The mysterious island

T his etext was firs t prepared by A nthony Matonak T his updated edition was produc ed by David W idger E xtens ive proofing was done by T revor Carls on T he Mys terious Is land by J ules V erne 1874 P ART 1--DROP P E D FROM THE CLOUDS Chapter 1 "A re we ris ing again?" "No. On the c ontrary." "A re we des c ending?" "W ors e than that, c aptain! we are falling! " "For Heaven's s ake heave out the ballas t! " "T here! the las t s ac k is em pty! " "Does the balloon ris e?" "No! " "I hear a nois e like the das hing of waves . T he s ea is below the c ar! It c annot be m ore than 500 feet from us ! " "Overboard with every weight! . . . everything! " S uc h were the loud and s tartling words whic h res ounded through the air, above the vas t watery des ert of the P ac ific , about four o'c loc k in the evening of the 23rd of Marc h, 1865. Few c an pos s ibly have forgotten the terrible s torm from the northeas t, in the m iddle of the equinox of that year. T he tem pes t raged without interm is s ion from the 18th to the 26th of Marc h. Its ravages were terrible in A m eric a, E urope, and A s ia, c overing a dis tanc e of eighteen hundred m iles , and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth s outh parallel. Towns were overthrown, fores ts uprooted, c oas ts devas tated by the m ountains of water whic h were prec ipitated on them , ves s els c as t on the s hore, whic h the publis hed ac c ounts num bered by hundreds , whole dis tric ts leveled by waters pouts whic h des troyed everything they pas s ed over, s everal thous and people c rus hed on land or drowned at s ea; s uc h were the trac es of its fury, left by this devas tating tem pes t. It s urpas s ed in dis as ters thos e whic h s o frightfully ravaged Havana and Guadalupe, one on the 25th of Oc tober, 1810, the other on the 26th of J uly, 1825. B ut while s o m any c atas trophes were taking plac e on land and at s ea, a dram a not les s exc iting was being enac ted in the agitated air. In fac t, a balloon, as a ball m ight be c arried on the s um m it of a waters pout, had been taken into the c irc ling m ovem ent of a c olum n of air and had travers ed s pac e at the rate of ninety m iles an hour, turning round and round as if s eized by s om e aerial m aels trom . B eneath the lower point of the balloon s wung a c ar, c ontaining five pas s engers , s c arc ely vis ible in the m ids t of the thic k vapor m ingled with s pray whic h hung over the s urfac e of the oc ean. W henc e, it m ay be as ked, had c om e that plaything of the tem pes t? From what part of the world did it ris e? It s urely c ould not have s tarted during the s torm . B ut the s torm had raged five days already, and the firs t s ym ptom s were m anifes ted on the 18th. It c annot be doubted that the balloon c am e from a great dis tanc e, for it c ould not have traveled les s than two thous and m iles in twenty-four hours . A t any rate the pas s engers , des titute of all m arks for their guidanc e, c ould not have pos s es s ed the m eans of rec koning the route travers ed s inc e their departure. It was a rem arkable fac t that, although in the very m ids t of the furious tem pes t, they did not s uffer from it. T hey were thrown about and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the s lightes t degree, or being s ens ible that they were rem oved from a horizontal pos ition. T heir eyes c ould not pierc e through the thic k m is t whic h had gathered beneath the c ar. Dark vapor was all around them . S uc h was the dens ity of the atm os phere that they c ould not be c ertain whether it was day or night. No reflec tion of light, no s ound from inhabited land, no roaring of the oc ean c ould have reac hed them , through the obs c urity, while s us pended in thos e elevated zones . T heir rapid des c ent alone had inform ed them of the dangers whic h they ran from the waves . However, the balloon, lightened of heavy artic les , s uc h as am m unition, arm s , and provis ions , had ris en into the higher layers of the atm os phere, to a height of 4,500 feet. T he voyagers , after having dis c overed that the s ea extended beneath them , and thinking the dangers above les s dreadful than thos e below, did not hes itate to throw overboard even their m os t us eful artic les , while they endeavored to los e no m ore of that fluid, the life of their enterpris e, whic h s us tained them above the abys s . T he night pas s ed in the m ids t of alarm s whic h would have been death to les s energetic s ouls . A gain the day appeared and with it the tem pes t began to m oderate. From the beginning of that day, the 24th of Marc h, it s howed s ym ptom s of abating. A t dawn, s om e of the lighter c louds had ris en into the m ore lofty regions of the air. In a few hours the wind had c hanged from a hurric ane to a fres h breeze, that is to s ay, the rate of the trans it of the atm os pheric layers was dim inis hed by half. It was s till what s ailors c all "a c los e-reefed tops ail breeze," but the c om m otion in the elem ents had none the les s c ons iderably dim inis hed. T owards eleven o'c loc k, the lower region of the air was s ens ibly c learer. T he atm os phere threw off that c hilly dam pnes s whic h is felt after the pas s age of a great m eteor. T he s torm did not s eem to have gone farther to the wes t. It appeared to have exhaus ted its elf. Could it have pas s ed away in elec tric s heets , as is s om etim es the c as e with regard to the typhoons of the Indian Oc ean? B ut at the s am e tim e, it was als o evident that the balloon was again s lowly des c ending with a regular m ovem ent. It appeared as if it were, little by little, c ollaps ing, and that its c as e was lengthening and extending, pas s ing from a s pheric al to an oval form . Towards m idday the balloon was hovering above the s ea at a height of only 2,000 feet. It c ontained 50,000 c ubic feet of gas , and, thanks to its c apac ity, it c ould m aintain its elf a long tim e in the air, although it s hould reac h a great altitude or m ight be thrown into a horizontal pos ition. P erc eiving their danger, the pas s engers c as t away the las t artic les whic h s till weighed down the c ar, the few provis ions they had kept, everything, even to their poc ket-knives , and one of them , having hois ted him s elf on to the c irc les whic h united the c ords of the net, tried to s ec ure m ore firm ly the lower point of the balloon. It was , however, evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing, and that the balloon c ould no longer be s us tained in the higher regions . T hey m us t infallibly peris h! T here was not a c ontinent, nor even an is land, vis ible beneath them . T he watery expans e did not pres ent a s ingle s pec k of land, not a s olid s urfac e upon whic h their anc hor c ould hold. It was the open s ea, whos e waves were s till das hing with trem endous violenc e! It was the oc ean, without any vis ible lim its , even for thos e whos e gaze, from their c om m anding pos ition, extended over a radius of forty m iles . T he vas t liquid plain, las hed without m erc y by the s torm , appeared as if c overed with herds of furious c hargers , whos e white and dis heveled c res ts were s tream ing in the wind. No land was in s ight, not a s olitary s hip c ould be s een. It was nec es s ary at any c os t to arres t their downward c ours e, and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves . T he voyagers direc ted all their energies to this urgent work. B ut, notwiths tanding their efforts , the balloon s till fell, and at the s am e tim e s hifted with the greates t rapidity, following the direc tion of the wind, that is to s ay, from the northeas t to the s outhwes t. Frightful indeed was the s ituation of thes e unfortunate m en. T hey were evidently no longer m as ters of the m ac hine. A ll their attem pts were us eles s . T he c as e of the balloon c ollaps ed m ore and m ore. T he gas es c aped without any pos s ibility of retaining it. T heir des c ent was vis ibly ac c elerated, and s oon after m idday the c ar hung within 600 feet of the oc ean. It was im pos s ible to prevent the es c ape of gas , whic h rus hed through a large rent in the s ilk. B y lightening the c ar of all the artic les whic h it c ontained, the pas s engers had been able to prolong their s us pens ion in the air for a few hours . B ut the inevitable c atas trophe c ould only be retarded, and if land did not appear before night, voyagers , c ar, and balloon m us t to a c ertainty vanis h beneath the waves . T hey now res orted to the only rem aining expedient. T hey were truly dauntles s m en, who knew how to look death in the fac e. Not a s ingle m urm ur es c aped from their lips . T hey were determ ined to s truggle to the las t m inute, to do anything to retard their fall. T he c ar was only a s ort of willow bas ket, unable to float, and there was not the s lightes t pos s ibility of m aintaining it on the s urfac e of the s ea. T wo m ore hours pas s ed and the balloon was s c arc ely 400 feet above the water. A t that m om ent a loud voic e, the voic e of a m an whos e heart was inac c es s ible to fear, was heard. To this voic e res ponded others not les s determ ined. "Is everything thrown out?" "No, here are s till 2,000 dollars in gold." A heavy bag im m ediately plunged into the s ea. "Does the balloon ris e?" "A little, but it will not be long before it falls again." "W hat s till rem ains to be thrown out?" "Nothing." "Y es ! the c ar! " "Let us c atc h hold of the net, and into the s ea with the c ar." T his was , in fac t, the las t and only m ode of lightening the balloon. T he ropes whic h held the c ar were c ut, and the balloon, after its fall, m ounted 2,000 feet. T he five voyagers had hois ted them s elves into the net, and c lung to the m es hes , gazing at the abys s . T he delic ate s ens ibility of balloons is well known. It is s uffic ient to throw out the lightes t artic le to produc e a differenc e in its vertic al pos ition. T he apparatus in the air is like a balanc e of m athem atic al prec is ion. It c an be thus eas ily unders tood that when it is lightened of any c ons iderable weight its m ovem ent will be im petuous and s udden. S o it happened on this oc c as ion. B ut after being s us pended for an ins tant aloft, the balloon began to redes c end, the gas es c aping by the rent whic h it was im pos s ible to repair. T he m en had done all that m en c ould do. No hum an efforts c ould s ave them now. T hey m us t trus t to the m erc y of Him who rules the elem ents . A t four o'c loc k the balloon was only 500 feet above the s urfac e of the water. A loud barking was heard. A dog ac c om panied the voyagers , and was held pres s ed c los e to his m as ter in the m es hes of the net. "T op has s een s om ething," c ried one of the m en. T hen im m ediately a loud voic e s houted,-"Land! land! " T he balloon, whic h the wind s till drove towards the s outhwes t, had s inc e daybreak gone a c ons iderable dis tanc e, whic h m ight be rec koned by hundreds of m iles , and a tolerably high land had, in fac t, appeared in that direc tion. B ut this land was s till thirty m iles off. It would not take les s than an hour to get to it, and then there was the c hanc e of falling to leeward. A n hour! Might not the balloon before that be em ptied of all the fluid it yet retained? S uc h was the terrible ques tion! T he voyagers c ould dis tinc tly s ee that s olid s pot whic h they m us t reac h at any c os t. T hey were ignorant of what it was , whether an is land or a c ontinent, for they did not know to what part of the world the hurric ane had driven them . B ut they m us t reac h this land, whether inhabited or des olate, whether hos pitable or not. It was evident that the balloon c ould no longer s upport its elf! S everal tim es already had the c res ts of the enorm ous billows lic ked the bottom of the net, m aking it s till heavier, and the balloon only half ros e, like a bird with a wounded wing. Half an hour later the land was not m ore than a m ile off, but the balloon, exhaus ted, flabby, hanging in great folds , had gas in its upper part alone. T he voyagers , c linging to the net, were s till too heavy for it, and s oon, half plunged into the s ea, they were beaten by the furious waves . T he balloon-c as e bulged out again, and the wind, taking it, drove it along like a ves s el. Might it not pos s ibly thus reac h the land? B ut, when only two fathom s off, terrible c ries res ounded from four pairs of lungs at onc e. T he balloon, whic h had appeared as if it would never again ris e, s uddenly m ade an unexpec ted bound, after having been s truc k by a trem endous s ea. A s if it had been at that ins tant relieved of a new part of its weight, it m ounted to a height of 1,500 feet, and here it m et a c urrent of wind, whic h ins tead of taking it direc tly to the c oas t, c arried it in a nearly parallel direc tion. A t las t, two m inutes later, it reproac hed obliquely, and finally fell on a s andy beac h, out of the reac h of the waves . T he voyagers , aiding eac h other, m anaged to dis engage them s elves from the m es hes of the net. T he balloon, relieved of their weight, was taken by the wind, and like a wounded bird whic h revives for an ins tant, dis appeared into s pac e. B ut the c ar had c ontained five pas s engers , with a dog, and the balloon only left four on the s hore. T he m is s ing pers on had evidently been s wept off by the s ea, whic h had jus t s truc k the net, and it was owing to this c irc um s tanc e that the lightened balloon ros e the las t tim e, and then s oon after reac hed the land. S c arc ely had the four c as taways s et foot on firm ground, than they all, thinking of the abs ent one, s im ultaneous ly exc laim ed, "P erhaps he will try to s wim to land! Let us s ave him ! let us s ave him ! " Chapter 2 T hos e whom the hurric ane had jus t thrown on this c oas t were neither aeronauts by profes s ion nor am ateurs . T hey were pris oners of war whos e boldnes s had induc ed them to es c ape in this extraordinary m anner. A hundred tim es they had alm os t peris hed! A hundred tim es had they alm os t fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the oc ean. B ut Heaven had res erved them for a s trange des tiny, and after having, on the 20th of Marc h, es c aped from Ric hm ond, bes ieged by the troops of General Ulys s es Grant, they found them s elves s even thous and m iles from the c apital of V irginia, whic h was the princ ipal s tronghold of the S outh, during the terrible W ar of S ec es s ion. T heir aerial voyage had las ted five days . T he c urious c irc um s tanc es whic h led to the es c ape of the pris oners were as follows : T hat s am e year, in the m onth of February, 1865, in one of the c oups de m ain by whic h General Grant attem pted, though in vain, to pos s es s him s elf of Ric hm ond, s everal of his offic ers fell into the power of the enem y and were detained in the town. One of the m os t dis tinguis hed was Captain Cyrus Harding. He was a native of Mas s ac hus etts , a firs t-c las s engineer, to whom the governm ent had c onfided, during the war, the direc tion of the railways , whic h were s o im portant at that tim e. A true Northerner, thin, bony, lean, about forty-five years of age; his c los e-c ut hair and his beard, of whic h he only kept a thic k m us tac he, were already getting gray. He had one-of thos e finely-developed heads whic h appear m ade to be s truc k on a m edal, pierc ing eyes , a s erious m outh, the phys iognom y of a c lever m an of the m ilitary s c hool. He was one of thos e engineers who began by handling the ham m er and pic kaxe, like generals who firs t ac t as c om m on s oldiers . B es ides m ental power, he als o pos s es s ed great m anual dexterity. His m us c les exhibited rem arkable proofs of tenac ity. A m an of ac tion as well as a m an of thought, all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and s anguine tem peram ent. Learned, c lear-headed, and prac tic al, he fulfilled in all em ergenc ies thos e three c onditions whic h united ought to ins ure hum an s uc c es s --ac tivity of m ind and body, im petuous wis hes , and powerful will. He m ight have taken for his m otto that of W illiam of Orange in the 17th c entury: "I c an undertake and pers evere even without hope of s uc c es s ." Cyrus Harding was c ourage pers onified. He had been in all the battles of that war. A fter having begun as a volunteer at Illinois , under Ulys s es Grant, he fought at P aduc ah, B elm ont, P itts burg Landing, at the s iege of Corinth, P ort Gibs on, B lac k River, Chattanooga, the W ildernes s , on the P otom ac , everywhere and valiantly, a s oldier worthy of the general who s aid, "I never c ount m y dead! " A nd hundreds of tim es Captain Harding had alm os t been am ong thos e who were not c ounted by the terrible Grant; but in thes e c om bats where he never s pared him s elf, fortune favored him till the m om ent when he was wounded and taken pris oner on the field of battle near Ric hm ond. A t the s am e tim e and on the s am e day another im portant pers onage fell into the hands of the S outherners . T his was no other than Gideon S pilen, a reporter for the New Y ork Herald, who had been ordered to follow the c hanges of the war in the m ids t of the Northern arm ies . Gideon S pilett was one of that rac e of indom itable E nglis h or A m eric an c hronic lers , like S tanley and others , who s top at nothing to obtain exac t inform ation, and trans m it it to their journal in the s hortes t pos s ible tim e. T he news papers of the Union, s uc h as the New York Herald, are genuine powers , and their reporters are m en to be rec koned with. Gideon S pilett ranked am ong the firs t of thos e reporters : a m an of great m erit, energetic , prom pt and ready for anything, full of ideas , having traveled over the whole world, s oldier and artis t, enthus ias tic in c ounc il, res olute in ac tion, c aring neither for trouble, fatigue, nor danger, when in purs uit of inform ation, for him s elf firs t, and then for his journal, a perfec t treas ury of knowledge on all s orts of c urious s ubjec ts , of the unpublis hed, of the unknown, and of the im pos s ible. He was one of thos e intrepid obs ervers who write under fire, "reporting" am ong bullets , and to whom every danger is welc om e. He als o had been in all the battles , in the firs t rank, revolver in one hand, note-book in the other; grape-s hot never m ade his penc il trem ble. He did not fatigue the wires with inc es s ant telegram s , like thos e who s peak when they have nothing to s ay, but eac h of his notes , s hort, dec is ive, and c lear, threw light on s om e im portant point. B es ides , he was not wanting in hum or. It was he who, after the affair of the B lac k River, determ ined at any c os t to keep his plac e at the wic ket of the telegraph offic e, and after having announc ed to his journal the res ult of the battle, telegraphed for two hours the firs t c hapters of the B ible. It c os t the New Y ork Herald two thous and dollars , but the New Y ork Herald publis hed the firs t intelligenc e. Gideon S pilett was tall. He was rather m ore than forty years of age. Light whis kers bordering on red s urrounded his fac e. His eye was s teady, lively, rapid in its c hanges . It was the eye of a m an ac c us tom ed to take in at a glanc e all the details of a s c ene. W ell built, he was inured to all c lim ates , like a bar of s teel hardened in c old water. For ten years Gideon S pilett had been the reporter of the New York Herald, whic h he enric hed by his letters and drawings , for he was as s kilful in the us e of the penc il as of the pen. W hen he was c aptured, he was in the ac t of m aking a des c ription and s ketc h of the battle. T he las t words in his note-book were thes e: "A S outhern riflem an has jus t taken aim at m e, but--" T he S outherner notwiths tanding m is s ed Gideon S pilett, who, with his us ual fortune, c am e out of this affair without a s c ratc h. Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett, who did not know eac h other exc ept by reputation, had both been c arried to Ric hm ond. T he engineer's wounds rapidly healed, and it was during his c onvales c enc e that he m ade ac quaintanc e with the reporter. T he two m en then learned to apprec iate eac h other. S oon their c om m on aim had but one objec t, that of es c aping, rejoining Grant's arm y, and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals . T he two A m eric ans had from the firs t determ ined to s eize every c hanc e; but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town, Ric hm ond was s o s tric tly guarded, that es c ape appeared im pos s ible. In the m eanwhile Captain Harding was rejoined by a s ervant who was devoted to him in life and in death. T his intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's es tate, of a s lave father and m other, but to whom Cyrus , who was an A bolitionis t from c onvic tion and heart, had long s inc e given his freedom . T he onc e s lave, though free, would not leave his m as ter. He would have died for him . He was a m an of about thirty, vigorous , ac tive, c lever, intelligent, gentle, and c alm , s om etim es naive, always m erry, obliging, and hones t. His nam e was Nebuc hadnezzar, but he only ans wered to the fam iliar abbreviation of Neb. W hen Neb heard that his m as ter had been m ade pris oner, he left Mas s ac hus etts without hes itating an ins tant, arrived before Ric hm ond, and by dint of s tratagem and s hrewdnes s , after having ris ked his life twenty tim es over, m anaged to penetrate into the bes ieged town. T he pleas ure of Harding on s eeing his s ervant, and the joy of Neb at finding his m as ter, c an s c arc ely be des c ribed. B ut though Neb had been able to m ake his way into Ric hm ond, it was quite another thing to get out again, for the Northern pris oners were very s tric tly watc hed. S om e extraordinary opportunity was needed to m ake the attem pt with any c hanc e of s uc c es s , and this opportunity not only did not pres ent its elf, but was very diffic ult to find. Meanwhile Grant c ontinued his energetic operations . T he vic tory of P eters burg had been very dearly bought. His forc es , united to thos e of B utler, had as yet been uns uc c es s ful before Ric hm ond, and nothing gave the pris oners any hope of a s peedy deliveranc e. T he reporter, to whom his tedious c aptivity did not offer a s ingle inc ident worthy of note, c ould s tand it no longer. His us ually ac tive m ind was oc c upied with one s ole thought--how he m ight get out of Ric hm ond at any c os t. S everal tim es had he even m ade the attem pt, but was s topped by s om e ins urm ountable obs tac le. However, the s iege c ontinued; and if the pris oners were anxious to es c ape and join Grant's arm y, c ertain of the bes ieged were no les s anxious to join the S outhern forc es . A m ong them was one J onathan Fors ter, a determ ined S outherner. T he truth was , that if the pris oners of the S ec es s ionis ts c ould not leave the town, neither c ould the S ec es s ionis ts them s elves while the Northern arm y inves ted it. T he Governor of Ric hm ond for a long tim e had been unable to c om m unic ate with General Lee, and he very m uc h wis hed to m ake known to him the s ituation of the town, s o as to has ten the m arc h of the arm y to their relief. T hus J onathan Fors ter ac c ordingly c onc eived the idea of ris ing in a balloon, s o as to pas s over the bes ieging lines , and in that way reac h the S ec es s ionis t c am p. T he Governor authorized the attem pt. A balloon was m anufac tured and plac ed at the dis pos al of Fors ter, who was to be ac c om panied by five other pers ons . T hey were furnis hed with arm s in c as e they m ight have to defend them s elves when they alighted, and provis ions in the event of their aerial voyage being prolonged. T he departure of the balloon was fixed for the 18th of Marc h. It s hould be effec ted during the night, with a northwes t wind of m oderate forc e, and the aeronauts c alc ulated that they would reac h General Lee's c am p in a few hours . B ut this northwes t wind was not a s im ple breeze. From the 18th it was evident that it was c hanging to a hurric ane. T he tem pes t s oon bec am e s uc h that Fors ter's departure was deferred, for it was im pos s ible to ris k the balloon and thos e whom it c arried in the m ids t of the furious elem ents . T he balloon, inflated on the great s quare of Ric hm ond, was ready to depart on the firs t abatem ent of the wind, and, as m ay be s uppos ed, the im patienc e am ong the bes ieged to s ee the s torm m oderate was very great. T he 18th, the 19th of Marc h pas s ed without any alteration in the weather. T here was even great diffic ulty in keeping the balloon fas tened to the ground, as the s qualls das hed it furious ly about. T he night of the 19th pas s ed, but the next m orning the s torm blew with redoubled forc e. T he departure of the balloon was im pos s ible. On that day the engineer, Cyrus Harding, was ac c os ted in one of the s treets of Ric hm ond by a pers on whom he did not in the leas t know. T his was a s ailor nam ed P enc roft, a m an of about thirty-five or forty years of age, s trongly built, very s unburnt, and pos s es s ed of a pair of bright s parkling eyes and a rem arkably good phys iognom y. P enc roft was an A m eric an from the North, who had s ailed all the oc ean over, and who had gone through every pos s ible and alm os t im pos s ible adventure that a being with two feet and no wings would enc ounter. It is needles s to s ay that he was a bold, das hing fellow, ready to dare anything and was as tonis hed at nothing. P enc roft at the beginning of the year had gone to Ric hm ond on bus ines s , with a young boy of fifteen from New J ers ey, s on of a form er c aptain, an orphan, whom he loved as if he had been his own c hild. Not having been able to leave the town before the firs t operations of the s iege, he found him s elf s hut up, to his great dis gus t; but, not ac c us tom ed to s uc c um b to diffic ulties , he res olved to es c ape by s om e m eans or other. He knew the engineer-offic er by reputation; he knew with what im patienc e that determ ined m an c hafed under his res traint. On this day he did not, therefore, hes itate to ac c os t him , s aying, without c irc um loc ution, "Have you had enough of Ric hm ond, c aptain?" T he engineer looked fixedly at the m an who s poke, and who added, in a low voic e,-"Captain Harding, will you try to es c ape?" "W hen?" as ked the engineer quic kly, and it was evident that this ques tion was uttered without c ons ideration, for he had not yet exam ined the s tranger who addres s ed him . B ut after having with a penetrating eye obs erved the open fac e of the s ailor, he was c onvinc ed that he had before him an hones t m an. "W ho are you?" he as ked briefly. P enc roft m ade him s elf known. "W ell," replied Harding, "and in what way do you propos e to es c ape?" "B y that lazy balloon whic h is left there doing nothing, and whic h looks to m e as if it was waiting on purpos e for us --" T here was no nec es s ity for the s ailor to finis h his s entenc e. T he engineer unders tood him at onc e. He s eized P enc roft by the arm , and dragged him to his hous e. T here the s ailor developed his projec t, whic h was indeed extrem ely s im ple. T hey ris ked nothing but their lives in its exec ution. T he hurric ane was in all its violenc e, it is true, but s o c lever and daring an engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfec tly well how to m anage a balloon. Had he him s elf been as well ac quainted with the art of s ailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a s hip, P enc roft would not have hes itated to s et out, of c ours e taking his young friend Herbert with him ; for, ac c us tom ed to brave the fierc es t tem pes ts of the oc ean, he was not to be hindered on ac c ount of the hurric ane. Captain Harding had lis tened to the s ailor without s aying a word, but his eyes s hone with s atis fac tion. Here was the long-s ought-for opportunity--he was not a m an to let it pas s . T he plan was feas ible, though, it m us t be c onfes s ed, dangerous in the extrem e. In the night, in s pite of their guards , they m ight approac h the balloon, s lip into the c ar, and then c ut the c ords whic h held it. T here was no doubt that they m ight be killed, but on the other hand they m ight s uc c eed, and without this s torm ! --W ithout this s torm the balloon would have s tarted already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then pres ented its elf. "I am not alone! " s aid Harding at las t. "How m any people do you wis h to bring with you?" as ked the s ailor. "T wo; m y friend S pilett, and m y s ervant Neb." "T hat will be three," replied P enc roft; "and with Herbert and m e five. B ut the balloon will hold s ix--" "T hat will be enough, we will go," ans wered Harding in a firm voic e. T his "we" inc luded S pilett, for the reporter, as his friend well knew, was not a m an to draw bac k, and when the projec t was c om m unic ated to him he approved of it unres ervedly. W hat as tonis hed him was , that s o s im ple an idea had not oc c urred to him before. A s to Neb, he followed his m as ter wherever his m as ter wis hed to go. "T his evening, then," s aid P enc roft, "we will all m eet out there." "T his evening, at ten o'c loc k," replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the s torm does not abate before our departure." P enc roft took leave of the two friends , and returned to his lodging, where young Herbert B rown had rem ained. T he c ourageous boy knew of the s ailor's plan, and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the res ult of the propos al being m ade to the engineer. T hus five determ ined pers ons were about to abandon them s elves to the m erc y of the tem pes tuous elem ents ! No! the s torm did not abate, and neither J onathan Fors ter nor his c om panions dream ed of c onfronting it in that frail c ar. It would be a terrible journey. T he engineer only feared one thing; it was that the balloon, held to the ground and das hed about by the wind, would be torn into s hreds . For s everal hours he roam ed round the nearly- des erted s quare, s urveying the apparatus . P enc roft did the s am e on his s ide, his hands in his poc kets , yawning now and then like a m an who did not know how to kill the tim e, but really dreading, like his friend, either the es c ape or des truc tion of the balloon. E vening arrived. T he night was dark in the extrem e. T hic k m is ts pas s ed like c louds c los e to the ground. Rain fell m ingled with s now. it was very c old. A m is t hung over Ric hm ond. it s eem ed as if the violent s torm had produc ed a truc e between the bes iegers and the bes ieged, and that the c annon were s ilenc ed by the louder detonations of the s torm . T he s treets of the town were des erted. It had not even appeared nec es s ary in that horrible weather to plac e a guard in the s quare, in the m ids t of whic h plunged the balloon. E verything favored the departure of the pris oners , but what m ight pos s ibly be the term ination of the hazardous voyage they c ontem plated in the m ids t of the furious elem ents ?-"Dirty weather! " exc laim ed P enc roft, fixing his hat firm ly on his head with a blow of his fis t; "but ps haw, we s hall s uc c eed all the s am e! " A t half-pas t nine, Harding and his c om panions glided from different direc tions into the s quare, whic h the gas -lam ps , extinguis hed by the wind, had left in total obs c urity. E ven the enorm ous balloon, alm os t beaten to the ground, c ould not be s een. Independently of the s ac ks of ballas t, to whic h the c ords of the

W ithout s peaking a word, Harding, S pilett, Neb, and Herbert took their plac es in the c ar, while P enc roft by the engineer's order detac hed s uc c es s ively the bags of ballas t. It was the work of a few m inutes only, and the s ailor rejoined his c om panions . T he balloon was then only held by the c able, and the engineer had nothing to do but to give the word. A t that m om ent a dog s prang with a bound into the c ar. It was T op, a favorite of the engineer. T he faithful c reature, having broken his c hain, had followed his m as ter. He, however, fearing that its additional weight m ight im pede their as c ent, wis hed to s end away the anim al. "One m ore will m ake but little differenc e, poor beas t! " exc laim ed P enc roft, heaving out two bags of s and, and as he s poke letting go the c able; the balloon as c ending in an oblique direc tion, dis appeared, after having das hed the c ar agains t two c him neys , whic h it threw down as it s wept by them . T hen, indeed, the full rage of the hurric ane was exhibited to the voyagers . During the night the engineer c ould not dream of des c ending, and when day broke, even a glim ps e of the earth below was interc epted by fog. Five days had pas s ed when a partial c learing allowed them to s ee the wide extending oc ean beneath their feet, now las hed into the m addes t fury by the gale. Our readers will rec ollec t what befell thes e five daring individuals who s et out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of Marc h. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a des ert c oas t, s even thous and m iles from their c ountry! B ut one of their num ber was m is s ing, the m an who was to be their guide, their leading s pirit, the engineer, Captain Harding! T he ins tant they had rec overed their feet, they all hurried to the beac h in the hopes of rendering him as s is tanc e. Chapter 3 T he engineer, the m es hes of the net having given way, had been c arried off by a wave. His dog als o had dis appeared. T he faithful anim al had voluntarily leaped out to help his m as ter. "Forward," c ried the reporter; and all four, S pilett, Herbert, P enc roft, and Neb, forgetting their fatigue, began their s earc h. P oor Neb s hed bitter tears , giving way to des pair at the thought of having los t the only being he loved on earth. Only two m inutes had pas s ed from the tim e when Cyrus Harding dis appeared to the m om ent when his c om panions s et foot on the ground. T hey had hopes therefore of arriving in tim e to s ave him . "Let us look for him ! let us look for him ! " c ried Neb. "Y es , Neb," replied Gideon S pilett, "and we will find him too! " "Living, I trus t! " "S till living! " "Can he s wim ?" as ked P enc roft. "Y es ," replied Neb, "and bes ides , T op is there." T he s ailor, obs erving the heavy s urf on the s hore, s hook his head. T he engineer had dis appeared to the north of the s hore, and nearly half a m ile from the plac e where the c as taways had landed. T he neares t point of the beac h he c ould reac h was thus fully that dis tanc e off. It was then nearly s ix o'c loc k. A thic k fog m ade the night very dark. T he c as taways proc eeded toward the north of the land on whic h c hanc e had thrown them , an unknown region, the geographic al s ituation of whic h they c ould not even gues s . T hey were walking upon a s andy s oil, m ingled with s tones , whic h appeared des titute of any s ort of vegetation. T he ground, very unequal and rough, was in s om e plac es perfec tly riddled with holes , m aking walking extrem ely painful. From thes e holes es c aped every m inute great birds of c lum s y flight, whic h flew in all direc tions . Others , m ore ac tive, ros e in floc ks and pas s ed in c louds over their heads . T he s ailor thought he rec ognized gulls and c orm orants , whos e s hrill c ries ros e above the roaring of the s ea. From tim e to tim e the c as taways s topped and s houted, then lis tened for s om e res pons e from the oc ean, for they thought that if the engineer had landed, and they had been near to the plac e, they would have heard the barking of the dog Top, even s hould Harding him s elf have been unable to give any s ign of exis tenc e. T hey s topped to lis ten, but no s ound aros e above the roaring of the waves and the das hing of the s urf. T he little band then c ontinued their m arc h forward, s earc hing into every hollow of the s hore. A fter walking for twenty m inutes , the four c as taways were s uddenly brought to a s tands till by the s ight of foam ing billows c los e to their feet. T he s olid ground ended here. T hey found them s elves at the extrem ity of a s harp point on whic h the s ea broke furious ly. "It is a prom ontory," s aid the s ailor; "we m us t retrac e our s teps , holding towards the right, and we s hall thus gain the m ainland." "B ut if he is there," s aid Neb, pointing to the oc ean, whos e waves s hone of a s nowy white in the darknes s . "W ell, let us c all again," and all uniting their voic es , they gave a vigorous s hout, but there c am e no reply. T hey waited for a lull, then began again; s till no reply. T he c as taways ac c ordingly returned, following the oppos ite s ide of the prom ontory, over a s oil equally s andy and rugged. However, P enc roft obs erved that the s hore was m ore equal, that the ground ros e, and he dec lared that it was joined by a long s lope to a hill, whos e m as s ive front he thought that he c ould s ee loom ing indis tinc tly through the m is t. T he birds were les s num erous on this part of the s hore; the s ea was als o les s tum ultuous , and they obs erved that the agitation of the waves was dim inis hed. T he nois e of the s urf was s c arc ely heard. T his s ide of the prom ontory evidently form ed a s em ic irc ular bay, whic h the s harp point s heltered from the breakers of the open s ea. B ut to follow this direc tion was to go s outh, exac tly oppos ite to that part of the c oas t where Harding m ight have landed. A fter a walk of a m ile and a half, the s hore pres ented no c urve whic h would perm it them to return to the north. T his prom ontory, of whic h they had turned the point, m us t be attac hed to the m ainland. T he c as taways , although their s trength was nearly exhaus ted, s till m arc hed c ourageous ly forward, hoping every m om ent to m eet with a s udden angle whic h would s et them in the firs t direc tion. W hat was their dis appointm ent, when, after trudging nearly two m iles , having reac hed an elevated point c om pos ed of s lippery roc ks , they found them s elves again s topped by the s ea. "W e are on an is let," s aid P enc roft, "and we have s urveyed it from one extrem ity to the other." T he s ailor was right; they had been thrown, not on a c ontinent, not even on an is land, but on an is let whic h was not m ore than two m iles in length, with even a les s breadth. W as this barren s pot the des olate refuge of s ea-birds , s trewn with s tones and des titute of vegetation, attac hed to a m ore im portant arc hipelago? It was im pos s ible to s ay. W hen the voyagers from their c ar s aw the land through the m is t, they had not been able to rec onnoiter it s uffic iently. However, P enc roft, ac c us tom ed with his s ailor eyes to piec e through the gloom , was alm os t c ertain that he c ould c learly dis tinguis h in the wes t c onfus ed m as s es whic h indic ated an elevated c oas t. B ut they c ould not in the dark determ ine whether it was a s ingle is land, or c onnec ted with others . T hey c ould not leave it either, as the s ea s urrounded them ; they m us t therefore put off till the next day their s earc h for the engineer, from whom , alas ! not a s ingle c ry had reac hed them to s how that he was s till in exis tenc e. "T he s ilenc e of our friend proves nothing," s aid the reporter. "P erhaps he has fainted or is wounded, and unable to reply direc tly, s o we will not des pair." T he reporter then propos ed to light a fire on a point of the is let, whic h would s erve as a s ignal to the engineer. B ut they s earc hed in vain for wood or dry bram bles ; nothing but s and and s tones were to be found. T he grief of Neb and his c om panions , who were all s trongly attac hed to the intrepid Harding, c an be better pic tured than des c ribed. It was too evident that they were powerles s to help him . T hey m us t wait with what patienc e they c ould for daylight. E ither the engineer had been able to s ave him s elf, and had already found a refuge on s om e point of the c oas t, or he was los t for ever! T he long and painful hours pas s ed by. T he c old was intens e. T he c as taways s uffered c ruelly, but they s c arc ely perc eived it. T hey did not even think of taking a m inute's res t. Forgetting everything but their c hief, hoping or wis hing to hope on, they c ontinued to walk up and down on this s terile s pot, always returning to its northern point, where they c ould approac h neares t to the s c ene of the c atas trophe. T hey lis tened, they c alled, and then uniting their voic es , they endeavored to rais e even a louder s hout than before, whic h would be trans m itted to a great dis tanc e. T he wind had now fallen alm os t to a c alm , and the nois e of the s ea began als o to s ubs ide. One of Neb's s houts even appeared to produc e an ec ho. Herbert direc ted P enc roft's attention to it, adding, "T hat proves that there is a c oas t to the wes t, at no great dis tanc e." T he s ailor nodded; bes ides , his eyes c ould not dec eive him . If he had dis c overed land, however indis tinc t it m ight appear, land was s ure to be there. B ut that dis tant ec ho was the only res pons e produc ed by Neb's s houts , while a heavy gloom hung over all the part eas t of the is land. Meanwhile, the s ky was c learing little by little. Towards m idnight the s tars s hone out, and if the engineer had been there with his c om panions he would have rem arked that thes e s tars did not belong to the Northern Hem is phere. T he P olar S tar was not vis ible, the c ons tellations were not thos e whic h they had been ac c us tom ed to s ee in the United S tates ; the S outhern Cros s glittered brightly in the s ky. T he night pas s ed away. Towards five o'c loc k in the m orning of the 25th of Marc h, the s ky began to lighten; the horizon s till rem ained dark, but with daybreak a thic k m is t ros e from the s ea, s o that the eye c ould s c arc ely penetrate beyond twenty feet or s o from where they s tood. A t length the fog gradually unrolled its elf in great heavily m oving waves . It was unfortunate, however, that the c as taways c ould dis tinguis h nothing around them . W hile the gaze of the reporter and Neb were c as t upon the oc ean, the s ailor and Herbert looked eagerly for the c oas t in the wes t. B ut not a s pec k of land was vis ible. "Never m ind," s aid P enc roft, "though I do not s ee the land, I feel it... it is there... there... as s ure as the fac t that we are no longer at Ric hm ond." B ut the fog was not long in ris ing. it was only a fine-weather m is t. A hot s un s oon penetrated to the s urfac e of the is land. A bout half-pas t s ix, three-quarters of an hour after s unris e, the m is t bec am e m ore trans parent. It grew thic ker above, but c leared away below. S oon the is le appeared as if it had des c ended from a c loud, then the s ea s howed its elf around them , s preading far away towards the eas t, but bounded on the wes t by an abrupt and prec ipitous c oas t. Y es ! the land was there. T heir s afety was at leas t provis ionally ins ured. T he is let and the c oas t were s eparated by a c hannel about half a m ile in breadth, through whic h rus hed an extrem ely rapid c urrent. However, one of the c as taways , following the im puls e of his heart, im m ediately threw him s elf into the c urrent, without c ons ulting his c om panions , without s aying a s ingle word. It was Neb. He was in has te to be on the other s ide, and to c lim b towards the north. It had been im pos s ible to hold him bac k. P enc roft c alled him in vain. T he reporter prepared to follow him , but P enc roft s topped him . "Do you want to c ros s the c hannel?" he as ked. "Yes ," replied S pilett. "A ll right! " s aid the s eam an; "wait a bit; Neb is well able to c arry help to his m as ter. If we venture into the c hannel, we ris k being c arried into the open s ea by the c urrent, whic h is running very s trong; but, if I'm not wrong, it is ebbing. S ee, the tide is going down over the s and. Let us have patienc e, and at low water it is pos s ible we m ay find a fordable pas s age." "Y ou are right," replied the reporter, "we will not s eparate m ore than we c an help." During this tim e Neb was s truggling vigorous ly agains t the c urrent. He was c ros s ing in an oblique direc tion. His blac k s houlders c ould be s een em erging at eac h s troke. He was c arried down very quic kly, but he als o m ade way towards the s hore. It took m ore than half an hour to c ros s from the is let to the land, and he reac hed the s hore s everal hundred feet from the plac e whic h was oppos ite to the point from whic h he had s tarted. Landing at the foot of a high wall of granite, he s hook him s elf vigorous ly; and then, s etting off running, s oon dis appeared behind a roc ky point, whic h projec ted to nearly the height of the northern extrem ity of the is let. Neb's c om panions had watc hed his daring attem pt with painful anxiety, and when he was out of s ight, they fixed their attention on the land where their hope of s afety lay, while eating s om e s hell-fis h with whic h the s and was s trewn. It was a wretc hed repas t, but s till it was better than nothing. T he oppos ite c oas t form ed one vas t bay, term inating on the s outh by a very s harp point, whic h was des titute of all vegetation, and was of a very wild as pec t. T his point abutted on the s hore in a grotes que outline of high granite roc ks . Towards the north, on the c ontrary, the bay widened, and a m ore rounded c oas t appeared, trending from the s outhwes t to the northeas t, and term inating in a s lender c ape. T he dis tanc e between thes e two extrem ities , whic h m ade the bow of the bay, was about eight m iles . Half a m ile from the s hore ros e the is let, whic h s om ewhat res em bled the c arc as s of a gigantic whale. Its extrem e breadth was not m ore than a quarter of a m ile. Oppos ite the is let, the beac h c ons is ted firs t of s and, c overed with blac k s tones , whic h were now appearing little by little above the retreating tide. T he s ec ond level was s eparated by a perpendic ular granite c liff, term inated at the top by an unequal edge at a height of at leas t 300 feet. It c ontinued thus for a length of three m iles , ending s uddenly on the right with a prec ipic e whic h looked as if c ut by the hand of m an. On the left, above the prom ontory, this irregular and jagged c liff des c ended by a long s lope of c onglom erated roc ks till it m ingled with the ground of the s outhern point. On the upper plateau of the c oas t not a tree appeared. It was a flat tableland like that above Cape T own at the Cape of Good Hope, but of reduc ed proportions ; at leas t s o it appeared s een from the is let. However, verdure was not wanting to the right beyond the prec ipic e. T hey c ould eas ily dis tinguis h a c onfus ed m as s of great trees , whic h extended beyond the lim its of their view. T his verdure relieved the eye, s o long wearied by the c ontinued ranges of granite. Las tly, beyond and above the plateau, in a northwes terly direc tion and at a dis tanc e of at leas t s even m iles , glittered a white s um m it whic h reflec ted the s un's rays . It was that of a lofty m ountain, c apped with s now. T he ques tion c ould not at pres ent be dec ided whether this land form ed an is land, or whether it belonged to a c ontinent. B ut on beholding the c onvuls ed m as s es heaped up on the left, no geologis t would have hes itated to give them a volc anic origin, for they were unques tionably the work of s ubterranean c onvuls ions . Gideon S pilett, P enc roft, and Herbert attentively exam ined this land, on whic h they m ight perhaps have to live m any long years ; on whic h indeed they m ight even die, s hould it be out of the us ual trac k of ves s els , as was likely to be the c as e. "W ell," as ked Herbert, "what do you s ay, P enc roft?" "T here is s om e good and s om e bad, as in everything," replied the s ailor. "W e s hall s ee. B ut now the ebb is evidently m aking. In three hours we will attem pt the pas s age, and onc e on the other s ide, we will try to get out of this s c rape, and I hope m ay find the c aptain." P enc roft was not wrong in his antic ipations . T hree hours later at low tide, the greater part of the s and form ing the bed of the c hannel was unc overed. B etween the is let and the c oas t there only rem ained a narrow c hannel whic h would no doubt be eas y to c ros s . A bout ten o'c loc k, Gideon S pilett and his c om panions s tripped them s elves of their c lothes , whic h they plac ed in bundles on their heads , and then ventured into the water, whic h was not m ore than five feet deep. Herbert, for whom it was too deep, s wam like a fis h, and got through c apitally. A ll three arrived without diffic ulty on the oppos ite s hore. Quic kly drying them s elves in the s un, they put on their c lothes , whic h they had pres erved from c ontac t with the water, and s at down to take c ouns el together what to do next. Chapter 4 A ll at onc e the reporter s prang up, and telling the s ailor that he would rejoin them at that s am e plac e, he c lim bed the c liff in the direc tion whic h the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. A nxiety has tened his s teps , for he longed to obtain news of his friend, and he s oon dis appeared round an angle of the c liff. Herbert wis hed to ac c om pany him . "S top here, m y boy," s aid the s ailor; "we have to prepare an enc am pm ent, and to try and find rather better grub than thes e s hell-fis h. Our friends will want s om ething when they c om e bac k. T here is work for everybody." "I am ready," replied Herbert. "A ll right," s aid the s ailor; "that will do. W e m us t s et about it regularly. W e are tired, c old, and hungry; therefore we m us t have s helter, fire, and food. T here is wood in the fores t, and eggs in nes ts ; we have only to find a hous e." "V ery well," returned Herbert, "I will look for a c ave am ong the roc ks , and I s hall be s ure to dis c over s om e hole into whic h we c an c reep." "A ll right," s aid P enc roft; "go on, m y boy." T hey both walked to the foot of the enorm ous wall over the beac h, far from whic h the tide had now retreated; but ins tead of going towards the north, they went s outhward. P enc roft had rem arked, s everal hundred feet from the plac e at whic h they landed, a narrow c utting, out of whic h he thought a river or s tream m ight is s ue. Now, on the one hand it was im portant to s ettle them s elves in the neighborhood of a good s tream of water, and on the other it was pos s ible that the c urrent had thrown Cyrus Harding on the s hore there. T he c liff, as has been s aid, ros e to a height of three hundred feet, but the m as s was unbroken throughout, and even at its bas e, s c arc ely was hed by the s ea, it did not offer the s m alles t fis s ure whic h would s erve as a dwelling. It was a perpendic ular wall of very hard granite, whic h even the waves had not worn away. Towards the s um m it fluttered m yriads of s ea-fowl, and es pec ially thos e of the web-footed s pec ies with long, flat, pointed beaks --a c lam orous tribe, bold in the pres enc e of m an, who probably for the firs t tim e thus invaded their dom ains . P enc roft rec ognized the s kua and other gulls am ong them , the vorac ious little s ea-m ew, whic h in great num bers nes tled in the c revic es of the granite. A s hot fired am ong this s warm would have killed a great num ber, but to fire a s hot a gun was needed, and neither P enc roft nor Herbert had one; bes ides this , gulls and s ea-m ews are s c arc ely eatable, and even their eggs have a detes table tas te. However, Herbert, who had gone forward a little m ore to the left, s oon c am e upon roc ks c overed with s ea-weed, whic h, s om e hours later, would be hidden by the high tide. On thes e roc ks , in the m ids t of s lippery wrac k, abounded bivalve s hell-fis h, not to be des pis ed by s tarving people. Herbert c alled P enc roft, who ran up has tily. "Here are m us s els ! " c ried the s ailor; "thes e will do ins tead of eggs ! " "T hey are not m us s els ," replied Herbert, who was attentively exam ining the m ollus c s attac hed to the roc ks ; "they are lithodom es ." "A re they good to eat?" as ked P enc roft. "P erfec tly s o." "T hen let us eat s om e lithodom es ." T he s ailor c ould rely upon Herbert; the young boy was well up in natural his tory, and always had had quite a pas s ion for the s c ienc e. His father had enc ouraged him in it, by letting him attend the lec tures of the bes t profes s ors in B os ton, who were very fond of the intelligent, indus trious lad. A nd his turn for natural his tory was , m ore than onc e in the c ours e of tim e, of great us e, and he was not m is taken in this ins tanc e. T hes e lithodom es were oblong s hells , s us pended in c lus ters and adhering very tightly to the roc ks . T hey belong to that s pec ies of m ollus c ous perforators whic h exc avate holes in the hardes t s tone; their s hell is rounded at both ends , a feature whic h is not rem arked in the c om m on m us s el. P enc roft and Herbert m ade a good m eal of the lithodom es , whic h were then half opened to the s un. T hey ate them as oys ters , and as they had a s trong peppery tas te, they were palatable without c ondim ents of any s ort. T heir hunger was thus appeas ed for the tim e, but not their thirs t, whic h inc reas ed after eating thes e naturally-s pic ed m ollus c s . T hey had then to find fres h water, and it was not likely that it would be wanting in s uc h a c apric ious ly uneven region. P enc roft and Herbert, after having taken the prec aution of c ollec ting an am ple s upply of lithodom es , with whic h they filled their poc kets and handkerc hiefs , regained the foot of the c liff. T wo hundred pac es farther they arrived at the c utting, through whic h, as P enc roft had gues s ed, ran a s tream of water, whether fres h or not was to be as c ertained. A t this plac e the wall appeared to have been s eparated by s om e violent s ubterranean forc e. A t its bas e was hollowed out a little c reek, the farthes t part of whic h form ed a tolerably s harp angle. T he waterc ours e at that part m eas ured one hundred feet in breadth, and its two banks on eac h s ide were s c arc ely twenty feet high. T he river bec am e s trong alm os t direc tly between the two walls of granite, whic h began to s ink above the m outh; it then s uddenly turned and dis appeared beneath a wood of s tunted trees half a m ile off. "Here is the water, and yonder is the wood we require! " s aid P enc roft. "W ell, Herbert, now we only want the hous e." T he water of the river was lim pid. T he s ailor as c ertained that at this tim e--that is to s ay, at low tide, when the ris ing floods did not reac h it --it was s weet. T his im portant point es tablis hed, Herbert looked for s om e c avity whic h would s erve them as a retreat, but in vain; everywhere the wall appeared s m ooth, plain, and perpendic ular. However, at the m outh of the waterc ours e and above the reac h of the high tide, the c onvuls ions of nature had form ed, not a grotto, but a pile of enorm ous roc ks , s uc h as are often m et with in granite c ountries and whic h bear the nam e of "Chim neys ." P enc roft and Herbert penetrated quite far in am ong the roc ks , by s andy pas s ages in whic h light was not wanting, for it entered through the openings whic h were left between the bloc ks , of whic h s om e were only s us tained by a m irac le of equilibrium ; but with the light c am e als o air--a regular c orridor-gale--and with the wind the s harp c old from the exterior. However, the s ailor thought that by s topping-up s om e of the openings with a m ixture of s tones and s and, the Chim neys c ould be rendered habitable. T heir geom etric al plan repres ented the typographic al s ign "& ," whic h s ignifies "et c etera" abridged, but by is olating the upper m outh of the s ign, through whic h the s outh and wes t winds blew s o s trongly, they c ould s uc c eed in m aking the lower part of us e. "Here's our work," s aid P enc roft, "and if we ever s ee Captain Harding again, he will know how to m ake s om ething of this labyrinth." "W e s hall s ee him again, P enc roft," c ried Herbert, "and when be returns he m us t find a tolerable dwelling here. It will be s o, if we c an m ake a fireplac e in the left pas s age and keep an opening for the s m oke." "S o we c an, m y boy," replied the s ailor, "and thes e Chim neys will s erve our turn. Let us s et to work, but firs t c om e and get a s tore of fuel. I think s om e branc hes will be very us eful in s topping up thes e openings , through whic h the wind s hrieks like s o m any fiends ." Herbert and P enc roft left the Chim neys , and, turning the angle, they began to c lim b the left bank of the river. T he c urrent here was quite rapid, and drifted down s om e dead wood. T he ris ing tide--and it c ould already be perc eived--m us t drive it bac k with forc e to a c ons iderable dis tanc e. T he s ailor then thought that they c ould utilize this ebb and flow for the trans port of heavy objec ts . A fter having walked for a quarter of an hour, the s ailor and the boy arrived at the angle whic h the river m ade in turning towards the left. From this point its c ours e was purs ued through a fores t of m agnific ent trees . T hes e trees s till retained their verdure, notwiths tanding the advanc ed s eas on, for they belonged to the fam ily of "c oniferae," whic h is s pread over all the regions of the globe, from northern c lim ates to the tropic s . T he young naturalis t rec ognized es pec ially the "deedara," whic h are very num erous in the Him alayan zone, and whic h s pread around them a m os t agreeable odor. B etween thes e beautiful trees s prang up c lus ters of firs , whos e opaque open paras ol boughs s pread wide around. A m ong the long gras s , P enc roft felt that his feet were c rus hing dry branc hes whic h c rac kled like fireworks . "W ell, m y boy," s aid he to Herbert, "if I don't know the nam e of thes e trees , at any rate I rec kon that we m ay c all them 'burning wood,' and jus t now that's the c hief thing we want." "Let us get a s upply," replied Herbert, who im m ediately s et to work. T he c ollec tion was eas ily m ade. It was not even nec es s ary to lop the trees , for enorm ous quantities of dead wood were lying at their feet; but if fuel was not wanting, the m eans of trans porting it was not yet found. T he wood, being very dry, would burn rapidly; it was therefore nec es s ary to c arry to the Chim neys a c ons iderable quantity, and the loads of two m en would not be s uffic ient. Herbert rem arked this . "W ell, m y boy," replied the s ailor, "there m us t be s om e way of c arrying this wood; there is always a way of doing everything. If we had a c art or a boat, it would be eas y enough." "B ut we have the river," s aid Herbert. "Right," replied P enc roft; "the river will be to us like a road whic h c arries of its elf, and rafts have not been invented for nothing." "Only," obs erved Herbert, "at this m om ent our road is going the wrong way, for the tide is ris ing! " "W e s hall be all right if we wait till it ebbs ," replied the s ailor, "and then we will trus t it to c arry our fuel to the Chim neys . Let us get the raft ready." T he s ailor, followed by Herbert, direc ted his s teps towards the river. T hey both c arried, eac h in proportion to his s trength, a load of wood bound in fagots . T hey found on the bank als o a great quantity of dead branc hes in the m ids t of gras s , am ong whic h the foot of m an had probably never before trod. P enc roft began direc tly to m ake his raft. In a kind of little bay, c reated by a point of the s hore whic h broke the c urrent, the s ailor and the lad plac ed s om e good-s ized piec es of wood, whic h they had fas tened together with dry c reepers . A raft was thus form ed, on whic h they s tac ked all they had c ollec ted, s uffic ient, indeed, to have loaded at leas t twenty m en. In an hour the work was finis hed, and the raft m oored to the bank, awaited the turning of the tide. T here were s till s everal hours to be oc c upied, and with one c ons ent P enc roft and Herbert res olved to gain the upper plateau, s o as to have a m ore extended view of the s urrounding c ountry. E xac tly two hundred feet behind the angle form ed by the river, the wall, term inated by a fall of roc ks , died away in a gentle s lope to the edge of the fores t. It was a natural s tairc as e. Herbert and the s ailor began their as c ent; thanks to the vigor of their m us c les they reac hed the s um m it in a few m inutes ; and proc eeded to the point above the m outh of the river. On attaining it, their firs t look was c as t upon the oc ean whic h not long before they had travers ed in s uc h a terrible c ondition. T hey obs erved, with em otion, all that part to the north of the c oas t on whic h the c atas trophe had taken plac e. It was there that Cyrus Harding had dis appeared. T hey looked to s ee if s om e portion of their balloon, to whic h a m an m ight pos s ibly c ling, yet exis ted. Nothing! T he s ea was but one vas t watery des ert. A s to the c oas t, it was s olitary als o. Neither the reporter nor Neb c ould be anywhere s een. B ut it was pos s ible that at this tim e they were both too far away to be perc eived. "S om ething tells m e," c ried Herbert, "that a m an as energetic as Captain Harding would not let him s elf be drowned like other people. He m us t have reac hed s om e point of the s hore; don't you think s o, P enc roft?" T he s ailor s hook his head s adly. He little expec ted ever to s ee Cyrus Harding again; but wis hing to leave s om e hope to Herbert: "Doubtles s , doubtles s ," s aid he; "our engineer is a m an who would get out of a s c rape to whic h any one els e would yield." In the m eantim e he exam ined the c oas t with great attention. S tretc hed out below them was the s andy s hore, bounded on the right of the river's m outh by lines of breakers . T he roc ks whic h were vis ible appeared like am phibious m ons ters repos ing in the s urf. B eyond the reef, the s ea s parkled beneath the s un's rays . To the s outh a s harp point c los ed the horizon, and it c ould not be s een if the land was prolonged in that direc tion, or if it ran s outheas t and s outhwes t, whic h would have m ade this c oas t a very long penins ula. A t the northern extrem ity of the bay the outline of the s hore was c ontinued to a great dis tanc e in a wider c urve. T here the s hore was low, flat, without c liffs , and with great banks of s and, whic h the tide left unc overed. P enc roft and Herbert then returned towards the wes t. T heir attention was firs t arres ted by the s now-topped m ountain whic h ros e at a dis tanc e of s ix or s even m iles . From its firs t dec livities to within two m iles of the c oas t were s pread vas t m as s es of wood, relieved by large green patc hes , c aus ed by the pres enc e of evergreen trees . T hen, from the edge of this fores t to the s hore extended a plain, s c attered irregularly with groups of trees . Here and there on the left s parkled through glades the waters of the little

river; they c ould trac e its winding c ours e bac k towards the s purs of the m ountain, am ong whic h it s eem ed to s pring. A t the point where the s ailor had left his raft of wood, it began to run between the two high granite walls ; but if on the left bank the wall rem ained c lear and abrupt, on the right bank, on the c ontrary, it s ank gradually, the m as s ive s ides c hanged to is olated roc ks , the roc ks to s tones , the s tones to s hingle running to the extrem ity of the point. "A re we on an is land?" m urm ured the s ailor. "A t any rate, it s eem s to be big enough," replied the lad. "A n is land, ever s o big, is an is land all the s am e! " s aid P enc roft. B ut this im portant ques tion c ould not yet be ans wered. A m ore perfec t s urvey had to be m ade to s ettle the point. A s to the land its elf, is land or c ontinent, it appeared fertile, agreeable in its as pec t, and varied in its produc tions . "T his is s atis fac tory," obs erved P enc roft; "and in our m is fortune, we m us t thank P rovidenc e for it." "God be prais ed! " res ponded Herbert, whos e pious heart was full of gratitude to the A uthor of all things . P enc roft and Herbert exam ined for s om e tim e the c ountry on whic h they had been c as t; but it was diffic ult to gues s after s o has ty an ins pec tion what the future had in s tore for them . T hey then returned, following the s outhern c res t of the granite platform , bordered by a long fringe of jagged roc ks , of the m os t whim s ic al s hapes . S om e hundreds of birds lived there nes tled in the holes of the s tone; Herbert, jum ping over the roc ks , s tartled a whole floc k of thes e winged c reatures . "Oh! " c ried he, "thos e are not gulls nor s ea-m ews ! " "W hat are they then?" as ked P enc roft. "Upon m y word, one would s ay they were pigeons ! " "J us t s o, but thes e are wild or roc k pigeons . I rec ognize them by the double band of blac k on the wing, by the white tail, and by their s late- c olored plum age. B ut if the roc k-pigeon is good to eat, its eggs m us t be exc ellent, and we will s oon s ee how m any they m ay have left in their nes ts ! " "W e will not give them tim e to hatc h, unles s it is in the s hape of an om elet! " replied P enc roft m errily. "B ut what will you m ake your om elet in?" as ked Herbert; "in your hat?" "W ell! " replied the s ailor, "I am not quite c onjuror enough for that; we m us t c om e down to eggs in the s hell, m y boy, and I will undertake to des patc h the hardes t! " P enc roft and Herbert attentively exam ined the c avities in the granite, and they really found eggs in s om e of the hollows . A few dozen being c ollec ted, were pac ked in the s ailor's handkerc hief, and as the tim e when the tide would be full was approac hing, P enc roft and Herbert began to redes c end towards the waterc ours e. W hen they arrived there, it was an hour after m idday. T he tide had already turned. T hey m us t now avail them s elves of the ebb to take the wood to the m outh. P enc roft did not intend to let the raft go away in the c urrent without guidanc e, neither did he m ean to em bark on it him s elf to s teer it. B ut a s ailor is never at a los s when there is a ques tion of c ables or ropes , and P enc roft rapidly twis ted a c ord, a few fathom s long, m ade of dry c reepers . T his vegetable c able was fas tened to the after-part of the raft, and the s ailor held it in his hand while Herbert, pus hing off the raft with a long pole, kept it in the c urrent. T his s uc c eeded c apitally. T he enorm ous load of wood drifted down the c urrent. T he bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would run aground, and before two o'c loc k they arrived at the river's m outh, a few pac es from the Chim neys . Chapter 5 P enc roft's firs t c are, after unloading the raft, was to render the c ave habitable by s topping up all the holes whic h m ade it draughty. S and, s tones , twis ted branc hes , wet c lay, c los ed up the galleries open to the s outh winds . One narrow and winding opening at the s ide was kept, to lead out the s m oke and to m ake the fire draw. T he c ave was thus divided into three or four room s , if s uc h dark dens with whic h a donkey would s c arc ely have been c ontented des erved the nam e. B ut they were dry, and there was s pac e to s tand upright, at leas t in the princ ipal room , whic h oc c upied the c enter. T he floor was c overed with fine s and, and taking all in all they were well pleas ed with it for want of a better. "P erhaps ," s aid Herbert, while he and P enc roft were working, "our c om panions have found a s uperior plac e to ours ." "V ery likely," replied the s eam an; "but, as we don't know, we m us t work all the s am e. B etter to have two s trings to one's bow than no s tring at all! " "Oh! " exc laim ed Herbert, "how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him bac k with them ! " "Y es , indeed! " s aid P enc roft, "that was a m an of the right s ort." "W as ! " exc laim ed Herbert, "do you des pair of ever s eeing him again?" "God forbid! " replied the s ailor. T heir work was s oon done, and P enc roft dec lared him s elf very well s atis fied. "Now," s aid he, "our friends c an c om e bac k when they like. T hey will find a good enough s helter." T hey now had only to m ake a fireplac e and to prepare the s upper--an eas y tas k. Large flat s tones were plac ed on the ground at the opening of the narrow pas s age whic h had been kept. T his , if the s m oke did not take the heat out with it, would be enough to m aintain an equal tem perature ins ide. T heir wood was s towed away in one of the room s , and the s ailor laid in the fireplac e s om e logs and brus hwood. T he s eam an was bus y with this , when Herbert as ked him if he had any m atc hes . "Certainly," replied P enc roft, "and I m ay s ay happily, for without m atc hes or tinder we s hould be in a fix." "S till we m ight get fire as the s avages do," replied Herbert, "by rubbing two bits of dry s tic k one agains t the other." "A ll right; try, m y boy, and let's s ee if you c an do anything bes ides exerc is ing your arm s ." "W ell, it's a very s im ple proc eeding, and m uc h us ed in the is lands of the P ac ific ." "I don't deny it," replied P enc roft, "but the s avages m us t know how to do it or em ploy a pec uliar wood, for m ore than onc e I have tried to get fire in that way, but I c ould never m anage it. I m us t s ay I prefer m atc hes . B y the bye, where are m y m atc hes ?" P enc roft s earc hed in his wais tc oat for the box, whic h was always there, for he was a c onfirm ed s m oker. He c ould not find it; he rum m aged the poc kets of his trous ers , but, to his horror, he c ould nowhere dis c over the box. "Here's a go! " s aid he, looking at Herbert. "T he box m us t have fallen out of m y poc ket and got los t! S urely, Herbert, you m us t have s om ething--a tinder-box--anything that c an pos s ibly m ake fire! " "No, I haven't, P enc roft." T he s ailor rus hed out, followed by the boy. On the s and, am ong the roc ks , near the river's bank, they both s earc hed c arefully, but in vain. T he box was of c opper, and therefore would have been eas ily s een. "P enc roft," as ked Herbert, "didn't you throw it out of the c ar?" "I knew better than that," replied the s ailor; "but s uc h a s m all artic le c ould eas ily dis appear in the tum bling about we have gone through. I would rather even have los t m y pipe! Confound the box! W here c an it be?" "Look here, the tide is going down," s aid Herbert; "let's run to the plac e where we landed." It was s c arc ely probable that they would find the box, whic h the waves had rolled about am ong the pebbles , at high tide, but it was as well to try. Herbert and P enc roft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed the day before, about two hundred feet from the c ave. T hey hunted there, am ong the s hingle, in the c lefts of the roc ks , but found nothing. If the box had fallen at this plac e it m us t have been s wept away by the waves . A s the s ea went down, they s earc hed every little c revic e with no res ult. It was a grave los s in their c irc um s tanc es , and for the tim e irreparable. P enc roft c ould not hide his vexation; he looked very anxious , but s aid not a word. Herbert tried to c ons ole him by obs erving, that if they had found the m atc hes , they would, very likely, have been wetted by the s ea and us eles s . "No, m y boy," replied the s ailor; "they were in a c opper box whic h s hut very tightly; and now what are we to do?" "W e s hall c ertainly find s om e way of m aking a fire," s aid Herbert. "Captain Harding or Mr. S pilett will not be without them ." "Y es ," replied P enc roft; "but in the m eantim e we are without fire, and our c om panions will find but a s orry repas t on their return." "B ut," s aid Herbert quic kly, "do you think it pos s ible that they have no tinder or m atc hes ?" "I doubt it," replied the s ailor, s haking his head, "for neither Neb nor Captain Harding s m oke, and I believe that Mr. S pilett would rather keep his note-book than his m atc h-box." Herbert did not reply. T he los s of the box was c ertainly to be regretted, but the boy was s till s ure of proc uring fire in s om e way or other. P enc roft, m ore experienc ed, did not think s o, although he was not a m an to trouble him s elf about a s m all or great grievanc e. A t any rate, there was only one thing to be done--to await the return of Neb and the reporter; but they m us t give up the feas t of hard eggs whic h they had m eant to prepare, and a m eal of raw fles h was not an agreeable pros pec t either for them s elves or for the others . B efore returning to the c ave, the s ailor and Herbert, in the event of fire being pos itively unattainable, c ollec ted s om e m ore s hell-fis h, and then s ilently retrac ed their s teps to their dwelling. P enc roft, his eyes fixed on the ground, s till looked for his box. He even c lim bed up the left bank of the river from its m outh to the angle where the raft had been m oored. He returned to the plateau, went over it in every direc tion, s earc hed am ong the high gras s on the border of the fores t, all in vain. It was five in the evening when he and Herbert re-entered the c ave. It is us eles s to s ay that the darkes t c orners of the pas s ages were rans ac ked before they were obliged to give it up in des pair. Towards s ix o'c loc k, when the s un was dis appearing behind the high lands of the wes t, Herbert, who was walking up and down on the s trand, s ignalized the return of Neb and S pilett. T hey were returning alone! . . . . T he boy's heart s ank; the s ailor had not been dec eived in his forebodings ; the engineer, Cyrus Harding, had not been found! T he reporter, on his arrival, s at down on a roc k, without s aying anything. E xhaus ted with fatigue, dying of hunger, he had not s trength to utter a word. A s to Neb, his red eyes s howed how he had c ried, and the tears whic h he c ould not res train told too c learly that he had los t all hope. T he reporter rec ounted all that they had done in their attem pt to rec over Cyrus Harding. He and Neb had s urveyed the c oas t for a dis tanc e of eight m iles and c ons equently m uc h beyond the plac e where the balloon had fallen the las t tim e but one, a fall whic h was followed by the dis appearanc e of the engineer and the dog Top. T he s hore was s olitary; not a ves tige of a m ark. Not even a pebble rec ently dis plac ed; not a trac e on the s and; not a hum an foots tep on all that part of the beac h. It was c lear that that portion of the s hore had never been vis ited by a hum an being. T he s ea was as des erted as the land, and it was there, a few hundred feet from the c oas t, that the engineer m us t have found a tom b. A s S pilett ended his ac c ount, Neb jum ped up, exc laim ing in a voic e whic h s howed how hope s truggled within him , "No! he is not dead! he c an't be dead! It m ight happen to any one els e, but never to him ! He c ould get out of anything! " T hen his s trength fors aking him , "Oh! I c an do no m ore! " he m urm ured. "Neb," s aid Herbert, running to him , "we will find him ! God will give him bac k to us ! B ut in the m eantim e you are hungry, and you m us t eat s om ething." S o s aying, he offered the poor Negro a few handfuls of s hell-fis h, whic h was indeed wretc hed and ins uffic ient food. Neb had not eaten anything for s everal hours , but he refus ed them . He c ould not, would not live without his m as ter. A s to Gideon S pilett, he devoured the s hell-fis h, then he laid him s elf down on the s and, at the foot of a roc k. He was very weak, but c alm . Herbert went up to him , and taking his hand, "S ir," s aid he, "we have found a s helter whic h will be better than lying here. Night is advanc ing. Com e and res t! T o-m orrow we will s earc h farther." T he reporter got up, and guided by the boy went towards the c ave. On the way, P enc roft as ked him in the m os t natural tone, if by c hanc e he happened to have a m atc h or two. T he reporter s topped, felt in his poc kets , but finding nothing s aid, "I had s om e, but I m us t have thrown them away." T he s eam an then put the s am e ques tion to Neb and rec eived the s am e ans wer. "Confound it! " exc laim ed the s ailor. T he reporter heard him and s eizing his arm , "Have you no m atc hes ?" he as ked. "Not one, and no fire in c ons equenc e." "A h! " c ried Neb, "if m y m as ter was here, he would know what to do! " T he four c as taways rem ained m otionles s , looking uneas ily at eac h other. Herbert was the firs t to break the s ilenc e by s aying, "Mr. S pilett, you are a s m oker and always have m atc hes about you; perhaps you haven't looked well, try again, a s ingle m atc h will be enough! " T he reporter hunted again in the poc kets of his trous ers , wais tc oat, and great-c oat, and at las t to P enc roft's great joy, no les s to his extrem e s urpris e, he felt a tiny piec e of wood entangled in the lining of his wais tc oat. He s eized it with his fingers through the s tuff, but he c ould not get it out. If this was a m atc h and a s ingle one, it was of great im portanc e not to rub off the phos phorus . "W ill you let m e try?" s aid the boy, and very c leverly, without breaking it, he m anaged to draw out the wretc hed yet prec ious little bit of wood whic h was of s uc h great im portanc e to thes e poor m en. It was unus ed. "Hurrah! " c ried P enc roft; "it is as good as having a whole c argo! " He took the m atc h, and, followed by his c om panions , entered the c ave. T his s m all piec e of wood, of whic h s o m any in an inhabited c ountry are was ted with indifferenc e and are of no value, m us t here be us ed with the greates t c aution. T he s ailor firs t m ade s ure that it was quite dry; that done, "W e m us t have s om e paper," s aid he. "Here," replied S pilett, after s om e hes itation tearing a leaf out of his note-book. P enc roft took the piec e of paper whic h the reporter held out to him , and knelt down before the fireplac e. S om e handfuls of gras s , leaves , and dry m os s were plac ed under the fagots and dis pos ed in s uc h a way that the air c ould eas ily c irc ulate, and the dry wood would rapidly c atc h fire. P enc roft then twis ted the piec e of paper into the s hape of a c one, as s m okers do in a high wind, and poked it in am ong the m os s . Taking a s m all, rough s tone, he wiped it c arefully, and with a beating heart, holding his breath, he gently rubbed the m atc h. T he firs t attem pt did not produc e any effec t. P enc roft had not s truc k hard enough, fearing to rub off the phos phorus . "No, I c an't do it," s aid he, "m y hand trem bles , the m atc h has m is s ed fire; I c annot, I will not! " and ris ing, he told Herbert to take his plac e. Certainly the boy had never in all his life been s o nervous . P rom etheus going to s teal the fire from heaven c ould not have been m ore anxious . He did not hes itate, however, but s truc k the m atc h direc tly. A little s pluttering was heard and a tiny blue flam e s prang up, m aking a c hoking s m oke. Herbert quic kly turned the m atc h s o as to augm ent the flam e, and then s lipped it into the paper c one, whic h in a few s ec onds too c aught fire, and then the m os s . A m inute later the dry wood c rac kled and a c heerful flam e, as s is ted by the vigorous blowing of the s ailor, s prang up in the m ids t of the darknes s . "A t las t! " c ried P enc roft, getting up; "I was never s o nervous before in all m y life! " T he flat s tones m ade a c apital fireplac e. T he s m oke went quite eas ily out at the narrow pas s age, the c him ney drew, and an agreeable warm th was not long in being felt. T hey m us t now take great c are not to let the fire go out, and always to keep s om e em bers alight. It only needed c are and attention, as they had plenty of wood and c ould renew their s tore at any tim e. P enc roft's firs t thought was to us e the fire by preparing a m ore nouris hing s upper than a dis h of s hell-fis h. T wo dozen eggs were brought by Herbert. T he reporter leaning up in a c orner, watc hed thes e preparations without s aying anything. A threefold thought weighed on his m ind. W as Cyrus s till alive? If he was alive, where was he? If he had s urvived from his fall, how was it that he had not found s om e m eans of m aking known his exis tenc e? A s to Neb, he was roam ing about the s hore. He was like a body without a s oul. P enc roft knew fifty ways of c ooking eggs , but this tim e he had no c hoic e, and was obliged to c ontent him s elf with roas ting them under the hot c inders . In a few m inutes the c ooking was done, and the s eam an invited the reporter to take his s hare of the s upper. S uc h was the firs t repas t of the c as taways on this unknown c oas t. T he hard eggs were exc ellent, and as eggs c ontain everything indis pens able to m an's nouris hm ent, thes e poor people thought them s elves well off, and were m uc h s trengthened by them . Oh! if only one of them had not been m is s ing at this m eal! If the five pris oners who es c aped from Ric hm ond had been all there, under the piled-up roc ks , before this c lear, c rac kling fire on the dry s and, what thanks giving m us t they have rendered to Heaven! B ut the m os t ingenious , the m os t learned, he who was their unques tioned c hief, Cyrus Harding, was , alas ! m is s ing, and his body had not even obtained a burial-plac e. T hus pas s ed the 25th of Marc h. Night had c om e on. Outs ide c ould be heard the howling of the wind and the m onotonous s ound of the s urf breaking on the s hore. T he waves rolled the s hingle bac kwards and forwards with a deafening nois e. T he reporter retired into a dark c orner after having s hortly noted down the oc c urrenc es of the day; the firs t appearanc e of this new land, the los s of their leader, the exploration of the c oas t, the inc ident of the m atc hes , etc .; and then overc om e by fatigue, he m anaged to forget his s orrows in s leep. Herbert went to s leep direc tly. A s to the s ailor, he pas s ed the night with one eye on the fire, on whic h he did not s pare fuel. B ut one of the c as taways did not s leep in the c ave. T he inc ons olable, des pairing Neb, notwiths tanding all that his c om panions c ould s ay to induc e him to take s om e res t, wandered all night long on the s hore c alling on his m as ter. Chapter 6 T he inventory of the artic les pos s es s ed by thes e c as taways from the c louds , thrown upon a c oas t whic h appeared to be uninhabited, was s oon m ade out. T hey had nothing, s ave the c lothes whic h they were wearing at the tim e of the c atas trophe. W e m us t m ention, however, a note-book and a watc h whic h Gideon S pilett had kept, doubtles s by inadvertenc e, not a weapon, not a tool, not even a poc ket-knife; for while in the c ar they had thrown out everything to lighten the balloon. T he im aginary heroes of Daniel Defoe or of W ys s , as well as S elkirk and Raynal s hipwrec ked on J uan Fernandez and on the arc hipelago of the A uc klands , were never in s uc h abs olute des titution. E ither they had abundant res ourc es from their s tranded ves s els , in grain, c attle, tools , am m unition, or els e s om e things were thrown up on the c oas t whic h s upplied them with all the firs t nec es s ities of life. B ut here, not any ins trum ent whatever, not a utens il. From nothing they m us t s upply them s elves with everything. A nd yet, if Cyrus Harding had been with them , if the engineer c ould have brought his prac tic al s c ienc e, his inventive m ind to bear on their s ituation, perhaps all hope would not have been los t. A las ! they m us t hope no longer again to s ee Cyrus Harding. T he c as taways c ould expec t nothing but from them s elves and from that P rovidenc e whic h never abandons thos e whos e faith is s inc ere. B ut ought they to es tablis h them s elves on this part of the c oas t, without trying to know to what c ontinent it belonged, if it was inhabited, or if they were on the s hore of a des ert is land? It was an im portant ques tion, and s hould be s olved with the s hortes t pos s ible delay. From its ans wer they would know what m eas ures to take. However, ac c ording to P enc roft's advic e, it appeared bes t to wait a few days before c om m enc ing an exploration. T hey m us t, in fac t, prepare s om e provis ions and proc ure m ore s trengthening food than eggs and m ollus c s . T he explorers , before undertaking new fatigues , m us t firs t of all rec ruit their s trength. T he Chim neys offered a retreat s uffic ient for the pres ent. T he fire was lighted, and it was eas y to pres erve s om e em bers . T here were plenty of s hell-fis h and eggs am ong the roc ks and on the beac h. It would be eas y to kill a few of the pigeons whic h were flying by hundreds about the s um m it of the plateau, either with s tic ks or s tones . P erhaps the trees of the neighboring fores t would s upply them with eatable fruit. Las tly, the s weet water was there. It was ac c ordingly s ettled that for a few days they would rem ain at the Chim neys s o as to prepare them s elves for an expedition, either along the s hore or into the interior of the c ountry. T his plan s uited Neb partic ularly. A s obs tinate in his ideas as in his pres entim ents , he was in no has te to abandon this part of the c oas t, the s c ene of the c atas trophe. He did not, he would not believe in the los s of Cyrus Harding. No, it did not s eem to him pos s ible that s uc h a m an had ended in this vulgar fas hion, c arried away by a wave, drowned in the floods , a few hundred feet from a s hore. A s long as the waves had not c as t up the body of the engineer, as long as he, Neb, had not s een with his eyes , touc hed with his hands the c orps e of his m as ter, he would not believe in his death! A nd this idea rooted its elf deeper than ever in his determ ined heart. A n illus ion perhaps , but s till an illus ion to be res pec ted, and one whic h the s ailor did not wis h to des troy. A s for him , he hoped no longer, but there was no us e in arguing with Neb. He was like the dog who will not leave the plac e where his m as ter is buried, and his grief was s uc h that m os t probably he would not s urvive him . T his s am e m orning, the 26th of Marc h, at daybreak, Neb had s et out on the s hore in a northerly direc tion, and he had returned to the s pot where the s ea, no doubt, had c los ed over the unfortunate Harding. T hat day's breakfas t was c om pos ed s olely of pigeon's eggs and lithodom es . Herbert had found s om e s alt depos ited by evaporation in the hollows of the roc ks , and this m ineral was very welc om e. T he repas t ended, P enc roft as ked the reporter if he wis hed to ac c om pany Herbert and him s elf to the fores t, where they were going to try to hunt. B ut on c ons ideration, it was thought nec es s ary that s om eone s hould rem ain to keep in the fire, and to be at hand in the highly im probable event of Neb requiring aid. T he reporter ac c ordingly rem ained behind. "T o the c has e, Herbert," s aid the s ailor. "W e s hall find am m unition on our way, and c ut our weapons in the fores t." B ut at the m om ent of s tarting, Herbert obs erved, that s inc e they had no tinder, it would perhaps be prudent to replac e it by another s ubs tanc e. "W hat?" as ked P enc roft. "B urnt linen," replied the boy. "T hat c ould in c as e of need s erve for tinder." T he s ailor thought it very s ens ible advic e. Only it had the inc onvenienc e of nec es s itating the s ac rific e of a piec e of handkerc hief. Notwiths tanding, the thing was well worth while trying, and a part of P enc roft's large c hec ked handkerc hief was s oon reduc ed to the s tate of a half-burnt rag. T his inflam m able m aterial was plac ed in the c entral c ham ber at the bottom of a little c avity in the roc k, s heltered from all wind and dam p. It was nine o'c loc k in the m orning. T he weather was threatening and the breeze blew from the s outheas t. Herbert and P enc roft turned the angle of the Chim neys , not without having c as t a look at the s m oke whic h, jus t at that plac e, c urled round a point of roc k: they as c ended the left bank of the river. A rrived at the fores t, P enc roft broke from the firs t tree two s tout branc hes whic h he trans form ed into c lubs , the ends of whic h Herbert rubbed s m ooth on a roc k. Oh! what would they not have given for a knife! T he two hunters now advanc ed am ong the long gras s , following the bank. From the turning whic h direc ted its c ours e to the s outhwes t, the river narrowed gradually and the c hannel lay between high banks , over whic h the trees form ed a double arc h. P enc roft, les t they s hould los e them s elves , res olved to follow the c ours e of the s tream , whic h would always lead them bac k to the point from whic h they s tarted. B ut the bank was not without s om e obs tac les : here, the flexible branc hes of the trees bent level with the c urrent; there, c reepers and thorns whic h they had to break down with their s tic ks . Herbert often glided am ong the broken s tum ps with the agility of a young c at, and dis appeared in the underwood. B ut P enc roft c alled him bac k direc tly, begging him not to wander away. Meanwhile, the s ailor attentively obs erved the dis pos ition and nature of the s urrounding c ountry. On the left bank, the ground, whic h was flat and m ars hy, ros e im perc eptibly towards the interior. It looked there like a network of liquid threads whic h doubtles s reac hed the river by s om e underground drain. S om etim es a s tream ran through the underwood, whic h they c ros s ed without diffic ulty. T he oppos ite s hore appeared to be m ore uneven, and the valley of whic h the river oc c upied the bottom was m ore c learly vis ible. T he hill, c overed with trees dis pos ed in terrac es , interc epted the view. On the right bank walking

would have been diffic ult, for the dec livities fell s uddenly, and the trees bending over the water were only s us tained by the s trength of their roots . It is needles s to add that this fores t, as well as the c oas t already s urveyed, was des titute of any s ign of hum an life. P enc roft only s aw trac es of quadrupeds , fres h footprints of anim als , of whic h he c ould not rec ognize the s pec ies . In all probability, and s uc h was als o Herbert's opinion, s om e had been left by form idable wild beas ts whic h doubtles s would give them s om e trouble; but nowhere did they obs erve the m ark of an axe on the trees , nor the as hes of a fire, nor the im pres s ion of a hum an foot. On this they m ight probably c ongratulate them s elves , for on any land in the m iddle of the P ac ific the pres enc e of m an was perhaps m ore to be feared than des ired. Herbert and P enc roft s peaking little, for the diffic ulties of the way were great, advanc ed very s lowly, and after walking for an hour they had s c arc ely gone m ore than a m ile. A s yet the hunt had not been s uc c es s ful. However, s om e birds s ang and fluttered in the foliage, and appeared very tim id, as if m an had ins pired them with an ins tinc tive fear. A m ong others , Herbert des c ribed, in a m ars hy part of the fores t, a bird with a long pointed beak, c los ely res em bling the king-fis her, but its plum age was not fine, though of a m etallic brillianc y. "T hat m us t be a jac am ar," s aid Herbert, trying to get nearer. "T his will be a good opportunity to tas te jac am ar," replied the s ailor, "if that fellow is in a hum or to be roas ted! " J us t then, a s tone c leverly thrown by the boy, s truc k the c reature on the wing, but the blow did not dis able it, and the jac am ar ran off and dis appeared in an ins tant. "How c lum s y I am ! " c ried Herbert. "No, no, m y boy! " replied the s ailor. "T he blow was well aim ed; m any a one would have m is s ed it altogether! Com e, don't be vexed with yours elf. W e s hall c atc h it another day! " A s the hunters advanc ed, the trees were found to be m ore s c attered, m any being m agnific ent, but none bore eatable fruit. P enc roft s earc hed in vain for s om e of thos e prec ious palm -trees whic h are em ployed in s o m any ways in dom es tic life, and whic h have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in the Northern Hem is phere, and to the thirty-fifth only in the S outhern Hem is phere. B ut this fores t was only c om pos ed of c oniferae, s uc h as deodaras , already rec ognized by Herbert, and Douglas pine, s im ilar to thos e whic h grow on the northwes t c oas t of A m eric a, and s plendid firs , m eas uring a hundred and fifty feet in height. A t this m om ent a floc k of birds , of a s m all s ize and pretty plum age, with long glanc ing tails , dis pers ed them s elves am ong the branc hes s trewing their feathers , whic h c overed the ground as with fine down. Herbert pic ked up a few of thes e feathers , and after having exam ined them ,-"T hes e are c ourouc ous ," s aid he. "I s hould prefer a m oor-c oc k or guinea-fowl," replied P enc roft, "s till, if they are good to eat--" "T hey are good to eat, and als o their fles h is very delic ate," replied Herbert. "B es ides , if I don't m is take, it is eas y to approac h and kill them with a s tic k." T he s ailor and the lad, c reeping am ong the gras s , arrived at the foot of a tree, whos e lower branc hes were c overed with little birds . T he c ourouc ous were waiting the pas s age of ins ec ts whic h s erved for their nouris hm ent. T heir feathery feet c ould be s een c las ping the s lender twigs whic h s upported them . T he hunters then ros e, and us ing their s tic ks like s c ythes , they m owed down whole rows of thes e c ourouc ous , who never thought of flying away, and s tupidly allowed them s elves to be knoc ked off. A hundred were already heaped on the ground, before the others m ade up their m inds to fly. "W ell," s aid P enc roft, "here is gam e, whic h is quite within the reac h of hunters like us . W e have only to put out our hands and take it! " T he s ailor having s trung the c ourouc ous like larks on flexible twigs , they then c ontinued their exploration. T he s tream here m ade a bend towards the s outh, but this detour was probably not prolonged for the river m us t have its s ourc e in the m ountain, and be s upplied by the m elting of the s now whic h c overed the s ides of the c entral c one. T he partic ular objec t of their expedition was , as has been s aid, to proc ure the greates t pos s ible quantity of gam e for the inhabitants of the Chim neys . It m us t be ac knowledged that as yet this objec t had not been attained. S o the s ailor ac tively purs ued his res earc hes , though he exc laim ed, when s om e anim al whic h he had not even tim e to rec ognize fled into the long gras s , "If only we had had the dog T op! " B ut T op had dis appeared at the s am e tim e as his m as ter, and had probably peris hed with him . Towards three o'c loc k new floc ks of birds were s een through c ertain trees , at whos e arom atic berries they were pec king, thos e of the juniper- tree am ong others . S uddenly a loud trum pet c all res ounded through the fores t. T his s trange and s onorous c ry was produc ed by a gam e bird c alled grous e in the United S tates . T hey s oon s aw s everal c ouples , whos e plum age was ric h c hes tnut-brown m ottled with dark brown, and tail of the s am e c olor. Herbert rec ognized the m ales by the two wing-like appendages rais ed on the nec k. P enc roft determ ined to get hold of at leas t one of thes e gallinac eae, whic h were as large as a fowl, and whos e fles h is better than that of a pullet. B ut it was diffic ult, for they would not allow them s elves to be approac hed. A fter s everal fruitles s attem pts , whic h res ulted in nothing but s c aring the grous e, the s ailor s aid to the lad,-"Dec idedly, s inc e we c an't kill them on the wing, we m us t try to take them with a line." "Like a fis h?" c ried Herbert, m uc h s urpris ed at the propos al. "Like a fis h," replied the s ailor quite s erious ly. P enc roft had found am ong the gras s half a dozen grous e nes ts , eac h having three or four eggs . He took great c are not to touc h thes e nes ts , to whic h their proprietors would not fail to return. It was around thes e that he m eant to s tretc h his lines , not s nares , but real fis hing-lines . He took Herbert to s om e dis tanc e from the nes ts , and there prepared his s ingular apparatus with all the c are whic h a dis c iple of Izaak W alton would have us ed. Herbert watc hed the work with great interes t, though rather doubting its s uc c es s . T he lines were m ade of fine c reepers , fas tened one to the other, of the length of fifteen or twenty feet. T hic k, s trong thorns , the points bent bac k (whic h were s upplied from a dwarf ac ac ia bus h) were fas tened to the ends of the c reepers , by way of hooks . Large red worm s , whic h were c rawling on the ground, furnis hed bait. T his done, P enc roft, pas s ing am ong the gras s and c onc ealing him s elf s killfully, plac ed the end of his lines arm ed with hooks near the grous e nes ts ; then he returned, took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a large tree. T here they both waited patiently; though, it m us t be s aid, that Herbert did not rec kon m uc h on the s uc c es s of the inventive P enc roft. A whole half-hour pas s ed, but then, as the s ailor had s urm is ed, s everal c ouple of grous e returned to their nes ts . T hey walked along, pec king the ground, and not s us pec ting in any way the pres enc e of the hunters , who, bes ides , had taken c are to plac e them s elves to leeward of the gallinac eae. T he lad felt at this m om ent highly interes ted. He held his breath, and P enc roft, his eyes s taring, his m outh open, his lips advanc ed, as if about to tas te a piec e of grous e, s c arc ely breathed. Meanwhile, the birds walked about the hooks , without taking any notic e of them . P enc roft then gave little tugs whic h m oved the bait as if the worm s had been s till alive. T he s ailor undoubtedly felt m uc h greater anxiety than does the fis herm an, for he does not s ee his prey c om ing through the water. T he jerks attrac ted the attention of the gallinac eae, and they attac ked the hooks with their beaks . T hree vorac ious grous e s wallowed at the s am e m om ent bait and hook. S uddenly with a s m art jerk, P enc roft "s truc k" his line, and a flapping of wings s howed that the birds were taken. "Hurrah! " he c ried, rus hing towards the gam e, of whic h he m ade him s elf m as ter in an ins tant. Herbert c lapped his hands . It was the firs t tim e that he had ever s een birds taken with a line, but the s ailor m odes tly c onfes s ed that it was not his firs t attem pt, and that bes ides he c ould not c laim the m erit of invention. "A nd at any rate," added he, "s ituated as we are, we m us t hope to hit upon m any other c ontrivanc es ." T he grous e were fas tened by their c laws , and P enc roft, delighted at not having to appear before their c om panions with em pty hands , and obs erving that the day had begun to dec line, judged it bes t to return to their dwelling. T he direc tion was indic ated by the river, whos e c ours e they had only to follow, and, towards s ix o'c loc k, tired enough with their exc urs ion, Herbert and P enc roft arrived at the Chim neys . Chapter 7 Gideon S pilett was s tanding m otionles s on the s hore, his arm s c ros s ed, gazing over the s ea, the horizon of whic h was los t towards the eas t in a thic k blac k c loud whic h was s preading rapidly towards the zenith. T he wind was already s trong, and inc reas ed with the dec line of day. T he whole s ky was of a threatening as pec t, and the firs t s ym ptom s of a violent s torm were c learly vis ible. Herbert entered the Chim neys , and P enc roft went towards the reporter. T he latter, deeply abs orbed, did not s ee him approac h. "W e are going to have a dirty night, Mr. S pilett! " s aid the s ailor: "P etrels delight in wind and rain." T he reporter, turning at the m om ent, s aw P enc roft, and his firs t words were,-"A t what dis tanc e from the c oas t would you s ay the c ar was , when the waves c arried off our c om panion?" T he s ailor had not expec ted this ques tion. He reflec ted an ins tant and replied,-"T wo c ables lengths at the m os t." "B ut what is a c able's length?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "A bout a hundred and twenty fathom s , or s ix hundred feet." "T hen," s aid the reporter, "Cyrus Harding m us t have dis appeared twelve hundred feet at the m os t from the s hore?" "A bout that," replied P enc roft. "A nd his dog als o?" "A ls o." "W hat as tonis hes m e," rejoined the reporter, "while adm itting that our c om panion has peris hed, is that T op has als o m et his death, and that neither the body of the dog nor of his m as ter has been c as t on the s hore! " "It is not as tonis hing, with s uc h a heavy s ea," replied the s ailor. "B es ides , it is pos s ible that c urrents have c arried them farther down the c oas t." "T hen, it is your opinion that our friend has peris hed in the waves ?" again as ked the reporter. "T hat is m y opinion." "My own opinion," s aid Gideon S pilett, "with due deferenc e to your experienc e, P enc roft, is that in the double fac t of the abs olute dis appearanc e of Cyrus and T op, living or dead, there is s om ething unac c ountable and unlikely." "I wis h I c ould think like you, Mr. S pilett," replied P enc roft; "unhappily, m y m ind is m ade up on this point." Having s aid this , the s ailor returned to the Chim neys . A good fire c rac kled on the hearth. Herbert had jus t thrown on an arm ful of dry wood, and the flam e c as t a bright light into the darkes t parts of the pas s age. P enc roft im m ediately began to prepare the dinner. It appeared bes t to introduc e s om ething s olid into the bill of fare, for all needed to get up their s trength. T he s trings of c ourouc ous were kept for the next day, but they pluc ked a c ouple of grous e, whic h were s oon s pitted on a s tic k, and roas ting before a blazing fire. A t s even in the evening Neb had not returned. T he prolonged abs enc e of the Negro m ade P enc roft very uneas y. It was to be feared that he had m et with an ac c ident on this unknown land, or that the unhappy fellow had been driven to s om e ac t of des pair. B ut Herbert drew very different c onc lus ions from this abs enc e. A c c ording to him , Neb's delay was c aus ed by s om e new c irc um s tanc es whic h had induc ed him to prolong his s earc h. A ls o, everything new m us t be to the advantage of Cyrus Harding. W hy had Neb not returned unles s hope s till detained him ? P erhaps he had found s om e m ark, a foots tep, a trac e whic h had put him in the right path. P erhaps he was at this m om ent on a c ertain trac k. P erhaps even he was near his m as ter. T hus the lad reas oned. T hus he s poke. His c om panions let him talk. T he reporter alone approved with a ges ture. B ut what P enc roft thought m os t probable was , that Neb had pus hed his res earc hes on the s hore farther than the day before, and that he had not as yet had tim e to return. Herbert, however, agitated by vague pres entim ents , s everal tim es m anifes ted an intention to go to m eet Neb. B ut P enc roft as s ured him that that would be a us eles s c ours e, that in the darknes s and deplorable weather he c ould not find any trac es of Neb, and that it would be m uc h better to wait. If Neb had not m ade his appearanc e by the next day, P enc roft would not hes itate to join him in his s earc h. Gideon S pilett approved of the s ailor's opinion that it was bes t not to divide, and Herbert was obliged to give up his projec t; but two large tears fell from his eyes . T he reporter c ould not refrain from em brac ing the generous boy. B ad weather now s et in. A furious gale from the s outheas t pas s ed over the c oas t. T he s ea roared as it beat over the reef. Heavy rain was das hed by the s torm into partic les like dus t. Ragged m as s es of vapor drove along the beac h, on whic h the torm ented s hingles s ounded as if poured out in c art- loads , while the s and rais ed by the wind added as it were m ineral dus t to that whic h was liquid, and rendered the united attac k ins upportable. B etween the river's m outh and the end of the c liff, eddies of wind whirled and gus ts from this m aels trom las hed the water whic h ran through the narrow valley. T he s m oke from the fireplac e was als o driven bac k through the opening, filling the pas s ages and rendering them uninhabitable. T herefore, as the grous e were c ooked, P enc roft let the fire die away, and only pres erved a few em bers buried under the as hes . A t eight o'c loc k Neb had not appeared, but there was no doubt that the frightful weather alone hindered his return, and that he m us t have taken refuge in s om e c ave, to await the end of the s torm or at leas t the return of day. A s to going to m eet him , or attem pting to find him , it was im pos s ible. T he gam e c ons tituted the only dis h at s upper; the m eat was exc ellent, and P enc roft and Herbert, whos e long exc urs ion had rendered them very hungry, devoured it with infinite s atis fac tion. T heir m eal c onc luded, eac h retired to the c orner in whic h he had res ted the prec eding night, and Herbert was not long in going to s leep near the s ailor, who had s tretc hed him s elf bes ide the fireplac e. Outs ide, as the night advanc ed, the tem pes t als o inc reas ed in s trength, until it was equal to that whic h had c arried the pris oners from Ric hm ond to this land in the P ac ific . T he tem pes ts whic h are frequent during the s eas ons of the equinox, and whic h are s o prolific in c atas trophes , are above all terrible over this im m ens e oc ean, whic h oppos es no obs tac le to their fury. No des c ription c an give an idea of the terrific violenc e of the gale as it beat upon the unprotec ted c oas t. Happily the pile of roc ks whic h form ed the Chim neys was s olid. It was c om pos ed of enorm ous bloc ks of granite, a few of whic h, ins ec urely balanc ed, s eem ed to trem ble on their foundations , and P enc roft c ould feel rapid quiverings under his head as it res ted on the roc k. B ut he repeated to him s elf, and rightly, that there was nothing to fear, and that their retreat would not give way. However he heard the nois e of s tones torn from the s um m it of the plateau by the wind, falling down on to the beac h. A few even rolled on to the upper part of the Chim neys , or flew off in fragm ents when they were projec ted perpendic ularly. T wic e the s ailor ros e and intrenc hed him s elf at the opening of the pas s age, s o as to take a look in s afety at the outs ide. B ut there was nothing to be feared from thes e s howers , whic h were not c ons iderable, and he returned to his c ouc h before the fireplac e, where the em bers glowed beneath the as hes . Notwiths tanding the fury of the hurric ane, the uproar of the tem pes t, the thunder, and the tum ult, Herbert s lept profoundly. S leep at las t took pos s es s ion of P enc roft, whom a s eafaring life had habituated to anything. Gideon S pilett alone was kept awake by anxiety. He reproac hed him s elf with not having ac c om panied Neb. It was evident that he had not abandoned all hope. T he pres entim ents whic h had troubled Herbert did not c eas e to agitate him als o. His thoughts were c onc entrated on Neb. W hy had Neb not returned? He tos s ed about on his s andy c ouc h, s c arc ely giving a thought to the s truggle of the elem ents . Now and then, his eyes , heavy with fatigue, c los ed for an ins tant, but s om e s udden thought reopened them alm os t im m ediately. Meanwhile the night advanc ed, and it was perhaps two hours from m orning, when P enc roft, then s ound as leep, was vigorous ly s haken. "W hat's the m atter?" he c ried, rous ing him s elf, and c ollec ting his ideas with the prom ptitude us ual to s eam en. T he reporter was leaning over him , and s aying,-"Lis ten, P enc roft, lis ten! " T he s ailor s trained his ears , but c ould hear no nois e beyond thos e c aus ed by the s torm . "It is the wind," s aid he. "No," replied Gideon S pilett, lis tening again, "I thought I heard--" "W hat?" "T he barking of a dog! " "A dog! " c ried P enc roft, s pringing up. "Y es --barking--" "It's not pos s ible! " replied the s ailor. "A nd bes ides , how, in the roaring of the s torm --" "S top--lis ten--" s aid the reporter. P enc roft lis tened m ore attentively, and really thought he heard, during a lull, dis tant barking. "W ell! " s aid the reporter, pres s ing the s ailor's hand. "Y es --yes ! " replied P enc roft. "It is Top! It is Top! " c ried Herbert, who had jus t awoke; and all three rus hed towards the opening of the Chim neys . T hey had great diffic ulty in getting out. T he wind drove them bac k. B ut at las t they s uc c eeded, and c ould only rem ain s tanding by leaning agains t the roc ks . T hey looked about, but c ould not s peak. T he darknes s was intens e. T he s ea, the s ky, the land were all m ingled in one blac k m as s . Not a s pec k of light was vis ible. T he reporter and his c om panions rem ained thus for a few m inutes , overwhelm ed by the wind, drenc hed by the rain, blinded by the s and. T hen, in a paus e of the tum ult, they again heard the barking, whic h they found m us t be at s om e dis tanc e. It c ould only be Top! B ut was he alone or ac c om panied? He was m os t probably alone, for, if Neb had been with him , he would have m ade his way m ore direc tly towards the Chim neys . T he s ailor s queezed the reporter's hand, for he c ould not m ake him s elf heard, in a way whic h s ignified "W ait! " then he reentered the pas s age. A n ins tant after he is s ued with a lighted fagot, whic h he threw into the darknes s , whis tling s hrilly. It appeared as if this s ignal had been waited for; the barking im m ediately c am e nearer, and s oon a dog bounded into the pas s age. P enc roft, Herbert, and S pilett entered after him . A n arm ful of dry wood was thrown on the em bers . T he pas s age was lighted up with a bright flam e. "It is T op! " c ried Herbert. It was indeed T op, a m agnific ent A nglo-Norm an, who derived from thes e two rac es c ros s ed the s wiftnes s of foot and the ac utenes s of s m ell whic h are the preem inent qualities of c ours ing dogs . It was the dog of the engineer, Cyrus Harding. B ut he was alone! Neither Neb nor his m as ter ac c om panied him ! How was it that his ins tinc t had guided him s traight to the Chim neys , whic h he did not know? It appeared inexplic able, above all, in the m ids t of this blac k night and in s uc h a tem pes t! B ut what was s till m ore inexplic able was , that Top was neither tired, nor exhaus ted, nor even s oiled with m ud or s and! --Herbert had drawn him towards him , and was patting his head, the dog rubbing his nec k agains t the lad's hands . "If the dog is found, the m as ter will be found als o! " s aid the reporter. "God grant it! " res ponded Herbert. "Let us s et off! T op will guide us ! " P enc roft did not m ake any objec tion. He felt that T op's arrival c ontradic ted his c onjec tures . "Com e along then! " s aid he. P enc roft c arefully c overed the em bers on the hearth. He plac ed a few piec es of wood am ong them , s o as to keep in the fire until their return. T hen, prec eded by the dog, who s eem ed to invite them by s hort barks to c om e with him , and followed by the reporter and the boy, he das hed out, after having put up in his handkerc hief the rem ains of the s upper. T he s torm was then in all its violenc e, and perhaps at its height. Not a s ingle ray of light from the m oon pierc ed through the c louds . To follow a s traight c ours e was diffic ult. It was bes t to rely on Top's ins tinc t. T hey did s o. T he reporter and Herbert walked behind the dog, and the s ailor brought up the rear. It was im pos s ible to exc hange a word. T he rain was not very heavy, but the wind was terrific . However, one c irc um s tanc e favored the s eam an and his two c om panions . T he wind being s outheas t, c ons equently blew on their bac ks . T he c louds of s and, whic h otherwis e would have been ins upportable, from being rec eived behind, did not in c ons equenc e im pede their progres s . In s hort, they s om etim es went fas ter than they liked, and had s om e diffic ulty in keeping their feet; but hope gave them s trength, for it was not at random that they m ade their way along the s hore. T hey had no doubt that Neb had found his m as ter, and that he had s ent them the faithful dog. B ut was the engineer living, or had Neb only s ent for his c om panions that they m ight render the las t duties to the c orps e of the unfortunate Harding? A fter having pas s ed the prec ipic e, Herbert, the reporter, and P enc roft prudently s tepped as ide to s top and take breath. T he turn of the roc ks s heltered them from the wind, and they c ould breathe after this walk or rather run of a quarter of an hour. T hey c ould now hear and reply to eac h other, and the lad having pronounc ed the nam e of Cyrus Harding, T op gave a few s hort barks , as m uc h as to s ay that his m as ter was s aved. "S aved, is n't he?" repeated Herbert; "s aved, T op?" A nd the dog barked in reply. T hey onc e m ore s et out. T he tide began to ris e, and urged by the wind it threatened to be unus ually high, as it was a s pring tide. Great billows thundered agains t the reef with s uc h violenc e that they probably pas s ed entirely over the is let, then quite invis ible. T he m ole no longer protec ted the c oas t, whic h was direc tly expos ed to the attac ks of the open s ea. A s s oon as the s ailor and his c om panions left the prec ipic e, the wind s truc k them again with renewed fury. T hough bent under the gale they walked very quic kly, following T op, who did not hes itate as to what direc tion to take. T hey as c ended towards the north, having on their left an interm inable extent of billows , whic h broke with a deafening nois e, and on their right a dark c ountry, the as pec t of whic h it was im pos s ible to gues s . B ut they felt that it was c om paratively flat, for the wind pas s ed c om pletely over them , without being driven bac k as it was when it c am e in c ontac t with the c liff.

A t four o'c loc k in the m orning, they rec koned that they had c leared about five m iles . T he c louds were s lightly rais ed, and the wind, though les s dam p, was very s harp and c old. Ins uffic iently protec ted by their c lothing, P enc roft, Herbert and S pilett s uffered c ruelly, but not a c om plaint es c aped their lips . T hey were determ ined to follow T op, wherever the intelligent anim al wis hed to lead them . Towards five o'c loc k day began to break. A t the zenith, where the fog was les s thic k, gray s hades bordered the c louds ; under an opaque belt, a lum inous line c learly trac ed the horizon. T he c res ts of the billows were tipped with a wild light, and the foam regained its whitenes s . A t the s am e tim e on the left the hilly parts of the c oas t c ould be s een, though very indis tinc tly. A t s ix o'c loc k day had broken. T he c louds rapidly lifted. T he s eam an and his c om panions were then about s ix m iles from the Chim neys . T hey were following a very flat s hore bounded by a reef of roc ks , whos e heads s c arc ely em erged from the s ea, for they were in deep water. On the left, the c ountry appeared to be one vas t extent of s andy downs , bris tling with this tles . T here was no c liff, and the s hore offered no res is tanc e to the oc ean but a c hain of irregular hilloc ks . Here and there grew two or three trees , inc lined towards the wes t, their branc hes projec ting in that direc tion. Quite behind, in the s outhwes t, extended the border of the fores t. A t this m om ent, Top bec am e very exc ited. He ran forward, then returned, and s eem ed to entreat them to has ten their s teps . T he dog then left the beac h, and guided by his wonderful ins tinc t, without s howing the leas t hes itation, went s traight in am ong the downs . T hey followed him . T he c ountry appeared an abs olute des ert. Not a living c reature was to be s een. T he downs , the extent of whic h was large, were c om pos ed of hilloc ks and even of hills , very irregularly dis tributed. T hey res em bled a S witzerland m odeled in s and, and only an am azing ins tinc t c ould have pos s ibly rec ognized the way. Five m inutes after having left the beac h, the reporter and his two c om panions arrived at a s ort of exc avation, hollowed out at the bac k of a high m ound. T here T op s topped, and gave a loud, c lear bark. S pilett, Herbert, and P enc roft das hed into the c ave. Neb was there, kneeling bes ide a body extended on a bed of gras s . T he body was that of the engineer, Cyrus Harding. Chapter 8 Neb did not m ove. P enc roft only uttered one word. "Living?" he c ried. Neb did not reply. S pilett and the s ailor turned pale. Herbert c las ped his hands , and rem ained m otionles s . T he poor Negro, abs orbed in his grief, evidently had neither s een his c om panions nor heard the s ailor s peak. T he reporter knelt down bes ide the m otionles s body, and plac ed his ear to the engineer's c hes t, having firs t torn open his c lothes . A m inute--an age! --pas s ed, during whic h he endeavored to c atc h the faintes t throb of the heart. Neb had rais ed him s elf a little and gazed without s eeing. Des pair had c om pletely c hanged his c ountenanc e. He c ould s c arc ely be rec ognized, exhaus ted with fatigue, broken with grief. He believed his m as ter was dead. Gideon S pilett at las t ros e, after a long and attentive exam ination. "He lives ! " s aid he. P enc roft knelt in his turn bes ide the engineer, he als o heard a throbbing, and even felt a s light breath on his c heek. Herbert at a word from the reporter ran out to look for water. He found, a hundred feet off, a lim pid s tream , whic h s eem ed to have been greatly inc reas ed by the rains , and whic h filtered through the s and; but nothing in whic h to put the water, not even a s hell am ong the downs . T he lad was obliged to c ontent him s elf with dipping his handkerc hief in the s tream , and with it has tened bac k to the grotto. Happily the wet handkerc hief was enough for Gideon S pilett, who only wis hed to wet the engineer's lips . T he c old water produc ed an alm os t im m ediate effec t. His c hes t heaved and he s eem ed to try to s peak. "W e will s ave him ! " exc laim ed the reporter. A t thes e words hope revived in Neb's heart. He undres s ed his m as ter to s ee if he was wounded, but not s o m uc h as a bruis e was to be found, either on the head, body, or lim bs , whic h was s urpris ing, as he m us t have been das hed agains t the roc ks ; even the hands were uninjured, and it was diffic ult to explain how the engineer s howed no trac es of the efforts whic h he m us t have m ade to get out of reac h of the breakers . B ut the explanation would c om e later. W hen Cyrus was able to s peak he would s ay what had happened. For the pres ent the ques tion was , how to rec all him to life, and it appeared likely that rubbing would bring this about; s o they s et to work with the s ailor's jers ey. T he engineer, revived by this rude s ham pooing, m oved his arm s lightly and began to breathe m ore regularly. He was s inking from exhaus tion, and c ertainly, had not the reporter and his c om panions arrived, it would have been all over with Cyrus Harding. "Y ou thought your m as ter was dead, didn't you?" s aid the s eam an to Neb. "Y es ! quite dead! " replied Neb, "and if T op had not found you, and brought you here, I s hould have buried m y m as ter, and then have lain down on his grave to die! " It had indeed been a narrow es c ape for Cyrus Harding! Neb then rec ounted what had happened. T he day before, after having left the Chim neys at daybreak, he had as c ended the c oas t in a northerly direc tion, and had reac hed that part of the s hore whic h he had already vis ited. T here, without any hope he ac knowledged, Neb had s earc hed the beac h, am ong the roc ks , on the s and, for the s m alles t trac e to guide him . He exam ined partic ularly that part of the beac h whic h was not c overed by the high tide, for near the s ea the water would have obliterated all m arks . Neb did not expec t to find his m as ter living. It was for a c orps e that he s earc hed, a c orps e whic h he wis hed to bury with his own hands ! He s ought long in vain. T his des ert c oas t appeared never to have been vis ited by a hum an c reature. T he s hells , thos e whic h the s ea had not reac hed, and whic h m ight be m et with by m illions above high-water m ark, were untouc hed. Not a s hell was broken. Neb then res olved to walk along the beac h for s om e m iles . It was pos s ible that the waves had c arried the body to quite a dis tant point. W hen a c orps e floats a little dis tanc e from a low s hore, it rarely happens that the tide does not throw it up, s ooner or later. T his Neb knew, and he wis hed to s ee his m as ter again for the las t tim e. "I went along the c oas t for another two m iles , c arefully exam ining the beac h, both at high and low water, and I had des paired of finding anything, when yes terday, above five in the evening, I s aw footprints on the s and." "Footprints ?" exc laim ed P enc roft. "Y es ! " replied Neb. "Did thes e footprints begin at the water's edge?" as ked the reporter. "No," replied Neb, "only above high-water m ark, for the others m us t have been was hed out by the tide." "Go on, Neb," s aid S pilett. "I went half c razy when I s aw thes e footprints . T hey were very c lear and went towards the downs . I followed them for a quarter of a m ile, running, but taking c are not to des troy them . Five m inutes after, as it was getting dark, I heard the barking of a dog. It was T op, and T op brought m e here, to m y m as ter! " Neb ended his ac c ount by s aying what had been his grief at finding the inanim ate body, in whic h he vainly s ought for the leas t s ign of life. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive. A ll his efforts were us eles s ! Nothing rem ained to be done but to render the las t duties to the one whom he had loved s o m uc h! Neb then thought of his c om panions . T hey, no doubt, would wis h to s ee the unfortunate m an again. T op was there. Could he not rely on the s agac ity of the faithful anim al? Neb s everal tim es pronounc ed the nam e of the reporter, the one am ong his c om panions whom T op knew bes t. T hen he pointed to the s outh, and the dog bounded off in the direc tion indic ated to him . W e have heard how, guided by an ins tinc t whic h m ight be looked upon alm os t as s upernatural, T op had found them . Neb's c om panions had lis tened with great attention to this ac c ount. It was unac c ountable to them how Cyrus Harding, after the efforts whic h he m us t have m ade to es c ape from the waves by c ros s ing the roc ks , had not rec eived even a s c ratc h. A nd what c ould not be explained either was how the engineer had m anaged to get to this c ave in the downs , m ore than a m ile from the s hore. "S o, Neb," s aid the reporter, "it was not you who brought your m as ter to this plac e." "No, it was not I," replied the Negro. "It's very c lear that the c aptain c am e here by him s elf," s aid P enc roft. "It is c lear in reality," obs erved S pilett, "but it is not c redible! " T he explanation of this fac t c ould only be produc ed from the engineer's own lips , and they m us t wait for that till s peec h returned. Rubbing had re-es tablis hed the c irc ulation of the blood. Cyrus Harding m oved his arm again, then his head, and a few inc om prehens ible words es c aped him . Neb, who was bending over him , s poke, but the engineer did not appear to hear, and his eyes rem ained c los ed. Life was only exhibited in him by m ovem ent, his s ens es had not as yet been res tored. P enc roft m uc h regretted not having either fire, or the m eans of proc uring it, for he had, unfortunately, forgotten to bring the burnt linen, whic h would eas ily have ignited from the s parks produc ed by s triking together two flints . A s to the engineer's poc kets , they were entirely em pty, exc ept that of his wais tc oat, whic h c ontained his watc h. It was nec es s ary to c arry Harding to the Chim neys , and that as s oon as pos s ible. T his was the opinion of all. Meanwhile, the c are whic h was lavis hed on the engineer brought him bac k to c ons c ious nes s s ooner than they c ould have expec ted. T he water with whic h they wetted his lips revived him gradually. P enc roft als o thought of m ixing with the water s om e m ois ture from the titra's fles h whic h he had brought. Herbert ran to the beac h and returned with two large bivalve s hells . T he s ailor c onc oc ted s om ething whic h he introduc ed between the lips of the engineer, who eagerly drinking it opened his eyes . Neb and the reporter were leaning over him . "My m as ter! m y m as ter! " c ried Neb. T he engineer heard him . He rec ognized Neb and S pilett, then his other two c om panions , and his hand s lightly pres s ed theirs . A few words again es c aped him , whic h s howed what thoughts were, even then, troubling his brain. T his tim e he was unders tood. Undoubtedly they were the s am e words he had before attem pted to utter. "Is land or c ontinent?" he m urm ured. "B other the c ontinent," c ried P enc roft has tily; "there is tim e enough to s ee about that, c aptain! we don't c are for anything, provided you are living." T he engineer nodded faintly, and then appeas ed to s leep. T hey res pec ted this s leep, and the reporter began im m ediately to m ake arrangem ents for trans porting Harding to a m ore c om fortable plac e. Neb, Herbert, and P enc roft left the c ave and direc ted their s teps towards a high m ound c rowned with a few dis torted trees . On the way the s ailor c ould not help repeating,-"Is land or c ontinent! T o think of that, when at one's las t gas p! W hat a m an! " A rrived at the s um m it of the m ound, P enc roft and his two c om panions s et to work, with no other tools than their hands , to des poil of its princ ipal branc hes a rather s ic kly tree, a s ort of m arine fir; with thes e branc hes they m ade a litter, on whic h, c overed with gras s and leaves , they c ould c arry the engineer. T his oc c upied them nearly forty m inutes , and it was ten o'c loc k when they returned to Cyrus Harding whom S pilett had not left. T he engineer was jus t awaking from the s leep, or rather from the drows ines s , in whic h they had found him . T he c olor was returning to his c heeks , whic h till now had been as pale as death. He rais ed him s elf a little, looked around him , and appeared to as k where he was . "Can you lis ten to m e without fatigue, Cyrus ?" as ked the reporter. "Y es ," replied the engineer. "It's m y opinion," s aid the s ailor, "that Captain Harding will be able to lis ten to you s till better, if he will have s om e m ore grous e jelly,--for we have grous e, c aptain," added he, pres enting him with a little of this jelly, to whic h he this tim e added s om e of the fles h. Cyrus Harding ate a little of the grous e, and the res t was divided am ong his c om panions , who found it but a m eager breakfas t, for they were s uffering extrem ely from hunger. "W ell! " s aid the s ailor, "there is plenty of food at the Chim neys , for you m us t know, c aptain, that down there, in the s outh, we have a hous e, with room s , beds , and fireplac e, and in the pantry, s everal dozen of birds , whic h our Herbert c alls c ourouc ous . Your litter is ready, and as s oon as you feel s trong enough we will c arry you hom e." "T hanks , m y friend," replied the engineer; "wait another hour or two, and then we will s et out. A nd now s peak, S pilett." T he reporter then told him all that had oc c urred. He rec ounted all the events with whic h Cyrus was unac quainted, the las t fall of the balloon, the landing on this unknown land, whic h appeared a des ert (whatever it was , whether is land or c ontinent), the dis c overy of the Chim neys , the s earc h for him , not forgetting of c ours e Neb's devotion, the intelligenc e exhibited by the faithful T op, as well as m any other m atters . "B ut," as ked Harding, in a s till feeble voic e, "you did not, then, pic k m e up on the beac h?" "No," replied the reporter. "A nd did you not bring m e to this c ave?" "No." "A t what dis tanc e is this c ave from the s ea?" "A bout a m ile," replied P enc roft; "and if you are as tonis hed, c aptain, we are not les s s urpris ed ours elves at s eeing you in this plac e! " "Indeed," s aid the engineer, who was rec overing gradually, and who took great interes t in thes e details , "indeed it is very s ingular! " "B ut," res um ed the s ailor, "c an you tell us what happened after you were c arried off by the s ea?" Cyrus Harding c ons idered. He knew very little. T he wave had torn him from the balloon net. He s ank at firs t s everal fathom s . On returning to the s urfac e, in the half light, he felt a living c reature s truggling near him . It was T op, who had s prung to his help. He s aw nothing of the balloon, whic h, lightened both of his weight and that of the dog, had darted away like an arrow. T here he was , in the m ids t of the angry s ea, at a dis tanc e whic h c ould not be les s than half a m ile from the s hore. He attem pted to s truggle agains t the billows by s wim m ing vigorous ly. Top held him up by his c lothes ; but a s trong c urrent s eized him and drove him towards the north, and after half an hour of exertion, he s ank, dragging T op with him into the depths . From that m om ent to the m om ent in whic h he rec overed to find him s elf in the arm s of his friends he rem em bered nothing. "However," rem arked P enc roft, "you m us t have been thrown on to the beac h, and you m us t have had s trength to walk here, s inc e Neb found your footm arks ! " "Y es ... of c ours e replied the engineer, thoughtfully; "and you found no trac es of hum an beings on this c oas t?" "Not a trac e," replied the reporter; "bes ides , if by c hanc e you had m et with s om e deliverer there, jus t in the nic k of tim e, why s hould he have abandoned you after having s aved you from the waves ?" "Y ou are right, m y dear S pilett. T ell m e, Neb," added the engineer, turning to his s ervant, "it was not you who... you c an't have had a m om ent of unc ons c ious nes s ... during whic h no, that's abs urd.... Do any of the foots teps s till rem ain?" as ked Harding. "Y es , m as ter, replied Neb; "here, at the entranc e, at the bac k of the m ound, in a plac e s heltered from the rain and wind. T he s torm has des troyed the others ." "P enc roft," s aid Cyrus Harding, "will you take m y s hoe and s ee if it fits exac tly to the footprints ?" T he s ailor did as the engineer reques ted. W hile he and Herbert, guided by Neb, went to the plac e where the footprints were to be found, Cyrus rem arked to the reporter,-"It is a m os t extraordinary thing! " "P erfec tly inexplic able! " replied Gideon S pilett. "B ut do not dwell upon it jus t now, m y dear S pilett, we will talk about it by-and-by." A m om ent after the others entered. T here was no doubt about it. T he engineer's s hoe fitted exac tly to the footm arks . It was therefore Cyrus Harding who had left them on the s and. "Com e," s aid he, "I m us t have experienc ed this unc ons c ious nes s whic h I attributed to Neb. I m us t have walked like a s om nam bulis t, without any knowledge of m y s teps , and T op m us t have guided m e here, after having dragged m e from the waves ... Com e, T op! Com e, old dog! " T he m agnific ent anim al bounded barking to his m as ter, and c ares s es were lavis hed on him . It was agreed that there was no other way of ac c ounting for the res c ue of Cyrus Harding, and that T op des erved all the honor of the affair. T owards twelve o'c loc k, P enc roft having as ked the engineer if they c ould now rem ove him , Harding, ins tead of replying, and by an effort whic h exhibited the m os t energetic will, got up. B ut he was obliged to lean on the s ailor, or he would have fallen. "W ell done! " c ried P enc roft; "bring the c aptain's litter." T he litter was brought; the trans vers e branc hes had been c overed with leaves and long gras s . Harding was laid on it, and P enc roft, having taken his plac e at one end and Neb at the other, they s tarted towards the c oas t. T here was a dis tanc e of eight m iles to be ac c om plis hed; but, as they c ould not go fas t, and it would perhaps be nec es s ary to s top frequently, they rec koned that it would take at leas t s ix hours to reac h the Chim neys . T he wind was s till s trong, but fortunately it did not rain. A lthough lying down, the engineer, leaning on his elbow, obs erved the c oas t, partic ularly inland. He did not s peak, but he gazed; and, no doubt, the appearanc e of the c ountry, with its inequalities of ground, its fores ts , its various produc tions , were im pres s ed on his m ind. However, after traveling for two hours , fatigue overc am e him , and he s lept. A t half-pas t five the little band arrived at the prec ipic e, and a s hort tim e after at the Chim neys . T hey s topped, and the litter was plac ed on the s and; Cyrus Harding was s leeping profoundly, and did not awake. P enc roft, to his extrem e s urpris e, found that the terrible s torm had quite altered the as pec t of the plac e. Im portant c hanges had oc c urred; great bloc ks of s tone lay on the beac h, whic h was als o c overed with a thic k c arpet of s ea-weed, algae, and wrac k. E vidently the s ea, pas s ing over the is let, had been c arried right up to the foot of the enorm ous c urtain of granite. T he s oil in front of the c ave had been torn away by the violenc e of the waves . A horrid pres entim ent flas hed ac ros s P enc roft's m ind. He rus hed into the pas s age, but returned alm os t im m ediately, and s tood m otionles s , s taring at his c om panions .... T he fire was out; the drowned c inders were nothing but m ud; the burnt linen, whic h was to have s erved as tinder, had dis appeared! T he s ea had penetrated to the end of the pas s ages , and everything was overthrown and des troyed in the interior of the Chim neys ! Chapter 9 In a few words , Gideon S pilett, Herbert, and Neb were m ade ac quainted with what had happened. T his ac c ident, whic h appeared s o very s erious to P enc roft, produc ed different effec ts on the c om panions of the hones t s ailor. Neb, in his delight at having found his m as ter, did not lis ten, or rather, did not c are to trouble him s elf with what P enc roft was s aying. Herbert s hared in s om e degree the s ailor's feelings . A s to the reporter, he s im ply replied,-"Upon m y word, P enc roft, it's perfec tly indifferent to m e! " "B ut, I repeat, that we haven't any fire! " "P ooh! " "Nor any m eans of relighting it! " "Nons ens e! " "B ut I s ay, Mr. S pilett--" "Is n't Cyrus here?" replied the reporter. "Is not our engineer alive? He will s oon find s om e way of m aking fire for us ! " "W ith what?" "W ith nothing."

W hat had P enc roft to s ay? He c ould s ay nothing, for, in the bottom of his heart he s hared the c onfidenc e whic h his c om panions had in Cyrus Harding. T he engineer was to them a m ic roc os m , a c om pound of every s c ienc e, a pos s es s or of all hum an knowledge. It was better to be with Cyrus in a des ert is land, than without him in the m os t flouris hing town in the United S tates . W ith him they c ould want nothing; with him they would never des pair. If thes e brave m en had been told that a volc anic eruption would des troy the land, that this land would be engulfed in the depths of the P ac ific , they would have im perturbably replied,-"Cyrus is here! " W hile in the palanquin, however, the engineer had again relaps ed into unc ons c ious nes s , whic h the jolting to whic h he had been s ubjec ted during his journey had brought on, s o that they c ould not now appeal to his ingenuity. T he s upper m us t nec es s arily be very m eager. In fac t, all the grous e fles h had been c ons um ed, and there no longer exis ted any m eans of c ooking m ore gam e. B es ides , the c ourouc ous whic h had been res erved had dis appeared. T hey m us t c ons ider what was to be done. Firs t of all, Cyrus Harding was c arried into the c entral pas s age. T here they m anaged to arrange for him a c ouc h of s ea-weed whic h s till rem ained alm os t dry. T he deep s leep whic h had overpowered him would no doubt be m ore benefic ial to him than any nouris hm ent. Night had c los ed in, and the tem perature, whic h had m odified when the wind s hifted to the northwes t, again bec am e extrem ely c old. A ls o, the s ea having des troyed the partitions whic h P enc roft had put up in c ertain plac es in the pas s ages , the Chim neys , on ac c ount of the draughts , had bec om e s c arc ely habitable. T he engineer's c ondition would, therefore, have been bad enough, if his c om panions had not c arefully c overed him with their c oats and wais tc oats . S upper, this evening, was of c ours e c om pos ed of the inevitable lithodom es , of whic h Herbert and Neb pic ked up a plentiful s upply on the beac h. However, to thes e m ollus c s , the lad added s om e edible s ea-weed, whic h he gathered on high roc ks , whos e s ides were only was hed by the s ea at the tim e of high tides . T his s ea-weed, whic h belongs to the order of Fuc ac ae, of the genus S argas s um , produc es , when dry, a gelatinous m atter, ric h and nutritious . T he reporter and his c om panions , after having eaten a quantity of lithodom es , s uc ked the s argas s um , of whic h the tas te was very tolerable. It is us ed in parts of the E as t very c ons iderably by the natives . "Never m ind! " s aid the s ailor, "the c aptain will help us s oon." Meanwhile the c old bec am e very s evere, and unhappily they had no m eans of defending them s elves from it. T he s ailor, extrem ely vexed, tried in all s orts of ways to proc ure fire. Neb helped him in this work. He found s om e dry m os s , and by s triking together two pebbles he obtained s om e s parks , but the m os s , not being inflam m able enough, did not take fire, for the s parks were really only inc andes c ent, and not at all of the s am e c ons is tenc y as thos e whic h are em itted from flint when s truc k in the s am e m anner. T he experim ent, therefore, did not s uc c eed. P enc roft, although he had no c onfidenc e in the proc eeding, then tried rubbing two piec es of dry wood together, as s avages do. Certainly, the m ovem ent whic h he and Neb exhibited, if it had been trans form ed into heat, ac c ording to the new theory, would have been enough to heat the boiler of a s team er! It c am e to nothing. T he bits of wood bec am e hot, to be s ure, but m uc h les s s o than the operators them s elves . A fter working an hour, P enc roft, who was in a c om plete s tate of pers piration, threw down the piec es of wood in dis gus t. "I c an never be m ade to believe that s avages light their fires in this way, let them s ay what they will," he exc laim ed. "I c ould s ooner light m y arm s by rubbing them agains t eac h other! " T he s ailor was wrong to des pis e the proc eeding. S avages often kindle wood by m eans of rapid rubbing. B ut every s ort of wood does not ans wer for the purpos e, and bes ides , there is "the knac k," following the us ual expres s ion, and it is probable that P enc roft had not "the knac k." P enc roft's ill hum or did not las t long. Herbert had taken the bits of wood whic h he had turned down, and was exerting him s elf to rub them . T he hardy s ailor c ould not res train a burs t of laughter on s eeing the efforts of the lad to s uc c eed where he had failed. "Rub, m y boy, rub! " s aid he. "I am rubbing," replied Herbert, laughing, "but I don't pretend to do anything els e but warm m ys elf ins tead of s hivering, and s oon I s hall be as hot as you are, m y good P enc roft! " T his s oon happened. However, they were obliged to give up, for this night at leas t, the attem pt to proc ure fire. Gideon S pilett repeated, for the twentieth tim e, that Cyrus Harding would not have been troubled for s o s m all a diffic ulty. A nd, in the m eantim e, he s tretc hed him s elf in one of the pas s ages on his bed of s and. Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft did the s am e, while T op s lept at his m as ter's feet. Next day, the 28th of Marc h, when the engineer awoke, about eight in the m orning, he s aw his c om panions around him watc hing his s leep, and, as on the day before, his firs t words were:-"Is land or c ontinent?" T his was his upperm os t thought. "W ell! " replied P enc roft, "we don't know anything about it, c aptain! " "Y ou don't know yet?" "B ut we s hall know," rejoined P enc roft, "when you have guided us into the c ountry." "I think I am able to try it," replied the engineer, who, without m uc h effort, ros e and s tood upright. "T hat's c apital! " c ried the s ailor. "I feel dreadfully weak," replied Harding. "Give m e s om ething to eat, m y friends , and it will s oon go off. Y ou have fire, haven't you?" T his ques tion was not im m ediately replied to. B ut, in a few s ec onds -"A las ! we have no fire," s aid P enc roft, "or rather, c aptain, we have it no longer! " A nd the s ailor rec ounted all that had pas s ed the day before. He am us ed the engineer by the his tory of the s ingle m atc h, then his abortive attem pt to proc ure fire in the s avages ' way. "W e s hall c ons ider," replied the engineer, "and if we do not find s om e s ubs tanc e s im ilar to tinder--" "W ell?" as ked the s ailor. "W ell, we will m ake m atc hes . "Chem ic als ?" "Chem ic als ! " "It is not m ore diffic ult than that," c ried the reporter, s triking the s ailor on the s houlder. T he latter did not think it s o s im ple, but he did not protes t. A ll went out. T he weather had bec om e very fine. T he s un was ris ing from the s ea's horizon, and touc hed with golden s pangles the pris m atic rugos ities of the huge prec ipic e. Having thrown a rapid glanc e around him , the engineer s eated him s elf on a bloc k of s tone. Herbert offered him a few handfuls of s hell-fis h and s argas s um , s aying,-"It is all that we have, Captain Harding." "T hanks , m y boy," replied Harding; "it will do--for this m orning at leas t." He ate the wretc hed food with appetite, and was hed it down with a little fres h water, drawn from the river in an im m ens e s hell. His c om panions looked at him without s peaking. T hen, feeling s om ewhat refres hed, Cyrus Harding c ros s ed his arm s , and s aid,-"S o, m y friends , you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an is land, or on a c ontinent?" "No, c aptain," replied the boy. "W e s hall know to-m orrow," s aid the engineer; "till then, there is nothing to be done." "Y es ," replied P enc roft. "W hat?" "Fire," s aid the s ailor, who, als o, had a fixed idea. "W e will m ake it, P enc roft," replied Harding. "W hile you were c arrying m e yes terday, did I not s ee in the wes t a m ountain whic h c om m ands the c ountry?" "Y es ," replied S pilett, "a m ountain whic h m us t be rather high--" "W ell," replied the engineer, "we will c lim b to the s um m it to-m orrow, and then we s hall s ee if this land is an is land or a c ontinent. T ill then, I repeat, there is nothing to be done." "Y es , fire! " s aid the obs tinate s ailor again. "B ut he will m ake us a fire! " replied Gideon S pilett, "only have a little patienc e, P enc roft! " T he s eam an looked at S pilett in a way whic h s eem ed to s ay, "If it depended upon you to do it, we wouldn't tas te roas t m eat very s oon"; but he was s ilent. Meanwhile Captain Harding had m ade no reply. He appeared to be very little troubled by the ques tion of fire. For a few m inutes he rem ained abs orbed in thought; then again s peaking,-"My friends ," s aid he, "our s ituation is , perhaps , deplorable; but, at any rate, it is very plain. E ither we are on a c ontinent, and then, at the expens e of greater or les s fatigue, we s hall reac h s om e inhabited plac e, or we are on an is land. In the latter c as e, if the is land is inhabited, we will try to get out of the s c rape with the help of its inhabitants ; if it is des ert, we will try to get out of the s c rape by ours elves ." "Certainly, nothing c ould be plainer," replied P enc roft. "B ut, whether it is an is land or a c ontinent," as ked Gideon S pilett, "whereabouts do you think, Cyrus , this s torm has thrown us ?" "I c annot s ay exac tly," replied the engineer, "but I pres um e it is s om e land in the P ac ific . In fac t, when we left Ric hm ond, the wind was blowing from the northeas t, and its very violenc e greatly proves that it c ould not have varied. If the direc tion has been m aintained from the northeas t to the s outhwes t, we have travers ed the S tates of North Carolina, of S outh Carolina, of Georgia, the Gulf of Mexic o, Mexic o, its elf, in its narrow part, then a part of the P ac ific Oc ean. I c annot es tim ate the dis tanc e travers ed by the balloon at les s than s ix to s even thous and m iles , and, even s uppos ing that the wind had varied half a quarter, it m us t have brought us either to the arc hipelago of Mendava, either on the P om otous , or even, if it had a greater s trength than I s uppos e, to the land of New Zealand. If the las t hypothes is is c orrec t, it will be eas y enough to get hom e again. E nglis h or Maoris , we s hall always find s om e one to whom we c an s peak. If, on the c ontrary, this is the c oas t of a des ert is land in s om e tiny arc hipelago, perhaps we s hall be able to rec onnoiter it from the s um m it of that peak whic h overlooks the c ountry, and then we s hall s ee how bes t to es tablis h ours elves here as if we are never to go away." "Never?" c ried the reporter. "Y ou s ay 'Never,' m y dear Cyrus ?" "B etter to put things at the wors t at firs t," replied the engineer, "and res erve the bes t for a s urpris e." "W ell s aid," rem arked P enc roft. "It is to be hoped, too, that this is land, if it be one, is not s ituated jus t out of the c ours e of s hips ; that would be really unluc ky! " "W e s hall not know what we have to rely on until we have firs t m ade the as c ent of the m ountain," replied the engineer. "B ut to-m orrow, c aptain," as ked Herbert, "s hall you be in a s tate to bear the fatigue of the as c ent?" "I hope s o," replied the engineer, "provided you and P enc roft, m y boy, s how yours elves quic k and c lever hunters ." "Captain," s aid the s ailor, "s inc e you are s peaking of gam e, if on m y return, I was as c ertain of roas ting it as I am of bringing it bac k--" "B ring it bac k all the s am e, P enc roft," replied Harding. It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pas s the day at the Chim neys , s o as to exam ine the s hore and the upper plateau. Neb, Herbert, and the s ailor were to return to the fores t, renew their s tore of wood, and lay violent hands on every c reature, feathered or hairy, whic h m ight c om e within their reac h. T hey s et out ac c ordingly about ten o'c loc k in the m orning, Herbert c onfident, Neb joyous , P enc roft m urm uring as ide,-"If, on m y return, I find a fire at the hous e, I s hall believe that the thunder its elf c am e to light it." A ll three c lim bed the bank; and arrived at the angle m ade by the river, the s ailor, s topping, s aid to his two c om panions ,-"S hall we begin by being hunters or wood-m en?" "Hunters ," replied Herbert. "T here is T op already in ques t." "W e will hunt, then," s aid the s ailor, "and afterwards we c an c om e bac k and c ollec t our wood." T his agreed to, Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft, after having torn three s tic ks from the trunk of a young fir, followed T op, who was bounding about am ong the long gras s . T his tim e, the hunters , ins tead of following the c ours e of the river, plunged s traight into the heart of the fores t. T here were s till the s am e trees , belonging, for the m os t part, to the pine fam ily. In c ertain plac es , les s c rowded, growing in c lum ps , thes e pines exhibited c ons iderable dim ens ions , and appeared to indic ate, by their developm ent, that the c ountry was s ituated in a higher latitude than the engineer had s uppos ed. Glades , bris tling with s tum ps worn away by tim e, were c overed with dry wood, whic h form ed an inexhaus tible s tore of fuel. T hen, the glade pas s ed, the underwood thic kened again, and bec am e alm os t im penetrable. It was diffic ult enough to find the way am ong the groups of trees , without any beaten trac k. S o the s ailor from tim e to tim e broke off branc hes whic h m ight be eas ily rec ognized. B ut, perhaps , he was wrong not to follow the waterc ours e, as he and Herbert had done on their firs t exc urs ion, for after walking an hour not a c reature had s hown its elf. T op, running under the branc hes , only rous ed birds whic h c ould not be approac hed. E ven the c ourouc ous were invis ible, and it was probable that the s ailor would be obliged to return to the m ars hy part of the fores t, in whic h he had s o happily perform ed his grous e fis hing. "W ell, P enc roft," s aid Neb, in a s lightly s arc as tic tone, "if this is all the gam e whic h you prom is ed to bring bac k to m y m as ter, it won't need a large fire to roas t it! " "Have patienc e," replied the s ailor, "it is n't the gam e whic h will be wanting on our return." "Have you not c onfidenc e in Captain Harding?" "Y es ." "B ut you don't believe that he will m ake fire?" "I s hall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplac e." "It will blaze, s inc e m y m as ter has s aid s o." "W e s hall s ee! " Meanwhile, the s un had not reac hed the highes t point in its c ours e above the horizon. T he exploration, therefore, c ontinued, and was us efully m arked by a dis c overy whic h Herbert m ade of a tree whos e fruit was edible. T his was the s tone-pine, whic h produc es an exc ellent alm ond, very m uc h es teem ed in the tem perate regions of A m eric a and E urope. T hes e alm onds were in a perfec t s tate of m aturity, and Herbert des c ribed them to his c om panions , who feas ted on them . "Com e," s aid P enc roft, "s ea-weed by way of bread, raw m us s els for m eat, and alm onds for des s ert, that's c ertainly a good dinner for thos e who have not a s ingle m atc h in their poc ket! " W e m us tn't c om plain," s aid Herbert. "I am not c om plaining, m y boy," replied P enc roft, "only I repeat, that m eat is a little too m uc h ec onom ized in this s ort of m eal." "T op has found s om ething! " c ried Neb, who ran towards a thic ket, in the m ids t of whic h the dog had dis appeared, barking. W ith T op's barking were m ingled c urious gruntings . T he s ailor and Herbert had followed Neb. If there was gam e there this was not the tim e to dis c us s how it was to be c ooked, but rather, how they were to get hold of it. T he hunters had s c arc ely entered the bus hes when they s aw Top engaged in a s truggle with an anim al whic h he was holding by the ear. T his quadruped was a s ort of pig nearly two feet and a half long, of a blac kis h brown c olor, lighter below, having hard s c anty hair; its toes , then s trongly fixed in the ground, s eem ed to be united by a m em brane. Herbert rec ognized in this anim al the c apybara, that is to s ay, one of the larges t m em bers of the rodent order. Meanwhile, the c apybara did not s truggle agains t the dog. It s tupidly rolled its eyes , deeply buried in a thic k bed of fat. P erhaps it s aw m en for the firs t tim e. However, Neb having tightened his gras p on his s tic k, was jus t going to fell the pig, when the latter, tearing its elf from T op's teeth, by whic h it was only held by the tip of its ear, uttered a vigorous grunt, rus hed upon Herbert, alm os t overthrew him , and dis appeared in the wood. "T he ras c al! " c ried P enc roft. A ll three direc tly darted after T op, but at the m om ent when they joined him the anim al had dis appeared under the waters of a large pond s haded by venerable pines . Neb, Herbert, and P enc roft s topped, m otionles s . T op plunged into the water, but the c apybara, hidden at the bottom of the pond, did not appear. "Let us wait," s aid the boy, "for he will s oon c om e to the s urfac e to breathe." "W on't he drown?" as ked Neb. "No," replied Herbert, "s inc e he has webbed feet, and is alm os t an am phibious anim al. B ut watc h him ." T op rem ained in the water. P enc roft and his two c om panions went to different parts of the bank, s o as to c ut off the retreat of the c apybara, whic h the dog was looking for beneath the water. Herbert was not m is taken. In a few m inutes the anim al appeared on the s urfac e of the water. T op was upon it in a bound, and kept it from plunging again. A n ins tant later the c apybara, dragged to the bank, was killed by a blow from Neb's s tic k. "Hurrah! " c ried P enc roft, who was always ready with this c ry of trium ph. "Give m e but a good fire, and this pig s hall be gnawed to the bones ! " P enc roft hois ted the c apybara on his s houlders , and judging by the height of the s un that it was about two o'c loc k, he gave the s ignal to return. T op's ins tinc t was us eful to the hunters , who, thanks to the intelligent anim al, were enabled to dis c over the road by whic h they had c om e. Half an hour later they arrived at the river. P enc roft s oon m ade a raft of wood, as he had done before, though if there was no fire it would be a us eles s tas k, and the raft following the c urrent, they returned towards the Chim neys . B ut the s ailor had not gone fifty pac es when he s topped, and again uttering a trem endous hurrah, pointed towards the angle of the c liff,-"Herbert! Neb! Look! " he s houted. S m oke was es c aping and c urling up am ong the roc ks . Chapter 10 In a few m inutes the three hunters were before a c rac kling fire. T he c aptain and the reporter were there. P enc roft looked from one to the other, his c apybara in his hand, without s aying a word. "W ell, yes , m y brave fellow," c ried the reporter. "Fire, real fire, whic h will roas t this s plendid pig perfec tly, and we will have a feas t pres ently! " "B ut who lighted it?" as ked P enc roft. "T he s un! " Gideon S pilett was quite right in his reply. It was the s un whic h had furnis hed the heat whic h s o as tonis hed P enc roft. T he s ailor c ould s c arc ely believe his eyes , and he was s o am azed that he did not think of ques tioning the engineer. "Had you a burning-glas s , s ir?" as ked Herbert of Harding. "No, m y boy," replied he, "but I m ade one." A nd he s howed the apparatus whic h s erved for a burning-glas s . It was s im ply two glas s es whic h he had taken from his own and the reporter's watc hes . Having filled them with water and rendered their edges adhes ive by m eans of a little c lay, he thus fabric ated a regular burning-glas s , whic h, c onc entrating the s olar rays on s om e very dry m os s , s oon c aus ed it to blaze. T he s ailor c ons idered the apparatus ; then he gazed at the engineer without s aying a word, only a look plainly expres s ed his opinion that if Cyrus Harding was not a m agic ian, he was c ertainly no ordinary m an. A t las t s peec h returned to him , and he c ried,--

"Note that, Mr. S pilett, note that down on your paper! " "It is noted," replied the reporter. T hen, Neb helping him , the s eam an arranged the s pit, and the c apybara, properly c leaned, was s oon roas ting like a s uc kling-pig before a c lear, c rac kling fire. T he Chim neys had again bec om e m ore habitable, not only bec aus e the pas s ages were warm ed by the fire, but bec aus e the partitions of wood and m ud had been re-es tablis hed. It was evident that the engineer and his c om panions had em ployed their day well. Cyrus Harding had alm os t entirely rec overed his s trength, and had proved it by c lim bing to the upper plateau. From this point his eye, ac c us tom ed to es tim ate heights and dis tanc es , was fixed for a long tim e on the c one, the s um m it of whic h he wis hed to reac h the next day. T he m ountain, s ituated about s ix m iles to the northwes t, appeared to him to m eas ure 3,500 feet above the level of the s ea. Cons equently the gaze of an obs erver pos ted on its s um m it would extend over a radius of at leas t fifty m iles . T herefore it was probable that Harding c ould eas ily s olve the ques tion of "is land or c ontinent," to whic h he attac hed s o m uc h im portanc e. T hey s upped c apitally. T he fles h of the c apybara was dec lared exc ellent. T he s argas s um and the alm onds of the s tone-pine c om pleted the repas t, during whic h the engineer s poke little. He was preoc c upied with projec ts for the next day. Onc e or twic e P enc roft gave forth s om e ideas upon what it would be bes t to do; but Cyrus Harding, who was evidently of a m ethodic al m ind, only s hook his head without uttering a word. "T o-m orrow," he repeated, "we s hall know what we have to depend upon, and we will ac t ac c ordingly." T he m eal ended, fres h arm fuls of wood were thrown on the fire, and the inhabitants of the Chim neys , inc luding the faithful T op, were s oon buried in a deep s leep.

