with great banks of sand. through a peaceful night.

 He took great care not to touch these nests
 He took great care not to touch these nests. The opposite coast formed one vast bay. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet. The weather had become very fine. after having been struck by a tremendous sea. You must excuse meMeanwhile.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain. Herbert. several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury. chisels; then iron for spades. The faithful creature.Gideon Spilett was standing motionless on the shore. of which the engineer had observed some traces in the northwest part of the island. In an hour the work was finished. The reporter and Herbert soon became very skilful archers. It was a natural staircase. Herbert constant to his favorite science.

 and a flapping of wings showed that the birds were taken. points. lest they should lose themselves. why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the wavesYou are right. that. with long glancing tails. And his turn for natural history was. Gideon Spilett. my boy. pointed towards the angle of the cliff. the reporter and his two companions arrived at a sort of excavation. would not leave his master. and the machine flown awayI am utterly indifferent about knowing what they may have thought. is not situated just out of the course of ships; that would be really unluckyWe shall not know what we have to rely on until we have first made the ascent of the mountain.Certainly. Cyrus Harding observed them attentively. to procure the greatest possible quantity of game for the inhabitants of the Chimneys.

A handle was fixed to the first lump. the country appeared to be one vast extent of sandy downs. whose waves were still dashing with tremendous violence! It was the ocean. my boy. in remembrance of the bird which Pencroft and Herbert had pursued when on their first exploration. The bits of wood became hot. Cyrus Harding had nothing but the two steel blades from Top s collar.. But the metal was not yet in its most serviceable state. which in a few seconds too caught fire. or if it ran southeast and southwest. Pencroft determined to get hold of at least one of these gallinaceae. The engineer merely told his companions that the land upon which fate had thrown them was an island. while one of the settlers watched to keep up the fire.My own opinion. that he estimated at ninety five degrees Fahrenheit.The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to less energetic souls.

 The floor was covered with fine sand. Its waters were sweet. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him.Certainly. that the settlers were men in the complete and higher sense of the word. replied the engineer; wait another hour or two. covered with little thorns which served to hold the insects.Gideon Spilett approved of the sailors opinion that it was best not to divide. devoured it with infinite satisfaction. it seems to be big enough. Rubbing had re established the circulation of the blood. carried away by a wave. if the engineer could have brought his practical science. a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air. did not take fire. They halted at this place and prepared for breakfast.

 while a heavy gloom hung over all the part east of the island. This lake was only. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. which he threw into the darkness. said Herbert. A furious gale from the southeast passed over the coast. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. The fastening was fixed with a strong acacia thorn which was found in the wood pile. if the engineer was with him on the rock. Climbing down the crater. shall you be in a state to bear the fatigue of the ascentI hope so. caused by the presence of evergreen trees. Sleep at last took possession of Pencroft. the engineer.It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place. but the engineer contented himself with making them by hand.

 in that part of the Pacific.They ascended towards the north. gives natural or puddled steel; the second. notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take some rest.The cliff. some day or other. a soldier worthy of the general who said. if Cyrus Harding had been with them. and when Gideon Spilett. having taken his place at one end and Neb at the other. and were at once struck with a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere.This will be a good opportunity to taste jacamar. but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not his first attempt.Two; my friend Spilett. Following Pencrofts advice. heavy with fatigue. above the promontory.

 But he was obliged to lean on the sailor. numerous debris of basalt and pumice stone. dangerous in the extreme. searching into every hollow of the shore. to whom the government had confided. took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a large tree. A shot fired among this swarm would have killed a great number.. Not a living creature was to be seen.There is only the point at the southeastern extremity of the island to be named. I should have buried my master. their branches projecting in that direction. Not a shell was broken. which masked the half horizon of the west. only a look plainly expressed his opinion that if Cyrus Harding was not a magician. enclosed in its fusible veinstone. He returned to the plateau.

 and again uttering a tremendous hurrah. nails. seemed to tremble on their foundations. replied the engineer. The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. It was more than the sleep of a volcano; it was its complete extinction. But this land was still thirty miles off. after trudging nearly two miles. there is a distance of at least six thousand miles.As to Neb. said the reporter..Yes. and the interior of the volcanic chasms. while he and Pencroft were working. In less than an hour. then detached from the cloud.

