Presently they dragged me within the village, which consisted of several hundred rude shelters of boughs9 and leaves supported upon the branches of the trees.
Between the huts, which sometimes formed crooked10 streets, were dead branches and the trunks of small trees which connected the huts upon one tree to those within adjoining trees; the whole network of huts and pathways forming an almost solid flooring a good fifty feet above the ground.
I wondered why these agile11 creatures required connecting bridges between the trees, but later when I saw the motley aggregation12 of half-savage13 beasts which they kept within their village I realized the necessity for the pathways. There were a number of the same vicious wolf-dogs which we had left worrying the dyryth, and many goatlike animals whose distended14 udders explained the reasons for their presence.
My guard halted before one of the huts into which I was pushed; then two of the creatures squatted15 down before the entrance—to prevent my escape, doubtless. Though where I should have escaped to I certainly had not the remotest conception. I had no more than entered the dark shadows of the interior than there fell upon my ears the tones of a familiar voice, in prayer.
"Perry!" I cried. "Dear old Perry! Thank the Lord you are safe."
"David! Can it be possible that you escaped?" And the old man stumbled toward me and threw his arms about me.
He had seen me fall before the dyryth, and then he had been seized by a number of the ape-creatures and borne through the tree tops to their village. His captors had been as inquisitive16 as to his strange clothing as had mine, with the same result. As we looked at each other we could not help but laugh.
"With a tail, David," remarked Perry, "you would make a very handsome ape."
"Maybe we can borrow a couple," I rejoined. "They seem to be quite the thing this season. I wonder what the creatures intend doing with us, Perry. They don't seem really savage. What do you suppose they can be? You were about to tell me where we are when that great hairy frigate17 bore down upon us—have you really any idea at all?"
"Yes, David," he replied, "I know precisely18 where we are. We have made a magnificent discovery, my boy! We have proved that the earth is hollow. We have passed entirely19 through its crust to the inner world."
"Perry, you are mad!"
"Not at all, David. For two hundred and fifty miles our prospector20 bore us through the crust beneath our outer world. At that point it reached the center of gravity of the five-hundred-mile-thick crust. Up to that point we had been descending—direction is, of course, merely relative. Then at the moment that our seats revolved—the thing that made you believe that we had turned about and were speeding upward—we passed the center of gravity and, though we did not alter the direction of our progress, yet we were in reality moving upward—toward the surface of the inner world. Does not the strange fauna21 and flora22 which we have seen convince you that you are not in the world of your birth? And the horizon—could it present the strange aspects which we both noted23 unless we were indeed standing24 upon the inside surface of a sphere?"
"But the sun, Perry!" I urged. "How in the world can the sun shine through five hundred miles of solid crust?"
"It is not the sun of the outer world that we see here. It is another sun—an entirely different sun—that casts its eternal noonday effulgence25 upon the face of the inner world. Look at it now, David—if you can see it from the doorway26 of this hut—and you will see that it is still in the exact center of the heavens. We have been here for many hours—yet it is still noon.
"And withal it is very simple, David. The earth was once a nebulous mass. It cooled, and as it cooled it shrank. At length a thin crust of solid matter formed upon its outer surface—a sort of shell; but within it was partially27 molten matter and highly expanded gases. As it continued to cool, what happened? Centrifugal force hurled28 the particles of the nebulous center toward the crust as rapidly as they approached a solid state. You have seen the same principle practically applied29 in the modern cream separator. Presently there was only a small super-heated core of gaseous30 matter remaining within a huge vacant interior left by the contraction31 of the cooling gases. The equal attraction of the solid crust from all directions maintained this luminous32 core in the exact center of the hollow globe. What remains33 of it is the sun you saw today—a relatively34 tiny thing at the exact center of the earth. Equally to every part of this inner world it diffuses35 its perpetual noonday light and torrid heat.
"This inner world must have cooled sufficiently36 to support animal life long ages after life appeared upon the outer crust, but that the same agencies were at work here is evident from the similar forms of both animal and vegetable creation which we have already seen. Take the great beast which attacked us, for example. Unquestionably a counterpart of the Megatherium of the post-Pliocene period of the outer crust, whose fossilized skeleton has been found in South America."
"But the grotesque37 inhabitants of this forest?" I urged. "Surely they have no counterpart in the earth's history."
