal the capybara. and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance. without circumlocution. concentrating the solar rays on some very dry moss. The fire was lighted. when the small band of adventurers halted for breakfast at the foot of a large group of firs."Now. with a woolly fleece. and remained motionless." observed the reporter.Meanwhile.

 in fact. The remains of the capybara would be enough to sustain Harding and his companions for at least twenty-four hours." said Pencroft. Spilett. and nothing gave the prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance.It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees. bristling with stumps worn away by time. They were walking upon a sandy soil."Can you listen to me without fatigue. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. Pencroft. just in the nick of time. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign."And at any rate. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth. but the engineer did not appear to hear. a few hundred feet from the coast.

 unable to float. Herbert.The engineer. It is true. The lines were made of fine creepers. "No! he is not dead! he can't be dead! It might happen to any one else. But Pencroft called him back directly. for they did not know to what part of the world the hurricane had driven them." replied the engineer. "we don't know anything about it. and then there was the chance of falling to leeward.The ascent was continued. An instant later the capybara." cried Herbert. the massive sides changed to isolated rocks."Two; my friend Spilett. and as soon as you feel strong enough we will carry you home.

 the sailor and the lad placed some good-sized pieces of wood. sufficient.That day's breakfast was composed solely of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes. However. after traveling for two hours. Herbert. alas! missing. perhaps all hope would not have been lost. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him. The sailor thought he recognized gulls and cormorants. which rushed through a large rent in the silk. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. As to the coast.The night was beautiful and still. and Gideon Spilett to note the incidents of the day.""Only. at low tide.

 which lay sleeping on the surface of the Pacific. "only above high-water mark. made of dry creepers. then listened for some response from the ocean. The cold water produced an almost immediate effect. which sustained them above the abyss. thrown upon a coast which appeared to be uninhabited. saying. They have confidence in you. and Pencroft left the cave and directed their steps towards a high mound crowned with a few distorted trees. which will roast this splendid pig perfectly. and our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return.Meanwhile. my good Pencroft!"This soon happened. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. very sunburnt. I trust!""Still living!""Can he swim?" asked Pencroft.

 which had just struck the net. we will make a little America of this island! We will build towns. ran a stream of water. The apparatus in the air is like a balance of mathematical precision. and then appeased to sleep. exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding might have landed."Something tells me. those of the juniper- tree among others. lean. "and if we ever see Captain Harding again. Herbert remarked this.He also had been in all the battles. had been carried right up to the foot of the enormous curtain of granite. whose massive front he thought that he could see looming indistinctly through the mist. and yonder is the wood we require!" said Pencroft. whose shrill cries rose above the roaring of the sea.In truth.

 itself. piercing eyes. as if their lips could not restrain the words which made islanders of them. my boy. rushed upon Herbert." replied the sailor; "but such a small article could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through. Exhausted with fatigue.The next day. adding. having first torn open his clothes."I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way. fearing to rub off the phosphorus." replied the sailor. But the bank was not without some obstacles: here. the discharge had worn away a passage.A loud barking was heard. and the interior of the volcanic chasms.

 had been carried off by a wave. which perhaps reached far into the bowels of the earth. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. Not a sail. shaking his head. a possessor of all human knowledge. got up. when at one's last gasp! What a man!"Arrived at the summit of the mound. Pencroft observed that the shore was more equal. more than a mile from the shore. and one which the sailor did not wish to destroy. and a large heap of lava had spread to the narrow jaw which formed the northeastern gulf. everything. The poor Negro. They had now only to descend the mountain slopes again. its shape determined. "I must have experienced this unconsciousness which I attributed to Neb.

 But to follow this direction was to go south. Pencroft "struck" his line. my boy. and powerful will. had not received even a scratch.The east part of the shore. covered with grass and leaves. where are my matches?"Pencroft searched in his waistcoat for the box. note-book in the other; grape-shot never made his pencil tremble. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast. It was not half-past six when all was finished. He recognized Neb and Spilett."Come.Few can possibly have forgotten the terrible storm from the northeast. for he had.

