Hl/Gd CrvRMSGACK

JULES.VERN^*-^
ELLIS PARKER BUTLi
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Contents for June In Our Next j-ssoe:

"STATION X," by G, McLcod Winsor. wondcr-A
A Trip to the Center of the Earth fuJ radio serial describing in vivid language a titanic
(Serial. 2nd Part) Struggle between Lunarians and Martians, wag^ by
By Jules Verne -
_ _...- 196 the development of future means of warfare. tale A
of hair-raising terror and suspense.
The Coming of the Ice "THE EGGS FROM LAKE TANGAP-mKA," by
By G. Peyton tVertenbaker 232 Girt Siodraak. Anew German, story which we con-
sider the best scientifiction short story for lOi'iC.
.

It is the cleverest and, without doubt, the most amaz-

The Scientific Adventures of Mr. Fosdick
ing thing that we have seen in years.
Mr. Fosdick Invents the "Seidh'tzmohile"
By Jacque Morgan ,, 238 "THE MOON METAL," by Professor Garret P.
Scrviss, One o£ the greatest scientiEctioii stories
ever writlen, witli a most astonishing and intriguing
The Star
plot that will hold your interest to the end.
By H. G. Welh 242
"DR. OX'S EXPERIMENT," by Jules Verne,
Whispering Ether little-known but ajnaeing scientifiction story, wherein
a sleepy to*n" suddenly bursts forth in an amazing
By Charles S. Ifolfe 247 fashion.

The Runaway Skyscraper "THE MAGNETIC STORM," by Hugo Gernsback.

The iimer secret of how the Great World War was
By Murray Leinsier ^50 rcallv won by Tesia —
currents if you can believe this
unusual story.
An Esperiment in Gyro-Hats
By Ellis Parker Butler _ "THE SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURES OF MR.
FOSDICK," by Jacque Morgan, wherein "The Feline
The Malignant Entity Light & Power Company" is organized, and in which
you will again meet the great inventor in a most mirth-
By Otis Adalbert Kline provoking story.
Doctor Hflckensaw's Secrets "THE SPHINX," by Edgar Allan Poe. A little-,
known story by tlie great wTiter, which asain shows
Some Minor Inventions how our senses are sometimes fooled by tlie simples
By Clement Fezandie
Another powerful story by H. G. WellE, which J
OUR COVER little known in this country. A story which yo\i
rUu St rates ade in this "A Tnp

H will read and re-read many times.

it
n^ter of II 1 Eart.
rs aim one o£ the ,
"DR. HACKENSAW'S SECRETS," by Clement
S the ETOfl Fezandie. The secret of "The Invisible Girl." This
COPYRIGHT ACK!flOWL new Hackensaw story is as astoni.'ihing as its prede-
cessors. 3nd shows you what happened when the
"A Tt! the C rt^.r of the Earlh
ght 1911 by Vinced t Pai-ke & C tP .
hunters tried to locate the invisible girl. An excellent
short story.

[. lUDIO HBTIEW ij
 . )

^
HUGO.GERNSBACK^.^^, EdHor ^[ '-

,
DR. T. O'CONOR SLOANE, M. A., Ph.D.-»-Jfi/on"rt/f Editor
Editorial and General Offices - - - "^
;55 Park Place. New. York, N. Y.

Extravagant Fiction Today' Cold Fact Ton:orrow

THE LURE OF SCIENTIFICTION

V HUGO !-;ERNSBACK, F.R.S.

aiCIENTIFICTION
19 not a ftew thing on moie foitunate —but not so veiy myh moi"" It 3
n
thia planet. While Edgar Allan Poe "
tiue that we do not behead him or thtow i tti hn
probably was one of the first to conceuc a dungeon when he daie-^ to bla/e foith with i h t
the idea, of a scientific story, there nie seems to ui an iiapossiblo tale but ir oui mne
suspicions that there were other scien
j
minds we Hie ju&t as intoleiant todaj as weip l'
tiliction authors before him. Perh^ps contemporai les of Eogei Bacon Wehaienotleame
they were not such outstanding figures in literature much lu the mtervi! E\en such a compai aoue
and perhaps they did not write what we understand tame invention as the submaiine wl ich w is pi
today as spientific.tion at all. Leonardo da Vmci dieted hj Jules Veme was gieeted with de i i

(1452-1519), a great genius, 'while he was not reallv luightei and he was denounced in miny quaitei
an, author of scientifiction, nevertheless had enough Still, only foity yeais aitei the piediction of the
prophetic vision to create a number 6t machines m model n submai me bj Veine it has become a ip 'i
his own mind- that were only to materialize centuries Theie are few th ga \ utten bj rui sciont fiction
i

later. He described a number of machines, seeming miters fianX!> impossible tod i\ that mav ot e i I

ly fantastic in those days, which woiild'have done come a leah^v tomono\ Frequently the autho
credit to a Jules Verne.* himself does not realize that his \ei\ fanta&Lic \ain
There may have -bean other scientific propheta, if ma\ come tiue in the firtuie ind often he himself,
does not take his pjedi9txon seiiouslj.
not scientifiction writers, before his time, but the
past centuries are so beclouded, and there are so few
But the aeiiously minded scient fiction leader ab
manuscripts of such literature in existence todij soibs the knowledge cpntamed such stones with m
a\idity with the lesuit that such atones pio-ve an
that we cannot really be sure who was the real m mcentne in 'staiting some one to wtik on i device
ventor of scientifiction.
u invention sugfe,e°ted by t,omc aulhoi of icienti
In the eleventh century there also lived a Francis fiction
can monk, the amazing as well as famous Eoger One of oui gie^t suipiises smte uc staited
Bacon (1214-1294). astounding and He had a most pubhshiig A'uziNC S-oFiES IS the tienendous
prolific imagination, with which he foresaw many amount of mill we lecene fiom shall we call them —
of our present-d&y wonders. But as an authoi of
scientifiction,. he had to be extremely careful be
ScientiSction Fans —
who seem to le prcttj well
">

oiientated in thi'^ snt ot hteiatuie Ti ra the sug

can e 'n thosp da"V'! it was not 'heiUhj" to predict pe tions for reprints that aie coming in th'^se
ne\ ii d staitl ng meitions It v.-x'i necesa^lv to tai s seem to ha\e i hobbv ill then own of hunt
disguise Ihe mimisciipt to u^e cypher df i mat — — mg up °cientiiicfcion stones not only m En^,! =ih
tei of tict so that it has taken m? ij greit modem m manv othei languages Theie is not a div i obuti
minds to unra\el the aston shmg scieiitifit. prophe thit passes but we get fiom a dozen to fifU si ^^ s
'"*
cies of Roger Eicon tions as to stones of ishich frankly we hi a no
The <(cient fiction writei of today ii somewhat lecoid iltho igh we have a ust of some 600 oi "0
— he EHnn
scientifiction stoi es Some of these fans e ( r
Di Vtic of tlicMilrlc Ages— c e^ 1 blv stantly visiting the book stoies with the e*p
I, r B tnne efl c p n ng p c I e bre 3d f, iiu
impose of bu ng new 01 old scientifiction tiles «i 1
e> even „o to the tiouble of adveiti=ing for som
t c — hec sc adm t odlj oo\r n ag ncT^heso ^ it "aa
tl
\Q imes thit have long igo gone out of piiot
In h faraou Of s fn he accu a el p opi ta td e la cope
^cientifct 01 m othei words fun i she itieraend
1

Tiu n ne gbsi—e e he n n an of gun po der a g cd cr! n -n ous amount of scientific education and fires the
H fo eoas n o of J y and nvent on v th a I p m c
readers imigmit on moie i.erhap=i than anything
incarcelaied lor a. hud bei of years. which we kflow
else of

I9S
 pATmfatheCmtmoMe^mm
•• ^ S^ Jules Verne * *
Author— "Around the World in 80 Days", "Off on a Comet", etc.; etc.

Wo (ound ourselves cIcise to a loCty forDst! ted of straight trunks wilh tuftod tops, ^hape lihc paraGoIs. The air iccmed to
huffc no eftecvupon these trees-— which In bpi tolerable (jrcQze rEmalnid as still and tionlcss as if Ihcy bad been petrified,
... My unsle unhesitalinulj' callgd them by ^alnames. "Jt !s only," he said in his < est manner, "a forest of mushrooms."

.196
 a TRIE TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 197
What Went Before
(^"TyROFESSOR Banoigg, chemist, philosopher, with the good wishes of ( 3 professor's
/ mineralogist, etc., while delighting in a rare, vjard, and HaiTy's fiancie.
old edition by a famous Icelandic author, un- When they get to Iceland, they are fortunate
ex-pectedly co-nies upon a mysteriovs parchment, ap- enough to obtain the services of Hans, a true Ice-
parently containing a secret message. Both the pro- landic guide — calm, stolid and dependable. After
—
fessor and Harry his nephew and pupil, who also •numerous adventures and interesting encounters
lives with him^^^set to work and finaily stumble on and difficult climbing, they reach the top of Mt.
the key to the secret code and read the follo^oing —
Sneffels and then descend into its crater and thus
message: "Descend into the crater of Yokul of following correctly, the directions of the message.
Sneffela, which the shade of Scdrtoris covers be- So far the party is elated vsith the wonders of their
'

fore the kalends of Jidy, audacious traveler, and you surroundings as they descend deeper and deeper in-
vnll reach the center of the earth. I did it. —Ame to the bowels of the earth, lowering themselves into
Sakmissem.." the deeper wells by means of sturdy ropes doubled
The professor deicides thai they iinll 7nake the trip over the rocks above. .At least once so far, they were
and also reach the center of the earth. Three days reassured of the truth of the mysterious message,
later, they— Harry much against his iinll and better when they noticed a rock, belovj the crater, bearing
—
judgment start far Iceland and Mount the inscription "Ame Sakmisse^n."

A Trip to the Center of the Earth

By JULES VERNE
PART It

, CHAPTER SVI the aisles of a Gothic cathedral. The great artistic

The Eastern Tunnel sculptors and builders of the middle ages might

SIHE next day was Tuesday, the 2d of July have here completed their studies with advantage.
—and at six o'clock in the morning we Many most beautiful and suggestive ideas of archi-
resumed our journey. We atil! con- tectural beauty would have been discovered by them.
tinued to follow the gallery of lava, a After passing through this phase of the cavernous
perfect natural pathway, as easy of way, we suddenly came, about a mile farther on,
descent as some of those inclined planes which, in upon a square system of arch, such as that adopted
very old German houses, serve the purpose of stair- by the early Romans, projecting from the solid rock,
eases. This went on until seventeen minutes past and keeping up the weight of the roof. Suddenly
twelve, the precise instant we came upon a series of
at which we rejoined MMW^Maa
llii>i.iiij|in|ir
.
low subterranean tunnels
Hans, who having been which looked like beaver
somewhat in advance, had ^TN„..Iheih.-;^first ius
IKK-
vc aoi ovr Iravckrs well slartcd
inl^riiat cazities of the globe.
holes, or the work of
_ .

suddenly stopped. foxes. Thi'ough these nar-

They have reached Iceland, have climbed Mmnt Sneffels,
"At last," cried my and with a stoUd Icelander for a —
guide or ralhcr com- row and winding ways ws
uncle, "we have reached Paiiimt — have penetrated down Ihrovgh the craicr of the had literally to crawl
volcano, and have started their ad-aenliiroiis and exciting
The heat still remained
the end of the shaft." trip. —
Biil itow wonders really begin to happen strange
.

I looked wonderingly forms of prehistoric life are encountered, aiiid dangers at quite a supportable
about me. We were in the are met with. But oiir travelers gel through all their degree. With an involun-
center of four cross paths troubles in the end and came back to tell vs all about it. tary shudder, I reflected
— Jides Ver}ic's astonishing scientific knowledge, combined
somber and narrow iiiilh his talents as a narrator, gives the novel great value on what the heat must
tunnels. The question now from. a scientific, as well as from a literary standpoint. have been when the vol-
arose as to which it was J-cw atilhors could vi^rile so vivid a description of adven- cano of Sneffels was pour-
wise to take; and this of ture. Fewer ycl, conU fill it with such correct science. ing its smoke, flamt3s, and
Follow our travelers through these exciling chapters. streams of melted lava
itself was no small diffi-
culty. My uncle, who did ^^g»B5imi^iiMjiiii ^|iMj|^im, awmiWMHHgMBMIII lii MI 1 1

H II
all of which must have

not wish to appear to have come up by the road we

any hesitation about the matter before either me were now following, I could imagine the torrents
or the guide, at once made up his mind. He pointed of hot, seething stone darting on, bubbling up with
quietly to the eastera tunnel; and, without delay, accompaniments of smoke, steam, and sulphurous
we entered within its gloomy recesses. stench! "Only to think of the consequences," I
Besides, had he entertained any feeling of hesita- mused, "if the old vplcano were once more to get
tion it might have been prolonged indefinitely, for to work."
there was no indication by which to determine on' a I did not communicate these rather unpleasant
choice. It was absolutely necessary to trust to reflections to my uncle. Hia only idea was to go
chance and good fortune! ahead. He walked, he slid, he clambered over piles
The descent of this obscure and naiTOW gallery of fragments, he.rolied down heaps of broken lava,
was very gradual and winding. Sometimes we gazed with an earnestness and conviction it was impossi-
through a succession of arches, its course very like ble not to admire.
198 AMAZING STORIES
At six o'clock in the evening, after a very weari- lamp. From being coated with shining and re-
some journey, but one not so tiring as before, we splendent lava, it became living rock. The sides
had made six miles towards the southward, but had were sloping walls, which sometimes became almost
not gone more than a mile downwards. vertical. We were now in what the geological pro-
My uncle, as usual, gave the signal to halt. We fessors call a state of transition, in the period of
ate our meal in thoughtful silence, and then retired Silurian rocks, "I can see, clearly now," I cried;
to sleep. Our arrangements for the night were very "the sediment from the waters which once covered
primitive and simple, A
traveling rug, in which the whole earth, formed during the second period of
each rolled himself, was all our bedding. We had its existence, these schists and these calcareous
no necessity to fear cold or any unpleasant visit. rocks. We are turning our backs on the granite
Travelers who bury themselves in the wilds and rocks."
depths of the African desert, who seek profit and I might just as well have kept my observations to
pleasure in the forests of the New World, are com- myself. My geological enthusiasm got the better
pelled t'o take it in turn to watch during the hours of of my cooler judgment, however, and Professor
sleep; but in this region of the earth absolute soli- Hardwigg heard my observations, "What is the
tude and complete security reigned supreme. matter now?" he said, in a tone of great gravity.
After a night's sweet repose, we awoke fresh and "Well," cried I, "do you not see these different
ready for action. There being nothing to detain us, layers of calcareous rocks and the first indication
we started on our journey. We continued to burrow of slate strata?"
through the lava tunnel as before. It was impossi- "Well; what then?"
ble to make out through what soil we were malting "We have arrived at that period of the world's
way. The tunnel, moreover, instead of going down existence when the first plants and the first animals
into the bowels of the earth, became absolutely hori- made their appearance,"
zontal. I even thought, after some examination, "You think so?"
that we were actually -tending upwards. About ten "Yes, look; examine and judge for yourself,"
o'clock in the day this state of things became so I induced the Professor with some difficulty to cast
clear, that finding the change very fatiguing I was the light of his lamp on the sides of the long wind-
obliged to slacken my pace and finally to come to a ing gallery, I expected some exclamation to burst
halt. "Well," said the Professor quickly, "what is from his lips. I was very much mistaken. The
the matter?" worthy Professor never spoke a word.
"The fact is, I am dreadfully tired," was my It was impossible to say whether he understood
earnest reply, me or not. Perhaps it was possible that in his pride
"What," cried my uncle, "tired after a three — my uncle and a learned professor —he did not like
hours' walk, and by so easy a road?" to own that he was wrong in having chosen the
"Easy enough, I dare say, but very fatiguing," eastern tunnel, or was he determined at any price
"But how can that be, when all we have to do is to to go to the end of it? It was quite evident we had
go downwards," left the region of lava, and that the road by which
"I beg your pardon, sir. For some time I have we were going could not take us back to the great
noticed that we are going upwards." crater of Mount Sneffels, "At all events, if I am
"Upwards," cried my uncle, shrugging his right," I thought to myself, "I must certainly find
shoulders, "how can that be?" some remains of primitive plants, and it will be
"There can be no doubt about it. For the last absolutely necessary to give way to such indubita-
—
half hour the slopes have been upward and if we go ble evidence! Let us have a good search,"
on in this way much longer we shall find ourselves I accordingly lost no opportunity of searching,
back in Iceland," and had not gone more than about a hundred yards,
My uncle shook his head with the air of a man when the evidence I sought for cropped up in the
who does not want to be convinced. I tried to con- most incontestable manner before my eyes. It was,
tinue the conversation. He would not answer me, quite natural that I should expect to find these signs,
but once more gave the signal of departure. His for during the Silurian period the seas contained no
silence I thought was only caused by concentrated fewer than fifteen hundred different animal and veg-
ill-temper. etable species. My feet so long accustomed to the
However this might be, I once more took up my hard and arid lava soil, suddenly found themselves
load, and resolutely followed Hans, who was now in treading on a kind of soft dust, the remains of
advance of my uncle, I did not like to be beaten or plants and shells. Upon the walls themselves I
even distanced. The very idea of being left behind, could clearly make out the outline, as plain as a sun
lost in that terrible labyrinth, made me- shiver as picture, of the fucus and the lycopods. The
with the ague. Besides, if the ascending path was worthy and excellent Professor Hardwigg could not,
more arduous and painful to clamber, I had one of course, make any mistalce about the matter; but
source of secret consolation and delight. It was to I believe he deliberately closed his eyes, as he con-
all appearance taking us back to the surface of the tinued on his way with a firm and unalterable step.
earth. That in itself was hopeful. Every step I I began to think he was carrying his obstinacy a
took confirmed me in my belief, and I began already great deal too far, I could no longer act with
to build castles in the air in relation to my marriage prudence or composure. I stooped on a sudden and
with my pretty little cousin. picked up an almost perfect shell, which had un-
About twelve o'clock there was a great and sudden doubtedly belonged to some animai\very much re-
change in the aspect of the rockj' sides of the gal- sembling some of the present day. Having secured
lery. I first noticed it from the diminution of the the prize, I followed in the wake of my uncle.
rays of light which east back the reflection of the "Do you see this?" I said.
 a
I ! "

A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 199

"Well," said the Professor, with the most im- stamped with the marks of primitive animals. Since
perturbable tranquility, "it is the shell of a Crus- the previous evening, nature and creation had made
taeeous animal of the extinct order of the trilobitea; considerable progress. Instead of the rudimentary
nothing more I aa,gui'e you." trilobites, I perceived the remains of a more per-
"But," cried 1, much troubled at his coolness, "do fect order. Among others, the fish in which the
you draw no conclusion from it?" eye of a geologist has been able to discover the first
"Well, if I may ask, what conclusion do you draw form of the reptile. It was quite evident to me
from it yourself?" that we were ascending the scale of animal life of
"Well, I thought
" which man forms the summit. My excellent uncle, ,

"I Icnow, ray boy, what you would say, and you the Professor, appeared not to take notice of these
are right, perfectly and incontestably right. We warnings. He was determined at any risk to pro-
have linally abandoned the crust of lava and the ceed.
road by which the lava ascended. It is quite possi- He must have been in expectation of one of two
ble that I may have heen mistaken, but I shall be things ; either that a vertical well was about to open
unable to discover my error unti! I get to the end under his feet, and thus allow him to continue his
of this gallery." descent, or that some insurmountable obstacle would
"You are quite right as far as that is concerned," compel us to stop and go back by the road we had
I replied, "and I should highly approve of your so long traveled. But evening came again, and, to
decision, if we had not to fear the greatest of all my horror, neither hope was destined to be realized
dangers." On Friday, after a night when I began to feel the
"And what is that?" gnawing agony of thirst, and when in consequence
"Want of water." appetite decreased, our little band rose and once
"Well, my
dear Harry, it can't be helped. We more followed the turnings, and windings, the as-
must put ourselves on rations." cents and descents, of this interminable gallery. All
And on he^went. were silent and gloomy. I could see that even my
uncle felt that we had adventured too far.
CHAPTER XVII. After about ten hours of further progress,^—
Deeper and Deeper—The Coal Mine progress dull and monotonous to the last degree —
remarked that the reverberation, and reflection of^-
truth, we were compelled to put ourselves
INupon rations. Our supply would certainly last
our lamps upon the sides of the tunnel had singii-
larly diminished. The marble, the schist, the "cal-
.

not more than three days, I found this out

.

careous rocks, the red sandstone, had disappeared,

about supper time. The worst part of the matter
leaving in their places a dark and gloomy wall, som-
was, that in what is called the transition rocks, it
bre and without brightness. When we reached a
was hardly to be expected that we should meet with
remarkably narrow part of the tunnel, I leaned my
watei" I had read of the horrors of thirst, and I
!

knew that where we were, a brief trial of its suffer-

left hand against the rock. When I took my hand
away, and happened to glance at it, it was guite
ings would put an end to our adventures and our — black. We
had reached the coal strata of the Cen-
lives ! But it was utterly useless to discuss the mat-
tral Earth. "A coal mine!" I cried,
ter with my uncle. He would have answered by
some axiom from Plato, "A coal mine without miners," responded my
uncle, a little severely.
During the whole of the next day we proceeded
on our journey through this interminable gallery, "How can we tell?"

arch after arch, tunnel after tunnel.' We journeyed "I can tell," replied my uncle, in a sharp and
doctorial tone. "I am perfectly certain that this gal-
"

without exchanging a word. We had become as

mute and reticent as Hans, our guide. The road lery thi'ough successive layers of coal, was not cut
had no longer an upward tendency; at all events, if hy the hand of man. But whether it is the work of
it had, it was not to be made out very clearly. -nature or not is of little concern to us. The hour
Sometimes there could be no doubt that we were —
for our evening meal has come let us sup."
going downwards. But this inclination was scarcely Hans, the guide, occupied himself in pi-eparing
to be distinguished, and was by no means reassur- food. I had come to that point where I could no

ing to the Professor, because the character of the longer eat. All I cared about were the few drops
strata was in no wise modiiied, and the transition of water which fell to my share. What I suffered
character of the rocka became moi-e and more it is useless to record. The guide's gourd, not guite
marked. half full, was all that was left for us three! Hav-
It was a glorious sight to see how the electric ing finished their repast, my two companions laid
light brought out the sparkles in the walls of the themselves down upon their rugs, and found in sleep
calcareous rocks, and the old red sandstone. One a remedy for their fatigue and sufferings. As for
might have fancied himself in one of those deep cut- me, I could not sleep, I lay counting the hours until
tings in Devonshire, which have given their name to morning.
this kind of soil. Some magnificent specimens of The next morning, Saturday, at 6 o'clock, we start-
marble projected from the sides of the gallery some ; ed again. Twenty minutes later we suddenly came
of an agate gray with white veins of variegated upoji a vast excavation. From its mighty extent
character, others of a yellow spotted color, with red I saw at once that the hand of man could have had
veins; farther off might be seen samples of color nothing to do with this coal mine; the vault above
in which cherry-tinted seams were to be found in would have fallen in; even now it was only held to-
all their brightest shades. gether by some miracle of nature. This mighty -

The greater number of these marbles wei'e natural cavern was about a hundred feet wide, by
 200 AMAZING STORIES
aboat a hundred and fifty high. The earth had evi-' CHAPTER XVTII
dently been forced apart by some violent subter-
ranean commotion. The mass, giving way to a pro-
The Wrong Road
digious upheaving of nature, had split in two, leav-
ing the vast gap into which wo inhabitants of the
NEXT day, our departure took place at a very
early hour. There was no time for the
earth had penetrated for the first time. least delay. According to my account, we
The whole singular history of the coai period was had five days' hard work to get back to the place
written on those dark and gloomy walls. A geolo- where the galleries divided.
gist would have been able easily to follow the differ- I can never tell all the sufferings we endured

ent phases of its formation. The aeams of coal upon our return. My uncle bore them like a man
were separated by strata of sandstone, and by a who has been in the wrong—that is, with concen-
compact clay, which appeared to be crushed down trated and suppressed anger; Hans, with all the
by the weight from above. —
resignation of his pacific character; and I I con-
fess that I did nothing but complain, and despair.
While we still continued our journey, I forgot
I had no heart for this bad fortune. But there
the lengtli of the road, by giving myself up wholly to
was one consolation. Defeat at the outset would
these geological considerations. The temperature probably upset the
whole journey!
continued to be vei'y much the same as while we
As I had expected from the first, our supply
were traveling amid the lava and the schists. On of water gave
out completely on our first day's
the other hand my sense of smell was much affected march. Our provision of liquids was reduced to
by a very powerful odor. I immediately knew that our supply of Schiedam; but this horrible nay, I —
the gallery was filled to overflowing with that dan-
gerous gas the miners call fire-damp, the explosion
—
will say it this infernal liquor burnt the throat,
and I could not even bear the sight of it. I found
of which has caused such fearful and terrible acci- the temperature to be stifling, I was paralyzed
dents, making a hundred widows, and hundreds of with fatigue. More than once I was about to fall
orphans in a single hour. insensible to the ground. The whole party then
Happily, we could illuminate our progress by halted, and the worthy Icelander and my excellent
means of the Ruhmkorf apparatus. If we had been uncle did their best to console and comfort me. I
30 rash and imprudent as to explore this gallery, could, however, plainly see that my uncle was con-
torch in hand, a terrible explosion would have put tending painfully against the extreme fatigues of
an end to our travels, simply because no travelers our journey, and the awful torture generated by
would be left. the absence of water. Then a time came when I
—
Our excui'sion through this wondrous coal mine ceased to recollect anything when all was one
in the very bowels of the earth lasted until evening. awful, hideous, fantastic dream!
My uncle was scarcely able to conceal his impatience At last, on Tuesday, the eighth of the month of
and dissatisfaction at the road continuing still to July, after crawling on our hands and knees for
advance in a horizontal direction. The darkness, many hours, more dead than alive, we reached the
dense and ojjaque, a few yards in advance and in the point of junction between the galleries. I lay like
rear, rendered it impossible to make out what was a log, an inert mass of human flesh on the arid
the length of the gallery. For, myself, I began to lava soil. It was then ten in the moi-ning.
believe that it was simply intei;minable, and would Hans and my uncle, leaning against the wall, tried
go on in the adme manner for months. to nibble away at some pieces of biscuit, while deep
Suddenly, however, at six o'clock, we stood in groans and sighs esca])ed from my scorched and
front of a wail. To the right, to the left, above, be- swollen lips. Then I fell oif into a Itind of deep '

low, nowhere was there any passage. We had reach- lethargy. Presently I felt my uncle approach, and
ed a spot where the rocks said in unmistakable ac- lift me up tenderly in his arms. "Poor boy," I
—
cents No Thoroughfare, I stood stupefied. The heard him say in a tone of deep commiseration,
I was profoundly touched hy these words, being
guide simply folded his arras. My uncle was silent.
"Well, well, so much the better," cried my uncle, by no means accustomed to signs of w^omanly weak-
at last, "I now know what we are about. We are ness in the Professor, I caught his trembling

decidedly not upon the road followed by Saknussem, hands in mine and gave them a gentle pressure.
All we have to do is to go back. Let us take one He allowed me to do so without resistance, look-
night's good rest, and before three days are over, ing at me kindly all the time. His eyes were wet
I promise you we shall have regained the point with tears. I then saw him take the gourd which
where the galleries divided." he wore at his side. To my surprise, or rather to
"Yea, we may, if our strength lasts as long," I my stupefaction, he placed it to my lips.
cried, in a lamentable voice. "Drink; my boy," he said.
"And why not?" Was it possible my ears had not deceived me?
"To-mori'ow, among us three, there will not be Was my uncle mad? I looked at him, with, I am
a drop of water. It is just gone." sure, quite an idiotic expression. I would not
"And your courage with it," said my uncle, speak- understand him. I too much feared the counter-
ing in a severe tone. action of disappointment.
What could I say? I turned round on my side, "Drink," he said again.
and from sheer exhaustion fell into a heavy, but Had I heard ai-ight? Before I could ask myself
troubled sleep. Dreams of water! And I awoke the question a second time, a mouthful of water
unrefreshed, I would have bartered a diamond
mine for a glass of pure spring water!
—
cooled my parched lips and thi-oat one mouthful,
but I do believe it brought me back to life, I
 — —
A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 201
thanked my uncle by clasping his hands. My heart found calmness and indifference. He appeared to
was too full to apeak. be an unconcerned party, and yet he perfectly well
"Yes," said he, "one mouthful of water, the very knew what was going on between us. Our gestures
—
last— do yoii heai', my boy the very last! I have sufficiently indicated the different roads each wished
guarded it at the bottom of my bottle as the apple —
to follow and which each tried to influence the
of my eye. Twenty times, a hundred times, I have other to undertake. But Hans appeared not to take
resisted the fearful desire to drink it. But no — the slightest interest in what was really a question
no, Harry, I saved it for you," of life and death for us all, but waited quite ready
"My dear uncle," I exclaimed, and the big tears to obey the signal which should say go aloft, or to
rolled down my hot and feverish cheeks. resume his desperate journey to the interior of the
"Yes, my poor boy, I knew that when you reached earth.
this place, this cross road in the earth, you would How I wished then with all my heart and soul that
fall down half dead, and I saved my last drop of I could make him understand my words. My repre-
water in order to restore you." sentations, my sighs and groans, the earnest accents
"Thanks," I cried ; "thanks from my
heart." in which I should have spoken would have convinced
As, little as my thirst was really quenched, I had that cold hard nature. Those fearful dangers and
nevertheless partially recovered my strength. The perils of which the stolid guide had no idea, I would
contracted muscles of my throat relaxed and the— have pointed them out to him— I would, as it were,
inflammation of ray lips in some measure subsided. have made him see and feel. Between us, we might
At all [.events, I was able to speak. "Well," I said, have convinced the obstinate Professor. If the
"there can be no doubt now as to what we have to worst had come to the worst, we could have compel-
do. Water has utterly failed us; our journey is led him to return to the summit of Sneffels. I ap-
therefore at an end. Let us return." proached Hans. I caught his hand in mine. He
While I spoke thus, my uncle evidently avoided never moved a muscle. I indicated to him the road
my face: he held down his head; his eyes were to the top of the crater. He remained motionless.
,,

turned in every possible direction but the right one. My panting form, my haggard countenance, must
"Yes," I continued, getting excited by my own have indicated the extent of my sufferings. The
words, "we must go back to Sneffels. May heaven Icelander gently shook his head and pointed to my
give ua strength to enable us once more to revisit '
uncle. "Master," he said.
the light of day. Would that we now stood on the "The master!" I cried, beside myself with fury
summit of the crater." —
"madman! no I tell you he is not the master of our
"Go back," said my uncle speaking to himself lives; we must fly! we must drag him withus! do
"and must it be so?" you hear me? Do you undei'stand me, I say?"
—
"Go back yes, and without losing a single mo-
ment," I vehementjy cried.
I have already explained that I held Hans by the
arm. I tried to make him rise from his seat. I
For some raomejita there was silence under that struggled with him and tried to force him away.
dark and gloomy vault. "So, my dear Harry," said My uncle now interposed. "My good Harry, be
the Professor in a very singular tone of voice, "those calm," he said. "You will obtain nothing from my
few drops of water have not sufficed to restore your devoted follower; therefore, listen to what I have
energy and courage." to say,"
"Courage!" I cried. I folded my arms, as well as I could, and looked
"I see that you are quite as downcast as before my uncle in the face.
and still give way to discouragement and despair." "This wretched want of. water," he said, "is the
What, then, was the man made of, and what other sole obstacle to the success of my project. In the .

projects were entering his fertile and audacious entire gallery, composed of lava, schist, and coal,
brain "You are not discouraged, sir ?"
! it is true we found not one liquid molecule. It is
"What! give up just as we are on the verge of quite possible that we may be more fortunate in the
success." he cried, "never, never shall it be said that western tunnel." "j

Professor Hardwigg retreated." My sole reply was to shake my head with an air
"Then we must make up our minds to perish," I of incredulity.
cried with a helpless sigh. "Listen to me to the end," said the Professor in
"No, Harry, my boy, certainly not. Go, leave me, his well known lecturing voice. "While you lay yon-
I am very far from desiring your death. Take Hans der without .life or mgtion, I undertook a recon-
with you, / mil go on alone." noitering journey into the conformation of this
"You ask us to leave you?" other gallery. I have discovered that it goes direct-
"Leave me, I say. I have undertaken this danger- ly downwards into the bowels of the earth, and in a
ous and perilous adventure, I will carry it to the few hours will take us to the old granitic formation.
end-^or—I will never return to the surface of In this we shall undoubtedly find innumerably
Mother Earth. Go — —
Harry once more I say to you springs. The nature of the rock makes this a mathe-
^go!" matical certainty, and instinct agrees with logic to
My uncle as he spoke was terribly excited. His say that it is so. Now, this is the serious proposi-
voice, which before had been. tender, almost woman- tion which I have to make to you. When Christo-
ly, became harsh and menacing. He appeared to be pher Columbus asked of his men three days to dis-
struggling with desperate energy against the im- cover the land of promise, his, men ill, terrified, and
possible. I did not wish to abandon him at the bot-
tom of that abyss, while, on the other hand, the in-
hopeless, yet gave him three days — and the New
'

World was discovered. Now I, the Christopher

,

stinct of preservation told me to fly. Columbus of thig subterranean region, only ask of
Meanwhile, our guide was looliing on with pro- you one more day. If, when that time is expired, I
 202 AMAZING STORIES
have not found the water of which we are in search, column. Nothing could" induce him to stop. I, mean-
I swear to you, I will give up my mighty enterprise while, had but one real thought. My ear was keenly
and return to the earth's surface." on the watch to catch the sound of a spring. But no
Despite my irritation and despair, I knew how pleasant sound of falling water fell upon my listen-
much it cost my uncle to make this proposition, and ing ear.
to hold such conciliatory language. Under the cir- At last the time came when my limbs refused to
cumstances, what could I do, but yield? longer carry me. I contended heroically against the
"Well," I cried, "let it be as you wish, and may terrible tortures I endured, because I did not wish
heaven reward your anperhuman energy. But as to compel my uncle to halt. To him I knew this
our hours are numbered, unless we discover water, would be the last fatal stroke. Suddenly I felt a
let us lose no time, but go ahead." deadly faintness come over me. My eyes could no
longer see; my knees shook. I gave one despairing
CHAPTEK XIX —
cry and fell
"Help, help, I am dying!"
The Western Gallery—A New Route
My uncle turned and slowly retraced his steps.
^ UE descent was now resumed by means of He looked at me with folded arms, and then allowed
the second gallery. Hans took up his post one sentence to escape, in hollow accents, from his
in front as usual. We had not gone more lips
— "All is over,"
than a hundred yards when the Professor carefully . The last thing I saw was a face fearfully dis-
examined the walls. "This is the primitive forraa- torted with pain and sorrow; and then my eyes
" tion we are on the right road onwards is our— closed.
hope!" When I again opened them, I saw my companions
. When the whole earth got eool in the first hours lying near me, motionless, wrapped in their travel-
of the world's morning, the diminution of the vol- ing rugs. Were they alseep or dead? For myself,
ume of the earth produced a state of dislocation in sleep was wholly out of the question. My fainting fit
its upper crust, followed by ruptures, crevasses and over, I was wakeful as the lark. I suffered too much
fissures. The passage was a fissure of this kind, —
for sleep to visit my eyelids the more, that I
through which, ages ago, had flowed the eruptive thought myself sick unto death— dying. The last
granite. The thousand windings and turnings words spoken by my uncle seemed to be buzzing in
formed an inextricable labyi-inth through the an- my ears all is over! It was probable that he was
cient soil. As we descended, successions of layers right. In the state of prostration to Which I was re-
composing the primitive soil appeared with the ut- duced, it was madness to think of ever again Seeing
most fidelity of detail. the light of day. Above were miles upon miles of
No mineralogists had ever found themselves the e^'th's crust. As I thought of it, I could fancy
placed in such a mai'velous position to study nature the whole weight resting on my shoulders. I was
in all her real and naked beauty. The sounding rod, crushed, annihilated! and I exhausted myself in
a mere machine, could not bring to the surface of vain attempts to turn in my granite bed.
the earth the objects of value for the study of its Hours upon hours passed away, A pro'found and
interna! structure, which we were about to see with terrible silence reigned around us a. silence of the
our own eyes, to touch with our own handsi Remem- tomb. Nothing could make itself heard through
ber that I am ivriting this after the journey. these gigantic walls of granite. The very thought
Across the streak of the rocks, colored by beauti- was stupendous.
ful green tints, wound metallic threads of copper,
' Presently, despite my apathy, despite the kind of
of manganese, with traces of platinum and gold. I deadly calm into which I was cast, something
could not help gazing at these riches buried in the aroused me. It was a slight but peculiar noise..
entrails of mother earth, of which no man would While I was watching intently, I observed that the
have the enjoyment to the end of time These treas-
! tunnel was becoming dark. Then gazing'through the
ures-—mighty and inexhaustible, were buried in the dim light that remained, I thought I saw the Ice-
morning of the earth's history, at such awful depths, lander taking his departure, lamp in hand.
that no crowbar 9r pickax will ever drag them from Why had he acted thus? Did Hans the guide mean
their tomb The light of our Euhmkorf 's coil, in-
! to abandon us? My uncle Jay fast asleep or dead. —
creased tenfold by the myriad of prismatic masses "I tried tocry out, and arouse him. My voice, feebly"
of rock, sent their jets of fire in every direction, and issuing from my parched and fevered lips, found
I could fancy myself traveling through a huge hol- no echo in that fearful place. My throat was dry, my
low diamond, the rays of which produced myriads of tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. The ob-
extraordinary effects. Towards six o'clock, this fes- scurity had by this time become intense, and at last
tival of light began sensibly and visibly to decrease, even the faint sound of the guide's footsteps was
and soon almost ceased. The sides of the gallery as- lost in the blank distance. My soul seemed filled
sumed a crystallized tint, with a somber hue; white with anguish, and death appeared welcome, only let
mica began to commingle more freely with feldspar it come quicldy.
and quartz, to form what may be called the true rock
— the stone which is hard above all, that supports,
"Hans is leaving us," I cried. "Hans Hans, if —
you are a man, come back."
without being crushed, the four stories of the These words were spoken to myself. They could
earth's soil. We
were walled in by an immense not be heard aloud. Moreover, a moment's reflection
prison of granite re-assured me. Hans' departure could not be a
It was now eight o'clock, and still there was no flight. Instead of ascending the gallery, he was
sign of water. The sufferings I endured were hor- going deeper down into the gulf. Had he had any
rible. My uncle now kept at the head of our littlg bad design, hia way would have been upwards.
 — ! !

A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 203

This reasoning calmed me a little and I began to tinctly along the left wall, roaring, rushing, splut-
hope! The good, and peaceful, and imperturbable tering, and still falling.
Hans would certainly not have arisen from his sleep Several times I passed my hand across the rock,
without some serious and grave motive. Was he hoping to find some trace of humidity —
of the
bent on a voyage of discovery? During the deep, slightest percolation. Alas! in vain. Again a half
still silence of the night had he at last heard that hour passed in the same weary toil. Again we ad-
sweet murmur about which we were all so anxious? vanced.
It now became evident that the hunter, during hia
CHAPTER XX absence, had not been able to carry his researchea

Water, Where Is It?A Bitter Disappointment

any farther. Guided by an instinct peculiar to the
dwellers in mountain regions and water-iinders, he
DURING a
crossed my
long, long, weary hour, there
wildly delirious brain all sorts
"smelt" the living spring through the rock. Still
he had not seen the precious liquid. He had neither
of reasons as to what could have aroused quenched his own thirst nor brought us one drop in
our qyiet and faithful guide. The most absurd and his gourd.
ridiculous ideas passed through my head, each more Moreover, we soon made the disastrous discov-
impossible than the other. I believe I was either ery, that if our progress continued, we should soori
half or wholly mad. Suddenly, there arose, as it were be moving away from the torrent, the sound of
from the depths of the earth, a voice of comfort. It which gradually diminished. We turned back. Hans
was the sound of footsteps! Hans was returning. halted at the precise spot where the sound of the
Presently the uncertain light began to shine upon torrent appeared nearest.
the walla of the passage, and then it came in view I could hear the suspense and suffering no long-
far down the sloping tunnel. At length Hans him- er, and seated myself against the wall, behind which
self appeared. I could hear the water seething and effervescing not
He approached my uneie, placed his hand upon two feet away. Bat a solid wall of granite still aep-
his shoulder, and gently awakened him. My
uncle, arated us from it
as soon as he saw who it was, instantly rose, Hans looked keenly at me, and, strange enough,
"Well !*' exclaimed the Professor. .
for once I thought I saw a smile on his imperturb-
"Vatten," said the hunter. able face. He rose from a 'stone on which he had
I did not know a single word of the Danish lang- been seated, and took up the lamp. I could not help
uage, and yet by a sort of mysterious instinct I un- rising and following. He moved slowly along the
iderstood what the guide had said. firm and solid granite, wall. I watched him with
"Water, water!" I cried, in a wild and frantic mingled curiosity and eagerness. Presently he
tone, clapping my hands, and gesticulating like a halted and placed his ear against the dry stone, mov-
madman. ing slowly along and listening with the most ex-
"Water!" murmured ray uncle, in a voice of deep treme care and attention, I understood at once that
emotion and gratitude. "Hvar?" he was searching for the exact spot where the tor-
"Nedat." rent's roar was most plainly heard. This pointhe
"Where? below!" I understood every word, I soon found in the lateral wall on the left side, about
had caught the hunter by the hands, and I shook three feet above the level of the tunnel floor,
them heartily, while he looked on with perfect calm- I was in a state of intense excitement. I scarcely
dared believe what the eider-duck hunter was about
The preparations for our departure did' not take to do. It was, however, impossible in a moment
long, and we were soon malting a rapid descent into more not to both understand and applaud, and even
the tunnel. An hour later we had advanced a thou- to smother him in my
embraces, when I saw him
sand yards, and descended two thousand feet. At raise the heavy crowbar and commence an attack
this moment I heard an accustomed and well-known upon the rock itself.
sound running along the floors of the granite rock "Saved," I cried.
a kind ofduil and sullen roar, like that of a distant "Yes," cried my uncle, even more excited and de-
watei'fall. lighted than myself; "Hans is quite right. Oh, the
During the first half-hour of our advance, not worthy, excellent man We should never havs
!

finding the discovered spring, my feelings of in- thought of such an idea."

tense suffering returned. Once more I began to lose And nobody else, I think, would have thought of
all hope. My uncle, however, observing how down- it. Such a process, simple as it seemed, would most
hearted I was again becoming, took up the conver- certainly not have entered our heads. Nothing could
sation. "Hans was right," he exclaimed, enthusi- be more dangerous than to begin to work with
astically; "that is the dull roaring of a torrent." pickaxes in that particular part of the globe. Sup-
"A torrent," I cried, delighted at even hearing the posing while he was at work a break-up were to
welcome words. take place, and supposing the torrent once having
"There's not the slightest doubt about it," he gained an inch were to take an ell, and come pour-
replied, "a subterranean river is flowing beside us," ing bodily through the broken rock
I made no
reply, but hastened on, once more ani- Not one of these dangers was chimerical. They
mated by hope. I did not even feel the deep fatigue were only too real. But at that moment no fear of
which hitherto had overpowered me. The vei-y falling in of roof, or even of inundation was cap-
,

sound of this glorious murmuring water already re- able of stopping us. Our thirst was so intense, that
freshed me. We could hear it increasing in volume to quench it we would have dug below the bed of
every moment. The torrent, which for a long time old Ocean itself.
could be heard flowing over our heads, now ran dis- Hans went quietly to work—-a work which neither
204 AMAZING STORIES
my uncle nor I could have undertaken. Our impa- attempted. Hans picked up all the broken pieces of
tience was so great, that if we had once begun with granite he had knocked out, and using some tow he
pickax and crowbar, the rock would soon have split happened to have about him, tried to shut up the
into a hundred fragments. The guide, on the con- fissure he had made in the wall. All he did was tc
trary, calm, ready, moderate, wore away the hard scald his hands. The pressure was too great, and all
rock by little steady blows of his instrument, mak- our attempts were utter failures'.
ing no attempt at- a larger hole than about six "It is evident," I remarked, "that the upper sur-
inches. As I stood, I heard, or thought I heard, the face of these springs is situated at a very great
roar of the torrent momentarily increasing in loud- —
height above as we may fairly infer from the
ness, and at times I almost felt the pleasant sensa- great pressure of the jet."
tion of water upon my parched lips. "That is by no means doubtful," replied my unele,
At the end of what appeared an age, Hans had "if this column of water is about thirty-two thous-
made a hole, which enabled his crowbar to enter two and feet high, the pressure per square inch must be
feet iiito the solid rock. He had been at work ex- something enormous. But a new idea has just
actly an hour. It appeared a doaen, I was getting struck me."
wild with impatience. My unele began to think of "And what is that?"
using more violent measures, I had the greatest "Why be at so much trouble to close this aper-
difficulty in cheeking him. He had indeed just got
'
ture?"
hold of his crowbar when a loud and welcome hiss "Because " I hesitated and stammered, having
was heard. Then a stream, or rather a jet of water no real reason.
burst thi'ough the wall and came out with such "When our water bottles are empty, we are not
force as to hit the opposite side! at all sure that we shall be able to fill them," ob-
Hans, the guide, who was half upset by the served my unele.
shock, was scarcely able to keep down a cry of pain "I think that is very probable."
and grief. I understood his meaning when, plung- "Well, then, let this water run. It will, of course,
ing my hands into the sparkling jet, I myself gave a naturally follow in our track, and will serve to
wild and frantic cry. The water was scalding hot! guide and refresh us."
"Boiling," I cried, in bitter disappointment. "I think the idea a good one," I cried, in reply,
"Well, never mind," said my uncle, "it will soon "and with this rivulet as a Companion, there is no
get cool." further i-eason why we should not succeed ju our
The tunnel began to be filled by clouds of vapor, marvellous project."
while .a small stream ran away into the interior of "Ah, my boy,", said the professor, laughing,
the earth. In a short time we had some sufficiently "after all, you are coming round."
cool to drink. We swallowed it in huge mouthfuls. "More than that, I am now confident of ultimate
—
Oh what exalted delight ^what rich and incom- success. Forward."
parable luxuiy! What was this water, whence did it "One moment, nephew mine. Let us begin by
come? To us what was that? The simple fact was — taking some hours of repose."
it was water; and, though still with a tinge of I had utterly forgotten that it was night. The
warmth about it, it brought back to the heaj?t, that chronometer, however, informed me of the fact-
life which, but for it, must surely have faded away. Soon we were sufficiently restored and refreshed,
I drank greedily, almost without tasting it, ^ and had all fallen into a profound sleep.
When I had almost quenched by ravenous thirst,
I made a discovery, "Why, it is feiTuginous water,"
CHAPTER XXI
"Most excellent stomachic," replied my uncle, "and i Under the Ocean
highly mineralized. Here is a journey worth
twenty to Spa."
"It's very good," I replied.
BY the next day we had nearly forgotten our
past sufferings. The first sensation I ex-
perienced was sui-prise at not being thirsty,
"I should think so. Water found six miles under and I actually asked myself the reason. The run-
ground. There is a peculiarly inky flavor about it, ning stream, which flowed in rippling wavelets at
which is by no means disagi"eeable. Hans may con- my feet, was the satisfactory reply.
gratulate himself on having made a rare discovery. We breakfasted with a good appetite, and then
What do you say, nephew, according to the usual drank our fill of the excellent water, I felt myself
custom of travelers, to name the stream after him?" quite a new man, ready to go anywhere my uncle
"Good," said I. And the name of "Hans-bach" chose to lead. I began to think. Why should not a
was at once agreed upon. man as seriously convinced as my uncle, succeed,
Hans was not a bit more proud after hearing our with so excellent a guide as worthy Hans, and so
determination than he was before. After having devoted a nephew as myself? These were the bril-
taken a'very small modicum of the welcome refresh- liant ideas which invaded my brain. Had the prop-
ment, he had seated himself in a corner with his osition now been made to go back to the summit of
usual imperturable gravity. Mount SnefEels, I should have declined the offer in
"Now," said 1, "it is not worth while letting this a most indignant manner. But unfortunately there
water run to waste," was no qiiestion of going up. We were about to
"What is the use," replied my unele, "the source descend farther into the interior of the earth. "Let
from which this river rises is inexhaustible." us be moving," I cried, awakening the echoes of
"Never mind," I continued, "let us fill our goat the old world.
skin and gourds, and then try to atop the opening We resumed our march on Thursday at eight
up." o'clock in the morning. The great granite tunnel
My plan, after some hesitation, was followed or went round by sinuous and winding ways, present^
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 205
ing every now and then sharp turns, in fact it had ceased to be so abrupt, the stream must resume its
all the appearance of a labyrinth. Its direction, peaceful course. At this moment it reminded me
however, was in general towards the southwest. of my uncle, his impatience and rage, while when it
My uncle made several pauses in order to consult his flowed more peacefully, I pictured to myself the
compass. The gallery now began to trend down- placidity of the Icelandic guide.
wards in a horisontal direction, with about two During the whole of two days, the sixth and
inches of fall in every furlong. The murmuring seventh of July, we followed the extraordinary
stream flowed quietly at our feet. I could not but spiral staircase of the iisstire, penetrating two
compare it to 'iome familiar =ipirit guiding us leagues farther into the crust of the earth, which
through the ea tl a d I lal-bled n> fi ger n its placed us five leagues below the level of the sea. On
tepid -wate I 1 sang lie i n ad as e pro- the eighth, however, at twelve o'clock in the day,
gressed. M
good 1 umo began to as un e a myth- the fissure suddenly assumed a much more gentle
ological ha acter slope still trending in a southeast direction. The
•

As fo my u cle he \ egan to compli n of the road now became comparatively easy, and at the
horizontal ci a acte of the o d H s oute he same time dreadfully monotonous. It would have
found began to 1 e defin tely p olo ged nstead been diifi^ult for matters to have turned out other-
of "sliding down the cele t al a o d g to wise. Our peculiar journey had no chance of being
his express o diversified by landscape and scenery. At all events,
But we had no choice, and as long as oui road led such was then my idea.
—
towards the center however Httle progress we At length, on Wednesday the fifteenth, we were
made, there was no reason to complain. Moreover, actually seven leagues (twenty-one miles) below the
from time to time the slopes were much greater; surface of the earth, and fifty leagues distant from
the naiad sang more loudly, and- we began to dip the mountain of Sneffels. Though, if the truth be
downwards in earnest, I felt no further painful sen- told,we were very tired, our health had resisted all
sation! I had hot yet recovered from the excitement suffering, and was most satisfactory. Our traveler's
of the .discovery pf water. box of medicaments had not even been opened. My
That day and the next we did a considerable uncle was careful to note every hour the indica-
amount of horizontal, and relatively very little ver- tions of the compass, of the manometer, and of the
tical, traveling. On Friday evening, the tenth of thermometer, all of which he afterwards published
July, according to our estimation, we ought to have in his elaborate philosophical and scientific
account
been thirty leagues to the southeast of Reykjawik, of our remarkable voyage. He was therefore able to
and about two leagues and a half deep. We now re- give an exact relation of the situation. Therefore,
ceived a rather startling surprise. when he informed me that we were fifty leagues in a
Under our feet th^re opened a horrible well. My horizontal direction distant from our starting-
uncle was so delighted that he actually clapped his point,! couldspot suppress a loud exclamation.
hands— as he saw how steep and sharp was the de- "What isHhe matter now?" cried my uncle.
scent. "Ah, ah!" he cried, in rapturous delight; "Kfotiyfig very important, only an idea has en-
"this will take us a long way. Look at theprojec- t^r*a ray' head," was my reply.
tions of the rock. Hah!" he exclaimed, "it's a fear- "W^t out with it, my boy."
'T-

ful staircase!". V "It IS my opinion that if your calculations are

Hans, however, who in all our troubles had nevcK, ^ coii^j^t we are no longer under Iceland."
given up the ropes, took care so to dispose of th^^" "Do you think so?"
as to prevent any accidents. Our descent theiiffee- „ "We can very
easily find out," I replied, pulling
gan. I dare not call it a perilous descent, for I Was "ut the
map and c"
already too familiar with that sort of work to loofc^
"Y^u see," I said, after careful measurement,
upon it as anything but a very ordinary affair. This
"that I am not mistaken. We are far beyond Cape
well was a kind of narrow opening in the massiVe
P^ftland; and those fifty leagues to the southeast
granite of the kind knoT,vn as a fissure. The con-
will take us into the open sea,"
traction of the terrestrial scaffolding, when it sud-
denly cooled, had been evidently the cause. If it
"Under the open sea," cried my uncle, rubbing
had ever served in foi'mer times as a kind of fun- his hands with a delighted air.
nel through which passed the eruptive masses vom- "Yes," I cried, "no doubt the old ocean flows over
ited by Sneffels, I was at a loss to explain how it our heads."
showed no mark. We were, in fact, descending a "Well, my dear boy, what pan be more natural.
spiral, something like those winding staircases in Do, you not know that in the neighborhood of New-
use in modern houses. castle there are coal mines which have been worked
We were compelled every quarter of an hour or far out under the sea?"
thereabouts to sit. down in order to rest our legs. How my. worthy uncle, the Professor, no doubt
Our calves ached. We then seated ourselves on some regarded this discovery as a simple fact, but to me
projecting rock with our legs hanging over, and the idea was by no means a pleasant one. And yefc
gossiped while we ate a mouthful— drinking still when one came to think the matter over seriously,
from the pleasantly warm running stream which what mattered it whether the plains and mountains
.had not deserted us. of Iceland were suspended over our devoted heads,
It is scarcely necessary to say, that in this curi- or the mighty billows of the Atlantic Ocean? The
ously shaped fissure the Hans-bach had become a whole question rested on the solidity of the granite
cascade to the detriment of its size. But it was still roof above us. However, I soon got used to the
sufficient, and more than sufiicient, for our wants. idea, for the passage, now level, now running down,
Besides we knew that,, as soon as the declivity and still always to the southeast, kept going deeper
206 AMAZING STORIES
and deeper into the profounfl abysses of Mother gone sixteen leagues in a downward direction."
Earth. —
"Sixteen leagues fifty miles!" I cried.
Three claya later, on the eighteenth day of July, "I am sure of it."
on a Saturday, we i-eached a kind of vast grotto. "But that is the extreme limit allowed by sciencii
My uncle here paid Hans his usual rix-dollara, and for the thickness of tiie earth's crust," I replied, re-
it was decided that the next day should be a day of ferring to my geological studies.
rest. "I do not contravene that assertion," was his quiei;
answer.
CHAPTER XXII "And at this stage of our journey, according to
all Imown laws on the increase of heat, there should
Sunday Below Ground
be here a temperature of fifteen hundred degrees of
AWOKE on Sunday morning without any sense Reaumur."

