summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
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<h1>The Project Gutenberg EBook of Five Thousand Miles Underground, by Roy Rockwood
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Title: Five Thousand Miles Underground

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</pre>

<h1>
Five Thousand Miles Underground</h1>
<h4>Or</h4>
<h2>The Mystery of the Centre of the Earth</h2>
<h2>
by Roy Rockwood, 1908</h2>
<HR>
<h3>CHAPTER I</h3>
<h4>WASHINGTON BACKS OUT</h4>
<P>
"WASHINGTON! I say Washington!"
<P>
Throughout a big shed, filled for the most part with huge pieces of machinery,
echoed the voice of Professor Amos Henderson. He did not look up from a small
engine over which he was bending.
<P>
"Washington! Where are you? Why don't you answer me?"
<P>
From somewhere underneath an immense pile of iron, steel and aluminum came
the voice of a colored man.
<P>
"Yas sir, Perfesser, I'se goin' t' saggasiate my bodily presence in yo'
contiguous proximity an' attend t' yo' immediate conglomerated prescriptions
at th' predistined period. Yas, sir!"
<P>
"Well, Washington, if you had started when you began that long speech you
would have been at least half way here by this time. Hurry up! Never mind
tightning those bolts now. Find the boys. I need them to help me with this
engine. They must be around somewhere."
<P>
"I seen 'em goin' fishin' down by th' brook a little while ago," answered
the negro, crawling out from under what seemed to be a combined airship and
watercraft. "Jack says as how yo' gived him permission t' occupy his
indisputatious period of levity in endeavorin' t' extract from th' liquid
element some specimens of swimmin' creatures."
<P>
"If you mean I said he and Mark could go fishing in the brook, you're right,
Washington," replied the professor with a smile. "But you waste a lot of
time and breath trying to say it. Why, don't you give up using big words?"
<P>
"I reckon I was brought up t' it," replied the colored man grinning from
ear to ear. He did not always use big words but when he did they were generally
the wrong ones. Sometimes, he spoke quite correctly.
<P>
"Well, I suppose you can't help it," resumed Mr. Henderson. "However, never
mind that. Find the boys and send them to me."
<P>
"With th' least appreciatableness amount of postponement," answered the
messenger, and he went out.
<P>
Washington White, who in color was just the opposite to his name, a general
helper and companion to Professor Henderson, found Mark Sampson and Jack
Darrow about a quarter of a mile from the big shed, which was in the center
of a wooded island off the coast of Maine. The lads were seated on the bank
of a small brook, fishing.
<P>
"Perfesser wants yo' immediate," said Washington.
<P>
"But we haven't caught a single fish," objected Mark.
<P>
"Them's the orders from headquarters," replied the colored man. "Yo' both
got t' project yo'selves in th' vicinity of th' machine shop. I reckon th'
new fangled contraption that th' perfesser is goin' t' navigate th' air an'
sail th' angry seas in, am about done. He want's t' try th' engine."
<P>
"Come on then," said Jack. "We probably would not catch any fish, anyhow,
Mark."
<P>
Accompanied by Washington, the youths, each of whom was about eighteen years
old, started toward the big shed.
<P>
While they are on their way opportunity may be taken to tell a little about
them, as well as about Washington and the professor, and the curious craft
on which the scientist was working.
<P>
A few years before this story opens Mr. Henderson had invented a wonderful
electric airship. He had it about completed when, one day, he and the two
boys became unexpectedly acquainted, and, as it developed, friends.
<P>
Mark and Jack were orphans. After having rather a hard time knocking about
the world trying to make a living, they chanced to meet, and resolved to
cast their lots together. They boarded a freight train, and, as told in the
first volume of this series, entitled, "Through the Air to the North Pole;
or the Wonderful Cruise of the Electric Monarch," the cars were wrecked near
where Professor Henderson was building his strange craft.
<P>
The boys were cared for by the scientist, and, after their recovery from
hurts received in the collision, they accepted his invitation to make the
trip through the upper regions in the airship, to search for the north pole.
With them went Andy Sudds, an old hunter, and Tom Smith and Bill Jones, two
farmers, but who were hired as helpers on the voyage. The party had many
adventures on the trip, having battles with savage animals and more savage
Esquimaux, and were tossed about in terrible storms. After making some scientific
observations, which the professor was much interested in, they started back
home.
<P>
Having found he could successfully sail in the air, Mr. Henderson resolved
to try what it might be like under water.
<P>
He moved his machine shop to a lonely spot on the Maine coast, and there,
with the help of the boys, Washington, Andy and two machinists constructed
a submarine boat, called the <I>Porpoise.</I>
<P>
In this the professor resolved to seek the south pole, he having a theory
that it was surrounded by an open sea. After much hard work the <I>Porpoise
</I>was made ready for the voyage.
<P>
What occurred on this great trip is described in the second book of this
series, called "Under the Ocean to the South Pole, or the Strange Cruise
of the Submarine Wonder." In that is told how once more Tom and Bill, with
Andy, the boys and Washington, accompanying Professor Henderson, had many
thrilling experiences.
<P>
They were caught in the grip of the grass of the terrible Sargasso Sea. Monstrous
suckers grasped the boat in their powerful arms, and had to be fought off.
They were caught in a sea of boiling water and imprisoned between big fields
of ice.
<P>
By means of strong diving suits they were able to leave the ship and walk
about on the bottom of the sea. They visited a graveyard of sunken ships,
saw many strange monsters as well as many beautiful fish in the great depths
to which they sunk. Many times they were in dire peril but the resources
of the professor, the bravery and daring of the boys, no less than the help
Washington and Andy Sudds, the hunter, rendered at times, brought them through.
<P>
Those of you who read of their adventures will recall the strange island
which they came upon in the Atlantic Ocean, far from the coast of South America.
<P>
When they first drew near this island they were almost sucked into the depths
of a great whirlpool, caused by water pouring down a big hole that seemed
to lead far into the earth. They reversed their ship just in time.
<P>
But, on going to another side of the island they were able to approach safely,
as at this point the great hole was farther from the shore. Then they landed
and investigated.
<P>
They found the island was almost circular, and the hole was also round, but
not in the center of the land. It was an immense cavity, so wide they could
not see across, and as for the depth they could only guess at it. Looking
down they could only see rolling masses of vapor and clouds caused by the
water which poured down from the ocean with the force of a Niagara.
<P>
Gazing down into the big hole Mark suggested it might lead to the centre
of the earth, which some scientists claim is hollow. The professor admitted
that the cavity looked as though it led to China.
<P>
They had no means of investigating further the mystery of the opening and
returned to their submarine, completing the voyage to the south pole.
<P>
It was now about two years since they had come back from that eventful trip.
One of the first things the professor did, after docking the <I>Porpoise,
</I>was to shut himself up in his study and begin to draw plans. To the questions
of the boys he returned no answer for several days. Then he announced he
was working on a craft which could both sail on top of the water and navigate
the air.
<P>
In time the plans were done, and, in order to keep the work secret, the shop
was moved to an island which the professor owned.
<P>
Parts of the <I>Monarch </I>and the <I>Porpoise </I>were used in constructing
the new craft, so there was no need to get other help than that which the
boys, Washington and Bill and Tom could give, since the two latter accepted
an offer of the professor to remain and work for him. The boys, of course,
would not leave their friend.
<P>
The professor realized that he had a more difficult task in his new venture
than he had set himself on other occasions. For a ship to be light enough
to rise in the air, and, at another time, and with no change, to be strong
enough to navigate the ocean, was indeed something to tax Mr. Henderson's
ingenuity.
<P>
However, in the course of a little over a year the larger part of the work
was done. Inside the big shed was the huge affair which, it was hoped, would
enable its owner to be master of both air and water.
<P>
"Did the professor say anything special?" asked Mark of Washington.
<P>
"Nope. I reckon he were too busy problamatin' the exact altitude projected
in an inverse direction by th' square root of th' new engine when operated
at a million times inside of a few seconds, but he didn't say nothin' t'
me. I were busy underneath th' ship, fixin' bolts when he tole me t' find
yo'. I wouldn't be s'prised if he had th' thing goin' soon."
<P>
"Do you think he'll be generating the new gas to-day?" asked Jack eagerly.
"That's the most troublesome part; to get that gas right."
<P>
"He didn't say nothin' t' me 'bout it," Washington stated, as he walked along
beside the two boys. "He jest seemed anxious like."
<P>
"We'd better hurry," advised Mark. "He may be at an important part in his
experiments and probably needs us. I hope it will work. He has spent many
days on it, and we all have worked hard. It ought to be a success."
<P>
"Perfesser allers makes things work," declared Washington stoutly.
<P>
"That's a good way to feel about it, anyway," observed Mark. "Well, we'll
soon know."
<P>
The three hurried to the shed which they could see as they rounded a turn
of the path through the wood. They noticed an elderly man approaching with
a gun on his shoulder. On one arm he carried a game bag.
<P>
"Guess Andy got something for dinner," remarked Jack.
<P>
"I hopes so, honey," put in Washington. "I'se got a sort of gone feelin'
in my stomach!"
<P>
"Any luck, Andy?" called Mark, when he came within hailing distance.
<P>
"Fine," replied Andy Sudds. "Rabbits and quail. We'll have a good dinner
to-morrow."
<P>
While Andy entered the living part of the big shed to put away his gun and
game, the boys and Washington kept on to the engine room. They found the
professor, with Bill and Tom, busy fitting pipes to the small engine which
was set up at one side of the structure.
<P>
"Come, boys, I need your aid," remarked Mr. Henderson as they entered. "Take
off your coats and pitch in. Tighten up these bolts, Jack. Mark, you mix
up those chemicals the way I taught you, and see that the dynamo is in working
order for Washington to attend to."
<P>
In a little while the shop was a veritable hive of industry, and it resounded
to the sound of hammers, wrenches and machinery. In the background was the
big ship, which seemed like two immense cigars, one above the other, the
lower one the larger.
<P>
"Where was you calalatin' t' take this here ship when it gits done, Perfesser?"
asked Washington, during a lull in the operations.
<P>
"Do you remember that big hole in the island we visited on our trip to the
south pole?"
<P>
"I suah does," answered the colored man.
<P>
"We are going to explore that," went on the scientist. "We are going to make
a voyage to the interior of the earth in our <I>Flying Mermaid."</I>
<P>
"Go down into th' earth!" exclaimed Washington, his eyes big with fright.
<P>
"Certainly; why not?"
<P>
"Not for mine!" cried the colored man, dropping the wrench he was holding.
"No sire I'm not goin' t' project myself int' a grave while I'se alive. Time
enough when I kicks th' bucket. No sir! If yo' an' the boys wants t' risk
yo' se'ves goin' down int' th' interior of th' earth, where th' Bible says
there's fiery furnaces, yo' kin go, but Washington White stays on terra cotta!
That's where he stays; He ain't ready t' be buried, not jest yet!" and the
frightened colored man started to leave the shed.
<h3>CHAPTER II</h3>
<h4>THE FLYING MERMAID</h4>
<P>
"HERE! Stop him!" cried Professor Henderson. "Don't let him get away. We
still need his help to get the ship in shape. He needn't be frightened. We're
not going to start at once."
<P>
Mark and Jack ran after Washington, whose progress was somewhat impeded because
he kept looking back as if he feared the new ship was chasing him.
<P>
"Come on back!" said Mark. "There's no danger, and if there was we're not
going to start to-day."
<P>
"Ain't yo' foolin' me?" asked Washington, pausing and looking doubtfully
at the boys.
<P>
"Of course not," answered Mark. "You know Professor Henderson would not make
you do anything you didn't want to do, Wash. He wishes you to stay and help
him get ready, that's all."
<P>
"Well, Washington," observed the aged scientist. "I didn't think you'd go
back on me."
<P>
"I'd do mos' anything fer yo', Perfesser," said the colored man, "but I got
t' beg off this time," and he looked at the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>as if he
thought the metal sides would open and devour him.
<P>
Then help me get things in shape to generate the gas," the scientist said.
"I want to give the new vapor the first real test in lifting power to-day.
On the success of it depends the future of the ship."
<P>
Seeing there was no immediate danger of being carried to the centre of the
earth, Washington resumed his labors. The professor, the boys, Bill and Tom
were also hurrying matters to enable a test to be made before night.
<P>
As will readily be seen, even by those not familiar with the construction
of airships and submarines, the chief problem was to find some agent strong
enough to lift from the earth a weight heavier than had ever before been
put into an apparatus that was destined to traverse the clouds. For the
<I>Flying Mermaid </I>was not only an airship but an ocean voyager as well.
It had to be made light enough to be lifted far above the earth, yet the
very nature of it, necessitating it being made heavy enough to stand the
buffeting of the waves and the pressure of water, was against its flying
abilities.
<P>
Professor Henderson realized this and knew that the chief concern would be
to discover a gas or vapor with five times the lifting power of hydrogen,
one of the lightest gases known, and one sometimes used to inflate balloons.
<P>
After long study he had been partially successful, but he knew from experiments
made that the gas he had so far been able to manufacture would not answer.
What he wanted was some element that could be mixed with the gas, to neutralize
the attraction of gravitation, or downward pull of the earth.
<P>
While he was seeking this, and experimenting on many lines, the construction
of the air-water ship went on. In general the outward construction was two
cigar shaped hulls, one above the other. Aluminum, being the lightest and
strongest metal that could be used for the purpose, formed the main part
of both bodies.
<P>
The upper hull was one hundred feet long and twenty feet in diameter at the
widest part. It tapered to points at either end. It was attached to the lower
hull by strong braces, at either end, while from the center there extended
a pipe which connected with the lower section. This pipe was intended to
convey the lifting gas to the part which corresponded to the bag of the balloon,
save that it was of metal instead of silk, or rubber as is usual.
<P>
There were two reasons for this. One was that it would not be liable to puncture,
particularly in the proposed underground trip, and the other was that it
did not have to be so large as a cloth bag would have had to be. It was also
a permanent part of the ship, and on a voyage where part of the time the
travelers would be in the air and part on the water, and when the change
from one to the other would have to be made quickly, this was necessary.
It would have taken too long to raise the ship in the air had a cloth bag
been used to contain the gas.
<P>
The lower hull or main part of the craft was one hundred and fifty feet long,
and forty feet through at the largest part, in the centre.
<P>
It was divided into four sections. The forward one contained the sleeping
quarters of Professor Henderson and his crew. There was a small stateroom
for each one. Above was a conning or observation tower, reached by a small
flight of steps. From this tower the ship could be steered, stopped and started,
as could also be done from the engine room, which was in the after part of
the hull.
<P>
As in the <I>Porpoise </I>and <I>Monarch, </I>electricity formed the motive
power and was also used for many other purposes on board. Engines operated
by gas produced the current which heated, lighted and moved the ship, as
well as played a part in producing the wonderful gas.
<P>
The ship moved forward or backward by means of a novel arrangement. This
was by the power of compressed air. From either end of the lower hull there
projected a short pipe working in a ball and socket joint, so it could be
turned in any direction. By means of strong pumps a current of compressed
air could be sent out from either pipe. Thus when floating above the earth
the ship was forced forward by the blast of air rushing from the pipe at
the stern. It was the same principle as that on which a sky rocket is shot
heavenward, save that gases produced by the burning of powder in the pasteboard
rocket form its moving impulse.
<P>
In the case of the <I>Flying Mermaid, </I>it could be made to move backward
by sending the air out of the forward tube. Thus, when in the water, the
compressed air rushing from the pipe struck the fluid and forced the ship
forward or backward as was desired. It floated on the surface, the deck being
about three feet out of water, while the aluminum gas bag was overhead.
<P>
The engine room was a marvel of machine construction. It contained pumps
for air and water, motors, dynamos, gas engines, and a maze of wheels and
levers. Yet everything was very compact and no room was wasted.
<P>
The use of the air method of propulsion did away with the necessity of a
large propellor such as most airships have to use, a propellor which must
of necessity be very light and which is easily broken.
<P>
Next to the engine room was the kitchen. It contained an electric range and
all necessary appliances and utensils for preparing meals. There were lockers
and a large reserve storeroom which when the time came would be well stocked
with food. Forward of the kitchen was the living and dining room. It contained
comfortable seats, folding tables and a small library. Here, also were many
instruments designed to show how the various machines were working. There
were gages, pointers and dials, which told the direction the ship was traveling,
the speed and the distance above the earth or below the surface. Similar
indicators were in the conning tower, which had a powerful search light.
<P>
The ship was lighted throughout by incandescent lamps, and there was even
a small automatic piano worked by the electric current, on which popular
airs could be played.
<P>
If the gas and the gravity neutralizer worked as Professor Henderson hoped
they would, as soon as the ship was completed, all that would be necessary
to start on the voyage would be to fill the aluminum bag and set the air
compressor in motion.
<P>
The gas was made from common air, chemically treated and with a secret material
added which by means of a complicated machine in a measure did away with
the downward pull of the earth. Thus all that was necessary to carry on a
long voyage was a quantity of gasolene to operate the engine which worked
the electric machines, and some of this secret compound.
<P>
The professor and his helpers had been working to good advantage. At last
all was in readiness for the gas test.
<P>
It was proposed to try it on an experimental scale. Some of the fluid was
to be generated and forced into an aluminum cylinder under the same pressure
it would be used in the air ship. To this cylinder were attached weights
in proportion to the weight of the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>with its load of
human freight, engines and equipment.
<P>
"This cylinder is just one one-hundredth the size of the cylinder of the
ship," said the professor. "I am going to fasten to it a hundred pound weight.
If it lifts that our latest contrivance will be a success."
<P>
"You mean if the little cylinder pulls a hundred pounds up the big ship will
take us and the machinery up?" asked Mark.
<P>
"Certainly," answered the professor. "If this cylinder lifts a hundred pounds,
one a hundred times as big (as that of the <I>Mermaid </I>is), will lift
a hundred times as much, or ten thousand pounds. That is five tons, or more
than a ton over what I figure to be the weight of our ship and contents.
The latest war balloon can lift one ton with ease, and if my machine can
not do five times as well I shall be disappointed."
<P>
The last adjustments were made, pipes were run from the gas generator to
the cylinder, and the hundred pound weight was attached.
<P>
"Everybody look out now," said Mr. Henderson. "I am going to start the machine
and let the gas enter the cylinder. It is a very powerful gas and may break
the cylinder. If it does you must all duck."
<P>
The scientist gave a last look at everything. The boys got behind some boards
whence they could see without being in danger. Washington, who had little
fear so long as there was no danger of going under ground, took his place
at the dynamo. Andy Sudds, with Bill and Tom, stationed themselves in safe
places.
<P>
"All ready!" called the professor.
<P>
He pulled a lever toward him, turned a wheel and signalled to Washington
to start the dynamo. There was a sound of buzzing machinery, which was followed
by a hiss as the gas began to enter the cylinder under pressure. Would it
stand the strain? That question was uppermost in every one's mind save the
professor's. He only cared to see the cylinder leave the ground, carrying
the weight with it. That would prove his long labors were crowned with success.
<P>
Faster and faster whirred the dynamo. The gas was being generated from the
air. The secret chemical made a hissing which could be heard for some distance.
The gage registered a heavy pressure. Anxiously the professor watched the
cylinder.
<P>
"There!" he exclaimed at length. "It has all the gas it can hold. Now to
see if it works!"
<P>
He disconnected the pipe leading from the generator. This left the cylinder
free. It seemed to tremble slightly. There appeared to be a movement to the
hundred pound weight which rested on the ground. It was as if it was tugging
to get loose.
<P>
"There it goes! There it goes!" cried Mark, joyfully.
<P>
"Hurrah!" shouted Jack. "There she rises!"
<P>
"It suttinly am projectin' itself skyward!" yelled Washington, coming from
the dynamo.
<P>
Sure enough the cylinder was slowly rising in the air, bearing the weight
with it. It had lifted it clear from the ground and was approaching the roof
of the big shed.
<P>
"It will work! It will work!" exclaimed the professor, strangely excited.
<P>
The next instant the cylinder, carrying the weight, sailed right out of an
open skylight, and began drifting outside the shop, and across the fields.
<P>
"Quick! We must get it back!" cried Mr. Henderson. "If it gets away my secret
may be discovered and I will lose all! We must secure it!"
<P>
But the cylinder was now two hundred feet in the air and being blown to the
east, the weight dangling below it, making it look like a miniature airship.
<P>
"We can never catch that!" cried Mark.
<h3>CHAPTER III</h3>
<h4>WASHINGTON DECIDES</h4>
<P>
"WE must catch that cylinder!" the professor exclaimed. "Some one may find
it when it comes down and analyze the gas. Then he would discover how to
make it. The cylinder must come down!"
<P>
"Don't see how we can proximate ourselves inter th' vicinity of it lessen
we delegate th' imperial functions of orinthological specimens t' some member
of this here party," observed Washington.
<P>
"If you mean we can't catch that there contraption unless we turn into birds
I'll show you that you're mistaken!" cried Andy Sudds. "I guess I have a
trick or two up my sleeve," and the old hunter quickly threw open the breech
of his gun and inserted a couple of cartridges.
<P>
He raised the piece to his shoulder and took quick aim. There was a sliver
of flame, a puff of smoke and a sharp report. The professor and the boys
who were watching the cylinder saw it vibrate up in the air. Then there came
a whistling sound. An instant later the metal body began to descend, and
it and the weight fell to the earth.
<P>
"I'm sorry I had to put a bullet through it, Professor," said old Andy with
a queer smile, "but it was the only way I saw of bringing it down. Hope it
isn't damaged much."
<P>
"It doesn't matter if it is," the scientist answered. "I can make more cylinders,
but I don't want that secret of the gas to become known. Your bullet served
a good turn, Andy, for it let the compressed vapor out just in time."
<P>
"Then we may consider the experiment a success," said Mark, as Washington
went to where the cylinder had fallen, to detach it from the weight and bring
both to the shed.
<P>
"It seems so," Mr. Henderson answered. "True, it was only an experiment.
We have yet to test the ship itself."
<P>
"When can we do that?" asked Jack.
<P>
"I hope by Monday," the scientist answered.
<P>
"Will you try it in the water or air first?" asked Mark.
<P>
"I'm almost certain it will float in the water," the aged inventor said.
"It does not require much work to make a ship which will do that. But the
air proposition is another matter. However, since the cylinder rose, I am
pretty sure the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>will.
<P>
"But we have done enough work to-day. Let's rest and have something to eat.
Then, with Sunday to sit around and talk matters over, we will be ready for
Monday's test."
<P>
Some of the game Andy had killed was soon on the table, for Washington, in
addition to his other accomplishments, was an expert cook. During the evening
the boys and their friends sat in the living room of the big shed and talked
over the events of the day.
<P>
Sunday was spent in discussing what adventures might lie before them should
they be able to descend into the big hole. Washington did not say, much,
but it was easy to see he had no notion of going. He even began to pack his
few belongings in readiness to leave the service of Mr. Henderson, for whom
he had worked a good many years.
<P>
No one remained long abed Monday morning. Even Washington was up early in
spite of the interest he had lost in the professor's voyage.
<P>
"I jest wants t' see yo' start fer that place where they buries live folks,"
he said.
<P>
In order to properly test the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>it was necessary to move
the craft from the shed from which place it had never been taken since it's
construction was started. It had been built on big rollers in anticipation
of this need, so that all which was now necessary was to open the doors at
the end, and roll the craft out.
<P>
This was accomplished with no small amount of labor, and it was nearly noon
before the big ship was moved into the open. It was shoved along to a little
clearing in front of the shed, where no trees would interfere with its possible
upward movement.
<P>
Everyone was bustling about. The professor was busiest of all. He went from
one machine to another; from this apparatus to that, testing here, turning
wheels there, adjusting valves and seeing that all was in readiness for the
generating of the powerful gas.
<P>
As the airship was half round on the bottom and as it rested in a sort of
semi-circular cradle; it brought the entrance some distance above the ground.
To make it easier to get in and out while preparations for the trial were
going on, Bill and Tom had made an improvised pair of steps, which were tied
to the side of the ship with ropes.
<P>
Up and down these the professor, the boys and Andy went, taking in tools
and materials, and removing considerable refuse which had accumulated during
the building of the craft.
<P>
Finally all was in readiness for starting the making of the gas. The ship
was not wholly complete and no supplies or provisions for the long voyage
had been taken aboard. The <I>Flying Mermaid </I>was about a ton lighter
than it would be when fully fitted out, but to make up for this the professor
had left in the ship a lot of tools and surplus machinery so that the craft
held as much weight as it would under normal conditions. If the gas lifted
it now it would at any other time.
<P>
"Start the generator," said Mr. Henderson, to Mark. "We'll soon see whether
we are going to succeed or fail."
<P>
The boy turned a number of levers and wheels. The machine which made the
powerful vapor was soon in operation. The professor had already added enough
of the secret compound to the tank containing the other ingredients, and
the big pump was sucking in air to be transformed into the lifting gas.
<P>
The boys and the professor were in the engine room. Andy Sudds, with Bill
and Tom, had taken their places in the living room, to more evenly balance
the ship, since the things in it were not yet all in their proper places.
As for Washington he was busy running from the shed to the ship with various
tools and bits of machinery the professor desired.
<P>
The gas was being generated rapidly. Throughout the ship there resounded
a hissing noise that told it was being forced through the pipe into the aluminum
shell above the ship proper.
<P>
"I wonder how soon it will begin to lift us," said Mark.
<P>
"It will take about half an hour," replied Mr. Henderson. "You see we have
first to fill the holder completely, since there is no gas in it. After this
we will keep some on hand, so that it will only need the addition of a small
quantity to enable the ship to rise."
<P>
He was busy watching the pointer on a dial which indicated the pressure of
the gas, and the lifting force. The boys were kept busy making adjustments
to the machinery and oiling bearings.
<P>
Suddenly, throughout the length of the craft there was felt a curious trembling.
It was as though the screw of a powerful steamer was revolving in the water.
<P>
"What is it?" asked Jack.
<P>
"I hope it is the lifting power of the gas making itself felt," the professor
answered. "Perhaps the <I>Flying Mermaid is </I>getting ready to try her
wings."
<P>
The trembling became more pronounced. The gas was being generated faster
than ever. The whole ship was trembling. Tom and Bill came from the room,
where they were stationed, to inquire the meaning, but were reassured by
the professor.
<P>
"Don't be alarmed if you find yourselves up in the air pretty soon," he remarked
with a smile. "Remember the <I>Electric Monarch, </I>and the flights she
took. We may not go as high as we did in her, but it will answer the same
purpose."
<P>
The gas was hissing through the big tube as it rushed into the overhead holder.
The gage indicated a heavy pressure. The ship began to tremble more violently
and to sway slightly from side to side.
<P>
"I think we shall rise presently," said Mr. Henderson. His voice showed the
pride he felt at the seeming success with which his invention was about to
meet.
<P>
Suddenly, with a little jerk, as though some one with a giant hand had plucked
the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>from the earth, the ship gave a little bound into
the air, and was floating free.
<P>
"Here we go!" cried Mr. Henderson. "The ship is a success. Now we're off
for the hole in the earth!"
<P>
The <I>Flying Mermaid </I>was indeed rising in the air. True it did not go
up so swiftly as had the <I>Monarch, </I>but then it was a much heavier and
stronger vessel, and flying was only one of its accomplishments.
<P>
"It's a success! It's a success!" shouted Mark, capering about in his excitement.
<P>
"Now we'll see what the centre of the earth looks like," went on Jack. "I
can hardly wait for the time to come when we are to start on the voyage."
<P>
At that instant, when the ship was but a few feet from the ground, but slowly
rising, the boys and the professor heard a shouting below them.
<P>
"What's that?" asked the scientist. "Is any one hurt?"
<P>
Mark ran to a small window, something like a port hole in an ocean steamer,
and looked out.
<P>
"Quick!" he shouted. "Stop the ship! Washington will be killed!"
<P>
In fact from the agonized yells which proceeded from somewhere under the
craft it seemed that the accident was in process of happening.
<P>
"Save me! Save me!" cried the colored man. "I'm goin' to fall! Catch me,
some one!"
<P>
"What is it?" asked the professor, making ready to shut off the power and
let the ship settle back to earth, from which it had moved about fifty feet.
<P>
"It's Washington," explained Mark. "He evidently tried to walk up the steps
just as the boat mounted skyward. He rolled down and managed to grab the
end of the rope which was left over after the steps were tied. Now he's swinging
down there."
<P>
"Are you going to lower the ship?" asked Jack.
<P>
"Of course!" exclaimed the professor. "I only hope he hangs on until his
feet touch the earth."
<P>
"Keep a tight hold!" shouted Mark, from out of the small window.
<P>
"That's th' truest thing yo' ever said!" exclaimed Washington. "You bet I'm
goin' to hold on, and I'm comin' up too," which he proceeded to do, hand
over hand, like a sailor.
<P>
The boys and the professor watched the colored man's upward progress. The
ship had hardly begun to settle as, in the excitement, not enough gas had
been let out. Closer and closer came Washington, until he was able to grasp
the edge of the opening, to which the steps were fastened.
<P>
"I thought you weren't coming with us," observed the professor, when he saw
that his helper was safe.
<P>
"I changed my mind," said the colored man. "It's jest luck. Seems like th'
ship done wanted me t' go 'long, an' I'm goin'. I'll take my chances on bein'
buried alive. I ain't never seen th' centre of th' earth, an' I want's to
'fore I die. I'm goin' 'long, Perfessor!"
