I drew near to Hans. I placed my hand upon his.
He made no movement.
My parted lips sufficiently revealed my sufferings.
The Icelander slowly moved his head, and calmly pointing to my uncle said:
"Master."
"Master!" I shouted; "you madman! no, he is not the master of our life; we must fly, we must drag him.
Do you hear me?
Do you understand?"
I had seized Hans by the arm.
I wished to oblige him to rise.
I strove with him.
My uncle interposed.
"Be calm, Axel! you will get nothing from that immovable servant.
Therefore, listen to my proposal."
I crossed my arms, and confronted my uncle boldly.
"The want of water," he said, "is the only obstacle in our way.
In this eastern gallery made up of lavas, schists, and coal, we have not met with a single particle of moisture.
Perhaps we shall be more fortunate if we follow the western tunnel."
I shook my head incredulously.
"Hear me to the end," the Professor went on with a firm voice. "Whilst you were lying there motionless, I went to examine the conformation of that gallery.
It penetrates directly downward, and in a few hours it will bring us to the granite rocks.
There we must meet with abundant springs.
The nature of the rock assures me of this, and instinct agrees with logic to support my conviction.
Now, this is my proposal.
When Columbus asked of his ships' crews for three days more to discover a new world, those crews, disheartened and sick as they were, recognised the justice of the claim, and he discovered America.
I am the Columbus of this nether world, and I only ask for one more day.
If in a single day I have not met with the water that we want, I swear to you we will return to the surface of the earth."
In spite of my irritation I was moved with these words, as well as with the violence my uncle was doing to his own wishes in making so hazardous a proposal.
"Well," I said, "do as you will, and God reward your superhuman energy.
You have now but a few hours to tempt fortune.
Let us start!"
CHAPTER XXII. TOTAL FAILURE OF WATER
This time the descent commenced by the new gallery.
Hans walked first as was his custom.
We had not gone a hundred yards when the Professor, moving his lantern 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, its contraction gave rise in its crust to disruptions, distortions, fissures, and chasms.
The passage through which we were moving was such a fissure, through which at one time granite poured out in a molten state.
Its thousands of windings formed an inextricable labyrinth through the primeval mass.
As fast as we descended, the succession of beds forming the primitive foundation came out with increasing distinctness.
Geologists consider this primitive matter to be the base of the mineral crust of the earth, and have ascertained it to be composed of three different formations, schist, gneiss, and mica schist, resting upon that unchangeable foundation, the granite.
Never had mineralogists found themselves in so marvellous a situation to study nature in situ.
What the boring machine, an insensible, inert instrument, was unable to bring to the surface of the inner structure of the globe, we were able to peruse with our own eyes and handle 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 of platinum and gold.
I thought, what riches are here buried at an unapproachable depth in the earth, hidden for ever from the covetous eyes of the human race!
These treasures have been buried at such a profound depth by the convulsions of primeval times that they run no chance of ever being molested by the pickaxe or the spade.
To the schists succeeded gneiss, partially stratified, remarkable for the parallelism and regularity of its lamina, then mica schists, laid in large plates or flakes, revealing their lamellated structure by the sparkle of the white shining mica.
The light from our apparatus, reflected from the small facets of quartz, shot sparkling rays at every angle, and I seemed to be moving through a diamond, within which the quickly darting rays broke across each other in a thousand flashing coruscations.