“ It was an atmosphere of death, and fortunately we were hermetically sealed against it.
"I propose," said Torrence, "that our next voyage into the interior of our planet be made through the south polar opening at midsummer, about January, to enable us to see what kind of country we are passing through!"
"That is easy enough to see now," I answered; "ice mountains, ice oceans, ice continents, icebergs, ice valleys of death; surely no living creature could exist in such icy solitudes, in such unutterable cold!" ”

“ The air was still, and only the tiniest ripple of a surf came rolling in upon our rosy beach, and the stillness, the cessation of motion, and our extraordinary situation, made me for the first time long for home.
A bird of an unknown species came flying toward us from over the water. Its plumage was brilliant with trailing feathers of red, green, and yellow; while upon its head was a topknot of the same colors. Torrence thought he should like to have it and so fetched his gun. The bird circled above, full of curiosity. Perhaps we were the first human beings it had ever seen. ”

“ We climbed up on deck again and touched the button and shoved over the lever. The glory of the next minute eclipsed every sensation of exultant joy, for the air ship rose like a Phoenix from the ashes and sailed. We dared not rise too high until better work should be done, but at fifty feet above the ground we again pressed ahead at twenty miles an hour. How long this would last we trembled to think, but more than forty minutes had elapsed before we observed any lessening of the speed; and then our hearts sank in proportion as we slowed down and dipped earthward. ”

“ I confess that my anticipation of trouble did not put me in the most cheerful frame of mind, but I resolved to do my best and stand by my leader at all hazards. Presently we climbed a fence and I knew that I was in Wetherbee's field; the one in which the barn stood. We moved stealthily on, over a grassy sod, and once, as I looked aloft, thought I saw the faint flickering of a star, and called Torrence's attention to it as a good omen.
"We don't want any stars to-night," he whispered; "the denser the fog the better." ”

“ What if they should reach the air ship first, by some safer and better route known to them only? What if they should destroy it, and leave us lost and alone in this strange world, with our only means of returning gone? The thought of such a possibility was more terrible than that of death; for even if these people were friendly, we could never become one of them. A Chinaman or a Thibetan, or even some undiscovered race in Central Africa would be allied to us by every tie of life beneath a kindred sky, the same sun and moon, the same stars and clouds throughout the ages ”

“ This circumstance reminded me of Torrence's financiering and the discovery of pearls upon the beach. It seemed trivial to concern ourselves about gold when precious stones were to be had with so slight an effort, and I asked why he should care to carry any of the yellow metal away with him.
"Merely to convince the outer world of its existence, and to confirm a theory I have always held," he replied. "To my mind there can be no reasonable doubt that we shall find deposits here exceeding anything our people have ever dreamed of!"
"And why?"
"Because gold is heavy," he answered. ”

“ I called to Torrence, speaking for the first time. But he turned upon me a face pale with horror and said:
"I can go no further!"
It was what I was dreading. The cliff above was smooth and slaty, offering not the slightest projection for a foothold. And there we hung in mid-air, listening to the rabble pouring on behind. Death seemed inevitable, for we had nearly reached the top, and could not have survived a fall to the jagged rocks below, to say nothing of dropping into the teeth of the enemy. ”

“ Northward again we proceeded on our journey, and from the upper deck surveyed the solitude of an ocean unknown to human eyes. All traces of ice had vanished; the sea was tranquil and the air pleasant. Naturally enough our conversation fell upon the mysterious cairn and its contents.
"In my opinion," said Torrence, "this Jan von Broekhuysen is the most unique creation of our planet. He is the only human being of his kind since creation. I will guarantee that not in a million years has the earth produced such another!" ”

“ We beat the bushes, lifting the dense growth right and left, but what had been so plain before, was quite hidden now. There was no time to be lost, for already a murmur arose on the air—a babel of voices from the valley—and it was evident the crowd was scrambling up the first rugged declivities beneath.
"We must get back to the air ship," said Torrence, "even if we have to go up the face of the precipice!"
"It is impossible!" I exclaimed; "we shall risk our lives, and may be dashed to pieces before reaching the top!" ”

“ Torrence roared, as if he thought it the best joke imaginable.
"Now, look here, old boy," he said in another minute, "don't lose your temper, because it doesn't pay. What's the use of money if not to give pleasure? That's my way of enjoying myself, and I don't either ask or expect any favors in return. As you see, it takes a lot of money to buy my pleasure, but I can afford it!"
"If you have such an income that you can't spend it," I replied, "suppose you give a little of it to me. You might be glad some day if you found that I had saved a few pounds for you!" ”

“ Fortunately our island is well supplied with fruits and fish, or we should be in even sadder plight than we are. It seems incredible that we should have traversed so great a portion of the earth's surface, and skimmed her interior from pole to pole, to find ourselves at last stranded upon this lonely shore, where the sight of a sail has never relieved the monotony of our solitude. ”

“ Coming to a halt again about fifty feet above the ground we leaned over the rail, shouting to the crowd to disperse, not daring to touch the earth for fear of injuring some unseen person beneath, and with the further apprehension, lest in their frenzy of excitement they should climb upon our decks and overpower us. We were manifestly looked upon as visitors from another world. Some pointed above, others to the north and south as if to inquire whether we had come over the regions of eternal ice. ”

“ I have not the slightest idea how long I remained upon this barren mountain top, but after hours of mental torture I suddenly caught sight of the air ship flying toward me high above the desert plain. My heart gave one great leap of joy, and then I relapsed into a dreadful fear lest Torrence should not see me. In an instant I had pulled off my shirt and was waving it frantically. I watched for an answer, but no, he was not on the lookout; still I would not relax my efforts until every hope had passed. I shouted, I roared, I waved my shirt and coat frantically. ”