J
of hurry and bustle attendant on an immediate
departure. Though the day to be devoted to
—
"There should be you say, my boy,"
"In which case this granite would not exist, but
repose and reflection was spent under such strange be in a state of fusion."
circumstances, and in so wonderful a place, the idea "But you perceive, my boy, that it is not so, and
was a pleasant one. Besides, we all began to get that facts, as usual, are very stubborn things, over-
used to this kind of existence. I had almost ceased ruling all theories."
to think of the sun, of the moon, of the stars, of the "I am forced to yield to tiie evidence of ray senses,
trees, houses, and towns; in fact, about any ter- but I am nevertheless very much surprised."
restrial necessities. In our peculiar position we "What heat does the thermometer really indi-
were far above such reflections. cate?" continued the philosopher.
The grotto was a vast and magniiicent hall. "Twenty-seven six-tenths."
Along: its granitic soil the stream flowed placidly "So that science is wrong by fourteen hundred
and pleasantly. So great a distance was it now and seventy-four degrees and four-tenths. Accord-
from Its fiery source, that its water was scarcely ing to which, it is demonstrated that the propor-
lukewarm, and -could be drunk without delay or tional increase in temperature is an exploded error.
difficulty. Humphrey Davy here shines forth in all his glory.
After a frugal breakfast, the Professor made up He is right,and I have acted wisely to believehim.
his mind to devote some hours to putting his notes Have you any answer to make to this statement?"
and calculations in order. "In the first place," he said, Had Ichosen to speak, I might have said a great
"I have a good many to verify and prove, in order deal. I inno way admitted the theory of Hunq)hrey
that we may know our exact position, I wish to be —
Davy^ -I still held out for the theory of propor-
able on our return to the upper regions, to make tional increase of heat, though I did not fee! it. I .

a map of our journey, a kind of vertical section of was far more willing to allow that this chimney
the globe, which will be as it were the profde of the of an extinct volcano was covered by lava of a kind
expedition." —
refractory to heat in fact a bad conductor—which
"That would indeed be a curious work, uncle; but did not allow the great increase of temperature to
can you make your observations with anything like percolate through its sides. The hot water jet sup-
certainty and precision?" ported my view of the matter.
"I can. I have never on one occasion failed to But without entering on a long and useless. dis-
note with great care the angles and slopes. I am cussion, or seeking for new arguments to contro-
certain as to having made no mistake. Take the vert my uncle, I contented myself with taking up
compass and examine how she points." facts as they were. "Well, sir, I take for granted
I looked at the instrument with care. "East ohe- that all your calculations are correct, but allow me to
quarter southeast." draw from them a rigorous and definite conclusion,"
"Very good," resumed the Professor, noting the —
"Go on, my boy have your say," cried my uncle,
observation, and going through some rapid calcula- good-humor edly.
tions. "I make out that wc have journeyed two "At the place where we now are, under the lati-
hundred and fifty miles from the point of our de- tude of Iceland, the terrestrial depth is about fifteen
parture." hundred and eighty-three leagues."
"Then the mighty waves Of the Atlantic are roll- "Fifteen hundred, eighty-three and a quarter."
ing over our heads?" "Well, suppose we say sixteen hundred in round
"Certainly." numbers. Now, out of a voyage of sixteen hundred
"And at this very moment it is possible that fierce leagues we have completed sixteen."
tempests are raging above, and that men and ships "As you say, what then ?"
are battling against the angry blasts just over our "At the expense of a diagonal journey of no less
heads ?" than eighty-five leagues."
"It is quite within the range of possibility," re- "Exactly."
joined my uncle, smiling. "We have been twenty days about it."
"And that whales are playing in shoals, thrash- "Exactly twenty days."
ing the bottom of the sea, the roof of our adaman- "Now sixteen is the hundredth part of our con-
tine prison?" templated expedition. If we go on in this way we
"Ee quite at rest on that point; there is no dan- shall be two thousand days, that is about five years
ger of their breaking through. But to return to and a half, going down."
our calculations. We are to the southeast, two bun-, The Professor folded his arms, listened, but did
dred and fifty miles from the base of Sneffels, and^- not speak.
according to my preceding notes, I. think we haVe "Without counting that if a vertical descent of
 'A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 207
sixteen leagues cqsts us a horiaontal of eighty-five, "Faith, uncle, you have an answer for every-
we shall have to go about eight thousand leagues to thing," was my own reply. I began to feel that it
the southeast, and we must therefore come out was unwise in me to go any farther into the wide
somewhere in the circumference long before we can iieldof hypotheses, for I should' certainly have re-
hope to reach the center." vived some difficulty, or rather impossibility that
"Bother your calculations," cried my uncle in one would have enraged the Professor.
of his old rages, "On what basis do they rest? How It was evident, nevertheless, that the air under
do you know that this passage does not take us di- a pressure which might be multiplied by thousands
rect to the end we require? Moreover, I have in of atmospheres, would end by becoming perfectly
my favor, fortunately, a precedent. What I have solid, and that then admitting our bodies resisted
undertaken to do, another has dons, and he having the pressure, we should have to stop, in spite of all
succeeded, why should I not be equally successful?" the reasoning in the world. Facts overcome all ar-
"I hope, indeed, you will, but still, I suppose I may guments.
he allowed to " . But I thought it best not to urge \h.U argument.
"You are allowed to hold your tongue,'' cried Pro- My uncle would simply have quoted the example
fessor Hardwigg, "when you talk so unreasonably of Saknuasem. Supposing the learned Icelander's
—
,

as this." journey ever really to have taken place there was

I saw at once that the old doctorial Professor was —
one simple answer to be made: In the sixteenth
stili alive in my uncle—and fearful to rouse his century neither the barometer nor the manometer
angry passions, I dropped the unpleasant subject. had been invented—how, then, could Saknussem
"Now, then," he explained, "consult the mano- have been able to discover when he did reach the
meter. What does that indicate?" center of the earth 7 This unanswerable and learned
"A considerable amount of pressure." objection I kept to myself, and bracing up my cour-
"Very good. You see, then, that by descending age awaited the course of events—little aware of
slowly, and by gradually accustoming ourselves to how adventurous the incidents of our remarkable
the density of this lower atmosphere, we shall not journey were yet to be.
suffer. The rest of this day of leisure and repose was
"Well, I suppose not, except it may be a certain spent in calculation and conversation. I made it a
amount of pain in the ears," was my rather grim point to agree with the Professor' in everything but ;

reply. I envied the perfect indifference of Hans, who, with-

"That, mydear boy, is nothing, and you will out taking any such trouble about the cause and ef-
easily get rid of that source of discomfort by bring- fect, went blindly onwards wherever destiny chose
ing the exterior air in communication with the air- to lead,
contained in your lungs."
"Perfectly," said I, for I had quite made up my CHAPTER XXIir
mind in no wise to contradict my
uncle. "I should
iancy almost that I should experience a certain T must in all truth be confessed, things aS yet
_ amount of satisfaction in making a plunge into had gone on well, and I should have acted in
this dense atmosphere.
how
Have you taken note of
wonderfully sound is propagated?"
I; taste to have complained. If our difficul-
ties did not increase, it was within the range of
"Of course I have. There can be no doubt that possibility that we might ultimately reach the end
a journey into the interior of the earth would be of our journey. Then what glory would be ours!
an excellent cure for deafness." I began in the newly aroused ardor of my
soul to
"But then, uncle," I ventured mildly to observe, speak enthusiastically to the Professor. Was I
"this density will continue to increase." serious ! The whole state in which we' existed was
—
"Yes according to a law which, however, is —
a mystpry and it was impossible to know whether
scarcely defined. It is true that the mtensity of or not I was in earnest.,^
weight will diminish just in proportion to the depth Foi several days after our memorable halt, the
to which we go. You know very well that it is on
the surface of the earth that its action is most
—
slopes became more rapid some were even of a
most frightful charactei'—almost vertical, so that
powerfully felt, while on the contrary, m
the veiy we were forever going down into the solid interior
center of the earth bodies cease to have anv weight mas'! During some days, we actually descended a
'

at all." . .
league and a half, even two leagues towards the
"I know that is the case, but as we progress will center of the earth. The descents were sufficiently
not the atmosphere finally assume the density of perilous, and while we were engaged in them
water ?"
we
learned fully to appreciate the marvelous coolness of
"I know it; when placed under the pressure of our guide, Hans. Without him we should have been
seven hundred and ten atmospheres," cried my uncle wholly lost. The grave and impassible Icelander de-
with imperturbable gravity." voted himself to us with the most incomprehensible
"And when we are stili lower down?" I asked sang froid and ease; and, thanks to him, many a
with natural anxiety. dangerous pass was got over, where, but for him, we
"Well, lower down, the density will become even should, inevitably have stuck fast.
greater still." His silence increased every day. I think that we,
"Then how shall we be able to make our way began to be influenee'd hy this peculiar trait in his
through this atmospheric fog?" character. It is certain that the inanimate objects
"Well, my worthy nephew, we must ballast our- by which you are surrounded have a direct action
selves hy filling our pockets with stones," said Pro- on the brain. It must be that a man who shuts ^

fessor Hardwigg. himself up between four walls must Jose the faculty;
 AMAZING STORIES
of associating ideas and words. How many persona But as I spoke" these last words §;loud, it would
condemned to the horrors of solitary confinement —
have been quite clear to any listener had there
have gone mad— simply because the thinking fac- been one—that I was by ho means convinced of the
have lain dormant!
ulties fact. Moreover, to associate together these simple
During the two weeks that followed our last inter- ideas and, to reunite them under the form of reason-
esting conversation, there occurred nothing worthy ing, required some time, I could not all at once
of heing especially recorded. I have, while writing bring my brain to think.
these memoirs, taxed my rnemory in vain for one Then another dread doubt fell upon my soul.
. '

incident of travel during this particular period. After all, was 1 ahead? Of course"! was:' Hanswas
But the next event to be related Is terrible in- no doubt following behind, preceded by my .uncle.
deed. Its very memory, even now, malces my soul I perfectly recollect his having stopped for a mo-
shudder, and my blood run cold. It was on the ment' to strap his baggage "on his shoulder, I now
seventh of August. Our constant and successive remembered this trifling detail. It was, I believed,
descents had taken us quite thirty leagues into the just at that very moment that I had determined to
interior of the earth, that is to say that there were continue my route.
above us thirty leagues, nearly a hundred miles, "Again," thought I, reasoning as calmly as was
of rocks, and oceans, and continents, and towns, to possible, "there is another sure means of not los-
say nothing of iiving inhabitants. We were in a ing my way, a thread to guide me through the laby-
southeasterly direction, about two hundred leagues rinthine subterraneous retreat— one which I had
from Iceland, —
forgotten my faithful river."
On that memorable day the tunnel had begun to This course of reasoning roused my drooping
assume an almost Horizontal course. I was on this spirits, and I resolved to resume my journey with-
occasion walking on in front. My uncle had charge out further delay. No time was to be lost. It was
of one of the Kuhmkorf coils, I had possession of at this moment that I had reason to bless the
the other. By means of its light I was busy exam- thoughtfulness of my uncle, when he refused to
ining the different layers of granite. I was com- allow the eider hunter to close the orifices of the hot
pletely absorbed in my work. Suddenly halting and spring—that small fissure in the great mass of
turning round, I found that I was alone granite. This beneficient spring after having saved
"Well," thought I to myself, "I have certainly us from thirst during so many days would now en-
—
been walking too fast or else Hans and my uncle able me to regain ,the right road. Having^come to
have stopped to rest. The best thing I can do is to this mental decision, I made up my mind, before I
go back and find them. Luckily, there is very started upwards, that ablution would certainly do
little ascent to tire me." me a great deal of good.
I accordingly retraced my steps, and while doing I stopped to plunge my hands and forehead in the
so, walked for at least a quarter of an hour. Rather pleasant water of the Hans-bach stream, blessing,
uneasy, I paused and looked eagerly around. Not a its presence as a certain consolation.
living soul, I called aloud. No reply. My voice was Conceive my horror and stupefaction! I was
treading a hard, dusty, shingly road of granite.
—
lost amid the myriad cavernous echoes it aroused
I began for the first time to feel seriously un- The stream on which I reckoned had wholly dis-
easy. A
cold shiver shook my whole body, and per- appeared !
spiration, chill and terrible, burst upon skin.my CHAPTER XXIV
"I must be calm," I said, speaking aloud, as boys
whistle to drive away fear. "There can be no doubt
that I shall find
two roads.
my companions. There cannot be
It is cei-tain that I was considerably
NO words in any human language can depict
my utter despair. I was literally buried
alive; with no other expectation before me
ahead; all I have to do is to go back,"
than to die in all the slow horrible torture of hun-
Having come to this determination I ascended the ger and thirst. Mechanically I crawled about, feel-
tunnel for at least half an hour, unable to decide if
ing the dry and arid rock. Never to my fancy had
I had ever seen certain landmarks before. Every
I ever felt anything so dry.
now and then I paused to discover if any loud appeal But, I frantically asked myself, how had I lost the
was made to me, well knowing that in that dense course of the flowing stream? There could be no
and intensified atmosphere I should hear it a long doubt it had ceased to flow in the gallery in which
way otf. But no. The most extraordinary silence I now was. I began to understand the cause of
reigned in this immense gallery. Only the echoes the strange silence which prevailed when last I tried
of my own footsteps could be heard. if any appeal from my companions might perchance
At last I stopped. I could scarcely realize the fact reach my ear.
of my isolation. I was quite willing to think that I It 30 happened that when I first took an 'impru-
had made a mistake, but not that I was lost. If I had dent step in the wrong direction, I did not perceive
made a mistake, I might find my way: if lost
shuddered to think of it.
— the absence of the all-important stream. It was now
quite evident that when we halted, another tunnel
"Come, come," said I to myself, "since there is must have received the waters of the little torrent,
only one road, and they must come by it, we shall at and that I had unconsciously entered a different
last meet. All I have to do is still to go upwards. gallery. To what unknown depths had my compan-
Perhaps, however, not seeing me, and forgetting I ions gone? Where was I?
was ahead, they may have gone back in search of How to get back? Clue or landmark there was
me. Still even in this case, if I make haste, I shall absolutely none! My feet left no signs on the
get up to them. There can be no doubt about the granite and shingle. My brain throbbed with agony
matter." as I tried to discover the solution of this terrible
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 209
problem. My situation, after all sophistry and re- I coukJ, at all events, regain the awful crater of
flection, had -finally to be summed up in three awful Mount Sneffels, Why had I not thought of this he-
words—Lost.' LOSTl! LOSTI!! last, was a reasonable hope of safety.
fore? This, at
Lost at a depth which, to my infinite understand- The most important thing, then, to be done was to
ing, appeared to be immeasurable. These thirty discover the bed of the Hans-hach.
leagues of the crust of the earth weighed upon my After a slight meal and a draught of water, I rose
shoulders like the globe on the shoulders of Atlas. I like a giant refreshed. Leaning heavily on my pole,
felt myself crushed by the awful weight. It was in- I began the ascent of the gallery' Tlie slope was
deed a position to drive the sanest man to madness. very steep and rather difficult. But I advanced
I tried to bring my thoughts back to the things of hopefully and carefully like a man who at last is
the world so long forgotten. It was with the great- making his way out of a forest, and knows there is
est difficulty that I succeeded in doing so. Ham- only one road to follow.
burg, the bouse on the Konigatrasse, my dear cousin During one whole hour nothing happened to
—
Gretchen ail that world which had before vanished check ray progress. As I advanced I tried to recol-
like a shadow floated before my now vivid imagina- lect the shape of the tunnel —
to recall to ray mem-
tion. There they were before me, but how unreal. ory certain projections of rocks to persuade my- —
Under the influence of a terrible hallucination I self that I had followed certain winding routes be-
saw the whole incidents of our journey pass before fore. But no one particular sign could I bring to
me like the scenes of a panorama. The ship and its raind, and I was soon forced to allow that this gal-
inmates, Iceland, M.. Fridriksson, and the great lery would never take nie back to the point at which
summit of Mount Sneffels I said to myself that if
! I had separated myself from my companions. It
in my position, I retained the most faint and —
was absolutely without issue a mere blind alley in
shadowy outline of a hope it would be a sure sign the earth.
of approaching delirium. It were better to give The moment at length came when, facing the
way wholly to despair! solid rock, Iknew my fate, and fell inanimate on
In fact, if I reasoned with calmness and philos- the arid floor!
ophy, what huma« power was there in existence To describe the horrible state of despair and fear
able to take me back to the surface of the earth, and into which I then fell would now be vain and im-
ready too, to split asunder those huge and mighty possible. My last hope, the courage which had sus-
vaults which stood above my head? Who could en- tained me, drooped before the sight of' this pitiless
able me to find my road —
and regain my compan- granite rock! Lost in a vast labyrinth, the sinuosi-
ions? Insensate folly and madness to entertain ties of which spread in every direction, without
even a shadow of hope I guide, clue or compass, it was a vain and useless
"Oh, uncle !" was my despairing cry. This was task to attempt flight. All that remained to me was
the only word of reproach which came to my lips; to lie down and die. To lie down and die the most
for I thoroughly understood how deeply and sor- cruel and horrible of deaths
rowfully the worthy Professor would regret my In my state of mind, the idea came into my head
being lost, and how in his turn he would patiently that one day perhaps, when my fossil hones were
seek for me. found, their discovery so far below the level of the
When I at last began to resign myself to the fact earth might give rise to solemn and interesting
that no further aid was to be expected from man, scientific discussions. I tried to cry aloud, hut
and knowing that I was utterly powerless to do any- hoarse, hollow and inarticulate sounds alone could
thing for ray own salvation, I kneeled with earnest make themselves heard through ray parched lipa. I
fei-vor and asked assistance from Heaven. The ]-e- literally panted for breath. ,

membrance of my innocent childhood, the memory In the midst of all these horrible sources of an-
of my mother, known only in my infancy, came well- guish and despair, a new horror took possession of
ing forth from my heart. I had recourse to prayer. my soul. My lamp, by falling down, had gotten out
And little as I had right to be remembered by Him of order, I had no means of repairing it. Its light
whom I had forgotten in the hour of prosperity, and was already becoming paler and paler, and soon
whom I BO tardily invoked, I prayed earnestly and would expii-e. With a strange sense of resignation
sincerely. and despair, I watched the luminous current in the
This renewal of my youthful faith brought about coil getting less and less, A
procession of shadows
a much greater amount of calm, and I was en- moved flashing along the granite wall. I scarcely
abled to concentrate all my strength and intelli- dared to lower my eyelids, fearing to lose the last
gence on the terrible realities of my unprecedented spai-k of this fugutive light. Every instant it
situation. I had about me that which I had at first seemed to me that it was about to vanish and to
—
wholly forgotten three days' provisions. More- —
leave me forever in utter darkness!
over, my water bottle was quite full. Nevertheless, At last, one final trembling flame remained in the
the one thing which it was impossible to do was to lamp; I followed it with ail my power of vision; I
remain alone. Try to find my companions I must, gasped for breath; I concentrated upon it all the
at any price. But which course should I take? power of my soul, as upon the last scintillation of
Should I go upwards, or again descend? Doubtless light I was ever destined to see; and then I was to
it was right to retrace my steps in an upward direc- be lost forever in Cimmerian and tenebrous shades.
tion. A wild and plaintive cry escaped ray lips. On
By doing this with care and coolness, I must reach earth during the most profound and comparatively
the point where I had turned away from the rippl- complete darkness, light never allows a complete
ing stream. I must find the fatal bifurcation or destruction and extinction of its power. Light is
fork. Once at this spot, once the river at my feet. so diffuse, so subtle, that it permeates everywhere.
 —
210 AMAZING STORIES
and ivhatever little may remain, the retina of the of human voices. To make any meaning out of the
eye will succeed in finding it. In thia place nothing sound, however, was beyond my power, I was too
—not the faintest ray of light. It mazed me! weak even to hc:tr distinctly. Still it was a positive
My head was now wholly lost. I raised my arms, fact that some one was speaking. Of that I was
trying the effects of the feeling in getting against certain.
the cold stone wall. It was painful in the extreme. There was a moment of fear. A dread fell upon
Madness must have taken possession of nie. I knew Tiij soul that it might be ray own words brought
not what I did. I began to run, to fiy, rushing at back to me by a distant echo. Perhaps without
haphazard in this inextricable labyi'inth, always knowing it, I might have been crying aloud. I res-
going downwards, running wildly underneath the olutely closed my lips, and once more placed my
terrestrial crust, ]ike an inhabitant of the subter- ear to the huge granite wall. Yes, for certain. It
ranean furnaces, screaming, roaring, howling, un- was in truth the sound of human voices.
til bruised by the pointed rocks, falling and picking I now by the exercise of great determination
myself up all covered with, blood, seeidng madly to dragged myself along the sides of the cavern, until
drink the blood which dripped from my torn fea- I reached a point where I could hear more distinct-
mad because this blood trickled over my face,
tures, ly. But though I could detect the sound, I could
and watching always for this horrid wall which only make out uncertain, strange, and incompre-
ever presented to me the fearful obstacle against hensible words. They reached my ear as if they
which I could but daah my head. —
had been spoken in a low tone murmured, as it
Where was I going? It was impossible to say. were, afar olf. At last, I made out the word for-
Several hours passed in this way. After a long lorad repeated several times in a tone betokening
time, having utterly exhausted my strength, I fell gi-eat mental anguish and sorrow.
a heavy inert mass along the side of the tunnel, and What could this word mean, and who was speak-
lost all consciousness of existence! ing it? It must be either my uncle or the guide
Hans! If, therefore, I could hear them, they must
CHAPTER XXV surely be able to hear me. "Help," I cried at the
top of my voice; "help, I am dying!"
The Whispering Gallery
I then listened with scarcely a breath; I panted
THEN at last I same back to a sense of life for the slightest sound in the darkness a cry, a —
and being, my face was wet; but wet as I
' sigh, a question! But silence reigned supreme. No
soon knewiwith tears. How long this state answer came! In this way some minutes passed. A
of insensibility lasted, it is quite impossible for me whole flood of ideas flashed through my mind. I be-
to say. I had no means left to me of taking any ac- gan to fear that my voice, weakened by sickness and
count of time. Never since the creation of the world, suffering, could not reach my companions who were
had such a solitude as mine existed. I was com- in search of me.
pletely abandoned. "It must be they," I cried; "what other men can
After my fall I had lost much blood. I had felt by any possibility be buried a hundred miles below
myself flooded with the life-giving liquid, My first the level of the earth?" The mere supposition was
sensation was perhaps a natui'al one. Why was I preposterous. I began, therefore, to listen again
not dead? Because I was alive, there was something with the most breathless attention. As I moved my
left to do. I tried to make up my mind to think no ears along the side of the place I was in, I found a
longer. As far as I was able, I drove away all ideas, mathematical point as it were, where the voices ap-
and utterly overcome by pain and grief, crouched peared to attain their maximum of intensity. The
against the granite wall. word forlorad again distinctly reached ray ear.
I commenced to feel the fainting coming on Then carae again that rolling noise like thunder
again, with the sensation that this was the last which had awakencid me out of torpor.
struggle before complete annihilation,—-when, on a "I begin to understand," I said to myself, after
sudden, a violent uproar i-eached my ears. It had some little time devoted to reflection; "it is not
some resemblance to the prolonged rumbling voice through the solid mass that the sound reaches my
of thunder, and I clearly distinguished sonorous ears. The walls of my cavernous retreat are of
voices, lost one after the other, in the distant depths solid granite, and the most fearful explosion would
of the gulf. not make uproar enough to penetrate them. The
Whence came this noise? Again I listened with sound must come along the gallery itself. The place
deep attention. I was extremely anxious to hear if 1 was in must possess some peculiar acoustic prop-
the strange and inexplicable sound was likely to be erties of its own."
renewed! Awhole quarter of an hour elapsed in —
Again I listened; and this time yes, this time
painful expectation.' Deep and solemn silence I heard my name distinctly pronounced: east as it
reigned in the tunnel. So still that I could hear were into space. It was my uncle, the Professor,
the beatings of my own heart! 1 waited, waited, who was speaking. He was in conversation with the
waited with a strange kind of hopefulness. guide, and the word which had so often reached ray
Suddenly my ear, which leaned accidentally ears, forlorad, was a Danish e::preasion.
against the wall, appeared to catch the faintest echo Then I understood it all. In order to malte my-
of a sound. I thought that I heard vague, incoher- self heard, I too must speak as it were along the

ent and distant voices. I quivered all over with ex- side of the gallery, which would carry the sound
citement and hope! "It must be hallucination," I of my
voice just as the wire carries the electric
cried. "It cannot be! it is not true!" fluid from point
to point. But there was no time to
But nol By listening more attentively, I really lose. companions were only to remove a few
If ray
did convince myself that what I heard was the sound feet from where they stood, the acoustic effect
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 211
would be over, ray Whispering Gallery would be de- "Well, make ready, I am about to pronounce your
stroyed. I again therefore crawled towards the wall, name," said the Professor.
and said as clearly and distinctly as I could I applied my ear close to the sides of the cavern-
"Uncle Hardwigg." ous gallery, and as soon as the word Harry reached
I then awaited a reply. my ear, I turned round, and placing my lips to the
Sound does not possess the property of traveling wall, repeated the sound.
with such extreme rapidity. Besides, the density of "Forty seconds," said ray uncle. "There has
the air at that depth from light and motion, was elapsed forty seconds between the two words. The
very far from adding to the rapidity of circulation. sound, therefore, takes twenty seconds to ascend.
Several seconds elapsed, which, to my excited imag- Now, allowing a thousand and twenty feet for every
ination, appeared ages; and these words reached —
second we have twenty thousand and four hundred
my eager ears, and moved my wildly beating heart feet —
a league and a half and one-eighth."
"Harry, my boy, is that you?" These words fell on my soul like a kind of death-
A short deiay between question and answer. bnell. "A league and a-half," I muttered in a low
"Yes —yes." and despairing voice.
"Where are you?" "It shall be got over, myboy," cried my uncle in
"Lost!" a cheery tone "depend on us."
;

"And your lamp?" "But do you know whether to ascend or descend?"

"Out." I asked faintly enough.
"But the guiding stream?" "You have to descend, and I will tell you why. We
"Is lost!" have reached a vatit open space, a kind of bare cross
"Keep your courage, Harry. We
wiil do our best." road, from which galleries diverge in every direc-
"One moment, my uncle," I cried; "I have no tion. That in which you are no.w lying, must neces-
longer strength to answer your questions. But sarily bring you to this point, for it appears that all
— —
for heaven's sake do you continue to speak to — — these mighty fissures, these fractures of the globe's
interior radiate from the vast cavern which we at
Absolute would be annihilation.
silence, I felt, this moment occupy. Rouse yourself, then, have
"Keep up your courage," said my uncie. "As you courage and continue your route. Walk if you can,
are so weak do not speak. We have been searching if not, drag yourself along— slide, if nothing else is
for you in all directions, both by going upwards and
downwards in the gallery. My dear boy, I had be-
possible. The slope must be rather rapid and you —
will lind strong arms to receive you at the end of
—
gun to give up all hope and you can never know your journey. Make a start, like a good fellow,"
what bitter tears of sorrow and regret I have shed. These words served to rouse some kind of cour-
At last, supposing you to be still on the road beside age in my sinking frame. "Farewell for the present,
the Hans-bach we again descended, firing oif guns good uncle, I am about to take my departure. As
as signals. Now, however, that we have found you, soon as I start, our voices will cease to commingle.
and that our voices reach each other,, it may be a Farewell, then, until we meet again."
longtime before we actually meet. We are convers-
ing by means of some extraordinary acoustic ar-
—
"Adieu, Hariy until we say Welcome." Such
were the last words which reached my anxious ears,
rangement of the labyrinth. But do not despair, before I commenced my weary and almost hopeless
my dear boy. It is something gained even to hear journey.
each otlier."
This wonderful and surprising conversation
While he was speaking my brain was at work re-
which took place through the vast mass of the
flecting. A
certain undefined hope, vague and shape-
earth's labyrinth, these words exchanged, the speak-
less as yet, made by heart beat wildly. In the first
place, it was absolutely necessary for me to know
ers being about five miles apart —
ended with hope-
ful and pleasant expressions. I breathed one more
one thing. I once more therefore leaned my head
prayer to Heaven, I sent up words of thanksgiving
against the wall, which I almost touched with my
lips, and again spoke.
— believing in my inmost heart that He had led me
to the only place where the voices of my friends
"Uncle."
"My boy," was his ready answer.
could reach my ears.
I accordingly rose to my feet. But I soon found
"It is of the utmost consequence that vje should
itnow how far we are asunder." that I could not walk; that I must drag myself
along. The slope, as I expected, was very rapid;
"That is not diiScult."
but I allowed myself to slip down.
"You have your chronometer at hand ?" I aslced.
"Certainly." ' Soon the rapidity of the descent began to assume
"Well, take it into, your hand. Pronounce my frightful proportions; and menaced a fearful fall. I
name, noting exactly the second at which you clutched at the sides; I grasped at projections of
I will reply as soon as I hear your words
spealc. rocks; I threw myself backwards. All in vain. My
and youwill then note exactly the moment at which weakness was so great I could do nothing to save
my reply reaches you." myself.
"Very good; and the time between my question Suddenly earth failed me. I was lirst launched in-
and your answer will be double the time occupied by to a dark, and gloomy void. I then struck against
my voice in reaching you," the projecting asperities of a vertical gallery, a
"That is exactly what I mean, uncle," was my perfect well. My
head bounded against a pointed
eager reply. rock, and I lost all knowledge of existence. As far
"Are you .
as I was concerned, death had claimed me for hia
"Yes."
212 AMAZING STORIES
CHAPTER XXVI the conclusion that I could not be mistaken. Surely,
eyes and ears could not both deceive me.
A Eapid Recovery
"It is a ray of the blessed daylight," I said to my-
THEN I returned to the conaeiouaness of ex- self, "ivhich has penetrated through some mighty
'
istence, I found myself surrounded by a Idnd fissure in the rocks. But what is the meaning of this
of semi-obacurity, lying on thick and soft murmur of waves, this unmistakable moaning of the
coverlids. —
My uncle was watching- lus eyes fixed salt sea billows? I can hear, plainly enough, the
intently on my countenance, a grave expj'ession on whistling of the wind. But can 1 be altogether mis-
his face; a tear in his eye. At the first sigh which taken? If my uncle, during my illness, has but car-
struggled from my bosom he took hold of my hand. ried me back to the surface of the earth Has he, on
!

When he saw ray eyea open and fix themselves upon my account, given up his wondrous expedition, or in
his, he uttered a loud ery of joy. "He lives! he some strange manner has it come to an end?"
lives!" I was puzzling Joy brain over these and other
"Yes, my
good uncle," I whispered. questions, when the Professor joined me. "Good-
"My dear boj'," continued the giim Professor, day, Harry," he cried in a joyous tone, "I fancy
clasping mc to his heart, "you are. saved!" you are quite well."
I was deeply and unaffectedly touched by the "I am very much better," I replied, actually sit-
tone in which these words were uttered, and even ting up in my bed.
more by the kindly care which accompanied them. "I knew that would be the result, as you slept
The Professor was one of those men who must be both soundly and tranquilly. Hans and I have each
severely tried in order to induce any display of af- taken turn to watch, and every hour we have seen
fection or gentle emotion. At this moment our visible signs of amelioration."
friend Hans, the guide, joined us. He saw my hand "You must be right, uncle," was my reply, "for I
in that of my uncle, and I venture to say, that, taci- feel as if I could do justice to any meal you could
turn as he was, bis eyes beamed with lively satis- put before me. I am really hungry."
faction. "God dag," he said. "You shall eat, ray boy, you shall eat. The fever
"Good day, Hans, good day," I ^replied, in as has left you. Our excellent friend Hans has rubbed
hearty a tone as I couid assume, "arid now, uncle, your wounds and bruises, with I know not what
ointment, of which the Icelanders alone possess the
that we are together, tell me where we are. I have
secret. And they have healed your bruises in the
lost all idea of our position, as of everything else."
most marvelous manner. Ah, he's a wise fellow, is
"To-morrow, Harry, to-morrow," he replied. "To-
Master Hana."
day you are far too weak. Your head is surrounded
While he was speaking, my uncle was placing be-
with bandages and poultices that must not be
fore me some articles of food, which following his
touched. Sleep, my hoy, sleep, and to-morrow you
earnest injunctions, I readily devoured. As soon as
will know all that you require,"
the first rage of hunger was appeased, I over-
"But," I cried, 'let me know what o'clock it is whelmed him with questions, to which he now no
what day it is?" longer hesitated to give answers. I then learned,
"It is now eleven o'clock at night, and this is for the first time, that my providential fall had
once more Sunday. It is now the ninth of the month brought me to the bottom of an almost pei-pendic-
of August. And I distinctly prohibit you from ask- ular gallery. As I came down, amidst a perfect
ing any more questions until the tenth of the shower of atones, the last of which falling on mo
same." \\fijtlld have crushed me to death, they came to the
I was, if the truth were told, very weak indeed, conclusion that I had carried with me an entire
and my eyes soon closed involuntarily. I did require dislocated rock. Biding as it were on this terrible
a good night's rest, and I went off reflecting at the chariot, I was cast headlong into my uncle's arms.
last moment that my perilous adventure in the in- And into them I fell, insensible and covered with
terior of the earth, in total darkness,' had lasted blood. "It is indeed a miracle," was the Professor's
four days final remark, "that you were not killed a thousand
On the morning of the next day, at my awaken- times over. But let us take eare never to separate
ing, Ibegan to look around me. My sleeping-place, for surely we should risk never meeting again."
made of all our traveling bedding, was in a charm- "Let us take care never again to separate." These
ing grotto, adorned with magnificent stalagmites, words fell with a sort of chill upon my heart. The
glittering in all the colors of the rainbow, the floor journey, then, was not over. I looked at my uncle
of soft and silvery sand. A
dim obscurity pre- with surprise and astonishment.
vailed. No torch, no lamp was lighted, and yet cer- My uncle, after an instant's examination of my
tain unexplained beams of light penetrated from countenance, said— "What is the matter, Harry?"
without, and made their way through the opening "I want to ask you a very serious question. You
of the beautiful grotto, i say that I am all right in health?"
Moreover, I heard a vague and indefinite munnur, "Certainly you are."
like the ebb and flow of waves upon a strand, and "And all my limbs are sound and capable of new
sometimes I verily believed I could hear the sighiiig exertions?" I asked,
of the wind. I began to believe that, instead of be- "Most undoubtedly."
ing awake, I must be dreaming. Surely brain my "But what about my head?" was my next an^Tftis
had not been affected by my fall, and all that oc- question.
curred during the last twenty-four hours was not "Well, your head, except that you have one or
the frenzied vision.? of madness? And yet after —
two contusions, is exactly where it ought to be on
some reflection, a trial of my faculties, I came to your shoulder," said my uncle, laughing.
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 213
"Well, my owii opinion is that my head is not ex- deny the fact of my having discovered it; and hence
actly right. In fact, I believe myself slightly de- of acquiring a right of giving it a name,"
lirious." It was (luite true, A vast, limitless expanse of
"What makes you think so?" water, the end of a lake if not of an ocean, spread
why I fancy I have lost my senses,"
"I will explain before us, until it was lost in the distance. The
I cried. "Have we not returned to the surface of shore, which was very much indented, consisted of
mother earth?" a beautiful soft golden sand, mixed with small
"Certainly not." shells, the long deserted homes of some of the crea-
"Then truly 1 must be mad, for do I not see the tures of a past age. The waves broke incessantly,
light of day? do 1 not hear the whistling of the and with a peculiarly sonorous murmur to be —
wind? and can I not distinguish the wash of a great found in underground localities. A alight frothy
sea?" flake ai'ose as the wind blew along the pellucid
"And that is ail that makes you uneasy?" said- waters; and many a dash of spray was blown into
ray uncle, with a smile. my face. The mighty superstructure of rock which
"Can you explain?" rose above to an inconceivable height, left only a
"I win not make any attempt to explain; for the —
narrow margin but where we stood, there was a
,

whole matter is utterly inexplicable. But you shall long beach of strand. On all sides were capes and
see and judge for yourself. You will then find that' promontories and enormous cliffs, partially worn
—
geological science is as yet in its infancy and that by the eternal breaking of the waves, through
We are doomed to enlighten the world." countless ages! And as I gazed from side to side,
"Let us advance, then," I cried eagerly, no longer the mighty rocks faded In the distance like a fleecy
able to restrain my eurioaity. iilm of cioud.
"Wait a moment, my dear Harry," he responded; It was in reality an ocean, with all the usual
"you must take precautions after your illness be- characteristics of an inland sea, only horribly wild
faore going into the open air." —so rigid, cold and savage.
"The open air?" One thing startled and puzzled me greatly. How
"Yea, my boy. I have to warn you that the wind was it that I was able to look upon that vast sheet
is —
rather violent and I have no wish for you to ex- •ofwater instead of being plunged in utter dark-
pose yourself without necessary precautions." ness? The vast landscape before me was lit up like
"But I beg to assure you that I am perfectly re- day. But there was wanting the dazzling brilliancy,
covered from ray illness." the splendid irradiation of the- sun; the pale cold
"Have just a little patience, my boy. A relapse illumination of the moon; the brightness of the
would be inconvenient to all parties. We have no stars. The illuminating power in this subterraneous
time to lose—as our approaching sea voyage may be region, from its trembling and flickering character,
of long duration." its clear dry whiteness, the very slight elevation of
"Sea voyage?" I cried, more bewildered than its^emperature, its great superiority to that of the
ever. mpoh, was evidently electric; something in the na-
"Yes, You must take another day's rest, and we .ture of the aurora borealis, only that its phenomena
shall be ready to go on board fay to-morroWf'y'e- ' V^ere constant, and able to light up the whole of the
plied my uncle, with a peculiar smile. „ ocean cavern.
Go on board! The words utterly astonished me\ The tremendous vault above our heads, the sky,
—
Go on board what? and how? Had we come mqn so to speak, appeared to be composed of a conglom-
a river, a lake, had we discovered some inland 30^? eration of nebulous vapors, in constant motion. I
Was a vesseliyiog at anchor in some'^i't of the should originally have supposed, that under such an
interior of the earth? Q^ atmospheric pressure as must exist in that place, the
My curiosity was worked up to^the very highest evaporation of water could not really take place;
pitch. IVIy uncle made vain attempts to restrain me. yet there were heavy and dense clouds rolling along
When at last, however, he discovered that my fever- that mighty vault, partially concealing the roof.
ish impatience would do more harm than goq^-r Electric currents produced astonishing play of light
and that the satisfaction of my wishes couldmone and shade in the distance, especially around the
restore me to a calm state of mind, he gave way. heavier clouds. Deep shadows were cast beneath^
I dressed myself rapidly —
and then to please my and then suddenly, between two clouds, there would
come a ray of unusual beauty, and remarkable in-
uncle, taking the precaution of wrapping myself in
one of the coverlets, I rushed out of the grotto. tensity. Yet it was not like the sun, for it gave no
heat.
CHAPTER XXVII The effect was sad and excruciatingly melancholy.
Instead of a noble firmament of blue, studded with
The Central Sea
stars, there was above me a heavy roof of granite,
first I saw absolutely nothing. My eyes,
AT wholly unused to the effulgence of light, could
not bear the sudden brightness; and I was
which seemed to crush me. Gazing around, I began
to think of the theory of the English captain, vd'.o
compared the earth to a vast hollow sphere in the
compelled to close them. When I was able to re-open interior of which the air is retained in a luminous
them, I stood still, far more stupefied than aston- state by means of atmospheric pressure, while two
ished. Not all the wildest effects of imagination stars'; Pluto and Proserpine, circle there in their
could have conjured up such a scene! "The sea-^ mysterious orbits. After all, suppose the old fellow
the sea," I cried. was right!
"Yes," replied my uncle, in a tone of pardonable —
In truth, we were imprisoned bound as it were,
pride; "The Centr^ Sea, No future navigator will in a vast excavation. Its width it waa impossible to
 — —
214 AMAZING STORIES
make out; the shore on either hand, widening rap- other,— a stupendous titahic pile; down their siflea
idly imtil logt to sight; whiie its length was equally leapt innumerable cascades, which at last, becom-
uncertain. A ha^e on the distant horizon bounded ing limpid and murmuring streams, were lost in
oni* view. Aa to its height we could see that it must the waters of the lake. Light vapors, which rose
be many miles to the roof. Looking upward, it was here and there, and floated in fleecy clouds from
impossible to discover where the stupendous roof rock to rock, indicated hot springs, which also
began. The lowest of the clouds must have been poured their superfluity into the vast reservoir at
floating at an e]eva1;ion of two thousand yards, a our feet.
height greater than that of tei-restria! vapors, Among them I recognized our old and faithful
which circumstance was doubtless owing to the ex- stream, the Hans-bach, which, lost in that wild
treme density of the air. basin, seemed as if it had been flowing since the
I use the word cavern in order to give an idea of creatipn of the world.
the place I cnnnot describe its awfui grandeur; "We shall miss our excellent friend," I remarked,
hmnan language fails to convey an idea of its savage with a deep sigh.
sublimity Whether this singular vacuum had or "Bah!" said my uncle, testily, "what matters it.
had not been caused by the sudden cooling of the That or another, it ip all the same,"
earth when in a state of fusion, I could not say, J I thought the remark ungrateful, and felt almost
bad read of most wonderful and gigantic caverns inclined to say so; but 1 forbore. At this 'moment
but none in any way lilte this. my attention was attracted by an unexpected spec-
The great grotto of Guaehara, in Columbia, visit- tacle. After we had gone about five hundred yards,
ed by the learned I-Iumboldt; the vast and partially •we suddenly turned a steep promontory, and found
e?:ploi'ed Mammoth Cave in Kentucky; what were
ourselves close to a lofty forest! It consisted of
these holes in the earth compared to that in which straight trunks witb'tufted tops, in shape like para-
I stood in speechless admiration! with its vapory
sols. The air seemed to have no effect upon these
clouds, its electric Hght, and mighty ocean slumber-
ing in its bosom! Imagination, not description, can
—
trees which in spite of a tolerable breeze remained
as still and motionless as if they had been petrified.
alone give an idea of the splendor and vastness of
.1 hastened forward. I could find no name for
the cave.
these singular formations. Did they belong to the
i gazed at these marvels in profound silence.
Words were utterly wanting to ii d ate the sensa
t\\o thousand and more loiown trees — or were we to
make the discovery of a new growth? When we at
tions of wonder I experienced. I seemed as I 'itood
list leiehed the forest, and stood beneath the trees,
upon that mysterious shore, to be some wii dei ng
my surprise gave way to admiration. In truth, I
inhabitant of a distant planet, piesent foi the lirst
WIS simply in the presence of a VGiy ordinary prod-
time at the spectacle of some terie^tr il phei oraena
uct of the earth, of singular r.i'i gigantic propor-
belonging to another existence To give body ind
tions My uncle unhesitatingly called them by then-
existence to such new sensations, would have re-
real names. "It is only," he said, in his coolest man-
quired the coinage of new words—and here my
ner, "a forest of mushrooms."
feeble brain found itself wholly inadequate. I
' On close examination I found that he was not
looked on, .1 thought, 1 reflected, I admired, in a
mistaken- Judge of the development attained by
state of stupefaction not altogether unmingled with
this product of damp hot soils. I had heard that
fear!
the lycoperdon giganteuvi reaches nine feet in cir-
The unexpected spectacle restored some color to
cumference, but here were white mushrooms, nearly
my pallid cheeks. I seemed to be actually getting forty feet high, and with tops of equal dimensions.
better under the influence of this novelty. More-
over, the vivacity of the dense atmosphere reani-
—
They grew in countless thousands the light could
not make its way through their massive substance,
mated my body, by inflating my lungs with unac-
and beneath them reigned a gloomy and mystic
customed oxygen.
darkness.
It will be readily conceived that after an impri-
sonment of forty-seven days, in a dark and miser- Still I wished to go forward. The cold in the
shades of this singular forest was intense. For
able tunnel, it was with iniinite delight that I
nearly an hour we wandered about in this dai-k-
breathed this saline air. It was like the genial,
ness visible. At length I left the spot, and once
reviving influence of the salt aea waves. 'My uncle
had already got over the first surprise. With the
more returned to the shores of the lake, to light
Latin poet, Horace, his idea was that
and comparative warmth.
The amazing vegetation of this subterraneous
"Not»to admire, is all the art I know region was not confined to gigantic mushrooms.
To make man happy and to keep him so." New wonders awaited us at every step. We had
not gone many hundred yards, when we came upon a
"Well," he said, after giving me time thoroughly mighty group of other trees with discolored leaves
to appreciate the marvels of this underground sea, — the common humble trees of motlier earth, of an
"do you feel strong enough to walk up and down?" exorbitant and phenomenal size; mosses a hundred
"Certainly," -was my ready answer, "nothing feet high; flowing ferns as tall as pines; gigantic
would give me greater pleasure."
"Well, then, my boy," he said, "lean on my arm, "Astonishing, magnificent, splendid!" cried my
and we will stroll along the beach." uncle; here we have before us the whole flora of
I accepted his offer eagerly, and we began to the second period of the world, that of transition.
walk along the shores of this extraordinary lake. Behold the humble plants of our gardens, which
To our left were abrupt rocks, piled one upon the in the first ages of the world were mighty trees.
 !

A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 215

Look around you, my dear Harry. No botanist ever with care every point of the horizon; but nothing
before gazed on such a sight!" alive appeared to exist on these deserted shores.
My. uncle's entliiisiasm, usually a little more tlian I now felt rather fatigued, and told my uncle
was required, was now excusable. "You are right, so. The walk and excitement were too much for me
uncle," I remarked. "Providence appears to have in my weak state. I therefore seated myself at the
designed the preservation in this vast and mysteri- end of a promontory, at the foot of which the
ous hot-house of antediluvian plants, to pi"ove the waves broke In incessant swells. I looked around a
sagacity of learned men in figuring them so jnar- bay formed by projections of vast granite rocks.
velously on paper." At the extreme end was a little port protected by
—
"Well said, my boy very well said; it is indeed huge pyramids of stones. A brig and three or four
—
a mighty hot-house; but you would also be within schooners might have lain there with perfect ease.
the bounds of reason and common sense, if you also So natural did it seem, that every minute my imagi-
—
added a vast menagerie." nation induced me to expect a vessel coming out
I looked rather anxiously around. If the animals under all sail and making for the open sea under
were as exaggerated as the plants, the matter would the influence of a warm southerly breeze.
certainly be serious. "A menagerie?" But the fantastic illusion never lasted more than
"Doubtless, Look at the dust we are treading a minute. We were the only living creatures in
under foot—behold the bones with which the whole this subterranean world
soil of the seashore is covered
" During certain periods there was an utter cessa-
"Bones," I replied, "yes, certainly, the bones of tion of wind, when a silence deeper, more terrible
antediiuvian animals." I stooped down as I spoke, than the silence of the desert fell upon these soli-
and picked up one or two singular remains, relics tary and arid rocks—and seemed to hang like a
of a by-gone age. It was easy to give a name to leaden weight upon the waters of this singular
these gigantic bones, in some instances as big as ocean. I sought, amid the awful stillness, to pene-
trunks of trees. trate through the distant fog, to teai" down the
veil which concealed the mysterious distance. What
"Here is, clearly, the lower jaw-bone of a masto-
unspoken words were murmured by my trembling
don," I cried, almost as wai'mly and enthusiastically
as my uncle, "here are the molars of the dinothe-
—
lips what questions did I wish to ask and did not!
rium; here is a leg-bone which belonged to the
—
Where did this sea end ^to what did it lead? Should
megatherium. You are right, uncle, it is indeed
we ever be able to examine its distant shores?
a menagerie; for the mighty animals to which these But my uncle had no doubts about the mattei-.
bones once belonged, have lived and died on the
He was convinced that our enterprise would in the
end be successful. For my part, I was in a state of
shores of this subterranean sea, under the shadow
of these plants. Look, yonder are whole skeletons
—
painful indecision ^I desired to embark on the
— and yet " journey and to succeed, and still I feared the result.
After we had passed an hour or more in silent
"And yet, nephew?" said my uncle, noticing that
contemplation of the wondrous spectacle, we rose
I suddenly came to a full stop.
and went down towards the bank on our way to
"I do not understand the presence of such beasts
the grotto, which I was not sorry to gain. After
in granite caverns, however vast and prodigious,"
a slight repast, I sought refuge in slumber, and at
was my reply.
length, after many and tedious struggles, sleep
"Why not?" said my uncle, with very much of his came over my weary eyes.
old professional impatience.
"Because it is well known that animal life only CHAPTER XSVIII
existed on earth during the second period, when
Launching the Raft
the sedimentary soil was formed by the alluviums,
and thus replaced the hot and burning rocks of the
primitive age."
"I have listened to you earnestly and with pa-
ON the morning of the next day, to my great
surprise, I awoke completely restored.
thought a bath would be delightful after
I

tience, Harry, and I have a simple and clear answer my long illness and sufferings. So, soon after ris-
to your objections: and that is, that this itself is a ing, I went and plunged into the waters of this new
sedimentary soil." Mediterranean, The bath was cool, fresh and in-
"How can that be at such enormous depth from vigorating.
the surface of the earth?" I came back to breakfast with an excellent appe-
"The fact can be explained both simply and geolo- tite, Hans, our worthy guide, thoroughly under-
gically. At a certain period, the earth consisted stood how to cook such eatables as we were able
only of an elastic crust, liable to alternative up- to provide; he had both fire and water at discre-
ward and downward movements in virtue of the tion, so that he was enabled slightly to vary the
law of attraction. It is very probable that many weary monotony of our ordinary repast. Our morn-
a landslip took place in those days, and that large ing meal was like a capital English breakfast, with
portions of sedimentary soil were cast into huge coffee by way of a wind-up. And never had this
and mighty chasms." delicious beverage been so welcome and refreshing.
"Quite possible," I dryly remarked. "But, uncle, My uncle had sufficient regard for my state of
if these antediluvian animals formerly lived in these health not to interrupt me in the enjos^ent of
subterranean regions, what more likely than that the meal, but he was evidently delighted when I
one of these huge monsters may at this moment be had finished. "Now then," said he, "come with me.
concealed behind one of yonder mighty rocks." It is the height of the tide, and I am anxious to
Aa I spoke, I looked keenly ai'ound, examining study its curious phenomena,"
216 AMAZING STORIES
"What," I cried, rising in astonishment, "did distant three hundred and fifty leagues from- Ice-
you say, the tide, uncle?" land."
"Certainiy I did." "So much?" was my exclamation.
'Tou do not mean to say," I replied, in a tone "I have gone over the matter several times, and
of i-espectful doubt, "that the influence of the sun am sure not to have made a mistake of five hun-
and moon is felt here below," dred yards," replied my uncle positively.
"And pray why not? Are not all bodies influ- —
"And as to the direction are we still going to
enced by the law of universal attraction? Why the southeast?"
should this vast underground aea he exempt from "Yes, with a western declination of nineteen
the general law, the rule of the universe? Be- degrees, forty-two minutes, just as it is above. A3
sides, there is nothing like that which is proved for the inclination I have discovered a very curious
and demonstrated. Despite the great atmospheric fact."
.pressui'e down here, you will notice that this in- "What may that be, uncle? Your information-
land sea rises and falls with as much regularity interests me."
as the Atlantic itself." "Why that the needle, instead of dipping towards
As my uncle spoke, we reached the sandy shore, the pole as it does on earth, in the northern hemis-
and saw and heai'd the waves breaking monoton- phere, has an upward tendency."
ously on the beach. They were evidently rising. "Tliis proves," I cried, "that the great point of
"This is truly the flood," I cried, looking at the magnetic attraction lies somewhere between the
water at my feet. surface of the earth and the spot we have suc-
"Yes, my excellent nephew," replied my uncle, ceeded in reaching."
rubbing his hands with the gusto of a philosopher, "Exactly, my observant nephew," exclaimed my
"and you see by these several streaks of foam, uncle, elated and delighted, "and it is quite prob-
that the tide rises at least ten or twelve feet." able that if we succeed in getting toward the polar
"It is indeed marveioua." —
regions somewhere near the seventy-third degree .

"By no means," he responded; "on the contrary, of latitude, where Sir James Ross discovered the
it is quite natural," magnetic pole, we shall behold the needle point
"It may appear my dear uncle,"
so in your eyes, directly upward. We have therefore discovered
was my reply, "but the
whole group of phenomena that this great center of attraetio]i is not situated
of the place appear to me to partake of the mar- at a very great depth."
velous. It is almost impossible to believe that "Well," said I, rather surprised, "this discovery
which I see. Who in his wildest dreams could will astonish experimental philosophers. It was
have imagined that, beneath the crust of our earth, never suspected."
there coild exist a real ocean, with ebbing and "Science, great, mighty and in the end uner-
flowing tides, with its changes of winds, and even ring," replied my uncle dogmatically, "science has
its storms. I for one should have laughed the fallen into many errors — errors which have been
BUggeation to scorn," > fortunate and useful rather than otherwise, for
"But, Harry, my boy, why not?" inquired my they have been the stepping-stones to truth."
uncle, -with a pitying smile, "is there any physical After some further discussion, I turned ,to an-
reason in opposition to it?" other matter. "Have you any idea of the depth
"Not if we give up the great theory of the cen- we have reached?"
tral heat of the earth. That point once granted, "We are now," continued the Professor, "ex-
I certainly can see no reason for doubting the
actly thirty-five leagues— above a hundred miles—
existence of seas and other wonders, even coun- down into the interior of the earth."
tries, in the interior of the globe." "So," said I, after measuring the distance on the
"That is so —but of course these varied coun-
map, "we are now beneath the Scottish Highlands,
and have over our heads the lofty Grampian hills."
tries are uninhabited?"
"Well, I grant that it is more likely than not;
"You are quite right," said the Professor laugh-
ing, "it sounds very alarming, the weight being
still, I do not see why this sea should not have

given shelter to some species of unknown fish."

