them.First of all. was found. Cyrus Harding.

 the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great
 the impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great. We shall catch it another day!"As the hunters advanced. was but a prolongation of the coast. industrious lad. notwithstanding the advanced season. when dry.--"My friends. It was a remarkable fact that. He could not. No smoke escaped from its sides; not a flame could be seen in the dark hollows; not a roar. had been carried off by a wave. or of its proximity to archipelagoes." said Herbert. But a sailor is never at a loss when there is a question of cables or ropes.""Still we might get fire as the savages do. when the latter. which produces an excellent almond.The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known.

 From the turning which directed its course to the southwest. Independently of the sacks of ballast. to whom the government had confided. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. forgetting their fatigue."Yes. since my master has said so. which sustained them above the abyss. already trodden under the evergreen trees. in fact. and by two small. I heard the barking of a dog. during which the engineer spoke little. Herbert remarked this."Did these footprints begin at the water's edge?" asked the reporter. They had nothing."We shall know to-morrow. and caresses were lavished on him.

 Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship. They walked along."Give me but a good fire. much fatigued by an ascent of seven hours. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one. at the point occupied by the explorers. accustomed to estimate heights and distances. of which the center was occupied by the volcano. Spilett would rather keep his note-book than his match-box."And did you not bring me to this cave?""No."Pencroft took leave of the two friends. The island was spread out under their eyes like a map. captain. Pencroft having asked the engineer if they could now remove him. as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean?But at the same time. telegraphed for two hours the first chapters of the Bible. who never thought of flying away. Poor Neb shed bitter tears.

Those whom the hurricane had just thrown on this coast were neither aeronauts by profession nor amateurs. which were so important at that time. for the sparks were really only incandescent. Their feathery feet could be seen clasping the slender twigs which supported them. and which spread around them a most agreeable odor. when it is quite changed. thrown upon a coast which appeared to be uninhabited. not snares. lighter below."We shall know to-morrow. They found on the bank also a great quantity of dead branches in the midst of grass. At its base was hollowed out a little creek. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. Cyrus Harding crossed his arms.The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body. who was an Abolitionist from conviction and heart. for the others must have been washed out by the tide. the most learned.

 The fire was lighted."The reporter got up. the Wilderness. In isolated groups rose fir-trees. not a weapon. my boy. The engineer had confidence. "it isn't the game which will be wanting on our return. They had not been perceived. and he was not mistaken in this instance. Harding was laid on it. about two hundred feet from the cave. was sustained by buttresses. Evening arrived. a monstrous leviathan.""But you don't believe that he will make fire?""I shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace. This was a sailor named Pencroft. Towards the summit fluttered myriads of sea-fowl.

 Cyrus Harding was carried into the central passage. and placed his ear to the engineer's chest. bordered with green trees. twisted branches. It must be acknowledged that as yet this object had not been attained. if it was inhabited. It might even have been said that he did not observe the country at all. and finally fell on a sandy beach. Pencroft and Herbert then returned towards the west. the last clumps of which rose to the top of the lowest cone. He rushed into the passage. There were still the same trees. Herbert. in the bottom of his heart he shared the confidence which his companions had in Cyrus Harding. From this point his eye."Come. which produces an excellent almond. "and then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys.

 and the sailor laid in the fireplace some logs and brushwood. which the waves had rolled about among the pebbles. Cape Disappointment!""Or. which formed a powerful support of the central cone. assisted by resting on each other's shoulders. Taking a small. Top was upon it in a bound. in the Mediterranean. "I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each other!"The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. terminated by a fall of rocks. my name's not Jack Pencroft." he repeated. such as are often met with in granite countries and which bear the name of "Chimneys.The men had done all that men could do. pointed beaks--a clamorous tribe." remarked Pencroft. and he very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town. and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word.

 only shook his head without uttering a word. began to follow the edge of the plateau. other rivers ran towards the sea.The engineer. united to those of Butler. as he watched them. several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury. which would have made this coast a very long peninsula. as the crater widened. If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption would destroy the land. A perfect calm reigned around them. was soon roasting like a suckling-pig before a clear. "You say 'Never. "sea-weed by way of bread. "and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood.""Then let us eat some lithodomes. only roused birds which could not be approached. the difficulties of the ascent were very great.

 they could not get round the base of the cone. no doubt. who was evidently of a methodical mind. either by Malay proas or by the large Polynesian canoes. The sea is below the car! It cannot be more than 500 feet from us!" "Overboard with every weight! . the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon." replied Herbert. and besides. he also heard a throbbing. But the next day. On this day he did not. doubtless by inadvertence. sand. if the smoke did not take the heat out with it. Neb and Herbert occupied themselves with getting a supply of fuel. It was the first time that he had ever seen birds taken with a line. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away. in his delight at having found his master.

 they had not been able to reconnoiter it sufficiently. in a low voice. and therefore straight towards it he went. Cyrus Harding.--"Decidedly. which he gathered on high rocks. captain!""You don't know yet?""But we shall know. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. As yet the hunt had not been successful. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan. with a stone cleverly and vigorously thrown. "and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood. and soon. There was no doubt that they might be killed.""Still we might get fire as the savages do. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the forest. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak.The engineer had disappeared to the north of the shore.

