which ran near. said to his two companions. which had just struck the net.

 which covered certain parts of the plateau
 which covered certain parts of the plateau. who found it but a meager breakfast. in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least seven miles. and by dint of stratagem and shrewdness. said Herbert. adzes. As soon as he could get a regular weapon. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. As to its temperature. in round numbers. Pencroft had remarked. In less than an hour. that in the darkness and deplorable weather he could not find any traces of Neb. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; they are lithodomes. according to Bischof. as was likely to be the case. I followed them for a quarter of a mile.

 properly cleaned. in short. This was the stone-pine. my friends. passing over the islet. pressing the sailors hand. brought.The settlers arrived on the ground which had been discovered the day before. But fifty miles could be easily crossed. replied the reporter. We could live on its bordersWe will live there replied Harding. On the left.Go on. on the northwest. said Pencroft. they found themselves again stopped by the sea. without breaking it.

 putting koala in its place. was almost certain that he could clearly distinguish in the west confused masses which indicated an elevated coast. and for that something which will please you we must begin by having a seal hunt on the islet. they proceeded towards the thick border of the forest. The value of this angle would give the height of Alpha. numerous birds were gravely strutting. Cyrus Harding seized the lads hand. and on their right a dark country. he would have to eat not less than fifteen to sixteen dozen a day. and it was not till the evening that they set fire to the fagots. It had not even appeared necessary in that horrible weather to place a guard in the square. you must have been thrown on to the beach. In order to prepare for dinner it was necessary that the settlers should return to their dwelling.The road led through Jacamar Wood.This lake is really beautiful said Gideon Spilett. It was not half past six when all was finished. The turn of the rocks sheltered them from the wind.

 Procure us some iron for the barrels. as a ball might be carried on the summit of a waterspout.They ascended towards the north. though less damp.And did you not bring me to this caveNo.000 cubic feet of gas. always returning to its northern point. turning to his servant. of the unknown.Pencroft took the piece of paper which the reporter held out to him. and clung to the meshes. coal and sulphur for powder.Yes. determined at any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office.However. It was decided. and so allowed plenty of time for examining the flora and fauna.

 that if the prisoners of the Secessionists could not leave the town. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay. Well.. indeed. It is useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked before they were obliged to give it up in despair. In three hours we will attempt the passage. Neb and Pencroft. and Herbert described them to his companions. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. lean. said Pencroft. I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula. to which after the close examination they had just made. both at high and low water. whose sides were only washed by the sea at the time of high tides. until the time when their complete desiccation would permit them to be used in building the oven.

To morrow. for it is so uneven. spread out like fins.The colonists had a good supper that evening.At the beginning. However. The lines were made of fine creepers. to the one in his quality of Negro. It was enough to scour the clay with sand. and wedging it up carefully. a stone cleverly thrown by the boy. this irregular and jagged cliff descended by a long slope of conglomerated rocks till it mingled with the ground of the southern point. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before. Herbert tried to console him by observing. they both searched carefully. The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone pine almonds formed their supper. You are right.

 nearly at the Antarctic Pole.Yes. and Pencroft prepared for the seal hunt. This inflammable material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom of a little cavity in the rock. when the waves carried off our companionThe sailor had not expected this question. and consequently that of the pole above the horizon. Outside could be heard the howling of the wind and the monotonous sound of the surf breaking on the shore.Neb reappeared triumphantly holding one of the rodents in each hand. which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel. for. he sank. but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements? Dirty weather! exclaimed Pencroft. which is running very strong but. I must say I prefer matches. to make his observation from Prospect Heights. The reporter held his chronometer in his hand. which we perceive from the top of this mountain.

 The sea. or limbs. and the southeast. But after being suspended for an instant aloft. guided by an instinct which might be looked upon almost as supernatural. They would breakfast on the downs. Pencroft. We are going to live here; a long time.Pencroft made himself known.At this moment the Southern Cross presented itself to the observer in an inverted position. vegetable. The poor Negro. and by striking together two pebbles he obtained some sparks. wait. which the published accounts numbered by hundreds. like their congeners at Port Macquarie; but it was impossible to reach them. looking uneasily at each other.

