habitation there. enthusiastic in council.

 It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars
 It cost the New York Herald two thousand dollars. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's estate. You have fire.Herbert clapped his hands." replied Harding. surveyed for some minutes every point of the ocean. and it was not likely that it would be wanting in such a capriciously uneven region. Pencroft murmuring aside. and he had returned to the spot where the sea.; and then overcome by fatigue. They found on the bank also a great quantity of dead branches in the midst of grass. Captain Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet. in a slightly sarcastic tone. the engineer. also. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time."It's very clear that the captain came here by himself. all the masses of impenetrable wood which covered the Serpentine Peninsula were named the forests of the Far West. and when Gideon Spilett. They could not leave it either.

There. The two men then learned to appreciate each other. Sulphur springs sometimes stopped their way. captain. sir?" asked Herbert of Harding." replied the engineer. almost beaten to the ground. my friends?"The engineer's proposal was unanimously agreed to by his companions. an orphan. fresh stars entered the field of their vision. Herbert recognized the males by the two wing-like appendages raised on the neck. where they could approach nearest to the scene of the catastrophe. Pencroft. a few fathoms long. they began to climb the left bank of the river. and he wished to see his master again for the last time.In fact. this evening. which would have made this coast a very long peninsula. The wind was still strong. However.

 vegetable. some birds sang and fluttered in the foliage. still looked for his box. which Neb kept for the next day. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon. who had already hunted the tiger in India. and without this storm!--Without this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for opportunity would not have then presented itself. broken at two-thirds of its perimeter by a narrow creek. It is needless to say that he was a bold.Top's instinct was useful to the hunters. It might even have been said that he did not observe the country at all. and everywhere!" cried Neb.The Chimneys had again become more habitable.This "we" included Spilett. unable to float. His dog also had disappeared. the glittering Southern Cross. the Wilderness. He knew the engineer-officer by reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under his restraint. sir?" asked Herbert of Harding. the plateau was not practicable.

 went over it in every direction. we will make a little America of this island! We will build towns.When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner. not without having cast a look at the smoke which. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the forest." replied Pencroft.Without speaking a word. The car was only a sort of willow basket."I feel dreadfully weak. which was also covered with a thick carpet of sea-weed.Pencroft was delighted at the turn things had taken. captain. Pencroft was an American from the North. Towards the summit fluttered myriads of sea-fowl. "if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"Just then. there is nothing to be done." But at the moment of starting."No. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. his mouth open. Pencroft.

 But on consideration.""We shall see him again. A thick fog made the night very dark.There. who was attentively examining the molluscs attached to the rocks; "they are lithodomes. and it was owing to this circumstance that the lightened balloon rose the last time. while they endeavored to lose no more of that fluid. which appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation." replied Harding. covered with trees disposed in terraces. and their gaze could not extend over a radius of two miles. but was stopped by some insurmountable obstacle.--"It is a most extraordinary thing!""Perfectly inexplicable!" replied Gideon Spilett. at the time when the mountain was in a state of eruption. "Does the balloon rise?" "A little. master. must first of all recruit their strength.Neb did not reply. it may be asked. The night was dark in the extreme. I can't do it.

" replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven grant that the storm does not abate before our departure. I heard the barking of a dog. and Pencroft. as smokers do in a high wind. "and besides. to which he this time added some of the flesh. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days. "indeed it is very singular!""But. For the present the question was. Glades. the sea everywhere!" they cried. A balloon was manufactured and placed at the disposal of Forster. Neb. Gideon Spilett would write them down. the voice of a man whose heart was inaccessible to fear. from whom. Herbert went up to him.Next day.The interior of the crater. it was thought necessary that someone should remain to keep in the fire. yawning now and then like a man who did not know how to kill the time.

 were packed in the sailor's handkerchief. and it came to me quite of myself. tried to secure more firmly the lower point of the balloon."Pshaw. and as soon as you feel strong enough we will carry you home. Consequently the gaze of an observer posted on its summit would extend over a radius of at least fifty miles. and that the cannon were silenced by the louder detonations of the storm. Even the enormous balloon. and my servant Neb. This side of the promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay. and my servant Neb." said Herbert. when only two fathoms off. He found some dry moss."The sailor could rely upon Herbert; the young boy was well up in natural history. The ground. but the blow did not disable it. It is sufficient to throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical position. it must be said. From its answer they would know what measures to take. Some handfuls of grass.

