diff options
Diffstat (limited to '77257-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/77257-h.htm | 12360 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 236577 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/dropcap_t.jpg | bin | 0 -> 2749 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img293.jpg | bin | 0 -> 116647 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img297.jpg | bin | 0 -> 55536 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img302.jpg | bin | 0 -> 49888 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img307.jpg | bin | 0 -> 55711 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img312313.jpg | bin | 0 -> 143602 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img318.jpg | bin | 0 -> 47321 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img323.jpg | bin | 0 -> 121542 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img329.jpg | bin | 0 -> 131438 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img333.jpg | bin | 0 -> 120605 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img338.jpg | bin | 0 -> 104768 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img345.jpg | bin | 0 -> 42844 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img352.jpg | bin | 0 -> 47304 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img358.jpg | bin | 0 -> 136463 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img363.jpg | bin | 0 -> 58582 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 77257-h/images/img370.jpg | bin | 0 -> 48561 bytes |
18 files changed, 12360 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/77257-h/77257-h.htm b/77257-h/77257-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2bd8394 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/77257-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12360 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + The Sunken World | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; +} + +a {text-decoration: none;} + +.p5 {font-size: 1.5em;} + +img.drop-cap +{ + float: left; + margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; +} + +p.drop-cap:first-letter +{ + color: transparent; + visibility: hidden; + margin-left: -0.9em; +} + +.x-ebookmaker img.drop-cap +{ + display: none; +} + +.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter +{ + color: inherit; + visibility: visible; + margin-left: 0; +} + +.upper-case +{ + text-transform: uppercase; +} + + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + + + + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + text-indent: 0; +} /* page numbers */ + + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + + + + +figcaption {font-weight: bold;} + +/* Images */ + +img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; +} +img.w100 {width: 100%;} + + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:small; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; +} + + +/* Illustration classes */ +.illowe32_9375 {width: 32.9375em;} +.illowe33_3750 {width: 33.3750em;} +.illowe33_5000 {width: 33.5000em;} +.illowe34_3125 {width: 34.3125em;} +.illowe66_6250 {width: 66.6250em;} +.illowe33_5625 {width: 33.5625em;} +.illowe33_3125 {width: 33.3125em;} +.illowe33_0625 {width: 33.0625em;} +.illowe32_2500 {width: 32.2500em;} +.illowe33_9375 {width: 33.9375em;} +.illowe33_6250 {width: 33.6250em;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77257 ***</div> + +<div class="transnote center"> +Transcribed from <i>Amazing Stories Quarterly</i>, Summer 1928 (vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 292–377). +</div> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[p. 292]</span></p> +<h1 style="margin-top:2em"> +<i>The</i> SUNKEN WORLD</h1> +<br><br> +<p class="center p5"><strong><i>By Stanton A. Coblentz</i></strong> +</p> +<br><br> + +<div class="chapter"></div> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe32_9375" id="img293"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img293.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Then, as the searchlights swayed and shifted till they swept the +depths directly beneath, we began to make out familiar objects amid +the obscurity.... For a moment I observed nothing alarming. Then, as +my gaze became focused upon a gray dome just below, I too cried out in +dread realization.... Here and there a lantern-bearing object, with +flapping finny body, went wavering through the windows and above the +temple roofs! + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<div class="chapter"></div> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<p> +<a href="#FOREWORD">FOREWORD</a><br> +<a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I – Harkness Explains His Disappearance</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II – Untraveled Depths</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III – On Unknown Shores</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV – A Tour of Exploration</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V – The Mysterious City</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI – The Temple of the Stars</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII – Trapped</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII – Sapphire and Amber</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX – The Will of the Masters</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X – Discoveries</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI – Questions and Answers</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII – The Submergence</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII – Trial and Judgment</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV – The Upper World Club</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV – The Pageant of the Good Destruction</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI – An Official Summons</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII – The High Initiation</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII – The Journey Commences</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX – The Glass City</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX – Farm and Factory</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI – The Wall and the Wind-makers</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII – The Journey Ends</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII – Xanocles</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV – What the Books Revealed</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV – Duties and Pastimes</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI – Curiosities, Freaks and Monstrosities</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII – The Warning of the Waters</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII – The Waters Retreat</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX – The Party of Emergence</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX – Crucial Moments</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI – “The History of the Upper World”</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII – A Happy Consummation</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII – The Flood Gates Open</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV – Swollen Torrents</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV – The Return</a><br> +<a href="#Transcribers_note">Transcriber’s note</a> +</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="FOREWORD">FOREWORD</h2></div> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><i>The world of literature is full of Atlantis stories, but we are +certain, that there has never been a story written with the daring +and with such originality as to approach “The Sunken World.”</i></p> + +<p><i>Science is pretty well convinced today, that there was an Atlantis +many thousands of years ago. Just exactly what became of it, no +one knows. The author, in this story, which no doubt will become a +classic some day, has approached the subject at a totally different +angle than has ever been attempted before; and let no one think +that the idea, daring and impossible as it would seem at first, is +impossible. Nor is it at all impossible that progress and science +goes and comes in waves. It may be possible that millions of years +ago, the world had reached a much higher culture than we have today. +Electricity and radio, and all that goes with it, may have been +well known eons ago, only to be swept away and rediscovered. Every +scientist knows, that practically every invention is periodically +rediscovered independently. It seems there is nothing new under the +sun.</i></p> + +<p><i>But the big idea behind the author’s theme is the holding of +present-day science and progress up to a certain amount of ridicule, +and showing up our civilization in a sometimes grotesque mirror, +which may not be always pleasing to our vanity and to our appraisal +of our so-called present day achievements.</i></p> + +<p><i>The point the author brings out is that it is one thing to have +power in science and inventions, but that it is another thing to use +that power correctly. He shows dramatically and vividly how it can be +used and how it should be used.</i></p> + +<p><i>From the technical standpoint, this story is tremendous, and while +some of our critics, will, as usual, find fault with the hydraulics +contained in this story, the fact remains they are not at all +impossible.</i></p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</h2></div> + +<p>It was in the spring of 1918 that the United States submarine +X-111 was launched upon its adventurous career. The German commerce +raiders had now reached the height of their effectiveness; almost daily +they were taking their toll of luckless seamen and provision-laden +steamers; and the United States government, in alarm that was never +officially admitted, had resolved upon desperate measures. The result +was the X-111. The first of a fleet of undersea craft, this vessel +was constructed upon lines never before attempted. Not only was it +exceedingly long (being about two hundred feet from stem to stern), but +it was excessively narrow, and a man had to be short indeed to stand +upright within it on its single deck without coming into contact with +the arching ceiling. The ship, in fact, was nothing more nor less than +a long pipe-like tube of reinforced steel, able to cleave the water at +tremendous speed and ram and destroy any enemy by ramming it with its +beak-like prow. But this was only its slightest point of novelty. At +both ends and at several points along the sides it was equipped with +water-piercing searchlights of a power never before known (the creation +of Walter Tamrock, the Kansas inventor who lost his life in the +war); and it was provided with a series of air-tight and water-proof +compartments, any one of which might be pierced without seriously +injuring the vessel as a whole. Hence the X-111 was generally known as +unsinkable, and upon it the American officials fastened their hopes of +abating the nuisance of the enemy “U-boat.”</p> + +<p>The sinking of this “unsinkable” vessel is now of course a matter +of history. Close observers of naval events will recall how, in May, +1918, the newspapers reported the disappearance of another United +States submarine. All that was known with certainty was, that the ship +had been commissioned to the danger zone; that it had failed to return +to its base at the expected time, and that the passing days brought +no news of it; that wireless messages and searching expeditions alike +proved unavailing, and that it was two months before the only clue as +to its fate was found. Then it was that a British destroyer, on scout +duty in the North Sea, picked up a drifting life preserver bearing the +imprint “X-111.” For strategic reasons, this fact was not divulged +until much later, and for strategic reasons it was not made known +that the missing submarine was of a new and previously untried type; +but the mystery of the X-111’s disappearance weighed heavily upon the +minds of naval officials, and secretly they resolved upon immediate and +exhaustive investigation. All in vain. Not a trace of the lost ship or +of the thirty-nine members of its crew could be found; not a scrap of +the usual drifting flotsam or wreckage could be picked up anywhere on +the sea; and at last it was admitted in despair that the waters would +perhaps guard their secret forever.</p> + +<p>Seven years went by. Peace had long since returned, and the X-111 +and its tragedy had been forgotten except by a few relatives of the +unfortunate thirty-nine. Then suddenly the mystery was fanned into +vivid life again. A bearded man, with a strange greenish complexion and +eyes that blinked oddly beneath wide, colored glasses, appeared at the +offices of the Navy department at Washington and claimed to be one of +the company of the X-111. At first, of course, he was merely laughed at +as a madman, and could induce no one to listen to him seriously; but +he was so persistent in his pleas, and so anxious to give proof of his +identity, that a few began to suspect that there might be some shadow +of truth to his claims after all. Half-heartedly, an investigation was +undertaken—and with results that left the world gaping in amazement! +The testimony of a dozen witnesses, as well as the unmistakable +evidence of finger-prints and handwriting, proved that the wild-looking +stranger <span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span>was +none other than Anson Harkness, Ensign on the ill-starred X-111, +long mourned as dead. Now, for the first time, the truth about the +disappearance of that remarkable vessel was to be made known; and +the eager public was treated to a story so extraordinary that only +irrefutable evidence could make it seem credible. It is safe to say +that never, since Columbus returned to Spain with the news of his +discoveries in seeking a western route to the far East, had any mariner +delivered to his people a revelation so unexampled and marvelous.</p> + +<p>But while numerous accounts of the great discovery are extant, +and while the furore of discussion over the newspaper articles and +interviews shows no sign of waning, the public has yet to read the +tale in the words of Harkness himself. And it is for this reason that +the accompanying history, to which Harkness has devoted himself ever +since his return from exile, possesses a peculiar and timely interest. +Harkness has described, unaffectedly and sincerely, the most perilous +exploits which any man has ever survived. Hence the following pages +should prove entertaining not only to the student of world events, but +to that larger public which finds value in a rare and stirring bit of +autobiography.</p> + +<p class="right"> +<span class="smcap">Stanton A. Coblentz</span>,<br> +(New York, 1928.) +</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I +<br> +Harkness Explains His Disappearance</h2></div> +<br> +<div> + <img class="drop-cap" src="images/dropcap_t.jpg" width="81" height="82" alt=""> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="upper-case">T</span>he maiden voyage of the X-111 was ill-fated +from the first. Perhaps the new inventions +had not yet been perfected, or perhaps, in +the haste of wartime, adequate tests had +not been made; at any rate, the vessel +developed mechanical troubles after her first half +day at sea. To begin with, the rudder and steering +apparatus proved unmanageable; then, after +hours spent in making repairs, the engines showed a +tendency to balk under the tremendous speed we were +ordered to maintain; and finally, when we had about +solved the engine problem, we had the misfortune to +collide with a half-submerged derelict, while running +on the surface, and one of our water-tight compartments +sprang a leak.</p> + +<p> +Immediately following the accident, we had risen +to the surface, for the break was about on a level +with our waterline, and the compartment could not be +completely flooded so long as we did not submerge. +Yet Captain Gavison warned us not to waste a moment, +and the men worked with desperate speed to +repair the damage, for we knew that we were in the +zone of the German U-boat, and that any delay might +prove perilous, if not fatal. Unfortunately, the sea +was unusually calm and the day was blue and clear, +so that even our low-lying hulk could be sighted many +miles across the waters. +</p> +<p> +I do not know precisely at what position we were +then stationed, except that it was somewhere in the +Eastern Atlantic, and at a point where, according to +the warnings of our Secret Service, a concentration of +German submarines was to be expected. At any other +time we would have welcomed the opportunity to come +to grips with the foe; but now, in our disabled condition, +we kept a lookout with grave misgivings, and +silently prayed that the damage might be repaired +before the enemy slunk into view. Yet it was slow +work to man the pumps and at the same time to weld +a strip of metal across the jagged gap in our side; +and hours passed while we stood there working thigh-deep +in water, our heads bent low, for there was but +two or three feet of breathing space beneath the +curved iron ceiling. Suppressed growls and curses +came from our lips each time a sudden surge of the +waters interfered with the welding. Meanwhile all +was in confusion; the men worked with the feverish +inefficiency of terror, scarcely heeding the orders of the +officers; the chief contents of the compartment floated +about almost unnoted. I distinctly remember that +several articles, including a life preserver which one +of the recruits had unfastened in his fright, were +washed overboard. +</p> +<p> +Still, we did make some progress, and after four or +five hours, and just as the blood-red sun was sinking +low in the west, we found our task nearing completion. +A few more minutes, and the welding would be +accomplished; a few more minutes, and darkness +would be upon us, leaving us free from fear of attack +for the next eight or ten hours. +</p> +<p> +It was just when we felt safest that the real danger +presented itself. A swift trail of white shot across +the waters far to westward, and, advancing at full +speed, vanished in a long, frothy furrow just in our +wake. “A German U-boat! A U-boat two points off +the port bow!” frantically cried the watch; and we +scrambled from the flooded compartment as the Captain +gave the order “Submerge!” Now we heard the +rapid churning of our engines as we went plunging +into the blackness beneath the sea; now we made +ready to launch a torpedo of our own as our periscope +showed us the disappearing tip of an enemy +submarine; now we were hurled into an exciting chase +as our prodigiously powerful searchlights illumined +whole leagues of the water, even revealing the dark, +cigar-shaped hulk of the foe. Had we not been impeded +by the dead weight of a compartment full of +water, we would unquestionably have overtaken the +enemy, rammed it and ended its career; even as it +was, we seemed to be gaining upon it, and we had +hopes of shooting up unseen and bullet-like from the +dark, and with tremendous impact smiting it in two. +Not even the unexpected appearance of a second submarine +altered our plans. Handicapped as we were, +we would show our superiority to both the enemy +craft! +</p> +<p> +But it was at this point that mechanical troubles +again betrayed us. Overworked by our excessive burst +of speed, our engines (which were of the super-electric +type recently invented by Cogswell) gave signs of +slowing up and stopping; and so dangerously overheated +were they, that our Captain had to halt our +vessel abruptly, almost within striking distance of the +foe. Our position became extremely precarious, for at +any moment the German searchlights might spy us +out, and a few undersea bombs might send us to +the bottom. +</p> +<p> +As our own equipment had purposely been made as +light as possible, we were provided with no explosive +shells other than torpedoes: hence we were compelled +to rise to the surface in order to attack. This, we +realized, was a hazardous expedient, since both the +enemy vessels were already in a position to answer +our bombardment, volley for volley. But trusting to +the gathering darkness and to our aggressive tactics +to win us the advantage, we unhesitatingly rose to +the level, and, with as little delay as possible, discharged +a torpedo toward the dim, low-lying form of +the foe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span></p> + +<p>Whether that projectile reached its goal, none of +us will ever be able to say. From the sudden, furious +eruption of spray in the direction of the enemy craft, +I am inclined to believe that this was among the +U-boats later reported missing; yet, the torpedo may +merely have struck some floating object and so have +lost its prey. Whatever the results, we were unable +to observe with certainty, for at the same moment a +gleaming streak shot toward us across the dark waters, +and the next instant we went sprawling about the +deck as a dull thudding crash came to our ears and +the vessel shook and wavered as though in an earthquake’s +grip. Half dazed from the shock, we gathered +ourselves together and rose uncertainly to our +feet, staring at one another in dull consternation. And +at the same moment one of the seamen burst wildly +into the cabin, despair and terror in his maddened +eyes. “The central compartment!” he cried. “The central +compartment. It’s flooded, all flooded!” And as +if to prove his words, we felt ourselves sinking, sinking +slowly, though we had not been ordered to submerge; +the darkness of the twilight skies quickly gave +way to the darkness beneath the ocean.</p> + + +<p>It was some minutes before we quite realized what +was happening. Accustomed as we were to undersea +traveling, we did not at first understand that this +was an adventure quite out of the ordinary. Even +when the waters had lost their first pale translucency +and had become utterly black and opaque, we did not +realize our terrible predicament. Only after our vessel +began listing violently, and we felt the deck sloping +at an angle of forty-five degrees, did we recognize +the full horror of our position. Although we could +see not one inch beyond the thick glass portholes, I +had an indefinable sense that we were sinking, sinking +down, down, down through vague and unknown +abysses; and the stark and helpless terror on the assembled +faces gave proof that the others shared my +feelings. Not a word did we utter. Indeed, speaking +would not have been easy, for a low, continuous roaring +was in our ears, a hoarse, muffled roaring reminding +me of the murmuring in a sea-shell. At the +same time, a strange depression overwhelmed my +senses; it seemed as though the atmosphere had suddenly +become thick and heavy, too heavy for breathing; +it seemed as though an unnatural weight had +been piled upon me, threatening to crush and stifle +me. Yet I did notice that the vessel quivered violently +and lunged upward every few seconds, in a +furious effort to right itself and rise to the surface. +I did fancy that I heard the buzzing of the engines +at times, an intermittent buzzing that was most disquieting; +and I found myself, like the others, hanging +to the brass railings to steady myself when the ship +heaved and shuddered, or to keep my footing when +we slanted downward.</p> + +<p>Perhaps five minutes passed when the door leading +forward was thrust open, and Captain Gavison climbed +precariously into the room. All eyes were bent upon +him in silent inquiry; but his grim, stoically firm +countenance was far from reassuring. It was apparent +that he had something to say, and that he did not +care to say it; and several anxious moments elapsed +while he stood glowering upon us, evidently undecided +whether to give his message words.</p> + +<p>Yet even at this crisis he could not forget discipline. +His first words brought us no information, and his +first action was to station us about the room in +orderly fashion, assigning each to some specific duty.</p> + +<p>“I will not keep the facts from you,” he declared, +with slow, deliberate accentuation, when finally we +were all in position. “Three of our compartments are +flooded. The other compartments seem to be holding +out as yet, but the great mass of water in our hold +is bearing us rapidly downward, and the engines seem +unable to neutralize the effect. At the last reading, +we were nine hundred and twenty-seven feet below +sea level.”</p> + +<p>“Great God! What are we to do about it?” I +gasped, in biting terror.</p> + +<p>“Suggestions are in order,” stated the Captain, laconically.</p> + +<p>But no suggestion was forthcoming.</p> + +<p>“Of course, we are in no immediate danger ...” +he resumed. But he might have spared his words. +Most of us had had sufficient experience of undersea +travel to know that the danger was real enough. +Barring the remote contingency that the engines would +be brought back into efficient working order, there +were only two possibilities. On the one hand, we +might reach the bottom of the sea, and, stranded there, +would perish of starvation or slow suffocation. Or, in +the second place, we might continue drifting downward +until the tremendous pressure of the water, proving +too strong even for the stout steel envelope of +our vessel, would bend and crush it like an egg-shell.</p> + +<p>Although we could no longer guide our course, our +gigantic searchlights were at once brought into play, +piercing the water with brilliant yellow streamers. Yet +they might have been searchlights in a tomb, for they +showed us nothing except the minute wavy dark shapes +that occasionally drifted in and out of our line of +vision. There was something ghastly, I thought, about +that light, that intense unearthly sallow light, which +glided slowly in long curves and spirals about the +thick enveloping darkness. And the very penetrating +power of the rays served only to accentuate the horror. +For the illumination ended in nothingness; nothingness +seemed to stretch above us, beneath us, and to +all sides of us; we were enfolded in it as in a black +mantle; it seemed to be stretching out long arms to +fetter us, to gather us up, to strangle us slyly.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Slowly, with agonizing slowness, the moments crept +by; slowly we continued sinking, down, down, +down, ever down and down, with movement gradual +and constantly diminishing, yet never ceasing. Never +before in history, we told ourselves, had living men +been plunged so far beneath the ocean. Our instruments +recorded first twelve hundred feet, then fourteen, +then sixteen, then eighteen hundred feet below sea +level!</p> + +<p>And as we sank downward, we became aware that +we were not the only living creatures in these depths. +Our searchlights made us the center of attraction for +myriads of scaly things; whole schools and squadrons +of fishes were gathering moth-like in the vivid illumination +thrown out by our vessel. Some were long, +snaky monsters, with thin heads set with rows of +spike-like teeth, and tiny eyes that gleamed evilly in +the uncanny light; some were lithe sea dragons, with +wolfish mouths and sabre-like bony appendages projecting +from low foreheads; some were many-colored, +rainbow-hued or streaked with black and golden, or +red and azure, or yellow and white; some had chameleon +eyes that flashed first green and then blue, according +to the play of the light about them; many +were flitting to and fro, circling and spiralling and +doubling back and forth at incredible speed; and not +a few, unacquainted with the ways of submarines, +collided full-tilt with the thick glass of our portholes.</p> + +<p>But as our depth gradually increased, our finny +visitors began to give way to others stranger still. +When we were twenty-two hundred feet below the +surface, the searchlights were no longer necessary to +reveal the denizens of the deep, for the inhabitants of +those unthinkable regions carried their own lamps! +And how they amazed us and startled us!—how, in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span>our shuddering nerve-racking terror, they appeared to +us as ghosts or avenging fiends, or struck our overworked +imaginations as approaching foes or rescuers! +Suddenly, out of the deathly blackness, a spurt of +green light appeared, swiftly widening until it seemed +an unearthly searchlight—and, from a narrow focus +of flame, two huge burning green eyes would shoot +forth, darting cold malice at us through the glass port, +until the yellow electric light would seem tinged with +an emerald reflection. Or else a tiny flattened disk, +softly phosphorescent throughout and marked on one +surface by two bright beady eyes, would come floating +in our direction like a pale apparition; or, again, a +long dark rod, brilliantly white like a living flashlight, +would dart curving and gleaming toward us +out of the remote gloomy depths. But more terrifying +than any of these were the nameless monsters with invisible +bodies and lidless, fiery yellow eyes of the size +of baseballs,—eyes that stared in at us, and stared +and stared, as though all the concentrated horror of +the universe were glaring upon us, seeking to ferret +us out and mark us for its victims.</p> + +<p>And still we were sinking, unceasingly sinking, till +the last faint hope had died in the heart of the most +sanguine, and in despair and with half-mumbled phrases +we admitted that there could be no rescue for us. +When we were twenty-five hundred feet below the surface, +the fury of expectation had given place to a +blank and settled despondency; when the distance was +twenty-eight hundred feet, each was striving in his +own way to prepare himself for the fate which all felt +to be but a question of hours. In our panic-stricken +horror, we had all long ago forgotten the positions assigned +us by the Captain; and the Captain himself +did not appear to notice where we were. Young Rawson, +the newest of the recruits, had gone down on his +knees, and with tears in his eyes was murmuring +half audible prayers; Matthew Stangale, one of the +oldest and most hardened of the seamen, was pacing +restlessly back and forth, back and forth, in the narrow +compartment, clenching his fists furiously and +muttering to himself; Daniel Howlett, veteran of many +campaigns, contented himself with a suppressed growling +and profanity, and his curses were echoed by his +companions; Frank Ripley, a college gridiron hero, +enlisted for the war, buried himself in a corner of +the room, his face covered by his hands, the very +picture of dejection, though every once in a while, +wistfully and half-furtively, he would let his gaze +travel to a little photograph he guarded close to his +bosom. And as for Captain Gavison, on whom we +had fastened our last fading hope of escape—he merely +stood near the porthole with arms clenched behind his +back and thin lips tightly compressed, peering out into +the black waters as though he read there some secret +hidden from the obtuse gaze of his followers.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>We were below the three thousand foot level when +fresh cause for anxiety appeared. “The holy +saints have mercy on us!” suddenly exclaimed James +Stranahan, one of the common seamen, as he crossed +himself piously. And pointing in awe-stricken amazement +through one of the glass spy-holes which led +from the deck, down through the bottom of the ship, +he called attention to a dim shimmering luminescence +far below. Excitedly we crowded about him, almost +tumbling over one another in our eagerness and +terror, but for a moment we could see nothing. Then, +slowly, as we stood straining our eyes to fathom the +blackness, we became aware of a vague filmy, widespread +sheet of light twinkling faintly beneath us, +and remote as the stars of an inverted Milky Way.</p> + +<p>A sheet of light beneath us, at the bottom of the +sea! In incredulous astonishment, we turned to one +another, scarcely able to believe our senses, our horror +written plainly in our gaping eyes! And in silence, +and with fear-blanched faces, half of the company +made the sign of the cross.</p> + +<p>“Sure it’s a ghost, a deep-sea ghost!” ventured the +superstitious Stranahan.</p> + +<p>“It’s where the sea serpents have their home!” put +in Stangale, with an abortive attempt to be jocular. +“There’s ten million of them down there, with devil’s +eyes of fire!”</p> + +<p>“Maybe it’s the Evil One himself!” suggested +Stranahan, not content with a single guess. “What +if it’s the very throne-room of Hell, and them are +the flames of Old Nick!”</p> + +<p>These words did not seem to reassure the rest of +the crew. Several were trembling visibly, and several +continued to cross themselves in silence.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Captain had ordered the searchlights +turned downward, and in long loops and curves +the cutting light swept the darkness beneath. But not +a thing was visible, except for a few flapping fishy +forms; and our lanterns served only to conceal the +mysterious luminescence.</p> + +<p>Yet, when the searchlights were again directed upward, +that luminescence became more distinct and +seemed to stretch to infinite distances on all sides. But +it was still incalculably remote, and still filled us with +alarm and foreboding. Whatever it was (and we +could not help feeling that it was evil), we knew that +it was a thing beyond the reach of all human experience; +whatever it was, it was a monstrous thing, possibly +malevolent and terrible, and not inconceivably +ghostly and supernatural.</p> + +<p>But as we continued to sink, I began to doubt +whether any of us should live to solve the mystery. +The air in our overcrowded compartments was becoming +oppressively heavy and vitiated; we were like men +locked in sealed vaults, and there was no possibility of +renewing our exhausted oxygen supply. Already I was +beginning to feel drowsy from the lack of air; my +head was aching dully and I had almost ceased to +care where we went or what befell us. Today, when +I look back upon the racking events of those terrible +hours, I feel sure that I was not far from delirium; +and when I recall how some of my comrades reclined +drunkenly on the floor, with half-hysterical mumblings +and wailings, I am certain that there were but few of +us, who retained our right senses.</p> + +<p>There is, indeed, a blank space in my memory concerning +what occurred at about this time; I may have +fallen off into a doze or sodden slumber lasting for +minutes or even for hours. I can only say that I +have a recollection of coming abruptly to myself, as +from a state of coma; and, with a sudden jolt of +understanding, I realized where I was, and observed +with a shock that half a dozen of my comrades were +gathered together in a little group, pointing downward +with excited exclamations.</p> + +<p>Staggering to my feet, I joined them, and in a +moment shared in their agitation. The lights beneath +us were now far brighter—they no longer formed a +vague shimmering screen, but were concentrated brilliantly +in a score of golden globes of the apparent size +of the sun. “Could it be that the ocean too has its +suns?” I asked myself, as when one asks dazed questions +in a dream. And looking at those spectral lights +that wavered and gleamed through the pale translucent +waters, I felt that this was surely but a nightmare +from which I should soon awaken. Fantastic fish, +with triangular glowing red heads and searchlight +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span>eyes projected on slender tubes, darted before our windows +in innumerable schools; but these seemed almost +familiar now by comparison with those eerie golden +lights below; and it was upon the golden illumination +that my gaze was riveted as we settled slowly down +and down. Soon it became apparent that the great +central globes were not the only source of the radiance, +for smaller points of light gradually became visible, +some of them moving, actually moving as though +borne by living hands!—and even the spaces between +the lights seemed to wear an increasing golden luster! +Yet with the golden was mingled a singular tinge of +green, a green that seemed scarcely of the waters; +and the mysterious depths were no longer black, but +olive-hued, as though the light came filtering to us +through some solid dark-green medium.</p> + +<p>But a more imminent peril was to distract our attention +from the weird lights. For some minutes I +had been vaguely aware of something peculiar in the +aspect of our compartment; yet, in my stupefied condition, +I had not been able to determine just what was +wrong. But full realization came to me when Stranahan, +pointing upward, wide-eyed with horror, suddenly +exclaimed, “Heaven preserve us, look at the ceiling!”</p> + +<p>We all looked. The ceiling was bulging inches downward, +as though the terrific pressure of the waters +were already bursting the tough steel envelope of the +X-111. And at the same time we observed that the +deck we stood on was bulging upward, and that the +bulkheads were being twisted and distorted like iron +rails warped by an earthquake.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But now came the greatest surprise of all. “By +all the saints and little devils!” burst forth the +irrepressible Stranahan, pointing downward and forgetting +the aspect of the bulkheads and deck. “There’s +a city under the sea!”</p> + +<p>“A city under the sea!” we echoed, in stupefied +amazement. And from one corner of the room came +a burst of hysterical laughter, which wavered and +broke and then died out, sounding uncannily like a +fiend’s derision.</p> + +<p>“But I tell you, there is a city under the sea!” +insisted Stranahan, noting the incredulous stares with +which we regarded him. “The Lord strike me dead +if I didn’t see its streets and houses!”</p> + +<p>Though none of us doubted but that the Lord +would indeed do as Stranahan suggested, we interpreted +his remarks as mere delirious ravings, and +continued to stare at him in petrified silence.</p> + +<p>“You see, there she is!” persisted the seaman, still +pointing downward regardless of our disbelief. And, +crossing himself piously, he continued, in awed tones, +“May the Virgin have pity on us, if that don’t look +like a church!”</p> + +<p>Stranahan’s last words had such a tone of conviction +that, though our doubts were still strong, we +could not forebear to look. And, after a single glance, +our scepticism gave place to dumbfounded amazement. +For was this not a city staring up at us from the +green-golden depths? Or at least the ruins of what +had been a city? In outlines wavy because of the dense, +shifting waters, and yet as definite of form as reflections +in a still pool, half a dozen great yellow-white +temples seemed to glimmer beneath the brilliant +lights, with massive columns, wide-reaching porticoes +and colonnades, and gracefully curving arches and +domes.</p> + +<p>Was this but a mirage? we asked ourselves. Or +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span>were these the remains of some submerged, ancient +town? Never had we heard of mirages beneath the +sea—but if this were a dead city, then why these vivid +lights? And, certainly, no living city could be +imagined in these profound watery abysses.</p> + +<p>Even as we wondered, we seemed to note a gradual +change in our movement. We were no longer sinking; +we were drifting with slow motion, almost horizontally; +and just beneath us appeared to be an impenetrable +but transparent dense, greenish wall, a wall that—had +the idea not been too preposterous—we might almost +have imagined to be of glass. Beneath this wall +gleamed no lantern-bearing, fishy eyes, but the dazzling +golden orbs and the smaller scattered lights shone +steadily with piercing radiance; and beneath us, at a +distance that may have been five hundred feet and +may have been a thousand, the vaults and domes and +columns of innumerable stone edifices shone palely and +with sallow luster. Surely, we thought, this was some +unheard-of Athens, doomed long ago by tidal wave +or volcano.</p> + +<p>Gradually, for some reason that we could not quite +explain, our horizontal motion seemed to be increasing; +and, caught apparently by some rapid deep-sea +current, we drifted with appreciable velocity above +those dim realms of green and golden. Palace after +magnificent palace, many seemingly modelled by architects +of old Greece, went gliding by beneath us; countless +statues, tall as the buildings, pointed up at us +with hands that were uncannily life-like; wide avenue +after wide avenue flashed by, and one or two colossal +theatres of old Grecian design; but no living thing +was to be seen, or, at least, so it seemed, for though +we strained our eyes, we could discern only shadows +moving in those uncertain depths, only shadows and +an occasional firefly light which zigzagged fitfully +among the buildings and which we took to be some +strange illuminated finny thing.</p> + +<p>Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, fresh terror +seized us. Perhaps it was because we realized abruptly +the full eerie horror of floating thus above a city of +the dead; perhaps it was that the whole unspeakable +ghastliness of the adventure had again flashed upon +us. Be that as it may, we began to shake and shiver +once more as though in the grip of a mastering emotion, +or as though obsessed by forethought of approaching +disaster; and muttered prayers again were heard, +and more than one silent tear was shed.</p> + +<p>But the time for tears and prayers was over. Our +motion, gradually increasing for some minutes, was +suddenly accelerated as if by some gigantic prod; we +seemed caught in some mighty movement of the +waters, some maelstrom that whirled us about and +buffeted us like a feather; a hoarse, continuous thunder +dinned in our ears, and we went shooting forward +with prodigious speed. Then came a violent jerk, +and we found ourselves tossed pellmell to all corners +of the room; then another jerk, and we were flung +back again like dice shaken in a box; then still another +jerk, more vehement than the others, and our +terrorized minds lost track of events as our vessel +lunged and heaved, then veered and stood almost on +end, then began to spin round and round, like a swift +gyrating top ... And in that whirling confusion our +senses reeled and grew blurred, and darkness came +clouding back, darkness and sleep and nothingness ...</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_3750" id="img297"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img297.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Our searchlights made us the center of attraction for myriads of scaly +things; whole schools and squadrons of fishes were gathering moth-like +in the vivid illumination thrown out by our vessel ... flitting to and +fro, circling and spiralling and doubling back and forth at incredible +speed. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II +<br> +Untraveled Depths</h2></div> + + +<p>How any of us chanced to survive is more than I +can say. In the turbulence and vertigo of that +last blind roaring moment, I had vaguely felt +that we had reached the end of all things; hence it was +almost with surprise that I found myself hazily regaining +consciousness, and discovered that I could still +move my limbs and open my eyes. At first, indeed, I +had the dim sense that I was dead and embarking upon +the Afterlife; and it was only the definite sensation +of pain in my bruised arms and legs, and the definite +sight of my comrades tumbled about in ungainly attitudes, +which convinced me that I was still on the +better known side of the grave.</p> + +<p>“Sure, and I thought we went through the very +gates of Hell!” came a familiar voice; and Stranahan +rose unsteadily to his feet, lugubriously nursing a +sprained wrist. “By all the saints in heaven, we +must be a devilish lot! The devil himself didn’t seem +able to get us!”</p> + +<p>Cheered by sound of a human voice, I followed +Stranahan’s example, and slowly and painfully arose. I +was thankful to learn that, although badly battered, +I had suffered no broken bones; and as my comrades +one by one staggered up from the deck, I was glad to +observe that none were gravely injured.</p> + +<p>Our vessel had assumed a horizontal position again, +but I felt that our surroundings were strangely altered. +While a pale luminescence seemed to transfuse the +waters on both sides and above us, yet below us the +golden lights were no longer visible, and everything +seemed impenetrably black.</p> + +<p>Of course, the Captain again ordered the searchlights +turned on—and this time with extraordinary +results. Just beneath us, actually in contact with the +bottom of the X-111, a flat, sandy reach of ground was +visible—certainly, the bottom of the sea! But this +fact was the least remarkable of all. On both sides +of us, at distances possibly of two hundred yards, a +high and geometrically regular embankment shot up +precipitously, ending in a yellow illuminated patch of +water whose nature we could scarcely surmise. The +one thing apparent was that we were in a submarine +channel, a sort of river bed in the bottom of the sea. +This fact was made evident by a current which sent +us skimming along the soft sands although our engines +had long since ceased to supply us with power.</p> + +<p>“I can’t understand it!” sighed Captain Gavison, +shaking his head dolefully. “I can’t understand it at +all! For twenty-five years I’ve studied the ocean currents, +but I’ve never before heard of anything like +this!”</p> + +<p>Just at this point our searchlights showed us a +long, lithe dark form gliding rapidly by through the +waters perhaps fifty feet above. It was as large as +the largest known shark, but was shaped like no fish +I had ever seen, tapering to a slender, canoe-like point +at both ends; and, as it passed, the water seemed to +foam and bubble strangely in its wake.</p> + +<p>“Perdition take me, if it ain’t a sea dragon!” ventured +Stranahan, who had to have his say.</p> + +<p>“Stranahan, be silent!” snapped the Captain, in high +irritation. “You’re always saying the wrong thing at +the wrong time!”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir,” admitted Stranahan, meekly, a grave expression +in his pale blue eyes.</p> + +<p>“If you want to make yourself useful, Stranahan,” +continued the Captain severely, although with less +asperity than before, “go forward, and find out how +far we are beneath sea level.”</p> + +<p>“Aye, aye, sir,” agreed Stranahan, remembering to +salute.</p> + +<p>“How far below were we at the last reading, sir?” +I inquired of the Captain, after Stranahan had vanished +through the small compartment door.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span></p> +<p>“Thirty-seven hundred feet,” returned the officer, +abruptly. “But we’ve sunk considerably since then.”</p> + +<p>It was at this juncture that Stranahan reappeared in +the doorway, a stare of blank, incredulous astonishment +on his lean, hardened face.</p> + +<p>“Well?” the Captain demanded. “How far below +are we now?”</p> + +<p>Stranahan mopped his brow as if to wipe off an invisible +perspiration. But he answered not a word.</p> + +<p>“Stranahan,” growled the exasperated officer, somewhat +after the manner of a schoolma’am to an unruly +pupil, “do you hear me? I’m asking to know how +far below we are now.”</p> + +<p>“Well, sir,” drawled Stranahan, saluting mechanically, +“wouldn’t I be telling you if I knew? But, saints in +heaven, sir, that machine must be bewitched! Else I’m +seeing things!”</p> + +<p>“Didn’t you notice the reading?” bawled the Captain.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir,” Stranahan replied, humbly. “That’s what +the trouble is, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Then how far below are we?”</p> + +<p>Stranahan hesitated as though he would rather not +speak. “Forty-four feet,” he muttered, at length.</p> + +<p>A murmur of suppressed excitement passed from +end to end of the room. “Forty-four feet!” yelled +the Captain. “You mean forty-four hundred!”</p> + +<p>“No, sir,” maintained Stranahan, quietly. “I mean +forty-four.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The Captain’s anger became uncontrollable. “Stranahan, +you must take me for a fool!” he shouted. +“This is not the moment for practical jokes! At +any other time I’d have you thrown in the brig!”</p> + +<p>“But, sir——” Stranahan started to protest.</p> + +<p>“That’s enough!” roared the officer, fairly shaking +with fury. And, turning to one of the younger men, +he commanded, “Ripley, see how far below water level +we are!”</p> + +<p>“Aye, aye, sir,” assented Ripley, and left the room.</p> + +<p>A moment later he returned with a sheepish grin +on his face.</p> + +<p>“Well, how far below are we?” demanded the Captain.</p> + +<p>But Ripley, like Stranahan, seemed reluctant to +speak. He coughed, gasped, stammered out an unintelligible +syllable or two, cleared his throat, stood gaping +at us stupidly while we looked on expectantly, and +finally blurted out, “Forty—— forty-three feet, sir!”</p> + +<p>“Forty-three feet!” bellowed the Captain. “Has the +whole crew gone crazy?”</p> + +<p>And, without further ado, Gavison himself went +lunging toward the door, and disappeared in the forward +compartment.</p> + +<p>It was several minutes before he returned. But +when he rejoined us, his face wore a look of undisguised +amazement. Furtively and almost shamefacedly +he peered at us, like one who fancies he is losing his +wits.</p> + +<p>“Well, sir, how far below are we now?” I questioned.</p> + +<p>The Captain cleared his throat, and hesitated perceptibly +before replying. “I—— I really don’t know. +I can’t understand—— I can’t understand it at all. +If the instruments aren’t out of order, we’re exactly +forty-two feet below!”</p> + +<p>I gasped stupidly; then suggested, “No doubt, sir, +the instruments are out of order.”</p> + +<p>“They are not!” denied the Captain. “I’ve tested +them!”</p> + +<p>Again the Captain hesitated briefly; then abruptly +he resumed, “Besides, as you know, there are two +instruments. They both record forty-two feet. Surely, +they can’t both be wrong in exactly the same way.”</p> + +<p>There ensued a moment of silence, during which we +stared dully at one another, filled with mute questionings +we would not dare to put into words.</p> + +<p>“But how do you explain——” I at length started to +inquire.</p> + +<p>“I don’t explain at all!” interrupted the officer. +“We’re simply running counter to all natural laws! +According to all estimates, we should be nearly a +mile deep by now!”</p> + +<p>And the Captain stood stroking his chin in grave +perplexity. Then turning suddenly to us all, he remarked, +“I can’t see how it can be true, boys; but +if we’re only forty-two feet deep, then maybe the +engines will have life enough in them to pull us out. +At least, it’s a chance worth taking.”</p> + +<p>Half an hour later, after a few instructions and +the assignment of the crew to duty, we had the +pleasure of hearing once more the churning and throbbing +of the engines. At first it promised to be a +barren pleasure indeed, for the abused machinery +gasped and sputtered as though determined upon a +permanent strike; but finally after many vain efforts, +we were greeted by the continuous buzzing of the +motors. Then we found ourselves slowly moving, at +first scarcely faster than the current, but with gradually +increasing velocity; and by degrees we felt +the deck taking on an upward slope as the nose of +the vessel was pointed toward the surface of the +waters. It was not an easy pull, for our three +flooded compartments were powerfully inclined to hold +us to the bottom; and in the beginning we made very +little progress; several times we felt our hull scraping +the ocean floor. Eventually, the engines, waxing +to their full power, began to cleave the water at gratifying +speed, and we found that we were moving +definitely, though slowly upward.</p> + +<p>Of course, hope came to us then in a powerful wave, +accompanied by black flashes of despair, for what if +impassable thousands of feet of water still rolled +above us? Impatiently we fastened our eyes on the +pressure gauges, and impatiently watched the registered +distance dwindle from forty feet to thirty-five, +from thirty-five to thirty, from thirty to twenty-five, +and from twenty-five to twenty! And now, in a sudden +wild burst of joy, we realized that probably we +were saved! A pale but unmistakable radiance was +seeping in through the glass ports, a radiance far +more distinct and reassuring than the eerie luminescence +we had noticed before. Certainly, this was +the sunlight—and in a few moments we might bask +again in the warmth of day!</p> + +<p>And as we rose from twenty feet to fifteen, and +from fifteen to ten, our hopes found increasing fuel. +The light filtering in through the windows brightened +at a rate that was more than heartening—and through +the clear waters, even without the aid of the searchlights, +we could distinguish a steep embankment, perhaps +fifty or a hundred yards away. And just above +us, almost within grasping distance, we thought we +could notice the line where water met air!</p> + +<p>But we had no intimation of the surprise that lay +in store for us. Today, as I look back upon those +events with clear perspective, it seems incredible to +me that we could actually have expected to escape at +once to the upper world. But hope had doubtless +blinded our eyes and suffering blunted our perceptions, +so that we could not understand that we were +at the beginning, rather than at the end of our adventures.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Suddenly, with a furious lunge and an unwonted, +violent burst of speed, we found ourselves +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span>launched upward toward the wavy, light-shot level that +was our goal; and now a blinding brilliance was upon +us, and for a moment we had to shade our eyes to +shield them from the dazzling change. Then, when by +degrees we were able to glance again about us, we +found that we were on the surface of the waters, actually +on the surface!—but where was this that we +had come up? and in what strange and unmapped continent? +There was scarcely one of us that could suppress +a cry of astonishment—we were afloat, not upon +the ocean, as we had expected, but rather on a wide +and rapidly flowing river—a river that washed no +shores, ever described by human tongue! Altogether, +it was one of the weirdest and most magnificent lands +imaginable; on both sides of the stream spread a flat +plain, dotted with great sea shells and greenish boulders, +which in their turn were interspersed with a +mossy brown vegetation and pale, graceful flowers +like waterlilies on solitary stalks. At measured intervals, +as far as the eye could reach, were colossal +stone columns, enriched with pastel tintings of pink +and blue; and these shot upward hundreds of feet +as though supporting some titanic dome, ending, unaccountably, +in a dark, green sky from which glared +several sun-like, golden orbs, which suffused the +scene in a mellow, unearthly luster that was beautiful, +yet terrifying and ghostly.</p> + +<p>Rubbing our eyes, like children still not half awake, +we gazed at this fantastic, lovely spectacle. Not a +word did we speak; we could not have found language +to voice our amazement. Only the Captain, out of the +whole thirty-nine of us, retained some measure of +self-possession; and though, as he afterwards confessed, +he was so dazzled that he spoke and acted +mechanically, he did retain the presence of mind to +order our vessel steered to shore and anchored.</p> + +<p>It is still a marvel to me that we had the energy +to carry out these commands. Somehow we brought +the X-111 to land; and somehow, after several false +starts, we managed to moor the ship to a large +boulder in a sort of miniature bay.</p> + +<p>And then Stranahan proved again that he possessed +an original mind. Not only was he the first to force +himself out of the opening door of the submarine, +but he carried out a large American flag, which he +planted in the ground among the brown weeds between +the boulders, while with sedate and ceremonious +gestures, he proclaimed, “In the name of the United +States of America, I take possession of this land!”</p> + +<p>But the rest of us gave no heed to his words. We +were taking deep, refreshing breaths of the pure, +clean air, which came to us almost like a mercy from +heaven after the suffocating atmosphere of the submarine. +And before we had had half the needed +time to revive our starving lungs, an astounding +phenomenon, as unexpected as the very discovery of +this spectral region, was to drive Stranahan from our +thoughts at the same time that it flooded our minds +with terror. For the golden lights above suddenly +flickered, gave out a fugitive spark or two, and with +meteor swiftness went out. We found ourselves +mantled in a starless and impenetrable blackness, more +mysterious and dreadful than the loneliest watery +abysses from which we had just escaped.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III +<br> +On Unknown Shores</h2></div> + + +<p>No sooner was the darkness complete than it +seemed to be populated with all manner of +weird and terrible things. The disappearance +of the light seemed to be the signal for the approach +of a host of evil monsters. A chorus of hoarse, unearthly +voices, loud as the bellowing of a bull, resounded +about us in a deep, continuous bass; and +throaty gruntings and savage snorts and howlings +echoed and droned as though they issued from ten +thousand pairs of giant lungs. Dazed with horror, +we stared into the unbroken gloom like doomed men; +I had visions of colossal eyes smoldering from the +blackness, and jaws that struck and tore, and gnashing +teeth that rent and shattered.</p> + +<p>But it was not a moment before our dumbfounded +inaction was over. Pellmell we flung ourselves toward +the submarine, almost failing to find it in the darkness, +and tumbling tumultuously over one another in +our haste to crowd through the narrow door. Several +of the men were shoved accidentally into the water, +and Stranahan came in dripping from an unexpected +swim; while the Captain walked with a slight limp, +newly acquired.</p> + +<p>At length, however, we were all safely within the +ship, and the doors were barred against the unknown +peril. Several of the men, still trembling with +terror, were eager to get under way directly; but this +idea the Captain emphatically vetoed, declaring that +the X-111 was no longer seaworthy. All that we could +do now was to try to locate the danger with our searchlights; +and accordingly, we wasted no time before +switching on our powerful lanterns and revolving +them in slow circles that illumined by turns every +inch of the boulder-strewn, weedy plain. All in vain. +Although the unearthly chorus could be heard even +through the closed doors and showed no sign of diminishing, +our searchlights revealed nothing that we had +not already seen.</p> + +<p>For some time we watched and waited—but nothing +happened. And at length, turning to us all with a +smile, the Captain advised, “Well, boys, we’ve all had +a pretty hard time of it. Suppose we just forget +about that racket out there and try to take a little +rest.”</p> + +<p>We were all glad enough to follow the Captain’s +suggestion. Several of the men were commissioned to +take turns standing watch; and the rest of us were +not long in seeking much needed sleep. Within a few +minutes, the deep and regular breathing from the +nearby bunks informed me that my companions had +temporarily forgotten the day’s adventures.</p> + +<p>For my own part, exhausted as I was, I could not +so readily find relief. The events not only of the past +few hours, but of many months, came trooping before +my mind in continuous blurred procession; I was +obsessed by my own imaginings, and from a dim half-consciousness, +I would awaken time after time +to a vivid re-experiencing of some almost forgotten +episode. And, strangely enough, my reveries were +concerned mainly with a single phase of my life—the +phase I was now living. My youth and early manhood +might almost not have existed, for all that I +remembered of them now; but I did sharply recall +how, at the outbreak of war more than a year ago, +I had decided abruptly upon the action that had +plunged me into my present plight. Resigning my +position at Northeastern University, where I had been +serving as instructor in classic Greek, I had enlisted +in the navy, and had promptly been sent to an officers’ +training school, from which I had emerged as +Ensign. Friends had commended me upon my patriotism, +yet it was not patriotism, but rather the +greed for adventure, that had motivated my decision; +and now, as I looked back, it seemed ironic to me +that my previous uneventful days had been so much +more pleasant than any of my adventures. There was, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span>however, one factor which had served to make those +days enjoyable, a factor without which even the most +active life would be barren indeed—and that factor +was one which could have no place in wartime. Frequently, +as I tossed and struggled fitfully on my narrow +bunk, there flashed before me out of the darkness +the blue eyes and laughing face of one whom I could +scarcely recall without a pang; and I lived again with +Alma Huntley those sparkling days among the Vermont +hills, when she was to me all that life was, and +I won her promise of devotion among the scented pines +and to the music of rippling waters ... That day +was long past, yet how actually it came back to mind! +And how acutely memory brought back a later day, +when her cheeks were moist and I held her in a +minute-long embrace, and mutual vows and soft murmurings +were exchanged, and then there came the +sharpness of “Farewell!” and she was gone, lost amid +a blur of faces, and I marched sedately on while the +world was blotted out in loneliness and grief ... Oh, +why had I left her, plunging thus among these unknown +horrors?... Fervently, as I lay there listening +to the uncanny bellowings from the ghostly world +without, I longed to reach out my arms to her, to +hold her warmly, to speak to her, and to hear her +speak, if only one loved word....</p> + +<p>But even the most intense yearning may be blotted +out by sleep. And at last, after hours, I lost my +memories in unconsciousness—an intermittent unconsciousness, +broken by disturbed dreams and vague +images of death and disaster....</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I opened my eyes to find a bright, golden light +pouring in through the unshuttered windows. Surprised, +I leapt to my feet, and discovered that the +great mysterious golden orbs were shining as before +from far above, the boulder-strewn plain glimmered as +clearly as at first, the massive columns were still fairy-like +in their tints of pale pink and blue, while the +hideous bestial noises had unaccountably ceased.</p> + +<p>Hastily I dressed and rejoined my companions. I +found them gathered about in a little circle, earnestly +talking; and they welcomed me gladly into their discussion, +the subject of which I at once surmised. For +what but our mysterious plight could now occupy our +minds and tongues? None of us, as yet, had more +than the faintest inkling of where we were or what +had befallen us. That we were in some sort of cavern +beneath the sea was the belief of the Captain and +several of the men, but this region seemed so oddly +unlike a cavern that the explanation was not generally +accepted; and the more superstitious were inclined +to hold that we had been bewitched into some +sort of supernatural, goblin realm. For my own part, +I could hardly understand how we could be in a submarine +cavern without being completely flooded; and +much less could I understand how we could be in any +known land above seas.</p> + +<p>Obviously, the only likely source of information was +through exploration. And since it was not possible +to conduct any explorations with the aid of the disabled +X-111, the Captain took the only other available +course—which was to order some of the men to set +forth into the Unknown on foot, determine the lay of +the land and return as soon as possible with whatever +tidings they might gather.</p> + +<p>Stangale and Howlett, being the most experienced +veterans, were selected to make the initial attempt. In +a few minutes, they set off cheerfully together, +equipped with firearms and a day’s supply of food and +drink, with instructions to return within twenty-four +hours at the latest.</p> + +<p>Twelve or fifteen hours went by while we waited +impatiently; the great golden orbs flashed out as mysteriously +as before, and for eight or ten hours we +slept; then, upon awakening, we found the lights still +shining as brightly as ever, and noted that it was time +for the return of our two scouts. We watched in +vain for their arrival. Not a moving thing greeted us +from the unchanging, bouldery plain; hours went by; +excited speculation gave way to more excited speculation, +and wild rumor to still wilder rumor; the +suspense became tantalizing, and yet there was nothing +to do but wait. Had the men lost their way? or +had they met with some disastrous adventure? or had +the savage inhabitants of these wild realms seized +and imprisoned them? To these questions there was +no answer, though many were the conjectures. When +the darkness had fallen upon us once again, and once +again we had slept and awakened to find the golden +light restored, we knew that it was time to set out in +search of the missing ones.</p> + +<p>This time the Captain called for volunteers to invade +the Unknown, which, as he warned us, might be +dangerous beyond all expectations; and after half the +crew had offered themselves for the adventure, his +choice fell upon Ripley and Stranahan.</p> + +<p>It was with genuine regret that I watched these +two gallant seamen set forth amid the reeds by the +river’s brink, to disappear at length among the boulders +and behind the great stone columns. Somehow, as +I lost sight of them, I had a sense that we might not +see them again so soon. I was sad as though with +a forewarning of disaster; and, as I reflected upon +the pitfalls and dangers they might have to face, I +experienced more than one twinge of vicarious fear.</p> + +<p>Worst of all, my misgivings seemed to be justified +by time. Twelve hours passed, and the explorers had +not returned; twenty-four hours, and there was still +no word from them, though they had been given explicit +orders to be back. With grim, set eyes, the +Captain stood alone by the river bank, gazing sternly +into that wilderness which had already engulfed four +of his men; and the rest of the crew stood chattering +fearfully among themselves, declaring that this land +was “haunted,” “spooky,” and “thick with devils.”</p> + +<p>It was curious to note how, in these weird, unknown +domains, outworn superstitions were being reborn; +how ready the men were to believe in goblins, +dragons, sea serpents, werewolves and all manner of +fantastic monsters. Even the more enlightened of us +seemed about to forget all that civilization had taught +us; and, in the failure of all that we had been accustomed +to cling to, we were clutching at a savage, +terrorizing faith in incredible and ghostly things.</p> + +<p>By the time that Stranahan and Ripley had been +absent forty-eight hours, the crew was in a state of +impatience verging upon madness. The fluttering of +a feather would have sent them scampering like frightened +horses; the buzzing of a bee might have been +the signal for spasms of dread. On one occasion, indeed, +the chirping of some cricket-like insect did put +half a dozen of the men into a panic; and on another +occasion three or four of them turned pale merely upon +hearing the swishing and flapping of a small fish in +the river.</p> + +<p>It was when the excitement was nearing its highest +that the Captain called once more for volunteers to +search for the missing men. But so deep-rooted and +paralyzing was the general alarm that only two of us +offered our names—young Phil Rawson and myself. I +do not know what strange wave of courage had suddenly +emboldened this timorous recruit while less callow +men held back. For my own part, I must admit +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span>that I volunteered from the mere desire to escape +from ennui and the half-frenzied rabble of my comrades. +But, whatever our motives, we were promptly +to be launched into adventures that were not only to +test our hardihood, but to prove interesting beyond +anything we could have imagined.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_5000" id="img302"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img302.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + —and from a narrow focus of flame, two huge burning green eyes would +shoot forth, darting cold malice at us through the glass port.... Or +else a tiny flattened disk, softly phosphorescent throughout and marked +on one surface by two bright beady eyes, would come floating in our +direction like a pale apparition.... + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV +<br> +A Tour of Exploration</h2></div> + + +<p>Rawson and I had been gone not half an hour +when the aspect of the country began suddenly +to change. It was as though we had passed +some indistinguishable boundary, for the boulders were +rapidly becoming less numerous, and at length disappeared +entirely, while at the same time the odd, mossy +vegetation became astonishingly rich and profuse. Or, +to be precise, it gave place to a different vegetation +entirely, an unearthly vegetation, almost too strange +for belief. At the risk of being accused of fabrication, +I must describe those incredible plants: the creepers +with long leaves of lace-like brown, which twined +in dainty wreaths and veils about the olive-green boles +of limbless trees, the bushes, shaped like starfishes, and +of the hue of dried grass, with diaphanous flowers +that a breath might have blown away; the cinnamon-brown +reeds that rose to double a man’s height, ending +in a profusion of cucumber-shaped fruits; the +peculiar, abundant growth that looked at a distance +like a great earthen jar, but proved upon closer examination +to be the hollow container of a species of +milk-white down that grew in long and silken strands +like untended hair.