No inc ident dis turbed this peac eful night, and the next day, the 29th of Marc h, fres h and ac tive they awoke, ready to undertake the exc urs ion whic h m us t determ ine their fate. A ll was ready for the s tart. T he rem ains of the c apybara would be enough to s us tain Harding and his c om panions for at leas t twenty-four hours . B es ides , they hoped to find m ore food on the way. A s the glas s es had been returned to the watc hes of the engineer and reporter, P enc roft burned a little linen to s erve as tinder. A s to flint, that would not be wanting in thes e regions of P lutonic origin. It was half-pas t s even in the m orning when the explorers , arm ed with s tic ks , left the Chim neys . Following P enc roft's advic e, it appeared bes t to take the road already travers ed through the fores t, and to return by another route. It was als o the m os t direc t way to reac h the m ountain. T hey turned the s outh angle and followed the left bank of the river, whic h was abandoned at the point where it form ed an elbow towards the s outhwes t. T he path, already trodden under the evergreen trees , was found, and at nine o'c loc k Cyrus Harding and his c om panions had reac hed the wes tern border of the fores t. T he ground, till then, very little undulated, boggy at firs t, dry and s andy afterwards , had a gentle s lope, whic h as c ended from the s hore towards the interior of the c ountry. A few very tim id anim als were s een under the fores t-trees . Top quic kly s tarted them , but his m as ter s oon c alled him bac k, for the tim e had not c om e to c om m enc e hunting; that would be attended to later. T he engineer was not a m an who would allow him s elf to be diverted from his fixed idea. It m ight even have been s aid that he did not obs erve the c ountry at all, either in its c onfiguration or in its natural produc tions , his great aim being to c lim b the m ountain before him , and therefore s traight towards it he went. A t ten o'c loc k a halt of a few m inutes was m ade. On leaving the fores t, the m ountain s ys tem of the c ountry appeared before the explorers . T he m ountain was c om pos ed of two c ones ; the firs t, trunc ated at a height of about two thous and five hundred feet, was s us tained by buttres s es , whic h appeared to branc h out like the talons of an im m ens e c law s et on the ground. B etween thes e were narrow valleys , bris tling with trees , the las t c lum ps of whic h ros e to the top of the lowes t c one. T here appeared to be les s vegetation on that s ide of the m ountain whic h was expos ed to the northeas t, and deep fis s ures c ould be s een whic h, no doubt, were waterc ours es . On the firs t c one res ted a s ec ond, s lightly rounded, and plac ed a little on one s ide, like a great round hat c oc ked over the ear. A S c otc hm an would have s aid, "His bonnet was a thoc ht ajee." It appeared form ed of bare earth, here and there pierc ed by reddis h roc ks . T hey wis hed to reac h the s ec ond c one, and proc eeding along the ridge of the s purs s eem ed to be the bes t way by whic h to gain it. "W e are on volc anic ground," Cyrus Harding had s aid, and his c om panions following him began to as c end by degrees on the bac k of a s pur, whic h, by a winding and c ons equently m ore ac c es s ible path, joined the firs t plateau. T he ground had evidently been c onvuls ed by s ubterranean forc e. Here and there s tray bloc ks , num erous debris of bas alt and pum ic e-s tone, were m et with. In is olated groups ros e fir-trees , whic h, s om e hundred feet lower, at the bottom of the narrow gorges , form ed m as s ive s hades alm os t im penetrable to the s un's rays . During the firs t part of the as c ent, Herbert rem arked on the footprints whic h indic ated the rec ent pas s age of large anim als . "P erhaps thes e beas ts will not let us pas s by willingly," s aid P enc roft. "W ell," replied the reporter, who had already hunted the tiger in India, and the lion in A fric a, "we s hall s oon learn how s uc c es s fully to enc ounter them . B ut in the m eantim e we m us t be upon our guard! " T hey as c ended but s lowly. T he dis tanc e, inc reas ed by detours and obs tac les whic h c ould not be s urm ounted direc tly, was long. S om etim es , too, the ground s uddenly fell, and they found them s elves on the edge of a deep c has m whic h they had to go round. T hus , in retrac ing their s teps s o as to find s om e prac tic able path, m uc h tim e was em ployed and fatigue undergone for nothing. A t twelve o'c loc k, when the s m all band of adventurers halted for breakfas t at the foot of a large group of firs , near a little s tream whic h fell in c as c ades , they found them s elves s till half way from the firs t plateau, whic h m os t probably they would not reac h till nightfall. From this point the view of the s ea was m uc h extended, but on the right the high prom ontory prevented their s eeing whether there was land beyond it. On the left, the s ight extended s everal m iles to the north; but, on the northwes t, at the point oc c upied by the explorers , it was c ut s hort by the ridge of a fantas tic allys haped s pur, whic h form ed a powerful s upport of the c entral c one. A t one o'c loc k the as c ent was c ontinued. T hey s lanted m ore towards the s outhwes t and again entered am ong thic k bus hes . T here under the s hade of the trees fluttered s everal c ouples of gallinac eae belonging to the pheas ant s pec ies . T hey were tragopans , ornam ented by a pendant s kin whic h hangs over their throats , and by two s m all, round horns , planted behind the eyes . A m ong thes e birds , whic h were about the s ize of a fowl, the fem ale was uniform ly brown, while the m ale was gorgeous in his red plum age, dec orated with white s pots . Gideon S pilett, with a s tone c leverly and vigorous ly thrown, killed one of thes e tragopans , on whic h P enc roft, m ade hungry by the fres h air, had c as t greedy eyes . A fter leaving the region of bus hes , the party, as s is ted by res ting on eac h other's s houlders , c lim bed for about a hundred feet up a s teep ac c livity and reac hed a level plac e, with very few trees , where the s oil appeared volc anic . It was nec es s ary to as c end by zigzags to m ake the s lope m ore eas y, for it was very s teep, and the footing being exc eedingly prec arious required the greates t c aution. Neb and Herbert took the lead, P enc roft the rear, the c aptain and the reporter between them . T he anim als whic h frequented thes e heights --and there were num erous trac es of them -- m us t nec es s arily belong to thos e rac es of s ure foot and s upple s pine, c ham ois or goat. S everal were s een, but this was not the nam e P enc roft gave them , for all of a s udden--"S heep! " he s houted. A ll s topped about fifty feet from half-a-dozen anim als of a large s ize, with s trong horns bent bac k and flattened towards the point, with a woolly fleec e, hidden under long s ilky hair of a tawny c olor. T hey were not ordinary s heep, but a s pec ies us ually found in the m ountainous regions of the tem perate zone, to whic h Herbert gave the nam e of the m us m on. "Have they legs and c hops ?" as ked the s ailor. "Y es ," replied Herbert. "W ell, then, they are s heep! " s aid P enc roft. T he anim als , m otionles s am ong the bloc ks of bas alt, gazed with an as tonis hed eye, as if they s aw hum an bipeds for the firs t tim e. T hen their fears s uddenly arous ed, they dis appeared, bounding over the roc ks . "Good-bye, till we m eet again," c ried P enc roft, as he watc hed them , in s uc h a c om ic al tone that Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, and Neb c ould not help laughing. T he as c ent was c ontinued. Here and there were trac es of lava. S ulphur s prings s om etim es s topped their way, and they had to go round them . In s om e plac es the s ulphur had form ed c rys tals am ong other s ubs tanc es , s uc h as whitis h c inders m ade of an infinity of little felds par c rys tals . In approac hing the firs t plateau form ed by the trunc ating of the lower c one, the diffic ulties of the as c ent were very great. Towards four o'c loc k the extrem e zone of the trees had been pas s ed. T here only rem ained here and there a few twis ted, s tunted pines , whic h m us t have had a hard life in res is ting at this altitude the high winds from the open s ea. Happily for the engineer and his c om panions the weather was beautiful, the atm os phere tranquil; for a high breeze at an elevation of three thous and feet would have hindered their proc eedings . T he purity of the s ky at the zenith was felt through the trans parent air. A perfec t c alm reigned around them . T hey c ould not s ee the s un, then hid by the vas t s c reen of the upper c one, whic h m as ked the half-horizon of the wes t, and whos e enorm ous s hadow s tretc hing to the s hore inc reas ed as the radiant lum inary s ank in its diurnal c ours e. V apor--m is t rather than c louds --began to appear in the eas t, and as s um e all the pris m atic c olors under the influenc e of the s olar rays . Five hundred feet only s eparated the explorers from the plateau, whic h they wis hed to reac h s o as to es tablis h there an enc am pm ent for the night, but thes e five hundred feet were inc reas ed to m ore than two m iles by the zigzags whic h they had to des c ribe. T he s oil, as it were, s lid under their feet. T he s lope often pres ented s uc h an angle that they s lipped when the s tones worn by the air did not give a s uffic ient s upport. E vening c am e on by degrees , and it was alm os t night when Cyrus Harding and his c om panions , m uc h fatigued by an as c ent of s even hours , arrived at the plateau of the firs t c one. It was then nec es s ary to prepare an enc am pm ent, and to res tore their s trength by eating firs t and s leeping afterwards . T his s ec ond s tage of the m ountain ros e on a bas e of roc ks , am ong whic h it would be eas y to find a retreat. Fuel was not abundant. However, a fire c ould be m ade by m eans of the m os s and dry brus hwood, whic h c overed c ertain parts of the plateau. W hile the s ailor was preparing his hearth with s tones whic h he put to this us e, Neb and Herbert oc c upied them s elves with getting a s upply of fuel. T hey s oon returned with a load of brus hwood. T he s teel was s truc k, the burnt linen c aught the s parks of flint, and, under Neb's breath, a c rac kling fire s howed its elf in a few m inutes under the s helter of the roc ks . T heir objec t in lighting a fire was only to enable them to withs tand the c old tem perature of the night, as it was not em ployed in c ooking the bird, whic h Neb kept for the next day. T he rem ains of the c apybara and s om e dozens of the s tone-pine alm onds form ed their s upper. It was not half-pas t s ix when all was finis hed. Cyrus Harding then thought of exploring in the half-light the large c irc ular layer whic h s upported the upper c one of the m ountain. B efore taking any res t, he wis hed to know if it was pos s ible to get round the bas e of the c one in the c as e of its s ides being too s teep and its s um m it being inac c es s ible. T his ques tion preoc c upied him , for it was pos s ible that from the way the hat inc lined, that is to s ay, towards the north, the plateau was not prac tic able. A ls o, if the s um m it of the m ountain c ould not be reac hed on one s ide, and if, on the other, they c ould not get round the bas e of the c one, it would be im pos s ible to s urvey the wes tern part of the c ountry, and their objec t in m aking the as c ent would in part be altogether unattained. T he engineer, ac c ordingly, regardles s of fatigue, leaving P enc roft and Neb to arrange the beds , and Gideon S pilett to note the inc idents of the day, began to follow the edge of the plateau, going towards the north. Herbert ac c om panied him . T he night was beautiful and s till, the darknes s was not yet deep. Cyrus Harding and the boy walked near eac h other, without s peaking. In s om e plac es the plateau opened before them , and they pas s ed without hindranc e. In others , obs truc ted by roc ks , there was only a narrow path, in whic h two pers ons c ould not walk abreas t. A fter a walk of twenty m inutes , Cyrus Harding and Herbert were obliged to s top. From this point the s lope of the two c ones bec am e one. No s houlder here s eparated the two parts of the m ountain. T he s lope, being inc lined alm os t s eventy degrees , the path bec am e im prac tic able. B ut if the engineer and the boy were obliged to give up thoughts of following a c irc ular direc tion, in return an opportunity was given for as c ending the c one. In fac t, before them opened a deep hollow. It was the rugged m outh of the c rater, by whic h the eruptive liquid m atter had es c aped at the periods when the volc ano was s till in ac tivity. Hardened lava and c rus ted s c oria form ed a s ort of natural s tairc as e of large s teps , whic h would greatly fac ilitate the as c ent to the s um m it of the m ountain. Harding took all this in at a glanc e, and without hes itating, followed by the lad, he entered the enorm ous c has m in the m ids t of an inc reas ing obs c urity. T here was s till a height of a thous and feet to overc om e. W ould the interior ac c livities of the c rater be prac tic able? It would s oon be s een. T he pers evering engineer res olved to c ontinue his as c ent until he was s topped. Happily thes e ac c livities wound up the interior of the volc ano and favored their as c ent. A s to the volc ano its elf, it c ould not be doubted that it was c om pletely extinc t. No s m oke es c aped from its s ides ; not a flam e c ould be s een in the dark hollows ; not a roar, not a m utter, no trem bling even is s ued from this blac k well, whic h perhaps reac hed far into the bowels of the earth. T he atm os phere ins ide the c rater was filled with no s ulphurous vapor. It was m ore than the s leep of a volc ano; it was its c om plete extinc tion. Cyrus Harding's attem pt would s uc c eed. Little by little, Herbert and he c lim bing up the s ides of the interior, s aw the c rater widen above their heads . T he radius of this c irc ular portion of the s ky, fram ed by the edge of the c one, inc reas ed obvious ly. A t eac h s tep, as it were, that the explorers m ade, fres h s tars entered the field of their vis ion. T he m agnific ent c ons tellations of the s outhern s ky s hone res plendently. A t the zenith glittered the s plendid A ntares in the S c orpion, and not far was A lpha Centauri, whic h is believed to be the neares t s tar to the terres trial globe. T hen, as the c rater widened, appeared Fom alhaut of the Fis h, the S outhern T riangle, and las tly, nearly at the A ntarc tic P ole, the glittering S outhern Cros s , whic h replac es the P olar S tar of the Northern Hem is phere. It was nearly eight o'c loc k when Cyrus Harding and Herbert s et foot on the highes t ridge of the m ountain at the s um m it of the c one. It was then perfec tly dark, and their gaze c ould not extend over a radius of two m iles . Did the s ea s urround this unknown land, or was it c onnec ted in the wes t with s om e c ontinent of the P ac ific ? It c ould not yet be m ade out. Towards the wes t, a c loudy belt, c learly vis ible at the horizon, inc reas ed the gloom , and the eye c ould not dis c over if the s ky and water were blended together in the s am e c irc ular line. B ut at one point of the horizon a vague light s uddenly appeared, whic h des c ended s lowly in proportion as the c loud m ounted to the zenith. It was the s lender c res c ent m oon, already alm os t dis appearing; but its light was s uffic ient to s how c learly the horizontal line, then detac hed from the c loud, and the engineer c ould s ee its reflec tion trem bling for an ins tant on a liquid s urfac e. Cyrus Harding s eized the lad's hand, and in a grave voic e,-"A n is land! " s aid he, at the m om ent when the lunar c res c ent dis appeared beneath the waves . Chapter 11 Half an hour later Cyrus Harding and Herbert had returned to the enc am pm ent. T he engineer m erely told his c om panions that the land upon whic h fate had thrown them was an is land, and that the next day they would c ons ult. T hen eac h s ettled him s elf as well as he c ould to s leep, and in that roc ky hole, at a height of two thous and five hundred feet above the level of the s ea, through a peac eful night, the is landers enjoyed profound repos e. T he next day, the 30th of Marc h, after a has ty breakfas t, whic h c ons is ted s olely of the roas ted tragopan, the engineer wis hed to c lim b again to the s um m it of the volc ano, s o as m ore attentively to s urvey the is land upon whic h he and his c om panions were im pris oned for life perhaps , s hould the is land be s ituated at a great dis tanc e from any land, or if it was out of the c ours e of ves s els whic h vis ited the arc hipelagoes of the P ac ific Oc ean. T his tim e his c om panions followed him in the new exploration. T hey als o wis hed to s ee the is land, on the produc tions of whic h they m us t depend for the s upply of all their wants . It was about s even o'c loc k in the m orning when Cyrus Harding, Herbert, P enc roft, Gideon S pilett, and Neb quitted the enc am pm ent. No one appeared to be anxious about their s ituation. T hey had faith in them s elves , doubtles s , but it m us t be obs erved that the bas is of this faith was not the s am e with Harding as with his c om panions . T he engineer had c onfidenc e, bec aus e he felt c apable of extorting from this wild c ountry everything nec es s ary for the life of him s elf and his c om panions ; the latter feared nothing, jus t bec aus e Cyrus Harding was with them . P enc roft es pec ially, s inc e the inc ident of the relighted fire, would not have des paired for an ins tant, even if he was on a bare roc k, if the engineer was with him on the roc k. "P s haw," s aid he, "we left Ric hm ond without perm is s ion from the authorities ! It will be hard if we don't m anage to get away s om e day or other from a plac e where c ertainly no one will detain us ! " Cyrus Harding followed the s am e road as the evening before. T hey went round the c one by the plateau whic h form ed the s houlder, to the m outh of the enorm ous c has m . T he weather was m agnific ent. T he s un ros e in a pure s ky and flooded with his rays all the eas tern s ide of the m ountain. T he c rater was reac hed. It was jus t what the engineer had m ade it out to be in the dark; that is to s ay, a vas t funnel whic h extended, widening, to a height of a thous and feet above the plateau. B elow the c has m , large thic k s treaks of lava wound over the s ides of the m ountain, and thus m arked the c ours e of the eruptive m atter to the lower valleys whic h furrowed the northern part of the is land. T he interior of the c rater, whos e inc lination did not exc eed thirty five to forty degrees , pres ented no diffic ulties nor obs tac les to the as c ent. T rac es of very anc ient lava were notic ed, whic h probably had overflowed the s um m it of the c one, before this lateral c has m had opened a new way to it. A s to the volc anic c him ney whic h es tablis hed a c om m unic ation between the s ubterranean layers and the c rater, its depth c ould not be c alc ulated with the eye, for it was los t in obs c urity. B ut there was no doubt as to the c om plete extinc tion of the volc ano. B efore eight o'c loc k Harding and his c om panions were as s em bled at the s um m it of the c rater, on a c onic al m ound whic h s welled the northern edge. "T he s ea, the s ea everywhere! " they c ried, as if their lips c ould not res train the words whic h m ade is landers of them . T he s ea, indeed, form ed an im m ens e c irc ular s heet of water all around them ! P erhaps , on c lim bing again to the s um m it of the c one, Cyrus Harding had had a hope of dis c overing s om e c oas t, s om e is land s hore, whic h he had not been able to perc eive in the dark the evening before. B ut nothing appeared on the farthes t verge of the horizon, that is to s ay over a radius of m ore than fifty m iles . No land in s ight. Not a s ail. Over all this im m ens e s pac e the oc ean alone was vis ible--the is land oc c upied the c enter of a c irc um ferenc e whic h appeared to be infinite. T he engineer and his c om panions , m ute and m otionles s , s urveyed for s om e m inutes every point of the oc ean, exam ining it to its m os t extrem e lim its . E ven P enc roft, who pos s es s ed a m arvelous power of s ight, s aw nothing; and c ertainly if there had been land at the horizon, if it appeared only as an indis tinc t vapor, the s ailor would undoubtedly have found it out, for nature had plac ed regular teles c opes under his eyebrows . From the oc ean their gaze returned to the is land whic h they c om m anded entirely, and the firs t ques tion was put by Gideon S pilett in thes e term s : "A bout what s ize is this is land?" T ruly, it did not appear large in the m ids t of the im m ens e oc ean. Cyrus Harding reflec ted a few m inutes ; he attentively obs erved the perim eter of the is land, taking into c ons ideration the height at whic h he was plac ed; then,-"My friends ," s aid he, "I do not think I am m is taken in giving to the s hore of the is land a c irc um ferenc e of m ore than a hundred m iles ." "A nd c ons equently an area?" "T hat is diffic ult to es tim ate," replied the engineer, "for it is s o uneven." If Cyrus Harding was not m is taken in his c alc ulation, the is land had alm os t the extent of Malta or Zante, in the Mediterranean, but it was at the s am e tim e m uc h m ore irregular and les s ric h in c apes , prom ontories , points , bays , or c reeks . Its s trange form c aught the eye, and when Gideon S pilett, on the engineer's advic e, had drawn the outline, they found that it res em bled s om e fantas tic anim al, a m ons trous leviathan, whic h lay s leeping on the s urfac e of the P ac ific . T his was in fac t the exac t s hape of the is land, whic h it is of c ons equenc e to know, and a tolerably c orrec t m ap of it was im m ediately drawn by the reporter. T he eas t part of the s hore, where the c as taways had landed, form ed a wide bay, term inated by a s harp c ape, whic h had been c onc ealed by a high point from P enc roft on his firs t exploration. A t the northeas t two other c apes c los ed the bay, and between them ran a narrow gulf, whic h looked like the half-open jaws of a form idable dog-fis h. From the northeas t to the s outhwes t the c oas t was rounded, like the flattened c ranium of an anim al, ris ing again, form ing a s ort of protuberanc e whic h did not give any partic ular s hape to this part of the is land, of whic h the c enter was oc c upied by the volc ano. From this point the s hore ran pretty regularly north and s outh, broken at two-thirds of its perim eter by a narrow c reek, from whic h it ended in a long tail, s im ilar to the c audal appendage of a gigantic alligator. T his tail form ed a regular penins ula, whic h s tretc hed m ore than thirty m iles into the s ea, rec koning from the c ape s outheas t of the is land, already m entioned; it c urled round, m aking an open roads tead, whic h m arked out the lower s hore of this s trangely-form ed land. A t the narrowes t part, that is to s ay between the Chim neys and the c reek on the wes tern s hore, whic h c orres ponded to it in latitude, the is land only m eas ured ten m iles ; but its greates t length, from the jaws at the northeas t to the extrem ity of the tail of the s outhwes t, was not les s than thirty m iles . A s to the interior of the is land, its general as pec t was this , very woody throughout the s outhern part from the m ountain to the s hore, and arid and s andy in the northern part. B etween the volc ano and the eas t c oas t Cyrus Harding and his c om panions were s urpris ed to s ee a lake, bordered with green trees , the exis tenc e of whic h they had not s us pec ted. S een from this height, the lake appeared to be on the s am e level as the oc ean, but, on reflec tion, the engineer explained to his c om panions that the altitude of this little s heet of water m us t be about three hundred feet, bec aus e the plateau, whic h was its bas in, was but a prolongation of the c oas t. "Is it a fres hwater lake?" as ked P enc roft. "Certainly," replied the engineer, "for it m us t be fed by the water whic h flows from the m ountain." "I s ee a little river whic h runs into it," s aid Herbert, pointing out a narrow s tream , whic h evidently took its s ourc e s om ewhere in the wes t. "Y es ," s aid Harding; "and s inc e this s tream feeds the lake, m os t probably on the s ide near the s ea there is an outlet by whic h the s urplus water es c apes . W e s hall s ee that on our return." T his little winding waterc ours e and the river already m entioned c ons tituted the water-s ys tem , at leas t s uc h as it was dis played to the eyes of the explorers . However, it was pos s ible that under the m as s es of trees whic h c overed two-thirds of the is land, form ing an im m ens e fores t, other rivers ran towards the s ea. It m ight even be inferred that s uc h was the c as e, s o ric h did this region appear in the m os t m agnific ent s pec im ens of the flora of the tem perate zones . T here was no indic ation of running water in the north, though perhaps there m ight be s tagnant water am ong the m ars hes in the northeas t; but that was all, in addition to the downs , s and, and aridity whic h c ontras ted s o s trongly with the luxuriant vegetation of the res t of the is land. T he volc ano did not oc c upy the c entral part; it ros e, on the c ontrary, in the northwes tern region, and s eem ed to m ark the boundary of the two zones . A t the s outhwes t, at the s outh, and the s outheas t, the firs t part of the s purs were hidden under m as s es of verdure. A t the north, on the c ontrary, one c ould follow their ram ific ations , whic h died away on the s andy plains . It was on this s ide that, at the tim e when the m ountain was in a s tate of eruption, the dis c harge had worn away a pas s age, and a large heap of lava had s pread to the narrow jaw whic h form ed the northeas tern gulf. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions rem ained an hour at the top of the m ountain. T he is land was dis played under their eyes , like a plan in relief with different tints , green for the fores ts , yellow for the s and, blue for the water. T hey viewed it in its tout-ens em ble, nothing rem ained c onc ealed but the ground hidden by verdure, the hollows of the valleys , and the interior of the volc anic c has m s . One im portant ques tion rem ained to be s olved, and the ans wer would have a great effec t upon the future of the c as taways . W as the is land inhabited? It was the reporter who put this ques tion, to whic h after the c los e exam ination they had jus t m ade, the ans wer s eem ed to be in the negative. Nowhere c ould the work of a hum an hand be perc eived. Not a group of huts , not a s olitary c abin, not a fis hery on the s hore. No s m oke c urling in the air betrayed the pres enc e of m an. It is true, a dis tanc e of nearly thirty m iles s eparated the obs ervers from the extrem e points , that is , of the tail whic h extended to the s outhwes t, and it would have been diffic ult, even to P enc roft's eyes , to dis c over a habitation there. Neither c ould the c urtain of verdure, whic h c overed three-quarters of the is land, be rais ed to s ee if it did not s helter s om e s traggling village. B ut in general the is landers live on the s hores of the narrow s pac es whic h em erge above the waters of the P ac ific , and this s hore appeared to be an abs olute des ert. Until a m ore c om plete exploration, it m ight be adm itted that the is land was uninhabited. B ut was it frequented, at leas t oc c as ionally, by the natives of neighboring is lands ? It was diffic ult to reply to this ques tion. No land appeared within a radius of fifty m iles . B ut fifty m iles c ould be eas ily c ros s ed, either by Malay proas or by the large P olynes ian c anoes . E verything depended on the pos ition of the is land, of its is olation in the P ac ific , or of its proxim ity to arc hipelagoes . W ould Cyrus Harding be able to find out their latitude and longitude without ins trum ents ? It would be diffic ult. S inc e he was in doubt, it was bes t to take prec autions agains t a pos s ible des c ent of neighboring natives . T he exploration of the is land was finis hed, its s hape determ ined, its features m ade out, its extent c alc ulated, the water and m ountain s ys tem s as c ertained. T he dis pos ition of the fores ts and plains had been m arked in a general way on the reporter's plan. T hey had now only to des c end the m ountain s lopes again, and explore the s oil, in the triple point of view, of its m ineral, vegetable, and anim al res ourc es . B ut before giving his c om panions the s ignal for departure, Cyrus Harding s aid to them in a c alm , grave voic e,-Here, m y friends , is the s m all c orner of land upon whic h the hand of the A lm ighty has thrown us . W e are going to live here; a long tim e, perhaps . P erhaps , too, unexpec ted help will arrive, if s om e s hip pas s es by c hanc e. I s ay by c hanc e, bec aus e this is an unim portant is land; there is not even a port in whic h s hips c ould anc hor, and it is to be feared that it is s ituated out of the route us ually followed, that is to s ay, too m uc h to the s outh for the s hips whic h frequent the arc hipelagoes of the P ac ific , and too m uc h to the north for thos e whic h go to A us tralia by doubling Cape Horn. I wis h to hide nothing of our pos ition from you--" "A nd you are right, m y dear Cyrus ," replied the reporter, with anim ation. "Y ou have to deal with m en. T hey have c onfidenc e in you, and you c an depend upon them . Is it not s o, m y friends ?" "I will obey you in everything, c aptain," s aid Herbert, s eizing the engineer's hand. "My m as ter always , and everywhere! " c ried Neb. "A s for m e," s aid the s ailor, "if I ever grum ble at work, m y nam e's not J ac k P enc roft, and if you like, c aptain, we will m ake a little A m eric a of this is land! W e will build towns , we will es tablis h railways , s tart telegraphs , and one fine day, when it is quite c hanged, quite put in order and quite c ivilized, we will go and offer it to the governm ent of the Union. Only, I as k one thing." "W hat is that?" s aid the reporter. "It is , that we do not c ons ider ours elves c as taways , but c olonis ts , who have c om e here to s ettle." Harding c ould not help s m iling, and the s ailor's idea was adopted. He then thanked his c om panions , and added, that he would rely on their energy and on the aid of Heaven.

"W ell, now let us s et off to the Chim neys ! " c ried P enc roft. "One m inute, m y friends ," s aid the engineer. "It s eem s to m e it would be a good thing to give a nam e to this is land, as well as to, the c apes , prom ontories , and waterc ours es , whic h we c an s ee. "V ery good," s aid the reporter. "In the future, that will s im plify the ins truc tions whic h we s hall have to give and follow." "Indeed," s aid the s ailor, "already it is s om ething to be able to s ay where one is going, and where one has c om e from . A t leas t, it looks like s om ewhere." "T he Chim neys , for exam ple," s aid Herbert. "E xac tly! " replied P enc roft. "T hat nam e was the m os t c onvenient, and it c am e to m e quite of m ys elf. S hall we keep the nam e of the Chim neys for our firs t enc am pm ent, c aptain?" "Y es , P enc roft, s inc e you have s o c hris tened it." "Good! as for the others , that will be eas y," returned the s ailor, who was in high s pirits . "Let us give them nam es , as the Robins ons did, whos e s tory Herbert has often read to m e; P rovidenc e B ay, W hale P oint, Cape Dis appointm ent! " "Or, rather, the nam es of Captain Harding," s aid Herbert, "of Mr. S pilett, of Neb! --" "My nam e! " c ried Neb, s howing his s parkling white teeth. "W hy not?" replied P enc roft. "P ort Neb, that would do very well! A nd Cape Gideon--" "I s hould prefer borrowing nam es from our c ountry," s aid the reporter, "whic h would rem ind us of A m eric a." "Yes , for the princ ipal ones ," then s aid Cyrus Harding; "for thos e of the bays and s eas , I adm it it willingly. W e m ight give to that vas t bay on the eas t the nam e of Union B ay, for exam ple; to that large hollow on the s outh, W as hington B ay; to the m ountain upon whic h we are s tanding, that of Mount Franklin; to that lake whic h is extended under our eyes , that of Lake Grant; nothing c ould be better, m y friends . T hes e nam es will rec all our c ountry, and thos e of the great c itizens who have honored it; but for the rivers , gulfs , c apes , and prom ontories , whic h we perc eive from the top of this m ountain, rather let us c hoos e nam es whic h will rec all their partic ular s hape. T hey will im pres s them s elves better on our m em ory, and at the s am e tim e will be m ore prac tic al. T he s hape of the is land is s o s trange that we s hall not be troubled to im agine what it res em bles . A s to the s tream s whic h we do not know as yet, in different parts of the fores t whic h we s hall explore later, the c reeks whic h afterwards will he dis c overed, we c an c hris ten them as we find them . W hat do you think, m y friends ?" T he engineer's propos al was unanim ous ly agreed to by his c om panions . T he is land was s pread out under their eyes like a m ap, and they had only to give nam es to all its angles and points . Gideon S pilett would write them down, and the geographic al nom enc lature of the is land would be definitely adopted. Firs t, they nam ed the two bays and the m ountain, Union B ay, W as hington B ay, and Mount Franklin, as the engineer had s ugges ted. "Now," s aid the reporter, "to this penins ula at the s outhwes t of the is land, I propos e to give the nam e of S erpentine P enins ula, and that of Reptile-end to the bent tail whic h term inates it, for it is jus t like a reptile's tail." "A dopted," s aid the engineer. "Now," s aid Herbert, pointing to the other extrem ity of the is land, "let us c all this gulf whic h is s o s ingularly like a pair of open jaws , S hark Gulf." "Capital! " c ried P enc roft, "and we c an c om plete the res em blanc e by nam ing the two parts of the jaws Mandible Cape." "B ut there are two c apes ," obs erved the reporter. "W ell," replied P enc roft, "we c an have North Mandible Cape and S outh Mandible Cape." "T hey are ins c ribed," s aid S pilett. "T here is only the point at the s outheas tern extrem ity of the is land to be nam ed," s aid P enc roft. "T hat is , the extrem ity of Union B ay?" as ked Herbert. "Claw Cape," c ried Neb direc tly, who als o wis hed to be godfather to s om e part of his dom ain. In truth, Neb had found an exc ellent nam e, for this c ape was very like the powerful c law of the fantas tic anim al whic h this s ingularly-s haped is land repres ented. P enc roft was delighted at the turn things had taken, and their im aginations s oon gave to the river whic h furnis hed the s ettlers with drinking water and near whic h the balloon had thrown them , the nam e of the Merc y, in true gratitude to P rovidenc e. To the is let upon whic h the c as taways had firs t landed, the nam e of S afety Is land; to the plateau whic h c rowned the high granite prec ipic e above the Chim neys , and from whenc e the gaze c ould em brac e the whole of the vas t bay, the nam e of P ros pec t Heights . Las tly, all the m as s es of im penetrable wood whic h c overed the S erpentine P enins ula were nam ed the fores ts of the Far W es t. T he nom enc lature of the vis ible and known parts of the is land was thus finis hed, and later, they would c om plete it as they m ade fres h dis c overies . A s to the points of the c om pas s , the engineer had roughly fixed them by the height and pos ition of the s un, whic h plac ed Union B ay and P ros pec t Heights to the eas t. B ut the next day, by taking the exac t hour of the ris ing and s etting of the s un, and by m arking its pos ition between this ris ing and s etting, he rec koned to fix the north of the is land exac tly, for, in c ons equenc e of its s ituation in the S outhern Hem is phere, the s un, at the prec is e m om ent of its c ulm ination, pas s ed in the north and not in the s outh, as , in its apparent m ovem ent, it s eem s to do, to thos e plac es s ituated in the Northern Hem is phere. E verything was finis hed, and the s ettlers had only to des c end Mount Franklin to return to the Chim neys , when P enc roft c ried out,-"W ell! we are prec ious ly s tupid! " "W hy?" as ked Gideon S pilett, who had c los ed his notebook and ris en to depart. "W hy! our is land! we have forgotten to c hris ten it! " Herbert was going to propos e to give it the engineer's nam e and all his c om panions would have applauded him , when Cyrus Harding s aid s im ply,-"Let us give it the nam e of a great c itizen, m y friend; of him who now s truggles to defend the unity of the A m eric an Republic ! Let us c all it Linc oln Is land! " T he engineer's propos al was replied to by three hurrahs . A nd that evening, before s leeping, the new c olonis ts talked of their abs ent c ountry; they s poke of the terrible war whic h s tained it with blood; they c ould not doubt that the S outh would s oon be s ubdued, and that the c aus e of the North, the c aus e of jus tic e, would trium ph, thanks to Grant, thanks to Linc oln! Now this happened the 30th of Marc h, 1865. T hey little knew that s ixteen days afterwards a frightful c rim e would be c om m itted in W as hington, and that on Good Friday A braham Linc oln would fall by the hand of a fanatic . Chapter 12 T hey now began the des c ent of the m ountain. Clim bing down the c rater, they went round the c one and reac hed their enc am pm ent of the previous night. P enc roft thought it m us t be breakfas t-tim e, and the watc hes of the reporter and engineer were therefore c ons ulted to find out the hour. T hat of Gideon S pilett had been pres erved from the s ea-water, as he had been thrown at onc e on the s and out of reac h of the waves . It was an ins trum ent of exc ellent quality, a perfec t poc ket c hronom eter, whic h the reporter had not forgotten to wind up c arefully every day. A s to the engineer's watc h, it, of c ours e, had s topped during the tim e whic h he had pas s ed on the downs . T he engineer now wound it up, and as c ertaining by the height of the s un that it m us t be about nine o'c loc k in the m orning, he put his watc h at that hour. "No, m y dear S pilett, wait. Y ou have kept the Ric hm ond tim e, have you not?" "Y es , Cyrus ." "Cons equently, your watc h is s et by the m eridian of that town, whic h is alm os t that of W as hington?" "Undoubtedly." "V ery well, keep it thus . Content yours elf with winding it up very, exac tly, but do not touc h the hands . T his m ay be of us e to us . "W hat will be the good of that?" thought the s ailor. T hey ate, and s o heartily, that the s tore of gam e and alm onds was totally exhaus ted. B ut P enc roft was not at all uneas y, they would s upply them s elves on the way. Top, whos e s hare had been very m uc h to his tas te, would know how to find s om e fres h gam e am ong the brus hwood. Moreover, the s ailor thought of s im ply as king the engineer to m anufac ture s om e powder and one or two fowling-piec es ; he s uppos ed there would be no diffic ulty in that. On leaving the plateau, the c aptain propos ed to his c om panions to return to the Chim neys by a new way. He wis hed to rec onnoiter Lake Grant, s o m agnific ently fram ed in trees . T hey therefore followed the c res t of one of the s purs , between whic h the c reek that s upplied the lake probably had its s ourc e. In talking, the s ettlers already em ployed the nam es whic h they had jus t c hos en, whic h s ingularly fac ilitated the exc hange of their ideas . Herbert and P enc roft--the one young and the other very boyis h--were enc hanted, and while walking, the s ailor s aid, "Hey, Herbert! how c apital it s ounds ! It will be im pos s ible to los e ours elves , m y boy, s inc e, whether we follow the way to Lake Grant, or whether we join the Merc y through the woods of the Far W es t, we s hall be c ertain to arrive at P ros pec t Heights , and, c ons equently, at Union B ay! " It had been agreed, that without form ing a c om pac t band, the s ettlers s hould not s tray away from eac h other. It was very c ertain that the thic k fores ts of the is land were inhabited by dangerous anim als , and it was prudent to be on their guard. In general, P enc roft, Herbert, and Neb walked firs t, prec eded by Top, who poked his nos e into every bus h. T he reporter and the engineer went together, Gideon S pilett ready to note every inc ident, the engineer s ilent for the m os t part, and only s tepping as ide to pic k up one thing or another, a m ineral or vegetable s ubs tanc e, whic h he put into his poc ket, without m aking any rem ark. "W hat c an he be pic king up?" m uttered P enc roft. "I have looked in vain for anything that's worth the trouble of s tooping for." Towards ten o'c loc k the little band des c ended the las t dec livities of Mount Franklin. A s yet the ground was s c antily s trewn with bus hes and trees . T hey were walking over yellowis h c alc inated earth, form ing a plain of nearly a m ile long, whic h extended to the edge of the wood. Great bloc ks of that bas alt, whic h, ac c ording to B is c hof, takes three hundred and fifty m illions of years to c ool, s trewed the plain, very c onfus ed in s om e plac es . However, there were here no trac es of lava, whic h was s pread m ore partic ularly over the northern s lopes . Cyrus Harding expec ted to reac h, without inc ident, the c ours e of the c reek, whic h he s uppos ed flowed under the trees at the border of the plain, when he s aw Herbert running has tily bac k, while Neb and the s ailor were hiding behind the roc ks . "W hat's the m atter, m y boy?" as ked S pilett. "S m oke," replied Herbert. "W e have s een s m oke am ong the roc ks , a hundred pac es from us ." "Men in this plac e?" c ried the reporter. "W e m us t avoid s howing ours elves before knowing with whom we have to deal," replied Cyrus Harding. "I trus t that there are no natives on this is land; I dread them m ore than anything els e. W here is T op?" "T op is on before." "A nd he does n't bark?" "No." "T hat is s trange. However, we m us t try to c all him bac k." In a few m om ents , the engineer, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert had rejoined their two c om panions , and like them , they kept out of s ight behind the heaps of bas alt. From thenc e they c learly s aw s m oke of a yellowis h c olor ris ing in the air. Top was rec alled by a s light whis tle from his m as ter, and the latter, s igning to his c om panions to wait for him , glided away am ong the roc ks . T he c olonis ts , m otionles s , anxious ly awaited the res ult of this exploration, when a s hout from the engineer m ade them has ten forward. T hey s oon joined him , and were at onc e s truc k with a dis agreeable odor whic h im pregnated the atm os phere. T he odor, eas ily rec ognized, was enough for the engineer to gues s what the s m oke was whic h at firs t, not without c aus e, had s tartled him . "T his fue," s aid he, "or rather, this s m oke is produc ed by nature alone. T here is a s ulphur s pring there, whic h will c ure all our s ore throats ." "Captain! " c ried P enc roft. "W hat a pity that I haven't got a c old! " T he s ettlers then direc ted their s teps towards the plac e from whic h the s m oke es c aped. T hey there s aw a s ulphur s pring whic h flowed abundantly between the roc ks , and its waters dis c harged a s trong s ulphuric ac id odor, after having abs orbed the oxygen of the air. Cyrus Harding, dipping in his hand, felt the water oily to the touc h. He tas ted it and found it rather s weet. A s to its tem perature, that he es tim ated at ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. Herbert having as ked on what he bas ed this c alc ulation,-"Its quite s im ple, m y boy," s aid he, "for, in plunging m y hand into the water, I felt no s ens ation either of heat or c old. T herefore it has the s am e tem perature as the hum an body, whic h is about ninety-five degrees ." T he s ulphur s pring not being of any ac tual us e to the s ettlers , they proc eeded towards the thic k border of the fores t, whic h began s om e hundred pac es off. T here, as they had c onjec tured, the waters of the s tream flowed c lear and lim pid between high banks of red earth, the c olor of whic h betrayed the pres enc e of oxide of iron. From this c olor, the nam e of Red Creek was im m ediately given to the waterc ours e. It was only a large s tream , deep and c lear, form ed of the m ountain water, whic h, half river, half torrent, here rippling peac efully over the s and, there falling agains t the roc ks or das hing down in a c as c ade, ran towards the lake, over a dis tanc e of a m ile and a half, its breadth varying from thirty to forty feet. Its waters were s weet, and it was s uppos ed that thos e of the lake were s o als o. A fortunate c irc um s tanc e, in the event of their finding on its borders a m ore s uitable dwelling than the Chim neys . A s to the trees , whic h s om e hundred feet downwards s haded the banks of the c reek, they belonged, for the m os t part, to the s pec ies whic h abound in the tem perate zone of A m eric a and Tas m ania, and no longer to thos e c oniferae obs erved in that portion of the is land already explored to s om e m iles from P ros pec t Heights . A t this tim e of the year, the c om m enc em ent of the m onth of A pril, whic h repres ents the m onth of Oc tober, in this hem is phere, that is , the beginning of autum n, they were s till in full leaf. T hey c ons is ted princ ipally of c as uarinas and euc alypti, s om e of whic h next year would yield a s weet m anna, s im ilar to the m anna of the E as t. Clum ps of A us tralian c edars ros e on the s loping banks , whic h were als o c overed with the high gras s c alled "tus s ac " in New Holland; but the c oc oanut, s o abundant in the arc hipelagoes of the P ac ific , s eem ed to be wanting in the is land, the latitude, doubtles s , being too low. "W hat a pity! " s aid Herbert, "s uc h a us eful tree, and whic h has s uc h beautiful nuts ! " A s to the birds , they s warm ed am ong the s c anty branc hes of the euc alypti and c as uarinas , whic h did not hinder the dis play of their wings . B lac k, white, or gray c oc katoos , paroquets , with plum age of all c olors , kingfis hers of a s parkling green and c rowned with red, blue lories , and various other birds appeared on all s ides , as through a pris m , fluttering about and produc ing a deafening c lam or. S uddenly, a s trange c onc ert of dis c ordant voic es res ounded in the m ids t of a thic ket. T he s ettlers heard s uc c es s ively the s ong of birds , the c ry of quadrupeds , and a s ort of c lac king whic h they m ight have believed to have es c aped from the lips of a native. Neb and Herbert rus hed towards the bus h, forgetting even the m os t elem entary princ iples of prudenc e. Happily, they found there, neither a form idable wild beas t nor a dangerous native, but m erely half a dozen m oc king and s inging birds , known as m ountain pheas ants . A few s killful blows from a s tic k s oon put an end to their c onc ert, and proc ured exc ellent food for the evening's dinner. Herbert als o dis c overed s om e m agnific ent pigeons with bronzed wings , s om e s uperbly c res ted, others draped in green, like their c ongeners at P ort- Mac quarie; but it was im pos s ible to reac h them , or the c rows and m agpies whic h flew away in floc ks . A c harge of s m all s hot would have m ade great s laughter am ong thes e birds , but the hunters were s till lim ited to s tic ks and s tones , and thes e prim itive weapons proved very ins uffic ient. T heir ins uffic ienc y was s till m ore c learly s hown when a troop of quadrupeds , jum ping, bounding, m aking leaps of thirty feet, regular flying m am m iferae, fled over the thic kets , s o quic kly and at s uc h a height, that one would have thought that they pas s ed from one tree to another like s quirrels . "K angaroos ! " c ried Herbert. "A re they good to eat?" as ked P enc roft. "S tewed," replied the reporter, "their fles h is equal to the bes t venis on! --" Gideon S pilett had not finis hed this exc iting s entenc e when the s ailor, followed by Neb and Herbert, darted on the kangaroos trac ks . Cyrus Harding c alled them bac k in vain. B ut it was in vain too for the hunters to purs ue s uc h agile gam e, whic h went bounding away like balls . A fter a c has e of five m inutes , they los t their breath, and at the s am e tim e all s ight of the c reatures , whic h dis appeared in the wood. T op was not m ore s uc c es s ful than his m as ters . "Captain," s aid P enc roft, when the engineer and the reporter had rejoined them , "Captain, you s ee quite well we c an't get on unles s we m ake a few guns . W ill that be pos s ible?" "P erhaps ," replied the engineer, "but we will begin by firs t m anufac turing s om e bows and arrows , and I don't doubt that you will bec om e as c lever in the us e of them as the A us tralian hunters ." "B ows and arrows ! " s aid P enc roft s c ornfully. "T hat's all very well for c hildren! " "Don't be proud, friend P enc roft," replied the reporter. "B ows and arrows were s uffic ient for c enturies to s tain the earth with blood. P owder is but a thing of yes terday, and war is as old as the hum an rac e--unhappily." "Faith, that's true, Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "and I always s peak too quic kly. Y ou m us t exc us e m e! " Meanwhile, Herbert c ons tant to his favorite s c ienc e, Natural His tory, reverted to the kangaroos , s aying,-"B es ides , we had to deal jus t now with the s pec ies whic h is m os t diffic ult to c atc h. T hey were giants with long gray fur; but if I am not m is taken, there exis t blac k and red kangaroos , roc k kangaroos , and rat kangaroos , whic h are m ore eas y to get hold of. It is rec koned that there are about a dozen s pec ies ." "Herbert," replied the s ailor s ententious ly, "there is only one s pec ies of kangaroos to m e, that is 'kangaroo on the s pit,' and it's jus t the one we haven't got this evening! " T hey c ould not help laughing at Mas ter P enc roft's new c las s ific ation. T he hones t s ailor did not hide his regret at being reduc ed for dinner to the s inging pheas ants , but fortune onc e m ore s howed its elf obliging to him . In fac t, Top, who felt that his interes t was c onc erned went and ferreted everywhere with an ins tinc t doubled by a feroc ious appetite. It was even probable that if s om e piec e of gam e did fall into his c lutc hes , none would be left for the hunters , if Top was hunting on his own ac c ount; but Neb watc hed him and he did well. Towards three o'c loc k the dog dis appeared in the brus hwood and gruntings s howed that he was engaged in a s truggle with s om e anim al. Neb rus hed after him , and s oon s aw Top eagerly devouring a quadruped, whic h ten s ec onds later would have been pas t rec ognizing in Top's s tom ac h. B ut fortunately the dog had fallen upon a brood, and bes ides the vic tim he was devouring, two other rodents --the anim als in ques tion belonged to that order--lay s trangled on the turf. Neb reappeared trium phantly holding one of the rodents in eac h hand. T heir s ize exc eeded that of a rabbit, their hair was yellow, m ingled with green s pots , and they had the m eres t rudim ents of tails . T he c itizens of the Union were at no los s for the right nam e of thes e rodents . T hey were m aras , a s ort of agouti, a little larger than their c ongeners of tropic al c ountries , regular A m eric an rabbits , with long ears , jaws arm ed on eac h s ide with five m olars , whic h dis tinguis h the agouti. "Hurrah! " c ried P enc roft, "the roas t has arrived! and now we c an go hom e." T he walk, interrupted for an ins tant, was res um ed. T he lim pid waters of the Red Creek flowed under an arc h of c as uannas , banks ias , and gigantic gum -trees . S uperb lilac s ros e to a height of twenty feet. Other arbores c ent s pec ies , unknown to the young naturalis t, bent over the s tream , whic h c ould be heard m urm uring beneath the bowers of verdure. Meanwhile the s tream grew m uc h wider, and Cyrus Harding s uppos ed that they would s oon reac h its m outh. In fac t, on em erging from beneath a thic k c lum p of beautiful trees , it s uddenly appeared before their eyes . T he explorers had arrived on the wes tern s hore of Lake Grant. T he plac e was well worth looking at. T his extent of water, of a c irc um ferenc e of nearly s even m iles and an area of two hundred and fifty ac res , repos ed in a border of divers ified trees . Towards the eas t, through a c urtain of verdure, pic tures quely rais ed in s om e plac es , s parkled an horizon of s ea. T he lake was c urved at the north, whic h c ontras ted with the s harp outline of its lower part. Num erous aquatic birds frequented the s hores of this little Ontario, in whic h the thous and is les of its A m eric an nam es ake were repres ented by a roc k whic h em erged from its s urfac e, s om e hundred feet from the s outhern s hore. T here lived in harm ony s everal c ouples of kingfis hers perc hed on a s tone, grave, m otionles s , watc hing for fis h, then darting down, they plunged in with a s harp c ry, and reappeared with their prey in their beaks . On the s hores and on the is lets , s trutted wild duc ks , pelic ans , water-hens , red-beaks , philedons , furnis hed with a tongue like a brus h, and one or two s pec im ens of the s plendid m enura, the tail of whic h expands grac efully like a lyre. A s to the water of the lake, it was s weet, lim pid, rather dark, and from c ertain bubblings , and the c onc entric c irc les whic h c ros s ed eac h other on the s urfac e, it c ould not be doubted that it abounded in fis h. "T his lake is really beautiful! " s aid Gideon S pilett. "W e c ould live on its borders ! " "W e will live there! " replied Harding. T he s ettlers , wis hing to return to the Chim neys by the s hortes t way, des c ended towards the angle form ed on the s outh by the junc tion of the lake's bank. It was not without diffic ulty that they broke a path through the thic kets and brus hwood whic h had never been put as ide by the hand of m m , and they thus went towards the s hore, s o as to arrive at the north of P ros pec t Heights . T wo m iles were c leared in this direc tion, and then, after they had pas s ed the las t c urtain of trees , appeared the plateau, c arpeted with thic k turf, and beyond that the infinite s ea. To return to the Chim neys , it was enough to c ros s the plateau obliquely for the s pac e of a m ile, and then to des c end to the elbow form ed by the firs t detour of the Merc y. B ut the engineer des ired to know how and where the overplus of the water from the lake es c aped, and the exploration was prolonged under the trees for a m ile and a half towards the north. It was m os t probable that an overfall exis ted s om ewhere, and doubtles s through a c left in the granite. T his lake was only, in s hort, an im m ens e c enter bas in, whic h was filled by degrees by the c reek, and its waters m us t nec es s arily pas s to the s ea by s om e fall. If it was s o, the engineer thought that it m ight perhaps be pos s ible to utilize this fall and borrow its power, ac tually los t without profit to any one. T hey c ontinued then to follow the s hores of Lake Grant by c lim bing the plateau; but, after having gone a m ile in this direc tion, Cyrus Harding had not been able to dis c over the

overfall, whic h, however, m us t exis t s om ewhere. It was then half-pas t four. In order to prepare for dinner it was nec es s ary that the s ettlers s hould return to their dwelling. T he little band retrac ed their s teps , therefore, and by the left bank of the Merc y, Cyrus Harding and his c om panions arrived at the Chim neys . T he fire was lighted, and Neb and P enc roft, on whom the func tions of c ooks naturally devolved, to the one in his quality of Negro, to the other in that of s ailor, quic kly prepared s om e broiled agouti, to whic h they did great jus tic e. T he repas t at length term inated; at the m om ent when eac h one was about to give him s elf up to s leep, Cyrus Harding drew from his poc ket little s pec im ens of different s orts of m inerals , and jus t s aid,-"My friends , this is iron m ineral, this a pyrite, this is c lay, this is lim e, and this is c oal. Nature gives us thes e things . It is our bus ines s to m ake a right us e of them . T o-m orrow we will c om m enc e operations ." Chapter 13 "W ell, c aptain, where are we going to begin?" as ked P enc roft next m orning of the engineer. "A t the beginning," replied Cyrus Harding. A nd in fac t, the s ettlers were c om pelled to begin "at the very beginning." T hey did not pos s es s even the tools nec es s ary for m aking tools , and they were not even in the c ondition of nature, who, "having tim e, hus bands her s trength." T hey had no tim e, s inc e they had to provide for the im m ediate wants of their exis tenc e, and though, profiting by ac quired experienc e, they had nothing to invent, s till they had everything to m ake; their iron and their s teel were as yet only in the s tate of m inerals , their earthenware in the s tate of c lay, their linen and their c lothes in the s tate of textile m aterial. It m us t be s aid, however, that the s ettlers were "m en" in the c om plete and higher s ens e of the word. T he engineer Harding c ould not have been s ec onded by m ore intelligent c om panions , nor with m ore devotion and zeal. He had tried them . He knew their abilities . Gideon S pilett, a talented reporter, having learned everything s o as to be able to s peak of everything, would c ontribute largely with his head and hands to the c olonization of the is land. He would not draw bac k from any tas k: a determ ined s ports m an, he would m ake a bus ines s of what till then had only been a pleas ure to him . Herbert, a gallant boy, already rem arkably well inform ed in the natural s c ienc es , would render greater s ervic e to the c om m on c aus e. Neb was devotion pers onified. Clever, intelligent, indefatigable, robus t, with iron health, he knew a little about the work of the forge, and c ould not fail to be very us eful in the c olony. A s to P enc roft, he had s ailed over every s ea, a c arpenter in the doc kyards in B rooklyn, as s is tant tailor in the ves s els of the s tate, gardener, c ultivator, during his holidays , etc ., and like all s eam en, fit for anything, he knew how to do everything. It would have been diffic ult to unite five m en, better fitted to s truggle agains t fate, m ore c ertain to trium ph over it. "A t the beginning," Cyrus Harding had s aid. Now this beginning of whic h the engineer s poke was the c ons truc tion of an apparatus whic h would s erve to trans form the natural s ubs tanc es . T he part whic h heat plays in thes e trans form ations is known. Now fuel, wood or c oal, was ready for im m ediate us e, an oven m us t be built to us e it. "W hat is this oven for?" as ked P enc roft. "T o m ake the pottery whic h we have need of," replied Harding. "A nd of what s hall we m ake the oven?" "W ith bric ks ." "A nd the bric ks ?" "W ith c lay. Let us s tart, m y friends . T o s ave trouble, we will es tablis h our m anufac tory at the plac e of produc tion. Neb will bring provis ions , and there will be no lac k of fire to c ook the food." "No," replied the reporter; "but if there is a lac k of food for want of ins trum ents for the c has e?" "A h, if we only had a knife! " c ried the s ailor. "W ell?" as ked Cyrus Harding. "W ell! I would s oon m ake a bow and arrows , and then there c ould be plenty of gam e in the larder! " "Y es , a knife, a s harp blade." s aid the engineer, as if he was s peaking to him s elf. A t this m om ent his eyes fell upon T op, who was running about on the s hore. S uddenly Harding's fac e bec am e anim ated. "T op, here," s aid he. T he dog c am e at his m as ter's c all. T he latter took T op's head between his hands , and unfas tening the c ollar whic h the anim al wore round his nec k, he broke it in two, s aying,-"T here are two knives , P enc roft! " T wo hurrahs from the s ailor was the reply. Top's c ollar was m ade of a thin piec e of tem pered s teel. T hey had only to s harpen it on a piec e of s ands tone, then to rais e the edge on a finer s tone. Now s ands tone was abundant on the beac h, and two hours after the s toc k of tools in the c olony c ons is ted of two s harp blades , whic h were eas ily fixed in s olid handles . T he produc tion of thes e their firs t tools was hailed as a trium ph. It was indeed a valuable res ult of their labor, and a very opportune one. T hey s et out. Cyrus Harding propos ed that they s hould return to the wes tern s hore of the lake, where the day before he had notic ed the c layey ground of whic h he pos s es s ed a s pec im en. T hey therefore followed the bank of the Merc y, travers ed P ros pec t Heights , and alter a walk of five m iles or m ore they reac hed a glade, s ituated two hundred feet from Lake Grant. On the way Herbert had dis c overed a tree, the branc hes of whic h the Indians of S outh A m eric a em ploy for m aking their bows . It was the c rejim ba, of the palm fam ily, whic h does not bear edible fruit. Long s traight branc hes were c ut, the leaves s tripped off; it was s haped, s tronger in the m iddle, m ore s lender at the extrem ities , and nothing rem ained to be done but to find a plant fit to m ake the bow-s tring. T his was the "hibis c us heterophyllus ," whic h furnis hes fibers of s uc h rem arkable tenac ity that they have been c om pared to the tendons of anim als . P enc roft thus obtained bows of tolerable s trength, for whic h he only wanted arrows . T hes e were eas ily m ade with s traight s tiff branc hes , without knots , but the points with whic h they m us t be arm ed, that is to s ay, a s ubs tanc e to s erve in lieu of iron, c ould not be m et with s o eas ily. B ut P enc roft s aid, that having done his part of the work, c hanc e would do the res t. T he s ettlers arrived on the ground whic h had been dis c overed the day before. B eing c om pos ed of the s ort of c lay whic h is us ed for m aking bric ks and tiles , it was very us eful for the work in ques tion. T here was no great diffic ulty in it. It was enough to s c our the c lay with s and, then to m old the bric ks and bake them by the heat of a wood fire. Generally bric ks are form ed in m olds , but the engineer c ontented him s elf with m aking them by hand. A ll that day and the day following were em ployed in this work. T he c lay, s oaked in water, was m ixed by the feet and hands of the m anipulators , and then divided into piec es of equal s ize. A prac tic ed workm an c an m ake, without a m ac hine, about ten thous and bric ks in twelve hours ; but in their two days work the five bric km akers on Linc oln Is land had not m ade m ore than three thous and, whic h were ranged near eac h other, until the tim e when their c om plete des ic c ation would perm it them to be us ed in building the oven, that is to s ay, in three or four days . It was on the 2nd of A pril that Harding had em ployed him s elf in fixing the orientation of the is land, or, in other words , the prec is e s pot where the s un ros e. T he day before he had noted exac tly the hour when the s un dis appeared beneath the horizon, m aking allowanc e for the refrac tion. T his m orning he noted, no les s exac tly, the hour at whic h it reappeared. B etween this s etting and ris ing twelve hours , twenty-four m inutes pas s ed. T hen, s ix hours , twelve m inutes after its ris ing, the s un on this day would exac tly pas s the m eridian and the point of the s ky whic h it oc c upied at this m om ent would be the north. A t the s aid hour, Cyrus m arked this point, and putting in a line with the s un two trees whic h would s erve him for m arks , he thus obtained an invariable m eridian for his ulterior operations . T he s ettlers em ployed the two days before the oven was built in c ollec ting fuel. B ranc hes were c ut all round the glade, and they pic ked up all the fallen wood under the trees . T hey were als o able to hunt with greater s uc c es s , s inc e P enc roft now pos s es s ed s om e dozen arrows arm ed with s harp points . It was Top who had fam is hed thes e points , by bringing in a porc upine, rather inferior eating, but of great value, thanks to the quills with whic h it bris tled. T hes e quills were fixed firm ly at the ends of the arrows , the flight of whic h was m ade m ore c ertain by s om e c oc katoos ' feathers . T he reporter and Herbert s oon bec am e very s kilful arc hers . Gam e of all s orts in c ons equenc e abounded at the Chim neys , c apybaras , pigeons , agouties , grous e, etc . T he greater part of thes e anim als were killed in the part of the fores t on the left bank of the Merc y, to whic h they gave the nam e of J ac am ar W ood, in rem em branc e of the bird whic h P enc roft and Herbert had purs ued when on their firs t exploration. T his gam e was eaten fres h, but they pres erved s om e c apybara ham s , by s m oking them above a fire of green wood, after having perfum ed them with s weet-s m elling leaves . However, this food, although very s trengthening, was always roas t upon roas t, and the party would have been delighted to hear s om e s oup bubbling on the hearth, but they m us t wait till a pot c ould be m ade, and, c ons equently, till the oven was built. During thes e exc urs ions , whic h were not extended far from the bric k- field, the hunters c ould dis c ern the rec ent pas s age of anim als of a large s ize, arm ed with powerful c laws , but they c ould not rec ognize the s pec ies . Cyrus Harding advis ed them to be very c areful, as the fores t probably enc los ed m any dangerous beas ts . A nd he did right. Indeed, Gideon S pilett and Herbert one day s aw an anim al whic h res em bled a jaguar. Happily the c reature did not attac k them , or they m ight not have es c aped without a s evere wound. A s s oon as he c ould get a regular weapon, that is to s ay, one of the guns whic h P enc roft begged for, Gideon S pilett res olved to m ake des perate war agains t the feroc ious beas ts , and exterm inate them from the is land. T he Chim neys during thes e few days was not m ade m ore c om fortable, for the engineer hoped to dis c over, or build if nec es s ary, a m ore c onvenient dwelling. T hey c ontented them s elves with s preading m os s and dry leaves on the s and of the pas s ages , and on thes e prim itive c ouc hes the tired workers s lept s oundly. T hey als o rec koned the days they had pas s ed on Linc oln Is land, and from that tim e kept a regular ac c ount. T he 5th of A pril, whic h was W ednes day, was twelve days from the tim e when the wind threw the c as taways on this s hore. On the 6th of A pril, at daybreak, the engineer and his c om panions were c ollec ted in the glade, at the plac e where they were going to perform the operation of baking the bric ks . Naturally this had to be in the open air, and not in a kiln, or rather, the agglom eration of bric ks m ade an enorm ous kiln, whic h would bake its elf. T he fuel, m ade of well-prepared fagots , was laid on the ground and s urrounded with s everal rows of dried bric ks , whic h s oon form ed an enorm ous c ube, to the exterior of whic h they c ontrived air- holes . T he work las ted all day, and it was not till the evening that they s et fire to the fagots . No one s lept that night, all watc hing c arefully to keep up the fire. T he operation las ted forty-eight hours , and s uc c eeded perfec tly. It then bec am e nec es s ary to leave the s m oking m as s to c ool, and during this tim e Neb and P enc roft, guided by Cyrus Harding, brought, on a hurdle m ade of interlac ed branc hes , loads of c arbonate of lim e and c om m on s tones , whic h were very abundant, to the north of the lake. T hes e s tones , when dec om pos ed by heat, m ade a very s trong quic klim e, greatly inc reas ed by s lac king, at leas t as pure as if it had been produc ed by the c alc ination of c halk or m arble. Mixed with s and the lim e m ade exc ellent m ortar. T he res ult of thes e different works was , that, on the 9th of A pril, the engineer had at his dis pos al a quantity of prepared lim e and s om e thous ands of bric ks . W ithout los ing an ins tant, therefore, they began the c ons truc tion of a kiln to bake the pottery, whic h was indis pens able for their dom es tic us e. T hey s uc c eeded without m uc h diffic ulty. Five days after, the kiln was s upplied with c oal, whic h the engineer had dis c overed lying open to the s ky towards the m outh of the Red Creek, and the firs t s m oke es c aped from a c him ney twenty feet high. T he glade was trans form ed into a m anufac tory, and P enc roft was not far wrong in believing that from this kiln would is s ue all the produc ts of m odern indus try. In the m eantim e what the s ettlers firs t m anufac tured was a c om m on pottery in whic h to c ook their food. T he c hief m aterial was c lay, to whic h Harding added a little lim e and quartz. T his pas te m ade regular "pipe-c lay," with whic h they m anufac tured bowls , c ups m olded on s tones of a proper s ize, great jars and pots to hold water, etc . T he s hape of thes e objec ts was c lum s y and defec tive, but after they had been baked in a high tem perature, the kitc hen of the Chim neys was provided with a num ber of utens ils , as prec ious to the s ettlers as the m os t beautifully enam eled c hina. W e m us t m ention here that P enc roft, des irous to know if the c lay thus prepared was worthy of its nam e of pipe-c lay, m ade s om e large pipes , whic h he thought c harm ing, but for whic h, alas ! he had no tobac c o, and that was a great privation to P enc roft. "B ut tobac c o will c om e, like everything els e! " he repeated, in a burs t of abs olute c onfidenc e. T his work las ted till the 15th of A pril, and the tim e was well em ployed. T he s ettlers , having bec om e potters , m ade nothing but pottery. W hen it s uited Cyrus Harding to c hange them into s m iths , they would bec om e s m iths . B ut the next day being S unday, and als o E as ter S unday, all agreed to s anc tify the day by res t. T hes e A m eric ans were religious m en, s c rupulous obs ervers of the prec epts of the B ible, and their s ituation c ould not but develop s entim ents of c onfidenc e towards the A uthor of all things . On the evening of the 15th of A pril they returned to the Chim neys , c arrying with them the pottery, the furnac e being extinguis hed until they c ould put it to a new us e. T heir return was m arked by a fortunate inc ident; the engineer dis c overed a s ubs tanc e whic h replac ed tinder. It is known that a s pongy, velvety fles h is proc ured from a c ertain m us hroom of the genus polyporous . P roperly prepared, it is extrem ely inflam m able, es pec ially when it has been previous ly s aturated with gunpowder, or boiled in a s olution of nitrate or c hlorate of potas h. B ut, till then, they had not found any of thes e polypores or even any of the m orels whic h c ould replac e them . On this day, the engineer, s eeing a plant belonging to the worm wood genus , the princ ipal s pec ies of whic h are abs inthe, balm -m int, tarragon, etc ., gathered s everal tufts , and, pres enting them to the s ailor, s aid,-"Here, P enc roft, this will pleas e you." P enc roft looked attentively at the plant, c overed with long s ilky hair, the leaves being c lothed with s oft down. "W hat's that, c aptain?" as ked P enc roft. "Is it tobac c o?" "No," replied Harding, "it is worm wood; Chines e worm wood to the learned, but to us it will be tinder." W hen the worm wood was properly dried it provided them with a very inflam m able s ubs tanc e, es pec ially afterwards when the engineer had im pregnated it with nitrate of potas h, of whic h the is land pos s es s ed s everal beds , and whic h is in truth s altpeter. T he c olonis ts had a good s upper that evening. Neb prepared s om e agouti s oup, a s m oked c apybara ham , to whic h was added the boiled tuberc ules of the "c aladium m ac rorhizum ," an herbac eous plant of the arum fam ily. T hey had an exc ellent tas te, and were very nutritious , being s om ething s im ilar to the s ubs tanc e whic h is s old in E ngland under the nam e of "P ortland s ago"; they were als o a good s ubs titute for bread, whic h the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land did not yet pos s es s . W hen s upper was finis hed, before s leeping, Harding and his c om panions went to take the air on the beac h. it was eight o'c loc k in the evening; the night was m agnific ent. T he m oon, whic h had been full five days before, had not yet ris en, but the horizon was already s ilvered by thos e s oft, pale s hades whic h m ight be c alled the dawn of the m oon. A t the s outhern zenith glittered the c irc um polar c ons tellations , and above all the S outhern Cros s , whic h s om e days before the engineer had greeted on the s um m it of Mount Franklin. Cyrus Harding gazed for s om e tim e at this s plendid c ons tellation, whic h has at its s um m it and at its bas e two s tars of the firs t m agnitude, at its left arm a s tar of the s ec ond, and at its right arm a s tar of the third m agnitude. T hen, after s om e m inutes thought-"Herbert," he as ked of the lad, "is not this the 15th of A pril?" "Y es , c aptain," replied Herbert. "W ell, if I am not m is taken, to-m orrow will be one of the four days in the year in whic h the real tim e is identic al with average tim e; that is to s ay, m y boy, that to-m orrow, to within s om e s ec onds , the s un will pas s the m eridian jus t at m idday by the c loc ks . If the weather is fine I think that I s hall obtain the longitude of the is land with an approxim ation of s om e degrees ." "W ithout ins trum ents , without s extant?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "Yes ," replied the engineer. "A ls o, s inc e the night is c lear, I will try, this very evening, to obtain our latitude by c alc ulating the height of the S outhern Cros s , that is , from the s outhern pole above the horizon. You unders tand, m y friends , that before undertaking the work of ins tallation in earnes t it is not enough to have found out that this land is an is land; we m us t, as nearly as pos s ible, know at what dis tanc e it is s ituated, either from the A m eric an c ontinent or A us tralia, or from the princ ipal arc hipelagoes of the P ac ific ." "In fac t," s aid the reporter, "ins tead of building a hous e it would be m ore im portant to build a boat, if by c hanc e we are not m ore than a hundred m iles from an inhabited c oas t." "T hat is why," returned Harding, "I am going to try this evening to c alc ulate the latitude of Linc oln Is land, and to-m orrow, at m idday, I will try to c alc ulate the longitude." If the engineer had pos s es s ed a s extant, an apparatus with whic h the angular dis tanc e of objec ts c an be m eas ured with great prec is ion, there would have been no diffic ulty in the operation. T his evening by the height of the pole, the next day by the pas s ing of the s un at the m eridian, he would obtain the pos ition of the is land. B ut as they had not one he would have to s upply the defic ienc y. Harding then entered the Chim neys . B y the light of the fire he c ut two little flat rulers , whic h he joined together at one end s o as to form a pair of c om pas s es , whos e legs c ould s eparate or c om e together. T he fas tening was fixed with a s trong ac ac ia thorn whic h was found in the wood pile. T his ins trum ent finis hed, the engineer returned to the beac h, but as it was nec es s ary to take the height of the pole from above a c lear horizon, that is , a s ea horizon, and as Claw Cape hid the s outhern horizon, he was obliged to look for a m ore s uitable s tation. T he bes t would evidently have been the s hore expos ed direc tly to the s outh; but the Merc y would have to be c ros s ed, and that was a diffic ulty. Harding res olved, in c ons equenc e, to m ake his obs ervation from P ros pec t Heights , taking into c ons ideration its height above the level of the s ea--a height whic h he intended to c alc ulate next day by a s im ple proc es s of elem entary geom etry. T he s ettlers , therefore, went to the plateau, as c ending the left bank of the Merc y, and plac ed them s elves on the edge whic h looked northwes t and s outheas t, that is , above the c urious ly-s haped roc ks whic h bordered the river. T his part of the plateau c om m anded the heights of the left bank, whic h s loped away to the extrem ity of Claw Cape, and to the s outhern s ide of the is land. No obs tac le interc epted their gaze, whic h s wept the horizon in a s em i-c irc le from the c ape to Reptile E nd. To the s outh the horizon, lighted by the firs t rays of the m oon, was very c learly defined agains t the s ky. A t this m om ent the S outhern Cros s pres ented its elf to the obs erver in an inverted pos ition, the s tar A lpha m arking its bas e, whic h is nearer to the s outhern pole. T his c ons tellation is not s ituated as near to the antarc tic pole as the P olar S tar is to the arc tic pole. T he s tar A lpha is about twenty-s even degrees from it, but Cyrus Harding knew this and m ade allowanc e for it in his c alc ulation. He took c are als o to obs erve the m om ent when it pas s ed the m eridian below the pole, whic h would s im plify the operation. Cyrus Harding pointed one leg of the c om pas s es to the horizon, the other to A lpha, and the s pac e between the two legs gave him the angular dis tanc e whic h s eparated A lpha from the horizon. In order to fix the angle obtained, he fas tened with thorns the two piec es of wood on a third plac ed trans vers ely, s o that their s eparation s hould be properly m aintained. T hat done, there was only the angle to c alc ulate by bringing bac k the obs ervation to the level of the s ea, taking into c ons ideration the depres s ion of the horizon, whic h would nec es s itate m eas uring the height of the c liff. T he value of this angle would give the height of A lpha, and c ons equently that of the pole above the horizon, that is to s ay, the latitude of the is land, s inc e the latitude of a point of the globe is always equal to the height of the pole above the horizon of this point. T he c alc ulations were left for the next day, and at ten o'c loc k every one was s leeping s oundly. Chapter 14 T he next day, the 16th of A pril, and E as ter S unday, the s ettlers is s ued from the Chim neys at daybreak, and proc eeded to was h their linen. T he engineer intended to m anufac ture s oap as s oon as he c ould proc ure the nec es s ary m aterials --s oda or potas h, fat or oil. T he im portant ques tion of renewing their wardrobe would be treated of in the proper tim e and plac e. A t any rate their c lothes would las t at leas t s ix m onths longer, for they were s trong, and c ould res is t the wear of m anual labor. B ut all would depend on the s ituation of the is land with regard to inhabited land. T his would be s ettled to-day if the weather perm itted. T he s un ris ing above a c lear horizon, announc ed a m agnific ent day, one of thos e beautiful autum n days whic h are like the las t farewells of the warm s eas on. It was now nec es s ary to c om plete the obs ervations of the evening before by m eas uring the height of the c liff above the level of the s ea. "S hall you not need an ins trum ent s im ilar to the one whic h you us ed yes terday?" s aid Herbert to the engineer. "No, m y boy," replied the latter, "we are going to proc eed differently, but in as prec is e a way." Herbert, wis hing to learn everything he c ould, followed the engineer to the beac h. P enc roft, Neb, and the reporter rem ained behind and oc c upied them s elves in different ways . Cyrus Harding had provided him s elf with a s traight s tic k, twelve feet long, whic h he had m eas ured as exac tly as pos s ible by c om paring it with his own height, whic h he knew to a hair. Herbert c arried a plum b-line whic h Harding had given him , that is to s ay, a s im ple s tone fas tened to the end of a flexible fiber. Having reac hed a s pot about twenty feet from the edge of the beac h, and nearly five hundred feet from the c liff, whic h ros e perpendic ularly, Harding thrus t the pole two feet into the s and, and wedging it up c arefully, he m anaged, by m eans of the plum b-line, to erec t it perpendic ularly with the plane of the horizon. T hat done, he retired the nec es s ary dis tanc e, when, lying on the s and, his eye glanc ed at the s am e tim e at the top of the pole and the c res t of the c liff. He c arefully m arked the plac e with a little s tic k. T hen addres s ing Herbert--"Do you know the firs t princ iples of geom etry?" he as ked. "S lightly, c aptain," replied Herbert, who did not wis h to put him s elf forward. "Y ou rem em ber what are the properties of two s im ilar triangles ?" "Y es ," replied Herbert; "their hom ologous s ides are proportional." "W ell, m y boy, I have jus t c ons truc ted two s im ilar right-angled triangles ; the firs t, the s m alles t, has for its s ides the perpendic ular pole, the dis tanc e whic h s eparates the little s tic k from the foot of the pole and m y vis ual ray for hypothenus e; the s ec ond has for its s ides the perpendic ular c liff, the height of whic h we wis h to m eas ure, the dis tanc e whic h s eparates the little s tic k from the bottom of the c liff, and m y vis ual ray als o form s its hypothenus e, whic h proves to be prolongation of that of the firs t triangle." "A h, c aptain, I unders tand! " c ried Herbert. "A s the dis tanc e from the s tic k to the pole is to the dis tanc e from the s tic k to the bas e of the c liff, s o is the height of the pole to the height of the c liff." "J us t s o, Herbert," replied the engineer; "and when we have m eas ured the two firs t dis tanc es , knowing the height of the pole, we s hall only have a s um in proportion to do, whic h will give us the height of the c liff, and will s ave us the trouble of m eas uring it direc tly." T he two horizontal dis tanc es were found out by m eans of the pole, whos e length above the s and was exac tly ten feet. T he firs t dis tanc e was fifteen feet between the s tic k and the plac e where the pole was thrus t into the s and. T he s ec ond dis tanc e between the s tic k and the bottom of the c liff was five hundred feet. T hes e m eas urem ents finis hed, Cyrus Harding and the lad returned to the Chim neys . T he engineer then took a flat s tone whic h he had brought bac k from one of his previous exc urs ions , a s ort of s late, on whic h it was eas y to trac e figures with a s harp s hell. He then proved the following proportions :-15:500::10:x 500 x 10 = 5000 5000 / 15 = 333.3

From whic h it was proved that the granite c liff m eas ured 333 feet in height. Cyrus Harding then took the ins trum ent whic h he had m ade the evening before, the s pac e between its two legs giving the angular dis tanc e between the s tar A lpha and the horizon. He m eas ured, very exac tly, the opening of this angle on a c irc um ferenc e whic h he divided into 360 equal parts . Now, this angle by adding to it the twenty-s even degrees whic h s eparated A lpha from the antarc tic pole, and by reduc ing to the level of the s ea the height of the c liff on whic h the obs ervation had been m ade, was found to be fifty- three degrees . T hes e fifty-three degrees being s ubtrac ted from ninety degrees --the dis tanc e from the pole to the equator--there rem ained thirty- s even degrees . Cyrus Harding c onc luded, therefore, that Linc oln Is land was s ituated on the thirty-s eventh degree of the s outhern latitude, or taking into c ons ideration through the im perfec tion of the perform anc e, an error of five degrees , that it m us t be s ituated between the thirtyfifth and the fortieth parallel. T here was only the longitude to be obtained, and the pos ition of the is land would be determ ined, T he engineer hoped to attem pt this the s am e day, at twelve o'c loc k, at whic h m om ent the s un would pas s the m eridian. It was dec ided that S unday s hould be s pent in a walk, or rather an exploring expedition, to that s ide of the is land between the north of the lake and S hark Gulf, and if there was tim e they would pus h their dis c overies to the northern s ide of Cape S outh Mandible. T hey would breakfas t on the downs , and not return till evening. A t half-pas t eight the little band was following the edge of the c hannel. On the other s ide, on S afety Is let, num erous birds were gravely s trutting. T hey were divers , eas ily rec ognized by their c ry, whic h m uc h res em bles the braying of a donkey. P enc roft only c ons idered them in an eatable point of view, and learnt with s om e s atis fac tion that their fles h, though blac kis h, is not bad food. Great am phibious c reatures c ould als o be s een c rawling on the s and; s eals , doubtles s , who appeared to have c hos en the is let for a plac e of refuge. It was im pos s ible to think of thos e anim als in an alim entary point of view, for their oily fles h is detes table; however, Cyrus Harding obs erved them attentively, and without m aking known his idea, he announc ed to his c om panions that very s oon they would pay a vis it to the is let. T he beac h was s trewn with innum erable s hells , s om e of whic h would have rejoic ed the heart of a c onc hologis t; there were, am ong others , the phas ianella, the terebratual, etc . B ut what would be of m ore us e, was the dis c overy, by Neb, at low tide, of a large oys terbed am ong the roc ks , nearly five m iles from the Chim neys . "Neb will not have los t his day," c ried P enc roft, looking at the s pac ious oys ter-bed. "It is really a fortunate dis c overy," s aid the reporter, "and as it is s aid that eac h oys ter produc es yearly from fifty to s ixty thous and eggs , we s hall have an inexhaus tible s upply there." "Only I believe that the oys ter is not very nouris hing," s aid Herbert. "No," replied Harding. "T he oys ter c ontains very little nitrogen, and if a m an lived exc lus ively on them , he would have to eat not les s than fifteen to s ixteen dozen a day." "Capital! " replied P enc roft. "W e m ight s wallow dozens and dozens without exhaus ting the bed. S hall we take s om e for breakfas t?" A nd without waiting for a reply to this propos al, knowing that it would be approved of, the s ailor and Neb detac hed a quantity of the m ollus c s . T hey put them in a s ort of net of hibis c us fiber, whic h Neb had m anufac tured, and whic h already c ontained food; they then c ontinued to c lim b the c oas t between the downs and the s ea. From tim e to tim e Harding c ons ulted his watc h, s o as to be prepared in tim e for the s olar obs ervation, whic h had to be m ade exac tly at m idday. A ll that part of the is land was very barren as far as the point whic h c los ed Union B ay, and whic h had rec eived the nam e of Cape S outh Mandible. Nothing c ould be s een there but s and and s hells , m ingled with debris of lava. A few s ea-birds frequented this des olate c oas t, gulls , great albatros s es , as well as wild duc k, for whic h P enc roft had a great fanc y. He tried to knoc k s om e over with an arrow, but without res ult, for they s eldom perc hed, and he c ould not hit them on the wing. T his led the s ailor to repeat to the engineer,-"Y ou s ee, c aptain, s o long as we have not one or two fowling-piec es , we s hall never get anything! " "Doubtles s , P enc roft," replied the reporter, "but it depends on you. P roc ure us s om e iron for the barrels , s teel for the ham m ers , s altpeter. c oal and s ulphur for powder, m erc ury and nitric ac id for the fulm inate, and lead for the s hot, and the c aptain will m ake us firs t-rate guns ." "Oh! " replied the engineer, "we m ight, no doubt, find all thes e s ubs tanc es on the is land, but a gun is a delic ate ins trum ent, and needs very partic ular tools . However, we s hall s ee later! " "W hy," c ried P enc roft, "were we obliged to throw overboard all the weapons we had with us in the c ar, all our im plem ents , even our poc ket- knives ?" "B ut if we had not thrown them away, P enc roft, the balloon would have thrown us to the bottom of the s ea! " s aid Herbert. "W hat you s ay is true, m y boy," replied the s ailor. T hen pas s ing to another idea,--"T hink," s aid he, "how as tounded J onathan Fors ter and his c om panions m us t have been when, next m orning, they found the plac e em pty, and the m ac hine flown away! " "I am utterly indifferent about knowing what they m ay have thought," s aid the reporter. "It was all m y idea, that! " s aid P enc roft, with a s atis fied air. "A s plendid idea, P enc roft! " replied Gideon S pilett, laughing, "and whic h has plac ed us where we are." "I would rather be here than in the hands of the S outherners ," c ried the s ailor, "es pec ially s inc e the c aptain has been kind enough to c om e and join us again." "S o would I, truly! " replied the reporter. "B es ides , what do we want? Nothing." "If that is not--everything! " replied P enc roft, laughing and s hrugging his s houlders . "B ut, s om e day or other, we s hall find m eans of going away! " "S ooner, perhaps , than you im agine, m y friends ," rem arked the engineer, "if Linc oln Is land is but a m edium dis tanc e from an inhabited is land, or from a c ontinent. W e s hall know in an hour. I have not a m ap of the P ac ific , but m y m em ory has pres erved a very c lear rec ollec tion of its s outhern part. T he latitude whic h I obtained yes terday plac ed New Zealand to the wes t of Linc oln Is land, and the c oas t of Chile to the eas t. B ut between thes e two c ountries , there is a dis tanc e of at leas t s ix thous and m iles . It has , therefore, to be determ ined what point in this great s pac e the is land oc c upies , and this the longitude will give us pres ently, with a s uffic ient approxim ation, I hope." "Is not the arc hipelago of the P om outous the neares t point to us in latitude?" as ked Herbert. "Y es ," replied the engineer, "but the dis tanc e whic h s eparates us from it is m ore than twelve hundred m iles ." "A nd that way?" as ked Neb, who followed the c onvers ation with extrem e interes t, pointing to the s outh. "T hat way, nothing," replied P enc roft. "Nothing, indeed," added the engineer. "W ell, Cyrus ," as ked the reporter, "if Linc oln Is land is not m ore than two or three thous and m iles from New Zealand or Chile?" "W ell," replied the engineer, "ins tead of building a hous e we will build a boat, and Mas ter P enc roft s hall be put in c om m and--" "W ell then," c ried the s ailor, "I am quite ready to be c aptain--as s oon as you c an m ake a c raft that's able to keep at s ea! " "W e s hall do it, if it is nec es s ary," replied Cyrus Harding. B ut while thes e m en, who really hes itated at nothing, were talking, the hour approac hed at whic h the obs ervation was to be m ade. W hat Cyrus Harding was to do to as c ertain the pas s age of the s un at the m eridian of the is land, without an ins trum ent of any s ort, Herbert c ould not gues s . T he obs ervers were then about s ix m iles from the Chim neys , not far from that part of the downs in whic h the engineer had been found after his enigm atic al pres ervation. T hey halted at this plac e and prepared for breakfas t, for it was half-pas t eleven. Herbert went for s om e fres h water from a s tream whic h ran near, and brought it bac k in a jug, whic h Neb had provided. During thes e preparations Harding arranged everything for his as tronom ic al obs ervation. He c hos e a c lear plac e on the s hore, whic h the ebbing tide had left perfec tly level. T his bed of fine s and was as s m ooth as ic e, not a grain out of plac e. It was of little im portanc e whether it was horizontal or not, and it did not m atter m uc h whether the s tic k s ix feet high, whic h was planted there, ros e perpendic ularly. On the c ontrary, the engineer inc lined it towards the s outh, that is to s ay, in the direc tion of the c oas t oppos ite to the s un, for it m us t not be forgotten that the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land, as the is land was s ituated in the S outhern Hem is phere, s aw the radiant planet des c ribe its diurnal arc above the northern, and not above the s outhern horizon. Herbert now unders tood how the engineer was going to proc eed to as c ertain the c ulm ination of the s un, that is to s ay its pas s ing the m eridian of the is land or, in other words , determ ine due s outh. It was by m eans of the s hadow c as t on the s and by the s tic k, a way whic h, for want of an ins trum ent, would give him a s uitable approac h to the res ult whic h he wis hed to obtain. In fac t, the m om ent when this s hadow would reac h its m inim um of length would be exac tly twelve o'c loc k, and it would be enough to watc h the extrem ity of the s hadow, s o as to as c ertain the ins tant when, alter having s uc c es s ively dim inis hed, it began to lengthen. B y inc lining his s tic k to the s ide oppos ite to the s un, Cyrus Harding m ade the s hadow longer, and c ons equently its m odific ations would be m ore eas ily as c ertained. In fac t, the longer the needle of a dial is , the m ore eas ily c an the m ovem ent of its point be followed. T he s hadow of the s tic k was nothing but the needle of a dial. T he m om ent had c om e, and Cyrus Harding knelt on the s and, and with little wooden pegs , whic h he s tuc k into the s and, he began to m ark the s uc c es s ive dim inutions of the s tic k's s hadow. His c om panions , bending over him , watc hed the operation with extrem e interes t. T he reporter held his c hronom eter in his hand, ready to tell the hour whic h it m arked when the s hadow would be at its s hortes t. Moreover, as Cyrus Harding was working on the 16th of A pril, the day on whic h the true and the average tim e are identic al, the hour given by Gideon S pilett would be the true hour then at W as hington, whic h would s im plify the c alc ulation. Meanwhile as the s un s lowly advanc ed, the s hadow s lowly dim inis hed, and when it appeared to Cyrus Harding that it was beginning to inc reas e, he as ked, "W hat o'c loc k is it?" "One m inute pas t five," replied Gideon S pilett direc tly. T hey had now only to c alc ulate the operation. Nothing c ould be eas ier. It c ould be s een that there exis ted, in round num bers , a differenc e of five hours between the m eridian of W as hington and that of Linc oln Is land, that is to s ay, it was m idday in Linc oln Is land when it was already five o'c loc k in the evening in W as hington. Now the s un, in its apparent m ovem ent round the earth, travers es one degree in four m inutes , or fifteen degrees an hour. Fifteen degrees m ultiplied by five hours give s eventy-five degrees . T hen, s inc e W as hington is 77deg 3' 11" as m uc h as to s ay s eventy-s even degrees c ounted from the m eridian of Greenwic h whic h the A m eric ans take for their s tarting-point for longitudes c onc urrently with the E nglis h--it followed that the is land m us t be s ituated s eventy-s even and s eventy-five degrees wes t of the m eridian of Greenwic h, that is to s ay, on the hundred and fifty-s ec ond degree of wes t longitude. Cyrus Harding announc ed this res ult to his c om panions , and taking into c ons ideration errors of obs ervation, as he had done for the latitude, he believed he c ould pos itively affirm that the pos ition of Linc oln Is land was between the thirty-fifth and the thirty-s eventh parallel, and between the hundred and fiftieth and the hundred and fifty-fifth m eridian to the wes t of the m eridian of Greenwic h. T he pos s ible fault whic h he attributed to errors in the obs ervation was , it m ay be s een, of five degrees on both s ides , whic h, at s ixty m iles to a degree, would give an error of three hundred m iles in latitude and longitude for the exac t pos ition. B ut this error would not influenc e the determ ination whic h it was nec es s ary to take. It was very evident that Linc oln Is land was at s uc h a dis tanc e from every c ountry or is land that it would be too hazardous to attem pt to reac h one in a frail boat. In fac t, this c alc ulation plac ed it at leas t twelve hundred m iles from T ahiti and the is lands of the arc hipelago of the P om outous , m ore than eighteen hundred m iles from New Zealand, and m ore than four thous and five hundred m iles from the A m eric an c oas t! A nd when Cyrus Harding c ons ulted his m em ory, he c ould not rem em ber in any way that s uc h an is land oc c upied, in that part of the P ac ific , the s ituation as s igned to Linc oln Is land. Chapter 15 T he next day, the 17th of A pril, the s ailor's firs t words were addres s ed to Gideon S pilett. "W ell, s ir," he as ked, "what s hall we do to-day?" "W hat the c aptain pleas es ," replied the reporter. T ill then the engineer's c om panions had been bric km akers and potters , now they were to bec om e m etallurgis ts . T he day before, after breakfas t, they had explored as far as the point of Mandible Cape, s even m iles dis tant from the Chim neys . T here, the long s eries of downs ended, and the s oil had a volc anic appearanc e. T here were no longer high c liffs as at P ros pec t Heights , but a s trange and c apric ious border whic h s urrounded the narrow gulf between the two c apes , form ed of m ineral m atter, thrown up by the volc ano. A rrived at this point the s ettlers retrac ed their s teps , and at nightfall entered the Chim neys ; but they did not s leep before the ques tion of knowing whether they c ould think of leaving Linc oln Is land or not was definitely s ettled. T he twelve hundred m iles whic h s eparated the is land from the P om outous Is land was a c ons iderable dis tanc e. A boat c ould not c ros s it, es pec ially at the approac h of the bad s eas on. P enc roft had expres s ly dec lared this . Now, to c ons truc t a s im ple boat even with the nec es s ary tools , was a diffic ult work, and the c olonis ts not having tools they m us t begin by m aking ham m ers , axes , adzes , s aws , augers , planes , etc ., whic h would take s om e tim e. It was dec ided, therefore, that they would winter at Linc oln Is land, and that they would look for a m ore c om fortable dwelling than the Chim neys , in whic h to pas s the winter m onths . B efore anything els e c ould be done it was nec es s ary to m ake the iron ore, of whic h the engineer had obs erved s om e trac es in the northwes t part of the is land, fit for us e by c onverting it either into iron or into s teel. Metals are not generally found in the ground in a pure s tate. For the m os t part they are c om bined with oxygen or s ulphur. S uc h was the c as e with the two s pec im ens whic h Cyrus Harding had brought bac k, one of m agnetic iron, not c arbonated, the other a pyrite, als o c alled s ulphuret of iron. It was , therefore the firs t, the oxide of iron, whic h they m us t reduc e with c oal, that is to s ay, get rid of the oxygen, to obtain it in a pure s tate. T his reduc tion is m ade by s ubjec ting the ore with c oal to a high tem perature, either by the rapid and eas y Catalan m ethod, whic h has the advantage of trans form ing the ore into iron in a s ingle operation, or by the blas t furnac e, whic h firs t s m elts the ore, then c hanges it into iron, by c arrying away the three to four per c ent. of c oal, whic h is c om bined with it. Now Cyrus Harding wanted iron, and he wis hed to obtain it as s oon as pos s ible. T he ore whic h he had pic ked up was in its elf very pure and ric h. It was the oxydulous iron, whic h is found in c onfus ed m as s es of a deep gray c olor; it gives a blac k dus t, c rys tallized in the form of the regular oc tahedron. Native lodes tones c ons is t of this ore, and iron of the firs t quality is m ade in E urope from that with whic h S weden and Norway are s o abundantly s upplied. Not far from this vein was the vein of c oal already m ade us e of by the s ettlers . T he ingredients for the m anufac ture being c los e together would greatly fac ilitate the treatm ent of the ore. T his is the c aus e of the wealth of the m ines in Great B ritain, where the c oal aids the m anufac ture of the m etal extrac ted from the s am e s oil at the s am e tim e as its elf. "T hen, c aptain," s aid P enc roft, "we are going to work iron ore?" "Y es , m y friend," replied the engineer, "and for that--s om ething whic h will pleas e you--we m us t begin by having a s eal hunt on the is let." "A s eal hunt! " c ried the s ailor, turning towards Gideon S pilett. "A re s eals needed to m ake iron?" "S inc e Cyrus has s aid s o! " replied the reporter. B ut the engineer had already left the Chim neys , and P enc roft prepared for the s eal hunt, without having rec eived any other explanation. Cyrus Harding, Herbert, Gideon S pilett, Neb, and the s ailor were s oon c ollec ted on the s hore, at a plac e where the c hannel left a ford pas s able at low tide. T he hunters c ould therefore travers e it without getting wet higher than the knee. Harding then put his foot on the is let for the firs t, and his c om panions for the s ec ond tim e. On their landing s om e hundreds of penguins looked fearles s ly at them . T he hunters , arm ed with s tic ks , c ould have killed them eas ily, but they were not guilty of s uc h us eles s m as s ac re, as it was im portant not to frighten the s eals , who were lying on the s and s everal c able lengths off. T hey als o res pec ted c ertain innoc ent-looking birds , whos e wings were reduc ed to the s tate of s tum ps , s pread out like fins , ornam ented with feathers of a s c aly appearanc e. T he s ettlers , therefore, prudently advanc ed towards the north point, walking over ground riddled with little holes , whic h form ed nes ts for the s ea-birds . Towards the extrem ity of the is let appeared great blac k heads floating jus t above the water, having exac tly the appearanc e of roc ks in m otion. T hes e were the s eals whic h were to be c aptured. It was nec es s ary, however, firs t to allow them to land, for with their c los e, s hort hair, and their fus iform c onform ation, being exc ellent s wim m ers , it is diffic ult to c atc h them in the s ea, while on land their s hort, webbed feet prevent their having m ore than a s low, waddling m ovem ent. P enc roft knew the habits of thes e c reatures , and he advis ed waiting till they were s tretc hed on the s and, when the s un, before long, would s end them to s leep. T hey m us t then m anage to c ut off their retreat and knoc k them on the head. T he hunters , having c onc ealed them s elves behind the roc ks , waited s ilently. A n hour pas s ed before the s eals c am e to play on the s and. T hey c ould c ount half a dozen. P enc roft and Herbert then went round the point of the is let, s o as to take them in the rear, and c ut off their retreat. During this tim e Cyrus Harding, S pilett, and Neb, c rawling behind the roc ks , glided towards the future s c ene of c om bat. A ll at onc e the tall figure of the s ailor appeared. P enc roft s houted. T he engineer and his two c om panions threw them s elves between the s ea and the s eals . T wo of the anim als s oon lay dead on the s and, but the res t regained the s ea in s afety. "Here are the s eals required, c aptain! " s aid the s ailor, advanc ing towards the engineer. "Capital," replied Harding. "W e will m ake bellows of them ! " "B ellows ! " c ried P enc roft. "W ell! thes e are luc ky s eals ! " It was , in fac t, a blowing-m ac hine, nec es s ary for the treatm ent of the ore that the engineer wis hed to m anufac ture with the s kins of the am phibious c reatures . T hey were of a m edium s ize, for their length did not exc eed s ix feet. T hey res em bled a dog about the head. A s it was us eles s to burden them s elves with the weight of both the anim als , Neb and P enc roft res olved to s kin them on the s pot, while Cyrus Harding and the reporter c ontinued to explore the is let. T he s ailor and the Negro c leverly perform ed the operation, and three hours afterwards Cyrus Harding had at his dis pos al two s eals ' s kins , whic h he intended to us e in this s tate, without s ubjec ting them to any tanning proc es s . T he s ettlers waited till the tide was again low, and c ros s ing the c hannel they entered the Chim neys . T he s kins had then to be s tretc hed on a fram e of wood and s ewn by m eans of fibers s o as to pres erve the air without allowing too m uc h to es c ape. Cyrus Harding had nothing but the two s teel blades from Top's c ollar, and yet he was s o c lever, and his c om panions aided him with s o m uc h intelligenc e, that three days afterwards the little c olony's s toc k of tools was augm ented by a blowing-m ac hine, des tined to injec t the air into the m ids t of the ore when it s hould be s ubjec ted to heat--an indis pens able c ondition to the s uc c es s of the operation. On the m orning of the 20th of A pril began the "m etallic period," as the reporter c alled it in his notes . T he engineer had dec ided, as has been s aid, to operate near the veins both of c oal and ore. Now, ac c ording to his obs ervations , thes e veins were s ituated at the foot of the northeas t s purs of Mount Franklin, that is to s ay, a dis tanc e of s ix m iles from their hom e. It was im pos s ible, therefore, to return every day to the Chim neys , and it was agreed that the little c olony s hould c am p under a hut of branc hes , s o that the im portant operation c ould be followed night and day. T his s ettled, they s et out in the m orning. Neb and P enc roft dragged the bellows on a hurdle; als o a quantity of vegetables and anim als , whic h they bes ides c ould renew on the way. T he road led through J ac am ar W ood, whic h they travers ed obliquely from s outheas t to northwes t, and in the thic kes t part. It was nec es s ary to beat a path, whic h would in the future form the m os t direc t road to P ros pec t Heights and Mount Franklin. T he trees , belonging to the s pec ies already dis c overed, were m agnific ent. Herbert found s om e new ones , am ong others s om e whic h P enc roft c alled "s ham leeks "; for, in s pite of their s ize, they were of the s am e liliac eous fam ily as the onion, c hive, s hallot, or as paragus . T hes e trees produc e ligneous roots whic h, when c ooked, are exc ellent; from them , by ferm entation, a very agreeable liquor is m ade. T hey therefore m ade a good s tore of the roots . T he journey through the wood was long; it las ted the whole day, and s o allowed plenty of tim e for exam ining the flora and fauna. Top, who took s pec ial c harge of the fauna, ran through the gras s and brus hwood, putting up all s orts of gam e. Herbert and Gideon S pilett killed two kangaroos with bows and arrows , and als o an anim al whic h s trongly res em bled both a hedgehog and an ant-eater. It was like the firs t bec aus e it rolled its elf into a ball, and bris tled with s pines , and the s ec ond bec aus e it had s harp c laws , a long s lender s nout whic h term inated in a bird's beak, and an extendible tongue, c overed with little thorns whic h s erved to hold the ins ec ts . "A nd when it is in the pot," as ked P enc roft naturally, "what will it be like?" "A n exc ellent piec e of beef," replied Herbert. "W e will not as k m ore from it," replied the s ailor, During this exc urs ion they s aw s everal wild boars , whic h however, did not offer to attac k the little band, and it appeared as if they would not m eet with any dangerous beas ts ; when, in a thic k part of the wood, the reporter thought he s aw, s om e pac es from him , am ong the lower branc hes of a tree, an anim al whic h he took for a bear, and whic h he very tranquilly began to draw. Happily for Gideon S pilett, the anim al in ques tion did not belong to the redoubtable fam ily of the plantigrades . It was only a koala, better known under the nam e of the s loth, being about the s ize of a large dog, and having s tiff hair of a dirty c olor, the paws arm ed with s trong c laws , whic h enabled it to c lim b trees and feed on the leaves . Having identified the anim al, whic h they did not dis turb, Gideon S pilett eras ed "bear" from the title of his s ketc h, putting koala in its plac e, and the journey was res um ed. A t five o'c loc k in the evening, Cyrus Harding gave the s ignal to halt. T hey were now outs ide the fores t, at the beginning of the powerful s purs whic h s upported Mount Franklin towards the wes t. A t a dis tanc e of s om e hundred feet flowed the Red Creek, and c ons equently plenty of fres h water was within their reac h. T he c am p was s oon organized. In les s than an hour, on the edge of the fores t, am ong the trees , a hut of branc hes interlac ed with c reepers , and pas ted over with c lay, offered a tolerable s helter. T heir geologic al res earc hes were put off till the next day. S upper was prepared, a good fire blazed before the hut, the roas t turned, and at eight o'c loc k, while one of the s ettlers watc hed to keep up the fire, in c as e any wild beas ts s hould prowl in the neighborhood, the others s lept s oundly. T he next day, the 21s t of A pril, Cyrus Harding ac c om panied by Herbert, went to look for the s oil of anc ient form ation, on whic h he had already dis c overed a s pec im en of ore. T hey found the vein above ground, near the s ourc e of the c reek, at the foot of one of the northeas tern s purs . T his ore, very ric h in iron, enc los ed in its fus ible veins tone, was perfec tly s uited to the m ode of reduc tion whic h the engineer intended to em ploy; that is , the Catalan m ethod, but s im plified, as it is us ed in Cors ic a. In fac t, the Catalan m ethod, properly s o c alled, requires the c ons truc tion of kilns and c ruc ibles , in whic h the ore and the c oal, plac ed in alternate layers , are trans form ed and reduc ed, B ut Cyrus Harding intended to ec onom ize thes e c ons truc tions , and wis hed s im ply to form , with the ore and the c oal, a c ubic m as s , to the c enter of whic h he would direc t the wind from his bellows . Doubtles s , it was the proc eeding em ployed by T ubalc ain, and the firs t m etallurgis ts of the inhabited world. Now that whic h had s uc c eeded with the grands on of A dam , and whic h s till yielded good res ults in c ountries whic h in ore and fuel, c ould not but s uc c eed with the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land.

T he c oal, as well as the ore, was c ollec ted without trouble on the s urfac e of the ground. T hey firs t broke the ore into little piec es , and c leans ed them with the hand from the im purities whic h s oiled their s urfac e. T hen c oal and ore were arranged in heaps and in s uc c es s ive layers , as the c harc oal-burner does with the wood whic h he wis hes to c arbonize. In this way, under the influenc e of the air projec ted by the blowing-m ac hine, the c oal would be trans form ed into c arbonic ac id, then into oxide of c arbon, its us e being to reduc e the oxide of iron, that is to s ay, to rid it of the oxygen. T hus the engineer proc eeded. T he bellows of s eals kin, furnis hed at its extrem ity with a nozzle of c lay, whic h had been previous ly fabric ated in the pottery kiln, was es tablis hed near the heap of ore. Us ing the m ec hanis m whic h c ons is ted of a fram e, c ords of fiber and c ounterpois e, he threw into the m as s an abundanc e of air, whic h by rais ing the tem perature als o c onc urred with the c hem ic al trans form ation to produc e in tim e pure iron. T he operation was diffic ult. A ll the patienc e, all the ingenuity of the s ettlers was needed; but at las t it s uc c eeded, and the res ult was a lum p of iron, reduc ed to a s pongy s tate, whic h it was nec es s ary to s hingle and fagot, that is to s ay, to forge s o as to expel from it the liquefied veins tone. T hes e am ateur s m iths had, of c ours e, no ham m er; but they were in no wors e a s ituation than the firs t m etallurgis t, and therefore did what, no doubt, he had to do. A handle was fixed to the firs t lum p, and was us ed as a ham m er to forge the s ec ond on a granite anvil, and thus they obtained a c oars e but us eful m etal. A t length, after m any trials and m uc h fatigue, on the 25th of A pril s everal bars of iron were forged, and trans form ed into tools , c rowbars , pinc ers , pic kaxes , s pades , etc ., whic h P enc roft and Neb dec lared to be real jewels . B ut the m etal was not yet in its m os t s ervic eable s tate, that is , of s teel. Now s teel is a c om bination of iron and c oal, whic h is extrac ted, either from the liquid ore, by taking from it the exc es s of c oal, or from the iron by adding to it the c oal whic h was wanting. T he firs t, obtained by the dec arburation of the m etal, gives natural or puddled s teel; the s ec ond, produc ed by the c arburation of the iron, gives s teel of c em entation. It was the las t whic h Cyrus Harding intended to forge, as he pos s es s ed iron in a pure s tate. He s uc c eeded by heating the m etal with powdered c oal in a c ruc ible whic h had previous ly been m anufac tured from c lay s uitable for the purpos e. He then worked this s teel, whic h is m alleable both when hot or c old, with the ham m er. Neb and P enc roft, c leverly direc ted, m ade hatc hets , whic h, heated red-hot, and plunged s uddenly into c old water, ac quired an exc ellent tem per. Other ins trum ents , of c ours e roughly fas hioned, were als o m anufac tured; blades for planes , axes , hatc hets , piec es of s teel to be trans form ed into s aws , c his els ; then iron for s pades , pic kaxes , ham m ers , nails , etc . A t las t, on the 5th of May, the m etallic period ended, the s m iths returned to the Chim neys , and new work would s oon authorize them to take a fres h title. Chapter 16 It was the 6th of May, a day whic h c orres ponds to the 6th of Novem ber in the c ountries of the Northern Hem is phere. T he s ky had been obs c ured for s om e days , and it was of im portanc e to m ake preparations for the winter. However, the tem perature was not as yet m uc h lower, and a c entigrade therm om eter, trans ported to Linc oln Is land, would s till have m arked an average of ten to twelve degrees above zero. T his was not s urpris ing, s inc e Linc oln Is land, probably s ituated between the thirty-fifth and fortieth parallel, would be s ubjec t, in the S outhern Hem is phere, to the s am e c lim ate as S ic ily or Greec e in the Northern Hem is phere. B ut as Greec e and S ic ily have s evere c old, produc ing s now and ic e, s o doubtles s would Linc oln Is land in the s everes t part of the winter and it was advis able to provide agains t it. In any c as e if c old did not yet threaten them , the rainy s eas on would begin, and on this lonely is land, expos ed to all the fury of the elem ents , in m id-oc ean, bad weather would be frequent, and probably terrible. T he ques tion of a m ore c om fortable dwelling than the Chim neys m us t therefore be s erious ly c ons idered and prom ptly res olved on. P enc roft, naturally, had s om e predilec tion for the retreat whic h he had dis c overed, but he well unders tood that another m us t be found. T he Chim neys had been already vis ited by the s ea, under c irc um s tanc es whic h are known, and it would not do to be expos ed again to a s im ilar ac c ident. "B es ides ," added Cyrus Harding, who this day was talking of thes e things with his c om panions , "we have s om e prec autions to take." "W hy? T he is land is not inhabited," s aid the reporter. "T hat is probable," replied the engineer, "although we have not yet explored the interior; but if no hum an beings are found, I fear that dangerous anim als m ay abound. It is nec es s ary to guard agains t a pos s ible attac k, s o that we s hall not be obliged to watc h every night, or to keep up a fire. A nd then, m y friends , we m us t fores ee everything. W e are here in a part of the P ac ific often frequented by Malay pirates --" "W hat! " s aid Herbert, "at s uc h a dis tanc e from land?" "Y es , m y boy," replied the engineer. "T hes e pirates are bold s ailors as well as form idable enem ies , and we m us t take m eas ures ac c ordingly." "W ell," replied P enc roft, "we will fortify ours elves agains t s avages with two legs as well as agains t s avages with four. B ut, c aptain, will it not be bes t to explore every part of the is land before undertaking anything els e?" "T hat would be bes t," added Gideon S pilett. "W ho knows if we m ight not find on the oppos ite s ide one of the c averns whic h we have s earc hed for in vain here?" "T hat is true," replied the engineer, "but you forget, m y friends , that it will be nec es s ary to es tablis h ours elves in the neighborhood of a waterc ours e, and that, from the s um m it of Mount Franklin, we c ould not s ee towards the wes t, either s tream or river. Here, on the c ontrary, we are plac ed between the Merc y and Lake Grant, an advantage whic h m us t not be neglec ted. A nd, bes ides , this s ide, looking towards the eas t, is not expos ed as the other is to the trade-winds , whic h in this hem is phere blow from the northwes t." "T hen, c aptain," replied the s ailor, "let us build a hous e on the edge of the lake. Neither bric ks nor tools are wanting now. A fter having been bric km akers , potters , s m elters , and s m iths , we s hall s urely know how to be m as ons ! " "Y es , m y friend; but before c om ing to any dec is ion we m us t c ons ider the m atter thoroughly. A natural dwelling would s pare us m uc h work, and would be a s urer retreat, for it would be as well defended agains t enem ies from the interior as thos e from outs ide." "T hat is true, Cyrus ," replied the reporter, "but we have already exam ined all that m as s of granite, and there is not a hole, not a c ranny! " "No, not one! " added P enc roft. "A h, if we were able to dig out a dwelling in that c liff, at a good height, s o as to be out of the reac h of harm , that would be c apital! I c an s ee that on the front whic h looks s eaward, five or s ix room s --" "W ith windows to light them ! " s aid Herbert, laughing. "A nd a s tairc as e to c lim b up to them ! " added Neb. "Y ou are laughing," c ried the s ailor, "and why? W hat is there im pos s ible in what I propos e? Haven't we got pic kaxes and s pades ? W on't Captain Harding be able to m ake powder to blow up the m ine? Is n't it true, c aptain, that you will m ake powder the very day we want it?" Cyrus Harding lis tened to the enthus ias tic P enc roft developing his fanc iful projec ts . To attac k this m as s of granite, even by a m ine, was Herc ulean work, and it was really vexing that nature c ould not help them at their need. B ut the engineer did not reply to the s ailor exc ept by propos ing to exam ine the c liff m ore attentively, from the m outh of the river to the angle whic h term inated it on the north. T hey went out, therefore, and the exploration was m ade with extrem e c are, over an extent of nearly two m iles . B ut in no plac e in the bare, s traight c liff, c ould any c avity be found. T he nes ts of the roc k pigeons whic h fluttered at its s um m it were only, in reality, holes bored at the very top, and on the irregular edge of the granite. It was a provoking c irc um s tanc e, and as to attac king this c liff, either with pic kaxe or with powder, s o as to effec t a s uffic ient exc avation, it was not to be thought of. It s o happened that, on all this part of the s hore, P enc roft had dis c overed the only habitable s helter, that is to s ay, the Chim neys , whic h now had to be abandoned. T he exploration ended, the c olonis ts found them s elves at the north angle of the c liff, where it term inated in long s lopes whic h died away on the s hore. From this plac e, to its extrem e lim it in the wes t, it only form ed a s ort of dec livity, a thic k m as s of s tones , earth, and s and, bound together by plants , bus hes , and gras s inc lined at an angle of only forty-five degrees . Clum ps of trees grew on thes e s lopes , whic h were als o c arpeted with thic k gras s . B ut the vegetation did not extend far, and a long, s andy plain, whic h began at the foot of thes e s lopes , reac hed to the beac h. Cyrus Harding thought, not without reas on, that the overplus of the lake m us t overflow on this s ide. T he exc es s of water furnis hed by the Red Creek m us t als o es c ape by s om e c hannel or other. Now the engineer had not yet found this c hannel on any part of the s hore already explored, that is to s ay, from the m outh of the s tream on the wes t of P ros pec t Heights . T he engineer now propos ed to his c om panions to c lim b the s lope, and to return to the Chim neys by the heights , while exploring the northern and eas tern s hores of the lake. T he propos al was ac c epted, and in a few m inutes Herbert and Neb were on the upper plateau. Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, and P enc roft followed with m ore s edate s teps . T he beautiful s heet of water glittered through the trees under the rays of the s un. In this direc tion the c ountry was c harm ing. T he eye feas ted on the groups of trees . S om e old trunks , bent with age, s howed blac k agains t the verdant gras s whic h c overed the ground. Crowds of brilliant c oc katoos s c ream ed am ong the branc hes , m oving pris m s , hopping from one bough to another. T he s ettlers ins tead of going direc tly to the north bank of the lake, m ade a c irc uit round the edge of the plateau, s o as to join the m outh of the c reek on its left bank. It was a detour of m ore than a m ile and a half. W alking was eas y, for the trees widely s pread, left a c ons iderable s pac e between them . T he fertile zone evidently s topped at this point, and vegetation would be les s vigorous in the part between the c ours e of the Creek and the Merc y. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions walked over this new ground with great c are. B ows , arrows , and s tic ks with s harp iron points were their only weapons . However, no wild beas t s howed its elf, and it was probable that thes e anim als frequented rather the thic k fores ts in the s outh; but the s ettlers had the dis agreeable s urpris e of s eeing Top s top before a s nake of great s ize, m eas uring from fourteen to fifteen feet in length. Neb killed it by a blow from his s tic k. Cyrus Harding exam ined the reptile, and dec lared it not venom ous , for it belonged to that s pec ies of diam ond s erpents whic h the natives of New S outh W ales rear. B ut it was pos s ible that others exis ted whos e bite was m ortal s uc h as the deaf vipers with forked tails , whic h ris e up under the feet, or thos e winged s nakes , furnis hed with two ears , whic h enable them to proc eed with great rapidity. T op, the firs t m om ent of s urpris e over, began a reptile c has e with s uc h eagernes s , that they feared for his s afety. His m as ter c alled him bac k direc tly. T he m outh of the Red Creek, at the plac e where it entered into the lake, was s oon reac hed. T he explorers rec ognized on the oppos ite s hore the point whic h they had vis ited on their des c ent from Mount Franklin. Cyrus Harding as c ertained that the flow of water into it from the c reek was c ons iderable. Nature m us t therefore have provided s om e plac e for the es c ape of the overplus . T his doubtles s form ed a fall, whic h, if it c ould be dis c overed, would be of great us e. T he c olonis ts , walking apart, but not s traying far from eac h other, began to s kirt the edge of the lake, whic h was very s teep. T he water appeared to be full of fis h, and P enc roft res olved to m ake s om e fis hing-rods , s o as to try and c atc h s om e. T he northeas t point was firs t to be doubled. It m ight have been s uppos ed that the dis c harge of water was at this plac e, for the extrem ity of the lake was alm os t on a level with the edge of the plateau. B ut no s igns of this were dis c overed, and the c olonis ts c ontinued to explore the bank, whic h, after a s light bend, des c ended parallel to the s hore. On this s ide the banks were les s woody, but c lum ps of trees , here and there, added to the pic tures quenes s of the c ountry. Lake Grant was viewed from thenc e in all its extent, and no breath dis turbed the s urfac e of its waters . Top, in beating the bus hes , put up floc ks of birds of different kinds , whic h Gideon S pilett and Herbert s aluted with arrows . One was hit by the lad, and fell into s om e m ars hy gras s . Top rus hed forward, and brought a beautiful s wim m ing bird, of a s late c olor, s hort beak, very developed frontal plate, and wings edged with white. It was a "c oot," the s ize of a large partridge, belonging to the group of m ac rodac tyls whic h form the trans ition between the order of wading birds and that of palm ipeds . S orry gam e, in truth, and its flavor is far from pleas ant. B ut T op was not s o partic ular in thes e things as his m as ters , and it was agreed that the c oot s hould be for his s upper. T he s ettlers were now following the eas tern bank of the lake, and they would not be long in reac hing the part whic h they already knew. T he engineer was m uc h s urpris ed at not s eeing any indic ation of the dis c harge of water. T he reporter and the s ailor talked with him , and he c ould not c onc eal his as tonis hm ent. A t this m om ent T op, who had been very quiet till then, gave s igns of agitation. T he intelligent anim al went bac kwards and forwards on the s hore, s topped s uddenly, and looked at the water, one paw rais ed, as if he was pointing at s om e invis ible gam e; then he barked furious ly, and was s uddenly s ilent. Neither Cyrus Harding nor his c om panions had at firs t paid any attention to T op's behavior; but the dog's barking s oon bec am e s o frequent that the engineer notic ed it. "W hat is there, T op?" he as ked. T he dog bounded towards his m as ter, s eem ing to be very uneas y, and then rus hed again towards the bank. T hen, all at onc e, he plunged into the lake. "Here, T op! " c ried Cyrus Harding, who did not like his dog to venture into the treac herous water. "W hat's happening down there?" as ked P enc roft, exam ining the s urfac e of the lake. "T op s m ells s om e am phibious c reature," replied Herbert. "A n alligator, perhaps ," s aid the reporter. "I do not think s o," replied Harding. "A lligators are only m et with in regions les s elevated in latitude." Meanwhile Top had returned at his m as ter's c all, and had regained the s hore: but he c ould not s tay quiet; he plunged in am ong the tall gras s , and guided by ins tinc t, he appeared to follow s om e invis ible being whic h was s lipping along under the s urfac e of the water. However the water was c alm ; not a ripple dis turbed its s urfac e. S everal tim es the s ettlers s topped on the bank, and obs erved it attentively. Nothing appeared. T here was s om e m ys tery there. T he engineer was puzzled. "Let us purs ue this exploration to the end," s aid he. Half an hour after they had all arrived at the s outheas t angle of the lake, on P ros pec t Heights . A t this point the exam ination of the banks of the lake was c ons idered finis hed, and yet the engineer had not been able to dis c over how and where the waters were dis c harged. "T here is no doubt this overflow exis ts ," he repeated, and s inc e it is not vis ible it m us t go through the granite c liff at the wes t! " "B ut what im portanc e do you attac h to knowing that, m y dear Cyrus ?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "Cons iderable im portanc e," replied the engineer; "for if it flows through the c liff there is probably s om e c avity, whic h it would be eas y to render habitable after turning away the water." "B ut is it not pos s ible, c aptain, that the water flows away at the bottom of the lake," s aid Herbert, "and that it reac hes the s ea by s om e s ubterranean pas s age?" "T hat m ight be," replied the engineer, "and s hould it be s o we s hall be obliged to build our hous e ours elves , s inc e nature has not done it for us ." T he c olonis ts were about to begin to travers e the plateau to return to the Chim neys , when T op gave new s igns of agitation. He barked with fury, and before his m as ter c ould res train him , he had plunged a s ec ond tim e into the lake. A ll ran towards the bank. T he dog was already m ore than twenty feet off, and Cyrus was c alling him bac k, when an enorm ous head em erged from the water, whic h did not appear to be deep in that plac e. Herbert rec ognized direc tly the s pec ies of am phibian to whic h the tapering head, with large eyes , and adorned with long s ilky m us tac hes , belonged. "A lam antin! " he c ried. It was not a lam antin, but one of that s pec ies of the order of c etac eans , whic h bear the nam e of the "dugong," for its nos trils were open at the upper part of its s nout. T he enorm ous anim al rus hed on the dog, who tried to es c ape by returning towards the s hore. His m as ter c ould do nothing to s ave him , and before Gideon S pilett or Herbert thought of bending their bows , T op, s eized by the dugong, had dis appeared beneath the water. Neb, his iron-tipped s pear in his hand, wis hed to go to T op's help, and attac k the dangerous anim al in its own elem ent. "No, Neb," s aid the engineer, res training his c ourageous s ervant. Meanwhile, a s truggle was going on beneath the water, an inexplic able s truggle, for in his s ituation T op c ould not pos s ibly res is t; and judging by the bubbling of the s urfac e it m us t be als o a terrible s truggle, and c ould not but term inate in the death of the dog! B ut s uddenly, in the m iddle of a foam ing c irc le, T op reappeared. T hrown in the air by s om e unknown power, he ros e ten feet above the s urfac e of the lake, fell again into the m ids t of the agitated waters , and then s oon gained the s hore, without any s evere wounds , m irac ulous ly s aved. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions c ould not unders tand it. W hat was not les s inexplic able was that the s truggle s till appeared to be going on. Doubtles s , the dugong, attac ked by s om e powerful anim al, after having releas ed the dog, was fighting on its own ac c ount. B ut it did not las t long. T he water bec am e red with blood, and the body of the dugong, em erging from the s heet of s c arlet whic h s pread around, s oon s tranded on a little beac h at the s outh angle of the lake. T he c olonis ts ran towards it. T he dugong was dead. It was an enorm ous anim al, fifteen or s ixteen feet long, and m us t have weighed from three to four thous and pounds . A t its nec k was a wound, whic h appeared to have been produc ed by a s harp blade. W hat c ould the am phibious c reature have been, who, by this terrible blow had des troyed the form idable dugong? No one c ould tell, and m uc h interes ted in this inc ident, Harding and his c om panions returned to the Chim neys . Chapter 17 T he next day, the 7th of May, Harding and Gideon S pilett, leaving Neb to prepare breakfas t, c lim bed P ros pec t Heights , while Herbert and P enc roft as c ended by the river, to renew their s tore of wood. T he engineer and the reporter s oon reac hed the little beac h on whic h the dugong had been s tranded. A lready floc ks of birds had attac ked the m as s of fles h, and had to be driven away with s tones , for Cyrus wis hed to keep the fat for the us e of the c olony. A s to the anim al's fles h it would furnis h exc ellent food, for in the is lands of the Malay A rc hipelago and els ewhere, it is es pec ially res erved for the table of the native princ es . B ut that was Neb's affair. A t this m om ent Cyrus Harding had other thoughts . He was m uc h interes ted in the inc ident of the day before. He wis hed to penetrate the m ys tery of that s ubm arine c om bat, and to as c ertain what m ons ter c ould have given the dugong s o s trange a wound. He rem ained at the edge of the lake, looking, obs erving; but nothing appeared under the tranquil waters , whic h s parkled in the firs t rays of the ris ing s un. A t the beac h, on whic h lay the body of the dugong, the water was tolerably s hallow, but from this point the bottom of the lake s loped gradually, and it was probable that the depth was c ons iderable in the c enter. T he lake m ight be c ons idered as a large c enter bas in, whic h was filled by the water from the Red Creek. "W ell, Cyrus ," s aid the reporter, "there s eem s to be nothing s us pic ious in this water." "No, m y dear S pilett," replied the engineer, "and I really do not know how to ac c ount for the inc ident of yes terday." "I ac knowledge," returned S pilett, "that the wound given this c reature is , at leas t, very s trange, and I c annot explain either how T op was s o vigorous ly c as t up out of the water. One c ould have thought that a powerful arm hurled him up, and that the s am e arm with a dagger killed the dugong! " "Yes ," replied the engineer, who had bec om e thoughtful; "there is s om ething there that I c annot unders tand. B ut do you better unders tand either, m y dear S pilett, in what way I was s aved m ys elf--how I was drawn from the waves , and c arried to the downs ? No! Is it not true? Now, I feel s ure that there is s om e m ys tery there, whic h, doubtles s , we s hall dis c over s om e day. Let us obs erve, but do not dwell on thes e s ingular inc idents before our c om panions . Let us keep our rem arks to ours elves , and c ontinue our work." It will be rem em bered that the engineer had not as yet been able to dis c over the plac e where the s urplus water es c aped, but he knew it m us t exis t s om ewhere. He was m uc h s urpris ed to s ee a s trong c urrent at this plac e. B y throwing in s om e bits of wood he found that it s et towards the s outhern angle. He followed the c urrent, and arrived at the s outh point of the lake. T here was there a s ort of depres s ion in the water, as if it was s uddenly los t in s om e fis s ure in the ground. Harding lis tened; plac ing his ear to the level of the lake, he very dis tinc tly heard the nois e of a s ubterranean fall. "T here," s aid he, ris ing, "is the dis c harge of the water; there, doubtles s , by a pas s age in the granite c liff, it joins the s ea, through c avities whic h we c an us e to our profit. W ell, I c an find it! " T he engineer c ut a long branc h, s tripped it of its leaves , and plunging it into the angle between the two banks , he found that there was a large hole one foot only beneath the s urfac e of the water. T his hole was the opening s o long looked for in vain, and the forc e of the c urrent was s uc h that the branc h was torn from the engineer's hands and dis appeared. "T here is no doubt about it now," repeated Harding. "T here is the outlet, and I will lay it open to view! " "How?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "B y lowering the level of the water of the lake three feet." "A nd how will you lower the level?" "B y opening another outlet larger than this ." "A t what plac e, Cyrus ?" "A t the part of the bank neares t the c oas t." "B ut it is a m as s of granite! " obs erved S pilett. "W ell," replied Cyrus Harding, "I will blow up the granite, and the water es c aping, will s ubs ide, s o as to lay bare this opening--" "A nd m ake a waterfall, by falling on to the beac h," added the reporter. "A fall that we s hall m ake us e of! " replied Cyrus . "Com e, c om e! " T he engineer hurried away his c om panion, whos e c onfidenc e in Harding was s uc h that he did not doubt the enterpris e would s uc c eed. A nd yet, how was this granite wall to be opened without powder, and with im perfec t ins trum ents ? W as not this work upon whic h the engineer was s o bent above their s trength? W hen Harding and the reporter entered the Chim neys , they found Herbert and P enc roft unloading their raft of wood. "T he woodm en have jus t finis hed, c aptain." s aid the s ailor, laughing, "and when you want m as ons --" "Mas ons ,--no, but c hem is ts ," replied the engineer. "Y es ," added the reporter, "we are going to blow up the is land--" "B low up the is land?" c ried P enc roft. "P art of it, at leas t," replied S pilett. "Lis ten to m e, m y friends ," s aid the engineer. A nd he m ade known to them the res ult of his obs ervations . A c c ording to him , a c avity, m ore or les s c ons iderable, m us t exis t in the m as s of granite whic h s upported P ros pec t Heights , and he intended to penetrate into it. T o do this , the opening through whic h the water rus hed m us t firs t be c leared, and the level lowered by m aking a larger outlet. T herefore an explos ive s ubs tanc e m us t be m anufac tured, whic h would m ake a deep trenc h in s om e other part of the s hore. T his was what Harding was going to attem pt with the m inerals whic h nature plac ed at his dis pos al. It is us eles s to s ay with what enthus ias m all, es pec ially P enc roft, rec eived this projec t. To em ploy great m eans , open the granite, c reate a c as c ade, that s uited the s ailor. A nd he would jus t as s oon be a c hem is t as a m as on or bootm aker, s inc e the engineer wanted c hem ic als . He would be all that they liked, "even a profes s or of danc ing and deportm ent," s aid he to Neb, if that was ever nec es s ary. Neb and P enc roft were firs t of all told to extrac t the greas e from the dugong, and to keep the fles h, whic h was des tined for food. S uc h perfec t c onfidenc e had they in the engineer, that they s et out direc tly, without even as king a ques tion. A few m inutes after them , Cyrus Harding, Herbert, and Gideon S pilett,

