Roy Rockwood

“ As the professor and the boys hurried from the tower, they could hear a struggle from where Washington was, and his voice calling:
“Let me go! Let me go!”
Reaching the engine room, which opened directly on the side entrance, the professor saw a pair of enormous hands and arms dragging poor Washington, feet first, out of the ship. Bill and Tom were crouched in one corner, pale with fright.
“Wait until I get my gun!” cried Andy, as he ran for his rifle.
“Hold on!” called the professor in a loud voice. “It will be folly to shoot them! We must try strategy!” ”

“ Andy’s gun spoke again, and the bat with a louder cry than before, darted through the hole in the roof made by the falling stones, which had been loosened by the concussion from the rifle.
“Come on!” cried the old hunter. “That was the guardian of the treasure! We are safe now!”
Then, in the light which streamed through the broken roof, the adventurers could see, heaped up on a great altar, behind which sat a horrible graven image, piles of yellow metal, and sparkling stones. In little heaps they were, arranged as if offerings to the terrible god of the giants. ”

“ The pointer was revolving rapidly about the face of the dial.
“Will the ship stand the blow?” asked Tony.
“Not at the rate it is falling,” replied Mark. “She will go all to pieces when she strikes the water, and she may explode!”
“What are we to do then?” asked the leader of the mutineers.
“We must save ourselves!” cried the mate, running in at this juncture. “Let our prisoners shift for themselves as best they can. Let’s all leap into the sea. There we at least have a chance for our lives. But if we stay on this ship we will all be drowned like cats in a bag.” ”

“ Then he hurried on to join the others.
“What makes you so pale?” asked Jack of his chum.
“Nothing,” said Mark, somewhat confused. “I guess I’m a little tired, that’s all.”
They reached the ship in safety, and, having dinner started the machinery and took the Mermaid up into the air.
“We’ll travel on and see if we can’t find some human beings,” the professor said.
All that afternoon they sailed, the country below them unfolding like a panorama. They passed over big lakes, sailing on the surface of some, and over rivers, and vast stretches of forest and dreary plains. ”

“ Lower away Mark!”
The boy, who, under the watchful eye of the professor, was manipulating the levers and wheels in the conning tower, shifted some handles. The gas was expelled from the holder, the negative gravity apparatus ceased to work, and the Flying Mermaid sank lower and lower, toward the mysterious hole that yawned beneath her.
The hearts of all beat strangely, if not with fear, at least with apprehension, for they did not know what they might encounter. Perhaps death in some terrible form awaited them. ”

“ All three were much frightened, but Mark and Jack tried not to show it. As for Washington he was almost crying.
Soon the whirr and hum of the machinery in the Mermaid was heard. The craft, which was rushing in some direction, either downward, ahead or backwards within the unknown depths, shivered from the speed of the dynamos and other apparatus. Soon the boys could hear the professor starting the negative gravity engine, and then began a struggle between the forces of nature and those of mankind. ”

“ With a last tremble, as if to free herself from the hold of the waves, the gallant craft soared up into the air, leaving the water, which dripped from her keel like a fountain’s spray, and shooting aloft like a bird, escaped her terrible enemy which passed under her, so close that the lower part of the Flying Mermaid scraped the whale’s back. ”

“ As they topped the hill they saw before them a deep valley, and in the midst of it was that which was causing the roaring sound.
From the centre of an immense mound of rock and earth there spouted up a great column of water, three hundred feet or more, as straight as a flag staff. It was about ten feet in diameter, and at the top it broke into a rosette of sparkling liquid, which as the vari-colored lights played on it, resembled some wonderful flower.
“It’s a great geyser!” the professor exclaimed. “We have come to a place like Yellowstone Park. We must be very careful. ”

“ The travelers wandered about a quarter of a mile from the ship. They avoided the tall grass and the lofty nodding flowers that seemed to grow in regular groves, and kept to places where they could walk with comparative freedom.
“Have you formed any idea, Professor, as to the nature of this country?” asked Mark, who liked to get at the bottom of things.
“I have, but it is only a theory,” Mr. Henderson answered. “I believe we are on a sort of small earth that is inside the larger one we live on. ”

“ There was a hissing sound as the gas rushed from the container, and the ship began to settle down.
“What’s th’ matter? Are we goin’ t’ hit th’ earth?” yelled Washington, rushing from the engine room.
“Keep quiet,” ordered the professor. “We are only going down, that’s all.”
“But good land! Perfesser!” exclaimed the colored man. “The ocean’s right under us! You forgot you sailed away from the island! We’ll be drowned suah!”
“Leave it to me,” said Mr. Henderson. “The Flying Mermaid is going to take a bath!”
“As long as it swims it will be all right,” observed Mark in a low tone to Jack. ”