"Who can tell?" he rejoined. "They may constitute the link between ape and man, all traces of which have been swallowed by the countless38 convulsions which have racked the outer crust, or they may be merely the result of evolution along slightly different lines—either is quite possible."
Further speculation39 was interrupted by the appearance of several of our captors before the entrance of the hut. Two of them entered and dragged us forth40. The perilous41 pathways and the surrounding trees were filled with the black ape-men, their females, and their young. There was not an ornament42, a weapon, or a garment among the lot.
"Quite low in the scale of creation," commented Perry.
"Quite high enough to play the deuce with us, though," I replied. "Now what do you suppose they intend doing with us?"
We were not long in learning. As on the occasion of our trip to the village we were seized by a couple of the powerful creatures and whirled away through the tree tops, while about us and in our wake raced a chattering, jabbering43, grinning horde of sleek44, black ape-things.
Twice my bearers missed their footing, and my heart ceased beating as we plunged45 toward instant death among the tangled46 deadwood beneath. But on both occasions those lithe47, powerful tails reached out and found sustaining branches, nor did either of the creatures loosen their grasp upon me. In fact, it seemed that the incidents were of no greater moment to them than would be the stubbing of one's toe at a street crossing in the outer world—they but laughed uproariously and sped on with me.
For some time they continued through the forest—how long I could not guess for I was learning, what was later borne very forcefully to my mind, that time ceases to be a factor the moment means for measuring it cease to exist. Our watches were gone, and we were living beneath a stationary48 sun. Already I was puzzled to compute49 the period of time which had elapsed since we broke through the crust of the inner world. It might be hours, or it might be days—who in the world could tell where it was always noon! By the sun, no time had elapsed—but my judgment50 told me that we must have been several hours in this strange world.
Presently the forest terminated, and we came out upon a level plain. A short distance before us rose a few low, rocky hills. Toward these our captors urged us, and after a short time led us through a narrow pass into a tiny, circular valley. Here they got down to work, and we were soon convinced that if we were not to die to make a Roman holiday, we were to die for some other purpose. The attitude of our captors altered immediately as they entered the natural arena51 within the rocky hills. Their laughter ceased. Grim ferocity marked their bestial52 faces—bared fangs53 menaced us.
We were placed in the center of the amphitheater—the thousand creatures forming a great ring about us. Then a wolf-dog was brought—HYAENODON Perry called it—and turned loose with us inside the circle. The thing's body was as large as that of a full-grown mastiff, its legs were short and powerful, and its jaws54 broad and strong. Dark, shaggy hair covered its back and sides, while its breast and belly55 were quite white. As it slunk toward us it presented a most formidable aspect with its upcurled lips baring its mighty57 fangs.
Perry was on his knees, praying. I stooped and picked up a small stone. At my movement the beast veered58 off a bit and commenced circling us. Evidently it had been a target for stones before. The ape-things were dancing up and down urging the brute59 on with savage cries, until at last, seeing that I did not throw, he charged us.
At Andover, and later at Yale, I had pitched on winning ball teams. My speed and control must both have been above the ordinary, for I made such a record during my senior year at college that overtures60 were made to me in behalf of one of the great major-league teams; but in the tightest pitch that ever had confronted me in the past I had never been in such need for control as now.
As I wound up for the delivery, I held my nerves and muscles under absolute command, though the grinning jaws were hurtling toward me at terrific speed. And then I let go, with every ounce of my weight and muscle and science in back of that throw. The stone caught the hyaenodon full upon the end of the nose, and sent him bowling61 over upon his back.
At the same instant a chorus of shrieks62 and howls arose from the circle of spectators, so that for a moment I thought that the upsetting of their champion was the cause; but in this I soon saw that I was mistaken. As I looked, the ape-things broke in all directions toward the surrounding hills, and then I distinguished63 the real cause of their perturbation. Behind them, streaming through the pass which leads into the valley, came a swarm of hairy men—gorilla64-like creatures armed with spears and hatchets65, and bearing long, oval shields. Like demons66 they set upon the ape-things, and before them the hyaenodon, which had now regained67 its senses and its feet, fled howling with fright. Past us swept the pursued and the pursuers, nor did the hairy ones accord us more than a passing glance until the arena had been emptied of its former occupants. Then they returned to us, and one who seemed to have authority among them directed that we be brought with them.
