The grotto6 was a vast and magnificent hall. Along its granitic7 soil the stream flowed placidly8 and pleasantly. So great a distance was it now from its fiery9 source that its water was scarcely lukewarm, and could be drunk without delay or difficulty.
After a frugal10 breakfast, the Professor made up his mind to devote some hours to putting his notes and calculations in order.
"In the first place," he said, "I have a good many to verify and prove, in order that we may know our exact position. I wish to be able on our return to the upper regions to make a map of our journey, a kind of vertical11 section of the globe, which will be, as it were, the profile of the expedition."
"That would indeed be a curious work, Uncle; but can you make your observations with anything like certainty and precision?"
"I can. I have never on any occasion failed to note with great care the angles and slopes. I am certain as to having made no mistake. Take the compass and examine how she points."
I looked at the instrument with care.
"East one quarter southeast."
"Very good," resumed the Professor, noting the observation, and going through some rapid calculations. "I make out that we have journeyed two hundred and fifty miles from the point of our departure."
"Certainly."
"And at this very moment it is possible that fierce tempests are raging above, and that men and ships are battling against the angry blasts just over our heads?"
"It is quite within the range of possibility," rejoined my uncle, smiling.
"And that whales are playing in shoals, thrashing the bottom of the sea, the roof of our adamantine prison?"
"Be quite at rest on that point; there is no danger of their breaking through. But to return to our calculations. We are to the southeast, two hundred and fifty miles from the base of Sneffels, and, according to my preceding notes, I think we have gone sixteen leagues in a downward direction."
"Sixteen leagues—fifty miles!" I cried.
"I am sure of it."
"But that is the extreme limit allowed by science for the thickness of the earth's crust," I replied, referring to my geological studies.
"I do not contravene13 that assertion," was his quiet answer.
"And at this stage of our journey, according to all known laws on the increase of heat, there should be here a temperature of fifteen hundred degrees of Reaumur."
"There should be—you say, my boy."
"But you perceive, my boy, that it is not so, and that facts, as usual, are very stubborn things, overruling all theories."
"I am forced to yield to the evidence of my senses, but I am nevertheless very much surprised."
"What heat does the thermometer really indicate?" continued the philosopher.
"Twenty-seven six-tenths."
"So that science is wrong by fourteen hundred and seventy-four degrees and four-tenths. According to which, it is demonstrated that the proportional increase in temperature is an exploded error. Humphry Davy here shines forth16 in all his glory. He is right, and I have acted wisely to believe him. Have you any answer to make to this statement?"
Had I chosen to have spoken, I might have said a great deal. I in no way admitted the theory of Humphry Davy—I still held out for the theory of proportional increase of heat, though I did not feel it.
I was far more willing to allow that this chimney of an extinct volcano was covered by lava17 of a kind refractory18 to heat—in fact a bad conductor—which did not allow the great increase of temperature to percolate19 through its sides. The hot water jet supported my view of the matter.
But without entering on a long and useless discussion, or seeking for new arguments to controvert20 my uncle, I contented21 myself with taking up facts as they were.
"Well, sir, I take for granted that all your calculations are correct, but allow me to draw from them a rigorous and definite conclusion."
"Go on, my boy—have your say," cried my uncle goodhumoredly.
"At the place where we now are, under the latitude22 of Iceland, the terrestrial depth is about fifteen hundred and eighty-three leagues."
"Fifteen hundred eighty-three and a quarter."
"Well, suppose we say sixteen hundred in round numbers. Now, out of a voyage of sixteen hundred leagues we have completed sixteen."
"As you say, what then?"
"At the expense of a diagonal journey of no less than eighty-five leagues."
"Exactly."
"We have been twenty days about it."
"Exactly twenty days."
"Now sixteen is the hundredth part of our contemplated23 expedition. If we go on in this way we shall be two thousand days, that is about five years and a half, going down."
The Professor folded his arms, listened, but did not speak.
"Without counting that if a vertical descent of sixteen leagues costs us a horizontal of eighty-five, we shall have to go about eight thousand leagues to the southeast, and we must therefore come out somewhere in the circumference24 long before we can hope to reach the centre."
"Bother your calculations," cried my uncle in one of his old rages. "On what basis do they rest? How do you know that this passage does not take us direct to the end we require? Moreover, I have in my favor, fortunately, a precedent25. What I have undertaken to do, another has done, and he having succeeded, why should I not be equally successful?"
"I hope, indeed, you will, but still, I suppose I may be allowed to—"
"You are allowed to hold your tongue," cried Professor Hardwigg, "when you talk so unreasonably26 as this."
I saw at once that the old doctorial Professor was still alive in my uncle—and fearful to rouse his angry passions, I dropped the unpleasant subject.
"Now, then," he explained, "consult the manometer. What does that indicate?"
"A considerable amount of pressure."
"Very good. You see, then, that by descending27 slowly, and by gradually accustoming28 ourselves to the density29 of this lower atmosphere, we shall not suffer."
"Well, I suppose not, except it may be a certain amount of pain in the ears," was my rather grim reply.
"That, my dear boy, is nothing, and you will easily get rid of that source of discomfort30 by bringing the exterior31 air in communication with the air contained in your lungs."
"Perfectly32," said I, for I had quite made up my mind in no wise to contradict my uncle. "I should fancy almost that I should experience a certain amount of satisfaction in making a plunge33 into this dense34 atmosphere. Have you taken note of how wonderfully sound is propagated?"
"Of course I have. There can be no doubt that a journey into the interior of the earth would be an excellent cure for deafness."
"But then, Uncle," I ventured mildly to observe, "this density will continue to increase."
"Yes—according to a law which, however, is scarcely defined. It is true that the intensity35 of weight will diminish just in proportion to the depth to which we go. You know very well that it is on the surface of the earth that its action is most powerfully felt, while on the contrary, in the very centre of the earth bodies cease to have any weight at all."
"I know that is the case, but as we progress will not the atmosphere finally assume the density of water?"
"I know it; when placed under the pressure of seven hundred and ten atmospheres," cried my uncle with imperturbable36 gravity.
"And when we are still lower down?" I asked with natural anxiety.
"Well, lower down, the density will become even greater."
"Then how shall we be able to make our way through this atmospheric37 fog?"
"Well, my worthy38 nephew, we must ballast ourselves by filling our pockets with stones," said Professor Hardwigg.
"Faith, Uncle, you have an answer for everything," was my only reply.
I began to feel that it was unwise of me to go any farther into the wide field of hypotheses for I should certainly have revived some difficulty, or rather impossibility, that would have enraged39 the Professor.
It was evident, nevertheless, that the air under a pressure which might be multiplied by thousands of atmospheres, would end by becoming perfectly solid, and that then admitting our bodies resisted the pressure, we should have to stop, in spite of all the reasonings in the world. Facts overcome all arguments.
But I thought it best not to urge this argument. My uncle would simply have quoted the example of Saknussemm. Supposing the learned Icelander's journey ever really to have taken place—there was one simple answer to be made:
In the sixteenth century neither the barometer40 nor the manometer had been invented—how, then, could Saknussemm have been able to discover when he did reach the centre of the earth?
This unanswerable and learned objection I, however, kept to myself and, bracing41 up my courage, awaited the course of events—little aware of how adventurous42 yet were to be the incidents of our remarkable43 journey.
The rest of this day of leisure and repose was spent in calculation and conversation. I made it a point to agree with the Professor in everything; but I envied the perfect indifference44 of Hans, who, without taking any such trouble about the cause and effect, went blindly onwards wherever destiny chose to lead him.
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1
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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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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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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7
granitic
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| 花岗石的，由花岗岩形成的 | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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10
frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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contravene
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| v.违反，违背，反驳，反对 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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15
fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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16
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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refractory
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| adj.倔强的，难驾驭的 | |
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percolate
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| v.过滤，渗透 | |
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controvert
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| v.否定；否认 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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23
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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accustoming
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| v.（使）习惯于( accustom的现在分词 ) | |
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density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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30
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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33
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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34
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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atmospheric
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| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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41
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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42
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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43
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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44
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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