Five Thousand Miles Underground; Or, the Mystery of the Centre of the Earth by - (best novels of all time txt) 📕

It was more by following the sound of the scientist’s voice, than by any sight which the others could get of him, that they managed to trail along behind. They reached the ship in safety, however, and entered. There was no sound as of beasts or insects within, and, though Mark felt a little apprehensive on account of what he had seen, he and the others as well, were glad to be again in something that seemed like home.

“I wish we had some candles, or some sort of a light to see by,” the professor remarked. “We can do nothing in the dark, and there is no telling how long this night is going to last once it has set in. If I could have a little illumination, I might be able to fix the dynamo, and then we could turn on the incandescents. That portable light we had is broken.”

“By cracky!” exclaimed Andy. “I believe I have the very thing!”

“You don’t mean to say you have a torch or a candle with you, do you?” asked Mr. Henderson.

“No, but I have my patent pipe lighting apparatus,” the hunter said. “I always carry it. It gives a little light, but not much, though it may be enough to work by.”

Not until after several hours work, handicapped as they were by lack of light, were the repairs to the ship completed.

“Now we’ll start the engine and see how we will come out,” the inventor exclaimed, as he wiped his hands on some waste.

It did not take long to generate enough power to turn the dynamo. Soon the familiar hum and whirr was heard, and, a few seconds later the filaments in the lamps began to glow a dull red, which gradually brightened until they were shining in all their usual brilliancy.

“Hurrah!” cried the boys. “Now we can see!”

They all felt in better spirits with the restoration of the lights, and, washing off the grease and dirt of their labors in the engine room, they prepared to sit down to the meal which Washington prepared.

As soon as the dynamo was working well, care had to be taken not to speed it too much on account of a mended belt. The professor turned off part of the lights and switched some of the current into the storage batteries, to provide for emergencies. For there was no telling how long the night might last.

Jack was the first one to finish the meal—they did not know whether to call it dinner, supper or breakfast. He went into the conning tower, and, as soon as he reached it he called out:

“Come on up here, professor! There’s something strange going on!”

Mr. Henderson, followed by Mark, hurried to the tower. As he reached it and looked out of the forward window, a beautiful white glow illuminated the whole scene, and then, from below the horizon, there arose seven luminous disks. One was in the centre, while about it circled the other six, like some immense pin-wheel.

“It’s the moon!” cried Mark.

“It’s seven moons!” Jack exclaimed. “Why it’s almost as light as day!”

And so it was, for the seven moons, if that is what they were, gave an illumination not unlike the sun in brilliancy though it was like the beams from the pale moon of the earth.

“I guess we need not have worried about the darkness,” the professor remarked. “Still it is a good thing I fixed the dynamo.”

For some time he and the other adventurers watched the odd sight of the moons, as they rose higher and higher overhead. The scene was a beautiful, if weird one, for the whole plain was bathed in the soft light.

“I guess we can turn off the incandescents, and use all the power for the storage batteries,” Mr. Henderson went on, as he descended into the ship, and opened the port shutters which had been closed when they started off on their exploring tour. The interior of the Mermaid was almost as light as when the odd colored beams had been playing over the new earth to which they had come.

“I think we had better continue with our work of making repairs,” Mr. Henderson said. “We can’t count on these moons remaining here any length of time, and I want to take advantage of them. So though some of us perhaps need sleep, we will forego it and fix up the Mermaid. I want to take a trip and see what other wonders await us.”

They all agreed that they would rather work than sleep, and soon the entire force was busy in the engine room. There was much to be done, and the most important things were attended to first. The motive power was overhauled and found to be in need of several new parts. These were put in and then the gas generator, and the negative gravity machine, were put in shape.

It would have taken something very substantial to have awakened any one on board the Mermaid that night. They all slept soundly and awoke to find the strange colored lights shining in through the glass covered port holes.

“Well, the sun, or what corresponds to it, is up,” observed Jack, “and I guess we had better do as the little boy in the school reader did, and get up, too, Mark.”

Soon all the travelers were aroused, and the sound of Washington bustling about in the kitchen, whence came the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs, told the hungry ones that breakfast was under way.

After the meal work was again started on repairing the ship, and by noon the professor remarked:

“I think we shall try a little flight after dinner. That is, if one thing doesn’t prevent us.”

“What is that?” asked Jack.

“We may be held down, as were those stones,” was the grave answer.

It was with no little apprehension that the professor prepared to take his first flight aboard the ship in the realms of the new world. He knew little or nothing of the conditions he might meet with, the density of the atmosphere, or how the Mermaid would behave under another environment than that to which she was accustomed.

Yet he felt it was necessary to make a start. They would have to attempt a flight sooner or later, and Mr. Henderson was not the one to delay matters. So, the last adjustment having been made to the repaired machinery, they all took their places in the ship.