When we had passed out of the amphitheater onto the great plain we saw a caravan68 of men and women—human beings like ourselves—and for the first time hope and relief filled my heart, until I could have cried out in the exuberance69 of my happiness. It is true that they were a half-naked, wild-appearing aggregation; but they at least were fashioned along the same lines as ourselves—there was nothing grotesque or horrible about them as about the other creatures in this strange, weird70 world.
But as we came closer, our hearts sank once more, for we discovered that the poor wretches71 were chained neck to neck in a long line, and that the gorilla-men were their guards. With little ceremony Perry and I were chained at the end of the line, and without further ado the interrupted march was resumed.
Up to this time the excitement had kept us both up; but now the tiresome72 monotony of the long march across the sun-baked plain brought on all the agonies consequent to a long-denied sleep. On and on we stumbled beneath that hateful noonday sun. If we fell we were prodded73 with a sharp point. Our companions in chains did not stumble. They strode along proudly erect74. Occasionally they would exchange words with one another in a monosyllabic language. They were a noble-appearing race with well-formed heads and perfect physiques. The men were heavily bearded, tall and muscular; the women, smaller and more gracefully75 molded, with great masses of raven76 hair caught into loose knots upon their heads. The features of both sexes were well proportioned—there was not a face among them that would have been called even plain if judged by earthly standards. They wore no ornaments77; but this I later learned was due to the fact that their captors had stripped them of everything of value. As garmenture the women possessed78 a single robe of some light-colored, spotted79 hide, rather similar in appearance to a leopard's skin. This they wore either supported entirely about the waist by a leathern thong80, so that it hung partially below the knee on one side, or possibly looped gracefully across one shoulder. Their feet were shod with skin sandals. The men wore loin cloths of the hide of some shaggy beast, long ends of which depended before and behind nearly to the ground. In some instances these ends were finished with the strong talons81 of the beast from which the hides had been taken.
Our guards, whom I already have described as gorilla-like men, were rather lighter82 in build than a gorilla, but even so they were indeed mighty creatures. Their arms and legs were proportioned more in conformity83 with human standards, but their entire bodies were covered with shaggy, brown hair, and their faces were quite as brutal84 as those of the few stuffed specimens85 of the gorilla which I had seen in the museums at home.
Their only redeeming86 feature lay in the development of the head above and back of the ears. In this respect they were not one whit56 less human than we. They were clothed in a sort of tunic87 of light cloth which reached to the knees. Beneath this they wore only a loin cloth of the same material, while their feet were shod with thick hide of some mammoth88 creature of this inner world.
Their arms and necks were encircled by many ornaments of metal—silver predominating—and on their tunics89 were sewn the heads of tiny reptiles90 in odd and rather artistic91 designs. They talked among themselves as they marched along on either side of us, but in a language which I perceived differed from that employed by our fellow prisoners. When they addressed the latter they used what appeared to be a third language, and which I later learned is a mongrel tongue rather analogous92 to the Pidgin-English of the Chinese coolie.
How far we marched I have no conception, nor has Perry. Both of us were asleep much of the time for hours before a halt was called—then we dropped in our tracks. I say "for hours," but how may one measure time where time does not exist! When our march commenced the sun stood at zenith. When we halted our shadows still pointed93 toward nadir94. Whether an instant or an eternity95 of earthly time elapsed who may say. That march may have occupied nine years and eleven months of the ten years that I spent in the inner world, or it may have been accomplished96 in the fraction of a second—I cannot tell. But this I do know that since you have told me that ten years have elapsed since I departed from this earth I have lost all respect for time—I am commencing to doubt that such a thing exists other than in the weak, finite mind of man.
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1
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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thumped
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| v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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aggregation
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| n.聚合，组合；凝聚 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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prospector
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| n.探矿者 | |
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fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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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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effulgence
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| n.光辉 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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gaseous
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| adj.气体的，气态的 | |
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contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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diffuses
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| （使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的第三人称单数 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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43
jabbering
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴 | |
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44
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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45
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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46
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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47
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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48
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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49
compute
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| v./n.计算，估计 | |
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50
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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51
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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52
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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53
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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54
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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56
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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58
veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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62
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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gorilla
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| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
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hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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66
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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67
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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nadir
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| n.最低点，无底 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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