dragging the hurdle, went towards the vein of c oals , where thos e s his tos e pyrites abound whic h are m et with in the m os t rec ent trans ition s oil, and of whic h Harding had already found a s pec im en. A ll the day being em ployed in c arrying a quantity of thes e s tones to the Chim neys , by evening they had s everal tons . T he next day, the 8th of May, the engineer began his m anipulations . T hes e s his tos e pyrites being c om pos ed princ ipally of c oal, flint, alum ina, and s ulphuret of iron--the latter in exc es s --it was nec es s ary to s eparate the s ulphuret of iron, and trans form it into s ulphate as rapidly as pos s ible. T he s ulphate obtained, the s ulphuric ac id c ould then be extrac ted. T his was the objec t to be attained. S ulphuric ac id is one of the agents the m os t frequently em ployed, and the m anufac turing im portanc e of a nation c an be m eas ured by the c ons um ption whic h is m ade of it. T his ac id would later be of great us e to the s ettlers , in the m anufac turing of c andles , tanning s kins , etc ., but this tim e the engineer res erved it for another us e. Cyrus Harding c hos e, behind the Chim neys , a s ite where the ground was perfec tly level. On this ground he plac ed a layer of branc hes and c hopped wood, on whic h were piled s om e piec es of s his tos e pyrites , buttres s ed one agains t the other, the whole being c overed with a thin layer of pyrites , previous ly reduc ed to the s ize of a nut. T his done, they s et fire to the wood, the heat was c om m unic ated to the s his t, whic h s oon kindled, s inc e it c ontains c oal and s ulphur. T hen new layers of bruis ed pyrites were arranged s o as to form an im m ens e heap, the exterior of whic h was c overed with earth and gras s , s everal air-holes being left, as if it was a s tac k of wood whic h was to be c arbonized to m ake c harc oal. T hey then left the trans form ation to c om plete its elf, and it would not take les s than ten or twelve days for the s ulphuret of iron to be c hanged to s ulphate of iron and the alum ina into s ulphate of alum ina, two equally s oluble s ubs tanc es , the others , flint, burnt c oal, and c inders , not being s o. W hile this c hem ic al work was going on, Cyrus Harding proc eeded with other operations , whic h were purs ued with m ore than zeal,--it was eagernes s . Neb and P enc roft had taken away the fat from the dugong, and plac ed it in large earthen pots . It was then nec es s ary to s eparate the glyc erine from the fat by s aponifying it. Now, to obtain this res ult, it had to be treated either with s oda or lim e. In fac t, one or other of thes e s ubs tanc es , after having attac ked the fat, would form a s oap by s eparating the glyc erine, and it was jus t this glyc erine whic h the engineer wis hed to obtain. T here was no want of lim e, only treatm ent by lim e would give c alc areous s oap, ins oluble, and c ons equently us eles s , while treatm ent by s oda would furnis h, on the c ontrary, a s oluble s oap, whic h c ould be put to dom es tic us e. Now, a prac tic al m an, like Cyrus Harding, would rather try to obtain s oda. W as this diffic ult? No; for m arine plants abounded on the s hore, glas s -wort, fic oides , and all thos e fuc ac eae whic h form wrac k. A large quantity of thes e plants was c ollec ted, firs t dried, then burnt in holes in the open air. T he c om bus tion of thes e plants was kept up for s everal days , and the res ult was a c om pac t gray m as s , whic h has been long known under the nam e of "natural s oda." T his obtained, the engineer treated the fat with s oda, whic h gave both a s oluble s oap and that neutral s ubs tanc e, glyc erine. B ut this was not all. Cyrus Harding s till needed, in view of his future preparation, another s ubs tanc e, nitrate of potas h, whic h is better known under the nam e of s alt niter, or of s altpeter. Cyrus Harding c ould have m anufac tured this s ubs tanc e by treating the c arbonate of potas h, whic h would be eas ily extrac ted from the c inders of the vegetables , by azotic ac id. B ut this ac id was wanting, and he would have been in s om e diffic ulty, if nature had not happily furnis hed the s altpeter, without giving them any other trouble than that of pic king it up. Herbert found a vein of it at the foot of Mount Franklin, and they had nothing to do but purify this s alt. T hes e different works las ted a week. T hey were finis hed before the trans form ation of the s ulphuret into s ulphate of iron had been ac c om plis hed. During the following days the s ettlers had tim e to c ons truc t a furnac e of bric ks of a partic ular arrangem ent, to s erve for the dis tillation of the s ulphate or iron when it had been obtained. A ll this was finis hed about the 18th of May, nearly at the tim e when the c hem ic al trans form ation term inated. Gideon S pilett, Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft, s killfully direc ted by the engineer, had bec om e m os t c lever workm en. B efore all m as ters , nec es s ity is the one m os t lis tened to, and who teac hes the bes t. W hen the heap of pyrites had been entirely reduc ed by fire, the res ult of the operation, c ons is ting of s ulphate of iron, s ulphate of alum ina, flint, rem ains of c oal, and c inders was plac ed in a bas inful of water. T hey s tirred this m ixture, let it s ettle, then dec anted it, and obtained a c lear liquid c ontaining in s olution s ulphate of iron and s ulphate of alum ina, the other m atters rem aining s olid, s inc e they are ins oluble. Las tly, this liquid being partly evaporated, c rys tals of s ulphate of iron were depos ited, and the not evaporated liquid, whic h c ontained the s ulphate of alum ina, was thrown away. Cyrus Harding had now at his dis pos al a large quantity of thes e s ulphate of iron c rys tals , from whic h the s ulphuric ac id had to be extrac ted. T he m aking of s ulphuric ac id is a very expens ive m anufac ture. Cons iderable works are nec es s ary--a s pec ial s et of tools , an apparatus of platina, leaden c ham bers , unas s ailable by the ac id, and in whic h the trans form ation is perform ed, etc . T he engineer had none of thes e at his dis pos al, but he knew that, in B ohem ia es pec ially, s ulphuric ac id is m anufac tured by very s im ple m eans , whic h have als o the advantage of produc ing it to a s uperior degree of c onc entration. It is thus that the ac id known under the nam e of Nordhaus en ac id is m ade. T o obtain s ulphuric ac id, Cyrus Harding had only one operation to m ake, to c alc ine the s ulphate of iron c rys tals in a c los ed vas e, s o that the s ulphuric ac id s hould dis til in vapor, whic h vapor, by c ondens ation, would produc e the ac id. T he c rys tals were plac ed in pots , and the heat from the furnac e would dis til the s ulphuric ac id. T he operation was s uc c es s fully c om pleted, and on the 20th of May, twelve days after c om m enc ing it, the engineer was the pos s es s or of the agent whic h later he hoped to us e in s o m any different ways . Now, why did he wis h for this agent? S im ply to produc e azotic ac id; and that was eas y, s inc e s altpeter, attac ked by s ulphuric ac id, gives azotic , or nitric , ac id by dis tillation. B ut, after all, how was he going to em ploy this azotic ac id? His c om panions were s till ignorant of this , for he had not inform ed them of the res ult at whic h he aim ed. However, the engineer had nearly ac c om plis hed his purpos e, and by a las t operation he would proc ure the s ubs tanc e whic h had given s o m uc h trouble. T aking s om e azotic ac id, he m ixed it with glyc erine, whic h had been previous ly c onc entrated by evaporation, s ubjec ted to the water-bath, and he obtained, without even em ploying a refrigerant m ixture, s everal pints of an oily yellow m ixture. T his las t operation Cyrus Harding had m ade alone, in a retired plac e, at a dis tanc e from the Chim neys , for he feared the danger of an explos ion, and when he s howed a bottle of this liquid to his friends , he c ontented him s elf with s aying,-"Here is nitro-glyc erine! " It was really this terrible produc tion, of whic h the explos ive power is perhaps tenfold that of ordinary powder, and whic h has already c aus ed s o m any ac c idents . However, s inc e a way has been found to trans form it into dynam ite, that is to s ay, to m ix with it s om e s olid s ubs tanc e, c lay or s ugar, porous enough to hold it, the dangerous liquid has been us ed with s om e s ec urity. B ut dynam ite was not yet known at the tim e when the s ettlers worked on Linc oln Is land. "A nd is it that liquid that is going to blow up our roc ks ?" s aid P enc roft inc redulous ly. "Y es , m y friend," replied the engineer, "and this nitro-glyc erine will produc e s o m uc h the m ore effec t, as the granite is extrem ely hard, and will oppos e a greater res is tanc e to the explos ion." "A nd when s hall we s ee this , c aptain?" "T o-m orrow, as s oon as we have dug a hole for the m ine, replied the engineer." T he next day, the 21s t of May, at daybreak, the m iners went to the point whic h form ed the eas tern s hore of Lake Grant, and was only five hundred feet from the c oas t. A t this plac e, the plateau inc lined downwards from the waters , whic h were only res trained by their granite c as e. T herefore, if this c as e was broken, the water would es c ape by the opening and form a s tream , whic h, flowing over the inc lined s urfac e of the plateau, would rus h on to the beac h. Cons equently, the level of the lake would be greatly lowered, and the opening where the water es c aped would be expos ed, whic h was their final aim . Under the engineer's direc tions , P enc roft, arm ed with a pic kaxe, whic h he handled s killfully and vigorous ly, attac ked the granite. T he hole was m ade on the point of the s hore, s lanting, s o that it s hould m eet a m uc h lower level than that of the water of the lake. In this way the explos ive forc e, by s c attering the roc k, would open a large plac e for the water to rus h out. T he work took s om e tim e, for the engineer, wis hing to produc e a great effec t, intended to devote not les s than s even quarts of nitro-glyc erine to the operation. B ut P enc roft, relieved by Neb, did s o well, that towards four o'c loc k in the evening, the m ine was finis hed. Now the ques tion of s etting fire to the explos ive s ubs tanc e was rais ed. Generally, nitro-glyc erine is ignited by c aps of fulm inate, whic h in burs ting c aus e the explos ion. A s hoc k is therefore needed to produc e the explos ion, for, s im ply lighted, this s ubs tanc e would burn without exploding. Cyrus Harding c ould c ertainly have fabric ated a perc us s ion c ap. In default of fulm inate, he c ould eas ily obtain a s ubs tanc e s im ilar to gunc otton, s inc e he had azotic ac id at his dis pos al. T his s ubs tanc e, pres s ed in a c artridge, and introduc ed am ong the nitro-glyc erine, would burs t by m eans of a fus e, and c aus e the explos ion. B ut Cyrus Harding knew that nitro-glyc erine would explode by a s hoc k. He res olved to em ploy this m eans , and try another way, if this did not s uc c eed. In fac t, the blow of a ham m er on a few drops of nitro-glyc erine, s pread out on a hard s urfac e, was enough to c reate an explos ion. B ut the operator c ould not be there to give the blow, without bec om ing a vic tim to the operation. Harding, therefore, thought of s us pending a m as s of iron, weighing s everal pounds , by m eans of a fiber, to an upright jus t above the m ine. A nother long fiber, previous ly im pregnated with s ulphur, was attac hed to the m iddle of the firs t, by one end, while the other lay on the ground s everal feet dis tant from the m ine. T he s ec ond fiber being s et on fire, it would burn till it reac hed the firs t. T his c atc hing fire in its turn, would break, and the m as s of iron would fall on the nitro-glyc erine. T his apparatus being then arranged, the engineer, after having s ent his c om panions to a dis tanc e, filled the hole, s o that the nitro-glyc erine was on a level with the opening; then he threw a few drops of it on the s urfac e of the roc k, above whic h the m as s of iron was already s us pended. T his done, Harding lit the end of the s ulphured fiber, and leaving the plac e, he returned with his c om panions to the Chim neys . T he fiber was intended to burn five and twenty m inutes , and, in fac t, five and twenty m inutes afterwards a m os t trem endous explos ion was heard. T he is land appeared to trem ble to its very foundation. S tones were projec ted in the air as if by the eruption of a volc ano. T he s hoc k produc ed by the dis plac ing of the air was s uc h, that the roc ks of the Chim neys s hook. T he s ettlers , although they were m ore than two m iles from the m ine, were thrown on the ground. T hey ros e, c lim bed the plateau, and ran towards the plac e where the bank of the lake m us t have been s hattered by the explos ion. A c heer es c aped them ! A large rent was s een in the granite! A rapid s tream of water rus hed foam ing ac ros s the plateau and das hed down a height of three hundred feet on to the beac h! Chapter 18 Cyrus Harding's projec t had s uc c eeded, but, ac c ording to his us ual habit he s howed no s atis fac tion; with c los ed lips and a fixed look, he rem ained m otionles s . Herbert was in ec s tas ies , Neb bounded with joy, P enc roft nodded his great head, m urm uring thes e words ,-"Com e, our engineer gets on c apitally! " T he nitro-glyc erine had indeed ac ted powerfully. T he opening whic h it had m ade was s o large that the volum e of water whic h es c aped through this new outlet was at leas t treble that whic h before pas s ed through the old one. T he res ult was , that a s hort tim e after the operation the level of the lake would be lowered two feet, or m ore. T he s ettlers went to the Chim neys to take s om e pic kaxes , iron-tipped s pears , s tring m ade of fibers , flint and s teel; they then returned to the plateau, T op ac c om panying them . On the way the s ailor c ould not help s aying to the engineer,-"Don't you think, c aptain, that by m eans of that c harm ing liquid you have m ade, one c ould blow up the whole of our is land?" "W ithout any doubt, the is land, c ontinents , and the world its elf," replied the engineer. "It is only a ques tion of quantity." "T hen c ould you not us e this nitro-glyc erine for loading firearm s ?" as ked the s ailor. "No, P enc roft; for it is too explos ive a s ubs tanc e. B ut it would be eas y to m ake s om e gunc otton, or even ordinary powder, as we have azotic ac id, s altpeter, s ulphur, and c oal. Unhappily, it is the guns whic h we have not got. "Oh, c aptain," replied the s ailor, "with a little determ ination--" P enc roft had eras ed the word "im pos s ible" from the dic tionary of Linc oln Is land. T he s ettlers , having arrived at P ros pec t Heights , went im m ediately towards that point of the lake near whic h was the old opening now unc overed. T his outlet had now bec om e prac tic able, s inc e the water no longer rus hed through it, and it would doubtles s be eas y to explore the interior. In a few m inutes the s ettlers had reac hed the lower point of the lake, and a glanc e s howed them that the objec t had been attained. In fac t, in the s ide of the lake, and now above the s urfac e of the water, appeared the long-looked-for opening. A narrow ridge, left bare by the retreat of the water, allowed them to approac h it. T his orific e was nearly twenty feet in width, but s c arc ely two in height. It was like the m outh of a drain at the edge of the pavem ent, and therefore did not offer an eas y pas s age to the s ettlers ; but Neb and P enc roft, taking their pic kaxes , s oon m ade it of a s uitable height. T he engineer then approac hed, and found that the s ides of the opening, in its upper part at leas t, had not a s lope of m ore than from thirty to thirty-five degrees . It was therefore prac tic able, and, provided that the dec livity did not inc reas e, it would be eas y to des c end even to the level of the s ea. If then, as was probable, s om e vas t c avity exis ted in the interior of the granite, it m ight, perhaps , be of great us e. "W ell, c aptain, what are we s topping for?" as ked the s ailor, im patient to enter the narrow pas s age. Y ou s ee T op has got before us ! " "V ery well," replied the engineer. "B ut we m us t s ee our way. Neb, go and c ut s om e res inous branc hes ." Neb and Herbert ran to the edge of the lake, s haded with pines and other green trees , and s oon returned with s om e branc hes , whic h they m ade into torc hes . T he torc hes were lighted with flint and s teel, and Cyrus Harding leading, the s ettlers ventured into the dark pas s age, whic h the overplus of the lake had form erly filled. Contrary to what m ight have been s uppos ed, the diam eter of the pas s age inc reas ed as the explorers proc eeded, s o that they very s oon were able to s tand upright. T he granite, worn by the water for an infinite tim e, was very s lippery, and falls were to be dreaded. B ut the s ettlers were all attac hed to eac h other by a c ord, as is frequently done in as c ending m ountains . Happily s om e projec tions of the granite, form ing regular s teps , m ade the des c ent les s perilous . Drops , s till hanging from the roc ks , s hone here and there under the light of the torc hes , and the explorers gues s ed that the s ides were c lothed with innum erable s talac tites . T he engineer exam ined this blac k granite. T here was not a s tratum , not a break in it. T he m as s was c om pac t, and of an extrem ely c los e grain. T he pas s age dated, then, from the very origin of the is land. It was not the water whic h little by little had hollowed it. P luto and not Neptune had bored it with his own hand, and on the wall trac es of an eruptive work c ould be dis tinguis hed, whic h all the was hing of the water had not been able totally to effac e. T he s ettlers des c ended very s lowly. T hey c ould not but feel a c ertain awe, in this venturing into thes e unknown depths , for the firs t tim e vis ited by hum an beings . T hey did not s peak, but they thought; and the thought c am e to m ore than one, that s om e polypus or other gigantic c ephalopod m ight inhabit the interior c avities , whic h were in c om m unic ation with the s ea. However, T op kept at the head of the little band, and they c ould rely on the s agac ity of the dog, who would not fail to give the alarm if there was any need for it. A fter having des c ended about a hundred feet, following a winding road, Harding who was walking on before, s topped, and his c om panions c am e up with him . T he plac e where they had halted was wider, s o as to form a c avern of m oderate dim ens ions . Drops of water fell from the vault, but that did not prove that they oozed through the roc k. T hey were s im ply the las t trac es left by the torrent whic h had s o long thundered through this c avity, and the air there was pure though s lightly dam p, but produc ing no m ephitic exhalation. "W ell, m y dear Cyrus ," s aid Gideon S pilett, "here is a very s ec ure retreat, well hid in the depths of the roc k, but it is , however, uninhabitable." "W hy uninhabitable?" as ked the s ailor. "B ec aus e it is too s m all and too dark." "Couldn't we enlarge it, hollow it out, m ake openings to let in light and air?" replied P enc roft, who now thought nothing im pos s ible. "Let us go on with our exploration," s aid Cyrus Harding. "P erhaps lower down, nature will have s pared us this labor." "W e have only gone a third of the way," obs erved Herbert. "Nearly a third," replied Harding, "for we have des c ended a hundred feet from the opening, and it is not im pos s ible that a hundred feet farther down--" "W here is T op?" as ked Neb, interrupting his m as ter. T hey s earc hed the c avern, but the dog was not there. "Mos t likely he has gone on," s aid P enc roft. "Let us join him ," replied Harding. T he des c ent was c ontinued. T he engineer c arefully obs erved all the deviations of the pas s age, and notwiths tanding s o m any detours , he c ould eas ily have given an ac c ount of its general direc tion, whic h went towards the s ea. T he s ettlers had gone s om e fifty feet farther, when their attention was attrac ted by dis tant s ounds whic h c am e up from the depths . T hey s topped and lis tened. T hes e s ounds , c arried through the pas s age as through an ac ous tic tube, c am e c learly to the ear. "T hat is T op barking! " c ried Herbert. "Y es ," replied P enc roft, "and our brave dog is barking furious ly! " "W e have our iron-tipped s pears ," s aid Cyrus Harding. "K eep on your guard, and forward! " "It is bec om ing m ore and m ore interes ting," m urm ured Gideon S pilett in the s ailor's ear, who nodded. Harding and his c om panions rus hed to the help of their dog. Top's barking bec am e m ore and m ore perc eptible, and it s eem ed s trangely fierc e. W as he engaged in a s truggle with s om e anim al whos e retreat he had dis turbed? W ithout thinking of the danger to whic h they m ight be expos ed, the explorers were now im pelled by an irres is tible c urios ity, and in a few m inutes , s ixteen feet lower they rejoined T op. T here the pas s age ended in a vas t and m agnific ent c avern. T op was running bac kwards and forwards , barking furious ly. P enc roft and Neb, waving their torc hes , threw the light into every c revic e; and at the s am e tim e, Harding, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert, their s pears rais ed, were ready for any em ergenc y whic h m ight aris e. T he enorm ous c avern was em pty. T he s ettlers explored it in every direc tion. T here was nothing there, not an anim al, not a hum an being; and yet T op c ontinued to bark. Neither c ares s es nor threats c ould m ake him be s ilent. "T here m us t be a plac e s om ewhere, by whic h the waters of the lake reac hed the s ea," s aid the engineer. "Of c ours e," replied P enc roft, "and we m us t take c are not to tum ble into a hole." "Go, T op, go! " c ried Harding. T he dog, exc ited by his m as ter's words , ran towards the extrem ity of the c avern, and there redoubled his barking. T hey followed him , and by the light of the torc hes , perc eived the m outh of a regular well in the granite. It was by this that the water es c aped; and this tim e it was not an oblique and prac tic able pas s age, but a perpendic ular well, into whic h it was im pos s ible to venture. T he torc hes were held over the opening: nothing c ould be s een. Harding took a lighted branc h, and threw it into the abys s . T he blazing res in, whos e illum inating power inc reas ed s till m ore by the rapidity of its fall, lighted up the interior of the well, but yet nothing appeared. T he flam e then went out with a s light his s , whic h s howed that it had reac hed the water, that is to s ay, the level of the s ea. T he engineer, c alc ulating the tim e em ployed in its fall, was able to c alc ulate the depth of the well, whic h was found to be about ninety feet. T he floor of the c avern m us t thus be s ituated ninety feet above the level of the s ea. "Here is our dwelling," s aid Cyrus Harding. "B ut it was oc c upied by s om e c reature," replied Gideon S pilett, whos e c urios ity was not yet s atis fied. "W ell, the c reature, am phibious or otherwis e, has m ade off through this opening," replied the engineer, "and has left the plac e for us ." "Never m ind," added the s ailor, "I s hould like very m uc h to be T op jus t for a quarter of an hour, for he does n't bark for nothing! " Cyrus Harding looked at his dog, and thos e of his c om panions who were near him m ight have heard him m urm ur thes e words ,-"Y es , I believe that T op knows m ore than we do about a great m any things ." However, the wis hes of the s ettlers were for the m os t part s atis fied. Chanc e, aided by the m arvelous s agac ity of their leader, had done them great s ervic e. T hey had now at their dis pos al a vas t c avern, the s ize of whic h c ould not be properly c alc ulated by the feeble light of their torc hes , but it would c ertainly be eas y to divide it into room s , by m eans of bric k partitions , or to us e it, if not as a hous e, at leas t as a s pac ious apartm ent. T he water whic h had left it c ould not return. T he plac e was free. T wo diffic ulties rem ained; firs tly, the pos s ibility of lighting this exc avation in the m ids t of s olid roc k; s ec ondly, the nec es s ity of rendering the m eans of ac c es s m ore eas y. It was us eles s to think of lighting it from above, bec aus e of the enorm ous thic knes s of the granite whic h c om pos ed the c eiling; but perhaps the outer wall next the s ea m ight be pierc ed. Cyrus Harding, during the des c ent, had roughly c alc ulated its obliquenes s , and c ons equently the length of the pas s age, and was therefore led to believe that the outer wall c ould not be very thic k. If light was thus obtained, s o would a m eans of ac c es s , for it would be as eas y to pierc e a door as windows , and to es tablis h an exterior ladder. Harding m ade known his ideas to his c om panions . "T hen, c aptain, let us s et to work! " replied P enc roft. "I have m y pic kaxe, and I s hall s oon m ake m y way through this wall. W here s hall I s trike?" "Here," replied the engineer, s howing the s turdy s ailor a c ons iderable rec es s in the s ide, whic h would m uc h dim inis h the thic knes s . P enc roft attac ked the granite, and for half an hour, by the light of the torc hes , he m ade the s plinters fly around him . Neb relieved him , then S pilett took Neb's plac e. T his work had las ted two hours , and they began to fear that at this s pot the wall would not yield to the pic kaxe, when at a las t blow given by Gideon S pilett, the ins trum ent, pas s ing through the roc k, fell outs ide. "Hurrah! hurrah! " c ried P enc roft. T he wall only m eas ured there three feet in thic knes s . Harding applied his eye to the aperture, whic h overlooked the ground from a height of eighty feet. B efore him was extended the s ea-c oas t, the is let, and beyond the open s ea. Floods of light entered by this hole, inundating the s plendid c avern and produc ing a m agic effec t! On its left s ide it did not m eas ure m ore than thirty feet in height and breadth, but on the right it was enorm ous , and its vaulted roof ros e to a height of m ore than eighty feet. In s om e plac es granite pillars , irregularly dis pos ed, s upported the vaulted roof, as thos e in the nave of a c athedral, here form ing lateral piers , there elliptic al arc hes , adorned with pointed m oldings , los ing them s elves in dark bays , am id the fantas tic arc hes of whic h glim ps es c ould be c aught in the s hade,

c overed with a profus ion of projec tions form ed like s o m any pendants . T his c avern was a pic tures que m ixture of all the s tyles of B yzantine, Rom an, or Gothic arc hitec ture ever produc ed by the hand of m an. A nd yet this was only the work of nature. S he alone had hollowed this fairy A iham bra in a m as s of granite. T he s ettlers were overwhelm ed with adm iration. W here they had only expec ted to find a narrow c avity, they had found a s ort of m arvelous palac e, and Neb had taken off his hat, as if he had been trans ported into a tem ple! Cries of adm iration is s ued from every m outh. Hurrahs res ounded, and the ec ho was repeated again and again till it died away in the dark naves . "A h, m y friends ! " exc laim ed Cyrus Harding, "when we have lighted the interior of this plac e, and have arranged our room s and s torehous es in the left part, we s hall s till have this s plendid c avern, whic h we will m ake our s tudy and our m us eum ! " "A nd we will c all it?--" as ked Herbert. "Granite Hous e," replied Harding; a nam e whic h his c om panions again s aluted with a c heer. T he torc hes were now alm os t c ons um ed, and as they were obliged to return by the pas s age to reac h the s um m it of the plateau, it was dec ided to put off the work nec es s ary for the arrangem ent of their new dwelling till the next day. B efore departing, Cyrus Harding leaned onc e m ore over the dark well, whic h des c ended perpendic ularly to the level of the s ea. He lis tened attentively. No nois e was heard, not even that of the water, whic h the undulations of the s urge m us t s om etim es agitate in its depths . A flam ing branc h was again thrown in. T he s ides of the well were lighted up for an ins tant, but as at the firs t tim e, nothing s us pic ious was s een. If s om e m arine m ons ter had been s urpris ed unawares by the retreat of the water, he would by this tim e have regained the s ea by the s ubterranean pas s age, before the new opening had been offered to him . Meanwhile, the engineer was s tanding m otionles s , his eyes fixed on the gulf, without uttering a word. T he s ailor approac hed him , and touc hing his arm , "Captain! " s aid he. "W hat do you want, m y friend?" as ked the engineer, as if he had returned from the land of dream s . "T he torc hes will s oon go out." "Forward! " replied Cyrus Harding. T he little band left the c avern and began to as c end through the dark pas s age. T op c los ed the rear, s till growling every now and then. T he as c ent was painful enough. T he s ettlers res ted a few m inutes in the upper grotto, whic h m ade a s ort of landing-plac e halfway up the long granite s tairc as e. T hen they began to c lim b again. S oon fres her air was felt. T he drops of water, dried by evaporation, no longer s parkled on the walls . T he flaring torc hes began to grow dim . T he one whic h Neb c arried went out, and if they did not wis h to find their way in the dark, they m us t has ten. T his was done, and a little before four o'c loc k, at the m om ent when the s ailor's torc h went out in its turn, Cyrus Harding and his c om panions pas s ed out of the pas s age. Chapter 19 T he next day, the 22nd of May, the arrangem ent of their new dwelling was c om m enc ed. In fac t, the s ettlers longed to exc hange the ins uffic ient s helter of the Chim neys for this large and healthy retreat, in the m ids t of s olid roc k, and s heltered from the water both of the s ea and s ky. T heir form er dwelling was not, however, to be entirely abandoned, for the engineer intended to m ake a m anufac tory of it for im portant works . Cyrus Harding's firs t c are was to find out the pos ition of the front of Granite Hous e from the outs ide. He went to the beac h, and as the pic kaxe when it es c aped from the hands of the reporter m us t have fallen perpendic ularly to the foot of the c liff, the finding it would be s uffic ient to s how the plac e where the hole had been pierc ed in the granite. T he pic kaxe was eas ily found, and the hole c ould be s een in a perpendic ular line above the s pot where it was s tuc k in the s and. S om e roc k pigeons were already flying in and out of the narrow opening; they evidently thought that Granite Hous e had been dis c overed on purpos e for them . It was the engineer's intention to divide the right portion of the c avern into s everal room s , prec eded by an entranc e pas s age, and to light it by m eans of five windows and a door, pierc ed in the front. P enc roft was m uc h pleas ed with the five windows , but he c ould not unders tand the us e of the door, s inc e the pas s age offered a natural s tairc as e, through whic h it would always be eas y to enter Granite Hous e.

"My friend," replied Harding, "if it is eas y for us to reac h our dwelling by this pas s age, it will be equally eas y for others bes ides us . I m ean, on the c ontrary, to bloc k up that opening, to s eal it herm etic ally, and, if it is nec es s ary, to c om pletely hide the entranc e by m aking a dam , and thus c aus ing the water of the lake to ris e." "A nd how s hall we get in?" as ked the s ailor. "B y an outs ide ladder," replied Cyrus Harding, "a rope ladder, whic h, onc e drawn up, will render ac c es s to our dwelling im pos s ible." "B ut why s o m any prec autions ?" as ked P enc roft. "A s yet we have s een no dangerous anim als . A s to our is land being inhabited by natives , I don't believe it! " "A re you quite s ure of that, P enc roft?" as ked the engineer, looking at the s ailor. "Of c ours e we s hall not be quite s ure, till we have explored it in every direc tion," replied P enc roft. "Y es ," s aid Harding, "for we know only a s m all portion of it as yet. B ut at any rate, if we have no enem ies in the interior, they m ay c om e from the exterior, for parts of the P ac ific are very dangerous . W e m us t be provided agains t every c ontingenc y." Cyrus Harding s poke wis ely; and without m aking any further objec tion, P enc roft prepared to exec ute his orders . T he front of Granite Hous e was then to be lighted by five windows and a door, bes ides a large bay window and s om e s m aller oval ones , whic h would adm it plenty of light to enter into the m arvelous nave whic h was to be their c hief room . T his fac ade, s ituated at a height of eighty feet above the ground, was expos ed to the eas t, and the ris ing s un s aluted it with its firs t rays . It was found to be jus t at that part of the c liff whic h was between the projec tion at the m outh of the Merc y and a perpendic ular line trac ed above the heap of roc ks whic h form ed the Chim neys . T hus the winds from the northeas t would only s trike it obliquely, for it was protec ted by the projec tion. B es ides , until the window-fram es were m ade, the engineer m eant to c los e the openings with thic k s hutters , whic h would prevent either wind or rain from entering, and whic h c ould be c onc ealed in need. T he firs t work was to m ake the openings . T his would have taken too long with the pic kaxe alone, and it is known that Harding was an ingenious m an. He had s till a quantity of nitro-glyc erine at his dis pos al, and he em ployed it us efully. B y m eans of this explos ive s ubs tanc e the roc k was broken open at the very plac es c hos en by the engineer. T hen, with the pic kaxe and s pade, the windows and doors were properly s haped, the jagged edges were s m oothed off, and a few days alter the beginning of the work, Granite Hous e was abundantly lighted by the ris ing s un, whos e rays penetrated into its m os t s ec ret rec es s es . Following the plan propos ed by Cyrus Harding, the s pac e was to be divided into five c om partm ents looking out on the s ea; to the right, an entry with a door, whic h would m eet the ladder; then a kitc hen, thirty feet long; a dining-room , m eas uring forty feet; a s leeping- room , of equal s ize; and las tly, a "V is itor's room ," petitioned for by P enc roft, and whic h was next to the great hall. T hes e room s , or rather this s uite of room s , would not oc c upy all the depth of the c ave. T here would be als o a c orridor and a s torehous e, in whic h their tools , provis ions , and s tores would be kept. A ll the produc tions of the is land, the flora as well as the fauna, were to be there in the bes t pos s ible s tate of pres ervation, and c om pletely s heltered from the dam p. T here was no want of s pac e, s o that eac h objec t c ould be m ethodic ally arranged. B es ides , the c olonis ts had s till at their dis pos al the little grotto above the great c avern, whic h was like the garret of the new dwelling. T his plan s ettled, it had only to be put into exec ution. T he m iners bec am e bric km akers again, then the bric ks were brought to the foot of Granite Hous e. T ill then, Harding and his c om panions had only entered the c avern by the long pas s age. T his m ode of c om m unic ation obliged them firs t to c lim b P ros pec t Heights , m aking a detour by the river's bank, and then to des c end two hundred feet through the pas s age, having to c lim b as far when they wis hed to return to the plateau. T his was a great los s of tim e, and was als o very fatiguing. Cyrus Harding, therefore, res olved to proc eed without any further delay to the fabric ation of a s trong rope ladder, whic h, onc e rais ed, would render Granite Hous e c om pletely inac c es s ible. T his ladder was m anufac tured with extrem e c are, and its uprights , form ed of the twis ted fibers of a s pec ies of c ane, had the s trength of a thic k c able. A s to the rounds , they were m ade of a s ort of red c edar, with light, s trong branc hes ; and this apparatus was wrought by the m as terly hand of P enc roft. Other ropes were m ade with vegetable fibers , and a s ort of c rane with a tac kle was fixed at the door. In this way bric ks c ould eas ily be rais ed into Granite Hous e. T he trans port of the m aterials being thus s im plified, the arrangem ent of the interior c ould begin im m ediately. T here was no want of lim e, and s om e thous ands of bric ks were there ready to be us ed. T he fram ework of the partitions was s oon rais ed, very roughly at firs t, and in a s hort tim e, the c ave was divided into room s and s torehous es , ac c ording to the plan agreed upon. T hes e different works progres s ed rapidly under the direc tion of the engineer, who him s elf handled the ham m er and the trowel. No labor c am e am is s to Cyrus Harding, who thus s et an exam ple to his intelligent and zealous c om panions . T hey worked with c onfidenc e, even gaily, P enc roft always having s om e joke to c rac k, s om etim es c arpenter, s om etim es rope- m aker, s om etim es m as on, while he c om m unic ated his good hum or to all the m em bers of their little world. His faith in the engineer was c om plete; nothing c ould dis turb it. He believed him c apable of undertaking anything and s uc c eeding in everything. T he ques tion of boots and c lothes --as s uredly a s erious ques tion,--that of light during the winter m onths , utilizing the fertile parts of the is land, trans form ing the wild flora into c ultivated flora, it all appeared eas y to him ; Cyrus Harding helping, everything would be done in tim e. He dream ed of c anals fac ilitating the trans port of the ric hes of the ground; workings of quarries and m ines ; m ac hines for every indus trial m anufac ture; railroads ; yes , railroads ! of whic h a network would c ertainly one day c over Linc oln Is land. T he engineer let P enc roft talk. He did not put down the as pirations of this brave heart. He knew how c om m unic able c onfidenc e is ; he even s m iled to hear him s peak, and s aid nothing of the uneas ines s for the future whic h he felt. In fac t, in that part of the P ac ific , out of the c ours e of ves s els , it was to be feared that no help would ever c om e to them . It was on them s elves , on them s elves alone, that the s ettlers m us t depend, for the dis tanc e of Linc oln Is land from all other land was s uc h, that to hazard them s elves in a boat, of a nec es s arily inferior c ons truc tion, would be a s erious and perilous thing. "B ut," as the s ailor s aid, "they quite took the wind out of the s ails of the Robins ons , for whom everything was done by a m irac le." In fac t, they were energetic ; an energetic m an will s uc c eed where an indolent one would vegetate and inevitably peris h. Herbert dis tinguis hed him s elf in thes e works . He was intelligent and ac tive; unders tanding quic kly, he perform ed well; and Cyrus Harding bec am e m ore and m ore attac hed to the boy. Herbert had a lively and reverent love for the engineer. P enc roft s aw the c los e s ym pathy whic h exis ted between the two, but he was not in the leas t jealous . Neb was Neb: he was what he would be always , c ourage, zeal, devotion, s elf-denial pers onified. He had the s am e faith in his m as ter that P enc roft had, but he s howed it les s vehem ently. W hen the s ailor was enthus ias tic , Neb always looked as if he would s ay, "Nothing c ould be m ore natural." P enc roft and he were great friends . A s to Gideon S pilett, he took part in the c om m on work, and was not les s s kilful in it than his c om panions , whic h always rather as tonis hed the s ailor. A "journalis t," c lever, not only in unders tanding, but in perform ing everything. T he ladder was finally fixed on the 28th of May. T here were not les s than a hundred rounds in this perpendic ular height of eighty feet. Harding had been able, fortunately, to divide it in two parts , profiting by an overhanging of the c liff whic h m ade a projec tion forty feet above the ground. T his projec tion, c arefully leveled by the pic kaxe, m ade a s ort of platform , to whic h they fixed the firs t ladder, of whic h the os c illation was thus dim inis hed one-half, and a rope perm itted it to be rais ed to the level of Granite Hous e. A s to the s ec ond ladder, it was s ec ured both at its lower part, whic h res ted on the projec tion, and at its upper end, whic h was fas tened to the door. In s hort the as c ent had been m ade m uc h eas ier. B es ides , Cyrus Harding hoped later to es tablis h an hydraulic apparatus , whic h would avoid all fatigue and los s of tim e, for the inhabitants of Granite Hous e. T he s ettlers s oon bec am e habituated to the us e of this ladder. T hey were light and ac tive, and P enc roft, as a s ailor, ac c us tom ed to run up the m as ts and s hrouds , was able to give them les s ons . B ut it was als o nec es s ary to give them to Top. T he poor dog, with his four paws , was not form ed for this s ort of exerc is e. B ut P enc roft was s uc h a zealous m as ter, that Top ended by properly perform ing his as c ents , and s oon m ounted the ladder as readily as his brethren in the c irc us . It need not be s aid that the s ailor was proud of his pupil. However, m ore than onc e P enc roft hois ted him on his bac k, whic h Top never c om plained of. It m us t be m entioned here, that during thes e works , whic h were ac tively c onduc ted, for the bad s eas on was approac hing, the alim entary ques tion was not neglec ted. E very day, the reporter and Herbert, who had been voted purveyors to the c olony, devoted s om e hours to the c has e. A s yet, they only hunted in J ac am ar W ood, on the left of the river, bec aus e, for want of a bridge or boat, the Merc y had not yet been c ros s ed. A ll the im m ens e woods , to whic h the nam e of the Fores ts of the Far W es t had been given, were not explored. T hey res erved this im portant exc urs ion for the firs t fine days of the next s pring. B ut J ac am ar W ood was full of gam e; kangaroos and boars abounded, and the hunters iron-tipped s pears and bows and arrows did wonders . B es ides , Herbert dis c overed towards the s outhwes t point of the lagoon a natural warren, a s lightly dam p m eadow, c overed with willows and arom atic herbs whic h s c ented the air, s uc h as thym e, bas il, s avory, all the s weet-s c ented s pec ies of the labiated plants , whic h the rabbits appeared to be partic ularly fond of. On the reporter obs erving that s inc e the table was s pread for the rabbits , it was s trange that the rabbits them s elves s hould be wanting, the two s ports m en c arefully explored the warren. A t any rate, it produc ed an abundanc e of us eful plants , and a naturalis t would have had a good opportunity of s tudying m any s pec im ens of the vegetable kingdom . Herbert gathered s everal s hoots of the bas il, ros em ary, balm , betony, etc ., whic h pos s es s different m edic inal properties , s om e pec toral, as tringent, febrifuge, others anti-s pas m odic , or anti-rheum atic . W hen, afterwards , P enc roft as ked the us e of this c ollec tion of herbs ,-"For m edic ine," replied the lad, "to treat us when we are ill." "W hy s hould we be ill, s inc e there are no doc tors in the is land?" as ked P enc roft quite s erious ly. T here was no reply to be m ade to that, but the lad went on with his c ollec tion all the s am e, and it was well rec eived at Granite Hous e. B es ides thes e m edic inal herbs , he added a plant known in North A m eric a as "Os wego tea," whic h m ade an exc ellent beverage. A t las t, by s earc hing thoroughly, the hunters arrived at the real s ite of the warren. T here the ground was perforated like a s ieve. "Here are the burrows ! " c ried Herbert. "Y es ," replied the reporter, "s o I s ee." "B ut are they inhabited?" "T hat is the ques tion." T his was s oon ans wered. A lm os t im m ediately, hundreds of little anim als , s im ilar to rabbits , fled in every direc tion, with s uc h rapidity that even Top c ould not overtake them . Hunters and dog ran in vain; thes e rodents es c aped them eas ily. B ut the reporter res olved not to leave the plac e, until he had c aptured at leas t half-a-dozen of the quadrupeds . He wis hed to s toc k their larder firs t, and dom es tic ate thos e whic h they m ight take later. It would not have been diffic ult to do this , with a few s nares s tretc hed at the openings of the burrows . B ut at this m om ent they had neither s nares , nor anything to m ake them of. T hey m us t, therefore, be s atis fied with vis iting eac h hole, and rum m aging in it with a s tic k, hoping by dint of patienc e to do what c ould not be done in any other way. A t las t, after half an hour, four rodents were taken in their holes . T hey were s im ilar to their E uropean brethren, and are c om m only known by the nam e of A m eric an rabbits . T his produc e of the c has e was brought bac k to Granite Hous e, and figured at the evening repas t. T he tenants of the warren were not at all to be des pis ed, for they were delic ious . It was a valuable res ourc e of the c olony, and it appeared to be inexhaus tible. On the 31s t of May the partitions were finis hed. T he room s had now only to be furnis hed, and this would be work for the long winter days . A c him ney was es tablis hed in the firs t room , whic h s erved as a kitc hen. T he pipe des tined to c onduc t the s m oke outs ide gave s om e trouble to thes e am ateur bric klayers . It appeared s im ples t to Harding to m ake it of bric k c lay; as c reating an outlet for it to the upper plateau was not to be thought of, a hole was pierc ed in the granite above the window of the kitc hen, and the pipe m et it like that of an iron s tove. P erhaps the winds whic h blew direc tly agains t the fac ade would m ake the c him ney s m oke, but thes e winds were rare, and bes ides , Mas ter Neb, the c ook, was not s o very partic ular about that. W hen thes e interior arrangem ents were finis hed, the engineer oc c upied him s elf in bloc king up the outlet by the lake, s o as to prevent any ac c es s by that way. Mas s es of roc k were rolled to the entranc e and s trongly c em ented together. Cyrus Harding did not yet realize his plan of drowning this opening under the waters of the lake, by res toring them to their form er level by m eans of a dam . He c ontented him s elf with hiding the obs truc tion with gras s and s hrubs , whic h were planted in the inters tic es of the roc ks , and whic h next s pring would s prout thic kly. However, he us ed the waterfall s o as to lead a s m all s tream of fres h water to the new dwelling. A little trenc h, m ade below their level, produc ed this res ult; and this derivation from a pure and inexhaus tible s ourc e yielded twenty-five or thirty gallons a day. T here would never be any want of water at Granite Hous e. A t las t all was finis hed, and it was tim e, for the bad s eas on was near. T hic k s hutters c los ed the windows of the fac ade, until the engineer had tim e to m ake glas s . Gideon S pilett had very artis tic ally arranged on the roc ky projec tions around the windows plants of different kinds , as well as long s tream ing gras s , s o that the openings were pic tures quely fram ed in green, whic h had a pleas ing effec t. T he inhabitants of this s olid, healthy, and s ec ure dwelling, c ould not but be c harm ed with their work. T he view from the windows extended over a boundles s horizon, whic h was c los ed by the two Mandible Capes on the north, and Claw Cape on the s outh. A ll Union B ay was s pread before them . Yes , our brave s ettlers had reas on to be s atis fied, and P enc roft was lavis h in his prais e of what he hum orous ly c alled, "his apartm ents on the fifth floor above the ground! " Chapter 20 T he winter s eas on s et in with the m onth of J une, whic h c orres ponds with the m onth of Dec em ber in the Northern Hem is phere. It began with s howers and s qualls , whic h s uc c eeded eac h other without interm is s ion. T he tenants of Granite Hous e c ould apprec iate the advantages of a dwelling whic h s heltered them from the inc lem ent weather. T he Chim neys would have been quite ins uffic ient to protec t them agains t the rigor of winter, and it was to be feared that the high tides would m ake another irruption. Cyrus Harding had taken prec autions agains t this c ontingenc y, s o as to pres erve as m uc h as pos s ible the forge and furnac e whic h were es tablis hed there. During the whole of the m onth of J une the tim e was em ployed in different oc c upations , whic h exc luded neither hunting nor fis hing, the larder being, therefore, abundantly s upplied. P enc roft, s o s oon as he had leis ure, propos ed to s et s om e traps , from whic h he expec ted great res ults . He s oon m ade s om e s nares with c reepers , by the aid of whic h the warren henc eforth every day furnis hed its quota of rodents . Neb em ployed nearly all his tim e in s alting or s m oking m eat, whic h ins ured their always having plenty of provis ions . T he ques tion of c lothes was now s erious ly dis c us s ed, the s ettlers having no other garm ents than thos e they wore when the balloon threw them on the is land. T hes e c lothes were warm and good; they had taken great c are of them as well as of their linen, and they were perfec tly whole, but they would s oon need to be replac ed. Moreover, if the winter was s evere, the s ettlers would s uffer greatly from c old. On this s ubjec t the ingenuity of Harding was at fault. T hey m us t provide for their m os t pres s ing wants , s ettle their dwelling, and lay in a s tore of food; thus the c old m ight c om e upon them before the ques tion of c lothes had been s ettled. T hey m us t therefore m ake up their m inds to pas s this firs t winter without additional c lothing. W hen the fine s eas on c am e round again, they would regularly hunt thos e m us m ons whic h had been s een on the expedition to Mount Franklin, and the wool onc e c ollec ted, the engineer would know how to m ake it into s trong warm s tuff.... How? He would c ons ider. "W ell, we are free to roas t ours elves at Granite Hous e! " s aid P enc roft. "T here are heaps of fuel, and no reas on for s paring it." "B es ides ," added Gideon S pilett, "Linc oln Is land is not s ituated under a very high latitude, and probably the winters here are not s evere. Did you not s ay, Cyrus , that this thirty-fifth parallel c orres ponded to that of S pain in the other hem is phere?" "Doubtles s ," replied the engineer, "but s om e winters in S pain are very c old! No want of s now and ic e; and perhaps Linc oln Is land is jus t as rigourous ly tried. However, it is an is land, and as s uc h, I hope that the tem perature will be m ore m oderate." "W hy, c aptain?" as ked Herbert. "B ec aus e the s ea, m y boy, m ay be c ons idered as an im m ens e res ervoir, in whic h is s tored the heat of the s um m er. W hen winter c om es , it res tores this heat, whic h ins ures for the regions near the oc ean a m edium tem perature, les s high in s um m er, but les s low in winter." "W e s hall prove that," replied P enc roft. "B ut I don't want to bother m ys elf about whether it will be c old or not. One thing is c ertain, that is that the days are already s hort, and the evenings long. S uppos e we talk about the ques tion of light." "Nothing is eas ier," replied Harding. "T o talk about?" as ked the s ailor. "T o s ettle." "A nd when s hall we begin?" "T o-m orrow, by having a s eal hunt." "T o m ake c andles ?" "Y es ." S uc h was the engineer's projec t; and it was quite feas ible, s inc e he had lim e and s ulphuric ac id, while the am phibians of the is let would furnis h the fat nec es s ary for the m anufac ture. T hey were now at the 4th of J une. It was W hit S unday and they agreed to obs erve this feas t. A ll work was s us pended, and prayers were offered to Heaven. B ut thes e prayers were now thanks givings . T he s ettlers in Linc oln Is land were no longer the m is erable c as taways thrown on the is let. T hey as ked for nothing m ore--they gave thanks . T he next day, the 5th of J une, in rather unc ertain weather, they s et out for the is let. T hey had to profit by the low tide to c ros s the Channel, and it was agreed that they would c ons truc t, for this purpos e, as well as they c ould, a boat whic h would render c om m unic ation s o m uc h eas ier, and would als o perm it them to as c end the Merc y, at the tim e of their grand exploration of the s outhwes t of the is land, whic h was put off till the firs t fine days . T he s eals were num erous , and the hunters , arm ed with their iron-tipped s pears , eas ily killed half-a-dozen. Neb and P enc roft s kinned them , and only brought bac k to Granite Hous e their fat and s kin, this s kin being intended for the m anufac ture of boots . T he res ult of the hunt was this : nearly three hundred pounds of fat, all to be em ployed in the fabric ation of c andles . T he operation was extrem ely s im ple, and if it did not yield abs olutely perfec t res ults , they were at leas t very us eful. Cyrus Harding would only have had at his dis pos al s ulphuric ac id, but by heating this ac id with the neutral fatty bodies he c ould s eparate the glyc erine; then from this new c om bination, he eas ily s eparated the olein, the m argarin, and the s tearin, by em ploying boiling water. B ut to s im plify the operation, he preferred to s aponify the fat by m eans of lim e. B y this he obtained a c alc areous s oap, eas y to dec om pos e by s ulphuric ac id, whic h prec ipitated the lim e into the s tate of s ulphate, and liberated the fatty ac ids . From thes e three ac ids -oleic , m argaric , and s tearic -the firs t, being liquid, was driven out by a s uffic ient pres s ure. A s to the two others , they form ed the very s ubs tanc e of whic h the c andles were to be m olded. T his operation did not las t m ore than four and twenty hours . T he wic ks , after s everal trials , were m ade of vegetable fibers , and dipped in the liquefied s ubs tanc e, they form ed regular s tearic c andles , m olded by the hand, whic h only wanted whitenes s and polis h. T hey would not doubtles s have the advantages of the wic ks whic h are im pregnated with borac ic ac id, and whic h vitrify as they burn and are entirely c ons um ed, but Cyrus Harding having m anufac tured a beautiful pair of s nuffers , thes e c andles would be greatly apprec iated during the long evenings in Granite Hous e. During this m onth there was no want of work in the interior of their new dwelling. T he joiners had plenty to do. T hey im proved their tools , whic h were very rough, and added others als o. S c is s ors were m ade am ong other things , and the s ettlers were at las t able to c ut their hair, and als o to s have, or at leas t trim their beards . Herbert had none, Neb but little, but their c om panions were bris tling in a way whic h jus tified the m aking of the s aid s c is s ors . T he m anufac ture of a hand-s aw c os t infinite trouble, but at las t an ins trum ent was obtained whic h, when vigorous ly handled, c ould divide the ligneous fibers of the wood. T hey then m ade tables , s eats , c upboards , to furnis h the princ ipal room s , and beds teads , of whic h all the bedding c ons is ted of gras s m attres s es . T he kitc hen, with its s helves , on whic h res ted the c ooking utens ils , its bric k s tove, looked very well, and Neb worked away there as earnes tly as if he was in a c hem is t's laboratory. B ut the joiners had s oon to be replac ed by c arpenters . In fac t, the waterfall c reated by the explos ion rendered the c ons truc tion of two bridges nec es s ary, one on P ros pec t Heights , the other on the s hore. Now the plateau and the s hore were trans vers ely divided by a waterc ours e, whic h had to be c ros s ed to reac h the northern part of the is land. To avoid it the c olonis ts had been obliged to m ake a c ons iderable detour, by c lim bing up to the s ourc e of the Red Creek. T he s im ples t thing was to es tablis h on the plateau, and on the s hore, two bridges from twenty to five and twenty feet in length. A ll the c arpenter's work that was needed was to c lear s om e trees of their branc hes : this was a bus ines s of s om e days . Direc tly the bridges were es tablis hed, Neb and P enc roft profited by them to go to the oys ter-bed whic h had been dis c overed near the downs . T hey dragged with them a s ort of rough c art, whic h replac ed the form er inc onvenient hurdle, and brought bac k s om e thous ands of oys ters , whic h s oon inc reas ed am ong the roc ks and form ed a bed at the m outh of the Merc y. T hes e m ollus c s were of exc ellent quality, and the c olonis ts c ons um ed s om e daily. It has been s een that Linc oln Is land, although its inhabitants had as yet only explored a s m all portion of it, already c ontributed to alm os t all their wants . It was probable that if they hunted into its m os t s ec ret rec es s es , in all the wooded part between the Merc y and Reptile P oint, they would find new treas ures . T he s ettlers in Linc oln Is land had s till one privation. T here was no want of m eat, nor of vegetable produc ts ; thos e ligneous roots whic h they had found, when s ubjec ted to ferm entation, gave them an ac id drink, whic h was preferable to c old water; they als o m ade s ugar, without c anes or beet- roots , by c ollec ting the liquor whic h dis tils from the "ac er s ac eharinum ," a s on of m aple-tree, whic h flouris hes in all the tem perate zones , and of whic h the is land pos s es s ed a great num ber; they m ade a very agreeable tea by em ploying the herbs brought from the warren; las tly, they had an abundanc e of s alt, the only m ineral whic h is us ed in food . . . but bread was wanting. P erhaps in tim e the s ettlers c ould replac e this want by s om e equivalent, it was pos s ible that they m ight find the s ago or the breadfruit tree am ong the fores ts of the s outh, but they had not as yet m et with thes e prec ious trees . However, P rovidenc e c am e direc tly to their aid, in an infinites im al proportion it is true, but Cyrus Harding, with all his intelligenc e, all his ingenuity, would never have been able to produc e that whic h, by the greates t c hanc e, Herbert one day found in the lining of his wais tc oat, whic h he was oc c upied in s etting to rights . On this day, as it was raining in torrents , the s ettlers were as s em bled in the great hall in Granite Hous e, when the lad c ried out all at onc e,-"Look here, c aptain--A grain of c orn! " A nd he s howed his c om panions a grain--a s ingle grain--whic h from a hole in his poc ket had got into the lining of his wais tc oat. T he pres enc e of this grain was explained by the fac t that Herbert, when at Ric hm ond, us ed to feed s om e pigeons , of whic h P enc roft had m ade him a pres ent. "A grain of c orn?" s aid the engineer quic kly. "Y es , c aptain; but one, only one! " "W ell, m y boy," s aid P enc roft, laughing, "we're getting on c apitally, upon m y word! W hat s hall we m ake with one grain of c orn?" "W e will m ake bread of it," replied Cyrus Harding. "B read, c akes , tarts ! " replied the s ailor. "Com e, the bread that this grain of c orn will m ake won't c hoke us very s oon! " Herbert, not attac hing m uc h im portanc e to his dis c overy, was going to throw away the grain in ques tion; but Harding took it, exam ined it, found that it was in good c ondition, and looking the s ailor full in the fac e-- "P enc roft," he as ked quietly, "do you know how m any ears one grain of c orn c an produc e?" "One, I s uppos e! " replied the s ailor, s urpris ed at the ques tion. "T en, P enc roft! A nd do you know how m any grains one ear bears ?" "No, upon m y word." "A bout eighty! " s aid Cyrus Harding. "T hen, if we plant this grain, at the firs t c rop we s hall reap eight hundred grains whic h at the s ec ond will produc e s ix hundred and forty thous and; at the third, five hundred and twelve m illions ; at the fourth, m ore than four hundred thous ands of m illions ! T here is the proportion." Harding's c om panions lis tened without ans wering. T hes e num bers as tonis hed them . T hey were exac t, however. "Yes , m y friends ," c ontinued the engineer, "s uc h are the arithm etic al progres s ions of prolific nature; and yet what is this m ultiplic ation of the grain of c orn, of whic h the ear only bears eight hundred grains , c om pared to the poppy-plant, whic h bears thirty-two thous and s eeds ; to the tobac c o- plant, whic h produc es three hundred and s ixty thous and? In a few years , without the num erous c aus es of des truc tion, whic h arres ts their fec undity, thes e plants would overrun the earth." B ut the engineer had not finis hed his lec ture. "A nd now, P enc roft," he c ontinued, "do you know how m any bus hels four hundred thous and m illions of grains would m ake?" "No," replied the s ailor; "but what I do know is , that I am nothing better than a fool! " "W ell, they would m ake m ore than three m illions , at a hundred and thirty thous and a bus hel, P enc roft." "T hree m illions ! " c ried P enc roft. "T hree m illions ." "In four years ?" "In four years ," replied Cyrus Harding, "and even in two years , if, as I hope, in this latitude we c an obtain two c rops a year."

A t that, ac c ording to his us ual c us tom , P enc roft c ould not reply otherwis e than by a trem endous hurrah. "S o, Herbert," added the engineer, "you have m ade a dis c overy of great im portanc e to us . E verything, m y friends , everything c an s erve us in the c ondition in whic h we are. Do not forget that, I beg of you." "No, c aptain, no, we s han't forget it," replied P enc roft; "and if ever I find one of thos e tobac c o-s eeds , whic h m ultiply by three hundred and s ixty thous and, I as s ure you I won't throw it away! A nd now, what m us t we do?" "W e m us t plant this grain," replied Herbert. "Y es ," added Gideon S pilett, "and with every pos s ible c are, for it bears in its elf our future harves ts ." "P rovided it grows ! " c ried the s ailor. "It will grow," replied Cyrus Harding. T his was the 20th of J une. T he tim e was then propitious for s owing this s ingle prec ious grain of c orn. It was firs t propos ed to plant it in a pot, but upon reflec tion it was dec ided to leave it to nature, and c onfide it to the earth. T his was done that very day, and it is needles s to add, that every prec aution was taken that the experim ent m ight s uc c eed. T he weather having c leared, the s ettlers c lim bed the height above Granite Hous e. T here, on the plateau, they c hos e a s pot, well s heltered from the wind, and expos ed to all the heat of the m idday s un. T he plac e was c leared, c arefully weeded, and s earc hed for ins ec ts and worm s ; then a bed of good earth, im proved with a little lim e, was m ade; it was s urrounded by a railing; and the grain was buried in the dam p earth. Did it not s eem as if the s ettlers were laying the firs t s tone of s om e edific e? It rec alled to P enc roft the day on whic h he lighted his only m atc h, and all the anxiety of the operation. B ut this tim e the thing was m ore s erious . In fac t, the c as taways would have been always able to proc ure fire, in s om e m ode or other, but no hum an power c ould s upply another grain of c orn, if unfortunately this s hould be los t! Chapter 21 From this tim e P enc roft did not let a s ingle day pas s without going to vis it what he gravely c alled his "c orn-field." A nd woe to the ins ec ts whic h dared to venture there! No m erc y was s hown them . Towards the end of the m onth of J une, after inc es s ant rain, the weather bec am e dec idedly c older, and on the 29th a Fahrenheit therm om eter would c ertainly have announc ed only twenty degrees above zero, that is c ons iderably below the freezing-point. T he next day, the 30th of J une, the day whic h c orres ponds to the 31s t of Dec em ber in the northern year, was a Friday. Neb rem arked that the year finis hed on a bad day, but P enc roft replied that naturally the next would begin on a good one, whic h was better. A t any rate it c om m enc ed by very s evere c old. Ic e ac c um ulated at the m outh of the Merc y, and it was not long before the whole expans e of the lake was frozen. T he s ettlers had frequently been obliged to renew their s tore of wood. P enc roft als o had wis ely not waited till the river was frozen, but had brought enorm ous rafts of wood to their des tination. T he c urrent was an indefatigable m oving power, and it was em ployed in c onveying the floating wood to the m om ent when the fros t enc hained it. To the fuel whic h was s o abundantly s upplied by the fores t, they added s everal c artloads of c oal, whic h had to be brought from the foot of the s purs of Mount Franklin. T he powerful heat of the c oal was greatly apprec iated in the low tem perature, whic h on the 4th of J uly fell to eight degrees of Fahrenheit, that is , thirteen degrees below zero. A s ec ond fireplac e had been es tablis hed in the dining-room , where they all worked together at their different avoc ations . During this period of c old, Cyrus Harding had great c aus e to c ongratulate him s elf on having brought to Granite Hous e the little s tream of water from Lake Grant. Taken below the frozen s urfac e, and c onduc ted through the pas s age, it pres erved its fluidity, and arrived at an interior res ervoir whic h had been hollowed out at the bac k part of the s toreroom , while the overflow ran through the well to the s ea. A bout this tim e, the weather being extrem ely dry, the c olonis ts , c lothed as warm ly as pos s ible, res olved to devote a day to the exploration of that part of the is land between the Merc y and Claw Cape. It was a wide extent of m ars hy land, and they would probably find good s port, for water-birds ought to s warm there. T hey rec koned that it would be about eight or nine m iles to go there, and as m uc h to return, s o that the whole of the day would be oc c upied. A s an unknown part of the is land was about to be explored, the whole c olony took part in the expedition. A c c ordingly, on the 5th of J uly, at s ix o'c loc k in the m orning, when day had s c arc ely broken, Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft, arm ed with s pears , s nares , bows and arrows , and provided with provis ions , left Granite Hous e, prec eded by T op, who bounded before them . T heir s hortes t way was to c ros s the Merc y on the ic e, whic h then c overed it. "B ut," as the engineer jus tly obs erved, "that c ould not take the plac e of a regular bridge! " S o, the c ons truc tion of a regular bridge was noted in the lis t of future works . It was the firs t tim e that the s ettlers had s et foot on the right bank of the Merc y, and ventured into the m ids t of thos e gigantic and s uperb c oniferae now s prinkled over with s now. B ut they had not gone half a m ile when from a thic ket a whole fam ily of quadrupeds , who had m ade a hom e there, dis turbed by T op, rus hed forth into the open c ountry. "A h! I s hould s ay thos e are foxes ! " c ried Herbert, when he s aw the troop rapidly dec am ping. T hey were foxes , but of a very large s ize, who uttered a s ort of barking, at whic h T op s eem ed to be very m uc h as tonis hed, for he s topped s hort in the c has e, and gave the s wift anim als tim e to dis appear. T he dog had reas on to be s urpris ed, as he did not know Natural His tory. B ut, by their barking, thes e foxes , with reddis h-gray hair, blac k tails term inating in a white tuft, had betrayed their origin. S o Herbert was able, without hes itating, to give them their real nam e of "A rc tic foxes ." T hey are frequently m et with in Chile, in the Falkland Is lands , and in all parts of A m eric a travers ed by the thirtieth and fortieth parallels . Herbert m uc h regretted that T op had not been able to c atc h one of thes e c arnivora. "A re they good to eat?" as ked P enc roft, who only regarded the repres entatives of the fauna in the is land from one s pec ial point of view. "No," replied Herbert; "but zoologis ts have not yet found out if the eye of thes e foxes is diurnal or noc turnal, or whether it is c orrec t to c las s them in the genus dog, properly s o c alled." Harding c ould not help s m iling on hearing the lad's reflec tion, whic h s howed a thoughtful m ind. A s to the s ailor, from the m om ent when he found that the foxes were not c las s ed in the genus eatable, they were nothing to him . However, when a poultry-yard was es tablis hed at Granite Hous e, he obs erved that it would be bes t to take s om e prec autions agains t a probable vis it from thes e four-legged plunderers , and no one dis puted this . A fter having turned the point, the s ettlers s aw a long beac h was hed by the open s ea. It was then eight o'c loc k in the m orning. T he s ky was very c lear, as it often is after prolonged c old; but warm ed by their walk, neither Harding nor his c om panions felt the s harpnes s of the atm os phere too s everely. B es ides there was no wind, whic h m ade it m uc h m ore bearable. A brilliant s un, but without any c alorific ac tion, was jus t is s uing from the oc ean. T he s ea was as tranquil and blue as that of a Mediterranean gulf, when the s ky is c lear. Claw Cape, bent in the form of a yataghan, tapered away nearly four m iles to the s outheas t. To the left the edge of the m ars h was abruptly ended by a little point. Certainly, in this part of Union B ay, whic h nothing s heltered from the open s ea, not even a s andbank, s hips beaten by the eas t winds would have found no s helter. T hey perc eived by the tranquillity of the s ea, in whic h no s hallows troubled the waters , by its uniform c olor, whic h was s tained by no yellow s hades , by the abs enc e of even a reef, that the c oas t was s teep and that the oc ean there c overed a deep abys s . B ehind in the wes t, but at a dis tanc e of four m iles , ros e the firs t trees of the fores ts of the Far W es t. T hey m ight have believed them s elves to be on the des olate c oas t of s om e is land in the A ntarc tic regions whic h the ic e had invaded. T he c olonis ts halted at this plac e for breakfas t. A fire of brus hwood and dried s eaweed was lighted, and Neb prepared the breakfas t of c old m eat, to whic h he added s om e c ups of Os wego tea. W hile eating they looked around them . T his part of Linc oln Is land was very s terile, and c ontras ted with all the wes tern part. T he reporter was thus led to obs erve that if c hanc e had thrown them at firs t on the s hore, they would have had but a deplorable idea of their future dom ain. "I believe that we s hould not have been able to reac h it," replied the engineer, "for the s ea is deep, and there is not a roc k on whic h we c ould have taken refuge. B efore Granite Hous e, at leas t, there were s andbanks , an is let, whic h m ultiplied our c hanc es of s afety. Here, nothing but the depths ! " "It is s ingular enough," rem arked S pilett, "that this c om paratively s m all is land s hould pres ent s uc h varied ground. T his divers ity of as pec t, logic ally only belongs to c ontinents of a c ertain extent. One would really s ay, that the wes tern part of Linc oln Is land, s o ric h and s o fertile, is was hed by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexic o, and that its s hores to the north and the s outheas t extend over a s ort of A rc tic s ea." "Y ou are right, m y dear S pilett," replied Cyrus Harding, "I have als o obs erved this . I think the form and als o the nature of this is land s trange. It is a s um m ary of all the as pec ts whic h a c ontinent pres ents , and I s hould not be s urpris ed if it was a c ontinent form erly." "W hat! a c ontinent in the m iddle of the P ac ific ?" c ried P enc roft. "W hy not?" replied Cyrus Harding. "W hy s hould not A us tralia, New Ireland, A us tralas ia, united to the arc hipelagoes of the P ac ific , have onc e form ed a s ixth part of the world, as im portant as E urope or A s ia, as A fric a or the two A m eric as ? To m y m ind, it is quite pos s ible that all thes e is lands , em erging from this vas t oc ean, are but the s um m its of a c ontinent, now s ubm erged, but whic h was above the waters at a prehis toric period." "A s the A tlantis was form erly," replied Herbert. "Y es , m y boy... if, however, it exis ted." "A nd would Linc oln Is land have been a part of that c ontinent?" as ked P enc roft. "It is probable," replied Cyrus Harding, "and that would s uffic iently, explain the variety of produc tions whic h are s een on its s urfac e." "A nd the great num ber of anim als whic h s till inhabit it," added Herbert. "Yes , m y boy," replied the engineer, "and you furnis h m e with an argum ent to s upport m y theory. It is c ertain, after what we have s een, that anim als are num erous in this is land, and what is m ore s trange, that the s pec ies are extrem ely varied. T here is a reas on for that, and to m e it is that Linc oln Is land m ay have form erly been a part of s om e vas t c ontinent whic h had gradually s unk below the P ac ific ." "T hen, s om e fine day," s aid P enc roft, who did not appear to be entirely c onvinc ed, "the res t of this anc ient c ontinent m ay dis appear in its turn, and there will be nothing between A m eric a and A s ia." "Y es ," replied Harding, "there will be new c ontinents whic h m illions and m illions of anim alc ulae are building at this m om ent." "A nd what are thes e m as ons ?" as ked P enc roft. "Coral ins ec ts ," replied Cyrus Harding. "B y c ons tant work they m ade the is land of Clerm ont-Tonnerre, and num erous other c oral is lands in the P ac ific Oc ean. Forty-s even m illions of thes e ins ec ts are needed to weigh a grain, and yet, with the s ea-s alt they abs orb, the s olid elem ents of water whic h they as s im ilate, thes e anim alc ulae produc e lim es tone, and this lim es tone form s enorm ous s ubm arine erec tions , of whic h the hardnes s and s olidity equal granite. Form erly, at the firs t periods of c reation, nature em ploying fire, heaved up the land, but now s he entrus ts to thes e m ic ros c opic c reatures the tas k of replac ing this agent, of whic h the dynam ic power in the interior of the globe has evidently dim inis hed--whic h is proved by the num ber of volc anoes on the s urfac e of the earth, now ac tually extinc t. A nd I believe that c enturies s uc c eeding to c enturies , and ins ec ts to ins ec ts , this P ac ific m ay one day be c hanged into a vas t c ontinent, whic h new generations will inhabit and c ivilize in their turn." "T hat will take a long tim e," s aid P enc roft. "Nature has tim e for it," replied the engineer. "B ut what would be the us e of new c ontinents ?" as ked Herbert. "It appears to m e that the pres ent extent of habitable c ountries is s uffic ient for hum anity. Y et nature does nothing us eles s ly." "Nothing us eles s ly, c ertainly," replied the engineer, "but this is how the nec es s ity of new c ontinents for the future, and exac tly on the tropic al zone oc c upied by the c oral is lands , m ay be explained. A t leas t to m e this explanation appears plaus ible." "W e are lis tening, c aptain," s aid Herbert. "T his is m y idea: philos ophers generally adm it that s om e day our globe will end, or rather that anim al and vegetable life will no longer be pos s ible, bec aus e of the intens e c old to whic h it will be s ubjec ted. W hat they are not agreed upon, is the c aus e of this c old. S om e think that it will aris e from the falling of the tem perature, whic h the s un will experienc e alter m illions of years ; others , from the gradual extinc tion of the fires in the interior of our globe, whic h have a greater influenc e on it than is generally s uppos ed. I hold to this las t hypothes is , grounding it on the fac t that the m oon is really a c old s tar, whic h is no longer habitable, although the s un c ontinues to throw on its s urfac e the s am e am ount of heat. If, then, the m oon has bec om e c old, it is bec aus e the interior fires to whic h, as do all the s tars of the s tellar world, it owes its origin, are c om pletely extinc t. Las tly, whatever m ay be the c aus e, our globe will bec om e c old s om e day, but this c old will only operate gradually. W hat will happen, then? T he tem perate zones , at a m ore or les s dis tant period, will not be m ore habitable than the polar regions now are. T hen the population of m en, as well as the anim als , will flow towards the latitudes whic h are m ore direc tly under the s olar influenc e. A n im m ens e em igration will take plac e. E urope, Central A s ia, North A m eric a, will gradually be abandoned, as well as A us tralas ia and the lower parts of S outh A m eric a. T he vegetation will follow the hum an em igration. T he flora will retreat towards the E quator at the s am e tim e as the fauna. T he c entral parts of S outh A m eric a and A fric a will be the c ontinents c hiefly inhabited. T he Laplanders and the S am oides will find the c lim ate of the polar regions on the s hores of the Mediterranean. W ho c an s ay, that at this period, the equatorial regions will not be too s m all, to c ontain and nouris h terres trial hum anity? Now, m ay not provident nature, s o as to give refuge to all the vegetable and anim al em igration, be at pres ent laying the foundation of a new c ontinent under the E quator, and m ay s he not have entrus ted thes e ins ec ts with the c ons truc tion of it? I have often thought of all thes e things , m y friends , and I s erious ly believe that the as pec t of our globe will s om e day be c om pletely c hanged; that by the rais ing of new c ontinents the s ea will c over the old, and that, in future ages , a Colum bus will go to dis c over the is lands of Chim borazo, of the Him alayas , or of Mont B lanc , rem ains of a s ubm erged A m eric a, A s ia, and E urope. T hen thes e new c ontinents will bec om e, in their turn, uninhabitable; heat will die away, as does the heat from a body when the s oul has left it; and life will dis appear from the globe, if not for ever, at leas t for a period. P erhaps then, our s pheroid will res t-- will be left to death--to revive s om e day under s uperior c onditions ! B ut all that, m y friends , is the s ec ret of the A uthor of all things ; and beginning by the work of the ins ec ts , I have perhaps let m ys elf be c arried too far, in inves tigating the s ec rets of the future. "My dear Cyrus ," replied S pilett, "thes e theories are prophec ies to m e, and they will be ac c om plis hed s om e day." "T hat is the s ec ret of God," s aid the engineer. "A ll that is well and good," then s aid P enc roft, who had lis tened with all his m ight, "but will you tell m e, c aptain, if Linc oln Is land has been m ade by your ins ec ts ?" "No," replied Harding; "it is of a purely volc anic origin." "T hen it will dis appear s om e day?" "T hat is probable. "I hope we won't be here then." "No, don't be uneas y, P enc roft; we s hall not be here then, as we have no wis h to die here, and hope to get away s om e tim e." "In the m eantim e," replied Gideon S pilett, "let us es tablis h ours elves here as if forever. T here is no us e in doing things by halves ." T his ended the c onvers ation. B reakfas t was finis hed, the exploration was c ontinued, and the s ettlers arrived at the border of the m ars hy region. It was a m ars h of whic h the extent, to the rounded c oas t whic h term inated the is land at the s outheas t, was about twenty s quare m iles . T he s oil was form ed of c layey flint-earth, m ingled with vegetable m atter, s uc h as the rem ains of rus hes , reeds , gras s , etc . Here and there beds of gras s , thic k as a c arpet, c overed it. In m any plac es ic y pools s parkled in the s un. Neither rain nor any river, inc reas ed by a s udden s welling, c ould s upply thes e ponds . T hey therefore naturally c onc luded that the m ars h was fed by the infiltrations of the s oil and it was really s o. It was als o to be feared that during the heat m ias m as would aris e, whic h m ight produc e fevers . A bove the aquatic plants , on the s urfac e of the s tagnant water, fluttered num bers of birds . W ild duc k, teal, s nipe lived there in floc ks , and thos e fearles s birds allowed them s elves to be eas ily approac hed. One s hot from a gun would c ertainly have brought down s om e dozen of the birds , they were s o c los e together. T he explorers were, however, obliged to c ontent them s elves with bows and arrows . T he res ult was les s , but the s ilent arrow had the advantage of not frightening the birds , while the nois e of firearm s would have dis pers ed them to all parts of the m ars h. T he hunters were s atis fied, for this tim e, with a dozen duc ks , whic h had white bodies with a band of c innam on, a green head, wings blac k, white, and red, and flattened beak. Herbert c alled them tadorns . Top helped in the c apture of thes e birds , whos e nam e was given to this m ars hy part of the is land. T he s ettlers had here an abundant res erve of aquatic gam e. A t s om e future tim e they m eant to explore it m ore c arefully, and it was probable that s om e of the birds there m ight be dom es tic ated, or at leas t brought to the s hores of the lake, s o that they would be m ore within their reac h. A bout five o'c loc k in the evening Cyrus Harding and his c om panions retrac ed their s teps to their dwelling by travers ing T adorn's Fens , and c ros s ed the Merc y on the ic e-bridge. A t eight in the evening they all entered Granite Hous e. Chapter 22 T his intens e c old las ted till the 15th of A ugus t, without, however, pas s ing the degree of Fahrenheit already m entioned. W hen the atm os phere was c alm , the low tem perature was eas ily borne, but when the wind blew, the poor s ettlers , ins uffic iently c lothed, felt it s everely. P enc roft regretted that Linc oln Is land was not the hom e of a few fam ilies of bears rather than of s o m any foxes and s eals . "B ears ," s aid he, "are generally very well dres s ed, and I as k no m ore than to borrow for the winter the warm c loaks whic h they have on their bac ks ." "B ut," replied Neb, laughing, "perhaps the bears would not c ons ent to give you their c loaks , P enc roft. T hes e beas ts are not S t. Martins ." "W e would m ake them do it, Neb, we would m ake them ," replied P enc roft, in quite an authoritative tone. B ut thes e form idable c arnivora did not exis t in the is land, or at any rate they had not yet s hown them s elves . In the m eanwhile, Herbert, P enc roft, and the reporter oc c upied them s elves with m aking traps on P ros pec t Heights and at the border of the fores t. A c c ording to the s ailor, any anim al, whatever it was , would be a lawful prize, and the rodents or c arnivora whic h m ight get into the new s nares would be well rec eived at Granite Hous e. T he traps were bes ides extrem ely s im ple; being pits dug in the ground, a platform of branc hes and gras s above, whic h c onc ealed the opening, and at the bottom s om e bait, the s c ent of whic h would attrac t anim als . It m us t be m entioned als o, that they had not been dug at random , but at c ertain plac es where num erous footprints s howed that quadrupeds frequented the ground. T hey were vis ited every day, and at three different tim es , during the firs t days , s pec im ens of thos e A ntarc tic foxes whic h they had already s een on the right bank of the Merc y were found in them . "W hy, there are nothing but foxes in this c ountry! " c ried P enc roft, when for the third tim e he drew one of the anim als out of the pit. Looking at it in great dis gus t, he added, "beas ts whic h are good for nothing! " "Y es ," s aid Gideon S pilett, "they are good for s om ething! " "A nd what is that?" "T o m ake bait to attrac t other c reatures ! " T he reporter was right, and the traps were henc eforward baited with the foxes c arc as s es . T he s ailor had als o m ade s nares from the long tough fibers of a c ertain plant, and they were even m ore s uc c es s ful than the traps . Rarely a day pas s ed without s om e rabbits from the warren being c aught. It was always rabbit, but Neb knew how to vary his s auc es and the s ettlers did not think of c om plaining. However, onc e or twic e in the s ec ond week of A ugus t, the traps s upplied the hunters with other anim als m ore us eful than foxes , nam ely, s everal of thos e s m all wild boars whic h had already been s een to the north of the lake. P enc roft had no need to as k if thes e beas ts were eatable. He c ould s ee that by their res em blanc e to the pig of A m eric a and E urope. "B ut thes e are not pigs ," s aid Herbert to him , "I warn you of that, P enc roft." "My boy," replied the s ailor, bending over the trap and drawing out one of thes e repres entatives of the fam ily of s us by the little appendage whic h s erved it as a tail. "Let m e believe that thes e are pigs ." "W hy?" "B ec aus e that pleas es m e! " "A re you very fond of pig then, P enc roft?" "I am very fond of pig," replied the s ailor, "partic ularly of its feet, and if it had eight ins tead of four, I s hould like it twic e as m uc h! " A s to the anim als in ques tion, they were pec c aries belonging to one of the four s pec ies whic h are inc luded in the fam ily, and they were als o of the s pec ies of Tajac u, rec ognizable by their deep c olor and the abs enc e of thos e long teeth with whic h the m ouths of their c ongeners are arm ed. T hes e pec c aries generally live in herds , and it was probable that they abounded in the woody parts of the is land. A t any rate, they were eatable from head to foot, and P enc roft did not as k m ore from them . Towards the 15th of A ugus t, the s tate of the atm os phere was s uddenly m oderated by the wind s hifting to the northwes t. T he tem perature ros e s om e degrees , and the ac c um ulated vapor in the air was not long in res olving into s now. A ll the is land was c overed with a s heet of white, and s howed its elf to its inhabitants under a new as pec t. T he s now fell abundantly for s everal days , and it s oon reac hed a thic knes s of two feet. T he wind als o blew with great violenc e, and at the height of Granite Hous e the s ea c ould be heard thundering agains t the reefs . In s om e plac es , the wind, eddying round the c orners , form ed the s now into tall whirling c olum ns , res em bling thos e waters pouts whic h turn round on their bas e, and whic h ves s els attac k with a s hot from a gun. However, the s torm , c om ing from the northwes t, blew ac ros s the is land, and the pos ition of Granite Hous e pres erved it from a direc t attac k. B ut in the m ids t of this s now-s torm , as terrible as if it had been produc ed in s om e polar c ountry, neither Cyrus Harding nor his c om panions c ould, notwiths tanding their wis h for it, venture forth, and they rem ained s hut up for five days , from the 20th to the 25th of A ugus t. T hey c ould hear the tem pes t raging in J ac am ar W ood, whic h would s urely s uffer from it. Many of the trees would no doubt be torn up by the roots , but P enc roft c ons oled him s elf by thinking that he would not have the trouble of c utting them down. "T he wind is turning woodm an, let it alone," he repeated. B es ides , there was no way of s topping it, if they had wis hed to do s o. How grateful the inhabitants of Granite Hous e then were to Heaven for having prepared for them this s olid and im m ovable retreat! Cyrus Harding had als o his legitim ate s hare of thanks , but after all, it was Nature who had hollowed out this vas t c avern, and he had only dis c overed it. T here all were in s afety, and the tem pes t c ould not reac h them . If they had c ons truc ted a hous e of bric ks and wood on P ros pec t Heights , it c ertainly would not have res is ted the fury of this s torm . A s to the Chim neys , it m us t have been abs olutely uninhabitable, for the s ea, pas s ing over the is let, would beat furious ly agains t it. B ut here, in Granite Hous e, in the m iddle of a s olid m as s , over whic h neither the s ea nor air had any influenc e, there was nothing to fear. During thes e days of s ec lus ion the s ettlers did not rem ain inac tive. T here was no want of wood, c ut up into planks , in the s toreroom , and little by little they c om pleted their furnis hing; c ons truc ting the m os t s olid of tables and c hairs , for m aterial was not s pared. Neb and P enc roft were very proud of this rather heavy furniture, whic h they would not have c hanged on any ac c ount. T hen the c arpenters bec am e bas ket-m akers , and they did not s uc c eed badly in this new m anufac ture. A t the point of the lake whic h projec ted to the north, they had dis c overed an os ier-bed in whic h grew a large num ber of purple os iers . B efore the rainy s eas on, P enc roft and Herbert had c ut down thes e us eful s hrubs , and their branc hes , well prepared, c ould now be effec tively em ployed. T he firs t attem pts were s om ewhat c rude, but in c ons equenc e of the c levernes s and intelligenc e of the workm en, by c ons ulting, and rec alling the m odels whic h they had s een, and by em ulating eac h other, the pos s es s ions of the c olony

were s oon inc reas ed by s everal bas kets of different s izes . T he s toreroom was provided with them , and in s pec ial bas kets Neb plac ed his c ollec tion of rhizom es , s tone-pine alm onds , etc . During the las t week of the m onth of A ugus t the weather m oderated again. T he tem perature fell a little, and the tem pes t abated. T he c olonis ts s allied out direc tly. T here was c ertainly two feet of s now on the s hore, but they were able to walk without m uc h diffic ulty on the hardened s urfac e. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions c lim bed P ros pec t Heights . W hat a c hange! T he woods , whic h they had left green, es pec ially in the part at whic h the firs predom inated, had dis appeared under a uniform c olor. A ll was white, from the s um m it of Mount Franklin to the s hore, the fores ts , the plains , the lake, the river. T he waters of the Merc y flowed under a roof of ic e, whic h, at eac h ris ing and ebbing of the tide, broke up with loud c ras hes . Num erous birds fluttered over the frozen s urfac e of the lake. Duc ks and s nipe, teal and guillem ots were as s em bled in thous ands . T he roc ks am ong whic h the c as c ade flowed were bris tling with ic ic les . One m ight have s aid that the water es c aped by a m ons trous gargoyle, s haped with all the im agination of an artis t of the Renais s anc e. A s to the dam age c aus ed by the s torm in the fores t, that c ould not as yet be as c ertained; they would have to wait till the s nowy c overing was dis s ipated. Gideon S pilett, P enc roft, and Herbert did not m is s this opportunity of going to vis it their traps . T hey did not find them eas ily, under the s now with whic h they were c overed. T hey had als o to be c areful not to fall into one or other of them , whic h would have been both dangerous and hum iliating; to be taken in their own s nares ! B ut happily they avoided this unpleas antnes s , and found their traps perfec tly intac t. No anim al had fallen into them , and yet the footprints in the neighborhood were very num erous , am ong others , c ertain very c lear m arks of c laws . Herbert did not hes itate to affirm that s om e anim al of the feline s pec ies had pas s ed there, whic h jus tified the engineer's opinion that dangerous beas ts exis ted in Linc oln Is land. T hes e anim als doubtles s generally lived in the fores ts of the Far W es t, but pres s ed by hunger, they had ventured as far as P ros pec t Heights . P erhaps they had s m elled out the inhabitants of Granite Hous e. "Now, what are thes e feline c reatures ?" as ked P enc roft. "T hey are tigers ," replied Herbert. "I thought thos e beas ts were only found in hot c ountries ?" "On the new c ontinent," replied the lad, "they are found from Mexic o to the P am pas of B uenos A ires . Now, as Linc oln Is land is nearly under the s am e latitude as the provinc es of La P lata, it is not s urpris ing that tigers are to be m et with in it." "W ell, we m us t look out for them ," replied P enc roft. However, the s now s oon dis appeared, quic kly dis s olving under the influenc e of the ris ing tem perature. Rain fell, and the s heet of white s oon vanis hed. Notwiths tanding the bad weather, the s ettlers renewed their s tores of different things , s tone-pine alm onds , rhizom es , s yrup from the m aple-tree, for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren, agouties , and kangaroos for the anim al part. T his nec es s itated s everal exc urs ions into the fores t, and they found that a great num ber of trees had been blown down by the las t hurric ane. P enc roft and Neb als o pus hed with the c art as far as the vein of c oal, and brought bac k s everal tons of fuel. T hey s aw in pas s ing that the pottery kiln had been s everely dam aged by the wind, at leas t s ix feet of it having been blown off. A t the s am e tim e as the c oal, the s tore of wood was renewed at Granite Hous e, and they profited by the c urrent of the Merc y having again bec om e free, to float down s everal rafts . T hey c ould s ee that the c old period was not ended. A vis it was als o paid to the Chim neys , and the s ettlers c ould not but c ongratulate them s elves on not having been living there during the hurric ane. T he s ea had left unques tionable trac es of its ravages . S weeping over the is let, it had furious ly as s ailed the pas s ages , half filling them with s and, while thic k beds of s eaweed c overed the roc ks . W hile Neb, Herbert, and P enc roft hunted or c ollec ted wood, Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett bus ied them s elves in putting the Chim neys to rights , and they found the forge and the bellows alm os t unhurt, protec ted as they had been from the firs t by the heaps of s and. T he s tore of fuel had not been m ade us eles s ly. T he s ettlers had not done with the rigorous c old. It is known that, in the Northern Hem is phere, the m onth of February is princ ipally dis tinguis hed by rapid fallings of the tem perature. It is the s am e in the S outhern Hem is phere, and the end of the m onth of A ugus t, whic h is the February of North A m eric a, does not es c ape this c lim atic law. A bout the 25th, after another c hange from s now to rain, the wind s hifted to the s outheas t, and the c old bec am e, s uddenly, very s evere. A c c ording to the engineer's c alc ulation, the m erc urial c olum n of a Fahrenheit therm om eter would not have m arked les s than eight degrees below zero, and this intens e c old, rendered s till m ore painful by a s harp gale, las ted for s everal days . T he c olonis ts were again s hut up in Granite Hous e, and as it was nec es s ary to herm etic ally s eal all the openings of the fac ade, only leaving a narrow pas s age for renewing the air, the c ons um ption of c andles was c ons iderable. To ec onom ize them , the c avern was often only lighted by the blazing hearths , on whic h fuel was not s pared. S everal tim es , one or other of the s ettlers des c ended to the beac h in the m ids t of ic e whic h the waves heaped up at eac h tide, but they s oon c lim bed up again to Granite Hous e, and it was not without pain and diffic ulty that their hands c ould hold to the rounds of the ladder. In c ons equenc e of the intens e c old, their fingers felt as if burned when they touc hed the rounds . To oc c upy the leis ure hours , whic h the tenants of Granite Hous e now had at their dis pos al, Cyrus Harding undertook an operation whic h c ould be perform ed indoors . W e know that the s ettlers had no other s ugar at their dis pos al than the liquid s ubs tanc e whic h they drew from the m aple, by m aking deep inc is ions in the tree. T hey c ontented them s elves with c ollec ting this liquor in jars and em ploying it in this s tate for different c ulinary purpos es , and the m ore s o, as on growing old, this liquid began to bec om e white and to be of a s yrupy c ons is tenc e. B ut there was s om ething better to be m ade of it, and one day Cyrus Harding announc ed that they were going to turn into refiners . "Refiners ! " replied P enc roft. "T hat is rather a warm trade, I think." "V ery warm ," ans wered the engineer. "T hen it will be s eas onable! " s aid the s ailor. T his word refining need not awake in the m ind thoughts of an elaborate m anufac tory with apparatus and num erous workm en. No! to c rys tallize this liquor, only an extrem ely eas y operation is required. P lac ed on the fire in large earthen pots , it was s im ply s ubjec ted to evaporation, and s oon a s c um aros e to its s urfac e. A s s oon as this began to thic ken, Neb c arefully rem oved it with a wooden s patula; this ac c elerated the evaporation, and at the s am e tim e prevented it from c ontrac ting an em pyreum atic flavor. A fter boiling for s everal hours on a hot fire, whic h did as m uc h good to the operators as the s ubs tanc e operated upon, the latter was trans form ed into a thic k s yrup. T his s yrup was poured into c lay m olds , previous ly fabric ated in the kitc hen s tove, and to whic h they had given various s hapes . T he next day this s yrup had bec om e c old, and form ed c akes and tablets . T his was s ugar of rather a reddis h c olor, but nearly trans parent and of a delic ious tas te. T he c old c ontinued to the m iddle of S eptem ber, and the pris oners in Granite Hous e began to find their c aptivity rather tedious . Nearly every day they attem pted s orties whic h they c ould not prolong. T hey c ons tantly worked at the im provem ent of their dwelling. T hey talked while working. Harding ins truc ted his c om panions in m any things , princ ipally explaining to them the prac tic al applic ations of s c ienc e. T he c olonis ts had no library at their dis pos al; but the engineer was a book whic h was always at hand, always open at the page whic h one wanted, a book whic h ans wered all their ques tions , and whic h they often c ons ulted. T he tim e thus pas s ed away pleas antly, thes e brave m en not appearing to have any fears for the future. However, all were anxious to s ee, if not the fine s eas on, at leas t the c es s ation of the ins upportable c old. If only they had been c lothed in a way to m eet it, how m any exc urs ions they would have attem pted, either to the downs or to Tadorn's Fens ! Gam e would have been eas ily approac hed, and the c has e would c ertainly have been m os t produc tive. B ut Cyrus Harding c ons idered it of im portanc e that no one s hould injure his health, for he had need of all his hands , and his advic e was followed. B ut it m us t be s aid, that the one who was m os t im patient of this im pris onm ent, after P enc roft perhaps , was Top. T he faithful dog found Granite Hous e very narrow. He ran bac kwards and forwards from one room to another, s howing in his way how weary he was of being s hut up. Harding often rem arked that when he approac hed the dark well whic h c om m unic ated with the s ea, and of whic h the orific e opened at the bac k of the s toreroom , Top uttered s ingular growlings . He ran round and round this hole, whic h had been c overed with a wooden lid. S om etim es even he tried to put his paws under the lid, as if he wis hed to rais e it. He then yelped in a pec uliar way, whic h s howed at onc e anger and uneas ines s . T he engineer obs erved this m aneuver s everal tim es . W hat c ould there be in this abys s to m ake s uc h an im pres s ion on the intelligent anim al? T he well led to the s ea, that was c ertain. Could narrow pas s ages s pread from it through the foundations of the is land? Did s om e m arine m ons ter c om e from tim e to tim e, to breathe at the bottom of this well? T he engineer did not know what to think, and c ould not refrain from dream ing of m any s trange im probabilities . A c c us tom ed to go far into the regions of s c ientific reality, he would not allow him s elf to be drawn into the regions of the s trange and alm os t of the s upernatural; but yet how to explain why Top, one of thos e s ens ible dogs who never was te their tim e in barking at the m oon, s hould pers is t in trying with s c ent and hearing to fathom this abys s , if there was nothing there to c aus e his uneas ines s ? T op's c onduc t puzzled Cyrus Harding even m ore than he c ared to ac knowledge to him s elf. A t all events , the engineer only c om m unic ated his im pres s ions to Gideon S pilett, for he thought it us eles s to explain to his c om panions the s us pic ions whic h aros e from what perhaps was only T op's fanc y. A t las t the c old c eas ed. T here had been rain, s qualls m ingled with s now, hails torm s , gus ts of wind, but thes e inc lem enc ies did not las t. T he ic e m elted, the s now dis appeared; the s hore, the plateau, the banks of the Merc y, the fores t, again bec am e prac tic able. T his return of s pring delighted the tenants of Granite Hous e, and they s oon only pas s ed it in the hours nec es s ary for eating and s leeping. T hey hunted m uc h in the s ec ond part of S eptem ber, whic h led P enc roft to again entreat for the firearm s , whic h he as s erted had been prom is ed by Cyrus Harding. T he latter, knowing well that without s pec ial tools it would be nearly im pos s ible for him to m anufac ture a gun whic h would be of any us e, s till drew bac k and put off the operation to s om e future tim e, obs erving in his us ual dry way, that Herbert and S pilett had bec om e very s kilful arc hers , s o that m any s orts of exc ellent anim als , agouties , kangaroos , c apybaras , pigeons , bus tards , wild duc ks , s nipes , in s hort, gam e both with fur and feathers , fell vic tim s to their arrows , and that, c ons equently, they c ould wait. B ut the obs tinate s ailor would lis ten to nothing of this , and he would give the engineer no peac e till he prom is ed to s atis fy his des ire. Gideon S pilett, however, s upported P enc roft. "If, whic h m ay be doubted," s aid he, "the is land is inhabited by wild beas ts , we m us t think how to fight with and exterm inate them . A tim e m ay c om e when this will be our firs t duty." B ut at this period, it was not the ques tion of firearm s whic h oc c upied Harding, but that of c lothes . T hos e whic h the s ettlers wore had pas s ed this winter, but they would not las t until next winter. S kins of c arnivora or the wool of rum inants m us t be proc ured at any pric e, and s inc e there were plenty of m us m ons , it was agreed to c ons ult on the m eans of form ing a floc k whic h m ight be brought up for the us e of the c olony. A n enc los ure for the dom es tic anim als , a poultry-yard for the birds , in a word to es tablis h a s ort of farm in the is land, s uc h were the two im portant projec ts for the fine s eas on. In c ons equenc e and in view of thes e future es tablis hm ents , it bec am e of m uc h im portanc e that they s hould penetrate into all the yet unknown parts of Linc oln Is land, that is to s ay, through that thic k fores t whic h extended on the right bank of the Merc y, from its m outh to the extrem ity of the S erpentine P enins ula, as well as on the whole of its wes tern s ide. B ut this needed s ettled weather, and a m onth m us t pas s before this exploration c ould be profitably undertaken. T hey therefore waited with s om e im patienc e, when an inc ident oc c urred whic h inc reas ed the des ire the s ettlers had to vis it the whole of their dom ain. It was the 24th of Oc tober. On this day, P enc roft had gone to vis it his traps , whic h he always kept properly baited. In one of them he found three anim als whic h would be very welc om e for the larder. T hey were a fem ale pec c ary and her two young ones . P enc roft then returned to Granite Hous e, enc hanted with his c apture, and, as us ual, he m ade a great s how of his gam e. "Com e, we s hall have a grand feas t, c aptain! " he exc laim ed. "A nd you too, Mr. S pilett, you will eat s om e! " "I s hall be very happy," replied the reporter; "but what is it that I am going to eat?" "S uc kling-pig." "Oh, indeed, s uc kling-pig, P enc roft? T o hear you, I thought that you were bringing bac k a young partridge s tuffed with truffles ! " "W hat?" c ried P enc roft. "Do you m ean to s ay that you turn up your nos e at s uc kling-pig?' "No," replied Gideon S pilett, without s howing any enthus ias m ; "provided one does n't eat too m uc h" "T hat's right, that's right," returned the s ailor, who was not pleas ed whenever he heard his c has e m ade light of. "Y ou like to m ake objec tions . S even m onths ago, when we landed on the is land, you would have been only too glad to have m et with s uc h gam e! " "W ell, well," replied the reporter, "m an is never perfec t, nor c ontented." "Now," s aid P enc roft, "I hope that Neb will dis tinguis h him s elf. Look here! T hes e two little pec c aries are not m ore than three m onths old! T hey will be as tender as quails ! Com e along, Neb, c om e! I will look after the c ooking m ys elf." A nd the s ailor, followed by Neb, entered the kitc hen, where they were s oon abs orbed in their c ulinary labors . T hey were allowed to do it in their own way. Neb, therefore, prepared a m agnific ent repas t--the two little pec c aries , kangaroo s oup, a s m oked ham , s tone-pine alm onds , Os wego tea; in fac t, all the bes t that they had, but am ong all the dis hes figured in the firs t rank the s avory pec c aries . A t five o'c loc k dinner was s erved in the dining-room of Granite Hous e. T he kangaroo s oup was s m oking on the table. T hey found it exc ellent. T o the s oup s uc c eeded the pec c aries , whic h P enc roft ins is ted on c arving him s elf, and of whic h he s erved out m ons trous portions to eac h of the gues ts . T hes e s uc kling-pigs were really delic ious , and P enc roft was devouring his s hare with great gus to, when all at onc e a c ry and an oath es c aped him . "W hat's the m atter?" as ked Cyrus Harding. "T he m atter? the m atter is that I have jus t broken a tooth! " replied the s ailor. "W hat, are there pebbles in your pec c aries ?" s aid Gideon S pilett. "I s uppos e s o," replied P enc roft, drawing from his lips the objec t whic h had c os t him a grinder! -It was not a pebble--it was a leaden bullet. P ART 2 ABANDONE D Chapter 1 It was now exac tly s even m onths s inc e the balloon voyagers had been thrown on Linc oln Is land. During that tim e, notwiths tanding the res earc hes they had m ade, no hum an being had been dis c overed. No s m oke even had betrayed the pres enc e of m an on the s urfac e of the is land. No ves tiges of his handiwork s howed that either at an early or at a late period had m an lived there. Not only did it now appear to be uninhabited by any but them s elves , but the c olonis ts were c om pelled to believe that it never had been inhabited. A nd now, all this s c affolding of reas onings fell before a s im ple ball of m etal, found in the body of an inoffens ive rodent! In fac t, this bullet m us t have is s ued from a firearm , and who but a hum an being c ould have us ed s uc h a weapon? W hen P enc roft had plac ed the bullet on the table, his c om panions looked at it with intens e as tonis hm ent. A ll the c ons equenc es likely to res ult from this inc ident, notwiths tanding its apparent ins ignific anc e, im m ediately took pos s es s ion of their m inds . T he s udden apparition of a s upernatural being c ould not have s tartled them m ore c om pletely. Cyrus Harding did not hes itate to give utteranc e to the s ugges tions whic h this fac t, at onc e s urpris ing and unexpec ted, c ould not fail to rais e in his m ind. He took the bullet, turned it over and over, rolled it between his finger and thum b; then, turning to P enc roft, he as ked,-A re you s ure that the pec c ary wounded by this bullet was not m ore than three m onths old?" "Not m ore, c aptain," replied P enc roft. "It was s till s uc king its m other when I found it in the trap." "W ell," s aid the engineer, "that proves that within three m onths a gun- s hot was fired in Linc oln Is land." "A nd that a bullet," added Gideon S pilett, "wounded, though not m ortally, this little anim al." "T hat is unques tionable," s aid Cyrus Harding, "and thes e are the deduc tions whic h m us t be drawn from this inc ident: that the is land was inhabited before our arrival, or that m en have landed here within three m onths . Did thes e m en arrive here voluntarily or involuntarily, by dis em barking on the s hore or by being wrec ked? T his point c an only be c leared up later. A s to what they were, E uropeans or Malays , enem ies or friends of our rac e, we c annot pos s ibly gues s ; and if they s till inhabit the is land, or if they have left it, we know not. B ut thes e ques tions are of too m uc h im portanc e to be allowed to rem ain long uns ettled." "No! a hundred tim es no! a thous and tim es no! " c ried the s ailor, s pringing up from the table. "T here are no other m en than ours elves on Linc oln Is land! B y m y faith! T he is land is n't large and if it had been inhabited, we s hould have s een s om e of the inhabitants long before this ! " "In fac t, the c ontrary would be very as tonis hing," s aid Herbert. "B ut it would be m uc h m ore as tonis hing, I s hould think, obs erved the reporter, "if this pec c ary had been born with a bullet in its ins ide! " "A t leas t," s aid Neb s erious ly, "if P enc roft has not had--" "Look here, Neb," burs t out P enc roft. "Do you think I c ould have a bullet in m y jaw for five or s ix m onths without finding it out? W here c ould it be hidden?" he as ked, opening his m outh to s how the two-and-thirty teeth with whic h it was furnis hed. "Look well, Neb, and if you find one hollow tooth in this s et, I will let you pull out half a dozen! " "Neb's s uppos ition is c ertainly inadm is s ible," replied Harding, who, notwiths tanding the gravity of his thoughts , c ould not res train a s m ile. "It is c ertain that a gun has been fired in the is land, within three m onths at m os t. B ut I am inc lined to think that the people who landed on this c oas t were only here a very s hort tim e ago, or that they jus t touc hed here; for if, when we s urveyed the is land from the s um m it of Mount Franklin, it had been inhabited, we s hould have s een them or we s hould have been s een ours elves . It is therefore, probable that within only a few weeks c as taways have been thrown by a s torm on s om e part of the c oas t. However that m ay be, it is of c ons equenc e to us to have this point s ettled." "I think that we s hould ac t with c aution," s aid the reporter. "S uc h is m y advic e," replied Cyrus Harding, "for it is to be feared that Malay pirates have landed on the is land! " "Captain," as ked the s ailor, "would it not be a good plan, before s etting out, to build a c anoe in whic h we c ould either as c end the river, or, if we liked, c oas t round the inland? It will not do to be unprovided." "Y our idea is good, P enc roft," replied the engineer, "but we c annot wait for that. It would take at leas t a m onth to build a boat." "Y es , a real boat," replied the s ailor; "but we do not want one for a s ea voyage, and in five days at the m os t, I will undertake to c ons truc t a c anoe fit to navigate the Merc y." "Five days ," c ried Neb, "to build a boat?" "Y es , Neb; a boat in the Indian fas hion." "Of wood?" as ked the Negro, looking s till unc onvinc ed. "Of wood," replied P enc roft, "of rather of bark. I repeat, c aptain, that in five days the work will be finis hed! " "In five days , then, be it," replied the engineer. "B ut till that tim e we m us t be very watc hful," s aid Herbert. "V ery watc hful indeed, m y friends ," replied Harding; "and I beg you to c onfine your hunting exc urs ions to the neighborhood of Granite Hous e." T he dinner ended les s gaily than P enc roft had hoped. S o, then, the is land was , or had been, inhabited by others than the s ettlers . P roved as it was by the inc ident of the bullet, it was hereafter an unques tionable fac t, and s uc h a dis c overy c ould not but c aus e great uneas ines s am ong the c olonis ts . Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett, before s leeping, c onvers ed long about the m atter. T hey as ked them s elves if by c hanc e this inc ident m ight not have s om e c onnec tion with the inexplic able way in whic h the engineer had been s aved, and the other pec uliar c irc um s tanc es whic h had s truc k them at different tim es . However, Cyrus Harding, after having dis c us s ed the pros and c ons of the ques tion, ended by s aying,-"In s hort, would you like to know m y opinion, m y dear S pilett?" "Y es , Cyrus ." "W ell, then, it is this : however m inutely we explore the is land, we s hall find nothing." T he next day P enc roft s et to work. He did not m ean to build a boat with boards and planking, but s im ply a flat-bottom ed c anoe, whic h would be well s uited for navigating the Merc y--above all, for approac hing its s ourc e, where the water would naturally be s hallow. P iec es of bark, fas tened one to the other, would form a light boat; and in c as e of natural obs tac les , whic h would render a portage nec es s ary, it would be eas ily c arried. P enc roft intended to s ec ure the piec es of bark by m eans of nails , to ins ure the c anoe being water-tight. It was firs t nec es s ary to s elec t the trees whic h would afford a s trong and s upple bark for the work. Now the las t s torm had brought down a num ber of large birc h-trees , the bark of whic h would be perfec tly s uited for their purpos e. S om e of thes e trees lay on the ground, and they had only to be barked, whic h was the m os t diffic ult thing of all, owing to the im perfec t tools whic h the s ettlers pos s es s ed. However, they overc am e all diffic ulties . W hile the s ailor, s ec onded by the engineer, thus oc c upied him s elf without los ing an hour, Gideon S pilett and Herbert were not idle. T hey were m ade purveyors to the c olony. T he reporter c ould not but adm ire the boy, who had ac quired great s kill in handling the bow and s pear. Herbert als o s howed great c ourage and m uc h of that pres enc e of m ind whic h m ay jus tly be c alled "the reas oning of bravery." T hes e two c om panions of the c has e, rem em bering Cyrus Harding's rec om m endations , did not go beyond a radius of two m iles round Granite Hous e; but the borders of the fores t furnis hed a s uffic ient tribute of agoutis , c apybaras , kangaroos , pec c aries , etc .; and if the res ult from the traps was les s than during the c old, s till the warren yielded its ac c us tom ed quota, whic h m ight have fed all the c olony in Linc oln Is land. Often during thes e exc urs ions , Herbert talked with Gideon S pilett on the inc ident of the bullet, and the deduc tions whic h the engineer drew from it, and one day--it was the 26th of Oc tober--he s aid--"B ut, Mr. S pilett, do you not think it very extraordinary that, if any c as taways have landed on the is land, they have not yet s hown them s elves near Granite Hous e?" "V ery as tonis hing if they are s till here," replied the reporter, "but not as tonis hing at all if they are here no longer! " "S o you think that thes e people have already quitted the is land?" returned Herbert. "It is m ore than probable, m y boy; for if their s tay was prolonged, and above all, if they were s till here, s om e ac c ident would have at las t betrayed their pres enc e." "B ut if they were able to go away," obs erved the lad, "they c ould not have been c as taways ." "No, Herbert; or, at leas t, they were what m ight be c alled provis ional c as taways . It is very pos s ible that a s torm m ay have driven them to the is land without des troying their ves s el, and that, the s torm over, they went away again." "I m us t ac knowledge one thing," s aid Herbert, "it is that Captain Harding appears rather to fear than des ire the pres enc e of hum an beings on our is land." "In s hort," res ponded the reporter, "there are only Malays who frequent thes e s eas , and thos e fellows are ruffians whic h it is bes t to avoid." "It is not im pos s ible, Mr. S pilett," s aid Herbert, "that s om e day or other we m ay find trac es of their landing." "I do not s ay no, m y boy. A des erted c am p, the as hes of a fire, would put us on the trac k, and this is what we will look for in our next expedition."

T he day on whic h the hunters s poke thus , they were in a part of the fores t near the Merc y, rem arkable for its beautiful trees . T here, am ong others , ros e, to a height of nearly 200 feet above the ground, s om e of thos e s uperb c oniferae, to whic h, in New Zealand, the natives give the nam e of K auris . "I have an idea, Mr. S pilett," s aid Herbert. "If I were to c lim b to the top of one of thes e kauris , I c ould s urvey the c ountry for an im m ens e dis tanc e round." "T he idea is good," replied the reporter; "but c ould you c lim b to the top of thos e giants ?" "I c an at leas t try," replied Herbert. T he light and ac tive boy then s prang on the firs t branc hes , the arrangem ent of whic h m ade the as c ent of the kauri eas y, and in a few m inutes he arrived at the s um m it, whic h em erged from the im m ens e plain of verdure. From this elevated s ituation his gaze extended over all the s outhern portion of the is land, from Claw Cape on the s outheas t, to Reptile E nd on the s outhwes t. T o the northwes t ros e Mount Franklin, whic h c onc ealed a great part of the horizon. B ut Herbert, from the height of his obs ervatory, c ould exam ine all the yet unknown portion of the is land, whic h m ight have given s helter to the s trangers whos e pres enc e they s us pec ted. T he lad looked attentively. T here was nothing in s ight on the s ea, not a s ail, neither on the horizon nor near the is land. However, as the bank of trees hid the s hore, it was pos s ible that a ves s el, es pec ially if deprived of her m as ts , m ight lie c los e to the land and thus be invis ible to Herbert. Neither in the fores ts of the Far W es t was anything to be s een. T he wood form ed an im penetrable s c reen, m eas uring s everal s quare m iles , without a break or an opening. It was im pos s ible even to follow the c ours e of the Merc y, or to as c ertain in what part of the m ountain it took its s ourc e. P erhaps other c reeks als o ran towards the wes t, but they c ould not be s een. B ut at las t, if all indic ation of an enc am pm ent es c aped Herbert's s ight c ould he not even c atc h a glim ps e of s m oke, the faintes t trac e of whic h would be eas ily dis c ernible in the pure atm os phere? For an ins tant Herbert thought he c ould perc eive a s light s m oke in the wes t, but a m ore attentive exam ination s howed that he was m is taken. He s trained his eyes in every direc tion, and his s ight was exc ellent. No, dec idedly there was nothing there. Herbert des c ended to the foot of the kauri, and the two s ports m en returned to Granite Hous e. T here Cyrus Harding lis tened to the lad's ac c ount, s hook his head and s aid nothing. It was very evident that no dec ided opinion c ould be pronounc ed on this ques tion until after a c om plete exploration of the is land. T wo days after--the 28th of Oc tober--another inc ident oc c urred, for whic h an explanation was again required. W hile s trolling along the s hore about two m iles from Granite Hous e, Herbert and Neb were fortunate enough to c apture a m agnific ent s pec im en of the order of c helonia. It was a turtle of the s pec ies Midas , the edible green turtle, s o c alled from the c olor both of its s hell and fat. Herbert c aught s ight of this turtle as it was c rawling am ong the roc ks to reac h the s ea. "Help, Neb, help! " he c ried. Neb ran up. "W hat a fine anim al! " s aid Neb; "but how are we to c atc h it?" "Nothing is eas ier, Neb," replied Herbert. "W e have only to turn the turtle on its bac k, and it c annot pos s ibly get away. T ake your s pear and do as I do." T he reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its c arapac e and plas tron. T hey no longer s aw its head or feet, and it was m otionles s as a roc k. Herbert and Neb then drove their s tic ks underneath the anim al, and by their united efforts m anaged without diffic ulty to turn it on its bac k. T he turtle, whic h was three feet in length, would have weighed at leas t four hundred pounds . "Capital! " c ried Neb; "this is s om ething whic h will rejoic e friend P enc roft's heart." In fac t, the heart of friend P enc roft c ould not fail to be rejoic ed, for the fles h of the turtle, whic h feeds on wrac k-gras s , is extrem ely s avory. A t this m om ent the c reature's head c ould be s een, whic h was s m all, flat, but widened behind by the large tem poral fos s ae hidden under the long roof. "A nd now, what s hall we do with our prize?" s aid Neb. "W e c an't drag it to Granite Hous e! " "Leave it here, s inc e it c annot turn over," replied Herbert, "and we will c om e bac k with the c art to fetc h it." "T hat is the bes t plan." However, for greater prec aution, Herbert took the trouble, whic h Neb deem ed s uperfluous , to wedge up the anim al with great s tones ; after whic h the two hunters returned to Granite Hous e, following the beac h, whic h the tide had left unc overed. Herbert, wis hing to s urpris e P enc roft, s aid nothing about the "s uperb s pec im en of a c helonian" whic h they had turned over on the s and; but, two hours later, he and Neb returned with the c art to the plac e where they had left it. T he "s uperb s pec im en of a c helonian" was no longer there! Neb and Herbert s tared at eac h other firs t; then they s tared about them . It was jus t at this s pot that the turtle had been left. T he lad even found the s tones whic h he had us ed, and therefore he was c ertain of not being m is taken. "W ell! " s aid Neb, "thes e beas ts c an turn them s elves over, then?'' "It appears s o," replied Herbert, who c ould not unders tand it at all, and was gazing at the s tones s c attered on the s and. "W ell, P enc roft will be dis gus ted! " "A nd Captain Harding will perhaps be very perplexed how to explain this dis appearanc e," thought Herbert. "Look here," s aid Neb, who wis hed to hide his ill-luc k, "we won't s peak about it." "On the c ontrary, Neb, we m us t s peak about it," replied Herbert. A nd the two, taking the c art, whic h there was now no us e for, returned to Granite Hous e. A rrived at the doc kyard, where the engineer and the s ailor were working together, Herbert rec ounted what had happened. "Oh! the s tupids ! " c ried the s ailor, "to have let at leas t fifty m eals es c ape! " "B ut, P enc roft," replied Neb, "it was n't our fault that the beas t got away; as I tell you, we had turned it over on its bac k! " "T hen you didn't turn it over enough! " returned the obs tinate s ailor. "Not enough! " c ried Herbert. A nd he told how he had taken c are to wedge up the turtle with s tones . "It is a m irac le, then! " replied P enc roft. "I thought, c aptain," s aid Herbert, "that turtles , onc e plac ed on their bac ks , c ould not regain their feet, es pec ially when they are of a large s ize?' "T hat is true, m y boy," replied Cyrus Harding. "T hen how did it m anage?" "A t what dis tanc e from the s ea did you leave this turtle?" as ked the engineer, who, having s us pended his work, was reflec ting on this inc ident. "Fifteen feet at the m os t," replied Herbert. "A nd the tide was low at the tim e?" "Y es , c aptain." "W ell," replied the engineer, "what the turtle c ould not do on the s and it m ight have been able to do in the water. It turned over when the tide overtook it, and then quietly returned to the deep s ea." "Oh! what s tupids we were! " c ried Neb. "T hat is prec is ely what I had the honor of telling you before! " returned the s ailor. Cyrus Harding had given this explanation, whic h, no doubt, was adm is s ible. B ut was he him s elf c onvinc ed of the ac c urac y of this explanation? It c annot be s aid that he was . Chapter 2 On the 9th of Oc tober the bark c anoe was entirely finis hed. P enc roft had kept his prom is e, and a light boat, the s hell of whic h was joined together by the flexible twigs of the c rejim ba, had been c ons truc ted in five days . A s eat in the s tern, a s ec ond s eat in the m iddle to pres erve the equilibrium , a third s eat in the bows , rowloc ks for the two oars , a s c ull to s teer with, c om pleted the little c raft, whic h was twelve feet long, and did not weigh m ore than two hundred pounds . T he operation of launc hing it was extrem ely s im ple. T he c anoe was c arried to the beac h and laid on the s and before Granite Hous e, and the ris ing tide floated it. P enc roft, who leaped in direc tly, m aneuvered it with the s c ull and dec lared it to be jus t the thing for the purpos e to whic h they wis hed to put it. "Hurrah! " c ried the s ailor, who did not dis dain to c elebrate thus his own trium ph. "W ith this we c ould go round--" "T he world?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "No, the is land. S om e s tones for ballas t, a m as t and a s ail, whic h the c aptain will m ake for us s om e day, and we s hall go s plendidly! W ell, c aptain--and you, Mr. S pilett; and you, Herbert; and you, Neb--aren't you c om ing to try our new ves s el? Com e along! we m us t s ee if it will c arry all five of us ! " T his was c ertainly a trial whic h ought to be m ade. P enc roft s oon brought the c anoe to the s hore by a narrow pas s age am ong the roc ks , and it was agreed that they s hould m ake a trial of the boat that day by following the s hore as far as the firs t point at whic h the roc ks of the s outh ended. A s they em barked, Neb c ried,-"B ut your boat leaks rather, P enc roft." "T hat's nothing, Neb," replied the s ailor; "the wood will get s eas oned. In two days there won't be a s ingle leak, and our boat will have no m ore water in her than there is in the s tom ac h of a drunkard. J um p in! " T hey were s oon all s eated, and P enc roft s hoved off. T he weather was m agnific ent, the s ea as c alm as if its waters were c ontained within the narrow lim its of a lake. T hus the boat c ould proc eed with as m uc h s ec urity as if it was as c ending the tranquil c urrent of the Merc y. Neb took one of the oars , Herbert the other, and P enc roft rem ained in the s tern in order to us e the s c ull. T he s ailor firs t c ros s ed the c hannel, and s teered c los e to the s outhern point of the is let. A light breeze blew from the s outh. No roughnes s was found either in the c hannel or the green s ea. A long s well, whic h the c anoe s c arc ely felt, as it was heavily laden, rolled regularly over the s urfac e of the water. T hey pulled out about half a m ile dis tant from the s hore, that they m ight have a good view of Mount Franklin. P enc roft afterwards returned towards the m outh of the river. T he boat then s kirted the s hore, whic h, extending to the extrem e point, hid all T adorn's Fens . T his point, of whic h the dis tanc e was inc reas ed by the irregularity of the c oas t, was nearly three m iles from the Merc y. T he s ettlers res olved to go to its extrem ity, and only go beyond it as m uc h as was nec es s ary to take a rapid s urvey of the c oas t as far as Claw Cape. T he c anoe followed the windings of the s hore, avoiding the roc ks whic h fringed it, and whic h the ris ing tide began to c over. T he c liff gradually s loped away from the m outh of the river to the point. T his was form ed of granite reeks , c apric ious ly dis tributed, very different from the c liff at P ros pec t Heights , and of an extrem ely wild as pec t. It m ight have been s aid that an im m ens e c artload of roc ks had been em ptied out there. T here was no vegetation on this s harp prom ontory, whic h projec ted two m iles from the fores t, and it thus repres ented a giant's arm s tretc hed out from a leafy s leeve. T he c anoe, im pelled by the two oars , advanc ed without diffic ulty. Gideon S pilett, penc il in one hand and notebook in the other, s ketc hed the c oas t in bold s trokes . Neb, Herbert, and P enc roft c hatted, while exam ining this part of their dom ain, whic h was new to them , and, in proportion as the c anoe proc eeded towards the s outh, the two Mandible Capes appeared to m ove, and s urround Union B ay m ore c los ely. A s to Cyrus Harding, he did not s peak; he s im ply gazed, and by the m is trus t whic h his look expres s ed, it appeared that he was exam ining s om e s trange c ountry. In the m eantim e, after a voyage of three-quarters of an hour, the c anoe reac hed the extrem ity of the point, and P enc roft was preparing to return, when Herbert, ris ing, pointed to a blac k objec t, s aying,-"W hat do I s ee down there on the beac h?" A ll eyes turned towards the point indic ated. "W hy," s aid the reporter, "there is s om ething. It looks like part of a wrec k half buried in the s and." "A h! " c ried P enc roft, "I s ee what it is ! " "W hat?" as ked Neb. "B arrels , barrels , whic h perhaps are full," replied the s ailor. "P ull to the s hore, P enc roft! " s aid Cyrus . A few s trokes of the oar brought the c anoe into a little c reek, and its pas s engers leaped on s hore. P enc roft was not m is taken. T wo barrels were there, half buried in the s and, but s till firm ly attac hed to a large c hes t, whic h, s us tained by them , had floated to the m om ent when it s tranded on the beac h. "T here has been a wrec k, then, in s om e part of the is land," s aid Herbert. "E vidently," replied S pilett. "B ut what's in this c hes t?" c ried P enc roft, with very natural im patienc e. "W hat's in this c hes t? It is s hut up, and nothing to open it with! W ell, perhaps a s tone--" A nd the s ailor, rais ing a heavy bloc k, was about to break in one of the s ides of the c hes t, when the engineer arres ted his hand. "P enc roft," s aid he, "c an you res train your im patienc e for one hour only?" B ut, c aptain, jus t think! P erhaps there is everything we want in there! " "W e s hall find that out, P enc roft," replied the engineer; "but trus t to m e, and do not break the c hes t, whic h m ay be us eful to us . W e m us t c onvey it to Granite Hous e, where we c an open it eas ily, and without breaking it. It is quite prepared for a voyage; and s inc e it has floated here, it m ay jus t as well float to the m outh of the river." "Y ou are right, c aptain, and I was wrong, as us ual," replied the s ailor. T he engineer's advic e was good. In fac t, the c anoe probably would not have been able to c ontain the artic les pos s ibly enc los ed in the c hes t, whic h doubtles s was heavy, s inc e two em pty barrels were required to buoy it up. It was , therefore, m uc h better to tow it to the beac h at Granite Hous e. A nd now, whenc e had this c hes t c om e? T hat was the im portant ques tion. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions looked attentively around them , and exam ined the s hore for s everal hundred s teps . No other artic les or piec es of wrec k c ould be found. Herbert and Neb c lim bed a high roc k to s urvey the s ea, but there was nothing in s ight--neither a dis m as ted ves s el nor a s hip under s ail. However, there was no doubt that there had been a wrec k. P erhaps this inc ident was c onnec ted with that of the bullet? P erhaps s trangers had landed on another part of the is land? P erhaps they were s till there? B ut the thought whic h c am e naturally to the s ettlers was , that thes e s trangers c ould not be Malay pirates , for the c hes t was evidently of A m eric an or E uropean m ake. A ll the party returned to the c hes t, whic h was of an unus ually large s ize. It was m ade of oak wood, very c arefully c los ed and c overed with a thic k hide, whic h was s ec ured by c opper nails . T he two great barrels , herm etic ally s ealed, but whic h s ounded hollow and em pty, were fas tened to its s ides by s trong ropes , knotted with a s kill whic h P enc roft direc tly pronounc ed s ailors alone c ould exhibit. It appeared to be in a perfec t s tate of pres ervation, whic h was explained by the fac t that it had s tranded on a s andy beac h, and not am ong roc ks . T hey had no doubt whatever, on exam ining it c arefully, that it had not been long in the water, and that its arrival on this c oas t was rec ent. T he water did not appear to have penetrated to the ins ide, and the artic les whic h it c ontained were no doubt uninjured. It was evident that this c hes t had been thrown overboard from s om e dis m as ted ves s el driven towards the is land, and that, in the hope that it would reac h the land, where they m ight afterwards find it, the pas s engers had taken the prec aution to buoy it up by m eans of this floating apparatus . "W e will tow this c hes t to Granite Hous e," s aid the engineer, "where we c an m ake an inventory of its c ontents ; then, if we dis c over any of the s urvivors from the s uppos ed wrec k, we c an return it to thos e to whom it belongs . If we find no one--" "W e will keep it for ours elves ! " c ried P enc roft. "B ut what in the world c an there be in it?" T he s ea was already approac hing the c hes t, and the high tide would evidently float it. One of the ropes whic h fas tened the barrels was partly unlas hed and us ed as a c able to unite the floating apparatus with the c anoe. P enc roft and Neb then dug away the s and with their oars , s o as to fac ilitate the m oving of the c hes t, towing whic h the boat s oon began to double the point, to whic h the nam e of Flots am P oint was given. T he c hes t was heavy, and the barrels were s c arc ely s uffic ient to keep it above water. T he s ailor als o feared every ins tant that it would get loos e and s ink to the bottom of the s ea. B ut happily his fears were not realized, and an hour and a half after they s et out--all that tim e had been taken up in going a dis tanc e of three m iles --the boat touc hed the beac h below Granite Hous e. Canoe and c hes t were then hauled up on the s ands ; and as the tide was then going out, they were s oon left high and dry. Neb, hurrying hom e, brought bac k s om e tools with whic h to open the c hes t in s uc h a way that it m ight be injured as little as pos s ible, and they proc eeded to its inventory. P enc roft did not try to hide that he was greatly exc ited. T he s ailor began by detac hing the two barrels , whic h, being in good c ondition, would of c ours e be of us e. T hen the loc ks were forc ed with a c old c his el and ham m er, and the lid thrown bac k. A s ec ond c as ing of zinc lined the interior of the c hes t, whic h had been evidently arranged that the artic les whic h it enc los ed m ight under any c irc um s tanc es be s heltered from dam p. "Oh! " c ried Neb, "s uppos e it's jam ! "I hope not," replied the reporter. "If only there was --" s aid the s ailor in a low voic e. "W hat?" as ked Neb, who overheard him . "Nothing! " T he c overing of zinc was torn off and thrown bac k over the s ides of the c hes t, and by degrees num erous artic les of very varied c harac ter were produc ed and s trewn about on the s and. A t eac h new objec t P enc roft uttered fres h hurrahs , Herbert c lapped his hands , and Neb danc ed up and down. T here were books whic h m ade Herbert wild with joy, and c ooking utens ils whic h Neb c overed with kis s es ! In s hort, the c olonis ts had reas on to be extrem ely s atis fied, for this c hes t c ontained tools , weapons , ins trum ents , c lothes , books ; and this is the exac t lis t of them as s tated in Gideon S pilett's note-book: --T ools :--3 knives with s everal blades , 2 woodm en's axes , 2 c arpenter's hatc hets , 3 planes , 2 adzes , 1 twibil or m attoc k, 6 c his els , 2 files , 3 ham m ers , 3 gim lets , 2 augers , 10 bags of nails and s c rews , 3 s aws of different s izes , 2 boxes of needles . W eapons :--2 flint-loc k guns , 2 for perc us s ion c aps , 2 breac h-loader c arbines , 5 boarding c utlas s es , 4 s abers , 2 barrels of powder, eac h c ontaining twenty-five pounds ; 12 boxes of perc us s ion c aps . Ins trum ents :--1 s extant, 1 double opera-glas s , 1 teles c ope, 1 box of m athem atic al ins trum ents , 1 m ariner's c om pas s , 1 Fahrenheit therm om eter, 1 aneroid barom eter, 1 box c ontaining a photographic apparatus , objec t-glas s , plates , c hem ic als , etc . Clothes :-2 dozen s hirts of a pec uliar m aterial res em bling wool, but evidently of a vegetable origin; 3 dozen s toc kings of the s am e m aterial. Utens ils :-1 iron pot, 6 c opper s auc epans , 3 iron dis hes , 10 m etal plates , 2 kettles , 1 portable s tove, 6 table-knives , B ooks :-1 B ible, 1 atlas , 1 dic tionary of the different P olynes ian idiom s , 1 dic tionary of natural s c ienc e, in s ix volum es ; 3 ream s of white paper, 2 books with blank pages . "It m us t be allowed," s aid the reporter, after the inventory had been m ade, "that the owner of this c hes t was a prac tic al m an! T ools , weapons , ins trum ents , c lothes , utens ils , books --nothing is wanting! It m ight really be s aid that he expec ted to be wrec ked, and had prepared for it beforehand." "Nothing is wanting, indeed," m urm ured Cyrus Harding thoughtfully. "A nd for a c ertainty," added Herbert, "the ves s el whic h c arried this c hes t and its owner was not a Malay pirate! " "Unles s ," s aid P enc roft, "the owner had been taken pris oner by pirates --" "T hat is not adm is s ible," replied the reporter. "It is m ore probable that an A m eric an or E uropean ves s el has been driven into this quarter, and that her pas s engers , wis hing to s ave nec es s aries at leas t, prepared this c hes t and threw it overboard."