</p> + +<p>So dense was the foliage that we would not have +been able to force our way through it, and would +not have dared to make the attempt, had it not been +for a sharply cut path which wound in leisurely curves +and undulations close to the river’s brink. It was not +like one of those paths which nature occasionally plans, +or which are due to the tracks of wild beasts, for it had +a regularity of design and an evenness of width that +proved it to be unmistakably the work of man. Yet +what man could have penetrated before us into these +uncanny sunless depths? At the mere thought that +others might have preceded us we involuntarily shuddered; +we were half convinced that we were intruders +into a tomb closed ages ago. But despite this conviction, +we kept a constant, half-terrified outlook for +sign of human presence.</p> + +<p>It was not long before our vigilance was rewarded. +Abruptly the path before us widened, until it was +of the size of a broad highway; and above the dense +masses of vegetation, we beheld in astonishment the +looming marble pillars of a Grecian colonnade. Toward +this the road led in long and graceful curves; +and it was but a few minutes before we found ourselves +at the entrance of a covered walk or “stoa” +that brought back to me vivid memories of “the glory +that was Greece.” On both sides of us the palely-tinted +Ionic columns rose to a majestic height, daintily +ornamented at the base with the acanthus design, and +curving in symmetrical proportions that brought to +mind the perfection of the Parthenon; while the marble +floor on which we walked and the marble ceiling above +us were frescoed with figures that seemed drawn bodily +from the romance of the ancient world. They were +not wholly Greek. I knew these pictures of sportive +mermaids and lightning-hurling gods and dragon-slaying +heroes and misty caves of twilight and the throbbing +lyre; but there was something suggestively Greek +about them all; and steeped as I was in the lore of +ancient Hellas, I had the singular feeling that the +hand of time had been turned backward two thousand +years or more.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span></p> +<p>This feeling was accentuated when, having followed +the covered walk for a distance of several hundred +yards, I observed that it led to a magnificent, many-columned +edifice which could pass for nothing if not +for a temple of the ancient gods. It was a structure +of solid marble, white marble artistically varied with +veilings of black; its pillars were massive as the +trunks of the giant redwoods I had seen in the California +forests years before, and like those redwoods, +produced an effect of solemnity and awe; but all was +so perfectly designed and proportioned that, while the +building occupied an area perhaps as large as the +average city block, it gave an effect less of magnitude +than of artistic completeness and beauty. No living +thing was visible about the precincts of this amazing +temple, nor would I have expected any living thing in +what I had come subconsciously to regard as a realm +of the dead; but I was overawed at thought of this +abandoned loveliness, and paused at some distance to +regard it reflectively, mentally asking whether it was +some still undiscovered survival from classical times or +whether I was but seeing a vision.</p> + +<p>A suppressed exclamation from young Rawson +brought me back to reality—or, at least, to the unbelievable +thing that passed for reality. In the very +center of the swift-rolling river, the banks of which +paralleled the colonnade at a distance of a dozen paces, +I observed a low-lying, gliding form, gracefully elevated +at both extremes, which at the first terrified +glimpse I took to be some fabulous monster, but which +I soon recognized as some sort of boat or canoe. Before +I had had time for a half-composed glance at it, +it had gone speeding out of view; but in its fast-moving +frame, I thought I could distinguish half a +dozen dusky bobbing shapes, and half a dozen pairs +of oars that reached out rhythmically, and noiselessly +clove the dark waters. Later, when I had had time +for reflection, I was to recognize this strange craft as +akin to the shadowy apparition, the unknown sea monster +which had so terrified us in the submarine; but +at present I was overwhelmed by the knowledge that +this weird place was actually peopled, peopled by living +men whom at any moment we might meet face to +face!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>We had scarcely recovered from this surprise when +an even greater surprise flashed upon us. Out of +the windows of the temple, which we had believed long +closed to human sound, a strange, thin music began +to float, serenely beautiful and of elfin remoteness and +charm.... And while, entranced, we listened to those +magical strains, there came the fluttering of a butterfly +gown, and from the temple doors issued a shimmering, +dancing form, followed by a score of other +dancing, shimmering forms—scarcely human, we believed, +so ethereal did they seem in the flashing and +waving of arms, the swift rhythm of feet, and the play +and interplay of pale blue and gold and pink and +lavender and white from their flowing and multi-colored +robes. A singular iridescence seemed to overspread +them, almost a halo such as may envisage a +goddess; and, gaping and enthralled, we gazed on them +as men might gaze on Venus were she to return to +earth. Now down the long colonnade they started, +tripping toward us with birdlike gestures and the +airy unreality of perfect time and movement; and, +fearful to disturb the vision by our gross presence, +we hid ourselves behind the great stone columns, peeping out furtively +as though they might vanish bubble-like at our gaze. But, apparently +absorbed in their dance, they continued gracefully toward us, not +glancing to right or to left, and catching no hint of our +intrusion—until, as the procession drew more near and +the charm of the music more compelling, I peered out +too incautiously from behind my marble bulwark, and +found myself staring full into the face of the most +ravishingly beautiful woman I had ever beheld. There +was a quality about her face that seemed to mark it +as not of the earth, the Madonnas of old paintings +have something of that look; and the most perfect +womanly bust that sculptor has ever conceived; but +there was also a vividness and an animation that no +mere painting or statue has ever shared, together with +an air of such innocence, such candor and kindliness +of soul that, had I been a believer in angels, I might +have gone down straightway upon my knees.</p> + +<p>But all this I beheld in the space between two heartbeats. Even as +the vision greeted me it vanished; the beautiful clear eyes were +distended with terror upon their first contact with mine; there came a +scream of fright, followed by a chorus of screams; then a scurrying of +fast-retreating feet, and the bright, fairy-like shapes had vanished; +and the empty river flowed silently past the empty colonnade and temple.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V +<br> +The Mysterious City</h2></div> + + +<p>The next few hours showed us a continuous amazing +panorama. The marble temple proved to be +but one of a series connected by long and graceful +colonnades; and in the central structures, the Ionic +and Doric architecture were curiously mingled with a +type that seemed scarcely Grecian at all, since it admitted +of all variety of arches and curves unknown +to the builders of classical Hellas. Most remarkable +of all, perhaps, were the gorgeously ornamented vases—some +of them six or eight feet in height—which +were of a style akin to those excavated from the ruins +of old Ilium. But what caught my eye even more +strikingly were the statues that occasionally appeared +in niches along the marble galleries or in alcoves of +the temples—statues that would surely not have been +unworthy of a Praxiteles, since even Praxiteles could +not have surpassed the symmetry of form and the unstrained +reality of pose and expression with which +these unknown artists had depicted their wrestling +heroes and dancing fauns and stern-browed old men +and queenly maidens and gracious youths. For one +who had been nurtured on modern art, these busts and +marbles were as old paintings would be to him who +had known only sketches in black and white; there +was none of that snowy coldness or bronze severity of +hue which are so common in sculpture today, but all +of the statues had been skilfully tinted with the complexion +of life, and such was the verisimilitude, that +several times I started in surprise on beholding what +I took to be a living man but which proved to be only +an image of stone. I was interested, moreover, to note +that none of the sculptured features had that peculiar +hardness and selfish keenness so common among the +men I had known, but that all seemed suffused with +a clear and tranquil spirituality; and every lyric impulse +within me was awakened when I observed on +many of the faces of the women that same unearthly +Madonna look which had graced the butterfly-gowned +dancing maiden.</p> + +<p>But, of course, Rawson and I did not allow our +pleasure in the statuary to keep our minds from more +vital subjects. Above all, we maintained a constant +lookout for the inhabitants of these queer regions, +for we could no longer suppress the suspicion that unseen +furtive eyes were peeping out at us from behind +every pillar and wall. For my own part, I had more +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span>than one qualm that I did not care to admit, and +secretly wished myself back on the X-111; and as for +Rawson—I found that youth afflicted with far too +much imagination for an adventurer, and repeatedly +begged him to keep his fantastic fears to himself.</p> + +<p>But there was no repressing the excitable young +Rawson. When he was not drawing pictures of the +serpents and wild beasts that probably infested the +thickets beside the temples, he would be diverting me +with the most grewsome ghost stories I had ever +heard; and he went so far as to suggest that the +dancing girls had been only airy apparitions, while +the brilliant golden lights above us had no more reality +than a will-o’-the-wisp. Evidently he had been too +much nurtured on fiction of the blood-and-terror +variety, for only a devotee of the most hectic adventure +tales could have imagined, as he did, that our +pathway was beset with robbers’ lairs, pirates’ dens, +scorpions and crocodiles, head-hunting cannibals, siren +women luring us to destruction, and murderous desperadoes +of a thousand ilks and guilds.</p> + +<p>Fortunately for my peace of mind, I heard not +half of Rawson’s ravings, for my interest in the wayside +architecture served as a distraction. For two +or three hours I was occupied with inspecting the +gracefully connecting galleries of five or six temples; +and, having passed the last of the group, I was absorbed +in my observations of a long, marble colonnade +which extended apparently for miles in a straight +line amid the gray and brown fantastic vegetation.</p> + +<p>And now it was that I made the most startling +discovery of the day. At intervals along the floor +of the colonnade, which was of a red and yellow +mosaic of baked and hardened clay, appeared deeply-graven +inscriptions which I paused eagerly to survey. +At first I thought that they were in no known language, +but it was not long before I had detected a +certain resemblance between the characters and those +of the ancient Greek. Profiting from my collegiate +study of that tongue, I puzzled over the words while +Rawson stood by impatiently urging me to be off; and +one by one I succeeded in identifying the letters with +those of the Greek alphabet! Not every one of the +characters, it is true, could be recognized with assurance, +but enough of them were unmistakably Greek +to give me a clue to the whole; and at length I found +myself making a translation that might solve the +entire mystery of this extraordinary land.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But the process was a slow and plodding one, and +I did not make the progress I had expected. Even +though the letters were clear enough, the meaning of +the words was not. Evidently this was not the Greek +of Plato or Thucydides, in which I had been thoroughly +schooled; but rather it was a language that was to +classical Greek what Chaucer is to modern English. +Still, I was not completely discouraged, for I did +manage to make out an occasional word, though not +at first enough to give meaning to any passage. All +in all, considering the limited time at my disposal, +my efforts seemed futile; and I was about to yield to +Rawson’s importunities and give up this diverting +study for further exploration, when suddenly I made a +successful discovery. I must have come upon a passage +simpler than the rest, for unexpectedly half a sentence +flashed upon me with clear-cut meaning at once so +striking and so enigmatical that I stopped short with +a little cry of surprise.</p> + +<p>“Placed here in the year Three Thousand of the +Submergence,” ran the words, which occurred in large +lettering at the base of a statue of a strong man +trampling down the ruins of what looked like a steel +building. “Placed here ...” at this point were several +words that I could not make out—“in celebration +of the Good Destruction.”</p> + +<p>“In celebration of the Good Destruction!” I repeated, +after translating the words aloud. “Sounds as if written +by a madman!”</p> + +<p>“Maybe you didn’t read it right,” commented Rawson.</p> + +<p>This suggestion, of course, I ignored. “Wonder +what the Submergence can mean,” I continued, meditatively. +“That doesn’t seem to make sense, either.”</p> + +<p>“No, it doesn’t,” Rawson admitted, with a thoughtful +drawl. “Everything down here seems sort of +topsy-turvy. Suppose we go on and see what else +we can find out.”</p> + +<p>I nodded a hesitating assent, and we proceeded on +our way in silence. But, though we did not speak, +our thoughts were active indeed, for more than ever +I was convinced that somehow, unaccountably, we were +amid the remains of a Grecian or pre-Grecian countryside. +Had Socrates or the radiant Phobus himself +stepped out of the grave to greet me, I would not +have been surprised; and I more than half expected +to catch a glimpse of Athena’s robe from behind the +dark shrubbery, or to see the winged feet of Hermes +or hear the clear notes of Pan.</p> + +<p>But neither Pan nor Hermes nor any of their +famed kindred presented themselves upon the scene. +And after walking at a good pace for more than an +hour along the marble colonnade, I forgot those interesting +individuals in contemplation of a scene that +left me gaping in greater astonishment than if I had +invaded a council of the high Olympian gods. For +some minutes a series of huge templed domes and +columns, dimly visible through rifts in the vegetation, +had attracted my attention and aroused Rawson’s misgivings; +but neither of us had had any intimation +of the sight that was to greet us when at length we +came to the end of the colonnade.</p> + +<p>Suddenly we saw a clay road sloping down sharply +beneath us, and found ourselves gazing out over a +valley more dazzling than we had ever before known +or imagined. Through its center flowed the great +river, with gentle loops and twinings; above us, as +before, reached the dark-green sky illumined with +the golden suns; and an innumerable multitude of +palely tinted columns, like the tree trunks of some +colossal forest, shot upward to that sky as though +to support it. But what were truly remarkable were +the buildings that adorned the plain. On both sides +of the river they stretched, far to the distance and +out of sight, palaces of white marble and of black +marble, of jade and of alabaster, some with an elegant +symmetry of Greek columns, some with a solidity +of masonry that seemed half Egyptian, some with an +almost Oriental profusion of spires and turrets, of +porticoes and balconies and arches and domes. But +all alike were reared in perfect taste, and with perfect +regard to the style of their neighbors; all alike faced +on wide avenues, flowery lanes or lawny and statue-dotted +parks; all appeared but parts of a single design +which, when seen from above, was like some +consummate tapestry patterned by a master artist.</p> + +<p>As Rawson and I stood staring at this matchless +scene, I suddenly recalled the steeples and towers of +that city we had seen beneath us in the submarine. +A strange similarity in the outlines of the buildings +impressed itself upon me—then in a flash it came to +me that the two cities were one and the same! And +at that instant I shuddered, amazed and horrified at +the abrupt solution of the mystery ... It was as the +Captain had suggested; we were indeed beneath the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span>ocean, thousands of feet beneath the ocean, in some +cavern inexplicably spared from the waters and +haunted by the ghosts and relics of some ancient and +vanished race!</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI +<br> +The Temple of the Stars</h2></div> + + +<p>Far from echoing the agitation I felt, Rawson +seemed actually pleased at the turn of events. It +piqued his imagination to think that we should be +so far beneath the sea; and he conjured up all manner +of alluring possibilities that testified more to his +youth than to his common sense. He suggested that +we were the discoverers of a great and magnificent +empire which we should explore, conquer and then +annex to the United States; and he formed his plans +regardless of the probability that we should never see +the United States again, and almost as though there +were regular transportation facilities to the upper +world. The sheer scientific difficulties—the apparent +impossibility that a cavern free from water could exist +beneath the ocean, the even more striking impossibility +that human beings could inhabit such a cavern—seemed +to make little impression upon the illogical +mind of Rawson; and he was convinced that only by +the rarest good fortune had we been entombed in these +fantastic and dream-like depths.</p> + +<p>So intense was his enthusiasm, that he urged me to +descend at once with him to the many-templed city. +But I did not willingly accede; I pointed out that it +would be wiser to hasten back to the submarine, inform +Captain Gavison of what we had seen, and return +here—if we returned at all—in greater numbers +than at present. Besides, as I reminded Rawson, the +Captain had ordered us back within twenty-four hours; +and, if we dallied, some mischance might delay us until +too late.</p> + +<p>Had Rawson but had a dim prevision of the black +hours ahead, he would certainly have accepted my +suggestions. But, perversely enough, he seemed to be +almost without his usual fears just when those fears +might have proved most useful. And since of course +I could not allow myself to be outdone in bravery by +a mere boy, I had to signify a grudging assent to his +proposal. I must confess, however, that my motives +were not unmixed, for pictures of the iridescent dancing +girl kept flitting before my mind and would give +me no peace; and I may have had hopes (I will not +say that I did) of meeting her again in this city of +fountains and palaces.</p> + +<p>But not a living creature could be seen stirring in +the avenues of that strange town as Rawson and I +began our slow descent. Once or twice we thought we +saw the glimmer of a light or the flash of some moving +thing in the far distance, but we could not be +sure; and the silence and the immobility gave the +general effect of a city of the dead. There was something +ghostly about that calm, still atmosphere, something +that might have made me turn back in alarm +had it not been for the presence of Rawson; but there +was also something soothingly peaceful, a charmed +quiet that brought to mind the fairy tales I had +heard in childhood, and in particular that enchanted +palace where the Sleeping Beauty had slumbered for a +hundred years. Here, I thought, one might dream away +a hundred years or a thousand, and never know that +time had passed at all; here, conceivably, the ancient +world might lapse into the modern, and the modern +into the far future without apparent change.</p> + +<p>My reveries were interrupted by our arrival at the +gates of the city. We passed beneath a high arch +almost Roman in style, with marble base and facade +ornamented with strange blue sea-shells; then, proceeding +along a winding cement walk inlaid with mother-of-pearl, +we approached the most stately palace of all. +In architecture, it was totally dissimilar to anything +we had ever before observed: although perhaps five +hundred feet in length, it was as much like a great +statue as like a building; it had none of those features +common in edifices for the shelter of man and his +works, but seemed to have been erected exclusively as +a piece of art. Its form was that of a woman, a +woman reclining at full length, her breast to the +ground, her head slightly elevated, propped meditatively +upon her palm; and the structure as a whole +had been planned with such subtlety and skill, with +such consummate attention to every detail of the +woman’s position, form and garments and to the +beatific and yet lifelike expression of the face, that +Rawson and I could only pause in bewildered silence +and stare and stare as though this work had been +created through no human agency but by some superhuman +master hand.</p> + +<p>In that first spellbound moment, it did not occur +to us that there might be an entrance to the palace. +But at length, where a lock of the woman’s dark, +sculptured hair fell across her breast, we noted a +little doorway so skilfully concealed that it had originally +escaped our attention. Since the gate swung +wide upon the hinges, curiosity, of course, prompted +us to glance within—and with results that proved but +a further spur to curiosity. All that we could see +was a pale, golden glitter against a background of +black; but imagination supplied that which our physical +sight could not reveal, and we had visions of +gorgeous halls and corridors which we longed to inspect.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Had our courage been sufficient, we would have +entered at once. The idea, in fact, came to both +of us simultaneously, but at first neither of us could +summon up the requisite boldness. There seemed to +be something mysteriously, almost irresistibly, attractive +about that twinkling darkness, something that held +us fascinated and forbade us to leave; and for several +minutes we stood hesitating, and straining our eyes, +yet making no motion to invade the unknown.</p> + +<p>Then, when the suspense had become so protracted +as to be ridiculous, Rawson surprised me by exclaiming, +suddenly, “I’m not afraid!” And at the same time +he slapped his sides energetically as though to prove +to himself that he had no fears. “I’m going right +in!” he announced, with what I thought to be unnecessary +loudness. And, feeling for his revolver with +a hand that trembled perceptibly, Rawson strode resolutely +into the building.</p> + +<p>There was nothing for me to do but follow. But, +somehow, I could not help wishing that my friend had +not been so rash; and, somehow, I foresaw that we +might not be able to leave this strange edifice so +easily as we had entered.</p> + +<p>But, once within, we forgot our misgivings in contemplation +of the magnificent scene around us. I +had been in luxurious galleries before; I had seen the +most ornate salons of the Old World, and the most +lavishly bedecked of mosques and cathedrals; but +never had I viewed or imagined so utterly sublime a +hall. Here was a new art of the interior decorator, +an art that seemed wholly without parallel in human +experience; I was scarcely conscious that I was indoors, +but rather felt myself to be in the open, in +the open at night, under the wide and glittering +heavens, with the light of innumerable stars above me, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span>and the dim cloudy arch of the Milky Way. How +the artist had produced his effect was more than I +could say, but somehow, in his limited space, he had +given the impression of vastness and distance, of the +mystery and infinite silence of the starlight; and as I +stood there entranced, I could almost imagine that I +was back again on earth, gazing out into the night-skies +as I had gazed so often from the Vermont hills +with Alma Huntley.... And yet, perfectly patterned +as they were, these skies were not the skies I had +known. As I stood there watching, I became aware +that certain of the constellations were slightly, almost +indistinguishably out of position, the stars not quite +in their proper relations to one another—and why +this was, I could not attempt to say. But more striking +was another alteration that had been wrought deliberately +and with subtle artistry: above the stars, and +about the thin girdle of the Milky Way, were filmy +formations of light, which—perhaps it was only my +imagination—gradually resolved themselves into tenuous +human figures. One, an exquisitely graceful +woman, seemed to be playing upon some lyre-like +instrument; another, a youth with head uplifted as +though in enraptured contemplation, impressed me as +the spirit of all human aspiration; and still others, no +less consummately outlined, appeared to represent the +hopes and loves and immortal yearnings of man.</p> + +<p>But while I remained rooted there in ecstatic contemplation, +filled with wonder at the paradox of beholding +the stars thousands of feet beneath the sea, +there occurred one of those changes by which occasionally +a beautiful dream becomes distorted into a +nightmare. Imagine the consternation of one who, +while gazing at the cloudless night-skies, finds blackness +suddenly sweeping all about him—a blackness that +has quenched the stars as a storm might quench a +candle flame. Such consternation was ours, and even +greater horror, for without so much as a flicker of +warning, the lights of the seeming heavens flashed +out, and darkness stretched above us and all about +us, a darkness so all-consuming that not even a +shadow remained. With half-suppressed cries of terror, +Rawson and I turned to one another, each totally +invisible in the blank night; and before we had had +time for coherent speech, there came a rattling and +a slamming from behind us, and we knew that the +one possible exit had been closed and that we were +prisoners in this unknown place.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII +<br> +Trapped</h2></div> + + +<p>For a moment we were like rats newly trapped. +All trace of reason left us in our sudden furious +terror; we began to scurry blindly to and fro, to +and fro in the darkness, panic-stricken in our frenzy +to escape. Where we were dashing we did not know, +nor whether we might not be rushing into greater +peril still; we collided more than once with the unseen +walls, stumbled over invisible objects on the +floor, and went fumbling about in long loops and +circles—but all to no avail. The marvel is not that +we accomplished nothing, but that we did not break +our necks, for so utterly fear-maddened were we that +it was minutes before we had any thought of ceasing +our mad perambulations and considering our predicament +calmly and rationally.</p> + +<p>If I can judge aright from my confused memories +of those terrible moments, it was the sound of a +heavy body falling that shocked me back to my senses. +The fall, which was thudding and resonant, was accompanied +by a suppressed oath, which seemed to +issue from far to my rear, but which none the less +sounded familiar.</p> + +<p>“Rawson!” I cried, stopping short, and forgetting +caution in my alarm. “Are you hurt?”</p> + +<p>“No, I’m not hurt,” came the drawled reply, as +though from a tremendous distance. And then, after +a groan, “No, I’m all right.”</p> + +<p>“Where are you?” I yelled back. “How can I get +to you?”</p> + +<p>Rawson shouted directions, and I went groping toward +him. The process was by no means easy, for I +was guided wholly by the senses of touch and hearing, +and more than once I came into painful contact with +some unforeseen obstacle. But after some minutes I +found myself grasping a solid, yielding mass which I +recognized as the arm of my friend.</p> + +<p>Rawson was as glad as I of our reunion. Somehow, +now that we were together again, we both felt much +stronger and the unknown foe seemed less redoubtable. +Yet that foe seemed terrible enough as we sat +there on the floor conversing in whispers. Although +we had regained some slight composure, the falling +of a pin might have sent us off into convulsions; and +our imaginations were busy painting grotesque and +shadowy horrors.</p> + +<p>“What can it mean?” murmured Rawson, as he sat +with his hand upon my knee, as though to reassure +himself by the mere physical fact of my presence. +“What do you think it can mean?”</p> + +<p>I declined to venture any direct reply, although +suggestions sufficiently dreadful were piling up in my +brain.</p> + +<p>“Remember how Stranahan and the others were +lost,” continued Rawson, solemnly, as if the explanation +of their disappearance were now self-evident.</p> + +<p>“I don’t see what that has to do with us,” I +argued. And then, with a forced attempt at bravado, +“Don’t worry, Rawson. Chances are everything will +turn out all right.”</p> + +<p>“I hope so,” conceded Rawson, in a tone indicating +that he rather wished things would turn out badly. +And, by way of fanning my courage, he entertained +me with the most ghastly stories he could imagine—stories +of men trapped in coal mines, men lost in +labyrinthine caves, men entombed in deep pits or immured +in lightless dungeons. To all these tales I +listened with growing uneasiness, meanwhile racking +my mind to remember a parallel to our own predicament. +But I could think of nothing that even remotely +resembled it; and, having nothing to say, I answered +Rawson only in monosyllables.</p> + +<p>Perhaps owing to the terseness of my replies—or +perhaps because of the terror of our plight—his loquacious +mood soon deserted him. It was not long before +we had lapsed into silence; and it was minutes before +either of us spoke again. Meantime the darkness was +so intense, the silence so complete and the stillness so +absolute that I was persecuted with all manner of +fantastic fears. What unknown horrors were brewing +in these serene depths? What grotesque or malevolent +or even murderous things? In my anxiety, I +peopled the gloom with monstrous shapes of a thousand +varieties, with slimy, crawling serpents, with +lithe, crouching panthers, with great apes, whose +brawny arms could strangle a man, and—worst of all—with +slinking, barbarous humans that crept up slyly +to seize and stab one in the dark.</p> + +<p>By degrees my imaginings were becoming so grewsome +that I could no longer endure them. And, merely +to find relief from myself, I whispered, “Come, +Rawson, it’s senseless to sit here doing nothing. +Maybe we can find some exit, if only we look carefully +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span>enough. What do you say? Shall we try anyhow?”</p> + +<p>“I say it’s a good idea,” assented Rawson, rising +cautiously to his feet.</p> + +<p>Without a word I followed his example, and for +the next half hour we groped laboriously along the +walls, which we found to be of an ice-cold stone, as +smooth as polished marble, absolutely perpendicular +and apparently without a flaw or break. Our movements +were slow and even agonizing, for the blackness +was still unbroken, and in that hushed, mysterious +place, the slightest sound would send sharp tremors +running down our spines. Even the grating of our +own echoes against the floor seemed to take on a +sinister, uncanny meaning; the whispered tones of our +own voices seemed unhallowed and ghostly; while the +occasional rapping of our fists against the walls or +our clattering contact with some unseen obstacle sent +the echoes ringing and reverberating with unearthly, +hollow notes until our overwrought nerves quivered +at the rustling of our clothing or at the sound of +our own breath.</p> + +<p>Possibly two or three times we encircled that great +hall—in the darkness it was impossible to tell where +our starting place had been—but we could find no +indication of any passageway or door. And at length, +exhausted by the strain, we crouched on the floor +near the wall and waited miserably for something to +happen. Almost anything that could have happened—no +matter how grim and terrible—would have been a +relief; but the quiet was undisturbed, while we sat +tense and alert, with fast-throbbing hearts, and eyes +that searched and searched the gloom in vain. Neither +of us spoke now; and the garrulous Rawson seemed +wrapped up in his own dismal thoughts. How long a +period passed thus I cannot say; my watch may have +recorded whole hours, but certainly my thoughts recorded +whole years, for I have lived years that knew +less of suspense, uneasiness and dread.</p> + +<p>But at last, after endless waiting, relief came with +disconcerting suddenness. As though by the turning +of an electric switch, a dazzlingly brilliant light flashed +into view above us—a light that contrasted strangely +with the stars of some hours before, and that shone +blindingly in a pale blue field like the sun in the +cloudless heavens. Then, while we stood shading our +eyes from the glaring illumination, we observed just +opposite us, the gate through which we had doubtless +entered. And with surprise we noted that it moved +slowly upon its hinges; that slowly and as if by +magic it made clear the way of escape!</p> + +<p>“The place is enchanted!” muttered Rawson, in +dazed fascination. “Come, let’s get out of here!”</p> + +<p>But when, overjoyed at our rescue, we started toward +the gate, an unexpected obstacle intruded. Half +a dozen of the queerest beings we had ever seen came +crowding into our path—tall, butterfly-like creatures +with faces almost waxen pale and long capes and +robes of pink and blue and lavender and yellow pastel +tints. All had long, flowing light red or golden hair +which reached at least to the shoulders; one, apparently +the oldest, wore an ample beard, but the majority +were smooth shaven; none had headgear of any type, +and all were shod with sandals covered with green +moss, above which for several inches the unclothed +legs were visible. From the blank, amazed stares with +which they greeted us, it was evident that our appearance +was as much a surprise to them as theirs was to +us. But from a certain sternness and resolution which +invested their faces following the first speechless +astonishment, we concluded that they had probably seen +others of our kind, and were not disposed to treat +us leniently.</p> + +<p>We noted also that, though quivering with dread, +they kept the exit firmly blocked. And in the long, +staring silence that ensued, we felt in dismay that +at last we had met the masters of this strange land; +and with sinking hearts we realized that our chances +of escape had vanished.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe34_3125" id="img307"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img307.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> +  ... We all looked up. The ceiling was bulging inches downward, as though +the terrific pressure of the waters were already bursting the tough +steel envelope of the X-111. + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span></p> + + + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII +<br> +Sapphire and Amber</h2></div> + + +<p>It may have been no more than thirty seconds before +the silence was broken, though it felt like +many, many minutes. But at length one of the newcomers, +turning to his companions, the while keeping +his eyes still fastened upon us, began to speak in low, +rhythmic tones that were singularly musical and +pleasant. I could catch not one syllable of what he +said, though I strained my ears in the attempt; nor +could I understand any syllable of what his fellows +spoke in reply, though their voices too were so soft +and sweet-sounding that they might have been intoning +poetry. Yet, in spite of the gentleness of their +voices, I could detect a certain excitement in their +manner; and, from their casual nods and gestures in +our direction, I was only too certain of the theme of +their discussion.</p> + +<p>After several minutes of whispered conversation, +one of the strangers stepped toward us and raised +his voice as if addressing us. As might have been +foretold, I understood nothing of what he said; and, +as this was no doubt what he expected, he did not +look surprised, but after a moment ceased speaking +and motioned us to follow him.</p> + +<p>Since there was manifestly nothing else to do, we +obeyed readily enough, and were glad indeed to find +ourselves stepping once more through the doorway and +out into the street, even though the half dozen +strangers had grouped themselves on all sides of us +as a sort of bodyguard. We knew, in fact, that we +were virtually prisoners, and yet were no longer +alarmed, for no imprisonment could be worse than +that which we had already suffered. Also we had an +intuitive sense that we should not be badly treated; +whether out of consideration for our feelings or merely +because they were afraid of us, our attendants did +not attempt to lay hands on us or to coerce us in any +way. Yet when they indicated by gestures the direction +in which they desired us to walk, we had no +thought of objecting, but obeyed as docilely as though +they were our acknowledged masters.</p> + +<p>For a distance of possibly two or three miles they +led us with them through the city streets; and far +from brooding over our predicament (which was manifestly +serious), we amused ourselves with observing +the sights of the town. Dozens of the inhabitants +had come out to peer at us as we strode past; and, +though they kept at a cautious distance, we could see +them clearly enough: their slender, graceful forms and +blond features, their amiable blue eyes and rippling, +unbound hair, their loose-hanging, light-tinted robes, +variously colored from buff and lilac to azure and +pale rose, gave them the appearance less of human +beings than of walking butterflies or flowers.</p> + +<p>But even more interesting to us than these humans +was the architecture of the town. We were fascinated, +first of all, by the very pavement beneath us, +which was of baked clay worked into a multihued and +picturesque mosaic; we were still more fascinated by +the buildings, which on close observation proved to be +even more artistically designed than we had imagined, +for exquisite little statues abounded in niches between +the columns or under the domes and spires, and +superb frescoes decorated the ceilings of the numberless +colonnades and the outside walls of temples, and +curving walks wound gracefully between terraces +adorned with a lovely waxen flower or around the +brink of the shimmering rainbowed fountains. I particularly +noted the width of the avenues, in whose +spacious reaches and wide adjoining courts the bright-robed +children laughed and played; and I was surprised +to observe that the buildings, instead of being +jammed together in the modern box-like fashion, were +each separated from their neighbors by broad paved +ways or wide patches of vegetation, so that the whole +gave an uncrowded and leisurely and yet skilfully patterned +effect.</p> + +<p>But magnificent as were the edifices in their garb +of sandstone or granite or many-hued marble, the most +extraordinary by far was that to which our guides +ultimately led us. It was not the size of the structure +that distinguished it, since the city boasted far larger +buildings, and size in itself did not seem to have +been an object with the builders; but the quality of +the masonry and the style of the workmanship had +surely no parallel in human experience. For the walls +and the interior circles of columns were not of any +material ever employed before, not of steel or of +stone, of brick or of clay, or gold or of ebony; they +were of a translucent yellow hue, the hue of amber, +and seemed to be composed, if not actually of amber, +at least of glass tinted amber color. This, however, +was scarcely the most remarkable fact, for the floor +was likewise translucent, and shone with an entrancing +blue, the blue of sapphire; and sapphire seemed also +the substance of the fretted and vaulted ceiling, from +which hung images of great birds with wide-spread +wings, giving a startling illusion of flight. Three successive +circles of columns, each more massive than +the last and all adorned at the base with bas-reliefs of +strange fishes and stranger sea plants, supported the +great arching expanse of the roof; and completely +enclosed by the columns, on a steep and curving incline +of the sapphire floor, were row after row of +amber seats grouped in a half circle about a flat open +space, and forming—so it seemed to me—a Grecian +theatre of unique design.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>As Rawson and I accompanied our guides into this +queer building, we were so captivated by the +architecture and so enthralled by the silence and the +weird half-light of sapphire and amber that we did +not at first observe that other human beings had preceded +us into the place. It was long, indeed, before +we could recover from the awed sense of entering some +cathedral where all is reverential and unworldly; and +it was long before, turning our eyes upon the theatre +with its rows and rows of seats, we observed that +not all the chairs were vacant as we had at first +assumed. In the front tiers sat perhaps a hundred +light-gowned individuals whose sedate and earnest +faces proclaimed that they were convened for some +solemn purpose.</p> + +<p>Our arrival was greeted by a sudden murmuring of +low, musical voices, but by nothing more demonstrative; +and our presence was doubtless explained by our +attendants, who spoke a few words to the assembled +group, after which they took seats to one side and +motioned us to do likewise. We obeyed readily +enough, but as I crossed the room to take my designated +place, I received a sudden shock, an electrical +shock of pleasure, such as one experiences upon meeting +a friend unexpectedly in a strange city. In the +foremost row, staring up at me with a most curious +and kindly air, sat that enchanting woman whom I +had seen dancing along the colonnades! As a sober +and practical man, and one already in love with the +gracious Alma Huntley, I should no doubt have regarded +her with a wholly aloof and impersonal air; +but I was sadly impressionable, alas! and was almost +transfixed with joy at sight of those shining Madonna +features and clear magnetic, great blue eyes. For +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span>an instant, indeed, I actually stopped short in my +tracks, until, regaining my presence of mind, I hastened +toward my seat shamefaced at having so betrayed +myself. It was several minutes before I ventured +again to glance toward the fair one, and then +she was looking in an opposite direction; and, stare +at her as I might, she seemed totally oblivious of my +existence.</p> + +<p>I am afraid that, in the ensuing hour, my thoughts +were more on her than on proceedings in the theatre. +I was aware, indeed, that some sort of debate was +in progress, a discussion in which most of the spectators +took part and during which Rawson and I were +more than once pointed out with significant gestures. +But, since I could understand not one word of what +was spoken, I let my imagination travel to the beautiful +unknown, and tried to fancy how it would feel +to be befriended by so fairy-like a creature. Even to +speak a word with her, I thought, would be a delight, +and to hold a conversation with her would be the +rarest of good fortune. Of course, her face might +belie her character, and she might be unintelligent +as she was beautiful; yet I was convinced that a +rare soul shone out of the calm seductive depths +of her eyes, and was more than willing to believe +that she combined the wisdom of a Socrates with the +charms of an Aphrodite.</p> + +<p>So pleasantly was I occupied in contemplating this +fascinating being and her scarcely less fascinating fellows, +that it seemed but a moment before the debate +was over and the assembled men and women rose from +their seats and began to depart. With a start I +sprang to my feet, suddenly realizing that the assemblage +had perhaps reached some critical decision regarding +me. And when four or five of the men approached +Rawson and myself and motioned us away, +I had the feeling of a captive being led back into imprisonment. +The loveliest of all women had now been +lost to view amid the crowd, and I was sadder at her +disappearance than at thought of my personal sufferings; +but as I walked slowly out of that sapphire and +amber palace, gentle strains of music began to play +on unseen instruments, rippling delightedly as waves +on a calm sea; and gradually and insensibly I was +comforted, and somehow I was convinced that I should +see that glorious womanly apparition again.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Once more we were escorted through the city +streets, but this time had only a few hundred +yards to walk. After a minute or two we were led up +the steps of a many-columned marble mansion, and +into a long hall whose stained glass windows cast a +subdued illumination upon a score of vivid paintings. +We were wondering what to do, when our guides motioned +us to cushioned seats that seemed made of +woven seaweed; and after we had settled ourselves at +ease in the great sofa-like chairs, two of the men disappeared +momentarily and returned with a feast of +some singular substance reminding me of mushrooms +flavored with a sprinkling of honey. At first we were +suspicious and reluctant to eat; but the honest and +frankly puzzled faces of our hosts convinced us of +our folly; and we found the dish, while strange to +our palates, not only appetizing but invigorating after +our long fast.</p> + +<p>After we had eaten and the remains of the meal had +been borne away, we were treated to a still greater +surprise. A man came stalking in laden with five or +six variously colored cloths, which I recognized as the +native costumes; and, having spread these out before +us, he motioned us to discard our own clothing and +take our choice of the local apparel. Our attendants +then politely withdrew, leaving us more perplexed +than ever.</p> + +<p>But it was long before we could make up our minds +to array ourselves in the native garb. And while we +stood hesitating, casting occasional disdainful glances +at the colored garments before making the decision +which we knew we ultimately must make, our attention +was distracted by the paintings that adorned the +walls. Although all were executed with the deft and +flawless hand of a master, they were in a sense different +from any paintings I had ever seen before; +and what struck me in particular was not so much +their peculiar style of art, which combined a minute +realism with an almost cosmic suggestiveness, as their +arresting and unparalleled subject-matter. Half of +them were of a marine type, and depicted ocean caves +where the giant squid or octopus wavered through the +gray depths, or gardens of the ocean floor where the +many-branching coral was the playground for shimmering +blue and yellow fishes; the other half, and the +most remarkable by far, portrayed scenes of ruin and +destruction on a scale that might have staggered the +most daring imagination. One of them, for example, +pictured a city with slender skyscrapers not unlike +those of modern New York, but all the skyscrapers +were crumpled and toppling as though from some +titanic blast; another, which likewise represented a +many-spired city, showed the ocean rolling up in one +colossal wave and battering and washing away the +buildings as a rain storm may wash away a child’s +sand castles; while a third, and by all odds the most +ghastly of the group, depicted a sea bottom strewn +with the wreckage of great stone edifices, in whose +vacant towers and windows and among whose shattered +courts the sword-fish and the eel sported and +slunk and the fanged shark pursued its prey.</p> + +<p>“Strange!” I remarked to Rawson. “What peculiarly +morbid people is this that its artists should delight +in scenes of flood and ruin? Or is it that its painters +are striving to represent some actual disaster, some +overwhelming ancient catastrophe unheard of on +earth?”</p> + +<p>Hoping to find an answer to these questions, I +strained my eyes over the inscriptions that marked +each picture—inscriptions in the near-Greek characters +I had already tried to decipher. As before, I +had at first no success in translation; but, having +nothing else to do, I persevered; and once again I +ended by construing two or three words—words that +left me only more deeply mystified. “After the Submergence,” +was the legend that explained the picture +of the ruined town at the sea bottom; and, noting +how closely this phrase resembled those I had previously +interpreted, I was forced to conclude that “The +Submergence” was indeed some definite historical event. +But when it had occurred or how was still a question +as unanswerable as though it had concerned the planet +Mars.</p> + +<p>“It is possible that we will never be able to solve +the problem.” I was observing to Rawson, when suddenly +I heard that which made me stop short in +amazement, momentarily forgetting all about tidal +waves and sunken cities.</p> + +<p>“Saints in heaven, that’s a good one! That’s the +time I put one over on you, boys!” came to me in indistinct +tones, accompanied by a loud guffaw; and +Rawson and I stared at one another in astonishment, +bewildered as men who have seen a ghost.</p> + +<p>“Stranahan!” we cried in one voice; and the tears +were ready to flow at the thought that we had found +our lost companion.</p> + +<p>A moment later, having made our way through a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span>columned hallway into an adjoining room, we were +met by the strangest sight we had yet seen in this +land of many wonders.</p> + +<p>Sprawled haphazard on the floor, absorbed in the +distribution of a pack of cards, were our four lost fellow +seamen, all of them looking grotesque indeed in +their colored native garments, and Stranahan appearing +particularly outlandish in his gown of pale green, his +trouser legs showing from beneath, his blue sailor’s +blouse conspicuous through the open neck in front!</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX +<br> +The Will of the Masters</h2></div> + + +<p>“Lord have mercy on me, if it ain’t Harkness! +And Rawson, too!” cried Stranahan, leaping +to his feet, and seizing our hands in a hearty +grip. “By all things holy, I thought I’d never see +you again!”</p> + +<p>For a moment we were unable to reply, so great +was the confusion of shouts, greetings, and excited +questionings from our four new-found companions. +Though we were fully as delighted as they, our first +words came in inchoate, mumbled phrases, for our surprise +was apparently even greater than theirs.</p> + +<p>“Well, and what are you doing in this part of the +country?” Stranahan at length inquired, with a smile. +“I thought you were safe in the old X-111.”</p> + +<p>“Nothing is safe in the X-111,” I replied. “Captain +Gavison sent us out after you when you didn’t +come back.”</p> + +<p>“I’m sorry to hear that,” declared Stranahan, ruefully. +“You know I hate to disobey orders, but I’m +afraid I’ll have to. We won’t be coming back just +yet.”</p> + +<p>“What makes you think that?” I demanded, with +sudden misgivings.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think it—I know it,” he maintained, with +an air of certainty. And, leaning on one foot against +a marble column while his brawny hand stroked his +chin, he continued, ruminatingly, “Suffering sea snakes, +do you take me for a fool? Do you think I’d be here +if I could find a way out?”</p> + +<p>“But can’t you?” I questioned, innocently.</p> + +<p>“No, by the devil, I can’t!” he swore. “Neither +can you! We’re all prisoners here!”</p> + +<p>“What? Prisoners in this building?” I gasped.</p> + +<p>“No, not in this building! In this town!” corrected +Stranahan.</p> + +<p>“In this town?” Despite my agitation, I began to +laugh. “This town makes a fair-sized jail.”</p> + +<p>“You won’t think so for long!” warned Stranahan, +with all the fury of conviction. “The Lord strike my +heart from my breast if I ever saw a deader place—except +maybe my own home town on Sunday afternoons!”</p> + +<p>Following this outburst, Stranahan recounted his +recent experiences, which were not altogether different +from our own. Like us, he and Ripley had reached +the city following an ambling excursion among the outlying +colonnades and temples; but unlike us, they had +not been so unfortunate as to be trapped in one of +the buildings. In fact, they had suffered a different +misfortune entirely. Upon entering the city, they had +been confronted by several of the natives; and, surmising +that these strange beings were hostilely disposed, +the terrified Stranahan had whipped out his revolver +and fired toward the crowd. So far as was +known, no one had been injured, but all had been +badly frightened by the report; and for a while, the +two seamen had had the freedom of the town.</p> + +<p>They were ultimately stopped, however, by a band +of determined-looking natives. Though apparently unarmed, +and though they used no violence, these men +overpowered the intruders in some inexplicable way. +Not only were Stranahan and Ripley deprived of their +pistols, but they were rendered docile as children, and +were conducted, as we had been, to the place of amber +and sapphire, where a hundred pale-robed individuals +debated and passed on their fate. Next they were +brought to their present dwelling, where they were +clothed and fed, and where they were reunited with +Stangale and Howlett, who had preceded them to the +city. They had now been living here for several days, +and during that time had been treated with unexpected +civility and kindness and even allowed to roam at +will through the city; but whenever they had approached +the boundaries of the town, they had encountered +a band of citizens who, by shouts and gestures +and a mysterious but irresistible power of suggestion, +had given them to understand that they were +not to leave.</p> + +<p>Stranahan was approaching the end of his recital, +and was telling us how he had been compelled to wear +the native costume and how his meals had been +brought to him regularly twice each day, when he +was interrupted by the entrance of several natives, +who had been looking for us in the adjoining room +and seemed a little annoyed at our disappearance. +Unceremoniously they led us back to the other apartment, +where the half dozen robes were lying in wait +for us; and, perceiving from their gestures that we +would do well to don the native garb, I promptly arrayed +myself in a gown of pale lavender, while Rawson +exchanged his sailor’s suit for a costume of +daintiest yellow. Both of us had difficulty in adjusting +the garments, which were fastened at the shoulder +by a fish-bone device resembling a safety-pin; and we +had our hesitation about the sandals, which were +slipped on at a stroke and yet were held firmly in +place by inconspicuous cords. But though we puzzled +over our new apparel for many minutes, Rawson +found in the end that he had his on inside out, while +the front of mine was where the rear should have +been. Of course, we did not discover these mistakes +for ourselves. Our attendants, on returning to see us +fully attired, indicated the errors with smiles and +suppressed laughter; and with their aid, we managed +to array ourselves almost like self-respecting natives.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Fortunately, we had little time just then to +notice how ridiculous we looked in our colored +gowns. As soon as the perplexing business of dressing +was settled, one of the men motioned me to a +sofa in a corner of the room, where he took a seat +beside me as though for some important purpose; and +a second similarly led Rawson to an opposite corner, +while the other natives unceremoniously took their +leave. My particular attendant, who was a tall man, +neither young nor old, with classic features and keen +but kindly gray eyes peering from beneath a wide +expanse of forehead, now began to go through a +series of apparently meaningless gestures, accompanied +by no less meaningless words. First he +would tap his head while emitting a peculiar sound; +then he would tap his breast while emitting another +peculiar sound; then he would touch his arm, his +knee, his foot, always slowly and carefully pronouncing +one or two unintelligible syllables. In the beginning, +I was inclined to wonder whether he was not +mad, but this view was not furthered by the discovery +that Rawson’s attendant was conducting a similar +performance. It was doubtless only my own +stupidity that prevented me from grasping the truth +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span>immediately. At length my companion drew a small +pad of paper from his pocket and began to write upon +it with an instrument resembling a fountain pen, and +I understood clearly enough then that he was trying +to teach me his language; so I gave him my undivided +attention, noting carefully each object he +touched and the corresponding sounds, and noted particularly +the characters he jotted down upon the +paper.</p> + +<p>Then suddenly I saw light amid the darkness! Although +this was but my first lesson, I was making +faster progress than either of us could have anticipated—my +knowledge of ancient Greek was proving invaluable! +At the first glance, I observed the resemblance +between the letters my instructor was inditing and +those of the old Greek, even as I had noticed the resemblance +on the stone inscriptions; and it was not +many minutes before I discovered that some of the +words, although not to be recognized when pronounced, +were written in a style closely similar to the Greek, +and were obviously built upon Greek roots. This was +not true of all the words, but it was true of such +a large percentage, that I had hopes of soon being +able to speak the language and so to solve the mystery +of this fantastic deep-sea people.</p> + +<p>After about two hours, my instructor rose from his +seat, shoved the pad of paper back into his pocket, +and indicated that our lessons were over for the day. +But he smiled upon me graciously, as though to indicate +that I was a not unpromising pupil; and he +spoke a word which I thought I recognized as “Tomorrow,” +after which he saluted me with a courteous +wave of the hand, and joining Rawson’s instructor, +went ambling leisurely out of view.</p> + +<p>It was with a wry smile that Rawson rejoined me. +“Say, did you get anything out of it at all?” he inquired. +“I just couldn’t make head or tail of it. +Heavens, at this rate it would take me ten years to +learn my A, B, C’s!”</p> + +<p>I did not confide that I had private reasons for +feeling more optimistic than my friend. But, after +I had offered to help and was rejected, I was content +to let the conversation drift to other subjects.</p> + +<p>Rawson was now annoyingly given to useless lamentations. +Hotly he deplored our plight; he declared +that he no longer saw anything romantic about it, +and least of all perceived anything romantic about +being made to go to school again; and he reminded +me time after time of Captain Gavison and the crew, +whom we had last seen stranded in the wilderness +with the disabled X-111, and who were no doubt +awaiting our return in hope that was fast giving way +to despair. Though I did not share in Rawson’s dislike +of our present quarters, and though I was deterred +from leaving, not only by hopes of learning the +language but by thoughts of the nameless fair one, +yet I had to listen when Rawson spoke of our duty to +our waiting comrades; and, in spite of the forbidding +precedent set by Stranahan and Ripley, I could not +but consent to try to return to our shipmates.</p> + +<p>As the doors of our dwelling were wide open and +there was no one to interfere with us, we sauntered +forthwith into the streets. As usual, we found them +almost deserted, and so had no hesitation in proceeding +along the winding walks and broad avenues and +past the innumerable terraces, courts and temples in +the direction from which we had entered the city. As +the various distinctive gardens and palaces constituted +unmistakable landmarks, we were seldom at a loss as +to our route, and in little more than half an hour we +found ourselves at the threshold of the town, before +that odd statue-like edifice where we had been imprisoned. +The path of escape now seemed open, and our +flight appeared so easy that we paused momentarily, +almost with misgivings at having encountered no obstacles. +But not a person was in sight, and no sign +of any impediment was visible, and so in surprise we +started up that slope which led to the colonnades and +outlying temples.</p> + +<p>We had almost reached the top, and I was already +deep in regrets at leaving this charming city just as +it was becoming so interesting, when half a score of +pale-gowned individuals suddenly appeared from above +the ridge, their vociferous cries and commanding gestures +warning us back. They carried no weapon, yet +they could not have been more imperious had they +borne loaded rifles; there seemed almost to be some +hidden compulsion, some irresistible magnetism about +them, so that our weak wills quailed and bowed to +theirs, and we retreated before them as impulsively as +a singed animal retreats before fire. I do not know +why it was, for they surely would not have set violent +hands upon us; but we no more thought of disobeying +them than a trained dog thinks of disobeying its master; +and back to the city we hastened, while they followed +on our heels with faces stern and set; and, having +re-entered the town, we made our way directly to +the building we had just left, as though some superior +mind controlled our movements and we were no longer +free.</p> + +<p>Upon our return, we met with another surprise. +Naturally, we were prompted to seek Stranahan and +our three other shipmates again; but we had expected +that they would be occupied, as before, by cards or +some other time-killing game. Instead, we found them +seated in the four corners of the room, each with +a companion (needless to say, a native); and from the +peculiar gestures of those companions and their habit +of writing occasionally on pads of paper, we recognized +that they were giving instructions in the language +of the land. But this in itself was not the surprising +fact. Two of the four newcomers were ladies, one +of them being of matronly years; but the other, who +sat opposite Stranahan, smilingly making notes with +her pen, was not only in the full bloom of youth, but +had that singularly sweet cast of countenance, those +singularly clear and magnetic large blue eyes, which +could belong to only one woman in the world!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe66_6250" id="img312313"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img312313.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> +... Beneath us, at a distance that may have been five hundred feet +and may have been a thousand, the vaults and domes and columns of +innumerable stone edifices shone palely and with sallow luster. Surely, +we thought, this was some unheard-of Athens, doomed long ago by tidal +wave or volcano ... Palace after magnificent palace, many seemingly +modelled by architects of old Greece, went gliding by beneath us; +countless statues, tall as the buildings, pointed up at us with hands +that were uncannily life-like; wide avenue after wide avenue flashed +by, and one or two colossal theatres of Grecian design ... + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X +<br> +Discoveries</h2></div> + + +<p>Great as was my joy upon observing that the +entrancing mysterious lady was Stranahan’s +tutor, it was to be some time before her daily +proximity had any effect upon my life. And meanwhile +I was resigning myself to a regular routine, a +routine only partly of my own choosing, and largely +prescribed by those whom I had come to consider my +masters. Each night (and by night I mean the +period of eight or ten hours when the golden orbs +were quenched and the city was in total blackness) +I would sleep with Rawson and Stranahan on screened +open-air rooms on the roof. And each day I would +live almost as though by formula. Aroused by the +burst of light that marked the queer underworld dawn, +I would take a plunge in a salt-water swimming pool +in a court of our apartment. A few minutes later I +would join my companions in a repast of some fragile +little native cakes and of some queer fruit like a cross +between the apricot and peach, which were brought +to us regularly by well-laden carriers whom I observed +likewise supplying neighboring houses. Breakfast over, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[312]</span>we were free for a while; and then I would usually +go rambling about the city with Rawson or Stranahan, +or sometimes with all my five former shipmates; +and we would have a merry time laughing and chatting, +inspecting the various palaces, colonnades and gardens, +and poking fun at any object that happened to strike +us as curious or absurd.</p> + +<p>After an hour or two we would return to our +apartments, to await the arrival of our tutors, who +had a habit of appearing in a band of six (one for +each of us) sometime toward the end of the morning. +Stranahan was still the most fortunate of us all, since +for many weeks his tutor continued to be that woman +of the Madonna features and magnetic large blue +eyes; but the rest of us were also fortunate in a way, +for she would always beam upon us with bright +“Good morning” in the native tongue; and I personally +had hopes that the time was not far-off when we +should be better acquainted.</p> + +<p>At the end of perhaps two hours, the tutors would +leave for the day; but they would always provide us +with ample work in the shape of simple exercises to +be written or of passages to be deciphered in textbooks +of the kind evidently used for six-year-olds. This +“home-work” (as Rawson designated it) would keep +us busy until late in the afternoon, when a native +would arrive with a tray containing various savory +viands: a gray bread made from a grain with a flavor +like walnuts; a succulent vegetable like French toast +well browned; a spiced, starchy food reminding me +vaguely of baked potatoes; cakes of a hundred varieties, +and fruits shaped like tomatoes and tasting like +muscat grapes, or elongated like cucumbers and +flavored as oranges, or round and large as cantaloupes +and substantial as bananas. But while we were of +course delighted at the abundance of these appetizing +unfamiliar foods, we were not a little surprised—and +not a little disappointed—at the absence of much that +we would once have considered essential; and we constantly +wondered why it was that no meat nor fish +nor any other animal product found its place on the +bill of fare.</p> + +<p>After this meal (the second and last for the day) +we were once more free to do as we wished; and we +would ordinarily spend the time until dark in strolling +around the city, or in sitting about in a little circle +exchanging anecdotes, or in propounding theories as to +where we were and how we had arrived, or in playing +cards or any other little game that we could devise. +Except for our tutors, we came into contact with +none of the natives; we were too ignorant of the +language to speak with the occasional few whom we +passed on the streets; and as yet we knew virtually +nothing of how they lived.</p> + +<p>But we were much less concerned about the natives +than about our comrades of the X-111. We were still +restrained in the city by the mysterious, irresistible +power of compulsion exercised by our hosts; and +though the days were lengthening into weeks, no word +of Captain Gavison and our absent shipmates had +reached us. For all that we could say, they might +have perished of starvation or fallen through a black +hole in the ground—or, more plausibly, they might +have been discovered by the natives, and led as captives +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[313]</span>to lodgings miles away. Should we see them +soon, or at least have news of them? or should we +never learn what had befallen them? There was no +way to decide except to wait—and the process of waiting +was distressingly slow.