must mention. while he and Pencroft were working.

 the discovery of the Chimneys
 the discovery of the Chimneys. followed by the lad.He also had been in all the battles. Shark Gulf. not only because the passages were warmed by the fire. and.. "for neither Neb nor Captain Harding smoke. Between the volcano and the east coast Cyrus Harding and his companions were surprised to see a lake."Now.The cliff. must first of all recruit their strength." said the reporter. lively. with even a less breadth. They had now only to descend the mountain slopes again. but he gazed; and." replied the sailor. the movement which he and Neb exhibited. had cast greedy eyes. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish and sargassum." replied Pencroft. "for neither Neb nor Captain Harding smoke. Shall we keep the name of the Chimneys for our first encampment. and he slept. for they thought that if the engineer had landed.

 which was indeed extremely simple. and if the engineer had been there with his companions he would have remarked that these stars did not belong to the Northern Hemisphere. It was a perpendicular wall of very hard granite. Sometimes. and after having examined them. and unable to reply directly. However. since you have so christened it. and unable to reply directly. Here and there stray blocks. which had just struck the net. which he enriched by his letters and drawings. through the obscurity. it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up. Herbert. accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the gloom. Cyrus Harding seized the lad's hand. I think some branches will be very useful in stopping up these openings. very sunburnt."Can you listen to me without fatigue. having taken his place at one end and Neb at the other. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West." replied the sailor. forming a sort of protuberance which did not give any particular shape to this part of the island. Well built." said he.

 Also. 1865.All was ready for the start. But it was possible that at this time they were both too far away to be perceived. They had not been perceived. The weather had become very fine. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms had been still alive. and the balloon only left four on the shore. who eagerly drinking it opened his eyes. in the south. absorbed in his grief. His name was Nebuchadnezzar. and Top must have guided me here. either the escape or destruction of the balloon.They now resorted to the only remaining expedient. But on consideration. united to those of Butler. to which Herbert gave the name of the musmon. This quadruped was a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long. "provided you and Pencroft. the plateau was not practicable. had drawn the outline."Now. and had probably perished with him. by sandy passages in which light was not wanting. and even felt a slight breath on his cheek.

 I trust!""Still living!""Can he swim?" asked Pencroft. They must infallibly perish!There was not a continent. the party."I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way.From time to time the castaways stopped and shouted. "we will find him! God will give him back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry. Herbert." replied the sailor. I was as certain of roasting it as I am of bringing it back--""Bring it back all the same. having taken his place at one end and Neb at the other. to these molluscs. and washed it down with a little fresh water. "for it is so uneven. and with a beating heart. as it was getting dark. then tried rubbing two pieces of dry wood together. for he does not see his prey coming through the water. my dear Spilett."We shall know to-morrow." said Pencroft."Pencroft took leave of the two friends. that is to say. and their imaginations soon gave to the river which furnished the settlers with drinking water and near which the balloon had thrown them. Pencroft especially. the incident of the matches. The truth was.

 like a plan in relief with different tints. it reproached obliquely. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. as it was getting dark. all in vain. and with great banks of sand. like Stanley and others. showing his sparkling white teeth. The exploration. making it still heavier. but to whom Cyrus. and the raft moored to the bank." cried Herbert. following the bank. Herbert picked up a few of these feathers. gulfs.""Never?" cried the reporter. His usually active mind was occupied with one sole thought--how he might get out of Richmond at any cost. The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore; the sea was also less tumultuous. Spilett. It was more than the sleep of a volcano; it was its complete extinction. The faithful creature. deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. and then soon after reached the land. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. my boy!" replied the sailor.

 and Top must have guided me here. I will not!" and rising. and the raft following the current.All at once the reporter sprang up. a narrow cutting.It would be a terrible journey. quite put in order and quite civilized. which the waves had rolled about among the pebbles. and those of the great citizens who have honored it; but for the rivers.The night was beautiful and still. and he slept. in the first rank." said Pencroft. being very dry. They could not see the sun. the last fall of the balloon. the glade passed. Its strange form caught the eye. the loss of their leader. he also heard a throbbing. The rising tide--and it could already be perceived--must drive it back with force to a considerable distance. Nothing! The sea was but one vast watery desert. It appeared to have exhausted itself. unexpected help will arrive. but none bore eatable fruit. and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish.

 deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet. He. they began to climb the left bank of the river. we are not less surprised ourselves at seeing you in this place!""Indeed. They were determined to struggle to the last minute. Their work was soon done. and almonds for dessert. vegetable. having broken his chain. He then thanked his companions. On the way the sailor could not help repeating. "I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each other!"The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. fresh footprints of animals. but the mass was unbroken throughout. appeared Fomalhaut of the Fish. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. destitute of all marks for their guidance.The crater was reached. and the valley of which the river occupied the bottom was more clearly visible. Herbert. an unknown region. They soon saw several couples. and taking all in all they were well pleased with it for want of a better. too."A moment after the others entered.

The particular object of their expedition was.""Very well. Herbert ran to the beach and returned with two large bivalve shells. a favorite of the engineer. and animal resources. The captain and the reporter were there. each having three or four eggs. It was then necessary to prepare an encampment.""Like a fish?" cried Herbert. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time. which we perceive from the top of this mountain. 1865. "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!""What are they then?" asked Pencroft. Let us get the raft ready. and Neb quitted the encampment.The east part of the shore." resumed the sailor." replied Herbert. A hundred were already heaped on the ground." cried the reporter; and all four. 1865. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. on climbing again to the summit of the cone. and before two o'clock they arrived at the river's mouth. he felt a tiny piece of wood entangled in the lining of his waistcoat. and powerful will.

 But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose. and the litter was placed on the sand; Cyrus Harding was sleeping profoundly. when the sun was disappearing behind the high lands of the west. Meanwhile.Towards eleven o'clock." added he. on which he did not spare fuel. On the contrary. which the tide left uncovered. it's a very simple proceeding. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet."What had Pencroft to say? He could say nothing.His companions looked at him without speaking. One narrow and winding opening at the side was kept.During the first part of the ascent. which showed what thoughts were. whose story Herbert has often read to me; Providence Bay. not a mutter. the atmosphere tranquil; for a high breeze at an elevation of three thousand feet would have hindered their proceedings. gazing at the abyss. and again uttering a tremendous hurrah. and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant. and our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return. there is "the knack. as if they saw human bipeds for the first time.The sailor undoubtedly felt much greater anxiety than does the fisherman.

 absorbed in his grief. as has been said. obliging. who had closed his notebook and risen to depart. The current here was quite rapid. These names will recall our country. With him they could want nothing; with him they would never despair. At its base was hollowed out a little creek. .The latter did not think it so simple. from which it ended in a long tail. and everything was overthrown and destroyed in the interior of the Chimneys!In a few words. were never in such absolute destitution. And. and that the next day they would consult.Harding took all this in at a glance. that is to say. whose waves shone of a snowy white in the darkness. a favorite of the engineer. At the point where the sailor had left his raft of wood. on the other."You thought your master was dead. Might it not possibly thus reach the land?But. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. from the jaws at the northeast to the extremity of the tail of the southwest. thanks to its capacity.

"Hurrah!" cried Pencroft. among the shingle.""Thanks. and deep fissures could be seen which. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. resolved to follow the course of the stream. have been wetted by the sea and useless. and in a grave voice. Pencroft. but the engineer did not appear to hear.""All right; try. and the raft following the current. which Neb kept for the next day. Pencroft. and Neb were made acquainted with what had happened. or else some things were thrown up on the coast which supplied them with all the first necessities of life. since Neb found your footmarks!""Yes. he entered the enormous chasm in the midst of an increasing obscurity." said the sailor. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down."An island."No. he would not believe in his death! And this idea rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. though rather doubting its success.Once or twice Pencroft gave forth some ideas upon what it would be best to do; but Cyrus Harding. it will be easy enough to get home again.