“ An overpowering desire to escape its depressing influence possessed us.
Safely aboard the air ship we began ascending the wall as if passengers in a huge elevator, which in fact we were. Again the birds flew out, terrified at our approach, some falling dead from sheer fright, a few of which we secured on deck. Hugging this terrible escarpment we were enabled to examine its formation with accuracy. Large blocks of syenitic granite hung loose, ready to drop at any minute and we saw how for ages the cliff had been slowly disintegrating, and receding from the sea by action of storm and catyclism. ”

“ I said to Torrence, as we sat sipping our coffee, "that the people of this world should never have discovered their close proximity to our own outer sphere, which is indeed equivalent to another planet!"
"No more astounding," he answered, "than that we, who so continually boast of our superior powers, should through all these ages have failed to even suspect their existence. We search the heavens for indications of life upon our sister planets, and neglect this world beneath our feet. ”

“ We realized more than ever that we had entered another world, for a more strangely fantastic scene was impossible to imagine. The wildest consternation reigned on board while we remained in sight, and Torrence waved a white cloth, and made signals to show that we were friendly. We embraced one another, and extended our arms toward them as an indication of brotherly love, and we had to convince them with some difficulty that the air ship was not alive. It was evident that they did not understand flying machines in the new world. ”

“ My body was the only objective reality in all creation, and even the more distant parts of that showed a tendency to evade me. Still onward and upward, with nothing to prove our motion save the feeling which the vessel imparted. Suddenly a flood of sunlight enveloped us, and we rose like a duck out of the water into another element. A milk-white sea was spread beneath; a dazzling sky above. Again Torrence was at his screws and levers. We halted, and trembled for a moment in midair, preparatory to changing our course ”

“ While looking down upon this marvelous panorama we were suddenly startled by a sight I shall never forget. Far down to the east another air ship was following at tremendous speed. Black and forbidding it plunged along through the fiery waves, as if bent on running us down. It was the counterpart of our own vessel. We seized each other's hands in amazement, overcome with horror. So brilliant was the scene below that it was an instant before we realized that the awful object was our own phantom, or shadow, cast upon the clouds beneath; but during that instant it was a terrifying sight. ”

“ We then headed the air ship for the city.
As we floated out over the cliff a great shout of applause rent the air, and the crowd began scrambling down after us. Tuzu stood motionless, holding fast to the rail. He was too much impressed to heed the demonstrations of his less fortunate comrades, who were obliged to find their way back afoot, a journey of at least six hours.
We decided to impress the man with our power, and so the machine was made to rise and fall alternately in stupendous curves of flight, and with the wildest velocity. ”

“ Sailing on the quiet water below was a ship of unknown build. In the most romantic imagining of fairy tale this vessel could never have been surpassed. Slightly resembling the Pinta and Santa Maria, she suggested them, but the likeness was not sustained on closer examination. She was of greater beam and depth, and of loftier bow and stern. Her prow rose to unusual height, receding gracefully, and again projecting outward in a superb figurehead in the form of a swan, whose beak was gilded, and whose head and neck were set with jewels in laminated gold. ”

“ I then staggered down the ladder and wandered off, hardly knowing how or where, in search of water, for one drink of which I would have sacrificed the entire wealth of our cargo.
Keeping the dark cliffs in view, I bent my steps toward them with a strange misgiving.
The sand lay hot and deep in ridges, undulations, and depressions, like the swell of the ocean; characteristics which had not been so pronounced until I found myself crossing them afoot, and walking over waves into which I sank shoe deep at every step. ”

“ Still I was immovable, while the air ship seemed to leap through the air at the rate of a mile a minute. I could scarcely breathe. The fiery world ahead was not a mile away. Our lungs would be consumed in that horrible incandescent vapor. No living creature could stand it. I continued to hesitate.
"Damn you!" roared Torrence; "if you don't get the water you can stand where you are and be burned. I would cross that sea if it were a thousand times hotter than hell. ”

“ This may be a dream, but it is a paradise!"
"It is not a dream!" cried Torrence; "it is another world; a world within our own. Yonder disk of light in the sky is the opening at the pole through which we have sailed. The earth is a hollow globe, with an opening at each pole, through which the sunlight always enters. ”

“ Then Torrence going to his controlling board, pressed a button, moved a lever, turned a screw, and we were swung gently up, and resumed our journey north, 11° west, headed for Spitzbergen, which Torrence said we should reach within twenty-four hours.
I don't know why it was always such an indescribable pleasure to feel clear of earth; and yet this was the fact. The first sensation of being above the ground was a thrill of inexplicable delight. It seemed as if we were lifted into a higher plane of being, morally as well as bodily, involving a certain arrogant sympathy for those left behind. ”

“ Surround the barn! Where are they?"
A hideous medley of curses, groans, and sounds of fighting rose through the darkness from every quarter of the field; but the air ship was far above, and hidden from eight in the dense gloom of the morning fog.
"Let them fight it out among themselves," said Torrence, drawing a long sigh of relief; "we shall never see them again!"
We rose steadily and slowly for several minutes, Torrence saying it would be necessary to be well above the houses, as we were going to pass directly over London and must take no risk of a collision in the darkness. ”

“ We stood on deck watching its beautiful coloring and outline until the foothills were reached, when we reduced our speed. Nearing a purple cliff, streaked with crimson, we halted, and then rose slowly to a grassy ledge, where we landed. The mountains were not lofty, but presented a rugged aspect by reason of a series of rocky precipices, like steps, upon the top of each of which was a narrow belt of green, where the fertility of the ground was evidenced by a prolific growth of grass and fruits in wonderful profusion and variety. ”