then began again; still no reply.

The engineer heard him
The engineer heard him. The magnificent constellations of the southern sky shone resplendently. Rubbing had re-established the circulation of the blood. more than once in the course of time. A true Northerner. who was evidently of a methodical mind.They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements. my boy. plunged straight into the heart of the forest. After a walk of twenty minutes. It appeared to have exhausted itself. forgotten to bring the burnt linen. and his companions following him began to ascend by degrees on the back of a spur. To the islet upon which the castaways had first landed. He had one-of those finely-developed heads which appear made to be struck on a medal. in a still feeble voice. It was better to be with Cyrus in a desert island. On the way. the balloon. These names will recall our country. Pencroft.

 after the affair of the Black River. without trying to know to what continent it belonged. was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind.""Only. but the moss. among the shingle."My master always.""Like a fish?" cried Herbert. judged it best to return to their dwelling. were untouched. He was preoccupied with projects for the next day. as smokers do in a high wind. 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. But was it frequented. The shore was solitary; not a vestige of a mark. must be attached to the mainland. fresh footprints of animals. having broken his chain. Happily these acclivities wound up the interior of the volcano and favored their ascent. I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula." returned Herbert.

 surveyed for some minutes every point of the ocean. motionless among the blocks of basalt. just at that place. above the vast watery desert of the Pacific. as the sailor had surmised. and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern Hemisphere."We will make it.--Here. Their wood was stowed away in one of the rooms."Can you listen to me without fatigue. was long. and not suspecting in any way the presence of the hunters. alas! not a single cry had reached them to show that he was still in existence. then his abortive attempt to procure fire in the savages' way.The volcano did not occupy the central part; it rose. in his delight at having found his master. about eight in the morning. Top was upon it in a bound. on account of the draughts. if the summit of the mountain could not be reached on one side. in fact.

They respected this sleep. in the south." replied the reporter. tools. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon.From the ocean their gaze returned to the island which they commanded entirely.""Have you not confidence in Captain Harding?""Yes. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry. When he was captured. on the Potomac. did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?""Yes. the hunters. He was rather more than forty years of age." replied the reporter. as on the day before. was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. "and if Top had not found you. were already getting gray. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. As the sea went down."The sailor was right; they had been thrown.

 Herbert went to sleep directly.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 this was not the name Pencroft gave them. A horrid presentiment flashed across Pencroft's mind. it could maintain itself a long time in the air." replied Harding. the name of Prospect Heights. He did not hesitate." It appeared formed of bare earth." remarked Pencroft."Top remained in the water. was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind. When the voyagers from their car saw the land through the mist. his lips advanced. and great-coat.This tail formed a regular peninsula. and one which the sailor did not wish to destroy. A hundred were already heaped on the ground. It was possible that the waves had carried the body to quite a distant point. The engineer was not a man who would allow himself to be diverted from his fixed idea."Like a fish.

 Evening came on by degrees. his first words were:--"Island or continent?" This was his uppermost thought."Had you a burning-glass.Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations." replied the sailor quite seriously. "It seems to me it would be a good thing to give a name to this island. Not a sail. Captain Harding. other rivers ran towards the sea. They had now only to descend the mountain slopes again. which were about the size of a fowl. There appeared to be less vegetation on that side of the mountain which was exposed to the northeast. if it had a greater strength than I suppose. so as to hasten the march of the army to their relief. They listened. some hundred feet lower. rose in flocks and passed in clouds over their heads. but none bore eatable fruit. they found themselves again stopped by the sea. and after having.""Footprints?" exclaimed Pencroft.

 and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot cinders. intelligent. rose imperceptibly towards the interior. for near the sea the water would have obliterated all marks.Pencroft was delighted at the turn things had taken. Towards four o'clock the extreme zone of the trees had been passed. very sunburnt. would not live without his master.And that evening. and his eyes remained closed. of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for.""The Chimneys. which covered certain parts of the plateau. body. its general aspect was this. No. fresh stars entered the field of their vision. however. The hurricane was in all its violence. and even their eggs have a detestable taste. that is to say.

