I had not yet ventured to look down the bottomless pit into which I was about to take a plunge2. The supreme3 hour had come. I might now either share in the enterprise or refuse to move forward. But I was ashamed to recoil4 in the presence of the hunter. Hans accepted the enterprise with such calmness, such indifference5, such perfect disregard of any possible danger that I blushed at the idea of being less brave than he. If I had been alone I might have once more tried the effect of argument; but in the presence of the guide I held my peace; my heart flew back to my sweet Virlandaise, and I approached the central chimney.
I have already mentioned that it was a hundred feet in diameter, and three hundred feet round. I bent6 over a projecting rock and gazed down. My hair stood on end with terror. The bewildering feeling of vacuity7 laid hold upon me. I felt my centre of gravity shifting its place, and giddiness mounting into my brain like drunkenness. There is nothing more treacherous8 than this attraction down deep abysses. I was just about to drop down, when a hand laid hold of me. It was that of Hans. I suppose I had not taken as many lessons on gulf9 exploration as I ought to have done in the Frelsers Kirk at Copenhagen.
But, however short was my examination of this well, I had taken some account of its conformation. Its almost perpendicular10 walls were bristling11 with innumerable projections12 which would facilitate the descent. But if there was no want of steps, still there was no rail. A rope fastened to the edge of the aperture13 might have helped us down. But how were we to unfasten it, when arrived at the other end?
My uncle employed a very simple expedient14 to obviate15 this difficulty. He uncoiled a cord of the thickness of a finger, and four hundred feet long; first he dropped half of it down, then he passed it round a lava16 block that projected conveniently, and threw the other half down the chimney. Each of us could then descend17 by holding with the hand both halves of the rope, which would not be able to unroll itself from its hold; when two hundred feet down, it would be easy to get possession of the whole of the rope by letting one end go and pulling down by the other. Then the exercise would go on again ad infinitum.
"Now," said my uncle, after having completed these preparations, "now let us look to our loads. I will divide them into three lots; each of us will strap18 one upon his back. I mean only fragile articles."
Of course, we were not included under that head.
"Hans," said he, "will take charge of the tools and a portion of the provisions; you, Axel, will take another third of the provisions, and the arms; and I will take the rest of the provisions and the delicate instruments."
"But," said I, "the clothes, and that mass of ladders and ropes, what is to become of them?"
"They will go down by themselves."
"How so?" I asked.
"You will see presently."
My uncle was always willing to employ magnificent resources. Obeying orders, Hans tied all the non-fragile articles in one bundle, corded them firmly, and sent them bodily down the gulf before us.
I listened to the dull thuds of the descending19 bale. My uncle, leaning over the abyss, followed the descent of the luggage with a satisfied nod, and only rose erect20 when he had quite lost sight of it.
"Very well, now it is our turn."
The Professor fastened his package of instruments upon his shoulders; Hans took the tools; I took the arms: and the descent commenced in the following order; Hans, my uncle, and myself. It was effected in profound silence, broken only by the descent of loosened stones down the dark gulf.
I dropped as it were, frantically22 clutching the double cord with one hand and buttressing23 myself from the wall with the other by means of my stick. One idea overpowered me almost, fear lest the rock should give way from which I was hanging. This cord seemed a fragile thing for three persons to be suspended from. I made as little use of it as possible, performing wonderful feats24 of equilibrium25 upon the lava projections which my foot seemed to catch hold of like a hand.
When one of these slippery steps shook under the heavier form of
"Gif akt!"
"Attention!" repeated my uncle.
In half an hour we were standing27 upon the surface of a rock jammed in across the chimney from one side to the other.
Hans pulled the rope by one of its ends, the other rose in the air; after passing the higher rock it came down again, bringing with it a rather dangerous shower of bits of stone and lava.
Leaning over the edge of our narrow standing ground, I observed that the bottom of the hole was still invisible.
The same manoeuvre28 was repeated with the cord, and half an hour after we had descended29 another two hundred feet.
I don't suppose the maddest geologist30 under such circumstances would have studied the nature of the rocks that we were passing. I am sure I did trouble my head about them. Pliocene, miocene, eocene, cretaceous, jurassic, triassic, permian, carboniferous, devonian, silurian, or primitive31 was all one to me. But the Professor, no doubt, was pursuing his observations or taking notes, for in one of our halts he said to me:
"The farther I go the more confidence I feel. The order of these volcanic32 formations affords the strongest confirmation33 to the theories of Davy. We are now among the primitive rocks, upon which the chemical operations took place which are produced by the contact of elementary bases of metals with water. I repudiate34 the notion of central heat altogether. We shall see further proof of that very soon."
No variation, always the same conclusion. Of course, I was not inclined to argue. My silence was taken for consent and the descent went on.
Another three hours, and I saw no bottom to the chimney yet. When I lifted my head I perceived the gradual contraction35 of its aperture. Its walls, by a gentle incline, were drawing closer to each other, and it was beginning to grow darker.
Still we kept descending. It seemed to me that the falling stones were meeting with an earlier resistance, and that the concussion36 gave a more abrupt37 and deadened sound.
As I had taken care to keep an exact account of our manoeuvres with the rope, which I knew that we had repeated fourteen times, each descent occupying half an hour, the conclusion was easy that we had been seven hours, plus fourteen quarters of rest, making ten hours and a half. We had started at one, it must therefore now be eleven o'clock; and the depth to which we had descended was fourteen times 200 feet, or 2,800 feet.
At this moment I heard the voice of Hans.
"Halt!" he cried.
I stopped short just as I was going to place my feet upon my uncle's head.
"We are there," he cried.
"Where?" said I, stepping near to him.
"At the bottom of the perpendicular chimney," he answered.
"Is there no way farther?"
"Yes; there is a sort of passage which inclines to the right. We will see about that to-morrow. Let us have our supper, and go to sleep."
The darkness was not yet complete. The provision case was opened; we refreshed ourselves, and went to sleep as well as we could upon a bed of stones and lava fragments.
When lying on my back, I opened my eyes and saw a bright sparkling point of light at the extremity38 of the gigantic tube 3,000 feet long, now a vast telescope.
It was a star which, seen from this depth, had lost all scintillation, and which by my computation should be 46; Ursa minor39. Then I fell fast asleep.
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1
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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2
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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3
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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4
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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5
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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6
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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7
vacuity
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| n.(想象力等)贫乏，无聊，空白 | |
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8
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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9
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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10
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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11
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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12
projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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13
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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14
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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15
obviate
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| v.除去，排除，避免，预防 | |
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16
lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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17
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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18
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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19
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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20
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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21
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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22
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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23
buttressing
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| v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的现在分词 ) | |
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24
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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25
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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26
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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27
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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28
manoeuvre
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| n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动 | |
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29
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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30
geologist
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| n.地质学家 | |
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31
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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32
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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33
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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34
repudiate
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| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
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35
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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36
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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37
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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38
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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39
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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