Part 18 (1/2)
”Ah!” said Neb, uttering a sigh of satisfaction
One ro did not feel at his ease in those enormous jaws
The distance from Mandible Cape to the ht miles The head of the Bonadventure was put towards Granite House, and a fair wind filling her sails, she ran rapidly along the coast
To the enormous lava rocks succeeded soon those capricious sand dunes, aularly recovered, and which sea-birds frequented in thousands
About four o'clock, Pencroft, leaving the point of the islet on his left, entered the channel which separated it from the coast, and at five o'clock the anchor of the Bonadventure was buried in the sand at the mouth of the Mercy
The colonists had been absent three days fro for the vent to deep grunts of satisfaction
A complete exploration of the coast of the island had now been made, and no suspicious appearances had been observed If anyresided on it, it could only be under cover of the impenetrable forest of the Serpentine Peninsula, to which the colonists had not yet directed their investigations
Gideon Spilett discussed these things with the engineer, and it was agreed that they should direct the attention of their coe character of certain incidents which had occurred on the island, and of which the last was theto the fact of a fire having been kindled on the shore by an unknown hand, could not refrain fro for the twentieth ti seen it? Was it not a partial eruption of the volcano, or perhaps some meteor?”
”No, Cyrus,” answered the reporter; ”it was certainly a fire lighted by the hand of man Besides, question Pencroft and Herbert They saw it as I saw it myself, and they will confirm my words”
In consequence therefore, a few days after, on the 25th of April, in the evening, when the settlers were all collected on Prospect Heights, Cyrus Harding began by saying,-- ”My friends, I think it my duty to call your attention to certain incidents which have occurred in the island, on the subject of which I shall be happy to have your advice These incidents are, so to speak, supernatural--”
”Supernatural!” exclai a volume of smoke from his mouth ”Can it be possible that our island is supernatural?”
”No, Pencroft, but ineer; ”unless you can explain that which Spilett and I have until now failed to understand”
”Speak away, captain,” answered the sailor
”Well, have you understood,” then said the engineer, ”hoas it that after falling into the sea, I was found a quarter of a mile into the interior of the island, and that, withoutany consciousness ofunconscious--” said Pencroft
”That is not adineer ”But to continue Have you understood how Top was able to discover your retreat five 's instinct--” observed Herbert
”Singular instinct!” returned the reporter; ”since notwithstanding the storht, Top arrived at the Chimneys, dry and without a speck of ineer ”Have you understood how our dog was so strangely thrown up out of the waters of the lake, after his struggle with the dugong?”
”No! I confess, not at all,” replied Pencroft; ”and the wound which the dugong had in its side, a wound which seemed to have been made with a sharp instrument; that can't be understood either”
”Let us continue again,” said Harding ”Have you understood,peccary; how that case happened to be so fortunately stranded, without there being any trace of a wreck; how that bottle containing the docu our first sea-excursion; how our canoe, having broken its s, floated down the current of the Mercy and rejoined us precisely at the very moment we needed it; how after the ape invasion the ladder was so obligingly thron from Granite House; and lastly, how the document, which Ayrton asserts was never written by hi thus enuular incidents which had occurred in the island, Herbert, Neb, and Pencraft stared at each other, not knohat to reply, for this succession of incidents, grouped thus for the first tiree
”'Pon ht, captain, and it is difficult to explain all these things!”
”Well, ineer, ”a last fact has just been added to these, and it is no less incomprehensible than the others!”
”What is it, captain?” asked Herbert quickly
”When you were returning froineer, ”you said that a fire appeared on Lincoln Island?”
”Certainly,” answered the sailor
”And you are quite certain of having seen this fire?”
”As sure as I see you now”
”You also, Herbert?”
”Why, captain,” cried Herbert, ”that fire was blazing like a star of the first ineer
”No,” replied Pencroft, ”for the sky was covered with thick clouds, and at any rate a star would not have been so low on the horizon But Mr Spilett saw it as well as we, and he will confirm our words”
”I will add,” said the reporter, ”that the fire was very bright, and that it shot up like a sheet of lightning”