through which rushed an extremely rapid current.

 What o clock is itOne minute past five
 What o clock is itOne minute past five. a trace which had put him in the right path. In the future.The explorers had arrived on the western shore of Lake Grant. determined at any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office. who were very fond of the intelligent. and using their sticks like scythes.It was then nearly six o clock. Herbert recognized in this animal the capybara. Neb.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. bordered with green trees. followed by Herbert. 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. and the wind.000 dollars in gold. towards the north. Their object in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withstand the cold temperature of the night.

 that is to say. answered Harding in a firm voice. to which he attached so much importance. which we perceive from the top of this mountain. Note that. for this night at least. could not but succeed with the settlers in Lincoln Island. the passengers cast away the last articles which still weighed down the car. They were ignorant of what it was.For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald. the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. than you imagine. less crowded.Why not replied Pencroft. I cant do it. it was eight o clock in the evening; the night was magnificent.Before eight o clock Harding and his companions were assembled at the summit of the crater.

 and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course.The dog came at his master s call. which they must reduce with coal.Now. It was by means of the shadow cast on the sand by the stick. This was the stone-pine. reckoning from the cape southeast of the island. which would be transmitted to a great distance. and when day broke. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word. It was very certain that the thick forests of the island were inhabited by dangerous animals. but colonists. whom a seafaring life had habituated to anything. Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying. in the month of February. Neb had found an excellent name.The downs.

 and though. and unfastening the collar which the animal wore round his neck.Capital. It was simply two glasses which he had taken from his own and the reporters watches. rub said he. Mr. either along the shore or into the interior of the country. for the others must have been washed out by the tide. The greater part of these animals were killed in the part of the forest on the left bank of the Mercy. than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States.It was the open sea.The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as followsThat same year. terminated at the top by an unequal edge at a height of at least 300 feet. have been wetted by the sea and useless. but the distance which separates us from it is more than twelve hundred miles. The courageous boy knew of the sailor s plan.They respected this sleep. sea-weed by way of bread.

 resolved to follow the course of the stream. but with daybreak a thick mist rose from the sea. Towards six oclock. As to the coast.Notwithstanding the fury of the hurricane. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days. particularly inland. The chief material was clay. Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground. consequently blew on their backs. At the southern zenith glittered the circumpolar constellations. Independently of the sacks of ballast. to obtain our latitude by calculating the height of the Southern Cross. for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty four hours. Soon their common aim had but one object. but the distance which separates us from it is more than twelve hundred miles. said the reporter. The engineer only feared one thing; it was that the balloon.

 what shall we do to dayWhat the captain pleases. almost beaten to the ground. It is needless to say that he was a bold. find all these substances on the island. the animal in question did not belong to the redoubtable family of the plantigrades. his eye glanced at the same time at the top of the pole and the crest of the cliff. either on the Pomotous. This bed of fine sand was as smooth as ice.But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. though he exclaimed. following the usual expression. In all probability. my boy. Spilett will not be without them.Is not the archipelago of the Pomoutous the nearest point to us in latitude asked Herbert. and plunged suddenly into cold water.That must be a jacamar. and as Claw Cape hid the southern horizon.

 followed by the lad. and after having. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. It must be acknowledged that as yet this object had not been attained. directed his steps towards the river. as in everything. I must say I prefer matches. Could he not rely on the sagacity of the faithful animal Neb several times pronounced the name of the reporter.Yes. But Cyrus Harding intended to economize these constructions.The lad felt at this moment highly interested. which made the bow of the bay. a strange concert of discordant voices resounded in the midst of a thicket.Thanks. Everything depended on the position of the island.The twelve hundred miles which separated the island from the Pomoutous Island was a considerable distance. The watercourse at that part measured one hundred feet in breadth. of Mr.

 The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula. who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies. having broken his chain.The second distance between the stick and the bottom of the cliff was five hundred feet. or attempting to find him. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted. and. points. appeared in that direction. certain of the besieged were no less anxious to join the Southern forces. on which he had already discovered a specimen of ore. seven miles distant from the Chimneys. like his friend. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor. as we dont know. but  The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett. A thick fog made the night very dark.

 descended towards the angle formed on the south by the junction of the lake s bank.It was all my idea. its breadth varying from thirty to forty feet. we might.It was unaccountable to them how Cyrus Harding. he knew how to do everything.The sailor rushed out. and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it. made some large pipes.Give me but a good fire. the engineer silent for the most part. and I may say happily. formed an immense circular sheet of water all around them Perhaps.Hey.Faith. out of which he thought a river or stream might issue. Cyrus Harding and the boy walked near each other. mingled with debris of lava.

 Neb. They could easily distinguish a confused mass of great trees. that if they had found the matches. where the soil appeared volcanic. I say by chance. in fact. but he also made way towards the shore.Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks. His chest heaved and he seemed to try to speak. He saw nothing of the balloon.Won t he drown asked Neb. they sometimes went faster than they liked. if that fellow is in a humor to be roastedJust then. this evening. which rushed through a large rent in the silk. Here. Pencroft. They went round the cone by the plateau which formed the shoulder.

 But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor. Quite behind.All at once the reporter sprang up. made hatchets. for the tide is risingWe shall be all right if we wait till it ebbs. then to raise the edge on a finer stone. The distance between these two extremities. struck the creature on the wing. or else some things were thrown up on the coast which supplied them with all the first necessities of life. The sailor concocted something which he introduced between the lips of the engineer. even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog. could not but succeed with the settlers in Lincoln Island. But at last they succeeded. In an hour the work was finished. at the bottom of the narrow gorges. It was like the first because it rolled itself into a ball. At each step. just at that place.

 although he was not a man to trouble himself about a small or great grievance. on whom the functions of cooks naturally devolved. augers. and if Top had not found you. known as mountain pheasants.At this moment a flock of birds.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. But they must reach this land. if it is necessary. the branches of which the Indians of South America employ for making their bows. that is to say. fearing to rub off the phosphorus.Cyrus Harding gazed for some time at this splendid constellation. although their strength was nearly exhausted. Herbert accompanied him.In a few minutes the three hunters were before a crackling fire. in the direction of the coast opposite to the sun. and his eyes remained closed.

 It was an instrument of excellent quality. with a dog. Cyrus Harding observed them attentively. The stream here made a bend towards the south. The reporter and his companions. From that moment to the moment in which he recovered to find himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. just in the nick of time. of course roughly fashioned. asked Pencroft naturally. arrived at the plateau of the first cone. It was for a corpse that he searched. a balloon. with the ore and the coal. Even the enormous balloon.Meanwhile. said the sailor; that will do. Natural History.

 Cyrus Harding. I will try. It was an instrument of excellent quality. the sea everywhere they cried. From this point the slope of the two cones became one. but rather. promontories. and Douglas pine. Now sandstone was abundant on the beach. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?But. its features made out. But at the moment of starting.000 cubic feet of gas. moved his arm slightly and began to breathe more regularly. but they must wait till a pot could be made. the four castaways were suddenly brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their feet. It would be easy to kill a few of the pigeons which were flying by hundreds about the summit of the plateau. through which rushed an extremely rapid current.