<h3>CHAPTER IV</h3>
<h4>WHAT DID MARK SEE?</h4>
<P>
"WELL, I'm glad you've decided at last," the professor remarked. "Now come
inside and we'll see how the ship works."
<P>
Once over his fright, Washington made himself at home on the craft he had
helped build. He went from one room to another and observed the engine.
<P>
"She certainly am workin'" he observed with pride. "Are we still goin' up,
Perfessor?"
<P>
"Still mounting," replied Mr. Henderson, "We are now three hundred feet above
the earth," he added as he glanced at a registering gage.
<P>
The great air pump was set going and soon from the after tube, a big stream
of the compressed vapor rushed. It acted on the ship instantly and sent the
craft ahead at a rapid rate. By elevating or depressing the tube the craft
could be sent obliquely up or down. Then, by forcing the air from the forward
tube, the <I>Mermaid </I>was reversed and scudded backward.
<P>
But it was more with the ship's ability to rise and descend that Professor
Henderson was concerned, since on that depended their safety. So various
tests were made, in generating the gas and using the negative gravity apparatus.
<P>
All worked to perfection. Obeying the slightest turn of the wheels and levers
the <I>Mermaid </I>rose or fell. She stood still, suspended herself in the
air, or rushed backward and forward.
<P>
Of course the machinery was new and did not operate as smoothly as it would
later, but the professor and his friends were very well satisfied.
<P>
"Now we'll try something new," said the scientist to the two boys as they
stood beside him in the tower. "I only hope this part succeeds, and we shall
soon be off on our voyage."
<P>
He turned several levers. There was a hissing sound as the gas rushed from
the container, and the ship began to settle down.
<P>
"What's th' matter? Are we goin' t' hit th' earth?" yelled Washington, rushing
from the engine room.
<P>
"Keep quiet," ordered the professor. "We are only going down, that's all."
<P>
"But good land! Perfesser!" exclaimed the colored man. "The ocean's right
under us! You forgot you sailed sway from the island! We'll be drowned suah!"
<P>
"Leave it to me," said Mr. Henderson. "The <I>Flying Mermaid </I>is going
to take a bath!"
<P>
"As long as it swims it will be all right," observed Mark in a low tone to
Jack. "I'm glad I can take care of myself in the water."
<P>
Before Jack could reply the <I>Mermaid </I>seemed to take a sudden dive through
the air. The next instant she struck the water with a splash that sent the
waves rolling all about. The craft rocked violently to and fro on the surface
of the sea. For a while there were anxious hearts aboard, for there was no
certainty but that the ship might not sink to the bottom.
<P>
But the old professor had not calculated and builded in vain. After rocking
about like a vessel newly launched, the strange craft rode safely and upright
on the water. It set down far enough to bring the propelling tubes well under,
but not so far but that the conning tower was well out and there was a small
deck available.
<P>
"Now to see if we can conquer the water as we did the air!" cried the professor.
"Mark, start the air pump. Jack, you steer, for I want to watch the machinery
under the additional strain."
<P>
From the rear tube rushed such a volume of air that the ocean near it bubbled
and foamed. The ship trembled from stem to stern, and then, after hanging
for an instant as if undecided what to do, it began to move forward as easily
as though it had never sailed any other element than the sea.
<P>
"She fits her name!" the professor cried. "She is indeed the <I>Flying Mermaid,
</I>for she sails the ocean as easily as she navigates in the clouds!"
<P>
For a mile or two the craft was sent ahead over the waves. Then it was reversed
and run backwards. Satisfied that his long months of work had not gone for
naught, the professor after trying several experiments, decided to try and
raise the ship while in motion.
<P>
With Jack and Mark to look after the air pumps, while Washington, Tom and
Bill busied themselves in the engine room, Mr. Henderson began to generate
the gas and start the negative gravity apparatus. All the while the craft
was forging ahead.
<P>
There was again the hissing sound that told of the aluminum holder being
filled. For a few minutes there seemed to be no change, the <I>Mermaid
</I>plowing forward.
<P>
Then like a bird rising from the waves, or like a flying fish leaping from
the sea to escape some pursuing monster of the deep, the new ship shot up
diagonally from the surface and winged its way into the upper regions of
the air.
<P>
"Success! Success!" cried the professor. "This proves all I wanted to know.
Now. we are ready for our great trip!"
<P>
Great were the rejoicings in the camp that night. It was like living over
again the days when they were aboard the diving <I>Porpoise </I>or the flying
<I>Monarch. </I>To the recollections were added the anticipations of what
was before them in the trip to the interior of the earth.
<P>
Busy days followed, for there was still much to be done to the <I>Flying
Mermaid. </I>The machinery, which was only partly completed, had to be finished.
Besides this the professor was working on some apparatus, the use of which
he did not disclose to any one. It was stored aboard the ship at the last
minute.
<P>
Plenty of provisions had to be taken aboard, and many supplies needed to
work the <I>Mermaid </I>and insure that it would go to the end of the voyage.
The materials for generating the gas and negative gravity, spare parts, records
for the automatic piano and other things were stored away.
<P>
Some guns and ammunition were taken along as were a few revolvers, since
old Andy had said it was best to prepare for any thing in the shape of enemies
or wild beasts that might be met with in the interior regions.
<P>
It was decided to make the start by sailing along the surface of the sea
for several days, as in the event of any weakness in the machinery being
discovered there would be less danger. If, at the end of four days, no trouble
developed, the professor said he would send the <I>Mermaid </I>into the air
and make the rest of the voyage through the sky.
<P>
The night before the start was to be made the professor, with the boys,
Washington and the other helpers, went about through the various shops and
buildings, locking them up securely. For they could not tell how long they
would be away, and they had to leave behind much valuable material.
<P>
As there were several things that needed attention they divided the work
up. Mark had finished his share and was walking back toward the living cabin
where they were all quartered, when, down at the shore, near where the boat
was moored, he fancied he saw, in the gathering darkness, a moving figure.
<P>
"I wonder who that can be," he thought. "All the others are near the machine
shop, for I just left them there. Perhaps it's some one trying to spy out
how the <I>Mermaid </I>is built."
<P>
Knowing the professor wanted his secret well guarded, Mark walked softly
toward the little dock that served as a place whence the <I>Mermaid </I>could
be easily boarded. As he approached he saw the figure moving. Something struck
the boy as peculiar.
<P>
Though the object had some of the characteristics of a man it did not walk
like a human being, but shuffled along more like a huge ape or monkey. It
seemed bent over, as if it stooped toward the ground.
<P>
"Who are you?" called Mark suddenly.
<P>
For an instant the figure halted and then hurried on faster than before,
with a curious, shuffling walk. It was approaching the ship.
<P>
Somehow it struck Mark as if it was an uncanny being; an inhabitant of some
other world. Then he laughed at his half-fear, and started on a run toward
the dock.
<P>
"If it's some tramp trying to find a place to sleep he'd better not go aboard
the ship, he might do some damage," the boy thought.
<P>
He could hardly see the figure now as it had passed into the shadow cast
by the boat. He was about to summon the professor to make an investigation,
when Washington started going the search light which was placed just over
the door of the living cabin. It was kept there as a sort of beacon light,
as, near the island was a dangerous ledge of rocks.
<P>
Then, in the blinding white glare from the big lantern as Washington accidentally
swung it toward the <I>Mermaid, </I>Mark beheld a strange sight.
<P>
The figure he had been watching stood out in bold relief. Though it was shaped
like a human being it was not like any person the boy had ever seen. It seemed
covered with a skin twice too large for it; a skin, which, in spite of the
clothes that concealed it, hung in folds about the arms and legs, dropping
pendent like from the neck like a big garment, and flapping in the wind.
<P>
For an instant Mark was so startled he cried out, and the professor and the
others ran to see what was the matter.
<P>
"There&mdash;by the ship! A horrible creature!" exclaimed Mark.
<P>
Shouting to Washington to keep the light steady in the direction of the dock,
Mr. Henderson ran toward the moored <I>Mermaid. </I>Jack, Andy, Bill and
Tom, with Mark in the rear followed him.
<P>
"Nothing here," said the scientist, after a careful search about. "Are you
sure you saw something, Mark?"
<P>
"Positively," replied the lad with a shudder. He described the vision of
the darkness.
<P>
"I guess it was a big otter, or maybe an enormous turtle," the professor
said.
<h3>CHAPTER V</h3>
<h4>ATTACKED BY A WHALE</h4>
<P>
BUT Mark was certain it was nothing like that, though a careful search failed
to reveal anything or any person near the ship. It was too dark to examine
for footprints, and even Mark, after taking a look all about, felt he might
have been deceived by shadows. Still he was a little nervous, and could hardly
sleep for imagining what the thing he saw could have been.
<P>
The next day every one was so busy that no one, not even Mark, recalled the
little excitement of the night before. Shortly after noon, final preparations
having been made, they all got aboard the <I>Mermaid </I>and started off.
<P>
It was a bright sunshiny day, and the craft, speeding away from the island
where it had been constructed, over the dancing blue waves, must have presented
a strange sight had there been any spectators. For surely no such ship had
ever before sailed those waters.
<P>
However, there was no other vessel in sight, and the island, as far as the
professor and his friends knew, had never been inhabited.
<P>
"We will not try for any great speed," Mr. Henderson remarked as he, with
Mark and Jack, stood in the conning tower managing the <I>Mermaid. </I>"We
don't want to strain any joints at the start or heat any engine bearings.
There will be time enough for speed later."
<P>
"Yes, and we may need it more when we get into the centre of the earth than
we do now," observed Mark.
<P>
"Why so?" asked Jack.
<P>
"No telling what we may run up against underneath the ground," went on Mark.
"We may have to fight strange animals and stranger beings. Besides, the
atmosphere and water there can't be the same as up here; do you think so,
Professor?"
<P>
For a few minutes the scientist was silent. He seemed to be thinking deeply.
<P>
"I will tell you what I believe," he said at length. "I have never spoken
of it before, but now that we are fairly started and may eventually have
a chance to prove my theory, I will say that I think the centre of this earth
on which we live is hollow. Inside of it, forming a core, so to speak, I
believe there is another earth, similar to ours in some respects which revolves
inside this larger sphere."
<P>
They were well out to sea now, as they could observe when they emerged on
the little deck. Above their heads was the aluminum gas holder, which served
as a sort of protection from the sun that was quite warm. The <I>Mermaid
</I>rode with an easy motion, being submerged just enough to make her steady,
yet not deep enough to encounter much resistance from the water. In fact
it could not have been arranged better for speed or comfort.
<P>
"I think we will sail well to the eastward before making our course south,"
Mr. Henderson said. "I do not care to meet too many ships, as those aboard
will be very curious and I do not want too much news of this venture to get
out. We will take an unfrequented route and avoid delays by being hailed
by every passing vessel whose captain will wonder what queer craft he had
met with."
<P>
The boys enjoyed the sail, for the weather could not have been better. Even
old Andy, who seldom said much, seemed delighted with the prospect of having
strange adventures. He had his rifle with him, and, indeed, he seldom went
anywhere that he did not carry it.
<P>
"For there's no telling when you may see something you want to shoot or that
ought to be shot," he used to say, "and it's always the man without a gun
who needs it most. So I'm taking no chances."
<P>
They sailed all that afternoon without meeting with a craft of any kind.
Straight to the east they went, and when night began to settle down Washington
got supper. It was decided to run slowly after dark until all hands were
more familiar with the ship.
<P>
Morning found the <I>Mermaid </I>about a hundred miles from the island where
she had been launched. The night had been uneventful, except that Mark told
Jack he heard some strange noise near his bunk several times. He was nearest
the storeroom where spare parts, and the curious cylinder the professor had
brought aboard, were kept.
<P>
"I guess it was rats," said Jack. "They are always in ships."
<P>
"Old wooden ships, yes," admitted Mark. "But I'll bet there's not a rat aboard
the <I>Mermaid."</I>
<P>
"Then you were dreaming," said Jack, as if that settled it.
<P>
Mark did not speak further of the noise, but he did considerable thinking.
However, the next night there was no further disturbance.
<P>
The fourth day out, when everything had passed off well, the engines doing
their best, the professor decided to speed them up a bit, since he was satisfied
they had "found" themselves as mechanics term it.
<P>
"We'll see how fast we can go through the water," said Mr. Henderson, "and
then I think we can safely turn our course south. We are well beyond the
ordinary lines of travel now."
<P>
Having oiled the bearings well, and seen that everything was in place and
properly adjusted, the professor and the boys took their places in the conning
tower, while Washington, Tom and Bill remained in the engine room. Andy stayed
on deck with his gun.
<P>
"I might see a big fish, and we could vary our bill of fare," he said with
a laugh.
<P>
"Here we go!" exclaimed the professor as he shifted the levers and turned
some wheels and valves. "Now we'll see how fast we can travel."
<P>
As he spoke the <I>Mermaid </I>responded to the added impulse of the compressed
air and shot through the water at a terrific speed. The sudden increase in
momentum almost threw the boys from their feet, and they would have fallen
had they not grasped some projecting levers.
<P>
"I guess that will do," Said the scientist. "I think we have speed enough
for almost any emergency. I'll let her run at this rate for a while, and
then we'll slack up."
<P>
Looking ahead, the boys could see the green waters parting in front of the
bow of the <I>Mermaid, </I>as if to make room for her. Two huge waves were
thrown upon either side.
<P>
Suddenly, dead ahead, there loomed up a big black object.
<P>
"Look out you'll hit the rock!" cried Mark to the professor, who was steering.
<P>
With a turn of his wrist Mr. Henderson moved the wheel which controlled the
tube. It was deflected and sent the boat to larboard.
<P>
At that instant from the rock two small fountains of water rose in the air,
falling back in a shower of spray through which the sun gleamed.
<P>
"That's not a rock! It's a big whale!" cried Jack. "And we're going to hit
him!"
<P>
The professor had miscalculated the speed of the craft, or else had not thrown
her far enough to larboard, for, a second later, the <I>Mermaid </I>was almost
upon the big leviathan.
<P>
With a desperate twirling of the steering wheel the professor veered the
craft as far as possible. But all he could do did not suffice, for the craft
hit the whale a glancing blow on the side, and the ship careened as if she
would turn turtle.
<P>
At the same time there rang out from upon deck the sound of a rifle shot.
Old Andy had taken a chance at the enormous creature of the deep.
<P>
"Hurrah!" the bays heard him shout. "I give him one plumb in the eye! A fine
shot! And we hit him besides with the boat. I guess he's a goner!"
<P>
"I'm afraid not," muttered the professor. "That was a bad blow we struck
him, but I think it will only ruffle his temper. We'll have to look sharp
now, boys."
<P>
By this time the ship had rushed past the whale, but the boys, looking through
a window in the rear of the tower could see the huge body. Now the fountains
of water which the whale spouted were tinged with red.
<P>
"He's bleeding!" exclaimed the professor. "I guess Andy hit him in a vital
spot."
<P>
"But not vital enough!" cried Mark. "See! He's coming after us!"
<P>
And so it proved. The whale, angered, and, probably half crazed by the pain
of the bullet and the blow, was coursing after the ship, coming on with the
speed of an express train. Straight at the <I>Mermaid </I>he lunged his huge
bulk.
<P>
"We must escape him!" cried Mr. Henderson. "If he hits us he'll send us to
the bottom!"
<P>
He had made ready to slow up the <I>Mermaid </I>to see if it had sustained
any damage from the impact with the whale, but when he saw the monster coming
after the boat he knew the only safety lay in flight.
<P>
"Let us go up into the air and so escape him!" cried Jack, with sudden
inspiration.
<P>
For an instant neither Mark nor the professor grasped what Jack meant. Then,
with an exclamation, the professor pulled forward the lever that generated
the gas and set working the gravity neutralizer, which would enable the ship
to rise.
<P>
Faster through the water went the <I>Mermaid, </I>and faster after her came
the whale. Above the hum of the engines was heard the hiss of the powerful
gas. The ship trembled more violently.
<P>
"We are rising!" exclaimed the professor, as he looked at a gage.
<P>
The boys could feel the craft lifting from the waves which clung to her as
if they hated to lose her. The boys knew the gas was beginning to operate.
<P>
"If it is not too late!" whispered Mark, half to himself.
<P>
For the monster of the seas was coming on, lashing the water to foam with
his terrible flukes, and sending aloft a bloody spray. His speed was awful.
<P>
Now he was but ten feet away from the fleeing craft&mdash;now but eight&mdash;now five!
Ten seconds more and the big head, like the blunt stern of a battle ship,
forced forward by the tons of blubber, flesh, bone and fat behind it would
strike the <I>Mermaid </I>and crush it like an egg shell.
<P>
Now if ever was the need for the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>to prove herself worthy
of the name. Now, if ever, was the time for her to leave the watery element
and take to the lighter one.
<P>
And she did. With a last tremble, as if to free herself from the hold of
the waves, the gallant craft soared up into the air, leaving the water, which
dripped from her keel like a fountain's spray, and shooting aloft like a
bird, escaped her terrible enemy which passed under her, so close that the
lower part of the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>scraped the whale's back.
<P>
"Saved!" exclaimed the professor.
<h3>CHAPTER VI</h3>
<h4>THE CYCLONE</h4>
<P>
IT was only in the nick of time, for a second later and the big mammal of
the ocean would have struck the ship and split it from stem to stern.
<P>
Higher and higher into the air mounted the <I>Flying Mermaid, </I>while in
the water below, the whale, incensed by missing his prey, was lashing the
waves to foam.
<P>
"Well, that was a narrow squeak; as close as I ever care to come to it!"
exclaimed Andy as he let go of the steel rail to which he was clinging and
entered the conning tower. "I had no idea of hitting the big fish."
<P>
"I guess he would have taken after us whether you had fired at him or not,"
said Mr. Henderson. "He was probably looking for trouble, and took the first
thing that came in his way, which happened to be us. Some whales are like
that, so I have read; big bull creatures, exiled from the school to which
they once belonged, they get like mad creatures and know neither friend nor
foe. Something like rogue elephants, I imagine."
<P>
Now, having thus unexpectedly risen into the air, the professor decided to
continue travel in that style for a while at least. It would require less
force to propel the ship, and the going would be more comfortable, since
in the upper regions the <I>Mermaid </I>rode on an even keel, while in the
water there was more or less rolling, due to the action of the waves.
<P>
Once recovered from their fright caused by the whale, and having lost sight
of the enormous creature, for they were now far above the ocean, the adventurers
began to think of something to eat.
<P>
Washington lost little time in preparing a meal, and it was eaten with a
relish. The electric cooking stove worked to perfection, for the colored
man had learned how to use that aboard the <I>Porpoise </I>and <I>Monarch,
</I>and could be depended on to turn out appetizing dishes.
<P>
"What do you say to traveling through the air at night?" asked Mr. Henderson,
as he arose from the table.
<P>
"Suits me," replied Mark. "There's less danger than in the water, I think,"
<P>
Bill, Tom and Washington arranged to stand the night watch, and, when the
professor had examined the engines and given orders about keeping the ship
on her course through the air, he retired to his bunk. Jack and Mark soon
followed.
<P>
It must have been about midnight when Mark was awakened by a movement that
seemed to come from the storeroom next to where his sleeping place was located.
At first he thought he had been dreaming, but, as he found he was wide awake,
he knew it was no imagination that had affected him.
<P>
"I certainly heard something," he said to himself. "It sounded just as it
did the other night. I wonder if I ought to investigate."
<P>
He thought over the matter carefully as he sat upright in his bunk in the
darkness. True the noise might be a natural one, due to the vibration of
the engine, or to some echo from the machinery. As Mark listened he heard
it again.
<P>
This time he realized it was the slow movement of some heavy body. He felt
a cold shiver run over him and his hair evinced an uncomfortable tendency
to stand upright. But he conquered his feelings and resolved to keep cool
and see if he could discover what had awakened him.
<P>
He got up and moved softly about the little room that contained his bunk.
He could hear better now, and knew it was no echo or vibration that had come
to his ears.
<P>
Once again he heard the strange sound. It was exactly the same as before;
as if some big creature was pulling itself over the floor.
<P>
"Maybe it's a snake; a water snake!" thought Mark. "It may have crawled aboard
when we did not notice it."
<P>
Then he remembered that the ship had not been open in any way that would
enable a serpent to come on it, since it had been started on its ocean trip.
Before that, he was sure no snake had entered the <I>Flying Mermaid. </I>Still
it sounded more like a snake than anything else.
<P>
"I'm going to make a search," decided the boy.
<P>
He took a small portable electric light, run by a storage battery, and, slipping
on a pair of shoes and a bath robe, he left his stateroom.
<P>
He had decided that the noise came from the storage compartment and so made
for that. The door he knew was not locked, since he had seen Mr. Henderson
go in late that afternoon, and the professor had used no key.
<P>
Moving softly, Mark left his room and soon found himself in a corridor, on
either side of which were located the sleeping quarters of the others. He
did not want to awaken them, and, perhaps, be laughed at for his curiosity.
<P>
To get to the storeroom Mark had to go first from the corridor into the dining
room. He soon reached the door that guarded what he thought might be a strange
secret. Trying the knob softly he found it giving under his fingers.
<P>
"I wonder if I had better go in," he thought. "Perhaps, after all, it was
only rats, as Jack said."
<P>
But, even as he listened he again heard the odd sound coming from the room.
This determined him. He would solve the mystery if possible.
<P>
Cautiously he turned the knob. The door was slowly swinging open when Mark
was startled by a noise from behind him. He turned suddenly to see Professor
Henderson confronting him.
<P>
"What is it, Mark? Is the ship on fire? What's the matter? Is any one hurt?"
<P>
"I was just going in this room to&mdash;&mdash;" began Mark.
<P>
"Don't do it! Don't do it!" exclaimed the professor in an excited whisper.
"No one must go in that room. I forgot to tell you and Jack about it. No
one must enter. It contains a secret!"
<P>
"I heard a strange noise and&mdash;&mdash;" Mark began again.
<P>
"It could make no noise! It would be impossible for it to make a noise!"
the professor exclaimed.
<P>
"I heard something," the boy insisted.
<P>
"You were dreaming!" said the professor. "Now go back to bed, Mark, and don't
let this happen again. Remember, no one must enter that room unless I give
permission!"
<P>
Somewhat crestfallen at the outcome of his investigations, but realizing
that the professor could do what he wanted to aboard his own ship, Mark went
back to bed. But he could not sleep. All the rest of the night he was wondering
whether Mr. Henderson had some strange creature hidden aboard the <I>Mermaid.
</I>He feared lest the old scientist's mind might be affected and, in his
wildness he had made some infernal machine that would, in time, blow the
whole ship apart.
<P>
But tired nature asserted itself at last, and, weary with vain imaginings,
Mark fell into a slumber. The next morning he awoke with a start from a dream
that he was being devoured by an immense water snake.
<P>
He said nothing to the others about his night's adventure, for, as it transpired,
no one else had been awakened by his investigations. The professor did not
refer to his conversation with Mark.
<P>
"There's something queer going on aboard the ship this trip," said Mark to
himself. "But I guess it's none of my business. Professor Henderson seems
to know what he is doing and I guess I can trust him."
<P>
He resolved to think no more of the strange noises and movements, and, for
several nights thereafter he was not disturbed by them.
<P>
The weather, which, up to this time had been fair, took a sudden turn for
the worse about the fourth day after Mark's little night expedition. One
evening the sun sank in a mass of dull lead-colored clouds and a sharp wind
sprang up.
<P>
"We're going to have a storm," said Mr. Henderson. "It's liable to be a bad
one, too, from the way the barometer is falling."
<P>
He looked at the glass, and scanned the various instruments that told how
high up the <I>Mermaid </I>was and how fast she was traveling.
<P>
"We're pretty high up in the air," he said, "and scooting along at about
fifty miles an hour. We are going against the wind, too, but fortunately
it is not blowing hard."
<P>
At that moment there sounded from without a peculiar howling sound, as if
a siren whistle was being blown.
<P>
"'Pears like there's goin' t' be a tumultuous demonstration of sub-maxiliary
contortions in th' empherial regions contiguous t' th' upper atmosphere!"
exclaimed Washington, entering from the engine room into the conning tower.
<P>
"What's the trouble?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"Terrible big black cloud chasin' us from behind!" exclaimed the colored
man.
<P>
Noting the alarm in Washington's voice the professor glanced from the rear
window. What he saw caused him to exclaim:
<P>
"It's a cyclone! We must drop down to avoid it!"
<P>
He sprang to a lever controlling the gas and yanked it toward him. There
was a shrill hissing sound, and a second later the <I>Mermaid </I>began to
sink. The boys watching the gages on the wall of the tower, saw that the
craft was falling rapidly.
<P>
But, with a rush and roar, the terrible wind was upon them. It caught the
craft in its fearful grip and heeled it over as a ship careens to the ocean
blast.
<P>
"It's a storm in the upper regions! We'll find it calm below!" cried the
professor above the howling of the gale. He opened the gas outlet wider and
the ship fell more rapidly.
<P>
"Are you sure we're over the ocean?" asked Mark.
<P>
"Positive!" the professor called back. "We have been traveling straight south
over the Atlantic for the last week. We will land in the midst of the waters
and float safely."
<P>
Lower and lower went the <I>Mermaid. </I>The wind was now blowing with the
force of a tornado, and, as the craft had to slant in order to descend, it
felt the power of the gale more than if it had scudded before it. But, by
skilful use of the directing tube, the professor was able to keep the boat
from turning over. As they came further down toward the earth the force of
the wind was felt less and less, until, as they came within two hundred feet
of the water which they saw below them in the gathering dusk, it died out
altogether.
<P>
"Now we are free from it," said the professor as the <I>Mermaid </I>came
down on the waves like an immense swan.
<P>
"Are you going ahead or going to stop here?" asked Mark
<P>
"We'll keep right on," Mr. Henderson answered. "No telling when the storm
may strike down here. We'll go as far as we can to-night."
<h3>CHAPTER VII</h3>
<h4>A QUEER SAIL</h4>
<P>
NOW that the fear and worriment was over they all began to feel hungry, and,
while Mark and Jack took charge of the conning tower Washington got breakfast.
The professor seemed preoccupied during the meal, and several times, when
Mark spoke to him, he did not reply.
<P>
"I wonder if he is worried about something, or is thinking of something which
seems to be concealed in the storeroom," the boy thought.
<P>
But, after a while, the professor seemed to be more like himself. He was
busy over several maps and charts, and then announced the ship would try
air-sailing again for a while.
<P>
"We can make better time above than we can on the water," he said, "and I
am anxious to get to the mysterious island and learn what is in store for
us."
<P>
Perhaps if the professor had been able to look ahead, and see what was soon
going to happen, he would not have been so anxious for it to occur.
<P>
It was shortly after dinner when, the gas container having been filled, the
ship rose in the air, and began sailing over the ocean, about a mile up.
The day was a fine one, and, as they were moving south, it was constantly
growing warmer. Down on the water, in fact, it was quite hot, but in the
air it was just right.
<P>
Like some immense bird the <I>Mermaid </I>went flying through the air. The
boys and the professor sat upon the deck in easy chairs. It was like being
on the top of some tall "sky-scraper" building which, by some strange power,
was being moved forward. Below them the ocean tumbled in long, lazy swells.
<P>
Suddenly Mark, who was looking through a telescope at the expanse of water
stretched out under them, gave a cry.
<P>
"There's a ship! She's on fire!"
<P>
"Where?" asked the professor, stretching out his hand for the glass.
<P>
"Just to the port of the forward tube. See the smoke!" exclaimed Mark.
<P>
Mr. Henderson looked. Through the lens he saw a column of black vapor rising
skyward. Mingled with it were red flames.
<P>
"Lower the <I>Mermaid!" </I>he cried. "We must save those on board if we
can!"
<P>
Mark ran to the conning tower, where Washington was, to give the order. The
colored man, who was looking ahead, intent on guiding the ship, did not at
first hear what Mark called.
<P>
"Lower us! Send the <I>Mermaid </I>down!" Mark cried again.
<P>
The sudden shout, and the excited voice of Mark so startled Washington, that,
fearing some accident had happened, he pulled the lever, controlling the
gas supply, with more force than necessary.
<P>
There was a loud explosion, followed by a crackling sound, a flash of light,
and the <I>Mermaid </I>came to a sudden stop.
<P>
"What's the matter?" cried Mark, feeling that something was wrong.
<P>
"I don't know!" Washington replied, as he dashed toward the engine room.
<P>
The <I>Mermaid, </I>her forward flight checked, hung in the air, suspended,
neither rising or falling.
<P>
"Why don't we go on down?" the professor asked, hurrying to the tower.
<P>
"There has been an explosion&mdash;an accident!" exclaimed Mark. "I guess we can't
go down!"
<P>
"But we must!" Mr. Henderson insisted, seizing the lever which should have
produced a downward motion. The handle swung to and fro. It was disconnected
from the apparatus it operated.
<P>
The ship was now stationary in the air, moving neither forward nor backward,
neither rising nor falling. Washington had stopped the air pumps as soon
as he learned something was wrong.
<P>
When Mr. Henderson saw the useless lever, which had controlled the outlet
of gas from the holder, he ran out on deck. One glance told him what had
happened. One of the electric wires had become short-circuited,&mdash;that is,
the insulation had worn off and allowed the current to escape. This had produced
a spark, which had exploded the gas which was in the pipe leading from the
generator up into the aluminum holder. Fortunately there was an automatic
cut-off for the supply of vapor, or the whole tank would have gone up.
