The Secret of the Earth

  *XV.*

  Immediately on landing we made another careful examination of the airship, and to our intense satisfaction found that she was still inperfect condition. We had come a long journey, and thoroughly testedher powers in varied temperatures and atmospheric conditions, but thedistance was as nothing to what was to come.

  As we stood on this brilliant beach and looked back at the southern skyI observed that the disk of blue light was a little smaller, and a verylittle higher in the heavens. Still there was no sun, but this greatcircular shield was a focus for the dissemination of light upon everyside. I stood marveling at it until Torrence called me. He wasexamining the crimson shells a little higher up the shore.

  "Come," he said, "and look at these!"

  I walked over to where he was.

  The shore was literally covered with pink mollusks, a large percentageof which contained true pearls of extraordinary size and beauty.Torrence was pounding them open with a couple of stones.

  "Within a hundred yards of this spot," he said, "lies a fortune greaterthan the combined wealth of the Rothschilds. In the pearl fisheries ofthe old world not one shell in a thousand contains a pearl of any value.But here, in these strangely colored mollusks, ninety per cent. enclosegems of extraordinary merit."

  He held one up for my inspection.

  "Here," he said, "is one which I have opened at random. It is of thefirst water; of perfect skin and orient; the most delicate texture, andwithout speck or flaw, and is worth at the lowest estimate one hundredpounds. Without going a dozen steps we can find ten times that value.Some of these pearls are pink, and from what I have seen and heard ofthem, I do not think they will ever fade----"

  "From what you have heard?" I interrupted; "what do you mean?"

  "My dear fellow, the shores of this continent are strewn with theseshells for hundreds of miles at a stretch, as its mountains are filledwith gold and diamonds. Do you not know that Merrick had the value ofmillions in them. It was from him that I heard of them, and from himthat I bought millions of pounds worth."

  "Bought!" I exclaimed in astonishment.

  "Yes, bought!"

  "And with what pray?"

  "With a promise," said Torrence "Money was of no use to him, but fame hevalued. As you know, he and Niles escaped from Von Broekhuysen Island.Niles was lost, while Merrick alone reached the world we are now in.How he got there, or what his adventures are, it is not necessary torelate; but he did it, and I now know that he found land much nearer theisland than we have--but that is unimportant. How he reached his homeagain is even still more wonderful, and a volume might be written aboutthe man's terrible sufferings and adventures; but his life wasembittered by the incredulity, the cold skepticism, and indifferencewith which he was greeted on every hand, by those who were too bigotedand ignorant to heed his story, or even investigate the proofs of thenew world, which he brought with him. The geographical societies of adozen cities either listened to him as they would to the ravings of amadman, or turned a deaf ear with scorn. And this treatment he receivedwherever he went, and at the hands of organizations termed scientific,whose plain duty was to listen to the words and test the affidavits ofthe applicant. But the nature of Merrick's claims was so astoundingthat no one, high or low, would heed him, and yet he only discoveredthat which I have always believed in. I, alone, of all the world, gavethe fellow proper audience. I saw at once his claim to credence. Ipromised what he demanded in exchange for his wealth--notoriety. He sawthat with the air ship I should be able to prove all that he had eversaid, and that I could make his name great among coming generations. Hesaw that I could upset the position of the wiseacres who had refused tohear him, and make them the butt of their fellows. All this I promisedto do, if able, and in exchange for that promise he gave me the fewmillions in pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones he had broughtwith him as proofs of his discovery. Gurthrie, have you not yet guessedthe nature of that discovery?"

  "I should hope so," I answered.

  "And what is it?"

  "That the North Pole has a continent around it which is blessed with atemperate climate."

  "And is that all?"

  "That the sky has a luminous disk as big as a cart wheel, that takes theplace of the sun!"

  "Nothing more?"

  "That the electrical condition of the atmosphere is highly beneficial tothe nerves."

  "Go on!" said Torrence impatiently.

  "That pearls and precious stones are as common as dirt!"

  "Tell me what else he discovered," exclaimed Torrence, "and be quickabout it!"

  "Not being Mr. Merrick, I'm sure I don't know," I answered.

  "Don't know!" roared Torrence, "do you mean to tell me that you don'tknow where you are?"

  "Somewhere about the role I suppose. I might say ninety degrees north."

  My brother looked at me with a singular expression of pity, and thenstooping down resumed his work of opening shells with an indifferencethat exasperated me.

  "Where in Heaven's name are we then?" I shouted.

  "No matter just now," he answered. "I thought perhaps you would haveguessed. I don't want to shock you. Perhaps the truth will dawn on youlater; if not I will tell you. Meanwhile, let us gather a few bushelsof these pearls. They are of no value here, but they will be if we evergo home again."

  And so we set to work under the shadow of those awful cliffs, and in acouple of hours had secured unestimated value in the most perfectspecimens conceivable. We packed these away in the air ship in a smallsack, and then Torrence proposed that we name the stupendous headlandbefore us "Mount Horror."

  I agreed that it would be an excellent name, well adapted to ourfeelings on approaching it, and descriptive of the gloom and phenomenalaspect of the mountain itself. The one on the opposite side of thechannel he suggested we call "Mount Gurthrie," to which I also assented,and entered the names in our chart of discoveries.

  It was upon this desolate shore that we cooked our first ration of bearmeat, brought all the way from Spitzbergen.

  Climbing into the hill beyond the beach among the sand and rocks, wefound a quantity of dried seaweed, which we carried down to the shorefor a fire. It burned with a crackling noise and pungent smell, sopleasant that we decided to carry some of it away with us, filling somebags, and throwing them on board before leaving. We had quite a picnicover our bear steak and coffee, although it was impossible to divestourselves of a certain gloom, resulting from the lowering heights above.The air was still, and only the tiniest ripple of a surf came rolling inupon our rosy beach, and the stillness, the cessation of motion, and ourextraordinary situation, made me for the first time long for home.

  A bird of an unknown species came flying toward us from over the water.Its plumage was brilliant with trailing feathers of red, green, andyellow; while upon its head was a topknot of the same colors. Torrencethought he should like to have it and so fetched his gun. The birdcircled above, full of curiosity. Perhaps we were the first humanbeings it had ever seen. Descending spirally it came at last withineasy range, but we had not the heart to kill it. Then, apparentlysatisfied with its investigation, commenced an upward course, circlingaway again, just as it had come; only this time aiming its spiralstoward the top of the cliff, until lost to view. Torrence thendischarged the gun in the air to hear the reverberation from the rocks.The sound was impressive, coming back to us like thunder from theheights. It was probably the first time a gun had ever been dischargedin this desolate quarter of the globe, and I was glad it was not in thedestruction of life.

  When the smoke had cleared away and the echoes ceased, we were attractedby a whirring sound above, and looking up saw thousands of pigeons whichour shot had frightened from their nests. We watched them while theyskurried about in dismay, until, finding that no harm had been done,they settled back among the rocks again.

  * * * * *

  We had made a hearty meal an
d were beginning to think of going whenTorrence suggested that we ascend the face of Mount Horror in the airship instead of taking our way up the channel, or following theprecipitous and rugged shore line for another exit. I reminded him thatit would probably be cold at such an elevation, but agreed that it wouldafford a magnificent view of the country. Besides, we wanted to inspectthe crater, feeling sure the mountain was an extinct volcano, and sodetermined to ascend to the highest elevation first, and then continueour journey northward over the country beyond, or through the channelwhich offered a clear passage in the direction of our course. Thischasm through which the river ran was sublime and terrible. A rent inthat stupendous rock formation which seemed to dwarf and threaten thevery foundations of the earth on which it rested. We could but regardit with feelings of awe. An overpowering desire to escape its depressinginfluence possessed us.

  Safely aboard the air ship we began ascending the wall as if passengersin a huge elevator, which in fact we were. Again the birds flew out,terrified at our approach, some falling dead from sheer fright, a few ofwhich we secured on deck. Hugging this terrible escarpment we wereenabled to examine its formation with accuracy. Large blocks ofsyenitic granite hung loose, ready to drop at any minute and we saw howfor ages the cliff had been slowly disintegrating, and receding from thesea by action of storm and catyclism. Lightning had also played itspart, and its handwriting was visible on every side. Ledges largeenough to hold a house were loaded with nests and eggs of every colorand size. We consulted about the feasibility of capturing some ofthese, by halting and climbing out after them, but concluded to let themgo, as the danger was too great. It involved not only the risk inscrambling from the vessel to the ledge, but the additional chance ofbeing smashed by a falling rock from above. Of course in our ascent wewere careful to keep far enough away to obviate that possibility.