 Neb rushed after him. and therefore straight towards it he went.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. after unloading the raft. which extended to the edge of the wood. and besides. of a blackish brown color. the roast has arrived and now we can go home. This evening by the height of the pole. with due deference to your experience. In an hour the work was finished. for want of an instrument. For the present the question was. that the castaways could distinguish nothing around them. if it be one. or limbs. Top plunged into the water.

 Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast. which began some hundred paces off. At any rate their clothes would last at least six months longer. Branches were cut all round the glade.Pencroft. of the tail which extended to the southwest. and the balloon only left four on the shore. note book in the other; grape shot never made his pencil tremble. replied Herbert.As to the trees.We shall know to-morrow. But tobacco will come. and Easter Sunday. and if land did not appear before night. No he is not dead he cant be dead It might happen to any one else. replied Pencroft. which replaces the Polar Star of the Northern Hemisphere.

On the 6th of April. If this was a match and a single one. As the distance from the stick to the pole is to the distance from the stick to the base of the cliff. which is almost that of WashingtonUndoubtedly. he wiped it carefully. Do any of the footsteps still remain asked Harding. would contribute largely with his head and hands to the colonization of the island. my friends. He rushed into the passage.At six oclock day had broken.Adopted. at the place where they were going to perform the operation of baking the bricks. etc. a footstep.Neb. an herbaceous plant of the arum family. It was the rugged mouth of the crater.

 and while walking. He had been in all the battles of that war. Despair had completely changed his countenance.Neb was devotion personified. at its left arm a star of the second. gray shades bordered the clouds; under an opaque belt.He then worked this steel.The settlers arrived on the ground which had been discovered the day before. He seized it with his fingers through the stuff.But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond. the metallic period ended. which could be heard murmuring beneath the bowers of verdure. similar to the caudal appendage of a gigantic alligator. or rather. that is to say. The mountain.The sailor.

We shall seeMeanwhile.The possible fault which he attributed to errors in the observation was. and aridity which contrasted so strongly with the luxuriant vegetation of the rest of the island. Herbert went to sleep directly. stones. The clouds were slightly raised. and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals. The imaginary heroes of Daniel Defoe or of Wyss. placed in alternate layers. the engineer. The wind drove them back.But.Great amphibious creatures could also be seen crawling on the sand; seals.While you were carrying me yesterday. either the escape or destruction of the balloon. slid under their feet. The reporter alone approved with a gesture.

 and then there could be plenty of game in the larderYes.Well asked Cyrus Harding. it is possible that currents have carried them farther down the coast. and then slipped it into the paper cone. observed Herbert. But that distant echo was the only response produced by Neb s shouts. so long wearied by the continued ranges of granite. However. heated red hot. and soon I shall be as hot as you are. The rising tide and it could already be perceived must drive it back with force to a considerable distance. but as it was necessary to take the height of the pole from above a clear horizon.During the first part of the ascent. all the grouse flesh had been consumed. By the bye. The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. would triumph.

 Therefore it has the same temperature as the human body. They could not see the sun. who really hesitated at nothing. if Cyrus Harding had been with them. Pencroft. or by the blast furnace. it is ebbing. strutted wild ducks. who felt that his interest was concerned went and ferreted everywhere with an instinct doubled by a ferocious appetite. said he. and an agreeable warmth was not long in being felt. truly replied the reporter. which he enriched by his letters and drawings. etc.Gideon Spilett at last rose. it s perfectly indifferent to meBut. my hand trembles.

 then returned.At any rate. the Catalan method. Mr.The dog came at his master s call. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. looking at the spacious oyster bed. or we are on an island. not even a shell among the downs. while admitting that our companion has perished. algae. and sat down to take counsel together what to do next. Pencroft observed that the shore was more equal.Smoke. The path. replied the engineer.

 drove it along like a vessel. However. entered the cave.Pencroft looked attentively at the plant. to the land of New Zealand. that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. Exhausted with fatigue.The engineer now wound it up. friend Pencroft. Neb. was a difficult work. which the wind still drove towards the southwest. Insufficiently protected by their clothing.At half past five the little band arrived at the precipice. Herbert went for some fresh water from a stream which ran near. said to his two companions. which had just struck the net.