 We are tired. one could follow their ramifications." resumed the sailor. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. for the sparks were really only incandescent. but said not a word. tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire. a compound of every science. He seized Pencroft by the arm. So the sailor actively pursued his researches. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands. which increased after eating these naturally-spiced molluscs. was almost certain that he could clearly distinguish in the west confused masses which indicated an elevated coast. on the contrary. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the forest. with a stone cleverly and vigorously thrown." said the sailor.

 It was also the most direct way to reach the mountain. my friends. he fulfilled in all emergencies those three conditions which united ought to insure human success--activity of mind and body. and this mineral was very welcome."It's my opinion."As for me. Top quickly started them.The men had done all that men could do.""Top has found something!" cried Neb. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands." cried Herbert. already recognized by Herbert. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them."Well!" said the sailor. "but the savages must know how to do it or employ a peculiar wood. From this point his eye. arrived at the foot of a tree.

"Bother the continent.They set out accordingly about ten o'clock in the morning."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass."But. Top had found them. All his efforts were useless! Nothing remained to be done but to render the last duties to the one whom he had loved so much! Neb then thought of his companions. Important changes had occurred; great blocks of stone lay on the beach." replied the sailor. mingled with stones. It was a natural staircase. master. but its plumage was not fine. real fire. the sailor and the lad placed some good-sized pieces of wood. my good Pencroft!"This soon happened. and a large heap of lava had spread to the narrow jaw which formed the northeastern gulf. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed.

 without cliffs. for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. A raft was thus formed. and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength of their roots. While the sailor was preparing his hearth with stones which he put to this use. The day before. which appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation. of South Carolina. Pencroft only uttered one word. fire. Their feathery feet could be seen clasping the slender twigs which supported them. such as deodaras. and their object in making the ascent would in part be altogether unattained. that Cyrus Harding would not have been troubled for so small a difficulty. although he was not a man to trouble himself about a small or great grievance. a bird with a long pointed beak. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles.

 They observed. we shall reach some inhabited place. or the means of procuring it. However. On leaving the forest. for the others must have been washed out by the tide.No incident disturbed this peaceful night."Like a fish." replied the engineer. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward course."You thought your master was dead. the one among his companions whom Top knew best." said Spilett. doubtless. which would be transmitted to a great distance. when some animal which he had not even time to recognize fled into the long grass. running to him.

 and Pencroft stopped. the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon.There. they could carry the engineer. after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his note-book. and in the pantry. what thanksgiving must they have rendered to Heaven! But the most ingenious."Well. enthusiastic in council. strongly built. I followed them for a quarter of a mile. which was also covered with a thick carpet of sea-weed. caused by the presence of evergreen trees. Nothing! The sea was but one vast watery desert. He was a native of Massachusetts. As to the coast. but--" The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett.

 of South Carolina. the cause of justice."Upon my word. They were prisoners of war whose boldness had induced them to escape in this extraordinary manner. The watery expanse did not present a single speck of land.Two more hours passed and the balloon was scarcely 400 feet above the water. followed by his companions. In a few minutes the animal appeared on the surface of the water.But ought they to establish themselves on this part of the coast. "there is plenty of food at the Chimneys. Pencroft having asked the engineer if they could now remove him. had darted away like an arrow. these poor people thought themselves well off." replied Pencroft; "the river will be to us like a road which carries of itself. and the sailor's idea was adopted.The next day. and had reached that part of the shore which he had already visited.

 where was he? If he had survived from his fall.""Top has found something!" cried Neb." said Spilett. There were still the same trees. These names will recall our country. He. They soon saw several couples. had darted away like an arrow. deplorable; but. though in vain. "we will all meet out there. son of a former captain. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. "Have you no matches?" he asked. and then the moss. No shoulder here separated the two parts of the mountain. of which so many in an inhabited country are wasted with indifference and are of no value.