THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

by

JULES VERNE


CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

I would like to thank Mr. Sidney Kravitz (skravitz@aol.com) for allowing me to utilize his
unabridged 200,000 word translation of Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island" to make this book
available to the subscribers of America Online.

Mr. Kravitz labored fourteen long years to faithfully translate this text from the original french. 
On behalf of Jules Verne enthusiasts everywhere...thank you!

"The Mysterious Island" with illustrations is also available online on the World Wide Web, in
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Verne related WWW sites!  

The URL for The Jules Verne Collection is:

http://www.math.technion.ac.il/%7Erl/JulesVerne/


Unabridged translation from the French by Sidney Kravitz

Translation Copyright (c) 1992 by Sidney Kravitz, 592 Herrick Drive, Dover, New Jersey
07801-2013             

This translation may be distributed and copied freely, in its entirety, for personal use. All original
translator and copyright information must remain intact. Any sales or other uses of this document
are expressly forbidden without the specific consent of the translator and copyright owner.


FIRST PART

The Mysterious Island

The Castaways from the Sky


Chapter I

The storm of 1865 - Crisis in the sky - A balloon swept along in a waterspout - The torn casing -
Nothing but the sea in sight - Five passengers - What occurred in the basket - A coast on the
horizon - The denouement of the drama.

"Are we rising?"

"No!  On the contrary!  We are descending!"

"Worse than that, Mister Cyrus!  We are falling!"

"For heaven's sake, throw out the ballast!"

"There.  The last sack is overboard!"

"Does the balloon rise?"

"No!"

"I hear the clacking of waves!"

"The sea is under the basket!"

"It cannot be five hundred feet from us!"

Then a powerful voice rent the air and these words resounded:

"Overboard with everything heavy!... Everything!  We are in God's hands!"

Such were the words which erupted in the sky above the vast watery desert of the Pacific about
four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March 1865.

Without doubt no one can forget the terrible northeast storm that burst forth during the equinox
of that year when the barometer fell to seven hundred ten millimeters.  It was a storm that lasted
from the 18th to the 26th of March without letup.  It ravaged America, Europe and Asia over a
broad zone of eighteen hundred miles around a line oblique to the equator, from the thirty fifth
north parallel to the fortieth south parallel.  Towns overthrown, forests uprooted, shores
devastated by the mountains of water which fell upon them as tidal waves, record bureaus
counting hundreds of vessels thrown on the coast, entire territories leveled by the waterspouts
which pulverized everything in their path, several thousand people crushed on land or swallowed
by the sea, these were the marks of fury left behind by this formidable storm.  It surpassed the
disasters which so frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe, one on the 25th of October 1810,
the other on the 26th of July 1825.

At the very moment when so many catastrophes were taking place on land and on sea a drama no
less startling was being enacted in the agitated skies.

In fact a balloon, carried like a ball at the top of a waterspout and caught by the gyratory motion
of a column of air, was traveling through space with a velocity of ninety miles per hour (1) turning
around itself as if it had been seized by an aerial whirlpool.

A basket oscillated beneath the lower appendage of the balloon.  It contained five passengers,
barely visible in this thick fog mixed with pulverized water which extended down to the ocean's
surface.

From whence came this balloon, this veritable plaything of the frightful tempest?  From which
point on the earth's surface did it take off?  Evidently it could not have left during the storm.  But
the storm had already lasted for five days and its first symptoms were manifested on the 18th. 
Wouldn't one be justified in believing that this balloon came from quite a distance, because it had
not traversed less than two thousand miles in twenty four hours?

In any case the passengers had no means of guessing at the route traversed since the departure
because all points of reference were lacking.  This curious fact also resulted, that carried about in
the midst of the storm's violence, they did not suffer from it.  They were displaced and turned
round and round without sensing any of this rotation nor their horizontal movement.  Their eyes
could not pierce the thick fog that had gathered under the basket.  Around them everything was
obscure. Such was the opacity of the clouds that they could not say if it was day or night.  No
reflection of light, no noise from the inhabited world, no bellowing of the ocean could reach them
through this immense obscurity, as long as they remained at the higher altitudes.  Their rapid
descent alone alerted them to the dangers that they faced above the waves.

However, relieved of heavy objects such as munitions, arms and provisions, the balloon rose to a
height of four thousand five hundred feet.  The passengers, after having realized that the sea was
under the basket, and finding the dangers from above less formidable than those from below, did
not hesitate to throw overboard even the most useful objects as they sought to lose no more of
this fluid, this soul of their apparatus, which sustained them above the abyss.

The night passed in the midst of anxieties that would have been mortal for less energetic souls. 
Then day reappeared and with the day the storm showed a tendency to moderate.  From the
beginning of this day of the 24th of March it showed some symptoms of abatement.  At dawn the
clouds, now more vesicular, rose higher in the sky.  In several hours the waterspout widened and
broke up.  The wind, no longer a hurricane, changed to "very brisk", that is to say that the
translational velocity of the atmospheric layers was reduced by half.  It was still what sailors call
"a breeze for three reefs," but the improvement in the disturbance of the elements was none the
less considerable.

(1) Equal to 40 meters per second or 144 kilometers per hour (nearly 36 leagues based on a
league of 4 kilometers).

About eleven o'clock the lower atmosphere became noticeably clearer.  It threw off this dampness
that is seen and even felt after the passage of large meteors.  It did not seem that the storm had
gone further west.  It appeared to be dying of its own accord.  Perhaps it was dispersing into
electrical layers as sometimes happens to the typhoons of the Indian Ocean after the rupture of a
waterspout.

But about this time it was again obvious that the balloon was slowly but continually falling to a
lower altitude.  It even seemed that it was deflating little by little and that its envelope was
elongating and distending, passing from a spherical shape to the ovoid.

About noon the balloon did not hover more than two thousand feet above the sea.  It contained
fifty thousand cubic feet (1) and thanks to its capacity it had evidently been able to maintain itself
a long while in the air regardless of whether it attained a high altitude or whether it was moving in
a horizontal direction.

(1) Approximately 1400 cubic meters.

At this time the passengers threw out the last objects which still weighed down the basket, several
provisions they had kept, everything, even the small knick-knacks in their pockets.  Helping each
other, they hoisted themselves onto the ring to which the ropes were attached, all the while
looking for solid ground beneath the balloon.

It was evident that the passengers could not keep the balloon at a high altitude and that their gas
was failing them.

They would perish!

In fact there was no continent, not even an island, beneath them.  There was no single spot on
which to land, no solid surface which their anchor could touch.

It was an immense ocean whose waves still hurled about with incomparable violence.  It was an
ocean without visible limits even though they could see over a radius of forty miles from their
altitude.  It was a liquid plain, battered without mercy and lashed by the storm.  It seemed like an
overlap of dishevelled waves on which had been thrown a vast network of white crests.  No land
in sight, not even a vessel.

It was necessary, at any price, to stop the balloon's descent and to impede it from being engulfed
by the waves, and it was evidently this urgent need which occupied the passengers of the basket. 
But in spite of their exertions, the balloon kept falling, sometimes even at a good speed, all the
while following the direction of the wind, that is to say from the northeast to the southwest.

It was a terrible situation for these unfortunates.  They were evidently no longer masters of the
balloon.  Their efforts had no effect.  The envelope of the balloon elongated itself more and more. 
The fluid escaped and they could do nothing to hold it in.  Their descent was visibly accelerating
and at one o'clock in the afternoon the basket was suspended not more than six hundred feet
above the ocean.

In fact it was impossible to prevent the loss of gas which was freely escaping through a rip in the
apparatus.

By throwing away everything in the basket the passengers were able to keep it in the air for
several more hours.  But the inevitable catastrophe could not be prevented and if land did not
show itself before night, passengers, basket and balloon would definitely disappear beneath the
waves.

They now executed the only maneuver still left to them. The balloon passengers were evidently
energetic men who knew how to look death in the face.  Not a single murmur escaped their lips. 
They had decided to struggle to the last second and to do everything to delay their fall.  The
basket was only a wicker box, not intended for floating, and there was no possibility of
maintaining it on the surface of the sea if it should fall there.

At two o'clock the balloon was scarcely four hundred feet above the waves.

At this moment a virile voice - the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear - made
itself heard.  To this voice responded other voices no less energetic.

"Is everything thrown out?"

"No!  There are still ten thousand francs in gold!"

A weighty sack fell at once into the sea.

"Does the balloon rise?"

"A little, but it won't be long before it falls again!"

"Is there anything left to throw out?"

"Nothing!"

"Yes!... the basket!"

"Let us hang on to the ropes and throw the basket into the sea!"

It was in fact the only and last means of making the balloon lighter.  The cords which connected
the basket to the ring were slashed and the balloon rose to two thousand feet.

The five passengers were hoisted on the ropes above the ring, and holding on to the meshes they
looked at the abyss.

The static sensitivity of balloons is well known. Throwing out the lightest objects suffices to
induce a vertical displacement.  The apparatus, floating in the air, behaves like an accurate
mathematical balance.  One can therefore understand why it is that when it is relieved of a
considerable weight its displacement is significant and immediate.  So it was on this occasion.

But after holding in equilibrium for an instant at a higher altitude, the balloon began to fall again. 
The gas was escaping through a tear that was impossible to repair.

The passengers had done all that they could do.  No human means could save them now.  They
could no longer count on any help except from heaven.

At four o'clock the balloon was not more than five hundred feet above the water's surface.

A barking was heard.  A dog accompanied the passengers and was hanging on to the meshes near
his master.

"Top has seen something!" shouted one of the passengers.

Then at once a firm voice was heard:

"Land!  Land!"

The balloon, which the wind had been carrying toward the southwest, had covered hundreds of
miles since dawn and a rather elevated land in fact appeared in this direction.

But this land was still more than thirty miles windward. More than a full hour was needed to reach
it assuming they did not deviate from their path.  One hour!  Wouldn't the balloon be emptied of
all its fluid before then?

Such was the horrible question.  The passengers could distinctly see this solid point that they must
reach at all cost.  They were ignorant of what it was, whether island or continent, because they
hardly knew toward which part of the world the storm had driven them.  But they must reach this
land whether inhabited or not, whether hospitable or not.

Now, at four o'clock, they could see that the balloon could no longer sustain itself.  It grazed the
surface of the sea.  Several times already the crests of enormous waves licked the bottom of the
ropes making it still heavier.  Like a bird with a wounded wing the balloon could barely half rise
again.

A half hour later land was only a mile away but the balloon, exhausted, flabby, distended,
crumpled in large wrinkles, had no gas except in its upper part.  The passengers, holding on to the
ropes, were too heavy for it and soon, half immersed in the sea, they were battered by furious
waves.  The casing of the balloon made an air pocket which the wind engulfed and pushed like a
vessel with its back to the wind.  Perhaps they could reach the coast this way.

They were now only two cables away when four horrible cries were heard simultaneously.  The
balloon, which seemed like it would never rise again, made an unexpected bound after being
struck by a large wave.  As if it had suddenly lost another of its weights it rose to a height of
fifteen hundred feet and there it met a swirl of wind which, instead of bringing it directly to the
coast, followed an almost parallel direction.  Finally, two minutes later, it approached obliquely,
definitely falling down on the sand of the shore out of reach of the waves.

The passengers, helping one another, succeeded in disengaging themselves from the meshes of the
ropes.  The balloon, relieved of their weight, again became airborne, and like a wounded bird that
revives for a moment, it disappeared into space.

The basket had contained five passengers plus a dog, but the balloon threw only four on the
shore.

The missing passenger had evidently been swept away by the wave that struck the ropes.  This
allowed the lightened balloon to rise again for a last time and reach land a few moments later.

Hardly had the four castaways - we will call them by this name - set foot on the ground when all,
thinking of the missing one, shouted:

"Perhaps he is trying to swim.  Let us save him!  Let us save him!"


Chapter II

An episode of the Civil War - The engineer Cyrus Smith - Gideon Spilett - The Negro Neb - The
sailor Pencroff - Young Herbert - An unexpected proposition - Rendez-vous at ten o'clock in the
evening - Departure in the storm.

Those whom the storm had thrown on this coast were neither professional aeronauts nor amateurs
of aerial expeditions. They were prisoners of war whose audacity had induced them to flee under
these extraordinary circumstances.  A hundred times they should have perished!  A hundred times
their torn balloon should have fallen into the abyss!  But Heaven reserved a strange destiny for
them and on the twenty fourth of March, after having fled Richmond, which was besieged by the
troops of General Ulysses Grant, they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capitol of
Virginia, the principal stronghold of the rebels during the dreadful Civil War.  Their aerial journey
had lasted five days.

These are the curious circumstances which resulted in the prisoners' escape - an escape which
ended in the catastrophe just related.

In this same year, in the month of February 1865, during one of those bold actions in which
General Grant tried unsuccessfully to capture Richmond, some of his officers fell into enemy
hands and were interned in the city.  One of the most distinguished of those that were captured
was a staff officer by the name of Cyrus Smith.

Cyrus Smith, a native of Massachusetts, was an engineer and a scientist of the first rank.  During
the war the Union government had entrusted him with the management of the railroads whose
strategic role was considerable.  A true northerner, he was lean, bony, lanky, and about forty five
years of age.  His hair was already graying, and as to a beard, he had only a thick moustache.  He
had one of those handsome "numismatic" heads that looked like they were made to be stamped on
medals, with fiery eyes, a serious mouth and the physionogomy of a scientist of the military
school.  He was one of those engineers who want to begin by handling the hammer and the pick,
like those generals who wish to begin as simple soldiers.  In addition to an ingenuity of the mind,
he also possessed supreme manual ability.  His muscles were remarkably well developed.  Truly a
man of action as well as a man of thought, he worked without effort, having a vitality that defied
all hard luck.  Very informed, very practical, able to disentangle himself from any difficulty, he had
a superb temperament because he always remained master of himself whatever the circumstances. 
He had in a very large degree the three conditions whose combination determines human energy:
activity of mind and body, impetuosity of the desires, and power of the will.  And his motto could
have been that of Guillaume of Orange of the seventeenth century: "I have no need of hope in
order to undertake, nor of success in order to persevere."

At the same time Cyrus Smith was courage personified.  He had been in all the battles of the Civil
War.  After having begun under Ulysses Grant with the volunteers of Illinois he fought at
Paducah, at Belmont, at Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of Corinth, at Port Gibson, at Black
River, at Chattanooga, at Wilderness, and on the Potomac, everywhere and valiantly, a soldier
worthy of the general who said "I never count my dead!"  And a hundred times Cyrus Smith
should have been in the number of those not counted by the terrible Grant, but in these combats,
where he hardly spared himself, chance favored him as always, up to the moment when he was
wounded and captured on the Richmond battlefield.

At the same time as Cyrus Smith and on the same day another important personage fell into the
power of the Southerners.  It was none other than the honorable Gideon Spilett, "reporter" for the
New York Herald, who had been charged to follow the vicissitudes of the war in the midst of the
northern armies.

Gideon Spilett was of the race of those astonishing English or American reporters, such as
Stanley and others, who recoil at nothing in order to obtain exact information and to transmit it to
their journal with the briefest delay.  The journals of the Union, such as the New York Herald, are
very influential and their reporters are representatives that can be counted on.  Gideon Spilett
marked the first rank of these representatives.

A man of great merit, energetic, prompt and ready for anything, full of ideas, having traveled the
entire world, soldier and artist, hot-headed in advice, resolute in action, counting neither pain nor
fatigue nor dangers when gathering news for himself first and then for his journal, a true hero of
curiosity, information, the unpublishable, the unknown, the impossible, he was one of those
intrepid observers who write under fire, chronically in the line of fire, and for whom all perils are
good fortune.

He too had been in all the battles, on the front lines, revolver in one hand, notebook in the other,
and grapeshot did not make his hand tremble.  He did not burden the telegraph wires incessantly,
like those who speak when they have nothing to say, but each of his notes, short, candid and
clear, brought light to bear on an important point.  Moreover, "humor" did not fail him.  It was he
who, after the affair of Black River, wishing at any price to keep his place at the wicket of the
telegraph office in order to announce to his journal the result of the battle, telegraphed for two
hours the first chapters of the bible. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars but the
New York Herald was the first to be informed.

Gideon Spilett had a tall stature.  He was forty years old at most.  Light side whiskers, somewhat
red, surrounded his face.  His eye was calm, quick and rapid in its movements.  It was the eye of a
man who was accustomed to quickly perceive all the details of a scene.  Of solid frame, he was
tempered in all climates like a bar of steel in ice water.

For ten years Gideon Spilett had been an accredited reporter of the New York Herald which he
enriched with his articles and his drawings because he was as skilled with the pencil as with the
pen.  When he was captured he was in the act of describing and sketching the battle.  The last
words written in his notebook were these:  "A Southerner is taking aim at me and..."  And the
shot missed its mark and following his usual luck, Gideon Spilett came out of the affair without a
scratch.

Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett, who did not know each other except by reputation, were both
taken to Richmond.  The engineer rapidly recovered from his wound and it was during his
convalescence that he made the acquaintance of the reporter. These two men got along and
learned to appreciate each other. Soon their common life had only one goal, to escape and rejoin
Grant's army, and to fight again in its ranks for federal unity.

The two Americans decided to profit from any occasion; but although they were left at liberty in
the city, Richmond was so severely guarded that an escape could be regarded as impossible.

At this time Cyrus Smith was joined by a servant who was devoted to him in life and in death. 
This fearless person was a Negro born of slave parents into the engineer's estate but Cyrus Smith,
who was an abolitionist from conviction and from the heart, had long since emancipated him.  The
slave, on becoming free, did not wish to leave his master.  He loved him to the death.  He was
thirty years old, vigorous, agile, skilful, intelligent, gentle and calm, naive at times, always smiling,
helpful and kind.  He was called Nebuchadnezzar which was abbreviated to the familiar Neb.

When Neb learned that his master had been made prisoner he left Massachusetts without
hesitating, arrived before Richmond, and with shrewdness and ruses, after having risked his life
twenty times, he succeeded in penetrating into the besieged city.  Cyrus Smith's pleasure in seeing
his servant again and Neb's joy on finding his master cannot be expressed.

But if Neb was able to get into Richmond it was, on the other hand, difficult to get out because
the Federal prisoners were under close surveillance.  It would take an extraordinary occasion to
enable them to escape with some chance of success, and this occasion not only did not present
itself, but it did not seem that it ever would.

Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations.  The victory at Petersburg had been very
dearly fought.  His forces, united with those of Butler, could still not obtain a decisive outcome in
front of Richmond so that the release of the prisoners was not at hand.  The reporter, who found
his captivity tedious, could not find a single detail worth noting and could no longer endure it.  He
had but one idea: to leave Richmond at any price.  Several times he had even attempted it but was
stopped by insurmountable obstacles.

However the siege continued and if the prisoners were in a hurry to escape to rejoin Grant's army,
some of the besieged were no less in a hurry to flee in order to rejoin the rebel army, among them
a certain Jonathan Forster, a rabid

 Southerner.  In fact, if the Federal prisoners could not leave the city neither could the
confederates because the Northern army invested it.  The governor of Richmond had not been
able to communicate with General Lee for some time.  It was of upmost importance to make the
city's situation known in order to hasten the march of the relief army.  This Jonathan Forster had
the idea of floating a balloon in order to cross the besieged lines and thus reach the rebel camp.

The governor authorized the attempt.  A balloon was fabricated and placed at the disposal of
Jonathan Forster and five of his companions who would follow him into the skies.  It was
furnished with munitions in case they had to defend themselves on landing, and with provisions in
case their aerial voyage was prolonged.

The departure of the balloon was fixed for 18th of March. It would take place during the night
and, with a moderate northwest wind the aeronauts could count on arriving at General Lee's
quarters in a few hours.

But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze.  From the 18th on one could see that it was
turning into a storm.  Before long the tempest was such that the departure of Forster had to be
postponed because it was impossible to risk the balloon and those that it would carry into the
unchained elements.

The balloon, inflated in the main square of Richmond, remained there ready to leave at the first
break in the wind. They were very impatient when they saw no break in the weather.

The 18th and the 19th passed without any change in the storm.  It even proved very difficult to
preserve the balloon which gusts of wind threw to the ground.

The night of the 19th to the 20th passed but in the morning the fury of the storm increased. 
Departure was impossible.

On that day the engineer Cyrus Smith was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a man he
did not know.  He was a sailor called Pencroff, between thirty five and forty years of age, with a
vigorous frame, very sunburnt, sharp and blinking eyes, but with a good shape.  This Pencroff was
a Northerner who had traversed all the seas of the globe and who had experienced all the
adventures that could befall a being with two feet and no feathers.  Needless to say he had an
enterprising nature, ready to venture anything and astonished at nothing.  Pencroff came to
Richmond at the beginning of the year on business with a fifteen year old boy, Herbert Brown of
New Jersey, the son of his captain, an orphan whom he loved like his own child.  Not being able
to leave the city before the first operations of the siege, he found himself confined there to his
great displeasure and he too had but one idea, to escape by all possible means.  He knew of Cyrus
Smith's reputation.  He knew of the impatience that this determined man endured under restraint. 
On this day he therefore did not hesitate to approach him saying without thinking:

"Mister Smith, have you had enough of Richmond?"

The engineer stared at the man who spoke to him in this way, who added in a low voice:

"Mister Smith, would you like to escape?"

"When?"... the engineer replied briskly.  This response escaped him before he could examine the
person speaking to him.

But after giving the sailor a penetrating look he did not doubt that he had an honest man before
him.

"Who are you?" he asked briefly.

Pencroff made himself known.

"Good," replied Cyrus Smith, "and by what means do you propose to escape?"

"By that lazy balloon which lies there doing nothing and which seems to be waiting just for us..."

The sailor had no need to finish.  The engineer understood from the first word.  He seized
Pencroff by the arms and led him to his dwelling.

There the sailor developed his project, really a simple one.  They risked nothing in its execution
but their lives, The storm was at its height, it was true, but an engineer as skilful as Cyrus Smith
would know how to navigate a balloon. If he, Pencroff, knew how to maneuver it he would not
have hesitated to leave with Herbert of course.  He had seen better storms than this, and he could
reckon with a tempest.

Cyrus Smith listened to the sailor without saying a word but his eyes lit up.  This was the
occasion. He was not a man to let it pass.  The project was very dangerous, but it was feasible. 
At night they could board the balloon in spite of the surveillance, slip into the basket and cut the
lines that held it.  Certainly they risked being killed but on the other hand they could succeed, and
without this storm... but without this storm the balloon would already have left and this long
sought opportunity would not have presented itself at this time.

"I am not alone!..." Cyrus Smith finally said.

"How many people do you wish to take?" asked the sailor.

"Two: my friend Spilett and my servant Neb."

"That makes three," replied Pencroff, "and with Herbert and I, five.  Now the balloon can carry
six..."

"That is sufficient.  We will leave!" said Cyrus Smith.

This "we" included the reporter who was not a man to back out.  When told about the project, he
approved it without reservations.  What astonished him was that they had not already thought of
so simple an idea.  As to Neb, he followed his master wherever his master wished to go.

"This evening then," said Pencroff, "the five of us will stroll along there pretending curiosity."

"This evening at ten o'clock," replied Cyrus Smith, "and pray to Heaven that this storm will not
abate before our departure."

Pencroff took leave of the engineer and returned to his lodging where young Herbert Brown had
remained.  This courageous lad knew of the sailor's plan and waited with anxiety for the results of
the steps taken with the engineer. As we know, it was that five determined men would hurl
themselves into the full storm!

No! The storm did not abate.  Neither Jonathan Forster nor his companions could dream of
confronting it in the frail

basket.  The day was terrible.  The engineer feared but one thing: it was that the balloon, held to
the ground and leveled by the wind, would be torn into a thousand pieces.  For several hours he
prowled around the nearly deserted square surveying the apparatus.  Pencroff on his side did
likewise, his hands in his pockets, about to yawn, like a man who doesn't know how to kill time,
but also fearing that the balloon would be torn or even that it would break its lines and escape into
the sky.

Evening came.  The night was very gloomy.  A thick mist came on with clouds at ground level. 
Rain fell mixed with snow.  It was cold.  A sort of fog settled over Richmond.  It seemed that the
violent tempest forced a truce between the besiegers and the besieged and that the cannon wished
to be silent before the formidable detonations of the storm.  The streets of the city were deserted. 
In this horrible weather it did not even seem necessary to guard the square in which the balloon
was floundering.  Evidently everything favored the departure of the prisoners; but this voyage in
an unleashed storm!...

"Nasty weather," Pencroff said to himself, adjusting his hat with his fist while the wind was trying
to dislodge it from his head.  "Oh well!  We will succeed all the same!"

At half past nine Cyrus Smith and his companions glided in from different corners of the square
which the gas lanterns, extinguished by the wind, left in deep darkness.  They could not even see
the enormous balloon which was almost completely thrown to the ground.  Independent of the
sacks of ballast which held the ropes, the basket was restrained by a strong cable which passed
through a ring in the pavement and doubled back on board.

The five prisoners met near the basket.  They had not been seen.  In the obscurity they could not
even see each other.

Without saying a word Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Neb and Herbert took their place in the
basket, while Pencroff on an order from the engineer, successively detached the bags of ballast. 
This took but a few moments and the sailor rejoined his companions.

The balloon was then held only by the doubled cable and Cyrus Smith had only to give the order
to depart.

At that moment a dog dashed toward the basket.  It was Top, the engineer's dog, who having
broken his chain, had followed his master.  The engineer, fearing the excess weight, wanted to
send the animal away.

"Bah!  What's one more," said Pencroff, relieving the basket of two sacks of sand.

Then he cast off the doubled cable and the balloon left in an oblique direction and disappeared
after the basket hurled itself against two chimneys in the fury of its departure.

The storm then unleashed itself with a frightful violence. During the night the engineer could not
think of descending and when day returned all sight of ground was obscured by the clouds.  It was
only after five days that a clearing let them see the immense ocean beneath the balloon, which the
wind had driven on at a frightful speed.

We know that five men left on the 20th of March and that four of them were thrown, on the 24th
of March, on a deserted

coast more than six thousand miles from their country (1).

It was their natural chief, the engineer Cyrus Smith, who was missing.  The first thought of the
four balloon survivors was to rescue him.


Chapter III

Five o'clock in the evening - The missing person - Neb's despair - Search to the north - The islet -
A wretched night of anguish - The morning fog - Neb swims - View of the land - Fording the
channel.

 The engineer was carried off by a wave through the mesh of rope which had given way.  His dog
had also disappeared. The faithful animal had voluntarily thrown himself in to help his master.

"Forward!" shouted the reporter.

And all four, Gideon Spilett, Herbert, Pencroff and Neb, forgetting their exhaustion and fatigue,
began their search.

Poor Neb cried with rage and despair at the same time at the thought of having lost all that he
loved in the world.

Two minutes had not passed from the moment when Cyrus Smith had disappeared to the instant
when his companions touched land.  They could therefore hope to arrive in time to save him.

"Let us search!  Let us search!" shouted Neb.

"Yes, Neb," replied Gideon Spilett, "and we will find him!"

"Living?"

"Living!"

"Does he know how to swim?" asked Pencroff.

"Yes," replied Neb, "and besides, Top is there..."

The sailor, listening to the sea roar, shook his head.

It was on the coast to the north, about a half mile from the spot where the castaways had landed,
that the engineer had disappeared.  If he could reach the nearest point on the shoreline he would
be at most a half mile from them.

It was then nearly six o'clock.  A fog came on making the night very obscure.  The castaways
proceeded northward on the eastern coastline of this land upon which chance had thrown them,
an unknown land whose geographical location they could not even guess at.  They trampled on
sandy soil, mixed with stones, which seemed to be deprived of every species of vegetation.  This
soil, very uneven and rugged, seemed in certain spots to be riddled with small potholes which
made their progress very painful.  From these holes, heavy birds of sluggish flight escaped at each
instant, flying off in all directions into the obscurity.  Other more agile ones rose and

(1)  On the 5th of April, Richmond fell into Grant's hands and the revolt of the rebels was
suppressed.  Lee retired to the west and the cause of American unity triumphed.

passed overhead in flocks like clouds.  The sailor thought he recognized sea gulls and sea mews
whose sharp cries contended with the roars from the sea.

From time to time the castaways stopped to shout and listen for some sound not made by the
ocean.  It was possible that if they were near the place where the engineer had landed they might
hear Top's barking in case Cyrus Smith was unable to give some sign of his existence.  But no cry
was heard above the roar of the waves and the clash of the surf.  Then the small troop resumed
their forward march and searched every crevice of the shoreline.

After a walk of twenty minutes the four castaways were suddenly stopped by the foaming waves. 
Solid ground vanished. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point against which the
sea broke with fury.

"It is a promontory," said the sailor.  "We must retrace our steps keeping to our right and in this
way we will get to the mainland."

"But what if he is there!" replied Neb, pointing to the ocean, whose enormous waves whitened the
darkness.

"Then let us call him!"

And they all shouted together vigorously but there was no response.  They waited for a lull.  They
shouted again.  Again nothing.

The castaways then went back on the opposite side of the promontory on soil just as sandy and
rocky.  However Pencroff noted that this shoreline was more abrupt, and the ground more
elevated and he assumed that it was joined by an elongated ramp to a high coast that he could
barely make out.  The birds were less numerous on this part of the shore.  The sea also surged less
here and was less noisy.  It was also remarkable that there was less agitation in the waves.  They
could barely hear the noise of the surf.  Doubtless this side of the promontory formed a
semi-circular cove with a sharp point that protected it from the waves of the open sea.

But in going in this direction they were moving toward the south away from that part of the coast
where Cyrus Smith might have set foot.  For a mile and a half the shoreline did not present any
turn that would permit them to head north again. Though they had turned the point, the
promontory should be connected to the mainland.  In spite of their exhaustion the castaways
continued to move forward courageously hoping at each moment to find a sharp turn that would
put them back in the original direction.

Imagine their disappointment when, after about two miles, they found themselves once again
stopped by the sea on a somewhat elevated group of slippery rocks.

"We are on an islet," said Pencroff, "and we have surveyed it from one extremity to the other."

The sailor's observation was justified.  The castaways had been thrown not on an continent, not
even on an island, but on an islet that did not measure more than two miles in length and whose
width was evidently considerably less.

But was this barren islet, scattered with rocks, without vegetation, this desolate refuge for several
sea birds, was it

part of an important archipelago?  They could not say.  When the balloon passengers were in the
basket they could see land only indistinctly through the fog.  They were not able to judge its size. 
However, Pencroff, whose sailor's eyes were accustomed to pierce the haze, believed that he
could distinguish confused masses in the west which would signify an elevated coast.

But then, because of the obscurity, they could not determine if the islet had a simple or a complex
appearance. They could not even leave it because the sea surrounded it. They must put off until
the next day the search for the engineer who alas had not signaled his presence by any cry.

"The silence of Cyrus proves nothing," said the reporter. "He may have fainted or be injured and
momentarily in no condition to respond, but let us not despair."

The reporter then got the idea of lighting a fire at the point of the islet to serve as a signal to the
engineer.  They looked in vain for dry wood or brushwood.  Sand and stones, there was nothing
else.

One can understand the grief of Neb and his companions who were keenly attached to this
intrepid Cyrus Smith.  It was quite evident that they were powerless to help him.  They must
await the day.  Either the engineer had been able to save himself and had already found refuge at
some point on the coast, or he was lost forever!

These were long and painful hours to pass.  The cold was sharp.  The castaways suffered cruelly
but they scarcely felt it.  It did not occur to them to rest for a moment.  Forgetting themselves for
their chief, hoping, always wanting to hope, they went back and forth on the barren islet, always
coming back to its north point, closest to the place of the catastrophe.  They listened, they
shouted, they tried to detect some supreme call.  Their voices should have carried far because a
certain calm then prevailed in the atmosphere and the noise of the sea began to fall with the
billows.

One of Neb's cries even seemed, for a moment, to produce an echo.  Herbert brought this to
Pencroff's attention, adding:

"This proves that there is a shoreline not too far to the west."

They sailor made an affirmative sign.  Besides, his eyes could not deceive him.  If he had
distinguished land however faintly, it was because land was there.

But this remote echo was the only response provoked by Neb's cries and all else on the east part
of the islet remained silent.

However, little by little the sky cleared.  Toward midnight some stars were shining and if the
engineer had been there near his companions he would have remarked that these stars were no
longer those of the northern hemisphere.  In fact the pole star did not appear above this new
horizon and the polar constellations were no longer those usually observed in North America.  It
was the Southern Cross which was shining at the south pole of the sky.

The night passed.  About five o'clock in the morning, the 25th of March, the higher levels of the
atmosphere changed slightly.  The horizon was still dark but with the first light

of day an opaque fog rose from the sea so that visibility did not extend more than about twenty
feet.  The fog spread out in large volutes that moved clumsily.

It was a disappointment.  The castaways could not distinguish anything around them.  While Neb
and the reporter looked toward the ocean, the sailor and Herbert looked for a coastline in the
west but not a bit of land was visible.

"No matter," said Pencroff, "if I do not see the coastline, I can feel it... It is there... there... just as
surely as we are no longer in Richmond."

But the haze was not long in lifting.  It was nothing but a fine weather haze.  A good sun warmed
the upper layers and this heat sifted to the surface of the islet.

In fact about half past six, three quarters of an hour after sunrise, the fog became more
transparent.  It persisted above but dissipated below.  Soon the entire islet appeared as if it had
descended from a cloud.  The sea showed itself in a circular form, infinite in the east but bounded
by an elevated and abrupt coast in the west.

Yes!  Land was there.  Their safety was at least provisionally assured.  Between the islet and the
coast, separated by an open channel a half mile in width, ran a noisy rapid current.

However, one of the castaways, consulting only his heart, immediately threw himself into the
current, without asking the opinions of his companions and without even saying a single word.  It
was Neb.  He was in a hurry to be on this coast and to rush northward.  No one could hold him
back.  Pencroff called to him but in vain.  The reporter was inclined to follow Neb.

Pencroff then went to him:

"Do you want to cross this channel?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Gideon Spilett.

"Well then listen, believe me," said the sailor, "Neb is well able to bring help to his master.  If we
throw ourselves into this channel we will risk being carried to the open sea by an extremely
violent current.  Now, if I am not mistaken, it is an ebbing current.  See the sea is going down on
the beach. Let us have patience and at low tide it is possible that we will find a fordable
passage..."

"You are right," replied the reporter.  "Let us not separate any more than we have to..."

During this time Neb was vigorously struggling against the current.  He crossed it in an oblique
direction.  They saw his black shoulders emerge at each stroke.  He was swept on at an extreme
speed but he also got closer to the shore.  It took him a half hour to cross the half mile that
separated the islet from the mainland.  He reached the opposite shore several thousand feet
downstream from the point on the islet where he started.     Neb set foot at the base of a high
granite wall and shook himself vigorously, then running he soon disappeared behind a point of
rocks that projected into the sea at about the same distance as the northern extremity of the islet.

Neb's companions anxiously followed his daring endeavor. When he was out of sight they turned
their attention to this land on which they would be taking refuge, while eating some shellfish
which were scattered on the sand.  It was a meager repast but it was something.

The opposite coast formed a vast bay, terminated in the south by a very sharp point which was
devoid of all vegetation and of a very savage aspect.  This point was joined to the shore by a
rather capricious pattern and was braced up against high granite rocks.  Toward the north, on the
other hand, a wide bay formed a more rounded coast, running from southwest to northeast and
ending with a sharp cape.  Between these two extreme points of the bay's arc the distance was
perhaps eight miles.  A half mile from shore the islet occupied a narrow strip of the sea resembling
an enormous cetacean whose body it represented on a large scale.  Its largest width was not more
than a quarter of a mile.

Opposite the island, the shore in the foreground was composed of sand scattered with blackish
rocks which, at the moment, were reappearing little by little with the ebbing tide. Behind that was
a sort of smooth granite facade crowned by a capricious ridge at a height of three hundred feet.  It
ran thus for a length of three miles and ended abruptly at the right with a slanted corner that one
would think was made by the hand of man.  On the left, on the other hand, beyond the
promontory, this sort of irregular cliff broke into prismatic fragments made of a conglomerate of
rocks, sloping downward by an elongated ramp which gradually blended with the rocks at the
southern point.

There was not one tree on the upper plateau of the coast. It was a flat plateau like the one which
overlooks Capetown at the Cape of Good Hope but with much reduced proportions.  At least so
it appeared as seen from the islet.  Nevertheless, vegetation was not lacking to the right, behind
the slanted corner.  They could easily distinguish a confused mass of large trees to the limit of
their view.  This verdure gladdened eyes saddened by the lines of the granite face.

Lastly, to the rear beyond the plateau in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least
seven miles, glittered a white peak reflecting the sun's rays.  It was a hat of snow capping some
distant mountain.

They could not say if the land formed an island or if it was part of a continent.  But looking at the
convulsed rocks piled up on the left, a geologist would have not hesitated to give them a volcanic
origin, because they were incontestably the result of plutonic activity.

Gideon Spilett, Pencroff and Herbert carefully observed this land on which they would perhaps
spend many long years, even die on it if they were not on the ship lanes.

"Well," asked Herbert, "what do you say, Pencroff?"

"Well," replied the sailor, "there is good here and bad as in everything.  We will see.  But now the
ebb is being felt. In three hours we will try to cross and once there we will try to organize
ourselves to search for Mister Smith.

Pencroff was not wrong in his prediction.  Three hours later, at low tide, most of the sand that
formed the bed of the canal was uncovered.  Between the shore and the islet there remained only
a narrow channel which would doubtless be easy to cross.

In fact about ten o'clock Gideon Spilett and his two companions took off their clothing, placed
them in bundles over their heads and ventured into the channel whose depth was not more than
five feet.  Herbert, for whom the water was too high, swam like a fish and managed wonderfully. 
All arrived without difficulty on the other side.  There the sun rapidly dried them, they put on their
clothes which they had preserved from contact with the water, and they discussed the next step.


CHAPTER IV

Lithodomes - The river's mouth - The "Chimneys" - Continuation of the search - Evergreen forest
- Providing fuel - Waiting for the ebb - On the heights - The raft of wood - Return to the shore.

All at once the reporter told the sailor to wait for him in this very place where he would rejoin
him, and without losing an instant he ascended the coast in the direction followed by the negro
Neb several hours earlier.  Then he rapidly disappeared behind a corner of the coast, so anxious
was he for news about the engineer.

Herbert wanted to accompany him.

"Stay here, my boy," the sailor said to him.  "We have to prepare an encampment and to see if it is
possible to find something more substantial for the appetite than shellfish. Our friends will need to
recuperate on their return.  Each to his task."

"I am ready, Pencroff," replied Herbert.

"Good!" replied the sailor.  "That will do.  Let us proceed methodically.  We are tired, we are
cold, we are hungry.  Hence we must find shelter, fire and nourishment. The forest has wood, the
nests have eggs; it remains to find a house."

"Very well," replied Herbert, "I will look for a cave among these rocks and I will surely discover
some hole in which we can hide."     "That's that," replied Pencroff.  "Let's go, my boy."

And they both walked to the foot of the enormous wall on this beach that the receding tide had
largely uncovered.  But instead of going toward the north they went to the south. Several hundred
feet from where they had landed, Pencroff noted that the coastline presented a narrow opening
which, in his opinion, could be the mouth of a river or a brook.  Now, on the one hand, it was
important to establish themselves in the neighborhood of a potable watercourse, and on the other
hand, it was not impossible that the current had thrown Cyrus Smith on this shore.

The high wall, as has been said, rose to a height of three hundred feet but the block was solid
throughout, and even at its base, barely washed by the sea, it did not present the smallest fissure
which could serve as a temporary dwelling.  It was a perpendicular wall, made of a very hard
granite which the waves had never eroded.  Near the summit all kinds of sea birds fluttered about
in particular various web- footed species with long compressed pointed beaks - squalling, and
hardly afraid of the presence of man who, for the first time no doubt, was thus disturbing their
solitude. Among these web-footers Pencroff recognized several skua, a sort of sea gull which is
sometimes called stercorarius and also the voracious little sea mews which nested in the crevices
of the granite.  A gunshot fired into this swarm of birds would have killed a great number; but to
fire a gunshot, a gun was needed and neither Pencroff nor Herbert had one. Besides these sea
mews and these skua are scarcely edible and even their eggs have a detestable taste.

Meanwhile Herbert, who had gone a little more to the left, soon noted several seaweed covered
rocks which the high tide would cover again several hours later.  On these rocks, amid slippery
seaweed, bivalve shellfish abounded which hungry people could not disdain.  Herbert called
Pencroff, who quickly ran up.

"Ah! These are mussels!" shouted the sailor.  "Here is something to replace the eggs that we don't
have!"

"These are not mussels!" replied young Herbert, who carefully examined the mollusks attached to
the rocks, "they are lithodomes."

"And are they edible?" asked Pencroff.

"Perfectly so."

"Then let us eat lithodomes."

The sailor could rely on Herbert.  The young boy was very strong in natural history and always
had a veritable passion for this science.  His father had encouraged him in this line by letting him
attend the courses of the best Boston professors who were fond of this intelligent and industrious
lad. Moreover, his instincts as a naturalist would afterwards be utilized more than once and on
this outset they did not deceive him.

These lithodomes were oblong shells, tightly attached in clusters to the rocks.  They belonged to
that species of molluscous perforators which bore holes in the hardest stones. Their shell is
rounded at both ends, a feature not to be found in the ordinary mussel.

Pencroff and Herbert made a good meal of these lithodomes which were then half opened to the
sun.  They ate them like oysters, and found them to have a strong peppery taste which consoled
them for not having either pepper nor any other sort of condiment.

Their hunger was thus appeased for the moment, but not their thirst, which increased after their
consumption of these naturally spiced mollusks.  They would have to find fresh water and it was
not likely that it would be lacking in a region so randomly capricious.  Pencroff and Herbert filled
their pockets and handkerchiefs with an ample supply of lithodomes.  They then went back to the
foot of the high land.

Two hundred feet further they arrived at this indentation in the coastline where, if Pencroff
guessed correctly, a small river should be flowing.  At this spot the wall appeared to have been
separated by some violent subterranean action. At its base a cove was hollowed out, the far end
forming a very sharp angle.  The watercourse at that point measured one hundred feet in breadth,
and its two banks on each side were barely twenty feet wide.  The watercourse ran almost directly
between the two walls of granite which were not as high upstream; then it turned abruptly and
disappeared under some brushwood at a distance of half a mile.

"Here is water!  There is wood!" said Pencroff.  "Well now, Herbert, all we need is the house!"

The water of the river was clear.  The sailor knew that at this moment of low tide the ocean had
not reached here, and the water would be sweet.  This important point established, Herbert
looked for some cavity which would serve as a retreat but it was useless.  Everywhere the wall
was smooth, flat and perpendicular.

However, at the very mouth of the river, above the line of high tide, there had formed, not a
grotto, but a pile of enormous fallen rocks, such as are often met with in granite countries and
which are called "Chimneys."

Pencroff and Herbert went rather far in among the rocks, in sandy passages where light was not
wanting because it entered by openings among the granite rocks, some of which were supported
only by a miracle of equilibrium.  But with the light the wind also entered - really a corridor wind
- and with the wind the sharp cold from the outside.  However, the sailor thought that by
obstructing certain portions of these passages, by closing some openings with a mixture of stones
and sand, they could make the "Chimneys" habitable.  The geometrical design of the "Chimneys"
resembled the typographical sign "&" which signifies "et cetera" abbreviated.  Now, by isolating
the upper loop of the sign, through which the wind blew from the south and from the west, they
would doubtless succeed in putting the lower part to use.

"Here's our work," said Pencroff, "and if we ever see Mr. Smith again he will know what to make
of this labyrinth."

"We will see him again, Pencroff," cried Herbert, "and when he returns he must find a halfway
decent dwelling here. It will be so if we can build a fireplace in the left passage and keep an
opening for the smoke."

"We can do it, my boy," replied the sailor, "and these chimneys" - that was the name that Pencroff
kept for this temporary home - "will serve us.  But first let us get a stock of fuel.  I imagine that
the wood will not be useless in stopping up these holes through which the very devil himself is
blowing his trumpet."

Herbert and Pencroff left the Chimneys and turning a corner, they began to ascend the left bank of
the river.  The current was rather rapid and carried some dead wood.  The rising tide - and it
could already be felt at this time - must drive it back with force to a rather considerable distance.
It occurred to the sailor that they could use this ebb and flow to transport heavy objects.

After walking for a quarter of an hour the sailor and the young boy reached the sharp bend which
the river made in turning to the left.  From this point its course passed through a forest of
magnificent trees.  These trees had kept their verdure in spite of the advanced season because they
belonged to the family of conifers which grow in all regions of the globe, from the frigid climates
to the tropics.  The young naturalist recognized especially the "deodars," a species very numerous
in the Himalayan zone, which emit an agreeable odor.  Among these fine trees grew clusters of fir
trees whose opaque parasol boughs spread wide around.  In the midst of the tall grass, Pencroff
felt his feet crushing dry branches which crackled like fireworks.

"Good, my boy," he said to Herbert, "if the name of these trees escapes me, I know at least to
classify them in the category of 'firewood' and, for the moment it is the only category that we
need!"

"Let us get some," replied Herbert, who got to work at once.

The collection was easy.  It was not even necessary to break the branches off the trees because
enormous quantities of dead wood were lying at their feet.  But if the fuel was not wanting, the
means of transportation left something to be desired.  This wood, being very dry, would burn
rapidly.  It would therefore be necessary to carry a considerable quantity to the Chimneys and the
load of two men would not suffice. Herbert noted this.

"Well my boy," replied the sailor, "there must be some way of moving this wood.  There is always
a way to do everything!  If we had a cart or a boat it would be quite easy."

"But we have the river!" said Herbert.

"Right" replied Pencroff.  "The river will be for us a road which moves itself and rafts were not
invented for nothing."

"Only" observed Herbert, "at the moment our road is going the wrong way since the tide is
rising."

"We will wait till it ebbs," replied the sailor, "and then it will be responsible for transporting our
fuel to the Chimneys.  Anyhow, let us prepare our raft."

The sailor, followed by Herbert, went towards the bend that the edge of the forest made with the
river.  In proportion to his strength, each carried a load of wood tied in faggots.  On the river's
bank a large quantity of dead branches was also found among grass where the foot of man had
probably never trod.  Pencroff began at once to put his raft together.

In a sort of eddy produced at one point of the bank, which broke the current, the sailor and the
young boy placed some rather large pieces of wood which they had attached together with dried
vines.  It thus formed a sort of raft on which they successively piled up all the collection of wood,
a load for at least twenty men.  In an hour the work was finished and the raft, moored to the bank,
waited for the change in tide.

They had several hours to kill and by common agreement Pencroff and Herbert resolved to climb
to the upper plateau in order to examine the country for a more extended radius.

Two hundred feet beyond the bend formed by the river the wall, terminated by a pile of rocks,
sloped away gently to the border of the forest.  It was like a natural staircase. Herbert and the
sailor began their climb.  Thanks to the strength of their knees they reached the crest in a few
moments and they positioned themselves at the corner above the mouth of the river.

On arriving their first glance was toward this ocean that they had crossed under such terrible
conditions!  They observed with emotion all of the coastline to the north where the catastrophe
had occurred.  It was there that Cyrus Smith had disappeared.  They searched to see if some
wreakage of their balloon, which a man could hang onto, was still floating.  Nothing!  The sea
was a vast desert of water.  As to the coast it too was deserted.  Neither the reporter nor Neb
could be seen there but it was possible that at this moment they were too far away.

"Something tells me," cried Herbert, "that a man as energetic as Mr. Cyrus would not allow
himself to drown like a new born babe.  He must have reached some point on the shore. Isn't it so,
Pencroff?"

The sailor sadly shook his head.  He hardly expected to see Cyrus Smith again, but he wanted to
give Herbert something to hope for.

"Without doubt, without doubt," he said, "our engineer is a man able to get out of a situation
where all others would succumb!..."

However he observed the coast very carefully.  Beneath them was the sandy shore bounded to the
right of the river's mouth by a line of breakers.  These rocks, still emerged, resembled groups of
amphibians lying in the surf.  Beyond the strip of reefs the sea sparkled under the rays of the sun. 
In the south, a sharp point hid the horizon and one could not say if the land was extended in this
direction, or if it oriented itself from southeast to southwest which would have made this coast a
sort of elongated peninsula.  Up to the extreme north of the bay the outline of the shore followed
a more rounded contour.  There the shore was low, flat, without cliffs, and with large sandy
beaches which the ebbing tide had uncovered.

Pencroff and Herbert then turned to the west.  First they saw a mountain topped by snow which
rose at the distance of six or seven miles.  Vast woods extended from the foothills of this
mountain to within two miles of the coast enhanced by large green patches due to the presence of
evergreens.  Then, from the edge of this forest to the coast itself groups of trees were scattered
randomly over a broad plateau.  On the left they saw the waters of a small river sparkle trough
several glades.  It seemed that the river's rather sinuous course led it back toward its source near
the spurs of the mountain.  At the spot where the sailor had left his raft of wood the watercourse
began to flow between the two high granite walls.  If, on the left bank, the wall remained sharp

and abrupt, on the right bank, on the contrary, it sank little by little, the blocks changing to
isolated rocks, the rocks to stones, the stones to pebbles up to the extremity of the point.

"Are we on an island?" murmured the sailor.

"In any case it seems to be rather vast!" replied the young lad.

"An island, however vast, will never be anything but an island!" said Pencroff.

But this important question could not yet be resolved. The answer would have to wait for another
time.  As to the land itself, island or continent, it seemed to be fertile, with a pleasant appearance
and with a varied output.

"That is fortunate," Pencroff noted, "and in our misfortune we should give thanks to Providence."

"God be praised!" responded Herbert, whose pious heart was full of gratitude to the Author of all
things.

For a long while Pencroff and Herbert examined this country on which destiny had thrown them
but it was difficult to guess from this quick inspection what the future had in store for them.

Then they returned following the southern crest of the granite plateau, bordered by capricious
rocks with bizarre shapes.  Several hundred birds lived there nested in holes of the stone. 
Herbert, hopping over the rocks, made a large flock of these winged creatures fly away.

"Ah," he cried, "These are neither sea gulls nor sea mews!"

"Then what are these birds?" asked Pencroff.  "Upon my word, one would say pigeons."

"Quite so, but these are wild pigeons or rock pigeons," replied Herbert.  "I recognize them by the
double black band on their wing, by their white rump, and their ashen blue plumage.  Now, if the
rock pigeon is good to eat their eggs must be excellent if there are still some in their nests!..."

"We will not give them time to hatch if it isn't in the shape of an omelette!" replied Pencroff
gleefully.

"But in what will you make your omelette?" asked Herbert, "In your hat?"

"Well," replied the sailor, "I am not enough of a wizard for that.  We are forced to use eggs in the
shell, my boy, and I will be in charge of disposing of the hardest of them."

Pencroff and the young lad carefully examined the crevices in the granite and they did in fact find
eggs in some of the cavities.  Several dozens were collected, then placed in the sailor's
handkerchief and since it was almost high tide they began to descend to the watercourse.

When they arrived at the bend in the river it was one o'clock in the afternoon.  The current had
already reversed itself.  It was necessary therefore to profit from the ebb to bring the raft of wood
to the river's mouth.  Pencroff had no intention of letting the raft float in the current at random
nor did he intend to board it in order to steer it.  But a sailor is never at a loss when it is a
question of cables or ropes, and Pencroff quickly braided a long rope several

fathoms long by means of dried vines.  This vegetable cable was attached to the back of the raft. 
The sailor wiggled his hand while Herbert pushed the raft back with a long pole, keeping it in the
current.

The procedure succeeded as hoped.  The large load of wood, which the sailor held on to while
walking on the bank, followed the current. The bank was even and there was no reason to fear
that the raft would run aground.  Before two o'clock they arrived at the mouth of the river several
paces from the Chimneys.


CHAPTER V

Arrangement of the Chimneys - The important question of fire - The box of matches - Search on
the shore - Return of the reporter and Neb - A single match! - A crackling fireplace - The first
supper - The first night on land.

After the raft of wood was unloaded Pencroff's first concern was to make the Chimneys habitable
by obstructing those passages through which the wind blew.  Some sand, stones, intertwined
branches and mud hermetically sealed the corridors of the "&c" which were open to the winds
from the south, thus isolating the upper loop.  One passageway only, narrow and winding,
opening on one side, was kept in order to conduct the smoke outside and to induce a draft from
the fireplace.  The Chimneys were thus divided into three or four rooms, if one could give this
name to such gloomy dens with which a wild beast would hardly be content.  But it was dry and
one could stand up, at least in the main room which occupied the center. A fine sand covered the
ground and everything taken into account, they would have to manage until they could find
something better.