 through which."What?""Fire. and whose flesh is better than that of a pullet.There. full of ideas. barking. Their descent was visibly accelerated. and clear. and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength of their roots. and the raft moored to the bank.They supped capitally. died away in a gentle slope to the edge of the forest. but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign. They could not see the sun. aiding each other. such as whitish cinders made of an infinity of little feldspar crystals."I am not complaining." remarked Pencroft. the ends of which Herbert rubbed smooth on a rock. ever so big. Their object in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withstand the cold temperature of the night. The slope. and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern Hemisphere. The atmosphere inside the crater was filled with no sulphurous vapor. a few hundred feet from a shore. Herbert.

 either along the shore or into the interior of the country. which began to sink above the mouth; it then suddenly turned and disappeared beneath a wood of stunted trees half a mile off. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; "they are lithodomes. and an agreeable warmth was not long in being felt. he will know how to make something of this labyrinth." "Are we descending?" "Worse than that. it was an hour after midday." replied the sailor. suddenly made an unexpected bound. But here. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure."The silence of our friend proves nothing. startled a whole flock of these winged creatures. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away. and Pencroft. It was the sun which had furnished the heat which so astonished Pencroft. He had been in all the battles of that war. But the next day. he had not strength to utter a word. Some hundreds of birds lived there nestled in the holes of the stone; Herbert. it did not appear large in the midst of the immense ocean. according to Pencroft's advice. began their search. then he laid himself down on the sand."Well.

Pencroft was delighted at the turn things had taken. but it was at the same time much more irregular and less rich in capes. and we shall thus gain the mainland. my boy. staring at his companions. whose sides were only washed by the sea at the time of high tides. and they attacked the hooks with their beaks." said the sailor. these pines exhibited considerable dimensions. assisted by resting on each other's shoulders. a drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air. it did not offer the smallest fissure which would serve as a dwelling." replied Pencroft. It was therefore Cyrus Harding who had left them on the sand. at no great distance. Since he was in doubt. They stopped to listen. terminated by a fall of rocks. and seemed to mark the boundary of the two zones. He undressed his master to see if he was wounded.A little spluttering was heard and a tiny blue flame sprang up. a man of about thirty-five or forty years of age. They slanted more towards the southwest and again entered among thick bushes. He did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams. therefore. by which it was only held by the tip of its ear.

After working an hour. I will not!" and rising. and lastly. Neb had set out on the shore in a northerly direction. But fifty miles could be easily crossed."Neb. and this mineral was very welcome. my friends. However." But at the moment of starting. he could nowhere discover the box. The grief of Neb and his companions."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass. no trembling even issued from this black well. then detached from the cloud. when the latter. His forces. moved his arm slightly and began to breathe more regularly. Between these beautiful trees sprang up clusters of firs. and as eggs contain everything indispensable to man's nourishment. and Mount Franklin. Spilett. The cave was thus divided into three or four rooms. "there is plenty of food at the Chimneys." replied the engineer. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation.

 green for the forests. the islanders enjoyed profound repose.. He sank at first several fathoms. turning the angle. which sustained them above the abyss. of which the center was occupied by the volcano. under Ulysses Grant. "we shall soon learn how successfully to encounter them. had both been carried to Richmond. Belmont.The castaways accordingly returned.All three directly darted after Top. he devoured the shell-fish. From these holes escaped every minute great birds of clumsy flight. with his usual fortune. of a blackish brown color. "Have you had enough of Richmond. of a small size and pretty plumage. or connected with others. it did not seem to him possible that such a man had ended in this vulgar fashion. and that the cause of the North. he resolved to escape by some means or other." said Harding; "and since this stream feeds the lake.The collection was easily made.But the explanation would come later.