—
heavy but the vault which supports this vast mass
"Hitherto we have not discovered any, and the
—
of earth and rock is solid and safe the mighty
Architect of the Universe has constructed it of
probabilities are rather against our ever doing so,"
Boiid materials. Man, even in his liighest flights
observed the Professor.
of vivid and poetic imagination, never thought of
I was losing my skepticism in the presence of
such things! What are the finest arches of our -

these wonders. "Well, I am determined to solve bridges, what the vaulted roofs of our cathedrals,
the question. It is my intention to try my luck
to that mighty dome above us, and beneath which
witE my fishing line and hook." floats an ocean with its storms and calms and
"Certainly; make the experiment," said my uncle, tides!"
pleased with mj' enthusiasm, "While we are about "I admire it all as much as you can, uncle, and
it, it will certainly be only proper to discover all have no fear that our granite sky will fall upon
the secrets of this extraordinary region. our heads. But now that we have discussed mat-
"But, after all, where are we now?" I asked; ters of science and discovery, what are your future
"all this time I have quite forgotten to ask you a .intentions? Are you not thinking of getting back
question, which, doubtless, your philosophical in- to the surface of our beautiful earth?" This was
fltruments have long since answered." said more as a feeler than with any hope of suc-
"Well," replied the Professor, "examining the
situation from only one point of view, we are now "Go back, nephew," cried my uncle in a tone of
 A TRIPTO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 217
alarm, "you are not surely thinking of anything "like the agates, it must be as hard and as heavy
so absurd or cowardly. No, my intention is to ad- as stone, and therefore will certainly not float."
vance and continue' our journey. We have as yet "Sometimes that is the ease. Many of these
been singularly fortunate, and henceforth I hope woods have become true anthracites, but others
we ahal! be more so." again, like those you see before you, have_only
"But," said I, "how are we to cross yonder liquid undergone one phase of fossil transformation. But
plain?" there is no proof like demonstration," added my
"It 13 not my intention to leap into it head fore- uncle, picking one or two of these precious waifs
most, or even to swim across it, like Leander over and easting them into the sea,-
the Hellespont. But as oceans are, after all, only The piece of wood, after having disappeared for
great lakes, inasmuch as they are surrounded by a moment, came to-the surface, and floated about
land, so does it stand to reason, that this central with the oscillation produced by wind and tide. '

sea is circumacrifaed by granite surroundings," "Are you convinced?" said my uncle, with a aelf-
"Doubtless," was my natural reply, satisfted smile,
"Wei!, then, do you not think that when once "I am convinced," I cried, "that what I see is
we reach the other end, we shall find some means incredible,"
of continuing our journey?"
The fact was that my j'ourney into the interior of
"Probably, but what extent do you allow to this the earth was rapidly changing all preconceived
internal ocean?"
notions, and day by day preparing me for the mar-
"I should fancy it to extend about forty or fifty
velous. I should not have been surprised to have
leagues—more or leas." seen a iloat of native canoes afloat upon that silent
"But even supposing this approximation to be
a —
correct one what then?" I asked.
sea,
The very next evening, thanks to the industry
"My dear boy, we have no time for further dis- and ability of Hans, the raft was finished. It was
cussion. We shall embark to-morrow." about ten feet long and five feet wide. The heams
I looked around with surprise and incredulity.
bound together with stout ropes, were solid and
I^could see nothing in the shape of boat or vessel.
firm, and once launched by our united efforts, the
"What!" I cried, "we are about to launch out upon
improvised vessel floated tranquilly upon the waters
an unknown sea; and where, if I may ask, is the
of what the Professor had well named the Central
vessel to carry us?"
Sea.
"Well, my dear boy, it will not be exactly what
you would call a vessel. For the present we must
be content with a good and solid raft." CHAPTER XXIX
"A raft," I cried, incredulously, "but down here On the Waters—A i?aft Voyage
a raft ia as ImpossiMe of construction as a vessel
e—and I am at a losa to imagine "
"My good Harry—if you wei'e to listen instead of
talking so much, you would hear," said my uncle,
ON
___
tlie 13th of August we were up betimes.
There was no time to be lost. We now had
to inaugurate a new kind of locomotion,
waxing a little impatient. which would have the advantage of being rapid and
"I should hear?"
not fatiguing. A mast, made of two pieces of wood
—
"Yes certain knocks with the hammer, which fastened together, to give additional strength, a
yard made from another one, the sail a linen sheet
Hans is now employing to make the raft. He has
been at work for many hours." from our bed. We were fortunately in no want of
cordage, and the whole on trial appeared solid and
"But where has he found trees suitable for such
a construction?" seaworthy.
"He. found the trees all ready to his hand. Come, At six o'clock in the morning, when the eager
and you shall see our excellent guide at worlc." and enthusiastic Professor gave the signal to em-
More and more amazed at what I heard and saw, bark, the victuals, the luggage, all our instruments,
I followed my uncle like one in a dream. After a our weapons, and a goodly supply of sweet water,
waik of about a quarter of an hour, I saw Hans at which we had collected from springs in the rocks,
work on the other side of the promonotory which were placed on the raft. Hans had, with consid-
formed our natural port. A few minutes more and erable ingenuity, contrived a rudder, which en-
I was beside himi To my great surprise, on the abled him to guide the iloating apparatus with ease.
sandy shore lay a half-finished raft. It was made He took the tiller, as a matter of course. The
from beams of a very peculiar wood, and a great worthy man was as good a sailor as he was a guide
number of limbs, joints, boughs, and pieces lay and duck-hunter, I then let go the painter which
about, sufficient to have constructed a fleet of ships held us to the shore, the sail was brought to the
and boats. wind, and we made a rapid offlng. Our sea voyage
I turned to my uncle, silent with astonishment had at length commenced; and once more we were
and awe. "\Vhere did all this wood come from?" maldng for distant and unknown regions.
I,cried; "what wood is it?" Just as we were about to leave the little port
"Well, there is pine-wood, fir, and the palms of where the raft had been constructed, my uncle, who
the northern regions, mineralized by the action of was very strong as to geographic nomenclature,
the sea," he replied, sententiously, wanted to give it a name and among others, sug-
"Can it be possible?" gested mine.
"Yes," said the learned Professor, "what you "Well," said I, "before you decide I have another
see is called fossil wood." to
"But tlieUj" cried I, after reflecting for a moment. "Well; out with it."
218 AMAZING STORIES
"I should like to call it Gretchen, Port Gretchen must have been the aspect of the globe, during the
will sound very well on our future map," iirstcenturies of its formation, when under the
"Well, then, Poi't Gretchen let it be," said the combined action of heat and humidity, the vegetable
Professor. And thus it was that the memory of kingdom occupied its vast surface to the exclusion
my dear girl was attached to our adventurous and of everything else? These were considerations of
memorable expedition. never-ending interest for the geologist and the
When we left the shore the wind was hlowing philosopher.
from the northward and eastward. We went di- Ail this while we were advancing on our journey;
rectly before the wind at a much greater speed and at length night came; but as I had remarked
than might have been expected from a raft. The the evening before, the luminous gtatd of the at-
dense layers of atmosphere at that depth had great mosphere was in nothing fliminished. Whatever
propelling power and acted upon the sail with con- was the cause, it was a phenomenon upon the du-
siderable force. At the end of an hour, my uncle, ration of which we could calculate with certainty.
who had been making careful observations, was Aa soon as our supper hnd been disposed of, and
enabled to estimate the rapidity with which we some little speculative conversation indulged in, I
moved. It was far beyond anj^^hing seen in the stretched myself at the foot of the mast and pres-
upper world. ently went to sleep. Hans remained motionless at
"If," he said, "we continue to advance at our the tiller, allowing the raft to rise and fall on the
present rate, we shall have traveled at least thirty waves. The wind being aft, and the sail square, all
leagues in twenty-four hours. With a mere raft he had to do was to keep his rudder amidships.
this is an almost incredible velocity." Ever since we had taken our departure from the
I certainly was surprised, and without making newly named Port Gretchen, my worthy uncle had
any reply went forward upon the raft. Already directed me to keep a regular log of our day's
the northern shore was fading away on the edge navigation, with instructions to put down even the
of the horizon. The two shores appeared to separate most minute particulars, every interesting and
more and more, leaving a wide and open space for curious phenomenon, the direction of the wind, our
our departui'e. Before me I could see nothing but rate of sailing, the distance we went; in a wnrd,
—
the vast and apparently limitless sea upon which every incident of our extraordinary voyage. From
we floated—the only living objects in sight. our log, therefore, I tell the story of our voyage
Huge and dark clouds east\their gray shadows on the Central Sea.
—
below shadows which seemed to crush that color- FRIDAY, August 14th. A
steady breeze from
less and sullen water hy their' weight. Anything the northwest. Kaft progressing with extreme ra-
more suggestive of gloom and of regions of nether pidity, and going perfectly straight. Coast still
darkness I never beheld. Silvery rays of electric dimly visible, about thirty miles to leeward. Noth-
light, reflected here and there upon some small ing to be seen beyond the horizon in front. The
spots of water, brought up luminous sparkles in extraordinary intensity of the light neither in-
the long wake of our cumbrous _^ark. Presently we creases nor diminishes. It is singularly stationary.
were wholly out of sight of land, not a vestige The weather remarkably fine; that is to say, the
could be seen, nor any indication of where we were clouds have ascended very high, and are light and
going. So still and motionless did we seem without fieeey, and sui'rounded by an atmosphere resemb-
any distant point to fix our eyes on, tljat hut for ling silver in fusion. Thermometer -f- 32 degrees
the phosphoric light at the wake of the raft I should centigrade.
have fancied that we were still and motion^sa. About twelve o'clock in the day our guide, Hans,
But I knew that we were advancing at a very having prepared and baited a hook, cast his line
rapid rate. ^ into the subterranean waters. The bait he used
About twelve o'clock in the day, vast coDeelfibns was a small piece of meat, by means of which he
of seaweed were discovered surrounding us on all concealed his hook. Anxious as I was, I was for a
sides. I was aware of the extraordinary vegetative long time doomed to disappointment. Were these
power of these plants, which have been known to waters supplied with fish or not? That was the im-
creep along the bottom of the great ocean, and stop portant questio]!. —
No was my decided answer.
the advance of large ships. But never were sea- Then there came a sudden and rather hard tug.
weeds ever seen, so gigantic and wonderful as those Hans coolly drew it in, and with it a fish, which
of the Central Sea. I could well imagine how, seen struggled violently to escape,
at a distance, tossing and heaving on the summit "A fish," cried my uncle, putting on his spectacles
of the billows, the long lines of algje have been taken it.
for living things, and thus have been the fertile "It is a sturgeon!" I cried, "certainly a small
sources of the belief in sea serpents. sturgeon."
Our raft swept past great specimens of fucse or The Professor examined the fish carefully, not-
seawrack, from three to four thousand feet in ing every characteristic; and he did not coincide
length, immense, incredibly long, looking like snakes in my opinion. The fish had a flat head, round
that stretched out far beyond our horizon. It af- body, and the lower extremities covered with bony
forded me great amusement to gaze on their varie- scales ; its mouth was wholly without teeth, the pec-
gated ribbon-like endless lengths. Hour after hour toral fins, which were highly developed, sprouted
passed without our coming to the termination of direct from the body, which properly speaking had
these floating weeds. If my astonishment increased, no tail. The animal certainly belonged to the order
my patience was well-night exhausted. in which naturalists class the sturgeon, but it dif-
What natural force could possibly have produced fered from that fish in many essentia! particulars.
such abnormal and extraordinary plants? What My uncle, after all, was not mistaken. After a long
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 219
and patient examination, he said: "This fieh, my oceros, the horse, the hippopotamus and the camel,
dear boy, belongs to a family which has been extinct I thought —such was the eifect of my imagination
for ages, and of which no trace has ever been found —that I saw this whole tribe of antediluvian crea-
on earth, except foaail remains in the Devonian tures. I carried myself back to far ages, long be-
strata." fore man existed—when, the earth was im- in too
"You do not mean to say," I cried, "that we have perfect a state for him to live upon it. The whole
captured a live specimen of a fish belonging to the panorama of the world's life before the historic
primitive stock that existed befoi-e the deluge?" period, seemed to be born over again, and mine was
"We have," said the Professor, who all this time the only human heart that beat in this unpeopled
was continuing his observations, "and you may see world! There were no more seasons; there were
by careful examination that these foaail fish have no no more climates the natural heat of the world in-
;

identity with existing species. To hold in one's creased unceasingly, and neutralized that of the
hand, therefore, a living specimen of the order, is great radiant Sun.
enough to make a naturalist happy for life. More- Next, unrolled before me like a panorama, came
over this fish offers to our notice a remarkable the great and wondrous series of terrestrial trans-
peculiarity, never known to exist in any other fish formations. Plants disappeared; the granite rocks
but those which are the natives of subterranean lost all trace of solidity; the liquid state was sud-
waters, wells, lakes, in caverns, and such like hid- denly substituted for that which had before ex-
den pools." isted. This was caused by intense heat acting on
"And what may that beV" the organic matter of the earth. The waters flowed
"It ,is blind." over the whole surface of the globe; they boiled;
"Blind !" I cried, much surprised. they were volatilized, or turned into vapor; a kind
"Not only blind," continued the Professor, "but of steam-cloud wrapped the whole earth, the globe
absolutely without organs of sight." itself becoming at last nothing but one huge sphere
I now examined our discovery for myself. It was of gas, indescribable in color, between white heat
singular, to be sure, but it was really a fact. This, and red, as big and as brilliant as the sun.
however, might be a solitary instance, I suggested. What an extraordinary di'eam! Where would
The hook was baited again and once more thrown it finally take me? My feverish hand began to wi-ite
into the water. This subterranean ocean must —
down the marvelous details details more like the
have been tolerably well supplied with fish, for in imaginings of a lunatic than anything sober and
two hours we took a large number of similar fish. real. I had during thi§ period of hallucination for-
All, without exception were blind. —
gotten everything the Professor, the guide, and
This unexpected capture enabled us to renew our the raft on which we were floating. My mind was
stock of provisions in a very satisfactory way. in a state of semi-oblivion,
We were now convinced that this Subterranean "What is the matter, Harry ^" said my uncle, sud-
Sea contained only fish known to us as fossil speci- denly.
—
mens and fish and reptiles alike, were ail the more My eyes, whj^^v^vere wide opened like those of
perfect the farther back they dated their origin. a somnambulist, were fixed upon him, but I did not
We began to hope that we should find some of those see hi^g,' ntft, could I clearly make out anything
saurians which science has succeeded in recon- around me.'
structing from bits -of bone or cartilage. I took up "(Pake Hii'e, my boy," again cried my uncle, "you
the telescope and carefully examined the horizon will f^ into the sea."
'^'"
looked over the whole sea; it wag utterly and en- As h? uttered these words, I felt myself seized on
tirely .deserted. Doubtless we were still too near thfi\' ^the other side by the firm hand of our devoted
coast. . gu^. Had it not been for the presence of mind
After an examination of the ocean, I looked up- of Hans, I must surely have fallen into the waves
ward, towards the strange and mysterious sky. Why and been drovraed.
should not one of the birds, reconstructed by the n "Have you gone mad?'.' cried my uncle, shaking
immortal Cuvier, flap his stupendous wings aloft meMi'.'the other side.
in the dull strata of subterranean air? It would, —
'TVhat what is the matter?" I said at last, com-
of course, find quite sufficient food from the fish in ing to myself.
the sea. I gazed for some time upon the void above. "Are you ill, Harry?" continued the Professor
It .was as silent and as deserted as the shores we in an anxious tone,
had but lately left. —
"No ^no but I have had an extraordinary dream.
;

Nevertheless, though I could neither see nor dis- But it has passed away. All now seems well," I
cover anything, my imagination carried me away added, looking around me with strangely puzzled
into wild hypotheses. I was in a kind of waking eyes. i

dream. I thought I saw on the surface of the water "All right," said my uncle; "s. beautiful breeze,
those enormous antediluvian turtles as big as float- a splendid sea. We are going along at a rapid rate,
ing islands. Upon those dull and somber shores and if I am,not out in my calculations we shall. soon
\ passe_d a spectral row of the mammifers of early see land. I shall not be sorry to exchange the nar-
days, the great Leptotherium found in the cavern- row limits of our raft for the myaterioua strand
ous hollow of the Brazilian" hills, the Mesicotherium, of the Subterranean Ocean,"
a native of the glacial regions of Siberia. Farther Aa my uncle uttered theae words, I rose and care-
on, the pachydermatous Lopbrodon, that gigantic fully scanned the horizon. But the line of water
tapir, which concealed itself behind rocks, ready to was still confounded with the lowering clouds that
do battle for its prey with the Anoplotherium, a hung aloft, and in the distance appeared to touch
singular animal partaking of the nature of the rhin- the edge of the water.
 ! .

220 AMAZING STORIES

CHAPTER XXX ficent spectacles. I came down into the interior of
the earth with an object, and that object I mean to
Terrific Saurian Combat
attain. Don't talk to me about admiring scenery,
SATURDAY, August 15. The sea still retains or any other sentimental trash."
its uniform monotony. The same leaden hue, After this I thought it well to hold my tongue,
the same eternal glare from above. No indi- and allow the Professor to bite his lips until the
cation of land being in sight. The horizon appears blood came, without further remark.
to retreat before us, more and more as we advance. At six o'clock in the evening, our matter-of-fact
My head is still duil and heavy from the effects guide, Hans, asked for his week's salary, and re-
of my extraordinary dream, which I cannot as yet ceiving his three rix-dollars, put them carefully in
banish from ray mind. The Professor, who has not his pocket. He was perfectly contented and satis-
dreamed, is, however, in one of his morose and un- fied,
accountable humors. Spends his time in scanning SUNDAY, 16th August, Nothing new to record.
the horizon, at every point of the compass. His The same weather as before. The wind has a slight
telescope is raised every moment to his eyes, and tendency to freshen up, with signs of an approach-
when he finds nothing to give any clew to our where- ing gale. When I awoke, my first observation was
abouts, he assumes a Napoleonic attitude and walks in regard to the intensity of the light. I keep on
anxiously, fearing, day after day, that the extraordinary eleC^
1 remarlced that my uncle, the Professor, had a ti-ic phenomenon should become first obscured, and
strong tendency to resume his old impatient char- then go wholly out, leaving us in total darkness.
acter, and I could not but make a note of this dis- Nothing of this kind occurs however. The shadow
agreeable circumstance. I sav/ clearly that it had of the raft, its mast and sails, is clearly distinguish-
required ail the influence of ray danger and suffer- ed on the surface of the water.
'

ing, to -extract from him one scintillation of hu- This wondrous sea is, after all, immense in ex-
mane feeling. Now that I was quite recovered, his tent. It must be quite as wide as the Mediterra-
original nature had conquered and obtained the —
nean or perhaps even as the gi-eat Atlantic Ocean,
uppei' hand. Why, after all, should it not be so? My uncle has
"You seem uneasy, uncle," said I, when for about on more than one occasion, tried deep sea soundings.
the hundredth time he put down his telescope and He tied one of our heaviest crowbars to the end
walked up and down, muttering to himself. of a cord, which he allowed to run out to the extent
"Np, I am not uneasy," he rephed in a dry harsh of two hundred fathoms. We had the greatest
tone, "by no means." difficulty in hoisting in our novel kind of lead.
"Perhaps I should have said impatient," I replied, When the crowbar was finally dragged on board,
softening the force of my remark, Hans called my attention to some singular marks
1, "Enough to make me so, I think." upon •its surface. The piece of iron looked as if it
i "And yet we are advancing at a rate seldom at- had been crushed between two very hard substances.
tained by a raft," I remarked. I looked at our worthy guide with an inquiring
"What matters, that?" cried my uncle. "I am not glance, "Taender," said he.
vexed at the rate we go at, but I am annoyed to Of course I was at a loss to understand, I turned
find the sea so much vaster than I expected." round towards my uncle, absorbed in gloomy re-
I then recollected that the Professor, before our flections. I had little wish to disturb him from his
departure, had estimated the length of. this Sub- reverie, 1 accordingly turned once more toward our
terranean Ocean, as at most about lifty leagues. worthy Icelander, Hans very quietly and signifi-
Now we had traveled at least over thrice that dis- cantly opened his mouth once or twice, as if in the
tance without discovering any trace of the distant act of biting, and in this way made me understand
shore. I began to understand my uncle's anger. his meaning,
"We ai'e not going down," suddenly exclaimed "Teeth!" cried I, with stupefaction, as I examined
tiie Professor. "We are not progi-essing with our the bar of iron with more attention.
great discoveries. All this is utter loss of time. Yes. There can be no doubt about the matter.
After all, I did not come from home to undertake The indentations on the bar of iron are the marks
a party of pleasure. This voyage on a raft over a of teeth What jaws must the owner of such molars
!

pond annoys and wearies me." be possessed of! Have we, then, come upon a mons-
He called this adventurous journey a party of ter of unknown species, which still exists within
pleasui-e, and this great Inland Sea a pond I "But," —
the vast waste of waters a monster more voracious
argiied I, "if we have followed the route indicated than a shark, more terrible and bulky than the
by the great Saknusaem, we cannot be going far whale. I am unable to withdraw my eyes from the
wrong," bar of iron, actually half-crushed
" 'That is the question,' as the great, the immor- Is, then, my dream about to come true —
a dread
tal Shakespeare has it. Are we following the route and terrible reality? All day my thoughts were
indicated by that wondroua sage? Did Saknussem bent upon these speculations, and my imagination
ever fall in with this great sheet of water? If he scarcely regained a degree of calmness and power
did, did he ci:oss it? I began to fear that the of reflection until after a sleep of many hours. This
rivulet we adopted for a guide has led us wrong." Sunday, as other Sundays, we observed as a day of
"In any case, we can never regret having gome rest and pious meditation.
thus far. It is worth the whole journey to have MONDAY, August 17th. I have been trying to
—
enjoyed this magnificent spectacle it is something realize from memory the particular instincts of
to have seen." tfiose antediluvian
animals of the secondary period,
"I care nothing about seeing, nor about magni- which succeeding to the mollusoa, to the crustacea.
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 221
"
ana to the fish, preceded the appearance of the race of the water by some wondrous and mysterious
of mamniifers. The generation of reptiles then power, and then started off twenty fathoms distant.
reigned supreme upon the earth. These hideous "Eh, what is it?" cried my uncle, starting up,
monsters ruled everything in the seas of the sec- "are we shipwrecked, or what?"
ondary period, which formed the strata of which Hans raised his hand and pointed to where, about
the Jura mountains are composed, ^^at a gigantic two hundred yards off, a huge black mass was mov-
structure was theirs; what vast and prodigious ing up and down. I looked with awe. My worst
strength they possessed! The existing saurians, fears were realized. "It is a colossal monster!"
which include all such reptiles as lizards, crocodiles, I cried, clasping my hands,
and alligators, even the largest and most formidable "Yes," cried the agitated Professor, "there yonder
of their class, are but feeble imitations of their is a huge sea lizard of terrible size and shape."
mighty sires, the animals of ages Jong ago. If "And farther on behold a prodigious crocodile.
there were giants in the days of old, there were also Look at his hideous jaws, and that row of monstrous
gigantic animals. teeth. Ha he has gone."
!

I shuddered as I evolved from my mind the idea "A whale! a whale!" shouted the Professor, "I
and recollection of these awful monsters. No eye can see his enormous fins. See, see, how he blows
of man had seen them in the flesh. They took their air and water!"
walks abroad upon the face of the earth thousands Two liquid columns rose to a vast height above
of. ages before man came into existence, and their the level of the sea, into which they fell with a ter-
fp^sil bones, discovered in the limestone, have al- rific crash, waking 'up the echoes of that awful
lowed us to reconstruct them anatomically, and place. We stood' still—surprised, stupefied, terror-
thus to get some faint idea of their colossal forma- stricken at the sight of what seemed a group of
tion.
fearful marine monsters, more hideous in the real-
I recollect once seeing in the great Museum of ity than in my dream. They were of supernatural
Hamburg the skeleton of one of these wonderful dimensions; the very smallest of the whole party
saurians. It measured no less than thirty feet from could' with ease have crushed our raft and ourselves
the, nose to the tail. Am
I, th^, an inhabitant of with a single bite.
the earth of the present day, destined to find myself Hans, seizing the tiller which had flown out of
face to face with a representative of this ante- his hand, puts it hard a-weather in order to escape
diluvian family? I can scarcely believe it possible; from such dangerous vicinity; but.^no sooner does
can hardly believe it true. An^d yet these marks of he do so, than he finds he is flying from Scylla to
powerful teeth upon the bar of iron! can there Charybdis. To leeward is a turtle about forty feet
be a doubt from their shape that the bite is the bite wide, and a serpent quite as long, with an enormous
of a crocodile? and hideous head peering from out the waters.
My eyes stare wildly and with terror upon the Look which way we will, it is impossible for us to
subterranean sea. Every moment I expect one of fly. The fearful reptiles advanced upon us; they
these monsters to rise from its vast cavernous turned and twisted about the raft with awful ra-
depths. I fancy that the worthy Professor in some pidity. They formed around our devoted vessel a
measure shares my notions, if not my fears, for, series of concentric circles, I took up my rifle in
after an attentive examination of the crowbar, he desperation. Biit what effect can a rifle-hall pro-
>

east his eyes rapidly over the mighty and mysterious duce upon the armor scales with which the bodies of
these horrid monsters are covered?
"What could possess him to leave the iand," I We remain
still and dumb from utter horror.
thought, "as if the depth of this water was of any They advance upon us, nearer and nearer. Our
importance to us. No doubt he has disturbed some fate appears certain, fearful and terrible. On one
terrible monster in his watery home, and perhaps side the mighty crocodile, on the other the great
we may pay dearly for our temerity." Anxious to sea serpent. The rest of the fearful crowd of
be prepared for the worst, I examined our weapons, marine prodigies have plunged beneath the briny
and saw that they were in a fit condition for use. waves and disappeared!
My uncle looked on at me and nodded his head ap- I was about to risk all and fire, to try the effect
provuigly. He, too, had noticed what we had to of a shot. Hans, the guide, however, interfered hy '

fear.
a sign to check me. The two hideous and ravenous
Already the uplifting of the waters on the sur- monsters passed within fifty fathoms of the raft,
face indicates that something is in motion below.
The danger approaches. It comes nearer and near-
and then made a rush at one another their fury—
and rage preventing them from seeing us.
er. It behooves us to be on the' watch.
The combat commenced. We distinctly made out
TUESDAY, August IS. '

Evening came at last, every action of the two hideous monsters. To my

the hour, when the desire for sleep caused our eye- excited imagination the other animals appeared
lids to be heavy. Night there is not, properly speak- about to take part in the fierce and deadly struggle
ing, in this place, any more than there is in sum- —the monster, the whale, the lizard, and the turtle.
mer in the arctic regions. Hans, however, is im- I distinctly saw them every moment. I pointed
movable at the rudder. When he snatches a mo- them out to the Icelander. But he only shook his
ment of rest 1 really cannot say. I took advantage head. "Tva," he said.
of his vigilance to take some little repose.
Two hours
"What — two only does he say?. Surely he is mis-
was awakened from a heavy
after, I taken," I cried, in a tone of wonder.
sleep by an awful shock. The raft appeared to have "He is quite right," replied my uncle coolly and
struck upon a sunken rock. It was lifted right out philosophically, examining the terrible duel with his
 !

222 AMAZING STORIES

and speaking as if he were i t lecture a maelstrom in the midst of the sea. We were very ,

nearly drawn down by the indraught of the water

"How can that be?" Several minutes elapsed before anything was
"Yes, it is so. The fii'st of these hideous monsters again seen. Was this wonderful combat to end
.

has the snout of a porpoise, the head of a liaard, in the depths of the ocean? Was the last act of
the teeth of a crocodile; and it is this that has de- this terrible drama to take place without specta-
ceived us. It is the most fearful of all antediluvian tors? It was impossible for us to say.
reptiles, the world-renowned Ichthyosaurus or Suddenly, at no great distance from us, an enorm-
Great Pish Lizard." —
ous mass rose out of the waters the head of the
"And the other?" great Plesiosaurus, The terrible monster was
"The other is a monstrous serpent, concealed wounded unto death. I could see nothing of his
under the hard vaulted shell of the turtle, the ter- enormous body. All that could be distinguished
rible enemy of its fearful rival, the Plesiosaurus, was his serpent-like neck, which he twisted and -

or Sea Crocodile." curled in all the agonies of death. Now he struck

Hans was quite right. The two monsters only- the waters with it as if it had been a gigantic
disturbed the surface of the sea! At last have whip, and then again wriggled like a 'worm cut in
mortal eyes gazed upon two reptiles of the great two. The water was spurted up to a great distance
primitive ocean ! I saw the flaming red eyes of the in all directions. A great portion of it swept over
Ichthyosaurus, each as big, or bigger than a man's our raft and nearly blinded us. But soon the end
head. Nature in its infinite wisdom had gifted this of the beast approached nearer and neai'er; his
wondrous marine animal with an optical apparatus movements slackened visibly; his contortions almost
of extreme power, capable of resisting the pressure ceased; and at last the body of the mighty snake
of heavy layers of water which rolled over him in lay an inert, dead mass on the surface of the now
the depth of the ocean where he usually fed. It calm and placid waters. v

has by some authors truly been called the whale of As for the Ichthyosaurus, has he gone down to
the Saurian race, for it is as big and quick in its his mighty cavern under the sea to rest, or will
motions as our king of the seas. This one measured he reappear to destroy us? This question remained
not less than a hundred feet in length, and I could unanswered, iileanwhile we had breathing time.
form some idea of his girth, when I saw him lift
his prodigious tail out of the waters. His jaw is CHAPTER XXXI
of awful size and strength, and according to the
best-informed naturalists, it does not contain less
The Ssa Monster
than a hundred and -eighty-two teeth. 7EDNESDAY, August 19.
I'"!"
Fortunately the
The other was the mighty Plesiosaurus, a serpent \/\/ ''^i^'^i which at the present blows with great
with a cylindrical trunk, a short stumpy tail, and V ? from the scene
violence, allowed us to escape
fins like a bank of oars in a Roman galley. Its of theunparalleled and extraordinary struggle.
whole body was covered by a carapace or shell and ; Hans with his usual imperturbable calm remained
its neck, as flexible as that of a swan, rose more at the helm. I^y uncle, who for a short time had
than thirty feet above the waves, a tower of ani- been withdrawn from his absorbing reverie by the
mated flesh! novel incidents of this sea-fight, fell back, appar-
These animals attacked one another with incon- ently into a brown study. All this time, however,
'

ceivable fury. Such a combat was never sefen be-, his eyes were fixed impatiently on the wide-spread
fore by mortal eyes, and to us who did see it, it ap- ocgan.
peared more like the phantasmagoric creation of a 'Our voyage now became monotonous and uniform.
dream than anything else. They raised mountains Dull as it has become, I have no desire to have it

of water, which dashed in spray over the raft, al- broken by any repetition of the perils and adven-
ready tossed to and fro by the waves. Twenty tures of yesterday,
times we seemed on the point of being upset and THURSDAY, August 20. The wind is now N. N.
hurled headlong into the waves. Hideous hisses E., and blows very irregularly. It has changed
appeared to shake the gloomy granite roof of that to fitful gusts. The temperature is exceedingly
—
mighty cavern hisses which carried terror to our high. We are now progressing at the average rate
heai-ts. The awful combatants held each other in a of' about ten miles and a half per hour. About
tight embrace. I could not make out one from the twelve o'clock a distant sound as of thunder fell
other. Still the combat could not last for ever; and upon our ears. I make a note of the fact without
woe unto us, whichsoever became the victor. even venturing a suggestion as to its cause. It was
One hour, two hours, three hours passed away, one continuous roar as of a sea falling over mighty
without any decisive result. The struggle continued rocks.
with the same stark tenacity, but without apparent "Far off in the distance," said the Professor dog-
result. The deadly opponents now approached, now matically, "there is some rock or some island against
drew away from the raft. Once or twice we fancied which the sea, lashed to fury by the wind, is break-
they were about to leave us altogether, but instead ing violently."
of that, they came nearer and nearer. We crouched Hans, without saying a word, clambered to the
on the raft ready to fire at them at a moment's top. of the mastj but could make out nothing. The
notice, poor as the prospect of hurting or terrifying ocean was level in every direction as far as the eye
them was. Still we were determined not to perish could reach.
without a struggle. Three hours passed without any sign to indicate
Suddenly the Ichthyosaurus and the Plesiosaurus what might be befcfre us. The. sound began to as-
disappeared beneath the waves, leaving behind them sume that of a mighty dataraet. I expressed my
 —
A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 'th
opinion on this point strongly to my uncle. He come into that part of the world to he prudent.
;rely shook his head. Are we advancing towards^ Such is ray uncle's determination.
some mighty waterfall which shall cast us into the We, accordingly, continue to advance. The nearer
abyss? Probably this mode of descending into the we come, the loftier is the spouting water. What
abyss may be agreeable to the Professor^- because it monster can fill himself with such huge volumes of
would be something like a vertical descent he is so water, and then unceasingly spout them out in such
eager to make, I entertain a very different view. lofty jets?
Whatever be the truth, it is certain that not many At eight o'clock in, the evening, reckoning as
leagues distant there must be some very extraor- above ground, where there is day and night, we are
dinary phenomenon, for as we advance the roar not more than t^vo leagues from the mighty beast.
becomes more mighty and stupendous. Is it in the Its long, black, enormous, mountainous body, lies on-
water, or in the air^? the top of the water like an island. But then sailors
I cast hasty glaiies aloft at the suspended vapors, have been said to have gone ashore on sleeping
and I seelc to penetrate their mighty depths. But whales, mistaking them for land. Is it illusion, or
the vault aboVe is tranquil. The clouds, which are is it fear? Its length cannot be less than a thou-
now elevated to the very summit, appear utterly still sand fathoms. What, then, is this cetaceous mon-
and motionless, and completely lost in the irradia- ster of which no Cuvier ever thought? It is quite
tion of electric light. It is necessary, therefore, to motionless and .presents the appearance of sleep.
,
seek for the cause of this phenomenon elsewhere, The sea seems unable to lift him upwards; it ia
I examine the horizon, now perfectly calm, pure rather the waves which break on his huge and
and free from all haze. Its aspect still remain^ un- gigantic frame. The water -spout, rising to a height
changed. Biit if this awful noise proceeds from a of five hundred feet, breaks in spray with a dull,
cataract— if, so to speak this vast interior ocean is sullen roar. We advance,' like senseless lunatics,
—
precipitated into a lower basin if these tremend- towards this mighty mass.
ous roars are produced by the noise of falling I honestly confess that I was abjectly afraid. I
waters, the current would increase in activity, and declared that I would go no further, I threatened in.
its increasing swiftness would give me some idea my terror to cut the sheet of the sail. I attacked
of the extent of the peril with which we are men- the Professor with considerable acrimony, calling
aced. I consult the current. It simply does not him foolhardy, mad, I know not what. He made no
exist : there is no such thing. An empty bottle cast answer. Suddenly the imperturbable Hans once
into the water lies to leeward without motion. more pointed his finger to the menacing object,
About four o'clock Hans rises, clambers up the "Holme!"
mast and reaches the truck itself. From this ele- "An island!" cried my uncle,
vated position his looks are cast around. They take "An island?" I replied, shrugging my shouldersi
in a vast circumference of the ocean. At last, his at this poor attempt at deception,
eyea remain fixed. His face expresses no astonish- "Of course it^S' cried my uncle, bursting into a;
ment, but his eyes slightly dilate. "He has seen ioud ami joyous Mugh.
something at last," cried my- uncle. "Bui^Jhe' abater spout
"I think 30," I replied. "Qp>ser^5 said Hans.
Hans came down, stood beside ug and pointed *^5, of*eourse 3. geyser," replied my uncle, still
with his right hand to the south. "Ber nere," he
'
leughij^ig, "a geyser like those common in Iceland,
said, ..vJets like this are the great wonders of the country."
"There," replied my uncle. And seizing his teleC^ At first I would not allow that I had been so
scope he looked at it with great attention for^'hout grossly deceived. What could be more ridiculous
a minute, which to me appeared an age. I knew not than to have taken an island for a marine monster?
what to think or expect. But kick as one may, one must yield to evidence, and
"Yes, yes," he cried in a tone of considerable sur- - J was finally convinced of my error. It was nothing,
prise, "there it is." af^^'.'all, but natural phenomenon.
"What?" I asked. As we approached nearer and near the dimen-
"A tremendous spurt of water rising out of the sions of the liquid sheaf of water became truly
grand and stupendous. The island had, at a dis-
; other 1 !monster," I cried, already tance, presented the appearance of an enormous
alarmed. whale, whose head rose high above the waters. The
geyser, a word which signifies fury, rose majesti-
"Then let us £ more to the westward, for we cally from its summit. Dull detonations -are heard
know what we i to expect from antediluvian every now and then, and the enormous jet, taken
animals," was my eager reply. as it were with sudden fury, shakes its plume of
"Go ahead," said my uncle, vapor, and bounds into the -first layer of the clouds.
I turned towards Hans. Hans was at the tiller It is alone. Neither spurts of vapor nor hot springs
steering with his usual undisturbed calm. Never- surround it, and the whole volcanic power of that
theless, if from the distance which separated us region is concentrated in one sublime column. The .'

from' this creature, a distance which must be esti- rays of electric light mix with this dazzling sheaf,
mated at no less than a dozen leagues, and this every drop as it falls assuming the prismatic color's
spurting of water proceeded from the pranks of of the rainbow.
some antediluvian animal, his dimensions muat be 'Let us go on shore," said the Professor,- after
preternatural. To fly is, therefore, the course to be some minutes of silence. It was necessary, however,
suggested by ordinary prudence. But we have not to take great precaution, in order to avoid the
 '

224 AMAZING STORIES

weight of falling waters, which would eaues the raft falling towards the sea, and are assuming a dark
to founder in an instant. Hane, however, steered olive texture; the electric rays can scarcely pierce
admirably, and brought us to the other eslremity through the opaque curtain which has fallen, like a
of the island. drop-scene before this wondrous theatre, on the
1 was the first to leap on the rock. My uncle fol- stage of which another and terrible drama was soon
lowed, while the eider-duct hunter remained still, to be enacted. This time it is no flght of animals;
like a man above any childish sources of astonish- it is the fearful battle of the elements.
ment.. We were now walking on granite, mixed with In the distance, the clouds have assumed the ap-
silicious sandstone; the soil shivered under our feet pearance of enormous halls of cotton', or rather
like the sides of boilers in which over-heated steam pods, piled one above the other in picturesque con-
is forcibly confined. It was bulTiing. We soon came fusion. By degrees, they appear to swell out,
in sight of the little central basin from which rose break, and gain in number what they lose in .gran-
the geyser, I plunged a thermometer into the deur; their heaviness is so great that they are un-
water which ran bubbling from the center, and it able to lift themselves fi'om the horizon; but under
marked a heat of a hundred and sixty-three de- the influence of the upper currents of air, they are
grees! This water, therefore, came from some gradually broken up, become much darker, and
place where the heat was intense. This was singu- then present the appearance of one single layer of
larly in contradiction with the theories of Professor a formidable character; now and then a lighter
Hardwigg, I could not help telling him my opinion cloud, still lit up from above, rebounds upon this
on the subject. gray carpet, and is lost in the opaque mass.
"Well," said he sharply, "and what does this prove There can be no doubt that the entire atmosphere
against my doctrine?" is saturated with electric fluid; I am myself wholly
"Nothing," replied I dryly, seeing that I was run- impregnated; my hairs literally stand on end as if
ninig my head against a foregone conclusion. I am under the influence of a galvanic battery. If one
compelled to confess that until now we have been of my companions ventured to touch me, I think
most remarkably fortunate, and that this voyage is he would receive rather a violent and unpleasant
being accomplished in most favorable conditions of shock.
temperature; but it appears evident, in fact, certain, About ten o'clock in the morning, the symptoms
that we shall sooner or later arrive at one of those of the storm became more thorough and decisive;
regions, where the central heat will reach its ut- the wind appeared to soften down as if to take
most limits, and will go far beyond all the possible breath for a renewed attack; the vast funereal pall
gradations of thermometers. Visions of the Hades —
above us looked like a huge bag like the cave of
of the aneienia, believed to be in. the center of the Aeolus, in which the storm was collecting its forces
earth, floated through my imaginatidn. for the .attack. I tried all I could not to believe
However, we shall see what we shall see. That is in the menacing' signs of the sky, and yet I could
the Professor's favorite phrasei now. Having —
not avoid saying, as it were involuntarily "I be-
christened the volcanic island by the na^e of his lieve we are going to have bad weather."
nephew, the leader of the expedition ttftned away The Professor made me no answer. He was in a
and gave the signal for embarkation. We wak care^ —
horrible, in a detestable humor to see the ocean
fully round the projecting, and rather dangerous,' stretching interminably before his eyes. On hear-
rocks of the southern side. Hans had taken ad- ing my words he simply shrugged his shoulders.
vantage of this brief halt to repair the raft—%ot '
"We shall have a tremendous storm," I said
before it was required. again, pointing to the horizon. "These clouds are
Before we took our final departure from the is- falling lower and lower upon the sea, as if to crush
land, however, I made some observations to calculate it."
the distance we had gone over, and I put them down A great silence prevailed. The wind wholly
in my Journal. Since we left Port Gretchen, we had ceased. Nature assumed. a dead calm, and ceased
traveled two hundred and seventy leagues more — to breathe. Upon the mast, where I noticed a sort
—
than eight hundred miles on this great inland sea; of alight ignis fatuus, the sail hung in loose heavy
we were, therefore, six hundred and twenty leagues folds. The raft lay motionless in the midst of a
from Iceland, and exactly under England. dark heavy sea—without undulation, without mo-
tion. It was as still as glass. "Let us lower the
sail," I said, "ft is only an act of common prud-
CHAPTER XXSII ence,"
The Battle of the Elem^ts —
"No no," cried my uncle, in an exasperated
tone, "a hundred times, no. Let the wind strike us

FRIDAY, August 21st. This morning the mag- and do its worst, let the storm sweep us away where
nificent geyser had wholly disappeared. The —
it will- only let me see the glimmer of some coast—
wind had freshened up, and we were fast of some rocky cliifs, even if they dash our raft, into
leaving the neighborhood of Henry's Island. Even a thousand pieces. No! keep up tlie sail —no mat-
lihe roaring sound of the mighty column was lost ter what happens."
to the ear. These words were scarcely uttered, when the
The weather, if, under the circumstances, we may southern horizon underwent a sudden and violent
use such an expression, is about to change very change. The long accumulated vapors were resolved
suddenly. The atmosphere is being gradually load- into water, and the air required to fill up the void
ed with vapors, which carry with them the elec- produced became a wild and raging tempest. It
tricity formed by the constant evaporation of the came from the most distant corners of the mighty
saline waters; the clouds are slowly but sensibly cavern. It raged from every point of the com-
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 22S
pass. It roared; it yelled; it shrieked with glee as of this mightiest of mighty vaults. If it were to
of demons let loose. The darkness increased and give way and fall upon us! Other lightnings plunge
became indeed darkness visible. their forked streaks in every direction, and take
The raft rose and fell with the storm, and bound- the form of globes of iire, which explode like bomb-
ed over the waves. My uncle was cast headlong up- shells over a beleaguered city. The general crash
on the deck. With great difficulty I dragged my- and roar do not apparently increase it has already
;

self towards him. He was holding on with might gone far beyond what human ear can appreciate.
and main to the end of a cable, and appeared to If aU the powder-magazines in the world were to
gaze with pleasure and delight at the spectacle of explode together, it would be impossible for us to
the unchained elements. hear worse noise.
Hans never moved a muscle. His long hair driv- There is a constant emission of light from the
en hither and thither by the tempest and sca^ttered storm-clouds; the electric matter is incessantly re- -

wildly over his motionless face, gave him a most leased ; innumei'able columns of water rush up like
—
extraordinaiy appearance for every single hair waterspouts; and fall back upon the surface of the
was illuminated by little sparkling sprigs. His ocean in foam. Whither are we going? My uncle
countenance presented the extraordinary appear- still lies at full length upon the raft, without speak-
ance of an antediluvian man, a true contemporary ing—without taking any note of time.
of the megatherium. Monday, August 24. This terrible storm will
Still the mast holds good against the storra. The never end. Why should not this state of the at-
sail spreads out and fills like a soap bubble about mosphere, so deuce and murky, once modified, be-
to burst. The raft rushes on at a pace impossible come permanent?
to estimate. We are utterly broken and harassed by fatigue.
"The sail, the sail !" I cried, making a trumpet of Hans remains just as usual. The raft runs to the
my hands, and then endeavoi-ing to lower it, south-east invariably. We have already gone two
"Let it alone!" said ray uncle, more exasperated hundred leagues from the newly- discovered island.
than ever. About twelve o'clock the storm becomes worse
"Nej," said Hans, gently shaking his head. than ever. We are obliged to fasten every bit of
The rain formed a roaring cataract before this cargo tightly on the deck of the raft, or everything
horizon of which we were in search, and to which would be swept away. We tie ourselves to the
we were rushing like madmen. But before this mast, each man lashing the other. The waves drive
wilderness of waters reached us, the mighty veil over us, so that several times we are actually under
of cloud was torn in twain ; the sea began to foam water.
wildly. To the fearful claps of thunder were added We had ]^n under the painful necessity of ab-
dazzling flashes of lightning, such as I had never staining ^G^h speech for three days and three
seen. The flashes crossed one another, hurled from niglits. Me opened our mouths, we moved our lips,
everj' side; while the thunder came pealing like an bijt, no'"'3pund came. Even when we placed our
echo. moutl\s to each other's ears it was the same. The
The mass of vapor becomes incandescent; the •\wind Sjarried the voice away. My uncle once con-
bail-stones which strike the metal of our boots and trj^d to get his head close to mine after several
our weapons, are actually lutainous; the waves
they rise appear to be fire-eating monsters, /be-
^ altrrost vain endeavors.
exhausted senses to
He appeared to my nearly
articulate some word. I had a
neath which seethes an intense fire, their cpskts potion, more from intuition than anything else, that
surmounted by combs of flame. My eyes arejdazzled. he said to me, "we are lost."
blinded by the intensity of light, my ears ai'e deaf-'" I took out my note book, from which under the
ened by the awful roar of the elements. I am c'omr most' desperate circumstances I never parted, and
pelled to hold on to the mast, which bends like a wrote a few words as legibly as I could "Take in —
reed beneath the violence of the storm, to which sxnl." With a deep sigh he nodded his head and
none ever before seen by mariners bore any re- acquiesced.
semblance. His head had scarcely time to fall back in the
position from which he had momentarily raised it,
Here my traveling notes become very incomplete, when a disc or ball of fire appeared on the very edge
loose and vague, I have only been able to make out —
of the raft our devoted, our doomed craft. The
one or two fugitive observations, dotted down in a mast and sail were carried away bodily, and I sav/
mere mechanical way. But even their brevity, even thera swept away to a prodigious height like a kite.
, their obscurity, show the emotions which overcame We were frozen, actually shivering with terror.
The ball of fire, haft white, half azure- colored, about
the size of a ten-inch bomb-shell, moved along, turn-
Sunday, August 23d. Where have we got to? In ing with prodigious rapidity to leeward of the
what region are we wandering? We are still car- storm. It ran about here, there and everywhere, it
ried forward with inconceivable rapidity. The clambered up one of the bulwarks of the raft, it
night has been fearful, something not to be de- leaped upon the sack of provisions, and then finally
scribed. The storm shows no signs of cessation. descended lightly, fell like a foot ball and landed on
We exist in the midst of an uproar which has no our powder barrel.
name. The detonations as of artillery are incessant. Horrible situation. An explosion now seemed
Our ears literally bleed. We are unable to exchange inevitable. The dazzling disc moved to one side, it
a word or hear each other speak. The light never approached Hans, who looked at it with singular
ceases to flash for a single instant. I can see the fixity; then it approached my uncle, who cast him-
zigzags after a rapid dart, strike the arched roof self on his knees to avoid it ; it came towards me, as
 —
226 'AMAZING STORIES
I stood pale and shuddering in the dazzling light with emotion; my whole body was broken arid
and heat; it pirouetted round my feet, which I en- bruised with fatigue; it took hours before I was
deavored to withdraw. An odor of nitrous gas filled anything like myself. Meanwhile, there fell a fear-
the whole air; it penetrated to the throat, to the ful deluge of rain, drenching us to the skin. Its
lungs, I felt ready to choke. very violence, however, proclaimed the approaching
Why is it that I cannot withdraw my leet? Are end of the storm. Some overhanging rocks aiforded
they riveted to the flooring of the raft? No. The us a slight protection from the torrents.
fall of the electric globe has turned all the iron Under this shelter, Hans prepared some food,
—
on board into loadstones ^tfie instruments, the which, however, I was unable to touch; exhausted
tools, the arms are clanging together with awful by the three weary days and nights of watching,
and horrible noise; the naila of my heavy boots ad- we fell into a deep and, painful sleep. My dreams
here closely to the plate of iron imbedded in the were fearful, but at last exhausted nature asserted
wood. Icannot -withdraw my foot. her supremacy, and I slumbered,
At last, by a violent and almost superhuman ef- Next day when I awoke the change was magical.
fort, I tear it away just as the ball which is still The weather was magnificent. Air and sea, as if by
executing its gyratory motions is about to run mutual consent, had regained their serenity. Every
round it and drag me with it if — trace of the storm, even the faintest, had disap-
what intense stupendous light! The globe of peared, I was saluted on mj awakening by the first
fire bursts—we are enveloped in cascades of living joyous tones I had heard from the Professor for
lire, which flood the space around with luminous many a day. His gayety, indeed, was something
matter. terrible. "Well, my lad," he cried, rubbing his
Then all went out and darkness once more fell hands together, "have you slept soundly?"
upon the deep! I had just time to see my uncle Might it not have been supposed that we were
once more cast apparently senseless on the flooring in the old house on the Konigstrasse that I had just
;

of the raft, Hans at the helm, "spitting fire" under come down quietly to my breakfast, and that my
the influence of the electricity which seemed to have marriage with Gretchen was to take place that very
gone through him, day? My uncle's coolness was exasperating.
Tuesday, August 25. I have just come out of a Alas, considering how the tempest had driven us
long fainting fit. The awful and hideous storm still in an eastei'ly direction, we we had passed under
continues; the lightning has increased in vividness, the whole of Germany, under the city of Hamburg
and pours out its fiery wrath lilie a brook of ser- where I had been- eo happy, under the very street
pents let loose in the atmosphere. which contained all I loved and cared for in the
Are we still upon the sea? Yes, and being car- world. It was a positive fact that I was only sepa-
ried along with incredible velocity. We havei passed rated from her by a distance of forty leagues. But
under England, under the Channel, under France, these forty leagues were of hard impenetrable gran-
probably under the whole extent of Europe, ite! All these dreary and miserable reflections
passed through my mind, before I attempted to
Another awful clamor in the distance. This .time answer my uncle's question,
it is certain that the aea is breaking upon the roeka "Why, what is the matter?" he cried, "cannot yoa
St no great distance. Then say whether you have slept well or not?"
"I have slept very well," was my reply, "but
evei-y bone in my body aches, I suppose that will
CHAPTER XXSIII lead to nothing."
Our Route Reversed "Nothing at all, my boy. It is only the result of
—
the fatigue of the last few days that is all."