While working Herbert and Pencroff chatted.

"Perhaps," said Herbert, "our companions have found a better accommodation than ours?"

"That is possible," replied the sailor, "but doubtful, so don't hold your breath!  It is better to have
one string too many in your bow than no string at all!"

"Ah!" repeated Herbert, "if they could only bring back Mr. Smith when they return, how we
would thank Heaven!"

"Yes," murmured Pencroff.  "That was truly a man!"

"Was..." said Herbert.  "Do you despair of ever seeing him again?"

"God forbid!" replied the sailor.

The arrangements were quickly completed and Pencroff was quite satisfied with them.

"Now," he said, "our friends can return.  They will find a suitable shelter."

It remained to build a fireplace and to prepare a meal, really a simple and easy task.  Some large
flat stones were placed on the ground in the first corridor on the left at the entrance of the narrow
passageway which had been reserved for this purpose.  If the smoke did not draw out too much
heat this would evidently be sufficient to maintain a proper temperature inside.  A load of wood
was stored in one of the rooms and the sailor placed several logs and small pieces of wood on the
rocks of the fireplace.  The sailor was engaged in this work when Herbert asked him if he had any
matches.

"Certainly," replied Pencroff, "and I will add, fortunately, because without matches or tinder we
would have quite a problem!"

"We could always make fire the way the savages do," replied Herbert, "by rubbing two pieces of
dry wood against each other."

"Well, my boy, try it and then see if you can find a better way to break your arms."

"Nevertheless it is a very simple procedure and is often used on the islands of the Pacific."

"I do not say no," replied Pencroff, "but I believe that the savages know just how to do it or that
they use a particular wood because more than once I have tried to make a fire in this way and I
have never succeeded at it.  I admit that I much prefer matches.  By the way, where are my
matches?"

Pencroff searched in his vest for the match box that was always with him because he was a
confirmed smoker.  He did not find it.  He rummaged through his pants pockets and to his
amazement he could not find the box in question.

"This is stupid!  It's more than stupid!" he said looking at Herbert.  "This box must have fallen out
of my pocket and I have lost it!  But you, Herbert, do you have a tinder box or anything that we
can use to make a fire?"

"No, Pencroff."

The sailor went out scratching his forehead followed by the young boy.

Both searched with the greatest care on the beach, among the rocks, near the bank of the river,
but to no avail.  The box was made of copper and should not have escaped their attention.

"Pencroff," asked Herbert, "didn't you throw the box out of the basket?"

"I kept my mind on it," replied the sailor, "but when one has been tossed about like we were, so
small an object can easily disappear.  Even my pipe is gone.  Where can the damn box be?"

"Well, the tide is going down," said Herbert, "let us go round to the spot where we landed."

There was little chance that they would recover this box that the waves had tossed among the
rocks at high tide but it was worth a try under the circumstances.  Herbert and Pencroff ran to the
spot where they had landed earlier about two hundred feet from the Chimneys.

There, among the pebbles, in the cavities of the rocks, they searched carefully.  The result:
nothing.  If the box had

fallen in this vicinity it must have been swept away by the waves.  As the sea went down the sailor
searched every crevice in the rocks without finding anything.  It was a serious loss under the
circumstances and for the moment irreparable.

Pencroff found it hard to hide his disappointment.  His brow wrinkled up.  He didn't say a word. 
Herbert wanted to console him by observing that, very likely, the matches would have been wet
from the sea water and would have been useless.

"But no, my boy," replied the sailor.  "They were in a tightly closed copper box!  And now what
are we to do?"

"We will certainly find some means of making fire," said Herbert.  "Mr. Smith or Mr. Spilett
would not be at a loss like we are."

"Yes," replied Pencroff, "but meanwhile we are without fire and our companions will find a sorry
meal on their return."

"But," said Herbert briskly, "isn't it possible that they have tinder or matches?"

"I doubt it," replied the sailor shaking his head.  "First of all Neb and Mr. Smith do not smoke,
and I really believe that Mr. Spilett would rather save his notebook than his box of matches."

Herbert did not reply.  The loss of the box was obviously a regrettable thing. However, the lad
counted on making a fire by one means or another.  Pencroff, who was more experienced, did not
think so, though he was not a man to be bothered by a small or a large inconvenience.  In any
event, there was only one course to take: wait for the return of Neb and of the reporter.  But it
was necessary to forget about the meal of hard eggs that they had wanted to prepare for them and
a diet of raw meat either for themselves or for the others did not appear to be an agreeable
prospect.

Before returning to the Chimneys the sailor and Herbert collected a new batch of lithodomes in
the event that there definitely would be no fire.  They went back silently on the path to their
dwelling.

Pencroff, his eyes fixed on the ground, was still looking for the lost box.  He even ascended again
the left bank of the river from the mouth to the bend where the raft of wood had been moored. 
He returned to the upper plateau.  He went over it in every direction, he searched among the tall
grass along the border of the forest - all in vain.

It was five o'clock in the evening when Herbert and he returned to the Chimneys.  Needless to say
they rummaged through the darkest corners of the passageways but they definitely had to give up. 
About six o'clock, at the time when the sun was disappearing behind the highlands of the west,
Herbert, who was pacing back and forth on the shore, signaled the return of Neb and of Gideon
Spilett.

They were returning alone!...  His heart skipped a beat. The sailor had not been deceived by his
misgivings.  The engineer Cyrus Smith had not been found!

On arriving the reporter sat down on a rock without saying a word.  Exhausted and dying of
hunger he did not have the strength to say a word.

new tears that he could not hold back showed only too clearly that he had lost all hope!

The reporter told them about the search that they had undertaken to find Cyrus Smith.  Neb and
he had followed the coastline for a distance of more than eight miles and consequently well
beyond the point where the next to the last fall of the balloon occurred, the fall that was followed
by the disappearance of the engineer and the dog Top.  The shore was deserted.  Not a trace, not
a single footprint.  Not a stone recently overturned, not a sign on the sand, no mark of the human
foot on all of this part of the coast.  It was evident that no inhabitant ever frequented this portion
of the shore. The ocean was just as deserted as the beach and it was there, several hundred feet
from shore, that the engineer had met his fate.

Then Neb got up and voiced the sentiments of hope that were bottled up within him:

"No!" he shouted.  "No!  He is not dead!  No!  That cannot be!  He!  Come now!  It might
happen to me or anyone else but him!  Never!  He could get out of any scrape!..."

Then his strength left him.

"Ah!, I can do no more," he murmured.

Herbert ran to him.

"Neb," said the lad, "we will find him!  God will return him!  But now you are hungry.  Eat, eat a
little, I beg you."

And, while speaking, he offered the poor negro a handful of shellfish, a meager and insufficient
nourishment.     Neb had not eaten for many hours but he refused.  Deprived of his master he
could not, he did not want to live!

As to Gideon Spilett, he devoured these mollusks.  Then he lay down on the sand in front of a
rock.  He was worn out but calm.  Herbert came up to him and offered him his hand:

"Sir," he said, "we have discovered a shelter where you will be better off than here.  It is getting
dark.  Get some rest.  Tomorrow we will see..."

The reporter got up and, guided by the lad, he went toward the Chimneys.

Pencroff came over to him and asked him in a casual voice if by chance he had a match on him.

The reporter stopped, looked in his pockets, and didn't find any.  He said, "I had some but I must
have thrown them away..."

The sailor then spoke to Neb.  He asked the same question and got the same reply.

"Damn it!" cried the sailor, who could not hold back this word.  The reporter heard him and going
to Pencroff he said, "You have no matches?"

"Not a single one, and consequently we have no fire!"

"Ah!" shouted Neb, "If my master were here he would know how to make it!"

The four castaways stood there and looked at each other not without some uneasiness.  It was
Herbert who first broke the silence by saying:

"Mister Spilett, you are a smoker.  You always have matches on you.  Perhaps you have not
looked thoroughly.  Look again.  A single match will suffice."

The reporter rummaged again through his pants pockets, his waistcoat, his overcoat and finally to
Pencroff's great joy as well as to his own surprise he felt a piece of wood caught in the lining of
his waistcoat.  His fingers seized this small piece of wood through the fabric but he could not get
it out. Since this was only one match they must not rub the phosphorous.

"Will you let me try it?" the lad asked him.

Very skillfully, without breaking it, he succeeded in removing this small piece of wood, this
wretched and precious flare which for these poor people was of such importance.  It was intact.

"A match!" shouted Pencroff.  "Ah!  It's as if we had a whole cargo!"

He took the match and followed by his companions he went back to the Chimneys.

This small piece of wood which in civilized countries is lavished with indifference and has no
value would have to be used here with extreme care.  The sailor assured himself that it was really
dry.  That done he said, "We need some paper.

"Here," replied Gideon Spilett, who tore out a leaf from his notebook after some hesitation.

Pencroff took the piece of paper that the reporter gave him and he squatted in front of the
fireplace.  There several handfuls of grass, leaves and dry moss were placed under the faggots and
arranged so that the air could easily circulate and the dead wood would catch fire quickly.

Then Pencroff folded the paper in the form of a cone, as smokers do in a high wind, and placed it
among the mosses. Next taking a rather flat stone he wiped it with care.  With his heart beating
fast he gently rubbed the stone without breathing.

The first rubbing produced no effect.  Pencroff had not applied enough pressure fearing that he
would scratch the phosphorous.

"No, I can't do it," he said, "my hand trembles... The match did not catch fire... I cannot... I don't
want to," and getting up he asked Herbert to take his place.

Certainly in all his life the lad had not been so nervous. His heart beat fast.  Prometheus going to
steal fire from Heaven had not been more anxious.  He did not hesitate however and quickly
rubbed the stone.  They heard a sputter then a weak blue flame spurted out producing a sharp
flame.  Herbert gently turned the match so as to feed the flame, then he slipped it into the paper
cone.  The paper caught fire in a few seconds and the moss also caught.

Several moments later the dry wood crackled and a joyful flame, activated by the sailor's vigorous
breath, developed in the midst of the obscurity.

"Finally," shouted Pencroff, getting up.  "I was never so nervous in my life!"

The fire certainly burned well on the fireplace of flat stones.  The smoke went easily through the
narrow passage, the chimney drew the smoke and a pleasant warmth spread out.

As to the fire, they had to take care not to let it burn out and to always keep some embers under
the ashes.  But this was merely a matter of care and attention since there was no shortage of wood
and their supply could always be renewed at their convenience.  Pencroff first intended to use the
fireplace to prepare a supper more nourishing than a dish of lithodomes.  Herbert brought over
two dozen eggs.  The reporter, resting in a corner, watched these preparations without saying a
word.  Three thoughts were on his mind.  Was Cyrus still alive?  If he was alive where could he
be?  If he had survived his fall why had he not made his existence known? As to Neb, he prowled
the beach.  He was a body without a soul.

Pencroff, who knew fifty two ways to make eggs, had no options at the moment.  He had to be
content to introduce them among the warm cinders and to let them harden at a low heat.

In several minutes the baking took effect and the sailor invited the reporter to take his share of the
supper.  Such was the first meal of the castaways on this unknown shore.  These hard eggs were
excellent and since the egg contains all the elements needed for man's nourishment these poor
people found themselves well off and felt strengthened.

Ah! If only one of them had not been missing at this meal! If the five prisoners who escaped from
Richmond could all have been there under this pile of rocks in front of this bright crackling fire on
this dry sand, what thanks they would have given to Heaven!  But the most ingenious, also the
wisest, he who was their unquestioned chief, Cyrus Smith, was missing alas and his body had not
even had a decent burial!

Thus passed the day of March 25.  Night came.  Outside they heard the wind whistling and the
monotonous surf beating against the shore.  The pebbles, tossed around by the waves, rolled
about with a deafening noise.

The reporter retired on the floor of one of the corridors after having quickly noted the incidents of
the day: the first appearance of this new land, the disappearance of the engineer, the exploration
of the coast, the incident with the matches, etc.; and aided by fatigue he succeeded in finding
some sleep.

Herbert slept well.  As to the sailor, he spent the night with one eye on the fire and spared no fuel.

Only one of the castaways did not rest in the Chimneys. It was Neb, forlorn and without hope,
who for the entire night, in spite of the pleadings of his companions to take some rest, wandered
on the shore calling for his master!


CHAPTER VI

The inventory of the castaways - Nothing - Burnt linen - An excursion in the forest - Evergreen
flora - The jacamar escapes - Trace of wild beasts - The couroucous - Grouse - A curious fishing
line.

The inventory of the objects possessed by these castaways from the sky, thrown on a coast that
appeared to be uninhabited, could be promptly established.

They had nothing except for the clothes on their backs at the moment of the catastrophe.  We
should however mention a notebook and a watch that Gideon Spilett had saved inadvertently no
doubt, but not a weapon, not a tool, not even a pocket knife.  The balloon passengers had thrown
everything overboard in order to lighten it.  The imaginary heros of Daniel de Foe or of Wyss, as
well as Selkirk and Raynal, castaways at Juan-Fernandez or the archipelago of Auckland, never
found themselves so absolutely helpless.  They had abundant resources drawn from their stranded
vessels whether in grain, animals, tools, munitions, or else some wreckage had reached the shore
which allowed them to provide for the primary needs of life.  At the start they did not find
themselves absolutely disarmed in the face of nature.  But here, no instrument whatsoever, not a
utensil.  Nothing, they must obtain everything!

If however, Cyrus Smith had been with them, if the engineer had been able to put his practical
science, his inventive spirit to the service of this situation, perhaps all hope would not have been
lost.  Alas!  They could not count on seeing Cyrus Smith again.  The castaways could depend on
no one but themselves and on Providence who never abandons those whose faith is sincere.

But before all else should they settle themselves on this part of the shore without trying to find
out what continent it belonged to, if it was inhabited or if this coast was only the beach of a
deserted island?

It was an important question to be resolved with the briefest delay.  The measures to be taken
would depend on the answer.  However it was Pencroff's advice that it would be better to wait
several days before undertaking an exploration. In fact it was necessary to prepare provisions and
to obtain food more substantial than only eggs and mollusks.  The explorers, having endured long
fatigue, without a shelter for sleeping, would have to refresh themselves before doing anything
else.

The Chimneys offered a sufficient retreat for the time being.  The fire was lit and it would be easy
to save the cinders.  For the moment there was no lack of mollusks and eggs among the rocks and
on the beach.  They would surely find the means to kill some of these pigeons that flew about by
the hundreds at the crest of the plateau using sticks or stones. Perhaps the trees of the nearby
forest would give them edible fruit?  Finally sweet water was there.  It was therefore agreed

that for the next few days they would remain at the Chimneys in order to prepare there for an
exploration either of the coastline or of the interior of the country.

This plan particularly suited Neb.  As stubborn in his ideas as in his forebodings he was in no
hurry to leave this part of the coast, the scene of the catastrophe.  He did not believe, he did not
want to believe that Cyrus Smith was lost. No, it didn't seem possible that such a man met his end
in so vulgar a fashion, carried off by a wave, drowned in the sea only a few hundred feet from
shore.  As long as the waves had not thrown up the body of the engineer, as long as he, Neb, had
not seen with his own eyes, touched with his own hands the corpse of his master, he would not
believe that he was dead. And this idea took root in his obstinate heart more than ever. Illusion
perhaps but a respected illusion nevertheless which the sailor did not wish to destroy.  For him
there was no more hope and the engineer had indeed perished in the waves but with Neb there
was nothing to discuss.  He was like a dog that will not leave the place where his master died and
his grief was such that he probably would not survive him.

On the morning of March 26th, at dawn, Neb went back to the shore in a northerly direction,
returning to where the sea had doubtless closed in on the unfortunate Smith.

Breakfast on this day was composed only of pigeon eggs and of lithodomes.  Herbert had found
some salt left behind in the crevices of the rocks by evaporation and this mineral substance was
put to good use.

The meal finished, Pencroff asked the reporter if he wanted to accompany them to the forest
where Herbert and he would try to hunt.  However, on further reflection it was decided that
someone should stay behind to look after the fire and in the unlikely event that Neb would need
help.  The reporter would therefore stay behind.

"To the hunt, Herbert," said the sailor.  "We will find our munitions along the way and we will fire
our guns in the forest."

But, when they were about to leave, Herbert noted that since they had no tinder it would perhaps
be prudent to replace it with another substance.

"What?" asked Pencroff.

"Burnt linen," replied the lad.  "In a pinch it can serve as tinder."

The sailor found that this advice made sense except that it was inconvenient since it meant the
sacrifice of a piece of handkerchief.  Nevertheless it was worth the trouble and so a piece of
Pencroff's large square handkerchief was soon reduced to a half burnt rag.  This inflammable
material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom of a small cavity in a rock completely
sheltered from wind and dampness.

It was then nine o'clock in the morning.  The weather was threatening and the wind blew from the
southeast.  Herbert and Pencroff turned the corner of the Chimneys not without having thrown a
glance at the smoke which was twirling around from the rocks; then they went up the left bank of
the river.

Arriving at the forest, Pencroff first broke off two sturdy branches which he transformed into
sticks and which Herbert ground down to a point on a rock.  Ah!  If they only had a knife!  Then
the two hunters advanced among the tall grass following the riverbank.  On leaving the bend that
changed its course to the southwest, the river grew narrower little by little and its banks formed a
channel enclosed by a double arc of trees.  Pencroff, not wanting to get lost, resolved to follow
the water's course which would always return him to his starting point.  But the bank was not
without several obstacles, here trees whose flexible branches bent to the level of the water, there
creepers or thorn bushes which they had to break with their sticks.  Often Herbert glided among
the broken stumps with the agility of a young cat and he disappeared into the brushwood.  But
Pencroff recalled him immediately begging him not to go too far.

However, the sailor carefully noted the nature of the surroundings.  On the left bank the soil was
level and rose imperceptibly toward the interior.  Sometimes moist, it then took on a marshy
appearance.  Everywhere they felt an underground network of streams which, by some
subterranean fault, flowed toward the river.  Also at some places a brook flowed through the
brushwood which they crossed without difficulty.  The opposite bank seemed to be more varied
and the valley, of which the river occupied the center, was more sharply patterned.  The hill,
covered by trees of various sizes, formed a curtain which obstructed vision.  On the right bank
walking would have been difficult because of the cavities in the ground and because of the trees
which, curved to the surface of the water, were held in place only by their roots.

Needless to say this forest as well as the bank already travelled over, showed no sign of any
human touch.  Pencroff noted the recent footprints of quadrupedes of a species he did not
recognize.  Most certainly - and this was also Herbert's opinion - they had been left by formidable
wild beasts which they would have to contend with doubtless; but nowhere the mark of a hatchet
on a tree trunk nor the remains of an extinguished fire nor a footprint.  They should perhaps
congratulate themselves because in this part of the Pacific the presence of man was perhaps more
to be feared than desired.

Herbert and Pencroff scarcely spoke because of the great difficulties along the path.  They
advanced very slowly and after an hour they had scarcely gone a mile.  Until then the hunt had not
been productive. However, several birds were chirping and flying about under the branches
showing themselves to be very timid as if man instinctively inspired them with a justifiable fear. 
Among other winged creatures Herbert noted, in a marshy part of the forest, a bird with a sharp
and elongated beak which anatomically resembled a kingfisher. However it was distinguished by
its rather rugged plummage which was coated with a metallic brilliance.

"This must be a 'Jacamar'," said Herbert, trying to close in on the animal.

"It will be quite an occasion to taste jacamar," replied the sailor, "if this bird is in a humor to let
himself be roasted."

At this moment a stone, skillfully and vigorously thrown by the lad, struck the creature as it was
about to fly off but this was not enough because the jacamar flew away at full speed and
disappeared in an instant.  "How clumsy I am," cried Herbert.

"Not at all, my boy," replied the sailor.  "It was a good throw and more than one person would
have missed the bird completely.  Come!  Do not feel frustrated.  We will catch it another day."

The exploration continued.  As the hunters made headway the trees became more spacious and
magnificent but none produced any edible fruit.  Pencroff looked in vain for a few of those
precious palm trees which have so many uses in domestic life and which are found as far as the
fortieth parallel in the northern hemisphere and down to only the thirty fifth parallel in the
southern hemisphere.  But this forest was composed only of conifers such as the deodars, already
recognized by Herbert, of Douglas pines, resembling those growing on the northwest coast of
America, and of admirable spruce measuring a hundred fifty feet in height.

At this moment a flock of small birds with a pretty plumage, with a long and sparkling tail,
scattered themselves among the branches, spreading their weakly attached feathers which covered
the ground with a fine down.  Herbert picked up a few of these feathers and after having
examined them:

"These are 'couroucous'," he said.

"I would prefer a guinea fowl or a grouse cock," replied Pencroff, "but are they good to eat?"

"They are good to eat and their flesh is even tender," replied Herbert.  "Besides, if I am not
mistaken, it is easy to approach them and kill them with a stick."

The sailor and the lad glided among the grass arriving at the foot of a tree whose lower branches
were covered with small birds.  The couroucous were waiting for the passage of insects, which
served as their nourishment.  One could see their feathered feet strongly clenching the sprouts
which served to support them.

The hunters then straightened themselves up and moving their sticks like a scythe, they grazed
entire rows of these couroucous who did not think of flying away and stupidly allowed themselves
to be beaten.  A hundred littered the ground when the others decided to fly.

"Well," said Pencroff, "here is game made for hunters such as ourselves.  We have only to reach
out for it."

On a flexible stick the sailor strung up the couroucous like larks and the exploration continued. 
They noted that the watercourse took a gentle turn southward but this detour could not really be
a prolonged one because the river's source was in the mountain and was fed by the melting snow
which covered the sides of the central cone.

The particular object of this excursion, as we know, was to procure for the hosts of the Chimneys
the largest possible quantity of game.  One could not say that this goal had been attained up to
now.  The sailor actively pursued his search and how he raved when some animal that he did not
even have time to recognize, escaped among the tall grass.  If only they had had the dog Top. 
But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master and had probably perished with him.

About three o'clock in the afternoon they caught a glimpse of new flocks of birds who were
pecking at the aromatic berries of certain trees, junipers among others.  Suddenly, the real sound
of a trumpet was heard in the forest.  It was the strange and loud fanfare made by gallinules which
are called "grouse" in the United States.  Soon they saw several couples, with a variety of brown
and fawn colored plumage, and with a brown tail.  Herbert recognized the males by the two
pointed fins formed by feathers raised on their neck.  Pencroff judged it indispensable to get hold
of one of these gallinules, as big as a hen, and whose flesh is like that of a prairie chicken.  But
this was difficult because they would not allow themselves to be approached.  After several
fruitless attempts, which had no other result than to frighten the grouse, the sailor said to the lad:

"Decidedly, since we can't kill them in flight, we will try to take them with a line."

"Like a fish?" cried Herbert, very surprised at this suggestion.

"Like a fish," the sailor replied seriously.

Pencroff found among the grass a half dozen of the grouse's nests, each having two or three eggs. 
He took great care not to touch these nests to which their proprietors would not fail to return.  It
was around these nests that he intended to stretch his lines - not collar traps but real hook lines.
He took Herbert some distance away from the nests and there he prepared his strange contraption
with the care appropriate to a disciple of Isaac Walton.(1)  Herbert followed this activity with an
interest easy to understand, while doubting its success.  The lines were made of thin creepers
fastened to one another to a length of fifteen to twenty feet.  Some large strong thorns with bent
points, furnished by a dwarf acacia bush, were tied to the ends of the creepers to take the place of
hooks.  As an allurement some large red worms, which were crawling on the ground, were put on
the thorns.

That done, Pencroff moved among the grass skillfully concealing himself, placing the end of his
lines with baited hooks near the grouse's nests.  Then he returned taking the other end and
concealing himself with Herbert behind a large tree.  Both then waited patiently.  Herbert, it
should be said, did not count much on the success of the inventive Pencroff.

(1) Celebrated author of a treatise on fishing with a line.

A long half hour passed but, as predicted by the sailor, several couples of grouse returned to their
nests.  They hopped, pecked the ground, and gave no sign that they suspected the presence of the
hunters who had taken care to place themselves to the leeward of the gallinules.

Certainly at this moment the lad was very attentive.  He held his breath and Pencroff staring, his
mouth open, his lips protruding as if he was about to taste a piece of grouse, was hardly
breathing.  However the gallinules walked among the hooks without noticing them.  Pencroff then
made small jerks which moved the bait as if the worms were still alive.

Assuredly at this moment the sailor felt an emotion greater than that of the fisherman.  The latter
does not see his prey approaching in the water.

The jerks soon attracted the attention of the gallinules and they pecked at the hooks.  Three
grouse, doubtless very voracious, swallowed both the bait and the hook.  Suddenly with a quick
movement, Pencroff sprung his trap and the flapping of the wings indicated to him that the birds
had been taken.

"Hurrah!" he shouted, dashing toward the game which he made himself master of in an instant.

Herbert clapped his hands.  It was the first time he had seen birds taken with a line but the sailor
very modestly told him that it was not his first try and not his invention.

"And in any case," he added, "in the situation that we find ourselves, we must depend on
measures such as these."

The grouse were tied by their feet and Pencroff, happy that he was not returning with empty
hands, and seeing that the day was coming to an end, decided to return to his dwelling.

The path to follow was indicated by the river, there being no question of which direction, and at
about six o'clock, rather tired from their excursion, Herbert and Pencroff again entered the
Chimneys.


CHAPTER VII

The reporter's reflections - Supper - Neb has not yet returned -  A bad night coming on - A
frightful storm - Departure during the night - Struggling against the rain and the wind - Eight
miles from the first encampment.

Gideon Spilett, motionless, his arms crossed, was on the beach looking at the sea whose horizon
was obscured in the east by a large black cloud that was rapidly moving towards the zenith.  The
wind was already strong and becoming fresher with the decline of day.  The sky looked bad and
the first symptoms of a storm were apparent.

Herbert entered the Chimneys and Pencroff went to the reporter.  The latter, very absorbed, did
not see him come.

"We are going to have a bad night, Mister Spilett!" said the sailor.  "Rain and wind are the joy of
petrels." (1) 

(1) Sea birds who especially enjoy a storm.

The reporter, then turning, saw Pencroff and his first words were these:

"At what distance from the coast would you say the basket was when it was struck by the wave
which carried off our companion?"

The sailor had not expected this question.  He reflected for a moment and replied:

"At two cables length at most."

"But what is a cable length?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"About one hundred twenty fathoms or six hundred feet."

"Then," said the reporter, "Cyrus Smith disappeared twelve hundred feet at most from the shore?"

"About," replied Pencroff.

"And his dog also?"

"Also."

"What astonishes me," added the reporter, "while admitting that our companion has perished, is
that Top has likewise met his end and that neither the body of the dog nor that of his master has
been thrown on shore."

"It is not astonishing with such a strong sea," replied the sailor.  "Besides, it is possible that the
current has carried them further along the coast."

"Thus it is your opinion that our companion has perished among the waves?" the reporter asked
again.

"That is my opinion."

"My opinion," said Gideon Spilett, "much as I respect your experience, Pencroff, is that the
double fact of the absolute disappearance of Cyrus and Top, living or dead, is an inexplicable
thing and improbable."

"I wish I could think like you, Mister Spilett," replied Pencroff, "unfortunately my mind is made
up."

That said, the sailor returned to the Chimneys.  A good fire crackled on the hearth.  Herbert threw
an armful of dry wood on it and the flame shed light into the gloomy parts of the passageway. 
Pencroff occupied himself at once with preparing dinner.  It seemed best to introduce into the
menu some "piŠce de r‚sistance" because everyone needed to renew his strength.  The strings of
couroucous were saved for the next day but they plucked two grouse and soon the gallinules were
roasting on a spit in front of a flaming fire.

At seven o'clock in the evening Neb had not yet returned. This prolonged absence could only
make Pencroff uneasy about the negro.  They were forced to believe that he had met with some
accident on this unknown land or that the unfortunate had performed some act of despair.  But
Herbert drew totally different conclusions from this absence.  According to him, if Neb had not
yet returned, it was due to some new circumstance which caused him to prolong his search.  Now
anything new could only be to Cyrus Smith's advantage.  Why had Neb not returned unless some
hope retained him?  Perhaps he had found some indication, a footprint, the remains of a wreck
which put him on the track?  Perhaps at this very moment he was following a certain clue? 
Perhaps he was even near his master?...

Thus reasoned the lad.  Thus he spoke.  His companions let him speak.  The reporter alone
approved with a gesture.  But for Pencroff it was probable that Neb had gone further than the
previous day in his search along the coast and that he could not yet return.

However, Herbert was agitated by vague premonitions and several times he wanted to go to meet
Neb.  But Pencroff made him understand that it would be a useless course, that in this obscurity
and because of the deplorable weather, he could not find traces of Neb, and that it was worth
waiting.  If by the next day Neb had not reappeared, Pencroff would not hesitate to join Herbert
in going to search for Neb.

On this point Gideon Spilett agreed with he sailor that they must not separate and Herbert had to
give up his project; but two large tears fell from his eyes.

The reporter could not refrain from embracing the generous lad.

The bad weather had absolutely broken out.  A violent southeast windstorm without equal passed
over the coast.  They heard the sea, then at low tide, roar against the leading rocks on the beach. 
The rain, pulverized by the storm, rose up like a wet mist.  Wisps of fog dragged along the shore
where pebbles rattled violently like cartloads emptying themselves.  The sand, lifted by the wind,
mashed into showers and made the assault indefensible.  There was just as much mineral dust in
the air as water vapor.  Large eddies swirled between the mouth of the river and the face of the
wall and the stratum of air that escaped from this maelstrom could find no exit other than the
narrow valley whose watercourse was engulfed with a irresistible violence.  The smoke from the
hearth, restricted by the narrow passageway, backed up frequently, filling the corridors and
rendering them uninhabitable.

That is why, as soon as the grouse were roasted, Pencroff let the fire die down, conserving
nothing but the embers buried under the cinders.

At eight o'clock Neb has still not reappeared; but they could now assume that it was the awful
weather alone that prevented his return and that he had found refuge in some hollow to wait out
the end of the storm or at least the return of day.  As to going to meet him, to attempt to find him
under these conditions, this was impossible.

The game formed the only dish of supper.  They gladly ate this meat which was excellent. 
Pencroff and Herbert, whose appetites were excited by their long excursion, were ravenous.

Then each retired to the corner where he had rested the previous night, and Herbert was not long
in falling asleep near the sailor who stretched out along the length of the hearth.

Outside, as the night advanced, the tempest took on formidable proportions.  It was a windstorm
comparable to the one that carried the prisoners from Richmond to this land in the Pacific. 
Tempests are frequent during the equinoctial season.  They are fruitful in producing terrible
catastrophes throughout this large area where there are no obstacles to oppose their fury.  One
can then understand that a coast so exposed to the east, that is to say in direct line with the storm
and struck headlong, was battered by a force that cannot be described.

Very fortunately, the pile of rocks which formed the Chimneys was sturdy.  It was composed of
enormous sections of granite of which a few, nevertheless, not being in sufficient balance, seemed
to tremble on their base.  Pencroff sensed this and pressing his hand against the walls felt the rapid
quiverings.  But finally he said to himself over and over, and with reason, that there was nothing
to fear and that his improvised retreat would not cave in.  Nevertheless he heard the clatter of the
rocks which, detached from the summit of the plateau and uprooted by the swirling wind, fell on
the beach. A few even rolled as far as the upper part of the Chimneys or broke into splinters when
they fell straight down.  Twice the sailor got up and crawled to the opening of the passageway to
look outside.  But these falls which were not considerable did not constitute any danger and he
returned to his place in front of the fire whose embers were sputtering under the cinders.

Despite the furies of the hurricane, the roar of the tempest, the thunder of the storm, Herbert was
in a deep sleep. Sleep finally took possession even of Pencroff since a seaman's life had
accustomed him to all these violences.  Gideon Spilett alone was wide awake because of the
commotion.  He reproached himself for not having accompanied Neb.  One could see that all hope
had not abandoned him.  The misgivings that had agitated Herbert did not cease to agitate him
also.  His thoughts were concentrated on Neb.  Why had Neb not returned?  He tossed on his bed
of sand hardly giving a thought to the battle of the elements.  At times his eyes, heavy with
fatigue, closed for an instant but some cursory thought reopened them almost at once.

However the night advanced and it may have been two o'clock in the morning when Pencroff,
then in a deep sleep, was shaken vigorously.

"What is it?" he cried, awakening and recollecting his thoughts with a promptitude typical of
seamen.

The reporter was leaning over him and said to him:

"Listen Pencroff, listen!"

The sailor cocked his ear but could not distinguish any sound foreign to that of the squall.

"It is the wind," he said.

"No," replied Gideon Spilett, listening again.  "I thought that I heard..."

"What?"

"A dog barking!"

"A dog!" cried Pencroff, getting up in a single bound.

"Yes... barking..."

"That isn't possible!" replied the sailor.  "And besides, how with the roar of the storm..."

"Wait... Listen..." said the reporter.

Pencroff listened more attentively and in fact he thought that he heard a distant barking in a quiet
moment.

"Well!..." said the reporter, pressing the sailor's hand.

"Yes... Yes!..." replied Pencroff.

"It's Top!... It's Top!..." shouted Herbert, just awakening, and all three dashed toward the
entrance to the Chimneys.

They left with extreme difficulty.  The wind drove them back.  But finally they succeeded
although they could not stand erect without resting against the rocks.  They saw but they could
not speak.

The obscurity was absolute.  The sea, the sky, the ground were merged in equal darkness.  It
seemed that there was not an atom of light in the sky.

For several minutes the reporter and his two companions remained so, crushed by the storm,
drenched by the rain, blinded by the sand.  Then they heard the barking once again during a
respite in the storm, which came from rather far away.

It could only be Top barking this way!  But was he alone or accompanied?  Most likely he was
alone because if they assumed that Neb was with him, Neb would have gone with all speed
toward the Chimneys.

Since he could not make himself heard the sailor pressed the hand of the reporter as if to say:
"Wait!"  Then he re- entered the corridor.

An instant later he came out again with a lighted faggot which lit up the gloom.  He whistled
sharply.

It seemed as if this signal was expected.  In response the barking came much nearer and soon a
dog dashed into the corridor.  Pencroff, Herbert and Gideon Spilett followed him there.

An armful of dry wood was thrown on the embers.  A vivid flame lit up the corridor.

"It's Top!" shouted Herbert.

In fact it was Top, a magnificent anglo-norman crossbreed who inherited from both species speed
and odor sensitivity, the two qualities par excellence of the hunting dog.

It was the dog of the engineer Cyrus Smith.

But he was alone!  Neither his master nor Neb accompanied him!

Moreover how had his instinct been able to lead him to the Chimneys which he did not know? 
This appeared inexplicable especially on such a dark night, and in such a storm!  An even more
inexplicable detail was that Top was neither fatigued nor exhausted, not even soiled with mud or
sand!...

Herbert went toward him and pressed his head between his hands.  The dog rubbed his neck on
the lad's hands.

"If the dog has been found the master will also be found!" said the reporter.

"God will it!" replied Herbert.  "Let us leave!  Top will guide us!"

Pencroff made no objection.  He felt that Top's arrival contradicted his conjectures.

"Let's go," he said.

Pencroff carefully covered the embers of the fire.  He placed several pieces of wood under the
cinders so that the fire could be rekindled on their return.  Then, preceded by the dog who seemed
to invite them with short barks, and followed by the reporter and the lad, he dashed outside after
having taken the remains of the supper.

The storm was then in all its violence and perhaps even at its maximum intensity.  No moonlight
filtered through the clouds since the moon was then new and as a consequence in conjunction
with the sun.  It was difficult to follow a straight course.  It was best to rely on Top's instinct. 
This is what was done.  The reporter and the lad followed behind the dog and the sailor brought
up the rear.  No exchange of words was possible.  The rain did not fall very abundantly because it
was pulverized by the blast of the storm but the storm was terrible.

However one circumstance very happily favored the sailor and his two companions.  The wind in
fact blew from the southeast and consequently it pushed them from the back.  The sand which
was violently thrown about and which would not have been bearable, hit them from the rear, and
provided no one turned around, it did not interfere with their journey.  In summation they often
went faster than they wanted.  It affected their walk almost to the point of throwing them down
but an immense hope doubled their efforts and it was no longer at random this time that they
ascended the shore.  They had no doubt that Neb had found his master and had sent the faithful
dog to them.  But was the engineer living or was Neb only summoning his companions to render
the last rites to the body of the unfortunate Smith?

After going beyond the cut slab of the highland which they prudently side stepped, Herbert, the
reporter and Pencroff stopped to catch their breath.  The turn of the cliff sheltered them from the
wind and they caught their breath after this march of a quarter of an hour which had been
something of a race.

At this moment they could hear and reply and the lad pronounced the name of Cyrus Smith.  Top
barked in short barks as if he wanted to say that his master was rescued.

"Saved, isn't he?" repeated Herbert, "Saved, Top?"

And the dog barked as if in response.

The march was resumed.  It was about half past two in the morning.  The sea began to rise and
driven by the wind this tide, which was an equinoctial tide, threatened to be very strong.  The
large waves boomed against the reef and assailed it with such violence that very likely it would
pass over the islet, then completely invisible.  This long barrier could therefore no longer protect
the coast which was directly exposed to the onslaught of the open sea.

As soon as the sailor and his companions left the cut slab behind, the wind struck them anew with
an extreme fury.  Bent and straining their backs against the squall, they moved very quickly
following Top who did not hesitate as to the direction to take.  They went north having on their
right an interminable crest of waves which broke with a deafening roar and on their left an
obscure land the aspect of which it was impossible to know.  But they sensed that it was relatively
flat because the wind now passed over them without turning them about, an effect which was
produced when it struck them at the granite wall.

At four o'clock in the morning they estimated that a distance of five miles had been covered.  The
clouds were slightly higher and did not drag the ground.  The squall, less humid, moving in very
brisk currents, was drier and colder. Insufficiently protected by their clothing, Pencroff, Herbert
and Gideon Spilett suffered cruelly but not a complaint escaped their lips.  They had decided to
follow Top wherever the intelligent animal wanted to lead them.

About five o'clock day began to break.  First, at the zenith, where the haze was not so dense,
several grayish hues delineated the border of the clouds and soon, beneath an opaque band, a
more luminous stretch clearly outlined the water's horizon.  The crest of waves had a light brown
glimmer and the foam was white.  At the same time, on the left, the random parts of the coast
began to loom up vaguely, but it was still in the gray of the night.

At six o'clock in the morning day broke.  The clouds moved rapidly to a relatively higher
elevation.  The sailor and his companions were then about six miles from the Chimneys.  They
followed a very flat shoreline bordered on the open sea by a line of rocks whose tops alone
emerged.  On the left the country was composed of several uneven dunes bristling with thistles,
offering a rather savage aspect in a vast sandy region.  The shoreline was not indented and
offerred no barrier to the ocean other than an irregular chain of hillocks.  Here and there one or
two twisted trees were bent toward the west, with their branches projecting in this direction.  Well
behind them, in the southwest, appeared the edge of the forest.

At this moment Top gave unequivocal signs of agitation. He went on ahead and returned to the
sailor as if urging him to hasten his steps.  The dog had then left the beach and, driven on by an
admirable instinct, without showing a moment's hesitation, he entered among the dunes.

They followed him.  The country appeared to be absolutely deserted.  Not a living being
anywhere.

The very extensive area of the dunes was composed of hillocks and even of randomly distributed
hills.  It was like a miniature Switzerland in sand and nothing less than a prodigious instinct could
recognize it.

Five minutes after having left the beach the reporter and his companions arrived in front of a sort
of excavation hollowed out in the rear of a high dune.  There Top stopped and barked loud and
clear.  Spilett, Herbert and Pencroff dashed into the cave.

Neb was there kneeling next to a body lying on a bed of grass...  The body was that of the
engineer Cyrus Smith.


CHAPTER VIII

Is Cyrus Smith living? - Neb's recital - Footprints - An unresolved question - Cyrus Smith's first
words - The identification of footprints - Return to the Chimneys - Pencroff overwhelmed.

Neb did not move.  The sailor said only one word to him.

"Living?" he cried.

Neb did not reply.  Gideon Spilett and Pencroff turned pale.  Herbert clasped his hands and
remained immobile.  But it was evident that the poor negro, absorbed in his grief, had neither seen
his companions nor heard the sailor's words.

The reporter knelt next to the motionless body and placed his ear on the chest of the engineer
after having half-opened his garment.  A minute - a century - passed, during which he tried to
detect some heartbeat.

Neb had straightened up a bit and stared without seeing. Despair could not have changed a man's
face more.  Neb was unrecognizable, exhausted by fatigue, broken by pain.  He believed his
master dead.  Gideon Spilett got up after a long and careful examination.

"He lives!" he said.

Pencroff, in his turn, knelt next to Cyrus Smith; his ear also detected some heartbeats and some
breath that escaped from the engineer's lips.

On a word from the reporter Herbert ran outside to look for water.  A hundred feet away he
found a clear stream, evidently very swollen by the rains of the previous evening, which filtered
through the sand.  But there was nothing in which to carry this water, not a shell among these
dunes.  The lad had to content himself with dipping his handkerchief into the stream, and he ran
back to the cave.

Fortunately the soaked handkerchief was sufficient for Gideon Spilett who wanted only to wet the
engineer's lips. These molecules of cool water produced an almost immediate effect.  A sigh
escaped from Cyrus Smith's chest and it even appeared that he was trying to say a few words.

"We will save him!" said the reporter.

At these words Neb recovered hope.  He undressed his master in order to see if the body showed
any wound.  Neither the head nor the torso nor the limbs had any contusions, not even any
scratches, a surprising thing, since the engineer's body must have been tossed around the rocks. 
Even the hands were intact, and it was difficult to explain how the engineer showed no trace of
the efforts he must have made to get past the reef.

But the explanation of these circumstances would come later.  When Cyrus Smith would be able
to speak he would tell what had happened.  For the moment they must recall him to life and it was
likely that rubbing would bring on this result. This is what was done with the sailor's pea jacket. 
The engineer, warmed by this rough massage, moved his hands

slightly and his respiration began to re-establish itself in a more regular fashion.  He was dying of
exhaustion and certainly without the arrival of the reporter and his companions it would have been
all over for Cyrus Smith.

"You therefore thought that your master was dead?" the sailor asked Neb.

"Yes!  Dead!" replied Neb, "and if Top had not found you, if you had not come, I would have
buried my master and I would have died beside him!"

One could see on what the life of Cyrus Smith had depended!

Neb related what had happened.  The day before, after having left the Chimneys at daybreak, he
went along the coast in a northeasterly direction and reached the point on the shore that he had
already visited.

There, without any hope he admitted, Neb searched on the shore, among the rocks, on the sand,
for the least indication to guide him.  He had especially examined the part of the shore that the
high tide had not reached because on the beach the rise and fall of the tide had erased all indices. 
Neb no longer hoped to find his master living.  It was to discover a cadaver that he went, a
cadaver that he wanted to bury with his own hands!

Neb searched for a long time.  His efforts remained fruitless.  It did not seem that this deserted
coast had ever been frequented by a human being.  Those shells that the sea had not reached - and
which could be seen by the millions above the tideline - were intact.  Not a crushed shell.  In a
zone of two to three hundred yards (1) not a trace of a landing existed neither past nor present.

Neb then decided to go along the coast for several miles. It is possible that currents can carry a
body to a far point. When a cadaver floats a short distance from a straight shore it is rare when
the waves do not reject it sooner or later.  Neb knew this and he wanted to see his master one last
time.

"I ran along the shore for two more miles.  I visited the entire reef line at low tide, the entire
beach at high tide, and I despaired of finding anything when yesterday, about five o'clock in the
evening, I noted footprints in the sand."

"Footprints?" cried Pencroff.

"Yes!" replied Neb.

"And did these footprints begin at the reef?" asked the reporter.

"No," replied Neb, "at the high water mark only, because those between the high water mark and
the reef were effaced."

"Continue, Neb," said Gideon Spilett.

"When I saw these prints I became insane.  They were very distinct and went toward the dunes. 
Running, I followed them for a quarter of a mile but taking care not to erase them. Five minutes
later, as night was coming on, I heard a dog barking.  It was Top, and Top led me here to my
master."

(1) The yard is an American measure of length which equals 0.9144 meters.

Neb finished his recital by telling them about his grief on finding this inanimate body.  He tried to
detect some sign of life in him.  Now that he had found him dead he wanted him alive.  All his
efforts were useless.  Nothing remained but to render the last rites to him that he loved so much.

Neb then thought of his companions.  Doubtless they would want to see the unfortunate for one
last time.  Top was there. Couldn't he count on the shrewdness of the faithful animal? Neb
pronounced the reporter's name several times, the one that Top knew best of the engineer's
companions.  Then he pointed to the south of the shore and the dog darted off in the direction
that was indicated to him.

We already know how, guided by an instinct that could almost be regarded as supernatural
because the animal had never been to the Chimneys, Top nevertheless arrived there.

Neb's companions carefully listened to this recital.  It astonished them that Cyrus Smith, after the
efforts he must have made to escape the waves and get past the reef, did not even show a scratch. 
And what was also unexplainable was that the engineer had been able to get to this out of the way
cave in the middle of dunes more than a mile from the coast.

"Thus, Neb," said the reporter, "it wasn't you who brought your master to this place?"

"No, it was not I," replied Neb.

"It is obvious that Mr. Smith came here alone," said Pencroff.

"It is obvious," noted Gideon Spilett, "but it is not believable!"

They could only get the explanation of this fact from the engineer himself.  They would have to
wait until speech returned to him.  Fortunately life was already recovering its rhythm.  The
massage had reestablished the circulation of the blood.  Cyrus Smith moved his arms again, then
his head, and several incomprehensible words escaped from his lips.

Neb, bending over him, called him, but the engineer did not seem to hear and his eyes were still
closed.  Life revealed itself only by movement.  The senses still played no part in it.

Pencroff was very sorry to have no fire nor the means for procuring it because he had
unfortunately forgotten to take the burnt linen which would have been easy to ignite by striking
two flintstones.  As to the engineer's pockets, they were absolutely empty except for his vest
which contained his watch. They must transport Cyrus Smith to the Chimneys as soon as possible. 
All agreed.

Moreover the care which was lavished on the engineer was making his recovery more rapid than
they had dared to hope. The water with which they wet his lips was reviving him little by little. 
Pencroff had the idea of mixing with this water some of the gravy from the flesh of the grouse that
he had taken along.  Herbert, running to the shore, returned with two large bivalve shells.  The
sailor made a sort of mixture and introduced it between the lips of the engineer, who seemed
eager to suck this mash.

His eyes then opened.  Neb and the reporter were bent over him.  "My master!  My Master!"
shouted Neb.

The engineer heard him.  He recognized Neb and Spilett, then his two other companions, Herbert
and the sailor and his hand lightly pressed theirs.

Several words again escaped from his mouth - words that he had doubtless already pronounced
and which indicated the thoughts that were even then tormenting his mind.  This time these words
were understood.  "Island or continent?" he murmured.

"Ah," cried Pencroff, who could not hold back this exclamation.  "By all the devils we couldn't
care less provided you are alive, Mister Cyrus!  Island or continent?  We will see later."

The engineer made a slight affirmative sign and appeared to sleep.  They respected this sleep and
the reporter immediately made arrangements to have the engineer transported under the best
conditions.  Neb, Herbert and Pencroff left the cave and made their way toward a high dune
crowned with some rickety trees.  On the way the sailor could not help repeating:

"Island or continent!  To think of that when one has only a breath.  What a man!"

Arriving at the top of the dune, Pencroff and his two companions, without any tools but their
hands, stripped off the main branches from a rather sickly tree, a sort of maritime pine emaciated
by the wind; then with these branches they made a litter which, once covered with foliage and
grass, would permit them to transport the engineer.

It took about forty minutes and it was ten o'clock when the sailor, Neb and Herbert returned to
Cyrus Smith whom Gideon Spilett had not left.

The engineer was then up from his sleep or rather from this drowsiness in which they had found
him.  The color returned to his cheeks which had had the pallor of death.  He got up a little,
looked around him, and seemed to ask where he was.

"Can you listen to me without tiring yourself, Cyrus?" asked the reporter.

"Yes," replied the engineer.

"I would suggest," the sailor then said, "That Mister Smith could listen to you much better if he
had more of this grouse jelly - because it is grouse, Mister Cyrus," he added, presenting him some
of this jelly to which this time he added some scraps of flesh.

Cyrus Smith chewed bits of grouse the remainder of which was distributed to his four companions
who suffered from hunger.  They found the meal rather meager.

"Good," said the sailor, "we have provisions waiting for us at the Chimneys, because it is well for
you to know, Mister Cyrus, we have down there in the south a house with rooms, beds and a
fireplace and in the pantry some dozens of birds which our Herbert calls couroucous.  Your litter
is ready and as soon as you feel strong enough we will transport you to our dwelling.

"Thanks, my friend," replied the engineer, "in an hour or two we will be able to leave... and now,
speak, Spilett."

The reporter then told him all that had occurred.  He related those events not known to Cyrus
Smith, the last fall of the balloon, setting foot on this unknown land which appeared deserted
whether it was an island or a continent, the discovery of the Chimneys, the search to find the
engineer, Neb's devotion, all that they owed to the intelligence of the faithful Top, etc.

"But," asked Cyrus Smith in a voice still weak, "you therefore did not pick me up at the beach?"

"No," replied the reporter.

"And it wasn't you who brought me to this cave?"

"No."

"At what distance is this cave from the reef?"

"About half a mile," replied Pencroff, "and if you are astonished, Mister Cyrus, we are no less
surprised ourselves to see you in this place!"

"In fact," replied the engineer, who was reviving little by little and taking an interest in these
details, "in fact, there is something peculiar!"

"But," responded the sailor, "can you tell us what happened after you were carried away by the
wave?"

Cyrus Smith tried to remember. He knew little.  The wave had torn him from the ropes of the
balloon.  At first he sank several fathoms into the deep.  Returning to the surface of the sea, he
felt a living being moving near him in the semi- obscurity.  It was Top who threw himself in to
come to his aid. On raising his eyes he could no longer see the balloon which, relieved of his
weight and that of the dog, had shot away like an arrow.  He found himself among angry waves
not less than a half mile from shore.  He tried to battle the waves and swam vigorously.  Top held
him up by his clothes but a strong current seized him and pushed him northward and after a half
hour of struggling he sank dragging Top with him to the abyss. From that time until the moment
when he found himself in the arms of his friends he remembered nothing.

"However," said Pencroff, "you must have been thrown on the beach and you must have had the
strength to come here since Neb found your footprints!"

"Yes... that must be it..." replied the engineer, reflecting.  "And you did not see traces of human
beings on this shore?"

"No trace," replied the reporter.  "Besides, if by chance some rescuer ran into you there why
would he have abandoned you after having plucked you from the waves?"

"You are right, my dear Spilett.  "Tell me Neb," added the engineer turning to his servant, "it was
not you who... you did not have a forgetful moment... during which... No, that is absurd... Are
there any other footprints?" asked Cyrus Smith.

"Yes, my master," replied Neb, "here at the entrance which is at the back of this dune sheltered
from the wind and the rain.  The others have been erased by the storm."

"Pencroff," responded Cyrus Smith, "would you take my shoes and see if they positively fit these
footprints?"

The sailor did what the engineer asked.  Herbert and he, guided by Neb, went to check the
footprints while Cyrus said to the reporter: "These events are inexplicable!"

"Inexplicable indeed!" replied Gideon Spilett.

 "But let us not dwell on it at the moment, my dear Spilett.  We will discuss it later."

An instant later the sailor, Neb and Herbert returned.

There was no doubt possible.  The engineer's shoes fit the remaining footprints exactly.  Therefore
it was Cyrus Smith who had left them in the sand.

"So then," he said, "it was I who experienced this hallucination, this absence which I attributed to
Neb!  I moved like a sleepwalker without being conscious of my steps and it was Top who
instinctively led me here after having dragged me from the waves... Come Top!  Come my dog!"

The magnificent animal ran to his master, barking, and the caresses were not spared.

They agreed that there was no other explanation to be given to the events that led up to Cyrus
Smith's rescue and that all honor belonged to Top.

Around noontime Pencroff asked Cyrus Smith if he was ready to travel.  With an effort that
attested to a very energetic will, Cyrus Smith responded by getting up.  But he had to lean on the
sailor or he would have fallen.

"Good!  Good!" said Pencroff, "bring the engineer's litter."

