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The sportsmen of the island therefore soon had a perfectly prepared substance, which, employed discreetly, produced admirable results. About this time the settlers cleared three acres of the plateau, and the rest was preserved in a wild state, for the benefit of the onagers.
During the day Herbert discovered several new specimens not before met with in the island, such as the tree-fern, with its leaves spread out like the waters of a fountain, locust-trees, on the long pods of which the onagers browsed greedily, and which supplied a sweet pulp of excellent flavor.
Ayrton awaited him. "The animals are cared for, Captain Harding," said Ayrton. "Good, Ayrton." "They seem uneasy, Captain Harding." "Yes, instinct speaks through them, and instinct is never deceived." "Are you ready?" "Take a lamp, Ayrton," answered the engineer; "we will start at once." Ayrton did as desired. The onagers, unharnessed, roamed in the corral.
"Till to-morrow, sir." "Talk of mechanics!" cried Raphael; "isn't it the greatest of the sciences? The other fellow with his onagers, classifications, ducks, and species, and his phials full of bottled monstrosities, is at best only fit for a billiard-marker in a saloon."
The next day, at dawn, Cyrus Harding and Ayrton, mounting the cart drawn by two onagers, took the road to the corral and set off at a round trot. Above the forest were passing large clouds, to which the crater of Mount Franklin incessantly added fuliginous matter. These clouds, which rolled heavily in the air, were evidently composed of heterogeneous substances.
The clearing soon came in sight. It was deserted. Without hesitating, the little band moved towards the palisade. In a short space of time the dangerous zone was passed. Neb remained at the onagers' heads to hold them. The engineer, the reporter, Herbert, and Pencroft, proceeded to the door, in order to ascertain if it was barricaded inside. It was open!
It was on the 3rd of January that Herbert, having ascended at daybreak to the plateau of Prospect Heights to harness one of the onagers, perceived an enormous hat-shaped cloud rolling from the summit of the volcano. Herbert immediately apprised the colonists, who at once joined him in watching the summit of Mount Franklin. "Ah!" exclaimed Pencroft, "those are not vapors this time!
Happily, Granite House possessed a store of seed which would enable them to repair these misfortunes. As to the wall and buildings of the poultry-yard and the onagers stable, the fire had destroyed all. A few terrified creatures roamed over the plateau.
Cyrus Harding wished to set out without delay; but as the expedition would be of some days' duration, it appeared best to load the cart with different materials and tools in order to facilitate the organisation of the encampments. One of the onagers, however, having hurt its leg, could not be harnessed at present, and a few days' rest was necessary.
In the meantime harness of vegetable fiber had been manufactured, and some days after the capture of the onagers, not only the cart was ready, but a straight road, or rather a cutting, had been made through the forests of the Far West, from the angle of the Mercy to Port Balloon. The cart might then be driven there, and towards the end of December they tried the onagers for the first time.
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