Таємничий острів

           Thisworkfinished,itwouldhavebeenimpossibletoguessthatatthatpartofthelake,thereexistedasubterraneanpassagethroughwhichtheoverflowofthelakeformerlyescaped.

           OfcoursethelittlestreamwhichfedthereservoirofGraniteHouseandworkedthelift,hadbeencarefullypreserved,andthewatercouldnotfail.Theliftonceraised,thissureandcomfortableretreatwouldbesafefromanysurprise.

           Thisworkhadbeensoquicklydone,thatPencroft,GideonSpilett,andHerbertfoundtimetomakeanexpeditiontoPortBalloon,Thesailorwasveryanxioustoknowifthelittlecreekinwhichthe"Bonadventure"wasmoored,hadbeenvisitedbytheconvicts.

           "Thesegentlemen,"heobserved,"landedonthesouthcoast,andiftheyfollowedtheshore,itistobefearedthattheymayhavediscoveredthelittleharbor,andinthatcase,Iwouldn’tgivehalf-a-dollarforour‘Bonadventure.’"

           Pencroft’sapprehensionswerenotwithoutfoundation,andavisittoPortBalloonappearedtobeverydesirable.Thesailorandhiscompanionssetoffonthe10thofNovember,afterdinner,wellarmed.Pencroft,ostentatiouslyslippingtwobulletsintoeachbarrelofhisrifle,shookhisheadinawaywhichbetokenednothinggoodtoanyonewhoapproachedtoonearhim,whether"manorbeast,"ashesaid.GideonSpilettandHerbertalsotooktheirguns,andaboutthreeo’clockallthreeleftGraniteHouse.

           NebaccompaniedthemtotheturnoftheMercy,andaftertheyhadcrossed,heraisedthebridge.