"Perhaps you would rather say the fountain head of the crater," he replied; "for I believe that this sea of burning bitumen is the foundation for one or more of the volcanoes in our own world. Does it not seem strange that the story of a fiery hell, situated beneath the earth, should have such a striking exemplification in fact?"
I admitted that it was extraordinary, and then crawled to the upper deck, and looked about. The sea of fire was still visible in the distance, and despite the fact that half our gold was gone, we were falling rapidly earthward. The self-registering thermometer showed that we had passed through a temperature of one hundred and thirty-five degrees, which seemed incredible; a heat which no human creature could have stood, were it not for the entire absence of moisture, and, paradoxical as it may appear, for the constant application of the wet sponge. Of course this water was cool by comparison with the air, otherwise it would have scalded us. As it was, its constant evaporation preserved our lives. Even now the thermometer recorded one hundred and fifteen degrees, but this was cool and comfortable.
Much as we regretted the loss of the gold we were impelled to throw over still more, being anxious to reach water, and a better climate before undertaking repairs upon the vessel; and so we probably threw over the trifle of a hundred thousand dollars in additional ore in the effort to restore our buoyancy. Fortunately we were not obliged to part with our jewels, wherein lay our principal wealth.
The vessel was now pushed to her full capacity, which was not more than twenty miles an hour, and constantly decreasing, together with an alarming tendency to drop earthward. We had just come through such horrors that nothing could seriously disconcert us, and I felt, moreover, every confidence in my brother's ability to repair and readjust the vibrator as soon as we had reached a suitable place for the work.
About half a bucket of water was left, obliging us to use it with the greatest economy, and as the heat was still intense, our thirst continued to be quite painful. We kept our places on deck, scanning the horizon for indications of water or vegetation, but the burning red sand usurped the earth in every direction. We felt, however, that there was reason to hope for relief, on account of the increased humidity and the gradual falling of the temperature. However slight this may have been, it indicated that we were going in the right direction, if we could only hold out long enough.
Steadily our speed fell off, and slowly, but steadily, we sank earthward. At last, when an indescribable apathy was stealing over us, we discovered a sight which filled our hearts with hope. It was a range of sharp, precipitous mountains, silhouetted against the southern sky.
It seems proper in this connection to explain the use of a word which might appear paradoxical in our peculiar situation. The word I refer to is "horizon." To an outsider the expression might seem only applicable to conditions of the external globe, but when it is borne in mind that our range of vision rarely exceeded twenty miles, it will be seen that the concavity of the earth was not any more apparent than the convexity would be with us, in a similar panorama. Beyond this, the state of the atmosphere afforded as true a horizon as any upon our exterior plane. To be sure it was not always so clear cut as our own upon certain occasions, the land blending with the sky, as on a cloudy day with us, but there is nothing in that respect which is not thoroughly agreeable and natural. No one could have guessed, from the simple appearance of earth or sky line that he was not a dweller of the outer world. The sights which amazed us were those already described, and perhaps of these the most astounding was the great disk of light in the heavens.
The mountain range, which had been gradually looming up before us, now gave us fresh courage, for surely where there are mountains there must be water. Help was ahead, but we must reach it before the air ship collapsed. The poor thing which had been so buoyant, so fleet and powerful hitherto, was now a miserable cripple, requiring constant care to keep it afloat. Every bulky or weighty object that we could possibly spare was thrown over, but there came a time when we saw that she must sink to the ground within a mile. Our speed had also been greatly decreased, so that during the last hour we could have walked very nearly as far as we had sailed. At last we settled gently upon the red, burning sand like a feather undecided whether to fall or rise. We scrambled over the side, and for the first time since leaving London felt the poverty of man's power of locomotion.
"And is this to be the end of all our efforts?" I inquired despondingly, throwing myself on the hot sand beside Torrence.
"Undoubtedly, if we lie here more than five minutes!" he answered, wiping his face with the damp sponge.