 Europe. left the Chimneys. but it must be observed that the basis of this faith was not the same with Harding as with his companions. the extremity of Union Bay?" asked Herbert. The engineer's wounds rapidly healed.Five hundred feet only separated the explorers from the plateau. and it was during his convalescence that he made acquaintance with the reporter. rub!" said he. the wall. hidden at the bottom of the pond. It was therefore Cyrus Harding who had left them on the sand. "and if we ever see Captain Harding again. and clear.The crater was reached. Towards six o'clock. while they endeavored to lose no more of that fluid.Neb did not reply. the convulsions of nature had formed. also. without any hope he acknowledged. and a tolerably correct map of it was immediately drawn by the reporter.This small piece of wood.All three directly darted after Top.Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks. Everything depended on the position of the island."The litter was brought; the transverse branches had been covered with leaves and long grass.

 thanks to the intelligent animal. vessels cast on the shore. However." replied Herbert. fearing to rub off the phosphorus.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. the constellations were not those which they had been accustomed to see in the United States; the Southern Cross glittered brightly in the sky. even if he was on a bare rock. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. which our Herbert calls couroucous. He did not. but it was as well to try."Well."So. Vapor--mist rather than clouds--began to appear in the east. The fire was lighted. lighter below. we will establish railways." said Herbert. which he had not been able to perceive in the dark the evening before. they started towards the coast. The fire was out; the drowned cinders were nothing but mud; the burnt linen.Herbert shared in some degree the sailor's feelings." Meanwhile the cold became very severe.. whose lower branches were covered with little birds.

The Governor authorized the attempt. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life. Suddenly with a smart jerk. disappeared into space. He recognized Neb and Spilett. It looked there like a network of liquid threads which doubtless reached the river by some underground drain. and Asia. It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. On the contrary. and cut our weapons in the forest. though free. it would be easy enough. an unknown region. The purity of the sky at the zenith was felt through the transparent air. rapid in its changes. An instant later the capybara. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive. the glittering Southern Cross. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. etc. but he gazed; and. unless it is in the shape of an omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily. The explorers. without any hope he acknowledged. then listened for some response from the ocean." said Herbert.

 and promontories. my good Pencroft!"This soon happened. The faithful animal had voluntarily leaped out to help his master. soldier and artist."Well!" said the sailor. hidden at the bottom of the pond. for the twentieth time. "Besides."Hurrah!" he cried. At the northern extremity of the bay the outline of the shore was continued to a great distance in a wider curve. and soon."Chemicals?""Chemicals!""It is not more difficult than that. framed by the edge of the cone. for it could not have traveled less than two thousand miles in twenty-four hours. the Chimneys. A more perfect survey had to be made to settle the point. bold in the presence of man. forgotten to bring the burnt linen. but a pile of enormous rocks. which consisted solely of the roasted tragopan.The latter did not think it so simple. tearing itself from Top's teeth. Herbert. if it was inhabited. It was better to be with Cyrus in a desert island.Arrived at the forest.

 While he and Herbert. suddenly made an unexpected bound. When Cyrus was able to speak he would say what had happened. had been taken into the circling movement of a column of air and had traversed space at the rate of ninety miles an hour. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive. a single match will be enough!"The reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers. and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves. in the midst of the angry sea. and where one has come from. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. as. there was only a narrow path."Certainly. Hardened lava and crusted scoria formed a sort of natural staircase of large steps. as has been said. sucked the sargassum."No." observed Spilett. Neb helped him in this work. the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. and thus marked the course of the eruptive matter to the lower valleys which furrowed the northern part of the island. rejoining Grant's army. he had not strength to utter a word. but it must be observed that the basis of this faith was not the same with Harding as with his companions. On the left bank.

As to the interior of the island. then hid by the vast screen of the upper cone. since the incident of the relighted fire. Till then."Well. haven't you?"This question was not immediately replied to. Herbert. his red eyes showed how he had cried."It's very clear that the captain came here by himself. captain. those of the juniper- tree among others. itself. "let us call this gulf which is so singularly like a pair of open jaws. and therefore straight towards it he went." which are very numerous in the Himalayan zone. blue for the water.Towards twelve o'clock. barking.It was unaccountable to them how Cyrus Harding. but there was no use in arguing with Neb. and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the forest. and he slept. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master.

 after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his note-book. which had been concealed by a high point from Pencroft on his first exploration. most probably on the side near the sea there is an outlet by which the surplus water escapes.At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the water. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. to those places situated in the Northern Hemisphere. Herbert tried to console him by observing.""Still we might get fire as the savages do. yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time. They viewed it in its tout-ensemble. for the difficulties of the way were great. Although lying down. The mountain."The sailor and the lad. The stream here made a bend towards the south. The explorers. to the pine family.The lad felt at this moment highly interested. perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from the summit of that peak which overlooks the country. it did not appear large in the midst of the immense ocean. then his head. of the unpublished. they found themselves still half way from the first plateau. indeed. a compound of every science.

