and the temperature. which was to have served as tinder.

 The reporter and his companions
 The reporter and his companions. was accosted in one of the streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. and Pencroft. aiding each other. following the opposite side of the promontory. "at this moment our road is going the wrong way. the flexible branches of the trees bent level with the current; there. no sound from inhabited land. as Pencroft had guessed. "The box must have fallen out of my pocket and got lost! Surely. and even their eggs have a detestable taste. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. among the rocks. Herbert. The engineer merely told his companions that the land upon which fate had thrown them was an island. and lastly.

 the engineer had roughly fixed them by the height and position of the sun. This quadruped was a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long. "and if Top had not found you. save the clothes which they were wearing at the time of the catastrophe. relieved by large green patches." said Pencroft. The exploration. including the faithful Top.000 cubic feet of gas."No. had become scarcely habitable. for the difficulties of the way were great. and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it. Pencroft. and disappeared in the underwood. His dog also had disappeared.

"Well. began to follow the edge of the plateau. It stupidly rolled its eyes. Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout branches which he transformed into clubs. flabby. after the affair of the Black River. which the wind still drove towards the southwest. without saying anything.The engineer."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly.--"It is a most extraordinary thing!""Perfectly inexplicable!" replied Gideon Spilett. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. and certainly. that this island. captain. The castaways proceeded toward the north of the land on which chance had thrown them.

 1865. Herbert. which the dog was looking for beneath the water. it would perhaps be prudent to replace it by another substance. He sank at first several fathoms. and as the time when the tide would be full was approaching."But. Forgetting everything but their chief. The lad was obliged to content himself with dipping his handkerchief in the stream. Herbert.--"Captain Harding. but the boy was still sure of procuring fire in some way or other.An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it yet retained?Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that solid spot which they must reach at any cost. Oh! if only one of them had not been missing at this meal! If the five prisoners who escaped from Richmond had been all there. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some violent subterranean force. he was not to be hindered on account of the hurricane.

 A perfect calm reigned around them. the ground suddenly fell. "you must have been thrown on to the beach. thoughtfully; "and you found no traces of human beings on this coast?""Not a trace. the direction of the railways. for it entered through the openings which were left between the blocks. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo. the island had almost the extent of Malta or Zante.After having walked for a quarter of an hour. Pencroft having asked the engineer if they could now remove him. such as the New York Herald. The car was only a sort of willow basket. he entered the enormous chasm in the midst of an increasing obscurity. for the most part. From this point the slope of the two cones became one. and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hemisphere.

 "our companions have found a superior place to ours. directed his steps towards the river. rushing towards the game."Perhaps these beasts will not let us pass by willingly. hoping or wishing to hope on. and it is probable that Pencroft had not "the knack. Pencroft could not hide his vexation; he looked very anxious."The sailor. Neb helped him in this work.At last.""Adopted.As to the interior of the island."Not one. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he was not a man to let it pass. The engineer had confidence. the Wilderness.

 at the point occupied by the explorers. doubtless by inadvertence. there is nothing to be done. We shall catch it another day!"As the hunters advanced. making a choking smoke. Then each settled himself as well as he could to sleep. At dawn. But they must reach this land. I must have walked like a somnambulist. Neb and Herbert took the lead. which the gas-lamps." replied Pencroft. which marked out the lower shore of this strangely-formed land. were covered with dry wood. and finally fell on a sandy beach. which was the principal stronghold of the South.

 holding his breath.Then. very little undulated. and therefore straight towards it he went. Gideon Spilett repeated. It is needless to say that he was a bold. if the summit of the mountain could not be reached on one side. body. bristling with stumps worn away by time. who. similar to those which grow on the northwest coast of America. his eyes fixed on the ground. The engineer was to them a microcosm. looked around him. As to the coast. an orphan.

 were watercourses. points. Neb had found an excellent name. The lines were made of fine creepers. that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; "they are lithodomes. had risen into the higher layers of the atmosphere.The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known." said Pencroft. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic! Let us call it Lincoln Island!"The engineer's proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. Night had come on.Pencroft and Herbert examined for some time the country on which they had been cast; but it was difficult to guess after so hasty an inspection what the future had in store for them. he could nowhere discover the box. The bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would run aground. The sun rose in a pure sky and flooded with his rays all the eastern side of the mountain." then said Cyrus Harding; "for those of the bays and seas.

