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– Well, let us call again.
And all together uttered a vigorous cry, but without response. They waited, and tried once more. And again there was no answer.
Then they turned back. They were following the opposite side of the promontory over ground equally sandy and rocky. However, Pencroff observed that the shore was bold there, and the birds were less numerous on this shore.
They were walking towards the south. Soon they found themselves again upon a high promontory of slippery rocks.
– We are on an island, – exclaimed Pencroff.
The words of the sailor were true. The castaways were not upon a continent, but upon an island not more than two miles long.
This desert isle, covered with stones, without vegetation, did it belong to a more important archipelago? They could not tell. It was necessary to wait until the next day to search for the engineer; who made no cry to signal his presence.
– The silence of Cyrus proves nothing, – said the reporter. He may be wounded, and unable to reply.
The reporter then offered to light a fire upon the point of the island. It can serve as a signal for the engineer. But they searched in vain[19 - in vain – напрасно]for wood or dry branches. Sand and stones were all they found.
One can understand the grief of Neb and his companions, who loved their brave comrade. It was evident that they could not help him now, and that they must wait till day. The engineer escaped. He was already safe upon the land, or he died. The hours were long and dreadful, the cold was intense. But the castaways did not think of sleep. They moved back and forth upon that arid island. They listened, they shouted, they tried to catch some call.
Once the cry of Neb was answered by an echo; and Herbert said:
– That proves that there is land not far to the west.
The sailor nodded; he knew his eyes could not deceive him. The land must be there! Meanwhile the sky was clearing slowly.
The night passed; and towards 5 o’clock in the morning the heavens began to brighten, though the horizon remained obscure.
– I feel the land, – said Pencroff, – it is there!
The fog soon rose. A clear sun warmed the sky. 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 one of the party precipitated himself. It was Neb. Pencroff called to him in vain. 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, then, listen to me a moment. Neb can rescue his master alone. If we throw ourselves into the channel we are in danger: this strong current can carry us away. You see the tide is going out. Wait, just wait a little.
– You are right, – answered the reporter.
Meantime, Neb was swimming vigorously in a diagonal direction, against the current. He was gaining towards the other shore. It took him more than half an hour to cross the half mile which separated the isle from the mainland.
Neb landed at the base of a high rocky wall, and clambered quickly up its side, and then disappeared behind a rock.
Neb’s companions looked upon that land. They ate some of the shellfish which they found upon the sands; it was a poor meal, but then it was better than nothing.
The opposite coast formed an immense bay, terminated to the south by a sharp point. This point at its junction with the shore was abutted by high granite rocks. Towards the north, on the contrary, the bay widened, with a shore more rounded. It was extending from the southwest to the northeast, and ending in a narrow cape. Between these two points, the distance was about eight miles. A half mile from the shore the island, like an enormous whale, lay upon the sea. Its width was about a quarter of a mile.
Before the Island, the shore began with a sandy beach with black rocks. Beyond this rose, like a curtain, 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 not a tree was visible. To the right, however, and back of the smooth face of rock, some verdure appeared. Finally, distant towards the northwest about seven miles, shone a white summit. It was the snowy cap of a mountain.
It was not possible to say whether this land was an island or a part of a continent. Gideon Spilett, Pencroff, and Herbert looked upon this land.
– Well, – demanded Herbert, – what do you think of it, Pencroff?
– Well, replied the sailor, – there’s good and bad in it, as with everything else. But we will soon see. In three hours we can reach that shore, and we will see what we can do to find Mr. Smith.
Pencroff was not wrong in his predictions. Three hours later, at low tide, Spilett and his two companions waded through the water. Herbert, where the water was too deep, swam like a fish; and all arrived without difficulty at the other shore.
Chapter IV
The reporter walked along the coast. Herbert wished 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.
– I am ready, Pencroff, – said Herbert.
– Good, said the sailor. – We are tired, cold, and hungry: we need shelter, fire, and food. There is plenty of wood in the forest, and we can get eggs from the nests; but we must find a house.
– Well, – said Herbert, – I will look for a cave in these rocks.
– Right, said Pencroff. – Let us start at once[20 - at once – немедленно].
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 in the neighborhood of fresh water; in that part of the island, too, they could find Smith.
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.
Meanwhile Herbert soon noticed some rocks. On them lay hosts of bivalves. Herbert called to Pencroff.
– Ah, they are mussels, – said the sailor.
– They are not mussels, – said Herbert, examining the mollusks carefully, – they are lithodomes[21 - lithodomes – литодомы].
– Can we eat them? – said Pencroff.
– Certainly.
– Then let us eat some lithodomes.
The sailor could rely on Herbert. Pencroff and Herbert made a good meal of them, they tasted like oysters.
Their hunger was allayed for the moment. The thing now was to find fresh water. Two hundred feet further on Pencroff and Herbert reached the inlet, through which a little river was flowing.
