ble
wild beasts of Central Asia.

CHAPTER V

Proposal to return by the Southern Shore -- Configuration of
the Coast -- Searching for the supposed Wreck -- A Wreck in
the Air -- Discovery of a small Natural Port -- At Midnight
on the Banks of the Mercy -- The Canoe Adrift.

Cyrus Harding and his companions slept like innocent marmots in the
cave which the jaguar had so politely left at their disposal.

At sunrise all were on the shore at the extremity of the promontory,
and their gaze was directed towards the horizon, of which two-thirds
of the circumference were visible. For the last time the engineer
could ascertain that not a sail nor the wreck of a ship was on the
sea, and even with the telescope nothing suspicious could be
discovered.

There was nothing either on the shore, at least, in the straight line
of three miles which formed the south side of the promontory, for
beyond that, rising ground hid the rest of the coast, and even from
the extremity of the Serpentine Peninsula Cape Claw could not be seen.

The southern coast of the island still remained to be explored. Now
should they undertake it immediately, and devote this day to it?

This was not included in their first plan. In fact, when the boat was
abandoned at the sources of the Mercy, it had been agreed that after
having surveyed the west coast, they should go back to it, and return
to Granite House by the Mercy. Harding then thought that the western
coast would have offered refuge, either to a ship in distress, or to a
vessel in her regular course; but now, as he saw that this coast
presented no good anchorage, he wished to seek on the south what they
had not been able to find on the west.

Gideon Spilett proposed to continue the exploration, that the question
of the supposed wreck might be completely settled, and he asked at
what distance Claw Cape might be from the extremity of the peninsula.

"About thirty miles," replied the engineer, "if we take into
consideration the curvings of the coast."

"Thirty miles!" returned Spilett. "That would be a long day's march.
Nevertheless, I think that we should return to Granite House by the
south coast."

"But," observed Herbert, "from Claw Cape to Granite House there must
be at least another ten miles."

"Make it forty miles in all," replied the engineer, "and do not
hesitate to do it. At least we should survey the unknown shore, and
then we shall not have to begin the expl