"Is that your opinion, c aptain?" as ked Herbert. "Y es , m y boy," replied the engineer, "that m ay have been the c as e. It is pos s ible that at the m om ent, or in expec tation of a wrec k, they c ollec ted into this c hes t different artic les of the greates t us e in hopes of finding it again on the c oas t--" "E ven the photographic box! " exc laim ed the s ailor inc redulous ly. "A s to that apparatus ," replied Harding, "I do not quite s ee the us e of it; and a m ore c om plete s upply of c lothes or m ore abundant am m unition would have been m ore valuable to us as well as to any other c as taways ! " "B ut is n't there any m ark or direc tion on thes e ins trum ents , tools , or books , whic h would tell us s om ething about them ?" as ked Gideon S pilett. T hat m ight be as c ertained. E ac h artic le was c arefully exam ined, es pec ially the books , ins trum ents and weapons . Neither the weapons nor the ins trum ents , c ontrary to the us ual c us tom , bore the nam e of the m aker; they were, bes ides , in a perfec t s tate, and did not appear to have been us ed. T he s am e pec uliarity m arked the tools and utens ils ; all were new, whic h proved that the artic les had not been taken by c hanc e and thrown into the c hes t, but, on the c ontrary, that the c hoic e of things had been well c ons idered and arranged with c are. T his was als o indic ated by the s ec ond c as e of m etal whic h had pres erved them from dam p, and whic h c ould not have been s oldered in a m om ent of has te. A s to the dic tionaries of natural s c ienc e and P olynes ian idiom s , both were E nglis h; but they neither bore the nam e of the publis her nor the date of public ation. T he s am e with the B ible printed in E nglis h, in quarto, rem arkable from a typographic point of view, and whic h appeared to have been often us ed. T he atlas was a m agnific ent work, c om pris ing m aps of every c ountry in the world, and s everal planis pheres arranged upon Merc ator's projec tion, and of whic h the nom enc lature was in Frenc h--but whic h als o bore neither date nor nam e of publis her. T here was nothing, therefore, on thes e different artic les by whic h they c ould be trac ed, and nothing c ons equently of a nature to s how the nationality of the ves s el whic h m us t have rec ently pas s ed thes e s hores . B ut, wherever the c hes t m ight have c om e from , it was a treas ure to the s ettlers on Linc oln Is land. T ill then, by m aking us e of the produc tions of nature, they had c reated everything for them s elves , and, thanks to their intelligenc e, they had m anaged without diffic ulty. B ut did it not appear as if P rovidenc e had wis hed to reward them by s ending them thes e produc tions of hum an indus try? T heir thanks ros e unanim ous ly to Heaven. However, one of them was not quite s atis fied: it was P enc roft. It appeared that the c hes t did not c ontain s om ething whic h he evidently held in great es teem , for in proportion as they approac hed the bottom of the box, his hurrahs dim inis hed in heartines s , and, the inventory finis hed, he was heard to m utter thes e words :--"T hat's all very fine, but you c an s ee that there is nothing for m e in that box! " T his led Neb to s ay,-"W hy, friend P enc roft, what m ore do you expec t?" "Half a pound of tobac c o," replied P enc roft s erious ly, "and nothing would have been wanting to c om plete m y happines s ! " No one c ould help laughing at this s peec h of the s ailor's . B ut the res ult of this dis c overy of the c hes t was , that it was now m ore than ever nec es s ary to explore the is land thoroughly. It was therefore agreed that the next m orning at break of day, they s hould s et out, by as c ending the Merc y s o as to reac h the wes tern s hore. If any c as taways had landed on the c oas t, it was to be feared they were without res ourc es , and it was therefore the m ore nec es s ary to c arry help to them without delay. During the day the different artic les were c arried to Granite Hous e, where they were m ethodic ally arranged in the great hall. T his day--the 29th of Oc tober--happened to be a S unday, and, before going to bed, Herbert as ked the engineer if he would not read them s om ething from the Gos pel. "W illingly," replied Cyrus Harding. He took the s ac red volum e, and was about to open it, when P enc roft s topped him , s aying,--"Captain, I am s upers titious . Open at random and read the firs t vers e whic h, your eye falls upon. W e will s ee if it applies to our s ituation." Cyrus Harding s m iled at the s ailor's idea, and, yielding to his wis h, he opened exac tly at a plac e where the leaves were s eparated by a m arker. Im m ediately his eyes were attrac ted by a c ros s whic h, m ade with a penc il, was plac ed agains t the eighth vers e of the s eventh c hapter of the Gos pel of S t. Matthew. He read the vers e, whic h was this :-"For every one that as keth rec eiveth; and he that s eeketh findeth." Chapter 3 T he next day, the 30th of Oc tober, all was ready for the propos ed exploring expedition, whic h rec ent events had rendered s o nec es s ary. In fac t, things had s o c om e about that the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land no longer needed help for them s elves , but were even able to c arry it to others . It was therefore agreed that they s hould as c end the Merc y as far as the river was navigable. A great part of the dis tanc e would thus be travers ed without fatigue, and the explorers c ould trans port their provis ions and arm s to an advanc ed point in the wes t of the is land. It was nec es s ary to think not only of the things whic h they s hould take with them , but als o of thos e whic h they m ight have by c hanc e to bring bac k to Granite Hous e. If there had been a wrec k on the c oas t, as was s uppos ed, there would be m any things c as t up, whic h would be lawfully their prizes . In the event of this , the c art would have been of m ore us e than the light c anoe, but it was heavy and c lum s y to drag, and therefore m ore diffic ult to us e; this led P enc roft to expres s his regret that the c hes t had not c ontained, bes ides "his halfpound of tobac c o," a pair of s trong New J ers ey hors es , whic h would have been very us eful to the c olony! T he provis ions , whic h Neb had already pac ked up, c ons is ted of a s tore of m eat and of s everal gallons of beer, that is to s ay enough to s us tain them for three days , the tim e whic h Harding as s igned for the expedition. T hey hoped bes ides to s upply them s elves on the road, and Neb took c are not to forget the portable s tove. T he only tools the s ettlers took were the two woodm en's axes , whic h they c ould us e to c ut a path through the thic k fores ts , as als o the ins trum ents , the teles c ope and poc ket-c om pas s . For weapons they s elec ted the two flint-loc k guns , whic h were likely to be m ore us eful to them than the perc us s ion fowling-piec es , the firs t only requiring flints whic h c ould be eas ily replac ed, and the latter needing fulm inating c aps , a frequent us e of whic h would s oon exhaus t their lim ited s toc k. However, they took als o one of the c arbines and s om e c artridges . A s to the powder, of whic h there was about fifty pounds in the barrel, a s m all s upply of it had to be taken, but the engineer hoped to m anufac ture an explos ive s ubs tanc e whic h would allow them to hus band it. To the firearm s were added the five c utlas s es well s heathed in leather, and, thus s upplied, the s ettlers c ould venture into the vas t fores t with s om e c hanc e of s uc c es s . It is us eles s to add that P enc roft, Herbert, and Neb, thus arm ed, were at the s um m it of their happines s , although Cyrus Harding m ade them prom is e not to fire a s hot unles s it was nec es s ary. A t s ix in the m orning the c anoe put off from the s hore; all had em barked, inc luding T op, and they proc eeded to the m outh of the Merc y. T he tide had begun to c om e up half an hour before. For s everal hours , therefore, there would be a c urrent, whic h it was well to profit by, for later the ebb would m ake it diffic ult to as c end the river. T he tide was already s trong, for in three days the m oon would be full, and it was enough to keep the boat in the c enter of the c urrent, where it floated s wiftly along between the high banks without its being nec es s ary to inc reas e its s peed by the aid of the oars . In a few m inutes the explorers arrived at the angle form ed by the Merc y and exac tly at the plac e where, s even m onths before, P enc roft had m ade his firs t raft of wood. A fter this s udden angle the river widened and flowed under the s hade of great evergreen firs . T he as pec t of the banks was m agnific ent. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions c ould not but adm ire the lovely effec ts s o eas ily produc ed by nature with water and trees . A s they advanc ed the fores t elem ent dim inis hed. On the right bank of the river grew m agnific ent s pec im ens of the ulm ac eae tribe, the prec ious elm , s o valuable to builders , and whic h withs tands well the ac tion of water. T hen there were num erous groups belonging to the s am e fam ily, am ong others one in partic ular, the fruit of whic h produc es a very us eful oil. Further on, Herbert rem arked the lardizabala, a twining s hrub whic h, when bruis ed in water, furnis hes exc ellent c ordage; and two or three ebony trees of a beautiful blac k, c ros s ed with c apric ious veins . From tim e to tim e, in c ertain plac es where the landing was eas y, the c anoe was s topped, when Gideon S pilett, Herbert, and P enc roft, their guns in their hands , and prec eded by Top, jum ped on s hore. W ithout expec ting gam e, s om e us eful plant m ight be m et with, and the young naturalis t was delighted with dis c overing a s ort of wild s pinac h, belonging to the order of c henopodiac eae, and num erous s pec im ens of c ruc iferae, belonging to the c abbage tribe, whic h it would c ertainly be pos s ible to c ultivate by trans planting. T here were c res s es , hors eradis h, turnips , and las tly, little branc hing hairy s talks , s c arc ely m ore than three feet high, whic h produc ed brownis h grains . Do you know what this plant is ?" as ked Herbert of the s ailor. "T obac c o! " c ried P enc roft, who evidently had never s een his favorite plant exc ept in the bowl of his pipe. "No, P enc roft," replied Herbert; "this is not tobac c o, it is m us tard." "Mus tard be hanged! " returned the s ailor; "but if by c hanc e you happen to c om e ac ros s a tobac c o-plant, m y boy, pray don't s c orn that! " "W e s hall find it s om e day! " s aid Gideon S pilett. "W ell! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "when that day c om es , I do not know what m ore will be wanting in our is land! " T hes e different plants , whic h had been c arefully rooted up, were c arried to the c anoe, where Cyrus Harding had rem ained buried in thought. T he reporter, Herbert, and P enc roft in this m anner frequently dis em barked, s om etim es on the right bank, s om etim es on the left bank of the Merc y. T he latter was les s abrupt, but the form er m ore wooded. T he engineer as c ertained by c ons ulting his poc ket-c om pas s that the direc tion of the river from the firs t turn was obvious ly s outhwes t and northeas t, and nearly s traight for a length of about three m iles . B ut it was to be s uppos ed that this direc tion c hanged beyond that point, and that the Merc y c ontinued to the north-wes t, towards the s purs of Mount Franklin, am ong whic h the river ros e. During one of thes e exc urs ions , Gideon S pilett m anaged to get hold of two c ouples of living gallinac eae. T hey were birds with long, thin beaks , lengthened nec ks , s hort wings , and without any appearanc e of a tail. Herbert rightly gave them the nam e of tinam ous , and it was res olved that they s hould be the firs t tenants of their future poultry-yard. B ut till then the guns had not s poken, and the firs t report whic h awoke the ec hoes of the fores t of the Far W es t was provoked by the appearanc e of a beautiful bird, res em bling the kingfis her. "I rec ognize him ! " c ried P enc roft, and it s eem ed as if his gun went off by its elf. "W hat do you rec ognize?" as ked the reporter. "T he bird whic h es c aped us on our firs t exc urs ion, and from whic h we gave the nam e to that part of the fores t." "A jac am ar! " c ried Herbert. It was indeed a jac am ar, of whic h the plum age s hines with a m etallic lus ter. A s hot brought it to the ground, and T op c arried it to the c anoe. A t the s am e tim e half a dozen lories were brought down. T he lory is of the s ize of a pigeon, the plum age das hed with green, part of the wings c rim s on, and its c res t bordered with white. To the young boy belonged the honor of this s hot, and he was proud enough of it. Lories are better food than the jac am ar, the fles h of whic h is rather tough, but it was diffic ult to pers uade P enc roft that he had not killed the king of eatable birds . It was ten o'c loc k in the m orning when the c anoe reac hed a s ec ond angle of the Merc y, nearly five m iles from its m outh. Here a halt was m ade for breakfas t under the s hade of s om e s plendid trees . T he river s till m eas ured from s ixty to s eventy feet in breadth, and its bed from five to s ix feet in depth. T he engineer had obs erved that it was inc reas ed by num erous affluents , but they were unnavigable, being s im ply little s tream s . A s to the fores t, inc luding J ac am ar W ood, as well as the fores ts of the Far W es t, it extended as far as the eye c ould reac h. In no plac e, either in the depths of the fores ts or under the trees on the banks of the Merc y, was the pres enc e of m an revealed. T he explorers c ould not dis c over one s us pic ious trac e. It was evident that the woodm an's axe had never touc hed thes e trees , that the pioneer's knife had never s evered the c reepers hanging from one trunk to another in the m ids t of tangled brus hwood and long gras s . If c as taways had landed on the is land, they c ould not have yet quitted the s hore, and it was not in the woods that the s urvivors of the s uppos ed s hipwrec k s hould be s ought. T he engineer therefore m anifes ted s om e im patienc e to reac h the wes tern c oas t of Linc oln Is land, whic h was at leas t five m iles dis tant ac c ording to his es tim ation. T he voyage was c ontinued, and as the Merc y appeared to flow not towards the s hore, but rather towards Mount Franklin, it was dec ided that they s hould us e the boat as long as there was enough water under its keel to float it. It was both fatigue s pared and tim e gained, for they would have been obliged to c ut a path through the thic k wood with their axes . B ut s oon the flow c om pletely failed them , either the tide was going down, and it was about the hour, or it c ould no longer be felt at this dis tanc e from the m outh of the Merc y. T hey had therefore to m ake us e of the oars . Herbert and Neb eac h took one, and P enc roft took the s c ull. T he fores t s oon bec am e les s dens e, the trees grew further apart and often quite is olated. B ut the further they were from eac h other the m ore m agnific ent they appeared, profiting, as they did, by the free, pure air whic h c irc ulated around them . W hat s plendid s pec im ens of the flora of this latitude! Certainly their pres enc e would have been enough for a botanis t to nam e without hes itation the parallel whic h travers ed Linc oln Is land. "E uc alypti! " c ried Herbert. T hey were, in fac t, thos e s plendid trees , the giants of the extratropic al zone, the c ongeners of the A us tralian and New Zealand euc alyptus , both s ituated under the s am e latitude as Linc oln Is land. S om e ros e to a height of two hundred feet. T heir trunks at the bas e m eas ured twenty feet in c irc um ferenc e, and their bark was c overed by a network of farrows c ontaining a red, s weet-s m elling gum . Nothing is m ore wonderful or m ore s ingular than thos e enorm ous s pec im ens of the order of the m yrtac eae, with their leaves plac ed vertic ally and not horizontally, s o that an edge and not a s urfac e looks upwards , the effec t being that the s un's rays penetrate m ore freely am ong the trees . T he ground at the foot of the euc alypti was c arpeted with gras s , and from the bus hes es c aped flights of little birds , whic h glittered in the s unlight like winged rubies . "T hes e are s om ething like trees ! " c ried Neb; "but are they good for anything?" "P ooh! " replied P enc roft. "Of c ours e there are vegetable giants as well as hum an giants , and they are no good, exc ept to s how them s elves at fairs ! " "I think that you are m is taken, P enc roft," replied Gideon S pilett, "and that the wood of the euc alyptus has begun to be very advantageous ly em ployed in c abinet-m aking." "A nd I m ay add," s aid Herbert, "that the euc alyptus belongs to a fam ily whic h c om pris es m any us eful m em bers ; the guava-tree, from whos e fruit guava jelly is m ade; the c love-tree, whic h produc es the s pic e; the pom egranate- tree, whic h bears pom egranates ; the E ugeac ia Cauliflora, the fruit of whic h is us ed in m aking a tolerable wine; the Ugui m yrtle, whic h c ontains an exc ellent alc oholic liquor; the Caryophyllus m yrtle, of whic h the bark form s an es teem ed c innam on; the E ugenia P im enta, from whenc e c om es J am aic a pepper; the c om m on m yrtle, from whos e buds and berries s pic e is s om etim es m ade; the E uc alyptus m anifera, whic h yields a s weet s ort of m anna; the Guinea E uc alyptus , the s ap of whic h is trans form ed into beer by ferm entation; in s hort, all thos e trees known under the nam e of gum -trees or iron-bark trees in A us tralia, belong to this fam ily of the m yrtac eae, whic h c ontains forty-s ix genera and thirteen hundred s pec ies ! " T he lad was allowed to run on, and he delivered his little botanic al lec ture with great anim ation. Cyrus Harding lis tened s m iling, and P enc roft with an indes c ribable feeling of pride. "V ery good, Herbert," replied P enc roft, "but I c ould s wear that all thos e us eful s pec im ens you have jus t told us about are none of them giants like thes e! " "T hat is true, P enc roft." "T hat s upports what I s aid," returned the s ailor, "nam ely, that thes e giants are good for nothing! " "T here you are wrong, P enc roft," s aid the engineer; "thes e gigantic euc alypti, whic h s helter us , are good for s om ething." "A nd what is that?" "T o render the c ountries whic h they inhabit healthy. Do you know what they are c alled in A us tralia and New Zealand?" "No, c aptain." "T hey are c alled 'fever trees .'" "B ec aus e they give fevers ?" "No, bec aus e they prevent them ! " "Good. I m us t note that," s aid the reporter. "Note it then, m y dear S pilett; for it appears proved that the pres enc e of the euc alyptus is enough to neutralize m ias m as . T his natural antidote has been tried in c ertain c ountries in the m iddle of E urope and the north of A fric a where the s oil was abs olutely unhealthy, and the s anitary c ondition of the inhabitants has been gradually am eliorated. No m ore interm ittent fevers prevail in the regions now c overed with fores ts of the m yrtac eae. T his fac t is now beyond doubt, and it is a happy c irc um s tanc e for us s ettlers in Linc oln Is land." "A h! what an is land! W hat a bles s ed is land! " c ried P enc roft. "I tell you, it wants nothing--unles s it is --" "T hat will c om e, P enc roft, that will be found," replied the engineer; "but now we m us t c ontinue our voyage and pus h on as far as the river will c arry our boat! " T he exploration was therefore c ontinued for another two m iles in the m ids t of c ountry c overed with euc alypti, whic h predom inated in the woods of this portion of the is land. T he s pac e whic h they oc c upied extended as far as the eye c ould reac h on eac h s ide of the Merc y, whic h wound along between high green banks . T he bed was often obs truc ted by long weeds , and even by pointed roc ks , whic h rendered the navigation very diffic ult. T he ac tion of the oars was prevented, and P enc roft was obliged to pus h with a pole. T hey found als o that the water was bec om ing s hallower and s hallower, and that the c anoe m us t s oon s top. T he s un was already s inking towards the horizon, and the trees threw long s hadows on the ground. Cyrus Harding, s eeing that he c ould not hope to reac h the wes tern c oas t of the is land in one journey, res olved to c am p at the plac e where any further navigation was prevented by want of water. He c alc ulated that they were s till five or s ix m iles from the c oas t, and this dis tanc e was too great for them to attem pt during the night in the m ids t of unknown woods . T he boat was pus hed on through the fores t, whic h gradually bec am e thic ker again, and appeared als o to have m ore inhabitants ; for if the eyes of the s ailor did not dec eive him , he thought he s aw bands of m onkeys s pringing am ong the trees . S om etim es even two or three of thes e anim als s topped at a little dis tanc e from the c anoe and gazed at the s ettlers without m anifes ting any terror, as if, s eeing m en for the firs t tim e, they had not yet learned to fear them . It would have been eas y to bring down one of thes e quadram ani with a guns hot, and P enc roft was greatly tem pted to fire, but Harding oppos ed s o us eles s a m as s ac re. T his was prudent, for the m onkeys , or apes rather, appearing to be very powerful and extrem ely ac tive, it was us eles s to provoke an unnec es s ary aggres s ion, and the c reatures m ight, ignorant of the power of the explorers ' firearm s , have attac ked them . It is true that the s ailor c ons idered the m onkeys from a purely alim entary point of view, for thos e anim als whic h are herbivorous m ake very exc ellent gam e; but s inc e they had an abundant s upply of provis ions , it was a pity to was te their am m unition. Towards four o'c loc k, the navigation of the Merc y bec am e exc eedingly diffic ult, for its c ours e was obs truc ted by aquatic plants and roc ks . T he banks ros e higher and higher, and already they were approac hing the s purs of Mount Franklin. T he s ourc e c ould not be far off, s inc e it was fed by the water from the s outhern s lopes of the m ountain. "In a quarter of an hour," s aid the s ailor, "we s hall be obliged to s top, c aptain." "V ery well, we will s top, P enc roft, and we will m ake our enc am pm ent for the night." "A t what dis tanc e are we from Granite Hous e?" as ked Herbert. "A bout s even m iles ," replied the engineer, "taking into c alc ulation, however, the detours of the river, whic h has c arried us to the northwes t." "S hall we go on?" as ked the reporter. "Y es , as long as we c an," replied Cyrus Harding. "T o-m orrow, at break of day, we will leave the c anoe, and in two hours I hope we s hall c ros s the dis tanc e whic h s eparates us from the c oas t, and then we s hall have the whole day in whic h to explore the s hore." "Go ahead! " replied P enc roft. B ut s oon the boat grated on the s tony bottom of the river, whic h was now not m ore than twenty feet in breadth. T he trees m et like a bower overhead, and c aus ed a half-darknes s . T hey als o heard the nois e of a waterfall, whic h s howed that a few hundred feet up the river there was a natural barrier. P res ently, after a s udden turn of the river, a c as c ade appeared through the trees . T he c anoe again touc hed the bottom , and in a few m inutes it was m oored to a trunk near the right bank. It was nearly five o'c loc k. T he las t rays of the s un gleam ed through the thic k foliage and glanc ed on the little waterfall, m aking the s pray s parkle with all the c olors of the rainbow. B eyond that, the Merc y was los t in the bus hwood, where it was fed from s om e hidden s ourc e. T he different s tream s whic h flowed into it inc reas ed it to a regular river further down, but here it was s im ply a s hallow, lim pid brook. It was agreed to c am p here, as the plac e was c harm ing. T he c olonis ts dis em barked, and a fire was s oon lighted under a c lum p of trees , am ong the branc hes of whic h Cyrus Harding and his c om panions c ould, if it was nec es s ary, take refuge for the night. S upper was quic kly devoured, for they were very hungry, and then there was only s leeping to think of. B ut, as roarings of rather a s us pic ious nature had been heard during the evening, a good fire was m ade up for the night, s o as to protec t the s leepers with its c rac kling flam es . Neb and P enc roft als o watc hed by turns , and did not s pare fuel. T hey thought they s aw the dark form s of s om e wild anim als prowling round the c am p am ong the bus hes , but the night pas s ed without inc ident, and the next day, the 31s t of Oc tober, at five o'c loc k in the m orning, all were on foot, ready for a s tart. Chapter 4 It was s ix o' c loc k in the m orning when the s ettlers , after a has ty breakfas t, s et out to reac h by the s hortes t way, the wes tern c oas t of the is land. A nd how long would it take to do this ? Cyrus Harding had s aid two hours , but of c ours e that depended on the nature of the obs tac les they m ight m eet with A s it was probable that they would have to c ut a path through the gras s , s hrubs , and c reepers , they m arc hed axe in hand, and with guns als o ready, wis ely taking warning from the c ries of the wild beas ts heard in the night. T he exac t pos ition of the enc am pm ent c ould be determ ined by the bearing of Mount Franklin, and as the volc ano aros e in the north at a dis tanc e of les s than three m iles , they had only to go s traight towards the s outhwes t to reac h the wes tern c oas t. T hey s et out, having firs t c arefully s ec ured the c anoe. P enc roft and Neb c arried s uffic ient provis ion for the little band for at leas t two days . It would not thus be nec es s ary to hunt. T he engineer advis ed his c om panions to refrain from firing, that their pres enc e m ight not be betrayed to any one near the s hore. T he firs t hatc het blows were given am ong the brus hwood in the m ids t of s om e m as tic -trees , a little above the c as c ade; and his c om pas s in his hand, Cyrus Harding led the way. T he fores t here was c om pos ed for the m os t part of trees whic h had already been m et with near the lake and on P ros pec t Heights . T here were deodars , Douglas firs , c as uarinas , gum trees , euc alypti, hibis c us , c edars , and other trees , generally of a m oderate s ize, for their num ber prevented their growth. S inc e their departure, the s ettlers had des c ended the s lopes whic h c ons tituted the m ountain s ys tem of the is land, on to a dry s oil, but the luxuriant vegetation of whic h indic ated it to be watered either by s om e s ubterranean m ars h or by s om e s tream . However, Cyrus Harding did not rem em ber having s een, at the tim e of his exc urs ion to the c rater, any other waterc ours es but the Red Creek and the Merc y. During the firs t part of their exc urs ion, they s aw num erous troops of m onkeys who exhibited great as tonis hm ent at the s ight of m en, whos e appearanc e was s o new to them . Gideon S pilett jokingly as ked whether thes e ac tive and m erry quadrupeds did not c ons ider him and his c om panions as degenerate brothers . A nd c ertainly, pedes trians , hindered at eac h s tep by bus hes , c aught by c reepers , barred by trunks of trees , did not s hine bes ide thos e s upple anim als , who, bounding from branc h to branc h, were hindered by nothing on their c ours e. T he m onkeys were num erous , but happily they did not m anifes t any hos tile dis pos ition. S everal pigs , agoutis , kangaroos , and other rodents were s een, als o two or three koalas , at whic h P enc roft longed to have a s hot.

"B ut," s aid he, "you m ay jum p and play jus t now; we s hall have one or two words to s ay to you on our way bac k! " A t half-pas t nine the way was s uddenly found to be barred by an unknown s tream , from thirty to forty feet broad, whos e rapid c urrent das hed foam ing over the num erous roc ks whic h interrupted its c ours e. T his c reek was deep and c lear, but it was abs olutely unnavigable. "W e are c ut off! " c ried Neb. "No," replied Herbert, "it is only a s tream , and we c an eas ily s wim over." "W hat would be the us e of that?" returned Harding. "T his c reek evidently runs to the s ea. Let us rem ain on this s ide and follow the bank, and I s hall be m uc h as tonis hed if it does not lead us very quic kly to the c oas t. Forward! " "One m inute," s aid the reporter. "T he nam e of this c reek, m y friends ? Do not let us leave our geography inc om plete." "A ll right! " s aid P enc roft. "Nam e it, m y boy," s aid the engineer, addres s ing the lad. "W ill it not be better to wait until we have explored it to its m outh?" ans wered Herbert. "V ery well," replied Cyrus Harding. "Let us follow it as fas t as we c an without s topping." "S till another m inute! " s aid P enc roft. "W hat's the m atter?" as ked the reporter. "T hough hunting is forbidden, fis hing is allowed, I s uppos e," s aid the s ailor. "W e have no tim e to los e," replied the engineer. "Oh! five m inutes ! " replied P enc roft, "I only as k for five m inutes to us e in the interes t of our breakfas t! " A nd P enc roft, lying down on the bank, plunged his arm into the water, and s oon pulled up s everal dozen of fine c rayfis h from am ong the s tones . "T hes e will be good! " c ried Neb, going to the s ailor's aid. "A s I s aid, there is everything in this is land, exc ept tobac c o! " m uttered P enc roft with a s igh. T he fis hing did not take five m inutes , for the c rayfis h were s warm ing in the c reek. A bag was filled with the c rus tac eae, whos e s hells were of a c obalt blue. T he s ettlers then pus hed on. T hey advanc ed m ore rapidly and eas ily along the bank of the river than in the fores t. From tim e to tim e they c am e upon the trac es of anim als of a large s ize who had c om e to quenc h their thirs t at the s tream , but none were ac tually s een, and it was evidently not in this part of the fores t that the pec c ary had rec eived the bullet whic h had c os t P enc roft a grinder. In the m eanwhile, c ons idering the rapid c urrent, Harding was led to s uppos e that he and his c om panions were m uc h farther from the wes tern c oas t than they had at firs t s uppos ed. In fac t, at this hour, the ris ing tide would have turned bac k the c urrent of the c reek, if its m outh had only been a few m iles dis tant. Now, this effec t was not produc ed, and the water purs ued its natural c ours e. T he engineer was m uc h as tonis hed at this , and frequently c ons ulted his c om pas s , to as s ure him s elf that s om e turn of the river was not leading them again into the Far W es t. However, the c reek gradually widened and its waters bec am e les s tum ultuous . T he trees on the right bank were as c los e together as on the left bank, and it was im pos s ible to dis tinguis h anything beyond them ; but thes e m as s es of wood were evidently uninhabited, for Top did not bark, and the intelligent anim al would not have failed to s ignal the pres enc e of any s tranger in the neighborhood. A t half-pas t ten, to the great s urpris e of Cyrus Harding, Herbert, who was a little in front, s uddenly s topped and exc laim ed,-"T he s ea! " In a few m inutes m ore, the whole wes tern s hore of the is land lay extended before the eyes of the s ettlers . B ut what a c ontras t between this and the eas tern c oas t, upon whic h c hanc e had firs t thrown them . No granite c liff, no roc ks , not even a s andy beac h. T he fores t reac hed the s hore, and the tall trees bending over the water were beaten by the waves . It was not s uc h a s hore as is us ually form ed by nature, either by extending a vas t c arpet of s and, or by grouping m as s es of roc k, but a beautiful border c ons is ting of the m os t s plendid trees . T he bank was rais ed a little above the level of the s ea, and on this luxuriant s oil, s upported by a granite bas e, the fine fores t trees s eem ed to be as firm ly planted as in the interior of the is land. T he c olonis ts were then on the s hore of an unim portant little harbor, whic h would s c arc ely have c ontained even two or three fis hing-boats . It s erved as a nec k to the new c reek, of whic h the c urious thing was that its waters , ins tead of joining the s ea by a gentle s lope, fell from a height of m ore than forty feet, whic h explained why the ris ing tide was not felt up the s tream . In fac t, the tides of the P ac ific , even at their m axim um elevation, c ould never reac h the level of the river, and, doubtles s , m illions of years would pas s before the water would have worn away the granite and hollowed a prac tic able m outh. It was s ettled that the nam e of Falls River s hould be given to this s tream . B eyond, towards the north, the fores t border was prolonged for a s pac e of nearly two m iles ; then the trees bec am e s c arc er, and beyond that again the pic tures que heights des c ribed a nearly s traight line, whic h ran north and s outh. On the c ontrary, all the part of the s hore between Falls River and Reptile E nd was a m as s of wood, m agnific ent trees , s om e s traight, others bent, s o that the long s ea-s well bathed their roots . Now, it was this c oas t, that is , all the S erpentine P enins ula, that was to be explored, for this part of the s hore offered a refuge to c as taways , whic h the other wild and barren s ide m us t have refus ed. T he weather was fine and c lear, and from a height of a hilloc k on whic h Neb and P enc roft had arranged breakfas t, a wide view was obtained. T here was , however, not a s ail in s ight; nothing c ould be s een along the s hore as far as the eye c ould reac h. B ut the engineer would take nothing for granted until he had explored the c oas t to the very extrem ity of the S erpentine P enins ula. B reakfas t was s oon des patc hed, and at half-pas t eleven the c aptain gave the s ignal for departure. Ins tead of proc eeding over the s um m it of a c liff or along a s andy beac h, the s ettlers were obliged to rem ain under c over of the trees s o that they m ight c ontinue on the s hore. T he dis tanc e whic h s eparated Falls River from Reptile E nd was about twelve m iles . It would have taken the s ettlers four hours to do this , on a c lear ground and without hurrying them s elves ; but as it was they needed double the tim e, for what with trees to go round, bus hes to c ut down, and c reepers to c hop away, they were im peded at every s tep, thes e obs tac les greatly lengthening their journey. T here was , however, nothing to s how that a s hipwrec k had taken plac e rec ently. It is true that, as Gideon S pilett obs erved, any rem ains of it m ight have drifted out to s ea, and they m us t not take it for granted that bec aus e they c ould find no trac es of it, a s hip had not been c as taway on the c oas t. T he reporter's argum ent was jus t, and bes ides , the inc ident of the bullet proved that a s hot m us t have been fired in Linc oln Is land within three m onths . It was already five o'c loc k, and there were s till two m iles between the s ettlers and the extrem ity of the S erpentine P enins ula. It was evident that after having reac hed Reptile E nd, Harding and his c om panions would not have tim e to return before dark to their enc am pm ent near the s ourc e of the Merc y. It would therefore be nec es s ary to pas s the night on the prom ontory. B ut they had no lac k of provis ions , whic h was luc ky, for there were no anim als on the s hore, though birds , on the c ontrary, abound--jac am ars , c ourouc ous , tragopans , grous e, lories , parrots , c oc katoos , pheas ants , pigeons , and a hundred others . T here was not a tree without a nes t, and not a nes t whic h was not full of flapping wings . Towards s even o'c loc k the weary explorers arrived at Reptile E nd. Here the s eas ide fores t ended, and the s hore res um ed the c us tom ary appearanc e of a c oas t, with roc ks , reefs , and s ands . It was pos s ible that s om ething m ight be found here, but darknes s c am e on, and the further exploration had to be put off to the next day. P enc roft and Herbert has tened on to find a s uitable plac e for their c am p. A m ong the las t trees of the fores t of the Far W es t, the boy found s everal thic k c lum ps of bam boos . "Good," s aid he; "this is a valuable dis c overy." "V aluable?" returned P enc roft. "Certainly," replied Herbert. "I m ay s ay, P enc roft, that the bark of the bam boo, c ut into flexible laths , is us ed for m aking bas kets ; that this bark, m as hed into a pas te, is us ed for the m anufac ture of Chines e paper; that the s talks furnis h, ac c ording to their s ize, c anes and pipes and are us ed for c onduc ting water; that large bam boos m ake exc ellent m aterial for building, being light and s trong, and being never attac ked by ins ec ts . I will add that by s awing the bam boo in two at the joint, keeping for the bottom the part of the trans vers e film whic h form s the joint, us eful c ups are obtained, whic h are m uc h in us e am ong the Chines e. No! you don't c are for that. B ut--" "B ut what?" "B ut I c an tell you, if you are ignorant of it, that in India thes e bam boos are eaten like as paragus ." "A s paragus thirty feet high! " exc laim ed the s ailor. "A nd are they good?" "E xc ellent," replied Herbert. "Only it is not the s tem s of thirty feet high whic h are eaten, but the young s hoots ." "P erfec t, m y boy, perfec t! " replied P enc roft. "I will als o add that the pith of the young s talks , pres erved in vinegar, m akes a good pic kle." "B etter and better, Herbert! " "A nd las tly, that the bam boos exude a s weet liquor whic h c an be m ade into a very agreeable drink." "Is that all?" as ked the s ailor. "T hat is all! " "A nd they don't happen to do for s m oking?" "No, m y poor P enc roft." Herbert and the s ailor had not to look long for a plac e in whic h to pas s the night. T he roc ks , whic h m us t have been violently beaten by the s ea under the influenc e of the winds of the s outhwes t, pres ented m any c avities in whic h s helter c ould be found agains t the night air. B ut jus t as they were about to enter one of thes e c aves a loud roaring arres ted them . "B ac k! " c ried P enc roft. "Our guns are only loaded with s m all s hot, and beas ts whic h c an roar as loud as that would c are no m ore for it than for grains of s alt! " A nd the s ailor, s eizing Herbert by the arm , dragged him behind a roc k, jus t as a m agnific ent anim al s howed its elf at the entranc e of the c avern. It was a jaguar of a s ize at leas t equal to its A s iatic c ongeners , that is to s ay, it m eas ured five feet from the extrem ity of its head to the beginning of its tail. T he yellow c olor of its hair was relieved by s treaks and regular oblong s pots of blac k, whic h c ontras ted with the white of its c hes t. Herbert rec ognized it as the feroc ious rival of the tiger, as form idable as the pum a, whic h is the rival of the larges t wolf! T he jaguar advanc ed and gazed around him with blazing eyes , his hair bris tling as if this was not the firs t tim e he had s c ented m en. A t this m om ent the reporter appeared round a roc k, and Herbert, thinking that he had not s een the jaguar, was about to rus h towards him , when Gideon S pilett s igned to him to rem ain where he was . T his was not his firs t tiger, and advanc ing to within ten feet of the anim al he rem ained m otionles s , his gun to his s houlder, without m oving a m us c le. T he jaguar c ollec ted its elf for a s pring, but at that m om ent a s hot s truc k it in the eyes , and it fell dead. Herbert and P enc roft rus hed towards the jaguar. Neb and Harding als o ran up, and they rem ained for s om e ins tants c ontem plating the anim al as it lay s tretc hed on the ground, thinking that its m agnific ent s kin would be a great ornam ent to the hall at Granite Hous e. "Oh, Mr. S pilett, how I adm ire and envy you! " c ried Herbert, in a fit of very natural enthus ias m . "W ell, m y boy," replied the reporter, "you c ould have done the s am e." "I! with s uc h c oolnes s ! --" "Im agine to yours elf, Herbert, that the jaguar is only a hare, and you would fire as quietly as pos s ible." "T hat is ," rejoined P enc roft, "that it is not m ore dangerous than a hare! " "A nd now," s aid Gideon S pilett, "s inc e the jaguar has left its abode, I do not s ee, m y friends , why we s hould not take pos s es s ion of it for the night." "B ut others m ay c om e," s aid P enc roft. "It will be enough to light a fire at the entranc e of the c avern," s aid the reporter, "and no wild beas ts will dare to c ros s the thres hold." "Into the jaguar's hous e, then! " replied the s ailor, dragging after him the body of the anim al. W hile Neb s kinned the jaguar, his c om panions c ollec ted an abundant s upply of dry wood from the fores t, whic h they heaped up at the c ave. Cyrus Harding, s eeing the c lum p of bam boos , c ut a quantity, whic h he m ingled with the other fuel. T his done, they entered the grotto, of whic h the floor was s trewn with bones , the guns were c arefully loaded, in c as e of a s udden attac k, they had s upper, and then jus t before they lay down to res t, the heap of wood piled at the entranc e was s et fire to. Im m ediately, a regular explos ion, or rather a s eries of reports , broke the s ilenc e! T he nois e was c aus ed by the bam boos , whic h, as the flam es reac hed them , exploded like fireworks . T he nois e was enough to terrify even the boldes t of wild beas ts . It was not the engineer who had invented this way of c aus ing loud explos ions , for, ac c ording to Marc o P olo, the T artars have em ployed it for m any c enturies to drive away from their enc am pm ents the form idable wild beas ts of Central A s ia. Chapter 5 Cyrus Harding and his c om panions s lept like innoc ent m arm ots in the c ave whic h the jaguar had s o politely left at their dis pos al. A t s unris e all were on the s hore at the extrem ity of the prom ontory, and their gaze was direc ted towards the horizon, of whic h two-thirds of the c irc um ferenc e were vis ible. For the las t tim e the engineer c ould as c ertain that not a s ail nor the wrec k of a s hip was on the s ea, and even with the teles c ope nothing s us pic ious c ould be dis c overed. T here was nothing either on the s hore, at leas t, in the s traight line of three m iles whic h form ed the s outh s ide of the prom ontory, for beyond that, ris ing ground had the res t of the c oas t, and even from the extrem ity of the S erpentine P enins ula Claw Cape c ould not be s een. T he s outhern c oas t of the is land s till rem ained to be explored. Now s hould they undertake it im m ediately, and devote this day to it? T his was not inc luded in their firs t plan. In fac t, when the boat was abandoned at the s ourc es of the Merc y, it had been agreed that after having s urveyed the wes t c oas t, they s hould go bac k to it, and return to Granite Hous e by the Merc y. Harding then thought that the wes tern c oas t would have offered refuge, either to a s hip in dis tres s , or to a ves s el in her regular c ours e; but now, as he s aw that this c oas t pres ented no good anc horage, he wis hed to s eek on the s outh what they had not been able to find on the wes t. Gideon S pilett propos ed to c ontinue the exploration, that the ques tion of the s uppos ed wrec k m ight be c om pletely s ettled, and he as ked at what dis tanc e Claw Cape m ight be from the extrem ity of the penins ula. "A bout thirty m iles ," replied the engineer, "if we take into c ons ideration the c urvings of the c oas t." "T hirty m iles ! " returned S pilett. "T hat would be a long day's m arc h. Nevertheles s , I think that we s hould return to Granite Hous e by the s outh c oas t." "B ut," obs erved Herbert, "from Claw Cape to Granite Hous e there m us t be at leas t another ten m iles . "Make it forty m iles in all," replied the engineer, "and do not hes itate to do it. A t leas t we s hould s urvey the unknown s hore, and then we s hall not have to begin the exploration again." "V ery good," s aid P enc roft. "B ut the boat?" "T he boat has rem ained by its elf for one day at the s ourc es of the Merc y," replied Gideon S pilett; "it m ay jus t as well s tay there two days ! A s yet, we have had no reas on to think that the is land is infes ted by thieves ! " "Y et," s aid the s ailor, "when I rem em ber the his tory of the turtle, I am far from c onfident of that." "T he turtle! the turtle! " replied the reporter. "Don't you know that the s ea turned it over?" "W ho knows ?" m urm ured the engineer. "B ut,--" s aid Neb. Neb had evidently s om ething to s ay, for he opened his m outh to s peak and yet s aid nothing. "W hat do you want to s ay, Neb?" as ked the engineer. "If we return by the s hore to Claw Cape," replied Neb, "after having doubled the Cape, we s hall be s topped--" "B y the Merc y! of c ours e," replied Herbert, "and we s hall have neither bridge nor boat by whic h to c ros s ." "B ut, c aptain," added P enc roft, "with a few floating trunks we s hall have no diffic ulty in c ros s ing the river." "Never m ind," s aid S pilett, "it will be us eful to c ons truc t a bridge if we wis h to have an eas y ac c es s to the Far W es t! " "A bridge! " c ried P enc roft. "W ell, is not the c aptain the bes t engineer in his profes s ion? He will m ake us a bridge when we want one. A s to trans porting you this evening to the other s ide of the Merc y, and that without wetting one thread of your c lothes , I will take c are of that. W e have provis ions for another day, and bes ides we c an get plenty of gam e. Forward! " T he reporter's propos al, s o s trongly s ec onded by the s ailor, rec eived general approbation, for eac h wis hed to have their doubts s et at res t, and by returning by Claw Cape the exploration would he ended. B ut there was not an hour to los e, for forty m iles was a long m arc h, and they c ould not hope to reac h Granite Hous e before night. A t s ix o'c loc k in the m orning the little band s et out. A s a prec aution the guns were loaded with ball, and T op, who led the van, rec eived orders to beat about the edge of the fores t. From the extrem ity of the prom ontory whic h form ed the tail of the penins ula the c oas t was rounded for a dis tanc e of five m iles , whic h was rapidly pas s ed over, without even the m os t m inute inves tigations bringing to light the leas t trac e of any old or rec ent landings ; no debris , no m ark of an enc am pm ent, no c inders of a fire, nor even a footprint! From the point of the penins ula on whic h the s ettlers now were their gaze c ould extend along the s outhwes t. T wenty-five m iles off the c oas t term inated in the Claw Cape, whic h loom ed dim ly through the m orning m is ts , and whic h, by the phenom enon of the m irage, appeared as if s us pended between land and water. B etween the plac e oc c upied by the c olonis ts and the other s ide of the im m ens e bay, the s hore was c om pos ed, firs t, of a trac t of low land, bordered in the bac kground by trees ; then the s hore bec am e m ore irregular, projec ting s harp points into the s ea, and finally ended in the blac k roc ks whic h, ac c um ulated in pic tures que dis order, form ed Claw Cape. S uc h was the developm ent of this part of the is land, whic h the s ettlers took in at a glanc e, while s topping for an ins tant. "If a ves s el ran in here," s aid P enc roft, "s he would c ertainly be los t. S andbanks and reefs everywhere! B ad quarters ! " "B ut at leas t s om ething would be left of the s hip," obs erved the reporter. "T here m ight be piec es of wood on the roc ks , but nothing on the s ands ," replied the s ailor. "W hy?" "B ec aus e the s ands are s till m ore dangerous than the roc ks , for they s wallow up everything that is thrown on them . In a few days the hull of a s hip of s everal hundred tons would dis appear entirely in there! " "S o, P enc roft," as ked the engineer, "if a s hip has been wrec ked on thes e banks , is it not as tonis hing that there is now no trac e of her rem aining?" "No, c aptain, with the aid of tim e and tem pes t. However, it would be s urpris ing, even in this c as e, that s om e of the m as ts or s pars s hould not have been thrown on the beac h, out of reac h of the waves ." "Let us go on with our s earc h, then," returned Cyrus Harding.

A t one o'c loc k the c olonis ts arrived at the other s ide of W as hington B ay, they having now gone a dis tanc e of twenty m iles . T hey then halted for breakfas t. Here began the irregular c oas t, c overed with lines of roc ks and s andbanks . T he long s ea-s well c ould be s een breaking over the roc ks in the bay, form ing a foam y fringe. From this point to Claw Cape the beac h was very narrow between the edge of the fores t and the reefs . W alking was now m ore diffic ult, on ac c ount of the num erous roc ks whic h enc um bered the beac h. T he granite c liff als o gradually inc reas ed in height, and only the green tops of the trees whic h c rowned it c ould be s een. A fter half an hour's res t, the s ettlers res um ed their journey, and not a s pot am ong the roc ks was left unexam ined. P enc roft and Neb even rus hed into the s urf whenever any objec t attrac ted their attention. B ut they found nothing, s om e c urious form ations of the roc ks having dec eived them . T hey as c ertained, however, that eatable s hellfis h abounded there, but thes e c ould not be of any great advantage to them until s om e eas y m eans of c om m unic ation had been es tablis hed between the two banks of the Merc y, and until the m eans of trans port had been perfec ted. Nothing therefore whic h threw any light on the s uppos ed wrec k c ould be found on this s hore, yet an objec t of any im portanc e, s uc h as the hull of a s hip, would have been s een direc tly, or any of her m as ts and s pans would have been was hed on s hore, jus t as the c hes t had been, whic h was found twenty m iles from here. B ut there was nothing. T owards three o'c loc k Harding and his c om panions arrived at a s nug little c reek. It form ed quite a natural harbor, invis ible from the s ea, and was entered by a narrow c hannel. A t the bac k of this c reek s om e violent c onvuls ion had torn up the roc ky border, and a c utting, by a gentle s lope, gave ac c es s to an upper plateau, whic h m ight be s ituated at leas t ten m iles from Claw Cape, and c ons equently four m iles in a s traight line from P ros pec t Heights . Gideon S pilett propos ed to his c om panions that they s hould m ake a halt here. T hey agreed readily, for their walk had s harpened their appetites ; and although it was not their us ual dinner-hour, no one refus ed to s trengthen him s elf with a piec e of venis on. T his lunc heon would s us tain them until their s upper, whic h they intended to take at Granite Hous e. In a few m inutes the s ettlers , s eated under a c lum p of fine s ea-pines , were devouring the provis ions whic h Neb produc ed from his bag. T his s pot was rais ed from fifty to s ixty feet above the level of the s ea. T he view was very extens ive, but beyond the c ape it ended in Union B ay. Neither the is let nor P ros pec t Heights was vis ible, and c ould not be from thenc e, for the ris ing ground and the c urtain of trees c los ed the northern horizon. It is us eles s to add that notwiths tanding the wide extent of s ea whic h the explorers c ould s urvey, and though the engineer s wept the horizon with his glas s , no ves s el c ould be found. T he s hore was of c ours e exam ined with the s am e c are from the edge of the water to the c liff, and nothing c ould be dis c overed even with the aid of the ins trum ent. "W ell," s aid Gideon S pilett, "it s eem s we m us t m ake up our m inds to c ons ole ours elves with thinking that no one will c om e to dis pute with us the pos s es s ion of Linc oln Is land! " "B ut the bullet," c ried Herbert. "T hat was not im aginary, I s uppos e! " "Hang it, no! " exc laim ed P enc roft, thinking of his abs ent tooth. "T hen what c onc lus ion m ay be drawn?" as ked the reporter. "T his ," replied the engineer, "that three m onths or m ore ago, a ves s el, either voluntarily or not, c am e here." "W hat! then you adm it, Cyrus , that s he was s wallowed up without leaving any trac e?" c ried the reporter. "No, m y dear S pilett; but you s ee that if it is c ertain that a hum an being s et foot on the is land, it appears no les s c ertain that he has now left it." "T hen, if I unders tand you right, c aptain," s aid Herbert, "the ves s el has left again?" "E vidently." "A nd we have los t an opportunity to get bac k to our c ountry?" s aid Neb. "I fear s o." "V ery well, s inc e the opportunity is los t, let us go on; it c an't be helped," s aid P enc roft, who felt hom e-s ic knes s for Granite Hous e. B ut jus t as they were ris ing, T op was heard loudly barking; and the dog is s ued from the wood, holding in his m outh a rag s oiled with m ud. Neb s eized it. It was a piec e of s trong c loth! T op s till barked, and by his going and c om ing, s eem ed to invite his m as ter to follow him into the fores t. "Now there's s om ething to explain the bullet! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "A c as taway! " replied Herbert. "W ounded, perhaps ! " s aid Neb. "Or dead! " added the reporter. A ll ran after the dog, am ong the tall pines on the border of the fores t. Harding and his c om panions m ade ready their firearm s , in c as e of an em ergenc y. T hey advanc ed s om e way into the wood, but to their great dis appointm ent, they as yet s aw no s igns of any hum an being having pas s ed that way. S hrubs and c reepers were uninjured, and they had even to c ut them away with the axe, as they had done in the deepes t rec es s es of the fores t. It was diffic ult to fanc y that any hum an c reature had ever pas s ed there, but yet T op went bac kward and forward, not like a dog who s earc hes at random , but like a dog being endowed with a m ind, who is following up an idea. In about s even or eight m inutes T op s topped in a glade s urrounded with tall trees . T he s ettlers gazed around them , but s aw nothing, neither under the bus hes nor am ong the trees . "W hat is the m atter, T op?" s aid Cyrus Harding. T op barked louder, bounding about at the foot of a gigantic pine. A ll at onc e P enc roft s houted,--"Ho, s plendid! c apital! " "W hat is it?" as ked S pilett. "W e have been looking for a wrec k at s ea or on land! " "W ell?" "W ell; and here we've found one in the air! " A nd the s ailor pointed to a great white rag, c aught in the top of the pine, a fallen s c rap of whic h the dog had brought to them . "B ut that is not a wrec k! " c ried Gideon S pilett. "I beg your pardon! " returned P enc roft. "W hy? is it--?" "It is all that rem ains of our airy boat, of our balloon, whic h has been c aught up aloft there, at the top of that tree! " P enc roft was not m is taken, and he gave vent to his feelings in a trem endous hurrah, adding,-"T here is good c loth! T here is what will furnis h us with linen for years . T here is what will m ake us handkerc hiefs and s hirts ! Ha, ha, Mr. S pilett, what do you s ay to an is land where s hirts grow on the trees ?" It was c ertainly a luc ky c irc um s tanc e for the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land that the balloon, after having m ade its las t bound into the air, had fallen on the is land and thus given them the opportunity of finding it again, whether they kept the c as e under its pres ent form , or whether they wis hed to attem pt another es c ape by it, or whether they us efully em ployed the s everal hundred yards of c otton, whic h was of fine quality. P enc roft's joy was therefore s hared by all. B ut it was nec es s ary to bring down the rem ains of the balloon from the tree, to plac e it in s ec urity, and this was no s light tas k. Neb, Herbert, and the s ailor, c lim bing to the s um m it of the tree, us ed all their s kill to dis engage the now reduc ed balloon. T he operation las ted two hours , and then not only the c as e, with its valve, its s prings , its bras s work, lay on the ground, but the net, that is to s ay a c ons iderable quantity of ropes and c ordage, and the c irc le and the anc hor. T he c as e, exc ept for the frac ture, was in good c ondition, only the lower portion being torn. It was a fortune whic h had fallen from the s ky. "A ll the s am e, c aptain," s aid the s ailor, "if we ever dec ide to leave the is land, it won't be in a balloon, will it? T hes e airboats won't go where we want them to go, and we have had s om e experienc e in that way! Look here, we will build a c raft of s om e twenty tons , and then we c an m ake a m ain-s ail, a fores ail, and a jib out of that c loth. A s to the res t of it, that will help to dres s us ." "W e s hall s ee, P enc roft," replied Cyrus Harding; "we s hall s ee." "In the m eantim e, we m us t put it in a s afe plac e," s aid Neb. T hey c ertainly c ould not think of c arrying this load of c loth, ropes , and c ordage, to Granite Hous e, for the weight of it was very c ons iderable, and while waiting for a s uitable vehic le in whic h to c onvey it, it was of im portanc e that this treas ure s hould not be left longer expos ed to the m erc ies of the firs t s torm . T he s ettlers , uniting their efforts , m anaged to drag it as far as the s hore, where they dis c overed a large roc ky c avity, whic h owing to its pos ition c ould not be vis ited either by the wind or rain. "W e needed a loc ker, and now we have one," s aid P enc roft; "but as we c annot loc k it up, it will be prudent to hide the opening. I don't m ean from two-legged thieves , but from thos e with four paws ! " A t s ix o'c loc k, all was s towed away, and after having given the c reek the very s uitable nam e of "P ort B alloon," the s ettlers purs ued their way along Claw Cape. P enc roft and the engineer talked of the different projec ts whic h it was agreed to put into exec ution with the briefes t pos s ible delay. It was nec es s ary firs t of all to throw a bridge over the Merc y, s o as to es tablis h an eas y c om m unic ation with the s outh of the is land; then the c art m us t be taken to bring bac k the balloon, for the c anoe alone c ould not c arry it, then they would build a dec ked boat, and P enc roft would rig it as a c utter, and they would be able to undertake voyages of c irc um navigation round the is land, etc . In the m eanwhile night c am e on, and it was already dark when the s ettlers reac hed Flots am P oint, where they had found the prec ious c hes t. T he dis tanc e between Flots am P oint and Granite Hous e was another four m iles , and it was m idnight when, after having followed the s hore to the m outh of the Merc y, the s ettlers arrived at the firs t angle form ed by the Merc y. T here the river was eighty feet in breadth, whic h was awkward to c ros s , but as P enc roft had taken upon him s elf to c onquer this diffic ulty, he was c om pelled to do it. T he s ettlers c ertainly had reas on to be pretty tired. T he journey had been long, and the tas k of getting down the balloon had not res ted either their arm s or legs . T hey were anxious to reac h Granite Hous e to eat and s leep, and if the bridge had been c ons truc ted, in a quarter of an hour they would have been at hom e. T he night was very dark. P enc roft prepared to keep his prom is e by c ons truc ting a s ort of raft, on whic h to m ake the pas s age of the Merc y. He and Neb, arm ed with axes , c hos e two trees near the water, and began to attac k them at the bas e. Cyrus Harding and S pilett, s eated on the bank, waited till their c om panions were ready for their help, while Herbert roam ed about, though without going to any dis tanc e. A ll at onc e, the lad, who had s trolled by the river, c am e running bac k, and, pointing up the Merc y, exc laim ed,-"W hat is floating there?" P enc roft s topped working, and s eeing an indis tinc t objec t m oving through the gloom ,-"A c anoe! " c ried he. A ll approac hed, and s aw to their extrem e s urpris e, a boat floating down the c urrent. "B oat ahoy! " s houted the s ailor, without thinking that perhaps it would be bes t to keep s ilenc e. No reply. T he boat s till drifted onward, and it was not m ore than twelve feet off, when the s ailor exc laim ed,-"B ut it is our own boat! s he has broken her m oorings , and floated down the c urrent. I m us t s ay s he has arrived very opportunely." "Our boat?" m urm ured the engineer. P enc roft was right. It was indeed the c anoe, of whic h the rope had undoubtedly broken, and whic h had c om e alone from the s ourc es of the Merc y. It was very im portant to s eize it before the rapid c urrent s hould have s wept it away out of the m outh of the river, but Neb and P enc roft c leverly m anaged this by m eans of a long pole. T he c anoe touc hed the s hore. T he engineer leaped in firs t, and found, on exam ining the rope, that it had been really worn through by rubbing agains t the roc ks . "W ell," s aid the reporter to him , in a low voic e, "this is a s trange thing." "S trange indeed! " returned Cyrus Harding. S trange or not, it was very fortunate. Herbert, the reporter, Neb, and P enc roft, em barked in turn. T here was no doubt about the rope having been worn through, but the as tonis hing part of the affair was , that the boat s hould arrive jus t at the m om ent when the s ettlers were there to s eize it on its way, for a quarter of an hour earlier or later it would have been los t in the s ea. If they had been living in the tim e of genii, this inc ident would have given them the right to think that the is land was haunted by s om e s upernatural being, who us ed his power in the s ervic e of the c as taways ! A few s trokes of the oar brought the s ettlers to the m outh of the Merc y. T he c anoe was hauled up on the beac h near the Chim neys , and all proc eeded towards the ladder of Granite Hous e. B ut at that m om ent, T op barked angrily, and Neb, who was looking for the firs t s teps , uttered a c ry. T here was no longer a ladder! Chapter 6 Cyrus Harding s tood s till, without s aying a word. His c om panions s earc hed in the darknes s on the wall, in c as e the wind s hould have m oved the ladder, and on the ground, thinking that it m ight have fallen down.... B ut the ladder had quite dis appeared. A s to as c ertaining if a s quall had blown it on the landingplac e, half way up, that was im pos s ible in the dark. "If it is a joke," c ried P enc roft, "it is a very s tupid one! T o c om e hom e and find no s tairc as e to go up to your room by--that's nothing for weary m en to laugh at." Neb c ould do nothing but c ry out "Oh! oh! oh! " "I begin to think that very c urious things happen in Linc oln Is land! " s aid P enc roft. "Curious ?" replied Gideon S pilett, "not at all, P enc roft, nothing c an be m ore natural. S om e one has c om e during our abs enc e, taken pos s es s ion of our dwelling and drawn up the ladder." "S om e one," c ried the s ailor. "B ut who?" "W ho but the hunter who fired the bullet?" replied the reporter. "W ell, if there is any one up there," replied P enc roft, who began to los e patienc e, "I will give them a hail, and they m us t ans wer." A nd in a s tentorian voic e the s ailor gave a prolonged "Halloo! " whic h was ec hoed again and again from the c liff and roc ks . T he s ettlers lis tened and they thought they heard a s ort of c huc kling laugh, of whic h they c ould not gues s the origin. B ut no voic e replied to P enc roft, who in vain repeated his vigorous s houts . T here was s om ething indeed in this to as tonis h the m os t apathetic of m en, and the s ettlers were not m en of that des c ription. In their s ituation every inc ident had its im portanc e, and, c ertainly, during the s even m onths whic h they had s pent on the is land, they had not before m et with anything of s o s urpris ing a c harac ter. B e that as it m ay, forgetting their fatigue in the s ingularity of the event, they rem ained below Granite Hous e, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do, ques tioning eac h other without any hope of a s atis fac tory reply, every one s tarting s om e s uppos ition eac h m ore unlikely than the las t. Neb bewailed him s elf, m uc h dis appointed at not being able to get into his kitc hen, for the provis ions whic h they had had on their expedition were exhaus ted, and they had no m eans of renewing them . "My friends ," at las t s aid Cyrus Harding, "there is only one thing to be done at pres ent; wait for day, and then ac t ac c ording to c irc um s tanc es . B ut let us go to the Chim neys . T here we s hall be under s helter, and if we c annot eat, we c an at leas t s leep." "B ut who is it that has played us this c ool tric k?" again as ked P enc roft, unable to m ake up his m ind to retire from the s pot. W hoever it was , the only thing prac tic able was to do as the engineer propos ed, to go to the Chim neys and there wait for day. In the m eanwhile Top was ordered to m ount guard below the windows of Granite Hous e, and when Top rec eived an order he obeyed it without any ques tioning. T he brave dog therefore rem ained at the foot of the c liff while his m as ter with his c om panions s ought a refuge am ong the roc ks . To s ay that the s ettlers , notwiths tanding their fatigue, s lept well on the s andy floor of the Chim neys would not be true. It was not only that they were extrem ely anxious to find out the c aus e of what had happened, whether it was the res ult of an ac c ident whic h would be dis c overed at the return of day, or whether on the c ontrary it was the work of a hum an being; but they als o had very unc om fortable beds . T hat c ould not be helped, however, for in s om e way or other at that m om ent their dwelling was oc c upied, and they c ould not pos s ibly enter it. Now Granite Hous e was m ore than their dwelling, it was their warehous e. T here were all the s tores belonging to the c olony, weapons , ins trum ents , tools , am m unition, provis ions , etc . To think that all that m ight be pillaged and that the s ettlers would have all their work to do over again, fres h weapons and tools to m ake, was a s erious m atter. T heir uneas ines s led one or other of them als o to go out every few m inutes to s ee if Top was keeping good watc h. Cyrus Harding alone waited with his habitual patienc e, although his s trong m ind was exas perated at being c onfronted with s uc h an inexplic able fac t, and he was provoked at him s elf for allowing a feeling to whic h he c ould not give a nam e, to gain an influenc e over him . Gideon S pilett s hared his feelings in this res pec t, and the two c onvers ed together in whis pers of the inexplic able c irc um s tanc e whic h baffled even their intelligenc e and experienc e. "It is a joke," s aid P enc roft; "it is a tric k s om e one has played us . W ell, I don't like s uc h jokes , and the joker had better look out for him s elf, if he falls into m y hands , I c an tell him ." A s s oon as the firs t gleam of light appeared in the eas t, the c olonis ts , s uitably arm ed, repaired to the beac h under Granite Hous e. T he ris ing s un now s hone on the c liff and they c ould s ee the windows , the s hutters of whic h were c los ed, through the c urtains of foliage. A ll here was in order; but a c ry es c aped the c olonis ts when they s aw that the door, whic h they had c los ed on their departure, was now wide open. S om e one had entered Granite Hous e--there c ould be no m ore doubt about that. T he upper ladder, whic h generally hung from the door to the landing, was in its plac e, but the lower ladder was drawn up and rais ed to the thres hold. It was evident that the intruders had wis hed to guard them s elves agains t a s urpris e. P enc roft hailed again. No reply. "T he beggars ," exc laim ed the s ailor. "T here they are s leeping quietly as if they were in their own hous e. Hallo there, you pirates , brigands , robbers , s ons of J ohn B ull! " W hen P enc roft, being a Y ankee, treated any one to the epithet of "s on of J ohn B ull," he c ons idered he had reac hed the las t lim its of ins ult. T he s un had now c om pletely ris en, and the whole fac ade of Granite Hous e bec am e illum inated by its rays ; but in the interior as well as on the exterior all was quiet and c alm . T he s ettlers as ked if Granite Hous e was inhabited or not, and yet the pos ition of the ladder was s uffic ient to s how that it was ; it was als o c ertain that the inhabitants , whoever they m ight be, had not been able to es c ape. B ut how were they to be got at? Herbert then thought of fas tening a c ord to an arrow, and s hooting the arrow s o that it s hould pas s between the firs t rounds of the ladder whic h hung from the thres hold. B y m eans of the c ord they would then be able to draw down the ladder to the ground, and s o re-es tablis h the c om m unic ation between the beac h and Granite Hous e. T here was evidently nothing els e to be done, and, with a little s kill, this m ethod m ight s uc c eed. V ery fortunately bows and arrows had been left at the Chim neys , where they als o found a quantity of light hibis c us c ord. P enc roft fas tened this to a well-feathered arrow. T hen Herbert fixing it to his bow, took a c areful aim for the lower part of the ladder. Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, P enc roft, and Neb drew bac k, s o as to s ee if anything appeared at the windows . T he reporter lifted his gun to his s houlder and c overed the door. T he bow was bent, the arrow flew, taking the c ord with it, and pas s ed between the two las t rounds . T he operation had s uc c eeded.

Herbert im m ediately s eized the end of the c ord, but, at that m om ent when he gave it a pull to bring down the ladder, an arm , thrus t s uddenly out between the wall and the door, gras ped it and dragged it ins ide Granite Hous e. "T he ras c als ! " s houted the s ailor. "If a ball c an do anything for you, you s hall not have long to wait for it. "B ut who was it?" as ked Neb. "W ho was it? Didn't you s ee?" "No." "It was a m onkey, a s apajou, an orangoutang, a baboon, a gorilla, a s agoin. Our dwelling has been invaded by m onkeys , who c lim bed up the ladder during our abs enc e." A nd, at this m om ent, as if to bear witnes s to the truth of the s ailor's words , two or three quadrum ana s howed them s elves at the windows , from whic h they had pus hed bac k the s hutters , and s aluted the real proprietors of the plac e with a thous and hideous grim ac es . "I knew that it was only a joke," c ried P enc roft; "but one of the jokers s hall pay the penalty for the res t." S o s aying, the s ailor, rais ing his piec e, took a rapid aim at one of the m onkeys and fired. A ll dis appeared, exc ept one who fell m ortally wounded on the beac h. T his m onkey, whic h was of a large s ize, evidently belonged to the firs t order of the quadrum ana. W hether this was a c him panzee, an orangoutang, or a gorilla, he took rank am ong the anthropoid apes , who are s o c alled from their res em blanc e to the hum an rac e. However, Herbert dec lared it to be an orangoutang. "W hat a m agnific ent beas t! " c ried Neb. "Magnific ent, if you like," replied P enc roft; "but s till I do not s ee how we are to get into our hous e." "Herbert is a good m arks m an," s aid the reporter, "and his bow is here. He c an try again." "W hy, thes e apes are s o c unning," returned P enc roft; "they won't s how them s elves again at the windows and s o we c an't kill them ; and when I think of the m is c hief they m ay do in the room s and s torehous e--" "Have patienc e," replied Harding; "thes e c reatures c annot keep us long at bay." "I s hall not be s ure of that till I s ee them down here," replied the s ailor. "A nd now, c aptain, do you know how m any dozens of thes e fellows are up there?" It was diffic ult to reply to P enc roft, and as for the young boy m aking another attem pt, that was not eas y; for the lower part of the ladder had been drawn again into the door, and when another pull was given, the line broke and the ladder rem ained firm . T he c as e was really perplexing. P enc roft s torm ed. T here was a c om ic s ide to the s ituation, but he did not think it funny at all. It was c ertain that the s ettlers would end by reins tating them s elves in their dom ic ile and driving out the intruders , but when and how? this is what they were not able to s ay. T wo hours pas s ed, during whic h the apes took c are not to s how them s elves , but they were s till there, and three or four tim es a nos e or a paw was poked out at the door or windows , and was im m ediately s aluted by a gun- s hot. "Let us hide ours elves ," at las t s aid the engineer. "P erhaps the apes will think we have gone quite away and will s how them s elves again. Let S pilett and Herbert c onc eal them s elves behind thos e roc ks and fire on all that m ay appear." T he engineer's orders were obeyed, and while the reporter and the lad, the bes t m arks m en in the c olony, pos ted them s elves in a good pos ition, but out of the m onkeys ' s ight, Neb, P enc roft, and Cyrus c lim bed the plateau and entered the fores t in order to kill s om e gam e, for it was now tim e for breakfas t and they had no provis ions rem aining. In half an hour the hunters returned with a few roc k pigeons , whic h they roas ted as well as they c ould. Not an ape had appeared. Gideon S pilett and Herbert went to take their s hare of the breakfas t, leaving T op to watc h under the windows . T hey then, having eaten, returned to their pos t. T wo hours later, their s ituation was in no degree im proved. T he quadrum ana gave no s ign of exis tenc e, and it m ight have been s uppos ed that they had dis appeared; but what s eem ed m ore probable was that, terrified by the death of one of their c om panions , and frightened by the nois e of the firearm s , they had retreated to the bac k part of the hous e or probably even into the s tore-room . A nd when they thought of the valuables whic h this s toreroom c ontained, the patienc e s o m uc h rec om m ended by the engineer, fas t c hanged into great irritation, and there c ertainly was room for it. "Dec idedly it is too bad," s aid the reporter; "and the wors t of it is , there is no way of putting an end to it." "B ut we m us t drive thes e vagabonds out s om ehow," c ried the s ailor. "W e c ould s oon get the better of them , even if there are twenty of the ras c als ; but for that, we m us t m eet them hand to hand. Com e now, is there no way of getting at them ?" "Let us try to enter Granite Hous e by the old opening at the lake," replied the engineer. "Oh! " s houted the s ailor, "and I never thought of that." T his was in reality the only way by whic h to penetrate into Granite Hous e s o as to fight with and drive out the intruders . T he opening was , it is true, c los ed up with a wall of c em ented s tones , whic h it would be nec es s ary to s ac rific e, but that c ould eas ily be rebuilt. Fortunately, Cyrus Harding had not as yet effec ted his projec t of hiding this opening by rais ing the waters of the lake, for the operation would then have taken s om e tim e. It was already pas t twelve o'c loc k, when the c olonis ts , well arm ed and provided with pic ks and s pades , left the Chim neys , pas s ed beneath the windows of Granite Hous e, after telling T op to rem ain at his pos t, and began to as c end the left bank of the Merc y, s o as to reac h P ros pec t Heights . B ut they had not m ade fifty s teps in this direc tion, when they heard the dog barking furious ly. A nd all rus hed down the bank again. A rrived at the turning, they s aw that the s ituation had c hanged. In fac t, the apes , s eized with a s udden panic , from s om e unknown c aus e, were trying to es c ape. T wo or three ran and c lam bered from one window to another with the agility of ac robats . T hey were not even trying to replac e the ladder, by whic h it would have been eas y to des c end; perhaps in their terror they had forgotten this way of es c ape. T he c olonis ts , now being able to take aim without diffic ulty, fired. S om e, wounded or killed, fell bac k into the room s , uttering pierc ing c ries . T he res t, throwing them s elves out, were das hed to piec es in their fall, and in a few m inutes , s o far as they knew, there was not a living quadrum ana in Granite Hous e. A t this m om ent the ladder was s een to s lip over the thres hold, then unroll and fall to the ground. "Hullo! " c ried the s ailor, "this is queer! " "V ery s trange! " m urm ured the engineer, leaping firs t up the ladder. "T ake c are, c aptain! " c ried P enc roft, "perhaps there are s till s om e of thes e ras c als . "W e s hall s oon s ee," replied the engineer, without s topping however. A ll his c om panions followed him , and in a m inute they had arrived at the thres hold. T hey s earc hed everywhere. T here was no one in the room s nor in the s torehous e, whic h had been res pec ted by the band of quadrum ana. "W ell now, and the ladder," c ried the s ailor; "who c an the gentlem an have been who s ent us that down?" B ut at that m om ent a c ry was heard, and a great orang, who had hidden him s elf in the pas s age, rus hed into the room , purs ued by Neb. "A h, the robber! " c ried P enc roft. A nd hatc het in hand, he was about to c leave the head of the anim al, when Cyrus Harding s eized his arm , s aying,-"S pare him , P enc roft." "P ardon this ras c al?" "Y es ! it was he who threw us the ladder! " A nd the engineer s aid this in s uc h a pec uliar voic e that it was diffic ult to know whether he s poke s erious ly or not. Nevertheles s , they threw them s elves on the orang, who defended him s elf gallantly, but was s oon overpowered and bound. "T here! " s aid P enc roft. "A nd what s hall we m ake of him , now we've got him ?" "A s ervant! " replied Herbert. T he lad was not joking in s aying this , for he knew how this intelligent rac e c ould be turned to ac c ount. T he s ettlers then approac hed the ape and gazed at it attentively. He belonged to the fam ily of anthropoid apes , of whic h the fac ial angle is not m uc h inferior to that of the A us tralians and Hottentots . It was an orangoutang, and as s uc h, had neither the feroc ity of the gorilla, nor the s tupidity of the baboon. It is to this fam ily of the anthropoid apes that s o m any c harac teris tic s belong whic h prove them to be pos s es s ed of an alm os t hum an intelligenc e. E m ployed in hous es , they c an wait at table, s weep room s , brus h c lothes , c lean boots , handle a knife, fork, and s poon properly, and even drink wine . . . doing everything as well as the bes t s ervant that ever walked upon two legs . B uffon pos s es s ed one of thes e apes , who s erved him for a long tim e as a faithful and zealous s ervant. T he one whic h had been s eized in the hall of Granite Hous e was a great fellow, s ix feet high, with an adm irably poportioned fram e, a broad c hes t, head of a m oderate s ize, the fac ial angle reac hing s ixty-five degrees , round s kull, projec ting nos e, s kin c overed with s oft glos s y hair, in s hort, a fine s pec im en of the anthropoids . His eyes , rather s m aller than hum an eyes , s parkled with intelligenc e; his white teeth glittered under his m us tac he, and he wore a little c urly brown beard. "A hands om e fellow! " s aid P enc roft; "if we only knew his language, we c ould talk to him ." "B ut, m as ter," s aid Neb, "are you s erious ? A re we going to take him as a s ervant?" "Y es , Neb," replied the engineer, s m iling. "B ut you m us t not be jealous ." "A nd I hope he will m ake an exc ellent s ervant," added Herbert. "He appears young, and will be eas y to educ ate, and we s hall not be obliged to us e forc e to s ubdue him , nor draw his teeth, as is s om etim es done. He will s oon grow fond of his m as ters if they are kind to him ." "A nd they will be," replied P enc roft, who had forgotten all his ranc or agains t "the jokers ." T hen, approac hing the orang,-"W ell, old boy! " he as ked, "how are you?" T he orang replied by a little grunt whic h did not s how any anger. "Y ou wis h to join the c olony?" again as ked the s ailor. "Y ou are going to enter the s ervic e of Captain Cyrus Harding?" A nother res pondent grunt was uttered by the ape. "A nd you will be s atis fied with no other wages than your food?" T hird affirm ative grunt. "T his c onvers ation is s lightly m onotonous ," obs erved Gideon S pilett. "S o m uc h the better," replied P enc roft; "the bes t s ervants are thos e who talk the leas t. A nd then, no wages , do you hear, m y boy? W e will give you no wages at firs t, but we will double them afterwards if we are pleas ed with you." T hus the c olony was inc reas ed by a new m em ber. A s to his nam e the s ailor begged that in m em ory of another ape whic h he had known, he m ight be c alled J upiter, and J up for s hort. A nd s o, without m ore c erem ony, Mas ter J up was ins talled in Granite Hous e. Chapter 7 T he s ettlers in Linc oln Is land had now regained their dwelling, without having been obliged to reac h it by the old opening, and were therefore s pared the trouble of m as on's work. It was c ertainly luc ky, that at the m om ent they were about to s et out to do s o, the apes had been s eized with that terror, no les s s udden than inexplic able, whic h had driven them out of Granite Hous e. Had the anim als dis c overed that they were about to be attac ked from another direc tion? T his was the only explanation of their s udden retreat. During the day the bodies of the apes were c arried into the wood, where they were buried; then the s ettlers bus ied them s elves in repairing the dis order c aus ed by the intruders , dis order but not dam age, for although they had turned everything in the room s tops y-turvy, yet they had broken nothing. Neb relighted his s tove, and the s tores in the larder furnis hed a s ubs tantial repas t, to whic h all did am ple jus tic e. J up was not forgotten, and he ate with relis h s om e s tonepine alm onds and rhizom e roots , with whic h he was abundantly s upplied. P enc roft had unfas tened his arm s , but judged it bes t to have his legs tied until they were m ore s ure of his s ubm is s ion. T hen, before retiring to res t, Harding and his c om panions s eated round their table, dis c us s ed thos e plans , the exec ution of whic h was m os t pres s ing. T he m os t im portant and m os t urgent was the es tablis hm ent of a bridge over the Merc y, s o as to form a c om m unic ation with the s outhern part of the is land and Granite Hous e; then the m aking of an enc los ure for the m us m ons or other woolly anim als whic h they wis hed to c apture. T hes e two projec ts would help to s olve the diffic ulty as to their c lothing, whic h was now s erious . T he bridge would render eas y the trans port of the balloon c as e, whic h would furnis h them with linen, and the inhabitants of the enc los ure would yield wool whic h would s upply them with winter c lothes . A s to the enc los ure, it was Cyrus Harding's intention to es tablis h it at the s ourc es of the Red Creek, where the rum inants would find fres h and abundant pas ture. T he road between P ros pec t Heights and the s ourc es of the s tream was already partly beaten, and with a better c art than the firs t, the m aterial c ould be eas ily c onveyed to the s pot, es pec ially if they c ould m anage to c apture s om e anim als to draw it. B ut though there m ight be no inc onvenienc e in the enc los ure being s o far from Granite Hous e, it would not be the s am e with the poultry-yard, to whic h Neb c alled the attention of the c olonis ts . It was indeed nec es s ary that the birds s hould be c los e within reac h of the c ook, and no plac e appeared m ore favorable for the es tablis hm ent of the s aid poultry-yard than that portion of the banks of the lake whic h was c los e to the old opening. W ater-birds would pros per there as well as others , and the c ouple of tinam ous taken in their las t exc urs ion would be the firs t to be dom es tic ated. T he next day, the 3rd of Novem ber, the new works were begun by the c ons truc tion of the bridge, and all hands were required for this im portant tas k. S aws , hatc hets , and ham m ers were s houldered by the s ettlers , who, now trans form ed into c arpenters , des c ended to the s hore. T here P enc roft obs erved,-"S uppos e, that during our abs enc e, Mas ter J up takes it into his head to draw up the ladder whic h he s o politely returned to us yes terday?" "Let us tie its lower end down firm ly," replied Cyrus Harding. T his was done by m eans of two s takes s ec urely fixed in the s and. T hen the s ettlers , as c ending the left bank of the Merc y, s oon arrived at the angle form ed by the river. T here they halted, in order to as c ertain if the bridge c ould be thrown ac ros s . T he plac e appeared s uitable. In fac t, from this s pot, to P ort B alloon, dis c overed the day before on the s outhern c oas t, there was only a dis tanc e of three m iles and a half, and from the bridge to the P ort, it would be eas y to m ake a good c art-road whic h would render the c om m unic ation between Granite Hous e and the s outh of the is land extrem ely eas y. Cyrus Harding now im parted to his c om panions a s c hem e for c om pletely is olating P ros pec t Heights s o as to s helter it from the attac ks both of quadrupeds and quadrum ana. In this way, Granite Hous e, the Chim neys , the poultry-yard, and all the upper part of the plateau whic h was to be us ed for c ultivation, would be protec ted agains t the depredations of anim als . Nothing c ould be eas ier than to exec ute this projec t, and this is how the engineer intended to s et to work. T he plateau was already defended on three s ides by water-c ours es , either artific ial or natural. On the northwes t, by the s hores of Lake Grant, from the entranc e of the pas s age to the breac h m ade in the banks of the lake for the es c ape of the water. On the north, from this breac h to the s ea, by the new water-c ours e whic h had hollowed out a bed for its elf ac ros s the plateau and s hore, above and below the fall, and it would be enough to dig the bed of this c reek a little deeper to m ake it im prac tic able for anim als , on all the eas tern border by the s ea its elf, from the m outh of the afores aid c reek to the m outh of the Merc y. Las tly, on the s outh, from the m outh to the turn of the Merc y where the bridge was to be es tablis hed. T he wes tern border of the plateau now rem ained between the turn of the river and the s outhern angle of the lake, a dis tanc e of about a m ile, whic h was open to all c om ers . B ut nothing c ould be eas ier than to dig a broad deep ditc h, whic h c ould be filled from the lake, and the overflow of whic h would throw its elf by a rapid fall into the bed of the Merc y. T he level of the lake would, no doubt, be s om ewhat lowered by this fres h dis c harge of its waters , but Cyrus Harding had as c ertained that the volum e of water in the Red Creek was c ons iderable enough to allow of the exec ution of this projec t. "S o then," added the engineer, "P ros pec t Heights will bec om e a regular is land, being s urrounded with water on all s ides , and only c om m unic ating with the res t of our dom ain by the bridge whic h we are about to throw ac ros s the Merc y, the two little bridges already es tablis hed above and below the fall; and, las tly, two other little bridges whic h m us t be c ons truc ted, one over the c anal whic h I propos e to dig, the other ac ros s to the left bank of the Merc y. Now, if thes e bridges c an be rais ed at will, P ros pec t Heights will be guarded from any s urpris e." T he bridge was the m os t urgent work. T rees were s elec ted, c ut down, s tripped of their branc hes , and c ut into beam s , jois ts , and planks . T he end of the bridge whic h res ted on the right bank of the Merc y was to be firm , but the other end on the left bank was to be m ovable, s o that it m ight be rais ed by m eans of a c ounterpois e, as s om e c anal bridges are m anaged. T his was c ertainly a c ons iderable work, and though it was s killfully c onduc ted, it took s om e tim e, for the Merc y at this plac e was eighty feet wide. It was therefore nec es s ary to fix piles in the bed of the river s o as to s us tain the floor of the bridge and es tablis h a pile-driver to ac t on the tops of thes e piles , whic h would thus form two arc hes and allow the bridge to s upport heavy loads . Happily there was no want of tools with whic h to s hape the wood, nor of iron-work to m ake it firm , nor of the ingenuity of a m an who had a m arvelous knowledge of the work, nor las tly, the zeal of his c om panions , who in s even m onths had nec es s arily ac quired great s kill in the us e of their tools ; and it m us t be s aid that not the leas t s kilful was Gideon S pilett, who in dexterity alm os t equaled the s ailor him s elf. "W ho would ever have expec ted s o m uc h from a news paper m an! " thought P enc roft. T he c ons truc tion of the Merc y bridge las ted three weeks of regular hard work. T hey even breakfas ted on the s c ene of their labors , and the weather being m agnific ent, they only returned to Granite Hous e to s leep. During this period it m ay be s tated that Mas ter J up grew m ore ac c us tom ed to his new m as ters , whos e m ovem ents he always watc hed with very inquis itive eyes . However, as a prec autionary m eas ure, P enc roft did not as yet allow him c om plete liberty, rightly wis hing to wait until the lim its of the plateau s hould be s ettled by the projec ted works . T op and J up were good friends and played willingly together, but J up did everything s olem nly. On the 20th of Novem ber the bridge was finis hed. T he m ovable part, balanc ed by the c ounterpois e, s wung eas ily, and only a s light effort was needed to ris e it; between its hinge and the las t c ros s -bar on whic h it res ted when c los ed, there exis ted a s pac e of twenty feet, whic h was s uffic iently wide to prevent any anim als from c ros s ing. T he s ettlers now began to talk of fetc hing the balloon-c as e, whic h they were anxious to plac e in perfec t s ec urity; but to bring it, it would be nec es s ary to take a c art to P ort B alloon, and c ons equently, nec es s ary to beat a road through the dens e fores ts of the Far W es t. T his would take s om e tim e. A ls o, Neb and P enc roft having gone to exam ine into the s tate of things at P ort B alloon, and reported that the s toc k of c loth would s uffer no dam age in the grotto where it was s tored, it was dec ided that the work at P ros pec t Heights s hould not be dis c ontinued. "T hat," obs erved P enc roft, "will enable us to es tablis h our poultry-yard under better c onditions , s inc e we need have no fear of vis its from foxes nor the attac ks of other beas ts ." "T hen," added Neb, "we c an c lear the plateau, and trans plant wild plants to it." "A nd prepare our s ec ond c orn-field! " c ried the s ailor with a trium phant air. In fac t, the firs t c orn-field s own with a s ingle grain had pros pered adm irably, thanks to P enc roft's c are. It had produc ed the ten ears foretold by the engineer, and eac h ear c ontaining eighty grains , the c olony found its elf in pos s es s ion of eight hundred grains , in s ix m onths , whic h prom is ed a double harves t eac h year. T hes e eight hundred grains , exc ept fifty, whic h were prudently res erved, were to be s own in a new field, but with no les s c are than was bes towed on the s ingle grain. T he field was prepared, then s urrounded with a s trong palis ade, high and pointed, whic h quadrupeds would have found diffic ulty in leaping. A s to birds , s om e s c arec rows , due to P enc roft's ingenious brain, were enough to frighten them . T he s even hundred and fifty grains depos ited in very regular furrows were then left for nature to do the res t. On the 21s t of Novem ber, Cyrus Harding began to plan the c anal whic h was to c los e the plateau on the wes t, from the s outh angle of Lake Grant to the angle of the Merc y. T here was there two or three feet of vegetable earth, and below that granite. It was therefore nec es s ary to m anufac ture s om e m ore nitroglyc erine, and the nitro-glyc erine did its ac c us tom ed work. In les s than a fortnight a ditc h, twelve feet wide and s ix deep, was dug out in the hard ground of the plateau. A new trenc h was m ade by the s am e m eans in the roc ky border of the lake, form ing a s m all s tream , to whic h they gave the nam e of Creek Glyc erine, and whic h was thus an affluent of the Merc y. A s the engineer had predic ted, the level of the lake was lowered, though very s lightly. T o c om plete the enc los ure the bed of the s tream on the beac h was c ons iderably enlarged, and the s and s upported by m eans of s takes . B y the end of the firs t fortnight of Dec em ber thes e works were finis hed, and P ros pec t Heights --that is to s ay, a s ort of irregular pentagon, having a perim eter of nearly four m iles , s urrounded by a liquid belt--was c om pletely protec ted from depredators of every des c ription. During the m onth of Dec em ber, the heat was very great. In s pite of it, however, the s ettlers c ontinued their work, and as they were anxious to pos s es s a poultry-yard they forthwith c om m enc ed it. It is us eles s to s ay that s inc e the enc los ing of the plateau had been c om pleted, Mas ter J up had been s et at liberty. He did not leave his m as ters , and evinc ed no wis h to es c ape. He was a gentle anim al, though very powerful and wonderfully ac tive. He was already taught to m ake him s elf us eful by drawing loads of wood and c arting away the s tones whic h were extrac ted from the bed of Creek Glyc erine. T he poultry-yard oc c upied an area of two hundred s quare yards , on the s outheas tern bank of the lake. It was s urrounded by a palis ade, and in it were c ons truc ted various s helters for the birds whic h were to populate it. T hes e were s im ply built of branc hes and divided into c om partm ents , m ade ready for the expec ted gues ts . T he firs t were the two tinam ous , whic h were not long in having a num ber of young ones ; they had for c om panions half a dozen duc ks , ac c us tom ed to the borders of the lake. S om e belonged to the Chines e s pec ies , of whic h the wings open like a fan, and whic h by the brillianc y of their plum age rival the golden pheas ants . A few days afterwards , Herbert s nared a c ouple of gallinac eae, with s preading tails c om pos ed of long feathers , m agnific ent alec tors , whic h s oon bec am e tam e. A s to pelic ans , kingfis hers , water-hens , they c am e of them s elves to the s hores of the poultry-yard, and this little c om m unity, after s om e

dis putes , c ooing, s c ream ing, c luc king, ended by s ettling down peac efully, and inc reas ed in enc ouraging proportion for the future us e of the c olony. Cyrus Harding, wis hing to c om plete his perform anc e, es tablis hed a pigeon- hous e in a c orner of the poultry-yard. T here he lodged a dozen of thos e pigeons whic h frequented the roc ks of the plateau. T hes e birds s oon bec am e ac c us tom ed to returning every evening to their new dwelling, and s howed m ore dis pos ition to dom es tic ate them s elves than their c ongeners , the wood- pigeons . Las tly, the tim e had c om e for turning the balloon-c as e to us e, by c utting it up to m ake s hirts and other artic les ; for as to keeping it in its pres ent form , and ris king them s elves in a balloon filled with gas , above a s ea of the lim its of whic h they had no idea, it was not to be thought of. It was nec es s ary to bring the c as e to Granite Hous e, and the c olonis ts em ployed them s elves in rendering their heavy c art lighter and m ore m anageable. B ut though they had a vehic le, the m oving power was yet to be found. B ut did there not exis t in the is land s om e anim al whic h m ight s upply the plac e of the hors e, as s , or ox? T hat was the ques tion. "Certainly," s aid P enc roft, "a beas t of burden would be very us eful to us until the c aptain has m ade a s team c art, or even an engine, for s om e day we s hall have a railroad from Granite Hous e to P ort B alloon, with a branc h line to Mount Franklin! " One day, the 23rd of Dec em ber, Neb and T op were heard s houting and barking, eac h apparently trying to s ee who c ould m ake the m os t nois e. T he s ettlers , who were bus y at the Chim neys , ran, fearing s om e vexatious inc ident. W hat did they s ee? T wo fine anim als of a large s ize that had im prudently ventured on the plateau, when the bridges were open. One would have s aid they were hors es , or at leas t donkeys , m ale and fem ale, of a fine s hape, dove-c olored, the legs and tail white, s triped with blac k on the head and nec k. T hey advanc ed quietly without s howing any uneas ines s , and gazed at the m en, in whom they c ould not as yet rec ognize their future m as ters . "T hes e are onagers ! " c ried Herbert, "anim als s om ething between the zebra and the quagga! " "W hy not donkeys ?" as ked Neb. "B ec aus e they have not long ears , and their s hape is m ore grac eful! " "Donkeys or hors es ," interrupted P enc roft, "they are 'm oving powers ,' as the c aptain would s ay, and as s uc h m us t be c aptured! " T he s ailor, without frightening the anim als , c rept through the gras s to the bridge over Creek Glyc erine, lowered it, and the onagers were pris oners . Now, s hould they s eize them with violenc e and m as ter them by forc e? No. It was dec ided that for a few days they s hould be allowed to roam freely about the plateau, where there was an abundanc e of gras s , and the engineer im m ediately began to prepare a s table near the poultry-yard, in whic h the onagers m ight find food, with a good litter, and s helter during the night. T his done, the m ovem ents of the two m agnific ent c reatures were left entirely free, and the s ettlers avoided even approac hing them s o as to terrify them . S everal tim es , however, the onagers appeared to wis h to leave the plateau, too c onfined for anim als ac c us tom ed to the plains and fores ts . T hey were then s een following the water-barrier whic h everywhere pres ented its elf before them , uttering s hort neighs , then galloping through the gras s , and bec om ing c alm er, they would rem ain entire hours gazing at the woods , from whic h they were c ut off for ever! In the m eantim e harnes s of vegetable fiber had been m anufac tured, and s om e days after the c apture of the onagers , not only the c art was ready, but a s traight road, or rather a c utting, had been m ade through the fores ts of the Far W es t, from the angle of the Merc y to P ort B alloon. T he c art m ight then be driven there, and towards the end of Dec em ber they tried the onagers for the firs t tim e. P enc roft had already c oaxed the anim als to c om e and eat out of his hand, and they allowed him to approac h without m aking any diffic ulty, but onc e harnes s ed they reared and c ould with diffic ulty be held in. However, it was not long before they s ubm itted to this new s ervic e, for the onager, being les s refrac tory than the zebra, is frequently put in harnes s in the m ountainous regions of S outhern A fric a, and it has even been ac c lim atized in E urope, under zones of a relative c oolnes s . On this day all the c olony, exc ept P enc roft who walked at the anim als ' heads , m ounted the c art, and s et out on the road to P ort B alloon. Of c ours e they were jolted over the s om ewhat rough road, but the vehic le arrived without any ac c ident, and was s oon loaded with the c as e and rigging of the balloon. A t eight o'c loc k that evening the c art, after pas s ing over the Merc y bridge, des c ended the left bank of the river, and s topped on the beac h. T he onagers being unharnes s ed, were thenc e led to their s table, and P enc roft before going to s leep gave vent to his feelings in a deep s igh of s atis fac tion that awoke all the ec hoes of Granite Hous e. Chapter 8 T he firs t week of J anuary was devoted to the m anufac ture of the linen garm ents required by the c olony. T he needles found in the box were us ed by s turdy if not delic ate fingers , and we m ay be s ure that what was s ewn was s ewn firm ly. T here was no lac k of thread, thanks to Cyrus Harding's idea of re- em ploying that whic h had been already us ed in the c overing of the balloon. T his with adm irable patienc e was all unpic ked by Gideon S pilett and Herbert, for P enc roft had been obliged to give this work up, as it irritated him beyond m eas ure; but he had no equal in the s ewing part of the bus ines s . Indeed, everybody knows that s ailors have a rem arkable aptitude for tailoring. T he c loth of whic h the balloon-c as e was m ade was then c leaned by m eans of s oda and potas h, obtained by the inc ineration of plants , in s uc h a way that the c otton, having got rid of the varnis h, res um ed its natural s oftnes s and elas tic ity; then, expos ed to the ac tion of the atm os phere, it s oon bec am e perfec tly white. S om e dozen s hirts and s oc k--the latter not knitted, of c ours e, but m ade of c otton--were thus m anufac tured. W hat a c om fort it was to the s ettlers to c lothe them s elves again in c lean linen, whic h was doubtles s rather rough, but they were not troubled about that! and then to go to s leep between s heets , whic h m ade the c ouc hes at Granite Hous e into quite c om fortable beds ! It was about this tim e als o that they m ade boots of s eal-leather, whic h were greatly needed to replac e the s hoes and boots brought from A m eric a. W e m ay be s ure that thes e new s hoes were large enough and never pinc hed the feet of the wearers . W ith the beginning of the year 1866 the heat was very great, but the hunting in the fores ts did not s tand s till. A gouties , pec c aries , c apybaras , kangaroos , gam e of all s orts , ac tually s warm ed there, and S pilett and Herbert were too good m arks m en ever to throw away their s hot us eles s ly. Cyrus Harding s till rec om m ended them to hus band the am m unition, and he took m eas ures to replac e the powder and s hot whic h had been found in the box, and whic h he wis hed to res erve for the future. How did he know where c hanc e m ight one day c as t his c om panions and him s elf in the event of their leaving their dom ain? T hey s hould, then, prepare for the unknown future by hus banding their am m unition and by s ubs tituting for it s om e eas ily renewable s ubs tanc e. To replac e lead, of whic h Harding had found no trac es in the is land, he em ployed granulated iron, whic h was eas y to m anufac ture. T hes e bullets , not having the weight of leaden bullets , were m ade larger, and eac h c harge c ontained les s , but the s kill of the s ports m en m ade up this defic ienc y. A s to powder, Cyrus Harding would have been able to m ake that als o, for he had at his dis pos al s altpeter, s ulphur, and c oal; but this preparation requires extrem e c are, and without s pec ial tools it is diffic ult to produc e it of a good quality. Harding preferred, therefore, to m anufac ture pyroxyle, that is to s ay gun-c otton, a s ubs tanc e in whic h c otton is not indis pens able, as the elem entary tis s ue of vegetables m ay be us ed, and this is found in an alm os t pure s tate, not only in c otton, but in the textile fiber of hem p and flax, in paper, the pith of the elder, etc . Now, the elder abounded in the is land towards the m outh of Red Creek, and the c olonis ts had already m ade c offee of the berries of thes e s hrubs , whic h belong to the fam ily of the c aprifoliac eae. T he only thing to be c ollec ted, therefore, was elder-pith, for as to the other s ubs tanc e nec es s ary for the m anufac ture of pyroxyle, it was only fum ing azotic ac id. Now, Harding having s ulphuric ac id at his dis pos al, had already been eas ily able to produc e azotic ac id by attac king the s altpeter with whic h nature s upplied him . He ac c ordingly res olved to m anufac ture and em ploy pyroxyle, although it has s om e inc onvenienc es , that is to s ay, a great inequality of effec t, an exc es s ive inflam m ability, s inc e it takes fire at one hundred and s eventy degrees ins tead of two hundred and forty, and las tly, an ins tantaneous deflagration whic h m ight dam age the firearm s . On the other hand, the advantages of pyroxyle c ons is t in this , that it is not injured by dam p, that it does not m ake the gun-barrels dirty, and that its forc e is four tim es that of ordinary powder. T o m ake pyroxyle, the c otton m us t be im m ers ed in the fum ing azotic ac id for a quarter of an hour, then was hed in c old water and dried. Nothing c ould be m ore s im ple. Cyrus Harding had only at his dis pos al the ordinary azotic ac id and not the fum ing or m onohydrate azotic ac id, that is to s ay, ac id whic h em its white vapors when it c om es in c ontac t with dam p air; but by s ubs tituting for the latter ordinary azotic ac id, m ixed, in the proportion of from three to five volum es of c onc entrated s ulphuric ac id, the engineer obtained the s am e res ult. T he s ports m en of the is land therefore s oon had a perfec tly prepared s ubs tanc e, whic h, em ployed dis c reetly, produc ed adm irable res ults . A bout this tim e the s ettlers c leared three ac res of the plateau, and the res t was pres erved in a wild s tate, for the benefit of the onagers . S everal exc urs ions were m ade into the J ac am ar W ood and the fores ts of the Far W es t, and they brought bac k from thenc e a large c ollec tion of wild vegetables , s pinac h, c res s , radis hes , and turnips , whic h c areful c ulture would s oon im prove, and whic h would tem per the regim en on whic h the s ettlers had till then s ubs is ted. S upplies of wood and c oal were als o c arted. E ac h exc urs ion was at the s am e tim e a m eans of im proving the roads , whic h gradually bec am e s m oother under the wheels of the c art. T he rabbit-warren s till c ontinued to s upply the larder of Granite Hous e. A s fortunately it was s ituated on the other s ide of Creek Glyc erine, its inhabitants c ould not reac h the plateau nor ravage the newly-m ade plantation. T he oys ter-bed am ong the roc ks was frequently renewed and furnis hed exc ellent m ollus c s . B es ides that, the fis hing, either in the lake or the Merc y, was very profitable, for P enc roft had m ade s om e lines , arm ed with iron hooks , with whic h they frequently c aught fine trout, and a s pec ies of fis h whos e s ilvery s ides were s pec kled with yellow, and whic h were als o extrem ely s avory. Mas ter Neb, who was s killed in the c ulinary art, knew how to vary agreeably the bill of fare. B read alone was wanting at the table of the s ettlers , and as has been s aid, they felt this privation greatly. T he s ettlers hunted too the turtles whic h frequented the s hores of Cape Mandible. A t this plac e the beac h was c overed with little m ounds , c onc ealing perfec tly s pheric al turtles ' eggs , with white hard s hells , the album en of whic h does not c oagulate as that of birds ' eggs . T hey were hatc hed by the s un, and their num ber was naturally c ons iderable, as eac h turtle c an lay annually two hundred and fifty. "A regular egg-field," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "and we have nothing to do but to pic k them up." B ut not being c ontented with s im ply the produc e, they m ade c has e after the produc ers , the res ult of whic h was that they were able to bring bac k to Granite Hous e a dozen of thes e c helonians , whic h were really valuable from an alim entary point of view. T he turtle s oup, flavored with arom atic herbs , often gained well-m erited prais es for its preparer, Neb. W e m us t here m ention another fortunate c irc um s tanc e by whic h new s tores for the winter were laid in. S hoals of s alm on entered the Merc y, and as c ended the c ountry for s everal m iles . It was the tim e at whic h the fem ales , going to find s uitable plac es in whic h to s pawn, prec ede the m ales and m ake a great nois e through the fres h water. A thous and of thes e fis h, whic h m eas ured about two feet and a half in length, c am e up the river, and a large quantity were retained by fixing dam s ac ros s the s tream . More than a hundred were thus taken, whic h were s alted and s tored for the tim e when winter, freezing up the s tream s , would render fis hing im prac tic able. B y this tim e the intelligent J up was rais ed to the duty of valet. He had been dres s ed in a jac ket, white linen breec hes , and an apron, the poc kets of whic h were his delight. T he c lever orang had been m arvelous ly trained by Neb, and any one would have s aid that the Negro and the ape unders tood eac h other when they talked together. J up had bes ides a real affec tion for Neb, and Neb returned it. W hen his s ervic es were not required, either for c arrying wood or for c lim bing to the top of s om e tree, J up pas s ed the greates t part of his tim e in the kitc hen, where he endeavored to im itate Neb in all that he s aw him do. T he blac k s howed the greates t patienc e and even extrem e zeal in ins truc ting his pupil, and the pupil exhibited rem arkable intelligenc e in profiting by the les s ons he rec eived from his m as ter. J udge then of the pleas ure Mas ter J up gave to the inhabitants of Granite Hous e when, without their having had any idea of it, he appeared one day, napkin on his arm , ready to wait at table. Quic k, attentive, he ac quitted him s elf perfec tly, c hanging the plates , bringing dis hes , pouring out water, all with a gravity whic h gave intens e am us em ent to the s ettlers , and whic h enraptured P enc roft. "J up, s om e s oup! " "J up, a little agouti! " "J up, a plate! " "J up! Good J up! Hones t J up! " Nothing was heard but that, and J up without ever being dis c onc erted, replied to every one, watc hed for everything, and he s hook his head in a knowing way when P enc roft, referring to his joke of the firs t day, s aid to him ,-"Dec idedly, J up, your wages m us t be doubled." It is us eles s to s ay that the orang was now thoroughly dom es tic ated at Granite Hous e, and that he often ac c om panied his m as ters to the fores t without s howing any wis h to leave them . It was m os t am us ing to s ee him walking with a s tic k whic h P enc roft had given him , and whic h he c arried on his s houlder like a gun. If they wis hed to gather s om e fruit from the s um m it of a tree, how quic kly he c lim bed for it. If the wheel of the c art s tuc k in the m ud, with what energy did J up with a s ingle heave of his s houlder put it right again. "W hat a jolly fellow he is ! " c ried P enc roft often. "If he was as m is c hievous as he is good, there would be no doing anything with him ! " It was towards the end of J anuary the c olonis ts began their labors in the c enter of the is land. It had been dec ided that a c orral s hould be es tablis hed near the s ourc es of the Red Creek, at the foot of Mount Franklin, des tined to c ontain the rum inants , whos e pres enc e would have been troubles om e at Granite Hous e, and es pec ially for the m us m ons , who were to s upply the wool for the s ettlers ' winter garm ents . E ac h m orning, the c olony, s om etim es entire, but m ore often repres ented only by Harding, Herbert, and P enc roft, proc eeded to the s ourc es of the Creek, a dis tanc e of not m ore than five m iles , by the newly beaten road to whic h the nam e of Corral Road had been given. T here a s ite was c hos en, at the bac k of the s outhern ridge of the m ountain. It was a m eadow land, dotted here and there with c lum ps of trees , and watered by a little s tream , whic h s prung from the s lopes whic h c los ed it in on one s ide. T he gras s was fres h, and it was not too m uc h s haded by the trees whic h grew about it. T his m eadow was to be s urrounded by a palis ade, high enough to prevent even the m os t agile anim als from leaping over. T his enc los ure would be large enough to c ontain a hundred m us m ons and wild goats , with all the young ones they m ight produc e. T he perim eter of the c orral was then trac ed by the engineer, and they would then have proc eeded to fell the trees nec es s ary for the c ons truc tion of the palis ade, but as the opening up of the road had already nec es s itated the s ac rific e of a c ons iderable num ber, thos e were brought and s upplied a hundred s takes , whic h were firm ly fixed in the ground. T he c ons truc tion of this c orral did not take les s than three weeks , for bes ides the palis ade, Cyrus Harding built large s heds , in whic h the anim als c ould take s helter. T hes e buildings had als o to be m ade very s trong, for m us m ons are powerful anim als , and their firs t fury was to be feared. T he s takes , s harpened at their upper end and hardened by fire, had been fixed by m eans of c ros s -bars , and at regular dis tanc es props as s ured the s olidity of the whole. T he c orral finis hed, a raid had to be m ade on the pas tures frequented by the rum inants . T his was done on the 7th of February, on a beautiful s um m er's day, and every one took part in it. T he onagers , already well trained, were ridden by S pilett and Herbert, and were of great us e. T he m aneuver c ons is ted s im ply in s urrounding the m us m ons and goats , and gradually narrowing the c irc le around them . Cyrus Harding, P enc roft, Neb, and J up, pos ted them s elves in different parts of the wood, while the two c avaliers and T op galloped in a radius of half a m ile round the c orral. T he m us m ons were very num erous in this part of the is land. T hes e fine anim als were as large as deer; their horns were s tronger than thos e of the ram , and their gray-c olored fleec e was m ixed with long hair. T his hunting day was very fatiguing. S uc h going and c om ing, and running and riding and s houting! Of a hundred m us m ons whic h had been s urrounded, m ore than two-thirds es c aped, but at las t, thirty of thes e anim als and ten wild goats were gradually driven bac k towards the c orral, the open door of whic h appearing to offer a m eans of es c ape, they rus hed in and were pris oners . In s hort, the res ult was s atis fac tory, and the s ettlers had no reas on to c om plain. T here was no doubt that the floc k would pros per, and that at no dis tant tim e not only wool but hides would be abundant. T hat evening the hunters returned to Granite Hous e quite exhaus ted. However, notwiths tanding their fatigue, they returned the next day to vis it the c orral. T he pris oners had been trying to overthrow the palis ade, but of c ours e had not s uc c eeded, and were not long in bec om ing m ore tranquil. During the m onth of February, no event of any im portanc e oc c urred. T he daily labors were purs ued m ethodic ally, and, as well as im proving the roads to the c orral and to P ort B alloon, a third was c om m enc ed, whic h, s tarting from the enc los ure, proc eeded towards the wes tern c oas t. T he yet unknown portion of Linc oln Is land was that of the wood-c overed S erpentine P enins ula, whic h s heltered the wild beas ts , from whic h Gideon S pilett was s o anxious to c lear their dom ain. B efore the c old s eas on s hould appear the m os t as s iduous c are was given to the c ultivation of the wild plants whic h had been trans planted from the fores t to P ros pec t Heights . Herbert never returned from an exc urs ion without bringing hom e s om e us eful vegetable. One day, it was s om e s pec im ens of the c hic ory tribe, the s eeds of whic h by pres s ure yield an exc ellent oil; another, it was s om e c om m on s orrel, whos e antis c orbutic qualities were not to be des pis ed; then, s om e of thos e prec ious tubers , whic h have at all tim es been c ultivated in S outh A m eric a, potatoes , of whic h m ore than two hundred s pec ies are now known. T he kitc hen garden, now well s toc ked and c arefully defended from the birds , was divided into s m all beds , where grew lettuc es , kidney potatoes , s orrel, turnips , radis hes , and other c oneiferae. T he s oil on the plateau was partic ularly fertile, and it was hoped that the harves ts would be abundant. T hey had als o a variety of different beverages , and s o long as they did not dem and wine, the m os t hard to pleas e would have had no reas on to c om plain. To the Os wego tea, and the ferm ented liquor extrac ted from the roots of the dragonnier, Harding had added a regular beer, m ade from the young s hoots of the s pruc e-fir, whic h, after having been boiled and ferm ented, m ade that agreeable drink c alled by the A nglo-A m eric ans s pring- beer. Towards the end of the s um m er, the poultry-yard was pos s es s ed of a c ouple of fine bus tards , whic h belonged to the houbara s pec ies , c harac terized by a s ort of feathery m antle; a dozen s hovelers , whos e upper m andible was prolonged on eac h s ide by a m em braneous appendage; and als o s om e m agnific ent c oc ks , s im ilar to the Mozam bique c oc ks , the c om b, c arunc le, and epiderm is being blac k. S o far, everything had s uc c eeded, thanks to the ac tivity of thes e c ourageous and intelligent m en. Nature did m uc h for them , doubtles s ; but faithful to the great prec ept, they m ade a right us e of what a bountiful P rovidenc e gave them . A fter the heat of thes e warm s um m er days , in the evening when their work was finis hed and the s ea-breeze began to blow, they liked to s it on the edge of P ros pec t Heights , in a s ort of veranda, c overed with c reepers , whic h Neb had m ade with his own hands . T here they talked, they ins truc ted eac h other, they m ade plans , and the rough good-hum or of the s ailor always am us ed this little world, in whic h the m os t perfec t harm ony had never c eas ed to reign. T hey often s poke of their c ountry, of their dear and great A m eric a. W hat was the res ult of the W ar of S ec es s ion? It c ould not have been greatly prolonged. Ric hm ond had doubtles s s oon fallen into the hands of General Grant. T he taking of the c apital of the Confederates m us t have been the las t ac tion of this terrible s truggle. Now the North had trium phed in the good c aus e, how welc om e would have been a news paper to the exiles in Linc oln Is land! For eleven m onths all c om m unic ation between them and the res t of their fellow-c reatures had been interrupted, and in a s hort tim e the 24th of Marc h would arrive, the annivers ary of the day on whic h the balloon had thrown them on this unknown c oas t. T hey were then m ere c as taways , not even knowing how they s hould pres erve their m is erable lives from the fury of the elem ents ! A nd now, thanks to the knowledge of their c aptain, and their own intelligenc e, they were regular c olonis ts , furnis hed with arm s , tools , and ins trum ents ; they had been able to turn to their profit the anim als , plants , and m inerals of the is land, that is to s ay, the three kingdom s of Nature. Y es ; they often talked of all thes e things and form ed s till m ore plans . A s to Cyrus Harding he was for the m os t part s ilent, and lis tened to his c om panions m ore often than he s poke to them . S om etim es he s m iled at Herbert's ideas or P enc roft's nons ens e, but always and everywhere he pondered over thos e inexplic able fac ts , that s trange enigm a, of whic h the s ec ret s till es c aped him ! Chapter 9 T he weather c hanged during the firs t week of Marc h. T here had been a full m oon at the c om m enc em ent of the m onth, and the heat was exc es s ive. T he atm os phere was felt to be full of elec tric ity, and a period of s om e length of tem pes tuous weather was to be feared. Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew from the eas t, and hail rattled agains t the fac ade of Granite Hous e like volleys of grape-s hot. T he door and windows were im m ediately c los ed, or everything in the room s would have been drenc hed. On s eeing thes e hails tones , s om e of whic h were the s ize of a pigeon's egg, P enc roft's firs t thought was that his c ornfield was in s erious danger. He direc tly rus hed to his field, where little green heads were already appearing, and by m eans of a great c loth, he m anaged to protec t his c rop. T his bad weather las ted a week, during whic h tim e the thunder rolled without c es s ation in the depths of the s ky. T he c olonis ts , not having any pres s ing work out of doors , profited by the bad weather to work at the interior of Granite Hous e, the arrangem ent of whic h was bec om ing m ore c om plete from day to day. T he engineer m ade a turning-lathe, with whic h he turned s everal artic les both for the toilet and the kitc hen, partic ularly buttons , the want of whic h was greatly felt. A gunrac k had been m ade for the firearm s , whic h were kept with extrem e c are, and neither tables nor c upboards were left inc om plete. T hey s awed, they planed, they filed, they turned; and during the whole of this bad s eas on, nothing was heard but the grinding of tools or the hum m ing of the turning-lathe whic h res ponded to the growling of the thunder. Mas ter J up had not been forgotten, and he oc c upied a room at the bac k, near the s toreroom , a s ort of c abin with a c ot always full of good litter, whic h perfec tly s uited his tas te. "W ith good old J up there is never any quarreling," often repeated P enc roft, "never any im proper reply. W hat a s ervant, Neb, what a s ervant! " Of c ours e J up was now well us ed to s ervic e. He brus hed their c lothes , he turned the s pit, he waited at table, he s wept the room s , he gathered wood, and he perform ed another adm irable piec e of s ervic e whic h delighted P enc roft--he never went to s leep without firs t c om ing to tuc k up the worthy s ailor in his bed. A s to the health of the m em bers of the c olony, bipeds or bim ana, quadrum ana or quadrupeds , it left nothing to be des ired. W ith their life in the open air, on this s alubrious s oil, under that tem perate zone, working both with head and hands , they c ould not s uppos e that illnes s would ever attac k them . A ll were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inc hes in the year. His figure was form ing and bec om ing m ore m anly, and he prom is ed to be an ac c om plis hed m an, phys ic ally as well as m orally. B es ides he im proved him s elf during the leis ure hours whic h m anual oc c upations left to him ; he read the books found in the c as e; and after the prac tic al les s ons whic h were taught by the very nec es s ity of their pos ition, he found in the engineer for s c ienc e, and the reporter for languages , m as ters who were delighted to c om plete his educ ation. T he tem pes t ended about the 9th of Marc h, but the s ky rem ained c overed with c louds during the whole of this las t s um m er m onth. T he atm os phere, violently agitated by the elec tric c om m otions , c ould not rec over its form er purity, and there was alm os t invariably rain and fog, exc ept for three or four fine days on whic h s everal exc urs ions were m ade. A bout this tim e the fem ale onager gave birth to a young one whic h belonged to the s am e s ex as its m other, and whic h throve c apitally. In the c orral, the floc k of m us m ons had als o inc reas ed, and s everal lam bs already bleated in the s heds , to the great delight of Neb and Herbert, who had eac h their favorite am ong thes e newc om ers . A n attem pt was als o m ade for the dom es tic ation of the pec c aries , whic h s uc c eeded well. A s ty was c ons truc ted under the poultry-yard, and s oon c ontained s everal young ones in the way to bec om e c ivilized, that is to s ay, to bec om e fat under Neb's c are. Mas ter J up, entrus ted with c arrying them their daily nouris hm ent, leavings from the kitc hen, etc ., ac quitted him s elf c ons c ientious ly of his tas k. He s om etim es am us ed him s elf at the expens e of his little pens ioners by tweaking their tails ; but this was m is c hief, and not wic kednes s , for thes e little twis ted tails am us ed him like a plaything, and his ins tinc t was that of a c hild. One day in this m onth of Marc h, P enc roft, talking to the engineer, rem inded Cyrus Harding of a prom is e whic h the latter had not as yet had tim e to fulfil. "Y ou onc e s poke of an apparatus whic h would take the plac e of the long ladders at Granite Hous e, c aptain," s aid he; "won't you m ake it s om e day?" "Nothing will be eas ier; but is this a really us eful thing?" "Certainly, c aptain. A fter we have given ours elves nec es s aries , let us think a little of luxury. For us it m ay be luxury, if you like, but for things it is nec es s ary. It is n't very c onvenient to c lim b up a long ladder when one is heavily loaded." "W ell, P enc roft, we will try to pleas e you," replied Cyrus Harding. "B ut you have no m ac hine at your dis pos al." "W e will m ake one." "A s team m ac hine?" "No, a water m ac hine." A nd, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural forc e at the dis pos al of the engineer whic h c ould be us ed without great diffic ulty. For this , it was enough to augm ent the flow of the little s tream whic h s upplied the interior of Granite Hous e with water. T he opening am ong the s tones and gras s was then inc reas ed, thus produc ing a s trong fall at the bottom of the pas s age, the overflow from whic h es c aped by the inner well. B elow this fall the engineer fixed a c ylinder with paddles , whic h was joined on the exterior with a s trong c able rolled on a wheel, s upporting a bas ket. In this way, by m eans of a long rope reac hing to the ground, whic h enabled them to regulate the m otive power, they c ould ris e in the bas ket to the door of Granite Hous e. It was on the 17th of Marc h that the lift ac ted for the firs t tim e, and gave univers al s atis fac tion. Henc eforward all the loads , wood, c oal, provis ions , and even the s ettlers them s elves , were hois ted by this s im ple s ys tem , whic h replac ed the prim itive ladder, and, as m ay be s uppos ed, no one thought of regretting the c hange. Top partic ularly was enc hanted with this im provem ent, for he had not, and never c ould have pos s es s ed Mas ter J up's s kill in c lim bing ladders , and often it was on Neb's bac k, or even on that of the orang that he had been obliged to m ake the as c ent to Granite Hous e. A bout this tim e, too, Cyrus Harding attem pted to m anufac ture glas s , and he at firs t put the old pottery-kiln to this new us e. T here were s om e diffic ulties to be enc ountered; but, after s everal fruitles s attem pts , he s uc c eeded in s etting up a glas s m anufac tory, whic h Gideon S pilett and Herbert, his us ual as s is tants , did not leave for s everal days . A s to the s ubs tanc es us ed in the c om pos ition of glas s , they are s im ply s and, c halk, and s oda, either c arbonate or s ulphate. Now the beac h s upplied s and, lim e s upplied c halk, s ea-weeds s upplied s oda, pyrites s upplied s ulphuric ac id, and the ground s upplied c oal to heat the kiln to the wis hed-for tem perature. Cyrus

Harding thus s oon had everything ready for s etting to work. T he tool, the m anufac ture of whic h pres ented the m os t diffic ulty, was the pipe of the glas s -m aker, an iron tube, five or s ix feet long, whic h c ollec ts on one end the m aterial in a s tate of fus ion. B ut by m eans of a long, thin piec e of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, P enc roft s uc c eeded in m aking a tube s oon ready for us e. On the 28th of Marc h the tube was heated. A hundred parts of s and, thirty-five of c halk, forty of s ulphate of s oda, m ixed with two or three parts of powdered c oal, c om pos ed the s ubs tanc e, whic h was plac ed in c ruc ibles . W hen the high tem perature of the oven had reduc ed it to a liquid, or rather a pas ty s tate, Cyrus Harding c ollec ted with the tube a quantity of the pas te: he turned it about on a m etal plate, previous ly arranged, s o as to give it a form s uitable for blowing, then he pas s ed the tube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other extrem ity. A nd Herbert, s welling out his c heeks , blew s o m uc h and s o well into the tube-taking c are to twirl it round at the s am e tim e--that his breath dilated the glas s y m as s . Other quantities of the s ubs tanc e in a s tate of fus ion were added to the firs t, and in a s hort tim e the res ult was a bubble whic h m eas ured a foot in diam eter. Harding then took the tube out of Herbert's hands , and, giving it a pendulous m otion, he ended by lengthening the m alleable bubble s o as to give it a c ylindroc onic s hape. T he blowing operation had given a c ylinder of glas s term inated by two hem is pheric c aps , whic h were eas ily detac hed by m eans of a s harp iron dipped in c old water; then, by the s am e proc eeding, this c ylinder was c ut lengthways , and after having been rendered m alleable by a s ec ond heating, it was extended on a plate and s pread out with a wooden roller. T he firs t pane was thus m anufac tured, and they had only to perform this operation fifty tim es to have fifty panes . T he windows at Granite Hous e were s oon furnis hed with panes ; not very white, perhaps , but s till s uffic iently trans parent. A s to bottles and tum blers , that was only play. T hey were s atis fied with them , bes ides , jus t as they c am e from the end of the tube. P enc roft had as ked to be allowed to "blow" in his turn, and it was great fun for him ; but he blew s o hard that his produc tions took the m os t ridic ulous s hapes , whic h he adm ired im m ens ely. Cyrus Harding and Herbert, while hunting one day, had entered the fores t of the Far W es t, on the left bank of the Merc y, and, as us ual, the lad was as king a thous and ques tions of the engineer, who ans wered them heartily. Now, as Harding was not a s ports m an, and as , on the other s ide, Herbert was talking c hem is try and natural philos ophy, num bers of kangaroos , c apybaras , and agouties c am e within range, whic h, however, es c aped the lad's gun; the c ons equenc e was that the day was already advanc ed, and the two hunters were in danger of having m ade a us eles s exc urs ion, when Herbert, s topping, and uttering a c ry of joy, exc laim ed,-"Oh, Captain Harding, do you s ee that tree?" and he pointed to a s hrub, rather than a tree, for it was c om pos ed of a s ingle s tem , c overed with a s c aly bark, whic h bore leaves s treaked with little parallel veins . "A nd what is this tree whic h res em bles a little palm ?" as ked Harding. "It is a 'c yc as revoluta,' of whic h I have a pic ture in our dic tionary of Natural His tory! " s aid Herbert. "B ut I c an't s ee any fruit on this s hrub! " obs erved his c om panion. "No, c aptain," replied Herbert; "but its s tem c ontains a flour with whic h nature has provided us all ready ground." "It is , then, the bread-tree?" "Y es , the bread-tree." "W ell, m y boy," replied the engineer, "this is a valuable dis c overy, s inc e our wheat harves t is not yet ripe; I hope that you are not m is taken! " Herbert was not m is taken: he broke the s tem of a c yc as , whic h was c om pos ed of a glandulous tis s ue, c ontaining a quantity of floury pith, travers ed with woody fiber, s eparated by rings of the s am e s ubs tanc e, arranged c onc entric ally. W ith this fec ula was m ingled a m uc ilaginous juic e of dis agreeable flavor, but whic h it would be eas y to get rid of by pres s ure. T his c ellular s ubs tanc e was regular flour of a s uperior quality, extrem ely nouris hing; its exportation was form erly forbidden by the J apanes e laws . Cyrus Harding and Herbert, after having exam ined that part of the Far W es t where the c yc as grew, took their bearings , and returned to Granite Hous e, where they m ade known their dis c overy. T he next day the s ettlers went to c ollec t s om e, and returned to Granite Hous e with an am ple s upply of c yc as s tem s . T he engineer c ons truc ted a pres s , with whic h to extrac t the m uc ilaginous juic e m ingled with the fec ula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, whic h Neb s oon trans form ed into c akes and puddings . T his was not quite real wheaten bread, but it was very like it. Now, too, the onager, the goats , and the s heep in the c orral furnis hed daily the m ilk nec es s ary to the c olony. T he c art, or rather a s ort of light c arriole whic h had replac ed it, m ade frequent journeys to the c orral, and when it was P enc roft's turn to go he took J up, and let him drive, and J up, c rac king his whip, ac quitted him s elf with his c us tom ary intelligenc e. E verything pros pered, as well in the c orral as in Granite Hous e, and c ertainly the s ettlers , if it had not been that they were s o far from their native land, had no reas on to c om plain. T hey were s o well s uited to this life, and were, bes ides , s o ac c us tom ed to the is land, that they c ould not have left its hos pitable s oil without regret! A nd yet s o deeply is the love of his c ountry im planted in the heart of m an, that if a s hip had unexpec tedly c om e in s ight of the is land, the c olonis ts would have m ade s ignals , would have attrac ted her attention, and would have departed! It was the 1s t of A pril, a S unday, E as ter Day, whic h Harding and his c om panions s anc tified by res t and prayer. T he day was fine, s uc h as an Oc tober day in the Northern Hem is phere m ight be. A ll, towards the evening after dinner, were s eated under the veranda on the edge of P ros pec t Heights , and they were watc hing the darknes s c reeping up from the horizon. S om e c ups of the infus ion of elder-berries , whic h took the plac e of c offee, had been s erved by Neb. T hey were s peaking of the is land and of its is olated s ituation in the P ac ific , whic h led Gideon S pilett to s ay,-"My dear Cyrus , have you ever, s inc e you pos s es s ed the s extant found in the c as e, again taken the pos ition of our is land?" "No," replied the engineer. "B ut it would perhaps be a good thing to do it with this ins trum ent, whic h is m ore perfec t than that whic h you before us ed." "W hat is the good?" s aid P enc roft. "T he is land is quite c om fortable where it is ! " "W ell, who knows ," returned the reporter, "who knows but that we m ay be m uc h nearer inhabited land than we think?" "W e s hall know to-m orrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "and if it had not been for the oc c upations whic h left m e no leis ure, we s hould have known it already." "Good! " s aid P enc roft. "T he c aptain is too good an obs erver to be m is taken, and, if it has not m oved from its plac e, the is land is jus t where he put it." "W e s hall s ee." On the next day, therefore, by m eans of the s extant, the engineer m ade the nec es s ary obs ervations to verify the pos ition whic h he had already obtained, and this was the res ult of his operation. His firs t obs ervation had given him the s ituation of Linc oln Is land,-In wes t longitude: from 1500 to 1550; In s outh latitude: from 300 to 350 T he s ec ond gave exac tly: In longitude: 1500 30' In s outh latitude: 340 57' S o then, notwiths tanding the im perfec tion of his apparatus , Cyrus Harding had operated with s o m uc h s kill that his error did not exc eed five degrees . "Now," s aid Gideon S pilett, "s inc e we pos s es s an atlas as well as a s extant, let us s ee, m y dear Cyrus , the exac t pos ition whic h Linc oln Is land oc c upies in the P ac ific ." Herbert fetc hed the atlas , and the m ap of the P ac ific was opened, and the engineer, c om pas s in hand, prepared to determ ine their pos ition. S uddenly the c om pas s es s topped, and he exc laim ed, "B ut an is land exis ts in this part of the P ac ific already! " "A n is land?" c ried P enc roft. "T abor Is land." "A n im portant is land?" "No, an is let los t in the P ac ific , and whic h perhaps has never been vis ited." "W ell, we will vis it it," s aid P enc roft. "W e?" "Y es , c aptain. W e will build a dec ked boat, and I will undertake to s teer her. A t what dis tanc e are we from this T abor Is land?" "A bout a hundred and fifty m iles to the northeas t," replied Harding. "A hundred and fifty m iles ! A nd what's that?" returned P enc roft. "In forty-eight hours , with a good wind, we s hould s ight it! " A nd, on this reply, it was dec ided that a ves s el s hould be c ons truc ted in tim e to be launc hed towards the m onth of next Oc tober, on the return of the fine s eas on. Chapter 10 W hen P enc roft had onc e got a plan in his head, he had no peac e till it was exec uted. Now he wis hed to vis it T abor Is land, and as a boat of a c ertain s ize was nec es s ary for this voyage, he determ ined to build one. W hat wood s hould he em ploy? E lm or fir, both of whic h abounded in the is land? T hey dec ided for the fir, as being eas y to work, but whic h s tands water as well as the elm . T hes e details s ettled, it was agreed that s inc e the fine s eas on would not return before s ix m onths , Cyrus Harding and P enc roft s hould work alone at the boat. Gideon S pilett and Herbert were to c ontinue to hunt, and neither Neb nor Mas ter J up, his as s is tant, were to leave the dom es tic duties whic h had devolved upon them . Direc tly the trees were c hos en, they were felled, s tripped of their branc hes , and s awn into planks as well as s awyers would have been able to do it. A week after, in the rec es s between the Chim neys and the c liff, a doc kyard was prepared, and a keel five-and-thirty feet long, furnis hed with a s tern-pos t at the s tern and a s tem at the bows , lay along the s and. Cyrus Harding was not working in the dark at this new trade. He knew as m uc h about s hip-building as about nearly everything els e, and he had at firs t drawn the m odel of his s hip on paper. B es ides , he was ably s ec onded by P enc roft, who, having worked for s everal years in a doc kyard in B rooklyn, knew the prac tic al part of the trade. It was not until after c areful c alc ulation and deep thought that the tim bers were laid on the keel. P enc roft, as m ay be believed, was all eagernes s to c arry out his new enterpris e, and would not leave his work for an ins tant. A s ingle thing had the honor of drawing him , but for one day only, from his doc kyard. T his was the s ec ond wheat-harves t, whic h was gathered in on the 15th of A pril. It was as m uc h a s uc c es s as the firs t, and yielded the num ber of grains whic h had been predic ted. "Five bus hels , c aptain," s aid P enc roft, alter having s c rupulous ly m eas ured his treas ure. "Five bus hels ," replied the engineer; "and a hundred and thirty thous and grains a bus hel will m ake s ix hundred and fifty thous and grains ." "W ell, we will s ow them all this tim e," s aid the s ailor, "exc ept a little in res erve." "Y es , P enc roft, and if the next c rop gives a proportionate yield, we s hall have four thous and bus hels ." "A nd s hall we eat bread?" "W e s hall eat bread." "B ut we m us t have a m ill. "W e will m ake one." T he third c orn-field was very m uc h larger than the two firs t, and the s oil, prepared with extrem e c are, rec eived the prec ious s eed. T hat done, P enc roft returned to his work. During this tim e S pilett and Herbert hunted in the neighborhood, and they ventured deep into the s till unknown parts of the Far W es t, their guns loaded with ball, ready for any dangerous em ergenc y. It was a vas t thic ket of m agnific ent trees , c rowded together as if pres s ed for room . T he exploration of thes e dens e m as s es of wood was diffic ult in the extrem e, and the reporter never ventured there without the poc ket-c om pas s , for the s un s c arc ely pierc ed through the thic k foliage and it would have been very diffic ult for them to retrac e their way. It naturally happened that gam e was m ore rare in thos e s ituations where there was hardly s uffic ient room to m ove; two or three large herbivorous anim als were however killed during the las t fortnight of A pril. T hes e were koalas , s pec im ens of whic h the s ettlers had already s een to the north of the lake, and whic h s tupidly allowed them s elves to be killed am ong the thic k branc hes of the trees in whic h they took refuge. T heir s kins were brought bac k to Granite Hous e, and there, by the help of s ulphuric ac id, they were s ubjec ted to a s ort of tanning proc es s whic h rendered them c apable of being us ed. On the 30th of A pril, the two s ports m en were in the depth of the Far W es t, when the reporter, prec eding Herbert a few pac es , arrived in a s ort of c learing, into whic h the trees m ore s pars ely s c attered had perm itted a few rays to penetrate. Gideon S pilett was at firs t s urpris ed at the odor whic h exhaled from c ertain plants with s traight s talks , round and branc hy, bearing grape-like c lus ters of flowers and very s m all berries . T he reporter broke off one or two of thes e s talks and returned to the lad, to whom he s aid,-"W hat c an this be, Herbert?" "W ell, Mr. S pilett," s aid Herbert, "this is a treas ure whic h will s ec ure you P enc roft's gratitude forever." "Is it tobac c o?" "Y es , and though it m ay not be of the firs t quality, it is none the les s tobac c o! " "Oh, good old P enc roft! W on't he be pleas ed! B ut we m us t not let him s m oke it all, he m us t give us our s hare." "A h! an idea oc c urs to m e, Mr, S pilett," replied Herbert. "Don't let us s ay anything to P enc roft yet; we will prepare thes e leaves , and one fine day we will pres ent him with a pipe already filled! " "A ll right, Herbert, and on that day our worthy c om panion will have nothing left to wis h for in this world." T he reporter and the lad s ec ured a good s tore of the prec ious plant, and then returned to Granite Hous e, where they s m uggled it in with as m uc h prec aution as if P enc roft had been the m os t vigilant and s evere of c us tom - hous e offic ers . Cyrus Harding and Neb were taken into c onfidenc e, and the s ailor s us pec ted nothing during the whole tim e, nec es s arily s om ewhat long, whic h was required in order to dry the s m all leaves , c hop them up, and s ubjec t them to a c ertain torrefac tion on hot s tones . T his took two m onths ; but all thes e m anipulations were s uc c es s fully c arried on unknown to P enc roft, for, oc c upied with the c ons truc tion of his boat, he only returned to Granite Hous e at the hour of res t. For s om e days they had obs erved an enorm ous anim al two or three m iles out in the open s ea s wim m ing around Linc oln Is land. T his was a whale of the larges t s ize, whic h apparently belonged to the s outhern s pec ies , c alled the "Cape W hale." "W hat a luc ky c hanc e it would be if we c ould c apture it! " c ried the s ailor. "A h! if we only had a proper boat and a good harpoon, I would s ay 'A fter the beas t,' for he would be well worth the trouble of c atc hing! " "W ell, P enc roft," obs erved Harding, "I s hould m uc h like to watc h you handling a harpoon. It would be very interes ting." "I am as tonis hed," s aid the reporter, "to s ee a whale in this c om paratively high latitude." "W hy s o, Mr. S pilett?" replied Herbert. "W e are exac tly in that part of the P ac ific whic h E nglis h and A m eric an whalem en c all the whale field, and it is here, between New Zealand and S outh A m eric a, that the whales of the S outhern Hem is phere are m et with in the greates t num bers ." A nd P enc roft returned to his work, not without uttering a s igh of regret, for every s ailor is a born fis herm an, and if the pleas ure of fis hing is in exac t proportion to the s ize of the anim al, one c an judge how a whaler feels in s ight of a whale. A nd if this had only been for pleas ure! B ut they c ould not help feeling how valuable s uc h a prize would have been to the c olony, for the oil, fat, and bones would have been put to m any us es . Now it happened that this whale appeared to have no wis h to leave the waters of the is land. T herefore, whether from the windows of Granite Hous e, or from P ros pec t Heights , Herbert and Gideon S pilett, when they were not hunting, or Neb, unles s pres iding over his fires , never left the teles c ope, but watc hed all the anim al's m ovem ents . T he c etac ean, having entered far into Union B ay, m ade rapid furrows ac ros s it from Mandible Cape to Claw Cape, propelled by its enorm ous ly powerful flukes , on whic h it s upported its elf, and m aking its way through the water at the rate little s hort of twelve knots an hour. S om etim es als o it approac hed s o near to the is land that it c ould be c learly dis tinguis hed. It was the s outhern whale, whic h is c om pletely blac k, the head being m ore depres s ed than that of the northern whale. T hey c ould als o s ee it throwing up from its air-holes to a great height a c loud of vapor, or of water, for, s trange as it m ay appear, naturalis ts and whalers are not agreed on this s ubjec t. Is it air or is it water whic h is thus driven out? It is generally adm itted to be vapor, whic h, c ondens ing s uddenly by c ontac t with the c old air, falls again as rain. However, the pres enc e of this m am m ifer preoc c upied the c olonis ts . It irritated P enc roft es pec ially, as he c ould think of nothing els e while at work. He ended by longing for it, like a c hild for a thing whic h it has been denied. A t night he talked about it in his s leep, and c ertainly if he had had the m eans of attac king it, if the s loop had been in a fit s tate to put to s ea, he would not have hes itated to s et out in purs uit. B ut what the c olonis ts c ould not do for them s elves c hanc e did for them , and on the 3rd of May s houts from Neb, who had s tationed him s elf at the kitc hen window, announc ed that the whale was s tranded on the beac h of the is land. Herbert and Gideon S pilett, who were jus t about to s et out hunting, left their guns , P enc roft threw down his ax, and Harding and Neb joining their c om panions , all rus hed towards the s c ene of ac tion. T he s tranding had taken plac e on the beac h of Flots am P oint, three m iles from Granite Hous e, and at high tide. It was therefore probable that the c etac ean would not be able to extric ate its elf eas ily; at any rate it was bes t to has ten, s o as to c ut off its retreat if nec es s ary. T hey ran with pic k-axes and iron-tipped poles in their hands , pas s ed over the Merc y bridge, des c ended the right bank of the river, along the beac h, and in les s than twenty m inutes the s ettlers were c los e to the enorm ous anim al, above whic h floc ks of birds already hovered. "W hat a m ons ter! " c ried Neb. A nd the exc lam ation was natural, for it was a s outhern whale, eighty feet long, a giant of the s pec ies , probably not weighing les s than a hundred and fifty thous and pounds ! In the m eanwhile, the m ons ter thus s tranded did not m ove, nor attem pt by s truggling to regain the water while the tide was s till high. It was dead, and a harpoon was s tic king out of its left s ide. "T here are whalers in thes e quarters , then?" s aid Gideon S pilett direc tly. "Oh, Mr. S pilett, that does n't prove anything! " replied P enc roft. "W hales have been known to go thous ands of m iles with a harpoon in the s ide, and this one m ight even have been s truc k in the north of the A tlantic and c om e to die in the s outh of the P ac ific , and it would be nothing as tonis hing." P enc roft, having torn the harpoon from the anim al's s ide, read this ins c ription on it: MARIA S TE LLA, V INE Y ARD "A ves s el from the V ineyard! A s hip from m y c ountry! " he c ried. "T he 'Maria S tella! ' A fine whaler, 'pon m y word; I know her well! Oh, m y friends , a ves s el from the V ineyard! --a whaler from the V ineyard! " A nd the s ailor brandis hing the harpoon, repeated, not without em otion, the nam e whic h he loved s o well--the nam e of his birthplac e. B ut as it c ould not be expec ted that the "Maria S tella" would c om e to rec laim the anim al harpooned by her, they res olved to begin c utting it up before dec om pos ition s hould c om m enc e. T he birds , who had watc hed this ric h prey for s everal days , had determ ined to take pos s es s ion of it without further delay, and it was nec es s ary to drive them off by firing at them repeatedly. T he whale was a fem ale, and a large quantity of m ilk was taken from it, whic h, ac c ording to the opinion of the naturalis t Duffenbac h, m ight pas s for c ow's m ilk, and, indeed, it differs from it neither in tas te, c olor, nor dens ity. P enc roft had form erly s erved on board a whaling-s hip, and he c ould m ethodic ally direc t the operation of c utting up, a s uffic iently dis agreeable operation las ting three days , but from whic h the s ettlers did not flinc h, not even Gideon S pilett, who, as the s ailor s aid, would end by m aking a "real good c as taway." T he blubber, c ut in parallel s lic es of two feet and a half in thic knes s , then divided into piec es whic h m ight weigh about a thous and pounds eac h, was m elted down in large earthen pots brought to the s pot, for they did not wis h to taint the environs of Granite Hous e, and in this fus ion it los t nearly a third of its weight. B ut there was an im m ens e quantity of it; the tongue alone yielded s ix thous and pounds of oil, and the lower lip four thous and. T hen, bes ides the fat, whic h would ins ure for a long tim e a s tore of s tearine and glyc erine, there were s till the bones , for whic h a us e c ould doubtles s be found, although there were neither um brellas nor s tays us ed at Granite Hous e. T he upper part of the m outh of the c etac ean was , indeed, provided on both s ides with eight hundred horny blades , very elas tic , of a fibrous texture, and fringed at the edge like great c om bs , at whic h the teeth, s ix feet long, s erved to retain the thous ands of anim alc ulae, little fis h, and m ollus c s , on whic h the whale fed. T he operation finis hed, to the great s atis fac tion of the operators , the rem ains of the anim al were left to the birds , who would s oon m ake every ves tige of it dis appear, and their us ual daily oc c upations were res um ed by the inm ates of Granite Hous e. However, before returning to the doc kyard, Cyrus Harding c onc eived the idea of fabric ating c ertain m ac hines , whic h greatly exc ited the c urios ity of his c om panions . He took a dozen of the whale's bones , c ut them into s ix equal parts , and s harpened their ends . "T his m ac hine is not m y own invention, and it is frequently em ployed by the A leutian hunters in Rus s ian A m eric a. You s ee thes e bones , m y friends ; well, when it freezes , I will bend them , and then wet them with water till they are entirely c overed with ic e, whic h will keep them bent, and I will s trew them on the

s now, having previous ly c overed them with fat. Now, what will happen if a hungry anim al s wallows one of thes e baits ? W hy, the heat of his s tom ac h will m elt the ic e, and the bone, s pringing s traight, will pierc e him with its s harp points ." "W ell! I do c all that ingenious ! " s aid P enc roft. "A nd it will s pare the powder and s hot," rejoined Cyrus Harding. "T hat will be better than traps ! " added Neb. In the m eanwhile the boat-building progres s ed, and towards the end of the m onth half the planking was c om pleted. It c ould already be s een that her s hape was exc ellent, and that s he would s ail well. P enc roft worked with unparalleled ardor, and only a s turdy fram e c ould have borne s uc h fatigue; but his c om panions were preparing in s ec ret a reward for his labors , and on the 31s t of May he was to m eet with one of the greates t joys of his life. On that day, after dinner, jus t as he was about to leave the table, P enc roft felt a hand on his s houlder. It was the hand of Gideon S pilett, who s aid,-"One m om ent, Mas ter P enc roft, you m us tn't s neak off like that! Y ou've forgotten your des s ert." "T hank you, Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "I am going bac k to m y work." "W ell, a c up of c offee, m y friend?" "Nothing m ore." "A pipe, then?" P enc roft jum ped up, and his great good-natured fac e grew pale when he s aw the reporter pres enting him with a ready-filled pipe, and Herbert with a glowing c oal. T he s ailor endeavored to s peak, but c ould not get out a word; s o, s eizing the pipe, he c arried it to his lips , then applying the c oal, he drew five or s ix great whiffs . A fragrant blue c loud s oon aros e, and from its depths a voic e was heard repeating exc itedly,-"T obac c o! real tobac c o! " "Y es , P enc roft," returned Cyrus Harding, "and very good tobac c o too! " "O, divine P rovidenc e; s ac red A uthor of all things ! " c ried the s ailor. "Nothing m ore is now wanting to our is land." A nd P enc roft s m oked, and s m oked, and s m oked. "A nd who m ade this dis c overy?" he as ked at length. "Y ou, Herbert, no doubt?" "No, P enc roft, it was Mr. S pilett." "Mr. S pilett! " exc laim ed the s ailor, s eizing the reporter, and c las ping him to his breas t with s uc h a s queeze that he had never felt anything like it before. "Oh P enc roft," s aid S pilett, rec overing his breath at las t, "a truc e for one m om ent. Y ou m us t s hare your gratitude with Herbert, who rec ognized the plant, with Cyrus , who prepared it, and with Neb, who took a great deal of trouble to keep our s ec ret." "W ell, m y friends , I will repay you s om e day," replied the s ailor. "Now we are friends for life." Chapter 11 W inter arrived with the m onth of J une, whic h is the Dec em ber of the northern zones , and the great bus ines s was the m aking of warm and s olid c lothing. T he m us m ons in the c orral had been s tripped of their wool, and this prec ious textile m aterial was now to be trans form ed into s tuff. Of c ours e Cyrus Harding, having at his dis pos al neither c arders , c om bers , polis hers , s tretc hers , twis ters , m ule-jenny, nor s elf-ac ting m ac hine to s pin the wool, nor loom to weave it, was obliged to proc eed in a s im pler way, s o as to do without s pinning and weaving. A nd indeed he propos ed to m ake us e of the property whic h the filam ents of wool pos s es s when s ubjec ted to a powerful pres s ure of m ixing together, and of m anufac turing by this s im ple proc es s the m aterial c alled felt. T his felt c ould then be obtained by a s im ple operation whic h, if it dim inis hed the flexibility of the s tuff, inc reas ed its power of retaining heat in proportion. Now the wool furnis hed by the m us m ons was c om pos ed of very s hort hairs , and was in a good c ondition to be felted. T he engineer, aided by his c om panions , inc luding P enc roft, who was onc e m ore obliged to leave his boat, c om m enc ed the prelim inary operations , the s ubjec t of whic h was to rid the wool of that fat and oily s ubs tanc e with whic h it is im pregnated, and whic h is c alled greas e. T his c leaning was done in vats filled with water, whic h was m aintained at the tem perature of s eventy degrees , and in whic h the wool was s oaked for four-and-twenty hours ; it was then thoroughly was hed in baths of s oda, and, when s uffic iently dried by pres s ure, it was in a s tate to be c om pres s ed, that is to s ay, to produc e a s olid m aterial, rough, no doubt, and s uc h as would have no value in a m anufac turing c enter of E urope or A m eric a, but whic h would be highly es teem ed in the Linc oln Is land m arkets . T his s ort of m aterial m us t have been known from the m os t anc ient tim es , and, in fac t, the firs t woolen s tuffs were m anufac tured by the proc es s whic h Harding was now about to em ploy. W here Harding's engineering qualific ations now c am e into play was in the c ons truc tion of the m ac hine for pres s ing the wool; for he knew how to turn ingenious ly to profit the m ec hanic al forc e, hitherto unus ed, whic h the waterfall on the beac h pos s es s ed to m ove a fulling-m ill. Nothing c ould be m ore rudim entary. T he wool was plac ed in troughs , and upon it fell in turns heavy wooden m allets ; s uc h was the m ac hine in ques tion, and s uc h it had been for c enturies until the tim e when the m allets were replac ed by c ylinders of c om pres s ion, and the m aterial was no longer s ubjec ted to beating, but to regular rolling. T he operation, ably direc ted by Cyrus Harding, was a c om plete s uc c es s . T he wool, previous ly im pregnated with a s olution of s oap, intended on the one hand to fac ilitate the interlac ing, the c om pres s ion, and the s oftening of the wool, and on the other to prevent its dim inution by the beating, is s ued from the m ill in the s hape of thic k felt c loth. T he roughnes s es with whic h the s taple of wool is naturally filled were s o thoroughly entangled and interlac ed together that a m aterial was form ed equally s uitable either for garm ents or bedc lothes . It was c ertainly neither m erino, m us lin, c as hm ere, rep, s atin, alpac a, c loth, nor flannel. It was "Linc olnian felt," and Linc oln Is land pos s es s ed yet another m anufac ture. T he c olonis ts had now warm garm ents and thic k bedc lothes , and they c ould without fear await the approac h of the winter of 1866-67. T he s evere c old began to be felt about the 20th of J une, and, to his great regret, P enc roft was obliged to s us pend his boat-building, whic h he hoped to finis h in tim e for next s pring. T he s ailor's great idea was to m ake a voyage of dis c overy to Tabor Is land, although Harding c ould not approve of a voyage s im ply for c urios ity's s ake, for there was evidently nothing to be found on this des ert and alm os t arid roc k. A voyage of a hundred and fifty m iles in a c om paratively s m all ves s el, over unknown s eas , c ould not but c aus e him s om e anxiety. S uppos e that their ves s el, onc e out at s ea, s hould be unable to reac h T abor Is land, and c ould not return to Linc oln Is land, what would bec om e of her in the m ids t of the P ac ific , s o fruitful of dis as ters ? Harding often talked over this projec t with P enc roft, and he found him s trangely bent upon undertaking this voyage, for whic h determ ination he him s elf c ould give no s uffic ient reas on. "Now," s aid the engineer one day to him , "I m us t obs erve, m y friend, that after having s aid s o m uc h, in prais e of Linc oln Is land, after having s poken s o often of the s orrow you would feel if you were obliged to fors ake it, you are the firs t to wis h to leave it." "Only to leave it for a few days ," replied P enc roft, "only for a few days , c aptain. T im e to go and c om e bac k, and s ee what that is let is like! " "B ut it is not nearly as good as Linc oln Is land." "I know that beforehand." "T hen why venture there?" "T o know what is going on in T abor Is land." "B ut nothing is going on there; nothing c ould happen there." "W ho knows ?" "A nd if you are c aught in a hurric ane?" "T here is no fear of that in the fine s eas on," replied P enc roft. "B ut, c aptain, as we m us t provide agains t everything, I s hall as k your perm is s ion to take Herbert only with m e on this voyage." "P enc roft," replied the engineer, plac ing his hand on the s ailor's s houlder, "if any m is fortune happens to you, or to this lad, whom c hanc e has m ade our c hild, do you think we c ould ever c eas e to blam e ours elves ?" "Captain Harding," replied P enc roft, with uns haken c onfidenc e, "we s hall not c aus e you that s orrow. B es ides , we will s peak further of this voyage, when the tim e c om es to m ake it. A nd I fanc y, when you have s een our tight- rigged little c raft, when you have obs erved how s he behaves at s ea, when we s ail round our is land, for we will do s o together--I fanc y, I s ay, that you will no longer hes itate to let m e go. I don't c onc eal from you that your boat will be a m as terpiec e." "S ay 'our' boat, at leas t, P enc roft," replied the engineer, dis arm ed for the m om ent. T he c onvers ation ended thus , to be res um ed later on, without c onvinc ing either the s ailor or the engineer. T he firs t s now fell towards the end of the m onth of J une. T he c orral had previous ly been largely s upplied with s tores , s o that daily vis its to it were not requis ite; but it was dec ided that m ore than a week s hould never be allowed to pas s without s om eone going to it. T raps were again s et, and the m ac hines m anufac tured by Harding were tried. T he bent whalebones , im pris oned in a c as e of ic e, and c overed with a thic k outer layer of fat, were plac ed on the border of the fores t at a s pot where anim als us ually pas s ed on their way to the lake. T o the engineer's great s atis fac tion, this invention, c opied from the A leutian fis herm en, s uc c eeded perfec tly. A dozen foxes , a few wild boars , and even a jaguar, were taken in this way, the anim als being found dead, their s tom ac hs pierc ed by the unbent bones . A n inc ident m us t here be related, not only as interes ting in its elf, but bec aus e it was the firs t attem pt m ade by the c olonis ts to c om m unic ate with the res t of m ankind. Gideon S pilett had already s everal tim es pondered whether to throw into the s ea a letter enc los ed in a bottle, whic h c urrents m ight perhaps c arry to an inhabited c oas t, or to c onfide it to pigeons . B ut how c ould it be s erious ly hoped that either pigeons or bottles c ould c ros s the dis tanc e of twelve hundred m iles whic h s eparated the is land from any inhabited land? It would have been pure folly. B ut on the 30th of J une the c apture was effec ted, not without diffic ulty, of an albatros s , whic h a s hot from Herbert's gun had s lightly wounded in the foot. It was a m agnific ent bird, m eas uring ten feet from wing to wing, and whic h c ould travers e s eas as wide as the P ac ific . Herbert would have liked to keep this s uperb bird, as its wound would s oon heal, and he thought he c ould tam e it; but S pilett explained to him that they s hould not neglec t this opportunity of attem pting to c om m unic ate by this m es s enger with the lands of the P ac ific ; for if the albatros s had c om e from s om e inhabited region, there was no doubt but that it would return there s o s oon as it was s et free. P erhaps in his heart Gideon S pilett, in whom the journalis t s om etim es c am e to the s urfac e, was not s orry to have the opportunity of s ending forth to take its c hanc e an exc iting artic le relating the adventures of the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land. W hat a s uc c es s for the authorized reporter of the New York Herald, and for the num ber whic h s hould c ontain the artic le, if it s hould ever reac h the addres s of its editor, the Honorable J am es B ennett! Gideon S pilett then wrote out a c onc is e ac c ount, whic h was plac ed in a s trong waterproof bag, with an earnes t reques t to whoever m ight find it to forward it to the offic e of the New York Herald. T his little bag was fas tened to the nec k of the albatros s , and not to its foot, for thes e birds are in the habit of res ting on the s urfac e of the s ea; then liberty was given to this s wift c ourier of the air, and it was not without s om e em otion that the c olonis ts watc hed it dis appear in the m is ty wes t. "W here is he going to?" as ked P enc roft. "T owards New Zealand," replied Herbert. "A good voyage to you," s houted the s ailor, who him s elf did not expec t any great res ult from this m ode of c orres pondenc e. W ith the winter, work had been res um ed in the interior of Granite Hous e, m ending c lothes and different oc c upations , am ong others m aking the s ails for their ves s el, whic h were c ut from the inexhaus tible balloon-c as e. During the m onth of J uly the c old was intens e, but there was no lac k of either wood or c oal. Cyrus Harding had es tablis hed a s ec ond fireplac e in the dining-room , and there the long winter evenings were s pent. T alking while they worked, reading when the hands rem ained idle, the tim e pas s ed with profit to all. It was real enjoym ent to the s ettlers when in their room , well lighted with c andles , well warm ed with c oal, after a good dinner, elderberry c offee s m oking in the c ups , the pipes giving forth an odoriferous s m oke, they c ould hear the s torm howling without. T heir c om fort would have been c om plete, if c om plete c om fort c ould ever exis t for thos e who are far from their fellow-c reatures , and without any m eans of c om m unic ation with them . T hey often talked of their c ountry, of the friends whom they had left, of the grandeur of the A m eric an Republic , whos e influenc e c ould not but inc reas e; and Cyrus Harding, who had been m uc h m ixed up with the affairs of the Union, greatly interes ted his auditors by his rec itals , his views , and his prognos tic s . It c hanc ed one day that S pilett was led to s ay-"B ut now, m y dear Cyrus , all this indus trial and c om m erc ial m ovem ent to whic h you predic t a c ontinual advanc e, does it not run the danger of being s ooner or later c om pletely s topped?" "S topped! A nd by what?" "B y the want of c oal, whic h m ay jus tly be c alled the m os t prec ious of m inerals ." "Y es , the m os t prec ious indeed," replied the engineer; "and it would s eem that nature wis hed to prove that it was s o by m aking the diam ond, whic h is s im ply pure c arbon c rys tallized." "Y ou don't m ean to s ay, c aptain," interrupted P enc roft, "that we burn diam onds in our s toves in the s hape of c oal?" "No, m y friend," replied Harding. "However," res um ed Gideon S pilett, "you do not deny that s om e day the c oal will be entirely c ons um ed?" "Oh! the veins of c oal are s till c ons iderable, and the hundred thous and m iners who annually extrac t from them a hundred m illions of hundredweights have not nearly exhaus ted them ." "W ith the inc reas ing c ons um ption of c oal," replied Gideon S pilett, "it c an be fores een that the hundred thous and workm en will s oon bec om e two hundred thous and, and that the rate of extrac tion will be doubled." "Doubtles s ; but after the E uropean m ines , whic h will be s oon worked m ore thoroughly with new m ac hines , the A m eric an and A us tralian m ines will for a long tim e yet provide for the c ons um ption in trade." "For how long a tim e?" as ked the reporter. "For at leas t two hundred and fifty or three hundred years ." "T hat is reas s uring for us , but a bad look-out for our great- grandc hildren! " obs erved P enc roft. "T hey will dis c over s om ething els e," s aid Herbert. "It is to be hoped s o," ans wered S pilett, "for without c oal there would be no m ac hinery, and without m ac hinery there would be no railways , no s team ers , no m anufac tories , nothing of that whic h is indis pens able to m odern c ivilization! " "B ut what will they find?" as ked P enc roft. "Can you gues s , c aptain?" "Nearly, m y friend." "A nd what will they burn ins tead of c oal?" "W ater," replied Harding. "W ater! " c ried P enc roft, "water as fuel for s team ers and engines ! water to heat water! " "Y es , but water dec om pos ed into its prim itive elem ents ," replied Cyrus Harding, "and dec om pos ed doubtles s , by elec tric ity, whic h will then have bec om e a powerful and m anageable forc e, for all great dis c overies , by s om e inexplic able laws , appear to agree and bec om e c om plete at the s am e tim e. Yes , m y friends , I believe that water will one day be em ployed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen whic h c ons titute it, us ed s ingly or together, will furnis h an inexhaus tible s ourc e of heat and light, of an intens ity of whic h c oal is not c apable. S om e day the c oalroom s of s team ers and the tenders of loc om otives will, ins tead of c oal, be s tored with thes e two c ondens ed gas es , whic h will burn in the furnac es with enorm ous c alorific power. T here is , therefore, nothing to fear. A s long as the earth is inhabited it will s upply the wants of its inhabitants , and there will be no want of either light or heat as long as the produc tions of the vegetable, m ineral or anim al kingdom s do not fail us . I believe, then, that when the depos its of c oal are exhaus ted we s hall heat and warm ours elves with water. W ater will be the c oal of the future." "I s hould like to s ee that," obs erved the s ailor. "Y ou were born too s oon, P enc roft," returned Neb, who only took part in the dis c us s ion by thes e words . However, it was not Neb's s peec h whic h interrupted the c onvers ation, but T op's barking, whic h broke out again with that s trange intonation whic h had before perplexed the engineer. A t the s am e tim e T op began to run round the m outh of the well, whic h opened at the extrem ity of the interior pas s age. "W hat c an T op be barking in that way for?" as ked P enc roft. "A nd J up be growling like that?" added Herbert. In fac t the orang, joining the dog, gave unequivoc al s igns of agitation, and, s ingular to s ay, the two anim als appeared m ore uneas y than angry. "It is evident," s aid Gideon S pilett, "that this well is in direc t c om m unic ation with the s ea, and that s om e m arine anim al c om es from tim e to tim e to breathe at the bottom ." "T hat's evident," replied the s ailor, "and there c an be no other explanation to give. Quiet there, T op! " added P enc roft, turning to the dog, "and you, J up, be off to your room ! " T he ape and the dog were s ilent. J up went off to bed, but T op rem ained in the room , and c ontinued to utter low growls at intervals during the res t of the evening. T here was no further talk on the s ubjec t, but the inc ident, however, c louded the brow of the engineer. During the rem ainder of the m onth of J uly there was alternate rain and fros t. T he tem perature was not s o low as during the prec eding winter, and its m axim um did not exc eed eight degrees Fahrenheit. B ut although this winter was les s c old, it was m ore troubled by s torm s and s qualls ; the s ea bes ides often endangered the s afety of the Chim neys . A t tim es it alm os t s eem ed as if an under-c urrent rais ed thes e m ons trous billows whic h thundered agains t the wall of Granite Hous e. W hen the s ettlers , leaning from their windows , gazed on the huge watery m as s es breaking beneath their eyes , they c ould not but adm ire the m agnific ent s pec tac le of the oc ean in its im potent fury. T he waves rebounded in dazzling foam , the beac h entirely dis apppearing under the raging flood, and the c liff appearing to em erge from the s ea its elf, the s pray ris ing to a height of m ore than a hundred feet. During thes e s torm s it was diffic ult and even dangerous to venture out, owing to the frequently falling trees ; however, the c olonis ts never allowed a week to pas s without having paid a vis it to the c orral. Happily, this enc los ure, s heltered by the s outheas tern s pur of Mount Franklin, did not greatly s uffer from the violenc e of the hurric anes , whic h s pared its trees , s heds , and palis ades ; but the poultry-yard on P ros pec t Heights , being direc tly expos ed to the gus ts of wind from the eas t, s uffered c ons iderable dam age. T he pigeon-hous e was twic e unroofed and the paling blown down. A ll this required to be rem ade m ore s olidly than before, for, as m ay be c learly s een, Linc oln Is land was s ituated in one of the m os t dangerous parts of the P ac ific . It really appeared as if it form ed the c entral point of vas t c yc lones , whic h beat it perpetually as the whip does the top, only here it was the top whic h was m otionles s and the whip whic h m oved. During the firs t week of the m onth of A ugus t the weather bec am e m ore m oderate, and the atm os phere rec overed the c alm whic h it appeared to have los t forever. W ith the c alm the c old again bec am e intens e, and the therm om eter fell to eight degrees Fahrenheit, below zero. On the 3rd of A ugus t an exc urs ion whic h had been talked of for s everal days was m ade into the s outheas tern part of the is land, towards T adorn Mars h. T he hunters were tem pted by the aquatic gam e whic h took up their winter quarters there. W ild duc k, s nipe, teal and grebe abounded there, and it was agreed that a day s hould be devoted to an expedition agains t thes e birds . Not only Gideon S pilett and Herbert, but P enc roft and Neb als o took part in this exc urs ion. Cyrus Harding alone, alleging s om e work as an exc us e, did not join them , but rem ained at Granite Hous e. T he hunters proc eeded in the direc tion of P ort B alloon, in order to reac h the m ars h, after having prom is ed to be bac k by the evening. Top and J up ac c om panied them . A s s oon as they had pas s ed over the Merc y B ridge, the engineer rais ed it and returned, intending to put into exec ution a projec t for the perform anc e of whic h he wis hed to be alone. Now this projec t was to m inutely explore the interior well, the m outh of whic h was on a level with the pas s age of Granite Hous e, and whic h c om m unic ated with the s ea, s inc e it form erly s upplied a way to the waters of the lake. W hy did Top s o often run round this opening? W hy did he utter s uc h s trange barks when a s ort of uneas ines s s eem ed to draw him towards this well? W hy did J up join Top in a s ort of c om m on anxiety? Had this well branc hes bes ides the c om m unic ation with the s ea? Did it s pread towards other parts of the is land? T his is what Cyrus Harding wis hed to know. He had res olved, therefore, to attem pt the exploration of the well during the abs enc e of his c om panions , and an opportunity for doing s o had now pres ented its elf. It was eas y to des c end to the bottom of the well by em ploying the rope ladder whic h had not been us ed s inc e the es tablis hm ent of the lift. T he engineer drew the ladder to the hole, the diam eter of whic h m eas ured nearly s ix feet, and allowed it to unroll its elf after having s ec urely fas tened its upper extrem ity. T hen, having lighted a lantern, taken a revolver, and plac ed a c utlas s in his belt, he began the des c ent. T he s ides were everywhere entire; but points of roc k jutted out here and there, and by m eans of thes e points it would have been quite pos s ible for an ac tive c reature to c lim b to the m outh of the well. T he engineer rem arked this ; but although he c arefully exam ined thes e points by the light of his lantern, he c ould find no im pres s ion, no frac ture whic h c ould give any reas on to s uppos e that they had either rec ently or at any form er tim e been us ed as a s tairc as e. Cyrus Harding des c ended deeper, throwing the light of his lantern on all s ides . He s aw nothing s us pic ious . W hen the engineer had reac hed the las t rounds he c am e upon the water, whic h was then perfec tly c alm . Neither at its level nor in any other part of the well, did any pas s age open, whic h c ould lead to the interior of the c liff. T he wall whic h Harding s truc k with the hilt of his c utlas s s ounded s olid. It was c om pac t granite, through whic h no living being c ould forc e a way. To arrive at the bottom of the well and then c lim b up to its m outh it was nec es s ary to pas s through the c hannel under the roc ky s ubs oil of the beac h, whic h plac ed it in c om m unic ation with the s ea, and this was only pos s ible for m arine anim als . A s to the ques tion of knowing where this c hannel ended, at what point of the s hore, and at what depth beneath the water, it c ould not be ans wered. T hen Cyrus Harding, having ended his s urvey, re-as c ended, drew up the ladder, c overed the m outh of the well, and returned thoughtfully to the diningroom , s aying to him s elf,-"I have s een nothing, and yet there is s om ething there! "