<P>
As it was, only a small quantity had blown up, but this was enough to break
the machinery at the point where the lever in the conning tower joined the
pipe. If it had not been for the automatic cut-off all the gas in the holder
would have poured out in a great volume, and the ship would have fallen like
a shot.
<P>
"Can we do nothing to save those on the burning vessel?" asked Mark, pointing
to where a cloud of smoke hung over the ocean.
<P>
"I fear not, now," answered the professor. "We are in a bad plight ourselves."
<P>
"Are we in any danger?" asked Jack.
<P>
"Not specially," Mr. Henderson replied. "But we must find a means of lowering
ourselves gradually."
<P>
"Then it will be too late to save any of those on the ship," observed Mark.
<P>
"I'm afraid so," the scientist made reply.
<P>
The <I>Mermaid </I>rested some distance above the surface of the waters.
She moved slightly to and fro with the wind, and rocked gently. The professor
was examining the broken machinery.
<P>
"I have a plan!" suddenly cried Mark.
<P>
"What is it?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"Can't we bore a hole in the tank, insert a small faucet or tap, and let
the gas out that way gradually?" asked the boy. "When we get down we can
rescue those in danger of fire, and, later, can repair the break."
<P>
"The very thing!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "I never thought of that! Here,
Washington! Bring me a drill, and a small stop-cock!"
<P>
The drill was obtained from the engine room. Working rapidly Mr. Henderson
bored a hole in the lower part of the holder. As soon as the metal was penetrated
the gas, which was under considerable pressure, rushed from the tank with
a hissing sound. At once the <I>Mermaid </I>began to settle rapidly.
<P>
But the professor was prepared for this. He thrust the end of the stop-cock
into the hole. It was screwed fast and the valve turned. This stopped the
flow of gas and checked the descent of the ship. Then, by opening the tap
the vapor was allowed to escape gradually, bringing the <I>Flying Mermaid
</I>gently to the water.
<P>
As the adventurers approached they could see that the vessel was now a mass
of flames. The wind was driving the fire toward the forecastle, and the crew
had sought refuge aft. But this expedient could not last long, for, already
the tongues of fire were licking the sides of the craft and coming nearer
and nearer the seemingly doomed men. The vessel was a large one, and heavily
laden.
<P>
As those in peril caught sight of the <I>Mermaid </I>settling down into the
water, apparently from the clouds, their fears gave place to astonishment.
So great was this that they ceased their cries of terror. Then, as they saw
that the strange craft navigated the ocean, for the engines were started
aboard the <I>Mermaid, </I>they began to call for help.
<h3>CHAPTER VIII</h3>
<h4>THE FLYING MERMAID DISABLED</h4>
<P>
"WE'LL save you!" shouted Mr. Henderson, who was on the deck, while Mark
was steering the craft. "Hold on a few minutes longer and we'll be alongside!"
<P>
"They're real! They're real!" some of those aboard the burning ship could
be heard to shout. Evidently more than one of them had taken the <I>Mermaid
</I>for a delusion of their fear-crazed brain.
<P>
"They are real persons!" they called again and again. "They are coming to
save us!"
<P>
Mr. Henderson ran his ship as near the burning craft as he dared. Then he
called to the crew to leap into the water and swim to him. He, with Washington,
Jack, Bill and Tom, stood ready to haul aboard any who were too weak to help
themselves.
<P>
In a few minutes all of those left alive on the sailing vessel&mdash;fourteen
in all&mdash;had come safely aboard the <I>Mermaid. </I>The ship was now completely
enveloped in flames.
<P>
"Are there any more left on her?" asked Mr. Henderson of one who appeared
to be a mate of the burning craft.
<P>
"Not a soul!" was the answer. "The captain and ten men perished in the flames.
The fire broke out a week ago in the lower hold. We fought it as well as
we could but it got the best of us. Then it suddenly broke through the decks,
almost like an explosion, a little while ago, and the captain and others
were lost, and so were our small boats. We managed to get aft but were about
to give up when you appeared."
<P>
"What ship is it and where are you from?"
<P>
"The <I>Good Hope, </I>laden with logwood, hides, jute and other materials
from South America," the mate answered. "We were bound for New York."
<P>
"It is more like the <I>Last Hope </I>instead of the <I>Good Hope,"
</I>observed Mr. Henderson in a quiet voice, as he saw the flames mount higher
and higher over the ship. A few seconds later the craft seemed rent by an
internal explosion. It appeared to break in two parts, and, amid a shower
of sparks and a cloud of black smoke, the vessel sank under the water and
was seen no more.
<P>
The rescued men turned to behold the final end of their ship. They betrayed
no particular emotion, and some of them even laughed, which the professor
thought, at the time, was rather strange. But there was little opportunity
for speculation. The men were in a sad plight. Few of them had more than
the clothes they stood in, though each one wore about his waist a belt, and
all of them seemed to guard the leather circlets jealously.
<P>
The professor and his crew were soon busy supplying remedies for burns, since
several of the men were seared by the flames. Then, as it was learned they
had eaten nothing for many hours, it having been impossible to use the galley,
a meal was prepared and the survivors of the wreck were well fed.
<P>
The hunger of the newcomers having been appeased, they showed much curiosity
over the strange craft that had so opportunely come to their rescue. Most
of the sailors were ignorant men, and the professor had little fear of them
learning anything concerning his secrets. He explained briefly about the
<I>Mermaid, </I>but said nothing of whither she was bound.
<P>
The addition of fourteen men to the rather small accommodations of the
<I>Mermaid </I>was a serious matter to consider. The ship was able to hold
them all, and even to sail through the air with them, since Mr. Henderson
had provided an excess of power. But it was going to be a problem to feed
so many, and still save enough provisions, for the long voyage which lay
ahead.
<P>
However, Mr. Henderson felt his first duty to be toward his fellowmen, even
if his voyage must be delayed, or given up for a time, while he got more
provisions. There would be no sleeping quarters for the sailors, but when
this was explained to them they cheerfully said they would sleep on deck
if necessary. In fact some of them had to, but as the weather was warm and
clear this was no hardship. A few found quarters in the engine room and other
apartments of the <I>Mermaid.</I>
<P>
Finding, after an examination, that his ship was in good order save for the
broken gas apparatus, Mr. Henderson gave orders to proceed along the surface
of the ocean. The sailors wanted to see how it felt to mount into the air,
but Mr. Henderson, refused to attempt a flight until he had made complete
repairs, and this would take a day or more.
<P>
At this there appeared to be some discontent among the survivors, and they
muttered to each other as they stood in a group on deck. But the professor
and his assistants were too busy with their preparations for fixing the break
to notice this.
<P>
While the men were gathered in a knot near the after part of the small deck,
the mate separated from them, and, coming close to where Mark was standing,
unscrewing some of the broken parts of the pipe said, in a low voice.
<P>
"Tell the captain to watch out."
<P>
"What do you mean?" asked Mark quickly.
<P>
"Hush! Not so loud!" the mate exclaimed. "If the men hear me talking to you,
or see me, they may kill me. Tell the captain to look out; that's all. Be
on guard, and watch the engine room carefully."
<P>
"But why&mdash;?" Mark began, when, turning suddenly, the mate left him. It was
well he did so, for, at that instant, one of the sailors, who had observed
the two conversing, strolled in their direction.
<P>
Much alarmed, Mark sought Mr. Henderson and told him what he had heard.
<P>
"I suppose the fire may have turned the poor man's head," the scientist said.
"I wonder if he thinks the men I rescued would mutiny and take possession
of my ship? If they did they would not know how to work it, so what good
would it do?"
<P>
"Hadn't we better look out?" asked Mark.
<P>
"I'm not afraid," replied the professor. "I will be too busy the next few
days, repairing the break, to think of anything else. Besides, what would
they want to harm us for? Didn't we save their lives?"
<P>
Seeing the scientist placed no faith in what the mate had said, Mark went
back to his task.
<P>
It soon became too dark to work, and it was decided, after supper, to halt
the ship until morning as it would be less risky.
<P>
Mark did not sleep well, his dreams being disturbed by visions of pirates
and black flags. But morning came and nothing had developed. The men seemed
to recover their spirits with daybreak, and mast of the crew, after breakfast,
greeted Mr. Henderson pleasantly, and asked to be allowed to help fix the
ship.
<P>
It took the skilled labor of the professor, Washington and the boys to mend
the break, and, even at that, it was four days in the repairing. But at last
the final bolt was in place, and the <I>Mermaid </I>was able to resume her
trips through the air.
<P>
"We will rise the first thing in the morning," said the professor to Mark
and Jack that night. "I am anxious to see how the ship behaves with a big
load aboard."
<h3>CHAPTER IX</h3>
<h4>THE MUTINY</h4>
<P>
MARK was awakened that night by feeling some one trying to turn him over.
At first he thought it was Jack, and sleepily muttered that he wanted to
be let alone.
<P>
"Sorry I can't oblige ye, my hearty!" exclaimed a rough voice in his ear,
"but I got particular orders t' tie you up!"
<P>
At that Mark tried to sit up, but he found he could not. He discovered that
he was closely bound with many turns of a rope, while in front of his bunk
stood one of the rescued sailors.
<P>
"There," said the man, with a final tightening of the ropes. "I guess you're
safe."
<P>
"What's the matter? What does it all mean?" asked Mark, much bewildered.
<P>
"It means that we have possession of the ship," the sailor answered, "and,
if you're wise you'll not make a fuss. It wouldn't do any good, anyhow, as
all your friends are in the same condition."
<P>
Then, picking Mark up, as if he was a baby, the man slung him over his shoulder
and carried him to the living room. There Mark saw Jack, the professor,
Washington, and the others similarly bound.
<P>
"Do you realize what you are doing?" asked the professor angrily of his captors.
"You are mutinying, and are liable to severe punishment."
<P>
"If they ever get us," added one of the men. "We've got the ship now, and
we mean to keep her. You'll have to run her or show us how."
<P>
"Never!" cried the professor.
<P>
"I guess he will when he feels this," said one of the men, as he dragged
from a recess two wires. "I happen to know something of electricity, and
when he feels these perhaps he'll change his mind. I'll start the dynamo."
<P>
The sailor showed that he was acquainted with machinery, for soon the hum
of the electric apparatus was heard.
<P>
"Now to make him tell!" the man with the wires exclaimed, advancing toward
the professor, who turned pale.
<P>
"Stop! You must not torture the old man!" cried a voice, and the mate of
the <I>Good Hope </I>stepped in front of the sailor with the electrified
wires.
<P>
"Who's going to stop me?" asked the man.
<P>
"I will. It's not necessary," the mate went on quickly. "If we make him weak
we may kill him, and he can not tell us what we want to know. One of the
boys can tell us how to run the ship."
<P>
The mate came quickly over to where Mark lay, and whispered:
<P>
"Consent to tell. It is the only way of saving his life. Tell 'em how to
raise the craft. Then leave all to me. I will save you all and the ship,
too, if I can. But consent."
<P>
Mark nodded his head, and the mate cried:
<P>
"I knew I could fetch 'em. I have hypnotic power. This boy will raise the
ship for us. Loosen his bonds, some of you."
<P>
Satisfied that they were now on the way to experiencing a new sensation,
the sailors took the ropes off Mark's arms and legs, and he was allowed to
rise. With a reassuring nod toward the professor he led the way to the engine
room, followed by half the men. He resolved to start the gas machine slowly,
so as to make the upward trip last longer, thinking before it had gone far,
some way of escape from the mutineers might be found.
<P>
While a crowd of the sailors stood near him, Mark operated the machinery
in the engine room that started the gas generating, and set the negative
gravity apparatus working.
<P>
"You'd better not try any tricks on us," said one of the men in an ugly tone
of voice.
<P>
"I'm not going to," replied Mark. "If you go out on deck you will soon see
the ship leaving the water and mounting into the air."
<P>
"Some of you go," ordered a man with a big bushy red beard. "See if the ship
rises. When she begins to go up sing out. I'm going to stay here and see
how the young cub does it so I can work it myself."
<P>
Obeying the red-bearded man, who seemed to be a leader, several of the sailors
went out on the deck. It was quite dark, but there was a phosphorous glow
to the water which made the rolling waves visible.
<P>
The gas was being generated, as could be told by the hissing sound. Mark
watched the machinery anxiously, for he knew much depended on him, and the
professor was not at hand to guide and instruct him. He watched the dial
of the gage which registered the gas pressure and saw it slowly moving. In
a little while it would be at the point at which the ship ought to rise.
<P>
Presently a quiver seemed to run through the <I>Mermaid. </I>Now a shout
came from the watchers on deck.
<P>
"She's going up!"
<P>
The ship was indeed rising. The red-bearded man, who was addressed as Tony,
ran from the engine room to the deck. He saw that the ship was now ten feet
above the water. Back he came to where Mark stood by the gas machine.
<P>
"Lucky for you that you didn't fool us, lad," he said with a leer. "See that
you mind me hereafter. Now show me how the shebang works."
<P>
When the ship had risen as far as Tony desired he made Mark send it straight
ahead. The boy adjusted the air tube to carry the craft toward the south,
but Tony, seeing by a compass in which direction they were headed, ordered
Mark to steer due east.
<P>
"Fix things so they will stay so, too," added Tony. "I don't want to stop
until I get a thousand miles away. Then we'll come down, sail to some sunny
island, and enjoy life."
<P>
Mark locked the steering apparatus so as to keep the <I>Mermaid </I>headed
due east.
<P>
"Now you can go back to your friends," Tony said. "When I want you I'll send
for you."
<P>
With a heavy heart Mark rejoined the professor and others. He found them
with their bonds removed. But to guard against their escape several men were
on watch outside the door.
<P>
"What are they doing?" asked the professor eagerly as Mark entered, and the
boy told him what had taken place.
<P>
"They will ruin my ship and spoil the whole trip," cried the old scientist.
"Oh, why did I ever go to the rescue of the scoundrels?"
<P>
"Never mind," said Jack. "Perhaps we may yet outwit them."
<P>
Morning came at last. The ship was still shooting forward at fast speed,
in an easterly direction. The sailors had learned, in their short stay aboard,
where the food and stores were kept, and they lost little time in getting
breakfast. They sent same in to their captives, including a big pot of hot
coffee, and, after partaking of this the professor and his friends felt better.
<P>
The mate of the <I>Good Hope </I>came in to help clear away the dishes. As
he passed Mark he slipped into the boy's hand a note.
<P>
"Don't read it until you are alone," he said in a low voice, as he hurried
from the room.
<P>
As soon as the other sailors had left, Mark glanced at the slip of paper.
It bore these words:

<BLOCKQUOTE>
  "Open when you hear three raps, then two, then three, and keep silent."
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
"What is it?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
Mark showed him the paper.
<P>
"I wonder what it means," the boy said.
<P>
"Do you think he is a friend of ours?" the professor asked.
<P>
Mark told him of the mate's conversation the night previous.
<P>
"I think we can trust him," the scientist went on. "He must intend to pay
us a visit when the others are asleep. When we hear the knocks as he specifies
we must open the door and let him in."
<P>
All that day the captives were kept in the living room. Once or twice Mark
was sent for to make some adjustment to the machinery, but the apparatus,
for the most part, was automatic, and needed little attention. The professor,
as well as the others, were all impatience for the promised visit of the
mate. Still they felt he would not come until night.
<P>
In fact it was long past midnight before Mark, Jack and the professor, who
were anxiously listening, heard the three raps, then two, then three more.
Mark quickly opened the door, and the mate stepped inside, holding his finger
to his lips as a sign of caution. Old Andy, Washington, Bill and Tom had
fallen asleep.
<P>
"I have only time for a few words," the mate said. "I am closely watched.
Tony mistrusts me. I will save you if I can."
<P>
"Why have they repaid my kindness with such actions?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"Because they are desperate men," replied the mate. "They are nothing more
than pirates. They mutinied on the other ship, killed the captain and those
of the crew who would not join them, and started off to seek their fortunes.
I pretended to join them to save my life, but I have only been watching for
a chance to escape.
<P>
"Because of lax discipline the ship was sent on fire. We tried to put it
out but could not. The rest you know."
<P>
"I heard them plan to capture this airship, but could do nothing to stop
them. Then I resolved to pretend to act with them. They fear pursuit for
their other mutiny, and are anxious to get as far away as possible."
<P>
"Do you think they will abandon the ship in a little while?" asked the professor
hopefully.
<P>
"I'm afraid not," answered the mate. "I think they want to get rid of all
of you, so they can sail about as they please. Tony is a smart man. He could
soon learn to run this ship, he thinks."
<P>
"I doubt it," Mr. Henderson answered. "But how are you going to help us?"
<P>
"I have not fully made up my plans," the mate answered. "However I wanted
you to know I would do my best to save you. Now I must go. Be on the watch
and when I can I will let you know what I have decided on. I will hand Mark
a note when I bring your meals, just as I did to-day. I think&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"Hark! What was that?" asked the professor.
<P>
There was a noise outside the door, as if some one was listening.
<P>
"Put out the lights!" whispered the mate, and Jack switched off the electric
incandescents.
<P>
A knock sounded on the door and the voice of Tony called:
<P>
"Mark! Come here! I want you to look at the gas machine. It has stopped working,
and we are falling!"
<h3>CHAPTER X</h3>
<h4>FOOLING THEIR ENEMIES</h4>
<P>
MARK hurried into the corridor, taking care to close the door after him,
so Tony could get no glimpse of the mate who had risked so much to save his
friends. But he need not have been alarmed for the leader of the mutineers
was too excited over the stopping of the gas apparatus to give any heed to
who was in with the captives.
<P>
"Do you think you can fix it?" he asked the boy.
<P>
"I guess so," Mark replied confidently. "If I can't there is no danger, for
we will fall gradually and land in the water."
<P>
"But I don't want to do that," Tony objected. "I want to keep on through
the air."
<P>
Mark did not reply. By this time he was at the gas machine. He soon saw nothing
was the matter save that new material must be placed in the retort where
the vapor was generated. He refilled it, the gas was manufactured once more,
and the ship began to rise.
<P>
"I will know how to do it next time," Tony said with a grin. Mark realized
that every time he showed the leader of the mutineers something about the
ship it was putting the professor and his friends more and more into the
power of the scoundrels. But there was no help for it.
<P>
The ship was still plunging ahead, and kept about a mile above the earth.
As there was no further need of Mark, he was told he could go back to his
friends. When he reached the room where they were held prisoners, he found
the mate had gone away, promising again to do all he could for them.
<P>
The next night, which it seemed would never come, for the day, locked as
the captives were in their room, seemed endless, finally closed in. Mark,
Jack and the professor were anxious to know whether the mate would pay them
another visit. As for Andy, Tom and Bill, while they were interested in the
ship, and wanted to be free from the power of the mutineers, they did not
lose any sleep over it.
<P>
Shortly after midnight, there came again the peculiar knock, and the mate
entered the room. He seemed much excited over something, and, as soon as
the portal was securely closed he said to Professor Henderson:
<P>
"Is there an island any where near here where men could live for a time?"
<P>
"What do you mean?" asked the scientist. "Do you want us to desert the ship
and leave these scoundrels in charge?"
<P>
"Nothing of the sort," replied the mate, who, had said his name was Jack
Rodgers. "But first answer my question. A great deal may depend on it."
<P>
Seeing Rodgers was in earnest, the professor looked over some maps and charts,
and announced that they were within a few hundred miles of a group of islands.
<P>
"When would we reach them?" was Rodgers's next question.
<P>
Mr. Henderson made a few rapid calculations on a piece of paper.
<P>
"At the present rate of sailing," he said, "we should be there about ten
o'clock to-morrow. That is, provided the ship does not slacken speed or increase
it."
<P>
"There is no danger of either of those two things happening," said the mate.
"Tony is too afraid of the machinery to do anything to it. So you may safely
figure that our speed will continue the same."
<P>
"Then I can guarantee, with all reasonable certainty," the professor said,
"that about ten o'clock to-morrow we will be less than a mile from the islands.
They are a group where friendly natives live, and where many tropical fruits
abound. One could scarcely select a better place to be shipwrecked. But I
hope the plans of Tony and his friends do not include landing us there."
<P>
"No, nothing like that," the mate answered. "Quite the contrary. But I had
better be going. I will try and see Mark some time to-morrow. Tony does not
mind when I speak to him."
<P>
With this Rodgers left the captives, as he heard some of the sailors moving
about and did not want to be discovered. The professor and the boys wondered
what the mate's plan might be, but they had to be content to wait and see.
<P>
The night passed without incident. About nine o'clock the next morning the
mate came to the door of the room where the professor and his friends were
prisoners. He made no secret of his approach, but knocked boldly.
<P>
"Tell Mark I want to see him," he said, as the professor answered. "All of
you keep quiet," he added in a whisper. "There may be good news soon."
<P>
Mark slipped from the room. He followed the mate to the upper deck which,
at that time was deserted as all the sailors were in the dining room eating,
which practice they indulged in as often as they could.
<P>
"I have a plan to get rid of these rough men," the mate said to Mark. "It
may work, and, again it may not. At any rate it is worth trying, It all depends
on you with what help I can give you."
<P>
"I'm willing to do my share," Mark said, and for the next ten minutes the
boy and the mate were in earnest conversation.
<P>
It was about thirty-five minutes later when there arose a sudden commotion
in the ship. Mark had returned to his friends and the mate had disappeared.
The confusion seemed to come from the engine room where Tony had posted some
of his men.
<P>
"We're falling down! We'll all be killed!" shouted the men. "The ship is
falling into the sea!"
<P>
"What is the trouble?" asked the professor as he heard the commotion.
<P>
"It is part of the mate's plan," said Mark. "He told me to tell you to do
nothing. If Tony or any of the other men come to you just refer them to me."
<P>
Two minutes later Tony came rushing into the apartment where the captives
were held prisoners.
<P>
"Here! Come quickly, Mark!" he exclaimed. "Something has gone wrong with
the gas machine again, and you must come and fix it before we are all dashed
to pieces!"
<P>
With every appearance of haste Mark rushed from the apartment, following
Tony. The latter led the way to the engine room.
<P>
"Can anything be done?" he asked.
<P>
Mark took a survey of the machinery.
<P>
"It is too late," he said as though much excited. "The ship is falling down
toward the sea with terrific force."
<P>
It needed but a glance at the height gage to show this. The pointer was revolving
rapidly about the face of the dial.
<P>
"Will the ship stand the blow?" asked Tony.
<P>
"Not at the rate it is falling," replied Mark. "She will go all to pieces
when she strikes the water, and she may explode!"
<P>
"What are we to do then?" asked the leader of the mutineers.
<P>
"We must save ourselves!" cried the mate, running in at this juncture. "Let
our prisoners shift for themselves as best they can. Let's all leap into
the sea. There we at least have a chance for our lives. But if we stay on
this ship we will all be drowned like cats in a bag."
<P>
"What do you propose?" asked Tony, his face white with fear.
<P>
"When the ship comes near enough the surface of the water to make it safe
we should all drop overboard!" the mate exclaimed. "We are near some islands,
I understand, and we can thus save our lives by swimming ashore."
<P>
This plan seemed to meet with instant favor, and a little later there was
a rush for the deck, as each one wished to be the first to escape from the
boat they believed to be doomed.
<P>
Lower and lower fell the <I>Mermaid. </I>She was like a wounded bird which
the shot of the hunter has crippled. Down and down she fluttered.
<P>
By this time all the sailors, save the mate were on deck. He and Mark remained
in the engine room.
<P>
"Don't let her get too low," the mate whispered.
<P>
"I'll watch out," Mark replied. "I want to give them a good scare while I'm
at it."
<P>
The ship was now within fifty feet of the water. There was a cry of terror
from the sailors. Some of them leaped over the rail and started to swim ashore,
as the ship was by this time close to a group of islands.
<P>
Suddenly, from the engine room the mate rushed.
<P>
"Jump! Jump for your lives!" he exclaimed. "The ship is about to blow up!"
<h3>CHAPTER XI</h3>
<h4>MYSTERIOUS HAPPENINGS</h4>
<P>
THE voice of the mate echoed through the <I>Mermaid. </I>Those on deck heard
it, as did Tony in the engine room, where he was vainly trying to understand
the complicated machinery.
<P>
An instant later there sounded from beneath the ship a series of splashes.
More sailors were leaping from the deck of the craft to the ocean. The distance
was not great, particularly as they all landed in water.
<P>
"Quick!" cried the mate to a group of sailors that hesitated before taking
the jump. "The ship may blow up any minute now."
<P>
The men needed no second urging. As soon as they struck the water they began
to swim ashore, as it was not far away. One after another they jumped over
the rail. Tony was the last to go. He urged the captives to follow him, but
they all refused.
<P>
A minute later the only one of the pirate crew left on the ship was the mate.
The others were all struggling in the sea. Eventually they all reached shore
in safety.
<P>
The airship was now within about twenty feet of the water. It was still falling
but not so rapidly.
<P>
"Better send her up, now," said the mate to Mark, and the boy turned the
necessary levers to accomplish this.
<P>
Dipping into the water as a sea gull does when searching for food on the
wing, for she had come quite low, the <I>Mermaid </I>mounted once more into
the air, and was soon sailing along over the heads of Tony and his gang.
<P>
"What's it all about?" asked Mr. Henderson, who seemed in a sort of stupor.
"I thought the ship was broken. How, then, can it rise?"
<P>
"It was only a trick of mine," Rodgers said. "The gas machine is not broken.
I had Mark fix it so that only a little vapor would be generated. When the
supply in the holder was not enough, and no more was being made, the ship
had to sink. Mark and I pretended it was worse than it really was just to
scare the scoundrels."
<P>
"And you evidently succeeded," observed Mr. Henderson. "They have all left
us. I am glad you stayed."
<P>
"So am I," said Rodgers. "I was just waiting for a chance to escape from
that crowd. This was the plan I thought of that night. I wanted to see the
men put on some island where they could manage to live, and which was not
too far away."
<P>
The <I>Mermaid </I>was now mounting upward rapidly, as Mark had adjusted
the machinery properly. The craft was well rid of the pirate crew, and was
able to proceed on its way, and enable Mr. Henderson to carry out his plans.
<P>
When the <I>Mermaid </I>had reached a certain height her prow was turned
the other way, and she was sent back racing over the ground she had just
covered. But now the ship was in the hands of friends. Fortunately no great
damage had been done by the sailors, and the professor was soon able to get
things in ship-shape. The engines had not been molested and were working
better than ever.
<P>
"Now to make another attempt to reach the big hole in the earth," the professor
cried. "We will be careful next time, who we rescue from ships at sea."
<P>
The island was soon left behind, becoming a mere speck on the ocean. Those
aboard the <I>Mermaid </I>knew no harm could befall the sailors, as there
were no savage tribes on the little spot of land. Eventually the sailors
were picked up by a passing vessel and taken to their homes. The story of
their first mutiny leaked out and they were properly punished.
<P>
It required several days travel before the airship regained the distance
she had lost because of the plans of the pirates. Also, there were a number
of minor repairs to make, and the professor and his friends were kept busy.
<P>
"How much longer before we come to the big hole?" asked Jack, one day.
<P>
"I think we ought to be near it in about two weeks," the professor replied.
"I only hope we shall not be disappointed, and will be able to explore it."
<P>
"'Tain't goin' t' be no fun t' be decimated an' expurgitated inter a conglomerous
aggregation of elements constituting th' exterior portion of human anatomy,"
said Washington in dubious tones.
<P>
"You mean you're afraid of being boiled in the steam from the big hole?"
asked Mark.
<P>
"Jest so," replied the colored man.
<P>
"You don't need to worry about that," put in the professor. "I will not take
the ship down if there is any danger, though of course there will be some
risk."
<P>
The ship, having been fully repaired, was now able to be speeded up, and
was sent scudding along toward her destination. Rodgers proved a valuable
acquisition toward the crew, for he had sailed many years in the waters over
which they were flying, and was able to give the professor many valuable
hints. He had heard vague stories of the island with the big hole, but had
never been near it. He did not make the trip however, as, at his request,
he was put off at an inhabited island one night.
<P>
It was about a week after the sailors were frightened from the ship, that
a curious experience befell Mark. Washington was on duty in the conning tower,
attending to the apparatus as the ship flew through the air, and all the
others had gone to bed. Mark had remained up, later than the others as he
was interested in reading a book on science.
<P>
About ten o'clock he became hungry, and going to the pantry got some bread
and cold meat. He set these on a table, and then, remembering he would need
some water to drink, started after some in the cooler, which was in a little
room near the tower.
<P>
Washington heard the boy as he turned the faucet to draw the liquid, and
spoke to him, as the colored man was rather lonesome at his post. Mark did
not linger more than a minute or two, but when he returned to where he had
left the food he was much surprised.
<P>
There was not a trace of it to be seen. The dishes were on the table, but
every vestige of bread and meat had disappeared.
<P>
"I wonder if a cat or dog has been here," was Mark's first thought. Then
he remembered that no such animals were aboard the <I>Mermaid.</I>
<P>
Something on the floor caught his eye. He stooped and picked it up. It was
a slice of bread, but in such shape that the boy stared at it, puzzled as
to how it could have become so.
<P>
It was flattened out quite thin, but the strangest part of it was that it
bore what seemed to be the marks of thumb and fingers from a very large hand.
So big, in fact, was the print, that Mark's hand scarce covered half of it,
and, where the bread had been squeezed into a putty like mass (for it was
quite fresh) the peculiar markings on the skin of the tips of the fingers
were visible.