HERE ends what I call My Journal of our —

"You appear if I may be aHowed to say so to —
voyage on board the raft, which Journal be very jolly this morning," I said,

was happily saved from the wreck. I pro- "Delighted, my dear boy, delighted. Was never
ceed with my narrative as I did before I commenced happier in my life. We have at last reached- the
my daily notes. wished-for port."
What happened when the terrible shock took place, "The end of our expedition?" cried I, in & tone
when the raft was cast upon the rocky shore, it of considerable surprise.
would be impossible for me now to say, I felt ray- "No; but to the confines of that aea which I be-
self precipitated violently into the boiling waves, gan to fear would never end, but go round the
and if I escaped from a certain and cruel death, it whole world. We will now tranquilly resume our
was wholly owing to the determination of the faith- journey by land, and once again endeavor to dive
ful Hans, who clutching me by the arm, saved me into the center of the Earth."
from the yawning abyss. "My dear uncle," I began, in a hesitating kind
The courageous Icelander then carried me in his of way, "allow me to ask you one question?"
powerful arms, far out of the reach of ihe waves, "Certainly, Harry; a dozen if you think proper." '

and laid me down upon a burning expanse of sand, "One will suffice. How about getting back?" I
where I found myself some time afterwards in the asked,
ieompany of my uncle the Professor, Then Hans "How about getting back? What a questioii tg
quietly returned towards the fatal rocks, against ask. We have not as yet reached the end of our
which the furious waves were beating, in order to
save any stray waifs from the wreck. This man
was always practical and thoughtful. propose we shall manage the retum voyage?"
1 could not utter a word I was quite overcome
;
"In the most simple manner in the world," eai''
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 227
the imperturbable Profeasor. "Once we reach the "Let us see to the commissariat department," re-
exact centei" of this sphere, either we shall find a plied my uncle gravely. The boxes which contained
new road by which to ascend to the surface, or we our supply of food for the voyage were placed in a,
shall simply turn around and go back by the way row along the strand, and proved in a capital state
yfe came. I have every reason to believe that while of preservation ; the sea had in every case respected
we are traveling forward, it will not close behind their contents. Taking into consideration biscuits,
salt meat, schiedam and dried fish, we could still cal-
"Then one of the first matters to see to will be culate on having about four months' supply, if used
to repair the raft," was ray rather melancholy re- with prudence and caution.
sponse. "Four months," cried the sanguine Professor, in
"Of course. We must attend to that above all high glee, "then we shall have plenty of time both
things," continued the Profeasor. to go and to come, and with what remains I under-
"Then comes the all-important question of pro- take to give a grand dinner to my colleagues of the
visions," I urged. "Have we anything like enough Johanneum."
left to enable us to accomplish such great, such I sighed, I should by this time have accustomed
amazing, designs aa you contemplate carrying out?" myself to the temperament of my uncle, and yet this
"I have seen into the matter, and my answer is in man astonished me more and more every day. He
the affirmative. Hans is a very clever fellow, and was the greatest human enigma I had ever known.
has saved the greater part of the cargo. But the "Now," said he, "before we do anything else we
best way to satisfy your scruples, is to come and must lay in a stock of fresh water. The rain has
judge for yourself." Saying which, he led the way fallen in abundance, and filled the hollows of the
out of the kind of open' grotto in which we had granite. There is a rich supply of water, and we
taken shelter. I had almost begun to hope that have no fear of suffering from thirst, which in our
which I should rather have feared, the impossi- circumstances is of the last importance. As for the
bility of such a shipwreck leaving even the slightest raft, I shall recommend Hans to repair it to the
signs of what it had carried as freight. best of his abilities; though I have every reason to
As soon as I reached the shores of this inland believe we shall not require it again."
sea, I found Hans standing gravely in the midst of a "How is that?" I cried, more amazed than ever
large number of things laid out in complete order. at my uncle's style of reasoning.
My uncle wi'ung his hands with deep and silent "I have an idea, my dear boy; it is none other
gratitude. His heart was too full for speech. This than this simple fact: we shall not come out by the
man, whose superhuman devotion to his employers, same opening as that by which we entered."
I never saw surpassed, nor even equaled, had been I began to look at my uncle with vague suspicion.
hard at work all the time we slept, and at the risk An idea had more than once taken possession of me;
of his life had succeeded in saving the most precious and this was, that he was going mad. Little did I
prticles of our cargo. know how true and prophetic his words wera
Of coui'ae, under the cireunlstances, we necessar- doomed to be.
ily experienced several severe losses. Our weapons "And now," he said, "having seen to all these
had wholly vanished. But experience had taught us matteri of detail, to breakfast." I followed him to
to do without them. The provision of powder had, a sort of projecting cape, after he had given his last
however, remained intact, after nearly blowing us, instructions to our guide. In this original posi-
all to atoms in the storm. tion, with dried meat, biscuit, and a delicious cup
"Well," said the Professor, who was now ready —
of tea, we made a satisfactory meal ^I may say one
to make the best of everything, "as we have no of the most welcome and pleasant I ever remember.
guns, all we have to do is to give up all idea of Exhaustion, the keen atmosphere, the state of calm
hunting." after so much agitation, all contributed to give me
"Yea, my dear sir, we can do without them, but an excellent appetite. Indeed, it contributed very
what about all our instruments?" much to producing a pleasant and cheerful state of
"Here is the manometer, the most useful of all, mind.
which I gladly accept in lieu of the rest. With it While breakfast was in hand, and between the
alone I can calculate the depth as we proceed; by its sips of warm tea, I asked my uncle if he had any
means alone I shall be able to decide when we have idea of how we now stood in relation to the world
reached the center of the earth. Ha, ha! but for above. "For my part," I added, "I think it will be
this little instrument we might make a mistake, and rather difficult to determine."
run the risk of coming out kt the antipodes!" 'All "Well, if we were compelled to fix the exact spot^"
this was said amid bursts of unnatural laughter. said my uncle, "it might be difficult, since during
"But the compass," I cried, "without that what the three days of that awful tempest I could keep no
can we do?" account either of the quickness of our pace, or of
"Here it is .safe and sound!" he cried, with real the direction in which the raft was going. Still, we
joy, "ah, ah; and here we have the chronometer and will endeavor to approximate to the truth. We shall
the thermometers. Hans the hunter was indeed an not, I believe, be so very far out,"
invaluable man!" "Well, if I recollect rightly," I replied, "our last
It was impossible to deny this fact. As far as the observation was made at the Geyser island."
nautical and other instruments were concerned noth- "Harry's Island, my boy! Harry's Island. Do
ing was wanting. Then on further examination, I not decline the honor of having named it; having
found ladders, cords, picl^axes, crowbars, and given your name to an island discovered by us, the
shovels, all scattered about on fhe shore. "But what first human being§ ^ho trod it since the creation of
are we to do for food?" I asked. the world!"
 !

2.28 AMAZING STORIES

"Let it be so, then. At Harry's Island we had direction we expected was the south! It pointed to
already gone over two hundred and seventy leagues the shore instead of to the high seas.
of sea, and we were, I believe, about six huiidrfflJ I shook the compass; examined it with a curious
leagues, more or leas, from Iceland." and anxious eye. It was in a state of perfection.
"Good. I am glad to see that you remembei- so No blemish in any way explained the phenomenon.
well. Let U3 start from that point, and let us Whatever position we forced the needle into, it re-
count four- days of storm, during which our rate turned invariably to the same unexpected point.
of traveling must have been very great. I should It was useless attempting to conceal from our-
say that our velocity must have been about eighty selves the fatal truth. There could be no doubt, un-
leagues to the twenty-four hours." welcome as was the fact, that during the tempest,
I agreed that I thought this a iair calculation. there had been a sudden slant of wind, of which we
There were then three hundred leagues to be addSd had been unable to talce any account, and thus the
to the grand total. raft had carried us back to the shores we had left,
"Yes, and the Central Sea must extend aj: least apparently for ever, so many days before!
six hundred leagues from side to side. Do you know
™y hoy, Harry, that we have discovered an inland CHAPTER XXXIV
lake larger than the Mediterranean 1"
"Certainly, and we only know of its extent in one A Voyage of Discovery
way. It may be hundreds of miles in length."
"Very likely." would be altogether impossible for me to give
"Then," said I, after calculating for some min- ITany idea of the utter astonishment which over-
utes, "if your previsions are right, v/e are at this came the Professor on making this extraordin-
moment exactly under the Mediterranean itself." ary discovery. Amazement, incredulity, and rage
"Do you think so?" were blended in such a way as to alarm me. During
"Yes, I am almost certain of it. Are we not nine the whole course of my life I had never seen a man
hundred leagues distant from Eeykjawik?" at first so chapfallen; and then so furiously indig-
''That is perfectly true, and a famous -bit of road nant.
we have traveled, my boy. But why we should be The terrible fatigues of our sea voyage, the fear-
under the Mediterranean more than under Turkey ful dangers we had passed through, had all, all, gone
or the Atlantic Ocean can only be known when we for nothing. We had to begin them all over again.
are sure of not having deviated from our course; Instead of progressing, as we fondly expected, dur-
and of this we know nothing." ing a voyage of so many days, we had reti'eated.
"I do not think we were driven very farfrom our Every hour of our expediton on the raft had been
course the wind appears to me to have been always
:
so much lost time
about the same. My opinion is that this shore must Presently, however, the indomitable energy of my
be situated to the southeast of Port Gretchen." uncle overcame every other consideration. "So," he
—
"Good t hope so. It will, however, be easy to said, between set teeth, "fatality will play me these
decide the matter by taking the bearings from our terrible tricks. The elements themselves conspire to
departure by means of the compass. Come along, overwhelm me with mortification. Air, fire, and
and we will consult that invaluable invention." The water combine their united efilorts to oppose my pas-
Professor now walked eagerly in the direction of sage. Well, they shall see what the earnest will of
the rock where the indefatigable Hans had placed a determined man can do. I will not yield, I will not
the instruments in safety. My uncle was gay and retreat even one inch; and we shall see who shall
light-hearted ; he rubbed his hands, and assumed all triumph in this great contest—man or nature."
sorts of attitudes. He was to all appearances once Standing upright on a rock, irritated and menac-
more a young man. Since I had known him never ing, Professor I-lardwigg, lilte the ferocious Ajax,
had he been so amiable and pleasant. I followed seemed to defy the fates. I, however, took upon my-
him, rather curious to know whether I had made self to interfere, and to impose some sort of cheek
any mistake in my estimation of our position. As upon such insensate enthusiasm.
soon as we had reached the rock, my uncle took "Listen to me, uncle," I said, in a firm but tem-
the compass, placed it horizontally before him and perate tone of voice, "there must be some limit to
looked keenly at the needle. As he had at first ambition here below. It is utterly useless to
shaken it to give vivacity, it oscillated considerably, struggle against the impossible. Pray listen to
and then slowly assumed its right position under the reason. We are utterly unprepared for a sea voy-
influence of the magnetic power. age; it is simple madness to think of performing a
The Professor bent his eyes curiously over the second journey of five hundred leagues upon a
wondrous instrument. A violent start immediately wretched pile of beams, with a counterpane for a
showed the extent of his emotion. He closed his sail, a paltry stick for a mast, and a tempest to con-

eyes, rubbed them, and took another and keener tend with. As we are totally incapable of steering
survey. Then he turhed slowly round to me, stupe- our frail craft, wi^ shall become a mere plaything of
faction depicted on his countenance. the storm, and it is acting the part of madmen if ,

"What is the matter?" said I, beginning to ba we, a second time, run any risk upon this dangerous
alarmed. and treacherous Central Sea."
He could not speak. He was too overwhelmed for These are only a few of the reasons and argu-
words. He simply pointed to the instrument. I —
ments I put together reasons and arguments which
examined it eagerly according to his mute direc- to me appeared unanswerable. I was allowed to go
tions, and a loud cry of surprise escaped ray lips. on without interruption for about ten minutes. The
The needle of the compass pointed due north, in the explanation to this I soon discovered. The Profea-
 A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 229
Sor was riot even listening, and did not hear a word layers one above the other. It appeared clear that
of all my eloquence. we were walking upon a kind of sediment, formed
"To the raft!" he cried, in a hoarse voice, when I like all the soils of that period, so frequent on the
paused for a reply. surface of the globe, by the subsidence of the
Such was the reault of my strenuous effort to waters. The Professor, who was now in his element,
resist his iron will. I tried again; I hegged and im- carefully examined every rocky fissure. Let him
plored hiih; I got into a passion; but I had to deal only find an opening and it directly became import-
with a will more determined than lay own, I .
ant to him to examine its depth.
seemed to feel like the ,waves which fought and For a whole mile we followed the windings of
battled against the huge mass of granite at our feet, the Central Sea, when suddenly an important change
which had smiled grimiy for so many ages at their took place in the aspect of the soil. It seemed to have
puny efforts. been rudely cast up, convuisionized, as it were, by a
Hans, meanwhile, without taking part in our dis- violent upjieaving of the lower strata. In many
cussion, had been repairing the raft. One would places, hollows here, and hillocks there, attested
have supposed that he instinctively guessed at the great dislocations at some other period of the ter-
further projects of my uncle. By msar.s of some restrial mass. We advanced with great difficulty
fragments of cordage, he had again made the raft over the broken masses of granite mixed with ilint,
sea-worthy. While I had been speaking he had quartz and alluvial deposits, when a large field, more
hoisted a new mast and saH, the latter already flut- even than a field, a plain of bones, appeared sud-
tering and waving in the breeze. denly before our eyes. It looked like an immense
The worthy Professor spoke a few words to our cemetery, where generation after generation had
imperturbable guide, who immediately began to put mingled their mortal dust.
our baggage on board, and to pr^are for our Lofty barrows of early remains rose at intervals.
departure. The atmosphere was now tolerably clear They undulated away to the limits of the distant
and pure, and the northeast wind blew steadily and horizon and were lost in a thick and brown fog.
serenely. It appeared likely to last for some time. On that spot, some three square miles in extent,
What, then, eould I do? Could I undertake to was accumulated the whole history of animal life—?
resist the iron will of two men? It was simply im- scarcely one creature still a habitant of the com-
possible ; if even I could have hoped for the support paratively modern soil of the upper and inhabited
of Hans. This, however, was out of the question. world, had there existed,
It appeared to me that the Icelander had set aside .
Ws were drawn forward by an all-absorbing and
all personal will and identity. He was a picture of impatient curiosity. Our feet crushed with a dry
abnegation. I could hope for nothing from one so and crackling sound the remains of those prehis-
infatuated with and devoted' to his master. All I which the museums of great cities
toric fossils, for
could do, therefore, was to swim with the stream. quarrel, even when they obtain only rare and curious
In- a mood of stolid and sullen resignation, I was morsels. I was utterly confounded. My
uncle stood
about to take my accustomed place'on the raft, when for some minutes with his arras raised on high to-
my uncle placed his hand upon my shoulder. "There wards the thick granite vault which served us for a
is no hurry, my boy," he said, "we shall not start un- sky. His mouth was wide open; his eyes spai-kled
tilto-morrow," wildly behind his spectacles (which' he had fortu-
looked the picture of resignation to the dire will
I nately saved), his head bobbed up and down and
of fate. "Under the circumstances," he said, "I from side to side, while his whole attitude and mien
ought to neglect no precautions. As fate has east expressed unbounded astonishment.
me upon these shores, I shall not leave without hav- He stood in the presence of an endless, wondrous
ing completely examined them." and inexhaustibly rich collection of antediluvian
In order to understand this remark, I must ex- monsters, piled up for his own private and peculiar
plain that though we had been driven back to 'the satisfaction. Fancy an enthusiastic lover of books
northern shore, we had landed at a very different carried suddenly into the very midst of the famous
spot from that which had been our starting point. library of Alexandria burned by the sacrilegious
Port Gretchen must, we calculated, be very much to Omar, and which some miracle had restored to its
the westward. Nothing, therefore, was more pristine splendor! Such was the state of mind in
natural and reasonable than that we should recon- which uncle Hardwigg was now placed.
noitre this new shore upon which we had so unex- For some time he stood thus, literally aghast at
pectedly landed. "Let us go on a journey of discov- the magnitude of his discovery.
ery," I cried. But it was even a greater excitement when, dart-
And leaving Hans to his important operation, we ing wi!dly over this mass of organic dust, he caught
started on our expedition. As we trudged along, our up a naked skull and addressed me in a quivering
feet crushed innumerable shells of every shape and
— — —
voice "Harry, my boy Harry ^this is a human
—
size once the dwelling, place of animals of every
period of creation. I particularly noticed some
—
enormous shells carapaces (turtle and tortoise spe-
CHAPTER SXXV
cies) the diameter of which exceeded fifteen feet.
They had in past ages belonged to those gigantic Discovery Upon Discovery
glyptodons of the pliocene period, of which the mod-
ern turtle is but a minute specimen. In addition, will be easy to understand the Professor's
the whole soil was covered by a vast quantity of ITmingled astonishment and joy when, on advanc-
stony relics, having the appearance of flints worn ing about twenty yards further, he found him-
by the action of the waves, and lying in successive self inthe presence of, 1 may say face to faeg with
 ! — " "

230 AMAZING STORIES

an entire fossil of the human race, actually belong- words in public. It was not exactly stuttering, but a
strange sort of constitutional hesitation, "The writ-
ing to the quarternary period!
The human skullperfectly recognizable. Had
was
—
ing named Gigans " he repeated.
a soil of very peculiar nature, like that of the ceme- He, however, could get no further. "Gigayiteo —
tery of St, Michel at Bordeaux, preserved it during Impossible! The unfortunate: word would not
countless ages? This was the question I asked my- come out. There would have been great laughter at
self, but which I was wholly unable to answer. This the Institution, had the mistake happened there.
head with stretched and parehmenty skin, with the "Gigantosteology!" at last exclaimed Professor
teeth whole, the hair abundant, was before our eyes Hardwigg, between 1;wo savage growls.
as in life "Yes, gentlemen, I am well acquainted with all
I stood mute, almost paralyzed with wonder and these matters, and know, also, that Cuvier and
awe before this dread apparition of another age. Blumenbach fully recognized in these bones, the
My uncle, who on almost every occasion was a great undeniable remains of mammoths of the quaternary
talker, remained for a time completely dumfounded. period. But after what we now see, to allow a.
He was too full of emotion for speech to be possible. doubt is to insult scientific inquiry. There is the
After a while, however, we raised up the body to body; you can see it; you can touch it. It is not a
.

which the skull belonged. We stood it on end. It skeleton, it ia a complete and uninjured body, pre-
seemed, to our excited imaginations, to look at us served with an anthropological object." I did not
with its terrible hollow eyes. attempt to controvert this singular and astounding
After some minutes of silence, the man was van- assertion.
quished by the Professor. Human instincts suc- "If I could but wash this corpse in a solution of
cumbed to scientific pride and exultation. Profes- sulphuric acid," continued my uncle, "I would un-
sor Hardwigg, carried away by his enthusiasm, for- dei-take to remove all the earthly particles, and
got alt the circumstances of our journey, the extra- these resplendent shells, which are incruated all
ordinary position in which we were placed, the im- over this body. But I am without this precious
mense cavern which stretched far away over our dissolving medium. Nevertheless, such as it is,
heads. There can be no doubt that he thought him- this body will tell its own history."
self at the institution addressing his attentive pu- Here the Professor held up the fossil body, and
pils, for he put on his most doctoria! style, -waved exhibited it with rare dexterity. No professional
his hand, and began shovnnan could have shown more activity.
"Gentlemen, I have the honor on this auspicious "As on examination you will see," my uncle con-
occasion to present to you a man of the quarternary tinued, "it is only about six feet in length, which is
period of our globe. Many learned men have de- a long way from the pretended giants of early days.
nied his very existence, while other able persons, As to the particular race to which it belonged, it is
perhaps of even higher authorityj have affirmed incontestabJy Caucasian. It is of the white race,
, their belief in the reality of his life. If the St. that is, of our own. The skull of this fossil being
Thomases of Paleontology were present, they would is a perfect ovoid without any remarkable or promi-
reverentially touch him with their fingers and be- nent development of the cheek bones, and without
lieve in his existence, thus acknowledging their ob- any projection of the jaw. But I will advance still
stinate heresy. I know that science should be cai-e- farther on the road of inquii-y and deduction, andl
ful in relation to all discoveries of this nature. I dare venture to say that this human sample or
am
not without having heard of the many Barnums specimen belongs to the Japhetic family, which
and other quacks who have made a trade of such like spread over the world from India to the uttermost
pretended discoveries. I have, of course, heard of - limits of western Europe. There is no occasion,
the discovery of the knee-bones of Ajax, of the pre^ gentlemen, to smile at my remarks,"
tended finding of the body of Orestes by the Spar- Of course nobody smiled. But the excellent Pro-
tiates, and of the body of Asterius, ten spans long, fessor was so accustomed to beaming countenances
fifteen feet —
of which we read in Paiisanias, at hia lectures, that he believed he saw all his au-
"I have read everything in relation to the skele- dience laughing during the delivery of hia learned
ton of Trapani, discovered in the fourteenth cen- dissertation,
tury, which many persons chose to regard as that 'Yes," he continued, with renewed animation,
of Polypheums, and the history of the giant dug up "this is a fossil man, a contemporary of the mas-
'during the sixteenth century in the environs of todons, with the bones of which this whole amphi-
Palmyra. You are as well aware as I am, gentle- theatre ia covered. But if I am called on to explain
men, of the existence of the celebrated analysis how he came to this place, how these various strata!
made near Lucerne, in 1577, of the great bones by which he is covered have fallen into this vast
which the celebrated Doctor Felix Plater declared cavity, I can undertake to give you no explanation.
belonged to a giant about nineteen feet high, I have But there is the man, surrounded by the works of
devoured all the treatises of Cassanion, and all those his hands, bis hatchela, and his carved flints, which
memoirs, pamphlets, speeches, and replies, pub- belong to the stone period; and the only rational
lished in reference to the skeleton of Teutobochus, supposition is, that, like myself, he visited the cen-
king of the Cimbri, the invader of Gaul, dug out of ter of the earth as a traveling tourist, a pioneer
a gravel pit in Dauphiny, in 1613. In the eighteenth of science. At all events, there can be no doubt of
century I should have denied, with Peter Campet his great age, and of his being one of the oldest
the existence of the preadamites of Seheuchzer. I race of human beings."
have had in my hands the writing called Gigans
— The Professor with these words ceased his ora-
Here my uncle was afflicted by the natural infirm- tion, and I burst forth into loud and "unanimous"
ity which prevented him from pronouncing difficult applause. Besides, after all, ray uncle was right.
 K TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 231]

Much more learned men than his nephew would animated ''beings been buried so far beneath the
have found it rather hard to refLite his facta and soil by some tremendous convulsion of nature, after
arguments. they had been earth to earth and ashes to ashes, or
Another circumstance soon presented itaelf. had they lived here below, in this subterranean
This fossilized body was not the only one in this world, under this factitious sky, born, married, and
—
vast plain of bones the cemetery of an extinct given in marriage, and dying at last, just like ord-
world. Other bodies were found, as 'vve trod the inai-y inhabitants of the earth?
dusty plain, and ray uncle was able to choose the Up to the present moment, marine monsters, flah,
most marvelous of these specimens in order to con- and such like animals, had alone been seen alive!
vince the most incredulous. The question which rendered us rather uneasy, was
In truth, it was a surprising spectacle, the sue- a pertinent one, Ws'"^ ai^r of these men of the
cesBive remains of generations and generations of abyss wandering about the deserted shores of this
men and animais confounded together in one vast wondrous sea of the center of the earth? This was
cemetery. But a great question now presented it- a question which rendered me very uneasy and un-
self to our notice, and one we were actually afraid comfortable. How, should they really he in exis-
to contemplate in all its bearings. Had these once tence, would they receive ua men from above?;

{To be concluded)

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sister RADIO and "The Man on the Meteor." "Tarrana the
NEWS and SCIENCE AND INVENTION. Conqueror" Is oiie-of the weirdest and most amaz-

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,

Tnnr iiii i mi i[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii niiMiiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiini iiiiiiliiiiiiiiniimiinii iiiii lii him iiiiiiiiii m ii ilimnii l:
iiiipnii
<me COMING oftht Ice
IA!utHor of "Tii© Man From the Atom"

en, theae creatures o£ the hundrci ', men with huge bruins and tiny, shrivelled bodies, atrophied Ilmhs, and slow,
. It wasthen, that I was forced to produce my tattered old papers, provins my
identity snd my story.

232
 THE COMING OF THE ICE 233
1strange to be alone, and so cold. geons' volumes from his fine Library of Imagina-
To be the last man on earth. . . . and waited.
tion,
The snow di'ives silently about me, I think the book was one of Mr, H, G. Wells', pro-
'saselesaly, drearily. And I am iso-bably "The Sleeper Awakes," or some other of his
lated in this tiny white, indistinguish- brilliant fantasies and predictions, for I was in a
able corner of a blurred world, surely the loneliest mood conducive to belief in almost anything when,
creature in the universe. How many later, we sat down together across the table. I only
of ye: -
is it since
" -"
I last knew
-
the true companion-
"
wish I could give some idea of the atmosphere that
ship? For a long ^ time I have been lonely, _ but permeated our apartments, the reality it lent ta
.

there were people, breatures of flesh and "blood. whatever was vast and amazing and strange. You
Now they are gone. Now I have not even the stars could then, whoever you are, understand a little the
to keep me company, for they are all lost in an ease with which I accepted Sir John's new dis-
infinity of snow and twilight above, as the earth is
covery.
lost in its grey infinity here below.
He 'began to explain it to me at once, as though
If only I could know how long it has been since he could keep it to himself no longer,
first I "vvas imprisoned upon the earth. It cannot "Did you think I had gone mad, Dennell?" he
matter now. And yet some vague dissatisfaction, asked, "I quite wonder that I haven't. Why, I haVe
some faint instinct, asks over and over in my been studying for many years for most of my life
.
—
throbbing ears : What year? What year? —
on this problem. And, suddenly, I have solved
!

It was in the year 1930 that the great thing be- it ! Or, rather, I am afraid I have solved another
gan in my life. There was then a very great man one much greater."
who performed operations upon his fellows to com- "Tell me about it," I suggested. "But for God's
—
pose their vitals we called such men surgeons. sake don't be technical." He smiled.
John Granden wore the title "Sir" before his name, "Eight," he said. Then he paused. "Dennell, it's
in indication of nobility by birth according to the magnificent! It will change the whole social order
prevailing standards in England: But surgery was of the world. It will change everything that is in .

only a hobby of Sir John's, if I must be precise, the world." His eyes held mine suddenly with the
for, while he had achieved an enormous reputation fatality of an hypnotist's. "Dennell, it is the
as a surgeon, he always felt that his real work lay Secret of Eternal Life," he said.
in the experimental end of his profession. He was, "Good Lord, Sir- John!" I cried, half inclined to
in a way, a dreaiher, but a dreamer who could make laugh,
his dreams come true. "1 mean it," he said. "You know I have spent
I was a very close friend of Sir John's, In fact, most of my life studying the processes of birth,
we shared the same apartments in London. I have trying to find out precisely what went on in the
never forgotten that day when he first mentioned whole history of conception.".
to me his momentous discovery. I had just come "You have found out?"
in from a long sleigh-ride in the country with Alice, "No, that is just what amuses me. I have dis-
and I was seated drowsily in the window-aeat, writ- covered something else without knowing yet what
ing idly in my mind a des-
cription of the wind and
the snow and the grey twi-
—
^M^MajMMiigiMijnj
causes either process-
"I don't want to be tech-
nical, and I know very
light of the evening. It 'VHIS powerful and tragic siory .- "The
by the author of little of what actually
^ Man from the Atom" tells of air. ' '

is strange, is it not, that *^^^^ ^^^^^ myself. But I

my tale should begin and hence—a'immortality— telh of 'a world' mmiy'^feniitHes
resirial
time when everything is changed. This one ^^^ ^^'^ ''' Sive you some
end with the snow and the mm remains as a relic of the 2Qth century. He is alone idea of 'it."
twilight. with strangely developed human beings, the product of , . It is thousands per-
ages of evolution. Climatic changes are taking place. ],„„„
Sir John opened sudden- .^^ milliona nf ^ vparq
The world begins to grow cold. Nem York Is almost in ^-tI flto
ly a door at one end of the the Arctic region and Italy is covered with snow all the ^^^^^ ^ir
,
John explamed
room and came hurrying year around. In spite of their enormous intellectual- devel- me. What little I under-
across to another door. optnenl, all human beings miist. perish. Our hero alone stood at the time I may
__
He looked at me, grinning can withstand the intense cold. Re wanted eternal life have
—
• - .

forgotten since. Yet

and he got it eternal life, purely intellectual. What does
rather like a triumphant I try to reproduce what
he do with all his years? And how ifoes he enjoy them},
maniac. Head this powerful story. I can of his theory.
"It's coming!" he cried,
without pausing, "I've ^——BWHW ^=,,,,,_,_,^^_. "In my study of the pro-
cesses of birth," he began,
almost got it!" I smiled discovered the rudi-
at him: he looked very ludicrous at that moment. ments of an action which place in the bodies
"What have you got?" I asked. of both men and women. There are certai proper-
—
"Good Lord, man, the Secret the Secret!" And ties in the foods we eat that remain in the body for
then he was gone again, the door closing upon his the reproduction of life, two distinct Essences, so
victorious ci'y, "J'he Secret!"' to speak, of which one is retained hy the woman,
I was, of course, amused. But I was also very another by the man. It is the union of these two
much interested. I knew Sir John well enough to properties that, of course, creates the child.
realize that, however amazing his appearance might "Now, I made a slight mistake one day in experi-
be, there would be nothing absurd about his menting with a guinea-pig, and I re-arranged cer-
—
"Secret" ^whatever it was. But it was useless to tain organs which I need not describe so that I
speculate. I could only hope for enlightenment at thought I had completely messed up the poor crea-
dinuer. So I immeraed myself in one of the sur- ture's abdomen. It lived, however, and I laid it aside.
 —
234 AMAZING STORIES
It was some years later that I happened to notice it "True, true. I know it. But it is hard to face,
again. It had not given birth to any young, but I nevertheless."
w&B amazed to note that it had apparently grown "I am not afraid to face it," I said, a little boast-
110 older: it seemed precisely in the same state of fully.
growth in which I had left it, "You do not understand it, Dennell, I am afraid.
"From that I built up. I re-examined the guinea- And I wonder whether you or I or any of us on this

pig, and observed it carefully. I need not detail. my earth are ready for such a step. After all, to make
studies. But in the end I found that my
'mistake' a race deathless, one should be sure it is a perfect
had in reality been a momentous discovery. I found race."
that I had only to close certain organs, to re-arranga "Sir John," I said, "it is not you who have to face
certain ducts, and to open certain dormant organs, this, nor any one else in the world till you are ready.
and, mirabile dictu, the whole process of reproduc- But I am firmly resolved, and I demand it of you aa
tion was changed. my friend."
"You have heard, of course, that our bodies are Well, we argued much further, but in the end I
continually changing, hour by hour, minute by min- won. Sir John promised to perform the operation
ute, so .that every few years we have been literally three days later.
reborn. Some such principle as this seems to . . . But do you perceive now what I had for-
operate in reproduction, except that, instead of the gotten during all that discussion, the one thing I
old body being replaced by the new, and in its had thought I could never forget so long as I lived,
form, approximately, the new body is created apart not even for an instant? It was my love for Alice
from it. It is the creation of children that causes I had forgotten that!
us to die, it would seem, because if this activity is, I cannot write here all the infinity of emotions
so to speak, dammed up or turned aside into new I experienced later, when, with Alice in my arms, .

channels, the reproduction operates on the old body, it suddenly came upon me what I had done. Ages -

renewing it continually. It is very obscure and very —

ago I have forgotten how to feel. I could name
absurd, is it not? But the most absurd part of it la now a thousand feelings I used to have, but I can no
that it is true. Whatever the true explanation may longer even understand them. For only the heart
be, the fact remains that the operation can he done, can understand the heart, and the intellect only the
that it actually prolongs life indefinitely, and that I intellect.

alone know the secret." With Alice in my arms, I told the whole story.
Sir John told me a very great deal more, but, It was she who, with her quick instinct, grasped
after al!, I think it amounted to little more than what I had never noticed.
this. It would be Impossible for me to express
"But Carl!" she cried, "Don't you see? It will —
the great hold his discovery took upon my,miod the mean that we can never be married!" And, for the
moment he recounted it. From the very first, under first time, Iunderstood. If only I could re-capture
the spell of his personality, I believed, and I knew he some conception of that love ! I have always known,
was speaking the truth. And it opened up before since the last shred of comprehension slipped from
me new vistas. I began to see myself become sud- me, that I lostsomething very wonderful when I
denly eternal, never again to know the fear of iost love. But what does it matter? I lost Alice
death. I could see myself storing up, century after too, and I suppose I could not have knc^wn love again
century, an amplitude of wisdom and experience without her.
that would make me truly a god. We were very aad and very tragic that night.
"Sir John !" I cried, long before he was finished,
For hours and hours we argued the question over.
But I felt somewhat that I was inextricably caught
"You must perform that operation on me !"
in my fate, that I could not retreat now from my
"But, Dennell, you are too hasty, You must not
resolve. I was, perhaps, very school-boyish, but
_

put yourself so rashly into my hands,"

I felt that it would be cowardice to back out, now.
"You have perfected the operation, haven't you?" But it p'as Alice again who perceived a final aspect
"That is true," he said. of the matter.
"You must try it out on somebody, must you not ?" "Carl," she said to me, her lipa very close to mine,
"Yes, of course. And —
yet somehow, Dennell, I "it need not come between our love. After all, ours
am afraid. I cannot help feeling that man is not would be a poor sort of love if it were not more of
yet prepared,for such a vast thing. There are sac- the mind than of the flesh. We shall remain lovers,
rifices. One must give up love and all sensual but we shall forget mere carnal desire. I shall sub-
pleasure. This operation not only takes away the
, mit to that operation too !"
mere fact of reproduction, but it deprives one of all And I could not shake her from her resolve. I
the things that go with sex, all love, all sense of would speak of danger that I could not let her face.
beauty, all feeling for poetry and the arts. It leaves But, after the fashion of women, she disarmed me
only the few emotions, selfish- emotions, that are with the accusation that, I did not love her, that I
necessary to self-preservation. Do you not see? did not want her love, that I was trying to escape
One becomes an intellect, nothing more a cold — from love. What answer had I for that, but that
apotheosis of reason. lAind I, for one, cannot face I loved her and would do anything in the world not
auch a thing calmly." to lose her?
"But, Sir John, like many fears, it is largely hor- I have wondered sometimes since whether we
rible in the foresight. After you have changed might have known the love of the mind. Is love
your nature you cannot regret It. What you are something entirely of the flesh, something created
would be as horrible an idea to you afterwards as by an ironic God merely to propagate His race?,
the thought of what you will be seems now." Or can there be love without emotion, love without
 —
THE COMING OF THE ICE 235
—
passion love between two cold intellects? I do not interpret come over the face of the nurse, then she
know. I did not ask then. I accepted anything was calm again, her countenance impassive. She re-
that would make our way more easy. .i assured me in quick meaningless phrases, and told
There is no need to draw out the tale. Already me to sleep. But I could not sleep 1 was absolutely
:

my hand wavers, and my time grows short. Soon sure that something had happened to them, to my
there will be no more of me, no more of my tale friend and to the woman I loved. Yet all my in-
no more of Mankind. There will be only the snow, sistence profited me nothing, for the nurses were
and the ice, and the cold. . . . a silent lot. Finally, I think, they must have given
Three days later I entered Sir John's Hospital, me a sleeping potion of some sort, for I fell asleep
—
with Alice on my arm. All my affairs and they again.
—
were few enough were in order. I had insisted For two days, two endless, chaotic days, I saw
that Alice wait until I had come safely through the nothing of either of them, Alice or Sir John. I be-
opei-ation, before she submitted to it. I had been came more and more agitated, the nurse more and
carefully starved for two days, and I was lost in an more taciturn. She would only say that they had
finreal world of white walls and white clothes and gone away for a day or two.
white lights, drunk with my dreams of the future. And theni on the third day, I found out. They
When I was wheeled into the operating room on the thought I was asleep. The night nurse had just
long, hard table, for a moment it shone with bril- come in to relieve the other.
liant distinctness, a neat, methodical white chamber, "Has he been asking about tl^em again?" she.
tall and more or less circular. Then I was beneath asked.
the glare of soft white lights, and the room faded "Yes, poor fellow. I have hardly managed to
into a misty vagueness from which little steel rays keep him quiet."
flashed and quivered from silvery cold instruments. "It is going to be very hard to tell him."
For a moment our hands. Sir John's and mine, "We will have to keep it from him until he is
—
gripped, and we were saying good-bye for a little recovered fully." There was a long pause, and I
—
while in the way men gay these things. Then I could hardly control my laboured breathing.
felt the warm -touch of Alice's lips upon mine, and I "How sudden it was!"
one of them said. "To be
felt sudden painful things that I cannot describe, Idlled likethat—" I heard no more, for I leapt sud-
that I could not have described then. For a moment denly up in bed, crying out.
I felt that I must rise and cry out that I could not "Quick! For God's sake, tell me what has hap-
do it. But the feeling passed, and I was passive- pened!" I jumped to the floor and seized one of
Something was pressed about my mouth and nose, them by the collar. She was horrified, I shook
something with an etherial smell. Staring eyes swam her with a superhuman strength.
about me from behind their white masks. I strug- "Tell me!" I shouted, "Tell me—
Or I'll—-!" She
—
gled instinctively, but in vain I was held securely. —
told me what else could' she do.
Iniinitesimal points of light began to wave bade and "They were killed in an accident," she gasped,
forth on a pitch-black background; a great hollow "in a taxi—a collision—the Strand —
!" And at that

buzzing echoed in my head. My head seemed sud- moment a crowd of nurses and attendants arrived,
denly to have become ail throat, a great, cavernous, called by the other frantic woman, and they put me.
empty throat in which sounds and lights were to bed again.
mingled together, in a swift rhythm, approaching, I have no memory of the next few days. I was in
receding eternally. Then, I think, there were delirium, and I was never told what I said during
dreams. But I have forgotten them. . . . my ravings. Nor can I express the feelings I was
I began to emerge from the effect of the ether. saturated with when at last I regained my mind
Everything was dim, but I could perceive Alice be- again. Between my old emotions and any attempt
side me, and Sir John, to put them into words, or even to remember them,
"Bravely done!" Sir John was saying, and Alice, lies always that insurmountable wall of my Change.

too, was saying something, but I cannot remember I cannot understand what I must have felt, I can-

what. For a long while we talked, I speaking the not express it,
nonsense of those who are coming out from under I only know that for weeks I was sunk in a misery
ether, they teasing me a little solemnly- But after a beyond any misery I had ever imagined befoi'e. The
little while I became aware of the fact that they two only friends I had on earth were gone to me. I
were about to leave. Suddenly, God knows why, I was left alone. And, for the first time, I began to
knew that they must not leave. Something cried see before me all these endless years that would be
in the back of my head that they must stay one — the same, dull, lonely.
cannot explain these things, except by after events. Yet I recovered. I could feel each day the grovrth
I began to press them to remain, but they smiled of a strange new vigour in my limbs, a vast force
and said they must get' their dinner. I commanded that was something tangibly expressive of eternal
them not to go ; but they spoke kindly and said they life. Slowly my anguish began to die. After a week
would be back before long. I think I even wept a more, I began to understand how my emotions were
little, like a child, but Sir John said something to leaving me, how love and beauty and everything of
the nurse, who began to reason with me fii'raly. and —
which poetry was made how all this was going.
then they were gone, and somehow I was asleep. . . I could not bear the thought at first. I would look at
When I awoke again, my head was fairly clear, the golden sunlight and the blue shadow of the wind,
but there was an abominable reek of ether all about and I would say,
|ne. The moment I opened mj eyes, I felt that some- "God! How beautiful!" And the words would
thing had happened. I asked for Sir John and for echo meaninglessly in my ears. Or I would re-
j^ice. 1 saw a swift, curious look that I could not member Alice's face, that face I had once loved
236 AMAZING STORIES
SO inextinguiahably, and I would weep and clutch For several centuries, changing my name and
my forehead, and clench my fists, crying, passing from place to place, I continued my studies.
"0 God, how can I live without her!" Yet there I had no consciousness of monotony, for, to the in-
would be a little strange fancy in my head at the tellect, monotony cannot exist: it was one of those
same moment, saying, emotions I had left behind. One day, however, in
"Who is this Alice? You know no auch
person." the year 2132, a great discovery was made by a man
And truly I would wonder whether she had ever called Zarentaov. It had to do with the curvature
existed. of space, ijuite changing the conceptions that we
So, slowly, the old emotions were shed away from had all followed since Einstein. I had long ago
me, and I began to joy in a corresponding growth mastered the last detail of Einstein's theory, as
of my mental perceptions. I began to toy idly with had, in time, the rest of the world. I threw my-
mathematical formulae I had forgotten years ago, self immediately into the study of this new, epoch-
in the same fashion that a post toys with a word making conception.
and its shades of meaning. I would look at every- To my amazement, it all seemed to me curiously
thing with new, seeing eyes, new perception, and dim and elusive. I could not quite grasp what
I would understand things I had never understood Zai-entzov was trying to formulate,
before, because formerly my emotions had always "Why," I cried, "the thing is a monstrous fraud!''
occupied me more than ray thoughts. I went to the professor of Physics in the Univer-
And 30 the weeks went by, until, one day, I was sity I then attended, and I told him it was a fraud,
well. a huge book of mere nonsense. He looked at me
, . What, after all, is the use of this chronicle?
. rather pityingly.
Surely there wiJI never be men to read it. I have "I am afraid, Modevski," he said, addressing me
heard them say that the snow will never go. I will by the name I was at the time using, "I am afraid
be buried, it will be buried with me; and it will you do not understand it, that is all. When your
be the end of us both. Yet, somehow, it eases mind has broadened, you will. You should apply
my weary soul a little to write. . . . yourself more carefully to your Physics." But
Need I say that I lived, thereafter, many thou- that angered me, for I had mastered my Physics
sands of thousands of years, until this day? I can- before he was ever born. I challenged him to ex-
not detail that life. It is a long round of new, fan- plain the theory. And he did ! He put it, obvious-
tastic impressions, coming dream-like, one after ly, in the clearest language he could. Yet I undei--
another, melting into each other. In looking back, stood nothing. I stared at him dumbly, until he
as in looking back upon dreams, I seem to recall shook his head impatiently, saying that it was use-
only a few isolated periods clearly; and it seems less, that if I could not grasp it I would simply have
that my imagination must have filled in the swift to keep on studying. I was stunned. I wandered
movement between episodes. I think now, of neces- away in a daze.
aity, in terms of centuries and milleniums, rather For do you see what had happened? During all
than days and months. The snow blows ter-
, . . those years I had studied ceaselessly, and my mind
ribly about ray little fire, and I know it will soon had been clear and quick as the day I first had left
gather courage to quench us both. . . . the hospital. But all that time I had been able only
Years passed, at first with a sort of clear wonder. —
to remain what I was an extraordinarily intelli-
I watched things that took place everywhere in gent man of the twentieth century. And the rest
the world. I studied. The other students were of the race had been progressing! It had been
much amazed to see me, a man of thirty odd, com- swiftly gathering knowledge and power and ability
ing back to college. ail that time, faster and fastei-, while I had been
"But Judas, Dennel, you've already got your only remaining still. And now here was Zarentzoy
Ph.D! What more do you want?" So they would and the teachers of the Universities, and, probably,
all ask me. And I would reply; a hundred intelligent men, who had all outstripped
"I want an M.D. and an F.R.C.S." I didn't tell me! I was being left behind.
them that I wanted degrees in Law, too, and in And that is what happened. I need not dilate
Biology and Chemistry, in Architecture and Engi- further upon it. By the end of that century I had
neering, in Psychology and Philosophy. Even so, been left behind by all the students of the world,
I believe they thought me mad. But poor fools 1 I and I never did understand Zarentzov. Other men
would think. They can hardly realize that I have came with other theories, and these theories were
all of eternity before me for study, accepted by the world. But I could not understand
I went to school for many decades, I would pass them. My intellectual life was at an end. I had
from University to University, leisurely gathering nothing more to understand. I knew everything
all the fruits of every subject I took up, revelling I was capable of knowing, and, thenceforth, I could
in study as no student revelled ever before. There only play wearily with the old ideas.
was no need of hurry in ray life, no fear of death too Many things happened in l;he world. A
time came
Boon, There was a magnificence of vigour in my when the East and West, two mighty unified hemis-
body, and a magnificence of vision and clarity in pheres, rose up in arms : the civil war of a planet.
my brain. I felt myself a super-man. I had only I recall only chaotic visions of fire and thunder and
to go on storing up wisdom until the day should hell. It was all incomprehensible to me: like S.
conie when all knowledge of the worJd was mine, and bizarre dream, things happened, people rushed
then I could command the world. I had no need about, but I never knew what they were doing, J
for hurry, vast life! How I gloried in my eter- lurked during all that time in a tiny shuddering
nity! And how little good it has ever done me, by bole under the city of Yokohama, and by a miracle
the irony of God. I survived. And the East won. But it seems toi
 THE COMING OF THE ICE 237
have mattered little who did win, for all the world they traveled by the millions southward, perishing
had become, in all except its few remaining pre- as they went, pursued by the snow and the cold,
judices, a single race, and nothing was changed and that inevitable field of ice. They were feeble
when it was all rebuilt again, under a single gov- creatures when the Cold first came upon them, but
ernment. I speak in terms of thousands of years; and they
I saw the first of the strange creatures who turned every weapon of science to the recovery
appeared among us in the year 6371, men who were of their physical power, for they foresaw that the
later known to be from the planet Venus. But only chance for survival lay in a hard, strong body.
they were repulsed, for they were savages com- As for me, at last I had found a use for my few
pared with the Earthmen, although they were powers, for my physique was the finest in that
about equal to the people of my own century, 1900. world. It was but little comfort, however, for we
Those of them who did not perish of the cold after were all united in our awful fear of that Cold and
the intense warmth of their world, and those who that grinding field of Ice. All the great cities were
were not killed by our hands, those few returned deserted. We would catch silent, fearful glimpses
silently home again. And I have always regretted of them as we sped on in our machines over the
that I had not the courage to go with them. —
snow great hungry, haggard skeletons of cities,
i watched a time when the world reached perfec- shrouded in banks of snow, snow that the wind
tion in mechanics, when men could accomplish any- rustled through desolate streets where the cream
thing with a touch of the finger. Strange men, of human life once had passed in calm security.
these creatures of the hundredth century, men with Yet still the Ice pursued. For men had forgotten
huge brains and tiny, shriveled bodies, atrophied about that Last Ice Age when they ceased to
limbs, and slow, ponderous movements on their little reckon time, when they lost sight of the future and
conveyances. It was I, with my ancient compunc- steeped themselves in memories. They had not
tions, who shuddered when at last they put to remembered that a time must come when Ice would
death all the perverts, the criminals, and the insane, lie white and smooth over all the earth, when the
ridding the world of the scum for which they had sun would shine bleakly between unending intervals
no more need. It was then that I was forced to of dim, twilit snow and sleet.
produce my tattered old papers, proving my identity Slowly the Ice pursued us down the earth, until
and my story. They knew it was true, in some all the feeble remains of civilization were gathered
strange fashion of theirs, and, thereafter, I was in Egypt and India and South America. The deserts
kept on exhibition as an archaic survival. flowered again, but the frost would come always to
I saw the world made immortal through the new bite the tiny crops. For still the Ice came. All the
invention of a man called Kathol, who used some- world now, but for a narrow strip about the equator,
what the same method "legend" decreed had been was one great silent desolate vista of stark ice-
used upon m.e. I observed the end of speech, of plains, ice that brooded above the hidden ruins of
all perceptions except one, when men learned to cities that had endured for hundreds of thousands
communicate directly by thought, and to receive of years. It was terrible to imagine the awful
directly into the brain all the myriad vibrations of solitude and the endless twilight that lay on these
the universe. places, and the grim snow, sailing in silence over
All these things I saw, and more, until that time all. . . .

when there was no more discovery, but a Perfect And so we existed, hoping still that the Ice might
World in which there was no need for anything but go again, until at last it closed in upon us. From
memory. Men ceased to count time at last. Several north and south it came, from every side, and the
hundred years after the I54th Dynasty from the boundaries of east and west were the frozen oceans,
Last War, or, as we would have counted in my fathoms deep in Ice. It closed about us. . . .
time, about 200,000 A.D., official records of time It surrounded us on all sides, until life remained
were no longer kept carefully. They fell into dis- only in a few scattered clearings all about that equa-
use. Men began to forget years, to forget time at tor of the globe, with an eternal fire going to hold
all. Of what significance was time when one was away the hungry Ice. Perpetual winter reigned
immortal? now; and we were become terror-stricken beasts
After long, long uncounted centuries, a time came that preyed on each other for a life already doomed.
when the days grew noticeably colder. Slowly the Ah, but I, I the archaic survival, I had my revenge
winters became longer, and the summers dimin- then, with my great physique and strong jaws
ished to but a month or two. Fierce storms raged God ! Let me think of something else. Those men
endlessly in winter, and in summer sometimes there —
who lived upon each other it wag horrible. And
was severe frost, sometimes there was only frost. I was one.
In the high places and in the north and the sub- So inevitably the Ice closed in. . , , One day the
equatorial south, the snow came and would not go. men of our tiny clearing were but a score. hud- We
Men died by the thousands in the higher lati- dled about our dying fire of bones and stray logs.
tudes. New York became, after awhile, the furthest We said nothing. We
just sat, in deep, wordless,
habitable city north, an arctic city, where warmth thoughtless silence. We were the last outpost of
seldom penetrated. And great fields of ice began Mankind.
to make their grinding before them
way southward, suddenly something very noble must have
I think
the brittle remains of civilizations, covering over transformed these creatures to a semblance of
relentlessly all of man's proud work. what they had been of old. I saw, in their eyes,
Snow appeared in Florida and Italy one summer. the question they sent fi'om one to another, and
In the end, anew was there always. Men left New in every eye I saw that the answe r wa s, Yea, With
York, Chicago, Paris, Yokohama, and everywhere (Continued on pagei
'5rry
(^R.FOSDICK iNVENfS ^A/SeBDOTZMOBIIE"
 a — I

"SEIDLITZMOBILE" 239
alAEDON me." are getting along. The device waa an utter failure
Ml Huam Snodgrass did not look up —
as a curling iron but as a nut-cracker it has been
fiom his desk. It was Saturday and an unqualified success. It is going to make you a
iieailv noon and the automobile was rich man, Mr. Posdick. Your royalties are now
pdiitiug outside to take him out to the amounting to over a hundred dollars a week."
countiy club wheie he had a golf game on with Mr. Foadiek shook his head. "No, I am. not here
his son m
law on that account. I have a new invention that \^
'Paidon me" want to interest you in."
The piesident of the Ajax Manufacturing Com- "And the nature of it is what?" inquired Mr*
pany only dipped his pen again in the violet ink and Snodgrass.
scribbled the faster. A half hundred letters still re- "An automobile run by these," and the inventoi^
mained to be signed and Mr. Snodgrass figured that held up a Seidlitz powder. "There is a wonderful
even with the simplest of luncheons he would be lot of power in a Seidlitz powder, Mr. Snodgrass,
an hour late upon the green. And this afternoon Just take first the blue and then the white," he said,
he purposed having his revenge, for the Saturday oiferjng the glass and at the same time unfolding
before the husband of his offspring had stung Mm the white paper containing the other half of the
to the tune of eight up. powder.
"Pardon me," Mr. Snodgrass drew back in some alarm. "No,
Mr. Snodgrass swung in hia chair. "Well, what I'll take your word for it."

is it?" The inquiry came explosively and with a "Please take it," insisted Mr. Fosdick. "It's ^
fierce, sudden beat like the momentary opening of beautiful experiment. It gives a pressure of teil
a furnace door. It was Mr. Snodgrass' way — —
atmospheres one hundred and fifty pounds."
manner to which none in the office ever paid the "Damn it, man, I'm not built for a hundred and
slightest heed. fifty pounds. I couldn't stand it—I'd blow up —
"You are Mr. Snodgrass?" haven't any safety valve."
"Yes, I am," snapped that individual. "What The inventor shook his head solemnly. "In that,
of it?" Mr. Snodgrass, you are mistaken. The human
The stranger, a man with mild blue eyes and diaphragm will stand one hundred and sixty pounds.
vague, rambling whiskers, seated himself. "Did You see, there is a margin of safety of ten pounds-—
you ever," he began, "take first the blue and then the experiment is perfectly safe."
the white of a common, ordinary Seidlitz powder?" "I tell you I won't," cried Mr. Snodgrass, over-
Mr, Snodgrass threw his head back aghast at the come by a sudden fear that he might be persuaded
query. "No, I have not," he bellowed. into such a rash adventure. "I won't, I teil you."
The stranger was unperturbed. "Well, then try "Then I will," said Mr. Fosdick, calmly lifting
it," and drawing from hia the glass. "Just watch."
pocket one of the powders p^^^^^^aaa^^— ^^^^^^^^S^^^M "Here, stop that!" cried
in -question walked coolly the horrified Mr. Snod-
over to the water filter
'THE artist, Elihii Veddcr, in Idling some incidents of grass. "Don't do that in
his younger life, describes feeding a lillle negro boy
and filling the glass drop- with Seidlitz powders, separately administered, with a cor- here. Go down into the
ped in the blue powder responding alarming result. In this excrucialimjly funny engine room where we
—
which he stirred with a story, Mr. Fosdick we l\esilale to call him a herd—gives have boiler insurance."
long, index finger. "The himself the expanding dose and thus succeeds in bis tfe- Eut the inventor was not
sire to interest a capilalisi friend in an aiilomobile to be
result win surprise you.'* driven by the gas from Seidlits powder. Try to imagine to be thwarted. With
"I'll do nothing of the for yourself, what happened wheit a heavy charge of cool deliberation he quaf-
dashed kind," roared Mi;. sodium carbonate and s^dphuric acid xverc substituted for fed off first the one powder
the comparatively mild Seidlitz powder. But read the
Snodgrass. "And say," he and then the other. "Right
story through, and you will agree that Baron Mimchkaw-
demanded, as he caught scn, in the zoildcsf flights here," he said, after a
of his imagination, lakes a sec-
the stenographer tittering ond place to this presentation of Mr. Fosdiek's invention. minute's wait, "there is
behind her note book, See how humor can be evolved even from, what so Tnany power enough to run my
"who the devil are you people call, the "dryness of chemistry." A capital story, Seidlitzmobile eleven and
which yon won't forget soon. '
and how did you get in two-tenthsmiles,if mycal-
iniWlli culations are not wrong,"
~~"mil Mil I l iiiiHIHWillHH
li i li II

For answer the strang- and he placed his hand

er laid upon the president's desk a upon tha pit of his stomach. "Just feel the pres-
sure."
Mr, Snodgrass extended his arm and gingerly -

prodded the compelling stranger under the ribs.

