Part 3 (1/2)

And Pencroft, lying down on the bank, plunged his arm into the water, and soon pulled up several dozen of fine crayfish frooing to the sailor's aid

”As I said, there is everything in this island, except tobacco!”did not take fivewas filled with the crustaceae, whose shells were of a cobalt blue The settlers then pushed on

They advancedthe bank of the river than in the forest Froe size who had come to quench their thirst at the stream but none were actually seen and it was evidently not in this part of the forest that the peccary had received the bullet which had cost Pencroft a grinder

In thewas led to suppose that he and his companions were much farther from the western coast than they had at first supposed In fact, at this hour, the rising tide would have turned back the current of the creek if its mouth had only been a few miles distant Now, this effect was not produced, and the water pursued its natural course The engineer was much astonished at this, and frequently consulted his compass to assure hiain into the Far West

However, the creek gradually widened and its waters becaht bank were as close together as on the left bank, and it was i beyond them, but these masses of ere evidently uninhabited, for Top did not bark, and the intelligent anier in the neighbourhood

[Illustration: DENIZENS OF THE FOREST]

At half past ten, to the great surprise of Cyrus Harding, Herbert, as a little in front, suddenly stopped and exclaimed-- ”The sea!”

In a few minutes more, the whole western shore of the island lay extended before the eyes of the settlers

But what a contrast between this and the eastern coast, upon which chance had first thrown theranite cliff, no rocks, not even a sandy beach The forest reached the shore, and the tall trees bending over the water were beaten by the waves It was not such a shore as is usually for a vast carpet of sand, or by groupingof the most splendid trees The bank was raised a little above the level of the sea, and on this luxuriant soil supported by a granite base, the fine forest trees seemed to be as firmly planted as in the interior of the island

The colonists were then on the shore of an unimportant little harbour, which would scarcely have contained even two or three fishi+ng boats It served as a neck to the new creek of which the curious thing was that its waters, instead of joining the sea by a gentle slope, fell froht oftide was not felt up the stream In fact, the tides of the Pacific, even at their maximum of elevation, could never reach the level of the river, and, doubtless millions of years would pass before the water would have worn away the granite and hollowed a practicable mouth

It was settled that the naiven to this streaed for a space of nearly two ain the picturesque heights described a nearly straight line which ran north and south On the contrary, all the part of the shore between Falls River and Reptile End was a ht, others bent, so that the long sea swell bathed their roots Now, it was this coast, that is, all the Serpentine peninsula, that was to be explored, for this part of the shore offered a refuge to castaways, which the other wild and barren side must have refused

[Illustration: THE SEA]

The weather was fine and clear, and froed breakfast, a wide vieas obtained There was, however, not a sail in sight; nothing could be seen along the shore as far as the eye could reach But the engineer would take nothing for granted until he had explored the coast to the very extremity of the Serpentine peninsula

Breakfast was soon despatched, and at half-past eleven the captain gave the signal for departure Instead of proceeding over the su a sandy beach, the settlers were obliged to reht continue on the shore

The distance which separated Falls River from Reptile End was about twelve miles It would have taken the settlers four hours to do this, on a clear ground and without hurrying themselves; but as it was they needed double the tio round, bushes to cut down, and creepers to chop away, they were i their journey

There was, however, nothing to show that a shi+pwreck had taken place recently It is true that, as Gideon Spilett observed, any reht have drifted out to sea, and they ranted that because they could find no traces of it, a shi+p had not been cast away on the coast

The reporter's argument was just, and besides, the incident of the bullet proved that a shot must have been fired in Lincoln Island within three months

It was already five o'clock, and there were still two miles between the settlers and the extremity of the Serpentine peninsula It was evident that after having reached Reptile End, Harding and his companions would not have time to return before dark to their encampment near the source of the Mercy It would therefore be necessary to pass the night on the promontory But they had no lack of provisions, which was lucky, for there were no anih birds, on the contrary, abounded--jacarouse, lories, parrots, cockatoos, pheasants, pigeons, and a hundred others There was not a tree without a nest, and not a nest which was not full of flapping wings

Towards seven o'clock the weary explorers arrived at Reptile End Here the seaside forest ended, and the shore resumed the customary appearance of a coast, with rocks, reefs, and sands It was possible that soht be found here, but darkness came on, and the further exploration had to be put off to the next day

Pencroft and Herbert hastened on to find a suitable place for their cast the last trees of the forest of the Far West, the boy found several thick clumps of bamboos

”Good,” said he; ”this is a valuable discovery”

”Valuable?” returned Pencroft

”Certainly,” replied Herbert ”I may say, Pencroft, that the bark of the ba baskets; that this bark, mashed into a paste, is used for the manufacture of Chinese paper; that the stalks furnish, according to their size, canes and pipes, and are used for conducting water; that large baht and strong, and being never attacked by insects I will add that by sawing the ba for the bottom the part of the transverse film which forms the joint, useful cups are obtained, which arethe Chinese No! you don't care for that But--”

”But what?”

”But I can tell you, if you are ignorant of it, that in India these baus thirty feet high!” exclaiood?”

”Excellent,” replied Herbert ”Only it is not the ste shoots”

”Perfect, my boy, perfect!” replied Pencroft

”I will also add that the pith of the young stalks, preserved in vinegar, ood pickle”

”Better and better, Herbert!”

”And lastly, that the bareeable drink”

”Is that all?” asked the sailor

”That is all!”

”And they don't happen to do for s?”

”No, my poor Pencroft”

Herbert and the sailor had not to look long for a place in which to pass the night The rocks, which must have been violently beaten by the sea under the influence of the winds of the south west, presented ht air But just as they were about to enter one of these caves a loud roaring arrested theuns are only loaded with small shot, and beasts which can roar as loud as that would care noHerbert by the arnificent animal showed itself at the entrance of the cavern

It was a jaguar of a size at least equal to its Asiatic congeners, that is to say, it inning of its tail The yellow colour of its hair was relieved by streaks and regular oblong spots of black, which contrasted with the white of its chest Herbert recognised it as the ferocious rival of the tiger, as forest wolf!

The jaguar advanced and gazed around hi as if this was not the first time he had scented man

At this mo that he had not seen the jaguar, was about to rush towards hined to hier, and advancing to within ten feet of the aniun to his shoulder, without , but at that moment a shot struck it in the eyes, and it fell dead

Herbert and Pencroft rushed towards the jaguar Neb and Harding also ran up, and they re the aninificent skin would be a great ornament to the hall at Granite House

”Oh, Mr Spilett, how I admire and envy you!” cried Herbert, in a fit of very natural enthusiasm

”Well, my boy,” replied the reporter, ”you could have done the same”

[Illustration: AT THAT MOMENT A SHOT STRUCK THE JAGUAR BETWEEN THE EYES AND IT FELL DEAD]

”I! with such coolness!--”

”Iuar is only a hare, and you would fire as quietly as possible”