<P>
"It looks as if a giant grabbed this slice of bread," Mark observed. "There
are strange happenings aboard this ship. I wish I knew what they meant."
<P>
He looked all around for the food, thinking perhaps a rat had dragged it
off, but there was no trace of it.
<P>
Suddenly the boy thought he heard a sound from the big storeroom. He was
almost sure he heard something moving in there. He started toward the door
when he was stopped by hearing the professor's voice call:
<P>
"Don't open that door, Mark. Have I not told you that place must not be entered?"
<P>
"I thought I heard some one in there," Mark replied.
<P>
"There is nothing in there but some apparatus of mine," Mr. Henderson said.
"I want no one to see it. What is the matter?"
<P>
Mark explained matters to the scientist, who had, as he said later, arisen
on hearing the boy, moving about.
<P>
"Oh, it was a rat that took your stuff," Mr. Henderson said. "I guess there
are some pretty big ones on the ship. Get some more food and go to sleep."
<P>
Mark felt it best to obey, though he was by no means satisfied with the
professor's explanation. He listened intently to see if any more noises came
from the storeroom, but none did, and he went to bed.
<P>
Several times after that Mark tried the experiment of leaving food about.
On each occasion it was taken.
<P>
"It looks as if the ship was haunted," he said. "Of course I know it isn't,
but it's very queer. They must be strange rats that can get food from shelves
when there is only the smooth side of the ship to climb up," for on some
occasions Mark had tried the experiment of putting the food as nearly out
of reach as possible.
<P>
It took several nights to learn all this, and, as he did not want to take
any one into his confidence, he had to work in secret. But, with all his
efforts he learned nothing, save that there was something odd about the ship
that he could not fathom.
<P>
At first he believed the professor had some strange animal concealed in the
storeroom, but he dismissed this idea almost as soon as he thought of it.
For what could the scientist want with an animal when they were going to
the interior of the earth? That some beast had slipped aboard was out of
the question. Mark was much puzzled, but finally, deciding the matter did
not concern him a great deal, gave up trying to solve the mystery, at least
for a time.
<P>
The ship was now in the neighborhood of the equator and the climate had become
much warmer. So hot indeed were some nights that they slept out on deck,
with the <I>Mermaid </I>flying through the air at a moderate pace, for it
was deemed best not to go at any great speed after dark.
<P>
One night the professor, after consulting various charts and maps, and making
calculations which covered several sheets of paper announced:
<P>
"We should sight the mysterious island to-morrow."
<P>
"That's good news!" exclaimed Jack. "I'm anxious to see what's below inside
of that big hole."
<P>
"Everybody git ready for their funerals!" exclaimed Washington in a deep
voice. "I ain't got many&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"Cheer up," interrupted Jack, poking Washington in the ribs. The colored
man was very ticklish, and he began to laugh heartily, though, perhaps, he
did not feel like it.
<P>
Suddenly, above the sound of his shouts, there came a crashing, grinding
noise from the engine room.
<h3>CHAPTER XII</h3>
<h4>THE BIG HOLE</h4>
<P>
"SOMETHING has gone wrong!" exclaimed the professor as he jumped up. He reached
the engine room ahead of any one else, and when the two boys got there they
found him busy twisting wheels and shifting levers.
<P>
"Anything serious?" asked Jack.
<P>
"It's the gas machine again," Mr. Henderson replied. "It broke where we fixed
it. However it doesn't matter. I was going to lower the ship anyhow, as I
want to approach the island from the water. We will go down a little sooner
than I counted on."
<P>
The disabling of the gas machine caused the vapor to escape slowly from the
tank, and this made the ship sink gradually. By means of the emergency stop-cock
the descent could be controlled almost as well as though the machinery was
in working order. Half an hour later the <I>Mermaid </I>rested on the water.
<P>
It was a little rough, as there was quite a swell on, and not so pleasant
as floating in the air on an even keel, but they made the best of it.
<P>
On account of the little accident, and not being certain of its extent, it
was deemed best not to send the ship ahead. So they laid to until morning.
<P>
For the better part of two days all those on board the <I>Mermaid </I>had
their hands full mending the break and making other repairs found necessary.
In that time they lay to, floating idly with the currents, or blown by the
wind, for the professor would not start any of the engines or apparatus until
the ship was in good condition.
<P>
In this time Mark had several times recalled the curious happenings in regard
to the disappearing food, and the mystery of the storeroom. But there were
no further manifestations, and no other signs that there might be a strange
visitor aboard.
<P>
"I couldn't have imagined it all," said Mark, "but I guess what did happen
may have been caused by natural means, only I can't discover them."
<P>
It was about two days after this, the ship having sailed scores of miles
on the surface of the water, that Mark, who was in the conning tower exclaimed:
<P>
"That looks like a waterspout ahead of us."
<P>
"That's what it is!" Jack agreed. "What shall we do?"
<P>
"Call the professor!" said Mark. "He'll know."
<P>
When Mr. Henderson came, he looked for a long time at a cloud of black vapor
which hung low in the east.
<P>
"It may be a waterspout," he said. "We'll rise in the air and see if we can
avoid it."
<P>
The ship was sent up into the air. As it rose higher and higher, the professor,
making frequent observations from his conning tower, cried out:
<P>
"That is no waterspout!"
<P>
"What is it?" asked Mark.
<P>
"It is the steam and vapor rising from the big hole in the earth! Boys, we
are almost there!"
<P>
"Are you sure that's it?" asked Mark.
<P>
"Almost positive," Mr. Henderson replied. "You can see how much warmer it
has become of late, as we approached the equator. We are almost due at the
island, and I have no doubt we have reached it."
<P>
As the ship flew forward the mass of dark vapor became more pronounced. Through
the glasses it could be noticed to consist of rolling masses of clouds. What
lay beneath them no one knew. The adventurers were going to try to find out.
<P>
Now that they had arrived at the beginning of the main part of their journey,
the travelers felt their spirits sink a little. It was one thing to plan
to go down into the depths of the earth, but it was quite another to make
the actual attempt. Still, they were not going to give up the project. The
professor had confidence in his ship and believed it could safely make the
trip. Still it was with no little apprehension that Mr. Henderson watched
the nearer approach of the craft to that strange island.
<P>
"Perfesser, are yo' really an' truly goin' t' depress this elongated spheroid
an' its human consignment int' that conglomerous convoluted mass of gaseous
vapor regardless of th' consequences?" asked Washington, as he gazed with
wide opened eyes at the sight before him.
<P>
"If you mean am I going to let the <I>Mermaid </I>go down into that hole
you are perfectly correct," the scientist answered, "though you could have
said it in fewer words, Washington."
<P>
"I&mdash;I guess I'll get out an' walk," the colored man made reply.
<P>
"This isn't any trolley car," observed Mark. "Don't lose your nerve, Wash.
Stay with us, and we'll discover a gold or diamond mine, maybe."
<P>
"Is there diamonds down there?" asked the colored man, his fright seeming
to leave him.
<P>
"There are all sorts of things inside the earth," the professor answered.
<P>
"Then I'm goin' along!" Washington declared. "I always did want a diamond
ring, an' I knows a little colored gal that wants one, too. I'm goin' all
right! This suttenly am th' most kloslosterous conjunctivity of combativeness
that I ever sagaciated!" and he began to do a sort of impromptu cake-walk.
<h3>CHAPTER XIII</h3>
<h4>DOWN INTO THE EARTH</h4>
<P>
IT was now noon, but the adventurers did not think of dinner in the excitement
of approaching the mysterious island. The speed of the ship was increased
that they might the more quickly come to it. As they approached they could
see the masses of vapor more plainly, and it appeared that some great commotion
must be going on inside the big hole, since clouds of steam arose.
<P>
"I only hope it doesn't prove too hot for us," observed the professor. "However,
I provided a water jacket for the ship, and we may need it, as well as the
vacuum chambers to keep the heat from us."
<P>
It was about three o'clock when the flying ship reached the edge of the island.
From there it was about a mile to the rim of the big hole, over one side
of which the waters of the ocean poured with a roar that could be heard over
half a mile off.
<P>
"I think we had better halt and see that everything is in good shape before
proceeding," said Mr. Henderson. "Jack, you and Mark make a thorough inspection
of the engine room, and see that all the apparatus is in working order,"
<P>
The two boys prepared to do as they were told. Mark, who was walking a little
ahead of Jack, entered the apartment from which the storeroom opened. As
he did so he saw, or thought he saw, the door of the place where the extra
supplies were kept, close. Without saying anything to Jack he hurried forward,
and tried the knob. It would not turn.
<P>
"That's funny," said Mark to himself. "I could almost swear I saw some one
go into that room. Yet I know the professor did not enter, for I just left
him. And none of the others would dare to. I wonder if I will ever solve
the mystery."
<P>
But he had too much to do to allow him to dwell on that matter. Several of
the dynamos needed adjusting and for two hours he and Jack had all they could
do.
<P>
In the meanwhile the professor had gone over the other parts of the ship,
and gotten everything in readiness for the descent. The <I>Mermaid </I>was
lowered to within a few hundred feet of the sea, and, through a hose that
was let down, the compartments, provided for this emergency were filled with
water. These compartments were between the outer and inner hulls of the lower
part of the craft, and were designed to prevent the interior becoming heated
in case the travelers found they had to pass close to fire. There were also
vacuum chambers, and from these the air was exhausted, as of course every
schoolboy knows a vacuum is a non-conductor of either heat or cold.
<P>
"Now I think we are ready," the professor announced at length.
<P>
"Everything's all right in the engine room," announced Jack.
<P>
"Yes, an' everything's all right in th' kitchen," put in Washington. "I've
got a good meal ready as soon as any one wants to eat."
<P>
"It will have to wait a while," Mr. Henderson remarked. "We are going to
start to make the descent before we dine."
<P>
The hose was reeled up, and the ship was sent a few hundred feet higher into
the air, as Mr. Henderson wanted to take a last good observation before he
went down into the hole.
<P>
But having risen some distance above the masses of rolling vapors he found
he was at no advantage, since the strongest telescope he could bring to bear
could not pierce the cloud masses.
<P>
"We'll just have to trust to luck," the scientist said. "I judge we're about
over the centre of the opening. Lower away Mark!"
<P>
The boy, who, under the watchful eye of the professor, was manipulating the
levers and wheels in the conning tower, shifted some handles. The gas was
expelled from the holder, the negative gravity apparatus ceased to work,
and the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>sank lower and lower, toward the mysterious
hole that yawned beneath her.
<P>
The hearts of all beat strangely, if not with fear, at least with apprehension,
for they did not know what they might encounter. Perhaps death in some terrible
form awaited them. But the desire to discover something new and strange had
gripped all of them, and not one would have voted to turn back.
<P>
Even old Andy, who seldom got excited, was in unusual spirits. He took down
his gun and remarked:
<P>
"Maybe I can kill some new kind of animal, and write a book about its habits,
for surely we will see strange beasts in the under-world."
<P>
Lower and lower sank the ship. Now it was amid the first thin masses of vapors,
those that floated highest and were more like a light fog, than anything
else. By means of a window in the bottom of the craft, which window was closed
by a thick piece of plate glass, Professor Henderson could look down and
see what was beneath them.
<P>
"The clouds seem to be getting thicker," he said, as he peered through the
small casement. "If they would only clear away we could see something."
<P>
But instead of doing this the vapors accumulated more thickly about the ship.
It was so dark inside the <I>Mermaid </I>now that the electric lights had
to be switched on. In the room with the floor-window the lights were not
used, as had they shone one could not have seen down below.
<P>
The professor maintained his position. The descent was a perilous one, and
he wanted to be on the watch to check it at once if the <I>Mermaid </I>was
liable to dash upon some pointed rock or fall into some fiery pit. His hand
was on the signal levers.
<P>
Suddenly he looked up and glanced at a gage on the wall. The hand of it was
slowly revolving.
<P>
"We are at the earth's surface," the scientist said. "Now we are below it.
Now we are fairly within the big hole! Boys, we may be on the verge of a
great discovery!"
<P>
An instant later it seemed as if a hot wave had struck the <I>Mermaid, </I>or
as if the craft had been plunged into boiling water.
<P>
"It's going to be hot!" cried the professor. "Lucky I provided the water
jackets!"
<P>
Then the lights in the interior of the ship went out, leaving the whole craft
in darkness.
<P>
"What has happened?" cried Mark.
<h3>CHAPTER XIV</h3>
<h4>MANY MILES BELOW</h4>
<P>
"DON'T be alarmed," spoke the calm voice of the professor. "I have only turned
off the electrics. I want to switch on the search lights, to see if we can
learn anything about our position."
<P>
As he spoke he turned a switch, and, the gloom below the ship, as the boys
could see by glimpses from the floor-window, was pierced by a dazzling glare.
In the bottom of the <I>Mermaid </I>were set a number of powerful electric
arc lights with reflectors, constructed to throw the beams downward. The
professor had built them in for just this emergency, as he thought that at
some time they might want to illuminate what was below the craft.
<P>
Not that it was of much avail on this occasion, for, though the lights were
powerful, they could not pierce the miles of gloom that lay below them. The
beams only served to accentuate the darkness.
<P>
"I guess we'll have to trust to luck," the professor said, after a vain attempt,
by means of powerful glasses, to distinguish something. "There is too much
fog and vapor."
<P>
"What makes it so warm?" asked Mark, removing his coat.
<P>
"Well, you must remember you are approaching the interior of the earth,"
the professor answered. "It has been calculated that the heat increases one
degree for every fifty-five feet you descend. We have come down several hundred
feet and of course it is getting warmer."
<P>
"Then if we go down very far it will get so hot we will not be able to stand
it," Jack put in.
<P>
"I do not believe we will suffer any great inconvenience," Mr. Henderson
went on. "I believe that after we pass a certain point it will become cooler.
I think the inner fires of the earth are more or less heated gas in a sort
of inner chamber between two shells. If we can pass the second shell, we
will be all right."
<P>
"But aren't we liable to hit something, going down into the dark this way?"
asked Mark.
<P>
"We will guard ourselves as far as possible," the scientist answered.
<P>
The <I>Mermaid </I>seemed to be going down on a side of the immense shaft
a good way distant from the strange waterfall. When they had first dropped
into the hole the travelers could hear the rush of waters, but now the noise
was not audible.
<P>
"I think the hole must widen out the farther down we go," the professor said.
"We are probably many miles from the fall now."
<P>
"I'm sure I hope so," put in Jack. "It would be no fun to have to take a
shower bath in this place."
<P>
After a meal, the boys and the professor took some more observations, but
with all their efforts nothing could be seen below the ship but a vast black
void, into which they were steadily descending.
<P>
"I wonder when we're going to stop," asked Mark. "It's like playing the game
'Going to Jerusalem,' you keep wondering when the music will cease and you
will have a chance to grab a chair. I only hope we have a chair or something
else to sit on, in case we go to smash."
<P>
"We're not liable to have any accidents with the professor in charge," Jack
answered. "Didn't he bring us safe out of some pretty tight holes when we
went to the north pole in the airship, and again when we found the south
pole in the submarine?"
<P>
"Yes, but this is different," objected Mark.
<P>
"Well, I'm not worrying," Jack went on. "It doesn't do any good, and only
makes you lie awake nights. By the way, I wonder what time it is getting
to be."
<P>
He looked at his watch and found it was close on to eight o'clock in the
evening. So late had dinner been served, and so varied were the happenings
of the last few hours, that time had passed quickly.
<P>
"Why it's almost bed-time," said Jack. "I wonder if we are to go on dropping
into the depths of nowhere all night."
<P>
At that moment the professor entered the room where the boys were. He seemed
quite pleased over something, and was smiling.
<P>
"Everything is going along famously," he said. "I have just tested the air
and find it is rich in oxygen. We shall suffer nothing on that score. The
heat too, seems to have decreased. On the whole, everything favors us."
<P>
"Are we going on down?" asked Mark.
<P>
"As far as we can," Mr. Henderson answered. "Let me see how far we are below
now."
<P>
He went to the gage that indicated the vertical position of the ship. Because
of the changed conditions, the craft now sinking below the surface of the
earth instead of rising above it, as was its wont, some calculations were
necessary. These the scientist made as quickly as he could.
<P>
"We are now ten miles underground!" he exclaimed. "That is doing very well.
My theories are working out. I think we shall land somewhere before long."
<P>
"I hopes so!" exclaimed Washington coming in at this point. "I'm mighty skeered
shootin' down int' this dark hole, and no time-table t' show when we's due
t' arrive."
<P>
"We ought to land in a couple of days more," the professor answered. "Never
mind about worrying Washington, I'll take care of you."
<P>
"I hopes so, Perfesser," the colored man said. "I got a little girl waitin'
for me back in Georgia, an' I'd like t' see her 'fore I git burned up."
<P>
Accompanied by the professor, the boys made a tour of the ship to see that
all the machinery and apparatus were in working order. Owing to the changed
conditions the negative gravity engine had to be worked at faster speed than
usual, since the downward pull of the earth was greater the farther they
descended into the interior and they did not want to fall too swiftly. But
this was easily provided for, since the professor had made the apparatus
capable of standing a great strain.
<P>
The ten miles had become fourteen when the professor, finding that everything
was in good shape, proposed that the boys go to bed. They, did not want to,
though they were sleepy, and they feared to miss some strange sights.
<P>
But when the professor had promised to call them in case anything unusual
developed, they consented to turn in, and Bill and Tom assumed their duties,
which were light enough, now that the ship was merely falling into the immense
shaft.
<P>
When Mark turned into his bunk he could not go to sleep at once. It may have
been the excitement over their new position, or because he had eaten too
hearty a supper, but the fact was he remained awake for some time.
<P>
While thus tossing restlessly on his bed, wondering what ailed him, he thought
he heard a noise in the main apartment out of which the storeroom opened.
He crawled softly from his bed, and looked from his stateroom door.
<P>
In the light of a shaded electric Mark saw the figure of some one glide across
the floor and take refuge in the room, which Professor Henderson always was
so particular about.
<P>
"I wonder what or who that was," reasoned Mark. "There is some mystery in
this. Can the professor have concealed some one on this ship whose presence
he does not want to admit? It certainly looks so."
<P>
Not wanting to awaken the ship's crew, and remembering what Mr. Henderson
had said about any one entering the storeroom, Mark went back to bed, to
fall into an uneasy slumber.
<P>
"Breakfast!" called Washington breaking in on a fine dream Jack was having
about being captain of a company of automobile soldiers. "Last call for
breakfast!"
<P>
"Hello! Is it morning?" asked Jack.
<P>
"Not so's you could notice it," Washington went on. "It's as dark as a stack
of black cats and another one throwed in. But breakfast is ready jest the
same."
<P>
The boys were soon at the table, and learned that nothing of importance had
occurred during the night. The <I>Mermaid </I>had been kept going slowly
down, and about seven o'clock registered more than fifty miles below the
earth's surface.
<P>
Still there was no change in the outward surroundings. It remained as black
as the interior of Egypt when that country was at its darkest. The powerful
electrics could not pierce the gloom. The ship was working well, and the
travelers were very comfortable.
<P>
Down, down, down, went the <I>Mermaid. </I>The temperature, which had risen
to about ninety went back to sixty-nine, and there seemed to be no more danger
from the inner fires.
<P>
They were now a hundred miles under the surface. But still the professor
kept the <I>Mermaid </I>sinking. Every now and again he would take an
observation, but only found the impenetrable darkness surrounded them.
<P>
"We must arrive somewhere, soon," he muttered.
<P>
It was about six o'clock that night that the alarm bell set up a sudden ringing.
The professor who was making some calculations on a piece of paper jumped
to his feet, and so did a number of the others.
<P>
"We are nearing the bottom!" he cried. "The bell has given us warning!"
<h3>CHAPTER XV</h3>
<h4>IN THE STRANGE DRAUGHT</h4>
<P>
THE boys ran to attend to the engines and apparatus to which they had been
assigned in view of this emergency. The professor, Washington, Bill, Tom
and Andy, who had kept to themselves since the descent, came running out
of the small cabin where they usually sat, and wanted to know what it was
all about.
<P>
"We may hit something, in spite of all precautions," Mr. Henderson remarked.
"Slow down the ship."
<P>
The <I>Mermaid </I>was, accordingly checked in her downward flight, by a
liberal use of the gas and the negative gravity machine.
<P>
The bell continued to ring, and the dials pointed to the mark that indicated
the ship was more than one hundred and fifty miles down.
<P>
Mark, who had run to the engine room to check the descent, came back.
<P>
"Why didn't you slow her down?" asked the professor.
<P>
"I did," replied the boy. "The negative gravity and the gas machines are
working at full speed."
<P>
"Then why are we still descending?" asked the scientist. "For a while our
speed was checked, but now we are falling faster than before."
<P>
"I attended to the apparatus," Mark insisted.
<P>
Just then, from without the ship, came a terrible roaring sound, as though
there was a great cyclone in progress. At the same time, those aboard the
craft could feel themselves being pulled downward with terrific force.
<P>
"We are caught in a draught!" Mr. Henderson cried. "We are being sucked down
into the depths of the earth!"
<P>
He ran to the engine room. With the help of the boys he set in motion an
auxiliary gravity machine, designed to exert a most powerful influence against
the downward pull of the earth. As they watched the great wheels spin around,
and heard the hum and whirr of the dynamos, the boys watched the pointer
which indicated how low they were getting.
<P>
And, as they watched, they saw that the needle of the dial kept moving, moving,
moving.
<P>
"Our efforts are useless! We can't stop!" the professor cried.
<P>
Grave indeed was the plight of the adventurers. In their ship they were being
sucked down into unknown regions and all their efforts did not avail to save
them. It was an emergency they could not guard against, and which could not
have been foreseen.
<P>
"What are to do?" asked Mark.
<P>
"We can only wait," Mr. Henderson replied. "The terrible suction may cease,
or it may carry us to some place of safety. Let us hope for the best."
<P>
Seeing there was no further use in running the engines in an effort to check
the downward rush the machines were stopped. Then they waited for whatever
might happen.
<P>
Now that they seemed in imminent peril Washington was as cool as any one.
He went about putting his kitchen in order and getting ready for the next
meal as if they were sailing comfortably along on the surface of the ocean.
As for old Andy he was nervous and frightened, and plainly showed it. With
his gun in readiness he paced back and forth as if on the lookout for strange
beasts or birds.
<P>
Bill and Tom were so alarmed that they were of little use in doing anything,
and they were not disturbed in their staterooms where they went when it became
known that the ship was unmanageable.
<P>
The boys and the professor, while greatly frightened at the unexpected turn
of events, decided there was no use in giving way to foolish alarm. They
realized they could do nothing but await developments.
<P>
At the same time they took every precaution. They piled all the bedding on
the floor of the living room, so that the pillows and mattresses might form
a sort of pad in case the ship was dashed down on the bottom of the big hole.
<P>
"Not that it would save us much," Jack observed with a grim smile, "but somehow
it sort of makes your mind easier."
<P>
All this while the ship was being sucked down at a swift pace. The pointer
of the gage, indicating the depth, kept moving around and soon they were
several hundreds of miles below the surface of the earth.
<P>
The professor tried, by means of several instruments, to discover in which
direction they were headed, and whether they were going straight down or
at an angle. But some strange influence seemed to affect the gages and other
pieces of apparatus, for the pointers and hands would swing in all directions,
at one time indicating that they were going down, and, again, upward.
<P>
"There must be a strong current of electricity here," Mr. Henderson said,
"or else there is, as many suspect, a powerful magnet at the center of the
earth, which we are nearing."
<P>
"What will you do if the ship is pulled apart, or falls and is smashed?"
asked Mark with much anxiety.
<P>
"You take a cheerful view of things," said Jack.
<P>
"Well, it's a good thing to prepare for emergencies," Mark added.
<P>
"If the ship was to be separated by the magnetic pull, or if it fell on sharp
rocks and was split in twain, I am afraid none of us could do anything to
save ourselves," the professor answered. "Still, if we were given a little
warning of the disaster, I have means at hand whereby we might escape with
our lives. But it would be a perilous way of&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"I reckon yo' all better come out an' have supper," broke in Washington.
"Leastways we'll call it supper, though I don't rightly know whether it's
night or mornin'. Anyhow I've got a meal ready."
<P>
"I don't suppose any of us feel much like eating," observed Mr. Henderson,
"but there is no telling when we will have the chance again, so, perhaps,
we had better take advantage of it."
<P>
For a while they ate in silence, finding that they had better appetites than
they at first thought. Old Andy in particular did full justice to the food
Washington had prepared.
<P>
"I always found it a good plan to eat as much and as often as you can," the
hunter remarked. "This is a mighty uncertain world."
<P>
"You started to tell us a little while ago, Professor," said Mark, "about
a plan you had for saving out lives if worst came to worst, and there was
a chance to put it into operation. What is it?"
<P>
"I will tell you," the aged inventor said. "It is something about which I
have kept silent, as I did not want to frighten any of you. It was my latest
invention, and I had only perfected it when we started off on this voyage.
Consequently I had no chance to try it. The machine works in theory, but
whether it does in practice is another question. That is why I say there
is a risk. But we may have to take this risk. I have placed aboard this ship
a&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
The professor was interrupted in what he was about to say by a curious tremor
that made the whole ship shiver as though it had struck some obstruction.
Yet there was no sudden jolt or jar such as would have been occasioned by
that.
<P>
At the same time Washington, who was out in the kitchen, came running into
the dining room, crying:
<P>
"We're droppin' into a ragin' fire, Perfesser!"
<P>
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"I jest took a look down through th' hole in th' bottom of the ship!" cried
Washington. "It's all flames an' smoke below us!"
<P>
"I wonder if it is the end," the professor muttered in a low voice.
<P>
Followed by the boys, the inventor hastened to the floor-window. The lights
were turned off to enable a better view to be had of what was below them.
<P>
Leaning over the glass protected aperture the boys and the professor saw,
far, far down, a bright light shining. It was as if they were miles above
a whole town of blast furnaces, the stacks of which were belching forth flames
and smoke. The rolling clouds of vapor were illuminated by a peculiar greenish
light, which, at times, turned to red, blue, purple and yellowish hues.
<P>
The effect was weird and beautiful though it was full of terror for the
travelers. It seemed as if they were falling into some terrible pit of fire,
for the reflection of what they feared were flames, could plainly be seen.
<P>
"I wish I'd never come on this terrible voyage!" wailed Washington. "I'd
rather freeze to death than be burned up."
<P>
"Washington, be quiet!" commanded the professor sternly. "This is no time
for foolishness. We must work hard to save our lives, for we are in dire
peril.
<P>
"Mark, you and Washington, with Jack, start the engines. Turn on every bit
of power you can. Fill the gas holder as full as it will hold, and use extra
heavy pressure. I will see if I can not work the negative gravity apparatus
to better advantage than we did before. We must escape if possible!"
<P>
The boys, as was also Washington, were only too glad to have something to
do to take their mind off their troubles. All three were much frightened,
but Mark and Jack tried not to show it. As for Washington he was almost crying.
<P>
Soon the whirr and hum of the machinery in the <I>Mermaid </I>was heard.
The craft, which was rushing in some direction, either downward, ahead or
backwards within the unknown depths, shivered from the speed of the dynamos
and other apparatus. Soon the boys could hear the professor starting the
negative gravity engine, and then began a struggle between the forces of
nature and those of mankind.
<P>
Once more the adventurers anxiously watched the gages and indicators. For
a while the ship seemed to be holding out against the terrible influence
that was sucking her down. She appeared to hesitate. Then, as the downward
force triumphed over the mechanical energy in the craft, she began to settle
again, and soon was descending, if that was the direction, as fast as before.
<P>
"It is of no use," said the professor with a groan. "I must try our last
resort!"
<P>
He started from the engine room where Mark and Jack had gone. As he did so,
he glanced at a thermometer hanging on the wall near the door.
<P>
"Has any one turned on the heat?" he asked.
<P>
"It's shut off," replied Mark, looking at the electric stove.
<P>
"Then what makes it so hot?" asked the scientist.
<P>
He pointed to the little silvery column in the tiny tube of the instrument.
It registered close to one hundred degrees, though a few minutes before it
had been but sixty. And the starting of the machinery could not account for
the rise in temperature, since most of the apparatus was run by electricity
and developed little heat save in the immediate proximity. The thermometer
was fully ten feet away from any machine.
<P>
"It's the fiery furnace that's doing it!" cried Washington. "We're falling
into th' terrible pit an' we're goin' t' be roasted alive!"
<P>
"It certainly is getting warmer," observed Mark, as he took off his coat.
Soon he had to shed his vest, and Jack and the professor followed his example.
The others too, also found all superfluous garments a burden, and, in a little
while they were going about in scanty attire.
<P>
Still the heat increased, until it was almost torture to remain in the engine
room. Nor was it much cooler elsewhere. In vain did the professor set a score
of big electric fans to whirring. He even placed cakes of ice, from the small
ice machine that was carried, in front of the revolving blades, to cool off
the air. But the ice was melted almost as soon as it was taken from the
apparatus.
<P>
"Them flames is gittin' worser!" Washington cried a little later. "We's comin'
nearer!"
<P>
From the bottom window the professor and the boys looked down. True enough
the curious, changing, vari-colored lights seemed brighter. They could almost
see the tongues of flame shooting upward in anticipation of what they were
soon to devour.
<P>
The heat was increasing every minute. The sides of the ship were hot. The
heads of the travelers were getting dizzy. They could hardly talk or move
about.
<P>
"I must save our lives! I must trust to the&mdash;&mdash;" The professor, who was muttering
to himself started toward the storeroom. As in a dream Mark watched him.
