Stupefied with horror at these words, the others were for a time unable to speak.
Then Frank proceeded to explain the situation exactly.
It was a terrible truth.
“Great Heaven!” exclaimed Captain Bell; “then the Dart can never again reach the surface!”
“Never!”
“And we must die in these depths?”
“We won’t say that,” said Frank, resolutely. “The Dart will never return to the upper world, but I shall try and devise a method by which we may.”
With this the young inventor went into his own cabin.
He was in earnest in his purpose. A hundred different plans occurred.
With their bearings lost he knew not what direction to take to reach the upward slope of the shore of some island or continent.