第52章

It was the 6th of May, a day which corresponds to the 6th of November in the countries of the Northern Hemisphere.The sky had been obscured for some days, and it was of importance to make preparations for the winter.

However, the temperature was not as yet much lower, and a centigrade thermometer, transported to Lincoln Island, would still have marked an average of ten to twelve degrees above zero.This was not surprising, since Lincoln Island, probably situated between the thirty-fifth and fortieth parallel, would be subject, in the Southern Hemisphere, to the same climate as Sicily or Greece in the Northern Hemisphere.But as Greece and Sicily have severe cold, producing snow and ice, so doubtless would Lincoln Island in the severest part of the winter.and it was advisable to provide against it.

In any case if cold did not yet threaten them, the rainy season would begin, and on this lonely island, exposed to all the fury of the elements, in mid-ocean, bad weather would be frequent, and probably terrible.The question of a more comfortable dwelling than the Chimneys must therefore be seriously considered and promptly resolved on.

Pencroft, naturally, had some predilection for the retreat which he had discovered, but he well understood that another must be found.The Chimneys had been already visited by the sea, under circumstances which are known, and it would not do to be exposed again to a similar accident.

"Besides," added Cyrus Harding, who this day was talking of these things with his companions, "we have some precautions to take.""Why? The island is not inhabited," said the reporter.

"That is probable," replied the engineer, "although we have not yet explored the interior; but if no human beings are found, I fear that dangerous animals may abound.It is necessary to guard against a possible attack, so that we shall not be obliged to watch every night, or to keep up a fire.And then, my friends, we must foresee everything.We are here in a part of the Pacific often frequented by Malay pirates--""What!" said Herbert, "at such a distance from land?""Yes, my boy," replied the engineer."These pirates are bold sailors as well as formidable enemies, and we must take measures accordingly.""Well," replied Pencroft, "we will fortify ourselves against savages with two legs as well as against savages with four.But, captain, will it not be best to explore every part of the island before undertaking anything else?""That would be best," added Gideon Spilett.

"Who knows if we might not find on the opposite side one of the caverns which we have searched for in vain here?""That is true," replied the engineer, "but you forget, my friends, that it will be necessary to establish ourselves in the neighborhood of a watercourse, and that, from the summit of Mount Franklin, we could not see towards the west, either stream or river.Here, on the contrary, we are placed between the Mercy and Lake Grant, an advantage which must not be neglected.And, besides, this side, looking towards the east, is not exposed as the other is to the trade-winds, which in this hemisphere blow from the northwest.""Then, captain," replied the sailor, "let us build a house on the edge of the lake.Neither bricks nor tools are wanting now.After having been brickmakers, potters, smelters, and smiths, we shall surely know how to be masons!""Yes, my friend; but before coming to any decision we must consider the matter thoroughly.A natural dwelling would spare us much work, and would be a surer retreat, for it would be as well defended against enemies from the interior as those from outside.""That is true, Cyrus," replied the reporter, "but we have already examined all that mass of granite, and there is not a hole, not a cranny!""No, not one!" added Pencroft."Ah, if we were able to dig out a dwelling in that cliff, at a good height, so as to be out of the reach of harm, that would be capital! I can see that on the front which looks seaward, five or six rooms--""With windows to light them!" said Herbert, laughing.

"And a staircase to climb up to them!" added Neb.

"You are laughing," cried the sailor, "and why? What is there impossible in what I propose? Haven't we got pickaxes and spades? Won't Captain Harding be able to make powder to blow up the mine? Isn't it true, captain, that you will make powder the very day we want it?"Cyrus Harding listened to the enthusiastic Pencroft developing his fanciful projects.To attack this mass of granite, even by a mine, was Herculean work, and it was really vexing that nature could not help them at their need.But the engineer did not reply to the sailor except by proposing to examine the cliff more attentively, from the mouth of the river to the angle which terminated it on the north.

They went out, therefore, and the exploration was made with extreme care, over an extent of nearly two miles.But in no place in the bare, straight cliff, could any cavity be found.The nests of the rock pigeons which fluttered at its summit were only, in reality, holes bored at the very top, and on the irregular edge of the granite.

It was a provoking circumstance, and as to attacking this cliff, either with pickaxe or with powder, so as to effect a sufficient excavation, it was not to be thought of.It so happened that, on all this part of the shore, Pencroft had discovered the only habitable shelter, that is to say, the Chimneys, which now had to be abandoned.

The exploration ended, the colonists found themselves at the north angle of the cliff, where it terminated in long slopes which died away on the shore.From this place, to its extreme limit in the west, it only formed a sort of declivity, a thick mass of stones, earth, and sand, bound together by plants, bushes, and grass inclined at an angle of only forty-five degrees.Clumps of trees grew on these slopes, which were also carpeted with thick grass.But the vegetation did not extend far, and a long, sandy plain, which began at the foot of these slopes, reached to the beach.