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<html>
      <h1>
      OFF ON A COMET <br /> or HECTOR SERVADAC
    </h1>
    <h2>
      WORKS of JULES VERNE
    </h2>
    <p>
      <br />
    </p>
    <h2>
      By Jules Verne
    </h2>
    <p>
      <br /><br />
    </p>
    <h3>
      Edited By Charles F. Horne, Ph.D.
    </h3>
    <h4>
      Professor of English, College of the City of New York; Author of &ldquo;The
      Technique of the Novel,&rdquo; etc.
    </h4>
    <p>
      <br /><br />
    </p>
    <h5>
      F. Tyler Daniels Company, Inc. <br /><br /> New York :::: London <br /><br />
      Copyright, 1911 By Vincent Parke And Company
    </h5>
    <p>
      <br /> <br />
    </p>
    <hr />
    <p>
      <br /> <br />
    </p>
    <blockquote>
      <p class="toc">
        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
      </p>
      <p>
        <br />
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME NINE </a>
      </p>
      <p>
        <br />
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <big><b>OFF ON A COMET OR HECTOR SERVADAC</b></big>
        </a>
      </p>
      <p>
        <br />
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>BOOK I.</b> </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. A CHALLENGE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. CAPTAIN SERVADAC AND HIS ORDERLY
        </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. INTERRUPTED EFFUSIONS </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. A CONVULSION OF NATURE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. A MYSTERIOUS SEA </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION
        </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITY </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. AN ISLAND TOMB </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. A ROYAL SALUTE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. SENSITIVE NATIONALITY </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. A SECOND ENIGMA </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. GALLIA&rsquo;S GOVERNOR GENERAL </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. WINTER QUARTERS </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. A FROZEN OCEAN </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. A CARRIER-PIGEON </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. A SLEDGE-RIDE </a>
      </p>
      <p>
        <br />
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> <b>BOOK II.</b> </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER I. THE ASTRONOMER </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER II. A REVELATION </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER III. THE PROFESSOR&rsquo;S EXPERIENCES </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER IV. A REVISED CALENDAR </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER V. WANTED: A STEELYARD </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER VI. MONEY AT A PREMIUM </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER VII. GALLIA WEIGHED </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER VIII. JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER IX MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0034"> CHAPTER X. FAR INTO SPACE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0035"> CHAPTER XI. A FETE DAY </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0036"> CHAPTER XII. THE BOWELS OF THE COMET </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0037"> CHAPTER XIII. DREARY MONTHS </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0038"> CHAPTER XIV. THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0039"> CHAPTER XV. A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0040"> CHAPTER XVI. A BOLD PROPOSITION </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0041"> CHAPTER XVII. THE VENTURE MADE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0042"> CHAPTER XVIII. SUSPENSE </a>
      </p>
      <p class="toc">
        <a href="#link2HCH0043"> CHAPTER XIX. BACK AGAIN </a>
      </p>
    </blockquote>
    <p>
      <br /> <br />
    </p>
    <hr />
    <p>
      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <h2>
      INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME NINE
    </h2>
    <p>
      <i>Among so many effective and artistic tales, it is difficult to give a
      preference to one over all the rest. Yet, certainly, even amid Verne&rsquo;s
      remarkable works, his &ldquo;Off on a Comet&rdquo; must be given high rank. Perhaps
      this story will be remembered when even &ldquo;Round the World in Eighty Days&rdquo;
       and &ldquo;Michael Strogoff&rdquo; have been obliterated by centuries of time. At
      least, of the many books since written upon the same theme as Verne&rsquo;s, no
      one has yet succeeded in equaling or even approaching it.</i>
    </p>
    <p>
      In one way &ldquo;Off on a Comet&rdquo; shows a marked contrast to Verne&rsquo;s earlier
      books. Not only does it invade a region more remote than even the &ldquo;Trip to
      the Moon,&rdquo; but the author here abandons his usual scrupulously scientific
      attitude. In order that he may escort us through the depths of
      immeasurable space, show us what astronomy really knows of conditions
      there and upon the other planets, Verne asks us to accept a situation
      frankly impossible. The earth and a comet are brought twice into collision
      without mankind in general, or even our astronomers, becoming conscious of
      the fact. Moreover several people from widely scattered places are carried
      off by the comet and returned uninjured. Yet further, the comet snatches
      for the convenience of its travelers, both air and water. Little, useful
      tracts of earth are picked up and, as it were, turned over and clapped
      down right side up again upon the comet&rsquo;s surface. Even ships pass
      uninjured through this remarkable somersault. These events all belong
      frankly to the realm of fairyland.
    </p>
    <p>
      If the situation were reproduced in actuality, if ever a comet should come
      into collision with the earth, we can conceive two scientifically possible
      results. If the comet were of such attenuation, such almost infinitesimal
      mass as some of these celestial wanderers seem to be, we can imagine our
      earth self-protective and possibly unharmed. If, on the other hand, the
      comet had even a hundredth part of the size and solidity and weight which
      Verne confers upon his monster so as to give his travelers a home&mdash;in
      that case the collision would be unspeakably disastrous&mdash;especially
      to the unlucky individuals who occupied the exact point of contact.
    </p>
    <p>
      But once granted the initial and the closing extravagance, the departure
      and return of his characters, the alpha and omega of his tale, how closely
      the author clings to facts between! How closely he follows, and imparts to
      his readers, the scientific probabilities of the universe beyond our
      earth, the actual knowledge so hard won by our astronomers! Other authors
      who, since Verne, have told of trips through the planetary and stellar
      universe have given free rein to fancy, to dreams of what might be found.
      Verne has endeavored to impart only what is known to exist.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the same year with &ldquo;Off on a Comet,&rdquo; 1877, was published also the tale
      variously named and translated as &ldquo;The Black Indies,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Underground
      City,&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Child of the Cavern.&rdquo; This story, like &ldquo;Round the World in
      Eighty Days&rdquo; was first issued in &ldquo;feuilleton&rdquo; by the noted Paris newspaper
      &ldquo;Le Temps.&rdquo; Its success did not equal that of its predecessor in this
      style. Some critics indeed have pointed to this work as marking the
      beginning of a decline in the author&rsquo;s power of awaking interest. Many of
      his best works were, however, still to follow. And, as regards imagination
      and the elements of mystery and awe, surely in the &ldquo;Underground City&rdquo; with
      its cavern world, its secret, undiscoverable, unrelenting foe, the
      &ldquo;Harfang,&rdquo; bird of evil omen, and the &ldquo;fire maidens&rdquo; of the ruined castle,
      surely with all these &ldquo;imagination&rdquo; is anything but lacking.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>From the realistic side, the work is painstaking and exact as all the
      author&rsquo;s works. The sketches of mines and miners, their courage and their
      dangers, their lives and their hopes, are carefully studied. So also is
      the emotional aspect of the deeps under ground, the blackness, the endless
      wandering passages, the silence, and the awe.</i>
    </p>
    <p>
      <br /> <br />
    </p>
    <hr />
    <p>
      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <h1>
      OFF ON A COMET OR HECTOR SERVADAC
    </h1>
    <p>
      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h1>
      BOOK I.
    </h1>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER I. A CHALLENGE
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nothing, sir, can induce me to surrender my claim.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am sorry, count, but in such a matter your views cannot modify mine.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But allow me to point out that my seniority unquestionably gives me a
      prior right.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Mere seniority, I assert, in an affair of this kind, cannot possibly
      entitle you to any prior claim whatever.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then, captain, no alternative is left but for me to compel you to yield
      at the sword&rsquo;s point.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As you please, count; but neither sword nor pistol can force me to forego
      my pretensions. Here is my card.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And mine.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      This rapid altercation was thus brought to an end by the formal
      interchange of the names of the disputants. On one of the cards was
      inscribed:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          <i>Captain Hector Servadac,
                    Staff Officer, Mostaganem.</i>
</pre>
    <p>
      On the other was the title:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
               <i>Count Wassili Timascheff,
                    On board the Schooner &ldquo;Dobryna.&rdquo;</i>
</pre>
    <p>
      It did not take long to arrange that seconds should be appointed, who
      would meet in Mostaganem at two o&rsquo;clock that day; and the captain and the
      count were on the point of parting from each other, with a salute of
      punctilious courtesy, when Timascheff, as if struck by a sudden thought,
      said abruptly: &ldquo;Perhaps it would be better, captain, not to allow the real
      cause of this to transpire?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Far better,&rdquo; replied Servadac; &ldquo;it is undesirable in every way for any
      names to be mentioned.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;In that case, however,&rdquo; continued the count, &ldquo;it will be necessary to
      assign an ostensible pretext of some kind. Shall we allege a musical
      dispute? a contention in which I feel bound to defend Wagner, while you
      are the zealous champion of Rossini?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am quite content,&rdquo; answered Servadac, with a smile; and with another
      low bow they parted.
    </p>
    <p>
      The scene, as here depicted, took place upon the extremity of a little
      cape on the Algerian coast, between Mostaganem and Tenes, about two miles
      from the mouth of the Shelif. The headland rose more than sixty feet above
      the sea-level, and the azure waters of the Mediterranean, as they softly
      kissed the strand, were tinged with the reddish hue of the ferriferous
      rocks that formed its base. It was the 31st of December. The noontide sun,
      which usually illuminated the various projections of the coast with a
      dazzling brightness, was hidden by a dense mass of cloud, and the fog,
      which for some unaccountable cause, had hung for the last two months over
      nearly every region in the world, causing serious interruption to traffic
      between continent and continent, spread its dreary veil across land and
      sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      After taking leave of the staff-officer, Count Wassili Timascheff wended
      his way down to a small creek, and took his seat in the stern of a light
      four-oar that had been awaiting his return; this was immediately pushed
      off from shore, and was soon alongside a pleasure-yacht, that was lying
      to, not many cable lengths away.
    </p>
    <p>
      At a sign from Servadac, an orderly, who had been standing at a respectful
      distance, led forward a magnificent Arabian horse; the captain vaulted
      into the saddle, and followed by his attendant, well mounted as himself,
      started off towards Mostaganem. It was half-past twelve when the two
      riders crossed the bridge that had been recently erected over the Shelif,
      and a quarter of an hour later their steeds, flecked with foam, dashed
      through the Mascara Gate, which was one of five entrances opened in the
      embattled wall that encircled the town.
    </p>
    <p>
      At that date, Mostaganem contained about fifteen thousand inhabitants,
      three thousand of whom were French. Besides being one of the principal
      district towns of the province of Oran, it was also a military station.
      Mostaganem rejoiced in a well-sheltered harbor, which enabled her to
      utilize all the rich products of the Mina and the Lower Shelif. It was the
      existence of so good a harbor amidst the exposed cliffs of this coast that
      had induced the owner of the <i>Dobryna</i> to winter in these parts, and
      for two months the Russian standard had been seen floating from her yard,
      whilst on her mast-head was hoisted the pennant of the French Yacht Club,
      with the distinctive letters M. C. W. T., the initials of Count
      Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      Having entered the town, Captain Servadac made his way towards Matmore,
      the military quarter, and was not long in finding two friends on whom he
      might rely&mdash;a major of the 2nd Fusileers, and a captain of the 8th
      Artillery. The two officers listened gravely enough to Servadac&rsquo;s request
      that they would act as his seconds in an affair of honor, but could not
      resist a smile on hearing that the dispute between him and the count had
      originated in a musical discussion. Surely, they suggested, the matter
      might be easily arranged; a few slight concessions on either side, and all
      might be amicably adjusted. But no representations on their part were of
      any avail. Hector Servadac was inflexible.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No concession is possible,&rdquo; he replied, resolutely. &ldquo;Rossini has been
      deeply injured, and I cannot suffer the injury to be unavenged. Wagner is
      a fool. I shall keep my word. I am quite firm.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Be it so, then,&rdquo; replied one of the officers; &ldquo;and after all, you know, a
      sword-cut need not be a very serious affair.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Certainly not,&rdquo; rejoined Servadac; &ldquo;and especially in my case, when I
      have not the slightest intention of being wounded at all.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Incredulous as they naturally were as to the assigned cause of the
      quarrel, Servadac&rsquo;s friends had no alternative but to accept his
      explanation, and without farther parley they started for the staff office,
      where, at two o&rsquo;clock precisely, they were to meet the seconds of Count
      Timascheff. Two hours later they had returned. All the preliminaries had
      been arranged; the count, who like many Russians abroad was an
      aide-de-camp of the Czar, had of course proposed swords as the most
      appropriate weapons, and the duel was to take place on the following
      morning, the first of January, at nine o&rsquo;clock, upon the cliff at a spot
      about a mile and a half from the mouth of the Shelif. With the assurance
      that they would not fail to keep their appointment with military
      punctuality, the two officers cordially wrung their friend&rsquo;s hand and
      retired to the Zulma Cafe for a game at piquet. Captain Servadac at once
      retraced his steps and left the town.
    </p>
    <p>
      For the last fortnight Servadac had not been occupying his proper lodgings
      in the military quarters; having been appointed to make a local levy, he
      had been living in a gourbi, or native hut, on the Mostaganem coast,
      between four and five miles from the Shelif. His orderly was his sole
      companion, and by any other man than the captain the enforced exile would
      have been esteemed little short of a severe penance.
    </p>
    <p>
      On his way to the gourbi, his mental occupation was a very laborious
      effort to put together what he was pleased to call a rondo, upon a model
      of versification all but obsolete. This rondo, it is unnecessary to
      conceal, was to be an ode addressed to a young widow by whom he had been
      captivated, and whom he was anxious to marry, and the tenor of his muse
      was intended to prove that when once a man has found an object in all
      respects worthy of his affections, he should love her &ldquo;in all simplicity.&rdquo;
       Whether the aphorism were universally true was not very material to the
      gallant captain, whose sole ambition at present was to construct a
      roundelay of which this should be the prevailing sentiment. He indulged
      the fancy that he might succeed in producing a composition which would
      have a fine effect here in Algeria, where poetry in that form was all but
      unknown.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I know well enough,&rdquo; he said repeatedly to himself, &ldquo;what I want to say.
      I want to tell her that I love her sincerely, and wish to marry her; but,
      confound it! the words won&rsquo;t rhyme. Plague on it! Does nothing rhyme with
      &lsquo;simplicity&rsquo;? Ah! I have it now:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          &lsquo;Lovers should, whoe&rsquo;er they be,
           Love in all simplicity.&rsquo; 
</pre>
    <p>
      But what next? how am I to go on? I say, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; he called aloud to his
      orderly, who was trotting silently close in his rear, &ldquo;did you ever
      compose any poetry?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, captain,&rdquo; answered the man promptly: &ldquo;I have never made any verses,
      but I have seen them made fast enough at a booth during the fete of
      Montmartre.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can you remember them?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Remember them! to be sure I can. This is the way they began:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
     &lsquo;Come in! come in! you&rsquo;ll not repent
     The entrance money you have spent;
     The wondrous mirror in this place
     Reveals your future sweetheart&rsquo;s face.&rsquo;&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Bosh!&rdquo; cried Servadac in disgust; &ldquo;your verses are detestable trash.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As good as any others, captain, squeaked through a reed pipe.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hold your tongue, man,&rdquo; said Servadac peremptorily; &ldquo;I have made another
      couplet.
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          &lsquo;Lovers should, whoe&rsquo;er they be,
           Love in all simplicity;
           Lover, loving honestly,
           Offer I myself to thee.&rsquo;&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      Beyond this, however, the captain&rsquo;s poetical genius was impotent to carry
      him; his farther efforts were unavailing, and when at six o&rsquo;clock he
      reached the gourbi, the four lines still remained the limit of his
      composition.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER II. CAPTAIN SERVADAC AND HIS ORDERLY
    </h2>
    <p>
      At the time of which I write, there might be seen in the registers of the
      Minister of War the following entry:
    </p>
    <p>
      SERVADAC (<i>Hector</i>), born at St. Trelody in the district of Lesparre,
      department of the Gironde, July 19th, 18&mdash;.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Property:</i> 1200 francs in rentes.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Length of service:</i> Fourteen years, three months, and five days.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Service:</i> Two years at school at St. Cyr; two years at L&rsquo;Ecole
      d&rsquo;Application; two years in the 8th Regiment of the Line; two years in the
      3rd Light Cavalry; seven years in Algeria.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Campaigns:</i> Soudan and Japan.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Rank:</i> Captain on the staff at Mostaganem.
    </p>
    <p>
      <i>Decorations:</i> Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, March 13th, 18&mdash;.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hector Servadac was thirty years of age, an orphan without lineage and
      almost without means. Thirsting for glory rather than for gold, slightly
      scatter-brained, but warm-hearted, generous, and brave, he was eminently
      formed to be the protege of the god of battles.
    </p>
    <p>
      For the first year and a half of his existence he had been the
      foster-child of the sturdy wife of a vine-dresser of Medoc&mdash;a lineal
      descendant of the heroes of ancient prowess; in a word, he was one of
      those individuals whom nature seems to have predestined for remarkable
      things, and around whose cradle have hovered the fairy godmothers of
      adventure and good luck.
    </p>
    <p>
      In appearance Hector Servadac was quite the type of an officer; he was
      rather more than five feet six inches high, slim and graceful, with dark
      curling hair and mustaches, well-formed hands and feet, and a clear blue
      eye. He seemed born to please without being conscious of the power he
      possessed. It must be owned, and no one was more ready to confess it than
      himself, that his literary attainments were by no means of a high order.
      &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t spin tops&rdquo; is a favorite saying amongst artillery officers,
      indicating that they do not shirk their duty by frivolous pursuits; but it
      must be confessed that Servadac, being naturally idle, was very much given
      to &ldquo;spinning tops.&rdquo; His good abilities, however, and his ready
      intelligence had carried him successfully through the curriculum of his
      early career. He was a good draughtsman, an excellent rider&mdash;having
      thoroughly mastered the successor to the famous &ldquo;Uncle Tom&rdquo; at the
      riding-school of St. Cyr&mdash;and in the records of his military service
      his name had several times been included in the order of the day.
    </p>
    <p>
      The following episode may suffice, in a certain degree, to illustrate his
      character. Once, in action, he was leading a detachment of infantry
      through an intrenchment. They came to a place where the side-work of the
      trench had been so riddled by shell that a portion of it had actually
      fallen in, leaving an aperture quite unsheltered from the grape-shot that
      was pouring in thick and fast. The men hesitated. In an instant Servadac
      mounted the side-work, laid himself down in the gap, and thus filling up
      the breach by his own body, shouted, &ldquo;March on!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And through a storm of shot, not one of which touched the prostrate
      officer, the troop passed in safety.
    </p>
    <p>
      Since leaving the military college, Servadac, with the exception of his
      two campaigns in the Soudan and Japan, had been always stationed in
      Algeria. He had now a staff appointment at Mostaganem, and had lately been
      entrusted with some topographical work on the coast between Tenes and the
      Shelif. It was a matter of little consequence to him that the gourbi, in
      which of necessity he was quartered, was uncomfortable and ill-contrived;
      he loved the open air, and the independence of his life suited him well.
      Sometimes he would wander on foot upon the sandy shore, and sometimes he
      would enjoy a ride along the summit of the cliff; altogether being in no
      hurry at all to bring his task to an end. His occupation, moreover, was
      not so engrossing but that he could find leisure for taking a short
      railway journey once or twice a week; so that he was ever and again
      putting in an appearance at the general&rsquo;s receptions at Oran, and at the
      fetes given by the governor at Algiers.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was on one of these occasions that he had first met Madame de L&mdash;&mdash;,
      the lady to whom he was desirous of dedicating the rondo, the first four
      lines of which had just seen the light. She was a colonel&rsquo;s widow, young
      and handsome, very reserved, not to say haughty in her manner, and either
      indifferent or impervious to the admiration which she inspired. Captain
      Servadac had not yet ventured to declare his attachment; of rivals he was
      well aware he had not a few, and amongst these not the least formidable
      was the Russian Count Timascheff. And although the young widow was all
      unconscious of the share she had in the matter, it was she, and she alone,
      who was the cause of the challenge just given and accepted by her two
      ardent admirers.
    </p>
    <p>
      During his residence in the gourbi, Hector Servadac&rsquo;s sole companion was
      his orderly, Ben Zoof. Ben Zoof was devoted, body and soul, to his
      superior officer. His own personal ambition was so entirely absorbed in
      his master&rsquo;s welfare, that it is certain no offer of promotion&mdash;even
      had it been that of aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Algiers&mdash;would
      have induced him to quit that master&rsquo;s service. His name might seem to
      imply that he was a native of Algeria; but such was by no means the case.
      His true name was Laurent; he was a native of Montmartre in Paris, and how
      or why he had obtained his patronymic was one of those anomalies which the
      most sagacious of etymologists would find it hard to explain.
    </p>
    <p>
      Born on the hill of Montmartre, between the Solferino tower and the mill
      of La Galette, Ben Zoof had ever possessed the most unreserved admiration
      for his birthplace; and to his eyes the heights and district of Montmartre
      represented an epitome of all the wonders of the world. In all his
      travels, and these had been not a few, he had never beheld scenery which
      could compete with that of his native home. No cathedral&mdash;not even
      Burgos itself&mdash;could vie with the church at Montmartre. Its
      race-course could well hold its own against that at Pentelique; its
      reservoir would throw the Mediterranean into the shade; its forests had
      flourished long before the invasion of the Celts; and its very mill
      produced no ordinary flour, but provided material for cakes of world-wide
      renown. To crown all, Montmartre boasted a mountain&mdash;a veritable
      mountain; envious tongues indeed might pronounce it little more than a
      hill; but Ben Zoof would have allowed himself to be hewn in pieces rather
      than admit that it was anything less than fifteen thousand feet in height.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof&rsquo;s most ambitious desire was to induce the captain to go with him
      and end his days in his much-loved home, and so incessantly were
      Servadac&rsquo;s ears besieged with descriptions of the unparalleled beauties
      and advantages of this eighteenth arrondissement of Paris, that he could
      scarcely hear the name of Montmartre without a conscious thrill of
      aversion. Ben Zoof, however, did not despair of ultimately converting the
      captain, and meanwhile had resolved never to leave him. When a private in
      the 8th Cavalry, he had been on the point of quitting the army at
      twenty-eight years of age, but unexpectedly he had been appointed orderly
      to Captain Servadac. Side by side they fought in two campaigns. Servadac
      had saved Ben Zoof&rsquo;s life in Japan; Ben Zoof had rendered his master a
      like service in the Soudan. The bond of union thus effected could never be
      severed; and although Ben Zoof&rsquo;s achievements had fairly earned him the
      right of retirement, he firmly declined all honors or any pension that
      might part him from his superior officer. Two stout arms, an iron
      constitution, a powerful frame, and an indomitable courage were all
      loyally devoted to his master&rsquo;s service, and fairly entitled him to his <i>soi-disant</i>
      designation of &ldquo;The Rampart of Montmartre.&rdquo; Unlike his master, he made no
      pretension to any gift of poetic power, but his inexhaustible memory made
      him a living encyclopaedia; and for his stock of anecdotes and trooper&rsquo;s
      tales he was matchless.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thoroughly appreciating his servant&rsquo;s good qualities, Captain Servadac
      endured with imperturbable good humor those idiosyncrasies, which in a
      less faithful follower would have been intolerable, and from time to time
      he would drop a word of sympathy that served to deepen his subordinate&rsquo;s
      devotion.
    </p>
    <p>
      On one occasion, when Ben Zoof had mounted his hobby-horse, and was
      indulging in high-flown praises about his beloved eighteenth
      arrondissement, the captain had remarked gravely, &ldquo;Do you know, Ben Zoof,
      that Montmartre only requires a matter of some thirteen thousand feet to
      make it as high as Mont Blanc?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof&rsquo;s eyes glistened with delight; and from that moment Hector
      Servadac and Montmartre held equal places in his affection.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER III. INTERRUPTED EFFUSIONS
    </h2>
    <p>
      Composed of mud and loose stones, and covered with a thatch of turf and
      straw, known to the natives by the name of &ldquo;driss,&rdquo; the gourbi, though a
      grade better than the tents of the nomad Arabs, was yet far inferior to
      any habitation built of brick or stone. It adjoined an old stone hostelry,
      previously occupied by a detachment of engineers, and which now afforded
      shelter for Ben Zoof and the two horses. It still contained a considerable
      number of tools, such as mattocks, shovels, and pick-axes.
    </p>
    <p>
      Uncomfortable as was their temporary abode, Servadac and his attendant
      made no complaints; neither of them was dainty in the matter either of
      board or lodging. After dinner, leaving his orderly to stow away the
      remains of the repast in what he was pleased to term the &ldquo;cupboard of his
      stomach.&rdquo; Captain Servadac turned out into the open air to smoke his pipe
      upon the edge of the cliff. The shades of night were drawing on. An hour
      previously, veiled in heavy clouds, the sun had sunk below the horizon
      that bounded the plain beyond the Shelif.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sky presented a most singular appearance. Towards the north, although
      the darkness rendered it impossible to see beyond a quarter of a mile, the
      upper strata of the atmosphere were suffused with a rosy glare. No
      well-defined fringe of light, nor arch of luminous rays, betokened a
      display of aurora borealis, even had such a phenomenon been possible in
      these latitudes; and the most experienced meteorologist would have been
      puzzled to explain the cause of this striking illumination on this 31st of
      December, the last evening of the passing year.
    </p>
    <p>
      But Captain Servadac was no meteorologist, and it is to be doubted
      whether, since leaving school, he had ever opened his &ldquo;Course of
      Cosmography.&rdquo; Besides, he had other thoughts to occupy his mind. The
      prospects of the morrow offered serious matter for consideration. The
      captain was actuated by no personal animosity against the count; though
      rivals, the two men regarded each other with sincere respect; they had
      simply reached a crisis in which one of them was <i>de trop;</i> which of
      them, fate must decide.
    </p>
    <p>
      At eight o&rsquo;clock, Captain Servadac re-entered the gourbi, the single
      apartment of which contained his bed, a small writing-table, and some
      trunks that served instead of cupboards. The orderly performed his
      culinary operations in the adjoining building, which he also used as a
      bed-room, and where, extended on what he called his &ldquo;good oak mattress,&rdquo;
       he would sleep soundly as a dormouse for twelve hours at a stretch. Ben
      Zoof had not yet received his orders to retire, and ensconcing himself in
      a corner of the gourbi, he endeavored to doze&mdash;a task which the
      unusual agitation of his master rendered somewhat difficult. Captain
      Servadac was evidently in no hurry to betake himself to rest, but seating
      himself at his table, with a pair of compasses and a sheet of
      tracing-paper, he began to draw, with red and blue crayons, a variety of
      colored lines, which could hardly be supposed to have much connection with
      a topographical survey. In truth, his character of staff-officer was now
      entirely absorbed in that of Gascon poet. Whether he imagined that the
      compasses would bestow upon his verses the measure of a mathematical
      accuracy, or whether he fancied that the parti-colored lines would lend
      variety to his rhythm, it is impossible to determine; be that as it may,
      he was devoting all his energies to the compilation of his rondo, and
      supremely difficult he found the task.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hang it!&rdquo; he ejaculated, &ldquo;whatever induced me to choose this meter? It is
      as hard to find rhymes as to rally fugitive in a battle. But, by all the
      powers! it shan&rsquo;t be said that a French officer cannot cope with a piece
      of poetry. One battalion has fought&mdash;now for the rest!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Perseverance had its reward. Presently two lines, one red, the other blue,
      appeared upon the paper, and the captain murmured:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          &ldquo;Words, mere words, cannot avail,
           Telling true heart&rsquo;s tender tale.&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What on earth ails my master?&rdquo; muttered Ben Zoof; &ldquo;for the last hour he
      has been as fidgety as a bird returning after its winter migration.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac suddenly started from his seat, and as he paced the room with all
      the frenzy of poetic inspiration, read out:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          &ldquo;Empty words cannot convey
           All a lover&rsquo;s heart would say.&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, to be sure, he is at his everlasting verses again!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof
      to himself, as he roused himself in his corner. &ldquo;Impossible to sleep in
      such a noise;&rdquo; and he gave vent to a loud groan.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How now, Ben Zoof?&rdquo; said the captain sharply. &ldquo;What ails you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nothing, sir, only the nightmare.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Curse the fellow, he has quite interrupted me!&rdquo; ejaculated the captain.
      &ldquo;Ben Zoof!&rdquo; he called aloud.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here, sir!&rdquo; was the prompt reply; and in an instant the orderly was upon
      his feet, standing in a military attitude, one hand to his forehead, the
      other closely pressed to his trouser-seam.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Stay where you are! don&rsquo;t move an inch!&rdquo; shouted Servadac; &ldquo;I have just
      thought of the end of my rondo.&rdquo; And in a voice of inspiration,
      accompanying his words with dramatic gestures, Servadac began to declaim:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
     &ldquo;Listen, lady, to my vows&mdash;
     O, consent to be my spouse;
     Constant ever I will be,
     Constant....&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      No closing lines were uttered. All at once, with unutterable violence, the
      captain and his orderly were dashed, face downwards, to the ground.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER IV. A CONVULSION OF NATURE
    </h2>
    <p>
      Whence came it that at that very moment the horizon underwent so strange
      and sudden a modification, that the eye of the most practiced mariner
      could not distinguish between sea and sky?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that the billows raged and rose to a height hitherto
      unregistered in the records of science?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that the elements united in one deafening crash; that the
      earth groaned as though the whole framework of the globe were ruptured;
      that the waters roared from their innermost depths; that the air shrieked
      with all the fury of a cyclone?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that a radiance, intenser than the effulgence of the
      Northern Lights, overspread the firmament, and momentarily dimmed the
      splendor of the brightest stars?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that the Mediterranean, one instant emptied of its waters,
      was the next flooded with a foaming surge?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that in the space of a few seconds the moon&rsquo;s disc reached
      a magnitude as though it were but a tenth part of its ordinary distance
      from the earth?
    </p>
    <p>
      Whence came it that a new blazing spheroid, hitherto unknown to astronomy,
      now appeared suddenly in the firmament, though it were but to lose itself
      immediately behind masses of accumulated cloud?
    </p>
    <p>
      What phenomenon was this that had produced a cataclysm so tremendous in
      effect upon earth, sky, and sea?
    </p>
    <p>
      Was it possible that a single human being could have survived the
      convulsion? and if so, could he explain its mystery?
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER V. A MYSTERIOUS SEA
    </h2>
    <p>
      Violent as the commotion had been, that portion of the Algerian coast
      which is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean, and on the west by the
      right bank of the Shelif, appeared to have suffered little change. It is
      true that indentations were perceptible in the fertile plain, and the
      surface of the sea was ruffled with an agitation that was quite unusual;
      but the rugged outline of the cliff was the same as heretofore, and the
      aspect of the entire scene appeared unaltered. The stone hostelry, with
      the exception of some deep clefts in its walls, had sustained little
      injury; but the gourbi, like a house of cards destroyed by an infant&rsquo;s
      breath, had completely subsided, and its two inmates lay motionless,
      buried under the sunken thatch.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was two hours after the catastrophe that Captain Servadac regained
      consciousness; he had some trouble to collect his thoughts, and the first
      sounds that escaped his lips were the concluding words of the rondo which
      had been so ruthlessly interrupted;
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
          &ldquo;Constant ever I will be,
           Constant....&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      His next thought was to wonder what had happened; and in order to find an
      answer, he pushed aside the broken thatch, so that his head appeared above
      the <i>debris</i>. &ldquo;The gourbi leveled to the ground!&rdquo; he exclaimed,
      &ldquo;surely a waterspout has passed along the coast.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He felt all over his body to perceive what injuries he had sustained, but
      not a sprain nor a scratch could he discover. &ldquo;Where are you, Ben Zoof?&rdquo;
       he shouted.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here, sir!&rdquo; and with military promptitude a second head protruded from
      the rubbish.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Have you any notion what has happened, Ben Zoof?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve a notion, captain, that it&rsquo;s all up with us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nonsense, Ben Zoof; it is nothing but a waterspout!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good, sir,&rdquo; was the philosophical reply, immediately followed by the
      query, &ldquo;Any bones broken, sir?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;None whatever,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both men were soon on their feet, and began to make a vigorous clearance
      of the ruins, beneath which they found that their arms, cooking utensils,
      and other property, had sustained little injury.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;By-the-by, what o&rsquo;clock is it?&rdquo; asked the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It must be eight o&rsquo;clock, at least,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, looking at the sun,
      which was a considerable height above the horizon. &ldquo;It is almost time for
      us to start.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To start! what for?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To keep your appointment with Count Timascheff.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;By Jove! I had forgotten all about it!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac. Then looking
      at his watch, he cried, &ldquo;What are you thinking of, Ben Zoof? It is
      scarcely two o&rsquo;clock.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Two in the morning, or two in the afternoon?&rdquo; asked Ben Zoof, again
      regarding the sun.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac raised his watch to his ear. &ldquo;It is going,&rdquo; said he; &ldquo;but, by all
      the wines of Medoc, I am puzzled. Don&rsquo;t you see the sun is in the west? It
      must be near setting.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Setting, captain! Why, it is rising finely, like a conscript at the sound
      of the reveille. It is considerably higher since we have been talking.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Incredible as it might appear, the fact was undeniable that the sun was
      rising over the Shelif from that quarter of the horizon behind which it
      usually sank for the latter portion of its daily round. They were utterly
      bewildered. Some mysterious phenomenon must not only have altered the
      position of the sun in the sidereal system, but must even have brought
      about an important modification of the earth&rsquo;s rotation on her axis.
    </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac consoled himself with the prospect of reading an
      explanation of the mystery in next week&rsquo;s newspapers, and turned his
      attention to what was to him of more immediate importance. &ldquo;Come, let us
      be off,&rdquo; said he to his orderly; &ldquo;though heaven and earth be topsy-turvy,
      I must be at my post this morning.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To do Count Timascheff the honor of running him through the body,&rdquo; added
      Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      If Servadac and his orderly had been less preoccupied, they would have
      noticed that a variety of other physical changes besides the apparent
      alteration in the movement of the sun had been evolved during the
      atmospheric disturbances of that New Year&rsquo;s night. As they descended the
      steep footpath leading from the cliff towards the Shelif, they were
      unconscious that their respiration became forced and rapid, like that of a
      mountaineer when he has reached an altitude where the air has become less
      charged with oxygen. They were also unconscious that their voices were
      thin and feeble; either they must themselves have become rather deaf, or
      it was evident that the air had become less capable of transmitting sound.
    </p>
    <p>
      The weather, which on the previous evening had been very foggy, had
      entirely changed. The sky had assumed a singular tint, and was soon
      covered with lowering clouds that completely hid the sun. There were,
      indeed, all the signs of a coming storm, but the vapor, on account of the
      insufficient condensation, failed to fall.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sea appeared quite deserted, a most unusual circumstance along this
      coast, and not a sail nor a trail of smoke broke the gray monotony of
      water and sky. The limits of the horizon, too, had become much
      circumscribed. On land, as well as on sea, the remote distance had
      completely disappeared, and it seemed as though the globe had assumed a
      more decided convexity.
    </p>
    <p>
      At the pace at which they were walking, it was very evident that the
      captain and his attendant would not take long to accomplish the three
      miles that lay between the gourbi and the place of rendezvous. They did
      not exchange a word, but each was conscious of an unusual buoyancy, which
      appeared to lift up their bodies and give as it were, wings to their feet.
      If Ben Zoof had expressed his sensations in words, he would have said that
      he felt &ldquo;up to anything,&rdquo; and he had even forgotten to taste so much as a
      crust of bread, a lapse of memory of which the worthy soldier was rarely
      guilty.
    </p>
    <p>
      As these thoughts were crossing his mind, a harsh bark was heard to the
      left of the footpath, and a jackal was seen emerging from a large grove of
      lentisks. Regarding the two wayfarers with manifest uneasiness, the beast
      took up its position at the foot of a rock, more than thirty feet in
      height. It belonged to an African species distinguished by a black spotted
      skin, and a black line down the front of the legs. At night-time, when
      they scour the country in herds, the creatures are somewhat formidable,
      but singly they are no more dangerous than a dog. Though by no means
      afraid of them, Ben Zoof had a particular aversion to jackals, perhaps
      because they had no place among the fauna of his beloved Montmartre. He
      accordingly began to make threatening gestures, when, to the unmitigated
      astonishment of himself and the captain, the animal darted forward, and in
      one single bound gained the summit of the rock.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Good Heavens!&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof, &ldquo;that leap must have been thirty feet at
      least.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True enough,&rdquo; replied the captain; &ldquo;I never saw such a jump.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Meantime the jackal had seated itself upon its haunches, and was staring
      at the two men with an air of impudent defiance. This was too much for Ben
      Zoof&rsquo;s forbearance, and stooping down he caught up a huge stone, when to
      his surprise, he found that it was no heavier than a piece of petrified
      sponge. &ldquo;Confound the brute!&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;I might as well throw a piece
      of bread at him. What accounts for its being as light as this?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Nothing daunted, however, he hurled the stone into the air. It missed its
      aim; but the jackal, deeming it on the whole prudent to decamp,
      disappeared across the trees and hedges with a series of bounds, which
      could only be likened to those that might be made by an india-rubber
      kangaroo. Ben Zoof was sure that his own powers of propelling must equal
      those of a howitzer, for his stone, after a lengthened flight through the
      air, fell to the ground full five hundred paces the other side of the
      rock.
    </p>
    <p>
      The orderly was now some yards ahead of his master, and had reached a
      ditch full of water, and about ten feet wide. With the intention of
      clearing it, he made a spring, when a loud cry burst from Servadac. &ldquo;Ben
      Zoof, you idiot! What are you about? You will break your back!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And well might he be alarmed, for Ben Zoof had sprung to a height of forty
      feet into the air. Fearful of the consequences that would attend the
      descent of his servant to <i>terra firma</i>, Servadac bounded forwards,
      to be on the other side of the ditch in time to break his fall. But the
      muscular effort that he made carried him in his turn to an altitude of
      thirty feet; in his ascent he passed Ben Zoof, who had already commenced
      his downward course; and then, obedient to the laws of gravitation, he
      descended with increasing rapidity, and alighted upon the earth without
      experiencing a shock greater than if he had merely made a bound of four or
      five feet high.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof burst into a roar of laughter. &ldquo;Bravo!&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we should make
      a good pair of clowns.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But the captain was inclined to take a more serious view of the matter.
      For a few seconds he stood lost in thought, then said solemnly, &ldquo;Ben Zoof,
      I must be dreaming. Pinch me hard; I must be either asleep or mad.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is very certain that something has happened to us,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof. &ldquo;I
      have occasionally dreamed that I was a swallow flying over the Montmartre,
      but I never experienced anything of this kind before; it must be peculiar
      to the coast of Algeria.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was stupefied; he felt instinctively that he was not dreaming,
      and yet was powerless to solve the mystery. He was not, however, the man
      to puzzle himself for long over any insoluble problem. &ldquo;Come what may,&rdquo; he
      presently exclaimed, &ldquo;we will make up our minds for the future to be
      surprised at nothing.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Right, captain,&rdquo; replied Ben Zoof; &ldquo;and, first of all, let us settle our
      little score with Count Timascheff.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Beyond the ditch lay a small piece of meadow land, about an acre in
      extent. A soft and delicious herbage carpeted the soil, whilst trees
      formed a charming framework to the whole. No spot could have been chosen
      more suitable for the meeting between the two adversaries.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac cast a hasty glance round. No one was in sight. &ldquo;We are the first
      on the field,&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not so sure of that, sir,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; asked Servadac, looking at his watch, which he had set
      as nearly as possible by the sun before leaving the gourbi; &ldquo;it is not
      nine o&rsquo;clock yet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Look up there, sir. I am much mistaken if that is not the sun;&rdquo; and as
      Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed directly overhead to where a faint white disc
      was dimly visible through the haze of clouds.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nonsense!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac. &ldquo;How can the sun be in the zenith, in the
      month of January, in lat. 39 degrees N.?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t say, sir. I only know the sun is there; and at the rate he has been
      traveling, I would lay my cap to a dish of couscous that in less than
      three hours he will have set.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hector Servadac, mute and motionless, stood with folded arms. Presently he
      roused himself, and began to look about again. &ldquo;What means all this?&rdquo; he
      murmured. &ldquo;Laws of gravity disturbed! Points of the compass reversed! The
      length of day reduced one half! Surely this will indefinitely postpone my
      meeting with the count. Something has happened; Ben Zoof and I cannot both
      be mad!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The orderly, meantime, surveyed his master with the greatest equanimity;
      no phenomenon, however extraordinary, would have drawn from him a single
      exclamation of surprise. &ldquo;Do you see anyone, Ben Zoof?&rdquo; asked the captain,
      at last.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No one, sir; the count has evidently been and gone.&rdquo; &ldquo;But supposing that
      to be the case,&rdquo; persisted the captain, &ldquo;my seconds would have waited, and
      not seeing me, would have come on towards the gourbi. I can only conclude
      that they have been unable to get here; and as for Count Timascheff&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Without finishing his sentence. Captain Servadac, thinking it just
      probable that the count, as on the previous evening, might come by water,
      walked to the ridge of rock that overhung the shore, in order to ascertain
      if the <i>Dobryna</i> were anywhere in sight. But the sea was deserted,
      and for the first time the captain noticed that, although the wind was
      calm, the waters were unusually agitated, and seethed and foamed as though
      they were boiling. It was very certain that the yacht would have found a
      difficulty in holding her own in such a swell. Another thing that now
      struck Servadac was the extraordinary contraction of the horizon. Under
      ordinary circumstances, his elevated position would have allowed him a
      radius of vision at least five and twenty miles in length; but the
      terrestrial sphere seemed, in the course of the last few hours, to have
      become considerably reduced in volume, and he could now see for a distance
      of only six miles in every direction.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meantime, with the agility of a monkey, Ben Zoof had clambered to the top
      of a eucalyptus, and from his lofty perch was surveying the country to the
      south, as well as towards both Tenes and Mostaganem. On descending, be
      informed the captain that the plain was deserted.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We will make our way to the river, and get over into Mostaganem,&rdquo; said
      the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Shelif was not more than a mile and a half from the meadow, but no
      time was to be lost if the two men were to reach the town before
      nightfall. Though still hidden by heavy clouds, the sun was evidently
      declining fast; and what was equally inexplicable, it was not following
      the oblique curve that in these latitudes and at this time of year might
      be expected, but was sinking perpendicularly on to the horizon.
    </p>
    <p>
      As he went along, Captain Servadac pondered deeply. Perchance some
      unheard-of phenomenon had modified the rotary motion of the globe; or
      perhaps the Algerian coast had been transported beyond the equator into
      the southern hemisphere. Yet the earth, with the exception of the
      alteration in its convexity, in this part of Africa at least, seemed to
      have undergone no change of any very great importance. As far as the eye
      could reach, the shore was, as it had ever been, a succession of cliffs,
      beach, and arid rocks, tinged with a red ferruginous hue. To the south&mdash;if
      south, in this inverted order of things, it might still be called&mdash;the
      face of the country also appeared unaltered, and some leagues away, the
      peaks of the Merdeyah mountains still retained their accustomed outline.
    </p>
    <p>
      Presently a rift in the clouds gave passage to an oblique ray of light
      that clearly proved that the sun was setting in the east.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, I am curious to know what they think of all this at Mostaganem,&rdquo;
       said the captain. &ldquo;I wonder, too, what the Minister of War will say when
      he receives a telegram informing him that his African colony has become,
      not morally, but physically disorganized; that the cardinal points are at
      variance with ordinary rules, and that the sun in the month of January is
      shining down vertically upon our heads.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof, whose ideas of discipline were extremely rigid, at once
      suggested that the colony should be put under the surveillance of the
      police, that the cardinal points should be placed under restraint, and
      that the sun should be shot for breach of discipline.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meantime, they were both advancing with the utmost speed. The
      decompression of the atmosphere made the specific gravity of their bodies
      extraordinarily light, and they ran like hares and leaped like chamois.
      Leaving the devious windings of the footpath, they went as a crow would
      fly across the country. Hedges, trees, and streams were cleared at a
      bound, and under these conditions Ben Zoof felt that he could have
      overstepped Montmartre at a single stride. The earth seemed as elastic as
      the springboard of an acrobat; they scarcely touched it with their feet,
      and their only fear was lest the height to which they were propelled would
      consume the time which they were saving by their short cut across the
      fields.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not long before their wild career brought them to the right bank of
      the Shelif. Here they were compelled to stop, for not only had the bridge
      completely disappeared, but the river itself no longer existed. Of the
      left bank there was not the slightest trace, and the right bank, which on
      the previous evening had bounded the yellow stream, as it murmured
      peacefully along the fertile plain, had now become the shore of a
      tumultuous ocean, its azure waters extending westwards far as the eye
      could reach, and annihilating the tract of country which had hitherto
      formed the district of Mostaganem. The shore coincided exactly with what
      had been the right bank of the Shelif, and in a slightly curved line ran
      north and south, whilst the adjacent groves and meadows all retained their
      previous positions. But the river-bank had become the shore of an unknown
      sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      Eager to throw some light upon the mystery, Servadac hurriedly made his
      way through the oleander bushes that overhung the shore, took up some
      water in the hollow of his hand, and carried it to his lips. &ldquo;Salt as
      brine!&rdquo; he exclaimed, as soon as he had tasted it. &ldquo;The sea has
      undoubtedly swallowed up all the western part of Algeria.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It will not last long, sir,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof. &ldquo;It is, probably, only a
      severe flood.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain shook his head. &ldquo;Worse than that, I fear, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; he
      replied with emotion. &ldquo;It is a catastrophe that may have very serious
      consequences. What can have become of all my friends and fellow-officers?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof was silent. Rarely had he seen his master so much agitated; and
      though himself inclined to receive these phenomena with philosophic
      indifference, his notions of military duty caused his countenance to
      reflect the captain&rsquo;s expression of amazement.
    </p>
    <p>
      But there was little time for Servadac to examine the changes which a few
      hours had wrought. The sun had already reached the eastern horizon, and
      just as though it were crossing the ecliptic under the tropics, it sank
      like a cannon ball into the sea. Without any warning, day gave place to
      night, and earth, sea, and sky were immediately wrapped in profound
      obscurity.
    </p>
    <p>
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      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VI. THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION
    </h2>
    <p>
      Hector Servadac was not the man to remain long unnerved by any untoward
      event. It was part of his character to discover the why and the wherefore
      of everything that came under his observation, and he would have faced a
      cannon ball the more unflinchingly from understanding the dynamic force by
      which it was propelled. Such being his temperament, it may well be
      imagined that he was anxious not to remain long in ignorance of the cause
      of the phenomena which had been so startling in their consequences.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We must inquire into this to-morrow,&rdquo; he exclaimed, as darkness fell
      suddenly upon him. Then, after a pause, he added: &ldquo;That is to say, if
      there is to be a to-morrow; for if I were to be put to the torture, I
      could not tell what has become of the sun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;May I ask, sir, what we are to do now?&rdquo; put in Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Stay where we are for the present; and when daylight appears&mdash;if it
      ever does appear&mdash;we will explore the coast to the west and south,
      and return to the gourbi. If we can find out nothing else, we must at
      least discover where we are.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Meanwhile, sir, may we go to sleep?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Certainly, if you like, and if you can.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Nothing loath to avail himself of his master&rsquo;s permission, Ben Zoof
      crouched down in an angle of the shore, threw his arms over his eyes, and
      very soon slept the sleep of the ignorant, which is often sounder than the
      sleep of the just. Overwhelmed by the questions that crowded upon his
      brain, Captain Servadac could only wander up and down the shore. Again and
      again he asked himself what the catastrophe could portend. Had the towns
      of Algiers, Oran, and Mostaganem escaped the inundation? Could he bring
      himself to believe that all the inhabitants, his friends, and comrades had
      perished; or was it not more probable that the Mediterranean had merely
      invaded the region of the mouth of the Shelif? But this supposition did
      not in the least explain the other physical disturbances. Another
      hypothesis that presented itself to his mind was that the African coast
      might have been suddenly transported to the equatorial zone. But although
      this might get over the difficulty of the altered altitude of the sun and
      the absence of twilight, yet it would neither account for the sun setting
      in the east, nor for the length of the day being reduced to six hours.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We must wait till to-morrow,&rdquo; he repeated; adding, for he had become
      distrustful of the future, &ldquo;that is to say, if to-morrow ever comes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Although not very learned in astronomy, Servadac was acquainted with the
      position of the principal constellations. It was therefore a considerable
      disappointment to him that, in consequence of the heavy clouds, not a star
      was visible in the firmament. To have ascertained that the pole-star had
      become displaced would have been an undeniable proof that the earth was
      revolving on a new axis; but not a rift appeared in the lowering clouds,
      which seemed to threaten torrents of rain.
    </p>
    <p>
      It happened that the moon was new on that very day; naturally, therefore,
      it would have set at the same time as the sun. What, then, was the
      captain&rsquo;s bewilderment when, after he had been walking for about an hour
      and a half, he noticed on the western horizon a strong glare that
      penetrated even the masses of the clouds.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The moon in the west!&rdquo; he cried aloud; but suddenly bethinking himself,
      he added: &ldquo;But no, that cannot be the moon; unless she had shifted very
      much nearer the earth, she could never give a light as intense as this.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      As he spoke the screen of vapor was illuminated to such a degree that the
      whole country was as it were bathed in twilight. &ldquo;What can this be?&rdquo;
       soliloquized the captain. &ldquo;It cannot be the sun, for the sun set in the
      east only an hour and a half ago. Would that those clouds would disclose
      what enormous luminary lies behind them! What a fool I was not to have
      learnt more astronomy! Perhaps, after all, I am racking my brain over
      something that is quite in the ordinary course of nature.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But, reason as he might, the mysteries of the heavens still remained
      impenetrable. For about an hour some luminous body, its disc evidently of
      gigantic dimensions, shed its rays upon the upper strata of the clouds;
      then, marvelous to relate, instead of obeying the ordinary laws of
      celestial mechanism, and descending upon the opposite horizon, it seemed
      to retreat farther off, grew dimmer, and vanished.
    </p>
    <p>
      The darkness that returned to the face of the earth was not more profound
      than the gloom which fell upon the captain&rsquo;s soul. Everything was
      incomprehensible. The simplest mechanical rules seemed falsified; the
      planets had defied the laws of gravitation; the motions of the celestial
      spheres were erroneous as those of a watch with a defective mainspring,
      and there was reason to fear that the sun would never again shed his
      radiance upon the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      But these last fears were groundless. In three hours&rsquo; time, without any
      intervening twilight, the morning sun made its appearance in the west, and
      day once more had dawned. On consulting his watch, Servadac found that
      night had lasted precisely six hours. Ben Zoof, who was unaccustomed to so
      brief a period of repose, was still slumbering soundly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come, wake up!&rdquo; said Servadac, shaking him by the shoulder; &ldquo;it is time
      to start.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Time to start?&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof, rubbing his eyes. &ldquo;I feel as if I had
      only just gone to sleep.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You have slept all night, at any rate,&rdquo; replied the captain; &ldquo;it has only
      been for six hours, but you must make it enough.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Enough it shall be, sir,&rdquo; was the submissive rejoinder.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And now,&rdquo; continued Servadac, &ldquo;we will take the shortest way back to the
      gourbi, and see what our horses think about it all.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They will think that they ought to be groomed,&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good; you may groom them and saddle them as quickly as you like. I
      want to know what has become of the rest of Algeria: if we cannot get
      round by the south to Mostaganem, we must go eastwards to Tenes.&rdquo; And
      forthwith they started. Beginning to feel hungry, they had no hesitation
      in gathering figs, dates, and oranges from the plantations that formed a
      continuous rich and luxuriant orchard along their path. The district was
      quite deserted, and they had no reason to fear any legal penalty.
    </p>
    <p>
      In an hour and a half they reached the gourbi. Everything was just as they
      had left it, and it was evident that no one had visited the place during
      their absence. All was desolate as the shore they had quitted.
    </p>
    <p>
      The preparations for the expedition were brief and simple. Ben Zoof
      saddled the horses and filled his pouch with biscuits and game; water, he
      felt certain, could be obtained in abundance from the numerous affluents
      of the Shelif, which, although they had now become tributaries of the
      Mediterranean, still meandered through the plain. Captain Servadac mounted
      his horse Zephyr, and Ben Zoof simultaneously got astride his mare
      Galette, named after the mill of Montmartre. They galloped off in the
      direction of the Shelif, and were not long in discovering that the
      diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere had precisely the same effect
      upon their horses as it had had upon themselves. Their muscular strength
      seemed five times as great as hitherto; their hoofs scarcely touched the
      ground, and they seemed transformed from ordinary quadrupeds into
      veritable hippogriffs. Happily, Servadac and his orderly were fearless
      riders; they made no attempt to curb their steeds, but even urged them to
      still greater exertions. Twenty minutes sufficed to carry them over the
      four or five miles that intervened between the gourbi and the mouth of the
      Shelif; then, slackening their speed, they proceeded at a more leisurely
      pace to the southeast, along what had once been the right bank of the
      river, but which, although it still retained its former characteristics,
      was now the boundary of a sea, which extending farther than the limits of
      the horizon, must have swallowed up at least a large portion of the
      province of Oran. Captain Servadac knew the country well; he had at one
      time been engaged upon a trigonometrical survey of the district, and
      consequently had an accurate knowledge of its topography. His idea now was
      to draw up a report of his investigations: to whom that report should be
      delivered was a problem he had yet to solve.
    </p>
    <p>
      During the four hours of daylight that still remained, the travelers rode
      about twenty-one miles from the river mouth. To their vast surprise, they
      did not meet a single human being. At nightfall they again encamped in a
      slight bend of the shore, at a point which on the previous evening had
      faced the mouth of the Mina, one of the left-hand affluents of the Shelif,
      but now absorbed into the newly revealed ocean. Ben Zoof made the sleeping
      accommodation as comfortable as the circumstances would allow; the horses
      were clogged and turned out to feed upon the rich pasture that clothed the
      shore, and the night passed without special incident.
    </p>
    <p>
      At sunrise on the following morning, the 2nd of January, or what,
      according to the ordinary calendar, would have been the night of the 1st,
      the captain and his orderly remounted their horses, and during the
      six-hours&rsquo; day accomplished a distance of forty-two miles. The right bank
      of the river still continued to be the margin of the land, and only in one
      spot had its integrity been impaired. This was about twelve miles from the
      Mina, and on the site of the annex or suburb of Surkelmittoo. Here a large
      portion of the bank had been swept away, and the hamlet, with its eight
      hundred inhabitants, had no doubt been swallowed up by the encroaching
      waters. It seemed, therefore, more than probable that a similar fate had
      overtaken the larger towns beyond the Shelif.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the evening the explorers encamped, as previously, in a nook of the
      shore which here abruptly terminated their new domain, not far from where
      they might have expected to find the important village of Memounturroy;
      but of this, too, there was now no trace. &ldquo;I had quite reckoned upon a
      supper and a bed at Orleansville to-night,&rdquo; said Servadac, as, full of
      despondency, he surveyed the waste of water.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite impossible,&rdquo; replied Ben Zoof, &ldquo;except you had gone by a boat. But
      cheer up, sir, cheer up; we will soon devise some means for getting across
      to Mostaganem.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If, as I hope,&rdquo; rejoined the captain, &ldquo;we are on a peninsula, we are more
      likely to get to Tenes; there we shall hear the news.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Far more likely to carry the news ourselves,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof, as he
      threw himself down for his night&rsquo;s rest.
    </p>
    <p>
      Six hours later, only waiting for sunrise, Captain Servadac set himself in
      movement again to renew his investigations. At this spot the shore, that
      hitherto had been running in a southeasterly direction, turned abruptly to
      the north, being no longer formed by the natural bank of the Shelif, but
      consisting of an absolutely new coast-line. No land was in sight. Nothing
      could be seen of Orleansville, which ought to have been about six miles to
      the southwest; and Ben Zoof, who had mounted the highest point of view
      attainable, could distinguish sea, and nothing but sea, to the farthest
      horizon.
    </p>
    <p>
      Quitting their encampment and riding on, the bewildered explorers kept
      close to the new shore. This, since it had ceased to be formed by the
      original river bank, had considerably altered its aspect. Frequent
      landslips occurred, and in many places deep chasms rifted the ground;
      great gaps furrowed the fields, and trees, half uprooted, overhung the
      water, remarkable by the fantastic distortions of their gnarled trunks,
      looking as though they had been chopped by a hatchet.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sinuosities of the coast line, alternately gully and headland, had the
      effect of making a devious progress for the travelers, and at sunset,
      although they had accomplished more than twenty miles, they had only just
      arrived at the foot of the Merdeyah Mountains, which, before the
      cataclysm, had formed the extremity of the chain of the Little Atlas. The
      ridge, however, had been violently ruptured, and now rose perpendicularly
      from the water.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the following morning Servadac and Ben Zoof traversed one of the
      mountain gorges; and next, in order to make a more thorough acquaintance
      with the limits and condition of the section of Algerian territory of
      which they seemed to be left as the sole occupants, they dismounted, and
      proceeded on foot to the summit of one of the highest peaks. From this
      elevation they ascertained that from the base of the Merdeyah to the
      Mediterranean, a distance of about eighteen miles, a new coast line had
      come into existence; no land was visible in any direction; no isthmus
      existed to form a connecting link with the territory of Tenes, which had
      entirely disappeared. The result was that Captain Servadac was driven to
      the irresistible conclusion that the tract of land which he had been
      surveying was not, as he had at first imagined, a peninsula; it was
      actually an island.
