Five Thousand Miles Underground Part 7

"We're pretty high up in the air," he said, "and scooting along at about fifty miles an hour. We are going against the wind, too, but fortunately it is not blowing hard."

At that moment there sounded from without a peculiar howling sound, as if a siren whistle was being blown.

"'Pears like there's goin' t' be a tumultuous demonstration of sub-maxiliary contortions in th' empherial regions contiguous t' th'

upper atmosphere!" exclaimed Was.h.i.+ngton, entering from the engine room into the conning tower.

"What's the trouble?" asked Mr. Henderson.

"Terrible big black cloud chasin' us from behind!" exclaimed the colored man.

Noting the alarm in Was.h.i.+ngton's voice the professor glanced from the rear window. What he saw caused him to exclaim:

"It's a cyclone! We must drop down to avoid it!"

He sprang to a lever controlling the gas and yanked it toward him.

There was a shrill hissing sound, and a second later the Mermaid began to sink. The boys watching the gages on the wall of the tower, saw that the craft was falling rapidly.

But, with a rush and roar, the terrible wind was upon them. It caught the craft in its fearful grip and heeled it over as a s.h.i.+p careens to the ocean blast.

"It's a storm in the upper regions! We'll find it calm below!" cried the professor above the howling of the gale. He opened the gas outlet wider and the s.h.i.+p fell more rapidly.

"Are you sure we're over the ocean?" asked Mark.

"Positive!" the professor called back. "We have been traveling straight south over the Atlantic for the last week. We will land in the midst of the waters and float safely."

Lower and lower went the Mermaid. The wind was now blowing with the force of a tornado, and, as the craft had to slant in order to descend, it felt the power of the gale more than if it had scudded before it. But, by skilful use of the directing tube, the professor was able to keep the boat from turning over. As they came further down toward the earth the force of the wind was felt less and less, until, as they came within two hundred feet of the water which they saw below them in the gathering dusk, it died out altogether.

"Now we are free from it," said the professor as the Mermaid came down on the waves like an immense swan.

"Are you going ahead or going to stop here?" asked Mark

"We'll keep right on," Mr. Henderson answered. "No telling when the storm may strike down here. We'll go as far as we can to-night."

CHAPTER VII

A QUEER SAIL

NOW that the fear and worriment was over they all began to feel hungry, and, while Mark and Jack took charge of the conning tower Was.h.i.+ngton got breakfast. The professor seemed preoccupied during the meal, and several times, when Mark spoke to him, he did not reply.

"I wonder if he is worried about something, or is thinking of something which seems to be concealed in the storeroom," the boy thought.

But, after a while, the professor seemed to be more like himself. He was busy over several maps and charts, and then announced the s.h.i.+p would try air-sailing again for a while.

"We can make better time above than we can on the water," he said, "and I am anxious to get to the mysterious island and learn what is in store for us."

Perhaps if the professor had been able to look ahead, and see what was soon going to happen, he would not have been so anxious for it to occur.

It was shortly after dinner when, the gas container having been filled, the s.h.i.+p rose in the air, and began sailing over the ocean, about a mile up. The day was a fine one, and, as they were moving south, it was constantly growing warmer. Down on the water, in fact, it was quite hot, but in the air it was just right.

Like some immense bird the Mermaid went flying through the air. The boys and the professor sat upon the deck in easy chairs. It was like being on the top of some tall "sky-sc.r.a.per" building which, by some strange power, was being moved forward. Below them the ocean tumbled in long, lazy swells.

Suddenly Mark, who was looking through a telescope at the expanse of water stretched out under them, gave a cry.

"There's a s.h.i.+p! She's on fire!"

"Where?" asked the professor, stretching out his hand for the gla.s.s.

"Just to the port of the forward tube. See the smoke!" exclaimed Mark.

Mr. Henderson looked. Through the lens he saw a column of black vapor rising skyward. Mingled with it were red flames.

"Lower the Mermaid!" he cried. "We must save those on board if we can!"

Mark ran to the conning tower, where Was.h.i.+ngton was, to give the order. The colored man, who was looking ahead, intent on guiding the s.h.i.+p, did not at first hear what Mark called.

"Lower us! Send the Mermaid down!" Mark cried again.

The sudden shout, and the excited voice of Mark so startled Was.h.i.+ngton, that, fearing some accident had happened, he pulled the lever, controlling the gas supply, with more force than necessary.

There was a loud explosion, followed by a crackling sound, a flash of light, and the Mermaid came to a sudden stop.

"What's the matter?" cried Mark, feeling that something was wrong.

"I don't know!" Was.h.i.+ngton replied, as he dashed toward the engine room.

The Mermaid, her forward flight checked, hung in the air, suspended, neither rising or falling.

"Why don't we go on down?" the professor asked, hurrying to the tower.

"There has been an explosion--an accident!" exclaimed Mark. "I guess we can't go down!"

"But we must!" Mr. Henderson insisted, seizing the lever which should have produced a downward motion. The handle swung to and fro. It was disconnected from the apparatus it operated.

The s.h.i.+p was now stationary in the air, moving neither forward nor backward, neither rising nor falling. Was.h.i.+ngton had stopped the air pumps as soon as he learned something was wrong.

When Mr. Henderson saw the useless lever, which had controlled the outlet of gas from the holder, he ran out on deck. One glance told him what had happened. One of the electric wires had become short-circuited,--that is, the insulation had worn off and allowed the current to escape. This had produced a spark, which had exploded the gas which was in the pipe leading from the generator up into the aluminum holder. Fortunately there was an automatic cut-off for the supply of vapor, or the whole tank would have gone up.

As it was, only a small quant.i.ty had blown up, but this was enough to break the machinery at the point where the lever in the conning tower joined the pipe. If it had not been for the automatic cut-off all the gas in the holder would have poured out in a great volume, and the s.h.i.+p would have fallen like a shot.

"Can we do nothing to save those on the burning vessel?" asked Mark, pointing to where a cloud of smoke hung over the ocean.

"I fear not, now," answered the professor. "We are in a bad plight ourselves."

"Are we in any danger?" asked Jack.