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But I was secretly determined to do everything possible +to hasten events. Obviously, the first necessity +was to understand the native language—hence I +put forth every effort to learn to read and write. Less +because of my natural linguistic tendencies than because +of my acquaintance with ancient Greek, I was +making more rapid progress than any of my fellows, +and was acquiring the rudiments of a speaking and +reading knowledge. Not only did my own ears tell +me so, but my instructor admitted as much by his +occasional nods of approval, and now and then even +by a “Very Good” or “Excellent” when I was speaking +or reciting to him. But not content with my +normal rate of advance, I was fortifying myself with +much secret practice. Often I would refrain from +joining my comrades in their morning and evening +strolls and pastimes, and would remain quietly in my +room with a pad of paper and a pencil supplied me +by my tutor. I would devote hours to writing in the +native alphabet, until I could employ it with facility +and assurance; or I would jot down a list of words +and phrases and repeat them aloud time after time, trying +to imitate the peculiar accentuation of my instructor. +The latter task in particular was difficult +and even painful, and subjected me more than once +to ridicule, when Stranahan or the others entered the +room unexpectedly and found me apparently talking +to myself. But I persisted in spite of discouragements, +and had hopes that, instead of commanding but a few +scattered words and phrases, I would shortly be able +to conduct an extended conversation.</p> + +<p>It was only natural, however, that I should be able +to read the language before I could speak it. Not +more than two or three weeks had passed before I +felt capable of deciphering any average native document. +But, unfortunately, I had little opportunity to +practice my talents, for the only written material I +saw was in the shape of the simple exercise books +lent me by my instructor. These, while admirably +adapted for clarifying grammatical problems, were +entirely devoid of vital information; and when I asked +my instructor for more edifying works, I did not +seem able to make him understand, for what he +brought me was merely a more advanced exercise +book.</p> + +<p>Consequently, I had every reason to be grateful for +that chance which put me in possession of several +volumes designed for adult readers. For lack of better +occupation, Rawson and I were minutely inspecting +our apartments one afternoon, scrutinizing in particular +the picturesque patterns of the veined marble +walls, when suddenly I stopped short with a cry of +surprise, startled at sight of a little rectangle faintly +although unmistakably engraved in otherwise unbroken +surface of the marble.</p> + +<p>Promptly I informed Rawson of my discovery. He +shared in my surprise, and excitedly suggested that +this was some mysterious trap-door.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[314]</span></p> +<p>Although I saw no reason to agree with him, I approached +the rectangular patch to examine it more +closely, and in so doing rested my hand appraisingly +on the marble surface.</p> + +<p>To my utter amazement, a portion of the wall gave +way, swinging inward as if on noiseless hinges!</p> + +<p>But if Rawson had had visions of secret corridors +and darkened chambers, he was to be disappointed. +The displaced rectangle revealed not a mysterious passageway, +but a little closet or vault possibly three +feet deep—a vault filled to the brim with treasure! +At least, it was filled with what I regarded as treasure, +for within it were piled scores of books!</p> + +<p>Hastily I reached for the nearest volume—a heavy +tome bound in what I took to be a sort of artificial +leather. The title filled me with rejoicing: it was a +“Lexicon of the More Commonly Used Words.”</p> + +<p>Aided by the bewildered Rawson, I at once examined +the entire collection. Although he could decipher not +a word, Rawson feigned the profoundest interest; and, +indeed, he may well have been interested, for, as I +read and translated the titles, I was making discovery +after extraordinary discovery. Not that any of the +books were those works of sheer information which I +most desired, but that they all embodied significant +hints and clues. Some, like the inscriptions I had +observed among the colonnades, seemed to refer to +some great disaster, as in the case of one entitled, +“Artistic Progress Since the Destruction”; another, +which was called “Speculations Concerning the Supermarine +World,” fortified my impression of being in +some inexplicably buried land; while several were +treatises on such difficult subjects as “Intra-Atomic +Engineering,” “Marine Valves and Their Construction,” +and “The Creation of Artificial Sunlight.”</p> + +<p>But the book that caused me the greatest surprise—a +book that struck me as at once a priceless find and +an insoluble mystery—was the well-thumbed yellowing +little volume at the very bottom of the heap. Even +today, when all that passed in those enigmatic realms is +an old and oft-repeated story, I have difficulty in repressing +my astonishment at that discovery. Imagine +the bewilderment of one who, having voyaged to another +world, suddenly receives news of familiar things, +and at the same time learns unsuspected facts about +the familiar! Imagine this, and you will have only +a vague notion of the amazement I felt when, turning +the pages of the book in that unknown cavernland, I +recognized the name of—Homer!</p> + +<p>And not only did I recognize the name of Homer, +but I found it affixed to a work not previously catalogued +among the productions of the great Attic bard! +“Telegonus” was the title—and instantly I recalled that +there had been a legend among post-Homeric writers +of one Telegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe, who +had been sent by his enchantress mother in search of +his father, and had slain his sire without realizing +his identity.</p> + +<p>One may be sure that I wasted no time about plunging +into the book. One may be sure that I took no +heed of the surprised exclamations of Rawson, nor +even paused for more than a word of explanation, but +read and read as fast as my knowledge of the language +would permit. Truly, the poem was Homeric +in quality!—I recognized at once the swing of the +inimitable hexameter, handled with masterly craftsmanship; +and the opening passages, executed with epic +dash and sweep, simplicity and power, convinced me +that here was a work worthy of standing side by +side with “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”</p> + +<p>But how came the poem to be here in this weird +undersea realm? How came these submerged people +to possess an Homeric work unknown to the modern +world? These were the questions that perplexed me +as I excitedly followed stanza after noble stanza; and +ponder the problem as I might, debate it as I would +with myself or the eager Rawson, I could conceive of +no explanation, but was as mystified as if I had +traveled to Mars and found the people addressing me +in English or presenting me with copies of Shakespeare.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI +<br> +Questions and Answers</h2></div> + + +<p>The chief effect of the discovery of the books +was to make me doubly anxious to speak the +native tongue. Not one of the score of volumes +cast any light on the problems that bewildered me, and +least of all on the mystery of Homer’s “Telegonus”; +and it was apparent that I should remain in ignorance +until I could converse with the natives. Accordingly, +I had need of that rarest of all qualities, a virtue +in which I am almost wholly lacking—patience. +Stifling my eagerness and curiosity as best I could, I +had to plod away for days and days in acquiring new +native words and phrases and in practicing speaking +in the solitude of my own rooms. The task was far +from pleasant, and the suspense and the waiting were +harrying; but I was like a traveler following a trail +through an unfamiliar jungle; and, feverish as I was +to escape, I had no choice except to persist on the one +visible course.</p> + +<p>But had I not been so eager to batter down the +mystery, I would have found abundant cause for encouragement. +I was still progressing, progressing rapidly, +attaining a speaking knowledge of the language with +a speed possible only for one long trained as a linguist. +And, as the result of many a secret conversation, which +I held with myself by way of practice, I advanced swiftly +to the point of being able to exchange ideas with the +natives. At least, I felt that I had advanced to that +point, and awaited only opportunity to test my new-won +powers.</p> + +<p>The obvious course would have been to address myself +to my tutor, and several times I was on the point +of doing so, but on each occasion he seemed so absorbed +in the day’s exercises, that I decided to postpone +the experiment. In the end, however, I should +no doubt have opened my mind to him—had not chance +intervened and sent me a more charming informant.</p> + +<p>I had of course not forgotten that entrancing Madonna-like +woman who was Stranahan’s tutor. Indeed, +I could not easily have forgotten her, for her exquisite +features and bright eyes kept flashing before me at +all hours of the day and night; and already I felt myself +as completely subject to her spell as Dante to the +spell of a Beatrice. Under the witchery of her influence, +Alma Huntley was becoming no more than the +figment of a remote and misty past—and yet I was +not even acquainted with the fair unknown, I had +never exchanged more than a formal greeting with +her. I scarcely knew how to sow the seeds even for +a casual friendship, and what she was like at heart +and how she would react to my advances, were matters +of pure conjecture.</p> + +<p>But the time was to come when she would be more +to me than one to be admired at a distance. She was, +in fact, to serve in a double rôle: for not only was +she to fascinate me with her companionship, but she +was to cast light upon those problems which were +tantalizing me.</p> + +<p>Although I caught glimpses of her almost every +morning when she came as Stranahan’s instructor, yet +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[315]</span>I would have had little chance to speak with her even +had I chosen, since (as I have already related) she +ordinarily arrived and left in the company of the +other tutors. But one day—perhaps because she had +some particularly difficult bit of grammar to explain—she +lingered over her work much longer than usual, +and was so absorbed in it that she did not appear to +notice that her fellow teachers had left. At the moment +I did not perceive that this was my opportunity; +but good fortune was to be with me, and when she +emerged from the marble doors of our home, I happened +to be strolling along the colonnade not a hundred +yards away.</p> + +<p>At first it was almost a shock to me to see her come +unaccompanied toward me—a shock in which intense +pleasure was mingled with something akin to dread. +For a moment I had an impulse to hide behind one +of the great stone columns; fortunately, I thrust this +foolish desire from me, and, after a few seconds, had +almost regained my composure.</p> + +<p>As she approached, I could scarcely take my gaze +from her. Upon her face was a serene, placid expression, +such as she almost always wore; but the +shadow of a smile flickered about her lips, and her +great blue eyes were withdrawn as if they saw not the +world wherein she walked but only some calm and +perfect inner vision.</p> + +<p>Slowly I advanced; and diffidently placed myself in +her path. At first she did not seem to see me, but +in an instant, almost as though she had been expecting +some one, her gaze was lifted to meet mine; and +no surprise was marked there, nor any trace of annoyance, +only an unlooked-for pleasure. In low, musical +tones, and with grace that to me seemed goddess-like, +she murmured “Good morning,” while such a lovely +and unmatched light shone in her eyes and such transfiguring +inner radiance illumined her features, that I +felt that I had encountered an immortal.</p> + +<p>“Good morning,” I replied, in the native dialect, +and at the cost of greater effort than I would have +cared to admit; and I shuddered inwardly lest I give +her cause for laughter.</p> + +<p>She smiled charmingly, and was about to pass on, +when in desperation I strove to detain her. “I beg +your pardon,” said I, stiffly, speaking almost by rote +in phrases I had memorized days before. “I beg your +pardon, but have you a minute to spare? There are +one or two questions I should like very much to ask +you.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For an instant she stared at me in transparent +surprise. But a smile played lightly about the +corners of her mouth, and apparently she was not +offended. “Why, of course, you may ask any question +you want,” she replied, more puzzled than annoyed. +And, pointing down the colonnade to a circular marble +bench enclosed by a ring of slender columns, she continued, +“Let us go over there. Then we can talk, if +you wish.”</p> + +<p>In silence we traversed the intervening two or +three hundred yards. My heart was so full that I +could not have spoken had I desired; I could scarcely +credit my double good fortune in having won this +lady’s good will and in speaking well enough to be +understood by her.</p> + +<p>And when at length I found myself seated at her +side, her vivid blue eyes looking inquiringly and yet +kindly into my own, I felt as one who enters the +land of dreams come true. It was with difficulty that +I answered when, in low, sweet tones, she asked me +what it was that I desired to know; and when the +first words came to me, they were forced out only +by an effort of the will, for I should much have +preferred to sit there in silence, staring and staring +at her animated lovely face, her sharp-cut classic +profile and symmetrically modelled features.</p> + +<p>But, unfortunately, the laws of human intercourse +demanded that I do more than gaze at her in speechless +rapture. And I answered her question, therefore, +with one or two commonplace remarks which expressed +nothing of the exaltation within me, and +which could have conveyed no high opinion of my +intelligence. “I am a stranger in this land,” said I, +picking my words with a translator’s care, “and so +find many things here which perplex me. I was wondering +whether you would not be good enough to help +me. Am I imposing too much upon your kindness?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, no, of course not,” she murmured; and as she +spoke I noted that her upper lip trembled slightly, as +though from extreme sensitiveness and sympathy. “Do +you not know that it would be a pleasure to be of aid?”</p> + +<p>I was enchanted by this reply, for there could be +no doubting the utter candor and sincerity in her earnest +blue eyes, which were glowing with a softness +equal to the magnetism they sometimes displayed.</p> + +<p>Encouraged to the point of boldness, I decided upon +a daring step. “Before I ask any other question,” I +ventured, “might it not be well for us to know each +other’s names?”</p> + +<p>“Why, of course,” she agreed. “My name is Aelios.”</p> + +<p>“Aelios!” I repeated, charmed by the sound. “What +a delightful name! And what is your other name, +may I ask?”</p> + +<p>“My other name?” she echoed, astonished. “What +other name do you mean?”</p> + +<p>I saw that somehow I had made a mistake. “Why, +haven’t you another name?” I inquired, with distinct +loss of confidence.</p> + +<p>“Another name?” She tittered delightedly, as though +enjoying a rare joke. “Well, if that isn’t the most +outlandish idea! What do you think I’d do with another +name?”</p> + +<p>“Why, that—that’s not for me to say,” I stammered. +“Only, where I come from, every one has at least two +or three names.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, how perfectly ridiculous!” she exclaimed. “Just +as if we haven’t enough to remember one name +apiece!”</p> + +<p>She paused momentarily, and I was too much embarrassed +to resume the conversation. Fortunately, +she continued without my aid. “How many names +have you?” she inquired; and the playful light in her +eyes told me that she could not have been more +amused if asking how many hands or feet I had.</p> + +<p>“Only two,” I admitted, glad that I had not to confess +to three or four. “I am called Anson Harkness.”</p> + +<p>“Anson Harkness,” she repeated, slowly, as if savoring +the peculiar sound. “Why, if that isn’t the strangest +name I ever heard!”</p> + +<p>“Where I come from it isn’t considered strange,” I +assured her. “Of course, in my country everything is +very different—”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I know,” she interposed. “You come from +above the sea.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know?” I cried, astonished.</p> + +<p>Again she peered at me in surprise, and almost, I +thought, with something of that puzzled air with +which one regards a child who persists in asking the +ridiculous. “Why, of course you must come from above +the sea,” she explained. “Where else is there to +come from?”</p> + +<p>“And do the people here all know we come from +above the sea?”</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[316]</span></p> +<p>“Yes, indeed,” declared Aelios, a naïve seriousness +replacing the frolicsome air of the moment before. +“That’s what we’ve all been worrying about. We +thought we were proof against invasions from above, +and we simply can’t understand how you got here. +Why, for three thousand years the upper world doesn’t +seem even to have suspected our existence.”</p> + +<p>“Three thousand years?” I burst forth. “Three +thousand years? Then, for God’s sake, how old is this +land of yours? And, in heaven’s name, what country +is this, anyway?”</p> + +<p>“Why, I thought you knew,” murmured Aelios, with +a look of surprise. “This is Atlantis, of course.”</p> + +<p>“Atlantis!” I ejaculated, in overpowering amazement. +“Atlantis!” And confused visions of a lost +continent swarmed through my mind, and I wondered +whether this could be the sunken world described by +Plato.</p> + +<p>But before I could utter another word, my attention +was diverted by an unpardonable intrusion. +“Great shades of Alexander, having a nice little tête-a-tête, +are you?” came a familiar voice from the rear; +and Stranahan, stalking up uninvited, deposited himself +on a seat just to the left of Aelios, and grinningly +requested us not to heed him, but to go right on with +our little talk.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII +<br> +The Submergence</h2></div> + + +<p>The arrival of Stranahan, of course, had its effect. +Not only did he interrupt my conversation with +Aelios at a crucial point, but he made it impossible +for the discussion to take a personal turn. +I realized, to be sure, that he was actuated by motives +of good fellowship, but I felt that he exhibited remarkably +poor sense; and I am afraid that I displayed +not a little of my displeasure in the forced +welcome that I frowned upon the intruder. But +Stranahan appeared to be afflicted with no foolish +sensitiveness; and, having decided to join us, he +seemed not to notice the frozen reception I accorded +him.</p> + +<p>And like one determined to see things through to +the end, he remained resolutely with us. He seemed +scarcely discouraged by his limited knowledge of the +language, which made him a total stranger to most +of what we were saying; and for a good part of +our conversation, he sat by in gaping ignorance, venturing +an occasional remark with such poor display +of grammar and pronunciation that I could only +smile.</p> + +<p>Yet our discussion was so engrossing that for minutes +at a time I quite forgot the existence of Stranahan. +Even the bright sparkling eyes of Aelios had +for the moment no more than an impersonal interest +for me, for I found myself making a discovery so +strange, so amazing and so utterly unprecedented as +to upset my conception of human history.</p> + +<p>“Can this really be Atlantis?” I heard myself inquiring, +once the disturbance created by Stranahan’s +arrival had subsided. “Can this really be the famous +lost Atlantis?”</p> + +<p>“The lost Atlantis?” repeated Aelios, looking perplexed. +“I didn’t know there was any lost Atlantis.”</p> + +<p>I explained as briefly as possible the legend of the +ancient continent that was said to have sunk beneath +the sea. “If there’s any truth in the story, that was +one of the greatest disasters in history,” I remarked, +trying to lend importance to what I felt to be but +the flimsiest of myths.</p> + +<p>“Disaster!” echoed Aelios, her perplexity deepening. +“Disaster! This is the first time I ever heard any +one call the submergence a disaster!”</p> + +<p>“Do you mean, then, that there actually was a submergence?” +I demanded. “That a whole continent +sank beneath the waves?”</p> + +<p>“Why, of course!” she exclaimed, astonished at so +self-evident a question. “How else do you think we +got here beneath the sea?” And she pointed significantly +to the great greenish roof and the bright, golden +orbs above us, while into her eyes came a wonderfully +sweet, indulgent light, as into the eyes of one +who delights to teach children the obvious.</p> + +<p>“Where did you suppose we could be now,” she +continued, “except in Archeon, the Capital of Atlantis?”</p> + +<p>It was at this point that Stranahan thought it time +to let himself be heard. He drew his lips far apart +as if to speak, uttered an inarticulate syllable or two, +and then stopped abruptly short, as though unable to +frame the desired words.</p> + +<p>“What is it, my friend?” asked Aelios, turning to +Stranahan with a gracious smile. But since Stranahan +could only gape idiotically in reply, I thought it my +duty to answer for him.</p> + +<p>“What I cannot understand,” I said, returning to +the question that had been puzzling me most of all, +“is that you say there was a submergence, and yet +seem to think it was not a disaster. Surely, if the +whole continent of Atlantis was lost—”</p> + +<p>“What makes you think the whole continent was +lost?” demanded Aelios, a quizzical, almost amused +light in her great blue eyes. “Why, the better part +of Atlantis is safe here beneath the sea!”</p> + +<p>“Safe here beneath the sea?” I cried, in growing +confusion. “Why, how is that possible?”</p> + +<p>“That is a long story,” she started to explain. “It +goes back very far, thousands of years, in fact—”</p> + +<p>“And cannot you tell me that story?” I proposed, +eagerly. “Cannot you tell me from the beginning? +Remember, I am a stranger here and find everything +very confusing. What is this Atlantis of yours? And +how old is it? And how large? And how did it come +to be submerged? And how does it happen that you +are living here now beneath the ocean?”</p> + +<p>“Whole volumes have been written in answer to +those questions,” declared Aelios, with a winning +smile. “But I’ll try to explain everything as best I +can.” And she paused momentarily, while Stranahan +craned his long neck far forward, as if to take in all +that she had to say.</p> + +<p>“It is perhaps the most romantic tale in history,” +she resumed, speaking almost with exaltation, while +her eyes took on a far-away dreamy look that I +thought most becoming, and her upper lip twitched +with the same sympathetic quivering I had noted before. +“Atlantis is one of the most ancient republics +in the world, and at one time was the most populous +and powerful of all countries. Our history goes back +more than seven thousand years, four thousand above +the sea and three thousand beneath—four thousand +years of growth, tumult and conquest, and three thousand +years of maturity and peace. At a time when +Egypt and Babylonia were still unheard of, our engineers +reared monuments more massive than the pyramids; +and when Babylonia and Egypt were in the full +pride of their renown our people regarded them contemptuously +as the merest barbarian tribes. Our accomplishments +were to them what theirs were to the +unclothed blacks of the south; and our country surpassed +theirs as a marble palace surpasses a clay +hut.”</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[317]</span></p> +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>“But what was the precise location of your country? +And how large was it?” I interposed.</p> + +<p>“It was in an isolated position a full day’s sailing +west of the Pillars of Hercules. As for its size, it +was large, and yet not overwhelmingly so; a swift +runner might have traveled around it between full +moon and full moon. But today you might took vainly +for its plains and snow-tipped mountains, for above +all but its highest peaks, the unbroken waters foam +and toss.”</p> + +<p>Aelios paused momentarily, and a melancholy reminiscent +light came into her eyes, while her long, lithe +fingers toyed absently with the folds of her lavender +gown.</p> + +<p>“Ah, how sad!” I could not forebear murmuring. +“What a ghastly tragedy!”</p> + +<p>“No, not a tragedy,” she quickly denied, regarding +me again with a peculiar surprise that I could not +understand. “There is no tragedy in the history of +Atlantis, though of course there might have been.”</p> + +<p>“No tragedy?” I cried, wondering vaguely if Aelios +could be trying to make sport of me. “Is it not +tragedy for a whole great country to be submerged?”</p> + +<p>“It may be, or again it may not be,” she replied, +enigmatically. “In this case, it was not.”</p> + +<p>Noting my quizzical silence, she continued, with a +reassuring smile, “No doubt you will find this difficult +to understand. In your world above seas, conditions +are perhaps very different from those of old Atlantis. +Certainly, you are spared the perils which we faced, +and which compelled us to submerge our continent.”</p> + +<p>“Compelled you to submerge your continent?” I repeated, +growing more amazed each instant. “Do you +mean to say you submerged it deliberately?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. How else?” she returned, in matter-of-fact +tones. “The Submergence—or the Deliverance, as it +is sometimes called—was the most fortunate event in +our history. We celebrate it annually at our great +festival, the Festival of the Good Destruction.”</p> + +<p>Again she paused, as if uncertain how to proceed, +while I was forced to join Stranahan in a bewildered +silence.</p> + +<p>“In order to make things clear,” she continued at +length, with upper lip still fluttering and eyes that +smiled with kindly good will, “I suppose I will have +to describe Atlantis as it was in the old days, the +days before the flood. Thirty-one hundred years ago, +or at the time when the Submergence was first proposed, +we were in possession of secrets which the upper +world has perhaps not rediscovered even today. I +will not speak of our art, literature and philosophy, +which, though advanced for their day, were incomparably +inferior to what we have since produced; it +was in scientific spheres that our progress was most +pronounced. From the beginning, our science was a +strangely lopsided growth; it was most developed on +the purely material side; and while it could tell us +how to compute a comet’s weight and enabled us to +communicate with the people of Mars, still on the +whole it was concerned with such practical questions +as how to produce food artificially or how to utilize +new sources of energy. And in these directions it was +amazingly efficient. We had long passed the stage, for +example, when we needed to rely upon steam, gasoline +or electricity to run our motors or to carry us +over the ground or through the air; we had mastered +the life-secret of matter itself, and by means of the +energy within the atoms could produce power equal +to that of a tornado or of a volcanic eruption.”</p> + +<p>“Marvelous!” I exclaimed, enthusiastically. “Marvelous! +What magnificent opportunities that gave you!”</p> + +<p>“Yes, that was just the trouble,” pursued Aelios, the +trace of a frown darkening her lovely cheeks and +eyes. “There are some opportunities that no men +should have. What would be the gain in giving a +wasp the power of a bull? It was not a mere coincidence, +for example, that the decline of art was simultaneous +with the rise of science. After thousands +of years in which the pursuit of the beautiful had +been one of the objects of life, men began to be bewildered +by the idea of their conquest over matter; +they came to apply themselves to the construction of +huge and intricate machines, of towering but unsightly +piles of masonry, of swift means of locomotion and +of unique and elaborate systems of amusement. And +at the same time they devoted themselves extensively +to destruction. Not to the destruction of their own +monstrous contrivances, alas! but to the undermining +of human happiness and human life. In our isolated +position, we had had comparatively little intercourse +for centuries with other lands; but now that we +possessed lightning means of travel and lightning +weapons of aggression, our citizens began to swoop +down occasionally upon a foreign cast, picking a quarrel +with the people and finding some excuse for smiting +thousands dead. At first, of course, our enemies had +no means of retaliation, but it was certain that in the +end they would have imitated our methods and singed +us with our own fire.”</p> + +<p>“And is that what actually happened?” I asked, +fancying I saw a trace of light at last. “Is that +why you had to submerge your land?”</p> + +<p>“No, that is not what happened,” said Aelios, smiling +at my naïveté, while a half-suppressed yawn from +Stranahan gave her but little encouragement to continue. +“Not all our people were savages, and not all +approved of our policy of international murder; nor +were all content to see art and beauty trodden down +by the twin hoofs of mechanism and multiple production. +Of course, the protestants were at first mere +voices wailing against the waves, and more than one +was jeered as a maniac; but the protest continued and +grew through many decades; and though there were +thousands that continued to appraise the cities by +their size and scientific accomplishment by its deadliness, +the time came when the party of rebellion was +almost as numerous as the conservatives or ‘Respectables,’ +and when the limitation of mechanical power +became an issue that threatened the very life of the +State.</p> + +<p>“I will not trouble you with the details of that struggle, +or with the powerful cause made out by the +enemies of Super-Science—for of this you shall hear +more later. For the present it is sufficient to state +that the climax arrived in the year 56 B. S.——”</p> + +<p>“What does B. S. mean?” I interrupted.</p> + +<p>“Before the Submergence, of course!” explained +Aelios, with a slight frown that instantly made way +for a broad and glowing smile.</p> + +<p>“It was in the year 56,” she proceeded, “that the +Agripides ministry came into office. Following the +open insurrection of beauty-lovers against the ‘Respectables,’ +the Anti-Mechanism party triumphed in a +general election; and Agripides, known by his friends +as ‘Savior of the World’ and by his foes as the ‘City-Wrecker,’ +began to carry out the revolutionary policies +he had been advocating for years.</p> + +<p>“These policies, which were perhaps the most daring +ever conceived by the human mind, contemplated +nothing less than the overthrow of existing civilization +and the substitution of something better suited to +endure. It was Agripides’ contention—and a contention +established by the researches of the very scientists +he opposed—that the State of Atlantis, under current +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[318]</span>conditions, had a potential life of not more than five +hundred years; that it was burning away its energies +with profligate abandon, and would soon droop withering +and exhausted into permanent decay. Its best +human material was being used up and cast aside +like so much straw; its best social energies were being +diverted into wasteful and even poisonous channels; +its too-rapid scientific progress was imposing a wrenching +strain upon the civilized mind and institutions. +There was only one remedy, other than the natural +one of oblivion and death; and that remedy was in a +complete metamorphosis, a change such as the caterpillar +undergoes when it enters the chrysalis, a transformation +into an environment of such repose that society +might have time to recover from its overgrowth and +to evolve along quiet and peaceful lines.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Another half-unconscious yawn from Stranahan +imposed a brief interruption at this point; but +Aelios had now thoroughly warmed to her theme; and, +disregarding Stranahan’s rudeness, she continued almost +without delay.</p> + +<p>“The proposal which Agripides had to make, and +which he had been advocating eloquently for years, +was one that caused even the liberal-minded to gasp +and shake their heads doubtfully. He declared, in a +word, that Atlantis was not sufficiently isolated and +enisled; that it would never be safe while exposed to +the tides of commerce and worldly affairs; that the +only rational course was for it first to destroy whatever +was noxious within itself, and then to prevent +further contamination by walling itself off completely +from the rest of the planet. And since no sea however +wide and no fortress however strong would be +efficacious in warding off the hordes of mankind, the +one possible plan would be to go where no men could +follow; to seal Atlantis up hermetically in an air-tight +case—in other words, to sink the whole island +to the bottom of the sea!”</p> + +<p>“Good Lord!” I exclaimed, horrified at so strange a +suggestion. “Sounds just like a lunatic’s ravings!”</p> + +<p>“No, quite the opposite,” replied Aelios, with an +indulgent smile. “I see you don’t understand at all. +Agripides was not a lunatic; he was the greatest man +that ever lived.”</p> + +<p>“I thought he must be either a madman or a genius,” +I returned, dryly.</p> + +<p>“Look, I’ll show you!” she flung out, almost as a +challenge, since I did not seem convinced of her +hero’s greatness. And rising hurriedly and flitting a +dozen paces down the colonnade, she pointed to a life-sized +marble bust on a panel between the columns. +“See! That is Agripides! Does that look like the +face of a lunatic?”</p> + +<p>Hastily I had followed Aelios, with Stranahan at +my heels; and he joined me in surveying the bust +with a show of interest, though his puzzled expression +showed that he did not know and much less cared +who Agripides may have been. “The glorious saints +have mercy on us, if he hasn’t a beard like a goat!” +was his one and only comment. But I did not deign +to reply, and fixed my eyes sternly and appraisingly +upon the countenance of Agripides. The hair and +beard were perhaps a little long, I thought, unconsciously +agreeing with Stranahan; but the features +were the most striking I had ever seen in any human +being. Like many of the faces which have come down +to us from classical times, this countenance combined +intellect and beauty to a singular degree. The brow +was broad, as in the representations of Homer, but it +also rose to a majestic dominance; the eyes were +large and alert, the lips thin and compressed, the +cheeks long and firmly modelled, while the features +were furrowed with deep lines of sympathy that reminded +me of Lincoln, and at the same time were +marked with a wistful, dreamy expression that contrasted +strangely with a savage, almost tigerish determination +more implied than clearly graven on the +even contours of the face.</p> + +<p>“Agripides was a remarkable orator, and at the +same time a writer of force,” stated Aelios, as we returned +to our seats. “Hundreds of his essays and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[319]</span>addresses have been preserved, and they show such +brilliance, vehemence, and wit, and at the same time +such clarity and logic of presentation, that it is +little wonder that he converted all Atlantis to his way +of thinking. Or perhaps it would not be fair to say +that he converted all Atlantis—there was plenty of +wordy opposition to his schemes, as well as several +little armed revolts and insurrections that had to be +suppressed. But Agripides was not a man to be easily +daunted, and in spite of the strenuous objections of +the ‘Respectables,’ the year 49 saw the publication of +his complete plans for the Submergence.</p> + +<p>“Those plans were more daring than the worst +enemies of Agripides could have anticipated. He proposed, +in a word, to cover a large part of Atlantis with +an enormous glass wall, reaching like an artificial sky, +hundreds of feet above ground, and thick enough to +withstand the pressure of unthinkable tons of water. +Near the base of this wall should be two great valves, +one through which the ocean might be admitted into a +broad canal or artificial river, and a second (at the +opposite end of Atlantis) through which the waters +might be forced out again by means of gigantic intra-atomic +pumps. I need not mention, of course, that +deep wells and distilled sea water would serve for +domestic and drinking purposes; that decomposed +water would provide sufficient oxygen for breathing; +and that artificial sunlight, synthesized chemically so +as to produce the life-giving elements of the original, +would not only supply illumination but would support +vegetation and human life as well.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, yes, that is all very good,” said I, feeling that +Aelios had not yet touched upon the most essential +fact of all. “But how did Agripides propose to sink +the island beneath the sea?”</p> + +<p>“That is a difficult question,” she murmured, with +a smile that was worth more to me than volumes of +knowledge. “It involves technical questions of engineering +with which, I must confess, I am very poorly +acquainted. But, as I understand it, what Agripides +proposed was that enormous tank be buried under the +sea bottom far to the west of Atlantis, and that, at a +given signal, the water should be raised to boiling +point by an application of intra-atomic heat. The resulting +tons of steam, in their fury to escape, would +create an explosion that would burst the very floor +of the sea; in one direction there would be a gigantic +upheaval, and a lifting of the ocean bed; and in another +direction, by way of reaction, there would be a +sinking of the ocean bottom in an effort of the strata +not directly affected, to fill in the gap left by those +displaced. And while a whole vast area would rise +thousands of feet (although not to the level of the +water), another area would be forced downward an +equal distance; and that area, which would be of +enormous extent, would include the island of Atlantis. +To use a crude illustration, one may think of a common +plank, balanced on its center, of which one end +cannot be tilted upward without causing the other end +to slant down; and one may imagine Atlantis as reposing +on the lower slope of such a plank.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>“But that is all mere theory,” I pointed out. “Certainly, +Agripides wouldn’t dare to sink the island +merely on the basis of such unproved calculations.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, no, of course not. The computations were all +verified by actual experiment. With the aid of two +accomplished engineers, Agripides made a small model +of the continent and the surrounding ocean, accurately +reproducing every detail; and, having stimulated an +explosion under the proper conditions, he found that +the miniature island sank precisely as he expected the +real island to do.”</p> + +<p>“Even so,” I argued, “would not the explosion have +shattered the entire crust of the earth? And would +not the great glass dome have been split and ruined +even if the ground beneath it remained firm?”</p> + +<p>“All that was duly provided for,” explained Aelios. +“The submergence was to be so gradual as to require +several hours; and since the explosion was to occur +under the sea rather than under the island itself, +it would shatter the crust of the earth only in remote +localities, and the shock would not be severe enough to +affect the glass wall. In other words—to make another +comparison—the island was to be like a ship that +sinks in its entirety after striking the reefs, although +only the prow is damaged and the rest remains uninjured.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I understand perfectly,” said I, recalling my +recent experiences in the X-111. “But even assuming +that the experiment was perfectly safe, how did +Agripides ever persuade the people to sink their homes +beneath the sea?”</p> + +<p>“It was precisely there that he proved his greatness,” +said Aelios, casting an admiring glance in the +direction of Agripides’ statue. “Well knowing that +imagination is the most powerful force in human life, +he began to work upon the imagination of the masses +to show the dangers of civilization. Simultaneously +with the publication of his plans for the Submergence, +he opened to the public an enormous exhibition palace +in which he presented the most ghastly display in history. +With the vision of the social philosopher and +the intuition of the prophet, he had constructed in +miniature the Atlantis of the future as he conceived +it would be—and no man could gaze upon that Atlantis +without heartily praying for the Submergence. +The landscape had been blasted, muddied and made +black, and scarcely a green leaf could be seen; steel +towers and smokestacks dotted the island until it +looked like a range of artificial hills; great wheels and +chains whirled and rattled in the dark interiors of +the buildings, and to each wheel and chain a man +was tied; and the huge engines and motors were fed +with the blood of men, and watered with their tears. +Innumerable multitudes—not only of men but of +women, and of sickly, pinch-faced children—were +bound as slaves to the machines, and responded to +automatic orders that the machines flashed forth; and +after they had served long and their limbs were +growing frail, they were crushed and mangled by the +very masters they had served, or else were cast out +to perish like frost-bitten flies. But the great wheels +never ceased to turn or the levers to clatter, and +their steel jaws gnashed the gouged-out hearts and +brains of men, and their dust and cinders clouded +the fields and forests, and their poison fumes invaded +the lungs of the people, blunting their minds and +making them droop and die by the million.”</p> + +<p>“What a hideous picture!” I cried, with a shudder. +“But certainly, certainly it was an exaggeration!”</p> + +<p>“No, Agripides had no need to exaggerate. He +merely showed the logical advance upon existing advances. +But this was the least grewsome of the exhibits. +One half of the display, which he entitled ‘The +Triumph of Science,’ was devoted to the supreme +horror. Here again he depicted artificial landscapes +and many-towered cities; but the wheels of those +cities were not revolving, though smoke was indeed in +the air. At first sight, they might hardly have been +recognized as cities at all; they were really little +more than chaotic heaps of iron and stone; many of +the buildings had been blasted to fragments, some +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[320]</span>had toppled over, others were mere mangled frameworks +of steel. Scarcely more than an isolated wall +remained standing here and there to show that this +had been the home of men; but of the inhabitants +themselves there was indeed an occasional sign: here +one was futilely gasping for breath, writhing on the +ground like a tormented worm; there one was groping +crazily through the ruins, with torn breast and +blinded eyes; yonder a family group was lying +sprawled at all angles, with pale faces convulsed with +their last agony.</p> + +<p>“But had one looked for the source of the destruction, +one would not easily have found it—except that +far above, so remote as scarcely to be visible, a fleet +of mosquito-like flying craft were buzzing on their +way like stealthy marauders.”</p> + +<p>Aelios paused, a deep seriousness darkening her +fair features; and as I sat there regarding her in +silence, I could not but reflect what unspeakable distances +separated the bloody picture she described from +the enchanting scenes among which she dwelt.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>“Naturally,” she continued, “the people were +not captivated with the thought of the future +depicted by Agripides. And, Agripides, acting at the +psychological moment when all Atlantis was most +aroused, convened the National Assembly, and polled +a majority of—three to one in favor of the Submergence! +This majority being confirmed by a referendum +of the people, the great leader took immediate +steps toward carrying out his revolutionary project.</p> + +<p>“Nearly forty-eight years were consumed in the +necessary preliminaries, and in that time Atlantis +found itself forced halfway toward the realization of +Agripides’ direct prophecies. The island of Antiles, +a small republic located far to westward, had spied out +the aggressive schemes of the Atlantean military experts, +and enlarging upon them, had manufactured a +fleet of poison-bearing aircraft capable of smiting whole +cities with death and ruin. That they were aimed +for a contemplated conflict with Atlantis there could +be not a doubt; that such a conflict could not be +averted by diplomacy was too self-evident to require +demonstration; and that there was no resisting the +destructive airships was generally, although unofficially, +admitted. Conceivably, it was the dread of imminent +disaster that restrained the minds of the people from +vacillating at the last moment and that brought the +plans of Agripides to their triumphant issue.</p> + +<p>“Agripides, unfortunately, did not survive to see +the consummation of his plans. Such a happiness +was more than he had hoped for; the years were already +heavy upon him when his revolutionary ideas +first won approval. But, dying peacefully at an advanced +age in the year 15 B. S., he yet lived long +enough to supervise the more important details of +the project and to be assured of its eventual success.</p> + +<p>“In accordance with Agripides’ directions, a reinforced +glass wall many layers thick was erected over +the most picturesque part of Atlantis, for it was agreed +that the rest (which included the site of many cities) +was not worth saving. I shall not describe the steps +taken to insure the health and comfort of the people +after the Submergence, to rear elegant palaces and +mansions, to duplicate the sunlight and to produce +food chemically; I shall not even dwell upon the +Good Destruction, except to say that all save the most +essential of power-driven tools were piled up in the +doomed part of the island, to be buried on the day +of the Submergence together with the towers of the +deserted cities. But what I must mention—and this is +most important—is that not all our people were content +to be submerged; that about one-third, irreconcilable +to the last, emigrated eastward in a great body a +few months before the Submergence. It was this that +made us most sad when Agripides’ plans were fulfilled +and we sank at last to the bottom of the sea.”</p> + +<p>“Have you ever heard what happened to them?” I +inquired, marveling at this extraordinary migration.</p> + +<p>“No, how could we? We have never since established +communication with the earth. But I was thinking +that perhaps you, who are from the upper world, +could give us some tidings of our lost fellow men.”</p> + +<p>“I am not sure but that I can,” I replied, slowly, +thinking of the ancient Greeks and their striking resemblances +to the Atlanteans and wondering whether +the immigrants from the sunken island might not +have been among the original settlers of Athens and +Corinth.</p> + +<p>And then, recalling the mystery of the “Telegonus,” +that powerful lost Homeric epic, I perceived a possible +clue. “Tell me,” I asked, though the question +was apparently irrelevant, “what do you know about +Homer?”</p> + +<p>“Homer?” she echoed. And then, with the ease of +perfect familiarity, “Why, Homer was one of the greatest +poets we know of—almost equal to the best that +have arisen since the Good Destruction. He lived at +about the time of the Submergence in a country far +to the East, with which we had trade relations in +spite of its half barbarous condition. It was, in a +way, a sort of dependency, a ward of Atlantis; and +it was from us that its people derived their alphabet +as well as much of their language and many of their +institutions. Possibly it was there that the Atlantean +migrants settled.”</p> + +<p>“Ah, I see,” said I, with a flash of understanding. +“Then you mean—”</p> + +<p>But before I could utter another word, interruption +came from an unexpected quarter. And with a jolt I +returned from ancient Atlantis to the realities of my +own life. “Hello, boys! Hello! Hello! There they +are, there they are!” came in loud familiar tones from +our rear, followed by a salvo of cheers; and before +Stranahan and I could quite realize what was happening, +we felt our hands grasped in a multitude of +hands, and found ourselves surrounded by dozens, literally +dozens, of well known faces. The first I recognized +was that of Captain Gavison, who grinned happily +in welcome; then I distinguished one after one +the faces of my fellow seamen, apparently all of them, +and all of them talking, laughing, crowding about, +slapping us on the back, and shouting out greetings in +tumultuous chorus.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_5625" id="img318_2"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img318.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> +  ... although perhaps five hundred feet in length, it was as much like a +great statue as like a building; it had none of those features common +in edifices for the shelter of man and his works, but seemed to have +been erected exclusively as a piece of art. Its form was that of a +woman, a woman reclining at full length ... + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII +<br> +Trial and Judgment</h2></div> + + +<p>To our disappointment, we received no immediate explanation +of the arrival of Captain Gavison and his +men. A score of the natives, who stood frowning +in the background, appeared disinclined to permit any +extended conversation; and it was but a minute before +they motioned the newcomers to follow them. I was +interested to observe that all, from the Captain down +to the humblest recruit, obeyed as readily as though +in response to an absolute master, marching not in +military formation and yet at a regular pace and with +every appearance of discipline.</p> + +<p>Having nothing better to do, Stranahan and I +trailed in their wake, for at their first appearance +Aelios had murmured a hasty “Good-bye” and had +gone tripping out of sight around a bend in the colonnade.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[321]</span></p> +<p>In a few minutes we saw our comrades entering a +building we well knew—the palace of sapphire and +amber. Although expecting to be ordered out, we +made bold to follow, and to our surprise passed +through the gates of the building and into its gorgeous +interior without attracting any noticeable attention. +Arriving at the great central theatre, we observed that +hundreds of the natives were assembled as though in +solemn debate. Many an eye was turned upon the +newcomers in curiosity and amazement; but there was +no audible murmur at our entrance. And when Captain +Gavison and his followers were motioned to seats, +Stranahan and I had no hesitation about joining them.</p> + +<p>But the unlucky Stranahan was doomed to still +further boredom. For nearly an hour he was compelled +to listen to a discussion of which he understood +scarcely a word. Certainly, he had cause to envy me, +for I easily followed the greater part of what was said—and +most unusual and absorbing I found it!</p> + +<p>The leader of the debate was a broad-browed +woman, with a firm and distinguished manner, and +more than a trace of beauty in spite of her graying +hair. But she spoke comparatively little; and six or +eight of the audience took turns in standing in the +open space in front and delivering brief addresses. +Their theme was not at first apparent to me; I thought +that they were perhaps discussing some question of +politics, or pleading the merits of some new law; and +I was surprised to discover that what they were arguing +was no mere practical matter, but concerned the +architecture of a new building, to be known as the +“Palace of the Ten Arts.” One, there was that suggested +a lagoon fronting the edifice, a second who +recommended rainbow fountains, and a third who favored +an arcade of multi-colored crystal; and all the +proposals were heard with equal respect and duly noted +down by the leader of the debate, who smiled benignantly +upon all the speakers and refrained from +obtruding her personal preferences.</p> + +<p>I was relieved when at length all who desired to +speak had had their say. The leader now declared the +meeting open for further business; and now it was +that a tall young man, whom I recognized as one of +the attendants of Captain Gavison and his men, rose +quickly to his feet and advanced with a determined air +toward the speaker’s space. A hush of expectation +had come over the gathering; all eyes were fastened +upon the tall young man as though he had a message +of rare importance.</p> + +<p>His first words were to justify this impression. +“Fellow citizens,” said he, speaking in a deep-toned +voice which had something of that musical quality +common to his people, “I have to bring to your attention +today a matter unique in the history of Atlantis. +First, however, let me recall to your minds several +facts with which you are no doubt familiar. Two +months ago we were astonished to find in our midst +two creatures whose sallow complexion, grotesque costume +and still more grotesque features, proclaimed +them not to be natives of Atlantis. How they had +penetrated beneath the secluded dome of our country +we could not imagine, but it was decided that the +best course would be to educate them in our language, +and, after they were thoroughly conversant with the +tongue, to question them in the attempt to solve the +mystery. This decision was only reinforced by the +appearance of two more of the queer creatures a day +or so later, and then again by the arrival of a third +strange couple. While it was feared that our age-old +seclusion had been broken and that we were being invaded +by the upper world, still it was decided that for +the present the best course would be to maintain an +unperturbed but vigilant silence.”</p> + +<p>The speaker paused, and cleared his throat as though +the important part of his address were to follow. “Only +yesterday, fellow citizens,” he continued, “you heard the +startling sequel. A field naturalist, roaming along the +Salty River in the wilderness beyond the furthest +colonnades, made the most surprising discovery of his +life—a peculiar ugly rod-like ship of unknown type, +a ship that seemed to be fairly swarming with uncouth +humans! Naturally, the scientist was alarmed; +and, having made his escape, he hastened back to the +city to secure aid in capturing the aliens. As he +described them, they were in every respect like the +barbarians of which ancient annals tell,—great, brawny +humans of unkempt and ferocious appearance. But +we knew that they could be no more redoubtable than +their kindred who were already among us; we knew +that they would be easily subdued by the superior +minds and irresistible magnetic wills with which nature +and a select inheritance have endowed our race. +And when the twenty men of the searching expedition +set out early this morning, we had reason to believe +that the aliens would be present by evening to face +trial before this assemblage.</p> + +<p>“As you observe, we have not been disappointed. +But now, fellow citizens, the great problem arises. +The prisoners appear to be unclean as well as wanton +and unprincipled men. Contrary to all regulations, +they have been catching fish from the Salty River and +using them for food. They have been slaying unoffending +crabs and turtles, and—disgusting though the +idea be—frying and eating them! They have been polluting +water of the stream; they have been trampling +down the rarest seaweeds, and beating to death the +daintiest of water-flowers; they have been scrawling all +sorts of crude and outlandish designs on the delicate +pink and blue of the roof-bearing columns.</p> + +<p>“But all this—criminal though it be—we may overlook +for the moment. The chief problem presented by +the arrival of these aliens is of such wide-reaching +social consequence that their minor transgressions pale +into insignificance. For the first time in more than +three thousand years, the principles of Agripides have +been violated. Visitors from outside have at last appeared; +at last we are in danger of contamination by +the passions and vices of the upper world. Whether +the invasion was deliberate is not definitely known, +but how it was made is sufficiently clear: the barbarian +ship, which was equipped to travel under the +sea, was sucked into the whirlpool at the ocean entrance +of Atlantis and forced into the valve through +which the waters of the Salty River find admittance. +Of course, this trespass may have been merely accidental; +but remembering the warlike and unfriendly +ways of the upper world, I personally suspect that the +intrusion was planned with cunning design, and that +other invading craft—possibly a whole invading fleet—may +be expected to arrive. Fellow citizens, what is +your opinion?”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Amid general silence the speaker took his seat—applause +was apparently unknown among the Atlanteans. +But this fact did not then enter into my +thoughts; I was too much enraged at the tall young +man’s misstatements. With a lack of self-consciousness +that I can explain only by my blinding fury, I found +myself doing the unprecedented.</p> + +<p>Springing excitedly to my feet, I demanded, hotly, +in the native tongue, “Friends, may I say a word?”</p> + +<p>Instantly hundreds of pairs of eyes were turned +upon me in surprise; I saw that I had no more been +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[322]</span>expected to speak than if I had been a tree or a stone. +But the glances that were darted at me were not unfriendly, +and as yet I was too much incensed to regret +my words.</p> + +<p>“Certainly, you may say all you wish,” rang out the +clear, well-rounded tones of the lady leader of the +debate. “This is the Hall of Public Enlightenment, you +know, and any person with anything to say will gladly +be heard.”</p> + +<p>“Go on, old sport, give it to them good!” whispered +Stranahan into my ear, although he could not have +caught the drift of what was happening; and, with his +words rankling in my mind, I started toward the +speaker’s space.</p> + +<p>But as I took my place before that silent, staring +multitude, I wished that I could have been safely back +in my seat. Something suspiciously like fear overcame +me—what right had I to be addressing this strange +assemblage? What reason to expect that I could +speak their language intelligibly? Yet necessity +prodded me on; and, after gaping stonily at the spectators, +I found myself somehow uttering a series of +more or less connected sounds. I did not say what I +had intended, and I suspect that more than one English +word got itself intertwined with my Atlantean vocabulary; +but I was encouraged when I observed that +all eyes were fixed upon me with apparent interest, +and that no one openly laughed or so much as tittered, +though one or two (and among them Stranahan) could +hardly suppress a smile.</p> + +<p>After a vague, sputtering introduction that I cannot +begin to recall, I found myself on fairly solid +ground. I declared that I could answer many of the +questions which the previous speaker had put; I explained +that my companions and myself were not +barbarians, being representatives of the highest of +modern civilizations; I stated that we had no evil intentions, +having come to Atlantis by accident, and certainly +not being the forerunners of a wave of invasion; +and, at the same time, I offered our thanks +for the treatment already accorded us, and expressed +our intention to abide by the laws of Atlantis and to +act in conformity with the best traditions of the land.</p> + +<p>As I took my seat, I could see from the faces of +my hearers that I had produced a favorable effect. +Many were the nods of approval that greeted me, and +many the sympathetic smiles. But at the same time I +could perceive that I had not made myself perfectly +clear; and when a score of voices simultaneously requested +that I return to the platform, I had no other +choice.</p> + +<p>Questions regarding my native land were now +rained upon me in profusion. But whether because +of my limited knowledge of the language or because +the experience of the Atlanteans differed so fundamentally +from my own, I had great difficulty in making +myself understood. My description of the growth and +attainments of the modern world was listened to +with interest, but with a lack of comprehension that +I thought almost idiotic. Thus, when I declared that +the United States was a leading nation because of its +population of a hundred million, its rare inventions +and its prolific manufactures, my hearers merely +looked blank and asked how the country ranked in +art; and when I stated (what surely is self-evident +to all patriotic Americans) that New York is the +greatest city on earth because of its tall buildings +and its capacity for housing a million human beings +in one square mile, my audience regarded me with +something akin to horror, and one of the men—evidently +a dolt, for he seemed quite serious—asked +whether no steps had even been taken to abolish the +evil.</p> + +<p>But it was when describing my own career that I +was most grievously misunderstood. Had I confessed +to murder, the people could not have been more +shocked than when I mentioned that I was one of +the crew of a ship commissioned to ram and destroy +other ships; and I felt that my prestige was ruined +beyond repair when I stated that I had entered the +war voluntarily. Even the most friendly hearers +seemed to draw unconsciously away from me after my +recital; loathing and disgust showed plainly in their +faces, as though I had announced myself to be an +African cannibal or a Polynesian head hunter. Only +too plainly I perceived that what was termed heroism +among my fellows was here regarded as villainy. It +did little good to explain that war was a cherished +custom in the upper world, and that patriotism was +among the prime virtues; it was useless to plead that +there might be reasons for taking the lives of men, +whom one had never seen, and that such reasons were +generally recognized among civilized nations. The +more I argued, the greater the abhorrence I aroused; +and beyond an occasional murmured “Agripides was +right,” my words brought little direct reply. And at +length I returned to my seat feeling myself to be in +disgrace, yet curbing my embarrassment by inwardly +cursing the stupidity of the Atlanteans.</p> + +<p>The remaining business of the assemblage was disposed +of quickly enough. Following my retreat, the +tall young man again addressed the meeting, reminding +his audience that they had not yet passed judgment +upon us. “Fellow citizens,” said he, in conclusion, +“I have a proposal to make, which, so far as I +can see, is the only one possible under the circumstances. +Whether we like it or not, we must recognize +that the intruders are here; and, though we did +not will their presence, we must treat them humanely. +Since we cannot dispose of them by violence and since +we must accept their assurance that no others of their +kind are to follow, we must let them remain, and see +that they are educated and put to work like all other +citizens. But one thing we must insist upon above +all else: the isolation of Atlantis must be protected, and +the countries above seas must never learn of our +existence. Hence we must decree that, no matter how +many years go by, none of the aliens shall ever return +to the upper world!”</p> + +<p>And it was with a sinking heart, with the hopelessness +of one being sentenced to life imprisonment, that +I heard the assemblage endorse this recommendation.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_6250" id="img323"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img323.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Half a dozen of the queerest beings we had ever seen came crowding +into our path ... from the blank amazed stares with which they greeted +us, it was evident that our appearance was as much a surprise to them +as theirs was to us. But from a certain sternness and resolution which +invested their faces following the first speechless astonishment, we +concluded that they had probably seen others of our kind, and were not +disposed to treat us leniently. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV +<br> +The Upper World Club</h2></div> + + +<p>During the next few hours, Captain Gavison and +the new-found members of his crew were all +provided with the native garb and lodged in +sumptuous quarters in various parts of the city. They +looked peculiar indeed in their new costumes of light +blue and green and yellow, and grumbled not a little +at the change; but they confessed to their relief at +having left the X-111; and not even the prospect of +passing their remaining days in Atlantis sufficed to +neutralize their joy.</p> + +<p>As nearly as I could determine, they had had an +altogether wretched time during the past few weeks. +A spirit of panic had grown among them, following +the failure of Rawson and myself to return from our +searching expedition, and neither by bribe nor by +threat could any other member of the crew be induced +to venture into that wilderness where we had disappeared. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323"></a><a id="Page_324"></a>[324]</span>And so they had all remained anxiously in +the vicinity of the disabled ship, drinking the distilled +water of the Salty River and snatching what food they +could from the land while exhausting their vessel’s reserve +supplies. How long they could have held out it +was impossible to say, but certainly they could not +have held out long; madness had been overtaking them +with the delay and the suspense; and, but for the +timely arrival of the natives, bloody disaster might +have ensued.</p> + +<p>Yet, while they realized that they had been rescued +from possible destruction, I must not give the impression +that they were altogether contented with their +new surroundings, or that their queer native garments +constituted their only source of complaint. Being +normal human beings, they found abundant cause +for dissatisfaction. And, indeed, they were not much +to blame, for how could they adapt themselves immediately +to an environment so unfamiliar as that of +Atlantis? For some time they walked about like men +in a daze; or, rather, like men who know they are +dreaming and expect shortly to awaken; and they +stared with incredulous eyes at the marble columns +of the Sunken World, its sculpture-lined thoroughfares +and statuesque palaces. And what wonder if +they were dazzled and yet a little frightened by this +beauty, which seemed to them so cold and alien a +thing? What wonder if the more superstitious shuddered +a little at times, and muttered to themselves in +the presence of what they took to be the supernatural? +What wonder if they missed the familiar things of +the earth, the scenes and the faces they had left behind +them, the habits they had discarded and the remembered +life that was dwindling to a shadow?</p> + +<p>Fortunately, they were not always free to brood +over their misfortunes. Like those of their shipmates +who had preceded them to Archeon, they were at once +supplied with tutors who sought to teach them the +Atlantean tongue. Each of them received at least +two hours a day of personal instruction, and each was +required to devote several hours to various prescribed +written exercises. It need hardly be stated that not +all of them took kindly to this enforced application, +for most of them were anything but studious by nature; +but the tutors persisted even though their task +was a hard one, and prevailed by means of that magnetic +dominance I had often noted in the Atlanteans; +and all of the crew, from the grizzled McCrae to the +callow young Barnfield, were soon plodding regularly +over their lessons in grammar and spelling.</p> + +<p>But among a group of nearly forty men, it was +but natural that some should make more willing and +able students than others. And so, while the more +backward were still struggling with the elements of +Atlantean, others were striding toward a speaking +knowledge. Among the latter was Captain Gavison, +who still had a position to maintain, and could not let +himself be outdone by his men. Whether because of +a natural aptitude or of diligent application, he speedily +outdistanced all his crew, with the exception (I +must modestly admit) of one whose pre-war specialty +had been Greek. And partly on account of his evident +supremacy in Atlantean, but more largely owing +to the force of ironclad habit, he was still the acknowledged +leader of us all; and his word still was like +the word of a king, his approval still a favor to be +courted and his anger a thing to make one quail, although +his commission from the United States Navy +Department, could hardly give him any authority here +in Atlantis.</p> + +<p>I do not know whether it was at Captain Gavison’s +prompting, or whether it was at the suggestion of one +of the men, that we took the step which was to band +us more closely together. At all events, the step was +inevitable; for all of us felt like kinsmen isolated +among strangers, and our common experiences and +common origin constituted an irresistible bond.