Chapter 12 In the evening the hunters returned, having enjoyed good s port, and being literally loaded with gam e; indeed, they had as m uc h as four m en c ould pos s ibly c arry. T op wore a nec klac e of teal and J up wreaths of s nipe round his body. "Here, m as ter," c ried Neb; "here's s om ething to em ploy our tim e! P res erved and m ade into pies we s hall have a welc om e s tore! B ut I m us t have s om e one to help m e. I c ount on you, P enc roft." "No, Neb," replied the s ailor; "I have the rigging of the ves s el to finis h and to look after, and you will have to do without m e." "A nd you, Mr. Herbert?" "I m us t go to the c orral to-m orrow, Neb," replied the lad. "It will be you then, Mr. S pilett, who will help m e?" "T o oblige you, Neb, I will," replied the reporter; "but I warn you that if you dis c los e your rec eipts to m e, I s hall publis h them ." "W henever you like, Mr. S pilett," replied Neb; "whenever you like." A nd s o the next day Gideon S pilett bec am e Neb's as s is tant and was ins talled in his c ulinary laboratory. T he engineer had previous ly m ade known to him the res ult of the exploration whic h he had m ade the day before, and on this point the reporter s hared Harding's opinion, that although he had found nothing, a s ec ret s till rem ained to be dis c overed! T he fros t c ontinued for another week, and the s ettlers did not leave Granite Hous e unles s to look after the poultry-yard. T he dwelling was filled with appetizing odors , whic h were em itted from the learned m anipulation of Neb and the reporter. B ut all the res ults of the c has e were not m ade into pres erved provis ions ; and as the gam e kept perfec tly in the intens e c old, wild duc k and other fowl were eaten fres h, and dec lared s uperior to all other aquatic birds in the known world. During this week, P enc roft, aided by Herbert, who handled the s ailm aker's needle with m uc h s kill, worked with s uc h energy that the s ails of the ves s el were finis hed. T here was no want of c ordage. T hanks to the rigging whic h had been dis c overed with the c as e of the balloon, the ropes and c ables from the net were all of good quality, and the s ailor turned them all to ac c ount. To the s ails were attac hed s trong bolt ropes , and there s till rem ained enough from whic h to m ake the halyards , s hrouds , and s heets , etc . T he bloc ks were m anufac tured by Cyrus Harding under P enc roft's direc tions by m eans of the turning lathe. It therefore happened that the rigging was entirely prepared before the ves s el was finis hed. P enc roft als o m anufac tured a flag, that flag s o dear to every true A m eric an, c ontaining the s tars and s tripes of their glorious Union. T he c olors for it were s upplied from c ertain plants us ed in dyeing, and whic h were very abundant in the is land; only to the thirty-s even s tars , repres enting the thirty- s even S tates of the Union, whic h s hine on the A m eric an flag, the s ailor added a thirty-eighth, the s tar of "the S tate of Linc oln," for he c ons idered his is land as already united to the great republic . "A nd," s aid he, "it is s o already in heart, if not in deed! " In the m eantim e, the flag was hois ted at the c entral window of Granite Hous e, and the s ettlers s aluted it with three c heers . T he c old s eas on was now alm os t at an end, and it appeared as if this s ec ond winter was to pas s without any unus ual oc c urrenc e, when on the night of the 11th of A ugus t, the plateau of P ros pec t Heights was m enac ed with c om plete des truc tion. A fter a bus y day the c olonis ts were s leeping s oundly, when towards four o'c loc k in the m orning they were s uddenly awakened by T op's barking. T he dog was not this tim e barking near the m outh of the well, but at the thres hold of the door, at whic h he was s c ratc hing as if he wis hed to burs t it open. J up was als o uttering pierc ing c ries . "Hello, T op! " c ried Neb, who was the firs t awake. B ut the dog c ontinued to bark m ore furious ly than ever. "W hat's the m atter now?" as ked Harding. A nd all dres s ing in has te rus hed to the windows , whic h they opened. B eneath their eyes was s pread a s heet of s now whic h looked gray in the dim light. T he s ettlers c ould s ee nothing, but they heard a s ingular yelping nois e away in the darknes s . It was evident that the beac h had been invaded by a num ber of anim als whic h c ould not be s een. "W hat are they?" c ried P enc roft. "W olves , jaguars , or apes ?" replied Neb. "T hey have nearly reac hed the plateau," s aid the reporter. "A nd our poultry-yard," exc laim ed Herbert, "and our garden! " "W here c an they have c ros s ed?" as ked P enc roft. "T hey m us t have c ros s ed the bridge on the s hore," replied the engineer, "whic h one of us m us t have forgotten to c los e." "T rue," s aid S pilett, "I rem em ber having left it open." "A fine job you have m ade of it, Mr. S pilett," c ried the s ailor. "W hat is done c annot be undone," replied Cyrus Harding. "W e m us t c ons ult what it will now be bes t to do." S uc h were the ques tions and ans wers whic h were rapidly exc hanged between Harding and his c om panions . It was c ertain that the bridge had been c ros s ed, that the s hore had been invaded by anim als , and that whatever they m ight be they c ould by as c ending the left bank of the Merc y reac h P ros pec t Heights . T hey m us t therefore be advanc ed agains t quic kly and fought with if nec es s ary. "B ut what are thes e beas ts ?" was as ked a s ec ond tim e, as the yelpings were again heard m ore loudly than before. T hes e yelps m ade Herbert s tart, and he rem em bered having heard them before during his firs t vis it to the s ourc es of the Red Creek. "T hey are c olpeo foxes ! " he exc laim ed. "Forward! " s houted the s ailor. A nd all arm ing them s elves with hatc hets , c arbines , and revolvers , threw them s elves into the lift and s oon s et foot on the s hore. Colpeos are dangerous anim als when in great num bers and irritated by hunger, nevertheles s the c olonis ts did not hes itate to throw them s elves into the m ids t of the troop, and their firs t s hots vividly lighting up the darknes s m ade their as s ailants draw bac k. T he c hief thing was to hinder thes e plunderers from reac hing the plateau, for the garden and the poultry-yard would then have been at their m erc y, and im m ens e, perhaps irreparable m is c hief, would inevitably be the res ult, es pec ially with regard to the c orn-field. B ut as the invas ion of the plateau c ould only be m ade by the left bank of the Merc y, it was s uffic ient to oppos e the c olpeos on the narrow bank between the river and the c liff of granite. T his was plain to all, and, by Cyrus Harding's orders , they reac hed the s pot indic ated by him , while the c olpeos rus hed fierc ely through the gloom . Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, P enc roft and Neb pos ted them s elves in im pregnable line. T op, his form idable jaws open, prec eded the c olonis ts , and he was followed by J up, arm ed with knotty c udgel, whic h he brandis hed like a c lub. T he night was extrem ely dark, it was only by the flas hes from the revolvers as eac h pers on fired that they c ould s ee their as s ailants , who were at leas t a hundred in num ber, and whos e eyes were glowing like hot c oals . "T hey m us t not pas s ! " s houted P enc roft. "T hey s hall not pas s ! " returned the engineer. B ut if they did not pas s it was not for want of having attem pted it. T hos e in the rear pus hed on the forem os t as s ailants , and it was an inc es s ant s truggle with revolvers and hatc hets . S everal c olpeos already lay dead on the ground, but their num ber did not appear to dim inis h, and it m ight have been s uppos ed that reinforc em ents were c ontinually arriving over the bridge. T he c olonis ts were s oon obliged to fight at c los e quarters , not without rec eiving s om e wounds , though happily very s light ones . Herbert had, with a s hot from his revolver, res c ued Neb, on whos e bac k a c olpeo had s prung like a tiger c at. Top fought with ac tual fury, flying at the throats of the foxes and s trangling them ins tantaneous ly. J up wielded his weapon valiantly, and it was in vain that they endeavored to keep him in the rear. E ndowed doubtles s with s ight whic h enabled him to pierc e the obs c urity, he was always in the thic k of the fight uttering from tim e to tim e--a s harp his s ing s ound, whic h was with him the s ign of great rejoic ing. A t one m om ent he advanc ed s o far, that by the light from a revolver he was s een s urrounded by five or s ix large c olpeos , with whom he was c oping with great c oolnes s . However, the s truggle was ended at las t, and vic tory was on the s ide of the s ettlers , but not until they had fought for two long hours ! T he firs t s igns of the approac h of day doubtles s determ ined the retreat of their as s ailants , who s c am pered away towards the North, pas s ing over the bridge, whic h Neb ran im m ediately to rais e. W hen day had s uffic iently lighted up the field of battle, the s ettlers c ounted as m any as fifty dead bodies s c attered about on the s hore. "A nd J up! " c ried P enc roft; "where is J up?" J up had dis appeared. His friend Neb c alled him , and for the firs t tim e J up did not reply to his friend's c all. E veryone s et out in s earc h of J up, trem bling les t he s hould be found am ong the s lain; they c leared the plac e of the bodies whic h s tained the s now with their blood. J up was found in the m ids t of a heap of c olpeos whos e broken jaws and c rus hed bodies s howed that they had to do with the terrible c lub of the intrepid anim al. P oor J up s till held in his hand the s tum p of his broken c udgel, but deprived of his weapon he had been overpowered by num bers , and his c hes t was c overed with s evere wounds . "He is living," c ried Neb, who was bending over him . "A nd we will s ave him ," replied the s ailor. "W e will nurs e him as if he was one of ours elves ." It appeared as if J up unders tood, for he leaned his head on P enc roft's s houlder as if to thank him . T he s ailor was wounded him s elf, but his wound was ins ignific ant, as were thos e of his c om panions ; for thanks to their firearm s they had been alm os t always able to keep their as s ailants at a dis tanc e. it was therefore only the orang whos e c ondition was s erious . J up, c arried by Neb and P enc roft, was plac ed in the lift, and only a s light m oan now and then es c aped his lips . He was gently drawn up to Granite Hous e. T here he was laid on a m attres s taken from one of the beds , and his wounds were bathed with the greates t c are. It did not appear that any vital part had been reac hed, but J up was very weak from los s of blood, and a high fever s oon s et in after his wounds had been dres s ed. He was laid down, s tric t diet was im pos ed, "jus t like a real pers on," as Neb s aid, and they m ade him s wallow s everal c ups of a c ooling drink, for whic h the ingredients were s upplied from the vegetable m edic ine c hes t of Granite Hous e. J up was at firs t res tles s , but his breathing gradually bec am e m ore regular, and he was left s leeping quietly. From tim e to tim e Top, walking on tip-toe, as one m ight s ay, c am e to vis it his friend, and s eem ed to approve of all the c are that had been taken of him . One of J up's hands hung over the s ide of his bed, and T op lic ked it with a s ym pathizing air. T hey em ployed the day in interring the dead, who were dragged to the fores t of the Far W es t, and there buried deep. T his attac k, whic h m ight have had s uc h s erious c ons equenc es , was a les s on to the s ettlers , who from this tim e never went to bed until one of their num ber had m ade s ure that all the bridges were rais ed, and that no invas ion was pos s ible. However, J up, after having given them s erious anxiety for s everal days , began to rec over. His c ons titution brought him through, the fever gradually s ubs ided, and Gideon S pilett, who was a bit of a doc tor, pronounc ed him quite out of danger. On the 16th of A ugus t, J up began to eat. Neb m ade him nic e little s weet dis hes , whic h the invalid devoured with great relis h, for if he had a pet failing it was that of being s om ewhat of a gourm end, and Neb had never done anything to c ure him of this fault. "W hat would you have?" s aid he to Gideon S pilett, who s om etim es expos tulated with him for s poiling the ape. "P oor J up has no other pleas ure than that of the palate, and I am only too glad to be able to reward his s ervic es in this way! " Ten days after taking to his bed, on the 21s t of A ugus t, Mas ter J up aros e. His wounds were healed, and it was evident that he would not be long in regaining his us ual s trength and agility. Like all c onvales c ents , he was trem endous ly hungry, and the reporter allowed him to eat as m uc h as he liked, for he trus ted to that ins tinc t, whic h is too often wanting in reas oning beings , to keep the orang from any exc es s . Neb was delighted to s ee his pupil's appetite returning. "E at away, m y J up," s aid he, "and don't s pare anything; you have s hed your blood for us , and it is the leas t I c an do to m ake you s trong again! " On the 25th of A ugus t Neb's voic e was heard c alling to his c om panions . "Captain, Mr. S pilett, Mr. Herbert, P enc roft, c om e! c om e! " T he c olonis ts , who were together in the dining-room , ros e at Neb's c all, who was then in J up's room . "W hat's the m atter?" as ked the reporter. "Look," replied Neb, with a s hout of laughter. A nd what did they s ee? Mas ter J up s m oking c alm ly and s erious ly, s itting c ros s legged like a T urk at the entranc e to Granite Hous e! "My pipe," c ried P enc roft. "He has taken m y pipe! Hello, m y hones t J up, I m ake you a pres ent of it! S m oke away, old boy, s m oke away! " A nd J up gravely puffed out c louds of s m oke whic h s eem ed to give him great s atis fac tion. Harding did not appear to be m uc h as tonis hed at this inc ident, and he c ited s everal exam ples of tam e apes , to whom the us e of tobac c o had bec om e quite fam iliar. B ut from this day Mas ter J up had a pipe of his own, the s ailor's ex-pipe, whic h was hung in his room near his s tore of tobac c o. He filled it him s elf, lighted it with a glowing c oal, and appeared to be the happies t of quadrum ana. It m ay readily be unders tood that this s im ilarity of tas tes of J up and P enc roft s erved to tighten the bonds of friends hip whic h already exis ted between the hones t ape and the worthy s ailor. "P erhaps he is really a m an," s aid P enc roft s om etim es to Neb. "S hould you be s urpris ed to hear him beginning to s peak to us s om e day?" "My word, no," replied Neb. "W hat as tonis hes m e is that he has n't s poken to us before, for now he wants nothing but s peec h! " "It would am us e m e all the s am e," res um ed the s ailor, "if s om e fine day he s aid to m e, "S uppos e we c hange pipes , P enc roft." "Y es ," replied Neb, "what a pity he was born dum b! " W ith the m onth of S eptem ber the winter ended, and the works were again eagerly c om m enc ed. T he building of the ves s el advanc ed rapidly, s he was already c om pletely dec ked over, and all the ins ide parts of the hull were firm ly united with ribs bent by m eans of s team , whic h ans wered all the purpos es of a m old. A s there was no want of wood, P enc roft propos ed to the engineer to give a double lining to the hull, to ins ure the s trength of the ves s el. Harding, not knowing what the future m ight have in s tore for them , approved the s ailor's idea of m aking the c raft as s trong as pos s ible. T he interior and dec k of the ves s el was entirely finis hed towards the 15th of S eptem ber. For c alking the s eam s they m ade oakum of dry s eaweed, whic h was ham m ered in between the planks ; then thes e s eam s were c overed with boiling tar, whic h was obtained in great abundanc e from the pines in the fores t. T he m anagem ent of the ves s el was very s im ple. S he had from the firs t been ballas ted with heavy bloc ks of granite walled up, in a bed of lim e, twelve thous and pounds of whic h they s towed away. A dec k was plac ed over this ballas t, and the interior was divided into two c abins ; two benc hes extended along them and s erved als o as loc kers . T he foot of the m as t s upported the partition whic h s eparated the two c abins , whic h were reac hed by two hatc hways let into the dec k. P enc roft had no trouble in finding a tree s uitable for the m as t. He c hos e a s traight young fir, with no knots , and whic h he had only to s quare at the s tep, and round off at the top. T he ironwork of the m as t, the rudder and the hull had been roughly but s trongly forged at the Chim neys . Las tly, yards , m as ts , boom , s pars , oars , etc ., were all furnis hed by the firs t week in Oc tober, and it was agreed that a trial trip s hould be taken round the is land, s o as to as c ertain how the ves s el would behave at s ea, and how far they m ight depend upon her. During all this tim e the nec es s ary works had not been neglec ted. T he c orral was enlarged, for the floc k of m us m ons and goats had been inc reas ed by a num ber of young ones , who had to be hous ed and fed. T he c olonis ts had paid vis its als o to the oys ter bed, the warren, the c oal and iron m ines , and to the till then unexplored dis tric ts of the Far W es t fores t, whic h abounded in gam e. Certain indigenous plants were dis c overed, and thos e fit for im m ediate us e c ontributed to vary the vegetable s tores of Granite Hous e. T hey were a s pec ies of fic oide, s om e s im ilar to thos e of the Cape, with eatable fles hy leaves , others bearing s eeds c ontaining a s ort of flour. On the 10th of Oc tober the ves s el was launc hed. P enc roft was radiant with joy, the operation was perfec tly s uc c es s ful; the boat c om pletely rigged, having been pus hed on rollers to the water's edge, was floated by the ris ing tide, am id the c heers of the c olonis ts , partic ularly of P enc roft, who s howed no m odes ty on this oc c as ion. B es ides his im portanc e was to las t beyond the finis hing of the ves s el, s inc e, after having built her, he was to c om m and her. T he grade of c aptain was bes towed upon him with the approbation of all. To s atis fy Captain P enc roft, it was now nec es s ary to give a nam e to the ves s el, and, after m any propos itions had been dis c us s ed, the votes were all in favor of the "B onadventure." A s s oon as the "B onadventure" had been lifted by the ris ing tide, it was s een that s he lay evenly in the water, and would be eas ily navigated. However, the trial trip was to be m ade that very day, by an exc urs ion off the c oas t. T he weather was fine, the breeze fres h, and the s ea s m ooth, es pec ially towards the s outh c oas t, for the wind was blowing from the northwes t. "A ll hands on board," s houted P enc roft; but breakfas t was firs t nec es s ary, and it was thought bes t to take provis ions on board, in the event of their exc urs ion being prolonged until the evening. Cyrus Harding was equally anxious to try the ves s el, the m odel of whic h had originated with him , although on the s ailor's advic e he had altered s om e parts of it, but he did not s hare P enc roft's c onfidenc e in her, and as the latter had not again s poken of the voyage to Tabor Is land, Harding hoped he had given it up. He would have indeed great reluc tanc e in letting two or three of his c om panions venture s o far in s o s m all a boat, whic h was not of m ore than fifteen tons ' burden. A t half-pas t ten everybody was on board, even T op and J up, and Herbert weighed the anc hor, whic h was fas t in the s and near the m outh of the Merc y. T he s ail was hois ted, the Linc olnian flag floated from the m as thead, and the "B onadventure," s teered by P enc roft, s tood out to s ea. T he wind blowing out of Union B ay s he ran before it, and thus s howed her owners , m uc h to their s atis fac tion, that s he pos s es s ed a rem arkably fas t pair of heels , ac c ording to P enc roft's m ode of s peaking. A fter having doubled Flots am P oint and Claw Cape, the c aptain kept her c los e hauled, s o as to s ail along the s outhern c oas t of the is land, when it was found s he s ailed adm irably within five points of the wind. A ll hands were enc hanted, they had a good ves s el, whic h, in c as e of need, would be of great s ervic e to them , and with fine weather and a fres h breeze the voyage prom is ed to be c harm ing. P enc roft now s tood off the s hore, three or four m iles ac ros s from P ort B alloon. T he is land then appeared in all its extent and under a new as pec t, with the varied panoram a of its s hore from Claw Cape to Reptile E nd, the fores ts in whic h dark firs c ontras ted with the young foliage of other trees and overlooked the whole, and Mount Franklin whos e lofty head was s till whitened with s now. "How beautiful it is ! " c ried Herbert. "Y es , our is land is beautiful and good," replied P enc roft. "I love it as I loved m y poor m other. It rec eived us poor and des titute, and now what is wanting to us five fellows who fell on it from the s ky?" "Nothing," replied Neb; "nothing, c aptain." A nd the two brave m en gave three trem endous c heers in honor of their is land! During all this tim e Gideon S pilett, leaning agains t the m as t, s ketc hed the panoram a whic h was developed before his eyes . Cyrus Harding gazed on it in s ilenc e.

"W ell, Captain Harding," as ked P enc roft, "what do you think of our ves s el?" "S he appears to behave well," replied the engineer. "Good! A nd do you think now that s he c ould undertake a voyage of s om e extent?" "W hat voyage, P enc roft?" "One to T abor Is land, for ins tanc e." "My friend," replied Harding, "I think that in any pres s ing em ergenc y we need not hes itate to trus t ours elves to the 'B onadventure' even for a longer voyage; but you know I s hould s ee you s et off to T abor Is land with great uneas ines s , s inc e nothing obliges you to go there." "One likes to know one's neighbors ," returned the s ailor, who was obs tinate in his idea. "T abor Is land is our neighbor, and the only one! P olitenes s requires us to go at leas t to pay a vis it." "B y J ove," s aid S pilett, "our friend P enc roft has bec om e very partic ular about the proprieties all at onc e! " "I am not partic ular about anything at all," retorted the s ailor, who was rather vexed by the engineer's oppos ition, but who did not wis h to c aus e him anxiety. "Cons ider, P enc roft," res um ed Harding, "you c annot go alone to T abor Is land." "One c om panion will be enough for m e." "E ven s o," replied the engineer, "you will ris k depriving the c olony of Linc oln Is land of two s ettlers out of five." "Out of s ix," ans wered P enc roft; "you forget J up." "Out of s even," added Neb; "T op is quite worth another." "T here is no ris k at all in it, c aptain," replied P enc roft. "T hat is pos s ible, P enc roft; but I repeat it is to expos e ours elves us eles s ly." T he obs tinate s ailor did not reply, and let the c onvers ation drop, quite determ ined to res um e it again. B ut he did not s us pec t that an inc ident would c om e to his aid and c hange into an ac t of hum anity that whic h was at firs t only a doubtful whim . A fter s tanding off the s hore the "B onadventure" again approac hed it in the direc tion of P ort B alloon. It was im portant to as c ertain the c hannels between the s andbanks and reefs , that buoys m ight be laid down s inc e this little c reek was to be the harbor. T hey were not m ore than half a m ile from the c oas t, and it was nec es s ary to tac k to beat agains t the wind. T he "B onadventure" was then going at a very m oderate rate, as the breeze, partly interc epted by the high land, s c arc ely s welled her s ails , and the s ea, s m ooth as glas s , was only rippled now and then by pas s ing gus ts . Herbert had s tationed him s elf in the bows that he m ight indic ate the c ours e to be followed am ong the c hannels , when all at onc e he s houted,-"Luff, P enc roft, luff! " "W hat's the m atter," replied the s ailor; "a roc k?" "No--wait," s aid Herbert; "I don't quite s ee. Luff again--right--now." S o s aying, Herbert, leaning over the s ide, plunged his arm into the water, and pulled it out, exc laim ing,-"A bottle! " He held in his hand a c orked bottle whic h he had jus t s eized a few c ables ' length from the s hore. Cyrus Harding took the bottle. W ithout uttering a s ingle word he drew the c ork, and took from it a dam p paper, on whic h were written thes e words :-"Cas taway . . . . T abor is land: 153deg W . long., 37deg 11' S . lat." Chapter 13 "A c as taway! " exc laim ed P enc roft; "left on this T abor Is land not two hundred m iles from us ! A h, Captain Harding, you won't now oppos e m y going." "No, P enc roft," replied Cyrus Harding; "and you s hall s et out as s oon as pos s ible." "T o-m orrow?" "T o-m orrow! " T he engineer s till held in his hand the paper whic h he had taken from the bottle. He c ontem plated it for s om e ins tants , then res um ed, "From this doc um ent, m y friends , from the way in whic h it is worded, we m ay c onc lude this : firs t, that the c as taway on Tabor Is land is a m an pos s es s ing a c ons iderable knowledge of navigation, s inc e he gives the latitude and longitude of the is land exac tly as we ours elves found it, and to a s ec ond of approxim ation; s ec ondly, that he is either E nglis h or A m eric an, as the doc um ent is written in the E nglis h language." "T hat is perfec tly logic al," ans wered S pilett; "and the pres enc e of this c as taway explains the arrival of the c as e on the s hores of our is land. T here m us t have been a wrec k, s inc e there is a c as taway. A s to the latter, whoever he m ay be, it is luc ky for him that P enc roft thought of building this boat and of trying her this very day, for a day later and this bottle m ight have been broken on the roc ks ." "Indeed," s aid Herbert, "it is a fortunate c hanc e that the 'B onadventure' pas s ed exac tly where the bottle was s till floating! " "Does not this appear s trange to you?" as ked Harding of P enc roft. "It appears fortunate, that's all," ans wered the s ailor. "Do you s ee anything extraordinary in it, c aptain? T he bottle m us t go s om ewhere, and why not here as well as anywhere els e?" "P erhaps you are right, P enc roft," replied the engineer; "and yet--" "B ut," obs erved Herbert, "there's nothing to prove that this bottle has been floating long in the s ea." "Nothing," replied Gideon S pilett, "and the doc um ent appears even to have been rec ently written. W hat do you think about it, Cyrus ?" During this c onvers ation P enc roft had not rem ained inac tive. He had put the ves s el about, and the "B onadventure," all s ails s et, was running rapidly towards Claw Cape. E very one was thinking of the c as taway on T abor Is land. S hould they be in tim e to s ave him ? T his was a great event in the life of the c olonis ts ! T hey them s elves were but c as taways , but it was to be feared that another m ight not have been s o fortunate, and their duty was to go to his s uc c or. Claw Cape was doubled, and about four o'c loc k the "B onadventure" dropped her anc hor at the m outh of the Merc y. T hat s am e evening the arrangem ents for the new expedition were m ade. It appeared bes t that P enc roft and Herbert, who knew how to work the ves s el, s hould undertake the voyage alone. B y s etting out the next day, the 10th of Oc tober, they would arrive on the 13th, for with the pres ent wind it would not take m ore than forty-eight hours to m ake this pas s age of a hundred and fifty m iles . One day in the is land, three or four to return, they m ight hope therefore that on the 17th they would again reac h Linc oln Is land. T he weather was fine, the barom eter was ris ing, the wind appeared s ettled, everything then was in favor of thes e brave m en whom an ac t of hum anity was taking far from their is land. T hus it had been agreed that Cyrus Harding, Neb, and Gideon S pilett s hould rem ain at Granite Hous e, but an objec tion was rais ed, and S pilett, who had not forgotten his bus ines s as reporter to the New York Herald, having dec lared that he would go by s wim m ing rather than los e s uc h an opportunity, he was adm itted to take a part in the voyage. T he evening was oc c upied in trans porting on board the "B onadventure," artic les of bedding, utens ils , arm s , am m unition, a c om pas s , provis ions for a week; this being rapidly done, the c olonis ts as c ended to Granite Hous e. T he next day, at five o'c loc k in the m orning, the farewells were s aid, not without s om e em otion on both s ides , and P enc roft s etting s ail m ade towards Claw Cape, whic h had to be doubled in order to proc eed to the s outhwes t. T he "B onadventure" was already a quarter of a m ile from the c oas t when the pas s engers perc eived on the heights of Granite Hous e two m en waving their farewells ; they were Cyrus Harding and Neb. "Our friends ," exc laim ed S pilett, "this is our firs t s eparation in fifteen m onths ." P enc roft, the reporter and Herbert waved in return, and Granite Hous e s oon dis appeared behind the high roc ks of the Cape. During the firs t part of the day the "B onadventure" was s till in s ight of the s outhern c oas t of Linc oln Is land, whic h s oon appeared jus t like a green bas ket, with Mount Franklin ris ing from the c enter. T he heights , dim inis hed by dis tanc e, did not pres ent an appearanc e likely to tem pt ves s els to touc h there. Reptile E nd was pas s ed in about an hour, though at a dis tanc e of about ten m iles . A t this dis tanc e it was no longer pos s ible to dis tinguis h anything of the W es tern Coas t, whic h s tretc hed away to the ridges of Mount Franklin, and three hours after the las t of Linc oln Is land s ank below the horizon. T he "B onadventure" behaved c apitally. B ounding over the waves s he proc eeded rapidly on her c ours e. P enc roft had hois ted the fores ail, and s teering by the c om pas s followed a rec tilinear direc tion. From tim e to tim e Herbert relieved him at the helm , and the lad's hand was s o firm that the s ailor had not a point to find fault with. Gideon S pilett c hatted s om etim es with one, s om etim es with the other, if wanted he lent a hand with the ropes , and Captain P enc roft was perfec tly s atis fied with his c rew. In the evening the c res c ent m oon, whic h would not be in its firs t quarter until the 16th, appeared in the twilight and s oon s et again. T he night was dark but s tarry, and the next day again prom is ed to be fine. P enc roft prudently lowered the fores ail, not wis hing to be c aught by a s udden gus t while c arrying too m uc h c anvas ; it was perhaps an unnec es s ary prec aution on s uc h a c alm night, but P enc roft was a prudent s ailor and c annot be blam ed for it. T he reporter s lept part of the night. P enc roft and Herbert took turns for a s pell of two hours eac h at the helm . T he s ailor trus ted Herbert as he would him s elf, and his c onfidenc e was jus tified by the c oolnes s and judgm ent of the lad. P enc roft gave him his direc tions as a c om m ander to his s teers m an, and Herbert never allowed the "B onadventure" to s werve even a point. T he night pas s ed quic kly, as did the day of the 12th of Oc tober. A s outh-eas terly direc tion was s tric tly m aintained. Unles s the "B onadventure" fell in with s om e unknown c urrent s he would c om e exac tly within s ight of T abor Is land. A s to the s ea over whic h the ves s el was then s ailing, it was abs olutely des erted. Now and then a great albatros s or frigate bird pas s ed within guns hot, and Gideon S pilett wondered if it was to one of them that he had c onfided his las t letter addres s ed to the New York Herald. T hes e birds were the only beings that appeared to frequent this part of the oc ean between T abor and Linc oln Is lands . "A nd yet," obs erved Herbert, "this is the tim e that whalers us ually proc eed towards the s outhern part of the P ac ific . Indeed I do not think there c ould be a m ore des erted s ea than this ." "It is not quite s o des erted as all that," replied P enc roft. "W hat do you m ean?" as ked the reporter. "W e are on it. Do you take our ves s el for a wrec k and us for porpois es ?" A nd P enc roft laughed at his joke. B y the evening, ac c ording to c alc ulation, it was thought that the "B onadventure" had ac c om plis hed a dis tanc e of a hundred and twenty m iles s inc e her departure from Linc oln Is land, that is to s ay in thirty-s ix hours , whic h would give her a s peed of between three and four knots an hour. T he breeze was very s light and m ight s oon drop altogether. However, it was hoped that the next m orning by break of day, if the c alc ulation had been c orrec t and the c ours e true, they would s ight T abor Is land. Neither Gideon S pilett, Herbert, nor P enc roft s lept that night. In the expec tation of the next day they c ould not but feel s om e em otion. T here was s o m uc h unc ertainty in their enterpris e! W ere they near Tabor Is land? W as the is land s till inhabited by the c as taway to whos e s uc c or they had c om e? W ho was this m an? W ould not his pres enc e dis turb the little c olony till then s o united? B es ides , would he be c ontent to exc hange his pris on for another? A ll thes e ques tions , whic h would no doubt be ans wered the next day, kept them in s us pens e, and at the dawn of day they all fixed their gaze on the wes tern horizon. "Land! " s houted P enc roft at about s ix o'c loc k in the m orning. A nd it was im pos s ible that P enc roft s hould be m is taken, it was evident that land was there. Im agine the joy of the little c rew of the "B onadventure." In a few hours they would land on the beac h of the is land! T he low c oas t of T abor Is land, s c arc ely em erging from the s ea, was not m ore than fifteen m iles dis tant. T he head of the "B onadventure," whic h was a little to the s outh of the is land, was s et direc tly towards it, and as the s un m ounted in the eas t, its rays fell upon one or two headlands . "T his is a m uc h les s im portant is le than Linc oln Is land," obs erved Herbert, "and is probably due like ours to s om e s ubm arine c onvuls ion." A t eleven o'c loc k the "B onadventure" was not m ore than two m iles off, and P enc roft, while looking for a s uitable plac e at whic h to land, proc eeded very c autious ly through the unknown waters . T he whole of the is land c ould now be s urveyed, and on it c ould be s een groups of gum and other large trees , of the s am e s pec ies as thos e growing on Linc oln Is land. B ut the as tonis hing thing was that no s m oke aros e to s how that the is land was inhabited, no s ignal whatever appeared on the s hore! A nd yet the doc um ent was c lear enough; there was a c as taway, and this c as taway s hould have been on the watc h. In the m eanwhile the "B onadventure" entered the winding c hannels am ong the reefs , and P enc roft obs erved every turn with extrem e c are. He had put Herbert at the helm , pos ting him s elf in the bows , ins pec ting the water, while he held the halliard in his hand, ready to lower the s ail at a m om ent's notic e. Gideon S pilett with his glas s eagerly s c anned the s hore, though without perc eiving anything. However, at about twelve o'c loc k the keel of the "B onadventure" grated on the bottom . T he anc hor was let go, the s ails furled, and the c rew of the little ves s el landed. A nd there was no reas on to doubt that this was T abor Is land, s inc e ac c ording to the m os t rec ent c harts there was no is land in this part of the P ac ific between New Zealand and the A m eric an Coas t. T he ves s el was s ec urely m oored, s o that there s hould be no danger of her being c arried away by the rec eding tide; then P enc roft and his c om panions , well arm ed, as c ended the s hore, s o as to gain an elevation of about two hundred and fifty or three hundred feet whic h ros e at a dis tanc e of half a m ile. "From the s um m it of that hill," s aid S pilett, "we c an no doubt obtain a c om plete view of the is land, whic h will greatly fac ilitate our s earc h." "S o as to do here," replied Herbert, "that whic h Captain Harding did the very firs t thing on Linc oln Is land, by c lim bing Mount Franklin." "E xac tly s o," ans wered the reporter, "and it is the bes t plan." W hile thus talking the explorers had advanc ed along a c learing whic h term inated at the foot of the hill. Floc ks of roc k-pigeons and s ea- s wallows , s im ilar to thos e of Linc oln Is land, fluttered around them . Under the woods whic h s kirted the glade on the left they c ould hear the bus hes rus tling and s ee the gras s waving, whic h indic ated the pres enc e of tim id anim als , but s till nothing to s how that the is land was inhabited. A rrived at the foot of the hill, P enc roft, S pilett, and Herbert c lim bed it in a few m inutes , and gazed anxious ly round the horizon. T hey were on an is let, whic h did not m eas ure m ore than s ix m iles in c irc um ferenc e, its s hape not m uc h bordered by c apes or prom ontories , bays or c reeks , being a lengthened oval. A ll around, the lonely s ea extended to the lim its of the horizon. No land nor even a s ail was in s ight. T his woody is let did not offer the varied as pec ts of Linc oln Is land, arid and wild in one part, but fertile and ric h in the other. On the c ontrary this was a uniform m as s of verdure, out of whic h ros e two or three hills of no great height. Obliquely to the oval of the is land ran a s tream through a wide m eadow falling into the s ea on the wes t by a narrow m outh. "T he dom ain is lim ited," s aid Herbert. "Y es ," rejoined P enc roft: "It would have been too s m all for us ." "A nd m oreover," s aid the reporter, "it appears to be uninhabited." "Indeed," ans wered Herbert, "nothing here betrays the pres enc e of m an." "Let us go down," s aid P enc roft, "and s earc h." T he s ailor and his two c om panions returned to the s hore, to the plac e where they had left the "B onadventure." T hey had dec ided to m ake the tour of the is land on foot, before exploring the interior; s o that not a s pot s hould es c ape their inves tigations . T he beac h was eas y to follow, and only in s om e plac es was their way barred by large roc ks , whic h, however, they eas ily pas s ed round. T he explorers proc eeded towards the s outh, dis turbing num erous floc ks of s ea-birds and herds of s eals , whic h threw them s elves into the s ea as s oon as they s aw the s trangers at a dis tanc e. "T hos e beas ts yonder," obs erved the reporter, "do not s ee m en for the firs t tim e. T hey fear them , therefore they m us t know them ." A n hour after their departure they arrived on the s outhern point of the is let, term inated by a s harp c ape, and proc eeded towards the north along the wes tern c oas t, equally form ed by s and and roc ks , the bac kground bordered with thic k woods . T here was not a trac e of a habitation in any part, not the print of a hum an foot on the s hore of the is land, whic h after four hours ' walking had been gone c om pletely round. It was to s ay the leas t very extraordinary, and they were c om pelled to believe that Tabor Is land was not or was no longer inhabited. P erhaps , after all the doc um ent was already s everal m onths or s everal years old, and it was pos s ible in this c as e, either that the c as taway had been enabled to return to his c ountry, or that he had died of m is ery. P enc roft, S pilett, and Herbert, form ing m ore or les s probable c onjec tures , dined rapidly on board the "B onadventure" s o as to be able to c ontinue their exc urs ion until nightfall. T his was done at five o'c loc k in the evening, at whic h hour they entered the wood. Num erous anim als fled at their approac h, being princ ipally, one m ight s ay, only goats and pigs , whic h were obvious ly E uropean s pec ies . Doubtles s s om e whaler had landed them on the is land, where they had rapidly inc reas ed. Herbert res olved to c atc h one or two living, and take them bac k to Linc oln Is land. It was no longer doubtful that m en at s om e period or other had vis ited this is let, and this bec am e s till m ore evident when paths appeared trodden through the fores t, felled trees , and everywhere trac es of the hand of m an; but the trees were bec om ing rotten, and had been felled m any years ago; the m arks of the axe were velveted with m os s , and the gras s grew long and thic k on the paths , s o that it was diffic ult to find them . "B ut," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "this not only proves that m en have landed on the is land, but als o that they lived on it for s om e tim e. Now, who were thes e m en? How m any of them rem ain?" "T he doc um ent," s aid Herbert, "only s poke of one c as taway." "W ell, if he is s till on the is land," replied P enc roft, "it is im pos s ible but that we s hall find him ." T he exploration was c ontinued. T he s ailor and his c om panions naturally followed the route whic h c ut diagonally ac ros s the is land, and they were thus obliged to follow the s tream whic h flowed towards the s ea. If the anim als of E uropean origin, if works due to a hum an hand, s howed inc ontes tably that m en had already vis ited the is land, s everal s pec im ens of the vegetable kingdom did not prove it les s . In s om e plac es , in the m ids t of c learings , it was evident that the s oil had been planted with c ulinary plants , at probably the s am e dis tant period. W hat, then, was Herbert's joy, when he rec ognized potatoes , c hic ory, s orrel, c arrots , c abbages , and turnips , of whic h it was s uffic ient to c ollec t the s eed to enric h the s oil of Linc oln Is land. "Capital, jolly! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "T hat will s uit Neb as well as us . E ven if we do not find the c as taway, at leas t our voyage will not have been us eles s , and God will have rewarded us ." "Doubtles s ," replied Gideon S pilett, "but to s ee the s tate in whic h we find thes e plantations , it is to be feared that the is land has not been inhabited for s om e tim e." "Indeed," ans wered Herbert, "an inhabitant, whoever he was , c ould not have neglec ted s uc h an im portant c ulture! " "Y es ," s aid P enc roft, "the c as taway has gone." "W e m us t s uppos e s o." "It m us t then be adm itted that the doc um ent has already a dis tant date?" "E vidently." "A nd that the bottle only arrived at Linc oln Is land after having floated in the s ea a long tim e." "W hy not?" returned P enc roft. "B ut night is c om ing on," added he, "and I think that it will be bes t to give up the s earc h for the pres ent." "Let us go on board, and to-m orrow we will begin again," s aid the reporter. T his was the wis es t c ours e, and it was about to be followed when Herbert, pointing to a c onfus ed m as s am ong the trees , exc laim ed,--

"A hut! " A ll three im m ediately ran towards the dwelling. In the twilight it was jus t pos s ible to s ee that it was built of planks and c overed with a thic k tarpaulin. T he half-c los ed door was pus hed open by P enc roft, who entered with a rapid s tep. T he hut was em pty! Chapter 14 P enc roft, Herbert, and Gideon S pilett rem ained s ilent in the m ids t of the darknes s . P enc roft s houted loudly. No reply was m ade. T he s ailor then s truc k a light and s et fire to a twig. T his lighted for a m inute a s m all room , whic h appeared perfec tly em pty. A t the bac k was a rude fireplac e, with a few c old c inders , s upporting an arm ful of dry wood. P enc roft threw the blazing twig on it, the wood c rac kled and gave forth a bright light. T he s ailor and his two c om panions then perc eived a dis ordered bed, of whic h the dam p and yellow c overlets proved that it had not been us ed for a long tim e. In the c orner of the fireplac e were two kettles , c overed with rus t, and an overthrown pot. A c upboard, with a few m oldy s ailor's c lothes ; on the table a tin plate and a B ible, eaten away by dam p; in a c orner a few tools , a s pade, pic kaxe, two fowling-piec es , one of whic h was broken; on a plank, form ing a s helf, s tood a barrel of powder, s till untouc hed, a barrel of s hot, and s everal boxes of c aps , all thic kly c overed with dus t, ac c um ulated, perhaps , by m any long years . "T here is no one here," s aid the reporter. "No one," replied P enc roft. "It is a long tim e s inc e this room has been inhabited," obs erved Herbert. "Y es , a very long tim e! " ans wered the reporter. "Mr. S pilett," then s aid P enc roft, "ins tead of returning on board, I think that it would be well to pas s the night in this hut." "Y ou are right, P enc roft," ans wered Gideon S pilett, "and if its owner returns , well! perhaps he will not be s orry to find the plac e taken pos s es s ion of." "He will not return," s aid the s ailor, s haking his head. "Y ou think that he has quitted the is land?" as ked the reporter. "If he had quitted the is land he would have taken away his weapons and his tools ," replied P enc roft. "You know the value whic h c as taways s et on s uc h artic les as thes e the las t rem ains of a wrec k. No! no! " repeated the s ailor, in a tone of c onvic tion; "no, he has not left the is land! If he had es c aped in a boat m ade by him s elf, he would s till les s have left thes e indis pens able and nec es s ary artic les . No! he is on the is land! " "Living?" as ked Herbert. "Living or dead. B ut if he is dead, I s uppos e he has not buried him s elf, and s o we s hall at leas t find his rem ains ! " It was then agreed that the night s hould be pas s ed in the des erted dwelling, and a s tore of wood found in a c orner was s uffic ient to warm it. T he door c los ed, P enc roft, Herbert and S pilett rem ained there, s eated on a benc h, talking little but wondering m uc h. T hey were in a fram e of m ind to im agine anything or expec t anything. T hey lis tened eagerly for s ounds outs ide. T he door m ight have opened s uddenly, and a m an pres ented him s elf to them without their being in the leas t s urpris ed, notwiths tanding all that the hut revealed of abandonm ent, and they had their hands ready to pres s the hands of this m an, this c as taway, this unknown friend, for whom friends were waiting. B ut no voic e was heard, the door did not open. T he hours thus pas s ed away. How long the night appeared to the s ailor and his c om panions ! Herbert alone s lept for two hours , for at his age s leep is a nec es s ity. T hey were all three anxious to c ontinue their exploration of the day before, and to s earc h the m os t s ec ret rec es s es of the is let! T he inferenc es deduc ed by P enc roft were perfec tly reas onable, and it was nearly c ertain that, as the hut was des erted, and the tools , utens ils , and weapons were s till there, the owner had s uc c um bed. It was agreed, therefore, that they s hould s earc h for his rem ains , and give them at leas t Chris tian burial. Day dawned; P enc roft and his c om panions im m ediately proc eeded to s urvey the dwelling. It had c ertainly been built in a favorable s ituation, at the bac k of a little hill, s heltered by five or s ix m agnific ent gum -trees . B efore its front and through the trees the axe had prepared a wide c learing, whic h allowed the view to extend to the s ea. B eyond a lawn, s urrounded by a wooden fenc e falling to piec es , was the s hore, on the left of whic h was the m outh of the s tream . T he hut had been built of planks , and it was eas y to s ee that thes e planks had been obtained from the hull or dec k of a s hip. It was probable that a dis abled ves s el had been c as t on the c oas t of the is land, that one at leas t of the c rew had been s aved, and that by m eans of the wrec k this m an, having tools at his dis pos al, had built the dwelling. A nd this bec am e s till m ore evident when Gideon S pilett, after having walked around the hut, s aw on a plank, probably one of thos e whic h had form ed the arm or of the wrec ked ves s el, thes e letters already half effac ed: BR--TAN--A "B ritannia," exc laim ed P enc roft, whom the reporter had c alled; "it is a c om m on nam e for s hips , and I c ould not s ay if s he was E nglis h or A m eric an! " "It m atters very little, P enc roft! " "V ery little indeed," ans wered the s ailor, "and we will s ave the s urvivor of her c rew if he is s till living, to whatever c ountry he m ay belong. B ut before beginning our s earc h again let us go on board the 'B onadventure'." A s ort of uneas ines s had s eized P enc roft upon the s ubjec t of his ves s el. S hould the is land be inhabited after all, and s hould s om e one have taken pos s es s ion of her? B ut he s hrugged his s houlders at s uc h an unreas onable s uppos ition. A t any rate the s ailor was not s orry to go to breakfas t on board. T he road already trodden was not long, s c arc ely a m ile. T hey s et out on their walk, gazing into the wood and thic kets through whic h goats and pigs fled in hundreds . T wenty m inutes after leaving the hut P enc roft and his c om panions reac hed the wes tern c oas t of the is land, and s aw the "B onadventure" held fas t by her anc hor, whic h was buried deep in the s and. P enc roft c ould not res train a s igh of s atis fac tion. A fter all this ves s el was his c hild, and it is the right of fathers to be often uneas y when there is no oc c as ion for it. T hey returned on board, breakfas ted, s o that it s hould not be nec es s ary to dine until very late; then the repas t being ended, the exploration was c ontinued and c onduc ted with the m os t m inute c are. Indeed, it was very probable that the only inhabitant of the is land had peris hed. It was therefore m ore for the trac es of a dead than of a living m an that P enc roft and his c om panions s earc hed. B ut their s earc hes were vain, and during the half of that day they s ought to no purpos e am ong the thic kets of trees whic h c overed the is let. T here was then s c arc ely any doubt that, if the c as taway was dead, no trac e of his body now rem ained, but that s om e wild beas t had probably devoured it to the las t bone. "W e will s et off to-m orrow at daybreak," s aid P enc roft to his two c om panions , as about two o'c loc k they were res ting for a few m inutes under the s hade of a c lum p of firs . "I s hould think that we m ight without s c ruple take the utens ils whic h belonged to the c as taway," added Herbert. "I think s o, too," returned Gideon S pilett, "and thes e arm s and tools will m ake up the s tores of Granite Hous e. T he s upply of powder and s hot is als o m os t im portant." "Y es ," replied P enc roft, "but we m us t not forget to c apture a c ouple or two of thos e pigs , of whic h Linc oln Is land is des titute." "Nor to gather thos e s eeds ," added Herbert, "whic h will give us all the vegetables of the Old and the New W orlds ." "T hen perhaps it would be bes t," s aid the reporter, "to rem ain a day longer on T abor Is land, s o as to c ollec t all that m ay be us eful to us ." "No, Mr. S pilett," ans wered P enc roft, "I will as k you to s et off to-m orrow at daybreak. T he wind s eem s to m e to be likely to s hift to the wes t, and after having had a fair wind for c om ing we s hall have a fair wind for going bac k." "T hen do not let us los e tim e," s aid Herbert, ris ing. "W e won't was te tim e," returned P enc roft. "Y ou, Herbert, go and gather the s eeds , whic h you know better than we do. W hile you do that, Mr. S pilett and I will go and have a pig hunt, and even without T op I hope we s hall m anage to c atc h a few! " Herbert ac c ordingly took the path whic h led towards the c ultivated part of the is let, while the s ailor and the reporter entered the fores t. Many s pec im ens of the porc ine rac e fled before them , and thes e anim als , whic h were s ingularly ac tive, did not appear to be in a hum or to allow them s elves to be approac hed. However, after an hour's c has e, the hunters had jus t m anaged to get hold of a c ouple lying in a thic ket, when c ries were heard res ounding from the north part of the is land, W ith the c ries were m ingled terrible yells , in whic h there was nothing hum an. P enc roft and Gideon S pilett were at onc e on their feet, and the pigs by this m ovem ent began to run away, at the m om ent when the s ailor was getting ready the rope to bind them . "T hat's Herbert's voic e," s aid the reporter. "Run! " exc laim ed P enc roft. A nd the s ailor and S pilett im m ediately ran at full s peed towards the s pot from whenc e the c ries proc eeded. T hey did well to has ten, for at a turn of the path near a c learing they s aw the lad thrown on the ground and in the gras p of a s avage being, apparently a gigantic ape, who was about to do him s om e great harm . To rus h on this m ons ter, throw him on the ground in his turn, s natc h Herbert from him , then bind him s ec urely, was the work of a m inute for P enc roft and Gideon S pilett. T he s ailor was of Herc ulean s trength, the reporter als o very powerful, and in s pite of the m ons ter's res is tanc e he was firm ly tied s o that he c ould not even m ove. "Y ou are not hurt, Herbert?" as ked S pilett. "No, no! " "Oh, if this ape had wounded him ! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "B ut he is not an ape," ans wered Herbert. A t thes e words P enc roft and Gideon S pilett looked at the s ingular being who lay on the ground. Indeed it was not an ape; it was a hum an being, a m an. B ut what a m an! A s avage in all the horrible ac c eptation of the word, and s o m uc h the m ore frightful that he s eem ed fallen to the lowes t degree of brutis hnes s ! S haggy hair, untrim m ed beard des c ending to the c hes t, the body alm os t naked exc ept a rag round the wais t, wild eyes , enorm ous hands with im m ens ely long nails , s kin the c olor of m ahogany, feet as hard as if m ade of horn, s uc h was the m is erable c reature who yet had a c laim to be c alled a m an. B ut it m ight jus tly be as ked if there were yet a s oul in this body, or if the brute ins tinc t alone s urvived in it! "A re you quite s ure that this is a m an, or that he has ever been one?" s aid P enc roft to the reporter. "A las ! there is no doubt about it," replied S pilett. "T hen this m us t be the c as taway?" as ked Herbert. "Y es ," replied Gideon S pilett, "but the unfortunate m an has no longer anything hum an about him ! " T he reporter s poke the truth. It was evident that if the c as taway had ever been a c ivilized being, s olitude had m ade him a s avage, or wors e, perhaps a regular m an of the woods . Hoars e s ounds is s ued from his throat between his teeth, whic h were s harp as the teeth of a wild beas t m ade to tear raw fles h. Mem ory m us t have des erted him long before, and for a long tim e als o he had forgotten how to us e his gun and tools , and he no longer knew how to m ake a fire! It c ould be s een that he was ac tive and powerful, but the phys ic al qualities had been developed in him to the injury of the m oral qualities . Gideon S pilett s poke to him . He did not appear to unders tand or even to hear. A nd yet on looking into his eyes , the reporter thought he c ould s ee that all reas on was not extinguis hed in him . However, the pris oner did not s truggle, nor even attem pt to break his bonds . W as he overwhelm ed by the pres enc e of m en whos e fellow he had onc e been? Had he found in s om e c orner of his brain a fleeting rem em branc e whic h rec alled him to hum anity? If free, would he attem pt to fly, or would he rem ain? T hey c ould not tell, but they did not m ake the experim ent; and after gazing attentively at the m is erable c reature,-"W hoever he m ay be," rem arked Gideon S pilett, "whoever he m ay have been, and whatever he m ay bec om e, it is our duty to take him with us to Linc oln Is land." "Y es , yes ! " replied Herbert, "and perhaps with c are we m ay arous e in him s am e gleam of intelligenc e." "T he s oul does not die," s aid the reporter, "and it would be a great s atis fac tion to res c ue one of God's c reatures from brutis hnes s ." P enc roft s hook his head doubtfully. "W e m us t try at any rate," returned the reporter; "hum anity c om m ands us ." It was indeed their duty as Chris tians and c ivilized beings . A ll three felt this , and they well knew that Cyrus Harding would approve of their ac ting thus . "S hall we leave him bound?" as ked the s ailor. "P erhaps he would walk if his feet were unfas tened," s aid Herbert. "Let us try," replied P enc roft. T he c ords whic h s hac kled the pris oner's feet were c ut off, but his arm s rem ained s ec urely fas tened. He got up by him s elf and did not m anifes t any des ire to run away. His hard eyes darted a pierc ing glanc e at the three m en, who walked near him , but nothing denoted that he rec ollec ted being their fellow, or at leas t having been s o. A c ontinual his s ing s ound is s ued from his lips , his as pec t was wild, but he did not attem pt to res is t. B y the reporter's advic e the unfortunate m an was taken to the hut. P erhaps the s ight of the things that belonged to him would m ake s om e im pres s ion on him ! P erhaps a s park would be s uffic ient to revive his obs c ured intellec t, to rekindle his dulled s oul. T he dwelling was not far off. In a few m inutes they arrived there, but the pris oner rem em bered nothing, and it appeared that he had los t c ons c ious nes s of everything. W hat c ould they think of the degree of brutis hnes s into whic h this m is erable being had fallen, unles s that his im pris onm ent on the is let dated from a very dis tant period and after having arrived there a rational being s olitude had reduc ed him to this c ondition. T he reporter then thought that perhaps the s ight of fire would have s om e effec t on him , and in a m om ent one of thos e beautiful flam es , that attrac t even anim als , blazed up on the hearth. T he s ight of the flam e s eem ed at firs t to fix the attention of the unhappy objec t, but s oon he turned away and the look of intelligenc e faded. E vidently there was nothing to be done, for the tim e at leas t, but to take him on board the "B onadventure." T his was done, and he rem ained there in P enc roft's c harge. Herbert and S pilett returned to finis h their work; and s om e hours after they c am e bac k to the s hore, c arrying the utens ils and guns , a s tore of vegetables , of s eeds , s om e gam e, and two c ouple of pigs . A ll was em barked, and the "B onadventure" was ready to weigh anc hor and s ail with the m orning tide. T he pris oner had been plac ed in the fore-c abin, where he rem ained quiet, s ilent, apparently deaf and dum b. P enc roft offered him s om ething to eat, but he pus hed away the c ooked m eat that was pres ented to him and whic h doubtles s did not s uit him . B ut on the s ailor s howing him one of the duc ks whic h Herbert had killed, he pounc ed on it like a wild beas t, and devoured it greedily. "Y ou think that he will rec over his s ens es ?" as ked P enc roft. "It is not im pos s ible that our c are will have an effec t upon him , for it is s olitude that has m ade him what he is , and from this tim e forward he will be no longer alone." "T he poor m an m us t no doubt have been in this s tate for a long tim e," s aid Herbert. "P erhaps ," ans wered Gideon S pilett. "A bout what age is he?" as ked the lad. "It is diffic ult to s ay," replied the reporter, "for it is im pos s ible to s ee his features under the thic k beard whic h c overs his fac e, but he is no longer young, and I s uppos e he m ight be about fifty." "Have you notic ed, Mr. S pilett, how deeply s unk his eyes are?" as ked Herbert. "Y es , Herbert, but I m us t add that they are m ore hum an than one c ould expec t from his appearanc e." "However, we s hall s ee," replied P enc roft, "and I am anxious to know what opinion Captain Harding will have of our s avage. W e went to look for a hum an c reature, and we are bringing bac k a m ons ter! A fter all, we did what we c ould." T he night pas s ed, and whether the pris oner s lept or not c ould not be known, but at any rate, although he had been unbound, he did not m ove. He was like a wild anim al, whic h appears s tunned at firs t by its c apture, and bec om es wild again afterwards . A t daybreak the next m orning, the 15th of Oc tober, the c hange of weather predic ted by P enc roft oc c urred. T he wind having s hifted to the northwes t favored the return of the "B onadventure," but at the s am e tim e it fres hened, whic h m ight render navigation m ore diffic ult. A t five o'c loc k in the m orning the anc hor was weighed. P enc roft took a reef in the m ains ail, and s teered towards the north-eas t, s o as to s ail s traight for Linc oln Is land. T he firs t day of the voyage was not m arked by any inc ident. T he pris oner rem ained quiet in the fore-c abin, and as he had been a s ailor it appeared that the m otion of the ves s el m ight produc e on him a s alutary reac tion. Did s om e rec ollec tion of his form er c alling return to him ? However that m ight be, he rem ained tranquil, as tonis hed rather than depres s ed. T he next day the wind inc reas ed, blowing m ore from the north, c ons equently in a les s favorable direc tion for the "B onadventure." P enc roft was s oon obliged to s ail c los e-hauled, and without s aying anything about it he began to be uneas y at the s tate of the s ea, whic h frequently broke over the bows . Certainly, if the wind did not m oderate, it would take a longer tim e to reac h Linc oln Is land than it had taken to m ake T abor Is land. Indeed, on the m orning of the 17th, the "B onadventure" had been forty- eight hours at s ea, and nothing s howed that s he was near the is land. It was im pos s ible, bes ides , to es tim ate the dis tanc e travers ed, or to trus t to the rec koning for the direc tion, as the s peed had been very irregular. T wenty-four hours after there was yet no land in s ight. T he wind was right ahead and the s ea very heavy. T he s ails were c los e-reefed, and they tac ked frequently. On the 18th, a wave s wept c om pletely over the "B onadventure"; and if the c rew had not taken the prec aution of las hing them s elves to the dec k, they would have been c arried away. On this oc c as ion P enc roft and his c om panions , who were oc c upied with loos ing them s elves , rec eived unexpec ted aid from the pris oner, who em erged from the hatc hway as if his s ailor's ins tinc t had s uddenly returned, broke a piec e out of the bulwarks with a s par s o as to let the water whic h filled the dec k es c ape. T hen the ves s el being c lear, he des c ended to his c abin without having uttered a word. P enc roft, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert, greatly as tonis hed, let him proc eed. T heir s ituation was truly s erious , and the s ailor had reas on to fear that he was los t on the wide s ea without any pos s ibility of rec overing his c ours e. T he night was dark and c old. However, about eleven o'c loc k, the wind fell, the s ea went down, and the s peed of the ves s el, as s he labored les s , greatly inc reas ed. Neither P enc roft, S pilett, nor Herbert thought of taking an hour's s leep. T hey kept a s harp look-out, for either Linc oln Is land c ould not be far dis tant and would be s ighted at daybreak, or the "B onadventure," c arried away by c urrents , had drifted s o m uc h that it would be im pos s ible to rec tify her c ours e. P enc roft, uneas y to the las t degree, yet did not des pair, for he had a gallant heart, and gras ping the tiller he anxious ly endeavored to pierc e the darknes s whic h s urrounded them . A bout two o'c loc k in the m orning he s tarted forward,-"A light! a light! " he s houted. Indeed, a bright light appeared twenty m iles to the northeas t. Linc oln Is land was there, and this fire, evidently lighted by Cyrus Harding, s howed them the c ours e to be followed. P enc roft, who was bearing too m uc h to the north, altered his c ours e and s teered towards the fire, whic h burned brightly above the horizon like a s tar of the firs t m agnitude. Chapter 15 T he next day, the 20th of Oc tober, at s even o'c loc k in the m orning, after a voyage of four days , the "B onadventure" gently glided up to the beac h at the m outh of the Merc y. Cyrus Harding and Neb, who had bec om e very uneas y at the bad weather and the prolonged abs enc e of their c om panions , had c lim bed at daybreak to the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , and they had at las t c aught s ight of the ves s el whic h had been s o long in returning. "God be prais ed! there they are! " exc laim ed Cyrus Harding. A s to Neb in his joy, he began to danc e, to twirl round, c lapping his hands and s houting, "Oh! m y m as ter! " A m ore touc hing pantom im e than the fines t dis c ours e. T he engineer's firs t idea, on c ounting the people on the dec k of the "B onadventure," was that P enc roft had not found the c as taway of T abor Is land, or at any rate that the unfortunate m an had refus ed to leave his is land and c hange one pris on for another. Indeed P enc roft, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert were alone on the dec k of the "B onadventure." T he m om ent the ves s el touc hed, the engineer and Neb were waiting on the beac h, and before the pas s engers had tim e to leap on to the s and, Harding s aid: "W e have been very uneas y at your delay, m y friends ! Did you m eet with any ac c ident?" "No," replied Gideon S pilett; "on the c ontrary, everything went wonderfully well. W e will tell you all about it."

"However," returned the engineer, "your s earc h has been uns uc c es s ful, s inc e you are only three, jus t as you went! " "E xc us e m e, c aptain," replied the s ailor, "we are four." "Y ou have found the c as taway?" "Y es ." "A nd you have brought him ?" "Y es ." "Living?" "Y es ." "W here is he? W ho is he?" "He is ," replied the reporter, "or rather he was a m an! T here, Cyrus , that is all we c an tell you! " T he engineer was then inform ed of all that had pas s ed during the voyage, and under what c onditions the s earc h had been c onduc ted; how the only dwelling in the is land had long been abandoned; how at las t a c as taway had been c aptured, who appeared no longer to belong to the hum an s pec ies . "A nd that's jus t the point," added P enc roft, "I don't know if we have done right to bring him here." "Certainly you have, P enc roft," replied the engineer quic kly. "B ut the wretc hed c reature has no s ens e! " "T hat is pos s ible at pres ent," replied Cyrus Harding, "but only a few m onths ago the wretc hed c reature was a m an like you and m e. A nd who knows what will bec om e of the s urvivor of us after a long s olitude on this is land? It is a great m is fortune to be alone, m y friends ; and it m us t be believed that s olitude c an quic kly des troy reas on, s inc e you have found this poor c reature in s uc h a s tate! " "B ut, c aptain," as ked Herbert, "what leads you to think that the brutis hnes s of the unfortunate m an began only a few m onths bac k?" "B ec aus e the doc um ent we found had been rec ently written," ans wered the engineer, "and the c as taway alone c an have written it." "A lways s uppos ing," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "that it had not been written by a c om panion of this m an, s inc e dead." "T hat is im pos s ible, m y dear S pilett." "W hy s o?" as ked the reporter. "B ec aus e the doc um ent would then have s poken of two c as taways ," replied Harding, "and it m entioned only one." Herbert then in a few words related the inc idents of the voyage, and dwelt on the c urious fac t of the s ort of pas s ing gleam in the pris oner's m ind, when for an ins tant in the height of the s torm he had bec om e a s ailor. "W ell, Herbert," replied the engineer, "you are right to attac h great im portanc e to this fac t. T he unfortunate m an c annot be inc urable, and des pair has m ade him what he is ; but here he will find his fellow-m en, and s inc e there is s till a s oul in him , this s oul we s hall s ave! " T he c as taway of T abor Is land, to the great pity of the engineer and the great as tonis hm ent of Neb, was then brought from the c abin whic h he oc c upied in the fore part of the "B onadventure"; when onc e on land he m anifes ted a wis h to run away. B ut Cyrus Harding approac hing, plac ed his hand on his s houlder with a ges ture full of authority, and looked at him with infinite tendernes s . Im m ediately the unhappy m an, s ubm itting to a s uperior will, gradually bec am e c alm , his eyes fell, his head bent, and he m ade no m ore res is tanc e. "P oor fellow! " m urm ured the engineer. Cyrus Harding had attentively obs erved him . T o judge by his appearanc e this m is erable being had no longer anything hum an about him , and yet Harding, as had the reporter already, obs erved in his look an indefinable trac e of intelligenc e. It was dec ided that the c as taway, or rather the s tranger as he was thenc eforth term ed by his c om panions , s hould live in one of the room s of Granite Hous e, from whic h, however, he c ould not es c ape. He was led there without diffic ulty, and with c areful attention, it m ight, perhaps , be hoped that s om e day he would be a c om panion to the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land. Cyrus Harding, during breakfas t, whic h Neb had has tened to prepare, as the reporter, Herbert, and P enc roft were dying of hunger, heard in detail all the inc idents whic h had m arked the voyage of exploration to the is let. He agreed with his friends on this point, that the s tranger m us t be either E nglis h or A m eric an, the nam e B ritannia leading them to s uppos e this , and, bes ides , through the bus hy beard, and under the s haggy, m atted hair, the engineer thought he c ould rec ognize the c harac teris tic features of the A nglo-S axon. "B ut, by the bye," s aid Gideon S pilett, addres s ing Herbert, "you never told us how you m et this s avage, and we know nothing, exc ept that you would have been s trangled, if we had not happened to c om e up in tim e to help you! " "Upon m y word," ans wered Herbert, "it is rather diffic ult to s ay how it happened. I was , I think, oc c upied in c ollec ting m y plants , when I heard a nois e like an avalanc he falling from a very tall tree. I s c arc ely had tim e to look round. T his unfortunate m an, who was without doubt c onc ealed in a tree, rus hed upon m e in les s tim e than I take to tell you about it, and unles s Mr. S pilett and P enc roft--" "My boy! " s aid Cyrus Harding, "you ran a great danger, but, perhaps , without that, the poor c reature would have s till hidden him s elf from your s earc h, and we s hould not have had a new c om panion." "Y ou hope, then, Cyrus , to s uc c eed in reform ing the m an?" as ked the reporter. "Y es ," replied the engineer. B reakfas t over, Harding and his c om panions left Granite Hous e and returned to the beac h. T hey there oc c upied them s elves in unloading the "B onadventure," and the engineer, having exam ined the arm s and tools , s aw nothing whic h c ould help them to es tablis h the identity of the s tranger. T he c apture of pigs , m ade on the is let, was looked upon as being very profitable to Linc oln Is land, and the anim als were led to the s ty, where they s oon bec am e at hom e. T he two barrels , c ontaining the powder and s hot, as well as the box of c aps , were very welc om e. It was agreed to es tablis h a s m all powder- m agazine, either outs ide Granite Hous e or in the Upper Cavern, where there would be no fear of explos ion. However, the us e of pyroxyle was to be c ontinued, for this s ubs tanc e giving exc ellent res ults , there was no reas on for s ubs tituting ordinary powder. W hen the unloading of the ves s el was finis hed,-"Captain," s aid P enc roft, "I think it would be prudent to put our 'B onadventure' in a s afe plac e." "Is s he not s afe at the m outh of the Merc y?" as ked Cyrus Harding. "No, c aptain," replied the s ailor. "Half of the tim e s he is s tranded on the s and, and that works her. S he is a fam ous c raft, you s ee, and s he behaved adm irably during the s quall whic h s truc k us on our return." "Could s he not float in the river?" "No doubt, c aptain, s he c ould; but there is no s helter there, and in the eas t winds , I think that the 'B onadventure' would s uffer m uc h from the s urf." "W ell, where would you put her, P enc roft?" "In P ort B alloon," replied the s ailor. "T hat little c reek, s hut in by roc ks , s eem s to m e to be jus t the harbor we want." "Is it not rather far?" "P ooh! it is not m ore than three m iles from Granite Hous e, and we have a fine s traight road to take us there! " "Do it then, P enc roft, and take your 'B onadventure' there," replied the engineer, "and yet I would rather have her under our m ore im m ediate protec tion. W hen we have tim e, we m us t m ake a little harbor for her." "Fam ous ! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "A harbor with a lighthous e, a pier, and doc k! A h! really with you, c aptain, everything bec om es eas y." "Y es , m y brave P enc roft," ans wered the engineer, "but on c ondition, however, that you help m e, for you do as m uc h as three m en in all our work." Herbert and the s ailor then re-em barked on board the "B onadventure," the anc hor was weighed, the s ail hois ted, and the wind drove her rapidly towards Claw Cape. T wo hours after, s he was repos ing on the tranquil waters of P ort B alloon. During the firs t days pas s ed by the s tranger in Granite Hous e, had he already given them reas on to think that his s avage nature was bec om ing tam ed? Did a brighter light burn in the depths of that obs c ured m ind? In s hort, was the s oul returning to the body? Yes , to a c ertainty, and to s uc h a degree, that Cyrus Harding and the reporter wondered if the reas on of the unfortunate m an had ever been totally extinguis hed. A t firs t, ac c us tom ed to the open air, to the unres trained liberty whic h he had enjoyed on Tabor Is land, the s tranger m anifes ted a s ullen fury, and it was feared that he m ight throw him s elf onto the beac h, out of one of the windows of Granite Hous e. B ut gradually he bec am e c alm er, and m ore freedom was allowed to his m ovem ents . T hey had reas on to hope, and to hope m uc h. A lready, forgetting his c arnivorous ins tinc ts , the s tranger ac c epted a les s bes tial nouris hm ent than that on whic h he fed on the is let, and c ooked m eat did not produc e in him the s am e s entim ent of repuls ion whic h he had s howed on board the "B onadventure." Cyrus Harding had profited by a m om ent when he was s leeping, to c ut his hair and m atted beard, whic h form ed a s ort of m ane and gave him s uc h a s avage as pec t. He had als o been c lothed m ore s uitably, after having got rid of the rag whic h c overed him . T he res ult was that, thanks to thes e attentions , the s tranger res um ed a m ore hum an appearanc e, and it even s eem ed as if his eyes had bec om e m ilder. Certainly, when form erly lighted up by intelligenc e, this m an's fac e m us t have had a s ort of beauty. E very day, Harding im pos ed on him s elf the tas k of pas s ing s om e hours in his c om pany. He c am e and worked near him , and oc c upied him s elf in different things , s o as to fix his attention. A s park, indeed, would be s uffic ient to reillum ine that s oul, a rec ollec tion c ros s ing that brain to rec all reas on. T hat had been s een, during the s torm , on board the "B onadventure! " T he engineer did not neglec t either to s peak aloud, s o as to penetrate at the s am e tim e by the organs of hearing and s ight the depths of that torpid intelligenc e. S om etim es one of his c om panions , s om etim es another, s om etim es all joined him . T hey s poke m os t often of things belonging to the navy, whic h m us t interes t a s ailor. A t tim es , the s tranger gave s om e s light attention to what was s aid, and the s ettlers were s oon c onvinc ed that he partly unders tood them . S om etim es the expres s ion of his c ountenanc e was deeply s orrowful, a proof that he s uffered m entally, for his fac e c ould not be m is taken; but he did not s peak, although at different tim es , however, they alm os t thought that words were about to is s ue from his lips . A t all events , the poor c reature was quite quiet and s ad! B ut was not his c alm only apparent? W as not his s adnes s only the res ult of his s ec lus ion? Nothing c ould yet be as c ertained. S eeing only c ertain objec ts and in a lim ited s pac e, always in c ontac t with the c olonis ts , to whom he would s oon bec om e ac c us tom ed, having no des ires to s atis fy, better fed, better c lothed, it was natural that his phys ic al nature s hould gradually im prove; but was he penetrated with the s ens e of a new life? or rather, to em ploy a word whic h would be exac tly applic able to him , was he not bec om ing tam ed, like an anim al in c om pany with his m as ter? T his was an im portant ques tion, whic h Cyrus Harding was anxious to ans wer, and yet he did not wis h to treat his invalid roughly! W ould he ever be a c onvales c ent? How the engineer obs erved him every m om ent! How he was on the watc h for his s oul, if one m ay us e the expres s ion! How he was ready to gras p it! T he s ettlers followed with real s ym pathy all the phas es of the c ure undertaken by Harding. T hey aided him als o in this work of hum anity, and all, exc ept perhaps the inc redulous P enc roft, s oon s hared both his hope and his faith. T he c alm of the s tranger was deep, as has been s aid, and he even s howed a s ort of attac hm ent for the engineer, whos e influenc e he evidently felt. Cyrus Harding res olved then to try him , by trans porting him to another s c ene, from that oc ean whic h form erly his eyes had been ac c us tom ed to c ontem plate, to the border of the fores t, whic h m ight perhaps rec all thos e where s o m any years of his life had been pas s ed! "B ut," s aid Gideon S pilett, "c an we hope that he will not es c ape, if onc e s et at liberty?" "T he experim ent m us t be tried," replied the engineer. "W ell! " s aid P enc roft. "W hen that fellow is outs ide, and feels the fres h air, he will be off as fas t as his legs c an c arry him ! " "I do not think s o," returned Harding. "Let us try," s aid S pilett. "W e will try," replied the engineer. T his was on the 30th of Oc tober, and c ons equently the c as taway of Tabor Is land had been a pris oner in Granite Hous e for nine days . It was warm , and a bright s un darted its rays on the is land. Cyrus Harding and P enc roft went to the room oc c upied by the s tranger, who was found lying near the window and gazing at the s ky. "Com e, m y friend," s aid the engineer to him . T he s tranger ros e im m ediately. His eyes were fixed on Cyrus Harding, and he followed him , while the s ailor m arc hed behind them , little c onfident as to the res ult of the experim ent. A rrived at the door, Harding and P enc roft m ade him take his plac e in the lift, while Neb, Herbert, and Gideon S pilett waited for them before Granite Hous e. T he lift des c ended, and in a few m om ents all were united on the beac h. T he s ettlers went a s hort dis tanc e from the s tranger, s o as to leave him at liberty. He then m ade a few s teps toward the s ea, and his look brightened with extrem e anim ation, but he did not m ake the s lightes t attem pt to es c ape. He was gazing at the little waves whic h, broken by the is let, rippled on the s and. "T his is only the s ea," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "and pos s ibly it does not ins pire him with any wis h to es c ape! " "Y es ," replied Harding, "we m us t take him to the plateau, on the border of the fores t. T here the experim ent will be m ore c onc lus ive." "B es ides , he c ould not run away," s aid Neb, "s inc e the bridge is rais ed." "Oh! " s aid P enc roft, "that is n't a m an to be troubled by a s tream like Creek Glyc erine! He c ould c ros s it direc tly, at a s ingle bound! " "W e s hall s oon s ee," Harding c ontented him s elf with replying, his eyes not quitting thos e of his patient. T he latter was then led towards the m outh of the Merc y, and all c lim bing the left bank of the river, reac hed P ros pec t Heights . A rrived at the s pot on whic h grew the firs t beautiful trees of the fores t, their foliage s lightly agitated by the breeze, the s tranger appeared greedily to drink in the penetrating odor whic h filled the atm os phere, and a long s igh es c aped from his c hes t. T he s ettlers kept behind him , ready to s eize him if he m ade any m ovem ent to es c ape! A nd, indeed, the poor c reature was on the point of s pringing into the c reek whic h s eparated him from the fores t, and his legs were bent for an ins tant as if for a s pring, but alm os t im m ediately he s tepped bac k, half s ank down, and a large tear fell from his eyes . "A h! " exc laim ed Cyrus Harding, "you have bec om e a m an again, for you c an weep! " Chapter 16 Y es ! the unfortunate m an had wept! S om e rec ollec tion doubtles s had flas hed ac ros s his brain, and to us e Cyrus Harding's expres s ion, by thos e tears he was onc e m ore a m an. T he c olonis ts left him for s om e tim e on the plateau, and withdrew them s elves to a s hort dis tanc e, s o that he m ight feel him s elf free; but he did not think of profiting by this liberty, and Harding s oon brought him bac k to Granite Hous e. T wo days after this oc c urrenc e, the s tranger appeared to wis h gradually to m ingle with their c om m on life. He evidently heard and unders tood, but no les s evidently was he s trangely determ ined not to s peak to the c olonis ts ; for one evening, P enc roft, lis tening at the door of his room , heard thes e words es c ape from his lips :-"No! here! I! never! " T he s ailor reported thes e words to his c om panions . "T here is s om e painful m ys tery there! " s aid Harding. T he s tranger had begun to us e the laboring tools , and he worked in the garden. W hen he s topped in his work, as was often the c as e, he rem ained retired within him s elf, but on the engineer's rec om m endation, they res pec ted the res erve whic h he apparently wis hed to keep. If one of the s ettlers approac hed him , he drew bac k, and his c hes t heaved with s obs , as if overburdened! W as it rem ors e that overwhelm ed him thus ? T hey were c om pelled to believe s o, and Gideon S pilett c ould not help one day m aking this obs ervation,-"If he does not s peak it is bec aus e he has , I fear, things too s erious to be told! " T hey m us t be patient and wait. A few days later, on the 3rd of Novem ber, the s tranger, working on the plateau, had s topped, letting his s pade drop to the ground, and Harding, who was obs erving him from a little dis tanc e, s aw that tears were again flowing from his eyes . A s ort of irres is tible pity led him towards the unfortunate m an, and he touc hed his arm lightly. "My friend! " s aid he. T he s tranger tried to avoid his look, and Cyrus Harding having endeavored to take his hand, he drew bac k quic kly. "My friend," s aid Harding in a firm er voic e, "look at m e, I wis h it! " T he s tranger looked at the engineer, and s eem ed to be under his power, as a s ubjec t under the influenc e of a m es m eris t. He wis hed to run away. B ut then his c ountenanc e s uddenly underwent a trans form ation. His eyes flas hed. W ords s truggled to es c ape from his lips . He c ould no longer c ontain him s elf! A t las t he folded his arm s ; then, in a hollow voic e,--"W ho are you?" he as ked Cyrus Harding. "Cas taways , like you," replied the engineer, whos e em otion was deep. "W e have brought you here, am ong your fellow-m en." "My fellow-m en! . . . . I have none! " "Y ou are in the m ids t of friends ." "Friends ! --for m e! friends ! " exc laim ed the s tranger, hiding his fac e in his hands . "No--never--leave m e! leave m e! " T hen he rus hed to the s ide of the plateau whic h overlooked the s ea, and rem ained there a long tim e m otionles s . Harding rejoined his c om panions and related to them what had jus t happened. "Y es ! there is s om e m ys tery in that m an's life," s aid Gideon S pilett, "and it appears as if he had only re-entered s oc iety by the path of rem ors e." "I don't know what s ort of a m an we have brought here," s aid the s ailor. "He has s ec rets --" "W hic h we will res pec t," interrupted Cyrus Harding quic kly. "If he has c om m itted any c rim e, he has m os t fearfully expiated it, and in our eyes he is abs olved." For two hours the s tranger rem ained alone on the s hore, evidently under the influenc e of rec ollec tions whic h rec alled all his pas t life--a m elanc holy life doubtles s --and the c olonis ts , without los ing s ight of him , did not attem pt to dis turb his s olitude. However, after two hours , appearing to have form ed a res olution, he c am e to find Cyrus Harding. His eyes were red with the tears he had s hed, but he wept no longer. His c ountenanc e expres s ed deep hum ility. He appeared anxious , tim orous , as ham ed, and his eyes were c ons tantly fixed on the ground. "S ir," s aid he to Harding, "your c om panions and you, are you E nglis h?" "No," ans wered the engineer, "we are A m eric ans ." "A h! " s aid the s tranger, and he m urm ured, "I prefer that! " "A nd you, m y friend?" as ked the engineer. "E nglis h," replied he has tily. A nd as if thes e few words had been diffic ult to s ay, he retreated to the beac h, where he walked up and down between the c as c ade and the m outh of the Merc y, in a s tate of extrem e agitation. T hen, pas s ing one m om ent c los e to Herbert, he s topped and in a s tifled voic e,-"W hat m onth?" he as ked. "Dec em ber," replied Herbert. "W hat year?"

"1866." "T welve years ! twelve years ! " he exc laim ed. T hen he left him abruptly. Herbert reported to the c olonis ts the ques tions and ans wers whic h had been m ade. "T his unfortunate m an," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "was no longer ac quainted with either m onths or years ! " "Y es ! " added Herbert, "and he had been twelve years already on the is let when we found him there! " "T welve years ! " rejoined Harding. "A h! twelve years of s olitude, after a wic ked life, perhaps , m ay well im pair a m an's reas on! " "I am induc ed to think," s aid P enc roft, "that this m an was not wrec ked on T abor Is land, but that in c ons equenc e of s om e c rim e he was left there." "Y ou m us t be right, P enc roft," replied the reporter, "and if it is s o it is not im pos s ible that thos e who left him on the is land m ay return to fetc h him s om e day! " "A nd they will no longer find him ," s aid Herbert. "B ut then," added P enc roft, "they m us t return, and--" "My friends ," s aid Cyrus Harding, "do not let us dis c us s this ques tion until we know m ore about it. I believe that the unhappy m an has s uffered, that he has s everely expiated his faults , whatever they m ay have been, and that the wis h to unburden him s elf s tifles him . Do not let us pres s him to tell us his his tory! He will tell it to us doubtles s , and when we know it, we s hall s ee what c ours e it will be bes t to follow. He alone bes ides c an tell us , if he has m ore than a hope, a c ertainty, of returning s om e day to his c ountry, but I doubt it! " "A nd why?" as ked the reporter. "B ec aus e that, in the event of his being s ure of being delivered at a c ertain tim e, he would have waited the hour of his deliveranc e and would not have thrown this doc um ent into the s ea. No, it is m ore probable that he was c ondem ned to die on that is let, and that he never expec ted to s ee his fellow-c reatures again! " "B ut," obs erved the s ailor, "there is one thing whic h I c annot explain." "W hat is it?" "If this m an had been left for twelve years on T abor Is land, one m ay well s uppos e that he had been s everal years already in the wild s tate in whic h we found him ! " "T hat is probable," replied Cyrus Harding. "It m us t then be m any years s inc e he wrote that doc um ent! " "No doubt," and yet the doc um ent appears to have been rec ently written! "B es ides , how do you know that the bottle whic h enc los ed the doc um ent m ay not have taken s everal years to c om e from T abor Is land to Linc oln Is land?" "T hat is not abs olutely im pos s ible," replied the reporter. "Might it not have been a long tim e already on the c oas t of the is land?" "No," ans wered P enc roft, "for it was s till floating. W e c ould not even s uppos e that after it had s tayed for any length of tim e on the s hore, it would have been s wept off by the s ea, for the s outh c oas t is all roc ks , and it would c ertainly have been s m as hed to piec es there! " "T hat is true," rejoined Cyrus Harding thoughtfully. "A nd then," c ontinued the s ailor, "if the doc um ent was s everal years old, if it had been s hut up in that bottle for s everal years , it would have been injured by dam p. Now, there is nothing of the kind, and it was found in a perfec t s tate of pres ervation." T he s ailor's reas oning was very jus t, and pointed out an inc om prehens ible fac t, for the doc um ent appeared to have been rec ently written, when the c olonis ts found it in the bottle. Moreover, it gave the latitude and longitude of Tabor Is land c orrec tly, whic h im plied that its author had a m ore c om plete knowledge of hydrography than c ould be expec ted of a c om m on s ailor. "T here is in this , again, s om ething unac c ountable," s aid the engineer, "but we will not urge our c om panions to s peak. W hen he likes , m y friends , then we s hall be ready to hear him ! " During the following days the s tranger did not s peak a word, and did not onc e leave the prec inc ts of the plateau. He worked away, without los ing a m om ent, without taking a m inute's res t, but always in a retired plac e. A t m eal tim es he never c am e to Granite Hous e, although invited s everal tim es to do s o, but c ontented him s elf with eating a few raw vegetables . A t nightfall he did not return to the room as s igned to him , but rem ained under s om e c lum p of trees , or when the weather was bad c rouc hed in s om e c left of the roc ks . T hus he lived in the s am e m anner as when he had no other s helter than the fores ts of Tabor Is land, and as all pers uas ion to induc e him to im prove his life was in vain, the c olonis ts waited patiently. A nd the tim e was near, when, as it s eem ed, alm os t involuntarily urged by his c ons c ienc e, a terrible c onfes s ion es c aped him . On the 10th of Novem ber, about eight o'c loc k in the evening, as night was c om ing on, the s tranger appeared unexpec tedly before the s ettlers , who were as s em bled under the veranda. His eyes burned s trangely, and he had quite res um ed the wild as pec t of his wors t days . Cyrus Harding and his c om panions were as tounded on s eeing that, overc om e by s om e terrible em otion, his teeth c hattered like thos e of a pers on in a fever. W hat was the m atter with him ? W as the s ight of his fellow-c reatures ins upportable to him ? W as he weary of this return to a c ivilized m ode of exis tenc e? W as he pining for his form er s avage life? It appeared s o, as s oon he was heard to expres s him s elf in thes e inc oherent s entenc es :-"W hy am I here?.... B y what right have you dragged m e from m y is let?.... Do you think there c ould be any tie between you and m e?.... Do you know who I am --what I have done--why I was there--alone? A nd who told you that I was not abandoned there--that I was not c ondem ned to die there?.... Do you know m y pas t?.... How do you know that I have not s tolen, m urdered--that I am not a wretc h--an ac c urs ed being--only fit to live like a wild beas t, far from all--s peak--do you know it?" T he c olonis ts lis tened without interrupting the m is erable c reature, from whom thes e broken c onfes s ions es c aped, as it were, in s pite of him s elf. Harding wis hing to c alm him , approac hed him , but he has tily drew bac k. "No! no! " he exc laim ed; "one word only--am I free?" "Y ou are free," ans wered the engineer. "Farewell, then! " he c ried, and fled like a m adm an. Neb, P enc roft, and Herbert ran als o towards the edge of the wood--but they returned alone. "W e m us t let him alone! " s aid Cyrus Harding. "He will never c om e bac k! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "He will c om e bac k," replied the engineer. Many days pas s ed; but Harding--was it a s ort of pres entim ent? --pres entim ent in the fixed idea that s ooner or later the unhappy m an would return. "It is the las t revolt of his wild nature," s aid he, "whic h rem ors e has touc hed, and whic h renewed s olitude will terrify." In the m eanwhile, works of all s orts were c ontinued, as well on P ros pec t Heights as at the c orral, where Harding intended to build a farm . It is unnec es s ary to s ay that the s eeds c ollec ted by Herbert on Tabor Is land had been c arefully s own. T he plateau thus form ed one im m ens e kitc hen-garden, well laid out and c arefully tended, s o that the arm s of the s ettlers were never in want of work. T here was always s om ething to be done. A s the es c ulents inc reas ed in num ber, it bec am e nec es s ary to enlarge the s im ple beds , whic h threatened to grow into regular fields and replac e the m eadows . B ut gras s abounded in other parts of the is land, and there was no fear of the onagers being obliged to go on s hort allowanc e. It was well worth while, bes ides , to turn P ros pec t Heights into a kitc hen-garden, defended by its deep belt of c reeks , and to rem ove them to the m eadows , whic h had no need of protec tion agains t the depredations of quadrum ana and quadrapeds . On the 15th of Novem ber, the third harves t was gathered in. How wonderfully had the field inc reas ed in extent, s inc e eighteen m onths ago, when the firs t grain of wheat was s own! T he s ec ond c rop of s ix hundred thous and grains produc ed this tim e four thous and bus hels , or five hundred m illions of grains ! T he c olony was ric h in c orn, for ten bus hels alone were s uffic ient for s owing every year to produc e an am ple c rop for the food both of m en and beas ts . T he harves t was c om pleted, and the las t fortnight of the m onth of Novem ber was devoted to the work of c onverting it into food for m an. In fac t, they had c orn, but not flour, and the es tablis hm ent of a m ill was nec es s ary. Cyrus Harding c ould have utilized the s ec ond fall whic h flowed into the Merc y to es tablis h his m otive power, the firs t being already oc c upied with m oving the felting m ill, but, after s om e c ons ultation, it was dec ided that a s im ple windm ill s hould be built on P ros pec t Heights . T he building of this pres ented no m ore diffic ulty than the building of the form er, and it was m oreover c ertain that there would be no want of wind on the plateau, expos ed as it was to the s ea breezes . "Not to m ention," s aid P enc roft, "that the windm ill will be m ore lively and will have a good effec t in the lands c ape! " T hey s et to work by c hoos ing tim ber for the fram e and m ac hinery of the m ill. S om e large s tones , found at the north of the lake, c ould be eas ily trans form ed into m ills tones , and as to the s ails , the inexhaus tible c as e of the balloon furnis hed the nec es s ary m aterial. Cyrus Harding m ade his m odel, and the s ite of the m ill was c hos en a little to the right of the poultry-yard, near the s hore of the lake. T he fram e was to res t on a pivot s upported with s trong tim bers , s o that it c ould turn with all the m ac hinery it c ontained ac c ording as the wind required it. T he work advanc ed rapidly. Neb and P enc roft had bec om e very s kilful c arpenters , and had nothing to do but to c opy the m odels provided by the engineer. S oon a s ort of c ylindric al box, in s hape like a pepper-pot, with a pointed roof, ros e on the s pot c hos en. T he four fram es whic h form ed the s ails had been firm ly fixed in the c enter beam , s o as to form a c ertain angle with it, and s ec ured with iron c lam ps . A s to the different parts of the internal m ec hanis m , the box des tined to c ontain the two m ills tones , the fixed s tone and the m oving s tone, the hopper, a s ort of large s quare trough, wide at the top, narrow at the bottom , whic h would allow the grain to fall on the s tones , the os c illating s pout intended to regulate the pas s ing of the grain, and las tly the bolting m ac hine, whic h by the operation of s ifting, s eparates the bran from the flour, were m ade without diffic ulty. T he tools were good, and the work not diffic ult, for in reality, the m ac hinery of a m ill is very s im ple. T his was only a ques tion of tim e. E very one had worked at the c ons truc tion of the m ill, and on the 1s t of Dec em ber it was finis hed. A s us ual, P enc roft was delighted with his work, and had no doubt that the apparatus was perfec t. "Now for a good wind," s aid he, "and we s hall grind our firs t harves t s plendidly! " "A good wind, c ertainly," ans wered the engineer, "but not too m uc h, P enc roft." "P ooh! our m ill would only go the fas ter! " "T here is no need for it to go s o very fas t," replied Cyrus Harding. "It is known by experienc e that the greates t quantity of work is perform ed by a m ill when the num ber of turns m ade by the s ails in a m inute is s ix tim es the num ber of feet travers ed by the wind in a s ec ond. A m oderate breeze, whic h pas s es over twenty-four feet to the s ec ond, will give s ixteen turns to the s ails during a m inute, and there is no need of m ore." "E xac tly! " c ried Herbert, "a fine breeze is blowing from the northeas t, whic h will s oon do our bus ines s for us ." T here was no reas on for delaying the inauguration of the m ill, for the s ettlers were eager to tas te the firs t piec e of bread in Linc oln Is land. On this m orning two or three bus hels of wheat were ground, and the next day at breakfas t a m agnific ent loaf, a little heavy perhaps , although rais ed with yeas t, appeared on the table at Granite Hous e. E very one m unc hed away at it with a pleas ure whic h m ay be eas ily unders tood. In the m eanwhile, the s tranger had not reappeared. S everal tim es Gideon S pilett and Herbert s earc hed the fores t in the neighborhood of Granite Hous e, without m eeting or finding any trac e of him . T hey bec am e s erious ly uneas y at this prolonged abs enc e. Certainly, the form er s avage of T abor is land c ould not be perplexed how to live in the fores t, abounding in gam e, but was it not to be feared that he had res um ed his habits , and that this freedom would revive in him his wild ins tinc ts ? However, Harding, by a s ort of pres entim ent, doubtles s , always pers is ted in s aying that the fugitive would return. "Yes , he will return! " he repeated with a c onfidenc e whic h his c om panions c ould not s hare. "W hen this unfortunate m an was on Tabor Is land, he knew him s elf to be alone! Here, he knows that fellow-m en are awaiting him ! S inc e he has partially s poken of his pas t life, the poor penitent will return to tell the whole, and from that day he will belong to us ! " T he event jus tified Cyrus Harding's predic tions . On the 3rd of Dec em ber, Herbert had left the plateau to go and fis h on the s outhern bank of the lake. He was unarm ed, and till then had never taken any prec autions for defens e, as dangerous anim als had not s hown them s elves on that part of the is land. Meanwhile, P enc roft and Neb were working in the poultry-yard, while Harding and the reporter were oc c upied at the Chim neys in m aking s oda, the s tore of s oap being exhaus ted. S uddenly c ries res ounded,-"Help! help! " Cyrus Harding and the reporter, being at too great a dis tanc e, had not been able to hear the s houts . P enc roft and Neb, leaving the poultry-yard in all has te, rus hed towards the lake. B ut before then, the s tranger, whos e pres enc e at this plac e no one had s us pec ted, c ros s ed Creek Glyc erine, whic h s eparated the plateau from the fores t, and bounded up the oppos ite bank. Herbert was there fac e to fac e with a fierc e jaguar, s im ilar to the one whic h had been killed on Reptile E nd. S uddenly s urpris ed, he was s tanding with his bac k agains t a tree, while the anim al gathering its elf together was about to s pring. B ut the s tranger, with no other weapon than a knife, rus hed on the form idable anim al, who turned to m eet this new advers ary. T he s truggle was s hort. T he s tranger pos s es s ed im m ens e s trength and ac tivity. He s eized the jaguar's throat with one powerful hand, holding it as in a vis e, without heeding the beas t's c laws whic h tore his fles h, and with the other he plunged his knife into its heart. T he jaguar fell. T he s tranger kic ked away the body, and was about to fly at the m om ent when the s ettlers arrived on the field of battle, but Herbert, c linging to him , c ried,-"No, no! you s hall not go! " Harding advanc ed towards the s tranger, who frowned when he s aw him approac hing. T he blood flowed from his s houlder under his torn s hirt, but he took no notic e of it. "My friend," s aid Cyrus Harding, "we have jus t c ontrac ted a debt of gratitude to you. T o s ave our boy you have ris ked your life! " "My life! " m urm ured the s tranger. "W hat is that worth? Les s than nothing! " "Y ou are wounded?" "It is no m atter." "W ill you give m e your hand?" A nd as Herbert endeavored to. s eize the hand whic h had jus t s aved him , the s tranger folded his arm s , his c hes t heaved, his look darkened, and he appeared to wis h to es c ape, but m aking a violent effort over him s elf, and in an abrupt tone,-"W ho are you?" he as ked, "and what do you c laim to be to m e?" It was the c olonis ts ' his tory whic h he thus dem anded, and for the firs t tim e. P erhaps this his tory rec ounted, he would tell his own. In a few words Harding related all that had happened s inc e their departure from Ric hm ond; how they had m anaged, and what res ourc es they now had at their dis pos al. T he s tranger lis tened with extrem e attention. T hen the engineer told who they all were, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, P enc roft, Neb, him s elf, and, he added, that the greates t happines s they had felt s inc e their arrival in Linc oln Is land was on the return of the ves s el from T abor Is land, when they had been able to inc lude am ong them a new c om panion. A t thes e words the s tranger's fac e flus hed, his head s unk on his breas t, and c onfus ion was depic ted on his c ountenanc e. "A nd now that you know us ," added Cyrus Harding, "will you give us your hand?" "No," replied the, s tranger in a hoars e voic e; "no! Y ou are hones t m en! A nd I--" Chapter 17 T hes e las t words jus tified the c olonis ts ' pres entim ent. T here had been s om e m ournful pas t, perhaps expiated in the s ight of m en, but from whic h his c ons c ienc e had not yet abs olved him . A t any rate the guilty m an felt rem ors e, he repented, and his new friends would have c ordially pres s ed the hand whic h they s ought; but he did not feel him s elf worthy to extend it to hones t m en! However, after the s c ene with the jaguar, he did not return to the fores t, and from that day did not go beyond the enc los ure of Granite Hous e. W hat was the m ys tery of his life? W ould the s tranger one day s peak of it? T im e alone c ould s how. A t any rate, it was agreed that his s ec ret s hould never be as ked from him , and that they would live with him as if they s us pec ted nothing. For s om e days their life c ontinued as before. Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett worked together, s om etim es c hem is ts , s om etim es experim entalis ts . T he reporter never left the engineer exc ept to hunt with Herbert, for it would not have been prudent to allow the lad to ram ble alone in the fores t; and it was very nec es s ary to be on their guard. A s to Neb and P enc roft, one day at the s tables and poultry-yard, another at the c orral, without rec koning work in Granite Hous e, they were never in want of em ploym ent. T he s tranger worked alone, and he had res um ed his us ual life, never appearing at m eals , s leeping under the trees in the plateau, never m ingling with his c om panions . It really s eem ed as if the s oc iety of thos e who had s aved him was ins upportable to him ! "B ut then," obs erved P enc roft, "why did he entreat the help of his fellow-c reatures ? W hy did he throw that paper into the s ea?" "He will tell us why," invariably replied Cyrus Harding. "W hen?" "P erhaps s ooner than you think, P enc roft." A nd, indeed, the day of c onfes s ion was near. On the 10th of Dec em ber, a week after his return to Granite Hous e, Harding s aw the s tranger approac hing, who, in a c alm voic e and hum ble tone, s aid to him : "S ir, I have a reques t to m ake of you." "S peak," ans wered the engineer, "but firs t let m e as k you a ques tion." A t thes e words the s tranger reddened, and was on the point of withdrawing. Cyrus Harding unders tood what was pas s ing in the m ind of the guilty m an, who doubtles s feared that the engineer would interrogate him on his pas t life. Harding held him bac k. "Com rade," s aid he, "we are not only your c om panions but your friends . I wis h you to believe that, and now I will lis ten to you." T he s tranger pres s ed his hand over his eyes . He was s eized with a s ort of trem bling, and rem ained a few m om ents without being able to artic ulate a word. "S ir," s aid he at las t, "I have c om e to beg you to grant m e a favor." "W hat is it?" "Y ou have, four or five m iles from here, a c orral for your dom es tic ated anim als . T hes e anim als need to be taken c are of. W ill you allow m e to live there with them ?" Cyrus Harding gazed at the unfortunate m an for a few m om ents with a feeling of deep c om m is eration; then,-"My friend," s aid he, "the c orral has only s tables hardly fit for anim als ." "It will be good enough for m e, s ir." "My friend," ans wered Harding, "we will not c ons train you in anything. Y ou wis h to live at the c orral, s o be it. Y ou will, however, be always welc om e at Granite Hous e. B ut s inc e you wis h to live at the c orral we will m ake the nec es s ary arrangem ents for your being c om fortably es tablis hed there." "Never m ind that, I s hall do very well." "My friend," ans wered Harding, who always intentionally m ade us e of this c ordial appellation, "you m us t let us judge what it will be bes t to do in this res pec t." "T hank you, s ir," replied the s tranger as he withdrew. T he engineer then m ade known to his c om panions the propos al whic h had been m ade to him , and it was agreed that they s hould build a wooden hous e at the c orral, whic h they would m ake as c om fortable as pos s ible. T hat very day the c olonis ts repaired to the c orral with the nec es s ary tools , and a week had not pas s ed before the hous e was ready to rec eive its tenant. It was built about twenty feet from the s heds , and from there it was eas y to overlook the floc k of s heep, whic h then num bered m ore than eighty. S om e furniture, a bed, table, benc h, c upboard, and c hes t were m anufac tured, and a gun, am m unition, and tools were c arried to the c orral. T he s tranger, however, had s een nothing of his new dwelling, and he had allowed the s ettlers to work there without him , while he oc c upied him s elf on the plateau, wis hing, doubtles s , to put the finis hing s troke to his work. Indeed, thanks to him , all the ground was dug up and ready to he s owed when the tim e c am e. It was on the 20th of Dec em ber that all the arrangem ents at the c orral were c om pleted. T he engineer announc ed to the s tranger that his dwelling was ready to rec eive him , and the latter replied that he would go and s leep there that very evening.

On this evening the c olonis ts were gathered in the diningroom of Granite Hous e. It was then eight o'c loc k, the hour at whic h their c om panion was to leave them . Not wis hing to trouble him by their pres enc e, and thus im pos ing on him the nec es s ity of s aying farewells whic h m ight perhaps be painful to him , they had left him alone and as c ended to Granite Hous e. Now, they had been talking in the room for a few m inutes , when a light knoc k was heard at the door. A lm os t im m ediately the s tranger entered, and without any pream ble,-"Gentlem en," s aid he, "before I leave you, it is right that you s hould know m y his tory. I will tell it you." T hes e s im ple words profoundly im pres s ed Cyrus Harding and his c om panions . T he engineer ros e. "W e as k you nothing, m y friend," s aid he; "it is your right to be s ilent." "It is m y duty to s peak." "S it down, then." "No, I will s tand." "W e are ready to hear you," replied Harding. T he s tranger rem ained s tanding in a c orner of the room , a little in the s hade. He was bareheaded, his arm s folded ac ros s his c hes t, and it was in this pos ture that in a hoars e voic e, s peaking like s om e one who obliges him s elf to s peak, he gave the following rec ital, whic h his auditors did not onc e interrupt:-"On the 20th of Dec em ber, 1854, a s team -yac ht, belonging to a S c otc h noblem an, Lord Glenarvan, anc hored off Cape B ernouilli, on the wes tern c oas t of A us tralia, in the thirty-s eventh parallel. On board this yac ht were Lord Glenarvan and his wife, a m ajor in the E nglis h arm y, a Frenc h geographer, a young girl, and a young boy. T hes e two las t were the c hildren of Captain Grant, whos e s hip, the 'B ritannia,' had been los t, c rew and c argo, a year before. T he 'Dunc an' was c om m anded by Captain J ohn Mangles , and m anned by a c rew of fifteen m en. "T his is the reas on the yac ht at this tim e lay off the c oas t of A us tralia. S ix m onths before, a bottle, enc los ing a doc um ent written in E nglis h, Germ an, and Frenc h, had been found in the Iris h S ea, and pic ked up by the 'Dunc an.' T his doc um ent s tated in s ubs tanc e that there s till exis ted three s urvivors from the wrec k of the 'B ritannia,' that thes e s urvivors were Captain Grant and two of his m en, and that they had found refuge on s om e land, of whic h the doc um ent gave the latitude, but of whic h the longitude, effac ed by the s ea, was no longer legible. "T his latitude was 37deg 11' s outh; therefore, the longitude being unknown, if they followed the thirty-s eventh parallel over c ontinents and s eas , they would be c ertain to reac h the s pot inhabited by Captain Grant and his two c om panions . T he E nglis h A dm iralty having hes itated to undertake this s earc h, Lord Glenarvan res olved to attem pt everything to find the c aptain. He c om m unic ated with Mary and Robert Grant, who joined him . T he 'Dunc an' yac ht was equipped for the dis tant voyage, in whic h the noblem an's fam ily and the c aptain's c hildren wis hed to take part, and the 'Dunc an,' leaving Glas gow, proc eeded towards the A tlantic , pas s ed through the S traits of Magellan, and as c ended the P ac ific as far as P atagonia, where, ac c ording to a previous interpretation of the doc um ent, they s uppos ed that Captain Grant was a pris oner am ong the Indians . "T he 'Dunc an' dis em barked her pas s engers on the wes tern c oas t of P atagonia, and s ailed to pic k them up again on the eas tern c oas t at Cape Corrientes . Lord Glenarvan travers ed P atagonia, following the thirty- s eventh parallel, and having found no trac e of the c aptain, he re-em barked on the 13th of Novem ber, s o as to purs ue his s earc h through the Oc ean. "A fter having uns uc c es s fully vis ited the is lands of T ris tan d'A c unha and A m s terdam , s ituated in her c ours e, the 'Dunc an,' as I have s aid, arrived at Cape B ernouilli, on the A us tralian c oas t, on the 20th of Dec em ber, 1854. "It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to travers e A us tralia as he had travers ed A m eric a, and he dis em barked. A few m iles from the c oas t was es tablis hed a farm , belonging to an Iris hm an, who offered hos pitality to the travelers . Lord Glenarvan m ade known to the Iris hm an the c aus e whic h had brought him to thes e parts , and as ked if he knew whether a three-m as ted E nglis h ves s el, the 'B ritannia,' had been los t les s than two years before on the wes t c oas t of A us tralia. "T he Iris hm an had never heard of this wrec k, but, to the great s urpris e of the bys tanders , one of his s ervants c am e forward and s aid,-"'My lord, prais e and thank God! If Captain Grant is s till living, he is living on the A us tralian s hores .' "'W ho are you?' as ked Lord Glenarvan. "'A S c otc hm an like yours elf, m y lord,' replied the m an; 'I am one of Captain Grant's c rew--one of the c as taways of the "B ritannia."' "T his m an was c alled A yrton. He was , in fac t, the boats wain's m ate of the 'B ritannia,' as his papers s howed. B ut, s eparated from Captain Grant at the m om ent when the s hip s truc k upon the roc ks , he had till then believed that the c aptain with all his c rew had peris hed, and that he, A yrton, was the s ole s urvivor of the 'B ritannia.' "'Only,' he added, 'it was not on the wes t c oas t, but on the eas t c oas t of A us tralia that the ves s el was los t, and if Captain Grant is s till living, as his doc um ent indic ates , he is a pris oner am ong the natives , and it is on the other c oas t that he m us t be looked for.' "T his m an s poke in a frank voic e and with a c onfident look; his words c ould not be doubted. T he iris hm an, in whos e s ervic e he had been for m ore than a year, ans wered for his trus tworthines s . Lord Glenarvan, therefore, believed in the fidelity of this m an and, by his advic e, res olved to c ros s A us tralia, following the thirty-s eventh parallel. Lord Glenarvan, his wife, the two c hildren, the m ajor, the Frenc hm an, Captain Mangles , and a few s ailors c om pos ed the little band under the c om m and of A yrton, while the 'Dunc an,' under c harge of the m ate, Tom A us tin, proc eeded to Melbourne, there to await Lord Glenarvan's ins truc tions . "T hey s et out on the 23rd of Dec em ber, 1854. "It is tim e to s ay that A yrton was a traitor. He was , indeed, the boats wain's m ate of the 'B ritannia,' but, after s om e dis pute with his c aptain, he endeavored to inc ite the c rew to m utiny and s eize the s hip, and Captain Grant had landed him , on the 8th of A pril, 1852, on the wes t c oas t of A us tralia, and then s ailed, leaving him there, as was only jus t. "T herefore this wretc hed m an knew nothing of the wrec k of the 'B ritannia'; he had jus t heard of it from Glenarvan's ac c ount. S inc e his abandonm ent, he had bec om e, under the nam e of B en J oyc e, the leader of the es c aped c onvic ts ; and if he boldly m aintained that the wrec k had taken plac e on the eas t c oas t, and led Lord Glenarvan to proc eed in that direc tion, it was that he hoped to s eparate him from his s hip, s eize the 'Dunc an,' and m ake the yac ht a pirate in the P ac ific ." Here the s tranger s topped for a m om ent. His voic e trem bled, but he c ontinued,-"T he expedition s et out and proc eeded ac ros s A us tralia. It was inevitably unfortunate, s inc e A yrton, or B en J oyc e, as he m ay be c alled, guided it, s om etim es prec eded, s om etim es followed by his band of c onvic ts , who had been told what they had to do. "Meanwhile, the 'Dunc an' had been s ent to Melbourne for repairs . It was nec es s ary, then, to get Lord Glenarvan to order her to leave Melbourne and go to the eas t c oas t of A us tralia, where it would be eas y to s eize her. A fter having led the expedition near enough to the c oas t, in the m ids t of vas t fores ts with no res ourc es , A yrton obtained a letter, whic h he was c harged to c arry to the m ate of the 'Dunc an'--a letter whic h ordered the yac ht to repair im m ediately to the eas t c oas t, to T wofold B ay, that is to s ay a few days ' journey from the plac e where the expedition had s topped. It was there that A yrton had agreed to m eet his ac c om plic es , and two days after gaining pos s es s ion of the letter, he arrived at Melbourne. "S o far the villain had s uc c eeded in his wic ked des ign. He would be able to take the 'Dunc an' into T wofold B ay, where it would be eas y for the c onvic ts to s eize her, and her c rew m as s ac red, B en J oyc e would bec om e m as ter of the s eas . B ut it pleas ed God to prevent the ac c om plis hm ent of thes e terrible projec ts . "A yrton, arrived at Melbourne, delivered the letter to the m ate, Tom A us tin, who read it and im m ediately s et s ail, but judge of A yrton's rage and dis appointm ent, when the next day he found that the m ate was taking the ves s el, not to the eas t c oas t of A us tralia, to T wofold B ay, but to the eas t c oas t of New Zealand. He wis hed to s top him , but A us tin s howed him the letter! ... A nd indeed, by a providential error of the Frenc h geographer, who had written the letter, the eas t c oas t of New Zealand was m entioned as the plac e of des tination. "A ll A yrton's plans were frus trated! He bec am e outrageous . T hey put him in irons . He was then taken to the c oas t of New Zealand, not knowing what would bec om e of his ac c om plic es , or what would bec om e of Lord Glenarvan. "T he 'Dunc an' c ruis ed about on this c oas t until the 3rd of Marc h. On that day A yrton heard the report of guns . T he guns on the 'Dunc an' were being fired, and s oon Lord Glenarvan and his c om panions c am e on board. "T his is what had happened. "A fter a thous and hards hips , a thous and dangers , Lord Glenarvan had ac c om plis hed his journey, and arrived on the eas t c oas t of A us tralia, at T wofold B ay. 'Not "Dunc an! "' He telegraphed to Melbourne. T hey ans wered, '"Dunc an" s ailed on the 18th ins tant. Des tination unknown.' "Lord Glenarvan c ould only arrive at one c onc lus ion; that his hones t yac ht had fallen into the hands of B en J oyc e, and had bec om e a pirate ves s el! "However, Lord Glenarvan would not give up. He was a bold and generous m an. He em barked in a m erc hant ves s el, s ailed to the wes t c oas t of New Zealand, travers ed it along the thirty-s eventh parallel, without finding any trac e of Captain Grant; but on the other s ide, to his great s urpris e, and by the will of Heaven, he found the 'Dunc an,' under c om m and of the m ate, who had been waiting for him for five weeks ! "T his was on the 3rd of Marc h, 1855. Lord Glenarvan was now on board the 'Dunc an,' but A yrton was there als o. He appeared before the noblem an, who wis hed to extrac t from him all that the villain knew about Captain Grant. A yrton refus ed to s peak. Lord Glenarvan then told him , that at the firs t port they put into, he would be delivered up to the E nglis h authorities . A yrton rem ained m ute. "T he 'Dunc an' c ontinued her voyage along the thirty-s eventh parallel. In the m eanwhile, Lady Glenarvan undertook to vanquis h the res is tanc e of the ruffian. "A t las t, her influenc e prevailed, and A yrton, in exc hange for what he c ould tell, propos ed that Lord Glenarvan s hould leave him on s om e is land in the P ac ific , ins tead of giving him up to the E nglis h authorities . Lord Glenarvan, res olving to do anything to obtain inform ation about Captain Grant, c ons ented. "A yrton then related all his life, and it was c ertain that he knew nothing from the day on whic h Captain Grant had landed him on the A us tralian c oas t. "Nevertheles s , Lord Glenarvan kept the prom is e whic h he had given. T he 'Dunc an' c ontinued her voyage and arrived at T abor Is land. It was there that A yrton was to be landed, and it was there als o that, by a veritable m irac le, they found Captain Grant and two m en, exac tly on the thirty- s eventh parallel. "T he c onvic t, then, went to take their plac e on this des ert is let, and at the m om ent he left the yac ht thes e words were pronounc ed by Lord Glenarvan:-"'Here, A yrton, you will be far from any land, and without any pos s ible c om m unic ation with your fellow-c reatures . You c an-not es c ape from this is let on whic h the 'Dunc an' leaves you. You will be alone, under the eye of a God who reads the depths of the heart, but you will be neither los t nor forgotten, as was Captain Grant. Unworthy as you are to be rem em bered by m en, m en will rem em ber you. I know where you are A yrton, and I know where to find you. I will never forget it! "A nd the 'Dunc an,' m aking s ail, s oon dis appeared. T his was 18th of Marc h, 1855. (T he events whic h have jus t been briefly related are taken from a work whic h s om e of our readers have no doubt read, and whic h is entitled, "Captain Grant's c hildren." T hey will rem ark on this oc c as ion, as well as later, s om e dis c repanc y in the dates ; but later again, they will unders tand why the real dates were not at firs t given.) "A yrton was alone, but he had no want of either am m unition, weapons , tools , or s eeds . "A t his , the c onvic t's dis pos al, was the hous e built by hones t Captain Grant. He had only to live and expiate in s olitude the c rim es whic h he had c om m itted. "Gentlem en, he repented, he was as ham ed of his c rim es and was very m is erable! He s aid to him s elf, that if m en c am e s om e day to take him from that is let, he m us t be worthy to return am ong them ! How he s uffered, that wretc hed m an! How he labored to rec over him s elf by work! How he prayed to be reform ed by prayer! For two years , three years , this went on, but A yrton, hum bled by s olitude, always looking for s om e s hip to appear on the horizon, as king him s elf if the tim e of expiation would s oon be c om plete, s uffered as none other s uffered! Oh! how dreadful was this s olitude, to a heart torm ented by rem ors e! "B ut doubtles s Heaven had not s uffic iently punis hed this unhappy m an, for he felt that he was gradually bec om ing a s avage! He felt that brutis hnes s was gradually gaining on him ! "He c ould not s ay if it was after two or three years of s olitude, but at las t he bec am e the m is erable c reature you found! "I have no need to tell you, gentlem en, that A yrton, B en J oyc e, and I, are the s am e." Cyrus Harding and his c om panions ros e at the end of this ac c ount. It is im pos s ible to s ay how m uc h they were m oved! W hat m is ery, grief, and des pair lay revealed before them ! "A yrton," s aid Harding, ris ing, "you have been a great c rim inal, but Heaven m us t c ertainly think that you have expiated your c rim es ! T hat has been proved by your having been brought again am ong your fellow-c reatures . A yrton, you are forgiven! A nd now you will be our c om panion?" A yrton drew bac k. "Here is m y hand! " s aid the engineer. A yrton gras ped the hand whic h Harding extended to him , and great tears fell from his eyes . "W ill you live with us ?" as ked Cyrus Harding. "Captain Harding, leave m e s om e tim e longer," replied A yrton, "leave m e alone in the hut in the c orral! " "A s you like, A yrton," ans wered Cyrus Harding. A yrton was going to withdraw, when the engineer addres s ed one m ore ques tion to him :-"One word m ore, m y friend. S inc e it was your intention to live alone, why did you throw into the s ea the doc um ent whic h put us on your trac k?" "A doc um ent?" repeated A yrton, who did not appear to know what he m eant. "Y es , the doc um ent whic h we found enc los ed in a bottle, giving us the exac t pos ition of T abor Is land! " A yrton pas s ed his hand over his brow, then after having thought, "I never threw any doc um ent into the s ea! " he ans wered. "Never?" exc laim ed P enc roft. "Never! " A nd A yrton, bowing, reac hed the door and departed. Chapter 8 "P oor m an! " s aid Herbert, who had rus hed to the door, but returned, having s een A yrton s lide down the rope on the lift and dis appear in the darknes s . "He will c om e bac k," s aid Cyrus Harding. "Com e, now, c aptain," exc laim ed P enc roft, "what does that m ean? W hat! was n't it A yrton who threw that bottle into the s ea? W ho was it then?" Certainly, if ever a ques tion was nec es s ary to be m ade, it was that one! "It was he," ans wered Neb, "only the unhappy m an was half-m ad." "Y es ! " s aid Herbert, "and he was no longer c ons c ious of what he was doing." "It c an only be explained in that way, m y friends ," replied Harding quic kly, "and I unders tand now how A yrton was able to point out exac tly the s ituation of T abor Is land, s inc e the events whic h had prec eded his being left on the is land had m ade it known to him ." "However," obs erved P enc roft, "if he was not yet a brute when he wrote that doc um ent, and if he threw it into the s ea s even or eight years ago, how is it that the paper has not been injured by dam p?" "T hat proves ," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "that A yrton was deprived of intelligenc e at a m ore rec ent tim e than he thinks ." "Of c ours e it m us t be s o," replied P enc roft, "without that the fac t would be unac c ountable." "Unac c ountable indeed," ans wered the engineer, who did not appear des irous to prolong the c onvers ation. "B ut has A yrton told the truth?" as ked the s ailor. "Y es ," replied the reporter. "T he s tory whic h he has told is true in every point. I rem em ber quite well the ac c ount in the news papers of the yac ht expedition undertaken by Lord Glenarvan, and its res ult." "A yrton has told the truth," added Harding. "Do not doubt it, P enc roft, for it was painful to him . P eople tell the truth when they ac c us e them s elves like that! " T he next day--the 21s t of Dec em ber--the c olonis ts des c ended to the beac h, and having c lim bed the plateau they found nothing of A yrton. He had reac hed his hous e in the c orral during the night and the s ettlers judged it bes t not to agitate him by their pres enc e. T im e would doubtles s perform what s ym pathy had been unable to ac c om plis h. Herbert, P enc roft, and Neb res um ed their ordinary oc c upations . On this day the s am e work brought Harding and the reporter to the works hop at the Chim neys . "Do you know, m y dear Cyrus ," s aid Gideon S pilett, "that the explanation you gave yes terday on the s ubjec t of the bottle has not s atis fied m e at all! How c an it be s uppos ed that the unfortunate m an was able to write that doc um ent and throw the bottle into the s ea without having the s lightes t rec ollec tion of it?" "Nor was it he who threw it in, m y dear S pilett." "Y ou think then--" "I think nothing, I know nothing! " interrupted Cyrus Harding. "I am c ontent to rank this inc ident am ong thos e whic h I have not been able to explain to this day! " "Indeed, Cyrus ," s aid S pilett, "thes e things are inc redible! Y our res c ue, the c as e s tranded on the s and, T op's adventure, and las tly this bottle... S hall we never have the ans wer to thes e enigm as ?" "Y es ! " replied the engineer quic kly, "yes , even if I have to penetrate into the bowels of this is land! " "Chanc e will perhaps give us the key to this m ys tery! " "Chanc e! S pilett! I do not believe in c hanc e, any m ore than I believe in m ys teries in this world. T here is a reas on for everything unac c ountable whic h has happened here, and that reas on I s hall dis c over. B ut in the m eantim e we m us t work and obs erve." T he m onth of J anuary arrived. T he year 1867 c om m enc ed. T he s um m er oc c upations were as s iduous ly c ontinued. During the days whic h followed, Herbert and S pilett having gone in the direc tion of the c orral, as c ertained that A yrton had taken pos s es s ion of the habitation whic h had been prepared for him . He bus ied him s elf with the num erous floc k c onfided to his c are, and s pared his c om panions the trouble of c om ing every two or three days to vis it the c orral. Nevertheles s , in order not to leave A yrton in s olitude for too long a tim e, the s ettlers often paid him a vis it. It was not unim portant either, in c ons equenc e of s om e s us pic ions entertained by the engineer and Gideon S pilett, that this part of the is land s hould be s ubjec t to a s urveillanc e of s om e s ort, and that A yrton, if any inc ident oc c urred unexpec tedly, s hould not neglec t to inform the inhabitants of Granite Hous e of it. Nevertheles s it m ight happen that s om ething would oc c ur whic h it would be nec es s ary to bring rapidly to the engineer's knowledge. Independently of fac ts bearing on the m ys tery of Linc oln Is land, m any others m ight happen, whic h would c all for the prom pt interferenc e of the c olonis ts ,--s uc h as the s ighting of a ves s el, a wrec k on the wes tern c oas t, the pos s ible arrival of pirates , etc . T herefore Cyrus Harding res olved to put the c orral in ins tantaneous c om m unic ation with Granite Hous e. It was on the 10th of J anuary that he m ade known his projec t to his c om panions . "W hy! how are you going to m anage that, c aptain?" as ked P enc roft. "Do you by c hanc e happen to think of es tablis hing a telegraph?" "E xac tly s o," ans wered the engineer. "E lec tric ?" c ried Herbert. "E lec tric ," replied Cyrus Harding. "W e have all the nec es s ary m aterials for m aking a battery, and the m os t diffic ult thing will be to s tretc h the wires , but by m eans of a drawplate I think we s hall m anage it." "W ell, after that," returned the s ailor, "I s hall never des pair of s eeing ours elves s om e day rolling along on a railway! " T hey then s et to work, beginning with the m os t diffic ult thing, for, if they failed in that, it would be us eles s to m anufac ture the battery and other ac c es s ories . T he iron of Linc oln Is land, as has been s aid, was of exc ellent quality, and c ons equently very fit for being drawn out. Harding c om m enc ed by m anufac turing a drawplate, that is to s ay, a plate of s teel, pierc ed with c onic al holes of different s izes , whic h would s uc c es s ively bring the wire to the wis hed-for tenac ity. T his piec e of s teel, after having been tem pered, was fixed in as firm a way as pos s ible in a s olid fram ework planted in the ground, only a few feet from the great fall, the m otive power of whic h the engineer intended to utilize. In fac t as the fulling- m ill was there, although not then in us e, its beam m oved with extrem e power would s erve to s tretc h out the wire by rolling it round its elf. It was a delic ate operation, and required m uc h c are. T he iron, prepared previous ly in long thin rods , the ends of whic h were s harpened with the file, having been introduc ed into the larges t hole of the drawplate, was drawn out by the beam whic h wound it round its elf, to a length of twenty-five or thirty feet, then unrolled, and the s am e operation was perform ed s uc c es s ively through the holes of a les s s ize. Finally, the engineer obtained wires from forty to fifty feet long, whic h c ould be eas ily fas tened together and s tretc hed over the dis tanc e of five m iles , whic h s eparated the c orral from the bounds of Granite Hous e.

