Produced by Hemant Garach, David Starner and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ABANDONED
BY JULES VERNE
FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS
THE PUBLISHERS OF _EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY_ WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND
FREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED
VOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING TWELVE HEADINGS:
TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION
THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY
HISTORY CLASSICAL
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ESSAYS ORATORY
POETRY & DRAMA
BIOGRAPHY
ROMANCE
IN TWO STYLES OF BINDING, CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP, AND
LEATHER, ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP.
LONDON: J. M. DENT & CO.
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
[Illustration: THIS IS FAIRY GOLD, BOY; AND 'TWILL PROVE SO.
SHAKESPEARE.]
[Illustration: ABANDONED By JULES VERNE
_Translated from the French_
By W. H. G. KINGSTON
LONDON: PUBLISHED by J. M. DENT & CO
AND IN NEW YORK BY E. P. DUTTON & CO]
INTRODUCTION
The present romance, the second in the Mysterious Island triad, was
originally issued in Paris with the title of _L'Abandonne_. Jules
Verne's list of stories already ran then to some twenty volumes--a
number which has since grown to almost Dumasien proportions.
_L'Abandonne_, like its two companion tales, ran its course as a
serial through the _Magasin Illustre_ of education and recreation,
before its issue as a boy's story-book. Its success in both forms
seems to have established a record in the race for popularity and
a circulation in both the French and English fields of current
literature. The present book was translated into English by the late
W. H. G. Kingston; and is printed in EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY by special
exclusive arrangement with Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd.
1909
The list of tales and favourite romances by Jules Verne includes the
following:--
Five Weeks in a Balloon, 1870; A Journey to the Centre of the
Earth, translated by J. V., 1872; tr. F. A. Malleson, 1876;
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, 1873; tr. H. Frith,
1876; From the Earth to the Moon, and a Trip Round it, tr. Q.
Mercier and E. G. King, 1873; The English at the North Pole,
1873; Meridiana: Adventures of Three English and Three
Russians, 1873; Dr. Ox's Experiment and other Stories, 1874; A
Floating City, 1874; The Blockade Runners, 1874; Around the
World in Eighty Days, tr. G. M. Towle and N. D'Anvers, 1874,
1876; tr. H. Frith, 1879; The Fur Country, or Seventy Degrees
North Latitude, tr. N. D'Anvers, 1874; tr H. Frith, 1879; The
Mysterious Island, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1875; The Survivors
of the _Chancellor_: Diary of J. R. Kazallon, tr E. Frewer,
1875; Martin Paz, tr. E. Frewer, 1876; Field of Ice, 1876;
Child of the Cavern, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1877, Michael
Strogoff, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1877; A Voyage Round the
World, 1877; Hector Senvadac, tr. E. Frewer, 1878; Dick Sands,
the Boy Captain, tr. E. Frewer, 1879; Celebrated Travels and
Travellers: The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century,
tr. Dora Leigh, N. D'Anvers, etc., 1879-81; Tribulations of a
Chinaman, tr. E. Frewer, 1880; The Begum's Fortune, tr. W. H.
G. Kingston, 1880; The Steam House, tr. A. D. Kingston, 1881;
The Giant Raft, W. J. Gordon, 1881; Godfrey Morgan, 1883; The
Green Ray, tr. M. de Hauteville, 1883; The Vanished Diamond,
1885; The Archipelago on Fire, 1886; Mathias Sandorf, 1886;
Keraban the Inflexible, 1887; The Lottery Ticket, 1887;
Clipper of the Clouds, 1887; The Flight to France, or Memoirs
of a Dragoon, 1888; North against South: Story of the American
Civil War, 1888; Adrift in the Pacific, 1889; Cesar Cacabel,
1891; The Purchase of the North Pole, 1891; A Family without a
Name, 1891; Mistress Branican, 1892; Claudius Bombarnac, 1894;
Foundling Mick, 1895; Clovis Dardentor, 1897; For the Flag,
tr. Mrs. C. Hoey, 1897; An Antarctic Mystery, 1898.
