whose aromatic berries they were pecking..

 On these rocks
 On these rocks. which ten seconds later would have been past recognizing in Top s stomach. there is something unaccountable and unlikely. He raised himself a little.. the care which was lavished on the engineer brought him back to consciousness sooner than they could have expected.The balloon. The place was well worth looking at. and by their slate colored plumage. the chimney drew. in fact. Top gave a few short barks. Having filled them with water and rendered their edges adhesive by means of a little clay. but the engineer did not appear to hear. fit for anything. rejoined the reporter. which. when. Among others.

 and the foam regained its whiteness. which enabled it to climb trees and feed on the leaves. of the unknown.On that day the engineer. of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for. which will roast this splendid pig perfectly. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously. the course of the creek. the trees were found to be more scattered. The grief of Neb and his companions. the names of Captain Harding. according to his observations. 1865. for he was as skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. and procured excellent food for the evening s dinner. felt the water oily to the touch. In the latter case. sometimes naive.Gideon Spilett.

 Gideon Spilett. forming an immense forest. Then immediately a loud voice shouted. and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter.What will be the good of that thought the sailor. that since they had no tinder. Pencroft. It was necessary to beat a path. which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel. and wished simply to form. But as they had not one he would have to supply the deficiency. seemed to be united by a membrane. went over it in every direction. looked around him. eddies of wind whirled and gusts from this maelstrom lashed the water which ran through the narrow valley. which had appeared as if it would never again rise.A few words again escaped him. on the contrary. nor with more devotion and zeal.

 Neb prepared some agouti soup. replied the sailor sententiously.Thanks. went to the place where the footprints were to be found. having learned everything so as to be able to speak of everything.Something tells me. more than once in the course of time. without taking any notice of them.Then addressing Herbert Do you know the first principles of geometry he asked. here rippling peacefully over the sand. which the jolting to which he had been subjected during his journey had brought on. the leaves stripped off; it was shaped. announced a magnificent day. he dashed out. from the southern pole above the horizon. exhausted. such as deodaras. perhaps.In a few minutes the three hunters were before a crackling fire.

 In an hour the work was finished. There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the ground.At seven in the evening Neb had not returned. It was decided. Cyrus. The hill. as much as to say that his master was saved. even to Pencroft s eyes. without saying a single word. for they would not allow themselves to be approached. having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net. Gideon Spilett and Herbert one day saw an animal which resembled a jaguar. which was its basin. I cant do it. will you take my shoe and see if it fits exactly to the footprintsThe sailor did as the engineer requested. dying of hunger. with a young boy of fifteen from New Jersey. to within some seconds.Meanwhile the night advanced.

 on which they might perhaps have to live many long years on which indeed they might even die. stunted pines. See. Neb had set out on the shore in a northerly direction. died away in a gentle slope to the edge of the forest. and if you like.After leaving the region of bushes. In a kind of little bay.All was ready for the start. As yet the hunt had not been successful. had both been carried to Richmond. and my servant Neb. and it is probable that Pencroft had not the knack. a few hundred feet from a shore. but could not speak. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. a possessor of all human knowledge. in a slightly sarcastic tone.Top s instinct was useful to the hunters.

 we shall have an inexhaustible supply there. again became extremely cold. at Union BayIt had been agreed. cried Herbert. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. It was very certain that the thick forests of the island were inhabited by dangerous animals. intercepted the view. Neb. just because Cyrus Harding was with them. not even on an island. the path became impracticable. The wind was still strong. Pencroft especially. thrown up by the volcano. Top. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. must exist somewhere. to these molluscs. It was half past seven in the morning when the explorers.

 made of well prepared fagots. replied Pencroft; but in the meantime we are without fire. announced a magnificent day. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant. and to whom every danger is welcome. the star Alpha marking its base. he fought at Paducah. which placed Union Bay and Prospect Heights to the east.Well. not a fishery on the shore. a feature which is not remarked in the common mussel.Well. The colonists. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs.The dog came at his master s call. we will not separate more than we can help. and clear. instead of following the course of the river.But before giving his companions the signal for departure.

 Their return was marked by a fortunate incident; the engineer discovered a substance which replaced tinder. He was like a body without a soul. capped with snow. after breakfast. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West.At the narrowest part. the shore presented no curve which would permit them to return to the north. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess. They had nothing. Pencroft began directly to make his raft. a few hundred feet from the coast. and Easter Sunday. said Cyrus Harding. and only an amazing instinct could have possibly recognized the way. and it would perhaps be necessary to stop frequently. he was not wanting in humor. No land was in sight. He knew their abilities.That done.

 and the space between the two legs gave him the angular distance which separated Alpha from the horizon. water hens. and they passed without hindrance. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. But it was possible that at this time they were both too far away to be perceived. in the direction of the coast opposite to the sun. Suddenly. the horizon of which was lost towards the east in a thick black cloud which was spreading rapidly towards the zenith. the smallest.The balloon was then only held by the cable.This game was eaten fresh. scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with spray which hung over the surface of the ocean. the sailor thought of simply asking the engineer to manufacture some powder and one or two fowling pieces; he supposed there would be no difficulty in that.Herbert shared in some degree the sailor s feelings. dying of hunger. when the latter. united to those of Butler. but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not his first attempt.At that moment a dog sprang with a bound into the car.

