– You haven’t 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 rose up.
– That is good, – exclaimed the sailor.
– When you were carrying me here yesterday, did I not see a mountain 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, – where has this storm 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 direction did not vary much. We crossed North and South Carolina[23] , Georgia[24] , the Gulf of Mexico[25] , and the narrow part of Mexico, and a portion of the Pacific Ocean. I estimate the distance less than 6,000 or 7,000 miles. But if this coast belongs to some barren island in the Micronesian Archipelago[26] , 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, are good hunters.
Chapter X
The three hunters were seating before a 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[27] , 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 reporter’s. He took them out, filled with water, and put together with some clay. Thus he made a veritable burning-glass, and concentrated the solar rays on some dry moss.
With the help of Neb, the sailor arranged the spit. The engineer and his companion made good use of their day[28] . Smith 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 Pencroff’s 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 to 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 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. They were gradually ascending. At noon, when the little company halted to dine, they were still half way from the first plateau, and could hardly reach it before nightfall. From this point the sea was beneath their feet. On the left they could see directly north for several miles; but the northwest was concealed from them.
At 1 o’clock, the ascent again began. The easiest route slanted upwards towards the southwest, through the thick copse. The climbers reached a terrace, almost bare of trees, whose soil was evidently volcanic. From hence, their course was a zigzag towards the east. Neb and Herbert led the way, then came Smith and the reporter; Pencroff was last.
They all stopped fifty feet from large animals, with thick horns curved backwards and flattened at the end, and with woolly fleece. They were not the common sheep. Their name, according to Herbert, was а Moufflon[29] .
As the ascension continued, the traces of lava were more frequent, and little sulphur springs[30] intercepted their route. As they neared the first plateau, the ascent became very difficult. By 4 o’clock they passed the last belt of trees. Fortunately for the engineer and his party, it was a pleasant, mild day. The sky overhead was extremely bright and clear. A perfect calm reigned around them. The sun was hidden by the upper mountain, which cast its shadow westward to the edge of the sea.
There were only 500 feet between the explorers and the plateau where they wanted to encamp for the night. It was almost night when the party arrived at the top of the first cone.
Now they must pitch their camp, and think of supper and sleep. The sailor built up a fireplace with huge stones. Neb and Herbert soon brought a load of thistles.
The night was beautiful and still; and not very dark. They walked together in silence. Sometimes the plateau was wide and easy, sometimes very encumbered with rubbish. There were yet 1,000 feet to climb. Fortunately, the long and sinuous declivities made a staircase, and greatly helped their ascent. The volcano was not only quiet, but extinct.
It was nearly 8 o’clock when they set foot on the summit[31] of the cone. The darkness was by this time complete, and they could hardly see around them. Was the land an island or a continent? They could not yet discover. At one point of the horizon suddenly appeared a vague light. The line of the horizon was now cloudless, and as the moon touched it, the engineer seized the boy’s hand.
– An island! – said he.
Chapter XI
Then they walked back to the camp. The country is an island, and tomorrow they will consider what to do.
The next day, March 30, after breakfast, they started out for the summit of the volcano. All desired to see the isle. Maybe they will spend their lives here. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning when they left the camp.
– Bah! – said Pencroff, – we got out of Richmond without the permission of the authorities, and it will be strange if we can’t get away from this place!
It was a superb day, and the southern side of the mountain was sunny. The crater was a huge shaft gradually opening to a height of 1,000 feet above the plateau. The interior of the crater was easily scaled. They saw on the way traces of ancient lava. As to the volcano chimney, its depth was lost in obscurity. Before 8 o’clock, they were standing at the summit of the crater.
– The sea! the sea everywhere! – was their exclamation. There it lay, an immense sheet of water around them on every side. Nothing appeared to the horizon-line, a radius of more than fifty miles. Not a sail was in sight. Around the island stretched an ocean.
Silent and motionless, they surveyed every point of the horizon. Then they looked down upon their island. Spilett asked:
– How large do you think this island is?
– It seemed small enough in the midst of the infinite ocean.
– My friends, – said Smith, – I think, the coast of the island is more than 100 miles around.
If Smith was right, the island was about the size of Malta[32] ; but it was more irregular than it. The eastern coast was a curve, it was embracing a large bay. On the northeast, two other capes shut in the bay, and between them lay a narrow gulf. From northeast to northwest the coast was round and flat, like the skull of a wild beast. Then came a hump, whose centre was occupied by the volcanic mountain. From this point the coast ran directly north and south. For two-thirds of its length it was bordered by a narrow creek; then it finished in along cue, like the tail of a gigantic alligator. The narrowest part of the island, between the Chimneys and the creek, on the west, was ten miles wide, but its greatest length was not less than thirty miles.