  When we had risen clear above Mount Horror we looked down into thefearful chasm that separated us from Mount Gurthrie. It was a sightnever to be forgotten. To the south lay the unspotted ocean; but to thenorth the land sloped away rapidly, and beyond the highest elevationswhich, in themselves, were mountains of no mean height, but so far belowas to seem trivial; beyond these, I say as far as the eye could reach,extended a beautiful country, with rivers, valleys, lakes and hills,with forest, plain, and mountain. The panorama was entrancing, and theeffect on us profound.

  Hovering over the crater, which we found just as we expected, we lookeddown into a black abyss, so vast and awful, that we had no inclinationto investigate it, although it was large enough for us to have descendedbodily with the air ship. There was no smoke, nor were any sulphurousfumes emitted. Evidently the volcano had been extinct for ages; and wepassed rapidly on upon our north bound course, glad enough to have dryland under us once again, and to descend to a lower and warmer level.We were soon down among the foothills, and traversing a well timberedcountry, rising from time to time to clear the elevations encountered.The panorama that now stretched away before us was one of ravishingbeauty, and we took our places on deck with lighted cigars to enjoy it.I suggested that we name the new land "Torrenzia," but Torrence onlydeclared that while people might call it what they pleased, the creditof the new world must go to the man who had first seen it.

  "You seem to think there is only one scrap of a continent here," hesaid, "and Torrenzia may do well enough for one; but remember it is anew world we have entered; and if I am not greatly mistaken we shallfind it studded with civilizations equal to any we know. Certainly youare dense, Gurthrie, and stupid to a degree, not to have guessed by thistime where we are!"

  I did not answer; in fact I was provoked that he should be so secretivewith the information he possessed. I confessed to my bewilderment atwhat we saw but was still in the dark as to the truth.

  We now ran rapidly forward over a picturesque country, and through anatmosphere not only temperate but exhilarating. About a hundred milesinland the timber and water courses were less prolific, and fifty milesfarther we merged upon a great, treeless plain, covered with shorttussocky grass, sand, and rocks. At intervals were to be seen the bonesof animals bleaching where they had fallen, the entire skeletons beinggenerally intact. More than once we descended to the ground to examinethem, but could not decide whether they were buffalo or some othercreature. What surprised us most was the fact that there appeared to beno living ones. But we did not waste our time upon this arid plain,fearing to run short of water, and being particularly anxious todiscover if our new world was inhabited. As we sat on deck smoking ourcigars, rushing into the gentle breeze ahead, we felt like monarchs, orrather god-like creatures, who owned and ruled a world from above.

  We had little time for sleep, our excitement being intense, and theshort intervals we spared for an occasional nap, were taken alternately,the one remaining on deck promising the other to wake him as soon asanything of special interest occurred. I had just come above after oneof these short siestas and joining my brother observed him looking withunusual interest through the glass at something below.

  "What is it now?" I called, leaning over the rail.

  At a glance I saw that the nature of the country had changed. No moreskeletons; no more sand and rocks, or arid desert, but a great sheet ofwater lay to our right, while below and beyond were trees and fields,which looked as if they were cultivated; and here and there, atintervals of a mile or two, were undoubtedly the walls of humanhabitations. I do not say they were houses, for houses have roofs,whereas these edifices were roofless.

  "I am sure I have discovered houses," said Torrence; "and I am trying tosee if there are any people!"

  I took the glass from his hand.

  "There is no doubt about it," I exclaimed; "and what is more, they donot appear to be ruins, but houses in perfect repair, judging from theirsimilarity and the condition of the grounds around them. But what kindof climate must these people enjoy to require no roofs? Certainly it cannever rain!"

  "Nor snow!" he added with a smile.

  "What made you think of snow?"

  "I thought, perhaps, you were thinking of it," he replied.

  "Why?"

  "Because you said it was high time we were in the ice belt again!"

  I started.

  "And how far have we come?" I asked.

  "From where?"

  He looked carefully at his register and made a calculation. He thensaid:

  "We are now one thousand three hundred and eighty miles from VonBroekhuysen's Island, and about one thousand one hundred and thirtymiles north of the North Pole--if you can imagine such a thing--I meanthat we have advanced upon a straight line for this distance; and as yousee, we have met neither ice, snow, nor cold weather yet!"

