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A JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH - 14

A JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

By Jules Verne

CHAPTER 14

THE REAL JOURNEY COMMENCES

Our real journey had now commenced. Hitherto our courage and

determination had overcome all difficulties. We were fatigued at times;

and that was all. Now we were about to encounter unknown and fearful

dangers.

I had not as yet ventured to take a glimpse down the horrible abyss into

which in a few minutes more I was about to plunge. The fatal moment had,

however, at last arrived. I had still the option of refusing or

accepting a share in this foolish and audacious enterprise. But I was

ashamed to show more fear than the eider-duck hunter. Hans seemed to

accept the difficulties of the journey so tranquilly, with such calm

indifference, with such perfect recklessness of all danger, that I

actually blushed to appear less of a man than he!

Had I been alone with my uncle, I should certainly have sat down and

argued the point fully; but in the presence of the guide I held my

tongue. I gave one moment to the thought of my charming cousin, and then

I advanced to the mouth of the central shaft.

It measured about a hundred feet in diameter, which made about three

hundred in circumference. I leaned over a rock which stood on its edge,

and looked down. My hair stood on end, my teeth chattered, my limbs

trembled. I seemed utterly to lose my centre of gravity, while my head

was in a sort of whirl, like that of a drunken man. There is nothing

more powerful than this attraction towards an abyss. I was about to fall

headlong into the gaping well, when I was drawn back by a firm and

powerful hand. It was that of Hans. I had not taken lessons enough at

the Frelser's-Kirk of Copenhagen in the art of looking down from lofty

eminences without blinking!

However, few as the minutes were during which I gazed down this

tremendous and even wondrous shaft, I had a sufficient glimpse of it to

give me some idea of its physical conformation. Its sides, which were

almost as perpendicular as those of a well, presented numerous

projections which doubtless would assist our descent.

It was a sort of wild and savage staircase, without bannister or fence.

A rope fastened above, near the surface, would certainly support our

weight and enable us to reach the bottom, but how, when we had arrived

at its utmost depth, were we to loosen it above? This was, I thought, a

question of some importance.

My uncle, however, was one of those men who are nearly always prepared

with expedients. He hit upon a very simple method of obviating this

difficulty. He unrolled a cord about as thick as my thumb, and at least

four hundred feet in length. He allowed about half of it to go down the

pit and catch in a hitch over a great block of lava which stood on the

edge of the precipice. This done, he threw the second half after the

first.

Each of us could now descend by catching the two cords in one hand. When

about two hundred feet below, all the explorer had to do was to let go

one end and pull away at the other, when the cord would come falling at

his feet. In order to go down farther, all that was necessary was to

continue the same operation.

This was a very excellent proposition, and no doubt, a correct one.

Going down appeared to me easy enough; it was the coming up again that

now occupied my thoughts.

"Now," said my uncle, as soon as he had completed this important

preparation, "let us see about the baggage. It must be divided into

three separate parcels, and each of us must carry one on his back. I

allude to the more important and fragile articles."

My worthy and ingenious uncle did not appear to consider that we came

under the denomination.

"Hans," he continued, "you will take charge of the tools and some of the

provisions; you, Harry, must take possession of another third of the

provisions and of the arms. I will load myself with the rest of the

eatables, and with the more delicate instruments."

"But," I exclaimed, "our clothes, this mass of cord and ladders--who

will undertake to carry them down?"

"They will go down of themselves."

"And how so?" I asked.

"You shall see."

My uncle was not fond of half measures, nor did he like anything in the

way of hesitation. Giving his orders to Hans he had the whole of the

nonfragile articles made up into one bundle; and the packet, firmly and

solidly fastened, was simply pitched over the edge of the gulf.

I heard the moaning of the suddenly displaced air, and the noise of

falling stones. My uncle leaning over the abyss followed the descent of

his luggage with a perfectly self-satisfied air, and did not rise until

it had completely disappeared from sight.

"Now then," he cried, "it is our turn."

I put it in good faith to any man of common sense--was it possible to

hear this energetic cry without a shudder?

The Professor fastened his case of instruments on his back. Hans took

charge of the tools, I of the arms. The descent then commenced in the

following order: Hans went first, my uncle followed, and I went last.

Our progress was made in profound silence--a silence only troubled by

the fall of pieces of rock, which breaking from the jagged sides, fell

with a roar into the depths below.

I allowed myself to slide, so to speak, holding frantically on the

double cord with one hand and with the other keeping myself off the

rocks by the assistance of my iron-shod pole. One idea was all the time

impressed upon my brain. I feared that the upper support would fail me.