    </p>
    <p>
      Strictly speaking, this island was quadrilateral, but the sides were so
      irregular that it was much more nearly a triangle, the comparison of the
      sides exhibiting these proportions: The section of the right bank of the
      Shelif, seventy-two miles; the southern boundary from the Shelif to the
      chain of the Little Atlas, twenty-one miles; from the Little Atlas to the
      Mediterranean, eighteen miles; and sixty miles of the shore of the
      Mediterranean itself, making in all an entire circumference of about 171
      miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What does it all mean?&rdquo; exclaimed the captain, every hour growing more
      and more bewildered.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The will of Providence, and we must submit,&rdquo; replied Ben Zoof, calm and
      undisturbed. With this reflection, the two men silently descended the
      mountain and remounted their horses. Before evening they had reached the
      Mediterranean. On their road they failed to discern a vestige of the
      little town of Montenotte; like Tenes, of which not so much as a ruined
      cottage was visible on the horizon, it seemed to be annihilated.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the following day, the 6th of January, the two men made a forced march
      along the coast of the Mediterranean, which they found less altered than
      the captain had at first supposed; but four villages had entirely
      disappeared, and the headlands, unable to resist the shock of the
      convulsion, had been detached from the mainland.
    </p>
    <p>
      The circuit of the island had been now completed, and the explorers, after
      a period of sixty hours, found themselves once more beside the ruins of
      their gourbi. Five days, or what, according to the established order of
      things, would have been two days and a half, had been occupied in tracing
      the boundaries of their new domain; and they had ascertained beyond a
      doubt that they were the sole human inhabitants left upon the island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, sir, here you are, Governor General of Algeria!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben
      Zoof, as they reached the gourbi.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;With not a soul to govern,&rdquo; gloomily rejoined the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How so? Do you not reckon me?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pshaw! Ben Zoof, what are you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What am I? Why, I am the population.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain deigned no reply, but, muttering some expressions of regret
      for the fruitless trouble he had taken about his rondo, betook himself to
      rest.
    </p>
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      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VII. BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN
    </h2>
    <p>
      In a few minutes the governor general and his population were asleep. The
      gourbi being in ruins, they were obliged to put up with the best
      accommodation they could find in the adjacent erection. It must be owned
      that the captain&rsquo;s slumbers were by no means sound; he was agitated by the
      consciousness that he had hitherto been unable to account for his strange
      experiences by any reasonable theory. Though far from being advanced in
      the knowledge of natural philosophy, he had been instructed, to a certain
      degree, in its elementary principles; and, by an effort of memory, he
      managed to recall some general laws which he had almost forgotten. He
      could understand that an altered inclination of the earth&rsquo;s axis with
      regard to the ecliptic would introduce a change of position in the
      cardinal points, and bring about a displacement of the sea; but the
      hypothesis entirely failed to account, either for the shortening of the
      days, or for the diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere. He felt
      that his judgment was utterly baffled; his only remaining hope was that
      the chain of marvels was not yet complete, and that something farther
      might throw some light upon the mystery.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof&rsquo;s first care on the following morning was to provide a good
      breakfast. To use his own phrase, he was as hungry as the whole population
      of three million Algerians, of whom he was the representative, and he must
      have enough to eat. The catastrophe which had overwhelmed the country had
      left a dozen eggs uninjured, and upon these, with a good dish of his
      famous couscous, he hoped that he and his master might have a sufficiently
      substantial meal. The stove was ready for use, the copper skillet was as
      bright as hands could make it, and the beads of condensed steam upon the
      surface of a large stone al-caraza gave evidence that it was supplied with
      water. Ben Zoof at once lighted a fire, singing all the time, according to
      his wont, a snatch of an old military refrain.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ever on the lookout for fresh phenomena, Captain Servadac watched the
      preparations with a curious eye. It struck him that perhaps the air, in
      its strangely modified condition, would fail to supply sufficient oxygen,
      and that the stove, in consequence, might not fulfill its function. But
      no; the fire was lighted just as usual, and fanned into vigor by Ben Zoof
      applying his mouth in lieu of bellows, and a bright flame started up from
      the midst of the twigs and coal. The skillet was duly set upon the stove,
      and Ben Zoof was prepared to wait awhile for the water to boil. Taking up
      the eggs, he was surprised to notice that they hardly weighed more than
      they would if they had been mere shells; but he was still more surprised
      when he saw that before the water had been two minutes over the fire it
      was at full boil.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;By jingo!&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;a precious hot fire!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac reflected. &ldquo;It cannot be that the fire is hotter,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;the
      peculiarity must be in the water.&rdquo; And taking down a centigrade
      thermometer, which hung upon the wall, he plunged it into the skillet.
      Instead of 100 degrees, the instrument registered only 66 degrees.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Take my advice, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;leave your eggs in the saucepan a
      good quarter of an hour.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Boil them hard! That will never do,&rdquo; objected the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You will not find them hard, my good fellow. Trust me, we shall be able
      to dip our sippets into the yolks easily enough.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain was quite right in his conjecture, that this new phenomenon
      was caused by a diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere. Water
      boiling at a temperature of 66 degrees was itself an evidence that the
      column of air above the earth&rsquo;s surface had become reduced by one-third of
      its altitude. The identical phenomenon would have occurred at the summit
      of a mountain 35,000 feet high; and had Servadac been in possession of a
      barometer, he would have immediately discovered the fact that only now for
      the first time, as the result of experiment, revealed itself to him&mdash;a
      fact, moreover, which accounted for the compression of the blood-vessels
      which both he and Ben Zoof had experienced, as well as for the attenuation
      of their voices and their accelerated breathing. &ldquo;And yet,&rdquo; he argued with
      himself, &ldquo;if our encampment has been projected to so great an elevation,
      how is it that the sea remains at its proper level?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Once again Hector Servadac, though capable of tracing consequences, felt
      himself totally at a loss to comprehend their cause; hence his agitation
      and bewilderment!
    </p>
    <p>
      After their prolonged immersion in the boiling water, the eggs were found
      to be only just sufficiently cooked; the couscous was very much in the
      same condition; and Ben Zoof came to the conclusion that in future he must
      be careful to commence his culinary operations an hour earlier. He was
      rejoiced at last to help his master, who, in spite of his perplexed
      preoccupation, seemed to have a very fair appetite for breakfast.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, captain?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof presently, such being his ordinary way of
      opening conversation.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, Ben Zoof?&rdquo; was the captain&rsquo;s invariable response to his servant&rsquo;s
      formula.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What are we to do now, sir?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We can only for the present wait patiently where we are. We are encamped
      upon an island, and therefore we can only be rescued by sea.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But do you suppose that any of our friends are still alive?&rdquo; asked Ben
      Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, I think we must indulge the hope that this catastrophe has not
      extended far. We must trust that it has limited its mischief to some small
      portion of the Algerian coast, and that our friends are all alive and
      well. No doubt the governor general will be anxious to investigate the
      full extent of the damage, and will send a vessel from Algiers to explore.
      It is not likely that we shall be forgotten. What, then, you have to do,
      Ben Zoof, is to keep a sharp lookout, and to be ready, in case a vessel
      should appear, to make signals at once.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But if no vessel should appear!&rdquo; sighed the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then we must build a boat, and go in search of those who do not come in
      search of us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good. But what sort of a sailor are you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Everyone can be a sailor when he must,&rdquo; said Servadac calmly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof said no more. For several succeeding days he scanned the horizon
      unintermittently with his telescope. His watching was in vain. No ship
      appeared upon the desert sea. &ldquo;By the name of a Kabyle!&rdquo; he broke out
      impatiently, &ldquo;his Excellency is grossly negligent!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Although the days and nights had become reduced from twenty-four hours to
      twelve, Captain Servadac would not accept the new condition of things, but
      resolved to adhere to the computations of the old calendar.
      Notwithstanding, therefore, that the sun had risen and set twelve times
      since the commencement of the new year, he persisted in calling the
      following day the 6th of January. His watch enabled him to keep an
      accurate account of the passing hours.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the course of his life, Ben Zoof had read a few books. After pondering
      one day, he said: &ldquo;It seems to me, captain, that you have turned into
      Robinson Crusoe, and that I am your man Friday. I hope I have not become a
      negro.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied the captain. &ldquo;Your complexion isn&rsquo;t the fairest in the
      world, but you are not black yet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, I had much sooner be a white Friday than a black one,&rdquo; rejoined Ben
      Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      Still no ship appeared; and Captain Servadac, after the example of all
      previous Crusoes, began to consider it advisable to investigate the
      resources of his domain. The new territory of which he had become the
      monarch he named Gourbi Island. It had a superficial area of about nine
      hundred square miles. Bullocks, cows, goats, and sheep existed in
      considerable numbers; and as there seemed already to be an abundance of
      game, it was hardly likely that a future supply would fail them. The
      condition of the cereals was such as to promise a fine ingathering of
      wheat, maize, and rice; so that for the governor and his population, with
      their two horses, not only was there ample provision, but even if other
      human inhabitants besides themselves should yet be discovered, there was
      not the remotest prospect of any of them perishing by starvation.
    </p>
    <p>
      From the 6th to the 13th of January the rain came down in torrents; and,
      what was quite an unusual occurrence at this season of the year, several
      heavy storms broke over the island. In spite, however, of the continual
      downfall, the heavens still remained veiled in cloud. Servadac, moreover,
      did not fail to observe that for the season the temperature was unusually
      high; and, as a matter still more surprising, that it kept steadily
      increasing, as though the earth were gradually and continuously
      approximating to the sun. In proportion to the rise of temperature, the
      light also assumed greater intensity; and if it had not been for the
      screen of vapor interposed between the sky and the island, the irradiation
      which would have illumined all terrestrial objects would have been vivid
      beyond all precedent.
    </p>
    <p>
      But neither sun, moon, nor star ever appeared; and Servadac&rsquo;s irritation
      and annoyance at being unable to identify any one point of the firmament
      may be more readily imagined than described. On one occasion Ben Zoof
      endeavored to mitigate his master&rsquo;s impatience by exhorting him to assume
      the resignation, even if he did not feel the indifference, which he
      himself experienced; but his advice was received with so angry a rebuff
      that he retired in all haste, abashed, to résumé his watchman&rsquo;s duty,
      which he performed with exemplary perseverance. Day and night, with the
      shortest possible intervals of rest, despite wind, rain, and storm, he
      mounted guard upon the cliff&mdash;but all in vain. Not a speck appeared
      upon the desolate horizon. To say the truth, no vessel could have stood
      against the weather. The hurricane raged with tremendous fury, and the
      waves rose to a height that seemed to defy calculation. Never, even in the
      second era of creation, when, under the influence of internal heat, the
      waters rose in vapor to descend in deluge back upon the world, could
      meteorological phenomena have been developed with more impressive
      intensity.
    </p>
    <p>
      But by the night of the 13th the tempest appeared to have spent its fury;
      the wind dropped; the rain ceased as if by a spell; and Servadac, who for
      the last six days had confined himself to the shelter of his roof,
      hastened to join Ben Zoof at his post upon the cliff. Now, he thought,
      there might be a chance of solving his perplexity; perhaps now the huge
      disc, of which he had had an imperfect glimpse on the night of the 31st of
      December, might again reveal itself; at any rate, he hoped for an
      opportunity of observing the constellations in a clear firmament above.
    </p>
    <p>
      The night was magnificent. Not a cloud dimmed the luster of the stars,
      which spangled the heavens in surpassing brilliancy, and several nebulae
      which hitherto no astronomer had been able to discern without the aid of a
      telescope were clearly visible to the naked eye.
    </p>
    <p>
      By a natural impulse, Servadac&rsquo;s first thought was to observe the position
      of the pole-star. It was in sight, but so near to the horizon as to
      suggest the utter impossibility of its being any longer the central pivot
      of the sidereal system; it occupied a position through which it was out of
      the question that the axis of the earth indefinitely prolonged could ever
      pass. In his impression he was more thoroughly confirmed when, an hour
      later, he noticed that the star had approached still nearer the horizon,
      as though it had belonged to one of the zodiacal constellations.
    </p>
    <p>
      The pole-star being manifestly thus displaced, it remained to be
      discovered whether any other of the celestial bodies had become a fixed
      center around which the constellations made their apparent daily
      revolutions. To the solution of this problem Servadac applied himself with
      the most thoughtful diligence. After patient observation, he satisfied
      himself that the required conditions were answered by a certain star that
      was stationary not far from the horizon. This was Vega, in the
      constellation Lyra, a star which, according to the precession of the
      equinoxes, will take the place of our pole-star 12,000 years hence. The
      most daring imagination could not suppose that a period of 12,000 years
      had been crowded into the space of a fortnight; and therefore the captain
      came, as to an easier conclusion, to the opinion that the earth&rsquo;s axis had
      been suddenly and immensely shifted; and from the fact that the axis, if
      produced, would pass through a point so little removed above the horizon,
      he deduced the inference that the Mediterranean must have been transported
      to the equator.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lost in bewildering maze of thought, he gazed long and intently upon the
      heavens. His eyes wandered from where the tail of the Great Bear, now a
      zodiacal constellation, was scarcely visible above the waters, to where
      the stars of the southern hemisphere were just breaking on his view. A cry
      from Ben Zoof recalled him to himself.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The moon!&rdquo; shouted the orderly, as though overjoyed at once again
      beholding what the poet has called:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
     &ldquo;The kind companion of terrestrial night;&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      and he pointed to a disc that was rising at a spot precisely opposite the
      place where they would have expected to see the sun. &ldquo;The moon!&rdquo; again he
      cried.
    </p>
    <p>
      But Captain Servadac could not altogether enter into his servant&rsquo;s
      enthusiasm. If this were actually the moon, her distance from the earth
      must have been increased by some millions of miles. He was rather disposed
      to suspect that it was not the earth&rsquo;s satellite at all, but some planet
      with its apparent magnitude greatly enlarged by its approximation to the
      earth. Taking up the powerful field-glass which he was accustomed to use
      in his surveying operations, he proceeded to investigate more carefully
      the luminous orb. But he failed to trace any of the lineaments, supposed
      to resemble a human face, that mark the lunar surface; he failed to
      decipher any indications of hill and plain; nor could he make out the
      aureole of light which emanates from what astronomers have designated
      Mount Tycho. &ldquo;It is not the moon,&rdquo; he said slowly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not the moon?&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof. &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is not the moon,&rdquo; again affirmed the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; repeated Ben Zoof, unwilling to renounce his first impression.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because there is a small satellite in attendance.&rdquo; And the captain drew
      his servant&rsquo;s attention to a bright speck, apparently about the size of
      one of Jupiter&rsquo;s satellites seen through a moderate telescope, that was
      clearly visible just within the focus of his glass.
    </p>
    <p>
      Here, then, was a fresh mystery. The orbit of this planet was assuredly
      interior to the orbit of the earth, because it accompanied the sun in its
      apparent motion; yet it was neither Mercury nor Venus, because neither one
      nor the other of these has any satellite at all.
    </p>
    <p>
      The captain stamped and stamped again with mingled vexation, agitation,
      and bewilderment. &ldquo;Confound it!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;if this is neither Venus nor
      Mercury, it must be the moon; but if it is the moon, whence, in the name
      of all the gods, has she picked up another moon for herself?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain was in dire perplexity.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VIII. VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITY
    </h2>
    <p>
      The light of the returning sun soon extinguished the glory of the stars,
      and rendered it necessary for the captain to postpone his observations. He
      had sought in vain for further trace of the huge disc that had so excited
      his wonder on the 1st, and it seemed most probable that, in its irregular
      orbit, it had been carried beyond the range of vision.
    </p>
    <p>
      The weather was still superb. The wind, after veering to the west, had
      sunk to a perfect calm. Pursuing its inverted course, the sun rose and set
      with undeviating regularity; and the days and nights were still divided
      into periods of precisely six hours each&mdash;a sure proof that the sun
      remained close to the new equator which manifestly passed through Gourbi
      Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile the temperature was steadily increasing. The captain kept his
      thermometer close at hand where he could repeatedly consult it, and on the
      15th he found that it registered 50 degrees centigrade in the shade.
    </p>
    <p>
      No attempt had been made to rebuild the gourbi, but the captain and Ben
      Zoof managed to make up quarters sufficiently comfortable in the principal
      apartment of the adjoining structure, where the stone walls, that at first
      afforded a refuge from the torrents of rain, now formed an equally
      acceptable shelter from the burning sun. The heat was becoming
      insufferable, surpassing the heat of Senegal and other equatorial regions;
      not a cloud ever tempered the intensity of the solar rays; and unless some
      modification ensued, it seemed inevitable that all vegetation should
      become scorched and burnt off from the face of the island.
    </p>
    <p>
      In spite, however, of the profuse perspirations from which he suffered,
      Ben Zoof, constant to his principles, expressed no surprise at the
      unwonted heat. No remonstrances from his master could induce him to
      abandon his watch from the cliff. To withstand the vertical beams of that
      noontide sun would seem to require a skin of brass and a brain of adamant;
      but yet, hour after hour, he would remain conscientiously scanning the
      surface of the Mediterranean, which, calm and deserted, lay outstretched
      before him. On one occasion, Servadac, in reference to his orderly&rsquo;s
      indomitable perseverance, happened to remark that he thought he must have
      been born in the heart of equatorial Africa; to which Ben Zoof replied,
      with the utmost dignity, that he was born at Montmartre, which was all the
      same. The worthy fellow was unwilling to own that, even in the matter of
      heat, the tropics could in any way surpass his own much-loved home.
    </p>
    <p>
      This unprecedented temperature very soon began to take effect upon the
      products of the soil. The sap rose rapidly in the trees, so that in the
      course of a few days buds, leaves, flowers, and fruit had come to full
      maturity. It was the same with the cereals; wheat and maize sprouted and
      ripened as if by magic, and for a while a rank and luxuriant pasturage
      clothed the meadows. Summer and autumn seemed blended into one. If Captain
      Servadac had been more deeply versed in astronomy, he would perhaps have
      been able to bring to bear his knowledge that if the axis of the earth, as
      everything seemed to indicate, now formed a right angle with the plane of
      the ecliptic, her various seasons, like those of the planet Jupiter, would
      become limited to certain zones, in which they would remain invariable.
      But even if he had understood the <i>rationale</i> of the change, the
      convulsion that had brought it about would have been as much a mystery as
      ever.
    </p>
    <p>
      The precocity of vegetation caused some embarrassment. The time for the
      corn and fruit harvest had fallen simultaneously with that of the
      haymaking; and as the extreme heat precluded any prolonged exertions, it
      was evident &ldquo;the population&rdquo; of the island would find it difficult to
      provide the necessary amount of labor. Not that the prospect gave them
      much concern: the provisions of the gourbi were still far from exhausted,
      and now that the roughness of the weather had so happily subsided, they
      had every encouragement to hope that a ship of some sort would soon
      appear. Not only was that part of the Mediterranean systematically
      frequented by the government steamers that watched the coast, but vessels
      of all nations were constantly cruising off the shore.
    </p>
    <p>
      In spite, however, of all their sanguine speculations, no ship appeared.
      Ben Zoof admitted the necessity of extemporizing a kind of parasol for
      himself, otherwise he must literally have been roasted to death upon the
      exposed summit of the cliff.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile, Servadac was doing his utmost&mdash;it must be acknowledged,
      with indifferent success&mdash;to recall the lessons of his school-days.
      He would plunge into the wildest speculations in his endeavors to unravel
      the difficulties of the new situation, and struggled into a kind of
      conviction that if there had been a change of manner in the earth&rsquo;s
      rotation on her axis, there would be a corresponding change in her
      revolution round the sun, which would involve the consequence of the
      length of the year being either diminished or increased.
    </p>
    <p>
      Independently of the increased and increasing heat, there was another very
      conclusive demonstration that the earth had thus suddenly approximated
      towards the sun. The diameter of the solar disc was now exactly twice what
      it ordinarily looks to the naked eye; in fact, it was precisely such as it
      would appear to an observer on the surface of the planet Venus. The most
      obvious inference would therefore be that the earth&rsquo;s distance from the
      sun had been diminished from 91,000,000 to 66,000,000 miles. If the just
      equilibrium of the earth had thus been destroyed, and should this
      diminution of distance still continue, would there not be reason to fear
      that the terrestrial world would be carried onwards to actual contact with
      the sun, which must result in its total annihilation?
    </p>
    <p>
      The continuance of the splendid weather afforded Servadac every facility
      for observing the heavens. Night after night, constellations in their
      beauty lay stretched before his eyes&mdash;an alphabet which, to his
      mortification, not to say his rage, he was unable to decipher. In the
      apparent dimensions of the fixed stars, in their distance, in their
      relative position with regard to each other, he could observe no change.
      Although it is established that our sun is approaching the constellation
      of Hercules at the rate of more than 126,000,000 miles a year, and
      although Arcturus is traveling through space at the rate of fifty-four
      miles a second&mdash;three times faster than the earth goes round the sun,&mdash;yet
      such is the remoteness of those stars that no appreciable change is
      evident to the senses. The fixed stars taught him nothing.
    </p>
    <p>
      Far otherwise was it with the planets. The orbits of Venus and Mercury are
      within the orbit of the earth, Venus rotating at an average distance of
      66,130,000 miles from the sun, and Mercury at that of 35,393,000. After
      pondering long, and as profoundly as he could, upon these figures, Captain
      Servadac came to the conclusion that, as the earth was now receiving about
      double the amount of light and heat that it had been receiving before the
      catastrophe, it was receiving about the same as the planet Venus; he was
      driven, therefore, to the estimate of the measure in which the earth must
      have approximated to the sun, a deduction in which he was confirmed when
      the opportunity came for him to observe Venus herself in the splendid
      proportions that she now assumed.
    </p>
    <p>
      That magnificent planet which&mdash;as Phosphorus or Lucifer, Hesperus or
      Vesper, the evening star, the morning star, or the shepherd&rsquo;s star&mdash;has
      never failed to attract the rapturous admiration of the most indifferent
      observers, here revealed herself with unprecedented glory, exhibiting all
      the phases of a lustrous moon in miniature. Various indentations in the
      outline of its crescent showed that the solar beams were refracted into
      regions of its surface where the sun had already set, and proved, beyond a
      doubt, that the planet had an atmosphere of her own; and certain luminous
      points projecting from the crescent as plainly marked the existence of
      mountains. As the result of Servadac&rsquo;s computations, he formed the opinion
      that Venus could hardly be at a greater distance than 6,000,000 miles from
      the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And a very safe distance, too,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, when his master told him
      the conclusion at which he had arrived.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;All very well for two armies, but for a couple of planets not quite so
      safe, perhaps, as you may imagine. It is my impression that it is more
      than likely we may run foul of Venus,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Plenty of air and water there, sir?&rdquo; inquired the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes; as far as I can tell, plenty,&rdquo; replied Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then why shouldn&rsquo;t we go and visit Venus?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac did his best to explain that as the two planets were of about
      equal volume, and were traveling with great velocity in opposite
      directions, any collision between them must be attended with the most
      disastrous consequences to one or both of them. But Ben Zoof failed to see
      that, even at the worst, the catastrophe could be much more serious than
      the collision of two railway trains.
    </p>
    <p>
      The captain became exasperated. &ldquo;You idiot!&rdquo; he angrily exclaimed; &ldquo;cannot
      you understand that the planets are traveling a thousand times faster than
      the fastest express, and that if they meet, either one or the other must
      be destroyed? What would become of your darling Montmartre then?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain had touched a tender chord. For a moment Ben Zoof stood with
      clenched teeth and contracted muscles; then, in a voice of real concern,
      he inquired whether anything could be done to avert the calamity.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nothing whatever; so you may go about your own business,&rdquo; was the
      captain&rsquo;s brusque rejoinder.
    </p>
    <p>
      All discomfited and bewildered, Ben Zoof retired without a word.
    </p>
    <p>
      During the ensuing days the distance between the two planets continued to
      decrease, and it became more and more obvious that the earth, on her new
      orbit, was about to cross the orbit of Venus. Throughout this time the
      earth had been making a perceptible approach towards Mercury, and that
      planet&mdash;which is rarely visible to the naked eye, and then only at
      what are termed the periods of its greatest eastern and western
      elongations&mdash;now appeared in all its splendor. It amply justified the
      epithet of &ldquo;sparkling&rdquo; which the ancients were accustomed to confer upon
      it, and could scarcely fail to awaken a new interest. The periodic
      recurrence of its phases; its reflection of the sun&rsquo;s rays, shedding upon
      it a light and a heat seven times greater than that received by the earth;
      its glacial and its torrid zones, which, on account of the great
      inclination of the axis, are scarcely separable; its equatorial bands; its
      mountains eleven miles high;&mdash;were all subjects of observation worthy
      of the most studious regard.
    </p>
    <p>
      But no danger was to be apprehended from Mercury; with Venus only did
      collision appear imminent. By the 18th of January the distance between
      that planet and the earth had become reduced to between two and three
      millions of miles, and the intensity of its light cast heavy shadows from
      all terrestrial objects. It might be observed to turn upon its own axis in
      twenty-three hours twenty-one minutes&mdash;an evidence, from the
      unaltered duration of its days, that the planet had not shared in the
      disturbance. On its disc the clouds formed from its atmospheric vapor were
      plainly perceptible, as also were the seven spots, which, according to
      Bianchini, are a chain of seas. It was now visible in broad daylight.
      Buonaparte, when under the Directory, once had his attention called to
      Venus at noon, and immediately hailed it joyfully, recognizing it as his
      own peculiar star in the ascendant. Captain Servadac, it may well be
      imagined, did not experience the same gratifying emotion.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 20th, the distance between the two bodies had again sensibly
      diminished. The captain had ceased to be surprised that no vessel had been
      sent to rescue himself and his companion from their strange imprisonment;
      the governor general and the minister of war were doubtless far
      differently occupied, and their interests far otherwise engrossed. What
      sensational articles, he thought, must now be teeming to the newspapers!
      What crowds must be flocking to the churches! The end of the world
      approaching! the great climax close at hand! Two days more, and the earth,
      shivered into a myriad atoms, would be lost in boundless space!
    </p>
    <p>
      These dire forebodings, however, were not destined to be realized.
      Gradually the distance between the two planets began to increase; the
      planes of their orbits did not coincide, and accordingly the dreaded
      catastrophe did not ensue. By the 25th, Venus was sufficiently remote to
      preclude any further fear of collision. Ben Zoof gave a sigh of relief
      when the captain communicated the glad intelligence.
    </p>
    <p>
      Their proximity to Venus had been close enough to demonstrate that beyond
      a doubt that planet has no moon or satellite such as Cassini, Short,
      Montaigne of Limoges, Montbarron, and some other astronomers have imagined
      to exist. &ldquo;Had there been such a satellite,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;we might have
      captured it in passing. But what can be the meaning,&rdquo; he added seriously,
      &ldquo;of all this displacement of the heavenly bodies?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is that great building at Paris, captain, with a top like a cap?&rdquo;
       asked Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Do you mean the Observatory?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, the Observatory. Are there not people living in the Observatory who
      could explain all this?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very likely; but what of that?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let us be philosophers, and wait patiently until we can hear their
      explanation.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac smiled. &ldquo;Do you know what it is to be a philosopher, Ben Zoof?&rdquo;
       he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am a soldier, sir,&rdquo; was the servant&rsquo;s prompt rejoinder, &ldquo;and I have
      learnt to know that &lsquo;what can&rsquo;t be cured must be endured.&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain made no reply, but for a time, at least, he desisted from
      puzzling himself over matters which he felt he was utterly incompetent to
      explain. But an event soon afterwards occurred which awakened his keenest
      interest.
    </p>
    <p>
      About nine o&rsquo;clock on the morning of the 27th, Ben Zoof walked
      deliberately into his master&rsquo;s apartment, and, in reply to a question as
      to what he wanted, announced with the utmost composure that a ship was in
      sight.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A ship!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac, starting to his feet. &ldquo;A ship! Ben Zoof, you
      donkey! you speak as unconcernedly as though you were telling me that my
      dinner was ready.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Are we not philosophers, captain?&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      But the captain was out of hearing.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER IX. INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED
    </h2>
    <p>
      Fast as his legs could carry him, Servadac had made his way to the top of
      the cliff. It was quite true that a vessel was in sight, hardly more than
      six miles from the shore; but owing to the increase in the earth&rsquo;s
      convexity, and the consequent limitation of the range of vision, the
      rigging of the topmasts alone was visible above the water. This was
      enough, however, to indicate that the ship was a schooner&mdash;an
      impression that was confirmed when, two hours later, she came entirely in
      sight.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The <i>Dobryna</i>!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac, keeping his eye unmoved at his
      telescope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Impossible, sir!&rdquo; rejoined Ben Zoof; &ldquo;there are no signs of smoke.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The <i>Dobryna</i>!&rdquo; repeated the captain, positively. &ldquo;She is under
      sail; but she is Count Timascheff&rsquo;s yacht.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He was right. If the count were on board, a strange fatality was bringing
      him to the presence of his rival. But no longer now could Servadac regard
      him in the light of an adversary; circumstances had changed, and all
      animosity was absorbed in the eagerness with which he hailed the prospect
      of obtaining some information about the recent startling and inexplicable
      events. During the twenty-seven days that she had been absent, the <i>Dobryna</i>,
      he conjectured, would have explored the Mediterranean, would very probably
      have visited Spain, France, or Italy, and accordingly would convey to
      Gourbi Island some intelligence from one or other of those countries. He
      reckoned, therefore, not only upon ascertaining the extent of the late
      catastrophe, but upon learning its cause. Count Timascheff was, no doubt,
      magnanimously coming to the rescue of himself and his orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      The wind being adverse, the <i>Dobryna</i> did not make very rapid
      progress; but as the weather, in spite of a few clouds, remained calm, and
      the sea was quite smooth, she was enabled to hold a steady course. It
      seemed unaccountable that she should not use her engine, as whoever was on
      board, would be naturally impatient to reconnoiter the new island, which
      must just have come within their view. The probability that suggested
      itself was that the schooner&rsquo;s fuel was exhausted.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac took it for granted that the <i>Dobryna</i> was endeavoring to
      put in. It occurred to him, however, that the count, on discovering an
      island where he had expected to find the mainland of Africa, would not
      unlikely be at a loss for a place of anchorage. The yacht was evidently
      making her way in the direction of the former mouth of the Shelif, and the
      captain was struck with the idea that he would do well to investigate
      whether there was any suitable mooring towards which he might signal her.
      Zephyr and Galette were soon saddled, and in twenty minutes had carried
      their riders to the western extremity of the island, where they both
      dismounted and began to explore the coast.
    </p>
    <p>
      They were not long in ascertaining that on the farther side of the point
      there was a small well-sheltered creek of sufficient depth to accommodate
      a vessel of moderate tonnage. A narrow channel formed a passage through
      the ridge of rocks that protected it from the open sea, and which, even in
      the roughest weather, would ensure the calmness of its waters.
    </p>
    <p>
      Whilst examining the rocky shore, the captain observed, to his great
      surprise, long and well-defined rows of seaweed, which undoubtedly
      betokened that there had been a very considerable ebb and flow of the
      waters&mdash;a thing unknown in the Mediterranean, where there is scarcely
      any perceptible tide. What, however, seemed most remarkable, was the
      manifest evidence that ever since the highest flood (which was caused, in
      all probability, by the proximity of the body of which the huge disc had
      been so conspicuous on the night of the 31st of December) the phenomenon
      had been gradually lessening, and in fact was now reduced to the normal
      limits which had characterized it before the convulsion.
    </p>
    <p>
      Without doing more than note the circumstance, Servadac turned his entire
      attention to the <i>Dobryna</i>, which, now little more than a mile from
      shore, could not fail to see and understand his signals. Slightly changing
      her course, she first struck her mainsail, and, in order to facilitate the
      movements of her helmsman, soon carried nothing but her two topsails,
      brigantine and jib. After rounding the peak, she steered direct for the
      channel to which Servadac by his gestures was pointing her, and was not
      long in entering the creek. As soon as the anchor, imbedded in the sandy
      bottom, had made good its hold, a boat was lowered. In a few minutes more
      Count Timascheff had landed on the island. Captain Servadac hastened
      towards him.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;First of all, count,&rdquo; he exclaimed impetuously, &ldquo;before we speak one
      other word, tell me what has happened.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count, whose imperturbable composure presented a singular contrast to
      the French officer&rsquo;s enthusiastic vivacity, made a stiff bow, and in his
      Russian accent replied: &ldquo;First of all, permit me to express my surprise at
      seeing you here. I left you on a continent, and here I have the honor of
      finding you on an island.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I assure you, count, I have never left the place.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am quite aware of it. Captain Servadac, and I now beg to offer you my
      sincere apologies for failing to keep my appointment with you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Never mind, now,&rdquo; interposed the captain; &ldquo;we will talk of that
      by-and-by. First, tell me what has happened.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The very question I was about to put to you, Captain Servadac.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Do you mean to say you know nothing of the cause, and can tell me nothing
      of the extent, of the catastrophe which has transformed this part of
      Africa into an island?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nothing more than you know yourself.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But surely, Count Timascheff, you can inform me whether upon the northern
      shore of the Mediterranean&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Are you certain that this is the Mediterranean?&rdquo; asked the count
      significantly, and added, &ldquo;I have discovered no sign of land.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain stared in silent bewilderment. For some moments he seemed
      perfectly stupefied; then, recovering himself, he began to overwhelm the
      count with a torrent of questions. Had he noticed, ever since the 1st of
      January, that the sun had risen in the west? Had he noticed that the days
      had been only six hours long, and that the weight of the atmosphere was so
      much diminished? Had he observed that the moon had quite disappeared, and
      that the earth had been in imminent hazard of running foul of the planet
      Venus? Was he aware, in short, that the entire motions of the terrestrial
      sphere had undergone a complete modification? To all these inquiries, the
      count responded in the affirmative. He was acquainted with everything that
      had transpired; but, to Servadac&rsquo;s increasing astonishment, he could throw
      no light upon the cause of any of the phenomena.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;On the night of the 31st of December,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I was proceeding by sea
      to our appointed place of meeting, when my yacht was suddenly caught on
      the crest of an enormous wave, and carried to a height which it is beyond
      my power to estimate. Some mysterious force seemed to have brought about a
      convulsion of the elements. Our engine was damaged, nay disabled, and we
      drifted entirely at the mercy of the terrible hurricane that raged during
      the succeeding days. That the <i>Dobryna</i> escaped at all is little less
      than a miracle, and I can only attribute her safety to the fact that she
      occupied the center of the vast cyclone, and consequently did not
      experience much change of position.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He paused, and added: &ldquo;Your island is the first land we have seen.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then let us put out to sea at once and ascertain the extent of the
      disaster,&rdquo; cried the captain, eagerly. &ldquo;You will take me on board, count,
      will you not?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My yacht is at your service, sir, even should you require to make a tour
      round the world.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A tour round the Mediterranean will suffice for the present, I think,&rdquo;
       said the captain, smiling.
    </p>
    <p>
      The count shook his head.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am not sure,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but what the tour of the Mediterranean will
      prove to be the tour of the world.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac made no reply, but for a time remained silent and absorbed in
      thought.
    </p>
    <p>
      After the silence was broken, they consulted as to what course was best to
      pursue; and the plan they proposed was, in the first place, to discover
      how much of the African coast still remained, and to carry on the tidings
      of their own experiences to Algiers; or, in the event of the southern
      shore having actually disappeared, they would make their way northwards
      and put themselves in communication with the population on the river banks
      of Europe.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before starting, it was indispensable that the engine of the <i>Dobryna</i>
      should be repaired: to sail under canvas only would in contrary winds and
      rough seas be both tedious and difficult. The stock of coal on board was
      adequate for two months&rsquo; consumption; but as it would at the expiration of
      that time be exhausted, it was obviously the part of prudence to employ it
      in reaching a port where fuel could be replenished.
    </p>
    <p>
      The damage sustained by the engine proved to be not very serious; and in
      three days after her arrival the <i>Dobryna</i> was again ready to put to
      sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac employed the interval in making the count acquainted with all he
      knew about his small domain. They made an entire circuit of the island,
      and both agreed that it must be beyond the limits of that circumscribed
      territory that they must seek an explanation of what had so strangely
      transpired.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was on the last day of January that the repairs of the schooner were
      completed. A slight diminution in the excessively high temperature which
      had prevailed for the last few weeks, was the only apparent change in the
      general order of things; but whether this was to be attributed to any
      alteration in the earth&rsquo;s orbit was a question which would still require
      several days to decide. The weather remained fine, and although a few
      clouds had accumulated, and might have caused a trifling fall of the
      barometer, they were not sufficiently threatening to delay the departure
      of the <i>Dobryna</i>.
    </p>
    <p>
      Doubts now arose, and some discussion followed, whether or not it was
      desirable for Ben Zoof to accompany his master. There were various reasons
      why he should be left behind, not the least important being that the
      schooner had no accommodation for horses, and the orderly would have found
      it hard to part with Zephyr, and much more with his own favorite Galette;
      besides, it was advisable that there should be some one left to receive
      any strangers that might possibly arrive, as well as to keep an eye upon
      the herds of cattle which, in the dubious prospect before them, might
      prove to be the sole resource of the survivors of the catastrophe.
      Altogether, taking into consideration that the brave fellow would incur no
      personal risk by remaining upon the island, the captain was induced with
      much reluctance to forego the attendance of his servant, hoping very
      shortly to return and to restore him to his country, when he had
      ascertained the reason of the mysteries in which they were enveloped.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 31st, then, Ben Zoof was &ldquo;invested with governor&rsquo;s powers,&rdquo; and
      took an affecting leave of his master, begging him, if chance should carry
      him near Montmartre, to ascertain whether the beloved &ldquo;mountain&rdquo; had been
      left unmoved.
    </p>
    <p>
      Farewells over, the <i>Dobryna</i> was carefully steered through the
      creek, and was soon upon the open sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010">
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    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER X. A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA
    </h2>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna</i>, a strong craft of 200 tons burden, had been built in
      the famous shipbuilding yards in the Isle of Wight. Her sea going
      qualities were excellent, and would have amply sufficed for a
      circumnavigation of the globe. Count Timascheff was himself no sailor, but
      had the greatest confidence in leaving the command of his yacht in the
      hands of Lieutenant Procope, a man of about thirty years of age, and an
      excellent seaman. Born on the count&rsquo;s estates, the son of a serf who had
      been emancipated long before the famous edict of the Emperor Alexander,
      Procope was sincerely attached, by a tie of gratitude as well as of duty
      and affection, to his patron&rsquo;s service. After an apprenticeship on a
      merchant ship he had entered the imperial navy, and had already reached
      the rank of lieutenant when the count appointed him to the charge of his
      own private yacht, in which he was accustomed to spend by far the greater
      part of his time, throughout the winter generally cruising in the
      Mediterranean, whilst in the summer he visited more northern waters.
    </p>
    <p>
      The ship could not have been in better hands. The lieutenant was well
      informed in many matters outside the pale of his profession, and his
      attainments were alike creditable to himself and to the liberal friend who
      had given him his education. He had an excellent crew, consisting of
      Tiglew the engineer, four sailors named Niegoch, Tolstoy, Etkef, and
      Panofka, and Mochel the cook. These men, without exception, were all sons
      of the count&rsquo;s tenants, and so tenaciously, even out at sea, did they
      cling to their old traditions, that it mattered little to them what
      physical disorganization ensued, so long as they felt they were sharing
      the experiences of their lord and master. The late astounding events,
      however, had rendered Procope manifestly uneasy, and not the less so from
      his consciousness that the count secretly partook of his own anxiety.
    </p>
    <p>
      Steam up and canvas spread, the schooner started eastwards. With a
      favorable wind she would certainly have made eleven knots an hour had not
      the high waves somewhat impeded her progress. Although only a moderate
      breeze was blowing, the sea was rough, a circumstance to be accounted for
      only by the diminution in the force of the earth&rsquo;s attraction rendering
      the liquid particles so buoyant, that by the mere effect of oscillation
      they were carried to a height that was quite unprecedented. M. Arago has
      fixed twenty-five or twenty-six feet as the maximum elevation ever
      attained by the highest waves, and his astonishment would have been very
      great to see them rising fifty or even sixty feet. Nor did these waves in
      the usual way partially unfurl themselves and rebound against the sides of
      the vessel; they might rather be described as long undulations carrying
      the schooner (its weight diminished from the same cause as that of the
      water) alternately to such heights and depths, that if Captain Servadac
      had been subject to seasickness he must have found himself in sorry
      plight. As the pitching, however, was the result of a long uniform swell,
      the yacht did not labor much harder than she would against the ordinary
      short strong waves of the Mediterranean; the main inconvenience that was
      experienced was the diminution in her proper rate of speed.
    </p>
    <p>
      For a few miles she followed the line hitherto presumably occupied by the
      coast of Algeria; but no land appeared to the south. The changed positions
      of the planets rendered them of no avail for purposes of nautical
      observation, nor could Lieutenant Procope calculate his latitude and
      longitude by the altitude of the sun, as his reckonings would be useless
      when applied to charts that had been constructed for the old order of
      things; but nevertheless, by means of the log, which gave him the rate of
      progress, and by the compass which indicated the direction in which they
      were sailing, he was able to form an estimate of his position that was
      sufficiently free from error for his immediate need.
    </p>
    <p>
      Happily the recent phenomena had no effect upon the compass; the magnetic
      needle, which in these regions had pointed about 22 degrees from the north
      pole, had never deviated in the least&mdash;a proof that, although east
      and west had apparently changed places, north and south continued to
      retain their normal position as cardinal points. The log and the compass,
      therefore, were able to be called upon to do the work of the sextant,
      which had become utterly useless.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the first morning of the cruise Lieutenant Procope, who, like most
      Russians, spoke French fluently, was explaining these peculiarities to
      Captain Servadac; the count was present, and the conversation perpetually
      recurred, as naturally it would, to the phenomena which remained so
      inexplicable to them all.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is very evident,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, &ldquo;that ever since the 1st of
      January the earth has been moving in a new orbit, and from some unknown
      cause has drawn nearer to the sun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt about that,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;and I suppose that, having crossed
      the orbit of Venus, we have a good chance of running into the orbit of
      Mercury.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And finish up by a collision with the sun!&rdquo; added the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There is no fear of that, sir. The earth has undoubtedly entered upon a
      new orbit, but she is not incurring any probable risk of being
      precipitated onto the sun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can you satisfy us of that?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I can, sir. I can give you a proof which I think you will own is
      conclusive. If, as you suppose, the earth is being drawn on so as to be
      precipitated against the sun, the great center of attraction of our
      system, it could only be because the centrifugal and centripetal forces
      that cause the planets to rotate in their several orbits had been entirely
      suspended: in that case, indeed, the earth would rush onwards towards the
      sun, and in sixty-four days and a half the catastrophe you dread would
      inevitably happen.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And what demonstration do you offer,&rdquo; asked Servadac eagerly, &ldquo;that it
      will not happen?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Simply this, captain: that since the earth entered her new orbit half the
      sixty-four days has already elapsed, and yet it is only just recently that
      she has crossed the orbit of Venus, hardly one-third of the distance to be
      traversed to reach the sun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant paused to allow time for reflection, and added: &ldquo;Moreover,
      I have every reason to believe that we are not so near the sun as we have
      been. The temperature has been gradually diminishing; the heat upon Gourbi
      Island is not greater now than we might ordinarily expect to find in
      Algeria. At the same time, we have the problem still unsolved that the
      Mediterranean has evidently been transported to the equatorial zone.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Both the count and the captain expressed themselves reassured by his
      representations, and observed that they must now do all in their power to
      discover what had become of the vast continent of Africa, of which, they
      were hitherto failing so completely to find a vestige.
    </p>
    <p>
      Twenty-four hours after leaving the island, the <i>Dobryna</i> had passed
      over the sites where Tenes, Cherchil, Koleah, and Sidi-Feruch once had
      been, but of these towns not one appeared within range of the telescope.
      Ocean reigned supreme. Lieutenant Procope was absolutely certain that he
      had not mistaken his direction; the compass showed that the wind had never
      shifted from the west, and this, with the rate of speed as estimated by
      the log, combined to assure him that at this date, the 2d of February, the
      schooner was in lat. 36 degrees 49 min N. and long. 3 degrees 25 min E.,
      the very spot which ought to have been occupied by the Algerian capital.
      But Algiers, like all the other coast-towns, had apparently been absorbed
      into the bowels of the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac, with clenched teeth and knitted brow, stood sternly,
      almost fiercely, regarding the boundless waste of water. His pulse beat
      fast as he recalled the friends and comrades with whom he had spent the
      last few years in that vanished city. All the images of his past life
      floated upon his memory; his thoughts sped away to his native France, only
      to return again to wonder whether the depths of ocean would reveal any
      traces of the Algerian metropolis.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Is it not impossible,&rdquo; he murmured aloud, &ldquo;that any city should disappear
      so completely? Would not the loftiest eminences of the city at least be
      visible? Surely some portion of the Casbah must still rise above the
      waves? The imperial fort, too, was built upon an elevation of 750 feet; it
      is incredible that it should be so totally submerged. Unless some vestiges
      of these are found, I shall begin to suspect that the whole of Africa has
      been swallowed in some vast abyss.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Another circumstance was most remarkable. Not a material object of any
      kind was to be noticed floating on the surface of the water; not one
      branch of a tree had been seen drifting by, nor one spar belonging to one
      of the numerous vessels that a month previously had been moored in the
      magnificent bay which stretched twelve miles across from Cape Matafuz to
      Point Pexade. Perhaps the depths might disclose what the surface failed to
      reveal, and Count Timascheff, anxious that Servadac should have every
      facility afforded him for solving his doubts, called for the
      sounding-line. Forthwith, the lead was greased and lowered. To the
      surprise of all, and especially of Lieutenant Procope, the line indicated
      a bottom at a nearly uniform depth of from four to five fathoms; and
      although the sounding was persevered with continuously for more than two
      hours over a considerable area, the differences of level were
      insignificant, not corresponding in any degree to what would be expected
      over the site of a city that had been terraced like the seats of an
      amphitheater. Astounding as it seemed, what alternative was left but to
      suppose that the Algerian capital had been completely leveled by the
      flood?
    </p>
    <p>
      The sea-bottom was composed of neither rock, mud, sand, nor shells; the
      sounding-lead brought up nothing but a kind of metallic dust, which
      glittered with a strange iridescence, and the nature of which it was
      impossible to determine, as it was totally unlike what had ever been known
      to be raised from the bed of the Mediterranean.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You must see, lieutenant, I should think, that we are not so near the
      coast of Algeria as you imagined.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant shook his head. After pondering awhile, he said: &ldquo;If we
      were farther away I should expect to find a depth of two or three hundred
      fathoms instead of five fathoms. Five fathoms! I confess I am puzzled.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      For the next thirty-six hours, until the 4th of February, the sea was
      examined and explored with the most unflagging perseverance. Its depth
      remained invariable, still four, or at most five, fathoms; and although
      its bottom was assiduously dredged, it was only to prove it barren of
      marine production of any type.
    </p>
    <p>
      The yacht made its way to lat. 36 degrees, and by reference to the charts
      it was tolerably certain that she was cruising over the site of the Sahel,
      the ridge that had separated the rich plain of the Mitidja from the sea,
      and of which the highest peak, Mount Boujereah, had reached an altitude of
      1,200 feet; but even this peak, which might have been expected to emerge
      like an islet above the surface of the sea, was nowhere to be traced.
      Nothing was to be done but to put about, and return in disappointment
      towards the north.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thus the <i>Dobryna</i> regained the waters of the Mediterranean without
      discovering a trace of the missing province of Algeria.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XI. AN ISLAND TOMB
    </h2>
    <p>
      No longer, then, could there be any doubt as to the annihilation of a
      considerable portion of the colony. Not merely had there been a submersion
      of the land, but the impression was more and more confirmed that the very
      bowels of the earth must have yawned and closed again upon a large
      territory. Of the rocky substratum of the province it became more evident
      than ever that not a trace remained, and a new soil of unknown formation
      had certainly taken the place of the old sandy sea-bottom. As it
      altogether transcended the powers of those on board to elucidate the
      origin of this catastrophe, it was felt to be incumbent on them at least
      to ascertain its extent.
    </p>
    <p>
      After a long and somewhat wavering discussion, it was at length decided
      that the schooner should take advantage of the favorable wind and weather,
      and proceed at first towards the east, thus following the outline of what
      had formerly represented the coast of Africa, until that coast had been
      lost in boundless sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      Not a vestige of it all remained; from Cape Matafuz to Tunis it had all
      gone, as though it had never been. The maritime town of Dellis, built like
      Algiers, amphitheater-wise, had totally disappeared; the highest points
      were quite invisible; not a trace on the horizon was left of the Jurjura
      chain, the topmost point of which was known to have an altitude of more
      than 7,000 feet.
    </p>
    <p>
      Unsparing of her fuel, the <i>Dobryna</i> made her way at full steam
      towards Cape Blanc. Neither Cape Negro nor Cape Serrat was to be seen. The
      town of Bizerta, once charming in its oriental beauty, had vanished
      utterly; its marabouts, or temple-tombs, shaded by magnificent palms that
      fringed the gulf, which by reason of its narrow mouth had the semblance of
      a lake, all had disappeared, giving place to a vast waste of sea, the
      transparent waves of which, as still demonstrated by the sounding-line,
      had ever the same uniform and arid bottom.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the course of the day the schooner rounded the point where, five weeks
      previously, Cape Blanc had been so conspicuous an object, and she was now
      stemming the waters of what once had been the Bay of Tunis. But bay there
      was none, and the town from which it had derived its name, with the
      Arsenal, the Goletta, and the two peaks of Bou-Kournein, had all vanished
      from the view. Cape Bon, too, the most northern promontory of Africa and
      the point of the continent nearest to the island of Sicily, had been
      included in the general devastation.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before the occurrence of the recent prodigy, the bottom of the
      Mediterranean just at this point had formed a sudden ridge across the
      Straits of Libya. The sides of the ridge had shelved to so great an extent
      that, while the depth of water on the summit had been little more than
      eleven fathoms, that on either hand of the elevation was little short of a
      hundred fathoms. A formation such as this plainly indicated that at some
      remote epoch Cape Bon had been connected with Cape Furina, the extremity
      of Sicily, in the same manner as Ceuta has doubtless been connected with
      Gibraltar.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope was too well acquainted with the Mediterranean to be
      unaware of this peculiarity, and would not lose the opportunity of
      ascertaining whether the submarine ridge still existed, or whether the
      sea-bottom between Sicily and Africa had undergone any modification.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both Timascheff and Servadac were much interested in watching the
      operations. At a sign from the lieutenant, a sailor who was stationed at
      the foot of the fore-shrouds dropped the sounding-lead into the water, and
      in reply to Procope&rsquo;s inquiries, reported&mdash;&ldquo;Five fathoms and a flat
      bottom.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The next aim was to determine the amount of depression on either side of
      the ridge, and for this purpose the <i>Dobryna</i> was shifted for a
      distance of half a mile both to the right and left, and the soundings
      taken at each station. &ldquo;Five fathoms and a flat bottom,&rdquo; was the unvaried
      announcement after each operation. Not only, therefore, was it evident
      that the submerged chain between Cape Bon and Cape Furina no longer
      existed, but it was equally clear that the convulsion had caused a general
      leveling of the sea-bottom, and that the soil, degenerated, as it has been
      said, into a metallic dust of unrecognized composition, bore no trace of
      the sponges, sea-anemones, star-fish, sea-nettles, hydrophytes, and shells
      with which the submarine rocks of the Mediterranean had hitherto been
      prodigally clothed.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna</i> now put about and resumed her explorations in a
      southerly direction. It remained, however, as remarkable as ever how
      completely throughout the voyage the sea continued to be deserted; all
      expectations of hailing a vessel bearing news from Europe were entirely
      falsified, so that more and more each member of the crew began to be
      conscious of his isolation, and to believe that the schooner, like a
      second Noah&rsquo;s ark, carried the sole survivors of a calamity that had
      overwhelmed the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 9th of February the <i>Dobryna</i> passed over the site of the city
      of Dido, the ancient Byrsa&mdash;a Carthage, however, which was now more
      completely destroyed than ever Punic Carthage had been destroyed by Scipio
      Africanus or Roman Carthage by Hassan the Saracen.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the evening, as the sun was sinking below the eastern horizon, Captain
      Servadac was lounging moodily against the taffrail. From the heaven above,
      where stars kept peeping fitfully from behind the moving clouds, his eye
      wandered mechanically to the waters below, where the long waves were
      rising and falling with the evening breeze.
    </p>
    <p>
      All at once, his attention was arrested by a luminous speck straight ahead
      on the southern horizon. At first, imagining that he was the victim of
      some spectral illusion, he observed it with silent attention; but when,
      after some minutes, he became convinced that what he saw was actually a
      distant light, he appealed to one of the sailors, by whom his impression
      was fully corroborated. The intelligence was immediately imparted to Count
      Timascheff and the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Is it land, do you suppose?&rdquo; inquired Servadac, eagerly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I should be more inclined to think it is a light on board some ship,&rdquo;
       replied the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Whatever it is, in another hour we shall know all about it,&rdquo; said
      Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, captain,&rdquo; interposed Lieutenant Procope; &ldquo;we shall know nothing until
      to-morrow.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What! not bear down upon it at once?&rdquo; asked the count in surprise.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, sir; I should much rather lay to and wait till daylight. If we are
      really near land, I should be afraid to approach it in the dark.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count expressed his approval of the lieutenant&rsquo;s caution, and
      thereupon all sail was shortened so as to keep the <i>Dobryna</i> from
      making any considerable progress all through the hours of night. Few as
      those hours were, they seemed to those on board as if their end would
      never come. Fearful lest the faint glimmer should at any moment cease to
      be visible, Hector Servadac did not quit his post upon the deck; but the
      light continued unchanged. It shone with about the same degree of luster
      as a star of the second magnitude, and from the fact of its remaining
      stationary, Procope became more and more convinced that it was on land and
      did not belong to a passing vessel.
    </p>
    <p>
      At sunrise every telescope was pointed with keenest interest towards the
      center of attraction. The light, of course, had ceased to be visible, but
      in the direction where it had been seen, and at a distance of about ten
      miles, there was the distinct outline of a solitary island of very small
      extent; rather, as the count observed, it had the appearance of being the
      projecting summit of a mountain all but submerged. Whatever it was, it was
      agreed that its true character must be ascertained, not only to gratify
      their own curiosity, but for the benefit of all future navigators. The
      schooner accordingly was steered directly towards it, and in less than an
      hour had cast anchor within a few cables&rsquo; lengths of the shore.
    </p>
    <p>
      The little island proved to be nothing more than an arid rock rising
      abruptly about forty feet above the water. It had no outlying reefs, a
      circumstance that seemed to suggest the probability that in the recent
      convulsion it had sunk gradually, until it had reached its present
      position of equilibrium.
    </p>
    <p>
      Without removing his eye from his telescope, Servadac exclaimed: &ldquo;There is
      a habitation on the place; I can see an erection of some kind quite
      distinctly. Who can tell whether we shall not come across a human being?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope looked doubtful. The island had all the appearance of
      being deserted, nor did a cannon-shot fired from the schooner have the
      effect of bringing any resident to the shore. Nevertheless, it was
      undeniable that there was a stone building situated on the top of the
      rock, and that this building had much the character of an Arabian mosque.
    </p>
    <p>
      The boat was lowered and manned by the four sailors; Servadac, Timascheff
      and Procope were quickly rowed ashore, and lost no time in commencing
      their ascent of the steep acclivity. Upon reaching the summit, they found
      their progress arrested by a kind of wall, or rampart of singular
      construction, its materials consisting mainly of vases, fragments of
      columns, carved bas-reliefs, statues, and portions of broken stelae, all
      piled promiscuously together without any pretense to artistic arrangement.
      They made their way into the enclosure, and finding an open door, they
      passed through and soon came to a second door, also open, which admitted
      them to the interior of the mosque, consisting of a single chamber, the
      walls of which were ornamented in the Arabian style by sculptures of
      indifferent execution. In the center was a tomb of the very simplest kind,
      and above the tomb was suspended a large silver lamp with a capacious
      reservoir of oil, in which floated a long lighted wick, the flame of which
      was evidently the light that had attracted Servadac&rsquo;s attention on the
      previous night.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Must there not have been a custodian of the shrine?&rdquo; they mutually asked;
      but if such there had ever been, he must, they concluded, either have fled
      or have perished on that eventful night. Not a soul was there in charge,
      and the sole living occupants were a flock of wild cormorants which,
      startled at the entrance of the intruders, rose on wing, and took a rapid
      flight towards the south.
    </p>
    <p>
      An old French prayer-book was lying on the corner of the tomb; the volume
      was open, and the page exposed to view was that which contained the office
      for the celebration of the 25th of August. A sudden revelation dashed
      across Servadac&rsquo;s mind. The solemn isolation of the island tomb, the open
      breviary, the ritual of the ancient anniversary, all combined to apprise
      him of the sanctity of the spot upon which he stood.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The tomb of St. Louis!&rdquo; he exclaimed, and his companions involuntarily
      followed his example, and made a reverential obeisance to the venerated
      monument.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was, in truth, the very spot on which tradition asserts that the
      canonized monarch came to die, a spot to which for six centuries and more
      his countrymen had paid the homage of a pious regard. The lamp that had
      been kindled at the memorial shrine of a saint was now in all probability
      the only beacon that threw a light across the waters of the Mediterranean,
      and even this ere long must itself expire.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was nothing more to explore. The three together quitted the mosque,
      and descended the rock to the shore, whence their boat re-conveyed them to
      the schooner, which was soon again on her southward voyage; and it was not
      long before the tomb of St. Louis, the only spot that had survived the
      mysterious shock, was lost to view.