  I looked above. The great disk of light was still bright in theheavens; I thought a little nearer the zenith than before. Unless therehad been some gross miscalculation in our speed we had got to face aphysical problem of the most stupendous nature. A problem so appallingthat I began to dread the explanation as much as I had recently soughtit.

  "Yes," I answered in a weak voice, "there is certainly neither ice norsnow here!"

  "Nor cold!" added Torrence.

  "Nor cold!" I admitted.

  "Nor undue heat!" he continued.

  "Certainly not. The temperature has been perfect."

  "And the air has a vitality unknown to us in the old world," he pursued.

  "I grant every word you say. This may be a dream, but it is aparadise!"

  "It is not a dream!" cried Torrence; "it is another world; a worldwithin our own. Yonder disk of light in the sky is the opening at thepole through which we have sailed. The earth is a hollow globe, with anopening at each pole, through which the sunlight always enters. For sixmonths it comes through the northern opening, and for six months throughthe southern. But the change is gradual. With the advent of thesouthern day, the disk is in the south, fading imperceptibly as thenorthern light supplants it, and _vice versa_. The great auroraborealis which il
lumines the Arctic regions of our world is simply thesunlight pouring through from the southern hemisphere, or the lightwhich enters the earth at the South Pole, discharging itself at thenorth. For ages our world was believed to be flat; but time and studyproved the fallacy. In the days of Hipparchus and Ptolemy, and forcenturies after it was believed that the sun revolved around the earth;what a stupendous change in man's knowledge when the opposite was foundto be the case. From the days of Columbus to our own--with a fewnotable exceptions--the world was supposed to be filled with amass ofmolten material; but within recent years facts observed in the boilingof water have compelled men to abandon that theory and substitute thatof a world solid to the core. One by one the theories which have stoodon the bed rock of science and been held as irrefutable by the wisdom ofthe age, have crumbled to pieces, and been supplanted by others; and nowthe faith in a solid earth is to be shattered, for you and I know thatit is hollow--light and inhabited. But let us see what small beginningsled to the change in men's views in the past, and observe how similarthey are to those operating now----"

  "What!" I interrupted, "do you mean to say that we have sailed throughan opening at the pole, and are now in the interior of the earth?"

  "That is exactly it," answered Torrence.

  "I can't comprehend such a thing. What is the diameter of this opening;and where is the North Pole?"

  "The North Pole has no existence except as an imaginary point in space,at least five hundred miles from the surface of the earth. The openingsat the so-called poles are more than a thousand miles in diameter,admitting the light of the sun and holding it with a denser and morehighly electrified atmosphere than our own, making perpetual daylight,for, as I have told you, when the sun crosses the line, its light isderived through the opening at the opposite pole. The frozen beltsurrounding each of these openings mark the regions of the verge, andthe distance across this ring is about fifteen hundred miles.

  "But the polar regions are declared to be slightly flattened."

  "That is because men have penetrated far enough into the verge to markthe change in the earth's convexity, but not far enough to perceive thatthey had actually begun to enter the sphere itself. But I am coming tothat presently. I wish to show you why certain men, in advance of theirtime, have believed that the earth was a hollow globe, luminous anddesirable for man's abode, as we now know it to be; and how, as in someof the greatest discoveries of the past these views have been based onthe study of facts as we find them, and not upon theories, which distortfacts to maintain themselves. About the year 1470, a Portuguese sailorby the name of Vicente found a piece of curiously carved wood more thana thousand miles to the west of Algarve, a province of southernPortugal. This relic was discovered after a westerly gale of longduration. It set the fellow thinking. It also set Christopher Columbusthinking. Another mariner, by the name of Correa had observed certainflotsam and jetsam under similar circumstances, and was impressed by thefact. Then there was the belief in the mysterious islands of St.Brandam; and nearly 8 thousand miles west of the Canaries was supposedto be the lost island of the Seven Cities, upon which theme you rememberIrving's charming story, 'The Adalantado of the Seven Cities.' Theseand a few other facts led Columbus to stake his life and fortune insailing into the unknown West for the new world. I now want to show yousome of the reasons for believing in a hollow, habitable globe, and toask if they are not equally as strong as those which guided Columbus."

  I was astounded, dazed, and stood trembling by the taffrail, whileTorrence proceeded.