– Here is water, – said Pencroff, – and over there is wood. Well, Herbert, now we need the house.
The river water was clear. Pencroff and Herbert went down between the rocks, into sandy corridors.
– This is just what we want, – said Pencroff. – These Chimneys will be our house. But first we must get together some firing.
Herbert and Pencroff left the Chimneys, and walked up the left bank of the river. After a quarter of an hour’s walk, the two reached the elbow which the river made to the left. From this point they saw a forest of magnificent trees.
– Good, – said the sailor, – I do not know the name of these trees, but I know they will help us to make a fire, and that’s important.
It was easy to gather the firewood; plenty of dead branches lay at their feet. This dry wood burn rapidly. But how can two men carry such a load to the Chimneys? Herbert asked the question.
– My boy, – said the sailor, there’s a way to do everything.
– 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. The coast, too, was desolate.
– Something tells me, – said Herbert, – that Mr. Smith is a very energetic man. So he got to the shore; don’t you think so, Pencroff?
The sailor shook his head sadly.
– No doubt, – 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.
– Are we upon an island? – muttered the sailor.
– It is big enough, – said the boy.
– An island’s an island, – said Pencroff.
Chapter V
Pencroff made the Chimneys habitable. One narrow, winding passage was arranged to carry out the smoke and to quicken the draught of the fire. 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. Herbert and Pencroff chatted together.
– Perhaps, – said the boy, – our companions found a better place than ours.
– It is possible, – answered the sailor, – but don’t stop. Better have two houses than none at all!
– Oh, – said Herbert, – if they can only find Mr. Smith, and bring him back with them!
– Yes, – murmured Pencroff. – He was a good man.
– Was! – said Herbert. – Do you think we will not see him again?
– Never! – replied the sailor.
The work was rapidly accomplished, Pencroff was satisfied.
– Now, – said he, – our friends may return, and they will find a good shelter.
It was 5 o’clock when they returned again to the Chimneys. Towards 6 o’clock, Herbert, who was walking upon the shore, announced the return of Neb and of Gideon Spilett. They came back alone. The sailor was right: they could not find the engineer.
The reporter seated himself upon a rock. He was tired and very hungry, he was unable to utter a word. Neb’s eyes showed that he was weeping and lost all hope.
The reporter told 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, was upon the shore.
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; God will give him back to us; but please eat something.
And the lad offered the poor servant some shell-fish. But Neb refused them. He wished no longer to live.
As to Gideon Spilett, he devoured the mollusks, and then laid down upon the sand at the foot of a rock. He was exhausted, but calm. Herbert took his hand.
– Mr. Spilett, – said he, – we have discovered a shelter where you will be more comfortable. The night is coming on; so come and rest there. Tomorrow we will see.
The reporter rose, and proceeded towards the Chimneys.
Pencroff took the match and made some fire. Herbert brought two dozen eggs and the reporter watched them. Did Cyrus still live? If alive, where was he?
In a few minutes the food was ready, and the sailor invited the reporter to eat. This was the first meal of the castaways upon this unknown coast. The eggs were excellent.
Thus passed the 25th of March. 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. We must add Spilett’s watch and note-book; but there were no firearms and no tools, not even a pocket knife. They threw everything overboard to lighten the balloon. The castaways relied on their own hands.
It seemed to Pencroff better to wait a few days before an exploration. They must try to find food. It was decided then to wait a few days at the Chimneys, and to prepare for an expedition either along the coast or into the interior of the country.
Neb did not believe that Smith was dead. Upon 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. When the meal was over they divided forces. The reporter stayed to keep up the fire, Herbert and Pencroff went into the forest.
– We will hunt, Herbert, – said the sailor. – We will cut our guns in the forest.
At 9 o’clock the breeze blew from the southeast. When Herbert and Pencroff reached the forest, Pencroff broke from the first tree two thick branches. He made them into cudgels. The sailor carefully observed the character of the region. On this left bank the surface was flat. Sometimes it was moist and swampy. The opposite bank was more undulating. The hill was covered with trees. Along this right bank they could hardly walk, because the descent was steep, and the trees were only sustained by their roots. It is needless to say that both forest and shore looked wild. They saw fresh traces of animals.
They did not speak, their hunting was fruitless. Birds were singing and flying under the trees; but they showed an instinctive fear of the men. Among fir trees were fluttering birds with small bodies and long, glittering tails.
– These are couroucous[22 - couroucous – куруку (птица из породы ворон)], – said Herbert. – Their meat is delicious. Besides, I think we can easily get at them with our sticks.
They used their sticks like a scythe, and they mowed down whole rows of the couroucous, of whom 105 were killed.
Then they saw a river. They followed it downward. And by 6 o’clock, Herbert and Pencroff re-entered the Chimneys.
Chapter VII
