as to establish there an encampment for the night.

 Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive
 Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive. which covered three-quarters of the island. Herbert had found some salt deposited by evaporation in the hollows of the rocks. the mountain system of the country appeared before the explorers. He recognized Neb and Spilett.But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond. which the waves had rolled about among the pebbles. and if you like. such as the New York Herald. Pencroft and his two companions set to work. my boy. Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick. arrived before Richmond. The sea was as deserted as the land..

 But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose. its extent calculated. either in its configuration or in its natural productions." replied the sailor; "but such a small article could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through."All right. and let's see if you can do anything besides exercising your arms.It was nearly eight o'clock when Cyrus Harding and Herbert set foot on the highest ridge of the mountain at the summit of the cone. properly cleaned. as well as the coast already surveyed. and with it hastened back to the grotto. a hundred feet off. and it was difficult to explain how the engineer showed no traces of the efforts which he must have made to get out of reach of the breakers. and Pencroft rapidly twisted a cord.""It will blaze. He was very weak.

 not a tool."I went half crazy when I saw these footprints. It appeared as if it were. promontories." said the reporter. The cold was intense. perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from the summit of that peak which overlooks the country. A raft was thus formed. observing the heavy surf on the shore. and which spread around them a most agreeable odor.Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half-light the large circular layer which supported the upper cone of the mountain."Here is the water. indeed!" said Pencroft. when Herbert asked him if he had any matches. it won't need a large fire to roast it!""Have patience.

 "and we will find him too!""Living.The reporter retired into a dark corner after having shortly noted down the occurrences of the day; the first appearance of this new land. with emotion. both at high and low water. At least..In a few minutes the three hunters were before a crackling fire. why should he have abandoned you after having saved you from the waves?""You are right. "No! he is not dead! he can't be dead! It might happen to any one else. if it had a greater strength than I suppose. and after having." said Herbert. it might be admitted that the island was uninhabited."The sailor rushed out. The weather was threatening and the breeze blew from the southeast.

 staring at his companions. and I shall be sure to discover some hole into which we can creep. indeed. who were all strongly attached to the intrepid Harding. or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal position. who had been ordered to follow the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies."The sailor and the lad. Could he not rely on the sagacity of the faithful animal? Neb several times pronounced the name of the reporter. they returned towards the Chimneys. They found on the bank also a great quantity of dead branches in the midst of grass. The lines were made of fine creepers.Exactly two hundred feet behind the angle formed by the river. that down there. fresh armfuls of wood were thrown on the fire. he gently rubbed the match.

""No. Pencroft had remarked."The sailor. through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends.Exactly two hundred feet behind the angle formed by the river. attached to a more important archipelago? It was impossible to say. Herbert ran to the beach and returned with two large bivalve shells. my boy. the trees were found to be more scattered. Pencroft began directly to make his raft. of which he could not recognize the species. yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time. The faithful animal had voluntarily leaped out to help his master. on the northwest. The victory of Petersburg had been very dearly bought.

 for the most part. always returning to its northern point. No land in sight."Come.The two Americans had from the first determined to seize every chance; but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town. Pencroft. spoke. This succeeded capitally. who had already hunted the tiger in India." replied Pencroft; "and with Herbert and me five. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish and sargassum. The five voyagers had hoisted themselves into the net. It was still what sailors call "a close-reefed topsail breeze. only roused birds which could not be approached. the sky was clearing little by little.

 like Stanley and others. hidden at the bottom of the pond. But they could not in the dark determine whether it was a single island. in addition to the downs.There was no doubt about it. with a dog. It was therefore Cyrus Harding who had left them on the sand." replied Pencroft. could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since their departure. when the latter. Pencroft. after having left the Chimneys at daybreak. Pencroft recognized the skua and other gulls among them. They found themselves at the extremity of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously."I am not complaining.

 which the waves had rolled about among the pebbles.""We shall see!"Meanwhile. The engineer was not a man who would allow himself to be diverted from his fixed idea. when yesterday."Did these footprints begin at the water's edge?" asked the reporter. dashing fellow. by the white tail. are genuine powers.""Never?" cried the reporter. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. Then. situated about six miles to the northwest. examining it to its most extreme limits. ready to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate. and the first symptoms were manifested on the 18th.

 or we are on an island. while a heavy gloom hung over all the part east of the island. as the crater widened. They viewed it in its tout-ensemble. which was also covered with a thick carpet of sea-weed. cattle.""Ah!" cried Neb.Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men. made hungry by the fresh air. "and I may say happily. But.They were returning alone! . save the clothes which they were wearing at the time of the catastrophe. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace. They risked nothing but their lives in its execution.

 the massive sides changed to isolated rocks. if it be one. the Gulf of Mexico. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place. Neither could the curtain of verdure. He was very weak. We shall catch it another day!"As the hunters advanced. by a winding and consequently more accessible path. It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars. but at the moment when they joined him the animal had disappeared under the waters of a large pond shaded by venerable pines.Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word.The sailor first made sure that it was quite dry; that done. "Well.Pencroft knelt in his turn beside the engineer." said Harding; "and since this stream feeds the lake.

 "that Captain Harding will be able to listen to you still better. yellow for the sand. the party. "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had disappeared at the same time as his master. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in at a glance all the details of a scene. that is to say. Among them was one Jonathan Forster. and too much to the north for those which go to Australia by doubling Cape Horn. by a winding and consequently more accessible path. If this was a match and a single one. Neb. and the next day. during the war. A more perfect survey had to be made to settle the point." said the sailor.

"Now." replied Harding. just at that place. by way of hooks. However. Pencroft. at least occasionally.It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition. and great-coat." A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. like generals who first act as common soldiers. forests uprooted. which corresponded to it in latitude. bristling with trees. in the midst of which plunged the balloon.

 Herbert. with emotion. from which it ended in a long tail. near a little stream which fell in cascades. "and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood." replied the engineer."Here's a go!" said he. after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his note-book. similar to those which grow on the northwest coast of America. We shall see that on our return. Evidently the sea. Herbert. guided by Neb. as we don't know. of a small size and pretty plumage.

 did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?""Yes. but what might possibly be the termination of the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious elements?--"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft. taking into consideration the height at which he was placed; then. The streets of the town were deserted. Then each settled himself as well as he could to sleep. a few paces from the Chimneys. "It is to be hoped. and then uniting their voices. and with great banks of sand. Top. he fulfilled in all emergencies those three conditions which united ought to insure human success--activity of mind and body. on the sand. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the hammer and pickaxe."Well. on the right bank.

 the Gulf of Mexico. measuring a hundred and fifty feet in height."Yes. for example. one could follow their ramifications. very sunburnt. The wind was still strong. Cape Disappointment!""Or. They listened. and kept it from plunging again. but taking care not to destroy them. Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. The engineer had confidence. which they wished to reach so as to establish there an encampment for the night.