The Secret of the Island By Jules Verne Five Union soldiers in the American Civil War escape in a balloon. Driven by tremendous find themselves castaways on a strange island somewhere deep in the Pacific Ocean. They call it Lincoln Island -- and through luck, pluck and the help from a mysterious hidden benefactor, they not only survive but become more like colonists than castaways. With their leader -- an engineer named Cyrus Smith -- they recreate the wonders of nineteenth century civilization with what they find on the island. Along the way, the "colonists" rescue Ayrton (a character from another Jules Verne novel, "In Search of the Castaways") who has been living like a wild creature. In this book, the third part of "The Mysterious Island," they must deal with Ayrton's former shipmates -- bloodthirsty pirates . . . and discover "The Secret of the Island." Namely, their mysterious benefactor, who turns out to be none other than one of the most famous characters of science fiction -- with his wonderful invention! We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.