JASON Q. FOSDICK "Not. hard," said the inventor warningly. "Ee-t
Inventor member, the margin of safety is only ten pounds."
Mr. Snodgrass withdrew hia hand with. lightning-
like rapidity and the perspiration broke out upon"
'Mr, Snodgrass' features experienced a sudden his forehead. "Couldn't 'you go outside and sit
transformation: the belligerent expression faded around for awhile?" he inquired with some trepida-
away and a smile of genuine pleasure suffuaeO all tion. "Our building is not very strong and an acci-
of the countenance visible above and in front of dent would doubtlessly maim many of our clerks."
the mutton-chop whiskers. "My dear Mr. Fosdick, "I usually don't stir," replied Mr. Posdick solemn-
I am delighted to ineet you I" he ejaculated. "I ly. "If I should walk about and stumble or if I —
suppose you dropped ja .tfi gge how the
nut-crackers should even cough or sneeze, why then ^-"
 "

240 AMAZING STORIES

"Yea, yes," interrupted Mr. Snodgrass. "Just "Why, man, you've no pressure!" exclaimed the
sit perfectly still," he said, turning off the electric passenger, "Look at the gauge."
fan, "Keep out of all draughts and please try not It was ti-ue. The gauge registered not a single
to cough, I'll telephone the fire department and the pound,
police as a precaution." Mr. Fosdick fumbled in his pockets, but could not
"Not necessary," said the inventor. "The pres- find another powder.
sure, will sink to forty pounds in ten minutes." "I guess that last powder must have been a weak
It was a harrowing ten minutes for the president —
one," he said. "But see, there is a drug store and
of the Ajax Manufacturing Company. When one every drug store carries Seidlitz powders. As long
has reached the mature age of sixty years and has as you keep near the drug stores you need never
a lai-ge family, even to grand-children, the staking run out of power."
of one's life against the mere sneeze or cough of an Mr. Snodgrass' spirits rose. "We can turn that
utter stranger is an unnerving thing and the shock remark into profit," he said. We will copyright it.
and suspense of it all is more than apt to leave the The very first thing we will do will be to spend one
faculties in a numb and dazed condition. At any million dollars in advertising this sentence through-
rate, when Mr. Fosdick left the office a few minutes —
out the entire world: 'The Seidlitzmobile ^the ma-
"
after the ordeal, he had in his pocket Mr. Snodgrass' chine that can get its power at any drug store.'
check of one thousand dollars for the building of Together the two men walked into the drug shop.
the first Seidlitzmobile. "A Seidlitz powder, if you please," said Mr. Fos-
dick, laying ten cents upon the soda counter.
One month later drew a queer look-
a team The apothecary dived back into the mysterious
ing vehicle in front of the Ajax Manufacturing region behind the prescription case and hibernated.
Company and were unhitched. An hour later he emerged and pleasantly inquired
"I brought it over here from the shop by mule- what was wanted.
power," explaine'd Mr, Fosdick, "as I wanted you to "A Seidlita powder, please," reiterated Mi-. Fos-
take the very first ride in the Seidlitzmobile under dick, pointing to the dime.
its own steam— or gas, rather." The druggist rubbed his hands Unctuously. "I'm
Mr, Snodgrass looked the machine over dubiously, sorry that we're out of Seidlitz powders," he said,
"It looks like a fire extinguisher," he ventured. "but we have something just as good. We have —
"That's the very principle that it works on," said "Nothing but Seidlitz," roared Mr. Snodgrass,
the inventor. "You see this reservoir," and he giving way to one of his sudden outbursts.
pointed to a large burnished brass cylinder under The druggist smiled blandly. "How old is the
—
the hood, "is the mixing chamber the stomach of patient?" he asked.
the machine, as it were. Into it the powders are "It's a machine," cried Mr. Snodgrass.
dropped and the carbonic acid gas actuates the two- "Ah, indeed," remarked the druggist, looking at
cylinder engine geared to the back axle. This link Mr. Snodgrass queerly. "And may I ask what is
motion controls the cut-ofE and the reverse, and the the matter with it?"
throttle here permits you to give the engine any "It won't go !" bellowed Mr. Snodgrass.
head of gas. But climb in," he added, "and we'll "Yes, yes," agreed the druggist, "It won't go,"
be off," and he backed behind the counter and reached for
Mr. Snodgrass with some reluctance stepped into the telephone. "I'll have a nice man in a pretty

the machine and seated himself. Mr. Fosdick fol- blue suit with bright bi-ass buttons here in just a
lowed him and then fishing out of his pocket a Seid- few minutes, and he will make your head stop ach-
litz powder he unscrewed a brass cap from a tube ing," he promised them soothingly,
that protruded from the floor of the machine, "You think we are crazy," accused Mr, Snodgrass,
dropped the powder through, tooted the horn, re- "Oh, not at all," reassured the clerk, "You are
leased the brakes, and they were off. It was a down- just merely overheated,"
hill road and for two miles —
in fact for the entire Mr, Fosdick intervened "The machine is an auto-
:

length of the hill —

the Seidlitzmobile behaved mobile run by carbonic acid gas," be explained, "and
splendidly. that's why we wanted the Seidlitz powder,"
Mr, Snodgrass became enthusiastic. "It's the A sigh of relief escaped the druggist, "Why
most silent machine I ever rode in!" he ejaculated. didn't you say so at first?" he said. "I haven't had
"It's as quiet as an electric." such a scare in years."
"And just think," put in Mr. Posdick, "the ma- Mr. Fosdick explained the principle of the ma-
chine can be retailed at two hundred dollars. It chine, Mr. Snodgrass bought a handful of cigars
will make us millions ! All there is to it is a ten and gave the druggist one, who immediately put it
dollar engine, a brass cylinder, four wheels, and a back in stock and abstracted a dime out of the cash
Seidlitz powder. The horse ia bound to become as register, and good feeling was restored,
extinct as the dodo. Eveiy family in the land will "As I understand it," said the druggist, "your
possess one. It will be a convenience to the rich, a machine generates gas in the same manner as a
blessing to the poor, a " They had reached the fire extinguisher or a soda-water charger."

bottom of the hill and the machine stopped. ,

"Precisely," agreed Mr. Fosdick.
"What's the matter?" demanded Mr. Snodgrass, "In that case," said the druggist, "you should use
his vision of riches suddenly fading away, bicarbonate of soda and sulphuric acid."
Mr, Fosdick got out and looked the machine over Mr. Fosdick, with the invariable reluctance of
wisely. "I think the engine has slipped an ec- all inventors to adopt the suggestions of outsiders,

centric," he remarked after a few moments of pro- demurred. "It spoils the name of the machine," he
found study. said, "and the name is worth a million in itself."
 "SEIDLITZMOBILE"' 241
But the druggist had caught the contagion of his Never has there been such a ride chronicled in
own idea. Diving back again behind the prescrip- the annals of automobiling as the maiden effort of
tion case he emerged with a bottle of acid and a the Seidlitzmobile. It made the ninety-three miles
large sack of bicarbonate. "Come on," he said, between Jonesboro and Smith's Corner in twenty-
enthusiastically, "we'll give it a good dose." seven minutes, and in seven of the nine towns it
Before Mr. Fosdick could remonstrate further passed through it was reported as a comet; the
the druggist had emptied a peck of the alkali into other two wired the Weather Bureau of the viaita-
j

the mixing chamber and stood ready with the bottle tion of that most unusual phenomenon of nature, a '

of acid. "Get in the machine and get all ready to dry clou^d-burst. As the machine tore its way
pull out," he said cheerfully, "for when I pour in across the state, spouting carbonic acid gaa from ita
the sulphuric acid the pressure will generate very exhaust pipes, it asphyxiated thirty-seven dogs that
ijuickly." endeavored to pursue it and killed all vegetation on
Mr. Snodgraas looked at Mr. Foadick and Mr. both sides of the road for a distance of two hundred
Foadick looked at Mr. Snodgraas. yards. Goose Creek, which paralleled the road for
"Hurry!" said the druggist. forty miles, ran pure soda-water for two weeks
There waa a compelling ring in the apothecarj^s afterwards, and it cost Mr. Snodgrass seven thou-
voice and slowly and with the greatest of reluctance sand dollars to have the oxygen replaced in forty-
the men climbed into the machine. three" to^vnships, which he did only after suit had
"I hope nothing happens," groaned Mr. Snod- been filed.
ferass. How far the machine would have traveled is difii-
Mr. Poadlelt made no reply. Although his face cult to determine, although old Prof. Snooks, Mr.
was pale there was a set to his jaw that expressed Fos dick's implacable enemy, calculated that the
a determination to stay with his machine to the end. Seidlitzmobile would have gone three and a fraction
No sooner were they seated than the druggist times around the earth before becoming winded.
eagerly poured in five gallons of acid and then But as a matter of history, it did not go this dis-
quickly screwed down the cap. tance it made one hundred and eleven miles before
;

There was a sudden click of the pressure gauge the druggist's prediction came true. At Smither's
and the hand flew around to the extreme limit. Junction the reservoir exploded. It changed the
"My God!" ejaculated Mr. Snodgrass. "The in- course of Wild Cat run. The concussion was felt
—
dex shows the limit of the gauge six hundred in nine states and the seismograph at the University
pounds. At what point is your safety set?" of Tokio reported an earthquake somewhere in the
"There is no safety valve," confessed Mr. Fos- Aleutian Islands.
dick weakly. "I didn't think it would be necessary," Mr, Snodgrass and Mr. Fosdick finally came to
"The pressure is line!" exclaimed the druggist earth on a haystack in an adjoining township after
as his eye caught the gauge. "And agitating the having made an ascent of two hours and fifteen
reservoir always increases the action of the acid," minutes, missing luncheon en route. The Aero Club
and catching hold of the wheel he gave the machine of France, which sent a special representative to
a vigorous shaking back and forth. the spot, calculated their fiight at something over
"Stop that!" screamed Mr. Fosdick. "Do you two million kilometers and presented both men with
want to blow us up'i" a pilot's license and an honorary membership in the
The druggist suddenly stopped and scratched his club, which, it must be told, they both refused, say-
chin. "I iorgot something," he said cheerfully, ing that their flight was unpremeditated and that
"It is this The acid will eat out your brass reser-
:
they could not honorably accept the licenses.
voir in a few minutes and will probably blow you When Mr. Snodgrass alighted upon the haystack
5nto the next county." he found that Mr. Fosdick had preceded him by
"Here," yelled Mr. Snodgrass, "let me out," and
some minutes. There was a dazed, dreamy look
he made a desperate effort to climb out of the ma-
upon Mr. Fbsdick'a face that somewhat alarmed hia
companion.
But the frightened Mr. Foadick knew there wa^
"What's the matter, Fosdick?" Tie inquired, shak-
but one thing to do and that was to reduce the
ing him. "Are you unconscious?"
pressure of the reservoir by exhausting the gas
through the engine. .With a sudden movement he "No," replied the genius, coming out of his mus-
threw the throttle wide open and then with the ing with an appreciable effort, "I have just thought
roar of a mogul engine the Seidlitzmobile took down of a new invention." ,

the dusty road s^t, better than a hundred-mile-an- "Well, you can leave me out," retorted Mr. Snod-
'

hour clig. graas, sourly.

 ^^rke Star '?)
Author of "The War of the Worlds", "The Time Machine", Etc.

Above were the Inva, hot gaoes, and asb, and below the
 THE STAR 243
IT was on the first day of the new year Until it was dawn in London and Pollux setting,
that the announcement was made, al- and the stars overhead grown paie. The winters
most simultaneously from three obser- dawn was, a sickly filtering accumulation of day-
it
vatories, that the motion of the planet light, and the light of gas and candles shone yellow
Neptune, the outermost of all the in the windows to show where people were astir.
planets that wheeled about the sun, had become er- But the yaivning policeman saw the thing, the busy
latie Oirilvy had already called attention to a sus- crowds in the market stopped agape, workmen going
pected retardation in its velocity in December. Such to their work betimes, milkmen, the drivers of news
1 piece of news was scarcely calculated to interest earts, dissipati going home jaded and pale, home-
the world the greater portion of whose inhabitants wanderers, sentinels on their beats, and in the
were unaware of the existence of the planet Neptune, country, laborers ti-udging afield, poachers slinking
nor outside the astronomical profession did the sub- home, all over the dusky quickening country it
sequent discovery of a faint remote speck of light —
would be seen and out at sea by seamen watching
in the region of the perturbed planet cause any —
for the day a great white star, come suddenly into
great excitement the westward sky!
Scientific people, however, found the intelligence Brighter it was than any star in our skies;
remarkable enough, even before it became known Brighter than the evening star at its brightest. It
that the new body was rapidly gi'owing larger and still glowed out white and large, no mere twinkling /

brighter, that its motion was quite different from spot of light but a small round clear shining disk,
the orderly progress of the planets, and that the an hour after the day had come. And where science
deflection of Neptune and its satellite was becoming has not reached, men stared and feai-ed, telling one
now of an unprecedented kind. another of the wars and pestilences that are fore-
Few people without training in science can real- shadowed by these fiery signs in the heavens.
ize the huge isolation of the solar system. The sun Sturdy Boers, dusky Hottentots, Gold Coast ne-
with its specks of planets, its dust of plane- groes. Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese, stood in
toids, and its impalpable comets swims in vacant the glow of the sunrise watching the setting of this
immensity that almost defeats the imagination, strange new star.
Beyond the orbit of Neptune there is space, vacant And in a hundred observatories there had been
BO far as human observation has penetrated, without suppressed excitement, rising almost to shouting
warmth or light or sound, blank emptiness, for pitch, as the two remote bodies had rushed together.
twenty billion times a million miles. That is the There had been a hurrying to and fro to gather
smallest estimate of the distance to be traversed photographic apparatus and spectroscope; to gather
before the nearest of the stars is attained. And, this appliance and that, to record the novel as-
saving a few comets, more unsubstantial than the tonishing sight, the destruction of a world,—*for
thinnest flame, no matter it was a world, a sister
had ever to human loiowl- Bgan^^HH^^^^^H ^Igjf^f^fffli^^i^Bs^B^n planet of our earth, far
edge crossed the gulf of greater than our earth in-
space, until early in the
twentieth
" impressive slory based on the jntei'-aclion
of plane, y bodies and of the sun vpoii them. A
deed, that had so sudden-
century this great star is seen approaching the earth. At first it is ly flashed into flaming
wanderer appeared, only an object of interest to the general public, but there death. Neptune it was,
A vast mass of matter is an astronomer on the earth, laho is ^valching each phase which had been struck,
it was, bulky, heavy, rush-
and making mathematical calculations, for he knows the fairly, and squarely, by
intimate relation of gravitation between bodies and the
ing without warning out effect on rotating bodies of Ike same force from an o?((- the planet from outer
^ of the black mystery of sidc source. He fears alt sorts of wreckage on our earth. space and the heat of con-
the sky into the radiance He aianis the people, but they, as usual, discount all he cussion had incontinently
of the sun. By the sec- says and label him mad. But he ivas not mad. H. C. turned two solid globes
i-Veils, in his own way, gives us a picturesque description
ond day it was clearly vis- into one vast mass of in-
of the approach of the nezv body through long days and
ible to any decent instru- —
uighls he tells how the earth and natural phenomena
candescence.
ment, as a speck with a of the earth will re-act. Though this star never touches Round the world that
barely sensible diameter, our sphere, the devastation and destruction wrought by it day, two hours before
in the constellation. Leo are complete and horrible. The story is correct in its the dawn, went the pallid
astronomical aspects.
near Eeguius, In a little great white star, fading
while an opera glass could MBWIBW mill III y HiWBM only as it sank westward
I 111 II

attain it. • and thg sun mounted

-

On the third day of the new year the newspaper above it. Everywhere inan marveled at it, hut of
readers of two hemispheres were made aware for all those who saw it none could have marveled more
the first time of the real importance of this unusual than those sailors, habitual watchers of the stars,
apparition in the heavens. "A Planetary Collision," who far away at sea had heard nothing of its advent
one London paper headed the news, and proclaimed and saw it now rise like a pigmy moon and climb
Duchine's opinion that this strange new planet zenithward and hang overhead and sink westward
would probably collide with Neptune. The leader with the passing of the niglit.
wi'iters enlarged upon the topic. So that in most Alid when next it rose over Europe everywhere
of the capitals of the world, on Jan. 3, there was an were crowds of watchers on hilly slopes, on house
expectation, however vague, of some eminent phe- roofs, in open spaces, staring eastward, waiting for
nomenon in the sky; and as the night followed the the rising of the new star. It rose" with a white
sunset round the globe thousands of men turned glow in front, like the glare of a white fire, and
their eyes skyward, to see — the old familiar stars those who had seen it come into existence the night
just as they had always been. before cried out at the sight of it. "It is larger,"
244 AMAZING STORIES
they cried. 'It is brighter!" And, indeed, the with a click. Half way up the sky, over the cluster-
moon a quarter full and sinking in the west was in ing roofs, chimneys, and steeples of the city, hung
its apparent size beyond comparison, "but scarcely in the star.
all its breadth had it as much brightness now aa the He looked at it as one might look into the eye of a
little circle of the strange new star. brave enemy, "You may kill me," he said after a si-
"It is brighter!" cried the people clustering in lence. —
"But I can hold you and all the universe for
the streets. . But in the dim obsei-vatories the —
that matter in the grip of this little brain. I would
watchers held their breath and peered at one an- not change even now."
other. "It is nearer," they said. "Nearer!" He looked at the little phial. "There will be no
And voice after voice repeated. "It is nearer," need of sleep again," he said. The next day at noon,
and the clicking telegraph took that up, and it punctual to the minute, he entered his lecture thea-
trembled along telephone wires, and in a thousand ter-, put
his hat onthe end
of the table as hishabit
cities grimy compositors fingered the type. "It is was, and carefully selected a large piece of chalk.
nearer." Men writing in ofReea, struck with strange It was a joke among his students that he could not
realization, flung down their pens, men talking in a lecture without that piece of chalk to fumble in his
thousand places suddenly came upon a grotesque fingers, and once he had been stricken to impotence
possibility in those words, "It is nearer." It hurried by their hiding his supply. He came and looked un-
along awakening streets, it was shouted down the der his gray eyebrows at the rising tiers of young
frost-stilled ways of quiet villages, men who had fresh faces, and spoke with his accustomed studied
read these things, from the throbbing tape stood in commonness of phrasing. "Circumstances have ari-
yellow-lit doorways shouting the news to the —
sen circumstances beyond my control," he said and
passers-by. "It is nearer." Pretty women iiushed paused, "which will debar me from completing the
and glittering, heard the news told jestingly be- course I had designed. It would seem, gentlemen, if
tween daiices, and feigned an intelligent interest I may put the thing clearly and briefly, that —
man
they did not feel. "Nearer! Indeed. How curious! has lived in vain,"
How clever people must be to find out things like The students glanced at one another. Had they
that!" heard aright? Mad? Raised eyebrows and grin-
Lonely tramps faring through the wintry night ning lips there were, but one or two faces remained
—
murmured those words to comfort themselves ^look- intent upon his calm gray-fringed face. "It will be
ing skywai-d. "It has need to be nearer, for the interesting," he was saying, "to devote this morning
night's as cold as charity. Don't seem much warmth to an exposition, so far as I can make it clear to you,
from it if it ia nearei-, all the same." of the calculations that have led me to this conclu-
"What is a new star to me?" cried the weeping sion. Let us assume —
woman kneeling beside her dead, He turned toward the blackboard, meditating a
The schoolboy, ri.sing early for his examination diagram in the way that was usual to him. "What
—
work, puzzled it out for himself with the great was that about 'lived in vain'?" whispered one stu-
white star shining broad and bright through the dent to another. "Listen," said the other, nodding
frost-flowers of his window. "Centrifugal, centri- toward the lecturer.
petal," he said, with his chin on his fist, "Stop a And presently they began to understand.
planet in its flight, rob it of its centrifugal force, That night the star rose later, for its proper east-
what then? Centripetal has it, and down it falls ward motion had carried it some way across Leo
into the sun! And this^!" toward Virgo,, and its brightness was so great that
"Do we come in the way? I wonder — the sky became a luminous blue as it rose, and every,
Tlie light of that day went the way of its brethren, -Star and planet was hidden, save only Jupiter near

and with the later watches of the frosty darkness the zenith, Capella, Aldebaran, Sirius, and the poin-
rose the strange star again. And it was now 30 ters of the Bear. It was white and beautiful. In
bright that the waxing moon seemed but a pale yel- many parts of the world that night a pallid halo en-
low ghost of itself, rising huge in the sunset hour. circled it about. It was perceptibly larger; in the
In a South African city a great man had married, clear refractive sky of the tropics it seemed as if it
and the streets were alight to welcome his return were nearly a quarter of the size of the moon. The
with his bride. "Even the skies have illuminated," frost was still on the ground in England, but the'
said the flatterer. Under Capricorn, two negro lov- world was as brightly lit as if it were midsummer
ers, daring the wild beasts and evil spirits, for love moonlight. One could see to read quite ordinary '

of one another, crouched together in a cane brake print by that cold clear light, and in the cities the
where the iireflies hovered. "That is our star," they lamps burnt yellow and wan.
whispered, and felt strangely comforted by the sweet And everywhere the world was awake that night,
brilliancy of its light. ind throughout Christendom a somber murmur hung
The master mathematician sat in his private room in the keen air over the countryside like the buzzing
and pushed the papers from him. His calculations of the bees in the heather, and this murmurous tum-
were already flnished. In a small white phial there ultgrew to a clangor in the cities. It was the tolling
still remained a little of the drug that had kept him of the bells in a million belfry towers and steeples,
awake and active for four long nights. Each day, summoning the people to sleep no more, to sin no
serene, explicit, patient as ever, he had given his more, but to gather in their churches and pray.
lecture tohis students, and then had come back at And overhead, growing larger and brighter, aa the
once to this momentous calculation. His face was earth rolled on its way and the night passed, rose
grave, a little drawn, and hectic ;Erom his drugged
1 the dazzling star.
activity. Por some time he seemed lost in thought. And the streets and houses were alight in all the
Then he went to the window, and the blind went ur cities, the shipyards glared, and whatever roads led
 m
THE STAR 245
to high country were lit and crowded all night long. ty, went about their nightly business, and save for
And in all .the seas about the civilized lands ships a howling dog here and there the beast-world left
with throbbing engines, and ships with bellying the star unheeded.
sails, crowded with men and living creatures, were And yet, when at last the watchers in the Euro-
standing out to ocean and the north. For already pean states saw the star rise, an hour later, it is
the warning of the master mathematician had been true, but no larger than it- had been the night be-
telegraphed over the world, and translated into a fore, there were still plenty awake to laugh at the
—
.

hundred tongues. The new planet and Neptune, master mathematician to take the danger as if it
locked in a fiery embrace, were whirling headlong, had passed.
ever faster and faster, toward the sun. Already Eut hereafter the laughter ceased. The star grew
every second this blazing mass flew a hundred miles, — it grew with a terrible steadiness hour after hour,
and every second its terrific velocity increased. As a little larger each hour, a little nearer the midnight
it flew its course, it must pass a hundred million of zenith, and brighter and brighter, until it had turned
miles wide of the earth and scarcely affect it. night into day. Had it come straight to the earth
But near its destined path, as yet only slightly instead of in a curved path, had it lost no velocity
perturbed, spun the mighty planet Jupiter and his to Jupitei', it must have leapt the intervening gulf
moons sweeping splendid around the sun. Every in a day ; but as it was it took five days altogether to
moment now the attraction between the flery star come by our planet. The next night it had become
and the greatest of the planets grew stronger. And a third the size of the moon before it set to English
the result of that attraction? Inevitably Jupiter, eyes, and the thaw was assured.
would be deflected from its orbit to a new elliptical It rose over America nearly the size of the moon,
.path, and the burning star, swung by his attraction but blinding white to look at, and hot; and a breath
wide of its sunward rush, would "describe a curved of hot wind blew now with its rising and gathering
path" and perhaps collide with and certainly pass strength, and in Virginia and Brazil and down the
close to, our earth. "Earthquakes, volcanic out- St. Lawrence valley it shone intermittently through
breaks, cyclones, sea waves, floods, and a steady rise a driving reek of thunder clouds, flickering violet
in temperature to I know not what limit"—so pro- lightning, and hail unprecedented. In Mamtobi
phesied the master mathematician. were a thaw and devastating floods. And upon all
And overhead, to carry out his Words, lonely and the mountains of the earth the snow and ice began
cold and livid, blazed the star of the coming doom. to melt that night, and all the rivers coming out of
To many who stared at it that night until their high country flowed thiclc and turbid, and soon —
eyes ached, it seemed that it was visibly approach- their upper reaches — with swirling tiees ind the
ing. And that night, too, the weather changed, and bodies of beasts and men. They rose steadih btead
the frost that had gripped all Central Europe and ily in the ghostly brilliance, and came trickling ovei
France and England softened towards a thaw. their banks at last, behind the flying population of
But you must not imagine because have spoken
I their valleys, .

of people praying through the night and people go- And along the coast of Argentina and up the
ing aboard ships and people fleeing towards moun- South Atlantic tides were higher than the\ had e\ei
tainous country that the whole world was already in been in the memory of man, and the stoims dio\e
a terror because of the star. As a matter^ of fact, the waters in many cases scores of miles inland
use ^nd wont still ruled the world, and save for the drowning whole cities. And so great giew the heat
talk of idle moments and the splendor of the night, during the night that the rising of the sun was like
nine human beings out of ten were still busy at their the coming of a shadow. The earthquakes began
common occupations. In .all the cities the shops, and grew until all down America from the Arctic
save one here and there, opened and closed at their Circle to Cape Horn hillsides were sliding. Assures
proper hours, the doctor and the undertaker plied were opening, and houses and walls crumbling to
their trades, and workers gathered in the factories, destruction.
soldiers drilled, scholars studied, lovers sought one China was lit glowing white, but over Japan and
another, thieves lurked and fled, politicians planned Java and al! the islands of eastern Asia the great
their schemes. - The presses of the newspapers star was a ball of dull red fire because of the steam
roared through the nights, and many a priest of this and smoke and ashes the volcanoes were spouting
church and that would not open his holy building to" forth to salute its coming. Above were the lava, hot
further what he considered a foolish panic. gases, and ash, and below the seething floods, and
The newspapers insisted on the lesson of the year the whole earth swayed and rumbled with the earth-
—
1000 for then, too, people had anticipated the end. quake shocks. Soon the immemorial snows of Tibet
— —
The star was no star mere gas a comet; and were and the Himalayas were melting and pouring down
it a star it could not possibly strike the earth. There by ten million deepening converging channels upon
was no precedent for such a thing. Common sense the plains of Burma and Hindustan. The tangled
was sturdy everywhere, scornful, jesting, a little summits of the Indian jungles were aflame in a
inclined to persecute the obdurate fearful. That thousand places, and below the hurrying waters
night at 7:15 by Greenwich time the star would be around the stems were dark objects that struggled
at its nearest, to Jupiter. Then the world would see feebly and reflected the blood red tongues of fire.
the turn things would take. The master mathema- And in ungovernable confusion a multitude of men
tician's grim warnings were treated by many as so and women fled down the broad riverways to that
much mere elaborate self-advertisement. Common —
one last hope of men -the open sea.
sense at last,' a little heated, by argument, signified Larger grew the star, and larger, hotter, and
.

its unalterable convictions by going to bed. So, too, brighter with a terrible swiftness now. The tropi-
barbarism and savagery, already tired of the novel- cal ocean had lost its phosphorescence, and the whir-
 ; :

246 AMAZING STORIES

steam I'ose in ghostly wreatha from the black
]iiig vision of the sky; the thunder and lightning wove
waves that plunged incessantly, speckled with atorm- a garment around the world; all over the earth was
tbfesed ships. such a downpour of rain as men had never seen
And then came a wonder. It seemed to those who before and where the volcanoes flared red against
;

in Europe watched for the rising of the star that the the cloud canopy there descended torrents of mud.
world must have ceased its rotation. In a thousand Everywhere the waters were pouring off the land,
open spaces of down and upland the people who had leaving mud stilted ruins, and the earth littered like
fled thither from the floods and the falling houses a storm-worn beach with all that had floated, and
and sliding slopes of hill watched for that rising in the dead bodies of the men and brutes, its childi'en.
vain. Hour followed hour through a terrible sus- For days the water streamed off the land, sweep-
pense, and the star rose not. Once again men set ing away soil and trees and houses in the way and
their eyes upon the old constellations they had coun- piling huge dikes and scooping out titanic gullies
ted lost to them forever. In England it was hot and over the countryside. Those were the days of dark-
clear overhead, though the ground quivered perpetu- ness that followed the star and the heat. AH
ally; but in the tropics Sirins and Capella and Alde- through them, and for many weeks and months, the
baran showed through a veil of steam. And when earthquakes continued.
at last the great star rose, near ten hours late, the But the star had passed, and men, hunger-driven
sun rose close upon it, and in the center of its white and gathering eoui-age only slowly, might creep back
heart was a disk of black. to their ruined cities, buried granaries, and sodden
Over Asia the star had begun to fait behind the fields. Such few ships as had escaped the storms
movement of the sky, and then suddenly, as it hung of that time came stunned and shattered and sound-
over India, its light had been veiled. All the plain ing their way cautiously through the new marks
of India from the mouth of the Indus to the mouths and shoals of once familiar ports. And as the
of the Ganges was a shallow waste of shining water storms subsided men perceived that everywhere
that night, out of which rose temples and palaces, the days were hotter than of 'yore, and the sun
mounds and hills, black with people. Every minaret larger, and the moon, shrunk to a third of its former
was a clustering mass of people, who fell one by one size, took now fourscore days between its new and
into the turbid waters as heat and terror overcame new.
them. The whole land seemed a-wailing, and sud- But of the new brotherhood that grew presently
denly there swept a shadow across that furnace of among men, of the- saving of laws and books and
despair, and a breath of cold wind, and a gathering machines, of the strange change that had come over
of clouds out of the cooling air. Men looking up, Iceland and Greenland the shores of Baffin's Bay, so
nearly blinded, at the star, and saw that black disk that the sailors coming there presently found them
creeping across the light. It was the moon, coming green and gracious, and could scarce believe their
between the star and the earth. And even as men eyes, this story does not tell. Nor of the movement
cried to God at this respite, out of the east with of mankind, now that the earth was hotter, north-
a strange, inexplicable swiftness sprang the sun. ward and southward towards the poles of the earth.
And then star, sun, and moon rushed together It concerns itself only with the coming and the
across the heavens. passing of the star.
So it was that presently, to the European watch- —
The Martian astronomers for there are astrono-
ers, star and sun rose close upon each other, drove mers on Mars, although they are different beings
headlong for a space, and then slower, and at last —
from men were naturally profoundly interested
came to rest, star and sun merged into one glare of by these things. They saw them from their own
flame at the zenith of the sky. The moon no longer standpoint, of course.' "Considering the mass and
eclipsed the star, but was lost to sight in the brilli- temperature of the missile that was flung. through
ance of the sky, 'And though those who were still our solar system into the sun," one wrote, "it is
alive regarded it for the most part with that dull astonishing what little damage the earth, which it
stupidity that hunger, fatigue, heat, and despair missed so narrowly, has sustained. All the familiar
engender, there were still men who could perceive continental markings and the mgsses of the seas
the meaning of these signs. Star and earth had remain intact, and indeed the only difference seems
been at their nearest, had swung about one another, to be a shrinkage of the white discoloration (sup-
and the star had passed. Already it was receding, posed to be frozen water) round either pole."
swifter and swifter, in the last stage of its head- Which only shows how small the vastest of human
long journey downward into the sun. catastrophiea may seem at a distance of a few mil-
And then the clouds gathered, blotting out the lion miles.

— NEXT MONTH ^
Two fascinating new stories which you won't forget for a long time

BLASPHEMER'S PLATEAU, by Alexander Snyder.

THE TELEPATHIC PICK-UP, by Samuel M. Sargent, Jr.

Also these well-Icnown reprints

THE MOON METAL, by Professor Garrett P. Serviss.
THE MAGNETIC STORM, by Hugo Gernsback, F.R.S.
 VSISPERING ETHEIC'
(bif: Charles S. 'Wolfe - Vf)

__.d As 1 Can I Soys, Tense-like, "You Sponk Onp

....liMy Gal Aiinod At Hia HeadHr ''-^'-- '- -
It Gives You tlio Creeps.

J'M NOT a scientist. whatever you call those ginka

"Cans" is my line. that admit they're sane and
Safes, you know. prove you're not, pronounced
I

Mr. Wolfe, The cllicr is sonielhiiig

"Soup," nitro-gly-
Tua h!a^v nothing about. But its action cniil
him hopelessly insane. I ain't
cerine, that liind of
I

itswaves r/ivc a basis for the strange mys- dispiiting no jury of my peers.
thing, get me? "Shoe-malter tery -we arc told of here, ft loaches on the If they say he's a nut, he's a
stick to your last." Them i world of ether waves to ivhich our radio nut, thafs all. But
sentiments, and I sticli to my fans are appealing and white this of. course I didn't get introduced to
is in tile realm of abslriica science, we have
own trade. But now that they again in this story, the cticryday crude
Proctor in the regular way.
got me tied up in this con- thinker inyslified by it all. and this is the We didn't have no mutual ac-
.
founded jail, and I ain't got history of the world. The intelligence of quaintances to slip us the
much do with my spare each of lis is "very limited, and our habits knock-down. It all came about
to
time got a notion to jot down
I
aud ways of thought arc only a little more thru me droppin' in one night,
clmnsy than our author's characters, whom
what I know about that Proctor he uses to bring out as always a ivonderfid casual like, to blow his safe.
affair that you maybe read contrast. The slory is tvclt luorth reading. You might wonder what a yegg
about in the papers. Reporters —-^^-—^^--^^^ would want out of a laboratory
was after me thick when it hap- l^SSH^^^ ^^^WllM 'HI tlfl safe. Maybe you'll wise up
I' I

pened, but I was the silent kid. when I tip you it was a con-
It pays to keep your mouth shut in the circles I tract job. Not my own, see? I'm namin' no names,
move in. but there was a gang of big guys that wanted old
Proctor's in the bug house. Three alienists, or Proctor's formula for Chero, and thought it would

247
 —
248 AMAZING STORIES
be cheaper to buy it off me than him. Anyway, I'm He was talking again. "My man," I wriggled
after the paper with the makeup of this explosive when he spoke, "the men for whom you work are
when I jimmied the laljoratory window. imbeciles. I have named my price for Chero, and
I'm sayin' this right here Proctor may be a nut,
: they don't want to pay it. They believe they can
but he's no boob. I was expecting burglar alarms, wrest it from me by :£orce or trickery. You are
scientific thief traps, all that kind of stuff. And I their first emissary, and it is my wish that you be
was all fixt for an eleetriiied box. Proctor put one their last. I am going to, convince them that it is
over on me jU6t the same. And if he didn't flo it useless' to attempt anything of the kind with me. I
with the mind machine, how in Hel! else do you am not going to turn you over to the police. I am
account for it? going to show you something, and then I am going
I was workin' on the old can. She was a fairly to send you back to your masters to tell them what
respectable affair, and I make up my mind to blow you have seen. After that," he smiled, "I don't
her. I was drillin' away when click goes a switch think I shall be troubled by them. Come!"
and the sudden flare of light daazled me. Were you He stalked into the next room, me at his heels. ,

ever caught working on a guy's safe, brother? No? There wasn't much in that room—juat a table
Well, take it from Oscar, it's like nothing you fiver covered with apparatus. I have seen a wireless set.
felt before. It looked something like that, only —
well tliere waa
Even before I can see right my
mind's workin' something different about it.
overtime hunting for a way out. And then I can He pointed to it. Oh! I can see him yet, with
see again, and there stands Proctor, a long cord his flashing eyes, and his big dome. "There," says
traihng behind him and 'phones over his ears like he, "is the mind machine. And you, a criminal, are
the wireless men. And I notice with joy that he the first man to see it except its creator."
ain't got a gat —
not that I can see. I'm getting on my feet again, and not so 'scared,
Anyway, I risk it. Just as quick as I can draw and so I gazes at it curious. "What is it, Doc?"
I flashes my automatic. I point it right at his head, I asks.
, and makin' my voice as hard as I can I says, tense- "It reads your thoughts," he says, just as solemn
like, "You speak one word and you'll eat your break- as an owl.
fast in Hell." That's right, laugh, I don't blame you. I grinned
And Proctor smiles. Get that? With my gat at myself. He saw me grin, and he turned on me like
his head he smiles. Ajid, fellow, when Proctor a tiger.
smiles it gives you the creeps. And then he says "Dolt," he hollers. "Clod! You doubt. Pig!
s' help me —
I'm not bullyin' you—^"Put your gun Your type has retarded the progress of mankind
away, my man, its not loaded." —
throughout the ages. You sneer you imbecile!"
Can you beat that? It wasn't either, but how did Well, just then I'm like the doctors. "A nut!" I
ho know it? Bluffing? That's what I thought, and thinks, "and loose with that bottle of Chero in his
I sees his bet and raises him. "You move," I pocket!" And it's up to me to soothe him.
growls, "and you'll discover you're a bad guesser." "How does it work?" I asks, to gain time. When
He smiles again. Say, I can fe^l my flesh creep you're in a room with a nut that's nursin' a bottle
yet. "It's not loaded," he says, very calm, and he of H. E. your one thought is to go away from there.
walks a few steps toward me. I don't shoot. You And this particular nut don't want me to. But I
can'tj you know, with an empty gun, and I see that have hopes.
lie's called my bluff. ,
By dumb luck I hits the right chord. "How does
"You 'win," I says. "It ain't. But I can beat the it work?" gets results. Eight away he seems to
life out of you with it." forget he's mad. He seems to forget -I'm a yegg,
That smile again. His hand goes to his pocket. lie gets kind of dreamy, and he runs a caressin'
He pulls out a little bottle, just about the size they hand over the shiny brass of the nearest instrument.
sellyou pills in. "That, my friend," he says, "is "Simple," he says, "very simple. It is based on
full of Chero. If I just toss it at your feet, you'll the electro-magnetic wave and the conducting ether
never attempt to steal a formula again on this theories." It's over ray head, but I listen. "Have
planet." you ever considered just what happens when you
Does he win? He owns the building. "Calbthe think intensely? By an effort of what you call the
and I chucks the gun on the floor, "I'll go
officer," Will, you concentrate on what you are thinking.
quietly." Emotion, too, plays its part. You are intensely
"Sensible," he remarks; "very sensible. You angiy, intensely worried, intensely interested. This
possess judgment, even if you do lack courage. concentrating acts physically on the brain. There
Who sent you here?" is a call on the heart for more blood. And the heart
"Call in the bulls," I growls. "I'm not squealing." responds, sending a thicker, faster stream to the
He takes no notice, "I know who sent you, I affected locality. Now what happens?" He turns
knew you were coming." to me like my teacher used to do in school when
"Look here," I blurts, "if that gang framed me, there was a question to be answered.
I'll talk. They sent for me, I didn't go to them. "Search me," I murmurs.
But he doesn't even see me, I guess. "The in-
"No one informed me, if that's what you mean," creased stream, rushing at an unusual rate, rubs
he says, coldly. "It is not necessary for any one against the walls of the veins and arteries of the
to inform me of anything. The world is an open head, producing friction."
book to me." "I see," I says, politely. But I don't.
(That's just what he told that gang of saw-bonea "This friction is the physical result of the mental
afterwards, and they said he was looney. But if action. Your purely mental process has, by the
they had seen him as I seen him ) membership of the rushing blood and its attending
 WHISPERING ETHER 249
friction, been transformed into, or lias produced, a And then he went off his handle again. "And I
physical manifestation." mean," he roared, "that you are to go back to the
His voice sank to a whisper. "It is this fact that scum that sent you and tell them that it is usele'is

makes lay great invention possible. The friction for them to plot against me, for can hear then
I
set up produces faint currents of electricity. It is very thoughts as they think them. I can read then
Nature's own generator. The currents are faint, miserable souls! That'show I knew you were com-
weak, but they are there. And they vary in in- ing here to-night! That's how I knew that youi
tensity in proportion as the rushing blood stream lethal weapon contained no charge! And," he seized
surges and ebba. Thus they have imprinted on them me and shook me until my heels nearly broke mv
all the characteristics of the thought that gives rise neck, "And that's how I loiow, you swine, that e\en
to them. They vary in the individual. Some minds now you don't know whether to believe me or not "
can generate a current one hundred—yes, one thou- He released me and tore the telephone things
—
sand times greater than others, but all minds from off his ears, "Here!" he bellowed, elampmg
generate to some extent, them over my ears, "here! Listen, and be con
"And these electrical impulses are thrown out vinced,"
into space in wave trains, exactly as the radio tele- He wheeled to the table and whirled knobs and
graph throws them out. This accounts for the dials. A continuous humming and buzzing sounded
phenomena of mental telepathy. If conditions are in the 'phones.
Just right, the receiving mind in perfect tune with And then it happened. Listen to me close, I know
the transmitting mind, and sensitive enough to they labeled Proctor "squirrel food" for telling them
interpret the received impulses, you have accom- Jess than this, but This was Jidy of 1914
plished telepathy. All that remained for me to do Get that?
was to measure the intensity and characteristics of Suddenly something like a voice—no, not hke a
—
the generated current, its frequency and it is high voice, either —
like a voice inside my own head, if
—and -" you can get me, said masterfully, with a strong Gti
He paused and fixt me with that fishy stare. I man accent, "Serbia, will, because she dare not s?(&
didn'tknow just what to say, so I took a Brody. mit. France must, because she will see my hand
'

"And what. Doc? Slip it to me quick," behind it. England must as a last desperate effot t
"And the length of the emitted wave,""be comes to save herself. Buttny armies will grind them hie
back at me, triumphantly, "It might be one mil- grain in the mill. AnA then -"
lionth of a meter or it might be one million meters. Proctor tore the 'phones from me, I was like a
Or it might be any length between those extremes. stulfed doll and I never raised a mitt. He grabbed
Or beyond them, for that matter. I succeeded m me, and it was just like being caught in the jaws
making these measurements." of a vise. "You have heard," he thundered. "Now
He laughed. Or, rather, he laughed and snarled go."
all at once. I'm telling you straight, fellow, your The last thing I remember was that he heaved
hair stands on end when Proctor laughs like that. me toward the door, I remember spinning toward
"I fancy-some of your radio experts would gape it. And that's all.
if they were permitted to see my wave meter, I be-
I remember is waking up in th it
The next thing
lieve it would cause some excitement in the labora- hospital ward. It was July of 1914 when Pioctoi
tories of —
Lodge or Marconi.. I Proctor— I measured chucked me, and it was late August when I fcund
these waves which, of course, means that I found a myself in that hospital.
detector for them. Our friend DeForest thinks
As near as I can learn I missed the door, hit the
that he has a monopoly on ultra- sensitive detectors.
wall and a bottle of that Chero stuff got knocked
Proctor's detector is to the audion what a stop
off a shelf. They dug Proctor and I out of the
watch is to a wheel barrow!
ruins, and we were both pretty well messed up
"And the frequency. It is beyond the limits of
I wound
Proctor raved about his ruined niind machine, ai d
audibility, as that temi is understood.
it got him a pass to the squirrel cage. -

phones that will render the received signals audible.

If you read the papers at the, time you'll remem
And the task was done."
ber Proctor wanted me to back him up, but I
Most of that stuff had gone over, but like a light-
wouldn't talk. Least said, easiest remedied.
ning flash the big idea burst thru' my shrapnel-
proof cranium. I fairly stuttered as I got his drift.
Now you got all I know about it. I spilled it once
to Gentleman Joe, a high-browed crook, who soaked
I'll bet my eyes popped as I gaped at that machine.

"Good God!" I spluttered. "Do you mean that that up all they pass you at Harvard when he was young
thing can hear you think?" Joe said maybe Proctor fooled me with a eamofiaged
Proctor smiled the nearest to a human smile that phonograph.
I ever saw on his mug. "You have glimmerings of Maybe he did. I might think so myself if it had
intelligence," he said, in a gratified way "I mean ;
happened in September instead of July, 1914. Get
just that," me?
Runaway Smscbafer
™ 3iu-cMuvrauJ^inster *•
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 2S1
HE whole thing started when the clock could not understand their absorption in boxing
on the Metropohtan Tower began to and baseball and she did not like the way they
lun backward. It was not a graceful danced.
pioceeding. The hands had been mov- She had considered the matter and decided that
ing onward in their customary de- she would have to reconsider her former opinion of
hheiate fashion, slowly and thoughtfully, but sud- women who did not marry. Heretofore she had
dcnlv the people in the oflices near the clock's face thought there must be something the matter with
he^id an ominous creaking and groaning. There" them. Now she believed that she would come to
was a blight, hardly discernible shiver thi-ough the their ovra estate, and probably for the same reason.
tower, and then something gave with a crash. The She could not fail in love and she wanted to.
big hands on the clock began to move backward. She read all the popular novels and thrilled at
Immediately after the crash all the creaking and the love-scenes contained in them, but when any of
groaning ceased, and instead, the usual quiet again the young men she knew became in the slightest
hung over everything. One or two of the occupants degree sentimental she found herself bored, and
of the upper offices put their heads out into the disgusted with herself for being bored. Still, she
halls, but the elevators were running as usual, the could not help it, and was struggling to reconcile
lights were burning, and all seemed calm and herself to a life without romance.
peaceful. The clerks and stenographers went back She was far too pretty for that, of course, and
to their ledgers and typewriters, the business call- Arthur Chamberlain often longed to tell her how
ers returned to the discussion of their errands, and pretty she really was, but her abstracted air held
the ordinary course of business was resumed. him at arms' length.
Arthur Chamberlain was dictating a letter to He lay back at ease in his swivel-chair and con-
Estelle Woodward, his sole stenographer. When the sidered, looking at her with unfeigned pleasure. She.
crash came he paused, listened, and then resumed did not notice it, for she was so much absorbed in
his task. her oivn thoughts that sh^ rarely noticed anything
It was not a difficult one. Talking to Estelle he said or did when they were not in the line of
Woodward was at no time an onerous duty, but it her duties.
must be admitted that Arthur Chamberlain found "Miss Woodward," he repeated, "I said I think
it difficult to keep his conversation strictly upon I'll never make a successful man. Do you know
his business. what that means?"
He was at this time engaged in dictating a letter She looked at him mutely, polite inquiry in her
to his principal creditors, the Gary & Milton Com- eyes.
pany, explaining that their demand for the im- "It means," he said gravely, "that I am going
mediate payment of the instalment then due upon, broke. Unless something turns up in the next three
his office furniture was untimely and unjust. A weeks, or a month at the latest, I'll have to get
young and budding engineer in New York never a
job."
has too much money, and when he is young as —
"And that means " she asked.
Arthur Chamberlain was, and as fond of pleasant "All this will go to pot," he explained with a
company, and not too fond of economizing, he is sweeping gesture. "I thought I'd better tell you as
liable to find all demands for payment untimely and much in advance as I could."

—
,

he usually considers them _^^__^_^_^^______ "Yon mean you're go-

unjust as well. Arthur aw^BHg^^M^B ^^^^^^^nUM ing to give up your office
finished dictating the let- —
and me?", she asked, A
E have all heard of and read abotd the Eiitstcin little alacmed.
ter and sighed. I/ix theory, which involves the use in its calculations
"Miss Woodward," he ^^ of the mysterious "fourth dimension." Here our "Giving up you will he
said regretfully, "I am author gives a wanderftiUy effective picttire of what the the harder of the two," he
afraid I shall never make fourth dimension, did in the annihilatioyi- of (itnej_wi t/if said with a smile, "biit
wijiing out of the centuries, where it brings a company
a successful man." that's what it means.
of hventietk century business men and women to a lime
Miss Woodward shook centuries back from the days of modem Neva York they — You'll have no difficulty
her head vaguely. She are transferred with great rapidity of receding tiwe to finding a new place, with
did not seem to take his the days when Indians were llie only inhabitants of Man- three weeks in which to
hattan, until at last the recession of the centuries ceases look for one, but I'm
remark very seriously,
and gives them pause for a while.' The modern sky-
but then, she had learned scraper has accompanied them on their way, but prob-
sorry."
never to take any of his lems of food and support have to be worked out for "I'm sorry, too, Mr,
remarks seriously. She ihcm in their new position in the ages. At last they evolve Chamberlain," she said,
had been puzzled at first a way to return, to get their skyscraper back to familiar her brow puckered.
old Madison Square. Read mid jce how they do it.
by his manner of treating She was not really
everything with a half-
joking pessimism, but
^m^—w^^^^^^^b —^^^^^^^^^^^M frightened, because she
knew she could get an-
now ignored it. other position, but she became aware of rather
She was interested in her own probleias. She more regret than she had expected.
had suddenly decided that she was going to be an There was silence for a moment.
old maid, and it bothered her. She had discovered "Jove!" said Arthur, suddenly. "It's getting
that she did not like any one well enough to marry, dark, isn't it?"
and she was in her twenty-second year. It was. It was growing dark with unusual
She was not a native of New York, and the few rapidity. Arthur went to his window and looked out.
young men she had met there she did not care for. "Funny," he remarked in a moment or two.
She had regretfully decided she was too finicky, too 'Things don't look just right, down there, some-
tfastidious, but could not seem to help herself. She how. There are very few people about."
 —
252 AMAZING STORIES
He watched in growing amazement. Lights came afraid I've gone crazy. Do you see the same
on in the streets below, but none of the buildings things I do ?"
lighted up. It grew darker and darker. Estelle nodded. Her eyes wide open,
"It shouldn't be dark at this hour!" Arthur ex- "What is the matter?" she asked helplessly.
claimed. She turned again to the window. The square
Estelle went to the window by his side. was almost empty once more. The motor-ears still
"It looks awfully queer," she agreed. "It must traveling about the streets were going so swiftly
be an eclipse or something." they were hardly visible. Their speed seemed to
They heard doors open in the hall outside, and increase steadily. Soon it was almost impossible
Arthur ran out. The hails were beginning to fill to distinguish them, and only a grayish blur marked
with excited people. their paths along Fifth Avenue and Twenty-third
"What on earth's the matter?" asked a worried Street,
It grew dusk, and then, rapidly dark. As their
"Probably an eclipse," replied Arthur. "Only it's officewas on the western side of the building they;
odd we didn't read about it in the papers." could not see the sun had sunk in the east, but sub-
He glanced along the corridor. No one else seemed consciously they realized that this must be the case.
better informed than he, and he went back into his In silence they watched the panorama grow black
office. except for the street-lamps, remain thus for a time,
Estelle turned from the window as he and then suddenly spring into brilliantly illuminated
"The streets are deserted," she said in a activity.
tone, "What's the matter? Did you hear?" Again this lasted" for a little while, and the west
Arthur shook his head and reached for the once more began to glow. The sun rose somewhat
telephone. more hastily from the Jersey hills, and began to
"I'l! call up and find out," he said confidently. He soar overhead, but very soon darkness fell again.
held the receiver to his ear. "What the—?" he With hardly an interval the city became illuminated,
exclaimed. "Listen to this!" and the west grew red once more.
A small sized i;oar was coming from the receiver. "Apparently," said Arthur, steadying his voice
Arthur hung up and turned a blank face upon with a conscious effort, "there's been a cataclysm
Estelle. somewhere, the direction of the earth's rotation has .

"Look!" she said suddenly, and pointed oiit of been reversed, and its 'speed immensely increased.
the window,' It seems to take only about five minutes for a
All the city was now lighted up, and such of the rotation now."
signs as they could see were brilliantly illumined. As he spoke darkness fell for the third time.
They watched in silence. The streets once more Estelle turned from the window with a white face.
seemed filled with vehicles. They darted along, "What's going to happen?" she cried.
their headlamps lighting up the roadway brilliantly. "I don't know," answered Arthur. "The scientist
There was, however, something strange even about fellows tell us if the earth were to spin fast enough
their motion. Arthur and Estelle watched in grow- the centrifugal force would throw us all off into
ing amazement and perplexity, space. Perhaps that's what's 'going to happen."
"Are—are you seeing what I ani seeing?" asked Estelle sank into a chair and stared at him, ap-
"/see them going backward!"
Estelle breathlessly, palled. There was a sudden explosion behind them.
Arthur watched, and collapsed into a chair, With a start, Estelle jumped to her feet and turned.
"For the love of Mike!" he exclaimed softly. A little gilt clock over her typewriter-desk lay in
fragments. Arthur Ijastily glanced at his own watch,
"Great bombs and little cannon-balls !" he
Rotation of the Earth Reversed
shouted. "Look at this !"

HE was roused by another exclamation from

Estelle.
"It's getting light again," she said,
His watch trembled and quivered in his hand.
The hands were going around so swiftly it was
impossible to watch the minute-hand, and the hour-
Arthur rose and went eagerly to the window. The hand traveled like the wind.
darkness was becoming less intense, but in a way While they looked, it made two complete revolu-
Arthur could hardly credit. tions. In one of them the glory of daylight had
Ear to the west, over beyond'"the Jersey hills waxed, waned, and vanished. In the other, darkness
easily visible from the height at which Arthur's reigned except for the glow from the electric light
office was located—a faint light appeared in the overhead.
sky, grew stronger and then took on a reddish tint. There was a sudden tension and eatch in the
That, in turn," grew deeper, and at last the sun ap- "watch, Arthur dropped it instantly. It flew to
peared, rising unconcernedly in the west. pieces before it reached the floor,-
Arthur gasped. The streets below continued tcf "If you've got a watch," Arthur ordered swiftly,
be thronged with people and motor-cars. The sun "stop it this instant!"
was traveling with extraordinary rapidity. It rose Estelle fumbled at her wrist, Arthur tore the
overhead, and as if by magic the streets were watch from her hand and threw open the case.
thronged with people. Every one seemed to be The machinery inside was going so swiftly it was
running at top-speed. The few teams they saw hardly visible. Relentlessly, Arthur jabbed a pen-
—
moved at a breakneck pace backwai'd! In spite holder in the works. There was a sharp click, and
of. the suddenly topsy-turvy state of affairs there the watch was still,
seemed to be hd accidents, Arthur ran to the window. As he reached it the
Arthur put his hand to his head, sun rushed up, day lasted a moment, there was
"Miss Woodward," he said pathetically, "I'm' darkness, and then the sun appeared again.
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 253
"Miss Woodward!" Arthur ordered suddenly, "If the earth had settled down, we'd have been
"look at the ground!" lower. If it had settled to one side we'd have been
Eatelle glanced down. The next time the sun moved one way or another, but as it's settled bick
flashed into view she gasped. in the Fourth Dimension, we're going back in time
The ground was 'white with snow! "Then—"
"What has happened?" she demanded, terriiied. "We're in a runaway skyscraper, bound for some
"Oh, what haa happened?" time back before the discovery of America!"
Arthur fumbled at his chin awkwardly, watching
the astonishing panorama outside. There was hardly
The' Seasons Are Reversed in Order
any distinguishing between the times the sun
was up and the times it was below now, was very still in the office. Except for the
as the darkness and light followed each other
so swiftly the effect was the same as one of the old
IT flickering outside everything seemed very much
as usual. The electric light burned steadily, but
flickering motion-pictures. Estelle was sobbing with fright and Arthur was
As Arthur watched, this effect became more pro- trying vainly to console her.
nounced. The tall Fifth Avenue Building across "Have I gone crazy?" she demanded between her
the way began to disintegrate. In a moment, it sobs.
seemed, there was only a skeleton there. Then "Not unless I've gone mad, too," said Arthui
that vanished, story by story. A
great cavity in soothingly. The excitement had quite a soothmg
the earth appeared, and then another building be- effect upon him. He had ceased to feel afraid, but
came visible, a smaller, brown-stone, unimpressive was simply waiting to see what had happened
structure. "We're way back before the founding of New York
With bulging eyes Arthur stared across the city. now, and still going strong."
Except for the flickering, he could see almost "Are you sure that's what has happened?"
clearly now. "If you'll look outside," he suggested, "you'll see
He no longer saw the sun rise and set. There was the seasons following each other in reverse order
merely a streak of unpleasantly brilliant light across One moment the snow covers all the ground, then
the sky. Bit by bit, building by building, the you catch a glimpse of autumn foliage, then sum-
city began to disintegrate and become replaced by mer follows, and next spring."
smaller, dingier buildings. In a little while those Estelle glanced out of the window and covered
began to disappear and leave gaps where they her eyes.
vanished. "Not a house," she said despairingly. "Not a
Arthur strained his eyes and looked far down- building. Nothing, nothing, nothing!"
town. He saw a forest of masts and spars along Arthur slipped his arm about her and patted heis
the waterfront for a moment and when he turned comfortingly.
his eyes again to the scenery near him it was almost "It's al! right," he reassured her. "We'll bimg
barren of houses, and what few showed were mean, up presently, and there we'll be. There's nothmg
small residences, apparently set in the midst of to be afraid of."
farms and plantations. She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed
Estellewas sobbing. hopelessly for a little while longer, but presently
"Oh, Mr. Chamberlain," she cried. "What is the quieted. Then, suddenly, realizing that Arthur a
matter? What has happened?" arm was about her and that she was crying on his
Arthur had lost his fear of what their fate would shoulder, she sprang away, blushing crimson.
be in his absorbing interest in what he saw. He Arthur walked to the window.
was staring out of the window, wide-eyed, lost in ."Look there!" he exclaimed, but it was too late
the sight before him. At Estelle's cry, however, he "I'll swear to it I saw the Half-Moon, Hudson a
reluctantly left the window and patted her shoulder ship," he declared excitedly. "We're way back now,
awkwardly. and don't seem to be slackening up, either.
"I don't know how to explain it," he said un- Estelle came to the window by his side. The lap
comfortably, "but it's obvious that my first surmise idly changing scene before her made her gasp. It
was al! wrong. The speed of the earth's rotation was no longer possible to distinguish night fiom
can't have been increased, because if it had to the day.
extent we see, we'd have been thrown off into space A wavering streak, moving first to the right and
—
long ago. But have you read anything about the then to the left, showed where the sun flashed acio s
Fourth Dimension?" the sky.
Eatelle shook her head hopelessly. "What makes the sun wabble so?" she asked.
"Weil, then, ha^e you ever read anything by "Moving north and south of the equator," Arthur
Wells? The 'Time Machine,' for instance?" explained casually, "When it's farthest south to —
Again she shook her head. —
the left there's always snow on the ground. When
"I don't know how I'm going to say it so you'll it's farthest right it's summer. See how green it
understand, but time is just as much a dimension is?" (

as length and breadth. From what I can judge, A few momenta' observation corroborated his
.

