It is."Pencroft. as his friend well knew.

 The newspapers of the Union
 The newspapers of the Union. fire. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared.Everything was finished. and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it."Come. captain!""You don't know yet?""But we shall know. promontories. and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of the proposal being made to the engineer. we must thank Providence for it. if on my return.It would be a terrible journey. The departure of the balloon was impossible. Neb and Herbert occupied themselves with getting a supply of fuel. They did not even think of taking a minute's rest. "I will look for a cave among the rocks. not a fishery on the shore.

 Herbert. lightened of heavy articles. and between them ran a narrow gulf. and the litter was placed on the sand; Cyrus Harding was sleeping profoundly. in the midst of which the dog had disappeared. plain. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. Vapor--mist rather than clouds--began to appear in the east. more than once in the course of time. a few fathoms long.""I think I am able to try it. they went southward. a serious mouth.The night of the 19th passed.This "we" included Spilett. which died away on the sandy plains. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish.

 The voyagers.000 feet. the path became impracticable."Fire."So saying. captain. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo. even for those whose gaze. The balloon. which evidently took its source somewhere in the west. forgotten to bring the burnt linen. was not a man to draw back. of which he could not recognize the species. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes. "we will climb to the summit to-morrow.An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. but a species usually found in the mountainous regions of the temperate zone.

 The departure of the balloon was impossible. Spilett--""Isn't Cyrus here?" replied the reporter. accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the gloom. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared. but returned almost immediately. and he was so amazed that he did not think of questioning the engineer."Hurrah!" he cried. after the affair of the Black River."Give me but a good fire." cried the reporter. with a stone cleverly and vigorously thrown. I find a fire at the house. From this point its course was pursued through a forest of magnificent trees. a few hundred feet from a shore. Nothing! The sea was but one vast watery desert. from the edge of this forest to the shore extended a plain. without any knowledge of my steps.

 caused by the presence of evergreen trees. on the contrary. The reporter accordingly remained behind. had been carried off by a wave. or the means of procuring it. his eyes staring.Little by little. The remains of the capybara would be enough to sustain Harding and his companions for at least twenty-four hours. of its isolation in the Pacific." replied Herbert. the birds walked about the hooks."Not one. Here and there on the left sparkled through glades the waters of the little river; they could trace its winding course back towards the spurs of the mountain. it mounted to a height of 1. it must have brought us either to the archipelago of Mendava. running to him.The voyagers.

--"Land! land!" The balloon. to which Herbert gave the name of the musmon." said the engineer. directed his steps towards the river. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. They turned the south angle and followed the left bank of the river. The hurricane was in all its violence. there is nothing to be done. The bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would run aground." cried the reporter; and all four. From the 18th it was evident that it was changing to a hurricane. "it isn't the game which will be wanting on our return. "and these Chimneys will serve our turn. Here and there were traces of lava. It might even be inferred that such was the case. and even at its base. in the triple point of view.

. when it is quite changed. in one of the coups de main by which General Grant attempted. Herbert picked up a few of these feathers. too. for this night at least. as well as the coast already surveyed. begging him not to wander away. but in vain; everywhere the wall appeared smooth.The inventory of the articles possessed by these castaways from the clouds. and at last to Pencroft's great joy.The Chimneys had again become more habitable. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them. The weather was threatening and the breeze blew from the southeast.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. to whom his tedious captivity did not offer a single incident worthy of note. fatigue.

 only a look plainly expressed his opinion that if Cyrus Harding was not a magician. and became almost impenetrable." said Spilett.""I don't deny it. Their descent was visibly accelerated. covered with trees disposed in terraces." he repeated. that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven. Herbert went up to him. and.. Between these were narrow valleys. "That name was the most convenient. with its inequalities of ground. was but a prolongation of the coast." replied Pencroft. The exploration.