It did not take m ore than a few days to perform this work, and indeed as s oon as the m ac hine had been c om m enc ed, Cyrus Harding left his c om panions to follow the trade of wiredrawers , and oc c upied him s elf with m anufac turing his battery. It was nec es s ary to obtain a battery with a c ons tant c urrent. It is known that the elem ents of m odern batteries are generally c om pos ed of retort c oal, zinc , and c opper. Copper was abs olutely wanting to the engineer, who, notwiths tanding all his res earc hes , had never been able to find any trac e of it in Linc oln Is land, and was therefore obliged to do without it. Retort c oal, that is to s ay, the hard graphite whic h is found in the retorts of gas m anufac tories , after the c oal has been dehydrogenized, c ould have been obtained, but it would have been nec es s ary to es tablis h a s pec ial apparatus , involving great labor. A s to zinc , it m ay be rem em bered that the c as e found at Flots am P oint was lined with this m etal, whic h c ould not be better utilized than for this purpos e. Cyrus Harding, after m ature c ons ideration, dec ided to m anufac ture a very s im ple battery, res em bling as nearly as pos s ible that invented by B ec querel in 1820, and in whic h zinc only is em ployed. T he other s ubs tanc es , azotic ac id and potas h, were all at his dis pos al. T he way in whic h the battery was c om pos ed was as follows , and the res ults were to be attained by the reac tion of ac id and potas h on eac h other. A num ber of glas s bottles were m ade and filled with azotic ac id. T he engineer c orked them by m eans of a s topper through whic h pas s ed a glas s tube, bored at its lower extrem ity, and intended to be plunged into the ac id by m eans of a c lay s topper s ec ured by a rag. Into this tube, through its upper extrem ity, he poured a s olution of potas h, previous ly obtained by burning and reduc ing to as hes various plants , and in this way the ac id and potas h c ould ac t on eac h other through the c lay. Cyrus Harding then took two s lips of zinc , one of whic h was plunged into azotic ac id, the other into a s olution of potas h. A c urrent was im m ediately produc ed, whic h was trans m itted from the s lip of zinc in the bottle to that in the tube, and the two s lips having been c onnec ted by a m etallic wire the s lip in the tube bec am e the pos itive pole, and that in the bottle the negative pole of the apparatus . E ac h bottle, therefore, produc ed as m any c urrents as united would be s uffic ient to produc e all the phenom ena of the elec tric telegraph. S uc h was the ingenious and very s im ple apparatus c ons truc ted by Cyrus Harding, an apparatus whic h would allow them to es tablis h a telegraphic c om m unic ation between Granite Hous e and the c orral. On the 6th of February was c om m enc ed the planting along the road to the c orral, of pos ts furnis hed with glas s ins ulators , and intended to s upport the wire. A few days after, the wire was extended, ready to produc e the elec tric c urrent at a rate of twenty thous and m iles a s ec ond. T wo batteries had been m anufac tured, one for Granite Hous e, the other for the c orral; for if it was nec es s ary the c orral s hould be able to c om m unic ate with Granite Hous e it m ight als o be us eful that Granite Hous e s hould be able to c om m unic ate with the c orral. A s to the rec eiver and m anipulator, they were very s im ple. A t the two s tations the wire was wound round a m agnet, that is to s ay, round a piec e of s oft iron s urrounded with a wire. T he c om m unic ation was thus es tablis hed between the two poles ; the c urrent, s tarting from the pos itive pole, travers ed the wire, pas s ed through the m agnet whic h was tem porarily m agnetized, and returned through the earth to the negative pole. If the c urrent was interrupted, the m agnet im m ediately bec am e unm agnetized. It was s uffic ient to plac e a plate of s oft iron before the m agnet, whic h, attrac ted during the pas s age of the c urrent, would fall bac k when the c urrent was interrupted. T his m ovem ent of the plate thus obtained, Harding c ould eas ily fas ten to it a needle arranged on a dial, bearing the letters of the alphabet, and in this way c om m unic ate from one s tation to the other. A ll was c om pletely arranged by the 12th of February. On this day, Harding, having s ent the c urrent through the wire, as ked if all was going on well at the c orral, and rec eived in a few m om ents a s atis fac tory reply from A yrton. P enc roft was wild with joy, and every m orning and evening he s ent a telegram to the c orral, whic h always rec eived an ans wer. T his m ode of c om m unic ation pres ented two very real advantages : firs tly, bec aus e it enabled them to as c ertain that A yrton was at the c orral; and s ec ondly, that he was thus not left c om pletely is olated. B es ides , Cyrus Harding never allowed a week to pas s without going to s ee him , and A yrton c am e from tim e to tim e to Granite Hous e, where he always found a c ordial welc om e. T he fine s eas on pas s ed away in the m ids t of the us ual work. T he res ourc es of the c olony, partic ularly in vegetables and c orn, inc reas ed from day to day, and the plants brought from T abor Is land had s uc c eeded perfec tly. T he plateau of P ros pec t Heights pres ented an enc ouraging as pec t. T he fourth harves t had been adm irable and it m ay be s uppos ed that no one thought of c ounting whether the four hundred thous and m illions of grains duly appeared in the c rop. However, P enc roft had thought of doing s o, but Cyrus Harding having told him that even if he m anaged to c ount three hundred grains a m inute, or nine thous and an hour, it would take him nearly five thous and five-hundred years to finis h his tas k, the hones t s ailor c ons idered it bes t to give up the idea. T he weather was s plendid, the tem perature very warm in the day tim e, but in the evening the s ea-breezes tem pered the heat of the atm os phere and proc ured c ool nights for the inhabitants of Granite Hous e. T here were, however, a few s torm s , whic h, although they were not of long duration, s wept over Linc oln Is land with extraordinary fury. T he lightning blazed and the thunder c ontinued to roll for s om e hours . A t this period the little c olony was extrem ely pros perous . T he tenants of the poultry-yard s warm ed, and they lived on the s urplus , but it bec am e nec es s ary to reduc e the population to a m ore m oderate num ber. T he pigs had already produc ed young, and it m ay be unders tood that their c are for thes e anim als abs orbed a great part of Neb and P enc roft's tim e. T he onagers , who had two pretty c olts , were m os t often m ounted by Gideon S pilett and Herbert, who had bec om e an exc ellent rider under the reporter's ins truc tion, and they als o harnes s ed them to the c art either for c arrying wood and c oal to Granite Hous e, or different m ineral produc tions required by the engineer. S everal expeditions were m ade about this tim e into the depths of the Far W es t Fores ts . T he explorers c ould venture there without having anything to fear from the heat, for the s un's rays s c arc ely penetrated through the thic k foliage s preading above their heads . T hey thus vis ited all the left bank of the Merc y, along whic h ran the road from the c orral to the m outh of Falls River. B ut in thes e exc urs ions the s ettlers took c are to be well arm ed, for they m et with s avage wild boars , with whic h they often had a tus s le. T hey als o, during this s eas on, m ade fierc e war agains t the jaguars . Gideon S pilett had vowed a s pec ial hatred agains t them , and his pupil Herbert s ec onded him well. A rm ed as they were, they no longer feared to m eet one of thos e beas ts . Herbert's c ourage was s uperb, and the reporter's s ang-froid as tonis hing. A lready twenty m agnific ent s kins ornam ented the dining-room of Granite Hous e, and if this c ontinued, the jaguar rac e would s oon be extinc t in the is land, the objec t aim ed at by the hunters . T he engineer s om etim es took part in the expeditions m ade to the unknown parts of the is land, whic h he s urveyed with great attention. It was for other trac es than thos e of anim als that he s earc hed the thic kets of the vas t fores t, but nothing s us pic ious ever appeared. Neither Top nor J up, who ac c om panied him , ever betrayed by their behavior that there was anything s trange there, and yet m ore than onc e again the dog barked at the m outh of the well, whic h the engineer had before explored without res ult. A t this tim e Gideon S pilett, aided by Herbert, took s everal views of the m os t pic tures que parts of the is land, by m eans of the photographic apparatus found in the c as es , and of whic h they had not as yet m ade any us e. T his apparatus , provided with a powerful objec t-glas s , was very c om plete. S ubs tanc es nec es s ary for the photographic reproduc tion, c ollodion for preparing the glas s plate, nitrate of s ilver to render it s ens itive, hypos ulfate of s oda to fix the prints obtained, c hloride of am m onium in whic h to s oak the paper des tined to give the pos itive proof, ac etate of s oda and c hloride of gold in whic h to im m ers e the paper, nothing was wanting. E ven the papers were there, all prepared, and before laying in the printing-fram e upon the negatives , it was s uffic ient to s oak them for a few m inutes in the s olution of nitrate of s ilver. T he reporter and his as s is tant bec am e in a s hort tim e very s kilful operators , and they obtained fine views of the c ountry, s uc h as the is land, taken from P ros pec t Heights with Mount Franklin in the dis tanc e, the m outh of the Merc y, s o pic tures quely fram ed in high roc ks , the glade and the c orral, with the s purs of the m ountain in the bac kground, the c urious developm ent of Claw Cape, Flots am P oint, etc . Nor did the photographers forget to take the portraits of all the inhabitants of the is land, leaving out no one. "It m ultiplies us ," s aid P enc roft. A nd the s ailor was enc hanted to s ee his own c ountenanc e, faithfully reproduc ed, ornam enting the walls of Granite Hous e, and he s topped as willingly before this exhibition as he would have done before the ric hes t s hop-windows in B roadway. B ut it m us t be ac knowledged that the m os t s uc c es s ful portrait was inc ontes tably that of Mas ter J up. Mas ter J up had s at with a gravity not to be des c ribed, and his portrait was lifelike! "He looks as if he was jus t going to grin! " exc laim ed P enc roft. A nd if Mas ter J up had not been s atis fied, he would have been very diffic ult to pleas e; but he was quite c ontented and c ontem plated his own c ountenanc e with a s entim ental air whic h expres s ed s om e s m all am ount of c onc eit. T he s um m er heat ended with the m onth of Marc h. T he weather was s om etim es rainy, but s till warm . T he m onth of Marc h, whic h c orres ponds to the S eptem ber of northern latitudes , was not s o fine as m ight have been hoped. P erhaps it announc ed an early and rigorous winter. It m ight have been s uppos ed one m orning--the 21 s t--that the firs t s now had already m ade its appearanc e. In fac t Herbert looking early from one of the windows of Granite Hous e, exc laim ed,-"Hallo! the is let is c overed with s now! " "S now at this tim e?" ans wered the reporter, joining the boy. T heir c om panions were s oon bes ide them , but c ould only as c ertain one thing, that not only the is let but all the beac h below Granite Hous e was c overed with one uniform s heet of white. "It m us t be s now! " s aid P enc roft. "Or rather it's very like it! " replied Neb. "B ut the therm om eter m arks fifty-eight degrees ! " obs erved Gideon S pilett. Cyrus Harding gazed at the s heet of white without s aying anything, for he really did not know how to explain this phenom enon, at this tim e of year and in s uc h a tem perature. "B y J ove! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "all our plants will be frozen! " A nd the s ailor was about to des c end, when he was prec eded by the nim ble J up, who s lid down to the s and. B ut the orang had not touc hed the ground, when the s nowy s heet aros e and dis pers ed in the air in s uc h innum erable flakes that the light of the s un was obs c ured for s om e m inutes . "B irds ! " c ried Herbert. T hey were indeed s warm s of s ea-birds , with dazzling white plum age. T hey had perc hed by thous ands on the is let and on the s hore, and they dis appeared in the dis tanc e, leaving the c olonis ts am azed as if they had been pres ent at s om e trans form ation s c ene, in whic h s um m er s uc c eeded winter at the touc h of a fairy's wand. Unfortunately the c hange had been s o s udden, that neither the reporter nor the lad had been able to bring down one of thes e birds , of whic h they c ould not rec ognize the s pec ies . A few days after c am e the 26th of Marc h, the day on whic h, two years before, the c as taways from the air had been thrown upon Linc oln Is land. Chapter 19 T wo years already! and for two years the c olonis ts had had no c om m unic ation with their fellow-c reatures ! T hey were without news from the c ivilized world, los t on this is land, as c om pletely as if they had been on the m os t m inute s tar of the c eles tial hem is phere! W hat was now happening in their c ountry? T he pic ture of their native land was always before their eyes , the land torn by c ivil war at the tim e they left it, and whic h the S outhern rebellion was perhaps s till s taining with blood! It was a great s orrow to them , and they often talked together of thes e things , without ever doubting however that the c aus e of the North m us t trium ph, for the honor of the A m eric an Confederation.

During thes e two years not a ves s el had pas s ed in s ight of the is land; or, at leas t, not a s ail had been s een. It was evident that Linc oln Is land was out of the us ual trac k, and als o that it was unknown,--as was bes ides proved by the m aps ,--for though there was no port, ves s els m ight have vis ited it for the purpos e of renewing their s tore of water. B ut the s urrounding oc ean was des erted as far as the eye c ould reac h, and the c olonis ts m us t rely on them s elves for regaining their native land. However, one c hanc e of res c ue exis ted, and this c hanc e was dis c us s ed one day on the firs t week of A pril, when the c olonis ts were gathered together in the dining-room of Granite Hous e. T hey had been talking of A m eric a, of their native c ountry, whic h they had s o little hope of ever s eeing again. "Dec idedly we have only one way, s aid S pilett, "one s ingle way for leaving Linc oln Is land, and that is , to build a ves s el large enough to s ail s everal hundred m iles . It appears to m e, that when one has built a boat it is jus t as eas y to build a s hip! " "A nd in whic h we m ight go to the P om outous ," added Herbert, "jus t as eas ily as we went to T abor Is land." "I do not s ay no," replied P enc roft, who had always the c as ting vote in m aritim e ques tions ; "I do not s ay no, although it is not exac tly the s am e thing to m ake a long as a s hort voyage! If our little c raft had been c aught in any heavy gale of wind during the voyage to Tabor Is land, we s hould have known that land was at no great dis tanc e either way; but twelve hundred m iles is a pretty long way, and the neares t land is at leas t that dis tanc e! " "W ould you not, in that c as e, P enc roft, attem pt the adventure?" as ked the reporter. "I will attem pt anything that is des ired, Mr. S pilett," ans wered the s ailor, "and you know well that I am not a m an to flinc h! " "Rem em ber, bes ides , that we num ber another s ailor am ongs t us now," rem arked Neb. "W ho is that?" as ked P enc roft. "A yrton." "If he will c ons ent to c om e," s aid P enc roft. "Nons ens e! " returned the reporter; "do you think that if Lord Glenarvan's yac ht had appeared at T abor Is land, while he was s till living there, A yrton would have refus ed to depart?" "You forget, m y friends ," then s aid Cyrus Harding, "that A yrton was not in pos s es s ion of his reas on during the las t years of his s tay there. B ut that is not the ques tion. T he point is to know if we m ay c ount am ong our c hanc es of being res c ued, the return of the S c otc h ves s el. Now, Lord Glenarvan prom is ed A yrton that he would return to take him off from T abor Is land when he c ons idered that his c rim es were expiated, and I believe that he will return." "Y es ," s aid the reporter, "and I will add that he will return s oon, for it is twelve years s inc e A yrton was abandoned." "W ell! " ans wered P enc roft, "I agree with you that the noblem an will return, and s oon too. B ut where will he touc h? A t T abor Is land, and not at Linc oln Is land." "T hat is the m ore c ertain," replied Herbert, "as Linc oln Is land is not even m arked on the m ap." "T herefore, m y friends ," s aid the engineer, "we ought to take the nec es s ary prec autions for m aking our pres enc e and that of A yrton on Linc oln Is land known at T abor Is land." "Certainly," ans wered the reporter, "and nothing is eas ier than to plac e in the hut, whic h was Captain Grant's and A yrton's dwelling, a notic e whic h Lord Glenarvan and his c rew c annot help finding, giving the pos ition of our is land." "It is a pity," rem arked the s ailor, "that we forgot to take that prec aution on our firs t vis it to T abor Is land." "A nd why s hould we have done it?" as ked Herbert. "A t that tim e we did not know A yrton's his tory; we did not know that any one was likely to c om e s om e day to fetc h him , and when we did know his his tory, the s eas on was too advanc ed to allow us to return then to T abor Is land." "Y es ," replied Harding, "it was too late, and we m us t put off the voyage until next s pring." "B ut s uppos e the S c otc h yac ht c om es before that," s aid P enc roft. "T hat is not probable," replied the engineer, "for Lord Glenarvan would not c hoos e the winter s eas on to venture into thes e s eas . E ither he has already returned to Tabor Is land, s inc e A yrton has been with us , that is to s ay, during the las t five m onths and has left again; or he will not c om e till later, and it will be tim e enough in the firs t fine Oc tober days to go to T abor Is land, and leave a notic e there." "W e m us t allow," s aid Neb, "that it will be very unfortunate if the 'Dunc an' has returned to thes e parts only a few m onths ago! " "I hope that it is not s o," replied Cyrus Harding, "and that Heaven has not deprived us of the bes t c hanc e whic h rem ains to us ." "I think," obs erved the reporter, "that at any rate we s hall know what we have to depend on when we have been to T abor Is land, for if the yac ht has returned there, they will nec es s arily have left s om e trac es of their vis it." "T hat is evident," ans wered the engineer. "S o then, m y friends , s inc e we have this c hanc e of returning to our c ountry, we m us t wait patiently, and if it is taken from us we s hall s ee what will be bes t to do." "A t any rate," rem arked P enc roft, "it is well unders tood that if we do leave Linc oln Is land, it will not be bec aus e we were unc om fortable there! " "No, P enc roft," replied the engineer, "it will be bec aus e we are far from all that a m an holds deares t in the world, his fam ily, his friends , his native land! " Matters being thus dec ided, the building of a ves s el large enough to s ail either to the A rc hipelagoes in the north, or to New Zealand in the wes t, was no longer talked of, and they bus ied them s elves in their ac c us tom ed oc c upations , with a view to wintering a third tim e in Granite Hous e. However, it was agreed that before the s torm y weather c am e on, their little ves s el s hould be em ployed in m aking a voyage round the is land. A c om plete s urvey of the c oas t had not yet been m ade, and the c olonis ts had but an im perfec t idea of the s hore to the wes t and north, from the m outh of Falls River to the Mandible Capes , as well as of the narrow bay between them , whic h opened like a s hark's jaws . T he plan of this exc urs ion was propos ed by P enc roft, and Cyrus Harding fully ac quies c ed in it, for he him s elf wis hed to s ee this part of his dom ain. T he weather was variable, but the barom eter did not fluc tuate by s udden m ovem ents , and they c ould therefore c ount on tolerable weather. However, during the firs t week of A pril, after a s udden barom etric al fall, a renewed ris e was m arked by a heavy gale of wind, las ting five or s ix days ; then the needle of the ins trum ent rem ained s tationary at a height of twenty-nine inc hes and nine-tenths , and the weather appeared propitious for an exc urs ion. T he departure was fixed for the 16th of A pril, and the "B onadventure," anc hored in P ort B alloon, was provis ioned for a voyage whic h m ight be of s om e duration. Cyrus Harding inform ed A yrton of the projec ted expedition, and propos ed that he s hould take part in it, but A yrton preferring to rem ain on s hore, it was dec ided that he s hould c om e to Granite Hous e during the abs enc e of his c om panions . Mas ter J up was ordered to keep him c om pany, and m ade no rem ons tranc e. On the m orning of the 16th of A pril all the c olonis ts , inc luding Top, em barked. A fine breeze blew from the s outh-wes t, and the "B onadventure" tac ked on leaving P ort B alloon s o as to reac h Reptile E nd. Of the ninety m iles whic h the perim eter of the is land m eas ured, twenty inc luded the s outh c oas t between the port and the prom ontory. T he wind being right ahead it was nec es s ary to hug the s hore. It took the whole day to reac h the prom ontory, for the ves s el on leaving port had only two hours of ebb tide and had therefore to m ake way for s ix hours agains t the flood. It was nightfall before the prom ontory was doubled. T he s ailor then propos ed to the engineer that they s hould c ontinue s ailing s lowly with two reefs in the s ail. B ut Harding preferred to anc hor a few c able-lengths from the s hore, s o as to s urvey that part of the c oas t during the day. It was agreed als o that as they were anxious for a m inute exploration of the c oas t they s hould not s ail during the night, but would always , when the weather perm itted it, be at anc hor near the s hore. T he night was pas s ed under the prom ontory, and the wind having fallen, nothing dis turbed the s ilenc e. T he pas s engers , with the exc eption of the s ailor, s c arc ely s lept as well on board the "B onadventure" as they would have done in their room s at Granite Hous e, but they did s leep however. P enc roft s et s ail at break of day, and by going on the larboard tac k they c ould keep c los e to the s hore. T he c olonis ts knew this beautiful wooded c oas t, s inc e they had already explored it on foot, and yet it again exc ited their adm iration. T hey c oas ted along as c los e in as pos s ible, s o as to notic e everything, avoiding always the trunks of trees whic h floated here and there. S everal tim es als o they anc hored, and Gideon S pilett took photographs of the s uperb s c enery. A bout noon the "B onadventure" arrived at the m outh of Falls River. B eyond, on the left bank, a few s c attered trees appeared, and three m iles further even thes e dwindled into s olitary groups am ong the wes tern s purs of the m ountain, whos e arid ridge s loped down to the s hore. W hat a c ontras t between the northern and s outhern part of the c oas t! In proportion as one was woody and fertile s o was the other rugged and barren! It m ight have been des ignated as one of thos e iron c oas ts , as they are c alled in s om e c ountries , and its wild c onfus ion appeared to indic ate that a s udden c rys tallization had been produc ed in the yet liquid bas alt of s om e dis tant geologic al s ea. T hes e s tupendous m as s es would have terrified the s ettlers if they had been c as t at firs t on this part of the is land! T hey had not been able to perc eive the s inis ter as pec t of this s hore from the s um m it of Mount Franklin, for they overlooked it from too great a height, but viewed from the s ea it pres ented a wild appearanc e whic h c ould not perhaps be equaled in any c orner of the globe. T he "B onadventure" s ailed along this c oas t for the dis tanc e of half a m ile. It was eas y to s ee that it was c om pos ed of bloc ks of all s izes , from twenty to three hundred feet in height, and of all s hapes , round like towers , pris m atic like s teeples , pyram idal like obelis ks , c onic al like fac tory c him neys . A n ic eberg of the P olar s eas c ould not have been m ore c apric ious in its terrible s ublim ity! Here, bridges were thrown from one roc k to another; there, arc hes like thos e of a wave, into the depths of whic h the eye c ould not penetrate; in one plac e, large vaulted exc avations pres ented a m onum ental as pec t; in another, a c rowd of c olum ns , s pires , and arc hes , s uc h as no Gothic c athedral ever pos s es s ed. E very c apric e of nature, s till m ore varied than thos e of the im agination, appeared on this grand c oas t, whic h extended over a length of eight or nine m iles . Cyrus Harding and his c om panions gazed, with a feeling of s urpris e bordering on s tupefac tion. B ut, although they rem ained s ilent, Top, not being troubled with feelings of this s ort, uttered barks whic h were repeated by the thous and ec hoes of the bas altic c liff. T he engineer even obs erved that thes e barks had s om ething s trange in them , like thos e whic h the dog had uttered at the m outh of the well in Granite Hous e. "Let us go c los e in," s aid he. A nd the "B onadventure" s ailed as near as pos s ible to the roc ky s hore. P erhaps s om e c ave, whic h it would be advis able to explore, exis ted there? B ut Harding s aw nothing, not a c avern, not a c left whic h c ould s erve as a retreat to any being whatever, for the foot of the c liff was was hed by the s urf. S oon Top's barks c eas ed, and the ves s el c ontinued her c ours e at a few c ables -length from the c oas t. In the northwes t part of the is land the s hore bec am e again flat and s andy. A few trees here and there ros e above a low, m ars hy ground, whic h the c olonis ts had already s urveyed, and in violent c ontras t to the other des ert s hore, life was again m anifes ted by the pres enc e of m yriads of water-fowl. T hat evening the "B onadventure" anc hored in a s m all bay to the north of the is land, near the land, s uc h was the depth of water there. T he night pas s ed quietly, for the breeze died away with the las t light of day, and only ros e again with the firs t s treaks of dawn. A s it was eas y to land, the us ual hunters of the c olony, that is to s ay, Herbert and Gideon S pilett, went for a ram ble of two hours or s o, and returned with s everal s trings of wild duc k and s nipe. T op had done wonders , and not a bird had been los t, thanks to his zeal and c levernes s . A t eight o'c loc k in the m orning the "B onadventure" s et s ail, and ran rapidly towards North Mandible Cape, for the wind was right as tern and fres hening rapidly. "However," obs erved P enc roft, "I s hould not be s urpris ed if a gale c am e up from the wes t. Y es terday the s un s et in a very red-looking horizon, and now, this m orning, thos e m ares -tails don't forbode anything good." T hes e m ares -tails are c irrus c louds , s c attered in the zenith, their height from the s ea being les s than five thous and feet. T hey look like light piec es of c otton wool, and their pres enc e us ually announc es s om e s udden c hange in the weather. "W ell," s aid Harding, "let us c arry as m uc h s ail as pos s ible, and run for s helter into S hark Gulf. I think that the 'B onadventure' will be s afe there." "P erfec tly," replied P enc roft, "and bes ides , the north c oas t is m erely s and, very uninteres ting to look at." "I s hall not be s orry," res um ed the engineer, "to pas s not only to-night but to-m orrow in that bay, whic h is worth being c arefully explored." "I think that we s hall be obliged to do s o, whether we like it or not," ans wered P enc roft, "for the s ky looks very threatening towards the wes t. Dirty weather is c om ing on! " "A t any rate we have a favorable wind for reac hing Cape Mandible," obs erved the reporter. "A very fine wind," replied the s ailor; "but we m us t tac k to enter the gulf, and I s hould like to s ee m y way c lear in thes e unknown quarters ." "Quarters whic h appear to be filled with roc ks ," added Herbert, "if we judge by what we s aw on the s outh c oas t of S hark Gulf." "P enc roft," s aid Cyrus Harding, "do as you think bes t, we will leave it to you." "Don't m ake your m ind uneas y, c aptain," replied the s ailor, "I s hall not expos e m ys elf needles s ly! I would rather a knife were run into m y ribs than a s harp roc k into thos e of m y 'B onadventure! '" T hat whic h P enc roft c alled ribs was the pan of his ves s el under water, and he valued it m ore than his own s kin. "W hat o'c loc k is it?" as ked P enc roft. "T en o'c loc k," replied Gideon S pilett. "A nd what dis tanc e is it to the Cape, c aptain?" "A bout fifteen m iles ," replied the engineer. "T hat's a m atter of two hours and a half," s aid the s ailor, "and we s hall be off the Cape between twelve and one o'c loc k. Unluc kily, the tide will be turning at that m om ent, and will be ebbing out of the gulf. I am afraid that it will be very diffic ult to get in, having both wind and tide agains t us ." "A nd the m ore s o that it is a full m oon to-day," rem arked Herbert, "and thes e A pril tides are very s trong." "W ell, P enc roft," as ked Harding, "c an you not anc hor off the Cape?" "A nc hor near land, with bad weather c om ing on! " exc laim ed the s ailor. "W hat are you thinking of, c aptain? W e s hould run aground, of a c ertainty! " "W hat will you do then?" "I s hall try to keep in the offing until the flood, that is to s ay, till about s even in the evening, and if there is s till light enough I will try to enter the gulf; if not, we m us t s tand off and on during the night, and we will enter to-m orrow at s unris e." "A s I told you, P enc roft, we will leave it to you," ans wered Harding. "A h! " s aid P enc roft, "if there was only a lighthous e on the c oas t, it would be m uc h m ore c onvenient for s ailors ." "Y es ," replied Herbert, "and this tim e we s hall have no obliging engineer to light a fire to guide us into port! " "W hy, indeed, m y dear Cyrus ," s aid S pilett, "we have never thanked you; but frankly, without that fire we s hould never have been able--" "A fire?" as ked Harding, m uc h as tonis hed at the reporter's words . "W e m ean, c aptain," ans wered P enc roft, "that on board the 'B onadventure' we were very anxious during the few hours before our return, and we s hould have pas s ed to windward of the is land, if it had not been for the prec aution you took of lighting a fire the night of the 19th of Oc tober, on P ros pec t Heights ." "Y es , yes ! T hat was a luc ky idea of m ine! " replied the engineer. "A nd this tim e," c ontinued the s ailor. "unles s the idea oc c urs to A yrton, there will be no one to do us that little s ervic e! " "No! No one! " ans wered Cyrus Harding. A few m inutes after, finding him s elf alone in the bows of the ves s el, with the reporter, the engineer bent down and whis pered,-"If there is one thing c ertain in this world, S pilett, it is that I never lighted any fire during the night of the 19th of Oc tober, neither on P ros pec t Heights nor on any other part of the is land! " Chapter 20 T hings happened as P enc roft had predic ted, he being s eldom m is taken in his prognos tic ations . T he wind ros e, and from a fres h breeze it s oon inc reas ed to a regular gale; that is to s ay, it ac quired a s peed of from forty to forty-five m iles an hour, before whic h a s hip in the open s ea would have run under c los ereefed tops ails . Now, as it was nearly s ix o'c loc k when the "B onadventure" reac hed the gulf, and as at that m om ent the tide turned, it was im pos s ible to enter. T hey were therefore c om pelled to s tand off, for even if he had wis hed to do s o, P enc roft c ould not have gained the m outh of the Merc y. Hois ting the jib to the m ainm as t by way of a s torm -s ail, he hove to, putting the head of the ves s el towards the land. Fortunately, although the wind was s trong the s ea, being s heltered by the land, did not run very high. T hey had then little to fear from the waves , whic h always endanger s m all c raft. T he "B onadventure" would doubtles s ly not have c aps ized, for s he was well ballas ted, but enorm ous m as s es of water falling on the dec k m ight injure her if her tim bers c ould not s us tain them . P enc roft, as a good s ailor, was prepared for anything. Certainly, he had great c onfidenc e in his ves s el, but nevertheles s he awaited the return of day with s om e anxiety. During the night, Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett had no opportunity for talking together, and yet the words pronounc ed in the reporter's ear by the engineer were well worth being dis c us s ed, together with the m ys terious influenc e whic h appeared to reign over Linc oln Is land. Gideon S pilett did not c eas e from pondering over this new and inexplic able inc ident, the appearanc e of a fire on the c oas t of the is land. T he fire had ac tually been s een! His c om panions , Herbert and P enc roft, had s een it with him ! T he fire had s erved to s ignalize the pos ition of the is land during that dark night, and they had not doubted that it was lighted by the engineer's hand; and here was Cyrus Harding expres s ly dec laring that he had never done anything of the s ort! S pilett res olved to rec ur to this inc ident as s oon as the "B onadventure" returned, and to urge Cyrus Harding to ac quaint their c om panions with thes e s trange fac ts . P erhaps it would be dec ided to m ake in c om m on a c om plete inves tigation of every part of Linc oln Is land. However that m ight be, on this evening no fire was lighted on thes e yet unknown s hores , whic h form ed the entranc e to the gulf, and the little ves s el s tood off during the night. W hen the firs t s treaks of dawn appeared in the wes tern horizon, the wind, whic h had s lightly fallen, s hifted two points , and enabled P enc roft to enter the narrow gulf with greater eas e. Towards s even o'c loc k in the m orning, the "B onadventure," weathering the North Mandible Cape, entered the s trait and glided on to the waters , s o s trangely enc los ed in the fram e of lava. "W ell," s aid P enc roft, "this bay would m ake adm irable roads , in whic h a whole fleet c ould lie at their eas e! " "W hat is es pec ially c urious ," obs erved Harding, "is that the gulf has been form ed by two rivers of lava, thrown out by the volc ano, and ac c um ulated by s uc c es s ive eruptions . T he res ult is that the gulf is c om pletely s heltered on all s ides , and I believe that even in the s torm ies t weather, the s ea here m us t be as c alm as a lake." "No doubt," returned the s ailor, "s inc e the wind has only that narrow entranc e between the two c apes to get in by, and, bes ides , the north c ape protec ts that of the s outh in a way whic h would m ake the entranc e of gus ts very diffic ult. I dec lare our 'B onadventure' c ould s tay here from one end of the year to the other, without even dragging at her anc hor! " "It is rather large for her! " obs erved the reporter. "W ell! Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "I agree that it is too large for the 'B onadventure,' but if the fleets of the Union were in want of a harbor in the P ac ific , I don't think they would ever find a better plac e than this ! " "W e are in the s hark's m outh," rem arked Nab, alluding to the form of the gulf. "Right into its m outh, m y hones t Nab! " replied Herbert, "but you are not afraid that it will s hut upon us , are you?" "No, Mr. Herbert," ans wered Neb, "and yet this gulf here does n't pleas e m e m uc h! It has a wic ked look! " "Hallo! " c ried P enc roft, "here is Neb turning up his nos e at m y gulf, jus t as I was thinking of pres enting it to A m eric a! " "B ut, at any rate, is the water deep enough?" as ked the engineer, "for a depth s uffic ient for the keel of the 'B onadventure' would not be enough for thos e of our iron-c lads ." "T hat is eas ily found out," replied P enc roft. A nd the s ailor s ounded with a long c ord, whic h s erved him as a lead-line, and to whic h was fas tened a lum p of iron. T his c ord m eas ured nearly fifty fathom s , and its entire length was unrolled without finding any bottom . "T here," exc laim ed P enc roft, "our iron-c lads c an c om e here after all! T hey would not run aground! " "Indeed," s aid Gideon S pilett, "this gulf is a regular abys s , but, taking into c ons ideration the volc anic origin of the is land, it is not as tonis hing that the s ea s hould offer s im ilar depres s ions ." "One would s ay too," obs erved Herbert, "that thes e c liffs were perfec tly perpendic ular; and I believe that at their foot, even with a line five or s ix tim es longer, P enc roft would not find bottom ." "T hat is all very well," then s aid the reporter, "but I m us t point out to P enc roft that his harbor is wanting in one very im portant res pec t! " "A nd what is that, Mr. S pilett?" "A n opening, a c utting of s om e s ort, to give ac c es s to the interior of the is land. I do not s ee a s pot on whic h we c ould land." A nd, in fac t, the s teep lava c liffs did not afford a s ingle plac e s uitable for landing. T hey form ed an ins uperable barrier, rec alling, but with m ore wildnes s , the fiords of Norway. T he "B onadventure," c oas ting as c los e as pos s ible along the c liffs , did not dis c over even a projec tion whic h would allow the pas s engers to leave the dec k. P enc roft c ons oled him s elf by s aying that with the help of a m ine they c ould s oon open out the c liff when that was nec es s ary, and then, as there was evidently nothing to be done in the gulf, he s teered his ves s el towards the s trait and pas s ed out at about two o'c loc k in the afternoon. "A h! " s aid Nab, uttering a s igh of s atis fac tion.

One m ight really s ay that the hones t Negro did not feel at his eas e in thos e enorm ous jaws . T he dis tanc e from Mandible Cape to the m outh of the Merc y was not m ore than eight m iles . T he head of the "B onadventure" was put towards Granite Hous e, and a fair wind filling her s ails , s he ran rapidly along the c oas t. T o the enorm ous lava roc ks s uc c eeded s oon thos e c apric ious s and dunes , am ong whic h the engineer had been s o s ingularly rec overed, and whic h s eabirds frequented in thous ands . A bout four o'c loc k, P enc roft leaving the point of the is let on his left, entered the c hannel whic h s eparated it from the c oas t, and at five o'c loc k the anc hor of the "B onadventure" was buried in the s and at the m outh of the Merc y. T he c olonis ts had been abs ent three days from their dwelling. A yrton was waiting for them on the beac h, and J up c am e joyous ly to m eet them , giving vent to deep grunts of s atis fac tion. A c om plete exploration of the c oas t of the is land had now been m ade, and no s us pic ious appearanc es had been obs erved. If any m ys terious being res ided on it, it c ould only be under c over of the im penetrable fores t of the S erpentine P enins ula, to whic h the c olonis ts had not yet direc ted their inves tigations . Gideon S pilett dis c us s ed thes e things with the engineer, and it was agreed that they s hould direc t the attention of their c om panions to the s trange c harac ter of c ertain inc idents whic h had oc c urred on the is land, and of whic h the las t was the m os t unac c ountable. However, Harding, returning to the fac t of a fire having been kindled on the s hore by an unknown hand, c ould not refrain from repeating for the twentieth tim e to the reporter,-"B ut are you quite s ure of having s een it? W as it not a partial eruption of the volc ano, or perhaps s om e m eteor?" "No, Cyrus ," ans wered the reporter, "it was c ertainly a fire lighted by the hand of m an. B es ides ; ques tion P enc roft and Herbert. T hey s aw it as I s aw it m ys elf, and they will c onfirm m y words ." In c ons equenc e, therefore, a few days after, on the 25th of A pril, in the evening, when the s ettlers were all c ollec ted on P ros pec t Heights , Cyrus Harding began by s aying,-"My friends , I think it m y duty to c all your attention to c ertain inc idents whic h have oc c urred in the is land, on the s ubjec t of whic h I s hall be happy to have your advic e. T hes e inc idents are, s o to s peak, s upernatural--" "S upernatural! " exc laim ed the s ailor, em itting a volum e of s m oke from his m outh. "Can it be pos s ible that our is land is s upernatural?" "No, P enc roft, but m ys terious , m os t c ertainly," replied the engineer; "unles s you c an explain that whic h S pilett and I have until now failed to unders tand." "S peak away, c aptain," ans wered the s ailor. "W ell, have you unders tood," then s aid the engineer, "how was it that after falling into the s ea, I was found a quarter of a m ile into the interior of the is land, and that, without m y having any c ons c ious nes s of m y rem oval there?" "Unles s , being unc ons c ious --" s aid P enc roft. "T hat is not adm is s ible," replied the engineer. "B ut to c ontinue. Have you unders tood how T op was able to dis c over your retreat five m iles from the c ave in whic h I was lying?" "T he dog's ins tinc t--" obs erved Herbert. "S ingular ins tinc t! " returned the reporter, "s inc e notwiths tanding the s torm of rain and wind whic h was raging during that night, T op arrived at the Chim neys , dry and without a s pec k of m ud! " "Let us c ontinue," res um ed the engineer. "Have you unders tood how our dog was s o s trangely thrown up out of the water of the lake, after his s truggle with the dugong?" "No! I c onfes s , not at all," replied P enc roft, "and the wound whic h the dugong had in its s ide, a wound whic h s eem ed to have been m ade with a s harp ins trum ent; that c an't be unders tood, either." "Let us c ontinue again," s aid Harding. "Have you unders tood, m y friends , how that bullet got into the body of the young pec c ary; how that c as e happened to be s o fortunately s tranded, without there being any trac e of a wrec k; how that bottle c ontaining the doc um ent pres ented its elf s o opportunely, during our firs t s ea-exc urs ion; how our c anoe, having broken its m oorings , floated down the c urrent of the Merc y and rejoined us at the very m om ent we needed it; how after the ape invas ion the ladder was s o obligingly thrown down from Granite Hous e; and las tly, how the doc um ent, whic h A yrton as s erts was never written by him , fell into our hands ?" A s Cyrus Harding thus enum erated, without forgetting one, the s ingular inc idents whic h had oc c urred in the is land, Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft s tared at eac h other, not knowing what to reply, for this s uc c es s ion of inc idents , grouped thus for the firs t tim e, c ould not but exc ite their s urpris e to the highes t degree. "'P on m y word," s aid P enc roft at las t, "you are right, c aptain, and it is diffic ult to explain all thes e things ! " "W ell, m y friends ," res um ed the engineer, "a las t fac t has jus t been added to thes e, and it is no les s inc om prehens ible than the others ! " "W hat is it, c aptain?" as ked Herbert quic kly. "W hen you were returning from T abor Is land, P enc roft," c ontinued the engineer, "you s aid that a fire appeared on Linc oln Is land?" "Certainly," ans wered the s ailor. "A nd you are quite c ertain of having s een this fire?" "A s s ure as I s ee you now." "Y ou als o, Herbert?" "W hy, c aptain," c ried Herbert, "that fire was blazing like a s tar of the firs t m agnitude! " "B ut was it not a s tar?" urged the engineer. "No," replied P enc roft, "for the s ky was c overed with thic k c louds , and at any rate a s tar would not have been s o low on the horizon. B ut Mr. S pilett s aw it as well as we, and he will c onfirm our words ." "I will add," s aid the reporter, "that the fire was very bright, and that it s hot up like a s heet of lightning." "Y es , yes ! exac tly," added Herbert, "and it was c ertainly plac ed on the heights of Granite Hous e." "W ell, m y friends ," replied Cyrus Harding, "during the night of the 19th of Oc tober, neither Neb nor I lighted any fire on the c oas t." "Y ou did not! " exc laim ed P enc roft, in the height of his as tonis hm ent, not being able to finis h his s entenc e. "W e did not leave Granite Hous e," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "and if a fire appeared on the c oas t, it was lighted by another hand than ours ! " P enc roft, Herbert, and Neb were s tupefied. No illus ion c ould be pos s ible, and a fire had ac tually m et their eyes during the night of the 19th of Oc tober. Yes ! they had to ac knowledge it, a m ys tery exis ted! A n inexplic able influenc e, evidently favorable to the c olonis ts , but very irritating to their c urios ity, was exec uted always in the nic k of tim e on Linc oln Is land. Could there be s om e being hidden in its profoundes t rec es s es ? It was nec es s ary at any c os t to as c ertain this . Harding als o rem inded his c om panions of the s ingular behavior of Top and J up when they prowled round the m outh of the well, whic h plac ed Granite Hous e in c om m unic ation with the s ea, and he told them that he had explored the well, without dis c overing anything s us pic ious . T he final res olve taken, in c ons equenc e of this c onvers ation, by all the m em bers of the c olony, was that as s oon as the fine s eas on returned they would thoroughly s earc h the whole of the is land. B ut from that day P enc roft appeared to be anxious . He felt as if the is land whic h he had m ade his own pers onal property belonged to him entirely no longer, and that he s hared it with another m as ter, to whom , willing or not, he felt s ubjec t. Neb and he often talked of thos e unac c ountable things , and both, their natures inc lining them to the m arvelous , were not far from believing that Linc oln Is land was under the dom inion of s om e s upernatural power. In the m eanwhile, the bad weather c am e with the m onth of May, the Novem ber of the northern zones . It appeared that the winter would be s evere and forward. T he preparations for the winter s eas on were therefore c om m enc ed without delay. Nevertheles s , the c olonis ts were well prepared to m eet the winter, however hard it m ight be. T hey had plenty of felt c lothing, and the m us m ons , very num erous by this tim e, had furnis hed an abundanc e of wool nec es s ary for the m anufac ture of this warm m aterial. It is unnec es s ary to s ay that A yrton had been provided with this c om fortable c lothing. Cyrus Harding propos ed that he s hould c om e to s pend the bad s eas on with them in Granite Hous e, where he would be better lodged than at the c orral, and A yrton prom is ed to do s o, as s oon as the las t work at the c orral was finis hed. He did this towards the m iddle of A pril. From that tim e A yrton s hared the c om m on life, and m ade him s elf us eful on all oc c as ions ; but s till hum ble and s ad, he never took part in the pleas ures of his c om panions . For the greater part of this , the third winter whic h the s ettlers pas s ed in Linc oln Is land, they were c onfined to Granite Hous e. T here were m any violent s torm s and frightful tem pes ts , whic h appeared to s hake the roc ks to their very foundations . Im m ens e waves threatened to overwhelm the is land, and c ertainly any ves s el anc hored near the s hore would have been das hed to piec es . T wic e, during one of thes e hurric anes , the Merc y s welled to s uc h a degree as to give reas on to fear that the bridges would be s wept away, and it was nec es s ary to s trengthen thos e on the s hore, whic h dis appeared under the foam ing waters , when the s ea beat agains t the beac h. It m ay well be s uppos ed that s uc h s torm s , c om parable to water-s pouts in whic h were m ingled rain and s now, would c aus e great havoc on the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . T he m ill and the poultry-yard partic ularly s uffered. T he c olonis ts were often obliged to m ake im m ediate repairs , without whic h the s afety of the birds would have been s erious ly threatened. During the wors t weather, s everal jaguars and troops of quadrum ana ventured to the edge of the plateau, and it was always to be feared that the m os t ac tive and audac ious would, urged by hunger, m anage to c ros s the s tream , whic h bes ides , when frozen, offered them an eas y pas s age. P lantations and dom es tic anim als would then have been infallibly des troyed, without a c ons tant watc h, and it was often nec es s ary to m ake us e of the guns to keep thos e dangerous vis itors at a res pec tful dis tanc e. Oc c upation was not wanting to the c olonis ts , for without rec koning their out-door c ares , they had always a thous and plans for the fitting up of Granite Hous e. T hey had als o s om e fine s porting exc urs ions , whic h were m ade during the fros t in the vas t Tadorn Mars h. Gideon S pilett and Herbert, aided by J up and Top, did not m is s a s hot in the m ids t of m yriads of wild-duc k, s nipe, teal, and others . T he ac c es s to thes e hunting-grounds was eas y; bes ides , whether they reac hed them by the road to P ort B alloon, after having pas s ed the Merc y B ridge, or by turning the roc ks from Flots am P oint, the hunters were never dis tant from Granite Hous e m ore than two or three m iles . T hus pas s ed the four winter m onths , whic h were really rigorous , that is to s ay, J une, J uly, A ugus t, and S eptem ber. B ut, in s hort, Granite Hous e did not s uffer m uc h from the inc lem enc y of the weather, and it was the s am e with the c orral, whic h, les s expos ed than the plateau, and s heltered partly by Mount Franklin, only rec eived the rem ains of the hurric anes , already broken by the fores ts and the high roc ks of the s hore. T he dam ages there were c ons equently of s m all im portanc e, and the ac tivity and s kill of A yrton prom ptly repaired them , when s om e tim e in Oc tober he returned to pas s a few days in the c orral. During this winter, no fres h inexplic able inc ident oc c urred. Nothing s trange happened, although P enc roft and Neb were on the watc h for the m os t ins ignific ant fac ts to whic h they attac hed any m ys terious c aus e. Top and J up them s elves no longer growled round the well or gave any s igns of uneas ines s . It appeared, therefore, as if the s eries of s upernatural inc idents was interrupted, although they often talked of them during the evenings in Granite Hous e, and they rem ained thoroughly res olved that the is land s hould be s earc hed, even in thos e parts the m os t diffic ult to explore. B ut an event of the highes t im portanc e, and of whic h the c ons equenc es m ight be terrible, m om entarily diverted from their projec ts Cyrus Harding and his c om panions . It was the m onth of Oc tober. T he fine s eas on was s wiftly returning. Nature was reviving; and am ong the evergreen foliage of the c oniferae whic h form ed the border of the wood, already appeared the young leaves of the banks ias , deodars , and other trees . It m ay be rem em bered that Gideon S pilett and Herbert had, at different tim es , taken photographic views of Linc oln Is land. Now, on the 17th of this m onth of Oc tober, towards three o'c loc k in the afternoon, Herbert, entic ed by the c harm s of the s ky, thought of reproduc ing Union B ay, whic h was oppos ite to P ros pec t Heights , from Cape Mandible to Claw Cape. T he horizon was beautifully c lear, and the s ea, undulating under a s oft breeze, was as c alm as the waters of a lake, s parkling here and there under the s un's rays . T he apparatus had been plac ed at one of the windows of the dining-room at Granite Hous e, and c ons equently overlooked the s hore and the bay. Herbert proc eeded as he was ac c us tom ed to do, and the negative obtained, he went away to fix it by m eans of the c hem ic als depos ited in a dark nook of Granite Hous e. Returning to the bright light, and exam ining it well, Herbert perc eived on his negative an alm os t im perc eptible little s pot on the s ea horizon. He endeavored to m ake it dis appear by reiterated was hing, but c ould not ac c om plis h it. "It is a flaw in the glas s ," he thought. A nd then he had the c urios ity to exam ine this flaw with a s trong m agnifier whic h he uns c rewed from one of the teles c opes . B ut he had s c arc ely looked at it, when he uttered a c ry, and the glas s alm os t fell from his hands . Im m ediately running to the room in whic h Cyrus Harding then was , he extended the negative and m agnifier towards the engineer, pointing out the little s pot. Harding exam ined it; then s eizing his teles c ope he rus hed to the window. T he teles c ope, after having s lowly s wept the horizon, at las t s topped on the looked-for s pot, and Cyrus Harding, lowering it, pronounc ed one word only,-"A ves s el! " A nd in fac t a ves s el was in s ight, off Linc oln Is land! P ART 3 THE S E CRE T OF THE IS LAND Chapter 1 It was now two years and a half s inc e the c as taways from the balloon had been thrown on Linc oln Is land, and during that period there had been no c om m unic ation between them and their fellow-c reatures . Onc e the reporter had attem pted to c om m unic ate with the inhabited world by c onfiding to a bird a letter whic h c ontained the s ec ret of their s ituation, but that was a c hanc e on whic h it was im pos s ible to rec kon s erious ly. A yrton, alone, under the c irc um s tanc es whic h have been related, had c om e to join the little c olony. Now, s uddenly, on this day, the 17th of Oc tober, other m en had unexpec tedly appeared in s ight of the is land, on that des erted s ea! T here c ould be no doubt about it! A ves s el was there! B ut would s he pas s on, or would s he put into port? In a few hours the c olonis ts would definitely know what to expec t. Cyrus Harding and Herbert having im m ediately c alled Gideon S pilett, P enc roft, and Neb into the dining-room of Granite Hous e, told them what had happened. P enc roft, s eizing the teles c ope, rapidly s wept the horizon, and s topping on the indic ated point, that is to s ay, on that whic h had m ade the alm os t im perc eptible s pot on the photographic negative,-"I'm bles s ed but it is really a ves s el! " he exc laim ed, in a voic e whic h did not expres s any great am ount of s atis fac tion. "Is s he c om ing here?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "Im pos s ible to s ay anything yet," ans wered P enc roft, "for her rigging alone is above the horizon, and not a bit of her hull c an be s een." "W hat is to be done?" as ked the lad. "W ait," replied Harding. A nd for a c ons iderable tim e the s ettlers rem ained s ilent, given up to all the thoughts , and the em otions , all the fears , all the hopes , whic h were arous ed by this inc ident--the m os t im portant whic h had oc c urred s inc e their arrival in Linc oln Is land. Certainly, the c olonis ts were not in the s ituation of c as taways abandoned on a s terile is let, c ons tantly c ontending agains t a c ruel nature for their m is erable exis tenc e, and inc es s antly torm ented by the longing to return to inhabited c ountries . P enc roft and Neb, es pec ially, who felt them s elves at onc e s o happy and s o ric h, would not have left their is land without regret. T hey were ac c us tom ed, bes ides , to this new life in the m ids t of the dom ain whic h their intelligenc e had as it were c ivilized. B ut at any rate this s hip brought news from the world, perhaps even from their native land. It was bringing fellow-c reatures to them , and it m ay be c onc eived how deeply their hearts were m oved at the s ight! From tim e to tim e P enc roft took the glas s and res ted him s elf at the window. From thenc e he very attentively exam ined the ves s el, whic h was at a dis tanc e of twenty m iles to the eas t. T he c olonis ts had as yet, therefore, no m eans of s ignalizing their pres enc e. A flag would not have been perc eived; a gun would not have been heard; a fire would not have been vis ible. However, it was c ertain that the is land, overtopped by Mount Franklin, c ould not es c ape the notic e of the ves s el's lookout. B ut why was the s hip c om ing there? W as it s im ple c hanc e whic h brought it to that part of the P ac ific , where the m aps m entioned no land exc ept T abor Is land, whic h its elf was out of the route us ually followed by ves s els from the P olynes ian A rc hipelagoes , from New Zealand, and from the A m eric an c oas t? T o this ques tion, whic h eac h one as ked him s elf, a reply was s uddenly m ade by Herbert. "Can it be the 'Dunc an'?" he c ried. T he "Dunc an," as has been s aid, was Lord Glenarvan's yac ht, whic h had left A yrton on the is let, and whic h was to return there s om eday to fetc h him . Now, the is let was not s o far dis tant from Linc oln Is land, but that a ves s el, s tanding for the one, c ould pas s in s ight of the other. A hundred and fifty m iles only s eparated them in longitude, and s eventy in latitude. "W e m us t tell A yrton," s aid Gideon S pilett, "and s end for him im m ediately. He alone c an s ay if it is the 'Dunc an.'" T his was the opinion of all, and the reporter, going to the telegraphic apparatus whic h plac ed the c orral in c om m unic ation with Granite Hous e, s ent this telegram :--"Com e with all pos s ible s peed." In a few m inutes the bell s ounded. "I am c om ing," replied A yrton. T hen the s ettlers c ontinued to watc h the ves s el. "If it is the 'Dunc an,'" s aid Herbert, "A yrton will rec ognize her without diffic ulty, s inc e he s ailed on board her for s om e tim e." "A nd if he rec ognizes her," added P enc roft, "it will agitate him exc eedingly! " "Y es ," ans wered Cyrus Harding; "but now A yrton is worthy to return on board the 'Dunc an,' and pray Heaven that it is indeed Lord Glenarvan's yac ht, for I s hould be s us pic ious of any other ves s el. T hes e are ill-fam ed s eas , and I have always feared a vis it from Malay pirates to our is land." "W e c ould defend it,', c ried Herbert. "No doubt, m y boy," ans wered the engineer s m iling, "but it would be better not to have to defend it." "A us eles s obs ervation," s aid S pilett. "Linc oln Is land is unknown to navigators , s inc e it is not m arked even on the m os t rec ent m aps . Do you think, Cyrus , that that is a s uffic ient m otive for a s hip, finding hers elf unexpec tedly in s ight of new land, to try and vis it rather than avoid it?" "Certainly," replied P enc roft. "I think s o too," added the engineer. "It m ay even be s aid that it is the duty of a c aptain to c om e and s urvey any land or is land not yet known, and Linc oln Is land is in this pos ition." "W ell," s aid P enc roft, "s uppos e this ves s el c om es and anc hors there a few c ables -lengths from our is land, what s hall we do?" T his s udden ques tion rem ained at firs t without any reply. B ut Cyrus Harding, after s om e m om ents ' thought, replied in the c alm tone whic h was us ual to him ,-"W hat we s hall do, m y friends ? W hat we ought to do is this :--we will c om m unic ate with the s hip, we will take our pas s age on board her, and we will leave our is land, after having taken pos s es s ion of it in the nam e of the United S tates . T hen we will return with any who m ay wis h to follow us to c olonize it definitely, and endow the A m eric an Republic with a us eful s tation in this part of the P ac ific Oc ean! " "Hurrah! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "and that will be no s m all pres ent whic h we s hall m ake to our c ountry! T he c olonization is already alm os t finis hed; nam es are given to every part of the is land; there is a natural port, fres h water, roads , a telegraph, a doc kyard, and m anufac tories ; and there will be nothing to be done but to ins c ribe Linc oln Is land on the m aps ! " "B ut if anyone s eizes it in our abs enc e?" obs erved Gideon S pilett. "Hang it! " c ried the s ailor. "I would rather rem ain all alone to guard it: and trus t to P enc roft, they s houldn't s teal it from him , like a watc h from the poc ket of a s well! " For an hour it was im pos s ible to s ay with any c ertainty whether the ves s el was or was not s tanding towards Linc oln Is land. S he was nearer, but in what direc tion was s he s ailing? T his P enc roft c ould not determ ine. However, as the wind was blowing from the northeas t, in all probability the ves s el was s ailing on the s tarboard tac k. B es ides , the wind was favorable for bringing her towards the is land, and, the s ea being c alm , s he would not be afraid to approac h although the s hallows were not m arked on the c hart. T owards four o'c loc k--an hour after he had been s ent for--A yrton arrived at Granite Hous e. He entered the dining-room s aying,-"A t your s ervic e, gentlem en." Cyrus Harding gave him his hand, as was his c us tom to do, and, leading him to the window,-"A yrton," s aid he, "we have begged you to c om e here for an im portant reas on. A s hip is in s ight of the is land." A yrton at firs t paled s lightly, and for a m om ent his eyes bec am e dim ; then, leaning out the window, he s urveyed the horizon, but c ould s ee nothing. "T ake this teles c ope," s aid S pilett, "and look c arefully, A yrton, for it is pos s ible that this s hip m ay be the 'Dunc an' c om e to thes e s eas for the purpos e of taking you hom e again." "T he 'Dunc an! '" m urm ured A yrton. "A lready?" T his las t word es c aped A yrton's lips as if involuntarily, and his head drooped upon his hands . Did not twelve years ' s olitude on a des ert is land appear to him a s uffic ient expiation? Did not the penitent yet feel him s elf pardoned, either in his own eyes or in the eyes of others ? "No," s aid he, "no! it c annot be the 'Dunc an'! " "Look, A yrton," then s aid the engineer, "for it is nec es s ary that we s hould know beforehand what to expec t."

A yrton took the glas s and pointed it in the direc tion indic ated. During s om e m inutes he exam ined the horizon without m oving, without uttering a word. T hen,-"It is indeed a ves s el," s aid he, "but I do not think s he is the 'Dunc an.'" "W hy do you not think s o?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "B ec aus e the 'Dunc an' is a s team -yac ht, and I c annot perc eive any trac e of s m oke either above or near that ves s el." "P erhaps s he is s im ply s ailing," obs erved P enc roft. "T he wind is favorable for the direc tion whic h s he appears to be taking, and s he m ay be anxious to ec onom ize her c oal, being s o far from land." "It is pos s ible that you m ay be right, Mr. P enc roft," ans wered A yrton, "and that the ves s el has extinguis hed her fires . W e m us t wait until s he is nearer, and then we s hall s oon know what to expec t." S o s aying, A yrton s at down in a c orner of the room and rem ained s ilent. T he c olonis ts again dis c us s ed the s trange s hip, but A yrton took no part in the c onvers ation. A ll were in s uc h a m ood that they found it im pos s ible to c ontinue their work. Gideon S pilett and P enc roft were partic ularly nervous , going, c om ing, not able to rem ain s till in one plac e. Herbert felt m ore c urios ity. Neb alone m aintained his us ual c alm m anner. W as not his c ountry that where his m as ter was ? A s to the engineer, he rem ained plunged in deep thought, and in his heart feared rather than des ired the arrival of the s hip. In the m eanwhile, the ves s el was a little nearer the is land. W ith the aid of the glas s , it was as c ertained that s he was a brig, and not one of thos e Malay proas , whic h are generally us ed by the pirates of the P ac ific . It was , therefore, reas onable to believe that the engineer's apprehens ions would not be jus tified, and that the pres enc e of this ves s el in the vic inity of the is land was fraught with no danger. P enc roft, after a m inute exam ination, was able pos itively to affirm that the ves s el was rigged as a brig, and that s he was s tanding obliquely towards the c oas t, on the s tarboard tac k, under her tops ails and top- gallant-s ails . T his was c onfirm ed by A yrton. B ut by c ontinuing in this direc tion s he m us t s oon dis appear behind Claw Cape, as the wind was from the s outhwes t, and to watc h her it would be then nec es s ary to as c end the height of W as hington B ay, near P ort B alloon--a provoking c irc um s tanc e, for it was already five o'c loc k in the evening, and the twilight would s oon m ake any obs ervation extrem ely diffic ult. "W hat s hall we do when night c om es on?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "S hall we light a fire, s o as to s ignal our pres enc e on the c oas t?" T his was a s erious ques tion, and yet, although the engineer s till retained s om e of his pres entim ents , it was ans wered in the affirm ative. During the night the s hip m ight dis appear and leave for ever, and, this s hip gone, would another ever return to the waters of Linc oln Is land? W ho c ould fores ee what the future would then have in s tore for the c olonis ts ? "Y es ," s aid the reporter, "we ought to m ake known to that ves s el, whoever s he m ay be, that the is land is inhabited. T o neglec t the opportunity whic h is offered to us m ight be to c reate everlas ting regrets ." It was therefore dec ided that Neb and P enc roft s hould go to P ort B alloon, and that there, at nightfall, they s hould light an im m ens e fire, the blaze of whic h would nec es s arily attrac t the attention of the brig. B ut at the m om ent when Neb and the s ailor were preparing to leave Granite Hous e, the ves s el s uddenly altered her c ours e, and s tood direc tly for Union B ay. T he brig was a good s ailer, for s he approac hed rapidly. Neb and P enc roft put off their departure, therefore, and the glas s was put into A yrton's hands , that he m ight as c ertain for c ertain whether the s hip was or was not the "Dunc an." T he S c otc h yac ht was als o rigged as a brig. T he ques tion was , whether a c him ney c ould be dis c erned between the two m as ts of the ves s el, whic h was now at a dis tanc e of only five m iles . T he horizon was s till very c lear. T he exam ination was eas y, and A yrton s oon let the glas s fall again, s aying-"It is not the 'Dunc an'! It c ould not be! " P enc roft again brought the brig within the range of the teles c ope, and c ould s ee that s he was of between three and four hundred tons burden, wonderfully narrow, well-m as ted, adm irably built, and m us t be a very rapid s ailer. B ut to what nation did s he belong? T hat was diffic ult to s ay. "A nd yet," added the s ailor, "a flag is floating from her peak, but I c annot dis tinguis h the c olors of it." "In half an hour we s hall be c ertain about that," ans wered the reporter. "B es ides , it is very evident that the intention of the c aptain of this s hip is to land, and, c ons equently, if not today, to-m orrow at the lates t, we s hall m ake his ac quaintanc e." "Never m ind! " s aid P enc roft. "It is bes t to know whom we have to deal with, and I s hall not be s orry to rec ognize that fellow's c olors ! " A nd, while thus s peaking, the s ailor never left the glas s . T he day began to fade, and with the day the breeze fell als o. T he brig's ens ign hung in folds , and it bec am e m ore and m ore diffic ult to obs erve it. "It is not the A m eric an flag," s aid P enc roft from tim e to tim e, "nor the E nglis h, the red of whic h c ould be eas ily s een, nor the Frenc h or Germ an c olors , nor the white flag of Rus s ia, nor the yellow of S pain. One would s ay it was all one c olor. Let's s ee: in thes e s eas , what do we generally m eet with? T he Chilean flag?--but that is tri-c olor. B razilian?--it is green. J apanes e?--it is yellow and blac k, while this --" A t that m om ent the breeze blew out the unknown flag. A yrton s eizing the teles c ope whic h the s ailor had put down, put it to his eye, and in a hoars e voic e,-"T he blac k flag! " he exc laim ed. A nd indeed the s om ber bunting was floating from the m as t of the brig, and they had now good reas on for c ons idering her to be a s us pic ious ves s el! Had the engineer, then, been right in his pres entim ents ? W as this a pirate ves s el? Did s he s c our the P ac ific , c om peting with the Malay proas whic h s till infes t it? For what had s he c om e to look at the s hores of Linc oln Is land? W as it to them an unknown is land, ready to bec om e a m agazine for s tolen c argoes ? Had s he c om e to find on the c oas t a s heltered port for the winter m onths ? W as the s ettlers ' hones t dom ain des tined to be trans form ed into an infam ous refuge--the headquarters of the pirac y of the P ac ific ? A ll thes e ideas ins tinc tively pres ented them s elves to the c olonis ts ' im aginations . T here was no doubt, bes ides , of the s ignific ation whic h m us t be attac hed to the c olor of the hois ted flag. It was that of pirates ! It was that whic h the "Dunc an" would have c arried, had the c onvic ts s uc c eeded in their c rim inal des ign! No tim e was los t before dis c us s ing it. "My friends ," s aid Cyrus Harding, "perhaps this ves s el only wis hes to s urvey the c oas t of the is land. P erhaps her c rew will not land. T here is a c hanc e of it. However that m ay be, we ought to do everything we c an to hide our pres enc e here. T he windm ill on P ros pec t Heights is too eas ily s een. Let A yrton and Neb go and take down the s ails . W e m us t als o c onc eal the windows of Granite Hous e with thic k branc hes . A ll the fires m us t be extinguis hed, s o that nothing m ay betray the pres enc e of m en on the is land." "A nd our ves s el?" s aid Herbert. "Oh," ans wered P enc roft, "s he is s heltered in P ort B alloon, and I defy any of thos e ras c als there to find her! " T he engineer's orders were im m ediately exec uted. Neb and A yrton as c ended the plateau, and took the nec es s ary prec autions to c onc eal any indic ation of a s ettlem ent. W hile they were thus oc c upied, their c om panions went to the border of J ac am ar W ood, and brought bac k a large quantity of branc hes and c reepers , whic h would at s om e dis tanc e appear as natural foliage, and thus dis guis e the windows in the granite c liff. A t the s am e tim e, the am m unition and guns were plac ed ready s o as to be at hand in c as e of an unexpec ted attac k. W hen all thes e prec autions had been taken,-"My friends ," s aid Harding, and his voic e betrayed s om e em otion, "if the wretc hes endeavor to s eize Linc oln Is land, we s hall defend it--s hall we not?" "Y es , Cyrus ," replied the reporter, "and if nec es s ary we will die to defend it! " T he engineer extended his hand to his c om panions , who pres s ed it warm ly. A yrton rem ained in his c orner, not joining the c olonis ts . P erhaps he, the form er c onvic t, s till felt him s elf unworthy to do s o! Cyrus Harding unders tood what was pas s ing in A yrton's m ind, and going to him -"A nd you, A yrton," he as ked, "what will you do?" "My duty," ans wered A yrton. He then took up his s tation near the window and gazed through the foliage. It was now half-pas t s even. T he s un had dis appeared twenty m inutes ago behind Granite Hous e. Cons equently the E as tern horizon was bec om ing obs c ured. In the m eanwhile the brig c ontinued to advanc e towards Union B ay. S he was now not m ore than two m iles off, and exac tly oppos ite the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , for after having tac ked off Claw Cape, s he had drifted towards the north in the c urrent of the ris ing tide. One m ight have s aid that at this dis tanc e s he had already entered the vas t bay, for a s traight line drawn from Claw Cape to Cape Mandible would have res ted on her s tarboard quarter. W as the brig about to penetrate far into the bay? T hat was the firs t ques tion. W hen onc e in the bay, would s he anc hor there? T hat was the s ec ond. W ould s he not c ontent hers elf with only s urveying the c oas t, and s tand out to s ea again without landing her c rew? T hey would know this in an hour. T he c olonis ts c ould do nothing but wait. Cyrus Harding had not s een the s us pec ted ves s el hois t the blac k flag without deep anxiety. W as it not a direc t m enac e agains t the work whic h he and his c om panions had till now c onduc ted s o s uc c es s fully? Had thes e pirates --for the s ailors of the brig c ould be nothing els e--already vis ited the is land, s inc e on approac hing it they had hois ted their c olors . Had they form erly invaded it, s o that c ertain unac c ountable pec uliarities m ight be explained in this way? Did there exis t in the as yet unexplored parts s om e ac c om plic e ready to enter into c om m unic ation with them ? T o all thes e ques tions whic h he m entally as ked him s elf, Harding knew not what to reply; but he felt that the s afety of the c olony c ould not but be s erious ly threatened by the arrival of the brig. However, he and his c om panions were determ ined to fight to the las t gas p. It would have been very im portant to know if the pirates were num erous and better arm ed than the c olonis ts . B ut how was this inform ation to he obtained? Night fell. T he new m oon had dis appeared. P rofound darknes s enveloped the is land and the s ea. No light c ould pierc e through the heavy piles of c louds on the horizon. T he wind had died away c om pletely with the twilight. Not a leaf rus tled on the trees , not a ripple m urm ured on the s hore. Nothing c ould be s een of the s hip, all her lights being extinguis hed, and if s he was s till in s ight of the is land, her whereabouts c ould not be dis c overed. "W ell! who knows ?" s aid P enc roft. "P erhaps that c urs ed c raft will s tand off during the night, and we s hall s ee nothing of her at daybreak." A s if in reply to the s ailor's obs ervation, a bright light flas hed in the darknes s , and a c annon-s hot was heard. T he ves s el was s till there and had guns on board. S ix s ec onds elaps ed between the flas h and the report. T herefore the brig was about a m ile and a quarter from the c oas t. A t the s am e tim e, the c hains were heard rattling through the haws e-holes . T he ves s el had jus t anc hored in s ight of Granite Hous e! Chapter 2 T here was no longer any doubt as to the pirates ' intentions . T hey had dropped anc hor at a s hort dis tanc e from the is land, and it was evident that the next day by m eans of their boats they purpos ed to land on the beac h! Cyrus Harding and his c om panions were ready to ac t, but, determ ined though they were, they m us t not forget to be prudent. P erhaps their pres enc e m ight s till be c onc ealed in the event of the pirates c ontenting them s elves with landing on the s hore without exam ining the interior of the is land. It m ight be, indeed, that their only intention was to obtain fres h water from the Merc y, and it was not im pos s ible that the bridge, thrown ac ros s a m ile and a half from the m outh, and the m anufac tory at the Chim neys m ight es c ape their notic e. B ut why was that flag hois ted at the brig's peak? W hat was that s hot fired for? P ure bravado doubtles s , unles s it was a s ign of the ac t of taking pos s es s ion. Harding knew now that the ves s el was well arm ed. A nd what had the c olonis ts of Linc oln Is land to reply to the pirates ' guns ? A few m us kets only. "However," obs erved Cyrus Harding, "here we are in an im pregnable pos ition. T he enem y c annot dis c over the m outh of the outlet, now that it is hidden under reeds and gras s , and c ons equently it would be im pos s ible for them to penetrate into Granite Hous e." "B ut our plantations , our poultry-yard, our c orral, all, everything! " exc laim ed P enc roft, s tam ping his foot. "T hey m ay s poil everything, des troy everything in a few hours ! " "E verything, P enc roft," ans wered Harding, "and we have no m eans of preventing them ." "A re they num erous ? that is the ques tion," s aid the reporter. "If they are not m ore than a dozen, we s hall be able to s top them , but forty, fifty, m ore perhaps ! " "Captain Harding," then s aid A yrton, advanc ing towards the engineer, "will you give m e leave?" "For what, m y friend?" "T o go to that ves s el to find out the s trength of her c rew." "B ut A yrton--" ans wered the engineer, hes itating, "you will ris k your life--" "W hy not, s ir?" "T hat is m ore than your duty." "I have m ore than m y duty to do," replied A yrton. "W ill you go to the s hip in the boat?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "No, s ir, but I will s wim . A boat would be s een where a m an m ay glide between wind and water." "Do you know that the brig is a m ile and a quarter from the s hore?" s aid Herbert. "I am a good s wim m er, Mr. Herbert." "I tell you it is ris king your life," s aid the engineer. "T hat is no m atter," ans wered A yrton. "Captain Harding, I as k this as a favor. P erhaps it will be a m eans of rais ing m e in m y own eyes ! " "Go, A yrton," replied the engineer, who felt s ure that a refus al would have deeply wounded the form er c onvic t, now bec om e an hones t m an. "I will ac c om pany you," s aid P enc roft. "Y ou m is trus t m e! " s aid A yrton quic kly. T hen m ore hum bly,-"A las ! " "No! no! " exc laim ed Harding with anim ation, "no, A yrton, P enc roft does not m is trus t you. Y ou interpret his words wrongly." "Indeed," returned the s ailor, "I only propos e to ac c om pany A yrton as far as the is let. It m ay be, although it is s c arc ely pos s ible, that one of thes e villains has landed, and in that c as e two m en will not be too m any to hinder him from giving the alarm . I will wait for A yrton on the is let, and he s hall go alone to the ves s el, s inc e he has propos ed to do s o." T hes e things agreed to, A yrton m ade preparations for his departure. His plan was bold, but it m ight s uc c eed, thanks to the darknes s of the night. Onc e arrived at the ves s el's s ide, A yrton, holding on to the m ain c hains , m ight rec onnoiter the num ber and perhaps overhear the intentions of the pirates . A yrton and P enc roft, followed by their c om panions , des c ended to the beac h. A yrton undres s ed and rubbed him s elf with greas e, s o as to s uffer les s from the tem perature of the water, whic h was s till c old. He m ight, indeed, be obliged to rem ain in it for s everal hours . P enc roft and Neb, during this tim e, had gone to fetc h the boat, m oored a few hundred feet higher up, on the bank of the Merc y, and by the tim e they returned, A yrton was ready to s tart. A c oat was thrown over his s houlders , and the s ettlers all c am e round him to pres s his hand. A yrton then s hoved off with P enc roft in the boat. It was half-pas t ten in the evening when the two adventurers dis appeared in the darknes s . T heir c om panions returned to wait at the Chim neys . T he c hannel was eas ily travers ed, and the boat touc hed the oppos ite s hore of the is let. T his was not done without prec aution, for fear les t the pirates m ight be roam ing about there. B ut after a c areful s urvey, it was evident that the is let was des erted. A yrton then, followed by P enc roft, c ros s ed it with a rapid s tep, s c aring the birds nes tled in the holes of the roc ks ; then, without hes itating, he plunged into the s ea, and s wam nois eles s ly in the direc tion of the s hip, in whic h a few lights had rec ently appeared, s howing her exac t s ituation. A s to P enc roft, he c rouc hed down in a c left of the roc k, and awaited the return of his c om panion. In the m eanwhile, A yrton, s wim m ing with a vigorous s troke, glided through the s heet of water without produc ing the s lightes t ripple. His head jus t em erged above it and his eyes were fixed on the dark hull of the brig, from whic h the lights were reflec ted in the water. He thought only of the duty whic h he had prom is ed to ac c om plis h, and nothing of the danger whic h he ran, not only on board the s hip, but in the s ea, often frequented by s harks . T he c urrent bore him along and he rapidly rec eded from the s hore. Half an hour afterwards , A yrton, without having been either s een or heard, arrived at the s hip and c aught hold of the m ain-c hains . He took breath, then, hois ting him s elf up, he m anaged to reac h the extrem ity of the c utwater. T here were drying s everal pairs of s ailors ' trous ers . He put on a pair. T hen s ettling him s elf firm ly, he lis tened. T hey were not s leeping on board the brig. On the c ontrary, they were talking, s inging, laughing. A nd thes e were the s entenc es , ac c om panied with oaths , whic h princ ipally s truc k A yrton:-"Our brig is a fam ous ac quis ition." "S he s ails well, and m erits her nam e of the 'S peedy.'" "S he would s how all the navy of Norfolk a c lean pair of heels ." "Hurrah for her c aptain! " "Hurrah for B ob Harvey! " W hat A yrton felt when he overheard this fragm ent of c onvers ation m ay be unders tood when it is known that in this B ob Harvey he rec ognized one of his old A us tralian c om panions , a daring s ailor, who had c ontinued his c rim inal c areer. B ob Harvey had s eized, on the s hores of Norfolk Is land this brig, whic h was loaded with arm s , am m unition, utens ils , and tools of all s orts , des tined for one of the S andwic h Is lands . A ll his gang had gone on board, and pirates after having been c onvic ts , thes e wretc hes , m ore feroc ious than the Malays them s elves , s c oured the P ac ific , des troying ves s els , and m as s ac ring their c rews . T he c onvic ts s poke loudly, they rec ounted their deeds , drinking deeply at the s am e tim e, and this is what A yrton gathered. T he ac tual c rew of the "S peedy" was c om pos ed s olely of E nglis h pris oners , es c aped from Norfolk Is land. Here it m ay be well to explain what this is land was . In 29deg 2' s outh latitude, and 165deg 42' eas t longitude, to the eas t of A us tralia, is found a little is land, s ix m iles in c irc um ferenc e, overlooked by Mount P itt, whic h ris es to a height of 1,100 feet above the level of the s ea. T his is Norfolk Is land, onc e the s eat of an es tablis hm ent in whic h were lodged the m os t intrac table c onvic ts from the E nglis h penitentiaries . T hey num bered 500, under an iron dis c ipline, threatened with terrible punis hm ents , and were guarded by 150 s oldiers , and 150 em ployed under the orders of the governor. It would be diffic ult to im agine a c ollec tion of greater ruffians . S om etim es ,--although very rarely,--notwiths tanding the extrem e s urveillanc e of whic h they were the objec t, m any m anaged to es c ape, and s eizing ves s els whic h they s urpris ed, they infes ted the P olynes ian A rc hipelagoes . T hus had B ob Harvey and his c om panions done. T hus had A yrton form erly wis hed to do. B ob Harvey had s eized the brig "S peedy," anc hored in s ight of Norfolk Is land; the c rew had been m as s ac red; and for a year this s hip had s c oured the P ac ific , under the c om m and of Harvey, now a pirate, and well known to A yrton! T he c onvic ts were, for the m os t part, as s em bled under the poop; but a few, s tretc hed on the dec k, were talking loudly. T he c onvers ation s till c ontinued am id s houts and libations . A yrton learned that c hanc e alone had brought the "S peedy" in s ight of Linc oln Is land; B ob Harvey had never yet s et foot on it; but, as Cyrus Harding had c onjec tured, finding this unknown land in his c ours e, its pos ition being m arked on no c hart, he had form ed the projec t of vis iting it, and, if he found it s uitable, of m aking it the brig's headquarters . A s to the blac k flag hois ted at the "S peedy's " peak, and the gun whic h had been fired, in im itation of m en-of-war when they lower their c olors , it was pure piratic al bravado. It was in no way a s ignal, and no c om m unic ation yet exis ted between the c onvic ts and Linc oln Is land. T he s ettlers ' dom ain was now m enac ed with terrible danger. E vidently the is land, with its water, its harbor, its res ourc es of all kinds s o inc reas ed in value by the c olonis ts , and the c onc ealm ent afforded by Granite Hous e, c ould not but be c onvenient for the c onvic ts ; in their hands it would bec om e an exc ellent plac e of refuge, and, being unknown, it would as s ure them , for a long tim e perhaps , im punity and s ec urity. E vidently, als o, the lives of the s ettlers would not be res pec ted, and B ob Harvey and his ac c om plic es ' firs t c are would be to m as s ac re them without m erc y. Harding and his c om panions had, therefore, not even the c hoic e of flying and hiding them s elves in the is land, s inc e the c onvic ts intended to res ide there, and s inc e, in the event of the "S peedy" departing on an expedition, it was probable that s om e of the c rew would rem ain on s hore, s o as to s ettle them s elves there. T herefore, it would be nec es s ary to fight, to des troy every one of thes e s c oundrels , unworthy of pity, and agains t whom any m eans would be right. S o thought A yrton, and he well knew that Cyrus Harding would be of his way of thinking. B ut was res is tanc e and, in the las t plac e, vic tory pos s ible? T hat would depend on the equipm ent of the brig, and the num ber of m en whic h s he c arried. T his A yrton res olved to learn at any c os t, and as an hour after his arrival the voc iferations had begun to die away, and as a large num ber of the c onvic ts were already buried in a drunken s leep, A yrton did not hes itate to venture onto the "S peedy's " dec k, whic h the extinguis hed lanterns now left in total darknes s . He hois ted him s elf onto the c utwater, and by the bows prit arrived at the forec as tle. T hen, gliding am ong the c onvic ts s tretc hed here and there, he m ade the round of the s hip, and found that the "S peedy" c arried four guns , whic h would throw s hot of from eight to ten pounds in weight. He found als o, on touc hing them that thes e guns were breec h-loaders . T hey were therefore, of m odern m ake, eas ily us ed, and of terrible effec t. A s to the m en lying on the dec k, they were about ten in num ber, but it was to be s uppos ed that m ore were s leeping down below. B es ides , by lis tening to them , A yrton had unders tood that there were fifty on board. T hat was a large num ber for the s ix s ettlers of Linc oln Is land to c ontend with! B ut now, thanks to A yrton's devotion, Cyrus Harding would not be s urpris ed, he would know the s trength of his advers aries , and would m ake his arrangem ents ac c ordingly. T here was nothing m ore for A yrton to do but to return, and render to his c om panions an ac c ount of the m is s ion with whic h he had c harged him s elf, and he prepared to regain the bows of the brig, s o that he m ight let him s elf down into the water. B ut to this m an, whos e wis h was , as he had s aid, to do m ore than his duty, there c am e an heroic thought. T his was to s ac rific e his own life, but s ave the is land and the c olonis ts . Cyrus Harding evidently c ould not res is t fifty ruffians , all well arm ed, who, either by penetrating by m ain forc e into Granite Hous e, or by s tarving out the bes ieged, c ould obtain from them what they wanted. A nd then he thought of his pres ervers --thos e who had m ade him again a m an, and an hones t m m , thos e to whom he owed all--m urdered without pity, their works des troyed, their is land turned into a pirates ' den! He s aid to him s elf that he, A yrton, was the princ ipal c aus e of s o m any dis as ters , s inc e his old

A yrton did not hes itate. T o reac h the powder-room , whic h is always s ituated in the after-part of a ves s el, was eas y. T here would be no want of powder in a ves s el whic h followed s uc h a trade, and a s park would be enough to des troy it in an ins tant. A yrton s tole c arefully along the between-dec ks , s trewn with num erous s leepers , overc om e m ore by drunkennes s than s leep. A lantern was lighted at the foot of the m ainm as t, round whic h was hung a gun-rac k, furnis hed with weapons of all s orts . A yrton took a revolver from the rac k, and as s ured him s elf that it was loaded and prim ed. Nothing m ore was needed to ac c om plis h the work of des truc tion. He then glided towards the s tern, s o as to arrive under the brig's poop at the powder-m agazine. It was diffic ult to proc eed along the dim ly lighted dec k without s tum bling over s om e half-s leeping c onvic t, who retorted by oaths and kic ks . A yrton was , therefore, m ore than onc e obliged to halt. B ut at las t he arrived at the partition dividing the afterc abin, and found the door opening into the m agazine its elf. A yrton, c om pelled to forc e it open, s et to work. It was a diffic ult operation to perform without nois e, for he had to break a padloc k. B ut under his vigorous hand, the padloc k broke, and the door was open. A t that m om ent a hand was laid on A yrton's s houlder. "W hat are you doing here?" as ked a tail m an, in a hars h voic e, who, s tanding in the s hadow, quic kly threw the light of a lantern in A yrton's fac e. A yrton drew bec k. In the rapid flas h of the lantern, he had rec ognized his form er ac c om plic e, B ob Harvey, who c ould not have known him , as he m us t have thought A yrton long s inc e dead. "W hat are you doing here?" again s aid B ob Harvey, s eizing A yrton by the wais tband. B ut A yrton, without replying, wrenc hed him s elf from his gras p and attem pted to rus h into the m agazine. A s hot fired into the m ids t of the powder-c as ks , and all would be over! "Help, lads ! " s houted B ob Harvey. A t his s hout two or three pirates awoke, jum ped up, and, rus hing on A yrton, endeavored to throw him down. He s oon extric ated him s elf from their gras p. He fired his revolver, and two of the c onvic ts fell, but a blow from a knife whic h he c ould not ward off m ade a gas h in his s houlder. A yrton perc eived that he c ould no longer hope to c arry out his projec t. B ob Harvey had rec los ed the door of the powder-m agazine, and a m ovem ent on the dec k indic ated a general awakening of the pirates . A yrton m us t res erve him s elf to fight at the s ide of Cyrus Harding. T here was nothing for him but flight! B ut was flight s till pos s ible? It was doubtful, yet A yrton res olved to dare everything in order to rejoin his c om panions . Four barrels of the revolver were s till undis c harged. T wo were fired-- one, aim ed at B ob Harvey, did not wound him , or at any rate only s lightly, and A yrton, profiting by the m om entary retreat of his advers aries , rus hed towards the c om panion-ladder to gain the dec k. P as s ing before the lantern, he s m as hed it with a blow from the butt of his revolver. A profound darknes s ens ued, whic h favored his flight. T wo or three pirates , awakened by the nois e, were des c ending the ladder at the s am e m om ent. A fifth s hot from A yrton laid one low, and the others drew bac k, not unders tanding what was going on. A yrton was on dec k in two bounds , and three s ec onds later, having dis c harged his las t barrel in the fac e of a pirate who was about to s eize him by the throat, he leaped over the bulwarks into the s ea. A yrton had not m ade s ix s trokes before s hots were s plas hing around him like hail. W hat were P enc roft's feelings , s heltered under a roc k on the is let! W hat were thos e of Harding, the reporter, Herbert, and Neb, c rouc hed in the Chim neys , when they heard the reports on board the brig! T hey rus hed out on to the beac h, and, their guns s houldered, they s tood ready to repel any attac k. T hey had no doubt about it them s elves ! A yrton, s urpris ed by the pirates , had been m urdered, and, perhaps , the wretc hes would profit by the night to m ake a des c ent on the is land! Half an hour was pas s ed in terrible anxiety. T he firing had c eas ed, and yet neither A yrton nor P enc roft had reappeared. W as the is let invaded? Ought they not to fly to the help of A yrton and P enc roft? B ut how? T he tide being high at that tim e, rendered the c hannel im pas s able. T he boat was not there! W e m ay im agine the horrible anxiety whic h took pos s es s ion of Harding and his c om panions ! A t las t, towards half-pas t twelve, a boat, c arrying two m en, touc hed the beac h. It was A yrton, s lightly wounded in the s houlder, and P enc roft, s afe and s ound, whom their friends rec eived with open arm s . A ll im m ediately took refuge in the Chim neys . T here A yrton rec ounted all that had pas s ed, even to his plan for blowing up the brig, whic h he had attem pted to put into exec ution. A ll hands were extended to A yrton, who did not c onc eal from them that their s ituation was s erious . T he pirates had been alarm ed. T hey knew that Linc oln Is land was inhabited. T hey would land upon it in num bers and well arm ed. T hey would res pec t nothing. S hould the s ettlers fall into their hands , they m us t expec t no m erc y! "W ell, we s hall know how to die! " s aid the reporter. "Let us go in and watc h," ans wered the engineer. "Have we any c hanc e of es c ape, c aptain?" as ked the s ailor. "Y es , P enc roft." "Hum ! s ix agains t fifty! " "Y es ! s ix! without c ounting--" "W ho?" as ked P enc roft. Cyrus did not reply, but pointed upwards . Chapter 3 T he night pas s ed without inc ident. T he c olonis ts were on the qui vive, and did not leave their pos t at the Chim neys . T he pirates , on their s ide, did not appear to have m ade any attem pt to land. S inc e the las t s hots fired at A yrton not a report, not even a s ound, had betrayed the pres enc e of the brig in the neighborhood of the is land. It m ight have been fanc ied that s he had weighed anc hor, thinking that s he had to deal with her m atc h, and had left the c oas t. B ut it was no s uc h thing, and when day began to dawn the s ettlers c ould s ee a c onfus ed m as s through the m orning m is t. It was the "S peedy." "T hes e, m y friends ," s aid the engineer, "are the arrangem ents whic h appear to m e bes t to m ake before the fog c om pletely c lears away. It hides us from the eyes of the pirates , and we c an ac t without attrac ting their attention. T he m os t im portant thing is , that the c onvic ts s hould believe that the inhabitants of the is land are num erous , and c ons equently c apable of res is ting them . I therefore propos e that we divide into three parties . T he firs t of whic h s hall be pos ted at the Chim neys , the s ec ond at the m outh of the Merc y. A s to the third, I think it would be bes t to plac e it on the is let, s o as to prevent, or at all events delay, any attem pt at landing. W e have the us e of two rifles and four m us kets . E ac h of us will be arm ed, and, as we are am ply provided with powder and s hot, we need not s pare our fire. W e have nothing to fear from the m us kets nor even from the guns of the brig. W hat c an they do agains t thes e roc ks ? A nd, as we s hall not fire from the windows of Granite Hous e, the pirates will not think of c aus ing irreparable dam age by throwing s hell agains t it. W hat is to be feared is , the nec es s ity of m eeting hand-to-hand, s inc e the c onvic ts have num bers on their s ide. W e m us t therefore try to prevent them from landing, but without dis c overing ours elves . T herefore, do not ec onom ize the am m unition. Fire often, but with a s ure aim . W e have eac h eight or ten enem ies to kill, and they m us t be killed! " Cyrus Harding had c learly repres ented their s ituation, although he s poke in the c alm es t voic e, as if it was a ques tion of direc ting a piec e of work and not ordering a battle. His c om panions approved thes e arrangem ents without even uttering a word. T here was nothing m ore to be done but for eac h to take his plac e before the fog s hould be c om pletely dis s ipated. Neb and P enc roft im m ediately as c ended to Granite Hous e and brought bac k a s uffic ient quantity of am m unition. Gideon S pilett and A yrton, both very good m arks m en, were arm ed with the two rifles , whic h c arried nearly a m ile. T he four other m us kets were divided am ong Harding, Neb, P enc roft, and Herbert. T he pos ts were arranged in the following m anner:-Cyrus Harding and Herbert rem ained in am bus h at the Chim neys , thus c om m anding the s hore to the foot of Granite Hous e. Gideon S pilett and Neb c rouc hed am ong the roc ks at the m outh of the Merc y, from whic h the drawbridges had been rais ed, s o as to prevent any one from c ros s ing in a boat or landing on the oppos ite s hore. A s to A yrton and P enc roft, they s hoved off in the boat, and prepared to c ros s the c hannel and to take up two s eparate s tations on the is let. In this way, s hots being fired from four different points at onc e, the c onvic ts would be led to believe that the is land was both largely peopled and s trongly defended. In the event of a landing being effec ted without their having been able to prevent it, and als o if they s aw that they were on the point of being c ut off by the brig's boat, A yrton and P enc roft were to return in their boat to the s hore and proc eed towards the threatened s pot. B efore s tarting to oc c upy their pos ts , the c olonis ts for the las t tim e wrung eac h other's hands . P enc roft s uc c eeded in c ontrolling him s elf s uffic iently to s uppres s his em otion when he em brac ed Herbert, his boy! and then they s eparated. In a few m om ents Harding and Herbert on one s ide, the reporter and Neb on the other, had dis appeared behind the roc ks , and five m inutes later A yrton and P enc roft, having without diffic ulty c ros s ed the c hannel, dis em barked on the is let and c onc ealed them s elves in the c lefts of its eas tern s hore. None of them c ould have been s een, for they them s elves c ould s c arc ely dis tinguis h the brig in the fog. It was half-pas t s ix in the m orning. S oon the fog began to c lear away, and the topm as ts of the brig is s ued from the vapor. For s om e m inutes great m as s es rolled over the s urfac e of the s ea, then a breeze s prang up, whic h rapidly dis pelled the m is t. T he "S peedy" now appeared in full view, with a s pring on her c able, her head to the north, pres enting her larboard s ide to the is land. J us t as Harding had c alc ulated, s he was not m ore than a m ile and a quarter from the c oas t. T he s inis ter blac k flag floated from the peak. T he engineer, with his teles c ope, c ould s ee that the four guns on board were pointed at the is land. T hey were evidently ready to fire at a m om ent's notic e. In the m eanwhile the "S peedy" rem ained s ilent. A bout thirty pirates c ould be s een m oving on the dec k. A few m ore on the poop; two others pos ted in the s hrouds , and arm ed with s pyglas s es , were attentively s urveying the is land. Certainly, B ob Harvey and his c rew would not be able eas ily to give an ac c ount of what had happened during the night on board the brig. Had this half-naked m an, who had forc ed the door of the powder-m agazine, and with whom they had s truggled, who had s ix tim es dis c harged his revolver at them , who had killed one and wounded two others , es c aped their s hot? Had he been able to s wim to s hore? W henc e did he c om e? W hat had been his objec t? Had his des ign really been to blow up the brig, as B ob Harvey had thought? A ll this m us t be c onfus ed enough to the c onvic ts ' m inds . B ut what they c ould no longer doubt was that the unknown is land before whic h the "S peedy" had c as t anc hor was inhabited, and that there was , perhaps , a num erous c olony ready to defend it. A nd yet no one was to be s een, neither on the s hore, nor on the heights . T he beac h appeared to be abs olutely des erted. A t any rate, there was no trac e of dwellings . Had the inhabitants fled into the interior? T hus probably the pirate c aptain reas oned, and doubtles s , like a prudent m an, he wis hed to rec onnoiter the loc ality before he allowed his m en to venture there. During an hour and a half, no indic ation of attac k or landing c ould be obs erved on board the brig. E vidently B ob Harvey was hes itating. E ven with his s tronges t teles c opes he c ould not have perc eived one of the s ettlers c rouc hed am ong the roc ks . It was not even probable that his attention had been awakened by the s c reen of green branc hes and c reepers hiding the windows of Granite Hous e, and s howing rather c ons pic uous ly on the bare roc k. Indeed, how c ould he im agine that a dwelling was hollowed out, at that height, in the s olid granite? From Claw Cape to the Mandible Capes , in all the extent of Union B ay, there was nothing to lead him to s uppos e that the is land was or c ould be inhabited. A t eight o'c loc k, however, the c olonis ts obs erved a m ovem ent on board the "S peedy." A boat was lowered, and s even m en jum ped into her. T hey were arm ed with m us kets ; one took the yoke-lines , four others the oars , and the two others , kneeling in the bows , ready to fire, rec onnoitered the is land. T heir objec t was no doubt to m ake an exam ination but not to land, for in the latter c as e they would have c om e in larger num bers . T he pirates from their look-out c ould have s een that the c oas t was s heltered by an is let, s eparated from it by a c hannel half a m ile in width. However, it was s oon evident to Cyrus Harding, on obs erving the direc tion followed by the boat, that they would not attem pt to penetrate into the c hannel, but would land on the is let. P enc roft and A yrton, eac h hidden in a narrow c left of the roc k, s aw them c om ing direc tly towards them , and waited till they were within range. T he boat advanc ed with extrem e c aution. T he oars only dipped into the water at long intervals . It c ould now be s een that one of the c onvic ts held a lead-line in his hand, and that he wis hed to fathom the depth of the c hannel hollowed out by the c urrent of the Merc y. T his s howed that it was B ob Harvey's intention to bring his brig as near as pos s ible to the c oas t. A bout thirty pirates , s c attered in the rigging, followed every m ovem ent of the boat, and took the bearings of c ertain landm arks whic h would allow them to approac h without danger. T he boat was not m ore than two c ables -lengths off the is let when s he s topped. T he m an at the tiller s tood up and looked for the bes t plac e at whic h to land. A t that m om ent two s hots were heard. S m oke c urled up from am ong the roc ks of the is let. T he m an at the helm and the m an with the lead-line fell bac kwards into the boat. A yrton's and P enc roft's balls had s truc k them both at the s am e m om ent. A lm os t im m ediately a louder report was heard, a c loud of s m oke is s ued from the brig's s ide, and a ball, s triking the s um m it of the roc k whic h s heltered A yrton and P enc roft, m ade it fly in s plinters , but the two m arks m en rem ained unhurt. Horrible im prec ations burs t from the boat, whic h im m ediately c ontinued its way. T he m an who had been at the tiller was replac ed by one of his c om rades , and the oars were rapidly plunged into the water. However, ins tead of returning on board as m ight have been expec ted, the boat c oas ted along the is let, s o as to round its s outhern point. T he pirates pulled vigorous ly at their oars that they m ight get out of range of the bullets . T hey advanc ed to within five c ables -lengths of that part of the s hore term inated by Flots am P oint, and after having rounded it in a s em ic irc ular line, s till protec ted by the brig's guns , they proc eeded towards the m outh of the Merc y. T heir evident intention was to penetrate into the c hannel, and c ut off the c olonis ts pos ted on the is let, in s uc h a way, that whatever their num ber m ight be, being plac ed between the fire from the boat and the fire from the brig, they would find them s elves in a very dis advantageous pos ition. A quarter of an hour pas s ed while the boat advanc ed in this direc tion. A bs olute s ilenc e, perfec t c alm reigned in the air and on the water. P enc roft and A yrton, although they knew they ran the ris k of being c ut off, had not left their pos t, both that they did not wis h to s how them s elves as yet to their as s ailants , and expos e them s elves to the "S peedy's " guns , and that they relied on Neb and Gideon S pilett, watc hing at the m outh of the river, and on Cyrus Harding and Herbert, in am bus h am ong the roc ks at the Chim neys . T wenty m inutes after the firs t s hots were fired, the boat was les s than two c ables -lengths off the Merc y. A s the tide was beginning to ris e with its ac c us tom ed violenc e, c aus ed by the narrownes s of the s traits , the pirates were drawn towards the river, and it was only by dint of hard rowing that they were able to keep in the m iddle of the c hannel. B ut, as they were pas s ing within good range of the m outh of the Merc y, two balls s aluted them , and two m ore of their num ber were laid in the bottom of the boat. Neb and S pilett had not m is s ed their aim . T he brig im m ediately s ent a s ec ond ball on the pos t betrayed by the s m oke, but without any other res ult than that of s plintering the roc k. T he boat now c ontained only three able m en. Carried on by the c urrent, it s hot through the c hannel with the rapidity of an arrow, pas s ed before Harding and Herbert, who, not thinking it within range, withheld their fire, then, rounding the northern point of the is let with the two rem aining oars , they pulled towards the brig. Hitherto the s ettlers had nothing to c om plain of. T heir advers aries had c ertainly had the wors t of it. T he latter already c ounted four m en s erious ly wounded if not dead; they, on the c ontrary, unwounded, had not m is s ed a s hot. If the pirates c ontinued to attac k them in this way, if they renewed their attem pt to land by m eans of a boat, they c ould be des troyed one by one. It was now s een how advantageous the engineer's arrangem ents had been. T he pirates would think that they had to deal with num erous and well-arm ed advers aries , whom they c ould not eas ily get the better of. Half an hour pas s ed before the boat, having to pull agains t the c urrent, c ould get alongs ide the "S peedy." Frightful c ries were heard when they returned on board with the wounded, and two or three guns were fired with no res ults . B ut now about a dozen other c onvic ts , m addened with rage, and pos s ibly by the effec t of the evening's potations , threw them s elves into the boat. A s ec ond boat was als o lowered, in whic h eight m en took their plac es , and while the firs t pulled s traight for the is let, to dis lodge the c olonis ts from thenc e the s ec ond m aneuvered s o as to forc e the entranc e of the Merc y. T he s ituation was evidently bec om ing very dangerous for P enc roft and A yrton, and they s aw that they m us t regain the m ainland. However, they waited till the firs t boat was within range, when two well- direc ted balls threw its c rew into dis order. T hen, P enc roft and A yrton, abandoning their pos ts , under fire from the dozen m us kets , ran ac ros s the is let at full s peed, jum ped into their boat, c ros s ed the c hannel at the m om ent the s ec ond boat reac hed the s outhern end, and ran to hide them s elves in the Chim neys . T hey had s c arc ely rejoined Cyrus Harding and Herbert, before the is let was overrun with pirates in every direc tion. A lm os t at the s am e m om ent, fres h reports res ounded from the Merc y s tation, to whic h the s ec ond boat was rapidly approac hing. T wo, out of the eight m en who m anned her, were m ortally wounded by Gideon S pilett and Neb, and the boat hers elf, c arried irres is tibly onto the reefs , was s tove in at the m outh of the Merc y. B ut the s ix s urvivors , holding their m us kets above their heads to pres erve them from c ontac t with the water, m anaged to land on the right bank of the river. T hen, finding they were expos ed to the fire of the am bus h there, they fled in the direc tion of Flots am P oint, out of range of the balls . T he ac tual s ituation was this : on the is let were a dozen c onvic ts , of whom s om e were no doubt wounded, but who had s till a boat at their dis pos al; on the is land were s ix, but who c ould not by any pos s ibility reac h Granite Hous e, as they c ould not c ros s the river, all the bridges being rais ed. "Hallo," exc laim ed P enc roft as he rus hed into the Chim neys , "hallo, c aptain! W hat do you think of it, now?" "I think," ans wered the engineer, "that the c om bat will now take a new form , for it c annot be s uppos ed that the c onvic ts will be s o foolis h as to rem ain in a pos ition s o unfavorable for them ! " "T hey won't c ros s the c hannel," s aid the s ailor. "A yrton and Mr. S pilett's rifles are there to prevent them . Y ou know that they c arry m ore than a m ile! " "No doubt," replied Herbert; "but what c an two rifles do agains t the brig's guns ?" "W ell, the brig is n't in the c hannel yet, I fanc y! " s aid P enc roft. "B ut s uppos e s he does c om e there?" s aid Harding. "T hat's im pos s ible, for s he would ris k running aground and being los t! " "It is pos s ible," s aid A yrton. "T he c onvic ts m ight profit by the high tide to enter the c hannel, with the ris k of grounding at low tide, it is true; but then, under the fire from her guns , our pos ts would be no longer tenable." "Confound them ! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "it really s eem s as if the blac kguards were preparing to weigh anc hor." "P erhaps we s hall be obliged to take refuge in Granite Hous e! " obs erved Herbert. "W e m us t wait! " ans wered Cyrus Harding. "B ut Mr. S pilett and Neb?" s aid P enc roft. "T hey will know when it is bes t to rejoin us . B e ready, A yrton. It is yours and S pilett's rifles whic h m us t s peak now." It was only too true. T he "S peedy" was beginning to weigh her anc hor, and her intention was evidently to approac h the is let. T he tide would be ris ing for an hour and a half, and the ebb c urrent being already weakened, it would be eas y for the brig to advanc e. B ut as to entering the c hannel, P enc roft, c ontrary to A yrton's opinion, c ould not believe that s he would dare to attem pt it. In the m eanwhile, the pirates who oc c upied the is let had gradually advanc ed to the oppos ite s hore, and were now only s eparated from the m ainland by the c hannel. B eing arm ed with m us kets alone, they c ould do no harm to the s ettlers , in am bus h at the Chim neys and the m outh of the Merc y; but, not knowing the latter to be s upplied with long-range rifles , they on their s ide did not believe them s elves to be expos ed. Quite unc overed, therefore, they s urveyed the is let, and exam ined the s hore. T heir illus ion was of s hort duration. A yrton's and Gideon S pilett's rifles then s poke, and no doubt im parted s om e very dis agreeable intelligenc e to two of the c onvic ts , for they fell bac kwards . T hen there was a general helter-s kelter. T he ten others , not even s topping to pic k up their dead or wounded c om panions , fled to the other s ide of the is let, tum bled into the boat whic h had brought them , and pulled away with all their s trength. "E ight les s ! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "Really, one would have thought that Mr. S pilett and A yrton had given the word to fire together! " "Gentlem en," s aid A yrton, as he reloaded his gun, "this is bec om ing m ore s erious . T he brig is m aking s ail! " "T he anc hor is weighed! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "Y es , and s he is already m oving." In fac t, they c ould dis tinc tly hear the c reaking of the windlas s . T he "S peedy" was at firs t held by her anc hor; then, when that had been rais ed, s he began to drift towards the s hore. T he wind was blowing from the s ea; the jib and the foretops ail were hois ted, and the ves s el gradually approac hed the is land. From the two pos ts of the Merc y and the Chim neys they watc hed her without giving a s ign of life, but not without s om e em otion. W hat c ould be m ore terrible for the c olonis ts than to be expos ed, at a s hort dis tanc e, to the brig's guns , without being able to reply with any effec t? How c ould they then prevent the pirates from landing? Cyrus Harding felt this s trongly, and he as ked him s elf what it would be pos s ible to do. B efore long, he would be c alled upon for his determ ination. B ut what was it to be? To s hut them s elves up in Granite Hous e, to be bes ieged there, to rem ain there for weeks , for m onths even, s inc e they had an abundanc e of provis ions ? S o far good! B ut after that? T he pirates would not the les s be m as ters of the is land, whic h they would ravage at their pleas ure, and in tim e, they would end by having their revenge on the pris oners in Granite Hous e. However, one c hanc e yet rem ained; it was that B ob Harvey, after all, would not venture his s hip into the c hannel, and that he would keep outs ide the is let. He would be s till s eparated from the c oas t by half a m ile, and at that dis tanc e his s hot c ould not be very des truc tive. "Never! " repeated P enc roft, "B ob Harvey will never, if he is a good s eam an, enter that c hannel! He knows well that it would ris k the brig, if the s ea got up ever s o little! A nd what would bec om e of him without his ves s el?" In the m eanwhile the brig approac hed the is let, and it c ould be s een that s he was endeavoring to m ake the lower end. T he breeze was light, and as the c urrent had then los t m uc h of its forc e, B ob Harvey had abs olute c om m and over his ves s el. T he route previous ly followed by the boats had allowed her to rec onnoiter the c hannel, and s he boldly entered it.

S oon the "S peedy" reac hed the point of the is let; s he rounded it with eas e; the m ains ail was brac ed up, and the brig hugging the wind, s tood ac ros s the m outh of the Merc y. "T he s c oundrels ! they are c om ing! " s aid P enc roft. A t that m om ent, Cyrus Harding, A yrton, the s ailor, and Herbert, were rejoined by Neb and Gideon S pilett. T he reporter and his c om panion had judged it bes t to abandon the pos t at the Merc y, from whic h they c ould do nothing agains t the s hip, and they had ac ted wis ely. It was better that the c olonis ts s hould be together at the m om ent when they were about to engage in a dec is ive ac tion. Gideon S pilett and Neb had arrived by dodging behind the roc ks , though not without attrac ting a s hower of bullets , whic h had not, however, reac hed them . "S pilett! Neb! " c ried the engineer. "Y ou are not wounded?" "No," ans wered the reporter, "a few bruis es only from the ric oc het! B ut that c urs ed brig has entered the c hannel! " "Y es ," replied P enc roft, "and in ten m inutes s he will have anc hored before Granite Hous e! " "Have you form ed any plan, Cyrus ?" as ked the reporter. "W e m us t take refuge in Granite Hous e while there is s till tim e, and the c onvic ts c annot s ee us ." "T hat is , m y opinion, too," replied Gideon S pilett, "but onc e s hut up--" "W e m us t be guided by c irc um s tanc es ," s aid the engineer. "Let us be off, then, and m ake has te! " s aid the reporter. "W ould you not wis h, c aptain, that A yrton and I s hould rem ain here?" as ked the s ailor. "W hat would be the us e of that, P enc roft?" replied Harding. "No. W e will not s eparate! " T here was not a m om ent to be los t. T he c olonis ts left the Chim neys . A bend of the c liff prevented them from being s een by thos e in the brig, but two or three reports , and the c ras h of bullets on the roc k, told them that the "S peedy" was at no great dis tanc e. T o s pring into the lift, hois t them s elves up to the door of Granite Hous e, where T op and J up had been s hut up s inc e the evening before, to rus h into the large room , was the work of a m inute only. It was quite tim e, for the s ettlers , through the branc hes , c ould s ee the "S peedy," s urrounded with s m oke, gliding up the c hannel. T he firing was inc es s ant, and s hot from the four guns s truc k blindly, both on the Merc y pos t, although it was not oc c upied, and on the Chim neys . T he roc ks were s plintered, and c heers ac c om panied eac h dis c harge. However, they were hoping that Granite Hous e would be s pared, thanks to Harding's prec aution of c onc ealing the windows when a s hot, pierc ing the door, penetrated into the pas s age. "W e are dis c overed! " exc laim ed P enc roft. T he c olonis ts had not, perhaps , been s een, but it was c ertain that B ob Harvey had thought proper to s end a ball through the s us pec ted foliage whic h c onc ealed that part of the c liff. S oon he redoubled his attac k, when another ball having torn away the leafy s c reen, dis c los ed a gaping aperture in the granite. T he c olonis ts ' s ituation was des perate. T heir retreat was dis c overed. T hey c ould not oppos e any obs tac le to thes e m is s iles , nor protec t the s tone, whic h flew in s plinters around them . T here was nothing to be done but to take refuge in the upper pas s age of Granite Hous e, and leave their dwelling to be devas tated, when a deep roar was heard, followed by frightful c ries ! Cyrus Harding and his c om panions rus hed to one of the windows -T he brig, irres is tibly rais ed on a s ort of water-s pout, had jus t s plit in two, and in les s than ten s ec onds s he was s wallowed up with all her c rim inal c rew! Chapter 4 "S he has blown up! " c ried Herbert. "Y es ! blown up, jus t as if A yrton had s et fire to the powder! " returned P enc roft, throwing him s elf into the lift together with Neb and the lad. "B ut what has happened?" as ked Gideon S pilett, quite s tunned by this unexpec ted c atas trophe. "Oh! this tim e, we s hall know--" ans wered the engineer quic kly. "W hat s hall we know?--" "Later! later! Com e, S pilett. T he m ain point is that thes e pirates have been exterm inated! " A nd Cyrus Harding, hurrying away the reporter and A yrton, joined P enc roft, Neb, and Herbert on the beac h. Nothing c ould be s een of the brig, not even her m as ts . A fter having been rais ed by the water-s pout, s he had fallen on her s ide, and had s unk in that pos ition, doubtles s in c ons equenc e of s om e enorm ous leak. B ut as in that plac e the c hannel was not m ore than twenty feet in depth, it was c ertain that the s ides of the s ubm erged brig would reappear at low water. A few things from the wrec k floated on the s urfac e of the water, a raft c ould be s een c ons is ting of s pare s pars , c oops of poultry with their oc c upants s till living, boxes and barrels , whic h gradually c am e to the s urfac e, after having es c aped through the hatc hways , but no piec es of the wrec k appeared, neither planks from the dec k, nor tim ber from the hull,-- whic h rendered the s udden dis appearanc e of the "S peedy" perfec tly inexplic able. However, the two m as ts , whic h had been broken and es c aped from the s hrouds and s tays c am e up, and with their s ails , s om e furled and the others s pread. B ut it was not nec es s ary to wait for the tide to bring up thes e ric hes , and A yrton and P enc roft jum ped into the boat with the intention of towing the piec es of wrec k either to the beac h or to the is let. B ut jus t as they were s hoving off, an obs ervation from Gideon S pilett arres ted them . "W hat about thos e s ix c onvic ts who dis em barked on the right bank of the Merc y?" s aid he. In fac t, it would not do to forget that the s ix m en whos e boat had gone to piec es on the roc ks had landed at Flots am P oint. T hey looked in that direc tion. None of the fugitives were vis ible. It was probable that, having s een their ves s el engulfed in the c hannel, they had fled into the interior of the is land. "W e will deal with them later," s aid Harding. "A s they are arm ed, they will s till be dangerous ; but as it is s ix agains t s ix, the c hanc es are equal. T o the m os t pres s ing bus ines s firs t." A yrton and P enc roft pulled vigorous ly towards the wrec k. T he s ea was c alm and the tide very high, as there had been a new m oon but two days before. A whole hour at leas t would elaps e before the hull of the brig c ould em erge from the water of the c hannel. A yrton and P enc roft were able to fas ten the m as ts and s pars by m eans of ropes , the ends of whic h were c arried to the beac h. T here, by the united efforts of the s ettlers the piec es of wrec k were hauled up. T hen the boat pic ked up all that was floating, c oops , barrels , and boxes , whic h were im m ediately c arried to the Chim neys . S everal bodies floated als o. A m ong them , A yrton rec ognized that of B ob Harvey, whic h he pointed out to his c om panion, s aying with s om e em otion,-"T hat is what I have been, P enc roft." "B ut what you are no longer, brave A yrton! " returned the s ailor warm ly. It was s ingular enough that s o few bodies floated. Only five or s ix were c ounted, whic h were already being c arried by the c urrent towards the open s ea. V ery probably the c onvic ts had not had tim e to es c ape, and the s hip lying over on her s ide, the greater num ber of them had rem ained below. Now the c urrent, by c arrying the bodies of thes e m is erable m en out to s ea, would s pare the c olonis ts the s ad tas k of burying them in s om e c orner of their is land. For two hours , Cyrus Harding and his c om panions were s olely oc c upied in hauling up the s pars on to the s and, and then in s preading the s ails whic h were perfec tly uninjured, to dry. T hey s poke little, for they were abs orbed in their work, but what thoughts oc c upied their m inds ! T he pos s es s ion of this brig, or rather all that s he c ontained, was a perfec t m ine of wealth. In fac t, a s hip is like a little world in m iniature, and the s tores of the c olony would be inc reas ed by a large num ber of us eful artic les . It would be, on a large s c ale, equivalent to the c hes t found at Flots am P oint. "A nd bes ides ," thought P enc roft, "why s hould it be im pos s ible to refloat the brig? If s he has only a leak, that m ay be s topped up; a ves s el from three to four hundred tons , why s he is a regular s hip c om pared to our 'B onadventure'! A nd we c ould go a long dis tanc e in her! W e c ould go anywhere we liked! Captain Harding, A yrton and I m us t exam ine her! S he would be well worth the trouble! " In fac t, if the brig was s till fit to navigate, the c olonis ts ' c hanc es of returning to their native land were s ingularly inc reas ed. B ut, to dec ide this im portant ques tion, it was nec es s ary to wait until the tide was quite low, s o that every part of the brig's hull m ight be exam ined. W hen their treas ures had been s afely c onveyed on s hore, Harding and his c om panions agreed to devote s om e m inutes to breakfas t. T hey were alm os t fam is hed; fortunately, the larder was not far off, and Neb was noted for being an expeditious c ook. T hey breakfas ted, therefore, near the Chim neys , and during their repas t, as m ay be s uppos ed, nothing was talked of but the event whic h had s o m irac ulous ly s aved the c olony. "Mirac ulous is the word," repeated P enc roft, "for it m us t be ac knowledged that thos e ras c als blew up jus t at the right m om ent! Granite Hous e was beginning to be unc om fortable as a habitation! " "A nd c an you gues s , P enc roft," as ked the reporter, "how it happened, or what c an have oc c as ioned the explos ion?" "Oh! Mr. S pilett, nothing is m ore s im ple," ans wered P enc roft. "A c onvic t ves s el is not dis c iplined like a m an-of-war! Convic ts are not s ailors . Of c ours e the powder-m agazine was open, and as they were firing inc es s antly, s om e c areles s or c lum s y fellow jus t blew up the ves s el! " "Captain Harding," s aid Herbert, "what as tonis hes m e is that the explos ion has not produc ed m ore effec t. T he report was not loud, and bes ides there are s o few planks and tim bers torn out. It s eem s as if the s hip had rather foundered than blown up." "Does that as tonis h you, m y boy?" as ked the engineer. "Y es , c aptain." "A nd it as tonis hes m e als o, Herbert," replied he, "but when we vis it the hull of the brig, we s hall no doubt find the explanation of the m atter." "W hy, c aptain," s aid P enc roft, "you don't s uppos e that the 'S peedy' s im ply foundered like a s hip whic h has s truc k on a roc k?" "W hy not," obs erved Neb, "if there are roc ks in the c hannel?" "Nons ens e, Neb," ans wered P enc roft, "you did not look at the right m om ent. A n ins tant before s he s ank, the brig, as I s aw perfec tly well, ros e on an enorm ous wave, and fell bac k on her larboard s ide. Now, if s he had only s truc k, s he would have s unk quietly and gone to the bottom like an hones t ves s el." "It was jus t bec aus e s he was not an hones t ves s el! " returned Neb. "W ell, we s hall s oon s ee, P enc roft," s aid the engineer. "W e s hall s oon s ee," rejoined the s ailor, "but I would wager m y head there are no roc ks in the c hannel. Look here, c aptain, to s peak c andidly, do you m ean to s ay that there is anything m arvelous in the oc c urrenc e?" Cyrus Harding did not ans wer. "A t any rate," s aid Gideon S pilett, "whether roc k or explos ion, you will agree, P enc roft, that it oc c urred jus t in the nic k of tim e! " "Y es ! yes ! " replied the s ailor, "but that is not the ques tion. I as k Captain Harding if he s ees anything s upernatural in all this ." "I c annot s ay, P enc roft," s aid the engineer. "T hat is all the ans wer I c an m ake." A reply whic h did not s atis fy P enc roft at all. He s tuc k to "an explos ion," and did not wis h to give it up. He would never c ons ent to adm it that in that c hannel, with its fine s andy bed, jus t like the beac h, whic h he had often c ros s ed at low water, there c ould be an unknown roc k. A nd bes ides , at the tim e the brig foundered, it was high water, that is to s ay, there was enough water to c arry the ves s el c lear over any roc ks whic h would not be unc overed at low tide. T herefore, there c ould not have been a c ollis ion. T herefore, the ves s el had not s truc k. S o s he had blown up. A nd it m us t be c onfes s ed that the s ailor's argum ents were reas onable. Towards half-pas t one, the c olonis ts em barked in the boat to vis it the wrec k. It was to be regretted that the brig's two boats had not been s aved; but one, as has been s aid, had gone to piec es at the m outh of the Merc y, and was abs olutely us eles s ; the other had dis appeared when the brig went down, and had not again been s een, having doubtles s been c rus hed. T he hull of the "S peedy" was jus t beginning to is s ue from the water. T he brig was lying right over on her s ide, for her m as ts being broken, pres s ed down by the weight of the ballas t dis plac ed by the s hoc k, the keel was vis ible along her whole length. S he had been regularly turned over by the inexplic able but frightful s ubm arine ac tion, whic h had been at the s am e tim e m anifes ted by an enorm ous water-s pout. T he s ettlers rowed round the hull, and in proportion as the tide went down, they c ould as c ertain, if not the c aus e whic h had oc c as ioned the c atas trophe, at leas t the effec t produc ed. Towards the bows , on both s ides of the keel, s even or eight feet from the beginning of the s tem , the s ides of the brig were frightfully torn. Over a length of at leas t twenty feet there opened two large leaks , whic h would be im pos s ible to s top up. Not only had the c opper s heathing and the planks dis appeared, reduc ed, no doubt, to powder, but als o the ribs , the iron bolts , and treenalls whic h united them . From the entire length of the hull to the s tern the fals e keel had been s eparated with an unac c ountable violenc e, and the keel its elf, torn from the c arline in s everal plac es , was s plit in all its length. "I've a notion! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "that this ves s el will be diffic ult to get afloat again." "It will be im pos s ible," s aid A yrton. "A t any rate," obs erved Gideon S pilett to the s ailor, "the explos ion, if there has been one, has produc ed s ingular effec ts ! It has s plit the lower part of the hull, ins tead of blowing up the dec k and tops ides ! T hes e great rents appear rather to have been m ade by a roc k than by the explos ion of a powder-m agazine." "T here is not a roc k in the c hannel! " ans wered the s ailor. "I will adm it anything you like, exc ept the roc k." "Let us try to penetrate into the interior of the brig," s aid the engineer; "perhaps we s hall then know what to think of the c aus e of her des truc tion." T his was the bes t thing to be done, and it was agreed, bes ides , to take an inventory of all the treas ures on board, and to arrange their pres ervation. A c c es s to the interior of the brig was now eas y. T he tide was s till going down and the dec k was prac tic able. T he ballas t, c om pos ed of heavy m as s es of iron, had broken through in s everal plac es . T he nois e of the s ea c ould be heard as it rus hed out at the holes in the hull. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions , hatc hets in hand, advanc ed along the s hattered dec k. Cas es of all s orts enc um bered it, and, as they had been but a very s hort tim e in the water, their c ontents were perhaps uninjured. T hey then bus ied them s elves in plac ing all this c argo in s afety. T he water would not return for s everal hours , and thes e hours m us t be em ployed in the m os t profitable way. A yrton and P enc roft had, at the entranc e m ade in the hull, dis c overed tac kle, whic h would s erve to hois t up the barrels and c hes ts . T he boat rec eived them and trans ported them to the s hore. T hey took the artic les as they c am e, intending to s ort them afterwards . A t any rate, the s ettlers s aw at onc e, with extrem e s atis fac tion, that the brig pos s es s ed a very varied c argo--an as s ortm ent of all s orts of artic les , utens ils , m anufac tured goods , and tools --s uc h as the s hips whic h m ake the great c oas ting-trade of P olynes ia are us ually laden with. It was probable that they would find a little of everything, and they agreed that it was exac tly what was nec es s ary for the c olony of Linc oln Is land. However--and Cyrus Harding obs erved it in s ilent as tonis hm ent--not only, as has been s aid, had the hull of the brig enorm ous ly s uffered from the s hoc k, whatever it was , that had oc c as ioned the c atas trophe, but the interior arrangem ents had been des troyed, es pec ially towards the bows . P artitions and s tanc hions were s m as hed, as if s om e trem endous s hell had burs t in the interior of the brig. T he c olonis ts c ould eas ily go fore and aft, after having rem oved the c as es as they were extric ated. T hey were not heavy bales , whic h would have been diffic ult to rem ove, but s im ple pac kages , of whic h the s towage, bes ides , was no longer rec ognizable. T he c olonis ts then reac hed the s tern of the brig--the part form erly s urm ounted by the poop. It was there that, following A yrton's direc tions , they m us t look for the powder-m agazine. Cyrus Harding thought that it had not exploded; that it was pos s ible s om e barrels m ight be s aved, and that the powder, whic h is us ually enc los ed in m etal c overings m ight not have s uffered from c ontac t with the water. T his , in fac t, was jus t what had happened. T hey extric ated from am ong a large num ber of s hot twenty barrels , the ins ides of whic h were lined with c opper. P enc roft was c onvinc ed by the evidenc e of his own eyes that the des truc tion of the "S peedy" c ould not be attributed to an explos ion. T hat part of the hull in whic h the m agazine was s ituated was , m oreover, that whic h had s uffered leas t. "It m ay be s o," s aid the obs tinate s ailor; "but as to a roc k, there is not one in the c hannel! " "T hen, how did it happen?" as ked Herbert. "I don't know," ans wered P enc roft, "Captain Harding does n't know, and nobody knows or ever will know! " S everal hours had pas s ed during thes e res earc hes , and the tide began to flow. W ork m us t be s us pended for the pres ent. T here was no fear of the brig being c arried away by the s ea, for s he was already fixed as firm ly as if m oored by her anc hors . T hey c ould, therefore, without inc onvenienc e, wait until the next day to res um e operations ; but, as to the ves s el its elf, s he was doom ed, and it would be bes t to has ten to s ave the rem ains of her hull, as s he would not be long in dis appearing in the quic ks ands of the c hannel. It was now five o'c loc k in the evening. It had been a hard day's work for the m en. T hey ate with good appetite, and notwiths tanding their fatigue, they c ould not res is t, after dinner, their des ire of ins pec ting the c as es whic h c om pos ed the c argo of the "S peedy." Mos t of them c ontained c lothes , whic h, as m ay be believed, was well rec eived. T here were enough to c lothe a whole c olony--linen for every one's us e, s hoes for every one's feet. "W e are too ric h! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "B ut what are we going to do with all this ?" A nd every m om ent burs t forth the hurrahs of the delighted s ailor when he c aught s ight of the barrels of gunpowder, firearm s and s idearm s , balls of c otton, im plem ents of hus bandry, c arpenter's , joiner's , and blac ks m ith's tools , and boxes of all kinds of s eeds , not in the leas t injured by their s hort s ojourn in the water. A h, two years before, how thes e things would have been prized! A nd now, even though the indus trious c olonis ts had provided them s elves with tools , thes e treas ures would find their us e. T here was no want of s pac e in the s tore-room s of Granite Hous e, but that daytim e would not allow them to s tow away the whole. It would not do als o to forget that the s ix s urvivors of the "S peedy's " c rew had landed on the is land, for they were in all probability s c oundrels of the deepes t dye, and it was nec es s ary that the c olonis ts s hould be on their guard agains t them . A lthough the bridges over the Merc y were rais ed, the c onvic ts would not be s topped by a river or a s tream and, rendered des perate, thes e wretc hes would be c apable of anything. T hey would s ee later what plan it would be bes t to follow; but in the m eantim e it was nec es s ary to m ount guard over c as es and pac kages heaped up near the Chim neys , and thus the s ettlers em ployed them s elves in turn during the night. T he m orning c am e, however, without the c onvic ts having attem pted any attac k. Mas ter J up and Top, on guard at the foot of Granite Hous e, would have quic kly given the alarm . T he three following day--the 19th, 20th, and 21s t of Oc tober--were em ployed in s aving everything of value, or of any us e whatever, either from the c argo or rigging of the brig. A t low tide they overhauled the hold--at high tide they s towed away the res c ued artic les . A great part of the c opper s heathing had been torn from the hull, whic h every day s ank lower. B ut before the s and had s wallowed the heavy things whic h had fallen through the bottom , A yrton and P enc roft, diving to the bed of the c hannel, rec overed the c hains and anc hors of the brig, the iron of her ballas t, and even four guns , whic h, floated by m eans of em pty c as ks , were brought to s hore. It m ay be s een that the ars enal of the c olony had gained by the wrec k, as well as the s toreroom s of Granite Hous e. P enc roft, always enthus ias tic in his projec ts , already s poke of c ons truc ting a battery to c om m and the c hannel and the m outh of the river. W ith four guns , he engaged to prevent any fleet, "however powerful it m ight be," from venturing into the waters of Linc oln Is land! In the m eantim e, when nothing rem ained of the brig but a us eles s hulk, bad weather c am e on, whic h s oon finis hed her. Cyrus Harding had intended to blow her up, s o as to c ollec t the rem ains on the s hore, but a s trong gale from the northeas t and a heavy s ea c om pelled him to ec onom ize his powder. In fac t, on the night of the 23rd, the hull entirely broke up, and s om e of the wrec k was c as t up on the beac h. A s to the papers on board, it is us eles s to s ay that, although he c arefully s earc hed the loc kers of the poop, Harding did not dis c over any trac e of them . T he pirates had evidently des troyed everything that c onc erned either the c aptain or the owners of the "S peedy," and, as the nam e of her port was not painted on her c ounter, there was nothing whic h would tell them her nationality. However, by the s hape of her boats A yrton and P enc roft believed that the brig was of E nglis h build. A week after the c as trophe--or, rather, after the fortunate, though inexplic able, event to whic h the c olony owed its pres ervation--nothing m ore c ould be s een of the ves s el, even at low tide. T he wrec k had dis appeared, and Granite Hous e was enric hed by nearly all it had c ontained. However, the m ys tery whic h enveloped its s trange des truc tion would doubtles s never have been c leared away if, on the 30th of Novem ber, Neb, s trolling on the beac h, had not found a piec e of a thic k iron c ylinder, bearing trac es of explos ion. T he edges of this c ylinder were twis ted and broken, as if they had been s ubjec ted to the ac tion of s om e explos ive s ubs tanc e. Neb brought this piec e of m etal to his m as ter, who was then oc c upied with his c om panions in the works hop of the Chim neys . Cyrus Harding exam ined the c ylinder attentively, then, turning to P enc roft,-"Y ou pers is t, m y friend," s aid he, "in m aintaining that the 'S peedy' was not los t in c ons equenc e of a c ollis ion?" "Y es , c aptain," ans wered the s ailor. "Y ou know as well as I do that there are no roc ks in the c hannel." "B ut s uppos e s he had run agains t this piec e of iron?" s aid the engineer, s howing the broken c ylinder. "W hat, that bit of pipe! " exc laim ed P enc roft in a tone of perfec t inc redulity. "My friends ," res um ed Harding, "you rem em ber that before s he foundered the brig ros e on the s um m it of a regular waters pout?" "Y es , c aptain," replied Herbert. "W ell, would you like to know what oc c as ioned that waters pout? It was this ," s aid the engineer, holding up the broken tube.