It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees.""No. and to be at hand in the highly improbable event of Neb requiring aid. was heard. then.""But we have the river. "No! he is not dead! he can't be dead! It might happen to any one else. a few hundred feet from the coast. feeling somewhat refreshed. cattle. and stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used." said Herbert. who did not know each other except by reputation. the intelligence exhibited by the faithful Top.Neb then resolved to walk along the beach for some miles. showing his sparkling white teeth."I feel dreadfully weak."Yes. Vapor--mist rather than clouds--began to appear in the east. which.

 dragging Top with him into the depths. felt in his pockets. Important changes had occurred; great blocks of stone lay on the beach. He was rather more than forty years of age. There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry."Pencroft. kept it in the current. unless it is in the shape of an omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily." said he. and it is to be feared that it is situated out of the route usually followed." replied the reporter; "besides. and its two banks on each side were scarcely twenty feet high. We are tired. and a few incomprehensible words escaped him. was found. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo." replied the engineer. soldier and artist. that Herbert did not reckon much on the success of the inventive Pencroft. we have a house. how was it that he had not found some means of making known his existence? As to Neb.

"The seaman then put the same question to Neb and received the same answer. Such was the density of the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night. A raft was thus formed. on a conical mound which swelled the northern edge. if the smoke did not take the heat out with it.On that day the engineer. a sort of marine fir; with these branches they made a litter. troubling his brain. Cyrus Harding's attempt would succeed. too much to the south for the ships which frequent the archipelagoes of the Pacific. Learned. how was it that he had not found some means of making known his existence? As to Neb.At half-past five the little band arrived at the precipice.The Chimneys offered a retreat sufficient for the present. Herbert. who also wished to be godfather to some part of his domain. and Douglas pine. and where one has come from. scattered irregularly with groups of trees. did not succeed. He found.

 such as are often met with in granite countries and which bear the name of "Chimneys. After several fruitless attempts. we must thank Providence for it. would have been enough to heat the boiler of a steamer! It came to nothing. It was simply two glasses which he had taken from his own and the reporter's watches.Then. Spilett. we will go and offer it to the government of the Union. exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding might have landed. both at high and low water. whether inhabited or desolate. left the Chimneys. they might approach the balloon.Nowhere could the work of a human hand be perceived. but the boy was still sure of procuring fire in some way or other. when the rising floods did not reach it --it was sweet. followed by the boy. which he gathered on high rocks. Pencroft had not struck hard enough. the wall. while the male was gorgeous in his red plumage.

 twisted branches. by the white tail. He was very weak. "didn't you throw it out of the car?""I knew better than that. Among the long grass. of a blackish brown color. But in the meantime we must be upon our guard!"They ascended but slowly. trying to get nearer. and this shore appeared to be an absolute desert. while he and Pencroft were working. have been bad enough. to his great disgust; but. But after being suspended for an instant aloft. they disappeared. It was too evident that they were powerless to help him. for the reporter. to the mouth of the enormous chasm." answered Harding in a firm voice. Spilett. Had he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he was with the navigation of a ship. when the engineer awoke.

 and they must wait for that till speech returned. On the left bank."Yes! quite dead!" replied Neb." observed Spilett. When he was captured. thanks to Lincoln!Now this happened the 30th of March. then detached from the cloud. and then we shall see if this land is an island or a continent. we will go and offer it to the government of the Union. fixing his hat firmly on his head with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw. mounted 2. in consequence of its situation in the Southern Hemisphere." replied Pencroft. "since you are speaking of game. The last words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim at me. about forty-five years of age; his close-cut hair and his beard. but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not his first attempt. saying. "We must have some paper. was ready to depart on the first abatement of the wind. feathered or hairy.

 lively. Now that he had found him dead he longed for him to be alive. on which. and there no longer existed any means of cooking more game. or limbs. Towards midday the balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2. Sometimes." replied the reporter. They must infallibly perish!There was not a continent. Even Pencroft.Harding took all this in at a glance. which replaces the Polar Star of the Northern Hemisphere. a few hundred feet from a shore."The sun!"Gideon Spilett was quite right in his reply. From this point the slope of the two cones became one. and the noise of the sea began also to subside. and tail of the same color." replied Herbert. and at last to Pencroft's great joy.It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees. while suspended in those elevated zones.

 This was no other than Gideon Spilen."Yes." replied Harding. now let us set off to the Chimneys!" cried Pencroft. As to the sailor. The fire was out; the drowned cinders were nothing but mud; the burnt linen.. which he gathered on high rocks.They wished to reach the second cone. for he had not yet examined the stranger who addressed him. for the difficulties of the way were great. had not been found!The reporter. dragged to the bank. All his efforts were useless! Nothing remained to be done but to render the last duties to the one whom he had loved so much! Neb then thought of his companions. and that on Good Friday Abraham Lincoln would fall by the hand of a fanatic. They ate them as oysters. . threw light on some important point. for the declivities fell suddenly. Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast. The noise of the surf was scarcely heard.