The boys and the professor went to the conning tower to direct matters, while Washington and the others were in the engine room to see that the machinery worked properly. Mark gave a last look outside as he closed the big steel cover over the hole through which admission was had to the craft. He thought he might catch a glimpse of the queer shadow, but nothing was in sight. It was like a beautiful summer’s day, save for the strange lights, shifting and changing. But the travelers had become somewhat used to them by this time.

The professor turned the valve that allowed the gas to enter the holder. There was a hissing sound and a sort of trembling throughout the entire ship. The dynamos were whizzing away and the negative gravity machine was all ready to start.

For several minutes the travelers waited until the big lifting tank was filled with the strong vapor. They watched the gages which indicated the pressure to be several hundred pounds.

“I think we can chance it now,” remarked Mr. Henderson, as he threw over several levers. “We’ll try, at any rate.”

With a tremor the Mermaid left the surface of the inner earth and went sailing upward toward the—well it wasn’t exactly the sky, but it was what corresponded to it in the new world, though there were no clouds and no blue depths such as the boys were used to. At all events the Mermaid was flying again, and, as the adventurers felt themselves being lifted up they gave a spontaneous cheer at the success which had crowned their efforts.

The ship went up several hundred feet, and then, the professor, having brought her to a stop, sent her ahead at a slow pace. He wanted to be sure all the apparatus was in good working order before he tried any speed.

The Mermaid responded readily. Straight as an arrow through the air she flew.

“Well, this is almost as good as being on the regular earth!” exclaimed Jack.

“It’s better,” put in Mark. “We haven’t seen half the wonders yet. Let’s open the floor shutter, and see how it looks down below.”

He and Jack went to the room where there was an opening in the floor of the ship, covered by heavy glass. They slid back the steel shutter and there, down below them, was the strange new world they had come to, stretched out like some big map.

They could see mountains, forests, plains, and rivers, the water sparkling in the colored light. Over green fields they flew, then across some stretches where only sand and rocks were to be seen. Faster and faster the ship went, as the professor found the machinery was once more in perfect order. Jack was idly watching the play of tinted lights over the surface of the ground.

“I wonder what makes it,” he said.

“I have tried to account for it in several ways,” said the professor, who had called Washington to the conning tower and come to join the boys. “I have had first one theory and then another, but the one I am almost sure is correct is that hidden volcanic fires cause the illumination.

“I think they flare up and die away, and have become so regular that they produce the same effect as night and day with us. Probably the fires go out for lack of fuel, and when it is supplied they start up again. Perhaps it is a sort of gas that they burn.”

“Well, it’s queer enough, whatever it is,” Jack remarked. “What strikes me as funny, though, is that we haven’t seen a single person since we came here. Surely this place must be inhabited.”

Mark thought of the strange shadow he had seen, but said nothing.

“I believe it is,” the professor answered. “We will probably come upon the inhabitants soon. I only hope they are a people who will do us no harm.”

“If they tried any of their tricks we could mount up in our ship and escape them,” said Andy.

“Provided they gave us the chance,” Mr. Henderson put in. “Well, we’ll not worry about that now.”

For several hours the ship traveled on, until it had come to a different sort of country. It was wilder and not so level, and there were a number of streams and small lakes to be seen.

“Are you going to sail all night?” asked Jack.

“No,” replied the professor. “I think we’ll descend very soon now, and camp out for a while. That lake just ahead seems to offer a good place,” and he pointed to a large sheet of water that sparkled in the distance, for by this time they had all gone back to the conning tower.

The lake was in the midst of a wood that extended for some distance on all sides, and was down in a sort of valley. The ship headed toward it, and in a short time a landing was made close to shore.

“Maybe we can have some fresh fish for supper,” exclaimed Jack as he ran from the ship as soon as the sliding door in the side was opened. “Looks as if that lake had some in it. It is not thick water like in that stream we stopped at,” he added.

“I believe you’re right,” old Andy put in, as he turned back to look for some lines and hooks among his traps. He soon found what he wanted, and gave them to the boys, taking his trusty gun along for himself.

While the professor, Washington, Tom and Bill remained behind to make some adjustments to the machinery, and to get things in shape for the night, which, they calculated would soon be upon them, Jack, Mark and Andy went down to the shore of the lake. The boys cut some poles from the trees, and baiting the hooks with some fat worms found under the bark, threw in.

“Let’s see who’ll get the first bite,” spoke Jack. “I’m pretty generally lucky at fishing.”

“Well, while you’re waiting to decide that there contest, I think I’ll take a stroll along shore and see if I can see anything to shoot,” Andy remarked.

For several minutes the boys sat in silence on the bank of the lake, watching the play of the vari-colored lights on the water. Suddenly Jack felt a quiver on his line, and his pole began to shake.

“I’ve got something!” he cried. Then his pole bent almost double and he began to pull for all he was worth. “It’s a whopper!” he cried. “Come and help me, Mark!”

Mark ran to his friend’s aid. Whatever was on the other end of the line was strong enough to tax the muscles of both boys. They could hear the pole beginning to break. But for the excellent quality of Andy’s line that would have parted some time before.

All at once there came a sudden slacking of the pull