    </p>
    <p>
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    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XII. AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS
    </h2>
    <p>
      As the affrighted cormorants had winged their flight towards the south,
      there sprang up a sanguine hope on board the schooner that land might be
      discovered in that direction. Thither, accordingly, it was determined to
      proceed, and in a few hours after quitting the island of the tomb, the <i>Dobryna</i>
      was traversing the shallow waters that now covered the peninsula of
      Dakhul, which had separated the Bay of Tunis from the Gulf of Hammamet.
      For two days she continued an undeviating course, and after a futile
      search for the coast of Tunis, reached the latitude of 34 degrees.
    </p>
    <p>
      Here, on the 11th of February, there suddenly arose the cry of &ldquo;Land!&rdquo; and
      in the extreme horizon, right ahead, where land had never been before, it
      was true enough that a shore was distinctly to be seen. What could it be?
      It could not be the coast of Tripoli; for not only would that low-lying
      shore be quite invisible at such a distance, but it was certain, moreover,
      that it lay two degrees at least still further south. It was soon observed
      that this newly discovered land was of very irregular elevation, that it
      extended due east and west across the horizon, thus dividing the gulf into
      two separate sections and completely concealing the island of Jerba, which
      must lie behind. Its position was duly traced on the <i>Dobryna</i>&rsquo;s
      chart.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How strange,&rdquo; exclaimed Hector Servadac, &ldquo;that after sailing all this
      time over sea where we expected to find land, we have at last come upon
      land where we thought to find sea!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Strange, indeed,&rdquo; replied Lieutenant Procope; &ldquo;and what appears to me
      almost as remarkable is that we have never once caught sight either of one
      of the Maltese tartans or one of the Levantine xebecs that traffic so
      regularly on the Mediterranean.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eastwards or westwards,&rdquo; asked the count&mdash;&ldquo;which shall be our
      course? All farther progress to the south is checked.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Westwards, by all means,&rdquo; replied Servadac quickly. &ldquo;I am longing to know
      whether anything of Algeria is left beyond the Shelif; besides, as we pass
      Gourbi Island we might take Ben Zoof on board, and then make away for
      Gibraltar, where we should be sure to learn something, at least, of
      European news.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      With his usual air of stately courtesy, Count Timascheff begged the
      captain to consider the yacht at his own disposal, and desired him to give
      the lieutenant instructions accordingly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope, however, hesitated, and after revolving matters for a
      few moments in his mind, pointed out that as the wind was blowing directly
      from the west, and seemed likely to increase, if they went to the west in
      the teeth of the weather, the schooner would be reduced to the use of her
      engine only, and would have much difficulty in making any headway; on the
      other hand, by taking an eastward course, not only would they have the
      advantage of the wind, but, under steam and canvas, might hope in a few
      days to be off the coast of Egypt, and from Alexandria or some other port
      they would have the same opportunity of getting tidings from Europe as
      they would at Gibraltar.
    </p>
    <p>
      Intensely anxious as he was to revisit the province of Oran, and eager,
      too, to satisfy himself of the welfare of his faithful Ben Zoof, Servadac
      could not but own the reasonableness of the lieutenant&rsquo;s objections, and
      yielded to the proposal that the eastward course should be adopted. The
      wind gave signs only too threatening of the breeze rising to a gale; but,
      fortunately, the waves did not culminate in breakers, but rather in a long
      swell which ran in the same direction as the vessel.
    </p>
    <p>
      During the last fortnight the high temperature had been gradually
      diminishing, until it now reached an average of 20 degrees Cent. (or 68
      degrees Fahr.), and sometimes descended as low as 15 degrees. That this
      diminution was to be attributed to the change in the earth&rsquo;s orbit was a
      question that admitted of little doubt. After approaching so near to the
      sun as to cross the orbit of Venus, the earth must now have receded so far
      from the sun that its normal distance of ninety-one millions of miles was
      greatly increased, and the probability was great that it was approximating
      to the orbit of Mars, that planet which in its physical constitution most
      nearly resembles our own. Nor was this supposition suggested merely by the
      lowering of the temperature; it was strongly corroborated by the reduction
      of the apparent diameter of the sun&rsquo;s disc to the precise dimensions which
      it would assume to an observer actually stationed on the surface of Mars.
      The necessary inference that seemed to follow from these phenomena was
      that the earth had been projected into a new orbit, which had the form of
      a very elongated ellipse.
    </p>
    <p>
      Very slight, however, in comparison was the regard which these
      astronomical wonders attracted on board the <i>Dobryna</i>. All interest
      there was too much absorbed in terrestrial matters, and in ascertaining
      what changes had taken place in the configuration of the earth itself, to
      permit much attention to be paid to its erratic movements through space.
    </p>
    <p>
      The schooner kept bravely on her way, but well out to sea, at a distance
      of two miles from land. There was good need of this precaution, for so
      precipitous was the shore that a vessel driven upon it must inevitably
      have gone to pieces; it did not offer a single harbor of refuge, but,
      smooth and perpendicular as the walls of a fortress, it rose to a height
      of two hundred, and occasionally of three hundred feet. The waves dashed
      violently against its base. Upon the general substratum rested a massive
      conglomerate, the crystallizations of which rose like a forest of gigantic
      pyramids and obelisks.
    </p>
    <p>
      But what struck the explorers more than anything was the appearance of
      singular newness that pervaded the whole of the region. It all seemed so
      recent in its formation that the atmosphere had had no opportunity of
      producing its wonted effect in softening the hardness of its lines, in
      rounding the sharpness of its angles, or in modifying the color of its
      surface; its outline was clearly marked against the sky, and its
      substance, smooth and polished as though fresh from a founder&rsquo;s mold,
      glittered with the metallic brilliancy that is characteristic of pyrites.
      It seemed impossible to come to any other conclusion but that the land
      before them, continent or island, had been upheaved by subterranean forces
      above the surface of the sea, and that it was mainly composed of the same
      metallic element as had characterized the dust so frequently uplifted from
      the bottom.
    </p>
    <p>
      The extreme nakedness of the entire tract was likewise very extraordinary.
      Elsewhere, in various quarters of the globe, there may be sterile rocks,
      but there are none so adamant as to be altogether unfurrowed by the
      filaments engendered in the moist residuum of the condensed vapor;
      elsewhere there may be barren steeps, but none so rigid as not to afford
      some hold to vegetation, however low and elementary may be its type; but
      here all was bare, and blank, and desolate&mdash;not a symptom of vitality
      was visible.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such being the condition of the adjacent land, it could hardly be a matter
      of surprise that all the sea-birds, the albatross, the gull, the sea-mew,
      sought continual refuge on the schooner; day and night they perched
      fearlessly upon the yards, the report of a gun failing to dislodge them,
      and when food of any sort was thrown upon the deck, they would dart down
      and fight with eager voracity for the prize. Their extreme avidity was
      recognized as a proof that any land where they could obtain a sustenance
      must be far remote.
    </p>
    <p>
      Onwards thus for several days the <i>Dobryna</i> followed the contour of
      the inhospitable coast, of which the features would occasionally change,
      sometimes for two or three miles assuming the form of a simple arris,
      sharply defined as though cut by a chisel, when suddenly the prismatic
      lamellae soaring in rugged confusion would again recur; but all along
      there was the same absence of beach or tract of sand to mark its base,
      neither were there any of those shoals of rock that are ordinarily found
      in shallow water. At rare intervals there were some narrow fissures, but
      not a creek available for a ship to enter to replenish its supply of
      water; and the wide roadsteads were unprotected and exposed to well-nigh
      every point of the compass.
    </p>
    <p>
      But after sailing two hundred and forty miles, the progress of the <i>Dobryna</i>
      was suddenly arrested. Lieutenant Procope, who had sedulously inserted the
      outline of the newly revealed shore upon the maps, announced that it had
      ceased to run east and west, and had taken a turn due north, thus forming
      a barrier to their continuing their previous direction. It was, of course,
      impossible to conjecture how far this barrier extended; it coincided
      pretty nearly with the fourteenth meridian of east longitude; and if it
      reached, as probably it did, beyond Sicily to Italy, it was certain that
      the vast basin of the Mediterranean, which had washed the shores alike of
      Europe, Asia, and Africa, must have been reduced to about half its
      original area.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was resolved to proceed upon the same plan as heretofore, following the
      boundary of the land at a safe distance. Accordingly, the head of the <i>Dobryna</i>
      was pointed north, making straight, as it was presumed, for the south of
      Europe. A hundred miles, or somewhat over, in that direction, and it was
      to be anticipated she would come in sight of Malta, if only that ancient
      island, the heritage in succession of Phoenicians, Carthaginians,
      Sicilians, Romans, Vandals, Greeks, Arabians, and the knights of Rhodes,
      should still be undestroyed.
    </p>
    <p>
      But Malta, too, was gone; and when, upon the 14th, the sounding-line was
      dropped upon its site, it was only with the same result so oftentimes
      obtained before.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The devastation is not limited to Africa,&rdquo; observed the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Assuredly not,&rdquo; assented the lieutenant; adding, &ldquo;and I confess I am
      almost in despair whether we shall ever ascertain its limits. To what
      quarter of Europe, if Europe still exists, do you propose that I should
      now direct your course?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To Sicily, Italy, France!&rdquo; ejaculated Servadac, eagerly,&mdash;&ldquo;anywhere
      where we can learn the truth of what has befallen us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How if we are the sole survivors?&rdquo; said the count, gravely.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hector Servadac was silent; his own secret presentiment so thoroughly
      coincided with the doubts expressed by the count, that he refrained from
      saying another word.
    </p>
    <p>
      The coast, without deviation, still tended towards the north. No
      alternative, therefore, remained than to take a westerly course and to
      attempt to reach the northern shores of the Mediterranean. On the 16th the
      <i>Dobryna</i> essayed to start upon her altered way, but it seemed as if
      the elements had conspired to obstruct her progress. A furious tempest
      arose; the wind beat dead in the direction of the coast, and the danger
      incurred by a vessel of a tonnage so light was necessarily very great.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope was extremely uneasy. He took in all sail, struck his
      topmasts, and resolved to rely entirely on his engine. But the peril
      seemed only to increase. Enormous waves caught the schooner and carried
      her up to their crests, whence again she was plunged deep into the abysses
      that they left. The screw failed to keep its hold upon the water, but
      continually revolved with useless speed in the vacant air; and thus,
      although the steam was forced on to the extremest limit consistent with
      safety, the vessel held her way with the utmost difficulty, and recoiled
      before the hurricane.
    </p>
    <p>
      Still, not a single resort for refuge did the inaccessible shore present.
      Again and again the lieutenant asked himself what would become of him and
      his comrades, even if they should survive the peril of shipwreck, and gain
      a footing upon the cliff. What resources could they expect to find upon
      that scene of desolation? What hope could they entertain that any portion
      of the old continent still existed beyond that dreary barrier?
    </p>
    <p>
      It was a trying time, but throughout it all the crew behaved with the
      greatest courage and composure; confident in the skill of their commander,
      and in the stability of their ship, they performed their duties with
      steadiness and unquestioning obedience.
    </p>
    <p>
      But neither skill, nor courage, nor obedience could avail; all was in
      vain. Despite the strain put upon her engine, the schooner, bare of canvas
      (for not even the smallest stay-sail could have withstood the violence of
      the storm), was drifting with terrific speed towards the menacing
      precipices, which were only a. few short miles to leeward. Fully alive to
      the hopelessness of their situation, the crew were all on deck.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;All over with us, sir!&rdquo; said Procope to the count. &ldquo;I have done
      everything that man could do; but our case is desperate. Nothing short of
      a miracle can save us now. Within an hour we must go to pieces upon yonder
      rocks.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let us, then, commend ourselves to the providence of Him to Whom nothing
      is impossible,&rdquo; replied the count, in a calm, clear voice that could be
      distinctly heard by all; and as he spoke, he reverently uncovered, an
      example in which he was followed by all the rest.
    </p>
    <p>
      The destruction of the vessel seeming thus inevitable, Lieutenant Procope
      took the best measures he could to insure a few days&rsquo; supply of food for
      any who might escape ashore. He ordered several cases of provisions and
      kegs of water to be brought on deck, and saw that they were securely
      lashed to some empty barrels, to make them float after the ship had gone
      down.
    </p>
    <p>
      Less and less grew the distance from the shore, but no creek, no inlet,
      could be discerned in the towering wall of cliff, which seemed about to
      topple over and involve them in annihilation. Except a change of wind or,
      as Procope observed, a supernatural rifting of the rock, nothing could
      bring deliverance now. But the wind did not veer, and in a few minutes
      more the schooner was hardly three cables&rsquo; distance from the fatal land.
      All were aware that their last moment had arrived. Servadac and the count
      grasped each other&rsquo;s hands for a long farewell; and, tossed by the
      tremendous waves, the schooner was on the very point of being hurled upon
      the cliff, when a ringing shout was heard. &ldquo;Quick, boys, quick! Hoist the
      jib, and right the tiller!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Sudden and startling as the unexpected orders were, they were executed as
      if by magic.
    </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant, who had shouted from the bow, rushed astern and took the
      helm, and before anyone had time to speculate upon the object of his
      maneuvers, he shouted again, &ldquo;Look out! sharp! watch the sheets!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      An involuntary cry broke forth from all on board. But it was no cry of
      terror. Right ahead was a narrow opening in the solid rock; it was hardly
      forty feet wide. Whether it was a passage or no, it mattered little; it
      was at least a refuge; and, driven by wind and wave, the <i>Dobryna</i>,
      under the dexterous guidance of the lieutenant, dashed in between its
      perpendicular walls.
    </p>
    <p>
      Had she not immured herself in a perpetual prison?
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIII. A ROYAL SALUTE
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then I take your bishop, major,&rdquo; said Colonel Murphy, as he made a move
      that he had taken since the previous evening to consider.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I was afraid you would,&rdquo; replied Major Oliphant, looking intently at the
      chess-board.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such was the way in which a long silence was broken on the morning of the
      17th of February by the old calendar.
    </p>
    <p>
      Another day elapsed before another move was made. It was a protracted
      game; it had, in fact, already lasted some months&mdash;the players being
      so deliberate, and so fearful of taking a step without the most mature
      consideration, that even now they were only making the twentieth move.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both of them, moreover, were rigid disciples of the renowned Philidor, who
      pronounces that to play the pawns well is &ldquo;the soul of chess&rdquo;; and,
      accordingly, not one pawn had been sacrificed without a most vigorous
      defense.
    </p>
    <p>
      The men who were thus beguiling their leisure were two officers in the
      British army&mdash;Colonel Heneage Finch Murphy and Major Sir John Temple
      Oliphant. Remarkably similar in personal appearance, they were hardly less
      so in personal character. Both of them were about forty years of age; both
      of them were tall and fair, with bushy whiskers and mustaches; both of
      them were phlegmatic in temperament, and both much addicted to the wearing
      of their uniforms. They were proud of their nationality, and exhibited a
      manifest dislike, verging upon contempt, of everything foreign. Probably
      they would have felt no surprise if they had been told that Anglo-Saxons
      were fashioned out of some specific clay, the properties of which
      surpassed the investigation of chemical analysis. Without any intentional
      disparagement they might, in a certain way, be compared to two scarecrows
      which, though perfectly harmless in themselves, inspire some measure of
      respect, and are excellently adapted to protect the territory intrusted to
      their guardianship.
    </p>
    <p>
      English-like, the two officers had made themselves thoroughly at home in
      the station abroad in which it had been their lot to be quartered. The
      faculty of colonization seems to be indigenous to the native character;
      once let an Englishman plant his national standard on the surface of the
      moon, and it would not be long before a colony was established round it.
    </p>
    <p>
      The officers had a servant, named Kirke, and a company of ten soldiers of
      the line. This party of thirteen men were apparently the sole survivors of
      an overwhelming catastrophe, which on the 1st of January had transformed
      an enormous rock, garrisoned with well-nigh two thousand troops, into an
      insignificant island far out to sea. But although the transformation had
      been so marvelous, it cannot be said that either Colonel Murphy or Major
      Oliphant had made much demonstration of astonishment.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;This is all very peculiar, Sir John,&rdquo; observed the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, colonel; very peculiar,&rdquo; replied the major.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;England will be sure to send for us,&rdquo; said one officer.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt she will,&rdquo; answered the other.
    </p>
    <p>
      Accordingly, they came to the mutual resolution that they would &ldquo;stick to
      their post.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      To say the truth, it would have been a difficult matter for the gallant
      officers to do otherwise; they had but one small boat; therefore, it was
      well that they made a virtue of necessity, and resigned themselves to
      patient expectation of the British ship which, in due time, would bring
      relief.
    </p>
    <p>
      They had no fear of starvation. Their island was mined with subterranean
      stores, more than ample for thirteen men&mdash;nay, for thirteen
      Englishmen&mdash;for the next five years at least. Preserved meat, ale,
      brandy&mdash;all were in abundance; consequently, as the men expressed it,
      they were in this respect &ldquo;all right.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Of course, the physical changes that had taken place had attracted the
      notice both of officers and men. But the reversed position of east and
      west, the diminution of the force of gravity, the altered rotation of the
      earth, and her projection upon a new orbit, were all things that gave them
      little concern and no uneasiness; and when the colonel and the major had
      replaced the pieces on the board which had been disturbed by the
      convulsion, any surprise they might have felt at the chess-men losing some
      portion of their weight was quite forgotten in the satisfaction of seeing
      them retain their equilibrium.
    </p>
    <p>
      One phenomenon, however, did not fail to make its due impression upon the
      men; this was the diminution in the length of day and night. Three days
      after the catastrophe, Corporal Pim, on behalf of himself and his
      comrades, solicited a formal interview with the officers. The request
      having been granted, Pim, with the nine soldiers, all punctiliously
      wearing the regimental tunic of scarlet and trousers of invisible green,
      presented themselves at the door of the colonel&rsquo;s room, where he and his
      brother-officer were continuing their game. Raising his hand respectfully
      to his cap, which he wore poised jauntily over his right ear, and scarcely
      held on by the strap below his under lip, the corporal waited permission
      to speak.
    </p>
    <p>
      After a lingering survey of the chess-board, the colonel slowly lifted his
      eyes, and said with official dignity, &ldquo;Well, men, what is it?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;First of all, sir,&rdquo; replied the corporal, &ldquo;we want to speak to you about
      our pay, and then we wish to have a word with the major about our
      rations.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Say on, then,&rdquo; said Colonel Murphy. &ldquo;What is it about your pay?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just this, sir; as the days are only half as long as they were, we should
      like to know whether our pay is to be diminished in proportion.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The colonel was taken somewhat aback, and did not reply immediately,
      though by some significant nods towards the major, he indicated that he
      thought the question very reasonable. After a few moments&rsquo; reflection, he
      replied, &ldquo;It must, I think, be allowed that your pay was calculated from
      sunrise to sunrise; there was no specification of what the interval should
      be. Your pay will continue as before. England can afford it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      A buzz of approval burst involuntarily from all the men, but military
      discipline and the respect due to their officers kept them in check from
      any boisterous demonstration of their satisfaction.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And now, corporal, what is your business with me?&rdquo; asked Major Oliphant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We want to know whether, as the days are only six hours long, we are to
      have but two meals instead of four?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The officers looked at each other, and by their glances agreed that the
      corporal was a man of sound common sense.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eccentricities of nature,&rdquo; said the major, &ldquo;cannot interfere with
      military regulations. It is true that there will be but an interval of an
      hour and a half between them, but the rule stands good&mdash;four meals a
      day. England is too rich to grudge her soldiers any of her soldiers&rsquo; due.
      Yes; four meals a day.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hurrah!&rdquo; shouted the soldiers, unable this time to keep their delight
      within the bounds of military decorum; and, turning to the right-about,
      they marched away, leaving the officers to renew the all-absorbing game.
    </p>
    <p>
      However confident everyone upon the island might profess to be that succor
      would be sent them from their native land&mdash;for Britain never abandons
      any of her sons&mdash;it could not be disguised that that succor was
      somewhat tardy in making its appearance. Many and various were the
      conjectures to account for the delay. Perhaps England was engrossed with
      domestic matters, or perhaps she was absorbed in diplomatic difficulties;
      or perchance, more likely than all, Northern Europe had received no
      tidings of the convulsion that had shattered the south. The whole party
      throve remarkably well upon the liberal provisions of the commissariat
      department, and if the officers failed to show the same tendency to <i>embonpoint</i>
      which was fast becoming characteristic of the men, it was only because
      they deemed it due to their rank to curtail any indulgences which might
      compromise the fit of their uniform.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the whole, time passed indifferently well. An Englishman rarely suffers
      from <i>ennui</i>, and then only in his own country, when required to
      conform to what he calls &ldquo;the humbug of society&rdquo;; and the two officers,
      with their similar tastes, ideas, and dispositions, got on together
      admirably. It is not to be questioned that they were deeply affected by a
      sense of regret for their lost comrades, and astounded beyond measure at
      finding themselves the sole survivors of a garrison of 1,895 men, but with
      true British pluck and self-control, they had done nothing more than draw
      up a report that 1,882 names were missing from the muster-roll.
    </p>
    <p>
      The island itself, the sole surviving fragment of an enormous pile of rock
      that had reared itself some 1,600 feet above the sea, was not, strictly
      speaking, the only land that was visible; for about twelve miles to the
      south there was another island, apparently the very counterpart of what
      was now occupied by the Englishmen. It was only natural that this should
      awaken some interest even in the most imperturbable minds, and there was
      no doubt that the two officers, during one of the rare intervals when they
      were not absorbed in their game, had decided that it would be desirable at
      least to ascertain whether the island was deserted, or whether it might
      not be occupied by some others, like themselves, survivors from the
      general catastrophe. Certain it is that one morning, when the weather was
      bright and calm, they had embarked alone in the little boat, and been
      absent for seven or eight hours. Not even to Corporal Pim did they
      communicate the object of their excursion, nor say one syllable as to its
      result, and it could only be inferred from their manner that they were
      quite satisfied with what they had seen; and very shortly afterwards Major
      Oliphant was observed to draw up a lengthy document, which was no sooner
      finished than it was formally signed and sealed with the seal of the 33rd
      Regiment. It was directed:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
 <i>To the First Lord of the Admiralty,
  London,</i>
</pre>
    <p>
      and kept in readiness for transmission by the first ship that should hail
      in sight. But time elapsed, and here was the 18th of February without an
      opportunity having been afforded for any communication with the British
      Government.
    </p>
    <p>
      At breakfast that morning, the colonel observed to the major that he was
      under the most decided impression that the 18th of February was a royal
      anniversary; and he went on to say that, although he had received no
      definite instructions on the subject, he did not think that the peculiar
      circumstances under which they found themselves should prevent them from
      giving the day its due military honors.
    </p>
    <p>
      The major quite concurred; and it was mutually agreed that the occasion
      must be honored by a bumper of port, and by a royal salute. Corporal Pim
      must be sent for. The corporal soon made his appearance, smacking his
      lips, having, by a ready intuition, found a pretext for a double morning
      ration of spirits.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The 18th of February, you know, Pim,&rdquo; said the colonel; &ldquo;we must have a
      salute of twenty-one guns.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good,&rdquo; replied Pim, a man of few words.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And take care that your fellows don&rsquo;t get their arms and legs blown off,&rdquo;
       added the officer.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good, sir,&rdquo; said the corporal; and he made his salute and withdrew.
    </p>
    <p>
      Of all the bombs, howitzers, and various species of artillery with which
      the fortress had been crowded, one solitary piece remained. This was a
      cumbrous muzzle-loader of 9-inch caliber, and, in default of the smaller
      ordnance generally employed for the purpose, had to be brought into
      requisition for the royal salute.
    </p>
    <p>
      A sufficient number of charges having been provided, the corporal brought
      his men to the reduct, whence the gun&rsquo;s mouth projected over a sloping
      embrasure. The two officers, in cocked hats and full staff uniform,
      attended to take charge of the proceedings. The gun was maneuvered in
      strict accordance with the rules of &ldquo;The Artilleryman&rsquo;s Manual,&rdquo; and the
      firing commenced.
    </p>
    <p>
      Not unmindful of the warning he had received, the corporal was most
      careful between each discharge to see that every vestige of fire was
      extinguished, so as to prevent an untimely explosion while the men were
      reloading; and accidents, such as so frequently mar public rejoicings,
      were all happily avoided.
    </p>
    <p>
      Much to the chagrin of both Colonel Murphy and Major Oliphant, the effect
      of the salute fell altogether short of their anticipations. The weight of
      the atmosphere was so reduced that there was comparatively little
      resistance to the explosive force of the gases, liberated at the cannon&rsquo;s
      mouth, and there was consequently none of the reverberation, like rolling
      thunder, that ordinarily follows the discharge of heavy artillery.
    </p>
    <p>
      Twenty times had the gun been fired, and it was on the point of being
      loaded for the last time, when the colonel laid his hand upon the arm of
      the man who had the ramrod. &ldquo;Stop!&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;we will have a ball this
      time. Let us put the range of the piece to the test.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A good idea!&rdquo; replied the major. &ldquo;Corporal, you hear the orders.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      In quick time an artillery-wagon was on the spot, and the men lifted out a
      full-sized shot, weighing 200 lbs., which, under ordinary circumstances,
      the cannon would carry about four miles. It was proposed, by means of
      telescopes, to note the place where the ball first touched the water, and
      thus to obtain an approximation sufficiently accurate as to the true
      range.
    </p>
    <p>
      Having been duly charged with powder and ball, the gun was raised to an
      angle of something under 45 degrees, so as to allow proper development to
      the curve that the projectile would make, and, at a signal from the major,
      the light was applied to the priming.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Heavens!&rdquo; &ldquo;By all that&rsquo;s good!&rdquo; exclaimed both officers in one breath,
      as, standing open-mouthed, they hardly knew whether they were to believe
      the evidence of their own senses. &ldquo;Is it possible?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The diminution of the force of attraction at the earth&rsquo;s surface was so
      considerable that the ball had sped beyond the horizon.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Incredible!&rdquo; ejaculated the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Incredible!&rdquo; echoed the major.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Six miles at least!&rdquo; observed the one.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, more than that!&rdquo; replied the other.
    </p>
    <p>
      Awhile, they gazed at the sea and at each other in mute amazement. But in
      the midst of their perplexity, what sound was that which startled them?
      Was it mere fancy? Was it the reverberation of the cannon still booming in
      their ears? Or was it not truly the report of another and a distant gun in
      answer to their own? Attentively and eagerly they listened. Twice, thrice
      did the sound repeat itself. It was quite distinct. There could be no
      mistake.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I told you so,&rdquo; cried the colonel, triumphantly. &ldquo;I knew our country
      would not forsake us; it is an English ship, no doubt.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      In half an hour two masts were visible above the horizon. &ldquo;See! Was I not
      right? Our country was sure to send to our relief. Here is the ship.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the major; &ldquo;she responded to our gun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is to be hoped,&rdquo; muttered the corporal, &ldquo;that our ball has done her no
      damage.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Before long the hull was full in sight. A long trail of smoke betokened
      her to be a steamer; and very soon, by the aid of the glass, it could be
      ascertained that she was a schooner-yacht, and making straight for the
      island. A flag at her mast-head fluttered in the breeze, and towards this
      the two officers, with the keenest attention, respectively adjusted their
      focus.
    </p>
    <p>
      Simultaneously the two telescopes were lowered. The colonel and the major
      stared at each other in blank astonishment. &ldquo;Russian!&rdquo; they gasped.
    </p>
    <p>
      And true it was that the flag that floated at the head of yonder mast was
      the blue cross of Russia.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIV. SENSITIVE NATIONALITY
    </h2>
    <p>
      When the schooner had approached the island, the Englishmen were able to
      make out the name &ldquo;<i>Dobryna</i>&rdquo; painted on the aft-board. A sinuous
      irregularity of the coast had formed a kind of cove, which, though hardly
      spacious enough for a few fishing-smacks, would afford the yacht a
      temporary anchorage, so long as the wind did not blow violently from
      either west or south. Into this cove the <i>Dobryna</i> was duly signaled,
      and as soon as she was safely moored, she lowered her four-oar, and Count
      Timascheff and Captain Servadac made their way at once to land.
    </p>
    <p>
      Colonel Heneage Finch Murphy and Major Sir John Temple Oliphant stood,
      grave and prim, formally awaiting the arrival of their visitors. Captain
      Servadac, with the uncontrolled vivacity natural to a Frenchman, was the
      first to speak.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A joyful sight, gentlemen!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;It will give us unbounded
      pleasure to shake hands again with some of our fellow-creatures. You, no
      doubt, have escaped the same disaster as ourselves.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But the English officers, neither by word nor gesture, made the slightest
      acknowledgment of this familiar greeting.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What news can you give us of France, England, or Russia?&rdquo; continued
      Servadac, perfectly unconscious of the stolid rigidity with which his
      advances were received. &ldquo;We are anxious to hear anything you can tell us.
      Have you had communications with Europe? Have you&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To whom have we the honor of speaking?&rdquo; at last interposed Colonel
      Murphy, in the coldest and most measured tone, and drawing himself up to
      his full height.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah! how stupid! I forgot,&rdquo; said Servadac, with the slightest possible
      shrug of the shoulders; &ldquo;we have not been introduced.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Then, with a wave of his hand towards his companion, who meanwhile had
      exhibited a reserve hardly less than that of the British officers, he
      said:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Allow me to introduce you to Count Wassili Timascheff.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Major Sir John Temple Oliphant,&rdquo; replied the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Russian and the Englishman mutually exchanged the stiffest of bows.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have the pleasure of introducing Captain Servadac,&rdquo; said the count in
      his turn.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And this is Colonel Heneage Finch Murphy,&rdquo; was the major&rsquo;s grave
      rejoinder.
    </p>
    <p>
      More bows were interchanged and the ceremony brought to its due
      conclusion. It need hardly be said that the conversation had been carried
      on in French, a language which is generally known both by Russians and
      Englishmen&mdash;a circumstance that is probably in some measure to be
      accounted for by the refusal of Frenchmen to learn either Russian or
      English.
    </p>
    <p>
      The formal preliminaries of etiquette being thus complete, there was no
      longer any obstacle to a freer intercourse. The colonel, signing to his
      guests to follow, led the way to the apartment occupied jointly by himself
      and the major, which, although only a kind of casemate hollowed in the
      rock, nevertheless wore a general air of comfort. Major Oliphant
      accompanied them, and all four having taken their seats, the conversation
      was commenced.
    </p>
    <p>
      Irritated and disgusted at all the cold formalities, Hector Servadac
      resolved to leave all the talking to the count; and he, quite aware that
      the Englishmen would adhere to the fiction that they could be supposed to
      know nothing that had transpired previous to the introduction felt himself
      obliged to recapitulate matters from the very beginning.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You must be aware, gentlemen,&rdquo; began the count, &ldquo;that a most singular
      catastrophe occurred on the 1st of January last. Its cause, its limits we
      have utterly failed to discover, but from the appearance of the island on
      which we find you here, you have evidently experienced its devastating
      consequences.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Englishmen, in silence, bowed assent.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Captain Servadac, who accompanies me,&rdquo; continued the count, &ldquo;has been
      most severely tried by the disaster. Engaged as he was in an important
      mission as a staff-officer in Algeria&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A French colony, I believe,&rdquo; interposed Major Oliphant, half shutting his
      eyes with an expression of supreme indifference.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was on the point of making some cutting retort, but Count
      Timascheff, without allowing the interruption to be noticed, calmly
      continued his narrative:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It was near the mouth of the Shelif that a portion of Africa, on that
      eventful night, was transformed into an island which alone survived; the
      rest of the vast continent disappeared as completely as if it had never
      been.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The announcement seemed by no means startling to the phlegmatic colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Indeed!&rdquo; was all he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And where were you?&rdquo; asked Major Oliphant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I was out at sea, cruising in my yacht; hard by; and I look upon it as a
      miracle, and nothing less, that I and my crew escaped with our lives.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I congratulate you on your luck,&rdquo; replied the major.
    </p>
    <p>
      The count resumed: &ldquo;It was about a month after the great disruption that I
      was sailing&mdash;my engine having sustained some damage in the shock&mdash;along
      the Algerian coast, and had the pleasure of meeting with my previous
      acquaintance, Captain Servadac, who was resident upon the island with his
      orderly, Ben Zoof.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ben who?&rdquo; inquired the major.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Zoof! Ben Zoof!&rdquo; ejaculated Servadac, who could scarcely shout loud
      enough to relieve his pent-up feelings.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ignoring this ebullition of the captain&rsquo;s spleen, the count went on to
      say: &ldquo;Captain Servadac was naturally most anxious to get what news he
      could. Accordingly, he left his servant on the island in charge of his
      horses, and came on board the <i>Dobryna</i> with me. We were quite at a
      loss to know where we should steer, but decided to direct our course to
      what previously had been the east, in order that we might, if possible,
      discover the colony of Algeria; but of Algeria not a trace remained.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The colonel curled his lip, insinuating only too plainly that to him it
      was by no means surprising that a French colony should be wanting in the
      element of stability. Servadac observed the supercilious look, and half
      rose to his feet, but, smothering his resentment, took his seat again
      without speaking.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The devastation, gentlemen,&rdquo; said the count, who persistently refused to
      recognize the Frenchman&rsquo;s irritation, &ldquo;everywhere was terrible and
      complete. Not only was Algeria lost, but there was no trace of Tunis,
      except one solitary rock, which was crowned by an ancient tomb of one of
      the kings of France&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Louis the Ninth, I presume,&rdquo; observed the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Saint Louis,&rdquo; blurted out Servadac, savagely.
    </p>
    <p>
      Colonel Murphy slightly smiled.
    </p>
    <p>
      Proof against all interruption, Count Timascheff, as if he had not heard
      it, went on without pausing. He related how the schooner had pushed her
      way onwards to the south, and had reached the Gulf of Cabes; and how she
      had ascertained for certain that the Sahara Sea had no longer an
      existence.
    </p>
    <p>
      The smile of disdain again crossed the colonel&rsquo;s face; he could not
      conceal his opinion that such a destiny for the work of a Frenchman could
      be no matter of surprise.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our next discovery,&rdquo; continued the count, &ldquo;was that a new coast had been
      upheaved right along in front of the coast of Tripoli, the geological
      formation of which was altogether strange, and which extended to the north
      as far as the proper place of Malta.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And Malta,&rdquo; cried Servadac, unable to control himself any longer; &ldquo;Malta&mdash;town,
      forts, soldiers, governor, and all&mdash;has vanished just like Algeria.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      For a moment a cloud rested upon the colonel&rsquo;s brow, only to give place to
      an expression of decided incredulity.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The statement seems highly incredible,&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Incredible?&rdquo; repeated Servadac. &ldquo;Why is it that you doubt my word?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain&rsquo;s rising wrath did not prevent the colonel from replying
      coolly, &ldquo;Because Malta belongs to England.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t help that,&rdquo; answered Servadac, sharply; &ldquo;it has gone just as
      utterly as if it had belonged to China.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Colonel Murphy turned deliberately away from Servadac, and appealed to the
      count: &ldquo;Do you not think you may have made some error, count, in reckoning
      the bearings of your yacht?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, colonel, I am quite certain of my reckonings; and not only can I
      testify that Malta has disappeared, but I can affirm that a large section
      of the Mediterranean has been closed in by a new continent. After the most
      anxious investigation, we could discover only one narrow opening in all
      the coast, and it is by following that little channel that we have made
      our way hither. England, I fear, has suffered grievously by the late
      catastrophe. Not only has Malta been entirely lost, but of the Ionian
      Islands that were under England&rsquo;s protection, there seems to be but little
      left.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, you may depend upon it,&rdquo; said Servadac, breaking in upon the
      conversation petulantly, &ldquo;your grand resident lord high commissioner has
      not much to congratulate himself about in the condition of Corfu.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Englishmen were mystified.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Corfu, did you say?&rdquo; asked Major Oliphant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, Corfu; I said Corfu,&rdquo; replied Servadac, with a sort of malicious
      triumph.
    </p>
    <p>
      The officers were speechless with astonishment.
    </p>
    <p>
      The silence of bewilderment was broken at length by Count Timascheff
      making inquiry whether nothing had been heard from England, either by
      telegraph or by any passing ship.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the colonel; &ldquo;not a ship has passed; and the cable is broken.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But do not the Italian telegraphs assist you?&rdquo; continued the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Italian! I do not comprehend you. You must mean the Spanish, surely.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How?&rdquo; demanded Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Confound it!&rdquo; cried the impatient Servadac. &ldquo;What matters whether it be
      Spanish or Italian? Tell us, have you had no communication at all from
      Europe?&mdash;no news of any sort from London?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hitherto, none whatever,&rdquo; replied the colonel; adding with a stately
      emphasis, &ldquo;but we shall be sure to have tidings from England before long.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Whether England is still in existence or not, I suppose,&rdquo; said Servadac,
      in a tone of irony.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Englishmen started simultaneously to their feet.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;England in existence?&rdquo; the colonel cried. &ldquo;England! Ten times more
      probable that France&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;France!&rdquo; shouted Servadac in a passion. &ldquo;France is not an island that can
      be submerged; France is an integral portion of a solid continent. France,
      at least, is safe.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      A scene appeared inevitable, and Count Timascheff&rsquo;s efforts to conciliate
      the excited parties were of small avail.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are at home here,&rdquo; said Servadac, with as much calmness as he could
      command; &ldquo;it will be advisable, I think, for this discussion to be carried
      on in the open air.&rdquo; And hurriedly he left the room. Followed immediately
      by the others, he led the way to a level piece of ground, which he
      considered he might fairly claim as neutral territory.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, gentlemen,&rdquo; he began haughtily, &ldquo;permit me to represent that, in
      spite of any loss France may have sustained in the fate of Algeria, France
      is ready to answer any provocation that affects her honor. Here I am the
      representative of my country, and here, on neutral ground&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Neutral ground?&rdquo; objected Colonel Murphy; &ldquo;I beg your pardon. This,
      Captain Servadac, is English territory. Do you not see the English flag?&rdquo;
       and, as he spoke, he pointed with national pride to the British standard
      floating over the top of the island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pshaw!&rdquo; cried Servadac, with a contemptuous sneer; &ldquo;that flag, you know,
      has been hoisted but a few short weeks.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That flag has floated where it is for ages,&rdquo; asserted the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;An imposture!&rdquo; shouted Servadac, as he stamped with rage.
    </p>
    <p>
      Recovering his composure in a degree, he continued: &ldquo;Can you suppose that
      I am not aware that this island on which we find you is what remains of
      the Ionian representative republic, over which you English exercise the
      right of protection, but have no claim of government?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The colonel and the major looked at each other in amazement.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although Count Timascheff secretly sympathized with Servadac, he had
      carefully refrained from taking part in the dispute; but he was on the
      point of interfering, when the colonel, in a greatly subdued tone, begged
      to be allowed to speak.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I begin to apprehend,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that you must be la-boring under some
      strange mistake. There is no room for questioning that the territory here
      is England&rsquo;s&mdash;England&rsquo;s by right of conquest; ceded to England by the
      Treaty of Utrecht. Three times, indeed&mdash;in 1727, 1779, and 1792&mdash;France
      and Spain have disputed our title, but always to no purpose. You are, I
      assure you, at the present moment, as much on English soil as if you were
      in London, in the middle of Trafalgar Square.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It was now the turn of the captain and the count to look surprised. &ldquo;Are
      we not, then, in Corfu?&rdquo; they asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are at Gibraltar,&rdquo; replied the colonel.
    </p>
    <p>
      Gibraltar! The word fell like a thunderclap upon their ears. Gibraltar!
      the western extremity of the Mediterranean! Why, had they not been sailing
      persistently to the east? Could they be wrong in imagining that they had
      reached the Ionian Islands? What new mystery was this?
    </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff was about to proceed with a more rigorous investigation,
      when the attention of all was arrested by a loud outcry. Turning round,
      they saw that the crew of the <i>Dobryna</i> was in hot dispute with the
      English soldiers. A general altercation had arisen from a disagreement
      between the sailor Panofka and Corporal Pim. It had transpired that the
      cannon-ball fired in experiment from the island had not only damaged one
      of the spars of the schooner, but had broken Panofka&rsquo;s pipe, and,
      moreover, had just grazed his nose, which, for a Russian&rsquo;s, was unusually
      long. The discussion over this mishap led to mutual recriminations, till
      the sailors had almost come to blows with the garrison.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was just in the mood to take Panofka&rsquo;s part, which drew from
      Major Oliphant the remark that England could not be held responsible for
      any accidental injury done by her cannon, and if the Russian&rsquo;s long nose
      came in the way of the ball, the Russian must submit to the mischance.
    </p>
    <p>
      This was too much for Count Timascheff, and having poured out a torrent of
      angry invective against the English officers, he ordered his crew to
      embark immediately.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We shall meet again,&rdquo; said Servadac, as they pushed off from shore.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Whenever you please,&rdquo; was the cool reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      The geographical mystery haunted the minds of both the count and the
      captain, and they felt they could never rest till they had ascertained
      what had become of their respective countries. They were glad to be on
      board again, that they might résumé their voyage of investigation, and in
      two hours were out of sight of the sole remaining fragment of Gibraltar.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XV. AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA
    </h2>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope had been left on board in charge of the <i>Dobryna</i>,
      and on resuming the voyage it was a task of some difficulty to make him
      understand the fact that had just come to light. Some hours were spent in
      discussion and in attempting to penetrate the mysteries of the situation.
    </p>
    <p>
      There were certain things of which they were perfectly certain. They could
      be under no misapprehension as to the distance they had positively sailed
      from Gourbi Island towards the east before their further progress was
      arrested by the unknown shore; as nearly as possible that was fifteen
      degrees; the length of the narrow strait by which they had made their way
      across that land to regain the open sea was about three miles and a half;
      thence onward to the island, which they had been assured, on evidence that
      they could not disbelieve, to be upon the site of Gibraltar, was four
      degrees; while from Gibraltar to Gourbi Island was seven degrees or but
      little more. What was it altogether? Was it not less than thirty degrees?
      In that latitude, the degree of longitude represents eight and forty
      miles. What, then, did it all amount to? Indubitably, to less than 1,400
      miles. So brief a voyage would bring the <i>Dobryna</i> once again to her
      starting-point, or, in other words, would enable her to complete the
      circumnavigation of the globe. How changed the condition of things!
      Previously, to sail from Malta to Gibraltar by an eastward course would
      have involved the passage of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Indian
      Ocean, the Pacific, the Atlantic; but what had happened now? Why,
      Gibraltar had been reached as if it had been just at Corfu, and some three
      hundred and thirty degrees of the earth&rsquo;s circuit had vanished utterly.
    </p>
    <p>
      After allowing for a certain margin of miscalculation, the main fact
      remained undeniable; and the necessary inference that Lieutenant Procope
      drew from the round of the earth being completed in 1,400 miles, was that
      the earth&rsquo;s diameter had been reduced by about fifteen sixteenths of its
      length.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If that be so,&rdquo; observed the count, &ldquo;it accounts for some of the strange
      phenomena we witness. If our world has become so insignificant a spheroid,
      not only has its gravity diminished, but its rotary speed has been
      accelerated; and this affords an adequate explanation of our days and
      nights being thus curtailed. But how about the new orbit in which we are
      moving?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He paused and pondered, and then looked at Procope as though awaiting from
      him some further elucidation of the difficulty. The lieutenant hesitated.
      When, in a few moments, he began to speak, Servadac smiled intelligently,
      anticipating the answer he was about to hear.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My conjecture is,&rdquo; said Procope, &ldquo;that a fragment of considerable
      magnitude has been detached from the earth; that it has carried with it an
      envelope of the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere, and that it is now traveling through
      the solar system in an orbit that does not correspond at all with the
      proper orbit of the earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The hypothesis was plausible; but what a multitude of bewildering
      speculations it entailed! If, in truth, a certain mass had been broken off
      from the terrestrial sphere, whither would it wend its way? What would be
      the measure of the eccentricity of its path? What would be its period
      round the sun? Might it not, like a comet, be carried away into the vast
      infinity of space? or, on the other hand, might it not be attracted to the
      great central source of light and heat, and be absorbed in it? Did its
      orbit correspond with the orbit of the ecliptic? and was there no chance
      of its ever uniting again with the globe, from which it had been torn off
      by so sudden and violent a disruption?
    </p>
    <p>
      A thoughtful silence fell upon them all, which Servadac was the first to
      break. &ldquo;Lieutenant,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;your explanation is ingenious, and accounts
      for many appearances; but it seems to me that in one point it fails.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How so?&rdquo; replied Procope. &ldquo;To my mind the theory meets all objections.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I think not,&rdquo; Servadac answered. &ldquo;In one point, at least, it appears to
      me to break down completely.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; asked the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Stop a moment,&rdquo; said the captain. &ldquo;Let us see that we understand each
      other right. Unless I mistake you, your hypothesis is that a fragment of
      the earth, comprising the Mediterranean and its shores from Gibraltar to
      Malta, has been developed into a new asteroid, which is started on an
      independent orbit in the solar regions. Is not that your meaning?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Precisely so,&rdquo; the lieutenant acquiesced.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; continued Servadac, &ldquo;it seems to me to be at fault in this
      respect: it fails, and fails completely, to account for the geological
      character of the land that we have found now encompassing this sea. Why,
      if the new land is a fragment of the old&mdash;why does it not retain its
      old formation? What has become of the granite and the calcareous deposits?
      How is it that these should all be changed into a mineral concrete with
      which we have no acquaintance?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      No doubt, it was a serious objection; for, however likely it might be that
      a mass of the earth on being detached would be eccentric in its movements,
      there was no probable reason to be alleged why the material of its
      substance should undergo so complete a change. There was nothing to
      account for the fertile shores, rich in vegetation, being transformed into
      rocks arid and barren beyond precedent.
    </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant felt the difficulty, and owned himself unprepared to give
      at once an adequate solution; nevertheless, he declined to renounce his
      theory. He asserted that the arguments in favor of it carried conviction
      to his mind, and that he entertained no doubt but that, in the course of
      time, all apparently antagonistic circumstances would be explained so as
      to become consistent with the view he took. He was careful, however, to
      make it understood that with respect to the original cause of the
      disruption he had no theory to offer; and although he knew what expansion
      might be the result of subterranean forces, he did not venture to say that
      he considered it sufficient to produce so tremendous an effect. The origin
      of the catastrophe was a problem still to be solved.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah! well,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that it matters much where our
      new little planet comes from, or what it is made of, if only it carries
      France along with it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And Russia,&rdquo; added the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And Russia, of course,&rdquo; said Servadac, with a polite bow.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was, however, not much room for this sanguine expectation, for if a
      new asteroid had thus been brought into existence, it must be a sphere of
      extremely limited dimensions, and there could be little chance that it
      embraced more than the merest fraction of either France or Russia. As to
      England, the total cessation of all telegraphic communication between her
      shores and Gibraltar was a virtual proof that England was beyond its
      compass.
    </p>
    <p>
      And what was the true measurement of the new little world? At Gourbi
      Island the days and nights were of equal length, and this seemed to
      indicate that it was situated on the equator; hence the distance by which
      the two poles stood apart would be half what had been reckoned would be
      the distance completed by the <i>Dobryna</i> in her circuit. That distance
      had been already estimated to be something under 1,400 miles, so that the
      Arctic Pole of their recently fashioned world must be about 350 miles to
      the north, and the Antarctic about 350 miles to the south of the island.
      Compare these calculations with the map, and it is at once apparent that
      the northernmost limit barely touched the coast of Provence, while the
      southernmost reached to about lat. 20 degrees N., and fell in the heart of
      the desert. The practical test of these conclusions would be made by
      future investigation, but meanwhile the fact appeared very much to
      strengthen the presumption that, if Lieutenant Procope had not arrived at
      the whole truth, he had made a considerable advance towards it.
    </p>
    <p>
      The weather, ever since the storm that had driven the <i>Dobryna</i> into
      the creek, had been magnificent. The wind continued favorable, and now
      under both steam and canvas, she made a rapid progress towards the north,
      a direction in which she was free to go in consequence of the total
      disappearance of the Spanish coast, from Gibraltar right away to Alicante.
      Malaga, Almeria, Cape Gata, Carthagena. Cape Palos&mdash;all were gone.
      The sea was rolling over the southern extent of the peninsula, so that the
      yacht advanced to the latitude of Seville before it sighted any land at
      all, and then, not shores such as the shores of Andalusia, but a bluff and
      precipitous cliff, in its geological features resembling exactly the stern
      and barren rock that she had coasted beyond the site of Malta. Here the
      sea made a decided indentation on the coast; it ran up in an acute-angled
      triangle till its apex coincided with the very spot upon which Madrid had
      stood. But as hitherto the sea had encroached upon the land, the land in
      its turn now encroached upon the sea; for a frowning headland stood out
      far into the basin of the Mediterranean, and formed a promontory
      stretching out beyond the proper places of the Balearic Isles. Curiosity
      was all alive. There was the intensest interest awakened to determine
      whether no vestige could be traced of Majorca, Minorca, or any of the
      group, and it was during a deviation from the direct course for the
      purpose of a more thorough scrutiny, that one of the sailors raised a
      thrill of general excitement by shouting, &ldquo;A bottle in the sea!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Here, then, at length was a communication from the outer world. Surely now
      they would find a document which would throw some light upon all the
      mysteries that had happened? Had not the day now dawned that should set
      their speculations all at rest?
    </p>
    <p>
      It was the morning of the 21st of February. The count, the captain, the
      lieutenant, everybody hurried to the forecastle; the schooner was
      dexterously put about, and all was eager impatience until the supposed
      bottle was hauled on deck.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not, however, a bottle; it proved to be a round leather
      telescope-case, about a foot long, and the first thing to do before
      investigating its contents was to make a careful examination of its
      exterior. The lid was fastened on by wax, and so securely that it would
      take a long immersion before any water could penetrate; there was no
      maker&rsquo;s name to be deciphered; but impressed very plainly with a seal on
      the wax were the two initials &ldquo;P. R.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      When the scrutiny of the outside was finished, the wax was removed and the
      cover opened, and the lieutenant drew out a slip of ruled paper, evidently
      torn from a common note-book. The paper had an inscription written in four
      lines, which were remarkable for the profusion of notes of admiration and
      interrogation with which they were interspersed:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
     &ldquo;Gallia???
     <i>Ab sole</i>, au 15 fev. 59,000,000 l.!
     Chemin parcouru de janv. a fev. 82,000,000 l.!!
     <i>Va bene! All right!!</i> Parfait!!!&rdquo;
 </pre>
    <p>
      There was a general sigh of disappointment. They turned the paper over and
      over, and handed it from one to another. &ldquo;What does it all mean?&rdquo;
       exclaimed the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Something mysterious here!&rdquo; said Servadac. &ldquo;But yet,&rdquo; he continued, after
      a pause, &ldquo;one thing is tolerably certain: on the 15th, six days ago,
      someone was alive to write it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes; I presume there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the date,&rdquo;
       assented the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      To this strange conglomeration of French, English, Italian, and Latin,
      there was no signature attached; nor was there anything to give a clue as
      to the locality in which it had been committed to the waves. A
      telescope-case would probably be the property of some one on board a ship;
      and the figures obviously referred to the astronomical wonders that had
      been experienced.
    </p>
    <p>
      To these general observations Captain Servadac objected that he thought it
      unlikely that any one on board a ship would use a telescope-case for this
      purpose, but would be sure to use a bottle as being more secure; and,
      accordingly, he should rather be inclined to believe that the message had
      been set afloat by some <i>savant</i> left alone, perchance, upon some
      isolated coast.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But, however interesting it might be,&rdquo; observed the count, &ldquo;to know the
      author of the lines, to us it is of far greater moment to ascertain their
      meaning.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And taking up the paper again, he said, &ldquo;Perhaps we might analyze it word
      by word, and from its detached parts gather some clue to its sense as a
      whole.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What can be the meaning of all that cluster of interrogations after
      Gallia?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope, who had hitherto not spoken, now broke his silence by
      saying, &ldquo;I beg, gentlemen, to submit my opinion that this document goes
      very far to confirm my hypothesis that a fragment of the earth has been
      precipitated into space.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac hesitated, and then replied, &ldquo;Even if it does, I do not
      see how it accounts in the least for the geological character of the new
      asteroid.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But will you allow me for one minute to take my supposition for granted?&rdquo;
       said Procope. &ldquo;If a new little planet has been formed, as I imagine, by
      disintegration from the old, I should conjecture that Gallia is the name
      assigned to it by the writer of this paper. The very notes of
      interrogation are significant that he was in doubt what he should write.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You would presume that he was a Frenchman?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I should think so,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not much doubt about that,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;it is all in French, except a
      few scattered words of English, Latin, and Italian, inserted to attract
      attention. He could not tell into whose hands the message would fall
      first.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff, &ldquo;we seem to have found a name for the
      new world we occupy.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But what I was going especially to observe,&rdquo; continued the lieutenant,
      &ldquo;is that the distance, 59,000,000 leagues, represents precisely the
      distance we ourselves were from the sun on the 15th. It was on that day we
      crossed the orbit of Mars.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, true,&rdquo; assented the others.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And the next line,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, after reading it aloud,
      &ldquo;apparently registers the distance traversed by Gallia, the new little
      planet, in her own orbit. Her speed, of course, we know by Kepler&rsquo;s laws,
      would vary according to her distance from the sun, and if she were&mdash;as
      I conjecture from the temperature at that date&mdash;on the 15th of
      January at her perihelion, she would be traveling twice as fast as the
      earth, which moves at the rate of between 50,000 and 60,000 miles an
      hour.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You think, then,&rdquo; said Servadac, with a smile, &ldquo;you have determined the
      perihelion of our orbit; but how about the aphelion? Can you form a
      judgment as to what distance we are likely to be carried?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are asking too much,&rdquo; remonstrated the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I confess,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, &ldquo;that just at present I am not able to
      clear away the uncertainty of the future; but I feel confident that by
      careful observation at various points we shall arrive at conclusions which
      not only will determine our path, but perhaps may clear up the mystery
      about our geological structure.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Allow me to ask,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff, &ldquo;whether such a new asteroid
      would not be subject to ordinary mechanical laws, and whether, once
      started, it would not have an orbit that must be immutable?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Decidedly it would, so long as it was undisturbed by the attraction of
      some considerable body; but we must recollect that, compared to the great
      planets, Gallia must be almost infinitesimally small, and so might be
      attracted by a force that is irresistible.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Altogether, then,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;we seem to have settled it to our
      entire satisfaction that we must be the population of a young little world
      called Gallia. Perhaps some day we may have the honor of being registered
      among the minor planets.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No chance of that,&rdquo; quickly rejoined Lieutenant Procope. &ldquo;Those minor
      planets all are known to rotate in a narrow zone between the orbits of
      Mars and Jupiter; in their perihelia they cannot approximate the sun as we
      have done; we shall not be classed with them.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our lack of instruments,&rdquo; said the count, &ldquo;is much to be deplored; it
      baffles our investigations in every way.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, never mind! Keep up your courage, count!&rdquo; said Servadac, cheerily.
    </p>
    <p>
      And Lieutenant Procope renewed his assurances that he entertained good
      hopes that every perplexity would soon be solved.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I suppose,&rdquo; remarked the count, &ldquo;that we cannot attribute much importance
      to the last line: <i>&lsquo;Va bene! All right!!</i> Parfait!!!&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain answered, &ldquo;At least, it shows that whoever wrote it had no
      murmuring or complaint to make, but was quite content with the new order
      of things.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVI. THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT
    </h2>
    <p>
      Almost unconsciously, the voyagers in the <i>Dobryna</i> fell into the
      habit of using Gallia as the name of the new world in which they became
      aware they must be making an extraordinary excursion through the realms of
      space. Nothing, however, was allowed to divert them from their ostensible
      object of making a survey of the coast of the Mediterranean, and
      accordingly they persevered in following that singular boundary which had
      revealed itself to their extreme astonishment.
    </p>
    <p>
      Having rounded the great promontory that had barred her farther progress
      to the north, the schooner skirted its upper edge. A few more leagues and
      they ought to be abreast of the shores of France. Yes, of France.
    </p>
    <p>
      But who shall describe the feelings of Hector Servadac when, instead of
      the charming outline of his native land, he beheld nothing but a solid
      boundary of savage rock? Who shall paint the look of consternation with
      which he gazed upon the stony rampart&mdash;rising perpendicularly for a
      thousand feet&mdash;that had replaced the shores of the smiling south? Who
      shall reveal the burning anxiety with which he throbbed to see beyond that
      cruel wall?
    </p>
    <p>
      But there seemed no hope. Onwards and onwards the yacht made her way, and
      still no sign of France. It might have been supposed that Servadac&rsquo;s
      previous experiences would have prepared him for the discovery that the
      catastrophe which had overwhelmed other sites had brought destruction to
      his own country as well. But he had failed to realize how it might extend
      to France; and when now he was obliged with his own eyes to witness the
      waves of ocean rolling over what once had been the lovely shores of
      Provence, he was well-nigh frantic with desperation.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Am I to believe that Gourbi Island, that little shred of Algeria,
      constitutes all that is left of our glorious France? No, no; it cannot be.
      Not yet have we reached the pole of our new world. There is&mdash;there
      must be&mdash;something more behind that frowning rock. Oh, that for a
      moment we could scale its towering height and look beyond! By Heaven, I
      adjure you, let us disembark, and mount the summit and explore! France
      lies beyond.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Disembarkation, however, was an utter impossibility. There was no
      semblance of a creek in which the <i>Dobryna</i> could find an anchorage.