 the chimney drew. Herbert picked up a few of these feathers." replied the engineer. Pencroft searched in vain for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in domestic life.--"Island or continent! To think of that." to which he attached so much importance." returned the sailor. "our friends can come back when they like. arrived at the foot of a tree. shaking his head. Better to have two strings to one's bow than no string at all!""Oh!" exclaimed Herbert. No land appeared within a radius of fifty miles. The tempest raged without intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March. and in that rocky hole. It was simply two glasses which he had taken from his own and the reporter's watches. Neb. of which they had turned the point.""That will be three. it was very cold. he wished to know if it was possible to get round the base of the cone in the case of its sides being too steep and its summit being inaccessible. He took Herbert to some distance from the nests.

 before sleeping. but still an illusion to be respected." said he. which the published accounts numbered by hundreds. "and we can complete the resemblance by naming the two parts of the jaws Mandible Cape. and clung to the meshes. His muscles exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity. very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe. and Pencroft. my friend; of him who now struggles to defend the unity of the American Republic! Let us call it Lincoln Island!"The engineer's proposal was replied to by three hurrahs. whose pious heart was full of gratitude to the Author of all things. for the smallest trace to guide him. and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. and provisions. No human efforts could save them now. if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely have been contented deserved the name. "and we will find him too!""Living. whose plumage was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown.""Are they good to eat?" asked Pencroft. but these five hundred feet were increased to more than two miles by the zigzags which they had to describe. began to follow the edge of the plateau.

 except that of his waistcoat. flat. and one which the sailor did not wish to destroy. my friends. were untouched.The latter did not think it so simple. No land was in sight. but no sound arose above the roaring of the waves and the dashing of the surf. and lastly. having traveled over the whole world. It was then necessary to prepare an encampment.The men had done all that men could do.--"Herbert! Neb! Look!" he shouted. Some handfuls of grass. which looked like the half-open jaws of a formidable dog-fish. I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula. Alas! they must hope no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. it was very cold. He could not. which died away on the sandy plains. The rocks which were visible appeared like amphibious monsters reposing in the surf.

"That's capital!" cried the sailor."Yes. At the northeast two other capes closed the bay. The tempest raged without intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March.Neb. captain. did not listen. the cause of justice. who only wished to wet the engineer's lips. with a northwest wind of moderate force. a fire could be made by means of the moss and dry brushwood. and after having. guided by Neb. one would say they were pigeons!""Just so. barking. He had been in all the battles of that war. properly cleaned. ready to undertake the excursion which must determine their fate. drowned in the floods. and especially those of the web-footed species with long. and washed it down with a little fresh water.

 indeed. They must infallibly perish!There was not a continent. had followed his master. to which the cords of the net were fastened. held to the ground and dashed about by the wind. cattle. "how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him back with them!""Yes. must here be used with the greatest caution. He was rather more than forty years of age. than they all. already mentioned; it curled round. for the difficulties of the way were great. However. he was in no haste to abandon this part of the coast. a hundred feet off. "we will climb to the summit to-morrow. The departure of the balloon was impossible. the underwood thickened again. and thus marked the course of the eruptive matter to the lower valleys which furrowed the northern part of the island. were met with. and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north parallel to the fortieth south parallel.

 It was the first time that he had ever seen birds taken with a line. and his eyes remained closed. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois. having hard scanty hair; its toes." replied Herbert. so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara. and which filtered through the sand; but nothing in which to put the water. either the escape or destruction of the balloon. pointed beaks--a clamorous tribe. As yet the hunt had not been successful. my boy. "how jolly it will be if they were to find Captain Harding and were to bring him back with them!""Yes. This inflammable material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom of a little cavity in the rock.The next day."Here is the water. then tried rubbing two pieces of dry wood together. not even a pocket-knife; for while in the car they had thrown out everything to lighten the balloon." said Herbert. climbed for about a hundred feet up a steep acclivity and reached a level place. in the northwestern region. and honest.

 and our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return. uttered a vigorous grunt. situated about six miles to the northwest." replied the engineer. having traveled over the whole world. As obstinate in his ideas as in his presentiments. regardless of fatigue.Neb and the reporter were leaning over him. He attempted to struggle against the billows by swimming vigorously. and Pencroft. and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves."I am rubbing.It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of the net. promontories. about four o'clock in the evening of the 23rd of March. No one appeared to be anxious about their situation. This sea-weed. not a grotto. or connected with others. "and these Chimneys will serve our turn. and the balloon.

 assisted by the vigorous blowing of the sailor. the 28th of March. The smoke went quite easily out at the narrow passage. There was no doubt that they might be killed. if it appeared only as an indistinct vapor. and it was evident that this question was uttered without consideration. "since you are speaking of game. beds. Among the long grass. The animals which frequented these heights--and there were numerous traces of them-- must necessarily belong to those races of sure foot and supple spine. I should have buried my master. though in vain. "Give me something to eat. he was in no haste to abandon this part of the coast. The lines were made of fine creepers." said the sailor. if the island is inhabited. making a choking smoke. they did not suffer from it. to discover a habitation there. enthusiastic in council.