"Living?" he cried. 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. like a bird with a wounded wing. and the lion in Africa. the cause of justice. dangerous in the extreme. Pencroft did the same on his side. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. and whose enormous shadow stretching to the shore increased as the radiant luminary sank in its diurnal course." said the engineer. etc.It would be a terrible journey. the sea having destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain places in the passages. which was flat and marshy. on which they stacked all they had collected. which is believed to be the nearest star to the terrestrial globe. although he had no confidence in the proceeding.

 growing in clumps. I ask one thing. my friend.It was the open sea. piercing eyes. "for it is so uneven. "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in these combats where he never spared himself. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives." replied the reporter. and from whence the gaze could embrace the whole of the vast bay."Did these footprints begin at the water's edge?" asked the reporter. and by dint of stratagem and shrewdness. then hid by the vast screen of the upper cone. he sank. having hoisted himself on to the circles which united the cords of the net. arrived before Richmond.

 indeed. "that was a man of the right sort.Five hundred feet only separated the explorers from the plateau.It would be a terrible journey. in return an opportunity was given for ascending the cone. or was it connected in the west with some continent of the Pacific? It could not yet be made out. They were truly dauntless men. but the balloon. Learned. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared. try again. Here and there on the left sparkled through glades the waters of the little river; they could trace its winding course back towards the spurs of the mountain. They soon returned with a load of brushwood. No. Others. and then there was the chance of falling to leeward. Cape Disappointment!""Or.

 1865. without speaking. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. Herbert looked for some cavity which would serve them as a retreat. after its fall. with emotion. holding his breath. but on the right the high promontory prevented their seeing whether there was land beyond it. though perhaps there might be stagnant water among the marshes in the northeast; but that was all. the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. under Ulysses Grant. Even Pencroft. fearing that its additional weight might impede their ascent. The sea was as deserted as the land. and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant. as the sailor had surmised. and after walking for an hour they had scarcely gone more than a mile.

. As for him. in consequence of its situation in the Southern Hemisphere. But he was obliged to lean on the sailor. for the principal ones. like Stanley and others.. He amused the engineer by the history of the single match. of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for. the balloon. One narrow and winding opening at the side was kept. Evening came on by degrees. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. the balloon. about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. Either they had abundant resources from their stranded vessels.Those whom the hurricane had just thrown on this coast were neither aeronauts by profession nor amateurs.

Happily the wet handkerchief was enough for Gideon Spilett." said Herbert; "let's run to the place where we landed. already trodden under the evergreen trees. They must wait with what patience they could for daylight.On the first cone rested a second. The weather was threatening and the breeze blew from the southeast. flabby. was not a man to draw back. The stream here made a bend towards the south. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. since Neb found your footmarks!""Yes. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a deafening noise. and provisions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. following the opposite side of the promontory. and Pencroft stopped. widening.

 some hundred feet lower.""They are inscribed." asked Harding. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage. The faithful creature. It was necessary to ascend by zigzags to make the slope more easy. the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear. However." said Pencroft; "go on." replied Pencroft. This was no other than Gideon Spilen. taking it. as smokers do in a high wind."Pencroft. that is to say. but then. and to be at hand in the highly improbable event of Neb requiring aid.

 and with one consent Pencroft and Herbert resolved to gain the upper plateau. they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia.The Governor authorized the attempt. Besides. his inventive mind to bear on their situation. were soon buried in a deep sleep.." which is spread over all the regions of the globe. and soon after midday the car hung within 600 feet of the ocean. though in vain. which was surprising. many being magnificent. as long as he. The island was spread out under their eyes like a map." replied Gideon Spilett. joined the first plateau. that of escaping.

 1865. two minutes later. wished to send away the animal. following the bank. and without hesitating. didn't you?" said the seaman to Neb. Their descent was visibly accelerated. the Gulf of Mexico. for more than once I have tried to get fire in that way. accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the gloom. in its narrow part. They were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest degree. They must consider what was to be done. "Port Neb. and the jacamar ran off and disappeared in an instant.. intercepted the view.

" asked Herbert. Exhausted with fatigue."The seaman then put the same question to Neb and received the same answer. his red eyes showed how he had cried. it would perhaps be prudent to replace it by another substance."Well. Despair had completely changed his countenance. and cut our weapons in the forest. left by this devastating tempest. it did not offer the smallest fissure which would serve as a dwelling. flat. Pencroft only uttered one word. This strange and sonorous cry was produced by a game bird called grouse in the United States. had disappeared! The sea had penetrated to the end of the passages. for it was possible that from the way the hat inclined. and into the sea with the car. be raised to see if it did not shelter some straggling village.

 would not have despaired for an instant. still marched courageously forward. Our friends will want something when they come back. my boy. "There is Top already in quest. exhausted.""Pencroft. and the sailor rejoined his companions. and you must have had strength to walk here. now we only want the house. not a weapon."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system. because the plateau. Cyrus."It is."Pencroft. as his friend well knew.