      There was no outlying ridge on which a footing could be gained. The
      precipice was perpendicular as a wall, its topmost height crowned with the
      same conglomerate of crystallized lamellae that had all along been so
      pronounced a feature.
    </p>
    <p>
      With her steam at high pressure, the yacht made rapid progress towards the
      east. The weather remained perfectly fine, the temperature became
      gradually cooler, so that there was little prospect of vapors accumulating
      in the atmosphere; and nothing more than a few cirri, almost transparent,
      veiled here and there the clear azure of the sky. Throughout the day the
      pale rays of the sun, apparently lessened in its magnitude, cast only
      faint and somewhat uncertain shadows; but at night the stars shone with
      surpassing brilliancy. Of the planets, some, it was observed, seemed to be
      fading away in remote distance. This was the case with Mars, Venus, and
      that unknown orb which was moving in the orbit of the minor planets; but
      Jupiter, on the other hand, had assumed splendid proportions; Saturn was
      superb in its luster, and Uranus, which hitherto had been imperceptible
      without a telescope was pointed out by Lieutenant Procope, plainly visible
      to the naked eye. The inference was irresistible that Gallia was receding
      from the sun, and traveling far away across the planetary regions.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 24th of February, after following the sinuous course of what before
      the date of the convulsion had been the coast line of the department of
      Var, and after a fruitless search for Hyeres, the peninsula of St. Tropez,
      the Lerius Islands, and the gulfs of Cannes and Jouar, the <i>Dobryna</i>
      arrived upon the site of the Cape of Antibes.
    </p>
    <p>
      Here, quite unexpectedly, the explorers made the discovery that the
      massive wall of cliff had been rent from the top to the bottom by a narrow
      rift, like the dry bed of a mountain torrent, and at the base of the
      opening, level with the sea, was a little strand upon which there was just
      space enough for their boat to be hauled up.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Joy! joy!&rdquo; shouted Servadac, half beside himself with ecstasy; &ldquo;we can
      land at last!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff and the lieutenant were scarcely less impatient than the
      captain, and little needed his urgent and repeated solicitations: &ldquo;Come
      on! Quick! Come on! no time to lose!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It was half-past seven in the morning, when they set their foot upon this
      untried land. The bit of strand was only a few square yards in area, quite
      a narrow strip. Upon it might have been recognized some fragments of that
      agglutination of yellow limestone which is characteristic of the coast of
      Provence. But the whole party was far too eager to wait and examine these
      remnants of the ancient shore; they hurried on to scale the heights.
    </p>
    <p>
      The narrow ravine was not only perfectly dry, but manifestly had never
      been the bed of any mountain torrent. The rocks that rested at the bottom&mdash;just
      as those which formed its sides&mdash;were of the same lamellous formation
      as the entire coast, and had not hitherto been subject to the
      disaggregation which the lapse of time never fails to work. A skilled
      geologist would probably have been able to assign them their proper
      scientific classification, but neither Servadac, Timascheff, nor the
      lieutenant could pretend to any acquaintance with their specific
      character.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although, however, the bottom of the chasm had never as yet been the
      channel of a stream, indications were not wanting that at some future time
      it would be the natural outlet of accumulated waters; for already, in many
      places, thin layers of snow were glittering upon the surface of the
      fractured rocks, and the higher the elevation that was gained, the more
      these layers were found to increase in area and in depth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here is a trace of fresh water, the first that Gallia has exhibited,&rdquo;
       said the count to his companions, as they toiled up the precipitous path.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And probably,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant, &ldquo;as we ascend we shall find not
      only snow but ice. We must suppose this Gallia of ours to be a sphere, and
      if it is so, we must now be very close to her Arctic regions; it is true
      that her axis is not so much inclined as to prolong day and night as at
      the poles of the earth, but the rays of the sun must reach us here only
      very obliquely, and the cold, in all likelihood, will be intense.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;So cold, do you think,&rdquo; asked Servadac, &ldquo;that animal life must be
      extinct?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I do not say that, captain,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant; &ldquo;for, however far
      our little world may be removed from the sun, I do not see why its
      temperature should fall below what prevails in those outlying regions
      beyond our system where sky and air are not.&rdquo; &ldquo;And what temperature may
      that be?&rdquo; inquired the captain with a shudder.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Fourier estimates that even in those vast unfathomable tracts, the
      temperature never descends lower than 60 degrees,&rdquo; said Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sixty! Sixty degrees below zero!&rdquo; cried the count. &ldquo;Why, there&rsquo;s not a
      Russian could endure it!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I beg your pardon, count. It is placed on record that the English <i>have</i>
      survived it, or something quite approximate, upon their Arctic
      expeditions. When Captain Parry was on Melville Island, he knew the
      thermometer to fall to 56 degrees,&rdquo; said Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      As the explorers advanced, they seemed glad to pause from time to time,
      that they might recover their breath; for the air, becoming more and more
      rarefied, made respiration somewhat difficult and the ascent fatiguing.
      Before they had reached an altitude of 600 feet they noticed a sensible
      diminution of the temperature; but neither cold nor fatigue deterred them,
      and they were resolved to persevere. Fortunately, the deep striae or
      furrows in the surface of the rocks that made the bottom of the ravine in
      some degree facilitated their progress, but it was not until they had been
      toiling up for two hours more that they succeeded in reaching the summit
      of the cliff.
    </p>
    <p>
      Eagerly and anxiously did they look around. To the south there was nothing
      but the sea they had traversed; to the north, nothing but one drear,
      inhospitable stretch.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac could not suppress a cry of dismay. Where was his beloved France?
      Had he gained this arduous height only to behold the rocks carpeted with
      ice and snow, and reaching interminably to the far-off horizon? His heart
      sank within him.
    </p>
    <p>
      The whole region appeared to consist of nothing but the same strange,
      uniform mineral conglomerate, crystallized into regular hexagonal prisms.
      But whatever was its geological character, it was only too evident that it
      had entirely replaced the former soil, so that not a vestige of the old
      continent of Europe could be discerned. The lovely scenery of Provence,
      with the grace of its rich and undulating landscape; its gardens of
      citrons and oranges rising tier upon tier from the deep red soil&mdash;all,
      all had vanished. Of the vegetable kingdom, there was not a single
      representative; the most meager of Arctic plants, the most insignificant
      of lichens, could obtain no hold upon that stony waste. Nor did the animal
      world assert the feeblest sway. The mineral kingdom reigned supreme.
    </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac&rsquo;s deep dejection was in strange contrast to his general
      hilarity. Silent and tearful, he stood upon an ice-bound rock, straining
      his eyes across the boundless vista of the mysterious territory. &ldquo;It
      cannot be!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;We must somehow have mistaken our bearings.
      True, we have encountered this barrier; but France is there beyond! Yes,
      France is <i>there!</i> Come, count, come! By all that&rsquo;s pitiful, I
      entreat you, come and explore the farthest verge of the ice-bound track!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He pushed onwards along the rugged surface of the rock, but had not
      proceeded far before he came to a sudden pause. His foot had come in
      contact with something hard beneath the snow, and, stooping down, he
      picked up a little block of stony substance, which the first glance
      revealed to be of a geological character altogether alien to the universal
      rocks around. It proved to be a fragment of dis-colored marble, on which
      several letters were inscribed, of which the only part at all decipherable
      was the syllable &ldquo;Vil.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Vil&mdash;Villa!&rdquo; he cried out, in his excitement dropping the marble,
      which was broken into atoms by the fall.
    </p>
    <p>
      What else could this fragment be but the sole surviving remnant of some
      sumptuous mansion that once had stood on this unrivaled site? Was it not
      the residue of some edifice that had crowned the luxuriant headland of
      Antibes, overlooking Nice, and commanding the gorgeous panorama that
      embraced the Maritime Alps and reached beyond Monaco and Mentone to the
      Italian height of Bordighera? And did it not give in its sad and too
      convincing testimony that Antibes itself had been involved in the great
      destruction? Servadac gazed upon the shattered marble, pensive and
      disheartened.
    </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff laid his hand kindly on the captain&rsquo;s shoulder, and said,
      &ldquo;My friend, do you not remember the motto of the old Hope family?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He shook his head mournfully.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;<i>Orbe fracto, spes illoesa</i>,&rdquo; continued the count&mdash;&ldquo;Though the
      world be shattered, hope is unimpaired.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac smiled faintly, and replied that he felt rather compelled to take
      up the despairing cry of Dante, &ldquo;All hope abandon, ye who enter here.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nay, not so,&rdquo; answered the count; &ldquo;for the present at least, let our
      maxim be <i>Nil desperandum!</i>&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVII. A SECOND ENIGMA
    </h2>
    <p>
      Upon re-embarking, the bewildered explorers began to discuss the question
      whether it would not now be desirable to make their way back to Gourbi
      Island, which was apparently the only spot in their new world from which
      they could hope to derive their future sustenance. Captain Servadac tried
      to console himself with the reflection that Gourbi Island was, after all,
      a fragment of a French colony, and as such almost like a bit of his dear
      France; and the plan of returning thither was on the point of being
      adopted, when Lieutenant Procope remarked that they ought to remember that
      they had not hitherto made an entire circuit of the new shores of the sea
      on which they were sailing.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We have,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;neither investigated the northern shore from the site
      of Cape Antibes to the strait that brought us to Gibraltar, nor have we
      followed the southern shore that stretches from the strait to the Gulf of
      Cabes. It is the old coast, and not the new, that we have been tracing; as
      yet, we cannot say positively that there is no outlet to the south; as
      yet, we cannot assert that no oasis of the African desert has escaped the
      catastrophe. Perhaps, even here in the north, we may find that Italy and
      Sicily and the larger islands of the Mediterranean may still maintain
      their existence.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I entirely concur with you,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff. &ldquo;I quite think we
      ought to make our survey of the confines of this new basin as complete as
      possible before we withdraw.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac, although he acknowledged the justness of these observations,
      could not help pleading that the explorations might be deferred until
      after a visit had been paid to Gourbi Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Depend upon it, captain, you are mistaken,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant; &ldquo;the
      right thing to do is to use the <i>Dobryna</i> while she is available.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Available! What do you mean?&rdquo; asked the count, somewhat taken by
      surprise.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; said Procope, &ldquo;that the farther this Gallia of ours recedes from
      the sun, the lower the temperature will fall. It is likely enough, I
      think, that before long the sea will be frozen over, and navigation will
      be impossible. Already you have learned something of the difficulties of
      traversing a field of ice, and I am sure, therefore, you will acquiesce in
      my wish to continue our explorations while the water is still open.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt you are right, lieutenant,&rdquo; said the count. &ldquo;We will continue
      our search while we can for some remaining fragment of Europe. Who shall
      tell whether we may not meet with some more survivors from the
      catastrophe, to whom it might be in our power to afford assistance, before
      we go into our winter quarters?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Generous and altogether unselfish as this sentiment really was, it was
      obviously to the general interest that they should become acquainted, and
      if possible establish friendly relations, with any human inhabitant who
      might be sharing their own strange destiny in being rolled away upon a new
      planet into the infinitude of space. All difference of race, all
      distinction of nationality, must be merged into the one thought that, few
      as they were, they were the sole surviving representatives of a world
      which it seemed exceedingly improbable that they would ever see again; and
      common sense dictated that they were bound to direct all their energies to
      insure that their asteroid should at least have a united and sympathizing
      population.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was on the 25th of February that the yacht left the little creek in
      which she had taken refuge, and setting off at full steam eastwards, she
      continued her way along the northern shore. A brisk breeze tended to
      increase the keenness of the temperature, the thermometer being, on an
      average, about two degrees below zero. Salt water freezes only at a lower
      temperature than fresh; the course of the <i>Dobryna</i> was therefore
      unimpeded by ice, but it could not be concealed that there was the
      greatest necessity to maintain the utmost possible speed.
    </p>
    <p>
      The nights continued lovely; the chilled condition of the atmosphere
      prevented the formation of clouds; the constellations gleamed forth with
      unsullied luster; and, much as Lieutenant Procope, from nautical
      considerations, might regret the absence of the moon, he could not do
      otherwise than own that the magnificent nights of Gallia were such as must
      awaken the enthusiasm of an astronomer. And, as if to compensate for the
      loss of the moonlight, the heavens were illuminated by a superb shower of
      falling stars, far exceeding, both in number and in brilliancy, the
      phenomena which are commonly distinguished as the August and November
      meteors; in fact, Gallia was passing through that meteoric ring which is
      known to lie exterior to the earth&rsquo;s orbit, but almost concentric with it.
      The rocky coast, its metallic surface reflecting the glow of the dazzling
      luminaries, appeared literally stippled with light, whilst the sea, as
      though spattered with burning hailstones, shone with a phosphorescence
      that was perfectly splendid. So great, however, was the speed at which
      Gallia was receding from the sun, that this meteoric storm lasted scarcely
      more than four and twenty hours.
    </p>
    <p>
      Next day the direct progress of the <i>Dobryna</i> was arrested by a long
      projection of land, which obliged her to turn southwards, until she
      reached what formerly would have been the southern extremity of Corsica.
      Of this, however, there was now no trace; the Strait of Bonifacio had been
      replaced by a vast expanse of water, which had at first all the appearance
      of being utterly desert; but on the following morning the explorers
      unexpectedly sighted a little island, which, unless it should prove, as
      was only too likely, to be of recent origin they concluded, from its
      situation, must be a portion of the northernmost territory of Sardinia.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna</i> approached the land as nearly as was prudent, the boat
      was lowered, and in a few minutes the count and Servadac had landed upon
      the islet, which was a mere plot of meadow land, not much more than two
      acres in extent, dotted here and there with a few myrtle-bushes and
      lentisks, interspersed with some ancient olives. Having ascertained, as
      they imagined, that the spot was devoid of living creature, they were on
      the point of returning to their boat, when their attention was arrested by
      a faint bleating, and immediately afterwards a solitary she-goat came
      bounding towards the shore. The creature had dark, almost black hair, and
      small curved horns, and was a specimen of that domestic breed which, with
      considerable justice, has gained for itself the title of &ldquo;the poor man&rsquo;s
      cow.&rdquo; So far from being alarmed at the presence of strangers, the goat ran
      nimbly towards them, and then, by its movements and plaintive cries,
      seemed to be enticing them to follow it.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;let us see where it will lead us; it is more than
      probable it is not alone.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count agreed; and the animal, as if comprehending what was said,
      trotted on gently for about a hundred paces, and stopped in front of a
      kind of cave or burrow that was half concealed by a grove of lentisks.
      Here a little girl, seven or eight years of age, with rich brown hair and
      lustrous dark eyes, beautiful as one of Murillo&rsquo;s angels, was peeping
      shyly through the branches. Apparently discovering nothing in the aspect
      of the strangers to excite her apprehensions, the child suddenly gained
      confidence, darted forwards with outstretched hands, and in a voice, soft
      and melodious as the language which she spoke, said in Italian:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I like you; you will not hurt me, will you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hurt you, my child?&rdquo; answered Servadac. &ldquo;No, indeed; we will be your
      friends; we will take care of you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And after a few moments&rsquo; scrutiny of the pretty maiden, he added:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Tell us your name, little one.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nina!&rdquo; was the child&rsquo;s reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then, Nina, can you tell us where we are?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;At Madalena, I think,&rdquo; said the little girl; &ldquo;at least, I know I was
      there when that dreadful shock came and altered everything.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count knew that Madalena was close to Caprera, to the north of
      Sardinia, which had entirely disappeared in the disaster. By dint of a
      series of questions, he gained from the child a very intelligent account
      of her experiences. She told him that she had no parents, and had been
      employed in taking care of a flock of goats belonging to one of the
      landowners, when one day, all of a sudden, everything around her, except
      this little piece of land, had been swallowed up, and that she and Marzy,
      her pet goat, had been left quite alone. She went on to say that at first
      she had been very frightened; but when she found that the earth did not
      shake any more, she had thanked the great God, and had soon made herself
      very happy living with Marzy. She had enough food, she said, and had been
      waiting for a boat to fetch her, and now a boat had come and she was quite
      ready to go away; only they must let her goat go with her: they would both
      like so much to get back to the old farm.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here, at least, is one nice little inhabitant of Gallia,&rdquo; said Captain
      Servadac, as he caressed the child and conducted her to the boat.
    </p>
    <p>
      Half an hour later, both Nina and Marzy were safely quartered on board the
      yacht. It is needless to say that they received the heartiest of welcomes.
      The Russian sailors, ever superstitious, seemed almost to regard the
      coming of the child as the appearance of an angel; and, incredible as it
      may seem, more than one of them wondered whether she had wings, and
      amongst themselves they commonly referred to her as &ldquo;the little Madonna.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Soon out of sight of Madalena, the <i>Dobryna</i> for some hours held a
      southeasterly course along the shore, which here was fifty leagues in
      advance of the former coast-line of Italy, demonstrating that a new
      continent must have been formed, substituted as it were for the old
      peninsula, of which not a vestige could be identified. At a latitude
      corresponding with the latitude of Rome, the sea took the form of a deep
      gulf, extending back far beyond the site of the Eternal City; the coast
      making a wide sweep round to the former position of Calabria, and jutting
      far beyond the outline of &ldquo;the boot,&rdquo; which Italy resembles. But the
      beacon of Messina was not to be discerned; no trace, indeed, survived of
      any portion of Sicily; the very peak of Etna, 11,000 feet as it had reared
      itself above the level of the sea, had vanished utterly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Another sixty leagues to the south, and the <i>Dobryna</i> sighted the
      entrance of the strait which had afforded her so providential a refuge
      from the tempest, and had conducted her to the fragmentary relic of
      Gibraltar. Hence to the Gulf of Cabes had been already explored, and as it
      was universally allowed that it was unnecessary to renew the search in
      that direction, the lieutenant started off in a transverse course, towards
      a point hitherto uninvestigated. That point was reached on the 3rd of
      March, and thence the coast was continuously followed, as it led through
      what had been Tunis, across the province of Constantine, away to the oasis
      of Ziban; where, taking a sharp turn, it first reached a latitude of 32
      degrees, and then returned again, thus forming a sort of irregular gulf,
      enclosed by the same unvarying border of mineral concrete. This colossal
      boundary then stretched away for nearly 150 leagues over the Sahara
      desert, and, extending to the south of Gourbi Island, occupied what, if
      Morocco had still existed, would have been its natural frontier.
    </p>
    <p>
      Adapting her course to these deviations of the coastline, the <i>Dobryna</i>
      was steering northwards, and had barely reached the limit of the bay, when
      the attention of all on board was arrested by the phenomenon of a volcano,
      at least 3,000 feet high, its crater crowned with smoke, which
      occasionally was streaked by tongues of flame.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A burning mountain!&rdquo; they exclaimed.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gallia, then, has some internal heat,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And why not, captain?&rdquo; rejoined the lieutenant. &ldquo;If our asteroid has
      carried with it a portion of the old earth&rsquo;s atmosphere, why should it not
      likewise retain something of its central fire?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, well!&rdquo; said the captain, shrugging his shoulders, &ldquo;I dare say there
      is caloric enough in our little world to supply the wants of its
      population.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff interrupted the silence that followed this conversation
      by saying, &ldquo;And now, gentlemen, as our course has brought us on our way
      once more towards Gibraltar, what do you say to our renewing our
      acquaintance with the Englishmen? They will be interested in the result of
      our voyage.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;For my part,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;I have no desire that way. They know where
      to find Gourbi Island; they can betake themselves thither just when they
      please. They have plenty of provisions. If the water freezes, 120 leagues
      is no very great distance. The reception they gave us was not so cordial
      that we need put ourselves out of the way to repeat our visit.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What you say is too true,&rdquo; replied the count. &ldquo;I hope we shall show them
      better manners when they condescend to visit us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;we must remember that we are all one people now; no
      longer Russian, French, or English. Nationality is extinct.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am sadly afraid, however,&rdquo; continued the count, &ldquo;that an Englishman
      will be an Englishman ever.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the captain, &ldquo;that is always their failing.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And thus all further thought of making their way again to the little
      garrison of Gibraltar was abandoned.
    </p>
    <p>
      But even if their spirit of courtesy had disposed them to renew their
      acquaintance with the British officers, there were two circumstances that
      just then would have rendered such a proposal very unadvisable. In the
      first place, Lieutenant Procope was convinced that it could not be much
      longer now before the sea would be entirely frozen; and, besides this, the
      consumption of their coal, through the speed they had maintained, had been
      so great that there was only too much reason to fear that fuel would fail
      them. Anyhow, the strictest economy was necessary, and it was accordingly
      resolved that the voyage should not be much prolonged. Beyond the volcanic
      peak, moreover, the waters seemed to expand into a boundless ocean, and it
      might be a thing full of risk to be frozen up while the yacht was so
      inadequately provisioned. Taking all these things into account, it was
      agreed that further investigations should be deferred to a more favorable
      season, and that, without delay, the <i>Dobryna</i> should return to
      Gourbi Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      This decision was especially welcome to Hector Servadac, who, throughout
      the whole of the last five weeks, had been agitated by much anxious
      thought on account of the faithful servant he had left behind.
    </p>
    <p>
      The transit from the volcano to the island was not long, and was marked by
      only one noticeable incident. This was the finding of a second mysterious
      document, in character precisely similar to what they had found before.
      The writer of it was evidently engaged upon a calculation, probably
      continued from day to day, as to the motions of the planet Gallia upon its
      orbit, and committing the results of his reckonings to the waves as the
      channel of communication.
    </p>
    <p>
      Instead of being enclosed in a telescope-case, it was this time secured in
      a preserved-meat tin, hermetically sealed, and stamped with the same
      initials on the wax that fastened it. The greatest care was used in
      opening it, and it was found to contain the following message:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gallia Ab sole, au 1 mars, dist. 78,000,000 l.! Chemin parcouru de fev. a
      mars: 59,000,000 1.! <i>Va bene! All right! Nil desperandum!</i>
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Enchante!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Another enigma!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac; &ldquo;and still no intelligible
      signature, and no address. No clearing up of the mystery!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have no doubt, in my own mind,&rdquo; said the count, &ldquo;that it is one of a
      series. It seems to me probable that they are being sent broadcast upon
      the sea.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I wonder where the hare-brained <i>savant</i> that writes them can be
      living?&rdquo; observed Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very likely he may have met with the fate of AEsop&rsquo;s abstracted
      astronomer, who found himself at the bottom of a well.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay; but where <i>is</i> that well?&rdquo; demanded the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      This was a question which the count was incapable of settling; and they
      could only speculate afresh as to whether the author of the riddles was
      dwelling upon some solitary island, or, like themselves, was navigating
      the waters of the new Mediterranean. But they could detect nothing to
      guide them to a definite decision.
    </p>
    <p>
      After thoughtfully regarding the document for some time. Lieutenant
      Procope proceeded to observe that he believed the paper might be
      considered as genuine, and accordingly, taking its statements as reliable,
      he deduced two important conclusions: first, that whereas, in the month of
      January, the distance traveled by the planet (hypothetically called
      Gallia) had been recorded as 82,000,000 leagues, the distance traveled in
      February was only 59,000,000 leagues&mdash;a difference of 23,000,000
      leagues in one month; secondly, that the distance of the planet from the
      sun, which on the 15th of February had been 59,000,000 leagues, was on the
      1st of March 78,000,000 leagues&mdash;an increase of 19,000,000 leagues in
      a fortnight. Thus, in proportion as Gallia receded from the sun, so did
      the rate of speed diminish by which she traveled along her orbit; facts to
      be observed in perfect conformity with the known laws of celestial
      mechanism.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And your inference?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My inference,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant, &ldquo;is a confirmation of my surmise
      that we are following an orbit decidedly elliptical, although we have not
      yet the material to determine its eccentricity.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As the writer adheres to the appellation of Gallia, do you not think,&rdquo;
       asked the count, &ldquo;that we might call these new waters the Gallian Sea?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There can be no reason to the contrary, count,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant;
      &ldquo;and as such I will insert it upon my new chart.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our friend,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;seems to be more and more gratified with the
      condition of things; not only has he adopted our motto, &lsquo;<i>Nil
      desperandum!</i>&rsquo; but see how enthusiastically he has wound up with his &lsquo;<i>Enchante!</i>&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The conversation dropped.
    </p>
    <p>
      A few hours later the man on watch announced that Gourbi Island was in
      sight.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVIII. AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION
    </h2>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna</i> was now back again at the island. Her cruise had lasted
      from the 31st of January to the 5th of March, a period of thirty-five days
      (for it was leap year), corresponding to seventy days as accomplished by
      the new little world.
    </p>
    <p>
      Many a time during his absence Hector Servadac had wondered how his
      present vicissitudes would end, and he had felt some misgivings as to
      whether he should ever again set foot upon the island, and see his
      faithful orderly, so that it was not without emotion that he had
      approached the coast of the sole remaining fragment of Algerian soil. But
      his apprehensions were groundless; Gourbi Island was just as he had left
      it, with nothing unusual in its aspect, except that a very peculiar cloud
      was hovering over it, at an altitude of little more than a hundred feet.
      As the yacht approached the shore, this cloud appeared to rise and fall as
      if acted upon by some invisible agency, and the captain, after watching it
      carefully, perceived that it was not an accumulation of vapors at all, but
      a dense mass of birds packed as closely together as a swarm of herrings,
      and uttering deafening and discordant cries, amidst which from time to
      time the noise of the report of a gun could be plainly distinguished.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna</i> signalized her arrival by firing her cannon, and
      dropped anchor in the little port of the Shelif. Almost within a minute
      Ben Zoof was seen running, gun in hand, towards the shore; he cleared the
      last ridge of rocks at a single bound, and then suddenly halted. For a few
      seconds he stood motionless, his eyes fixed, as if obeying the
      instructions of a drill sergeant, on a point some fifteen yards distant,
      his whole attitude indicating submission and respect; but the sight of the
      captain, who was landing, was too much for his equanimity, and darting
      forward, he seized his master&rsquo;s hand and covered it with kisses. Instead,
      however, of uttering any expressions of welcome or rejoicing at the
      captain&rsquo;s return, Ben Zoof broke out into the most vehement ejaculations.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Thieves, captain! beastly thieves! Bedouins! pirates! devils!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, Ben Zoof, what&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; said Servadac soothingly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They are thieves! downright, desperate thieves! those infernal birds!
      That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s the matter. It is a good thing you have come. Here have I
      for a whole month been spending my powder and shot upon them, and the more
      I kill them, the worse they get; and yet, if I were to leave them alone,
      we should not have a grain of corn upon the island.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It was soon evident that the orderly had only too much cause for alarm.
      The crops had ripened rapidly during the excessive heat of January, when
      the orbit of Gallia was being traversed at its perihelion, and were now
      exposed to the depredations of many thousands of birds; and although a
      goodly number of stacks attested the industry of Ben Zoof during the time
      of the <i>Dobryna</i>&rsquo;s voyage, it was only too apparent that the portion
      of the harvest that remained ungathered was liable to the most imminent
      risk of being utterly devoured. It was, perhaps, only natural that this
      clustered mass of birds, as representing the whole of the feathered tribe
      upon the surface of Gallia, should resort to Gourbi Island, of which the
      meadows seemed to be the only spot from which they could get sustenance at
      all; but as this sustenance would be obtained at the expense, and probably
      to the serious detriment, of the human population, it was absolutely
      necessary that every possible resistance should be made to the devastation
      that was threatened.
    </p>
    <p>
      Once satisfied that Servadac and his friends would cooperate with him in
      the raid upon &ldquo;the thieves,&rdquo; Ben Zoof became calm and content, and began
      to make various inquiries. &ldquo;And what has become,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;of all our old
      comrades in Africa?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As far as I can tell you,&rdquo; answered the captain, &ldquo;they are all in Africa
      still; only Africa isn&rsquo;t by any means where we expected to find it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And France? Montmartre?&rdquo; continued Ben Zoof eagerly. Here was the cry of
      the poor fellow&rsquo;s heart.
    </p>
    <p>
      As briefly as he could, Servadac endeavored to explain the true condition
      of things; he tried to communicate the fact that Paris, France, Europe,
      nay, the whole world was more than eighty millions of leagues away from
      Gourbi Island; as gently and cautiously as he could he expressed his fear
      that they might never see Europe, France, Paris, Montmartre again.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no, sir!&rdquo; protested Ben Zoof emphatically; &ldquo;that is all nonsense. It
      is altogether out of the question to suppose that we are not to see
      Montmartre again.&rdquo; And the orderly shook his head resolutely, with the air
      of a man determined, in spite of argument, to adhere to his own opinion.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good, my brave fellow,&rdquo; replied Servadac, &ldquo;hope on, hope while you
      may. The message has come to us over the sea, &lsquo;Never despair&rsquo;; but one
      thing, nevertheless, is certain; we must forthwith commence arrangements
      for making this island our permanent home.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac now led the way to the gourbi, which, by his servant&rsquo;s
      exertions, had been entirely rebuilt; and here he did the honors of his
      modest establishment to his two guests, the count and the lieutenant, and
      gave a welcome, too, to little Nina, who had accompanied them on shore,
      and between whom and Ben Zoof the most friendly relations had already been
      established.
    </p>
    <p>
      The adjacent building continued in good preservation, and Captain
      Servadac&rsquo;s satisfaction was very great in finding the two horses, Zephyr
      and Galette, comfortably housed there and in good condition.
    </p>
    <p>
      After the enjoyment of some refreshment, the party proceeded to a general
      consultation as to what steps must be taken for their future welfare. The
      most pressing matter that came before them was the consideration of the
      means to be adopted to enable the inhabitants of Gallia to survive the
      terrible cold, which, in their ignorance of the true eccentricity of their
      orbit, might, for aught they knew, last for an almost indefinite period.
      Fuel was far from abundant; of coal there was none; trees and shrubs were
      few in number, and to cut them down in prospect of the cold seemed a very
      questionable policy; but there was no doubt some expedient must be devised
      to prevent disaster, and that without delay.
    </p>
    <p>
      The victualing of the little colony offered no immediate difficulty. Water
      was abundant, and the cisterns could hardly fail to be replenished by the
      numerous streams that meandered along the plains; moreover, the Gallian
      Sea would ere long be frozen over, and the melted ice (water in its
      congealed state being divested of every particle of salt) would afford a
      supply of drink that could not be exhausted. The crops that were now ready
      for the harvest, and the flocks and herds scattered over the island, would
      form an ample reserve. There was little doubt that throughout the winter
      the soil would remain unproductive, and no fresh fodder for domestic
      animals could then be obtained; it would therefore be necessary, if the
      exact duration of Gallia&rsquo;s year should ever be calculated, to proportion
      the number of animals to be reserved to the real length of the winter.
    </p>
    <p>
      The next thing requisite was to arrive at a true estimate of the number of
      the population. Without including the thirteen Englishmen at Gibraltar,
      about whom he was not particularly disposed to give himself much concern
      at present, Servadac put down the names of the eight Russians, the two
      Frenchman, and the little Italian girl, eleven in all, as the entire list
      of the inhabitants of Gourbi Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, pardon me,&rdquo; interposed Ben Zoof, &ldquo;you are mistaking the state of the
      case altogether. You will be surprised to learn that the total of people
      on the island is double that. It is twenty-two.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Twenty-two!&rdquo; exclaimed the captain; &ldquo;twenty-two people on this island?
      What do you mean?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The opportunity has not occurred,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof, &ldquo;for me to tell you
      before, but I have had company.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Explain yourself, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; said Servadac. &ldquo;What company have you had?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You could not suppose,&rdquo; replied the orderly, &ldquo;that my own unassisted
      hands could have accomplished all that harvest work that you see has been
      done.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I confess,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope, &ldquo;we do not seem to have noticed
      that.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, &ldquo;if you will be good enough to come with me
      for about a mile, I shall be able to show you my companions. But we must
      take our guns.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why take our guns?&rdquo; asked Servadac. &ldquo;I hope we are not going to fight.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, not with men,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof; &ldquo;but it does not answer to throw a
      chance away for giving battle to those thieves of birds.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Leaving little Nina and her goat in the gourbi, Servadac, Count
      Timascheff, and the lieutenant, greatly mystified, took up their guns and
      followed the orderly. All along their way they made unsparing slaughter of
      the birds that hovered over and around them. Nearly every species of the
      feathered tribe seemed to have its representative in that living cloud.
      There were wild ducks in thousands; snipe, larks, rooks, and swallows; a
      countless variety of sea-birds&mdash;widgeons, gulls, and seamews; beside
      a quantity of game&mdash;quails, partridges, and woodcocks. The sportsmen
      did their best; every shot told; and the depredators fell by dozens on
      either hand.
    </p>
    <p>
      Instead of following the northern shore of the island, Ben Zoof cut
      obliquely across the plain. Making their progress with the unwonted
      rapidity which was attributable to their specific lightness, Servadac and
      his companions soon found themselves near a grove of sycamores and
      eucalyptus massed in picturesque confusion at the base of a little hill.
      Here they halted.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah! the vagabonds! the rascals! the thieves!&rdquo; suddenly exclaimed Ben
      Zoof, stamping his foot with rage.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How now? Are your friends the birds at their pranks again?&rdquo; asked the
      captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t mean the birds: I mean those lazy beggars that are shirking
      their work. Look here; look there!&rdquo; And as Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed to
      some scythes, and sickles, and other implements of husbandry that had been
      left upon the ground.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is it you mean?&rdquo; asked Servadac, getting somewhat impatient.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hush, hush! listen!&rdquo; was all Ben Zoof&rsquo;s reply; and he raised his finger
      as if in warning.
    </p>
    <p>
      Listening attentively, Servadac and his associates could distinctly
      recognize a human voice, accompanied by the notes of a guitar and by the
      measured click of castanets.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Spaniards!&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No mistake about that, sir,&rdquo; replied Ben Zoof; &ldquo;a Spaniard would rattle
      his castanets at the cannon&rsquo;s mouth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But what is the meaning of it all?&rdquo; asked the captain, more puzzled than
      before.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hark!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof; &ldquo;it is the old man&rsquo;s turn.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And then a voice, at once gruff and harsh, was heard vociferating, &ldquo;My
      money! my money! when will you pay me my money? Pay me what you owe me,
      you miserable majos.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile the song continued:
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
               <i>&ldquo;Tu sandunga y cigarro,
               Y una cana de Jerez,
               Mi jamelgo y un trabuco,
               Que mas gloria puede haver?&rdquo;</i>
</pre>
    <p>
      Servadac&rsquo;s knowledge of Gascon enabled him partially to comprehend the
      rollicking tenor of the Spanish patriotic air, but his attention was again
      arrested by the voice of the old man growling savagely, &ldquo;Pay me you shall;
      yes, by the God of Abraham, you shall pay me.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A Jew!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, sir, a German Jew,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      The party was on the point of entering the thicket, when a singular
      spectacle made them pause. A group of Spaniards had just begun dancing
      their national fandango, and the extraordinary lightness which had become
      the physical property of every object in the new planet made the dancers
      bound to a height of thirty feet or more into the air, considerably above
      the tops of the trees. What followed was irresistibly comic. Four sturdy
      majos had dragged along with them an old man incapable of resistance, and
      compelled him, <i>nolens volens</i>, to join in the dance; and as they all
      kept appearing and disappearing above the bank of foliage, their grotesque
      attitudes, combined with the pitiable countenance of their helpless
      victim, could not do otherwise than recall most forcibly the story of
      Sancho Panza tossed in a blanket by the merry drapers of Segovia.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac, the count, Procope, and Ben Zoof now proceeded to make their way
      through the thicket until they came to a little glade, where two men were
      stretched idly on the grass, one of them playing the guitar, and the other
      a pair of castanets; both were exploding with laughter, as they urged the
      performers to greater and yet greater exertions in the dance. At the sight
      of strangers they paused in their music, and simultaneously the dancers,
      with their victim, alighted gently on the sward.
    </p>
    <p>
      Breathless and half exhausted as was the Jew, he rushed with an effort
      towards Servadac, and exclaimed in French, marked by a strong Teutonic
      accent, &ldquo;Oh, my lord governor, help me, help! These rascals defraud me of
      my rights; they rob me; but, in the name of the God of Israel, I ask you
      to see justice done!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain glanced inquiringly towards Ben Zoof, and the orderly, by a
      significant nod, made his master understand that he was to play the part
      that was implied by the title. He took the cue, and promptly ordered the
      Jew to hold his tongue at once. The man bowed his head in servile
      submission, and folded his hands upon his breast.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac surveyed him leisurely. He was a man of about fifty, but from his
      appearance might well have been taken for at least ten years older. Small
      and skinny, with eyes bright and cunning, a hooked nose, a short yellow
      beard, unkempt hair, huge feet, and long bony hands, he presented all the
      typical characteristics of the German Jew, the heartless, wily usurer, the
      hardened miser and skinflint. As iron is attracted by the magnet, so was
      this Shylock attracted by the sight of gold, nor would he have hesitated
      to draw the life-blood of his creditors, if by such means he could secure
      his claims.
    </p>
    <p>
      His name was Isaac Hakkabut, and he was a native of Cologne. Nearly the
      whole of his time, however, he informed Captain Servadac, had been spent
      upon the sea, his real business being that of a merchant trading at all
      the ports of the Mediterranean. A tartan, a small vessel of two hundred
      tons burden, conveyed his entire stock of merchandise, and, to say the
      truth, was a sort of floating emporium, conveying nearly every possible
      article of commerce, from a lucifer match to the radiant fabrics of
      Frankfort and Epinal. Without wife or children, and having no settled
      home, Isaac Hakkabut lived almost entirely on board the <i>Hansa</i>, as
      he had named his tartan; and engaging a mate, with a crew of three men, as
      being adequate to work so light a craft, he cruised along the coasts of
      Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece, visiting, moreover, most of the
      harbors of the Levant. Careful to be always well supplied with the
      products in most general demand&mdash;coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, cotton
      stuffs, and gunpowder&mdash;and being at all times ready to barter, and
      prepared to deal in secondhand wares, he had contrived to amass
      considerable wealth.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the eventful night of the 1st of January the <i>Hansa</i> had been at
      Ceuta, the point on the coast of Morocco exactly opposite Gibraltar. The
      mate and three sailors had all gone on shore, and, in common with many of
      their fellow-creatures, had entirely disappeared; but the most projecting
      rock of Ceuta had been undisturbed by the general catastrophe, and half a
      score of Spaniards, who had happened to be upon it, had escaped with their
      lives. They were all Andalusian majos, agricultural laborers, and
      naturally as careless and apathetic as men of their class usually are, but
      they could not help being very considerably embarrassed when they
      discovered that they were left in solitude upon a detached and isolated
      rock. They took what mutual counsel they could, but became only more and
      more perplexed. One of them was named Negrete, and he, as having traveled
      somewhat more than the rest, was tacitly recognized as a sort of leader;
      but although he was by far the most enlightened of them all, he was quite
      incapable of forming the least conception of the nature of what had
      occurred. The one thing upon which they could not fail to be conscious was
      that they had no prospect of obtaining provisions, and consequently their
      first business was to devise a scheme for getting away from their present
      abode. The <i>Hansa</i> was lying off shore. The Spaniards would not have
      had the slightest hesitation in summarily taking possession of her, but
      their utter ignorance of seamanship made them reluctantly come to the
      conclusion that the more prudent policy was to make terms with the owner.
    </p>
    <p>
      And now came a singular part of the story. Negrete and his companions had
      meanwhile received a visit from two English officers from Gibraltar. What
      passed between them the Jew did not know; he only knew that, immediately
      after the conclusion of the interview, Negrete came to him and ordered him
      to set sail at once for the nearest point of Morocco. The Jew, afraid to
      disobey, but with his eye ever upon the main chance, stipulated that at
      the end of their voyage the Spaniards should pay for their passage&mdash;terms
      to which, as they would to any other, they did not demur, knowing that
      they had not the slightest intention of giving him a single real.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>Hansa</i> had weighed anchor on the 3rd of February. The wind blew
      from the west, and consequently the working of the tartan was easy enough.
      The unpracticed sailors had only to hoist their sails and, though they
      were quite unconscious of the fact, the breeze carried them to the only
      spot upon the little world they occupied which could afford them a refuge.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thus it fell out that one morning Ben Zoof, from his lookout on Gourbi
      Island, saw a ship, not the <i>Dobryna</i>, appear upon the horizon, and
      make quietly down towards what had formerly been the right bank of the
      Shelif.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such was Ben Zoof&rsquo;s version of what had occurred, as he had gathered it
      from the new-comers. He wound up his recital by remarking that the cargo
      of the <i>Hansa</i> would be of immense service to them; he expected,
      indeed, that Isaac Hakkabut would be difficult to manage, but considered
      there could be no harm in appropriating the goods for the common welfare,
      since there could be no opportunity now for selling them.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof added, &ldquo;And as to the difficulties between the Jew and his
      passengers, I told him that the governor general was absent on a tour of
      inspection, and that he would see everything equitably settled.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Smiling at his orderly&rsquo;s tactics, Servadac turned to Hakkabut, and told
      him that he would take care that his claims should be duly investigated
      and all proper demands should be paid. The man appeared satisfied, and,
      for the time at least, desisted from his complaints and importunities.
    </p>
    <p>
      When the Jew had retired, Count Timascheff asked, &ldquo;But how in the world
      can you ever make those fellows pay anything?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They have lots of money,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not likely,&rdquo; replied the count; &ldquo;when did you ever know Spaniards like
      them to have lots of money?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But I have seen it myself,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof; &ldquo;and it is English money.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;English money!&rdquo; echoed Servadac; and his mind again reverted to the
      excursion made by the colonel and the major from Gibraltar, about which
      they had been so reticent. &ldquo;We must inquire more about this,&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      Then, addressing Count Timascheff, he added, &ldquo;Altogether, I think the
      countries of Europe are fairly represented by the population of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True, captain,&rdquo; answered the count; &ldquo;we have only a fragment of a world,
      but it contains natives of France, Russia, Italy, Spain, and England. Even
      Germany may be said to have a representative in the person of this
      miserable Jew.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And even in him,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;perhaps we shall not find so
      indifferent a representative as we at present imagine.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIX. GALLIA&rsquo;S GOVERNOR GENERAL
    </h2>
    <p>
      The Spaniards who had arrived on board the <i>Hansa</i> consisted of nine
      men and a lad of twelve years of age, named Pablo. They all received
      Captain Servadac, whom Ben Zoof introduced as the governor general, with
      due respect, and returned quickly to their separate tasks. The captain and
      his friends, followed at some distance by the eager Jew, soon left the
      glade and directed their steps towards the coast where the <i>Hansa</i>
      was moored.
    </p>
    <p>
      As they went they discussed their situation. As far as they had
      ascertained, except Gourbi Island, the sole surviving fragments of the Old
      World were four small islands: the bit of Gibraltar occupied by the
      Englishmen; Ceuta, which had just been left by the Spaniards; Madalena,
      where they had picked up the little Italian girl; and the site of the tomb
      of Saint Louis on the coast of Tunis. Around these there was stretched out
      the full extent of the Gallian Sea, which apparently comprised about
      one-half of the Mediterranean, the whole being encompassed by a barrier
      like a framework of precipitous cliffs, of an origin and a substance alike
      unknown.
    </p>
    <p>
      Of all these spots only two were known to be inhabited: Gibraltar, where
      the thirteen Englishmen were amply provisioned for some years to come, and
      their own Gourbi Island. Here there was a population of twenty-two, who
      would all have to subsist upon the natural products of the soil. It was
      indeed not to be forgotten that, perchance, upon some remote and
      undiscovered isle there might be the solitary writer of the mysterious
      papers which they had found, and if so, that would raise the census of
      their new asteroid to an aggregate of thirty-six.
    </p>
    <p>
      Even upon the supposition that at some future date the whole population
      should be compelled to unite and find a residence upon Gourbi Island,
      there did not appear any reason to question but that eight hundred acres
      of rich soil, under good management, would yield them all an ample
      sustenance. The only critical matter was how long the cold season would
      last; every hope depended upon the land again becoming productive; at
      present, it seemed impossible to determine, even if Gallia&rsquo;s orbit were
      really elliptic, when she would reach her aphelion, and it was
      consequently necessary that the Gallians for the time being should reckon
      on nothing beyond their actual and present resources.
    </p>
    <p>
      These resources were, first, the provisions of the <i>Dobryna</i>,
      consisting of preserved meat, sugar, wine, brandy, and other stores
      sufficient for about two months; secondly, the valuable cargo of the <i>Hansa</i>,
      which, sooner or later, the owner, whether he would or not, must be
      compelled to surrender for the common benefit; and lastly, the produce of
      the island, animal and vegetable, which with proper economy might be made
      to last for a considerable period.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the course of the conversation, Count Timascheff took an opportunity of
      saying that, as Captain Servadac had already been presented to the
      Spaniards as governor of the island, he thought it advisable that he
      should really assume that position.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Every body of men,&rdquo; he observed, &ldquo;must have a head, and you, as a
      Frenchman, should, I think, take the command of this fragment of a French
      colony. My men, I can answer for it, are quite prepared to recognize you
      as their superior officer.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Most unhesitatingly,&rdquo; replied Servadac, &ldquo;I accept the post with all its
      responsibilities. We understand each other so well that I feel sure we
      shall try and work together for the common good; and even if it be our
      fate never again to behold our fellow creatures, I have no misgivings but
      that we shall be able to cope with whatever difficulties may be before
      us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      As he spoke, he held out his hand. The count took it, at the same time
      making a slight bow. It was the first time since their meeting that the
      two men had shaken hands; on the other hand, not a single word about their
      former rivalry had ever escaped their lips; perhaps that was all forgotten
      now.
    </p>
    <p>
      The silence of a few moments was broken by Servadac saying, &ldquo;Do you not
      think we ought to explain our situation to the Spaniards?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no, your Excellency,&rdquo; burst in Ben Zoof, emphatically; &ldquo;the fellows
      are chicken-hearted enough already; only tell them what has happened, and
      in sheer despondency they will not do another stroke of work.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope, who took very much the same view as
      the orderly, &ldquo;they are so miserably ignorant they would be sure to
      misunderstand you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Understand or misunderstand,&rdquo; replied Servadac, &ldquo;I do not think it
      matters. They would not care. They are all fatalists. Only give them a
      guitar and their castanets, and they will soon forget all care and
      anxiety. For my own part, I must adhere to my belief that it will be
      advisable to tell them everything. Have you any opinion to offer, count?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My own opinion, captain, coincides entirely with yours. I have followed
      the plan of explaining all I could to my men on board the <i>Dobryna</i>,
      and no inconvenience has arisen.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then, so let it be,&rdquo; said the captain; adding, &ldquo;It is not likely
      that these Spaniards are so ignorant as not to have noticed the change in
      the length of the days; neither can they be unaware of the physical
      changes that have transpired. They shall certainly be told that we are
      being carried away into unknown regions of space, and that this island is
      nearly all that remains of the Old World.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ha! ha!&rdquo; laughed Ben Zoof, aloud; &ldquo;it will be fine sport to watch the old
      Jew&rsquo;s face, when he is made to comprehend that he is flying away millions
      and millions of leagues from all his debtors.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Isaac Hakkabut was about fifty yards behind, and was consequently unable
      to overhear the conversation. He went shambling along, half whimpering and
      not unfrequently invoking the God of Israel; but every now and then a
      cunning light gleamed from his eyes, and his lips became compressed with a
      grim significance.
    </p>
    <p>
      None of the recent phenomena had escaped his notice, and more than once he
      had attempted to entice Ben Zoof into conversation upon the subject; but
      the orderly made no secret of his antipathy to him, and generally replied
      to his advances either by satire or by banter. He told him that he had
      everything to gain under the new system of nights and days, for, instead
      of living the Jew&rsquo;s ordinary life of a century, he would reach to the age
      of two centuries; and he congratulated him upon the circumstance of things
      having become so light, because it would prevent him feeling the burden of
      his years. At another time he would declare that, to an old usurer like
      him, it could not matter in the least what had become of the moon, as he
      could not possibly have advanced any money upon her. And when Isaac,
      undaunted by his jeers, persevered in besetting him with questions, he
      tried to silence him by saying, &ldquo;Only wait till the governor general
      comes; he is a shrewd fellow, and will tell you all about it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But will he protect my property?&rdquo; poor Isaac would ask tremulously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To be sure he will! He would confiscate it all rather than that you
      should be robbed of it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      With this Job&rsquo;s comfort the Jew had been obliged to content himself as
      best he could, and to await the promised arrival of the governor.
    </p>
    <p>
      When Servadac and his companions reached the shore, they found that the <i>Hansa</i>
      had anchored in an exposed bay, protected but barely by a few projecting
      rocks, and in such a position that a gale rising from the west would
      inevitably drive her on to the land, where she must be dashed in pieces.
      It would be the height of folly to leave her in her present moorings;
      without loss of time she must be brought round to the mouth of the Shelif,
      in immediate proximity to the Russian yacht.
    </p>
    <p>
      The consciousness that his tartan was the subject of discussion made the
      Jew give way to such vehement ejaculations of anxiety, that Servadac
      turned round and peremptorily ordered him to desist from his clamor.
      Leaving the old man under the surveillance of the count and Ben Zoof, the
      captain and the lieutenant stepped into a small boat and were soon
      alongside the floating emporium.
    </p>
    <p>
      A very short inspection sufficed to make them aware that both the tartan
      and her cargo were in a perfect state of preservation. In the hold were
      sugar-loaves by hundreds, chests of tea, bags of coffee, hogsheads of
      tobacco, pipes of wine, casks of brandy, barrels of dried herrings, bales
      of cotton, clothing of every kind, shoes of all sizes, caps of various
      shape, tools, household utensils, china and earthenware, reams of paper,
      bottles of ink, boxes of lucifer matches, blocks of salt, bags of pepper
      and spices, a stock of huge Dutch cheeses, and a collection of almanacs
      and miscellaneous literature. At a rough guess the value could not be much
      under pounds 5,000 sterling. A new cargo had been taken in only a few days
      before the catastrophe, and it had been Isaac Hakkabut&rsquo;s intention to
      cruise from Ceuta to Tripoli, calling wherever he had reason to believe
      there was likely to be a market for any of his commodities.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A fine haul, lieutenant,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, indeed,&rdquo; said the lieutenant; &ldquo;but what if the owner refuses to part
      with it?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No fear; no fear,&rdquo; replied the captain. &ldquo;As soon as ever the old rascal
      finds that there are no more Arabs or Algerians for him to fleece, he will
      be ready enough to transact a little business with us. We will pay him by
      bills of acceptance on some of his old friends in the Old World.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But why should he want any payment?&rdquo; inquired the lieutenant. &ldquo;Under the
      circumstances, he must know that you have a right to make a requisition of
      his goods.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; quickly rejoined Servadac; &ldquo;we will not do that. Just because
      the fellow is a German we shall not be justified in treating him in German
      fashion. We will transact our business in a business way. Only let him
      once realize that he is on a new globe, with no prospect of getting back
      to the old one, and he will be ready enough to come to terms with us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Perhaps you are right,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant; &ldquo;I hope you are. But
      anyhow, it will not do to leave the tartan here; not only would she be in
      danger in the event of a storm, but it is very questionable whether she
      could resist the pressure of the ice, if the water were to freeze.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite true, Procope; and accordingly I give you the commission to see
      that your crew bring her round to the Shelif as soon as may be.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To-morrow morning it shall be done,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant, promptly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Upon returning to the shore, it was arranged that the whole of the little
      colony should forthwith assemble at the gourbi. The Spaniards were
      summoned and Isaac, although he could only with reluctance take his
      wistful gaze from his tartan, obeyed the governor&rsquo;s orders to follow.
    </p>
    <p>
      An hour later and the entire population of twenty-two had met in the
      chamber adjoining the gourbi. Young Pablo made his first acquaintance with
      little Nina, and the child seemed highly delighted to find a companion so
      nearly of her own age. Leaving the children to entertain each other,
      Captain Servadac began his address.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before entering upon further explanation, he said that he counted upon the
      cordial co-operation of them all for the common welfare.
    </p>
    <p>
      Negrete interrupted him by declaring that no promises or pledges could be
      given until he and his countrymen knew how soon they could be sent back to
      Spain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To Spain, do you say?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To Spain!&rdquo; echoed Isaac Hakkabut, with a hideous yell. &ldquo;Do they expect to
      go back to Spain till they have paid their debts? Your Excellency, they
      owe me twenty reals apiece for their passage here; they owe me two hundred
      reals. Are they to be allowed...?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Silence, Mordecai, you fool!&rdquo; shouted Ben Zoof, who was accustomed to
      call the Jew by any Hebrew name that came uppermost to his memory.
      &ldquo;Silence!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was disposed to appease the old man&rsquo;s anxiety by promising to see
      that justice was ultimately done; but, in a fever of frantic excitement,
      he went on to implore that he might have the loan of a few sailors to
      carry his ship to Algiers.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will pay you honestly; I will pay you <i>well</i>,&rdquo; he cried; but his
      ingrained propensity for making a good bargain prompted him to add,
      &ldquo;provided you do not overcharge me.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof was about again to interpose some angry exclamation; but Servadac
      checked him, and continued in Spanish: &ldquo;Listen to me, my friends.
      Something very strange has happened. A most wonderful event has cut us off
      from Spain, from France, from Italy, from every country of Europe. In
      fact, we have left the Old World entirely. Of the whole earth, nothing
      remains except this island on which you are now taking refuge. The old
      globe is far, far away. Our present abode is but an insignificant fragment
      that is left. I dare not tell you that there is any chance of your ever
      again seeing your country or your homes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He paused. The Spaniards evidently had no conception of his meaning.
    </p>
    <p>
      Negrete begged him to tell them all again. He repeated all that he had
      said, and by introducing some illustrations from familiar things, he
      succeeded to a certain extent in conveying some faint idea of the
      convulsion that had happened. The event was precisely what he had
      foretold. The communication was received by all alike with the most
      supreme indifference.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut did not say a word. He had listened with manifest attention, his
      lips twitching now and then as if suppressing a smile. Servadac turned to
      him, and asked whether he was still disposed to put out to sea and make
      for Algiers.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Jew gave a broad grin, which, however, he was careful to conceal from
      the Spaniards. &ldquo;Your Excellency jests,&rdquo; he said in French; and turning to
      Count Timascheff, he added in Russian: &ldquo;The governor has made up a
      wonderful tale.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count turned his back in disgust, while the Jew sidled up to little
      Nina and muttered in Italian. &ldquo;A lot of lies, pretty one; a lot of lies!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Confound the knave!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof; &ldquo;he gabbles every tongue under
      the sun!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;but whether he speaks French, Russian, Spanish,
      German, or Italian, he is neither more nor less than a Jew.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XX. A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON
    </h2>
    <p>
      On the following day, without giving himself any further concern about the
      Jew&rsquo;s incredulity, the captain gave orders for the <i>Hansa</i> to be
      shifted round to the harbor of the Shelif. Hakkabut raised no objection,
      not only because he was aware that the move insured the immediate safety
      of his tartan, but because he was secretly entertaining the hope that he
      might entice away two or three of the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> crew and make his
      escape to Algiers or some other port.
    </p>
    <p>
      Operations now commenced for preparing proper winter quarters. Spaniards
      and Russians alike joined heartily in the work, the diminution of
      atmospheric pressure and of the force of attraction contributing such an
      increase to their muscular force as materially facilitated all their
      labors.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first business was to accommodate the building adjacent to the gourbi
      to the wants of the little colony. Here for the present the Spaniards were
      lodged, the Russians retaining their berths upon the yacht, while the Jew
      was permitted to pass his nights upon the <i>Hansa</i>. This arrangement,
      however, could be only temporary. The time could not be far distant when
      ships&rsquo; sides and ordinary walls would fail to give an adequate protection
      from the severity of the cold that must be expected; the stock of fuel was
      too limited to keep up a permanent supply of heat in their present
      quarters, and consequently they must be driven to seek some other refuge,
      the internal temperature of which would at least be bearable.
    </p>
    <p>
      The plan that seemed to commend itself most to their consideration was,
      that they should dig out for themselves some subterraneous pits similar to
      &ldquo;silos,&rdquo; such as are used as receptacles for grain. They presumed that
      when the surface of Gallia should be covered by a thick layer of ice,
      which is a bad conductor of heat, a sufficient amount of warmth for animal
      vitality might still be retained in excavations of this kind. After a long
      consultation they failed to devise any better expedient, and were forced
      to resign themselves to this species of troglodyte existence.
    </p>
    <p>
      In one respect they congratulated themselves that they should be better
      off than many of the whalers in the polar seas, for as it is impossible to
      get below the surface of a frozen ocean, these adventurers have to seek
      refuge in huts of wood and snow erected on their ships, which at best can
      give but slight protection from extreme cold; but here, with a solid
      subsoil, the Gallians might hope to dig down a hundred feet or so and
      secure for themselves a shelter that would enable them to brave the
      hardest severity of climate.
    </p>
    <p>
      The order, then, was at once given. The work was commenced. A stock of
      shovels, mattocks, and pick-axes was brought from the gourbi, and with Ben
      Zoof as overseer, both Spanish majos and Russian sailors set to work with
      a will.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not long, however, before a discovery, more unexpected than
      agreeable, suddenly arrested their labors. The spot chosen for the
      excavation was a little to the right of the gourbi, on a slight elevation
      of the soil. For the first day everything went on prosperously enough; but
      at a depth of eight feet below the surface, the navvies came in contact
      with a hard surface, upon which all their tools failed to make the
      slightest impression. Servadac and the count were at once apprised of the
      fact, and had little difficulty in recognizing the substance that had
      revealed itself as the very same which composed the shores as well as the
      subsoil of the Gallian sea. It evidently formed the universal substructure
      of the new asteroid. Means for hollowing it failed them utterly. Harder
      and more resisting than granite, it could not be blasted by ordinary
      powder; dynamite alone could suffice to rend it.
