*XIX.*
Before turning our backs for the last time upon this splendid monumentof an unknown civilization, an incident occurred which is worthy ofrecord.
As Tuzu was about to descend the gangplank--a stout, manila ropeprovided for that purpose--Torrence asked leave to examine themagnificent necklace he wore. The fellow appeared pleased, and when mybrother, who is an excellent judge of precious stones, expressed hisconviction that they were gems of rare merit, he insisted upon ouraccepting them, together with other decorations. This, of course, wewould not do, but the man threw the jewels at our feet, and could not bepersuaded to touch them again. The metallic ornaments upon his wristsand the girdle he would not part with. It was evident that the stoneswere not valued as with us, and that the blessing we had bestowed uponthe city was considered sufficient remuneration for them. Tuzu thenlooked over the rail and said something to the citizens below, and in aminute a shower of jeweled ornaments began pouring in upon us, in thewildest profusion. The deck became covered with precious stones of suchmagnificence that their aggregate value could hardly be estimated. Iwould not like to say what amount of wealth was thus heaped upon us, asthe most conservative estimate would sound wild and extravagant, but itwas something fabulous. The air was thick with bracelets, neckbands,anklets, belts, earrings. They fell upon the vessel in heaps, in piles;they caught upon every projection, until the trembling of the air shipin rising shook some of them loose, and we began to ascend beyond theirreach. This shower of wealth had probably not lasted more than tenminutes, but during that time we accumulated inestimable treasure, andstones of every color and size. It was a dazzling sight, but when Ireflected that these were not a tithe of the wealth of the city, mybrain fairly swam at the thought.
"After all," said Torrence, "it is simply the inversion of values; forwhat could be more beautiful than some of our Rhinestones, or even thansome of our colored glass? No emerald is really as beautiful as a trueRhine crystal, but it is more rare, hence its value. The conditionshere favor the formations that are most discouraged with us; why thisshould be is very evident, on the theory of inverted molecular action.The grinding and cooling of the earth's crust resulted in certainproducts upon the outer surface, and in others upon the inner. I havealways believed we should find exactly this state of things here, andshould really have been surprised if the results of creation had beensimilar in kind and quantity upon both surfaces. No doubt with littleeffort we could find diamond mines that would entirely destroy theirvalue with us."
"Shall we get Tuzu to show us where they are?" I replied, feeling as ifthe gardens of Hesperides must be within our reach.
"I think not," he answered reflectively. "We have already more treasurethan we can conveniently carry. I would rather spend the time in asuperficial inspection of our new dominion than in digging wealth out ofa hole which cannot be transported. If we should ever return it will betime enough to look up the mines, but where their product is so easilyobtained as from these people, it seems hardly worth while to work for.However, if you wish it, we will go on a mining tour, and stake ourclaims, though I am sure no one will ever dispute them."
I agreed with him that we would better pursue our journey, as vastdistances were to be traversed ere we could form the most indifferentconception of what awaited us in the continents, oceans, civilizationsand cities. As yet we had only seen one little corner. We must makeour way as rapidly as possible, and be content, for the present, with abird's-eye view. And so, having retreated to a short distance from thegate, we lowered Tuzu to the ground.
When fairly upon our way again we sacked up about fifteen bushels ofjewels, which in addition to the gold, made us very short of room.Indeed, our saloon was so crowded that we went stumbling about over bagsof treasure, like the miser of Benadin.
Torrence now put on high speed and we swept over the country at the rateof forty miles an hour. We soon passed the noisy crowd returning to thecity, with jangling bells and flowing mane, and they sent up a shout aswe flew over their heads that spoke of good humor and generalsatisfaction. We had lost some valuable time, but were in a fair way tomake it up, and looked forward to the great unknown with a keenerinterest than ever.
"How far do you propose to penetrate into the new world?" I inquired, aswe sat on deck smoking our cigars through the rushing air.
