They hardly spoke, and their hunting was fruitless. Birds were singing and flying to and fro[28] under the trees; but they showed an instinctive fear of their enemy man. Among fir trees was fluttering a flock of birds, with small bodies and long, glittering tails.
These are couroucous[29], said Herbert. They are good to eat; their meat is delicious. Besides, I think we can easily get at them with our sticks.
They reached the foot of a tree. Using their sticks like a scythe, they mowed down whole rows of the couroucous, of whom 105 were knocked over before the stupid birds thought of escape.
Their route was indicated by the river; they followed it downward, and by 6 oclock Herbert and Pencroff re-entered the Chimneys.
Chapter VII
Gideon Spilett stood motionless upon the shore, gazing on the sea, whose horizon was darkened. The wind, already strong, was freshening, and the heavens had an angry look. Pencroff began to prepare dinner. At 7 oclock Neb was still absent.
The storm began. A furious gust of wind passed over the coast from the southeast. At 8 oclock Neb had not returned. The birds were all they had for supper, but the party found them excellent eating. Pencroff and Herbert devoured them. Then each one retired to his corner, and Herbert was soon asleep.
It was about 2 oclock when Pencroff was suddenly aroused from a deep sleep. The reporter was shaking him.
Whats the matter? Pencroff cried.
The reporter was bending over him and saying:
Listen, Pencroff, listen!
The sailor listened, but could hear nothing interesting.
It is the wind, he said.
No, answered Spilett, listen again! I think I heard
What?
The barking of a dog!
A dog! cried Pencroff, springing to his feet.
Yes, the barking.
Impossible! answered the sailor.
Wait and listen, said the reporter.
Pencroff listened most attentively, and at length he caught the sound of distant barking.
Is it? asked the reporter.
Yes, yes! said Pencroff.
It is Top! It is Top! cried Herbert, who had just wakened, and the three rushed to the entrance of the Chimneys. The darkness was absolute. Sea, sky, and earth, were one intense blackness.
For some moments the reporter and his two companions stood in this place, drenched by the rain, blinded by the sand. Then again, in the hush of the storm, they heard, far away, the barking of a dog. This must be Top. But was he alone or accompanied?
It was indeed Top. But he was alone! Neither his master nor Neb accompanied him. It seemed inexplicable how, through the darkness and storm, the dogs instinct had directed him to the Chimneys. Herbert had drawn him towards him, patting his head; and the dog rubbed his neck against the lads hands.
If the dog is found, the master will be found also, said the reporter.
Top will guide us! responded Herbert.
Pencroff made no objection. The tempest was, perhaps, at its maximum intensity. It was difficult to follow a straight course. The better way, therefore, was to trust to the instinct of Top. The reporter and the lad walked behind the dog, and the sailor followed after. To speak was impossible. The rain was not heavy, but the strength of the storm was terrible.
They felt, no doubt, that Neb had found his master and had sent the faithful dog to them. But was the engineer living or dead?
Saved! He is saved! Isnt he, Top? repeated the boy. And the dog barked his answer[30].
By 4 oclock they estimated the distance travelled as eight miles. The clouds had risen a little, and the wind was drier and colder. No murmur passed their lips. They were determined[31] to follow Top wherever he wished to lead them.
Towards 5 oclock the day began to break[32]. The sailor and his companions were some six miles from the Chimneys, following a very flat shore. Top ran ahead, returned, and seemed to try to hurry them on[33]. The dog had left the coast, and had gone among the downs[34]. The border of the downs was composed of hills and hillocks. It was like a little Switzerland of sand, but a dogs astonishing instinct could find the way.
Five minutes after the reporter and his companions reached a sort of hollow, before which Top stopped with a loud bark. The three entered the cave. Neb was there, kneeling beside a body extended upon a bed of grass. It was the body of Cyrus Smith.
Chapter VIII
Neb did not move. The sailor uttered one word.
Alive? he cried.
Neb did not answer. Spilett and Pencroff turned pale[35]. Herbert stood motionless. But it was evident that the poor servant, overcome by grief, had not heard the voice of the sailor.