    </p>
    <p>
      The disappointment was very great. Unless some means of protection were
      speedily devised, death seemed to be staring them in the face. Were the
      figures in the mysterious documents correct? If so, Gallia must now be a
      hundred millions of leagues from the sun, nearly three times the distance
      of the earth at the remotest section of her orbit. The intensity of the
      solar light and heat, too, was very seriously diminishing, although Gourbi
      Island (being on the equator of an orb which had its axes always
      perpendicular to the plane in which it revolved) enjoyed a position that
      gave it a permanent summer. But no advantage of this kind could compensate
      for the remoteness of the sun. The temperature fell steadily; already, to
      the discomfiture of the little Italian girl, nurtured in sunshine, ice was
      beginning to form in the crevices of the rocks, and manifestly the time
      was impending when the sea itself would freeze.
    </p>
    <p>
      Some shelter must be found before the temperature should fall to 60
      degrees below zero. Otherwise death was inevitable. Hitherto, for the last
      few days, the thermometer had been registering an average of about 6
      degrees below zero, and it had become matter of experience that the stove,
      although replenished with all the wood that was available, was altogether
      inadequate to effect any sensible mitigation of the severity of the cold.
      Nor could any amount of fuel be enough. It was certain that ere long the
      very mercury and spirit in the thermometers would be congealed. Some other
      resort must assuredly be soon found, or they must perish. That was clear.
    </p>
    <p>
      The idea of betaking themselves to the <i>Dobryna</i> and <i>Hansa</i>
      could not for a moment be seriously entertained; not only did the
      structure of the vessels make them utterly insufficient to give
      substantial shelter, but they were totally unfitted to be trusted as to
      their stability when exposed to the enormous pressure of the accumulated
      ice.
    </p>
    <p>
      Neither Servadac, nor the count, nor Lieutenant Procope were men to be
      easily disheartened, but it could not be concealed that they felt
      themselves in circumstances by which they were equally harassed and
      perplexed. The sole expedient that their united counsel could suggest was
      to obtain a refuge below ground, and <i>that</i> was denied them by the
      strange and impenetrable substratum of the soil; yet hour by hour the
      sun&rsquo;s disc was lessening in its dimensions, and although at midday some
      faint radiance and glow were to be distinguished, during the night the
      painfulness of the cold was becoming almost intolerable.
    </p>
    <p>
      Mounted upon Zephyr and Galette, the captain and the count scoured the
      island in search of some available retreat. Scarcely a yard of ground was
      left unexplored, the horses clearing every obstacle as if they were, like
      Pegasus, furnished with wings. But all in vain. Soundings were made again
      and again, but invariably with the same result; the rock, hard as adamant,
      never failed to reveal itself within a few feet of the surface of the
      ground.
    </p>
    <p>
      The excavation of any silo being thus manifestly hopeless, there seemed
      nothing to be done except to try and render the buildings alongside the
      gourbi impervious to frost. To contribute to the supply of fuel, orders
      were given to collect every scrap of wood, dry or green, that the island
      produced; and this involved the necessity of felling the numerous trees
      that were scattered over the plain. But toil as they might at the
      accumulation of firewood, Captain Servadac and his companions could not
      resist the conviction that the consumption of a very short period would
      exhaust the total stock. And what would happen then?
    </p>
    <p>
      Studious if possible to conceal his real misgivings, and anxious that the
      rest of the party should be affected as little as might be by his own
      uneasiness, Servadac would wander alone about the island, racking his
      brain for an idea that would point the way out of the serious difficulty.
      But still all in vain.
    </p>
    <p>
      One day he suddenly came upon Ben Zoof, and asked him whether he had no
      plan to propose. The orderly shook his head, but after a few moments&rsquo; 
      pondering, said: &ldquo;Ah! master, if only we were at Montmartre, we would get
      shelter in the charming stone-quarries.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Idiot!&rdquo; replied the captain, angrily, &ldquo;if we were at Montmartre, you
      don&rsquo;t suppose that we should need to live in stone-quarries?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But the means of preservation which human ingenuity had failed to secure
      were at hand from the felicitous provision of Nature herself. It was on
      the 10th of March that the captain and Lieutenant Procope started off once
      more to investigate the northwest corner of the island; on their way their
      conversation naturally was engrossed by the subject of the dire
      necessities which only too manifestly were awaiting them. A discussion
      more than usually animated arose between them, for the two men were not
      altogether of the same mind as to the measures that ought to be adopted in
      order to open the fairest chance of avoiding a fatal climax to their
      exposure; the captain persisted that an entirely new abode must be sought,
      while the lieutenant was equally bent upon devising a method of some sort
      by which their present quarters might be rendered sufficiently warm. All
      at once, in the very heat of his argument, Procope paused; he passed his
      hand across his eyes, as if to dispel a mist, and stood, with a fixed gaze
      centered on a point towards the south. &ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; he said, with a
      kind of hesitation. &ldquo;No, I am not mistaken,&rdquo; he added; &ldquo;it is a light on
      the horizon.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A light!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac; &ldquo;show me where.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Look there!&rdquo; answered the lieutenant, and he kept pointing steadily in
      its direction, until Servadac also distinctly saw the bright speck in the
      distance.
    </p>
    <p>
      It increased in clearness in the gathering shades of evening. &ldquo;Can it be a
      ship?&rdquo; asked the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If so, it must be in flames; otherwise we should not be able to see it so
      far off,&rdquo; replied Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It does not move,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;and unless I am greatly deceived, I
      can hear a kind of reverberation in the air.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      For some seconds the two men stood straining eyes and ears in rapt
      attention. Suddenly an idea struck Servadac&rsquo;s mind. &ldquo;The volcano!&rdquo; he
      cried; &ldquo;may it not be the volcano that we saw, whilst we were on board the
      <i>Dobryna?</i>&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant agreed that it was very probable.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Heaven be praised!&rdquo; ejaculated the captain, and he went on in the tones
      of a keen excitement: &ldquo;Nature has provided us with our winter quarters;
      the stream of burning lava that is flowing there is the gift of a
      bounteous Providence; it will provide us all the warmth we need. No time
      to lose! To-morrow, my dear Procope, to-morrow we will explore it all; no
      doubt the life, the heat we want is reserved for us in the heart and
      bowels of our own Gallia!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Whilst the captain was indulging in his expressions of enthusiasm, Procope
      was endeavoring to collect his thoughts. Distinctly he remembered the long
      promontory which had barred the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> progress while coasting
      the southern confines of the sea, and which had obliged her to ascend
      northwards as far as the former latitude of Oran; he remembered also that
      at the extremity of the promontory there was a rocky headland crowned with
      smoke; and now he was convinced that he was right in identifying the
      position, and in believing that the smoke had given place to an eruption
      of flame.
    </p>
    <p>
      When Servadac gave him a chance of speaking, he said, &ldquo;The more I consider
      it, captain, the more I am satisfied that your conjecture is correct.
      Beyond a doubt, what we see is the volcano, and to-morrow we will not fail
      to visit it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      On returning to the gourbi, they communicated their discovery to Count
      Timascheff only, deeming any further publication of it to be premature.
      The count at once placed his yacht at their disposal, and expressed his
      intention of accompanying them.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The yacht, I think,&rdquo; said Procope, &ldquo;had better remain where she is; the
      weather is beautifully calm, and the steam-launch will answer our purpose
      better; at any rate, it will convey us much closer to shore than the
      schooner.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count replied that the lieutenant was by all means to use his own
      discretion, and they all retired for the night.
    </p>
    <p>
      Like many other modern pleasure-yachts, the <i>Dobryna</i>, in addition to
      her four-oar, was fitted with a fast-going little steam-launch, its screw
      being propelled, on the Oriolle system, by means of a boiler, small but
      very effective. Early next morning, this handy little craft was
      sufficiently freighted with coal (of which there was still about ten tons
      on board the <i>Dobryna</i>), and manned by nobody except the captain, the
      count, and the lieutenant, left the harbor of the Shelif, much to the
      bewilderment of Ben Zoof, who had not yet been admitted into the secret.
      The orderly, however, consoled himself with the reflection that he had
      been temporarily invested with the full powers of governor general, an
      office of which he was not a little proud.
    </p>
    <p>
      The eighteen miles between the island and the headland were made in
      something less than three hours. The volcanic eruption was manifestly very
      considerable, the entire summit of the promontory being enveloped in
      flames. To produce so large a combustion either the oxygen of Gallia&rsquo;s
      atmosphere had been brought into contact with the explosive gases
      contained beneath her soil, or perhaps, still more probable, the volcano,
      like those in the moon, was fed by an internal supply of oxygen of her
      own.
    </p>
    <p>
      It took more than half an hour to settle on a suitable landing-place. At
      length, a small semi-circular creek was discovered among the rocks, which
      appeared advantageous, because, if circumstances should so require, it
      would form a safe anchorage for both the <i>Dobryna</i> and the <i>Hansa</i>.
    </p>
    <p>
      The launch securely moored, the passengers landed on the side of the
      promontory opposite to that on which a torrent of burning lava was
      descending to the sea. With much satisfaction they experienced, as they
      approached the mountain, a sensible difference in the temperature, and
      their spirits could not do otherwise than rise at the prospect of having
      their hopes confirmed, that a deliverance from the threatened calamity had
      so opportunely been found. On they went, up the steep acclivity,
      scrambling over its rugged projections, scaling the irregularities of its
      gigantic strata, bounding from point to point with the agility of chamois,
      but never alighting on anything except on the accumulation of the same
      hexagonal prisms with which they had now become so familiar.
    </p>
    <p>
      Their exertions were happily rewarded. Behind a huge pyramidal rock they
      found a hole in the mountain-side, like the mouth of a great tunnel.
      Climbing up to this orifice, which was more than sixty feet above the
      level of the sea, they ascertained that it opened into a long dark
      gallery. They entered and groped their way cautiously along the sides. A
      continuous rumbling, that increased as they advanced, made them aware that
      they must be approaching the central funnel of the volcano; their only
      fear was lest some insuperable wall of rock should suddenly bar their
      further progress.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was some distance ahead.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come on!&rdquo; he cried cheerily, his voice ringing through the darkness,
      &ldquo;come on! Our fire is lighted! no stint of fuel! Nature provides that! Let
      us make haste and warm ourselves!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Inspired by his confidence, the count and the lieutenant advanced bravely
      along the unseen and winding path. The temperature was now at least
      fifteen degrees above zero, and the walls of the gallery were beginning to
      feel quite warm to the touch, an indication, not to be overlooked, that
      the substance of which the rock was composed was metallic in its nature,
      and capable of conducting heat.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Follow me!&rdquo; shouted Servadac again; &ldquo;we shall soon find a regular stove!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Onwards they made their way, until at last a sharp turn brought them into
      a sudden flood of light. The tunnel had opened into a vast cavern, and the
      gloom was exchanged for an illumination that was perfectly dazzling.
      Although the temperature was high, it was not in any way intolerable.
    </p>
    <p>
      One glance was sufficient to satisfy the explorers that the grateful light
      and heat of this huge excavation were to be attributed to a torrent of
      lava that was rolling downwards to the sea, completely subtending the
      aperture of the cave. Not inaptly might the scene be compared to the
      celebrated Grotto of the Winds at the rear of the central fall of Niagara,
      only with the exception that here, instead of a curtain of rushing water,
      it was a curtain of roaring flame that hung before the cavern&rsquo;s mouth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Heaven be praised!&rdquo; cried Servadac, with glad emotion; &ldquo;here is all that
      we hoped for, and more besides!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XXI. WINTER QUARTERS
    </h2>
    <p>
      The habitation that had now revealed itself, well lighted and thoroughly
      warm, was indeed marvelous. Not only would it afford ample accommodation
      for Hector Servadac and &ldquo;his subjects,&rdquo; as Ben Zoof delighted to call
      them, but it would provide shelter for the two horses, and for a
      considerable number of domestic animals.
    </p>
    <p>
      This enormous cavern was neither more or less than the common junction of
      nearly twenty tunnels (similar to that which had been traversed by the
      explorers), forming ramifications in the solid rock, and the pores, as it
      were, by which the internal heat exuded from the heart of the mountain.
      Here, as long as the volcano retained its activity, every living creature
      on the new asteroid might brave the most rigorous of climates; and as
      Count Timascheff justly remarked, since it was the only burning mountain
      they had sighted, it was most probably the sole outlet for Gallia&rsquo;s
      subterranean fires, and consequently the eruption might continue unchanged
      for ages to come.
    </p>
    <p>
      But not a day, not an hour, was to be lost now. The steam-launch returned
      to Gourbi Island, and preparations were forthwith taken in hand for
      conveying man and beast, corn and fodder, across to the volcanic headland.
      Loud and hearty were the acclamations of the little colony, especially of
      the Spaniards, and great was the relief of Nina, when Servadac announced
      to them the discovery of their future domicile; and with requickened
      energies they labored hard at packing, anxious to reach their genial
      winter quarters without delay.
    </p>
    <p>
      For three successive days the <i>Dobryna</i>, laden to her very gunwale,
      made a transit to and fro. Ben Zoof was left upon the island to
      superintend the stowage of the freight, whilst Servadac found abundant
      occupation in overlooking its disposal within the recesses of the
      mountain. First of all, the large store of corn and fodder, the produce of
      the recent harvest, was landed and deposited in one of the vaults; then,
      on the 15th, about fifty head of live cattle&mdash;bullocks, cows, sheep,
      and pigs&mdash;were conveyed to their rocky stalls. These were saved for
      the sake of preserving the several breeds, the bulk of the island cattle
      being slaughtered, as the extreme severity of the climate insured all meat
      remaining fresh for almost an indefinite period. The winter which they
      were expecting would probably be of unprecedented length; it was quite
      likely that it would exceed the six months&rsquo; duration by which many arctic
      explorers have been tried; but the population of Gallia had no anxiety in
      the matter of provisions&mdash;their stock was far more than adequate;
      while as for drink, as long as they were satisfied with pure water, a
      frozen sea would afford them an inexhaustible reservoir.
    </p>
    <p>
      The need for haste in forwarding their preparations became more and more
      manifest; the sea threatened to be un-navigable very soon, as ice was
      already forming which the noonday sun was unable to melt. And if haste
      were necessary, so also were care, ingenuity, and forethought. It was
      indispensable that the space at their command should be properly utilized,
      and yet that the several portions of the store should all be readily
      accessible.
    </p>
    <p>
      On further investigation an unexpected number of galleries was discovered,
      so that, in fact, the interior of the mountain was like a vast bee-hive
      perforated with innumerable cells; and in compliment to the little Italian
      it was unanimously voted by the colony that their new home should be
      called &ldquo;Nina&rsquo;s Hive.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The first care of Captain Servadac was to ascertain how he could make the
      best possible use of the heat which nature had provided for them so
      opportunely and with so lavish a hand. By opening fresh vents in the solid
      rock (which by the action of the heat was here capable of fissure) the
      stream of burning lava was diverted into several new channels, where it
      could be available for daily use; and thus Mochel, the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i>
      cook, was furnished with an admirable kitchen, provided with a permanent
      stove, where he was duly installed with all his culinary apparatus.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What a saving of expense it would be,&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof, &ldquo;if every
      household could be furnished with its own private volcano!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The large cavern at the general junction of the galleries was fitted up as
      a drawing-room, and arranged with all the best furniture both of the
      gourbi and of the cabin of the <i>Dobryna</i>. Hither was also brought the
      schooner&rsquo;s library, containing a good variety of French and Russian books;
      lamps were suspended over the different tables; and the walls of the
      apartment were tapestried with the sails and adorned with the flags
      belonging to the yacht. The curtain of fire extending over the opening of
      the cavern provided it, as already stated, with light and heat.
    </p>
    <p>
      The torrent of lava fell into a small rock-bound basin that had no
      apparent communication with the sea, and was evidently the aperture of a
      deep abyss, of which the waters, heated by the descent of the eruptive
      matter, would no doubt retain their liquid condition long after the
      Gallian Sea had become a sheet of ice.
    </p>
    <p>
      A small excavation to the left of the common hall was allotted for the
      special use of Servadac and the count; another on the right was
      appropriated to the lieutenant and Ben Zoof; whilst a third recess,
      immediately at the back, made a convenient little chamber for Nina. The
      Spaniards and the Russian sailors took up their sleeping-quarters in the
      adjacent galleries, and found the temperature quite comfortable.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such were the internal arrangements of Nina&rsquo;s Hive, the refuge where the
      little colony were full of hope that they would be able to brave the
      rigors of the stern winter-time that lay before them&mdash;a winter-time
      during which Gallia might possibly be projected even to the orbit of
      Jupiter, where the temperature would not exceed one twenty-fifth of the
      normal winter temperature of the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      The only discontented spirit was Isaac Hakkabut. Throughout all the
      preparations which roused even the Spaniards to activity, the Jew, still
      incredulous and deaf to every representation of the true state of things,
      insisted upon remaining in the creek at Gourbi Island; nothing could
      induce him to leave his tartan, where, like a miser, he would keep guard
      over his precious cargo, ever grumbling and growling, but with his
      weather-eye open in the hope of catching sight of some passing sail. It
      must be owned that the whole party were far from sorry to be relieved of
      his presence; his uncomely figure and repulsive countenance was a
      perpetual bugbear. He had given out in plain terms that he did not intend
      to part with any of his property, except for current money, and Servadac,
      equally resolute, had strictly forbidden any purchases to be made, hoping
      to wear out the rascal&rsquo;s obstinacy.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut persistently refused to credit the real situation; he could not
      absolutely deny that some portions of the terrestrial globe had undergone
      a certain degree of modification, but nothing could bring him to believe
      that he was not, sooner or later, to résumé his old line of business in
      the Mediterranean. With his wonted distrust of all with whom he came in
      contact, he regarded every argument that was urged upon him only as
      evidence of a plot that had been devised to deprive him of his goods.
      Repudiating, as he did utterly, the hypothesis that a fragment had become
      detached from the earth, he scanned the horizon for hours together with an
      old telescope, the case of which had been patched up till it looked like a
      rusty stove-pipe, hoping to descry the passing trader with which he might
      effect some bartering upon advantageous terms.
    </p>
    <p>
      At first he professed to regard the proposed removal into winter-quarters
      as an attempt to impose upon his credulity; but the frequent voyages made
      by the <i>Dobryna</i> to the south, and the repeated consignments of corn
      and cattle, soon served to make him aware that Captain Servadac and his
      companions were really contemplating a departure from Gourbi Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      The movement set him thinking. What, he began to ask himself&mdash;what if
      all that was told him was true? What if this sea was no longer the
      Mediterranean? What if he should never again behold his German fatherland?
      What if his marts for business were gone for ever? A vague idea of ruin
      began to take possession of his mind: he must yield to necessity; he must
      do the best he could. As the result of his cogitations, he occasionally
      left his tartan and made a visit to the shore. At length he endeavored to
      mingle with the busy group, who were hurrying on their preparations; but
      his advances were only met by jeers and scorn, and, ridiculed by all the
      rest, he was fain to turn his attention to Ben Zoof, to whom he offered a
      few pinches of tobacco.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, old Zebulon,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, steadily refusing the gift, &ldquo;it is
      against orders to take anything from you. Keep your cargo to yourself; eat
      and drink it all if you can; we are not to touch it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Finding the subordinates incorruptible, Isaac determined to go to the
      fountain-head. He addressed himself to Servadac, and begged him to tell
      him the whole truth, piteously adding that surely it was unworthy of a
      French officer to deceive a poor old man like himself.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Tell you the truth, man!&rdquo; cried Servadac. &ldquo;Confound it, I have told you
      the truth twenty times. Once for all, I tell you now, you have left
      yourself barely time enough to make your escape to yonder mountain.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;God and Mahomet have mercy on me!&rdquo; muttered the Jew, whose creed
      frequently assumed a very ambiguous character.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will tell you what,&rdquo; continued the captain&mdash;&ldquo;you shall have a few
      men to work the <i>Hansa</i> across, if you like.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But I want to go to Algiers,&rdquo; whimpered Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How often am I to tell you that Algiers is no longer in existence? Only
      say yes or no&mdash;are you coming with us into winter-quarters?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;God of Israel! what is to become of all my property?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But, mind you,&rdquo; continued the captain, not heeding the interruption, &ldquo;if
      you do not choose voluntarily to come with us, I shall have the <i>Hansa</i>,
      by my orders, removed to a place of safety. I am not going to let your
      cursed obstinacy incur the risk of losing your cargo altogether.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful Heaven! I shall be ruined!&rdquo; moaned Isaac, in despair.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are going the right way to ruin yourself, and it would serve you
      right to leave you to your own devices. But be off! I have no more to
      say.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And, turning contemptuously on his heel, Servadac left the old man
      vociferating bitterly, and with uplifted hands protesting vehemently
      against the rapacity of the Gentiles.
    </p>
    <p>
      By the 20th all preliminary arrangements were complete, and everything
      ready for a final departure from the island. The thermometer stood on an
      average at 8 degrees below zero, and the water in the cistern was
      completely frozen. It was determined, therefore, for the colony to embark
      on the following day, and take up their residence in Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      A final consultation was held about the <i>Hansa</i>. Lieutenant Procope
      pronounced his decided conviction that it would be impossible for the
      tartan to resist the pressure of the ice in the harbor of the Shelif, and
      that there would be far more safety in the proximity of the volcano. It
      was agreed on all hands that the vessel must be shifted; and accordingly
      orders were given, four Russian sailors were sent on board, and only a few
      minutes elapsed after the <i>Dobryna</i> had weighed anchor, before the
      great lateen sail of the tartan was unfurled, and the &ldquo;shop-ship,&rdquo; as Ben
      Zoof delighted to call it, was also on her way to the southward.
    </p>
    <p>
      Long and loud were the lamentations of the Jew. He kept exclaiming that he
      had given no orders, that he was being moved against his will, that he had
      asked for no assistance, and needed none; but it required no very keen
      discrimination to observe that all along there was a lurking gleam of
      satisfaction in his little gray eyes, and when, a few hours later, he
      found himself securely anchored, and his property in a place of safety, he
      quite chuckled with glee.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;God of Israel!&rdquo; he said in an undertone, &ldquo;they have made no charge; the
      idiots have piloted me here for nothing.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      For nothing! His whole nature exulted in the consciousness that he was
      enjoying a service that had been rendered gratuitously.
    </p>
    <p>
      Destitute of human inhabitants, Gourbi Island was now left to the tenancy
      of such birds and beasts as had escaped the recent promiscuous slaughter.
      Birds, indeed, that had migrated in search of warmer shores, had returned,
      proving that this fragment of the French colony was the only shred of land
      that could yield them any sustenance; but their life must necessarily be
      short. It was utterly impossible that they could survive the cold that
      would soon ensue.
    </p>
    <p>
      The colony took possession of their new abode with but few formalities.
      Everyone, however, approved of all the internal arrangements of Nina&rsquo;s
      Hive, and were profuse in their expressions of satisfaction at finding
      themselves located in such comfortable quarters. The only malcontent was
      Hakkabut; he had no share in the general enthusiasm, refused even to enter
      or inspect any of the galleries, and insisted on remaining on board his
      tartan.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;He is afraid,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, &ldquo;that he will have to pay for his lodgings.
      But wait a bit; we shall see how he stands the cold out there; the frost,
      no doubt, will drive the old fox out of his hole.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Towards evening the pots were set boiling, and a bountiful supper, to
      which all were invited, was spread in the central hall. The stores of the
      <i>Dobryna</i> contained some excellent wine, some of which was broached
      to do honor to the occasion. The health of the governor general was drunk,
      as well as the toast &ldquo;Success to his council,&rdquo; to which Ben Zoof was
      called upon to return thanks. The entertainment passed off merrily. The
      Spaniards were in the best of spirits; one of them played the guitar,
      another the castanets, and the rest joined in a ringing chorus. Ben Zoof
      contributed the famous Zouave refrain, well known throughout the French
      army, but rarely performed in finer style than by this <i>virtuoso:</i>
    </p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
     <i>&ldquo;Misti goth dar dar tire lyre!
     Flic! floc! flac! lirette, lira!
               Far la rira,
               Tour tala rire,
               Tour la Ribaud,
                 Ricandeau,
     Sans repos, repit, repit, repos, ris pot, ripette!
        Si vous attrapez mon refrain,
              Fameux vous etes.&rdquo;</i>
</pre>
    <p>
      The concert was succeeded by a ball, unquestionably the first that had
      ever taken place in Gallia. The Russian sailors exhibited some of their
      national dances, which gained considerable applause, even although they
      followed upon the marvelous fandangos of the Spaniards. Ben Zoof, in his
      turn, danced a <i>pas seul</i> (often performed in the Elysee Montmartre)
      with an elegance and vigor that earned many compliments from Negrete.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was nine o&rsquo;clock before the festivities came to an end, and by that
      time the company, heated by the high temperature of the hall, and by their
      own exertions, felt the want of a little fresh air. Accordingly the
      greater portion of the party, escorted by Ben Zoof, made their way into
      one of the adjacent galleries that led to the shore. Servadac, with the
      count and lieutenant, did not follow immediately; but shortly afterwards
      they proceeded to join them, when on their way they were startled by loud
      cries from those in advance.
    </p>
    <p>
      Their first impression was that they were cries of distress, and they were
      greatly relieved to find that they were shouts of delight, which the
      dryness and purity of the atmosphere caused to re-echo like a volley of
      musketry.
    </p>
    <p>
      Reaching the mouth of the gallery, they found the entire group pointing
      with eager interest to the sky.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; asked the captain, &ldquo;what&rsquo;s the matter now?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, your Excellency,&rdquo; ejaculated the orderly, &ldquo;look there! look there!
      The moon! the moon&rsquo;s come back!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And, sure enough, what was apparently the moon was rising above the mists
      of evening.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XXII. A FROZEN OCEAN
    </h2>
    <p>
      The moon! She had disappeared for weeks; was she now returning? Had she
      been faithless to the earth? and had she now approached to be a satellite
      of the new-born world?
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Impossible!&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope; &ldquo;the earth is millions and millions
      of leagues away, and it is not probable that the moon has ceased to
      revolve about her.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; remonstrated Servadac. &ldquo;It would not be more strange than the
      other phenomena which we have lately witnessed. Why should not the moon
      have fallen within the limits of Gallia&rsquo;s attraction, and become her
      satellite?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Upon that supposition,&rdquo; put in the count, &ldquo;I should think that it would
      be altogether unlikely that three months would elapse without our seeing
      her.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite incredible!&rdquo; continued Procope. &ldquo;And there is another thing which
      totally disproves the captain&rsquo;s hypothesis; the magnitude of Gallia is far
      too insignificant for her power of attraction to carry off the moon.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; persisted Servadac, &ldquo;why should not the same convulsion that tore
      us away from the earth have torn away the moon as well? After wandering
      about as she would for a while in the solar regions, I do not see why she
      should not have attached herself to us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant repeated his conviction that it was not likely.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But why not?&rdquo; again asked Servadac impetuously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because, I tell you, the mass of Gallia is so inferior to that of the
      moon, that Gallia would become the moon&rsquo;s satellite; the moon could not
      possibly become hers.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Assuming, however,&rdquo; continued Servadac, &ldquo;such to be the case&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am afraid,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, interrupting him, &ldquo;that I cannot
      assume anything of the sort even for a moment.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac smiled good-humoredly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I confess you seem to have the best of the argument, and if Gallia had
      become a satellite of the moon, it would not have taken three months to
      catch sight of her. I suppose you are right.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      While this discussion had been going on, the satellite, or whatever it
      might be, had been rising steadily above the horizon, and had reached a
      position favorable for observation. Telescopes were brought, and it was
      very soon ascertained, beyond a question, that the new luminary was not
      the well-known Phoebe of terrestrial nights; it had no feature in common
      with the moon. Although it was apparently much nearer to Gallia than the
      moon to the earth, its superficies was hardly one-tenth as large, and so
      feebly did it reflect the light of the remote sun, that it scarcely
      emitted radiance enough to extinguish the dim luster of stars of the
      eighth magnitude. Like the sun, it had risen in the west, and was now at
      its full. To mistake its identity with the moon was absolutely impossible;
      not even Servadac could discover a trace of the seas, chasms, craters, and
      mountains which have been so minutely delineated in lunar charts, and it
      could not be denied that any transient hope that had been excited as to
      their once again being about to enjoy the peaceful smiles of &ldquo;the queen of
      night&rdquo; must all be resigned.
    </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff finally suggested, though somewhat doubtfully, the
      question of the probability that Gallia, in her course across the zone of
      the minor planets, had carried off one of them; but whether it was one of
      the 169 asteroids already included in the astronomical catalogues, or one
      previously unknown, he did not presume to determine. The idea to a certain
      extent was plausible, inasmuch as it has been ascertained that several of
      the telescopic planets are of such small dimensions that a good walker
      might make a circuit of them in four and twenty hours; consequently
      Gallia, being of superior volume, might be supposed capable of exercising
      a power of attraction upon any of these miniature microcosms.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first night in Nina&rsquo;s Hive passed without special incident; and next
      morning a regular scheme of life was definitely laid down. &ldquo;My lord
      governor,&rdquo; as Ben Zoof until he was peremptorily forbidden delighted to
      call Servadac, had a wholesome dread of idleness and its consequences, and
      insisted upon each member of the party undertaking some special duty to
      fulfill. There was plenty to do. The domestic animals required a great
      deal of attention; a supply of food had to be secured and preserved;
      fishing had to be carried on while the condition of the sea would allow
      it; and in several places the galleries had to be further excavated to
      render them more available for use. Occupation, then, need never be
      wanting, and the daily round of labor could go on in orderly routine.
    </p>
    <p>
      A perfect concord ruled the little colony. The Russians and Spaniards
      amalgamated well, and both did their best to pick up various scraps of
      French, which was considered the official language of the place. Servadac
      himself undertook the tuition of Pablo and Nina, Ben Zoof being their
      companion in play-hours, when he entertained them with enchanting stories
      in the best Parisian French, about &ldquo;a lovely city at the foot of a
      mountain,&rdquo; where he always promised one day to take them.
    </p>
    <p>
      The end of March came, but the cold was not intense to such a degree as to
      confine any of the party to the interior of their resort; several
      excursions were made along the shore, and for a radius of three or four
      miles the adjacent district was carefully explored. Investigation,
      however, always ended in the same result; turn their course in whatever
      direction they would, they found that the country retained everywhere its
      desert character, rocky, barren, and without a trace of vegetation. Here
      and there a slight layer of snow, or a thin coating of ice arising from
      atmospheric condensation indicated the existence of superficial moisture,
      but it would require a period indefinitely long, exceeding human
      reckoning, before that moisture could collect into a stream and roll
      downwards over the stony strata to the sea. It seemed at present out of
      their power to determine whether the land upon which they were so happily
      settled was an island or a continent, and till the cold was abated they
      feared to undertake any lengthened expedition to ascertain the actual
      extent of the strange concrete of metallic crystallization.
    </p>
    <p>
      By ascending one day to the summit of the volcano, Captain Servadac and
      the count succeeded in getting a general idea of the aspect of the
      country. The mountain itself was an enormous block rising symmetrically to
      a height of nearly 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, in the form of a
      truncated cone, of which the topmost section was crowned by a wreath of
      smoke issuing continuously from the mouth of a narrow crater.
    </p>
    <p>
      Under the old condition of terrestrial things, the ascent of this steep
      acclivity would have been attended with much fatigue, but as the effect of
      the altered condition of the law of gravity, the travelers performed
      perpetual prodigies in the way of agility, and in little over an hour
      reached the edge of the crater, without more sense of exertion than if
      they had traversed a couple of miles on level ground. Gallia had its
      drawbacks, but it had some compensating advantages.
    </p>
    <p>
      Telescopes in hand, the explorers from the summit scanned the surrounding
      view. Their anticipations had already realized what they saw. Just as they
      expected, on the north, east, and west lay the Gallian Sea, smooth and
      motionless as a sheet of glass, the cold having, as it were, congealed the
      atmosphere so that there was not a breath of wind. Towards the south there
      seemed no limit to the land, and the volcano formed the apex of a
      triangle, of which the base was beyond the reach of vision. Viewed even
      from this height, whence distance would do much to soften the general
      asperity, the surface nevertheless seemed to be bristling with its myriads
      of hexagonal lamellae, and to present difficulties which, to an ordinary
      pedestrian, would be insurmountable.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh for some wings, or else a balloon!&rdquo; cried Servadac, as he gazed around
      him; and then, looking down to the rock upon which they were standing, he
      added, &ldquo;We seem to have been transplanted to a soil strange enough in its
      chemical character to bewilder the <i>savants</i> at a museum.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And do you observe, captain,&rdquo; asked the count, &ldquo;how the convexity of our
      little world curtails our view? See, how circumscribed is the horizon!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac replied that he had noticed the same circumstance from the top of
      the cliffs of Gourbi Island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the count; &ldquo;it becomes more and more obvious that ours is a
      very tiny world, and that Gourbi Island is the sole productive spot upon
      its surface. We have had a short summer, and who knows whether we are not
      entering upon a winter that may last for years, perhaps for centuries?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But we must not mind, count,&rdquo; said Servadac, smiling. &ldquo;We have agreed,
      you know, that, come what may, we are to be philosophers.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, true, my friend,&rdquo; rejoined the count; &ldquo;we must be philosophers and
      something more; we must be grateful to the good Protector who has hitherto
      befriended us, and we must trust His mercy to the end.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      For a few moments they both stood in silence, and contemplated land and
      sea; then, having given a last glance over the dreary panorama, they
      prepared to wend their way down the mountain. Before, however, they
      commenced their descent, they resolved to make a closer examination of the
      crater. They were particularly struck by what seemed to them almost the
      mysterious calmness with which the eruption was effected. There was none
      of the wild disorder and deafening tumult that usually accompany the
      discharge of volcanic matter, but the heated lava, rising with a uniform
      gentleness, quietly overran the limits of the crater, like the flow of
      water from the bosom of a peaceful lake. Instead of a boiler exposed to
      the action of an angry fire, the crater rather resembled a brimming basin,
      of which the contents were noiselessly escaping. Nor were there any
      igneous stones or red-hot cinders mingled with the smoke that crowned the
      summit; a circumstance that quite accorded with the absence of the
      pumice-stones, obsidians, and other minerals of volcanic origin with which
      the base of a burning mountain is generally strewn.
    </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac was of opinion that this peculiarity augured favorably
      for the continuance of the eruption. Extreme violence in physical, as well
      as in moral nature, is never of long duration. The most terrible storms,
      like the most violent fits of passion, are not lasting; but here the calm
      flow of the liquid fire appeared to be supplied from a source that was
      inexhaustible, in the same way as the waters of Niagara, gliding on
      steadily to their final plunge, would defy all effort to arrest their
      course.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before the evening of this day closed in, a most important change was
      effected in the condition of the Gallian Sea by the intervention of human
      agency. Notwithstanding the increasing cold, the sea, unruffled as it was
      by a breath of wind, still retained its liquid state. It is an established
      fact that water, under this condition of absolute stillness, will remain
      uncongealed at a temperature several degrees below zero, whilst
      experiment, at the same time, shows that a very slight shock will often be
      sufficient to convert it into solid ice. It had occurred to Servadac that
      if some communication could be opened with Gourbi Island, there would be a
      fine scope for hunting expeditions. Having this ultimate object in view,
      he assembled his little colony upon a projecting rock at the extremity of
      the promontory, and having called Nina and Pablo out to him in front, he
      said: &ldquo;Now, Nina, do you think you could throw something into the sea?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I think I could,&rdquo; replied the child, &ldquo;but I am sure that Pablo would
      throw it a great deal further than I can.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Never mind, you shall try first.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Putting a fragment of ice into Nina&rsquo;s hand, he addressed himself to Pablo:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Look out, Pablo; you shall see what a nice little fairy Nina is! Throw,
      Nina, throw, as hard as you can.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Nina balanced the piece of ice two or three times in her hand, and threw
      it forward with all her strength.
    </p>
    <p>
      A sudden thrill seemed to vibrate across the motionless waters to the
      distant horizon, and the Gallian Sea had become a solid sheet of ice!
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XXIII. A CARRIER-PIGEON
    </h2>
    <p>
      When, three hours after sunset, on the 23d of March, the Gallian moon rose
      upon the western horizon, it was observed that she had entered upon her
      last quarter. She had taken only four days to pass from syzygy to
      quadrature, and it was consequently evident that she would be visible for
      little more than a week at a time, and that her lunation would be
      accomplished within sixteen days. The lunar months, like the solar days,
      had been diminished by one-half. Three days later the moon was in
      conjunction with the sun, and was consequently lost to view; Ben Zoof, as
      the first observer of the satellite, was extremely interested in its
      movements, and wondered whether it would ever reappear.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 26th, under an atmosphere perfectly clear and dry, the thermometer
      fell to 12 degrees F. below zero. Of the present distance of Gallia from
      the sun, and the number of leagues she had traversed since the receipt of
      the last mysterious document, there were no means of judging; the extent
      of diminution in the apparent disc of the sun did not afford sufficient
      basis even for an approximate calculation; and Captain Servadac was
      perpetually regretting that they could receive no further tidings from the
      anonymous correspondent, whom he persisted in regarding as a
      fellow-countryman.
    </p>
    <p>
      The solidity of the ice was perfect; the utter stillness of the air at the
      time when the final congelation of the waters had taken place had resulted
      in the formation of a surface that for smoothness would rival a
      skating-rink; without a crack or flaw it extended far beyond the range of
      vision.
    </p>
    <p>
      The contrast to the ordinary aspect of polar seas was very remarkable.
      There, the ice-fields are an agglomeration of hummocks and icebergs,
      massed in wild confusion, often towering higher than the masts of the
      largest whalers, and from the instability of their foundations liable to
      an instantaneous loss of equilibrium; a breath of wind, a slight
      modification of the temperature, not unfrequently serving to bring about a
      series of changes outrivaling the most elaborate transformation scenes of
      a pantomime. Here, on the contrary, the vast white plain was level as the
      desert of Sahara or the Russian steppes; the waters of the Gallian Sea
      were imprisoned beneath the solid sheet, which became continually stouter
      in the increasing cold.
    </p>
    <p>
      Accustomed to the uneven crystallizations of their own frozen seas, the
      Russians could not be otherwise than delighted with the polished surface
      that afforded them such excellent opportunity for enjoying their favorite
      pastime of skating. A supply of skates, found hidden away amongst the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i>
      stores, was speedily brought into use. The Russians undertook the
      instruction of the Spaniards, and at the end of a few days, during which
      the temperature was only endurable through the absence of wind, there was
      not a Gallian who could not skate tolerably well, while many of them could
      describe figures involving the most complicated curves. Nina and Pablo
      earned loud applause by their rapid proficiency; Captain Servadac, an
      adept in athletics, almost outvied his instructor, the count; and Ben
      Zoof, who had upon some rare occasions skated upon the Lake of Montmartre
      (in his eyes, of course, a sea), performed prodigies in the art.
    </p>
    <p>
      This exercise was not only healthful in itself, but it was acknowledged
      that, in case of necessity, it might become a very useful means of
      locomotion. As Captain Servadac remarked, it was almost a substitute for
      railways, and as if to illustrate this proposition, Lieutenant Procope,
      perhaps the greatest expert in the party, accomplished the twenty miles to
      Gourbi Island and back in considerably less than four hours.
    </p>
    <p>
      The temperature, meanwhile, continued to decrease, and the average reading
      of the thermometer was about 16 degrees F. below zero; the light also
      diminished in proportion, and all objects appeared to be enveloped in a
      half-defined shadow, as though the sun were undergoing a perpetual
      eclipse. It was not surprising that the effect of this continuously
      overhanging gloom should be to induce a frequent depression of spirits
      amongst the majority of the little population, exiles as they were from
      their mother earth, and not unlikely, as it seemed, to be swept far away
      into the regions of another planetary sphere. Probably Count Timascheff,
      Captain Servadac, and Lieutenant Procope were the only members of the
      community who could bring any scientific judgment to bear upon the
      uncertainty that was before them, but a general sense of the strangeness
      of their situation could not fail at times to weigh heavily upon the minds
      of all. Under these circumstances it was very necessary to counteract the
      tendency to despond by continual diversion; and the recreation of skating
      thus opportunely provided, seemed just the thing to arouse the flagging
      spirits, and to restore a wholesome excitement.
    </p>
    <p>
      With dogged obstinacy, Isaac Hakkabut refused to take any share either in
      the labors or the amusements of the colony. In spite of the cold, he had
      not been seen since the day of his arrival from Gourbi Island. Captain
      Servadac had strictly forbidden any communication with him; and the smoke
      that rose from the cabin chimney of the <i>Hansa</i> was the sole
      indication of the proprietor being still on board. There was nothing to
      prevent him, if he chose, from partaking gratuitously of the volcanic
      light and heat which were being enjoyed by all besides; but rather than
      abandon his close and personal oversight of his precious cargo, he
      preferred to sacrifice his own slender stock of fuel.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both the schooner and the tartan had been carefully moored in the way that
      seemed to promise best for withstanding the rigor of the winter. After
      seeing the vessels made secure in the frozen creek. Lieutenant Procope,
      following the example of many Arctic explorers, had the precaution to have
      the ice beveled away from the keels, so that there should be no risk of
      the ships&rsquo; sides being crushed by the increasing pressure; he hoped that
      they would follow any rise in the level of the ice-field, and when the
      thaw should come, that they would easily regain their proper water-line.
    </p>
    <p>
      On his last visit to Gourbi Island, the lieutenant had ascertained that
      north, east, and west, far as the eye could reach, the Gallian Sea had
      become one uniform sheet of ice. One spot alone refused to freeze; this
      was the pool immediately below the central cavern, the receptacle for the
      stream of burning lava. It was entirely enclosed by rocks, and if ever a
      few icicles were formed there by the action of the cold, they were very
      soon melted by the fiery shower. Hissing and spluttering as the hot lava
      came in contact with it, the water was in a continual state of ebullition,
      and the fish that abounded in its depths defied the angler&rsquo;s craft; they
      were, as Ben Zoof remarked, &ldquo;too much boiled to bite.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      At the beginning of April the weather changed. The sky became overcast,
      but there was no rise in the temperature. Unlike the polar winters of the
      earth, which ordinarily are affected by atmospheric influence, and liable
      to slight intermissions of their severity at various shiftings of the
      wind, Gallia&rsquo;s winter was caused by her immense distance from the source
      of all light and heat, and the cold was consequently destined to go on
      steadily increasing until it reached the limit ascertained by Fourier to
      be the normal temperature of the realms of space.
    </p>
    <p>
      With the over-clouding of the heavens there arose a violent tempest; but
      although the wind raged with an almost inconceivable fury, it was
      unaccompanied by either snow or rain. Its effect upon the burning curtain
      that covered the aperture of the central hall was very remarkable. So far
      from there being any likelihood of the fire being extinguished by the
      vehemence of the current of air, the hurricane seemed rather to act as a
      ventilator, which fanned the flame into greater activity, and the utmost
      care was necessary to avoid being burnt by the fragments of lava that were
      drifted into the interior of the grotto. More than once the curtain itself
      was rifted entirely asunder, but only to close up again immediately after
      allowing a momentary draught of cold air to penetrate the hall in a way
      that was refreshing and rather advantageous than otherwise.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 4th of April, after an absence of about four days, the new
      satellite, to Ben Zoof&rsquo;s great satisfaction, made its reappearance in a
      crescent form, a circumstance that seemed to justify the anticipation that
      henceforward it would continue to make a periodic revolution every
      fortnight.
    </p>
    <p>
      The crust of ice and snow was far too stout for the beaks of the strongest
      birds to penetrate, and accordingly large swarms had left the island, and,
      following the human population, had taken refuge on the volcanic
      promontory; not that there the barren shore had anything in the way of
      nourishment to offer them, but their instinct impelled them to haunt now
      the very habitations which formerly they would have shunned. Scraps of
      food were thrown to them from the galleries; these were speedily devoured,
      but were altogether inadequate in quantity to meet the demand. At length,
      emboldened by hunger, several hundred birds ventured through the tunnel,
      and took up their quarters actually in Nina&rsquo;s Hive. Congregating in the
      large hall, the half-famished creatures did not hesitate to snatch bread,
      meat, or food of any description from the hands of the residents as they
      sat at table, and soon became such an intolerable nuisance that it formed
      one of the daily diversions to hunt them down; but although they were
      vigorously attacked by stones and sticks, and even occasionally by shot,
      it was with some difficulty that their number could be sensibly reduced.
    </p>
    <p>
      By a systematic course of warfare the bulk of the birds were all expelled,
      with the exception of about a hundred, which began to build in the
      crevices of the rocks. These were left in quiet possession of their
      quarters, as not only was it deemed advisable to perpetuate the various
      breeds, but it was found that these birds acted as a kind of police, never
      failing either to chase away or to kill any others of their species who
      infringed upon what they appeared to regard as their own special privilege
      in intruding within the limits of their domain.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 15th loud cries were suddenly heard issuing from the mouth of the
      principal gallery.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Help, help! I shall be killed!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Pablo in a moment recognized the voice as Nina&rsquo;s. Outrunning even Ben Zoof
      he hurried to the assistance of his little playmate, and discovered that
      she was being attacked by half a dozen great sea-gulls, and only after
      receiving some severe blows from their beaks could he succeed by means of
      a stout cudgel in driving them away.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Tell me, Nina, what is this?&rdquo; he asked as soon as the tumult had
      subsided.
    </p>
    <p>
      The child pointed to a bird which she was caressing tenderly in her bosom.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A pigeon!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof, who had reached the scene of commotion,
      adding:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A carrier-pigeon! And by all the saints of Montmartre, there is a little
      bag attached to its neck!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He took the bird, and rushing into the hall placed it in Servadac&rsquo;s hands.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Another message, no doubt,&rdquo; cried the captain, &ldquo;from our unknown friend.
      Let us hope that this time he has given us his name and address.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      All crowded round, eager to hear the news. In the struggle with the gulls
      the bag had been partially torn open, but still contained the following
      dispatch:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gallia!
    </p>
    <p>
      Chemin parcouru du 1er Mars au 1er Avril: 39,000,000 l.!
    </p>
    <p>
      Distance du soleil: 110,000,000 l.!
    </p>
    <p>
      Capte Nerina en passant.
    </p>
    <p>
      Vivres vont manquer et...&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The rest of the document had been so damaged by the beaks of the gulls
      that it was illegible. Servadac was wild with vexation. He felt more and
      more convinced that the writer was a Frenchman, and that the last line
      indicated that he was in distress from scarcity of food. The very thought
      of a fellow-countryman in peril of starvation drove him well-nigh to
      distraction, and it was in vain that search was made everywhere near the
      scene of conflict in hopes of finding the missing scrap that might bear a
      signature or address.
    </p>
    <p>
      Suddenly little Nina, who had again taken possession of the pigeon, and
      was hugging it to her breast, said:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Look here, Ben Zoof!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And as she spoke she pointed to the left wing of the bird. The wing bore
      the faint impress of a postage-stamp, and the one word: &ldquo;FORMENTERA.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XXIV. A SLEDGE-RIDE
    </h2>
    <p>
      Formentera was at once recognized by Servadac and the count as the name of
      one of the smallest of the Balearic Islands. It was more than probable
      that the unknown writer had thence sent out the mysterious documents, and
      from the message just come to hand by the carrier-pigeon, it appeared all
      but certain that at the beginning of April, a fortnight back, he had still
      been there. In one important particular the present communication differed
      from those that had preceded it: it was written entirely in French, and
      exhibited none of the ecstatic exclamations in other languages that had
      been remarkable in the two former papers. The concluding line, with its
      intimation of failing provisions, amounted almost to an appeal for help.
      Captain Servadac briefly drew attention to these points, and concluded by
      saying, &ldquo;My friends, we must, without delay, hasten to the assistance of
      this unfortunate man.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;For my part,&rdquo; said the count, &ldquo;I am quite ready to accompany you; it is
      not unlikely that he is not alone in his distress.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope expressed much surprise. &ldquo;We must have passed close to
      Formentera,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;when we explored the site of the Balearic Isles;
      this fragment must be very small; it must be smaller than the remaining
      splinter of Gibraltar or Ceuta; otherwise, surely it would never have
      escaped our observation.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;However small it may be,&rdquo; replied Servadac, &ldquo;we must find it. How far off
      do you suppose it is?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It must be a hundred and twenty leagues away,&rdquo; said the lieutenant,
      thoughtfully; &ldquo;and I do not quite understand how you would propose to get
      there.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, on skates of course; no difficulty in that, I should imagine,&rdquo;
       answered Servadac, and he appealed to the count for confirmation of his
      opinion.
    </p>
    <p>
      The count assented, but Procope looked doubtful.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Your enterprise is generous,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I should be most unwilling to
      throw any unnecessary obstacle in the way of its execution; but, pardon
      me, if I submit to you a few considerations which to my mind are very
      important. First of all, the thermometer is already down to 22 degrees
      below zero, and the keen wind from the south is making the temperature
      absolutely unendurable; in the second place, supposing you travel at the
      rate of twenty leagues a day, you would be exposed for at least six
      consecutive days; and thirdly, your expedition will be of small avail
      unless you convey provisions not only for yourselves, but for those whom
      you hope to relieve.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We can carry our own provisions on our backs in knapsacks,&rdquo; interposed
      Servadac, quickly, unwilling to recognize any difficulty in the way.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Granted that you can,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant, quietly; &ldquo;but where, on
      this level ice-field, will you find shelter in your periods of rest? You
      must perish with cold; you will not have the chance of digging out
      ice-huts like the Esquimaux.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As to rest,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;we shall take none; we shall keep on our way
      continuously; by traveling day and night without intermission, we shall
      not be more than three days in reaching Formentera.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Believe me,&rdquo; persisted the lieutenant, calmly, &ldquo;your enthusiasm is
      carrying you too far; the feat you propose is impossible; but even
      conceding the possibility of your success in reaching your destination,
      what service do you imagine that you, half-starved and half-frozen
      yourself, could render to those who are already perishing by want and
      exposure? you would only bring them away to die.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The obvious and dispassionate reasoning of the lieutenant could not fail
      to impress the minds of those who listened to him; the impracticability of
      the journey became more and more apparent; unprotected on that drear
      expanse, any traveler must assuredly succumb to the snow-drifts that were
      continually being whirled across it. But Hector Servadac, animated by the
      generous desire of rescuing a suffering fellow-creature, could scarcely be
      brought within the bounds of common sense. Against his better judgment he
      was still bent upon the expedition, and Ben Zoof declared himself ready to
      accompany his master in the event of Count Timascheff hesitating to
      encounter the peril which the undertaking involved. But the count entirely
      repudiated all idea of shrinking from what, quite as much as the captain,
      he regarded as a sacred duty, and turning to Lieutenant Procope, told him
      that unless some better plan could be devised, he was prepared to start
      off at once and make the attempt to skate across to Formentera. The
      lieutenant, who was lost in thought, made no immediate reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I wish we had a sledge,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I dare say that a sledge of some sort could be contrived,&rdquo; said the
      count; &ldquo;but then we should have no dogs or reindeers to draw it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why not rough-shoe the two horses?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They would never be able to endure the cold,&rdquo; objected the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Never mind,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;let us get our sledge and put them to the
      test. Something must be done!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope, breaking his thoughtful silence, &ldquo;that
      I can tell you of a sledge already provided for your hand, and I can
      suggest a motive power surer and swifter than horses.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; was the eager inquiry.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I mean the <i>Dobryna</i>&rsquo;s yawl,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant; &ldquo;and I have
      no doubt that the wind would carry her rapidly along the ice.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The idea seemed admirable. Lieutenant Procope was well aware to what
      marvelous perfection the Americans had brought their sail-sledges, and had
      heard how in the vast prairies of the United States they had been known to
      outvie the speed of an express train, occasionally attaining a rate of
      more than a hundred miles an hour. The wind was still blowing hard from
      the south, and assuming that the yawl could be propelled with a velocity
      of about fifteen or at least twelve leagues an hour, he reckoned that it
      was quite possible to reach Formentera within twelve hours, that is to
      say, in a single day between the intervals of sunrise and sunrise.
    </p>
    <p>
      The yawl was about twelve feet long, and capable of holding five or six
      people. The addition of a couple of iron runners would be all that was
      requisite to convert it into an excellent sledge, which, if a sail were
      hoisted, might be deemed certain to make a rapid progress over the smooth
      surface of the ice. For the protection of the passengers it was proposed
      to erect a kind of wooden roof lined with strong cloth; beneath this could
      be packed a supply of provisions, some warm furs, some cordials, and a
      portable stove to be heated by spirits of wine.
    </p>
    <p>
      For the outward journey the wind was as favorable as could be desired; but
      it was to be apprehended that, unless the direction of the wind should
      change, the return would be a matter of some difficulty; a system of
      tacking might be carried out to a certain degree, but it was not likely
      that the yawl would answer her helm in any way corresponding to what would
      occur in the open sea. Captain Servadac, however, would not listen to any
      representation of probable difficulties; the future, he said, must provide
      for itself.
    </p>
    <p>
      The engineer and several of the sailors set vigorously to work, and before
      the close of the day the yawl was furnished with a pair of stout iron
      runners, curved upwards in front, and fitted with a metal scull designed
      to assist in maintaining the directness of her course; the roof was put
      on, and beneath it were stored the provisions, the wraps, and the cooking
      utensils.
    </p>
    <p>
      A strong desire was expressed by Lieutenant Procope that he should be
      allowed to accompany Captain Servadac instead of Count Timascheff. It was
      unadvisable for all three of them to go, as, in case of there being
      several persons to be rescued, the space at their command would be quite
      inadequate. The lieutenant urged that he was the most experienced seaman,
      and as such was best qualified to take command of the sledge and the
      management of the sails; and as it was not to be expected that Servadac
      would resign his intention of going in person to relieve his
      fellow-countryman, Procope submitted his own wishes to the count. The
      count was himself very anxious to have his share in the philanthropic
      enterprise, and demurred considerably to the proposal; he yielded,
      however, after a time, to Servadac&rsquo;s representations that in the event of
      the expedition proving disastrous, the little colony would need his
      services alike as governor and protector, and overcoming his reluctance to
      be left out of the perilous adventure, was prevailed upon to remain behind
      for the general good of the community at Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      At sunrise on the following morning, the 16th of April, Captain Servadac
      and the lieutenant took their places in the yawl. The thermometer was more
      than 20 degrees below zero, and it was with deep emotion that their
      companions beheld them thus embarking upon the vast white plain. Ben
      Zoof&rsquo;s heart was too full for words; Count Timascheff could not forbear
      pressing his two brave friends to his bosom; the Spaniards and the Russian
      sailors crowded round for a farewell shake of the hand, and little Nina,
      her great eyes flooded with tears, held up her face for a parting kiss.
      The sad scene was not permitted to be long. The sail was quickly hoisted,
      and the sledge, just as if it had expanded a huge white wing, was in a
      little while carried far away beyond the horizon.
    </p>
    <p>
      Light and unimpeded, the yawl scudded on with incredible speed. Two sails,
      a brigantine and a jib, were arranged to catch the wind to the greatest
      advantage, and the travelers estimated that their progress would be little
      under the rate of twelve leagues an hour. The motion of their novel
      vehicle was singularly gentle, the oscillation being less than that of an
      ordinary railway-carriage, while the diminished force of gravity
      contributed to the swiftness. Except that the clouds of ice-dust raised by
      the metal runners were an evidence that they had not actually left the
      level surface of the ice, the captain and lieutenant might again and again
      have imagined that they were being conveyed through the air in a balloon.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope, with his head all muffled up for fear of frost-bite,
      took an occasional peep through an aperture that had been intentionally
      left in the roof, and by the help of a compass, maintained a proper and
      straight course for Formentera. Nothing could be more dejected than the
      aspect of that frozen sea; not a single living creature relieved the
      solitude; both the travelers, Procope from a scientific point of view,
      Servadac from an aesthetic, were alike impressed by the solemnity of the
      scene, and where the lengthened shadow of the sail cast upon the ice by
      the oblique rays of the setting sun had disappeared, and day had given
      place to night, the two men, drawn together as by an involuntary impulse,
      mutually held each other&rsquo;s hands in silence.
    </p>
    <p>
      There had been a new moon on the previous evening; but, in the absence of
      moonlight, the constellations shone with remarkable brilliancy. The new
      pole-star close upon the horizon was resplendent, and even had Lieutenant
      Procope been destitute of a compass, he would have had no difficulty in
      holding his course by the guidance of that alone. However great was the
      distance that separated Gallia from the sun, it was after all manifestly
      insignificant in comparison with the remoteness of the nearest of the
      fixed stars.
    </p>
    <p>
      Observing that Servadac was completely absorbed in his own thoughts,
      Lieutenant Procope had leisure to contemplate some of the present
      perplexing problems, and to ponder over the true astronomical position.
      The last of the three mysterious documents had represented that Gallia, in
      conformity with Kepler&rsquo;s second law, had traveled along her orbit during
      the month of March twenty millions of leagues less than she had done in
      the previous month; yet, in the same time, her distance from the sun had
      nevertheless been increased by thirty-two millions of leagues. She was
      now, therefore, in the center of the zone of telescopic planets that
      revolve between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and had captured for
      herself a satellite which, according to the document, was Nerina, one of
      the asteroids most recently identified. If thus, then, it was within the
      power of the unknown writer to estimate with such apparent certainty
      Gallia&rsquo;s exact position, was it not likely that his mathematical
      calculations would enable him to arrive at some definite conclusion as to
      the date at which she would begin again to approach the sun? Nay, was it
      not to be expected that he had already estimated, with sufficient
      approximation to truth, what was to be the true length of the Gallian
      year?
