*XVI.*
* * * * *
"Do not be appalled by our discovery," he continued; "it is as simpleand natural as that which proved the earth a sphere, when the wisdom ofthe ages had declared it flat. The old arguments against its rotunditywere quite as potent as any ever brought to refute the theory of ahollow globe, first advanced by Captain Symmes. How could the earth beround? Would not all the water run off on the underside? The thing wasabsurd. 'How could the world be hollow and habitable? Would not theinside be dark? and would not the water drop from the upper to the lowerhalf?' Why does not the moon drop? The land and water above us are sodistant, and so screened by the atmosphere as to be invisible even if wewere thousands of miles above our present position. The center ofgravity lies somewhere within the crust, which is probably nowhere morethan a hundred miles thick.
"The inner world is better in every way than the outer. The climate ismore uniform and temperate. The electrical conditions of the atmospheremore conducive to longevity and health, and the struggle for existencefar less than with us. Here are some of the arguments in favor of ahollow globe, which the so-called wise men have ignored. The uniformmigration of herrings to the south. Whence come they, if not from theinterior of the earth, for they are never known to return? Theassumption is that in search of their food supplies they constantlyadvance against an opposing current, which takes them through the earth,from pole to pole.
"Arctic explorers have observed in the long night of the polar regionsthat the north star rises to the zenith at a certain latitude, and thendeclines over the stern of their vessels as they advance furthernorthward, which is directly in contradiction to what it should do, hadthey not already reached the verge and begun to pass inward toward theinterior. This in itself should be a convincing fact. The AuroraBorealis has never been explained satisfactorily, but you and I know itsmeaning. Strange plants and birds unknown to our world have from timeto time been found upon our most northern shores. As I have alreadytold you, the reindeer of Spitzbergen are marked by the hand of man, butwhat man no one knows, as the island is uninhabited, and as they couldnot have come from the south, they must have crossed the ice from someundiscovered country to the north.
"Almost all of the civilized nations have from time to time expendedlarge sums of money in determining the figure of the earth. Arcs of themeridian have been measured again and again; and observations of thependulum, as well as weight experiments, have been made to determine theforce of terrestrial gravity in different localities. The result ofthese experiments has been to prove that the bulk of the earth, asdetermined by gravity, differs greatly from the result reached bymeasurement. This discrepancy has never been satisfactorily accountedfor, nor can it ever be, with the present view of the earth's interior,but with Symmes' theory of a hollow globe, as we know it, could beeasily explained. But I am coming to still more extraordinary data.
"In the early part of this century two human corpses were found incasedin on iceberg, which had presumably floated down from the eastern coastof Greenland. The bodies were perfectly preserved, and clothed ingarments entirely different, both in design and material, from thoseworn by the Esquimaux, or any known race of people. Beyond this, neitherthe form, shape of skull, or color of skin resembled that of anynationality with which we are familiar. Their discovery created quite asensation at the time, but as no clew was ever established to theiridentity, the circumstance was gradually forgotten. Might not these menhave been daring explorers, dwellers of the inner earth, and wanderingbeyond the possibility of return, been lost in the ice and so preserved,perhaps, for centuries?
"About twenty years ago, one Niack Dole, a Norwegian whaler, discoveredin a block of field ice, after a northerly gale of many days' duration,an extraordinary animal, differing from any which he or any of hiscompanions had ever seen before. The little creature was carried homeat the end of the voyage, and although thousands of men of experience,and travelers from many parts of the world, saw and examined it, it wasimpossible to class it with any known species.
"In the year 1855 four wild men were found by some sailors on the ice tothe north of Cape Tchelyieskin, in the Tamyr Peninsula, Siberia. Theycould give no account of themselves, as no one could understand theirlanguage. They were cared for, and visited by many people and afterwardsent to St. Petersburg where strangers from all parts of the world sawthem; but not a single individual was ever able to communicate with themexcept through the language of signs. They all died within two years oftheir discovery, and the only established fact concerning them seemed tobe that they came from somewhere across the frozen sea to the north,where they had always lived. In appearance these men were unlike any weknow. They understood each other perfectly, had a racial resemblance,were fairly intelligent, and would doubtless have mastered the languagespoken around them had they lived long enough.
"You may say that this is all very well to show that there is an unknowncontinent somewhere about the pole, but that it has no bearing on thehollow globe. But the arguments in favor of that I have already shownyou from an astronomical, geographical, meteorological and scientificpoint of view, and yet there is one more I wish to present, which in myopinion is profound and unanswerable.