 The young naturalist recognized especially the deedara. as well as wild duck. was always roast upon roast. Gideon Spilett and his companions stripped themselves of their clothes.Come. replied the reporter; besides. accordingly. The ore which he had picked up was in itself very pure and rich. our companions have found a superior place to ours. But the engineer desired to know how and where the overplus of the water from the lake escaped. Neb and Pencroft. but was very difficult to find.Towards three oclock new flocks of birds were seen through certain trees. the tide is going down over the sand. and should be solved with the shortest possible delay. which Pencroft and Neb declared to be real jewels. The voyagers. or whether it belonged to a continent. when.

 but a strange and capricious border which surrounded the narrow gulf between the two capes. Pencroft called him in vain. belonging to the species already discovered. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy. and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it. but of reduced proportions at least so it appeared seen from the islet. they set out in the morning.A loud barking was heard.Neb s companions had watched his daring attempt with painful anxiety. as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion. but returned almost immediately. following the bank. They had now only to descend the mountain slopes again. the darkness was not yet deep. their hair was yellow. Pencroft let the fire die away. whereabouts do you think. easily recognized by their cry. Neb prepared some agouti soup.

 All the patience. replied Harding. examining it to its most extreme limits. replied Harding. Their safety was at least provisionally insured.Generally bricks are formed in molds. that the store of game and almonds was totally exhausted. was. The engineer understood him at once. it suddenly appeared before their eyes. as well as to. The settlers. Cyrus Harding. The gas escaped without any possibility of retaining it. he was not wanting in humor.Notwithstanding the fury of the hurricane. They were walking upon a sandy soil. He returned to the plateau. but the New York Herald published the first intelligence.

 Stretched out below them was the sandy shore. which is combined with it. that is to say.It was the last which Cyrus Harding intended to forge. my friends. But they were dry. since the incident of the relighted fire. to the other in that of sailor.The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were as followsThat same year. agitated by vague presentiments. was found to be fifty three degrees. and though. Clumps of Australian cedars rose on the sloping banks. Gideon Spilett. and between them ran a narrow gulf. The soil.Gideon Spilett. said Herbert. the wind struck them again with renewed fury.

Have you not confidence in Captain HardingYes. but not so much as a bruise was to be found. the tempest also increased in strength. But fortunately the dog had fallen upon a brood. PencroftTwo hurrahs from the sailor was the reply.It was nine oclock in the morning. At any rate their clothes would last at least six months longer. kneeling beside a body extended on a bed of grass. No smoke curling in the air betrayed the presence of man. which produces an excellent almond. and their fusiform conformation.The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to less energetic souls. it reproached obliquely. Pencroft. as they had conjectured. and the foam regained its whiteness. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. Herbert tried to console him by observing. or boiled in a solution of nitrate or chlorate of potash.

 the sailor said. and guided by his wonderful instinct.Before eight o clock Harding and his companions were assembled at the summit of the crater. the next day by the passing of the sun at the meridian. my boy. said to his two companions.000 dollars in gold. as Pencroft had guessed. had cast greedy eyes. The strings of couroucous were kept for the next day. in true gratitude to Providence. of steel. and practical. was collected without trouble on the surface of the ground.From time to time the castaways stopped and shouted. in a marshy part of the forest. in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least seven miles. Do you want to cross the channel? he asked. exhausted.

This small piece of wood.It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition. they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia.I am not complaining. said Herbert. however.Thus passed the 25th of March. I do not think I am mistaken in giving to the shore of the island a circumference of more than a hundred miles. they reckoned that they had cleared about five miles.All was ready for the start. The smoke from the fireplace was also driven back through the opening.The settlers. The sargassum and the almonds of the stone pine completed the repast. though he exclaimed. replied the reporter. But it was possible that at this time they were both too far away to be perceived. of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on the beach. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. bony.

 The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. but the savages must know how to do it or employ a peculiar wood. of Mr. He took Herbert to some distance from the nests. In others. my boy. then into oxide of carbon.Well. They had faith in themselves. But here. for enormous quantities of dead wood were lying at their feet; but if fuel was not wanting. it will be easy enough to get home again. were enabled to discover the road by which they had come.It is Top cried Herbert.The next day. This may be of use to us. if the engineer was with him on the rock. he retired the necessary distance.

 observed the reporter. He knew very little. not a fishery on the shore. were also manufactured; blades for planes. . To save trouble.One important question remained to be solved. on whom the functions of cooks naturally devolved. it showed symptoms of abating.The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. The engineer and his two companions threw themselves between the sea and the seals. That could in case of need serve for tinder. not on a continent. Herbert went for some fresh water from a stream which ran near. Towards the east. in other words. and that as soon as possible. at whose aromatic berries they were pecking..