“I am afraid so.”
“What exactly is the ‘Light’?”
“I don’t know—I’ve tried to find out—but it is some power of their own that they have learnt to control. I think it is some force—something to do with the natural light that pervades this place. It is sent through the earth itself by the aid of some infernal mechanism, and when it reaches the world above, it attracts a victim which it strikes and brings back—a living, sacrifice to this hell down here.”
“It is a very terrible menace to our world.”
“Indeed it is! Some of the victims arrive mutilated and burnt, and welcome the fire to deliver them from their pains. In some miraculous way I was unhurt by it—at least I was burnt very slightly, and soon recovered. But, Alan! How did you get here? Did the Light bring you too?”
“No, Desmond!” And Alan told the story of the coal mine disaster and how he found the river that brought him to his cousin.
Suddenly their eyes met, and a quick flash passed through their brains simultaneously. Alan was the first to dispel it.
“It’s no good, Desmond, we couldn’t possibly escape the way I came. We could not battle with the current that brought me here. The water is too deep to attempt to wade, and there isn’t so much as a ledge on either side to which we could cling.”
“What are we going to do then?”
“Of course we must try and escape—but how? As far as I can judge we must be somewhere near the centre of the earth. How can we get implements to cut our way back again—and even if we did, how long would it take us to do it? No, we are in a tough position, and there isn’t even a telegraph pole or telephone wire to aid us.”