Jules Verne's works are published in an authorised and
illustrated edition by Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co.,
Ltd.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Conversation on the Subject of the Bullet -- Construction
of a Canoe -- Hunting -- At the Top of a Kauri -- Nothing
to attest the Presence of Man -- Neb and Herbert's Prize
-- Turning a Turtle -- The Turtle disappears -- Cyrus
Harding's Explanation 1
CHAPTER II
First Trial of the Canoe -- A Wreck on the Coast --
Towing -- Flotsam Point -- Inventory of the Case: Tools,
Weapons, Instruments, Clothes, Books, Utensils -- What
Pencroft misses -- The Gospel -- A Verse from the Sacred
Book 11
CHAPTER III
The Start -- The rising Tide -- Elms and different Plants
-- The Jacamar -- Aspect of the Forest -- Gigantic
Eucalypti -- The Reason they are called "Fever Trees" --
Troops of Monkeys -- A Waterfall -- The Night Encampment 23
CHAPTER IV
Journey to the Coast -- Troops of Monkeys -- A new River
-- The Reason the Tide was not felt -- A woody Shore --
Reptile Promontory -- Herbert envies Gideon Spilett --
Explosion of Bamboos 34
CHAPTER V
Proposal to return by the Southern Shore -- Configuration
of the Coast -- Searching for the supposed Wreck -- A
Wreck in the Air -- Discovery of a small Natural Port --
At Midnight on the Banks of the Mercy -- The Canoe
Adrift 45
CHAPTER VI
Pencroft's Halloos -- A Night in the Chimneys --
Herbert's Arrows -- The Captain's Project -- An
unexpected Explanation -- What has happened in Granite
House -- How a new Servant enters the Service of the
Colonists 58
CHAPTER VII
Plans -- A Bridge over the Mercy -- Mode adopted for
making an Island of Prospect Heights -- The Drawbridge
-- Harvest -- The Stream -- The Poultry-yard -- A
Pigeon-house -- The two Onagas -- The Cart -- Excursion
to Port Balloon 70
CHAPTER VIII
Linen -- Shoes of Seal-leather -- Manufacture of Pyroxyle
-- Gardening -- Fishing -- Turtle-eggs -- Improvement of
Master Jup -- The Corral -- Musmon Hunt -- New Animal
and Vegetable Possessions -- Recollections of their
Native Land 81
CHAPTER IX
Bad Weather -- The Hydraulic Lift -- Manufacture of
Glass-ware -- The Bread-tree -- Frequent Visits to the
Corral -- Increase of the Flock -- The Reporter's
Question -- Exact Position of Lincoln Island --
Pencroft's Proposal 92
CHAPTER X
Boat-building -- Second Crop of Corn -- Hunting Koalas
-- A new Plant, more Pleasant than Useful -- Whale in
Sight -- A Harpoon from the Vineyard -- Cutting up the
Whale -- Use for the Bones -- End of the Month of May --
Pencroft has nothing left to wish for 103
CHAPTER XI
Winter -- Felling Wood -- The Mill -- Pencroft's fixed
Idea -- The Bones -- To what Use an Albatross may be put
-- Fuel for the Future -- Top and Jup -- Storms -- Damage
to the Poultry-yard -- Excursion to the Marsh -- Cyrus
Harding alone -- Exploring the Well 114
CHAPTER XII
The Rigging of the Vessel -- An Attack from Foxes -- Jup
wounded -- Jup cured -- Completion of the Boat --
Pencroft's Triumph -- The _Bonadventure's_ trial Trip
to the South of the Island -- An unexpected Document 127
CHAPTER XIII
Departure decided upon -- Conjectures -- Preparations --
The three Passengers -- First Night -- Second Night --
Tabor Island -- Searching the Shore -- Searching the
Wood -- No one -- Animals -- Plants -- A Dwelling --
Deserted 142
CHAPTER XIV
The Inventory -- Night -- A few Letters -- Continuation
of the Search -- Plants and Animals -- Herbert in great
Danger -- On Board -- The Departure -- Bad Weather -- A
Gleam of Reason -- Lost on the Sea -- A timely Light 154
CHAPTER XV
The Return -- Discussion -- Cyrus Harding and the Stranger
-- Port Balloon -- The Engineer's Devotion -- A touching
Incident -- Tears flow 166
CHAPTER XVI
A Mystery to be cleared up -- The Stranger's first Words
-- Twelve Years on the Islet -- Avowal which escapes him
-- The Disappearance -- Cyrus Harding's Confidence --
Construction of a Mill -- The first Bread -- An Act of
Devotion -- Honest Hands 176
CHAPTER XVII
