The sailor nodded. The land must be there!
The night passed. At 5 o’clock in the morning the heavens began to brighten, though the horizon remained obscure. The fog soon rose. At half past 6, the sky was clear. Then the sea appeared. Yes, the land was there! The island and the main land were separated by a channel half a mile wide. Into this current Neb jumped. Pencroff called to him. The reporter prepared to follow, but the sailor ran to him, and exclaimed:
– Do you want to cross this channel?
– Yes, I do, – replied Spilett.
– Well, listen to me. Neb can rescue his master without us. But if we throw ourselves into the channel, this strong current will carry us away. Wait, just wait a little.
Meantime, Neb was swimming against the current. Finally, he crossed the half mile which separated the isle from the mainland.
Neb landed at the base of a high rocky wall, and clambered its side, and then disappeared behind a rock. Neb’s companions ate shellfish, which they found upon the sands. It was a poor meal, but they didn’t have anything else.
The opposite coast formed an immense bay. Towards the north, the bay widened, with a shore more rounded. It was extending from the southwest to the northeast, and ended in a narrow cape. Between these two points, the distance was about eight miles. Half a mile from the shore the island lay upon the sea. Its width was about a quarter of a mile. Before the Island, the shore began with a beach with black rocks. Beyond this rose a perpendicular granite wall, at least 300 feet high and terminated by a ragged edge. This extended for about three miles.
Upon the upper level of the coast nothing was visible. Finally, distant towards the northwest about seven miles, shone a white summit. It was the snowy cap of a mountain.
Was this land an island or a part of a continent? Gideon Spilett, Pencroff, and Herbert looked upon the land.
– Well, – demanded Herbert, – what do you think of it, Pencroff?
– We will soon see, – replied the sailor, – In three hours we can reach that shore, and we will see what we can do to find Mr. Smith.
Pencroff was right. Three hours later, at low tide, Spilett and his two companions waded through the water. Herbert swam like a fish; and all arrived without difficulty at the other shore.
Chapter IV
The reporter walked further along the coast. Herbert wanted to go with him.
– Stay, my boy, – said the sailor. – We must pitch our camp for the night, and try to find something to eat. Our friends will need food when they come back. We are tired, cold, and hungry. We need shelter, fire, and food. We will find wood in the forest, and we can get eggs from the nests. And we must find a house.
– We can look for a cave in these rocks, – said Herbert.
They walked along the base of the rocky wall. Then they turned to the south. Pencroff noticed a narrow inlet in the coast. Now it was important to pitch the camp near the water.
The rock rose 300 feet, smooth and massive. It was a sturdy wall of the hardest granite. About the summit hovered a host of aquatic birds, with long, narrow, pointed beaks.
Herbert noticed some rocks. On them lay hosts of bivalves.
– They are lithodomes[14], – said Herbert.
– Can we eat them? – said Pencroff.
– Certainly.
Pencroff and Herbert made a good meal of them, they tasted like oysters. Now they must find fresh water. Two hundred feet further on Pencroff and Herbert reached the inlet. A little river was flowing through it.
– Here is water, – said Pencroff, – and there is wood. Herbert, now we need the house.
The river water was clear. Pencroff and Herbert went down into sandy corridors.
– This is what we want, – said Pencroff. – These Chimneys will be our house.
Herbert and Pencroff left the Chimneys, and walked up the left bank of the river. Soon they reached the elbow which the river made to the left. From this point they saw a forest.
– Good, – said the sailor, – these trees will help us to make a fire.
It was easy to gather the firewood: many dry branches lay at their feet. But how can they carry them to the Chimneys?
– We have the river, – suggested Herbert.
– Exactly, said Pencroff. – The river will be our road and our carrier, too.
They looked at the ocean. The sea was a watery desert.
– Something tells me, – said Herbert, – that Mr. Smith is a very energetic man. So he saved himself. Don’t you think so, Pencroff?
The sailor shook his head sadly.
– Yes, – said he, – our engineer saved himself.
Pencroff and Herbert walked towards the west. They looked at the snowcapped mountain, which rose six or seven miles away. They saw a forest. Then from the edge of this forest to the coast stretched a plateau.
Chapter V
Pencroff made the real house from the Chimneys. The Chimneys were divided into three or four chambers. They were dry, and they could stand up in them. The floor was covered with sand.
– Perhaps, – said Herbert, – our companions found a better place than ours.
– It is possible, – answered Pencroff, – but don’t stop. We will have two houses!
– Oh, – said Herbert, – will they find Mr. Smith, and bring him back?
– Yes, – murmured Pencroff. – He was a good man.
– Was! – said Herbert. – Do you think we will not see him again?
– Never! – replied the sailor. – But now our friends may return, and they will find a good shelter.
At 6 o’clock, Neb and Gideon Spilett returned. They came back alone. The sailor was right: they did not find the engineer.
The reporter sat upon a rock. He was tired and very hungry. Neb was weeping, he lost all hope.
The reporter told Pencroff and Herbert about their search. Neb and he followed the coast for more than eight miles. The shore was deserted. Not a trace upon the sand, not a footprint. At that moment Neb raised his head, and exclaimed:
– No, he is not dead! It is impossible!
Herbert ran to him and cried:
– Neb, we will find him! But please eat something.
But Neb refused to eat. He did not want to live.
As to Gideon Spilett, he devoured[15] the mollusks. He was exhausted, but calm. Herbert took his hand.
– Mr. Spilett, – said he, – we discovered a shelter. You will be more comfortable there. So let us rest there. Tomorrow we will see.
The reporter rose, and proceeded towards the Chimneys.
Pencroff took the match and made fire. Was Cyrus still alive? If so, where was he?
In a few minutes the food was ready. The sailor invited the reporter to eat.
Then the reporter retired to a dark corner. Herbert fell asleep at once. The sailor passed the night by the fire. Neb wandered upon the sands. He was calling his master.
Chapter VI
The castaways had only the clothes they wore in the balloon. They did not have any guns, not even a pocket knife. They threw everything overboard to lighten the balloon.
Pencroff