The reporter knelt down beside the motionless body, and pressed his ear to the chest of the engineer. Then he tried to detect some movement of the heart.
Neb was hardly recognizable. He believed his master dead. Gideon Spilett, however, after a long and attentive examination, rose up.
He lives! he said.
Pencroff, in his turn[36], knelt down beside Cyrus Smith; he also detected some heartbeats. Herbert hurried in search of water. A hundred paces off he found a clear brook; so the lad soaked his handkerchief in the stream, and hastened back with it to the cave.
The drops of fresh water produced an instantaneous effect. A sigh escaped from the breast of Smith.
We will save him, said the reporter.
Neb removed the clothing from his master to see if his body was wounded anywhere. But neither on his head nor body nor limbs was there a bruise or even a scratch. That was an astonishing circumstance.
You thought he was dead? asked the sailor Neb.
Yes, I thought so, answered Neb. And if Top had not found you and brought you back, I would have buried my master and died beside him.
Then Neb told them what had happened. The day before, Neb had followed along the coast in a direction due north, until he reached that part of the beach. There he searched the shore, the rocks, the sand for any marks that could guide him. He did not hope to find his master living. Then he decided to continue some miles further up the coast. It was possible that the currents had carried the body to some distant point. He followed the shore two miles further, hardly hoping to find anything, when yesterday evening, about 5 oclock, he discovered footprints upon the sand.
Footprints?! cried Pencroff.
Yes, sir, replied Neb.
And did they begin at the water? demanded the reporter.
No, answered Neb, above high-water mark; below that the tide had washed out the others. The sight of these footprints made me wild with joy. They went towards the downs. I followed them for a quarter of an hour. Five minutes later, as it was growing dark, I heard a dog bark. It was Top. And he brought me here, to my master.
So you, Neb, said the reporter, did not bring your master to this place?
No, it was not I, answered Neb.
They must wait for the solution of the mystery until the engineer could speak. It was therefore the unanimous opinion that Cyrus Smith must be carried to the Chimneys as soon as possible.
They must wait for the solution of the mystery until the engineer could speak. It was therefore the unanimous opinion that Cyrus Smith must be carried to the Chimneys as soon as possible.
Soon the engineer opened his eyes. Neb and the reporter were leaning over him.
My master! My master! cried Neb.
The engineer heard him. He recognized Neb and his companions.
Is it an island or a continent? he murmured.
What the devil do we care[37], cried Pencroff, unable to restrain the exclamation, now that you are alive, sir. Island or continent? We will find that out later.
The engineer seemed to sleep. The sailor was repeating:
Island or continent! To think of that! What a man!
Pencroff and his companions constructed a litter, which they covered with leaves and grass. This work occupied some little time, and it was 10 oclock when the three returned to Smith and Spilett.
The engineer had just wakened from the sleep. The color had come back to his lips. He raised himself slightly, and looked about.
Well, said the sailor, Mr. Smith, your litter is ready, and we will carry you to our house.
Thanks, my friend, replied the engineer. In an hour or two we will go.
The reporter related everything that had happened.
But, asked Smith, in a feeble voice, You did not pick me up on the beach?
No, replied the reporter.
And it was not you who brought me to this hollow?
No.
How far is this place from the reef?
At least half a mile, replied Pencroff. And we are very surprised to find you here. But cannot you remember anything that happened after you were washed away by the sea?
Cyrus Smith tried to think, but he remembered little. The wave had swept him from the net of the balloon. Then Top had sprung to his rescue. Smith found himself in the midst of the tumultuous sea, more than half a mile from shore. He swum vigorously against the waves, and Top sustained him by his garments; but a strong current seized him, carrying him to the north, and, after struggling for half an hour, he sank, dragging the dog with him into the abyss. From that moment he remembered nothing.
Its strange, said the reporter. If someone had rescued you from the waves, why should he then have abandoned you?
That is inexplicable.