I'd say there has been an earthquake, and the statement.

ground has settled a little with our building on it, "I'd say," Arthur remarked reflectively, ^"that it
only instead of settling down toward the center of takes about fifteen seconds for the sun to make the
the earth, or sidewise, it's settled in this fourth round trip from farthest north to farthest south '
dimension." He felt his pulse. "Do you know the normal late
"But what does that mean?" asked Estelle un- of the heart-beat? We can judge time that way,
comprehendingly. A clock will go all to pieces, of course."
 ,

254 AMAZING STORIES

"Why —
did your -watch explode and the clock?" a crevasse in the earth opened by an earthquake
"Running forward in time unwinds a clock, which may be only a few feet deep, or it may be
doesn't it?" asked Arthur, "It follows, of course, hundreds of yards, or even a mile or two. We
that when you move it backward in time it winds started off smoothly. We're going at a terrific rate.
up. When you move it too far back, you wind it What will happen whevr we stop?"
so tightly that the spring just breaks to pieces." Estelle caught her breath.
He paused a moment, his fingers on his pulse. "What?" she asked quietly,
"Yes, it takes about fifteen seconds for all the "I don't know," said Arthur in an irritated tone,
four seasons to pass. That means we're going back- to cover his apprehension. "How could I know?"
ward in time about four years a minute. If we go Estelle turned from him to the window again.
on at this rate in another hour we'll be back in the "Look!" she said, pointing.
time of the Northmen, and will be able to tell if The flickering had begun again. While they
they did discover America, after all." stared, hope springing up once more in their hearts,
"Funny we don't hear any noises," Estelle ob- it became more pronounced. Soon they could dis-
served. She had caught some of Arthur's calmness. tinctly see the difference between day and night.
"It passes so quickly that though our ears hear it, They were slowing up ! The white snow on the
we don't separate the sounds. If you'll notice, you ground remained there for an appreciable time,
do hear a sort of humming. It's very high-pitched, autumn lasted quite a while. They could catch the
though." flashes of the sun as it made its revolutions now,
Estelle listened, but could hear nothing. instead of its seeming likd a ribbon of fire. At last
"No matter," said Arthur. "It's probably a little day lasted all of fifteen or twenty minutes.
higher than your ears will catch. Lots of people It grew longer and longer. Theq, half an hour,
can't hear a bat squeak." then an hour. The sun wavered in midheaven and
"I never could," said Estelle. "Out in the coun- was still.
try, where I come from, other people could hear
Far below them, the watchers in the tower of the
them, but I couldn't," skyscraper saw trees swaying and bending in the
They stood a while in silence, watching. wind. Though there was not a house or a habita-
"When are we going to stop?" asked Estelle un- tion to be seen and a dense forest covered all of
easily. "It seems as if we're going to keep on Manhattan Island, such of the world as they could
indefinitely." see looked normal. Whatever, or rather in whatever
"I guess we'll stop all right," Arthur reassured epoch of time they were, they had arrived.
her, "It's obvious that whatever it was, it only af-
fected our own
building, or we'd see some other one
Indians Occupy Madison Square
with us. It looks like a fault or a flaw in the rock
the' building rests on. And that can only give so ARTHXJE caught at Estelle's arm and the two
far.^' made dash for the elevators. Fortunately
a
Estelle was silent for a moment. one was standing still, the door open, on
"Oh, I can't be sane !" she burst out serai-hyster- their floor. The elevator-boy had deserted his post
ically."This can't be happening!" and was looking with all the rest, at the strange
"You aren't crazy," said Arthur sharply. "You're landscape that surrounded them.
sane as I am. Just something queer is happening. No sooner had the pair reached the ear, however,
Buck up. Say your multiplication tables. Say any- than the boy came hurrying along the corridor,
thing you know. Say something sensible and you'l! three or four other people following him also at a
know you're all right. But don't get frightened run. Without a word the boy rushed inside, the
now. There'll be plenty to get frightened about others crowded after him, and the car shot down-
later." ward, all of the newcomers panting from their
The grimnesa in his tone alarmed Estelle. sprint.
"What are you afraid of?" she asked quicldy. Theirs was the first car to reach the bottom. They
"Time enough to worry when it happens," Arthur rushed out and to the western door.
retorted briefly. Here, where they had been accustomed to see
—
"You you aren't afraid we'll go back before the Madison Square spread out before them, a clearing
beginning of the world, are you?" asked Estelle of perhaps half an acre in extent showed itself.
in sudden access of fright. Where their eyes instinctively looked for the dark
Arthur shook his head. bronze fountain, near which soap-box orators afore-
"TeU me," said Estelle more quietly, getting a time held sway, they saw a tent, a wigwam of hides
grip on herself, "I won't mind. But please tell and bark gaily painted. And before the wigwam
me." were two or three brown-skinned Indians, utterly
,

Arthur glanced at her. Her face was pale, but peti'ified with astonishment.
there was more resolution in it than he had expected Behind the first wigwam were others, painted
to Snd. like the first with daubs of brightly colored clay.
"I'll tell you, then," he said reluctantly, "We're From them, too, Indians issued, and stared in
going back a little faster than we were, and the incredulous amazement, their eyes growing wider
flaw seems to be a deeper one than I thought. At and 'wider. When the group of white people con-
the roughest kind of an estimate, we're all of a fronted the Indians there was a moment's deathlike
thousand years before the discovery of America silence. Then, with a wild yell, the redskins broke
now, and 1 think nearer three or four. And we're and ran, not stopping to gather together their be-
gaining speed all the time. So, though I am as longings, nor pausing for even a second glance at
sure as I can be of anything that we'll stop this the weird strangers who invaded their domain.
cave-in eventually, I don't know where. It's like Arthur took two or three deep breaths of the
 :

THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 255

fresh air and found himself even then comparing tery at all. It's a basket that was woven of reeds
its quality with that of the city. Eatelle'' stared and then smeared with clay to make it fire-resisting.
about her with unbelieving eyes. She turned and The people who made that didn't know about baking
saw the great bulk of the office building behind her, clay to make it say put. When America was dis-
then faced this small clearing with a virgin forest covered nearly all the tribes knew something about
on its farther side. pottery."
She found herself trembling from some undefined "But what are we going to do?" Estelle tearfully
cause. Arthur glanced at her. He saw the tremb- insisted,
ling and knew she would have a iit of nerves in a "We're going to muddle along as well as we can,"
moment if something did not come up demanding answered Arthur cheerfully, "until we can get back
instant attention. to where we started from. Maybe the people back
"We'd better take a look at this village," he said in the twentieth century can send a relief pai'ty
in an off-hand voice. "We can probably find out after us. When the skyscraper vanished it must
how long ago it is from the weapons and so on," have left a hole of some sort, and it may be possible
He grasped her arm firmly and led her in the for them to follow us down."
direction of the tents. The other people, left be- "If that's so," said Estelle quickly, "why can't
hind, displayed their emotions in different ways. we climb up it without waiting for them to come
—
iTwo or three of them— women sat frankly down after us?"
on the steps and indulged in tears of bewilderment, Arthur scratched his head. He looked across the
fright and relief in a peculiar combination defying clearing at the skyscraper. It seemed to rest very
analysis. Two or three of the men swore, in shaken solidly on the ground. He looted up. The sky
voices. seemed normal.
Meantime, the elevators inside the building were "To tell the truth," : admitted, "there doesn't
rushing and clanging, and the hall filled with a seem to be any hole. I lid that more to cheer you
white-faced mob, desperately anxious to find out up than anything else."
what had happened and why. The people poured Estelle clenched her t s tightly and took a grip
out of the door and stared ab9ut blankly. There on herself,
was a peculiar, expression of doubt oii every one "Just tell me the truth," she said quietly. "I was
of their faces. Each one was asking himself if he rather foolish, but tell me what you honestly think."
were awake, and having proved that by. pinches, Arthur eyed her keenly.
openly administered, the next query was whether "In that case," he said reluctantly, "I'll admit
they had gone tnad. we're in a pretty bad fix. I don't know what has
Arthur led Estelle cautiously among the tents. happened, how it happened, or anything about it.
The village contained about a dozen wigwams. I'm just going to keep on going until I see a way
Most of them wfere made of strips of birch-bark, clear to get out of this mess. There are two thou-
cleverly overlapping each other, the seams cemented sand of us people, more or less, and among all of
with gum. Ail had hide flaps for doors, and one us we must be able to find a way out."
or two were built almost entirely of hides, sewed EsteHe had turned very pale.
together with strips of sinew.
.
""V^Sre in no great danger from Indians," went
Arthur made only a cursory examination of the 6fi Arthur thoughtfully, "or from anything else
village. His principal motive in taking Estelle 43iat'I 'know of— except one thing.'
there was to give her some mental occupation to q' "What is that?" asked Estelle quickly,
ward off the reaction from the excitement of the . Arifliur shook his head and led' her back toward
cataclysm, the Skyscraper, which was now thronged with the
'

He looked into one or two of the tents and found '^Jieofge from all the floors who had come down to the
merely couches of hides, with'minor domestic uten- ^ground and were standing excitedly about the con-
sils scattered about. He brought from one tent a *«ourse askyig each other what had happened,
bow and guivei,; of arrows. The workmanship was "^ Arthur M
Estelle to one of the corners,
good, but very evidently the maker had no knowl- O
ii^ait f pt me here," he ordered. "I'm going to
""^talk to thifi/crowd."
edge of metal tools.
Arthur's acquaintance with archeological subjects He pusSed his way through until ha could reach
was very, slight, but he observed that the arrow- the confectionery and news-stand in the main hall-
heads were chipped, and not rubbed smooth. They way. Here he climbed up on the counter and
were attached to the shafts with strips of gut or shouted
tendon. "People, listen to me! I'm going to tell you
Arthur was still pursuing his investigation when what's happened!"
a sob from Estelle made him stop and look at her. In an instant there was dead silence. He found
"Oh, what are we going to do?" she asked tear- himself the center of a sea of white faces, every
fully. "What are we going to do? Where are we?" one contorted with fear and anxiety.
"You mean, when are we," Arthur corrected with "To begin with," he said confidently, "there's
a grim smile. "I don't know. Way back before the nothing to be afraid of. We're going to get back .

discovery of America, though. You can see in every- to where we started from! I don't know how, yet,
thing in the village that there isn't a trace of Euro- but we'll do it. Don't get frightened. Now I'll
pean civilization. I suspect that we are several thou- tell you what's happened."
sand years back. I can't tell, of course, but this He rapidly 'sketched out for them, in words as
pottery makes me think so. See this bowl?" simple as he could make them, his theoi*y that^a flaw
He pointed to a bowl of red clay lying on the in the rock on which the foundations rested had
ground before one of the wigwams. developed and let the skyscraper sink, not down-
"If you'll look, you'll see that it isn't really pot- ward, but into the Fourth Dimension.
256 AMAZING STORIES
,
"I'm an engineer," he finished. "What nature managed to join him, and they mounted the steps
can do, we can imitate. Nature let us into this hole. together. f

We'll climb out. In the mean time, matters are "Do you think we'll pull through all right?" she
serious. We needn't be afraid of not getting back. asked quietly.
We'll do that. What we've got to fight is starva- — "We've got to!" Arthur told her, setting his chin
tion!" firmly. "We've simply got to."
The gray-haired president of the bank was wait-
Planning For the Food-Supply ing for them at the top of the stairs.
"My name is "Van Deventer," he said, shaking
7'E'VE got to fight starvation, and we've hands with Arthur, who gave his own name.
got to beat it," Arthur continued dogged- "Where shall our emergency council sit?" he
ly. "I'm teHing you this now because I asked.
want you to begin right at the beginning and pitch "The bank has a board room right over the safety
in to help. We
have very little food and a lot of ua vault, I dare say we can accommodate everybody
to eat it. First, I want some volunteers to help with there —
everybody in the council, anyway."
rationing. Next, I want every ounce of food in this Arthur followed into the board-room, and the
place put under guard where it can be served to others trooped in after him.
those who need it most. Who will help?" "I'm just assuming temporary leadership," Ar-
The swift succession of shocks had paralyzed the thur explained, "because it's imperative some things
faculties of most of the people there, but half a be done at once. Later on we can talk about electing
dozen moved forward. Among them was a single officials to direct our activities. Kight now we neej(
gray-haired man with an air of accustomed au- food. How many of you can shgot?"
thority, Arthur recognized him as the president About a quarter of the hands were raised. Es-
of the bank on the ground floor. was among the number,
teile's
"I don't know who youare or if you're right in "And how many are fishermen?"
saying what has happened," said the gray-haired A few more went up,
man. "But I see something's got to be done, and "What do the rest of you do?"
well, for the time being I'll take your word for what There was a chorus of "gardener." "I have a
that is. Later on we'll thrash this matter out," garden in my yard," "I grow peaches in New Jer-
Arthur nodded. He bent over and spoke in a sey," and three men confessed that they raised
low voice to thegi-ay-haired man, who moved away. chickens as a hobby.-
"Grayson, Walters, Terhune, Simpson, and- For- "We'll want you gardeners in a little while. Don't
aythe come here," the gray-haired man called at go yet. But the most important are huntsmen and
a doorway. fishermen. Have any of you weapons in your
A
number of men began to press dazedly toward offices?"
him. Arthur resumed his harangue. A number had revolvers, but only one man ha'd
"You people—those of you who aren't too dazed a shotgun and shells.
—
to think are remembering there's a restaurant in "I was going on my vacation this afternoon
the building and no need to starve. You're wrong. straight from the office," he explained, "and have
There are nearly two thousand of us here. That all my vacation tackle."
means six thousand meals a <lay. We've got to have "Goodman!" Arthur exclaimed. "You'll go after
nearly ten tons of food a day, and we've got to the heavy game."
have it at once." "With a shotgun?" the sportsman asked, aghast,
"Hunt," someone suggested. "If you get close to them a shotgun will do as well
"I saw Indians," some one else shouted. "Can as anything, and we can't waste a shell on every
we trade with them?" bird or rabbit. Those shells of yours are precious.
"We can hunt and we can ti-ade with the Indians," You other fellows will have to turn fishermen ior
Arthur admitted, "but we need food by the ton by — a while. Your pistols are no good for hunting."
the ton, people The Indians don't store up sup-
!
"The watchmen at the bank have riot guns," said
plies, and, besides, they're much too scattered to Van Deventer, "and there are one or two repeating-
But we've got to have food. rifiea there. I don't know about ammunition."
have a surplus for us.
Now, how many of you know anything about hunt- "Good! I don't mean about the ammunition, but
ing, fishing, trapping, or any possible way of get- about the guns. We'll hope for the ammunition.
ting food?" You fishermen get to work to improvise tackle out
—
There were a few hands raised pitifully few. of anything you can get hold of. Will you do that?"
A
series of nods answered his question.
Arthur saw Esteile's hand up.
"Very well," he said. "Those of you who raised "Now for the gardeners. You people will have to
your hands then come with me up on the second roam through the woods in company with the hun-
floor and we'll talk it over. The rest of yoii try to ters and locate anything in the way of edibles that
conquer your fright, and don't go outside for a grows. Do all of you know what wild plants look
like! I mean wild fruits and vegetables that are
while. We've got some things to attend to before
it wi!! be quite safe for you to venture out. And good to eat."
keep away from the restaurant. There are armed A
few of them nodded, but the majority looked
guards over that.food. Before we pass it out indis- dubious. The consensus of opinion seemed to be ^

criminately, we'll see to it there's more for to-mor- that they would try. Arthur seemed a little dis-
row and the next day." couraged,
He stepped down from the counter and moved "I guess you're the man to tell about the restaur-
toward the stairway. It was not worth while to use ant," Van Deventer said quietly. "And as this is
the elevator for the ride of only one fioor. Eatelle the food commission, or something of that sort.
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 257
everybody here will lie better for hearing it. Aoy- of the one room gave way. The aftermath of the
way, everybody will have to know it before night. rock-flaw."
I took over the restaurant as you suggested, and He made his way across the splintered flooring
posted some of the men from the bank that I knew and piled-up chairs.
I could trust about the doors. But there was hardly ,
"We're on top of the safe-deposit vault," he said.
any use in doing it. "That's why we didn't fall all the way to the floor
"The restaurant stocks up in the afternoon, as below. I wonder how we're going to get down?"
most of its business is in the morning and at noon. Estelle followed him, still frightened for fear of
It only carries a day's stock of foodstuffs, and the the building fafling upon them. Some of the long
.

the -cataclysm, or whatever it was, came at three floor-boards stretched over the edge of the vault and
o'clock. There is practically nothing in the place. rested on a tall, bronze grating that protected the
We couldn't make sandwiches for half the, women approach to the massive strong-box. Arthur tested
that are caught with us, let alone the men. EveiT- them with hia foot.
body will go hungry to-night. There will be no "They seem to be pretty solid," he said tenta-
. breakfast to-iporrow, nor anything to eat until we tively.
either make arrangements with the Indians for His strength was coming back to him every mo-
some supplies or else get food for ourselves." ment. He had been no more than stunned. He
Arthur leaned his jaw on his hand and considered. walked out on the planking to the bronze grating
A slow flush crept over his cheek. He was getting and turned.
his lighting blood up. "If you don't get dizzy, you might come on," he
At school, when he began to flush slowly his said. "We can swing down the grille here to the
schoolmates had known the symptom and avoided floor."
^

his wrath. Now he was growing angry with mere Estelle followed gingerly and in a moment they
circumstances, but it would be none the less unfor- were safely below. The corridor was quite empty.
tunate for those circumstances. "When the crash came," Estelle explained, her
"Well," he said at last deliberately, "we've got voice shaking with the reaction from her fear of
to— What's that?" a moment ago, "every one thought the building was
There was a great creaking and groaning. Sud- coming to pieces, and ran out. I'm afraid they've
denly a sort of vibration was felt under foot. The all run away."
floor began to take on a slight slant. "They'll be back in a little while," Arthur said,
"Great Heaven!" some one cried. "The building's quietly.
turning over and we'll be buried in the ruins!" They went along the big marble corridor to the
The tilt of the floor became more pronounced. same western door, out of which they had first gone
An empty chair slid to one end of the room. There to see the Indian village. As they emerged into the
was a crash. sunlight they met a few of the people who had
already recovered from their panic and were re-
Arthur and Estelle in Conference turning.
A crowd of respectable size gathered in a few
moments, all still pale and shaken, but coming back
ARTHUR woke to find some one tugging
shoulders, trying to drag him from beneath
at his
to the building whiffi was' their refugei A.pthur„^
the heavy table, which had wedged itself leaned wearily against thi^^ild.-aton^.-^ft.aeeme^ to
across his feet and pinned him fast, while a flying vibrate under his touch." H^' turned- q'liakilp) to
Estelle. '.,
chair had struck him on the head. 17 ,-
,-r>T
"Feel this !" he exclaimed. ' '^ - ^- J" A C i
"Oh, come and help," Estelle's voice was calling S '[
deliberately. "Somebody come and help! He's She did so,
caught in here!" "I've been wondet^ng what that rumble was," sha
said. "I've been hearing it ever since we landed
She was sobbing in a combination of panic and
here, but didn't understand where it came from."
some unknown emotion.
"Help me, please!" she gasped, then her voice "You hear a rumble?" Arthur asked, puzzled.
"I can't hear anything."
broke despondently, but she never ceased to tug
ineffectually at Chamberlain, trying todrag him out "It isn't as loud as it was, but I hear it," Estella
insisted. "It's very deep, like the lowest possible
of the mass of wreckage.
Arthur moved a little, dazedly. bass note of an organ."
"Are you alive?" she called anxiously. "Are you "You couldn't hear the shrill whistle when we
alive? Hurry, oh, hurry and wriggle out. The were coming here," Arthur exclaimed suddenly,
building's falling to pieces." "and you can't hear the squeak of a bat. Of course
"I'm all right," Arthur said weakly. "You get your ears are pitched lower than usual, and you
out before it all comes down." can hear sounds that are lower than I can hear.
"I won't leave you," she declared. "Where are Listen carefully. Does it sound in the least like
you caught? Are you badly hurt? Hurry, please a liquid rushing through somewhere?"
hurry!" \
"Y-yes," said Estelle hesitatingly. "Somehow,
I don't quite understand how, it gives me the im-
Arthur stirred, but could not loosen his feet. He
half-rolled over, and the table moved as if it had pression of a tidal flow or something of that sort."
been precariously balanced, and slid heavily to one Arthur rushed indoors. When Estelle followed
side. With Estelle still tugging at him, he ma- him she found him excitedly examining the marble
naged to get to his feet on the slanting floor and floor about the base of the vault.

started about him. "It's cracked," he said excitedly. "It's crackedl

Arthur continued to stare about. The vault rose all of an inch!"
"No danger," he said weakly. "Just the floor; Estelle looked and saw the cracks
 " ^

258 AMAZING STORIES

"What does that crack in the floor mean?" by the arrival of this strange monument upon its
"It means we're going to get back where' we shores—the same Hudson Arthur knew as a busy
belong," Arthur cried jubilantly. "It means I'm on thoroughfare of puffing steamers and chugging
the track of the whole trouble. It means every- launches. Two or three small streams wandered
thing's going to be all right." unconcernedly across the land that Arthur had
He prowled about the vault exultantly, noting known as the most closely built-up territory on
exactlyhow the cracirs in the flooring ran and seeing earth. And far, far below him—Arthur had to lean
in each a corroboration of his theory. well out of his window to see it— stood a collection
"I'll have to make some inspections in the cellar," of tiny wigwams. Those small bark structures rep-
he went on happily, "but I'm nearly sure I'm on the resented the original metropolis of New York.
right track and can figure out a corrective." His telephone rang. Van Deventer' was on the
"How soon can we hope to start back?" asked wire. The exchange in the building was still work-
Estelle eagerly, ing. Van Deventer wanted Arthur to come down
Arthur hesitated, then a great deal of the excite- to his private oflice. There were still a great many
ment ebbed from his face, leaving it rather worried
and stern.
—
things to be settled the arrangements for ccm-
njandeering' offices for sleeping quarters for the
"It may be a month, or two months, or a year," he women, and numberless other details. The men who
answered gravely. "I don't know. If the first thing seemed to have best kept their heads were gathering .

1 try will work, it won't be iong. If we have to there to settle upon a course of action,
experiment, daren't guess how long we may be. Arthur glanced out of the window again before
But" — his
I
chin set firmly— "we're going to get going to the elevator. He saw a curiously compact
back," dark cloud moving swiftly across the sky to the
Estelle looked at him speculatively. Her ovm west.
expression grew a little worried, too. "Miss Woodward," he said sharply, "What is
"But in a month," she said dubiously, "we there— that?"
is hardly any hope of our finding food for two thou- Estelle came to the window and looked.
sand people for a month, is there?" "They are birds," she told him. "Birds flying in
"We've got to," Arthur declared, "We can't hope a group. I've often seen them in the country,
to get that much food from the Indians. It will be though never as many as that."
days before they'll dare to come back to their vil- "How do you catch birds?" Arthur asked her.
lage, if they ever come. It wiJl be weeks before we "I know about shooting them, and so on, but we
can hope to have them earnestly at work to feed haven't guns enough to count. Could we catch them
us, and that's leaving aside the question of how we'll in traps, do yo'u think?"
communicate 'with them, and how we'll manage to ' "I wouldn't be surprised," said Estelle thought-
trade with them. Frankly, I think eveiybody is fully. "But it would be hard to catch many."
going to have to draw his belt tight before we get "Come down-stairs," directed Arthur. "You
—
through if we do. Some of ua will get along, any- know as much as any of the men here, and more
way," than most, apparently. We're going to make you
Estelle's eyes opened wide as the meaning of his show us how to eatch things."
last sentence penetrated her mind. 'Estelle smiled, a trifle wanly, Arthur led the way
—
"You mean that all of us won't — to the elevator. In the ear he noticed that she
''I'm going to take care of you," Arthur said looked distressed.
gravely, "but there are liable to be lively doings "What's the matter?" he asked. "You aren't
around here when people begin to realize they're really frightened, areyou?"
really in a tight fix for food, I'm going to get Van "No," she answered shakily, "but—I'm rather
Deventer to help me organize a police band to en- upset about this thing. It's scj^so terrible, some-
force martial law. We mustn't have any disorder, how, to be back here, thousands of miles, or years,
that's certain, and I don't trust a city-bred man away from all one's friends and everybody."

in a pinch unless I know him." —

"Piease" Arthur smiled encouragingly at her—
He stooped and picked up a revolver from the "please count me your friend, won't you?"
floor, left there by one of the bank watchmen when She riodded, but blinked back some tears. Arthur
he fled, in the belief that the building was falling. would have tried ~to hearten her further, but the
elevator stopped at their floor. They walked into
the room where the meeting of cool heads was to
Wild Pigeons Dash Against the Building take place-
No more than a dozen men were in there talking
ARTHUR stood at the window of
stared out toward the west. The
his office
sun was
and earnestly but dispiritedly. When Arthur and Estelle
entered Van Deventer came over to greet them.
setting, but upon what a scene! "We've got to do something," he said in .a low
Where, from this same windo^ Arthur had seen voice. "A wave of homesickness has swept over the
the sun setting behind the Jersey hills, all edged whole place. Look at those men. Every one is
with the angular roofs of factories, with their chim- thinking about his family and contrasting his cozy
neys emitting columns of smoke, he now saw the fire side with all that wilderness outside."
same sun sinking redly behind a mass of luxuriant "You don't seem to be worried," Arthur observed
foliage. And where he was accustomed to look upon with a smile.
—
the tops of high buildings each entitled to the Van Deventer's eyes twinkled.
—
name of "skyscraper" he now saw miles and miles "I'm a bachelor," he said cheerfully, "and I live
of waving green branches. in a hotel. I've been longing for a chance to see
The wide Hudson flowed on placidly, all unruffled some real excitement for thirty years. Business
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 259
has kept me from it up to now, but I'm enjoying gry to-night, I want to get back to iny family."
myself hugely." "That's all that really matters," a chorus of
EsteUe looked at the group of dispirited men. voices echoed.
"We'll simply have to do something," she said "We'd better not bother about anything else
with a shalty .smile. "I feel just as they do. This unless we And we can't get back. Concentrate on
morning I hated the thought of having to go back getting back," one man stated more explicitly.
to ray boarding-house to-night, but right now I feel "Look here," said Arthur incisively, "You've
as if the odor of cabbage in the hallway would seem a family, and so have a great many of the others
like heaven." in '.he tower, but your family and everybody else's
Arthur led the way to the flat-topped desk in the family has got to wait. As an inside limit, we can
middle of the room. hope to begin to work on the problem of getting
"Let's settle a few of the more important mat- back when we're sure there's nothing else going to
ters," he said in a businesslike tone. "None of us happen. I tell you quite honestly that I think I
has any authority to act for the rest of the people know what is the direct cause of this catastrophe.
in the tower, but so many of us are in a state of And I'll tell you even' more honestly that I think
blue funk that those who are here must have charge I'm the only man among us who can put this tower
for a while. Anybody any suggestions ?" back where it started from. And I'll tell you most
"Housing," answered Van Deventer promptly. honestly of all that any attempt to meddle at this
"I suggest that we draft a gang of men to haul all present time with the forces that let us down here
the upholstered settees and rugs that are to be found will result in a catastrophe considerably greater
to one floor, for the women to sleep on." than the one that happened to-day."
"M-m, Yes. That's a good idea. Anybody a —
"Well, if you're sure " some one began reluct-
better plan?"' antly.
No one spoke. They all still looked much too "I am so sure that I'm going to keep to myself
homesick to take any great interest in anything the knowledge of what will start those forces to work
but they began. to listen more or less half-heartedly, again," Arthur said quietly, "1 don't want any
impatient meddling. If we start them too soon God
'
"I've been thinking about coal," said Arthur.
"There's undoubtedly a supply in the basement, but only knows what will happen,"
I wonder if it wouldn't be well to cut the lights
off most of the floors, only lighting up the ones Organizing the Food Supply
we're using."
"That might be a good idea later," Estelle said 'AN Deventer was eyeing Arthur Chamberlain
quietly, I'but light is cheering, somehow, and every keenly,
one feels so blue that I wouldn't do it to-night. To- your wanting pay in
"It isn't a question of
morrow they'll begin to get ,up their resolution for your services in putting us back, is
again, and you can ask them to do things." it?" he asked coolly,
"If we're going to starve to death," one of the Arthur turned and faced him. His face began
other men said gloomily, "we might as well have to flush slowly. Van Deventer put up one hand.
plenty of light to do it by." "I beg your pardon. I see."
"We aren't going to starve to death," retorted "We aren't settling the things we came here for,'*
Arthur sharply, "Just before I came down I saw Estelle interrupted.
a great cloud of birds, greater than I had ever seen
before. When we get at those birds
— She had noted the threat of friction and hastened
to put in a diversion. Arthur relaxed.
"When," echoed the gloomy one. "I think that as a beginning," he suggested, "we'd
"They were pigeons," Estelle explained. "They better get sleeping arrangements completed. We
shouldn't be hard to snare or trap." can get everybody together somewhere, I dare say,
"I usually have my dinner before now," the and then secure volunteers for the work."
. gloomy one protested, "and I'm told I won't get any- "Right." Van Deventer was anxious to make
thing to-night," amends for his blunder of a moment before, "Shall
The other men began to straighten their shoul- I send the bank watchmen to go on each floor in
ders. The peevishness of one of their number i turn and ask everybody to come down-stairs?"
seemed to bring out their latent courage, "You might start tliem," Arthur said. "It will
"Well, we've got to stand it for the present," one take a long time for every one to assemble,"
of them said almost philosophically. ",What I'm Van Deventer spoke into the telephone on his
most anxious about is getting back. Have we any desk. In a moment he hung up the receiver.
chance?" "They're on their way," he said.
Arthur nodded emphatically. Arthur was frowning to himself and scribbling ,

"I think so. Ihave a sort of idea as to the cause in a note-book.

of our sinking into the Fourth Dimension, and "Of course," he announced abstractedly, "the
when that is verified, a corrective can be looked for pressing problem is food. We've quite a number
and applied." of fishermen, and a few hunters. We've got to have
"How long will that take?" a lot of food at once, and everything considered, I
"Can't say," Arthur replied frankly. "I don't know think we'd better count on the fishermen. At sun-
what tools, what materials, or what Workmen we rise we'd better have some people begin to dig bait
have, and what's rather more to the point, I don't and wake our anglers. They'd better make theii:
even know what work will have to- be done. The tackle to-night, don't you think?"
pressing problem is food." There was a general nod.
"Oh, bother the food," some one protested impa- "We'll announce that, then, "the fishermen will
tiently. "I, don't care about myself, I can go hun- go to the river under guard of the men we have
260 AMAZING STORIES
who can shoot. I think what Indians tliers are will ludicrous because he had promised to take his sweet-
be much too frightened to try to ambush any of us, heart to the theater that night, and if he did not;
but we'd better be on the safe side. They'll keep come she would be very angry. Another was to
together and flsh at nearly the same spot, with our have been married in a week. Some of the people
hunters patroling the woods behind them, taking were, like Van Deventer and Arthur, so situated
pot-ahots-at game, if they see any. The fishermen that they could view the episode as an adventure,
should make more or less of a puecess, I think. The or, like Estelle, who had no immediate fear because
Indians weren't extensive fishers that I ever heard all her family was provided for without, her help
of, and the river ought fairly to swarm with iish-" and lived far from New York, so they would not
He closed his note-book. learn of the catastrophe for some time. Many,
. "How many weapons can we count on alto- however, felt instant and pressing fear for the
gether?" Arthur asked Van Deventer. families whose expenses ran always so close to their
"In the bank, about a dozen riot-guns and half incomes that the disappearance of the breadwinner
a dozen repeating rifies. Elsewhere I don't know. for a week would mean actual want or debt. There
Forty or fifty men said they had revolvers, though." are very many such families in New York, .

"We'll give revolvers to the men who go with the The people, therefore, that gathered hopelessly
fishermen. The Indians haven't heard firearms and at the call of Van Deventer's watchmen were dazed
will run at the report, even if they dare attack our and spiritless. Their excitement after Arthur's
first attempt to explain the situation to them had
"We cansend out the gun-armed men as hunters," evaporated. They were no longer keyed up to a
some one suggested, "and send gardeners with them high pitch by the startling thing that had happened
to look for vegetables and such things." to them.
"We'll have to take a sort of census, really," Nevertheless, although only half comprehending
Arthur suggested, "finding what every one can do ivhat had actually occurred, they began to realize
and getting liim to do it." what that occurrence meant. No matter where they
"I never planned anything like this before," Van might go over the whole face of the globe, they
Deventer remarked, "and I never thought I should, would always be aliens and strangers. If they had
but this is much more fun than running a bank." been carried away to some unknown shore,some
Arthur smiled, wilderness far from, their own land, they might
"Let's go and have our meeting," he said cheer- have thought of building ships to return to their
fully. homes. They had seen New York vanish before their
But the meeting was a gloomy and despairing eyes, however. They had seen their civilization dis-
affair. Nearly every one had watched the sun set appear while they watched.
upon a strange, wild landscape. Hardly an indivi- They were in a barbarous world. There was, not,
dual among the whole two thousand of them had for example, a single safety match on the whole
ever been out of sight of a house before in hia or earth except those in the runaway skyscraper.
her life. To look out at a vast, untouched wilder-
ness where hitherto they had seen the most highly A Food-Kiot in the Building
civilized cityon the globe would have been startling
and depressing enough in itself, but to Icnow that
they were alone in a whole continent of savages and
AETHUE and Van Deventer, in turn with the
others of the cooler heads, thundered at the
that there was not, indeed, in all the v/orld a single .
apathetic people, trying to waken them to the
community of people they could greet as brothers necessity for work. They showered promises of in-
was terrifying. evitable return to modern times, they pledged their
Pew of them thought so far, but there was actu- honor to the belief that a way would ultimately be
ally —if Arthur's estimate of several thousand found by which they would all yet find themselves
years' drop back through time was coi'rect there — safely back home again.
was actually no other group of English- speaking The people, however, had seen New York disinte-
people in the world. The English language was grate, and' Arthur's explanation sounded like some
yet to be invented. Even Rome, the synonym for wild dream of an imaginative novelist. Not one.
antiquity of culture, might still be an obscure vil- person in all the gathering could actually realize
lage inhabited by a band of tatterdemalions under that his home might yet be waiting for him, though
the leadership of an upstart Romulus. at the same time he felt a pathetic anxiety for the
Soft in body as these people were, city-bred and welfare of its inmates.
unaccustomed to face other than the most conven- Every one was in a turmoil of contradictory be-
tionalized emergencies of life, they were terrified. liefs. On the one hand tliey knew that all of New
Hardly one of them had even gone without a meal York could not be actually destroyed and replaced
in all his life. To have the prospect of having to by a splendid forest in the space of a few hours, so
earn their food, not by the manipulation of figures the' accident or catastrophe must have occurred to
in a book, or by expert juggling of profits and those in the tower, and, on the other hand; they had
prices, but by literal wrestling of that food from its seen all of New York vanish by bits and fragments,
source in the earth or stream was a really terrifying to be replaced by a smaller and dingier town, had
thing for them. beheld that replaced in turn, and at last had landed
In addition, every one of them was bound to the in the midst of this forest.
life of modern times by a hundred ties. Many of Every one, too, began to feel an unusual and un-
theni had' families, a thousand years away. All comfortable sensation of hunger. It was a mild
had interests, engrossing interests,' in modern New discomfort as yet, but few of them had experienced
York. it before without an inunediate prospect- of assuag-

One young man felt an anxiety that was really ing the craving, and the knowledge that there was
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 261
no food to be had somehow increased the desire for self alone amid the wi-eckage of the stand, with the
it. They were reaily in a pitiful state. keeper wringing his hands over the remnants of liis
Van Deventer spolte encouragingly, and then goods.
asked for volunteei-s for immediate work. There Van Deventer ran down the stairs.
was hardly any response. Every one seemed sunk "What's the matter?" he demanded as he saw
in despondency. Arthur then began to talk straight Arthur nursing a bleeding hand cut on the broken
from the shoulder and succeeded in rousing them glass of the show-case,
a little, hut every one was still rather too frightened "Bolsheviki!" answered Arthur with a grim
to realize that work eouid help at all. smile. "We woke up some of the crowd too suc-
In desperation the dozen or so men who had gath- cessfully. They got panic-stricken and started to
ered in Van Deventer's office went about among the buy out this stuff here. I tried to stop them, and
gathering and simply selected men at random, you see what happened. We'd better look to the
ordering them to follow and begin woi'k. This began restaurant, though I doubt if they'll try anything
to awaken the crowd, but they wakened to fear else just now."
rather than resolution. They were city-bred, and He followed Van Deventer up to the restaurant
unaceustomd to face the unusual or the alarming. floor. There were picked men before the door, but
Arthur noted the new restlessness, but attributed just as Arthur and the bank president appeared two
it to growing uneasiness rather than selfish panic. or three white-faced men went up to the guards and
He was rather pleased that they were outgrowing started low-voiced conversations.
their apathy. When the meeting had come to an end Arthur reached the spot in time to forestall
he felt satisfied that by morning the latent resoiu- bribery.
tion among the people would have crystallized and Arthur collared one man, Van'Deventer another,
they would he ready to work earnestly and intelli- and in a moment the two were sent reeling dovni the
gently on whatever tasks they were directed to hallway,
undertake. "Some fools have got panic-stricken!" Van De-
He returned to the ground floor of the building venter explained to the men before the doors in a
feeling nauch more hopeful than before. Two thou- casual voice, though he was breathing heavily from
sand people all earnestly working for one end the unaccustomed exertion. "They've smashed up
are hard to down even when faced with such a task the fruitstand on the ground floor and stolen the
as confronted the inhabitants of the runaway sky- contents. It's nothing but blue funk! Only, if any
scraper. Even if they were never able to return of them start to gather around here, hit them first
to modern times they would still be able to form a and talk it over afterward. You'll do that?"
conmiunity that might do much to hasten the devel- "We will !" the men said heartily.
opment of civilization in other parts of the world. "Shall we use our guns?" asked another hopefully.
His hope received a rude shock when he reached Van Deventer grinned.
the great hallway on the lower floor. There was a "No," he replied, "we haven't any excuse for that
fruit and confectionery stand here, and as Arthur yet. But you might shoot at the ceiling, if they
arrived at the spot, he saw a surging mass of men get excited. They're just frightened!"
about it. The keeper of the stand looked fright- He took Arthur's arm, and the two walked toward
ened, but was selling off his stock as fast as he could the stairway again.
make change. Arthur forced his way to the counter. "Chamberlain," he said happily, "tell me why
"Here," he said sharply to the keeper of the stand, I've never had as much fun as this before!"
"stop selling this stuff. It's got to be held until Arthur smiled a bit wearily,
we can dole it out where it's needed." "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!" he said.
—
"I I can't help myself," the keeper said. "I'm not. I'm going outside and walk around, I
"They're takin' it anyway." want to see if any cracks have appeared in the earth
"Get back there," Arthur cried to the crowd. "Do anywhere. It's dark, and I'll borrow a lantern down
you call this decent, trying to get more than your
^

in the fire-room, but I want to find out if there are

share of this stuff? You'll get your portion to- any more developments in the condition of the
morrow. It is going to be divided up." building."
"Go to hell!" some one panted. "You c'n starve
if you want to, but I'm goin' to look out f r myself." Theorizing On the Strange Occurence
The men were not really .starving, but had been
put into a panic by the plain speeches of Arthur DESPITE his preoccupation with his errand,
which was to find if there were other signs
and his helpers, and were seizing what edibles they
could lay hands upon in preparation for the hunger of the continued activity of the strange
they had been warned to expect. forces that had lowered the tower through the
Arthur pushed against the mob, trying to thrust Fourth Dimension into the dim and unrecorded
.

them away from the counter, but his very effort years of aboriginal America, Arthur could not es-
intensified their panic. There was a quick- surge cape the fascination of the sight that met his eyes.
and a crash. The glass front of the show-case A bright moon shone overhead and silvered the
broke in. white sides of the tower, while the brightly-lighted
In a fiash of rage Arthur struck out viciously. windows of the oflices within glittered like jewels
The crowd paid not the slightest attention to him, set into the shining shaft.
however. Every man was too panic-stricken, and From his position on the ground he looked into
too intent on getting some of this food before it was the dimness of the forest on all sides. Black ob-
all gone to bother with him. scurity had gathered beneath the dark masses of
Ai-thur was simply crushed back by the bodies of moonlit foliage. The tiny birch-bark tepees of the
the forty or fifty men. In a moment he found him- now desei-ted Indian village glowed palely. Above,
262 AMAZING STORIES
the stars looked calmly down at the accusing finger convince them that friendliness was safest, even ii
of the tower pointing upward, as if in reproaeli they displayed unfriendly desires.
at their indifference to the savagery that reigned The pressing problem was food. There were two
over the whole earth. thousand people in the building, soft-bodied and
Like a fairy tower of jewels the building rose. city-bred. They were unaccustomed to hardship,
Alone aniong a wilderness of trees and streams it and could not endure what more primitive people
towered in a strange beauty; moonlit to silver, would hardly have noticed.
lighted from within to a mass of brilliant gems, it They must be fed, but first they must be taught
stood aei'enely still, to feed themselves. The fishermen would help, but
Arthur, carrying his futile lantern about its base, Arthur could only hope that they would prove equal
felt hia own insignificance as never before. He won- to the occasion. He did not know what to expect
dered what the Indians must think. He knew there from them. From the hunters he expected, but
must be hundreds of eyes fixed upon the strange little. The Indians were wary hunters, and game
sight—fixed in awe-stricken terror or superstitious would be shy if not scarce.
reverence upon this unearthly visitor to their hunt- The greafc cloud of birds he had seen at sunset
ing grounds. was a hopeful sign. Arthur vaguely remembered
A tiny figure, dwarfed by the building whose base stories of great flocks of wood-pigeons which had
he skirted, Arthur moved slowly about the vast been exterminated, as the buffalo was exterminated.
pile. The earth seemed not to have been affected As he considered the remembrance became more
iay the vast weight of the tower. clear.
Arthur knew, however, that long concrete piles They had flown in huge flocks which nearly
reached far down to bedrock. It was these piles darkened the sky. As late as the forties of the
that had sunk into the Fourth Dimension, carrying nineteenth century they had been an important
the building with them. article of food, and had glutted the market at
Arthur had followed the plans with great interest cei'tain seasons of the year.
when the Metropolitan was constructed. It was an Estelle had said the birds he had seen at sunset
engineering feat, and in the engineering periodicals, were pigeons. Perhaps this was one of the great
whose study was a part of Arthm^'s business, great flocks. If it were really so, the food problem would
space had been given to the building and the be much lessened, provided a way could be found
methods of its construction. to secure them. The ammunition in the tower was
While examining the earth carefully he went over very limited, and a shell could not be found for
his theory of the cause for the catastrophe. The every bird that was needed, nor even for every
whole structure must have sunk at the same time, three or four. .Great traps must be devised, or
or it, too, would have disintegrated, as the other bird-lime might possibly be produced. Arthur made
buildings had appeared to disintegrate. Mentally, a mental note to ask Estelle if she Icnew anything
Arthur likened the submergence of the tower in of bird-lime.
the oceans of time to an elevator sinking past the A vague, humming roar, altering in pitch, came
different floors of an oflice building. AH about the to his ears. He listened for some time before he
building the other sky-scrapers of New York had identified it as the sound of the wind playing upon
seemed to vanish. In an elevator, the floors one the irregular surfaces of the tower. In the city
passes seeni to rise upward. the sound was drowned by the multitude of other
Carrying out the analogy to its logical end, noises, but here Arthur could hear ifplainly.
Arthur reasoned that the building itself had no He listened a moment, and became surprised at
more cause to disintegrate, as the buildings it the number of night noises he could hear. In New
passed seemed to disintegrate, than the elevator in York he had closed his ears to incidental sounds
the office building would have cause to rise because from sheer self-protection. Somewhere he heard
its surroundings seemed to rise. the ripple of a little spring. As the idea of a spring
Within the building, he knew, there were strange came into his mind, he remembered Estelle's
stirrings of emotions. Queer currents of panic were description of the deep-toned roar she had heard.
running about, throwing the people to an fro as He put his hand on the cold stone of the building.
leaves are thrown about by a current of wind. Yet, There was still a vibrant quivering of the rock. It
underneath all those undercurrents of fear, was a was weaker than before, but was still noticeable.
rapidly growing resolution, strengthened by an in- He drew back from the rock and looked up into
creasing knowledge of the need to work. the sky. It seemed to blaze with stars, far more
Men were busy even then shifting all possible stars than Arthur had ever seen in the city, and
comfortable furniture to a single story for the more than he had dreamed existed.
women in the building to occupy. The men would As he looked, however, a cloud seemed to film a
sleep on the floor for the present. Beds of boughs portion of the heavens. The stars still showed
could be improvised on the morrow. At sunrise on through it, but they twinkled in a peculiar fashion
the following morning many men would go to the that Arthur could not understand.
streams to fish, guarded by other men. All would He watched in growing perplexitj'. The cloud
be frightened, no doubt, but there would be a grim moved very swiftly. Thin as it seemed to be, it
resolution underneath the fear. Other men would should have been silvery from the moonlight, but
wander about tc hunt. the slty was noticeably darker where it moved. It
There was little likelihood of Indians approaching advanced toward the tower and seemed to obscure
for some days, at least, but when they did come the upper portion. A confused motion became
Arthur meant to avoid hostilities by all possible visible among its parts. Wisps of it whirled away
means. The Indians would be fearful of their from the brilliantly lighted tower, and then re-
strange visitors, and it should not be difficult to turaed swiftly toward it.
 THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 263
Arthur heard a faint tinkle, then a musical scrap- many of the women were busily engaged in that
ing, which became louder. A faint scream sounded, occupation.
then another. The tinkle developed into the sound As fast as the birds could be cooked they were
made by breaking glass, and the scraping sound served out to the impatient but much cheered cast-
became that of the broken fragments as they rubbed aways, and in a little while nearly every person in
against the aides of the tower in their fall. the place was walking casually about the halls with
The scream came again. It was the frightened a roasted, broiled, or fried pigeon in his hands. The
cry of a woman. A
soft body struck the earth not ovens were roasting pigeons, the frying-pans were
ten feet from where Arthur stood, then another, frying them, and the broilers were loaded down
and another. with the small but tender birds.
The unexpected solution of the most pressing
Arthur and Estelle in Conference Again question cheei-ed every one amazingly. Many people
were still frightened, but less frightened than he-
ARTHUR urged the elevator boy greater
speed. They were speeding up the shaft as
to
fore. Worry for their families still oppressed a
great many, but the removal of the fear of imme-
rapidly as possible, but it was not fast
diate hunger led them to believe that the other
enough. When they at last reached the height at
problems before them would be solved, too, and in
which the excitement ai^emed to be centered, the car
as satisfactory a manner.
stopped with a jerk and Arthur dashed do^vn the
Arthur had returned to his office with four
haU.
broiled pigeons in a sheet of wrapping-paper. As
Half a dozen frightened stenographers stood
he somehow expected, Estelle was waiting there.
there, huddled together.
"Thought I'd bring lunch up," he announced.
"What's the matter?" Arthur demanded. Men
"Are you hungry?"
were running from the other floors to see what the "Starving!" Estelle replied, and laughed.
trouble was.
The whole catastrophe began to become an ad-
— —
"The the windows broke, and and something
venture. She bit eagerly into a bird, Arthur began
flew in at ua!" one of them gasped. There was a
as hungrily on another. For some time neither
crash inside the nearest ofliee and the women
spoke a word. At last, however, Arthur waved the
screamed again,
leg of his second pigeon toward his desk.
Arthur drew a revolver from his pocket and ad-
"Look what we've got here!" he said.
vanced to the door. He quickly thi'ew it open, en-
Estelle nodded. The stunned pigeon Arthur had
tered, and closed it behind him. Those left out in
first picked up was tied by one foot to a paper-
the hall waited tensely.
weight.
There was no sound. The women began to look
"I thought we might keep him for a souvenir,"
even; more frightened. The men shuflled their feet
uneasily, and looked uncomfortably at one another.
"You seem pretty confident we'll get back, all
Van Deventer appeared on the scene, puffing a littie right," Arthur observed. "It was surely lucky those
from hig haste.
blessed birds came along. They've heartened up
The door opened again and Arthur came out. He
the people wonderfully!"
was carrying something in his hands. He had put "Oh, I knew you'd manage somehow!" said Es-
his revolver aside and looked somewhat foolish but
telle confidently.
very much delighted.
"I manage?" Arthur repeated, smiling. "What
"The food question is settled," he said happily.
have I done?"
"Look!"
"Why, you've done everything," affirmed Estelle
He held out the object he carried. It was a bird, stoutly. "You've told the people what to do from
apparently a pigeon of some sort. It seemed to
the vei-y first, and you're going to get us back."
have been stunned, but as Arthur held it out it
Arthur grinned, ,then suddenly his face grew a
stirred, then struggled, and in a moment was flap-
littlemore serious.
ping wildly in an attempt to escape.
"I wish I were as sure as you are," he said. "I
"It's a wood-pigeon," said Arthur. "They must
think we'll be all right, though, sooner or later."
fly after dark sometimes. A big flock of them ran "I'm sure of it," Estelle declared with conviction.
afoul of the tower and were dazed by the lights. "
They've broken a lot of windows, I dare say, but
"Why, you
a great many of them ran into the stonework and
"Why I?" asked Arthur again. He bent for-
were stunned. I was outside the towe]-, and when ward in his chair and fixed his eyes on Eatelle's.
She looked up, met his gaze and stammered:
I came in they were dropping to the ground by hun-
dreds. I didn't know what they were then, but if
—
"Yaii you do things," she finished lamely.

we wait twenty minutes or so I think we can go "I'm tempted to do something now," Arthur said.
out and gather up our supper and breakfast and "Look here, Miss Woodward, you've been Jn my em-
several other meals, all at once." ploy for three or four months. In all that time
Estelle had appeared and now reached out her I've never had anything but the most impersonal
hands for the bird. conmients from you. Why the sudden change?"
"I'll take care of this one," she said. "Wouldn't The twinkle in his eyes robbed his words of any
it be a good idea to see if there aren't some more
impertinence.
stunned in the other offices?" "Why, I really —I really suppose I never noticed
In half an hour the electric stbves of the restau- you before," said Estelle.
rant were going at their full capacity. Men, cheer- "Please notice me hereafter," said Arthur. "I
fully excited men now, were bringing in pigeons have been noticing you. I've been doing practically
by armfuls, and other men were skinning them. nothing else."
There was no time to pluck them, though a great Estelle flushed again. She tried to meet Ai-tbur's
 —
264 AMAZING STORIES
eyes and failed. She bit desperately into her pigeon watching with wide-open eyes the activitiea of the
drumstick, trying to thinlt of aome-thing to say. whites. Dozens of birch-bark canoes dotted the
"Whsn we get back," went on Arthur meditative- Hudson, each with its load of fishermen, in-
ly, "I'll have nothing to do —
no work or anything. dustriously working for the white people. It had
I'll be broke and out of a job." been hard to overcome the fear in the Indians, and
Estelle shook her head emphatically. Arthur they still paid superstitious reverence to the whites,
paid no attention, but fair dealings, coupled with a constant readiness
"Estelle," he said, smiling, "would you like to be to defend themselves, had enabled Arthur to in-
out of a job with me?" stitute a system of trading for food that had so
Estelle turned crimson. far proved satisfactory.
"I'tn not very successful," Arthur went on sober- The whites had found spare electric-light bulbs
ly. "I'm afraid I wouldn't make a very good hus- valuable currency in dealing with the redmen. Pic-
band, I'm rather worthless and lazy!" ture-wire, too, was highly prized. There was not
"You aren't," broke in Estelle; "you're '
a picture left hanging in any of the offices. Metal
you're—" paper-knives bought huge quantities of provisions
Arthur reached over and took her by the from the eager Indian traders, and' the story was
shoulders. current in the tower that Arthur had received eight
"What?" he demanded. canoe-loads of corn and vegetables in exchange for
She would not look at him, but she did not draw a broken-down typewriter. No one could guess
away. He held her from him- for a moment. what the savages wanted with the typewriter, but
"What am I?" he demanded again. Somehow he they had carted it away triumphantly.
found himself kissing the tips of her ears. Her face EsteUe smiled tenderly to herself as she remem-
'rVas buried against hia shoulder. bered how Arthur had been the leading spirit in all
"What am I?" he repeated sternly. the numberless enterprises in which the castaways
Her voice was muffled by his coat. had been forced to engage. He would come to her
"You're —you're dear!" she said.
There was an interlude of about a minute and
in a spare ten minutes, and tell her how every-
thing was going. He seemed curiously boylike in
a pushed him away from her.
half, then she those moments.
"Don't!" she said breathlessly, "Please don't!" Sometimes he would come straight from the fire-
"Aren't you going to marry me?" he demanded. —
room he insisted on taking-part in all the more
Still crimson, she nodded shyly. He kissed her —
arduous duties having hastily cleaned himself for
again. het inspection, snatch a hurried kiss and then go
"Please don't!" she protested. off, laughing to help chop down trees for the long
She fondled the lapels of his coat, quite content fishing-raft. He had told them how to make char-
to have hia arms about her. coal, had taken a leading part in establishing and
"Why mayn't I kiss you if you're going to marry maintaining friendly relations with the Indians, and
me?" Arthur demanded. was now down in the deepest sub-basement, work-
She looked up at him with an air of demure ing with a gang of volunteers to try to put the
primness. building back where it belonged,
—
"You ^you've been eating pigeon," she told him Estelle had said, after the collapse of the flooring
in mock gravity, "andr^and your mouth is greasy!" in the board-room, that she heard a sound like the
rushing of waters. Arthur, on examining the floor
A Geyser Effects A Happy Return where the safe-deposit vault stood, found it had
risen an inch. On these facts he had built up hia
was two weeks later. Estelle looked out over theory. The building, like all modern skyscrapers,
ITthe now familiar wild landscape. It was much rested on conci-ete piles extending down to bedrock.
In the center of one of those piles there was a hollow
same when she looked far away, but near
the
by thei'ewere great changes. tube originally intended to serve as an artesian
Acleared trail led through the woods to the well. The flow had been insufficient and the well
waterfront, and a raft of logs extended out into the had been stopped up.
river for hundreds of feet. Both sides of the raft Arthur, of course, as an engineer, had studied
—
were lined with busy fiahennen men and women, the construction of the building with great care,
and happened to remember that tliis partly hollow
too. A
little to the north of the base of the building
a huge mound of earth smoked sulleniy. The coal pile was the one nearest the safe-deposit vault. The
in the cellar had given out and charcoal had been collapse of the board-room floor had suggested that
found to be the best substitute they could improvise. some change had happened in the building itself,
The mound was where the charcoal was made. and that was found when he saw that the deposit-
It was heart-breaking work to keep the fires go- vault had actually risen an inch.
ing with charcoal, because it burned so rapidly in He at once connected the rise in the flooring
the powerful draft of the furnaces, but the original above the hollow pile with the pipe in the pile.
fire-room gang had been recruited to several times Estelle had heard liquid sounds. Evidently water
its original number from among the toweritea, and had been forced into the hollow artesian pipe under
the work was divided until jt did not aeem hard. an unthinkable pressure when the catastrophe oc-
As Estelle looked down two tiny figures sauntered curred.
across the clearing from the woods with a heavy From the rumbling and the suddenness of the
animal alung between them. One was using a gun whole catastrophe a volcanic or aeismic disturbance
as a walking-stick. Estelle saw the flash of the was evident. The connection of volcanic or seismic
sun on ita polished metal .barrel. action with a ilow of water suggested a geyser or a
There were a number of Indiana in the clearing. hot spring of aome sort, probably a spring which
 — ;

THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER 265

had broken through its normal confines some time to the building from their several occupations. They
before, but whose pressure had been sufficient to were about to soap the geyser. '.

prevent the accident until the failure of its flow. Did Estelle want come down and watch? She
to
When the flow ceased the building sank rapidly. did! She stood in the main hallway as the excited
For the fact that this "sinking" was in the fourth and hopeful people trooped in. When the last was
— —
direction the Fourth Dimension Arthur had no inside the doors were firmly closed. The few friendly
explanation. He simply knew that in some mysteri- Indiana outside stared perplexedly at the mysterious I

ous way an outlet for the pressure had developed white strangers. ,-;

in that fashion, and that the tower had followed The whites, laughing excitedly, began to wave ^

the spring in its fall through time. to the Indians. Their leave-taking was premature. ;;

The sole apparent change in the building had Estelle took her way down into the cellar. Arthur .

occurred above the one hollow concrete which

pile, was awaiting her arrival. Van Deventer stood near, i

seemed to indicate that if access were to be had to with the grinning, grimy members of Arthur's .'

the myateriona, and so far only assumed spring, it volunteer work gang. The massive concrete pile -

must be through that pile. While the vault re- stood in the center of the cellar. A big steam-boiler
tained its abnormal elevation, Arthur believed that was coupled to a tiny pipe that led into the heart
'
there was still water at an immense and incalculable of the mass of concrete. Arthur was going to force
pressure in the pipe. He dared not attempt to tap the soapy liquid into tlie hollow pile by steam. ;

the pipe until the pressure had abated. At a signal steam began to hiss in the boiler.
At the end of a week he found the vault slowly Live steam from the fire-room forced the soapy j

settling back into place. When its return to the sirup out of the boiler, through the small iron pipe,
normal was complete he dared begin boring a hole into the hollow that led to the geyaer far under-
to reach the hollow tube in the concrete pile, ground. Six thousand gallons in all were forced
Aa he auapected, he found water in the pile into the opening in a space of three minutes. ]

water whose sujfurous and mineral nature con- Arthur's grimy gang began to work with desper-
firmed his belief that a geyser reaching deep into ate haste. Quickly they withdrew the iron pipe and -1

the bosom of the earth, as well as far back in the inserted a long steel plug, painfully beaten from a i

realms of time, was at the bottom of the extra- bar of solid metal. Then, girding the colossal con- '.

ordinary jaunt of the towei\ ' Crete pile, ring after ring of metal was slipped on, ',

Geysers were still far from satisfactory things to hold the plug in place. ;

to explain. There are many of their vagaries which The last of the safeguards was hardly fastened 'i

we cannot understand at all. We do know a few

''
firmly when Estelle listened intently.
things which affect them, and one thing is that "I hear a rumbling!" she aaid quietly. :

"soaping" them will stimulate theii- flow in an Arthur reached forward and put his hand on the
extraoi'dinary manner. mass of concrete.
Arthur proposed to "soap" this mysterious geyser "it is quivering!" he reported as quietly. "I
when the renewal of its flow should lift the run- think we'll be on our way in a very little while." ;

away skyscraper back to the epoch from which the The group broke for the stairs, to watch the '

failure of the flow had caused it to fall. panorama as the runaway sky-scraper made its '

He made his preparations with great care. He way back through the thousands of years to the ;

confidently expected his plan to work, and to see times that had built it for a monument to modern ;
the skyscraper once more towering over mid-town commerce. }

New York as was its wont, but he did not allow the Arthur and Estelle went high up in the tower.
fishermen and hunters to relax their efforts on that From the window of Arthur's oflice they looked
account. They labored as before, while deep down eagerly, and felt the slight quiver as the tower got :;

in the sub-basement of the coUossal building Arthur under way, Estelle looked up at the sun, and saw
and his volunteers toiled mightily. it mend its pace toward the west. "1

They had to bore through the concrete pile until Night fell. The evening sounds became high- ;

they reached the hollow within it. Then, when the pitched and shrill, then seemed to cease altogether.
evidence gained from the water in the pipe had In a very little while there was light again, and
confirmed hia aurmisea, they had to prepare their the sun was speeding across the sky. It sank hastily, ;

"ebai'ge" of soapy liquids by which the geyser was and returned almost immediately, via the east. Its
to be stirred to renewed activity. pace became a breakneck rush. Down behind the ;

Great quantities of the soap used by the sci-ub- hills and up in the east. Down in the west and .

women in scrubbing down the floors was boiled with up in the East. Down and up^ The flickering began-. <

water until a sirupy mess was evolved. Means had The race beck toward modern time had started. ;

then to be provided by which this could be quickly Arthur and Estelle stood at the window and '
introduced into the hollow pile, the hole then closed, looked out as the sun rushed more' and more rapid- 'i

and then braced to withstand a pressure unparal- ly across the sky until it became but a streak of '.

leled in hydraulic science. Arthur believed that from light, shifting first to the right and then to the left ^
the hollow pile the soapy liquid would find its way as the seasons passed in their turn. :

to the geyser proper, where it would take effect in With Arthur's arms about her shoulders, Estelle >

stimulating the lessened flow to its former propor- stared out across the unbelievable landscape, while
tions. When that took place he believed that the the nights and days, the winters and summers, and
building would return to normal, modern times, as the storms and calms of a thousand years swept '

. swiftly and aa surely as it had left them. past them into the iri'evocable aeons. J
The telephone rang in his office, and Estelle Presently Arthur drew her to him and kissed her. ?

answered it. Arthur was on the wire. A signal Whiie he kissed her, so swiftly did the days and i
was being hung out for all the castaways to return iContimied on page 2S5) j
 ^ -^ ''b^^lHs "Parker 'Jbuthr ^ f*^

AutKor of "Pigs is PigSj" etc.

"I Was oble to pince theend of one toe Cin the poiat of orb picket, ai balanced, Wave tbe Dther Iob In the air . . . When Walili
bum pullBd my hand! ludllUDd eently toward bim until I * -'-
Isht arliles to ths picket fence, with'

picketj and when he Tales id my huid, I ^Ipwly swuna uprisht aEOln."

 AN EXPERIMENT IN GYRO-HATS 267
^HE idea of a gyro-hat did not come to and beautiful when that man enters my store and
me ill at once, as some great ideas coine buys a hat, requires calm. And no hatter can have
to inveLtors. In fact I may say that calm in his soul while his daughter is love-sick and
but for a most unpleasant circumstance unhappy. I demand happiness about and around
I might never have thought of gyro- me, and I must have it. So I told my wife, and I
hats it il] although I had for many years been told her so most emphatically, and I Informed her
cons doi ng the possibility of utilizing the waste that Anne must become happy at once.
space m the top of silk hats in some way or other. Perhaps you can imagine the shock I received
Aa a practical hat dealer and lover of my kind, when my wife, after making the necessary inquiries
it had always seemed to me a great eeonomical of Anne, informed me that Anne was indeed in love,
waste to have a large vacant space inside the upper and in love with Walsingham Gribbs. It was not
portion of top hats, or high hats, or "stovepipe" because Walsingham Gribbs had never bought a
hats, as they are variously called. When a shoe is hat of me that I was shocked. Bad hats are a
on, it is full of foot, and when a glove is on, it is common failing of mankind, and a man will try a
full of hand; but a top hat is not, and never can hundred hatters before he at last comes to me.
be, full of head, until such a day as heads assume The trouble was deeper than this. The thing
a cylindrical shape, perfectly flat on top. And no that staggered me was that Walsingham was a
sensible man ever expects that day to come, staggerer, (This is a joke, but I hold that a hatter
I had, therefore, spent much of ray leisure in has as good a right to make a joke aa the next
devising methods by which the vacant space above man.)
the head in high hats might be turned to advantage, That my daughter had fallen in love with Wals-
and my patents ranged all the way from a small ingham Gribbs without having met hiin was alto-
filing cabinet that just occupied the waste space, gether to her credit. She first saw him when she
to an extensible hat rack on the accordion plan was crossing the ocean (for she travels where she
that could be pushed compactly into the top of pleases, my hat business affording her such pleas-
the hat when the hat was worn, but could be ex- ures) and that he reeled and staggered about the
tended into a hat and coat rack when the hat was boat did not impress her, for it was a stormy trip
not in use. This device should have been very and everj'one aboard reeled and staggered, evan the
popular, but I may say that the public received the captain of the boat. But when she returned to New
idea coldly. York and saw Walsingham Gribbs on the firm pave-
My attention had been for some time drawn ment of Fifth Avenue, she had a harsh, cruel dis-
away from this philanthropic work by certain illusionment. Walsingham Gribbs reeled and stag-
symptoms of uneasiness I noticed in my daughter gered on terra flrtmi.
Anne, and my wife and I decided after careful I am glad to say that my daughter saw at once
consideration that Anne must be in love, and that the impossibility of the daughter of a high-elaas
her love must be unhappy. Otherwise we could hatter mating with a permanent staggerer, Aa she
not account for the sti-aiige excitability of our realized this, she became sad and nervous, thua'
usually imperturbable daughter. As a practical creating an atmosphere in my home that was quite,
hat dealer my time has opposed to the best high-
been almost exclusively class hatting, irritating
devoted to hats and, as a my faculties and threaten-
good wife, my companion's 'T'HAT mechanical marvel, the gyroscope, is bi \g used
attention has been almost
successfully today lo keep big ocean liners fi-...
I'lii;.
—
Il is being used far the saine purpose in submarines,
ing to reduce me to the
state of a mere commer-
exclusively devoted t o and for many other slabiHsatidn purposes. cial hatter.
her husband, while Anne So ElHs Parker Butter, of "Pigs Is Pigs" fame, in this Further investigation
was usually so calm and slory, sci:;es upon this ahiwst mechanical miracle —
and only made the matter seem
self-contained that she did mokes il the feature of his story. Charged ttfil/i bis worse, for quiet inquiries
characteristic humor, the slory goes along delihcralely
not take my attention from point to point, ludicrous iii its absiirdily, but having
brought out the informa-
from my hat business at the aspect of a true tale nevertheless. The contrast be- tion that Walsingham
all. But when such a tween the sober man, %aho camiot help staggering and Gribbs had been stagger-
daughter suddenly devel- reeling as he progresses, and the thoroughly drunken man ing since the year his
who must walk rigorously straight, is admirably shozun. father died. He had been
ops signa of weeping and
rni'd contributes not a Utile foivard inaking the story both
sighs and general nervous- humoious and intn estiiiij. constantly in a reeling,
ness, any father, no mat- staggering state since his
ter how devoted to the hat twentieth birthday. For
trade, must pay attention. auch a man reform is,
One of the primary ties of J indeed, impossible. And what made the case more
good hats is calm. An ordinary hat dealer may not sad was that all proof seemed to, point to the fact
need calm. He may buy his hats as another dealer that Walsingham Gribbs was not a "bounder" nor
buys flour, in the bulk, and then trust to advertise- a "rounder," two classes of men wiio occasionally
ments to sell them but I am not that kind of hat
;
acquire a stagger and a reel m
company with hearty
dealer. Hat dealing is .an art with me, and great boon companions.
art requires calm and peace in order that it may In short, no one had ever seen Walsingham Gribbs
reach its highest development. When I buy hats take a drink in public, and I was forced to conclude
I do not think of dozens and dollars. No, indeed, that he was of th.it horrid type that drinks alone
I think of noses and ears. To be atle to buy of a "Alone but with unabated zeal" as that great poet,
manufacturer a hat that will make the pug nose and Sir Walter Scott, has remarked in one of his charm-
big ears of a roaii I have never seen seem normal-- ing poems.
 268 AMAZING STORIES
If all these mvestigations of mine were conducted continued she became more and more enthusiastic.
without the knowledge of Walsingham Gribbs, you The only thing she disliked was the method of
must admit I did only what was right in keeping fastening the hat to the head, for as it was quite
them secret from him; for since he had never met necessary that the hat be very firmly fixed to the
my daughter he might have considered the effortB head, I had sewed ear tabs to the hat, and these
of a perfect stranger to peer into his life as being I tied firmly under my chin. My wife said she
uncalled for. My
wife did what she could to com- feared it would require some time to persuade the
fort Anne, but Anne sadly replied that she could public to take to silk hats with ear tabs, and that
never marry a man that staggered and reeled day the sight of a man in a silk hat with ear tabs would
in and day out. Thus day by day she became more be a sign that he was a staggerer. She wanted an-
sad, and I became so upset that I actually sold a other method of holding the hat on the head.
narrow-brimmed derby hat to a man with wide, "Vacuum suction," I said, for I am quick to catch
outstanding ears. an idea. A man has to be, in the hat business.
Of course thia could not go on. No highgrade hat "But," I added, "where would you get the vacuum?
business could support it, and I was standing in A man cannot be expected to carry a can of vacuum,
my shop door looking gloomily out when I chanced or whatever he would need to carry a vacuum in,
to 866 Walaingham Gribbs stagger by, I had seen around with him especially the kind of man that
;

him many times, but now, for the iirst time I noticed would need the gyro-hat."
what I should have noticed before—-that he invar- "My dear," said my wife, after a minute of
iably -wore a high hat, or "topper," as our cus- thought, during which we both studied the gyro-
tomers like to call them. hat, "I have it! Let the hat make its own vacuum.
I observed that the shape was awful, and that If the hat is lined with air-tight aluminum, and
ithe hat badly needed the iron, and then my mind has a rubber sweatband, and an expulsion valve,
recurred to the old problem of the vacant space In the gyroscope motor could pump the air out it-
the top of top hats; but I found I could not con- self. It could create its own vacuum,"
centrate. Whenever I tried to think of top hats I "Of course it could!" I exclaimed. "I could rig
thought of Walsingham Gribbs in one of them, stag- it up so that putting the hat on the head would
gering and reeling up the street, and gradually the start the gyroscope, and the gyroscope would pump
thought eame that it would be an excellent idea a vacuum. All any staggerer would need to do
s^iould I be able so to use the space in the top of would be to put on his hat, and the hat would do
Walsingham's hat that he would no longer stagger the rest. It would stay on his head and it would
and reel, and then the thought of the gyroscope keep him evenly on his keel." (Of course I would
hat came to me. not use a nautical term like "keel"^ in my hat shop,
"~I admit that at first I put the idea aside as futile, but at home I allow myself some liberties of that
but it came back again and again, and at length sort.)
It seemed to force me into enthusiasm. I dropped I set to work at once to perfect the gyro-hat on
everything and went to work on the gyro-hat. the plan suggested by my wife and in a few days
The gyroscope is, as everyone knows, a top, and I was able to say it was a success. By this I mean
I might have called the hat I invented a top hat, it was a success in-so-far as the eye could judge
except that any tall cylindrical silk or beaver hat by looking at the hat, and all that was needed was
is called a top hat, so I was forced to adopt the name a practical trial.
of gyro-hat, As the hat had been invented for Walsingham
A gyroscope is not an ordinary top. It is like a Gribbs more than for any other man, I proposed to
heavy fly wheel, revolving on an axle; and if it is —
my wife that Walsingham we had spoken of him
Bpiin,, the speed of the revolutions maintains the so often that we now mentioned him as Walsingham
axle in the perpendicular, A huge gyroscope is used — should be the man to try it out. But ray wife
to steady the channel steamers, which would other- is better posted in social matters than I, and she
wise stagger and reel. A gyroscope has been said it would not do at all to attempt such a thing.
adopted to the monorail cars, and so long as the In the first place, none of us knew Walsingham;
gyroscope gyrates the monorail car cannot stagger and in all other places, it would be insulting to
or reel. If a proper gyroscope was fastened on the suggest such a thing to bira, and might ruin Anne's
end of a knitting needle and gyrated at full spaed, chances. I then assured my wife that I did not
that knitting needle could he stood on end and it mean to allow any ordinary intoxicated man to ex-
would not fall over. periment with the only gyi'o-hat I possessed, and
Therefore, if a gyroscope was placed in the top possibly wreck and ruin it. We had too much at
of a top hat, and the top hat firmly fastened to the stake for that. So, aftei- considerable discussion,
head of a man, and the gyroscope set going, that Tny wife and I decided upon what was, after all,
man would remain perpendicular in spite of any- —
the only rational course I should try out the gyro-
thing. He could not stagger. He could not reel. hat myself.
He could walk a line as straight as a crack. I admit here that I am not much of a drinker.
When had completed this gyro-hat I showed
I Although not so by principle, I am by action a tee-
it tomy and briefly explained what it was and
wife, totaller. I consider that the highest good of a hat
what I to do with it. The small but wonder-
meant shop demands it. As a matter of fact I had never
fully powerful motor and the gyroscope itself were up to this time tasted intoxicating liquor, but it was
all concealed inside the hat, and I explained to my evident to my wife and me that the time had ar-
wife that Walsingham Gribbs need but fasten the rived when the hat business demanded this sacri-
hat firmly on his head and he would never stagger fice on my part. Evidently, if a gyro-hat is meant
again. At first my wife seemed doubtful, but as I to keep a staggerer and reeier steady on his keel.
 AN EXPERIMENT IN GYRO-HATS 259
the only' test of the gyro-hat must be on the head my wife's hand, and did so; but as she would not
of a man who, without the hat, could not help stag- let me kissher, I felt the need of kissing the waiter.
—
gering and reeling a thoroughly intoxicated man. Here again I was repulsed, but it did not make me
We did not, of course, admit Anne into our Httle angry, I merely slid dovm into my chair and waved
conspiracy, and we chose a restaurant where we my hand at him coquettishly.
were sure intoxicants would he sold. We proceeded "If you please, sir," said the waiter, when I had
to the restaurant about the dinner hour; and after finished another burst of song, "I think you are
studying the waiters carefully, I selected one that pretty ripe, now. If you would just get up and
seemed likely to Imow something about intoxicants, walk a few steps I can tell more definitely."
and we seated ourselves at his table. I placed the My wife smiled at me reassuringly and nodded
gyro-hat carefully acrosa my knees, first setting to nie that what the waiter proposed had her full
the starter, and beckoned the waiter to us. sanction; but even so, I was filled with a fear that
"My good fellow," I said, when he had approached we were about to be parted forever, and for a few
with his pencil and order card in hand, "I desire minutes I clung to her neck, weeping bitter tears.
to become intoxicated this evening, and I presume I then tore myself away, and I did indeed stagger
you know something about intoxicating liquors." and reel, I believe I knocked over two small tables
"Yes, sir," said the waiter, and ended by seating myself in the lap of a young
"Tell him, Henry," said my wife, "that we also man who was dining alone. He accepted my apology
wish something to eat, but that as our principal before I had spoken more than fifteen minutes of
object in coming here is to secure intoxicants, we it, and then he aidenl the waiter in steering me back
wish him to be particular about them." to my table.
"You have heard what the lady said," I told the Whatever may have been my past opinion of Wals-
waiter, "and you will be guided accordingly."
"Yes, sir," said the waiter, politely. "Does the
— —
inghana Gribbs for it was he I loved him most
dearly at that moment, and in my incoherent man-
lady desire to become intoxicated also?" ner I tried to tell him so, I think he understood.
"Heavens, no !" exclaimed my wife. At any rate, he spoke to my wife like a true gentle-
"Certainly not," said the waiter.
"Now," I said to the waiter, "you doubtless have "Madflme," he said, "I can sincerely sympathiza
different kinds of intoxicating liquors here —
some with your husband, and if you will allow me, I will
—
strong and some not so strong and I do not desire gladly help you assist him to a cab. I beg you not
to drink a great quantity to obtain the result I to be frightened by his condition. I myself am sub-
desire. What would you recommend to give the re-
ject to thesame trouble, and although he may seem
quired reeling arid staggering condition as quickly drunk——"
"Seem drunk!" exclaimed my wife. "Seem drunk!
"Well, sir," he said, "if you will let me advise,
I beg you to know that my- husband is as drunk as
I would advise a certain brandy we have. Of that a man can become without being senseless. Either
brandy, sir, a little goes a Song way. I have seen that,01- we have been defrauded by this waiter!"
it work, sir, and I can assure you that a small
Walsingham Gribbs looked at my wife, and then
quantity of that will make you stagger and reel
smiled.
to your heart's content."
"Very well," he said, "if what you wanted was
"Very well," I said, "you may bring me some. to have him drunk, I'll admit that ha is about the
I suppose a quart would be enough."
drunkest man I have ever seen. I only spoke as I
"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, "but have you did in order that I might spare your feelings, for
ever tried the brandy of which I speak?" most wives object to seeing their husbands stagger
"I have not," I said, and reel, I myself stagger and reel continually, and
"Then, sir," said the waiter apologetically, "un- I have never tasted intoxicating liquor in my life,
less you are a very heavy drinker I would not advise biit I can share the feelings of one who staggers and
a quart of that brandy. A quart of that brandy, sir, reels, or who has a relative that staggers and reels."
would, if I may so speak, lay you out flat. You At this my wife said:
would not reel and stagger, sir. You would be para- "Are you not Walsingham Gribbs? If you are I am
lyzed stiff, sir, dead to the world." delighted to meet you, even in this unconventional
I thanked the waiter warmly. manner, for what brought us here will interest
"You observe," I said, "that I am not used to you."
this sort of thing, and I appreciate the interest you She then told him of the gyro-hat I had invented,
are taking. I am inclined to leave the matter en- and explained just why I had come to this place and
tirely in your hands.' I may not know when I have had swallowed the strong brandy. I took no part
had exactly the right quantity, but you, with your in this conversation, but Walsingham gladly agreed
'

larger experience, will know, sir." to accompany us, and he put my gyro-hat on my
"Yes, sir. And I think the lady will know, sir," head.
said the waiter. The result was indeed marvelous. Instantly the
I found the brandy most unpleasant to the taste, vacuum pump began to work and the gyroscope to
but certain symptoms assured me that the waiter revolve. My head, which had been lying on one
had not belied its effectiveness. Long before the side, straightened up. "The rubber sweat band grip-
waiter was satisfied that I would stagger and reel, ped my head tightly with a slight pulling sensation.
my long lost vocal prowess returned and I caroled Without assistance I arose from my chair and stood
gaily some songs that had been favorites of my erect. .My brain was still confused, but I walked
youth. Many of these were affectionate songs, and as straight as a string direct to the door of the
when I sang them I had a gre^t longing to hold restaurant, and stood holding it open while my wife
270 aMAZING STORIES
passed out with the ever staggering Walsingham. into bed and pulled the sheet over me, and that same
The gyroscope was revolving at the rate of three instant I fell into a heavy slumber, but the moment
thousand revolutions a minute, and the slight hum- my wife released her grasp on me I began arising
ming was hardly noticeable. I did not stagger and tomy feet, irresistibly drawn to the perpendicular
I did not reel. ^Vhen I reached Gramevcy Park I bythe action of the gyro-bat. I continued to arise
was full of glee. I had been walking on the edge until Iwas standing upright. I can only liken the
of the curb, but I now desired to elimb atop of the manner in which I arose to the way a man might
iron fence that surrounds the park, and walk on raise a stilf arm slowly until it pointed straight
the points of the pickets. upward.
My wife and Walsingham tried to dissuade me, My wife immediately pushed me down onto the
but I climbed to the top of the fence. I not only pillow again, but it was unavailing. Again the
walked on the points of the pickets easily, but I was gyro-hat drew me to a standing position, and my
able to place the end of one toe on the point of one wife was forced to let me continue my night's rest
picket,and thus baianced, wave the other leg in the in that position.
air. My wife and Walsingham Gribbs coaxed me The next morning I did not feel very well, but
to come down to the level of the walk, but as I saw I never saw my wife in better spirits. She told me
no reason to do so, I flatly refuaed, and at last Wals- she was sure Walsingham had taken a great fancy
ingham reached up and took me by the hand and to Anne, for he had asked permission to call again
pulled me. that evening, and my wife said that in hsr opinion
Ordinarily a man that had imbibed a quantity of it would be well to take up the matter of the mar-
brandy would have fallen to the street if pulled by riage with Walsingham at once, before it went any
one hand while standing on the top of a row of further. If he meant business he would be glad
pickets, but I did not. When Walsingham pulled to wear the hat and be rid of his stagger and reel
my hand I inclined gently toward him until I was and if he meant nothing it would be a good thing
at right angles to the picket fence, with my foot to know it, and the sooner ,W6 were rid of him
still on top of the picket; and when he released my the better. I agreed with her fully, but I spent
hand I slowly swung upright again, without any the day perfecting the vacuum outlet on the hat.
effort whatever on my part. I got down off that I must admit that Walsingham seemed somewhat
fence when I was I'eady, and not before. surprised when I made the suggestion to him that
There could be no doubt whatever that I vras evening. For a few minutes he did not seem to
far more intoxicated than Walsingham Gribbs, and know what to say. Perhaps it was a little overcom-
all the way home I gave vent to tremendous bursts ing to have the parents of Anne suggest the idea of
of laughter over the idea that while Walsingham a marriage in this offhand manner and at the same
thought he was seeing me safely home I walked as time propose the wearing of a gyro-hat; but Wals-
straight and true as a general, and he staggered ingham was a gentleman, and when he glanced up,
and reeled except- when he clung closely to my arm. after his first suriiyise, and saw Anne gazing at
Many persons stopped and looked at us, and I him appealingly, with her hands clasped, I could
cannot wonder at it. For Walsingham is a young see that love had won. But instead of acquiescing
man of most dignified countenance, and it must immediately, Walsingham Gribbs took one of Anne's
have seemed strange to see a young man of such hands in his, and after patting it, spoke directly,
sober mien reeling drunkenly, while a dignified and to me.
steadily walking h.itter laughed and shouted drunk- "Sir," he said, "I cannot but appreciate the deli-
enly. It was as if the two of us had been able to cate manner in which you have handled this matter,
afford but one spree, and had divided it in that way, but if I am only too glad to find that there is a hat
he taking the stagger and I taking the boisterous- that will correct my unfortunate staggering and
nesa. reeling, and if I am to accept your offer of that hat,
My wife was much touched by the kind atten- I feel it due to mysolf to assure you that liquor has
tions of Walsingham, and when we reached home nothing whatever to do with ray staggering and
she invited him in, and while I found a little harm- reeling. I am the victim of an unfortunate ex-
less amusement in walking up the stairbanisters perience of my youthful days.
and sliding down them standing on my feet, which "My father was a man of many ideas, and always
I was enabled to do because of the steadying effect trying to make the world better. He had a neighbor
of the gyro-hat, she took Walsingham into the that had a mule. It was a mouse-colored mule and
parlor and introduced him to Anne formally. very stubborn, and it used to wring my father's
My poor daughter was quite overcome with em- heart to see the neighbor belabor thuat mule with
barrassment and pleasure, but when Walsingham a heavy whip, trying to make the mule proceed in
was sitting he showed no evidence of his stagger a direction in which it did not wish to go. The
and reel whatever, and they managed to become mule was quite willing to go toward the barn, where
quite well acquainted while my wife was assisting the feed was kept; but it often refused to go' in the
me to bed. opposite direction, although it would go well enough
Unfortunately I had neglected to arrange any if it once started.
method for letting the vacuum out of the gyro-hat, "My father, therefore, conceived the idea of what
and although my wife tugged and pulled at the hat, he called the Gribbs Mule Eeverser. This vras a
the auction held it fast to my head and it refused circular platform large enough to hold a mule and
to come off unless my scalp came with it. My wife his loaded. wagon, and beneath the platform was a
decided that I must sleep in the hat, since I was in motor capable of revolving the platform. A!! that
no condition of mind to do anything about it myself. was necessary was to place the mule and the wagon
I was dying for sleep, and my wife tumbled me on the platform
and mule
start the in the direction
 AN EXPERIMENT IN GYRO-HATS 271
bt home, and theii suddenly turn the pJatf orm in the held open the front door and he stepped out,
direction the mule was desired to go, and the mule Walsingham crossed the porch with as steady a
would proceed, unwittingly in that direction." tread as ever any man crossed the porch of a high-
"A very excellent idea," I said. class battel-, but when he reached the top step his
"Except that it would not work In the least," said foot struck the ice and ho slipped. He did not
Walsingham. "In the first place, it was necessary stagger nor reel. If he fell, he fell steadily. I can
to dig a pit five feet square heneath the revolving best liken his fall to the action of a limber reed
platform to contain the motor, and this was not al- when the wind strikes it. He inclined slowly, with
ways convenient. In the second place, the platform his feet still on the top step, and continued to in-
and motor would hardly ever happen to be where the cline until his head touched the walk below with
mule balked, and it would have heen a great deal considerable violence; then his feet slipped down
easier to load the mule on a wagon than to load the the edges of the steps until they rested on the walk.
platform and motor on three wagons. And in the I never saw a more graceful fall, and I was about
third place, if the mule would not start homeward, to congratulate Walsingham, when he began to in-
neither would it start towards the platform of the cline toward the perpendicular again, in the same
Mule Reverser. slow manner. But this was not the reason I held
"So, after my father had tried the platform in our my words, l&e reason was that the gyro-hat and
back yard, with a mule on it, and the revolutions Walsingham were behaving in a most unaccountable
had thrown the mule up against the side of the manner. Walsingham was revolving.
barn, breaking both the mule and the bara, he de- I discovered later that the fall had jammed the
cided that other things were better to invent and gyroscope on the pivot so fhat the gyroscope could
abandoned the platform, I and the lads of the not revolve without revolving the whole hat, and
neighborhood found this a good place to play, and as the hat was firmly suctioned to Walsingham, the
one day I was standing exactly in the center of hat could not revolve without revolving Walsing-
the platfoiTU when one of the boys happened to ham. For an instant Walsingham revolved away
stai-t the motor, I had sense enough to remain from us down the walk, and Anne gave a great cry;
exactly in the center of the platform, or I would hut almost at that moment Walsingham regained
have been thrown off, and possibly killed, for the the upright and began to revolve rapidly. The icy
platform was revolving at the rate of eight»thousand walk offered no purchase for his feet, and this was
revolutipns a minute. The motor had power to re- indeed lucky; for if it had, his head would have
volve the platform slowly when loaded with a mule continued to revolve none the less, and the effect
and loaded wagon, so it was capable of immense would have been fatal.
speed with only a small boy on it. I estimated that Walsingham was revolving at
"When my companions saw what they had done," a rate of perhaps fifteen hundred revolutions a.'
continued Walsingham, "they all ran away, and minute, and it was some minutes before my wife
for four hours I remained in the center of that was able so far to recover from the shock of seeing
platform, being revolved at an enormous speed, and her prospective son-in-law whir! thus as to ask me
when my father came home and stopped the plat- to stop him. My first impulse was to do so, but my
form I staggered and reeled and fell in a heap at long training as a hatter had made me a careful,
his feet. That is how I acquired my unfortunate thoughtful man, and I gently pushed my wife back.
stagger and unpleasant reel, and I have only told "My dear," I said, "let us pause and consider this
you this that you may have no unjust suspicions." case. Here we have Walsingham revolving rapidly.
"But why," asked my wife, who had been greatly He is revolving in one of the only two directions in
interested by Walsingham's story, "do you not re- —
which he can revolve the direction in which he
volve in the opposite direction, and 'unwind' your- revolved on the Mule Keverser, or the opposite di-
self as we used to say?" rection. If it is the opposite direction all is well,
"Madame," said Walsingham, "I have. Every for he will be unwound in a few hours, if his neck
night, for one hour before I go to bed I revolve, is not wi-ung in the meantime. If it is in the same
but it requires an immense number of revolutions direction it is no use to stop him now, for by this
to overcome such a spin as I had in my youth." He time he will be in such a condition of reeling and
waited a moment and then said: "But I am now staggering that we would not have him as a son-
ready to try the gyro-hat." in-law on any terms, I propose, therefore, to let
I looked out of the window, and hesitated. A him spin here for a few hours, when he will .have
thin rain was falling and was freezing as it fell, and had a full recovery or be permanently too dizzy for
I hated to have a good, silk, gyro-hat go out into any use."
such weather; but as a leading hatter I felt that My wife, and Anne too, saw the wisdom of this
it would never do for me to seem small and pieayun- course, and as it was very miserable weather out-
ish in regard to hats, I remembered that a really side we all withdrew to my parlor, from the window
good silk hat would not he ruined by a few drops of of which we could watch Walsingham revolve. Oc-
water and I saw that if anything could convince
;
casionally, when he seemed about to revolve off tha
Anne anfi Walsingham that the gyro-hat held their walk, I went out and pushed him on again.
happiness, it would be a trial on such slippei-y walks I figured that by six o'clock in the morning he
as the evening had provided.
—
would be sufficiently revolved ^provided he was re-
So I brought down the hat and pressed it on Wals- —
volving in the right direction and at midnight I
ingham's head. Instantly the vacuum creator be- sent my wife and Anne to bed. I fear Anne slept
gan to work and the hat clung fast to his head. He but little that night, for she must have had a lover's
arose to his feet and walked across the parlor in a natural anxiety as to how all was to turn out.
perfectly steady manner, and out into the hall. I (Continued on page 287)
 ffke Maiignant Entity

"Tho naclBusl" nled'tlie doctor oxcltcdly, shiftlnir Iho flask. "Pour Jl on tlie DUcieusl" The thing upreared itEelf, and tapped
over the edge oE tho tnnE. We dropped the niarly-iniptied bottle into tbe tiink . . .
 " —
THE MALIGNANT ENTITY 273
TELL you, Evans," said Dr. Dorp, long time, have I? Got a case for you now that will
banging, his. fist on the arm of his chair make you put on your thinking cap all right."
for emphasis, "the science of psychology "Sounds interesting," replied the doctor. "Iiet
is in much the same stage of develop- me present an old friend of mine, Mr. Evans, who
menttoday as were the material writes a story every now and then when the spirit
9 in the dark ages." moves him. Mr. Evans, Chief McGraw of the de- -

"But surely," I objected, "the two centuries of in- tective bureau. We were just discussing our mutual
vestigation just past have yielded some fruit. It hobby, psychic phenomena, when you came in," he
cannot be that the eminent men who have devoted continued after we had acknowledged the intro-
the greater part of their lives to this fascinating duction.
subject have labored in vain." 'No doubt Chief McGraw's communication is of a
The doctor stroked his iron-gray Van Dyke medi- coniidential natur " I began, with the purpose of
tatively. taking leave of my host.
"With a few— a very few exceptions, I'm afraid "Nothing secret about it so far as Dr. Dorp and
they have," he replied, "at least so far as their own his friends are concerned," interrupted the chief.
deductions from observed phenomena are con- "It may be that if you are a psychologist you can
cerned." offer some solution of the mystery. Of course, I
"Take Sir OHver Lodge, for example " I began. — don't exactly know whether it's a case for a psy-
"The conclusions of Sir Oliver will serve as an chologist or not. Damned curious thing, and ghast-
excellent example for my analogy," said the doctor- ly too."
"No doubt you are familiar with the results of his "Stay and listen if you are interested," said Mie
years of painstaking psychical research as expound- doctor.
ed in his books." "If ithas any smattering of psychology or the
"I believe he. has become a convert to spiritism," occult, you know my failing," I
responded.
I replied. "Can't say as to that," said the chief. "It's queer
"With due respect to Sir Oliver," said the
all enough, though and horrible. You gentlemen
doctor, "I should say that he ias rather singled out have heard of Professor Townsend, I presume."
such facts as suited his purpose and assembled them "You mean Albert Townsend, the chemist and
as evidence to support the spiritistic theory. It inventor?" asked the doctor, "Assuredly. Who
may seem paradoxical to add that I believe he has hasn't heard of him and his queer theories about
always been thoroughly conscientious in his inves- creating life from inert matter? What has he done
tigation and sincere in his deductions." now?"
"I'm afraid I do not quite follow you," "I don't know whether it's something he did or
"There ai-e times in the life of every man," con- something that was done to him, but anyway he's
tinued the doctor, "when emotion dethrones reason. dead."
At such crisis the most keen-witted of scientists may "Murdered?"
be blinded to truth by the overpowering influence of "That's the point I want you to help me clear up.
his own desires. Sir Oliver lost a beloved son. Only I don't know. His danghtei- 'phoned the office this
those who have suffered similar losses can appre- morning and asked for me. When I got on the wire
ciate the keen anguish that followed his bereave- I could hardly understand her, she was so hysterical.
ment, or sympathize with Sobbed out something
his intense longing to about her father being
||j , I

M^-JmJPiwBiBfflSi
communicate with Ray- '-

gone and a human skele-

mond. Slost men are crea- CCIENTISTS and -mvenfors hrs-js mo ton lying on the floor of
tures of their desires.
*-* —
strides for and in meaty ways, against hnimmiiy, — his laboratory. I jumped
They believe what they for ihey have discovered and invented powerful destruc-
in the ear and took Hirsch,
want to believe. Under the
tive materials —
ifi that way sometimes courting their own

destruction. the finger-print expert out

circumstance it was not So many "impossible" things have been done, why is it there with me. We found
diilicult for a clever psy- not possible thai ike venture into the realms .of the in- the frightened girl weep-
chic to read the mind of finite may sometime proiie fruilful^tkat some day life ing in the arms of a moth-
the scientist and tell him may be implanted in unorganised matter? "The -Malig-
— erly neighbor, who in-
nant Entity" is the story of such a venture carried to a
the things he wanted to dreadful success. This is a gripping tale, marvelously formed us that the labdr-
hear." .,
well told. Read it. atory was on the second
"But what of the many
investigators
not been similarly influ-
who have MBtWWWW WMMMM^BB ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
M'i'iMW'SBBM^^W
floor,
"The whitened skeleton
of Professor Townsend,
enced?" I inquired. "Surely they must have found fully clothed in garments that hung, like rags on a
some basis — scarecrow, lay on the floor of the laboratory,"
I was interrupted by the entrance of the. doetoi-'s "You made sure, of course, that it really was the
housekeeper who announced skeleton of the Professor,"
"Eeggin' your pardon, sir, a gentleman tO' see "Beyond the least shadow of doubt. In the first
you, air." place it was clothed in the professor's garments.
"Show him in," Dr. Dorp said rather petulantly. His watch with his' name in the back was ticking in '

His frown of annoyance changed to a welcoming the vest pocket. His monograramed ring, a present
smile of recognition at sight of the tall, bulky in- from his daughter, circled a bony finger. On the
dividual who, strode through the doorway. bones of his right .forearm were the marks of a
"How are you. Doc," roared the big man as they fracture that had healed and the skull was slightly
shook hands cordially. "Haven't bothered you for a indented above the right temple. These marks re-
 "

274 'AMAZING STORIES

suited from an automobile accident in whicJi the they had bleached in the sunlight for the last tea
professor was injured two years ago. To make as- years."
surance doubly sure, we called in his dentist who The doctor now turned his attention to the con-
readily identified his own work on the teeth." tents of the laboratory. He examined the collection
"When was the professor last seen alive?" of retorts, teat tubes, breakers, jars, dishes and
"That the feature that makes the affair so un-
is other paraphernalia spread on a porcelain-topped
canny. He was alive, and apparently normal table set against the wall and reaching half the
mentally and physically, at dinner last evening," length of the room. The walls were shelved clear to
"Most amazing!" exclaimed Dr. Dorp. "Suppose
we go out — the ceiling, and every shelf was crowded to its ut-
most capacity with bottles, jars and cans containing
"Just what I was going to suggest." replied the a multitude of chemicals. To these he gave but
chief, "My car is waiting outside. Would you care scant attention.
to accompany us, Mr. Evans?" In the center of the immaculate white tile floor
"He, would perish from curiosity if he couldn't stood an open, glass-lined vat. From its height and
see the thing through now," said the doctor when diameter I estimated its capacity at about sixty
I hesitated. "Come along with us, old man. If two gallons. This vat was more than a third full of a
minds are better than one, then surely three minda colorless, viscous liquid that gave off a queer, musty
are superior to two." odor, I

We piled into the chief's roomy roadster and "What do you suppose that stuff is?" I asked Dr.
were soon speeding toward the house of mystery. Dorp,
"Looks like a heavy albuminous or gelatinous so-
lution," he said. "Possibly it is some special com-
Two Mysterious Deaths
pound the professor employed in his experiments.
PRESENTLY the car stopped before a two- Mediums of this nature are often used in the culti^
story brick house. Its upper windows, with vation of colonies of bacteria and it is possible that
shades half drawn, appeared to stare down at he intended to use it as a carrier and food for the
us with a look of sly cunning as if endeavoring to organisms it was his ambition to create synthet-
ponceai some fearful secret. ically,"
A short chunky individual, smooth-faced and with "Any idea what caused the death of the -pro-
a decidedly florid complexion, met us at the door. fessor?" asked the chief.
Chief McGraw introduced him as Hirsch, the finger- "I have a theory," replied Dr. Dorp, "but it seems
print expert. —
so illogical, so wildly impossible, so er, contrary
"All alone, Hirsch?" asked the chief, looking to the teachings of science that I prefer to keep it
about as we entered the spacious living room, to myself for the present, at least."
"Might as well be," replied Hirsch. "Miss Town- A heavy tread sounded in the hallway and a
send is in her room with a neighbor. The cook~and moment later a blue-uniformed officer entered,
housemaid are out in the kitchen, scared green," "Hello, Eooney," greeted Chief McGraw. "I
"Coroner been here?" want you to see that no one disturbs this room or
"No, He called me up about twenty minutes ago its contents until the coroner arrives. We are going
and said he had an inquest to attend to on the south downstairs now. Keep a weather eye on things and
side. Told me he didn't know how soon he could I'll send a man to relieve you soon. If either of
get here, but it would be several hours, at, least." these gentlemen wants to come in at any time you
"How about the prints?" may admit him.
"All the finger prints in the laboratory seem to "Yes, sir. I'll remember them,"
have been made by the sanie person, evidently the We trooped dowii stairs. Two women were seat-
professor;" ed in the living room. Chief McGraw presented us
"Hum, Better 'phone headquarters right away to the younger, who proved to be the professor's
and have them send Eooney out. He might come in daughter, Dorothy Townsend. She was a slender
handy to guard the death room in case the coroner girl about twenty years of age with pale, regular
is late." features and a wealth of gold-brown hair. Her
"All right sir, I'll call up right away." large, expressive eyes were red with recent weeping
"Now gentlemen," said the chief, turning to the and her lips quivered slightly as she bowed to us
doctor and me, "let us go upstairs." in turn and introduced us to the stout, middle-aged
We followed him up the thickly carpeted stairway neighbor, Mrs. Harms, who had been endeavoring
and along A broad corridor at the end of which he to comfort her.
opened a door. "Hirsch and I are going to run down to head-
I started involuntarily at sight of the grinning, quarters for a couple of hours," said the chief.
ghastlj' thing that lay on the floor. Not so Dr. "Would you prefer to come with us or stay here and
Dorp. He knelt beside it and examined it minutely, look around?"
his keen gray eyes alert for every detail. He even "I think we had better look around a bit if you
touched his fingers to the white forehead and prod- don't mind,'- replied the doctor.
ded the shadowy depths of the empty eye sockets. "All right. I'm going to send a man to relieve
At length he rose and washed his hands at the Eooney- at six. Will be along myself a little later.
porcelain lavatory, If you discover anything new call me up."
"It seems incredible," he said, "that this man When the two men were gone the doctor bowed
could have been alive yesterday." before Miss Townsend.
"Just what I was thinking," responded the chief. "May I have a few words with you in private?"
"Those bones could not have been drier or whiter if he asked.
 THE MALIGNANT ENTITY 275
"Certainly," she replied, rising, "in Father's volting murders, without ever having been con-
study if ygu wish." victed,
They entered the study, which was directly off "After that night the professor's jubilant atti-
the living room, and closed the door. They must tude kept up until death. He paid no attention to
have been gone about a half hour, but it seemed like his correspondence or manuscripts and spent the
two hours to me as, fidgeting inwardly, I listened greater part of his time in his laboratory, presum-
to Mrs. Harms' family history, her account of the ably experimenting with numerous live aniraais
death of her beloved husband, and minute descrip- which he had delivered each day. His first experi-
tions of six operations she had undergone, each ments, she stated, were with mice, rats and guinea
time, to use iher own expression, "standing at the pigs. He next used cats, i-abfaits and small dogs,
entrance of death's door." She assured me, also, then larger dogs until, on the day before his death
that she knew what it was to have death ^^ the. he had two huge mastiffs brought to the house and
home. The Grim Reaper had visited her family a took them into the laboratory. None of the animals'
score of times, she averred, and only three weeks taken behind the door ever reappeared, and she
quite naturally assumed that they had been the
before, one of her roomers had been found dead in
bed. subjects of vivisection. My theory, is that he
—
She prattled on with scarce a pause until the The doctor was interrupted by a loud rap at the
door of the study opened. I was glad when she study door. He rose and opened it, revealing a
went upstairs with JMiss Townsend and left Dr. sturdy uniformed policeman, A frightened house-
Dorp and me together. maid peered around his huge bulk. The man
"Come into the study," he said. "I have learned seemed greatly perturbed. Hia voice shook as he
some interesting things, and it is possible that more
asked
awaits us in here," "Where's Eooney?"
Professor Townsend's study was neither large "He's on guard in the laboratory," replied the
hor pretentious. It was obviously the retreat of a doctor. "Are you the man sent to relieve him?"
profound student as attested by the book-lined "I'm Officer Burke, The maid, here, showed me
to the laboratory, but Eooney ain't there. It's a
walls, many of the volumes of which were worn
with much handling. The furniture consisted of a horrible place. Don't blame him for leavip'."
large, roll-top desk, a smaller typewriter desk on "Yes. That skeleton on the floor isn't exactly
pretty."
which stood a hooded machine, a filing cabinet, two
ofhce chairs and three comfortable overstuffed "That skeleton? You mean them skeletons.
There was two of them, and one was dressed in a
chairs, one beside the window, the other two placed
conveniently under wall lights for reading.
cop'suniform!"
With an exclamation of sui-priae and horror, the
A thick pile of typewritten manuscripts lay on
doctor threw down the manuscripts he was holding
the roll-top desk. The doctor divided them, handing
and rushed for the stairway. I followed breath-
me half and settling himself comfortably in one of lessly.
the overstufEed chairs with the other half.
"Miss Townsend kindly brought these out of
the files for me," explained the doctor, "1 think it ;
A Strange Diary
possible that they may shed some light on the' mys-
terious cause of the death of their author, "We can
eave time dividing the work."
WHAT we saw in that awful room of death
confirmed our wildest fears. skeleton,A
mth the bones whitened like those of the
"I believe I can conduct a more Intelligent search professor, lay on the floor facing the doorway. One
if you will give me some idea of what I am to look bony arm was stretched across the threshold as if
for," I said. its owner had been attempting to drag himself
"Quite so," he agreed. "I had forgotten for the from the room when struck down. A blue uniform
moment that you were not familiar with the details bagged loosely over the bones, and on the feet were
of my interview with Miss Townsend. Let me re- the heavy, hobnailed, square-toed shoes I 'had no-
view it briefly, ticed on Rooney's feet some time before.
"She fmished school nearly a year ago, and since The doctor squinted at the star on the breast of
that time has been acting as her father's secretary, the recumbent figure. Then he turned to Officer
typing his manuscripts and attending to much of Burke who had come up behind us.
his voluminous correspondence. "What was Rooney's number?" he asked.
"He had been working day and night in his effort "942."
to pi-Qve his theory that a living oi^ganism can be "Then this is Rooney's uniform and it probably
created from inorganic matter. During their is his skeleton. Call. up the chief and tell him what
months of close association she found him extremely happened. This is horrible — diabolical
!"

irritable until one morning about three weeks ago. "Your theory," I said, "does this shed any light
It appeared that his very nature had changed over on it?"
night and she assumed that he had made some im- "On the contrai'y," he replied, "It makes the case
portant discovery. She remembers the exact date more baflling than ever. It seems incredible that
owing to the fact that Mrs. Harms' roomer was such things can really happen. I tell you, Evans,
found dead in bed on the night of the supposed dis- there is some mysterious force at work here
covery. This }-':^o:ner, who was living under an something new and unheard of in the annals of
alias, was found to be a notorious character known scientific research. It is my opinion that the late
as Immune Benny, and is alleged to have committed Professor Townsend chanced upon some force
numerous crimes, among which were several re- hitherto unknown to scientists and played with it
 a