He remembered afterward that he had speculated on what might be the outcome
of the mystery the professor threw about the place. "I will have to use it,"
he heard the scientist say softly.
<P>
Just as Mr. Henderson was about to open the door there came a fiercer blast
of heat than any that had preceded. At the same instant the conditions in
the <I>Mermaid </I>became so fearful that each of the travelers felt himself
fainting away.
<P>
"Go to&mdash;storeroom&mdash;get cylinder&mdash;get in&mdash;&mdash;" the professor murmured, and then
he fell forward in a faint.
<h3>CHAPTER XVI</h3>
<h4>THE NEW LAND</h4>
<P>
"WHAT is it? Tell us!" exclaimed Jack, almost in his last breath, for, a
few seconds later he too toppled over senseless. Then Washington went down,
while Andy, Bill and Tom succumbed to the terrible heat.
<P>
Mark felt his head swimming. His eyes were almost bulging from their sockets.
He dimly remembered trying to force himself to go to the storeroom and see
what was there. He started toward it with that intention, but fell half way
to it.
<P>
As he did so he saw something which impressed itself on his mind, half
unconscious as he was.
<P>
The door of the storeroom suddenly opened, and from it came a giant shape,
that seemed to expand until it filled the whole of the apartment where the
stricken ones lay. It was like the form of some monster, half human, half
beast. Mark shuddered, and then, closing his eyes, he felt himself sinking
down into some terrible deep and black pit. A second later the whole ship
was jarred as though it had hit something.
<P>
How long he and the others remained unconscious Mark did not know. He was
the first to revive, and his first sensation was one as though he had slept
hard and long, and did not want to get up. He felt very comfortable, although
he was lying flat on the floor, with his head jammed against the side of
a locker. It was so dark that he could not distinguish his hand held close
to his face.
<P>
"I wonder if I'm dead, and if all the others are dead too," he thought to
himself. "What has happened? Let's see, the last I remember was some horrible
shape rushing from the storeroom. I wonder what it could have been? Surely
that was not the secret the professor referred to."
<P>
Mark shuddered as he recalled the monster that seemed to have grown more
terrible as each second passed. Then the boy raised himself up from his prostrate
position.
<P>
"Well, at any rate, some one has turned off the heat," he murmured. "It's
very comfortable in here now. I wish I could strike a light."
<P>
He listened intently, to learn if any of the others were moving about. He
could hear them breathing, but so faintly as to indicate they were insensible.
Mark stretched out his hand and felt that some one was lying close to him,
but who of the adventurers it was he could not determine.
<P>
"If only the dynamo was working we could have light," he said. "But it seems
to have stopped," and, indeed there was a lacking of the familiar purr and
hum of the electrical machine. In fact none of the apparatus in the ship
was working.
<P>
"The storage battery!" exclaimed Mark. "That would give light for a while,
if I can only find the switch in the dark."
<P>
He began crawling about on his hands and knees. It was so intensely black
that he ran into many things and received severe bruises. At last he came
to a doorway, and as he did so his hand came in contact with an easy chair.
It was the only one aboard, and by that he knew he had passed into the sitting
room. He had his general direction now, and knew if he kept straight on he
would come to the engine room. There he was familiar enough with the apparatus
and levers to be able to turn the electric switch.
<P>
Crawling slowly and cautiously, he reached the room where all the engines
were. Then he had to feel around the sides to locate the switch. At length
he found it. There was a click, a little flash of greenish fire, and the
copper conductors came together, and the ship was flooded with the glow from
the incandescents.
<P>
Mark hurried back to where the others were lying. They were still unconscious,
but an uneasy, movement on the part of Jack told that he was coming out of
the stupor. Mark got some ammonia and held it beneath his comrade's nose.
The strong fumes completed the work that nature had started and Jack opened
his eyes.
<P>
"Where am I? What has happened? Are any of them dead?" he asked quickly.
<P>
"I hope no one is dead," Mark replied. "As to the other question, I can't
answer. I don't know whether we are a thousand miles underground, or floating
on the ocean, though I'm more inclined to the former theory. But never mind
that now. Help me to bring the others back to their senses. I'll work on
the professor and you can begin on Bill or Tom. Washington seems to be all
right," for at that moment the colored man opened his eyes, stared about
him and then got up.
<P>
"I thought I was dead for suah!" he exclaimed.
<P>
"Some of the others may be if we don't hurry," said Mark. "Get to work, Wash!"
<P>
With the colored man to help them the two boys, by the use of the ammonia,
succeeded in reviving Bill, Tom and old Andy. But the professor, probably
on account of his advanced age, did not respond so readily to the treatment.
The boys were getting quite alarmed, as even some of the diluted ammonia,
forced between his lips, did not cause him to open his eyes, or increase
his heart action.
<P>
"If he should die, and leave us all alone with the ship in this terrible
place, what would we do?" asked Jack.
<P>
"He's not going to die!" exclaimed Mark. "Here I have another plan. Washington
bring that medical electrical battery from the engine room." This was a small
machine the professor had brought along for experimental purposes.
<P>
Quickly adjusting it, Mark placed the handles in the nerveless fingers of
Mr. Henderson. Then he started the current. In about a minute the eyelids
of the aged inventor began to quiver, and, in less than five minutes he had
been revived sufficiently to enable him to sit up. He passed his hand across
his forehead.
<P>
"What has happened?" he asked in a faint voice.
<P>
"I don't know; none of us knows," Mark answered. "We all lost our senses
when it got so hot, and there seemed to be some peculiar vapor in the air.
The last I remember was seeing some horrible shape rush from the storeroom,
soon after the ship struck. Then I fainted away. When I woke up I managed
to turn the lights on, and then I came back here."
<P>
"I wonder where we are," the old man murmured. "I must find out. We must
take every precaution. Washington, go and look at the gage indicating our
depth."
<P>
The colored man was gone but a few seconds. When he returned his eyes were
bulging in terror.
<P>
"What is it?" asked Mr. Henderson, who, thanks to the battery, had almost
completely recovered.
<P>
"It ain't possible!" gasped Washington. "I'll never believe it!"
<P>
"What is it?" asked Mr. Henderson, while the others waited in anxiety for
the answer.
<P>
"We're five hundred miles down!" declared Washington.
<P>
"Five hundred miles!" muttered the inventor. "It does not seem possible,
but it must be so. We fell very rapidly and the terrible draught sucked us
down with incredible rapidity. But come, we must see what our situation is,
and where we are. We are stationary, and are evidently on some solid substance."
<P>
They all felt much recovered now, and, as the terrible fright of being consumed
in a fiery furnace had passed, they all were in better spirits.
<P>
At the suggestion of the professor, the boys and Washington made a tour of
the ship. They found, for some unaccountable reason, that nearly all the
engines and apparatuses were out of gear. In some the parts had broken, and
others were merely stopped, from the failure of some other machine, on which
they were dependent.
<P>
"I'm afraid this is the end of the <I>Mermaid," </I>said Mark, in a sorrowful
tone.
<P>
"Nonsense!" replied Jack, who was of a more cheerful nature. "Things are
not so bad as they look. The professor can fix everything."
<P>
"I'm sure I hope so," Mark went on, not much encouraged, however, by Jack's
philosophy. "It would be no joke to have to stay five hundred miles underground
the rest of our lives."
<P>
"You don't know," retorted Jack. "Don't judge of a country you've never seen.
This may be as fine a place as it is on the surface of the earth. I want
a chance to see it," and Jack began to whistle a cheerful tune.
<P>
They completed the tour of the ship, and found, that, aside from the damage
to the machinery, the <I>Mermaid </I>had not sustained any harm. The hull
was in good order, though of course they could not tell about the gas holder.
It was not possible to see this except by going into the conning tower or
out on the small deck, and this they did not venture to do. The connections
between the holder and the main ship seemed to be all right, and there was
still a small quantity of gas in the big tank, as Mark found on opening a
stop-cock.
<P>
They went back to the professor and told him what they had observed. He seemed
somewhat alarmed, the more so as the experience he had just passed through
had weakened him considerably.
<P>
"I hope I shall be able to make the repairs," he said. "It is our only hope."
<P>
As he spoke he looked up at the electric lights that shone overhead from
wall brackets.
<P>
"Who is shutting down the power?" he asked.
<P>
"There is no power on, Professor," replied Mark. "I am running the lights
from the storage battery. But something is the matter, for they are growing
dim."
<P>
The filaments were now mere dull red wires, and the ship was being shrouded
in gloom again.
<P>
"The battery is failing!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "We shall be left in darkness,
and there is no other way to produce light. I ought to have brought some
lamps or candles along in case of emergency,"
<P>
The next instant the <I>Mermaid </I>became as black as Egypt is popularly
supposed to be, and something like an exclamation of terror came from the
professor.
<P>
For several minutes they all sat there in the blackness and gloom, waiting
for they knew not what. Then, suddenly, there sounded throughout the ship,
a creaking as of metal sliding along metal. Some big lever creaked, and,
a second later the whole place was flooded with light.
<P>
"What has happened?" cried the professor, starting to his feet in alarm.
<P>
"We are going to be burned up!" exclaimed old Andy.
<P>
"It's all right! It's all right!" yelled Washington from the engine room
where the boys had left him. "Don't git skeered! I done it! I opened the
port holes, by yanking on the lever. Golly, but we's arrived at the new land!
Look out, everybody!"
<h3>CHAPTER XVII</h3>
<h4>A STRANGE COUNTRY</h4>
<P>
THEY all ran to the port holes, which were openings in the side of the ship.
They were fitted with thick, double glass, and covered on the outside with
steel shutters. These shutters were worked by a single lever from the engine
room, so that one person could open or close them in a second or two. Washington,
by accident, it appeared later, had slid back the protecting pieces of steel,
and the rest followed.
<P>
As the adventurers looked from the glass ports they saw that the light which
had flooded the ship came from without. They were in the midst of a beautiful
glow, which seemed to be diffused about them like rays from a sun.
<P>
Only, in place of being a yellow or white light, such as the sun gives off
at varying times, the glow was of violet hue. And, as they watched, they
saw the light change color, becoming a beautiful red, then blue, and again
green.
<P>
"Well, this is certainly remarkable!" the professor said. "I wonder what
causes that."
<P>
"We've arrived! We're here, anyhow!" Washington cried, coming into the room.
"See the country!"
<P>
Then, for the first time, the travelers, taking their attention from the
curious light that was all around them, saw that they had indeed arrived.
They were on a vast plain, one, seemingly, boundless in extent, though off
to the left there was a range of lofty mountains, while to the right there
was the glimmer of what might be a big lake or inland sea.
<P>
"See, we are resting on the ground!" exclaimed Jack. He pointed out of the
window, and the others, looking close at hand, noted that the <I>Mermaid
</I>had settled down in the midst of what seemed to be a field of flowers.
Big red and yellow blossoms were all in front, and some grew so tall as to
almost be up to the edge of the port.
<P>
"I wonder if we can be seeing aright," the professor muttered. "Is this really
the interior of the earth; such a beautiful place as this?"
<P>
There could be little doubt of it. The ship had descended through the big
shaft, had been sucked down by the terrible air current, and had really landed
in a strange country.
<P>
Of its size, shape and general conditions the adventurers, as yet, could
but guess. They could see it was a pleasant place, and one where there might
be the means to sustain life. For, as the professor said afterward, he felt
that where there were flowers there would be fruits, and where both of these
provisions of nature were to be found there would likely be animal life,
and even, perhaps, human beings.
<P>
But, for the time, they were content to look from the port on the beautiful
scene that lay stretched out before them. The ship rested on an even keel
and had landed so softly that none of the plates were strained.
<P>
"We have plenty of air, at all events," said the professor as he took a deep
breath. "I was afraid of that, but it seems there was no need. The air appears
to be as good and fresh as that on the surface of the earth, only there is
a curious property to it. It makes one feel larger. I imagine it must be
thinner than the air of the earth, which is a rather strange thing, since
the higher one goes the more rarefied the air becomes, and the lower, the
more dense. Still we can not apply natural philosophy to conditions under
the earth. All the usual theories may be upset. However, we should be content
to take things as we find them, and be glad we were not dashed to pieces
when the ship was caught in the terrible current."
<P>
"What do you suppose caused the awful heat, and then made it go away again?"
asked Jack.
<P>
"I can only make a guess at it," Mr. Henderson answered. "There are many
strange things we will come across if we stay here long, I believe. As for
the fire I think we must have passed a sort of interior volcano."
<P>
"But what sort of a place do you think we have come to, Professor?" asked
Mark.
<P>
"It is hard to say," the scientist replied. "We are certainly somewhere within
the earth. Our gage tells us it is five hundred miles. That may or may not
be correct, but I believe we are several hundred miles under the crust, at
all events. As to what sort of a place it is, you can see for yourselves."
<P>
"But how is it we can breathe here, and things can grow?" asked Bill, who
was beginning to lose his fright at the thought of being practically buried
alive.
<P>
"I do not know what makes such things possible," Mr. Henderson replied, "but
that there is air here is a certainty. I can hardly believe it is drawn from
the surface of the earth, down the big hole, and I am inclined to think this
place of the under-world has an atmosphere of its own, and one which produces
different effects than does our own."
<P>
"They certainly have larger flowers than we have," said Mark. "See how big
they grow, and what strong colors they have."
<P>
He pointed to the port, against which some of the blooms were nodding in
the wind that had sprung up, for, in spite of the many differences, the
under-world was in some respects like the upper one.
<P>
"Probably the difference in the atmosphere accounts for that," the professor
said. "It enables things to grow larger. And, by the way, Mark, that reminds
me of something you said about seeing some horrible monster fleeing from
the ship. Did you dream that?"
<P>
"I did see something horrible, Professor," he answered. "I'm not positive
what it was, but I'll tell you as nearly as I can what it was like."
<P>
Thereupon Mark detailed what he had seen.
<P>
"But how could anything, least of all some big monster, be concealed in the
storeroom, and we not know anything about it?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"I thought you did know something of it," replied Mark.
<P>
"Who, me? My dear boy, you must be dreaming again. Why should I want to conceal
any being in the storeroom? Come, there is something back of this. Tell me
all you know of it. I can't imagine why you think I was hiding something
in the apartment."
<P>
"I thought so because you were always so anxious not to have me go near it,"
answered the boy. "Don't you remember when you saw me going toward it, several
times, you warned me away?"
<P>
"So I did!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson, a light breaking over his face. "But,
Mark, it was not because I had hidden some human being or animal there. I
can't tell you what it is yet, save that I can say it is merely a machine
of mine that I have invented. For reasons of my own I don't want any one
to see it yet. Perhaps it may never be seen. I thought, not long ago, that
we might have to undertake a terrible risk in escaping from this place. I
directed you to go to the storeroom&mdash;but there, I can't say any more, my
friends. Sufficient that I had nothing in the animal line concealed there."
<P>
"But I am certain there was some beast or human being in there," insisted
Mark. "I heard curious noises in there. Besides, how do you account for the
food disappearing and the door being open at times?"
<P>
"It might have been rats," said Jack.
<P>
"I don't believe there are rats in the ship," put in the professor. "More
likely it was one of us who got up hungry and took the victuals."
<P>
"I'm sorry I can't agree with you," Mark added respectfully. "I am sure some
strange being was on board this ship, and I believe it has now escaped. Who
or what it was I can't say, but you'll find I'm right, some day."
<P>
"All right," spoke Mr. Henderson with a laugh. "I like to see any one brave
enough to stick up for his opinion, but, at the same time, I can't very well
imagine any person or thing being concealed in that storeroom ever since
we started. How could it get in?"
<P>
Mark did not; answer, but there came to him the recollection of that night,
previous to the sailing of the <I>Flying Mermaid, </I>when he had observed
some strange shadow that seemed to glide aboard the craft.
<P>
"Now let's forget all about such things," the professor went on. "We are
in a strange country, and there are many things to see and do. Let's explore
a little. Then we must see what we can do with the ship. We are dependent
on it, and it will not do to allow it to remain in a damaged state. We expect
to travel many miles in the interior of the earth if it is possible, and
we have only our craft to go in."
<P>
"I reckon we'd all better assimilate into our interior progression some molecules
and atoms of partly disentegrated matter in order to supply combustion for
the carbonaceous elements and assist in the manufacture of red corpuscles,"
said Washington, appearing in the door, with a broad grin on his good-natured
face.
<P>
"Which, being interpreted," the professor said, "means, I suppose, that we
had better eat something to keep our digestive apparatus in good working
order?"
<P>
"Yo' done guessed it!" exclaimed the colored man, relapsing into his ordinary
speech. "I'se got a meal all ready."
<P>
They agreed that they might not have another opportunity soon to partake
of food, so they all gathered about the table, on which Washington had spread
a good meal.
<P>
"Come on, let's go outside and view this new and strange land at closer
quarters," the professor said, when they had satisfied their appetites. "We
can't see much from inside the ship."
<P>
Accordingly the heavy door in the side of the <I>Mermaid </I>was slid back,
and, for the first time the travelers stepped out on the surface of the land
in the interior of the earth.
<P>
At first it seemed no different than the ordinary land to which they were
accustomed. But they soon found it had many strange attributes. The queer
shifting and changing light, with the myriad of hues was one of them, but
to this the adventurers had, by this time, become accustomed, though it was,
none the less, a marvel to them. It was odd enough to see the landscape blood
red one instant, and a pale green the next, as it does when you look through
differently colored glasses.
<P>
Then, too, they noticed that the grass and flowers grew much more abundantly
than in the outer part of the world. They saw clover six feet high, and blades
of grass even taller. In some places the growth of grass was so big that
they were in danger of getting lost in it.
<P>
"If the grass is like this, what will the trees be?" asked Mark.
<P>
"There are some away over there," Jack replied. "We'll have to take a sail
over. They must be several hundred feet high."
<P>
"Well, at any rate, here's a little brook, and the water looks good to drink,"
went on Mark. "I'm thirsty, so here goes."
<P>
He hurried to where a stream was flowing sluggishly between grassy banks.
The water was as clear as crystal, and Mark got down on his face and prepared
to sip some of the liquid up.
<P>
But, no sooner had his lips touched it, than he sprang up with a cry and
stood gazing at the water.
<P>
"What's the matter?" asked Jack. "Hot?"
<P>
"No, it isn't hot," Mark replied, "but it isn't water. It's white molasses!"
<P>
"White molasses?" repeated the professor, coming up at that moment. "What
are you talking about?"
<P>
He stooped down and dipped his finger into the stream. He drew it up quickly,
and there ran from it big drops that flowed as slowly as the extract of the
sugarcane does in cold weather.
<P>
"You're about right, Mark," he said. "It's water but it's almost as thick
as molasses." He touched his finger to his tongue. "It's good to drink, all
right," he went on, "only it will be a little slow going down."
<P>
Then he dipped up a palm full, and let it trickle down his throat.
<P>
"It is the strangest water I ever saw," he added. "It must be that the lack
of some peculiar property of air, which we have on the surface, has caused
this. I must make some notes on it," and he drew out pencil and paper. He
was about to jot down some facts when he was interrupted by a cry from
Washington.
<P>
"Come and see what's the matter with this stone!" he cried.
<h3>CHAPTER XVIII</h3>
<h4>CAUGHT BY A STRANGE PLANT</h4>
<P>
"WASHINGTON is in trouble!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. Followed by the two
boys he ran to where the colored man stood in a stooping position over a
small pile of stones.
<P>
"What is it? Has something bit you?" asked the scientist, as he came up on
the run.
<P>
"No, but I can't git this stone up!" Washington said. "Look at what a little
stone it is, but I can't lift it. Something must have happened to me. Maybe
some one put th' evil eye on me! Maybe I'm bewitched!"
<P>
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the professor, "what did you want the stone for?"
<P>
"Nothin' in particular," replied Washington, still tugging away at the stone,
which was the size of his head. "I was just goin' t' throw it at a big bird,
but when I went to lift it this little stone 'peared t' be glued fast."
<P>
Washington moved aside to give Mr. Henderson a chance to try to pick up the
piece of rock. As the scientist grasped it a look of surprise came over his
features:
<P>
"This is most remarkable!" he exclaimed. "I can't budge it. I wonder if a
giant magnet is holding it down."
<P>
He tugged and tugged until he was red in the face. Then he beckoned to the
two boys, and they came to his aid. There was barely room for them all to
each get one hand on the rock, and then, only after a powerful tug did it
come up. Almost instantly it dropped back to the earth.
<P>
"This is remarkable!" the professor said. "I wonder if the other stones are
the same."
<P>
He tried several others, and one and all resisted his efforts. It was only
the small stones he was able to lift alone, and these, he said, were so weighty
that it would have been a task to throw them any distance.
<P>
"The water and the stones are strangely heavy in this land," he said. "I
wonder what other queer things we shall see."
<P>
"I saw a bird a little while ago, when I went to pick up that stone," observed
Washington.
<P>
"What kind was it?" asked the inventor.
<P>
"I don't know, only it was about as big as an eagle."
<P>
The travelers wandered about a quarter of a mile from the ship. They avoided
the tall grass and the lofty nodding flowers that seemed to grow in regular
groves, and kept to places where they could walk with comparative freedom.
<P>
"Have you formed any idea, Professor, as to the nature of this country?"
asked Mark, who liked to get at the bottom of things.
<P>
"I have, but it is only a theory," Mr. Henderson answered. "I believe we
are on a sort of small earth that is inside the larger one we live on. This
sphere floats in space, just as our earth does, and we have passed through
the void that lies between our globe and this interior one. I think this
new earth is about a quarter the size of ours and in some respects the same.
In others it is vastly different.
<P>
"But we will not think of those things now. We must see what our situation
is, whether we are in any danger, and must look to repairing our ship. There
will be time enough for other matters later."
<P>
The travelers were walking slowly along, noting the strange things on every
side. As they advanced the vegetation seemed to become more luxuriant, as
if nature had tried to out-do herself in providing beautiful flowers and
plants. The changing lights added to the beauty and weirdness of the scene.
<P>
The plain was a rolling one, and here and there were small hills and hollows.
As the travelers topped a rise Jack, who was in advance, called out:
<P>
"Oh what queer plants! They are giant Jacks-in-the-pulpit!"
<P>
The others hastened forward to see what the boy had discovered. Jack was
too eager to wait, and pressed on. The hill which sloped away from the top
of the little plateau on which he stood, was steeper than he had counted
on. As he leaned forward he lost his balance and toppled, head foremost,
down the declivity, rolling over.
<P>
"Look out!" cried Mark, who had almost reached his comrade's side.
<P>
The scene that confronted the travelers was a strange one. Before them in
a sort of hollow, were scores of big plants, shaped somewhat like a
Jack-in-the-pulpit, or a big lily, with a curved top or flap to it.
<P>
The plants were about eight feet tall, three feet across the top, and the
flap or covering was raised about two feet. They were nodding and swaying
in the wind on their short stems.
<P>
"He's headed right for one of them!" Mr. Henderson exclaimed. "I hope he'll
not fall into one of the openings."
<P>
"Is there any danger?" asked Mark.
<P>
"I'm afraid there is," the inventor added. "Those plants are a variety of
the well-known pitcher plant, or fly-trap, as they are sometimes called.
In tropical countries they grow to a large size, but nothing like these.
They are filled, in the cup, with a sort of sticky, sweet mixture, and this
attracts insects. When one enters the cup the top flap folds over, and the
hapless insect is caught there. The plant actually devours it, nature providing
a sort of vegetable digestive apparatus. These giant plants are the same,
and they seem large enough to take in a man, to say nothing of Jack!"
<P>
With anxious faces the adventurers turned to watch the fate of their comrade.
Jack was slipping, sliding and rolling down the hill. He could not seem to
stop, though he was making desperate efforts to do so. He was headed straight
for one of the largest of the terrible plants.
<P>
In vain, as he saw what was in front of him, did he try to change the course
of his involuntary voyage. Over and over he rolled, until, at length, he
struck a little grassy hummock, bounced into the air, and right into the
opening of a monster pitcher plant.
<P>
"It has him!" cried Mark. "We must save him! Come on everyone!"
<P>
He raced down the hill, while the others came closely after him. They reached
the plant into which Jack had bounced. The flap, or top piece, had closed
down, tightly over the unfortunate boy.
<P>
"Quick! We must save him or he will be smothered to death or drowned in the
liquid the cup contains!" Mr. Henderson exclaimed. "Attack the plant with
anything you can find!"
<P>
"Let's cut through the side of the flower-cup!" suggested Mark. "That seems
softer than the stem."
<P>
His idea was quickly put into operation. Andy's long hunting knife came in
very handy. While the sides of the long natural cup were tough, the knife
made an impression on them, and, soon, a small door or opening had been cut
in the side of the pitcher plant, large enough to enable a human body to
pass through.
<P>
When the last fibre had been severed by Andy, who was chosen to wield the
knife because of his long practice as a hunter, there was a sudden commotion
within the plant. Then a dark object, dripping water, made a spring and landed
almost at the feet of the professor.
<P>
It was Jack, and a sorry sight he presented. He was covered from head to
foot with some sticky substance, which dripped from all over him.
<P>
With hasty movements he cleared the stuff from his eyes and mouth, and
spluttered:
<P>
"It's a good thing you cut me out when you did. I couldn't have held on much
longer!"
<h3>CHAPTER XIX</h3>
<h4>THE BIG PEACH</h4>
<P>
JACK soon recovered from his remarkable experience. The terrible plant that
had nearly eaten him alive was a mass of cut-up vegetable matter which attracted
a swarm of insects. Most of them were ants, but such large ones the boys
had never seen before, and the professor said they exceeded in size anything
he had read about. Some of them were as large as big rats. They bit off large
pieces of the fallen plant and carried them to holes in the ground which
were big enough for Washington to slip his foot into, and he wore a No. 11
shoe.
<P>
But the adventurers felt there were more important things for them to look
at than ants, so they started away again, the professor telling them all
to be careful and avoid accidents.
<P>
It was while they were strolling through a little glade, which they came
upon unexpectedly, that Washington, who was in the lead called out:
<P>
"Gracious goodness! It must be Thanksgivin'!"
<P>
"Why so?" asked Jack.
<P>
"'Cause here's th' remarkablest extraordinary and expansionist of a pumpkin
that ever I laid eyes on!" the colored man cried.
<P>
They all hurried to where Washington had come to a halt. There, on the ground
in front of him, was a big round object, about the size of a hogshead. It
was yellow in color, and was not unlike the golden vegetable from which mothers
make such delicious pies.
<P>
"I allers was fond of pumpkins," said Washington, placing his hand on the
thing, which was almost as tall as he was, "but I never thought I'd come
across such a one as this."
<P>
The professor and the two boys went closer to the monstrosity. Mr. Henderson
passed his hand over it and then, bending closer, smelled of it.
<P>
"That's not a pumpkin!" he exclaimed.
<P>
"What is it then?" asked Washington.
<P>
"It's a giant peach," the inventor remarked. "Can't you see the fuzz, and
smell it? Of course it's a peach."
<P>
"Well I'll be horn-swoggled!" cried Washington, leaning against the big fruit,
which easily, supported him.
<P>
"Hurrah!" cried Jack, drawing his knife from his pocket and opening the largest
blade. "I always did like peaches. Now I can have all I want," and he drove
the steel into the object, cutting off a big slice which he began to eat.
<P>
"It may be poisonous!" exclaimed Mark.
<P>
"Too late now," responded Jack, the juice running down from his mouth. "Taste's
good, anyhow."
<P>
They all watched Jack while he devoured his slice of fruit. Washington acted
as if he expected his friend to topple over unconscious, but Jack showed
no bad symptoms.
<P>
"You'd better all have some," the boy said. "It's the best I ever tasted."
<P>
Encouraged by Jack's example, Mark thought he, too, would have some of the
fruit. He opened his knife and was about to take off some of the peach when
suddenly the thing began to roll forward, almost upon him.
<P>
"Hi! Stop your shoving!" he exclaimed. "Do you want to have the thing roll
over me, Jack?"
<P>
"I'm not shoving!" replied Jack.
<P>
"Some one is!" Mark went on. He dodged around the far side of the immense
fruit and what he saw made him cry out in astonishment.
<P>
Two grasshoppers, each one standing about three feet high, were standing
on their hind legs, and with their fore feet were pushing the peach along
the ground. They had been attracted to the fruit by some juice which escaped
from a bruise on that side, which was the ripest, and, being fond of sweets
had, evidently decided to take their find to some safe place where they could
eat it at their leisure. Or perhaps they wanted to provide for their families
if grasshoppers have them.
<P>
"Did you ever see such monsters?" asked Jack. "They're as big as dogs!"
<P>
At the sound of his voice the two grasshoppers, becoming alarmed, ceased
their endeavors to roll the peach along, and, assuming a crouching attitude
seemed to be waiting.
<P>
"They certainly are remarkable specimens," Mr. Henderson said. "If the other
animals are in proportion, and if there are persons in this new world, we
are likely to have a hard time of it."
<P>
This time the immense insects concluded the strangers were not to their liking.
With a snapping of their big muscular legs and a whirr of their wings that
was like the starting of an automobile, the grasshoppers rose into the air
and sailed away over the heads of the adventurers. Their flight was more
than an eighth of a mile in extent, and they came down in a patch of the
very tall grass.
<P>
"Let's go after them!" exclaimed old Andy. "I was so excited I forgot to
take a shot at them. Come on!"