The litter was brought.  The transverse branches were covered with moss and long grass.  They
placed Cyrus Smith on it and started toward the coast, Pencroff carrying it at one end and Neb at
the other.

There were eight miles to cover.  Since they could not go fast and since it would perhaps be
necessary to stop frequently they could count on a lapse of time of at least six hours to get to the
Chimneys.

The wind was still strong but fortunately it was no longer raining.  While lying down the engineer
rested on his arms and observed the coastline especially the part opposite the sea. He did not
speak but looked and certainly the design of this country with its random terrain, its forests and its
various productions impressed itself on his mind.  However, after travelling for two hours he was
overcome by fatigue and he slept on the litter.

At five thirty the small group arrived at the cut slab and a little later in front of the Chimneys.

They all stopped and the litter was placed on the sand. Cyrus Smith was in a deep sleep and did
not waken.

To his great surprise Pencroff saw that last night's frightful storm had altered the surroundings.  A
serious landslide had occurred.  Large sections of rock were deposited on the beach and a thick
layer of seaweed, wrack and algae covered the entire shore.  Evidently the sea, passing over the
islet, had carried itself up to the foot of the enormous wall of granite.

In front of the Chimneys the soil had deep holes having been subjected to a violent assault of the
waves.

Pencroff had a premonition.  He dashed into the corridor.

Almost immediately he came out, standing still, looking at his companions...

The fire was extinguished.  The drowned cinders were nothing but slime.  The burnt linen, which
was to have served as tinder, had disappeared.  The sea had penetrated deeply into the
passageways and all was overthrown, all was demolished in the interior of the Chimneys!


CHAPTER IX

Cyrus is here - Pencroff's endeavors - Rubbed wood - Island or continent? - The engineer's plans -
Where in the Pacific Ocean? - In the depth of the forest - The pine kernel - Hunting capybara - A
smoke that augurs well.

In a few words Gideon Spilett, Herbert and Neb were brought up to date.  This accident which
could have very serious consequences - at least Pencroff envisioned it so - produced diverse
effects on the honest sailor's companions.

Neb, in his joy at having found his master, did not listen, or rather did not even want to concern
himself with what Pencroff said.  Herbert, to some degree, shared the sailor's apprehensions.

As to the reporter he simply responded to Pencroff's words:

"By my faith, Pencroff, it's all the same to me!"

"But I repeat to you that we no longer have any fire!"

"Pooh!"

"Nor any means of relighting it."

"Fudge!"

"Nevertheless, Mister Spilett..."

"Isn't Cyrus Smith here?" replied the reporter.  "Isn't our engineer alive?  He will easily find the
means of making us some fire, he!"

"And with what?"

"With nothing."

What could Pencroff say?  There was no reply because deep down he shared the confidence that
his companions had in Cyrus Smith.  The engineer was for them a microcosm composed of all the
science and all human intelligence.  Better to find oneself with Cyrus on a deserted island than
without Cyrus in the most industrialized city of the Union.  With him they could want for nothing. 
With him they could not despair.  If someone were to tell these brave people that a volcanic
eruption would annihilate this land, that this land would be thrown into the depths of the Pacific,
they would have imperturbably replied: "Cyrus is here.  See Cyrus!"

In the meanwhile, however, the engineer was once more plunged into a new prostration brought
on by the journey and they could not call on his ingenuity at the moment.  Supper was necessarily
meager.  In fact all the grouse meat had been eaten and there was no means whatsoever of
roasting any game. Besides, the couroucous which served as a reserve had disappeared.  Thus
they must consider.  Before anything else Cyrus Smith was transported into the central corridor. 
There they managed to arrange a couch of algae and seaweed that had remained almost dry.  The
deep sleep that took possession of him would doubtless do more to quickly bring his strength
back than would any abundant nourishment.

Night came on and with it the temperature, modified by a shift in the wind from the northeast,
went to freezing once more.  Now, since the sea had destroyed the partitions established by
Pencroff at certain points in the corridors, the air currents were re-established, which rendered the
Chimneys barely habitable.  The engineer would therefore have found himself in rather poor
circumstances if his companions, removing a vest or a waistcoat, had not carefully covered him.

Supper this evening was composed only of the inevitable lithodomes amply gathered by Herbert
and Neb on the shore. However, to these mollusks the lad added a certain quantity of edible algae
that he collected on some high rocks that the sea could not reach except at times of extremely
high tides.  These algae belonged to the fucus family, being a species of sargassum which when
dry furnishes a gelatinous material rather rich in nutrients.  The reporter and his companions, after
having eaten a considerable quantity of lithodomes, sucked this sargassum which they found to
have a good flavor.  It should be said that on Asiatic shores they are an important food for the
natives.

"Never mind," said the sailor, "it is time for Mister Smith to help us."

However, the cold became very sharp and unfortunately they had no means of fighting it.

The sailor, truly vexed, looked for every possible way to make a fire.  Neb even helped him with
this.  They found some dry moss and striking two pebbles they obtained some sparks but the
moss, not being sufficiently flammable, did not catch. Moreover, these sparks, which were only
from incandescent flint, did not have the same consistency as those which escape from a piece of
steel in the ordinary tinder box.  Thus the operation did not succeed.

Pencroff, while having no confidence in the procedure, then tried rubbing two pieces of dry wood
against each other the way the savages do.  Certainly the work put in by Neb and himself, if
transformed into heat according to the latest theories, would have been sufficient to heat the
boiler of a steamer.  The result was negative.  The wood heated up, that was all, but not as much
as the operators themselves.

After working for an hour Pencroff was in a rage and he threw the pieces of wood away with
spite.

"When someone can make me believe that the savages make fire in this way" he said, "it will be
hot even in winter!  I could sooner light up my arms by rubbing them against each other!"

The sailor was wrong in belittling this procedure.  It is known that savages set fire to wood by
means of a rapid rubbing.  But all kinds of wood are not proper for this operation and in addition
there is the "knack", following the hallowed expression, and it is likely that Pencroff did not have
the "knack."

Pencroff's ill humor did not last long.  The two pieces of wood thrown away by him were
retrieved by Herbert who did his best to rub them with renewed vigor.  The robust sailor could
not hold back a laugh on seeing the adolescent's efforts to succeed where he had failed.

"Rub, my boy, rub!" he said.

"I am rubbing," replied Herbert laughing, "but I do not pretend to do anything except take my
turn at warming myself instead of shivering.  Soon I will be as warm as you, Pencroff!"

That is what happened.  But he had to give up on making a fire for this evening.  Gideon Spilett
repeated for the twentieth time that Cyrus Smith would not have been inconvenienced by such a
trifle.  And while waiting, he stretched out in one of the corridors on a bed of sand. Herbert, Neb
and Pencroff did likewise while Top slept at the foot of his master.

The next day, March 28th, when the engineer woke up about eight o'clock in the morning he saw
his companions near him watching his sleep.  As on the previous day his first words were:

"Island or continent?"

One could see that he had but one idea.

"Well" replied Pencroff, "we know nothing about it, Mister Smith!"

"You still do not know?..."

"But we will know," added Pencroff, "when you will have guided us in this land."

"I think I'm well enough to try it," replied the engineer who, without too much effort, got up and
held himself erect.

"That's good," cried the sailor.

"I am dying especially of exhaustion," replied Cyrus Smith.  "My friends, a little nourishment, and
it will no longer show.  You have some fire, don't you?"

This question did not get an immediate response.  But after a few moments:

"Alas!  We have no fire," said Pencroff, "or rather, Mister Cyrus, we have it no longer!"

And the sailor related all that had occurred on the previous day.  He enlivened the engineer with
his story of the single match and of his aborted attempt to make a fire the way the savages do.

"We will think about it," replied the engineer, "and if we do not find a substance similar to
tinder..."

"Then?" asked the sailor.

"Then we will make matches."

"With chemicals?"

"With chemicals."

"It isn't more difficult than that," cried the reporter, slapping the sailor's shoulder.

The latter did not find the thing so simple but he did not protest.  They all went out.  The weather
was fine once again. A bright sun was rising on the sea's horizon, striking the rugged prisms of the
enormous wall with golden rays.

After having cast a quick glance around him the engineer sat down on a rock.  Herbert offered
him a few handfuls of mussels and seaweed saying:

"This is all that we have, Mister Cyrus."

"Thanks, my boy," replied Cyrus Smith, "this will suffice, for this morning at least."

And he ate with appetite this meager nourishment which he washed down with a little fresh water
drawn from the river in a large shell.

His companions looked at him without speaking.  Then after satisfying himself more or less,
Cyrus Smith crossed his arms saying:

"So my friends, you still do not know if fate has thrown us on a continent or on an island?"

"No, Mister Cyrus," responded the lad.

"We will know that tomorrow," replied the engineer. "Until then, there is nothing to do."

"Except," said Pencroff.

"What?"

"Fire" said the sailor, who also had only one idea.

"We will make it, Pencroff," replied Cyrus Smith.  "While you transported me yesterday didn't I
see in the west a mountain which overlooked this land?"

"Yes," replied Gideon Spilett, "a rather high mountain..."

"Good," replied the engineer, "tomorrow we will climb to the top and we will see if this land is an
island or a continent.  Until then, I repeat, there is nothing to do."

"Yes, some fire," said the stubborn sailor.

"But we will make fire," replied Gideon Spilett, "a little patience, Pencroff."

The sailor looked at Gideon Spilett as if to say:  "If it depended on you to make it, we wouldn't
taste any roast soon." But he was silent.

However, Cyrus Smith did not reply.  He seemed very little preoccupied with this question of fire. 
For several moments he remained absorbed in his thoughts.  Then he spoke again.

"My friends," he said, "our situation is perhaps deplorable but in any case it is very simple.  Either
we are on a continent and then at the price of more or less fatigue we will reach some inhabited
point or we are definitely on an island.  In the latter case there are two possibilities: If the island is
inhabited we will see to our affairs with its inhabitants:  If it is deserted, we will see to our affairs
all alone."

"Nothing is simpler," replied Pencroff.

"But be it a continent or an island," asked Gideon Spilett, "where do you think, Cyrus, this storm
has thrown us?"

"The exact location I cannot determine," replied the engineer, "but the indications are for a land in
the Pacific. In fact when we left Richmond the wind blew from the northeast and its violence even
proves that its direction should not have varied.  If this direction was maintained from northeast to
southwest we crossed the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, the Gulf of Mexico,
Mexico itself in its narrow part, then a portion of the Pacific Ocean.  I estimate that the distance
covered by the balloon was not less than six to seven thousand miles.  If the wind varied by as
little as an eighth it would have carried us either to the archipelago of Marquesas or to the
Tuamotu, and if it had a much larger speed than I suppose, even to New Zealand.  If this latter
hypothesis is the case our return home will be easy.  English or Maoris, we will always find
someone to speak to.  If, on the contrary, this shore is a part of some deserted island of a
micronesian archipelago, perhaps we will recognize this from the top of the cone which overlooks
this land, then we will plan on establishing ourselves here as if we will never leave it!"

"Never," cried the reporter.  "You say never, my dear Cyrus."

"Better to first put things in the worst," replied the engineer, "and save the surprise for the better."

"Well spoken," said Pencroff, "and it is also to be hoped that this island, if it is one, will not be
exactly situated outside the ship lanes.  That would really be a run of bad luck."

"We will know what we have to contend with after we have first climbed the mountain," replied
the engineer.

"But tomorrow, Mister Cyrus," asked Herbert, "will you be strong enough to make this climb?"

"I hope so," responded the engineer, "but on the condition that Master Pencroff and you, my boy,
show yourselves to be intelligent and skillful hunters."

"Mister Cyrus," replied the sailor, "since you are speaking of game, if, on my return, I was as
certain of being able to roast it as I am of bringing it back..."

"Bring it back all the same, Pencroff," responded Cyrus Smith.

It was thus agreed that the engineer and the reporter would spend the day at the Chimneys in
order to examine the shore and the upper plateau.  During this time Neb, Herbert and the sailor
would return to the forest, there to renew the stockpile of wood and to lay hands on all beasts
with feathers or hair that would come within their reach.

They then left about ten o'clock in the morning, Herbert confident, Neb joyful and Pencroff
mumbling to himself:

"If, on my return home I find fire, I'll believe that thunder came in person to light it."

All three went up the bank and arrived at the bend formed by the river.  The sailor stopped and
said to his companions:

"Shall we begin by being hunters or woodsmen?"

"Hunters," responded Herbert.  "Top is already on the hunt."

"Hunters then," replied the sailor.  "Then we will return here to renew our stockpile of wood."

That said, Herbert, Neb and Pencroff, after having torn off three sticks from the trunk of a young
fir tree, followed Top who dashed in among the tall grass.

This time the hunters, instead of walking along the rivercourse, plunged directly into the depths of
the forest. It was always the same trees belonging for the most part to the pine family.  In certain
less crowded areas, isolated in clusters, these pines were very large and seemed to indicate by
their development that this country was at a higher latitude than that conjectured by the engineer. 
Some clearings, bristling with stumps rotted by time, were covered with dead wood, and formed
an inexhaustible reserve of fuel.  Then, the clearing past, the brushwood grew closer and became
almost impenetrable.

Without a beaten path it was rather difficult to find their way among these massive trees.  Thus
from time to time the sailor marked out his route by breaking some boughs that would be easy to
recognize.  But perhaps they were wrong not to have followed the water's course as Herbert and
he had done during their first excursion because after an hour's march they still had no game to
show.  Top, moving under low branches, only gave warning of birds they could not get near.  The
couroucous themselves were absolutely invisible and it was likely that the sailor would be forced
to return to that marshy part of the forest in which he had so fortunately used his fishing line
against the grouse.

"Well, Pencroff," said Neb in a slightly sarcastic tone of voice, "if this is all the game that you
have promised to bring back to my master it will not take a big fire to roast it."

"Patience, Neb," responded the sailor, "it will not be the game that will be missing upon our
return."

"Have you no confidence in Mister Smith?"

"Certainly."

"But you do not believe that he will make a fire?"

"I will believe it when the wood is burning on the hearth."

"It will burn since my master has said so."

"We shall see."

However, the sun had not yet attained its highest point in its course above the horizon.  The
exploration therefore continued and was marked by a useful discovery, made by Herbert, of a tree
whose fruit is edible.  It was the pine kernel which produces an excellent almond, highly esteemed
in the temperate regions of America and of Europe.  These almonds were perfectly ripe and
Herbert pointed this out to his two companions who were delighted by it.

"Well," said Pencroff, "we have algae to take the place of bread, mussels for meat, and almonds
for desert, what a meal for people who don't have a single match in their pocket."

"It's no use complaining," replied Herbert.

"I do not complain, my boy" said Pencroff.  "Only I repeat that meat is too much economized in
this type of meal."

"Top has seen something!..." shouted Neb, who ran toward a thicket in which the dog had
disappeared while barking.  With Top's barks were mingled some peculiar growls.

The sailor and Herbert followed Neb.  If they had some game here this was not the time to discuss
how to cook it but how to capture it.

The hunters had hardly entered the thicket when they saw Top holding an animal by an ear.  This
quadruped was a kind of pig about two and a half feet long, blackish brown but not as dark on the
underside, having tough but thin hair.  The animal's toes, which were then gripping the ground,
seemed to be united by membranes.  Herbert thought he recognized this animal as a capybara, that
is to say one of the largest rodents.

However, the capybara was not struggling with the dog.  It stupidly rolled its large eyes which
were deeply imbedded in a thick layer of fat.  Perhaps it saw men for the first time.

However Neb, holding his stick firmly in his hand, went to kill the rodent when the latter, being
held only by the tip of his ear, tore himself away from Top's teeth, gave a hearty grunt, plunged
headlong on Herbert, threw him half over, and disappeared through the woods.

"The rascal!" cried Pencroff.

Immediately all three darted after Top and at the moment when they rejoined him, the animal
disappeared under the waters of a large pond shaded by some large old pines.

Neb, Herbert and Pencroff stopped, immobile.  Top threw himself into the water but the capybara,
lying at the bottom of the pond, was no longer visible.

"Let us wait," said the lad, "because he will soon come to the surface to breath."

"Won't he drown?" asked Neb.

"No," replied Herbert, "since his feet are webbed and it is almost an amphibian.  But watch for
him."

Top continued to swim.  Pencroff and his two companions each occupied a different point on the
bank in order to cut off all retreat for the capybara which the dog was looking for while
swimming on the surface of the pond.

Herbert was not mistaken.  After a few minutes the animal emerged above the waters.  Top was
after him in a bound and prevented him from plunging again.  An instant later the capybara,
dragged to the bank, was killed by a blow from Neb's stick.

"Hurrah!" cried Pencroff, who gladly used this cry of triumph.  "If we could only get a hot fire
this rodent will be gnawed to the bone."

Pencroff loaded the capybara on his shoulder and judging by the height of the sun that it was
about two o'clock, he gave the signal to return.

Top's instinct was not useless to the hunters who, thanks to the intelligent animal, were able to
find the road already traveled on.  A half hour later they arrived at the bend in the river.

As he had done the first time, Pencroff quickly made a raft of wood, even though for want of a
fire it seemed like a useless task, and with the raft moving downstream, they returned to the
Chimneys.

But the sailor had not gone fifty steps when he stopped, let out a new formidable hurrah, and
pointing to the corner of the cliff:

"Herbert!  Neb!  Look!" he shouted.

Smoke was escaping and twirling above the rocks!


CHAPTER X

The engineer's invention - The question that preoccupies Cyrus Smith - The departure for the
mountain - The forest - Volcanic soil - Tragopans - Wild sheep - The first plateau - The
encampment for the night - The summit of the cone.

 Several moments later the three hunters found themselves in front of a crackling hearth.  Cyrus
Smith and the reporter were there.  Pencroff looked from one to the other without saying a word,
his capybara in hand.

"Yes indeed, my good fellow," cried the reporter.  "Fire, real fire, that will perfectly roast this
magnificent game which we will feast on within the hour."

"But who kindled it?..." asked Pencroff.

"The sun!"

Gideon Spilett's response was precise.  It was the sun which had furnished the heat that had
astonished Pencroff.  The sailor could not believe his eyes and he was so amazed that he did not
think of questioning the engineer.

"You had a lens, sir?" Herbert asked Cyrus Smith.

"No, my child," he replied, "but I made one."

And he showed the apparatus that had served him as a lens. It was simply two glasses that he had
lifted from the watch of the reporter and of his own.  After having filled them with water and
made their edges adherent by means of a little clay, he had thus fabricated a real lens which,
concentrating the sun's rays on some very dry moss, produced combustion.

The sailor examined the apparatus, then he looked at the engineer without saying a word except
that his look spoke volumes.  Yes, as far as he was concerned, if Cyrus Smith was not a god, he
was assuredly more than a mere man.  Finally speech returned and he shouted:

"Note that, Mister Spilett, note that in your book!"

"It is noted," replied the reporter.

Then, with Neb helping, the sailor arranged the spit, and the capybara, properly dressed, was soon
roasting like a simple suckling pig before a bright and sparkling flame.

The Chimneys once more became habitable, not only because the corridors were warmed by the
fire from the hearth but because the partitions of stones and sand were re-established.

One could see that the engineer and his companion had employed their day well.  Cyrus Smith had
almost completely recovered his strength which he tested by climbing to the upper plateau.  From
this point his eye, accustomed to evaluate heights and distances, gazed for a while on this cone
whose summit he wanted to reach on the next day.  The mountain, situated about six miles to the
northwest, appeared to him to measure three thousand five hundred feet above sea level.
Consequently, the gaze of an observer posted at the summit would cover a radius of at least fifty
miles.  It was therefore probable that Cyrus Smith would easily resolve the question "continent or
island" which he justifiably gave precedence over all other questions.

They supped in style.  The cabybara meat was excellent. The seaweed and the pine kernel almonds
completed the meal during which the engineer spoke little.  He was preoccupied with the projects
of the next day.

Once or twice Pencroff put forth some ideas about things it would be convenient to make, but
Cyrus Smith, who evidently had a methodical mind, was content to shake his head.

"Tomorrow," he repeated, "we will know what we have to contend with and we will act
accordingly."

The meal completed, some additional armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire and the hosts of
the Chimneys, including the faithful Top, fell into a deep sleep.  No incident disturbed this
peaceful night and the next day, March 29th, fresh and hearty, they woke up ready to undertake
this excursion which would fix their fate.

All was ready for the departure.  The remains of the capybara would provide nourishment for
Cyrus Smith and his companions for the next twenty four hours.  Besides they hoped to revictual
en route.  Since the glasses were put back on the engineer's and the reporter's watches, Pencroff
burnt a little linen to serve as tinder.  As to flint, there would be no shortage of that on terrain that
was of plutonic origin.

It was seven thirty in the morning when the explorers, armed with clubs, left the Chimneys. 
Following Pencroff's advice it seemed best to take the road already used through the forest and to
use another route on the return trip.  It was also the most direct way to reach the mountain.  They
therefore turned the south corner and followed the left bank of the river which was abandoned at
the point where it curved toward the southwest.  The footpath, already frayed under the green
trees, was found and at nine o'clock Cyrus Smith and his companions reached the western edge of
the forest.  The ground, which was not too hilly up to that point, marshy at first, dry and sandy
later, betrayed a slight incline as one went from the coast to the interior.  Several fleeing animals
had been indistinctly seen in the forest.  Top briskly cut them off, but his master recalled him at
once because the time had not come to pursue them.  Later they would see.  The engineer was not
a man to let himself be distracted from his intent.  One would not even be mistaken in affirming
that he did not observe the country,

neither its configuration nor its natural productions.  His only objective was this mountain which
he aspired to climb and he went straight to it.

At ten o'clock they halted for a few minutes.  On leaving the forest the mountain system of the
country appeared before their eyes.  The mountain was composed of two cones.  The first,
truncated at a height of approximately two thousand five hundred feet, was sustained by
capricious spurs which seemed to spread out like immense claws gripping the ground.  Between
these spurs were narrow valleys, bristling with trees, the latter rising in clusters up to the
truncation of the first cone.  However, the vegetation seemed less abundant on the side of the
mountain exposed to the northeast and they could see there the rather deep stripes made by
flowing lava.

A second cone rested on the first cone, slightly rounded at the top, standing a bit askew.  One
could call it a large hat placed over an ear.  It seemed to be formed of bare terrain with many
reddish rocks showing.

It was the summit of the second cone that they agreed to reach and the ridge of the spurs offered
the best way to get there.

"We are on volcanic terrain," Cyrus Smith said, and his companions, following him, began to
climb little by little up the back of a spur which, by a winding path and consequently an easier
pathway, ended at the first plateau.

There were many swellings on the ground evidently made by plutonic convulsion.  Erratic blocks,
basaltic debris, pumice rocks and volcanic glass were all about.  Several hundred feet below grew
these conifers, in thick isolated clusters, at the bottom of narrow gorges scarcely reached by the
sun's rays.

During the first part of this ascension on the lower ramps, Herbert noted prints which indicated
the recent passage of large animals, wild or otherwise.

"Perhaps these beasts will not be willing to relinquish their domain to us," said Pencroff.

"Well," replied the reporter, who had already hunted the tiger in India and the lion in Africa, "we
will see about getting rid of them but in the meantime let us be careful."

They gradually went higher.  The route was long because it was lengthened by detours and
obstacles that they could not cross directly.  Also at times the ground was suddenly hollow and
they found themselves at the edge of deep crevices that they had to go round.  They thus had to
retrace their steps in order to follow some practical path, which took time and energy.  At noon,
when the small troupe halted for lunch at the foot of a large cluster of spruce trees near a brook
that fell in a cascade, they found themselves still only half way to the first plateau, which they
would not reach till nightfall.

At this height the sea's horizon was very enlarged, but on the right the view was interrupted by a
sharp promontory in the southeast and they could not determine whether the coastline was
abruptly connected to some rear terrain.  At the left the line of sight extended several miles to the
north; nevertheless

from the northwest, at the point occupied by the explorers, it was interrupted by a ridge of a
bizarre buttress formed from the powerful abutment of the central cone.  Hence they still could
not answer the question that Cyrus Smith wanted to resolve.

At one o'clock the climb was resumed.  It was necessary to shift to the southwest and once again
move through rather thick brushwood.  There under the cover of the trees, flew several couples of
gallinules of the pheasant family.  They were "tragopans" adorned by fleshy wattles which hang
from their throats and by two slender cylindrical horns set behind their eyes.  Among these
couples, which are the size of a rooster, the female is uniformly brown while the male glitters in
his red plummage sprinkled with small white teardrop shapes. Gideon Spilett with a stone thrown
skillfully and vigorously, killed one of these tragopans that Pencroff, famished by the open air,
could not look at without some covetousness.

Upon leaving the brushwood the climbers pushed each other leg up, struggling on a very steep
hundred foot slope to reach a higher level composed of volcanic ground with few trees. They then
went toward the east once more moving on a winding path which made the very steep slopes
more practical.  Everyone had to carefully choose the spot where he placed his foot.  Neb and
Herbert were in front, Pencroff was in the rear and Cyrus and the reporter were between them. 
The animals which frequented these heights - and there was no lack of their traces - necessarily
belonged to those species of sure foot and supple backbone, the chamois and the izards.  They
saw several of them but this was not the name that Pencroff gave them because in a moment:

"Sheep!" he shouted.

Everyone stopped fifty feet from a half dozen of these large animals with strong horns curving
rearward and flat at the tip and with woolen fleece hidden under long silky buff colored hair. 
They were not ordinary sheep but a species generally found in the mountainous regions of the
temperate zones which Herbert gave the name of mouflons.

"Do they have legs and chops?" asked the sailor.

"Yes," replied Herbert.

"Well, then they are sheep," said Pencroff.

These animals stood still among the basaltic debris looking astonished as if they saw biped humans
for the first time.  Then their fear suddenly awakened and they disappeared in a bound among the
rocks.

"Au revoir," Pencroff shouted in a tone so comic that Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Herbert and
Neb could not refrain from laughing.

The climb continued.  They frequently noted, on certain declivities, traces of very capriciously
scored lava.  They had to go around small volcanic areas of hot sulphur vapors which sometimes
cut across the route followed by the climbers.  In several places sulphur was present in crystalline
form, among material that was generally there before the lava flows,

material such as pozzuolanas in irregular pellets, and highly torrefied white cinders made by an
infinity of small feldspar crystals.

On the approaches to the first plateau, formed by the truncation of the lower cone, the difficulties
of climbing were very pronounced.  Around four o'clock the last zone of trees had been passed. 
There only remained, here and there, some emaciated pines which had a hard life in resisting the
strong open winds at this height.  Fortunately for the engineer and his companions, the weather
was magnificent and the atmosphere tranquil because a strong breeze at an altitude of three
thousand feet would have affected their balance.  The purity of the sky at the zenith was felt
through the transparent air. Perfect calm reigned around them.  They could no longer see the sun,
then covered by the vast shade of the upper cone, which masked the western horizon.  This
enormous shadow, reaching to the shore, would lengthen as the radiant luminary went lower in it
daily course.  Several wisps of haze rather than clouds began to rise in the east colored by all the
colors of the spectrum under the action of the solar rays.

Only five hundred feet then separated the explorers from the plateau that they wished to attain in
order to establish camp for the night but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two
thousand by the zigzags that they had to follow.  The ground, as has been said, was hollow
underfoot. The slope was so steep that they slipped on the lava when the ridges, worn by the
wind, did not offer sufficient support. Evening came on little by little and it was almost night when
Cyrus Smith and his companions, very tired from a climb of seven hours, reached the plateau of
the first cone.  It was then a question of organizing a camp and of recuperating by eating first and
sleeping afterwards.  The second stage of the mountain rose on a base of rocks among which they
would easily find a retreat.  Fuel was not abundant.  However they could obtain fire by means of
moss and dry brushwood which grew on certain portions of the plateau.  While the sailor made his
fireplace on rocks which he arranged for this purpose, Neb and Herbert occupied themselves with
gathering fuel.  They soon returned with a load of brushwood.  The flint was struck, the burnt
linen caught the sparks of the flint and with Neb blowing, a crackling fire developed in a few
moments sheltered by the rocks.

The fire was only intended to withstand the temperature which was a little cold for the night.  It
was not used to roast the pheasant which Neb saved for the next day.  The rest of the capybara
and a few dozen almonds of the pine kernel formed the elements of supper.  It was not more than
six thirty when everything was finished.

Cyrus Smith then thought of exploring, in the semi- obscurity, this large circular foundation which
supported the upper cone of the mountain.  Before taking some rest he wanted to know if this
cone could be turned at its base because if its flanks were too steep it would render the summit
inaccessible.

This question did not cease to preoccupy him because it was possible that on the side toward
which the hat inclined, that is to say toward the north, the plateau was not practical. Now, on the
one hand, if they could not reach the summit of the mountain, and if on the other hand they could
not go round the base of the cone then it would be impossible to examine the western portion of
the country and the purpose of the climb would be in part unfulfilled.

Then the engineer, without taking account of his fatigue, leaving Pencroff and Neb to organize the
sleeping arrangements and Gideon Spilett to note the incidents of the day, began to follow the
circular border of the plateau going northward. Herbert accompanied him.

The night was fine and tranquil and not yet fully dark. Cyrus Smith and the lad walked near each
other without speaking.  In certain places the plateau was wide and they passed without difficulty. 
Other places, obstructed by debris, offered only a narrow path such that two people could not
walk abreast.  After a march of twenty minutes Cyrus Smith and Herbert had to stop.  From this
point on the slopes of the two cones were flush.  No shoulder separated the two parts of the
mountain.  A slope of nearly 70 degrees made it impractical.

But if the engineer and the lad had to turn away from following a circular route, in compensation
there was the possibility that they could ascend the cone directly.

In fact there was before them a deep opening in the solid block.  It was the flare of the upper
crater, the outlet so to speak, by which liquid eruptive material escaped at a time when the
volcano was still active.  The hardened lava and the encrusted slag formed a sort of natural
staircase well designed for a climb, which would facilitate access to the summit of the mountain.

A glance sufficed for Cyrus Smith to recognize the situation and without hesitating and followed
by the lad he entered the enormous crevice in the midst of the growing darkness.

There was still a height of a thousand feet to climb. Would the inclines of the interior of the crater
be practical? They would see.  The engineer would continue his climb as long as he could. 
Fortunately the incline was gradual and winding, describing a large helical path along the interior
of the volcano and favoring the upward march.

As to the volcano itself, there was no doubt that it was completely extinct.  No smoke escaped
from its bowels.  No flame revealed itself in the deep cavities.  Not a growl, nor a murmur, nor a
disturbance left its obscure pits which perhaps extended to the bowels of the earth.  Even the
atmosphere within the crater was not saturated with any sulphurous vapor. It was not merely the
slumber of a volcano.  It was its complete extinction.

Cyrus Smith's attempt would succeed.  Little by little Herbert and he, ascending the inner walls,
saw the crater enlarge above their heads.  The radius of this circular portion of the sky,
surrounded by the borders of the cone, was getting noticeably larger.  With each step, so to
speak, that Cyrus Smith and Herbert made, new stars were entering their field of view.  The
magnificent constellations of the southern sky were shining brightly.  At zenith the splendid
Antares of Scorpio was sparkling with a pure glare and not far away was the á of Centaurus
which is thought to be the nearest star to the terrestial globe.  Then as they went higher,
Fomalhaut of the Southern Fish appeared, the Southern Triangle and finally near the southern
pole of the sky, the sparkling Southern Cross which takes the place of the pole star of the
northern hemisphere.

It was nearly eight o'clock when Cyrus Smith and Herbert set foot on the upper crest of the
mountain, the summit of the cone.

It was then completely dark and they could not see for more than two miles.  Did the sea
completely surround this unknown land or was this land attached in the west to some continent of
the Pacific?  They still could not tell.  Toward the west, clouds were clearly delineated at the
horizon adding to the darkness and the eye could not distinguish the confusion of the sky and
water on this circular line.

But at one point of this horizon a vague light suddenly appeared slowly descending as the clouds
rose to the zenith.

It was the slender crescent of the moon about to set.  But its light was sufficient to clearly show
the horizon then detached from a cloud and the engineer was able to see its trembling image
reflected for a moment on the liquid surface.

Cyrus Smith seized the lad's hand and in a solemn voice:

"An island!" he said at the moment when the light of the lunar crescent was extinguished by the
waves.


CHAPTER XI

At the summit of the cone - The interior of the crater - The sea all around - No land in sight -
Bird's eye view of the shore - Hydrography and orography - Is the island inhabited? - Naming the
bays, gulfs, capes, rivers, etc. - Lincoln Island.

 A half hour later Cyrus Smith and Herbert returned to the camp.  The engineer merely told his
companions that the land on which chance had thrown them was an island and that the next day
they would consult.  Then each made the best sleeping arrangement he could, and in this cavity of
basalt at a height of two thousand five hundred feet above sea level the "islanders" enjoyed a deep
sleep on a peaceful night.

The next day, March 30th, after a quick breakfast in which the roasted tragopan was the only
dish, the engineer wanted to ascend to the summit of the volcano in order to carefully observe the
island on which he and his friends would be imprisoned for life perhaps if this island was situated
far from all land or if it was not near the lanes of ships visiting the archipelagos of the Pacific
Ocean.  This time his companions would follow him in this new exploration.  They too wanted to
see this island which they would ask to supply all their needs.

It was about seven o'clock in the morning when Cyrus Smith, Herbert, Pencroff, Gideon Spilett
and Neb broke camp. No one appeared uneasy about their situation.  They doubtless had faith in
themselves but it should be noted that the basis of this faith was not the same in Cyrus Smith as in
his companions.  The engineer had confidence because he felt capable of wresting from this
savage nature all that would be necessary for the life of his companions and his own and they
feared nothing precisely because Cyrus Smith was with them. They realized this difference. 
Pencroff, especially since the incident of the rekindled fire, would not despair for an instant even if
he found himself on a bare rock if the engineer was with him on this rock.

"Bah!" he said.  "We left Richmond without the permission of the authorities!  It would be a hell
of a thing if sooner or later we did not succeed in leaving a place where no one will certainly
detain us."

Cyrus Smith followed the same path as the day before. They went around the cone by the plateau
which formed the shoulder up to the opening of the enormous crevice.  The weather was
magnificent.  The sun rose in a pure sky and its rays enveloped the entire eastern side of the
mountain.

They reached the crater.  It was just as the engineer had recognized it in the darkness, that is to
say a vast crater that extended to a height of a thousand feet above the plateau. From the base of
the crevice, broad thick flows of lava had meandered over the sides of the mountain thus marking
out the route of the eruptive material into the lower valleys which criss-crossed the northern
portion of the island.

The interior of the crater, whose inclination was not more than thirty five to forty degrees,
presented no difficulties nor obstacles to climbing.  They saw traces of very old lava which
probably poured out at the summit of the cone before this lateral crevice opened a new route.

As to the volcanic chimney which established communication between the subterranean levels and
the crater, they could not estimate its depth by looking at it since it was lost in obscurity.  But
there was no doubt about the complete extinction of the volcano.

Before eight o'clock Cyrus Smith and his companions were gathered at the summit of the crater
on a conical swelling which puffed up the northern rim.

"The sea!  The sea everywhere!" they cried as if their lips could not hold back this word that made
islanders of them.

In fact the sea was an immense circular expanse around them.  Perhaps on climbing to the summit
of the cone Cyrus Smith had hoped to discover some coast, some neighboring island, which he
had not been able to see the previous evening in the darkness.  But nothing appeared within the
limits of the horizon that is to say for a radius of over fifty miles.  No land in sight.  Not a sail.  All
this immensity was deserted and the island occupied the center of a circumference that seemed to
be infinite.

The engineer and his companions, speechless, immobile, looked over all the points of the ocean
for several minutes. Their eyes examined this ocean to its most extreme limits.  But Pencroff, who
possessed a marvellous power of vision, saw nothing, and certainly if land was lying on the
horizon, even if it appeared as an imperceptible vapor, the sailor would undoubtedly recognize it
because nature had truly placed two telescopes under his eyebrows.

After the ocean their attention was fixed on the island which they could see in its entirety and the
first question was asked by Gideon Spilett in these terms:

"About how large is this island?"

Truly it did not appear to be considerable in the midst of this immense ocean.

Cyrus Smith reflected for several moments.  He looked all around the island taking into account
the height at which they were situated; then:

"My friends," he said, "I believe I am not mistaken in giving the shoreline of the island a perimeter
of more than one hundred miles." (1)

"And consequently, its area?"

"That is difficult to estimate," replied the engineer, "because it is so capriciously indented."

If Cyrus Smith was not mistaken in his evaluation, the island was nearly as large as Malta or
Zakynthos in the Mediterranian; but at the same time it was much more irregular and less rich in
capes, promontories, points, bays, coves, or creeks.  Its truly strange form surprised them, and
when Gideon Spilett sketched its contours at the engineer's suggestion they found that it
resembled some fantastic animal, a sort of monstrous pteropoda which was sleeping on the
surface of the Pacific.

This was in fact the exact configuration of the island which is important to know.  Its map was
immediately drawn by the reporter with sufficient precision.

The eastern portion of the coast on which the castaways had landed was curved on a large arc and
bordered by a vast bay

(1) About 45 leagues of 4 kilometers per league.

terminated in the southeast by a sharp cape which was a point hidden from Pencroff at the time of
his first exploration.  In the northeast two other capes closed the bay and between them a narrow
gulf was hollowed out which resembled the half opened jaw of some formidable shark.

From the northeast to the northwest the coast was rounded like the flattened skull of a wild beast
rising in a sort of protuberance which did not assign any very definite plan to this part of the island
whose center was occupied by the volcanic mountain.

From this point on, the coastline was somewhat regular north and south cut at two thirds of its
length by a narrow creek, beyond which it ended in a long tail resembling the caudal appendage of
a gigantic alligator.

This tail formed a true peninsula which extended for more than thirty miles into the sea, counting
from the southeast cape of the island, already mentioned.  It was rounded, describing an open
roadstead which characterized the lower shore of this strangely cut out land.

In it smallest width, that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek observed on the western
coast which corresponded to it in latitude, the island measured only ten miles, but its greatest
length, from the jaw of the northeast to the extremity of the tail in the southwest, came to not less
than thirty miles.

As to the interior of the island its general aspect was thus: very wooded in all of its southern
portion from the mountain up to the shore and dry and sandy in its northern part.  Between the
volcano and the east coast Cyrus Smith and his companions were rather surprised to see a lake,
bordered by green trees, whose existence they had not suspected.  Seen from this height the lake
seemed to be at the same level as the sea but on reflection the engineer explained to his
companions that the altitude of this small expanse of water must be three hundred feet because the
plateau which served as its basin was that high above the coast.

"Does this lake have sweet water?" asked Pencroff.

"Necessarily," replied the engineer, "because it must be fed by waters which flow from the
mountain."

"I see a small brook which flows into it," said Herbert, pointing to a narrow creek whose source
must flow from the buttresses in the west.

"In fact," replied Cyrus Smith, "since this stream feeds the lake it is probable that there exists an
outlet at the sea side by which the overflow of water escapes.  We will see this on our return."

This rather winding watercourse and the river already noted, such was the hydrographic system,
such at least was developed before the eyes of the explorers.  However it was possible that under
these masses of trees of the immense forest which made up two thirds of the island, other streams
flowed toward the sea.  They must even assume it since this fertile

and rich region showed the most magnificent specimens of the vegetation of the temperate zones. 
As to the northern part, there was no indication of flowing water: perhaps some stagnant water in
the marshy portions of the northeast but that was all; in sum there were dunes, sand and a very
pronounced aridity which vividly contrasted with the opulence of the soil of its larger section.

The volcano did not occupy the central part of the island. It stood, on the contrary, in the
northwest region and seemed to mark the boundary between the two zones.  Toward the
southwest, the south and the southeast, the lower levels of the buttresses disappeared under the
masses of vegetation.  In the north, on the contrary, one could follow their ramifications which
eventually faded into the plains of sand.  It was also on this coast, during the time of the
eruptions, that the discharges had opened up a passage and one broad path of lava extended to
this narrow jaw which formed a gulf in the northeast.

Cyrus Smith and his companions remained thus for a hour on the summit of the mountain.  The
island developed under their eyes like a plan in relief with various tints, greens for the forests,
yellows for the sands, blues for the waters.  They saw it in its entirety.  The ground hidden under
the immense vegetation, the bottom of the shaded valleys, the interior of the narrow sunken
gorges which extended to the foot of the volcano, these alone escaped their investigation.

One serious question remained to answer which would singularly influence the future of the
castaways.

Was the island inhabited?

It was the reporter who posed this question to which it seemed that they could already give a
negative response after a minute examination which they made of the diverse regions of the island.

Nowhere could they perceive the work of the human hand. No conglomeration of cabins, not an
isolated hut, not a fishery on the shore.  No fire rose to betray the presence of man.  It is true that
a distance of approximately thirty miles separated the observers from the extreme points that is to
say from this tail which projected to the southwest and it would be difficult even for Pencroff's
eyes to discover a habitation there. Neither could they lift up the screen of verdure which covered
three quarters of the island to see if it did or did not hide some village.  But generally the islanders
of these narrow spaces that emerge from the Pacific inhabit, for the most part, the shore and the
shore appeared to be absolutely deserted.

Until a more complete exploration they would have to admit that the island was uninhabited.    
But was it frequented, at least temporarily, by the natives from the neighboring islands?  It was
difficult to reply to this question.  No land appeared within a radius of

approximately fifty miles.  But fifty miles could easily be crossed, either by Malaysian proas or by
large Polynesian canoes.  All depended on the position of the island, its isolation in the Pacific,
and its proximity to the archipelagos.  Would Cyrus Smith be able later to determine their latitude
and longitude without instruments?  That would be difficult.  It would be best to take certain
precautions against a possible visit from neighboring natives.

The exploration of the island was complete, its configuration determined, its outline noted, its
area calculated, its hydrography and orography recognized.  The disposition of the forests and the
plains were drawn in a general way by the reporter.  There was nothing to do but to descend the
slopes of the mountain and to explore the ground with the triple point of view of noting its
mineral, vegetable and animal resources.

But before giving his companions the signal to depart, Cyrus Smith said to them in a calm and
serious voice:

"Here, my friends, is the small corner of the world on which the hand of the Almighty has thrown
us.  It is here that we are going to live a long time perhaps.  Perhaps also unexpected help will
arrive if some vessel passes by chance... I say by chance because this island is not very important. 
It offers nothing which can serve as a port of call for ships, and it is to be feared that it is situated
outside the ordinary shiplanes, that is to say that it is too far to the south for the vessels which
frequent the archipelagos of the Pacific, too far north for those that go to Australia by doubling
Cape Horn. I wish to conceal nothing from you."

"And you are right, my dear Cyrus," the reporter replied vividly.  "You are dealing with men. 
They have confidence in you and you can count on them.  Isn't that so, my friends?"

"I will obey you in everything, Mister Cyrus," said Herbert who seized the engineer's hand.

"My master, always and everywhere!" cried Neb.

"As to me," said the sailor, "may I lose my name if I sulk at my work, and if you wish it, Mister
Smith, we will make this island a Little America.  We will build towns, we will establish railroads
here, we will install telegraphs and one fine day when it will be transformed and civilized we will
offer it to the government of the Union!  Only I ask one thing."

"What is that?" asked the reporter.

"That we no longer think of ourselves as castaways but as colonists coming here to colonize."

Cyrus Smith could not restrain a smile and the sailor's motion was adopted.  Then he thanked his
companions and added that he counted on their energy and on the blessing of Heaven.

"Well then, on to the Chimneys!" cried Pencroff.

"One moment, my friends," replied the engineer.  "It seems best to me to give a name to this
island, also to its capes, to its promontories and to the watercourses that we have seen below."

"Very good," said the reporter.  "In the future this will simplify the instructions that we will have
to give or to follow."

"In fact," replied the sailor, "it is already something to be able to say where one has been and
where one is going.  At least one has the feeling of having been somewhere."

"The Chimneys, for example," said Herbert.

"Right!" replied Pencroff.  "This name, which has already been very convenient, came to me all
alone.  Shall we keep this name of the Chimneys for our first encampment, Mister Cyrus?"

"Yes, Pencroff, since you have so baptized it."

"Good!  As to the others, that will be easy," replied the sailor, who was in good spirits.  "Let us
use names like the Robinsons did.  Herbert has read their story to me more than once; 'Providence
Bay,' 'Cachalots Point,' 'Cape of Deceived Hope'."

"Or rather the names of Mister Smith," replied Herbert, "of Mister Spilett, of Neb!..."

"My name!" cried Neb, showing his sparkling white teeth.

"Why not?" replied Pencroff.  "'Port Neb' would be very good.  And 'Cape Gideon.'"

"I would prefer names borrowed from our country" replied the reporter, "which would remind us
of America."

"Yes, for the main features," Cyrus Smith then said, "for those of the bays or the seas, I readily
grant it.  We could give to this vast bay in the east the name Union Bay for example, to this large
indentation in the south that of Washington Bay, to the mountain on which we are now standing
that of Mount Franklin, to the lake which extends beneath us that of Lake Grant, nothing could be
better my friends.  These names will remind us of our country and those great citizens who have
honored it, but for the rivers, the gulfs, the capes and the promontories which we perceive from
the top of this mountain, let us choose names which will rather recall their particular
configuration.  It will make a deeper impression on us and it will be practical at the same time. 
The shape of the island is sufficiently strange so that we will have no difficulty in imagining names
which recall it.  As to the watercourses that we do not know, the various parts of the forest that
we will explore later, the creeks that will be discovered in due time, we will name that when they
present themselves to us.  What do you think, my friends?"

The engineer's proposition was unanimously adopted by his companions.  The island was there
under their eyes like an open map and they had only to specify names for all its features. Gideon
Spilett would draw it to scale and the geographical nomenclature of the island would be formally
adopted.

First they named Union Bay, Washington Bay, and Mount Franklin, for the two bays and the
mountain as the engineer had done.

"Now," said the reporter, "this peninsula which projects to the southwest of the island, I propose
to give it the name of Serpentine Peninsula, and the name Reptile End to the curved tail at its end
because it is truly a reptile's tail."

"Adopted," said the engineer.

"Now," said Herbert, "for this other extremity of the island, this gulf which so singularly
resembles an open jaw, let us call it Shark Gulf."

"Well done!" cried Pencroff, "and we will complete the picture by giving the two parts of the jaw
the name Mandible Cape."

"But there are two capes," the reporter observed.

"Well then," replied Pencroff, "we will have North Mandible Cape and South Mandible Cape."

"They are inscribed," replied Gideon Spilett.

"It remains to name the point at the southeast extremity of the island," said Pencroff.

"That is to say the extremity of Union Bay?" replied Herbert.

"Cape Claw," Neb cried out at once.  He also wanted to be the godfather of some piece of his
domain.

And in truth Neb had found an excellent name because this cape truly represented the powerful
claw of the fantastic animal which resembled the outline of the island.

Pencroff was enchanted by the turn of events.  Their somewhat overexcited imaginations soon
had given:

To the river which furnished fresh water to the colonists near where the balloon had thrown them,
the name of the Mercy, a true thanks to Providence;

To the islet on which the castaways had first set foot,  the name of Safety Island;

To the plateau which crowned the high wall of granite  above the Chimneys and from where they
could see all of the  vast bay, the name Grand View Plateau;

 Finally to all of this massive impenetrable woods which  covered Serpentine Peninsula, the name
of Forests of the Far  West.

 The nomenclature of the visible and known parts of the  island was thus finished and later they
would complete it with  new discoveries as they went along.

 As to the orientation of the island the engineer had  determined it approximately by the height
and the position of  the sun which put Union Bay and all of Grand View Plateau to  the east.  But
the next day by taking the exact time of  sunrise and sunset and by determining the sun's position
at  the midpoint between sunrise and sunset he would exactly fix  the north of the island.  Because
they were located in the  southern hemisphere the sun, at the precise moment of reaching  its
highest point, would pass to the north and not to the  south in its apparent movement as it seems
to do in places  situated in the northern hemisphere.

 Everything was finished and the colonists had only to  climb down Mount Franklin to return to
the Chimneys when  Pencroff exclaimed:

 "What dopes we are!"

 "Why do you say that?" asked Gideon Spilett, who had  closed his notebook and was getting up
to leave.

 "What about our island?  We have forgotten to name it."

 Herbert was going to propose to give it the engineer's  name and all his companions would have
applauded it when Cyrus  Smith simply said:

 "Let us name it after a great citizen, my friends, who  now fights to defend the unity of the
American republic.  Let  us call it Lincoln Island."

 Three hurrahs was the response made to the engineer's  proposition.

 And that evening, before going to sleep, the new  colonists spoke of the country they missed;
they spoke of this  terrible war which was staining it with blood; they could not  doubt that the
South would soon be subdued and that the cause  of the North, the cause of justice could only
triumph thanks  to Grant, thanks to Lincoln.

 So passed the 30th of March 1865.  They could scarcely  know that sixteen days later a horrible
crime would be  committed in Washington and that on Good Friday Abraham  Lincoln would be
murdered by a fanatic.



CHAPTER XII

Setting the watches - Pencroff is satisfied - A suspicious smoke - The course of Red Creek - The
flora of Lincoln Island - The fauna - Mountain pheasants - Pursuing kangaroos - Agouti - Lake
Grant - Return to the chimneys.

 The colonists of Lincoln Island cast one last glance around them, they went around the crater by
its narrow ridge and a half hour later they had climbed down to the first plateau to their night
camp.

Pencroff thought that it was mealtime and for this purpose he raised the question of adjusting the
two watches belonging to Cyrus Smith and the reporter.

We know that Gideon Spilett's watch had been respected by the sea water since the reporter had
been thrown on the beach from the first, out of the reach of the waves.  It was an instrument kept
in excellent condition, a real pocket chronometer which Gideon Spilett had never forgotten to
wind carefully each day.

As to the engineer's watch, it had necessarily stopped during the time that Cyrus Smith had passed
on the dunes.

The engineer reset it, estimating approximately from the height of the sun that it was about nine
o'clock in the morning.  He set his watch to this hour.

Gideon Spilett was about to imitate him when the engineer held him back saying:

"No, my dear Spilett, wait.  You have kept the time of Richmond, haven't you?"

"Yes, Cyrus."

"Consequently your watch is set to the meridian of that city, a meridian which is very nearly that
of Washington?"

"No doubt."

"Very well, then keep the setting.  Remain content to wind it carefully but do not touch the hands. 
This will be useful to us."

"What good will that be?" thought the sailor.

They ate so well that the supply of game and almonds was completely exhausted.  But Pencroff
was not uneasy.  They would reprovision en route.  Top, whose portion was very meager, would
well know how to find some new game under the cover of the brushwood.  Later the sailor
intended to ask the engineer in all innocence to make powder and one or two hunting guns and he
thought that this would present no difficulty.

On leaving the plateau Cyrus Smith proposed to his companions that they take a new road to
return to the Chimneys. He wanted to explore Lake Grant which was so magnificently surrounded
by a border of trees.  They followed the crest of one of the buttresses where the creek (1) that fed
the lake probably found its source.  While chatting, the colonists were already using the proper
names that they had chosen and this singularly facilitated the exchange of ideas.  Herbert and
Pencroff - the one young and the other like a small child - were enchanted and while walking the
sailor said:

"Hey, Herbert, how things are coming along!  We can't possibly get lost, my boy, since whether
we follow the road to Lake Grant or we rejoin the Mercy by crossing the woods of the Far West
we will necessarily arrive at Grand View Plateau and consequently at Union Bay."

It had been agreed that, without forming a compact group, the colonists would not wander far
from each other.  Very certainly some dangerous animals inhabited the thick forests of the island
and it would be prudent to be on their guard.  As a rule, Pencroff, Herbert and Neb went on
ahead, preceded by Top who nuzzled into the slightest corner.  The reporter and the engineer
went together.  Gideon Spilett was ready to record every incident.  The engineer was silent most
of the time, wandering from the road only to pick up sometimes one, sometimes another mineral
or vegetable substance which he put in his pocket without making any comment.

"What the devil can he be picking up?" murmured Pencroff. "I have looked carefully and I don't
see anything worth bending over for."

About ten o'clock the small troop descended the last slopes of Mount Franklin.  The soil was still
scattered with only bushes and some sparse trees.  They walked on yellowish calcinated ground
forming a plain about a mile long which preceded the border of the woods.  Some large sections
of basalt which, according to Bischof, require three hundred fifty million years to cool, were
strewn on the plain, very broken up in places.  However there were no traces of lava which had
especially poured out on the northern slopes.

(1) The name that Americans give to a small watercourse.