Towards noon, Pencroff asked Smith if he felt strong enough to be carried. Eight miles had to be travelled, and the wind was still strong, but, fortunately, it had ceased raining. At half past 5 the little party reached the Chimneys.
Chapter IX
The engineer had sunk into a lethargy, the result of the journey. First of all, Cyrus Smith was carried into the main corridor. There they were able to make for him a couch of seaweeds.
The supper that evening consisted of the lithodomes, which Herbert and Neb had gathered from the beach.
The next day, the 28th of March, when the engineer awoke at about 8 oclock, he saw his companions beside him, and, as on the day before, his first words were Island or continent?
It was his one thought.
Well, Mr. Smith, answered Pencroff, we dont know.
You havent found out yet?
But we will, affirmed Pencroff, when you are able to guide us in this country.
I believe that I am able to do that now, answered the engineer, who, without much effort, rose up.
That is good, exclaimed the sailor.
When you were carrying me here yesterday, did I not see a mountain rising in the west?
Yes, said Spilett, quite a high one.
All right, exclaimed the engineer. Tomorrow we will climb to its summit and determine whether this is an island or a continent.
But, asked Spilett, whether it is a continent or an island, where do you think this storm has thrown us, Cyrus?
In truth, I cannot say, replied the engineer, but the probability is that we are somewhere in the Pacific. When we left Richmond the wind was northeast, and its very violence proves that its direction did not vary much. We crossed North and South Carolina[38], Georgia[39], the Gulf of Mexico[40], and the narrow part of Mexico, and a portion of the Pacific Ocean. I do not estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than 6,000 or 7,000 miles. But if this coast belongs to some barren island in the Micronesian Archipelago[41], perhaps we will never leave it.
Never? cried the reporter. Do you say never, my dear Cyrus?
We will know how to act when we first ascend the mountain, answered Smith.
But will you be able, Mr. Smith, to make the climb tomorrow? asked Herbert.
I hope so, answered the engineer, if Pencroff and you, my boy, show yourselves to be good hunters.
Chapter X
The three hunters were seated before a sparkling fire. Beside them sat Cyrus Smith and the reporter.
Yes, my good fellow, said the reporter, a fire, a real fire!
But who lighted it? said the sailor.
The sun.
The sailor could not believe his eyes.
Do you have a burning-glass[42], sir? asked Herbert of Cyrus Smith.
No, my boy, said he, but I made one.
And he showed his lens. It was simply the two glasses, from his own watch and the reporters, which he had taken out, filled with water, and stuck together at the edges with a little clay. Thus he had made a veritable burning-glass, and by concentrating the solar rays on some dry moss had set it on fire.
With the help of Neb, the sailor arranged the spit. The engineer and his companion had made good use of their day[43]. Smith had almost entirely recovered his strength. They had a pleasant supper. The engineer said little; he was planning for the next day. After supper, the party lay down to sleep. The morning found them fresh and eager for the expedition.
Everything was ready. At half past 7 they left the Chimneys, each with a stout cudgel. By Pencroffs advice, they took the route of the previous day, which was the shortest way to the mountain. They turned the southern angle, and followed the left bank of the river. They took the path under the evergreens, and soon reached the northern border of the forest. The soil was flat and swampy, then dry and sandy. Among the trees appeared a few animals. The engineer was going straight for the top of the mountain.
The mountain was composed of two cones. The first was truncated about 2,500 feet up, and supported by fantastic spurs. Between these spurs were narrow valleys. On the northeast side of the mountain, vegetation was scanty.
On the first cone lay the second one, slightly rounded towards the summit. The surface seemed utterly bare. The object of the expedition was to reach the top of this cone, and their best way was along the edge of the spurs.
We are in a volcanic country, said Cyrus Smith, as they began to climb, little by little, up the side of the spurs. They were gradually ascending. At noon, when the little company halted to dine at the foot of a great clump of firs, they were still half way from the first plateau, and could hardly reach it before nightfall. From this point the sea stretched broad beneath their feet. On the left they could see directly north for several miles; but the northwest was concealed from them.