<P>
"I think we'd better not," counseled the professor. "In the first place we
don't need them. They would be no good for food. Then we don't know but what
they might attack us, and it would be no joke to be bitten by a grasshopper
of that size. Let them alone. We may find other game which will need your
attention, Andy. Better save your ammunition."
<P>
Somewhat against his will, Andy had to submit to the professor's ruling.
The old hunter consoled himself with the reflection that if insects grew
to that size he would have some excellent sport hunting even the birds of
the inner world.
<P>
"I wonder what sort of a tree that peach grew on," Jack remarked, as he cut
off another slice, when the excitement caused by the discovery of the
grasshoppers had subsided. "It must be taller than a church steeple. I wonder
how the fruit got here, for there are no trees around."
<P>
"I fancy those insects rolled it along for a good distance," Mr. Henderson
put in. "You can see the marks on the ground, where they pushed it. They
are wonderful creatures."
<P>
"Are we going any farther?" asked Mark. "Perhaps we can find the peach tree,
and, likely there are other fruit trees near it."
<P>
At the professor's suggestion they strolled along for some distance. They
were now about three miles from the airship, and found that what they had
supposed was a rather level plain, was becoming a succession of hills and
hollows. It was while descending into a rather deep valley that Jack pointed
ahead and exclaimed:
<P>
"I guess there's our peach orchard, but I never saw one like it before."
<P>
Nor had any of the others. Instead of trees the peaches were attached to
vines growing along the ground. They covered a large part of the valley,
and the peaches, some bigger than the one they first discovered, some small
and green, rose up amid the vines, just as pumpkins do in a corn field.
<P>
"Stranger and stranger," the professor murmured. "Peaches grow on vines.
I suppose potatoes will grow on trees. Everything seems to be reversed here."
<P>
They made their way down toward the peach "orchard" as Jack called it, though
"patch" would have been a better name. Besides peaches they found plums,
apples, and pears growing in the same way, and all of a size proportionate
to the first-named fruit.
<P>
"Well, one thing is evident," Mr. Henderson remarked, "we shall not starve
here. There is plenty to eat, even if we have to turn vegetarians."
<P>
"I wonder what time it is getting to be," Jack remarked. "My watch says twelve
o'clock but whether it's noon or midnight I can't tell, with this colored
light coming and going. I wonder if it ever sets as the sun does."
<P>
"That is something we'll have to get used to," the professor said. "But I
think we had better go back to the ship now. We have many things to do to
get it in order again. Besides, I am a little afraid to leave it unguarded
so long. No telling but what some strange beast&mdash;or persons, for that
matter&mdash;might injure it."
<P>
"I'm going to take back some slices of peaches with me, anyhow," Mark said,
and he and Jack cut off enough to make several meals, while Bill, Tom and
Washington took along all they could carry.
<P>
As they walked back toward the ship the strange lights seemed to be dying
out. At first they hardly noticed this, but as they continued on it became
quite gloomy, and an odd sort of gloom it was too, first green, then yellow,
then red and then blue.
<P>
"I believe whatever serves as a sun down here is setting," the professor
observed. "We must hurry. I don't want to be caught out here after dark."
<P>
They hurried on, the lights dying out more and more, until, as they came
in sight of their ship, it was so black they could hardly see.
<P>
Mark who was in the rear turned around, glancing behind him. As he did so
he caught sight of a gigantic shadow moving along on top of the nearest hill.
The shadow was not unlike that of a man in shape, but of such gigantic stature
that Mark knew it could be like no human being he had ever seen. At the same
time it bore a curious resemblance to the weird shadow he had seen slip into
the <I>Mermaid </I>that night before they sailed.
<P>
"I wonder if it can be the same&mdash;the same thing&mdash;grown larger, just as the
peach grows larger than those in our world," Mark thought, while a shiver
of fear seemed to go over him. "I wonder if that&mdash;that thing could have been
on the ship&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
Then the last rays of light died away and there was total darkness.
<h3>CHAPTER XX</h3>
<h4>OVERHAULING THE SHIP</h4>
<P>
"KEEP together!" shouted the professor. "It will not do to become lost now.
We are close to the ship, and will soon be there. Come after me."
<P>
It was more by following the sound of the scientist's voice, than by any
sight which the others could get of him, that they managed to trail along
behind. They reached the ship in safety, however, and entered. There was
no sound as of beasts or insects within, and, though Mark felt a little
apprehensive on account of what he had seen, he and the others as well, were
glad to be again in something that seemed like home.
<P>
"I wish we had some candles, or some sort of a light to see by," the professor
remarked. "We can do nothing in the dark, and there is no telling how long
this night is going to last once it has set in. If I could have a little
illumination, I might be able to fix the dynamo, and then we could turn on
the incandescents. That portable light we had is broken.
<P>
"By cracky!" exclaimed Andy. "I believe I have the very thing!"
<P>
"You don't mean to say you have a torch or a candle with you, do you?" asked
Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"No, but I have my patent pipe lighting apparatus," the hunter said. "I always
carry it. It gives a little light, but not much, though it may be enough
to work by."
<P>
Not until after several hours work, handicapped as they were by lack of light,
were the repairs to the ship completed.
<P>
"Now we'll start the engine and see how we will come out," the inventor
exclaimed, as he wiped his hands on some waste.
<P>
It did not take long to generate enough power to turn the dynamo. Soon the
familiar hum and whirr was heard, and, a few seconds later the filaments
in the lamps began to glow a dull red, which gradually brightened until they
were shining in all their usual brilliancy.
<P>
"Hurrah!" cried the boys. "Now we can see!"
<P>
They all felt in better spirits with the restoration of the lights, and,
washing off the grease and dirt of their labors in the engine room, they
prepared to sit down to the meal which Washington prepared.
<P>
As soon as the dynamo was working well, care had to be taken not to speed
it too much on account of a mended belt. The professor turned off part of
the lights and switched some of the current into the storage batteries, to
provide for emergencies. For there was no telling how long the night might
last.
<P>
Jack was the first one to finish the meal&mdash;they did not know whether to call
it dinner, supper or breakfast. He went into the conning tower, and, as soon
as he reached it he called out:
<P>
"Come on up here, professor! There's something strange going on!"
<P>
Mr. Henderson, followed by Mark, hurried to the tower. As he reached it and
looked out of the forward window, a beautiful white glow illuminated the
whole scene, and then, from below the horizon, there arose seven luminous
disks. One was in the centre, while about it circled the other six, like
some immense pin-wheel.
<P>
"It's the moon!" cried Mark.
<P>
"It's seven moons!" Jack exclaimed. "Why it's almost as light as day!"
<P>
And so it was, for the seven moons, if that is what they were, gave an
illumination not unlike the sun in brilliancy though it was like the beams
from the pale moon of the earth.
<P>
"I guess we need not have worried about the darkness," the professor remarked.
"Still it is a good thing I fixed the dynamo."
<P>
For some time he and the other adventurers watched the odd sight of the moons,
as they rose higher and higher overhead. The scene was a beautiful, if weird
one, for the whole plain was bathed in the soft light.
<P>
"I guess we can turn off the incandescents, and use all the power for the
storage batteries," Mr. Henderson went on, as he descended into the ship,
and opened the port shutters which had been closed when they started off
on their exploring tour. The interior of the <I>Mermaid </I>was almost as
light as when the odd colored beams had been playing over the new earth to
which they had come.
<P>
"I think we had better continue with our work of making repairs," Mr. Henderson
said. "We can't count on these moons remaining here any length of time, and
I want to take advantage of them. So though some of us perhaps need sleep,
we will forego it and fix up the <I>Mermaid. </I>I want to take a trip and
see what other wonders await us."
<P>
They all agreed that they would rather work than sleep, and soon the entire
force was busy in the engine room. There was much to be done, and the most
important things were attended to first. The motive power was overhauled
and found to be in need of several new parts. These were put in and then
the gas generator, and the negative gravity machine, were put in shape.
<P>
It would have taken something very substantial to have awakened any one on
board the <I>Mermaid </I>that night. They all slept soundly and awoke to
find the strange colored lights shining in through the glass covered port
holes.
<P>
"Well, the sun, or what corresponds to it, is up," observed Jack, "and I
guess we had better do as the little boy in the school reader did, and get
up, too, Mark."
<P>
Soon all the travelers were aroused, and the sound of Washington bustling
about in the kitchen, whence came the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs, told
the hungry ones that breakfast was under way.
<P>
After the meal work was again started on repairing the ship, and by noon
the professor remarked:
<P>
"I think we shall try a little flight after dinner. That is, if one thing
doesn't prevent us."
<P>
"What is that?" asked Jack.
<P>
"We may be held down, as were those stones," was the grave answer.
<h3>CHAPTER XXI</h3>
<h4>THE FISH THAT WALKED</h4>
<P>
IT was with no little apprehension that the professor prepared to take his
first flight aboard the ship in the realms of the new world. He knew little
or nothing of the conditions he might meet with, the density of the atmosphere,
or how the <I>Mermaid </I>would behave under another environment than that
to which she was accustomed.
<P>
Yet he felt it was necessary to make a start. They would have to attempt
a flight sooner or later, and Mr. Henderson was not the one to delay matters.
So, the last adjustment having been made to the repaired machinery, they
all took their places in the ship.
<P>
The boys and the professor went to the conning tower to direct matters, while
Washington and the others were in the engine room to see that the machinery
worked properly. Mark gave a last look outside as he closed the big steel
cover over the hole through which admission was had to the craft. He thought
he might catch a glimpse of the queer shadow, but nothing was in sight. It
was like a beautiful summer's day, save for the strange lights, shifting
and changing. But the travelers had become somewhat used to them by this
time.
<P>
The professor turned the valve that allowed the gas to enter the holder.
There was a hissing sound and a sort of trembling throughout the entire ship.
The dynamos were whizzing away and the negative gravity machine was all ready
to start.
<P>
For several minutes the travelers waited until the big lifting tank was filled
with the strong vapor. They watched the gages which indicated the pressure
to be several hundred pounds.
<P>
"I think we can chance it now," remarked Mr. Henderson, as he threw over
several levers. "We'll try, at any rate."
<P>
With a tremor the <I>Mermaid </I>left the surface of the inner earth and
went sailing upward toward the&mdash;well it wasn't exactly the sky, but it was
what corresponded to it in the new world, though there were no clouds and
no blue depths such as the boys were used to. At all events the <I>Mermaid
</I>was flying again, and, as the adventurers felt themselves being lifted
up they gave a spontaneous cheer at the success which had crowned their efforts.
<P>
The ship went up several hundred feet, and then, the professor, having brought
her to a stop, sent her ahead at a slow pace. He wanted to be sure all the
apparatus was in good working order before he tried any speed.
<P>
The <I>Mermaid </I>responded readily. Straight as an arrow through the air
she flew.
<P>
"Well, this is almost as good as being on the regular earth!" exclaimed Jack.
<P>
"It's better," put in Mark. "We haven't seen half the wonders yet. Let's
open the floor shutter, and see how it looks down below."
<P>
He and Jack went to the room where there was an opening in the floor of the
ship, covered by heavy glass. They slid back the steel shutter and there,
down below them, was the strange new, world they had come to, stretched out
like some big map.
<P>
They could see mountains, forests, plains, and rivers, the water sparkling
in the colored light. Over green fields they flew, then across some stretches
where only sand and rocks were to be seen. Faster and faster the ship went,
as the professor found the machinery was once more in perfect order. Jack
was idly watching the play of tinted lights over the surface of the ground.
<P>
"I wonder what makes it," he said.
<P>
"I have tried to account for it in several ways," said the professor, who
had called Washington to the conning tower and come to join the boys. "I
have had first one theory and then another, but the one I am almost sure
is correct is that hidden volcanic fires cause the illumination.
<P>
"I think they flare up and die away, and have become so regular that they
produce the same effect as night and day with us. Probably the fires go out
for lack of fuel, and when it is supplied they start up again. Perhaps it
is a sort of gas that they burn."
<P>
"Well, it's queer enough, whatever it is," Jack remarked. "What strikes me
as funny, though, is that we haven't seen a single person since we came here.
Surely this place must be inhabited."
<P>
Mark thought of the strange shadow he had seen, but said nothing.
<P>
"I believe it is," the professor answered. "We will probably come upon the
inhabitants soon. I only hope they are a people who will do us no harm."
<P>
"If they tried any of their tricks we could mount up in our ship and escape
them," said Andy.
<P>
"Provided they gave us the chance," Mr. Henderson put in. "Well, we'll not
worry about that now."
<P>
For several hours the ship traveled on, until it had come to a different
sort of country. It was wilder and not so level, and there were a number
of streams and small lakes to be seen.
<P>
"Are you going to sail all night?" asked Jack.
<P>
"No," replied the professor. "I think we'll descend very soon now, and camp
out for a while. That lake just ahead seems to offer a good place," and he
pointed to a large sheet of water that sparkled in the distance, for by this
time they had all gone back to the conning tower.
<P>
The lake was in the midst of a wood that extended for some distance on all
sides, and was down in a sort of valley. The ship headed toward it, and in
a short time a landing was made close to shore.
<P>
"Maybe we can have some fresh fish for supper," exclaimed Jack as he ran
from the ship as soon as the sliding door in the side was opened. "Looks
as if that lake had some in it. It is not thick water like in that stream
we stopped at," he added.
<P>
"I believe you're right," old Andy put in, as he turned back to look for
some lines and hooks among his traps. He soon found what he wanted, and gave
them to the boys, taking his trusty gun along for himself.
<P>
While the professor, Washington, Tom and Bill remained behind to make some
adjustments to the machinery, and to get things in shape for the night, which,
they calculated would soon be upon them, Jack, Mark and Andy went down to
the shore of the lake. The boys cut some poles from the trees, and baiting
the hooks with some fat worms found under the bark, threw in.
<P>
"Let's see who'll get the first bite," spoke Jack. "I'm pretty generally
lucky at fishing."
<P>
"Well, while you're waiting to decide that there contest, I think I'll take
a stroll along shore and see if I can see anything to shoot," Andy remarked.
<P>
For several minutes the boys sat in silence on the bank of the lake, watching
the play of the vari-colored lights on the water. Suddenly Jack felt a quiver
on his line, and his pole began to shake.
<P>
"I've got something!" he cried. Then his pole bent almost double and he began
to pull for all he was worth. "It's a whopper!" he cried. "Come and help
me, Mark!"
<P>
Mark ran to his friend's aid. Whatever was on the other end of the line was
strong enough to tax the muscles of both boys. They could hear the pole beginning
to break. But for the excellent quality of Andy's line that would have parted
some time before.
<P>
All at once there came a sudden slacking of the pull from whatever was in
the water. And so quickly did it cease that both boys went over backward
in a heap.
<P>
"He's got away!" cried Jack, getting up and brushing some of the dirt from
his clothes.
<P>
"There's something that didn't get away!" cried Mark, who had risen to his
knees, and was pointing at the lake. Jack looked and what he saw made him
almost believe he was dreaming.
<P>
For, emerging from the water, dragging the pole and line the boys had dropped
along with it, was a most curious creature. It was a big fish, but a fish
with four short legs on which it was walking, or rather waddling along as
much as a duck, with a double supply of feet, might do.
<P>
"Say, do I see that or is there something the matter with my eyes?" sung
out Jack, making ready to run away.
<P>
"It's there all right!" exclaimed Mark. "Hi! Andy! Here's something to shoot!"
he yelled, for indeed the creature was big enough to warrant attack with
a gun. It was about five feet long and two feet through.
<P>
On and on it came, straight at the boys, as if to have revenge for the pain
the fish hook must have caused it, for the barb could be seen dangling from
its lip. On and on it came, waddling forward, the water dripping from it
at every step. It had the body and general shape of a fish, save that the
tail was rather large in proportion. As it came nearer the boys noted that
the feet were webbed, like those of a water fowl.
<P>
"Come on!" cried Jack. "It may attack us!"
<P>
At that moment the creature opened its mouth, showing a triple row of formidable
teeth, and gave utterance to a sort of groan and grunt combined.
<P>
This was enough to send Jack and Mark off on a run up the bank, and did they
stop until they heard Andy's voice hailing them.
<P>
"What's the matter, boys?"
<P>
"Come here! Quick!" answered Jack.
<P>
The fish-animal had halted and seemed to be taking an observation. To do
this, as it could not turn its neck, it had to shift its whole body. Old
Andy came up on the run, his gun held in readiness.
<P>
"Where is it?" he asked, and the boys pointed silently.
<P>
The hunter could not repress a start of astonishment as he saw the strange
creature. But he did not hesitate a second. There was a crack of the rifle,
and the thing, whatever it was, toppled over, dead.
<P>
Andy hurried up to it, to get a closer view.
<P>
"Well, this is the limit!" he exclaimed. "First we have grasshoppers that
can roll peaches as big as hogsheads, and now we come across fish that walk.
I wonder what we will see next."
<P>
"I don't want to go fishing in this lake any more," spoke Jack, as he looked
at the repulsive creature. "I never want to eat fish any more."
<P>
"Same here," agreed Mark, and old Andy was of the opinion that the thing
killed would not make a wholesome dish for the table.
<P>
"There don't seem to be any game in this section," he remarked. "Not a sign
could I see, nor have I since we have been here, unless you count those
grasshoppers. But the fruit is good, I'll say that."
<P>
"Come on, we'd better be getting back," Mark said, as he noticed it was getting
dark. "I'm hungry."
<h3>CHAPTER XXII</h3>
<h4>THE SNAKE-TREE</h4>
<P>
THEY managed to make a good meal of the food supplies they had brought along,
and as a dessert Washington made some peach short-cake from the slices of
the giant fruit they had found, the day before. Just as they finished supper
it got very dark, but, in about an hour, the moon-beams, as the travelers
called them, came up, and illuminated the lake with a weird light.
<P>
As the machinery of the <I>Mermaid </I>was now in working order there was
no further alarm because of the darkness. The ship rested on a level keel
about a hundred yards back from the lake, and, seeing that all was snug,
and the fastenings secure, the travelers went to bed.
<P>
Though they had to forego fish for breakfast the travelers made a good meal.
After seeing that the ship was in readiness for a quick start, the professor
suggested they take a walk around and see what sort of country they might
be in now.
<P>
They tramped on for several miles, meeting with no adventures, and seeing
nothing out of the ordinary. It was a pleasant day, just warm enough to be
comfortable, and a little wind was blowing through the trees.
<P>
"It would be almost like home if it wasn't for the strange lights, and the
memory of the queer things here," said Jack. "I feel fine. Let's see if you
can hit that dead tree over there, Mark."
<P>
Jack stooped to grab up a stone, but no sooner had his fingers touched it
than he called out:
<P>
"There! I forgot all about the stones here being heavier than lead. Guess
we can't throw any of 'em. But come on. I'll race you to the dead tree!"
<P>
Mark was willing, so the two boys set off at a fast pace.
<P>
"Look out where you're going!" the professor called after them. "No telling
what may be in those woods," for the boys were approaching a little glade,
on the edge of which the dead tree stood.
<P>
Jack reached the goal first, and stood leaning against the trunk, waiting
for Mark.
<P>
"You'd better practice sprinting!" exclaimed the victor.
<P>
Mark was about to excuse himself for his poor showing, on the plea of having
eaten too much breakfast, when to his horror he saw what seemed to be a long
thin snake spring out from the branches of a nearby tree and twine itself
about Jack.
<P>
"Help me! Save me!" cried the unfortunate boy, as he was lifted high into
the air and pulled within the shadow of the wood.
<P>
For an instant Mark was too horror-stricken to move. Then with a shout that
alarmed the others, who were coming along more slowly, he made a dash for
the place he had last seen Jack.
<P>
Had old Andy not been on the watch, with those keen eyes of his, there might
have been a double tragedy. He had seen from afar the sudden snatching up
of Jack, and noted Mark's rush to save his chum.
<P>
"Stand still! Don't go in there for your life!" yelled the hunter, at the
same time running forward with gun ready.
<P>
His example was followed by the professor, Washington and the other two men.
<P>
"A snake has Jack!" called Mark, when Andy was at his side.
<P>
"No! It's not a snake!" replied the hunter. "It's worse. It's the snake-tree!"
<P>
"What's that?" asked Mr. Henderson, hurrying up.
<P>
"The snake-tree has Jack," the hunter went on. "It is a plant, half animal,
half-vegetable. It has long branches, not unlike a snake in shape. They can
move about and grab things."
<P>
"One of them got a grip on Jack as he leaned against the dead tree trunk.
I just caught a glimpse of it, and called to prevent Mark from running into
danger."
<P>
"Can't we save him?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"I'm going to try!" replied Andy. "Quick! Gather up some pieces of dry wood.
I have some paper, and my pipe lighter. We must fight the snake-tree with
fire!"
<h3>CHAPTER XXIII</h3>
<h4>THE DESERTED VILLAGE</h4>
<P>
JACK'S Cries were growing fainter and fainter. Peering in through the branches
of the dead tree the professor could see the whip-like limbs winding closer
and closer about the boy.
<P>
"I am afraid we will be too late!" he said.
<P>
Andy had twisted some paper into a rude torch. He set fire to it with his
pocket lighter, and, when Bill and Mark brought him some little pieces of
dead wood the old hunter added them to his bundle, which was now blazing
brightly.
<P>
"How are you going to do it?" asked the professor.
<P>
"I'll show you," replied Andy. He bound the sticks and paper together with
wisps of grass and then, when it was so hot he could hardly hold it longer,
he ran as close as he dared to the snake-tree and tossed the torch at the
foot of it.
<P>
The blazing bundle fell among some damp leaves and grass, as Andy had intended
it should, and soon a dense smoke arose, pouring straight up through the
branches of the animal-tree, the limbs of which were gathered in a knot about
the half-unconscious form of the boy.
<P>
For a few minutes they all waited anxiously. Would Andy's trick succeed?
Had the terrible tree not already squeezed the life from Jack?
<P>
But, while they watched, there seemed to come a change over the tree. The
snake-like arms waved less and less. They seemed to straighten out, as though
deprived of power by the smoke which was now so dense as to hide Jack from
sight. Then the arms suddenly relaxed and something rolled from them and
fell to the ground. With a quick movement Andy darted in, crawling on his
hands and knees beneath the limbs, and brought Jack out. The boy was white
and his eyes were closed.
<P>
"Get some water!" cried the old hunter.
<P>
Mark ran toward a stream a little distance away. He brought some of the curiously
thick liquid in his hat, and while Andy held the boy the professor sprinkled
some of the drops on his face, and forced some between his lips. In a little
while Jack's eyes slowly opened.
<P>
"Don't let it eat me!" he begged.
<P>
"You're all right now," said Andy heartily. "Not a bit harmed, Jack. But,"
he added in a low tone, "it was a close call."
<P>
A few whiffs from a bottle of ammonia the professor carried soon brought
Jack's color back.
<P>
"Do you feel better now?" asked Mark.
<P>
"I guess so. Yes, I'm all right," replied Jack, struggling to his feet. "What
happened? Feels as if I had been tied up with a lot of rope."
<P>
"That's about what you were," Andy replied, "only it was the worst kind of
rope I ever saw. Those snake-trees are terrible things. I've read of 'em,
but I never saw one before. The book that told of them says they squeeze
their victims to death just as a snake does. The only way to do is to make
some smoke and fire at the bottom. This sort of kills the branches or makes
them stupid and they let go. The trees are half animal, and awful things.
I hope we don't meet with any more."
<P>
"Same here," added Jack fervently, as he grasped Andy's hand, and thanked
him for saving his life.
<P>
"Do you think you can go on, or shall we return to the ship'?" the professor
asked.
<P>
"Oh I can trail along, if you move a little slowly," Jack replied. "I'm a
bit stiff, that's all."
<P>
So they resumed their journey. They had gone, perhaps, three miles when
Washington, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and called:
<P>
"Sounds like thunder."
<P>
The others listened. Sure enough there was a dull rumble and roar audible.
It seemed off to the left, but they could see no clouds in the sky, nor any
signs of a storm.
<P>
"Let's take a walk over that way and see what it is," Mr. Henderson suggested.
<P>
As they walked on the noise became louder, until in about half an hour it
was like the sound from a blast furnace.
<P>
"What do you suppose it can be?" asked Mark.
<P>
"Perhaps some new freak of nature," the professor replied. "We seem to have
a good many of them here."
<P>
They were all on their guard now, for there was no telling into what danger
they might run. As they went up a little hill the noise became much louder.
The professor and Andy, who had taken the lead, kept a sharp lookout ahead,
that they might not unexpectedly fall into some hidden stream or lake. As
they topped the hill they saw before them a deep valley, and in the midst
of it was that which was causing the roaring sound.
<P>
From the centre of an immense mound of rock and earth there spouted up a
great column of water, three hundred feet or more, as straight as a flag
staff. It was about ten feet in diameter, and at the top it broke into a
rosette of sparkling liquid, which as the vari-colored lights played on it,
resembled some wonderful flower.
<P>
"It's a great geyser!" the professor exclaimed. "We have come to a place
like Yellowstone Park. We must be very careful. The crust may be very thin
here, and let us down into some boiling spring."
<P>
The others gathered around the professor, and, from a safe distance watched
the ever rising and falling shaft of water.
<P>
It was not regular in motion. Sometimes it would shoot up to a great distance,
nearly a thousand feet, the professor estimated. Again it would sink down,
as the power sending it out lessened, until it was only a few hundred feet
above the rounded top of the mound from which it spurted. But it never fell
below this. All the while there was the constant roaring sound, as though
the forces of nature below the surface were calling to be let out.
<P>
"I hope there are not many of those about," Mr. Henderson remarked after
a pause. "If the ship should hit one during the night it would be all up
with us. We must keep a careful look-out."
<P>
The spouting column had a fascination which held them to the spot for some
time. From the hill they had a good view of the surrounding country, but
did not see any more geysers.
<P>
"Do you think it is hot water?" asked Mark.
<P>
"There is no vapor," the professor answered, "but most of the geysers are
produced by the action of steam in the interior of the earth. However we'll
not take any chances by investigating. I fear it would not be safe to go
into that valley."
<P>
"Look there!" cried Andy. "I guess we're better off here!" He pointed a little
to the right of where the water spouted. The others looked, and saw, coming
from a hole in the ground, some shaggy black object.
<P>
"What is it?" asked Jack.
<P>
"It looks like a bear," replied the hunter, "but I never saw one like it
before."
<P>
Nor had any of the others, for the creature was a terrible one. It had the
body of a bear, but the feet and legs were those of an alligator, while the
tail trailed out behind like a snake, and the head had a long snout, not
unlike the trunk of an elephant. The creature was about ten feet long and
five feet in height.
<P>
"Let me try a shot at it!" exclaimed Andy. "That is something worth shooting,"
and he cocked his rifle.
<P>
"Don't!" exclaimed the professor shortly. "You might only wound it, and it
would pursue us. We are not ready to fight such creatures as that, and you
are the only one armed."
<P>
"I never missed anything I aimed at yet," said Andy, a little hurt that any
one should doubt his ability to kill at the first shot.
<P>
"Perhaps not, but how do you know but what this creature has a bullet proof
armor under its hide. This is a strange world, Andy. It is better to take
no chances."
<P>
"I hate to see him get away," the hunter said.
<P>
But, as it happened, the beast was not to get away. As they watched they
saw the horrible animal approach the mound from which the water spurted.
Up the sides it climbed.
<P>
"I guess he's going to get a drink," said Mark.
<P>
That was evidently the beast's intention. It went close to the spouting column
of water, and thrust its head out so that its tongue could lap from the side.
It seemed to have been in the habit of doing this.
<P>
For once, and for the last time, however, it made a mistake. The water seemed
to veer to one side. In its eagerness to get a drink the animal took another
step forward. At that moment the direction of the column changed again, and
it tilted over toward the beast.
<P>
Suddenly, as the travelers watched, the full force of the big column caught
the beast just under the fore shoulders. Up into the air the creature shot,
propelled by thousands of pounds pressure. Right up to the top of the column
it went, and this time the water rose a thousand feet into the air.
<P>
Up and up went the animal, struggling to get away from the remorseless grip.
Then, when the water had reached its height, it shot the beast off to one
side. Then the brute began to fall, twisting, turning, wiggling and struggling.
Down it came with a thud that could be heard above the noise of the geyser.
<P>
"I reckon that finishes him," observed Andy. And it had, for there was not
a sign of life from the creature.
<P>
"I guess we have seen enough for one morning," the professor said, "Let's
go back to the airship. It must be nearly dinner time."
<P>
They started away. Mark gave a last look at the queer column of water and
the dead body of the strange animal. As he passed down the hill he thought
he saw the creature move, and stayed to see if this was so. But a second
glance convinced him he was mistaken.
<P>
The others had gone on and were some distance ahead. Mark hurried on to join
them. As he got a last glance at the top of the column, over the brow of
the hill, he happened to look off to the left. There was another hill, about
the size of the one they had been on.
<P>
And, as Mark looked he saw something move. At first he thought it was another
beast. But, to his terror he saw that the creature had only two legs, and
that it stood upright like a man, but such a man as Mark had never seen before,
for he was nearly twelve feet tall.
<P>
He was about to cry out and warn the others, when the thing, whatever it
was, sunk down, apparently behind some tall bushes, and disappeared as if
the earth had opened and swallowed it.
<P>
"I wonder if I had better tell them," thought Mark. "I can't show them anything.
I wonder if I really saw it, or if it was only a shadow. I guess I'll say
nothing. But it is very strange."
<P>
Then he hurried on to join the others.
<P>
"What makes you so pale?" asked Jack of his chum.