Cyrus Smith believed that he could reach the creek's course without incident which, according to
him, would unfold under the trees at the edge of the plain, when he came headlong into Herbert,
while Neb and the sailor were hiding behind some rocks.

"What is it, my boy?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"A smoke," replied Herbert.  "We have seen a smoke rising among the rocks about a hundred feet
from us."

"Men in this area?" cried the reporter.

"Let us avoid showing ourselves before we know with whom we are dealing," replied Cyrus
Smith.  "I especially fear the natives if there are any of them on this island, which I do not wish
for.  Where is Top?"

"Top is up in front."

"And he does not bark?"

"No."

"That's strange.  Nevertheless, let us try to recall him."

In a few moments the engineer, Gideon Spilett and Herbert had rejoined their two companions
and like them they hid behind some basalt debris.

From there they could clearly see a smoke with a characteristic yellow color twirling into the air.

Top was recalled by a weak whistle from his master who, making a sign to his companions to wait
for him, glided among the rocks.

The colonists were immobile, waiting for the result of this exploration with a certain anxiety when
a call from Cyrus Smith made them run up.  They soon rejoined him and were all at once struck
by a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere.

This easily recognized odor had sufficed for the engineer to guess at the identity of this smoke
which at first had caused the anxiety, not without reason.

"This fire," he said, "or rather this smoke is due only to nature's efforts.  It is due to a sulphuric
spring which will permit us to effectively treat our laryngites."

"Good," cried Pencroff.  "What a pity that I don't have a cold."

The colonists went to the spot where the smoke escaped. There they saw a sulphuric salt spring
pouring out rather abundantly among the rocks.  The water gave off a vivid sulphuric acid odor
after having absorbed the oxygen from the air.

Cyrus Smith dipped his hand into it, finding these waters oily to the touch.  He tasted it and found
it to be a little sweet.  As to its temperature he estimated it to be at 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35
degrees Centigrade above zero).  And Herbert having asked him on what he based this evaluation:

"Very simple, my child," he said, "because on plunging my hand into this water I felt no sensation
of either hot or cold. Thus, it is the same temperature as the human body which is about 95
degrees."

Since the sulphuric spring was of no actual benefit, the colonists went toward the thick border of
the forest which grew a few hundred feet away.

There, as they had guessed, the brisk clear waters of the stream ran between the high banks of red
ground whose color revealed the presence of iron oxide.  This color immediately gave to this
watercourse the name of Red Creek.

It was only a large brook, deep and clear, formed by the waters of the mountain which half
stream, half torrent, flowed peacefully here on a sand bed, rumbling over the tops of the rocks on
which they fell in a cascade.  It flowed toward the lake a mile and a half away, over a width
varying from thirty to forty feet.  Its waters were sweet which led them to believe that so also
were the waters of the lake.  This would be a happy circumstance in the event they should find a
dwelling on its border more agreeable than the Chimneys.

As to the trees which shaded the banks of the creek a hundred feet downstream, they appeared for
the most part to be of a species which are abundant in the temperate zone of Australia and of
Tasmania and not those of the conifers which grew on that part of the island already explored a
few miles from Grand View Plateau.  At this time of the year, at the beginning of the month of
April, which corresponds to the month of October in the northern hemisphere, that is to say at the
start of autumn, the foliage is not yet missing.  This was especially so with the casuarinas and the
eucalyptus some of which would furnish next spring a sweet manna perfectly analogous to the
manna of the orient.  Some clusters of Australian cedars also grew in the clearings which were
covered with a tall grass called "tussock" in Australia.  However, the coconut which is so
abundant in the archipelagos of the Pacific seemed to be missing on the island whose latitude was
doubtless too low.

"What a pity" said Herbert, "a tree which is so useful and which has such beautiful nuts."

As to the birds, they swarmed among the somewhat lean branches of the eucalyptus and the
casuarinas which did not hide their wing displays.  Black, white or grey cockatoos, parrots and
parakeets with a plumage tinged with all colors, "kings" with a bright green crowned with red,
blue loris and "blue mountains" gave a sight like looking through a prism. They flew amid a
deafening clatter.

All at once a strange concert of discordant voices resounded from the midst of a thicket.  The
colonists heard successively the singing of birds, the cries of quadrupeds and a sort of clapping
which they would have believed escaped from the lips of a native.  Neb and Herbert ran toward
this bush forgetting the most elementary principles of prudence.  Very fortunately there was no
formidable beast there nor a dangerous native but very simply a half dozen of these mocking and
singing birds which they recognized as "mountain pheasants."  A few strokes of the stick, skillfully
applied, terminated this scene of mimicking and also procured excellent game for the evening
meal.

Herbert also pointed out some magnificent pigeons with bronze colored wings, some topped by a
superb crest, others draped in green like their congeners from Port Macquarie; but it was
impossible to catch them any more than the crows and magpies which flew away in flocks.  A
firing of small shot would have produced a great slaughter among these birds, but the hunters
were still limited to stones for missiles and to sticks for hand held weapons and these primitive
devices could not be anything but very inadequate.

Their inadequacy was demonstrated more clearly again when a troop of hopping and bounding
quadrupedes, making leaps of thirty feet, real flying mammals, ran away over the thicket so nimbly
and at such a height that they seemed to pass from one tree to another like squirrels.

"Kangaroos!" shouted Herbert.

"And are they edible?" replied Pencroff.

"Stewed," responded the reporter, "they compare to a better venison!..."

Gideon Spilett had not finished this exciting statement when the sailor, followed by Neb and
Herbert, went after the kangaroos.  Cyrus Smith called them back but in vain.  But it was also in
vain that the hunters ran after this springy game which bounced like a ball.  After five minutes of
running they were out of breath and the band disappeared in the brushwood. Top had had no
more success than his masters.

"Mister Cyrus," said Pencroff when they rejoined the engineer and the reporter, "Mister Cyrus,
you can well see that it is indispensable to make some guns.  Will that be possible?"

"Perhaps," replied the engineer, "but we will first begin by making some bows and arrows and I
do not doubt that you will become just as skilled in their use as the Australian hunters."

"Arrows, bows!" said Pencroff with a condescending pout. "That's very well for children!"

"Don't be proud, friend Pencroff," responded the reporter. "Bows and arrows sufficed for
centuries to stain the earth with blood.  Powder is only a thing of yesterday but war is as old as
the human race unfortunately."

"You must excuse me, Mister Spilett," replied the sailor, "I always speak too quickly."

Herbert however, engrossed in his favorite science of natural history, returned to the subject of
the kangaroos by saying:

"Besides, we had an encounter there with a species that is most difficult to capture.  They were
giants with a long grey fur but if I am not mistaken there exist black and red kangaroos, rock
kangaroos and rat kangaroos which are much easier to lay hands on.  One can count a dozen
species..."

"Herbert" replied the sailor dogmatically, "for me there is only one species of kangaroo, the
'kangaroo-on-the-spit', and that is precisely the one that we will not have this evening."

They could not help laughing on hearing this new classification by Master Pencroff.  The good
sailor could not at all hide his regret at being reduced to a dinner of singing pheasants, but fortune
would show itself once more to accommodate him.

Top in fact, took a strong interest in the hunt, nosing about everywhere with an instinct increased
by a ferocious appetite.  It was even likely that if some game came under his control nothing
would be left to the hunters and that Top was then hunting for himself, but Neb did well to watch
him.

About three o'clock the dog disappeared into the brushwood and some muffled growlings soon
indicated that he was at grips with some animal.

Neb dashed forward and sure enough he found Top greedily devouring a quadrupede which, ten
seconds later, would have been impossible to recognize in Top's stomach.  But very fortunately
the dog fell upon a brood; he had killed three. Two other rodents - the animals in question
appeared to be of this order - were lying strangled on the ground.

Neb reappeared triumphant holding one of these rodents in each hand whose size exceeded that of
a hare.  Their yellow fur was mixed with greenish spots and their tail existed only in a rudimentary
state.

The citizens of the Union did not hesitate to give these rodents the name which befitted them. 
They were "maras," a sort of agouti, a little larger than their congeners from the tropical
countries, really American rabbits, with long ears and with five molars on each side of the jaws,
which is the distinguishing characteristic of agoutis.

"Hurrah!" cried Pencroff.  "The roast has arrived and now we can go home."

The march, momentarily interrupted, was resumed.  The clear water of Red Creek rambled on
under a canopy of casuarinas, banksias and gigantic gum trees.  Superb liliaceous plants grew to a
height of twenty feet.  Other species of trees, which were unknown to the young naturalist,
inclined over the brook which they heard murmuring under these arches of foliage.

However the watercourse was becoming noticeably wider and Cyrus Smith was led to believe that
it would soon reach its mouth.  In fact, upon leaving a thick mass of beautiful trees it suddenly
appeared.

The explorers had arrived on the western shore of Lake Grant.  This area was worth looking at. 
This expanse of water with a circumference of about seven miles and with an area of two hundred
fifty acres (1) was set within a border of various trees.  Toward the east, across a screen of foliage
picturesquely enhanced in some places, appeared the sparkling horizon of the sea.  In the north,
the lake traced a slightly concave curve which contrasted with the sharp outline of is lower point. 
Numerous aquatic birds frequented the banks of

(1) About 100 hectares.

this small Ontario.  The "Thousand Islands" of its American namesake were represented by a rock
which emerged above the surface at several hundred feet from the southern bank.  There, several
couples of kingfishers lived together, perched on some stone, solemn, immobile, on the lookout
for passing fish.  Then rushing and plunging with a sharp cry, they reappeared with prey in their
beak.  Elsewhere on the banks and on the islet there strutted wild ducks, pelicans, waterfowl,
redbeaks, philedons provided with a tongue in the form of a paintbrush, and one or two specimens
of those splendid lyrebirds whose tail unfolds like the gracious motion of a harp.

As to the waters of the lake, they were sweet and clear. From certain bubblings in concentric
circles which intersected at their surface they could not doubt but that it abounded in fish.

"This lake is truly beautiful," said Gideon Spilett.  "We could live on its shore."

"We will live there!" replied Cyrus Smith.

The colonists, then wanting to return to the Chimneys by the shortest way, went toward the angle
formed in the south by the junction of the banks of the lake.  With some difficulty they cut a path
through the thickets and brushwood on which the hand of man had never made its mark and so
they went toward the shore, arriving at the north of Grand View Plateau.  Two miles were
crossed in this direction when, after a last screen of trees, the plateau appeared, covered with a
thick turf, and beyond that, the infinite sea.

In order to return to the Chimneys it would have been sufficient to cross the plateau obliquely for
a distance of a mile and to descend to the bend formed by the first detour of the Mercy.  But the
engineer wanted to find out how and where the overflow of water escaped from the lake and the
exploration was prolonged under the trees for a mile and a half toward the north.  In fact it was
probable that an outlet existed which doubtless went through a cut in the granite.  In sum, the lake
was only an immense basin which was gradually replenished by the flow from the creek and it
could well be that the overflow escaped to the sea by some falls.  If such was the case, the
engineer thought that it would perhaps be possible to utilize this fall and to make use of its force,
actually lost without profit to anyone.  They continued thus to follow the banks of Lake Grant
along the plateau; but after going another mile in this direction Cyrus Smith had not been able to
discover the outlet which must exist however.

It was then half past four.  The preparations for dinner required that the colonists go back to their
dwelling.  The small troop then retraced its steps along the left bank of the Mercy and Cyrus
Smith and his companions arrived at the Chimneys.

There the fire was lit and Neb and Pencroff, on whom naturally devolved the duties of chefs, the
one by virtue of being a Negro, the other by virtue of being a sailor, skillfully prepared grilled
agoutis to which they did justice.

The meal completed, the time came for everyone to get ready for bed.  Cyrus Smith took some
small samples of different minerals from his pocket and contented himself with saying:

"My friends, here is iron ore, here is pyrites, here is clay, here is lime, and here is coal.  This is
what nature gives us as its contributions to our efforts.  Tomorrow we will do our share."


CHAPTER XIII

What is found on Top - Making bows and arrows - A brickyard - The kiln for pottery - Various
kitchen utensils - The first broth - Wormwood - The southern cross - An important astronomical
observation.

"Well, Mister Cyrus, where shall we begin?" Pencroff asked the engineer the next morning.

"At the beginning," replied Cyrus Smith.

In fact the colonists had to really begin at the beginning.  They did not even possess the tools
needed to make tools and they did not even find themselves in the position of Nature which
"having time, economizes on effort."  They had no time since they had to provide immediately for
the needs of their existence, and if profiting from acquired experience they had nothing to invent,
none the less they had everything to make.  Their iron, their steel was still only in the mineral
state, their pottery was in the clay state, their linen and clothes were in the state of textile
materials.

It must be said however that these colonists were "men" in the true sense of the word.  The
engineer Smith could not have been seconded by more intelligent companions nor with more
devotion and zeal.  He had tried them.  He knew their strengths.

Gideon Spilett, a reporter of great talent, having learned everything, could speak about everything
and could contribute with his mind and body to the colonization of the island.  He would not
recoil before any task and, being a passionate hunter, he would make a business out of what had
been until then a sport for him.

Herbert, a courageous lad, already remarkably instructed in the natural sciences, would make a
substantial contribution to the common cause.

Neb was devotion personified.  Skillful, intelligent, tireless, robust, with a constitution of iron, he
understood a little about the work of the forge and would be very useful to the colony.

 As to Pencroff, he had sailed on all the oceans, a carpenter in the Brooklyn dockyards, a tailor's
aide in the Navy, gardener, farmer during his furloughs, etc., and like a man of the sea, prepared
for everything and knowing how to do everything.

It would truly be difficult to unite five men more suitable to battle fate and more assured of
triumphing against it.

"At the beginning," Cyrus Smith had said.  Now this beginning that the engineer referred to was
the construction of an apparatus which would serve to transform natural substances. It is known
that heat plays a role in these transformations. Now the fuel, wood or coal, was available for
immediate use. They must proceed to make a furnace for using it.

"What is the purpose of the furnace?" asked Pencroff.

"To make the pottery that we need," replied Cyrus Smith.

"And with what will we make the furnace ?"

"With bricks."

"And the bricks?"

"With clay.  Let's go, my friends.  In order to avoid transportation problems we will establish our
workshop at the very place of production.  Neb will bring the provisions and there will be no lack
of fire for cooking food."

"No," replied the reporter, "but if there is to be no lack of food then we will have to make some
hunting weapons."

"Ah!  If we only had a knife," cried the sailor.

"What then?" asked Cyrus Smith.

"Then I would quickly make a bow and arrows and there would be plenty of game in the pantry."

"Yes, a knife, a sharp blade...," the engineer said as if speaking to himself.

At this moment he turned his attention toward Top who was prowling around the beach.

Suddenly Cyrus Smith became excited.

"Here, Top," he said.

The dog ran up at his master's call.  He took Top's head between his hands, detached the collar
that the animal carried on his neck and broke it in two parts, saying:

"Here are two knives, Pencroff."

The sailor responded with two hurrahs.  Top's collar was made of a thin blade of tempered steel. 
It was sufficient to first grind it on a sandstone so as to give it a keen sharp edge and then to
remove the burr on a finer sandstone.  Now this type of sandy rock was met with in abundance on
the beach and two hours later the colony's stock of tools was composed of two sharp blades
which had been easy to fit into sturdy handles.

The conquest of this first tool was saluted like a triumph, a precious conquest indeed which would
come in handy.

They left.  It was Cyrus Smith's intention to return to the eastern shore of the lake.  There he had
noticed on the previous day this clay soil, a sample of which he had.  They took to the bank of the
Mercy, crossed Grand View Plateau and after a walk of five miles at most they arrived at a
clearing situated two hundred feet from Lake Grant.     On the way Herbert discovered a tree
whose branches are used by the Indians of South America to make their bows.  It was the
"crejimba" of the palm tree family which does not bear edible fruit.  Some long straight branches
were cut, stripped of leaves, pruned, made thicker in the center and thinner at the extremities, and
they had only to find a suitable plant for the cord of the bow.  This was a species belonging to the
mallow family, the "hibiscus heterophyllus" which furnishes fibers of remarkable tenacity that can
be compared to the tendons of animals.  Pencroff thus obtained some rather strong bows for
which he only needed arrows.  These were easy to make with some straight and rigid branches
without knots but the point would have to be armed, that is to say with a substance suitable for
replacing the iron which would not be easy to meet with.  But Pencroff said that having done his
share of the work, chance would do the rest.

The colonists arrived on terrain that they recognized from the previous day.  It was composed of
this figuline clay which serves in making bricks and tiles, clay which consequently would be very
useful in carrying out the operation in question. The manual labor required would not present any
difficulty.  It sufficed to thin this fuguline with some sand, to mold the bricks and to bake them in
the heat of a wood fire.

Ordinarily bricks are pressed into molds but the engineer was content to form them by hand.  All
that day and the following were employed with this work.  The clay, mixed with water, was then
puddled with the hands and feet of the manipulators and divided into blocks of equal size.  A
skilled workman could make, without a machine, up to ten thousand bricks in twelve hours but in
their two days of work the five brickmakers of Lincoln Island made not more than three thousand
which were arranged alongside each other until the time, three or four days later, when their
complete drying would permit them to perform the baking.

On April 2nd Cyrus Smith determined the position of the island.

On the previous evening he had noted exactly the time when the sun had disappeared below the
horizon, taking account of refraction.  This morning he noted no less exactly the time when it
reappeared.  Between this setting and this rising twelve hours less twenty four minutes elapsed. 
Thus six hours and twelve minutes after today's sunrise the sun would exactly pass the meridian
and the point in the sky that it would occupy at that moment would be north. (1)

(1) In fact at this time of the year and at this latitude, the sun rises at 5:48 a.m. and sets at 6:12
p.m.

At the indicated hour Cyrus noted this point by lining up two trees with the sun which would
serve as a reference mark. He thus obtained a fixed meridian for subsequent operations.

The two days preceding the baking of the bricks were occupied with providing fuel.  They cut off
branches around the clearing and gathered all the wood that had fallen under the trees.  This was
not done without a little hunting in the vicinity now done better since Pencroff possessed several
dozen arrows armed with very sharp points.  It was Top who had furnished these points.  He
brought in a porcupine, rather mediocre as food, but of incontestable value thanks to the quills
with which it was studded.  These quills were securely attached to the ends of the arrows whose
stability was assured by a tail made with the feathers of cockatoos.  The reporter and Herbert
promptly became skillful archers.  Then hairy and feathery game were abundant at the Chimneys,
capybaras, pigeons, agoutis, heather cocks, etc.  For the most part these animals were killed in the
part of the forest situated on the left bank of the Mercy to which they gave the name Jacamar
Woods in remembrance of the bird that Pencroff and Herbert had pursued during their first
exploration.

This game was eaten fresh but they saved the legs of the capybara which they smoked over a fire
of green wood after having aromatized it with fragrant leaves.  This nourishment was fortifying
but nevertheless it was always roast upon roast and the diners would have been happy to hear on
the hearth the sound of beef boiling, but they would have to wait until the pot was made and
consequently until the oven was built.

During these excursions, which were only made within a restricted radius around the brickyard,
the hunters were able to verify the recent passage of large animals with powerful claws of a
species they did not recognize.  Cyrus Smith urged them to be extremely prudent because it was
likely that the forest concealed several dangerous animals.

And it was well that they did.  In fact one day Gideon Spilett and Herbert saw an animal that
resembled a jaguar. This animal fortunately did not attack them because they perhaps would not
have gotten away without some serious wound. But as soon as they could have a real weapon,
that is to say one of the guns that Pencroff clamored for, Gideon Spilett vowed an intense war
against the ferocious beasts to purge them from the island.

During these days the Chimneys were not made more comfortable because the engineer counted
on discovering or building, if necessary, a more convenient dwelling.  They were content to
spread a fresh litter of moss and dry leaves on the sand of the passageways and on these
somewhat primitive beds the weary workers slept a perfect sleep.

They also noted the days which passed on Lincoln Island from the time that the colonists first set
foot there, and kept a regular count.  The fifth of April, which was a Wednesday, was twelve days
from the time that the storm had thrown the castaways on this shore.

On the sixth of April, at daybreak, the engineer and his companions gathered at the clearing in the
vicinity of where the brick baking operation would take place.  Naturally this

kind of operation had to be done in the open air instead of in a furnace or rather in this
conglomeration of bricks which would only be an enormous furnace which would bake itself.  The
fuel, made of well prepared faggots, was placed on the ground surrounded by several rows of dry
bricks, soon forming a large cube, with air vents leading to the outside.  This work lasted the
entire day and only by evening did they set fire to the faggots.

That night no one went to bed and they watched carefully that the fire did not slacken.

The operation lasted forty eight hours and was a perfect success.  It was then necessary to let the
smoking mass cool. During this time Neb and Pencroff, guided by Cyrus Smith, used a hurdle of
interlacing branches to transport several loads of limestone, very ordinary stones, which they
found abundant north of the lake.  These stones, decomposed by the heat, gave a very slimy
quicklime with a yield increased by slaking, as pure in the end as if it had been produced by the
calcination of chalk or of marble.  Mixed with sand, which has the effect of reducing the
contraction of the paste when it solidifies, this limestone furnished an excellent mortar.

The result of these various works was that on April 9th the engineer had at his disposal a certain
quantity of fully prepared lime and several thousand bricks.

Without losing an instant they then began the construction of a kiln which would serve to bake the
various potteries indispensable for domestic use.  They succeeded without too much difficulty. 
Five days later the kiln was charged with coal discovered by the engineer in an open bed near the
mouth of Red Creek.  The first smoke escaped from a chimney about twenty feet high.  The
clearing was transformed into a factory and Pencroff was not far from believing that from this kiln
would issue all the products of modern industry.

While waiting, the first thing that the colonists made was an ordinary pot but one very useful for
cooking food.  The main material was clay soil to which Cyrus Smith added a little lime and
quartz.  In reality this paste constitutes the real "pipe clay" from which they made pots, cups
which had been molded on pottery wheels of the appropriate form, plates, large jars and vats for
holding water, etc.  The form of these objects was awkward and defective; but after they had been
fired at a high temperature, the kitchen of the Chimneys found itself provided with a certain
number of utensils as precious as if the most beautiful kaolin had been used in its composition.

It should be mentioned here that Pencroff, desiring to know if this clay, so prepared, justified its
name of "pipe clay," made some rather grotesque pipes which he found charming but since
tobacco was missing, alas!  And, it should be said, this was a large deprivation for Pencroff.

"But the tobacco will come like everything else," he repeated during his outbursts of absolute
confidence.

These tasks lasted until April 15th and one can be sure that this time was conscientiously
employed.  The colonists, having become potters, did no other thing except pottery.  When it
would be convenient for Cyrus Smith to change them to forgers, they would be forgers.  But the
next day was Sunday, Easter Sunday no less, and all agreed to sanctify this day by rest.  These
Americans were religious men, scrupulous observers of the precepts of the bible and the situation
that they found themselves in could only develop their confidence in the Author of all things.

On the evening of the 15th of April they definitely returned to the Chimneys.  The rest of the
pottery was carried away and the kiln was extinguished to await a new use.  The return was
marked by a happy incident, the discovery made by the engineer of a substance suited to replace
tinder.  It is known that this spongy and velvety pulp comes from a certain mushroom of the
polypore genus.  Properly prepared it is extremely inflammable especially when it has been
previously saturated with cannon powder or boiled in a solution of nitrate or potassium chlorate. 
But up to that time they had not found any of these polypores nor even morels which can replace
them. On this day the engineer, having recognized a certain plant that belongs to the artemisia
genus, which counts among its principle species wormwood, citronella, tarragon, etc., tore off
several clumps and presented them to the sailor.

"Keep these, Pencroff," he said.  "Here is something that will please you."

Pencroff looked at the plant attentively, lined with a lengthy and silky down, whose leaves were
covered with a fluffy cotton.

"Well, what is this Mister Cyrus?" asked Pencroff.  "Good heavens, is it tobacco?"

"No," replied Cyrus Smith, "it is artemisia, Chinese artemisia for the scientists but for us it will be
tinder."

And in fact this artemisia, properly dried, furnishes a very inflammable substance especially when
later the engineer would impregnate it with potassium nitrate of which the island possessed
several beds and which is nothing more than saltpeter.

This evening all the colonists were gathered in the main room and ate in style.  Neb had prepared
a broth of agouti, a fragrant capybara ham to which was added boiled tubercules of the "caladium
macrophizum," a sort of herbaceous plant of the family of aroids which, in the tropical zone, take
on an arborescent form.  These rhizomes had an excellent taste, very nutritious, and nearly like the
substance that is sold in England under the name of "Portland Sago."  This could, to a certain
degree, replace bread which was still lacking to the colonists of Lincoln Island.

The supper was finished but before surrendering themselves to slumber, Cyrus Smith and his
companions went to get some fresh air on the beach.  It was eight o'clock.  The night promised to
be magnificent.  The moon, which had been full five

days earlier, had not yet risen but already the horizon was silvered with the soft gentle hues that
could be called the lunar dawn.  At the southern zenith the polar constellations glistened and
among them was the Southern Cross which the engineer had greeted several days earlier on the
top of Mount Franklin.

Cyrus Smith observed this splendid constellation for some time, which was composed on its upper
portion and on its lower portion of two stars of the first magnitude, on its left arm a star of the
second and on its right arm a star of the third magnitude.

Then after thinking:

"Herbert," he asked the lad, "Isn't this the 15th of April?"

"Yes, Mister Cyrus," replied Herbert.

"Well then, if I am not mistaken, tomorrow will be one of the four days in the year when the true
time will coincide with the average time, that is to say, my child, that tomorrow, within a few
seconds, the sun will cross the meridian at noon, by the clock.  If the weather is nice I think that I
will be able to obtain the longitude of the island to an approximation of several degrees."

"Without instruments or a sextant?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"Yes," replied the engineer.  "Also, since the night is clear I am going to try this very night to
obtain our latitude by calculating the height of the Southern Cross, that is to say of the southern
pole above the horizon.  You can well appreciate, my friends, that before undertaking serious
work on getting settled, it not only suffices to know that this land is an island but it is also
necessary to know, if possible, at what distance it is situated either from the American continent,
or the Australian continent or the principal archipelagos of the Pacific.

"In fact," said the reporter, "instead of constructing a house we could be more interested in
constructing a boat if by chance we are only about a hundred miles from some inhabited coast."

"That is why," replied Cyrus Smith, "I am going to try this evening to obtain the latitude of
Lincoln Island and tomorrow at noon I will try to calculate its longitude."

If the engineer had possessed a sextant, an apparatus which permits, by reflection, the high
precision measurement of the angular distance between objects, the operation would have offered
no difficulty.  This night by the height of the pole, the next day by the sun's crossing of the
meridian, he would have obtained the coordinates of the island.  But with the apparatus missing,
he had to supply it.

Cyrus Smith therefore returned to the Chimneys.  By the light from the hearth he carved two
small flat rulers that he attached together at their extremities so as to form a sort of compass
whose branches could open or close.  The point of attachment was secured by means of a strong
thorn from an acacia which was part of the dead wood in the woodpile.

This instrument completed, the engineer returned to the beach, but he had to take the height of
the pole above a clearly defined horizon, that is to say the horizon of the sea. However, Cape
Claw hid the southern horizon so he would have to find a more convenient station.  The best
would evidently have been the shore exposed directly to the south but for this it would be
necessary to cross the Mercy, then in darkness, which would be a difficulty.

Consequently, Cyrus Smith resolved to make his observations from Grand View Plateau and to
take into account its height above sea level, a height which he would calculate the next day by a
simple procedure of elementary geometry.

The colonists therefore went to the plateau by ascending the left bank of the Mercy and placed
themselves on the edge that was oriented northwest to southeast, that is to say on this line of
capriciously cut rocks which bordered the river.

This part of the plateau was fifty feet higher than the right bank which sloped down to the
extremity of Cape Claw and to the southern coast of the island.  No obstacle interfered with their
view which embraced the horizon from the Cape to Reptile Promontory.  In the south this horizon
was illuminated from below by the first rays of the moon vividly delineated on the sky, enabling
them to sight it with a certain precision.

At this moment the Southern Cross presented itself to the observer in an upside down position,
the star Alpha marking its base, being the closest to the southern pole.

This constellation is not situated as close to the antarctic pole as the pole star is to the arctic pole. 
The star Alpha is about 27 degrees from it, but Cyrus Smith knew this and would take account of
this angle in his calculation. He was also careful to observe the moment when it passed its lowest
meridian which would render his observation easier.

Cyrus Smith therefore lined up one branch of his wooden compass with the horizon of the sea, the
other on Alpha, as he would have done with circular eyepieces, and the opening between the two
branches gave him the angular distance that separated Alpha from the horizon.  In order to fix the
angle obtained in an immutable way, he fastened the two slats of his apparatus by means of thorns
using a third slat placed transversely such that their separation was firmly maintained.

That done, it remained only to calculate the angle obtained by correcting the observation to the
level of the sea in a manner to take account of the depression of the horizon which necessitated
the measurement of the height of the plateau.  The value of this angle would thus give the height
of Alpha and consequently that of the pole above the horizon, that is to say the latitude of the
island, since the latitude of a point on the globe is always equal to the height of the pole above the
horizon at this point.

These calculations were left for the next day and at ten o'clock everyone was in a deep sleep.


CHAPTER XIV

The measurement of the granite wall - An application of the theorem of similar triangles - The
latitude of the island - An excursion to the north - An oyster bed - Future projects  - The sun's
passage on the meridian - The coordinates of Lincoln Island.

The next day, the 16th of April, Easter Sunday, the colonists left the Chimneys at daybreak and
proceeded to wash their linen and to clean their clothes.  The engineer counted on making soap as
soon as he could procure the basic materials necessary for the saponificaiton, soda or potash, fat
or oil. The important question of the renewal of the wardrobe would also be treated in its proper
time and place.  In any case, their clothes would easily last six more months because they were
well made and could resist the stress of manual labors. But all would depend on the position of
the island with respect to inhabited lands.  This they would determine on this very day if the
weather permitted it.

Now the sun rose on a clear horizon announcing a magnificent day, one of those beautiful days of
autumn which are the final farewells to the warm season.

They therefore proceeded to complete the observations of the previous day by measuring the
height of Grand View Plateau above sea level.

"Will you need an instrument like the one that you used yesterday?" Herbert asked the engineer.

"No, my child," he answered, "we will proceed differently but in a manner almost as precise."

Herbert, loving instruction in all things, followed the engineer, who turned away from the foot of
the granite wall and went down to the edge of the beach.  During this time Pencroff, Neb and the
reporter were occupied with various activities.

Cyrus Smith had provided himself with a sort of straight pole, twelve feet long, which he had
measured as accurately as possible by comparing it with his own height which he knew to the
nearest inch.  Herbert carried a plumb line that Cyrus Smith had given him, that is to say a simple
stone fixed to the end of a flexible fiber.

Arriving about twenty feet from the edge of the shore and about five hundred from the granite
wall which rose perpendicularly, Cyrus Smith drove the pole two feet into the sand and, wedging
it in with care, he succeeded, by means of the plumb line, in placing it perpendicular to the plane
of the horizon.

That done he backed up a distance such that when he lay down on the sand, the visual ray from
his eye simultaneously skimmed the top of the pole and the top of the wall.  Then he carefully
marked this point with a thorn.

Then, addressing Herbert:

"Do you know the elementary principles of geometry?" he asked him.

"A little, Mister Cyrus," replied Herbert, who did not wish to stick his neck out.

"Do you recall what are the properties of two similar triangles?"

"Yes," replied Herbert.  "Their homologous sides are proportional."

"Well, my child, I have constructed two similar right triangles.  The first, the smaller one, has for
its sides the perpendicular pole, the distance which separates the thorn from the base of the pole,
and my visual ray for a hypotenuse; the second has for sides the perpendicular wall, whose height
we are measuring, the distance that separates the thorn from the base of this wall, and my visual
ray also forming its hypotenuse which is the prolongation of the hypotenuse of the first triangle."

"Ah, Mister Cyrus, I understand" cried Herbert.  "The distance from the thorn to the pole divided
by the distance from the thorn to the base of the wall is equal to the height of the pole divided by
the height of this wall."

"They are equal, Herbert," replied the engineer, "and when we have measured the first two
distances, and since we know the height of the pole, we will only have a calculation to make of
the ratio, which will give us the height of the wall and will save us the trouble of measuring it
directly."

The two horizontal distances were determined by means of the pole, whose length above the sand
was exactly ten feet.

The first distance was fifteen feet between the thorn and the point where the pole had been driven
into the sand.  The second distance, between the thorn and the base of the wall, was five hundred
feet.

These measurements completed, Cyrus Smith and the lad returned to the Chimneys.

There the engineer took a stone plate which he had brought back from his previous excursions, a
sort of shale slate, on which it was easy to trace some numbers by means of a sharp quill.  He
therefore established the following proportion:

15 : 500 : : 10 : X

500 x 10 = 5000

5000

 = 333.33

15

 From this it was established that the height of the granite wall measured three hundred thirty
three feet. (1)

 Cyrus Smith then took the instrument which he had made the previous evening and whose two
slats, by their separation, gave him the angular distance of the star Alpha above the horizon.  He
very accurately measured this angle against a

(1) In units of the English foot which equals 30 centimeters.

circumference that he had divided into three hundred sixty equal parts.  Now this angle was 10
degrees.  Consequently the total angular distance between the pole and the horizon, adding the 27
degrees between Alpha and the antarctic pole and reducing it by the height above sea level of the
plateau on which the observation was made, gave 37 degrees.  Cyrus Smith therefore concluded
that Lincoln Island was situated on the 37th degree south latitude, or, taking an error of 5 degrees
into account in view of the imperfection of these operations, that it was situated between the 35th
and the 40th parallel.

It remained to obtain the longitude in order to completely determine the coordinates of the island. 
This the engineer would attempt to determine this very day at noon, that is to say at the moment
when the sun passed the meridian.

It was decided that they would take a walk this Sunday or rather an exploration of that part of the
island situated between the north of the lake and Shark's Gulf, and if the weather permitted, they
would continue this reconnaissance up to the northern side of South Mandible Cape.  They would
eat on the dunes and only return by evening.

At eight thirty in the morning the small troop followed the border of the channel.  On the opposite
shore, on Safety Island, numerous birds promenaded gravely.  They were the diving birds of the
penguin species, very recognizable by their disagreeable cry which brings to mind the braying of
the donkey.  Pencroff could only consider them from the eating point of view and learned with a
certain satisfaction that their flesh, though blackish, was very edible.

They could also see large amphibians crawling on the sand, seals no doubt, who seemed to have
chosen the islet for refuge. It was hardly possible to consider these animals from the alimentary
point of view because their oily flesh is detestable; however, Cyrus Smith observed them carefully
and, without making his plans known, announced to his companions that they would soon pay a
visit to the islet.

The shoreline followed by the colonists was scattered with innumerable shellfish some of which
would have given joy to an amateur of malacology.  There were among others phasianella,
terebratula, trigonia, etc.  But what would be very useful was this vast oyster bed discovered by
Neb among the rocks at low tide, located about four miles from the Chimneys.

"Neb will not have wasted his day," shouted Pencroff, observing the bank of ostracodes which
spread out to the open sea.

"In fact it is a fortunate discovery," said the reporter, "and if, as is claimed, each oyster produces
fifty to sixty thousand eggs per annum, we will have an inexhaustible reserve."

"Only I believe the oyster is not very nourishing," said Herbert.

"No," replied Cyrus Smith.  "The oyster contains very little protein and if a man ate them
exclusively he would need no less than fifteen to sixteen dozen each day."

"Good," said Pencroff.  "We could devour dozens upon dozens before exhausting the bank.  Shall
we take some for our lunch?"

And without waiting for a reply to his proposition, knowing full well that it would be approved in
advance, the sailor and Neb detached a certain quantity of these mollusks. They placed them in a
sort of hibiscus fiber net that Neb had made and which already contained the meal's menu; then
they continued to ascend the shore between the dunes and the sea.

From time to time Cyrus Smith consulted his watch in order to prepare for the moment when the
solar observation would take place, which had to be at noon precisely.

All of this portion of the island was very arid up to the point which closed Union Bay and which
had received the name of South Mandible Cape.  They saw there only sand and shells mixed with
the debris of lava.  Several sea birds frequented this desolated coast, sea gulls, large albatrosses as
well as wild duck who with good reason excited Pencroff's covetousness.  He tried to attack them
with arrows but without result because they hardly remained still and he could not reach them in
flight.

This led the sailor to repeat to the engineer:

"You can see, Mister Cyrus, that unless we have one or two fowling pieces, our equipment will
leave much to be desired."

"Doubtless, Pencroff," replied the reporter, "but it depends only on you.  Get us iron for the
barrel, steel for the firing pins, saltpeter, carbon and sulphur for the powder, mercury and nitric
acid for the detonater, and finally lead for the balls and Cyrus will make us guns of the highest
quality."

"Oh!" replied the engineer, "without doubt we could find all these substances on the island, but a
gun is a delicate instrument which requires tools of high precision.  However we will see later on."

"Why," cried Pencroff, "did we throw overboard all the weapons that the basket carried, and our
utensils, even our pocket knives?"

"But if we hadn't thrown them out, Pencroff, it would be us that the balloon would have thrown
to the bottom of the sea," said Herbert.

"What you say is true, my boy," replied the sailor.

Then passing to another thought:

"But think," he added, "what must have been the bewilderment of Jonathan Forster and his
companions when the next morning they found the square empty and the machine flown away."

"My last care is to know what they thought," said the reporter.

"Nevertheless, it was I who thought of the idea," said Pencroff, with a pleased look.

"A good idea, Pencroff," replied Gideon Spilett laughing, "and one which has placed us where we
are."

"I would rather be here than in the hands of the Southerners," cried the sailor, "especially since
Mister Smith has been kind enough to come and join us."

"And I also, truly." replied the reporter.  "Besides, what do we lack?  Nothing!"

"If that is not... everything." answered Pencroff, who roared with laughter, shaking his large
shoulders, "but one day or another we will find the means to leave."

"And perhaps sooner than you imagine, my friends," the engineer then said, "if Lincoln Island is
only a moderate distance from an inhabited archipelago or a continent.  In an hour we will know. 
I do not have a map of the Pacific but I have a very clear memory of its southern portion.  The
latitude which I obtained yesterday placed Lincoln Island between New Zealand on the west and
the coast of Chile on the east.  But between these two lands the distance is at least six thousand
miles.  It thus remains to determine which point the island occupies on this large space of ocean
and it is that which the longitude will give us within the hour with a sufficient approximation, I
hope."

"Isn't the archipelago of Tuamotu the nearest to us in latitude?" asked Herbert.

"Yes," replied the engineer, "but the distance which separates us from it is more than twelve
hundred miles."

"And that way?" said Neb, who followed the conversation with extreme interest, his hand pointing
south.

"There, nothing," replied Pencroff.

"Nothing, in fact," added the engineer.

"Well, Cyrus," asked the reporter, "if Lincoln Island is only two or three hundred miles from New
Zealand or from Chile?..."

"Well," replied the engineer, "instead of making a house we will make a boat and Master Pencroff
will be in charge of maneuvering it..."

"To be sure, Mister Cyrus," cried the sailor, "I am all ready to be captain... as soon as you will
find the means to construct a vessel large enough to take to sea."

"We will make it, if that is necessary," replied Cyrus Smith.

But while these men, who truly doubted nothing, were chatting, the hour approached during
which the observation would take place.  How would Cyrus Smith verify the passage of the sun
on the meridian of the island without any instrument? Herbert could not guess.

The observers then found themselves at a distance of six miles from the Chimneys, not far from
that part of the dunes in which the engineer had been found after his puzzling rescue. They halted
in this locality and everyone got ready to eat since it was eleven thirty.  Herbert went to get some
sweet water from a stream which flowed nearby and he carried it in a jug provided by Neb.

During these preparations Cyrus Smith arranged everything

for his astronomical observation.  He chose a very flat place on the beach that the receding sea
had perfectly leveled.  This very fine bed of sand was made as smooth as glass without any grain
of sand higher than another.  However it was of little importance whether this bed was horizontal
or not and of no importance that the six foot rod be placed perpendicularly.  To the contrary, the
engineer even inclined it to the south that is to say to the side opposite the sun, because it should
not be forgotten that since Lincoln Island was situated in the southern hemisphere, the colonists
saw the radiant orb describe its diurnal arc above the northern horizon and not the southern
horizon.

Herbert then understood how the engineer was going to proceed to determine the sun's highest
point, that is to say its passage on the meridian of the island or in other terms, the local noontime. 
It was by means of the shadow projected on the sand by the rod, the means which, in the absence
of an instrument, would give him an approximation sufficient for the result he wished to obtain.

In fact the moment when this shadow would attain its minimum length would be precisely noon
and it would suffice to follow the end of this shadow in order to recognize the instant when, after
having successively diminished it would begin to lengthen.  By inclining the rod to the side
opposite to the sun, Cyrus Smith produced a longer shadow and consequently his modification
would make his determination easier.  In fact, the larger the pointer of a dial is, the easier it is to
follow the displacement of its point.  The shadow of the rod was nothing more than the pointer of
a dial.

When he thought that the moment had arrived, Cyrus Smith knelt on the sand and by means of
small wooden pegs that he stuck into the sand, he began to check off the successive decreases in
the shadow of the rod.  His companions, leaning over him, followed the operation with extreme
interest.

The reporter held his chronometer in his hand ready to note the time when the shadow would be
its shortest.  Inasmuch as Cyrus Smith was operating on the 16th of April, a day in which the true
time and the average time coincide, the time given by Gideon Spilett would be the true time then
at Washington, which would simplify the calculation.

The sun advanced slowly; the shadow of the rod diminished little by little and when it seemed to
Cyrus Smith that it began to lengthen:

"What time is it?" he said.

"Five o'clock and one minute," Gideon Spilett replied at once.

It remained only to make the calculation.  Nothing was easier.  There was, as they saw, in round
figures, a difference of five hours between the meridian of Washington and that of Lincoln Island,
that is to say, it was noontime on Lincoln Island when it was already five o'clock in the evening in
Washington.  Now the sun, in its apparent movement around the earth, covers one degree in four
minutes making 15 degrees per hour. 15degrees multiplied by five hours gives 75 degrees.

Therefore since Washington is at 77 degrees 3' 11" say 77 degrees counting from the meridian of
Greenwich - which the Americans take as the longitude reference concurrently with the English -
it follows that the island was situated at 77 degrees plus 75 degrees to the west of the meridian of
Greenwich, that is to say at the 152nd degree west longitude.

Cyrus Smith announced this result to his companions and taking account of the errors of
observation, as he had done for the latitude, he could affirm that the coordinates of Lincoln Island
were between the 35th and 40th parallel and between the 150th and the 155th meridians to the
west of the meridian of Greenwich.

The possible variations that he attributed to observational errors were, as we saw, 5 degrees both
ways which, at sixty miles per degree, gave an error of three hundred miles in latitude or in
longitude for the exact location.

But this error would have no influence on the decision they would have to make.  It was very
evident that Lincoln Island was at such a distance from all land or archipelagos that they could not
hazard to cross this distance in a simple and fragile boat.

In fact this determination placed it at least twelve hundred miles from Tahiti and the islands of the
archipelago of Tuamotu, more than eighteen hundred miles from New Zealand and more than four
thousand five hundred miles from the American coast.

And when Cyrus Smith consulted his memory he could not recall in any fashion that an island
occupied that part of the Pacific assigned to Lincoln Island.


CHAPTER XV

Wintering is definitely decided - The metallurgical question - Exploration of Safety Island - Seal
Hunt - Capture of an echidna - The koala - The so-called Catalan Method - Making iron - How to
obtain steel.

The next day, April 17th, the sailor's first words were directed to Gideon Spilett.

"Well sir," he asked him, "what shall we do today?"

"Whatever pleases Cyrus," replied the reporter.

Until then they had been brickmakers and potters. Now the engineer's companions would become
metallurgists.

The previous day, after lunch,  the exploration had been carried to the point of Cape Mandible,
nearly seven miles distant from the Chimneys.  There the long series of dunes was ended and the
soil took on a volcanic appearance.  There were no longer any high walls such as Grand View
Plateau but an outlandish and capricious border which surrounded the narrow

gulf between the two capes, formed by mineral material vomited from the volcano.  Arriving at
this point the colonists retraced their steps and as night was falling they again entered the
Chimneys.  They did not go to sleep before definitely resolving the question of whether they
should quit Lincoln Island or not.

The twelve hundred miles which separated the island from the Tuamotu archipelago was a
considerable distance.  A boat would not be sufficient to cross it especially with the bad season
coming on.  Pencroff had expressly said so.  Now to construct a simple boat, even having the
necessary tools, was a difficult task and, the colonists not having any tools, they would have to
begin by making hammers, axes, adzes, saws, augers, planes, etc. which would take time.  It was
therefore decided that they would winter on Lincoln Island and that they would find a dwelling
more comfortable than the Chimneys to pass the winter months.

First they would proceed to utilize the iron ore, of which the engineer had noted several beds in
the northwest part of the island, and to change this mineral into iron or into steel.

Soil does not generally contain metals in the pure state. For the most part they are found
combined with oxygen or with sulphur.  In particular, of the two specimens brought back by
Cyrus Smith, one was magnetic iron, not carbonated, the other pyrites, otherwise known as ferric
sulphide.  It was thus the first, the iron oxide, that he would have to reduce with carbon, that is to
say to remove the oxygen in order to obtain a pure state.  This reduction is done by subjecting the
mineral to a high temperature in the presence of carbon, either by the rapid and easy "Catalan
Method" which has the advantage of directly transforming the mineral into iron in a single
operation, or by the blast furnace method, which first changes the mineral into cast iron, then the
cast iron into iron by raising the amount of carbon combined with it to three or four percent.

Now what was it that Cyrus Smith needed?  It was iron and not cast iron and he had to look for
the most rapid method of reduction.  Besides, the mineral that he had collected was by itself very
pure and very rich.  It was the ferrous oxide which is encountered in jumbled aggregates of a deep
grey, giving a black dust crystallized in regular octahedrons.  It makes natural lodestones and is
used in Europe to make ferrous products of the highest quality.  Sweden and Norway are
abundantly provided with it.  Not far from this bed were found the coal seams already exploited
by the colonists.  There the treatment of the mineral would be facilitated since the fabrication
elements would be near each other.  This is the same situation that makes for the lavish wealth of
the United Kingdom where the coal and the metal are extracted from the same soil and at the
same time.

"Then, Mister Cyrus," Pencroff said to him, "we will work the iron ore."

"Yes, my friend," replied the engineer, "and for that - this will not displease you - we will begin
with a seal hunt on the islet."

"A seal hunt!" cried the sailor, turning toward Gideon Spilett, "Is a seal needed to make iron?"

"Since Cyrus has said so," replied the reporter.

But the engineer had already left the Chimneys and Pencroff prepared for the seal hunt without
having obtained any other explanation.

Soon Cyrus Smith, Herbert, Gideon Spilett, Neb and the sailor had gathered on the shore at the
point where the channel permitted a sort of fordable passage at low tide.  The sea was then at low
tide and the hunters could cross the channel without wetting themselves above the knees.

Cyrus Smith then set foot on the islet for the first time and his companions for the second time
since it was there that the balloon had thrown them at the beginning.

At their arrival, a few hundred auks looked at them guilelessly.  The colonists, armed with clubs,
could have easily killed them but they would not dream of committing such a doubly useless
massacre, because it was important not to frighten the amphibians who were lying on the sand
several cable lengths away.  They also respected certain innocent penguins whose wings, reduced
to the state of stumps, were flattened in the form of fins and trimmed with feathers of a scaly
appearance.     The colonists therefore advanced prudently toward the north point, walking on soil
riddled with small holes which formed the nests of aquatic birds.  Near the extremity of the islet
appeared large black specks floating on the level of the water. One could say they were the tops
of rocks in motion.

They were the amphibians to be captured.  It was necessary to let them land because with their
narrow pelvis, their close- cropped hair, and their slender shape, these seals, who were excellent
swimmers, would be difficult to capture in the sea whereas on land their short webbed feet
allowed them only a not very rapid crawling movement.

Pencroff knew the habits of these amphibians and he advised waiting until they had stretched out
on the sand under the rays of the sun which would not be long in putting them to sleep.  They
would then maneuver to cut off their retreat and to knock them on the nostrils.

The hunters thus concealed themselves behind the rocks on the shore and they waited silently.

An hour passed before the seals came to frolic on the sand.  They could count half a dozen. 
Pencroff and Herbert then broke off in order to turn the point of the islet, to take them from the
rear and to cut off their retreat.  During this time Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett and Neb, crawling
along the rocks, glided toward the future theater of combat.

Suddenly the tall stature of the sailor emerged.  Pencroff uttered a cry.  The engineer and his two
companions quickly threw themselves between the sea and the seals.  Two of these animals,
vigorously struck, remained dead on the sand, but the others were able to regain and take to the
open sea.

"Here are the seals asked for, Mister Cyrus," said the sailor, advancing toward the engineer.

"Good," replied Cyrus Smith.  "We will make forge bellows of them."

"Forge bellows!" cried Pencroff.  "Well, these are lucky seals."

It was in fact a blowing machine, necessary for the treatment of the mineral, that the engineer
counted on making with the skin of these amphibians.  They were of an average size because their
length was not more than six feet.  Their heads resembled that of dogs.

Since it was pointless to burden themselves with the rather considerable weight of these two
animals, Neb and Pencroff resolved to skin them on the spot while Cyrus Smith and the reporter
ended by exploring the islet.

The sailor and the negro did their work skillfully and three hours later Cyrus Smith had at his
disposal two seal skins which he counted on using in this state without subjecting them to any
tanning.

The colonists had to wait for low tide.  Crossing the channel, they returned to the Chimneys.

It was no small job to soften these skins on the wooden frames designed to spread them out, and
to sew them up by means of fibers so as to be able to store air there without letting too much
escape.  It was necessary to rework it several times. Cyrus Smith only had the two steel blades
from Top's collar at his disposal.  Nevertheless, he was so skillful and his companions helped him
with such intelligence that three days later the tool inventory of the small colony was increased by
a blowing machine designed to inject air into a mineral subjected to heat - a condition
indispensable for the success of the operation.

It was the morning of the 20th of April that "the metallurgical period" began, so-called by the
reporter in his notes.  The engineer had decided, as we know, to work both the coal and mineral
beds.  Now, from his observations, these beds were situated at the foot of the northeast buttresses
of Mount Franklin, that is to say at a distance of six miles.  They could not therefore think of
returning each day to the Chimneys.  It was agreed that the small colony would camp under a hut
of branches so that the important operation could be followed night and day.

This decided, they left in the morning.  Neb and Pencroff dragged the bellows on a hurdle
together with a certain quantity of vegetables and animal provisions which, besides, they would
renew on the way.

The path followed was through Jacamar Woods which they crossed obliquely from the southeast
to the northwest and in its thickest part.  It was necessary to blaze a trail which would later form
the most direct artery between Grand View Plateau and Mount Franklin.  The trees, belonging to
species already recognized, were magnificent.  Herbert again noted, among others, some dragon
trees which Pencroff called "pretentious warts" - because in spite of their size they were

of the same family of liliaceous plants as the onion, the chive, the shallot or asparagus.  These
dragon trees could provide ligneous roots which are excellent when cooked and which give a very
agreeable liqueur when subjected to a certain fermentation.  They gathered some of it.

The path across the woods was long.  It lasted the entire day but this permitted them to observe
the fauna and the flora. Top, more especially in charge of the fauna, followed a path through the
grass and brushwood, indiscriminately flushing out every kind of game.  Herbert and Gideon
Spilett killed two kangaroos with arrows and also an animal that bore a strong resemblance to a
hedgehog and to an anteater; to the first because it rolled itself into a ball and bristled with quills;
to the second because it had burrowing claws and a long slim snout with a bird's beak at the end
and an extendable tongue furnished with small quills which served to retain insects.

"And when it will be in a boiling pot," Pencroff artlessly asked, "what will it resemble?"

"An excellent piece of beef," replied Herbert.

"We will not ask more of it," replied the sailor.

During this excursion they saw some wild boars who did not seek to attack the small troop.  It did
not appear wise to collide with these formidable beasts when, in a thick hedge, the reporter
thought he saw, several feet away among the main branches of a tree, an animal which he took for
a bear.  He quietly took to sketching it.  Very happily for Gideon Spilett the animal in question did
not appear to be of this formidable family of plantigrades.  This was only a koala, better known
under the name of sloth, which was the size of a large dog with dull bristling hair.  Its paws are
armed with strong claws, permitting it to climb trees and eat the leaves.  Verification of the
identity of the said animal having been made, there was no need to disturb it.  Gideon Spilett
erased "bear" from the title of his sketch, put "koala" in its place and the journey was resumed.