Still alone -- The Stranger's Request -- The Farm
established at the Corral -- Twelve Years ago -- The
Boatswain's Mate of the _Britannia_ -- Left on Tabor
Island -- Cyrus Harding's Hand -- The mysterious
Document 191
CHAPTER XVIII
Conversation -- Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett -- An
Idea of the Engineer's -- The Electric Telegraph -- The
Wires -- The Battery -- The Alphabet -- Fine Season --
Prosperity of the Colony -- Photography -- An Appearance
of Snow -- Two Years on Lincoln Island 203
CHAPTER XIX
Recollections of their Native Land -- Probable Future --
Project for surveying the Coasts of the Island --
Departure on the 16th of April -- Sea-view of Reptile
End -- The basaltic Rocks of the Western Coast -- Bad
Weather -- Night comes on -- New Incident 216
CHAPTER XX
A Night at Sea -- Shark Gulf -- Confidences --
Preparations for Winter -- Forwardness of the Bad Season
-- Severe Cold -- Work in the Interior -- In Six Months
-- A Photographic Negative -- Unexpected Incident 226
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
TURNING A TURTLE 9
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 15
UNPACKING THE MARVELLOUS CHEST 17
PENCROFT'S SUPERSTITION 21
IS IT TOBACCO? 27
THE HALT FOR BREAKFAST 29
DENIZENS OF THE FOREST 37
THE SEA 39
AT THAT MOMENT A SHOT STRUCK THE JAGUAR BETWEEN THE EYES
AND IT FELL DEAD 43
"NOW THERE'S SOMETHING TO EXPLAIN THE BULLET!" EXCLAIMED
PENCROFT 51
A WRECK IN THE AIR 53
THERE WAS NO LONGER A LADDER! 57
THE INVADERS OF GRANITE HOUSE 63
CAPTURING THE ORANG 67
ENGAGING THE NEW SERVANT 69
BUILDING THE BRIDGE 73
PENCROFT'S SCARECROWS 77
THE SETTLERS' NEW SHIRTS 83
JUP PASSED MOST OF HIS TIME IN THE KITCHEN, TRYING TO
IMITATE NEB 87
PENCROFT TO THE RESCUE 93
THE GLASS-BLOWERS 97
THE VERANDAH ON THE EDGE OF PROSPECT HEIGHTS 101
THE DOCKYARD 105
A VALUABLE PRIZE 109
PENCROFT HAS NOTHING LEFT TO WISH FOR 113
THE MESSENGER 119
WINTER EVENINGS IN GRANITE HOUSE 121
HE SAW NOTHING SUSPICIOUS 125
TOP VISITING THE INVALID 133
THE TRIAL TRIP 137
"LUFF, PENCROFT, LUFF!" 141
THE DEPARTURE 145
NEARING THE ISLAND 149
A HUT! 153
HERBERT IN DANGER 159
A LIGHT! A LIGHT! 165
"POOR FELLOW," MURMURED THE ENGINEER 169
THE EXPERIMENT 175
"WHO ARE YOU?" HE ASKED IN A HOLLOW VOICE 177
THE STRANGER 179
NOW FOR A GOOD WIND 187
HE SEIZED THE JAGUAR'S THROAT WITH ONE POWERFUL HAND 189
THE STRANGER'S STORY 195
"HERE IS MY HAND," SAID THE ENGINEER 201
THE ENGINEER AT WORK 209
JUP SITTING FOR HIS PORTRAIT 213
THE SNOWY SHEET AROSE AND DISPERSED IN THE AIR 215
ANOTHER MYSTERY 225
RETURNING FROM A SPORTING EXCURSION 233
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE 235
THE ABANDONED
CHAPTER I
Conversation on the Subject of the Bullet -- Construction of
a Canoe -- Hunting -- At the Top of a Kauri -- Nothing to
attest the Presence of Man -- Neb and Herbert's Prize --
Turning a Turtle -- The Turtle disappears -- Cyrus Harding's
Explanation.
It was now exactly seven months since the balloon voyagers had been
thrown on Lincoln Island. During that time, notwithstanding the
researches they had made, no human being had been discovered. No smoke
even had betrayed the presence of man on the surface of the island. No
vestiges of his handiwork showed that either at an early or at a late
period had man lived there. Not only did it now appear to be
uninhabited by any but themselves, but the colonists were compelled to
believe that it never had been inhabited. And now, all this
scaffolding of reasonings fell before a simple ball of metal, found in
the body of an inoffensive rodent! In fact, this bullet must have
issued from a firearm, and who but a human being could have used such
a weapon?
When Pencroft had placed the bullet on the table, his companions
looked at it with intense astonishment. All the consequences likely to
result from this incident, notwithstanding its apparent
insignificance, immediately took possession of their minds. The sudden
apparition of a supernatural being could not have startled them more
completely.