    </p>
    <p>
      So intently had they each separately been following their own train of
      thought, that daylight reappeared almost before the travelers were aware
      of it. On consulting their instruments, they found that they must have
      traveled close upon a hundred leagues since they started, and they
      resolved to slacken their speed. The sails were accordingly taken in a
      little, and in spite of the intensity of the cold, the explorers ventured
      out of their shelter, in order that they might reconnoiter the plain,
      which was apparently as boundless as ever. It was completely desert; not
      so much as a single point of rock relieved the bare uniformity of its
      surface.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Are we not considerably to the west of Formentera?&rdquo; asked Servadac, after
      examining the chart.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Most likely,&rdquo; replied Procope. &ldquo;I have taken the same course as I should
      have done at sea, and I have kept some distance to windward of the island;
      we can bear straight down upon it whenever we like.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Bear down then, now; and as quickly as you can.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The yawl was at once put with her head to the northeast and Captain
      Servadac, in defiance of the icy blast, remained standing at the bow, his
      gaze fixed on the horizon.
    </p>
    <p>
      All at once his eye brightened.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Look! look!&rdquo; he exclaimed, pointing to a faint outline that broke the
      monotony of the circle that divided the plain from the sky.
    </p>
    <p>
      In an instant the lieutenant had seized his telescope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I see what you mean,&rdquo; said he; &ldquo;it is a pylone that has been used for
      some geodesic survey.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The next moment the sail was filled, and the yawl was bearing down upon
      the object with inconceivable swiftness, both Captain Servadac and the
      lieutenant too excited to utter a word. Mile after mile the distance
      rapidly grew less, and as they drew nearer the pylone they could see that
      it was erected on a low mass of rocks that was the sole interruption to
      the dull level of the field of ice. No wreath of smoke rose above the
      little island; it was manifestly impossible, they conceived, that any
      human being could there have survived the cold; the sad presentiment
      forced itself upon their minds that it was a mere cairn to which they had
      been hurrying.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ten minutes later, and they were so near the rock that the lieutenant took
      in his sail, convinced that the impetus already attained would be
      sufficient to carry him to the land. Servadac&rsquo;s heart bounded as he caught
      sight of a fragment of blue canvas fluttering in the wind from the top of
      the pylone: it was all that now remained of the French national standard.
      At the foot of the pylone stood a miserable shed, its shutters tightly
      closed. No other habitation was to be seen; the entire island was less
      than a quarter of a mile in circumference; and the conclusion was
      irresistible that it was the sole surviving remnant of Formentera, once a
      member of the Balearic Archipelago.
    </p>
    <p>
      To leap on shore, to clamber over the slippery stones, and to reach the
      cabin was but the work of a few moments. The worm-eaten door was bolted on
      the inside. Servadac began to knock with all his might. No answer. Neither
      shouting nor knocking could draw forth a reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let us force it open, Procope!&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      The two men put their shoulders to the door, which soon yielded to their
      vigorous efforts, and they found themselves inside the shed, and in almost
      total darkness. By opening a shutter they admitted what daylight they
      could. At first sight the wretched place seemed to be deserted; the little
      grate contained the ashes of a fire long since extinguished; all looked
      black and desolate. Another instant&rsquo;s investigation, however, revealed a
      bed in the extreme corner, and extended on the bed a human form.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Dead!&rdquo; sighed Servadac; &ldquo;dead of cold and hunger!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope bent down and anxiously contemplated the body.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No; he is alive!&rdquo; he said, and drawing a small flask from his pocket he
      poured a few drops of brandy between the lips of the senseless man.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was a faint sigh, followed by a feeble voice, which uttered the one
      word, &ldquo;Gallia?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, yes! Gallia!&rdquo; echoed Servadac, eagerly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My comet, my comet!&rdquo; said the voice, so low as to be almost inaudible,
      and the unfortunate man relapsed again into unconsciousness.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Where have I seen this man?&rdquo; thought Servadac to himself; &ldquo;his face is
      strangely familiar to me.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But it was no time for deliberation. Not a moment was to be lost in
      getting the unconscious astronomer away from his desolate quarters. He was
      soon conveyed to the yawl; his books, his scanty wardrobe, his papers, his
      instruments, and the blackboard which had served for his calculations,
      were quickly collected; the wind, by a fortuitous Providence, had shifted
      into a favorable quarter; they set their sail with all speed, and ere long
      were on their journey back from Formentera.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thirty-six hours later, the brave travelers were greeted by the
      acclamations of their fellow-colonists, who had been most anxiously
      awaiting their reappearance, and the still senseless <i>savant</i>, who
      had neither opened his eyes nor spoken a word throughout the journey, was
      safely deposited in the warmth and security of the great hall of Nina&rsquo;s
      Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      END OF FIRST BOOK <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028">
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    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      BOOK II.
    </h2>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER I. THE ASTRONOMER
    </h2>
    <p>
      By the return of the expedition, conveying its contribution from
      Formentera, the known population of Gallia was raised to a total of
      thirty-six.
    </p>
    <p>
      On learning the details of his friends&rsquo; discoveries, Count Timascheff did
      not hesitate in believing that the exhausted individual who was lying
      before him was the author alike of the two unsigned documents picked up at
      sea, and of the third statement so recently brought to hand by the
      carrier-pigeon. Manifestly, he had arrived at some knowledge of Gallia&rsquo;s
      movements: he had estimated her distance from the sun; he had calculated
      the diminution of her tangential speed; but there was nothing to show that
      he had arrived at the conclusions which were of the most paramount
      interest to them all. Had he ascertained the true character of her orbit?
      had he established any data from which it would be possible to reckon what
      time must elapse before she would again approach the earth?
    </p>
    <p>
      The only intelligible words which the astronomer had uttered had been, &ldquo;My
      comet!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      To what could the exclamation refer? Was it to be conjectured that a
      fragment of the earth had been chipped off by the collision of a comet?
      and if so, was it implied that the name of the comet itself was Gallia,
      and were they mistaken in supposing that such was the name given by the <i>savant</i>
      to the little world that had been so suddenly launched into space? Again
      and again they discussed these questions; but no satisfactory answer could
      be found. The only man who was able to throw any light upon the subject
      was lying amongst them in an unconscious and half-dying condition.
    </p>
    <p>
      Apart from motives of humanity, motives of self-interest made it a matter
      of the deepest concern to restore animation to that senseless form. Ben
      Zoof, after making the encouraging remark that <i>savants</i> have as many
      lives as a cat, proceeded, with Negrete&rsquo;s assistance, to give the body
      such a vigorous rubbing as would have threatened serious injury to any
      ordinary mortal, whilst they administered cordials and restoratives from
      the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> medical stores powerful enough, one might think, to
      rouse the very dead.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile the captain was racking his brain in his exertions to recall
      what were the circumstances of his previous acquaintance with the
      Frenchman upon whose features he was gazing; he only grew more and more
      convinced that he had once been familiar with them. Perhaps it was not
      altogether surprising that he had almost forgotten him; he had never seen
      him since the days of his youth, that time of life which, with a certain
      show of justice, has been termed the age of ingratitude; for, in point of
      fact, the astronomer was none other than Professor Palmyrin Rosette,
      Servadac&rsquo;s old science-master at the Lycee Charlemagne.
    </p>
    <p>
      After completing his year of elementary studies, Hector Servadac had
      entered the school at Saint Cyr, and from that time he and his former
      tutor had never met, so that naturally they would well-nigh pass from each
      other&rsquo;s recollection. One thing, however, on the other hand, might conduce
      to a mutual and permanent impression on their memories; during the year at
      the Lycee, young Servadac, never of a very studious turn of mind, had
      contrived, as the ringleader of a set of like caliber as himself, to lead
      the poor professor a life of perpetual torment. On the discovery of each
      delinquency he would fume and rage in a manner that was a source of
      unbounded delight to his audience.
    </p>
    <p>
      Two years after Servadac left the Lycee, Professor Rosette had thrown up
      all educational employment in order that he might devote himself entirely
      to the study of astronomy. He endeavored to obtain a post at the
      Observatory, but his ungenial character was so well known in scientific
      circles that he failed in his application; however, having some small
      private means, he determined on his own account to carry on his researches
      without any official salary. He had really considerable genius for the
      science that he had adopted; besides discovering three of the latest of
      the telescopic planets, he had worked out the elements of the three
      hundred and twenty-fifth comet in the catalogue; but his chief delight was
      to criticize the publications of other astronomers, and he was never
      better pleased than when he detected a flaw in their reckonings.
    </p>
    <p>
      When Ben Zoof and Negrete had extricated their patient from the envelope
      of furs in which he had been wrapped by Servadac and the lieutenant, they
      found themselves face to face with a shrivelled little man, about five
      feet two inches high, with a round bald head, smooth and shiny as an
      ostrich&rsquo;s egg, no beard unless the unshorn growth of a week could be so
      described, and a long hooked nose that supported a huge pair of spectacles
      such as with many near-sighted people seems to have become a part of their
      individuality. His nervous system was remarkably developed, and his body
      might not inaptly be compared to one of the Rhumkorff&rsquo;s bobbins of which
      the thread, several hundred yards in length, is permeated throughout by
      electric fluid. But whatever he was, his life, if possible, must be
      preserved. When he had been partially divested of his clothing, his heart
      was found to be still beating, though very feebly. Asserting that while
      there was life there was hope, Ben Zoof recommenced his friction with more
      vigor than ever.
    </p>
    <p>
      When the rubbing had been continued without a moment&rsquo;s intermission for
      the best part of half an hour, the astronomer heaved a faint sigh, which
      ere long was followed by another and another. He half opened his eyes,
      closed them again, then opened them completely, but without exhibiting any
      consciousness whatever of his situation. A few words seemed to escape his
      lips, but they were quite unintelligible. Presently he raised his right
      hand to his forehead as though instinctively feeling for something that
      was missing; then, all of a sudden, his features became contracted, his
      face flushed with apparent irritation, and he exclaimed fretfully, &ldquo;My
      spectacles!&mdash;where are my spectacles?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      In order to facilitate his operations, Ben Zoof had removed the spectacles
      in spite of the tenacity with which they seemed to adhere to the temples
      of his patient; but he now rapidly brought them back and readjusted them
      as best he could to what seemed to be their natural position on the
      aquiline nose. The professor heaved a long sigh of relief, and once more
      closed his eyes.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before long the astronomer roused himself a little more, and glanced
      inquiringly about him, but soon relapsed into his comatose condition. When
      next he opened his eyes, Captain Servadac happened to be bending down
      closely over him, examining his features with curious scrutiny. The old
      man darted an angry look at him through the spectacles, and said sharply,
      &ldquo;Servadac, five hundred lines to-morrow!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It was an echo of days of old. The words were few, but they were enough to
      recall the identity which Servadac was trying to make out.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Is it possible?&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Here is my old tutor, Mr. Rosette, in
      very flesh and blood.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t say much for the flesh,&rdquo; muttered Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      The old man had again fallen back into a torpid slumber. Ben Zoof
      continued, &ldquo;His sleep is getting more composed. Let him alone; he will
      come round yet. Haven&rsquo;t I heard of men more dried up than he is, being
      brought all the way from Egypt in cases covered with pictures?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You idiot!&mdash;those were mummies; they had been dead for ages.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof did not answer a word. He went on preparing a warm bed, into
      which he managed to remove his patient, who soon fell into a calm and
      natural sleep.
    </p>
    <p>
      Too impatient to await the awakening of the astronomer and to hear what
      representations he had to make, Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant,
      constituting themselves what might be designated &ldquo;the Academy of Sciences&rdquo;
       of the colony, spent the whole of the remainder of the day in starting and
      discussing the wildest conjectures about their situation. The hypothesis,
      to which they had now accustomed themselves for so long, that a new
      asteroid had been formed by a fracture of the earth&rsquo;s surface, seemed to
      fall to the ground when they found that Professor Palmyrin Rosette had
      associated the name of Gallia, not with their present home, but with what
      he called &ldquo;my comet&rdquo;; and that theory being abandoned, they were driven to
      make the most improbable speculations to replace it.
    </p>
    <p>
      Alluding to Rosette, Servadac took care to inform his companions that,
      although the professor was always eccentric, and at times very irascible,
      yet he was really exceedingly good-hearted; his bark was worse than his
      bite; and if suffered to take their course without observation, his
      outbreaks of ill-temper seldom lasted long.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We will certainly do our best to get on with him,&rdquo; said the count. &ldquo;He is
      no doubt the author of the papers, and we must hope that he will be able
      to give us some valuable information.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Beyond a question the documents have originated with him,&rdquo; assented the
      lieutenant. &ldquo;Gallia was the word written at the top of every one of them,
      and Gallia was the first word uttered by him in our hearing.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The astronomer slept on. Meanwhile, the three together had no hesitation
      in examining his papers, and scrutinizing the figures on his extemporized
      blackboard. The handwriting corresponded with that of the papers already
      received; the blackboard was covered with algebraical symbols traced in
      chalk, which they were careful not to obliterate; and the papers, which
      consisted for the most part of detached scraps, presented a perfect
      wilderness of geometrical figures, conic sections of every variety being
      repeated in countless profusion.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope pointed out that these curves evidently had reference
      to the orbits of comets, which are variously parabolic, hyperbolic, or
      elliptic. If either of the first two, the comet, after once appearing
      within the range of terrestrial vision, would vanish forever in the
      outlying regions of space; if the last, it would be sure, sooner or later,
      after some periodic interval, to return.
    </p>
    <p>
      From the <i>prima facie</i> appearance of his papers, then, it seemed
      probable that the astronomer, during his sojourn at Formentera, had been
      devoting himself to the study of cometary orbits; and as calculations of
      this kind are ordinarily based upon the assumption that the orbit is a
      parabola, it was not unlikely that he had been endeavoring to trace the
      path of some particular comet.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I wonder whether these calculations were made before or after the 1st of
      January; it makes all the difference,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We must bide our time and hear,&rdquo; replied the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac paced restlessly up and down. &ldquo;I would give a month of my life,&rdquo;
       he cried, impetuously, &ldquo;for every hour that the old fellow goes sleeping
      on.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You might be making a bad bargain,&rdquo; said Procope, smiling. &ldquo;Perhaps after
      all the comet has had nothing to do with the convulsion that we have
      experienced.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nonsense!&rdquo; exclaimed the captain; &ldquo;I know better than that, and so do
      you. Is it not as clear as daylight that the earth and this comet have
      been in collision, and the result has been that our little world has been
      split off and sent flying far into space?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff and the lieutenant looked at each other in silence. &ldquo;I do
      not deny your theory,&rdquo; said Procope after a while. &ldquo;If it be correct, I
      suppose we must conclude that the enormous disc we observed on the night
      of the catastrophe was the comet itself; and the velocity with which it
      was traveling must have been so great that it was hardly arrested at all
      by the attraction of the earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Plausible enough,&rdquo; answered Count Timascheff; &ldquo;and it is to this comet
      that our scientific friend here has given the name of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It still remained a puzzle to them all why the astronomer should
      apparently be interested in the comet so much more than in the new little
      world in which their strange lot was cast.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can you explain this?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There is no accounting for the freaks of philosophers, you know,&rdquo; said
      Servadac; &ldquo;and have I not told you that this philosopher in particular is
      one of the most eccentric beings in creation?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; added the lieutenant, &ldquo;it is exceedingly likely that his
      observations had been going on for some considerable period before the
      convulsion happened.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Thus, the general conclusion arrived at by the Gallian Academy of Science
      was this: That on the night of the 31st of December, a comet, crossing the
      ecliptic, had come into collision with the earth, and that the violence of
      the shock had separated a huge fragment from the globe, which fragment
      from that date had been traversing the remote inter-planetary regions.
      Palmyrin Rosette would doubtless confirm their solution of the phenomenon.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER II. A REVELATION
    </h2>
    <p>
      To the general population of the colony the arrival of the stranger was a
      matter of small interest. The Spaniards were naturally too indolent to be
      affected in any way by an incident that concerned themselves so remotely;
      while the Russians felt themselves simply reliant on their master, and as
      long as they were with him were careless as to where or how they spent
      their days. Everything went on with them in an accustomed routine; and
      they lay down night after night, and awoke to their avocations morning
      after morning, just as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.
    </p>
    <p>
      All night long Ben Zoof would not leave the professor&rsquo;s bedside. He had
      constituted himself sick nurse, and considered his reputation at stake if
      he failed to set his patient on his feet again. He watched every movement,
      listened to every breath, and never failed to administer the strongest
      cordials upon the slightest pretext. Even in his sleep Rosette&rsquo;s irritable
      nature revealed itself. Ever and again, sometimes in a tone of uneasiness,
      and sometimes with the expression of positive anger, the name of Gallia
      escaped his lips, as though he were dreaming that his claim to the
      discovery of the comet was being contested or denied; but although his
      attendant was on the alert to gather all he could, he was able to catch
      nothing in the incoherent sentences that served to throw any real light
      upon the problem that they were all eager to solve.
    </p>
    <p>
      When the sun reappeared on the western horizon the professor was still
      sound asleep; and Ben Zoof, who was especially anxious that the repose
      which promised to be so beneficial should not be disturbed, felt
      considerable annoyance at hearing a loud knocking, evidently of some blunt
      heavy instrument against a door that had been placed at the entrance of
      the gallery, more for the purpose of retaining internal warmth than for
      guarding against intrusion from without.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Confound it!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof. &ldquo;I must put a stop to this;&rdquo; and he made his
      way towards the door.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who&rsquo;s there?&rdquo; he cried, in no very amiable tone.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I.&rdquo; replied the quavering voice.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Isaac Hakkabut. Let me in; do, please, let me in.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, it is you, old Ashtaroth, is it? What do you want? Can&rsquo;t you get
      anybody to buy your stuffs?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nobody will pay me a proper price.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, old Shimei, you won&rsquo;t find a customer here. You had better be off.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No; but do, please&mdash;do, please, let me in,&rdquo; supplicated the Jew. &ldquo;I
      want to speak to his Excellency, the governor.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The governor is in bed, and asleep.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I can wait until he awakes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then wait where you are.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And with this inhospitable rejoinder the orderly was about to return to
      his place at the side of his patient, when Servadac, who had been roused
      by the sound of voices, called out, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter, Ben Zoof?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, nothing, sir; only that hound of a Hakkabut says he wants to speak to
      you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let him in, then.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof hesitated.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let him in, I say,&rdquo; repeated the captain, peremptorily.
    </p>
    <p>
      However reluctantly, Ben Zoof obeyed. The door was unfastened, and Isaac
      Hakkabut, enveloped in an old overcoat, shuffled into the gallery. In a
      few moments Servadac approached, and the Jew began to overwhelm him with
      the most obsequious epithets. Without vouchsafing any reply, the captain
      beckoned to the old man to follow him, and leading the way to the central
      hall, stopped, and turning so as to look him steadily in the face, said,
      &ldquo;Now is your opportunity. Tell me what you want.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, my lord, my lord,&rdquo; whined Isaac, &ldquo;you must have some news to tell
      me.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;News? What do you mean?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;From my little tartan yonder, I saw the yawl go out from the rock here on
      a journey, and I saw it come back, and it brought a stranger; and I
      thought&mdash;I thought&mdash;I thought&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, you thought&mdash;what did you think?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, that perhaps the stranger had come from the northern shores of the
      Mediterranean, and that I might ask him&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He paused again, and gave a glance at the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ask him what? Speak out, man?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ask him if he brings any tidings of Europe,&rdquo; Hakkabut blurted out at
      last.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac shrugged his shoulders in contempt and turned away. Here was a
      man who had been resident three months in Gallia, a living witness of all
      the abnormal phenomena that had occurred, and yet refusing to believe that
      his hope of making good bargains with European traders was at an end.
      Surely nothing, thought the captain, will convince the old rascal now; and
      he moved off in disgust. The orderly, however, who had listened with much
      amusement, was by no means disinclined for the conversation to be
      continued. &ldquo;Are you satisfied, old Ezekiel?&rdquo; he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it so? Am I not right? Didn&rsquo;t a stranger arrive here last night?&rdquo;
       inquired the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, quite true.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Where from?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;From the Balearic Isles.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The Balearic Isles?&rdquo; echoed Isaac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Fine quarters for trade! Hardly twenty leagues from Spain! He must have
      brought news from Europe!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, old Manasseh, what if he has?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I should like to see him.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t be.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Jew sidled close up to Ben Zoof, and laying his hand on his arm, said
      in a low and insinuating tone, &ldquo;I am poor, you know; but I would give you
      a few reals if you would let me talk to this stranger.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But as if he thought he was making too liberal an offer, he added, &ldquo;Only
      it must be at once.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;He is too tired; he is worn out; he is fast asleep,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But I would pay you to wake him.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain had overheard the tenor of the conversation, and interposed
      sternly, &ldquo;Hakkabut! if you make the least attempt to disturb our visitor,
      I shall have you turned outside that door immediately.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No offense, my lord, I hope,&rdquo; stammered out the Jew. &ldquo;I only meant&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Silence!&rdquo; shouted Servadac. The old man hung his head, abashed.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will tell you what,&rdquo; said Servadac after a brief interval; &ldquo;I will give
      you leave to hear what this stranger has to tell as soon as he is able to
      tell us anything; at present we have not heard a word from his lips.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Jew looked perplexed.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;when we hear his story, you shall hear it too.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And I hope it will be to your liking, old Ezekiel!&rdquo; added Ben Zoof in a
      voice of irony.
    </p>
    <p>
      They had none of them long to wait, for within a few minutes Rosette&rsquo;s
      peevish voice was heard calling, &ldquo;Joseph! Joseph!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor did not open his eyes, and appeared to be slumbering on, but
      very shortly afterwards called out again, &ldquo;Joseph! Confound the fellow!
      where is he?&rdquo; It was evident that he was half dreaming about a former
      servant now far away on the ancient globe. &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s my blackboard,
      Joseph?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite safe, sir,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof, quickly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette unclosed his eyes and fixed them full upon the orderly&rsquo;s face.
      &ldquo;Are you Joseph?&rdquo; he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;At your service, sir,&rdquo; replied Ben Zoof with imperturbable gravity.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then get me my coffee, and be quick about it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof left to go into the kitchen, and Servadac approached the
      professor in order to assist him in rising to a sitting posture.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Do you recognize your quondam pupil, professor?&rdquo; he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, yes, yes; you are Servadac,&rdquo; replied Rosette. &ldquo;It is twelve years or
      more since I saw you; I hope you have improved.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite a reformed character, sir, I assure you,&rdquo; said Servadac, smiling.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, that&rsquo;s as it should be; that&rsquo;s right,&rdquo; said the astronomer with
      fussy importance. &ldquo;But let me have my coffee,&rdquo; he added impatiently; &ldquo;I
      cannot collect my thoughts without my coffee.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Fortunately, Ben Zoof appeared with a great cup, hot and strong. After
      draining it with much apparent relish, the professor got out of bed,
      walked into the common hall, round which he glanced with a pre-occupied
      air, and proceeded to seat himself in an armchair, the most comfortable
      which the cabin of the <i>Dobryna</i> had supplied. Then, in a voice full
      of satisfaction, and that involuntarily recalled the exclamations of
      delight that had wound up the two first of the mysterious documents that
      had been received, he burst out, &ldquo;Well, gentlemen, what do you think of
      Gallia?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      There was no time for anyone to make a reply before Isaac Hakkabut had
      darted forward.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;By the God&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who is that?&rdquo; asked the startled professor; and he frowned, and made a
      gesture of repugnance.
    </p>
    <p>
      Regardless of the efforts that were made to silence him, the Jew
      continued, &ldquo;By the God of Abraham, I beseech you, give me some tidings of
      Europe!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Europe?&rdquo; shouted the professor, springing from his seat as if he were
      electrified; &ldquo;what does the man want with Europe?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I want to get there!&rdquo; screeched the Jew; and in spite of every exertion
      to get him away, he clung most tenaciously to the professor&rsquo;s chair, and
      again and again implored for news of Europe.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette made no immediate reply. After a moment or two&rsquo;s reflection, he
      turned to Servadac and asked him whether it was not the middle of April.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is the twentieth,&rdquo; answered the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then to-day,&rdquo; said the astronomer, speaking with the greatest
      deliberation&mdash;&ldquo;to-day we are just three millions of leagues away from
      Europe.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Jew was utterly crestfallen.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You seem here,&rdquo; continued the professor, &ldquo;to be very ignorant of the
      state of things.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How far we are ignorant,&rdquo; rejoined Servadac, &ldquo;I cannot tell. But I will
      tell you all that we do know, and all that we have surmised.&rdquo; And as
      briefly as he could, he related all that had happened since the memorable
      night of the thirty-first of December; how they had experienced the shock;
      how the <i>Dobryna</i> had made her voyage; how they had discovered
      nothing except the fragments of the old continent at Tunis, Sardinia,
      Gibraltar, and now at Formentera; how at intervals the three anonymous
      documents had been received; and, finally, how the settlement at Gourbi
      Island had been abandoned for their present quarters at Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      The astronomer had hardly patience to hear him to the end. &ldquo;And what do
      you say is your surmise as to your present position?&rdquo; he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our supposition,&rdquo; the captain replied, &ldquo;is this. We imagine that we are
      on a considerable fragment of the terrestrial globe that has been detached
      by collision with a planet to which you appear to have given the name of
      Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Better than that!&rdquo; cried Rosette, starting to his feet with excitement.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How? Why? What do you mean?&rdquo; cried the voices of the listeners.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are correct to a certain degree,&rdquo; continued the professor. &ldquo;It is
      quite true that at 47&rsquo; 35.6&rdquo; after two o&rsquo;clock on the morning of the first
      of January there was a collision; my comet grazed the earth; and the bits
      of the earth which you have named were carried clean away.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      They were all fairly bewildered.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Where, then,&rdquo; cried Servadac eagerly, &ldquo;where are we?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are on my comet, on Gallia itself!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And the professor gazed around him with a perfect air of triumph.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER III. THE PROFESSOR&rsquo;S EXPERIENCES
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, my comet!&rdquo; repeated the professor, and from time to time he knitted
      his brows, and looked around him with a defiant air, as though he could
      not get rid of the impression that someone was laying an unwarranted claim
      to its proprietorship, or that the individuals before him were intruders
      upon his own proper domain.
    </p>
    <p>
      But for a considerable while, Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant
      remained silent and sunk in thought. Here then, at last, was the
      unriddling of the enigma they had been so long endeavoring to solve; both
      the hypotheses they had formed in succession had now to give way before
      the announcement of the real truth. The first supposition, that the
      rotatory axis of the earth had been subject to some accidental
      modification, and the conjecture that replaced it, namely, that a certain
      portion of the terrestrial sphere had been splintered off and carried into
      space, had both now to yield to the representation that the earth had been
      grazed by an unknown comet, which had caught up some scattered fragments
      from its surface, and was bearing them far away into sidereal regions.
      Unfolded lay the past and the present before them; but this only served to
      awaken a keener interest about the future. Could the professor throw any
      light upon that? they longed to inquire, but did not yet venture to ask
      him.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile Rosette assumed a pompous professional air, and appeared to be
      waiting for the entire party to be ceremoniously introduced to him.
      Nothing unwilling to humor the vanity of the eccentric little man,
      Servadac proceeded to go through the expected formalities.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Allow me to present to you my excellent friend, the Count Timascheff,&rdquo; he
      said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are very welcome,&rdquo; said Rosette, bowing to the count with a smile of
      condescension.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Although I am not precisely a voluntary resident on your comet, Mr.
      Professor, I beg to acknowledge your courteous reception,&rdquo; gravely
      responded Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac could not quite conceal his amusement at the count&rsquo;s irony, but
      continued, &ldquo;This is Lieutenant Procope, the officer in command of the <i>Dobryna</i>.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor bowed again in frigid dignity.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;His yacht has conveyed us right round Gallia,&rdquo; added the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Round Gallia?&rdquo; eagerly exclaimed the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, entirely round it,&rdquo; answered Servadac, and without allowing time for
      reply, proceeded, &ldquo;And this is my orderly, Ben Zoof.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor of Gallia,&rdquo; interposed Ben
      Zoof himself, anxious to maintain his master&rsquo;s honor as well as his own.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette scarcely bent his head.
    </p>
    <p>
      The rest of the population of the Hive were all presented in succession:
      the Russian sailors, the Spaniards, young Pablo, and little Nina, on whom
      the professor, evidently no lover of children, glared fiercely through his
      formidable spectacles. Isaac Hakkabut, after his introduction, begged to
      be allowed to ask one question.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How soon may we hope to get back?&rdquo; he inquired.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Get back!&rdquo; rejoined Rosette, sharply; &ldquo;who talks of getting back? We have
      hardly started yet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Seeing that the professor was inclined to get angry, Captain Servadac
      adroitly gave a new turn to the conversation by asking him whether he
      would gratify them by relating his own recent experiences. The astronomer
      seemed pleased with the proposal, and at once commenced a verbose and
      somewhat circumlocutory address, of which the following summary presents
      the main features.
    </p>
    <p>
      The French Government, being desirous of verifying the measurement already
      made of the arc of the meridian of Paris, appointed a scientific
      commission for that purpose. From that commission the name of Palmyrin
      Rosette was omitted, apparently for no other reason than his personal
      unpopularity. Furious at the slight, the professor resolved to set to work
      independently on his own account, and declaring that there were
      inaccuracies in the previous geodesic operations, he determined to
      re-examine the results of the last triangulation which had united
      Formentera to the Spanish coast by a triangle, one of the sides of which
      measured over a hundred miles, the very operation which had already been
      so successfully accomplished by Arago and Biot.
    </p>
    <p>
      Accordingly, leaving Paris for the Balearic Isles, he placed his
      observatory on the highest point of Formentera, and accompanied as he was
      only by his servant, Joseph, led the life of a recluse. He secured the
      services of a former assistant, and dispatched him to a high peak on the
      coast of Spain, where he had to superintend a reverberator, which, with
      the aid of a glass, could be seen from Formentera. A few books and
      instruments, and two months&rsquo; victuals, was all the baggage he took with
      him, except an excellent astronomical telescope, which was, indeed, almost
      part and parcel of himself, and with which he assiduously scanned the
      heavens, in the sanguine anticipation of making some discovery which would
      immortalize his name.
    </p>
    <p>
      The task he had undertaken demanded the utmost patience. Night after
      night, in order to fix the apex of his triangle, he had to linger on the
      watch for the assistant&rsquo;s signal-light, but he did not forget that his
      predecessors, Arago and Biot, had had to wait sixty-one days for a similar
      purpose. What retarded the work was the dense fog which, it has been
      already mentioned, at that time enveloped not only that part of Europe,
      but almost the entire world.
    </p>
    <p>
      Never failing to turn to the best advantage the few intervals when the
      mist lifted a little, the astronomer would at the same time cast an
      inquiring glance at the firmament, as he was greatly interested in the
      revision of the chart of the heavens, in the region contiguous to the
      constellation Gemini.
    </p>
    <p>
      To the naked eye this constellation consists of only six stars, but
      through a telescope ten inches in diameter, as many as six thousand are
      visible. Rosette, however, did not possess a reflector of this magnitude,
      and was obliged to content himself with the good but comparatively small
      instrument he had.
    </p>
    <p>
      On one of these occasions, whilst carefully gauging the recesses of
      Gemini, he espied a bright speck which was unregistered in the chart, and
      which at first he took for a small star that had escaped being entered in
      the catalogue. But the observation of a few separate nights soon made it
      manifest that the star was rapidly changing its position with regard to
      the adjacent stars, and the astronomer&rsquo;s heart began to leap at the
      thought that the renown of the discovery of a new planet would be
      associated with his name.
    </p>
    <p>
      Redoubling his attention, he soon satisfied himself that what he saw was
      not a planet; the rapidity of its displacement rather forced him to the
      conjecture that it must be a comet, and this opinion was soon strengthened
      by the appearance of a coma, and subsequently confirmed, as the body
      approached the sun, by the development of a tail.
    </p>
    <p>
      A comet! The discovery was fatal to all further progress in the
      triangulation. However conscientiously the assistant on the Spanish coast
      might look to the kindling of the beacon, Rosette had no glances to spare
      for that direction; he had no eyes except for the one object of his
      notice, no thoughts apart from that one quarter of the firmament.
    </p>
    <p>
      A comet! No time must be lost in calculating its elements.
    </p>
    <p>
      Now, in order to calculate the elements of a comet, it is always deemed
      the safest mode of procedure to assume the orbit to be a parabola.
      Ordinarily, comets are conspicuous at their perihelia, as being their
      shortest distances from the sun, which is the focus of their orbit, and
      inasmuch as a parabola is but an ellipse with its axis indefinitely
      produced, for some short portion of its pathway the orbit may be
      indifferently considered either one or the other; but in this particular
      case the professor was right in adopting the supposition of its being
      parabolic.
    </p>
    <p>
      Just as in a circle, it is necessary to know three points to determine the
      circumference; so in ascertaining the elements of a comet, three different
      positions must be observed before what astronomers call its &ldquo;ephemeris&rdquo;
       can be established.
    </p>
    <p>
      But Professor Rosette did not content himself with three positions; taking
      advantage of every rift in the fog he made ten, twenty, thirty
      observations both in right ascension and in declination, and succeeded in
      working out with the most minute accuracy the five elements of the comet
      which was evidently advancing with astounding rapidity towards the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      These elements were:
    </p>
    <p>
      1. The inclination of the plane of the cometary orbit to the plane of the
      ecliptic, an angle which is generally considerable, but in this case the
      planes were proved to coincide.
    </p>
    <p>
      2. The position of the ascending node, or the point where the comet
      crossed the terrestrial orbit.
    </p>
    <p>
      These two elements being obtained, the position in space of the comet&rsquo;s
      orbit was determined.
    </p>
    <p>
      3. The direction of the axis major of the orbit, which was found by
      calculating the longitude of the comet&rsquo;s perihelion.
    </p>
    <p>
      4. The perihelion distance from the sun, which settled the precise form of
      the parabola.
    </p>
    <p>
      5. The motion of the comet, as being retrograde, or, unlike the planets,
      from east to west.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette thus found himself able to calculate the date at which the comet
      would reach its perihelion, and, overjoyed at his discovery, without
      thinking of calling it Palmyra or Rosette, after his own name, he resolved
      that it should be known as Gallia.
    </p>
    <p>
      His next business was to draw up a formal report. Not only did he at once
      recognize that a collision with the earth was possible, but he soon
      foresaw that it was inevitable, and that it must happen on the night of
      the 31st of December; moreover, as the bodies were moving in opposite
      directions, the shock could hardly fail to be violent.
    </p>
    <p>
      To say that he was elated at the prospect was far below the truth; his
      delight amounted almost to delirium. Anyone else would have hurried from
      the solitude of Formentera in sheer fright; but, without communicating a
      word of his startling discovery, he remained resolutely at his post. From
      occasional newspapers which he had received, he had learnt that fogs,
      dense as ever, continued to envelop both hemispheres, so that he was
      assured that the existence of the comet was utterly unknown elsewhere; and
      the ignorance of the world as to the peril that threatened it averted the
      panic that would have followed the publication of the facts, and left the
      philosopher of Formentera in sole possession of the great secret. He clung
      to his post with the greater persistency, because his calculations had led
      him to the conclusion that the comet would strike the earth somewhere to
      the south of Algeria, and as it had a solid nucleus, he felt sure that, as
      he expressed it, the effect would be &ldquo;unique,&rdquo; and he was anxious to be in
      the vicinity.
    </p>
    <p>
      The shock came, and with it the results already recorded. Palmyrin Rosette
      was suddenly separated from his servant Joseph, and when, after a long
      period of unconsciousness, he came to himself, he found that he was the
      solitary occupant of the only fragment that survived of the Balearic
      Archipelago.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such was the substance of the narrative which the professor gave with
      sundry repetitions and digressions; while he was giving it, he frequently
      paused and frowned as if irritated in a way that seemed by no means
      justified by the patient and good-humored demeanor of his audience.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But now, gentlemen,&rdquo; added the professor, &ldquo;I must tell you something
      more. Important changes have resulted from the collision; the cardinal
      points have been displaced; gravity has been diminished: not that I ever
      supposed for a minute, as you did, that I was still upon the earth. No!
      the earth, attended by her moon, continued to rotate along her proper
      orbit. But we, gentlemen, have nothing to complain of; our destiny might
      have been far worse; we might all have been crushed to death, or the comet
      might have remained in adhesion to the earth; and in neither of these
      cases should we have had the satisfaction of making this marvelous
      excursion through untraversed solar regions. No, gentlemen, I repeat it,
      we have nothing to regret.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And as the professor spoke, he seemed to kindle with the emotion of such
      supreme contentment that no one had the heart to gainsay his assertion.
      Ben Zoof alone ventured an unlucky remark to the effect that if the comet
      had happened to strike against Montmartre, instead of a bit of Africa, it
      would have met with some resistance.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pshaw!&rdquo; said Rosette, disdainfully. &ldquo;A mole-hill like Montmartre would
      have been ground to powder in a moment.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Mole-hill!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof, stung to the quick. &ldquo;I can tell you it
      would have caught up your bit of a comet and worn it like a feather in a
      cap.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor looked angry, and Servadac having imposed silence upon his
      orderly, explained the worthy soldier&rsquo;s sensitiveness on all that
      concerned Montmartre. Always obedient to his master, Ben Zoof held his
      tongue; but he felt that he could never forgive the slight that had been
      cast upon his beloved home.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was now all-important to learn whether the astronomer had been able to
      continue his observations, and whether he had learned sufficient of
      Gallia&rsquo;s path through space to make him competent to determine, at least
      approximately, the period of its revolution round the sun. With as much
      tact and caution as he could, Lieutenant Procope endeavored to intimate
      the general desire for some information on this point.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Before the shock, sir,&rdquo; answered the professor, &ldquo;I had conclusively
      demonstrated the path of the comet; but, in consequence of the
      modifications which that shock has entailed upon my comet&rsquo;s orbit, I have
      been compelled entirely to recommence my calculations.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant looked disappointed.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Although the orbit of the earth was unaltered,&rdquo; continued the professor,
      &ldquo;the result of the collision was the projection of the comet into a new
      orbit altogether.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And may I ask,&rdquo; said Procope, deferentially, &ldquo;whether you have got the
      elements of the fresh orbit?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then perhaps you know&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I know this, sir, that at 47 minutes 35.6 seconds after two o&rsquo;clock on
      the morning of the 1st of January last, Gallia, in passing its ascending
      node, came in contact with the earth; that on the 10th of January it
      crossed the orbit of Venus; that it reached its perihelion on the 15th;
      that it re-crossed the orbit of Venus; that on the 1st of February it
      passed its descending node; on the 13th crossed the orbit of Mars; entered
      the zone of the telescopic planets on the 10th of March, and, attracting
      Nerina, carried it off as a satellite.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac interposed:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We are already acquainted with well-nigh all these extraordinary facts;
      many of them, moreover, we have learned from documents which we have
      picked up, and which, although unsigned, we cannot entertain a doubt have
      originated with you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Professor Rosette drew himself up proudly and said: &ldquo;Of course, they
      originated with me. I sent them off by hundreds. From whom else could they
      come?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;From no one but yourself, certainly,&rdquo; rejoined the count, with grave
      politeness.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hitherto the conversation had thrown no light upon the future movements of
      Gallia, and Rosette was disposed apparently to evade, or at least to
      postpone, the subject. When, therefore, Lieutenant Procope was about to
      press his inquiries in a more categorical form, Servadac, thinking it
      advisable not prematurely to press the little <i>savant</i> too far,
      interrupted him by asking the professor how he accounted for the earth
      having suffered so little from such a formidable concussion.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I account for it in this way,&rdquo; answered Rosette: &ldquo;the earth was traveling
      at the rate of 28,000 leagues an hour, and Gallia at the rate of 57,000
      leagues an hour, therefore the result was the same as though a train
      rushing along at a speed of about 86,000 leagues an hour had suddenly
      encountered some obstacle. The nucleus of the comet, being excessively
      hard, has done exactly what a ball would do fired with that velocity close
      to a pane of glass. It has crossed the earth without cracking it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is possible you may be right,&rdquo; said Servadac, thoughtfully.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Right! of course I am right!&rdquo; replied the snappish professor. Soon,
      however, recovering his equanimity, he continued: &ldquo;It is fortunate that
      the earth was only touched obliquely; if the comet had impinged
      perpendicularly, it must have plowed its way deep below the surface, and
      the disasters it might have caused are beyond reckoning. Perhaps,&rdquo; he
      added, with a smile, &ldquo;even Montmartre might not have survived the
      calamity.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sir!&rdquo; shouted Ben Zoof, quite unable to bear the unprovoked attack.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quiet, Ben Zoof!&rdquo; said Servadac sternly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Fortunately for the sake of peace, Isaac Hakkabut, who at length was
      beginning to realize something of the true condition of things, came
      forward at this moment, and in a voice trembling with eagerness, implored
      the professor to tell him when they would all be back again upon the
      earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Are you in a great hurry?&rdquo; asked the professor coolly.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Jew was about to speak again, when Captain Servadac interposed: &ldquo;Allow
      me to say that, in somewhat more scientific terms, I was about to ask you
      the same question. Did I not understand you to say that, as the
      consequence of the collision, the character of the comet&rsquo;s orbit has been
      changed?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You did, sir.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Did you imply that the orbit has ceased to be a parabola?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just so.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Is it then an hyperbola? and are we to be carried on far and away into
      remote distance, and never, never to return?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I did not say an hyperbola.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And is it not?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is not.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then it must be an ellipse?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And does its plane coincide with the plane of the earth?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then it must be a periodic comet?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac involuntarily raised a ringing shout of joy that echoed again
      along the gallery.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; continued the professor, &ldquo;Gallia is a periodic comet, and allowing
      for the perturbations to which it is liable from the attraction of Mars
      and Jupiter and Saturn, it will return to the earth again in two years
      precisely.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You mean that in two years after the first shock, Gallia will meet the
      earth at the same point as they met before?&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am afraid so,&rdquo; said Rosette.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why afraid?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because we are doing exceedingly well as we are.&rdquo; The professor stamped
      his foot upon the ground, by way of emphasis, and added, &ldquo;If I had my
      will, Gallia should never return to the earth again!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER IV. A REVISED CALENDAR
    </h2>
    <p>
      All previous hypotheses, then, were now forgotten in the presence of the
      one great fact that Gallia was a comet and gravitating through remote
      solar regions. Captain Servadac became aware that the huge disc that had
      been looming through the clouds after the shock was the form of the
      retreating earth, to the proximity of which the one high tide they had
      experienced was also to be attributed.
    </p>
    <p>
      As to the fulfillment of the professor&rsquo;s prediction of an ultimate return
      to the terrestrial sphere, that was a point on which it must be owned that
      the captain, after the first flush of his excitement was over, was not
      without many misgivings.
    </p>
    <p>
      The next day or two were spent in providing for the accommodation of the
      new comer. Fortunately his desires were very moderate; he seemed to live
      among the stars, and as long as he was well provided with coffee, he cared
      little for luxuries, and paid little or no regard to the ingenuity with
      which all the internal arrangements of Nina&rsquo;s Hive had been devised.
      Anxious to show all proper respect to his former tutor, Servadac proposed
      to leave the most comfortable apartment of the place at his disposal; but
      the professor resolutely declined to occupy it, saying that what he
      required was a small chamber, no matter how small, provided that it was
      elevated and secluded, which he could use as an observatory and where he
      might prosecute his studies without disturbance. A general search was
      instituted, and before long they were lucky enough to find, about a
      hundred feet above the central grotto, a small recess or reduct hollowed,
      as it were, in the mountain side, which would exactly answer their
      purpose. It contained room enough for a bed, a table, an arm-chair, a
      chest of drawers, and, what was of still more consequence, for the
      indispensable telescope. One small stream of lava, an off-shoot of the
      great torrent, sufficed to warm the apartment enough.
    </p>
    <p>
      In these retired quarters the astronomer took up his abode. It was on all
      hands acknowledged to be advisable to let him go on entirely in his own
      way. His meals were taken to him at stated intervals; he slept but little;
      carried on his calculations by day, his observations by night, and very
      rarely made his appearance amongst the rest of the little community.
    </p>
    <p>
      The cold now became very intense, the thermometer registering 30 degrees
      F. below zero. The mercury, however, never exhibited any of those
      fluctuations that are ever and again to be observed in variable climates,
      but continued slowly and steadily to fall, and in all probability would
      continue to do so until it reached the normal temperature of the regions
      of outlying space.
    </p>
    <p>
      This steady sinking of the mercury was accompanied by a complete stillness
      of the atmosphere; the very air seemed to be congealed; no particle of it
      stirred; from zenith to horizon there was never a cloud; neither were
      there any of the damp mists or dry fogs which so often extend over the
      polar regions of the earth; the sky was always clear; the sun shone by day
      and the stars by night without causing any perceptible difference in the
      temperature.
    </p>
    <p>
      These peculiar conditions rendered the cold endurable even in the open
      air. The cause of so many of the diseases that prove fatal to Arctic
      explorers resides in the cutting winds, unwholesome fogs, or terrible snow
      drifts, which, by drying up, relaxing, or otherwise affecting the lungs,
      make them incapable of fulfilling their proper functions. But during
      periods of calm weather, when the air has been absolutely still, many
      polar navigators, well-clothed and properly fed, have been known to
      withstand a temperature when the thermometer has fallen to 60 degrees
      below zero. It was the experience of Parry upon Melville Island, of Kane
      beyond latitude 81 degrees north, and of Hall and the crew of the <i>Polaris</i>,
      that, however intense the cold, in the absence of the wind they could
      always brave its rigor.
    </p>
    <p>
      Notwithstanding, then, the extreme lowness of the temperature, the little
      population found that they were able to move about in the open air with
      perfect immunity. The governor general made it his special care to see
      that his people were all well fed and warmly clad. Food was both wholesome
      and abundant, and besides the furs brought from the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i>
      stores, fresh skins could very easily be procured and made up into wearing
      apparel. A daily course of out-door exercise was enforced upon everyone;
      not even Pablo and Nina were exempted from the general rule; the two
      children, muffled up in furs, looking like little Esquimeaux, skated along
      together, Pablo ever at his companion&rsquo;s side, ready to give her a helping
      hand whenever she was weary with her exertions.
    </p>
    <p>
      After his interview with the newly arrived astronomer, Isaac Hakkabut
      slunk back again to his tartan. A change had come over his ideas; he could
      no longer resist the conviction that he was indeed millions and millions
      of miles away from the earth, where he had carried on so varied and
      remunerative a traffic. It might be imagined that this realization of his
      true position would have led him to a better mind, and that, in some
      degree at least, he would have been induced to regard the few
      fellow-creatures with whom his lot had been so strangely cast, otherwise
      than as mere instruments to be turned to his own personal and pecuniary
      advantage; but no&mdash;the desire of gain was too thoroughly ingrained
      into his hard nature ever to be eradicated, and secure in his knowledge
      that he was under the protection of a French officer, who, except under
      the most urgent necessity, would not permit him to be molested in
      retaining his property, he determined to wait for some emergency to arise
      which should enable him to use his present situation for his own profit.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the one hand, the Jew took it into account that although the chances of
      returning to the earth might be remote, yet from what he had heard from
      the professor he could not believe that they were improbable; on the
      other, he knew that a considerable sum of money, in English and Russian
      coinage, was in the possession of various members of the little colony,
      and this, although valueless now, would be worth as much as ever if the
      proper condition of things should be restored; accordingly, he set his
      heart on getting all the monetary wealth of Gallia into his possession,
      and to do this he must sell his goods. But he would not sell them yet;
      there might come a time when for many articles the supply would not be
      equal to the demand; that would be the time for him; by waiting he
      reckoned he should be able to transact some lucrative business.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such in his solitude were old Isaac&rsquo;s cogitations, whilst the universal
      population of Nina&rsquo;s Hive were congratulating themselves upon being rid of
      his odious presence.
    </p>
    <p>
      As already stated in the message brought by the carrier pigeon, the
      distance traveled by Gallia in April was 39,000,000 leagues, and at the
      end of the month she was 110,000,000 leagues from the sun. A diagram
      representing the elliptical orbit of the planet, accompanied by an
      ephemeris made out in minute detail, had been drawn out by the professor.
      The curve was divided into twenty-four sections of unequal length,
      representing respectively the distance described in the twenty-four months
      of the Gallian year, the twelve former divisions, according to Kepler&rsquo;s
      law, gradually diminishing in length as they approached the point denoting
      the aphelion and increasing as they neared the perihelion.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was on the 12th of May that Rosette exhibited this result of his labors
      to Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant, who visited his apartment and
      naturally examined the drawing with the keenest interest. Gallia&rsquo;s path,
      extending beyond the orbit of Jupiter, lay clearly defined before their
      eyes, the progress along the orbit and the solar distances being inserted
      for each month separately. Nothing could look plainer, and if the
      professor&rsquo;s calculations were correct (a point upon which they dared not,
      if they would, express the semblance of a doubt), Gallia would accomplish
      her revolution in precisely two years, and would meet the earth, which
      would in the same period of time have completed two annual revolutions, in
      the very same spot as before. What would be the consequences of a second
      collision they scarcely ventured to think.
    </p>
    <p>
      Without lifting his eye from the diagram, which he was still carefully
      scrutinizing, Servadac said, &ldquo;I see that during the month of May, Gallia
      will only travel 30,400,000 leagues, and that this will leave her about
      140,000,000 leagues distant from the sun.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just so,&rdquo; replied the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then we have already passed the zone of the telescopic planets, have we
      not?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can you not use your eyes?&rdquo; said the professor, testily. &ldquo;If you will
      look you will see the zone marked clearly enough upon the map.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Without noticing the interruption, Servadac continued his own remarks,
      &ldquo;The comet then, I see, is to reach its aphelion on the 15th of January,
      exactly a twelvemonth after passing its perihelion.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A twelvemonth! Not a Gallian twelvemonth?&rdquo; exclaimed Rosette.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac looked bewildered. Lieutenant Procope could not suppress a smile.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What are you laughing at?&rdquo; demanded the professor, turning round upon him
      angrily.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nothing, sir; only it amuses me to see how you want to revise the
      terrestrial calendar.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I want to be logical, that&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;By all manner of means, my dear professor, let us be logical.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then, listen to me,&rdquo; resumed the professor, stiffly. &ldquo;I presume you
      are taking it for granted that the Gallian year&mdash;by which I mean the
      time in which Gallia makes one revolution round the sun&mdash;is equal in
      length to two terrestrial years.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      They signified their assent.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And that year, like every other year, ought to be divided into twelve
      months.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, certainly, if you wish it,&rdquo; said the captain, acquiescing.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If I wish it!&rdquo; exclaimed Rosette. &ldquo;Nothing of the sort! Of course a year
      must have twelve months!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And how many days will make a month?&rdquo; asked the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I suppose sixty or sixty-two, as the case may be. The days now are only
      half as long as they used to be,&rdquo; answered the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Servadac, don&rsquo;t be thoughtless!&rdquo; cried Rosette, with all the petulant
      impatience of the old pedagogue. &ldquo;If the days are only half as long as
      they were, sixty of them cannot make up a twelfth part of Gallia&rsquo;s year&mdash;cannot
      be a month.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I suppose not,&rdquo; replied the confused captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Do you not see, then,&rdquo; continued the astronomer, &ldquo;that if a Gallian month
      is twice as long as a terrestrial month, and a Gallian day is only half as
      long as a terrestrial day, there must be a hundred and twenty days in
      every month?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt you are right, professor,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff; &ldquo;but do you
      not think that the use of a new calendar such as this would practically be
      very troublesome?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not at all! not at all! I do not intend to use any other,&rdquo; was the
      professor&rsquo;s bluff reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      After pondering for a few moments, the captain spoke again. &ldquo;According,
      then, to this new calendar, it isn&rsquo;t the middle of May at all; it must now
      be some time in March.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the professor, &ldquo;to-day is the 26th of March. It is the 266th
      day of the Gallian year. It corresponds with the 133d day of the
      terrestrial year. You are quite correct, it is the 26th of March.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Strange!&rdquo; muttered Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And a month, a terrestrial month, thirty old days, sixty new days hence,
      it will be the 86th of March.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ha, ha!&rdquo; roared the captain; &ldquo;this is logic with a vengeance!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The old professor had an undefined consciousness that his former pupil was
      laughing at him; and as it was growing late, he made an excuse that he had
      no more leisure. The visitors accordingly quitted the observatory.
    </p>
    <p>
      It must be owned that the revised calendar was left to the professor&rsquo;s
      sole use, and the colony was fairly puzzled whenever he referred to such
      unheard-of dates as the 47th of April or the 118th of May.
    </p>
    <p>
      According to the old calendar, June had now arrived; [illustration
      omitted] [page intentionally blank] and by the professor&rsquo;s tables Gallia
      during the month would have advanced 27,500,000 leagues farther along its
      orbit, and would have attained a distance of 155,000,000 leagues from the
      sun. The thermometer continued to fall; the atmosphere remained clear as
      heretofore. The population performed their daily avocations with
      systematic routine; and almost the only thing that broke the monotony of
      existence was an occasional visit from the blustering, nervous, little
      professor, when some sudden fancy induced him to throw aside his
      astronomical studies for a time, and pay a visit to the common hall. His
      arrival there was generally hailed as the precursor of a little season of
      excitement. Somehow or other the conversation would eventually work its
      way round to the topic of a future collision between the comet and the
      earth; and in the same degree as this was a matter of sanguine
      anticipation to Captain Servadac and his friends, it was a matter of
      aversion to the astronomical enthusiast, who had no desire to quit his
      present quarters in a sphere which, being of his own discovery, he could
      hardly have cared for more if it had been of his own creation. The
      interview would often terminate in a scene of considerable animation.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 27th of June (old calendar) the professor burst like a cannon-ball
      into the central hall, where they were all assembled, and without a word
      of salutation or of preface, accosted the lieutenant in the way in which
      in earlier days he had been accustomed to speak to an idle school-boy,
      &ldquo;Now, lieutenant! no evasions! no shufflings! Tell me, have you or have
      you not circumnavigated Gallia?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly. &ldquo;Evasions! shufflings! I am not
      accustomed, sir&mdash;&rdquo; he began in a tone evidencing no little
      resentment; but catching a hint from the count he subdued his voice, and
      simply said, &ldquo;We have.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And may I ask,&rdquo; continued the professor, quite unaware of his previous
      discourtesy, &ldquo;whether, when you made your voyage, you took any account of
      distances?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As approximately as I could,&rdquo; replied the lieutenant; &ldquo;I did what I could
      by log and compass. I was unable to take the altitude of sun or star.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;At what result did you arrive? What is the measurement of our equator?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I estimate the total circumference of the equator to be about 1,400
      miles.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the professor, more than half speaking to himself, &ldquo;a
      circumference of 1,400 miles would give a diameter of about 450 miles.
      That would be approximately about one-sixteenth of the diameter of the
      earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Raising his voice, he continued, &ldquo;Gentlemen, in order to complete my
      account of my comet Gallia, I require to know its area, its mass, its
      volume, its density, its specific gravity.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Since we know the diameter,&rdquo; remarked the lieutenant, &ldquo;there can be no
      difficulty in finding its surface and its volume.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And did I say there was any difficulty?&rdquo; asked the professor, fiercely.
      &ldquo;I have been able to reckon that ever since I was born.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Cock-a-doodle-doo!&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof, delighted at any opportunity of
      paying off his old grudge.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor looked at him, but did not vouchsafe a word. Addressing the
      captain, he said, &ldquo;Now, Servadac, take your paper and a pen, and find me
      the surface of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      With more submission than when he was a school-boy, the captain sat down
      and endeavored to recall the proper formula.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The surface of a sphere? Multiply circumference by diameter.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; cried Rosette; &ldquo;but it ought to be done by this time.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Circumference, 1,400; diameter, 450; area of surface, 630,000,&rdquo; read the
      captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True,&rdquo; replied Rosette, &ldquo;630,000 square miles; just 292 times less than
      that of the earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pretty little comet! nice little comet!&rdquo; muttered Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      The astronomer bit his lip, snorted, and cast at him a withering look, but
      did not take any further notice.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, Captain Servadac,&rdquo; said the professor, &ldquo;take your pen again, and
      find me the volume of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain hesitated.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quick, quick!&rdquo; cried the professor, impatiently; &ldquo;surely you have not
      forgotten how to find the volume of a sphere!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A moment&rsquo;s breathing time, please.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Breathing time, indeed! A mathematician should not want breathing time!
      Come, multiply the surface by the third of the radius. Don&rsquo;t you
      recollect?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac applied himself to his task while the by-standers waited,
      with some difficulty suppressing their inclination to laugh. There was a
      short silence, at the end of which Servadac announced that the volume of
      the comet was 47,880,000 cubic miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just about 5,000 times less than the earth,&rdquo; observed the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nice little comet! pretty little comet!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor scowled at him, and was manifestly annoyed at having the
      insignificant dimensions of his comet pointed out in so disparaging a
      manner. Lieutenant Procope further remarked that from the earth he
      supposed it to be about as conspicuous as a star of the seventh magnitude,
      and would require a good telescope to see it.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ha, ha!&rdquo; laughed the orderly, aloud; &ldquo;charming little comet! so pretty;
      and so modest!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You rascal!&rdquo; roared the professor, and clenched his hand in passion, as
      if about to strike him. Ben Zoof laughed the more, and was on the point of
      repeating his satirical comments, when a stern order from the captain made
      him hold his tongue. The truth was that the professor was just as
      sensitive about his comet as the orderly was about Montmartre, and if the
      contention between the two had been allowed to go on unchecked, it is
      impossible to say what serious quarrel might not have arisen.