At five o'clock in the evening Cyrus Smith gave the signal to halt.  They found themselves outside
the forest at the base of those powerful buttresses which supported Mount Franklin on its eastern
side.  Red Creek flowed several hundred feet away and consequently potable water was not far
off.

Camp was immediately organized.  In less than an hour at the edge of the forest among the trees,
a hut of branches intermingled with creepers and cemented with clay offered a sufficient retreat. 
They postponed the geological searches for the next day.  Supper was prepared, a good fire
burned in front of the hut, the spit turned, and at eight o'clock, while one of the colonists watched
to keep up the fire in the event some dangerous beast might prowl about, the others slept well.

The next day, the 21st of April, Cyrus Smith, accompanied by Herbert, went to look for those
terrains of ancient formation where he had already found a mineral specimen.  He again
discovered the bed at ground level, near the sources of

the creek at the foot of the lateral base of one of the buttresses on the northeast side.  The very
rich iron mineral, enclosed in a fusible gangue, was perfectly suitable for the reduction method
that the engineer counted on using, that is to say the Catalan Method, but simplified as used in
Corsica.

In fact the Catalan Method, properly called, requires the construction of kilns and crucibles in
which the mineral and the coal are placed in alternate layers to be transformed and reduced.  But
Cyrus Smith intended to economize on these constructions and wanted to simplify everything by
forming a cubic mass of the mineral and coal into which he would direct the air from his bellows. 
This was the procedure doubtless employed by Tubal Cain and the first metallurgists of the
inhabited world.  Now, that which succeeded with the grandsons of Adam, that which still gave
good results in the countries rich in mineral and in fuel, could not but succeed under the
circumstances that the colonists of Lincoln Island found themselves.

The mineral was collected without difficulty at the same time as the coal and not far from the
surface.  First they broke the mineral into small pieces and they removed by hand the impurities
which contaminated its surface.  Then coal and mineral were placed in successive layers - as the
charcoal burner does with wood that he wishes to carbonize.  In this fashion, under the influence
of the air forced in by the bellows, the coal would be transformed into carbonic acid, then into
carbon monoxide which in turn reduces the iron oxide, that is to say it frees the oxygen.

The engineer proceeded in this way.  A tube of refractory clay, which had been previously made in
the kiln, was used as an opening for the sealskin bellows.  The latter was placed near the mineral
heap.  Actuated by a mechanism whose parts consisted of a chassis, fiber cords and
counterweights, it injected air into the mass, elevating the temperature concurrent with the
chemical transformation which would yield pure iron.

The operation was difficult.  It required all the patience and ingenuity of the colonists to conduct
it well, but finally it succeeded and the definite result was a blob of iron reduced to a spongy state
which would have to be hammered and worked, that is to say forged to drive out the liquified
gangue.  It was evident that these improvised blacksmiths lacked the first hammer; but in the end
they found themselves in the same situation as the first metallurgist and they did what he must
have done.

The first blob, attached to a club, served as a hammer to forge the second on an anvil of granite
and they finally obtained a coarse but usable metal.

On the 25th of April, after much effort and fatigue, several bars of iron were forged and
transformed into tools, pliers, tongs, picks, pickaxes, etc. which Pencroff and Neb declared to be
true gems.

This metal was not in the state of pure iron, especially that state of steel which would give the
best service.  Now steel is a combination of iron and carbon that is derived either from cast iron
by removing the excess carbon, or from iron by adding to it the carbon that it lacks.  The first,
obtained by decarbonization of cast iron yields natural or puddled steel; the second, produced by
the carbonization of iron, yields case hardened steel.

It was this last method that Cyrus Smith preferred since he possessed iron in a pure state.  He
succeeded in heating the metal with carbon powder in a crucible made of refractory clay.

This steel, which is malleable hot and cold, was worked with a hammer.  Neb and Pencroff,
skillfully guided, made some axes which when heated red hot and suddenly plunged into cold
water acquired an excellent temper.

Other devices, crudely fashioned it goes without saying, were made in the same way, plane blades,
axes, hatchets, sheets of steel which would be transformed into saws, carpenter's shears, then
pickaxes, shovels, picks, hammers, nails, etc.

Finally, on May 5th, the first metallurgical period was ended, the blacksmiths returned to the
Chimneys and new work would soon authorize them to take on a new title.


CHAPTER XVI

The question of a dwelling is treated anew - Pencroff's fantasies - An exploration to the north of
the lake - The northern border of the plateau - Serpents - The extremity of the lake - Top's
uneasiness - Top swimming - A combat under the waters - The dugong.

It was the 6th of May, a day which corresponds to the 6th of November in the countries of the
northern hemisphere.  The sky had been overcast for several days and it was important to make
certain arrangements with a view to wintering. Nevertheless the temperature was not yet sensibly
lower and a centigrade thermometer transported to Lincoln Island would still have marked an
average of ten to twelve degrees above zero.  This average is not surprising since Lincoln Island,
very definitely situated between the 35th and 40th parallel, must find itself subject, in the southern
hemisphere, to the same climatic conditions as Sicily or Greece in the northern hemisphere.  But,
like Greece or Sicily which suffer intensive frosts that produce snow and ice, Lincoln Island too
would be subject doubtless, in the more pronounced periods of winter, to certain low
temperatures against which it would be best to protect themselves.

In any case, if the frost did not yet menace them, the rainy season was approaching and on this
isolated island, exposed to all the inclemencies of the vast Pacific Ocean, the bad weather would
be frequent and probably terrible.

The question of a dwelling more comfortable than the Chimneys therefore had to be seriously
considered and promptly resolved.

Pencroff naturally had some partiality for this retreat which he had discovered, but he well
understood that it was necessary to look for another.  Already the Chimneys had been visited by
the sea under circumstances that we recall, and they could not expose themselves to a similar
accident.

"Besides," added Cyrus Smith, who on this day spoke of these things with his companions, "we
have several precautions to take."

"Why?  The island is not inhabited," said the reporter.

"That is probable," replied the engineer, "although we have not yet explored it in its entirety, but if
no human being is found, I fear that dangerous animals abound.  It would thus be best to shelter
ourselves against a possible aggression, and don't forget that one of us must stay awake each
night to keep up the fire.  And thus, my friends, we must anticipate everything.  We are here in a
part of the Pacific that is often frequented by Malay pirates..."

"What," said Herbert, "at this distance from all land?"

"Yes, my child," replied the engineer.  "These pirates are hardy sailors as well as formidable
scoundrels and we will have to take measures in consequence."

"Oh well," replied Pencroff, "we will fortify ourselves against savages with two feet as well as
four feet.  But, Mister Cyrus, shouldn't we explore all parts of the island before undertaking
anything?"

"That would be best," added Gideon Spilett.  "Who knows if we will not find on the opposite
shore one of those caverns that we are vainly looking for here."

"That is true," replied the engineer, "but you forget, my friends, that it would be best to establish
ourselves in the neighborhood of a watercourse, and that from the summit of Mount Franklin we
saw neither brook nor river toward the west. Here, on the contrary, we are situated between the
Mercy and Lake Grant, a considerable advantage that we should not neglect.  And moreover, this
coast, oriented to the east, is not exposed as the other one is to the trade winds which blow from
the northwest in this hemisphere."

"Then, Mister Cyrus," replied the sailor, "we will build a house on the borders of the lake. 
Neither bricks nor tools are lacking to us now.  After having been brickmakers, potters, founders
and blacksmiths, we will well know how to be masons, the devil!"

"Yes, my friend, but before making a decision we should go looking.  A dwelling made at nature's
expense would save us a lot of work and would doubtless offer us a surer retreat because it could
be better defended against enemies from inside as well as those from outside."

"Quite so, Cyrus," replied the reporter, "but we have already examined all of this massive granite
on the coast and there is not a hole, not even a crack."

"No, not one" added Pencroff.  "Ah!  If we could excavate a dwelling in this wall at a certain
height in a way that puts us out of reach, how convenient that would be.  I see it now, a facade
that overlooks the sea, five or six rooms..."

"With windows to light them," said Herbert laughing.

"And a staircase to climb to it," added Neb.

"You laugh," cried the sailor, "and why?  Is what I propose impossible?  Don't we have the picks
and pickaxes? Doesn't Mister Cyrus know how to make the powder to explode a mine.  Isn't it
true, Mister Cyrus, that you could make the powder for the day when we would need it?"

Cyrus Smith listened as the enthusiastic Pencroff developed his somewhat fantastic projects.  To
attack this mass of granite, even with a mine, was a herculean task, and it was unfortunately true
that nature had not made a harder task.  But the engineer only replied to the sailor by proposing
to examine more carefully the wall from the mouth of the river up to the corner which terminated
it in the north.

They then left and the exploration was made with extreme care over an extent of about two miles. 
But in no place could they see any cavity whatsoever in this wall which was smooth and straight. 
The nests of the rock pigeons which flew at its peak were in reality only holes bored in the crest
itself and on the irregular edge cut from the granite.

It was an unfortunate circumstance and as to attacking this mass be it with a pick or with powder
in order to make a sufficient excavation, they could not think of it.  It was quite by chance that on
this entire coast, Pencroff had discovered the only provisionally habitable shelter, that is to say the
Chimneys, which they were nevertheless proceeding to abandon.

The exploration ended, the colonists then found themselves at the northern corner of the wall,
where it terminated with elongated slopes that died out on the beach.  From this neighborhood up
to its extreme limit in the west, it formed only a sort of bank, a thick conglomeration of stones,
soil and sand, bound together with plants, shrubs and grass inclined to an angle of forty five
degrees.  Here and there the granite still pierced through and stood out by sharp points from this
sort of cliff.  Clusters of trees spread out on its slopes and a rather thick grass carpeted it.  But the
vegetative effort did not go further and a long plain of sand, which began at the foot of the slope,
extended up to the shore.

Cyrus Smith thought, not without reason, that there had to be an overflow of the lake on this side
that would pour over in the form of a cascade.  In fact it was necessary that the excess of water
furnished by Red Creek should lose itself at some point.  Now this point the engineer had not yet
found at any portion of the shore already explored, that is to say from the mouth of the stream in
the west up to Grand View Plateau.

The engineer then proposed to his companions that they climb the slope now in view and return to
the Chimneys by the heights thereby exploring the northern and western banks of the lake.

The proposition was accepted and in several minutes Herbert and Neb had arrived at the upper
plateau.  Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett and Pencroff followed them more sedately.

Two hundred feet away, past the foliage, the beautiful sheet of water shone under the rays of the
sun.  The landscape in this neighborhood was charming.  The trees, turning yellow, were
wonderfully grouped as a feast for the eyes.  Several large old trunks, battered by age, stood out
by their blackish bark on the green carpet which covered the soil.  A whole world of noisy
cockatoos chattered away, veritable mobile prisms, who jumped from one branch to the next. 
One could say that light arrived only decomposed across this singular foliage.

The colonists, instead of going directly to the north shore of the lake, went around the edge of the
plateau so as to reach the mouth of the creek on its left bank.  It was a detour of a mile and a half
at most.  It was an easy walk because the widely spaced trees allowed an easy passage.  They
sensed that this was the limit of the fertile zone and the vegetation showed itself less vigorous
here than in the entire area between the creek and the Mercy.

Cyrus Smith and his companions did not walk on this unknown soil without a certain caution. 
Bows, arrows, and sticks fitted with an iron point were their only weapons. However, no wild
animals showed themselves and it was probable that these animals frequented more the thick
forest of the south; but the colonists had the disagreeable surprise of seeing Top stop in front of a
large serpent that measured fourteen to fifteen feet in length.  Neb stunned it with his club.  Cyrus
Smith examined this reptile and declared that it was not venomous because it belonged to a
species of diamond serpents native to New South Wales.  But it was possible that others existed
whose bite was mortal, such as the deaf viper with a forked tail that straightens out when stepped
upon, or those winged serpents, provided with two ear flaps that permit them to move very
rapidly.  After the first moment of surprise passed, Top gave chase to these reptiles so obstinately
that they feared for him.  His master continually called him back.

The mouth of Red Creek, in the neighborhood of its entrance into the lake, was soon reached. 
The explorers recognized the opposite bank which they had visited on the descent from Mount
Franklin.  Cyrus Smith established that the flow of water from the creek was rather considerable;
it was therefore necessary that somewhere nature had provided an outlet for the overflow of the
lake.  It was this outlet that he was trying to discover because doubtless it formed a falls which it
would be possible to utilize for mechanical power.

The colonists were moving with a purpose but without separating much from each other.  They
began to go around the bank of the lake which was very steep.  The waters seemed full of fish and
Pencroff promised himself that he would make some fishing tackle in order to exploit this.

It was first necessary to double the sharp northeast point.  One could suppose that the discharge
of the waters was in this locality because the extremity of the lake was at the level of the edge of
the plateau.  But there was nothing there and the colonists continued to explore the bank which,
after a slight curvature, became parallel to the shore.

On this side the bank was less wooded but some clusters of trees, scattered here and there, added
to the picturesqueness of the landscape.  Lake Grant appeared then in all its expanse with no wind
rippling over the surface of its waters.  Top, beating through the brushwood, drove out various
flocks of birds which Gideon Spilett and Herbert greeted with their arrows.  One of the birds was
skillfully hit by the young lad and fell among the marshy grass.  Top ran toward it and brought
back a beautiful slate colored water fowl with a short beak, a very developed frontal area, toes
broadened by a scalloped edge, and wings with a white border.  It was a coot, the size of a large
partridge, belonging to the group of macrodactyls which form the transition between the order of
waders and that of palmipeds.  In short, it was a sorry game and one with a taste leaving much to
desire.  But Top doubtless would show less difficulty than his masters and it was decided that the
coot would serve as his supper.

The colonists then followed the east shore of the lake and they were not long in reaching the
portion already familiar to them.  The engineer was very surprised because he saw no indication of
the discharge of the overflow of the water.  The reporter and the sailor spoke with him and he
could not conceal his astonishment from them.

At this moment Top, who had been very calm until then, gave signs of agitation.  The intelligent
animal went back and forth along the bank, stopped suddenly and looked at the water with a
raised paw as if he had been on the alert for some invisible game; then he barked furiously, in a
hunting mood so to speak, and was suddenly silent.

Neither Cyrus Smith nor his companions at first paid any attention to Top's antics; but the dog's
barking soon became so frequent that the engineer became concerned.

"What's there, Top?" he asked.

The dog, showing a real uneasiness, made several bounds toward his master and ran again toward
the shore.  Then he suddenly threw himself into the lake.

"Here Top," cried Cyrus Smith, who did not want his dog to venture into the suspicious waters.

"What's going on underneath there?" asked Pencroff, while examining the surface of the lake.

"Top has sensed some amphibian," replied Herbert.

"An alligator, doubtless," said the reporter.

"I do not think so," replied Cyrus Smith.  "Alligators are only met with in regions of lower
latitude."

Top however came back at his master's call and regained the shore; but he was unable to remain
still.  He leaped around in the high grass and, with his instinct guiding him, he seemed to follow
some invisible being which was gliding under the waters of the lake, following the shoreline. 
Nevertheless, the water was calm and no ripple disturbed the surface.  Several times the colonists
stopped on the shore and looked carefully. Nothing appeared.  There was some mystery there.

The engineer was very intrigued.

"Let us pursue this exploration to its end," he said.

A half hour later they all arrived at the southeast corner of the lake on Grand View Plateau.  At
this point their examination of the banks of the lake had to be considered as completed and yet the
engineer had not been able to discover where and how the water was discharged.

"Nevertheless this opening exists," he repeated, "and since it is not on the outside it must be
hollowed out inside this mass of granite on the coast."

"But what importance do you attach to knowing this, my dear Cyrus?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"A rather large one," replied the engineer, "because if the opening is through this granite block, it
is possible that we will find some cavity there which it will be easy to render habitable after having
detoured the water."

"But isn't it possible, Mister Cyrus, that the water escapes through the bottom of this very lake,"
said Herbert, "and that it goes to the sea by a subterranean passage?"

"That is, in fact, possible," replied the engineer, "and if that is so we will be obliged to build our
house by ourselves since nature has not done the preliminary construction work."

The colonists were then getting ready to cross the plateau to get back to the Chimneys because it
was five o'clock in the evening when Top gave new signs of agitation.  He barked with rage and
before his master could restrain him he threw himself a second time into the lake.

Everyone ran toward the shore.  The dog was already more than twenty feet away and Cyrus
Smith was sharply calling him when an enormous head emerged from the surface of the water
which did not appear to be deep at this point.

Herbert recognized at once this species of amphibian which has a tapered head with large eyes
and whose mustache is decorated with long silky hair.

"A manatee!" he cried.

It was not a manatee, but a specimen of this species of the order of cetaceans which carries the
name of "dugong" because its nostrils are open at the upper part of its snout.

The enormous animal threw itself on the dog who vainly tried to escape him and return to the
shore.  His master could do nothing to save him, and even before it occurred to Gideon Spilett or
to Herbert to arm their bows, Top, seized by the dugong, disappeared under the water.

Neb, his iron tipped spear in hand, wanted to help the dog by attacking the formidable animal in
its own element.

"No, Neb," said the engineer, restraining his courageous servant.

However an inexplicable battle was going on under the water.  Under these conditions Top
evidently could not resist. Judging from the bubbles on the surface, this was a terrible battle which
could only end finally in the death of the dog. But suddenly in the middle of a circle of foam, Top
reappeared. Thrown into the air by some unknown force, he rose ten feet above the surface of the
lake, falling in the midst of the profoundly troubled water.  He soon regained the shore without
any deep wound, miraculously saved.

Cyrus Smith and his companions looked on without understanding.  There was yet another
inexplicable circumstance.  The battle was still continuing under the water. Doubtless the dugong,
attacked by some powerful animal after having released the dog, was fighting on its own account.

But this did not last long.  The water became red with blood and the body of the dugong emerged
within a wide scarlet area, soon becoming stranded on a small beach on the southern corner of the
lake.

The colonists ran toward this spot.  The dugong was dead. It was an enormous animal, fifteen feet
long, weighing three to four thousand pounds.  There was a wound on its neck which seemed to
have been made with a sharp blade.

What was this amphibian which had been able to destroy the formidable dugong with this terrible
blow?  No one could say and rather preoccupied with this incident, Cyrus Smith and his
companions returned to the Chimneys.


CHAPTER XVII

A visit to the lake - An indication of the current - Cyrus Smith's plans - The fat from the dugong -
Using pyritic schist - Iron sulfate - How glycerin is made - Soap - Saltpeter - Sulphuric acid -
Nitric acid - The new falls.

The next day, the 7th of May, Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett, leaving Neb to prepare breakfast,
climbed to Grand View Plateau, while Herbert and Pencroff went up the river in order to renew
the provision of wood.

The engineer and the reporter soon arrived at this small beach situated at the southern point of the
lake where the amphibian was stranded.  Already flocks of birds were attacking the mass of flesh
and it was necessary to drive them away with stones because Cyrus Smith wanted to save the fat
from the dugong and use it for the needs of the colony.  As to the flesh

of the animal, it would not fail to furnish excellent nourishment.  In certain Malay regions, it is
especially reserved for the tables of the native princes.  But that was Neb's affair.

At the moment Cyrus Smith had other thoughts in mind.  He had not forgotten the previous day's
incident nor had he stopped thinking about it.  He wished to pierce the mystery of this underwater
combat and to know what kind of mastodon or other marine monster had given the dugong so
strange a wound.

He was there at the edge of the lake, looking and observing, but nothing appeared under the
tranquil waters which were glistening under the first rays of the sun.

Near this small beach which held the dugong's body, the water was not very deep; but on leaving
this point the bottom of the lake fell little by little and it was probable that at the center the depth
was considerable.  The lake could be considered as a large basin which was replenished by the
water from Red Creek.

"Well then, Cyrus," said the reporter, "it seems to me that these waters do not offer anything
suspicious."

"No, my dear Spilett," replied the engineer, "and I really do not know how to explain yesterday's
incident."

"I acknowledge," replied Gideon Spilett, "that the wound given to this amphibian is strange, to
say the least, and neither can I explain how Top was so vigorously thrown out of the water.  One
could really believe that it was a powerful arm that had thrown him in this way and that this same
arm had then killed the dugong with a dagger."

"Yes," said the engineer, who became thoughtful.  "There is something here that I cannot
comprehend.  But can you either understand, my dear Spilett, in what way I myself was saved,
how I was able to pull myself from the waves and cross the dunes?  No, isn't it true?  I have a
presentiment of some mystery here which we will doubtless discover one day.  Let us therefore
observe but not dwell on these singular incidents in front of our companions.  Let us keep our
remarks to ourselves and continue our work."

As we know, the engineer still had not been able to discover where the overflow of the lake
escaped, but although he had never seen any indication that it overflowed, still it was necessary
that an opening exist somewhere.  Cyrus Smith was now rather surprised to perceive a rather
pronounced current which made itself felt at this point.  He threw in some small pieces of wood
and they rapidly went toward the southern corner.  Walking along the bank, he followed this
current and he arrived at the southern point of the lake.

A sort of depression was produced in the water there, as if it was abruptly lost in some fissure in
the ground.

Cyrus Smith listened, placing his ear at the level of the lake, and he very distinctly heard the noise
of a subterranean falls.

"It is there," he said, getting up, "there that the water discharges, there doubtless by a conduit
excavated in the

granite mass that the water rejoins the sea, through some cavities which we will use to our
benefit.  Yes, I will uncover it."

The engineer cut a long branch, removed its leaves, and plunging it in at the corner between the
two banks, he found that there existed an open hole only a foot under the surface of the water. 
This hole was the opening to the passageway vainly sought until then.  The force of the current
was such that the branch was torn from the engineer's hands and disappeared.

"There is no longer any doubt now," repeated Cyrus Smith. "There is the entrance to the
passageway and I will open it."

"How?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"By lowering the level of the lake by three feet."

"And how will you lower the level?"

"By making a larger opening than this one."

"Where, Cyrus?"

"On the part of the bank that is closest to the coast."

"But it is a bank of granite," noted the reporter.

"Well," replied Cyrus Smith, "then I will blow up this granite, and the water, by escaping, will
uncover this opening..."

"And form a waterfall which will fall on the beach," added the reporter.

"A fall which we will utilize," replied Cyrus.  "Come, come!"

The engineer inspired his companion, whose confidence in Cyrus Smith was such that he did not
doubt that the enterprise would succeed.  Nevertheless, how would he disintegrate this bank of
granite rocks without powder and with imperfect instruments?  Wasn't he attacking a problem
beyond his resources?

When Cyrus Smith and the reporter returned to the Chimneys, they found Herbert and Pencroff
occupied with unloading their wood.

"The woodsmen are finishing up, Mister Cyrus," said the sailor laughing, "and when you need
masons..."

"Masons, no, but chemists ," replied the engineer.

"Yes," added the reporter, "we will blow up the island..."

"Blow up the island!" cried Pencroff.

"A part of it, at any rate," replied Gideon Spilett.

"Listen to me, my friends," said the engineer.

And he made known to them the results of his observations. According to him, a more or less
considerable cavity existed inside the mass of granite that supported Grand View Plateau and he
intended to penetrate it.  To do this, it was first necessary to clear the opening through which the
water ran, and consequently to lower its level by making a larger opening.  To do that, it was
necessary to manufacture an explosive substance which could make a large opening at another
point of the bank. It was this that Cyrus Smith was going to attempt by means of the minerals
which nature had placed at his disposal.

It is needless to tell of the enthusiasm with which everyone, especially Pencroff, greeted this
project.  To use grand methods, rip open this granite, create a cascade, that appealed to the sailor. 
And he could just as easily be a chemist as a mason or a bootmaker since the engineer needed
chemists.  He would be anything that was wanted "even a professor of dance and deportment" he
said to Neb, if that was ever necessary.

Neb and Pencroff were first directed to extract the fat from the dugong and to save its flesh,
which was intended for food.  They soon left without even asking for an explanation. Their
confidence in the engineer was absolute.

 A few minutes later, Cyrus Smith, Herbert and Gideon Spilett, dragging the hurdle and going up
the river, went toward the bed of coal where schistous pyrites abounded.  This was located among
the more recent transition terrains where Cyrus Smith had already discovered a sample.

The entire day was employed in carting a certain quantity of these pyrites to the Chimneys.  By
evening they had several tons.

The next day, the 8th of May, the engineer began his manipulations.  These schistous pyrites being
principally composed of carbon, silicone, aluminum and iron sulphide, the latter in excess, he had
to isolate the iron sulphide and transform it into sulphate as quickly as possible.  The sulphate
obtained, he could then extract sulphuric acid.

This in fact was the goal to be attained.  Sulphuric acid is one of the most used agents, and the
industrial importance of a nation can be measured by the consumption which is made of it.  Later
this acid would be very useful to the colonists in making candles, in the tanning of pelts, etc., but
at the moment the engineer was reserving it for another use.

Cyrus Smith chose a location behind the Chimneys where the ground was carefully leveled.  On
this ground he placed a pile of branches and chopped wood on top of which were placed lumps of
schistous pyrites supporting one another.  Then he covered everything with a thin layer of pyrites
previously reduced to walnut size.

That done, they set fire to the wood and the schists began to burn since they contained carbon and
sulphur.  Then new layers of crushed pyrites were put on to form an enormous pile. The exterior
was covered with earth and grass after they had arranged some air vents, as if they were
carbonizing a stack of wood to make charcoal.

Then they let the transformation proceed of its own accord and it needed not less than ten to
twelve days for the iron sulphide to change into iron sulphate and the aluminum into aluminum
sulphate, two substances equally soluble, the others, silicon, charcoal and cinders not being so.

While this chemical activity was going on, Cyrus Smith proceeded with other operations which
were tackled by more than zeal.  It was determination.

Neb and Pencroff had removed the fat from the dugong and collected it in large earthen jars. 
They now had to isolate one of its elements, glycerin, by saponifying it.  Now to obtain this result,
it suffices to treat it with soda or with lime.  In fact, one or the other of these substances, after
having attacked the grease, would form a soap thereby isolating the glycerin and it was precisely
this glycerin that the engineer wished to obtain.  As we know, lime was not lacking, but the
treatment with lime would only give a lime soap, which was insoluble and consequently useless,
whereas the treatment with soda would furnish, on the contrary, a soluble soap which would find
use for domestic cleaning.  Now, as a practical man, Cyrus Smith would rather try to obtain the
soda.  Was this difficult?  No, because marine plants abounded on the shore, salicornia, ficoids
and all those fucaceae which form the seaweed and the wrack.  They therefore collected a large
quantity of these plants, dried them first and burnt them in a pit in the open air.  The combustion
of these plants was kept up for several days so that the rising heat would fuze the cinders.  The
result of this incineration was a compact grayish mass, which for a long time has been known
under the name of "natural soda."

This result obtained, the engineer treated the grease with the soda, which gave on the one hand a
soluble soap, and on the other hand this neutral substance, glycerin.

But this was not all.  In view of his future preparation, Cyrus Smith still needed another
substance, nitrate of potash, which is better known under the name of potassium nitrate, or
saltpeter.

Cyrus Smith would have been able to make this substance by treating potassium carbonate, which
is easily extracted from the cinders of plants, using nitric acid.  But nitric acid was lacking and it
was precisely this acid that he wished to obtain in the end.  It was therefore a vicious circle that he
would never leave.  Very fortunately this time, nature furnished him with the saltpeter without
which he would have been at quite a loss.  Herbert discovered a bed in the north of the island at
the foot of Mount Franklin, and they had nothing more to do but to purify this salt.

These various activities lasted for about eight days. They were finished before the transformation
of the sulphide into iron sulphate was completed.  During the days which followed, the colonists
had time to make refractory pottery from plastic clay and to construct a brick furnace for the
specific purpose of distilling the iron sulphate when that would be obtained.  All this was
completed about the 18th of May, a little before the chemical transformations were ended. Gideon
Spilett, Herbert, Neb and Pencroff, ably directed by the engineer, became the most skillful
workmen in the world.  Of all masters, necessity is moreover the one that we listen to the most,
and the one that teaches best.

When the pile of pyrites had been entirely reduced by the fire, the result of the operation consisted
of iron sulphate, aluminum sulphate, silica, and a residue of charcoal and cinders which were
placed in a basin full of water.  They shook this mixture, let it settle, then on decanting it they
obtained a clear liquid containing a solution of iron sulphate and aluminum sulphate, the other
materials remaining as solids since they are insoluble.  Finally, this liquid was vaporized in part,
depositing the iron sulphate crystals.  The original liquid, that is to say the nonvaporized portion
which contained the aluminum sulphate, was abandoned.

Cyrus Smith thus had at his disposal a rather large quantity of iron sulphate crystals from which he
would obtain sulphuric acid.

In industrial practice the manufacture of sulphuric acid requires a costly installation.  In fact, it is
necessary to have a large plant, special equipment, platinum apparatus, lead chambers which are
not attacked by the acid in which to perform the operation, etc.  The engineer did not have this
equipment available but he knew that in Bohemia particularly they make sulphuric acid by a more
simple means which also has the advantage of producing a high degree of concentration.  It is
known under the name of Nordhausen acid.

To obtain sulphuric acid, Cyrus Smith had only one operation to perform, to burn the iron
sulphate crystals in a closed vessel so that the sulphuric acid would distill in a vapor and the vapor
would then produce the acid by condensation.

For this manipulation they used the refractory pottery, in which they placed the crystals, and the
forge, whose heat would distill the sulphuric acid.  The operation was conducted perfectly and on
the 20th of May, twelve days after having begun, the engineer possessed the agent that he
counted on using later in various ways.

Now why did he want to have this agent?  Very simply to produce nitric acid which was easy
since the saltpeter, attacked by the sulphuric acid, would give him precisely this acid by
distillation.

But finally what would he do with this nitric acid?  His companions were still ignorant of this
because he did not tell them about this last operation.

However, the engineer was within sight of his goal and one last operation would give him the
substance that had taken so much effort.

After having taken the nitric acid and placed it in the presence of the glycerin, which had been
previously concentrated by evaporation using a boiler, he obtained, even without using a cooler,
several pints of an oily and yellowish liquid.

This last operation Cyrus Smith performed alone in a remote place far from the Chimneys because
it presented the dangers of explosion, and when he brought a container of this liquid to his friends,
he was content to say to them:

"This is nitroglycerin." 

It was, in fact, this terrible product whose explosive power is perhaps tenfold that of ordinary
powder and which has already caused so many accidents.  Nevertheless, the means has since been
found to transform it into dynamite, that is to say to mix it with a rather porous solid substance,
clay or sugar, to retain it, so that the dangerous liquid can be used with more security.  But
dynamite was not yet known at the time the colonists were working on Lincoln Island.

"And it is this liquid which will blow up our rock?" asked Pencroff, rather incredulously.

"Yes, my friend," replied the engineer, "and this nitroglycerin will produce such an effect that this
extremely hard granite will be opposed by a larger explosive force."

"And when will we see this, Mister Cyrus?"

"Tomorrow, after we have dug a hole for a mine," replied the engineer.

The next day, the 21st of May, at daybreak, the miners returned to the point which was formed by
the banks of Lake Grant and only five hundred feet from the coast.  At this spot, the plateau was
lower than the water which was held in place only by the granite frame.  It was therefore evident
that if they broke this frame, the water would escape by this opening and form a stream which,
after flowing on the inclined surface of the plateau, would fall on the beach.  This would then
lower the general level of the lake which would uncover the opening of the passageway which
was their final goal.

It was therefore the frame that they must break.  Under the engineer's direction, Pencroff, armed
with a pick which he handled skillfully and vigorously, attacked the granite on its exterior face. 
The hole that he made took shape on a horizontal edge of the bank, excavated obliquely to
produce a level appreciably lower than the water of the lake.  In this way the explosive force
would break the rock, permitting the water to escape freely to the outside and consequently lower
its level sufficiently.

The work took a long time because the engineer, wanting to produce a formidable effect, did not
count on using less than ten liters of nitroglycerin for the operation.  But Pencroff, relieved by
Neb, did so well that by about four o'clock in the afternoon, the hole for the mine was finished.    
There still remained the problem of igniting the explosive substance.  Ordinarily nitroglycerin is
ignited by means of a fulminate primer which, on bursting, sets off the explosion. In fact, a shock
is needed to provoke the explosion, and if it is simply set aflame, this substance will burn without
exploding.

Cyrus Smith would certainly have been able to make a primer.  In default of fulminate, he could
easily obtain a substance analogous to cottonpowder, since he had nitric acid available.  This
substance, pressed into a cartridge and introduced into the nitroglycerin, would ignite by means of
a fuze and set off the explosion.

But Cyrus Smith knew that nitroglycerin has the property of detonating under shock.  He
therefore resolved to utilize this property, but he would use another means if this one did not
succeed.

In fact, the shock from a hammer on a few drops of nitroglycerin sprinkled on the surface of a
hard stone suffices to induce the explosion.  But the operator cannot be there to give the blow of
the hammer without becoming victim to the operation.  Cyrus Smith then thought of suspending a
mass of iron weighing several pounds onto a post above the hole of the mine by means of a
vegetable fiber.  Another long fiber, previously dipped in sulphur, was attached by one of its
extremities to the middle of the first fiber while the other extremity trailed along the ground to a
distance of several feet from the hole of the mine.  The fire being kindled to this second fiber, it
would burn until it reached the first.  This one, then catching fire in its turn, would break and the
mass of iron would fall on the nitroglycerin.

This apparatus was so installed; then the engineer, after having dismissed his companions, filled
the hole of the mine so that the nitroglycerin came up to the top and he threw a few drops on the
surface of the rock below the suspended mass of iron.

That done, Cyrus Smith took the end of the sulphurized fiber, lit it, and leaving the place, he
returned to his companions in the Chimneys.

The fiber was set to burn for twenty five minutes and, in fact, twenty five minutes later an
explosion resounded, impossible to describe.  It seemed that the entire island trembled on its base. 
Rocks flew up as if vomited from a volcano.  The vibration produced by the displaced air was
such that the rocks at the Chimneys oscillated.  The colonists, even though they were more than
two miles from the mine, were thrown to the ground.

They got up, climbed to the plateau and ran to the spot where the edge of the lake had been
ripped open by the explosion...

Three hurrahs escaped from their chests.  The granite frame split over a large area.  A rapid
stream of water was escaping through it, flowing and foaming across the plateau, and upon
reaching the crest it fell from a height of three hundred feet on to the beach.


CHAPTER XVIII

Pencroff no longer doubts anything - The old overflow of the lake - A subterranean descent - The
passage through the granite - Top disappears - The central cavern - The lower well - Mystery - A
blow from the pick - The return.

Cyrus Smith's project had succeeded; but following his custom he remained immobile, without
showing any satisfaction, his lips tight, his gaze steady.  Herbert was enthusiastic; Neb jumped for
joy; Pencroff swayed his large head and murmured these words:

"Our engineer does well."

In fact, the nitroglycerin had acted powerfully.  The drain from the lake was so large that the
volume of water which now escaped by this new passage was at least triple that which had
formerly passed through the old way.  The result was that in a short period of time after the
operation, the level of the lake was lowered by at least two feet.

The colonists returned to the Chimneys in order to take picks, iron tipped spears, fiber cords, flint
and tinder; they then returned to the plateau.  Top accompanied them.

On the way, the sailor could not refrain from saying to the engineer:

"Do you know, Mister Cyrus, that by means of this charming liquid that you have made, we could
blow up our entire island?"

"Without a doubt, the island, continents and the Earth itself," replied Cyrus Smith.  "It is only a
question of quantity."

"Can't you then use this nitroglycerin to load any weapons?" asked the sailor.

"No, Pencroff, because it is too quick.  But it will be easy to make cotton powder or even
ordinary powder since we have nitric acid, saltpeter, sulphur and coal.  Unhappily it is the
weapons we do not have."

"Oh, Mister Cyrus," replied the sailor, "with a little determination..."

Decidedly, Pencroff had erased the word "impossible" from the Lincoln Island dictionary.

The colonists, on arriving at Grand View Plateau, immediately went to the point on the lake near
the opening of the old overflow which was now uncovered.  The passageway had become
practical since the water no longer ran there and it would doubtless be easy to determine its
interior arrangement.

In a few moments the colonists reached the lower corner of the lake and a quick glance sufficed to
ascertain that the result had been achieved.

In fact, within the granite wall of the lake, and now above the level of the water, the long sought
opening appeared. A narrow shoulder, left bare by the retreating water, allowed an entrance.  This
opening measured about twenty feet in length but only two feet in height.  It was like the mouth
of a sewer at the end of a pavement.  This opening would not allow the colonists an easy passage;
but Neb and Pencroff took the pick and in less than an hour they had given it a sufficient height.

The engineer then went near it and discovered that the walls of the passageway, in its upper part,
did not show a slope of more than 30 to 35 degrees.  It was therefore practical and, provided the
decline did not increase, it would be easy to descend to the level of the sea.  If, as was very likely,
some vast cavern existed inside this granite mass, they would perhaps find some way to use it.

"Well, Mister Cyrus, why are we stopping?" asked the sailor, impatient to venture into the narrow
corridor.  "You see that Top is already ahead of us."

"Well," replied the engineer, "we must see clearly.  Neb, go and cut off some resinous branches."

Neb and Herbert ran toward the banks of the lake, shaded by pines and other green trees, and they
soon returned with branches that they formed into torches.  These torches were kindled by sparks
from the flint and, Cyrus Smith at the head, the colonists entered the dark passageway which had
been filled with water not too long ago.

Contrary to what one would expect, the diameter of the passageway increased so that soon the
explorers could stand up while descending.  The granite walls, in contact with water for an
immeasurable time, were slippery, so they had to guard against falls.  The colonists were tied to
one another by a cord as is done by mountain climbers.  Happily, a few granite ledges, forming
real steps, rendered the descent less perilous. Some drops, still suspended from the rocks, were
iridescent under the flames of the torches, and it seemed that the walls were covered with
innumerable stalactites.  The engineer observed this black granite.  He saw not a stratum, not a
geological fault.  The mass was compact and of an extremely close grain.  This passageway dated
from the very origin of the island.  It was not the water which little by little had hollowed it.  Pluto
and not Neptune had bored it and on the wall they could distinguish traces of eruptive activity
which the flow of water had not been able to erase completely.

The colonists descended only very slowly.  They were not without a certain emotion in venturing
thus into the depths of this mass which human beings were evidently visiting for the first time. 
They did not speak but reflected and the thought came to more than one of them that some
octopus or other gigantic cephalopod could occupy these interior cavities which found
communication with the sea.  It was hence necessary to venture forth with a certain prudence.

Besides, Top was at the head of this small troop and they could depend on the dog's sagacity.  He
would not fail to give the alarm should it be required.

After having descended about a hundred feet, following a rather winding path, Cyrus Smith, who
was ahead, stopped and his companions joined him.  The spot where they had stopped was
hollowed out, forming a cavern of moderate dimension.  Drops of water fell from its arch but this
did not prove any leak through the mass.  It was simply the last traces left by the torrent which
had roared so long through this cavity.  The somewhat humid air did not emit any noxious
emanation.

"Well, my dear Cyrus," Gideon Spilett then said.  "Here is an unknown retreat well hidden in
these depths but, in sum, it is uninhabitable."

"Why uninhabitable?" asked the sailor.

"Because it is too small and too dark."

"Can we not enlarge it, hollow it out and make openings to let in daylight and air," replied
Pencroff, who no longer doubted anything.

"Let us continue, " replied Cyrus Smith.  "Let us continue our exploration.  Perhaps lower down
nature will have saved us this work."

"We are still only a third of the way down," Herbert noted.

"About a third," replied Cyrus Smith, "because we have descended about a hundred feet from the
opening and it is not impossible that a hundred feet lower down..."

"Where is Top?..." asked Neb, interrupting his master.

They searched the cavern.  The dog was not there.

"He probably continued along the path," said Pencroff.

"Let us join him," replied Cyrus Smith.

The descent was resumed.  The engineer carefully observed the deviations of the passageway and,
in spite of the detours, he could rather easily render an account of its general direction, which
went toward the sea.

The colonists had gone down about another fifty feet, measured perpendicularly, when their
attention was drawn to some remote sounds which came from the depths of the mass. They
stopped and listened.  These sounds, carried along the corridor like a voice across an acoustical
tube, reached the ear clearly.

"It is Top's barks!" cried Herbert.

"Yes," replied Pencroff, "and our worthy dog barks furiously."

"We have our iron tipped spears," said Cyrus Smith.  "Let us be on guard and advance."

"This is getting to be more and more interesting," murmured Gideon Spilett into the ear of the
sailor, who made an affirmative sign.

Cyrus Smith and his companions ran to the dog's assistance.  Top's barking became more and
more perceptible. They sensed in his staccato voice a strange rage.  Was he at grips with some
animal whose retreat he had disturbed?  One could say that the colonists were now possessed by
an irresistible curiosity and not thinking of the danger to which they were exposed.  They were
not merely descending the corridor, they could say that they were gliding along its sides and in a
few minutes, sixty feet lower down, they rejoined Top.

There the corridor materialized into a vast and magnificent cavern.  There Top, coming and
going, barked furiously.  Pencroff and Neb, shaking their torches, threw light into every crevice of
the granite while Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Herbert, spears in position, were ready for any
eventuality.

The enormous cavern was empty.  The colonists went through all of it.  There was nothing there,
not an animal, not a living being.  Nevertheless, Top continued to bark.  Neither caresses nor
threats could silence him.

"There must be some outlet through which the lake's water reaches the sea," said the engineer.

"In fact," replied Pencroff, "we should take care not to fall into a hole."

"Go, Top, go!" shouted Cyrus Smith.

The dog, excited by his master's words, ran toward the extremity of the cavern and there his
barking redoubled.

They followed him and, by the light of the torches, the orifice of a real well appeared opening into
the granite.  It was here that the water left after having entered the granite mass but this time there
was no longer an oblique and practical corridor but a perpendicular well into which it was
impossible to venture.

The torches were inclined over the orifice.  They saw nothing.  Cyrus Smith detached a flaming
branch and threw it into the abyss.  The resinous fragment, burning brighter because of the
rapidity of its fall, illuminated the inside of the well, but still nothing appeared.  Then the flame
extinguished with a slight simmer, indicating that it had reached the layer of water, that is to say,
sea level.

The engineer, calculating the time of fall, was able to estimate the depth of the well, which he
found to be about ninety feet.

The floor of the cavern was therefore situated at ninety feet above sea level.

"Here is our dwelling," said Cyrus Smith.

"But it was occupied by some creature," replied Gideon Spilett, who did not find his curiosity
satisfied.

"Well, whatever this creature, amphibian or otherwise, it has fled by this opening," replied the
engineer, "and he has surrendered this place to us."

"Never mind," added the sailor.  "I would like to be Top for a quarter of an hour because he does
not bark without reason."

Cyrus Smith looked at his dog and those of his companions who were near him would have heard
him murmur these words:

"Yes, I really believe that Top knows a lot more about these things than we do."

However, the needs of the colonists were in large part realized.  Chance, aided by the marvelous
sagacity of their chief, had happily served them.  They had here at their disposal a vast cavern
whose size they still could not estimate from the light of the insufficient torches, but it would
certainly be easy to divide it into rooms, by means of brick partitions, and to adapt it, if not like a
house, at least into a spacious apartment.  The water had abandoned it and could not return.  The
place was vacant.

Two difficulties remained: first, the question of lighting this excavation hollowed out in a solid
block; second the need

for easier access.  As to illumination, they could not dream of establishing it from above because
of the enormous thickness of granite above them; but perhaps they could pierce the outer wall
which faced the sea.  Cyrus Smith who, during the descent, had measured the obliquity
approximately, and consequently the length of the passageway, was led to believe that the outside
wall could not be very thick.  If illumination was obtained in this way, there would also be access,
because it would be just as easy to make a door and an outside ladder as to make windows.

Cyrus Smith shared his ideas with his companions.

"To work then, Mister Cyrus," replied Pencroff.  "I have my pick and I will know how to bring
daylight through this wall.  Where should I strike?"

"Here," replied the engineer, indicating to the vigorous sailor a rather considerable recess in the
wall which would diminish the thickness.

Pencroff attacked the granite and for a half hour, by the light of the torches, he made the splinters
fly around him. The rock sparkled under his pick.  Neb relieved him, then Gideon Spilett after
Neb.

The work had already lasted for two hours and they began to believe that the wall at this spot
exceeded the length of the pick when, with a last blow given by Gideon Spilett, the instrument
passed through the wall and fell outside.

"Hurrah!  Forever and ever hurrah!" cried Pencroff.

The wall there measured only three feet in thickness.

Cyrus Smith placed his eye against the opening, which overlooked the ground from a height of
eighty feet.  The beach extended before him, the islet, and beyond that the immense sea.

This opening was rather large because the rock had disintegrated significantly.  Light flooded in
and produced a magical effect, inundating this splendid cavern.  If, on its left side, it did not
measure more than thirty feet in height and in width and a hundred feet in length, on its right side,
in contrast, it was enormous and its dome was rounded at a height of more than eighty feet.  In
some places irregularly disposed granite pillars supported springers like those of the nave of a
cathedral.  Resting on sort of lateral columns, here overlayed with arches, there rising on ogival
ribs, lost in obscure bays whose capricious arches they could barely see in the shadows,
ornamented by a profusion of ledges which were formed like so many pendants, this vault offered
a picturesque mixture of all the Byzantine, Roman and Gothic architecture produced by the hand
of man.  But this nevertheless, was only the work of nature.  It alone had hollowed out this
fairylike Alhambra into this massif of granite.

The colonists were stupefied with admiration.  Where they had expected to find only a narrow
cavity, they found a marvelous palace and Neb took off his hat as if he had been transported into a
temple.

Cries of admiration were heard from all lips.  Hurrahs resounded as echo upon echo were
repeated and lost in the depths of the somber naves.

"Ah, my friends," cried Cyrus Smith.  "When we light up the interior of this massif, when we have
arranged our rooms and our stores on the left side, this splendid cavern will still remain, which
will be our study hall and our museum."

"And we will call it?..." asked Herbert.

"Granite House," replied Cyrus Smith, a name which his companions greeted with more of their
hurrahs.

At this moment, the torches were nearly entirely consumed and since they must ascend the
corridor in order to return to the summit of the plateau, it was decided to postpone for the next
day the labors relating to the arrangements in the new dwelling.

Before leaving, Cyrus Smith leaned once more over the somber pit which was hollowed out
perpendicularly down to the level of the sea.  He listened carefully.  There was no noise, not even
from the water whose surging vibrations sometimes agitate these depths.  A burning resin was
once more thrown in. The walls of the pit were lit up for a moment but, like the first time, it
revealed nothing suspicious.  If some marine monster had been unexpectedly surprised by the
retreat of the water, he had by now regained the open sea by means of the subterranean
passageway that went under the beach, a path followed by the overflow from the lake before a
new outlet was offered to it.

The engineer, however, remained immobile, listening carefully and looking into the gulf.  He did
not say a word.

The sailor then approached him and touched him.

"Mister Smith?" he said.

"What do you wish, my friend?" replied the engineer, as if returning from the land of dreams.

"The torches will soon be extinguished."

"Let's go," replied Cyrus Smith.

The small troop left the cavern and began to climb up the somber passageway.  Top was at the
rear still making those singular growls.  The climb was a rather steep one.  The colonists stopped
for several moments at the upper grotto which formed a sort of landing at the midpoint of this
long granite stairway.  Then they began to climb again.

Soon they felt fresher air.  The drops, dried by evaporation, no longer scintillated on the walls. 
The light from the fading torches became smoky.  The one carried by Neb was extinguished and,
in order not to venture in profound darkness, they must hurry.

This was done and a little before four o'clock, just as the sailor's torch was extinguished in its
turn, Cyrus Smith and his companions emerged from the passageway.


CHAPTER XIX

Cyrus Smith's plan - The front of Granite House - The cord ladder - Pencroff's daydreams -
Aromatic herbs - A natural warren - Diverting the water for the needs of the new dwelling - The
view from the windows of Granite House.

The next day, the 22nd of May, they began working on the special arrangements for the new
dwelling.  In fact, the exchange of their insufficient shelter at the Chimneys for this vast and sound
retreat cut into solid rock and sheltered from the waters of sea and sky, was long overdue.  The
Chimneys, however, would not be entirely abandoned and it was the engineer's plan to make it
into a workshop for heavier work.

Cyrus Smith's first concern was to discover the precise position of Granite House from the
outside.  He went to the beach, to the foot of the enormous wall and, as the pick on escaping
from the reporter's hands had to fall perpendicularly, it sufficed to recover the pick in order to
discover the place where the hole had been pierced in the granite.

The pick was easily found and in fact there was an opening about eighty feet perpendicularly
above the point on the shore where it had been driven into the sand.  Some rock pigeons were
already entering and leaving by this narrow opening.  It really seemed that Granite House was
discovered just for them.

It was the engineer's intention to divide the right side of the cavern into several rooms, preceded
by an entrance corridor, and to light it by means of five windows and a door pierced in the facade. 
Pencroff readily admitted the need for five windows but he could not understand the need for the
door since the old passageway offered a natural staircase by which it would always be easy to
have access into Granite House.

"My friend," Cyrus Smith replied to him, "if it will be easy for us to reach our dwelling by the
passageway, it will be equally easy for others to do so.  I intend, on the contrary, to obstruct the
passageway at its opening, to seal it hermetically and, if necessary, to completely conceal the
entrance by raising the water of the lake with a dam."

"And how will we enter?" asked the sailor.

"By an outside ladder," replied Cyrus Smith, "a cord ladder, which once drawn up will render
access to our dwelling impossible."

"But why so many precautions?" said Pencroff.  "So far, the animals don't seem to be very
formidable.  As to natives, the island has none."

"Are you sure of it, Pencroff?" asked the engineer, looking at the sailor.

"We will evidently be sure of it when we have explored all its parts," replied Pencroff.

"Yes," said Cyrus Smith, "we still know only a small portion of it.  But in any case, if we have no
enemies from

within, they can come from outside because these parts of the Pacific are dangerous parts.  Let us
therefore take precautions against all eventualities."

Cyrus Smith spoke wisely and without making any further objection Pencroff prepared to execute
his orders.

The front of Granite House would thus be lighted by means of five windows and a door to serve
what constituted "the apartment" properly called.  A large bay window and a "bull's eye" window
would permit light to enter profusely into this marvellous nave which would serve as a large hall. 
This front, at eighty feet above the ground, was exposed to the east and the rising sun greeted it
with its first rays.  It was situated on that portion of the facade between the salient forming corner
at the mouth of the Mercy and a line drawn perpendicularly above the pile of rocks which formed
the Chimneys.  Thus the strong winds, that is to say those from the northeast, would only strike it
aslant because it was protected by the orientation of the salient.  However, until the window
frames were made, the engineer intended to close the openings with thick shutters which would
allow neither the wind nor the rain to pass through and which could be concealed if need be.

The first job consisted of hollowing out these openings. Using a pick on this hard rock would
have been very slow and it is known that Cyrus Smith was a man of spectacular methods.  He still
had a certain quantity of nitroglycerin and he put it to good use.  The effect of the explosive was
properly localized and under its force the granite was broken at the very places chosen by the
engineer.  Then the pick and the pickaxe completed the ogival design of the five windows, the
spacious bay window, the bull's eye window and the door.  They straightened out the frames,
whose profiles were rather capricious and, several days after the beginning of these works,
Granite House was generously lighted by the light of the rising sun which penetrated its most
secret recesses.

Following the plan devised by Cyrus Smith, the apartment would be divided into five
compartments having a view of the sea.  To the right, an entrance served by a door to which the
ladder was attached, then a main kitchen thirty feet wide, a dining room measuring forty feet, a
dormitory of equal size, and finally a "guest room", called for by Pencroff, which was at the edge
of the Grand Hall.

These rooms, or rather this suite of rooms which formed the apartment of Granite House, would
not occupy all the space of the cavern.  There would be a central corridor and a large storehouse
into which utensils, provisions and reserves would easily find a place.  All the products gathered
on the island, the flora as well as the fauna, would be there in an excellent condition of
conservation, and completely sheltered from the dampness.  There was no lack of space and each
item would be placed methodically.  Beyond that, the colonists still had the

small grotto situated above the large cavern, which would be like the garret of the new dwelling.

This plan decided on, it remained only to put it into execution.  The miners became bricklayers
once again.  The bricks were carried and placed at the foot of Granite House.