The cord appeared to me far too fragile to bear the weight of three such

persons as we were, with our luggage. I made as little use of it as

possible, trusting to my own agility and doing miracles in the way of

feats of dexterity and strength upon the projecting shelves and spurs of

lava which my feet seemed to clutch as strongly as my hands.

The guide went first, I have said, and when one of the slippery and

frail supports broke from under his feet he had recourse to his usual

monosyllabic way of speaking.

"Gif akt--"

"Attention--look out," repeated my uncle.

In about half an hour we reached a kind of small terrace formed by a

fragment of rock projecting some distance from the sides of the shaft.

Hans now began to haul upon the cord on one side only, the other going

as quietly upward as the other came down. It fell at last, bringing with

it a shower of small stones, lava and dust, a disagreeable kind of rain

or hail.

While we were seated on this extraordinary bench I ventured once more to

look downwards. With a sigh I discovered that the bottom was still

wholly invisible. Were we, then, going direct to the interior of the

earth?

The performance with the cord recommenced, and a quarter of an hour

later we had reached to the depth of another two hundred feet.

I have very strong doubts if the most determined geologist would, during

that descent, have studied the nature of the different layers of earth

around him. I did not trouble my head much about the matter; whether we

were among the combustible carbon, Silurians, or primitive soil, I

neither knew nor cared to know.

Not so the inveterate Professor. He must have taken notes all the way

down, for, at one of our halts, he began a brief lecture.

"The farther we advance," said he, "the greater is my confidence in the

result. The disposition of these volcanic strata absolutely confirms the

theories of Sir Humphry Davy. We are still within the region of the

primordial soil, the soil in which took place the chemical operation of

metals becoming inflamed by coming in contact with the air and water. I

at once regret the old and now forever exploded theory of a central

fire. At all events, we shall soon know the truth."

Such was the everlasting conclusion to which he came. I, however, was

very far from being in humor to discuss the matter. I had something else

to think of. My silence was taken for consent; and still we continued to

go down.

At the expiration of three hours, we were, to all appearance, as far off

as ever from the bottom of the well. When I looked upwards, however, I

could see that the upper orifice was every minute decreasing in size.

The sides of the shaft were getting closer and closer together, we were

approaching the regions of eternal night!

And still we continued to descend!

At length, I noticed that when pieces of stone were detached from the

sides of this stupendous precipice, they were swallowed up with less

noise than before. The final sound was sooner heard. We were approaching

the bottom of the abyss!

As I had been very careful to keep account of all the changes of cord

which took place, I was able to tell exactly what was the depth we had

reached, as well as the time it had taken.

We had shifted the rope twenty-eight times, each operation taking a

quarter of an hour, which in all made seven hours. To this had to be

added twenty-eight pauses; in all ten hours and a half. We started at

one, it was now, therefore, about eleven o'clock at night.

It does not require great knowledge of arithmetic to know that

twenty-eight times two hundred feet makes five thousand six hundred feet

in all (more than an English mile).

While I was making this mental calculation a voice broke the silence. It

was the voice of Hans.

"Halt!" he cried.

I checked myself very suddenly, just at the moment when I was about to

kick my uncle on the head.

"We have reached the end of our journey," said the worthy Professor in a

satisfied tone.

"What, the interior of the earth?" said I, slipping down to his side.

"No, you stupid fellow! but we have reached the bottom of the well."

"And I suppose there is no farther progress to be made?" I hopefully

exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, I can dimly see a sort of tunnel, which turns off obliquely to

the right. At all events, we must see about that tomorrow. Let us sup

now, and seek slumber as best we may."

I thought it time, but made no observations on that point. I was fairly

launched on a desperate course, and all I had to do was to go forward

hopefully and trustingly.

It was not even now quite dark, the light filtering down in a most

extraordinary manner.

We opened the provision bag, ate a frugal supper, and each did his best

to find a bed amid the pile of stones, dirt, and lava which had

accumulated for ages at the bottom of the shaft.

I happened to grope out the pile of ropes, ladders, and clothes which we

had thrown down; and upon them I stretched myself. After such a day's

labor, my rough bed seemed as soft as down!

For a while I lay in a sort of pleasant trance.

Presently, after lying quietly for some minutes, I opened my eyes and

looked upwards. As I did so I made out a brilliant little dot, at the

extremity of this long, gigantic telescope.

It was a star without scintillating rays. According to my calculation,

it must be Beta in the constellation of the Little Bear.

After this little bit of astronomical recreation, I dropped into a sound

sleep.