"All the way," he answered.
"You must remember it will take us as long to return as it does to go,"I replied.
"Return!" he exclaimed with surprise; "surely you don't expect toreturn."
"Rather! Do you intend to live here always?"
"Not at all," said Torrence; "I expect to go out through the opening atthe South Pole!"
This was a new idea to me; but suddenly a thought struck me with horror.
"Do you not know it will be the depth of winter, and dark as Erebus whenwe get there?" I exclaimed.
"I admit that it will be both dark and cold," he replied, "although notquite the depth of winter, if we maintain anything approaching ourpresent rate of speed. You must remember we shall have left the shortestday--June 21st--behind us."
"At best it will be but a matter of a few weeks, and I still claim thatit will be the depth of winter."
"Practically," said Torrence, "it will."
He spoke with as much indifference as if he were merely going to walkdown the street.
"We shall be frozen corpses if you attempt such a thing, and I must begyou to give up an idea so thoroughly impracticable."
"It is not impracticable, Gurt," he answered seriously; "do you not knowthat we are prepared for all kinds of weather? We can shut up the cabinand heat it to any temperature desired. Do not be alarmed; everythingshall go well. While here we ought to see as much as possible. Weshall sail through the darkness in a warm and brightly lighted cabin,and if I mistake not, there are sights in the antarctic regions whichwill amply repay our visit. Remember that no human being has everpenetrated their awful solitudes, and that none is ever likely to do sounless equipped as we are!"
There was something horrible in the thought of plunging into thoseregions of ice and darkness, but I could see the force of his argument.However, the great bulk of the interior was yet to be traversed, andthere would be plenty of time to think of those terrors before wereached them.
The purple hills proved to be a country of minerals, grass, and timber,was broken and picturesque, and abounding in lakes, parks, anddiminutive rivers. The habitations wore few and scattered, the housesbut half under roof. Occasionally we sighted a village, brilliant incoloring, and strangely rich in architecture, and the inhabitants wouldinvariably stare up at us and shout. There were greens and crimsons andflashes of gold among the rocks, and lumps of iridescence that lookedlike clusters of gems of marvelous size and beauty; but we had not timeto examine them. We were sure, however, from all we saw that gold wasamong their least valued metals, and that those natural products mosthighly prized with us were here regarded as drugs.
We hastened through this mountain country, not because we did notappreciate its beauty, but from a desire to get a rapid bird's-eye viewof the new earth, and reach again our old home.
A rolling country was now beneath, which we speeded over at the rate ofa mile a minute, not wishing to waste time upon extended areas thatcould be comprehended at a glance. Here we saw herds of cattle carryingfour horns and tailless. Probably there were no flies to annoy them,and tails would have been useless. There were also more of thosediminutive sheep of a pinkish hue, and wool like silk that trailed uponthe ground. One and all they scampered away upon catching sight of us,but we quickly passed beyond their range of vision.
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Here were great parks of magnificent timber and brilliant flowers, andlimpid sheets of water. Occasional palaces of reddish stone underpartial roofs of a dark yellow metal were also encountered. Droppingearthward to examine these we were saluted by the oc
cupants, who comingout of the buildings would wave banners, and blow upon a powerful,sweet-toned trumpet, whose music would linger in the air for quiteawhile after the performer had removed it from his lips.
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Howbeit, our speed was so great, that these heavenly strains of musicwere lost by reason of their distance, while other sounds would greetour ears ahead.
* * * * *
Our anxiety to learn something of these people and their history wasungratified, from the impossibility of communication.
* * * * *
It was easy to see that our air ship was an object of intense curiosityboth to man and beast. We were as great a wonder to them as they to us,which, to be sure, was true of our vessel upon the outer world, and itshowed that aerial navigation was as little understood here as above.We received various unmistakable invitations to halt, but these wedeclined on the ground of haste. We determined, however, to accept onebefore our final exit.