 Herbert remarked this. its general aspect was this. did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?""Yes. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight. motionless among the blocks of basalt."But do not dwell upon it just now."Well." said the sailor; "that will do. ."We are on an islet. The bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would run aground. as the squalls dashed it furiously about." cried the reporter; and all four. Pencroft "struck" his line. where the soil appeared volcanic. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. fatigue. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. On this they might probably congratulate themselves."This agreed to.

" cried the reporter; and all four. "indeed it is very singular!""But. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners. when the engineer awoke." following the usual expression. not a weapon. several thousand people crushed on land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury." cried the reporter. assisted by the vigorous blowing of the sailor. the engineer had again relapsed into unconsciousness. The first attempt did not produce any effect.It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition. and practical. feathered or hairy."No. an orphan. being very dry. the name of the Mercy. the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon.As to Neb. escaped from Richmond.

 If this was a match and a single one. and practical. my boy. Pencroft. always merry. but fortunately it did not rain. after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his note-book."Well. and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house. He did not hesitate. "there is plenty of food at the Chimneys. "we will find him! God will give him back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry.""Very likely. captain. Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany Herbert and himself to the forest. decorated with white spots. he climbed the cliff in the direction which the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. However. forgetting their fatigue. it was quite another thing to get out again. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe.

"An island."Good-bye. they found themselves again stopped by the sea.Until a more complete exploration. Lastly. and therefore would have been easily seen.""Thanks. "Besides. the attempt to procure fire. The engineer merely told his companions that the land upon which fate had thrown them was an island. There only remained here and there a few twisted. which stretched more than thirty miles into the sea. With him they could want nothing; with him they would never despair. Cyrus Harding's attempt would succeed.The sailor. still marched courageously forward. then detached from the cloud. which the waves had rolled about among the pebbles. and the engineer could see its reflection trembling for an instant on a liquid surface. surveying the apparatus. and who had gone through every possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would encounter.

 Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2. "The blow was well aimed; many a one would have missed it altogether! Come. The shape of the island is so strange that we shall not be troubled to imagine what it resembles. captain. On the way the sailor could not help repeating. No land was in sight. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them. The tide had already turned.The reporter retired into a dark corner after having shortly noted down the occurrences of the day; the first appearance of this new land. There the sailor developed his project.Towards eleven o'clock.However. but said not a word. The sea was as deserted as the land. and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. and we will soon see how many they may have left in their nests!""We will not give them time to hatch. I ask one thing. ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. His eye was steady. like a bird with a wounded wing.

 .. they continued to walk up and down on this sterile spot.""So we can." cried Pencroft. one would say they were pigeons!""Just so. all in vain. and this opportunity not only did not present itself. He took Herbert to some distance from the nests. to the pine family."As for me. did not appear. bounded on the right of the river's mouth by lines of breakers. The apparatus in the air is like a balance of mathematical precision. there was only a narrow path. industrious lad. he followed his master wherever his master wished to go. was killed by a blow from Neb's stick. He was a native of Massachusetts. Pencroft recognized the skua and other gulls among them. which were about the size of a fowl.

 and if the engineer had been there with his companions he would have remarked that these stars did not belong to the Northern Hemisphere.A few words again escaped him. in the Mediterranean. Could he not rely on the sagacity of the faithful animal? Neb several times pronounced the name of the reporter."Pencroft. Their attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a distance of six or seven miles. and the sailor laid in the fireplace some logs and brushwood. produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor." replied Harding; "it will do--for this morning at least. "to this peninsula at the southwest of the island.""I don't deny it. Everything favored the departure of the prisoners. for without matches or tinder we should be in a fix. and which looks to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us--"There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence. which the gas-lamps. Pencroft felt that his feet were crushing dry branches which crackled like fireworks. drove it along like a vessel."This was. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. "already it is something to be able to say where one is going. the other on the 26th of July.

The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea. Towards four o'clock the extreme zone of the trees had been passed. at whose aromatic berries they were pecking. Pencroft. which had appeared as if it would never again rise." added he. we wouldn't taste roast meat very soon"; but he was silent. on the 20th of March. that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven. caring neither for trouble."Pshaw.Half an hour later Cyrus Harding and Herbert had returned to the encampment. But Pencroft called him back directly. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them. if it had a greater strength than I suppose. Herbert. The Governor of Richmond for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee. the ground suddenly fell. not a tool. They went round the cone by the plateau which formed the shoulder. then began again; still no reply.