Chapter 22

CHAPTER XXII.

TOTAL FAILURE OF WATER

This time the descent commenced by the new gallery. Hans walked firstas was his custom.

We had not gone a hundred yards when the Professor, moving hislantern along the walls, cried:

"Here are primitive rocks. Now we are in the right way. Forward!"

When in its early stages the earth was slowly cooling, itscontraction gave rise in its crust to disruptions, distortions,fissures, and chasms. The passage through which we were moving wassuch a fissure, through which at one time granite poured out in amolten state. Its thousands of windings formed an inextricablelabyrinth through the primeval mass.

As fast as we descended, the succession of beds forming the primitivefoundation came out with increasing distinctness. Geologists considerthis primitive matter to be the base of the mineral crust of theearth, and have ascertained it to be composed of three differentformations, schist, gneiss, and mica schist, resting upon thatunchangeable foundation, the granite.

Never had mineralogists found themselves in so marvellous a situationto study nature in situ. What the boring machine, an insensible,inert instrument, was unable to bring to the surface of the innerstructure of the globe, we were able to peruse with our own eyes andhandle with our own hands.

Through the beds of schist, coloured with delicate shades of green,ran in winding course threads of copper and manganese, with traces ofplatinum and gold. I thought, what riches are here buried at anunapproachable depth in the earth, hidden for ever from the covetouseyes of the human race! These treasures have been buried at such aprofound depth by the convulsions of primeval times that they run nochance of ever being molested by the pickaxe or the spade.

To the schists succeeded gneiss, partially stratified, remarkable forthe parallelism and regularity of its lamina, then mica schists, laidin large plates or flakes, revealing their lamellated structure bythe sparkle of the white shining mica.

The light from our apparatus, reflected from the small facets ofquartz, shot sparkling rays at every angle, and I seemed to be movingthrough a diamond, within which the quickly darting rays broke acrosseach other in a thousand flashing coruscations.

About six o'clock this brilliant fete of illuminations underwent asensible abatement of splendour, then almost ceased. The wallsassumed a crystallised though sombre appearance; mica was moreclosely mingled with the feldspar and quartz to form the proper rockyfoundations of the earth, which bears without distortion or crushingthe weight of the four terrestrial systems. We were immured withinprison walls of granite.

It was eight in the evening. No signs of water had yet appeared. Iwas suffering horribly. My uncle strode on. He refused to stop. Hewas listening anxiously for the murmur of distant springs. But,