第5章 Chapter II.(2)

"One of the first things will be to take us down to the bottom of this lake where we saw them awhile ago, and I don't fancy it at all; what if this blasted glass-case should burst? We may have dropped into a den of outlaws on a gigantic scale, and it may be necessary to put us out of the way to keep our mouths closed.""I am hungry, and am going to eat," said the American, drawing a cushioned stool up to the table. "Here goes for some of the wine;remember, it is a sort of breath-restorer. I am curious enough not to want to collapse till I have seen this thing through. He said something about a palace and a king. Where can we be going?""Down into the centre of the earth, possibly," and the handsome Englishman moved a stool to the table and took the glass of green-colored wine that Johnston pushed toward him. "Some scientists hold that the earth is filled with water instead of fire. Who knows where this blamed thing may not take us? Here is to a safe return from the amphibious land!"Both drank their wine simultaneously, lowered their glasses at the same instant, and gazed into each other's eyes.

"Did you ever taste such liquor?" asked Thorndyke, "it seems to run like streams of fire through every vein I have."Johnston shook his head mutely, and held the sparkling effervescing fluid between him and the light.

"Ugh! take it down," cried the Englishman, "it throws a green color on your face that makes you look like a corpse."Johnston clinked the glass against that of his companion and they drained the glasses. "Hush, what was that?" asked Thorndyke.

There was a sound like boiling water outside and as if air were being pumped out of some receptacle, and the vessel began to move up and down in a lithe sort of fashion and to bend tortuously from side to side like a great sluggish fish. Through the partitions of glass they saw one of the men closing the door, and in a moment the vessel glided away from the shore. The men all sank into easy positions on the couches, and delightful music as soft as an Aeolian lyre seemed to be breathed from the walls and floor. Then the music seemed to die away and a bell down in the vessel's hull rang.

"We are in the middle of the lake," said Thorndyke, looking through the glass toward the black cliffy shore; "the next thing will be our descent. I wonder----"But he was unable to proceed, and Johnston noticed in alarm that his eyes were slightly protruding from their sockets. The air seemed suddenly to become more com- pact as if compressed, and the water was set into such violent commotion that it was dashed against the glass sides in billows as white as snow. Then Johnston found that he could not breathe freely, and he understood the trouble of the Englishman.

Captain Tradmos came suddenly to the door. He was smiling as he motioned toward the wines on the table.

"You had better drink more of the wine," he advised sententiously.

Both of the captives rushed to the table. The instant they had swallowed the wine they felt relieved, but were still weak.

The captain bowed and went away. Thorndyke's hand trembled as he refilled his friend's glass. I thought I was gone up," he said, "I never had such a choky sensation in my life; you are still purple in the face.""Eat of what is before you," said the captain, looking in at the door; "you cannot stand the increasing pressure unless you do."They needed no second invitation, for they were half-famished.

The fish and meat were delicious, and the bread was delightfully sweet.

"Look outside!" cried Johnston. The water was now still, but it was gradually rising up the sides of the boat, and in a moment it had closed over the crystal roof. Both of the captives were conscious of a heavy sensation in the head and a dull roaring in the ears. Down they went, at first slowly and then more rapidly, till it seemed to them that they had descended over a thousand feet. Great monsters like whales swam to the vessel, as if attracted by the lights, and their massive bodies jarred against the glass walls as they turned to swim away. They sank about five hundred feet lower; and all at once the lights went out, and the boat gradually stopped.

It was at once so dark that the two captives could not see each other, though only the width of the table separated them.

Everything was profoundly still; not a sound came from the men in the other rooms. Presently Thorndyke whispered, "Look, do you see that red light overhead?""Yes," said Johnston, "it looks like a star.""It is our bonfire," said Thorndyke, "that's what betrayed us."Again the vessel began to sink, and more rapidly than ever;indeed, as Thorndyke expressed it, he had the cool feeling that nervous people experience in going down quickly in an elevator.

"If we go any lower," he added, as the great rubber hull seemed to struggle like some living monster, "the sides of this thing will collapse like an egg-shell and we will be as flat as pancakes.""You need not fear, we have much lower to go!" It was the captain's voice, but they could not tell from whence it came. Then they heard again the seductive music, and it was so soothing that they soon fell asleep.

They had no idea how long they had slept, but they were awakened by the ringing of a bell and felt the vessel was coming to a stop. They were still far beneath the surface; indeed, the boat was resting on the bottom, for in the light of two or three powerful search-lights they saw a wide succession of submerged hills, vales, and rugged cliffs. Before them was a great mountain-side and in it they saw the mouth of a dark tunnel. They had scarcely noticed it before the vessel rose a little and glided toward the tunnel and entered it. Through the glass walls they could see that it was narrow, and that the ragged sides and roof were barely far enough apart to admit them.

Suddenly one of the men came in and drew a curtain down behind them, and, with a vexed look on his face retired.

When he was gone Johnston put his lips close to Thorndyke's ear and whispered:

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"