– 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 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.
chamber – комната
companion – товарищ
devour – поглощать
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 wanted to find food. They began to prepare an expedition along the coast. Neb did not believe that Smith was dead. In the morning of the 26th of March, at daybreak, Neb started along the coast northward.
For breakfast that morning they had only eggs and lithodomes, with salt. Herbert found it in the cavities of the rocks. Then the reporter stayed to keep up the fire, and Herbert and Pencroff went into the forest.
– We will hunt, Herbert, – said the sailor.
At 9 o’clock the breeze blew from the southeast. When Herbert and Pencroff reached the forest, Pencroff broke two thick branches. He made them into cudgels. The sailor observed the region. On the left bank the surface was flat. Sometimes it was moist and swampy. The opposite bank was more undulating. The hill was covered with trees. The descent was very steep. Both forest and shore looked wild. They saw fresh traces of animals.
They did not speak. Birds were singing and flying under the trees; but they were afraid of men.
Among fir trees, birds with small bodies and long tails fluttered.
– These are couroucous, – said Herbert. – Their meat is delicious. Besides, I think we can easily get at them with our sticks.
When they killed enough birds for dinner, they found a river and followed it downward. At 6 o’clock, Herbert and Pencroff re-entered the Chimneys.
lithodomes – литодомы
keep up the fire – поддерживать огонь
cudgel – дубина
Chapter VII
Gideon Spilett stood motionless upon the shore. He was looking at the sea. The wind, already strong, was freshening, and the sky had an angry look. Pencroff began to prepare dinner. By 7 o’clock Neb hadn’t returned.
The storm began. Furious wind passed over the coast from the southeast. At 8 o’clock Neb did not return. The birds were all they had for supper. Pencroff and Herbert devoured them. Then each one retired to their corners, and Herbert was soon asleep.
It was about 2 o’clock when Pencroff suddenly woke up. The reporter was shaking him.
– What’s the matter? – Pencroff cried.
– Listen, Pencroff, listen!
– It is the wind, – the sailor said.
– No, – answered Spilett, – listen again! I think I heard…
– What?
– The barking of a dog!
– Impossible! – answered the sailor.
– Wait and listen, – said the reporter.
– It is Top! It is Top! – cried Herbert, and they rushed to the entrance of the Chimneys. The darkness was absolute. The sea, the sky, and the earth were black. Then again, in the hush of the storm, they heard the barking of a dog.
It was indeed Top. But he was alone! Neither his master nor Neb accompanied him. The dog came to the Chimneys. Herbert drew the dog towards him.
– Top will guide us to its master! – said Herbert.
The tempest was terrible. It was difficult to follow a straight course. The reporter and the lad walked behind the dog, and the sailor followed after.
Probably, Neb found his master and sent the faithful dog to them. But is the engineer dead?
– Saved! He is saved! Isn’t he, Top? – repeated the boy. And the dog barked.
The wind was dry and cold. They followed Top. At 5 o’clock the sailor and his companions were six miles from the Chimneys. Top ran ahead, returned, and ran again.
Five minutes after the reporter and his companions reached a hollow, before which Top stopped with a loud bark. The men entered the cave. Neb was there, he was kneeling beside a body upon a bed of grass. It was the body of Cyrus Smith.
devour – поглощать
lad – юноша
companion – товарищ
Chapter VIII
Neb did not move.
– Is he alive? – the sailor cried.
Neb did not answer. Herbert did not move. The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body, and pressed his ear to the chest of the engineer. Gideon Spilett rose up.
– He is alive! – he said.
Pencroff knelt down beside Cyrus Smith; he also detected the heartbeat. Herbert brought water. He found a brook; so the lad soaked his handkerchief in the stream. The drops of fresh water produced an instantaneous effect. Smith let out a louder breath.
– We will save him, – said the reporter.
Neb removed the clothing from his master. Neither on his head nor body was there a bruise or even a scratch. That was astonishing.
– I thought he was dead, – said Neb. – And I wanted to die near my master.
Then Neb told them everything. Neb followed along the coast to the north, until he reached that part of the beach. There he searched the shore, the rocks, and the sand for any marks. He did not hope to find his master. Then he decided to continue some miles further up the coast.
– I