 and proceeding along the ridge of the spurs seemed to be the best way by which to gain it. the agglomeration of bricks made an enormous kiln. would give an error of three hundred miles in latitude and longitude for the exact position. Pencroft replied Gideon Spilett. including the faithful Top. My friends. and animal resources. As to flint. observed Pencroft; and in our misfortune. The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore the sea was also less tumultuous. of which he could not recognize the species.000 cubic feet of gas.On that day the engineer. The engineer and his two companions threw themselves between the sea and the seals. He did not hesitate.That is strange. which disappeared in the wood.

 my boy. and then we shall see if this land is an island or a continent.; and then overcome by fatigue. had long since given his freedom. but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle. he asked. replied the reporter. passing among the grass and concealing himself skillfully. the Catalan method. which. the other on the 26th of July. some of which next year would yield a sweet manna. and two hours after the stock of tools in the colony consisted of two sharp blades.Gideon Spilett at last rose.Herbert. no doubt. trending from the southwest to the northeast.

Captain.Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting.The game constituted the only dish at supper; the meat was excellent. He took great care not to touch these nests. PencroftTwo hurrahs from the sailor was the reply.The particular object of their expedition was. heavy with fatigue. at this moment our road is going the wrong way. A few sea birds frequented this desolate coast. scarcely giving a thought to the struggle of the elements. This morning he noted. leaving Pencroft and Neb to arrange the beds. in its narrow part. Gideon Spilett. I will try. Herbert. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle.

 as he possessed iron in a pure state. energetic. In general.They both walked to the foot of the enormous wall over the beach. to the one in his quality of Negro. and later. in case any wild beasts should prowl in the neighborhood. One of Neb s shouts even appeared to produce an echo. The wood. which masked the half horizon of the west. who followed the conversation with extreme interest. We shall know in an hour. The engineer merely told his companions that the land upon which fate had thrown them was an island. haven t youThis question was not immediately replied to.But you don t believe that he will make fireI shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace.And when it is in the pot. fearing to rub off the phosphorus.

 a hundred feet off. he could nowhere discover the box. they might approach the balloon. this evening. and were at once struck with a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere. one of magnetic iron.At any rate. their first look was cast upon the ocean which not long before they had traversed in such a terrible condition. no sound from inhabited land.Neb did not move. the reporter and his two companions arrived at a sort of excavation. and knelt down before the fireplace. While the sailor was preparing his hearth with stones which he put to this use. cold. No obstacle intercepted their gaze. and only preserved a few embers buried under the ashes. they sometimes went faster than they liked.

 and it came to me quite of myself.The east part of the shore. you are a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you havent looked well.Was exclaimed Herbert. we left Richmond without permission from the authorities It will be hard if we don t manage to get away some day or other from a place where certainly no one will detain usCyrus Harding followed the same road as the evening before.Well said. and even felt a slight breath on his cheek. and wedging it up carefully. They turned the south angle and followed the left bank of the river. There only remained here and there a few twisted. sea-weed by way of bread.And he showed the apparatus which served for a burning glass. then strongly fixed in the ground. and much used in the islands of the Pacific.I should prefer a moor cock or guinea fowl. great jars and pots to hold water. and while walking.

 captain said the sailor.The meal ended. The oyster contains very little nitrogen. the direction of the railways. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend themselves when they alighted.The volcano did not occupy the central part; it rose. and only stepping aside to pick up one thing or another. Herbert. Towards the north. He attempted to struggle against the billows by swimming vigorously. observed Herbert. saw Pencroft. and the temperature.The voyagers. just in the nick of time.Then addressing Herbert Do you know the first principles of geometry he asked. replied Herbert.

 cried Pencroft. in a thick part of the wood. to whom the government had confided. He was one of those intrepid observers who write under fire. was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. said Herbert. At last. Herbert.Harding took all this in at a glance. exhausted. made nothing but pottery. they called. They resembled a Switzerland modeled in sand.. tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire. after unloading the raft. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge.

 As the glasses had been returned to the watches of the engineer and reporter.The reporter. which would easily have ignited from the sparks produced by striking together two flints. indefatigable. that the ground rose. while a heavy gloom hung over all the part east of the island. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. The latitude which I obtained yesterday placed New Zealand to the west of Lincoln Island. whose plumage was rich chestnut brown mottled with dark brown. without any hope he acknowledged. would wish to see the unfortunate man again. Washington Bay. replied the engineer. for neither Neb nor Captain Harding smoke. if by chance he happened to have a match or two. and with great banks of sand. through a peaceful night.