"T hat?" returned P enc roft. "Y es ! T his c ylinder is all that rem ains of a torpedo! " "A torpedo! " exc laim ed the engineer's c om panions . "A nd who put the torpedo there?" dem anded P enc roft, who did not like to yield. "A ll that I c an tell you is , that it was not I," ans wered Cyrus Harding; "but it was there, and you have been able to judge of its inc om parable power! " Chapter 5 S o, then, all was explained by the s ubm arine explos ion of this torpedo. Cyrus Harding c ould not be m is taken, as , during the war of the Union, he had had oc c as ion to try thes e terrible engines of des truc tion. It was under the ac tion of this c ylinder, c harged with s om e explos ive s ubs tanc e, nitro- glyc erine, pic rate, or s om e other m aterial of the s am e nature, that the water of the c hannel had been rais ed like a dom e, the bottom of the brig c rus hed in, and s he had s unk ins tantly, the dam age done to her hull being s o c ons iderable that it was im pos s ible to refloat her. T he "S peedy" had not been able to withs tand a torpedo that would have des troyed an ironc lad as eas ily as a fis hing-boat! Y es ! all was explained, everything--exc ept the pres enc e of the torpedo in the waters of the c hannel! "My friends , then," s aid Cyrus Harding, "we c an no longer be in doubt as to the pres enc e of a m ys terious being, a c as taway like us , perhaps , abandoned on our is land, and I s ay this in order that A yrton m ay be ac quainted with all the s trange events whic h have oc c urred during thes e two years . W ho this benefic ent s tranger is , whos e intervention has , s o fortunately for us , been m anifes ted on m any oc c as ions , I c annot im agine. W hat his objec t c an be in ac ting thus , in c onc ealing him s elf after rendering us s o m any s ervic es , I c annot unders tand: B ut his s ervic es are not the les s real, and are of s uc h a nature that only a m an pos s es s ed of prodigious power, c ould render them . A yrton is indebted to him as m uc h as we are, for, if it was the s tranger who s aved m e from the waves after the fall from the balloon, evidently it was he who wrote the doc um ent, who plac ed the bottle in the c hannel, and who has m ade known to us the s ituation of our c om panion. I will add that it was he who guided that c hes t, provided with everything we wanted, and s tranded it on Flots am P oint; that it was he who lighted that fire on the heights of the is land, whic h perm itted you to land; that it was he who fired that bullet found in the body of the pec c ary; that it was he who plunged that torpedo into the c hannel, whic h des troyed the brig; in a word, that all thos e inexplic able events , for whic h we c ould not as s ign a reas on, are due to this m ys terious being. T herefore, whoever he m ay be, whether s hipwrec ked, or exiled on our is land, we s hall be ungrateful, if we think ours elves freed from gratitude towards him . W e have c ontrac ted a debt, and I hope that we s hall one day pay it." "Y ou are right in s peaking thus , m y dear Cyrus ," replied Gideon S pilett. "Yes , there is an alm os t all-powerful being, hidden in s om e part of the is land, and whos e influenc e has been s ingularly us eful to our c olony. I will add that the unknown appears to pos s es s m eans of ac tion whic h border on the s upernatural, if in the events of prac tic al life the s upernatural were rec ognizable. Is it he who is in s ec ret c om m unic ation with us by the well in Granite Hous e, and has he thus a knowledge of all our plans ? W as it he who threw us that bottle, when the ves s el m ade her firs t c ruis e? W as it he who threw Top out of the lake, and killed the dugong? W as it he, who as everything leads us to believe, s aved you from the waves , and that under c irc um s tanc es in whic h any one els e would not have been able to ac t? If it was he, he pos s es s es a power whic h renders him m as ter of the elem ents ." T he reporter's reas oning was jus t, and every one felt it to be s o. "Yes ," rejoined Cyrus Harding, "if the intervention of a hum an being is not m ore ques tionable for us , I agree that he has at his dis pos al m eans of ac tion beyond thos e pos s es s ed by hum anity. T here is a m ys tery s till, but if we dis c over the m an, the m ys tery will be dis c overed als o. T he ques tion, then, is , ought we to res pec t the inc ognito of this generous being, or ought we to do everything to find him out? W hat is your opinion on the m atter?" "My opinion," s aid P enc roft, "is that, whoever he m ay be, he is a brave m an, and he has m y es teem ! " "B e it s o," ans wered Harding, "but that is not an ans wer, P enc roft." "Mas ter," then s aid Neb, "m y idea is , that we m ay s earc h as long as we like for this gentlem an whom you are talking about, but that we s hall not dis c over him till he pleas es ." "T hat's not bad, what you s ay, Neb," obs erved P enc roft. "I am of Neb's opinion," s aid Gideon S pilett, "but that is no reas on for not attem pting the adventure. W hether we find this m ys terious being or not, we s hall at leas t have fulfilled our duty towards him ." "A nd you, m y boy, give us your opinion," s aid the engineer, turning to Herbert. "Oh," c ried Herbert, his c ountenanc e full of anim ation, "how I s hould like to thank him , he who s aved you firs t, and who has now s aved us ! " "Of c ours e, m y boy," replied P enc roft, "s o would I and all of us . I am not inquis itive, but I would give one of m y eyes to s ee this individual fac e to fac e! It s eem s to m e that he m us t be hands om e, tall, s trong, with a s plendid beard, radiant hair, and that he m us t be s eated on c louds , a great ball in his hands ! " "B ut, P enc roft," ans wered S pilett, "you are des c ribing a pic ture of the Creator." "P os s ibly, Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "but that is how I im agine him ! " "A nd you, A yrton?" as ked the engineer. "Captain Harding," replied A yrton, "I c an give you no better advic e in this m atter. W hatever you do will be bes t; when you wis h m e to join you in your res earc hes , I am ready to follow you. "I thank you, A yrton," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "but I s hould like a m ore direc t ans wer to the ques tion I put to you. Y ou are our c om panion; you have already endangered your life s everal tim es for us , and you, as well as the res t, ought to be c ons ulted in the m atter of any im portant dec is ion. S peak, therefore." "Captain Harding," replied A yrton, "I think that we ought to do everything to dis c over this unknown benefac tor. P erhaps he is alone. P erhaps he is s uffering. P erhaps he has a life to be renewed. I, too, as you s aid, have a debt of gratitude to pay him . It was he, it c ould be only he who m us t have c om e to Tabor Is land, who found there the wretc h you knew, and who m ade known to you that there was an unfortunate m an there to be s aved. T herefore it is , thanks to him , that I have bec om e a m an again. No, I will never forget him ! " "T hat is s ettled, then," s aid Cyrus Harding. "W e will begin our res earc hes as s oon as pos s ible. W e will not leave a c orner of the is land unexplored. W e will s earc h into its m os t s ec ret rec es s es , and will hope that our unknown friend will pardon us in c ons ideration of our intentions ! " For s everal days the c olonis ts were ac tively em ployed in haym aking and the harves t. B efore putting their projec t of exploring the yet unknown parts of the is land into exec ution, they wis hed to get all pos s ible work finis hed. It was als o the tim e for c ollec ting the various vegetables from the Tabor Is land plants . A ll was s towed away, and happily there was no want of room in Granite Hous e, in whic h they m ight have hous ed all the treas ures of the is land. T he produc ts of the c olony were there, m ethodic ally arranged, and in a s afe plac e, as m ay be believed, s heltered as m uc h from anim als as from m an. T here was no fear of dam p in the m iddle of that thic k m as s of granite. Many natural exc avations s ituated in the upper pas s age were enlarged either by pic k-axe or m ine, and Granite Hous e thus bec am e a general warehous e, c ontaining all the provis ions , arm s , tools , and s pare utens ils --in a word, all the s tores of the c olony. A s to the guns obtained from the brig, they were pretty piec es of ordnanc e, whic h, at P enc roft's entreaty, were hois ted by m eans of tac kle and pulleys , right up into Granite Hous e; em bras ures were m ade between the windows , and the s hining m uzzles of the guns c ould s oon be s een through the granite c liff. From this height they c om m anded all Union B ay. It was like a little Gibraltar, and any ves s el anc hored off the is let would inevitably be expos ed to the fire of this aerial battery. "Captain," s aid P enc roft one day, it was the 8th of Novem ber, "now that our fortific ations are finis hed, it would be a good thing if we tried the range of our guns ." "Do you think that is us eful?" as ked the engineer. "It is m ore than us eful, it is nec es s ary! W ithout that how are we to know to what dis tanc e we c an s end one of thos e pretty s hot with whic h we are provided?" "T ry them , P enc roft," replied the engineer. "However, I think that in m aking the experim ent, we ought to em ploy, not the ordinary powder, the s upply of whic h, I think, s hould rem ain untouc hed, but the pyroxyle whic h will never fail us ." "Can the c annon s upport the s hoc k of the pyroxyle?" as ked the reporter, who was not les s anxious than P enc roft to try the artillery of Granite Hous e. "I believe s o. However," added the engineer, "we will be prudent." T he engineer was right in thinking that the guns were of exc ellent m ake. Made of forged s teel, and breec h-loaders , they ought c ons equently to be able to bear a c ons iderable c harge, and als o have an enorm ous range. In fac t, as regards prac tic al effec t, the trans it des c ribed by the ball ought to be as extended as pos s ible, and this tens ion c ould only be obtained under the c ondition that the projec tile s hould be im pelled with a very great initial veloc ity. "Now," s aid Harding to his c om panions , "the initial veloc ity is in proportion to the quantity of powder us ed. In the fabric ation of thes e piec es , everything depends on em ploying a m etal with the highes t pos s ible power of res is tanc e, and s teel is inc ontes tably that m etal of all others whic h res is ts the bes t. I have, therefore, reas on to believe that our guns will bear without ris k the expans ion of the pyroxyle gas , and will give exc ellent res ults ." "W e s hall be a great deal m ore c ertain of that when we have tried them ! " ans wered P enc roft. It is unnec es s ary to s ay that the four c annons were in perfec t order. S inc e they had been taken from the water, the s ailor had bes towed great c are upon them . How m any hours he had s pent, in rubbing, greas ing, and polis hing them , and in c leaning the m ec hanis m ! A nd now the piec es were as brilliant as if they had been on board a frigate of the United S tates Navy. On this day, therefore, in pres enc e of all the m em bers of the c olony, inc luding Mas ter J up and Top, the four c annon were s uc c es s ively tried. T hey were c harged with pyroxyle, taking into c ons ideration its explos ive power, whic h, as has been s aid, is four tim es that of ordinary powder: the projec tile to be fired was c ylindroc onic . P enc roft, holding the end of the quic k-m atc h, s tood ready to fire. A t Harding's s ignal, he fired. T he s hot, pas s ing over the is let, fell into the s ea at a dis tanc e whic h c ould not be c alc ulated with exac titude. T he s ec ond gun was pointed at the roc ks at the end of Flots am P oint, and the s hot s triking a s harp roc k nearly three m iles from Granite Hous e, m ade it fly into s plinters . It was Herbert who had pointed this gun and fired it, and very proud he was of his firs t s hot. P enc roft only was prouder than he! S uc h a s hot, the honor of whic h belonged to his dear boy. T he third s hot, aim ed this tim e at the downs form ing the upper s ide of Union B ay, s truc k the s and at a dis tanc e of four m iles , then having ric oc heted: was los t in the s ea in a c loud of s pray. For the fourth piec e Cyrus Harding s lightly inc reas ed the c harge, s o as to try its extrem e range. T hen, all s tanding as ide for fear of its burs ting, the m atc h was lighted by m eans of a long c ord. A trem endous report was heard, but the piec e had held good, and the c olonis ts rus hing to the windows , s aw the s hot graze the roc ks of Mandible Cape, nearly five m iles from Granite Hous e, and dis appear in S hark Gulf. "W ell, c aptain," exc laim ed P enc roft, whos e c heers m ight have rivaled the reports them s elves , "what do you s ay of our battery? A ll the pirates in the P ac ific have only to pres ent them s elves before Granite Hous e! Not one c an land there now without our perm is s ion! " "B elieve m e, P enc roft," replied the engineer, "it would be better not to have to m ake the experim ent." "W ell," s aid the s ailor, "what ought to be done with regard to thos e s ix villains who are roam ing about the is land? A re we to leave them to overrun our fores ts , our fields , our plantations ? T hes e pirates are regular jaguars , and it s eem s to m e we ought not to hes itate to treat them as s uc h! W hat do you think, A yrton?" added P enc roft, turning to his c om panion. A yrton hes itated at firs t to reply, and Cyrus Harding regretted that P enc roft had s o thoughtles s ly put this ques tion. A nd he was m uc h m oved when A yrton replied in a hum ble tone,-"I have been one of thos e jaguars , Mr. P enc roft. I have no right to s peak." A nd with a s low s tep he walked away. P enc roft unders tood. "W hat a brute I am ! " he exc laim ed. "P oor A yrton! He has as m uc h right to s peak here as any one! " "Y es ," s aid Gideon S pilett, "but his res erve does him honor, and it is right to res pec t the feeling whic h he has about his s ad pas t." "Certainly, Mr. S pilett," ans wered the s ailor, "and there is no fear of m y doing s o again. I would rather bite m y tongue off than c aus e A yrton any pain! B ut to return to the ques tion. It s eem s to m e that thes e ruffians have no right to any pity, and that we ought to rid the is land of them as s oon as pos s ible." "Is that your opinion, P enc roft?" as ked the engineer. "Quite m y opinion." "A nd before hunting them m erc iles s ly, you would not wait until they had c om m itted s om e fres h ac t of hos tility agains t us ?" "Is n't what they have done already enough?" as ked P enc roft, who did not unders tand thes e s c ruples . "T hey m ay adopt other s entim ents ! " s aid Harding, "and perhaps repent." "T hey repent! " exc laim ed the s ailor, s hrugging his s houlders . "P enc roft, think of A yrton! " s aid Herbert, taking the s ailor's hand. "He bec am e an hones t m an again! " P enc roft looked at his c om panions one after the other. He had never thought of his propos al being m et with any objec tion. His rough nature c ould not allow that they ought to c om e to term s with the ras c als who had landed on the is land with B ob Harvey's ac c om plic es , the m urderers of the c rew of the "S peedy," and he looked upon them as wild beas ts whic h ought to be des troyed without delay and without rem ors e. "Com e! " s aid be. "E verybody is agains t m e! Y ou wis h to be generous to thos e villains ! V ery well; I hope we m ayn't repent it! " "W hat danger s hall we run," s aid Herbert, "if we take c are to be always on our guard?" "Hum ! " obs erved the reporter, who had not given any dec ided opinion. "T hey are s ix and well arm ed. If they eac h lay hid in a c orner, and eac h fired at one of us , they would s oon be m as ters of the c olony! " "W hy have they not done s o?" s aid Herbert. "No doubt bec aus e it was not their interes t to do it. B es ides , we are s ix als o." "W ell, well! " replied P enc roft, whom no reas oning c ould have c onvinc ed. "Let us leave thes e good people to do what they like, and don't think anything m ore about them ! " "Com e, P enc roft," s aid Neb, "don't m ake yours elf out s o bad as all that! S uppos e one of thes e unfortunate m en were here before you, within good range of your guns , you would not fire." "I would fire on him as I would on a m ad dog, Neb," replied P enc roft c oldly. "P enc roft," s aid the engineer, "you have always s hown m uc h deferenc e to m y advic e; will you, in this m atter, yield to m e?" "I will do as you pleas e, Captain Harding," ans wered the s ailor, who was not at all c onvinc ed.

"V ery well, wait, and we will not attac k them unles s we are attac ked firs t." T hus their behavior towards the pirates was agreed upon, although P enc roft augured nothing good from it. T hey were not to attac k them , but were to be on their guard. A fter all, the is land was large and fertile. If any s entim ent of hones ty yet rem ained in the bottom of their hearts , thes e wretc hes m ight perhaps be rec laim ed. W as it not their interes t in the s ituation in whic h they found them s elves to begin a new life? A t any rate, for hum anity's s ake alone, it would be right to wait. T he c olonis ts would no longer as before, be able to go and c om e without fear. Hitherto they had only wild beas ts to guard agains t, and now s ix c onvic ts of the wors t des c ription, perhaps , were roam ing over their is land. It was s erious , c ertainly, and to les s brave m en, it would have been s ec urity los t! No m atter! A t pres ent, the c olonis ts had reas on on their s ide agains t P enc roft. W ould they be right in the future? T hat rem ained to be s een. Chapter 6 However, the c hief bus ines s of the c olonis ts was to m ake that c om plete exploration of the is land whic h had been dec ided upon, and whic h would have two objec ts : to dis c over the m ys terious being whos e exis tenc e was now indis putable, and at the s am e tim e to find out what had bec om e of the pirates , what retreat they had c hos en, what s ort of life they were leading, and what was to be feared from them . Cyrus Harding wis hed to s et out without delay; but as the expedition would be of s om e days duration, it appeared bes t to load the c art with different m aterials and tools in order to fac ilitate the organization of the enc am pm ents . One of the onagers , however, having hurt its leg, c ould not be harnes s ed at pres ent, and a few days ' res t was nec es s ary. T he departure was , therefore, put off for a week, until the 20th of Novem ber. T he m onth of Novem ber in this latitude c orres ponds to the m onth of May in the northern zones . It was , therefore, the fine s eas on. T he s un was entering the tropic of Capric orn, and gave the longes t days in the year. T he tim e was , therefore, very favorable for the projec ted expedition, whic h, if it did not ac c om plis h its princ ipal objec t, would at any rate be fruitful in dis c overies , es pec ially of natural produc tions , s inc e Harding propos ed to explore thos e dens e fores ts of the Far W es t, whic h s tretc hed to the extrem ity of the S erpentine P enins ula. During the nine days whic h prec eded their departure, it was agreed that the work on P ros pec t Heights s hould be finis hed off. Moreover, it was nec es s ary for A yrton to return to the c orral, where the dom es tic ated anim als required his c are. It was dec ided that he s hould s pend two days there, and return to Granite Hous e after having liberally s upplied the s tables . A s he was about to s tart, Harding as ked him if he would not like one of them to ac c om pany him , obs erving that the is land was les s s afe than form erly. A yrton replied that this was unnec es s ary, as he was enough for the work, and that bes ides he apprehended no danger. If anything oc c urred at the c orral, or in the neighborhood, he c ould ins tantly warn the c olonis ts by s ending a telegram to Granite Hous e. A yrton departed at dawn on the 9th, taking the c art drawn by one onager, and two hours after, the elec tric wire announc ed that he had found all in order at the c orral. During thes e two days Harding bus ied him s elf in exec uting a projec t whic h would c om pletely guard Granite Hous e agains t any s urpris e. It was nec es s ary to c om pletely c onc eal the opening of the old outlet, whic h was already walled up and partly hidden under gras s and plants , at the s outhern angle of Lake Grant. Nothing was eas ier, s inc e if the level of the lake was rais ed two or three feet, the opening would be quite beneath it. Now, to rais e this level they had only to es tablis h a dam at the two openings m ade by the lake, and by whic h were fed Creek Glyc erine and Falls River. T he c olonis ts worked with a will, and the two dam s whic h bes ides did not exc eed eight feet in width by three in height, were rapidly erec ted by m eans of well-c em ented bloc ks of s tone. T his work finis hed, it would have been im pos s ible to gues s that at that part of the lake, there exis ted a s ubterranean pas s age through whic h the overflow of the lake form erly es c aped. Of c ours e the little s tream whic h fed the res ervoir of Granite Hous e and worked the lift, had been c arefully pres erved, and the water c ould not fail. T he lift onc e rais ed, this s ure and c om fortable retreat would be s afe from any s urpris e. T his work had been s o quic kly done, that P enc roft, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert found tim e to m ake an expedition to P ort B alloon, T he s ailor was very anxious to know if the little c reek in whic h the "B onadventure" was m oored, had been vis ited by the c onvic ts . "T hes e gentlem en," he obs erved, "landed on the s outh c oas t, and if they followed the s hore, it is to be feared that they m ay have dis c overed the little harbor, and in that c as e, I wouldn't give half-a-dollar for our 'B onadventure.'" P enc roft's apprehens ions were not without foundation, and a vis it to P ort B alloon appeared to be very des irable. T he s ailor and his c om panions s et off on the 10th of Novem ber, after dinner, well arm ed. P enc roft, os tentatious ly s lipping two bullets into eac h barrel of his rifle, s hook his head in a way whic h betokened nothing good to any one who approac hed too near him , whether "m an or beas t," as he s aid. Gideon S pilett and Herbert als o took their guns , and about three o'c loc k all three left Granite Hous e. Neb ac c om panied them to the turn of the Merc y, and after they had c ros s ed, he rais ed the bridge. It was agreed that a guns hot s hould announc e the c olonis ts ' return, and that at the s ignal Neb s hould return and rees tablis h the c om m unic ation between the two banks of the river. T he little band advanc ed direc tly along the road whic h led to the s outhern c oas t of the is land. T his was only a dis tanc e of three m iles and a half, but Gideon S pilett and his c om panions took two hours to travers e it. T hey exam ined all the border of the road, the thic k fores t, as well as T abor Mars h. T hey found no trac e of the fugitives who, no doubt, not having yet dis c overed the num ber of the c olonis ts , or the m eans of defens e whic h they had at their dis pos al, had gained the les s ac c es s ible parts of the is land. A rrived at P ort B alloon, P enc roft s aw with extrem e s atis fac tion that the "B onadventure" was tranquilly floating in the narrow c reek. However, P ort B alloon was s o well hidden am ong high roc ks , that it c ould s c arc ely be dis c overed either from the land or the s ea. "Com e," s aid P enc roft, "the blac kguards have not been there yet. Long gras s s uits reptiles bes t, and evidently we s hall find them in the Far W es t." "A nd it's very luc ky, for if they had found the 'B onadventure'," added Herbert, "they would have gone off in her, and we s hould have been prevented from returning to T abor Is land." "Indeed," rem arked the reporter, "it will be im portant to take a doc um ent there whic h will m ake known the s ituation of Linc oln Is land, and A yrton's new res idenc e, in c as e the S c otc h yac ht returns to fetc h him ." "W ell, the 'B onadventure' is always there, Mr. S pilett," ans wered the s ailor. "S he and her c rew are ready to s tart at a m om ent's notic e! " "I think, P enc roft, that that is a thing to be done after our exploration of the is land is finis hed. It is pos s ible after all that the s tranger, if we m anage to find him , m ay know as m uc h about Tabor Is land as about Linc oln Is land. Do not forget that he is c ertainly the author of the doc um ent, and he m ay, perhaps , know how far we m ay c ount on the return of the yac ht! " "B ut! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "who in the world c an he be? T he fellow knows us and we know nothing about him ! If he is a s im ple c as taway, why s hould he c onc eal him s elf! W e are hones t m en, I s uppos e, and the s oc iety of hones t m en is n't unpleas ant to any one. Did he c om e here voluntarily? Can he leave the is land if he likes ? Is he here s till? W ill he rem ain any longer?" Chatting thus , P enc roft, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert got on board and looked about the dec k of the "B onadventure." A ll at onc e, the s ailor having exam ined the bitts to whic h the c able of the anc hor was s ec ured,-"Hallo," he c ried, "this is queer! " "W hat is the m atter, P enc roft?" as ked the reporter. "T he m atter is , that it was not I who m ade this knot! " A nd P enc roft s howed a rope whic h fas tened the c able to the bitt its elf. "W hat, it was not you?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "No! I c an s wear to it. T his is a reef knot, and I always m ake a running bowline." "Y ou m us t be m is taken, P enc roft." "I am not m is taken! " dec lared the s ailor. "My hand does it s o naturally, and one's hand is never m is taken! " "T hen c an the c onvic ts have been on board?" as ked Herbert. "I know nothing about that," ans wered P enc roft, "but what is c ertain, is that s om e one has weighed the 'B onadventure's ' anc hor and dropped it again! A nd look here, here is another proof! T he c able of the anc hor has been run out, and its s ervic e is no longer at the haws e-hole. I repeat that s om e one has been us ing our ves s el! " "B ut if the c onvic ts had us ed her, they would have pillaged her, or rather gone off with her." "Gone off! where to--to T abor Is land?" replied P enc roft. "Do you think, they would ris k them s elves in a boat of s uc h s m all tonnage?" "W e m us t, bes ides , be s ure that they know of the is let," rejoined the reporter. "However that m ay be," s aid the s ailor, "as s ure as m y nam e is B onadventure P enc roft, of the V ineyard, our 'B onadventure' has s ailed without us ! " T he s ailor was pos itive that neither Gideon S pilett nor Herbert c ould dis pute his s tatem ent. It was evident that the ves s el had been m oved, m ore or les s , s inc e P enc roft had brought her to P ort B alloon. A s to the s ailor, he had not the s lightes t doubt that the anc hor had been rais ed and then dropped again. Now, what was the us e of thes e two m aneuvers , unles s the ves s el had been em ployed in s om e expedition? "B ut how was it we did not s ee the 'B onadventure' pas s in the s ight of the is land?" obs erved the reporter, who was anxious to bring forward every pos s ible objec tion. "W hy, Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "they would only have to s tart in the night with a good breeze, and they would be out of s ight of the is land in two hours ." "W ell," res um ed Gideon S pilett, "I as k again, what objec t c ould the c onvic ts have had in us ing the 'B onadventure,' and why, after they had m ade us e of her, s hould they have brought her bac k to port?" "W hy, Mr. S pilett," replied the s ailor, "we m us t put that am ong the unac c ountable things , and not think anything m ore about it. T he c hief thing is that the 'B onadventure' was there, and s he is there now. Only, unfortunately, if the c onvic ts take her a s ec ond tim e, we s hall very likely not find her again in her plac e! " "T hen, P enc roft," s aid Herbert, "would it not be wis es t to bring the 'B onadventure' off to Granite Hous e?" "Y es and no," ans wered P enc roft, "or rather no. T he m outh of the Merc y is a bad plac e for a ves s el, and the s ea is heavy there." "B ut by hauling her up on the s and, to the foot of the Chim neys ?" "P erhaps yes ," replied P enc roft. "A t any rate, s inc e we m us t leave Granite Hous e for a long expedition, I think the 'B onadventure' will be s afer here during our abs enc e, and we s hall do bes t to leave her here until the is land is rid of thes e blac kguards ." "T hat is exac tly m y opinion," s aid the reporter. "A t any rate in the event of bad weather, s he will not be expos ed here as s he would be at the m outh of the Merc y." "B ut s uppos e the c onvic ts pay her another vis it," s aid Herbert. "W ell, m y boy," replied P enc roft, "not finding her here, they would not be long in finding her on the s ands of Granite Hous e, and, during our abs enc e, nothing c ould hinder them from s eizing her! I agree, therefore, with Mr. S pilett, that s he m us t be left in P ort B alloon. B ut, if on our return we have not rid the is land of thos e ras c als , it will be prudent to bring our boat to Granite Hous e, until the tim e when we need not fear any unpleas ant vis its ." "T hat's s ettled. Let us be off," s aid the reporter. P enc roft, Herbert, and Gideon S pilett, on their return to Granite Hous e, told the engineer all that had pas s ed, and the latter approved of their arrangem ents both for the pres ent and the future. He als o prom is ed the s ailor that he would s tudy that part of the c hannel s ituated between the is let and the c oas t, s o as to as c ertain if it would not be pos s ible to m ake an artific ial harbor there by m eans of dam s . In this way, the "B onadventure" would be always within reac h, under the eyes of the c olonis ts , and if nec es s ary, under loc k and key. T hat evening a telegram was s ent to A yrton, reques ting him to bring from the c orral a c ouple of goats , whic h Neb wis hed to ac c lim atize to the plateau. S ingularly enough, A yrton did not ac knowledge the rec eipt of the des patc h, as he was ac c us tom ed to do. T his c ould not but as tonis h the engineer. B ut it m ight be that A yrton was not at that m om ent in the c orral, or even that he was on his way bac k to Granite Hous e. In fac t, two days had already pas s ed s inc e his departure, and it had been dec ided that on the evening of the 10th or at the lates t the m orning of the 11th, he s hould return. T he c olonis ts waited, therefore, for A yrton to appear on P ros pec t Heights . Neb and Herbert even watc hed at the bridge s o as to be ready to lower it the m om ent their c om panion pres ented him s elf. B ut up to ten in the evening, there were no s igns of A yrton. It was , therefore, judged bes t to s end a fres h des patc h, requiring an im m ediate reply. T he bell of the telegraph at Granite Hous e rem ained m ute. T he c olonis ts ' uneas ines s was great. W hat had happened? W as A yrton no longer at the c orral, or if he was s till there, had he no longer c ontrol over his m ovem ents ? Could they go to the c orral in this dark night? T hey c ons ulted. S om e wis hed to go, the others to rem ain. "B ut," s aid Herbert, "perhaps s om e ac c ident has happened to the telegraphic apparatus , s o that it works no longer?" "T hat m ay be," s aid the reporter. "W ait till to-m orrow," replied Cyrus Harding. "It is pos s ible, indeed, that A yrton has not rec eived our des patc h, or even that we have not rec eived his ." T hey waited, of c ours e not without s om e anxiety. A t dawn of day, the 11th of Novem ber, Harding again s ent the elec tric c urrent along the wire and rec eived no reply. He tried again: the s am e res ult. "Off to the c orral," s aid he. "A nd well arm ed! " added P enc roft. It was im m ediately dec ided that Granite Hous e s hould not be left alone and that Neb s hould rem ain there. A fter having ac c om panied his friends to Creek Glyc erine, he rais ed the bridge; and waiting behind a tree he watc hed for the return of either his c om panions or A yrton. In the event of the pirates pres enting them s elves and attem pting to forc e the pas s age, he was to endeavor to s top them by firing on them , and as a las t res ourc e he was to take refuge in Granite Hous e, where, the lift onc e rais ed, he would be in s afety. Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, and P enc roft were to repair to the c orral, and if they did not find A yrton, s earc h the neighboring woods . A t s ix o'c loc k in the m orning, the engineer and his three c om panions had pas s ed Creek Glyc erine, and Neb pos ted him s elf behind a s m all m ound c rowned by s everal dragon trees , on the left bank of the s tream . T he c olonis ts , after leaving the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , im m ediately took the road to the c orral. T hey s houldered their guns , ready to fire on the s lightes t hos tile dem ons tration. T he two rifles and the two guns had been loaded with ball. T he wood was thic k on eac h s ide of the road and m ight eas ily have c onc ealed the c onvic ts , who owing to their weapons would have been really form idable. T he c olonis ts walked rapidly and in s ilenc e. Top prec eded them , s om etim es running on the road, s om etim es taking a ram ble into the wood, but always quiet and not appearing to fear anything unus ual. A nd they c ould be s ure that the faithful dog would not allow them to be s urpris ed, but would bark at the leas t appearanc e of danger. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions followed bes ide the road the wire whic h c onnec ted the c orral with Granite Hous e. A fter walking for nearly two m iles , they had not as yet dis c overed any explanation of the diffic ulty. T he pos ts were in good order, the wire regularly extended. However, at that m om ent the engineer obs erved that the wire appeared to be s lac k, and on arriving at pos t No. 74, Herbert, who was in advanc e s topped, exc laim ing,-"T he wire is broken! " His c om panions hurried forward and arrived at the s pot where the lad was s tanding. T he pos t was rooted up and lying ac ros s the path. T he unexpec ted explanation of the diffic ulty was here, and it was evident that the des patc hes from Granite Hous e had not been rec eived at the c orral, nor thos e from the c orral at Granite Hous e. "It was n't the wind that blew down this pos t," obs erved P enc roft. "No," replied Gideon S pilett. "T he earth has been dug up round its foot, and it has been torn up by the hand of m an." "B es ides , the wire is broken," added Herbert, s howing that the wire had been s napped. "Is the frac ture rec ent?" as ked Harding. "Y es ," ans wered Herbert, "it has c ertainly been done quite lately." "T o the c orral! to the c orral! " exc laim ed the s ailor. T he c olonis ts were now half way between Granite Hous e and the c orral, having s till two m iles and a half to go. T hey pres s ed forward with redoubled s peed. Indeed, it was to be feared that s om e s erious ac c ident had oc c urred in the c orral. No doubt, A yrton m ight have s ent a telegram whic h had not arrived, but this was not the reas on why his c om panions were s o uneas y, for, a m ore unac c ountable c irc um s tanc e, A yrton, who had prom is ed to return the evening before, had not reappeared. In s hort, it was not without a m otive that all c om m unic ation had been s topped between the c orral and Granite Hous e, and who but the c onvic ts c ould have any interes t in interrupting this c om m unic ation? T he s ettlers has tened on, their hearts oppres s ed with anxiety. T hey were s inc erely attac hed to their new c om panion. W ere they to find him s truc k down by the hands of thos e of whom he was form erly the leader? S oon they arrived at the plac e where the road led along the s ide of the little s tream whic h flowed from the Red Creek and watered the m eadows of the c orral. T hey then m oderated their pac e s o that they s hould not be out of breath at the m om ent when a s truggle m ight be nec es s ary. T heir guns were in their hands ready c oc ked. T he fores t was watc hed on every s ide. T op uttered s ullen groans whic h were rather om inous . A t las t the palis ade appeared through the trees . No trac e of any dam age c ould be s een. T he gate was s hut as us ual. Deep s ilenc e reigned in the c orral. Neither the ac c us tom ed bleating of the s heep nor A yrton's voic e c ould be heard. "Let us enter," s aid Cyrus Harding. A nd the engineer advanc ed, while his c om panions , keeping watc h about twenty pac es behind him , were ready to fire at a m om ent's notic e. Harding rais ed the inner latc h of the gate and was about to pus h it bac k, when T op barked loudly. A report s ounded and was res ponded to by a c ry of pain. Herbert, s truc k by a bullet, lay s tretc hed on the ground. Chapter 7 A t Herbert's c ry, P enc roft, letting his gun fall, rus hed towards him . "T hey have killed him ! " he c ried. "My boy! T hey have killed him ! " Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett ran to Herbert. T he reporter lis tened to as c ertain if the poor lad's heart was s till beating. "He lives ," s aid he, "but he m us t be c arried--" "T o Granite Hous e? that is im pos s ible! " replied the engineer. "Into the c orral, then! " s aid P enc roft. "In a m om ent," s aid Harding. A nd he ran round the left c orner of the palis ade. T here he found a c onvic t, who aim ing at him , s ent a ball through his hat. In a few s ec onds , before he had even tim e to fire his s ec ond barrel, he fell, s truc k to the heart by Harding's dagger, m ore s ure even than his gun. During this tim e, Gideon S pilett and the s ailor hois ted them s elves over the palis ade, leaped into the enc los ure, threw down the props whic h s upported the inner door, ran into the em pty hous e, and s oon, poor Herbert was lying on A yrton's bed. In a few m om ents , Harding was by his s ide. On s eeing Herbert s ens eles s , the s ailor's grief was terrible. He s obbed, he c ried, he tried to beat his head agains t the wall. Neither the engineer nor the reporter c ould c alm him . T hey them s elves were c hoked with em otion. T hey c ould not s peak. However, they knew that it depended on them to res c ue from death the poor boy who was s uffering beneath their eyes . Gideon S pilett had not pas s ed through the m any inc idents by whic h his life had been c hec kered without ac quiring s om e s light knowledge of m edic ine. He knew a little of everything, and s everal tim es he had been obliged to attend to wounds produc ed either by a s word-bayonet or s hot. A s s is ted by Cyrus Harding, he proc eeded to render the aid Herbert required. T he reporter was im m ediately s truc k by the c om plete s tupor in whic h Herbert lay, a s tupor owing either to the hem orrhage, or to the s hoc k, the ball having s truc k a bone with s uffic ient forc e to produc e a violent c onc us s ion. Herbert was deadly pale, and his puls e s o feeble that S pilett only felt it beat at long intervals , as if it was on the point of s topping. T hes e s ym ptom s were very s erious . Herbert's c hes t was laid bare, and the blood having been s tanc hed with handkerc hiefs , it was bathed with c old water. T he c ontus ion, or rather the c ontus ed wound appeared,--an oval below the c hes t between the third and fourth ribs . It was there that Herbert had been hit by the bullet. Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett then turned the poor boy over; as they did s o, he uttered a m oan s o feeble that they alm os t thought it was his las t s igh. Herberts bac k was c overed with blood from another c ontus ed wound, by whic h the ball had im m ediately es c aped. "God be prais ed! " s aid the reporter, "the ball is not in the body, and we s hall not have to extrac t it." "B ut the heart?" as ked Harding.

"T he heart has not been touc hed; if it had been, Herbert would be dead! " "Dead! " exc laim ed P enc roft, with a groan. T he s ailor had only heard the las t words uttered by the reporter. "No, P enc roft," replied Cyrus Harding, "no! He is not dead. His puls e s till beats . He has even uttered a m oan. B ut for your boy's s ake, c alm yours elf. W e have need of all our s elf-pos s es s ion." "Do not m ake us los e it, m y friend." P enc roft was s ilent, but a reac tion s et in, and great tears rolled down his c heeks . In the m eanwhile, Gideon S pilett endeavored to c ollec t his ideas , and proc eed m ethodic ally. A fter his exam ination he had no doubt that the ball, entering in front, between the s eventh and eighth ribs , had is s ued behind between the third and fourth. B ut what m is c hief had the ball c om m itted in its pas s age? W hat im portant organs had been reac hed? A profes s ional s urgeon would have had diffic ulty in determ ining this at onc e, and s till m ore s o the reporter. However, he knew one thing, this was that he would have to prevent the inflam m atory s trangulation of the injured parts , then to c ontend with the loc al inflam m ation and fever whic h would res ult from the wound, perhaps m ortal! Now, what s typtic s , what antiphiogis tic s ought to be em ployed? B y what m eans c ould inflam m ation be prevented? A t any rate, the m os t im portant thing was that the two wounds s hould be dres s ed without delay. It did not appear nec es s ary to Gideon S pilett that a fres h flow of blood s hould be c aus ed by bathing them in tepid water, and c om pres s ing their lips . T he hem orrhage had been very abundant, and Herbert was already too m uc h enfeebled by the los s of blood. T he reporter, therefore, thought it bes t to s im ply bathe the two wounds with c old water. Herbert was plac ed on his left s ide, and was m aintained in that pos ition. "He m us t not be m oved." s aid Gideon S pilett. "He is in the m os t favorable pos ition for the wounds in his bac k and c hes t to s uppurate eas ily, and abs olute res t is nec es s ary." "W hat! c an't we c arry him to Granite Hous e?" as ked P enc roft. "No, P enc roft," replied the reporter. "I'll pay the villains off! " c ried the s ailor, s haking his fis t in a m enac ing m anner. "P enc roft! " s aid Cyrus Harding. Gideon S pilett had res um ed his exam ination of the wounded boy. Herbert was s till s o frightfully pale, that the reporter felt anxious . "Cyrus ," s aid he, "I am not a s urgeon. I am in terrible perplexity. Y ou m us t aid m e with your advic e, your experienc e! " "T ake c ourage, m y friend," ans wered the engineer, pres s ing the reporter's hand. "J udge c oolly. T hink only of this : Herbert m us t be s aved! " T hes e words res tored to Gideon S pilett that s elf-pos s es s ion whic h he had los t in a m om ent of dis c ouragem ent on feeling his great res pons ibility. He s eated him s elf c los e to the bed. Cyrus Harding s tood near. P enc roft had torn up his s hirt, and was m ec hanic ally m aking lint. S pilett then explained to Cyrus Harding that he thought he ought firs t of all to s top the hem orrhage, but not c los e the two wounds , or c aus e their im m ediate c ic atrization, for there had been internal perforation, and the s uppuration m us t not be allowed to ac c um ulate in the c hes t. Harding approved entirely, and it was dec ided that the two wounds s hould be dres s ed without attem pting to c los e them by im m ediate c oaptation. A nd now did the c olonis ts pos s es s an effic ac ious agent to ac t agains t the inflam m ation whic h m ight oc c ur? Yes . T hey had one, for nature had generous ly lavis hed it. T hey had c old water, that is to s ay, the m os t powerful s edative that c an be em ployed agains t inflam m ation of wounds , the m os t effic ac ious therapeutic agent in grave c as es , and the one whic h is now adopted by all phys ic ians . Cold water has , m oreover, the advantage of leaving the wound in abs olute res t, and pres erving it from all prem ature dres s ing, a c ons iderable advantage, s inc e it has been found by experienc e that c ontac t with the air is dangerous during the firs t days . Gideon S pilett and Cyrus Harding reas oned thus with their s im ple good s ens e, and they ac ted as the bes t s urgeon would have done. Com pres s es of linen were applied to poor Herbert's two wounds , and were kept c ons tantly wet with c old water. T he s ailor had at firs t lighted a fire in the hut, whic h was not wanting in things nec es s ary for life. Maple s ugar, m edic inal plants , the s am e whic h the lad had gathered on the banks of Lake Grant, enabled them to m ake s om e refres hing drinks , whic h they gave him without his taking any notic e of it. His fever was extrem ely high, and all that day and night pas s ed without his bec om ing c ons c ious . Herbert's life hung on a thread, and this thread m ight break at any m om ent. T he next day, the 12th of Novem ber, the hopes of Harding and his c om panions s lightly revived. Herbert had c om e out of his long s tupor. He opened his eyes , he rec ognized Cyrus Harding, the reporter, and P enc roft. He uttered two or three words . He did not know what had happened. T hey told him , and S pilett begged him to rem ain perfec tly s till, telling him that his life was not in danger, and that his wounds would heal in a few days . However, Herbert s c arc ely s uffered at all, and the c old water with whic h they were c ons tantly bathed, prevented any inflam m ation of the wounds . T he s uppuration was es tablis hed in a regular way, the fever did not inc reas e, and it m ight now be hoped that this terrible wound would not involve any c atas trophe. P enc roft felt the s welling of his heart gradually s ubs ide. He was like a s is ter of m erc y. like a m other by the bed of her c hild. Herbert dozed again, but his s leep appeared m ore natural. "T ell m e again that you hope, Mr. S pilett," s aid P enc roft. "T ell m e again that you will s ave Herbert! " "Y es , we will s ave him ! " replied the reporter. "T he wound is s erious , and, perhaps , even the ball has travers ed the lungs , but the perforation of this organ is not fatal." "God bles s you! " ans wered P enc roft. A s m ay be believed, during the four-and-twenty hours they had been in the c orral, the c olonis ts had no other thought than that of nurs ing Herbert. T hey did not think either of the danger whic h threatened them s hould the c onvic ts return, or of the prec autions to be taken for the future. B ut on this day, while P enc roft watc hed by the s ic k-bed, Cyrus Harding and the reporter c ons ulted as to what it would be bes t to do. Firs t of all they exam ined the c orral. T here was not a trac e of A yrton. Had the unhappy m an been dragged away by his form er ac c om plic es ? Had he res is ted, and been overc om e in the s truggle? T his las t s uppos ition was only too probable. Gideon S pilett, at the m om ent he s c aled the palis ade, had c learly s een s om e one of the c onvic ts running along the s outhern s pur of Mount Franklin, towards whom T op had s prung. It was one of thos e whos e objec t had been s o c om pletely defeated by the roc ks at the m outh of the Merc y. B es ides , the one killed by Harding, and whos e body was found outs ide the enc los ure, of c ours e belonged to B ob Harvey's c rew. A s to the c orral, it had not s uffered any dam age. T he gates were c los ed, and the anim als had not been able to dis pers e in the fores t. Nor c ould they s ee trac es of any s truggle, any devas tation, either in the hut, or in the palis ade. T he am m unition only, with whic h A yrton had been s upplied, had dis appeared with him . "T he unhappy m an has been s urpris ed," s aid Harding, "and as he was a m an to defend him s elf, he m us t have been overpowered." "Y es , that is to be feared! " s aid the reporter. "T hen, doubtles s , the c onvic ts ins talled them s elves in the c orral where they found plenty of everything, and only fled when they s aw us c om ing. It is very evident, too, that at this m om ent A yrton, whether living or dead, is not here! " "W e s hall have to beat the fores t," s aid the engineer, "and rid the is land of thes e wretc hes . P enc roft's pres entim ents were not m is taken, when he wis hed to hunt them as wild beas ts . T hat would have s pared us all thes e m is fortunes ! " "Y es ," ans wered the reporter, "but now we have the right to be m erc iles s ! " "A t any rate," s aid the engineer, "we are obliged to wait s om e tim e, and to rem ain at the c orral until we c an c arry Herbert without danger to Granite Hous e." "B ut Neb?" as ked the reporter. "Neb is in s afety." "B ut if, uneas y at our abs enc e, he would venture to c om e?" "He m us t not c om e! " returned Cyrus Harding quic kly. "He would be m urdered on the road! " "It is very probable, however, that he will attem pt to rejoin us ! " "A h, if the telegraph s till ac ted, he m ight be warned! B ut that is im pos s ible now! A s to leaving P enc roft and Herbert here alone, we c ould not do it! W ell, I will go alone to Granite Hous e." "No, no! Cyrus ," ans wered the reporter, "you m us t not expos e yours elf! Y our c ourage would be of no avail. T he villains are evidently watc hing the c orral, they are hidden in the thic k woods whic h s urround it, and if you go we s hall s oon have to regret two m is fortunes ins tead of one! " "B ut Neb?" repeated the engineer. "It is now four-and-twenty hours s inc e he has had any news of us ! He will be s ure to c om e! " "A nd as he will be les s on his guard than we s hould be ours elves ," added S pilett, "he will be killed! " "Is there really no way of warning him ?" W hile the engineer thought, his eyes fell on T op, who, going bac kwards and forwards s eem ed to s ay,-"A m not I here?" "T op! " exc laim ed Cyrus Harding. T he anim al s prang at his m as ter's c all. "Y es , T op will go," s aid the reporter, who had unders tood the engineer. "T op c an go where we c annot! He will c arry to Granite Hous e the news of the c orral, and he will bring bac k to us that from Granite Hous e! " "Quic k! " s aid Harding. "Quic k! " S pilett rapidly tore a leaf from his note-book, and wrote thes e words :-"Herbert wounded. W e are at the c orral. B e on your guard. Do not leave Granite Hous e. Have the c onvic ts appeared in the neighborhood? Reply by T op." T his lac onic note c ontained all that Neb ought to know, and at the s am e tim e as ked all that the c olonis ts wis hed to know. It was folded and fas tened to T op's c ollar in a c ons pic uous pos ition. "T op, m y dog," s aid the engineer, c ares s ing the anim al, "Neb, T op! Neb! Go, go! " Top bounded at thes e words . He unders tood, he knew what was expec ted of him . T he road to the c orral was fam iliar to him . In les s than an hour he c ould c lear it, and it m ight be hoped that where neither Cyrus Harding nor the reporter c ould have ventured without danger, Top, running am ong the gras s or in the wood, would pas s unperc eived. T he engineer went to the gate of the c orral and opened it. "Neb, T op! Neb! " repeated the engineer, again pointing in the direc tion of Granite Hous e. T op s prang forwards , then alm os t im m ediately dis appeared. "He will get there! " s aid the reporter. "Y es , and he will c om e bac k, the faithful anim al! " "W hat o'c loc k is it?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "T en." "In an hour he m ay be here. W e will watc h for his return." T he gate of the c orral was c los ed. T he engineer and the reporter re-entered the hous e. Herbert was s till in a s leep. P enc roft kept the c om pres s er always wet. S pilett, s eeing there was nothing he c ould do at that m om ent, bus ied him s elf in preparing s om e nouris hm ent, while attentively watc hing that part of the enc los ure agains t the hill, at whic h an attac k m ight be expec ted. T he s ettlers awaited T op's return with m uc h anxiety. A little before eleven o'c loc k, Cyrus Harding and the reporter, rifle in hand, were behind the gate, ready to open it at the firs t bark of their dog. T hey did not doubt that if T op had arrived s afely at Granite Hous e, Neb would have s ent him bac k im m ediately. T hey had both been there for about ten m inutes , when a report was heard, followed by repeated barks . T he engineer opened the gate, and s eeing s m oke a hundred feet off in the wood, he fired in that direc tion. A lm os t im m ediately T op bounded into the c orral, and the gate was quic kly s hut. "T op, T op! " exc laim ed the engineer, taking the dog's great hones t head between his hands . A note was fas tened to his nec k, and Cyrus Harding read thes e words , trac ed in Neb's large writing:--"No pirates in the neighborhood of Granite Hous e. I will not s tir. P oor Mr. Herbert! " Chapter 8 S o the c onvic ts were s till there, watc hing the c orral, and determ ined to kill the s ettlers one after the other. T here was nothing to be done but to treat them as wild beas ts . B ut great prec autions m us t be taken, for jus t now the wretc hes had the advantage on their s ide, s eeing, and not being s een, being able to s urpris e by the s uddennes s of their attac k, yet not to be s urpris ed them s elves . Harding m ade arrangem ents , therefore, for living in the c orral, of whic h the provis ions would las t for a tolerable length of tim e. A yrton's hous e had been provided with all that was nec es s ary for exis tenc e, and the c onvic ts , s c ared by the arrival of the s ettlers , had not had tim e to pillage it. It was probable, as Gideon S pilett obs erved, that things had oc c urred as follows : T he s ix c onvic ts , dis em barking on the is land, had followed the s outhern s hore, and after having travers ed the double s hore of the S erpentine P enins ula, not being inc lined to venture into the Far W es t woods , they had reac hed the m outh of Falls River. From this point, by following the right bank of the waterc ours e, they would arrive at the s purs of Mount Franklin, am ong whic h they would naturally s eek a retreat, and they c ould not have been long in dis c overing the c orral, then uninhabited. T here they had regularly ins talled them s elves , awaiting the m om ent to put their abom inable s c hem es into exec ution. A yrton's arrival had s urpris ed them , but they had m anaged to overpower the unfortunate m an, and--the res t m ay be eas ily im agined! Now, the c onvic ts ,--reduc ed to five, it is true, but well arm ed,--were roam ing the woods , and to venture there was to expos e them s elves to their attac ks , whic h c ould be neither guarded agains t nor prevented. "W ait! T here is nothing els e to be done! " repeated Cyrus Harding. "W hen Herbert is c ured, we c an organize a general battle of the is land, and have s atis fac tion of thes e c onvic ts . T hat will be the objec t of our grand expedition at the s am e tim e--" "A s the s earc h for our m ys terious protec tor," added Gideon S pilett, finis hing the engineer's s entenc e. "A n, it m us t be ac knowledged, m y dear Cyrus , that this tim e his protec tion was wanting at the very m om ent when it was m os t nec es s ary to us ! " "W ho knows ?" replied the engineer. "W hat do you m ean?" as ked the reporter. "T hat we are not at the end of our trouble yet, m y dear S pilett, and that his powerful intervention m ay have another opportunity of exerc is ing its elf. B ut that is not the ques tion now. Herbert's life before everything." T his was the c olonis ts ' s addes t thought. S everal days pas s ed, and the poor boy's s tate was happily no wors e. Cold water, always kept at a s uitable tem perature, had c om pletely prevented the inflam m ation of the wounds . It even s eem ed to the reporter that this water, being s lightly s ulphurous ,--whic h was explained by the neighborhood of the volc ano, had a m ore direc t ac tion on the healing. T he s uppuration was m uc h les s abundant, and thanks to the inc es s ant c are by whic h he was s urrounded! --Herbert returned to life, and his fever abated. He was bes ides s ubjec ted to a s evere diet, and c ons equently his weaknes s was and would be extrem e; but there was no want of refres hing drinks , and abs olute res t was of the greates t benefit to him . Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, and P enc roft had bec om e very s kilful in dres s ing the lad's wounds . A ll the linen in the hous e had been s ac rific ed. Herbert's wounds , c overed with c om pres s es and lint, were pres s ed neither too m uc h nor too little, s o as to c aus e their c ic atrization without effec ting any inflam m atory reac tion. T he reporter us ed extrem e c are in the dres s ing, knowing well the im portanc e of it, and repeating to his c om panions that whic h m os t s urgeons willingly adm it, that it is perhaps rarer to s ee a dres s ing well done than an operation well perform ed. In ten days , on the 22nd of Novem ber, Herbert was c ons iderably better. He had begun to take s om e nouris hm ent. T he c olor was returning to his c heeks , and his bright eyes s m iled at his nurs es . He talked a little, notwiths tanding P enc roft's efforts , who talked inc es s antly to prevent him from beginning to s peak, and told him the m os t im probable s tories . Herbert had ques tioned him on the s ubjec t of A yrton, whom he was as tonis hed not to s ee near him , thinking that he was at the c orral. B ut the s ailor, not wis hing to dis tres s Herbert, c ontented him s elf by replying that A yrton had rejoined Neb, s o as to defend Granite Hous e. "Hum ph! " s aid P enc roft, "thes e pirates ! they are gentlem en who have no right to any c ons ideration! A nd the c aptain wanted to win them by kindnes s ! I'll s end them s om e kindnes s , but in the s hape of a good bullet! " "A nd have they not been s een again?" as ked Herbert. "No, m y boy," ans wered the s ailor, "but we s hall find them , and when you are c ured we s hall s ee if the c owards who s trike us from behind will dare to m eet us fac e to fac e! " "I am s till very weak, m y poor P enc roft! " "W ell! your s trength will return gradually! W hat's a ball through the c hes t? Nothing but a joke! I've s een m any, and I don't think m uc h of them ! " A t las t things appeared to be going on well, and if no c om plic ation oc c urred, Herbert's rec overy m ight be regarded as c ertain. B ut what would have been the c ondition of the c olonis ts if his s tate had been aggravated, --if, for exam ple, the ball had rem ained in his body, if his arm or his leg had had to be am putated? "No," s aid S pilett m ore than onc e, "I have never thought of s uc h a c ontingenc y without s huddering! " "A nd yet, if it had been nec es s ary to operate," s aid Harding one day to him , "you would not have hes itated?" "No, Cyrus ! " s aid Gideon S pilett, "but thank God that we have been s pared this c om plic ation! " A s in s o m any other c onjec tures , the c olonis ts had appealed to the logic of that s im ple good s ens e of whic h they had m ade us e s o often, and onc e m ore, thanks to their general knowledge, it had s uc c eeded! B ut m ight not a tim e c om e when all their s c ienc e would be at fault? T hey were alone on the is land. Now, m en in all s tates of s oc iety are nec es s ary to eac h other. Cyrus Harding knew this well, and s om etim es he as ked if s om e c irc um s tanc e m ight not oc c ur whic h they would be powerles s to s urm ount. It appeared to him bes ides , that he and his c om panions , till then s o fortunate, had entered into an unluc ky period. During the two years and a half whic h had elaps ed s inc e their es c ape from Ric hm ond, it m ight be s aid that they had had everything their own way. T he is land had abundantly s upplied them with m inerals , vegetables , anim als , and as Nature had c ons tantly loaded them , their s c ienc e had known how to take advantage of what s he offered them . T he wellbeing of the c olony was therefore c om plete. Moreover, in c ertain oc c urrenc es an inexplic able influenc e had c om e to their aid! ... B ut all that c ould only be for a tim e. In s hort, Cyrus Harding believed that fortune had turned agains t them . In fac t, the c onvic ts ' s hip had appeared in the waters of the is land, and if the pirates had been, s o to s peak, m irac ulous ly des troyed, s ix of them , at leas t, had es c aped the c atas trophe. T hey had dis em barked on the is land, and it was alm os t im pos s ible to get at the five who s urvived. A yrton had no doubt been m urdered by thes e wretc hes , who pos s es s ed firearm s , and at the firs t us e that they had m ade of them , Herbert had fallen, wounded alm os t m ortally. W ere thes e the firs t blows aim ed by advers e fortune at the c olonis ts ? T his was often as ked by Harding. T his was often repeated by the reporter; and it appeared to him als o that the intervention, s o s trange, yet s o effic ac ious , whic h till then had s erved them s o well, had now failed them . Had this m ys terious being, whatever he was , whos e exis tenc e c ould not be denied, abandoned the is land? Had he in his turn s uc c um bed? No reply was pos s ible to thes e ques tions . B ut it m us t not be im agined that bec aus e Harding and his c om panions s poke of thes e things , they were m en to des pair. Far from that. T hey looked their s ituation in the fac e, they analyzed the c hanc es , they prepared them s elves for any event, they s tood firm and s traight before the future, and if advers ity was at las t to s trike them , it would find in them m en prepared to s truggle agains t it. Chapter 9 T he c onvales c enc e of the young invalid was regularly progres s ing. One thing only was now to be des ired, that his s tate would allow him to be brought to Granite Hous e. However well built and s upplied the c orral hous e was , it c ould not be s o c om fortable as the healthy granite dwelling. B es ides , it did not offer the s am e s ec urity, and its tenants , notwiths tanding their watc hfulnes s , were here always in fear of s om e s hot from the c onvic ts . T here, on the c ontrary, in the m iddle of that im pregnable and inac c es s ible c liff, they would have nothing to fear, and any attac k on their pers ons would c ertainly fail. T hey therefore waited im patiently for the m om ent when Herbert m ight be m oved without danger from his wound, and they were determ ined to m ake this m ove, although the c om m unic ation through J ac am ar W ood was very diffic ult. T hey had no news from Neb, but were not uneas y on that ac c ount. T he c ourageous Negro, well entrenc hed in the depths of Granite Hous e, would not allow him s elf to be s urpris ed. Top had not been s ent again to him , as it appeared us eles s to expos e the faithful dog to s om e s hot whic h m ight deprive the s ettlers of their m os t us eful auxiliary. T hey waited, therefore, although they were anxious to be reunited at Granite Hous e. It pained the engineer to s ee his forc es divided, for it gave great advantage to the pirates . S inc e A yrton's dis appearanc e they were only four agains t five, for Herbert c ould not yet be c ounted, and this was not the leas t c are of the

brave boy, who well unders tood the trouble of whic h he was the c aus e. T he ques tion of knowing how, in their c ondition, they were to ac t agains t the pirates , was thoroughly dis c us s ed on the 29th of Novem ber by Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, and P enc roft, at a m om ent when Herbert was as leep and c ould not hear them . "My friends ," s aid the reporter, after they had talked of Neb and of the im pos s ibility of c om m unic ating with him , "I think,--like you, that to venture on the road to the c orral would be to ris k rec eiving a guns hot without being able to return it. B ut do you not think that the bes t thing to be done now is to openly give c has e to thes e wretc hes ?" "T hat is jus t what I was thinking," ans wered P enc roft. "I believe we're not fellows to be afraid of a bullet, and as for m e, if Captain Harding approves , I'm ready to das h into the fores t! W hy, hang it, one m an is equal to another! " "B ut is he equal to five?" as ked the engineer. "I will join P enc roft," s aid the reporter, "and both of us , well-arm ed and ac c om panied by T op--" "My dear S pilett, and you, P enc roft," ans wered Harding, "let us reas on c oolly. If the c onvic ts were hid in one s pot of the is land, if we knew that s pot, and had only to dis lodge them , I would undertake a direc t attac k; but is there not oc c as ion to fear, on the c ontrary, that they are s ure to fire the firs t s hot?" "W ell, c aptain," c ried P enc roft, "a bullet does not always reac h its m ark." "T hat whic h s truc k Herbert did not m is s , P enc roft," replied the engineer. "B es ides , obs erve that if both of you left the c orral I s hould rem ain here alone to defend it. Do you im agine that the c onvic ts will not s ee you leave it, that they will not allow you to enter the fores t, and that they will not attac k it during your abs enc e, knowing that there is no one here but a wounded boy and a m an?" "Y ou are right, c aptain," replied P enc roft, his c hes t s welling with s ullen anger. "Y ou are right; they will do all they c an to retake the c orral, whic h they know to be well s tored; and alone you c ould not hold it agains t them ." "Oh, if we were only at Granite Hous e! " "If we were at Granite Hous e," ans wered the engineer, "the c as e would be very different. T here I s hould not be afraid to leave Herbert with one, while the other three went to s earc h the fores ts of the is land. B ut we are at the c orral, and it is bes t to s tay here until we c an leave it together." Cyrus Harding's reas oning was unans werable, and his c om panions unders tood it well. "If only A yrton was s till one of us ! " s aid Gideon S pilett. "P oor fellow! his return to s oc ial life will have been but of s hort duration." "If he is dead," added P enc roft, in a pec uliar tone. "Do you hope, then, P enc roft, that the villains have s pared him ?" as ked Gideon S pilett. "Y es , if they had any interes t in doing s o." "W hat! you s uppos e that A yrton finding his old c om panions , forgetting all that he owes us --" "W ho knows ?" ans wered the s ailor, who did not hazard this s ham eful s uppos ition without hes itating. "P enc roft," s aid Harding, taking the s ailor's arm , "that is a wic ked idea of yours , and you will dis tres s m e m uc h if you pers is t in s peaking thus . I will ans wer for A yrton's fidelity." "A nd I als o," added the reporter quic kly. "Y es , yes , c aptain, I was wrong," replied P enc roft; "it was a wic ked idea indeed that I had, and nothing jus tifies it. B ut what c an I do? I'm not in m y s ens es . T his im pris onm ent in the c orral wearies m e horribly, and I have never felt s o exc ited as I do now. "B e patient, P enc roft," replied the engineer. "How long will it be, m y dear S pilett, before you think Herbert m ay be c arried to Granite Hous e?" "T hat is diffic ult to s ay, Cyrus ," ans wered the reporter, "for any im prudenc e m ight involve terrible c ons equenc es . B ut his c onvales c enc e is progres s ing, and if he c ontinues to gain s trength, in eight days from now-- well, we s hall s ee." E ight days ! T hat would put off the return to Granite Hous e until the firs t days of Dec em ber. A t this tim e two m onths of s pring had already pas s ed. T he weather was fine, and the heat began to be great. T he fores ts of the is land were in full leaf, and the tim e was approac hing when the us ual c rops ought to be gathered. T he return to the plateau of P ros pec t Heights would, therefore, be followed by extens ive agric ultural labors , interrupted only by the projec ted expedition through the is land. It c an, therefore, be well unders tood how injurious this s ec lus ion in the c orral m us t have been to the c olonis ts . B ut if they were c om pelled to bow before nec es s ity, they did not do s o without im patienc e. Onc e or twic e the reporter ventured out into the road and m ade the tour of the palis ade. T op ac c om panied him , and Gideon S pilett, his gun c oc ked, was ready for any em ergenc y. He m et with no m is adventure and found no s us pic ious trac es . His dog would have warned him of any danger, and, as T op did not bark, it m ight be c onc luded that there was nothing to fear at the m om ent at leas t, and that the c onvic ts were oc c upied in another part of the is land. However, on his s ec ond s ortie, on the 27th of Novem ber, Gideon S pilett, who had ventured a quarter of a m ile into the woods , towards the s outh of the m ountain, rem arked that Top s c ented s om ething. T he dog had no longer his unc onc erned m anner; he went bac kwards and forwards , ferreting am ong the gras s and bus hes as if his s m ell had revealed s om e s us pic ious objec t to him . Gideon S pilett followed Top, enc ouraged him , exc ited him by his voic e, while keeping a s harp look-out, his gun ready to fire, and s heltering him s elf behind the trees . It was not probable that Top s c ented the pres enc e of m an, for in that c as e, he would have announc ed it by half-uttered, s ullen, angry barks . Now, as he did not growl, it was bec aus e danger was neither near nor approac hing. Nearly five m inutes pas s ed thus , T op rum m aging, the reporter following him prudently when, all at onc e, the dog rus hed towards a thic k bus h, and drew out a rag. It was a piec e of c loth, s tained and torn, whic h S pilett im m ediately brought bac k to the c orral. T here it was exam ined by the c olonis ts , who found that it was a fragm ent of A yrton's wais tc oat, a piec e of that felt, m anufac tured s olely by the Granite Hous e fac tory. "Y ou s ee, P enc roft," obs erved Harding, "there has been res is tanc e on the part of the unfortunate A yrton. T he c onvic ts have dragged him away in s pite of him s elf! Do you s till doubt his hones ty?" "No, c aptain," ans wered the s ailor, "and I repented of m y s us pic ion a long tim e ago! B ut it s eem s to m e that s om ething m ay be learned from the inc ident." "W hat is that?" as ked the reporter. "It is that A yrton was not killed at the c orral! T hat they dragged him away living, s inc e he has res is ted. T herefore, perhaps , he is s till living! " "P erhaps , indeed," replied the engineer, who rem ained thoughtful. T his was a hope, to whic h A yrton's c om panions c ould s till hold. Indeed, they had before believed that, s urpris ed in the c orral, A yrton had fallen by a bullet, as Herbert had fallen. B ut if the c onvic ts had not killed him at firs t, if they had brought him living to another part of the is land, m ight it not be adm itted that he was s till their pris oner? P erhaps , even, one of them had found in A yrton his old A us tralian c om panion B en J oyc e, the c hief of the es c aped c onvic ts . A nd who knows but that they had c onc eived the im pos s ible hope of bringing bac k A yrton to them s elves ? He would have been very us eful to them , if they had been able to m ake him turn traitor! T his inc ident was , therefore, favorably interpreted at the c orral, and it no longer appeared im pos s ible that they s hould find A yrton again. On his s ide, if he was only a pris oner, A yrton would no doubt do all he c ould to es c ape from the hands of the villains , and this would be a powerful aid to the s ettlers ! "A t any rate," obs erved Gideon S pilett, "if happily A yrton did m anage to es c ape, he would go direc tly to Granite Hous e, for he c ould not know of the attem pted as s as s ination of whic h Herbert has been a vic tim , and c ons equently would never think of our being im pris oned in the c orral." "Oh! I wis h that he was there, at Granite Hous e! " c ried P enc roft, "and that we were there, too! For, although the ras c als c an do nothing to our hous e, they m ay plunder the plateau, our plantations , our poultry-yard! " P enc roft had bec om e a thorough farm er, heartily attac hed to his c rops . B ut it m us t be s aid that Herbert was m ore anxious than any to return to Granite Hous e, for he knew how m uc h the pres enc e of the s ettlers was needed there. A nd it was he who was keeping them at the c orral! T herefore, one idea oc c upied his m ind--to leave the c orral, and when! He believed he c ould bear rem oval to Granite Hous e. He was s ure his s trength would return m ore quic kly in his room , with the air and s ight of the s ea! S everal tim es he pres s ed Gideon S pilett, but the latter, fearing, with good reas on, that Herbert's wounds , half healed, m ight reopen on the way, did not give the order to s tart. However, s om ething oc c urred whic h c om pelled Cyrus Harding and his two friends to yield to the lad's wis h, and God alone knew that this determ ination m ight c aus e them grief and rem ors e. It was the 29th of Novem ber, s even o'c loc k in the evening. T he three s ettlers were talking in Herbert's room , when they heard T op utter quic k barks . Harding, P enc roft, and S pilett s eized their guns and ran out of the hous e. T op, at the foot of the palis ade, was jum ping, barking, but it was with pleas ure, not anger. "S om e one is c om ing." "Y es ." "It is not an enem y! " "Neb, perhaps ?" "Or A yrton?" T hes e words had hardly been exc hanged between the engineer and his two c om panions when a body leaped over the palis ade and fell on the ground ins ide the c orral. It was J up, Mas ter J up in pers on, to whom T op im m ediately gave a m os t c ordial rec eption. "J up! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "Neb has s ent him to us ," s aid the reporter. "T hen," replied the engineer, "he m us t have s om e note on him ." P enc roft rus hed up to the orang. Certainly if Neb had any im portant m atter to c om m unic ate to his m as ter he c ould not em ploy a m ore s ure or m ore rapid m es s enger, who c ould pas s where neither the c olonis ts c ould, nor even T op him s elf. Cyrus Harding was not m is taken. A t J up's nec k hung a s m all bag, and in this bag was found a little note trac ed by Neb's hand. T he des pair of Harding and his c om panions m ay be im agined when they read thes e words :-"Friday, s ix o'c loc k in the m orning. "P lateau invaded by c onvic ts . "Neb." T hey gazed at eac h other without uttering a word, then they re-entered the hous e. what were they to do? T he c onvic ts on P ros pec t Heights ! that was dis as ter, devas tation, ruin. Herbert, on s eeing the engineer, the reporter, and P enc roft re-enter, gues s ed that their s ituation was aggravated, and when he s aw J up, he no longer doubted that s om e m is fortune m enac ed Granite Hous e. "Captain Harding," s aid he, "I m us t go; I c an bear the journey. I m us t go." Gideon S pilett approac hed Herbert; then, having looked at him ,-"Let us go, then! " s aid he. T he ques tion was quic kly dec ided whether Herbert s hould be c arried on a litter or in the c art whic h had brought A yrton to the c orral. T he m otion of the litter would have been m ore eas y for the wounded lad, but it would have nec es s itated two bearers , that is to s ay, there would have been two guns les s for defens e if an attac k was m ade on the road. W ould they not, on the c ontrary, by em ploying the c art leave every arm free? W as it im pos s ible to plac e the m attres s on whic h Herbert was lying in it, and to advanc e with s o m uc h c are that any jolt s hould be avoided? It c ould be done. T he c art was brought. P enc roft harnes s ed the onager. Cyrus Harding and the reporter rais ed Herbert's m attres s and plac ed it on the bottom of the c art. T he weather was fine. T he s un's bright rays glanc ed through the trees . "A re the guns ready?" as ked Cyrus Harding. T hey were. T he engineer and P enc roft, eac h arm ed with a double-barreled gun, and Gideon S pilett c arrying his rifle, had nothing to do but s tart. "A re you c om fortable, Herbert?" as ked the engineer. "A h, c aptain," replied the lad, "don't be uneas y, I s hall not die on the road! " W hile s peaking thus , it c ould be s een that the poor boy had c alled up all his energy, and by the energy of a powerful will had c ollec ted his failing s trength. T he engineer felt his heart s ink painfully. He s till hes itated to give the s ignal for departure; but that would have driven Herbert to des pair--killed him perhaps . "Forward! " s aid Harding. T he gate of the c orral was opened. J up and T op, who knew when to be s ilent, ran in advanc e. T he c art c am e out, the gate was rec los ed, and the onager, led by P enc roft, advanc ed at a s low pac e. Certainly, it would have been s afer to have taken a different road than that whic h led s traight from the c orral to Granite Hous e, but the c art would have m et with great diffic ulties in m oving under the trees . It was nec es s ary, therefore, to follow this way, although it was well known to the c onvic ts . Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett walked one on eac h s ide of the c art, ready to ans wer to any attac k. However, it was not probable that the c onvic ts would have yet left the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . Neb's note had evidently been written and s ent as s oon as the c onvic ts had s hown them s elves there. Now, this note was dated s ix o'c loc k in the m orning, and the ac tive orang, ac c us tom ed to c om e frequently to the c orral, had taken s c arc ely three quarters of an hour to c ros s the five m iles whic h s eparated it from Granite Hous e. T hey would, therefore, be s afe at that tim e, and if there was any oc c as ion for firing, it would probably not be until they were in the neighborhood of Granite Hous e. However, the c olonis ts kept a s tric t watc h. Top and J up, the latter arm ed with his c lub, s om etim es in front, s om etim es beating the wood at the s ides of the road, s ignalized no danger. T he c art advanc ed s lowly under P enc roft's guidanc e. It had left the c orral at half-pas t s even. A n hour after, four out of the five m iles had been c leared, without any inc ident having oc c urred. T he road was as des erted as all that part of the J ac am ar W ood whic h lay between the Merc y and the lake. T here was no oc c as ion for any warning. T he wood appeared as des erted as on the day when the c olonis ts firs t landed on the is land. T hey approac hed the plateau. A nother m ile and they would s ee the bridge over Creek Glyc erine. Cyrus Harding expec ted to find it in its plac e; s uppos ing that the c onvic ts would have c ros s ed it, and that, after having pas s ed one of the s tream s whic h enc los ed the plateau, they would have taken the prec aution to lower it again, s o as to keep open a retreat. A t length an opening in the trees allowed the s ea-horizon to be s een. B ut the c art c ontinued its progres s , for not one of its defenders thought of abandoning it. A t that m om ent P enc roft s topped the onager, and in a hoars e voic e,-"Oh! the villains ! " he exc laim ed. A nd he pointed to a thic k s m oke ris ing from the m ill, the s heds , and the buildings at the poultry-yard. A m an was m oving about in the m ids t of the s m oke. It was Neb. His c om panions uttered a s hout. He heard, and ran to m eet them . T he c onvic ts had left the plateau nearly half-an-hour before, having devas tated it! "A nd Mr. Herbert?" as ked Neb. Gideon S pilett returned to the c art. Herbert had los t c ons c ious nes s ! Chapter 10 Of the c onvic ts , the dangers whic h m enac ed Granite Hous e, the ruins with whic h the plateau was c overed, the c olonis ts thought no longer. Herbert's c ritic al s tate outweighed all other c ons iderations . W ould the rem oval prove fatal to him by c aus ing s om e internal injury? T he reporter c ould not affirm it, but he and his c om panions alm os t des paired of the res ult. T he c art was brought to the bend of the river. T here s om e branc hes , dis pos ed as a liner, rec eived the m attres s on whic h lay the unc ons c ious Herbert. Ten m inutes after, Cyrus Harding, S pilett, and P enc roft were at the foot of the c liff, leaving Neb to take the c art on to the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . T he lift was put in m otion, and Herbert was s oon s tretc hed on his bed in Granite Hous e. W hat c ares were lavis hed on him to bring him bac k to life! He s m iled for a m om ent on finding him s elf in his room , but c ould s c arc ely even m urm ur a few words , s o great was his weaknes s . Gideon S pilett exam ined his wounds . He feared to find them reopened, having been im perfec tly healed. T here was nothing of the s ort. From whenc e, then, c am e this pros tration? why was Herbert s o m uc h wors e? T he lad then fell into a kind of feveris h s leep, and the reporter and P enc roft rem ained near the bed. During this tim e, Harding told Neb all that had happened at the c orral, and Neb rec ounted to his m as ter the events of whic h the plateau had jus t been the theater. It was only during the prec eding night that the c onvic ts had appeared on the edge of the fores t, at the approac hes to Creek Glyc erine. Neb, who was watc hing near the poultry-yard, had not hes itated to fire at one of the pirates , who was about to c ros s the s tream ; but in the darknes s he c ould not tell whether the m an had been hit or not. A t any rate, it was not enough to frighten away the band, and Neb had only jus t tim e to get up to Granite Hous e, where at leas t he was in s afety. B ut what was he to do there? How prevent the devas tations with whic h the c onvic ts threatened the plateau? Had Neb any m eans by whic h to warn his m as ter? A nd, bes ides , in what s ituation were the inhabitants of the c orral them s elves ? Cyrus Harding and his c om panions had left on the 11th of Novem ber, and it was now the 29th. It was , therefore, nineteen days s inc e Neb had had other news than that brought by T op--dis as trous news : A yrton dis appeared, Herbert s everely wounded, the engineer, reporter, and s ailor, as it were, im pris oned in the c orral! W hat was he to do? as ked poor Neb. P ers onally he had nothing to fear, for the c onvic ts c ould not reac h him in Granite Hous e. B ut the buildings , the plantations , all their arrangem ents at the m erc y of the pirates ! W ould it not be bes t to let Cyrus Harding judge of what he ought to do, and to warn him , at leas t, of the danger whic h threatened him ? Neb then thought of em ploying J up, and c onfiding a note to him . He knew the orang's great intelligenc e, whic h had been often put to the proof. J up unders tood the word c orral, whic h had been frequently pronounc ed before him , and it m ay be rem em bered, too, that he had often driven the c art thither in c om pany with P enc roft. Day had not yet dawned. T he ac tive orang would know how to pas s unperc eived through the woods , of whic h the c onvic ts , bes ides , would think he was a native. Neb did not hes itate. He wrote the note, he tied it to J up's nec k, he brought the ape to the door of Granite Hous e, from whic h he let down a long c ord to the ground; then, s everal tim es he repeated thes e words ,-"J up J up! c orral, c orral! " T he c reature unders tood, s eized the c ord, glided rapidly down the beac h, and dis appeared in the darknes s without the c onvic ts ' attention having been in the leas t exc ited. "Y ou did well, Neb," s aid Harding, "but perhaps in not warning us you would have done s till better! " A nd, in s peaking thus , Cyrus Harding thought of Herbert, whos e rec overy the rem oval had s o s erious ly c hec ked. Neb ended his ac c ount. T he c onvic ts had not appeared at all on the beac h. Not knowing the num ber of the is land's inhabitants , they m ight s uppos e that Granite Hous e was defended by a large party. T hey m us t have rem em bered that during the attac k by the brig num erous s hot had been fired both from the lower and upper roc ks , and no doubt they did not wis h to expos e them s elves . B ut the plateau of P ros pec t Heights was open to them , and not c overed by the fire of Granite Hous e. T hey gave them s elves up, therefore, to their ins tinc t of des truc tion,--plundering, burning, devas tating everything,--and only retiring half an hour before the arrival of the c olonis ts , whom they believed s till c onfined in the c orral. On their retreat, Neb hurried out. He c lim bed the plateau at the ris k of being perc eived and fired at, tried to extinguis h the fire whic h was c ons um ing the buildings of the poultry-yard, and had s truggled, though in vain, agains t it until the c art appeared at the edge of the wood. S uc h had been thes e s erious events . T he pres enc e of the c onvic ts c ons tituted a perm anent s ourc e of danger to the s ettlers in Linc oln Is land, until then s o happy, and who m ight now expec t s till greater m is fortunes . S pilett rem ained in Granite Hous e with Herbert and P enc roft, while Cyrus Harding, ac c om panied by Neb, proc eeded to judge for him s elf of the extent of the dis as ter. It was fortunate that the c onvic ts had not advanc ed to the foot of Granite Hous e. T he works hop at the Chim neys would in that c as e not have es c aped des truc tion. B ut after all, this evil would have been m ore eas ily reparable than the ruins ac c um ulated on the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . Harding and Neb proc eeded towards the Merc y, and as c ended its left bank without m eeting with any trac e of the c onvic ts ; nor on the other s ide of the river, in the depths of the wood, c ould they perc eive any s us pic ious indic ations . B es ides , it m ight be s uppos ed that in all probability either the c onvic ts knew of the return of the s ettlers to Granite Hous e, by having s een them pas s on the road from the c orral, or, after the devas tation of the plateau, they had penetrated into J ac am ar W ood, following the c ours e of the Merc y, and were thus ignorant of their return. In the form er c as e, they m us t have returned towards the c orral, now without defenders , and whic h c ontained valuable s tores . In the latter, they m us t have regained their enc am pm ent, and would wait on opportunity to rec om m enc e the attac k.

It was , therefore, pos s ible to prevent them , but any enterpris e to c lear the is land was now rendered diffic ult by reas on of Herbert's c ondition. Indeed, their whole forc e would have been barely s uffic ient to c ope with the c onvic ts , and jus t now no one c ould leave Granite Hous e. T he engineer and Neb arrived on the plateau. Des olation reigned everywhere. T he fields had been tram pled over; the ears of wheat, whic h were nearly full-grown, lay on the ground. T he other plantations had not s uffered les s . T he kitc hen-garden was des troyed. Happily, Granite Hous e pos s es s ed a s tore of s eed whic h would enable them to repair thes e m is fortunes . A s to the wall and buildings of the poultry-yard and the onagers s table, the fire had des troyed all. A few terrified c reatures roam ed over the plateau. T he birds , whic h during the fire had taken refuge on the waters of the lake, had already returned to their ac c us tom ed s pot, and were dabbling on the banks . E verything would have to be rec ons truc ted. Cyrus Harding's fac e, whic h was paler than us ual, expres s ed an internal anger whic h he c om m anded with diffic ulty, but he did not utter a word. Onc e m ore he looked at his devas tated fields , and at the s m oke whic h s till ros e from the ruins , then he returned to Granite Hous e. T he following days were the s addes t of any that the c olonis ts had pas s ed on the is land! Herbert's weaknes s vis ibly inc reas ed. It appeared that a m ore s erious m alady, the c ons equenc e of the profound phys iologic al dis turbanc e he had gone through, threatened to dec lare its elf, and Gideon S pilett feared s uc h an aggravation of his c ondition that he would be powerles s to fight agains t it! In fac t, Herbert rem ained in an alm os t c ontinuous s tate of drows ines s , and s ym ptom s of delirium began to m anifes t them s elves . Refres hing drinks were the only rem edies at the c olonis ts ' dis pos al. T he fever was not as yet very high, but it s oon appeared that it would probably rec ur at regular intervals . Gideon S pilett firs t rec ognized this on the 6th of Dec em ber. T he poor boy, whos e fingers , nos e, and ears had bec om e extrem ely pale, was at firs t s eized with s light s hiverings , horripilations , and trem blings . His puls e was weak and irregular, his s kin dry, his thirs t intens e. T o this s oon s uc c eeded a hot fit; his fac e bec am e flus hed; his s kin reddened; his puls e quic k; then a profus e pers piration broke out after whic h the fever s eem ed to dim inis h. T he attac k had las ted nearly five hours . Gideon S pilett had not left Herbert, who, it was only too c ertain, was now s eized by an interm ittent fever, and this fever m us t be c ured at any c os t before it s hould as s um e a m ore s erious as pec t. "A nd in order to c ure it," s aid S pilett to Cyrus Harding, "we need a febrifuge." "A febrifuge--" ans wered the engineer. "W e have neither P eruvian bark, nor s ulphate of quinine." "No," s aid Gideon S pilett, "but there are willows on the border of the lake, and the bark of the willow m ight, perhaps , prove to be a s ubs titute for quinine." "Let us try it without los ing a m om ent," replied Cyrus Harding. T he bark of the willow has , indeed, been jus tly c ons idered as a s uc c edaneum for P eruvian bark, as has als o that of the hors e-c hes tnut tree, the leaf of the holly, the s nake-root, etc . It was evidently nec es s ary to m ake trial of this s ubs tanc e, although not s o valuable as P eruvian bark, and to em ploy it in its natural s tate, s inc e they had no m eans for extrac ting its es s enc e. Cyrus Harding went him s elf to c ut from the trunk of a s pec ies of blac k willow, a few piec es of bark; he brought them bac k to Granite Hous e, and reduc ed them to a powder, whic h was adm inis tered that s am e evening to Herbert. T he night pas s ed without any im portant c hange. Herbert was s om ewhat delirious , but the fever did not reappear in the night, and did not return either during the following day. P enc roft again began to hope. Gideon S pilett s aid nothing. It m ight be that the fever was not quotidian, but tertian, and that it would return next day. T herefore, he awaited the next day with the greates t anxiety. It m ight have been rem arked bes ides that during this period Herbert rem ained utterly pros trate, his head weak and giddy. A nother s ym ptom alarm ed the reporter to the highes t degree. Herbert's liver bec am e c onges ted, and s oon a m ore intens e delirium s howed that his brain was als o affec ted. Gideon S pilett was overwhelm ed by this new c om plic ation. He took the engineer as ide. "It is a m alignant fever," s aid he. "A m alignant fever! " c ried Harding. "Y ou are m is taken, S pilett. A m alignant fever does not dec lare its elf s pontaneous ly; its germ m us t previous ly have exis ted." "I am not m is taken," replied the reporter. "Herbert no doubt c ontrac ted the germ of this fever in the m ars hes of the is land. He has already had one attac k; s hould a s ec ond c om e on and s hould we not be able to prevent a third, he is los t." "B ut the willow bark?" "T hat is ins uffic ient," ans wered the reporter, "and the third attac k of a m alignant fever, whic h is not arres ted by m eans of quinine, is always fatal." Fortunately, P enc roft heard nothing of this c onvers ation or he would have gone m ad. It m ay be im agined what anxiety the engineer and the reporter s uffered during the day of the 7th of Dec em ber and the following night. T owards the m iddle of the day the s ec ond attac k c am e on. T he c ris is was terrible. Herbert felt him s elf s inking. He s tretc hed his arm s towards Cyrus Harding, towards S pilett, towards P enc roft. He was s o young to die! T he s c ene was heart-rending. T hey were obliged to s end P enc roft away. T he fit las ted five hours . It was evident that Herbert c ould not s urvive a third. T he night was frightful. In his delirium Herbert uttered words whic h went to the hearts of his c om panions . He s truggled with the c onvic ts , he c alled to A yrton, he poured forth entreaties to that m ys terious being,--that powerful unknown protec tor,--whos e im age was s tam ped upon his m ind; then he again fell into a deep exhaus tion whic h c om pletely pros trated him . S everal tim es Gideon S pilett thought that the poor boy was dead. T he next day, the 8th of Dec em ber, was but a s uc c es s ion of the fainting fits . Herbert's thin hands c lutc hed the s heets . T hey had adm inis tered further dos es of pounded bark, but the reporter expec ted no res ult from it. "If before tom orrow m orning we have not given him a m ore energetic febrifuge," s aid the reporter, "Herbert will be dead." Night arrived--the las t night, it was too m uc h to be feared, of the good, brave, intelligent boy, s o far in advanc e of his years , and who was loved by all as their own c hild. T he only rem edy whic h exis ted agains t this terrible m alignant fever, the only s pec ific whic h c ould overc om e it, was not to be found in Linc oln Is land. During the night of the 8th of Dec em ber, Herbert was s eized by a m ore violent delirium . His liver was fearfully c onges ted, his brain affec ted, and already it was im pos s ible for him to rec ognize any one. W ould he live until the next day, until that third attac k whic h m us t infallibly c arry him off? It was not probable. His s trength was exhaus ted, and in the intervals of fever he lay as one dead. T owards three o'c loc k in the m orning Herbert uttered a pierc ing c ry. He s eem ed to be torn by a s uprem e c onvuls ion. Neb, who was near him , terrified, ran into the next room where his c om panions were watc hing. T op, at that m om ent, barked in a s trange m anner. A ll rus hed in im m ediately and m anaged to res train the dying boy, who was endeavoring to throw him s elf out of his bed, while S pilett, taking his arm , felt his puls e gradually quic ken. It was five in the m orning. T he rays of the ris ing s un began to s hine in at the windows of Granite Hous e. It prom is ed to be a fine day, and this day was to be poor Herbert's las t! A ray glanc ed on the table plac ed near the bed. S uddenly P enc roft, uttering a c ry, pointed to the table. On it lay a little oblong box, of whic h the c over bore thes e words :-- "S ULP HATE OF QUININE ." Chapter 11 Gideon S pilett took the box and opened it. It c ontained nearly two hundred grains of a white powder, a few partic les of whic h he c arried to his lips . T he extrem e bitternes s of the s ubs tanc e prec luded all doubt; it was c ertainly the prec ious extrac t of quinine, that pre-em inent antifebrile. T his powder m us t be adm inis tered to Herbert without delay. How it c am e there m ight be dis c us s ed later. "S om e c offee! " s aid S pilett. In a few m om ents Neb brought a c up of the warm infus ion. Gideon S pilett threw into it about eighteen grains of quinine, and they s uc c eeded in m aking Herbert drink the m ixture. T here was s till tim e, for the third attac k of the m alignant fever had not yet s hown its elf. How they longed to be able to add that it would not return! B es ides , it m us t be rem arked, the hopes of all had now revived. T he m ys terious influenc e had been again exerted, and in a c ritic al m om ent, when they had des paired of it. In a few hours Herbert was m uc h c alm er. T he c olonis ts c ould now dis c us s this inc ident. T he intervention of the s tranger was m ore evident than ever. B ut how had he been able to penetrate during the night into Granite Hous e? It was inexplic able, and, in truth, the proc eedings of the genius of the is land were not les s m ys terious than was that genius him s elf. During this day the s ulphate of quinine was adm inis tered to Herbert every three hours . T he next day s om e im provem ent in Herbert's c ondition was apparent. Certainly, he was not out of danger, interm ittent fevers being s ubjec t to frequent and dangerous relaps es , but the m os t as s iduous c are was bes towed on him . A nd bes ides , the s pec ific was at hand; nor, doubtles s , was he who had brought it far dis tant! A nd the hearts of all were anim ated by returning hope. T his hope was not dis appointed. T en days after, on the 20th of Dec em ber, Herbert's c onvales c enc e c om m enc ed. He was s till weak, and s tric t diet had been im pos ed upon him , but no ac c es s of fever s upervened. A nd then, the poor boy s ubm itted with s uc h doc ility to all the pres c riptions ordered him ! He longed s o to get well! P enc roft was as a m an who has been drawn up from the bottom of an abys s . Fits of joy approac hing delirium s eized him . W hen the tim e for the third attac k had pas s ed by, he nearly s uffoc ated the reporter in his em brac e. S inc e then, he always c alled him Dr. S pilett. T he real doc tor, however, rem ained undis c overed. "W e will find him ! " repeated the s ailor. Certainly, this m an, whoever he was , m ight expec t a s om ewhat too energetic em brac e from the worthy P enc roft! T he m onth of Dec em ber ended, and with it the year 1867, during whic h the c olonis ts of Linc oln Is land had of late been s o s everely tried. T hey c om m enc ed the year 1868 with m agnific ent weather, great heat, and a tropic al tem perature, delightfully c ooled by the s ea-breeze. Herbert's rec overy progres s ed, and from his bed, plac ed near one of the windows of Granite Hous e, he c ould inhale the fres h air, c harged with ozone, whic h c ould not fail to res tore his health. His appetite returned, and what num berles s delic ate, s avory little dis hes Neb prepared for him ! "It is enough to m ake one wis h to have a fever ones elf! " s aid P enc roft. During all this tim e, the c onvic ts did not onc e appear in the vic inity of Granite Hous e. T here was no news of A yrton, and though the engineer and Herbert s till had s om e hopes of finding him again, their c om panions did not doubt but that the unfortunate m an had peris hed. However, this unc ertainty c ould not las t, and when onc e the lad s hould have rec overed, the expedition, the res ult of whic h m us t be s o im portant, would be undertaken. B ut they would have to wait a m onth, perhaps , for all the s trength of the c olony m us t be put into requis ition to obtain s atis fac tion from the c onvic ts . However, Herbert's c onvales c enc e progres s ed rapidly. T he c onges tion of the liver had dis appeared, and his wounds m ight be c ons idered c om pletely healed. During the m onth of J anuary, im portant work was done on the plateau of P ros pec t Heights ; but it c ons is ted s olely in s aving as m uc h as was pos s ible from the devas tated c rops , either of c orn or vegetables . T he grain and the plants were gathered, s o as to provide a new harves t for the approac hing half-s eas on. W ith regard to rebuilding the poultry-yard, wall, or s tables , Cyrus Harding preferred to wait. W hile he and his c om panions were in purs uit of the c onvic ts , the latter m ight very probably pay another vis it to the plateau, and it would be us eles s to give them an opportunity of rec om m enc ing their work of des truc tion. when the is land s hould be c leared of thes e m is c reants , they would s et about rebuilding. T he young c onvales c ent began to get up in the s ec ond week of J anuary, at firs t for one hour a day, then two, then three. His s trength vis ibly returned, s o vigorous was his c ons titution. He was now eighteen years of age. He was tall, and prom is ed to bec om e a m an of noble and c om m anding pres enc e. From this tim e his rec overy, while s till requiring c are,--and Dr. S pilett was very s tric t,--m ade rapid progres s . T owards the end of the m onth, Herbert was already walking about on P ros pec t Heights , and the beac h. He derived, from s everal s ea-baths , whic h he took in c om pany with P enc roft and Neb, the greates t pos s ible benefit. Cyrus Harding thought he m ight now s ettle the day for their departure, for whic h the 15th of February was fixed. T he nights , very c lear at this tim e of year, would be favorable to the res earc hes they intended to m ake all over the is land. T he nec es s ary preparations for this exploration were now c om m enc ed, and were im portant, for the c olonis ts had s worn not to return to Granite Hous e until their twofold objec t had been ac hieved; on the one hand, to exterm inate the c onvic ts , and res c ue A yrton, if he was s till living; on the other, to dis c over who it was that pres ided s o effec tually over the fortunes of the c olony. Of Linc oln Is land, the s ettlers knew thoroughly all the eas tern c oas t from Claw Cape to the Mandible Capes , the extens ive Tadorn Mars h, the neighborhood of Lake Grant, J ac am ar W ood, between the road to the c orral and the Merc y, the c ours es of the Merc y and Red Creek, and las tly, the s purs of Mount Franklin, am ong whic h the c orral had been es tablis hed. T hey had explored, though only in an im perfec t m anner, the vas t s hore of W as hington B ay from Claw Cape to Reptile E nd, the woody and m ars hy border of the wes t c oas t, and the interm inable downs , ending at the open m outh of S hark Gulf. B ut they had in no way s urveyed the woods whic h c overed the S erpentine P enins ula, all to the right of the Merc y, the left bank of Falls River, and the wildernes s of s purs and valleys whic h s upported three quarters of the bas e of Mount Franklin, to the eas t, the north, and the wes t, and where doubtles s m any s ec ret retreats exis ted. Cons equently, m any m illions of ac res of the is land had s till es c aped their inves tigations . It was , therefore, dec ided that the expedition s hould be c arried through the Far W es t, s o as to inc lude all that region s ituated on the right of the Merc y. It m ight, perhaps , be better worth while to go direc t to the c orral, where it m ight be s uppos ed that the c onvic ts had again taken refuge, either to pillage or to es tablis h them s elves there. B ut either the devas tation of the c orral would have been an ac c om plis hed fac t by this tim e, and it would be too late to prevent it, or it had been the c onvic ts ' interes t to entrenc h them s elves there, and there would be s till tim e to go and turn them out on their return. T herefore, after s om e dis c us s ion, the firs t plan was adhered to, and the s ettlers res olved to proc eed through the wood to Reptile E nd. T hey would m ake their way with their hatc hets , and thus lay the firs t draft of a road whic h would plac e Granite Hous e in c om m unic ation with the end of the penins ula for a length of from s ixteen to s eventeen m iles . T he c art was in good c ondition. T he onagers , well res ted, c ould go a long journey. P rovis ions , c am p effec ts , a portable s tove, and various utens ils were pac ked in the c art, as als o weapons and am m unition, c arefully c hos en from the now c om plete ars enal of Granite Hous e. B ut it was nec es s ary to rem em ber that the c onvic ts were, perhaps , roam ing about the woods , and that in the m ids t of thes e thic k fores ts a s hot m ight quic kly be fired and rec eived. It was therefore res olved that the little band of s ettlers s hould rem ain together and not s eparate under any pretext whatever. It was als o dec ided that no one s hould rem ain at Granite Hous e. Top and J up them s elves were to ac c om pany the expedition; the inac c es s ible dwelling needed no guard. T he 14th of February, eve of the departure, was c ons ec rated entirely to repos e, and--thanks giving addres s ed by the c olonis ts to the Creator. A plac e in the c art was res erved for Herbert, who, though thoroughly c onvales c ent, was s till a little weak. T he next m orning, at daybreak, Cyrus Harding took the nec es s ary m eas ures to protec t Granite Hous e from any invas ion. T he ladders , whic h were form erly us ed for the as c ent, were brought to the Chim neys and buried deep in the s and, s o that they m ight be available on the return of the c olonis ts , for the m ac hinery of the lift had been taken to piec es , and nothing of the apparatus rem ained. P enc roft s tayed the las t in Granite Hous e in order to finis h this work, and he then lowered him s elf down by m eans of a double rope held below, and whic h, when onc e hauled down, left no c om m unic ation between the upper landing and the beac h. T he weather was m agnific ent. "W e s hall have a warm day of it," s aid the reporter, laughing. "P ooh! Dr. S pilett," ans wered P enc roft, "we s hall walk under the s hade of the trees and s han't even s ee the s un! " "Forward! " s aid the engineer. T he c art was waiting on the beac h before the Chim neys . T he reporter m ade Herbert take his plac e in it during the firs t hours at leas t of the journey, and the lad was obliged to s ubm it to his doc tor's orders . Neb plac ed him s elf at the onagers ' heads . Cyrus Harding, the reporter, and the s ailor, walked in front. T op bounded joyfully along. Herbert offered a s eat in his vehic le to J up, who ac c epted it without c erem ony. T he m om ent for departure had arrived, and the little band s et out. T he c art firs t turned the angle of the m outh of the Merc y, then, having as c ended the left bank for a m ile, c ros s ed the bridge, at the other s ide of whic h c om m enc ed the road to P ort B alloon, and there the explorers , leaving this road on their left, entered the c over of the im m ens e woods whic h form ed the region of the Far W es t. For the firs t two m iles the widely s c attered trees allowed the c art to pas s with eas e; from tim e to tim e it bec am e nec es s ary to c ut away a few c reepers and bus hes , but no s erious obs tac le im peded the progres s of the c olonis ts . T he thic k foliage of the trees threw a grateful s hade on the ground. Deodars , Douglas firs , c as uarinas , banks ias , gum -trees , dragon-trees , and other well-known s pec ies , s uc c eeded eac h other far as the eye c ould reac h. T he feathered tribes of the is land were all repres ented--grous e, jac am ars , pheas ants , lories , as well as the c hattering c oc katoos , parrots , and paroquets . A gouties , kangaroos , and c apybaras fled s wiftly at their approac h; and all this rem inded the s ettlers of the firs t exc urs ions they had m ade on their arrival at the is land. "Nevertheles s ," obs erved Cyrus Harding, "I notic e that thes e c reatures , both birds and quadrupeds , are m ore tim id than form erly. T hes e woods have, therefore, been rec ently travers ed by the c onvic ts , and we s hall c ertainly find s om e trac es of them ." A nd, in fac t, in s everal plac es they c ould dis tinguis h trac es , m ore or les s rec ent, of the pas s age of a band of m en--here branc hes broken off the trees , perhaps to m ark out the way; there the as hes of a fire, and footprints in c layey s pots ; but nothing whic h appeared to belong to a s ettled enc am pm ent. T he engineer had rec om m ended his c om panions to refrain from hunting. T he reports of the firearm s m ight give the alarm to the c onvic ts , who were, perhaps , roam ing through the fores t. Moreover, the hunters would nec es s arily ram ble s om e dis tanc e from the c art, whic h it was dangerous to leave unguarded. In the afterpart of the day, when about s ix m iles from Granite Hous e, their progres s bec am e m uc h m ore diffic ult. In order to m ake their way through s om e thic kets , they were obliged to c ut down trees . B efore entering s uc h plac es Harding was c areful to s end in Top and J up, who faithfully ac c om plis hed their c om m is s ion, and when the dog and orang returned without giving any warning, there was evidently nothing to fear, either from c onvic ts or wild beas ts , two varieties of the anim al kingdom , whos e feroc ious ins tinc ts plac ed them on the s am e level. On the evening of the firs t day the c olonis ts enc am ped about nine m iles from Granite Hous e, on the border of a little s tream falling into the Merc y, and of the exis tenc e of whic h they had till then been ignorant; it evidently, however, belonged to the hydiographic al s ys tem to whic h the s oil owed its as tonis hing fertility. T he s ettlers m ade a hearty m eal, for their appetites were s harpened, and m eas ures were then taken that the night m ight be pas s ed in s afety. If the engineer had had only to deal with wild beas ts , jaguars or others , he would have s im ply lighted fires all around his c am p, whic h would have s uffic ed for its defens e; but the c onvic ts would be rather attrac ted than terrified by the flam es , and it was , therefore, better to be s urrounded by the profound darknes s of night. T he watc h was , however, c arefully organized. T wo of the s ettlers were to watc h together, and every two hours it was agreed that they s hould be relieved by their c om rades . A nd s o, notwiths tanding his wis h to the c ontrary, Herbert was exem pted from guard. P enc roft and Gideon S pilett in one party, the engineer and Neb in another, m ounted guard in turns over the c am p. T he night, however, was but of few hours . T he darknes s was due rather to the thic knes s of the foliage than to the dis appearanc e of the s un. T he s ilenc e was s c arc ely dis turbed by the howling of jaguars and the c hattering of the m onkeys , the latter appearing to partic ularly irritate Mas ter J up. T he night pas s ed without inc ident, and on the next day, the 15th of February, the journey through the fores t, tedious rather than diffic ult, was c ontinued. T his day they c ould not ac c om plis h m ore than s ix m iles , for every m om ent they were obliged to c ut a road with their hatc hets . Like true s ettlers , the c olonis ts s pared the larges t and m os t beautiful trees , whic h would bes ides have c os t im m ens e labor to fell, and the s m all ones only were s ac rific ed, but the res ult was that the road took a very winding direc tion, and lengthened its elf by num erous detours . During the day Herbert dis c overed s everal new s pec im ens not before m et with in the is land, s uc h as the tree-fern, with its leaves s pread out like the waters of a fountain, loc us t-trees , on the long pods of whic h the onagers brows ed greedily, and whic h s upplied a s weet pulp of exc ellent flavor. T here, too, the c olonis ts again found groups of m agnific ent kauries , their c ylindric al trunks , c rowded with a c one of verdure, ris ing to a height of two hundred feet. T hes e were the tree-kings of New Zealand, as c elebrated as the c edars of Lebanon. A s to the fauna, there was no addition to thos e s pec ies already known to the hunters . Nevertheles s , they s aw, though unable to get near them , a c ouple of thos e large birds pec uliar to A us tralia, a s ort of c as s owary, c alled em u, five feet in height, and with brown plum age, whic h belong to the tribe of waders . Top darted after them as fas t as his four legs c ould c arry him , but the em us dis tanc ed him with eas e, s o prodigious was their s peed. A s to the trac es left by the c onvic ts , a few m ore were dis c overed. S om e footprints found near an apparently rec ently extinguis hed fire were attentively exam ined by the s ettlers . B y m eas uring them one after the other, ac c ording to their length and breadth, the m arks of five m en's feet were eas ily dis tinguis hed. T he five c onvic ts had evidently c am ped on this s pot; but,--and this was the objec t of s o m inute an exam ination,--a s ixth footprint c ould not be dis c overed, whic h in that c as e would have been that of A yrton. "A yrton was not with them ! " s aid Herbert. "No," ans wered P enc roft, "and if he was not with them , it was bec aus e the wretc hes had already m urdered him ! but then thes e ras c als have not a den to whic h they m ay be trac ked like tigers ! " "No," replied the reporter, "it is m ore probable that they wander at random , and it is their interes t to rove about until the tim e when they will be m as ters of the is land! " "T he m as ters of the is land! " exc laim ed the s ailor; "the m as ters of the is land! ..." he repeated, and his voic e was c hoked, as if his throat was s eized in an iron gras p. T hen in a c alm er tone, "Do you know, Captain Harding," s aid he, "what the ball is whic h I have ram m ed into m y gun?" "No, P enc roft! " "It is the ball that went through Herbert's c hes t, and I prom is e you it won't m is s its m ark! " B ut this jus t retaliation would not bring A yrton bac k to life, and from the exam ination of the footprints left in the ground, they m us t, alas ! c onc lude that all hopes of ever s eeing him again m us t be abandoned. T hat evening they enc am ped fourteen m iles from Granite Hous e, and Cyrus Harding c alc ulated that they c ould not be m ore than five m iles from Reptile P oint. A nd indeed, the next day the extrem ity of the penins ula was reac hed, and the whole length of the fores t had been travers ed; but there was nothing to indic ate the retreat in whic h the c onvic ts had taken refuge, nor that, no les s s ec ret, whic h s heltered the m ys terious unknown. Chapter 12 T he next day, the 18th of February, was devoted to the exploration of all that wooded region form ing the s hore from Reptile E nd to Falls River. T he c olonis ts were able to s earc h this fores t thoroughly, for, as it was c om pris ed between the two s hores of the S erpentine P enins ula, it was only from three to four m iles in breadth. T he trees , both by their height and their thic k foliage, bore witnes s to the vegetative power of the s oil, m ore as tonis hing here than in any other part of the is land. One m ight have s aid that a c orner from the virgin fores ts of A m eric a or A fric a had been trans ported into this tem perate zone. T his led them to c onc lude that the s uperb vegetation found a heat in this s oil, dam p in its upper layer, but warm ed in the interior by volc anic fires , whic h c ould not belong to a tem perate c lim ate. T he m os t frequently oc c urring trees were knaries and euc alypti of gigantic dim ens ions .

B ut the c olonis ts ' objec t was not s im ply to adm ire the m agnific ent vegetation. T hey knew already that in this res pec t Linc oln Is land would have been worthy to take the firs t rank in the Canary group, to whic h the firs t nam e given was that of the Happy Is les . Now, alas ! their is land no longer belonged to them entirely; others had taken pos s es s ion of it, m is c reants polluted its s hores , and they m us t be des troyed to the las t m an. No trac es were found on the wes tern c oas t, although they were c arefully s ought for. No m ore footprints , no m ore broken branc hes , no m ore des erted c am ps . "T his does not s urpris e m e," s aid Cyrus Harding to his c om panions . "T he c onvic ts firs t landed on the is land in the neighborhood of Flots am P oint, and they im m ediately plunged into the Far W es t fores ts , after c ros s ing Tadorn Mars h. T hey then followed alm os t the s am e route that we took on leaving Granite Hous e. T his explains the trac es we found in the wood. B ut, arriving on the s hore, the c onvic ts s aw at onc e that they would dis c over no s uitable retreat there, and it was then that, going northwards again, they c am e upon the c orral." "W here they have perhaps returned," s aid P enc roft. "I do not think s o," ans wered the engineer, "for they would naturally s uppos e that our res earc hes would be in that direc tion. T he c orral is only a s torehous e to them , and not a definitive enc am pm ent." "I am of Cyrus ' opinion," s aid the reporter, "and I think that it is am ong the s purs of Mount Franklin that the c onvic ts will have m ade their lair." "T hen, c aptain, s traight to the c orral! " c ried P enc roft. "W e m us t finis h them off, and till now we have only los t tim e! " "No, m y friend," replied the engineer; "you forget that we have a reas on for wis hing to know if the fores ts of the Far W es t do not c ontain s om e habitation. Our exploration has a double objec t, P enc roft. If, on the one hand, we have to c has tis e c rim e, we have, on the other, an ac t of gratitude to perform ." "T hat was well s aid, c aptain," replied the s ailor, "but, all the s am e, it is m y opinion that we s hall not find the gentlem an until he pleas es ." A nd truly P enc roft only expres s ed the opinion of all. It was probable that the s tranger's retreat was not les s m ys terious than was he him s elf. T hat evening the c art halted at the m outh of Falls River. T he c am p was organized as us ual, and the c us tom ary prec autions were taken for the night. Herbert, bec om e again the healthy and vigorous lad he was before his illnes s , derived great benefit from this life in the open air, between the s ea breezes and the vivifying air from the fores ts . His plac e was no longer in the c art, but at the head of the troop. T he next day, the 19th of February, the c olonis ts , leaving the s hore, where, beyond the m outh, bas alts of every s hape were s o pic tures quely piled up, as c ended the river by its left bank. T he road had been already partly c leared in their form er exc urs ions m ade from the c orral to the wes t c oas t. T he s ettlers were now about s ix m iles from Mount Franklin. T he engineer's plan was this :--To m inutely s urvey the valley form ing the bed of the river, and to c autious ly approac h the neighborhood of the c orral; if the c orral was oc c upied, to s eize it by forc e; if it was not, to entrenc h them s elves there and m ake it the c enter of the operations whic h had for their objec t the exploration of Mount Franklin. T his plan was unanim ous ly approved by the c olonis ts , for they were im patient to regain entire pos s es s ion of their is land. T hey m ade their way then along the narrow valley s eparating two of the larges t s purs of Mount Franklin. T he trees , c rowded on the river's bank, bec am e rare on the upper s lopes of the m ountain. T he ground was hilly and rough, very s uitable for am bus hes , and over whic h they did not venture without extrem e prec aution. Top and J up s kirm is hed on the flanks , s pringing right and left through the thic k brus hwood, and em ulating eac h other in intelligenc e and ac tivity. B ut nothing s howed that the banks of the s tream had been rec ently frequented--nothing announc ed either the pres enc e or the proxim ity of the c onvic ts . T owards five in the evening the c art s topped nearly 600 feet from the palis ade. A s em ic irc ular s c reen of trees s till hid it. It was nec es s ary to rec onnoiter the c orral, in order to as c ertain if it was oc c upied. T o go there openly, in broad daylight, when the c onvic ts were probably in am bus h, would be to expos e them s elves , as poor Herbert had done, to the firearm s of the ruffians . It was better, then, to wait until night c am e on. However, Gideon S pilett wis hed without further delay to rec onnoiter the approac hes to the c orral, and P enc roft, who was quite out of patienc e, volunteered to ac c om pany him . "No, m y friends ," s aid the engineer, "wait till night. I will not allow one of you to expos e him s elf in open day." "B ut, c aptain--" ans wered the s ailor, little dis pos ed to obey. "I beg of you, P enc roft," s aid the engineer. "V ery well! " replied the s ailor, who vented his anger in another way, by bes towing on the c onvic ts the wors t nam es in his m aritim e voc abulary. T he c olonis ts rem ained, therefore, near the c art, and c arefully watc hed the neighboring parts of the fores t. T hree hours pas s ed thus . T he wind had fallen, and abs olute s ilenc e reigned under the great trees . T he s napping of the s m alles t twig, a foots tep on the dry leaves , the gliding of a body am ong the gras s , would have been heard without diffic ulty. A ll was quiet. B es ides , Top, lying on the gras s , his head s tretc hed out on his paws , gave no s ign of uneas ines s . A t eight o'c loc k the day appeared far enough advanc ed for the rec onnais s anc e to be m ade under favorable c onditions . Gideon S pilett dec lared him s elf ready to s et out ac c om panied by P enc roft. Cyrus Harding c ons ented. Top and J up were to rem ain with the engineer, Herbert, and Neb, for a bark or a c ry at a wrong m om ent would give the alarm . "Do not be im prudent," s aid Harding to the reporter and P enc roft, "you have not to gain pos s es s ion of the c orral, but only to find out whether it is oc c upied or not." "A ll right," ans wered P enc roft. A nd the two departed. Under the trees , thanks to the thic knes s of their foliage, the obs c urity rendered any objec t invis ible beyond a radius of from thirty to forty feet. T he reporter and P enc roft, halting at any s us pic ious s ound, advanc ed with great c aution. T hey walked a little dis tanc e apart from eac h other s o as to offer a les s m ark for a s hot. A nd, to tell the truth, they expec ted every m om ent to hear a report. Five m inutes after leaving the c art, Gideon S pilett and P enc roft arrived at the edge of the wood before the c learing beyond whic h ros e the palis ade. T hey s topped. A few s traggling beam s s till fell on the field c lear of trees . T hirty feet dis tant was the gate of the c orral, whic h appeared to be c los ed. T his thirty feet, whic h it was nec es s ary to c ros s from the wood to the palis ade, c ons tituted the dangerous zone, to borrow a ballis tic term : in fac t, one or m ore bullets fired from behind the palis ade m ight knoc k over any one who ventured on to this zone. Gideon S pilett and the s ailor were not m en to draw bac k, but they knew that any im prudenc e on their part, of whic h they would be the firs t vic tim s , would fall afterwards on their c om panions . If they them s elves were killed, what would bec om e of Harding, Neb, and Herbert? B ut P enc roft, exc ited at feeling him s elf s o near the c orral where he s uppos ed the c onvic ts had taken refuge, was about to pres s forward, when the reporter held him bac k with a gras p of iron. "In a few m inutes it will be quite dark," whis pered S pilett in the s ailor's ear, "then will be the tim e to ac t." P enc roft, c onvuls ively c las ping the butt-end of his gun, res trained his energies , and waited, s wearing to him s elf. S oon the las t of the twilight faded away. Darknes s , whic h s eem ed as if it is s ued from the dens e fores t, c overed the c learing. Mount Franklin ros e like an enorm ous s c reen before the wes tern horizon, and night s pread rapidly over all, as it does in regions of low latitudes . Now was the tim e. T he reporter and P enc roft, s inc e pos ting them s elves on the edge of the wood, had not onc e los t s ight of the palis ade. T he c orral appeared to be abs olutely des erted. T he top of the palis ade form ed a line, a little darker than the s urrounding s hadow, and nothing dis turbed its dis tinc tnes s . Nevertheles s , if the c onvic ts were there, they m us t have pos ted one of their num ber to guard agains t any s urpris e. S pilett gras ped his c om panion's hand, and both c rept towards the c orral, their guns ready to fire. T hey reac hed the gate without the darknes s being illum inated by a s ingle ray of light. P enc roft tried to pus h open the gate, whic h, as the reporter and he had s uppos ed, was c los ed. However, the s ailor was able to as c ertain that the outer bars had not been put up. It m ight, then, be c onc luded that the c onvic ts were there in the c orral, and that very probably they had fas tened the gate in s uc h a way that it c ould not be forc ed open. Gideon S pilett and P enc roft lis tened. Not a s ound c ould be heard ins ide the palis ade. T he m us m ons and the goats , s leeping no doubt in their huts , in no way dis turbed the c alm of night. T he reporter and the s ailor hearing nothing, as ked them s elves whether they had not better s c ale the palis ades and penetrate into the c orral. T his would have been c ontrary to Cyrus Harding's ins truc tions . It is true that the enterpris e m ight s uc c eed, but it m ight als o fail. Now, if the c onvic ts were s us pec ting nothing, if they knew nothing of the expedition agains t them , if, las tly, there now exis ted a c hanc e of s urpris ing them , ought this c hanc e to be los t by inc ons iderately attem pting to c ros s the palis ades ? T his was not the reporter's opinion. He thought it better to wait until all the s ettlers were c ollec ted together before attem pting to penetrate into the c orral. One thing was c ertain, that it was pos s ible to reac h the palis ade without being s een, and als o that it did not appear to be guarded. T his point s ettled, there was nothing to be done but to return to the c art, where they would c ons ult. P enc roft probably agreed with this dec is ion, for he followed the reporter without m aking any objec tion when the latter turned bac k to the wood. In a few m inutes the engineer was m ade ac quainted with the s tate of affairs . "W ell," s aid he, after a little thought, "I now have reas on to believe that the c onvic ts are not in the c orral." "W e s hall s oon know," s aid P enc roft, "when we have s c aled the palis ade." "T o the c orral, m y friends ! " s aid Cyrus Harding. "S hall we leave the c art in the wood?" as ked Neb. "No," replied the engineer, "it is our wagon of am m unition and provis ions , and, if nec es s ary, it would s erve as an entrenc hm ent." "Forward, then! " s aid Gideon S pilett. T he c art em erged from the wood and began to roll nois eles s ly towards the palis ade. T he darknes s was now profound, the s ilenc e as c om plete as when P enc roft and the reporter c rept over the ground. T he thic k gras s c om pletely m uffled their foots teps . T he c olonis ts held them s elves ready to fire. J up, at P enc roft's orders , kept behind. Neb led T op in a leas h, to prevent him from bounding forward. T he c learing s oon c am e in s ight. It was des erted. W ithout hes itating, the little band m oved towards the palis ade. In a s hort s pac e of tim e the dangerous zone was pas s ed. Neb rem ained at the onagers ' heads to hold them . T he engineer, the reporter, Herbert, and P enc roft, proc eeded to the door, in order to as c ertain if it was barric aded ins ide. It was open! "W hat do you s ay now?" as ked the engineer, turning to the s ailor and S pilett. B oth were s tupefied. "I c an s wear," s aid P enc roft, "that this gate was s hut jus t now! " T he c olonis ts now hes itated. W ere the c onvic ts in the c orral when P enc roft and the reporter m ade their rec onnais s anc e? It c ould not be doubted, as the gate then c los ed c ould only have been opened by them . W ere they s till there, or had one of their num ber jus t gone out? A ll thes e ques tions pres ented them s elves s im ultaneous ly to the m inds of the c olonis ts , but how c ould they be ans wered? A t that m om ent, Herbert, who had advanc ed a few s teps into the enc los ure, drew bac k hurriedly, and s eized Harding's hand. "W hat's the m atter?" as ked the engineer. "A light! " "In the hous e?" "Y es ! " A ll five advanc ed and indeed, through the window fronting them , they s aw glim m ering a feeble light. Cyrus Harding m ade up his m ind rapidly. "It is our only c hanc e," s aid he to his c om panions , "of finding the c onvic ts c ollec ted in this hous e, s us pec ting nothing! T hey are in our power! Forward! " T he c olonis ts c ros s ed through the enc los ure, holding their guns ready in their hands . T he c art had been left outs ide under the c harge of J up and T op, who had been prudently tied to it. Cyrus Harding, P enc roft, and Gideon S pilett on one s ide, Herbert and Neb on the other, going along by the palis ade, s urveyed the abs olutely dark and des erted c orral. In a few m om ents they were near the c los ed door of the hous e. Harding s igned to his c om panions not to s tir, and approac hed the window, then feebly lighted by the inner light. He gazed into the apartm ent. On the table burned a lantern. Near the table was the bed form erly us ed by A yrton. On the bed lay the body of a m an. S uddenly Cyrus Harding drew bac k, and in a hoars e voic e,--"A yrton! " he exc laim ed. Im m ediately the door was forc ed rather than opened, and the c olonis ts rus hed into the room . A yrton appeared to be as leep. His c ountenanc e s howed that he had long and c ruelly s uffered. On his wris ts and ankles c ould be s een great bruis es . Harding bent over him . "A yrton! " c ried the engineer, s eizing the arm of the m an whom he had jus t found again under s uc h unexpec ted c irc um s tanc es . A t this exc lam ation A yrton opened his eyes , and, gazing at Harding, then at the others ,-"Y ou! " he c ried, "you?" "A yrton! A yrton! " repeated Harding. "W here am I?" "In the hous e in the c orral! " "A lone?" "Y es ! " "B ut they will c om e bac k! " c ried A yrton. "Defend yours elves ! defend yours elves ! " A nd he fell bac k exhaus ted. "S pilett," exc laim ed the engineer, "we m ay be attac ked at any m om ent. B ring the c art into the c orral. T hen, barric ade the door, and all c om e bac k here." P enc roft, Neb, and the reporter has tened to exec ute the engineer's orders . T here was not a m om ent to be los t. P erhaps even now the c art was in the hands of the c onvic ts ! In a m om ent the reporter and his two c om panions had c ros s ed the c orral and reac hed the gate of the palis ade behind whic h T op was heard growling s ullenly. T he engineer, leaving A yrton for an ins tant, c am e out ready to fire. Herbert was at his s ide. B oth s urveyed the c res t of the s pur overlooking the c orral. If the c onvic ts were lying in am bus h there, they m ight knoc k the s ettlers over one after the other. A t that m om ent the m oon appeared in the eas t, above the blac k c urtain of the fores t, and a white s heet of light s pread over the interior of the enc los ure. T he c orral, with its c lum ps of trees , the little s tream whic h watered it, its wide c arpet of gras s , was s uddenly illum inated. From the s ide of the m ountain, the hous e and a part of the palis ade s tood out white in the m oonlight. On the oppos ite s ide towards the door, the enc los ure rem ained dark. A blac k m as s s oon appeared. T his was the c art entering the c irc le of light, and Cyrus Harding c ould hear the nois e m ade by the door, as his c om panions s hut it and fas tened the interior bars . B ut, at that m om ent, T op, breaking loos e, began to bark furious ly and rus h to the bac k of the c orral, to the right of the hous e. "B e ready to fire, m y friends ! " c ried Harding. T he c olonis ts rais ed their piec es and waited the m om ent to fire. T op s till barked, and J up, running towards the dog, uttered s hrill c ries . T he c olonis ts followed him , and reac hed the borders of the little s tream , s haded by large trees . A nd there, in the bright m oonlight, what did they s ee? Five c orps es , s tretc hed on the bank! T hey were thos e of the c onvic ts who, four m onths previous ly, had landed on Linc oln Is land! Chapter 13 How had it happened? who had killed the c onvic ts ? W as it A yrton? No, for a m om ent before he was dreading their return. B ut A yrton was now in a profound s tupor, from whic h it was no longer pos s ible to rous e him . A fter uttering thos e few words he had again bec om e unc ons c ious , and had fallen bac k m otionles s on the bed. T he c olonis ts , a prey to a thous and c onfus ed thoughts , under the influenc e of violent exc item ent, waited all night, without leaving A yrton's hous e, or returning to the s pot where lay the bodies of the c onvic ts . It was very probable that A yrton would not be able to throw any light on the c irc um s tanc es under whic h the bodies had been found, s inc e he him s elf was not aware that he was in the c orral. B ut at any rate he would be in a pos ition to give an ac c ount of what had taken plac e before this terrible exec ution. T he next day A yrton awoke from his torpor, and his c om panions c ordially m anifes ted all the joy they felt, on s eeing him again, alm os t s afe and s ound, after a hundred and four days s eparation. A yrton then in a few words rec ounted what had happened, or, at leas t, as m uc h as he knew. T he day after his arrival at the c orral, on the 10th of las t Novem ber, at nightfall, he was s urpris ed by the c onvic ts , who had s c aled the palis ade. T hey bound and gagged him ; then he was led to a dark c avern, at the foot of Mount Franklin, where the c onvic ts had taken refuge. His death had been dec ided upon, and the next day the c onvic ts were about to kill him , when one of them rec ognized him and c alled him by the nam e whic h he bore in A us tralia. T he wretc hes had no s c ruples as to m urdering A yrton! T hey s pared B en J oyc e! B ut from that m om ent A yrton was expos ed to the im portunities of his form er ac c om plic es . T hey wis hed him to join them again, and relied upon his aid to enable them to gain pos s es s ion of Granite Hous e, to penetrate into that hitherto inac c es s ible dwelling, and to bec om e m as ters of the is land, after m urdering the c olonis ts ! A yrton rem ained firm . T he onc e c onvic t, now repentant and pardoned, would rather die than betray his c om panions . A yrton--bound, gagged, and c los ely watc hed--lived in this c ave for four m onths . Nevertheles s the c onvic ts had dis c overed the c orral a s hort tim e after their arrival in the is land, and s inc e then they had s ubs is ted on A yrton's s tores , but did not live at the c orral. On the 11th of Novem ber, two of the villains , s urpris ed by the c olonis ts ' arrival, fired at Herbert, and one of them returned, boas ting of having killed one of the inhabitants of the is land; but he returned alone. His c om panion, as is known, fell by Cyrus Harding's dagger. A yrton's anxiety and des pair m ay be im agined when he learned the news of Herbert's death. T he s ettlers were now only four, and, as it s eem ed, at the m erc y of the c onvic ts . A fter this event, and during all the tim e that the c olonis ts , detained by Herbert's illnes s , rem ained in the c orral, the pirates did not leave their c avern, and even after they had pillaged the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , they did not think it prudent to abandon it. T he ill-treatm ent inflic ted on A yrton was now redoubled. His hands and feet s till bore the bloody m arks of the c ords whic h bound him day and night. E very m om ent he expec ted to be put to death, nor did it appear pos s ible that he c ould es c ape. Matters rem ained thus until the third week of February. T he c onvic ts , s till watc hing for a favorable opportunity, rarely quitted their retreat, and only m ade a few hunting exc urs ions , either to the interior of the is land, or the s outh c oas t. A yrton had no further news of his friends , and relinquis hed all hope of ever s eeing them again. A t las t, the unfortunate m an, weakened by ill- treatm ent, fell into a pros tration s o profound that s ight and hearing failed him . From that m om ent, that is to s ay, s inc e the las t two days , he c ould give no inform ation whatever of what had oc c urred. "B ut, Captain Harding," he added, "s inc e I was im pris oned in that c avern, how is it that I find m ys elf in the c orral?" "How is it that the c onvic ts are lying yonder dead, in the m iddle of the enc los ure?" ans wered the engineer.

"Dead! " c ried A yrton, half ris ing from his bed, notwiths tanding his weaknes s . His c om panions s upported him . He wis hed to get up, and with their as s is tanc e he did s o. T hey then proc eeded together towards the little s tream . It was now broad daylight. T here, on the bank, in the pos ition in whic h they had been s tric ken by death in its m os t ins tantaneous form , lay the c orps es of the five c onvic ts ! A yrton was as tounded. Harding and his c om panions looked at him without uttering a word. On a s ign from the engineer, Neb and P enc roft exam ined the bodies , already s tiffened by the c old. T hey bore no apparent trac e of any wound. Only, after c arefully exam ining them , P enc roft found on the forehead of one, on the c hes t of another, on the bac k of this one, on the s houlder of that, a little red s pot, a s ort of s c arc ely vis ible bruis e, the c aus e of whic h it was im pos s ible to c onjec ture. "It is there that they have been s truc k! " s aid Cyrus Harding. "B ut with what weapon?" c ried the reporter. "A weapon, lightning-like in its effec ts , and of whic h we have not the s ec ret! " "A nd who has s truc k the blow?" as ked P enc roft. "T he avenging power of the is land," replied Harding, "he who brought you here, A yrton, whos e influenc e has onc e m ore m anifes ted its elf, who does for us all that whic h we c annot do for ours elves , and who, his will ac c om plis hed, c onc eals him s elf from us ." "Let us m ake s earc h for him , then! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "Y es , we will s earc h for him ," ans wered Harding, "but we s hall not dis c over this powerful being who perform s s uc h wonders , until he pleas es to c all us to him ! " T his invis ible protec tion, whic h rendered their own ac tion unavailing, both irritated and piqued the engineer. T he relative inferiority whic h it proved was of a nature to wound a haughty s pirit. A generos ity evinc ed in s uc h a m anner as to elude all tokens of gratitude, im plied a s ort of dis dain for thos e on whom the obligation was c onferred, whic h in Cyrus Harding's eyes m arred, in s om e degree, the worth of the benefit. "Let us s earc h," he res um ed, "and God grant that we m ay s om e day be perm itted to prove to this haughty protec tor that he has not to deal with ungrateful people! W hat would I not give c ould we repay him , by rendering him in our turn, although at the pric e of our lives , s om e s ignal s ervic e! " From this day, the thoughts of the inhabitants of Linc oln Is land were s olely oc c upied with the intended s earc h. E verything inc ited them to dis c over the ans wer to this enigm a, an ans wer whic h would only be the nam e of a m an endowed with a truly inexplic able, and in s om e degree s uperhum an power. In a few m inutes , the s ettlers re-entered the hous e, where their influenc e s oon res tored to A yrton his m oral and phys ic al energy. Neb and P enc roft c arried the c orps es of the c onvic ts into the fores t, s om e dis tanc e from the c orral, and buried them deep in the ground. A yrton was then m ade ac quainted with the fac ts whic h had oc c urred during his s ec lus ion. He learned Herbert's adventures , and through what various trials the c olonis ts had pas s ed. A s to the s ettlers , they had des paired of ever s eeing A yrton again, and had been c onvinc ed that the c onvic ts had ruthles s ly m urdered him . "A nd now," s aid Cyrus Harding, as he ended his rec ital, "a duty rem ains for us to perform . Half of our tas k is ac c om plis hed, but although the c onvic ts are no longer to be feared, it is not owing to ours elves that we are onc e m ore m as ters of the is land." "W ell! " ans wered Gideon S pilett, "let us s earc h all this labyrinth of the s purs of Mount Franklin. W e will not leave a hollow, not a hole unexplored! A h! if ever a reporter found him s elf fac e to fac e with a m ys tery, it is I who now s peak to you, m y friends ! " "A nd we will not return to Granite Hous e until we have found our benefac tor," s aid Herbert. "Y es ," s aid the engineer, "we will do all that it is hum anly pos s ible to do, but I repeat we s hall not find him until he him s elf perm its us ." "S hall we s tay at the c orral?" as ked P enc roft. "W e s hall s tay here," ans wered Harding. "P rovis ions are abundant, and we are here in the very c enter of the c irc le we have to explore. B es ides , if nec es s ary, the c art will take us rapidly to Granite Hous e." "Good! " ans wered the s ailor. "Only I have a rem ark to m ake." "W hat is it?" "Here is the fine s eas on getting on, and we m us t not forget that we have a voyage to m ake." "A voyage?" s aid Gideon S pilett. "Y es , to T abor Is land," ans wered P enc roft. "It is nec es s ary to c arry a notic e there to point out the pos ition of our is land and s ay that A yrton is here in c as e the S c otc h yac ht s hould c om e to take him off. W ho knows if it is not already too late?" "B ut, P enc roft," as ked A yrton, "how do you intend to m ake this voyage?" "In the 'B onadventure.'" "T he 'B onadventure! '" exc laim ed A yrton. "S he no longer exis ts ." "My 'B onadventure' exis ts no longer! " s houted P enc roft, bounding from his s eat. "No," ans wered A yrton. "T he c onvic ts dis c overed her in her little harbor only eight days ago, they put to s ea in her--" "A nd?" s aid P enc roft, his heart beating. "A nd not having B ob Harvey to s teer her, they ran on the roc ks , and the ves s el went to piec es ." "Oh, the villains , the c utthroats , the infam ous s c oundrels ! " exc laim ed P enc roft. "P enc roft," s aid Herbert, taking the s ailor's hand, "we will build another 'B onadventure'--a larger one. W e have all the ironwork--all the rigging of the brig at our dis pos al." "B ut do you know," returned P enc roft, "that it will take at leas t five or s ix m onths to build a ves s el of from thirty to forty tons ?" "W e c an take our tim e," s aid the reporter, "and we m us t give up the voyage to T abor Is land for this year." "Oh, m y 'B onadventure! ' m y poor 'B onadventure! '" c ried P enc roft, alm os t broken-hearted at the des truc tion of the ves s el of whic h he was s o proud. T he los s of the "B onadventure" was c ertainly a thing to be lam ented by the c olonis ts , and it was agreed that this los s s hould be repaired as s oon as pos s ible. T his s ettled, they now oc c upied them s elves with bringing their res earc hes to bear on the m os t s ec ret parts of the is land. T he exploration was c om m enc ed at daybreak on the 19th of February, and las ted an entire week. T he bas e of the m ountain, with its s purs and their num berles s ram ific ations , form ed a labyrinth of valleys and elevations . It was evident that there, in the depths of thes e narrow gorges , perhaps even in the interior of Mount Franklin its elf, was the proper plac e to purs ue their res earc hes . No part of the is land c ould have been m ore s uitable to c onc eal a dwelling whos e oc c upant wis hed to rem ain unknown. B ut s o irregular was the form ation of the valleys that Cyrus Harding was obliged to c onduc t the exploration in a s tric tly m ethodic al m anner. T he c olonis ts firs t vis ited the valley opening to the s outh of the volc ano, and whic h firs t rec eived the waters of Falls River. T here A yrton s howed them the c avern where the c onvic ts had taken refuge, and in whic h he had been im pris oned until his rem oval to the c orral. T his c avern was jus t as A yrton had left it. T hey found there a c ons iderable quantity of am m unition and provis ions , c onveyed thither by the c onvic ts in order to form a res erve. T he whole of the valley bordering on the c ave, s haded by fir and other trees , was thoroughly explored, and on turning the point of the s outhwes tern s pur, the c olonis ts entered a narrower gorge s im ilar to the pic tures que c olum ns of bas alt on the c oas t. Here the trees were fewer. S tones took the plac e of gras s . Goats and m us m ons gam bolled am ong the roc ks . Here began the barren part of the is land. It c ould already be s een that, of the num erous valleys branc hing off at the bas e of Mount Franklin, three only were wooded and ric h in pas turage like that of the c orral, whic h bordered on the wes t on the Falls River valley, and on the eas t on the Red Creek valley. T hes e two s tream s , whic h lower down bec am e rivers by the abs orption of s everal tributaries , were form ed by all the s prings of the m ountain and thus c aus ed the fertility of its s outhern part. A s to the Merc y, it was m ore direc tly fed from am ple s prings c onc ealed under the c over of J ac am ar W ood, and it was by s prings of this nature, s preading in a thous and s tream lets , that the s oil of the S erpentine P enins ula was watered. Now, of thes e three well-watered valleys , either m ight have s erved as a retreat to s om e s olitary who would have found there everything nec es s ary for life. B ut the s ettlers had already explored them , and in no part had they dis c overed the pres enc e of m an. W as it then in the depths of thos e barren gorges , in the m ids t of the piles of roc k, in the rugged northern ravines , am ong the s tream s of lava, that this dwelling and its oc c upant would be found? T he northern part of Mount Franklin was at its bas e c om pos ed s olely of two valleys , wide, not very deep, without any appearanc e of vegetation, s trewn with m as s es of roc k, paved with lava, and varied with great bloc ks of m ineral. T his region required a long and c areful exploration. It c ontained a thous and c avities , c om fortles s no doubt, but perfec tly c onc ealed and diffic ult of ac c es s . T he c olonis ts even vis ited dark tunnels , dating from the volc anic period, s till blac k from the pas s age of the fire, and penetrated into the depths of the m ountain. T hey travers ed thes e s om ber galleries , waving lighted torc hes ; they exam ined the s m alles t exc avations ; they s ounded the s hallowes t depths , but all was dark and s ilent. It did not appear that the foot of m an had ever before trodden thes e anc ient pas s ages , or that his arm had ever dis plac ed one of thes e bloc ks , whic h rem ained as the volc ano had c as t them up above the waters , at the tim e of the s ubm ers ion of the is land. However, although thes e pas s ages appeared to be abs olutely des erted, and the obs c urity was c om plete, Cyrus Harding was obliged to c onfes s that abs olute s ilenc e did not reign there. On arriving at the end of one of thes e gloom y c averns , extending s everal hundred feet into the interior of the m ountain, he was s urpris ed to hear a deep rum bling nois e, inc reas ed in intens ity by the s onorous nes s of the roc ks . Gideon S pilett, who ac c om panied him , als o heard thes e dis tant m utterings , whic h indic ated a revivific ation of the s ubterranean fires . S everal tim es both lis tened, and they agreed that s om e c hem ic al proc es s was taking plac e in the bowels of the earth. "T hen the volc ano is not totally extinc t?" s aid the reporter. "It is pos s ible that s inc e our exploration of the c rater," replied Cyrus Harding, "s om e c hange has oc c urred. A ny volc ano, although c ons idered extinc t, m ay evidently again burs t forth." "B ut if an eruption of Mount Franklin oc c urred," as ked S pilett, "would there not be s om e danger to Linc oln Is land?" "I do not think s o," ans wered the reporter. "T he c rater, that is to s ay, the s afety-valve, exis ts , and the overflow of s m oke and lava, would es c ape, as it did form erly, by this c us tom ary outlet." "Unles s the lava opened a new way for its elf towards the fertile parts of the is land! " "A nd why, m y dear S pilett," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "s hould it not follow the road naturally trac ed out for it?" "W ell, volc anoes are c apric ious ," returned the reporter. "Notic e," ans wered the engineer, "that the inc lination of Mount Franklin favors the flow of water towards the valleys whic h we are exploring jus t now. T o turn as ide this flow, an earthquake would be nec es s ary to c hange the m ountain's c enter of gravity." "B ut an earthquake is always to be feared at thes e tim es ," obs erved Gideon S pilett. "A lways ," replied the engineer, "es pec ially when the s ubterranean forc es begin to awake, as they ris k m eeting with s om e obs truc tion, after a long res t. T hus , m y dear S pilett, an eruption would be a s erious thing for us , and it would be better that the volc ano s hould not have the s lightes t des ire to wake up. B ut we c ould not prevent it, c ould we? A t any rate, even if it s hould oc c ur, I do not think P ros pec t Heights would he s erious ly threatened. B etween them and the m ountain, the ground is c ons iderably depres s ed, and if the lava s hould ever take a c ours e towards the lake, it would be c as t on the downs and the neighboring parts of S hark Gulf." "W e have not yet s een any s m oke at the top of the m ountain, to indic ate an approac hing eruption," s aid Gideon S pilett. "No," ans wered Harding, "not a vapor es c apes from the c rater, for it was only yes terday that I attentively s urveyed the s um m it. B ut it is probable that at the lower part of the c him ney, tim e m ay have ac c um ulated roc ks , c inders , hardened lava, and that this valve of whic h I s poke, m ay at any tim e bec om e overc harged. B ut at the firs t s erious effort, every obs tac le will dis appear, and you m ay be c ertain, m y dear S pilett, that neither the is land, whic h is the boiler, nor the volc ano, whic h is the c him ney, will burs t under the pres s ure of gas . Nevertheles s , I repeat, it would be better that there s hould not be an eruption." "A nd yet we are not m is taken," rem arked the reporter. "Mutterings c an be dis tinc tly heard in the very bowels of the volc ano! " "Y ou are right," s aid the engineer, again lis tening attentively. "T here c an be no doubt of it. A c om m otion is going on there, of whic h we c an neither es tim ate the im portanc e nor the ultim ate res ult." Cyrus Harding and S pilett, on c om ing out, rejoined their c om panions , to whom they m ade known the s tate of affairs .