<P>
"Nothing," said Mark, somewhat confused. "I guess I'm a little tired, that's
all."
<P>
They reached the ship in safety, and, having dinner started the machinery
and took the <I>Mermaid </I>up into the air.
<P>
"We'll travel on and see if we can't find some human beings," the professor
said.
<P>
All that afternoon they sailed, the country below them unfolding like a panorama.
They passed over big lakes, sailing on the surface of some, and over rivers,
and vast stretches of forest and dreary plains. But they never saw a sign
of human inhabitants.
<P>
It was getting on to five o'clock, the hour when the brilliant lights usually
disappeared, when Mark, who was steering in the conning tower, gave a cry.
<P>
"What is it?" asked the professor, looking up from a rude map he was making
of the land they had just traversed.
<P>
"It looks like a town before us," said the boy.
<P>
Mr. Henderson and Jack looked to where Mark pointed. A few miles ahead and
below them were great mounds, not unlike that from which the geyser had spouted.
But they were arranged in regular form, like houses on a street, row after
row of them. And, as they approached nearer, they could see that the mounds
had doors and windows to them. Some of the mounds wer    rger than others,
and some were of double and triple formation.
<P>
"It's a city! The first city of the new world!" cried Jack.
<P>
"It is a deserted village!" said the professor. "We have found where the
people live, but we have not found them." And he was right, for there was
not a sign of life about the place, over which the airship was now suspended.
<h3>CHAPTER XXIV</h3>
<h4>THE GIANTS</h4>
<P>
"LET'S go down and investigate," suggested Jack.
<P>
"Better wait," counseled the professor. "It will soon be dark, and, though
we will have moonlight, we can not see to advantage. I think it will be best
to keep the ship in the air to-night, and descend in the morning. Then we
can look about and decide on what to do."
<P>
They all agreed this was the best plan, and, after making a circle above
the deserted village, and noting no signs of life, the <I>Mermaid </I>was
brought to a halt over the centre of the town, and about three hundred feet
above it. There the travelers would be comparatively safe.
<P>
It was deemed best to keep watch that night, and so, Mark, Jack, Bill and
Tom took turns, though there was nothing for them to do, as not a thing happened.
With the first appearance of dawn Mr. Henderson gave orders to have the ship
lowered, and it came to rest in the middle of what corresponded to a street
in the queer mound village.
<P>
"Now to see what kind of people have lived here!" cried Jack. "They must
have been a queer lot. Something like the Esquimaux, only they probably had
more trouble keeping cool than the chaps up at the north pole do."
<P>
Now that they were down among the mound houses, they saw that the dwellings
were much larger than they had supposed. They towered high above the boys'
heads, and some of them were large enough in area to have accomodated a company
of soldiers.
<P>
"Say, the chaps who lived in these must have been some pumpkins," said Jack.
"Why the ceilings are about fifteen feet high, and the doors almost the same!
Talk about giants! I guess we've struck where they used to hang out, at any
rate."
<P>
The houses were a curious mixture of clay and soft stone. There were doors,
with big skins from animals as curtains, and the windows were devoid of glass.
Instead of stairs there were rude ladders, and the furniture in the mound
houses was of the roughest kind.
<P>
There were fire-places in some of the houses, and the blackened and smoked
walls showed that they must have been used. In one or two of the houses clay
dishes, most of them broken, were scattered about, and the size of them,
in keeping with everything else, indicated that those who used them were
of no small stature.
<P>
"Some of the bowls would do for bath tubs," said Jack, as he came across
one or two large ones.
<P>
By this time the professor, Bill and Tom had joined the boys, and the five
went on with the exploring tour, while Washington and Andy remained in the
ship to get breakfast.
<P>
"The inhabitants are evidently of a half-civilized race," the professor said.
"Their houses, and the manner in which they live, show them to be allied
to the Aztecs, though of course they are much larger than that race."
<P>
"What's bothering me," Bill said, "is not so much what race they belong to,
as what chance we'd stand in a race with them if they took it into their
heads to chase after us. I've read that them there Azhandled races&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"You mean the Aztecs," interrupted the professor.
<P>
"Well the Aztecs, then. But I've read they used to place their enemies on
a stone altar and cut their hearts out. Now I'm not hankerin' after anything
like that."
<P>
"Don't be foolish," spoke Mr. Henderson. "Wait until you meet some of the
giants, if that is what they are, and then you can decide what to do."
<P>
"It may be too late then," remarked Bill in a low tone, and the boys were
somewhat inclined to agree with him.
<P>
However, there seemed to be no immediate danger, as there was no sign of
any of the big people about the village. The adventurers walked about for
some time, but made no discoveries that would throw any light on the reason
for the place being left uninhabited. It seemed as if there had been a sudden
departure from the place, for in a number of the houses the remains of
half-cooked meals were seen.
<P>
"Well, I think we have noted enough for the time being," the professor remarked,
after they had traversed almost half the length of what seemed to be the
principal street. "Let's go back to the ship and have something to eat.
Washington may have become alarmed at our absence."
<P>
They made a circle in order to take in another part of the town on their
way back. While passing through a sort of alley, though it was only narrow
by comparison with the other thoroughfares that were very wide, Mark came
to a place where there was a circular slab of stone, resting on the ground.
In the centre was a big iron ring.
<P>
"Hello! Here's something new!" he exclaimed. "Maybe it leads to a secret
passage, or covers some hidden treasure."
<P>
"I guess it will have to continue to cover it then," Jack spoke. "That probably
weighs several tons. None of us could move it."
<P>
They made their way back to the ship, where they found Washington and Andy
discussing the advisability of going off in search of them.
<P>
"Breakfast is mighty near spoiled," said the colored man with an injured
air.
<P>
But the travelers did full justice to the meal, notwithstanding this. Deciding
there was nothing to be gained by staying in that vicinity, the professor
started the ship off again.
<P>
They traveled several hundred miles in the air, and, as the afternoon was
coming to a close, Jack, who was in charge of the conning tower, spied, just
ahead of them, another village.
<P>
"We will descend there for the night," the professor said. "Does there seem
to be any sign of life about?"
<P>
"None," replied Mark, who was observing through a telescope the town they
were approaching. "It's as dead as the other one."
<P>
The airship settled down in a field back of some of the mound houses.
<P>
"Now for supper!" cried Jack. "I'm as hungry as&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
He stopped short, for, seeming to rise from the very ground, all about the
ship, there appeared a throng of men. And such men as they were! For not
one was less than ten feet tall, and some were nearly fifteen!
<P>
"The giants have us!" cried Bill, as he saw the horde of creatures surrounding
the ship.
<h3>CHAPTER XXV</h3>
<h4>HELD BY THE ENEMY</h4>
<P>
"KEEP the doors closed!" cried the professor. "It is our only hope! I will
send the ship up again!"
<P>
But it was too late. Washington, who had obeyed the signal from the conning
tower to shut off the engines, had disconnected most of them so they could
not be started again save from the main room. At the same time there came
a yell of dismay from the colored man, who had slid back the steel covering
of the main side entrance to the <I>Mermaid.</I>
<P>
"I'm caught!" cried Washington.
<P>
As the professor and the boys hurried from the tower, they could hear a struggle
from where Washington was, and his voice calling:
<P>
"Let me go! Let me go!"
<P>
Reaching the engine room, which opened directly on the side entrance, the
professor saw a pair of enormous hands and arms dragging poor Washington,
feet first, out of the ship. Bill and Tom were crouched in one corner, pale
with fright.
<P>
"Wait until I get my gun!" cried Andy, as he ran for his rifle.
<P>
"Hold on!" called the professor in a loud voice. "It will be folly to shoot
them! We must try strategy!"
<P>
Washington's cries ceased as he was drawn entirely from the ship, the giant
hands disappearing at the same time.
<P>
"Follow me!" yelled Mr. Henderson, running out of the door.
<P>
Hardly knowing what they did, the boys went after him, and their hearts almost
stopped beating in fright as they saw the terrible things, which, in the
glare of the changing lights, were on every side of them.
<P>
For the men were very repulsive looking. They there attired in clothes, very
similar in cut to those worn by the travelers, and which seemed to be made
of some sort of cloth. But they were loose and baggy and only added to the
queer appearance of the giants. Veritable giants they were too. Their faces
seemed as large as kegs, and they were so clumsy in shape that Mark, even,
frightened as he was, exclaimed:
<P>
"They look like men made of putty!" At the same time he saw they bore a
resemblance to the creature he had observed on the hill top.
<P>
"What shall we do?" asked Andy of the professor. "They are really carrying
Washington away!"
<P>
Three of the giants were dragging the colored man along the ground, while
the other terrible beings stood about as if waiting to see the outcome of
the first sally.
<P>
"I will try to speak to them," Mr. Henderson said. "I know several languages.
They may understand one."
<P>
But before he could start on his parley a surprising thing happened. There
was a struggle in the little group about Washington. The colored man seemed
to be fighting, though the odds, it would appear, were too great to enable
him to accomplish anything. But, making a desperate effort to escape, Washington
quickly wrenched himself free from the giants' hands and then, striking out
with his fists, knocked the three down, one after another.
<P>
"I never knew Washington was so strong!" exclaimed Jack.
<P>
"Nor I," put in Mark. "Why I should think the men could carry him in one
arm as if he was a baby."
<P>
The three giants rose slowly to their feet. They uttered strange cries, and
motioned with their hands toward the professor, the boys, and the others
in the crowd.
<P>
"Look out! They're goin' t' grab yo'!" cried Washington.
<P>
Three of the giants approached Mark, and a like number closed in on Jack.
<P>
"Back to the ship!" cried the professor. "We must defend ourselves!"
<P>
But by this time the big men had grabbed the two boys. Then a strange thing
took place. Mark and Jack, though they felt that the giants must overcome
them in a test of strength, struggled with all their might against being
captured. They fought, as a cornered rat will fight, though it knows the
odds to be overwhelming. But in this case the unexpected happened.
<P>
Both boys found they could easily break the holds of the giants, and Mark,
by a vigorous effort, pushed the three men away from him, one at a time violently
so that they fell in a heap, one on top of the other.
<P>
"Hurrah! We can fight 'em!" cried Mark. "Don't be afraid. They're like mush!
They're putty men!"
<P>
And, so it seemed, the giants were. Though big in size they were flabby and
had nothing like the muscle they should have had in proportion to their build.
They went down like meal sacks and were slow to rise.
<P>
Jack, seeing how successful his comrade was, attacked the three giants who
were striving to make him a captive. He succeeded in disposing of them, knocking
one down so hard that the man was unable to rise until his companions helped
him.
<P>
"That's the way!" cried Washington. "They're soft as snow men!"
<P>
The vanquished giants set up a sort of roar, which was answered by their
fellows, and soon there was a terrible din.
<P>
"All get together!" called the professor. "They are evidently going to make
a rush for us. If we stand by one another we may fight them off, though they
outnumber us a hundred to one. Besides it will soon be dark, and we may be
able to escape!"
<P>
Washington, Jack and Mark retreated toward the ship, in the direction of
which the others had also made their way. The big men had gathered in a compact
mass and were advancing on the adventurers.
<P>
"What do you suppose makes them so soft?" asked Mark. "I believe I could
manage half a dozen."
<P>
"It must be the effect of the climate and conditions here," the professor
replied. "Probably they have to be big to stand the pressure of the thick
water, and the increased attraction of gravitation. Then too, being without
the weight of the atmosphere to which we are accustomed, they have probably
expanded. If they were to go up to earth, they might shrink to our size."
<P>
"Do you think that possible?"
<P>
"Of course. Why do you ask?"
<P>
"Nothing in particular," replied Mark. But to himself, he added: "That would
explain it all."
<P>
It was getting dusk now. The travelers had reached their ship, and rushed
inside and tried to close the doors in the face of the advancing horde. But,
by this time the giants were so close that one or two of them thrust their
big feet in, and prevented this movement. At the same time they set up a
great howling.
<P>
"Quick!" cried the professor. "We must start the ship and get away!"
<P>
"I can't close the door!" yelled Washington, who had been the last to enter.
<P>
"Never mind that! Go up with it open! Drag them along if they won't let go!"
answered Mr. Henderson, as he ran toward the engine room.
<P>
There was a sudden rush among the giants, and a sound as if something was
being thrown over the top and ends of the ship. Mark turned the gas machine
on, while Jack worked the negative gravity apparatus. They waited for the
ship to rise.
<P>
"Why don't we go up?" asked the professor.
<P>
"'Cause they've caught us!" called out Washington.
<P>
"Caught us? How?"
<P>
"They've thrown ropes over the top and ends of the ship, and fastened them
to their big houses!"
<P>
Running to a side window the professor saw that the <I>Mermaid </I>was fastened
down by a score of cables, each one six inches thick. They were held captives
by the enemy.
<h3>CHAPTER XXVI</h3>
<h4>A FRIEND INDEED</h4>
<P>
THOUGH the giants, man for man, were no match for the travelers, collectively
the horde proved too much. They had swarmed about the ship, and, by passing
the big cables over her, effectively held her down.
<P>
"Let me get out and I'll cut 'em!" cried Andy. "We must get away from these
savages!"
<P>
"No, no, don't go out!" exclaimed the professor. "They would eventually kill
you, though you might fight them off for a time. We must wait and see what
develops. They can have no object in harming us, as we have not injured them."
<P>
"I'd rather fight 'em," insisted the old hunter.
<P>
But the professor had his way and Andy was forced to obey. The giants had
withdrawn their big feet from the side door and Washington had closed it.
But nothing else had been accomplished, and the ship could not rise. The
gas and negative gravity machines were stopped, as they were only under a
useless strain.
<P>
Suddenly, the colored lights which had been growing dimmer and dimmer, with
the approach of night, went out altogether. Almost as suddenly, Mark, who
was watching the giants from the conning tower, as they made fast the loose
ends of the cables, saw them make a dash for the mound houses.
<P>
"They're afraid of the dark!" he cried. "Come on! We can go out now and loosen
the ropes!"
<P>
He hurried to tell the professor what he had noticed.
<P>
"Good!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "Perhaps we can escape now!"
<P>
They waited a few minutes, listening to the sound of many big feet running
away from the ship, and then, Bill cautiously opened the side door. The others
were behind him, waiting, with knives and hatchets in their hands, to rush
out and cut the restraining cables.
<P>
"All ready!" called Bill. "There doesn't seem to be a one in sight!"
<P>
He stepped out but no sooner had he set foot on the ground than there came
a thud, and Bill went down as if some one had knocked his feet from under
him.
<P>
"Go back! Go back!" he cried. "They hit me with something. I'm being smothered!"
<P>
"Bring a light!" cried the professor, for the sally had been started in the
dark.
<P>
Jack brought the portable electric it having been repaired and flashed it
out of the door. In the gleam of it, Bill was seen lying prostrate, half
covered by an orange, about half as big as himself. The fruit was as soft
and mushy as some of the giants themselves, or Bill would not have fared
so easily.
<P>
Then, as the others stood watching, and while Bill arose and wiped some of
the juice from his face, there came a regular shower of the monstrous oranges.
<P>
"Get inside quick! We'll be smothered under them!" Mr. Henderson cried.
<P>
Pausing only to rescue Bill, the adventurers retreated inside the ship, and
made fast the door. Outside they could hear the thud as the oranges were
thrown, some hitting the <I>Flying Mermaid </I>and many dropping all about
her.
<P>
"I guess they are going to have things their own way," observed Bill, as
he gazed down on his clothes, which were covered with juice from the fruit.
<P>
The night was one of anxiety. The travelers took turns standing guard, but
nothing more occurred. The giants remained in their houses, and the heavy
ropes still held the ship fast.
<P>
"We must hold a council of war," the professor decided as they gathered at
breakfast, which was far from a cheerful meal.
<P>
With the return of the colored lights the giants again made their appearance.
They came swarming from the mound houses, and a great crowd they proved to
be. Several thousand at least, Jack estimated, and when he went up into the
conning tower and took a survey he could see the strange and terrible creatures
pouring in from the surrounding country.
<P>
"I'm afraid there will be trouble," he said, as he came down and reported
what he had seen.
<P>
"We must hold a council of war," repeated the professor. "Has any one anything
to suggest?"
<P>
"Get a lot of powder and blow 'em up!" cried Andy.
<P>
"Arrange electric wires and shock 'em to death!" was Bill's plan.
<P>
"Can't we slip the ropes in some way and escape?" asked Jack. "I don't believe
we can successfully fight the giants. They are too many, even if they are
weak, individually."
<P>
"I think you're right there," Mr. Henderson said. "We must try some sort
of strategy, but what? That is the question."
<P>
For a few minutes no one spoke. They were all thinking deeply, for their
lives might hang in the balance.
<P>
"I think I have a plan," said Mark, at length. "Did we bring any diving suits
with us?"
<P>
"There may be one or two," the professor replied. "But what good will they
do?"
<P>
"Two of us could put them on," continued Mark, "and, as they afford good
protection from any missiles like fruit, we could crawl out on the deck of
the ship. From there, armed with hatchets or knives we could cut the ropes.
Then the ship could rise."
<P>
"That's a good plan!" cried the scientist. "We'll try it at once."
<P>
Search revealed that two diving suits were among the stores of the <I>Mermaid.
</I>Jack and Mark wanted to be the ones to don them, but as the suits were
rather large, and as the professor thought it would take more strength than
the boys had to do the work, it was decided that Andy and Washington should
make the attempt to cut the ropes.
<P>
The hunter and colored man lost little time in getting into the modern armor.
In the meanwhile Jack, who had been posted as a lookout, reported that there
seemed to be some activity among the giants. They were running here and there,
and some seemed to be going off toward the woods, that were not far away.
<P>
"Now work quickly," urged the professor. "We will be on the watch, and as
soon as the last rope is cut we will start the machinery and send the ship
up. We will not wait for you to come back inside, so hold fast as best you
can when the <I>Mermaid </I>rises."
<P>
"We will," answered Andy, just before the big copper helmet was fastened
on his head, and Washington nodded to show he understood.
<P>
The two who were to attempt the rescue of their comrades were soon on deck.
In the conning tower Jack and the professor kept anxious watch, while Mark,
Bill and Tom were at the various machines, ready, at the signal, to start
the engines.
<P>
The giants had now become so interested in whatever plan they had afoot,
that they paid little attention to the ship. Consequently Washington and
Andy, crawling along the deck in their diving suits, did not, at first attract
any attention.
<P>
In fact they had cut several of the big ropes, and it began to look as if
the plan would succeed, particularly as they were partly hidden from view
by the upper gas holder. They were working with feverish haste, sawing away
at the big cables with keen knives.
<P>
"I guess we'll beat 'em yet!" cried Jack.
<P>
"I hope so," replied the professor. "It looks&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
He stopped short, for at that moment a cry arose from the midst of the giants,
and one of them pointed toward the ship. An instant later the air was darkened
with a flight of big oranges, which the queer creatures seemed to favor as
missiles. Probably they found stones too heavy.
<P>
"Well, those things can't hurt 'em much with those heavy suits on," observed
Mr. Henderson. "There, Washington got one right on the head that time, and
it didn't bother him a bit."
<P>
Jack had seen the fruit strike the big copper helmet and observed that the
colored man only moved his head slightly in order to get rid of the orange.
<P>
In fact the giants, seeing for themselves that this mode of warfare was not
going to answer, since the two men on the ship continued to cut the restraining
cables, gave it up. There was a good deal of shouting among them, and a number
ran here and there, seemingly gathering up long poles.
<P>
"I wonder if they are going to try the flailing method, and beat poor Andy
and Washington," said Mr. Henderson. "It looks so."
<P>
The two rescuers were now about a quarter through their hard task. The throwing
of the oranges had ceased. But the giants were up to a new trick. They divided
into two sections, one taking up a position on one side of the ship, and
the other on the opposite. There were about two hundred in each crowd, while
the others in the horde drew some distance back.
<P>
"They're up to some queer dodge," observed Jack. "What are they placing those
sticks to their mouths for?"
<P>
The professor observed the throng curiously for a few seconds. Then he exclaimed:
<P>
"They are using blow-guns! They are going to shoot arrows at Washington and
Andy! We must get them in at once!"
<P>
He darted toward a door that opened from the conning tower out on the deck.
<P>
"Don't go!" cried Jack. "It's too late! They are beginning to blow!"
<P>
He pointed to the throng of giants. The professor could see their cheeks
puffed out as the big creatures filled their lungs with air and prepared
to expel it through the hollow tubes.
<P>
Then there came a sound as if a great wind was blowing. It howled and roared
over the ship, not unlike a hurricane in its fury. But there was no flight
of arrows through the air, such as would have come from regular blow guns.
<P>
"That is strange," said the professor. He thought for a moment. "I have it!"
he cried. "They are trying to blow Washington and Andy, off the ship by the
power of their breaths! They are not blowing arrows at them! My, but they
must have strong lungs!"
<P>
And, in truth, that was the plan of the giants. The hollow tubes, made from
some sort of big weed, sent a blast of air at the two men on the ship's deck,
that made them lie flat and cling with both hands to avoid being sent flying
into the midst of the giants, on one side or the other. But the giants had
reckoned without the weight of the diving suits, and it was those, with the
big lead soles of the shoes, that helped to hold Washington and Andy in place.
<P>
"Come back! Came back!" cried the professor, opening the conning tower door
and calling to the two brave men. "Come back, both of you! Do you hear?"
<P>
As the portal slid back the rush of air was almost like that of a cyclone.
Then it suddenly ceased, as the giants saw their plan was not likely to succeed.
<P>
But now there arose from the outer circle of the horde a shout of triumph.
It was caused by the return of those who had, a little while before, hurried
off to the woods. They came back bearing big trees, tall and slender, stripped
of their branches, so that they resembled flag staffs. It took a dozen giants
to carry each one.
<P>
The whole throng was soon busy laying the poles in a row in front of the
ship.
<P>
"What can they be up to now?" asked Jack.
<P>
"It looks as if they were going to slide the ship along on rollers," the
professor replied.
<P>
Sure enough this was the giant's plan. A few minutes later those in the
<I>Mermaid </I>felt her moving forward, as the giants, massed behind, shoved.
On to the poles she slid. The ropes were loosened to permit this, but not
enough to enable the boat to rise.
<P>
Then the travelers felt the ship being lifted up.
<P>
"They are going to carry us away, with the poles for a big stretcher!" cried
the professor.
<P>
Looking from the side windows the boys saw that a great crowd of the big
men were on either side of the <I>Mermaid, </I>each giant grasping a pole,
and lifting. Farther out were others, holding the ends of the cables which
Washington and Andy had not succeeded in cutting.
<P>
The ship was being carried along by a thousand or more giants, as the ancient
warriors, slain in battle, were carried home on the spears of their comrades.
<P>
"This is the end of the <I>Mermaid!" </I>murmured Mr. Henderson in sorrowful
tones.
<P>
As they looked from the conning tower the professor and the two boys observed
a commotion among the leaders of the giants. They seemed to be wavering.
Suddenly the forward part of the ship sank, as those ahead laid their poles
down on the ground. Then those behind did the same, and the <I>Mermaid,
</I>came to a stop, and once more rested on the earth.
<P>
"What does this mean?" asked the scientist in wonder.
<P>
All at once the entire crowd of giants threw themselves down on their faces,
and there, standing at the bow of the ship, was a giant, half again as large
as any of the others. He was clad in a complete suit of golden armor on which
the changing lights played with beautiful effect, and in his hand he held
an immense golden sword. He pointed the weapon at the ship as if he had raised
it in protection, and his hand was stretched in commanding gesture over the
prostrate giants.
<P>
"Perhaps he has come to save us!" cried Mark.
<h3>CHAPTER XXVII</h3>
<h4>A GREAT JOURNEY</h4>
<P>
SUCH indeed, seemed to be the case. The golden-armored giant, after standing
for a few moments in an attitude of command, waved his sword three times
about his head, and uttered a command, in a voice that sounded like thunder.
Then the prostrate ones arose, and, making low bows hurried away in all
directions.
<P>
Watching them disappear, the golden one sheathed his weapon and approached
the ship. He caught sight of the professor and the two boys in the conning
tower, for Mark had gone there when he found the ship being transported,
and held up his two hands, the palms outward.
<P>
"It is the sign of peace in the language all natives employ," said the professor.
"I think I shall trust him."
<P>
Followed by the boys he descended from the little platform in the tower,
and to the door that opened on the deck.
<P>
"Shall we go out?" he asked.
<P>
"We can't be much worse off," replied Mark. "Let's chance it."
<P>
So, not without many misgivings, they slid back the portal and stepped out
to face the strange and terrible being who had so suddenly come to their
rescue.
<P>
The giant in the golden armor did not seem surprised to see them. In fact
he acted as though he rather expected them. He continued to hold up one hand,
with the palm, outward, while, with the other, he removed his helmet and
bowed low. Then he cast his sword on the ground and advanced toward the ship.
When within ten feet he sat down on the ground, and this brought his head
nearer the earth, so that his auditors could both see and hear him to better
advantage.
<P>
As soon as the giant saw the travelers were outside their ship he began to
speak to them in a voice, which, though he might have meant it to be low
and gentle, was like the bellowing of a bull. At the same time he made many
gestures, pointing to the ship, to himself and to Mark.
<P>
"What is he saying, professor?" asked Jack.
<P>
"I can't understand all he says," Mr. Henderson replied. "He uses some words
derived from the Latin and some from the Greek. But by piecing it out here
and there, and by interpreting his motions I am able to get at something."
<P>
"And what is it all about?"
<P>
"It is a strange story," the scientist replied. "He has only gone about half
way through it. Wait until he finishes and I will tell you."
<P>
The golden-armored giant, who had stopped in his narrative while Jack was
speaking, resumed. His gestures became more rapid, and his words came faster.
Several times Mr. Henderson held up his hand for him to cease, while he puzzled
out what was meant.
<P>
At one point, the professor seemed much startled, and motioned for the strange
being to repeat the last part of his discourse. When this had been done Mr.
Henderson shook his head as though in doubt.
<P>
At length the story was finished, and the lone giant, for there were no others
in sight now, folded his arms and seemed to await what the professor's answer
might be. Mr. Henderson turned to the boys, and to the others of the
<I>Mermaid's </I>company, who, by this time, had joined him, and said:
<P>
"Friends, I have just listened to a strange story. It is so strange that,
but for the fact that our own adventures are verging on the marvelous, I
could hardly believe it. In the first place, this man here is the king of
this country. That is why all the other natives obeyed him.
<P>
"In the second place it seems he has been a passenger in our boat, and came
here from the earth's surface with us!"
<P>
"What's that?" cried Jack.
<P>
"That explains the strange happenings!" ejaculated Mark. "No wonder I could
never solve the secret of the storeroom."
<P>
"You are right, it does," replied Mr. Henderson. "I will not go into all
the details of how it happened, but it seems the big hole through which we
came is only one of two entrances to this inner world. Rather it is the entrance,
and there is another, close to it, which is the exit. Through the latter
a big stream of water spouts up, just as one pours down through the opening
we used.
<P>
"Hankos, which is the name of the king, was for many years a student of science.
He longed to see where the big stream of upward spurting water went, and
wanted to know whence came the down-pouring one. So he undertook a daring
experiment.
<P>
"He constructed a great cylinder, and, keeping his plans a secret, conveyed
it to the spouting water, entered it, and, by means of pulleys and levers,
after he had shut himself inside, cast himself into the up-shooting column.
He took along compressed air cylinders to supply an atmosphere he could breathe,
and some food to eat, for it appears our giant friends are something of inventors
in their way. The current of water bore him to the surface of the earth,
and he was cast up on the ocean, in what was probably taken for a waterspout
if any one saw it.
<P>
"Then a strange thing happened. No sooner did Hankos open his cylinder, which
served him as a boat, than he lost his gigantic size, owing to the difference
of the two atmospheres. He became almost of the same size as ourselves, except
that his skin hung in great folds on him, and he seemed like a wrinkled old
man. His clothes too, were a world too large.
<P>
"He had a terrible time before he reached shore, and a hard one after it,
for his strange appearance turned almost every one against him. He was sorry
he had ventured to solve the mystery of the up-shooting stream of water,
for he was worse than an outcast.
<P>
"Then he began to plan to get back to his own inner world. But he could not
find the downward stream, and, not knowing the language of the countries
where he landed, he had no means of ascertaining. He traveled from place
to place, always seeking for something that would lead him back to his own
country.
<P>
"Finally he heard of us, and of our ship, though how I do not know, as I
thought I had kept it a great secret. By almost superhuman struggles he made
his way to our island. He says he concealed himself aboard the <I>Mermaid
</I>the night before we sailed, but I hardly believe it possible. It seems&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"He did it, for I saw him!" interrupted Mark.
<P>
"You saw him!" cried Mr. Henderson.
<P>
Then Mark told of the many things that had puzzled him so, how he had seen
the queer figure slinking aboard the boat, of the disappearance of food from
time to time, and of the strange noises in the storeroom.
<P>
"That bears out what he told me," the professor said. "Hankos says he used
to steal out nights and take what food he could get, and he also mentions
some one, answering to Mark's description, who nearly discovered him once
as he hurried back into the apartment.
<P>
"However, it seems to be true, since Mark confirms it. At any rate Hankos
stayed in hiding, and made the entire trip with us, and, just as we all became
overcome with the strange gas he escaped, having begun to expand to his original
giant size, and being unable to remain any longer in his cramped quarters."