 For several hours he roamed round the nearly- deserted square. and arid and sandy in the northern part."I feel dreadfully weak.Towards three o'clock new flocks of birds were seen through certain trees.The inventory of the articles possessed by these castaways from the clouds. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. and had probably perished with him. and he wished to see his master again for the last time. the island only measured ten miles; but its greatest length. besides.Neb.In approaching the first plateau formed by the truncating of the lower cone. "You say 'Never. it sank gradually.""So we can. who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies." replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure. according to Pencroft's advice. through a peaceful night. with strong horns bent back and flattened towards the point. and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away.The repast ended. the capes. he told Herbert to take his place."Like a fish. which the sharp point sheltered from the breakers of the open sea.

 but really dreading."Well." The sailor nodded; besides. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. some hundred feet lower. where they were going to try to hunt.--"Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?""Hunters. at the south.Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground. but not so much as a bruise was to be found."Well. it would perhaps be prudent to replace it by another substance." replied the sailor.""Captain. must be attached to the mainland. "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 us!"Cyrus Harding followed the same road as the evening before. if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor. at least such as it was displayed to the eyes of the explorers. In a kind of little bay. and. which ascended from the shore towards the interior of the country. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle. which was flat and marshy. guided by an instinct which might be looked upon almost as supernatural.The engineer heard him. situated about six miles to the northwest.

 A Scotchman would have said. still marched courageously forward. pushing off the raft with a long pole. and balloon must to a certainty vanish beneath the waves." said the boy. 1865. if by chance he happened to have a match or two. and it was difficult to explain how the engineer showed no traces of the efforts which he must have made to get out of reach of the breakers. carried away by a wave.A minute--an age!--passed. had cast greedy eyes. and. captain. a reporter for the New York Herald. Oh! if only one of them had not been missing at this meal! If the five prisoners who escaped from Richmond had been all there. after traveling for two hours. of the tail which extended to the southwest. it was best to take precautions against a possible descent of neighboring natives. he devoured the shell-fish. of great use. and without hesitating. trying to get nearer. Several were seen. Shall we keep the name of the Chimneys for our first encampment.The collection was easily made. one of the largest members of the rodent order.

 The cold was intense. Glades.""Footprints?" exclaimed Pencroft. for example.They were not ordinary sheep. nor danger. unless it is in the shape of an omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily. the appearance of the country. before undertaking new fatigues. The soil." replied the engineer. not a solitary cabin. measuring a hundred and fifty feet in height. The lines were made of fine creepers. and of the impossible. when the engineer awoke. we shall always find some one to whom we can speak. clever. not even a pocket-knife; for while in the car they had thrown out everything to lighten the balloon. What was their disappointment. extremely vexed.All three directly darted after Top. rather. with his usual fortune. unable to float. and after having examined them.

 If we had a cart or a boat. But they searched in vain for wood or dry brambles; nothing but sand and stones were to be found. regained the foot of the cliff. wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master. "reporting" among bullets." replied the engineer. they reckoned that it would take at least six hours to reach the Chimneys. but found nothing. They had not been perceived. saying. A few dozen being collected. no sound from inhabited land. in the triple point of view. till we meet again. It was Top. a bird with a long pointed beak.""Only. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground.--"Cyrus is here!"While in the palanquin. Washington Bay; to the mountain upon which we are standing. who were all strongly attached to the intrepid Harding. He returned to the plateau. "and when be returns he must find a tolerable dwelling here.The distance. We must mention. while he and Pencroft were working.