land, we should have known that land was at no great distance either
way; but twelve hundred miles is a pretty long way, and the nearest
land is at least that distance!"

"Would you not, in that case, Pencroft, attempt the adventure?" asked
the reporter.

"I will attempt anything that is desired, Mr. Spilett," answered the
sailor, "and you know well that I am not a man to flinch!"

"Remember, besides, that we number another sailor amongst us now,"
remarked Neb.

"Who is that?" asked Pencroft.

"Ayrton."

"That is true," replied Herbert.

"If he will consent to come," said Pencroft.

"Nonsense!" returned the reporter; "do you think that if Lord
Glenarvan's yacht had appeared at Tabor Island, whilst he was still
living there, Ayrton would have refused to depart?"

"You forget, my friends," then said Cyrus Harding, "that Ayrton was
not in possession of his reason during the last years of his stay
there. But that is not the question. The point is to know if we may
count among our chances of being rescued, the return of the Scotch
vessel. Now, Lord Glenarvan promised Ayrton that he would return to
take him off Tabor Island when he considered that his crimes were
expiated, and I believe that he will return."

"Yes," said the reporter, "and I will add that he will return soon,
for it is twelve years since Ayrton was abandoned!"

"Well!" answered Pencroft, "I agree with you that the nobleman will
return, and soon too. But where will he touch? At Tabor Island, and
not at Lincoln Island."

"That is the more certain," replied Herbert, "as Lincoln Island is not
even marked on the map."

"Therefore, my friends," said the engineer, "we ought to take the
necessary precautions for making our presence, and that of Ayrton on
Lincoln Island known at Tabor Island."

"Certainly," answered the reporter, "and nothing is easier than to
place in the hut, which was Captain Grant's and Ayrton's dwelling, a
notice which Lord Glenarvan and his crew cannot help finding, giving
the position of our island."

"It is a pity," remarked the sailor, "that we forgot to take that
precaution on our first visit to Tabor Island."

"And why should we have done it?" asked Herbert.

"At that time we did not know Ayrton's history; we did not know that
any one was likely to come some day to fetch him; and when we did know
his history, the season was too advanced to allow us to return then to
Tabor Island."

"Yes," replied Harding, "it was to