"Ah!" replied Kennedy, "you have made up your
mind, then, at last?"
"Yes, I have for a long time been thinking over a plan
which we'll try to put into execution; it is only six o'clock
in the evening, and we shall have time enough. Throw
out your anchors, Joe!"
Joe immediately obeyed, and the two anchors dangled
below the balloon.
"I see large forests ahead of us," said the doctor; "we
are going to sweep along their tops, and we shall grapple
to some tree, for nothing would make me think of passing
the night below, on the ground."
"But can we not descend?" asked Kennedy.
"To what purpose? I repeat that it would be dangerous
for us to separate, and, besides, I claim your help
for a difficult piece of work."
The Victoria, which was skimming along the tops of
immense forests, soon came to a sharp halt. Her anchors
had caught, and, the wind falling as dusk came on, she
remained motionlessly suspended above a vast field of
verdure, formed by the tops of a forest of sycamores.
CHAPTER FORTY-SECOND.
A Struggle of Generosity.--The Last Sacrifice.--The Dilating Apparatus.
--Joe's Adroitness.--Midnight.--The Doctor's Watch.--Kennedy's Watch.
--The Latter falls asleep at his Post.--The Fire.
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