"In the transit of Venus observations are taken at various points uponthe earth's surface. The path which Venus describes across the disk ofthe sun varies with the position of the observer, so also does the angleof her axis vary with that position. The projection of Venus againstthe sun occurs when she is at her inferior conjunction, and approachingeither node. The node is one of the points where the orbit of a planetintercepts the ecliptic, or the orbit of its primary. In this conditionthe body of Venus will appear as a dark spot crossing the disk of thesun. Now, in the last transit of Venus, two gentlemen of greatability--Herr Von Pultzner, and an American by the name of Breslyneobserved it from a point quite remote from all others. I will give youthe exact locality of their observation later, and the reason of theirchoosing it. I am not going to bother you with scientific terms, butwill merely say that when the dark body of Venus was interposed betweenthe earth and the sun, an extraordinary phenomenon presented itself tothese men--a phenomenon entirely different from that seen by any otherobserver. In the center of the planet was a brilliant point of light,around which the opaque substance of the star was visible. Von Pultznerand Breslyne examined this light carefully, and identified it withsunlight. To be concise, they perceived that they were looking directlythrough Venus at the sun. There was no disputing the fact--the lightwas analyzed and proved identical with sunlight, the same as that beyondthe dark circumference of the planet. These men--both of whom I know tobe intelligent and truthful--looked at each other in amazement.
"'We have made a most astounding discovery,' said one.
"'It is nothing less than that Venus has a hole through her center, frompole to pole,' answered the other.
"'Yes, and a thousand times more,' continued the first, 'for if Venus isa hollow sphere, all the planets are hollow.'
"This I know to be a fact, and yet, because unsupported by betterevidence--I mean the evidence of professional astronomers--the testimonyof these men was turned aside."
"And why should all the planets be hollow because Venus is hollow?" Iinquired.
"Because it is inconceivable that they were not brought into existenceand formed by the same law. An hypothesis which accounts for theformation of Mars or Venus upon one theory, and that of the earth uponanother, would never be countenanced by science. The solar system wasthe result of law, of unalterable and immutable law, working formanifestation. It could not produce a solid globe in the one instanceand a hollow sphere in the other. No--all the planets are hollow--theearth is a mere bubble floating in space. And now I want to ask if theevidence I had accumulated was not equal to that which fired Columbus?"
"Why did you not tell me all this before we started?" I inquired.
r /> "Because, being an average man, you would have discarded it, as othervery wise and average men have done before. You would have taken me fora fool, and left me in the lurch. But we are here at last, and my dreamis true. We now know that the earth is hollow, bright, and habitable."
I was dumfounded at the awful significance of our discovery. If I hadsuddenly found myself a visitor upon the planet Mars, through some newlydevised means of transportation, my bewilderment could have been nogreater. Not only was the evidence overwhelming that the earth washollow and open at the poles, but the fact had been established by thetestimony of our own senses.
We were in that world, and there could be no further speculationregarding its existence.
* * * * *
"Beyond all that I have told you," continued Torrence, "Arctic explorershave observed the crescent-shaped cloud which we saw above the northernhorizon, and which is simply the opposite side of the verge across thepolar opening. Few navigators venturing beyond the eighty-secondparallel have failed to observe this phenomenon."
* * * * *
"Now I have told you some of the most potent causes which influencedSymmes and others in the adoption of this belief; but there are otherreasons, quite as forceful, not necessary to enumerate at present, as weshould be on the lookout for wonders ahead."
Passing beyond the shores of the lake we entered a rolling country,watered by a broad river with numerous minor tributaries. The course ofthis stream proved the same as our own for quite a distance.
* * * * *
The small roofless houses were again observed, and we thought they werepossibly the huts of herders, as occasional glimpses of animals were tobe had in the distance.
* * * * *
Tracing the course of this river for more than a hundred miles weencountered a sight that thrilled us to the core of our beings.
* * * * *
Sailing on the quiet water below was a ship of unknown build. In themost romantic imagining of fairy tale this vessel could never have beensurpassed. Slightly resembling the Pinta and Santa Maria, she suggestedthem, but the likeness was not sustained on closer examination. She wasof greater beam and depth, and of loftier bow and stern. Her prow roseto unusual height, receding gracefully, and again projecting outward ina superb figurehead in the form of a swan, whose beak was gilded, andwhose head and neck were set with jewels in laminated gold.
* * * * *
The masts were short, two in number, and placed upon each side of thedeck, instead of down the center as with us. Stretched horizontallyacross from mast to mast was a sail of many colors. It possessed asheen transcending that of the finest silk and was stripedperpendicularly. The masts were gilded and set with jewels. Wherever welooked the ornamentation was extreme and extended to every detail.Colored sparks flashed from remote and unexpected corners, wheregem-like stones were set, and the vessel glowed and burned and blazedwith creeping fires as of scintillating phosphorescence of green,yellow, red and gold.
But this was not all. There were living creatures upon the deck clothedin the soft undulations of watered silk. No Eastern potentate, ordenizen of Aladdin's palace, was ever half so gorgeously attired, as thepassengers aboard this extraordinary craft. The flash of powdered micaon cloaks of transparent fineness produced the impression of liquidglass. The headgear was high, and terminated in a point like acornucopia, and ornamented with odd designs, fore and aft, in preciousstones. Some in green, like emeralds, others blue, like sapphires;while what appeared to be rubies, diamonds, and gold flashed among themin dazzling profusion. On no theatrical stage had I ever seen such asight, and we hovered low to take in the singular scene.