    </p>
    <p>
      When Professor Rosette&rsquo;s equanimity had been restored, he said, &ldquo;Thus,
      then, gentlemen, the diameter, the surface, the volume of my comet are
      settled; but there is more to be done. I shall not be satisfied until, by
      actual measurement, I have determined its mass, its density, and the force
      of gravity at its surface.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A laborious problem,&rdquo; remarked Count Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Laborious or not, it has to be accomplished. I am resolved to find out
      what my comet weighs.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Would it not be of some assistance, if we knew of what substance it is
      composed?&rdquo; asked the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That is of no moment at all,&rdquo; replied the professor; &ldquo;the problem is
      independent of it.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then we await your orders,&rdquo; was the captain&rsquo;s reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You must understand, however,&rdquo; said Rosette, &ldquo;that there are various
      preliminary calculations to be made; you will have to wait till they are
      finished.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As long as you please,&rdquo; said the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No hurry at all,&rdquo; observed the captain, who was not in the least
      impatient to continue his mathematical exercises.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then, gentlemen,&rdquo; said the astronomer, &ldquo;with your leave we will for this
      purpose make an appointment a few weeks hence. What do you say to the 62d
      of April?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Without noticing the general smile which the novel date provoked, the
      astronomer left the hall, and retired to his observatory.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER V. WANTED: A STEELYARD
    </h2>
    <p>
      Under the still diminishing influence of the sun&rsquo;s attraction, but without
      let or hindrance, Gallia continued its interplanetary course, accompanied
      by Nerina, its captured satellite, which performed its fortnightly
      revolutions with unvarying regularity.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile, the question beyond all others important was ever recurring to
      the minds of Servadac and his two companions: were the astronomer&rsquo;s
      calculations correct, and was there a sound foundation for his prediction
      that the comet would again touch the earth? But whatever might be their
      doubts or anxieties, they were fain to keep all their misgivings to
      themselves; the professor was of a temper far too cross-grained for them
      to venture to ask him to revise or re-examine the results of his
      observations.
    </p>
    <p>
      The rest of the community by no means shared in their uneasiness. Negrete
      and his fellow-countrymen yielded to their destiny with philosophical
      indifference. Happier and better provided for than they had ever been in
      their lives, it did not give them a passing thought, far less cause any
      serious concern, whether they were still circling round the sun, or
      whether they were being carried right away within the limits of another
      system. Utterly careless of the future, the majos, light-hearted as ever,
      carolled out their favorite songs, just as if they had never quitted the
      shores of their native land.
    </p>
    <p>
      Happiest of all were Pablo and Nina. Racing through the galleries of the
      Hive, clambering over the rocks upon the shore, one day skating far away
      across the frozen ocean, the next fishing in the lake that was kept liquid
      by the heat of the lava-torrent, the two children led a life of perpetual
      enjoyment. Nor was their recreation allowed to interfere with their
      studies. Captain Servadac, who in common with the count really liked them
      both, conceived that the responsibilities of a parent in some degree had
      devolved upon him, and took great care in superintending their daily
      lessons, which he succeeded in making hardly less pleasant than their
      sports.
    </p>
    <p>
      Indulged and loved by all, it was little wonder that young Pablo had no
      longing for the scorching plains of Andalusia, or that little Nina had
      lost all wish to return with her pet goat to the barren rocks of Sardinia.
      They had now a home in which they had nothing to desire.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Have you no father nor mother?&rdquo; asked Pablo, one day.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; she answered.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No more have I,&rdquo; said the boy, &ldquo;I used to run along by the side of the
      diligences when I was in Spain.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I used to look after goats at Madalena,&rdquo; said Nina; &ldquo;but it is much nicer
      here&mdash;I am so happy here. I have you for a brother, and everybody is
      so kind. I am afraid they will spoil us, Pablo,&rdquo; she added, smiling.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, no, Nina; you are too good to be spoiled, and when I am with you, you
      make me good too,&rdquo; said Pablo, gravely.
    </p>
    <p>
      July had now arrived. During the month Gallia&rsquo;s advance along its orbit
      would be reduced to 22,000,000 leagues, the distance from the sun at the
      end being 172,000,000 leagues, about four and a half times as great as the
      average distance of the earth from the sun. It was traveling now at about
      the same speed as the earth, which traverses the ecliptic at a rate of
      21,000,000 leagues a month, or 28,800 leagues an hour.
    </p>
    <p>
      In due time the 62d April, according to the revised Gallian calendar,
      dawned; and in punctual fulfillment of the professor&rsquo;s appointment, a note
      was delivered to Servadac to say that he was ready, and hoped that day to
      commence operations for calculating the mass and density of his comet, as
      well as the force of gravity at its surface.
    </p>
    <p>
      A point of far greater interest to Captain Servadac and his friends would
      have been to ascertain the nature of the substance of which the comet was
      composed, but they felt pledged to render the professor any aid they could
      in the researches upon which he had set his heart. Without delay,
      therefore, they assembled in the central hall, where they were soon joined
      by Rosette, who seemed to be in fairly good temper.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; he began, &ldquo;I propose to-day to endeavor to complete our
      observations of the elements of my comet. Three matters of investigation
      are before us. First, the measure of gravity at its surface; this
      attractive force we know, by the increase of our own muscular force, must
      of course be considerably less than that at the surface of the earth.
      Secondly, its mass, that is, the quality of its matter. And thirdly, its
      density or quantity of matter in a unit of its volume. We will proceed,
      gentlemen, if you please, to weigh Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof, who had just entered the hall, caught the professor&rsquo;s last
      sentence, and without saying a word, went out again and was absent for
      some minutes. When he returned, he said, &ldquo;If you want to weigh this comet
      of yours, I suppose you want a pair of scales; but I have been to look,
      and I cannot find a pair anywhere. And what&rsquo;s more,&rdquo; he added
      mischievously, &ldquo;you won&rsquo;t get them anywhere.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      A frown came over the professor&rsquo;s countenance. Servadac saw it, and gave
      his orderly a sign that he should desist entirely from his bantering.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I require, gentlemen,&rdquo; resumed Rosette, &ldquo;first of all to know by how much
      the weight of a kilogramme here differs from its weight upon the earth;
      the attraction, as we have said, being less, the weight will
      proportionately be less also.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then an ordinary pair of scales, being under the influence of attraction,
      I suppose, would not answer your purpose,&rdquo; submitted the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And the very kilogramme weight you used would have become lighter,&rdquo; put
      in the count, deferentially.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pray, gentlemen, do not interrupt me,&rdquo; said the professor,
      authoritatively, as if <i>ex cathedra</i>. &ldquo;I need no instruction on these
      points.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Procope and Timascheff demurely bowed their heads.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor resumed. &ldquo;Upon a steelyard, or spring-balance, dependent
      upon mere tension or flexibility, the attraction will have no influence.
      If I suspend a weight equivalent to the weight of a kilogramme, the index
      will register the proper weight on the surface of Gallia. Thus I shall
      arrive at the difference I want: the difference between the earth&rsquo;s
      attraction and the comet&rsquo;s. Will you, therefore, have the goodness to
      provide me at once with a steelyard and a tested kilogramme?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The audience looked at one another, and then at Ben Zoof, who was
      thoroughly acquainted with all their resources. &ldquo;We have neither one nor
      the other,&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor stamped with vexation.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I believe old Hakkabut has a steelyard on board his tartan,&rdquo; said Ben
      Zoof, presently.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then why didn&rsquo;t you say so before, you idiot?&rdquo; roared the excitable
      little man.
    </p>
    <p>
      Anxious to pacify him, Servadac assured him that every exertion should be
      made to procure the instrument, and directed Ben Zoof to go to the Jew and
      borrow it.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, stop a moment,&rdquo; he said, as Ben Zoof was moving away on his, errand;
      &ldquo;perhaps I had better go with you myself; the old Jew may make a
      difficulty about lending us any of his property.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why should we not all go?&rdquo; asked the count; &ldquo;we should see what kind of a
      life the misanthrope leads on board the <i>Hansa</i>.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The proposal met with general approbation. Before they started, Professor
      Rosette requested that one of the men might be ordered to cut him a cubic
      decimeter out of the solid substance of Gallia. &ldquo;My engineer is the man
      for that,&rdquo; said the count; &ldquo;he will do it well for you if you will give
      him the precise measurement.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What! you don&rsquo;t mean,&rdquo; exclaimed the professor, again going off into a
      passion, &ldquo;that you haven&rsquo;t a proper measure of length?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof was sent off to ransack the stores for the article in question,
      but no measure was forthcoming. &ldquo;Most likely we shall find one on the
      tartan,&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then let us lose no time in trying,&rdquo; answered the professor, as he
      hustled with hasty strides into the gallery.
    </p>
    <p>
      The rest of the party followed, and were soon in the open air upon the
      rocks that overhung the shore. They descended to the level of the frozen
      water and made their way towards the little creek where the <i>Dobryna</i>
      and the <i>Hansa</i> lay firmly imprisoned in their icy bonds.
    </p>
    <p>
      The temperature was low beyond previous experience; but well muffled up in
      fur, they all endured it without much actual suffering. Their breath
      issued in vapor, which was at once congealed into little crystals upon
      their whiskers, beards, eyebrows, and eyelashes, until their faces,
      covered with countless snow-white prickles, were truly ludicrous. The
      little professor, most comical of all, resembled nothing so much as the
      cub of an Arctic bear.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was eight o&rsquo;clock in the morning. The sun was rapidly approaching the
      zenith; but its disc, from the extreme remoteness, was proportionately
      dwarfed; its beams being all but destitute of their proper warmth and
      radiance. The volcano to its very summit and the surrounding rocks were
      still covered with the unsullied mantle of snow that had fallen while the
      atmosphere was still to some extent charged with vapor; but on the north
      side the snow had given place to the cascade of fiery lava, which, making
      its way down the sloping rocks as far as the vaulted opening of the
      central cavern, fell thence perpendicularly into the sea. Above the
      cavern, 130 feet up the mountain, was a dark hole, above which the stream
      of lava made a bifurcation in its course. From this hole projected the
      case of an astronomer&rsquo;s telescope; it was the opening of Palmyrin
      Rosette&rsquo;s observatory.
    </p>
    <p>
      Sea and land seemed blended into one dreary whiteness, to which the pale
      blue sky offered scarcely any contrast. The shore was indented with the
      marks of many footsteps left by the colonists either on their way to
      collect ice for drinking purposes, or as the result of their skating
      expeditions; the edges of the skates had cut out a labyrinth of curves
      complicated as the figures traced by aquatic insects upon the surface of a
      pool.
    </p>
    <p>
      Across the quarter of a mile of level ground that lay between the mountain
      and the creek, a series of footprints, frozen hard into the snow, marked
      the course taken by Isaac Hakkabut on his last return from Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      On approaching the creek, Lieutenant Procope drew his companions&rsquo; 
      attention to the elevation of the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> and <i>Hansa&rsquo;s</i>
      waterline, both vessels being now some fifteen feet above the level of the
      sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What a strange phenomenon!&rdquo; exclaimed the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It makes me very uneasy,&rdquo; rejoined the lieutenant; &ldquo;in shallow places
      like this, as the crust of ice thickens, it forces everything upwards with
      irresistible force.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But surely this process of congelation must have a limit!&rdquo; said the
      count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But who can say what that limit will be? Remember that we have not yet
      reached our maximum of cold,&rdquo; replied Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Indeed, I hope not!&rdquo; exclaimed the professor; &ldquo;where would be the use of
      our traveling 200,000,000 leagues from the sun, if we are only to
      experience the same temperature as we should find at the poles of the
      earth?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Fortunately for us, however, professor,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, with a
      smile, &ldquo;the temperature of the remotest space never descends beyond 70
      degrees below zero.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And as long as there is no wind,&rdquo; added Servadac, &ldquo;we may pass
      comfortably through the winter, without a single attack of catarrh.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope proceeded to impart to the count his anxiety about the
      situation of his yacht. He pointed out that by the constant superposition
      of new deposits of ice, the vessel would be elevated to a great height,
      and consequently in the event of a thaw, it must be exposed to a calamity
      similar to those which in polar seas cause destruction to so many whalers.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was no time now for concerting measures offhand to prevent the
      disaster, for the other members of the party had already reached the spot
      where the <i>Hansa</i> lay bound in her icy trammels. A flight of steps,
      recently hewn by Hakkabut himself, gave access for the present to the
      gangway, but it was evident that some different contrivance would have to
      be resorted to when the tartan should be elevated perhaps to a hundred
      feet.
    </p>
    <p>
      A thin curl of blue smoke issued from the copper funnel that projected
      above the mass of snow which had accumulated upon the deck of the <i>Hansa</i>.
      The owner was sparing of his fuel, and it was only the non-conducting
      layer of ice enveloping the tartan that rendered the internal temperature
      endurable.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hi! old Nebuchadnezzar, where are you?&rdquo; shouted Ben Zoof, at the full
      strength of his lungs.
    </p>
    <p>
      At the sound of his voice, the cabin door opened, and the Jew&rsquo;s head and
      shoulders protruded onto the deck.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VI. MONEY AT A PREMIUM
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who&rsquo;s there? I have nothing here for anyone. Go away!&rdquo; Such was the
      inhospitable greeting with which Isaac Hakkabut received his visitors.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hakkabut! do you take us for thieves?&rdquo; asked Servadac, in tones of stern
      displeasure.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, your Excellency, my lord, I did not know that it was you,&rdquo; whined the
      Jew, but without emerging any farther from his cabin.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, old Hakkabut, come out of your shell! Come and show the governor
      proper respect, when he gives you the honor of his company,&rdquo; cried Ben
      Zoof, who by this time had clambered onto the deck.
    </p>
    <p>
      After considerable hesitation, but still keeping his hold upon the
      cabin-door, the Jew made up his mind to step outside. &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo;
       he inquired, timorously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I want a word with you,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;but I do not want to stand
      talking out here in the cold.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Followed by the rest of the party, he proceeded to mount the steps. The
      Jew trembled from head to foot. &ldquo;But I cannot let you into my cabin. I am
      a poor man; I have nothing to give you,&rdquo; he moaned piteously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here he is!&rdquo; laughed Ben Zoof, contemptuously; &ldquo;he is beginning his
      chapter of lamentations over again. But standing out here will never do.
      Out of the way, old Hakkabut, I say! out of the way!&rdquo; and, without more
      ado, he thrust the astonished Jew on one side and opened the door of the
      cabin.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac, however, declined to enter until he had taken the pains to
      explain to the owner of the tartan that he had no intention of laying
      violent hands upon his property, and that if the time should ever come
      that his cargo was in requisition for the common use, he should receive a
      proper price for his goods, the same as he would in Europe.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Europe, indeed!&rdquo; muttered the Jew maliciously between his teeth.
      &ldquo;European prices will not do for me. I must have Gallian prices&mdash;and
      of my own fixing, too!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      So large a portion of the vessel had been appropriated to the cargo that
      the space reserved for the cabin was of most meager dimensions. In one
      corner of the compartment stood a small iron stove, in which smoldered a
      bare handful of coals; in another was a trestle-board which served as a
      bed; two or three stools and a rickety deal table, together with a few
      cooking utensils, completed a stock of furniture which was worthy of its
      proprietor.
    </p>
    <p>
      On entering the cabin, Ben Zoof&rsquo;s first proceeding was to throw on the
      fire a liberal supply of coals, utterly regardless of the groans of poor
      Isaac, who would almost as soon have parted with his own bones as submit
      to such reckless expenditure of his fuel. The perishing temperature of the
      cabin, however, was sufficient justification for the orderly&rsquo;s conduct,
      and by a little skillful manipulation he soon succeeded in getting up a
      tolerable fire.
    </p>
    <p>
      The visitors having taken what seats they could, Hakkabut closed the door,
      and, like a prisoner awaiting his sentence, stood with folded hands,
      expecting the captain to speak.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Listen,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;we have come to ask a favor.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Imagining that at least half his property was to be confiscated, the Jew
      began to break out into his usual formula about being a poor man and
      having nothing to spare; but Servadac, without heeding his complainings,
      went on: &ldquo;We are not going to ruin you, you know.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut looked keenly into the captain&rsquo;s face.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We have only come to know whether you can lend us a steelyard.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      So far from showing any symptom of relief, the old miser exclaimed, with a
      stare of astonishment, as if he had been asked for some thousand francs:
      &ldquo;A steelyard?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; echoed the professor, impatiently; &ldquo;a steelyard.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Have you not one?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To be sure he has!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      Old Isaac stammered and stuttered, but at last confessed that perhaps
      there might be one amongst the stores.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then, surely, you will not object to lend it to us?&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Only for one day,&rdquo; added the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Jew stammered again, and began to object. &ldquo;It is a very delicate
      instrument, your Excellency. The cold, you know, the cold may do injury to
      the spring; and perhaps you are going to use it to weigh something very
      heavy.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, old Ephraim, do you suppose we are going to weigh a mountain with
      it?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Better than that!&rdquo; cried out the professor, triumphantly; &ldquo;we are going
      to weigh Gallia with it; my comet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful Heaven!&rdquo; shrieked Isaac, feigning consternation at the bare
      suggestion.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac knew well enough that the Jew was holding out only for a good
      bargain, and assured him that the steelyard was required for no other
      purpose than to weigh a kilogramme, which (considering how much lighter
      everything had become) could not possibly put the slightest strain upon
      the instrument.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Jew still spluttered, and moaned, and hesitated.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;if you do not like to lend us your
      steelyard, do you object to sell it to us?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Isaac fairly shrieked aloud. &ldquo;God of Israel!&rdquo; he ejaculated, &ldquo;sell my
      steelyard? Would you deprive me of one of the most indispensable of my
      means of livelihood? How should I weigh my merchandise without my
      steelyard&mdash;my solitary steelyard, so delicate and so correct?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The orderly wondered how his master could refrain from strangling the old
      miser upon the spot; but Servadac, rather amused than otherwise,
      determined to try another form of persuasion. &ldquo;Come, Hakkabut, I see that
      you are not disposed either to lend or to sell your steelyard. What do you
      say to letting us hire it?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Jew&rsquo;s eyes twinkled with a satisfaction that he was unable to conceal.
      &ldquo;But what security would you give? The instrument is very valuable;&rdquo; and
      he looked more cunning than ever.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is it worth? If it is worth twenty francs, I will leave a deposit of
      a hundred. Will that satisfy you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He shook his head doubtfully. &ldquo;It is very little; indeed, it is too
      little, your Excellency. Consider, it is the only steelyard in all this
      new world of ours; it is worth more, much more. If I take your deposit it
      must be in gold&mdash;all gold. But how much do you agree to give me for
      the hire&mdash;the hire, one day?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You shall have twenty francs,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, it is dirt cheap; but never mind, for one day, you shall have it.
      Deposit in gold money a hundred francs, and twenty francs for the hire.&rdquo;
       The old man folded his hands in meek resignation.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The fellow knows how to make a good bargain,&rdquo; said Servadac, as Isaac,
      after casting a distrustful look around, went out of the cabin.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Detestable old wretch!&rdquo; replied the count, full of disgust.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hardly a minute elapsed before the Jew was back again, carrying his
      precious steelyard with ostentatious care. It was of an ordinary kind. A
      spring balance, fitted with a hook, held the article to be weighed; a
      pointer, revolving on a disc, indicated the weight of the article.
      Professor Rosette was manifestly right in asserting that such a machine
      would register results quite independently of any change in the force of
      attraction. On the earth it would have registered a kilogramme as a
      kilogramme; here it recorded a different value altogether, as the result
      of the altered force of gravity.
    </p>
    <p>
      Gold coinage to the worth of one hundred and twenty francs was handed over
      to the Jew, who clutched at the money with unmistakable eagerness. The
      steelyard was committed to the keeping of Ben Zoof, and the visitors
      prepared to quit the <i>Hansa</i>.
    </p>
    <p>
      All at once it occurred to the professor that the steelyard would be
      absolutely useless to him, unless he had the means for ascertaining the
      precise measurement of the unit of the soil of Gallia which he proposed to
      weigh. &ldquo;Something more you must lend me,&rdquo; he said, addressing the Jew. &ldquo;I
      must have a measure, and I must have a kilogramme.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have neither of them,&rdquo; answered Isaac. &ldquo;I have neither. I am sorry; I
      am very sorry.&rdquo; And this time the old Jew spoke the truth. He would have
      been really glad to do another stroke or two of business upon terms as
      advantageous as the transaction he had just concluded.
    </p>
    <p>
      Palmyrin Rosette scratched his head in perplexity, glaring round upon his
      companions as if they were personally responsible for his annoyance. He
      muttered something about finding a way out of his difficulty, and hastily
      mounted the cabin-ladder. The rest followed, but they had hardly reached
      the deck when the chink of money was heard in the room below. Hakkabut was
      locking away the gold in one of the drawers.
    </p>
    <p>
      Back again, down the ladder, scrambled the little professor, and before
      the Jew was aware of his presence he had seized him by the tail of his
      slouchy overcoat. &ldquo;Some of your money! I must have money!&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Money!&rdquo; gasped Hakkabut; &ldquo;I have no money.&rdquo; He was pale with fright, and
      hardly knew what he was saying.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Falsehood!&rdquo; roared Rosette. &ldquo;Do you think I cannot see?&rdquo; And peering down
      into the drawer which the Jew was vainly trying to close, he cried, &ldquo;Heaps
      of money! French money! Five-franc pieces! the very thing I want! I must
      have them!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain and his friends, who had returned to the cabin looked on with
      mingled amusement and bewilderment.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They are mine!&rdquo; shrieked Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will have them!&rdquo; shouted the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You shall kill me first!&rdquo; bellowed the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, but I must!&rdquo; persisted the professor again.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was manifestly time for Servadac to interfere. &ldquo;My dear professor,&rdquo; he
      said, smiling, &ldquo;allow me to settle this little matter for you.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah! your Excellency,&rdquo; moaned the agitated Jew, &ldquo;protect me! I am but a
      poor man&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;None of that, Hakkabut. Hold your tongue.&rdquo; And, turning to Rosette, the
      captain said, &ldquo;If, sir, I understand right, you require some silver
      five-franc pieces for your operation?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Forty,&rdquo; said Rosette, surlily.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Two hundred francs!&rdquo; whined Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Silence!&rdquo; cried the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I must have more than that,&rdquo; the professor continued. &ldquo;I want ten
      two-franc pieces, and twenty half-francs.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let me see,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;how much is that in all? Two hundred and
      thirty francs, is it not?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I dare say it is,&rdquo; answered the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Count, may I ask you,&rdquo; continued Servadac, &ldquo;to be security to the Jew for
      this loan to the professor?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Loan!&rdquo; cried the Jew, &ldquo;do you mean only a loan?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Silence!&rdquo; again shouted the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff, expressing his regret that his purse contained only
      paper money, begged to place it at Captain Servadac&rsquo;s disposal.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No paper, no paper!&rdquo; exclaimed Isaac. &ldquo;Paper has no currency in Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;About as much as silver,&rdquo; coolly retorted the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am a poor man,&rdquo; began the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, Hakkabut, stop these miserable lamentations of yours, once for all.
      Hand us over two hundred and thirty francs in silver money, or we will
      proceed to help ourselves.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Isaac began to yell with all his might: &ldquo;Thieves! thieves!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      In a moment Ben Zoof&rsquo;s hand was clasped tightly over his mouth. &ldquo;Stop that
      howling, Belshazzar!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let him alone, Ben Zoof. He will soon come to his senses,&rdquo; said Servadac,
      quietly.
    </p>
    <p>
      When the old Jew had again recovered himself, the captain addressed him.
      &ldquo;Now, tell us, what interest do you expect?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Nothing could overcome the Jew&rsquo;s anxiety to make another good bargain. He
      began: &ldquo;Money is scarce, very scarce, you know&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No more of this!&rdquo; shouted Servadac. &ldquo;What interest, I say, what interest
      do you ask?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Faltering and undecided still, the Jew went on. &ldquo;Very scarce, you know.
      Ten francs a day, I think, would not be unreasonable, considering&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count had no patience to allow him to finish what he was about to say.
      He flung down notes to the value of several rubles. With a greediness that
      could not be concealed, Hakkabut grasped them all. Paper, indeed, they
      were; but the cunning Israelite knew that they would in any case be
      security far beyond the value of his cash. He was making some eighteen
      hundred per cent. interest, and accordingly chuckled within himself at his
      unexpected stroke of business.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor pocketed his French coins with a satisfaction far more
      demonstrative. &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;with these franc pieces I obtain the
      means of determining accurately both a meter and a kilogramme.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VII. GALLIA WEIGHED
    </h2>
    <p>
      A quarter of an hour later, the visitors to the <i>Hansa</i> had
      reassembled in the common hall of Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, gentlemen, we can proceed,&rdquo; said the professor. &ldquo;May I request that
      this table may be cleared?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof removed the various articles that were lying on the table, and
      the coins which had just been borrowed from the Jew were placed upon it in
      three piles, according to their value.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor commenced. &ldquo;Since none of you gentlemen, at the time of the
      shock, took the precaution to save either a meter measure or a kilogramme
      weight from the earth, and since both these articles are necessary for the
      calculation on which we are engaged, I have been obliged to devise means
      of my own to replace them.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      This exordium delivered, he paused and seemed to watch its effect upon his
      audience, who, however, were too well acquainted with the professor&rsquo;s
      temper to make any attempt to exonerate themselves from the rebuke of
      carelessness, and submitted silently to the implied reproach.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have taken pains,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;to satisfy myself that these coins
      are in proper condition for my purpose. I find them unworn and unchipped;
      indeed, they are almost new. They have been hoarded instead of circulated;
      accordingly, they are fit to be utilized for my purpose of obtaining the
      precise length of a terrestrial meter.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof looked on in perplexity, regarding the lecturer with much the
      same curiosity as he would have watched the performances of a traveling
      mountebank at a fair in Montmartre; but Servadac and his two friends had
      already divined the professor&rsquo;s meaning. They knew that French coinage is
      all decimal, the franc being the standard of which the other coins,
      whether gold, silver, or copper, are multiples or measures; they knew,
      too, that the caliber or diameter of each piece of money is rigorously
      determined by law, and that the diameters of the silver coins representing
      five francs, two francs, and fifty centimes measure thirty-seven,
      twenty-seven, and eighteen millimeters respectively; and they accordingly
      guessed that Professor Rosette had conceived the plan of placing such a
      number of these coins in juxtaposition that the length of their united
      diameters should measure exactly the thousand millimeters that make up the
      terrestrial meter.
    </p>
    <p>
      The measurement thus obtained was by means of a pair of compasses divided
      accurately into ten equal portions, or decimeters, each of course 3.93
      inches long. A lath was then cut of this exact length and given to the
      engineer of the <i>Dobryna</i>, who was directed to cut out of the solid
      rock the cubic decimeter required by the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      The next business was to obtain the precise weight of a kilogramme. This
      was by no means a difficult matter. Not only the diameters, but also the
      weights, of the French coins are rigidly determined by law, and as the
      silver five-franc pieces always weigh exactly twenty-five grammes, the
      united weight of forty of these coins is known to amount to one
      kilogramme.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof; &ldquo;to be able to do all this I see you must be rich as
      well as learned.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      With a good-natured laugh at the orderly&rsquo;s remark, the meeting adjourned
      for a few hours. By the appointed time the engineer had finished his task,
      and with all due care had prepared a cubic decimeter of the material of
      the comet.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, gentlemen,&rdquo; said Professor Rosette, &ldquo;we are in a position to
      complete our calculation; we can now arrive at Gallia&rsquo;s attraction,
      density, and mass.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Everyone gave him his complete attention.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Before I proceed,&rdquo; he resumed, &ldquo;I must recall to your minds Newton&rsquo;s
      general law, &lsquo;that the attraction of two bodies is directly proportional
      to the product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square
      of their distances.&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;we remember that.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; continued the professor, &ldquo;keep it in mind for a few minutes
      now. Look here! In this bag are forty five-franc pieces&mdash;altogether
      they weigh exactly a kilogramme; by which I mean that if we were on the
      earth, and I were to hang the bag on the hook of the steelyard, the
      indicator on the dial would register one kilogramme. This is clear enough,
      I suppose?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      As he spoke the professor designedly kept his eyes fixed upon Ben Zoof. He
      was avowedly following the example of Arago, who was accustomed always in
      lecturing to watch the countenance of the least intelligent of his
      audience, and when he felt that he had made his meaning clear to him, he
      concluded that he must have succeeded with all the rest. In this case,
      however, it was technical ignorance, rather than any lack of intelligence,
      that justified the selection of the orderly for this special attention.
    </p>
    <p>
      Satisfied with his scrutiny of Ben Zoof&rsquo;s face, the professor went on.
      &ldquo;And now, gentlemen, we have to see what these coins weigh here upon
      Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He suspended the money bag to the hook; the needle oscillated, and
      stopped. &ldquo;Read it off!&rdquo; he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      The weight registered was one hundred and thirty-three grammes.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There, gentlemen, one hundred and thirty-three grammes! Less than
      one-seventh of a kilogramme! You see, consequently, that the force of
      gravity here on Gallia is not one-seventh of what it is upon the earth!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Interesting!&rdquo; cried Servadac, &ldquo;most interesting! But let us go on and
      compute the mass.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, captain, the density first,&rdquo; said Rosette.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; said the lieutenant; &ldquo;for, as we already know the volume, we
      can determine the mass as soon as we have ascertained the density.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor took up the cube of rock. &ldquo;You know what this is,&rdquo; he went
      on to say. &ldquo;You know, gentlemen, that this block is a cube hewn from the
      substance of which everywhere, all throughout your voyage of
      circumnavigation, you found Gallia to be composed&mdash;a substance to
      which your geological attainments did not suffice to assign a name.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our curiosity will be gratified,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;if you will enlighten
      our ignorance.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But Rosette did not take the slightest notice of the interruption.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A substance it is which no doubt constitutes the sole material of the
      comet, extending from its surface to its innermost depths. The probability
      is that it would be so; your experience confirms that probability: you
      have found no trace of any other substance. Of this rock here is a solid
      decimeter; let us get at its weight, and we shall have the key which will
      unlock the problem of the whole weight of Gallia. We have demonstrated
      that the force of attraction here is only one-seventh of what it is upon
      the earth, and shall consequently have to multiply the apparent weight of
      our cube by seven, in order to ascertain its proper weight. Do you
      understand me, goggle-eyes?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      This was addressed to Ben Zoof, who was staring hard at him. &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said
      Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I thought not; it is of no use waiting for your puzzle-brains to make it
      out. I must talk to those who can understand.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor took the cube, and, on attaching it to the hook of the
      steelyard, found that its apparent weight was one kilogramme and four
      hundred and thirty grammes.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Here it is, gentlemen; one kilogramme, four hundred and thirty grammes.
      Multiply that by seven; the product is, as nearly as possible, ten
      kilogrammes. What, therefore, is our conclusion? Why, that the density of
      Gallia is just about double the density of the earth, which we know is
      only five kilogrammes to a cubic decimeter. Had it not been for this
      greater density, the attraction of Gallia would only have been
      one-fifteenth instead of one-seventh of the terrestrial attraction.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor could not refrain from exhibiting his gratification that,
      however inferior in volume, in density, at least, his comet had the
      advantage over the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      Nothing further now remained than to apply the investigations thus
      finished to the determining of the mass or weight. This was a matter of
      little labor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let me see,&rdquo; said the captain; &ldquo;what is the force of gravity upon the
      various planets?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t mean, Servadac, that you have forgotten that? But you always
      were a disappointing pupil.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain could not help himself: he was forced to confess that his
      memory had failed him.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; said the professor, &ldquo;I must remind you. Taking the
      attraction on the earth as 1, that on Mercury is 1.15, on Venus it is 0.92,
      on Mars 0.5, and on Jupiter 2.45; on the moon the attraction is 0.16, whilst
      on the surface of the sun a terrestrial kilogramme would weigh 28
      kilogrammes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Therefore, if a man upon the surface of the sun were to fall down, he
      would have considerable difficulty in getting up again. A cannon ball,
      too, would only fly a few yards,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A jolly battle-field for cowards!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not so jolly, Ben Zoof, as you fancy,&rdquo; said his master; &ldquo;the cowards
      would be too heavy to run away.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof ventured the remark that, as the smallness of Gallia secured to
      its inhabitants such an increase of strength and agility, he was almost
      sorry that it had not been a little smaller still.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Though it could not anyhow have been very much smaller,&rdquo; he added,
      looking slyly at the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Idiot!&rdquo; exclaimed Rosette. &ldquo;Your head is too light already; a puff of
      wind would blow it away.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I must take care of my head, then, and hold it on,&rdquo; replied the
      irrepressible orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Unable to get the last word, the professor was about to retire, when
      Servadac detained him.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Permit me to ask you one more question,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Can you tell me what
      is the nature of the soil of Gallia?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, I can answer that. And in this matter I do not think your
      impertinent orderly will venture to put Montmartre into the comparison.
      This soil is of a substance not unknown upon the earth.&rdquo; And speaking very
      slowly, the professor said: &ldquo;It contains 70 per cent. of tellurium, and 30
      per cent. of gold.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac uttered an exclamation of surprise.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And the sum of the specific gravities of these two substances is 10,
      precisely the number that represents Gallia&rsquo;s density.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A comet of gold!&rdquo; ejaculated the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes; a realization of what the illustrious Maupertuis has already deemed
      probable,&rdquo; replied the astronomer.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If Gallia, then, should ever become attached to the earth, might it not
      bring about an important revolution in all monetary affairs?&rdquo; inquired the
      count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt about it!&rdquo; said Rosette, with manifest satisfaction. &ldquo;It would
      supply the world with about 246,000 trillions of francs.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It would make gold about as cheap as dirt, I suppose,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      The last observation, however, was entirely lost upon the professor, who
      had left the hall with an air almost majestic, and was already on his way
      to the observatory.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And what, I wonder, is the use of all these big figures?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof
      to his master, when next day they were alone together.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just the charm of them, my good fellow,&rdquo; was the captain&rsquo;s cool
      reply, &ldquo;that they are of no use whatever.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER VIII. JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE
    </h2>
    <p>
      Except as to the time the comet would take to revolve round the sun, it
      must be confessed that all the professor&rsquo;s calculations had comparatively
      little interest for anyone but himself, and he was consequently left very
      much to pursue his studies in solitude.
    </p>
    <p>
      The following day was the 1st of August, or, according to Rosette, the
      63rd of April. In the course of this month Gallia would travel 16,500,000
      leagues, attaining at the end a distance of 197,000,000 leagues from the
      sun. This would leave 81,000,000 leagues more to be traversed before
      reaching the aphelion of the 15th of January, after which it would begin
      once more to approach the sun.
    </p>
    <p>
      But meanwhile, a marvelous world, never before so close within the range
      of human vision, was revealing itself. No wonder that Palmyrin Rosette
      cared so little to quit his observatory; for throughout those calm, clear
      Gallian nights, when the book of the firmament lay open before him, he
      could revel in a spectacle which no previous astronomer had ever been
      permitted to enjoy.
    </p>
    <p>
      The glorious orb that was becoming so conspicuous an object was none other
      than the planet Jupiter, the largest of all the bodies existing within the
      influence of solar attraction. During the seven months that had elapsed
      since its collision with the earth, the comet had been continuously
      approaching the planet, until the distance between them was scarcely more
      than 61,000,000 leagues, and this would go on diminishing until the 15th
      of October.
    </p>
    <p>
      Under these circumstances, was it perfectly certain that no danger could
      accrue? Was not Gallia, when its pathway led it into such close proximity
      to this enormous planet, running a risk of being attracted within its
      influence? Might not that influence be altogether disastrous? The
      professor, it is true, in his estimate of the duration of his comet&rsquo;s
      revolution, had represented that he had made all proper allowances for any
      perturbations that would be caused either by Jupiter, by Saturn, or by
      Mars; but what if there were any errors in his calculations? what if there
      should be any elements of disturbance on which he had not reckoned?
    </p>
    <p>
      Speculations of this kind became more and more frequent, and Lieutenant
      Procope pointed out that the danger incurred might be of a fourfold
      character: first, that the comet, being irresistibly attracted, might be
      drawn on to the very surface of the planet, and there annihilated;
      secondly, that as the result of being brought under that attraction, it
      might be transformed into a satellite, or even a sub-satellite, of that
      mighty world; thirdly, that it might be diverted into a new orbit, which
      would never be coincident with the ecliptic; or, lastly, its course might
      be so retarded that it would only reach the ecliptic too late to permit
      any junction with the earth. The occurrence of any one of these
      contingencies would be fatal to their hopes of reunion with the globe,
      from which they had been so strangely severed.
    </p>
    <p>
      To Rosette, who, without family ties which he had never found leisure or
      inclination to contract, had no shadow of desire to return to the earth,
      it would be only the first of these probabilities that could give him any
      concern. Total annihilation might not accord with his views, but he would
      be quite content for Gallia to miss its mark with regard to the earth,
      indifferent whether it revolved as a new satellite around Jupiter, or
      whether it wended its course through the untraversed regions of the milky
      way. The rest of the community, however, by no means sympathized with the
      professor&rsquo;s sentiments, and the following month was a period of
      considerable doubt and anxiety.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 1st of September the distance between Gallia and Jupiter was
      precisely the same as the mean distance between the earth and the sun; on
      the 16th, the distance was further reduced to 26,000,000 leagues. The
      planet began to assume enormous dimensions, and it almost seemed as if the
      comet had already been deflected from its elliptical orbit, and was
      rushing on in a straight line towards the overwhelming luminary.
    </p>
    <p>
      The more they contemplated the character of this gigantic planet, the more
      they became impressed with the likelihood of a serious perturbation in
      their own course. The diameter of Jupiter is 85,390 miles, nearly eleven
      times as great as that of the earth; his volume is 1,387 times, and his
      mass 300 times greater; and although the mean density is only about a
      quarter of that of the earth, and only a third of that of water (whence it
      has been supposed that the superficies of Jupiter is liquid), yet his
      other proportions were large enough to warrant the apprehension that
      important disturbances might result from his proximity.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I forget my astronomy, lieutenant,&rdquo; said Servadac. &ldquo;Tell me all you can
      about this formidable neighbor.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant having refreshed his memory by reference to Flammarion&rsquo;s <i>Recits
      de l&rsquo;Infini</i>, of which he had a Russian translation, and some other
      books, proceeded to recapitulate that Jupiter accomplishes his revolution
      round the sun in 4,332 days 14 hours and 2 minutes; that he travels at the
      rate of 467 miles a minute along an orbit measuring 2,976 millions of
      miles; and that his rotation on his axis occupies only 9 hours and 55
      minutes.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;His days, then, are shorter than ours?&rdquo; interrupted the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Considerably,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant, who went on to describe how the
      displacement of a point at the equator of Jupiter was twenty-seven times
      as rapid as on the earth, causing the polar compression to be about 2,378
      miles; how the axis, being nearly perpendicular, caused the days and
      nights to be nearly of the same length, and the seasons to be invariable;
      and how the amount of light and heat received by the planet is only a
      twenty-fifth part of that received by the earth, the average distance from
      the sun being 475,693,000 miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And how about these satellites? Sometimes, I suppose, Jupiter has the
      benefit of four moons all shining at once?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Of the satellites, Lieutenant Procope went on to say that one is rather
      smaller than our own moon; that another moves round its primary at an
      interval about equal to the moon&rsquo;s distance from ourselves; but that they
      all revolve in considerably less time: the first takes only l day 18 hours
      27 minutes; the second takes 3 days 13 hours 14 minutes; the third, 7 days
      3 hours 42 minutes; whilst the largest of all takes but 16 days 16 hours
      32 minutes. The most remote revolves round the planet at a distance of
      1,192,820 miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;They have been enlisted into the service of science,&rdquo; said Procope. &ldquo;It
      is by their movements that the velocity of light has been calculated; and
      they have been made available for the determination of terrestrial
      longitudes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It must be a wonderful sight,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; answered Procope. &ldquo;I often think Jupiter is like a prodigious clock
      with four hands.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I only hope that we are not destined to make a fifth hand,&rdquo; answered
      Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such was the style of the conversation that was day by day reiterated
      during the whole month of suspense. Whatever topic might be started, it
      seemed soon to settle down upon the huge orb that was looming upon them
      with such threatening aspect.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The more remote that these planets are from the sun,&rdquo; said Procope, &ldquo;the
      more venerable and advanced in formation are they found to be. Neptune,
      situated 2,746,271,000 miles from the sun, issued from the solar
      nebulosity, thousands of millions of centuries back. Uranus, revolving
      1,753,851,000 miles from the center of the planetary system, is of an age
      amounting to many hundred millions of centuries. Jupiter, the colossal
      planet, gravitating at a distance of 475,693,000 miles, may be reckoned as
      70,000,000 centuries old. Mars has existed for 1,000,000,000 years at a
      distance of 139,212,000 miles. The earth, 91,430,000 miles from the sun,
      quitted his burning bosom 100,000,000 years ago. Venus, revolving now
      66,131,000 miles away, may be assigned the age of 50,000,000 years at
      least; and Mercury, nearest of all, and youngest of all, has been
      revolving at a distance of 35,393,000 miles for the space of 10,000,000
      years&mdash;the same time as the moon has been evolved from the earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac listened attentively. He was at a loss what to say; and the only
      reply he made to the recital of this novel theory was to the effect that,
      if it were true, he would prefer being captured by Mercury than by
      Jupiter, for Mercury, being so much the younger, would probably prove the
      less imperative and self-willed master.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was on the 1st of September that the comet had crossed the orbit of
      Jupiter, and on the 1st of October the two bodies were calculated to be at
      their minimum separation. No direct shock, however, could be apprehended;
      the demonstration was sufficiently complete that the orbit of Gallia did
      not coincide with that of the planet, the orbit of Jupiter being inclined
      at an angle of 1 degrees 19 mins to the orbit of the earth, with which
      that of Gallia was, no doubt, coincident.
    </p>
    <p>
      As the month of September verged towards its close, Jupiter began to wear
      an aspect that must have excited the admiration of the most ignorant or
      the most indifferent observer. Its salient points were illumined with
      novel and radiant tints, and the solar rays, reflected from its disc,
      glowed with a mingled softness and intensity upon Gallia, so that Nerina
      had to pale her beauty.
    </p>
    <p>
      Who could wonder that Rosette, enthusiast as he was, should be irremovable
      from his observatory? Who could expect otherwise than that, with the
      prospect before him of viewing the giant among planets, ten times nearer
      than any mortal eye had ever done, he should have begrudged every moment
      that distracted his attention?
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile, as Jupiter grew large, the sun grew small.
    </p>
    <p>
      From its increased remoteness the diameter of the sun&rsquo;s disc was
      diminished to 5 degrees 46 mins.
    </p>
    <p>
      And what an increased interest began to be associated with the satellites!
      They were visible to the naked eye! Was it not a new record in the annals
      of science?
    </p>
    <p>
      Although it is acknowledged that they are not ordinarily visible on earth
      without the aid of a somewhat powerful telescope, it has been asserted
      that a favored few, endued with extraordinary powers of vision, have been
      able to identify them with an unassisted eye; but here, at least, in
      Nina&rsquo;s Hive were many rivals, for everyone could so far distinguish them
      one from the other as to describe them by their colors. The first was of a
      dull white shade; the second was blue; the third was white and brilliant;
      the fourth was orange, at times approaching to a red. It was further
      observed that Jupiter itself was almost void of scintillation.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette, in his absorbing interest for the glowing glories of the planet,
      seemed to be beguiled into comparative forgetfulness of the charms of his
      comet; but no astronomical enthusiasm of the professor could quite allay
      the general apprehension that some serious collision might be impending.
    </p>
    <p>
      Time passed on. There was nothing to justify apprehension. The question
      was continually being asked, &ldquo;What does the professor really think?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Our friend the professor,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;is not likely to tell us very
      much; but we may feel pretty certain of one thing: he wouldn&rsquo;t keep us
      long in the dark, if he thought we were not going back to the earth again.
      The greatest satisfaction he could have would be to inform us that we had
      parted from the earth for ever.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I trust from my very soul,&rdquo; said the count, &ldquo;that his prognostications
      are correct.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The more I see of him, and the more I listen to him,&rdquo; replied Servadac,
      &ldquo;the more I become convinced that his calculations are based on a solid
      foundation, and will prove correct to the minutest particular.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof here interrupted the conversation. &ldquo;I have something on my mind,&rdquo;
       he said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Something on your mind? Out with it!&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That telescope!&rdquo; said the orderly; &ldquo;it strikes me that that telescope
      which the old professor keeps pointed up at yonder big sun is bringing it
      down straight upon us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The captain laughed heartily.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Laugh, captain, if you like; but I feel disposed to break the old
      telescope into atoms.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ben Zoof,&rdquo; said Servadac, his laughter exchanged for a look of stern
      displeasure, &ldquo;touch that telescope, and you shall swing for it!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The orderly looked astonished.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am governor here,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof knew what his master meant, and to him his master&rsquo;s wish was law.
    </p>
    <p>
      The interval between the comet and Jupiter was, by the 1st of October,
      reduced to 43,000,000 miles. The belts all parallel to Jupiter&rsquo;s equator
      were very distinct in their markings. Those immediately north and south of
      the equator were of a dusky hue; those toward the poles were alternately
      dark and light; the intervening spaces of the planet&rsquo;s superficies,
      between edge and edge, being intensely bright. The belts themselves were
      occasionally broken by spots, which the records of astronomy describe as
      varying both in form and in extent.
    </p>
    <p>
      The physiology of belts and spots alike was beyond the astronomer&rsquo;s power
      to ascertain; and even if he should be destined once again to take his
      place in an astronomical congress on the earth, he would be just as
      incapable as ever of determining whether or no they owed their existence
      to the external accumulation of vapor, or to some internal agency. It
      would not be Professor Rosette&rsquo;s lot to enlighten his brother <i>savants</i>
      to any great degree as to the mysteries that are associated with this,
      which must ever rank as one of the most magnificent amongst the heavenly
      orbs.
    </p>
    <p>
      As the comet approached the critical point of its career it cannot be
      denied that there was an unacknowledged consciousness of alarm. Mutually
      reserved, though ever courteous, the count and the captain were secretly
      drawn together by the prospect of a common danger; and as their return to
      the earth appeared to them to become more and more dubious, they abandoned
      their views of narrow isolation, and tried to embrace the wider philosophy
      that acknowledges the credibility of a habitable universe.
    </p>
    <p>
      But no philosophy could be proof against the common instincts of their
      humanity; their hearts, their hopes, were set upon their natural home; no
      speculation, no science, no experience, could induce them to give up their
      fond and sanguine anticipation that once again they were to come in
      contact with the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Only let us escape Jupiter,&rdquo; said Lieutenant Procope, repeatedly, &ldquo;and we
      are free from anxiety.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But would not Saturn lie ahead?&rdquo; asked Servadac and the count in one
      breath.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; said Procope; &ldquo;the orbit of Saturn is remote, and does not come
      athwart our path. Jupiter is our sole hindrance. Of Jupiter we must say,
      as William Tell said, &lsquo;Once through the ominous pass and all is well.&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The 15th of October came, the date of the nearest approximation of the
      comet to the planet. They were only 31,000,000 miles apart. What would now
      transpire? Would Gallia be diverted from its proper way? or would it hold
      the course that the astronomer had predicted?
    </p>
    <p>
      Early next morning the captain ventured to take the count and the
      lieutenant up to the observatory. The professor was in the worst of
      tempers.
    </p>
    <p>
      That was enough. It was enough, without a word, to indicate the course
      which events had taken. The comet was pursuing an unaltered way.
    </p>
    <p>
      The astronomer, correct in his prognostications, ought to have been the
      most proud and contented of philosophers; his pride and contentment were
      both overshadowed by the certainty that the career of his comet was
      destined to be so transient, and that it must inevitably once again come
      into collision with the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER IX MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;All right!&rdquo; said Servadac, convinced by the professor&rsquo;s ill humor that
      the danger was past; &ldquo;no doubt we are in for a two years&rsquo; excursion, but
      fifteen months more will take us back to the earth!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And we shall see Montmartre again!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof, in excited tones
      that betrayed his delight in the anticipation.
    </p>
    <p>
      To use a nautical expression, they had safely &ldquo;rounded the point,&rdquo; and
      they had to be congratulated on their successful navigation; for if, under
      the influence of Jupiter&rsquo;s attraction, the comet had been retarded for a
      single hour, in that hour the earth would have already traveled 2,300,000
      miles from the point where contact would ensue, and many centuries would
      elapse before such a coincidence would possibly again occur.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 1st of November Gallia and Jupiter were 40,000,000 miles apart. It
      was little more than ten weeks to the 15th of January, when the comet
      would begin to re-approach the sun. Though light and heat were now reduced
      to a twenty-fifth part of their terrestrial intensity, so that a perpetual
      twilight seemed to have settled over Gallia, yet the population felt
      cheered even by the little that was left, and buoyed up by the hope that
      they should ultimately regain their proper position with regard to the
      great luminary, of which the temperature has been estimated as not less
      than 5,000,000 degrees.
    </p>
    <p>
      Of the anxiety endured during the last two months Isaac Hakkabut had known
      nothing. Since the day he had done his lucky stroke of business he had
      never left the tartan; and after Ben Zoof, on the following day, had
      returned the steelyard and the borrowed cash, receiving back the paper
      roubles deposited, all communication between the Jew and Nina&rsquo;s Hive had
      ceased. In the course of the few minutes&rsquo; conversation which Ben Zoof had
      held with him, he had mentioned that he knew that the whole soil of Gallia
      was made of gold; but the old man, guessing that the orderly was only
      laughing at him as usual, paid no attention to the remark, and only
      meditated upon the means he could devise to get every bit of the money in
      the new world into his own possession. No one grieved over the life of
      solitude which Hakkabut persisted in leading. Ben Zoof giggled heartily,
      as he repeatedly observed &ldquo;it was astonishing how they reconciled
      themselves to his absence.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The time came, however, when various circumstances prompted him to think
      he must renew his intercourse with the inhabitants of the Hive. Some of
      his goods were beginning to spoil, and he felt the necessity of turning
      them into money, if he would not be a loser; he hoped, moreover, that the
      scarcity of his commodities would secure very high prices.
    </p>
    <p>
      It happened, just about this same time, that Ben Zoof had been calling his
      master&rsquo;s attention to the fact that some of their most necessary
      provisions would soon be running short, and that their stock of coffee,
      sugar, and tobacco would want replenishing. Servadac&rsquo;s mind, of course,
      turned to the cargo on board the <i>Hansa</i>, and he resolved, according
      to his promise, to apply to the Jew and become a purchaser. Mutual
      interest and necessity thus conspired to draw Hakkabut and the captain
      together.
    </p>
    <p>
      Often and often had Isaac gloated in his solitude over the prospect of
      first selling a portion of his merchandise for all the gold and silver in
      the colony. His recent usurious transaction had whetted his appetite. He
      would next part with some more of his cargo for all the paper money they
      could give him; but still he should have goods left, and they would want
      these. Yes, they should have these, too, for promissory notes. Notes would
      hold good when they got back again to the earth; bills from his Excellency
      the governor would be good bills; anyhow there would be the sheriff. By
      the God of Israel! he would get good prices, and he would get fine
      interest!
    </p>
    <p>
      Although he did not know it, he was proposing to follow the practice of
      the Gauls of old, who advanced money on bills for payment in a future
      life. Hakkabut&rsquo;s &ldquo;future life,&rdquo; however, was not many months in advance of
      the present.
    </p>
    <p>
      Still Hakkabut hesitated to make the first advance, and it was accordingly
      with much satisfaction that he hailed Captain Servadac&rsquo;s appearance on
      board the <i>Hansa</i>.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hakkabut,&rdquo; said the captain, plunging without further preface into
      business, &ldquo;we want some coffee, some tobacco, and other things. I have
      come to-day to order them, to settle the price, and to-morrow Ben Zoof
      shall fetch the goods away.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful, heavens!&rdquo; the Jew began to whine; but Servadac cut him short.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;None of that miserable howling! Business! I am come to buy your goods. I
      shall pay for them.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah yes, your Excellency,&rdquo; whispered the Jew, his voice trembling like a
      street beggar. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t impose on me. I am poor; I am nearly ruined
      already.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Cease your wretched whining!&rdquo; cried Servadac. &ldquo;I have told you once, I
      shall pay for all I buy.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ready money?&rdquo; asked Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, ready money. What makes you ask?&rdquo; said the captain, curious to hear
      what the Jew would say.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, you see&mdash;you see, your Excellency,&rdquo; stammered out the Jew, &ldquo;to
      give credit to one wouldn&rsquo;t do, unless I gave credit to another. You are
      solvent&mdash;I mean honorable, and his lordship the count is honorable;
      but maybe&mdash;maybe&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said Servadac, waiting, but inclined to kick the old rascal out of
      his sight.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t like to give credit,&rdquo; he repeated.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have not asked you for credit. I have told you, you shall have ready
      money.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good, your Excellency. But how will you pay me?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Pay you? Why, we shall pay you in gold and silver and copper, while our
      money lasts, and when that is gone we shall pay you in bank notes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, no paper, no paper!&rdquo; groaned out the Jew, relapsing into his
      accustomed whine.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nonsense, man!&rdquo; cried Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No paper!&rdquo; reiterated Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why not? Surely you can trust the banks of England, France, and Russia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah no! I must have gold. Nothing so safe as gold.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well then,&rdquo; said the captain, not wanting to lose his temper, &ldquo;you shall
      have it your own way; we have plenty of gold for the present. We will
      leave the bank notes for by and by.&rdquo; The Jew&rsquo;s countenance brightened, and
      Servadac, repeating that he should come again the next day, was about to
      quit the vessel.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;One moment, your Excellency,&rdquo; said Hakkabut, sidling up with a
      hypocritical smile; &ldquo;I suppose I am to fix my own prices.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You will, of course, charge ordinary prices&mdash;proper market prices;
      European prices, I mean.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; shrieked the old man, &ldquo;you rob me of my rights; you
      defraud me of my privilege. The monopoly of the market belongs to me. It
      is the custom; it is my right; it is my privilege to fix my own prices.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac made him understand that he had no intention of swerving from his
      decision.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; again howled the Jew, &ldquo;it is sheer ruin. The time of
      monopoly is the time for profit; it is the time for speculation.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The very thing, Hakkabut, that I am anxious to prevent. Just stop now,
      and think a minute. You seem to forget <i>my</i> rights; you are
      forgetting that, if I please, I can confiscate all your cargo for the
      common use. You ought to think yourself lucky in getting any price at all.
      Be contented with European prices; you will get no more. I am not going to
      waste my breath on you. I will come again to-morrow;&rdquo; and, without
      allowing Hakkabut time to renew his lamentations, Servadac went away.
    </p>
    <p>
      All the rest of the day the Jew was muttering bitter curses against the
      thieves of Gentiles in general, and the governor of Gallia in particular,
      who were robbing him of his just profits, by binding him down to a maximum
      price for his goods, just as if it were a time of revolution in the state.
      But he would be even with them yet; he would have it all out of them: he
      would make European prices pay, after all. He had a plan&mdash;he knew
      how; and he chuckled to himself, and grinned maliciously.
    </p>
    <p>
      True to his word, the captain next morning arrived at the tartan. He was
      accompanied by Ben Zoof and two Russian sailors. &ldquo;Good-morning, old
      Eleazar; we have come to do our little bit of friendly business with you,
      you know,&rdquo; was Ben Zoof&rsquo;s greeting.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you want to-day?&rdquo; asked the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To-day we want coffee, and we want sugar, and we want tobacco. We must
      have ten kilogrammes of each. Take care they are all good; all first rate.
      I am commissariat officer, and I am responsible.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I thought you were the governor&rsquo;s aide-de-camp,&rdquo; said Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;So I am, on state occasions; but to-day, I tell you. I am superintendent
      of the commissariat department. Now, look sharp!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut hereupon descended into the hold of the tartan, and soon
      returned, carrying ten packets of tobacco, each weighing one kilogramme,
      and securely fastened by strips of paper, labeled with the French
      government stamp.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ten kilogrammes of tobacco at twelve francs a kilogramme: a hundred and
      twenty francs,&rdquo; said the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof was on the point of laying down the money, when Servadac stopped
      him.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Let us just see whether the weight is correct.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut pointed out that the weight was duly registered on every packet,
      and that the packets had never been unfastened. The captain, however, had
      his own special object in view, and would not be diverted. The Jew fetched
      his steelyard, and a packet of the tobacco was suspended to it.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; screamed Isaac.
    </p>
    <p>
      The index registered only 133 grammes!
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You see, Hakkabut, I was right. I was perfectly justified in having your
      goods put to the test,&rdquo; said Servadac, quite seriously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But&mdash;but, your Excellency&mdash;&rdquo; stammered out the bewildered man.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You will, of course, make up the deficiency,&rdquo; the captain continued, not
      noticing the interruption.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, my lord, let me say&mdash;&rdquo; began Isaac again.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come, come, old Caiaphas, do you hear? You are to make up the
      deficiency,&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, yes, yes; but&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The unfortunate Israelite tried hard to speak, but his agitation prevented
      him. He understood well enough the cause of the phenomenon, but he was
      overpowered by the conviction that the &ldquo;cursed Gentiles&rdquo; wanted to cheat
      him. He deeply regretted that he had not a pair of common scales on board.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come, I say, old Jedediah, you are a long while making up what&rsquo;s short,&rdquo;
       said Ben Zoof, while the Jew was still stammering on.
