It was a grave loss in their circumstances.

 the glittering Southern Cross
 the glittering Southern Cross. they would complete it as they made fresh discoveries. and they must wait for that till speech returned. strewn with stones and destitute of vegetation. there is nothing to be done. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. must first of all recruit their strength. situated about six miles to the northwest. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct.Neb. it could not be doubted that it was completely extinct. the physiognomy of a clever man of the military school. they were palatable without condiments of any sort. which till now had been as pale as death. and that as soon as possible. "That could in case of need serve for tinder. sheltered from all wind and damp.

"But." "What still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing. captain!""You don't know yet?""But we shall know."We are on an islet. Pencroft. Pencroft only saw traces of quadrupeds. We shall see that on our return. which ascended from the shore towards the interior of the country. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing.Next day.Then. which were crawling on the ground. but on the right the high promontory prevented their seeing whether there was land beyond it. they both searched carefully. The departure of the balloon was impossible. it did not offer the smallest fissure which would serve as a dwelling. forgotten to bring the burnt linen.

 and perpendicular. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. Harding. After a walk of a mile and a half. or if it ran southeast and southwest. Harding was laid on it. Top! Come. it must have brought us either to the archipelago of Mendava."No. managed to penetrate into the besieged town.""All right; try. They could not leave it either. if by chance he happened to have a match or two.Cyrus Harding reflected a few minutes; he attentively observed the perimeter of the island. till then. for he was a confirmed smoker."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system.

 and his body had not even obtained a burial-place.At the narrowest part. At last speech returned to him. relieved by large green patches. In certain places. which would always lead them back to the point from which they started. "if my master was here. to have loaded at least twenty men. "Is everything thrown out?" "No. his capybara in his hand. The tempest soon became such that Forster's departure was deferred. Towns were overthrown.Pencroft took the piece of paper which the reporter held out to him. but fortunately it did not rain. over a soil equally sandy and rugged. the underwood thickened again. and Pencroft rapidly twisted a cord.

 not without having cast a look at the smoke which."We will save him!" exclaimed the reporter. the engineer explained to his companions that the altitude of this little sheet of water must be about three hundred feet. and in the pantry. ornamented by a pendant skin which hangs over their throats. The deep sleep which had overpowered him would no doubt be more beneficial to him than any nourishment. Herbert went up to him. This sea-weed. took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a large tree. followed Top. for without matches or tinder we should be in a fix. but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft. who. Pencroft felt that his feet were crushing dry branches which crackled like fireworks. broken at two-thirds of its perimeter by a narrow creek. and. and it was almost night when Cyrus Harding and his companions.

 struck the creature on the wing. The rocks which were visible appeared like amphibious monsters reposing in the surf.000 dollars in gold. we can christen them as we find them. and stood motionless. for they did not know to what part of the world the hurricane had driven them. Despair had completely changed his countenance. the match has missed fire; I cannot. their first look was cast upon the ocean which not long before they had traversed in such a terrible condition. and be supplied by the melting of the snow which covered the sides of the central cone.As to Neb. would be hidden by the high tide. that is to say. since you have so christened it. such as the New York Herald. was heard. and there was not the slightest possibility of maintaining it on the surface of the sea.

A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean.Neb then resolved to walk along the beach for some miles." said Herbert quickly."Give me but a good fire."Yes!" replied Neb. This time he was understood."The sailor could rely upon Herbert; the young boy was well up in natural history."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system. He was rather more than forty years of age. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. without saying a word. A more perfect survey had to be made to settle the point. and after having announced to his journal the result of the battle. the burnt linen caught the sparks of flint. we shall always find some one to whom we can speak. It stupidly rolled its eyes. The bits of wood became hot.

 arms. and deep fissures could be seen which. Even the enormous balloon. He." said he. joined the first plateau. "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better.The repast ended. much time was employed and fatigue undergone for nothing. "our friends can come back when they like.It was five in the evening when he and Herbert re-entered the cave. the sailor and the lad placed some good-sized pieces of wood. when Pencroft cried out. and lastly. obstructed by rocks. and he soon disappeared round an angle of the cliff. Cyrus Harding said to them in a calm.

 piercing eyes. Herbert and he climbing up the sides of the interior. These lithodomes were oblong shells. and eggs in nests; we have only to find a house." said Herbert. Spilett. 1865. and the wind.All at once the reporter sprang up. They must consider what was to be done. The sun rose in a pure sky and flooded with his rays all the eastern side of the mountain. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois. It was a perpendicular wall of very hard granite. if the engineer could have brought his practical science. slightly rounded. it showed symptoms of abating. with its inequalities of ground.

 Between the volcano and the east coast Cyrus Harding and his companions were surprised to see a lake. making an open roadstead. They had not been perceived. The nearest point of the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off. I think some branches will be very useful in stopping up these openings. The wind was still strong. with very few trees. the few provisions they had kept. a perfect treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects. "our situation is. united to those of Butler.From time to time the castaways stopped and shouted. Neb. decisive. Spilett."Certainly. the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather.

 On the way the sailor could not help repeating. it did not offer the smallest fissure which would serve as a dwelling. thanks to its capacity. the sailor and Herbert."But he will make us a fire!" replied Gideon Spilett. armed with sticks. "for neither Neb nor Captain Harding smoke."So saying. the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the voyagers." replied Pencroft. for nature had placed regular telescopes under his eyebrows. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. Not having been able to leave the town before the first operations of the siege. in the south. from the jaws at the northeast to the extremity of the tail of the southwest. and then we will set out. of the tail which extended to the southwest.

" Cyrus Harding had said. They had then to find fresh water.The men had done all that men could do. not being inflammable enough. but the balloon. for they did not know to what part of the world the hurricane had driven them. arrived before Richmond. Night had come on. or even. Towards the west. Evening came on by degrees. The ground. before sleeping. the seaman arranged the spit. "if my master was here. who knew how to look death in the face. and it was probable that the sailor would be obliged to return to the marshy part of the forest.

 and in that rocky hole. who had sailed all the ocean over."Well. A few dozen being collected."This little winding watercourse and the river already mentioned constituted the water-system. The engineer's condition would."But what will you make your omelet in?" asked Herbert; "in your hat?""Well!" replied the sailor. the 26th of March. Neb jumped up. closely resembling the king-fisher. the appearance of the country. during which the engineer spoke little. which covered three-quarters of the island." following the usual expression. promontories. on the contrary. only roused birds which could not be approached.

 and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word. At the same time and on the same day another important personage fell into the hands of the Southerners. and a short time after at the Chimneys." said he. It was Top. it reproached obliquely. which descended slowly in proportion as the cloud mounted to the zenith. and soon. my friends. the engineer had again relapsed into unconsciousness. The remains of the capybara and some dozens of the stone-pine almonds formed their supper. He found. A thick fog made the night very dark. Cyrus Harding. All his efforts were useless! Nothing remained to be done but to render the last duties to the one whom he had loved so much! Neb then thought of his companions. which. the engineer had roughly fixed them by the height and position of the sun.

 and the valley of which the river occupied the bottom was more clearly visible. coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were precipitated on them. . Gideon Spilett. those of the juniper- tree among others. and much used in the islands of the Pacific. Union Bay. "His bonnet was a thocht ajee. and after half an hour of exertion.500 feet. shook his head. "only have a little patience. The couroucous were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment. a serious mouth. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. He attempted to struggle against the billows by swimming vigorously. and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals.

 the answer seemed to be in the negative. Their wood was stowed away in one of the rooms. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. try again.Five hundred feet only separated the explorers from the plateau. raw mussels for meat. But they were dry.But if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a circular direction. I would rather even have lost my pipe! Confound the box! Where can it be?""Look here. in a place sheltered from the rain and wind." which is spread over all the regions of the globe. Some handfuls of grass. sprang up in the midst of the darkness. they endeavored to raise even a louder shout than before. did not care to trouble himself with what Pencroft was saying. captain! we are falling!" "For Heaven's sake heave out the ballast!" "There! the last sack is empty!" "Does the balloon rise?" "No!" "I hear a noise like the dashing of waves. before the others made up their minds to fly.

 of the genus Sargassum. as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on the archipelago of the Aucklands. The tide had already turned. The gas escaped without any possibility of retaining it. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer. In fact." replied Neb. Pencroft also thought of mixing with the water some moisture from the titra's flesh which he had brought." replied the reporter. almost beaten to the ground.Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men." replied the boy.Whence. in its narrow part. the ends of which Herbert rubbed smooth on a rock." replied the engineer. "for it is so uneven.

 sometimes naive.A whole half-hour passed."I am not complaining. Consequently the gaze of an observer posted on its summit would extend over a radius of at least fifty miles. and everything was overthrown and destroyed in the interior of the Chimneys!In a few words. Gideon Spilett ranked among the first of those reporters: a man of great merit.A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean."This will be a good opportunity to taste jacamar. on the other. we have it no longer!"And the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before."Well. The noise of the surf was scarcely heard. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond. my friends?"The engineer's proposal was unanimously agreed to by his companions. "We shall find ammunition on our way.Without speaking a word.

 which. in the meantime. watched these preparations without saying anything. extremely vexed. and here it met a current of wind. I must say I prefer matches. In a few minutes the cooking was done. From this point the view of the sea was much extended."We shall know to-morrow. and food. energetic. Herbert tried to console him by observing. It is needless to say that he was a bold. my name's not Jack Pencroft. There under the shade of the trees fluttered several couples of gallinaceae belonging to the pheasant species." said the reporter. It was a grave loss in their circumstances.