Until then Cyrus Smith and his companions had access to the cavern only through the old
passageway.  This mode of communication obliged them first to climb to Grand View Plateau
after making a detour at the bank of the river, to descend two hundred feet by the corridor and
then to climb up again when they wanted to return to the plateau.  That way time was lost with
considerable fatigue.  Cyrus Smith hence resolved without delay to make a sturdy cord ladder
which, once drawn up, would render the entrance to Granite House completely inaccessible.

This ladder was made with extreme care.  Its sides, which were formed of juncus fibers and
woven with a wheel, had the strength of a thick cable.  As to its rungs, they were made of the
light but tough branches of the red cedar.  The apparatus was made by the master hand of
Pencroff.

Other cords were made with vegetable fibers in the same way and a sort of large pulleyblock was
installed at the door. In this way the bricks could be easily lifted to the level of Granite House. 
The transport of material was very simplified and the interior arrangements, properly called, soon
began. There was no lack of lime and several thousand bricks were there, ready to be used.  They
easily set up the woodwork of the partitions, in a very rudimentary way of course, and in a very
short time the apartment was divided into rooms and into a storehouse according to the plan
agreed upon.

These various works proceeded rapidly under the direction of the engineer, who himself handled
the hammer and the trowel. No manual activity was a stranger to Cyrus Smith, who thereby gave
an example to his intelligent and zealous companions. They worked with confidence, even merrily,
Pencroff always with a funny word, sometimes as a carpenter, sometimes as a rope maker,
sometimes mason, and communicating his good humor to all of this small colony.  His faith in the
engineer was absolute. Nothing could shake it.  He believed him capable of undertaking
everything and succeeding at everything.  The question of clothing and shoes - assuredly a serious
question - that of light during the winter nights, the exploitation of the fertile portions of the
island, the transformation of this wild vegetation into cultivated vegetation, everything seemed
easy to him, Cyrus Smith helping, and everything would be done in its time.  He daydreamt of
canals to facilitate the transport of the soil's riches, of exploiting quarries and working mines, of
machines suitable for every industrial practice, of railroads, yes, of railroads whose network
would certainly cover Lincoln Island one day.

The engineer let Pencroff speak.  He did not contradict the exaggerations of this brave heart.  He
well knew that confidence is catching.  He even smiled to hear him speak and

said nothing about the anxieties he sometimes had about the future.  In fact, in this part of the
Pacific, outside the ship lanes, he feared that they would never be rescued.  It was thus on
themselves, on themselves alone that the colonists must count, because the distance from Lincoln
Island to any other land was such that to risk themselves in a boat of necessarily mediocre
construction would be a serious and perilous thing.

But, as the sailor said, they had accomplished a hundred times more than the Robinsons of a
bygone time, for whom everything was done miraculously.

And, in fact, they had knowledge, and the man who had knowledge would succeed where others
would vegetate and inevitably perish.

During these activities Herbert distinguished himself.  He was intelligent and active, he learned
quickly, worked well, and Cyrus Smith attached himself more and more to this lad. Herbert had a
vivid and respectful regard for the engineer. Pencroff saw the close sympathy that formed
between these two beings but he was not jealous of it.

Neb was Neb.  He was what he would always be, courageous, zealous, devoted, abnegation
personified.  He had the same faith in his master as Pencroff but he manifested it less noisily. 
When the sailor was enthusiastic, Neb always took an attitude as if to say "but nothing is more
natural."  Pencroff and he liked each other and were not long in becoming friends.

As to Gideon Spilett, he took part in the common work and he was not the most awkward one
which always astonished the sailor a little.  "A clever 'journalist' who not only understands
everything, but can do everything!"

The ladder was finally installed on the 28th of May. There were no less than a hundred rungs for
this perpendicular height of eighty feet.  Fortunately, Cyrus Smith had been able to divide it into
two parts, profiting from an overhang in the wall which made a ledge forty feet above the ground. 
This ledge, carefully leveled with a pick, became a sort of landing on which they fixed the first
ladder, whose swinging was thus diminished by half, and a cord permitted it to be raised to the
level of Granite House.  As to the second ladder, its lower end was also attached to the ledge, but
its upper end was connected to the door itself.  In this way, getting up was notably easier. 
Besides, Cyrus Smith counted on later installing a hydraulic lift, which would do away with all
fatigue and all time lost by the inhabitants of Granite House.

The colonists promptly became accustomed to the use of this ladder.  They were nimble and
skillful and Pencroff, since he was a sailor, accustomed to climbing the ratlines of the shrouds,
was able to give them lessons.  But it was necessary to give Top lessons also.  The poor dog, with
his four feet, was not made for this exercise.  But Pencroff was so zealous a teacher that Top
ended by being able to climb the ladder as well as his peers in the circus.  It need not be said that
the sailor was proud of his pupil.  Nevertheless, more than once Pencroff put him on his back for
which Top never complained.

It should be noted here that during these works, which were actively carried on because the bad
season was approaching, the question of food had not been neglected.  The reporter and Herbert
definitely became purveyors to the colony, devoting several hours every day to hunting.  They still
only exploited Jacamar Woods on the left of the river because they still could not cross the Mercy
without a bridge or a boat. All of these immense forests to which they had given the name of
Forests of the Far West, had not at all been explored.  They reserved this important excursion for
the first good days of the coming spring.  But Jacamar Woods was full of game; kangaroos and
wild boar abounded and the hunters did wonders with the iron tipped spears and the bow and
arrows.  In addition, Herbert discovered a natural warren near the southwest corner of the lagoon,
a sort of slightly wet meadow covered with willows and aromatic herbs which perfumed the air,
herbs such as thyme, serpolet, basil, savory, and all fragrant species of the labiate family which
rabbits are so fond of.

The reporter noted that since the table was served with things for rabbits, it would be astonishing
if there were no rabbits.  The two hunters carefully explored this warren.  In any case, it produced
an abundance of useful plants and a naturalist would have had a good opportunity there to study
specimens of the vegetable kingdom.  Herbert therefore collected a certain quantity of basil
shoots, rosemary, melissa, betony, etc., which possessed various therapeutic properties for use as
cough mixtures, astringents, antifebriles, others antispasmodics, or antirhumatics.  And when
later, Pencroff asked about this collection of herbs:

"To take care of us," replied the lad, "to treat us when we are ill."

"Since there are no doctors on the island, why should we be sick?" replied Pencroff, very
seriously.

To this there was nothing to reply but the lad nonetheless made his collection, which was very
well received at Granite House.  He was able to add to this stock of medicinal plants a quantity of
didymous monardas which are known in North America under the name of "Oswego Tea,"
producing an excellent beverage.

Finally that day, on looking carefully, the two hunters arrived at the true location of the warren. 
The ground was riddled with holes.

"Burrows!" cried Herbert.

"Yes," replied the reporter, "I see them well."

"But are they inhabited?"

"That is the question."

The question was not long in resolving itself.  Almost at once, hundreds of small animals
resembling rabbits fled in all directions, and with such speed that even Top could not overtake
them.  Hunters and dog were soon out of breath and these rodents easily escaped them.  But the
reporter resolved not to leave the place before having captured at least half a dozen of these
quadrupeds.  He wanted first to supply the

pantry and then to domesticate those which they would take later.  With several nooses spread at
the openings of the burrows, the operation could not fail to succeed.  But at the moment they had
neither nooses nor a way to make them.  They hence had to resign themselves to visiting each
refuge, to pry with a stick and to do with patience what they could not do in any other way.

Finally, after an hour of digging, four rodents were taken.  They were rabbits resembling their
European congeners and who are commonly known under the name of "American Rabbits."

The result of the hunt was brought to Granite House and was a part of the evening meal.  The
hosts of this warren were not scorned because they were delicious.  This was a precious resource
for the colony, one which seemed to be inexhaustible.

On the 31st of May, the partitions were completed. Nothing remained but to furnish the rooms,
which would be the work for the long winter.  A chimney was built in the first room which served
as the kitchen.  The tube, designed to conduct the smoke outside, gave some work for the
improvised chimney makers.  It seemed simpler to Cyrus Smith to make it out of brick clay.  Since
he could not dream of making an opening to the upper plateau, they excavated a hole through the
granite above the window of the aforementioned kitchen and it was through this hole that the pipe
was obliquely placed with a top like that of an iron stove.  Perhaps, even doubtless, the chimney
would smoke when the strong winds would beat directly against the facade, but these winds were
rare and besides, Master Neb, the cook, did not mind it.

When these interior arrangements had been finished, the engineer occupied himself with closing
the opening of the old passageway which ended at the lake, in a way to prevent any access by this
means.  Lumps of rocks were hauled to the opening and firmly cemented.  Cyrus Smith still had
not begun the project of drowning this orifice under the water of the lake by returning them to
their former level with a dam.  He contented himself with concealing the obstruction with grass,
bushes and brushwood which were planted in the crevices of the rocks and which would develop
exuberantly next spring.

Nevertheless, he used the overflow in a way to bring a stream of sweet water into the new
dwelling.  A small groove, made below level, produced this result, and this diversion of a pure and
inexhaustible source gave an output of twenty five to thirty gallons a day.(1)  Water would never
be lacking at Granite House.

Finally, everything was completed and it was time because the bad season arrived.  Thick shutters
allowed them to close the windows of the facade while waiting for the time when the engineer
could make plate glass.

 Gideon Spilett, being artistically inclined, planted various species of plants and long flowing grass
on the rock

 (1) The gallon equals about 4« liters.

ledges and around the windows.  In this fashion the openings were enclosed in a picturesque
greenery producing a charming effect.

The inhabitants of this solid, safe and secure dwelling could only be enchanted with their work. 
The windows gave them a view which extended on a limitless horizon from the two Mandible
Capes in the north to Cape Claw in the south.  All of Union Bay was magnificently unfolded
before them.  Yes, these brave colonists had grounds for being satisfied and Pencroff spared no
praise of what he humorously called his "apartment on the fifth floor above the mezzanine."


CHAPTER XX

The rainy season - The question of clothing - A hunt for seals - Making candles - Work inside
Granite House - Two bridges - Return visit to the oyster bed - What Herbert finds in his pocket.

The winter season really began with the month of June, which corresponds to the month of
December in the northern hemisphere.  It started with showers and squalls which followed each
other without intermission.  The hosts of Granite House could appreciate the advantages of a
dwelling beyond the reach of the harsh weather.  The shelter of the Chimneys would really have
been insufficient against the rigors of winter and it was to be feared that the high tides, driven on
by the winds from the open sea, would make further inroads there.  Cyrus Smith even took some
precautions to provide for this eventuality in order to preserve, as much as possible, the forge and
the furnace which were installed there.

During all of this month of June, the time was employed with various activities which excluded
neither hunting nor fishing and the reserves of the pantry were abundantly maintained.  Pencroff,
as soon as he had the time, proposed to make traps from which he expected great things.  He
made some collars of ligneous fibers and not a day passed when the warren did not furnish its
contingent of rodents.  Neb employed nearly all of his time to salt or smoke these meats, which
were excellently preserved.

The question of clothing was then very seriously discussed.  The colonists had no other clothes
than the ones that they wore when the balloon threw them on the island. These clothes were warm
and sturdy and by taking care of them, as well as their underwear, they had kept them in perfect
condition, but they would soon have to be replaced.  If the winter would be rigorous, the
colonists would suffer much from the cold.

On this subject the ingenuity of Cyrus Smith was in default.  He had to take care first of the most
pressing problems, making a dwelling and assuring the food supply. Hence the frost could come
on before the question of clothing had been resolved.  They would have to resign themselves to
passing this first winter without complaining.  When the fine season came, they would conduct a
serious hunt for those wild sheep whose presence had been noted during the exploration of Mount
Franklin and, once the wool was collected, the engineer would be able to make a warm and sturdy
material... How?  He would think about it.

"Well then, we will be free to roast our legs at Granite House," said Pencroff.  "There's lots of
fuel and no reason to spare it."

"Besides," replied Gideon Spilett, "Lincoln Island is not situated at a very high latitude and it is
probable that the winters will not be bad here.  Didn't you tell us, Cyrus, that the 35th parallel
corresponds to that of Spain in the other hemisphere?"

"Without doubt," replied the engineer, "but certain winters are very cold in Spain.  Snow and ice
are not lacking there and Lincoln Island is perhaps also rigorously tried. However, it is an island
and as such I hope that the temperature will be more moderate."

"Why so, Mister Cyrus?" asked Herbert.

"Because the sea, my child, may be considered as an immense reservoir which stores up the heat
of the summer.  With the coming of winter it returns this heat, which assures a moderate
temperature to those regions near oceans, not as high in the summer, but not as low in the
winter."

"We will look forward to it," replied Pencroff.  "I do not trouble myself as to whether it is cold or
not.  But this is certain, that the days are already short and the evenings long. May we give a little
consideration to the question of illumination?"

"Nothing is easier," replied Cyrus Smith.

"To consider?" asked the sailor.

"To solve."

"And when do we begin?"

"Tomorrow, by organizing a hunt for seals."

"To make wax candles?"

"For shame, Pencroff, tallow candles."

Such was in fact the engineer's plan, a realistic plan, since he had lime and sulphuric acid and the
amphibians of the islet would furnish the fat necessary to make it.

It was the 4th of June, Whit Sunday, and they agreed unanimously to observe this holiday.  All
work was suspended and prayers were directed to Heaven.  But these prayers were now those of
thanks.  The colonists of Lincoln Island were no longer the unfortunate castaways thrown on the
islet.  They no longer asked for anything, they gave thanks.

The next day, the 5th of June, amid rather uncertain weather, they left for the islet.  It was still
necessary to profit from the low tide to cross the channel, and while on this subject, it was agreed
that they would construct, for better or for worse, a boat which would make communications
easier and also permit them to ascend the Mercy when that important exploration of the
southwest of the island would be undertaken during the first fine days.

The seals were numerous and the hunters, armed with their iron tipped spears, easily killed half a
dozen.  Neb and Pencroff skinned them and only brought to Granite House their fat and their
skins, these skins to be made into sturdy footwear.

The result of this hunt was as follows, about three hundred pounds of fat which would be entirely
used for making candles.

The operation was extremely simple and, if it did not yield absolutely perfect products, they were
nonetheless usable.  Cyrus Smith only needed the sulphuric acid.  Heating this acid with the
neutral fatty material from the seal's fat would enable him to isolate the glycerin; then, from this
new combination, it would be easy to separate the olein, the margarine, and the stearin using
boiling water.  But in order to simplify the operation he preferred to saponify the fat by means of
the lime.  He obtained a sort of calcareous soap, easy to decompose with the sulphuric acid,
which precipitated as sulphate of lime, freeing the fatty acids.

Of these three acids, olein, margarine, and stearin, the first, being liquid, was driven out by
sufficient pressure.  As to the other two, they formed the very substance which would be used in
molding the candles.

The operation did not last more than twenty four hours. The wicks, after several attempts, were
made of vegetable fibers and, soaked in the liquified substance, they formed real stearin candles,
molded by hand, lacking only whiteness and polish.  They doubtless did not offer the advantages
which wicks impregnated with boric acid have of vitrifying themselves as they burn so as to
consume themselves entirely; but Cyrus Smith, having made a beautiful pair of snuffers, these
candles would be greatly appreciated during the evenings at Granite House.

During all of this month, there was no lack of work on the interior of the new dwelling.  The
joiners had their work cut out for them.  They perfected the tools which were very rudimentary. 
They also completed their stock.

Some scissors were made among other things and the colonists were finally able to cut their hair
and their beards, at least to trim them imaginatively.  Herbert had no beard and Neb hardly any,
but their companions were so overgrown as to justify the making of the said scissors.

The making of a hand saw cost infinite pain, but finally they obtained an instrument which, when
vigorously handled, would cut the ligneous fibers of wood.  Thus they made tables, benches and
wardrobe cabinets which furnished the main rooms,

and bed frames whose bedding consisted entirely of mattresses of seawrack.  The kitchen, with its
terra cotta utensils resting on shelves, its brick furnace and its stone washstand, had a formal look
and Neb operated there as seriously as if he were in a chemist's laboratory.

But the joiners were soon replaced by carpenters.  The new overflow created by the mine made it
necessary to construct two bridges, one on Grand View Plateau and the other on the shore itself. 
In fact, now the plateau and the shore were cut transversely by a watercourse which they had to
cross when they wanted to get to the north of the island.  To avoid this, the colonists would have
been obliged to make a considerable detour and ascend westward to the sources of Red Creek.  It
was simpler to build two bridges on the plateau and on the shore, twenty to twenty five feet in
length.  Squaring the trees with an axe was the only carpentry.  This was the work of a few days. 
The bridges built, Neb and Pencroff then profited from them by going to the oyster bed, which
had been discovered near the dunes.  They hauled with them a sort of large cart which replaced
the old very inconvenient hurdle, and they brought back several thousand oysters that quickly
acclimatized themselves among the rocks at the mouth of the Mercy, becoming as good as a
natural oyster bed.  These mollusks were of an excellent quality and the colonists consumed them
nearly every day.

As we know, although the inhabitants of Lincoln Island had only explored a small portion of it,
the island had already furnished nearly all their needs.  And it was likely that, buried in its more
secret retreats, over all of this wooded part that extended from the Mercy to Reptile Promontory,
it would lavish new treasures.

The colonists of Lincoln Island still had one deprivation. Their diet did not lack protein, nor
vegetable products which they modified for their use; the ligneous roots of the dragon trees,
subjected to fermentation, gave them a sour beverage, a sort of beer preferable to pure water;
they even made sugar, without cane sugar or sugar beets, by collecting this liquid that was
distilled as "acer saccharum," a sort of maple of the aceraceae family, which prospers in all
temperate zones and which were abundant on the island; they made a very agreeable tea by using
the monarda brought back from the warren; lastly, they had an abundance of salt, the only mineral
product which enters into the preparation of food... but they could not make bread.

Perhaps at a later time the colonists would be able to replace this food with some equivalent, the
flour of the sago tree or the bread tree, and it was in fact possible that the southern forests had
these precious trees, but up to this time they had not encountered them.

However, Providence was able, in this circumstance, to come directly to the colonists' aid, in an
infinitesimal way it is true, but Cyrus Smith, with all his intelligence and all his ingenuity could
never have produced that which Herbert, by the greatest chance, found one day in the lining of his
vest which he was mending.

On this day it was raining in torrents.  The colonists were assembled in the main hall of Granite
House when the lad suddenly cried out:

"Well, Mister Cyrus.  A grain of corn."

And he showed his companions a grain, a single grain, which got into the lining of his vest
through a hole in his pocket.

The presence of this grain was explained by Herbert's habit, while in Richmond, of feeding some
pigeons that Pencroff had given him.

"A grain of corn?" replied the engineer vividly.

"Yes, Mister Cyrus, but only one, nothing but a single one."

"Well, my boy," cried Pencroff, smiling, "we are really getting on.  What will we be able to make
with this single grain of corn?"

"We will make bread from it," replied Cyrus Smith.

"Bread, cakes, tarts!" replied the sailor.  "Come now! The bread that this grain of corn will furnish
will not stuff us soon."

Herbert, attaching no importance to his discovery, was about to throw away the grain in question,
but Cyrus Smith took it, examined it, saw that it was in good condition and looking at the sailor:

"Pencroff," he asked him tranquilly, "do you know how many ears a grain of corn can produce?"

"One, I suppose," replied the sailor, surprised by the question.

"Ten, Pencroff.  And do you know how many grains an ear holds?"

"My faith, no."

"Eighty on the average," said Cyrus Smith.  "Thus, if we plant this grain, at the first harvest we
will gather eight hundred grains, which will produce at the second harvest six hundred forty
thousand, at the third five hundred twelve million, at the fourth more than four hundred billion
grains. There are the proportions."

Cyrus Smith's companions listened without replying.  These figures stupefied them.  They were
exact, however.

"Yes, my friends," continued the engineer.  "Such are the geometric progressions of a fertile
nature.  And yet what is this multiplication of a grain of corn whose ears contain only eight
hundred grains, compared to the stems of the poppy which hold thirty two thousand grains or the
stems of tobacco, which produce three hundred sixty thousand?  In several years, without the
numerous destructive causes which arrest their growth, these plants would overrun the entire
earth."

But the engineer had not finished his little interrogation.

"And now, Pencroff," he continued, "do you know how many bushels four hundred billion grains
will yield?"

"No," replied the sailor, "but what I do know is that I am only a fool."

"Well, it will make more than three million at a hundred thirty thousand per bushel, Pencroff."

"Three million!" cried Pencroff.

"Three million."

"In four years?"

"In four years," replied Cyrus Smith, "and even in two years if, as I hope, we will be able to obtain
two harvests per year at this latitude."

At this, following his custom, Pencroff could think of no reply other than a formidable hurrah.

"Thus, Herbert," added the engineer, "you have made an extremely important discovery for us. 
Everything, my friends, everything can serve us in the condition we find ourselves.  I beg you, do
not forget it."

"No, Mister Cyrus, no, we will not forget it," replied Pencroff, "and if ever I find one of these
grains of tobacco which multiplies at three hundred sixty thousand, I assure you that I will not
throw it to the wind.  And now, do you know what remains to be done?"

"It remains for us to plant this grain," replied Herbert.

"Yes," added Gideon Spilett, "and with all the respect due to it because it carries within itself our
future harvests."

"Provided that it grows!" cried the sailor.

"It will grow," replied Cyrus Smith.

It was the twentieth of June.  The moment was thus propitious for sowing this unique and
precious grain of corn. They first questioned whether they should plant it in a pot; but after
reflection, they decided to very boldly refer it to nature and to entrust it to the earth.  This is what
was done this very day and needless to say, all precautions were taken to make the operation a
success.

The weather having slightly cleared up, the colonists climbed to the heights of Granite House. 
There, on the plateau, they chose a spot well sheltered from the wind, on which the noonday sun
would shed all its warmth.  The spot was cleared, carefully weeded, even searched for insects and
worms; they placed a layer of good earth on it, enriched with a little lime; they surrounded it with
a fence; then the grain was buried in the wet ground.

Did it not seem that the colonists were putting down the first stone of an edifice?  This recalled
for Pencroff the day when he had to light his single match and all the care that he carried to this
operation.  But this time the thing was more serious.  In fact, the castaways would always have
managed to procure fire in one way or another, but no human power could again make this grain
of corn if, unfortunately, it should be lost.


CHAPTER XXI

Several degrees below zero - Exploration of the marshy part of the southeast - The colpeos -
View of the sea - A conversation on the future of the Pacific Ocean -  The incessant work of the
infusoria - What will become of the globe - The hunt - Tadorn's marsh.

From this moment, a day did not pass without Pencroff going to visit what he seriously called his
"cornfield."  And woe to the insects that ventured there.  No mercy awaited them.

About the end of the month of June, after endless rains, the frost definitely came on, and on the
29th a Fahrenheit thermometer would have registered only 20 degrees above zero (6.67 degrees
centigrade below zero).

The next day, June 30th, a day which corresponds to December 31st of the northern year, was a
Friday.  Neb made the observation that the year ended on a bad day; but Pencroff replied that
naturally the next year would begin on a good day, which was better.

In any event, it began with a very brisk frost.  Ice floes piled up at the mouth of the Mercy and the
lake was not long in becoming frozen along its entire extent.

They renewed their provision of fuel during several breaks in the weather.  Pencroff had
transported enormous rafts of wood to their destination without waiting for the river to freeze. 
The current was a tireless motor and it was used to cart the floating wood up to the moment
when the frost blocked it.  To the fuel furnished so abundantly by the forest, they also added
several cartloads of coal for which they had to go to the foot of the buttresses of Mount Franklin. 
This powerful coal heat was well appreciated during the cold weather which on July 4th fell to 8
degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees centigrade below zero).  A second chimney had been installed in
the dining room and there they all worked together.

During this period of frost, Cyrus Smith had to congratulate himself for having diverted a small
stream from Lake Grant to Granite House.  Drawn as a liquid from under the frozen surface, it
was then conducted by the old passageway to an interior reservoir which had been excavated in a
corner of the rear storeroom and whose overflow escaped by the well to the sea.

During this period, the weather being extremely dry, the colonists, dressed as well as possible,
resolved to devote a day to the exploration of that part of the southeast of the island between the
Mercy and Cape Claw.  It was a vast marshy terrain which would make for good hunting because
of the many aquatic birds there.

They had to count on an eight to nine mile trip to get there as well as to return, and consequently
it would take a full day.  Since it was also an exploration of an unknown portion of the island, the
entire colony took part in it. Hence on the 5th of July, at six in the morning, with dawn

barely breaking, Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Herbert, Neb and Pencroff, armed with spears,
collars, bows and arrows, and supplied with sufficient provisions, left Granite House, preceded by
Top who skipped about in front of them.

They took the shortest route and the shortest route was to cross the Mercy over the ice floes then
blocking it.

"But," the reporter justly noted, "this cannot replace a genuine bridge."

So the construction of a "genuine" bridge was recorded as one of the works for the future.

It was the first time that the colonists set foot on the right bank of the Mercy and they ventured
among large and superb conifers which were then covered with snow.

But they had not gone half a mile when, from a thick bush, an entire family of quadrupeds fled
from where they lived, provoked to flight by Top's barks.

"Ah!  They could be called foxes!" cried Herbert, when he saw the entire band dash off so
quickly.

They were in fact foxes, but foxes of a very large size. They made a sort of barking that
astonished Top himself because he stopped in his pursuit and gave these fast animals the time to
disappear.

The dog was right to be surprised since he did not know natural history.  But by their barks, these
foxes with a reddish grey fur and black tails that ended in a white tassel, revealed their origin. 
Herbert, without hesitating, gave them their true name of "colpeos".  These colpeos are frequently
encountered in Chile, the Falkland Islands and in all American localities between the 30th and
40th parallels.  Herbert regretted very much that Top had not been able to get hold of one of
these carnivores.

"Are they good to eat?" asked Pencroff, who never considered the representatives of the fauna of
the island except from his special point of view.

"No," replied Herbert, "but zoologists have not yet found out if the pupil of these foxes is diurnal
or nocturnal and if it isn't correct to classify them in the genus dog, properly called."

Cyrus Smith could not prevent a smile on hearing the lad's thoughts, which attested to a serious
mind.  As to the sailor, from the moment that these foxes could not be classified in the genus
edible, they were of little importance to him. Nevertheless, when a poultry yard would be
established at Granite House, it was noted that it would be good to take several precautions
against possible visits from these plunderers on four feet.  This no one contested.

After having turned Flotsom Point (1), the colonists found

(1) Verne made an error here.  The colonists do not give this place the name of Flotsom Point
until three chapters later. (Translator's note)

a long beach which was washed by the vast sea.  It was then eight o'clock in the morning.  The
sky was very clear such as comes from a prolonged severe frost; but, excited by their journey,
Cyrus Smith and his companions did not feel the weather's sting too vividly.  Besides, the wind
was not blowing, a circumstance which rendered the low temperature infinitely more bearable.  A
brilliant sun, but without heating action, then rose from the ocean, its enormous disk balanced on
the horizon.  The sea formed a tranquil sheet, blue as a Mediterranean gulf when the sky is clear. 
Cape Claw, curved in the form of a yataghan, was clearly visible about four miles away to the
southeast.  To the left, the border of the marsh was abruptly interrupted by a small point which
the solar rays, at the moment, patterned into a flash of fire.  Certainly in this part of Union Bay,
with no cover from the open sea, not even a reef of sand, any vessels battered by the winds from
the east would find no shelter.  They sensed from the tranquility of the sea not disturbed by
shallows, from its uniform color which had no trace of a yellowish nuance and from the absence
of any reef, that this coast was abrupt and that the ocean covered up a deep abyss there.  Behind
them in the west, at a distance of four miles, the first line of trees of the forests of the Far West
was visible.  They could believe, so to speak, that they were on the desolated coast of some
Antarctic island that the ice floes had overrun.  The colonists stopped here for a meal.  A fire was
started with brushwood and dry seaweed and Neb prepared a meal of cold meat to which he
added several cups of Oswego tea.

While eating, everyone looked around.  This part of Lincoln Island was really sterile and
contrasted with the entire western region.  This led the reporter to make this observation, that if
chance had first thrown the castaways on this shore, they would have had a deplorable idea of
their future domain.

"I do not think that we would have been able to reach it," replied the engineer, "because the sea is
too deep here and it would offer us no rock on which to take refuge.  In front of Granite House at
least, there were some reefs, an islet, which multiplied the chances of safety.  Here nothing but the
abyss."

"It is rather strange," noted Gideon Spilett, "that this relatively small island presents such varied
terrains.  This diversity appears logically only on continents of a certain size.  One could truly say
that the Western part of Lincoln Island, so rich and so fertile, is washed by the warm waters of the
Gulf of Mexico and that the shores of the north and the southeast reach out to a sort of Arctic
Sea."

"You are right, my dear Spilett," replied Cyrus Smith. "That is an observation that I have also
made.  I find this island strange in its form and in its nature.  One would say, in short, that it has
all the aspects of a continent, and it would not surprise me if it had been a continent once upon a
time."

"What!  A continent in the middle of the Pacific?" cried Pencroff.

"Why not?" replied Cyrus Smith.  "Why could not

Australia, New Ireland and all that the English geographers call Australasia, united to the
archipelagos of the Pacific, have formed in the past a sixth part of the world as important as
Europe or Asia, as Africa or the two Americas?  I feel that all these islands that emerge from this
vast ocean are the summits of a continent which, though now engulfed, was above water in
prehistoric times."

"The way Atlantis once was," replied Herbert.

"Yes, my child... if it existed."

"And was Lincoln Island part of this continent?" asked Pencroff.

"That is possible," replied Cyrus Smith, "and that would explain this diversity of productions that
we see on its surface."

"And the considerable number of animals that still live here," added Herbert.

"Yes, my child," replied the engineer, "and you furnish me with a new argument to apply to my
thesis.  It is certain, from what we have seen, that there are numerous animals on the island and,
what is even stranger, that the species are so extremely varied.  That is why I think that Lincoln
Island could once have been part of some vast continent which little by little sank below the
Pacific."

"Then one fine day," answered Pencroff, who was not absolutely convinced, "the remainder of
this ancient continent will disappear in its turn and there will no longer be anything between
America and Asia."

"Yes," replied Cyrus Smith, "but there will be new continents which millions upon millions of
animalcules are working to build at this moment."

"And what are these masons?" asked Pencroff.

"The coral infusoria," replied Cyrus Smith.  "It is they who made, by constant work, Reao Island,
the atolls and other numerous coral islands of the Pacific Ocean.  Forty seven million of these
infusoria weigh a grain (1) nevertheless, with the ocean salt that they absorb, with the solid
elements that they assimilate from the water, these animalcules produce lime and this lime forms
enormous submarine substructures whose hardness and compactness are equal to that of granite.
Formerly, during the first stages of creation, nature, using fire, produced land by upheaval; but
now it charges these microscopic animals to replace this agent whose dynamic power in the
interior of the globe has evidently diminished - this is proved by the large number of volcanos on
the surface of the earth that are actually extinct.  And I really believe that in later centuries, as
infusoria are added to infusoria, this Pacific will change one day into a vast continent which new
generations will live on and civilize in their turn."

"That will take long!" said Pencroff.

"Nature has the time for it," replied the engineer.

"But what will be the good of new continents?" asked Herbert.  "It seems to me that the actual
extent of the habitable world is sufficient for humanity.  Nature does

(1) A grain weighs 65 milligrams.

nothing uselessly."

"In fact nothing is useless," replied the engineer, "but here is how one can explain the necessity for
new continents in the future and precisely on this tropical zone occupied by the corral islands.  At
least this explanation seems plausible to me."

"We are listening, Mister Cyrus," replied Herbert.

"Here is my idea:  Scientists generally admit that one day our world will end, or rather that animal
and vegetable life will no longer be possible on it due to the intense cold to which it will be
subjected.  What they are not in agreement on is the cause of this cold.  Some think that it will
result from the lower temperature that the sun will experience after millions of years; others think
that it will result from the gradual extinction of the interior fires of our globe which have a more
pronounced influence on it than is generally supposed.  I myself hold to this last hypothesis and I
base it on the fact that the moon is really a frozen star which is no longer habitable even though
the sun continues to shed the same amount of heat on its surface.  If therefore the moon is cold, it
is because these interior fires, to which all stars of the stellar world owe their origin, are
completely extinct.  In short, whatever the cause, our globe will freeze one day but this freezing
will only come on little by little.  What will then happen?  The temperate zones, within a longer or
a shorter time, will be no more habitable than the polar regions are. Thus the human population,
as well as the animal groups, will flourish at those latitudes more directly subject to the solar
influence.  An immense migration will occur.  Europe, Central Asia and North America will be
abandoned little by little, as will Australasia and the lower parts of South America. Vegetation
will follow the human emigration.  The flora will recede to the equator at the same time as the
fauna.  The central parts of South America and of Africa will become the continents best to live
in.  The Laplanders and the Samoyeds will find the climatic conditions of the polar sea on the
shores of the Mediterranean.  Who can tell us that at this time the equatorial regions will not be
too small to contain terrestrial humanity and to nourish it?  Now, why won't a clairvoyant nature,
in order to give refuge to all of this vegetable and animal migration, lay the foundation, even at
this moment, of a new continent under the equator and won't it charge the infusoria to construct
it?  I have often reflected on all of these things, my friends, and I seriously believe that the aspect
of our globe will one day be completely transformed, that as a result of the raising of new
continents, the seas will cover the old ones and that, in future centuries, Columbuses will discover
the islands of Chimborazo, the Himalayas or Mount Blanc, the remainders of an America, an Asia
and a Europe engulfed.  Then finally, these new continents in their turn will become uninhabitable;
the heat will be extinguished like the heat from a body abandoned by the soul, and life will
disappear, if not absolutely from the globe, at least for a time.  Then perhaps our spheroid will rest
and from death it will resuscitate one day under superior conditions!

 But all this, my friends, is the secret of the Author of all things, and in talking about the work of
the infusoria, I have let myself be carried away a little too far perhaps in peering into the secrets of
the future."

"My dear Cyrus," replied Gideon Spilett, "these theories are prophecies for me and they will be
accomplished one day."

"That is the secret of God," said the engineer.

"All this is well and good," Pencroff then said, having listened with all ears, "but tell me, Mister
Cyrus, if Lincoln Island is constructed by your infusoria?"

"No," replied Cyrus Smith, "it is strictly of volcanic origin."

"Then it will disappear one day?"

"That is probable."

"I hope that we will no longer be here."

"No, I assure you, Pencroff, we will no longer be here since we have no wish to die here and that
in the end we will extricate ourselves."

"While waiting," replied Gideon Spilett, "we will carry on as if for eternity.  It will not do to take
half-way measures."

That ended the conversation.  The meal was completed.  The exploration was continued and the
colonists arrived at the beginning of the marshy region.

It was a real marsh whose area measured twenty square miles up to the rounded shore which
marked the southeast end of the island.  The soil was formed of a silicious clay and mixed with
vegetative debris.  Conferva, juncaceae, carex, bulrush, and some layers of grass here and there
covered it with a thick carpet.  Frozen ponds scintillated in many a place under the sun's rays. 
Neither rains nor rivers swelled by a sudden rise had been able to form these reservoirs of water. 
They naturally concluded that this marsh was fed by infiltrations from the soil, which was the
case.  They even feared that these miasmas could cause marsh fever during the hot weather.

Above the aquatic grass, on the surface of the stagnant waters, fluttered a world of birds.  Marsh
hunters would not have lost a single shot.  Wild duck, pintail, teal and snipe lived there in flocks
and these fearless birds could easily be approached.

A gunshot would certainly have hit several dozens of the birds, so tight were their ranks.  They
had to be content with arrows.  The result was mediocre but the silent arrow had the advantage of
not frightening these birds who would have dissipated to all corners of the of the marsh from the
detonation of a gun.  The hunters were therefore content, for the time being, with a dozen duck
who had white bodies and cinnamon waists, green heads, black, white and reddish wings and
flattened beaks that Herbert recognized as "Tadorns."  Top skillfully helped with the capture of
these birds whose name was given to this marshy part of the island.  Thus the colonists had there
an abundant reserve of water fowl.  When the time came, it would be appropriate to exploit this
and it was likely that several of these species could become, if not domesticated, at least
acclimatized to the neighborhood of the lake, which would put them within the immediate reach
of the consumers.

 Around five o'clock in the evening, Cyrus Smith and his companions took the road back to their
dwelling, crossing Tadorn's Marsh and passing over the Mercy on the bridge of ice.

 At eight o'clock in the evening they were all back at Granite House.


CHAPTER XXII

Traps - Foxes - Peccaries - Sudden northwest wind - Snowstorm - Basket makers - Deepest frost
of the winter - The crystallization of maple sugar - The mysterious well - The planned exploration
- The lead bullet.

This intense frost lasted until the 15th of August without however dropping below the
temperature already noted.  When the weather was calm, this low temperature was easily
tolerated but when the cold wind blew, it was hard on these insufficiently dressed men.  Pencroff
regretted that Lincoln Island had not given sanctuary to several families of bears instead of foxes
or seals, whose fur leaves much to be desired.

"Bears," he said, "are generally well dressed, and I will ask nothing more of them than to borrow
for the winter the warm cloaks which are on their bodies."

"But," replied Neb laughing, "perhaps these bears will not consent, Pencroff, to give you their
cloaks.  These animals are not Saint-Martins!"

"We will compel them, Neb.  We will compel them," replied Pencroff, in a completely
authoritative tone.

But these formidable carnivores did not exist on the island, or at least they had not shown
themselves until then.

Nevertheless, Herbert, Pencroff and the reporter made traps on Grand View Plateau and at the
approaches to the forest.  In the sailor's opinion, every animal, whatever it be, would be a good
prize, and the rodents or carnivores who would use the new traps would be well received at
Granite House.

Besides, these traps were extremely simple: Holes dug in the ground, a platform of branches and
grass above to hide the opening, some bait at the bottom whose odor would attract the animals,
that was all.  It should be said that these traps were not dug at random but at certain places where
numerous footprints indicated the frequent passage of quadrupeds.  They were visited every day. 
Three times during the first days they found specimens there of the colpeos that had already been
seen on the right bank of the Mercy.

"Are there nothing but foxes in this country?" cried Pencroff, the third time that he pulled out one
of these animals from the pit.  He was very crestfallen.  "These animals are good for nothing."

"But yes," said Gideon Spilett.  "They are good for something."

"And what is that?"

"To make bait to attract others."

The reporter was right and the traps were henceforth baited with the corpses of the foxes.

The sailor also made collars using juncus fibers and the collars were more profitable than the
traps.  It was a rare day without some rabbit captured from the warren.  It was always rabbit, but
Neb knew how to vary his sauces and the guests did not dream of complaining.

However one or two times, in the second week of August, the traps delivered to the hunters other
animals more useful than the colpeos.  There were several of these wild boars that had already
been sighted to the north of the lake.  Pencroff had no need to ask if these animals were edible. 
This was obvious from their resemblance to the pigs of America or Europe.

The sailor leaned over the trap.  By the small appendage which serves it as a tail, he took out one
of these representatives of the suilline family.

"But these are not pigs. I warn you, Pencroff," Herbert said to him.

"My boy," replied the sailor, "let me believe that these are pigs."

"And why?"

"Because it pleases me."

"You really like the pig, Pencroff?"

"I love the pig a lot," answered the sailor, "especially for its feet, and if it had eight feet instead of
four I would love it twice as much."

As to the animals in question, they were peccaries belonging to one of the four genuses that make
up the family. They were indeed of the "tajacu" species, recognizable by their dark color and
deprived of those long canine teeth that arm the mouths of their congeners.  These peccaries
ordinarily live in groups and it was likely that they abounded in the wooded parts of the island.  In
any event they were edible from head to toe and Pencroff asked nothing more of them.

About the 15th of August, the weather was suddenly changed by a northwest wind.  The
temperature rose several degrees and the accumulated vapor in the air was not long in changing
tosnow.  The entire island was covered with a white layer and showed itself to its inhabitants
under a new aspect.  This snow fell abundantly for several days and soon attained a thickness of
two feet.

The wind soon freshened with an extreme violence and from the height of Granite House they
could hear the sea growling on the reef.  There were rapid eddies of air in certain corners and the
snow, forming in tall rotating columns, resembled those waterspouts which twirl at their base and
which vessels attack by cannon fire.  The storm however came from the northwest, taking hold of
the island from the rear.  The orientation of Granite House preserved it from a direct assault.  But
in the midst of this snow blast, as terrible as if it was produced in some polar country, neither
Cyrus Smith nor his companions were able, in spite of their desire, to venture outside and they
remained shut up for five days, from the 20th to the 25th of August.  They heard the tempest roar
in Jacamar Woods which was sure to suffer from it.  Doubtless many trees would be uprooted but
Pencroff consoled himself by thinking that it would save him the trouble of cutting them down.

"The wind is woodsman, let it work," he repeated.

And besides, he had no means of restraining it.

What thanks the hosts of Granite House then gave to heaven for having made for them this solid
and steadfast retreat! Cyrus Smith deserved a legitimate part of these thanks but after all, it was
nature that had excavated this vast cavern and he had only discovered it.  There, all were safe and
the storms could not reach them.  If they had constructed a house of bricks and wood on Grand
View Plateau, it would certainly not have resisted the fury of this storm.  As to the Chimneys, the
noise made by the waves led them to believe that it was absolutely uninhabitable because the sea,
passing over the islet, must beat it with rage.  But here, in Granite House, inside this block,
neither water nor air could harm them and there was nothing to fear.

During these days of sequestration the colonists did not remain inactive.  Wood, cut into planks,
was not lacking in the storeroom and little by little they completed the furniture. The tables and
chairs were sturdy, to be sure, because material was not spared.  This somewhat heavy furniture
hardly justified its name since mobility is an essential condition but Neb and Pencroff were proud
of it and would not have exchanged it for any other.

Then the woodworkers became basketmakers and they did not succeed badly at this new task. 
They had discovered, near a corner of the lake that projected northward, a prolific osier bed
where a large number of purple osiers grew.  Before the rainy season, Pencroff and Herbert had
harvested these useful bushes and their branches were used well.  The first attempts were
shapeless but thanks to the skill and intelligence of the basket makers who, consulting, recalling
the models they had seen, emulating each other, some large and small baskets soon accrued to the
colony.  The storeroom was provided with them and there Neb stored his harvest of rhizomes,
pine almonds and the roots of the dragon tree.

During the last week of this month of August, the weather changed once more.  The temperature
dropped a little and it became calm.  The colonists went outside.  There was certainly two feet of
snow on the beach but the surface of this snow was hard so they could walk on it without much
difficulty.  Cyrus Smith and his companions climbed to Grand View Plateau.

What a change!  These woods which they had left green, especially the neighboring parts where
the conifers dominated, had disappeared under a uniform color.  All was white from the top of
Mount Franklin to the shore, the forests, the prairie, the lake, the river, the beaches.  The water of
the Mercy ran under a canopy of ice which broke up at each rise and fall of the tide, shattering
loudly.  Numerous birds fluttered on the solid surface of the lake, ducks and woodcocks, pintails
and guillemots.  Thousands were there.  The rocks between which the cascade poured out on to
the beach, bristled with ice.  It could be said that the water escaped from a monstrous gargoyle
made with all the fantasy of a renaissance artist.  As to judging the damage done to the forest by
the storm, they still could not do it, and it would be necessary to wait until the immense white
layer was dissipated.

Gideon Spilett, Pencroff and Neb used this occasion to visit their traps.  They could not find them
easily under the snow which covered them.  They had to take care not to fall into one or the
other.  This would have been simultaneously dangerous and humiliating: to be caught in one's one
trap!  But they avoided this unpleasantness and found the traps perfectly intact.  No animal had
fallen in, but there were many footprints all about including certain clearly revealed claw marks. 
Herbert did not hesitate to affirm that some carnivore of the feline genre had passed there.  This
justified the engineer's opinion on the presence of dangerous beasts on Lincoln Island.  Doubtless
these animals ordinarily inhabited the thick forests of the Far West but pressed on by hunger, they
had ventured up to Grand View Plateau.  Perhaps they smelled the hosts of Granite House.

"In short, what kind of felines are these?" asked Pencroff.

"They are tigers," replied Herbert.

"I believe that these animals are found only in warm countries."

"On the new continent," replied the lad, "they are observed from Mexico to the pampas of Buenos
Aires.  Now, since Lincoln Island is very nearly on the same latitude as the province of La Plata, it
is not astonishing that several tigers are encountered here."

"Good, we will keep an eye out for them," answered Pencroff.

However, the snow ended by dissipating under the influence of the rising temperature.  Rain fell
and thanks to its dissolving action the white layer disappeared.  In spite of the bad weather, the
colonists renewed their reserve of everything, pine almonds, dragon tree roots, rhizomes, maple
syrup for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren, agoutis and kangaroos for the animal part. 
This necessitated several excursions into the forest and they noted that a certain quantity of trees
had been thrown down by the last storm.  The sailor and Neb even hauled the cart up to the coal
bed in order to bring back several tons of fuel.  They saw in passing that the chimney of the
pottery furnace had been extensively damaged by the wind and that at least six feet had been
knocked off the top.

The provision of wood was also renewed at Granite House at the same time as the coal and they
profited by the current of the Mercy, which had become free, to bring in several loads. They could
see that the period of severe cold was not over.

A visit was also made to the Chimneys and the colonists could only congratulate themselves that
they had not lived there during the storm.  The sea had left incontestable marks of its ravages. 
Driven on by the open winds and passing over

the islet, the sea had violently assailed the passageways which were half buried in the sand.  Thick
layers of seaweed covered the rocks.  While Neb, Herbert and Pencroff hunted or renewed the
supply of fuel, Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett cleaned up the Chimneys, finding the forge and the
furnace almost intact, protected from the first by the sand covering.

The fuel had not been renewed in vain.  The colonists had not finished with the rigorous frost.  As
is known, in the northern hemisphere, the month of February is noted for its large drops in
temperature.  It is the same in the southern hemisphere and the end of the month of August, which
is the February of North America, did not escape this climatic law.

About the 25th, after a new change between snow and rain, the wind blew from the southeast and
suddenly the cold became extremely brisk.  According to the engineer's estimate, the column of
mercury on a Fahrenheit thermometer would not have marked less than 8 degrees below zero
(22.22 degrees centigrade below freezing).  Rendered more painful by the sharp wind, this intense
frost kept up for several days.  The colonists were again shut up in Granite House.  Since it was
necessary to hermetically seal all openings of the facade leaving only a small passage for the
renewal of air, the consumption of candles was considerable.  In order to economize them, the
colonists often used only the light from the fireplace where they did not spare the fuel.  Several
times one or the other descended to the beach amid the ice floes that piled up with each tide but
they soon climbed back to Granite House and it was not without pain and without suffering that
their hands held on to the rungs of the ladder.  With this intense frost, the rungs burnt their
fingers.

It was again necessary to occupy the leisure imposed on the hosts of Granite House.  Cyrus Smith
then undertook an operation suited to indoors.

We know that the colonists had no sugar other than this liquid substance that they drew from the
maple by making deep incisions in this tree.  It sufficed for them to collect this liqueur into vases
and they used it in this state for various culinary uses, so much the more that on aging the liqueur
tended to become white and took on a syrupy consistency.

But there was something better to make and one day Cyrus Smith announced to his companions
that they were going to become refiners.

"Refiners!" replied Pencroff.  "That is a somewhat warm profession, I believe."

"Very warm," replied the engineer.

"Then it will be in season," answered the sailor.

The word refining should not bring to mind complicated factories, tools and workmen.  No!  To
crystalize this liqueur, it suffices to purify it by an extremely easy operation. Placed on a fire in
large earthen vases, it was simply subjected to a certain evaporation and soon a scum rose to the
surface.  When it began to thicken, Neb took care to stir it with a wooden spatula, which
accelerated its evaporation and at the same time prevented it from acquiring an empyreumatic
taste.

After boiling for several hours on a good fire, which did as much good to the operators as to the
substance operated on, it was transformed to a thick syrup.  This syrup was poured into clay
molds previously made in the same kitchen stove, and to which they had given various shapes. 
The next day this syrup solidified, forming cakes and tablets.  It was sugar of a slightly reddish
color but nearly transparent and with a perfect taste.

The frost continued to mid-September and the prisoners of Granite House began to find their
captivity rather long. Nearly every day they made several sorties which they could not prolong.
They therefore worked constantly on the arrangements for the dwelling.  They chatted while
working.  Cyrus Smith instructed his companions in all things and principally he explained to them
the practical applications of science.  The colonists did not have a library at their disposal, but the
engineer was a book that was always ready, always open to the page that each one needed, a
book which answered all their questions and which they often leafed through.  So the time passed
and these brave men had no doubts about the future.

However, it was time for their confinement to end.  All were in a hurry to see, if not the fine
season, at least the end of this insupportable frost.  If only they had been dressed in a way to be
able to brave it, what excursions they would have made either to the dunes or to Tadorn Marsh. 
The game would have been easy to approach and the hunt would have assuredly been fruitful. 
But Cyrus Smith maintained that no one should compromise his health since he had need of all
hands, and his advice was followed.

But, it must be said, the most impatient of the prisoners, after Pencroff of course, was Top.  The
faithful dog found Granite House too confining.  He came and went from one room to the other,
showing from his manner, his boredom in being cooped up.

Cyrus Smith often remarked that when he came near the gloomy well which was in
communication with the sea and whose opening was at the base of the storeroom, that he made
singular grunts.  Top turned around this hole which had been covered with a wooden panel. 
Sometimes he even tried to slip his paws under this panel as if he wanted to lift it.  He then
yapped in a particular way which indicated anger and uneasiness at the same time.

The engineer observed this behavior several times.  What was there in this abyss that could
impress the intelligent animal?  The well led to the sea, that was certain.  Did it also branch out
through narrow passageways across the framework of the island?  Was it in communication with
several other interior cavities?  Did some marine monster come from time to time to breath at the
bottom of this well?  The engineer did not know what to think and he couldn't help but imagine
bizarre complications.  Accustomed to the domain of scientific reality, he could not pardon
himself for drifting into the domain of the strange and almost supernatural.  Top was one of those
sensible dogs who did not waste their time in barking at the moon but

how could he explain why the dog insisted on probing this abyss with his smell and hearing if
there was nothing to arouse his uneasiness?  Top's conduct intrigued Cyrus Smith more than he
admitted to himself.

In any case, the engineer communicated his impressions only to Gideon Spilett, finding it pointless
to tell his companions about these involuntary thoughts that arose within himself and which
perhaps were due only to Top's whims.

At last the frost ended.  There was rain, squalls mixed with snow, showers and windstorms, but
this bad weather did not last long.  The ice dissolved, the snow melted; the beach, the plateau, the
banks of the Mercy and the forests became passable once again.  The return of springtime
delighted the hosts of Granite House and soon they passed there only the hours for sleeping and
for meals.

They did a lot of hunting in the second half of September which brought Pencroff to call again for
firearms which he said had been promised by Cyrus Smith.  The latter, knowing well that without
special tools it was almost impossible to make a gun that would be of service, always held back
and put off the operation for a later time.  He noted, moreover, that Herbert and Gideon Spilett
had become skillful archers, that all sorts of excellent animals, agoutis, kangaroos, capybaras,
pigeons, bustards, wild duck, snipe, in short that hairy or feathery game fell under their arrows
and consequently that they could wait.  But the obstinate sailor would not hear of it and did not
cease to remind the engineer that he had not satisfied his desire.  Besides, Gideon Spilett seconded
Pencroff.

"If the island, as we have no reason to doubt," he said, "contains ferocious animals, we should
think of fighting them and exterminating them.  A time may come when this will become our first
duty."

But at this period, it was not this question of firearms which preoccupied Cyrus Smith but that of
clothing.  The colonists had passed the winter with those that they wore, but these would not last
until the next winter.  They would have to procure the furs of some carnivores or the wool of
ruminants at any price.  Since there was no lack of sheep, it would be advisable to start a flock
which would be raised for the needs of the colony.  An enclosure for domestic animals, a poultry
yard laid out for the fowl, in a word a sort of farm to establish at some point on the island, such
were the two important projects to execute during the fine season.

Consequently, and in view of these future establishments, it thus became urgent to conduct a
reconnaissance of all the unknown parts of Lincoln Island, that is to say in the deep forests which
extended on the right of the Mercy from its mouth to the extremity of Serpentine Peninsula, as
well as all of the western shore.  But better weather was needed and a month must pass before
this exploration could be properly undertaken.

They therefore waited with some impatience when an incident occurred which further excited the
desire of the colonists to visit their entire domain.

It was the 24th of October.  On this day Pencroff had gone to visit the traps which he always kept
decently baited.  In one of these he found three animals which would be welcome back home.  It
was a female peccary and her two young ones.

