Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 3

But soon it began to descend. It was impossible to repair the rent, through which the gas was rushing.

At 4 o’clock, when the balloon was only 500 feet above the sea, they heard the loud barking.

– Top[5 - Top – Топ (кличкасобаки)]saw something! Land! Land!

They saw a land. But it is far, it takes an hour to reach it. An hour! They did not know whether it was an island or a continent. They do not know what part of the world the tempest brought them. How to reach that land?

At 4 o’clock they saw that the balloon could not sustain itself much longer.

A half hour later, and the land was a mile distant. The balloon jumped into the air. It rose 1,500 feet, and soon, however, it fell upon the sand. The passengers, assisting each other, hastened to the ground.

The basket contained five passengers and a dog. Four men were upon the shore. The fifth one, then, was in the water. His friends cried:

– Perhaps he is trying to swim ashore.

Chapter II

They were neither professional aeronauts nor amateurs. They were prisoners of war who succeeded to escape. Their aerial voyage lasted five days. How did it happen?

This same year, in the month of February, 1865, many officers were captured by the enemy. One of the most famous of them was Cyrus Smith[6 - Cyrus Smith – Сайрес Смит]. Cyrus Smith was an engineer by profession, and a scientist, to whom the Government gave the direction of the railways.

He was thin, bony, lean, about forty-five years old, with heavy moustache[7 - heavy moustache – густые усы]. His muscles showed remarkable firmness. He was highly educated, practical, and clear-headed, his temperament was superb. Cyrus Smith was also the personification of courage.

At the same time with Cyrus Smith another man fell into the hands of the Southerners[8 - the Southerners – южане]. This was Gideon Spilett[9 - Gideon Spilett – Гидеон Спилет], reporter to the New York Herald[10 - New York Herald – «Нью-Йорк Геральд» (названиегазеты)].

A man of great merit; energetic, prompt, and ready; full of ideas; soldier and artist; resolute in action.

He also was in all the battles, revolver in one hand and notebook in the other. Gideon Spilett was tall.