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

Those waiting in the rear of the temple huddled closer together. What terrible beast could have been aroused?

The next instant the place seemed illuminated as if by a lightning flash, and a sound as of a thousand thunder claps resounded.

“I think I winged him!” cried Andy’s voice, and the boys knew he had fired at something.

Then there came a crash, and from the roof of the old temple a dozen stones toppled off to one side, letting in a flood of colored light.

By this illumination could be seen, flapping through the big space overhead, an enormous bat, as large as three eagles. And, as it flew about in a circle it gave utterance to shrill cries.

“Bang!” Andy’s gun spoke again, and the bat with a louder cry than before, darted through the hole in the roof made by the falling stones, which had been loosened by the concussion from the rifle.

“Come on!” cried the old hunter. “That was the guardian of the treasure! We are safe now!”

Then, in the light which streamed through the broken roof, the adventurers could see, heaped up on a great altar, behind which sat a horrible graven image, piles of yellow metal, and sparkling stones. In little heaps they were, arranged as if offerings to the terrible god of the giants. There were bars and rings of gold, dishes of odd shape, and even weapons. As for the sparkling stones, they were of many colors, but the white ones were more plentiful than all the others.

“Gold and diamonds! Diamonds and gold!” murmured the professor. “There is the ransom of many kings in this ancient temple.”

“Wish I had a big bag!” exclaimed Washington, as he began filling all his pockets with the precious metal and gems. “If I had a-thought I’d have brought a dress-suit case!”

“A dress-suit case full of diamonds!” exclaimed Mark.

Then he too, as did all the others, fell to filling his pockets with the wealth spread so lavishly before them. There was the riches of a whole world in one place and no one but themselves to take it.

For several minutes no one spoke. The only sound was the rattle of the stones and the clink of gold, and when some of the diamonds dropped on the floor they did not bother to gather them up. There were too many on the altar.

“We will be rich for life!” gasped old Andy, who had been poor all his years.

“I can’t carry any more!” gasped Washington. “I’m goin’ back for——”

What he was going back for he never said, for, at that instant, happening to look up at the hole in the roof, he gave a startled cry:

“Here come the terrible bats!”

They all gazed upward. Through the opening they could see a great flock of the awful birds, headed for the temple, and they were led by one which seemed to fly with difficulty. It was the guardian of the treasure that Andy had wounded.

“Quick! We must get out of here!” shouted the old hunter. “They are big enough and strong enough to tear us all to pieces. Hurry!”

Down the centre of the temple they rushed, and not a moment too soon, for, ere they had passed half way to the entrance, the opening in the roof was darkened by the coming of the bats, and soon the flapping of their wings awoke the thundering echoes in the ruined structure, while their shrill cries struck terror to the hearts of the travelers.

Up to the altar circled the bats, and then wheeling they flapped down the dim aisles toward the adventurers.

“Hurry! Hurry!” shouted Andy, who was in the rear.

He raised his rifle and fired several shots into the midst of the terrible creatures.

A number of the bats were wounded, and the others were so frightened by the sound of the shots and the flashes of fire that they turned back. This enabled the fleeing ones to gain the entrance to the temple, and soon they were outside.

“To the ship!” yelled Bill.

“There’s little danger now!” called Andy, panting, for the run had winded him. “They will hardly attack us in the light!”

And he was right, for, though they could hear the bats flying about inside the temple, and uttering their cries, none came outside.

But no one felt like staying near the uncanny structure, and little time was lost in reaching the Mermaid. Then the doors were fastened, and the ship was sent high up into the air.

“Which way?” asked Jack, when Mr. Henderson told him to go to the conning tower and steer.

“Back to where we first met the giants,” replied the professor. “We must prepare to start for our own earth again soon.”

“I’ve almost forgotten how real sunlight looks,” thought Jack, as he headed the ship around the other way. As he turned the levers a big diamond dropped from his pocket and rolled on the floor.

“This will be a good reminder of our trip though,” he added.

The travelers, even including Mr. Henderson, were so taken up with their suddenly acquired riches that they hardly thought of meals. At the professor’s suggestion they tied their gold and stones up in small packages convenient to carry.

“Better place them where you can grab them in a hurry in case of accident,” the old scientist went on. “Of course if there should be too bad an accident they would never be of any use to us down here, but we’ll look on the bright side of things.”

“Do you anticipate any accident?” asked Jack anxiously.

“No, Oh no,” replied Mr. Henderson, but Jack thought the aged man had something weighing on his mind.

On and on sped the Mermaid. Now that the travelers felt their journey accomplished they were anxious to begin the homeward trip. They made a straight course for the village where they had so nearly met with disaster, and where the king of the giants had saved them. They went in a direct line, and did not travel here and there, as they had after they left the town. Consequently they shortened the route by a great distance. Yet it was long enough, and when they finally came in sight of the place the dial registered a trip of five thousand miles underground.

It was one evening when they landed almost at the spot whence they had taken flight eventually to reach the temple of the treasure. Most of the giants had betaken themselves to their mound houses, but Hankos was walking in the fields, and, when he caught sight of the airship hovering above him he waved his great sword in welcome.

