noe in which we could either ascend the
river, or, if we liked, coast round the island? It will not do to be
unprovided."

"Your idea is good, Pencroft," replied the engineer, "but we cannot
wait for that. It would take at least a month to build a boat."

"Yes, a real boat," replied the sailor; "but we do not want one for a
sea voyage, and in five days at the most, I will undertake to
construct a canoe fit to navigate the Mercy."

"Five days," cried Neb, "to build a boat?"

"Yes, Neb; a boat in the Indian fashion."

"Of wood?" asked the negro, looking still unconvinced.

"Of wood," replied Pencroft, "or rather of bark. I repeat, captain,
that in five days the work will be finished!"

"In five days, then, be it," replied the engineer.

"But till that time we must be very watchful," said Herbert.

"Very watchful indeed, my friends," replied Harding; "and I beg you to
confine your hunting excursions to the neighbourhood of Granite
House."

The dinner ended less gaily than Pencroft had hoped.

So, then, the island was, or had been, inhabited by others than the
settlers. Proved as it was by the incident of the bullet, it was
hereafter an unquestionable fact, and such a discovery could not but
cause great uneasiness amongst the colonists.

Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, before sleeping, conversed long
about the matter. They asked themselves if by chance this incident
might not have some connection with the inexplicable way in which the
engineer had been saved, and the other peculiar circumstances which
had struck them at different times. However Cyrus Harding, after
having discussed the pros and cons of the question, ended by saying,--

"In short, would you like to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?"

"Yes, Cyrus."

"Well, then, it is this: however minutely we explore the island, we
shall find nothing."

The next day Pencroft set to work. He did not mean to build a boat
with boards and planking, but simply a flat-bottomed canoe, which
would be well suited for navigating the Mercy--above all, for
approaching its source, where the water would naturally be shallow.
Pieces of bark, fastened one to the other, would form a light boat;
and in case of natural obstacles, which would render a portage
necessary, it would be easily carried. Pencroft intended to secure the
pieces of bark by means of nails, to insure the canoe being
water-tight.

It was first necessary to select the trees which would afford a strong