Pencroff returned to Granite House, enchanted with his capture and, as usual, the sailor made a
big show over his hunt.

"Come!  We will make a good meal, Mister Cyrus," he cried. "And you too, Mister Spilett, you
will eat it!"

"I do so want to eat," replied the reporter, "but what is it that I will eat?"

"Piglet."

"Ah, really, piglet, Pencroff?  To hear you speak, I would think you were bringing a young
truffled partridge!"

"How's this?" cried Pencroff.  "Are you perchance making fun of my piglet?"

"No," replied Gideon Spilett, without showing any enthusiasm, "provided one does not overdo
it..."

"That is good, that is good, Mister journalist," retorted the sailor, who did not like to hear his
hunt depreciated. "You are difficult.  And seven months ago, when we landed on the island, you
would have been very happy to meet with similar game!..."

"There, there," replied the reporter.  "Man is never happy nor content."

"Well," replied Pencroff, "I hope that Neb will distinguish himself.  Look!  These two young
peccaries are not even three months old!  They will be as tender as quails.  Come Neb, let's go.  I
will oversee the cooking myself."

And the sailor, followed by Neb, went into the kitchen where they became absorbed in their
culinary labors.

They did it their way.  Neb and he then prepared a magnificent meal, the two young peccaries, a
kangaroo soup, a smoked ham, some pine almonds, dragon tree beverage, some Oswego tea, in
short, the best of everything; but the best of all the dishes was the savory peccaries, prepared
braised.

At five o'clock dinner was served in the hall of Granite House.  The kangaroo soup was smoking
on the table.  They found it excellent.

After the soup came the peccaries which Pencroff wanted to slice himself.  He served monstrous
portions to each of his fellow diners.

These piglets were truly delicious and Pencroff devoured his portion with gusto when all of a
sudden a cry and an oath escaped him.

"What is it?" asked Cyrus Smith.

"It's... It's... I broke a tooth!" replied the sailor.

"So!  Are there are pebbles in your peccaries?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"I think so," replied Pencroff, drawing from his lips the object which had cost him a molar!...

It was not a pebble... It was a lead bullet.

END OF THE FIRST PART


SECOND PART

THE ABANDONED

CHAPTER I

The subject of the lead bullet - The construction of a canoe - Hunting - At the top of a kauri -
Nothing to attest the presence of man - Neb and Herbert's catch - A tortoise turned over - The
tortoise disappears - Cyrus Smith's explanation.

    It was seven months to the day that the balloon passengers had been thrown on Lincoln Island. 
During this time, in spite of the search they had made, no human had shown himself.  Never had
any smoke betrayed the presence of man on the surface of the island.  Never had any manual work
attested to his passage either in the past or recently.  Not only did the island seem uninhabited, but
they believed that it had never been inhabited.  And now this entire structure of deductions fell
before a simple grain of metal found in the body of an inoffensive rodent.

In fact, this bullet was fired from a gun and who but a human could operate such a weapon?

When Pencroff placed the lead bullet on the table, his companions looked at it with a profound
astonishment.  They suddenly became aware of the considerable consequences of this incident in
spite of its apparent insignificance.  The sudden appearance of a supernatural being would not
have impressed them more vividly.

Cyrus Smith did not hesitate to spell out the hypotheses resulting from this surprising and
unexpected fact.  He held the lead bullet between his index finger and thumb and turned it back
and forth.  Then:

"You are able to say," he asked Pencroff, "that the peccary wounded by this lead bullet was hardly
older than three months?"

"Hardly, Mister Cyrus," replied Pencroff.  "It was still being nursed by its mother when I found it
in the trap."

"Well then," said the engineer, "this proves that a gun was fired on Lincoln Island three months
ago at most."

"And that a lead bullet struck this young animal, but not mortally," added Gideon Spilett.

"Without doubt," replied Cyrus Smith, "and these are the consequences that can be deduced from
this incident: either the island was inhabited before our arrival or men came here in the last three
months.  Did these men come here voluntarily or involuntarily, by landing or by a shipwreck? 
This point can be cleared up later.  As to who they are, European or Malayan, enemies or friends
of our race, nothing permits us to say, and if they still inhabit the island or if they have left it, we
know nothing about it.  But these questions are too interesting for us to remain uncertain for
long."

"No, a hundred times no, a thousand times no," cried the sailor, rising from the table.  "There are
no men on Lincoln Island other than we.  The devil.  The island isn't large and if it had been
inhabited, we would already have seen some of its inhabitants."

"In fact, the contrary would be very astonishing," said Herbert.

"But it would be even more astonishing, I suppose," observed the reporter, "if this peccary was
born with a lead bullet in its body."

"At least," said Neb seriously, "if Pencroff hasn't had..."

"See for yourself, Neb," retorted Pencroff.  "Would I have had a lead bullet in my jaw for five or
six months without knowing it?  But where would I conceal it?" added the sailor, opening his
mouth to show the thirty two magnificent teeth which filled it.  "Look carefully, Neb, and if you
find a hollow tooth in this set, I will let you pull out a half dozen!"

"Neb's hypothesis is not admissible," replied Cyrus Smith who, in spite of the gravity of his
thoughts, could not restrain a smile.  "It is certain that a gun has been fired on the island in the last
three months at most.  But I am led to believe that these beings, whoever they were, landed on
this shore only for a very short time or that they were only passing through because if it had been
inhabited at the time that we were examining the island from atop Mount Franklin, we would have
seen them or we would have been seen.  It is probable that for a few weeks only, some castaways
were thrown by a storm on some point of the shore.  Whatever is the case, it is important for us to
be sure on this point."

"I think that we should act prudently," said the reporter.

"That is my advice," replied Cyrus Smith, "because unfortunately it is to be feared that these were
Malayan pirates who landed on the island."

"Mister Cyrus," asked the sailor, "would it not be expedient, before going on a reconnaissance, to
make a canoe which would permit us either to ascend the river or if need be, to go around the
coast?  We should not be caught off guard."

"Your idea is a good one, Pencroff," replied the engineer, "but we cannot wait.  At least a month
is needed to build a canoe..."

"A real canoe, yes," replied the sailor, "but we do not need a vessel destined to take to the sea.  In
five days at most, I am confident that I can construct a canoe able to navigate on the Mercy."

"Make a boat in five days!" cried Neb.

"Yes, Neb, a boat in the Indian fashion."

"Of wood?" asked Neb, unconvinced.

"Of wood," replied Pencroff, "or rather of bark.  I repeat to you, Mister Cyrus, in five days the
matter can be settled."

"In five days be it, replied the engineer.

"But from now on, we will do well be cautious," said Herbert.

"Very much so, my friends," replied Cyrus Smith, "and I beg you to limit your hunting excursions
to the neighborhood of Granite House."

The dinner finished less gaily than Pencroff had hoped.

Thus then, the island was or had been inhabited by others than the colonists.  After the incident of
the lead bullet, this was an incontestable fact and such a revelation could only make the colonists
uneasy.

Before going to sleep, Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett talked a long time about these things. 
They asked if by chance this incident did not have some connection with the unexplained
circumstances in which the engineer had been saved and other strange events which had already
astounded them several times. However, after having discussed the pros and cons of the question,
Cyrus Smith ended by saying:

"In short, do you want to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?"

"Yes, Cyrus."

"Well, it is this:  however minutely we will explore the island, we will find nothing!"

The next day Pencroff went to work.  He did not intend to make a canoe with ribs and planking
but very simply a floating device, flat at the bottom, which would be excellent for navigating the
Mercy especially when approaching its sources where the water was not deep.  Some pieces of
bark stitched together would suffice to form a light vessel and in the event it became necessary to
carry it, due to natural obstacles, it would be neither heavy nor cumbersome.  Pencroff counted on
forming the seams of the bark strips by using riveted studs and to assure, with their adherence, the
water tightness of the apparatus.

He therefore chose trees whose flexible and tenacious bark was suitable for this purpose.  Now
the last storm had thrown down a certain quantity of douglas which is perfectly suitable for this
type of construction.  Several of these fir trees were stretched out on the ground and they had
only to take off their bark but this was difficult in view of the imperfect tools possessed by the
colonists.  But they managed somehow.

While Pencroff, seconded by the engineer, was occupied with this without losing an hour, Gideon
Spilett and Herbert did not remain idle.  They became the purveyors of the colony. The reporter
could not help but admire the lad who had acquired a remarkable skill in the handling of the bow
and the spear. Herbert also showed daring and coolness which one can justly call the
"reasonableness of the brave."  Besides, the two hunting companions took account of Cyrus
Smith's recommendations by not going beyond a two mile radius around Granite House.  The first
slopes of the forest furnished a sufficient tribute of agoutis, capybaras, kangaroos, pecarries, etc.
and if the yield from the traps was less important since the end of the frost, none the less the
warren gave its accustomed share which would have been enough to feed the colony of Lincoln
Island.

Often, during these hunts, Herbert chatted with Gideon Spilett about the incident of the lead
bullet whose consequences were of such concern to the engineer and one day - it was the 26th of
October - he said to him:

"But, Mister Spilett, do you not find it extraordinary that if some castaways have landed on the
island that they still have not shown themselves in front of Granite House?"

"Very astonishing if they are still here," replied the reporter, "but not at all astonishing if they are
no longer here."

"Hence, you believe that these people have already left the island?" answered Herbert.

"That is more than likely, my son, because if their stay was prolonged and especially if they were
still here some incident would have finally betrayed their presence."

"But if they were able to leave," the lad noted, "then they were not castaways."

"No, Herbert, or at least they were what I would call temporary castaways.  In fact, it is very
possible that a windstorm had thrown them on the island without damaging their vessel and that
they returned to sea when the storm was over."

"One thing must be acknowledged," said Herbert, "which is that Mister Smith always seems to
fear rather than desire the presence of human beings on our island."

"In fact," replied the reporter, "there is nothing desirable about these Malayans who frequent
these seas and these gentlemen are wicked rogues who are best avoided."

"It is not impossible, Mister Spilett," replied Herbert, "that one of these days we will find some
traces of their landing and perhaps it will settle the matter."

"I do not say no, my son.  An abandoned camp, an extinct fire will put us on the track and it is
this which we will look for in our coming exploration."

On the day when the hunters were chatting in this manner, they found themselves in a part of the
forest near the Mercy, noted for its trees of great beauty.  Among others, rising to a height of
almost two hundred feet above the ground, were several of those superb conifers which the
natives of New Zealand call "kauris."

"An idea, Mister Spilett," said Herbert.  "If I climb to the top of one of these kauris, I will perhaps
be able to observe the country over a large area."

"The idea is good," replied the reporter, "but will you be able to climb to the top of these giants?"

"I can always try," replied Herbert.

The agile and skillful lad darted up to the first branches whose arrangement made it rather easy to
climb and in several minutes he arrived at the top which emerged above this immense plain of
verdure that formed the foliage of the forest.

From this high point the view extended over the entire southern portion of the island from Cape
Claw in the southeast to Reptile Promontory in the southwest.  In the northwest rose Mount
Franklin which hid a good quarter of the horizon.

But Herbert, from the height of his observatory, could clearly see all of this still unknown portion
of the island which could give or had given refuge to the strangers whose presence they
suspected.

The lad looked carefully.  First on the open sea there was nothing in sight.  Not a sail either on the
horizon nor on the approaches to the island.  However, since the trees hid the shore, it was
possible that a vessel, especially a vessel with damaged masts, was very near land and
consequently was invisible.

There was also nothing amid the forests of the Far West. The forest formed an impenetrable dome
measuring several square miles, without a clearing and without any light.  It was even impossible
to follow the course of the Mercy or to recognize the point of the mountain from which it took its
source. Perhaps other creeks flowed toward the west but that could not be determined.

But if Herbert saw no indication of an encampment, could he at least detect some smoke in the air
which would reveal the presence of man?  The atmosphere was clear and the least vapor would
show clearly against the background of the sky.

For a moment, Herbert thought that he saw a faint smoke rising in the west but a more careful
observation showed him that he was mistaken.  He looked very carefully and his view was
excellent... No, decidedly, there was nothing there.

Herbert climbed down to the foot of the kauri and the two hunters returned to Granite House. 
There Cyrus Smith listened to the lad's recital, shook his head and said nothing.  It was rather
evident that they could answer this question only after a complete exploration of the island.

Two days later - October 28th - another incident occurred whose explanation also left something
to be desired.

While roaming about the beach two miles from Granite House, Herbert and Neb were rather
happy to capture a magnificent specimen of the order of chelonia.  It was a tortoise of the genus
mydase, whose shell had a green luster.

Herbert saw this tortoise sliding among the rocks, trying to get to the sea.

"Help Neb, over here!" he cried.

Neb rushed up.

"What a beautiful animal!" said Neb, "but how will we get hold of it?"

"Nothing is easier, Neb," replied Herbert.  "We will turn this tortoise over on its back and it will
not be able to escape.  Take your spear and imitate me."

The reptile, sensing the danger, withdrew into its shell and into its breast-plate.  One could no
longer see its head nor its paws and it was as still as a rock.

Herbert and Neb placed their sticks under the breast-bone of the animal and working together,
they succeeded not without difficulty in turning it on its back.  This tortoise, which measured
three feet in length, would weigh at least four hundred pounds.

"Good!" cried Neb, "this will make friend Pencroff happy."

In fact friend Pencroff could not but be happy because the flesh of these tortoises, which feed on
seaweed, is extremely tasty.  At the moment this tortoise was only allowing a glimpse of its small
flat head which was widened subsequently by the large temporal fossa of the skull hidden under a
bony arch.

"And now what will we do with our game?" said Neb.  "We cannot drag it to Granite House."

"Let's leave it here, since it cannot turn over," replied Herbert, "and we will return to take it with
the cart."

"I understand."

Nevertheless, as an added precaution, Herbert took the care, which Neb considered superfluous,
to wedge in the animal with large stones.  After that the two hunters returned to Granite House
following the beach that the then low tide had uncovered.  Herbert, wanting to surprise Pencroff,
did not tell him anything about the "superb specimen of the chelonia order," which they had
turned over on the sand; but two hours later, Neb and he came back with the cart to the spot
where they had left it. The "superb specimen of the chelonia order" was no longer there.

Neb and Herbert first looked at each other, then they looked around.  Nevertheless it was the
place where they had left the tortoise.  The lad even found the stones which he had used and
consequently he was sure that he was not mistaken.

"So," said Neb, "these animals can turn themselves over."

"So it seems," replied Herbert, who could not understand it and looked at the stones scattered on
the sand.

"Well, Pencroff will not be happy."

"And it will perhaps be difficult for Mister Smith to explain this disappearance," Herbert reflected.

"Good," said Neb, who wanted to hide his misadventure, "we won't speak about it."

"On the contrary, Neb, we must speak about it," replied Herbert.

And both, taking back the cart which they had hauled uselessly, returned to Granite House.

Going to the lumber room where the engineer and the sailor were working together, Herbert told
what had happened.

"What dopes," cried the sailor.  "To let at least fifty soups escape."

"But Pencroff," replied Neb.  "It is not our fault if the animal escaped since I told you that we
turned it over."

"Then you didn't turn it over enough," the intractable sailor retorted ludicrously.

"Not enough!" cried Herbert.

And he told how he had taken care to wedge the tortoise with the stones.

"Then it was a miracle!" replied Pencroff.

"I believe, Mister Cyrus," said Herbert, "that tortoises, once placed on their back, cannot turn
over, especially when they are large."

"That is true, my child," replied Cyrus Smith.

"Then how was it able...?"

"At what distance from the water did you leave the tortoise?" asked the engineer, who stopped
working and reflected on this incident.

"About fifteen feet at most," replied Herbert.

"And it was low tide at the time?"

"Yes, Mister Cyrus."

"Well," replied the engineer, "what the tortoise could not do on the sand, it was able to do in the
water.  It turned itself over when the tide returned to it and tranquilly returned to the high seas."

"Ah! What dopes we are!" cried Neb.

"That is precisely what I had the honor of telling you!" replied Pencroff.

Cyrus Smith had given this explanation which was doubtless admissible.  But was he convinced of
the correctness of the explanation?  One would not dare to say so.


CHAPTER II

First trial of the canoe - A wreck on shore - Towing - Flotsam Point - Inventory of the case: 
tools, arms, instruments, clothes, books, utensils - What Pencroff wanted - The gospel - A verse
from the sacred book.

On October 29th the bark canoe was completely finished. Pencroff had kept his promise and in
five days a sort of canoe, whose hull was ribbed with the flexible wood of the crejimba, had been
constructed.  A seat in the rear, a second seat in the middle to maintain the separation, a third seat
in front, a flat board to support the tholes of two oars, a stern oar to steer, made up this twelve
foot long boat which did not weigh two hundred pounds.  As to the launching operation, it was
extremely simple.  The light canoe was carried to the sand on the shore in front of Granite House
and the rising tide lifted it up.  Pencroff immediately jumped in, worked in the scull and declared
that it was very suitable for whatever use they wanted to make of it.

"Hurrah!" cried the sailor, who did not disdain to celebrate his own triumph in this way.  "With
this we can make a tour..."

"Of the world?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"No, of the island.  Some rocks for ballast, a mast up front and a bit of a sail which Mister Smith
will make for us one day and we will go far.  Well, Mister Cyrus and you Mister Spilett and you
Herbert and you Neb, aren't you going to try out our new boat?  The devil!  Let's see if it can
carry all five of us."

In fact, this was a test to make.  Pencroff, with a stroke of the scull, brought the boat to the shore
through a narrow

out the canoe on this very day by following the shoreline up to the first point where the rocks in
the south came to an end.

At the moment of embarking, Neb cried:

"But your boat leaks badly, Pencroff!"

"That's nothing, Neb," replied the sailor.  "It is necessary for the wood to become watertight.  In
two days it will no longer be apparent and our canoe will have no more water inside it than there
is in the stomach of drunkard. Embark!"

They then got in and Pencroff drove out.  The weather was magnificent, the sea as calm as if its
waters were contained within the narrow banks of a lake and the canoe could confront the sea
with as much security as if it were ascending the tranquil current of the Mercy.

Neb took one of the oars, Herbert the other and Pencroff stayed in the rear of the boat in order to
work the scull.

The sailor first crossed the channel, grazing the southern point of the islet.  A light wind blew
from the south.  There was no swell neither in the channel nor on the sea.  Several long waves
that the canoe hardly felt because it was heavily loaded, regularly swelled the surface of the sea. 
They went out about a half mile from shore in order to see all of Mount Franklin.

Pencroff went along the shore to the mouth of the river. The canoe then followed the rounded
shoreline up to its end point, which hid all of the marshy Tadorns plain.

This point, whose distance was increased by the curvature of the coast, was about three miles
from the Mercy.  The colonists decided to go to its end and to pass it only a little in order to take
a quick look at the coast up to Cape Claw.

The canoe therefore followed the coast at a distance of two cables at most, thus avoiding the
rocks strewn on the shoreline, which were beginning to be covered by the rising tide.  The wall
became lower from the river's mouth up to the point.  It was a pile of granite blocks, randomly
distributed, of an extremely savage aspect and very different from the facade that formed Grand
View Plateau.  One would have said that an enormous cartload of rocks had been emptied there.
There was no vegetation on this very sharp salient which extended for two miles in front of the
forest and this point looked very much like the arms of a giant who was about to emerge from a
channel of foliage.

The canoe, moved by the two oars, advanced without difficulty.  Gideon Spilett, pencil in one
hand, notebook in the other, sketched the coast in large strokes.  Neb, Pencroff and Herbert
chatted while examining this new part of their domain and as the canoe moved southward, the
two Mandible Capes appeared to shift and enclose Union Bay.

As to Cyrus Smith, he looked but said nothing and from the mistrust expressed by his look, it
seemed as if he were observing some strange country.

However, after a navigation of three quarters of an hour, the canoe arrived at the extremity of the
point, and Pencroff

prepared to double it when Herbert, getting up, pointed to a black spot and said:

"What do I see there on the beach?"

Everyone looked toward the indicated point.

"In fact," said the reporter, "something is there.  One would say a piece of wreckage half buried in
the sand."

"Ah!" cried Pencroff, "I see what it is."

"What?" asked Neb.

"Barrels, barrels, which may be full," replied the sailor.

"To shore, Pencroff," said Cyrus Smith.

In a few strokes of the oar, the canoe landed in a small cove and the passengers leaped to shore.

Pencroff was not mistaken.  Two barrels were there, half buried in the sand but still securely
attached to a large case which, held up by the water, had floated in this way until the moment
when it had become stranded on the beach.

"Has there been a wreck hereabout on the island?" asked Herbert.

"Evidently," replied Gideon Spilett.

"But what is in this case?" cried Pencroff, naturally impatient.  "What is in this case?  It is locked
and there's nothing to break the lid.  Well, a few blows with a rock then."

And the sailor, picking up a heavy block, went to break open one of the sides of the case when the
engineer stopped him.

"Pencroff," he said to him, "can you restrain your impatience for only an hour?"

"But just think, Mister Cyrus.  Perhaps everything we need is inside."

"We will know, Pencroff," replied the engineer, "but believe me, do not break this case which may
be useful to us. Let us transport it to Granite House where we will open it more easily and
without breaking it.  It is fully prepared for the voyage and since it has floated this far it will also
float to the river's mouth."

"You are right, Mister Cyrus, and I am wrong," replied the sailor, "but I am not always in control
of myself."

The engineer's advice was sensible.  In fact, the canoe would not be able to hold the objects which
were probably enclosed in the case.  They had to be heavy since it was necessary to relieve the
load by means of two empty barrels. Thus, it would be better to tow it as is to the beach in front
of Granite House.

And now from whence came this wreckage?  This was an important question.  Cyrus Smith and
his companions carefully looked around and scoured the shore for a space of several hundred feet. 
No other debris appeared.

The sea was also observed.  Herbert and Neb climbed to a high rock but the horizon was
deserted.  Nothing was in sight, neither a disabled ship nor a vessel under sail.

However, there was no doubt that there had been a wreck. Perhaps even, this incident was
associated with the incident of the lead bullet?  Perhaps some strangers had landed on another
point of the island?  Perhaps they were still there?  But the colonists could see that these strangers
could not be Malayan pirates because the wreck was evidently of American or European origin.

Everyone returned to the case which measured five feet in length by three in width.  It was made
of oak wood, very carefully closed and covered by a thick skin held in place with copper nails. 
The two large barrels, hermetically sealed but sounding empty, were tied by means of strong
cords and knotted by knots which Pencroff easily recognized as "sailor's knots". It appeared to be
in a perfect state of preservation, which was explained by the fact that it had run aground on a
sandy beach and not on the reefs.  On examining it carefully, they could even say that its sojourn
on the sea had not been long and also that its arrival on the shore was recent.  The water did not
seem to have penetrated inside and the objects which it contained would be intact.

It was evident that this case had been thrown overboard from a disabled vessel heading toward
the island and that, in the hope that it would reach the island where they would later recover it,
the passengers had taken the precaution of lightening it by means of a floating apparatus.

"We will tow this wreckage to Granite House" said the engineer, "and we will make an inventory
of it; then if we find some survivors of this presumed wreck on the island, we will return the
contents to them.  If we find no one..."

"We will keep it for ourselves," cried Pencroff.  "But, by God, what is inside?"

Already the tide began to reach the wreck, which evidently could float in the open sea.  One of the
cords attached to the barrels was partly unraveled and used to tie the floating apparatus to the
canoe.  Then Pencroff and Neb excavated into the sand with their oars in order to facilitate the
movement of the case.  Soon the boat, towing the case, began to double the point which was
given the name Flotsam Point.  The towing was sluggish and the barrels were barely sufficient to
hold the case above the water.  The sailor feared that at any moment it would detach and sink to
the bottom.  But happily his fears were not realized and an hour and a half after leaving - it took
all this time to travel this distance of three miles - the canoe came alongside the beach in front of
Granite House.

Canoe and case were then hauled onto the sand and since the tide was already going down it was
not long in leaving it high and dry.  Neb brought tools to force the case in a way that would
damage it as little as possible and they proceeded to its inventory.  Pencroff could not hide his
excitement.

The sailor began by detaching the two barrels which, being in very good condition, would find
uses, that goes without saying.  Then the locks were forced with a crowbar and the lid was taken
off at once.

A double envelope of zinc lined the interior of the case which had evidently been designed so that
the enclosed objects would be protected from the dampness under all circumstances.

"Ah!" cried Neb, "what if there are preserves inside?"

"I hope not," replied the reporter.

"If only there was...," said the sailor in a low voice.

"What?" asked Neb, who overhead him.

"Nothing!"

The zinc cover was broken along its entire length, then turned down on the sides of the case and
little by little various objects of different kinds were extracted and placed on the sand.  With each
new object, Pencroff gave out new hurrahs, Herbert clapped and Neb danced.  There were books
which made Herbert mad with joy and kitchen utensils which Neb covered with kisses.

As to the remainder, the colonists were extremely satisfied because the case contained tools, arms,
instruments, clothes, books, and here is the exact nomenclature as written in Gideon Spilett's
notebook.

Tools:  three knives with several blades, two woodsman's axes, two carpenter's axes, three planes,
two adzes, one twibil, six cold chisels, two files, three hammers, three gimlets, two augers, ten
sacks of nails and screws, three saws of various sizes, and two boxes of needles.

Arms:  two flintlock guns, two percussion cap guns, two carbines with central ignition, five
cutlasses, four sabers, two barrels of powder each containing 25 pounds, and twelve boxes of
fulminate primers.

Instruments:  one sextant, one pair of binoculars, one telescope, one box compass, one pocket
compass, one Fahrenheit thermometer, one aneroid barometer, one box containing a complete
photographic apparatus, objective, plates, chemicals, etc.

Clothing:  two dozen shirts of a particular fiber resembling wool, but evidently of a vegetable
origin and three dozen hose of the same fiber.

Utensils:  one iron pot, six galvanized copper saucepans, three iron plates, ten aluminum table
settings, two kettles, one small portable stove and six table knives.

Books:  one bible containing the old and new testaments, one atlas, one dictionary of various
Polynesian dialects, one dictionary on natural science in six volumes, three reams of blank paper
and two record books of blank paper.

"It must be admitted," said the reporter, after the inventory was completed, "that the owner of this
case was a practical man.  Tools, arms, instruments, clothing, utensils, books, nothing is missing. 
One would say that he expected to be wrecked and that he prepared in advance."

"In fact, nothing is missing," murmured Cyrus Smith thoughtfully.

"And it's a sure bet," added Herbert, "that the ship which brought this case and the owner were
not Malayan pirates."

"Unless," said Pencroff, "the owner had been made a prisoner by the pirates..."

"That is not admissible," replied the reporter.  "It is more likely that an American or European
ship had been drawn into these waters and that the passengers, wanting to save some essential
things at least, prepared this case and threw it into the sea."

"Is that your opinion, Mister Cyrus?" asked Herbert.

"Yes, my child," replied the engineer, "it may have happened in this way.  It is possible that for a
time they expected to be wrecked so they placed the most useful objects in this case in order to
retrieve it at some point on the coast..."

"Even the photography box!" noted the sailor rather incredulously.

"As to that apparatus," replied Cyrus Smith, "I do not quite see its utility and a more complete
assortment of clothing or more ammunition would be of better value to us as to other castaways."

"But isn't there some mark or address on these instruments, tools or books which will let us know
who made them?" asked Gideon Spilett.

This was to be seen.  Each item was carefully examined, especially the books, the instruments and
the arms.  Neither the arms nor the instruments, contrary to custom, carried the manufacturer's
mark; they were besides, in perfect condition and they seemed to have never been used. 
Especially the tools and utensils; everything was new, which proved, in short, that these items had
not been taken at random and thrown into the case but, on the contrary, that the choice of these
items had been made thoughtfully and their arrangement was made carefully.  This was further
indicted by this second envelope of metal which had protected it from the dampness and which
could not have been soldered in a moment of haste.

As to the dictionaries of natural science and Polynesian dialects, both were in English but they did
not carry the editor's name nor the date of publication.

Even the bible, printed in English in quarto was remarkable from a typographical point of view
and appeared to have been thumbed through often.

As to the atlas, it was a magnificent work in French nomenclature, containing maps of the entire
world and several planispheres based on Mercator projection - but it did not carry the date of
publication nor the name of the editor.

Among all these various items there was no indication as to the country of origin and nothing
consequently to let them guess as to the nationality of the vessel which had so recently passed
through these waters.  But regardless of where it came from, it gave riches to the colonists of
Lincoln Island.  Until then, by transforming the products of nature, they had made everything by
themselves, and thanks to their intelligence they had attended to their affairs.  But did it not seem
that Providence wished to reward them by bringing them these various products of human
industry.  Their thanks went unanimously to heaven.

However, one of them was not absolutely satisfied.  It was Pencroff.  It seemed that the case did
not enclose the one thing he wanted enormously and as each of the items were taken out his
hurrahs diminished in intensity and, with the inventory completed, one heard him murmur these
words.

"This is all good and well, but you can see that there is nothing for me in this box!"

This brought Neb to say to him:

"So, friend Pencroff, what did you expect?"

"A half pound of tobacco," Pencroff replied seriously, "and nothing would be lacking for my
happiness."

They could not help laughing at the sailor's comment.

But as a result of the discovery of this case it was now more than ever necessary to make a
serious exploration of the island.  It was therefore agreed that the next day, at daybreak, they
would get underway, ascend the Mercy in order to reach the western shore.  If some castaways
had landed on this part of the coast, it was to be feared that they were without resources and that
help should be brought to them without delay.

During this day, the various items were carried to Granite House and methodically arranged in the
large hall.  This day - October 29th - was a Sunday and before going to bed Herbert asked the
engineer if he would read to them some passage from the gospel.

"Gladly," replied Cyrus Smith.

He took the sacred book and was going to open it when Pencroff stopped him and said to him:

"Mister Cyrus, I am superstitious.  Open at random and read to us the first verse that catches your
eye.  We will see if it applies to our situation."

Cyrus Smith smiled at the sailor's idea and obliging he opened the gospel exactly where a ribbon
separated the pages.

Suddenly his attention was fixed on a red cross which was made with a pencil and placed in front
of Chapter VII, Verse 8 of the Gospel of Saint Matthew.

And he read this verse as follows:

"For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth."


CHAPTER III

Departure - The rising tide - Elms and nettle trees - Various plants - The jacamar - Aspect of the
forest - Giant eucalypti - Why they are called "fever trees" - Troops of monkeys - The waterfall -
Night encampment.

The next day, October 30th, all was ready for the proposed exploration which these latest events
had rendered so urgent. In fact, things had changed to such an extent that the colonists of Lincoln
Island no longer needed help for themselves but were well able to bring it to others.

It was therefore agreed that they would ascend the Mercy, as far as the river's current would
make it practical.  A large part of the trip would thereby be completed without fatigue, and the
explorers could transport their provisions and their arms to an advanced point on the west of the
island.

It was necessary, in fact, to think not only of the things which they should carry with them but
also of those which chance would perhaps permit them to bring back to Granite House.  If there
had been a wreck on the coast, as was generally supposed, there would be no lack of wreckage,
which would be their lawful prize.  In that event the cart would, without doubt, be more useful
than the fragile canoe.  However, the cart was heavy and large.  It was necessary to drag it so that
it was not easy to use.  This led Pencroff to express the regret that the chest had not contained,
besides his "half- pound of tobacco", a pair of energetic New Jersey horses, which would have
been very useful to the colony!

The provisions, which were already loaded by Neb, consisted of preserved meat and several
gallons of beer and fermented liquor, that is to say enough to sustain them for three days - the
longest lapse of time which Cyrus Smith assigned to the exploration.  Moreover, they could count
on reprovisioning en route, if need be, and Neb took care not to forget the small portable stove.

Of the tools, the colonists took the two woodsmen's axes, which could be used to cut a path
through the thick forest and, of the instruments, the telescope and the pocket compass.

For weapons, they chose the two flint-lock guns, which would be more useful on the island than
the percussion fowling pieces, the first using only flint which would be easy to replace and the
latter needing fulminating caps, the frequent use of which would soon exhaust their limited
supply.  However, they also took one of the carbines and several cartridges.  As to the powder of
which there was about fifty pounds, it was necessary to take some of it, but the engineer counted
on manufacturing an explosive substance which would permit them to husband it.  In addition to
the firearms, they added five cutlasses, well sheathed in leather, and in this condition the colonists
could venture forth into this vast forest with some chance of attending to their affairs.

Needless to say, Pencroff, Herbert and Neb, thus armed, were at the highest pitch of happiness
even though Cyrus Smith had made them promise not to fire a shot needlessly.

At six o'clock in the morning the canoe was pushed into the water.  All embarked, including Top,
and they steered towards the mouth of the Mercy.

The tide had begun to rise only in the last half-hour. There would therefore be several more hours
of current which it would be expedient to profit from, because later the ebb would make it more
difficult to ascend the river.  The tide was already strong for there would be a full moon in three
days.

It was sufficient to keep the canoe in the mainstream where it moved swiftly between the two high
banks, without the need to increase its speed with the aid of the oars.

In a few minutes the explorers arrived at the bend in the Mercy, at the same angle where Pencroff
had made his first raft of wood seven months earlier.

After this rather sharp angle the river, becoming more rounded, slanted toward the southwest and
its course developed under a shade of conifers with a permanent verdure.

The aspect of the banks of the Mercy was magnificent. Cyrus Smith and his companions could not
but admire, without reservations, the beautiful effects so easily produced by nature with the water
and the trees.  As they advanced, the forest species changed.  On the right bank of the river there
rose magnificent specimens of ulmaceous plants, those precious French elms so sought after by
builders, which have the property of bearing up well in water for a long time.  Then there were
numerous groups belonging to the same family, nettle trees among others, whose almond
produces a very useful oil. Further on Herbert noted some lardizabalaceae whose flexible boughs,
soaked in water, make an excellent cord, and two or three ebony trunks of a beautiful black color,
divided into capricious veins.

From time to time, in certain places where it was easy to land, the canoe stopped.  Then Gideon
Spilett, Herbert and Pencroff, with gun in hand and preceded by Top, jumped to shore.  Without
expecting any game, they hoped to find some useful plant that they would not disdain and the
young naturalist had his heart's desire because he discovered a sort of wild spinach of the
chenopodiaceae family and numerous specimens of crucifers of the cabbage family which it would
certainly be possible to "civilize" by transplanting.  There were cress, horse radish, turnips and
finally small slightly rough branchy stems, a meter high, which produced an almost brown grain.

"Do you know what this plant is?" Herbert asked the sailor.

"Tobacco," cried Pencroff, who evidently had never seen his favorite plant except in the bowl of
his pipe.

"No, Pencroff!" replied Herbert, "it is not tobacco, it is mustard."

"What's the good of mustard!" replied the sailor, "but if by chance a tobacco plant should present
itself, my boy, don't disregard it."

"We will find it one day!" said Gideon Spilett.

"True," cried Pencroff, "and on that day I will know that there is nothing lacking on our island."

These various plants, which were carefully uprooted, were carried to the canoe which Cyrus
Smith, always absorbed in his thoughts, had not left.

The reporter, Herbert and Pencroff went ashore several times, sometimes on the right bank of the
Mercy, sometimes on

the left bank.  The former was less abrupt but the latter was more wooded.  By consulting his
pocket compass the engineer knew that the direction of the river from the first bend was
essentially southwest and northeast and nearly straight for a length of about three miles.  But he
supposed that this direction would change further on and that the Mercy ascended to the
northwest toward the buttresses of Mount Franklin which fed these waters.

During one of these excursions, Gideon Spilett succeeded in getting hold of two couples of living
gallinaceae.  They were birds with long slender beaks, long necks, short wings and without an
apparent tail.  Herbert correctly gave them the name of "tinamous" and it was resolved that they
would be the first occupants of the future poultry yard.

But until then the guns had not spoken and the first detonation that resounded in this forest of the
Far West was provoked by the appearance of a beautiful bird which anatomically resembled a
kingfisher.

"I recognize it," cried Pencroff, whose gun went off in spite of himself.

"What do you recognize?" asked the reporter.

"That bird that escaped us on our first excursion and whose name we have given to this part of
the forest."

"A jacamar!" cried Herbert.

In fact it was a jacamar, a beautiful bird whose rather stiff plumage has a metallic luster.  A few
lead pellets brought it to the ground and Top carried it to the canoe, as well as about a dozen
"touraco lories", a sort of parrot the size of a pigeon, all daubed in green with part of its wing of a
crimson color and a narrow festooned crest with a white border.  The honor of this shot belonged
to the lad and he showed pride in it.  Lorries make better game than jacamars, whose flesh is a
little tough, but it was difficult to persuade Pencroff that he not killed the king of edible birds.

It was ten o'clock in the morning when the canoe reached a second bend in the Mercy, about five
miles from its mouth. They halted here to eat and this halt, sheltered by large beautiful trees, was
prolonged for half an hour.

The river still measured sixty to seventy feet in width and five to ten feet in depth.  The engineer
observed that numerous tributaries enlarged its flow but they were only simple unnavigable
streams.  As to the forest, which could be a part of the forests of the Far West as well as Jacamar
Woods, their extent was lost to view.  In no part, neither under the tall tree clusters nor on the
banks of the Mercy, was the presence of man revealed.  The explorers could not find any
suspicious traces and it was evident that the woodsman's axe had never slashed these trees, that
never had the pioneer's knife cut these creepers stretching from one trunk to the other amidst the
thick brushwood and tall grass.  If several castaways had landed on the island they still had not
left the shore and it was not under this thick cover that they should look for survivors of the
presumed shipwreck.

The engineer therefore manifested a certain haste in reaching the western coast of Lincoln Island,
at least five miles away according to his estimate.  The navigation was resumed and although from
its actual direction the Mercy seemed to flow not toward the shore but rather toward Mount
Franklin, it was decided that they would make use of the canoe as long as they would find
sufficient water under its keel to keep it afloat.  This would save fatigue as well as gain time
because it would have been necessary to blaze a trail with an axe across the thick woods.

But soon the current failed completely either because it was low tide - which was the case at this
hour - or because it was no longer felt at this distance from the mouth of the Mercy.  It was then
necessary to use the oars, Neb and Herbert being seated on their bench, Pencroff at the scull, and
the ascent of the river was continued.

It then seemed that the forest tended to be thinner toward the shore of the Far West.  The trees
here were less crowded and were often isolated.  But, because they had more space, they profited
from the pure and free air which circulated around them and they were magnificent.

What splendid specimens of the flora of this latitude! Their presence would certainly suffice for a
botonist to name without hesitation the parallel that crossed Lincoln Island.

"Eucalyptus," cried Herbert.

They were, in fact, those superb trees, the last giants of the extra-tropical zone, the congeners of
the eucalyptus of Australia and of New Zealand, both situated on the same latitude as Lincoln
Island.  Several rose to a height of two hundred feet.  Their trunk measured twenty feet around
the base and their bark, furrowed with a network of perfumed resin, measured up to five inches in
thickness.  Nothing was more marvellous nor more singular than these enormous specimens of the
myrtaceae family, whose foliage presented their profile to the light, allowing the sun's rays to
strike the ground.

At the foot of these eucalyptus, a fresh grass covered the ground and from the tufts, small birds
flew away shining in luminous rays like flying precious stones.

"Those are trees!" cried Neb, "but are they good for anything?"

"Pooh!" replied Pencroff.  "Vegetable giants are like human giants, only good for showing at
fairs."

"I believe you are in error, Pencroff," replied Gideon Spilett, "and that the wood from eucalyptus
is used very advantageously in cabinet making."

"And I will add," said the lad, "that these eucalyptus belong to a family that comprise many useful
members: the guava-tree which gives guavas; the clove tree which produces cloves; the
pomegranate tree which yields pomegranates; the "eugenia cauliflora" whose fruit makes a
passable wine; the "ungi" myrtle which contains an excellent alcoholic liqueur; the caryophyllus
myrtle whose bark makes an esteemed cinnamon;

the "eugenia pimenta" from which comes Jamaica pimento; the common myrtle whose berries can
replace pepper; the "eucalyptus robusta" which produces a sort of excellent manna; the
"eucalyptus gunei" whose sap transforms into beer by fermentation; and finally all those trees
known under the name of "trees of life" or "ironbarks" which belong to this myrtaceae family that
comprises forty six genuses and thirteen hundred species.

They let the lad go on, who delivered this mini-lesson in botany with much heartiness.  Cyrus
Smith smiled and listened to him and Pencroff showed a pride impossible to express.

"Good, Herbert," replied Pencroff, "but I will venture to say that all these useful specimens that
you mentioned are not giants like these!"

"Indeed, Pencroff."

"That supports what I said," replied the sailor, "namely that these giants are good for nothing!"

"You are mistaken, Pencroff," the engineer then said, "and these very giant eucalyptus which
shelter us are good for something."

"And what is that?"

"To cleanse the lands that they inhabit.  Do you know what they are called in Australia and New
Zealand?"

"No, Mister Cyrus."

"They are called 'fever trees'."

"Because they bring it on?"

"No, because they prevent it!"

"Good. I will note this," said the reporter.

"Note then, my dear Spilett, that it appears that the presence of eucalyptus suffices to neutralize
marshy miasmas. This natural preventive has been tried in certain countries of southern Europe
and North Africa whose soil is absolutely unhealthy and the health of their inhabitants has been
improved little by little.  It is likewise for intermittent fevers in those regions covered by forests of
these myrtaceae.  This fact is now beyond doubt and it is a happy circumstance for us colonists of
Lincoln Island."

"Ah!  What an island!  What a blessed island!" cried Pencroff.  "I tell you that it lacks nothing...
except for..."

"That will come, Pencroff, it will be found," replied the engineer, "but let us get back to our
navigation and push as far as the river can carry our canoe!"

The exploration was thus continued for at least two miles amidst a country covered with
eucalyptus which dominated all of the woods in this portion of the island.  The space that it
covered extended beyond the limits of sight on each side of the Mercy, whose rather winding bed
was cut there between high verdant banks.  This bed was often obstructed by tall grass and even
sharp rocks, which made the navigation rather laborious. The action of the oars was cramped and
Pencroff had to push with a pole.  They also felt the bottom coming up little by little and that the
moment was not far off when, for lack of

water, they would be obliged to stop.  Already the sun was low on the horizon and the long
shadows of the trees fell on the ground.  Cyrus Smith, seeing that they could not reach the west
shore of the island on this day, resolved to camp at the very place where they would be forced to
stop for lack of water.  He estimated that there still were five or six miles to the coast and this
distance was too much to try to cross during the night, in the midst of these unknown woods.

The boat was therefore pushed, without slackening, through the forest which was becoming
thicker and which also seemed inhabited.  If the sailor's eyes did not deceive him, he thought he
saw bands of monkeys running under the brushwood. Several times two or three of these animals
even stopped at some distance from the canoe and looked at the colonists without manifesting any
terror as if, seeing men for the first time, they had not yet learned to fear them.  It would have
been easy to kill these quadrumanes with gunshots but Cyrus Smith was opposed to this useless
massacre which Pencroff found a little tempting.  Besides it was prudent because these vigorous
monkeys, endowed with an extreme agility, could be formidable and it would be better not to
provoke them with an inopportune aggression.

It is true that the sailor considered the monkey from the purely alimentary point of view and, in
fact, these animals are solely herbivores, making an excellent game; but since provisions
abounded, it was inappropriate to use munitions wastefully.

About four o'clock the navigation of the Mercy became difficult because its course was obstructed
by aquatic plants and rocks. The banks rose little by little and already the bed of the river was
hollowed out between the first buttresses of Mount Franklin.  Its source could not be far away
since it was fed by all the waters from the southern slopes of the mountain.

"In a quarter of an hour," said the sailor, "we will be forced to stop, Mister Cyrus."

"Well, then we will stop, Pencroff, and we will organize a camp for the night."

"At what distance can we be from Granite House?" asked Herbert.

"Very nearly seven miles," replied the engineer, "taking into account however the detours of the
river which have carried us to the northwest."

"Shall we continue to go forward?" asked the reporter.

"Yes, for as long as we can," replied Cyrus Smith. "Tomorrow, at the break of day, we will
abandon the canoe.  In two hours, I hope, we will traverse the distance which separates us from
the coast and we will have almost the entire day to explore the shore."

"Forward," replied Pencroff.

But soon the canoe scraped the stony bottom of the river whose width at that point did not
exceed twenty feet.  A thick verdure grew over the river's bed and enveloped it in semi- obscurity. 
They also heard the rather distinct noise of a waterfall which indicated the presence of a natural
barrier several hundred feet upstream.

And in fact, at a last detour of the river, a cascade appeared through the trees.  The canoe hit
against the bottom and a few moments later it was moored to a trunk near the right bank.

It was about five o'clock.  The last rays of the sun passed under the thick branches and obliquely
struck the small falls, whose wet spray glistened with the colors of the prism.  Further on the
Mercy disappeared under the brushwood where it was fed by some hidden source.  The various
brooks which ran into it lower down made it a true river but here it was only a clear stream
without any depth.

They camped in this very place, which was charming. The colonists landed and a fire was lit under
a group of large nettle trees among whose branches Cyrus Smith and his companions could find
refuge for the night, if need be.

Supper was soon devoured because they were famished and there was no other question but that
of going to sleep. Inasmuch as several roars of a suspicious nature were heard before the end of
the day, the fire was fed for the night so as to protect the slumberers with its crackling flames. 
Neb and Pencroff even took turns in watching it and did not spare the fuel.  Perhaps they were not
wrong since they thought they saw the shadows of animals wandering around the encampment,
either under the brushwood or among the branches; but the night passed without accident and the
next day, the 31st of October, at five o'clock in the morning, all were on foot ready to leave.


CHAPTER IV

Going toward the coast - Several bands of quadrumanes - A new watercourse - Why the tide was
not felt - A forest on the shore - Reptile Promontory - Gideon Spilett makes Herbert envious -
The noise of the bamboos.

It was six o'clock in the morning when the colonists, after an early meal, took to the road with the
intention of reaching the western coast of the island by the shortest way. How much time would
be needed to get there?  Cyrus Smith had said two hours but that evidently depended on the
nature of the obstacles that would present themselves.  This part of the Far West seemed crowded
like an immense cospe composed of extremely varied species.  It was therefore likely that they
would have to blaze a trail through the grass, the brushwood, and the creepers and march with
axe in hand - and gun also doubtless, judging from the cries of the animals heard in the night.

The exact position of the encampment was determined by the location of Mount Franklin and
since the volcano rose in the north at a distance of less than three miles, they must take a straight
route to the southwest to reach the western shore.

They left after having carefully moored the canoe. Pencroff and Neb carried the provisions which
would suffice to feed the small troop for a least two days.  There was no thought of hunting and
the engineer even recommended to his companions that they avoid any impulsive gunshots in
order not to signal their presence to anyone on shore.

The first blows of the axe were made against the brushwood, among the mastic tree bushes a little
above the cascade.  With compass in hand, Cyrus Smith indicated the direction to follow.

The forest was composed, for the most part, of trees already recognized in the neighborhood of
the lake and Grand View Plateau.  They were deodars, douglas, casuarinas, gum trees,
eucalyptus, dragon trees, hibiscus, cedars and other species, generally of a mediocre height
because their number hindered their development.  The colonists could only advance slowly on
this path that they had blazed in a region which, in the engineer's opinion, had to be linked further
on to Red Creek.

After their departure, the colonists descended the lower slopes that made up the mountain system
of the island, on a very dry terrain but whose luxurious vegetation left the feeling of the presence
of an underground network of some nearby stream.  However, Cyrus Smith did not remember
having recognized, at the time of his excursion to the crater, any other watercourses than those of
Red Creek and the Mercy.

During the first hours of the excursion they again saw monkeys who seemed to show
astonishment at the sight of men whose aspect was new to them.  Gideon Spilett asked
humorously if the agile and robust quadrumanes did not consider his companions and him as
degenerate brothers!  And frankly, these simple pedestrians, obstructed at each step by
underbrush, entangled by creepers, barred by tree trunks, did not distinguish themselves compared
to these supple animals who bounded from branch to branch and were stopped by nothing in their
path.  There were numerous monkeys but very fortunately they did not manifest any hostile
disposition.

They also saw several wild boar, agoutis, kangaroos and other rodents and two or three koalas
whom Pencroff would have willingly greeted with gunshots.

"But," he said, "hunting is not allowed.  Skip about then, my friends, jump and fly in peace!  We
will have a few words to say to you on our return!"

At nine thirty in the morning the road, which headed directly to the southwest, suddenly found
itself barred by an unknown watercourse thirty to forty feet wide, whose vivid current, propelled
by its slope and broken by numerous rocks, fell with a grating noise.  The creek was deep and
clear but it was absolutely unnavigable.

"We are cut off!" cried Neb

"No," replied Herbert, "it is only a stream and we will be able to swim across."

"What for?" replied Cyrus Smith.  "It is evident that this creek runs to the sea.  Let us remain on
its left, following the bank and I will not be surprised if we promptly reach the coast.  Let's go."

"One moment," said the reporter.  "The name of this creek, my friends?  Let us not leave our
geography incomplete.

"Right," said Pencroff.

"Name it, my child," said the engineer, addressing the lad.

"Would it not be better to wait until we reach the mouth?" noted Herbert.

"So be it," replied Cyrus Smith.  "Let us follow it then without stopping."

"Wait another moment," said Pencroff.

"What is it?" asked the reporter.

"If hunting is prohibited, fishing is permitted, I suppose," said the sailor.

"We have no time to lose," replied the engineer.

"Oh!, five minutes!" replied Pencroff.  "I only ask five minutes in the interest of our lunch."

And Pencroff, lying down on the bank, plunged his arms into the vivid water and soon made
several dozen beautiful crayfish skip about as they swarmed among the rocks.

"This will be good!" cried Neb, coming to help the sailor.

"I tell you that, except for tobacco, there is everything on the island!" murmured Pencroff with a
sigh.

It did not take five minutes for this wonderful fishing because the crayfish swarmed about the
creek.  These shellfish, whose shell has a cobalt blue color, have a snout armed with a small tooth. 
They filled up a sack and went on their way.

Since following the bank of the new watercourse, the colonists marched more easily and rapidly. 
Moreover, the banks were free of any human traces.  From time to time they picked up some
traces left by large animals who came regularly to quench their thirst at this stream, but
notwithstanding, it still was not in this part of the Far West that the peccary had received the lead
bullet which had cost Pencroff a molar.

However, on considering how rapidly the current flowed toward the sea, Cyrus Smith was lead to
suppose that his companions and he were further from the western coast than he believed.  And in
fact, at this hour the tide was rising on shore and it should have turned back the creek's current if
its mouth was only several miles away.  Now this effect was not produced and the flow followed
its natural slope.  The engineer was very astonished at this and he frequently consulted his
compass in order to assure himself that some detour in the river was not leading them into the
interior of the Far West.

However, the creek became wider and little by little its waters became less tumultuous.  The trees
on the right bank were as crowded as those on the left bank and it was impossible to see beyond. 
These woods were certainly deserted because Top did not bark and the intelligent animal would
not have neglected to signal the presence of any strangers in the neighborhood of the watercourse.

At ten thirty, to the great surprise of Cyrus Smith, Herbert, who was a little ahead, suddenly
stopped and cried:

"The sea!"

And several moments later, stopping at the edge of the forest, the colonists saw the western shore
of the island develop before their eyes.

But what a contrast between this coast and the eastern coast on which chance had first thrown
them!  No granite wall, no reef, not even a sandy beach.  The forest formed the shore and its last
trees, battered by the waves, leaned over the water.  It was not a shore such as nature usually
makes, covered with either sand or rocks, but an admirable border made up of the most beautiful
trees in the world.  The bank was elevated so that it was higher than level of the highest tides, and
the luxuriant soil was supported by a granite base.  The splendid forest species seemed to be as
firmly planted as any in the interior of the island.

The colonists found themselves at the opening of a small unimportant cove which could not even
hold two or three fishing boats, and which served as the narrow entrance to the new creek; but
this was the curious thing, that the water, instead of reaching the sea by a gentle slope, fell from a
height of more than forty feet - this explained why, at the time of high tide, it was not felt
upstream.  In fact, the tides of the Pacific, even at their maximum elevation, could never reach the
level of the river whose bed was elevated, and doubtless millions of years would pass before the
waters would erode this wall of granite and form a practical opening.  They agreed to give this
watercourse the name of "Falls River."

