Chapter 42

CHAPTER XLII.

HEADLONG SPEED UPWARD THROUGH THE HORRORS OF DARKNESS

It might have been, as I guessed, about ten at night. The first of mysenses which came into play after this last bout was that of hearing.All at once I could hear; and it was a real exercise of the sense ofhearing. I could hear the silence in the gallery after the din whichfor hours had stunned me. At last these words of my uncle's came tome like a vague murmuring:

"We are going up."

"What do you mean?" I cried.

"Yes, we are going up - up!"

I stretched out my arm. I touched the wall, and drew back my handbleeding. We were ascending with extreme rapidity.

"The torch! The torch!" cried the Professor.

Not without difficulty Hans succeeded in lighting the torch; and theflame, preserving its upward tendency, threw enough light to show uswhat kind of a place we were in.

"Just as I thought," said the Professor "We are in a tunnel notfour-and-twenty feet in diameter The water had reached the bottom ofthe gulf. It is now rising to its level, and carrying us with it."

"Where to?"

"I cannot tell; but we must be ready for anything. We are mounting ata speed which seems to me of fourteen feet in a second, or ten milesan hour. At this rate we shall get on."

"Yes, if nothing stops us; if this well has an aperture. But supposeit to be stopped. If the air is condensed by the pressure of thiscolumn of water we shall be crushed."

"Axel," replied the Professor with perfect coolness, "our situationis almost desperate; but there are some chances of deliverance, andit is these that I am considering. If at every instant we may perish,so at every instant we may be saved. Let us then be prepared to seizeupon the smallest advantage."

"But what shall we do now?"

"Recruit our strength by eating."

At these words I fixed a haggard eye upon my uncle. That which I hadbeen so unwilling to confess at last had to be told.

"Eat, did you say?"

"Yes, at once."

The Professor added a few words in Danish, but Hans shook his headmournfully.

"What!" cried my uncle. "Have we lost our provisions?"

"Yes; here is all we have left; one bit of salt meat for the three."

My uncle stared at me as if he could not understand.

"Well," said I, "do you think we have any chance of being saved?"

My question was unanswered.

An hour passed away. I began to feel the pangs of a violent hunger.My companions were suffering too, and not one of us dared touch thiswretched remnant of our goodly store.

But now we were mounting up with excessive speed. Sometimes the airwould cut our breath short, as is experienced by aeronauts ascendingtoo rapidly. But whilst they suffer from cold in proportion to theirrise, we were beginning to feel a contrary effect. The heat