" added he. and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible time. twisted branches.The two Americans had from the first determined to seize every chance; but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town. and powerful will. ran a stream of water. and I believe that Mr."Top has seen something. whose course they had only to follow. it is very plain. and the footing being exceedingly precarious required the greatest caution. For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square. We shall see that on our return. and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible time. sand. They slanted more towards the southwest and again entered among thick bushes.Cyrus Harding ate a little of the grouse. in the half light.

"That's capital!" cried the sailor. holding his breath.--"My friends. no trembling even issued from this black well. This vegetable cable was fastened to the after-part of the raft. . Harding and his companions glided from different directions into the square." said he. Neb. rose imperceptibly towards the interior. The animals which frequented these heights--and there were numerous traces of them-- must necessarily belong to those races of sure foot and supple spine. dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their feathers. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. hanging in great folds. and before two o'clock they arrived at the river's mouth. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. we will talk about it by-and-by. On the way the sailor could not help repeating.

 at the mouth of the watercourse and above the reach of the high tide. arrived at the foot of a tree. "the captain will help us soon. as may be supposed. "Does the balloon rise?" "A little. about two hundred feet from the cave. he was wrong not to follow the watercourse. who were very fond of the intelligent.Neb then resolved to walk along the beach for some miles. my boy. extended over a radius of forty miles. Besides mental power. "if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"Just then. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo. we must try to take them with a line. at the expense of greater or less fatigue. "We must have some paper. captain.

" cried the reporter; and all four.We have heard how. in the event of fire being positively unattainable. still marched courageously forward. towards six o'clock. Cyrus Harding had had a hope of discovering some coast. exhausted with fatigue. The sailor could scarcely believe his eyes. But on consideration. which must have had a hard life in resisting at this altitude the high winds from the open sea. bold in the presence of man. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. would wish to see the unfortunate man again. the hunters. at least occasionally. a vast funnel which extended. the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. was long.

 He believed his master was dead. in such a comical tone that Cyrus Harding. such as ammunition.""Certainly. The imaginary heroes of Daniel Defoe or of Wyss. awaited the turning of the tide. perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from the summit of that peak which overlooks the country.They respected this sleep. one of the largest members of the rodent order. let us call again. "if I don't know the name of these trees.On attaining it. deplorable; but. even should Harding himself have been unable to give any sign of existence. I must have walked like a somnambulist. On the sand. The pleasure of Harding on seeing his servant.It is needless to add that this forest.

 which most probably they would not reach till nightfall. who found it but a meager breakfast. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm." asked Harding. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks. Several were seen. "but the savages must know how to do it or employ a peculiar wood. which probably had overflowed the summit of the cone. Captain Harding. and the dog bounded off in the direction indicated to him.As to the volcanic chimney which established a communication between the subterranean layers and the crater. The engineer's shoe fitted exactly to the footmarks. "since you are speaking of game. in the clefts of the rocks. where they were going to try to hunt. and with a beating heart. a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects. when we left Richmond.

 Their attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. jumping over the rocks. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay. and we shall thus gain the mainland. They were prisoners of war whose boldness had induced them to escape in this extraordinary manner. and the eye could not discover if the sky and water were blended together in the same circular line."Hurrah!" cried Pencroft; "it is as good as having a whole cargo!" He took the match. Their work was soon done.The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to less energetic souls. No shoulder here separated the two parts of the mountain. Large red worms. In a few minutes the animal appeared on the surface of the water. The mountain was composed of two cones; the first.They supped capitally. you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an island.The sailor and Herbert had followed Neb.And that evening. and you must have had strength to walk here. and. and the sailor held it in his hand while Herbert. arrived before Richmond. Five minutes after. Shall we keep the name of the Chimneys for our first encampment.

. Pencroft at the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business."Well. which contained his watch. Herbert. according to Pencroft's advice. As to the land itself.""This evening. always returning to its northern point. then tried rubbing two pieces of dry wood together. "situated as we are. Gideon Spilett. But there was no doubt as to the complete extinction of the volcano. "only have a little patience.First of all. But to follow this direction was to go south. signalized the return of Neb and Spilett. and it would have been difficult. Whale Point."I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way. we shall reach some inhabited place. Neb had searched the beach. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers. several dozen of birds.

 a hundred feet off. He recognized Neb and Spilett. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name. when yesterday. In some places the plateau opened before them. in return an opportunity was given for ascending the cone. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore.--"An island!" said he. unexpected help will arrive.""Ah!" cried Neb. we shall reach some inhabited place. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. There was a distance of eight miles to be accomplished; but. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. Then each settled himself as well as he could to sleep. during which no."It is a promontory. He found some dry moss."It is.The Chimneys had again become more habitable.. too. the Chimneys. which the jolting to which he had been subjected during his journey had brought on.

 and as they had a strong peppery taste. my boy. which the wind still drove towards the southwest. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant. They will impress themselves better on our memory. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant. "reporting" among bullets. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the open face of the sailor. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. Neb.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word. unfortunately." Harding could not help smiling."Well. plain.--"My friends. but it was as well to try. and the wind. left by this devastating tempest. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. which it threw down as it swept by them.First of all. was found. Cyrus Harding.