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A striking feature in the lives of those we saw was the fact that therewas no evidence of work. So far we had seen no plowing, or tilling ofthe soil, neither was there any sowing of seed or reaping of grain, norbuilding of houses; and yet we had the evidence of our eyes that superbstructures and cities had been erected. On speaking of this fact toTorrence, he said:
"The climate and soil seem to render agriculture unnecessary; andpossibly the buildings belong to a previous age. I doubt if materialrots and disintegrates, as it does with us."
I asked how he had reached such an extraordinary conclusion.
"The atmosphere," he answered; "it never rains, I am sure, and I amequally convinced that there are comparatively no changes in theclimate. The atmospheric conditions, which with us cause rust,disintegration, and decay, are here neutralized, or altered, by anabsorption of electricity, pertaining only to the interior."
"But does the population not increase, requiring more houses to keepthem?" I inquired.
"Probably not as it does with us; but even in our own world there arelarge regions where the death rate keeps pace with the births; and thetendency is undoubtedly in that direction. When population ceases toincrease, which I believe is the case here, building will stop. Wherethe term of man's natural life has been greatly prolonged, there is lessconcentration of effort. The inner surface of the earth was undoubtedlypeopled millions of years before the outer, and we are barely beginningto approximate conditions that have existed here for untold ages. Afterall, it is the swing of the pendulum, and the next move will be a vastexodus for the interior. The marvelous fertility of the soil, thesingular qualities of the atmosphere, make it possible for these peopleto live without labor. I should, however, like to see their householdarrangements to gain a better knowledge of their lives. One thing I amconvinced of: it is that man's highest physical development, the acme ofhis material civilization, is only reached under adverse terrestrialconditions. Where nature coddles him he doesn't work, because hedoesn't have to, and while he thus fails in some of the results that aharsher world would encourage, he gains in the poetical and spiritualside of his nature because of the time afforded for reflection."
"And yet have we not witnessed the grandest monuments to a materialcivilization ever dreamed of, in the strange city behind us?" I asked.
"True," said Torrence; "but I am firmly convinced that that city ismillions of years old, and that we have not yet seen a house which hasnot existed in its present form and position for untold ages of time.With us a city flashes up in a moment of energy. Here the energy isapplied directly to the result--pleasure--as life is assured, while thecity is the growth of ages. Houses are not built here, neither do theyrot!"
We were flying over a pastoral country without roads or fences, butwhere temples peeped from flowering trees, and houses, red and golden,stood by sheets of limpid water. Many of these were small, and lookedas if they had been shored above the earth by magic.
* * * * *
We crossed lakes, seas, continents, and mountain ranges. We caught theoccasional note of a distant trumpet, indicating that the inhabitant ofsome isolated had seen us. At intervals the glimpse of a village wouldenliven the solitude, and herds of the same diminutive sheep wouldscamper across the plain.
* * * * *
But we could not expect that beauty and fertility would reign supremethroughout an entire world, and there was a time when, looking down fromour lofty perch, we became aware that the trees had disappeared from ourrange of vision, and that the grass was tussocky and stunted. Thechange, to be sure, had been gradual, but with it had come the departureof the human residence, and of all animals, neither was there any water.It was clear enough that we were hovering upon the borders of a barrenland, perhaps, even a desert. We looked to our water supply, andconcluded there was enough to carry us over any ordinarily arid region,especially at the rapid rate at which we were traveling, and so settledourselves down on deck to our cigars and fieldglasses.
* * * * *
We had been chatting along quite pleasantly, constantly scanning thehorizon, when we became aware that the air was perceptibly warmer, andat the same time saw that even our scrubby patches of grass had beenentirely supplanted by the sand, which lay thick and red beneath, with apeculiar luster. At long intervals there were rocks of the same color,indistinguishable, except from their elevation, and in their crevicesgrew a coarse, thorny plant, nearly as red as the rock itself. Droppingearthward, we found these plants greasy and bad smelling.