</p> + +<p>And so it was that we found ourselves convening +one afternoon—the whole thirty-nine of us—in a little +colonnaded court in one of the city parks. All of us +were waiting in vociferous expectancy, for it had been +whispered that important events were in store; and +so we listened eagerly when Captain Gavison arrived, +and took the center of the stage, launching at once into +an address.</p> + +<p>“The proposal has been made,” he announced, beginning +without formality, “that we all join forces by +forming a social club. We’re all in the same boat still, +you see, even though we’re out of the X-111. Most of +us feel rather out of place down here in Atlantis; +we find the people strange, the land stranger still, and +the customs strangest of all. And so the best way +will be to stick together and try to make things agreeable +for one another ...” And in this vein he continued +for five or ten minutes, pointing out the advantages +of union, the increased power as well as +the social gain, the possibility of making our will felt +in Atlantis if we acted in concert.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>When he had finished, he asked for opinions—and +received them in abundance....</p> + +<p>“If we got together and started a club,” summarized +Stangale, whose views coincided with the majority, +“things might begin to look a little less dead. Seems +to me every day down here is Sunday!”</p> + +<p>“Sure, and they’ve got lots of Sunday closing laws, +too!” Stranahan contributed, with a wry grimace to +ward the massive columns and tinted statuary.</p> + +<p>Very tactfully Captain Gavison reminded Stranahan +that the question to be decided did not concern the +Sunday regulations of the Atlanteans. And without +further dalliance he raised his voice and inquired how +many were in favor of a social club.</p> + +<p>The proposal having been accepted by unanimous +acclaim, the next question was one of nomenclature. +Various names were suggested: “The Woodrow Wilson +Club,” “The Theodore Roosevelt Club,” “The U. S. A. +Club,” “The X-111 Club,” “The Underseas Association”—but +finally, after much pointless debating, we decided +that, since we were the sole representatives of the +upper world in Atlantis, the most appropriate title +would be “The Upper World Club.”</p> + +<p>Having threshed out this important matter, we now +felt it necessary to elect the officers of “The Upper +World Club.”</p> + +<p>Obviously, there was only one possible nominee for +President. It seemed almost a matter of form to propose +the name of Gavison; and once this name had +been mentioned, the election was settled, for there was +no one daring enough to run in opposition or even +to think of suggesting another candidate.</p> + +<p>After being duly installed in office, the Captain +made his inaugural address. It was brief and to the +point. He began by thanking us in conventional terms +for the honor and by assuring us that he would try +to run the club as well as if it were a ship under +his command. And he concluded with a declaration +of policy: “We’re all of us caught like rats in a trap, +you know, so while we’re here there’s nothing to do +but to try to make the best of our prison. And I +think the Upper World Club should be the means. It +should have, I believe, the following objects: first, to +bring us together for social purposes. Secondly, it +should give us the chance to discuss our problems in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[325]</span>this strange world, and should be the means of expressing +our combined views to the Atlanteans. Lastly, +it should keep us all together, so that we can act in +unison if the time ever comes to make a dash for +liberty.”</p> + +<p>“That time will never come!” I surprised myself +by exclaiming, after Gavison had lapsed into silence. +And, finding all eyes bent upon me inquiringly, I felt +bound to continue.</p> + +<p>“Let us not deceive ourselves by the thought of +escape,” I proceeded, stepping toward the center of the +assemblage. “We are buried beneath thousands of feet +of water, and for all practical purposes America is as +far from us as the moon. Even if there were a way +back, what good would that do us when we cannot +even leave this city against the will of the Atlanteans? +No, my friends, let us look facts in the face. We +shall remain here till we are gray and toothless, and +shall never see the United States again. And let us +try to reconcile ourselves to that certainty. Let us +try to become citizens of Atlantis, and share in the +life about us ...”</p> + +<p>And in this vein I continued for some minutes, +while my hearers followed me with transparent interest, +and reluctantly nodded agreement.</p> + +<p>In general, my words may have been without effect; +but they had at least one result I had not anticipated. +For when, a few moments later, Gavison announced +that nominations were in order for Vice-President, I +was surprised to find that my name was the first put +forward, and that no others were put forward at all—so +that I was selected without opposition.</p> + +<p>After I had duly thanked my fellow club members +for this honor, the President turned to me, and said, +“Harkness, I appoint you a committee of one to confer +with me in drawing up the constitution of the Upper +World Club.” And with that the meeting adjourned.</p> + +<p>And thus began my intimacy with Captain Gavison. +I do not know how seriously he took the Upper +World Club and its constitution, for at most times his +grim, firm face was inscrutable; but he acted as if he +took it seriously indeed, and he and I spent hours together +debating and planning for the club, almost as +though we had had to draw up a pact not for thirty-nine +individuals but for thirty-nine sovereign states.</p> + +<p>How much the club profited from our activities shall +always be a question in my mind; but I am certain +that I personally profited a great deal, and make bold +to believe that even Gavison was not without benefit. +Although he had a habit of shutting his thin lips +stoically and glaring upon the world with stern, impassive +air, an occasional look of weariness and even of +melancholy in his keen gray eyes told me that he too +was suffering from loneliness; and while he would +have been the last man in the world to make such an +admission openly, he made it tacitly by the amount +of time he spent in my company, theoretically drawing +up the constitution of the Upper World Club. He +was always far from loquacious; frequently he was +taciturn indeed, and would simply sit before me with +a detached and meditative air, occasionally grunting +some comment or question in response to my remarks. +Perhaps the consciousness of the former gulf between +us would not leave him; but all the while I felt that +we were drawing together, were even beginning to look +upon one another with a genuine, although undemonstrative +regard. Certainly, he was emerging by degrees +from the thick shell of his reticence, as I was +emerging from mine. We began quite naturally by a +discussion of Atlantis and the Atlanteans; and gradually +we ventured into more personal subjects. There +came a day when I went so far as to tell him of +my former life, my training in ancient Greek, my +betrothal to Alma Huntley; and, responsive to my confidence, +he offered me one or two glimpses into his +own past, and made himself appear more human than +ever before, by stating that he had a wife and two little +daughters in New York, who no doubt were even +now mourning him as lost.</p> + +<p>“You know, Harkness, that’s the hardest thing of +all to bear,” he said, while his thin fingers stroked his +bristly chin ruminatingly, and the drawn lines of his +gaunt face enhanced his habitual gravity. “If there +were only some way of getting word to them, it +wouldn’t be so bad. But I might be dead for all they +know—and would you believe it, Harkness, sometimes +it seems to me as if I’m actually in my tomb.” And +the Captain averted his gaze, and after staring into +vacancy for an indeterminate period, he continued, +speaking more rapidly, and almost with brusqueness, +“Now you see why I’m so anxious to get back! For +my own part, it wouldn’t matter so much, but I can’t +help thinking it must be Hell for those waiting up +there!” And he concluded by drawing vivid pictures +of blue-eyed Martha, his wife, and of the auburn-haired +six-year-old Ellen, who was waiting for the +father that would never come back.</p> + +<p>To all this I listened earnestly; and when Gavison +had finished, I tried to say whatever I could by way +of consolation. And in order to make his woes seem +less by comparison, I exaggerated my own; I discoursed +upon the misfortune of being sundered from my old +father and mother (who, as a matter of fact, had previously +been sundered from me by death), and dilated +upon my grief at losing Alma Huntley—although, to +tell the truth, she had been almost driven out of my +thoughts by the proximity of one even fairer than +she.</p> + +<p>It was from the time of our mutual confessions that +my real friendship with Gavison dated. Not unnaturally, +we now lost sight of our former positions as +superior officer and subordinate, and began to act +unrestrainedly toward one another as man to man. +And while I was on terms of fellowship with all the +crew and intimate with several, my attachment to +Gavison became the closest of all; and often of an +afternoon, when he had completed the day’s studies, +or of an evening before the great golden orbs had +been extinguished, we might have been seen strolling +together along the winding colonnades, or seated on +seaweed cushions in a marble hall, discussing the art +or the odd ways of Atlantis, practicing the Atlantean +speech, exchanging reminiscences of the world we had +left, or merely absorbed in one of those long silences +that marked our queer acquaintanceship.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV +<br> +The Pageant of the Good Destruction</h2></div> + + +<p>While my intimacy with Captain Gavison was +ripening, I had of course not forgotten one +whose friendship meant more to me than that +of any man. In the exhilarating moments of that +first happy interview with Aelios, I had had visions +of speaking with her often, visions of an Atlantis +made bright by her very presence. But before long I +began to feel that I had been too sanguine. Although +I still caught glimpses of her when she came to give +Stranahan his daily lesson, and although she would +sometimes nod ingratiatingly to me, it was long before +I had another opportunity to speak to her, since I +could not detach her from the company of the other +tutors. And so day after long uneasy day dragged by +until they had piled up into a week, and slow, protracted +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[326]</span>weeks until they had accumulated into a month, +before at last we had another conversation.</p> + +<p>Then came a day when I observed her by chance +in one of the great festooned courts at the base of a +towering campanile. She saw me even before I saw her; +and approaching of her own volition, she flashed upon +me a smile that seemed to make the universe stand +still with joy. “I am glad to see you, my friend,” +she said, simply and with unaffected kindliness. “I +have been wanting to tell you about our coming +pageant. I know you will not want to miss it, for it +will explain many things you have been wondering +about.”</p> + +<p>“What pageant do you mean?” I asked.</p> + +<p>“The Festival of the Good Destruction,” she explained. +“Every year, as I believe I’ve told you, we +hold a celebration on the anniversary of the Submergence. +This year it will take the form of a +pageant. It will be the Three Thousand and Thirty-fifth +anniversary.”</p> + +<p>“In eight days. It will commence at noon in the +Agripides Theatre, which you will very easily find, +since it is in the center of town. I certainly hope +to see you there.”</p> + +<p>“I certainly hope to see you there,” I declared, +quite truthfully. But at the same time a shadow +crossed my thoughts. Hesitatingly, and possibly blushing +in my embarrassment, I had to confess that, after +all, I would not be able to go.</p> + +<p>“Not be able to go?” she demanded, in manifest disappointment. +“What other engagement can you possibly +have?”</p> + +<p>Since some definite excuse appeared to be necessary, +I explained—very reluctantly to be sure—that I +could not pay my admission.</p> + +<p>“Pay your admission?” echoed Aelios, in such shrill +surprise that I thought she had misunderstood me. +“What on earth are you thinking of? Do you imagine +we are barbarians?”</p> + +<p>“I’m afraid I haven’t made myself clear,” I hastened +to explain. “Where I come from it is customary to +pay upon going to a theatre.”</p> + +<p>“Really?” demanded Aelios, so incredulously that I +thought her most naïve.</p> + +<p>“Of course!” I assured her, in such a manner as to +stamp all doubt from her mind.</p> + +<p>“How queer!” she exclaimed. “How very queer! Still, +I do remember hearing that people used to have +to pay for everything before the Submergence. But +that was so long ago, I thought the world had outgrown +such crudity.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t see anything wrong about paying for what +you get,” I stated, thinking this the most topsy-turvy +land in the world. “Don’t they really charge you +for going to theatres down here?”</p> + +<p>“Of course not! How could any one be so gross? +Fancy being charged for beauty or ecstasy or dreams! +Why, one would as soon think of paying for the air +one breathes or the light that shines upon one! The +State naturally recognizes the theatre as the birthright +of every citizen, just as it recognizes poetry and +music and education. We all take part in giving the +performances, and of course every one is invited.”</p> + +<p>“And do you yourself take part?” I queried, my personal +interest in Aelios overshadowing my general interest +in the native customs.</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes, I try to do my share,” she acknowledged, +with a faint blush that seemed only to accentuate her +beauty. “I sometimes lead in the dances.”</p> + +<p>“And a most exquisite dancer you make!” said I, +recalling my first enchanting glimpse of Aelios on the +colonnade outside the city.</p> + +<p>But before I had had time for further compliments, +she had whispered a light “Good-bye,” and had gone +tripping toward the further end of the court and out +of sight through a little half concealed door at the +base of the campanile.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It hardly need be stated that I waited eagerly for +the day of the Pageant. Not that I was looking +forward to the entertainment itself; I remembered only +that Aelios had seen fit to invite me, and that I should +be able to see her again. So utterly out of my head +was I that her bright face now appeared to me at all +times of the day and night; her least smile, her slightest +gesture, her most careless nod, was re-enacted a +thousand times in my memory. And what if somewhere +in the past there had been an Alma Huntley whom I +had admired and fancied I had loved?—she was now +no more than a ghost amid the shadows of a vanished +world.</p> + +<p>Certainly, I had no thought of Alma when at last the +day of the pageant arrived. I was jubilant merely at +the prospect of speaking with Aelios again; I could +hardly restrain my impatience, but left for the festivities +a full hour earlier than necessary. Such was my +eagerness that I could not even walk at a normal +pace, but unconsciously hastened my steps as when, +in my native land, I had feared to miss a street car +or be too late for an appointment with Alma.</p> + +<p>But the day’s pleasure was to be unexpectedly varied. +As I hastened through the streets, striding more rapidly +than ever before in this land of leisure, I heard +a well known voice shouting behind me, “Hey, wait +a minute! Where are you going so fast?”</p> + +<p>With a sinking heart I wheeled about—to face the +grinning Stranahan.</p> + +<p>“Great Jerusalem, you were racing so I could hardly +catch up!” he panted, as he joined me. “Where you +bound for, anyway?”</p> + +<p>“Where are you bound for?” I countered.</p> + +<p>“To the pageant, of course,” he informed me. And, +amiably unconscious that he might be interfering with +my plans, he suggested, “Well, we both seem to be +going in the same direction, so what do you say to +going together?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, let’s go together,” I had to acquiesce; and so +it happened that Stranahan and I reached the Agripides +Theatre arm in arm.</p> + +<p>As I might have known, we were much too early; +the doors were open, but the audience had scarcely +begun to arrive. Indeed, the whole enormous open-air +theatre was occupied only by a few children who +danced and played about the stage and romped from +tier to tier of the seaweed-cushioned marble seats.</p> + +<p>Upon entering, we paused for a view of the giant +theatre, which seemed large enough to accommodate +an entire community, and which was constructed with +a simple and yet majestic art that I thought admirable. +The seat arrangement was that of the typical +Greek theatre, but the stage surprised me, not only +by its size but by its general appearance, for it was +not less than two or three acres in extent, and was +completely enclosed by a ring of columns bearing a +dome apparently inlaid with ebony and gold. But +what particularly caught my attention was an object +which was evidently not an integral part of the building—an +amorphous mass many feet in height and covering +more than half of the stage, but completely +mantled in a linen-like white cloth that was like a +garment of mystery.</p> + +<p>But Stranahan would brook not more than a moment’s +pause for viewing the building. Impetuously he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[327]</span>started down the steeply sloping central aisle, and did +not halt until he had reached the front row, where +he appropriated the best seat as nonchalantly as +though it had been reserved for him. Of course, I +had no choice except to deposit myself at his side; +but I could not help wishing that he had chosen a +less conspicuous position.</p> + +<p>It was not long before the theatre began to fill. +Singly and in whole family groups the people were +arriving, children and gray old men and bright-faced +girls and youths; and all wore happy, expectant smiles, +and all were clad in their pastel-tinted gowns that made +them look like animated flowers. I had a chance now +to observe the Atlanteans as never before; and, as +never before, I was struck by the exceptional number +of well formed and beautiful faces; by the fact that +every one seemed tranquil and contented, and that +there was little if any sign of tragedy or sorrow. +Here was no evidence of the worn and withered, the +distorted, the grotesque, the wolfish, the weasel and +the bovine types so common on earth; even the old +seemed to wear a sweet and placid and at times a +beautiful look, which contrasted strangely with the +sour and crochety expression I had regarded as +natural; and most of the faces bore the imprint of +something akin to poetry and music, an exalted something +that I had first noted in Aelios and that set the +Atlanteans apart from every other race I had ever +known.</p> + +<p>Even to be among these people seemed to produce a +strange and uplifting effect upon me. I do not know +what mysterious psychic currents were at work, and +I cannot say that my imagination did not betray me; +but I do distinctly remember that, as the theatre gradually +filled, a singular sense of well-being and almost +of thankfulness came upon me, a feeling of spiritual +tranquility and repose, as though by some subtle +transference of thought I had shared the mood of +the multitude and become one with them in heart. +Even Stranahan seemed to have been affected, for he +had none of his usual boisterousness; he talked but +little, and there was a rapt and almost devout look +in his eyes, as though he too had caught the glimmer +of some rare loveliness.</p> + +<p>Yet there was still a shadow across my happiness—and +possibly across his as well. As I scanned the +faces that thronged down the aisles and along the +tiers of seats, there was one smiling countenance for +which I searched in vain. Surely, Aelios had not +forgotten the day, nor had she forgotten her implied +promise to see me here; yet till the last seat was +filled by the expectant crowd, I scrutinized the faces +of the newcomers, only to be assured that Aelios was +not among them.</p> + +<p>But after about an hour, my thoughts were forcibly +recalled from Aelios to the spectacle in the great +theatre. A sudden flickering of the great golden orbs +attracted our attention; and we noted that those luminaries +were being dimmed as though by unseen hands +until they had less than half their usual brightness. +At the same time, long shafts of light began to shoot +out simultaneously from all points of the horizon,—multicolored +shafts that included all the hues of the +rainbow. In wide ambling curves they met the dark +glass of the roof, splashing it with red and purple, +orange and green, lavender and violet; and for many +minutes the play and interplay of color continued, the +searchlights seeming to work out all manner of patterns +and arabesques which endured for a moment +and vanished.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The one thing to which I could liken this pageant +of light was the music that sometimes preceded +theatrical performances in our own land. The flashing +colors had all the ethereal loveliness of music; and +like music they prepared one for a mood of rapture +and contemplation. And when at length the original +lights had faded out, to be replaced by others that +shone directly down upon the open platform or stage, +this mood was strengthened and intensified; and at +the same time I felt that we had but beheld an introduction +to the real exhibition.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, in the illumination of the many-hued +searchlights, a white-gowned woman appeared upon +the stage. She was very young, scarcely more than +a girl, I thought, and her face had something of that +sweetness and radiance which distinguished Aelios; +while in the colored glow of the everchanging lights +she seemed some shimmering, ethereal thing, possibly +a butterfly, possibly some apparition as unreal as rainbows +or moonlit cloud.</p> + +<p>I was surprised, accordingly, when the fairy-like +creature began to speak. Or perhaps it would not be +correct to say that she spoke; her words came in a +soft, wonderfully melodious voice more than half like +song; and merely to listen to her was to be lulled and +soothed as though by music.</p> + +<p>Yet, despite the spirit of exaltation and almost of +worship she aroused in me, I did not miss the drift +of what she was saying.</p> + +<p>“Fellow citizens,” she declared, while a hush came +over the assemblage, and all strained forward so as +to lose not a syllable, “fellow citizens, for this year’s +celebration we have decided to present a historical +pageant. Imagine yourselves borne backward almost +thirty-one hundred years, to those days when the +Submergence was not yet an accomplished fact, and +Agripides stood before the old National Assembly +urging the Good Destruction. Agripides shall now +appear before you, as he appeared to your forefathers +in the lands above the sea; you shall be the National +Assembly before which he speaks; and he shall present +his views to you as he presented them to our ancestors, +and depict for you, as he depicted for them, the +reasons why Atlantis should become a sunken continent. +Behold, here comes Agripides!”</p> + +<p>With a wide-sweeping bow the speaker ceased, retreating +from view through some unseen door; and +at the same instant some invisible instrument sent +forth a sound like a trumpet blast, and from the rear +of the stage a tall figure appeared, walking slowly +and with head bent low as though in thought.</p> + +<p>“Agripides! Agripides!” came one or two indistinct +murmurs from behind me, but there was no such +tumult of applause as I might have expected. Yet all +eyes were directed eagerly toward the newcomer, and +I found myself a partner in the tense excitement of +the multitude.</p> + +<p>Even had I not heard the name Agripides, I should +have recognized the advancing figure from the bust +shown me by Aelios—there was the same bearded +countenance, the same broad and noble brow, the same +furrowed and sympathetic features. But one characteristic +there was which the bust could not show, +and which, while merely incidental, struck me with +peculiar force. The garments of Agripides were not +gay-hued, like those of modern Atlanteans, but were of +a deep and somber brown; and they clung to his body +so closely as apparently to interfere with his walking, +and to make him look disquietingly like an animated +corpse.</p> + +<p>But I forgot all such irrelevant impressions the moment +that Agripides—or, rather, his living representative—had +uttered his first word. “Fellow members +of the National Assembly,” said he, with a low bow, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[328]</span>while in the audience an awed silence held sway, “for +the hundredth time I address you on the subject of +the proposed Submergence. And for the hundredth +time I remind you that we have no choice in the matter: +it is a question of the submergence either of +the land of Atlantis or of its soul. Let me prove this +to you, Members of the Assembly; let me show you +how near the soul of Atlantis already is to submergence. +Watch carefully as a stream of typical present-day +men and women passes by.”</p> + +<p>The speaker ceased, and from invisible corridors on +both sides of the stage came a noise as of shuffled +feet, chattering voices, horns and bells and clattering +wheels. “By the Holy Father, if we’re not back in +the old U. S. A.!” muttered Stranahan so loud that +many of the audience could hear him; and he leaned +so far forward that I feared he would fall over the +railing into the stage.</p> + +<p>But the spectacle before us was so engrossing as +to make me forget even Stranahan’s absurd conduct. +Very quickly I came to agree that Atlantis before the +Submergence must indeed have been hideous; I had +never known anything quite so ugly as the scene we +now witnessed. From both sides of the stage a slow +procession of men and women began to file, the two +streams passing each other and trailing out in opposite +directions; and the faces and figures of the people +were the most repulsive I had ever seen. Some were +so lean and scrawny as to remind me of walking +skeletons; others, fat and bloated, waddled along like +living caricatures with scarcely the power of self-locomotion; +and the majority had an unnaturally sallow, +flushed or mottled complexion that seemed to set +them off as a species apart. And their clothes were +in accord with their appearance; they were all clad +in a drab brown or black, some with a peculiar steely +color that encircled their chins and ears, some with +strange metallic waist-bands that prevented them from +turning in any direction, some with ornamental brass +spikes that elevated the soles of their feet inches +above their heels and converted their walking into a +form of hobbling.</p> + +<p>But what chiefly interested me were the faces of the +people. Not a few, with heavy paunches, and baggy, +feeble cheeks, reminded me of nothing so much as of +a certain bristly domestic beast; not a few others had +features grotesquely like those of baboons, bears, +wolves, foxes, weasels, or tigers. And a majority +looked like nothing so much as the prey of tigers, +weasels, and foxes. Their eyes had a hunted expression, +and their whole manner was one of timidity; +they seemed continually confused and frightened and +ready to run at any sound, and yet had something of +the cowed look of creatures beaten into resigned +despair.</p> + +<p>All the while, as they proceeded across the stage, +they produced a perfect pandemonium of squeaks, +grunts, hoots, rumblings, howlings, and snarlings, some +seeming quite familiar to me, others sounding like +voices of the wilderness. The acting, I thought, was +marvelous; it was executed so perfectly that for the +time I had quite forgotten it was acting at all. Hearing +the uproar and looking at the dark-robed, distorted +multitude, I could not but think by contrast of +Aelios and the grace and beauty that surrounded her; +and I missed her even more keenly than before, and +wondered impatiently if I should not yet see her at +the pageant.</p> + +<p>At length, to my relief, the last of the uncouth mob +had gone trooping off the stage, and only the tall +figure of Agripides remained. “Members of the Assembly,” +resumed the statesman, after all had again +become quiet, “you have now had a close view of our +typical citizens. Do you not believe them more deeply +submerged than if a thousand fathoms of water rolled +above them? Or if you are not yet convinced, let me +show you these people in their normal occupations.”</p> + +<p>As though at a prearranged signal, three or four +huge instruments, with long segmented oblong belts +moving on wheels, were dragged to the center of the +stage by half-invisible wires. I recognized these machines +as curious forms of treadmills, for on each of +the belts a man had been deposited, and each, man +was forcing his legs back and forth at tremendous +speed, as though running in a desperate hurry. But +no matter how furiously they worked, all the men remained +in exactly the same place, for the belts slid +backward precisely as fast as their feet pressed forward.</p> + +<p>“Saints in heaven,” opined Stranahan, with a puzzled +frown, “they’d get there just as fast if they took their +time!”</p> + +<p>After a minute or two the treadmills were pulled off +the stage and Agripides again briefly addressed the +audience. “My friends,” said he, “I will now illustrate +for you another of the leading occupations of our +times.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I do not know what rare art of stagecraft was then +applied, for as if by magic a bright bed of flowers +sprang to life before us, and long-stemmed purple and +yellow blossoms resembling tulips and hollyhocks waved +above some retiring white-budding plant reminding me +of the violet. But I was to be disappointed if I expected +anything beautiful to follow. From one side of +the stage came a series of oaths, growls, curses, +shrieks, hisses, and mutterings, gradually increasing +in fierceness and volume; and soon an amorphous mass +of squirming, twisting, embattled men writhed into +view. I could not tell how many of them there were, +except that they were numbered by the dozen; and I +could not determine what they looked like, except that +they were all soberly attired. But it was as if a +storm had been let loose among them; they were literally +tumbling over one another, wrestling with the +ferocity of lions, snatching violently at one another’s +arms, legs and necks, until they seemed little more +than a blur of convulsive, wildly agitated trunks and +limbs.</p> + +<p>“Holy Methuselah, it’s a new kind of football!” cried +Stranahan, excitedly, as he craned his long neck far +forward for a better view of the contest.</p> + +<p>But before I had time to chide Stranahan on this +senseless outburst, I was occupied by a new observation. +The struggling men were advancing across the +stage, and slowly intruding upon the flower beds. +But none seemed to notice, and the pandemonium continued +until the actors were beating down the flowers +on all sides and not a hollyhock or tulip or violet remained.</p> + +<p>Then suddenly one of the men was thrust out of +the wild multitude, and lay on the ground as if dead, +his clothes ripped and torn, his body gashed and +bleeding. But no one seemed to notice him, and his +shrieks and howls rang forth until another had been +flung aside with broken limbs, and then another, and +then another. In the end only two remained standing, +both grappling desperately for a little metallic disk +that glittered a deep yellow. With bestial snarls and +screeches they wrestled over this trinket; and at +length, still wrestling, and with faces blood-red and +distorted, they tumbled, moaning, off the stage.</p> + +<p>After this exhibition there was silence for several +minutes. I was glad when at length Agripides seemed +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329"></a><a id="Page_330"></a>[330]</span>to feel that his audience was ready for a change of +mood, and again took the center of the stage.</p> + +<p>“Members of the National Assembly,” he said, +“you have now observed modern life in two of its +more common phases. You will find something no less +familiar in the third phase, which I am about to present +to you.”</p> + +<p>This time a gigantic clattering black machine was +rolled on to the stage by some unseen power, its innumerable +wheels and belts and chains in rapid motion, +some of them moving so swiftly as to look like +whirring shadows. But it was not the speed or smoothness +of its action that made the mechanism remarkable: +all about its side, in a long, even row, stood +scores of grime-faced and sooty men, their feet clamped +to the ground by iron vises, their arms fastened by +long rods to the wheels above. And all the while those +rods were moving, moving with rhythmic, clock-like +regularity, moving unceasingly up and down, pulling +the arms of the men with them, first the right arm +and then the left, then again the right and then the +left, as though they had done so for all eternity and +would continue to do so for all eternity.</p> + +<p>“The devil take me,” muttered Stranahan, who had +to have his way, “It ain’t the men that work the machines! +It’s the machines that work the men!”</p> + +<p>I am afraid that Stranahan’s remarks diverted my +attention and made me miss part of the performance, +for when next I turned my eyes to the stage, the +scene was much changed. A great claw-like steel device +was reaching out from the interior of the machine, +seizing one of the men, wrenching him from +his position as though he had been a misplaced screw, +and casting him bleeding to the floor. And while he +lay there moaning and helpless, a clamor of shouts +was heard from off stage, and a score of tattered men +came rushing in and threw themselves down before +the machine as if in reverence. And, as though endowed +with intelligence, the machine seemed to hear, +for it reached out the same great claw-like hand, +clutched one of the men at random, and thrust him +into the place of the rejected one. And now the +arms of the newcomer began to work up and down, +up and down unremittingly, accompanying the steel +rods in the same even and automatic fashion as the +arms of his predecessor.</p> + +<p>The next feature on the program was a long oration +delivered in Agripides’ most celebrated words; following +which the actor prepared the way for the climax +by a few explanatory comments. “Members of +the National Assembly,” said he, still using phrases +first uttered three thousand years before, “I wish you +to look carefully at Axios, which, as you know, is one +of the leading commercial cities of our age. First +gaze upon its domes and towers as they are now +familiar to you; then behold them as they will be +when the unleashed waters of the Atlantic come sweeping +across them; then open your eyes wide for a foreglimpse +of our land in the golden era after the Submergence.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Even as the last words were uttered, my attention +was drawn to the huge amorphous mass which +lay cloaked in white linen at one side of the stage. +Invisible hands seemed to take hold of the covering; +slowly it was lifted into the air, then slowly pulled +to one side and out of sight. At first I could only +gape in astonishment—the strangest of all conceivable +things was being unbared! Distinctly I was reminded +of the paintings I had seen in various of the halls of +Archeon—that which stared before me was a city in +miniature, but a city such as I would have expected +no Atlantean to conceive. Not the faintest resemblance +did it bear to this undersea realm of statue-like +temples and many-columned palaces; rather, it +was like a city of the modern world. Row upon unbending +row of box-like edifices, apparently of granite +or brick, loomed at irregular heights and with flat, +ungarnished roofs; tier after tier of little oblong windows +looked out from the smoke-stained sides of the +towers; slender defiles, so narrow that they reminded +one of light-wells, separated the opposing ranks of +masonry; and at the base of these dreary gray pits +swarmed masses of dark-robed men and women, +jammed together so compactly that one wondered if +they were not standing on each other’s toes.</p> + +<p>“By the Blessed Mother, if it ain’t little old New +York!” stuttered Stranahan, nudging me knowingly in +the side.</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke, I was startled by a noise as of +a thunder clap. And the next instant, the midget +men and women scattered pellmell, vanishing through +little openings in the walls. Meanwhile the thunder +claps continued, loud-rumbling and resonant, one crash +pealing and reverberating before the echoes of the last +had died away; and miniature lightnings darted and +flared from the great greenish vault above. As the +display proceeded, it grew constantly brighter and +more vivid; and I was wondering what the sequel +would be, when suddenly there came a blast so loud +that I clapped my hands to my ears in terror. Simultaneously +a brilliant blade of light seemed to cut +dagger-like through the buildings, wrapping them +momentarily in a sheet of flame; the walls seemed +to be heaving and trembling as though in an earthquake’s +claws, and there came to my ears a rattling +and crashing as of falling masonry.</p> + +<p>Then, while the clamor increased and the buildings +heaved and wavered with the motion of tossing ships +at sea, the ground beneath them gave a sharp lunge +downward; and like toy castles, the towers all at once +collapsed, some falling over their neighbors in crashing +confusion, some shaken into great dusty piles of +mortar and stone, some stripped of their walls yet +still standing with gaunt contorted ribs of steel, some +bursting into flame that glared and crackled fiendishly +and poured out dense, black spirals of smoke.</p> + +<p>But scarcely had the thunder of the overthrown +walls died down when a new and more ominous roaring +came to my ears, a tumult as of Niagara or of +sea-waves splashing the cliffs. Out of the great +earthen basin into which the ruined city had subsided, +there issued a foaming confusion of waters, as though +a reservoir had burst its dam; and from all sides a +white-flecked torrent came plunging down upon the +wrecked towers, struggling and storming above their +lower stories as if to wash them utterly away. And +it seemed that they were to have their will, for the +towers were sinking, visibly sinking beneath the waves. +Heap after gigantic heap of debris dipped its head into +the waters and was lost to view; edifice after looming +edifice, dismantled and battered, was engulfed by +the insatiable flood. And now the fires no longer +burned and the smoke no longer soared; now only two +or three tortured steel columns reached out of the indifferent +sea; now only one was left, one lean and +crooked metallic shaft like the agonized clutching hand +of a drowning man. But soon even this had slipped +from view, and the frothy-tongued, deep-blue waters +gave no sign that a city had ever barred their path.</p> + +<p>And as the last trace of old Atlantis vanished, a +grayness as of twilight suffused the scene; the golden +lights became dim, and dimmer still, until they had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[331]</span>fluttered out altogether, and blackness blotted all +things from our gaze.</p> + +<p>But as we sat there spellbound in the dark, feeling +like men who had beheld the end of all things, there +came on airy change to break the dreariness of our +mood. From far, far away, apparently whole worlds +away, issued a faint tinkling music, more like the +song of elves than of any mortal being. It was half +like the loveliness that one hears in dreams, and more +than half like the remote ghostly melodies borne to +one across the wind; but gradually it grew nearer, +gradually louder and more distinct, although its +ethereal and fairy-like quality still remained. At +length I recognized that it proceeded from a chorus +of voices, a wonderfully sweet womanly chorus whose +members may have been human but who seemed little +less than angelic. For it was with a divine exaltation +that they sang, and their tones were the tones of immortal +sweetness and hope, and they seemed to assure +me that all was well with the world and with life, +and that beauty and happiness must triumph.</p> + +<p>As the singing continued, the darkness was gradually +dispersed; yet the great orb above did not resume +the full brightness of the Atlantean day, but remained +subdued to a rose-tinged twilight glow. And in that +twilight a troop of shimmering-gowned dancing maidens +appeared, swinging from side to side with superbly +harmonious movements of arm and waist and ankle +until they seemed not so much individual dancers as +parts of the eternal rhythm of the universe. But +whether the singing proceeded from them or from persons +unseen was more than I could judge; for just +then my eye was caught by the leader of the dancers, +and my thoughts were as if paralyzed. As she glided from +side to side with movements like music, she smiled a +gloriously sweet smile; and that smile seemed to be +bent full upon me, though here my imagination may +have borne false reports. But with furiously thumping +heart and a surging of something dangerously like +tenderness, I realized that Aelios had kept her promise +to see me at the pageant.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_3125" id="img329"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img329.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Then, while the clamor increased and the buildings heaved and wavered +with the motion of tossing ships at sea, the ground beneath them gave +a sharp lunge downward; and like toy castles, the towers all at once +collapsed.... But scarcely had the thunder of the overthrown walls died +down, when a new and more ominous roaring came to my ears, a tumult as +of Niagara or of sea-waves splashing the cliffs ... + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI +<br> +An Official Summons</h2></div> + + +<p>Three or four days after the pageant, I was surprised +to receive a visitor in the shape of a +serious-looking gray old man whom I did not +remember ever having seen before. In his hand he +bore a little blue-sealed parchment scroll, on which my +name had been inscribed in the native language; and +by his grave manner, and particularly by the significant +way in which he held the document, I feared that +his mission might prove of ominous importance.</p> + +<p>My first impression was that I had unwittingly violated +some local law, and was being summoned to +court to answer for the crime. But this fear was +swiftly dissipated. “I congratulate you, young man,” +said my visitor, having determined that I was the person +he sought. “This is an occasion such as comes +but once in a lifetime.” And with a sedate and deferential +air, and apparently not surmising that the nature +of his mission was still a mystery to me, he +passed the little document to me; following which he +congratulated me again, and solemnly bowed his way +out of the room.</p> + +<p>I now suspected that I was either the recipient of +some high honor or the appointee to some responsible +office. It is no wonder, accordingly, that my fingers +trembled when I ripped open the blue seal, and that +in my eagerness I almost tore the parchment as well. +But again my expectations were to prove ill-founded. +The message turned out to be very brief; and, far +from providing cause either for exultation or dismay, +it served merely to puzzle me.</p> + +<p>“To the respected Anson Harkness,” ran the words, +which were handsomely formed in the native script, +“the Committee on Selective Assignments wishes to +announce that it is ready for the hearings and examinations +in his case. If he will therefore be so kind +as to present himself at the Committee offices any noon +during the next ten days, he may be assured that the +investigations will be carried out with a minimum of +delay and a decision promptly rendered.”</p> + +<p>And that was all, except for the signature of the +Head of the Committee! Not a word as to what the +Selective Assignments might be! Not a word as to +the nature of the “hearings and examinations!” Time +after time I re-read this queer message, scrutinizing it +until I had memorized it in its entirety; but the more +I read the more perplexed I became, and I could almost +believe myself the target of some practical joker. Just +what was to be investigated? And what decision was +to be reached? Was it that my conduct was thought +improper and was to be reviewed? That I was considered +too scornful of local customs, or too friendly to +Aelios? Or—judging from the congratulatory manner +of the gray-haired one—was I somehow deemed +worthy of reward, possibly through the connivance of +Aelios? Or was I to be examined as prize scholars +are sometimes examined before being granted a +scholarship?</p> + +<p>To confess the truth, none of these possibilities appeared +very credible to me. But I could think of +nothing more plausible, and at length was forced to +recognize that the mystery was too deep for my penetration. +The only reasonable course would be to consult +one of the natives, who could doubtless answer +all my questions without any trouble. And since I +was acquainted with only one of the natives besides +my tutor, and since it would give me particular +pleasure to consult that one, I decided that, if possible, +I should refer the baffling document to Aelios.</p> + +<p>But how to isolate Aelios long enough for a conversation +was in itself a problem. After some thought, +however, I conceived an idea which seemed promising: +if I could determine where Aelios lived and then pay +her a visit, I might solve the mystery of the Selective +Assignments at the same time as I made possible a +closer intimacy with Aelios herself.</p> + +<p>Yet it was only by a severe effort that I found the +courage to carry out my plans——to follow Aelios +one afternoon after the conclusion of her day’s instruction. +Through innumerable curving lanes and +avenues I trailed her and her fellow tutors, pressing +close to the columns and the walls of the building, +like a detective tracking his prey. At length, when +we seemed to be approaching the outskirts of the +city, Aelios waved a pleasant farewell to her companions, +and started off alone down a little path bordered +by a deep-red geranium-like flower. Thinking +this to be my opportunity, I hastened my footsteps; +but before I could overtake her she had reached the +end of the path, and, quite oblivious of my approach, +had entered the arching doorway of a house—or, should +I call it a palace?—with curving convex walls of the +color of pearl.</p> + +<p>For several minutes I stood wavering without. And +it was in half-timid hesitancy, that at lest I forced +my feet to the threshold and urged my hands to rap +at the violet stained-glass panels of the door.</p> + +<p>It was but a minute before the sound of approaching +footsteps notified me that I had not knocked in +vain. But in that minute I was swept by wild hopes +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[332]</span>and still wilder torments and regrets. Would it be +Aelios herself that answered me? Or would it be +some member of her family, possibly her mother or +father, or else a sister almost as charming as herself? +And, if so, what should I say? and on what business +pretend to seek a conference with Aelios?</p> + +<p>While I was wrapped in such thoughts, the door +swung open, and I found myself face to face—not with +Aelios, nor with her mother or father, nor with a +sister of hers! But a young man of perhaps twenty-five, +broad-browed and sparkling-eyed like most of the +Atlanteans, stood looking inquiringly out at me.</p> + +<p>“Is this—is this where Aelios lives?” I gasped, in +embarrassment.</p> + +<p>“Yes, Aelios lives here,” he returned, in matter-of-fact +tones. And then, with a winning smile, “You +would like to see her?”</p> + +<p>I admitted that he had surmised correctly, and was +relieved to be admitted into the house without further +questioning. Having passed through a broad hallway +or vestibule illumined by large, swinging orange-colored +lamps, we entered a daintily tapestried sitting +room featured by lanterns of pale blue. The young +man bade me be seated on the seaweed-decorated sofa, +and then left me momentarily to myself; and in that +brief snatch of solitude I found myself assailed by +storms of jealous questions. Who was the young man? +And in what relationship did he stand to Aelios? +Was he perchance some suitor of hers? Or was he +merely her brother? Or was it possible—oh, unspeakable +thought!—that she was already married, and that +this was her husband?</p> + +<p>At the latter reflection I experienced in advance all +the pangs of unsuccessful love. My head swam with +senseless fury; I was weighed down with anticipatory +despair, and saw myself the victim of hopes that +could never be fulfilled. I had just reached the darkest +point of my broodings, and was just telling myself +that of course I could never attract so admirable a +woman as Aelios, when I heard a well known melodious +voice murmuring, “What is the matter today, +my friend? What are you so depressed about?”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Recalled from my dejection as from a bad +dream, I sprang up to take the hand of Aelios, +who was smiling as graciously as though my visit had +been expected and even welcomed.</p> + +<p>But what I next said I cannot recall. No doubt it +was some bit of nonsense not worth repeating; indeed, +it would perhaps have been some bit of sentimental +nonsense, had I not recalled the existence of the unknown +young man. But since I was too diffident to +inquire who he might be, and since the thought of him +remained with me in spite of Aelios’ kindness, I refrained +from all sentimental advances in this, our first +private meeting. It is true, that whenever her blue +eyes flashed, they drew me toward her like twin magnets; +it is true, that whenever she smiled, her inexpressibly +sweet smile, I yearned to dash down all +barriers in one long fervent confession; yet I was +thankful even to be able to sit side by side with her +quietly talking. In the wide years that separate me +now from that brief enchanted interview, my memory +has lost track of what she said, it merely retains how +she said it; I can recall the sparkling eagerness with +which her words poured forth, like the wavelets of a +rapid crystal stream; I can recapture the sage nodding +and tossing of her head, the ripples of deep feeling +that passed and repassed on her mobile countenance, +the luminescence as from some inner sun that would +make her whole face shine as she uttered some rare +bit of wit or fancy. But I do not even know the subject +of our discussion, except that it was a theme +suggested by her and that it was impersonal; I only +know that it was she who did most of the talking +while I looked on in awed worship, and that either +she was blind to my reverence for her or else chose +to ignore it.</p> + +<p>It was not until I rose to leave that my thoughts +reverted to the subject which had brought me to see +Aelios. And then, since the hour was late and my +mood was no longer prosaic, I did not choose to discuss +that topic long. I merely showed Aelios the +letter, which she glanced at briefly and with a broad +smile; then she surprised me by congratulating me +just as the gray-haired bearer of the message had +done.</p> + +<p>But she was exceedingly chary of information. “If +you will go to the Committee offices,” she suggested, +“the whole matter will be made much clearer to you +than I could make it.” And, after directing me where +to find the offices, she added, “I’d advise you to waste +no time, or else you may lose your turn and have to +wait another half year. You know, that’s what happened +once to my cousin Argol, who met you at the +door just before.”</p> + +<p>Genuinely gratified that my doubts about Cousin +Argol had been dispersed, I thanked Aelios and turned +to leave. My heart pattered happily when I found +her accompanying me to the outer door; and I felt +an actual thrill of joy when she pressed her little hand +firmly in my great one, and murmured, in tones that +could leave no doubt of her sincerity, “Come again, +my friend. Come whenever you wish some one to talk +with. I shall always be glad to see you.”</p> + +<p>And it was with a glow of triumph that I found +myself walking down the flower-bordered walk toward +the main avenue. Aelios was more friendly than I +had had any reason to expect!—her company was even +more charming than I had imagined! Considering all +things, I had every cause to be thankful, and who +knew but that some day— But here my thoughts +reached a dazzling veil beyond which I would not allow +them to penetrate, for there were still heights that I +could not mount even in my most daring fancies.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_0625" id="img333"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img333.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Some of the trees had branches symmetrically woven into the likenesses +of great cobwebs, and from those cobwebs at regular intervals dangled +clusters of grape-like fruits; other trees were cactus-like and +leafless; and some of the shrubs and creepers bore pods resembling +those of beans and peas, except that they were over a foot in length. +The vast majority of this strange assemblage of plants seemed to be +fruit-bearing ... + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII +<br> +The High Initiation</h2></div> + + +<p>Promptly at noon the following day I presented +myself before the Committee on Selective Assignments. +The offices, which I found without +difficulty, were located on the lower floor of an imposing +blue-tinted granite edifice; and the Committee itself +occupied a hall reminding me vaguely of a court-room, +except that its ornamental columns and busts and +statues were unparalleled in any court-room I had ever +seen. Before a long marble railing sat about fifteen +men and women, some old but several conspicuously +young. All were perched on cushioned marble seats +before little marble pedestals or writing stands, and +to their rear were cases lined with rows of parchment-bound +volumes that lent the place a scholarly dignity. +In front of them, across the railing, were half a +dozen tiers of blue stone benches; and on each of the +benches stood a huge pile of books, as though the +spectators were expected to make use of their time +during any delay in the proceedings.</p> + +<p>But I was not admitted at once into this great hall. +First I was escorted into a small anteroom, where +three Atlanteans—two youths of about twenty, and a +girl of the same age—were seated studiously reading. +From a little parchment document which each carried, +I felt sure that they were here on a mission +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333"></a><a id="Page_334"></a>[334]</span>similar to my own; but so preoccupied did they seem, +that I had no opportunity to question them. For a +moment I merely stared at them impatiently; then, +turning to inspect the room, I was delighted to observe +a pile of little books on a reed stand in one corner.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>After a single curious glance, I began examining +these volumes with hungry interest. Their very +titles proved alluring, far more alluring than anything +printed I had yet seen in Atlantis, with the exception +of the lost Homeric masterpiece. Some were works +of information dealing with subjects so varied as +“Post-Submergence Mural Art,” “The Rise of Government +by Selection,” “The Stimulation of Plant Life by +Artificial Sunlight,” “History of the Abolition of +Crime,” or “History of the Decline of the Upper +World”; others were essays on such rare topics as +“The Cultivation of Genius,” “Is Altruism One of the +Human Instincts?” and “How Atlantis Found the +World by Losing It”; still others were works of literature, +and, though I had no time to observe them +carefully, I saw that they included an epic poem on +“Agripides,” a volume of lyrics by some unknown +writer of two thousand years ago as well as selections +from a dozen lyricists of the present, a poetic drama +evidently designed for performance at the annual celebration +of the Submergence, several novels and a collection +of stories, and a romance of the far future +entitled “Super-Art.”</p> + +<p>But what particularly engaged my attention was +a genial little satire known as “The Prisoner.” This +story, which was written in a crisp and simple style +that I found delightful, recounted how an Atlantean +of a thousand years before had been sentenced, as +the penalty for his sins, to pass his remaining years +in the upper world. Having been sent above seas in +a little water-tight craft propelled by intra-atomic +engines, he had set about to seek his fortune in his +new surroundings; and, finding that the way to win +distinction was to accumulate much gold, he applied +his superior Atlantean wits so well that in a short +while he became fabulously wealthy. But, after attaining +what was reputed to be success, he discovered +that his wealth meant nothing to him; he was hungry +for the art and the beauty of Atlantis, without which +the world seemed barbarous and empty. Even though +he could have purchased any treasure or luxury on +earth, he took to morbid repining; he brooded and +brooded until he went completely out of his wits, +which were finally restored to him when the Atlanteans +took pity and decided to let him return. And so +the poor man went back to his native land, having +first forfeited his riches; and this was the last case +of insanity even known among the Atlanteans.</p> + +<p>I had just completed this little story when I was +roused to reality by hearing a strange voice sonorously +pronouncing my name. Looking up, I saw a lavender-gowned +man motioning me toward the main Committee +Room; and I observed with surprise that the youths +and the girl had disappeared while I was absorbed +in my book.</p> + +<p>I found the central hall empty except for the fifteen +men and women sedately seated behind the railing; +but at sight of these grave individuals I felt my misgivings +returning, and wished that I could have been +anywhere else in the universe.</p> + +<p>“This is Anson Harkness, is it not?” rang forth +the high-pitched and yet not unpleasant voice of an +aged man whose proximity to the railing indicated that +he was the head of the Committee. And after I had +assured him that I was the person designated, the +Head Member continued, earnestly and yet not so menacingly +as I had expected, “Be seated, Anson Harkness. +It is an important matter that brings you here. +And I believe that, in your case, more than the usual +amount of time and thought will be necessary before +we can reach a decision.”</p> + +<p>The Head Member paused, cleared his throat, and +slowly proceeded, “I trust that you will co-operate +with us to the best of your ability, for only so can +we expect satisfactory results. Just as the average +man is betrothed but once in his life, so he appears +but once before this Committee; and since, as in the +case of a betrothal, much may depend upon the proper +choice—”</p> + +<p>“I beg your pardon, sir,” I interrupted, unable to +endure these long-winded sentences that only added to +my confusion, “Would you mind telling me why I am +here? As yet I haven’t the faintest idea.”</p> + +<p>The Head Member peered at me in mild surprise; +his fourteen associates darted inquiring looks at one +another.</p> + +<p>“Why, yes, that is a proper question,” he resumed, +blandly. “I had forgotten: you are a foreigner, and +are unacquainted with our ways. You will understand, +of course that foreigners were so totally unknown +before your coming that the necessity for explanation +had not occurred to me. However, the whole +matter can be made clear in a few words. You are +summoned for what is known as the High Initiation—in +other words, this should be the happiest day of +your life, since you are now regarded as having +reached maturity and so may set forth upon your +career of service to the State.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Having been a voter in the United States for the +past eleven years, I was not flattered to be told +that I had reached maturity. None the less, I held +my tongue, and listened patiently as the Head Member +continued.</p> + +<p>“The government tutor who has been instructing +you,” he pursued, “has reported that you have at least +an elementary knowledge of our language and customs, +and suggests that you be assigned at once to +service. Acting upon his recommendation, we intend +to promote you to duties that accord as nearly as +possible with your desires and capabilities. But first +we must say a word as to the methods in vogue in +our land. Ever since the great social revolution which +occurred in the second century after the submergence +and which for a time threatened to engulf us in chaos, +we have employed what is known as the Beehive System +of labor—which means that every citizen is required +to perform a certain minimum amount of +work for the State in order to accomplish those tasks +indispensable for our continued existence. Fortunately, +the utilization of intra-atomic energy and the +elimination of waste and of duplication of effort have +reduced the essential work to one-tenth of that +thought necessary before the Submergence; and the +average citizen now labors not more than an hour and +a half or two hours a day. There have, indeed, been +occasional men and women so enamored of their employment +as to insist on working four or five hours, +but such excessive application is not encouraged, for +it is believed to overcast the mind and blunt the +esthetic sensibilities.”</p> + +<p>“Then for heaven’s sake,” I burst forth, thinking +this country to be wholly without “push” and energy, +“What do people here do with their time? If they +don’t work, they must be simply bored to death!”</p> + +<p>The Head Member regarded me with a tolerant +smile, as one might regard a lunatic who makes some +harmless remark.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[335]</span></p> +<p>“That is where you misunderstand the meaning of +the word work,” he explained, with something of the +manner of a schoolmaster to a backward pupil. “Our +people do work, and work diligently indeed, and sometimes +work many hours a day—but not on those barren +practical duties to which they are assigned, and which +are necessary merely in order that the community may +exist. As soon as any man or woman has passed the +period of elementary instruction and is assigned to +service by this Committee, he finds himself in possession +of many leisure hours a day—and those hours of +leisure constitute the important part of his life, and +it is on their account that he is to be congratulated +on reaching maturity. For now he may have the opportunity +both for self-expression and for the better +sort of service to the State; he may devote himself to +study, research or creation in any field that suits his +fancy (there is absolutely no restriction in this regard, +although every one is expected to apply himself +to some definite pursuit). One, for example, may elect +to paint landscapes; a second to conduct some elaborate +philosophic inquiry; a third to write poetry; a fourth +to investigate the ways of marine animals; a fifth to +be an actor, or a musical virtuoso, or the author of +historical essays, or a critic of architecture, or a designer +of fine tapestries.”</p> + +<p>“But what if one finds nothing at all that he can +do?” I inquired, wondering how on earth I could fit +myself into this superior scheme of things.</p> + +<p>“Oh, but one must find something!” declared the +Head Member, while his colleagues eyed one another +with looks implying that I was really too naïve for belief. +“It would be a disgrace to do nothing at all except +one’s practical duties. It would mean that one had +been a failure in life; that one’s existence had added +nothing to the world. Why, there isn’t more than one +such a case a year—and then it’s usually found that +the poor sufferer has been the victim of some accident, +which blunted his mental faculties.”</p> + +<p>The Head Member paused; and while I had horrific +visions of myself as the first failure in a year, one of +the members just to the rear of the Head Member +leaned over and whispered something into his ear. +Just what he said I could not catch, but the evident +effect was to hasten proceedings, for the chief official +promptly turned to me, and, with unwonted directness, +continued, “Well, now that we have made all the necessary +explanations, let us get down to the actual assignment. +Just what sort of work do you think you +would prefer, young man?”</p> + +<p>Having no reason to believe that I would prefer any +work at all, I did nothing but gape blankly at the +speaker.</p> + +<p>“I am surprised at your hesitancy,” that sedate individual +at length continued, blandly. “There is so +much for you to do that I should think you would +simply overwhelm us with suggestions.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But I fear that I continued to do nothing but look +blank. “You will pardon me,” I pleaded, when +the suspense had become embarrassing, “if I leave the +suggestions to you. I really know so little about Atlantis +that I couldn’t possibly choose wisely.”</p> + +<p>“True, you do know little about Atlantis,” coincided +the Head Member, with a smile. “But there is something +about which you undoubtedly know a great deal, +and about which we Atlanteans know nothing at all.”</p> + +<p>“You mean—my own country?” I demanded, while +all the members of the Committee leaned forward with +interested glances.</p> + +<p>“Of course—your own country, and the upper world +in general,” the Head Member nodded, approvingly. +“You must remember, our latest news of your world +was received some three thousand years ago. Even +for a leisurely people like us, that is a long while. You +cannot imagine how curious we are as to all that +has happened since.”</p> + +<p>“And that’s what you want me to tell you?”</p> + +<p>“Naturally. We know, to be sure, that no one man +could begin to tell us everything, but at least we’d +like to learn the general outline of events. And so +we are thinking of appointing you Official Historian +of the Upper World.”</p> + +<p>“Official Historian of the Upper World!” I repeated, +like one in a daze.</p> + +<p>“Yes. Why not? Judging from the fact that +you’ve made quicker progress in our language than +any of your companions, we think you would perhaps +be better qualified for the office.”</p> + +<p>“But I haven’t specialized in history—” I started to +plead.</p> + +<p>“We’re more interested in general movements than +in particular incidents,” explained the Head Member. +“The sort of knowledge that any educated man might +give us, is what we want.</p> + +<p>“You certainly are not unacquainted with the present +civilization up above, are you?”</p> + +<p>“No, not altogether,” I was forced to acknowledge.</p> + +<p>“And you’ve been taught a reasonable amount about +the past, have you not?”</p> + +<p>“I’ve taken a number of history courses at college, +if that’s what you mean.”</p> + +<p>“Excellent! Excellent!” And the Head Member +beamed upon me ingratiatingly. “Then the rest should +be a mere matter of study and application. You don’t +object to the appointment, do you?”</p> + +<p>I confessed that I did not object.</p> + +<p>Whereupon, turning to his associates, he inquired, +“Do you all approve of the appointment of Anson +Harkness as Official Historian of the Upper World?”</p> + +<p>Since there was no dissent among the Committee +members, my life-work was apparently settled.</p> + +<p>“But just what do you expect me to do?” I queried, +somewhat doubtfully, after my appointment had been +confirmed.</p> + +<p>“You are to write a history of the upper world, of +course,” explained the Head Member, surprised that I +should ask the obvious. “How you are to proceed +will be for you to decide; but you must remember +that this will be your assigned work, to which you are +expected to devote not less than two hours a day. I +might point out, moreover, that yours is one of those +rare cases where the assigned work is so important +that you might do well to combine it with your optional +work, and so dedicate your time exclusively to +your duties as historian.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps that would be the best way,” I agreed, for +it struck me that the task before me would require +all my energies.</p> + +<p>But at that juncture an important question occurred +to me. I did not wish to seem too commercial; but +it was evident that the examiners had overlooked something +essential. “Now as to the practical returns,” I +ventured, mildly. “I know, of course, that I cannot +expect to be paid very much—”</p> + +<p>“To be paid?” repeated four or five of the Committee +members all at once, with looks of such sheer +amazement that I knew that I had blundered.</p> + +<p>“Oh, then perhaps I must show you some results +first?” I suggested, perceiving no other alternative.</p> + +<p>For two or three seconds there was silence—an +ominous, puzzling silence which made me realize that +I had given deep offense.