Five Thousand Miles Underground; Or, the Mystery of the Centre of the EarthRockwood, Roy
Science
Five Thousand Miles Underground; Or, the Mystery of the Centre of the Earth
Rockwood, Roy
Science fiction
Mark shuddered as he recalled the monster that seemed to have grown more
terrible as each second passed. Then the boy raised himself up from his
prostrate position.
“Well, at any rate, some one has turned off the heat,” he murmured.
“It’s very comfortable in here now. I wish I could strike a light.”
He listened intently, to learn if any of the others were moving about.
He could hear them breathing, but so faintly as to indicate they were
insensible. Mark stretched out his hand and felt that some one was lying
close to him, but who of the adventurers it was he could not determine.
“If only the dynamo was working we could have light,” he said. “But it
seems to have stopped,” and, indeed there was a lacking of the familiar
purr and hum of the electrical machine. In fact none of the apparatus in
the ship was working.
“The storage battery!” exclaimed Mark. “That would give light for a
while, if I can only find the switch in the dark.”
He began crawling about on his hands and knees. It was so intensely
black that he ran into many things and received severe bruises. At last
he came to a doorway, and as he did so his hand came in contact with an
easy chair. It was the only one aboard, and by that he knew he had
passed into the sitting room. He had his general direction now, and knew
if he kept straight on he would come to the engine room. There he was
familiar enough with the apparatus and levers to be able to turn the
electric switch.
Crawling slowly and cautiously, he reached the room where all the
engines were. Then he had to feel around the sides to locate the switch.
At length he found it. There was a click, a little flash of greenish
fire, and the copper conductors came together, and the ship was flooded
with the glow from the incandescents.
Mark hurried back to where the others were lying. They were still
unconscious, but an uneasy movement on the part of Jack told that he was
coming out of the stupor. Mark got some ammonia and held it beneath his
comrade’s nose. The strong fumes completed the work that nature had
started and Jack opened his eyes.
“Where am I? What has happened? Are any of them dead?” he asked quickly.
“I hope no one is dead,” Mark replied. “As to the other question, I
can’t answer. I don’t know whether we are a thousand miles underground,
or floating on the ocean, though I’m more inclined to the former theory.
But never mind that now. Help me to bring the others back to their
senses. I’ll work on the professor and you can begin on Bill or Tom.
Washington seems to be all right,” for at that moment the colored man
opened his eyes, stared about him and then got up.
“I thought I was dead for suah!” he exclaimed.
“Some of the others may be if we don’t hurry,” said Mark. “Get to work,
Wash!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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