h the British officers, there were two circumstances
that just then would have rendered such a proposal very unadvisable. In
the first place, Lieutenant Procope was convinced that it could not be
much longer now before the sea would be entirely frozen; and, besides
this, the consumption of their coal, through the speed they had
maintained, had been so great that there was only too much reason
to fear that fuel would fail them. Anyhow, the strictest economy was
necessary, and it was accordingly resolved that the voyage should not be
much prolonged. Beyond the volcanic peak, moreover, the waters seemed to
expand into a boundless ocean, and it might be a thing full of risk to
be frozen up while the yacht was so inadequately provisioned. Taking
all these things into account, it was agreed that further investigations
should be deferred to a more favorable season, and that, without delay,
the _Dobryna_ should return to Gourbi Island.

This decision was especially welcome to Hector Servadac, who, throughout
the whole of the last five weeks, had been agitated by much anxious
thought on account of the faithful servant he had left behind.

The transit from the volcano to the island was not long, and was marked
by only one noticeable incident. This was the finding of a second
mysterious document, in character precisely similar to what they had
found before. The writer of it was evidently engaged upon a calculation,
probably continued from day to day, as to the motions of the planet
Gallia upon its orbit, and committing the results of his reckonings to
the waves as the channel of communication.

Instead of being enclosed in a telescope-case, it was this time secured
in a preserved-meat tin, hermetically sealed, and stamped with the same
initials on the wax that fastened it. The greatest care was used in
opening it, and it was found to contain the following message:

"Gallia Ab sole, au 1 mars, dist. 78,000,000 l.! Chemin parcouru de fev.
a mars: 59,000,000 1.! _Va bene! All right! Nil desperandum!_

"Enchante!"

"Another enigma!" exclaimed Servadac; "and still no intelligible
signature, and no address. No clearing up of the mystery!"

"I have no doubt, in my own mind," said the count, "that it is one of a
series. It seems to me probable that they are being sent broadcast upon
the sea."

"I wonder where the hare-brained _savant_ that writes them can be
living?" observed Servadac.

"Very likely he may have met with the