</p> + +<p>“Young man,” the Head Member at length broke +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[336]</span>forth, severely, “I fear that you are under a grave +misapprehension. But possibly you are not wholly to +blame, for it may be that your own country still labors +under those primitive social arrangements which we +Atlanteans abolished three thousand years ago. Know, +then, that there is no such thing as payment in our +land. There is no money; there is no medium of +exchange. You do your work, and in return receive +all the necessaries of life; your meals are brought to +you by State employees, just as they have been +brought to you thus far; you are also lodged by the +State, clothed by the State, educated by the State; the +State works of art are at your disposal, you are admitted +freely to all State entertainments, and are +even granted periodic vacations to break the monotony +of existence. What more could any man desire?”</p> + +<p>“No more, of course,” I conceded, feeling utterly +crushed.</p> + +<p>“Very well, then,” said the official, with an indulgent +smile that made me feel ridiculous. “Now there is +only one more matter to be decided. How would you +like to set out on your travels the day after tomorrow?”</p> + +<p>“What travels?” I gasped, wondering what on earth +he could mean.</p> + +<p>“Why, evidently you haven’t heard about that, +either!” remarked the Head Member, noting my surprise. +“You see, every Atlantean, upon receiving his +assignment and before taking up his duties, is expected +to make a tour of the country, so as to acquaint +himself with it at first hand. Otherwise, how +could he expect to voice himself intelligently on national +affairs?”</p> + +<p>Having nothing to say in reply, I merely gaped and +remained silent.</p> + +<p>“Ordinarily, this journey requires about a month,” +my informer proceeded. “The trip is made entirely +on foot, so that one may observe the country thoroughly. +There is a party leaving in two days—perhaps you +would like to join them.”</p> + +<p>“Very well,” I assented. And, after being advised +regarding a few details of the trip and then notified +of my dismissal, I went away feeling more puzzled than +ever, for I could not believe that Atlantis could show +me anything more marvelous than it had already +shown.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII +<br> +The Journey Commences</h2></div> + + +<p>Two days later I set out on what was to prove +the most extraordinary excursion of my life. +Arriving early in the morning at the appointed +meeting place—an open, flower-bordered “circle” or +park near the western end of the town—I was greeted +by a score of eager young men and women, who introduced +themselves as my traveling companions. They +were all in an excited, highly animated condition, chatting +and jesting continually, moving about restlessly, +gay with the gaiety of high expectations; and they all, +without exception, were conspicuously and vividly +youthful, for their ages must have varied between +eighteen and twenty-one. At the same time, they resembled +their fellow Atlanteans in that they looked +utterly wholesome and unworldly, and had the grace +and beauty of persons whose lives have been unstained +and whose minds untarnished.</p> + +<p>I was just wondering whether these attractive creatures +were to be my sole companions, when I was surprised +by the sight of four newcomers—two men and +two women of somewhat maturer years than the +others. At the moment of their arrival they were surrounded +so enthusiastically by the members of the +party that I had not a chance for a clear glimpse of +them; but even a partial glimpse was enough to make +me stop short with a gasp of delight—among their +number I thought I saw the sparkling blue eyes of +Aelios! At first I was not sure; but with fast-throbbing +heart I pressed forward, and to my inexpressible +joy found that I had not been mistaken.</p> + +<p>“Aelios!” I cried, as soon as I could manage to +draw her to one side. “Aelios—what are you doing +here?”</p> + +<p>She smiled her bewilderingly sweet smile, but did +not choose to answer directly. “What are you doing +here?” she countered.</p> + +<p>“Why, you should know without asking,” I reminded +her. “Didn’t I show you my summons from the Committee +on Selective Assignments?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I remember,” she murmured. “Only, I didn’t +know you would set out on your travels so soon. But +I’m really very glad. Now you’ll be a full-fledged +citizen of Atlantis!”</p> + +<p>“But are you going with us, Aelios? Are you going, +too?” I asked, still unable to credit my good fortune.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I am going.” And, observing how quizzically +I was regarding her, she continued, “You see, three +or four tutors are assigned to each of the traveling +parties, for we have made the journey before, and are +able to explain the sights along the way.”</p> + +<p>“But how can you leave so suddenly?” I questioned, +remembering Stranahan’s daily lessons. “How about—how +about the work you were doing here?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, I am excused, of course, until my return. Some +other tutor is substituted for me, and everything goes +along smoothly enough with my students.”</p> + +<p>“Their loss is our good fortune,” said I, quite truthfully; +and Aelios acknowledged the compliment with a +gracious bow, and then smilingly rejoined the other +tutors.</p> + +<p>A few minutes later we were under way. We +crossed the Salty River on a long bridge overarched +with a crystal arcade and lined with friezes representing +mythological scenes; then on the northern +bank, we followed a little winding lane westward at +the base of the marble palaces and towers. Before +many minutes, we approached the borders of the city; +and when at length we passed into the open country, +my companions experienced a rare burst of high spirits. +Some gave expression to their feelings by low, soft +cries of joy; some capered, romped and laughed merrily +along the way; some engaged in loud-pitched and +enthusiastic discussions; but all looked carefree and +happy indeed; and I could not help being infected with +their gay mood. I experienced nothing of the constraint +that might have been only natural, for my +companions seemed to accept me frankly as one of +them, and in consequence I felt hardly out of place. +Before long I was chatting with several of the young +men as volubly as though I had known them all their +lives.</p> + +<p>Of Aelios I caught no more than a glimpse on that +first day. She seemed to be absorbed in her conversations +with the other tutors; and an occasional smiling +glance in my direction was all that she would vouchsafe +me. But I was happy merely to know that she +was near, and was convinced that succeeding days +would offer opportunities to strengthen our friendship. +And at the same time I was so well occupied that I +had little leisure for thinking of anybody in particular.</p> + +<p>To one who has never been underseas and gazed +at the landscapes of that incredible world, it will be +impossible to convey any idea of the enthusiasm and +the wonder I felt. Already I had beheld marvels in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[337]</span>Atlantis, marvels sufficient to bewilder the most audacious +imagination; but that which I now observed was +so unique as momentarily to overshadow even my previous +discoveries.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For the first hour after leaving the city we pursued +a little path that ran almost in a straight line +along the banks of the Salty River. Opposite us, +across the stream, stretched the long, low contours of +the colonnades and temples I had inspected soon after +arriving in Atlantis; and at our feet the waters shot +swiftly by, with gentle swishing and murmuring, a +green-gray expanse several hundred yards across, but +differing from all other rivers I had ever beheld in +that it was of the same width at all points and flowed +in a straight and orderly manner without any twists, +turns or meanderings.</p> + +<p>All this, of course, I had already observed; and my +first surprises were not to come until at length the +road bent abruptly northward away from the river and +we entered what was for me a virgin territory. As +we advanced, the vegetation became denser and more +curious; tall reeds, bushes and trees began to cluster +about us until I had the impression of being lost in +a jungle. But it was a jungle such as no explorer has +ever viewed in the wilds of Africa, New Guinea, or +Brazil, for the plants were so fantastic that even the +strange undersea vegetation I had already beheld +seemed commonplace by comparison. Here, for the +first time, the trees were of a vivid green, and a normal +foliage was abundant; yet there was so much +which looked abnormal that I could only stare and +stare in amazement. Some of the trees had branches +symmetrically woven into the likenesses of great cobwebs, +and from those cobwebs at regular intervals +dangled dusters of grape-like fruits; other trees were +cactus-like and leafless, with huge round protuberances +at regular intervals along their spiny boles; still others +were almost concealed amid thick meshes of vines, or +were adorned with multicolored cup-shaped blossoms +larger than a man’s head, or dominated by scores of +succulent-looking stalks like gigantic asparagus. Then +again some were little more than great rounded and +compressed masses of leafage, reminding me of ten-foot +cabbages; and some would have struck me as +nothing more than ordinary mushrooms, had they not +reached as high as my waist; and some of the shrubs +and creepers bore pods resembling those of beans and +peas, except that they were over a foot in length. But +the most conspicuous fact about this strange assemblage +of plants was that the vast majority seemed to +be fruit-bearing; and on all sides one could observe a +multitude of green fruits of all sizes and shapes, as +well as a profusion of the ripening and ripe product, +some of it small as cherries and some large as watermelons, +some pale green and some gaudy red, some +lemon-hued and some a modest pink and some a deep +purple, but all striking one by a contrast and a variety +as pleasing to the eye as it was extraordinary.</p> + +<p>As we entered this peculiar jungle-like region, I +noted a marked change in the atmosphere. For the +first time, I became aware that there could be such a +thing as climate in Atlantis: the air was growing dank +and overheated, and I had the impression of having +entered the tropics. And simultaneously I observed +an increase of light that for the moment dazzled me, +and I felt as if a torrid sun were burning directly above. +Yet the source of the added warmth and illumination +was in no way a mystery: brilliant white lamps had +been placed at intervals along the great roof-supporting +tinted columns, glaring down upon the foliage like +miniature suns, and combining with the larger golden +orbs to lend the scene a dream-like and unearthly +beauty.</p> + +<p>Before long I noted that the vegetation was interrupted +every few hundred yards by a ditch from five +to ten feet across and filled to the brim with sluggish +brown water. Had not these trenches invariably been +of even width and geometrical straightness, I might +have mistaken them for rivulets; but their precise outlines +would permit but one interpretation, and they +brought me remembrances of the irrigation canals I +had seen on the semi-arid plains of Arizona and California. +It seemed, however, that they served more +than a single purpose; for as we crossed a little arching +bridge over one of the widest of their waterways, +I saw a long, flat boat anchored just beneath my feet; +and four or five men, clad in close-fitting gray instead +of in the usual long-flowing tinted robes, were busy +loading this barge with newly plucked clusters of blue +and crimson and orange-colored fruit.</p> + +<p>Even had there been no one to enlighten me concerning +these queer jungles, I would now have understood +their general nature. Still they seemed to embody +a multitude of mysteries, mysteries to be explained +by no known laws of biology; and, accordingly, +I listened eagerly when one of the tutors, finding himself +besieged by an enthusiastic, questioning coterie, +launched forth upon on explanatory discourse.</p> + +<p>“From the earliest times, as you know,” said he, +speaking informally, and yet with something of the +manner of a professor addressing his class, “We Atlanteans +have been skilled in horticulture. To begin +with, nature provided the stimulus, for the flora of +an island such as Atlantis is apt to be unique, and +that of our own country was particularly so. But long +before the Submergence, we had outdone nature by developing +a multitude of new plants; and since the +Submergence our botanists have busied themselves incessantly +with the study of artificial stimulation of +vegetable life. It is well known how industriously they +have experimented, trying the effect of new soils and +environments, grafting the limbs of innumerable +bushes and trees, cross-fertilizing and encouraging all +favorable chance growths or ‘sports’; and in these +pursuits they have been aided by the altered environment +of Atlantis, which seems favorable to rapid and +sudden variation, and has given rise to innumerable +varieties of plants unknown before.</p> + +<p>“I do not need to tell you how essential all this +has been for the maintenance of Atlantean life, for +our land is limited in extent and much of it is unsuited +for agriculture; only by the intensive and +forced development of the rest can we hope to support +our people. And so it has been necessary to +evolve food-plants that would produce more prolifically +than any known before; and at the same time we have +had to develop a light which would be the chemical +equivalent of sunlight, and so would stimulate the +chlorophyl of the leaves, the original source of all +organic matter. This, to be sure, was accomplished +even before the Submergence; but since the Submergence +there has been a constant improvement in +the quality of the artificial sunlight; and in the +eleventh century A. S., the great chemist, Sorandos, +produced a light actually superior to sunlight. At +least (for some reason that Sorandos himself never +made sufficiently plain) it stimulates plant life to an +extraordinarily rapid growth, even though it has the +compensating fault of inducing rapid decay. It is this +light which you see shining down upon you now from +the great stone columns.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338"></a><a id="Page_339"></a>[339]</span></p> + +<p>The speaker paused, and I thought the time opportune +to put a question which had been puzzling +me. “You tell us that you have need for intensive +crop production,” said I, “and yet have I not heard +that you can produce food chemically?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, indeed,” admitted the tutor, with a shrug. +“The same light that develops the chlorophyl in +plants may be employed for the synthetic manufacture +of starch and sugar out of charcoal and distilled water. +But that is an old-fashioned method, and not very successful +on the whole, for we have found that this +artificial food lacks some element essential for good +health.”</p> + +<p>“Even so, why rely wholly upon plant life?” I inquired, +curious to know why my diet in Atlantis had +been strictly vegetarian. “Do you never—do you never +eat meat?”</p> + +<p>“Eat meat?” The tutor’s tone was one of astonishment; +and I observed half a dozen pairs of eyes staring +at me in shocked surprise.</p> + +<p>For a moment I felt like one who has urged cannibalism +or some other barbarous rite. And my discomfort +was scarcely relieved when my informant +sternly declared, “There has been no meat consumed +in Atlantis since the Submergence; flesh-eating has +been discarded along with the other uncivilized practices +of the ancients. How could we feel ourselves to +be superior to the beasts and yet live at the cost of +blood?”</p> + +<p>“But are there no animals at all in Atlantis?” I +found the courage to inquire.</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes, though naturally we couldn’t take care +of many after the Submergence.” And my companion +paused, and pointed to a little red-breasted feathered +thing perched amid the dense green of the foliage. +“There are birds of course—we could not dispense with +them. Then there are a few insects, such as the butterflies—and +the bees, which give us honey and are +necessary for plant pollenization—though all harmful +insects were long ago destroyed. Also, there are squirrels +and chipmunks and other small creatures; and in +the Salty River and the canals there are numerous +fish. And in some places along the banks of the Salty +River there are hundreds of bullfrogs.”</p> + +<p>“Bullfrogs!” I exclaimed. “Bullfrogs!” And suddenly +I understood the meaning of those strange +noises which had so terrified my shipmates and myself +during our first night in Atlantis!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_0625" id="img338"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img338.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + And along each side of the broad passageway, rising almost to meet the +ceiling, was a series of what I took to be gigantic boilers. All of +these were connected with innumerable wires and with pipes thicker than +a man’s body, while at the further end of the gallery the tubes were +interwoven in intricate loops, coils and convolutions like the exposed +entrails of a Titan. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX +<br> +The Glass City</h2></div> + + +<p>For five or six hours we proceeded through the +fruit-bearing jungles, which seemed limitless in +extent and yet constantly displayed new and unexpected +features. But the journey was by no means +arduous, for twice we paused for rest and refreshments +at little open-air inns that fronted the roads; at all +times our pace was unhurried. And most of the party +seemed still fresh and energetic when, toward the middle +of the afternoon, we emerged suddenly from the +thickets and saw a group of fairy-like towers gleaming +straight ahead.</p> + +<p>“That is the city of Thalos,” I heard one of the +tutors explaining. “It is there that we stay for the +night.”</p> + +<p>As we approached, I directed my eyes eagerly upon +Thalos, which even at a distance appeared strikingly +different from Archeon. Indeed, it appeared strikingly +different from any city I had ever seen, for no streets +or thoroughfares of any kind were visible, and, as we +drew near, the various buildings seemed to merge in +a long unbroken line dominated by turrets, domes and +spires spaced at geometrical intervals; and all those +domes and spires flashed and sparkled with a multi-colored +light, which changed in hue and intensity with +every step we took and was elusive and yet vivid as +the glittering of innumerable gems.</p> + +<p>So awe-stricken was I that I scarcely thought of +questioning my companions, but hastened toward this +alluring city. And the nearer I approached the more +dazzled I was. By degrees I came to realize that a +high wall surrounded the town; but this wall brought +no reminders of the fortified bulwarks of ancient +cities, for its outlines were graceful and pleasing, its +color an agreeable dark blue, and its evident purpose +ornamental. And when I had come within a few +hundred yards of the city, I observed that its blueness +was translucent, indicating that the building material +was glass!—and, judging from the peculiar glistening +and glinting of the towers projecting above the +wall, I wondered whether stained glass were not the +substance of the entire town!</p> + +<p>This, in fact, I discovered was so. Having passed +through the wall by means of a little arched gateway +invisible at a distance, I found myself in what might +have been a city out of the Arabian Nights. I cannot +say with certainty whether I beheld a single building +or a hundred, or whether I stood in an open court +or in a street; for before me spread a wide expanse +of glass masonry, of arches and covered galleries, of +steeples and cupolas and winding balconies; and all +this masonry seemed to be joined in a more or less +unified whole. There may have been individual edifices, +but there was no edifice not connected with its +neighbors by arching walls or overhead passageways; +there may have been streets winding through this +wilderness of glass, but it struck me that there were +only open spaces alternating with twining glass-roofed +corridors. Yet, however bizarre the total impression +(and bizarre it was beyond all imagining), there was +also a certain unity that prevented the city from appearing +grotesque; and its various segments, in their +garments of lavender or pale blue or turquoise or +vivid ruby, fitted together as perfectly as the parts +of an intricate and beautiful mosaic.</p> + +<p>We had barely entered the city when half a dozen +natives emerged from unseen corridors and greeted +us. Like the members of our own party, they were +dressed in exquisite light-tinted gowns; and, like all +the Atlanteans, they were well built, prepossessing of +appearance and handsome; and there was a perfect +natural courtesy in their manner when they assured +us how welcome we were and bade us accompany them +to our lodgings.</p> + +<p>Still speechless with wonder, I followed my companions +through long crystal galleries, around the base +of jewel-like glimmering towers, and across flowered +parks where iridescent fountains splashed and bubbled. +“This is typical of the latest in architecture,” I heard +one of the men saying, as he pointed up at the curving, +interlinking stained glass porticoes and domes. +“Thalos in its present form is not more than five centuries +old, and is exclusively a development of Post-Submergence +art.”</p> + +<p>Almost before these words were out of the speaker’s +mouth, we were led up a long flight of stairs and +through an elliptical doorway into a chamber which, to +my surprise, was walled and roofed not with glass, +but with marble. Here we were treated to a sumptuous +repast, consisting of a sort of vegetable steak, native +cakes and bread, honey and fruit, which already lay +spread for us on half a dozen little tables. And, after +we had dined, we were each shown to a room on the +roof, which was equipped with all articles that necessity +or convenience could demand, and where, if we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[340]</span>wished, we might well rest from the day’s exertions.</p> + +<p>Some of our party may possibly have availed themselves +of this opportunity; but, for my own part, I +was so excited merely at being in Thales, that a rest +was out of the question.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>As soon as I had washed myself clean of the dust +of the journey, I made my way down from my +roof-apartment and out of the building. As I stepped +toward the outer door, I was rejoiced to see a familiar +blue-clad figure preceding me down the stairs. +“Aelios!” I cried; and when she turned to see what +was the matter, I joined her with the breathless suggestion +that we take a little stroll together. And—quite +unexpectedly—she obliged me by agreeing.</p> + +<p>“Luckily, I’ve been here before, and so know my way +about,” she said, as we started. “If you went alone, +you might get lost.”</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t mind—in such a charming place,” I declared, +with a smile.</p> + +<p>And then, as a means of making conversation, I remarked, +“The people here are exceedingly hospitable, +aren’t they?”</p> + +<p>“Hospitable?” she echoed, as if not understanding. +“What makes you think that?”</p> + +<p>Surprised, I pointed out the self-evident fact that +they had lodged and feasted us so splendidly.</p> + +<p>“Oh, it is not they that have lodged and feasted +us!” she corrected. “It is the State!”</p> + +<p>It was now my turn to look blank, and hers to explain.</p> + +<p>“Our complete itinerary has been arranged in advance,” +she continued, “and all our needs will be provided +for by the State, just as the State provides for +us when we’re at home. Obviously, that’s the only +possible way.”</p> + +<p>“Then is there no such thing as private property +in Atlantis?” I inquired.</p> + +<p>“Private property?” She looked puzzled, as though +trying to assimilate an alien point of view. “What +would be the use of private property?”</p> + +<p>Then, seeing the dull stare with which I replied, +she proceeded, “Of course, I remember that there used +to be private property in the old days, before the +Submergence. But that has all been abolished long +ago.”</p> + +<p>“Is it possible?” I exclaimed, thinking this the most +incredible statement I had yet heard.</p> + +<p>“Well, not quite all abolished,” she amended, +thoughtfully. “Our clothes and books and personal +ornaments are still private property, of course.”</p> + +<p>“But does the State supply one with everything +else?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, with everything, including one’s clothes. You’ll +see for yourself when you return from this trip and +set out as a citizen.”</p> + +<p>Thereupon she told me a few more facts about the +State control of property, and how things such as +inheritance and taxation were unknown. Then gradually +the conversation shifted to less impersonal and +more alluring subjects. She asked me about the world +I had come from, and whether it had any architectural +marvels rivalling those of Thalos; and I replied that +it had not, though the skyscrapers of New York were +considered wondrous enough. I was reluctant to talk +about my own world, however; I did not wish to be +disturbed by remembrances; I desired only to be walking +with Aelios as I was walking now, and to hear +her speak, and to be permitted to look into those +bright and glamorous blue eyes of hers. And so I +listened like one in a trance as she told me of her +life, and how she had been the eldest child of two +celebrated artists and had never lacked anything she +really wanted, and how from her earliest years she +had loved music and the dance, but particularly the +dance, and had followed her childhood inclinations in +her chosen work for the State, though in her prescribed +work she was a tutor. All this and much more +Aelios told me about herself, while I heard her with +adoration that must have been all too apparent in my +fascinated gaze. But she seemed without self-consciousness +and without realization of the tender sentiments +welling up within me; and she rambled eagerly +on and on, speaking with animation and vivacity, as +one speaks to an old and amiable companion.</p> + +<p>We must have strolled through the rambling thoroughfares +for an hour, when we seated ourselves on +a cushioned marble bench at one corner of a wide +court. “If we stay here until dark,” suggested Aelios, +“you will see one of the most curious exhibitions that +you have ever seen.”</p> + +<p>It seemed only a few minutes later when, without +warning, the golden orbs above us flickered, grew +dim, and flashed into blackness. Then, while I was +wondering whether we were to be left in total gloom, +other lights gleamed from the city’s unseen pinnacles; +and their rays darted in long streamers against a +blank glass wall directly across from us, illuminating +it with fantastic and unbelievable designs. Unlike the +searchlights that had amazed me at the Pageant of +the Good Destruction, these lights were not without +apparent purpose; they shed definite patterns, I might +almost say pictures, upon the broad glass screen. First +one could make out the form of a man, life-sized and +with pale-colored robes, moving in agile cinematograph +fashion; then a woman or a child would advance +across the screen to meet him; then the two would +engage in various significant motions or gesticulations, +to be joined perhaps by others; and in the swaying +and blending of the lights, the weird mingling and +intermingling of a myriad shades and colors, the background +of shadows and the foreground of lithe and +active figures, I realized that I was witnessing the +representation of scenes from Atlantean life!</p> + +<p>What those scenes were I cannot recall. But I have +the impression that they aimed to present life symbolically +rather than literally; that beauty was their +purpose rather than accuracy, and that a pleasing +harmony of color, tone and proportion was deemed +more important than a stringent realism. I fear that +I was not sufficiently advanced in the native art to +appreciate them, for they left little more effect upon +my mind than an exhibition of mere technique with +the violin or piano would leave upon one untrained +in music.</p> + +<p>But, at the time, the spectacle certainly did have its +influence. Although vaguely aware that the seats +about me were being silently occupied, I could scarcely +give a thought to my surroundings; and under the +enchantment of the shifting and pictorial lights, I +felt as if Aelios and I were alone together; and I +pressed close to her, until not a fraction of an inch +divided us and it seemed that we breathed not as two +persons but as one. Very cautiously, as though it +were a clandestine and forbidden act, I reached out my +hand till it touched hers and the palm closed softly +over her fingers. She did not return the pressure and +yet did not withdraw her hand, nor even seem to +notice what I was doing; and, in my confusion, I +scarcely knew whether to feel encouraged or repulsed.</p> + +<p>Then, by that wavering and uncertain light, I caught +a glimpse of her eyes. They were bright and shining—and +did they merely reflect her joy at the colored +display? Not a word was spoken between us, nor was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[341]</span>I anxious that a word be spoken; I had sudden visions +of a tomorrow fairer than I would once have dared to +hope for.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX +<br> +Farm and Factory</h2></div> + + +<p>Early the following morning we were again under +way. Leaving Thalos through a little arched +gateway under the western wall, we trudged for +several hours through flat green countryside. Here +and there, amid breaks in the vegetation, we observed +edifices which my companions described as “farmhouses,” +but which, with their statue-lined walls and +marble columns, seemed to me to be little less than +palaces. These remarkable dwellings, of which there +must have been four or five to every square mile, were +conspicuous from a distance, for there were no obscuring +trees, and the landscape was dominated by +a hardy reed that grew shoulder-high in impenetrable +clusters.</p> + +<p>Except for the size of this plant, I might have +fancied it to be a variety of wheat. Not only were +its leaves long and grass-like, but it bore a rich crop +of some grain that closely resembled wheat, although +each of the seed-clusters were large as ears of Indian +corn. That it was cultivated for food purposes was +obvious, for brilliant white lamps were beaming from +the tinted columns as in the fruit-jungles, and at regular +intervals we passed irrigation ditches, and now +and then caught glimpses of gray-clad men at work +amid the green thickets.</p> + +<p>But while this scenery was fairly interesting, it +was on the whole the most monotonous I had yet +viewed in Atlantis. Hence I was relieved when the +landscape showed a sudden change, and the cultivated +plains gave way to a series of long, low, grass-covered +hills. From the beginning, I noticed something +peculiar about these eminences, for their contours were +rounded with almost geometrical evenness; while beyond +the furthest heights, a clear, rapid stream flowed +out of the ground as if forced up from nowhere, and, +after meandering to the edge of the reed-covered plain, +divided into half a dozen diverging irrigation canals. +But all this was less surprising than what I next +observed; for as I stood staring at the stream in +wonder, a huge rock at the base of the nearest hill +thrust itself outward, and a man emerged as if from +the center of the earth!</p> + +<p>Startled, I turned to my companions for an explanation—but +not a murmur issued from them, and their +faces showed none of that amazement I might have +expected. “Here is where we enter,” declared one of +the tutors, in matter-of-fact tones; and followed by +the rest of the party, he plunged through the aperture +made by the dislodged boulder.</p> + +<p>Like one in a dream—or rather like one in a nightmare—I +trailed with the others into that hole on the +hillside. As I approached the entrance, I found that +what I had taken to be a rock was not a rock at all, +but merely a cleverly disguised bit of metal; upon +reaching the doorway, I was amazed to find, instead +of the tunnel-like corridor I had expected, a spacious +and wide-vaulting hall.</p> + +<p>With the exception of the Sunken World itself it +was the largest enclosure I had ever entered; indeed, +it occupied the entire interior of the hill. Along the +full length of a half-mile gallery the white-lanterned +ceiling arched to a height of two hundred feet; and +on each side of a broad passageway, rising almost to +meet the ceiling, was a series of what I took to be +gigantic boilers. All of these were connected with +innumerable wires and with pipes thicker than a man’s +body, while at the further end of the gallery the +tubes were interwoven in intricate loops, coils and convolutions +like the exposed entrails of a Titan.</p> + +<p>As I stepped through the doorway, a warm breeze +swept my face, bearing to my nostrils the odor of +oil, and at the same time bringing me reminders of +the furnace-dry air of steam-heated apartments. “What +place is this?” I could not forebear to ask; but almost +instantly I was sorry that I had spoken, for four or +five pairs of eyes were turned upon me in surprise at +so obvious a question.</p> + +<p>“This is a distillery, of course,” answered one of +my young companions.</p> + +<p>“A distillery?” I echoed, scarcely less astonished at +his words than at the extraordinary appearance of +the place. And although the Atlanteans had seemed +to me to be a sober people, I had visions of the manufacture +of intoxicants on a scale inconceivable to the +most bibulous of my own countrymen.</p> + +<p>“Yes, this is where we prepare our distilled water,” +continued my friend, surprised at my surprise.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For a moment I merely stared at him without comprehension. +“But why so much distilled water?” +was all that I could gasp.</p> + +<p>“That’s easily explained,” said the young man, with +a smile. “The water piped from our deep wells, which +serves us for drinking purposes, couldn’t begin to take +care of our irrigation problems—and without irrigation +Atlantis would be a desert. The Salty River, +of course, contains enough for all our needs; but it is +ocean water, and the brine would kill all land vegetation. +And so the only possibility was to distill the water. +This was arranged for long ago by Agripides, when +he built this distillery and eleven others, which together +keep the irrigation system of Atlantis supplied, +and incidentally provide us with all the salt required +for domestic and chemical purposes.”</p> + +<p>“That may be all very well,” I remarked, “but the +amount of heat necessary to evaporate so much water +must be tremendous ...”</p> + +<p>“That is no problem at all,” my companion assured +me. “By means of intra-atomic energy, we could +generate power enough to distill the entire ocean.”</p> + +<p>I felt certain that this statement was an exaggeration, +but before I had had time for comment, my +attention was suddenly diverted. All of our party had +paused before a circular slit in the floor; and a brown-clad +workman, stepping forth from amid the boilers, +applied a key to a little hole near the edge of the slit, +and removed a steel disk perhaps five feet in diameter.</p> + +<p>Instantly we were bathed in a brilliant copper light, +so dazzling that at first I had to turn abruptly away. +Then as my startled eyes gradually accustomed themselves +to the vivid illumination, I peered through a +glass partition far down into what remotely reminded +me of a furnace, except that no flames were visible, +but from the vague fire-bright background great sheets +and rods of a shining red or a blinding brassy yellow +stared at me steadily with unbearable incandescence.</p> + +<p>“Those are the intra-atomic generators,” explained +the workmen. “They are constantly liberating energy, +which is transformed into electrical power by means +of giant induction coils; and it is this electricity which +is wired to the boiler-room below and heats the water +from the Salty River.”</p> + +<p>“But how terrible to work down there!” it occurred +to me to comment. “How can any man—”</p> + +<p>“It is not necessary to work down there,” I was +promptly informed. “The generators continue operating +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[342]</span>automatically so long as they are supplied with +fuel.”</p> + +<p>“What fuel do you use?” I inquired.</p> + +<p>The reply was not at all what I had expected. “Any +of the heavier metals will do,” stated the workman. +“One of the best of the cheaper fuels is gold, for its +high atomic weight makes possible extensive dissociation. +Sometimes, however, we use silver, platinum, +or lead—although the latter is ordinarily regarded as +too valuable for such purposes. A supply of lead will +run the generator for twenty-seven years, one of silver +for thirty-three, and one of gold for forty-five. When +new fuel is required, we simply shoot it in through +the tube over there.” And the speaker pointed to a +tube of about the thickness of a man’s wrist, which +projected several feet above the floor between two of +the boilers.</p> + +<p>I thought that I had now seen enough of the distillery, +and was not disappointed when my companions +made ready to leave. But there was one problem which +still troubled me: why did the building look so much +like a hill from without, and why had such evident +pains been taken to conceal its existence?</p> + +<p>To these questions I found a speedy answer. “If +this edifice had been erected in the days before Agripides,” +declared one of my young friends, “it would +have been nothing more than an ugly mass of steel +and stone. But Agripides, seeking a way to beautify +the structure and hide its unavoidable defects, hit upon +the plan of covering it with a coating of earth and +sowing the earth with grass, so as to give the appearance +of a green hill. All our factories, you will find, +have in some such way been concealed or made +beautiful.”</p> + +<p>This, indeed, I discovered to be the case. We had +now reached the industrial center of Atlantis; and all +the rest of that day we were busy inspecting manufacturing +plants of sundry kinds and sizes. But nowhere +was the air clouded with that smoke and dust +which I had come to associate with industrial districts +in my own land; nowhere was there a dingy or +soot-blackened building, nowhere were my ears assaulted +by the shrieking or droning of whistles, or by +the hammering, pounding, screeching, whirring or grating +of machines. Instead, we passed through a region +that might have been recommended to sufferers from +nervous ailments. In the midst of pleasant, grassy +lands an occasional tree-bordered building arose with +glittering steeples or stainless marble facade or august +columns of granite; and within each building, which +one might have mistaken for a mansion or a temple, +electrically driven wheels and levers would be operating +noiselessly, preparing the food of the Atlanteans +or weaving their clothes from the fibre of a flax-like +plant, manufacturing farm implements or fertilizers +or scientific articles or household wares; and in each +of these factories a few workers (never more than a +score) would be calmly and often smilingly tending +the machines, occupying thus their two or three hours +of assigned daily service for the State.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The institution that interested me most was the +building where chemists were at work renewing the +air supply of Atlantis—or, rather, the oxygen supply. +Here, in a long hall dominated by great vats connected +by pipes and wires reminding me vaguely of the distillery, +a continual stream of water was being disintegrated +by a process of electrolysis, the hydrogen +being diverted to enter into various chemical compounds, +with carbon nitrogen and other elements, the +oxygen being released into the atmosphere to replace +that consumed by respiration and combustion. By +means of the air-gauge, a finely adjusted apparatus +whose index was a flame that varied in intensity with +the amount of oxygen, chemists were able to determine +how much of this vital gas was required at any +specific time; but some oxygen had to be provided +continually, for, large as Atlantis was, it was not so +great that nature would preserve a balance and replace +the oxygen that was consumed by that freed in +the course of organic processes of plant life.</p> + +<p>But if the Atlantean industries were arranged with +a regard for the welfare and esthetic sensibilities of +the people as a whole, scarcely less pains had been +taken to insure the health and convenience of the +workers. I will not speak of the safety devices, which +had been so perfected that accidents were virtually +unknown; I will not dwell upon the precautions to +vary the monotony even of the two-or three-hour +working day, to make possible individual initiative, to +guard against fatigue and excessive strain, or to render +the surroundings pleasant to the eye and mind. +But what I must mention, because it impressed me +as unique, is the fact that the workers were housed +in dwellings not less imposing than the most stately +city homes. The road took us through half a dozen +villages reserved for the factory workers; and each +of these seemed to be in itself a work of art, with +many-columned residences, arches and marble portals +and connecting colonnades, flowered parks and statuary +and fountains, all co-ordinated in a tasteful and elegant +design.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI +<br> +The Wall and the Wind-makers</h2></div> + + +<p>That evening we were lodged in the city of +Arvon, a moderately large town which differed +strikingly from anything we had yet seen. Its +scattered houses were huddled amid vegetation so thick +that from a distance it resembled a forest; and even +at close range one could not lose sight of its sylvan +aspect, since all the buildings were vine-covered and +painted a green and brown that harmonized ideally +with the woodland colors.</p> + +<p>But I must not devote too much space to the strange +appearance of this town—still stranger sights were to +greet me on the following day. For then I was to +reach a turning-point in my journey, and to penetrate +some of the salient mysteries of Atlantis.</p> + +<p>Even though I did not know what interesting discoveries +were before me, I had a hint of something unusual +very early in the morning. We had hardly left +Arvon when I observed that the golden-lighted dome +seemed lower and nearer than usual, and curved gradually +down to westward until it appeared to merge +with the ground.</p> + +<p>“There’s where the glass wall begins,” said one of +the tutors, pointing; and I looked eagerly, hopeful that +we would soon reach the wall itself.</p> + +<p>A little further on, the road curved abruptly southward, +and for several miles we merely paralleled the +wall. Then, to my joy, a familiar gurgling met my +ears—we were back again near the Salty River. +Straight across the stream we passed on an arching +bridge dominated by a crystalline pale-blue colonnade; +and, on the further side, we again turned westward, +and followed the river directly toward the green glass +wall.</p> + +<p>As we advanced, I noticed that the waters were becoming +white and foamy, with great briny patches as +if a passing steamer had churned up the waves. Gradually +these frothy expanses grew wilder and more conspicuous, +until the entire river was a seething, effervescent +mass; and troubled waves sprang to life, with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[343]</span>turbulence that increased as we moved upstream, until +the bubbling white was mingled with the green and +gray of leaping surges, and the waters were agitated as +if by a storm-wind. Yet only the faintest breeze was +blowing, and I could not understand the source of the +strange commotion.</p> + +<p>At the some time, a disquieting sound came to my +ears—the continuous and droning sound of thunder, +dull and muffled but gradually growing louder in spite +of the clamoring and roaring of the waves. So deep-toned +and voluminous was it that it reminded me of +a din I never expected to hear again—the booming of +the ocean along resisting shores.</p> + +<p>All of our party moved without a word now, moved +rapidly and with faces straining westward, as if eager +for some rare and long-awaited event. In their very +speechlessness there was a contagious tension; and, +responsive to their mood, I too was expectant, though +I could not imagine what there was to be anticipated.</p> + +<p>But I did not have long to wait. “Look! There it +is!” exclaimed one of the party, suddenly. And he +paused, and pointed straight ahead; and all his companions +paused and pointed straight ahead, joining +in his awed cries of “Look! There it is!”</p> + +<p>Of course, I strained my eyes quite as earnestly as +any of them. But at first I saw nothing to impress +me. All that was visible was a broad sheet of white +looming just above the river for almost its full width, +as though there were a falls a mile or two upstream. +And, in my ignorance, I accepted this as the explanation.</p> + +<p>But I was speedily to discover my error. Suddenly +the path bent away from the river at an acute angle; +and as we followed our new course the distant thundering +grew louder—while a cold wind began to sweep +over us and the supposed waterfall took on unexpected +dimensions. By degrees it lengthened until it seemed +a long jet of water shot horizontally out of some +colossal hose. Intensely white, with the whiteness +of foam and edges blurred with spray, it went hurtling +with the impetuosity and swiftness of an arrow +from the nozzle of a gigantic pipe, plunging outward +hundreds of yards in a graceful parabola and giving +rise to the Salty River.</p> + +<p>Almost as remarkable as this torrent of water was +the tube from which it was discharged. This great +pipe, which may have been of a steel alloy, was well +over a mile long, and was a hundred yards across at +the opening; but it narrowed gradually as it crept +westward along the ground and disappeared where +the green horizon met the earth.</p> + +<p>Needless to say, I did not have to inquire as to the +meaning. Only one explanation was conceivable: the +metallic tube was the valve through which the X-111 +had found entrance to Atlantis, the valve that admitted +the ocean water and kept the Salty River supplied. +The aperture at the ocean end was doubtless +not very wide (I was later told that it was but twenty-five +feet across); but such was the pressure at these +depths that the waters burst through with the force +and swiftness and tremendous volume I had observed, +and had to be diverted through a long and gradually +widening tube before their torrents could be controlled +and safely emptied into the river channel.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>As we approached the glass wall, the hoarse and +resonant roaring was continuously in our ears, +thudding and crashing with echoes that reverberated +like the combined monody of a hundred Niagaras. But, +forgetful of the tumult, I kept my eyes fastened +straight ahead, where the great green dome sloped +down to meet the ground in a curve modelled on that +of the actual heavens. Except for the dark weird +coloration, I might have fancied that I was staring +toward an actual horizon on earth; and so close was +the resemblance that the illusion persisted until I was +almost within a stone’s throw of the barrier. Only +then could I persuade myself that I actually beheld a +solid mass; and, even so, the curvature was so graceful +and so elusive that I could not feel that a mere +wall stretched before me; but, rather, I had the sense +that it was some ultimate boundary, the dividing line +between reality and infinite nothingness.</p> + +<p>This impression was confirmed by the fact that the +wall at close range looked opaque. Olive-green and +of impenetrable thickness, it seemed impervious to the +rays of light; though, remembering my experiences +on the X-111, I knew that it was really transparent.</p> + +<p>All the members of our party approached the wall +almost breathlessly, then held out their hands and +touched it in silence—a procedure which may have had +some ceremonial importance, or may have been akin +to the actions of persons who, seeing the ocean for +the first time, gravely dip their hands in the salt +water. At any rate, I lost no time in following their +example, and found that the surface of the wall was +just as I had expected—smooth and polished, and of +a substance that would have been apparent to a blind +man.</p> + +<p>After the twenty students had duly inspected the +wall, one of the tutors lifted his voice so as to be +heard by the entire party.</p> + +<p>“My friends,” said he, “we have now reached the +border-land between Atlantis and the outside world. A +rim of glass fifty feet thick divides us from the ocean; +and that glass, as you know, is composed of dozens +of layers, one above the other, several of them +strengthened with interwoven strands of fine wire, and +all composed of a special pressure-resisting glass devised +at the orders of Agripides. You understand, of course, +that the wall does not end where you see it, but penetrates +five hundred feet underground, lest the ocean +overwhelm us from beneath; you also understand that +the glass is ribbed with steel, which holds it together +in a sort of latticed framework, with girders, beams +and stanchions at measured intervals like the metallic +skeleton of a great building.</p> + +<p>“The erection of the wall represents the supreme accomplishment +of Atlantean engineering, and required +the labor of thirty thousand men for thirty-four years. +But Agripides, with his usual foresight, planned it so, +that the work, once done, would never require renewal, +for glass is one of the most durable of substances, +and is virtually immune to dissolution by the +ocean waters. We have our immersible vessels, of +course, which regularly range the seas around the +glass dome in search of any possible fault or fissure; +but no serious damage has ever yet been discovered, +and it is safe to say that the present edifice will serve +us and our descendants for a hundred thousand generations.”</p> + +<p>The speaker paused, as if for effect; then, noting +that his audience remained silent, he concluded, “Is +there anyone that would like to ask a question?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I would,” I surprised myself by saying.</p> + +<p>All eyes were bent curiously upon me, and I was +forced to continue, “Glass is, as you say, an exceedingly +durable substance, but it is also extremely +fragile. Is there no possibility that the wall will ever +be cracked?”</p> + +<p>“Cracked?” echoed the tutor, with a surprised smile. +“Do you think that, if there had been such a possibility, +Atlantis would not have been inundated long +ago? Granted, if any very heavy object were to collide +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[344]</span>with the wall, it might be broken and we would +be flooded out like ants. But how could there be any +such heavy object here in the deep sea? Certainly, the +fishes couldn’t break through.”</p> + +<p>“No, of course not,” I conceded, feeling that I had +made myself ridiculous—and with that the discussion +ended. But my words were often to be recalled to me +in the tempestuous days that followed; and more than +one of my hearers was to speak of them as strangely +prophetic.</p> + +<p>For the next hour we followed a little path that +clung close to the glass wall. And, as we proceeded, +my impression of its opaqueness was dissipated, for +from time to time a little flickering light was momentarily +visible beyond the green thicknesses; and I +had disturbing remembrances of the lantern-bearing +fishes that had haunted us on our way to Atlantis.</p> + +<p>We had covered not more than a mile or two when +we met with a new surprise. A brisk breeze began +to blow over us; and the farther we walked the +sharper the breeze grew, until it assumed the fury +of a gale, and for the first time since reaching Atlantis +I felt cold, almost as if I were back on earth. +Why we continued in the face of this strange blast +I could not understand, nor whence it proceeded nor +how it had been produced. But while I was wondering +and fighting my way through the wind, a singular +whirring sound came to my ears, a buzzing as of +gigantic flies; and gradually that sound grew louder, +until from resembling the murmuring of insects it +came to remind me of the flapping of colossal wings. +That this noise was somehow connected with the quickening +wind was apparent from the first; and the relationship +became evident when the path swerved +abruptly away from the wall and I glanced back, to +behold a series of queer-looking machines supported +on stone pedestals high up against the glass. It would +be impossible to say just what the machines were like, +for they were in such rapid motion that the parts were +not visible; but there were six or eight of them, and +they were round, and probably each a hundred yards +across; and so swiftly were they rotating that they +formed each a gray blur through which the green of +the wall was vaguely discernible.</p> + +<p>“Those are the electro-intra-atomic wind generators,” +explained one of the tutors. “By means of these great +fans and others like them stationed at various points +around the wall, the atmosphere of Atlantis is kept +in constant circulation. Without them the air would +be stagnant and the climate sultry and unhealthy. +These generators are in action at all times, with great +air-wheels that make from ten to fifteen revolutions a +second; and it is estimated that the daily energy consumed +by each of them would be sufficient to boil a +thousand tons of ice water.”</p> + +<p>We did not linger long in the vicinity of the great +fans, for the strong wind was most annoying and +the temperature too low for comfort. But we set out +at a brisk pace across a moss-covered plain away from +the wall; and we did not pause again until we had +reached the city of Lerenon, which was our destination +for the day.</p> + +<p>This town, which was located some miles from the +wall and yet was constantly fanned by cool breezes +from the wind generators, had one striking feature +all its own: it was dominated by two colossal bronze +figures, one of a man, the other of a woman, which +reached far above the city domes and towers halfway +to the green-glass sky. Both these statues were carved +with an irresistible majesty, the man’s face that of +an Apollo, the woman’s that of a Diana; and their +right hands were extended high over the city roofs +and joined in a firm clasp, so lifelike that I might almost +have expected them to move and speak. At first +I thought that they represented mythological characters, +but an inscription at their base informed me of +my error, for the man was meant to typify Wisdom, +and the woman Beauty; and in their union above the +spires and columns of Atlantis I thought I could read +the meaning and purpose of the entire land.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII +<br> +The Journey Ends</h2></div> + + +<p>During the thirty days of our journey, I was the +witness of marvels so numerous that, if I were +to dwell upon them all, I might fill hundreds of +pages. Yet while there is much that cannot be recorded +and much that I have forgotten, there are some +observations which have stamped themselves indelibly +upon my memory, and which are so essential for an +understanding of Atlantis that I could not well overlook +them.</p> + +<p>Thus, I found that the wall enclosing the country +formed a vast circle, of a diameter impossible to determine +precisely but probably in the neighborhood +of two hundred miles. Thus, also, I learned that the +glass roof was at an average height of five hundred +feet above the ground, although the distance varied +greatly according to the level of the land; and I discovered +that it was everywhere supported by myriads +of the huge tinted columns—columns with steel interiors +and surface of concrete or stone. I ascertained, +likewise, that the Salty River followed an absolutely +unbending course, flowing in a straight-line +and on an even, gradual grade from the western wall +of Atlantis to the eastern (since it was really a canal +rather than a river); and I was amazed and dazzled +at sight of the great intra-atomic pumps which forced +the torrents back into the sea.</p> + +<p>Since they were expected to overcome a pressure of +many tons to the square foot, these pumps had to be +very powerful; and powerful they were, with their +labyrinths of levers and revolving chains, and three-hundred-foot +pistons and rods that pounded against +the waters like gigantic pile-drivers, pressing them +slowly back into the sea to the accompaniment of a +roaring and thundering that could be heard for miles +and that proved deafening upon close approach.</p> + +<p>The cities of Atlantis, according to the count I made, +were eighteen in number (exclusive of the smaller +towns and villages). But an Atlantean city, although +always occupying considerable space, was what we +in America should scarcely regard as a city at all, +since it never had more than twenty or twenty-five +thousand inhabitants. This insignificant population, +when considered along with the liberal amount of territory +allotted each town, accounted for the fact that +no great crowds were ever to be seen on the streets; +and it also explained how it was possible for efficient +popular assemblages to debate and decide public questions.</p> + +<p>But the surprising fact about the Atlantean cities +was not so much their small population as their almost +unbelievable variety. No town in Atlantis was +like any other town; the only characteristic possessed +by them all in common was their unfailing beauty. To +give some idea of their amazing diversity, I might +mention the city of Atolis, which, when seen from the +hill that surmounted it, formed a definite pattern, resembling +some colossal Grecian temple of which the +streets and avenues were the columns. Or I might +picture Aedla, which was built along a series of canals +connecting with the Salty River, with a lake in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[345]</span>center, giving a Venetian effect, except that the palaces +were more exquisitely designed than any in the +upper world. Then, again, I might depict the small +town of Acropolon, in which all the houses were connected +in an enormous colonnaded quadrangle surrounding +a vividly flowering park, reminding me of +some university I had seen long before; or I might +launch into a lengthy description of Mangona, another +small town, whose houses were all roofless and collapsible, +and were generally taken down during the +day and put into place only at night or when the +inhabitants desired seclusion.</p> + +<p>But more interesting to me than any of these was +Sardolos, one of the few present-day Atlantean cities +that had existed before the Submergence. Although +of course the town was not the same as in ancient +times, and although its gracefully winding thoroughfares +and marble friezes and frescoed domes represented +the work of modern artists, yet some relics of +the old days had been carefully preserved.</p> + +<p>In one corner of the city, concealed from the general +gaze in a statue-lined bronze enclosure, were the +remains of buildings said to date from the second century +B. S. Yet, ancient as these ruins were, my first +impression was that there was something familiar +about them. The most conspicuous exhibit was a +stone wall, five stories high and with gaping rectangular +holes where the windows had been; and to the +rear was a mass of rusted and distorted steel, reaching +the full height of the wall with twisted, spidery +arms that had once lent it support.</p> + +<p>“A splendid specimen of pre-Submergence architecture,” +stated a placard placed prominently before the +exhibit. “This was the seat of the Stock Market of +old Sardolos—a wholesale gambling house abolished by +the Anti-Corruption Act of the first century A. S. The +mass of shapeless and desiccated stone opposite is all +that remains of the Inter-Atlantean Bank, which owned +a controlling share in this gambling resort; while just +to the right were the ruins of the shrine in which the +owners of the bank worshipped, and of the clubhouse +in which, late in the second century B. S., they +convened in the interest of their lotteries, and decided +to declare the fifth Atlanto-Bengenese war.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But when I looked to see the ruins, all that I beheld +was a series of irregular stone walls, not +over two or three feet high and brown with the lifeless +parchment hue of extreme age. Somehow, it made me +uncomfortable to look upon these vestiges of the past; +nor was I relieved when I gazed at a picture of Sardolos +as it had been, and saw two long opposing rows +of geometrically regular five-story buildings. To think +of these, and then to turn to present-day Atlantis, +was merely to shudder at the contrast; yet all the +while I could not repress the sense that I was standing +in the presence of something undefinably familiar.</p> + +<p>If it was somewhat irritating to gaze at the ruins +of Sardolos, the disagreeable moments were few indeed +during the thirty days of the journey. All in all, +I have rarely taken part in so thoroughly delightful +an expedition; and my joy in the trip is not to be explained +merely by the engrossing sights of Atlantis, +nor by the companionship of the twenty enthusiastic, +friendly young students, but rather by the presence of +one who meant more to me than all else that Atlantis +contained. My opportunities of speaking with Aelios +were not plentiful, for she seemed always to be engaged +in conversation with some member of the party; +but occasionally I exchanged a few words with her, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[346]</span>and occasionally she darted a bright smile in my direction, +thereby reassuring me when at times I gave way +to disturbing doubts.</p> + +<p>It was not until our travels were drawing to a close +that I had another intimate talk with her. The morning +of the thirtieth day had arrived, and we had set +out through wide fields of the wheat-like reed toward +the city of Archeon, which we hoped to reach shortly +after noon. But, absorbed in somber contemplation, I +took no part in the merriment of my companions, and +almost from the first I lagged moodily behind them. +Hence it was a relief to hear light footsteps suddenly +at my side, and to find a flaxen-curled head nodding a +greeting and a pair of kindly bright blue eyes peering +at me inquiringly.</p> + +<p>“Aelios!” I exclaimed. And I returned her greeting +in terms that could not half express my pleasure.</p> + +<p>She wasted no time about plunging into the subject +that had brought her to me. “Today our journey +ends,” she reminded me, almost regretfully. “And tomorrow +you must take up your duties as a citizen. +You may find matters a little strange at first. Perhaps +there are already some things that puzzle you.”</p> + +<p>“Indeed there are,” I admitted. “I really have very +little idea what I am expected to do.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, but you must have some idea!” she remonstrated. +“Why, haven’t you been appointed Historian +of the Upper World?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, that is so,” I murmured.</p> + +<p>“Then you must set out at once upon your duties. +In work such as yours, no record will be taken of +the hours you employ, but you have a moral obligation +to work not less than two hours a day.”</p> + +<p>“That doesn’t seem excessive,” I stated, with a +smile.</p> + +<p>“Yes, but remember you have also an obligation to +do some work on your own account for the State. And +things won’t be any easier, if, as you say, you will +combine your assigned and chosen work.”</p> + +<p>“The real problem,” I acknowledge hesitatingly, “is +that I don’t know the language well enough to write +a history.”</p> + +<p>Aelios frowned disapprovingly. “Oh, but you have +already a good speaking command of Atlantean,” she +pointed out. “And with practice you should be able +to write passably well. Meanwhile I’d advise you to +go to the government library, and read up all you +can to familiarize yourself with our language—and +with our life.”</p> + +<p>I thanked Aelios for the suggestion, and promised +to visit the library at the first opportunity.</p> + +<p>“But don’t forget that mere working and studying +won’t be enough,” she continued. “I hope you’ll make +friends of many of our people, and participate in our +intellectual contests and recreations. You might even +join one of the political parties.”</p> + +<p>“Political parties?” I repeated. “I didn’t know +there were any parties in Atlantis.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes, of course there are,” she quickly returned. +“There are always several parties to present their +opinions at the Hall of Public Enlightenment.”</p> + +<p>“What parties are those?” I inquired.</p> + +<p>“Well, let’s see,” she enumerated, reflectively. +“First of all, there’s the Party of Submergence, so-called +because it was founded by Agripides and has +been the ruling group ever since the Good Destruction. +Then there is the Industrial Reform Party, which +contends that all machines and in particular intra-atomic +engines are incongruous in Atlantis and should +be reduced to a minimum far below the present number. +Then, again, there is the Party of Artistic +Emancipation, which is really literary rather than +political, and appeals for freedom in art. Also, there +is the Party of Birth Extension, which maintains that +the government should relax its restrictions on population. +And, finally, enlarging the principles of the +Birth Extension Party, there is the Party of Emergence, +which is the smallest of them all and has always +been highly unpopular if not actually despised, since +it holds that we should renounce the principles of +Agripides, enter into communication with the upper +world, and send our excess population to live above +seas.”</p> + +<p>“That sounds quite interesting,” I commented, for +the Party of Emergence seemed to me to be the most +understandable of the group. “But you say this last +party has never had much success?”</p> + +<p>“Fortunately not. Its members have always been +looked down upon as anti-social agitators, for they +have transgressed against that fundamental principle, +‘Atlantis for the Atlanteans.’ Few self-respecting citizens +have ever lent them support, and they have never +been powerful enough to carry any of their proposals.”</p> + +<p>“Too bad,” I found myself remarking, with unguarded +frankness; and the shocked expression on +Aelios’ face showed me how I had erred.</p> + +<p>“At any rate, now that you know something about +the parties, you will be better able to choose among +them,” she concluded.</p> + +<p>I assured her that I would choose as best I could.</p> + +<p>“If there’s ever anything you’re in doubt about,” +she urged, “don’t be afraid to ask me. I know that +things aren’t easy here for you, a stranger from a +strange land, and I’d like to help if I could.”</p> + +<p>I thanked her fervently, and declared that I should +not hesitate to consult her should occasion arise. And +secretly I was determined that the occasion should +arise.</p> + +<p>“I’m glad to hear you say that,” she returned. And +her eyes shone with a bright light, and her lips +quivered sympathetically, and her whole face radiated +kindliness and warmth.</p> + +<p>But at this juncture she saw fit to give the interview +an impersonal turn. “See, over there!” she exclaimed, +pointing through a break in the dense green +foliage. “Those are the towers of Archeon!”</p> + +<p>I looked eagerly, and far across the plain I beheld +a minute glittering spire, more than half obscured by +the intervening array of tinted columns—the first +sign of that city which I was this day to enter, and +where I was to make my home, and seek the fulfillment +of my love, and undertake my duties as a citizen +of the Sunken World.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe32_2500" id="img345"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img345.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> +  ... By degrees it lengthened until it seemed a long jet of water +shot horizontally out of some colossal hose. Intensely white, with the +whiteness of foam and edges blurred with spray, it went hurtling with +the impetuosity and swiftness of an arrow from the nozzle of a gigantic +pipe, a plunging outward hundreds of yards in a graceful parabola and +giving rise to the River. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII +<br> +Xanocles</h2></div> + + +<p>As an accredited citizen of Atlantis, I was assigned +to permanent lodgings immediately after +returning to Archeon. The housing representative +of the Atlantean government (the only substitute +in the Sunken World for our “realtors”) accompanied +me on a leisurely tour of the city, allowing me my +choice of not less than fifteen or twenty apartments. +The task of selection was by no means easy, not because +it was hard to secure suitable quarters but +because it was difficult to choose among so many desirable +places. Never before had I realized how utterly +superior the Atlantean homes were to our own—out +of all the houses I visited, there was not one that was +not separated by wide spaces from its neighbors, or +that did not enjoy a full share of air and light, or +that did not look comfortable and alluring. The grim +and musty interiors of many of our own dwellings, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[347]</span>furniture-littered rooms, the glaring bad taste of gilt +and tinsel chairs and adornments, found no parallel +among the Atlantean residences I visited. Instead, +each apartment was so artlessly inviting that I might +have claimed it at once as my home.</p> + +<p>The distinguishing feature of most of the Atlantean +houses was a central court that reminded me of the +dwellings of the ancient world. Usually the court was +square or rectangular in shape, though in some instances +it was hexagonal or round; and more often +than not it was completely enclosed. Some of the +courts were surrounded by stalwart columns, but the +majority were plain. Some had walls of granite, some +of marble, some of a peculiar bluish stone that I could +not recognize; some were marked by spangled fountains, +some by flower-gardens, some by swimming +pools; and the most distinctive of all was arranged as +an art gallery, with a dominating statue in the center +and paintings hung at intervals along the sides. +But whatever the particular contents of the court, it +was certain to be accessible by four or five doors +leading into the several apartments.</p> + +<p>After inspecting the various prospective lodgings, I +finally decided in favor of a little three-room suite +(three rooms, that is, in addition to the sleeping chamber +on the roof) which looked out over a tree-lined +expanse toward the sapphire dome of the Hall of +Public Enlightenment. I was urged to take these +quarters largely because of the fascination of the +frieze-lined adjourning court, whose finely modelled +images of gods and nymphs and satyrs offered me a +prospect of fruitful study. But I was also captivated +by the rooms themselves, which gave a bizarre effect +with their walls decked with seaweed tapestries, and +which seemed at once like a home and a temple with +their high vaulted ceilings, their arching doorways and +great elliptical windows, and their removable partitions +capable of transforming the entire apartment into +a single good-sized hall.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It was fortunate perhaps that I chose these particular +lodgings, for otherwise I might never have +known Xanocles. Xanocles was to be my one intimate +among all the men of Atlantis. It so happened that he—that +fiery spirit, audacious thinker, and trustworthy +friend—had chosen his abode in the same building; +and it also happened (since fate works in inscrutable +ways even in Atlantis) that he and I were early thrown +together. It was, indeed, on the very day after my +return to Archeon that Xanocles and I met. I had +just settled in my new home, and had gone out into +the court for my first close inspection of its mural +decorations, when a door across from me slid open +and a tall, white-clad figure emerged. A single glance +would have told me that the stranger was exceptional, +and a single glance perhaps told him that I was exceptional +in Atlantis: for he paused in startled surprise, +and for an embarrassed instant we stood staring +inquiringly at one another. In that first fleeting +glimpse I had an impression of a powerful personality; +a large head poised squarely over a pair of broad and +capable shoulders; two vivid blue eyes deeply set beneath +a massive brow; a beardless oval face dominated +by flowing chestnut locks; classic features, with chin +and nose consummately modelled. But I did not +notice then what I was often to observe later: the +ironic glitter in the alert eyes, the forceful and determined +lines into which the face would habitually +settle, the air of overflowing vigor tempered by an +easy self-command. Judging from the smooth contours +of the man’s face, I took him to be not over +thirty years of age; and I was later much surprised +to learn that he was well past forty (since in Atlantis +people do not age so rapidly as on earth).</p> + +<p>“By Agripides! You must be one of those visitors +from up above!” exclaimed the newcomer, recovering +from his astonishment. And he approached me with +a winning smile, and held out both hands by way of +greeting. “My name is Xanocles. We seem to be +neighbors, you and I. Perhaps we can get to know +each other.”</p> + +<p>“I hope we shall,” I seconded, as I took his hands. +“My name is Harkness. I’ve just finished my tour +around Atlantis, and now I’m supposed to begin duty +as a citizen.”</p> + +<p>“That’s quick work,” nodded Xanocles, approvingly. +And then, after an instant’s pause, “So you’re the +one they’ve appointed Historian of the Upper World?”</p> + +<p>I pleaded guilty to the accusation.</p> + +<p>“I knew it must be so,” explained my new acquaintance, +“because only one of the immigrants has +been admitted to citizenship. Of course, there will +be others later on.”</p> + +<p>“Won’t you come in?” I invited, with a gesture +toward my new apartments.</p> + +<p>Xanocles needed no second invitation. A minute +later we were seated opposite one another on seaweed +cushions in the little room that was to be my study.</p> + +<p>“It seems to me, Harkness,” he suggested, using +my name as familiarly as though he had known me +all my life, “we might as well be frank with one another +from the beginning. At least, I might as well +be frank with you. And I’d better start by warning +you that you’ll not gain much from acquaintance with +me. I’m none too popular.”</p> + +<p>“No?” I demanded, wondering vaguely what offense +he had committed.</p> + +<p>“No,” he confessed. “I’m so very unpopular, in fact, +that it may reflect upon you even to be seen in my +company.”</p> + +<p>“But what is it that you’ve done?” I asked, thinking +it strange that this attractive and able-looking man +should be so disliked. “Surely, you haven’t blown up a +building, or stolen some one’s jewels, or killed a +man—”</p> + +<p>A frown of disgust passed across Xanocles’ face. +“Such primitive forms of violence,” he reminded me, +“are unknown in Atlantis. No, I haven’t stooped to +anything so low. But I’ve done something bad enough +in the eyes of the people.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll have to give it up,” said I, growing more +puzzled each moment.</p> + +<p>“It shouldn’t be hard to guess—not if you know the +ways of Atlantis,” he continued, gravely. “I’ve joined +the Party of Emergence.”</p> + +<p>“The Party of Emergence?” I exclaimed, remembering +what Aelios had told me of this minority group.</p> + +<p>“I not only joined the party,” he acknowledged, completing +the indictment, “but I’ve let them elect me one +of their Debating Delegates.”</p> + +<p>“But I don’t exactly understand—” I admitted, hesitatingly.</p> + +<p>“You would understand if you knew more about +Atlantis. Every people has to have its pet aversion, I +suppose, and our pet aversion down here is the +Emergence Party. That’s because it opposes the principles +of the one hundred per cent Atlanteans.”</p> + +<p>“But just what is the Emergence Party?” I inquired, +still in doubt as to the tenets of this detested faction. +“Is it anything so terrible?”</p> + +<p>“That all depends upon the point of view,” declared +Xanocles, enigmatically.</p> + +<p>He paused long enough to give me an instant’s +scrutiny with keen and quizzical eyes. “I am not sure +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[348]</span>that you would understand,” he decided, speaking as +much to himself as to me. “But the main thing is that +we oppose the compulsory limitation of population.”</p> + +<p>“Compulsory limitation of population?” I repeated, +wondering if I had heard him correctly.</p> + +<p>“Most certainly. You’ve heard, perhaps, that our +population is limited by law to five hundred thousand.”</p> + +<p>“But that’s impossible!” I cried, incredulously.</p> + +<p>“Experience has proved quite the contrary,” he dissented.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For a moment I did not reply. I merely sat staring +at my companion, trying to fathom the secret +hidden in those inscrutable grave eyes of his. And +though he gave no sign of not being utterly truthful, +I ended by giving expression to my scepticism.</p> + +<p>“What do you do with your extra inhabitants? Do +they emigrate to the center of the earth? Or do you +prefer to shoot them or drown them, or perhaps to +asphyxiate them humanely?”</p> + +<p>“There are no extra inhabitants,” was the surprising +reply. “Do you know nothing of the Milares Compulsory +Population Law?”</p> + +<p>I was forced to confess my ignorance.</p> + +<p>“Then let me enlighten you,” volunteered Xanocles, +with a tolerant smile. “First let me take you back +a few thousand years, to the days just after the Submergence. +At that time the population of Atlantis +was several millions, and the swarms of our people +were so dense that long hours of labor were necessary, +living quarters were crowded and unsanitary, and +there was little time for the creation or appreciation +of beauty. This state of affairs endured for over a +century, when, after much discussion, the Milares +Compulsory Population Law was passed, and the citizenry +was gradually reduced to its present satisfactory +numbers.”</p> + +<p>“And what was the Milares Population Law?” I +asked.</p> + +<p>“It is the law that is still the backbone of our life. +According to Milares, a great social philosopher of +the second century A. S., the most important of public +questions is that of parentage. He maintained that +the parents of each generation might either poison or +uplift the next; and all of his numerous pamphlets +and books bore the warning that persons congenitally +deficient in mind or physique should not be permitted +to breed, while those of the higher physical and intellectual +qualities should be encouraged.</p> + +<p>“In pursuance of these views, Milares proposed a +basic innovation in social customs; he recommended +that the institution of marriage be dissevered from +that of parenthood. In other words, while marriage—and +likewise divorce—should be permitted to all that +desired it, parenthood should become a subject of +drastic state regulation: any young couple wishing, +children must have their fitness examined by a carefully +selected State board. Since effective methods of +birth control were known, this system was wholly +practicable, and, in fact, has proved—”</p> + +<p>“But what if the orders of the Board were disobeyed?” +I interrupted. “Certainly, the unlawful newcomer +couldn’t be punished.”</p> + +<p>“Certainly not. But a stigma would attach to the +parents—the stain of illegitimacy.”</p> + +<p>“You mean that the parents would be considered illegitimate?”</p> + +<p>“Exactly. And the disgrace is so great that few +persons have ever offended in that way. As a result, +we have never at any time exceeded the prescribed +population by more than ten or twelve thousands.”</p> + +<p>“Even so,” I contended, rather vaguely, “it seems +to me that such a system would be altogether too arbitrary +to succeed.”</p> + +<p>“Yet it has succeeded splendidly. The experience +of nearly three thousand years has vindicated it beyond +dispute. Do you think that, at the time of the +Submergence our men and women enjoyed such perfection +of physical beauty as today? Or do you imagine +that the intellectual and artistic types were then predominant? +Far from it! Thousands upon thousands +were sickly and stunted in body; a myriad were imbecilic, +weak-minded or insane. But thanks to the +rigidity of the selection, these types have been entirely +eliminated; and, owing largely to the same +cause, the average human life has been lengthened +from the pre-Submergence figure of sixty-five years to +a hundred and twenty—which means that the man of +ability has a whole century of mature service to render +instead of a mere four, or five decades.”</p> + +<p>I had no choice except to admit that the results were +marvelous. But at the same time I remembered a +vital oversight in Xanocles’ recitation. “All this tells +me nothing of the Party of Emergence,” I pointed out. +“In fact, if the Milares Population Law has worked +so successfully, I cannot understand why you should +oppose it.”</p> + +<p>“It would not be strictly correct to say that we +oppose it,” he explained. “We recognize its beneficent +results, but we believe that the time has come to +modify it. Not that we would increase the population +of Atlantis beyond the half million mark, for that +would be to impose an intolerable burden upon us all; +but we hold that many deserving persons are being +deprived of parenthood, and that many more children +of the highest quality might be born. To furnish a +simple illustration, the Board seems to believe it unwise +to perpetuate the radical strains, and so rules +with suspicious frequency against members of the +Party of Emergence.”</p> + +<p>“Then precisely what is it that your party advocates?” +I questioned.</p> + +<p>“Just what our name implies: to let our surplus +population emerge into the upper world. That would +be easily possible, for the submersible repair ships that +range the ocean about the glass wall would be capable +of conveying us above seas. Of course, there might +be no possibility of a return, but a return would not +be desirable: it would be enough to insure life for +thousands of our unborn sons and daughters, and to +remake the upper world by an infiltration of our superior +blood and standards. Besides,”—here Xanocles +hesitated perceptibly—“there is another reason.”</p> + +<p>“What is that?” I felt bound to inquire.</p> + +<p>Xanocles remained silent for a moment, staring abstractedly +toward the romping fauns and mermaids on +the seaweed tapestries of the opposite wall. Then +slowly he resumed, “We hold—and in this we are violently +combated by our friends of the Submergence +Party—that there was one minor flaw in the plans +of Agripides. In a thousand respects his projects +were perfect; but we believe that in the thousandth +and first he made an oversight—perhaps an unavoidable +oversight. He did not leave room enough in Atlantis +for adventure. Everything here is so well designed +that there is little chance for daring courage, +the unknown—little chance for sheer primitive rashness +and hardihood. Our games and recreations, our +art, our political contests, of course consume much of +our surplus energy; but, after all, we are the children +of savage ancestors, and among our young there +is a craving for keener experience. And so we of +the Emergence Party favor the increase of population, +so that those who wish may enjoy the greatest adventure +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[349]</span>of all—may launch their vessels toward unknown +worlds!”</p> + +<p>“You would find that adventure well worth taking,” +I commented.</p> + +<p>“Then you—you perhaps agree with the Party of +Emergence?” cried Xanocles, rising and coming toward +me enthusiastically.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps I do,” I admitted, also rising, and taking +his extended hands. And as I felt his hearty clasp, it +seemed to me that I had not only gained a friend but +found my political allegiance.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV +<br> +What the Books Revealed</h2></div> + + +<p>Amid all the excitement of my return to Archeon, +my establishment in new quarters and my meeting +with Xanocles, I had not forgotten Aelios’ +advice to visit the library at the first opportunity. +Nor had I forgotten my official duties as Historian +of the Upper World, nor the necessity for acquiring +more, explicit knowledge of undersea customs before +I could hope to interpret my own country to the Atlanteans. +Hence I was determined to accomplish a +double object: to prepare myself for my prescribed +work and at the same time to gratify my curiosity by +an extensive course of reading.</p> + +<p>As soon as I was fully settled in my new apartment, +I set out for the main government library—and with +highly interesting and even startling results. I found +the building without difficulty: a many-domed edifice +of granite and white chalcedony, located in a large +flower-bordered square near the center of town. Had +I not been able to identify it from the descriptions, I +might have recognized it by the streams of people +constantly filing in and out, giving me the feeling +that it was the business heart of the city.</p> + +<p>Yet my first impressions of the library were bewildering +in the extreme. Not only was the building one +of the largest I had seen (covering not less than five +or six acres) but the volumes it harbored were amazing +in their profusion and variety. My first surprise +was at the discovery that there were no railings, +fences or locked doors, as in all other libraries I had +known. Here the visitor was admitted without question +to every room and corridor; my second surprise—and +a far greater one—was caused by the queer +arrangement of the books. For the volumes were catalogued +and stocked, not alphabetically, but chronologically; +there was a gallery reserved for each century +of Atlantean history, down to the seventh century +B. S.; and within the galleries, the books were arranged +by authors and subjects in a way that impressed +me as utterly novel. In a niche among the +books, for example, one would observe the bust of a +stern-browed, bearded man; and, coming close, one +would note that this was the poet Sargos; and just +below the bust one would find the complete collection +of the poet’s works, as well as the commentaries upon +them. Or, in another corner of the room, one would +pause to admire the painting of a crowded ancient +seaport; and the inscription below the painting would +tell one that this was the vanished maritime city of +Therion; and just beneath this inscription would be +the books wherein Therion was pictured and discussed.</p> + +<p>In a way, the building reminded me of a museum +as much as of a library, for, in addition to the paintings +and statues, each gallery was featured by furniture, +rugs, vases, tapestries and decorations that corresponded +with the original date of the books. The +effect of oddity was enhanced by the fact that the +volumes themselves, while in many cases modern reprints, +were not infrequently bound in the style of +their first editions; and the total impression was most +curious and interesting, considering the contrasting +sizes and the numberless shades and colors of the +books, and the various grades of silk, parchment and +artificial leather in which they were attired.</p> + +<p>Yet the appearance of the books was the least noteworthy +fact about them. Their sheer abundance was a +source of unceasing astonishment to me—it seemed as +if every era in Atlantean history had been a literary +one. As nearly as I could determine, there had been +an average of several hundred books a year which had +been thought worthy of preservation—and the high +period of productivity had already endured for twenty-five +centuries! Nor were the favored works merely +stored up in dusty shelves where they might remain +forever unnoticed—every book of the scores which I +opened had been well thumbed, and the crowds constantly +browsing along the alcoves and aisles gave evidence +that literary interest was not purely a thing of +the past.</p> + +<p>It was not long before I myself felt inclined to +emulate those enthusiasts. Seated in company with +twenty or thirty Atlanteans before the long marble +table that adorned the most modern of the galleries, +I began to taste the contents of several books I had +selected at random; and so delightful did they prove, +that it was four or five hours before I had any thought +of leaving.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>While all the books which I inspected proved richly +diverting, the one that interested me most +was a little volume entitled “Social Life in the Thirty-first +Century.” When I recall today the unusual size +of the type and the extreme simplicity of the style, I +feel sure that the book was designed for an immature +audience; but this fact did not then occur to me, and +I found the work admirably suited to my needs. +Questions that had been perplexing me ever since my +arrival in Atlantis were now explained, in a manner +that dispersed all doubts; and I found myself possessed +of a clearer conception than ever before of +Atlantean ideas and institutions.</p> + +<p>I had been wondering, for example, about the statue-like +palace wherein Rawson and I had been imprisoned; +I was now informed that this, “The Temple of the +Stars,” was among the oldest buildings in Atlantis, +having been erected just before the Submergence so +that the people might bring back to mind at will the +aspect of the skies. I had been wondering, likewise, +about the “Hall of Public Enlightenment,” that amber-hued +and sapphire theatre in which I had lately witnessed +several debates; I now read that such a building +had been erected centuries before in each of the +Atlantean cities as a place of popular assemblage, a +sort of forum, wherein the people might decide upon +public questions; and I also learned that any citizen +might attend the meetings there, that any might take +part in the discussions, and that it was at such popular +gatherings that the few laws of the country were +proposed and the most important problems weighed and +settled.</p> + +<p>The discussion of the Halls of Public Enlightenment +naturally paved the way for a description of the political +system and government of the Sunken World. +“The State of Atlantis,” I read, “is neither a monarchy, +an oligarchy, nor a republic. It is a Commonality, +which means that all things are possessed in +common by the people and all activities shared among +them. At the head of the Atlantean State is the High +Chief Adviser, whose principle duty is by way of counseling +the people, but who decides certain specified +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[350]</span>minor questions confronting the Atlantean State and +is empowered to assume dictatorial authority in case +of a national crisis (although such a crisis has never +occurred since the riots of the second century A. S., +following the passage of the Milares Compulsory Population +Law).</p> + +<p>“Like all the other officials of Atlantis, the High +Chief Adviser assumes his position neither by appointment +nor by heredity nor by election, but by Automatic +Selection; or, in other words, he has taken +office after defeating all rivals in a series of debates +and rigorous competitive examinations. His term of +office is indefinite, but every three years he is expected +to prove his fitness by engaging in contests with +qualified aspirants for the Advisorship; and unless he +can still outdo all opponents, a new chief executive +is installed.”</p> + +<p>It would have seemed to me that such a system +would have detracted from the dignity of the High +Chief Adviser; but the book informed me that, on +the contrary, it added to his dignity, since he was +assured of holding office on a basis of merit only. In +fact, he was bound to keep fit and even to improve +himself while in office; and most High Chief Advisers +did actually remain so well qualified that they +stayed in power for an average term of thirty years. +Indeed, Icenocles (the incumbent at the time of the +publication of the book) had already ruled for forty-five +years, and now, at the mature age of one hundred +and seven, he still regularly put all competitors to +shame.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>All this, of course, told me nothing about Atlantean +law-making, law enforcement and the administration +of justice. Therefore I eagerly read on, +and found many of my questions speedily answered. +To my astonishment, I learned that there was no such +thing as a legislature or a law-making group in Atlantis!—and +yet such bodies were not unknown to the +native political theory. “Ancient experience has taught +us,” said the book, “that representative government +usually represents only some particular faction. And +in a community whose members are few and all of +whose citizens are intelligent, there is no necessity +for delegated authority. Local statutes and ordinances +were abolished in Atlantis at the time of the Submergence; +and the few national laws are proposed in +any of the cities in the Hall of Public Enlightenment. +Having been debated and approved by an assemblage +of a hundred citizens or more, the measure is submitted +to a referendum of all the Atlanteans after +the lapse of thirty days—and a majority vote will +suffice for its passage.</p> + +<p>“At the head of each city is a Local Adviser, +selected in the same manner as the High Chief Adviser; +and, aided by a corps of from five to fifteen +assistants also chosen competitively, he decides those +questions not settled in the popular assemblies,—questions +such as the amount of energy to be devoted +to the erection of new buildings, the time and +nature of local festivals, the regulation of local hygienic +problems, the number of public physicians required +to attend the ill and aged, and a dozen other +matters of practical and artistic concern. Equally +important theoretically, though in actual practice far +less so, is the court of eleven judges which presides +in each town, settling all disputes among citizens and +reprimanding the law-breakers. No doubt there were +frequently such persons as law-breakers three thousand +years ago, when these courts were planned, but today +such offenders are virtually unknown, for the only +crimes are those of impulse and passion, and these +are exceedingly rare—fortunately, the congenital +criminals have been wiped out along with lunatics and +morons by our rigorous birth selection. Occasionally, +indeed, some diseased person will break some unwritten +rule of society, such as that against trapping or +slaying fishes or small animals; but the government +hospitals care for such unfortunates, just as they care +for the criminals of impulse, and not infrequently +effect a cure. As for disputes among individuals, they +are as obsolete as embezzlement or highway robbery, +for now that the ownership of property has been +abolished, what is there left to quarrel about? And +so for the most part our courts endure somewhat as +the appendix endures in the human body—mere anachronistic +reminders of an age that is no more.”</p> + +<p>At a single sitting I read my book from cover to +cover. Even aside from what I have already mentioned, +the facts that it told me were innumerable +and highly varied: how the great golden lamps of Atlantis +were electrically lighted and were switched on +and off at specified intervals by country-wide clockwork; +how all Atlanteans, old and young, ill and +healthy, were cared for by the State, so that no man +was weighed down with dependents; how disease had +been almost wiped out, since all the commoner noxious +germs had been conquered; how religion in the organized +sense had ceased to exist, for the reason that +each man was expected to arrive at his own philosophy; +how the temples that littered the country were without +theological meaning, but were sanctuaries of beauty +whereto any one might come at any time to worship +amid the solitude of his own thoughts; how education +was one of the prime pursuits of the people, and +was participated in by all from childhood to old age, +but was never undertaken by the mob method popular +in the upper world.</p> + +<p>From the few pages that the author of the “Social +Life” devoted to the latter subject, I feel sure that the +Atlanteans would have been horrified at our system of +herding forty or fifty children together in subjection +to a glowering pedagogue: their theory was that personal +and friendly contact with the teacher was the +important thing, and so their boys and girls were +taught in small groups, and never for many hours a +day, nor with more than a minimum of restraint upon +their natural spirits, nor in a specified and unvarying +place, for as often as not their school-room was a +marble colonnade or the court of a temple or even +the open fields. And, in the same way, the higher +education among the Atlanteans (except in the case of +scientific work requiring laboratory training) was +much less formal than among us. There were no +such things as universities or university degrees, but +men and women of recognized wisdom and learning +were chosen to commune with the young and discuss +with them the problems of life, much as Socrates did +when he presided among his disciples; and these +“Guardians of the Mind,” as they were called, would +counsel and direct their young charges, and guide them +in that reading which constituted their primary source +of information.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV +<br> +Duties and Pastimes</h2></div> + + +<p>It is from my first visit to the library that I date +my real initiation into the affairs of Atlantis. +From that time forth I was no longer a stranger +in an unknown world; I became involved in such a +round of activities that I began to feel almost at home. +For it was my good fortune to have plenty to do, far +more to do, in fact, than the average Atlantean; and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[351]</span>with the demands of the Sunken World calling me on +the one hand, and my old companions of the X-111 +drawing me on the other, I did not have far to seek +for an interest in life.</p> + +<p>First of all, of course, I was applying myself to my +“History of the Upper World.” It took me a month to +plan the book, though meanwhile I devoted hours a +day to improving my knowledge of the Atlantean language +and institutions. And when finally I had completed +my preliminary outline it did not satisfy me +entirely, and yet seemed adequate as a working basis. +The introductory section of the book—necessarily a +lengthy affair—was to be devoted to a description of +the modern world, to the various nations, their customs, +languages, social systems, scientific advances and +wars; and having begun with this grand resume of +modern achievement, I intended to show the steps by +which that achievement had been consummated, and +to picture in general the course of those social fluctuations, +those invasions, battles, slave-raids, civil conflicts, +religious persecutions, crusades, economic revolutions, +industrial tumults and international blood-feuds +that have brought civilisation to its present proud +estate.</p> + +<p>But while I was planning my book, my thoughts +were frequently on more personal subjects. And, having +completed the outline, I could not forget a certain +invitation made me by the most fascinating woman +in Atlantis, but wasted no time about seeking her advice +and approval.</p> + +<p>Late one afternoon, when I knew that her tutoring +would be over for the day, I paid my second visit to +her home. I went just a little hesitatingly, I remember, +yet not without some justifiable hope, for our +interview was to begin most auspiciously. It was +Aelios herself that came to the door in response to +my knock; and it was Aelios that escorted me into +the house, with cordial greetings and delighted smiles +that reaffirmed my impression of her unrivaled merits.</p> + +<p>“Well, my friend, I thought you would be coming,” +said she, simply, as we took seats side by side on the +seaweed sofa we had occupied on my first visit.</p> + +<p>“But what made you think that?” I questioned.</p> + +<p>“Why, didn’t you say you would come?” she returned, +in unfeigned surprise. “You’re undertaking a +difficult task, you know—to write a book in a strange +language. Isn’t it only natural to want advice?”</p> + +<p>“It is, indeed,” I confessed, and should have liked to +add, “when I can have such a charming adviser.”</p> + +<p>“I suppose you’ve been working hard,” she continued, +evidently unaware of what was in my thoughts. +“And, of course, you’ve brought something with you +to show me.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I have brought something,” I admitted; and, +there being no choice, I forthwith unfolded the paper +that contained my plans for the history.</p> + +<p>For several minutes she gazed at it intently, her +features furrowed with thought, while eagerly I +awaited her verdict.</p> + +<p>“This is going to be very interesting,” she at length +decided. “As far as I can see, you’ve covered most +of the important points. You will find it easier than +I thought to write in our language—your beginning is +most promising. Of course, you do make some errors +of style....” And she proceeded to point out my +mistakes, in such a manner that I felt certain never +to repeat them.</p> + +<p>For possibly an hour—or two—we discussed my outline, +though all the while I was conscious that there +was something in Atlantis far more interesting to me +than my book.</p> + +<p>I was still aware of that fact, when, at last, feeling +that it was growing late, I arose reluctantly to leave. +As she took my hand, Aelios flashed upon me her +most genial smile, and requested, “Come again, my +friend. Perhaps I’ll be able to help you some more. +Our doors are always open, you know.”</p> + +<p>“Well, if it wouldn’t be asking too much of you,” +I started to reply, fumbling for words, while the +blood rushed all at once to my head.</p> + +<p>“It will be a pleasure. And besides,”—here she hesitated +momentarily, and her fingers absently toyed +with the folds of her gown—“besides, if I help you +with your book, I will also be helping the State.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, possibly that’s true,” I conceded. And so +what could I do but agree to give Aelios a further +opportunity to help the State?</p> + +<p>But if I based any glamorous hopes upon her evident +friendliness, I was building without knowledge of my +foundations. Not long after my visit to her, a chance +conversation showed me how far I was from that goal +which my more sanguine fancies pictured.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It was Xanocles that unwittingly made me see the +difficulties. During one of our numerous little +talks, he touched casually upon the marriage system +of Atlantis. “The Milares Compulsory Population +Law,” he chanced to inform me, “is perhaps not the +only reason for the present superiority of the Atlantean +stock. Another factor is what I may call the +marital selection. This is regulated primarily by custom +and is almost exclusively in the hands of the +women, yet is so rigid that an inferior man can hardly +find a mate—indeed, a superior woman would be disgraced +by linking herself to a weakling.”</p> + +<p>“But just what do you mean by a weakling?” I inquired.</p> + +<p>Xanocles looked at me in surprise. “A weakling, of +course, is one with nothing to give to society. A +great poet, for example, could never be thought of as a +weakling; nor a competent painter, nor philosopher, nor +musician, nor biologist. But the man whose contributions +show no particular skill or individuality is regarded +as a weakling, no matter what his pursuit. +Naturally, he is not condemned so long as he does his +best; but he is not regarded as a fit subject for marriage +except with another weakling—and, needless to +say, weaklings are not permitted to propagate.”</p> + +<p>If Xanocles noticed that I was moody and silent +for the rest of the day, the reason would not have +been hard to find. I do not believe that, in my own +world, I had ever suffered from what is known as an +inferiority complex; but among the Atlanteans, with +their higher standards, mere honesty demanded that I +question my own qualifications. And what, I wondered, +had I to offer to a woman such as Aelios? +Would not my meagre attainments appear childish and +unattractive to her? Even if I finished my “History +of the Upper World,” would it not be a second-rate +affair, altogether incapable of winning her admiration? +And would I not, by comparison with the natives, +be considered a weakling, a man whom Aelios +could not marry without incurring disgrace?</p> + +<p>For days and weeks I was harassed by such +thoughts; and it was to be long before I had wholly +recovered. Meanwhile, however, I was partially consoled +by the companionship of Xanocles. The friendship +begun at our first meeting, was strengthening +and solidifying in the course of the months; the proximity +of our lodgings rendered it easy for us to see +one another, but there also seemed to be a certain +proximity of mind, which made each of us take pleasure +in the company of the other; and in spite of the +gulf of race, training and experience, we found that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[352]</span>we actually had more in common than many persons +who have spent all their lives in the same home. And +so he would often seek me out, and we would spend +hours exchanging ideas in the dim seclusion of my +rooms; and often I would seek him out, and we would +hold friendly debate in the quiet of his rooms; and +not infrequently we might have been seen strolling +arm in arm about the city, while I pictured to him +the wonders and vastness of the upper world, or while +he in his turn regaled me with colorful reminiscences, +and told how he was employed by the State as a +binder and designer of books, but how he spent his +spare time in writing economic and philosophical treatises +or delivering lectures in favor of the Emergence.</p> + +<p>It was under the pilotage of Xanocles that I was +introduced to the social life of Atlantis. The Atlanteans +did not spend all their time in grave and serious +pursuits, as I had at first imagined; they did not devote +themselves to art until it palled upon them, or +seek for beauty until it became blurred and illusory; +but they knew how to vary their lives and make them +symmetrical, and they had quite as much time for +laughter and recreation as for earnest endeavor and +sober thought. Indeed, they proved to be an unusually +sociable people; and after I had entered with +Xanocles into the rare spirit of their life and pastimes, +I was forced to conclude that a prime reason +for the success of Atlantean society was the sane +balance it preserved, and the fact that its more ideal +aims were tempered by a recognition and a measured +encouragement of all the normal inclinations of man.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For sheer range and variety, the Atlantean pastimes +excelled those of any other people I had +ever encountered. To begin with the simplest first, +there were athletic games, races and competitions that +might have been popular even in the upper world; +and on the outskirts of Archeon were fields where the +young and even the middle-aged gathered in crowds, +testing their prowess by boxing and wrestling, by +hurling round, flat objects like the ancient discus, by +sprinting along specified race-courses, by engaging in +a sort of ball game remotely like tennis, or by participating +in that more popular contest known as “sortos,” +which reminded me of baseball except for the fact that +it did not require so many players. I was surprised +to observe that the Atlanteans could enter into these +sports with hot enthusiasm; but I also noted that they +could view their athletics with sanity, and were interested +in their games only while actually engaged in +them, and did not come forth in throngs as mere onlookers, +nor waste time discussing the contests beforehand +or after they were over, nor prostitute their +spirit to a professional or commercial outlook.</p> + +<p>Not less popular than the athletics—in fact, probably +much more popular—were the dances that featured +prominently in Atlantean life. These were of a +hundred styles and varieties, from the ethereal butterfly +movements of trained women, such as Aelios, to +the tripping and capering of children keeping time +spontaneously to the rhythm of a song. Leaving out +of account the dances for which unusual skill was +necessary, the most interesting to my mind were those +held on the polished floors of the temples, where as +many as a hundred men and women would gather, all +swaying synchronously to the subdued beat of the +music, some in couples holding hands and some singly, +but all lightly passing back and forth with bird-like +co-ordinated movements, until as one watched, one lost +sight of individuals and thought of them all only as +the parts of some exquisite, ever-varying whole.</p> + +<p>It was not surprising to me to observe that the Atlantean +love of the dance was matched by an equal +taste for music. Having no technical musical knowledge, +I cannot comment upon the Atlantean development +of the art, except to say that its cultivation was +widespread, that public concerts were held almost daily +in the halls of Archeon, and that invariably their effect +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[353]</span>upon me was pleasing beyond anything I had ever +heard on earth. Perhaps it was that the Atlantean +music possessed in high degree the power of awakening +ecstasy and visions; perhaps it was that its restrained +melancholy and plaintive rapture were as keys, +that unlocked a universe beyond the universe of sense, +and brought the time-bound spirit into touch with the +timeless; but, at all events, it possessed a ravishing +power reminding me of the most consummate violin +performances, and yet surpassing even the violin in +the almost complete severance it effected between +body and soul.</p> + +<p>Much the same may be said of the drama in Atlantis—a +drama almost as popular as the music, and +built like the music upon that beauty which reaches +beyond time and space. The prose drama seems never +to have been introduced; poetry, as the natural vehicle +for ecstatic expression, was evidently regarded as the +inevitable substance of all plays; and the playwrights +were all in a tradition that might have appealed to +Sophocles and Euripides, although they had never +heard of those master dramatists. Indeed, Atlantis +had a score of dramatic writers who in my judgment +were in no way inferior to any produced by classical +Greece; and the best works of these authors, staged +with picturesque simplicity and presented by actors of +power, afforded me some of the most absorbing hours +I passed during all my years in Atlantis.</p> + +<p>But if delighted by such performances, I was not +less pleased to note that dramatics flourished also on +a small scale. In any little social gathering one of +the most popular diversions would be the improvisation +and acting of short plays; and the proficiency of +the Atlanteans in this game seemed almost incredible +to me, for the actors would not only originate their +own little dramas, but would speak their impromptu +lines with feeling and beauty; and so deeply was the +spirit of poetry engrained that long fluent passages +of exceptional verse would sometimes be delivered +spontaneously.</p> + +<p>Beyond these dramatic exhibitions, the chief private +pastime of the Atlanteans was in the art of discussion. +To say that discussion was an art is not to +exaggerate; it was believed that the mark of the cultured +man was his ability to express himself intelligently; +and themes for consideration in an Atlantean +drawing room varied from the latest poetry and the +latest music to the nature of the human personality +and the ultimate meaning of life. To the self-respecting +citizen, it would have been an insult to +suggest that he avoid the boredom of conversation by +games of dominoes or cards; and it would have seemed +ludicrous to attempt to gossip concerning one’s food or +clothes, one’s athletic prowess, one’s neighbor’s idiosyncrasies +or bad manners, or any of those hundred +and one subjects that might have proved diverting in +upper world conversation.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>While Xanocles was introducing me to the social +life of Atlantis, much of my time was being +taken up by social life of a different type. Now that +I had been elevated to the dignity of Atlantean citizenship, +I could not forget that I had thirty-eight comrades +who aspired to a similar honor. I saw fully as +much of my former shipmates as before; indeed, I +saw some of them more than ever, and in particular +Captain Gavison, who would frequently visit me to +exchange reminiscences; and I rubbed shoulders with +the whole crew at the regular bi-weekly meetings of +the Upper World Club, which were now held in my +apartment.</p> + +<p>These meetings were sometimes exciting affairs, perhaps +because there was little else in Atlantis which +offered the possibility of excitement. Looking back +after the lapse of years, it is not easy for me to +recall just what there was to be agitated about; but +it is certain that we would be agitated indeed, and +that there would be fiery debates and discussions, +which occasionally became so heated that President +Gavison would rap and rap with the bit of stone that +served him as gavel, raising his voice until he almost +shouted and the sheer awe of his presence would restore +order. As nearly as I can remember, most of +the disputes were due to conflicting opinions of Atlantis; +for frequently one of the club members would +denounce the Sunken World in the most picturesque +terms at his disposal; and immediately some champion +of Atlantis would spring to his feet in disagreement, +and the debate would wax fast and furious, +most of the club taking a part, until the imperious +voice of the President would put an end to the contest.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, however, the altercation would be over +some proposal for improving our status in Atlantis. +Many and curious were the views as to the drawbacks +of our lot; and one of our members would be +likely to suggest that we attempt the construction of +a motor boat or of an automobile; and another would +be convinced that a prime shortcoming of Atlantis +was the absence of the phonograph or of motion pictures; +and many would toy fondly with the idea of +escape, and would advocate wild and wholly impractical +schemes that would foment a tumult in the club. +As time went by, it became increasingly apparent that +the majority would never be reconciled to Atlantis; +they felt estranged by its art, overwhelmed by its +majesty, irritated by its suave peacefulness; and while +they still studied the native language for several hours +a day, and at times derived much satisfaction from +being allowed a part in the native pastimes and athletics, +yet on the whole they felt out of place in an +atmosphere not adapted to them, and were coming to +look upon the upper world as a sort of lost Elysium.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_3750" id="img352"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img352.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + That this noise was somehow connected with the quickening wind was +apparent from the first; and the relationship became evident when the +path swerved abruptly away from the wall and I glanced back, to behold +a series of queer-looking machines supported on stone pedestals high up +against the glass. It would be impossible to say just what the machines +were like ... so swiftly were they rotating that they formed each a gray +blur through which the green of the wall was vaguely discernible. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI +<br> +Curiosities, Freaks and Monstrosities</h2></div> + + +<p>Even though my companions felt constantly ill at +ease in Atlantis, yet as the weeks went by they +were becoming more proficient in the use of the +native tongue and were taking their places in the life +of the Sunken World. One by one they were being +summoned, as I had been summoned, before the Committee +on Selective Assignments; and each in turn was +ordered to perform some specified daily work after +taking the usual thirty days’ tour around Atlantis.</p> + +<p>Captain Gavison, as one of the most adept of all +in mastering the language, was one of the first to be +graduated into citizenship. But his advancement +brought him no great pleasure, since his prescribed +duty was to spend two and a half hours daily in a +bureau engaged in compiling statistics of population +and industry; and his chosen work for the State, +which was to write a comparison of Atlantean and +upper world civilization, gave him no end of trouble +owing not only to linguistic difficulties but to his lack +of training in authorship.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Stranahan and Rawson had also matriculated +into citizenship; but their assigned work differed +strikingly from the Captain’s. Rawson, as a well +formed and brawny youth, was permitted to exercise +his muscles for an hour and a half daily in a marble +quarry some miles to the north of the city; while +Stranahan, who had been given his choice of several +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[354]</span>occupations, decided that it would suit him best to +serve three hours daily as doorman at the Archeon +City Museum.</p> + +<p>It seemed almost as if this position had been made +to order for him; for when he stood at the museum +entrance, robed in an official red, and politely directed +visitors to the various aisles and departments, he had +the dignity of one born to a lofty station. His work +was not altogether easy, he assured me, for the exhibits +were many and confusing, and he had difficulty +in memorizing their names and positions; yet to see +him as he swayed commandingly from side to side of +the great arched doorway, with chest thrown well out +and hands folded sedately behind him, one could +scarcely have believed that he was troubled by any +doubts, but might have imagined him to be the owner +and creator of the building.</p> + +<p>Indeed, the interest which he took in the museum +seemed to be almost personal. He summoned the +whole Upper World Club to inspect it, as though it +had been his own handiwork; and he directed us from +gallery to gallery and from exhibit to exhibit with +the serenity of perfect knowledge. And while there +was much about the institution that neither he nor the +rest of us could understand, yet we had him to thank +for introducing us to some truly extraordinary displays.</p> + +<p>Unquestionably, the museum was one of the things +best worth seeing in all Atlantis. Not only were the +contents vivid and remarkable beyond description, but +the building itself was a never-failing source of wonder. +The sides and roof were of glass, and on the +lower levels the walls were colorless and transparent, +so that passers-by could feast their eyes on the more +conspicuous displays, just as on earth the passers-by +may gaze into the shop windows. But above the first +story the glass was no longer crystal-clear, but was +frosted and tinted to the semblance of clouds driven +across a pale blue sky; and over those clouds and down +from the enormous rounded dome a dim rainbow +seemed to reach, spreading a web that varied in hue +and texture with every step one took and every variation +in the luster of the searchlights that shone faintly +from above.</p> + +<p>To glance at this superb building, one would never +have guessed what queer objects it concealed. For my +own part, I was simply astounded—astounded at the +beauty of some exhibits, at the strangeness and ghastliness +of others. The department of science and inventions +(to select merely at random) was a source of +bewilderment, for it showed the oddest contrivances I +had ever beheld—machines for preventing earthquakes, +machines for regulating the undersea temperature, +machines for detecting and isolating noxious bacteria, +machines for transforming iron into copper or tin +into lead, machines for boring through the ground as +a submarine bores through the water.</p> + +<p>But what particularly interested me was the historical +department. I shall never forget my first visit +to it; it was one of the most surprising experiences of +my life. Imagine, for example, a glass case that contained +nothing but the fragment of a brick wall, a +perfectly commonplace wall of red brick!—and imagine +reading that this was a substance employed for building +purposes in the days before the Æsthetic Renaissance! +Or, again, picture yourself in contact with +half a dozen gold coins, larger than silver dollars and +each worth several days’ wages, yet left unguarded +where any one might seize them!—and fancy reading +that these bits of metal had once been considered valuable +and had even been contended for and hoarded! +Or, to take still another illustration, conceive of one’s +surprise at seeing a carefully treasured speck of coal, +and being informed that this was used for fuel in +the days before intra-atomic energy; or paint for yourself +the shock of coming across a case of fine jewelry, +of rings, earrings, brooches, bracelets, and the like, +only to find them represented as typical of primitive +taste!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But while all of the historical department proved +most diverting to me, there was one section that +interested me more than all the rest. This was known +as the “Hall of Horrors.” Once having observed the +title, I was eager to explore the department in detail—and +I was not to be disappointed. Somehow, there +was something about the “Hall of Horrors” that +seemed familiar, even though a placard at the entrance +assured one that all the exhibits had been preserved +from a remote antiquity. Thus, the first thing that +I noted was a gas masque said to date from the third +century B. S., but looking as if it might have been +useful in the present World War. Beside the gas +masque was a steel helmet reported to be from the +fourth century B. S.; yet, had it not been for the +card identifying it, I might have suspected it of +being taken from the Germans this very year.</p> + +<p>This suspicion, however, would not have applied to +the other military implements ranged about the room; +most of them were so crude of design as to make me +positively smile. Even as I write this, I can re-capture +the mood of exultation I felt at the proof of our own +superiority: the rifles of the second century B. S. were +so puny-looking and feeble as to appear worse than +primitive, and the bayonets were fully half a foot +shorter than our own; the machine guns of the first +century B. S. had obviously not half the killing capacity +of ours, and the cannons were not constructed +for long distance firing; while the conspicuous absence +of the armored “tank,” the hand grenade and “liquid +fire,” showed that the ancient Atlanteans would have +had much to learn from the sanguinary experts of our +own day.</p> + +<p>From the “Hall of Horrors” Stranahan conducted us +into another and scarcely less interesting department +that was apparently nameless, since its miscellany of +ancient oddities would have defied classification. “Here’s +where you’ll feel at home,” grunted our guide, as with +a gesture of welcome he preceded us through the doorway. +But his remark had been poorly chosen. We +did not feel in the least at home. In fact, I had never +had a more distinct reminder of my exile than when +I gazed at great brick and iron chimneys towering +within glass cases, and catalogued as typical of “The +Age of Steel and Fire”; and it made me almost homesick +to see pictures of long-vanished cities wrapped in +great clouds of smoke and soot, and described succinctly +as “Representative of the Tubercular Era in +Old Atlantis.” But much more surprising to me were +the huge ancient furnaces, resurrected in detail, with +puppet stokers in the act of pitching the coal into the +giant flames. An explanatory card naïvely declared +that “These were once considered necessary evils, not +only for industrial reasons, but because the Submergence +had not yet made possible the automatic +regulation of the weather.”</p> + +<p>But an apparently insignificant object in the same +department aroused far greater interest among my +companions. Carefully guarded under a glass cover, +where it had evidently undergone some special process +of preservation, was a flat, little rectangle of some +shrivelled brownish substance, which upon close scrutiny +I took to be tobacco!</p> + +<p>That my guess had been correct was demonstrated +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[355]</span>by a placard that accompanied the exhibit: “This is a +fragment of a narcotic imported into old Atlantis from +across the western ocean. It found high favor at one +time among the women of the country, and to a +lesser extent among the men, although its use was +considered a mark of effeminacy. There were several +common ways of absorbing this drug, the most popular +being to ignite it and suck the smoke into the +lungs by means of a little twisted tube. Happily, this +disgusting habit has long ago disappeared, and the +elimination of this plant at the time of the Good Destruction +is not the least of the benefits conferred by +Agripides.”</p> + +<p>I am afraid that few of my companions agreed with +the latter statement. They cast longing glances in +the direction of the tobacco; and, had it not been safely +guarded beneath glass, its career would surely have +ended then and there.</p> + +<p>With the memory of the tobacco still rankling in +our minds, we were escorted into what was known as +the “Department of Human Evolution.” Here was depicted +the rise of man from the lowest savage state +to the height of present-day Atlantis. A series of +skeletons indicated the gradual transformation from +a broad-boned, ape-like thing to a big-skulled modern—and, +to my great surprise, the large cranial capacity +was represented as belonging almost exclusively to the +aboriginal and Post-Submergence eras!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>While I was wondering why this should be, I +chanced to overhear the words of a sagacious-looking +bearded man, who accompanied a party of +smooth-faced youths, evidently as their tutor. “Before +the Submergence,” he was saying, “we were civilized +in a rude sort of way, and yet were not intelligent. +That is to say, we were not intelligent as a people, +for only one man in a hundred possessed any understanding +of civilization; and it was that one in a hundred, +or perhaps one in a thousand, who accomplished +all the changes in science, art and culture. Today, +however, every normal man is intelligent enough to be +more than the dead lumber of civilization. You will observe +this skull here”—the speaker paused, and pointed +to one of the most ancient of the group—“this is the +fossil of a paleolithic pre-Atlantean, who inhabited our +island forty-five or fifty thousands years ago. You can +see for yourselves how much higher and ampler the +skull is than that of your own ancestor of thirty-two +hundred years ago, although of course the latter represented +the world’s most advanced civilization. Fortunately, +our intellectual decline was counteracted by +the vigorous measures of Agripides and his successors, +and we can now boast of being on the same high mental +plane as the men of fifty thousand years ago....”</p> + +<p>The speaker withdrew with his students toward a +further exhibit, and I could catch no more of what he +said. But I had heard quite enough, for it seemed to +me that his words were not to be taken seriously. +And I was more interested in browsing about the +gallery than in listening to his pointless remarks—particularly +since I had chanced to set eyes on some +arresting tables of statistics. These figures, which +dated back more than three thousand years, showed +how the rise in the appreciation of beauty had been +almost simultaneous with the growth of intellect; how +the mental advance and the decline of crime seemed +likewise to be related phenomena; how the general +measure of happiness, as indicated by the absence of +nervous disorders, mental aberrations and suicides, had +been incalculably increased since the intellectual revival.</p> + +<p>Having read to the end of the statistics, I passed +with my companions down several long corridors to +the art departments, where some of the more notable +contemporary paintings and statues were placed on +exhibition along with a multitude of classic works. +But if I were to dwell upon the contents of these galleries, +beyond saying that its art was in that same exquisite +and original style I had already observed, I +should have to add chapters to my story; and, likewise, +I should find my narrative interminable if I were +to describe the other exhibits: the natural history department, +with specimens of the flora and fauna of +old Atlantis, the paleo-botanical department with lifelike +restorations of long-extinct tree-ferns and gigantic +palms, the sociological-historical departments, with +representations of scenes in prisons, poorhouses, orphanages, +and insane asylums, all of which were declared to +have been “herding places of the days when unfortunates +were so plentiful that they had to be dealt +with by the pack, instead of, as at present, being consigned +individually to the care of those sympathetic +men and women who make social work their service +for the State.”</p> + +<p>But while the sheer abundance of the exhibits makes +it impossible to describe them all, there is one that I +must not fail to mention, since in some ways it was +the most remarkable in the museum. We had just entered +the section ambiguously known as “Curiosities, +Freaks and Monstrosities,” when Stranahan, with an +odd twinkling expression, warned us to be ready for +a surprise. And, certainly, he warned us with good +reason! As we glanced toward the further wall, we +were shocked by sight of something dazzlingly familiar—so +very familiar, indeed, that several of us +uttered little cries of amazement. Neatly arranged behind +a glass case, flattened against the rear panels so +as to afford a better view, were dozens of well known +blue uniforms! Among them, from the Ensign’s +stripes, I recognized my own; and among them, also, +was the decorated uniform of the Captain! And above +them, on a large-lettered placard, appeared the statement +that these were the clothes worn by the only aliens +to enter Atlantis since the Submergence, and that they +were interesting as showing what grotesque and unsightly +garments were fashionable in the upper world!</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII +<br> +The Warning of the Waters</h2></div> + + +<p>Although at times during my first months in +Atlantis I may have felt out of place and wished +that the waters would open above me and bear +me back to my own land, yet my longings were never +mixed with misgivings and my regrets never tinged +with fears. Even in my most pessimistic moments, I +had no doubt but that the Sunken World was secure; +that no menace to life or tranquility lurked in its +well-ordered depths; that I might live out my days +unmolested and in a peaceful routine. Hence I was +all the more shocked at discovery of that peril which +was to give Atlantis the aspect of a beleaguered city, +and to overcast its beauty with foreboding and horror.</p> + +<p>I had been in Atlantis over a year when the crisis +occurred. It was a crisis as startling and unexpected +as the flaming of a meteor out of a calm sky; and +yet, had we but known it, it had been preparing its +way insidiously during the days of fancied safety, +like some mortal disease that burrows through tissues +which are apparently sound. And, like such a disease, +it might have been checked had it only been discovered +in time.</p> + +<p>I remember that one night, after many onerous hours +devoted to my “History of the Upper World,” I slept +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[356]</span>but poorly, with an intermittent slumber disturbed by +nightmares of huge towers crashing to destruction. +And during the wakeful intervals my thoughts framed +other nightmares, and I was agitated by a vague +alarm and excitement, though I could not understand +why. Not until much later did it occur to me that +some telegraphic force, akin to the magnetic will power +of the Atlanteans, may have conveyed to me the deep +unrest that surcharged the atmosphere.</p> + +<p>But whether or not this explanation be valid, I know +that in the morning, when I had dressed and stood +in my roof-bedroom gazing down into the streets, I +became acutely conscious that something was wrong. +Every few minutes a native or group of natives could +be seen rushing by at a speed I had never before +observed among the unhurried Atlanteans; and it +seemed to me that their faces were convulsed as +though with pain or fear; while the voices occasionally +borne up to me had the nervousness, almost the hysteria, +of men in a panic.</p> + +<p>What could have happened? I wondered. Had the +Atlanteans all suddenly gone mad? Or were they facing +an insurrection or a civil war? Or had the government +perhaps been overthrown by a band of insurgents? +Or had there been an earthquake through +which I had somehow slept? Or was there an invasion +from the upper world, and had some of our +countrymen, seeking for clues of the lost X-111, discovered +the Sunken World and entered?</p> + +<p>All these possibilities, as I turned them over in my +mind, seemed so fantastic that I had to discard them. +Yet it still filled me with apprehension to observe the +natives scurrying about the streets—apprehension that +was to be speedily justified.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I was just preparing to go out and investigate when +there came an excited rapping at my door. Unable +to imagine who might be seeking me at this early +hour, I cried out sharply, “Come in!”; and the door +swung abruptly open to admit—Captain Gavison!</p> + +<p>He was far from his composed and normal self. His +pale blue costume was all ruffled, and had been flung +over his shoulders as though in great haste; his long +hair hung dishevelled over his narrow bronzed brow; +his face looked all hot and sweaty; his gray eyes +burned and sparkled with a vague distress.</p> + +<p>He did not wait for a formal greeting. “Have you—have +you heard the news?” he gasped, as he strode +into the room.</p> + +<p>I confessed that I had heard nothing.</p> + +<p>“Don’t see how you could help hearing!” he snapped, +and began to pace slowly about the floor, with brow +wrinkled in bitter thought.</p> + +<p>“What news is it?” I demanded. “Just what have +you heard?”</p> + +<p>“One of the natives told me strange things last +night,” he confided, as he continued his restless perambulations +about the room. “I haven’t slept a wink, +not a wink!”</p> + +<p>“What strange things? We’re not going to be sent +back home, are we?” I inquired, with an abortive +effort to be facetious.</p> + +<p>“We’ll be sent to a worse place than that!” he +growled, bristling almost into his old military manner. +“The glass wall has been cracked!”</p> + +<p>“The glass wall cracked?” I cried, stupidly, stunned +by the terror of the words.</p> + +<p>“Yes, the glass wall has been cracked,” the Captain +affirmed, in a more matter-of-fact manner. “One of +the patrol boats discovered the damage late yesterday +afternoon. There’s a dangerous fracture near the +entrance of the Salty River.”</p> + +<p>For reply I could only groan. The glass wall of +Atlantis cracked!—the whole Atlantic Ocean bearing +down upon the Sunken World! Too well I understand +what that meant, too well to require comment! And +in that first moment of horrible realization I had +visions of torrents pouring through a gap in the wall, +flooding over the streets and temples and highest +towers of the land!</p> + +<p>“But how—how under heaven did it happen?” I +burst forth, when I had half recovered from the first +staggering blow.</p> + +<p>“That is not hard to say,” he declared, slowly and +in measured tones. “At least, there are suspicions—”</p> + +<p>“Suspicions?” I demanded.</p> + +<p>“Suspicions that you and I and the rest of us are +to blame.”</p> + +<p>“But how is that possible?” I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>“It’s possible, all right. It all happened before we +got here. The X-111, caught in the whirlpool outside +the Salty River, was hurled by the force of the +waters against the glass wall, probably striking with +its steel prow, which, as you know, was built for ramming +our foes. The wall, luckily, was too stout to be +shattered; but it was cracked, and the crack must +have been growing all this time without being noticed.” +“Merciful gods!” I cried. “Then if—if anything +happens to Atlantis, it will be all on account of us!”</p> + +<p>But before Gavison had had time to reply, there +came another rapping at the door. And, hardly waiting +for my summons, a wild-eyed Xanocles burst in. +Like my other visitor, he did not waste time on greetings. +“You—do you know?” he faltered, with a lack +of self-command most unusual in him.</p> + +<p>Solemnly we assured him that we knew.</p> + +<p>Without further delay we plunged into the subject +that had brought him to us. “Maybe you’d like to go +and see for yourselves?” he suggested.</p> + +<p>“But how can we see for ourselves?” I asked.</p> + +<p>“The government—that is to say, the High Chief +Adviser—has ordered the intra-atomic river boats put +at the people’s disposal. Seven of them are now +plying back and forth, bearing thousands to the glass +wall. The Adviser thinks the people should see for +themselves just what has happened.”</p> + +<p>“Very well then, let’s go,” decided the Captain.</p> + +<p>Without another word the three of us set out together. +In silence we strode down the long avenue +that meandered toward the river. And as we sped +along we encountered dozens of the natives, all of +them in as great a hurry as we; and all had faces +flushed and excited, or fearful and drawn, or pale as +though with apprehension.