Naturally, we caused great excitement among those on board, who pointedup at us, shouting in a tongue unlike any we had ever heard. One oldman who had a long, gray beard plaited in three strands, each strandheld together by half a dozen jeweled rings, seemed particularly anxiousto communicate with us, and made signals for us to descend. ButTorrence thought it safest to remain above, and so we simply looked downupon them from an elevation of about sixty feet, adjusting our speed tothat of their vessel. We realized more than ever that we had enteredanother world, for a more strangely fantastic scene was impossible toimagine. The wildest consternation reigned on board while we remainedin sight, and Torrence waved a white cloth, and made signals to showthat we were friendly. We embraced one another, and extended our armstoward them as an indication of brotherly love, and we had to convincethem with some difficulty that the air ship was not alive. It wasevident that they did not understand flying machines in the new world.
We hovered above this strange vessel for more than an hour, exchangingsignals, and endeavoring to communicate; but, finding it quite asimpossible to impart information, as to acquire it, we waved them afarewell, took a snapshot with the kodak, and lifting ourselves highabove, swept onward upon our journey.
The mysterious craft was soon out of sight, and we hurried forward,following the sinuosities of the river, about a hundred and fifty feetabove its surface. As we sat looking out upon its beautiful shores, andthe exquisite country beyond, meditating upon the marvels that hadbefallen us, I almost doubted my bodily existence. The revelation hadbeen too profound and stupendous to be credited in so short a time.
"Is this thing real, or is it a vision of death?" I inquired, turning onmy brother suddenly.
"I am not surprised at your asking," he replied; "I have been afraid totell you the truth of our discovery before, although I have known it andbelieved in it for years. Merrick's story only confirmed me in my ownviews."
"And have you never felt a doubt as to the result of the enterprise?"
"Scarcely; the arguments were too strong in favor of the hollow globefor me to have any serious misgiving. But long before I spoke to you Iwas absolutely convinced. By the distance we had traveled. By thegenial climate. By the strange light. By the crescent cloud. By theabsence of recurring cold, and by the accumulated knowledge alreadymentioned. My dear boy, I fully appreciate what a shock this must be toyou--even greater than it is to me, and for the reason that I havestudied the question and believed in it half my life. For fifteen yearsI have been convinced that if I could ever find a way across thePalaeocrystic Sea I should be able to sail without difficulty into theinterior of the earth. There is really nothing more stupendous in thisacquisition to our knowledge than was that of the spherical globe to theancients. When a race of people has been bred for thousands of years tobelieve that the world they inhabit is flat, it must seem wildly absurdto be suddenly confronted with a theory which advances the possibilityof their being able to walk upon the under side of it. Think of such astatement being made to sensible men!"
"And how do you account for the fact that these people have never foundtheir way into the outer world?" I asked.
"For the same reason that we have never found our way into theirs,"replied Torrence. "The difficulties of crossing the ice belt are verynearly insurmountable; and yet that they are not quite so we have seenin the case of Jan von Broekhuysen and his two companions. Neither is itby any means certain that dwellers of this inner region have neverreached us. Remember the wild men discovered off Cape Tchelyieskin.Where did they come from? Beyond this there are isolated cases ofcommunities that point to unknown regions in the far north, as well asthe far south, as their hailing place. These have traditions of havingonce inhabited a land of more genial climate, and affording betterconditions for the human race than ours, and moreover, a land where daywas eternal! True, it may not be once in thousands of years that theice barrier has been threaded, but what is more to the point, it isprobable that those who have crossed it did not know it. The change isso gradual, the mind so fixed in its normal conception of the earth'scharacter, that only
a few eccentric, or peculiarly educated persons,among the very few who may have accomplished the feat, ever suspectedit. There was a time in the world's history when one might havecircumnavigated the earth without a suspicion that he had done so."
We now took our meals invariably on deck, not wishing to miss any of thestrange and beautiful scenery constantly passing. On one occasion,while preparing some food in the galley, I was struck by what appearedto be a secret panel in the wall. Asking Torrence about it, he said:
"Push it up one inch, and then down two. Then if you press it gentlyinward it will slide open of itself."
I did so, and found that the aperture contained ten small canvas bags,in each of which, as Torrence told me, were a thousand Englishsovereigns.
"And what on earth have you brought this amount of coin here for?" Iinquired in amazement.
Torrence simply said:
"Because I thought we might need it before we got home again. Goldtalks, you know, and we may be able to communicate with these peoplethrough its medium. Gold is current throughout our world, and I wantedto see if it were good here. If it is valuable we may not expect tofind any very abnormal deposits; if not, look out for a bonanza,provided the air ship holds together, so that we can carry it out withus. I have my theory about it."
"And what is that?" I asked.
"Why simply that our little stock of sovereigns won't buy bread enoughfor a square meal!" he answered.