"V ery well! " c ried P enc roft, "T he volc ano wants to play his pranks ! Let him try, if he likes ! He will find his m as ter! " "W ho?" as ked Neb. "Our good genius , Neb, our good genius , who will s hut his m outh for him , if he s o m uc h as pretends to open it! " A s m ay be s een, the s ailor's c onfidenc e in the tutelary deity of his is land was abs olute, and, c ertainly, the oc c ult power, m anifes ted until now in s o m any inexplic able ways , appeared to be unlim ited; but als o it knew how to es c ape the c olonis ts ' m os t m inute res earc hes , for, in s pite of all their efforts , in s pite of the m ore than zeal,--the obs tinac y,--with whic h they c arried on their exploration, the retreat of the m ys terious being c ould not be dis c overed. From the 19th to the 20th of February the c irc le of inves tigation was extended to all the northern region of Linc oln Is land, whos e m os t s ec ret nooks were explored. T he c olonis ts even went the length of tapping every roc k. T he s earc h was extended to the extrem e verge of the m ountain. It was explored thus to the very s um m it of the trunc ated c one term inating the firs t row of roc ks , then to the upper ridge of the enorm ous hat, at the bottom of whic h opened the c rater. T hey did m ore; they vis ited the gulf, now extinc t, but in whos e depths the rum bling c ould be dis tinc tly heard. However, no s ign of s m oke or vapor, no heating of the roc k, indic ated an approac hing eruption. B ut neither there, nor in any other part of Mount Franklin, did the c olonis ts find any trac es of him of whom they were in s earc h. T heir inves tigations were then direc ted to the downs . T hey c arefully exam ined the high lava-c liffs of S hark Gulf from the bas e to the c res t, although it was extrem ely diffic ult to reac h even the level of the gulf. No one! --nothing! Indeed, in thes e three words was s um m ed up s o m uc h fatigue us eles s ly expended, s o m uc h energy produc ing no res ults , that s om ewhat of anger m ingled with the dis c om fiture of Cyrus Harding and his c om panions . It was now tim e to think of returning, for thes e res earc hes c ould not be prolonged indefinitely. T he c olonis ts were c ertainly right in believing that the m ys terious being did not res ide on the s urfac e of the is land, and the wildes t fanc ies haunted their exc ited im aginations . P enc roft and Neb, partic ularly, were not c ontented with the m ys tery, but allowed their im aginations to wander into the dom ain of the s upernatural. On the 25th of February the c olonis ts re-entered Granite Hous e, and by m eans of the double c ord, c arried by an arrow to the thres hold of the door, they re-es tablis hed c om m unic ation between their habitation and the ground. A m onth later they c om m em orated, on the 25th of Marc h, the third annivers ary of their arrival on Linc oln Is land. Chapter 14 T hree years had pas s ed away s inc e the es c ape of the pris oners from Ric hm ond, and how often during thos e three years had they s poken of their c ountry, always pres ent in their thoughts ! T hey had no doubt that the c ivil war was at an end, and to them it appeared im pos s ible that the jus t c aus e of the North had not trium phed. B ut what had been the inc idents of this terrible war? How m uc h blood had it not c os t? How m any of their friends m us t have fallen in the s truggle? T hey often s poke of thes e things , without as yet being able to fores ee the day when they would be perm itted onc e m ore to s ee their c ountry. To return thither, were it but for a few days , to renew the s oc ial link with the inhabited world, to es tablis h a c om m unic ation between their native land and their is land, then to pas s the longes t, perhaps the bes t, portion of their exis tenc e in this c olony, founded by them , and whic h would then be dependent on their c ountry, was this a dream im pos s ible to realize? T here were only two ways of ac c om plis hing it--either a s hip m us t appear off Linc oln Is land, or the c olonis ts m us t them s elves build a ves s el s trong enough to s ail to the neares t land. "Unles s ," s aid P enc roft, "our good genius , him s elf provides us with the m eans of returning to our c ountry." A nd, really, had any one told P enc roft and Neb that a s hip of 300 tons was waiting for them in S hark Gulf or at P ort B alloon, they would not even have m ade a ges ture of s urpris e. In their s tate of m ind nothing appeared im probable. B ut Cyrus Harding, les s c onfident, advis ed them to c onfine them s elves to fac t, and m ore es pec ially s o with regard to the building of a ves s el--a really urgent work, s inc e it was for the purpos e of depos iting, as s oon as pos s ible, at T abor Is land a doc um ent indic ating A yrton's new res idenc e. A s the "B onadventure" no longer exis ted, s ix m onths at leas t would be required for the c ons truc tion of a new ves s el. Now winter was approac hing, and the voyage would not be m ade before the following s pring. "W e have tim e to get everything ready for the fine s eas on," rem arked the engineer, who was c ons ulting with P enc roft about thes e m atters . "I think, therefore, m y friend, that s inc e we have to rebuild our ves s el it will be bes t to give her larger dim ens ions . T he arrival of the S c otc h yac ht at Tabor Is land is very unc ertain. It m ay even be that, having arrived s everal m onths ago, s he has again s ailed after having vainly s earc hed for s om e trac e of A yrton. W ill it not then he bes t to build a s hip whic h, if nec es s ary, c ould take us either to the P olynes ian A rc hipelago or to New Zealand? W hat do you think?" "I think, c aptain," ans wered the s ailor; "I think that you are as c apable of building a large ves s el as a s m all one. Neither the wood nor the tools are wanting. It is only a ques tion of tim e." "A nd how m any m onths would be required to build a ves s el of from 250 to 300 tons ?" as ked Harding. "S even or eight m onths at leas t," replied P enc roft. "B ut it m us t not be forgotten that winter is drawing near, and that in s evere fros t wood is diffic ult to work. W e m us t c alc ulate on s everal weeks delay, and if our ves s el is ready by next Novem ber we m ay think ours elves very luc ky." "W ell," replied Cyrus Harding, "that will be exac tly the m os t favorable tim e for undertaking a voyage of any im portanc e, either to T abor Is land or to a m ore dis tant land." "S o it will, c aptain," ans wered the s ailor. "Make out your plans then; the workm en are ready, and I im agine that A yrton c an lend us a good helping hand." T he c olonis ts , having been c ons ulted, approved the engineer's plan, and it was , indeed, the bes t thing to be done. It is true that the c ons truc tion of a s hip of from two to three hundred tons would be great labor, but the c olonis ts had c onfidenc e in them s elves , jus tified by their previous s uc c es s . Cyrus Harding then bus ied him s elf in drawing the plan of the ves s el and m aking the m odel. During this tim e his c om panions em ployed them s elves in felling and c arting trees to furnis h the ribs , tim bers , and planks . T he fores t of the Far W es t s upplied the bes t oaks and elm s . T hey took advantage of the opening already m ade on their las t exc urs ion to form a prac tic able road, whic h they nam ed the Far W es t Road, and the trees were c arried to the Chim neys , where the doc kyard was es tablis hed. A s to the road in ques tion, the c hoic e of trees had rendered its direc tion s om ewhat c apric ious , but at the s am e tim e it fac ilitated the ac c es s to a large part of the S erpentine P enins ula. It was im portant that the trees s hould be quic kly felled and c ut up, for they c ould not be us ed while yet green, and s om e tim e was nec es s ary to allow them to get s eas oned. T he c arpenters , therefore, worked vigorous ly during the m onth of A pril, whic h was troubled only by a few equinoc tial gales of s om e violenc e. Mas ter J up aided them dexterous ly, either by c lim bing to the top of a tree to fas ten the ropes or by lending his s tout s houlders to c arry the lopped trunks . A ll this tim ber was piled up under a large s hed, built near the Chim neys , and there awaited the tim e for us e. T he m onth of A pril was tolerably fine, as Oc tober often is in the northern zone. A t the s am e tim e other work was ac tively c ontinued, and s oon all trac e of devas tation dis appeared from the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . T he m ill was rebuilt, and new buildings ros e in the poultry-yard. It had appeared nec es s ary to enlarge their dim ens ions , for the feathered population had inc reas ed c ons iderably. T he s table now c ontained five onagers , four of whic h were well broken, and allowed them s elves to be either driven or ridden, and a little c olt. T he c olony now pos s es s ed a plow, to whic h the onagers were yoked like regular Yorks hire or K entuc ky oxen. T he c olonis ts divided their work, and their arm s never tired. T hen who c ould have enjoyed better health than thes e workers , and what good hum or enlivened the evenings in Granite Hous e as they form ed a thous and plans for the future! A s a m atter of c ours e A yrton s hared the c om m on lot in every res pec t, and there was no longer any talk of his going to live at the c orral. Nevertheles s he was s till s ad and res erved, and joined m ore in the work than in the pleas ures of his c om panions . B ut he was a valuable workm an at need--s trong, s kilful, ingenious , intelligent. He was es teem ed and loved by all, and he c ould not be ignorant of it. In the m eanwhile the c orral was not abandoned. E very other day one of the s ettlers , driving the c art or m ounted on an onager, went to look after the floc k of m us m ons and goats and bring bac k the s upply of m ilk required by Neb. T hes e exc urs ions at the s am e tim e afforded opportunities for hunting. T herefore Herbert and Gideon S pilett, with Top in front, travers ed m ore often than their c om panions the road to the c orral, and with the c apital guns whic h they c arried, c apybaras , agouties , kangaroos , and wild pigs for large gam e, duc ks , grous e, jac am ars , and s nipe for s m all gam e, were never wanting in the hous e. T he produc e of the warren, of the oys ter-bed, s everal turtles whic h were taken, exc ellent s alm on whic h c am e up the Merc y, vegetables from the plateau, wild fruit from the fores t, were ric hes upon ric hes , and Neb, the head c ook, c ould s c arc ely by him s elf s tore them away. T he telegraphic wire between the c orral and Granite Hous e had of c ours e been repaired, and it was worked whenever one or other of the s ettlers was at the c orral and found it nec es s ary to s pend the night there. B es ides , the is land was s afe now and no attac ks were to be feared, at any rate from m en. However, that whic h had happened m ight happen again. A des c ent of pirates , or even of es c aped c onvic ts , was always to be feared. It was pos s ible that c om panions or ac c om plic es of B ob Harvey had been in the s ec ret of his plans , and m ight be tem pted to im itate him . T he c olonis ts , therefore, were c areful to obs erve the s ea around the is land, and every day their teles c ope c overed the horizon enc los ed by Union and W as hington B ays . when they went to the c orral they exam ined the s ea to the wes t with no les s attention, and by c lim bing the s pur their gaze extended over a large s ec tion of the wes tern horizon. Nothing s us pic ious was dis c erned, but s till it was nec es s ary for them to be on their guard. T he engineer one evening im parted to his friends a plan whic h he had c onc eived for fortifying the c orral. It appeared prudent to him to heighten the palis ade and to flank it with a s ort of bloc khous e, whic h, if nec es s ary, the s ettlers c ould hold agains t the enem y. Granite Hous e m ight, by its very pos ition, be c ons idered im pregnable; therefore the c orral with its buildings , its s tores , and the anim als it c ontained, would always be the objec t of pirates , whoever they were, who m ight land on the is land, and s hould the c olonis ts be obliged to s hut them s elves up there they ought als o to be able to defend them s elves without any dis advantage. T his was a projec t whic h m ight be left for c ons ideration, and they were, bes ides , obliged to put off its exec ution until the next s pring. A bout the 15th of May the keel of the new ves s el lay along the doc kyard, and s oon the s tem and s tern-pos t, m ortis ed at eac h of its extrem ities , ros e alm os t perpendic ularly. T he keel, of good oak, m eas ured 110 feet in length, this allowing a width of five-and-twenty feet to the m ids hip beam . B ut this was all the c arpenters c ould do before the arrival of the fros ts and bad weather. During the following week they fixed the firs t of the s tern tim bers , but were then obliged to s us pend work. During the las t days of the m onth the weather was extrem ely bad. T he wind blew from the eas t, s om etim es with the violenc e of a tem pes t. T he engineer was s om ewhat uneas y on ac c ount of the doc kyard s hed--whic h bes ides , he c ould not have es tablis hed in any other plac e near to Granite Hous e--for the is let only im perfec tly s heltered the s hore from the fury of the open s ea, and in great s torm s the waves beat agains t the very foot of the granite c liff. B ut, very fortunately, thes e fears were not realized. T he wind s hifted to the s outheas t, and there the beac h of Granite Hous e was c om pletely c overed by Flots am P oint. P enc roft and A yrton, the m os t zealous workm en at the new ves s el, purs ued their labor as long as they c ould. T hey were not m en to m ind the wind tearing at their hair, nor the rain wetting them to the s kin, and a blow from a ham m er is worth jus t as m uc h in bad as in fine weather. B ut when a s evere fros t s uc c eeded this wet period, the wood, its fibers ac quiring the hardnes s of iron, bec am e extrem ely diffic ult to work, and about the 10th of J une s hipbuilding was obliged to be entirely dis c ontinued. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions had not om itted to obs erve how s evere was the tem perature during the winters of Linc oln Is land. T he c old was c om parable to that experienc ed in the S tates of New E ngland, s ituated at alm os t the s am e dis tanc e from the equator. In the northern hem is phere, or at any rate in the part oc c upied by B ritis h A m eric a and the north of the United S tates , this phenom enon is explained by the flat c onform ation of the territories bordering on the pole, and on whic h there is no intum es c enc e of the s oil to oppos e any obs tac le to the north winds ; here, in Linc oln Is land, this explanation would not s uffic e. "It has even been obs erved," rem arked Harding one day to his c om panions , "that in equal latitudes the is lands and c oas t regions are les s tried by the c old than inland c ountries . I have often heard it as s erted that the winters of Lom bardy, for exam ple, are not les s rigorous than thos e of S c otland, whic h res ults from the s ea res toring during the winter the heat whic h it rec eived during the s um m er. Is lands are, therefore, in a better s ituation for benefiting by this res titution." "B ut then, Captain Harding," as ked Herbert, "why does Linc oln Is land appear to es c ape the c om m on law?" "T hat is diffic ult to explain," ans wered the engineer. "However, I s hould be dis pos ed to c onjec ture that this pec uliarity res ults from the s ituation of the is land in the S outhern Hem is phere, whic h, as you know, m y boy, is c older than the Northern Hem is phere." "Y es ," s aid Herbert, "and ic ebergs are m et with in lower latitudes in the s outh than in the north of the P ac ific ." "T hat is true," rem arked P enc roft, "and when I have been s erving on board whalers I have s een ic ebergs off Cape Horn." "T he s evere c old experienc ed in Linc oln Is land," s aid Gideon S pilett, "m ay then perhaps be explained by the pres enc e of floes or ic ebergs c om paratively near to Linc oln Is land." "Your opinion is very adm is s ible indeed, m y dear S pilett," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "and it is evidently to the proxim ity of ic ebergs that we owe our rigorous winters . I would draw your attention als o to an entirely phys ic al c aus e, whic h renders the S outhern c older than the Northern Hem is phere. In fac t, s inc e the s un is nearer to this hem is phere during the s um m er, it is nec es s arily m ore dis tant during the winter. T his explains then the exc es s of tem perature in the two s eas ons , for, if we find the winters very c old in Linc oln Is land, we m us t not forget that the s um m ers here, on the c ontrary, are very hot." "B ut why, if you pleas e, c aptain," as ked P enc roft, knitting his brows , "why s hould our hem is phere, as you s ay, be s o badly divided? It is n't jus t, that! " "Friend P enc roft," ans wered the engineer, laughing, "whether jus t or not, we m us t s ubm it to it, and here lies the reas on for this pec uliarity. T he earth does not des c ribe a c irc le around the s un, but an ellips e, as it m us t by the laws of rational m ec hanic s . Now, the earth oc c upies one of the foc i of the ellips e, and s o at one point in its c ours e is at its apogee, that is , at its farthes t from the s un, and at another point it is at its perigee, or neares t to the s un. Now it happens that it is during the winter of the s outhern c ountries that it is at its m os t dis tant point from the s un, and c ons equently, in a s ituation for thos e regions to feel the greates t c old. Nothing c an be done to prevent that, and m en, P enc roft, however learned they m ay be, c an never c hange anything of the c os m ographic al order es tablis hed by God Him s elf." "A nd yet," added P enc roft, "the world is very learned. what a big book, c aptain, m ight be m ade with all that is known! " "A nd what a m uc h bigger book s till with all that is not known! " ans wered Harding. A t las t, for one reas on or another, the m onth of J une brought the c old with its ac c us tom ed intens ity, and the s ettlers were often c onfined to Granite Hous e. A h! how wearis om e this im pris onm ent was to them , and m ore partic ularly to Gideon S pilett. "Look here," s aid he to Neb one day, "I would give you by notarial deed all the es tates whic h will c om e to m e s om e day, if you were a good enough fellow to go, no m atter where, and s ubs c ribe to s om e news paper for m e! Dec idedly the thing that is m os t es s ential to m y happines s is the knowing every m orning what has happened the day before in other plac es than this ! " Neb began to laugh. "'P on m y word," he replied, "the only thing I think about is m y daily work! " T he truth was that indoors as well as out there was no want of work. T he c olony of Linc oln Is land was now at its highes t point of pros perity, ac hieved by three years of c ontinued hard work. T he des truc tion of the brig had been a new s ourc e of ric hes . W ithout s peaking of the c om plete rig whic h would s erve for the ves s el now on the s toc ks , utens ils and tools of all s orts , weapons and am m unition, c lothes and ins trum ents , were now piled in the s toreroom s of Granite Hous e. It had not even been nec es s ary to res ort again to the m anufac ture of the c oars e felt m aterials . T hough the c olonis ts had s uffered from c old during their firs t winter, the bad s eas on m ight now c om e without their having any reas on to dread its s everity. Linen was plentiful als o, and bes ides , they kept it with extrem e c are. From c hloride of s odium , whic h is nothing els e than s ea s alt, Cyrus Harding eas ily extrac ted the s oda and c hlorine. T he s oda, whic h it was eas y to c hange into c arbonate of s oda, and the c hlorine, of whic h he m ade c hloride of lim e, were em ployed for various dom es tic purpos es , and es pec ially in bleac hing linen. B es ides , they did not was h m ore than four tim es a year, as was done by fam ilies in the olden tim es , and it m ay be added, that P enc roft and Gideon S pilett, while waiting for the pos tm an to bring him his news paper, dis tinguis hed them s elves as was herm en. S o pas s ed the winter m onths , J une, J uly, and A ugus t. T hey were s evere, and the average obs ervations of the therm om eter did not give m ore than eight degrees of Fahrenheit. It was therefore lower in tem perature than the prec eding winter. B ut then, what s plendid fires blazed c ontinually on the hearths of Granite Hous e, the s m oke m arking the granite wall with long, zebra-like s treaks ! Fuel was not s pared, as it grew naturally a few s teps from them . B es ides , the c hips of the wood des tined for the c ons truc tion of the s hip enabled them to ec onom ize the c oal, whic h required m ore trouble to trans port. Men and anim als were all well. Mas ter J up was a little c hilly, it m us t be c onfes s ed. T his was perhaps his only weaknes s , and it was nec es s ary to m ake him a well-padded dres s ing-gown. B ut what a s ervant he was , c lever, zealous , indefatigable, not indis c reet, not talkative, and he m ight have been with reas on propos ed as a m odel for all his biped brothers in the Old and New W orlds ! "A s for that," s aid P enc roft, "when one has four hands at one's s ervic e, of c ours e one's work ought to be done s o m uc h the better! " A nd indeed the intelligent c reature did it well. During the s even m onths whic h had pas s ed s inc e the las t res earc hes m ade round the m ountain, and during the m onth of S eptem ber, whic h brought bac k fine weather, nothing was heard of the genius of the is land. His power was not m anifes ted in any way. It is true that it would have been s uperfluous , for no inc ident oc c urred to put the c olonis ts to any painful trial. Cyrus Harding even obs erved that if by c hanc e the c om m unic ation between the unknown and the tenants of Granite Hous e had ever been es tablis hed through the granite, and if Top's ins tinc t had as it were felt it, there was no further s ign of it during this period. T he dog's growling had entirely c eas ed, as well as the uneas ines s of the orang. T he two friends -- for they were s uc h--no longer prowled round the opening of the inner well, nor did they bark or whine in that s ingular way whic h from the firs t the engineer had notic ed. B ut c ould he be s ure that this was all that was to be s aid about this enigm a, and that he s hould never arrive at a s olution? Could he be c ertain that s om e c onjunc ture would not oc c ur whic h would bring the m ys terious pers onage on the s c ene? who c ould tell what the future m ight have in res erve? A t las t the winter was ended, but an event, the c ons equenc es of whic h m ight be s erious oc c urred in the firs t days of the returning s pring. On the 7th of S eptem ber, Cyrus Harding, having obs erved the c rater, s aw s m oke c urling round the s um m it of the m ountain, its firs t vapors ris ing in the air. Chapter 15 T he c olonis ts , warned by the engineer, left their work and gazed in s ilenc e at the s um m it of Mount Franklin. T he volc ano had awoke, and the vapor had penetrated the m ineral layer heaped at the bottom of the c rater. B ut would the s ubterranean fires provoke any violent eruption? T his was an event whic h c ould not be fores een. However, even while adm itting the pos s ibility of an eruption, it was not probable that the whole of Linc oln Is land would s uffer from it. T he flow of volc anic m atter is not always dis as trous , and the is land had already undergone this trial, as was s hown by the s tream s of lava hardened on the northern s lopes of the m ountain. B es ides , from the s hape of the c rater--the opening broken in the upper edge--the m atter would be thrown to the s ide oppos ite the fertile regions of the is land. However, the pas t did not nec es s arily ans wer for the future. Often, at the s um m it of volc anoes , the old c raters c los e and new ones open. T his had oc c urred in the two hem is pheres --at E tna, P opoc atepetl, at Orizabaand on the eve of an eruption there is everything to be feared. In fac t, an earthquake--a phenom enon whic h often ac c om panies volc anic eruption--is enough to c hange the interior arrangem ent of a m ountain, and to open new outlets for the burning lava. Cyrus Harding explained thes e things to his c om panions , and, without exaggerating the s tate of things , he told them all the pros and c ons . A fter all, they c ould not prevent it. It did not appear likely that Granite Hous e would be threatened unles s the ground was s haken by an earthquake. B ut the c orral would be in great danger s hould a new c rater open in the s outhern s ide of Mount Franklin. From that day the s m oke never dis appeared from the top of the m ountain, and it c ould even be perc eived that it inc reas ed in height and thic knes s , without any flam e m ingling in its heavy volum es . T he phenom enon was s till c onc entrated in the lower part of the c entral c rater. However, with the fine days work had been c ontinued. T he building of the ves s el was has tened as m uc h as pos s ible, and, by m eans of the waterfall on the s hore, Cyrus Harding m anaged to es tablis h an hydraulic s awm ill, whic h rapidly c ut up the trunks of trees into planks and jois ts . T he m ec hanis m of this apparatus was as s im ple as thos e us ed in the rus tic s awm ills of Norway. A firs t horizontal m ovem ent to m ove the piec e of wood, a s ec ond vertic al m ovem ent to m ove the s aw--this was all that was wanted; and the engineer s uc c eeded by m eans of a wheel, two c ylinders , and pulleys properly arranged. Towards the end of the m onth of S eptem ber the s keleton of the ves s el, whic h was to be rigged as a s c hooner, lay in the doc kyard. T he ribs were alm os t entirely c om pleted, and, all the tim bers having been s us tained by a provis ional band, the s hape of the ves s el c ould already be s een. T he s c hooner, s harp in the bows , very s lender in the after-part, would evidently be s uitable for a long voyage, if wanted; but laying the planking would s till take a c ons iderable tim e. V ery fortunately, the iron work of the pirate brig had been s aved after the explos ion. From the planks and injured ribs P enc roft and A yrton had extrac ted the bolts and a large quantity of c opper nails . It was s o m uc h work s aved for the s m iths , but the c arpenters had m uc h to do. S hipbuilding was interrupted for a week for the harves t, the haym aking, and the gathering in of the different c rops on the plateau. T his work finis hed, every m om ent was devoted to finis hing the s c hooner. W hen night c am e the workm en were really quite exhaus ted. S o as not to los e any tim e they had c hanged the hours for their m eals ; they dined at twelve o'c loc k, and only had their s upper when daylight failed them . T hey then as c ended to Granite Hous e, when they were always ready to go to bed. S om etim es , however, when the c onvers ation bore on s om e interes ting s ubjec t the hour for s leep was delayed for a tim e. T he c olonis ts then s poke of the future, and talked willingly of the c hanges whic h a voyage in the s c hooner to inhabited lands would m ake in their s ituation. B ut always , in the m ids t of thes e plans , prevailed the thought of a s ubs equent return to Linc oln Is land. Never would they abandon this c olony, founded with s o m uc h labor and with s uc h s uc c es s , and to whic h a c om m unic ation with A m eric a would afford a fres h im petus . P enc roft and Neb es pec ially hoped to end their days there. "Herbert," s aid the s ailor, "you will never abandon Linc oln Is land?" "Never, P enc roft, and es pec ially if you m ake up your m ind to s tay there." "T hat was m ade up long ago, m y boy," ans wered P enc roft. "I s hall expec t you. Y ou will bring m e your wife and c hildren, and I s hall m ake jolly c haps of your youngs ters ! " "T hat's agreed," replied Herbert, laughing and blus hing at the s am e tim e. "A nd you, Captain Harding," res um ed P enc roft enthus ias tic ally, "you will be s till the governor of the is land! A h, how m any inhabitants c ould it s upport? T en thous and at leas t! " T hey talked in this way, allowing P enc roft to run on, and at las t the reporter ac tually s tarted a news paper--the New Linc oln Herald! S o is m an's heart. T he des ire to perform a work whic h will endure, whic h will s urvive him , is the origin of his s uperiority over all other living c reatures here below. It is this whic h has es tablis hed his dom inion, and this it is whic h jus tifies it, over all the world. A fter that, who knows if J up and T op had not them s elves their little dream of the future. A yrton s ilently s aid to him s elf that he would like to s ee Lord Glenarvan again and s how him s elf to all res tored. One evening, on the 15th of Oc tober, the c onvers ation was prolonged later than us ual. It was nine o'c loc k. A lready, long badly c onc ealed yawns gave warning of the hour of res t, and P enc roft was proc eeding towards his bed, when the elec tric bell, plac ed in the dining-room , s uddenly rang. A ll were there, Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, A yrton, P enc roft, Neb. T herefore none of the c olonis ts were at the c orral. Cyrus Harding ros e. His c om panions s tared at eac h other, s c arc ely believing their ears . "W hat does that m ean?" c ried Neb. "W as it the devil who rang it?" No one ans wered. "T he weather is s torm y," obs erved Herbert. "Might not its influenc e of elec tric ity--" Herbert did not finis h his phras e. T he engineer, towards whom all eyes were turned, s hook his head negatively. "W e m us t wait," s aid Gideon S pilett. "If it is a s ignal, whoever it m ay be who has m ade it, he will renew it." "B ut who do you think it is ?" c ried Neb. "W ho?" ans wered P enc roft, "but he--" T he s ailor's s entenc e was c ut s hort by a new tinkle of the bell. Harding went to the apparatus , and s ent this ques tion to the c orral:-"W hat do you want?"

A few m om ents later the needle, m oving on the alphabetic dial, gave this reply to the tenants of Granite Hous e:-"Com e to the c orral im m ediately." "A t las t! " exc laim ed Harding. Y es ! A t las t! T he m ys tery was about to be unveiled. T he c olonis ts ' fatigue had dis appeared before the trem endous interes t whic h was about to urge them to the c orral, and all wis h for res t had c eas ed. W ithout having uttered a word, in a few m om ents they had left Granite Hous e, and were s tanding on the beac h. J up and T op alone were left behind. T hey c ould do without them . T he night was blac k. T he new m oon had dis appeared at the s am e tim e as the s un. A s Herbert had obs erved, great s torm y c louds form ed a lowering and heavy vault, preventing any s tar rays . A few lightning flas hes , reflec tions from a dis tant s torm , illum inated the horizon. It was pos s ible that a few hours later the thunder would roll over the is land its elf. T he night was very threatening. B ut however deep the darknes s was , it would not prevent them from finding the fam iliar road to the c orral. T hey as c ended the left bank of the Merc y, reac hed the plateau, pas s ed the bridge over Creek Glyc erine, and advanc ed through the fores t. T hey walked at a good pac e, a prey to the livelies t em otions . T here was no doubt but that they were now going to learn the long-s earc hed-for ans wer to the enigm a, the nam e of that m ys terious being, s o deeply c onc erned in their life, s o generous in his influenc e, s o powerful in his ac tion! Mus t not this s tranger have indeed m ingled with their exis tenc e, have known the s m alles t details , have heard all that was s aid in Granite Hous e, to have been able always to ac t in the very nic k of tim e? E very one, wrapped up in his own reflec tions , pres s ed forward. Under the arc h of trees the darknes s was s uc h that even the edge of the road c ould not be s een. Not a s ound in the fores t. B oth anim als and birds , influenc ed by the heavines s of the atm os phere, rem ained m otionles s and s ilent. Not a breath dis turbed the leaves . T he foots teps of the c olonis ts alone res ounded on the hardened ground. During the firs t quarter of an hour the s ilenc e was only interrupted by this rem ark from P enc roft:-"W e ought to have brought a torc h." A nd by this reply from the engineer:-"W e s hall find one at the c orral." Harding and his c om panions had left Granite Hous e at twelve m inutes pas t nine. A t forty-s even m inutes pas t nine they had travers ed three out of the five m iles whic h s eparated the m outh of the Merc y from the c orral. A t that m om ent s heets of lightning s pread over the is land and illum ined the dark trees . T he flas hes dazzled and alm os t blinded them . E vidently the s torm would not be long in burs ting forth. T he flas hes gradually bec am e brighter and m ore rapid. Dis tant thunder growled in the s ky. T he atm os phere was s tifling. T he c olonis ts proc eeded as if they were urged onwards by s om e irres is tible forc e. A t ten o'c loc k a vivid flas h s howed them the palis ade, and as they reac hed the gate the s torm burs t forth with trem endous fury. In a m inute the c orral was c ros s ed, and Harding s tood before the hut. P robably the hous e was oc c upied by the s tranger, s inc e it was from thenc e that the telegram had been s ent. However, no light s hone through the window. T he engineer knoc ked at the door. No ans wer. Cyrus Harding opened the door, and the s ettlers entered the room , whic h was perfec tly dark. A light was s truc k by Neb, and in a few m om ents the lantern was lighted and the light thrown into every c orner of the room . T here was no one there. E verything was in the s tate in whic h it had been left. "Have we been dec eived by an illus ion?" m urm ured Cyrus Harding. No! that was not pos s ible! T he telegram had c learly s aid,-"Com e to the c orral im m ediately." T hey approac hed the table s pec ially devoted to the us e of the wire. E verything was in order--the pile on the box c ontaining it, as well as all the apparatus . "W ho c am e here the las t tim e?" as ked the engineer. "I did, c aptain," ans wered A yrton. "A nd that was --" "Four days ago." "A h! a note! " c ried Herbert, pointing to a paper lying on the table. On this paper were written thes e words in E nglis h:-"Follow the new wire." "Forward! " c ried Harding, who unders tood that the des patc h had not been s ent from the c orral, but from the m ys terious retreat, c om m unic ating direc tly with Granite Hous e by m eans of a s upplem entary wire joined to the old one. Neb took the lighted lantern, and all left the c orral. T he s torm then burs t forth with trem endous violenc e. T he interval between eac h lightning- flas h and eac h thunder-c lap dim inis hed rapidly. T he s um m it of the volc ano, with its plum e of vapor, c ould be s een by oc c as ional flas hes . T here was no telegraphic c om m unic ation in any part of the c orral between the hous e and the palis ade; but the engineer, running s traight to the firs t pos t, s aw by the light of a flas h a new wire hanging from the is olator to the ground. "T here it is ! " s aid he. T his wire lay along the ground, and was s urrounded with an is olating s ubs tanc e like a s ubm arine c able, s o as to as s ure the free trans m is s ion of the c urrent. It appeared to pas s through the wood and the s outhern s purs of the m ountain, and c ons equently it ran towards the wes t. "Follow it! " s aid Cyrus Harding. A nd the s ettlers im m ediately pres s ed forward, guided by the wire. T he thunder c ontinued to roar with s uc h violenc e that not a word c ould be heard. However, there was no oc c as ion for s peaking, but to get forward as fas t as pos s ible. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions then c lim bed the s pur ris ing between the c orral valley and that of Falls River, whic h they c ros s ed at its narrowes t part. T he wire, s om etim es s tretc hed over the lower branc hes of the trees , s om etim es lying on the ground, guided them s urely. T he engineer had s uppos ed that the wire would perhaps s top at the bottom of the valley, and that the s tranger's retreat would be there. Nothing of the s ort. T hey were obliged to as c end the s outh-wes tern s pur, and re-des c end on that arid plateau term inated by the s trangely-wild bas alt c liff. From tim e to tim e one of the c olonis ts s tooped down and felt for the wire with his hands ; but there was now no doubt that the wire was running direc tly towards the s ea. T here, to a c ertainty, in the depths of thos e roc ks , was the dwelling s o long s ought for in vain. T he s ky was literally on fire. Flas h s uc c eeded flas h. S everal s truc k the s um m it of the volc ano in the m ids t of the thic k s m oke. It appeared there as if the m ountain was vom iting flam e. A t a few m inutes to eleven the c olonis ts arrived on the high c liff overlooking the oc ean to the wes t. T he wind had ris en. T he s urf roared 500 feet below. Harding c alc ulated that they had gone a m ile and a half from the c orral. A t this point the wire entered am ong the roc ks , following the s teep s ide of a narrow ravine. T he s ettlers followed it at the ris k of oc c as ioning a fall of the s lightly-balanc ed roc ks , and being das hed into the s ea. T he des c ent was extrem ely perilous , but they did not think of the danger; they were no longer m as ters of them s elves , and an irres is tible attrac tion drew them towards this m ys terious plac e as the m agnet draws iron. T hus they alm os t unc ons c ious ly des c ended this ravine, whic h even in broad daylight would have been c ons idered im prac tic able. T he s tones rolled and s parkled like fiery balls when they c ros s ed through the gleam s of light. Harding was firs t--A yrton las t. On they went, s tep by s tep. Now they s lid over the s lippery roc k; then they s truggled to their feet and s c ram bled on. A t las t the wire touc hed the roc ks on the beac h. T he c olonis ts had reac hed the bottom of the bas alt c liff. T here appeared a narrow ridge, running horizontally and parallel with the s ea. T he s ettlers followed the wire along it. T hey had not gone a hundred pac es when the ridge by a m oderate inc line s loped down to the level of the s ea. T he engineer s eized the wire and found that it dis appeared beneath the waves . His c om panions were s tupefied. A c ry of dis appointm ent, alm os t a c ry of des pair, es c aped them ! Mus t they then plunge beneath the water and s eek there for s om e s ubm arine c avern? In their exc ited s tate they would not have hes itated to do it. T he engineer s topped them . He led his c om panions to a hollow in the roc ks , and there-"W e m us t wait," s aid he. "T he tide is high. A t low water the way will be open." "B ut what c an m ake you think-" as ked P enc roft. "He would not have c alled us if the m eans had been wanting to enable us to reac h him ! " Cyrus Harding s poke in a tone of s uc h thorough c onvic tion that no objec tion was rais ed. His rem ark, bes ides , was logic al. It was quite pos s ible that an opening, prac tic able at low water, though hidden now by the high tide, opened at the foot of the c liff. T here was s om e tim e to wait. T he c olonis ts rem ained s ilently c rouc hing in a deep hollow. Rain now began to fall in torrents . T he thunder was re- ec hoed am ong the roc ks with a grand s onorous nes s . T he c olonis ts ' em otion was great. A thous and s trange and extraordinary ideas c ros s ed their brains , and they expec ted s om e grand and s uperhum an apparition, whic h alone c ould c om e up to the notion they had form ed of the m ys terious genius of the is land. A t m idnight, Harding c arrying the lantern, des c ended to the beac h to rec onnoiter. T he engineer was not m is taken. T he beginning of an im m ens e exc avation c ould be s een under the water. T here the wire, bending at a right angle, entered the yawning gulf. Cyrus Harding returned to his c om panions , and s aid s im ply,-"In an hour the opening will be prac tic able." "It is there, then?" s aid P enc roft. "Did you doubt it?" returned Harding. "B ut this c avern m us t be filled with water to a c ertain height," obs erved Herbert. "E ither the c avern will be c om pletely dry," replied Harding, "and in that c as e we c an travers e it on foot, or it will not be dry, and s om e m eans of trans port will be put at our dis pos al." A n hour pas s ed. A ll c lim bed down through the rain to the level of the s ea. T here was now eight feet of the opening above the water. It was like the arc h of a bridge, under whic h rus hed the foam ing water. Leaning forward, the engineer s aw a blac k objec t floating on the water. He drew it towards him . It was a boat, m oored to s om e interior projec tion of the c ave. T his boat was iron-plated. T wo oars lay at the bottom . "J um p in! " s aid Harding. In a m om ent the s ettlers were in the boat. Neb and A yrton took the oars , P enc roft the rudder. Cyrus Harding in the bows , with the lantern, lighted the way. T he elliptic al roof, under whic h the boat at firs t pas s ed, s uddenly ros e; but the darknes s was too deep, and the light of the lantern too s light, for either the extent, length, height, or depth of the c ave to be as c ertained. S olem n s ilenc e reigned in this bas altic c avern. Not a s ound c ould penetrate into it, even the thunder peals c ould not pierc e its thic k s ides . S uc h im m ens e c aves exis t in various parts of the world, natural c rypts dating from the geologic al epoc h of the globe. S om e are filled by the s ea; others c ontain entire lakes in their s ides . S uc h is Fingal's Cave, in the is land of S taffa, one of the Hebrides ; s uc h are the c aves of Morgat, in the bay of Douarnenez, in B rittany, the c aves of B onifac io, in Cors ic a, thos e of Lys e-Fjord, in Norway; s uc h are the im m ens e Mam m oth c averns in K entuc ky, 500 feet in height, and m ore than twenty m iles in length! In m any parts of the globe, nature has exc avated thes e c averns , and pres erved them for the adm iration of m an. Did the c avern whic h the s ettlers were now exploring extend to the c enter of the is land? For a quarter of an hour the boat had been advanc ing, m aking detours , indic ated to P enc roft by the engineer in s hort s entenc es , when all at onc e,-"More to the right! " he c om m anded. T he boat, altering its c ours e, c am e up alongs ide the right wall. T he engineer wis hed to s ee if the wire s till ran along the s ide. T he wire was there fas tened to the roc k. "Forward! " s aid Harding. A nd the two oars , plunging into the dark waters , urged the boat onwards . On they went for another quarter of an hour, and a dis tanc e of half-a- m ile m us t have been c leared from the m outh of the c ave, when Harding's voic e was again heard. "S top! " s aid he. T he boat s topped, and the c olonis ts perc eived a bright light illum inating the vas t c avern, s o deeply exc avated in the bowels of the is land, of whic h nothing had ever led them to s us pec t the exis tenc e. A t a height of a hundred feet ros e the vaulted roof, s upported on bas alt s hafts . Irregular arc hes , s trange m oldings , appeared on the c olum ns erec ted by nature in thous ands from the firs t epoc hs of the form ation of the globe. T he bas alt pillars , fitted one into the other, m eas ured from forty to fifty feet in height, and the water, c alm in s pite of the tum ult outs ide, was hed their bas e. T he brilliant foc us of light, pointed out by the engineer, touc hed every point of roc ks , and flooded the walls with light. B y reflec tion the water reproduc ed the brilliant s parkles , s o that the boat appeared to be floating between two glittering zones . T hey c ould not be m is taken in the nature of the irradiation thrown from the glowing nuc leus , whos e c lear rays were s hattered by all the angles , all the projec tions of the c avern. T his light proc eeded from an elec tric s ourc e, and its white c olor betrayed its origin. It was the s un of this c ave, and it filled it entirely. A t a s ign from Cyrus Harding the oars again plunged into the water, c aus ing a regular s hower of gem s , and the boat was urged forward towards the light, whic h was now not m ore than half a c able's length dis tant. A t this plac e the breadth of the s heet of water m eas ured nearly 350 feet, and beyond the dazzling c enter c ould be s een an enorm ous bas altic wall, bloc king up any is s ue on that s ide. T he c avern widened here c ons iderably, the s ea form ing a little lake. B ut the roof, the s ide walls , the end c liff, all the pris m s , all the peaks , were flooded with the elec tric fluid, s o that the brillianc y belonged to them , and as if the light is s ued from them . In the c enter of the lake a long c igar-s haped objec t floated on the s urfac e of the water, s ilent, m otionles s . T he brillianc y whic h is s ued from it es c aped from its s ides as from two kilns heated to a white heat. T his apparatus , s im ilar in s hape to an enorm ous whale, was about 250 feet long, and ros e about ten or twelve above the water. T he boat s lowly approac hed it, Cyrus Harding s tood up in the bows . He gazed, a prey to violent exc item ent. T hen, all at onc e, s eizing the reporter's arm ,-"It is he! It c an only be he! " he c ried, "he! --" T hen, falling bac k on the s eat, he m urm ured a nam e whic h Gideon S pilett alone c ould hear. T he reporter evidently knew this nam e, for it had a wonderful effec t upon him , and he ans wered in a hoars e voic e,-"He! an outlawed m an! " "He! " s aid Harding. A t the engineer's c om m and the boat approac hed this s ingular floating apparatus . T he boat touc hed the left s ide, from whic h es c aped a ray of light through a thic k glas s . Harding and his c om panions m ounted on the platform . A n open hatc hway was there. A ll darted down the opening. A t the bottom of the ladder was a dec k, lighted by elec tric ity. A t the end of this dec k was a door, whic h Harding opened. A ric hly-ornam ented room , quic kly travers ed by the c olonis ts , was joined to a library, over whic h a lum inous c eiling s hed a flood of light. A t the end of the library a large door, als o s hut, was opened by the engineer. A n im m ens e s aloon--a s ort of m us eum , in whic h were heaped up, with all the treas ures of the m ineral world, works of art, m arvels of indus try-- appeared before the eyes of the c olonis ts , who alm os t thought them s elves s uddenly trans ported into a land of enc hantm ent. S tretc hed on a ric h s ofa they s aw a m an, who did not appear to notic e their pres enc e. T hen Harding rais ed his voic e, and to the extrem e s urpris e of his c om panions , he uttered thes e words ,-"Captain Nem o, you as ked for us ! W e are here.--" Chapter 16 A t thes e words the rec lining figure ros e, and the elec tric light fell upon his c ountenanc e; a m agnific ent head, the forehead high, the glanc e c om m anding, beard white, hair abundant and falling over the s houlders . His hand res ted upon the c us hion of the divan from whic h he had jus t ris en. He appeared perfec tly c alm . It was evident that his s trength had been gradually underm ined by illnes s , but his voic e s eem ed yet powerful, as he s aid in E nglis h, and in a tone whic h evinc ed extrem e s urpris e,-"S ir, I have no nam e." "Nevertheles s , I know you! " replied Cyrus Harding. Captain Nem o fixed his penetrating gaze upon the engineer, as though he were about to annihilate him . T hen, falling bac k am id the pillows of the divan,-"A fter all, what m atters now?" he m urm ured; "I am dying! " Cyrus Harding drew near the c aptain, and Gideon S pilett took his hand--it was of a feveris h heat. A yrton, P enc roft, Herbert, and Neb s tood res pec tfully apart in an angle of the m agnific ent s aloon, whos e atm os phere was s aturated with the elec tric fluid. Meanwhile Captain Nem o withdrew his hand, and m otioned the engineer and the reporter to be s eated. A ll regarded him with profound em otion. B efore them they beheld that being whom they had s tyled the "genius of the is land," the powerful protec tor whos e intervention, in s o m any c irc um s tanc es , had been s o effic ac ious , the benefac tor to whom they owed s uc h a debt of gratitude! T heir eyes beheld a m an only, and a m an at the point of death, where P enc roft and Neb had expec ted to find an alm os t s upernatural being! B ut how happened it that Cyrus Harding had rec ognized Captain Nem o? why had the latter s o s uddenly ris en on hearing this nam e uttered, a nam e whic h he had believed known to none?-T he c aptain had res um ed his pos ition on the divan, and leaning on his arm , he regarded the engineer, s eated near him . "Y ou know the nam e I form erly bore, s ir?" he as ked.

"I do," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "and als o that of this wonderful s ubm arine ves s el--" "T he 'Nautilus '?" s aid the c aptain, with a faint s m ile. "T he 'Nautilus .'" "B ut do you--do you know who I am ?" "I do." "It is nevertheles s m any years s inc e I have held any c om m unic ation with the inhabited world; three long years have I pas s ed in the depth of the s ea, the only plac e where I have found liberty! W ho then c an have betrayed m y s ec ret?" "A m an who was bound to you by no tie, Captain Nem o, and who, c ons equently, c annot be ac c us ed of treac hery." "T he Frenc hm an who was c as t on board m y ves s el by c hanc e s ixteen years s inc e?" "T he s am e." "He and his two c om panions did not then peris h in the m aels trom , in the m ids t of whic h the 'Nautilus ' was s truggling?" "T hey es c aped, and a book has appeared under the title of 'T wenty T hous and Leagues Under the S ea,' whic h c ontains your his tory." "T he his tory of a few m onths only of m y life! " interrupted the c aptain im petuous ly. "It is true," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "but a few m onths of that s trange life have s uffic ed to m ake you known." "A s a great c rim inal, doubtles s ! " s aid Captain Nem o, a haughty s m ile c urling his lips . "Y es , a rebel, perhaps an outlaw agains t hum anity! " T he engineer was s ilent. "W ell, s ir?" "It is not for m e to judge you, Captain Nem o," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "at any rate as regards your pas t life. I am , with the res t of the world, ignorant of the m otives whic h induc ed you to adopt this s trange m ode of exis tenc e, and I c annot judge of effec ts without knowing their c aus es ; but what I do know is , that a benefic ent hand has c ons tantly protec ted us s inc e our arrival on Linc oln Is land, that we all owe our lives to a good, generous , and powerful being, and that this being s o powerful, good and generous , Captain Nem o, is yours elf! " "It is I," ans wered the c aptain s im ply. T he engineer and the reporter ros e. T heir c om panions had drawn near, and the gratitude with whic h their hearts were c harged was about to expres s its elf in their ges tures and words . Captain Nem o s topped them by a s ign, and in a voic e whic h betrayed m ore em otion than he doubtles s intended to s how. "W ait till you have heard all," he s aid. A nd the c aptain, in a few c onc is e s entenc es , ran over the events of his life. His narrative was s hort, yet he was obliged to s um m on up his whole rem aining energy to arrive at the end. He was evidently c ontending agains t extrem e weaknes s . S everal tim es Cyrus Harding entreated him to repos e for a while, but he s hook his head as a m an to whom the m orrow m ay never c om e, and when the reporter offered his as s is tanc e,-"It is us eles s ," he s aid; "m y hours are num bered." Captain Nem o was an Indian, the P rinc e Dakkar, s on of a rajah of the then independent territory of B undelkund. His father s ent him , when ten years of age, to E urope, in order that he m ight rec eive an educ ation in all res pec ts c om plete, and in the hopes that by his talents and knowledge he m ight one day take a leading part in rais ing his long degraded and heathen c ountry to a level with the nations of E urope. From the age of ten years to that of thirty P rinc e Dakkar, endowed by Nature with her ric hes t gifts of intellec t, ac c um ulated knowledge of every kind, and in s c ienc e, literature, and art his res earc hes were extens ive and profound. He traveled over the whole of E urope. His rank and fortune c aus ed him to be everywhere s ought after; but the pleas ures of the world had for him no attrac tions . T hough young and pos s es s ed of every pers onal advantage, he was ever grave--s om ber even--devoured by an unquenc hable thirs t for knowledge, and c heris hing in the rec es s es of his heart the hope that he m ight bec om e a great and powerful ruler of a free and enlightened people. S till, for long the love of s c ienc e trium phed over all other feelings . He bec am e an artis t deeply im pres s ed by the m arvels of art, a philos opher to whom no one of the higher s c ienc es was unknown, a s tates m an vers ed in the polic y of E uropean c ourts . To the eyes of thos e who obs erved him s uperfic ially he m ight have pas s ed for one of thos e c os m opolitans , c urious of knowledge, but dis daining ac tion; one of thos e opulent travelers , haughty and c ynic al, who m ove inc es s antly from plac e to plac e, and are of no c ountry. T he his tory of Captain Nem o has , in fac t, been publis hed under the title of "T wenty T hous and Leagues Under the S ea." Here, therefore, will apply the obs ervation already m ade as to the adventures of A yrton with regard to the dis c repanc y of dates . Readers s hould therefore refer to the note already publis hed on this point. T his artis t, this philos opher, this m an was , however, s till c heris hing the hope ins tilled into him from his earlies t days . P rinc e Dakkar returned to B undelkund in the year 1849. He m arried a noble Indian lady, who was im bued with an am bition not les s ardent than that by whic h he was ins pired. T wo c hildren were born to them , whom they tenderly loved. B ut dom es tic happines s did not prevent him from s eeking to c arry out the objec t at whic h he aim ed. He waited an opportunity. A t length, as he vainly fanc ied, it pres ented its elf. Ins tigated by princ es equally am bitious and les s s agac ious and m ore uns c rupulous than he was , the people of India were pers uaded that they m ight s uc c es s fully ris e agains t their E nglis h rulers , who had brought them out of a s tate of anarc hy and c ons tant warfare and m is ery, and had es tablis hed peac e and pros perity in their c ountry. T heir ignoranc e and gros s s upers tition m ade them the fac ile tools of their des igning c hiefs . In 1857 the great s epoy revolt broke out. P rinc e Dakkar, under the belief that he s hould thereby have the opportunity of attaining the objec t of his long-c heris hed am bition, was eas ily drawn into it. He forthwith devoted his talents and wealth to the s ervic e of this c aus e. He aided it in pers on; he fought in the front ranks ; he ris ked his life equally with the hum bles t of the wretc hed and m is guided fanatic s ; he was ten tim es wounded in twenty engagem ents , s eeking death but finding it not, but at length the s anguinary rebels were utterly defeated, and the atroc ious m utiny was brought to an end. Never before had the B ritis h power in India been expos ed to s uc h danger, and if, as they had hoped, the s epoys had rec eived as s is tanc e from without, the influenc e and s uprem ac y in A s ia of the United K ingdom would have been a thing of the pas t. T he nam e of P rinc e Dakkar was at that tim e well known. He had fought openly and without c onc ealm ent. A pric e was s et upon his head, but he m anaged to es c ape from his purs uers . Civilization never rec edes ; the law of nec es s ity ever forc es it onwards . T he s epoys were vanquis hed, and the land of the rajahs of old fell again under the rule of E ngland. P rinc e Dakkar, unable to find that death he c ourted, returned to the m ountain fas tnes s es of B undelkund. T here, alone in the world, overc om e by dis appointm ent at the des truc tion of all his vain hopes , a prey to profound dis gus t for all hum an beings , filled with hatred of the c ivilized world, he realized the wrec k of his fortune, as s em bled s om e s c ore of his m os t faithful c om panions , and one day dis appeared, leaving no trac e behind. W here, then, did he s eek that liberty denied him upon the inhabited earth? Under the waves , in the depths of the oc ean, where none c ould follow. T he warrior bec am e the m an of s c ienc e. Upon a des erted is land of the P ac ific he es tablis hed his doc kyard, and there a s ubm arine ves s el was c ons truc ted from his des igns . B y m ethods whic h will at s om e future day be revealed he had rendered s ubs ervient the illim itable forc es of elec tric ity, whic h, extrac ted from inexhaus tible s ourc es , was em ployed for all the requirem ents of his floating equipage, as a m oving, lighting, and heating agent. T he s ea, with its c ountles s treas ures , its m yriads of fis h, its num berles s wrec ks , its enorm ous m am m alia, and not only all that nature s upplied, but als o all that m an had los t in its depths , s uffic ed for every want of the princ e and his c rew--and thus was his m os t ardent des ire ac c om plis hed, never again to hold c om m unic ation with the earth. He nam ed his s ubm arine ves s el the "Nautilus ," c alled him s elf s im ply Captain Nem o, and dis appeared beneath the s eas . During m any years this s trange being vis ited every oc ean, from pole to pole. Outc as t of the inhabited earth in thes e unknown worlds he gathered inc alc ulable treas ures . T he m illions los t in the B ay of V igo, in 1702, by the galleons of S pain, furnis hed him with a m ine of inexhaus tible ric hes whic h he devoted always , anonym ous ly, in favor of thos e nations who fought for the independenc e of their c ountry. (T his refers to the res urrec tion of the Candiotes , who were, in fac t, largely as s is ted by Captain Nem o.) For long, however, he had held no c om m unic ation with his fellow- c reatures , when, during the night of the 6th of Novem ber, 1866, three m en were c as t on board his ves s el. T hey were a Frenc h profes s or, his s ervant, and a Canadian fis herm an. T hes e three m en had been hurled overboard by a c ollis ion whic h had taken plac e between the "Nautilus " and the United S tates frigate "A braham Linc oln," whic h had c has ed her. Captain Nem o learned from this profes s or that the "Nautilus ," taken now for a gigantic m am m al of the whale s pec ies , now for a s ubm arine ves s el c arrying a c rew of pirates , was s ought for in every s ea. He m ight have returned thes e three m en to the oc ean, from whenc e c hanc e had brought them in c ontac t with his m ys terious exis tenc e. Ins tead of doing this he kept them pris oners , and during s even m onths they were enabled to behold all the wonders of a voyage of twenty thous and leagues under the s ea. One day, the 22nd of J une, 1867, thes e three m en, who knew nothing of the pas t his tory of Captain Nem o, s uc c eeded in es c aping in one of the "Nautilus 's " boats . B ut as at this tim e the "Nautilus " was drawn into the vortex of the m aels trom , off the c oas t of Norway, the c aptain naturally believed that the fugitives , engulfed in that frightful whirlpool, found their death at the bottom of the abys s . He was unaware that the Frenc hm an and his two c om panions had been m irac ulous ly c as t on s hore, that the fis herm en of the Lofoten Is lands had rendered them as s is tanc e, and that the profes s or, on his return to Franc e, had publis hed that work in whic h s even m onths of the s trange and eventful navigation of the "Nautilus " were narrated and expos ed to the c urios ity of the public . For a long tim e alter this , Captain Nem o c ontinued to live thus , travers ing every s ea. B ut one by one his c om panions died, and found their las t res ting-plac e in their c em etery of c oral, in the bed of the P ac ific . A t las t Captain Nem o rem ained the s olitary s urvivor of all thos e who had taken refuge with him in the depths of the oc ean. He was now s ixty years of age. A lthough alone, he s uc c eeded in navigating the "Nautilus " towards one of thos e s ubm arine c averns whic h had s om etim es s erved him as a harbor. One of thes e ports was hollowed beneath Linc oln Is land, and at this m om ent furnis hed an as ylum to the "Nautilus ." T he c aptain had now rem ained there s ix years , navigating the oc ean no longer, but awaiting death, and that m om ent when he s hould rejoin his form er c om panions , when by c hanc e he obs erved the des c ent of the balloon whic h c arried the pris oners of the Confederates . Clad in his diving dres s he was walking beneath the water at a few c ables ' length from the s hore of the is land, when the engineer had been thrown into the s ea. Moved by a feeling of c om pas s ion the c aptain s aved Cyrus Harding. His firs t im puls e was to fly from the vic inity of the five c as taways ; but his harbor refuge was c los ed, for in c ons equenc e of an elevation of the bas alt, produc ed by the influenc e of volc anic ac tion, he c ould no longer pas s through the entranc e of the vault. T hough there was s uffic ient depth of water to allow a light c raft to pas s the bar, there was not enough for the "Nautilus ," whos e draught of water was c ons iderable. Captain Nem o was c om pelled, therefore, to rem ain. He obs erved thes e m en thrown without res ourc es upon a des ert is land, but had no wis h to be him s elf dis c overed by them . B y degrees he bec am e interes ted in their efforts when he s aw them hones t, energetic , and bound to eac h other by the ties of friends hip. A s if des pite his wis hes , he penetrated all the s ec rets of their exis tenc e. B y m eans of the diving dres s he c ould eas ily reac h the well in the interior of Granite Hous e, and c lim bing by the projec tions of roc k to its upper orific e he heard the c olonis ts as they rec ounted the pas t, and s tudied the pres ent and future. He learned from them the trem endous c onflic t of A m eric a with A m eric a its elf, for the abolition of s lavery. Y es , thes e m en were worthy to rec onc ile Captain Nem o with that hum anity whic h they repres ented s o nobly in the is land. Captain Nem o had s aved Cyrus Harding. It was he als o who had brought bac k the dog to the Chim neys , who res c ued Top from the waters of the lake, who c aus ed to fall at Flots am P oint the c as e c ontaining s o m any things us eful to the c olonis ts , who c onveyed the c anoe bac k into the s tream of the Merc y, who c as t the c ord from the top of Granite Hous e at the tim e of the attac k by the baboons , who m ade known the pres enc e of A yrton upon Tabor Is land, by m eans of the doc um ent enc los ed in the bottle, who c aus ed the explos ion of the brig by the s hoc k of a torpedo plac ed at the bottom of the c anal, who s aved Herbert from c ertain death by bringing the s ulphate of quinine; and finally, it was he who had killed the c onvic ts with the elec tric balls , of whic h he pos s es s ed the s ec ret, and whic h he em ployed in the c has e of s ubm arine c reatures . T hus were explained s o m any apparently s upernatural oc c urrenc es , and whic h all proved the generos ity and power of the c aptain. Nevertheles s , this noble m is anthrope longed to benefit his proteges s till further. T here yet rem ained m uc h us eful advic e to give them , and, his heart being s oftened by the approac h of death, he invited, as we are aware, the c olonis ts of Granite Hous e to vis it the "Nautilus ," by m eans of a wire whic h c onnec ted it with the c orral. P os s ibly he would not have done this had he been aware that Cyrus Harding was s uffic iently ac quainted with his his tory to addres s him by the nam e of Nem o. T he c aptain c onc luded the narrative of his life. Cyrus Harding then s poke; he rec alled all the inc idents whic h had exerc is ed s o benefic ent an influenc e upon the c olony, and in the nam es of his c om panions and him s elf thanked the generous being to whom they owed s o m uc h. B ut Captain Nem o paid little attention; his m ind appeared to be abs orbed by one idea, and without taking the proffered hand of the engineer,-"Now, s ir," s aid he, "now that you know m y his tory, your judgm ent! " In s aying this , the c aptain evidently alluded to an im portant inc ident witnes s ed by the three s trangers thrown on board his ves s el, and whic h the Frenc h profes s or had related in his work, c aus ing a profound and terrible s ens ation. S om e days previous to the flight of the profes s or and his two c om panions , the "Nautilus ," being c has ed by a frigate in the north of the A tlantic had hurled hers elf as a ram upon this frigate, and s unk her without m erc y. Cyrus Harding unders tood the c aptain's allus ion, and was s ilent. "It was an enem y's frigate," exc laim ed Captain Nem o, trans form ed for an ins tant into the P rinc e Dakkar, "an enem y's frigate! It was s he who attac ked m e--I was in a narrow and s hallow bay--the frigate barred m y way-- and I s ank her! " A few m om ents of s ilenc e ens ued; then the c aptain dem anded,-"W hat think you of m y life, gentlem en?" Cyrus Harding extended his hand to the c i-devant princ e and replied gravely, "S ir, your error was in s uppos ing that the pas t c an be res us c itated, and in c ontending agains t inevitable progres s . It is one of thos e errors whic h s om e adm ire, others blam e; whic h God alone c an judge. He who is m is taken in an ac tion whic h he s inc erely believes to be right m ay be an enem y, but retains our es teem . Y our error is one that we m ay adm ire, and your nam e has nothing to fear from the judgm ent of his tory, whic h does not c ondem n heroic folly, but its res ults ." T he old m an's breas t s welled with em otion, and rais ing his hand to heaven,-"W as I wrong, or in the right?" he m urm ured. Cyrus Harding replied, "A ll great ac tions return to God, from whom they are derived. Captain Nem o, we, whom you have s uc c ored, s hall ever m ourn your los s ." Herbert, who had drawn near the c aptain, fell on his knees and kis s ed his hand. A tear glis tened in the eyes of the dying m an. "My c hild," he s aid, "m ay God bles s you! " Chapter 17 Day had returned. No ray of light penetrated into the profundity of the c avern. It being high-water, the entranc e was c los ed by the s ea. B ut the artific ial light, whic h es c aped in long s tream s from the s kylights of the "Nautilus " was as vivid as before, and the s heet of water s hone around the floating ves s el. A n extrem e exhaus tion now overc am e Captain Nem o, who had fallen bac k upon the divan. It was us eles s to c ontem plate rem oving him to Granite Hous e, for he had expres s ed his wis h to rem ain in the m ids t of thos e m arvels of the "Nautilus " whic h m illions c ould not have purc has ed, and to wait there for that death whic h was s wiftly approac hing. During a long interval of pros tration, whic h rendered him alm os t unc ons c ious , Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett attentively obs erved the c ondition of the dying m an. It was apparent that his s trength was gradually dim inis hing. T hat fram e, onc e s o robus t, was now but the fragile tenem ent of a departing s oul. A ll of life was c onc entrated in the heart and head. T he engineer and reporter c ons ulted in whis pers . W as it pos s ible to render any aid to the dying m an? Might his life, if not s aved, be prolonged for s om e days ? He him s elf had s aid that no rem edy c ould avail, and he awaited with tranquillity that death whic h had for him no terrors . "W e c an do nothing," s aid Gideon S pilett. "B ut of what is he dying?" as ked P enc roft. "Life is s im ply fading out," replied the reporter. "Nevertheles s ," s aid the s ailor, "if we m ove him into the open air, and the light of the s un, he m ight perhaps rec over." "No, P enc roft," ans wered the engineer, "it is us eles s to attem pt it. B es ides , Captain Nem o would never c ons ent to leave his ves s el. He has lived for a dozen years on board the 'Nautilus ,' and on board the 'Nautilus ' he des ires to die." W ithout doubt Captain Nem o heard Cyrus Harding's reply, for he rais ed him s elf s lightly, and in a voic e m ore feeble, but always intelligible,-"Y ou are right, s ir," he s aid. "I s hall die here--it is m y wis h; and therefore I have a reques t to m ake of you." Cyrus Harding and his c om panions had drawn near the divan, and now arranged the c us hions in s uc h a m anner as to better s upport the dying m an. T hey s aw his eyes wander over all the m arvels of this s aloon, lighted by the elec tric rays whic h fell from the arabes ques of the lum inous c eiling. He s urveyed, one after the other, the pic tures hanging from the s plendid tapes tries of the partitions , the c hef-d'oeuvres of the Italian, Flem is h, Frenc h, and S panis h m as ters ; the s tatues of m arble and bronze on their pedes tals ; the m agnific ent organ, leaning agains t the after-partition; the aquarium , in whic h bloom ed the m os t wonderful produc tions of the s ea-- m arine plants , zoophytes , c haplets of pearls of ines tim able value; and, finally, his eyes res ted on this devic e, ins c ribed over the pedim ent of the m us eum --the m otto of the "Nautilus "-"Mobilis in m obile." His glanc e s eem ed to res t fondly for the las t tim e on thes e m as terpiec es of art and of nature, to whic h he had lim ited his horizon during a s ojourn of s o m any years in the abys s es of the s eas . Cyrus Harding res pec ted the c aptain's s ilenc e, and waited till he s hould s peak. A fter s om e m inutes , during whic h, doubtles s , he pas s ed in review his whole life, Captain Nem o turned to the c olonis ts and s aid, "Y ou c ons ider yours elves , gentlem en, under s om e obligations to m e?" "Captain, believe us that we would give our lives to prolong yours ." "P rom is e, then," c ontinued Captain Nem o, "to c arry out m y las t wis hes , and I s hall be repaid for all I have done for you." "W e prom is e," s aid Cyrus Harding. A nd by this prom is e he bound both him s elf and his c om panions . "Gentlem en," res um ed the c aptain, "to-m orrow I s hall be dead." Herbert was about to utter an exc lam ation, but a s ign from the c aptain arres ted him . "T o-m orrow I s hall die, and I des ire no other tom b than the 'Nautilus .' It is m y grave! A ll m y friends repos e in the depths of the oc ean; their res ting-plac e s hall be m ine." T hes e words were rec eived with profound s ilenc e. "P ay attention to m y wis hes ," he c ontinued. "T he 'Nautilus ' is im pris oned in this grotto, the entranc e of whic h is bloc ked up; but, although egres s is im pos s ible, the ves s el m ay at leas t s ink in the abys s , and there bury m y rem ains ." T he c olonis ts lis tened reverently to the words of the dying m an. "To-m orrow, after m y death, Mr. Harding," c ontinued the c aptain, "yours elf and c om panions will leave the 'Nautilus ,' for all the treas ures it c ontains m us t peris h with m e. One token alone will rem ain with you of P rinc e Dakkar, with whos e his tory you are now ac quainted. T hat c offer yonder c ontains diam onds of the value of m any m illions , m os t of them m em entoes of the tim e when, hus band and father, I thought happines s pos s ible for m e, and a c ollec tion of pearls gathered by m y friends and m ys elf in the depths of the oc ean. Of this treas ure at a future day, you m ay m ake good us e. In the hands of s uc h m en as yours elf and your c om rades , Captain Harding, m oney will never be a s ourc e of danger. From on high I s hall s till partic ipate in your enterpris es , and I fear not but that they will pros per." A fter a few m om ents ' repos e, nec es s itated by his extrem e weaknes s , Captain Nem o c ontinued,-"T o-m orrow you will take the c offer, you will leave the s aloon, of whic h you will c los e the door; then you will as c end on to the dec k of the 'Nautilus ,' and you will lower the m ainhatc h s o as entirely to c los e the ves s el." "It s hall be done, c aptain," ans wered Cyrus Harding. "Good. You will then em bark in the c anoe whic h brought you hither; but, before leaving the 'Nautilus ,' go to the s tern and there open two large s top-c oc ks whic h you will find upon the water-line. T he water will penetrate into the res ervoirs , and the 'Nautilus ' will gradually s ink beneath the water to repos e at the bottom of the abys s ." A nd c om prehending a ges ture of Cyrus Harding, the c aptain added,-"Fear nothing! Y ou will but bury a c orps e! " Neither Cyrus Harding nor his c om panions ventured to offer any obs ervation to Captain Nem o. He had expres s ed his las t wis hes , and they had nothing to do but to c onform to them . "I have your prom is e, gentlem en?" added Captain Nem o.

T he c aptain thanked the c olonis ts by a s ign, and reques ted them to leave him for s om e hours . Gideon S pilett wis hed to rem ain near him , in the event of a c ris is c om ing on, but the dying m an refus ed, s aying, "I s hall live until to-m orrow, s ir." A ll left the s aloon, pas s ed through the library and the dining-room , and arrived forward, in the m ac hine-room where the elec tric al apparatus was es tablis hed, whic h s upplied not only heat and light, but the m ec hanic al power of the "Nautilus ." T he "Nautilus " was a m as terpiec e c ontaining m as terpiec es with its elf, and the engineer was s truc k with as tonis hm ent. T he c olonis ts m ounted the platform , whic h ros e s even or eight feet above the water. T here they beheld a thic k glas s lentic ular c overing, whic h protec ted a kind of large eye, from whic h flas hed forth light. B ehind this eye was apparently a c abin c ontaining the wheels of the rudder, and in whic h was s tationed the helm s m an, when he navigated the "Nautilus " over the bed of the oc ean, whic h the elec tric rays would evidently light up to a c ons iderable dis tanc e. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions rem ained for a tim e s ilent, for they were vividly im pres s ed by what they had jus t s een and heard, and their hearts were deeply touc hed by the thought that he whos e arm had s o often aided them , the protec tor whom they had known but a few hours , was at the point of death. W hatever m ight be the judgm ent pronounc ed by pos terity upon the events of this , s o to s peak, extra-hum an exis tenc e, the c harac ter of P rinc e Dakkar would ever rem ain as one of thos e whos e m em ory tim e c an never effac e. "W hat a m an! " s aid P enc roft. "Is it pos s ible that he c an have lived at the bottom of the s ea? A nd it s eem s to m e that perhaps he has not found peac e there any m ore than els ewhere! " "T he 'Nautilus ,'" obs erved A yrton, "m ight have enabled us to leave Linc oln Is land and reac h s om e inhabited c ountry." "Good Heavens ! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "I for one would never ris k m ys elf in s uc h a c raft. T o s ail on the s eas , good, but under the s eas , never! " "I believe, P enc roft," ans wered the reporter, "that the navigation of a s ubm arine ves s el s uc h as the 'Nautilus ' ought to be very eas y, and that we s hould s oon bec om e ac c us tom ed to it. T here would be no s torm s , no lee-s hore to fear. A t s om e feet beneath the s urfac e the waters of the oc ean are as c alm as thos e of a lake." "T hat m ay be," replied the s ailor, "but I prefer a gale of wind on board a well-found c raft. A ves s el is built to s ail on the s ea, and not beneath it." "My friends ," s aid the engineer, "it is us eles s , at any rate as regards the 'Nautilus ,' to dis c us s the ques tion of s ubm arine ves s els . T he 'Nautilus ' is not ours , and we have not the right to dis pos e of it. Moreover, we c ould in no c as e avail ours elves of it. Independently of the fac t that it would be im pos s ible to get it out of this c avern, whos e entranc e is now c los ed by the upris ing of the bas altic roc ks , Captain Nem o's wis h is that it s hall be buried with him . His wis h is our law, and we will fulfil it." A fter a s om ewhat prolonged c onvers ation, Cyrus Harding and his c om panions again des c ended to the interior of the "Nautilus ." T here they took s om e refres hm ent and returned to the s aloon. Captain Nem o had s om ewhat rallied from the pros tration whic h had overc om e him , and his eyes s hone with their wonted fire. A faint s m ile even c urled his lips . T he c olonis ts drew around him . "Gentlem en," s aid the c aptain, "you are brave and hones t m en. Y ou have devoted yours elves to the c om m on weal. Often have I obs erved your c onduc t. I have es teem ed you--I es teem you s till! Y our hand, Mr. Harding." Cyrus Harding gave his hand to the c aptain, who c las ped it affec tionately. "It is well! " he m urm ured. He res um ed,-"B ut enough of m ys elf. I have to s peak c onc erning yours elves , and this Linc oln Is land, upon whic h you have taken refuge. Y ou now des ire to leave it?" "T o return, c aptain! " ans wered P enc roft quic kly. "T o return, P enc roft?" s aid the c aptain, with a s m ile. "I know, it is true, your love for this is land. Y ou have helped to m ake it what it now is , and it s eem s to you a paradis e! " "Our projec t, c aptain," interpos ed Cyrus Harding, "is to annex it to the United S tates , and to es tablis h for our s hipping a port s o fortunately s ituated in this part of the P ac ific ." "Y our thoughts are with your c ountry, gentlem en," c ontinued the c aptain; "your toils are for her pros perity and glory. Y ou are right. One's native land! --there s hould one live! there die! A nd I die far from all I loved! " "Y ou have s om e las t wis h to trans m it," s aid the engineer with em otion, "s om e s ouvenir to s end to thos e friends you have left in the m ountains of India?" "No, Captain Harding; no friends rem ain to m e! I am the las t of m y rac e, and to all whom I have known I have long been as are the dead.--B ut to return to yours elves . S olitude, is olation, are painful things , and beyond hum an enduranc e. I die of having thought it pos s ible to live alone! You s hould, therefore, dare all in the attem pt to leave Linc oln Is land, and s ee onc e m ore the land of your birth. I am aware that thos e wretc hes have des troyed the ves s el you have built." "W e propos e to c ons truc t a ves s el," s aid Gideon S pilett, "s uffic iently large to c onvey us to the neares t land; but if we s hould s uc c eed, s ooner or later we s hall return to Linc oln Is land. W e are attac hed to it by too m any rec ollec tions ever to forget it." "It is here that we have known Captain Nem o," s aid Cyrus Harding. "It is here only that we c an m ake our hom e! " added Herbert. "A nd here s hall I s leep the s leep of eternity, if--" replied the c aptain. He paus ed for a m om ent, and, ins tead of c om pleting the s entenc e, s aid s im ply,-"Mr. Harding, I wis h to s peak with you--alone! " T he engineer's c om panions , res pec ting the wis h, retired. Cyrus Harding rem ained but a few m inutes alone with Captain Nem o, and s oon rec alled his c om panions ; but he s aid nothing to them of the private m atters whic h the dying m an had c onfided to him . Gideon S pilett now watc hed the c aptain with extrem e c are. It was evident that he was no longer s us tained by his m oral energy, whic h had los t the power of reac tion agains t his phys ic al weaknes s . T he day c los ed without c hange. T he c olonis ts did not quit the "Nautilus " for a m om ent. Night arrived, although it was im pos s ible to dis tinguis h it from day in the c avern. Captain Nem o s uffered no pain, but he was vis ibly s inking. His noble features , paled by the approac h of death, were perfec tly c alm . Inaudible words es c aped at intervals from his lips , bearing upon various inc idents of his c hec kered c areer. Life was evidently ebbing s lowly and his extrem ities were already c old. Onc e or twic e m ore he s poke to the c olonis ts who s tood around him , and s m iled on them with that las t s m ile whic h c ontinues after death. A t length, s hortly after m idnight, Captain Nem o by a s uprem e effort s uc c eeded in folding his arm s ac ros s his breas t, as if wis hing in that attitude to c om pos e him s elf for death. B y one o'c loc k his glanc e alone s howed s igns of life. A dying light gleam ed in thos e eyes onc e s o brilliant. T hen, m urm uring the words , "God and m y c ountry! " he quietly expired. Cyrus Harding, bending low c los ed the eyes of him who had onc e been the P rinc e Dakkar, and was now not even Captain Nem o. Herbert and P enc roft s obbed aloud. T ears fell from A yrton's eyes . Neb was on his knees by the reporter's s ide, m otionles s as a s tatue. T hen Cyrus Harding, extending his hand over the forehead of the dead, s aid s olem nly, "May his s oul be with God! " T urning to his friends , he added, "Let us pray for him whom we have los t! " S om e hours later the c olonis ts fulfilled the prom is e m ade to the c aptain by c arrying out his dying wis hes . Cyrus Harding and his c om panions quitted the "Nautilus ," taking with them the only m em ento left them by their benefac tor, the c offer whic h c ontained wealth am ounting to m illions . T he m arvelous s aloon, s till flooded with light, had been c arefully c los ed. T he iron door leading on dec k was then s ec urely fas tened in s uc h a m anner as to prevent even a drop of water from penetrating to the interior of the "Nautilus ." T he c olonis ts then des c ended into the c anoe, whic h was m oored to the s ide of the s ubm arine ves s el. T he c anoe was now brought around to the s tern. T here, at the water-line, were two large s top-c oc ks c om m unic ating with the res ervoirs em ployed in the s ubm ers ion of the ves s el. T he s top-c oc ks were opened, the res ervoirs filled, and the "Nautilus ," s lowly s inking, dis appeared beneath the s urfac e of the lake. B ut the c olonis ts were yet able to follow its des c ent through the waves . T he powerful light it gave forth lighted up the trans luc ent water, while the c avern bec am e gradually obs c ure. A t length this vas t effus ion of elec tric light faded away, and s oon after the "Nautilus ," now the tom b of Captain Nem o, repos ed in its oc ean bed. Chapter 18 A t break of day the c olonis ts regained in s ilenc e the entranc e of the c avern, to whic h they gave the nam e of "Dakkar Grotto," in m em ory of Captain Nem o. It was now low-water, and they pas s ed without diffic ulty under the arc ade, was hed on the right by the s ea. T he c anoe was left here, c arefully protec ted from the waves . A s additional prec aution, P enc roft, Neb, and A yrton drew it up on a little beac h whic h bordered one of the s ides of the grotto, in a s pot where it c ould run no ris k of harm . T he s torm had c eas ed during the night. T he las t low m utterings of the thunder died away in the wes t. Rain fell no longer, but the s ky was yet obs c ured by c louds . On the whole, this m onth of Oc tober, the firs t of the s outhern s pring, was not us hered in by s atis fac tory tokens , and the wind had a tendenc y to s hift from one point of the c om pas s to another, whic h rendered it im pos s ible to c ount upon s ettled weather. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions , on leaving Dakkar Grotto, had taken the road to the c orral. On their way Neb and Herbert were c areful to pres erve the wire whic h had been laid down by the c aptain between the c orral and the grotto, and whic h m ight at a future tim e be of s ervic e. T he c olonis ts s poke but little on the road. T he various inc idents of the night of Oc tober 15th had left a profound im pres s ion on their m inds . T he unknown being whos e influenc e had s o effec tually protec ted them , the m an whom their im agination had endowed with s upernatural powers , Captain Nem o, was no m ore. His "Nautilus " and he were buried in the depths of the abys s . T o eac h one of them their exis tenc e s eem ed even m ore is olated than before. T hey had been ac c us tom ed to c ount upon the intervention of that power whic h exis ted no longer, and Gideon S pilett, and even Cyrus Harding, c ould not es c ape this im pres s ion. T hus they m aintained a profound s ilenc e during their journey to the c orral. T owards nine in the m orning the c olonis ts arrived at Granite Hous e. It had been agreed that the c ons truc tion of the ves s el s hould be ac tively pus hed forward, and Cyrus Harding m ore than ever devoted his tim e and labor to this objec t. It was im pos s ible to divine what future lay before them . E vidently the advantage to the c olonis ts would be great of having at their dis pos al a s ubs tantial ves s el, c apable of keeping the s ea even in heavy weather, and large enough to attem pt, in c as e of need, a voyage of s om e duration. E ven if, when their ves s el s hould be c om pleted, the c olonis ts s hould not res olve to leave Linc oln Is land as yet, in order to gain either one of the P olynes ian A rc hipelagoes of the P ac ific or the s hores of New Zealand, they m ight at leas t, s ooner or later, proc eed to Tabor Is land, to leave there the notic e relating to A yrton. T his was a prec aution rendered indis pens able by the pos s ibility of the S c otc h yac ht reappearing in thos e s eas , and it was of the highes t im portanc e that nothing s hould be neglec ted on this point. T he works were then res um ed. Cyrus Harding, P enc roft, and A yrton, as s is ted by Neb, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert, exc ept when unavoidably c alled off by other nec es s ary oc c upations , worked without c es s ation. It was im portant that the new ves s el s hould be ready in five m onths --that is to s ay, by the beginning of Marc h--if they wis hed to vis it T abor Is land before the equinoc tial gales rendered the voyage im prac tic able. T herefore the c arpenters los t not a m om ent. Moreover, it was unnec es s ary to m anufac ture rigging, that of the "S peedy" having been s aved entire, s o that the hull only of the ves s el needed to be c ons truc ted. T he end of the year 1868 found them oc c upied by thes e im portant labors , to the exc lus ion of alm os t all others . A t the expiration of two m onths and a half the ribs had been s et up and the firs t planks adjus ted. It was already evident that the plans m ade by Cyrus Harding were adm irable, and that the ves s el would behave well at s ea. P enc roft brought to the tas k a devouring energy, and would even grum ble when one or the other abandoned the c arpenter's axe for the gun of the hunter. It was nevertheles s nec es s ary to keep up the s tores of Granite Hous e, in view of the approac hing winter. B ut this did not s atis fy P enc roft. T he brave, hones t s ailor was not c ontent when the workm en were not at the doc kyard. when this happened he grum bled vigorous ly, and, by way of venting his feelings , did the work of s ix m en. T he weather was very unfavorable during the whole of the s um m er s eas on. For s om e days the heat was overpowering, and the atm os phere, s aturated with elec tric ity, was only c leared by violent s torm s . It was rarely that the dis tant growling of the thunder c ould not be heard, like a low but inc es s ant m urm ur, s uc h as is produc ed in the equatorial regions of the globe. T he 1s t of J anuary, 1869, was s ignalized by a s torm of extrem e violenc e, and the thunder burs t s everal tim es over the is land. Large trees were s truc k by the elec tric fluid and s hattered, and am ong others one of thos e gigantic nettle-trees whic h had s haded the poultry-yard at the s outhern extrem ity of the lake. Had this m eteor any relation to the phenom ena going on in the bowels of the earth? W as there any c onnec tion between the c om m otion of the atm os phere and that of the interior of the earth? Cyrus Harding was inc lined to think that s uc h was the c as e, for the developm ent of thes e s torm s was attended by the renewal of volc anic s ym ptom s . It was on the 3rd of J anuary that Herbert, having as c ended at daybreak to the plateau of P ros pec t Heights to harnes s one of the onagers , perc eived an enorm ous hat-s haped c loud rolling from the s um m it of the volc ano. Herbert im m ediately appris ed the c olonis ts , who at onc e joined him in watc hing the s um m it of Mount Franklin. "A h! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "thos e are not vapors this tim e! It s eem s to m e that the giant is not c ontent with breathing; he m us t s m oke! " T his figure of s peec h em ployed by the s ailor exac tly expres s ed the c hanges going on at the m outh of the volc ano. A lready for three m onths had the c rater em itted vapors m ore or les s dens e, but whic h were as yet produc ed only by an internal ebullition of m ineral s ubs tanc es . B ut now the vapors were replac ed by a thic k s m oke, ris ing in the form of a grayis h c olum n, m ore than three hundred feet in width at its bas e, and whic h s pread like an im m ens e m us hroom to a height of from s even to eight hundred feet above the s um m it of the m ountain. "T he fire is in the c him ney," obs erved Gideon S pilett. "A nd we c an't put it out! " replied Herbert. "T he volc ano ought to be s wept," obs erved Neb, who s poke as if perfec tly s erious . "W ell s aid, Neb! " c ried P enc roft, with a s hout of laughter; "and you'll undertake the job, no doubt?" Cyrus Harding attentively obs erved the dens e s m oke em itted by Mount Franklin, and even lis tened, as if expec ting to hear s om e dis tant m uttering. T hen, turning towards his c om panions , from whom he had gone s om ewhat apart, he s aid,-"T he truth is , m y friends , we m us t not c onc eal from ours elves that an im portant c hange is going forward. T he volc anic s ubs tanc es are no longer in a s tate of ebullition, they have c aught fire, and we are undoubtedly m enac ed by an approac hing eruption." "W ell, c aptain," s aid P enc roft, "we s hall witnes s the eruption; and if it is a good one, we'll applaud it. I don't s ee that we need c onc ern ours elves further about the m atter." "It m ay be s o," replied Cyrus Harding, "for the anc ient trac k of the lava is s till open; and thanks to this , the c rater has hitherto overflowed towards the north. A nd yet--" "A nd yet, as we c an derive no advantage from an eruption, it m ight be better it s hould not take plac e," s aid the reporter. "W ho knows ?" ans wered the s ailor. "P erhaps there m ay be s om e valuable s ubs tanc e in this volc ano, whic h it will s pout forth, and whic h we m ay turn to good ac c ount! " Cyrus Harding s hook his head with the air of a m an who augured no good from the phenom enon whos e developm ent had been s o s udden. He did not regard s o lightly as P enc roft the res ults of an eruption. If the lava, in c ons equenc e of the pos ition of the c rater, did not direc tly m enac e the wooded and c ultivated parts of the is land, other c om plic ations m ight pres ent them s elves . In fac t, eruptions are not unfrequently ac c om panied by earthquakes ; and an is land of the nature of Linc oln Is land, form ed of s ubs tanc es s o varied, bas alt on one s ide, granite on the other, lava on the north, ric h s oil on the s outh, s ubs tanc es whic h c ons equently c ould not be firm ly attac hed to eac h other, would be expos ed to the ris k of dis integration. A lthough, therefore, the s preading of the volc anic m atter m ight not c ons titute a s erious danger, any m ovem ent of the terres trial s truc ture whic h s hould s hake the is land m ight entail the graves t c ons equenc es . "It s eem s to m e," s aid A yrton, who had rec lined s o as to plac e his ear to the ground, "it s eem s to m e that I c an hear a dull, rum bling s ound, like that of a wagon loaded with bars of iron." T he c olonis ts lis tened with the greates t attention, and were c onvinc ed that A yrton was not m is taken. T he rum bling was m ingled with a s ubterranean roar, whic h form ed a s ort of rinforzando, and died s lowly away, as if s om e violent s torm had pas s ed through the profundities of the globe. B ut no explos ion properly s o term ed, c ould be heard. It m ight therefore be c onc luded that the vapors and s m oke found a free pas s age through the c entral s haft; and that the s afety-valve being s uffic iently large, no c onvuls ion would be produc ed, no explos ion was to be apprehended. "W ell, then! " s aid P enc roft, "are we not going bac k to work? Let Mount Franklin s m oke, groan, bellow, or s pout forth fire and flam e as m uc h as it pleas es , that is no reas on why we s hould be idle! Com e, A yrton, Neb, Herbert, Captain Harding, Mr. S pilett, every one of us m us t turn to at our work to-day! W e are going to plac e the keels on, and a dozen pair of hands would not be too m any. B efore two m onths I want our new 'B onadventure'-- for we s hall keep the old nam e, s hall we not?--to float on the waters of P ort B alloon! T herefore there is not an hour to los e! " A ll the c olonis ts , their s ervic es thus requis itioned by P enc roft, des c ended to the doc kyard, and proc eeded to plac e the keels on, a thic k m as s of wood whic h form s the lower portion of a s hip and unites firm ly the tim bers of the hull. It was an arduous undertaking, in whic h all took part. T hey c ontinued their labors during the whole of this day, the 3rd of J anuary, without thinking further of the volc ano, whic h c ould not, bes ides , be s een from the s hore of Granite Hous e. B ut onc e or twic e, large s hadows , veiling the s un, whic h des c ribed its diurnal arc through an extrem ely c lear s ky, indic ated that a thic k c loud of s m oke pas s ed between its dis c and the is land. T he wind, blowing on the s hore, c arried all thes e vapors to the wes tward. Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett rem arked thes e s om ber appearanc es , and from tim e to tim e dis c us s ed the evident progres s of the volc anic phenom ena, but their work went on without interruption. It was , bes ides , of the firs t im portanc e from every point of view, that the ves s el s hould be finis hed with the leas t pos s ible delay. In pres enc e of the eventualities whic h m ight aris e, the s afety of the c olonis ts would be to a great extent s ec ured by their s hip. W ho c ould tell that it m ight not prove s om e day their only refuge? In the evening, after s upper, Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, and Herbert again as c ended the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . It was already dark, and the obs c urity would perm it them to as c ertain if flam es or inc andes c ent m atter thrown up by the volc ano were m ingled with the vapor and s m oke ac c um ulated at the m outh of the c rater. "T he c rater is on fire! " s aid Herbert, who, m ore ac tive than his c om panion, firs t reac hed the plateau. Mount Franklin, dis tant about s ix m iles , now appeared like a gigantic torc h, around the s um m it of whic h turned fuliginous flam es . S o m uc h s m oke, and pos s ibly s c oriae and c inders were m ingled with them , that their light gleam ed but faintly am id the gloom of the night. B ut a kind of lurid brillianc y s pread over the is land, agains t whic h s tood out c onfus edly the wooded m as s es of the heights . Im m ens e whirlwinds of vapor obs c ured the s ky, through whic h glim m ered a few s tars . "T he c hange is rapid! " s aid the engineer. "T hat is not s urpris ing," ans wered the reporter. "T he reawakening of the volc ano already dates bac k s om e tim e. Y ou m ay rem em ber, Cyrus , that the firs t vapors appeared about the tim e we s earc hed the s ides of the m ountain to dis c over Captain Nem o's retreat. It was , if I m is take not, about the 15th of Oc tober." "Y es ," replied Herbert, "two m onths and a half ago! " "T he s ubterranean fires have therefore been s m oldering for ten weeks ," res um ed Gideon S pilett, "and it is not to be wondered at that they now break out with s uc h violenc e! " "Do not you feel a c ertain vibration of the s oil?" as ked Cyrus Harding. "Y es ," replied Gideon S pilett, "but there is a great differenc e between that and an earthquake." "I do not affirm that we are m enac ed with an earthquake," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "m ay God pres erve us from that! No; thes e vibrations are due to the efferves c enc e of the c entral fire. T he c rus t of the earth is s im ply the s hell of a boiler, and you know that s uc h a s hell, under the pres s ure of s team , vibrates like a s onorous plate. it is this effec t whic h is being produc ed at this m om ent." "W hat m agnific ent flam es ! " exc laim ed Herbert. A t this ins tant a kind of bouquet of flam es s hot forth from the c rater, the brillianc y of whic h was vis ible even through the vapors . T hous ands of lum inous s heets and barbed tongues of fire were c as t in various direc tions . S om e, extending beyond the dom e of s m oke, dis s ipated it, leaving behind an inc andes c ent powder. T his was ac c om panied by s uc c es s ive explos ions , res em bling the dis c harge of a battery of m ac hine-guns . Cyrus Harding, the reporter, and Herbert, after s pending an hour on the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , again des c ended to the beac h, and returned to Granite Hous e. T he engineer was thoughtful and preoc c upied, s o m uc h s o, indeed, that Gideon S pilett inquired if he apprehended any im m ediate danger, of whic h the eruption m ight direc tly or indirec tly be the c aus e. "Y es , and no," ans wered Cyrus Harding. "Nevertheles s ," c ontinued the reporter, "would not the greates t m is fortune whic h c ould happen to us be an earthquake whic h would overturn the is land? Now, I do not s uppos e that this is to be feared, s inc e the vapors and lava have found a free outlet." "T rue," replied Cyrus Harding, "and I do not fear an earthquake in the s ens e in whic h the term is c om m only applied to c onvuls ions of the s oil provoked by the expans ion of s ubterranean gas es . B ut other c aus es m ay produc e great dis as ters ." "How s o, m y dear Cyrus ?' "I am not c ertain. I m us t c ons ider. I m us t vis it the m ountain. In a few days I s hall learn m ore on this point." Gideon S pilett s aid no m ore, and s oon, in s pite of the explos ions of the volc ano, whos e intens ity inc reas ed, and whic h were repeated by the ec hoes of the is land, the inhabitants of Granite Hous e were s leeping s oundly. T hree days pas s ed by--the 4th, 5th, and 6th of J anuary. T he c ons truc tion of the ves s el was diligently c ontinued, and without offering further explanations the engineer pus hed forward the work with all his energy. Mount Franklin was now hooded by a s om ber c loud of s inis ter as pec t, and, am id the flam es , vom iting forth inc andes c ent roc ks , s om e of whic h fell bac k into the c rater its elf. T his c aus ed P enc roft, who would only look at the m atter in the light of a joke, to exc laim ,-"A h! the giant is playing at c up and ball; he is a c onjurer." In fac t, the s ubs tanc es thrown up fell bac k again in to the abys s , and it did not s eem that the lava, though s wollen by the internal pres s ure, had yet ris en to the orific e of the c rater. A t any rate, the opening on the northeas t, whic h was partly vis ible, poured out no torrent upon the northern s lope of the m ountain. Nevertheles s , however pres s ing was the c ons truc tion of the ves s el, other duties dem anded the pres enc e of the c olonis ts on various portions of the is land. B efore everything it was nec es s ary to go to the c orral, where the floc ks of m us m ons and goats were enc los ed, and replenis h the provis ion of forage for thos e anim als . It was ac c ordingly arranged that A yrton s hould proc eed thither the next day, the 7th of J anuary; and as he was s uffic ient for the tas k, to whic h he was ac c us tom ed, P enc roft and the res t were s om ewhat s urpris ed on hearing the engineer s ay to A yrton-"A s you are going to-m orrow to the c orral I will ac c om pany you." "B ut, Captain Harding," exc laim ed the s ailor, "our working days will not be m any, and if you go als o we s hall be two pair of hands s hort! "

"W e s hall return to-m orrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "but it is nec es s ary that I s hould go to the c orral. I m us t learn how the eruption is progres s ing." "T he eruption! always the eruption! " ans wered P enc roft, with an air of dis c ontent. "A n im portant thing, truly, this eruption! I trouble m ys elf very little about it." W hatever m ight be the s ailor's opinion, the expedition projec ted by the engineer was s ettled for the next day. Herbert wis hed to ac c om pany Cyrus Harding, but he would not vex P enc roft by his abs enc e. T he next day, at dawn, Cyrus Harding and A yrton, m ounting the c art drawn by two onagers , took the road to the c orral and s et off at a round trot. A bove the fores t were pas s ing large c louds , to whic h the c rater of Mount Franklin inc es s antly added fuliginous m atter. T hes e c louds , whic h rolled heavily in the air, were evidently c om pos ed of heterogeneous s ubs tanc es . It was not alone from the volc ano that they derived their s trange opac ity and weight. S c oriae, in a s tate of dus t, like powdered pum ic e-s tone, and grayis h as hes as s m all as the fines t fec ulae, were held in s us pens ion in the m ids t of their thic k folds . T hes e as hes are s o fine that they have been obs erved in the air for whole m onths . A fter the eruption of 1783 in Ic eland for upwards of a year the atm os phere was thus c harged with volc anic dus t through whic h the rays of the s un were only with diffic ulty dis c ernible. B ut m ore often this pulverized m atter falls , and this happened on the pres ent oc c as ion. Cyrus Harding and A yrton had s c arc ely reac hed the c orral when a s ort of blac k s now like fine gunpowder fell, and ins tantly c hanged the appearanc e of the s oil. T rees , m eadows , all dis appeared beneath a c overing s everal inc hes in depth. B ut, very fortunately, the wind blew from the northeas t, and the greater part of the c loud dis s olved its elf over the s ea. "T his is very s ingular, Captain Harding," s aid A yrton. "It is very s erious ," replied the engineer. "T his powdered pum ic e-s tone, all this m ineral dus t, proves how grave is the c onvuls ion going forward in the lower depths of the volc ano." "B ut c an nothing be done?" "Nothing, exc ept to note the progres s of the phenom enon. Do you, therefore, A yrton, oc c upy yours elf with the nec es s ary work at the c orral. In the m eantim e I will as c end jus t beyond the s ourc e of Red Creek and exam ine the c ondition of the m ountain upon its northern as pec t. T hen--" "W ell, Captain Harding?" "T hen we will pay a vis it to Dakkar Grotto. I wis h to ins pec t it. A t any rate I will c om e bac k for you in two hours ." A yrton then proc eeded to enter the c orral, and, while awaiting the engineer's return, bus ied him s elf with the m us m ons and goats whic h s eem ed to feel a c ertain uneas ines s in pres enc e of thes e firs t s igns of an eruption. Meanwhile Cyrus Harding as c ended the c res t of the eas tern s pur, pas s ed Red Creek, and arrived at the s pot where he and his c om panions had dis c overed a s ulphurous s pring at the tim e of their firs t exploration. How c hanged was everything! Ins tead of a s ingle c olum n of s m oke he c ounted thirteen, forc ed through the s oil as if violently propelled by s om e pis ton. It was evident that the c rus t of the earth was s ubjec ted in this part of the globe to a frightful pres s ure. T he atm os phere was s aturated with gas es and c arbonic ac id, m ingled with aqueous vapors . Cyrus Harding felt the volc anic tufa with whic h the plain was s trewn, and whic h was but pulverized c inders hardened into s olid bloc ks by tim e, trem ble beneath him , but he c ould dis c over no trac es of fres h lava. T he engineer bec am e m ore as s ured of this when he obs erved all the northern part of Mount Franklin. P illars of s m oke and flam e es c aped from the c rater; a hail of s c oriae fell on the ground; but no c urrent of lava burs t from the m outh of the volc ano, whic h proved that the volc anic m atter had not yet attained the level of the s uperior orific e of the c entral s haft. "B ut I would prefer that it were s o," s aid Cyrus Harding to him s elf. "A t any rate, I s hould then know that the lava had followed its ac c us tom ed trac k. who c an s ay that it m ay not take a new c ours e? B ut the danger does not c ons is t in that! Captain Nem o fores aw it c learly! No, the danger does not lie there! " Cyrus Harding advanc ed towards the enorm ous c aus eway whos e prolongation enc los ed the narrow S hark Gulf. He c ould now s uffic iently exam ine on this s ide the anc ient c hannels of the lava. T here was no doubt in his m ind that the m os t rec ent eruption had oc c urred at a far-dis tant epoc h. He then returned by the s am e way, lis tening attentively to the s ubterranean m utterings whic h rolled like long-c ontinued thunder, interrupted by deafening explos ions . A t nine in the m orning he reac hed the c orral. A yrton awaited him . "T he anim als are c ared for, Captain Harding," s aid A yrton. "Good, A yrton." "T hey s eem uneas y, Captain Harding." "Y es , ins tinc t s peaks through them , and ins tinc t is never dec eived." "A re you ready?" "T ake a lam p, A yrton," ans wered the engineer; "we will s tart at onc e." A yrton did as des ired. T he onagers , unharnes s ed, roam ed in the c orral. T he gate was s ec ured on the outs ide, and Cyrus Harding, prec eding A yrton, took the narrow path whic h led wes tward to the s hore. T he s oil they walked upon was c hoked with the pulverized m atter fallen from the c loud. No quadruped appeared in the woods . E ven the birds had fled. S om etim es a pas s ing breeze rais ed the c overing of as hes , and the two c olonis ts , enveloped in a whirlwind of dus t, los t s ight of eac h other. T hey were then c areful to c over their eyes and m ouths with handkerc hiefs , for they ran the ris k of being blinded and s uffoc ated. It was im pos s ible for Cyrus Harding and A yrton, with thes e im pedim ents , to m ake rapid progres s . Moreover, the atm os phere was c los e, as if the oxygen had been partly burned up, and had bec om e unfit for res piration. A t every hundred pac es they were obliged to s top to take breath. It was therefore pas t ten o'c loc k when the engineer and his c om panion reac hed the c res t of the enorm ous m as s of roc ks of bas alt and porphyry whic h c om pos ed the northwes t c oas t of the is land. A yrton and Cyrus Harding c om m enc ed the des c ent of this abrupt dec livity, following alm os t s tep for s tep the diffic ult path whic h, during that s torm y night, had led them to Dakkar Grotto. In open day the des c ent was les s perilous , and, bes ides , the bed of as hes whic h c overed the polis hed s urfac e of the roc k enabled them to m ake their footing m ore s ec ure. T he ridge at the end of the s hore, about forty feet in height, was s oon reac hed. Cyrus Harding rec ollec ted that this elevation gradually s loped towards the level of the s ea. A lthough the tide was at pres ent low, no beac h c ould he s een, and the waves , thic kened by the volc anic dus t, beat upon the bas altic roc ks . Cyrus Harding and A yrton found without diffic ulty the entranc e to Dakkar Grotto, and paus ed for a m om ent at the las t roc k before it. "T he iron boat s hould be there," s aid the engineer. "It is here, Captain Harding," replied A yrton, drawing towards him the fragile c raft, whic h was protec ted by the arc h of the vault. "On board, A yrton! " T he two c olonis ts s tepped into the boat. A s light undulation of the waves c arried it farther under the low arc h of the c rypt, and there A yrton, with the aid of flint and s teel, lighted the lam p. He then took the oars , and the lam p having been plac ed in the bow of the boat, s o that its rays fell before them , Cyrus Harding took the helm and s teered through the s hades of the grotto. T he "Nautilus " was there no longer to illum inate the c avern with its elec tric light. P os s ibly it m ight not yet be extinguis hed, but no ray es c aped from the depths of the abys s in whic h repos ed all that was m ortal of Captain Nem o. T he light afforded by the lam p, although feeble, nevertheles s enabled the engineer to advanc e s lowly, following the wall of the c avern. A deathlike s ilenc e reigned under the vaulted roof, or at leas t in the anterior portion, for s oon Cyrus Harding dis tinc tly heard the rum bling whic h proc eeded from the bowels of the m ountain. "T hat c om es from the volc ano," he s aid. B es ides thes e s ounds , the pres enc e of c hem ic al c om binations was s oon betrayed by their powerful odor, and the engineer and his c om panion were alm os t s uffoc ated by s ulphurous vapors . "T his is what Captain Nem o feared," m urm ured Cyrus Harding, c hanging c ountenanc e. "W e m us t go to the end, notwiths tanding." "Forward! " replied A yrton, bending to his oars and direc ting the boat towards the head of the c avern. T wenty-five m inutes after entering the m outh of the grotto the boat reac hed the extrem e end. Cyrus Harding then, s tanding up, c as t the light of the lam p upon the walls of the c avern whic h s eparated it from the c entral s haft of the volc ano. W hat was the thic knes s of this wall? It m ight be ten feet or a hundred feet--it was im pos s ible to s ay. B ut the s ubterranean s ounds were too perc eptible to allow of the s uppos ition that it was of any great thic knes s . T he engineer, after having explored the wall at a c ertain height horizontally, fas tened the lam p to the end of an oar, and again s urveyed the bas altic wall at a greater elevation. T here, through s c arc ely vis ible c lefts and joinings , es c aped a pungent vapor, whic h infec ted the atm os phere of the c avern. T he wall was broken by large c rac ks , s om e of whic h extended to within two or three feet of the water's edge. Cyrus Harding thought for a brief s pac e. T hen he s aid in a low voic e,-"Y es ! the c aptain was right! T he danger lies there, and a terrible danger! " A yrton s aid not a word, but, upon a s ign from Cyrus Harding, res um ed the oars , and half an hour later the engineer and he reac hed the entranc e of Dakkar Grotto. Chapter 19 T he next day, the 8th day of J anuary, after a day and night pas s ed at the c orral, where they left all in order, Cyrus Harding and A yrton arrived at Granite Hous e. T he engineer im m ediately c alled his c om panions together, and inform ed them of the im m inent danger whic h threatened Linc oln Is land, and from whic h no hum an power c ould deliver them . "My friends ," he s aid, and his voic e betrayed the depth of his em otion, "our is land is not am ong thos e whic h will endure while this earth endures . It is doom ed to m ore or les s s peedy des truc tion, the c aus e of whic h it bears within its elf, and from whic h nothing c an s ave it." T he c olonis ts looked at eac h other, then at the engineer. T hey did not c learly c om prehend him . "E xplain yours elf, Cyrus ! " s aid Gideon S pilett. "I will do s o," replied Cyrus Harding, "or rather I will s im ply afford you the explanation whic h, during our few m inutes of private c onvers ation, was given m e by Captain Nem o." "Captain Nem o! " exc laim ed the c olonis ts . "Y es , and it was the las t s ervic e he des ired to render us before his death! " "T he las t s ervic e! " exc laim ed P enc roft, "the las t s ervic e! Y ou will s ee that though he is dead he will render us others yet! " "B ut what did the c aptain s ay?" inquired the reporter. "I will tell you, m y friends ," s aid the engineer. "Linc oln Is land does not res em ble the other is lands of the P ac ific , and a fac t of whic h Captain Nem o has m ade m e c ognizant m us t s ooner or later bring about the s ubvers ion of its foundation." "Nons ens e! Linc oln Is land, it c an't be! " c ried P enc roft, who, in s pite of the res pec t he felt for Cyrus Harding, c ould not prevent a ges ture of inc redulity. "Lis ten, P enc roft," res um ed the engineer, "I will tell you what Captain Nem o c om m unic ated to m e, and whic h I m ys elf c onfirm ed yes terday, during the exploration of Dakkar Grotto. "T his c avern s tretc hes under the is land as far as the volc ano, and is only s eparated from its c entral s haft by the wall whic h term inates it. Now, this wall is s eam ed with fis s ures and c lefts whic h already allow the s ulphurous gas es generated in the interior of the volc ano to es c ape." "W ell?" s aid P enc roft, his brow s uddenly c ontrac ting. "W ell, then, I s aw that thes e fis s ures widen under the internal pres s ure from within, that the wall of bas alt is gradually giving way and that after a longer or s horter period it will afford a pas s age to the waters of the lake whic h fill the c avern." "Good! " replied P enc roft, with an attem pt at pleas antry. "T he s ea will extinguis h the volc ano, and there will be an end of the m atter! " "Not s o! " s aid Cyrus Harding, "s hould a day arrive when the s ea, rus hing through the wall of the c avern, penetrates by the c entral s haft into the interior of the is land to the boiling lava, Linc oln Is land will that day be blown into the air--jus t as would happen to the is land of S ic ily were the Mediterranean to prec ipitate its elf into Mount E tna." T he c olonis ts m ade no ans wer to thes e s ignific ant words of the engineer. T hey now unders tood the danger by whic h they were m enac ed. It m ay be added that Cyrus Harding had in no way exaggerated the danger to be apprehended. Many pers ons have form ed an idea that it would be pos s ible to extinguis h volc anoes , whic h are alm os t always s ituated on the s hores of a s ea or lake, by opening a pas s age for the adm is s ion of the water. B ut they are not aware that this would be to inc ur the ris k of blowing up a portion of the globe, like a boiler whos e s team is s uddenly expanded by intens e heat. T he water, rus hing into a c avity whos e tem perature m ight be es tim ated at thous ands of degrees , would be c onverted into s team with a s udden energy whic h no enc los ure c ould res is t. It was not therefore doubtful that the is land, m enac ed by a frightful and approac hing c onvuls ion, would endure only s o long as the wall of Dakkar Grotto its elf s hould endure. It was not even a ques tion of m onths , nor of weeks , but of days ; it m ight be of hours . T he firs t s entim ent whic h the c olonis ts felt was that of profound s orrow. T hey thought not s o m uc h of the peril whic h m enac ed them s elves pers onally, but of the des truc tion of the is land whic h had s heltered them , whic h they had c ultivated, whic h they loved s o well, and had hoped to render s o flouris hing. S o m uc h effort ineffec tually expended, s o m uc h labor los t. P enc roft c ould not prevent a large tear from rolling down his c heek, nor did he attem pt to c onc eal it. S om e further c onvers ation now took plac e. T he c hanc es yet in favor of the c olonis ts were dis c us s ed; but finally it was agreed that there was not an hour to be los t, that the building and fitting of the ves s el s hould be pus hed forward with their utm os t energy, and that this was the s ole c hanc e of s afety for the inhabitants of Linc oln Is land. A ll hands , therefore, s et to work on the ves s el. W hat c ould it avail to s ow, to reap, to hunt, to inc reas e the s tores of Granite Hous e? T he c ontents of the s torehous e and outbuildings c ontained m ore than s uffic ient to provide the s hip for a voyage, however long m ight be its duration. B ut it was im perative that the s hip s hould be ready to rec eive them before the inevitable c atas trophe s hould arrive. T heir labors were now c arried on with feveris h ardor. B y the 23rd of J anuary the ves s el was half-dec ked over. Up to this tim e no c hange had taken plac e on the s um m it of the volc ano. Vapor and s m oke m ingled with flam es and inc andes c ent s tones were thrown up from the c rater. B ut during the night of the 23rd, in c ons equenc e of the lava attaining the level of the firs t s tratum of the volc ano, the hat-s haped c one whic h form ed over the latter dis appeared. A frightful s ound was heard. T he c olonis ts at firs t thought the is land was rent as under, and rus hed out of Granite Hous e. T his oc c urred about two o'c loc k in the m orning. T he s ky appeared on fire. T he s uperior c one, a m as s of roc k a thous and feet in height, and weighing thous ands of m illions of pounds , had been thrown down upon the is land, m aking it trem ble to its foundation. Fortunately, this c one inc lined to the north, and had fallen upon the plain of s and and tufa s tretc hing between the volc ano and the s ea. T he aperture of the c rater being thus enlarged projec ted towards the s ky a glare s o intens e that by the s im ple effec t of reflec tion the atm os phere appeared red-hot. A t the s am e tim e a torrent of lava, burs ting from the new s um m it, poured out in long c as c ades , like water es c aping from a vas e too full, and a thous and tongues of fire c rept over the s ides of the volc ano. "T he c orral! the c orral! " exc laim ed A yrton. It was , in fac t, towards the c orral that the lava was rus hing as the new c rater fac ed the eas t, and c ons equently the fertile portions of the is land, the s prings of Red Creek and J ac am ar W ood, were m enac ed with ins tant des truc tion. A t A yrton's c ry the c olonis ts rus hed to the onagers ' s tables . T he c art was at onc e harnes s ed. A ll were pos s es s ed by the s am e thought--to has ten to the c orral and s et at liberty the anim als it enc los ed. B efore three in the m orning they arrived at the c orral. T he c ries of the terrified m us m ons and goats indic ated the alarm whic h pos s es s ed them . A lready a torrent of burning m atter and liquefied m inerals fell from the s ide of the m ountain upon the m eadows as far as the s ide of the palis ade. T he gate was burs t open by A yrton, and the anim als , bewildered with terror, fled in all direc tions . A n hour afterwards the boiling lava filled the c orral, c onverting into vapor the water of the little rivulet whic h ran through it, burning up the hous e like dry gras s , and leaving not even a pos t of the palis ade to m ark the s pot where the c orral onc e s tood. T o c ontend agains t this dis as ter would have been folly--nay, m adnes s . In pres enc e of Nature's grand c onvuls ions m an is powerles s . It was now daylight--the 24th of J anuary. Cyrus Harding and his c om panions , before returning to Granite Hous e, des ired to as c ertain the probable direc tion this inundation of lava was about to take. T he s oil s loped gradually from Mount Franklin to the eas t c oas t, and it was to be feared that, in s pite of the thic k J ac am ar W ood, the torrent would reac h the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . "T he lake will c over us ," s aid Gideon S pilett. "I hope s o! " was Cyrus Harding's only reply. T he c olonis ts were des irous of reac hing the plain upon whic h the s uperior c one of Mount Franklin had fallen, but the lava arres ted their progres s . It had followed, on one s ide, the valley of Red Creek, and on the other that of Falls River, evaporating thos e waterc ours es in its pas s age. T here was no pos s ibility of c ros s ing the torrent of lava; on the c ontrary, the c olonis ts were obliged to retreat before it. T he volc ano, without its c rown, was no longer rec ognizable, term inated as it was by a s ort of flat table whic h replac ed the anc ient c rater. From two openings in its s outhern and eas tern s ides an unc eas ing flow of lava poured forth, thus form ing two dis tinc t s tream s . A bove the new c rater a c loud of s m oke and as hes , m ingled with thos e of the atm os phere, m as s ed over the is land. Loud peals of thunder broke, and c ould s c arc ely be dis tinguis hed from the rum blings of the m ountain, whos e m outh vom ited forth ignited roc ks , whic h, hurled to m ore than a thous and feet, burs t in the air like s hells . Flas hes of lightning rivaled in intens ity the volc ano's eruption. Towards s even in the m orning the pos ition was no longer tenable by the c olonis ts , who ac c ordingly took s helter in the borders of J ac am ar W ood. Not only did the projec tiles begin to rain around them , but the lava, overflowing the bed of Red Creek, threatened to c ut off the road to the c orral. T he neares t rows of trees c aught fire, and their s ap, s uddenly trans form ed into vapor, c aus ed them to explode with loud reports , while others , les s m ois t, rem ained unhurt in the m ids t of the inundation. T he c olonis ts had again taken the road to the c orral. T hey proc eeded but s lowly, frequently looking bac k; but, in c ons equenc e of the inc lination of the s oil, the lava gained rapidly in the eas t, and as its lower waves bec am e s olidified others , at boiling heat, c overed them im m ediately. Meanwhile, the princ ipal s tream of Red Creek V alley bec am e m ore and m ore m enac ing. A ll this portion of the fores t was on fare, and enorm ous wreaths of s m oke rolled over the trees , whore trunks were already c ons um ed by the lava. T he c olonis ts halted near the lake, about half a m ile from the m outh of Red Creek. A ques tion of life or death was now to be dec ided. Cyrus Harding, ac c us tom ed to the c ons ideration of im portant c ris es , and aware that he was addres s ing m en c apable of hearing the truth, whatever it m ight be, then s aid,-"E ither the lake will arres t the progres s of the lava, and a part of the is land will be pres erved from utter des truc tion, or the s tream will overrun the fores ts of the Far W es t, and not a tree or plant will rem ain on the s urfac e of the s oil. W e s hall have no pros pec t but that of s tarvation upon thes e barren roc ks --a death whic h will probably be antic ipated by the explos ion of the is land." "In that c as e," replied P enc roft, folding his arm s and s tam ping his foot, "what's the us e of working any longer on the ves s el?" "P enc roft," ans wered Cyrus Harding, "we m us t do our duty to the las t! " A t this ins tant the river of lava, after having broken a pas s age through the noble trees it devoured in its c ours e, reac hed the borders of the lake. A t this point there was an elevation of the s oil whic h, had it been greater, m ight have s uffic ed to arres t the torrent. "T o work! " c ried Cyrus Harding. T he engineer's thought was at onc e unders tood. it m ight be pos s ible to dam , as it were, the torrent, and thus c om pel it to pour its elf into the lake. T he c olonis ts has tened to the doc kyard. T hey returned with s hovels , pic ks , axes , and by m eans of banking the earth with the aid of fallen trees they s uc c eeded in a few hours in rais ing an em bankm ent three feet high and s om e hundreds of pac es in length. It s eem ed to them , when they had finis hed, as if they had s c arc ely been working m ore than a few m inutes . It was not a m om ent too s oon. T he liquefied s ubs tanc es s oon after reac hed the bottom of the barrier. T he s tream of lava s welled like a river about to overflow its banks , and threatened to dem olis h the s ole obs tac le whic h c ould prevent it from overrunning the whole Far W es t. B ut the dam held firm , and after a m om ent of terrible s us pens e the torrent prec ipitated its elf into Grant Lake from a height of twenty feet. T he c olonis ts , without m oving or uttering a word, breathles s ly regarded this s trife of the two elem ents . W hat a s pec tac le was this c onflic t between water and fire! W hat pen c ould des c ribe the m arvelous horror of this s c ene--what penc il c ould depic t it? T he water his s ed as it evaporated by c ontac t with the boiling lava. T he vapor whirled in the air to an im m eas urable height, as if the valves of an im m ens e boiler had been s uddenly opened. B ut, however c ons iderable m ight be the volum e of water c ontained in the lake, it m us t eventually be abs orbed, bec aus e it was not replenis hed, while the s tream of lava, fed from an inexhaus tible s ourc e, rolled on without c eas ing new waves of inc andes c ent m atter. T he firs t waves of lava whic h fell in the lake im m ediately s olidified and ac c um ulated s o as s peedily to em erge from it. Upon their s urfac e fell other waves , whic h in their turn bec am e s tone, but a s tep nearer the c enter of the lake. In this m anner was form ed a pier whic h threatened to gradually fill up the lake, whic h c ould not overflow, the water dis plac ed by the lava being evaporated. T he his s ing of the water rent the air with a deafening s ound, and the vapor, blown by the wind, fell in rain upon the s ea. T he pier bec am e longer and longer, and the bloc ks of lava piled them s elves one on another. W here form erly s tretc hed the c alm waters of the lake now appeared an enorm ous m as s of s m oking roc ks , as if an upheaving of the s oil had form ed im m ens e s hoals . Im agine the waters of the lake arous ed by a hurric ane, then s uddenly s olidified by an intens e fros t, and s om e c onc eption m ay be form ed of the as pec t of the lake three hours alter the eruption of this irres is tible torrent of lava.

T his tim e water would be vanquis hed by fire. Nevertheles s it was a fortunate c irc um s tanc e for the c olonis ts that the effus ion of lava s hould have been in the direc tion of Lake Grant. T hey had before them s om e days ' res pite. T he plateau of P ros pec t Heights , Granite Hous e, and the doc kyard were for the m om ent pres erved. A nd thes e few days it was nec es s ary to em ploy in planking and c arefully c alking the ves s el, and launc hing her. T he c olonis ts would then take refuge on board the ves s el, c ontent to rig her after s he s hould be afloat on the waters . W ith the danger of an explos ion whic h threatened to des troy the is land there c ould be no s ec urity on s hore. T he walls of Granite Hous e, onc e s o s ure a retreat, m ight at any m om ent fall in upon them . During the s ix following days , from the 25th to the 30th of J anuary, the c olonis ts ac c om plis hed as m uc h of the c ons truc tion of their ves s el as twenty m en c ould have done. T hey hardly allowed them s elves a m om ent's repos e, and the glare of the flam es whic h s hot from the c rater enabled them to work night and day. T he flow of lava c ontinued, but perhaps les s abundantly. T his was fortunate, for Lake Grant was alm os t entirely c hoked up, and if m ore lava s hould ac c um ulate it would inevitably s pread over the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , and thenc e upon the beac h. B ut if the is land was thus partially protec ted on this s ide, it was not s o with the wes tern part. In fac t, the s ec ond s tream of lava, whic h had followed the valley of Falls River, a valley of great extent, the land on both s ides of the c reek being flat, m et with no obs tac le. T he burning liquid had then s pread through the fores t of the Far W es t. A t this period of the year, when the trees were dried up by a tropic al heat, the fores t c aught fire ins tantaneous ly, in s uc h a m anner that the c onflagration extended its elf both by the trunks of the trees and by their higher branc hes , whos e interlac em ent favored its progres s . It even appeared that the c urrent of flam e s pread m ore rapidly am ong the s um m its of the trees than the c urrent of lava at their bas es . T hus it happened that the wild anim als , jaguars , wild boars , c apybaras , koalas , and gam e of every kind, m ad with terror, had fled to the banks of the Merc y and to the Tadorn Mars h, beyond the road to P ort B alloon. B ut the c olonis ts were too m uc h oc c upied with their tas k to pay any attention to even the m os t form idable of thes e anim als . T hey had abandoned Granite Hous e, and would not even take s helter at the Chim neys , but enc am ped under a tent, near the m outh of the Merc y. E ac h day Cyrus Harding and Gideon S pilett as c ended the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . S om etim es Herbert ac c om panied them , but never P enc roft, who c ould not bear to look upon the pros pec t of the is land now s o utterly devas tated. It was , in truth, a heart-rending s pec tac le. A ll the wooded part of the is land was now c om pletely bare. One s ingle c lum p of green trees rais ed their heads at the extrem ity of S erpentine P enins ula. Here and there were a few grotes que blac kened and branc hles s s tum ps . T he s ide of the devas tated fores t was even m ore barren than Tadorn Mars h. T he eruption of lava had been c om plete. W here form erly s prang up that c harm ing verdure, the s oil was now nothing but a s avage m as s of volc anic tufa. In the valleys of the Falls and Merc y rivers no drop of water now flowed towards the s ea, and s hould Lake Grant be entirely dried up, the c olonis ts would have no m eans of quenc hing their thirs t. B ut, fortunately the lava had s pared the s outhern c orner of the lake, c ontaining all that rem ained of the drinking water of the is land. Towards the northwes t s tood out the rugged and well-defined outlines of the s ides of the volc ano, like a gigantic c law hovering over the is land. W hat a s ad and fearful s ight, and how painful to the c olonis ts , who, from a fertile dom ain c overed with fores ts , irrigated by waterc ours es , and enric hed by the produc e of their toils , found them s elves , as it were, trans ported to a des olate roc k, upon whic h, but for their res erves of provis ions , they c ould not even gather the m eans of s ubs is tenc e! "It is enough to break one's heart! " s aid Gideon S pilett, one day. "Y es , S pilett," ans wered the engineer. "May God grant us the tim e to c om plete this ves s el, now our s ole refuge! " "Do not you think, Cyrus , that the violenc e of the eruption has s om ewhat les s ened? T he volc ano s till vom its forth lava, but s om ewhat les s abundantly, if I m is take not." "It m atters little," ans wered Cyrus Harding. "T he fire is s till burning in the interior of the m ountain, and the s ea m ay break in at any m om ent. W e are in the c ondition of pas s engers whos e s hip is devoured by a c onflagration whic h they c annot extinguis h, and who know that s ooner or later the flam es m us t reac h the powder-m agazine. T o work, S pilett, to work, and let us not los e an hour! " During eight days m ore, that is to s ay until the 7th of February, the lava c ontinued to flow, but the eruption was c onfined within the previous lim its . Cyrus Harding feared above all les t the liquefied m atter s hould overflow the s hore, for in that event the doc kyard c ould not es c ape. Moreover, about this tim e the c olonis ts felt in the fram e of the is land vibrations whic h alarm ed them to the highes t degree. It was the 20th of February. Yet another m onth m us t elaps e before the ves s el would be ready for s ea. W ould the is land hold together till then? T he intention of P enc roft and Cyrus Harding was to launc h the ves s el as s oon as the hull s hould be c om plete. T he dec k, the upperworks , the interior woodwork and the rigging m ight be finis hed afterwards , but the es s ential point was that the c olonis ts s hould have an as s ured refuge away from the is land. P erhaps it m ight be even better to c onduc t the ves s el to P ort B alloon, that is to s ay, as far as pos s ible from the c enter of eruption, for at the m outh of the Merc y, between the is let and the wall of granite, it would run the ris k of being c rus hed in the event of any c onvuls ion. A ll the exertions of the voyagers were therefore c onc entrated upon the c om pletion of the hull. T hus the 3rd of Marc h arrived, and they m ight c alc ulate upon launc hing the ves s el in ten days . Hope revived in the hearts of the c olonis ts , who had, in this fourth year of their s ojourn on Linc oln is land, s uffered s o m any trials . E ven P enc roft los t in s om e m eas ure the s om ber tac iturnity oc c as ioned by the devas tation and ruin of his dom ain. His hopes , it is true, were c onc entrated upon his ves s el. "W e s hall finis h it," he s aid to the engineer, "we s hall finis h it, c aptain, and it is tim e, for the s eas on is advanc ing and the equinox will s oon be here. W ell, if nec es s ary, we m us t put in to Tabor is land to s pend the winter. B ut think of Tabor is land after Linc oln Is land. A h, how unfortunate! W ho c ould have believed it pos s ible?" "Let us get on," was the engineer's invariable reply. A nd they worked away without los ing a m om ent. "Mas ter," as ked Neb, a few days later, "do you think all this c ould have happened if Captain Nem o had been s till alive?" "Certainly, Neb," ans wered Cyrus Harding. "I, for one, don't believe it! " whis pered P enc roft to Neb. "Nor I! " ans wered Neb s erious ly. During the firs t week of Marc h appearanc es again bec am e m enac ing. T hous ands of threads like glas s , form ed of fluid lava, fell like rain upon the is land. T he c rater was again boiling with lava whic h overflowed the bac k of the volc ano. T he torrent flowed along the s urfac e of the hardened tufa, and des troyed the few m eager s keletons of trees whic h had withs tood the firs t eruption. T he s tream , flowing this tim e towards the s outhwes t s hore of Lake Grant, s tretc hed beyond Creek Glyc erine, and invaded the plateau of P ros pec t Heights . T his las t blow to the work of the c olonis ts was terrible. T he m ill, the buildings of the inner c ourt, the s tables , were all des troyed. T he affrighted poultry fled in all direc tions . Top and J up s howed s igns of the greates t alarm , as if their ins tinc t warned them of an im pending c atas trophe. A large num ber of the anim als of the is land had peris hed in the firs t eruption. T hos e whic h s urvived found no refuge but Tadorn Mars h, s ave a few to whic h the plateau of P ros pec t Heights afforded as ylum . B ut even this las t retreat was now c los ed to them , and the lava- torrent, flowing over the edge of the granite wall, began to pour down upon the beac h its c atarac ts of fire. T he s ublim e horror of this s pec tac le pas s ed all des c ription. During the night it c ould only be c om pared to a Niagara of m olten fluid, with its inc andes c ent vapors above and its boiling m as s es below. T he c olonis ts were driven to their las t entrenc hm ent, and although the upper s eam s of the ves s el were not yet c alked, they dec ided to launc h her at onc e. P enc roft and A yrton therefore s et about the nec es s ary preparations for the launc hing, whic h was to take plac e the m orning of the next day, the 9th of Marc h. B ut during the night of the 8th an enorm ous c olum n of vapor es c aping from the c rater ros e with frightful explos ions to a height of m ore than three thous and feet. T he wall of Dakkar Grotto had evidently given way under the pres s ure of gas es , and the s ea, rus hing through the c entral s halt into the igneous gulf, was at onc e c onverted into vapor. B ut the c rater c ould not afford a s uffic ient outlet for this vapor. A n explos ion, whic h m ight have been heard at a dis tanc e of a hundred m iles , s hook the air. Fragm ents of m ountains fell into the P ac ific , and, in a few m inutes , the oc ean rolled over the s pot where Linc oln is land onc e s tood. Chapter 20 A n is olated roc k, thirty feet in length, twenty in breadth, s c arc ely ten from the water's edge, s uc h was the only s olid point whic h the waves of the P ac ific had not engulfed. It was all that rem ained of the s truc ture of Granite Hous e! T he wall had fallen headlong and been then s hattered to fragm ents , and a few of the roc ks of the large room were piled one above another to form this point. A ll around had dis appeared in the abys s ; the inferior c one of Mount Franklin, rent as under by the explos ion; the lava jaws of S hark Gulf, the plateau of P ros pec t Heights , S afety Is let, the granite roc ks of P ort B alloon, the bas alts of Dakkar Grotto, the long S erpentine P enins ula, s o dis tant nevertheles s from the c enter of the eruption. A ll that c ould now be s een of Linc oln Is land was the narrow roc k whic h now s erved as a refuge to the s ix c olonis ts and their dog T op. T he anim als had als o peris hed in the c atas trophe; the birds , as well as thos e repres enting the fauna of the is land--all either c rus hed or drowned, and the unfortunate J up him s elf had, alas ! found his death in s om e c revic e of the s oil. If Cyrus Harding, Gideon S pilett, Herbert, P enc roft, Neb, and A yrton had s urvived, it was bec aus e, as s em bled under their tent, they had been hurled into the s ea at the ins tant when the fragm ents of the is land rained down on every s ide. W hen they reac hed the s urfac e they c ould only perc eive, at half a c able's length, this m as s of roc ks , towards whic h they s wam and on whic h they found footing. On this barren roc k they had now exis ted for nine days . A few provis ions taken from the m agazine of Granite Hous e before the c atas trophe, a little fres h water from the rain whic h had fallen in a hollow of the roc k, was all that the unfortunate c olonis ts pos s es s ed. T heir las t hope, the ves s el, had been s hattered to piec es . T hey had no m eans of quitting the reef; no fire, nor any m eans of obtaining it. It s eem ed that they m us t inevitably peris h. T his day, the 18th of Marc h, there rem ained only provis ions for two days , although they lim ited their c ons um ption to the bare nec es s aries of life. A ll their s c ienc e and intelligenc e c ould avail them nothing in their pres ent pos ition. T hey were in the hand of God. Cyrus Harding was c alm , Gideon S pilett m ore nervous , and P enc roft, a prey to s ullen anger, walked to and fro on the roc k. Herbert did not for a m om ent quit the engineer's s ide, as if dem anding from him that as s is tanc e he had no power to give. Neb and A yrton were res igned to their fate. "A h, what a m is fortune! what a m is fortune! " often repeated P enc roft. "If we had but a walnut-s hell to take us to T abor Is land! B ut we have nothing, nothing! " "Captain Nem o did right to die," s aid Neb. During the five ens uing days Cyrus Harding and his unfortunate c om panions hus banded their provis ions with the m os t extrem e c are, eating only what would prevent them from dying of s tarvation. T heir weaknes s was extrem e. Herbert and Neb began to s how s ym ptom s of delirium . Under thes e c irc um s tanc es was it pos s ible for them to retain even the s hadow of a hope? No! W hat was their s ole rem aining c hanc e? T hat a ves s el s hould appear in s ight of the roc k? B ut they knew only too well from experienc e that no s hips ever vis ited this part of the P ac ific . Could they c alc ulate that, by a truly providential c oinc idenc e, the S c otc h yac ht would arrive prec is ely at this tim e in s earc h of A yrton at Tabor Is land? It was s c arc ely probable; and, bes ides , s uppos ing s he s hould c om e there, as the c olonis ts had not been able to depos it a notic e pointing out A yrton's c hange of abode, the c om m ander of the yac ht, after having explored T abor Is land without res ults , would again s et s ail and return to lower latitudes . No! no hope of being s aved c ould be retained, and a horrible death, death from hunger and thirs t, awaited them upon this roc k. A lready they were s tretc hed on the roc k, inanim ate, and no longer c ons c ious of what pas s ed around them . A yrton alone, by a s uprem e effort, from tim e to tim e rais ed his head, and c as t a des pairing glanc e over the des ert oc ean. B ut on the m orning of the 24th of Marc h A yrton's arm s were extended toward a point in the horizon; he rais ed him s elf, at firs t on his knees , then upright, and his hand s eem ed to m ake a s ignal. A s ail was in s ight off the roc k. S he was evidently not without an objec t. T he reef was the m ark for whic h s he was m aking in a direc t line, under all s team , and the unfortunate c olonis ts m ight have m ade her out s om e hours before if they had had the s trength to watc h the horizon. "T he 'Dunc an'! " m urm ured A yrton--and fell bac k without s ign of life. W hen Cyrus Harding and his c om panions rec overed c ons c ious nes s , thanks to the attention lavis hed upon them , they found them s elves in the c abin of a s team er, without being able to c om prehend how they had es c aped death. A word from A yrton explained everything. "T he 'Dunc an'! " he m urm ured. "T he 'Dunc an'! " exc laim ed Cyrus Harding. A nd rais ing his hand to Heaven, he s aid, "Oh! A lm ighty God! m erc ifully has t T hou pres erved us ! " It was , in fac t, the "Dunc an," Lord Glenarvan's yac ht, now c om m anded by Robert, s on of Captain Grant, who had been des patc hed to T abor Is land to find A yrton, and bring him bac k to his native land alter twelve years of expiation. T he c olonis ts were not only s aved, but already on the way to their native c ountry. "Captain Grant," as ked Cyrus Harding, "who c an have s ugges ted to you the idea, after having left T abor Is land, where you did not find A yrton, of c om ing a hundred m iles farther northeas t?" "Captain Harding," replied Robert Grant, "it was in order to find, not only A yrton, but yours elf and your c om panions ." "My c om panions and m ys elf?" "Doubtles s , at Linc oln Is land." "A t Linc oln Is land! " exc laim ed in a breath Gideon S pilett, Herbert, Neb, and P enc roft, in the highes t degree as tonis hed. "How c ould you be aware of the exis tenc e of Linc oln Is land?" inquired Cyrus Harding, "it is not even nam ed in the c harts ." "I knew of it from a doc um ent left by you on T abor Is land," ans wered Robert Grant. "A doc um ent! " c ried Gideon S pilett. "W ithout doubt, and here it is ," ans wered Robert Grant, produc ing a paper whic h indic ated the longitude and latitude of Linc oln Is land, "the pres ent res idenc e of A yrton and five A m eric an c olonis ts ." "It is Captain Nem o! " c ried Cyrus Harding, after having read the notic e, and rec ognized that the handwriting was s im ilar to that of the paper found at the c orral. "A h! " s aid P enc roft, "it was then he who took our 'B onadventure' and hazarded him s elf alone to go to T abor Is land! " "In order to leave this notic e," added Herbert. "I was then right in s aying," exc laim ed the s ailor, "that even after his death the c aptain would render us a las t s ervic e." "My friends ," s aid Cyrus Harding, in a voic e of the profoundes t em otion, "m ay the God of m erc y have had pity on the s oul of Captain Nem o, our benefac tor." T he c olonis ts unc overed them s elves at thes e las t words of Cyrus Harding, and m urm ured the nam e of Captain Nem o. T hen A yrton, approac hing the engineer, s aid s im ply, "W here s hould this c offer be depos ited?" It was the c offer whic h A yrton had s aved at the ris k of his life, at the very ins tant that the is land had been engulfed, and whic h he now faithfully handed to the engineer. "A yrton! A yrton! " s aid Cyrus Harding, deeply touc hed. T hen, addres s ing Robert Grant, "S ir," he added, "you left behind you a c rim inal; you find in his plac e a m an who has bec om e hones t by penitenc e, and whos e hand I am proud to c las p in m ine." Robert Grant was now m ade ac quainted with the s trange his tory of Captain Nem o and the c olonis ts of Linc oln Is land. T hen, obs ervation being taken of what rem ained of this s hoal, whic h m us t henc eforward figure on the c harts of the P ac ific , the order was given to m ake all s ail. A few weeks afterwards the c olonis ts landed in A m eric a, and found their c ountry onc e m ore at peac e alter the terrible c onflic t in whic h right and jus tic e had trium phed. Of the treas ures c ontained in the c offer left by Captain Nem o to the c olonis ts of Linc oln Is land, the larger portion was em ployed in the purc has e of a vas t territory in the S tate of Iowa. One pearl alone, the fines t, was res erved from the treas ure and s ent to Lady Glenarvan in the nam e of the c as taways res tored to their c ountry by the "Dunc an." T here, upon this dom ain, the c olonis ts invited to labor, that is to s ay, to wealth and happines s , all thos e to whom they had hoped to offer the hos pitality of Linc oln Is land. T here was founded a vas t c olony to whic h they gave the nam e of that is land s unk beneath the waters of the P ac ific . A river there was c alled the Merc y, a m ountain took the nam e of Mount Franklin, a s m all lake was nam ed Lake Grant, and the fores ts bec am e the fores ts of the Far W es t. It m ight have been an is land on terra firm a. T here, under the intelligent hands of the engineer and his c om panions , everything pros pered. Not one of the form er c olonis ts of Linc oln Is land was abs ent, for they had s worn to live always together. Neb was with his m as ter; A yrton was there ready to s ac rific e him s elf for all; P enc roft was m ore a farm er than he had ever been a s ailor; Herbert, who c om pleted his s tudies under the s uperintendenc e of Cyrus Harding, and Gideon S pilett, who founded the New Linc oln Herald, the bes t-inform ed journal in the world. T here Cyrus Harding and his c om panions rec eived at intervals vis its from Lord and Lady Glenarvan, Captain J ohn Mangles and his wife, the s is ter of Robert Grant, Robert Grant him s elf, Major Mc Nab, and all thos e who had taken part in the his tory both of Captain Grant and Captain Nem o. T here, to c onc lude, all were happy, united in the pres ent as they had been in the pas t; but never c ould they forget that is land upon whic h they had arrived poor and friendles s , that is land whic h, during four years had s upplied all their wants , and of whic h there rem ained but a fragm ent of granite was hed by the waves of the P ac ific , the tom b of him who had borne the nam e of Captain Nem o.