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Upon arriving at the piers, we found that hundreds +of Atlanteans had preceded us, most of them +so transformed that I could hardly recognize them as +citizens of the Sunken World; for they were chattering +wildly, or pacing distractedly back and forth, or +uttering half-hysterical exclamations; and one or two +were mumbling and muttering to themselves, or moving +their lips silently in what might have been prayer. +But they did not fail to notice our arrival; angry +exclamations broke forth at sight of us, and several +of the men and women withdrew visibly from us; +and, in my surprise, I did not know whether to +ascribe their hostility to the unpopularity of Xanocles +or to the part that Gavison and I had played as unconscious +agents of disaster.</p> + +<p>To calm the excited multitude, a vigorous-looking +young man ventured to raise his voice, and proclaim, +“Friends, there is still no reason for alarm. We do +not yet know how serious the damage may be, but the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[357]</span>glass wall still holds; not a drop of water has broken +through.... There is reason to believe that the +break will be speedily repaired, and that we will go +on living as happily as ever....”</p> + +<p>These words, I was glad to see, had a soothing effect +upon the crowd. Yet I was relieved when at last the +boat hove into view, a slender affair as long as the +longest river vessel, but not more than twenty-five +feet from rail to rail. I did not then give any attention +to its details, though I did note how low-lying +it was, with but one visible deck, one small cabin and +no smokestack or mast. But after it had drawn up +to the pier and the gangplank was flung down, I wasted +no time about boarding it with my two companions. +Benches and chairs were strewn liberally about the +deck, sufficient to accommodate the entire crowd; and +we had hardly taken seats when the boat commenced +to shiver and throb, and we started upstream with +the velocity of an express train.</p> + +<p>So rapidly did we move that in less than an hour +we were approaching the head of the Salty River. And +during the interval I only once ventured to break the +moody solitude of my own thoughts.</p> + +<p>“When did you find out about all this?” I asked +Xanocles, who like the rest of us seemed to be absorbed +in bitter reveries.</p> + +<p>“Last night,” he returned, in an abstracted manner. +“I chanced to be in the Hall of Public Enlightenment, +and heard the news over the Autophone.”</p> + +<p>“The Autophone?” I demanded.</p> + +<p>“Well, naturally, you wouldn’t know what that is,” +explained Xanocles. “We get our ordinary news by +wireless telegraph, of course, and it is then reported +by speakers at the various public meeting places. But +the Autophone is more effective, and is used only on +rare and important occasions. It operates instantaneously, +and consists of a tube and electrical attachment, +enabling one to hear a speaker miles away.”</p> + +<p>“I understand,” said I, for, after all, the Autophone +did not impress me as unfamiliar.</p> + +<p>And with that we lapsed again into silence, a silence +shared by all the hundreds of passengers. For now +that they had actually embarked upon the voyage, +their excitement seemed to have died down to a mood +of solemn waiting, a tense and painful waiting all too +apparent in the rigid, staring faces of the men and +the women’s pale cheeks and frightened eyes.</p> + +<p>It was with relief that at length I saw the river +growing white and agitated ahead of us, and knew +that we were not far from the valve where the torrents +were hurled in from the sea. Yet I was filled +with impatience before we swerved finally into a little +side canal and our boat came to a landing before a +long granite dock whence a sister ship was just leaving. +I need hardly state that I lost no time in stepping +across the gangplank, as soon as the crowded +state of the deck permitted; and though we were still +three or four miles from the glass wall, I was thankful +to be able to walk the distance.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>To watch my two companions and myself set out +along the clay footpath toward the wall, one might +have thought that we were athletes training for a +race. But if we moved rapidly, we were in no way +exceptional, for there were scores who easily kept +pace with us.</p> + +<p>For many minutes we hastened parallel to the Salty +River. We passed the long, white rapids; we passed +the spot where the gigantic jet of water shot thundering +out of the pipe-like valve; we saw the wall itself +sloping down before us, and near the wall we could +make out a long, black mass which ultimately resolved +itself into a multitude of humans.</p> + +<p>This multitude, as we drew near, showed itself to +be in a wildly agitated condition. Men and women +were pacing frantically to and fro, swarming and +squirming like worms or ants; some were gesticulating +vehemently, some speaking in high-pitched tones audible +from afar, some merely standing petrified like men +dealt a blow too great to bear.</p> + +<p>Yet, as we took our places among them, we could +observe nothing that gave cause for alarm. To our +right loomed the elongated, steely gray valve, a great +tube as high as a three-story building, which narrowed +as it approached the wall, and passed through it on +a level with the ground. And just before us sloped +the wall itself, now roped off so that we could not +come within a stone’s throw, but apparently still the +same smooth, dark greenish barrier I had viewed +months before. No sign of any break or crack was +visible, and it was almost with disappointment that I +noticed how flawless it seemed.</p> + +<p>But while I stood there watching I heard a faint +swishing sound, like the lapping of sea-waves against +the rocks. I may have been mistaken, for amid the +chattering and shouting of the mob and the distant +roaring of waters from the valve, it was difficult to be +sure just what one heard. But Gavison and Xanocles +seemed to note that same ominous noise, and both +paused to listen, while the anxious expression on their +faces did not relieve my misgivings. “It’s the water +working through the inner layers of the glass,” I +thought I heard Xanocles remark; but here again I +could not be sure, for even as he spoke a tumult of +shouts burst forth, and I turned in sudden fright to +see what was the matter.</p> + +<p>This time I did not have long to wait. On one of +the great roof-supporting stone columns a searchlight +had been mounted; and I observed that it was slowly +swinging round, casting a piercing illumination upon +the wall from a bright, yellow eye glaring like the +headlight of a locomotive. For a moment it shook and +wavered as if it could not find a focus; then it became +rigid and still, and a circle of the wall, many yards +across, stood out in brilliant relief.</p> + +<p>Instantly the people began to press forward. So +excited were they that for a moment I almost lost +touch with Gavison and Xanocles, and could catch no +glimpse of the illuminated patch of wall. And at the +same time shrill cries of terror and dismay broke +forth. A man just to my rear groaned as if in pain; +a woman gave a half suppressed sob; somewhere from +the rear came a hysterical wailing. Then, when the +circle in the wall again became visible, I was wedged +in so tightly that I scarcely gave it any attention. It +was only by degrees that I made out its features, and +saw what resembled an enormous piece of cracked +crockery. From an amorphous central blur several feet +across, great seams and fissures ran in a hundred +directions, with long, spidery arms that reached out +like the roots of a tree, gradually growing thinner till +they vanished in vacancy. It seemed a miracle that +the water had not already burst through, for each of +the scores of diverging cracks were rods long and +must have been many feet deep.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>I do not know how long I stood staring blankly at +that tragic break in the glass. I was as one +divested of power of thought or movement; I merely +hovered there transfixed, listening to the muttering +and sighing of the multitude. Strangely enough, it +did not occur to me to ask whether the damage could +be repaired; it was as though I had known all the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[359]</span>while that it was beyond remedy ... and for the +moment my attitude was strangely detached, almost +impersonal, as though I were the external witness of +melancholy and inexorable things....</p> + +<p>Yet it was a highly personal thought that startled +me back to myself. Somehow, out, of some dim subconscious +depth, there swept across my mind the vision +of two bright, blue eyes—and, with that vision, acute +fear seized me, and longing, and despair. That Atlantis +should be in danger was fearful enough—but +that Aelios should be imperiled was a thought almost +too terrible for belief. And, accompanying that first +wild stab of alarm for her, there came a sharp desire +to see her, to be with her, to speak with her now; and, +hopeful that she might be somewhere in this crowd, +I began to search all about me, and then to thread +my way at random through the dense ranks of people, +scanning all the faces in my anxiety, until Gavison +and Xanocles, following me with difficulty, began to +ask irrelevantly whether the cracks were in the wall +or in my head.</p> + +<p>But no Aelios was to be seen; and at last I was +forced reluctantly to abandon the quest. A dull and +settled sadness had fallen over me; and, depressed for +no reason that I would have acknowledged, I expressed +my purpose of returning at once to Archeon, saying +that I had already seen everything there was to be +seen.</p> + +<p>“But you haven’t seen a thing yet,” demurred Xanocles, +who seemed determined that I should remain. +“The submersible repair ships have not yet arrived—and +when they come, they should be a sight worth +watching.”</p> + +<p>And he slipped his arm about mine, and drew me +with him toward the wall, while I still protested that +it would be better for me to return to Archeon.</p> + +<p>No doubt in the end I should have had my way, +had not another hubbub arisen to distract my attention. +Once more the thousands of voices, were lifted +in excitement; but this time a note of joy was manifest, +and even seemed to predominate. At the same +time, many hands pointed eagerly toward the illuminated +circle in the glass; and from just behind me I +heard a thankful murmur that sounded encouragingly +like “The repair ships; They’re here! They’re here!”</p> + +<p>Indeed, the repair ships had arrived. Even through +the darkest sections of the wall, half a dozen faintly +phosphorescent cigar-shaped forms were dimly apparent. +They were all rather small, scarcely more +than a third of the size of the X-111; but they seemed +to be exceedingly agile, and were darting lithely back +and forth like great fishes, or else were whirling or +pirouetting or standing almost on end, as though +stricken with giddiness and unable to control their +movements.</p> + +<p>“They’re having the devil’s own time!” muttered +Xanocles, as he stood watching. “That’s the worst +danger-spot in all the ocean, for the waters are constantly +in a whirlpool because of the torrents emptied +into the Salty River. But our men are brave, and +somehow they’ll manage it.”</p> + +<p>“But how can they set about it?” I inquired, unable +to imagine any way of making repairs.</p> + +<p>“It’s far from easy, but it can be done,” continued +Xanocles. “One of the ships will have to press itself +against the wall, so closely that there is no space +between. Once all water has been excluded between the +vessel and the wall, you understand, the pressure on +the ocean side will keep the ship in place. And after +the ship is in the proper position, a porthole will be +opened, and through this the men will pour cement +into the crack.”</p> + +<p>Even as Xanocles explained, an anchor was dropped +from one of the ships into the rocky sea bottom; and +the vessel, having steadied itself, began to drift slowly +toward the wall, so that at length its side was pressed +tightly against the cracked glass. Then a little circle +of light seemed suddenly to open on the ship’s side; +and in that circle I could make out the rigid, determined +faces of half a dozen men, while in their +hands I could observe a variety of strange rods, tubes, +and lantern-like contrivances.</p> + +<p>Pessimistic as I had been before, I could not but +feel a burst of hope when I watched the capable, +courageous way in which these men set to work. And +evidently the waiting throng had become hopeful too, +for murmurs of admiration and approval were repeatedly +on their lips; and as they saw tube after +tube of cement poured skilfully into the cracks, they +became almost mad with relief; and some began to +clap their hands and caper childishly, and some sighed +in thanksgiving, and some wept silently, for, after all, +Atlantis seemed to have been saved!</p> + +<p>Then, with the suddenness of a thunderbolt, all their +hopes were dashed out. So swiftly did disaster descend +that none had a chance to say how or whence +it came—but it was disaster complete and irretrievable. +Perhaps it was that the anchor-chain holding +the submarine had snapped, or that some water had +seeped in between the side of the vessel and the +glass wall. At all events, the submarine was plainly +visible one moment, the men pumping the viscid +cement through long tubes to the very extremities of +the crack; and the next moment there was only a dim +shadow flitting away into a watery obscurity.</p> + +<p>For an instant there was an awed silence. Then, +as comprehension dawned upon the crowd, a convulsive +shudder swept it through and through, and a howl of +horror and dismay rang forth. Men glanced askance +at their neighbors, blank terror gaping from their +eyes; and all at once, as by a common impulse, hundreds +pressed confusedly toward the wall, as though +they might succor thus those unfortunates lost in the +briny wastes. But many, conscious of the futility of +all action, sadly remained in their places, and mutely +bowed their heads—a tribute of respect for the +drowned.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_9375" id="img358"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img358.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + It was only by degrees that I made out its features, and saw what +resembled an enormous piece of cracked crockery. From an amorphous +central blur several feet across, great seams and fissures ran in +different directions with long spidery arms ... one of the ships pressed +itself against the wall, after which the port hole was opened and the +men poured cement into the cracks. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII +<br> +The Waters Retreat</h2></div> + + +<p>The eight days that followed the discovery of the +crack were among the most harrying I had +ever spent. Indeed, they were among the most +harrying that any resident of Atlantis had ever spent. +That the peril was acute became more and more apparent +as the days went by and the damage was not +repaired—the submarine disaster which I had witnessed +was but the precursor to other and not less +frightful disasters. Vessel after vessel battled with +the swirling waters in the effort to force itself against +the wall and cement the crack; and vessel after vessel +was shaken away like a twig by the fury of the +maelstrom. Sometimes, fortunately, the portholes were +shut in time and the crew managed to save their lives; +but on other occasions the maddened waters snatched +their prey; and before a week had gone by Atlantis +was mourning for seven lost parties of rescuers.</p> + +<p>All the country was now in a tumult, I might almost +say in a delirium. The regular currents of life had +stopped short; men no longer went about their daily +duties; the libraries and art galleries were deserted; +the young were without tutors, the governmental departments +without clerks; and the cities would have +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[360]</span>been without bread, had it not been for the drastic +orders of the High Chief Adviser. But citizens who +once had been amply occupied would loiter aimlessly +about the streets, or would flock to the Hall of Public +Enlightenment to hear the latest report over the Autophone; +or else they would pace nervously along the +colonnades, or stand discussing in small groups, nerve-racked +and bewildered as men under sentence of death. +Though I never heard them mention the fear that must +have been uppermost in their minds, yet their pale +faces and shuddery manner gave proof of the dread +that was preying upon them; and my former shipmates +and I had reason to know how overmastering was their +terror, for that aversion I had already noted was deepening, +and the people would glance at us with hostility +and even accusation in their eyes, looking mute reproach +at us, as though our coming had been responsible +(as indeed it had been) for the threatened +end of their world.</p> + +<p>Every morning five or six of the little intra-atomic +submarines would leave Atlantis through the valve in +the eastern wall, where the waters of the Salty River +were forced back into the sea. And in the evening +(if they survived till evening) they would return +through the valve in the western wall, where the +waters of the Salty River found entrance. In the interval, +their occupants would work as courageously as +I had ever known men to work, warring against odds +that were apparently insurmountable; while all Atlantis +would stand watching, or waiting at the Autophone +for news of their progress. It seemed wrongful +to my comrades and me that these men, brave and willing +as they were, should risk their lives to repair +an injury which we had caused; and so at Captain +Gavison’s suggestion several of us volunteered to join +the rescuing forces. But the High Chief Adviser, +although expressing his gratitude, refused our offer in +terms that could admit of no reply; for the repairing +crews, as he explained, consisted of skilled mechanics +especially trained for their duties and therefore irreplaceable.</p> + +<p>Fortunately, our assistance was not necessary. On +the eighth day, the officials in charge of the repairs +decided upon a change of tactics; and then it was +that the “Acrola,” a specially equipped submarine provided +with five anchors and an extra battery in intra-atomic +engines, made its way out of the Salty River +and around the glass dome to the scene of the damage. +Truly, it was time that something desperate was done, +for, according to official measurements, the crack had +expanded between nine and ten inches since its detection. +Thanks to its unusual powers of resistance, however, +the “Acrola” withstood the buffeting of the waters +and remained pressed against the wall while Captain +Thermandos and his crew pumped the cement into the +innumerable fissures. Except for the extraordinary +courage of the men, it is probable that they too would +have failed, for the task occupied them for more than +six hours, any moment of which might have been their +last; and they not only had to fill the cracks, but had +to hold to their post till the cement had begun to +harden and was no longer in danger of being washed +away.</p> + +<p>But the notable fact is that they succeeded. Though +they were worn and haggard from their exertions, yet +they had succeeded magnificently. They had saved +Atlantis! After all, the flood-gates would not burst!—the +devouring waters would never race along the streets +and colonnades! The people might return calmly to +their work, certain that tomorrow would bring no +new menace.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Such, at least, was the general impression. And so +great was the public relief that the pendulum +swung violently from a crisis of despair to an extreme +joy. Like men newly awakened from a nightmare, the +Atlanteans refused to believe that the peril had not +been utterly wiped away; and so great was the force +of the reaction, so sudden the snapping of the tension, +that for a while their emotions controlled their heads, +and their desire to feel safe became converted into a +conviction that they were safe. Later, many of them +were to awaken from their self-hypnosis; but during +the celebration that followed the repairs, the people +almost without exception, acted as if convinced of their +rescue; and all the speakers at the great public gatherings +referred in positive terms to the deliverance of +Atlantis; and the songs that were sung were songs of +thanksgiving, as of triumphant escape from a foe; +and the games and dances and festive processions were +those of a people wild with joy of new-won salvation.</p> + +<p>Yet even at the time there was at least one dissenting +voice. Like most dissenting voices at a moment +of popular emotion, it was but little heard, and then +was heard contemptuously; yet it was often to be remembered +in later days, when the occasion called for +little beyond regret.</p> + +<p>Among the seven governmental experts sent to investigate +the repairs and report on their soundness, +there was one who strenuously challenged the views of +his colleagues. While the other six agreed that the +damage had been remedied beyond possibility of a +further disturbance, the seventh (Peliades by name) +brought in a vigorous minority report in which he +contended that the relief was only temporary.</p> + +<p>His plea, as I remember it, ran somewhat as follows:</p> + +<p>“For four or five years—possibly for ten—the repairs +will prove adequate; but after that period the +damage will re-appear in a much more aggravated +form than before. For the cement constitutes a foreign +element in the glass, and produces an abnormal +bulge, so placing an exceptional strain upon those portions +which are still sound. For a while the wall may +be able to endure the strain, but in the course of time +the additional tension will become too great for the +brittle material of the wall to resist; and first small +cracks will appear, and then larger, growing by inches +and by fractions of inches, until the break spreads +towards the surface, and the tremendous pressure of +the ocean shatters the remaining barrier. This effect, +of course, will take years before it begins to be noticeable; +but when finally it becomes apparent, the crack +will have spread so far that only heroic measures will +be able to save Atlantis.</p> + +<p>“The remedy, therefore, is to undertake the immediate +erection of a new glass bulwark against the +affected portion of the wall. Prodigious though this +effort will necessarily be, we will probably be able to +complete the work in time. But unless we do complete +it, we will find ourselves within a hair’s breadth of +catastrophe.”</p> + +<p>Unfortunately—most unfortunately, in view of what +ensued—Peliades’ warning was scarcely heeded. In +some quarters he was denounced as a crank, a mad +alarmist; in other quarters he was openly laughed at, +or derided as the victim of hysteria; while the majority +paid no attention to him at all. Least sympathetic +of his hearers were his fellow specialists; for +these, in response to an inquiry by the High Chief +Adviser, testified at length as to the scientific unsoundness +of Peliades’ theories, and disproved his views to +their own satisfaction and that of the people.</p> + +<p>And so the dissenter’s motions were quietly tabled, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[361]</span>and Atlantis returned to its normal duties with confidence +in the future.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX +<br> +The Party of Emergence</h2></div> + + +<p>Although all Atlantis resumed its normal aspect +soon after the wall had been repaired, things +were never again to be quite as before. It was +as though there were some unseen fissure in the life +of the Sunken World as well as in its glass boundary; +as though the people realized, subconsciously, that they +hovered on the rim of a smoldering volcano. Something +seemed to be lacking that had been there before, +perhaps because something was present that had never +been there before; and the corrosive effects of fear, +injected for the first time during all the centuries of +the Submergence, seemed to dissipate the charmed +tranquility of Atlantis and to suggest that inimical +and even treacherous forces lurked beyond the marble +fountains and palaces and the weird green-golden dome.</p> + +<p>But the one tangible result of the discovery of the +crack was the rise of the Party of Emergence. This +despised minority group, whose very name had been +a phrase of contempt, now burst into a prominence +as surprising to its members as to the people as a +whole, and for the first time in history, threatened to +become a power in Atlantean politics. Perhaps it was +that there were thousands who, beset by a secret dread, +looked to the Party of Emergence as their only salvation; +perhaps it was merely that they had been +shocked into a more liberal-minded attitude, and could +view the policy of Emergence with wide-open eyes. +At all events, a host of disciples flocked voluntarily to +the Emergence banners; and among these were many +persons of influence and position, including Peliades, +the engineer who had declared the wall unsound, and +Chorendos, the Local Adviser of Archeon.</p> + +<p>And now began a heated and aggressive campaign, +conducted incessantly and not without success in the +Hall of Public Enlightenment of every town and village +in Atlantis—a campaign that threatened to develop +into a life-or-death struggle between the regenerated +Emergence Party and the more venerable +Submergence group. It happened that I myself took +an active, if minor part in that contest; and it also +happened that the entire Upper World Club was implicated, +for we all realized that the cause of Emergence +offered us our only opportunity of returning to +the upper world.</p> + +<p>Innumerable were the meetings that we attended, +and innumerable the pleas that we made. To give a +complete account of all our activities would be impossible, +even if I could recall them all; and so I will +have to confine myself to describing a particular meeting, +which stands forth in my mind as typical.</p> + +<p>One afternoon, many months after the crack in the +wall had been sealed, Xanocles and I found ourselves +preparing for a strenuous session at the Hall of Public +Enlightenment. It had been rumored that the day’s +meeting was to be unusually interesting, and Xanocles +and I were secretly determined to make it so; hence, +when we arrived at the sapphire and amber theatre +and found almost all the seats occupied, we felt that +we had every reason to congratulate ourselves.</p> + +<p>We took chairs in the rear, and quietly awaited our +turn. A discussion was in progress regarding the +award of honor to be made to a certain lyric poet. (I +do not know quite what the issue was, for I did not +listen attentively.) But everyone understood that this +was not to be the topic of the day; and after the +question had been settled, a momentary hush came +over the audience and many pairs of eyes were bent +toward us inquiringly.</p> + +<p>Then it was that Xanocles arose. At a gesture from +that same broad-browed elderly woman who had presided +when Gavison and his crew had been brought +to trial long before, my friend stepped out into the +aisle and down to the central platform or stage, while +all eyes followed him intently and a speechless lull +dominated that great assemblage.</p> + +<p>“Fellow citizens,” he said, not taking time even for +an instant’s pause after reaching the foot of the +stairs, “I am here today to make one of the most +momentous proposals ever presented since Agripides +pleaded for the Submergence. But it is not a proposal +that has never been put forth before; it is merely +one that has never been endorsed. It has been, indeed, +at the very backbone of the Party of Emergence, and +will continue to be argued and preached until it meets +with that success which it merits. For it is impossible, +my friends, that Atlantis should retain its age-old +isolation; modern progress makes such backwardness +inconceivable, as the arrival of thirty-nine men +from outside has demonstrated. I am certain that if +Agripides himself were here now he would agree that +our policies must be revised.”</p> + +<p>Here Xanocles paused as if for emphasis; but the +audience remained intently silent, and with increased +forcefulness he continued, “The question of emigration, +my friends, is one of the most important that can +confront any land. Never in the last three thousand +years has Atlantis had an adequate law on this subject; +our prohibition of emigration has been a form +of intolerance unworthy of the high traditions of our +people; and free emigration, if forbidden by the +arbitrary conventions of society, is justified by the +mandates of nature and the normal human craving +for romance and adventure.</p> + +<p>“Therefore I suggest that the fundamental law of +Atlantis be modified. But for the sake of those who +fear to be too radical, I recommend that we proceed +cautiously at first; let us begin by allowing three or +four of our people to visit the upper world; and let +these, having made their investigations, return with +their reports, so that then, on the basis of definite +knowledge, we may decide on the advantage of further +emergence.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>“No, no, no!” rang forth half a dozen voices in +sharp disapproval; and, as Xanocles gracefully +resigned the floor, one of the dissenters—a tall, stooped +man with sallow face, fringed with a white beard—stepped +down to express his views.</p> + +<p>“Citizens of Atlantis,” he declared, in a voice surprisingly +resonant and vigorous for one of his age, “I +have lived long enough to follow the debates of a hundred +years, but never have I heard such folly as has +just been advised. Under the influence of Agripides, +Atlantis has been beautiful, and it has been happy—and +what more can life give us than happiness and +beauty? Would you let yourselves be stampeded by +the ravings of these modernists, who would trample +on every sacred thing, seeking a panicky escape from +some imaginary peril, or misled by a childish lust +for adventure or romance? Take an old man’s word, +in all the upper world there can be no romance like +that spread beneath our green-glass dome, and no +adventure like that of our golden-illumined ways. +Agripides was right, my friends, perhaps more marvelously +right than even he could have known; for +Atlantis can remain Atlantis only so long as the corrupting +influence of the world is excluded; only so +long as we are protected from those bickerings, greedy +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[362]</span>strivings and ruinous stupidities that must beset all +men on an earth, which are things too vast to control +and too diversified to understand. Need I do more +than to remind you that already the first shock of contact +with the upper world has almost shattered the +foundations of Atlantis, and left us all momentarily +in acute danger and fear?”</p> + +<p>And the old man ceased, and stalked majestically +back to his seat, while the nods and murmurs of approval +showed how favorably he had been received. +Evidently the Submergence Party had scored, and +scored heavily; and therefore the time seemed ripe +for the address which I had prepared.</p> + +<p>I had no difficulty in gaining the floor; and after +a few remarks expressing my sympathy with the ends +if not with the methods of the Submergence Party, +I launched into the main body of my speech.</p> + +<p>“You are all building without ample knowledge,” +said I. “And that must necessarily be so, for what +can you have learned of the upper world? But it +happens that I, thanks to some years of experience, +do know a little of the upper world; and it is because +of this that I venture to address you on behalf of +the policy of Emergence.”</p> + +<p>I paused momentarily, to pave the way for my next +point; and I observed that hundreds of pairs of eyes +were straining toward me, in a silence so intense that +one might have heard the dropping of the proverbial +pin.</p> + +<p>“I shall not dwell upon the merely physical advantages +of my own world,” I continued. “I shall not +describe its wide spaces and splendid vistas, its tree-mantled +valleys and sun-burnished lakes, its uproarious +white-splashed oceans and billowy mountains, dark +with forest or glittering with the snow. I shall not +linger over the tingling freshness of starry winter +nights, the feathery softness of the spring, the enchantment +of firefly-haunted glades or of the ever-shifting +skies, with their fragile blue or gray or burning +sunset red. I shall not discourse upon these sights, +for even in the upper world they are but little noted, +save by an occasional nature crank or poet.</p> + +<p>“But what I shall strive to make plain are those +advantages familiar to every thinking citizen of the +earth. Let me begin, for example, by picturing the +life of the typical dweller in our greatest city. Not +only in his home but in his work he enjoys the benefits +of the most progressive civilization ever known. +To begin with, his dwelling may be of any type that +accords with his means and capacity, for if he likes +high places and can afford them, he may enjoy the +privilege of looking down upon his neighbors from the +eleventh story; or, if he prefers exercise, he may +walk up to the sixth floor whenever he goes home; or, +again, if he be of a sluggish disposition, he may take +lodgings at street level—and all without extra charge.</p> + +<p>“Now let me depict the daily routine of such a +man. After being aroused in the morning by a wonderful +little clock that is almost human in its faithfulness +to habit, he slips hastily into his clothes and +consumes a breakfast perhaps featured by refrigerated +beefsteak grown half a world away, and by coffee +mixed with the condensed milk of cows that lived far +away and long ago. Having thus fortified himself +against the day’s exigencies, he loses no time about +leaving the house; and, in company with thousands +as fortunate as himself, he enters a little hole in the +ground, and twenty minutes or half an hour later +emerges from another and precisely similar hole five +or ten miles away. But this is the least of his conveniences. +After climbing from the second hole, he +wedges his way into a little movable electric box in +any of our downtown buildings, and promptly finds +himself delivered opposite his office on the fifteenth or +twentieth floor. He is now ready for the day’s duties; +and so marvelously simple is modern civilization that, +no matter what those duties be, they are always the +same.</p> + +<p>“For there is only one task that seems worth while +to the modern man, and that is the making of money. +Just why money-making is so important is a question +that I personally cannot answer; but it must be important +indeed, for every one becomes involved in it, +especially those who have more already than they +know what to do with; and this is doubtless why +modern civilization runs so smoothly, why the wheels +turn so regularly in so many mills, the shafts are sunk +so deeply in so many mines, the forests are cut so +completely from so many mountain sides, and men +continue to spread out and multiply despite battles, +pestilences, labor wars, earthquakes, and explosions.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>In the latter part of my address I had rather lost +control of myself, saying things I had not intended +to say, things I did not exactly mean. But my enthusiasm +carried me along irresistibly, and it was not +until I was launched into mid-channel that I paused +for a glimpse of my audience and observed the stares +of amazement the nods of incredulity and the frowns +of repulsion with which my words were received. Then +suddenly I was sorry, for now I remembered how once +before I had damaged my own cause by dwelling +indiscreetly upon the merits of the upper world. But +though I was following the wrong track I did not +know how to find the right one—for unless I described +our industrial and mechanical progress, what was there +for me to boast about? And so, face to face with an +impassable barrier, I faltered midway in my address, +hastily summarized, led up to a feeble peroration, and +confusedly took my seat.</p> + +<p>As I returned to Xanocles’ side, a strained silence +filled the air; and the shocked and even hostile glances +of the audiences showed how gravely I had harmed the +cause of Emergence.</p> + +<p>But though I personally had failed, Xanocles was +equal to the emergency. Springing to his feet during +the momentary lull that followed my fiasco, he caught +the attention of the chairwoman, and for the second +time was accorded permission to address the meeting.</p> + +<p>“Fellow citizens,” he began, while the full attention +of the assembled hundreds was focused upon him, “it +deeply grieves me to hear of the deplorable state of +affairs in the upper world. No doubt our friend has +unconsciously exaggerated, for it is incredible that, +after all these thousands of years, the unsubmerged +races should still be so primitive as he has indicated. +Yet we must accept his picture of conditions; we must +reluctantly admit that our fellows on earth are still +groping in the semi-savagery of the Age of Smoke and +Iron, from which we Atlanteans escaped three thousand +years ago.</p> + +<p>“But does that mean that we should ignore the upper +world? Does that mean that we, in the consciousness +of our superiority, should not reach out a helping +hand to our brothers? To forget them in their need +would be unworthy of the disciples of Agripides! Indeed, +it is because of the very limitations of the upper +world that we must emerge!—it is because the people +are so deeply in need of assistance! Let us show them +the folly of their ways! Let us convert them to +the wisdom of Atlantis! Let us teach them that steel +and gold are but frail things after all! Let us send out +our missionaries among them, and bring them the +creed of Agripides! Do you not realize, fellow citizens, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[363]</span>that such an opportunity has never before been thrust +at your door? For not only may you deliver the upper +world from its barbarities and teach it a true culture, +but you may show its peoples how to build glass walls +and submerge as we have submerged!”</p> + +<p>And in this wild vein Xanocles rambled on and on, +while his hearers followed him with enthusiasm that +seemed gradually to mount to the point of conviction.</p> + +<p>Other arguments followed, which I will not weary +the reader with repeating; and after all who desired +it, had had their say, a vote was taken on Xanocles’ +emergence proposal.</p> + +<p>To our great joy, the motion carried—carried by +the decisive ratio of almost two to one! The moment +of triumph, however, had not yet arrived; for, before +the measure could become operative, it had to be approved +by a referendum of all the Atlanteans.</p> + +<p>That referendum, according to the law, could not +be held for at least thirty days, the interval being +considered necessary for discussion. Hence there ensued +a most exciting thirty days for Xanocles and +myself, as well as for all members of the parties of +Emergence and Submergence. Never in the past three +thousand years had so fundamental an issue been +brought before the people; for the first time since +the Good Destruction, the basic principles of Agripides +were at stake!</p> + +<p>Since there were no newspapers in Atlantis, at least +one agency of political excitement was lacking. But +there were other agencies in abundance. Never—with +the exception of those dreadful days following the discovery +of the crack—had I seen the Atlanteans so agitated. +In all the houses and meetings that I visited, +the chief topic of conversation was the proposed +“Emergence Act”; every one was anxious to deliver +his opinion, and every one——man and woman alike,——seemed +to have an opinion, which he was capable +of expressing in apt and pointed terms. But the desire +for discussion was particularly in evidence at the great +assemblies held daily at the Hall of Public Enlightenment; +and it was there that Xanocles and his fellow +“Debating Delegates” of the Emergence Party made +some of the most forceful and eloquent pleas I had +ever heard; and their rivals of the Submergence group +were scarcely less fervid in appealing for the time-honored +policies. These activities, I need hardly point +out, were not confined to one city, but were participated +in by all the eighteen cities of Atlantis; and numerous +speakers from outside points would arrive to address +the gatherings in Archeon, while occasionally Xanocles +or some other leader would leave to speak in neighboring +towns.</p> + +<p>Not least eager among the fighters for Emergence +were the thirty-nine members of the Upper World +Club. Indeed, it is certain that none of the older +members could have outdone us in enthusiasm or determination. +For we had more than an abstract principle +at stake—our entire future lay in the balance.</p> + +<p>And while I personally was not eager to return to +earth just now (being detained by thought of a certain +fair-haired, blue-eyed woman), yet most of my +comrades were almost passionately anxious to escape, +for as time went by they found themselves more and +more out of place in this too-perfect land, and increasingly +unable to perform the duties required of +them as citizens of Atlantis.</p> + +<p>But if they were dissatisfied with the Sunken World +and incapable of making any contribution to Atlantean +culture, they proved very competent when it came to +helping the cause of Emergence. Few of them were +sufficiently skilled in the language to speak in public +(Captain Gavison was an exception, and several times +expressed himself forcefully and to good effect); but +they were all adepts at private electioneering; and they +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[364]</span>would stop every Atlantean they could inveigle into +conversation and plead the cause of Emergence. Frequently, +indeed, they did more harm than good; and +I remember that Stranahan repeated my own error, +and frightened away several prospective emergionists +by boastfully describing the magnitude of wars in the +upper world; and once I overheard Rawson draw an involuntary +cry of disgust from a hearer, when he tactlessly +decanted upon the advantages of airplanes as +bomb throwers. But on the whole the men were well +coached by members of the Emergence party, and knew +enough to confine themselves to describing the beauty +of the upper world! Partly because of their aid, but +chiefly by virtue of the vigorous campaign being conducted +in all the four corners of Atlantis, we had +hopes that our revolutionary measure was to become +law.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_5000" id="img363"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img363.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + And the utter helplessness of their plight—and of ours—became +tragically apparent when suddenly a great elongated gray mass came +flying in with the torrents from the sea—a rescuing submarine that had +been hurled in through the gap in the wall! + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX +<br> +Crucial Moments</h2></div> + + +<p>An election in Atlantis was seldom accompanied by +intense excitement. There was no registration, +for all citizens were permanently enrolled with +the population bureau; on election day all the men +and women of voting age (which means all who had +passed their High Initiation) appeared quietly at the +designated polling places to cast a secret ballot, or else—if +they preferred—they sent in their vote in writing +two or three days earlier. The election boards then +slowly counted the votes, and the fate of the measure +(for laws were the only things passed on by the voters +of Atlantis) was disclosed at the Hall of Public Enlightenment.</p> + +<p>But the Emergence proposal proved an exception to +the rule. Not a little agitation was apparent among +the men and women thronging to the election chambers; +and this agitation was heightened by the members +of the Upper World Club, who used earthly political +tactics by accosting the voters before they reached +the polls and showering them with final arguments +and pleas. It is doubtful whether these eleventh hour +efforts had any effect, and, indeed, the results showed +that they might have been spared; but at the time we +felt that our exertions had not been in vain, and during +the election and the days of suspense that followed, +we remained unwarrantedly hopeful.</p> + +<p>Then came the disillusioning blow. After three days, +the election results were announced in the Hall of +Public Enlightenment. Out of more than a third of +a million votes cast in all Atlantis, our party had +polled nearly a hundred and fifty thousand—yet had +failed by many thousands to equal the Submergence +total.</p> + +<p>Even so, we were not wholly discouraged. As +Xanocles pointed out, the cause of Emergence had +never before been able to attract one-tenth as many +voters; and we had reason to hope that we would +eventually bring the majority to our side. And no +sooner had the news of our defeat reached us than +we began to plan for further campaigns, for we were +determined not to abandon the fight so long as we +had breath with which to wage it.</p> + +<p>Yet in one respect I was already regretting my +connection with the Emergence Party. My regrets, to +be sure, arose from purely non-political motives, and +could not make me alter my allegiance; but they were +none the less deep-rooted. To my surprise and chagrin, +I found that my campaigning activities were bringing +me into disfavor with Aelios. As one of Agripides’ +staunch admirers and a devoted member of the Party +of Submergence, she looked with growing disapproval +upon my association with Xanocles and his kind; and +during those little conferences, which we had for the +supposed purpose of discussing my “History of the +Upper World,” she would take occasion to reprove me +mildly and even to suggest that my conduct savored of +disloyalty.</p> + +<p>Of course, I would plead my right as a citizen to +espouse any political cause that appealed to me; but +she would nod gravely with dissent. “Theoretically +you may have the right,” she would remind me, “but +don’t you think you are showing remarkably bad taste? +Remember, you came into our land uninvited, and have +been freely received as one of us, and given citizenship +and all the privileges of a native. And how do +you show your appreciation? By taking sides with +the party that would undermine our institutions; by +doing all you can to wreck the very country that succored +you.”</p> + +<p>To this I would reply that I had no intention of +wrecking the country; that I was trying to further +its interests according to my own lights. And Aelios, +while not convinced that my own lights were the right +ones, would at least admit that my motives were sincere; +and having reached this halfway point of agreement, +we would invariably turn to less provocative +subjects.</p> + +<p>But despite her disapproval of my Emergence views, +I had reason to be encouraged by her attitude toward +me. I saw her, while not often, at least often enough +to be assured of her friendship; and now and then I +caught in her eyes a bright, warm light which intimated +that what she felt might be more than friendship. +Yet it may merely have been that my desires passed +judgment for me, for not by a word or a gesture did +she give evidence that she regarded me otherwise than +as one kindly disposed human being may regard another; +and the occasional hints of some gentler emotion +were so rare and so fleeting that I could not be +sure. And so, as best I could, I restrained my impatience, +at first never seriously believing that I could +aspire to her height, then gradually fanning faint +hopes that remained concealed beneath the mantle of +my diffidence. It was long before we even approached +the subject of love; and meanwhile, we would speak +of impersonal things, or personal things securely buried +in the past, and nothing in my words would give hint +of the passion flaming to life within me, while in her +words I saw the traces only of a vivid and beauty-loving +mind serenely unconscious of sex.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>But even in Atlantis it was impossible that we +should continue to see one another and yet retain +a merely placid brother-and-sister attitude. How it +was with her I do not know, but I was the son of a +world whose passions burn gustily and strong; and I +was becoming almost painfully obsessed with the +thought of her, and would be given to long fits of +melancholy in her absence, while at times in her presence +I would be tantalized by her passionless calm, and +would feel the old sweet primitive prompting to slip +my arms about her, and enfold her as one might +enfold the Ultimate. But always I would restrain myself, +for how be sure of the reaction of this daughter +of an alien civilization? How be sure that embraces +and caresses would not be repulsive to the Atlanteans? +And so, though possessed by the thought of her, as +by some exquisite perfume that provokes and allures, +I repressed my eagerness for many, many months, +awaiting that opportunity which in the end, I felt +sure, time and circumstance must provide.</p> + +<p>And in the end my patience was rewarded, and I +was favored unexpectedly by one of those occasions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[365]</span>which life, if left quietly to itself, seems usually to +offer to lovers.</p> + +<p>It was after one of my rare and delightful afternoons +with Aelios, that the supreme event occurred. +We had been strolling together about the city, and +had gone for a moment’s rest into the “Temple of the +Stars,” that majestic edifice in which Rawson and I +had been trapped so long before. Seated on a stone +bench in the darkness, we gazed awe-stricken at the +spectacle above us—the whole glittering panorama of +the night-skies, almost as I had beheld them so many +times on earth. And as I peered up at the image of +those heavens I could hardly hope to see again, a sad +and reminiscent mood came over me; I could fancy +myself once more on earth, and was wistful for all +that earth contained; I missed the friends I had +known, the sparkle of the sunshine, the magnificence +of white-throated mountains: I longed for the bluster +and cannonade of tempests, the icy tingling of the +snow, the splashing and foamy turbulence of the +ocean. And Aelios, although she had never known +these things and could scarcely imagine what they +meant, was strangely responsive to my mood, and +seemed even to feel my melancholy. She asked me +gently about the world I had left, and how it felt to +wander among the great cities of the earth, and how +it felt to hear the purling of mountain brooklets or to +sit on a grassy knoll with the great sun blazing in the +blue above. And, remembering all that I had seen and +heard before my captivity in Atlantis, I described to +Aelios what my life had been, and told of my adventures +and wanderings, my happy childhood and youth +and early manhood; and I drew upon my imagination +for gorgeous pictures of the upper world, and painted +the home I had lost as little less than a Paradise.</p> + +<p>“Ah, now I see why you’ve joined the Emergence +Party,” Aelios remarked, her face glowing dimly in +the near-starlight, and her eyes soft with a kindly +luster. “Of course, you must sometimes wish yourself +back among all those wonderful scenes you left.”</p> + +<p>“Sometimes, indeed, I am sorry,” said I, in low +tones and reminiscently. “Sometimes I almost wish +to be again in my native land. But there are other +times when I am glad, very glad to be here, and when +I would not go back to my own country if I could—not +if you offered me the whole world.”</p> + +<p>“And when is that?” asked Aelios. “When you are +in the beautiful buildings here, or look at the exquisite +statuary?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sometimes then,” I replied. “But not only +then. There are other exquisite things that make me +wish to stay.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I can understand,” she declared, apparently +still innocent of the trend of my remarks. “The paintings, +for example, or the colonnades, or——”</p> + +<p>“No, not only that,” I interrupted. “There is something +more personal, more human—something that—” +Here I hesitated, hardly able to proceed, for I realized +that I was approaching an embarrassing climax.</p> + +<p>“You mean then, that you like the people here?” she +volunteered, still with perfect candor.</p> + +<p>“Yes, indeed I like the people!” I vowed, fervently. +“And one person in particular!”</p> + +<p>If this remark had been intended to evoke a telltale +reply, it was to fail signally. “Oh, I am glad you +are so attached to your friends!” she responded, +whether innocently or with calculating cleverness I +could not say, since the darkness concealed any blush +that may have suffused her face.</p> + +<p>“But don’t you understand, Aelios?” I persisted. +“Don’t you know whom in particular I mean?”</p> + +<p>The note of surprise in her answer was either genuine +or else was born of remarkably skilful acting. +“How should I know whom you mean? Am I with you +often enough to know all your friends?”</p> + +<p>She was making matters difficult for me. But, having +reached this tactical position, I was determined +not to surrender. “Why, Aelios,” I countered, “whom +should you imagine that I have for my particular +friend? Whom but yourself?”</p> + +<p>“Myself?” she repeated, in sheer astonishment. +“Myself?”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For a moment there was silence; but this time I +felt that there could be no doubt about the blush +that mounted to her face. And at length she turned to +me with softly, smoldering eyes and the assurance of +victory entered my heart and then swiftly receded as +she murmured, bashfully, “I am pleased, very much +pleased, to know you feel that way. It is a great +compliment to me, and I am very proud—for nothing +in Atlantis is held more precious than friendship.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, but it is not only friendship!” I remonstrated, +wondering if it were possible that she still misunderstood. +“It’s not only friendship, Aelios! It is love!”</p> + +<p>“Love?” she echoed, in low tones of surprise; and +another long silence followed, while I waited eagerly +for the words that did not come, and she averted her +head so that not even the dimly glowing eyes were +visible. Then, when the suspense was becoming embarrassing, +I found hesitating speech, which gradually +grew more fluent and assured; and all the pent-up emotions +of months welled forth and forced a passionate +torrent from my tongue, so vehement as to surprise +even myself. I told her how immeasurably dear she +had become; how she had been for me the central +light of all this strange world; how she had soothed +my loneliness, dispersed my despair, and given me +hope and a reason for living; how my life could have +meaning and beauty only if she had a share in it, while +without her all things would be desolate and blank. +All this and much more I poured forth in an eager +rhapsody, not pausing to reflect that I was but repeating +the sentiments of a million lovers; and the +strength of my feelings perhaps lent wings to my +commonplace words, and gave them a power that no +analysis could reveal. Or perhaps it was that Atlantean +lovers never expressed themselves as do lovers +on earth; for even in the darkness I was aware +that Aelios was listening, listening intently, listening +almost with a breathless interest, as though she had +never heard or imagined words such as mine.</p> + +<p>After I had finished, she seemed still held in some +spell of speechlessness. For several tense seconds, +slow-dragging portentous seconds that seemed minutes +long, I waited for her to brook silence. But when her +response came, it was in passionless tones that contrasted +oddly with my emotion; and with an accentuation +so feeble as to resemble a whisper, she declared, +“All this that you say seems strange to me, very, very +strange. You speak of love, but I fear I do not understand. +Perhaps love in your land is not the same as +here, for I am sure that what you speak of is not what +we would call love.”</p> + +<p>“And what would you call love?” I asked.</p> + +<p>“It is something that hardly needs a name. It is +like none of those momentary attachments that men +and women sometimes feel. It is something that wraps +one’s whole being in a mighty flame, and is born +chiefly of a kinship of the mind and heart; and when +it comes, it need not be much spoken of, but can never +be forgotten or lost.”</p> + +<p>“That’s just what I feel toward you, Aelios!” I assured +her, fervently.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[366]</span></p> +<p>“But I do not know if it is what I feel toward +you,” she returned, simply. “I do not know—I cannot +yet be sure.”</p> + +<p>“But you think that perhaps—that perhaps sometime—” +I gasped, wild hope springing to life within +me.</p> + +<p>“Yes, perhaps sometime—I cannot say,” she murmured, +slowly.</p> + +<p>But in her tones was the assurance of that which +her expressed words denied; and, with the exultation +of unlooked for success, I at last flung myself free +of restraint, and my arms found their way about her +slim, resisting form.</p> + +<p>But somehow she slipped free of my clasp, and +stood dimly outlined before me in the shadows, herself +no more than a shadow in this unreal world.</p> + +<p>“Not yet, my lover, not yet,” she forbade, in gentle +tones that gave no indication of the hurt feelings I +had feared.</p> + +<p>“But when, Aelios?” I demanded, baffled, but far +from discouraged. “When—when may we get married?”</p> + +<p>“Not yet, not yet for a while—if ever,” she decided. +“We must wait, we must wait until we are both quite +certain.” She paused, then added casually, “Besides, +remember, you have a duty to perform—an all-important +duty with which neither your own pleasure +nor your love must interfere.”</p> + +<p>“But what after I have performed that duty? What +after my work is completed? Will you then—”</p> + +<p>“I will then be willing to listen to you again,” was +all she would vouchsafe. “Come, let us be going +now.”</p> + +<p>And she started for the door, while I followed awkwardly, +since she knew the way much better than I. +And, once outside, she began speaking impersonally +about the art of the colonnades and marble galleries, +and seemed to have forgotten entirely the subject +that had been absorbing us. But in her eyes was an +unusual sparkle, and in her cheeks an unwonted glow; +and after I had left her and she had gone tripping out +of sight, I pursued my way thoughtfully homeward, +my steps made buoyant by a hope I once would not +have dared to entertain.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI +<br> +“The History of the Upper World”</h2></div> + + +<p>I had been in Atlantis two years before I had completed +my “History of the Upper World.” Considering +the magnitude of the task, it surprises me +now to remember that I finished it so quickly, for not +only was it longer than three average-sized volumes, +but I was retarded by writing it in an adopted tongue +and by having to work exclusively from memory and +without reference books other than the Atlantean dictionaries. +But six or seven hours of daily application +is certain to show results even though one works +slowly.</p> + +<p>It was indeed a proud day, and yet a day of many +doubts, when I bore the finished manuscript to the +office of the Literary Registrar. This official, assisted +by a board of fifteen recognized writers and critics, +passed upon all literary works submitted by the +authors of Atlantis; and all books found worthy of +perpetuation were published under his direction, while +unstinted advice and criticism was given to promising +aspirants. In the case of my own book, there could +be no doubt as to publication, for not only had I been +specifically directed to write it, but all Atlantis was +eagerly awaiting the information it was expected to +convey. None the less, it had to undergo the regular +procedure of inspection by the Registrar; and, as it +happened, this was more than a fruitless formality. +Before the manuscript was given to the press a trained +essayist was appointed to help me reconstruct the +style; and, thanks to his assistance, my writing attained +a dignity and polish I myself could never have +supplied.</p> + +<p>But when at last the publication of the book was +ordered, I had good reason to be gratified. An edition +of fifty thousand was to be issued—an edition of phenomenal +size considering that the population of Atlantis +was only half a million.</p> + +<p>Naturally, I sought to know the reason for this +enormous printing; and I learned much as to book +distribution in the Sunken World. Publication, like +all other activities, was solely in the hands of the government; +and copies of all the hundreds of books +issued each year were sent as a matter of course to +every library in the land. Moreover, every citizen +was permitted his choice of any fifty of the year’s +books, the receipt of which was considered not a privilege +but a right; and men and women engaged in research +work were allowed in excess of fifty if they +made plain their need of the additional volumes. In +the case of my own book, public interest was at such +a pitch, that a large percentage of the people were +certain to include it among their chosen fifty; and +the first edition was therefore regarded as conservative +in size rather than excessive.</p> + +<p>So, in fact, it proved. The book was hardly off the +press when orders began to pour in so rapidly that +a second edition of fifty thousand had to be prepared. +For it was literally true that every one was reading +“The History of the Upper World”; and when I say +every one, I do not mean one man out of every hundred, +as might be the case were I writing on the earth; +I mean that there was actually not a person of reading +age who did not feel bound to acquaint himself with +the contents of my book.</p> + +<p>In consequence, I found my life taking on a tinge +of unwonted excitement. The notoriety of successful +authorship was mine—and the satisfaction of one who +finds himself the center of a storm of his own creation. +For it was with a start of surprise, a gasp of +incredulity and a wail of horror that Atlantis read +the news of the upper world. Previously, when I had +let loose a few hints as to life on earth, I had witnessed +some curious reactions; but the former bewilderment +and disgust of the people now seemed +insignificant by comparison. It would be impossible +to convey any idea of their repugnance to earthly life +as I portrayed it; it was almost as if they had learned +that we had gone back on all fours, or had joined the +orang-utan and the gibbon in the trees; and the dozens +of letters I received, the dozens of visitors that poured +in upon me, and the dozens of inquiries addressed to +me at public meetings, all gave evidence of a single +but profound emotion: a sense of wonder and of revulsion +at the degeneracy of the upper world.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the clearest proof of the general attitude +was to be seen in the reviews of the book—reviews +which, unlike earthly criticism, were not printed, but +were delivered orally before gatherings at the Hall of +Public Enlightenment.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Let me quote, for example, from a typical address.</p> + +<p>The speaker was Thermanides, a well known +writer on social and philosophic questions; and his +views regarding the upper world were milder in many +ways than those of his audience. Speaking before an +assemblage of four or five hundred, he showed himself +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[367]</span>to be precise and thorough in his acquaintance +with my book.</p> + +<p>“Since we have no reason to believe that the author +has deliberately exaggerated,” he declared, after summarizing +the contents, “we must accept the picture of +upper world life as he presents it. And what, therefore, +must we conclude? That Agripides was wise, +wonderfully wise, when he urged us to submerge. +There can hardly be any more distressing subject +than the history of the earth; even the most daring +satirist, playing upon his imagination to expose the +stupidity of the human race, could not offer a blacker +picture of follies, crimes and inanities than Anson +Harkness has painted for us in all seriousness. For +what do we find to be the outstanding historical facts +as he depicts them? Has the human race gone continuously +forward, forgetting its savage instincts in +perfecting a civilization at once beautiful and secure?—has +man come to look on man otherwise than as +beast looks on beast?—or has society come to be composed +of nothing more than a clothed jungle pack? +No, my friends—unfortunately no, if we would believe +the volume before us. Slave-raids and wars; rebellions +and murders; conquest and persecution; treachery +and rapine and wholesale exploitation; dynasties that +crumble and empires that decompose—these are the +sign-posts of the past three thousand years; and evidently +there has been no concerted or intelligent effort +to create other and less revolting landmarks.</p> + +<p>“Yet though the darkness seems impenetrable, I can +see one faint glimmer of hope. In the self-satisfied +blindness of the upper world reposes the possible solution. +It is not a solution altogether pleasing to contemplate, +but it is the sort of cleansing remedy that +nature will sometimes provide when a wound has festered +beyond possibility of healing. For if no ordinary +cure be attainable, life will sometimes take the +sword into her own hands, and with one blow wipe +out all her old mistakes, and with one blow bring annihilation. +It is that stroke which, it seems to me, +is about to fall upon the upper world man, smiting +his rancorous and lopsided civilization, and turning +against his own throat that knife with which he +thinks to gouge out the eyes of his foe. And this is +perhaps well, my friends, for after earthly man has +committed suicide, the world will be ready for a population +of less shortsighted and quarrelsome creatures, +be they only beetles or ants!”</p> + +<p>And with a thankful gesture, as of one who lectures +on the impending extinction of cannibalism, the speaker +returned to his seat; while, much to my chagrin, I +noted that his words had apparently found high favor +with his audience. And those that arose in the ensuing +discussion were not less narrow-minded than the +principal reviewer himself; they seemed to imagine +that my book had been intended as a sort of catalogue +of horrors instead of as a restrained and veracious +history; and either they suggested that I must +have exaggerated hopelessly, or else they agreed that +the upper world was so decadent that a second “Good +Destruction” would be desirable. “Blood-curdling,” +“Sepulchral,” “An able story of depravity and crime,” +“The last word in thrills and terror”—these were some +of the expressions used by the various commentators; +and, to judge from their remarks, one might have +thought that I had written a popular novel of mystery +and murder instead of a sober history.</p> + +<p>But while all Atlantis was reading the book and +being provoked and shocked by my most commonplace +statements, I was surprised to observe one effect which +I deplored even more than the gross misunderstanding +of upper world standards and ideals. For the “History” +had acted like a bombshell against the Party of +Emergence! Deserters from our standards were now +legion, and in a few weeks we had lost all that we +had gained following the discovery of the crack in the +wall. It was as if the people had been frightened by +my picture of the lands above seas, frightened so that +they wished to shun all contact with the earth as +they might shun things unclean and evil; and despite +all that Xanocles and the other Emergence leaders +could do, it was impossible to shake the masses free +of this ridiculous attitude. At a test vote of an +Emergence measure two months after the appearance +of the “History of the Upper World,” we were defeated +more decisively than even our foes had predicted, defeated +by the overwhelming ratio of ten to one!—And, +in my disappointment and self-accusing despair, I bitterly +regretted that I had not written my book from +a less realistic point of view, for I knew that nothing +short of a catastrophe or a miracle could now open +up the lanes back to the earth.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII +<br> +A Happy Consummation</h2></div> + + +<p>Not many months after the publication of the +“History of the Upper World” there occurred a +vastly more important event. At least, it was +vastly more important to me, and constituted the most +fortunate episode of all my life in Atlantis. Ever +since that encouraging talk with Aelios in “The Temple +of the Stars,” I had been drawing gradually nearer to +her; and by slow and unconscious degrees, so subtle +that we ourselves could hardly note the change, we +seemed to be entering upon the rôle of lovers. There +was no emotional demonstration, and no deliberate +reference to love, for in Atlantis it was considered undignified +to express any casual amorous sentiments; +but at times, in her eyes I would catch that reassuring +look I had noted at rare intervals before, and in our +increasingly frequent meetings, her manner seemed to +be tinged by something indefinably wistful and yet indefinably +gentle, that I had not previously observed.