Beyond, toward the north, the shore, formed by the forest, extended for a distance of about two
miles; then the trees became scarce and beyond that were very picturesque heights following a
nearly straight line which ran from north to south. In contrast, over the entire portion of the shore
between Falls River and Reptile Promontory, there were only woods with magnificent trees, some
straight, others bending over with the long waves of the sea bathing their roots.  Now it was on
this coast, that is to say over the entire Serpentine Peninsula, that the exploration had to be
continued because this part of the shore offered a refuge that the other, arid and savage, did not
provide for any castaways whoever they were.

The weather was beautiful and clear, and at the top of a cliff on which Neb and Pencroff set out
lunch, the view extended quite far.  The horizon was perfectly distinct and there were no sails
there.  Over all of this shore, as far as the view could extend, there was no vessel, not even a
wreck. But the engineer would establish this only when he had explored the coast up to the very
extremity of Serpentine Peninsula.

They quickly finished lunch and at eleven thirty Cyrus Smith gave the signal to leave.  Instead of
traveling at the edge of a cliff or on a sandy shore, the colonists would have to follow the line of
trees running along the coast.

The distance which separated the mouth of Falls River from Reptile Promontory was about
twelve miles.  In four hours on a practical shore, without rushing, the colonists would have been
able to cross this distance; but it would require twice this time to reach their goal, what with trees
to go around, brushwood to cut, creepers to break and the detours which would lengthen the
distance.

Moreover, there was nothing to indicate a recent wreck on this shore.  It was true, as Gideon
Spilett noted, that the sea was able to wash away anything, and that they should not conclude
that, because they found no traces, that a vessel had not been thrown on the coast on this part of
Lincoln Island.

The reporter's reasoning was justified and besides, the incident of the lead bullet proved positively
that in the last three months at most, a gun had been fired on the island.

It was already five o'clock and the extremity of Serpentine Peninsula was still two miles away.  It
was evident that after having reached Reptile Promontory, Cyrus Smith and his companions
would no longer have the time to return before sundown to the encampment that they had
established near the sources of the Mercy.  It would then be necessary to pass the night at the
promontory itself.  But provisions were not lacking which was fortunate because furry game no
longer showed itself on this shore.  To the contrary, birds abounded here, jacamars, couroucous,
trogons, grouse, lorries, parakeets, cockatoos, pheasants, pigeons and a hundred others.  There
was not a tree without a nest and not a nest that was not full of flapping wings.

Around seven o'clock in the evening, the colonists, weary with fatigue, arrived at Reptile
Promontory, a sort of volute strangely cut out of the sea.  Here ended the forest of the peninsula. 
The entire southern part of the coast again took on the usual look of a shore with its rocks, its
reefs and its beaches.  It was therefore possible that a disabled vessel could take refuge on this
portion of the island, but with night coming on it would be necessary to put off the exploration to
the next day.

Pencroff and Herbert immediately began to look for a good place to establish a camp.  The last
trees of the forest of the Far West died out at this point and among them the lad recognized some
thick bamboo clusters.

"Good!" he said.  "Here is a precious discovery."

"Precious?" replied Pencroff.

"Without doubt," answered Herbert.  "I can tell you, Pencroff, that bamboo bark, cut into flexible
lath, serves to make baskets; that this bark, reduced to a paste and macerated, serves to make rice
paper; that the stems are used, according to their size, for canes, tobacco pipes and water pipes;
that large bamboos form an excellent construction material, light and sturdy, which are never
attacked by insects.  I should even add that by sawing the bamboo internodes and keeping for the
bottom a portion of the transverse partition which forms the node, sturdy and handy pots are
obtained which are very much in use in China!  No!  That does not satisfy you.  But..."

"But?..."

"But I will tell you, if you don't know it, that in India they eat these bamboos like asparagus."

"Asparagus thirty feet high!" cried the sailor.  "And are they good?"

"Excellent," replied Herbert.  "Only it is not the thirty foot high stalks that they eat but the young
bamboo shoots."

"Perfect, my boy, perfect!" replied Pencroff.

"I will also add that the pith of the new stalks, pickled in vinegar, makes a very appreciated
condiment."

"Better and better, Herbert."

"And finally, that these bamboos exude a sweet liqueur between their nodes from which a very
agreeable beverage can be made."

"Is that all?" asked the sailor.

"That is all!"

"And anything to smoke, perchance?"

"Nothing to smoke, my poor Pencroff!"

Herbert and the sailor did not look long for a favorable place to pass the night.  The high rocks on
the shore - very broken up because they were violently battered by the sea under the influence of
the winds from the southwest - presented hollows which would permit them to sleep sheltered
from the weather.  But at the moment when they were about to enter one of these excavations,
some formidable roaring stopped them.

"Get back!" cried Pencroff.  "We only have some small pellets in our guns, and beasts that roar so
well would be as troubled with them as with a grain of salt!

And the sailor, seizing Herbert by the arms, dragged him to the shelter of the rocks just as a
magnificent animal showed itself at the entrance to the cavern.

It was a jaguar of a size at least equal to that of its congeners of Asia, that is to say that it
measured more than five feet from the extremity of its head to the beginning of its tail.  Its fawn
colored fur was enhanced by several rows of regularly marked black spots and with white fur on
its belly.  Herbert recognized this ferocious rival of the tiger, as terrible as the cougar.

The jaguar advanced and looked around himself, fur bristling, eyes on fire, as if he had not sensed
man for the first time.

At this moment the reporter came around the high rocks and Herbert, thinking that he had not
seen the jaguar, went toward him; but Gideon Spilett motioned to him and continued walking.
This was not his first tiger and he advanced to within ten feet of the animal and remained
immobile, the carbine to his shoulder without a muscle trembling.

The jaguar gathered himself together and pounced on the hunter but at that moment a ball struck
him between the eyes and he fell dead.

Herbert and Pencroff ran toward the jaguar.  Neb and Cyrus Smith rushed up from their side and
they took a few moments to look at the animal stretched out on the ground.  Its magnificent fur
would make an ornament in the large hall of Granite House.

"Ah, Mister Spilett.  How I admire you and envy you," cried Herbert, in a fit of rather natural
enthusiasm.

"Well, my boy," replied the reporter, "you would have done as well."

"Me!  Such coolness..."

"Imagine, Herbert, that the jaguar is a hare, and you will shoot more calmly than anyone."

"There!" replied Pencroff.  "It is not more difficult than that!"

"And now," said Gideon Spilett, "since the jaguar has left his den, my friends, I do not see why we
should not occupy it for the night."

"But others may return!" said Pencroff.

"It will suffice to light a fire at the entrance to the cavern," said the reporter, "and they will not
venture to cross the threshold."

"To the jaguar's house then!" replied the sailor, dragging the animal's body behind him.

The colonists went toward the abandoned den and there, while Neb skinned the jaguar, his
companions piled up on the threshold a large quantity of dry wood which the forest furnished
abundantly.

But Cyrus Smith, seeing the bamboo clusters, went to cut a certain quantity which he mixed with
the fuel for the fire.

That done, they installed themselves in the grotto whose sand was strewn with bones; the guns
were armed for any emergency in case of a sudden attack; they supped and then, when it came
time to go to sleep, they set fire to the wood piled up at the entrance to the cavern.

A crackling noise soon burst out.  It was the bamboo, reached by the flames, which detonated like
firecrackers. Nothing but this noise would suffice to frighten the most audacious animals.

And this means of producing vivid detonations was not the engineer's invention.  According to
Marco Polo, the Tartars, over the centuries, used it with success to drive the dreaded beasts of
central Asia away from their encampments.


CHAPTER V

Proposition to return by the southern shore - Configuration of the coast - Search for a presumed
wreck - A wreck in the air - Discovery of a small natural port - Midnight on the banks of the
Mercy - A drifting canoe.

Cyrus Smith and his companions slept like innocent marmots in the cavern which the jaguar had
so politely left at their disposal.

At sunrise all were on the shore at the very extremity of the promontory, looking toward the
horizon which was visible for two thirds of its circumference.  For one last time the engineer
could confirm that no sail, no remains of a vessel appeared on the sea, and the telescope did not
show anything suspicious.

Neither was there anything on the shore, at least on the straight part that formed the southern
coastline of the promontory for a distance of three miles, because beyond, an indentation of land
concealed the remainder of the shore and even at the extremity of Serpentine Peninsula they could
not see Cape Claw, hidden by high rocks.

The rest of the southern shore of the island remained to be explored.  Now, should they try to
undertake this exploration immediately and devote this day of November 1st to it?

This was not in their original plan.  In fact when the canoe was abandoned at the sources of the
Mercy, it had been agreed that after having observed the western coast, they would return to it
and go back to Granite House via the Mercy.  At the time Cyrus Smith believed that the western
shore could offer a refuge either to boat in distress or to a vessel on its regular course; but from
the moment that the coast showed no landing place, it became necessary to search the south of
the island to find there what they had not been able to find in the west.

It was Gideon Spilett who proposed to continue the exploration so that the question of the
presumed wreck could be completely resolved.  He asked at what distance Cape Claw could be
from the extremity of the peninsula.

"About thirty miles," replied the engineer, "if we take into account the curvature of the coast."

"Thirty miles!" replied Gideon Spilett.  "That will be a good day's march.  Nevertheless I think
that we should return to Granite House by the southern shore."

"But," noted Herbert, "it is at least another ten miles from Cape Claw to Granite House."

"Make it forty miles in all," replied the reporter, "and let us not hesitate to do it.  At least we will
have observed this unknown coast and we will not have to undertake this exploration again."

"Quite right," Pencroff then said.  "But the canoe?"

"The canoe has remained alone for one day at the sources of the Mercy," replied Gideon Spilett. 
"It can stay there just as well for two days.  For the moment we can hardly say that the island is
infested with thieves."

"However," said the sailor, "when I recall the story of the tortoise, I no longer have that
confidence."

"The tortoise!  The tortoise!" replied the reporter. "Don't you know that it was the sea that turned
it over?"

"Who knows?" murmured the engineer.

"But..." said Neb.

It was evident that Neb had something to say because he opened his mouth to speak but nothing
came out.

"What did you want to say, Neb?" the engineer asked him.

"If we return via the shore to Cape Claw," replied Neb, "after having doubled the cape, we will be
stopped..."

"By the Mercy!" replied Herbert, "and in fact, we will have neither a bridge nor a boat with which
to cross it!"

"Fine, Mister Cyrus," replied Pencroff, "with a few floating trunks we will not be inconvenienced
in crossing the river."

"That's not important," said Gideon Spilett, "it will be useful to construct a bridge if we want to
have easy access to the Far West."

"A bridge!" cried Pencroff.  "Well, isn't Mister Smith the best engineer in his profession?  But he
will make us a bridge when we want to have a bridge.  As to transporting you this evening to the
other side of the Mercy without wetting a stitch of your clothing, I'll be responsible for that.  We
still have a day's provisions and that is all that we need and besides, we may have more game
today than we had yesterday.  Let's go!"

The reporter's proposition, very vividly supported by the sailor, gained general approval because
everyone wanted to settle his doubts and by returning via Cape Claw, the exploration would be
complete.  But there wasn't an hour to lose because forty miles was a long trip and they could not
count on reaching Granite House before night.

At six o'clock in the morning the small troop was on its way.  As a precaution against any
undesirable encounters with animals on two or four feet, the guns were loaded with ball and Top,
who was in the lead, was ordered to scour the edge of the forest.

On leaving the extremity of the promontory which formed the tail of the peninsula, the coast was
rounded for a distance of five miles, which was rapidly crossed without the most minute
investigations having shown the least trace of a landing either in the past or recently, neither a
wreck nor the remainder of an encampment nor the cinders of an extinct fire nor a footprint.

The colonists arrived at the corner where the curvature of the coast ended.  They were then able
to extend their view to the northeast over Washington Bay and over the entire extent of the
southern shore of the island.  Twenty five miles away the coast ended at Cape Claw which was
slightly blurred by the morning fog.  A mirage made it seem suspended between land and sea. 
Between the spot occupied by the colonists and the beginning of the immense bay, the shore was
composed of a very smooth and flat beach bordered by trees.  Further along, the shore became
very irregular with sharp points projecting into the sea, and finally several blackish rocks were
piled up in picturesque disorder ending at Cape Claw.

Such was the development of this part of the island that the explorers saw for the first time.  They
quickly surveyed it after having stopped for a moment.

"A vessel that would put in here," Pencroff said, "would inevitably be lost.  This beach of sand
extends up to the sea and the reefs beyond!  Dangerous waters!"

"But a least something of this vessel would remain," the reporter noted.

"Some pieces of wood would remain on the reefs but nothing on the sand," replied the sailor.

"Why so?"

"Because the sand is even more dangerous than the rocks, engulfing everything that is thrown
upon it and only a few days would be needed for the hull of a vessel of several hundred tons to
disappear there entirely!"

"So, Pencroff," asked the engineer, "if a vessel ran aground on these banks, it is not astonishing
that there is no longer any trace of it?"

"No, Mister Smith, with the aid of time or tempest. Still, it would be surprising, even in this case,
if some debris of the masts and spars were not thrown on the bank beyond the reach of the sea."

"Let us then continue our search," replied Cyrus Smith.

An hour after noon the colonists arrived at the beginning of Washington Bay and at this time they
had covered a distance of twenty miles.

They halted for lunch.

There the coast became bizarrely irregular and was covered by a long line of reefs behind which
were banks of sand.  The tide was low at the moment but would not be long in covering it.  They
saw the supple waves of the sea breaking against the tops of rocks, and then turning into long
foam fringes.  From this point up to Cape Claw, there was little space for the beach which was
confined between the edge of reefs and that of the forest.

The trip thus became more difficult because of the innumerable rocks which encumbered the
shore.  The granite wall also tended to become higher as they went on and they could see only the
green tops of trees that crowned it, not disturbed by any wind.

After resting for a half hour, the colonists again took to the road and no point on the reefs or
beach escaped their attention.  Pencroff and Neb even ventured among the reefs anytime some
object attracted their attention.  But there was no wreck and they were misled by some bizarre
shape of rocks. They did note however, that edible shellfish abounded in these waters but they
could not profitably exploit this until communication would be established between the two banks
of the Mercy and also when the means of transport would be perfected.

There was no indication of the presumed wreck on this shore notwithstanding that fact that the
hull of a vessel was an object of some importance and should have been visible. Some of the
debris should have carried to shore, as had the case found at least twenty miles further on, but
there was nothing here.

About three o'clock, Cyrus Smith and his companions arrived at a narrow, well enclosed inlet
which was not associated with a watercourse.  It formed a real small natural port, invisible from
the sea, which could be reached by a narrow passage between the reefs.

At the rear of this inlet some violent convulsion had torn up the rocky shore and an excavation on
a gentle slope gave access to the upper plateau.  This was situated at least ten miles from Cape
Claw and consequently four miles in a straight line from Grand View Plateau.

Gideon Spilett proposed to his companions that they halt here.  They accepted because the trip
had sharpened everyone's appetite and, though it was not dinner time, no one could refuse a piece
of venison.  This meal would permit them to wait for supper at Granite House.

A few minutes later, the colonists were seated at the foot of a magnificent cluster of maritime
pines, devouring the food that Neb had taken from his knapsack.

This spot was fifty or sixty feet above the level of the sea.  The radius of their view was rather
extended, passing over the last rocks of the cape and into Union Bay.  But neither the islet nor
Grand View Plateau was visible, nor could it be from that position because the level of the ground
and the screen of trees abruptly masked the northern horizon.

Needless to say, in spite of the expanse of sea that could be seen by the explorers, and as much as
the engineer's telescope swept from point to point across this entire circle on which the sky and
water blended, no vessel was seen.

Likewise on all this part of the shore that still remained for exploration, the telescope swept with
the same care from the beach to the reefs, but no wreck appeared within the field of view of the
instrument.

"Come," said Gideon Spilett, "we must resign ourselves to the inevitable and take comfort in the
thought that no one will come to dispute our possession of Lincoln Island."

"But what about the lead bullet!" said Herbert.  "It still wasn't imagined, I suppose."

"A thousand devils, no!" cried Pencroff, thinking of his missing molar.

"Then what can we conclude?" asked the reporter.

"This," replied the engineer, "that in the last three months at most, a vessel, voluntarily or not,
landed..."

"What!  You admit, Cyrus, that it was engulfed without leaving any trace?" cried the reporter.

"No, my dear Spilett, but note that it is certain that a human being has set foot on this island and it
appears none the less certain that he has now left it."

"Then if I understand you, Mister Cyrus," said Herbert, "the vessel went away?..."

"Evidently."

"And we have lost a chance to leave?" said Neb.

"Past all hope, I'm afraid."

"Well!  Since the chance is lost, let us be on our way," said Pencroff, who was already homesick
for Granite House.

But hardly had he gotten up when Top came out of the woods barking loudly and holding in his
mouth a scrap of cloth soiled with mud.

Neb tore this scrap from the dog's mouth.  It was a piece of strong cloth.

Top continued to bark and by his coming and going he seemed to invite his master to follow him
into the forest.

"Here is something which may explain my lead bullet!" cried Pencroff.

"A castaway" replied Herbert.

"Wounded perhaps!" said Neb.

"Or dead!" replied the reporter.

And everyone followed the dog among the large pines which formed the first screen of the forest. 
Cyrus Smith and his companions loaded their guns for any eventuality.

They had to advance rather deeply into the woods but to their great disappointment, they still did
not see any footprints.  Brushwood and creepers were intact and it was even necessary to cut
them with the axe as they had done in the thickest part of the forest.  It was thus difficult to admit
that a human creature had already passed there.  Still Top came and went, not as a dog who
searched at random, but as a being endowed with a will, who is following up an idea.

After seven or eight minutes, Top stopped.  The colonists arrived at a sort of clearing bordered by
large trees.  They looked around but saw nothing either under the brushwood or among the tree
trunks.

"But what is it, Top?" asked Cyrus Smith.

Top barked louder jumping to the foot of a gigantic tree.

Suddenly Pencroff cried:

"Ah!  Fine!  Ah!  Perfect!"

"What is it?" asked Gideon Spilett.

"We are looking for a wreck on sea or on land!"

"Well?"

"Well, it is to be found in the sky!"

And the sailor pointed to a sort of huge white cloth hanging on to the top of a pine, of which Top
had brought a piece that had fallen to the ground.

"But this is not a wreck," cried Gideon Spilett.

"I beg your pardon!" replied Pencroff.

"Indeed.  It is..."

"It is all that remains of our aerial boat, of our balloon which is stranded up there at the top of this
tree."

Pencroff was not mistaken and he let out a magnificent hurrah and added:

"There is good cloth!  It will furnish us with linen for years.  With this we can make handkerchiefs
and shirts!  Hey! Mister Spilett, what do you think of an island where shirts grow on trees?"

It was truly a happy circumstance for the colonists of Lincoln Island that the balloon, after having
made its last leap into the sky, fell back again on the island, and that they had this chance to find
it.  Either they could keep the envelope in its present form if they wanted to attempt another
escape by air, or they could profitably use these several hundred yards of cotton cloth of good
quality, after removing the varnish.  Pencroff's joy in thinking about this was unanimously and
vividly shared.

But it was necessary to take this envelope from the tree on which it was hanging, to put it in a
secure place, and this was no small job.  Neb, Herbert and the sailor, having climbed to the top of
the tree, had to use all their dexterity to disengage the enormous deflated balloon.

The operation lasted nearly two hours and not only the envelope with its valves, its springs, its
copper trimmings, but the rope, that is to say the considerable cordage, the retaining ring and the
anchor of the balloon were brought down. The envelope, except for the fracture, was in good
condition, and only its lower portion was torn.

It was a fortune that had fallen from the sky.

"All the same, Mister Cyrus," said the sailor, "if we ever decide to leave the island, it will not be in
a balloon, will it?  They do not go where one wants, these vessels of the sky, and we know
something about that!  Take my word, we will build a good boat of about twenty tons and you'll
allow me to cut a foresail and a jib out of this cloth.  As to the rest, it will serve to clothe us."

"We will see, Pencroff," replied Cyrus Smith, "we will see."

"While waiting, we must put it all in a safe place," said Neb.

In fact, they could not think of transporting this load of cloth and cordage, whose weight was
considerable, to Granite House.  While waiting for a convenient vehicle to cart it, it was important
not to leave these riches any longer to the mercy of the first storm.  The colonists, uniting their
efforts, succeeded in dragging everything to the shore where they discovered a rather large rocky
cavern which would be visited neither by the wind nor the rain nor the sea thanks to its
orientation.

"It is proper to have a wardrobe.  We have a wardrobe," said Pencroff, "but since it does not
close with a key, it would be prudent to conceal the opening.  I do not say this for two footed
thieves but for thieves on four feet."

At six o'clock in the evening all was stored.  After having given the justified name of "Port
Balloon" to this small indentation which formed the cove, they were back on the road to Cape
Claw.  Pencroff and the engineer chatted about various projects which it would be convenient to
put into execution with the briefest delay.  Before anything else, it was necessary to throw a
bridge over the Mercy in order to establish easy communication with the south of the island; then
the cart would come back to look for the balloon since the canoe would not suffice to transport it;
then they would construct a decked boat, then, Pencroff rigging it as a cutter, they could
undertake some voyages around the island, then, etc.

However, night came on and the sky was already dark when the colonists reached Cape Claw in
the very same place where they had discovered the precious case.  But there, as everywhere else,
there was nothing to indicate any wreck whatsoever.  They had to go back to the conclusion
previously made by Cyrus Smith.

From Cape Claw to Granite House there still remained four miles which were rapidly crossed.  It
was after midnight when, after having followed the shore up to the mouth of the Mercy, the
colonists arrived at the first bend formed by the river.

There the bed measured eighty feet in width and it was a difficult crossing but Pencroff, having
made himself responsible for overcoming this difficulty, could not change his mind.

They had to admit that they were exhausted.  The day's march had been a long one and the
incident of the balloon had not rested their arms and their legs.  They were therefore in a hurry to
get back to Granite House, to eat and to sleep and if a bridge had been constructed they would
have found themselves in their dwelling in a quarter of an hour.

It was very dark.  Pencroff then prepared to keep his promise by making a sort of raft that could
cross the Mercy. Neb and he, armed with axes, chose two trees near the bank with which they
counted on making the raft.  They began to chop away.

Cyrus Smith and Gideon Spilett, seated on the bank, were waiting for the time when they could
help their companions, while Herbert came and went without digressing far.

Suddenly the lad, who had ascended the river, came running back and pointing upstream:

"What is that floating there?" he cried.

Pencroff interrupted his work and vaguely saw a moving object in the shadows.

"A canoe!" he said.

All approached and saw, to their extreme surprise, a boat moving in the stream.

"Oh!  A canoe!" cried the sailor in a lapse of caution, without thinking if it would perhaps be
better to keep silent.

No answer.  The boat still drifted.  It was not more than a dozen feet away when the sailor cried:

"But it is our canoe!  It broke its mooring and followed the current.  It certainly arrived in the
nick of time."

"Our canoe?..." murmured the engineer.

Pencroff was right.  It really was the canoe, whose mooring had doubtless broken and which had
returned all alone from the sources of the Mercy.  It was thus important to seize it before it was
dragged beyond the mouth by the rapid current of the river.  That is what Neb and Pencroff
skillfully did by means of a long pole.

The canoe was brought to the shore.  The engineer, being the first to embark, seized the mooring
and assured himself, by fingering it, that the mooring had really worn away by rubbing against the
rocks.

"That is what can be called a circumstance...," the reporter said to him in a low voice.

"Strange!" replied Cyrus Smith.

Strange or not, it was fortunate.  Herbert, the reporter, Neb and Pencroff embarked in their turn. 
There was no doubt that the mooring had worn away, but the most astonishing thing about the
affair truly was that the canoe had arrived just at the moment when the colonists could seize it in
passing, because a quarter of an hour later it would have been lost at sea.

If they had lived in the time of genies, this incident would have given them the right to think that
the island was haunted by a supernatural being who placed his power at the service of the
castaways.

A few strokes of the oar brought the colonists to the mouth of the Mercy.  The canoe was towed
to the beach at the Chimneys and everyone went toward the ladder of Granite House.

But at this moment Top barked in anger and Neb, who was looking for the first rung, let out a
cry...

The ladder was no longer there.


CHAPTER VI

Pencroff's calls - A night at the Chimneys - Herbert's arrow - Cyrus Smith's plan - An unexpected
solution - What happened in Granite House - How a new servant enters the service of the
colonists.

Cyrus Smith stopped without saying a word.  His companions searched in the dark, against the
wall in the event that the wind had displaced the ladder, and on the ground in case it had become
detached... but the ladder had absolutely disappeared. As to seeing whether a gust of wind had
raised it up to the first landing at the center point of the wall, it was impossible on this dark night.

"If it is a joke," cried Pencroff, "it is wicked.  To arrive at your home and not find the stairway to
your room, that is nothing to laugh at for tired men."

Neb was also absorbed in exclamations!

"This was not done by the wind!" said Herbert.

"I begin to think that strange things happen on Lincoln Island," said Pencroff.

"Strange?" replied Gideon Spilett, "but no, Pencroff, nothing is more natural.  Someone has come
during our absence, taken possession of our dwelling and drawn up the ladder."

"Someone!" cried the sailor, "but who?..."

"Perhaps the hunter with the lead bullet," replied the reporter.  "What other explanation is there
for our misadventure?"

"Well, if there is someone up there," replied Pencroff swearing, because he became impatient, "I'll
call to him and he'll have to answer."

And with a thunderous voice the sailor let out a prolonged "Ahoy" whose echoes reverberated
powerfully.

The colonists listened and thought that they heard from the height of Granite House a sort of
mocking laughter whose nature they did not recognize.  But no voice replied to Pencroff's voice. 
Uselessly he began to call again.

This truly was something to perplex the most indifferent of men in the world and the colonists
were not among that kind. In the situation that the colonists found themselves, every incident was
serious and certainly, during the seven months that they had lived on the island nothing had
presented itself with such a surprising character.

Forgetting their fatigue and overcome by this strange event, they remained at the foot of Granite
House not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do, questioning without being able to
reply, and multiplying hypotheses one more implausible than the other.  Neb lamented and was
very disappointed at not being able to get into his kitchen especially since the provisions were
used up on the trip and they had no means of getting more at the moment.

"My friends," Cyrus Smith then said, "there is nothing for us to do but wait for daybreak when we
will act as circumstances dictate.  But while waiting, let us go to the Chimneys.  There we will
have shelter and if we cannot eat then at least we can sleep."

"But who is this cool customer who played this trick on us?" Pencroff asked still one more time,
unable to leave.

Whoever the "cool customer" was, the only thing to do, as the engineer said, was to go to the
Chimneys and there await the return of day.  Nevertheless an order was given to Top to remain
under the windows of Granite House and when Top received an order, Top executed it without
comment.  The worthy dog remained at the foot of the wall while his master and his companions
found refuge among the rocks.

To say that the colonists, in spite of their weariness, slept well on the sand of the Chimneys would
alter the truth. Not only were they very anxious about this new incident be it the result of chance
whose natural causes would be apparent during the day or, on the contrary, be it the work of a
human being, but in addition they had very bad sleeping arrangements. Whatever it was, one or
the other, their dwelling was occupied at the moment and they could not enter it.

  Now Granite House was more than their dwelling.  It was their storehouse.  It had all the
material of the colony, arms, instruments, tools, munitions, food reserves, etc.  If all this was
plundered, the colonists would have to begin again to make arms and tools.  This was a serious
thing.  Thus, yielding to anxiety, one or the other went out for a moment to see if Top was
guarding well.  Cyrus Smith alone waited with his usual patience, exasperated at this absolutely
inexplicable event, and indignant at himself for thinking that around him, above him perhaps, there
was a power to which he could not give a name.  Gideon Spilett fully shared his opinion in this
regard and both repeatedly spoke in whispers of these inexplicable circumstances which were
beyond their insight and their experience.  There surely was a mystery on this island, but how
could they discover it?  Herbert did not know what to imagine and wanted to question Cyrus
Smith.  As to Neb, he dismissed the matter by telling himself that all this was not his concern, that
it was his master's business, and if it were not for his respect for his companions, the worthy negro
would have slept that night just as well as if he were lying in his bed in Granite House.

Lastly, more than the others, Pencroff was infuriated and he was, honestly, very angry.

"It is a practical joke," he said, "it is a joke that someone is playing on us.  Well, I do not like
practical jokes and woe be unto the joker if I lay my hands on him."

At the first light of day in the east, the well armed colonists went to the shore at the edge of the
reef.  Granite House, in direct line with the rising sun, would not be long in lighting up under the
dawn's light and, in fact, before five o'clock, the windows, whose shutters were closed, appeared
through the curtain of the foliage.

From this shore all was in order, but a cry escaped from the colonists when they saw the wide
open door which they had closed before their departure.

Someone was in Granite House.  There was no longer any doubt of that.

The upper ladder, ordinarily attached to the landing at the door, was in its place, but the lower
ladder had been drawn up to the landing.  It was more than evident that the intruders had wanted
to be protected from any surprise.

As to discovering who and how many there were, this was still impossible because none of them
had shown themselves.

Pencroff shouted again.

No reply.

"The rascals!" cried the sailor.  "There they sleep quietly as if they were in their own home. 
Ahoy!  Pirates, bandits, privateers, sons of John Bull!"

When Pencroff, in his capacity as an American, had called someone "son of John Bull," he had
risen to the final limit of insult.

It was now full daylight and the facade of Granite House was illuminated by the sun's rays.  But
the inside was as quiet and calm as the outside.

The colonists asked themselves if Granite House was or was not occupied but the position of the
ladder showed that this was so, and it was also certain that the occupants, whoever they were,
had not been able to flee.  But how could they get to them?

Herbert then had the idea of attaching a cord to an arrow and of shooting this arrow so that it
would pass between the first rungs of the ladder which was hanging from the landing outside the
door.  By means of the cord they could then unravel the ladder to the ground and re-establish
communication between the ground and Granite House.

There was evidently nothing else to do and with a little skill it might succeed.  Very fortunately,
bows and arrows had been placed in a corridor of the Chimneys where they also found a few
hundred feet of a light hibiscus cord.  Pencroff unraveled this cord which he attached to a
feathered arrow. Then Herbert, after having placed the arrow on his bow, took careful aim at the
hanging end of the ladder.

Cyrus Smith, Gideon Spilett, Pencroff and Neb remained in the background in order to observe
what happened at the windows of Granite House.  The reporter, his carbine at his shoulder, took
aim at the door.

The bow was released, the arrow hissed through the air reaching the cord and passing between
the last two rungs.

The operation had succeeded.

Herbert immediately seized the end of the cord; but as soon as he was about to pull the ladder to
the ground, a hand reached out between the wall and the door, seized it and pulled it back into
Granite House.

"Triple rascals!" cried the sailor, "if a gunshot will make you happy, you will not have long to
wait."

"But who was it?" asked Neb.

"Who?  You did not recognize?..."

"No."

"But it was an ape, a macaco, a sapajou, a guenon, an orang, a baboon, a gorilla, a saki!"  Our
dwelling has been invaded by apes who climbed up the ladder during our absence."

And at this moment, as if to prove the sailor right, three or four quadrumanes showed themselves
at the windows, whose shutters they had pushed aside, and greeted the true owners of the place
with a thousand contortions and grimaces.

"I know full well that this is only a joke!" cried the sailor, "but one of the jokers will pay for the
others!"

The sailor, gun to his shoulder, took a quick aim at one of the apes and fired.  All disappeared,
except one of them who, mortally wounded, fell to the ground.

This ape, of a large size, appeared to be of the first order of quadrumanes, there was no mistake
about that. Whether it was a chimpanzee, an orang, a gorilla or a gibbon, it ranked among those
anthropomorphs, so named because of their resemblance to the human race.  However, Herbert
declared that it was an orangutan and we know that the lad was well versed in zoology.

"A magnificent beast!" cried Neb.

"Magnificent, as you wish!" replied Pencroff, "but I still do not see how we will be able to enter
our home."

"Herbert was a good archer," said the reporter, "and his bow is here.  He'll begin again..."

"Fine!  These apes are mischievous," cried Pencroff. "They will not show themselves again at the
windows and we will not be able to kill them, and when I think of the damage they can do to the
rooms and to the storeroom..."

"Be patient," replied Cyrus Smith.  "These animals cannot hold us in check for too long!"

"I will be sure of that when they are buried," replied the sailor.  "And do you know, Mister Smith,
how many dozens of these jokers there are up there?"

It would be difficult to reply to Pencroff.  As for the lad trying again, it was not easy because the
lower end of the ladder had been pulled inside the door and when they pulled again on the cord,
the cord broke and the ladder did not come down.

It was truly embarrassing.  Pencroff raged.  The situation had a certain comic side to it that he did
not find funny.  It was evident that the colonists would end by regaining their dwelling and
chasing out the intruders but when and how?  That they could not say.

Two hours passed during which the apes avoided showing themselves; but they were still there,
and three or four times a nose or a paw passed by the door or the windows which was greeted
with a gunshot.

"Let us hide," the engineer then said.  "Perhaps the apes will think that we have left and they will
expose themselves again.  But Spilett and Herbert can lie in wait behind the rocks and fire on all
that will appear."

The engineer's orders were obeyed and while the reporter and the lad, the two best archers of the
colony, posted themselves at easy range but out of sight of the apes, Neb, Pencroff and Cyrus
Smith went to the plateau so as to reach the forest and kill some game because mealtime had
come and no provisions remained.

After a half-hour the hunters returned with a few rock pigeons which they roasted for better or for
worse.  Not an ape had reappeared.

Gideon Spilett and Herbert went to take their part of the meal while Top watched under the
windows.  Then, after having eaten, they returned to their post.

Two hours later the situation still had in no way changed. The quadrumanes no longer gave any
sign of existence and it seemed that they had disappeared; but what appeared more probable was
that frightened by the death of one of their fellows, terrified by the detonations from the guns,
they remained quiet on the floor of the rooms of Granite House or even in the storeroom.  And
when they thought of the riches enclosed in this storeroom, the patience advised by the engineer
ended by degenerating into a violent irritation and frankly there was reason for it.

"Decidedly, this is very stupid," the reporter said finally, "and there really is no way to end this!"

"We must send these vagabonds packing!" cried Pencroff. "We will get back in the end even if it
takes twenty days, even if we have to fight them hand to hand, but is there no way to get to
them?"

"Yes," replied the engineer, who got a bright idea.

"One idea?" said Pencroff.  "Well that's good, since there are no others.  And what is it?"

"Let us try to redescend into Granite House by the old passageway of the lake," replied the
engineer.

"Ah!  A thousand devils!" cried the sailor.  "Why didn't I think of it?"

It was in fact the only means of penetrating into Granite House in order to combat the band and
of expelling it.  The orifice of the overflow was, it is true, closed by a wall of cemented rocks
which it would be necessary to sacrifice but they would be free to make it again.  Fortunately,
Cyrus Smith still had not completed his project of hiding this orifice by submerging it under the
waters of the lake because he had not had the time to do it.  It was already past noon when the
colonists, well armed and provided with pics and picaxes, left the Chimneys.  They passed under
the windows of Granite House after having ordered Top to remain at his post.  They intended to
ascend the left bank of the Mercy in order to reach Grand View Plateau.

But they had not gone fifty paces in this direction when they heard the dog barking furiously.  It
was a desperate call.

They stopped.

"Run!" said Pencroff.

And everyone descended the bank as fast as he could. Rounding the bend they saw that the
situation had changed.

In fact the apes, terrorized by some unknown cause, were trying to get out.  Two or three ran and
jumped from one window to the other with the agility of clowns.  They did not even think of
replacing the ladder which would have facilitated their descent and in their fright perhaps they had
forgotten this means of getting out.  Soon five or six were in a position to be fired upon and the
colonists, easily seeing them, fired. Some, wounded or dead, fell back into the rooms uttering
sharp cries.  Others fell outside, killed by their fall, and in a few moments they could suppose that
there no longer were any living quadrumanes in Granite House.

"Hurrah!" cried Pencroff.  "Hurrah!  Hurrah!"

"So many hurrahs!" said Gideon Spilett.

"Why not?  They are dead," replied the sailor.

"Agreed, but this does not give us the means of returning to our home."

"Let us go to the overflow passage," replied Pencroff.

 "Without doubt," said the engineer.  "However, it would be preferable..."

At this moment, as if in response to Cyrus Smith's comment, they saw the ladder glide onto the
landing outside the door.  Then it unraveled and fell to the ground.

"Ah!  A thousand pipes!  That's considerate!" cried the sailor, looking at Cyrus Smith.

"Very considerate!" murmured the engineer, stepping on the first rung of the ladder.

"Take care, Mister Cyrus!" cried Pencroff, "there may still be several of these apes..."

"We will soon know," replied the engineer, without stopping.

All his companions followed him and in a minute they arrived at the landing of the door.

They looked everywhere.  No one was in the rooms or in the storeroom which had been respected
by the band of quadrumanes.

"So, and the ladder?" cried the sailor.  "Who then was the gentleman who returned it?"

But at this moment a cry was heard and a large ape, who had taken refuge in the passageway,
threw himself into the hall, pursued by Neb.

"Ah! The bandit!" cried Pencroff.

And with axe in hand he was about to crack the animal's skull when Cyrus Smith stopped him and
said to him:

"Spare him, Pencroff."

"Show mercy to this blackamoor?"

"Yes!  It was he who threw us the ladder."

And the engineer said this in so strange a voice that it was difficult to know if he spoke seriously
or not.

Nevertheless they threw themselves on the ape who, after having defended himself valiantly, was
thrown to the ground and tied.

"Whew!" cried Pencroff.  "And now what will we make of him?"

"A servant!" replied Herbert.

And in speaking so the lad really was not joking because he knew that use could be made of this
intelligent race of quadrumanes.

The colonists then approached the ape and looked at him. He belonged to that species of
anthropomorphs whose facial angle in not significantly less than that of the Australians and of the
Hottentots.  It was an orang who, as such, had neither the ferocity of the baboon, nor the
thoughtlessness of the macaco, nor the filthy ways of the saguin, nor the impatience of the barbary
ape nor the bad instincts of the cynocephalus.  It was of that family of anthropomorphs having a
quasi-human intelligence.  Employed in homes, they can serve at tables, clean rooms, care for
clothes, polish shoes, skillfully handle a knife, a spoon and a fork and even drink wine... all this as
well as the best servant on two feet and no feathers. It is said that Buffon possessed one of these
apes who served him for a long time as a faithful and zealous servant.

The one that they had tied up in the large hall of Granite House was a large devil, six feet tall,
with an admirably proportioned body, a large chest, a head of average size, a facial angle of sixty
five degrees, a rounded cranium, a prominent nose, a skin covered with a sleek, gentle and glossy
hair - in short an accomplished type of anthropomorph.  His eyes, a little smaller than human eyes,
shown with a vivacious intelligence, his white teeth glistened under his moustache and he had a
small beard glazed with a hazel color.

"A fine lad!" said Pencroff.  "If only we knew his language, we could speak to him."

"Are you serious, master?" said Neb.  "Will we take him on as a servant?"

"Yes, Neb," replied the engineer, smiling.  "But do not be jealous!"

"And I hope that he will make an excellent servant," added Herbert.  "He seems to be young, his
education will be easy and we will not be obliged to use force to subjugate him, nor to pull his
teeth as is done in similar circumstances.  He will become attached to his masters if we are good
to him."

"And that we will be," replied Pencroff, who had completely forgotten his grudge against "the
jokers."

Then, approaching the orang:

"Well, my boy," he asked him.  "How goes it?"

The orang replied with a small growl that did not denote any bad temper.

"Do we wish then to become a part of the colony?" asked the sailor, "to enter the service of
Mister Cyrus Smith?"

The ape made another approving growl.

"And we will be content with our nourishment for our wages?"

A third affirmative growl.

"His conversation is a little monotonous," said Gideon Spilett.

"Good!" replied Pencroff, "the best servants are those who speak the least.  So then, no wages! -
Do you understand my boy?  To begin with, we will give you no wages but later on we will
double it if we are satisfied with you!"

Thus the colony added a new member who could be of service.  As to his name, the sailor asked
that he be called Jupiter, or Jup for short, in memory of another ape he had known.

And so, without further ceremony, Master Jup was installed at Granite House.


CHAPTER VII

Projects to execute - A bridge over the Mercy - Making an island out of Grand View Plateau -
The draw-bridge - The corn harvest - The creek - The culverts - The poultry yard - The pigeon
house - The two onagers - The harnessed cart - Excursion to Port Balloon.

The colonists of Lincoln Island had thus regained their dwelling without having been obliged to
use the old passageway, which saved them from masonry work.  It was truly fortunate that at the
moment when whey were getting ready to do this, the band of apes had been terrified, at least
subjected to something inexplicable, which had driven them from Granite House.  Did these
animals have some warning of a serious assault coming to them from another direction?  This was
just about the only way to explain their retreat.

During the final hours of that day, the bodies of the apes were carried to the woods where they
were buried; then the colonists repaired the disorder caused by the intruders - disorder but not
damage - because if they had upset the furniture in the rooms, at least they had broken nothing. 
Neb rekindled his stoves and the reserves in the pantry furnished a substantial meal to which all
did justice.

Jup was not forgotten and he ate with appetite the pine almonds and the rhizome roots which
were abundantly provided for him.  Pencroff had untied his arms but he judged it best to leave the
fetters on his legs until the time when they could count on his submissiveness.

Then, before going to bed, Cyrus Smith and his companions, seated around the table, discussed
several projects whose execution was urgent.

The most important and the most pressing was the establishment of a bridge over the Mercy in
order to put the southern part of the island in communication with Granite House, then the
establishment of a corral destined to house the sheep or other wool animals that they agreed to
capture.

As can be seen, these two projects tended to solve the question of clothing, which was then the
most serious.  In fact, the bridge would make it easy to transport the envelope of the balloon
which would give linen, and the corral would furnish a collection of wool which would give
winter clothing.

As to the corral, it was Cyrus Smith's intention to establish it at the very source of Red Creek,
where the ruminants would find fresh and abundant pasture for their nourishment.  Already the
route between Grand View Plateau and the sources had been partly blazed, and with a cart better
built than the first one, the haul would be easier especially if they managed to capture some beast
of burden.

But if there was no inconvenience due to the fact that the corral might be far from Granite House,
such was not the case with the poultry yard, which Neb called to the attention of the colonists.  In
fact, it was necessary that the birds be within the reach of the kitchen chef and no location seemed
more favorable than that portion of the banks of the lake that bordered on the old overflow.  The
waterfowl would know how to prosper there as well as the others.  The tinamou couple, taken
during the last excursion, would serve as the first attempt at domestication.

The next day - the 3rd of November - the new works were begun with the construction of the
bridge and all hands were required for this important task.  Saws, axes, chisels and hammers were
placed on the colonists' shoulders who, transformed into carpenters, descended to the shore.

There Pencroff had a thought.

"What if, during our absence, Master Jup takes a fancy to draw up this ladder that he gallantly
threw down yesterday?"

"Let us tie it down at its lower end," replied Cyrus Smith.

This was done by means of two picks well buried in the sand.  Then the colonists ascended the left
bank of the Mercy and soon arrived at the bend formed by the river.

There they stopped in order to see if the bridge could be thrown at this point.  The spot seemed
suitable.

In fact from this point to Port Balloon, discovered the previous day on the southern shore, it was
only three and a half miles.  From bridge to port it would be easy to blaze a path fit for a cart,
which would make for easy communication between Granite House and the south of the island.

Cyrus Smith then acquainted his companions with a project both very simple to execute and very
advantageous, which he had thought about for some time.  It was to completely isolate Grand
View Plateau in order to shelter it from any attack by quadrupeds or by quadrumanes.  By this
means Granite House, the Chimneys, the poultry yard and all the upper part of the plateau
destined to be made into an island, would be protected from the depredations of animals.

Nothing was easier to execute than this project and here is how the engineer counted on doing it.

The plateau already found itself defended on three sides by watercourses, be they artificial or
natural.

In the northwest, by the shore of Lake Grant from the corner located at the opening of the old
overflow to the cut made on the east shore for the escape of the waters;

In the north, from this cut to the sea, by the new watercourse which had hollowed itself out on the
plateau and on the beach upstream and downstream from the waterfall, and in fact it was
sufficient to excavate the bed of this creek to render it impractical to animals;

On the eastern shore by the sea itself, from the mouth of the aforesaid creek to the mouth of the
Mercy;

Finally on the south, from this mouth to the bend in the Mercy where they would establish the
bridge.

There still remained the western part of the plateau, between the bend in the river and the
southern corner of the lake, a distance less than one mile, which was open to all who came.  But
nothing was easier than to cut a wide and deep trench, which would be filled by the waters of the
lake and whose overflow would be thrown into the Mercy by a second waterfall.  The level of the
lake would doubtless be lowered a little as a result of this new discharge but Cyrus Smith knew
that the flow of Red Creek was sufficient to allow for the execution of his project.

"In this way," added the engineer, "Grand View Plateau will be a real island, being surrounded by
water on all sides and it will communicate with the rest of our domain only by the bridge which
we are going to throw across the Mercy, the two smaller bridges already established upstream and
downstream from the waterfall, and finally two other bridges yet to be constructed, one over the
trench that I propose to excavate and the other on the left bank of the Mercy.  Now if these
bridges can be raised at will, Grand View Plateau will be protected against any surprise.

In order to help his companions to better understand his plan, Cyrus Smith made a map of the
plateau and his project was immediately grasped in its entirety.  It was approved unanimously and
Pencroff, brandishing his carpenter's axe, cried:

"First to the bridge!"

It was the most urgent work.  The trees were chosen, cut down, branches removed, and cut into
small beams, into thick planks and into boards.  This bridge, fixed on the side that was supported
by the right bank of the Mercy, would be movable on the left bank so that it could be raised by
means of counterweights as is done with certain floodgates.

It should be understood that this was a large undertaking, and if it was done efficiently it still
required a lot of time because the Mercy was about eighty feet wide.  It would be necessary to
sink the piles into the riverbed in order to support the platform of the bridge and to make a pile
driver to pound the tops of the piles which would enable the two arches of the bridge to support
heavy loads.

Very fortunately they lacked neither the tools to work the wood, nor the ironwork to put it
together, nor the knowledge of what was to be done, nor finally the zeal of those who during
these seven months had necessarily acquired the manual dexterity.  Gideon Spilett was not the
most awkward one and kept up with the sailor himself, who never would have expected this from
"a mere journalist."

The construction of the bridge over the Mercy lasted three weeks, which were fully occupied. 
They ate at the worksite itself, the weather was magnificent then, and they only returned to
Granite House for supper.

During this period Master Jup became accustomed and familiar with his new masters whom he
looked upon with extreme curiosity.  As a precaution, Pencroff still did not allow him complete
freedom of movement, wanting to wait, rightly so, until the limits of the plateau would be
restricted by these proposed projects.  Top and Jup got on and played together but Jup was
always serious.

The bridge was finished on the 20th of November.  Its movable portion, in equilibrium with the
counterweights, moved easily, and it required little effort to raise it.  Between the hinge and the
support on which it would rest when closed, there was a twenty foot interval which would be
sufficient to prevent any animals from crossing.

It was then a question of going for the envelope of the balloon, which the colonists were anxious
to put in complete security; but in order to transport it, it would be necessary to get a cart over to
Port Balloon and in consequence to blaze a route across the thick forest of the Far West.  That
would require time.  Neb and Pencroff first pushed through to the port and since they found that
the "linen supply" would not suffer in the grotto where it had been stored, it was decided that the
works relative to Grand View Plateau would be pushed without pausing.

"That," noted Pencroff, "will permit us to establish our poultry yard under the best conditions
since we will fear neither a visit from the foxes nor the aggression of other noxious animals."

"Without mentioning," added Neb, "that we will be able to clear the plateau so as to transplant
wild plants there..."

"And to prepare our second cornfield," cried the sailor triumphantly.

In fact the first cornfield, sowed with a single grain, had prospered admirably thanks to Pencroff's
care.  It had produced the ten ears predicted by the engineer and each ear carried eighty grains.  In
six months the colony had obtained eight hundred grains, since two harvests each year were
permitted.

These eight hundred grains, less fifty which were prudently put aside, would be sowed in a new
field with no less care than that bestowed on the single grain.

The field was prepared and then surrounded by a high, sharp and strong wooden fence that
quadrupeds would find very difficult to cross.  As to the birds, some noisy whirligigs and frightful
mannequins, dreamed up by Pencroff's fantastic imagination, were sufficient to scatter them.  The
seven hundred fifty grains were then put in small very regular furrows and nature would do the
rest.

On the 21st of November, Cyrus Smith began to design the trench that would enclose the plateau
from the west, from the southern corner of Lake Grant to the bend in the Mercy.  This ground
had two feet of topsoil and, under that, granite.  He made some more nitroglycerin and the
nitroglycerin produced its usual effect.  In less than fifteen days a trench, a dozen feet wide and
six feet deep, was excavated into the hard ground of the plateau.  A new drain was, by the same
means, cut into the rocky shore of the lake.  The water fell into this new bed and formed a small
watercourse to which they gave the name "Glycerin Creek" which became an affluent of the
Mercy.  As predicted by the engineer, the level of the lake was lowered but by an insignificant
amount.  Finally, to complete the enclosure, the bed of the brook on the beach was considerably
enlarged, and they held the sand in place by means of a double fence.

In the first half of December these activities were finished and Grand View Plateau, that is to say
a sort of irregular pentagon having a perimeter of about four miles, was surrounded by water and
absolutely protected against all aggression.

It was very hot during this month of December.  However, the colonists did not want to delay the
execution of these projects any longer since it was urgent to set up a poultry yard.

Needless to say, since the enclosure of the plateau, Master Jup had been given his liberty.  He did
not leave his masters and showed no wish to escape.  He was a gentle animal, very vigorous
however, and with an extraordinary agility.  Ah! When he climbed the ladder to Granite House, he
had no rival. They had already used him for several tasks:  He dragged loads of wood and carted
away stones that had been extracted from the bed of Glycerin Creek.

"He is not yet a mason, but he is already an ape!" said Herbert jokingly, making allusion to the
nickname of "ape" that masons give to their apprentices.  And if ever the name was justified, this
was it.

The poultry yard occupied an area of two hundred square yards on the southeast bank of the lake. 
They surrounded it with a wooden fence and they built different shelters for the animals that
would populate it.  These were shacks made of branches and divided into compartments, which
would not be long in receiving their hosts.

The first were the tinamou couple, who soon had numerous young.  For companions they had a
half dozen ducks who had frequented the borders of the lake.  Some of them belonged to this
Chinese species whose wings open like a fan and who rival the gilded pheasants with the brilliance
and brightness of their plumage.  Several days later, Herbert got hold of a gallinaceous couple
with a rounded tail and a crest of long feathers, and magnificent "alectorides," who were not long
in becoming tame.  As to the pelicans, the kingfishers and the waterfowl, they came by themselves
to the waterside of the poultry yard, and all of this miniature world, after several disputes, cooing,
cheeping and clucking, ended by coming to terms and increasing in proportions which were
reassuring for the alimentary future of the colony.

Cyrus Smith, wanting to complete his plan, established a pigeon house in a corner of the poultry
yard.  A dozen of those pigeons that frequented the high rocks of the plateau were lodged there. 
These birds became easily accustomed to come to their new dwelling each evening and showed
more of a tendency to become domesticated than their congeners, the wood pigeons who besides,
would only reproduce in the wild state.

Finally the time came for them to use the envelope of the balloon to make linen.  As to keeping it
in this form and risk themselves in a hot air balloon in order to leave the island, above an ocean
without limits so to say, that was not admissible for people who were destitute of everything. 
Cyrus Smith, being practical, could not dream of it.

  They took steps then to bring the envelope to Granite House and to make their heavy cart more
manageable and lighter. But if a vehicle was not lacking, the motor had still to be found.  Did
there exist on the island some native ruminant species that could replace the horse, donkey, ox or
cow?  That was the question.

"The truth is," said Pencroff, "that a beast of burden would be very useful to us while waiting for
Mister Smith to construct a steam cart or even a locomotive, because certainly one day we will
have a railroad from Granite House to Port Balloon with a branch line to Mount Franklin."

And the honest sailor, in speaking this way, believed what he said.  Oh!  Imagination, when faith
is blended with it!

But, without exaggeration, a simple harnessable quadruped would have done well for Pencroff's
purpose, but Providence favored him and did not keep him waiting.

One day, the 23rd of December, they heard Neb shouting and Top barking in rivalry at the same
time.  The colonists, occupied at the Chimneys, ran immediately fearing some violent incident.

What did they see?  Two large fine animals who had imprudently ventured onto the plateau while
the bridges were down.  One would have said they were two horses at least two donkeys, male
and female, with a fine form, dove colored fur, white legs and tail, with b