276 AMAZING STORIES

Jike a little child with fire until it suddenly de- other organisms, hating them all \

stroyed him. The death of Officer Rooney is ample —

nothing in common vinth them a malignant entity
proof that this terrible force, whatever it itiay be, governed solely by the primitive desire for food
survived him. and growth with only hatred of and envy for the
"Now let lis conjecture regarding the nature of more fortunate natural creatures around it."
this thing that has taken the lives of two human "If the professor did succeed in creating, or dis-
beings. Wc know that the professor's chief ambi- covering such a creature," I said, "it is evidently
tion was to create life from inert matter. All of his ill this house at this vei-y moment. Unless it has
experiments in the laboratory were made with this the faculty of making itself invisible a thorough
object in view. All his printed works show plainly search should reveal its whereabouts, for having
his firm belief that the thing could be accomplished, consumed two men it must be a monster of no mean
some of them going so far as to point out the pro- proportions."
cesses by which he believed protoplasm, the primi- "That is true," replied the doctor, "however, we
tive basic life substance, might be analyzed. As have another hypothesis that is equally worthy of
protoplasm is a compound of almost unlimited com- our consideration if we accept the premise that
plexity ill its physical and chemical constitution, our the professor created a living creature. Judging
most skilled chemists have been unable to unravel from his writings he spent a considerable portion
its secrets. In fact, the further a chemist gets in of has time studying and experimenting in micro-
his attempts at analysis the more baffiing and com- biology. Suppose he succeeded in creating a micro-
plex he finds it to be. Being a compound composed scopic organism, and that organism had the power
of complex subBtanees which are in turn composed to reproduce its kind. If it reproduced by fission,
of others still more complex, and so on, ad infini- that is, by simply dividing itself after it had at-
tum, its secrets are fully as inscrutable as those of tained a certain size, the only check to its increase
the starry universe. would be death or lack of food. The more food it
"The professor's firstj^tep, therefore, in this could obtain that much more rapidly ivould it and
seemingly impossible undertaking, would be to an- its descendants multiply. Countless billions of such
alyze protoplasm. Assuming that he succeeded in creatures might occupy this room and yet be in-
reducing it to its basic elements his next prob- visible without the aid of a compound microscope.
lem would be to take similar elements and, through a There is ample room for a swarm of such creatures
process even more complex than,jfche previous one, numerous enough to devour a man to float in the
assemble and re-aasfemble them until they were air above our heads without revealing its presence."
capable of sustaining life. The words of the doctor affected me strangely.
"Let ua suppose that he did these things. Let us Involuntarily I looked upward, half expecting a
assume that he has succeeded in creating proto- swarm of man-eating microbes to descend and de-
plasm. What next? We will say that he has taken vour me. For a moment I was seized with a feel-
some primitive form of life for a pattern, a mone- ing of panic so strong I could scarcely restrain my-
ron, perhaps, the moat simple type of animal, con- self from leaping for the door. The fact that the
sisting of a siugle ceil of protoplasm. There still sun had just set and dusky shadows were thicken-
exists a difference between the moneron and the ing in the room augmented the illusion, I crossed
synthetically created cell. Chemically and physi- the Jioor nervously and pi-essed the switch beside
cally they are the same, but the moneron is alive. the door. Instantly the place was flooded with blue-
"What, is life? Broadly defined as we recognize white light from a cluster of powerful globes de-
it on this earth, it is a temporary union of mind and pending from the middle of the ceiling.
matter. There may be, and probably is another As I was recrossing the room my eyes fell on the
kind of life which is simply mind without matter, contents of the glass-lined tank. I stared unbeliev-
but we of the material world know it not. To us, ingly for a moment, then called Dr. Dorp.
mind without matter or matter without mind are "What is it, Evans?" he asked.
equally dead. The moneron has a mind a soul — — "The liquid in this tank," I replied. "It has
something that makes it a living individual. Call changed color. Something has turned it pink."
it what you will. The professor's cell of man-made "The effect of the artificial light, no doubt," he
protoplasm has not. Can you conceive of any pos- said, coming up beside me. Then I saw the expres-
sible way in which he could, having reached this sion of doubt on his face change to one of surprise
stage, create an individual mind or soul, an essence and wonder.
of life that, once united mth his cell of protoplasm "You are right," he exclaimed. "It has not only
would form an entity?" changed color but a still more remarkable trans-
"It seems impossible," I admitted, formation has taken place. When we noticed it
"So it seems," he replied, "yet it is ouly on such this afternoon, the tank was a third full of the
an hypothesis that I can account for the mysterious colorless liquid. This jJwzA fluid reaches half way
deaths of the professor and Officer Eooney," to the top!"
"But I don't see how a moneron or a creature
remotely resembling one could kill and completely A Drawer Filled With Bones
devour a man in less than two hours," I objected.
"Nor I," agreed the doctor, "In fact I am of
the opinion that, if the professor did succeed in
THE tread of many feet sounded in the hall.
Chief McGraw paused in the doorway, star-
creating life, the result was unlike any creature ing down at the blue-clad skeleton on the
large or small, now inhabiting the earth a hideous — floor, a look of horror on his face. Behind him were
monster, perhaps, with undreamed of powers and four policemen in uniform.
possibilities —
^an alien organism among billions of —
"Is is that the skeleton of poor old Rooney?"
 THE MALIGNANT ENTITY 277;
McGi-aw aaked. It's too ghastly a thing to believe. said Dr. Dorp when McGraw had departed, "let us
"I'm afraid it is," replied Dr. Dorp. conduct a search, or rather an inquiry on our own
The chief knelt and examined tlie star on the bag- account. I perceive that we have a very excellent
ging blue coat. compound microscope at our disposal and am
"It's hellish, positively hellish," he said, rising. curious to examine the liquid which-has so myster-
"Do you know what killed him?" iously risen and changed color in the tank."
"We are working
on a theory —" began the doctor, He took a blank slide from the cabinet drawer
but was interrupted by the chief. and a small glass rod from the table. As he was
"Theories be damned!" he snapped. "Work on about to dip the rod in the liquid he uttered a low
your theories if you want to. This thing has gone exclamation of surprise.
too far. I'm going to get some facts'." He swung "What's up now?" I asked.
on the four men behind him, "Search the house," "This amazing liquid has again become trans-
he said. "Look sharp foi nything of a suspicious parent," he replied. "The red tint is gone."
nature. An iufernal machine, perhaps, or a blood He plunged the tip of the rod into the viscous
sucking animal. There is a man-killer of some, liquid, twisted it slightly and withdrew it. Al-
kind, human or otherwise, hidden in this house, though the liquid seemed quite heavy it slipped from
and it's our business to iind it." the end of the rod much after the mannei' of the
When the men- had departed he stepped over white of an egg. After considerable juggling he
Rooney's skeleton. succeeded in obtaining a small amount which he
"I'll search this room myself," he said. smeared on the slide. He then pladed the slide in
He did, with professional thoroughness, looking position and adjusted the microscope with a prac-
for hidden panels and sounding the walls, both in ticed hand.
the open areas and behind the shelves, for hollow "Well," I asked, after he had peered into the eye-
spaces. Then he began opening the drawers in a piece for a full ten minutes, "what is the st.iiff, any-
tall cabinet that stood in one corner, disclosing sur- way?" y\
gical and dissecting instruments of various kinds, "Here, look for yourself," he replied.
an inde-ted set of microscope slides with some extra What I saw in the field of the microscope ap-
lenses, platinum dishes; porcelain drying pans, peared to be a mesh work or foam work of exceed-
crucibles, glass rods and tubing, pipettes, rubber ingly fine bubbles or perhaps globules. Granules
tubing and stoppers, rubbea' gloves and aprons, and of different sizes' and shapes seemed imbedded In
other miscellaneous laboratory paraphernalia. these globules and the whole was dotted at inter-
The bottom drawer of the cabinet was quite vals with small white objects. While I watched
large and deep. The chief cried out excitedly when several of these white objects seemed to dissolve
he saw its contents. and disappear. All of them apparently were en-
"Good Lord! Look at that!" he exclaimed. dowed with life, for I noticed that they expanded
It was filled to the top with dry, white bones. or contracted spasmodically and seemed endeavoi'-
"Nothing but the bones of small animals," said ing to push their way through the surrounding
Dr, Dorp, picking up a skull. "This, for instance, bubbles.
is the skull of a dog." Then, taking up another: "Seems to be a sort of foam," I said, "with Bome-
"Here is the skull of a rabbit. Notice the charac- thing alive floating in it."
teristic chisel-shaped teeth. This one beside it once "The foam, as you call it, bears a singular re-
supported the be-whiskered countenance of a com- semblance to the basic life principle, protoplasm,
mon house cat." when seen under the microscope," replied the doc-
"What do you suppose he was doing with them?" tor.
aaked the chief, —
"But those white things " I began.
"It is my belief that they were brought here to "The white things," he went on, "are the living
be killed and devoured by the same thing that killed remnants of a complex organism that has been de-
the professor and Kooney," stroyed. They are waging an unequal and hopeless
"And that thing is — battle against assimilation by the globules that sur-
"At present, merely a shadowy theory, although round them. These faithful guardians of the or-
it most cei'tainly has an existence. There is a ganism when alive stil! fight, and will continue
power in this house that is a menace to everyone to fight the enemy until, figuratively speaking, the
under this roof—a malignant entity that destroys last man falls."
human beings in some mysterious manner unparal- "But what ai-e they?" I demanded.
leled in the annals of science or human experience. "Unless I am very much mistaken," he replied,
This much we know, reasoning from effects. Rea- "they are—"
soning from possible causes we are aware that the His answer was cut short by the appearance of
hobby of Professor Townsend was the endeavor to Chief McGraw.
create a living thing from inorganic matter, and "Coroner and jury are downstairs," he said terse-
putting the two together it seems to me that the ly. "I suppose they'll want your testimony. I'U
logical hypothesis would be that he either succeed- leave a couple of men on guard here if you want
ed in creating a monster of a sort unknown to to come down,"
iS'iologistB, or discovered and developed unheard of "Let us go down to the study and complete our
powers and habits in a creature already known." perusal of the professor's manuscripts while the
"If there's such a thing in this house, believe me jury is in session," said the doctor, "We can thua
I'm going to find it," said the chief, stamping o\it save considerable time and will be on hand when
of the room. they are ready to question us."
"Now that we have a few momeats to ouraelvta," ,We Diet Coroner Haynes and hia jurors at the
278 AMAZING STORIES
foot of the stairs. They were about to go up for "My suggestion is that we immediately desti'oy
an inspection of the laboratory and its gruesome the liquid in the glass-lined tank in the laboratory."
contents. "Why?"
Dr. Dorp switched on one of the reading lamps "Because I am convinced that it is at least one
and closed the door. Then he established himself of the causes of the deaths that have taken place
in a comfortable chair with a pile of manuscripts in this house."
and I followed his example. We found essays and "I suppose you have a. good reason for your
articles on almost every subject pertaining to the assumption."
ti-ansmisslon or genei-ation of life. There were "An excellent one, I believe. While you and your
papers on anatomy, bacteriology, cell-structure, men were searching the house, Mr. Evans and I
microbiology and embryology. There were trea- conducted a little investigation of our own. We
tises on evolution, spontaneous generation,and the put some of the liquid under the compound micros-
and habits of micro-organisms. A force-
sti'uctui'es cope and as we both saw the same things I am
ful and extremely impi-essive essay set forth the convinced thai my eyes did not deceive me. Tell
astounding theory that all life was merely a form the chief what' you saw, Evans,"
of force generated from matter. The reasoning I desci'ibed the foam work, the granules and the

bf course, purely analogical. The professor's

jiVas, white objects which appeared to be alive and strug- ,

Ebhtention, stated briefly, was that just as elee- gling to escape.

a force that is invisible and indefinable, is
ti'icity, "All Greek to me," said the chief, "What was
generated by the friction of pai-tieles of certain it?"
kinds of matter, so life ia generated and springs "The foam work with its accompanying granules
into being when certain other types of matter come closely resembled protoplasm, the basic life sub-
together in the right proportions and combinations. stance,"
. "What is your opinion of this theory?" I asked "And the white things —
Dr. Dorp. "Were white blood corpuscles from the veins of
"It is most cleverly put, but false because based a human being. They were the strongest of the
on the false premise of the materialists that there "human body cells to resist assimilation and conse-
are but two things in the universe, matter and quently the last to succumb. The red corpuscles
.force. They do not recognize the power that con- turned the liquid pink for a while but they had
trols the force which moves the matter toward a disappeared before we made our microscopic exam-
fixed objective. That "power is mind. Thus, to ination."
them, all life and all mind are merely forms of force "Good Lord, why didn't you tell me this before?",
generated originally from inert matter." demanded the chief. "Let's go up and destroy the _

"If the professor succeeded in creating a living stuff now. Those two men up there might be killed
thiiig from inert matter," I said, "it seems to me any minute,"
that he has demonstrated his propostion." We found the two policemen unharmed and made
"Why?" our plans for the destruction of the substance in
"BeciiLise he w;ia experimenting with dead matter the -tank. Several demijohns of acid stood under
and not with mind or living creatures. There would the table and the doctor selected one nearly full of
be no mind or soul involved to inherit its being sulphuric acid.
from a parent mind or soul. A new life entity "Open the windows," he ordered. "This is going
would be generated, as it were, from matter which "to make a horrible stench,"
formerly contained no life." Then he removed the rubber stopper from the
"I think," said the doctor quietly, "you would mouth of thedemijohn and I helped hirn hoist it to.
have stated the proposition more accurately had the edge of the tank. The searing liquid struck the
—
you said that a life entity a mind without a body heavy fluid in the tank with a hissing sound and
had been induced to enter the body synthetically i3ored into it like, hot water poured in a snow
created." bank. The jelly-like mass quivered slightly^ and
Our discourse was interrupted by Chief McGraw, pungent, nauseating fumes arose to torment our
who informed us that we were wanted by the nostrils.
coroner. Then, suddenly, as if in horrible pain and awak-
The Coroner's Jury ened to the danger of its dissolution, the plasmic
substance began to heave and billow towaird the top
DORP did the talking before the coroner's of the tank with a movement suggestive of the
DR. jury. All the- way thi-ough his testimony writhing of a huge coiled serpent in its death
was negative. When asked if he had any agony. By directing the sti-eam of acid at the
idea what killed the professor and the policeman various peaks that arose we endeavored to keep it
be replied that he had several ideas, but none of all washed down to a common level. Then a dozen
them would be worth bringing before the jury with- peaks rose simultaneously and I noticed that one
out more facts to substantiate them. I could see was capped with a round ball in the center of which
that his purpose was to get the "inquest over with was a black spot.
as soon as possible so we might continue the inves- "The nucleus!" cried the doctor excitedly, shifting
tigation. thedemijohn, "Pour it on the nucleus!"
After due deliberation a verdict of "Death from We were too late. The thing upreared itself with
cause or causes unknown," was brought in and the amazing speed and lopped over the edge of the tank
coroner departed with his men. opposite us. We dropped the nearly-emptied demi-
"Now that the inquest is over, what do you sug- john into the tank and rushed around to intercept
gest?" McGraw asked the ^etor. it, just in time to see the ball containing tiie bla^
 THE MALIGNANT ENTITY 279
spot separate itself from the stringy mass by which "I feel quite sure that he left a record ofsome
it was suspended, drop to the floor and roil undei- sort, though I have nevei- seen it," replied Miss
the table. Townsend.
An exciting chase of several minutes ensued. "Have you any idea where it is?"
The thing darted, or rather, rolled from place to "Perhaps in his safe in the study."
place with amazing rapidity. The tile floor was "I do not remember seeing a safe in the study."
cracked in a dozen places by blows from the clubs "Naturally. It is hidden. Come and I will show
of the two policemen who assisted us. At length you where it is."
we drove it into the corner beneath the lavatory We followed her into the study and she swung
and advanced in close formation. I had armed my- -back one of the bookcases which was hung on con-
self with a large spatula, the doctor gripped a heavy cealed hinges, revealing a small wall safe.
pestle, the two policemen had their clubs and the "Would you mind opening it for us?" asked the
chief held his automatic pistol in readiness. doctor.
As we drew close we moved with extreme cau- She turned the dial to number twelve, then pulled
tion, our nerves taut, our weapons ready to strike the lever. It did, not move. She seemed surprised,
when the thing should make its dasb for liberty. set the dial more carefully and tried again with the
We waited breathlessly, but no movement came same result.
from the corner. I prodded the space behind the "It's no use, I guess," she said. "The last number
water pipes with my spatula. Still no sign of the of the combination is twelve. He usually turned it
thing we were after. Then I peered behind them back to one and then it was only necessary to turn
and saw the reason—a hole an inch in diameter in it to twelve to open it. He must have locked it last
the tile floor, probably drilled in the wi'ong place night."
by a careless plumber and left unfilled because it "Don't you know the combination?"
was out of sight. "No, Father wag the only one who knew that."
When I pointed it out to Dr. Dorp he shook his "I wonder if you would object to our blowing the
head solemnly, safe," he asked.
"The Malignant Entity has escaped," he said. "Not if it will be of any assistance to you."
—
"No one in this house in this community, even- Chief McGraw, who had just finished calling head-
is safe until it is captured or killed." quarters, came into the room.
"You don't mean to tell me that little thing we "Think you can get us a safe-cracker tonight.
were chasing around the room could kill anybody," Chief?" asked the doctor.
said the chief. "Get you most anything you want. Whafs in!
"I am not so sure that it could kill any one now the safe?"
that it has been reduced to the size of a golf ball, "We believe it contains some valuable informatiori
although the cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus regarding the thing we were chasing a while ago."
evidently has the power of quickly dissolving and "I'll get a man out here right away," said Mc-
assimilating living tissues. Its growth, apparently, Graw, going oncG' more to the phone.
is oiily limited by the amount of food it can find." Officer Burke escorted Miss Townsend, Mrs.
"Maybe we'd better get the women out of the Harms and the two servants to the Harms home,
house," said the chief. where they were to spend the night.
'The sooner, the better. I suggest also that you Shortly afterward there arrived twenty policemen
surround the place with men armed with shotguns. armed with shotguns and cari-ying several dozen
If that thing gets out and starts to grow I shudder bulls-eye lanterns. They brought extra weapons
to think of what may happen. Children will not which were distributed to all of us who remained
be safe outside their own homes, and perhaps not in the house, the chief, the doctor, the four police-
even within them. Adults will be attacked as soon men and myself. Burke was to remain on guard
as the creature has attained sufficient size, and next door.
there is always the possibility that it may have the A ring of lanterns was placed around the house
power to reproduce its kind. Organisms of this and the twenty armed men were posted at inter-
kind, aa a rule, multiply with exceeding rapidity. vals between them. We then divided our forces as
Think of a thousand or perhaps a million such follows: One policeman was placed on guard in
monsters i-oaming through the land. It is almost the laboratory. Chief McGraw with another police-
impossible to kill them because of the power we man patrolled the upper rooms and halls. The
have just witnessed, of leaving the body, no matter doctor and one policeman remained on the first
how large it has grown, taking with it only enough floor and I, accompanied by a strapping young
cytoplasm to protect the nucleus and make a new fellow named Black, who had recently been admitted
start." to the force, did sentry duty in the basement.
We were all gasping from the fumes that came
out of the tank, and glad to get out of the labora- Theorizing
tory.
When all were assembled in the living room the
chief phoned headquarters for men and shotguns THE Townsend basement was divided into
three rooms, each lighted rather dimly by the
while Dr. Dorp and I explained what we had found yellow rays from an incandescent globe sus-
to Miss Townsend. pended on a short drop-cord. The furnace room
After we had described our adventure in detail, and coal bins were situated at the rear end. The
the doctor said: middle compartment contained a miscellaneous as-
"It seems strange that your father left no records sortment of boxes, barrels, garden tools, household
pf his experiments with the monster." .(.Continued on page 286)
^r.Ha(kens&wis Secrets
Some Minor i ®v_6)
mVENTIONS,^^''"^^^^'-"^
f^ €^

itt-EusUBb, and
 DR. HACKENSAW'S SECRETS
5|E[A.T are yoa doing: there, Pop?" asked "1 will explain. My first idea was merely to sim-
Pep Perkins, bursting into Doctor plify the work of the type-writi^t. At present her
{
Haelcensaw'e sanctum and finding him delicate hands have to hammer at the keys all day
busily working a peculiar looking ma- and she is subject to the malady known as 'type-
J chine. writer's cramp.' It struck me that the work could
Doctor Hackeiisaw looked up with a smile: "I'm be made much leas fatiguing by pressing the keys
spending five minutes spare time in wi'lting a few by electricity instead of by the fingers. I found
thousand autographs for that class of people of that by dipping the tips of my fingers in a solution
whom one is born every minute, if not oftener." of copper I could make sufficient contact, by touch-
"But what's that queer machine you're using?" ing a type-writer key to switch on an electric cur-
"This, Pep, is one of my minor inventions — rent that would press down the desired letter. The
little device designed to save the time of authors, keys, you understand, remained stationary, it was
movie-stars, and other celebrities. As you see, the only the type that moved. There was no time or
machine is simplicity itself. It consists of one hun- energy lost in pushing down the keys and letting
dred stylographie pens connected in ten rows of them rise againi A
dexterous person could write
ten pens each, rigidly held in a frame-work. I write several times as fast as with the most rapid present-
my autograpli with an extra pen, a master-pen, day typewriter. Every touch meant a letter. As
which is attached to the frame-work, thus causing the keys were motionless they could be crowded
each of the other pens to make the same motiona. close together, separated only by insulating ma-
By writing my name once, with the master pen terial. I saved so much space that even using sep-
on a sheet of cardboard on the table, I get one hun- arate keys for the capitals and shift-letters, my
dred signatures on the cardboard, which is then cut keyboard was smaller than the standard size. The
by machine into a hundred separate visiting cards, typewriter itself was greatly simplified as all mov-
each bearing my autograph. I can thus write a ing parts 'were done away with except the few
thousand autographs in the time it would take an- simple ones neceasaiy to turn the type-wheel which
other man to write ten. I may add," continued the contained the letter on its rim. Each touch released
doctor, chuckling, "that I have made some life-long a plunger that forced the wheel against the paper,
friends among actors and other celebrities, and writing the character desired.
even among business men and government officials "So compact was my machine and so simple, that
who have numerous documents to sign, by making I found it desirable to duplicate the letters most
thena a present of one of these machines. Many often used. Por example, there are five 'E's' on my
of these people are so grateful that they would be keyboard at different convenient places so there is
willing to do anything for me." always one at hand when desired. This increased
"You must have made a lot of inventions in your speed so much that the typist could take dictation
life-time!" observed Pep. as fast as a stenographer.
"Yes, h^ndi^eds of MM^^^^^^^^^—^aa l^^^^^^»— l^^^^jM Of course, with electric-
~:
them," returned the doc- ity it was a simple matter
tor. to connect all five keys to
"As I happen to have the letter 'E' on the wheel
predate the doctor's work. The author has the knack-^-or
Bome spare time now, I can —
perhaps wc should call il, the giiality of helping the doc- in such a way that making
fthow you a few, if you tor present the most extraordinary, wonderful things vi the contact on any one of
care to see them. The first such a inaniier as to make than appear both plausible and the keys would close the
passible. Here this ingcitioiis inventor, explains to us some
one you see is what I call circuit.
of his comparatively simple inventions, giving ks a ma~
a 'Dictation Typewriter.' "If I place my finger,
chine with which to can bread, another to do atvay -with
"A what?" —
the human typist and even- translator entirely etc. aV — — coated with metallic cop-
—
.

"A 'Dictation Typewrit- useful machines. Still he is dissatisfied so he always per, on any one of the five
goes ahead, ever seeking new improvements. Usually he keys the circuit is closed
er'. a substitute for
It's —
succeeds. Here is food for thought and experimentation
the gum- chewing, face- — eveit if the story is humorously told, it is full of in-
and the letter 'E' 13
powdering, flirting sten- terest and nets ideas. struck."
ographer, and type-writ- ..li'Mn™
"But," objected Pep,
^^^SSS^^^^^SS
-

ist. This machine is war- W^^SSStB^^^^M

•i7riiiiiiiMii»iMii^iB iiniMiiii
"no girl would be willing
ranted never to have a fit to copper -plate her fingers
of the sulks." like that!"
"That's great! But how did you do it?" "No, that was just my first rough idea. My next
"Of course I understand that you can do, away improvement was to do away with any touch at all.
with a stenographer by dictating into a phonograph, I wanted a vocal typewriter —
one that could be
but how can you do away with the person who ham- worked entirely by the voice. The mere ai'ticulation
mers the keys?" of each letter must be sufficient to close the proper
"The problem is not as difficult as it seems. My circuit and print the letter."
object was to do away entirely with the young lady. "Would that be possible?"
An employer is often obliged to let his stenographer "Entirely so. My first model consisted of a series
see letters which he would prefer to keep confiden- of gas jets 30 constructed that each flame flared up
tial. Then too, think of the sums spent yearly as soon as some particular letter was spoken. This
for stenographers and typists. Go into any large flaring up closed an electric circuit and the letter
business house and you will see a roomful of girls was typed. In practice, however, such a machine
busily typewriting, when the work could be auto- was too delicate for general use, the great difficulty
matically done by machinery." being, keeping the gae jets properly adjusted. In
"How 30?" spite of differences of temperature. But I finally
 282 AMAZING STORIES
devised a machine that worked with a phonograph. German and whatever other language I desired."
When the letter was spoken the vibration of the "But," objected Pep, "that is impossible! YoU
diaphragm would turn on the proper current to can't make a machine think! You can't translate
strike the letter." without thinking and no steel springs or electric
"How about capital letters?" currents can ever be made to think!"
"In dictating, it is necessary to use the prefix Doctor Hackensaw laughed, "That isn't the first
'cap' when you wish the next letter to he a capital. impossible thing that I've made possible. Pep," said
Thus, if you were dictating the name 'Dickens' he. "As a matter of fact, the thing is simple in
you would have to say: 'Cap D-i-c-k-e-n-a' and the —
theory ^though it is complex in practice. If it
machine would write the word properly with the were sufficient to translate word for word, the prob-
capital 'D.' lem would be easy. Say there are a hundred thou-
"Flushed with my success I decided to go further sand words in use in the English language. It
and write whole syllables instead of letters. By would only be necessary to have one hundred thou-
using the phonograph there was no limit to the sand keys to spell the corresponding word in the
number of differsnt keys I would use, hence I could foreign language. It would be no more difficult
have separate keys for thousands of syllables, al- than my dictation typewriter, though it would
though the typewriter itself needed but twenty- require more keys.
six letters." "But the problem is far more complex. Words
"How did you manage that?" spelt alike in English such as 'row,' (a line)' and
"Each syllable key was so arranged that when 'row' (the verb) would have to be translated differ-
depressed it switched on in turn all the letters which ently into German or French. It is therefore neces-
apelt the syllable. Thus when I spoke the syllable sary to make
these similar words different when
'be,' the key tuned to work when this sound was dictating. accomplish this by saying 'row 1',
I
uttered, received the electric current and, in de- 'row 2,' 'row 8,' according to the meaning of the
scending it switched a second electric current on word I use. The proper German equivalent is then
to the letters 'b' and 'e' in turn so that these two released. Of course this means that the dictator
letters were written on the paper. A man could must spend months in learning to dictate, but he
'then dictate his letters to the machine just as he need know only English and his dictation will be
would to a stenographer." automatically translated into any language de-
"How about syllables that sound alike but are sired."
spelled differently, like 'Pa' in 'Paper' and 'Pay'?" "How about idioms, special phrases, proverbs and
"Ah, that was the stumbling block. To avoid it so on?"
I made my first machine to write Italian, as in that "Each idiom must, of course, have a key of its
language, words are spelt as they are pronounced. own. This necessarily multiplies the number of
But I found that even in English there were not so keys. All the keys you see in this room are parts
many syllables that sound alike and are spelt dif- of my machine for translating into French. My
ferently, and I realized it would be a very easy 'inversion' keys will give you some idea of the many
matter for the dictator to learn to pronounce them problems I had to meet and solve. In French every
slightly different. Thus, the syllables 'dough,' 'doe,' noun is either masculine or feminine, and its adjec-
and 'do' could be pronounced somewhat as they are tives must agree with.the noun in gender. For
spelt. A man eould learn the proper pronunciation example Horse is masculine and table is feminine,
:

in an hour and the machine would then spell each so a 'good horse' must be translated 'un bon cheval'
properly." and a 'good table' 'une bonne table.'
"Then you succeeded?" "In French, too, most adjectives follow the noun
"Perfectly. My
first machine had to be tuned instead of preceding it as in English. A
French-
to suit the voice of the dictator, but experience man does not say 'a black horse,' he says 'un cheval
soon taught me to leave enough play so that the noir' (i.e.) 'a horse black,' Also, French verbs
machine would answer to any voice. Try it your- must agree with their subject. Then, as you re-
self, and see how it works. Don't shout, just speak marked, there are a large number of idiomatic
quietly into the mouthpiece just as you would at a phrases. All these difficulties, however, I over-
telephone." come by an arrangement by which no typewriting
Pep accordingly took up the mouthpiece and is done before a complete sentence is dictated. Au-
spoke a few sentences, with some coaching from tomatic 'inversion' keys enable me to get the proper
the doctor as to the proper pronunciation, and was construction of words and their proper termina-
delighted to see that the machine typewrote from tions."
her dictation without a single error. "I don't understand you."
"That's great!" cried Pep. "I will explain. The adjective 'black,' in French
"Isn't it! I was so delighted with my success may be either noir, noire, noirs or noires, according
that I didn't stop there. It was an easy matter to the gender and number of the noun that follows.
to make a phonographic record that would repeat My key for the adjective 'black' can write any one
the dictation automatically as often as required of these four words. If the first noun-key that
and thus make a thousand typewritten copies fl'om follows' is masculine, plural, it is provided with a
dictation, if desired. finger that turns around the key "black' so as to
"Even this didn't satisfy me. I resolved to go a write the word noirs. As the adjective 'black' must
step further and build a typewriter that would trans- always follow the noun, the key "black' is also pro-
late my dictation automatically into several different vided with an inversion device that prevents it from
languages. I dictated in English and the machine, typewriting its word until the noun that follows
at iiy dictation typewrote copies in Bngtiah, French, it is typewritten, so that if I dictate the words:
 "

DR. HACKENSAW'S SECRETS 283

'black liorses,' themachine will write automatically I jumped up and backed out of the room in as much
'chevaux noirs.' haste as was possible under the circumstances, and
"Isn't that awfully complicated?" I never dared go near the young lady .again."
"Ye8, but not as complicated aa it seems. How- "Well, I understand now why you don't like the
ever, this machine you see here, is only useful for efficiency experts!"
commercial pui-poses. Ait my French business let- "Not at ail. At the time I felt like strangling
ters are dictated to it in English, and the French the fellow, but afterwards I would have done any-
translations it makes are wonderfully good. Some thing for him. The girl married another man, and
day, when I have time, I shall construct a trans- I remained free all my life!"
lating machine that willmake really literary trans- Pep laughed, and Doctor Haekensaw continued:
lations,but I cannot at present spare' either the "There is one field where efficiency experts could
patience or the time and money required. Besides do useful work, and that is in the standardizing
there would be little demand for such a machine. of the parts of different machinery. At the present
These commercial machines, however, fill a real day we have Standard siaes of screws, nails, bolts,
need. Every large business house needs one. The etc., and this standardization has proved a great
e:i:pense is not prohibitive as business letters re- blessing. It would, however, be possible to, extend
quire only simple sentences and stock phrases that it to a great many castings and other parts of ma-

keep recurring all the time. My machine can trans- chinery. Certain parts of one automobile, for ex-
late business letters and simple phrases like, 'Have ample, should be capable of use, on others or on aero-
you the parrot of your grandmother's cousin?' planes or other machinery. Very slight changes in
That's alwut the highest limibxif real literature that the patterns would often make this- possible and
my machine will translate." lower the cost of production while at the same time
Pep Jaughed. "Your idea seems good," said she, it would facilitate repairs."
"but this machine is much too complicated. Couldn't "What is that next machine you have there?"
your efficiency experts simplify it a little?" asked Pep.
At the words "Efficiency expert" Doctor Hacken- "That's a simple little attachment to prevent the
saw snorted. theft of automobiles. When you leave your car,
"Don't talk to me
of efficiency experts. Pep," said press a hidden switch. The burglar comes, starts
he, "unless you want to drive me crazy. I have no the auto without trouble and makes off. But as soon
use for them! Understand me, I believe in organ- as the car begins to move, a sign appears at the
ization. Organization is necessary for everything back! 'THIS CAR IS STOLEN!'
— even for a college-yell. And I highly honor the "The sign disappears as soon as the car stops,
efficiency expert who organizes a business so that But you will have no trouble tracing your car, for
the article to be manufactured enters at one door, a crowd will gather, and the driver seeing how
passes in turn to each of the men who have to work much attention he is getting will talte the first op-
at itj and goes out to the delivery wagon without portunity to escape. Yet he won't know what
traveling a single unnecessary foot. I also honor caused the excitement as the sign has already van-
the man who lowers the coat of goods without sacri- ished."
ficing the quality. But the efficiency expert who "Next to that machine you will see another, can-
spends his time seeking to save one screw on a ma- ning bread,"
chine, or a button or a stitch on a garment is n "Canning bread!" echoed Pep.
menace to society. In making any machine, engi- "Yes.; while traveling abroad, I often found it
neers allow for what is called the 'factor of safety.' difficult to obtain nice fresh rolls, and to attempt-
They know that every machine at times will be to carry a supply was out of the question as they
called on to sustain undue strains or stresses, and became stale in a few hours. Travelers in the wild-
they allow a margin of strength to meet these erness are obliged to carry flour and bake their own
unusual demands. The efflcieiicy expert, however, bread frequently or else consent to live on hard-
spends his time paring dovm this factor of safety, tack and crackers. They would willingly pay the
cutting out a screw here, a nail there, and producing small additional cost for canned rolls or canned
an article that will give way at the least unusual sandwiches. If they were put up in tins filled with
strain, leaving the owner in the lurch at a time nitrogen instead of ordinary air, the rolls will keep
when the idle machine means a loss to him many perfectly for years. If properly sterilized and suffi-
thousands of times the cost of the extra screw. ciently moist when packed, they wiil be as fresh
'

Such experts are the bane of my existence. Only when opened as when first sealed."
once in my life did I ever have occasion to bless an "And that very peculiar machine next to the sand-
efficiency expert." wich canning machine?" asked Pep.
"When was that?" "That," replied Doctor Haekensaw proudly, "is
"When I was a young man. Pep, I fell in love with one of my greatest triumphs in inventing. That
a pretty girl and I bought a new suit of clothes on is an Automatic Judge. Our courts are now all
the day when I decided to propose to her. But the overcrowded with cases. This machine will auto-
tailor I bought it from was an efficiency expert who matically listen to the pleadings of the contending
had found means of saving three stitches on every parties and give a just decision. In fact I'll guar-
pair of trousers he made, and thus increasing his antee the decisions of the machine to be equitable
gains one-tenth of a cent on each pair. The conse- in 999 cases out of a thousand —
which is a larger
quence was that when 1 got down on my knees to proportion than any judge I ever heard of can
propose to the-idol of my heart, there was a ripping boast."
and tearing sound heard as the trousers gave way "How ridiculous!" retorted Pep, "Whoever heard
at the seams. Burning with shame and coafuBion of an 'automatic judge!' Why such a thing is im-
 "

284 AMAZING STORIES

possible! —
A machine can't possibly think or have instance of the law of compensation—making up in
judgment!" quantity for what was lacking in quality,
Doctor Haclcensaw chuckled. "It would seem so. "Mr. P. Q. Jones used this fact as the basis for an
Pep," said he, "but I assure you I am perfectly instrument which he called a 'gynaionometer' and
serious when I say the machine will do what I which he used for measuring the ages of the ladies
claim for it. It seems impossible, but as in the case he met. In this match-like instrument on the table
of the translating machine this is only one of many you see an improvement of mine on Mr. Jones' idea
'impossible' things made possible." — a very simple means for ascertaining the age of
"But how does it work?" your mother-in-law or any other of your female
"I'll tell you, for the basic principle is extremely friends.
simple. I have had a gi'eat deal of experience in
the courts and I have noticed that the'man who is in
the wrong always secures the best lawyer. The man
who knows he is right will be satisfied with a poor
lawyer, trusting to the justice of his cause to per-
suade the jury. His opponent, however, knows his
only hope is to secure a better lawyer than his ad-
versary, and will spare no pains or expense to secure
it. Consequently, if I were a judge, I would let both
lawyers talk five minutes each, and then decide the
case in favor of the poorer lawyer."
"But in that case, why do you need a machine?"
"The machine is useful as an aid to tell which
lawyer is really the cleverer. It registers their
brain capacity, their intelligence, their energy, etc."
"But," objected Pep, "It seems to me that people
would soon learn your system and then both sides
would try to engage the poorest lawyers they could
find." "As you see, my device was simplicity itself. It
"Precisely! To avoid that, I must keep my consisted merely of a dial on which was a fixed
method secret. My machine does the real judging. needle and a movable needle. On a muddy day you
But I should hire cheap men to listen quietly to the could stand exactly ten feet away from the curb and
eases, and at the end they would secretly draw a place the instrument so the fixed needle is perfectly
slip from the machine which would tell them what horizontal three feet from the ground. Then you
verdict to give. And, asl said, I would guarantee wait for the lady to come along, and when she raises
the judgment to be equitable in 999 cases out of a her skirt you move the movable needle until it points
thousand." directly at the highest visible portion of 'her stock-
"What's that little instrument that looks like a ing and you could at once read her exact age on the
match?" asked Pop. dial in years, months and days."
"That's a gynaiono meter. It's an instrument for "Good heavens! But the thing wouldn't work
measuring a woman's age." nowadays when we all wear short skirts!"
"A gynaionometer 1" "No, the fashions changed and I was obliged to
"Yes, that's Greek, and means 'The measui'e of a modify my instrument. As a person's arteries
woman's age.' harden with age, I tried to make one that would
"Great Scott! How does it work?" work according to the degree of hardness of tlie
"I got the idea from an author who wrote under artery, but I failed. When the audion was invented
the pen name of Diogenes Tubb, who some forty however, I succeeded by making a 'gynaionometer
years ago wrote the story of an inventor (Mr. P. Q. that worked by electricity. Every human being is
Jones) of an instrument for ascertaining a woman's an electrical machine—continually generating elec-
age. At that time, about 1885, the ladies all wore trical currents. Careful study showed me that these
iong skirts. Well, this Mr, P. Q. Jones was a phil- .currents vary with age. By the use of an audion I
osopher. He had often stood on a street corner on could amplify these currents and I constructed the
a muddy day, and he noticed that the ladies, in rather complicated machine you see here which ena-
crossing, always raised their skirts a little, in order bles me to tell a lady's exact age in an instant.
to keep them out of the mud," "I expected to make a fortune from my device,
"Weil, there's nothing very extraordinary in but would you believe it, the thing has brought me
that." nothing but trouble and vexation. Like Mr. Jones, I
"No, but Mr. Jones noticed the remarkable fact have lost aU my lady friends and have become es-
that the extent to which the skirt was raised, varied tranged from my female relatives because I claimed
—
with the age of the woman in fact he found that to know their ages better than they did themselves.
the amount of stocking displayed was directly pro- "No, Pep, there are some things it doesn't pay to
—
portional to the woman's age the older the woman, monkey with. One of them is the buzz-saw. An-
the higher she raised her skirts. It was another other is a woman's age!"
 285

The Runaway Skyscraper

By MURRAY LEINSTER
(Concluded)

years flee by, three generations were born, grew and deed is a conveyance made previous to all othei stJps
begot children, and died again whatever.
Estelle. held faet in Arthur's arms, thought noth- Strictly speaking, he is undoubtedly light as hi=i
ing of such trivial things. She put her arms about deed was signed before the discovery of Ameii(.a
his neck and kissed him, while the years passed The courts, however, are deliberating the question
them unheeded. with a great deal of perplexity.
Of course you know that the building landed Eckstein is quite confident that in the end his
safely, in t_he exact hour, minute, and second from claim will be allowed and he will be admitted as
which it started, so that when the frightened and the sole owner of real-estate on Manhattan Island,
excited people poured out of it to stand in Madison with all occupiers of buildings and teriitoiy piymg
Square and feel that the world was once more right him grouiid-reht at a rate he will fix himself. In
side up, their hilarious and incomprehensible con- the meah time, though the foundations are being
duct made such of the wopld as was passing by think reenforced so the catastrophe cannot occur again,
a contagious madness had broken out. his entire oifice is packed full of articles suitable for
Days passed before the story of the two thousand trading with the Indians. If the tower makes an-
was believed, but at last it was accepted as truth, other trip back through time, Eeljstein hopes to be-
and eminent scientists studied the matter ex- come a landholder of some importance.
haustively- No Jess than eighty-seven books have been written
There has been one rather queer result of the by members of the memorable two thousand in
description of their trip to the hinterland of time,
journey of the runaway skyscraper. A certain but Arthur, who could write more intelligently
Isidore Eckstein, a dealer in jewelry novelties,
about the matter than any one else, is so extremely
whose office was in the tower when it disappeared
busy that he cannot bother with such things. He
into the past, has entered suit in the courts of the
has two very important matters to look after. One
United States against all holders of land on Man- is, of course, the reenforcement of the foundations
hattan Island. It seems that during the two weeks of the building so that a repetition of the catas-
in which the tower rested in the wilderness he trophe cannot occur, and the other is to convince his
traded independently with one of the Indian chiefs, —
wife who is Estelle, naturally— that she is the
and in exchange for tvio near-peaily necklaces, six- most adorable peison m
the universe. He find*? the
teen fingei -1 ings. and one dollar m money, received latter task the moie diflieult, because she insists
a title-deed to the entire island. He claims that his that liG IS the most adoiable person—

The End
j;i iiiiiiiiiii]iiiiiiimi!iiiiiiiiii[ii]iiiiiiiitii[iiiii[iiii[iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiii[[1ii^

TO OUR READERS
SINCF tl e seco d ue of AM'\ZmG STORIE? \\ e have given this a good deal of consideration,
app a ed e have bee 1 te allj overwhelmed a d vhiie there were several hundred such letters,
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_„_.» ^---«„»- ..
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I would like to see AMAZING STORIES come out twice a mo ith (at 25c for each copy) D
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 "

TT^e Malignant Entity

fly 0X75 ADELBERT KLINE
{Continued}
tools, canned fruitg, empty fruit jars, bottles, and put forth paeudopoda, soniQtimes elongating them
what not. The front room was used as a laundry. until it resembled a small cuttle fish,
Black and I searched each room thorough-
Officer "September twenty-third was the night Immune
ly, using a flash light in the dark corners and mov- Benny died wasn't it, Chief?" asked the doctor.
ing everything that wasn't fastened to the floor or "Eight. Why?"
walls. Several mice jumped out from behind boxea "Then this diary tallies with Miss Townsend'^ tes-
and barrels, but we saw no sign of the creature we timony. Here is the professor's entry.
were hunting. " 'September 23, Nearly Midnight.
We were peering behind the furnace when sevei-al "'Eureka.! I have succeeded. I placed a tiny drop
loud squeaks came to us from the middle room. of syntlieplasm on the slide tonight as J have done
With shotgun held in readiness, I moved stealth- a thousand times before, and covered it with a weak,
ily toward the point from which the sound came. sterile solution of gelatine.
There, in the center of the floor almost under the " 'I watched it steadily for a half hour but noth-
yellow electric light bulb, I saw the fast disappear- ing happened until, suddenly, I noticed a tiny black
ing body of a mouse under a mass of plasmic jelly. .•spot forming in its center. I am positive there ivere

My first impulse was to shoot, but on second no animalcules either in the syntheplasm or the solu-
thought, I decided to attempt to capture the thing tion, yet no sooner had the black spot become readily
alive if possible. Instructing Black to bold his wea- distinguishable than my speck of syntheplasm. began
pon in readiness in case I failed, I unscrewed the moving about as if searching for food. Evidently
lid from a large empty fruit jar and walked softly it cannot subsist on gelatine.
toward the center of the floor. I expected the thing " 'I next introduced a rhieopod into the sohdion. -

to spring away, but to my surprise it iay abnost mo- My animal slightly resembles it, but is larger and
tionless, on the body of its victim. I could see streaks gets about much faster. I wanted to coriipare the
of bright red flowing through the jelly-like mass as two but the rhizopod taas quickly devoured^ Now I
blood of the mouse was drawn up for assimilation, knoiv what to feed it.'
I clapped the mouth of th'e jar over the creature "It is growing late so I will not read all the de-
and still it made no effort to escape. Then, sliding tails to you," continued the doctor. "Suffice to aay
a fire shovel which Black brought me, under the that the professor discovered his synthetically creat-
thing and its victim, I turned the jar right side ed creature would feed on nothing but living crea-
up. It fell to the bottom of the receptacle, still tures. He fed it so many m'icroseopic animals the
clingiug to the now formless mass that had once second day that it grew to a size visible to the naked
been a mouse and making no effort to escape. I eye. Then he fed it gnats, mosquitos, flies, beetles,
put the lid in place and screwed it down tight. and Anally mice, when it became so large he was
"Now try to get away, you devil!" I cried, shak- forced to transfer it from the small porcelain dish
ing the jar exultantly, in which he kept it, to a much larger one,
I almost dropped it a moment later as a muffled "The thing grew at a prodigious rate of speed.
explosion jarred the building. Then I remembered Its growth seemed only limited by the amount of
Chief McGraw's safe-cracker, and hurried upstairs. living creatures -it was permitted to devour. At
When I reached the living-room, Dr, Dorp was length he was compelled to keep it in the glass-lined
emerging from the study in a cloud of plaster dust. tank which he had been using for the culture of ip- .

In his hand was a thick, loose-leaf book. fusoria. Its victims were thrown into the tank
"I have the professor's diary," he called excitedly. alive and were quickly killed by the monster. He
"Don't get fussed over such trifles," I replied. noticed that it was sluggish while assimilating its
"Look what I've got. Caught it alive, too." food, but moved with cat-like quickness when hun-
I put the jar on the table and he squinted at it gry. Though it had no eyes it seemed to sense the
for a moment. The blood-bloated monstrosity had approach of food in some way and, toward the last,
separated its shapeless hulk from the whitened stretched forth pseudopods and snatched the animals
bones of its victim and was sluggishly crawling up from his hands.
the side of the glass. "Yesterday the professor led two mastiffs into
"You caught it, sure enough," he said. "I only the I'oom. Hardly had be closed the door of the
hope it hasn't any little sons or daughters about," laboratory before the monster was out of the tank.
"I'll keep "the house under guard for a couple It killed and devoured the two big dogs in less than
of days," said Chief McGraw, who had come down a half hour— then crawled back sluggishly into the
to. learn the result of the cracksman's labors, "If tanlc to digest its meal. Thus ends the wi'itten
there are any more oif these things around they record of the professor's adventures with the Malig-
ought to show themselves by that time." nant Entity. His whitened bones on the floor of the
The doctor dr^w a chair up to the table and laboratory are mute testimony of what occurred."
eagerly scanned the pages of the diary while we There was a moment of awed silence when the
watched the antics of the thing in the jar. It kept doctor finished his narrative. His eyes fell on the
getting lighter colored all the time, and more lively. struggling thing in the glass jar.
By the time the cytoplasm had become transparent "What are you going to do with it?" I asked.
it v.-as racing around, contorting its body into all "Come," he said, taking up the jar and starting
—
Idnds of shapes flat, oval, and round. At times it for the basement. "I will show you,"
 "
AMAZING STORIES 287
The. chief and I followed hint down
the b£,aemeTit atairs and into the fur-
nace room. He opened the flre-door
and tossed the jar on the glowing Are Vou Digging Yoiir Grave
coals.
The thing raced about spasmodically
for a moment in the intense heat, then With Knife and Fork?
felJ huddled in the bottom of the jar. The world was shocked when Alfred disease cnn be traced to the ealinp of
Suddenly, as if inflated from be- W. McCann proved by scientific anal- wrong and impure foods. Wrong eating
ysis and investigacions (hat the food the has done more harm and actually killed
neath, it puffed upward and outward,
people are now eating is causing rav- more people than all the wars put (o-
almost filling the receptacle in a shape
ishing disease, untold misery and pre- geiher. If you want to enjoy strenglh,
t reaembled a human head. I
mature death. vitality and stamina; you can get them
lit thi3 only a figment of ray
nation at first bHnked — and — Officials, social workers, and physic-
ians were shocked and horrified at hia ^
from the scientific knowledge contained
in this wonderful revelational book,
>ed a RGcond time. The face of a startling exposures. They stood gasping "The Science of Ealing," by Alfred W.
n stared back at me from behind at the truth I McCann.
ti e curved glass, eyes glowing with Are you actually poisoning and there- Send No Money
malevolent hatred and lips drawn back by killing yourself with the food you
You owe it (0 yourself to know the
in a snarl that revealed crooked, ye!- eat? Alfred W. McCann in his wonder-
truths about tlie foods you eat. The facts
ful book, "THE SCIENCE OP EAT-
jw fangs. For a moment only the arc 60 startling, so convincing, that you
ING,'' proves beyond the shadow of a
ffision held. The next instant the jar should not continue for one more day,
doubt Ihat Heart Disease, Diabetes,
was empty of ali save a tiny pile of Colds, Catarrh, Rheumatism, Pyorrhea,
habits of eating that are a deadly men-
white, fiakj' ash and the bonea of the ConatipaiioD, Cancer, High Blood Pres-
ace lo your health and life.
sure, and even Tuberculosis, besides the
Do not think that Alfred W. McCann's
Dr. Dorp shut the door suddenly remarkable book "The Science of Eat-
hundreds of other diseases are caused by
and noisily, ing" is for faddists. It is for everyone.
eating improper foods. Foods that are
It does not advise irksome diets. It
"That face," I exclaimed. "Did you either adulterated or refined to such an
simply shows you how to eat natural
see it also?" extent that instead of adding strength
foods as nature intended them to be
"A queer distortion of the gas-in- and vitality to your body and power to
eaten and how to avoid eating so-called
flated protoplasm," he replied. your brain, they are actually poisoning
foods that are merely disguised poisons.
Chief McGraw seemed greatly per- your system and that with each mouth-
Once you start following this simple
ful you are literally digging your grave
turbed. He drew a long black cigar with your knife and fork.
method you will be literally astounded
from his pocket, lighted it and puffed at the improvemeiit. You will find your-
nervously for a moment. "The Science of Ealing" self possessed of new vitality, new en-
"Distortion, hell," he muttered, ergy, new physical fitness, new youth.
By Alfred W. McCann
"It- was a perfect dozible for the face Prove to yourself without risking a
In "The Science of Ealing," Alfred W. single penny (hat Alfred W. McCann's
ofApimune Benny!" '

McCann exposes all the frauds of the

THE End amazing book is the one best investment
so-called food specialists; al! the igtior- in health you can possibly make. Send
ance of the so-called scientists; all the for a copy of (his wonderful book and
Ah Experiment in Gyro-Hats hypocrisy that the physicians have cir-
culated about food. He exposes and ex-
when it is delivered pay the postman
$3,00 plus postage. If within 5 days you
By Ellis Parkee Butlek plodes the false and dangerous theory are not thoroughly convinced that it will
(Concluded) of the calorie. In this remarkable book, literally make a new person of you, re-
the delicate menu of the specialists is turn it and your money will be refunded,
At si.^ the next morning Anne, shown not only to be valueless, but ex- Order your copy NOW-
ceedingly harmful. The fearful crime
my wife, and I all went into the
of adulteration and artificial coloring of
yard to stop Walsingham. Then it
foods has been mercilessly exposed. He
came to me thaWI had no way of stop- proves (hat all food, which is pure food,
ping him. To add to my dismay I I EUGENICS PUBLISHING COMPANY
when free from adulteration and pre- '
Dcpt. A-626, less Srnadwny,
knew that when the sun arose the thin servatives, is snod food. 1 Nqw York
City.
'
Plcafc send me Alfrrd W. McCjim's mnii
ice would melt, and as Waisingham's
dcr(u) book, "ThB Sc;ed(v^ of lialinE." 1
I. feet- could no longer slip easily, he Not a Book on Diet but a I
ivili pay the poMman 53.0(1 plus postage
lA'Otild in all probability be wrenched Book on Eating 1 when the hook is delivered. It is under,
.stood that if I am not salisRcd, I will re
'
in t,wo, a most unsatisfactory condi- B YOU ARE WHAT
YOU EAT, you [urn the book to
ynu within S ilsys, aud you
I

tion for a son-in-law. I willrefund my rooney.

cannot lake carliolic acid without feel-
Orders from outside United States nnisl
But while I was standing in dismay, ing the effects of it; you cannot consume
1

love found a way, as love always will, impure and denatured foods without
and Anne rushed to the cellar and
.

reaping the harm Ihey will produce. I »„.

Every organ and nerve of your body A,ia„,
br'iught out the stepladder and the 1

ict^pick. Placing the stepladder close suffers from (heir ill effects. Every 1
Oi» .

to "Walsingham she climbed it, and

holding the point of the ice pick at
the exact center of the top of the hat
A
she pushed down. sizzling noise told
us that she had bored a hole in the hat,
letting the vacuum escape, and the hat
Romance! Mystery! Intrigue 1
DON'T MISS THIS MARVELOUS, INTENSE, GRIPPING STORY
flew from Waisingham's head- OF WORLD MARVELS 700 YEARS HENCE
Slower and slower he revolved, un-
til he stood quite still, and then, with- "RALPH 1 240
HUGO GEENSBACK,
41 -I-
out a reel or a stagger he walked up By F.R,S. Editor "AmaiinE S
Ralph, the grcntont living Ecieotiet of the year 2660. fiehts a
to me and grasped my hand, while 19 battle with a Mar

tears told me the thanks he could not rediblc Cmhl

utter. He had revolved in the right BUY YOUR COPY TODAY—SENT POSTPAID FOR 52.13
For Sala by
direction! He was cured!
The Experimenter Pub. Co., Inc., 53 Park Place, New Yorh, N. Y.
The End >
 S

{^AMAZING STORIES _

The Coming of the Ice

Free to iuptyreil By G;peyton Wbetenbaker

one iccord they rose before my eyes

and. Ignoring ine as a baser creature,
the BfEevtei muecleo No etrapa buctlpg i
Ihey stripped away tlieir load of tat-
obaonouH sDnnEB attediPd When adhenr reied rags and, one by one, they stalk-
cIdbeI? Io the body nil Bimduig pressuro
otmatei iaithevmare Kliipmg ib imcoBsibl <>d with their tiny shrivelled limbs into
eocnnnotchcii-orii eaaBSainottbeeone So the shivering gale of swirling, gusting
—
BH oelvot— eass to BRplsi Jne-^etiBive In ni
snow and disappeared. And I was
njte rupt rea roported fionnyred in rriva( alone ...
of tho homo ^iliout hmdranOQ fcora worl
Awarded Gold MaW See- Grand Prf- So am I alone now. I have wiitten
this last fantastic history of myself
and of Mankind upon a substance that
old faEhionFd truBEeB will I know, outlast even the snow
close tba 1:

Ins as Nature intended Ho«iett ind the Ice—as it has outlasted Man-
"™- "
It will COTtnolomg kind that made it. It is the only thing
with which I have never parted.
For IS it not irony that I should be
the historian of this race I, a, savage, —
m 'archaic survival?" Why do I
wiite' God knows, but some instinct
piompts me, although there will never
be men to read. PO UL R H G
I have been sitting here, waiting,
POSTALS InSJirl^"
,

and I have thought often of Sir John

rhoirt, Sel nf „n nm 4 ia . r e= -5c ind Alice, whom I loved. Can it be E
ri-NTKAt. NOVEL! \ CO that I am feeiing again, after all s
1 13 N LaSiTIf Si Ch icaro, 111
these ages, some tiny portion of that
ROUE
lONG T OEM WRITERS emotion, that great passion I once
knew " I see her face before me, the
face I have lost from my thoughts T
for eons, and something is in it that ~~
stirs my blood again. Her eyes are D O
*""''**"**' enl 00 Sli k -^ f Laris II S half-closed and deep, her lips are
Fj ( ^ Rea 1 r •) JP S=le^ tiarls tc
TE'^TRAl NOVEITY rOMPANY P'liteil as though I could crush them
b
IJSN Le Sails Slrat Chicago HI \Mth an infinity of wonder and dis- p "si
cos erj, OGod! It is love again, love RAD
that I thought was lost! They have
ENTERTAIN often smiled upon me when I spoke of
God, and muttered about my foolish,
E
P
p^ p*!

YOUR FRIENDS pi imitive superstitions.

gone_ and I
But they are
am
left who believe in
QNG FOE S

God, and surely there is purpose in it.

I am cold, I have written. Ah, I

am iioaen.
mingles with the
My breath freezes as
air, and I can hardly
it
ENTER THIS BIG
jEMT- llB paetb ch k f ill o£
move my The Ice is
fornanM= Mibltr laglitb of
hand Gif DitappPMnsact-
AU kinds of fun. Buy a cop/
closing over
any longer.
nuHfl3^d.fiiigei*s.
me/and
The storm cries wierdly
1 cannot break it S5,OOO«0O
all me in the fwilight, and I
about CONTEST
know this is the end. The end of the
POPULAR MAGIC world. And
Ti.e'last man. ...
I—
I, the last man. . . .

PRICE 50c ... I am cold cold. . . . —

SOLD ON ALL NEWSSTANDS But is it you, Alice, Is it you?
EXPERIMENTER PUBLISHING CO.. Inc.
S3PARK PLACE NEW YORK N Y THE END
Offers $5000 in cash
prizes every niontli
Work for "One!'} Sam to" its readers in a
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Mail Carriers Full details of this anl rthec b g cm
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$1700 to $2700 Year
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° . EXPERlMSNTER FUBl 1SH!N( O In i
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: