t some winters in Spain are very
cold! No want of snow and ice; and perhaps Lincoln Island is just as
rigourously tried. However, it is an island, and as such, I hope that
the temperature will be more moderate."

"Why, captain?" asked Herbert.

"Because the sea, my boy, may be considered as an immense reservoir, in
which is stored the heat of the summer. When winter comes, it restores
this heat, which insures for the regions near the ocean a medium
temperature, less high in summer, but less low in winter."

"We shall prove that," replied Pencroft. "But I don't want to bother
myself about whether it will be cold or not. One thing is certain, that
is that the days are already short, and the evenings long. Suppose we
talk about the question of light."

"Nothing is easier," replied Harding.

"To talk about?" asked the sailor.

"To settle."

"And when shall we begin?"

"To-morrow, by having a seal hunt."

"To make candles?"

"Yes."

Such was the engineer's project; and it was quite feasible, since he had
lime and sulphuric acid, while the amphibians of the islet would furnish
the fat necessary for the manufacture.

They were now at the 4th of June. It was Whit Sunday and they agreed to
observe this feast. All work was suspended, and prayers were offered
to Heaven. But these prayers were now thanksgivings. The settlers in
Lincoln Island were no longer the miserable castaways thrown on the
islet. They asked for nothing more--they gave thanks. The next day, the
5th of June, in rather uncertain weather, they set out for the islet.
They had to profit by the low tide to cross the Channel, and it was
agreed that they would construct, for this purpose, as well as they
could, a boat which would render communication so much easier, and
would also permit them to ascend the Mercy, at the time of their grand
exploration of the southwest of the island, which was put off till the
first fine days.

The seals were numerous, and the hunters, armed with their iron-tipped
spears, easily killed half-a-dozen. Neb and Pencroft skinned them, and
only brought back to Granite House their fat and skin, this skin being
intended for the manufacture of boots.

The result of the hunt was this: nearly three hundred pounds of fat, all
to be employed in the fabrication of candles.

The operation was extremely simple, and if it did not yield absolutely
perfect results, they were at least very useful. Cyrus Harding would
only have had at h