“No! no!” he cried. “One word only—am I free?”. “You are free,” replied the engineer. “Then, good-bye!” he cried, rushing off. Neb, Pencroff, and Herbert ran to the border of the wood, but they returned alone. “We must let him have his own way,” said the engineer. “He will never come back,” exclaimed Pencroff. “He will return,” replied the engineer. And after that conversation many days passed, but Smith—was it a presentiment—persisted in the fixed idea that the unhappy man would return sooner or later. “It is the last struggle of this rude nature, which is touched by remorse, and which would be terrified by a new isolation.” In the meantime, work of all kinds was continued, both on Prospect Plateau and at the corral, where Smith proposed to make a farm. It is needless to say that the seeds brought from Tabor Island had been carefully sown. The plateau was a great kitchen-garden, well laid out and enclosed, which kept the colonists always busy. As the plants multiplied, it was necessary to increase the size of the beds, which threatened to become fields, and to take the place of the grass land. But as forage abounded in other parts of the island, there was no fear of the onagers having to be placed on rations; and it was also better to make Prospect Plateau, defended by its belt of creeks, a garden of this kind, and to extend the fields, which required no protection, beyond the belt. On the 15th of November they made their third harvest. Here was a field which had indeed increased in the eighteen months since the first grain of corn had been sown. The second crop of 600,000 grains produced this time 4,000 bushels or more than 500,000,000 grains. The colonists were, therefore, rich in corn; as it was only necessary to sow a dozen bushels each year in order to have a supply sufficient for the nourishment of man and beast. After harvesting they, gave up the last fortnight in the month to bread-making. They had the grain but not the flour, and a mill was therefore necessary. Smith could have used the other waterfall which fell into the Mercy, but, after discussing the question, it was decided to build a simple wind-mill on the summit of the plateau. Its construction would be no more difficult than a water-mill, and they would be sure of always having a breeze on this open elevation. “Without counting,” said Pencroff, “the fine aspect a wind-mill will give to the landscape.” They began the work by selecting timber for the cage and machinery for the mill. Some large sand-stones, which the colonists found to the north of the lake, were readily made into mill-stones, and the inexhaustible envelope of the balloon furnished the cloth necessary for the sails.