Suddenly, to an eye situated4 a little way within the gallery, appeared at the entrance the dark face of Dr. Syx, wearing its most discomposing smile, and a moment later the broader countenance5 of President Boon6 loomed7 in the electric glare beside the doctor’s black framework of eyebrows8 and mustache. Behind them were grouped the other visiting financiers.
“This tunnel,” said Dr. Syx, “leads to the mine head, where the ore-bearing rock is blasted.”
As he spoke9 a hollow roar issued from the depths of the mountain, followed in a short time by a gust10 of foul11 air.
“You probably will not care to go in there,” said the doctor, “and, in fact, it is very uncomfortable. But we shall follow the next car-load to the smelter, and you can witness the reduction of the ore.”
Accordingly when another car came rumbling12 out of the tunnel, with its load of cracked rock, they all accompanied it into an adjoining apartment, where it was cast into a metallic13 shute, through which, they were informed, it reached the furnace.
“While it is melting,” explained Dr. Syx, “certain elements, the nature of which I must beg to keep secret, are mixed with the ore, causing chemical action which results in the extraction of the metal. Now let me show you pure artemisium issuing from the furnace.”
He led the visitors through two apartments into a third, one side of which was walled by the front of a furnace. From this projected two or three small spouts14, and iridescent15 streams of molten metal fell from the spouts into earthen receptacles from which the blazing liquid was led, like flowing iron, into a system of molds, where it was allowed to cool and harden.
The financiers looked on wondering, and their astonishment16 grew when they were conducted into the rock-cut store-rooms beneath, where they saw metallic ingots glowing like gigantic opals in the light which Dr. Syx turned on. They were piled in rows along the walls as high as a man could reach. A very brief inspection17 sufficed to convince the visitors that Dr. Syx was able to perform all that he promised. Although they had not penetrated18 the secret of his process of reducing the ore, yet they had seen the metal flowing from the furnace, and the piles of ingots proved conclusively19 that he had uttered no vain boast when he said he could give the world a new coinage.
But President Boon, being himself a metallurgist, desired to inspect the mysterious ore a little more closely. Possibly he was thinking that if another mine was destined20 to be discovered he might as well be the discoverer as anybody. Dr. Syx attempted no concealment21, but his smile became more than usually scornful as he stopped a laden car and invited the visitors to help themselves.
“I think,” he said, “that I have struck the only lode22 of this ore in the Teton, or possibly in this part of the world, but I don’t know for certain. There may be plenty of it only waiting to be found. That, however, doesn’t trouble me. The great point is that nobody except myself knows how to extract the metal.”
Mr. Boon closely examined the chunk23 of rock which he had taken from the car. Then he pulled a lens from his pocket, with a deprecatory glance at Dr. Syx.
“Oh, that’s all right,” said the latter, with a laugh, the first that these gentlemen had ever heard from his lips, and it almost made them shudder24; “put it to every test, examine it with the microscope, with fire, with electricity, with the spectroscope—in every way you can think of! I assure you it is worth your while!”
Again Dr. Syx uttered his freezing laugh, passing into the familiar smile, which had now become an undisguised mock.
“Upon my word,” said Mr. Boon, taking his eye from the lens, “I see no sign of any metal here!”
“Look at the green specks25!” cried the doctor, snatching the specimen26 from the president’s hand. “That’s it! That’s artemisium! But it’s of no use unless you can get it out and purify it, which is my secret!”
For the third time Dr. Syx laughed, and his merriment affected27 the visitors so disagreeably that they showed impatience28 to be gone. Immediately he changed his manner.
“Come into my office,” he said, with a return to the graciousness which had characterized him ever since the party started from New York.
When they were all seated, and the doctor had handed round a box of cigars, he resumed the conversation in his most amiable29 manner.
“You see, gentlemen,” he said, turning a piece of ore in his fingers, “artemisium is like aluminum30. It can only be obtained in the metallic form by a special process. While these greenish particles, which you may perhaps mistake for chrysolite, or some similar unisilicate, really contain the precious metal, they are not entirely31 composed of it. The process by which I separate out the metallic element while the ore is passing through the furnace is, in truth, quite simple, and its very simplicity32 guards my secret. Make your minds easy as to over-production. A man is as likely to jump over the moon as to find me out.”
“But,” he continued, again changing his manner, “we have had business enough for one day; now for a little recreation.” While speaking the doctor pressed a button on his desk, and the room, which was illuminated33 by electric lamps—for there were no windows in the building—suddenly became dark, except part of one wall, where a broad area of light appeared. Dr. Syx’s voice had become very soothing34 when next he spoke: “I am fond of amusing myself with a peculiar35 form of the magic-lantern, which I invented some years ago, and which I have never exhibited except for the entertainment of my friends. The pictures will appear upon the wall, the apparatus36 being concealed37.”
He had hardly ceased speaking when the illuminated space seemed to melt away, leaving a great opening, through which the spectators looked as if into another world on the opposite side of the wall. For a minute or two they could not clearly discern what was presented; then, gradually, the flitting scenes and figures became more distinct until the lifelikeness of the spectacle absorbed their whole attention.
Before them passed, in panoramic38 review, a sunny land, filled with brilliant-hued vegetation, and dotted with villages and cities which were bright with light-colored buildings. People appeared moving through the scenes, as in a cinematograph exhibition, but with infinitely40 more semblance41 of reality. In fact, the pictures, blending one into another, seemed to be life itself. Yet it was not an earth-like scene. The colors of the passing landscape were such as no man in the room had ever beheld42; and the people, tall, round-limbed, with florid complexion43, golden hair, and brilliant eyes and lips, were indescribably beautiful and graceful44 in all their movements.
From the land the view passed out to sea, and bright blue waves, edged with creaming foam45, ran swiftly under the spectator’s eyes, and occasionally, driven before light winds, appeared fleets of daintily shaped vessels46, which reminded the beholder47, by their flashing wings, of the feigned48 “ship of pearl.”
After the fairy ships and breezy sea views came a long, curving line of coast, brilliant with coral sands, and indented49 by frequent bays, along whose enchanting50 shores lay pleasant towns, the landscapes behind them splendid with groves51, meadows, and streams.
Presently the shifting photographic tape, or whatever the mechanism52 may have been, appeared to have settled upon a chosen scene, and there it rested. A broad champaign reached away to distant sapphire53 mountains, while the foreground was occupied by a magnificent house, resembling a large country villa39, fronted with a garden, shaded by bowers54 and festoons of huge, brilliant flowers. Birds of radiant plumage flitted among the trees and blossoms, and then appeared a company of gayly attired55 people, including many young girls, who joined hands and danced in a ring, apparently56 with shouts of laughter, while a group of musicians standing57 near thrummed and blew upon curiously58 shaped instruments.
Suddenly the shadow of a dense59 cloud flitted across the scene; whereupon the brilliant birds flew away with screams of terror which almost seemed to reach the ears of the onlookers60 through the wall. An expression of horror came over the faces of the people. The children broke from their merry circle and ran for protection to their elders. The utmost confusing and whelming terror were evidenced for a moment—then the ground split asunder61, and the house and the garden, with all their living occupants were swallowed by an awful chasm62 which opened just where they had stood. The great rent ran in a widening line across the sunlit landscape until it reached the horizon, when the distant mountains crumbled63, clouds poured in from all sides at once, and billows of flame burst through them as they veiled the scene.
But in another instant the commotion64 was over, and the world whose curious spectacles had been enacted65 as if on the other side of a window, seemed to retreat swiftly into space, until at last, emerging from a fleecy cloud, it reappeared in the form of the full moon hanging in the sky, but larger than is its wont66, with its dry ocean-beds, its keen-spired peaks, its ragged67 mountain ranges, its gaping68 chasms69, its immense crater70 rings, and Tycho, the chief of them all, shooting raylike streaks71 across the scarred face of the abandoned lunar globe. The show was ended, and Dr. Syx, turning on only a partial illumination in the room, rose slowly to his feet, his tall form appearing strangely magnified in the gloom, and invited his bewildered guests to accompany him to his house, outside the mill, where he said dinner awaited them. As they emerged into daylight they acted like persons just aroused from an opiate dream.
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1
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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3
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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7
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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8
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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9
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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10
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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11
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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12
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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13
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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14
spouts
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| n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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15
iridescent
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| adj.彩虹色的，闪色的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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18
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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24
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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25
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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31
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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32
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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panoramic
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| adj. 全景的 | |
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39
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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40
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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41
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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42
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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43
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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44
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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45
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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46
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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47
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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48
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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49
indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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50
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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51
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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52
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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53
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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54
bowers
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| n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人 | |
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55
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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57
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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58
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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59
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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60
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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61
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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62
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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63
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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64
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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65
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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67
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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68
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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69
chasms
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| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
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70
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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71
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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