They all ran to the port holes, which were openings in the side of the ship. They were fitted with thick, double glass, and covered on the outside with steel shutters. These shutters were worked by a single lever from the engine room, so that one person could open or close them in a second or two. Washington, by accident, it appeared later, had slid back the protecting pieces of steel, and the rest followed. As the adventurers looked from the glass ports they saw that the light which had flooded the ship came from without. They were in the midst of a beautiful glow, which seemed to be diffused about them like rays from a sun. Only, in place of being a yellow or white light, such as the sun gives off at varying times, the glow was of violet hue. And, as they watched, they saw the light change color, becoming a beautiful red, then blue, and again green. “Well, this is certainly remarkable!” the professor said. “I wonder what causes that.” “We’ve arrived! We’re here, anyhow!” Washington cried, coming into the room. “See the country!” Then, for the first time, the travelers, taking their attention from the curious light that was all around them, saw that they had indeed arrived. They were on a vast plain, one, seemingly, boundless in extent, though off to the left there was a range of lofty mountains, while to the right there was the glimmer of what might be a big lake or inland sea. “See, we are resting on the ground!” exclaimed Jack. He pointed out of the window, and the others, looking close at hand, noted that the _Mermaid_ had settled down in the midst of what seemed to be a field of flowers. Big red and yellow blossoms were all in front, and some grew so tall as to almost be up to the edge of the port. “I wonder if we can be seeing aright,” the professor muttered. “Is this really the interior of the earth; such a beautiful place as this?” There could be little doubt of it. The ship had descended through the big shaft, had been sucked down by the terrible air current, and had really landed in a strange country. Of its size, shape and general conditions the adventurers, as yet, could but guess. They could see it was a pleasant place, and one where there might be the means to sustain life. For, as the professor said afterward, he felt that where there were flowers there would be fruits, and where both of these provisions of nature were to be found there would likely be animal life, and even, perhaps, human beings. But, for the time, they were content to look from the port on the beautiful scene that lay stretched out before them. The ship rested on an even keel and had landed so softly that none of the plates were strained.