第186章

The colonists remained, therefore, near the cart, and carefully watched the neighboring parts of the forest.

Three hours passed thus.The wind had fallen, and absolute silence reigned under the great trees.The snapping of the smallest twig, a footstep on the dry leaves, the gliding of a body among the grass, would have been heard without difficulty.All was quiet.Besides, Top, lying on the grass, his head stretched out on his paws, gave no sign of uneasiness.

At eight o'clock the day appeared far enough advanced for the reconnaissance to be made under favorable conditions.Gideon Spilett declared himself ready to set out accompanied by Pencroft.Cyrus Harding consented.Top and Jup were to remain with the engineer, Herbert, and Neb, for a bark or a cry at a wrong moment would give the alarm.

"Do not be imprudent," said Harding to the reporter and Pencroft, "you have not to gain possession of the corral, but only to find out whether it is occupied or not.""All right," answered Pencroft.

And the two departed.

Under the trees, thanks to the thickness of their foliage, the obscurity rendered any object invisible beyond a radius of from thirty to forty feet.

The reporter and Pencroft, halting at any suspicious sound, advanced with great caution.

They walked a little distance apart from each other so as to offer a less mark for a shot.And, to tell the truth, they expected every moment to hear a report.Five minutes after leaving the cart, Gideon Spilett and Pencroft arrived at the edge of the wood before the clearing beyond which rose the palisade.

They stopped.A few straggling beams still fell on the field clear of trees.Thirty feet distant was the gate of the corral, which appeared to be closed.This thirty feet, which it was necessary to cross from the wood to the palisade, constituted the dangerous zone, to borrow a ballistic term:

in fact, one or more bullets fired from behind the palisade might knock over any one who ventured on to this zone.Gideon Spilett and the sailor were not men to draw back, but they knew that any imprudence on their part, of which they would be the first victims, would fall afterwards on their companions.If they themselves were killed, what would become of Harding, Neb, and Herbert?

But Pencroft, excited at feeling himself so near the corral where he supposed the convicts had taken refuge, was about to press forward, when the reporter held him back with a grasp of iron.

"In a few minutes it will be quite dark," whispered Spilett in the sailor's ear, "then will be the time to act."Pencroft, convulsively clasping the butt-end of his gun, restrained his energies, and waited, swearing to himself.

Soon the last of the twilight faded away.Darkness, which seemed as if it issued from the dense forest, covered the clearing.Mount Franklin rose like an enormous screen before the western horizon, and night spread rapidly over all, as it does in regions of low latitudes.Now was the time.

The reporter and Pencroft, since posting themselves on the edge of the wood, had not once lost sight of the palisade.The corral appeared to be absolutely deserted.The top of the palisade formed a line, a little darker than the surrounding shadow, and nothing disturbed its distinctness.

Nevertheless, if the convicts were there, they must have posted one of their number to guard against any surprise.

Spilett grasped his companion's hand, and both crept towards the corral, their guns ready to fire.

They reached the gate without the darkness being illuminated by a single ray of light.

Pencroft tried to push open the gate, which, as the reporter and he had supposed, was closed.However, the sailor was able to ascertain that the outer bars had not been put up.It might, then, be concluded that the convicts were there in the corral, and that very probably they had fastened the gate in such a way that it could not be forced open.

Gideon Spilett and Pencroft listened.

Not a sound could be heard inside the palisade.The musmons and the goats, sleeping no doubt in their huts, in no way disturbed the calm of night.

The reporter and the sailor hearing nothing, asked themselves whether they had not better scale the palisades and penetrate into the corral.This would have been contrary to Cyrus Harding's instructions.

It is true that the enterprise might succeed, but it might also fail.

Now, if the convicts were suspecting nothing, if they knew nothing of the expedition against them, if, lastly, there now existed a chance of surprising them, ought this chance to be lost by inconsiderately attempting to cross the palisades?

This was not the reporter's opinion.He thought it better to wait until all the settlers were collected together before attempting to penetrate into the corral.One thing was certain, that it was possible to reach the palisade without being seen, and also that it did not appear to be guarded.

This point settled, there was nothing to be done but to return to the cart, where they would consult.

Pencroft probably agreed with this decision, for he followed the reporter without making any objection when the latter turned back to the wood.

In a few minutes the engineer was made acquainted with the state of affairs.