Cyrus Harding did not hesitate to give utterance to the suggestions
which this fact, at once surprising and unexpected, could not fail to
raise in his mind. He took the bullet, turned it over and over, rolled
it between his finger and thumb; then, turning to Pencroft, he
asked,--
"Are you sure that the peccary wounded by this bullet was not more
than three months old?"
"Not more, captain," replied Pencroft. "It was still sucking its
mother when I found it in the trap."
"Well," said the engineer, "that proves that within three months a
gun-shot was fired in Lincoln Island."
"And that a bullet," added Gideon Spilett, "wounded, though not
mortally, this little animal."
"That is unquestionable," said Cyrus Harding, "and these are the
deductions which must be drawn from this incident: that the island was
inhabited before our arrival, or that men have landed here within
three months. Did these men arrive here voluntarily or involuntarily,
by disembarking on the shore or by being wrecked? This point can only
be cleared up later. As to what they were, Europeans or Malays,
enemies or friends of our race, we cannot possibly guess; and if they
still inhabit the island, or if they have left it, we know not. But
these questions are of too much importance to be allowed to remain
long unsettled."
"No! a hundred times no! a thousand times no!" cried the sailor,
springing up from the table. "There are no other men than ourselves on
Lincoln Island! By my faith! The island isn't large, and if it had
been inhabited, we should have seen some of the inhabitants long
before this!"
"In fact, the contrary would be very astonishing," said Herbert.
"But it would be much more astonishing, I should think," observed the
reporter, "that this peccary should have been born with a bullet in
its inside!"
"At least," said Neb seriously, "if Pencroft has not had--"
"Look here, Neb," burst out Pencroft. "Do you think I could have a
bullet in my jaw for five or six months without finding it out? Where
could it be hidden?" he asked opening his mouth to show the
two-and-thirty teeth with which it was furnished. "Look well, Neb, and
if you find one hollow tooth in this set, I will let you pull out half
a dozen!"
"Neb's supposition is certainly inadmissible," replied Harding, who,
notwithstanding the gravity of his thoughts, could not restrain a
smile. "It is certain that a gun has been fired in the island, within
three months at most. But I am inclined to think that the people who
landed on this coast were only here a very short time ago, or that
they just touched here; for if, when we surveyed the island from the
summit of Mount Franklin, it had been inhabited, we should have seen
them or we should have been seen ourselves. It is therefore probable
that within only a few weeks castaways have been thrown by a storm on
some part of the coast. However that may be, it is of consequence to
us to have this point settled."
"I think that we should act with caution," said the reporter.
"Such is my advice," replied Cyrus Harding, "for it is to be feared
that Malay pirates have landed on the island!"
"Captain," asked the sailor, "would it not be a good plan, before
setting out, to build a canoe in which we could either ascend the
river, or, if we liked, coast round the island? It will not do to be
unprovided."
"Your idea is good, Pencroft," replied the engineer, "but we cannot
wait for that. It would take at least a month to build a boat."
"Yes, a real boat," replied the sailor; "but we do not want one for a
sea voyage, and in five days at the most, I will undertake to
construct a canoe fit to navigate the Mercy."
"Five days," cried Neb, "to build a boat?"
"Yes, Neb; a boat in the Indian fashion."
"Of wood?" asked the negro, looking still unconvinced.
"Of wood," replied Pencroft, "or rather of bark. I repeat, captain,
that in five days the work will be finished!"
"In five days, then, be it," replied the engineer.
"But till that time we must be very watchful," said Herbert.
"Very watchful indeed, my friends," replied Harding; "and I beg you to
confine your hunting excursions to the neighbourhood of Granite
House."
The dinner ended less gaily than Pencroft had hoped.
So, then, the island was, or had been, inhabited by others than the
settlers. Proved as it was by the incident of the bullet, it was
hereafter an unquestionable fact, and such a discovery could not but
cause great uneasiness amongst the colonists.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, before sleeping, conversed long
about the matter. They asked themselves if by chance this incident
might not have some connection with the inexplicable way in which the
engineer had been saved, and the other peculiar circumstances which
had struck them at different times. However Cyrus Harding, after
having discussed the pros and cons of the question, ended by saying,--
"In short, would you like to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?"
"Yes, Cyrus."
"Well, then, it is this: however minutely we explore the island, we
shall find nothing."
The next day Pencroft set to work. He did not mean to build a boat
with boards and planking, but simply a flat-bottomed canoe, which
would be well suited for navigating the Mercy--above all, for
approaching its source, where the water would naturally be shallow.