<P>
"That's so, he did!" cried Mark. "I saw him come out of the place just before
I lost my senses. It was a terrible sight, and none of you would believe
me when I told you some of the occurrences afterward."
<P>
"You must forgive us for that," the professor said. "We have learned much
since then."
<P>
"What did Hankos do after he left the ship when it landed in this country?"
asked Jack.
<P>
"He traveled until he came to this village, which is the chief one of this
country," replied the professor. "Part of the time he followed us at a distance,
being able to travel very fast."
<P>
Mark remembered the strange figure of a giant he had seen on the hill tops
several times, and knew that he had been observing the being who had played
such a queer part in their lives.
<P>
"When he came back among his own people," went on Mr. Henderson, "they would
not receive him at first, believing him to be an impostor. But Hankos convinced
them of his identity and was allowed to don the golden armor, which is the
badge of kingship. He had only been in office for a little while when he
heard of the arrival of the strange thing, which turned out to be our ship.
He recognized it from the description, and, learning that we were likely
to be sacrificed to the fury and ignorance of the giants, he hurried here
and saved our lives.
<P>
"He says he can never thank us enough for being the means whereby he was
able to get back to his own country, and says the freedom of this whole inner
world is ours. He has given orders that we are to go wherever we like, and
none will molest us. He tells me the land is a wonderful one, compared to
our own, and urges us to make a long journey. He would like to go with us,
only, now that he has resumed his natural size, he can not get inside the
ship."
<P>
"Hurrah for King Hankos!" cried Jack and the others joined him in a hearty
cheer.
<P>
The giant in the golden armor evidently understood the compliment which was
paid him, for he waved his helmet in the air and responded with a shout of
welcome that made the ground tremble.
<P>
Hankos waited until the professor had translated all of the story to the
other travelers. Then the genial giant began to talk some more, and the professor
listened intently.
<P>
"He says," spoke Mr. Henderson to his friends, "that we will be supplied
with all the fruit we want, and with the best of the houses to sleep in on
our journey. He also tells me he has great stores of shining stones and piles
of the metal of which his armor is made, and that we are welcome to as much
as we want. If this means unlimited gold and diamonds, we may make our fortunes."
<P>
"Jest let me git ma' hand on a few sparklers an' I'll quit work!" exclaimed
Washington.
<P>
"I have told him," the scientist went on, "that we will take advantage of
his kind offer. We will start on our trip in a day or so, after we have looked
over the ship to see if it is not damaged. He tells me the gold and sparkling
stones are several thousand miles away, on top of a high mountain. We will
make that our objective point."
<P>
The interview between the king and Mr. Henderson having ended, the former
waved his sword in the air and the swarm of big men came back. They had been
hiding back in the woods. Now their manner was very different. They carefully
removed the rollers and ropes, and soon there was brought to the adventurers
an immense pile of fine fruits. If our friends had stayed there a year they
could not have eaten it all. The giants were judging the appetites of the
travelers by their own.
<P>
That night the adventurers slept more soundly than they had since entering
the strange world. They felt they had nothing to fear from the giants. In
the morning they were not molested, though big crowds gathered to look at
the ship. But they kept back a good distance. The machinery was found to
be in good shape, save for a few repairs, and when these were made, the professor
announced he would start on a long journey.
<P>
For several weeks after that the travelers swung about in their ship, sometimes
sailing in the air and again on big seas and lakes viewing the wonders of
the inner world. They were many and varied, and the professor collected enough
material for a score of books which he said he would write when he got back
to the outer world once more.
<P>
One afternoon, as they were sailing over a vast stretch of woodland, which
did not seem to be inhabited, Mr. Henderson, looking at one of the gages
on the wall, asked:
<P>
"Boys do you know how far you have traveled underground?"
<P>
"How far?" asked Jack, who hated to guess riddles.
<P>
"More than four thousand miles," was the answer.
<P>
"But we haven't come to that mountain of gold and diamonds," said Mark. "I
am anxious to see that."
<P>
"Have patience," replied the professor. "I have not steered toward it yet.
There are other things to see."
<P>
Just then Washington's voice could be heard calling from the conning tower:
<P>
"We're coming to a big mountain!"
<h3>CHAPTER XXVIII</h3>
<h4>THE TEMPLE OF TREASURE</h4>
<P>
"WHAT'S that?" fairly yelled the professor.
<P>
"We am propelling ourselves in a contiguous direction an' in close proximity
to an elevated portion of th' earth's surface which rises in antiguous proximity
t' th' forward part of our present means of locomotion!" said the colored
man in a loud voice.
<P>
"Which means there may be a collision," the professor said, as he and the
boys hurried toward the tower,
<P>
"Jest what I said," retorted Washington. "What'll I do?"
<P>
"Send the ship a little higher," answered Mr. Henderson. "We mustn't hit
any mountains."
<P>
Washington forced more gas into the holder, and speeded the negative gravity
machine up some, so that the <I>Mermaid, </I>which was flying rather low,
ascended until it was in no danger of colliding with the peak which reared
its lofty height just ahead of them.
<P>
As the ship sailed slowly over the mountain, Mark gazed down and exclaimed:
<P>
"Doesn't that look like the ruins of some building?"
<P>
The professor took a pair of field glasses from a rack in the wall and took
a long view.
<P>
"It must be the place," he said in a low voice.
<P>
"What place?" asked Jack.
<P>
"The temple of treasure," was the answer. "Hankos told me it was on top of
the highest mountain in the land, and this must be it, for it is the loftiest
place we have seen. But we must be careful, for there is danger down there."
<P>
"What kind?" asked Mark.
<P>
"The place was long ago deserted by the giants," Mr. Henderson went on. "Ages
ago it was one of their storehouses for treasure, but there were wars among
themselves, Hankos said, and this part of the country was laid waste. Savage
beasts took up their abode in the temple, and since then, in spite of the
great size of the giants, they have not dared to venture here. If we brave
the animals we may have all the gold and diamonds we can take away."
<P>
"Then for one, I'm willin' t' go down an' begin th' extermination at once,"
put in Andy. "I've always wanted t' be rich."
<P>
"We must proceed cautiously," the professor said. "We are ill prepared to
fight any such beasts as we saw at the big geyser. At the same time they
may have deserted this place. I think we will lower the ship down over the
temple, and spend several hours in observation. Then, if nothing develops,
we can enter and see if the treasure is there."
<P>
This plan was voted a good one, and the <I>Mermaid </I>after having been
steered directly over the ruined temple, was brought to a halt, and enough
gas let out so that it fell to about fifty feet in the air above it.
<P>
The adventurers began their watch. The afternoon waned and there were no
signs of any beasts in or about the temple.
<P>
"I reckon we can take a chance," said Andy, who was anxious to get his hands
on some diamonds.
<P>
"Better wait until morning," counseled Mr. Henderson. "It will soon be dark,
and it doesn't look like a nice place to go stumbling about in by moonlight."
<P>
So, though all but the scientist were anxious, they had to wait until the
night had passed. Several times Washington got up to see if the temple had,
by any chance, taken wings during the long hours of darkness, but each time
he found it was still in place.
<P>
"Seems laik it'll never come mornin'." he said.
<P>
But dawn came at length, and, after a hasty breakfast, preparations to enter
the temple were made. Andy loaded his gun for "bear" as he expressed it,
and the boys each took a revolver.
<P>
The ship was lowered to as level a place as could be found, and then, seeing
that everything was in readiness for a quick departure, the professor led
the way out of the <I>Mermaid.</I>
<P>
The entrance to the temple was through a big arched gateway. Some of the
stones had fallen down, and the whole structure looked as if it might topple
over at any moment.
<P>
"Go carefully," cautioned Mr. Henderson, "Watch on all sides and up above.
Better let Andy and me go ahead."
<P>
The scientist and the old hunter led the way. Through the arch they went,
and emerged into what must at one time have been a magnificent courtyard.
Before them was the temple proper, a vast structure, with an opening through
which fifty men might have marched abreast. But the doors were gone, and
the portal was but a black hole.
<P>
"I hope there ain't any ghosts in there," said Washington, with a shiver.
<P>
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the professor. "There may be things as bad, but there
are no such things as ghosts. Have your gun ready, Andy."
<P>
With every sense on the alert, the old hunter advanced. Every one was a bit
nervous, and, as Mark and Jack afterward admitted, they half expected some
terrible beast to rush out at them. But nothing of the kind happened, and
they went into the interior of the temple.
<P>
At first it was so dark they could see nothing. There were vast dim shapes
on every side, and from the hollow echo of their footsteps they judged the
roof must be very high and the structure big in every way.
<P>
Then, as their eyes became used to the darkness, they could make out, up
front, something like an altar or pulpit.
<P>
"Perhaps that's where they offered up the gold and diamonds as a sacrifice
to their gods," spoke Mark in a whisper.
<P>
"Sacrifice to their gods!" came back a hundred echoes and the sound made
every one shudder.
<P>
"Oh!" said Washington, in a low voice.
<P>
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" repeated the echoes in voices of thunder.
<P>
"Well, this is pleasant," spoke Andy, in his natural tones, and, to the surprise
of all there was no echo. It was only when a person whispered or spoke low
that the sound was heard. After that they talked naturally.
<P>
"You stay here, and Andy and I will go up front and see what there is," said
Mr. Henderson. "Be on your guard, and if you hear us coming back in a hurry,
run!"
<P>
It was with no little feeling of nervousness that the boys, Bill, Tom and
Washington watched the two men move off in the darkness. They could hear
their footsteps on the stone flags and could dimly see them.
<P>
"They must be almost to the altar by this time," said Mark, after a long
pause.
<P>
Hardly had he spoken than there came a loud, sound from where Mr. Henderson
and Andy had gone. It was as if some giant wings were beating the air. Then
came shrill cries and the voice of the old hunter could be heard calling:
<P>
"Kneel down, Professor! Let me get a shot at the brute!"
<P>
Those waiting in the rear of the temple huddled closer together. What terrible
beast could have been aroused?
<P>
The next instant the place seemed illuminated as if by a lightning flash,
and a sound as of a thousand thunder claps resounded.
<P>
"I think I winged him!" cried Andy's voice, and the boys knew he had fired
at something.
<P>
Then there came a crash, and from the roof of the old temple a dozen stones
toppled off to one side, letting in a flood of colored light.
<P>
By this illumination could be seen, flapping through the big space overhead,
an enormous bat, as large as three eagles. And, as it flew about in a circle
it gave utterance to shrill cries.
<P>
"Bang!" Andy's gun spoke again, and the bat with a louder cry than before,
darted through the hole in the roof made by the falling stones, which had
been loosened by the concussion from the rifle.
<P>
"Come on!" cried the old hunter. "That was the guardian of the treasure!
We are safe now!"
<P>
Then, in the light which streamed through the broken roof, the adventurers
could see, heaped up on a great altar, behind which sat a horrible graven
image, piles of yellow metal, and sparkling stones. In little heaps they
were, arranged as if offerings to the terrible god of the giants. There were
bars and rings of gold, dishes of odd shape, and even weapons. As for the
sparkling stones, they were of many colors, but the white ones were more
plentiful than all the others.
<P>
"Gold and diamonds! Diamonds and gold!" murmured the professor. "There is
the ransom of many kings in this ancient temple."
<P>
"Wish I had a big bag!" exclaimed Washington, as he began filling all his
pockets with the precious metal and gems. "If I had a-thought I'd have brought
a dress-suit case!"
<P>
"A dress-suit case full of diamonds!" exclaimed Mark.
<P>
Then he too, as did all the others, fell to filling his pockets with the
wealth spread so lavishly before them. There was the riches of a whole world
in one place and no one but themselves to take it.
<P>
For several minutes no one spoke. The only sound was the rattle of the stones
and the clink of gold, and when some of the diamonds dropped on the floor
they did not bother to gather them up. There were too many on the altar.
<P>
"We will be rich for life!" gasped old Andy, who had been poor all his years.
<P>
"I can't carry any more!" gasped Washington. "I'm goin' back for&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
What he was going back for he never said, for, at that instant, happening
to look up at the hole in the roof, he gave a startled try:
<P>
"Here come the terrible bats!"
<P>
They all gazed upward. Through the opening they could see a great flock of
the awful birds, headed for the temple, and they were led by one which seemed
to fly with difficulty. It was the guardian of the treasure that Andy had
wounded.
<P>
"Quick! We must get out of here!" shouted the old hunter. "They are big enough
and strong enough to tear us all to pieces. Hurry!"
<P>
Down the centre of the temple they rushed, and not a moment too soon, for,
ere they had passed half way to the entrance, the opening in the roof was
darkened by the coming of the bats, and soon the flapping of their wings
awoke the thundering echoes in the ruined structure, while their shrill cries
struck terror to the hearts of the travelers.
<P>
Up to the altar circled the bats, and then wheeling they flapped down the
dim aisles toward the adventurers.
<P>
"Hurry! Hurry!" shouted Andy, who was in the rear.
<P>
He raised his rifle and fired several shots into the midst of the terrible
creatures.
<P>
A number of the bats were wounded, and the others were so frightened by the
sound of the shots and the flashes of fire that they turned back. This enabled
the fleeing ones to gain the entrance to the temple, and soon they were outside.
<P>
"To the ship!" yelled Bill.
<P>
"There's little danger now!" called Andy, panting, for the run had winded
him. "They will hardly attack us in the light!"
<P>
And he was right, for, though they could hear the bats flying about inside
the temple, and uttering their cries, none came outside.
<P>
But no one felt like staying near the uncanny structure, and little time
was lost in reaching the <I>Mermaid. </I>Then the doors were fastened, and
the ship was sent high up into the air.
<P>
"Which way?" asked Jack, when Mr. Henderson told him to go to the conning
tower and steer.
<P>
"Back to where we first met the giants," replied the professor. "We must
prepare to start for our own earth again soon."
<P>
"I've almost forgotten how real sunlight looks," thought Jack, as he headed
the ship around the other way. As he turned the levers a big diamond dropped
from his pocket and rolled on the floor.
<P>
"This will be a good reminder of our trip though," he added.
<P>
The travelers, even including Mr. Henderson, were so taken up with their
suddenly acquired riches that they hardly thought of meals. At the professor's
suggestion they tied their gold and stones up in small packages convenient
to carry.
<P>
"Better place them where you can grab them in a hurry in case of accident,"
the old scientist went on. "Of course if there should be too bad an accident
they would never be of any use to us down here, but we'll look on the bright
side of things."
<P>
"Do you anticipate any accident?" asked Jack anxiously.
<P>
"No, Oh no," replied Mr. Henderson, but Jack thought the aged man had something
weighing on his mind.
<h3>CHAPTER XXIX</h3>
<h4>BACK HOME&mdash;CONCLUSION</h4>
<P>
ON and on sped the <I>Mermaid. </I>Now that the travelers felt their journey
accomplished they were anxious to begin the homeward trip. They made a straight
course for the village where they had so nearly met with disaster, and where
the king of the giants had saved them. They went in a direct line, and did
not travel here and there, as they had after they left the town. Consequently
they shortened the route by a great distance. Yet it was long enough, and
when they finally came in sight of the place the dial registered a trip of
five thousand miles underground.
<P>
It was one evening when they landed almost at the spot whence they had taken
flight eventually to reach the temple of the treasure. Most of the giants
had betaken themselves to their mound houses, but Hankos was walking in the
fields, and, when he caught sight of the airship hovering above him he waved
his great sword in welcome.
<P>
He rushed up to shake hands with the travelers when they came out of the
ship, though to greet him it was only possible for the adventurers to grasp
one of his immense fingers.
<P>
As soon as the greetings were over Hankos began to speak rapidly to the
professor, at the same time going through many strange motions.
<P>
"It is as I feared!" suddenly exclaimed the scientist.
<P>
"What is the matter?" asked Mark.
<P>
"The worst has happened!" went on Mr. Henderson. "The great hole by which
we came into this place has been closed by an earthquake shock!"
<P>
"The hole closed?" repeated Jack.
<P>
"An earthquake shock!" murmured Mark.
<P>
"Then how are we going to get back to earth?" asked old Andy.
<P>
A terrible fear entered the hearts of the travelers. The closing of the opening
by which they had come to the strange world meant, in all probability that
they would have to spend the rest of their lives in this underground place.
<P>
"What good did it do us to get all those diamonds and that gold?" asked Mark
in a sorrowful tone.
<P>
Hankos began to speak again, using his gestures which were almost as eloquent
as words. The professor watched and listened intently. Then there seemed
to come a more hopeful look to his face. He nodded vigorously as Hankos went
on with what seemed to be an explanation.
<P>
"It's worth trying, at all events!" the scientist exclaimed. "It is our only
hope!"
<P>
"What is?" asked Jack.
<P>
"Friends," began the professor in solemn tones. "I must admit our plight
is desperate. At the same time there is a bare chance of our getting back
to our own earth. As you remember, Hankos went from this place to the upper
regions through the upward spouting column of water."
<P>
"If we had our submarine we might also," interrupted Jack. "But the <I>Mermaid
</I>isn't built to sail in that fashion."
<P>
"Nor would the <I>Porpoise </I>have served us in this emergency," said the
professor. "It would prove too heavy. But, nevertheless, I think I have a
plan. Now, Mark, you are about to learn the secret of the storeroom. The
real one, not the hiding of Hankos in there, which you imagined to be the
cause of my desire to keep something hidden. When we planned a trip to this
underground world I had a dim idea that we might meet with trouble. So I
planned and made a cylinder lifeboat."
<P>
"A cylinder lifeboat?" repeated Mark.
<P>
"Yes," replied Mr. Henderson. "I have it in the storeroom. I did not want
any of you to see it for fear you would have faint hearts. I thought there
might be no necessity of using it. But, since there is, we must do our best.
I will admit it may be a fearful ordeal, but we will have to risk something
in order to escape.
<P>
"I have in the storeroom a large cylinder, capable of holding us all. It
will also contain food and drink for a month, but we will all have to go,
packed almost like sardines in a box. My plan is to take the <I>Mermaid </I>to
the place where the column of water shoots up. There we will get into the
cylinder, close it, and trust ourselves to the terrible force that may bring
us back to the upper world. What do you say? Shall we attempt it?"
<P>
For a few seconds no one spoke. Then Jack said slowly:
<P>
"I don't see that we can do anything else. I don't want to stay here all
my life."
<P>
"I wants a chance t' wear some of them sparklers," put in Washington.
<P>
"Then we will make the attempt," the professor added. "Now all aboard for
the place where the water shoots up!"
<P>
Questioning Hankos, the professor learned how to reach the strange place.
It was in the midst of a desolate country where none of the giants ever went,
so afraid were they of the strange phenomenon.
<P>
It was a week's journey. Sometimes the <I>Mermaid </I>flew through the air,
and again it sailed on vast lakes or inland seas. On the trip they met with
big waterfalls and terrible geysers that spouted a mile or more into the
air. They traveled by night as well as day, though it was necessary to keep
a sharp watch.
<P>
Sometimes the ship passed through great flocks of birds that surrounded her
and sought to pierce the aluminum hull with their sharp beaks and talons.
Over the mountains and valleys the ship sailed until, one evening, there
sounded through the air a strange rumbling sound.
<P>
"It is thunder," said Old Andy.
<P>
"It is the water column," replied the scientist. "We are at the end of our
trip. May the remainder be as successful!"
<P>
The ship was lowered to the surface, as it was deemed best to approach the
column when the lights were shining. No one slept much that night, for the
roaring and rumbling never ceased.
<P>
In the morning the ship was sent forward slowly. Ever and ever the terrific
sound increased, until it was almost deafening. They had to call to each
other to be heard.
<P>
Then, as the <I>Mermaid </I>passed over a mountain, the adventurers saw,
in a valley below them, the up-shooting water.
<P>
It was a vast column, nearly three hundred feet in thickness, and as solid
and white as a shaft of marble. Up, up, up, it went, until it was lost to
sight, but there were no falling drops, and not even a spray came from the
watery shafts.
<P>
"There is a terrible power to it," the professor said. "May it prove our
salvation!"
<P>
The ship was lowered about a hundred feet away from the waterspout. All around
them the ground was vibrating with the force of the fluid.
<P>
"To think that connects with the world above!" exclaimed Jack.
<P>
"It's a good thing for us that it does," Mark answered.
<P>
"We must lose no time," the professor put in. "If the earthquake destroyed
the downward shaft, it may effect this one in time. We must escape while
we can."
<P>
Then, for the first time, he opened the storeroom and the big cylinder was
disclosed to view. It was made of aluminum, and shaped like an immense cigar.
The hull was double, and it was strongly braced. Inside were padded berths
for the occupants, and there was just room enough for the seven adventurers.
Once they had entered they could not move about, but must stay in their little
compartment.
<P>
Compressed air in strong cylinders furnished a means of breathing, and there
were tiny electric lights operated by a storage battery. There was also a
chamber to be filled with the lifting gas. The cylinder was so arranged that
it would float on it's long axis if thrown into the water. A trap door
hermetically sealed gave access to the interior. A small propeller, worked
by compressed air, furnished motive power.
<P>
The food supply consisted of compressed capsules on which a man could subsist
for several days. There was also some water, but not much, since that can
not be compressed and would, therefore, take considerable room.
<P>
"The only thing for us to do," said the professor, "is to get into the cylinder,
seal it up, and trust to Providence. This is what I intended to use when
we were caught in the draught."
<P>
"How can we get into the column of water after we shut ourselves into the
cylinder?" asked Mark.
<P>
"The cylinder fits into a sort of improvised cannon," said Mr. Henderson.
"It is fired by electricity and compressed air. "We will aim it at the column,
press the button and be projected into the midst of the water. Then&mdash;&mdash;" He
did not finish the sentence, but the others knew what he meant.
<P>
"When are we to start?" asked Mark.
<P>
"As soon as possible," replied the professor. "I must arrange the cylinder,
compress the air and lay out the food supply."
<P>
It took the rest of the day to do this, as the inventor found it would be
advisable to attach a weight to the end of the cylinder, to hold it upright
in the column of water. The weight could be detached automatically when they
were shot up into the midst of the ocean, where, as Hankos had told them,
the column spurted forth.
<P>
Then some food was stored in the tiny ship that was destined to be their
last hope, and some tanks of water were placed in it.
<P>
"I think we are almost ready," Mr. Henderson said about noon the next day.
<P>
"What about our gold and diamonds?" asked Jack suddenly. "Can we take them
with us in the cylinder?"
<P>
"That's so!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "I forgot about them. I'm afraid we'll
have to leave the riches behind. We will not be able to carry them and the
food we need, for it may be a week or more before we can leave the cylinder.
Gold and diamonds will be a poor substitute for something to eat."
<P>
"I'm goin' t' take mine!" said Washington with much conviction. "I might
as well starve rich as starve poor!"
<P>
"We may be able to take a few diamonds," the professor answered. "The gold
will be too heavy. Let each one select the largest of the diamonds he has
and put them in his pockets."
<P>
Then began a sorting of the wealth. It was strange, as they recalled afterward,
throwing away riches that would have made millionaires envious, but it had
to be done. All the wealth in the world would not equal a beef capsule when
they were starving, and they realized it. So they only saved a few pieces
of gold as souvenirs, and took the best of the diamonds. But even then they
had a vast fortune with them.
<P>
At last all was in readiness. The cylinder had been placed in the tube from
which it was to be shot gently forth by compressed air, so that it would
fall into the upward spouting column of water. The charge of compressed air
was put in and the electric wires arranged.
<P>
"Are we all ready?" asked Mr. Henderson.
<P>
"I think so," said Jack, in what sounded like a whisper, but which was loud,
only the noise of the water muffled it.
<P>
"Then we had better enter the cylinder," spoke the inventor. "Take a last
look at the <I>Flying Mermaid, </I>boys, for you will never see again the
ship that has borne us many thousand miles. She served us well, and might
again, but for the freak of nature that has placed us in this position."
<P>
For the first time the adventurers realized that they must abandon the craft
in which they had reached the new world. So it was with no little feeling
of sadness that they climbed up the ladder that had been arranged and slid
down into the cylinder. One by one they took their places in the padded berths
arranged for them. It was a snug fit, for the professor knew if there was
too much room he and the others might be so tossed about as to be killed.
<P>
Mr. Henderson was the last to enter. Standing at the manhole he took a final
look at his pet creation, the <I>Mermaid. </I>Through the opened windows
the colored lights came, shifting here and there. Outside the terrible column
of water was roaring as if anxious to devour them.
<P>
"Good-bye, <I>Mermaid!" </I>said the professor softly.
<P>
Then he closed down the manhole cover and tightened the screws that held
it in place. He touched a button that turned on the electric lights and the
interior of the cylinder was illuminated with a soft glow.
<P>
"Are you all ready?" he asked.
<P>
"Jest as much as I ever will be," replied Washington, who, as the crisis
approached, seemed more light-hearted than any of the others.
<P>
"Then here we go!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson.
<P>
His fingers touched the button that connected with the electric machine,
which operated the compressed air.
<P>
There sounded a muffled report. Then it seemed to those in the cylinder that
the end of the world had come. They shot upward and outward, through the
top of the conning tower which had been removed. The cylinder, launched straight
at the column of water struck it squarely and, an instant later was caught
in the grasp of the giant force and hurled toward the upper world.
<P>
Up and up and up the mass of metal with its human freight went. Now it was
spinning like a top, again it shot toward the earth's crust like an arrow
from the archer's bow.
<P>
It was moving with the velocity of a meteor, yet because of being surrounded
with water, and traveling with the same velocity as the column, there was
no friction. Had there been, the heat generated would have melted the case
in an instant.
<P>
For the first few seconds those in the cylinder were dazed by the sudden
rush. Then as it became greater and greater there came a curious dull feeling,
and, one after another lost consciousness. The terror of the water column,
and the frightful speed, had made them senseless.
<P>
  <HR>
<P>
It seemed like a month later, though, of course, it could have been only
a few hours or a day at most when Jack opened his eyes. He saw his companions,
white and senseless all around him, and at first thought they were dead.
Then he saw Mark looking at him, and Washington asked:
<P>
"Is any one livin' 'sides me?"
<P>
"I am," replied Jack decidedly.
<P>
Then, one after another they regained their senses. But they were in a strange
daze, for they were being carried along like a shooting star, only, as they
went at the same rate as did the element carrying them, they did not realize
this.
<P>
"I think I'm hungry," said Bill, who had the best appetite of any of the
travelers.
<P>
"You'll find a beef capsule in the little compartment over your head," spoke
the professor.
<P>
Bill was about to reach for it, when they were all startled by a sudden side
motion of the cylinder. Then came a violent shock, and a sound as of splashing
water. Next the cylinder seemed to be falling, and, a few minutes later to
be shooting upward. Following this there was another splash and the cylinder
began to bob about like a cork on a mill pond.
<P>
"We have reached the sea! We are afloat on the ocean!" cried the professor.
<P>
Hurriedly he disengaged himself from the straps that held him to his bunk.
He pushed back the lever that opened the manhole. Into the opening glowed
the glorious sunlight, while to the occupants came the breath of salt air.
<P>
"Hurrah!" cried Jack. "We are safe at last!"
<P>
"Safe at last!" the professor answered, and then they all gave a cheer.
<P>
For their cylinder, which might now be termed a boat, was floating on the
great Atlantic. The blue sky was overhead and the air of the sea fanned their
cheeks.
<P>
They had shot up from the underground earth, in the column of water, had
been tossed high into the air, had fallen back when the liquid shaft broke
into spray, had descended into the ocean, gone down a hundred feet or more,
and then had shot up like a cork to bob about the surface.
<P>
For a week they were afloat, and then they were picked up by a passing vessel,
rather weak and very much cramped, but otherwise in good shape. They said
nothing of their adventures, save to explain that they were experimenting
in a new kind of boat. About a month later, for the ship that had rescued
them was a slow sailer, they were back on the island whence that wonderful
voyage was begun.
<P>
  <HR>
<P>
"Well, we solved the mystery of the center of the earth," remarked Jack,
one evening, when they were gathered in the old shack where so many wonderful
adventures had been planned.
<P>
"Yes, we did," said Mr. Henderson. "And no one else is ever likely to go
there."
<P>
"Why?"
<P>
"Because the only way of getting there was destroyed by the earthquake, and
no one could ever force his way down through that upward-shooting column
of water."
<P>
"That's so. Well, we have the diamonds, anyway," spoke Mark. "They ought
to make us rich."
<P>
And the jewels did, for the stones proved to be of great value, even though
the adventurers had saved only a few of the many they found in the ruined
temple.
<P>
But there was money enough so that they all could live in comfort; the rest
of their lives. As the professor was getting quite old, and incapable of
making any more wonderful inventions, he closed up his workshop and settled
down to a quiet life. As for Washington, Andy, and Bill and Tom, they invested
their money received from the sale of the diamonds in different business
ventures, and each one did well.
<P>
"I am going in for a good education," said Jack to Mark.
<P>
"Just what I am going to do," answered his chum. "And after we've got that&mdash;&mdash;"
He paused suggestively.
<P>
"We'll go in for inventing airships, or something like that, eh?"
<P>
"Yes. We've learned a great deal from Mr. Henderson, and in the course of
time we ought to be able to turn out something even more wonderful than the
<I>Electric Monarch, </I>the <I>Porpoise, </I>or the <I>Flying Mermaid."</I>
<P>
"Yes, and when we've invented something better&mdash;&mdash;"
<P>
"We'll take another trip."
<P>
"Right you are!"
<P>
And then the two chums shook hands warmly; and here we will say good-bye.
<h4>THE END.</h4>
<pre>
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