At the same time we discovered that the ground was unpleasantly warm,and that the sand crawled, covering our footsteps as soon as made. Wewanted to take some samples of this cactus-like leaf, but feared itmight be poisonous and so let it alone. Gradually even this loathsomeweed disappeared, and only the sand remained. It was clear that we hadentered upon a desert, where nothing grew, and where nothing lived.True, there was no sun, but notwithstanding this, the air was hot andsultry. We were unable to account for this change in the temperature,and the heavy incinerated atmosphere, but the rapidity of our flightcreated a draught, which kept us fairly comfortable.
The smoke from our cigars trailed rapidly astern, and then sank to theground in a condensed form as if weight laden. We watched it withinterest, puzzling over the cause, which Torrence thought might be somepeculiar quality in the air, coupled to the strong draught of thevessel. Dropping to a lower level, and going astern, we were amazed tosee a pale-blue, thread-like line marking our course in a path over theground. It seemed incredible, but it was nothing more or less than asmoke path, formed and fed by our cigars. Not a breath of air disturbedits rectilinearity. It was a phenomenon neither of us could understand.We stood watching this for a long time, observing how the smoke, as weblew it from our mouths, would sweep earthward with the draught of thevessel, and then immediately be drawn out into the thin, blue,concentrated line described.
Even the last vestige of rock had now vanished, and we were speedingover a plain of red sand, above which the heat-laden air quivered. Thetemperature was steadily rising, and our Fahrenheit thermometer recordedeighty-six degrees. Torrence and I took off our coats, and renewed oursearch of the horizon in the hope of discovering hills, or anyindication that we were approaching the end of the desert, but there wasnothing but the red sand as far as the eye could reach with the aid ofour strongest glasses. We were moving at a high rate of speed, and feltsure that a few hours would bring a change, but in this we weredisappointed.
We had penetrated more than a hundred miles into the solitudes of thisdesert when an extraordinary sight presented itself. A bird of suchmagnitude and terrible aspect swept across the sky that Torrence and Itrembled with horror. There is nothing in size that I can compare itwith, save t
he roc of the "Arabian Nights," and even that mythical bird,although possibly larger, had neither the plumage nor frightfulcountenance of this. The bird was flying diagonally across our path,although much above it, and to the best of my belief must have measuredfifty feet from tip to tip of wing. Its feathers were of a dirty red,and its beak was hooked and powerful. Its eyes were fiery red, set in acircle of white, and as it looked down upon us there was a sinisterexpression, almost human in its intelligence. It was flying at terrificspeed, and apparently without effort, and as it passed away we observedan unpleasant odor, which hung upon the air for some minutes after. Ituttered no cry, but had evidently seen us, and left an impressionbordering upon the supernatural, which was not easily effaced. It wasthe only living thing we had seen since entering the desert. The birdseemed to spring into the air from nowhere, and crossed our bow withsuch velocity--at an altitude of probably a couple of hundred feet--andvanished with such marvelous speed into the distance that had we notboth seen it, I should have been inclined to ascribe it to some opticalillusion. But there was no doubt that here was a creature unknown, orundreamed of in our own world. Could it be possible that the stories ofthe roc were founded upon any obscure tradition of this strange animal?Torrence believed that it was. He declared, moreover, that not a fairytale existed but was built upon the conscious, or unconscious, knowledgeof some past existing fact.
Five hours after entering the desert our thermometer registered onehundred and four degrees, and the heat was becoming intolerable. Thedeck was the coolest place, as we got all the draught of motion, andthere was no sun to shine upon us. We looked anxiously ahead forrelief, but there was nothing save the red sand and the quiveringatmosphere in view. Even the sky had a pinkish tinge, shared by thegreat illuminating disk in the heavens behind us. We had indeed enteredupon a barren land, which even the dwellers of its own world renounced.
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