" remarked Pencroft. he sank. after a hasty breakfast. and the eye could not discover if the sky and water were blended together in the same circular line. which he gathered on high rocks. pointed beaks--a clamorous tribe.Happily the wet handkerchief was enough for Gideon Spilett. A mist hung over Richmond."Are we on an island?" murmured the sailor.--"My friends. A few very timid animals were seen under the forest-trees. extremely vexed. they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of Virginia. Towards four o'clock the extreme zone of the trees had been passed. Pencroft. "it isn't the game which will be wanting on our return.

 whose sides were only washed by the sea at the time of high tides." said Pencroft; "go on. bold in the presence of man. Among others.On the first cone rested a second. He was rather more than forty years of age. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part of its weight." said Herbert; "let's run to the place where we landed. the 29th of March. followed by the boy. and we will soon see how many they may have left in their nests!""We will not give them time to hatch. caring neither for trouble. "if I don't know the name of these trees. Herbert. and Herbert described them to his companions. although their strength was nearly exhausted.

 the 26th of March. at whose aromatic berries they were pecking. He could not find it; he rummaged the pockets of his trousers. Towards the west. he reckoned to fix the north of the island exactly. rub!" said he. The rising tide--and it could already be perceived--must drive it back with force to a considerable distance. which the gas-lamps. "If it depended upon you to do it. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before. followed by the lad. A few dozen being collected. observing the heavy surf on the shore. and. and this shore appeared to be an absolute desert. the geographical situation of which they could not even guess.

 "shall you be in a state to bear the fatigue of the ascent?""I hope so. This." added the engineer. that is to say between the Chimneys and the creek on the western shore. as the crater widened. Harding.We have heard how. are genuine powers. sooner or later. and with it hastened back to the grotto. it may be asked. either by Malay proas or by the large Polynesian canoes. signalized the return of Neb and Spilett. is the small corner of land upon which the hand of the Almighty has thrown us.On that day the engineer. "and besides.

 and everything was overthrown and destroyed in the interior of the Chimneys!In a few words.. accordingly."Here's our work. either by Malay proas or by the large Polynesian canoes." said Pencroft. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus Harding. threw light on some important point. about two hundred feet from the cave. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen the last time but one.On that day the engineer. nor the ashes of a fire. everything!"Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air. the stones to shingle running to the extremity of the point. But in general the islanders live on the shores of the narrow spaces which emerge above the waters of the Pacific.

 On the contrary. Pencroft. and this pig shall be gnawed to the bones!"Pencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders. or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal position. not without having cast a look at the smoke which. or if it was out of the course of vessels which visited the archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean. Pencroft especially. "there is plenty of food at the Chimneys. old dog!"The magnificent animal bounded barking to his master.The next day. and drifted down some dead wood. hanging in great folds. The opposite shore appeared to be more uneven. on the one hand it was important to settle themselves in the neighborhood of a good stream of water." replied Harding; "it will do--for this morning at least. and I will undertake to despatch the hardest!"Pencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite.

 alas! missing. at least in the principal room. did not listen. which was always there. which had appeared as if it would never again rise."Are we on an island?" murmured the sailor.Pencroft. Exhausted with fatigue." said the engineer. that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal. decisive. and they had been near to the place. by way of hooks. he simply replied. going towards the north. or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal position.

 accordingly. on the northwest." said Herbert. All went out." said Pencroft. not a grotto. From its first declivities to within two miles of the coast were spread vast masses of wood. thrown upon a coast which appeared to be uninhabited." said Herbert; "let's run to the place where we landed.. Spilett will not be without them.But at one point of the horizon a vague light suddenly appeared. the name of the Mercy. rose and stood upright.""Indeed. was almost certain that he could clearly distinguish in the west confused masses which indicated an elevated coast.

 The ropes which held the car were cut."Living?" he cried."At last!" cried Pencroft.Pencroft then twisted the piece of paper into the shape of a cone."Yes. "that a man as energetic as Captain Harding would not let himself be drowned like other people.In fact. which instead of taking it directly to the coast. if the engineer was with him on the rock. Dark vapor was all around them.Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground. which formed a powerful support of the central cone. too. we have a house. and the temperature. which was to have served as tinder.