CHAPTER XXI.
MY WEIGHT DISAPPEARING.
We halted suddenly, for we came unexpectedly to the edge of a precipice,twenty feet at least in depth.
"Let us jump down," said my guide.
"That would be dangerous," I answered; "can not we descend at some pointwhere it is not so deep?"
"No; the chasm stretches for miles across our path, and at this point wewill meet with the least difficulty; besides, there is no danger. Thespecific gravity of our bodies is now so little that we could jump twicethat distance with impunity."
"I can not comprehend you; we are in the flesh, our bodies are possessedof weight, the concussion will be violent."
"You reason again from the condition of your former life, and, as usual,are mistaken; there will be little shock, for, as I have said, ourbodies are comparatively light now. Have you forgotten that your motionis continuously accelerated, and that without perceptible exertion youmove rapidly? This is partly because of the loss of weight. Your weightwould now be only about fifty pounds if tested by a spring balance."
I stood incredulous.
"You trifle with me; I weigh over one hundred and fifty pounds; how haveI lost weight? It is true that I have noticed the ease with which wehave recently progressed on our journey, especially the latter part ofit, but I attribute this, in part, to the fact that our course is downan incline, and also to the vitalizing power of this cavern air."
"This explains part of the matter," he said; "it answered at the time,and I stated a fact; but were it not that you are really consuming acomparatively small amount of energy, you would long before this havebeen completely exhausted. You have been gaining strength for somehours; have really been growing younger. Your wrinkled face has becomemore smooth, and your voice is again natural. You were prematurely agedby your brothers on the surface of the earth, in order that when youpass the line of gravity, you might be vigorous and enjoying manhoodagain. Had this aging process not been accomplished you would now havebecome as a child in many respects."
"I BOUNDED UPWARD FULLY SIX FEET."]
He halted before me. "Jump up," he said. I promptly obeyed theunexpected command, and sprung upward with sufficient force to carry me,as I supposed, six inches from the earth; however I bounded upward fullysix feet. My look of surprise as I gently alighted, for there was noconcussion on my return, seemed lost on my guide, and he quietly said:
"If you can leap six feet upward without excessive exertion, or returnshock, can not you jump twenty feet down? Look!"
"I FLUTTERED TO THE EARTH AS A LEAF WOULD FALL."]
And he leaped lightly over the precipice and stood unharmed on the stonyfloor below.
Even then I hesitated, observing which, he cried:
"Hang by your hands from the edge then, and drop."
I did so, and the fourteen feet of fall seemed to affect me as though Ihad become as light as cork. I fluttered to the earth as a leaf wouldfall, and leaned against the precipice in surprised meditation.
"Others have been through your experience," he remarked, "and Itherefore can overlook your incredulity; but experiences such as you nowmeet, remove distrust. Doing is believing." He smiled benignantly.
"WE LEAPED OVER GREAT INEQUALITIES."]
I pondered, revolving in my mind the fact that persons had in mentalabstraction, passed through unusual experiences in ignorance ofconditions about them, until their attention had been called to the seenand yet unnoticed surroundings, and they had then beheld the factsplainly. The puzzle picture (see p. 129) stares the eye and impressesthe retina, but is devoid of character until the hidden form isdeveloped in the mind, and then that form is always prominent to theeye. My remarkably light step, now that my attention had been directedthereto, was constantly in my mind, and I found myself suddenlypossessed of the strength of a man, but with the weight of an infant. Iraised my feet without an effort; they seemed destitute of weight; Ileaped about, tumbled, and rolled over and over on the smooth stonefloor without injury. It appeared that I had become the airy similitudeof my former self, my material substance having wasted away without acorresponding impairment of strength.I pinched my flesh to be assuredthat all was not a dream, and then endeavored to convince myself that Iwas the victim of delirium; but in vain. Too sternly my self-existenceconfronted me as a reality, a cruel reality. A species of intoxicationpossessed me once more, and I now hoped for the end, whatever it mightbe. We resumed our journey, and rushed on with increasing rapidity,galloping hand in hand, down, down, ever downward into the illuminatedcrevice of the earth. The spectral light by which we were aureoledincreased in intensity, as by arithmetical progression, and I could nowdistinguish objects at a considerable distance before us. My spiritsrose as if I were under the influence of a potent stimulant; aliveliness that was the opposite of my recent despondency had gainedcontrol, and I was again possessed of a delicious mental sensation, towhich I can only refer as a most rapturous exhilaration. My guidegrasped my hand firmly, and his touch, instead of revolting me asformerly it had done, gave pleasure. We together leaped over greatinequalities in the floor, performing these aerial feats almost aseasily as a bird flies. Indeed, I felt that I possessed the power offlight, for we bounded fearlessly down great declivities and overabysses that were often perpendicular, and many times our height. A veryslight muscular exertion was sufficient to carry us rods of distance,and almost tiptoeing we skimmed with ever-increasing speed down thesteeps of that unknown declivity. At length my guide held back; wegradually lessened our velocity, and, after a time, rested beside ahorizontal substance that lay before us, apparently a sheet of glass,rigid, immovable, immeasurably great, that stretched as a level surfacebefore us, vividly distinct in the brightness of an earth light, thatnow proved to be superior to sunshine. Far as the eye could reach, theglassy barrier to our further progress spread as a crystal mirror infront, and vanishing in the distance, shut off the beyond.
"FAR AS THE EYE COULD REACH THE GLASSY BARRIERSPREAD AS A CRYSTAL MIRROR."]
INTERLUDE.--THE STORY AGAIN INTERRUPTED.