Таинственный остров

           Theengineer’sconditionwould,therefore,havebeenbadenough,ifhiscompanionshadnotcarefullycoveredhimwiththeircoatsandwaistcoats.

           Supper,thisevening,wasofcoursecomposedoftheinevitablelithodomes,ofwhichHerbertandNebpickedupaplentifulsupplyonthebeach.However,tothesemolluscs,theladaddedsomeediblesea-weed,whichhegatheredonhighrocks,whosesideswereonlywashedbytheseaatthetimeofhightides.Thissea-weed,whichbelongstotheorderofFucacae,ofthegenusSargassum,produces,whendry,agelatinousmatter,richandnutritious.Thereporterandhiscompanions,afterhavingeatenaquantityoflithodomes,suckedthesargassum,ofwhichthetastewasverytolerable.ItisusedinpartsoftheEastveryconsiderablybythenatives."Nevermind!"saidthesailor,"thecaptainwillhelpussoon."Meanwhilethecoldbecameverysevere,andunhappilytheyhadnomeansofdefendingthemselvesfromit.

           Thesailor,extremelyvexed,triedinallsortsofwaystoprocurefire.Nebhelpedhiminthiswork.Hefoundsomedrymoss,andbystrikingtogethertwopebblesheobtainedsomesparks,butthemoss,notbeinginflammableenough,didnottakefire,forthesparkswerereallyonlyincandescent,andnotatallofthesameconsistencyasthosewhichareemittedfromflintwhenstruckinthesamemanner.Theexperiment,therefore,didnotsucceed.

           Pencroft,althoughhehadnoconfidenceintheproceeding,thentriedrubbingtwopiecesofdrywoodtogether,assavagesdo.Certainly,themovementwhichheandNebexhibited,ifithadbeentransformedintoheat,accordingtothenewtheory,wouldhavebeenenoughtoheattheboilerofasteamer!Itcametonothing.Thebitsofwoodbecamehot,tobesure,butmuchlesssothantheoperatorsthemselves.