“ DOWN INTO THE EARTH It was now noon, but the adventurers did not think of dinner in the excitement of approaching the mysterious island. The speed of the ship was increased that they might the more quickly come to it. As they approached they could see the masses of vapor more plainly, and it appeared that some great commotion must be going on inside the big hole, since clouds of steam arose.
“I only hope it doesn’t prove too hot for us,” observed the professor. “However, I provided a water jacket for the ship, and we may need it, as well as the vacuum chambers to keep the heat from us.” ”

“ Henderson suggested.
As they walked on the noise became louder, until in about half an hour it was like the sound from a blast furnace.
“What do you suppose it can be?” asked Mark.
“Perhaps some new freak of nature,” the professor replied. “We seem to have a good many of them here.”
They were all on their guard now, for there was no telling into what danger they might run. As they went up a little hill the noise became much louder. The professor and Andy, who had taken the lead, kept a sharp lookout ahead, that they might not unexpectedly fall into some hidden stream or lake. ”

“ Mark insisted.
Just then, from without the ship, came a terrible roaring sound, as though there was a great cyclone in progress. At the same time, those aboard the craft could feel themselves being pulled downward with terrific force.
“We are caught in a draught!” Mr. Henderson cried. “We are being sucked down into the depths of the earth!”
He ran to the engine room. With the help of the boys he set in motion an auxiliary gravity machine, designed to exert a most powerful influence against the downward pull of the earth. ”

“ At the suggestion of the professor, the boys and Washington made a tour of the ship. They found, for some unaccountable reason, that nearly all the engines and apparatuses were out of gear. In some the parts had broken, and others were merely stopped, from the failure of some other machine, on which they were dependent.
“I’m afraid this is the end of the Mermaid,” said Mark, in a sorrowful tone.
“Nonsense!” replied Jack, who was of a more cheerful nature. “Things are not so bad as they look. The professor can fix everything.” ”

“ Henderson said about noon the next day.
“What about our gold and diamonds?” asked Jack suddenly. “Can we take them with us in the cylinder?”
“That’s so!” exclaimed Mr. Henderson. “I forgot about them. I’m afraid we’ll have to leave the riches behind. We will not be able to carry them and the food we need, for it may be a week or more before we can leave the cylinder. Gold and diamonds will be a poor substitute for something to eat.”
“I’m goin’ t’ take mine!” said Washington with much conviction. “I might as well starve rich as starve poor!” ”

“ They’re real!” some of those aboard the burning ship could be heard to shout. Evidently more than one of them had taken the Mermaid for a delusion of their fear-crazed brain.
“They are real persons!” they called again and again. “They are coming to save us!”
Mr. Henderson ran his ship as near the burning craft as he dared. Then he called to the crew to leap into the water and swim to him. He, with Washington, Jack, Bill and Tom, stood ready to haul aboard any who were too weak to help themselves. ”

“ For the first time the adventurers realized that they must abandon the craft in which they had reached the new world. So it was with no little feeling of sadness that they climbed up the ladder that had been arranged and slid down into the cylinder. One by one they took their places in the padded berths arranged for them. It was a snug fit, for the professor knew if there was too much room he and the others might be so tossed about as to be killed.
Mr. Henderson was the last to enter. Standing at the manhole he took a final look at his pet creation, the Mermaid. ”

“ Over and over he rolled, until, at length, he struck a little grassy hummock, bounced into the air, and right into the opening of a monster pitcher plant.
“It has him!” cried Mark. “We must save him! Come on everyone!”
He raced down the hill, while the others came closely after him. They reached the plant into which Jack had bounced. The flap, or top piece, had closed down, tightly over the unfortunate boy.
“Quick! We must save him or he will be smothered to death or drowned in the liquid the cup contains!” Mr. Henderson exclaimed. “Attack the plant with anything you can find!” ”

“ The door was slowly swinging open when Mark was startled by a noise from behind him. He turned suddenly to see Professor Henderson confronting him.
“What is it, Mark? Is the ship on fire? What’s the matter? Is any one hurt?”
“I was just going in this room to——” began Mark.
“Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” exclaimed the professor in an excited whisper. “No one must go in that room. I forgot to tell you and Jack about it. No one must enter. ”

“ We must work hard to save our lives, for we are in dire peril.
“Mark, you and Washington, with Jack, start the engines. Turn on every bit of power you can. Fill the gas holder as full as it will hold, and use extra heavy pressure. I will see if I can not work the negative gravity apparatus to better advantage than we did before. We must escape if possible!” ”