"Well, Captain Harding," asked Pencroft, "what do you think of our vessel?"
"She appears to behave well," replied the engineer.
"Good! And do you think now that she could undertake a voyage of some extent?"
"What voyage, Pencroft?"
"One to Tabor Island, for instance."
"My friend," replied Harding, "I think that in any pressing emergency we need not hesitate to trust ourselves to the Bonadventure even for a longer voyage; but you know I should see you set off to Tabor Island with great uneasiness, since nothing obliges you to go there."
"One likes to know one's neighbours," returned the sailor, who was obstinate in his idea. "Tabor Island is our neighbour, and the only one! Politeness requires us to go at least to pay a visit."
"By Jove," said Spilett; "our friend Pencroft has become
