The ship behaved admirably. Notwithstanding a pressure exceeding a thousand pounds on the square inch, not a trace of a leak could be discovered. At last they thought they might venture to rise a little; so, by altering the inclination of the propellers they gradually ascended about a thousand feet without any unpleasant result. At this height, signs of water disturbance rendered it inexpedient to continue their upward progress till they had made another fifty miles of their voyage. They then ascended five hundred feet more; at that depth the water was rough, but practicable. Fifty miles further, they ventured to force the water out of the tanks, and rise to the surface. This they did very slowly and cautiously, and on emerging they found that the zone of tornadoes was passed. The sea was still exceedingly rough; but looking back towards the north, it was easy to see, from the much greater violence of the waves in that quarter, that they had left the equatorial hurricanes behind them. They were now in the southern hemisphere, and, as well as they could compute, about two hundred and fifty miles south of the equator. The total width of the belt of storms, at the place where they had crossed it, they estimated at five hundred miles. As they proceeded towards the south, the sea became smoother and smoother, till they reached a region of nearly perfect calm. They resolved to hold on their course, due south, till they either reached land or the South Pole itself. On the ninth day after their emergence they sighted land. The country was evidently mountainous; overhead, the cloudy screen continued unbroken, and seemingly at the same elevation as in the north. Soon the ship was near enough to the shore for the crew to be able to discern unmistakable signs of life; and, on rounding a headland, a city of moderate size came into view. The style of the buildings was in no way different from that which was familiar to them at home. As they cast anchor a few hundred yards from the shore, they could see that the pier was densely crowded with people, who had been evidently attracted by the strangely-shaped vessel. Presently one of the crew, taking up a spy-glass, leaned on the handrail and took a steady look at the people on the pier. He had not gazed for more than a few seconds when he suddenly turned as white as a sheet, staggered back a couple of steps, and, gasping for breath, handed the glass to the man beside him. The captain asked him what was the matter—‘It is a City of the Dead,’ he stammered, in a voice all but inarticulate with terror.