</p> + +<p>It might be imagined that the appearance and wide +discussion of my book would have had an adverse +effect upon her; but, fortunately, I had shown her +many chapters before publication, and the contents +were no surprise to her. And while she was at one +with her people in loathing the upper world, she could +hardly blame me for the conditions I depicted. Indeed, +she was soon to give proof that she did not consider +me in the least a partner in the supposed backwardness +of my race.</p> + +<p>I do not now recall the precise circumstances that +led up to the climax; I only know that it was on one +of my numerous visits to her home, when we were +alone together in the tapestried room of the pale blue +lanterns. Nothing had suggested to me in advance +that our interview today was to differ from our previous +interviews, and certainly nothing could have suggested +such a thought to her; but somehow the conversation +drifted into unexpected channels, and we +found ourselves provocatively near the subject of love; +and somehow her words (though I cannot now remember +their trend) stirred up all my checked and +slumbering emotions, forced down the barriers of my +reserve, filled me with a sudden and unlooked-for +courage, and urged my lips to frame words that I +had not premeditated then. And almost as much to +my own surprise as to hers, I found myself proposing +that she marry me!</p> + +<p>But was my rashness appropriately punished? Far +from it. What was my amazement, and what my +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[368]</span>delight, when she looked up at me with trustful, grave +blue eyes and quietly consented!</p> + +<p>And yet it all seemed so simple that it might have +been an everyday occurrence! She had taken my proposal +almost as a matter of course, almost as if she +had expected it; but at the same time the exalted and +happy light in her eyes showed that she was far from +indifferent.</p> + +<p>“I was not sure before,” she murmured, simply, +after my first rapturous exclamations. “But now I +am quite certain. We will be all in all to one another, +will we not, my beloved?”</p> + +<p>I forgot just how I replied; I have an impression +that my arms performed some lively antics, with +Aelios as their goal, and that anything I said must +have been merely incidental.</p> + +<p>“When shall the day be, Aelios?” I asked, when I +was again in a mood for discussion. “When do you +say?”</p> + +<p>“When do you want me to say?” she returned, as +though surprised at my query. “If we are both sure, +what is the use of delaying?”</p> + +<p>And, by dint of further questioning, I learned that +long engagements were unknown in Atlantis. Although +usually so slow-going and leisurely, the natives seemed +to me singularly hasty in this one regard; and once +two people had decided upon marriage, it was not +customary to allow more than the few days’ interval +necessary for the preparations. It had always been +so in Atlantis, Aelios explained, and she could not +imagine how it could be otherwise, for why subject +the young couple to the unnatural tension of waiting, +and why make love ridiculous by arbitrarily starving +it?</p> + +<p>Previously, when I had dared to think of the possibility +of marriage with Aelios, I had half reconciled +myself to the prospect of a long engagement, since +observation had taught me nothing of Atlantean marriage +customs, and I had imagined that an interval at +least of months, might be considered proper. And so I +was a little bewildered by the unexpected imminence +of our union; I was like a man who, long blind, has +suddenly beheld a flash of light; and it took me a +little while to adjust myself to the startling new unfolding +vistas.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>To begin with, I was not sure quite what was expected +of me. Should I present Aelios with a +ring or similar trinket such as was customary on +earth? or was some more elaborate gift deemed necessary? +In my perplexity, I consulted Xanocles, who +merely smiled at my doubts. “Marriage with us,” he +explained, “is not treated as a form of barter; nor +is it a bargain wherein precious articles must be given +as sureties. We have long ago stamped out of our +marriage system all traces of its primitive origin—all +traces of that old custom which regarded it merely +as a contract of sale, and which in the beginning demanded +the parental receipt of cattle or other material +property, and later required rings or similar baubles +as a tender of the purchase price if not as a pledge +of good faith. When two of our people are married, +they would consider it degrading to be expected to give +anything beyond themselves.”</p> + +<p>But even after I had been relieved on this important +subject, there was still much that troubled me. Aelios +had decided that but eight days were to intervene before +the ceremony (this being about the usual time); +and, despite all my joyous anticipations, I trembled +just a little at the thought that I was so soon to exchange +my known if monotonous bachelor life for an +unknown career as Atlantean husband. But, fortunately, +my hours were so completely occupied that I +had little chance to be disturbed by doubts. For one +thing, I spent a great deal of time with Aelios; for +another thing, I was much entertained by my friends, +who were astonished and yet loudly congratulatory +upon hearing the news, and insisted upon putting me +through long ordeals of questions, laughter, and amiable +chaffing remarks. An entire meeting of the Upper +World Club was given over to a celebration alleged to +be in my honor; and President Gavison, after unbending +from his official sternness to wish me luck in terms +that I thought just a little wistful and a little reminiscent +of his own lost happiness, was followed in quick +succession by the various other club members, all of +whom strove to express themselves with appropriate +levity. Had there been such a thing as an intoxicant +in Atlantis, I am sure that we would have had a merry +old time; but, for lack of the proper stimulants, the +men had to be content with their questionable jests, +with poking me mirthfully in the ribs, with slapping +me heartily on the back, with expressing the wish +that they might be in my shoes (or, rather, sandals, +since these were the only footwear in Atlantis), and +with laughing and guffawing in a generally irresponsible +and uproarious manner.</p> + +<p>But as the few remaining days slid by, did I have +no thought of her whom I had left on earth? Did I +not think of Alma Huntley, she to whom I had once +pledged devotion? Perhaps I should be ashamed, but +I am not, to say that the memory of her scarcely entered +my mind. She was no more than a shadow in +a world that was daily growing more shadowy, in an +existence I had outlived and could not expect to reenter; +and if at times she would obtrude herself +before me like a dim melancholy presence without +color or form, such occasions were growing increasingly +rare; and now that Aelios seemed so near and +our two lives were so soon to be fused, Alma was obscured +as a pale star is obscured by the sunlight; +and all the torrents of my being welled up tumultuously +toward Aelios, and it seemed as if her companionship +and her love were the only love or companionship +I had ever known or desired.</p> + +<p>And how near I was to enjoying that companionship +for life became vividly apparent to me about three +days after we had reached our decision. Then it was +that Aelios and I, in accordance with the custom of +the land, visited the local housing bureau, which was +to assign us to our new lodgings. After we had duly +placed our names side by side in a great venerable-looking +ledger wherein all the wedded couples of the +past hundred years were enrolled, we passed an exciting +afternoon in the company of the chief housing +representative, who showed us all the available dwelling +places with the same obliging courtesy as when I +had selected my bachelor quarters. As on the former +occasion, there were so many desirable locations that +the choice was difficult; and on passing each new +threshold, Aelios would pause with a little cry of +wonder or surprise, and would point in admiration to +some distinctive feature of arrangement or decoration. +Needless to say, I too was dazzled and delighted; +particularly since I had previously seen only apartments +designed for single people. None of these homes +were very large; indeed, most of them had but three or +four rooms in addition to the roof sleeping chambers +and the almost invariable central court; but they were +the most home-like little nooks one could imagine, +and were made attractive not only by the lawns and +flowering gardens that surrounded them, but by their +tastefully furnished rooms, whose lamps and tapestries +and statuary were never too lavish or ornate and yet +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[369]</span>always gave an effect at once picturesque and cozy.</p> + +<p>Our choice was in favor of a little butterfly-shaped +dwelling, with silvery walls inlaid with mother-of-pearl +and high-arched windows surrounded by vivid +bands of stained glass. The interior appeared entrancing +to us both, for not only were the walls and ceilings +frescoed as though by a master hand, but the painted +designs were matched by the very rugs on the floor +and the draperies that screened the doorways; while +a little statue-lined fountain that bubbled perpetually +in the court fascinated us both by its rainbow glimmering +showers of spray.</p> + +<p>“You may move in any time after your names are +registered in the Marriage Book,” said the housing +representative, when we had notified him of our decision +and he had duly recorded it. “But if ever you +should find this house unsatisfactory, you have only +to enter your complaint, and if possible we will provide +you with another dwelling. But meanwhile this +will be regarded as your official residence.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>And with these words the housing representative +bowed a gracious retreat, while Aelios and I +were left to inspect the home that was so soon to be +ours.</p> + +<p>With the enthusiasm of children we examined every +nook and corner, growing constantly more excited as +our search proceeded; Aelios was radiant; I had never +seen her eyes sparkle more brightly, her cheeks glow +more vividly; and I realized as never before how +extraordinarily fortunate I was.</p> + +<p>And it seemed as if her emotions corresponded with +mine! “Is it not the strangest whim of fate,” she +asked, “that you have come down here to me, my beloved? +How easily I might have missed you! How +easily we might each have gone through life not knowing +that the other existed!”</p> + +<p>“So it has been with all lovers since the world began,” +I returned. “Even in Atlantis, love must always +seem a miracle.”</p> + +<p>“Even in Atlantis, it always is a miracle,” she +amended; and she looked up at me with a smile so +luminous and trustful, so kindly and so tinged with a +rapturous emotion, that I could not but admit that +she was right.</p> + +<p>The days that followed this delightful interview are +but a blur in my memory. Although every hour was +slow-footed with the suspense and the waiting, it +seems to me that but a moment elapsed between our +departure from our chosen home and our happy return ... +the intervening events are all obscured by that +never-to-be-forgotten morning when Aelios and I entered +the office of the Local Adviser and were officially +united.</p> + +<p>The actual ceremony was insignificant—indeed, there +was no ceremony at all. We had merely to record our +names for a second time, writing them in the Marriage +Book which the housing representative had mentioned—an +enormously thick volume bound in blue and +gold, with thousands of pages, of which one was devoted +to the history of each marriage. There were +no questions asked us; there were no high-sounding +formulas to be spoken by clockwork; there were no +official representatives of saintliness to offer dogmatic +advice; there were no vows to be taken, no promises +to be made, no witnesses to gape or snicker, no pompous +giving or receiving of the bride. We merely furnished +the State with that record which it required, +and did so without having to purchase a preliminary +printed tag by way of permission; and after we had +entered our names in the book, we were not insulted +with any attempt to sanctify proceedings with words +of antique witchcraft, nor humiliated by any implication +that our own feelings would not amply solemnize +the day.</p> + +<p>Of course, if we desired to celebrate our nuptials +with a festival of any sort, that was our privilege—a +privilege which the State would recognize by providing +an appropriate hall for the day. And, as it happened, +most bridal couples availed themselves of this right. +We were no exception, for when our marriage had +been officially recorded, we repaired to a flower-decked +chamber where a few of Aelios’ friends and relatives +were awaiting us. And after receiving greetings and congratulations, +we did not pass our time in feasting or +drinking, nor in making merry nor in riotous jests; but +we danced for a while a sedate dance timed to ethereal +strains of music; and later we all sat quietly about +the room, Aelios at my side and the others on mats +and sofas opposite, while the lights were subdued, and +we listened to a still more ethereal music, which rose +and quavered in a voice of joy like the notes of melodious +birds, then faintly trilled like a far-off elfin call +or throbbed and sang in an organ-burst of ecstasy, +until one was moved almost to tears by the revealed +poignancy and beauty of life, and came to look upon +love with a new reverence and a new wonder.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII +<br> +The Flood Gates Open</h2></div> + + +<p>When I look back now upon my life in Atlantis, +my sojourn there seems to divide itself into two +periods, of which the longer and by far the +more tranquil, dates from my union with Aelios. In +the new-found contentment of our marriage—and ours +was no exception to the rule—we seemed to lose track +of time; and months and years began gliding by at a +smooth and even pace that was particularly deceptive +because there were no seasons to mark the change and +there were no outstanding events to serve as landmarks.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the secret lay in the fact that Aelios and +I were both amply occupied; for in the hours when +we were not together, we each had our own work to +keep us busy. Aelios still tutored for several hours a +day, and still led in the dances at public festivals; for +in Atlantis no distinction was made between a married +and a single woman, except in the event of +motherhood; and even a mother, while released from +her prescribed duties, was expected to keep alive a +broad interest in life, by performing some optional +services.</p> + +<p>For my own part, I was no less busy than Aelios, +for after I had completed my “History of the Upper +World,” I had again been summoned by the Committee +on Selective Assignments, and had been directed +to write a treatise on “Social Traditions and Institutions +in the Upper World,” wherein I might describe +conditions above seas in greater detail than in my +previous book. This task, although far from uncongenial, +was proving both lengthy and laborious, for I +tried to cover every modern country; and the further +I proceeded the harder the work became, for the more +I learned of Atlantis the more difficult it appeared +to represent the earth in a light that was not merely +pitiable.</p> + +<p>I was now quite reconciled to passing my remaining +days in Atlantis. Although Xanocles and his colleagues +persisted with their agitation, the cause of +Emergence was dwindling in my mind to an impossible +dream; and, had it not been for the cataclysm which +aroused us all to frenzied action, I might have been +content to grow gray and wrinkled in the Sunken +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[370]</span>World. For now that Aelios was mine, I found that +life was far richer than ever before; that not only was +I steeped in pleasurable activity amid a delightful environment, +but that there was an almost charmed absence +of strain and hurry, and a leisure and serenity +that would once have seemed the attributes only of a +Nirvana.</p> + +<p>It is true, of course, that I could not escape all the +ordinary physical ills of life. Once, for example, when +my awkwardness betrayed me in an athletic contest +and I suffered a broken arm, I was conducted to a +State hospital, where a State physician skilfully treated +my injury; and once when the incessant golden glare +began to tell upon my eyes, I had to visit a State occulist, +who relieved the strain by prescribing a pair of +wide-rimmed amber-tinged glasses.</p> + +<p>My appearance was changing, moreover, in other +ways than the mere addition of glasses. I was acquiring +a long beard, largely owing to the habit formed +during my first days in Atlantis; and my complexion +was taking on a curious greenish tint, due to some +peculiar action of the Atlantean light—an action to +which the Atlanteans themselves had inherited immunity. +But I was not alone in my queer pistache complexion; +there were exactly thirty-eight others who +could show the same distinctive pigmentation; and so +marked was the coloration that, as the men sometimes +declared, our origin was “written on our skins.”</p> + +<p>My fellow members of the Upper World Club meanwhile +did not share my liking for Atlantis. As time +went by, in fact, they seemed to care less and less +for their adopted country. With the exception of +Gavison, who had written a brief but popular treatise +on “Navigation on Upper World Waters” and a not less +popular “Comparison of Upper and Lower World Civilizations,” +there was not one of my former shipmates +who was adapting himself to life in Atlantis or who +was not remiss in his obligations as a citizen. While +they had all acquired at least a rudimentary knowledge +of the language and were all reasonably successful in +performing some prescribed mechanical task for two +or three hours a day, yet none of them had accomplished +anything in any of those artistic or intellectual +pursuits which alone were considered worth while in +Atlantis. For how, indeed, could they hope to conform +to the standards of a world that had so little +in common with their own? Apparently the natives did +not even expect them to conform, and tolerated lapses +that would have been considered disgraceful in born +Atlanteans; but they themselves appeared to feel that +they were somehow inferior, somehow out of place; +and much of their restlessness, and much of their +longing to escape, is to be explained by the desire for +a less ideal but more familiar mode of life.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Considering the eagerness with which my companions +would have exchanged the ease of Atlantis +for even the most strenuous labors and hardships +of the earth, it seems ironic that the man ultimately +chosen to emerge, was he whose marriage to an Atlantean +had made him more than resigned to the +Sunken World. My sole excuse is that the choice, when +it fell upon me, was made wholly upon the suggestion +of others, and occurred at a time of such acute public +peril that the happiness or fate of individuals was +as nothing.</p> + +<p>For the hour was to come—and to come with startling +suddenness—when a fateful writing was to glare +from the walls of Atlantis. I had been in the Sunken +World seven full years when the menace burst forth, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[371]</span>and I was not there seven days after it appeared.... +But in the interval I was a witness to scenes of such +havoc, such horror, confusion and despair as I had +never seen before and fervently hope I shall never +see again.</p> + +<p>It torments me now to recall that all that terror +and all that irremediable loss might have been avoided, +had we but heeded the advice of Peliades, Peliades +who insisted that the crack in the wall had not been +adequately repaired....</p> + +<p>But let me not anticipate. I must describe as dispassionately +as I can those overwhelming events which +descended like lightning to blast Atlantean life, and +which are so disturbing even in memory that my pen +trembles and my startled mind takes fresh alarm. +Merely to try to record those distracting days and +nights is to be obsessed as by an old madness; I can +feel a paralyzing dread spreading once more through +all my nerves; I can feel my brain grow numb, my +eyes grow strained and distended, my arteries throb +with delirious haste. And all the while confused +visions come swarming across my mind—visions of +roaring vigils by lamplit walls of glass, visions of +huddled faces, weeping or praying or with terror-stricken +eyes, visions of thundering waters, panicky +flights, submerged temples and inundated plains; and +it all seems like some nightmare I dreamt long ago, +yet more vivid than any nightmare, for there are sobs +and lamentations that echo even now in my memory, +and pleading lips that shall never stir again, and +agonized eyes that peer at me like phantoms which +will not be exorcised.</p> + +<p>Long before, in moments of aimless fancy, I had +sought to picture to myself the end of the world; to +imagine the consternation and horror of an earth maddened +by dread of impending doom. But I had never +thought that I myself would be the spectator of a +crumbling universe....</p> + +<p>As in the case of the crack in the wall years before, +the danger appeared with devastating suddenness. One +moment, all was tranquil; the next moment, the Sunken +World was in a frenzy. I remember that one afternoon +Aelios and I had gone to the Agripides Theatre +to witness a performance of some sort (its precise +nature has slipped from my mind); and it was at the +close of the first act that the warning came. From +the unexplained absence of the chorus that usually +sang during intermissions, I might have suspected +that something was wrong; but actually I was without +misgivings until suddenly a great burnished, silvery +horn—the horn of the Autophone!—was lifted quietly +on the stage.</p> + +<p>At this unexpected sight, a stab of alarm darted +through me; Aelios seized my hand and held it as if +for reassurance; the audience sat rigid and tense, like +persons who behold a ghost. For an instant we heard +no sound, except for the quick breathing of our neighbors; +then the strained silence was broken by an uncanny +hollow voice that issued sonorously as if from +nowhere.</p> + +<p>“A great misfortune has befallen,” announced the +unseen, in tones that sounded almost sepulchral. “The +crack in the glass wall has re-appeared, but this time +it is of more serious proportions than before.”</p> + +<p>The voice faltered for an instant and halted, while +murmurs of dismay, terror and unbelief shuddered +through the audience.</p> + +<p>And in a more deliberate and even graver manner +the speaker continued: “Late last evening our navigators +observed that the Salty River was higher than +usual; and an investigating party sent out today by +the High Chief Adviser has discovered that the wall +has actually given way at one point, and that the water +is pouring in through a fissure several feet across. +There is as yet no cause for despair, for the surplus +water, while highly inconvenient, can be disposed of +by the reserve capacity of our intra-atomic pumps, +which are equipped for all ordinary emergencies and +can discharge fifty per cent more than their usual +delivery. But there is danger that the break will expand +before repairs can be made; and for this reason +the High Chief Adviser requests that you try to meet +the situation courageously, and freely enlist your +brains and your services till the peril is overcome.”</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It would be impossible to convey any idea of the +commotion which these words created. The people +did indeed follow the High Chief Adviser’s advice to +be courageous, for there was no more than a hint of +that panic which one might have expected. But there +could be no further thought of the performance in +the theatre. After an instant’s chill silence, the audience +arose with one accord; and men’s faces were +blanched and women could be heard muttering in fear +as the crowd began pushing toward the exits. In +their excitement, the people had forgotten their usual +courtesy; and Aelios and I were shoved and jostled +in a way that reminded me of the New York subways. +It was all I could do not to lose track of her amid the +mob; yet both of us were anxious not to be separated, +particularly since the speechless eagerness of the +throng, the sighs of women, the rapid breathing of men +and our own fast-beating hearts, all served to fill us +with grim forebodings.</p> + +<p>Once out of the great theatre, the people were driven +as by a common instinct toward the river. All seemed +fearful of even a second’s delay, as though our haste +might repair the fractured wall!—and in a long, swiftly +moving column, constantly augmented as we advanced, +we followed the winding avenue that curved +toward the waterfront. None of us spoke more than +an occasional word; even Aelios was silent, but she +clutched my arm with unwonted firmness, and looked +up at me with eyes wherein apprehension alternated +with a reassuring courage.</p> + +<p>But there was no prop for courage in the sight +that greeted us at the river bank. The stream, which +previously had flowed five or six feet beneath the +docks, was now not more than eight or ten inches +below the level.</p> + +<p>In speechless dismay we watched that broad, greenish-gray +torrent go swishing and gurgling past. But +what was there that we could do? Nothing—except +to stand and gape helplessly at that swift-flowing, +swollen stream. Indeed, we seemed worse than merely +helpless, for as I stood there with Aelios amid that +horror-faced crowd, I became conscious—as during +that other crisis years before—that I was arousing a +singular repulsion. My neighbors were edging away +from me visibly; some were pointing toward me, or +uttering half-suppressed oaths; I thought I heard some +one ruefully mumbling something about “That foreigner” +and something else about “The cause of all our +troubles.”</p> + +<p>I would quickly have withdrawn with Aelios from +that hostile throng, had I not chanced to observe a +slim, gray form approaching from far upstream. With +the speed of the swiftest racing craft it drew near, +and in a few minutes was recognizable as an intra-atomic +boat, akin to the one I had boarded years before. +Much to my relief, it came to a rapid halt, +drew up at the dock, and let down its gangplank. And +as the crowd forced its way on to the docks, Aelios +and I was not slow in finding seats for ourselves +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[372]</span>for what was sure to prove an extremely exciting trip.</p> + +<p>And exciting it was—far more exciting than we +could have desired. We had been under way only a +few minutes when the aspect of the river began to +change disquietingly. Except for the current, it lost +the character of a river entirely, and took on the appearance +of a long lake! On both sides the water +spread in a smooth-flowing sheet two or three miles +broad; and above the surface in places stared dumps +and dusters of vegetation, with here and there a miniature +island; while several temples and colonnades stood +with marble bases buried in the water, like the palaces +of some aquatic goddess.</p> + +<p>But if this overflow was alarming, the full extent +of the disaster was not evident until we approached +the glass wall itself. This time it did not require any +searchlight to reveal the nature of the injury; our +ears might have told us if our eyes had not—but our +eyes had sufficient to report. As we strode along the +little, clay path toward the wall, we became aware of +a broad, gleaming, greenish expanse between—a sheet +of water where all had been dry land! And into that +sheet of water, with a continuous thunder equal to +that of the floods from the river valve, a long, white +torrent spurted in a gracefully curving jet, shooting +outward hundreds of yards from the glass bulwark, +and descending with a splashing as of some gigantic +fountain. It was impossible to estimate the volume, +except to say that it was enormous; nor could we +see the nature or extent of the leak, since the intervening +water forbade our close approach. But we +observed how the overflow worked its way circuitously +into the Salty River in a sort of channel of its own +choosing; and occasional swift-moving lights, which +even from our distance we could see flashing from +beyond the glass, showed us that the repair ships were +busy trying to seal up the crack. But from the beginning +we knew how hopeless were their efforts—with +their midget vessels and midget tools they were +like ants trying to stem the flood of a Niagara. And +the utter helplessness of their plight—and of ours—became +tragically apparent when suddenly a great +elongated, gray mass came flying in with the torrents +from the sea, and fell with a splash and a clatter in +a battered heap projecting above the waters—a rescuing +submarine that had been hurled in through the +gap in the wall!</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowe33_3125" id="img370"> + <img class="w100" src="images/img370.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + Almost before I realized that the ultimate moment had come, I found +myself assisting Aelios up the half-submerged gangplank and on to the +deck of the grim, low-lying, shadowy ship ... we mounted to the deck, +cast a last glance at the darkness that hid the marble temples +of Atlantis, and waved for the last time to the dim watching figures. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV +<br> +Swollen Torrents</h2></div> + + +<p>It was five days later that I received the summons +from the High Chief Adviser ... and made ready +for the most extraordinary of all my adventures.</p> + +<p>In the interval, all Atlantis was in a state verging +upon madness. The commotion created by the original +discovery of the crack was insignificant beside the +terror that now dominated every inhabitant. To say +that the country seemed stricken with paralysis would +be to understate the conditions; rather, it was driven +to a dumb distraction, like some great beast that feels +its foot in a trap. Only one thought was in anyone’s +mind, only one topic on anyone’s lips; the people +drifted hither and thither like phantoms, rushing back +and forth between the cities and the spurting leak +in the wall, sometimes engaged furtively in whispered +discussions, on other occasions muttering half-audible +prayers or withdrawing into themselves like men +brought face to face with Fate. Some would hover +near the offices of the High Chief Adviser, awaiting +hopeful news that did not come; some would haunt +the river banks, watching the swelling torrents go murmuring +and whirling past; some would huddle together +in small family groups, as though mortally +afraid to lose sight of their dear ones; some would +merely go pacing around like rats in a cage, scarcely +heeding where they went, their white faces and harried +eyes expressive of a dread they dared not mention.</p> + +<p>But none—none who were not driven by the most +stringent orders—were heeding their daily duties. For +the first time in history, the cities were inadequately +supplied with food; the official producers and distributors +shared the general inertia, and the people +had to clamor at the doors of the great municipal +warehouses for their meager rations; and actual starvation +seemed certain unless the workers could be +urged back to the fields.</p> + +<p>But more appalling to my mind—vastly more appalling, +since it seemed like the overthrow of the very +order of nature—was the laxity with regard to the +golden orbs that ruled the Atlantean day. Owing no +doubt to the negligence of the official in charge, the +clockwork that controlled these artificial suns ran down +on what should have been the third night, and the +luminaries continued in full blaze after the usual +hour of darkness. But few seemed even to notice the +change, and most continued frenziedly watching the +waters or awaiting encouraging reports; while those +that could, snatched a few hours of troubled sleep during +the continuous daylight, and many still kept their +useless vigils with drawn faces and weary eyes.</p> + +<p>Meantime the Salty River continued to rise. Slowly +and insidiously, by inches and by half inches, it crept +up and up, up and up, until after two days not more +than a hand’s breadth separated it from the top of +the embankment. And after three days it had not +more than a finger’s breadth to go, while on the fourth +day we could see thin, sparkling streams flowing down +the more low-lying street, not deep enough to make +them quite impassable, but lending to the columned +thoroughfares the aspect of some pathetic Venice. +Simultaneously the Autophone brought news that the +small towns of Malgos and Dorion had been inundated +and that their inhabitants had fled for higher ground; +that the larger cities of Atolis, Lerenon, and Aedla +were rearing embankments to keep out the waters, and +that the farm lands of eastern Atlantis were flooded +as far as the eye could see. But little that was even +mildly hopeful was reported. It was stated that the +repair ships were still trying to cope with the leak, +though without success; that the intra-atomic pumps +were disposing of most of the surplus water, but were +being taxed to capacity; that in several places huge +electric shovels were at work, digging out great hollows +into which the floods might be drained; that +efforts were being made to freeze huge masses of +water, and force the ice against the wall, in the attempt +to stem the torrents.... But all the while the +river continued to rise, and nothing short of a miracle +seemed likely to check disaster.</p> + +<p>After five days the water was flowing to a depth +of many inches through half the streets of Archeon; +and only the rapid erection of earthworks had saved +the other half. And it was after five nerve-racking +days that—as I have stated—I received the summons +from the High Chief Adviser.</p> + +<p>The messenger—a wan-faced old man who seemed to +be in a breathless hurry—was waiting for me when I +returned home with Aelios after strolling aimlessly for +hours through the unflooded portions of the town. +From the grave attitude with which he greeted me, I +knew at once that something was amiss; but he had no +explicit information to offer. “The High Chief Adviser +wishes to see you without delay,” was all that he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[373]</span>would report. And having uttered these words, he +began edging away as though he had immediate business +elsewhere.</p> + +<p>There being nothing else to do, I accompanied this +singular messenger after hastily assuring Aelios that +I would return as soon as possible.</p> + +<p>As I might have anticipated, our walk turned out to +be far from pleasant. The old man had evidently been +long trained in diplomacy, for I could not induce him +to speak except non-committally and in monosyllables. +And all the way to the office of the Adviser I was +left to my own conjectures, while we skirted public +squares that looked like lakes or waded ankle-deep +through the salty water.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Arriving at the many-domed sandstone edifice +where the Atlantean government had its headquarters, +my companion bade me wait in a book-lined +anteroom, and went to notify his chief of my arrival. +It was as though my coming had been awaited, for +the old man had hardly left me when he reappeared +and motioned me to follow him.</p> + +<p>I have a vague remembrance of accompanying him +through long, arched galleries; but of these my mind +retains no definite impression, and the next thing I +dearly recall is that I stood in a little blue-walled +room before an impressive-looking elderly man whose +picture I had often seen. His long, furrowed, sagacious +features were manifestly those of a scholar, but +there was a squareness about the jaw that marked him +also as a man of action; while at the same time there +was a patriarchal benignity about the sympathetic +lines of the face. But one quality there was which +dominated him now, and which none of the pictures had +shown: an air of utter fatigue, of melancholy, almost +of despair, all too plainly written in the hollows that +underlined the weary, gray eyes, in the pale cheeks +almost totally drained of blood, and in the haggard +expression as of one who has not slept for days.</p> + +<p>To the right of the High Chief Adviser was seated +a man whom I recognized with surprise. It was +Xanocles, also looking pallid and worn—and as he rose +to greet me I began to conceive some faint idea why I +had been summoned.</p> + +<p>The Chief Adviser gravely motioned me to a seat at +his left; and as I sank into the cushioned chair he +plunged without formality into an explanation.</p> + +<p>“I need hardly tell you,” he commenced, speaking +rapidly but in dull, sober tones, “how serious is the +crisis that confronts Atlantis. But perhaps no one—except +those of us who are on the inside of affairs—realizes +quite how acute the danger is. Frankly speaking, +we are incapable of dealing with the emergency. +The intra-atomic pumps have been working to capacity +for five days, forcing out fifty per cent more +than their usual volume; but, even so, the water is +pouring in at the rate of several tons a second faster +than we can drive it out. This in itself would indicate +a grave enough peril; but this is not the worst. +Our engineers tell us that the crack is extending to +portions of the wall previously unaffected, and that +new sections may give way at any time. When this +happens, it will be—the end.”</p> + +<p>The High Chief Adviser paused, bleakly frowning; +then, with a piercing glance at me, as if to see whether +I had anticipated his meaning, he continued, “It is apparent +that Atlantis cannot save itself. We are facing +a peril unique in history, and have not the weapons +with which to combat it. If help comes, it must come +from outside. And that is why I have summoned +you.”</p> + +<p>“But I don’t exactly see—” I began.</p> + +<p>“Let me explain,” the official continued, impatiently. +“You yourself of course can do nothing. But you come +from a people who, to judge from your writings, have +developed remarkable engineering and mechanical skill. +I am hopeful that their science may be able to devise +some means of saving us, and for that reason I am +planning to send you above seas for help. What do +you think of the idea?”</p> + +<p>“Why, I—I think it might be worth trying,” was all +I was able to gasp in reply.</p> + +<p>“Your friend Xanocles also thinks it worth trying,” +proceeded the Adviser suavely. “Now I personally +have always been against the policy of Emergence; +but it is imperative to try new measures; and at a +time like this, fortunately, the law empowers me to +take any action on my own initiative. And so I sent +for Xanocles today as one of the most prominent local +members of the Emergence Party, and when I asked +whom he would advise me to appoint as special envoy +to the upper world he had no hesitation about mentioning +you.”</p> + +<p>“But why me?” I demanded, doubtful of my qualifications +for so high an office.</p> + +<p>“Well, to be sure, you were not the only one,” +stated the Adviser. “He also recommended a certain +Gavison, but we have decided to hold him in reserve, +and if you do not return in a few days we will send +him out with a second submarine. Meanwhile, if you +would care to accept—”</p> + +<p>“Why, of course—of course I’ll accept—if it is for +the good of Atlantis,” I declared. “But just what +would you expect of me?”</p> + +<p>“One of our submersible vessels, with a crew of +four men, will be in readiness at the docks early tomorrow +morning. You will board it, and it will bear +you out through the eastern valve and to any part of +the upper world you may direct. But you are to +waste no time about informing your fellows of the +menace that confronts Atlantis. They too have submersible +vessels, as your arrival here proves—let them +send some of their ships down here, if they can, with +materials to repair the wall. But above all things, +you must remember not to delay, not to delay!”</p> + +<p>“I will do my best,” I promised. “But let me not +hold out any false hopes—I am not sure that the upper +world will be able to assist.”</p> + +<p>“At any rate, you can try,” sighed the Head of the +Atlantean government. “It is a chance worth taking. +We lose nothing by the attempt.”</p> + +<p>And then, fixing on me that powerful magnetic +glance common to all the Atlanteans, he demanded, +“You will spare no effort?”</p> + +<p>“I will spare no effort,” I solemnly vowed.</p> + +<p>“Then the fates be with you!” And the High Chief +Adviser rose and firmly took both my hands; and I +thought that just a trace of emotion dimmed his eyes +as he fervently continued, “I need say no more. You +know as well as I how much depends upon this. +Above all things, Harkness, you will make haste, you +will make haste, will you not? Good-bye—and good fortune +will be yours!”</p> + +<p>And the next moment, accompanied by Xanocles, I +was passing through the outer galleries. The last +glimpse I caught of the High Adviser showed me +the great head wearily sagging, the lids drooping over +the melancholy gray eyes as if in utmost renunciation +or despair.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>From the Adviser’s office I hastened straight home, +leaving Xanocles, after being assured that he would +come to me early in the morning.</p> + +<p>I found Aelios impatiently awaiting my return. “You +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[374]</span>have been long,” she murmured, although it seemed to +me that I had come back very quickly. And the big, +blue eyes looked up at me inquiringly, and I had to +explain at once the meaning of the Adviser’s summons.</p> + +<p>She followed my recital without a word; but heavy +furrows began to appear upon her brow when I told +her how serious was the plight of Atlantis; and a big +limpid teardrop flowed unheeded down her cheek.</p> + +<p>“You did right to accept the commission,” she said, +coming to me when I had finished my story, and resting +one hand affectionately upon my shoulder. And +a deep melancholy made moist her eyes as she continued, +“I am glad that the choice has fallen upon +you. When do we start on our voyage?”</p> + +<p>“We?” I repeated, staring at her in surprise.</p> + +<p>“Yes, we. I intend to go with you, of course.”</p> + +<p>“But, Aelios, that’s impossible!” I exclaimed, springing +up and drawing her closely to me. “You know +how much I’d like to have you with me. But you +don’t seem to realize the peril.”</p> + +<p>“Peril?” She laughed disdainfully, as she withdrew +from me. “Do you think I’d have you submit to a +peril I wouldn’t share in? Besides, is it not in the +interest of my own country? Should I stay here +doing nothing when I might help to save Atlantis?”</p> + +<p>“But, even so, would you be permitted—” I started +to protest.</p> + +<p>“Of course I’d be permitted! The High Chief Adviser +would be more than willing—only, of course, he +wouldn’t ask me to take the risk.”</p> + +<p>“And neither would I ask you—” I objected; but +she cut me short by demanding, sharply, “Do you +think it’s any greater than the risk of staying here?” +And, with the air of one whose mind is made up and is +not to be questioned, she reminded me, “We better be +getting ready, for I don’t suppose we’ll have any time +to waste.”</p> + +<p>And thereupon, the question having been settled, we +began our meager preparations. But we found that +there was not much to prepare, for of course the submarine +would be well provisioned; and, except for a +few personal trinkets, we could think of little to take +away with us. But it occurred to me to bring a copy +of Homer’s lost masterpiece, the “Telegonus,” which +might convince the upper world of the truth of my +reports about Atlantis. And it also occurred to me to +pay a pilfering expedition to the museum, which was +now untenanted even by the doormen; and, when I +returned, my pockets were weighed down with several +pieces of gold, and my arms were laden with a large +amorphous bundle, whose contents might have been +identified as an Ensign’s uniform.</p> + +<p>Of the night that followed I have only the most confused +and disturbing remembrance. I know that I did +not sleep, except to drowse away by brief, nightmare-haunted +spells; and I also know that Aelios did not +sleep, for her mind like mine was busy contemplating +the adventure before us. Yet we were both too weary +for connected thought; and jumbled visions were all +that greeted us as we lay there speechless in the +blackness.</p> + +<p>The moment the lights were flashed on again we renounced +our futile attempts at slumber. And we had +hardly risen and made ourselves presentable when we +began to receive visitors. Not only did Xanocles arrive +as he had promised, but the entire Upper World +Club appeared in a group, for I had notified Gavison +of my prospective departure and had expressed my desire +to see all the men again before I left.</p> + +<p>Since all our visitors insisted on seeing us off, it was +a good-sized company that attended us as we bade +farewell to the butterfly-shaped building that had +housed us so long, and set off through the streets of the +stricken city toward the river. Yet our escort, while +large, was far from merry, for the strain of the past +few days was written upon us all, and the pale cheeks +and weary looks of my companions matched their listless +manner and their silence. One or two—and among +them the unquenchable Stranahan—did indeed attempt +to be jocular; but their efforts were half-hearted and +flat, and their laughter rang thin and hollow like +mockery; and as we drew nearer our goal and saw +the flood rippling through the streets ahead, we heard +no more of their jests, but all of us plunged onward +speechlessly and with stern, set faces, oppressed as +though by the shadow of some solemn and awful +presence.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>When we reached the inundated districts, I of +course urged my companions to turn back. But +they paid no heed, and pressed gravely on their way, +first wading ankle-deep, then halfway to their knees, +while strung out in a long line among scattered houses +that looked like lake dwellings. Here a marble edifice, +there a colonnade, yonder a cluster of statues, projected +above the deluge, whose green-gray current went +swishing past as though from an inexhaustible source. +Amid those fluid wastes, which had obliterated all familiar +landmarks and gave to well known things a new +and terrible majesty, it was impossible to be sure of +our way; and once one of the men slipped into a depression +so deep that he had to swim to save himself; +and more than once some one tripped over some +buried obstacle, and went floundering at full length +into the water, thereby provoking a short-lived outburst +of mirth. So great were the dangers that we +had to move very slowly; but we also moved with +grim regularity, and our progress was without sound +other than the monotonous splash, splash of our advancing +feet.</p> + +<p>Yet it was not only our own plight that made us +moody and sad. As we plodded through the flooded +districts, we had continual glimpses of the inhabitants—and +in their aspect and manner there was nothing +to reassure us. Here, through an open window, we +would catch sight of several agile figures straining to +bind some huge collection into a bundle; there we +would observe a man descending from his doorstep +into the enveloping waters, his back bent down with a +great pile of household articles, a wan-faced woman +clinging nervously to him or turning back with moist +eyes to the home they were leaving. And we passed +not one or two such refugees but scores, literally +scores. One would have a three-year-old perched securely +on his shoulder, another would be trying to +soothe a crying babe or leading by the hand a frightened +lad of five; some would be bearing off great +heaps of clothing or huge cans and boxes that looked +like food containers, and a few were puffing and panting +to save their books, rugs and paintings.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the eyes of all the people were baleful +with a wild, unnatural light; their features were assuming +a furtive, hunted expression; their voices had +lost their music, and had grown nervous and shrill. +And all were looking bloodless and bedraggled; ominous +hollows were forming in their cheeks and beneath +their eyes; their clothes were soiled and untended, +their beards scraggly and untrimmed; and many had +lost their normal restraint, so that we passed a woman +who sobbed and sobbed quite regardless of our approach, +an old man who growled and gibbered insanely +to himself, and more than one that did not even seem +to see us, but stared upward intently with imploring +face, while mumbling incoherent melancholy phrases.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[375]</span></p> +<p>When finally we drew near our destination, the water +reached to the knees of the tallest of us, and our +progress was more laborious and slower than ever. I +now began to fear that we would not be able to locate +the river bank, for how tell where the shallow water +ended and the deep began? At length, however, I +was relieved to observe a wide, unbroken flowing expanse +several hundred yards ahead, and to note that +a long rope, stretched in the water between improvised +wooden supports, marked the river’s theoretical edge.</p> + +<p>It was just when we came in sight of our goal that +the supreme horror befell. Even to this day I can +recapture the amazement and alarm of that dread +moment; and the abruptness of it all and the terror +overwhelm me anew. Had the waters swelled and +swept over us in a tidal wave, I would have been +panic-stricken and yet halfway prepared—but I could +not have anticipated that the blow was to strike from +above rather than from beneath.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Suddenly—although this was only the beginning +of the Atlantean day—the golden lights of the glass +dome began to waver and flicker, then paled to a twilight +glow, then (in less time than it takes to state) +snapped into blackness.</p> + +<p>So startled were we that we stood there transfixed; +scarcely an oath issued from our petrified lips. The +darkness was absolute; we could not see our nearest +neighbors; we seemed walled in by oblivion. For a +moment there was silence; then came a light splashing +to my left, and simultaneously dozens of voices +burst forth bewilderingly in terror and dismay.</p> + +<p>And when that first horrified outburst was dying +down, there crept over us from a distance other cries—confused +cries as of many voices sighing and wailing +in chorus. And all those voices seemed to form +into one, and to grieve and drone in a single long-drawn +sob, with echoes reminding me uncannily of +lost souls mourning in the dark.</p> + +<p>But soon that melancholy tumult passed away; and +we were aware only that we stood there knee-deep in +the flood, in a silence unbroken except by the gurgling +waters.</p> + +<p>Then it was that the most quick-witted of us all +came to his senses. Suddenly a vivid light stabbed +the gloom just to my left; and by its glaring yellow +illumination I could make out the tall form of Xanocles.</p> + +<p>In his hands was a good-sized pocket flashlight. “I +was a little afraid this might happen,” he declared, +trying to be matter-of-fact, and speaking loudly enough +for us all to hear. “Lucky I had these lanterns with +me.” And, to our surprise, he calmly drew several +more flashlights from the folds of his garments, and +passed them to his nearest neighbors.</p> + +<p>“The High Chief Adviser warned me yesterday that +this was possible,” he explained. “And so I thought +it best to be prepared.”</p> + +<p>And then, while we all stood gaping at him like +men with paralyzed minds, he continued, soothingly, +“There is really nothing to be alarmed about. The +water must have gotten into the electric power generators—that +is all. In a few hours the lights will no +doubt be shining again.”</p> + +<p>But his words did not carry conviction. In his voice +was a note of concern that he could not wholly exclude; +and as we glanced nervously into the gloom—a gloom +that was all-enveloping except for our flashlights and +an occasional firefly flicker in the far distance—we +could not believe that the golden luminaries would soon +beam upon us again.</p> + +<p>It was a solemn procession that started splashing +once more toward the river bank. Guided by the +sallow illumination of the flashlights, we could barely +find our course; and step by step, with laborious slowness, +we plodded through the unrelenting flood. None +of us could find the heart to utter a word; and from +time to time, among my shadowy attendants, I caught +glimpses of lips rigidly compressed and faces firmly +set, as among men who go forth to meet the Ultimate. +All the while Aelios was at my side, hovering close +as if for shelter; and when I could I helped her over +the more difficult places, though she too was speechless, +like one whose thoughts are too appalling for expression.</p> + +<p>Then, for an instant, hope came flashing back. A +sudden radiance burst upon us from above; the great +luminaries were once more touched with light, which +fitfully expanded from a pale red glow almost to the +normal golden—and then fitfully died out into utter +gloom.</p> + +<p>And our cries of rejoicing were frozen on our lips, +and the darkness that ensued seemed more intense than +ever. And once more there was only the silence, the +wavering flashlights and the whirling floods.</p> + +<p>Groping and floundering and sometimes sinking almost +up to the hips in water, we at last found ourselves +near the rope that marked the river’s verge. +And by turning upstream toward a dim but steady +yellow light, we managed to locate the docks and the +submarine, which we recognized by the radiance filtering +through the portholes.</p> + +<p>Then, almost before I realized that the ultimate +moment had come, I found myself assisting Aelios +up the half-submerged gangplank and on to the deck +of the grim, low-lying, shadowy ship. The next that +I remember is that I was back again in two feet of +water, and that a multitude of hands clasped mine, a +multitude of voices were lifted simultaneously, first +the voices of a mob attempting a cheer that died +prematurely, then the voices of individuals, shouting +out advice and farewells, wishing me a safe voyage, +entreating me to make haste for the good of Atlantis. +I have a recollection of seeing the earnest, grave face +of Gavison by the uncertain, shifting illumination of +the flashlights; the elongated, intellectual face of +Xanocles; the youthful but sad-eyed and frightened +face of Rawson, and Stranahan’s droll countenance now +furrowed almost into a tragic severity.</p> + +<p>But in an instant all these faces—so familiar to me, +and so well liked—had drifted out of view. I too +stood upon the gangplank, lightly waving although my +heart seemed dull and dead within me. Then I +mounted to the deck, cast a last glance at the darkness +that hid the marble temples of Atlantis, and +waved for the last time to the dim watching figures. +And as the flashlights began slowly to retreat, I descended +a narrow stairway, heard an iron door clatter +to a close above me, felt a jolt and a shudder that +were followed by a regular, incessant quivering—and +knew that I was on my way back to the earth.</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"><h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV +<br> +The Return</h2></div> + + +<p>The facts of my return from Atlantis have been +reported so widely that it would be futile for +me to dwell upon them. It is generally known +how, having crossed the ocean at the sixty-knot speed +made possible by our intra-atomic propellers, our submarine +found its way to the mouth of the Potomac and +almost up to Washington; how, after it had anchored +obscurely some distance below the city, I donned my +old uniform and made my way out under cover of +night; how I hastened the next day to the offices of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[376]</span>the naval department, disclosed my identity, and met +with ridicule not only at my incredible tale, but at +my strange appearance, my long beard, my goggles +and my greenish skin.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, in the haste and confusion of my +departure from the Sunken World, I had made one +oversight. I had forgotten the copy of Homer’s lost +“Telegonus,” which I had hoped to exhibit in verification +of my story! Scattered lines of the poem, to be +sure, did keep trailing through my mind with a wild, +ringing majesty—but they were the merest fragments, +and to recite them would have been to brand myself as +a madman. Yet I had little other evidence to display. +Aelios could not help me, for she could not +speak English; and in spite of her exceptional beauty, +there would have been nothing to prove that she had +not been born above seas. And as for the four members +of the submarine crew, they refused stanchly to +leave the vessel; and, besides, they likewise could not +speak English, and their fantastic Atlantean garb +would no doubt have marked them also as lunatics.</p> + +<p>And so there was nothing to do but wait, wait for +days and days, haunting the naval offices, making +myself a laughing stock and a nuisance, yet repeating +my pleas so insistently that in the end they had to +be heeded. But meanwhile I was losing time—time +which I knew to be all-important. Even now Atlantis +might be in a death-grip with the waters; and the +difference of a few hours might bridge the gap between +safety and disaster. Would not my fellows +make haste? was the question I kept asking and asking; +and all the while they remained inactive and unmoved. +Every day, with tears in her eyes, Aelios +would inquire when the rescuing expedition was to set +out; and every day I would nod sadly, and sigh, “Perhaps +tomorrow.” But tomorrow would bring little +hope; and even when at last an investigation was undertaken, +it was careless and dilatory—and it was +long before I could convince the bewildered inspectors +that I was actually one of the company of the lost +X-111.</p> + +<p>It was long, indeed, before I could even find any +one to identify me. In a land where my acquaintances +had been legion, I was apparently unknown; +and my old friends had either been dispersed or else +I had slipped out of their minds. Even Alma Huntley +failed to reply to my letters; and it was months before +I learned that, having long given me up as lost, +she had left two years before for the Pacific Coast +as the bride of the Reverend David Mosely.</p> + +<p>But though my messages to Alma never reached their +destination, a letter to my old friend, Frank Everett, +survived many forwardings and found its goal; and +not only did Everett hasten to me from New York, +but he summoned others of our former group, whose +testimony combined with the evidence of finger-prints +and handwriting to identify me beyond dispute.</p> + +<p>Matters now began to move more quickly—in fact, +with a rapidity that was bewildering. Almost overnight +my story was flashed from end to end of the +land, and I found myself a public figure. Newspaper +headlines flaunted my name, and the word Atlantis was +on every one’s lips; interviewers came swarming to +see me, scientists with their demands for information, +the heads of lecture bureaus and of motion picture corporations +with their golden offers. But all that really +interested me were the offers of assistance for the +Sunken World. Several men of means became interested, +and placed large funds at our disposal, so making +possible the Harkness Institute for Marine Research; +half a dozen engineers volunteered to accompany +me back to Atlantis, and with their aid we secured +implements and chemicals capable of sealing wide +breaches in a glass wall. But we could produce no +vessel other than that in which we had left Atlantis, +for the naval submarines were not equipped for the +deep waters of the Sunken World; and so when finally +the rescuing party set off down the Potomac from +Washington, its members numbered only six in addition +to Aelios and myself and the original crew.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The small size of this expedition and its limited +equipment would alone have made us doubtful of +success; but we remembered with acute misgivings that +two full months had passed since we left Archeon, and +that during all this time the flood waters must have +been rising. We were particularly uneasy because of +the failure of Gavison to appear in a second submarine, +as the High Chief Adviser had promised; and, brooding +upon his absence, we would recall how we had +bidden farewell to Atlantis, and would think with a +shudder of the bleak confusion of the people and the +swelling torrents swishing through the darkness.</p> + +<p>To make matters worse (if they could possibly be +worse) our voyage back to Atlantis was beset with +unforeseen difficulties. Owing to the absence of definite +charts and our uncertainty as to the latitude and longitude +of the Sunken World, we were lost for several +days amid the wildest wastes of the Atlantic. At +times we would dive to the sea bottom, or to such +depths that Atlantis could not conceivably be beneath +us, and would go cruising for hours amid that black +infinity or along the shell-strewn or bouldery floor +of the ocean, staring through the portholes at the +luminous-eyed creatures that flitted ghost-like about +us, and here and there gaping horror-stricken at some +contorted but strangely eloquent rusty iron mass. But +of Atlantis itself there was no sign, and we had the +queer impression that it had dissolved bubble-like amid +the watery immensity.</p> + +<p>And so at length our expedition converted itself into +little more than a random questing after what did not +appear to exist. Should we ever again catch a glimpse +of the green-golden walls of our lost universe? There +were moments when I was given to curious doubts, +and felt that Atlantis, once lost, could never be found +again; that the billows would cover it as completely +from our sight as from the sight of the ages. But +all the time, while we kept dashing at prodigious speed +through the vacant waters, we were given to strange +fits of hope that alternated with spells of despair,—hope +when we would descry a far-off light that would +turn out to be merely some elusive fishy lantern,—despair +that our help, already too long delayed, was +being retarded to the point of impotence.</p> + +<p>The final discovery came with startling suddenness. +One day, gliding slowly downward at a considerable +depth, we were stopped by a hard, flat barrier that +spread beneath us like the sea bottom. But as we +began to drift horizontally, we observed that the surface +was smooth and ominously light-reflecting—and +with a gasp of despair we recognized that the substance +was glass!</p> + +<p>The surprise and horror of that moment are still +vivid in my memory. “Turn the searchlights down, +down!” muttered the leader of our crew, in a voice +that trembled perceptibly; and as the great water-piercing +streamers began to quiver and shake and then +slowly descended in long, rambling curves, Aelios came +rushing to my side like a child who fears to be alone, +and clung closely to me while we both stared through +the portholes with faces rigid and eager.</p> + +<p>But at first we saw nothing. All was dark beneath +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[377]</span>us—not a gleam, not a flicker, broke the blackness of +the Sunken World.</p> + +<p>Then, as the searchlights swayed and shifted till +they swept the depths directly beneath, we began to +make out familiar objects amid the obscurity. Dimly, +strangely, as though draped in a fog, the outlines of +great domes and arches and colonnades began to +emerge, interspersed by Titanic columns and statuesque +temples that appeared to waver uncannily.</p> + +<p>“See! See! It is still there!” Aelios cried, frantically, +as she pressed more closely to me; and with the agony +of despair in her voice was mingled just a tinge of +hope.</p> + +<p>I took her hand and sought to console her; but +even as I did so her whole body began to shake +spasmodically, and her sobbing throbbed from end +to end of the ship. For many minutes she seemed unable +to speak.</p> + +<p>Yet, even while the long-drawn, heartbreaking sobs +panted forth, she began to point, to point distractedly +downward, with blind, quivering fingers that called +with frenzied urgency, forcing me to peer again +through the porthole.</p> + +<p>With my arms still about her, I scanned the dim, +ghostly twilight. But for a moment I observed nothing +alarming. Then, as my gaze became focused upon +a gray dome just below, I too cried out in dread +realization.</p> + +<p>Those glass-covered depths were not without sign of +life, as I had thought; but here and there a lantern-bearing +object, with flapping finny body, went wavering +through the windows and above the temple roofs!</p> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top:2em"><span class="smcap">The End.</span></p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="transnote"><h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_note">Transcriber’s note:</h2> + +<p>This etext was transcribed from <i>Amazing Stories Quarterly</i>, Summer 1928 (vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 292–377).</p> + +<p>The following additions to the text have been made: the titles “Foreword” and “Introduction”, and the Table of Contents section.</p> + +<p>Obvious errors in spelling, hyphenation and punctuation have been +silently corrected in this version, but minor inconsistencies and +archaic forms have been retained as printed. Some illustrations +have been moved to the nearest chapter break.</p> +</div> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77257 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/77257-h/images/cover.jpg b/77257-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..874ef4d --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/dropcap_t.jpg b/77257-h/images/dropcap_t.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0ec5792 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/dropcap_t.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img293.jpg b/77257-h/images/img293.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c935e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img293.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img297.jpg b/77257-h/images/img297.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d5455c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img297.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img302.jpg b/77257-h/images/img302.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6d11d43 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img302.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img307.jpg b/77257-h/images/img307.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..127cd2f --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img307.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img312313.jpg b/77257-h/images/img312313.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..25f61b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img312313.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img318.jpg b/77257-h/images/img318.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..84c21ca --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img318.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img323.jpg b/77257-h/images/img323.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..60e472c --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img323.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img329.jpg b/77257-h/images/img329.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..043d120 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img329.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img333.jpg b/77257-h/images/img333.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f17075f --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img333.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img338.jpg b/77257-h/images/img338.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..55c743e --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img338.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img345.jpg b/77257-h/images/img345.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dfbe8cc --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img345.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img352.jpg b/77257-h/images/img352.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..242914d --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img352.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img358.jpg b/77257-h/images/img358.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..096ece9 --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img358.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img363.jpg b/77257-h/images/img363.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd5e50a --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img363.jpg diff --git a/77257-h/images/img370.jpg b/77257-h/images/img370.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d6557a --- /dev/null +++ b/77257-h/images/img370.jpg |