He rushed up to shake hands with the travelers when they came out of the ship, though to greet him it was only possible for the adventurers to grasp one of his immense fingers.

As soon as the greetings were over Hankos began to speak rapidly to the professor, at the same time going through many strange motions.

“It is as I feared!” suddenly exclaimed the scientist.

“What is the matter?” asked Mark.

“The worst has happened!” went on Mr. Henderson. “The great hole by which we came into this place has been closed by an earthquake shock!”

“The hole closed?” repeated Jack.

“An earthquake shock!” murmured Mark.

“Then how are we going to get back to earth?” asked old Andy.

A terrible fear entered the hearts of the travelers. The closing of the opening by which they had come to the strange world meant, in all probability that they would have to spend the rest of their lives in this underground place.

“What good did it do us to get all those diamonds and that gold?” asked Mark in a sorrowful tone.

Hankos began to speak again, using his gestures which were almost as eloquent as words. The professor watched and listened intently. Then there seemed to come a more hopeful look to his face. He nodded vigorously as Hankos went on with what seemed to be an explanation.

“It’s worth trying, at all events!” the scientist exclaimed. “It is our only hope!”

“What is?” asked Jack.

“Friends,” began the professor in solemn tones. “I must admit our plight is desperate. At the same time there is a bare chance of our getting back to our own earth. As you remember, Hankos went from this place to the upper regions through the upward spouting column of water.”

“If we had our submarine we might also,” interrupted Jack. “But the Mermaid isn’t built to sail in that fashion.”

“Nor would the Porpoise have served us in this emergency,” said the professor. “It would prove too heavy. But, nevertheless, I think I have a plan. Now, Mark, you are about to learn the secret of the storeroom. The real one, not the hiding of Hankos in there, which you imagined to be the cause of my desire to keep something hidden. When we planned a trip to this underground world I had a dim idea that we might meet with trouble. So I planned and made a cylinder lifeboat.”

“A cylinder lifeboat?” repeated Mark.

“Yes,” replied Mr. Henderson. “I have it in the storeroom. I did not want any of you to see it for fear you would have faint hearts. I thought there might be no necessity of using it. But, since there is, we must do our best. I will admit it may be a fearful ordeal, but we will have to risk something in order to escape.

“I have in the storeroom a large cylinder, capable of holding us all. It will also contain food and drink for a month, but we will all have to go, packed almost like sardines in a box. My plan is to take the Mermaid to the place where the column of water shoots up. There we will get into the cylinder, close it, and trust ourselves to the terrible force that may bring us back to the upper world. What do you say? Shall we attempt it?”

For a few seconds no one spoke. Then Jack said slowly:

“I don’t see that we can do anything else. I don’t want to stay here all my life.”

“I wants a chance t’ wear some of them sparklers,” put in Washington.

“Then we will make the attempt,” the professor added. “Now all aboard for the place where the water shoots up!”

Questioning Hankos, the professor learned how to reach the strange place. It was in the midst of a desolate country where none of the giants ever went, so afraid were they of the strange phenomenon.

It was a week’s journey. Sometimes the Mermaid flew through the air, and again it sailed on vast lakes or inland seas. On the trip they met with big waterfalls and terrible geysers that spouted a mile or more into the air. They traveled by night as well as day, though it was necessary to keep a sharp watch.

Sometimes the ship passed through great flocks of birds that surrounded her and sought to pierce the aluminum hull with their sharp beaks and talons. Over the mountains and valleys the ship sailed until, one evening, there sounded through the air a strange rumbling sound.

“It is thunder,” said Old Andy.

“It is the water column,” replied the scientist. “We are at the end of our trip. May the remainder be as successful!”

The ship was lowered to the surface, as it was deemed best to approach the column when the lights were shining. No one slept much that night, for the roaring and rumbling never ceased.

In the morning the ship was sent forward slowly. Ever and ever the terrific sound increased, until it was almost deafening. They had to call to each other to be heard.

Then, as the Mermaid passed over a mountain, the adventurers saw, in a valley below them, the up-shooting water.

It was a vast column, nearly three hundred feet in thickness, and as solid and white as a shaft of marble. Up, up, up, it went, until it was lost to sight, but there were no falling drops, and not even a spray came from the watery shafts.

“There is a terrible power to it,” the professor said. “May it prove our salvation!”

The ship was lowered about a hundred feet away from the waterspout. All around them the ground was vibrating with the force of the fluid.

“To think that connects with the world above!” exclaimed Jack.

“It’s a good thing for us that it does,” Mark answered.

“We must lose no time,” the professor put in. “If the earthquake destroyed the downward shaft, it may effect this one in time. We must escape while we can.”

Then, for the first time, he opened the storeroom and the big cylinder was disclosed to view. It was made of aluminum, and shaped like an immense cigar. The hull was double, and it was strongly braced. Inside were padded berths for the occupants, and there was just room enough for the seven adventurers. Once they had entered they could not move about, but must stay in their little compartment.

Compressed air in strong cylinders furnished a means of breathing, and there were tiny electric lights operated by a storage battery. There was also a chamber to be filled with the lifting gas. The cylinder was so arranged that it would float on it’s long axis if thrown into the water. A trap door hermetically sealed gave access to the interior. A small propellor, worked by