CHAPTER XLVIII.
THE REPORT OF ASTRONOMER STARBOTTLE.
I congratulated our couriers upon their safe return from a successfulexpedition. The astronomer made the following report of his journey:
"Following our instructions to bear despatches to Egyplosis andGnaphisthasia, and at the same time make such astronomical andmeteorological observations as might be valuable to militaryoperations in Atvatabar, we rose to a considerable height in the airafter leaving the _Polar King_. We were still under the influence ofthe earth's revolution, moving with Atvatabar two hundred and fiftymiles an hour from east to west. We found the atmosphere of equaldensity, no matter how high we ascended, showing it to be acontinuation of the denser strata of the outer air pressing into theearth by way of the open poles. It fills the hollow shell of the earthas an elastic ball, pressing equally on every part of the interiorsurface. Notwithstanding its mobility, it partakes of the revolutionof the earth, hence the particularly serene climate of Bilbimtesiroland the absence of trade-winds in the region of greatest motion, whichcorresponds to the torrid zone of the outer sphere. The only winds arelocal disturbances, sometimes excessively violent, caused by theirregularities of the earth's surface and the consequent unequaldistribution of heat and cold. Besides the general serenity of the airthere are other reasons why the interior planet is really the onlytrue world where human flight is a complete success.
"We found that at a height of fifty miles the gravity caused bycentrifugal motion is exactly counterbalanced by the attraction of thecentral sun overhead. At a height of sixty miles, if the wings remainmotionless, we perceptibly ascend with a slowly increasing motiontoward the sun, while the centrifugal gravity slowly lessens, owing tothe lesser circle of space traversed, the attraction of Swang asgradually increases, and nothing but the strength of our wingsprevented our falling into the fires of the sun.
"Our chief discovery was the fact that there exists a belt of air at adistance of between fifty and sixty miles above the earth, extremelycold, in which there is no weight, and all objects therein float,indifferent to the presence of the sun above or earth beneath. We sawa distant globe hanging in this region of very small size, and throughthe glass we could see mountains, rivers and seas thereon, but notraces of cities or human life.
"During our stay in this imponderable region Flathootly expressed hissatisfaction by grotesque evolutions. He would fly, moving his legs asif he were skating on ice, and again plunging as though he were divinginto the sea. Then he would fly upward feet foremost, as though hewere falling toward the sun.
"'Shure it's foine fun,' he said, 'to shtand upside down, flyin' an'laughin' at the same toime.'
"'Take care,' I said, 'and don't fall upward.'
"'How can I fall upward when the ground's below me?' he inquired.
"'The earth below you has no attraction at this height,' I said; 'butthe sun is exerting its influence upon us. If we go any higher upwe'll be drawn into the fires of the sun and roasted alive.'
"'Be jabers, if that's so, I'll get down an' walk, an' you can flyaround as much as you loike,' said Flathootly.
"'If you descend you'll be arrested and executed as a spy. Remember,we're in an enemy's country,' said I.
"'I'll tell you what I'll do then,' said he; 'now that I've got mesiven-leagued boots on, I'll jist go down an' jump from wan mountaintop to another.'
"Time would not permit us to stay longer in our high altitude,consequently we stretched ourselves on the abyss of air and sweptdownward to Egyplosis.
"'Our flight was exultant and swift. We soared over mighty ranges ofmountains and swept into wide valleys with the ecstasy of birds. Whata splendid fact to communicate to the outer world--that man, deniedfor untold ages the power of flight, may now inhabit a world ofincomparable beauty, where it is easier to fly than to walk and athousand times more enjoyable! The powers of the body and the rapturesof the soul are not in themselves limited. It is simply a question ofenvironment. No sooner do we inhabit a new environment than both bodyand soul expand themselves and fill the greater amplitude as easily asthat more restricted one. Give the world, weary with ennui, a freshjoy, and see how eager its enjoyment thereof, how voraciously itfeasts on the newly-found delight.
"We descended to the level of the mountain peaks, and, sure enough,Flathootly, taking his stand on a lofty crag, would flap his wings andsail to the next mountain like an albatross. When alighting on one ofthe peaks he frightened an immense bird from its nest on a cliff. Itwas the seemorgh, a bird of prey, as large as six eagles, with wingsmeasuring twenty feet from tip to tip. It ferociously flew atFlathootly as he tried to escape it, and caught him with its claws,fastening its strong beak in the back of his neck.
"It was a perilous position for my companion.
"I flew to his rescue. He was badly frightened, and kept shouting,'Kill the baste!' The bird being on Flathootly's back, rendered himpowerless to cope with it. Suddenly the bird let go its grip of hisneck and took hold of his head in its claws, with the idea of carryinghim off to its eyrie. Coming behind the monster unseen, I managed by awell-directed blow to transfix him with my magnic spear. The seemorgh,with wide-distended wings and head falling limp on its breast, slowlyrevolving, descended to the earth, the first enemy to fall on land atthe hands of the invader.
"Flathootly now avoided the mountains. He had a narrow escape, but,excepting an ugly wound in his neck, was otherwise unscathed.
"We continued our flight to Egyplosis, dimly visible in the vaultbefore us. We continued to traverse the inner curve of the planet,Atvatabar surrounding us on all sides except that part of the sphereabove us which was concealed by the brilliancy of Swang.
"Owing to the uniform heat and density of the lower strata of air,every mountain top was covered with foliage. We saw many mansions ofthe Atvatabarese sculptured out of the solid rock and surrounded withnoble forests of tropical vegetation. We flapped our wings thirtymiles above Atvatabar, which lay, with its mountains, forests, lakes,cities, temples and dwellings, beneath us like a map.
"We had flown for six or eight hours when a feeling of hungeradmonished us to partake of food. The tin trunk, which was ourcommissariat department, had been towed behind us by means of a ropeduring the entire journey.
I MOUNTED THE TRUNK AND PROPOSED THE HEALTH OF HERMAJESTY, LYONE, QUEEN OF ATVATABAR.]
"'Flathootly,' said I, 'let us call a halt for refreshments.'
"'With all my heart,' said he; 'but how are we to howld the trunk up?'
"'Let us rise to the height of fifty miles again,' I replied, 'andthen it will stand on the air alone, like ourselves.'
"'You're a wise man, sorr,' said he. 'It's an illigant idea that we'lladopt immediately.'
"Accordingly, we were soon once more in the region of no weight, wherewe stood in the air as on land, Flathootly on one side of the trunkand I on the other, to dine on its contents.
"Flathootly, opening the lid, brought forth some cold venison, whichhe coolly laid on the air beside us, saying, 'Shtand there now tillyou're wanted.' The venison quietly floated up against the side of thetrunk, that being the only force of gravity acting upon it. In likemanner he tossed around us a cold roast fowl, several varieties ofcooked vegetables, and some rich puddings. He also produced severalbottles of squang, the tokay of Atvatabar. These he flung downward,but every bottle, after falling half a mile or so, slowly ascended,and the entire bottles came back to us in a close cluster, as thoughunwilling to leave us.
"It was a novel feast. We closed the lid of the trunk and spread anapkin thereon, and at once began our repast. Flathootly rapidlysecured the floating dishes, and the food was demolished as easily asthough we stood on _terra firma_. I pulled a pudding off my back, andFlathootly took from his neck the knives and forks that had clusteredthere.
"The wine proved excellent. I mounted the trunk and proposed thehealth of Her Majesty Lyone, Queen of Atvatabar, and the empyrean rangwith the enthusiasm invoked by the toast.
"Flathootly propos
ed the health of our noble master, His ExcellencyLexington White, the conqueror of the fleet. The air once more echoedits response to our hurrahs.
"We might have rested, and even slept, on the impalpable air, but dutyforbade us any such luxury. We repacked our trunk and proceededstraight to Egyplosis, then but two hundred miles away. We arrivedsafe, and, handing the high priest, Hushnoly, your despatch, hastenedon to the palace of art at Gnaphisthasia. We again succeeded ineluding the vigilance of the king's wayleals, thanks to our speed anddisguise, and delivering your despatch to the grand priest of artYermoul, in Gnaphisthasia, returned forthwith to Kioram."