"What else but gunpowder, a subterranean mine? Let us blow up the obstacle that stands in our way." "Gunpowder!" "Yes; all we have to do is to get rid of this paltry obstacle." "To work, Hans, to work!" cried the Professor. The Icelander went back to the raft, and soon returned with a huge crowbar, with which he began to dig a hole in the rock, which was to serve as a mine. It was by no means a slight task. It was necessary for our purpose to make a cavity large enough to hold fifty pounds of fulminating gun cotton, the expansive power of which is four times as great as that of ordinary gunpowder. I had now roused myself to an almost miraculous state of excitement. While Hans was at work, I actively assisted my uncle to prepare a long wick, made from damp gunpowder, the mass of which we finally enclosed in a bag of linen. "We are bound to go through," I cried, enthusiastically. "We are bound to go through," responded the Professor, tapping me on the back. At midnight, our work as miners was completely finished; the charge of fulminating cotton was thrust into the hollow, and the match, which we had made of considerable length, was ready. A spark was now sufficient to ignite this formidable engine, and to blow the rock to atoms! "We will now rest until tomorrow." It was absolutely necessary to resign myself to my fate, and to consent to wait for the explosion for six weary hours! CHAPTER 39 THE EXPLOSION AND ITS RESULTS The next day, which was the twenty-seventh of August, was a date celebrated in our wondrous subterranean journey. I never think of it even now, but I shudder with horror. My heart beats wildly at the very memory of that awful day. From this time forward, our reason, our judgment, our human ingenuity, have nothing to do with the course of events. We are about to become the plaything of the great phenomena of the earth! At six o'clock we were all up and ready. The dreaded moment was arriving when we were about to seek an opening into the interior of the earth by means of gunpowder. What would be the consequences of breaking through the crust of the earth? I begged that it might be my duty to set fire to the mine. I looked upon it as an honor. This task once performed, I could rejoin my friends upon the raft, which had not been unloaded. As soon as we were all ready, we were to sail away to some distance to avoid the consequences of the explosion, the effects of which would certainly not be concentrated in the interior of the earth. The slow match we calculated to burn for about ten minutes, more or less, before it reached the chamber in which the great body of powder was confined. I should therefore have plenty of time to reach the raft and put off to a safe distance. I prepared to execute my self-allotted task--not, it must be confessed, without considerable emotion. After a hearty repast, my uncle and the hunter-guide embarked on board the raft, while I remained alone upon the desolate shore.