Pieces of bark, fastened one to the other, would form a light boat;
and in case of natural obstacles, which would render a portage
necessary, it would be easily carried. Pencroft intended to secure the
pieces of bark by means of nails, to insure the canoe being
water-tight.
It was first necessary to select the trees which would afford a strong
and supple bark for the work. Now the last storm had brought down a
number of large birch trees, the bark of which would be perfectly
suited for their purpose. Some of these trees lay on the ground, and
they had only to be barked, which was the most difficult thing of all,
owing to the imperfect tools which the settlers possessed. However,
they overcame all difficulties.
Whilst the sailor, seconded by the engineer, thus occupied himself
without losing an hour, Gideon Spilett and Herbert were not idle. They
were made purveyors to the colony. The reporter could not but admire
the boy, who had acquired great skill in handling the bow and spear.
Herbert also showed great courage and much of that presence of mind
which may justly be called "the reasoning of bravery." These two
companions of the chase, remembering Cyrus Harding's recommendations,
did not go beyond a radius of two miles round Granite House; but the
borders of the forest furnished a sufficient tribute of agouties,
capybaras, kangaroos, peccaries, etc.; and if the result from the
traps was less than during the cold, still the warren yielded its
accustomed quota, which might have fed all the colony in Lincoln
Island.
Often during these excursions, Herbert talked with Gideon Spilett on
the incident of the bullet, and the deductions which the engineer drew
from it, and one day--it was the 26th of October--he said,--
"But, Mr. Spilett, do you not think it very extraordinary that, if any
castaways have landed on the island, they have not yet shown
themselves near Granite House?"
"Very astonishing if they are still here," replied the reporter, "but
not astonishing at all if they are here no longer!"
"So you think that these people have already quitted the island?"
returned Herbert.
"It is more than probable, my boy; for if their stay was prolonged,
and above all, if they were still here, some accident would have at
last betrayed their presence."
"But if they were able to go away," observed the lad, "they could not
have been castaways."
"No, Herbert; or, at least, they were what might be called provisional
castaways. It is very possible that a storm may have driven them to
the island without destroying their vessel, and that, the storm over,
they went away again."
"I must acknowledge one thing," said Herbert, "it is that Captain
Harding appears rather to fear than desire the presence of human
beings on our island."
"In short," responded the reporter, "there are only Malays who
frequent these seas, and those fellows are ruffians which it is best
to avoid."
"It is not impossible, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert, "that some day or
other we may find traces of their landing."
"I do not say no, my boy. A deserted camp, the ashes of a fire, would
put us on the track, and this is what we will look for in our next
expedition."
The day on which the hunters spoke thus, they were in a part of the
forest near the Mercy, remarkable for its beautiful trees. There,
among others, rose, to a height of nearly 200 feet above the ground,
some of those superb coniferae, to which, in New Zealand, the natives
give the name of Kauris.
"I have an idea, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert. "If I were to climb to
the top of one of these kauris, I could survey the country for an
immense distance round."
"The idea is good," replied the reporter; "but could you climb to the
top of those giants?"
"I can at least try," replied Herbert.
The light and active boy then sprang on the first branches, the
arrangement of which made the ascent of the kauri easy, and in a few
minutes he arrived at the summit, which emerged from the immense plain
of verdure.
From this elevated situation his gaze extended over all the southern
portion of the island, from Claw Cape on the south-east, to Reptile
End on the south-west. To the north-west rose Mount Franklin, which
concealed a great part of the horizon.
But Herbert, from the height of his observatory, could examine all the
yet unknown portion of the island which might have given shelter to
the strangers whose presence they suspected.
The lad looked attentively. There was nothing in sight on the sea, not
a sail, neither on the horizon nor near the island. However, as the
bank of trees hid the shore, it was possible that a vessel, especially
if deprived of her masts, might lie close to the land and thus be
invisible to Herbert.
Neither in the forests of the Far West was anything to be seen. The
wood formed an impenetrable screen, measuring several square miles,
without a break or an opening. It was impossible even to follow the
course of the Mercy, or to ascertain in what part of the mountain it
took its source. Perhaps other creeks also ran towards the west, but
they could not be seen.
But at last, if all indication of an encampment escaped Herbert's
sight, could he not even catch a glimpse of smoke, the faintest trace
of which would be easily discernible in the pure atmosphere?
For an instant Herbert thought he could perceive a slight smoke in the
west, but a more attentive examination showed that he was mistaken. He
strained his eyes in every direction, and his sight was excellent. No,
decidedly there was nothing there.
Herbert descended to the foot of the kauri, and the two sportsmen
returned to Granite House. There Cyrus Harding listened to the lad's
account, shook his head and said nothing. It was very evident that no
decided opinion could be pronounced on this question until after a
complete exploration of the island.
Two days after--the 28th of October--another incident occurred, for
which an explanation was again required.
Whilst strolling along the shore about two miles from Granite House,
Herbert and Neb were fortunate enough to capture a magnificent
specimen of the order of chelonia. It was a turtle of the species
Midas, the edible green turtle, so called from the colour both of its
shell and fat.
Herbert caught sight of this turtle as it was crawling among the rocks
to reach the sea.
"Help, Neb, help!" he cried.
Neb ran up.
"What a fine animal!" said Neb; "but how are we to catch it?"
"Nothing is easier, Neb," replied Herbert. "We have only to turn the
turtle on its back, and it cannot possibly get away. Take your spear
and do as I do."
The reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its carapace and
plastron. They no longer saw its head or feet, and it was motionless
as a rock.
Herbert and Neb then drove their sticks underneath the animal, and by
their united efforts managed without difficulty to turn it on its
back. The turtle, which was three feet in length, would have weighed
at least four hundred pounds.
"Capital!" cried Neb; "this is something which will rejoice friend
Pencroft's heart."
In fact, the heart of friend Pencroft could not fail to be rejoiced,
for the flesh of the turtle, which feeds on wrack-grass, is extremely
savoury. At this moment the creature's head could be seen, which was
small, flat, but widened behind by the large temporal fossae hidden
under the long roof.
"And now, what shall we do with our prize?" said Neb. "We can't drag
it to Granite House!"
"Leave it here, since it cannot turn over," replied Herbert, "and we
will come back with the cart to fetch it."
"That is the best plan."
However, for greater precaution, Herbert took the trouble, which Neb
deemed superfluous, to wedge up the animal with great stones, after
which the two hunters returned to Granite House, following the beach,
which the tide had left uncovered. Herbert, wishing to surprise
Pencroft, said nothing about the "superb specimen of a chelonian"
which they had turned over on the sand, but, two hours later, he and
Neb returned with the cart to the place where they had left it. The
"superb specimen of a chelonian" was no longer there!
Neb and Herbert stared at each other first, then they stared about
them. It was just at this spot that the turtle had been left. The lad
even found the stones which he had used, and therefore he was certain
of not being mistaken.
"Well!" said Neb, "these beasts can turn themselves over, then?"
"It appears so," replied Herbert, who could not understand it at all,
and was gazing at the stones scattered on the sand.
"Well, Pencroft will be disgusted!"
"And Captain Harding will perhaps be very perplexed how to explain
this disappearance" thought Herbert.
"Look here," said Neb, who wished to hide his ill-luck, "we won't
speak about it."
"On the contrary, Neb we must speak about it," replied Herbert.
And the two, taking the cart, which there was now no use for, returned
to Granite House.
Arrived at the dockyard, where the engineer and the sailor were
working together Herbert recounted what had happened.
"Oh! the stupids!" cried the sailor, "to have let at least fifty meals
escape!"
"But, Pencroft," replied Neb, "it wasn't our fault that the beast got
away, as I tell you, we had turned it over on its back!"
"Then you didn't turn it over enough!" returned the obstinate sailor.
[Illustration: TURNING A TURTLE]
"Not enough!" cried Herbert.
And he told how he had taken care to wedge up the turtle with stones.
"It is a miracle, then!" replied Pencroft.
"I thought, captain," said Herbert, "that turtles, once placed on
their backs, could not regain their feet, especially when they are of
a large size?"
"That is true, my boy," replied Cyrus Harding.
"Then how did it manage?"
"At what distance from the sea did you leave this turtle?" asked the
engineer, who, having suspended his work, was reflecting on this
incident.
"Fifteen feet at the most," replied Herbert.
"And the tide was low at the time?"
"Yes, captain."
"Well," replied the engineer, "what the turtle could not do on the
sand it might have been able to do in the water. It turned over when
the tide overtook it, and then quietly returned to the deep sea."
"Oh! what stupids we were!" cried Neb.
"That is precisely what I had the honour of telling you before!"
returned the sailor.
Cyrus Harding had given this explanation, which, no doubt, was
admissible. But was he himself convinced of the accuracy of this
explanation? It cannot be said that he was.