    </p>
    <p>
      As soon as he recovered his power of articulation, Isaac began to pour out
      a medley of lamentations and petitions for mercy. The captain was
      inexorable. &ldquo;Very sorry, you know, Hakkabut. It is not my fault that the
      packet is short weight; but I cannot pay for a kilogramme except I have a
      kilogramme.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut pleaded for some consideration.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A bargain is a bargain,&rdquo; said Servadac. &ldquo;You must complete your
      contract.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And, moaning and groaning, the miserable man was driven to make up the
      full weight as registered by his own steelyard. He had to repeat the
      process with the sugar and coffee: for every kilogramme he had to weigh
      seven. Ben Zoof and the Russians jeered him most unmercifully.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I say, old Mordecai, wouldn&rsquo;t you rather give your goods away, than sell
      them at this rate? I would.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I say, old Pilate, a monopoly isn&rsquo;t always a good thing, is it?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I say, old Sepharvaim, what a flourishing trade you&rsquo;re driving!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile seventy kilogrammes of each of the articles required were
      weighed, and the Jew for each seventy had to take the price of ten.
    </p>
    <p>
      All along Captain Servadac had been acting only in jest. Aware that old
      Isaac was an utter hypocrite, he had no compunction in turning a business
      transaction with him into an occasion for a bit of fun. But the joke at an
      end, he took care that the Jew was properly paid all his legitimate due.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER X. FAR INTO SPACE
    </h2>
    <p>
      A month passed away. Gallia continued its course, bearing its little
      population onwards, so far removed from the ordinary influence of human
      passions that it might almost be said that its sole ostensible vice was
      represented by the greed and avarice of the miserable Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      After all, they were but making a voyage&mdash;a strange, yet a transient,
      excursion through solar regions hitherto untraversed; but if the
      professor&rsquo;s calculations were correct&mdash;and why should they be
      doubted?&mdash;their little vessel was destined, after a two years&rsquo; 
      absence, once more to return &ldquo;to port.&rdquo; The landing, indeed, might be a
      matter of difficulty; but with the good prospect before them of once again
      standing on terrestrial shores, they had nothing to do at present except
      to make themselves as comfortable as they could in their present quarters.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thus confident in their anticipations, neither the captain, the count, nor
      the lieutenant felt under any serious obligation to make any extensive
      provisions for the future; they saw no necessity for expending the
      strength of the people, during the short summer that would intervene upon
      the long severity of winter, in the cultivation or the preservation of
      their agricultural resources. Nevertheless, they often found themselves
      talking over the measures they would have been driven to adopt, if they
      had found themselves permanently attached to their present home.
    </p>
    <p>
      Even after the turning-point in their career, they knew that at least nine
      months would have to elapse before the sea would be open to navigation;
      but at the very first arrival of summer they would be bound to arrange for
      the <i>Dobryna</i> and the <i>Hansa</i> to retransport themselves and all
      their animals to the shores of Gourbi Island, where they would have to
      commence their agricultural labors to secure the crops that must form
      their winter store. During four months or thereabouts, they would lead the
      lives of farmers and of sportsmen; but no sooner would their haymaking and
      their corn harvest have been accomplished, than they would be compelled
      again, like a swarm of bees, to retire to their semi-troglodyte existence
      in the cells of Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      Now and then the captain and his friends found themselves speculating
      whether, in the event of their having to spend another winter upon Gallia,
      some means could not be devised by which the dreariness of a second
      residence in the recesses of the volcano might be escaped. Would not
      another exploring expedition possibly result in the discovery of a vein of
      coal or other combustible matter, which could be turned to account in
      warming some erection which they might hope to put up? A prolonged
      existence in their underground quarters was felt to be monotonous and
      depressing, and although it might be all very well for a man like
      Professor Rosette, absorbed in astronomical studies, it was ill suited to
      the temperaments of any of themselves for any longer period than was
      absolutely indispensable.
    </p>
    <p>
      One contingency there was, almost too terrible to be taken into account.
      Was it not to be expected that the time might come when the internal fires
      of Gallia would lose their activity, and the stream of lava would
      consequently cease to flow? Why should Gallia be exempt from the destiny
      that seemed to await every other heavenly body? Why should it not roll
      onwards, like the moon, a dark cold mass in space?
    </p>
    <p>
      In the event of such a cessation of the volcanic eruption, whilst the
      comet was still at so great a distance from the sun, they would indeed be
      at a loss to find a substitute for what alone had served to render life
      endurable at a temperature of 60 degrees below zero. Happily, however,
      there was at present no symptom of the subsidence of the lava&rsquo;s stream;
      the volcano continued its regular and unchanging discharge, and Servadac,
      ever sanguine, declared that it was useless to give themselves any anxiety
      upon the matter.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 15th of December, Gallia was 276,000,000 leagues from the sun, and,
      as it was approximately to the extremity of its axis major, would travel
      only some 11,000,000 or 12,000,000 leagues during the month. Another world
      was now becoming a conspicuous object in the heavens, and Palmyrin
      Rosette, after rejoicing in an approach nearer to Jupiter than any other
      mortal man had ever attained, was now to be privileged to enjoy a similar
      opportunity of contemplating the planet Saturn. Not that the circumstances
      were altogether so favorable. Scarcely 31,000,000 miles had separated
      Gallia from Jupiter; the minimum distance of Saturn would not be less than
      415,000,000 miles; but even this distance, although too great to affect
      the comet&rsquo;s progress more than had been duly reckoned on, was considerably
      shorter than what had ever separated Saturn from the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      To get any information about the planet from Rosette appeared quite
      impossible. Although equally by night and by day he never seemed to quit
      his telescope, he did not evince the slightest inclination to impart the
      result of his observations. It was only from the few astronomical works
      that happened to be included in the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> library that any
      details could be gathered, but these were sufficient to give a large
      amount of interesting information.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof, when he was made aware that the earth would be invisible to the
      naked eye from the surface of Saturn, declared that he then, for his part,
      did not care to learn any more about such a planet; to him it was
      indispensable that the earth should remain in sight, and it was his great
      consolation that hitherto his native sphere had never vanished from his
      gaze.
    </p>
    <p>
      At this date Saturn was revolving at a distance of 420,000,000 miles from
      Gallia, and consequently 874,440,000 miles from the sun, receiving only a
      hundredth part of the light and heat which that luminary bestows upon the
      earth. On consulting their books of reference, the colonists found that
      Saturn completes his revolution round the sun in a period of 29 years and
      167 days, traveling at the rate of more than 21,000 miles an hour along an
      orbit measuring 5,490 millions of miles in length. His circumference is
      about 220,000 miles; his superficies, 144,000 millions of square miles;
      his volume, 143,846 millions of cubic miles. Saturn is 735 times larger
      than the earth, consequently he is smaller than Jupiter; in mass he is
      only 90 times greater than the earth, which gives him a density less than
      that of water. He revolves on his axis in 10 hours 29 minutes, causing his
      own year to consist of 86,630 days; and his seasons, on account of the
      great inclination of his axis to the plane of his orbit, are each of the
      length of seven terrestrial years.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although the light received from the sun is comparatively feeble, the
      nights upon Saturn must be splendid. Eight satellites&mdash;Mimas,
      Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, and Japetus&mdash;accompany
      the planet; Mimas, the nearest to its primary, rotating on its axis in
      22 1/2 hours, and revolving at a distance of only 120,800 miles, whilst
      Japetus, the most remote, occupies 79 days in its rotation, and revolves
      at a distance of 2,314,000 miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      Another most important contribution to the magnificence of the nights upon
      Saturn is the triple ring with which, as a brilliant setting, the planet
      is encompassed. To an observer at the equator, this ring, which has been
      estimated by Sir William Herschel as scarcely 100 miles in thickness, must
      have the appearance of a narrow band of light passing through the zenith
      12,000 miles above his head. As the observer, however, increases his
      latitude either north or south, the band will gradually widen out into
      three detached and concentric rings, of which the innermost, dark though
      transparent, is 9,625 miles in breadth; the intermediate one, which is
      brighter than the planet itself, being 17,605 miles broad; and the outer,
      of a dusky hue, being 8,660 miles broad.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such, they read, is the general outline of this strange appendage, which
      revolves in its own plane in 10 hours 32 minutes. Of what matter it is
      composed, and how it resists disintegration, is still an unsettled
      question; but it might almost seem that the Designer of the universe, in
      permitting its existence, had been willing to impart to His intelligent
      creatures the manner in which celestial bodies are evolved, and that this
      remarkable ring-system is a remnant of the nebula from which Saturn was
      himself developed, and which, from some unknown cause, has become
      solidified. If at any time it should disperse, it would either fall into
      fragments upon the surface of Saturn, or the fragments, mutually
      coalescing, would form additional satellites to circle round the planet in
      its path.
    </p>
    <p>
      To any observer stationed on the planet, between the extremes of lat. 45
      degrees on either side of the equator, these wonderful rings would present
      various strange phenomena. Sometimes they would appear as an illuminated
      arch, with the shadow of Saturn passing over it like the hour-hand over a
      dial; at other times they would be like a semi-aureole of light. Very
      often, too, for periods of several years, daily eclipses of the sun must
      occur through the interposition of this triple ring.
    </p>
    <p>
      Truly, with the constant rising and setting of the satellites, some with
      bright discs at their full, others like silver crescents, in quadrature,
      as well as by the encircling rings, the aspect of the heavens from the
      surface of Saturn must be as impressive as it is gorgeous.
    </p>
    <p>
      Unable, indeed, the Gallians were to realize all the marvels of this
      strange world. After all, they were practically a thousand times further
      off than the great astronomers have been able to approach by means of
      their giant telescopes. But they did not complain; their little comet,
      they knew, was far safer where it was; far better out of the reach of an
      attraction which, by affecting their path, might have annihilated their
      best hopes.
    </p>
    <p>
      The distances of several of the brightest of the fixed stars have been
      estimated. Amongst others, Vega in the constellation Lyra is 100 millions
      of millions of miles away; Sirius in Canis Major, 123 millions of
      millions; the Pole-star, 282 millions of millions; and Capella, 340
      millions of millions of miles, a figure represented by no less than
      fifteen digits.
    </p>
    <p>
      The hard numerical statement of these enormous figures, however, fails
      altogether in any adequate way to convey a due impression of the magnitude
      of these distances. Astronomers, in their ingenuity, have endeavored to
      use some other basis, and have found &ldquo;the velocity of light&rdquo; to be
      convenient for their purpose. They have made their representations
      something in this way:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Suppose,&rdquo; they say, &ldquo;an observer endowed with an infinite length of
      vision: suppose him stationed on the surface of Capella; looking thence
      towards the earth, he would be a spectator of events that had happened
      seventy years previously; transport him to a star ten times distant, and
      he will be reviewing the terrestrial sphere of 720 years back; carry him
      away further still, to a star so remote that it requires something less
      than nineteen centuries for light to reach it, and he would be a witness
      of the birth and death of Christ; convey him further again, and he shall
      be looking upon the dread desolation of the Deluge; take him away further
      yet (for space is infinite), and he shall be a spectator of the Creation
      of the spheres. History is thus stereotyped in space; nothing once
      accomplished can ever be effaced.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Who can altogether be astonished that Palmyrin Rosette, with his burning
      thirst for astronomical research, should have been conscious of a longing
      for yet wider travel through the sidereal universe? With his comet now
      under the influence of one star, now of another, what various systems
      might he not have explored! what undreamed-of marvels might not have
      revealed themselves before his gaze! The stars, fixed and immovable in
      name, are all of them in motion, and Gallia might have followed them in
      their un-tracked way.
    </p>
    <p>
      But Gallia had a narrow destiny. She was not to be allowed to wander away
      into the range of attraction of another center; nor to mingle with the
      star clusters, some of which have been entirely, others partially
      resolved; nor was she to lose herself amongst the 5,000 nebulae which have
      resisted hitherto the grasp of the most powerful reflectors. No; Gallia
      was neither to pass beyond the limits of the solar system, nor to travel
      out of sight of the terrestrial sphere. Her orbit was circumscribed to
      little over 1,500 millions of miles; and, in comparison with the infinite
      space beyond, this was a mere nothing.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0035" id="link2HCH0035">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XI. A FETE DAY
    </h2>
    <p>
      The temperature continued to decrease; the mercurial thermometer, which
      freezes at 42 degrees below zero, was no longer of service, and the spirit
      thermometer of the <i>Dobryna</i> had been brought into use. This now
      registered 53 degrees below freezing-point.
    </p>
    <p>
      In the creek, where the two vessels had been moored for the winter, the
      elevation of the ice, in anticipation of which Lieutenant Procope had
      taken the precautionary measure of beveling, was going on slowly but
      irresistibly, and the tartan was upheaved fifty feet above the level of
      the Gallian Sea, while the schooner, as being lighter, had been raised to
      a still greater altitude.
    </p>
    <p>
      So irresistible was this gradual process of elevation, so utterly defying
      all human power to arrest, that the lieutenant began to feel very anxious
      as to the safety of his yacht. With the exception of the engine and the
      masts, everything had been cleared out and conveyed to shore, but in the
      event of a thaw it appeared that nothing short of a miracle could prevent
      the hull from being dashed to pieces, and then all means of leaving the
      promontory would be gone. The <i>Hansa</i>, of course, would share a
      similar fate; in fact, it had already heeled over to such an extent as to
      render it quite dangerous for its obstinate owner, who, at the peril of
      his life, resolved that he would stay where he could watch over his
      all-precious cargo, though continually invoking curses on the ill-fate of
      which he deemed himself the victim.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was, however, a stronger will than Isaac Hakkabut&rsquo;s. Although no one
      of all the community cared at all for the safety of the Jew, they cared
      very much for the security of his cargo, and when Servadac found that
      nothing would induce the old man to abandon his present quarters
      voluntarily, he very soon adopted measures of coercion that were far more
      effectual than any representations of personal danger.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Stop where you like, Hakkabut,&rdquo; said the captain to him; &ldquo;but understand
      that I consider it my duty to make sure that your cargo is taken care of.
      I am going to have it carried across to land, at once.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Neither groans, nor tears, nor protestations on the part of the Jew, were
      of the slightest avail. Forthwith, on the 20th of December, the removal of
      the goods commenced.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both Spaniards and Russians were all occupied for several days in the work
      of unloading the tartan. Well muffled up as they were in furs, they were
      able to endure the cold with impunity, making it their special care to
      avoid actual contact with any article made of metal, which, in the low
      state of the temperature, would inevitably have taken all the skin off
      their hands, as much as if it had been red-hot. The task, however, was
      brought to an end without accident of any kind; and when the stores of the
      <i>Hansa</i> were safely deposited in the galleries of the Hive,
      Lieutenant Procope avowed that he really felt that his mind had been
      unburdened from a great anxiety.
    </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac gave old Isaac full permission to take up his residence
      amongst the rest of the community, promised him the entire control over
      his own property, and altogether showed him so much consideration that,
      but for his unbounded respect for his master, Ben Zoof would have liked to
      reprimand him for his courtesy to a man whom he so cordially despised.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although Hakkabut clamored most vehemently about his goods being carried
      off &ldquo;against his will,&rdquo; in his heart he was more than satisfied to see his
      property transferred to a place of safety, and delighted, moreover, to
      know that the transport had been effected without a farthing of expense to
      himself. As soon, then, as he found the tartan empty, he was only too glad
      to accept the offer that had been made him, and very soon made his way
      over to the quarters in the gallery where his merchandise had been stored.
      Here he lived day and night. He supplied himself with what little food he
      required from his own stock of provisions, a small spirit-lamp sufficing
      to perform all the operations of his meager cookery. Consequently all
      intercourse between himself and the rest of the inhabitants was entirely
      confined to business transactions, when occasion required that some
      purchase should be made from his stock of commodities. Meanwhile, all the
      silver and gold of the colony was gradually finding its way to a
      double-locked drawer, of which the Jew most carefully guarded the key.
    </p>
    <p>
      The 1st of January was drawing near, the anniversary of the shock which
      had resulted in the severance of thirty-six human beings from the society
      of their fellow-men. Hitherto, not one of them was missing. The unvarying
      calmness of the climate, notwithstanding the cold, had tended to maintain
      them in good health, and there seemed no reason to doubt that, when Gallia
      returned to the earth, the total of its little population would still be
      complete.
    </p>
    <p>
      The 1st of January, it is true, was not properly &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s Day&rdquo; in
      Gallia, but Captain Servadac, nevertheless, was very anxious to have it
      observed as a holiday.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I do not think,&rdquo; he said to Count Timascheff and Lieutenant Procope,
      &ldquo;that we ought to allow our people to lose their interest in the world to
      which we are all hoping to return; and how can we cement the bond that
      ought to unite us, better than by celebrating, in common with our
      fellow-creatures upon earth, a day that awakens afresh the kindliest
      sentiments of all? Besides,&rdquo; he added, smiling, &ldquo;I expect that Gallia,
      although invisible just at present to the naked eye, is being closely
      watched by the telescopes of our terrestrial friends, and I have no doubt
      that the newspapers and scientific journals of both hemispheres are full
      of accounts detailing the movements of the new comet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True,&rdquo; asserted the count. &ldquo;I can quite imagine that we are occasioning
      no small excitement in all the chief observatories.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, more than that,&rdquo; said the lieutenant; &ldquo;our Gallia is certain to be
      far more than a mere object of scientific interest or curiosity. Why
      should we doubt that the elements of a comet which has once come into
      collision with the earth have by this time been accurately calculated?
      What our friend the professor has done here, has been done likewise on the
      earth, where, beyond a question, all manner of expedients are being
      discussed as to the best way of mitigating the violence of a concussion
      that must occur.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant&rsquo;s conjectures were so reasonable that they commanded
      assent. Gallia could scarcely be otherwise than an object of terror to the
      inhabitants of the earth, who could by no means be certain that a second
      collision would be comparatively so harmless as the first. Even to the
      Gallians themselves, much as they looked forward to the event, the
      prospect was not unmixed with alarm, and they would rejoice in the
      invention of any device by which it was likely the impetus of the shock
      might be deadened.
    </p>
    <p>
      Christmas arrived, and was marked by appropriate religious observance by
      everyone in the community, with the exception of the Jew, who made a point
      of secluding himself more obstinately than ever in the gloomy recesses of
      his retreat.
    </p>
    <p>
      To Ben Zoof the last week of the year was full of bustle. The arrangements
      for the New Year <i>fete</i> were entrusted to him, and he was anxious, in
      spite of the resources of Gallia being so limited, to make the program for
      the great day as attractive as possible.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was a matter of debate that night whether the professor should be
      invited to join the party; it was scarcely likely that he would care to
      come, but, on the whole, it was felt to be advisable to ask him. At first
      Captain Servadac thought of going in person with the invitation; but,
      remembering Rosette&rsquo;s dislike to visitors, he altered his mind, and sent
      young Pablo up to the observatory with a formal note, requesting the
      pleasure of Professor Rosette&rsquo;s company at the New Year&rsquo;s <i>fete</i>.
    </p>
    <p>
      Pablo was soon back, bringing no answer except that the professor had told
      him that &ldquo;to-day was the 125th of June, and that to-morrow would be the
      1st of July.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Consequently, Servadac and the count took it for granted that Palmyrin
      Rosette declined their invitation.
    </p>
    <p>
      An hour after sunrise on New Year&rsquo;s Day, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards,
      and little Nina, as the representative of Italy, sat down to a feast such
      as never before had been seen in Gallia. Ben Zoof and the Russian cook had
      quite surpassed themselves. The wines, part of the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i>
      stores, were of excellent quality. Those of the vintages of France and
      Spain were drunk in toasting their respective countries, and even Russia
      was honored in a similar way by means of a few bottles of kummel. The
      company was more than contented&mdash;it was as jovial as Ben Zoof could
      desire; and the ringing cheers that followed the great toast of the day&mdash;&ldquo;A
      happy return to our Mother Earth,&rdquo; must fairly have startled the professor
      in the silence of his observatory.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>dejeuner</i> over, there still remained three hours of daylight.
      The sun was approaching the zenith, but so dim and enfeebled were his rays
      that they were very unlike what had produced the wines of Bordeaux and
      Burgundy which they had just been enjoying, and it was necessary for all,
      before starting upon an excursion that would last over nightfall, to
      envelop themselves in the thickest of clothing.
    </p>
    <p>
      Full of spirits, the party left the Hive, and chattering and singing as
      they went, made their way down to the frozen shore, where they fastened on
      their skates. Once upon the ice, everyone followed his own fancy, and some
      singly, some in groups, scattered themselves in all directions. Captain
      Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant were generally seen together.
      Negrete and the Spaniards, now masters of their novel exercise, wandered
      fleetly and gracefully hither and thither, occasionally being out of sight
      completely. The Russian sailors, following a northern custom, skated in
      file, maintaining their rank by means of a long pole passed under their
      right arms, and in this way they described a trackway of singular
      regularity. The two children, blithe as birds, flitted about, now singly,
      now arm-in-arm, now joining the captain&rsquo;s party, now making a short
      peregrination by themselves, but always full of life and spirit. As for
      Ben Zoof, he was here, there, and everywhere, his imperturbable good
      temper ensuring him a smile of welcome whenever he appeared.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thus coursing rapidly over the icy plain, the whole party had soon
      exceeded the line that made the horizon from the shore. First, the rocks
      of the coast were lost to view; then the white crests of the cliffs were
      no longer to be seen; and at last, the summit of the volcano, with its
      corona of vapor, was entirely out of sight. Occasionally the skaters were
      obliged to stop to recover their breath, but, fearful of frost-bite, they
      almost instantly resumed their exercise, and proceeded nearly as far as
      Gourbi Island before they thought about retracing their course.
    </p>
    <p>
      But night was coming on, and the sun was already sinking in the east with
      the rapidity to which the residents on Gallia were by this time well
      accustomed. The sunset upon this contracted horizon was very remarkable.
      There was not a cloud nor a vapor to catch the tints of the declining
      beams; the surface of the ice did not, as a liquid sea would, reflect the
      last green ray of light; but the radiant orb, enlarged by the effect of
      refraction, its circumference sharply defined against the sky, sank
      abruptly, as though a trap had been opened in the ice for its reception.
    </p>
    <p>
      Before the daylight ended. Captain Servadac had cautioned the party to
      collect themselves betimes into one group. &ldquo;Unless you are sure of your
      whereabouts before dark,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you will not find it after. We have
      come out like a party of skirmishers; let us go back in full force.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The night would be dark; their moon was in conjunction, and would not be
      seen; the stars would only give something of that &ldquo;pale radiance&rdquo; which
      the poet Corneille has described.
    </p>
    <p>
      Immediately after sunset the torches were lighted, and the long series of
      flames, fanned by the rapid motion of their bearers, had much the
      appearance of an enormous fiery banner. An hour later, and the volcano
      appeared like a dim shadow on the horizon, the light from the crater
      shedding a lurid glare upon the surrounding gloom. In time the glow of the
      burning lava, reflected in the icy mirror, fell upon the troop of skaters,
      and cast their lengthened shadows grotesquely on the surface of the frozen
      sea.
    </p>
    <p>
      Later still, half an hour or more afterwards, the torches were all but
      dying out. The shore was close at hand. All at once, Ben Zoof uttered a
      startled cry, and pointed with bewildered excitement towards the mountain.
      Involuntarily, one and all, they plowed their heels into the ice and came
      to a halt. Exclamations of surprise and horror burst from every lip. The
      volcano was extinguished! The stream of burning lava had suddenly ceased
      to flow!
    </p>
    <p>
      Speechless with amazement, they stood still for some moments. There was
      not one of them that did not realize, more or less, how critical was their
      position. The sole source of the heat that had enabled them to brave the
      rigor of the cold had failed them! death, in the cruellest of all shapes,
      seemed staring them in the face&mdash;death from cold! Meanwhile, the last
      torch had flickered out.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was quite dark.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Forward!&rdquo; cried Servadac, firmly.
    </p>
    <p>
      At the word of command they advanced to the shore; clambered with no
      little difficulty up the slippery rocks; gained the mouth of the gallery;
      groped their way into the common hall.
    </p>
    <p>
      How dreary! how chill it seemed!
    </p>
    <p>
      The fiery cataract no longer spread its glowing covering over the mouth of
      the grotto. Lieutenant Procope leaned through the aperture. The pool,
      hitherto kept fluid by its proximity to the lava, was already encrusted
      with a layer of ice.
    </p>
    <p>
      Such was the end of the New Year&rsquo;s Day so happily begun.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0036" id="link2HCH0036">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XII. THE BOWELS OF THE COMET
    </h2>
    <p>
      The whole night was spent in speculating, with gloomy forebodings, upon
      the chances of the future. The temperature of the hall, now entirely
      exposed to the outer air, was rapidly falling, and would quickly become
      unendurable. Far too intense was the cold to allow anyone to remain at the
      opening, and the moisture on the walls soon resolved itself into icicles.
      But the mountain was like the body of a dying man, that retains awhile a
      certain amount of heat at the heart after the extremities have become cold
      and dead. In the more interior galleries there was still a certain degree
      of warmth, and hither Servadac and his companions were glad enough to
      retreat.
    </p>
    <p>
      Here they found the professor, who, startled by the sudden cold, had been
      fain to make a precipitate retreat from his observatory. Now would have
      been the opportunity to demand of the enthusiast whether he would like to
      prolong his residence indefinitely upon his little comet. It is very
      likely that he would have declared himself ready to put up with any amount
      of discomfort to be able to gratify his love of investigation; but all
      were far too disheartened and distressed to care to banter him upon the
      subject on which he was so sensitive.
    </p>
    <p>
      Next morning, Servadac thus addressed his people. &ldquo;My friends, except from
      cold, we have nothing to fear. Our provisions are ample&mdash;more than
      enough for the remaining period of our sojourn in this lone world of ours;
      our preserved meat is already cooked; we shall be able to dispense with
      all fuel for cooking purposes. All that we require is warmth&mdash;warmth
      for ourselves; let us secure that, and all may be well. Now, I do not
      entertain a doubt but that the warmth we require is resident in the bowels
      of this mountain on which we are living; to the depth of those bowels we
      must penetrate; there we shall obtain the warmth which is indispensable to
      our very existence.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      His tone, quite as much as his words, restored confidence to many of his
      people, who were already yielding to a feeling of despair. The count and
      the lieutenant fervently, but silently, grasped his hand.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nina,&rdquo; said the captain, &ldquo;you will not be afraid to go down to the lower
      depths of the mountain, will you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not if Pablo goes,&rdquo; replied the child.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh yes, of course, Pablo will go. You are not afraid to go, are you,
      Pablo?&rdquo; he said, addressing the boy.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Anywhere with you, your Excellency,&rdquo; was the boy&rsquo;s prompt reply.
    </p>
    <p>
      And certain it was that no time must be lost in penetrating below the
      heart of the volcano; already the most protected of the many ramifications
      of Nina&rsquo;s Hive were being pervaded by a cold that was insufferable. It was
      an acknowledged impossibility to get access to the crater by the exterior
      declivities of the mountain-side; they were far too steep and too slippery
      to afford a foothold. It must of necessity be entered from the interior.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope accordingly undertook the task of exploring all the
      galleries, and was soon able to report that he had discovered one which he
      had every reason to believe abutted upon the central funnel. His reason
      for coming to this conclusion was that the caloric emitted by the rising
      vapors of the hot lava seemed to be oozing, as it were, out of the
      tellurium, which had been demonstrated already to be a conductor of heat.
      Only succeed in piercing through this rock for seven or eight yards, and
      the lieutenant did not doubt that his way would be opened into the old
      lava-course, by following which he hoped descent would be easy.
    </p>
    <p>
      Under the lieutenant&rsquo;s direction the Russian sailors were immediately set
      to work. Their former experience had convinced them that spades and
      pick-axes were of no avail, and their sole resource was to proceed by
      blasting with gunpowder. However skillfully the operation might be carried
      on, it must necessarily occupy several days, and during that time the
      sufferings from cold must be very severe.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If we fail in our object, and cannot get to the depths of the mountain,
      our little colony is doomed,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That speech is not like yourself,&rdquo; answered Servadac, smiling. &ldquo;What has
      become of the faith which has hitherto carried you so bravely through all
      our difficulties?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The count shook his head, as if in despair, and said, sadly, &ldquo;The Hand
      that has hitherto been outstretched to help seems now to be withdrawn.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But only to test our powers of endurance,&rdquo; rejoined the captain,
      earnestly. &ldquo;Courage, my friend, courage! Something tells me that this
      cessation of the eruption is only partial; the internal fire is not all
      extinct. All is not over yet. It is too soon to give up; never despair!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope quite concurred with the captain. Many causes, he knew,
      besides the interruption of the influence of the oxygen upon the mineral
      substances in Gallia&rsquo;s interior, might account for the stoppage of the
      lava-flow in this one particular spot, and he considered it more than
      probable that a fresh outlet had been opened in some other part of the
      surface, and that the eruptive matter had been diverted into the new
      channel. But at present his business was to prosecute his labors so that a
      retreat might be immediately effected from their now untenable position.
    </p>
    <p>
      Restless and agitated, Professor Rosette, if he took any interest in these
      discussions, certainly took no share in them. He had brought his telescope
      down from the observatory into the common hall, and there at frequent
      intervals, by night and by day, he would endeavor to continue his
      observations; but the intense cold perpetually compelled him to desist, or
      he would literally have been frozen to death. No sooner, however, did he
      find himself obliged to retreat from his study of the heavens, than he
      would begin overwhelming everybody about him with bitter complaints,
      pouring out his regrets that he had ever quitted his quarters at
      Formentera.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 4th of January, by persevering industry, the process of boring was
      completed, and the lieutenant could hear that fragments of the blasted
      rock, as the sailors cleared them away with their spades, were rolling
      into the funnel of the crater. He noticed, too, that they did not fall
      perpendicularly, but seemed to slide along, from which he inferred that
      the sides of the crater were sloping; he had therefore reason to hope that
      a descent would be found practicable.
    </p>
    <p>
      Larger and larger grew the orifice; at length it would admit a man&rsquo;s body,
      and Ben Zoof, carrying a torch, pushed himself through it, followed by the
      lieutenant and Servadac. Procope&rsquo;s conjecture proved correct. On entering
      the crater, they found that the sides slanted at the angle of about 4
      degrees; moreover, the eruption had evidently been of recent origin,
      dating probably only from the shock which had invested Gallia with a
      proportion of the atmosphere of the earth, and beneath the coating of
      ashes with which they were covered, there were various irregularities in
      the rock, not yet worn away by the action of the lava, and these afforded
      a tolerably safe footing.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Rather a bad staircase!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, as they began to make their way
      down.
    </p>
    <p>
      In about half an hour, proceeding in a southerly direction, they had
      descended nearly five hundred feet. From time to time they came upon large
      excavations that at first sight had all the appearance of galleries, but
      by waving his torch, Ben Zoof could always see their extreme limits, and
      it was evident that the lower strata of the mountain did not present the
      same system of ramification that rendered the Hive above so commodious a
      residence.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not a time to be fastidious; they must be satisfied with such
      accommodation as they could get, provided it was warm. Captain Servadac
      was only too glad to find that his hopes about the temperature were to a
      certain extent realized. The lower they went, the greater was the
      diminution in the cold, a diminution that was far more rapid than that
      which is experienced in making the descent of terrestrial mines. In this
      case it was a volcano, not a colliery, that was the object of exploration,
      and thankful enough they were to find that it had not become extinct.
      Although the lava, from some unknown cause, had ceased to rise in the
      crater, yet plainly it existed somewhere in an incandescent state, and was
      still transmitting considerable heat to inferior strata.
    </p>
    <p>
      Lieutenant Procope had brought in his hand a mercurial thermometer, and
      Servadac carried an aneroid barometer, by means of which he could estimate
      the depth of their descent below the level of the Gallian Sea. When they
      were six hundred feet below the orifice the mercury registered a
      temperature of 6 degrees below zero.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Six degrees!&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;that will not suit us. At this low
      temperature we could not survive the winter. We must try deeper down. I
      only hope the ventilation will hold out.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      There was, however, nothing to fear on the score of ventilation. The great
      current of air that rushed into the aperture penetrated everywhere, and
      made respiration perfectly easy.
    </p>
    <p>
      The descent was continued for about another three hundred feet, which
      brought the explorers to a total depth of nine hundred feet from their old
      quarters. Here the thermometer registered 12 degrees above zero&mdash;a
      temperature which, if only it were permanent, was all they wanted. There
      was no advantage in proceeding any further along the lava-course; they
      could already hear the dull rumblings that indicated that they were at no
      great distance from the central focus.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Quite near enough for me!&rdquo; exclaimed Ben Zoof. &ldquo;Those who are chilly are
      welcome to go as much lower as they like. For my part, I shall be quite
      warm enough here.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      After throwing the gleams of torch-light in all directions, the explorers
      seated themselves on a jutting rock, and began to debate whether it was
      practicable for the colony to make an abode in these lower depths of the
      mountain. The prospect, it must be owned, was not inviting. The crater, it
      is true, widened out into a cavern sufficiently large, but here its
      accommodation ended. Above and below were a few ledges in the rock that
      would serve as receptacles for provisions; but, with the exception of a
      small recess that must be reserved for Nina, it was clear that henceforth
      they must all renounce the idea of having separate apartments. The single
      cave must be their dining-room, drawing-room, and dormitory, all in one.
      From living the life of rabbits in a warren, they were reduced to the
      existence of moles, with the difference that they could not, like them,
      forget their troubles in a long winter&rsquo;s sleep.
    </p>
    <p>
      The cavern, however, was quite capable of being lighted by means of lamps
      and lanterns. Among the stores were several barrels of oil and a
      considerable quantity of spirits of wine, which might be burned when
      required for cooking purposes. Moreover, it would be unnecessary for them
      to confine themselves entirely to the seclusion of their gloomy residence;
      well wrapped up, there would be nothing to prevent them making occasional
      excursions both to the Hive and to the sea-shore. A supply of fresh water
      would be constantly required; ice for this purpose must be perpetually
      carried in from the coast, and it would be necessary to arrange that
      everyone in turn should perform this office, as it would be no sinecure to
      clamber up the sides of the crater for 900 feet, and descend the same
      distance with a heavy burden.
    </p>
    <p>
      But the emergency was great, and it was accordingly soon decided that the
      little colony should forthwith take up its quarters in the cave. After
      all, they said, they should hardly be much worse off than thousands who
      annually winter in Arctic regions. On board the whaling-vessels, and in
      the establishments of the Hudson&rsquo;s Bay Company, such luxuries as separate
      cabins or sleeping-chambers are never thought of; one large apartment,
      well heated and ventilated, with as few corners as possible, is considered
      far more healthy; and on board ship the entire hold, and in forts a single
      floor, is appropriated to this purpose. The recollection of this fact
      served to reconcile them, in a great degree, to the change to which they
      felt it requisite to submit.
    </p>
    <p>
      Having remounted the ascent, they made the result of their exploration
      known to the mass of the community, who received the tidings with a sense
      of relief, and cordially accepted the scheme of the migration.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first step was to clear the cavern of its accumulation of ashes, and
      then the labor of removal commenced in earnest. Never was a task
      undertaken with greater zest. The fear of being to a certainty frozen to
      death if they remained where they were, was a stimulus that made everyone
      put forth all his energies. Beds, furniture, cooking utensils&mdash;first
      the stores of the <i>Dobryna</i>, then the cargo of the tartan&mdash;all
      were carried down with the greatest alacrity, and the diminished weight
      combined with the downhill route to make the labor proceed with incredible
      briskness.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although Professor Rosette yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and
      allowed himself to be conducted to the lower regions, nothing would induce
      him to allow his telescope to be carried underground; and as it was
      undeniable that it would certainly be of no service deep down in the
      bowels of the mountain, it was allowed to remain undisturbed upon its
      tripod in the great hall of Nina&rsquo;s Hive.
    </p>
    <p>
      As for Isaac Hakkabut, his outcry was beyond description lamentable.
      Never, in the whole universe, had a merchant met with such reverses; never
      had such a pitiable series of losses befallen an unfortunate man.
      Regardless of the ridicule which his abject wretchedness excited, he
      howled on still, and kept up an unending wail; but meanwhile he kept a
      keen eye upon every article of his property, and amidst universal laughter
      insisted on having every item registered in an inventory as it was
      transferred to its appointed place of safety. Servadac considerately
      allowed the whole of the cargo to be deposited in a hollow apart by
      itself, over which the Jew was permitted to keep a watch as vigilant as he
      pleased.
    </p>
    <p>
      By the 10th the removal was accomplished. Rescued, at all events, from the
      exposure to a perilous temperature of 60 degrees below zero, the community
      was installed in its new home. The large cave was lighted by the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i>
      lamps, while several lanterns, suspended at intervals along the acclivity
      that led to their deserted quarters above, gave a weird picturesqueness to
      the scene, that might vie with any of the graphic descriptions of the
      &ldquo;Arabian Nights&rsquo; Entertainments.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How do you like this, Nina?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;<i>Va bene!</i>&rdquo; replied the child. &ldquo;We are only living in the cellars
      instead of upon the ground floor.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We will try and make ourselves comfortable,&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh yes, we will be happy here,&rdquo; rejoined the child; &ldquo;it is nice and
      warm.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Although they were as careful as they could to conceal their misgivings
      from the rest, Servadac and his two friends could not regard their present
      situation without distrust. When alone, they would frequently ask each
      other what would become of them all, if the volcanic heat should really be
      subsiding, or if some unexpected perturbation should retard the course of
      the comet, and compel them to an indefinitely prolonged residence in their
      grim abode. It was scarcely likely that the comet could supply the fuel of
      which ere long they would be in urgent need. Who could expect to find coal
      in the bowels of Gallia,&mdash;coal, which is the residuum of ancient
      forests mineralized by the lapse of ages? Would not the lava-cinders
      exhumed from the extinct volcano be their last poor resource?
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Keep up your spirits, my friends,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;we have plenty of time
      before us at present. Let us hope that as fresh difficulties arise, fresh
      ways of escape will open. Never despair!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True,&rdquo; said the count; &ldquo;it is an old saying that &lsquo;Necessity is the mother
      of invention.&rsquo; Besides, I should think it very unlikely that the internal
      heat will fail us now before the summer.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant declared that he entertained the same hope. As the reason
      of his opinion he alleged that the combustion of the eruptive matter was
      most probably of quite recent origin, because the comet before its
      collision with the earth had possessed no atmosphere, and that
      consequently no oxygen could have penetrated to its interior.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Most likely you are right,&rdquo; replied the count; &ldquo;and so far from dreading
      a failure of the internal heat, I am not quite sure that we may not be
      exposed to a more terrible calamity still?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The calamity of the eruption breaking out suddenly again, and taking us
      by surprise.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Heavens!&rdquo; cried the captain, &ldquo;we will not think of that.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The outbreak may happen again,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, calmly; &ldquo;but it will
      be our fault, our own lack of vigilance, if we are taken by surprise.&rdquo; And
      so the conversation dropped.
    </p>
    <p>
      The 15th of January dawned; and the comet was 220,000,000 leagues from the
      sun.
    </p>
    <p>
      Gallia had reached its aphelion.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0037" id="link2HCH0037">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIII. DREARY MONTHS
    </h2>
    <p>
      Henceforth, then, with a velocity ever increasing, Gallia would
      re-approach the sun.
    </p>
    <p>
      Except the thirteen Englishmen who had been left at Gibraltar, every
      living creature had taken refuge in the dark abyss of the volcano&rsquo;s
      crater.
    </p>
    <p>
      And with those Englishmen, how had it fared?
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Far better than with ourselves,&rdquo; was the sentiment that would have been
      universally accepted in Nina&rsquo;s Hive. And there was every reason to
      conjecture that so it was. The party at Gibraltar, they all agreed, would
      not, like themselves, have been compelled to have recourse to a stream of
      lava for their supply of heat; they, no doubt, had had abundance of fuel
      as well as food; and in their solid casemate, with its substantial walls,
      they would find ample shelter from the rigor of the cold. The time would
      have been passed at least in comfort, and perhaps in contentment; and
      Colonel Murphy and Major Oliphant would have had leisure more than
      sufficient for solving the most abstruse problems of the chess-board. All
      of them, too, would be happy in the confidence that when the time should
      come, England would have full meed of praise to award to the gallant
      soldiers who had adhered so well and so manfully to their post.
    </p>
    <p>
      It did, indeed, more than once occur to the minds both of Servadac and his
      friends that, if their condition should become one of extreme emergency,
      they might, as a last resource, betake themselves to Gibraltar, and there
      seek a refuge; but their former reception had not been of the kindest, and
      they were little disposed to renew an acquaintanceship that was marked by
      so little cordiality. Not in the least that they would expect to meet with
      any inhospitable rebuff. Far from that; they knew well enough that
      Englishmen, whatever their faults, would be the last to abandon their
      fellow-creatures in the hour of distress. Nevertheless, except the
      necessity became far more urgent than it had hitherto proved, they
      resolved to endeavor to remain in their present quarters. Up till this
      time no casualties had diminished their original number, but to undertake
      so long a journey across that unsheltered expanse of ice could scarcely
      fail to result in the loss of some of their party.
    </p>
    <p>
      However great was the desire to find a retreat for every living thing in
      the deep hollow of the crater, it was found necessary to slaughter almost
      all the domestic animals before the removal of the community from Nina&rsquo;s
      Hive. To have stabled them all in the cavern below would have been quite
      impossible, whilst to have left them in the upper galleries would only
      have been to abandon them to a cruel death; and since meat could be
      preserved for an indefinite time in the original store-places, now colder
      than ever, the expedient of killing the animals seemed to recommend itself
      as equally prudent and humane.
    </p>
    <p>
      Naturally the captain and Ben Zoof were most anxious that their favorite
      horses should be saved, and accordingly, by dint of the greatest care, all
      difficulties in the way were overcome, and Zephyr and Galette were
      conducted down the crater, where they were installed in a large hole and
      provided with forage, which was still abundant.
    </p>
    <p>
      Birds, subsisting only on scraps thrown out to them did not cease to
      follow the population in its migration, and so numerous did they become
      that multitudes of them had repeatedly to be destroyed.
    </p>
    <p>
      The general re-arrangement of the new residence was no easy business, and
      occupied so much time that the end of January arrived before they could be
      said to be fairly settled. And then began a life of dreary monotony. Then
      seemed to creep over everyone a kind of moral torpor as well as physical
      lassitude, which Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant did their best
      not only to combat in themselves, but to counteract in the general
      community. They provided a variety of intellectual pursuits; they
      instituted debates in which everybody was encouraged to take part; they
      read aloud, and explained extracts from the elementary manuals of science,
      or from the books of adventurous travel which their library supplied; and
      Russians and Spaniards, day after day, might be seen gathered round the
      large table, giving their best attention to instruction which should send
      them back to Mother Earth less ignorant than they had left her.
    </p>
    <p>
      Selfish and morose, Hakkabut could never be induced to be present at these
      social gatherings. He was far too much occupied in his own appropriated
      corner, either in conning his accounts, or in counting his money.
      Altogether, with what he had before, he now possessed the round sum of
      150,000 francs, half of which was in sterling gold; but nothing could give
      him any satisfaction while he knew that the days were passing, and that he
      was denied the opportunity of putting out his capital in advantageous
      investments, or securing a proper interest.
    </p>
    <p>
      Neither did Palmyrin Rosette find leisure to take any share in the mutual
      intercourse. His occupation was far too absorbing for him to suffer it to
      be interrupted, and to him, living as he did perpetually in a world of
      figures, the winter days seemed neither long nor wearisome. Having
      ascertained every possible particular about his comet, he was now devoting
      himself with equal ardor to the analysis of all the properties of the
      satellite Nerina, to which he appeared to assert the same claim of
      proprietorship.
    </p>
    <p>
      In order to investigate Nerina it was indispensable that he should make
      several actual observations at various points of the orbit; and for this
      purpose he repeatedly made his way up to the grotto above, where, in spite
      of the extreme severity of the cold, he would persevere in the use of his
      telescope till he was all but paralyzed. But what he felt more than
      anything was the want of some retired apartment, where he could pursue his
      studies without hindrance or intrusion.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was about the beginning of February, when the professor brought his
      complaint to Captain Servadac, and begged him to assign him a chamber, no
      matter how small, in which he should be free to carry on his task in
      silence and without molestation. So readily did Servadac promise to do
      everything in his power to provide him with the accommodation for which he
      asked, that the professor was put into such a manifest good temper that
      the captain ventured to speak upon the matter that was ever uppermost in
      his mind.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I do not mean,&rdquo; he began timidly, &ldquo;to cast the least imputation of
      inaccuracy upon any of your calculations, but would you allow me, my dear
      professor, to suggest that you should revise your estimate of the duration
      of Gallia&rsquo;s period of revolution. It is so important, you know, so all
      important; the difference of one half minute, you know, would so certainly
      mar the expectation of reunion with the earth&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And seeing a cloud gathering on Rosette&rsquo;s face, he added:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am sure Lieutenant Procope would be only too happy to render you any
      assistance in the revision.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sir,&rdquo; said the professor, bridling up, &ldquo;I want no assistant; my
      calculations want no revision. I never make an error. I have made my
      reckoning as far as Gallia is concerned. I am now making a like estimate
      of the elements of Nerina.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Conscious how impolitic it would be to press this matter further, the
      captain casually remarked that he should have supposed that all the
      elements of Nerina had been calculated long since by astronomers on the
      earth. It was about as unlucky a speech as he could possibly have made.
      The professor glared at him fiercely.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Astounding, sir!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Yes! Nerina was a planet then;
      everything that appertained to the planet was determined; but Nerina is a
      moon now. And do you not think, sir, that we have a right to know as much
      about our moon as those <i>terrestrials</i>&rdquo;&mdash;and he curled his lip
      as he spoke with a contemptuous emphasis&mdash;&ldquo;know of theirs?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I beg pardon,&rdquo; said the corrected captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well then, never mind,&rdquo; replied the professor, quickly appeased; &ldquo;only
      will you have the goodness to get me a proper place for study?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will, as I promised, do all I can,&rdquo; answered Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very good,&rdquo; said the professor. &ldquo;No immediate hurry; an hour hence will
      do.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But in spite of this condescension on the part of the man of science, some
      hours had to elapse before any place of retreat could be discovered likely
      to suit his requirements; but at length a little nook was found in the
      side of the cavern just large enough to hold an armchair and a table, and
      in this the astronomer was soon ensconced to his entire satisfaction.
    </p>
    <p>
      Buried thus, nearly 900 feet below ground, the Gallians ought to have had
      unbounded mental energy to furnish an adequate reaction to the depressing
      monotony of their existence; but many days would often elapse without any
      one of them ascending to the surface of the soil, and had it not been for
      the necessity of obtaining fresh water, it seemed almost probable that
      there would never have been an effort made to leave the cavern at all.
    </p>
    <p>
      A few excursions, it is true, were made in the downward direction. The
      three leaders, with Ben Zoof, made their way to the lower depths of the
      crater, not with the design of making any further examination as to the
      nature of the rock&mdash;for although it might be true enough that it
      contained thirty per cent. of gold, it was as valueless to them as granite&mdash;but
      with the intention of ascertaining whether the subterranean fire still
      retained its activity. Satisfied upon this point, they came to the
      conclusion that the eruption which had so suddenly ceased in one spot had
      certainly broken out in another.
    </p>
    <p>
      February, March, April, May, passed wearily by; but day succeeded to day
      with such gloomy sameness that it was little wonder that no notice was
      taken of the lapse of time. The people seemed rather to vegetate than to
      live, and their want of vigor became at times almost alarming. The
      readings around the long table ceased to be attractive, and the debates,
      sustained by few, became utterly wanting in animation. The Spaniards could
      hardly be roused to quit their beds, and seemed to have scarcely energy
      enough to eat. The Russians, constitutionally of more enduring
      temperament, did not give way to the same extent, but the long and drear
      confinement was beginning to tell upon them all. Servadac, the count, and
      the lieutenant all knew well enough that it was the want of air and
      exercise that was the cause of much of this mental depression; but what
      could they do? The most serious remonstrances on their part were entirely
      in vain. In fact, they themselves occasionally fell a prey to the same
      lassitude both of body and mind. Long fits of drowsiness, combined with an
      utter aversion to food, would come over them. It almost seemed as if their
      entire nature had become degenerate, and that, like tortoises, they could
      sleep and fast till the return of summer.
    </p>
    <p>
      Strange to say, little Nina bore her hardships more bravely than any of
      them. Flitting about, coaxing one to eat, another to drink, rousing Pablo
      as often as he seemed yielding to the common languor, the child became the
      life of the party. Her merry prattle enlivened the gloom of the grim
      cavern like the sweet notes of a bird; her gay Italian songs broke the
      monotony of the depressing silence; and almost unconscious as the
      half-dormant population of Gallia were of her influence, they still would
      have missed her bright presence sorely. The months still glided on; how,
      it seemed impossible for the inhabitants of the living tomb to say. There
      was a dead level of dullness.
    </p>
    <p>
      At the beginning of June the general torpor appeared slightly to relax its
      hold upon its victims. This partial revival was probably due to the
      somewhat increased influence of the sun, still far, far away. During the
      first half of the Gallian year, Lieutenant Procope had taken careful note
      of Rosette&rsquo;s monthly announcements of the comet&rsquo;s progress, and he was
      able now, without reference to the professor, to calculate the rate of
      advance on its way back towards the sun. He found that Gallia had
      re-crossed the orbit of Jupiter, but was still at the enormous distance of
      197,000,000 leagues from the sun, and he reckoned that in about four
      months it would have entered the zone of the telescopic planets.
    </p>
    <p>
      Gradually, but uninterruptedly, life and spirits continued to revive, and
      by the end of the month Servadac and his little colony had regained most
      of their ordinary physical and mental energies. Ben Zoof, in particular,
      roused himself with redoubled vigor, like a giant refreshed from his
      slumbers. The visits, consequently, to the long-neglected galleries of
      Nina&rsquo;s Hive became more and more frequent.
    </p>
    <p>
      One day an excursion was made to the shore. It was still bitterly cold,
      but the atmosphere had lost nothing of its former stillness, and not a
      cloud was visible from horizon to zenith. The old footmarks were all as
      distinct as on the day in which they had been imprinted, and the only
      portion of the shore where any change was apparent was in the little
      creek. Here the elevation of the ice had gone on increasing, until the
      schooner and the tartan had been uplifted to a height of 150 feet, not
      only rendering them quite inaccessible, but exposing them to all but
      certain destruction in the event of a thaw.
    </p>
    <p>
      Isaac Hakkabut, immovable from the personal oversight of his property in
      the cavern, had not accompanied the party, and consequently was in
      blissful ignorance of the fate that threatened his vessel. &ldquo;A good thing
      the old fellow wasn&rsquo;t there to see,&rdquo; observed Ben Zoof; &ldquo;he would have
      screamed like a peacock. What a misfortune it is,&rdquo; he added, speaking to
      himself, &ldquo;to have a peacock&rsquo;s voice, without its plumage!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      During the months of July and August, Gallia advanced 164,000,000 leagues
      along her orbit. At night the cold was still intense, but in the daytime
      the sun, here full upon the equator, caused an appreciable difference of
      20 degrees in the temperature. Like birds, the population spent whole days
      exposed to its grateful warmth, rarely returning till nightfall to the
      shade of their gloomy home.
    </p>
    <p>
      This spring-time, if such it may be called, had a most enlivening
      influence upon all. Hope and courage revived as day by day the sun&rsquo;s disc
      expanded in the heavens, and every evening the earth assumed a greater
      magnitude amongst the fixed stars. It was distant yet, but the goal was
      cheeringly in view.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe that yonder little speck of light contains my mountain of
      Montmartre,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, one night, after he had been gazing long and
      steadily at the far-off world.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You will, I hope, some day find out that it does,&rdquo; answered his master.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I hope so,&rdquo; said the orderly, without moving his eye from the distant
      sphere. After meditating a while, he spoke again. &ldquo;I suppose Professor
      Rosette couldn&rsquo;t make his comet go straight back, could he?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hush!&rdquo; cried Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof understood the correction.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; continued the captain; &ldquo;it is not for man to disturb the order of
      the universe. That belongs to a Higher Power than ours!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0038" id="link2HCH0038">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIV. THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED
    </h2>
    <p>
      Another month passed away, and it was now September, but it was still
      impossible to leave the warmth of the subterranean retreat for the more
      airy and commodious quarters of the Hive, where &ldquo;the bees&rdquo; would certainly
      have been frozen to death in their cells. It was altogether quite as much
      a matter of congratulation as of regret that the volcano showed no
      symptoms of resuming its activity; for although a return of the eruption
      might have rendered their former resort again habitable, any sudden
      outbreak would have been disastrous to them where they were, the crater
      being the sole outlet by which the burning lava could escape.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A wretched time we have had for the last seven months,&rdquo; said the orderly
      one day to his master; &ldquo;but what a comfort little Nina has been to us
      all!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, indeed,&rdquo; replied Servadac; &ldquo;she is a charming little creature. I
      hardly know how we should have got on without her.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is to become of her when we arrive back at the earth?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not much fear, Ben Zoof, but that she will be well taken care of. Perhaps
      you and I had better adopt her.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ay, yes,&rdquo; assented the orderly. &ldquo;You can be her father, and I can be her
      mother.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac laughed. &ldquo;Then you and I shall be man and wife.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We have been as good as that for a long time,&rdquo; observed Ben Zoof,
      gravely.
    </p>
    <p>
      By the beginning of October, the temperature had so far moderated that it
      could scarcely be said to be intolerable. The comet&rsquo;s distance was
      scarcely three times as great from the sun as the earth from the sun, so
      that the thermometer rarely sunk beyond 35 degrees below zero. The whole
      party began to make almost daily visits to the Hive, and frequently
      proceeded to the shore, where they resumed their skating exercise,
      rejoicing in their recovered freedom like prisoners liberated from a
      dungeon. Whilst the rest were enjoying their recreation, Servadac and the
      count would hold long conversations with Lieutenant Procope about their
      present position and future prospects, discussing all manner of
      speculations as to the results of the anticipated collision with the
      earth, and wondering whether any measures could be devised for mitigating
      the violence of a shock which might be terrible in its consequences, even
      if it did not entail a total annihilation of themselves.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was no visitor to the Hive more regular than Rosette. He had already
      directed his telescope to be moved back to his former observatory, where,
      as much as the cold would permit him, he persisted in making his
      all-absorbing studies of the heavens.
    </p>
    <p>
      The result of these studies no one ventured to inquire; but it became
      generally noticed that something was very seriously disturbing the
      professor&rsquo;s equanimity. Not only would he be seen toiling more frequently
      up the arduous way that lay between his nook below and his telescope
      above, but he would be heard muttering in an angry tone that indicated
      considerable agitation.
    </p>
    <p>
      One day, as he was hurrying down to his study, he met Ben Zoof, who,
      secretly entertaining a feeling of delight at the professor&rsquo;s manifest
      discomfiture, made some casual remark about things not being very
      straight. The way in which his advance was received the good orderly never
      divulged, but henceforward he maintained the firm conviction that there
      was something very much amiss up in the sky.
    </p>
    <p>
      To Servadac and his friends this continual disquietude and ill-humor on
      the part of the professor occasioned no little anxiety. From what, they
      asked, could his dissatisfaction arise? They could only conjecture that he
      had discovered some flaw in his reckonings; and if this were so, might
      there not be reason to apprehend that their anticipations of coming into
      contact with the earth, at the settled time, might all be falsified?
    </p>
    <p>
      Day followed day, and still there was no cessation of the professor&rsquo;s
      discomposure. He was the most miserable of mortals. If really his
      calculations and his observations were at variance, this, in a man of his
      irritable temperament, would account for his perpetual perturbation. But
      he entered into no explanation; he only climbed up to his telescope,
      looking haggard and distressed, and when compelled by the frost to retire,
      he would make his way back to his study more furious than ever. At times
      he was heard giving vent to his vexation. &ldquo;Confound it! what does it mean?
      what is she doing? All behind! Is Newton a fool? Is the law of universal
      gravitation the law of universal nonsense?&rdquo; And the little man would seize
      his head in both his hands, and tear away at the scanty locks which he
      could ill afford to lose.
    </p>
    <p>
      Enough was overheard to confirm the suspicion that there was some
      irreconcilable discrepancy between the results of his computation and what
      he had actually observed; and yet, if he had been called upon to say, he
      would have sooner insisted that there was derangement in the laws of
      celestial mechanism, than have owned there was the least probability of
      error in any of his own calculations. Assuredly, if the poor professor had
      had any flesh to lose he would have withered away to a shadow.
    </p>
    <p>
      But this state of things was before long to come to an end. On the 12th,
      Ben Zoof, who was hanging about outside the great hall of the cavern,
      heard the professor inside utter a loud cry. Hurrying in to ascertain the
      cause, he found Rosette in a state of perfect frenzy, in which ecstasy and
      rage seemed to be struggling for the predominance.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eureka! Eureka!&rdquo; yelled the excited astronomer.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What, in the name of peace, do you mean?&rdquo; bawled Ben Zoof, in
      open-mouthed amazement.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eureka!&rdquo; again shrieked the little man.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How? What? Where?&rdquo; roared the bewildered orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eureka! I say,&rdquo; repeated Rosette; &ldquo;and if you don&rsquo;t understand me, you
      may go to the devil!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Without availing himself of this polite invitation, Ben Zoof betook
      himself to his master. &ldquo;Something has happened to the professor,&rdquo; he said;
      &ldquo;he is rushing about like a madman, screeching and yelling &lsquo;Eureka!&rsquo;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Eureka?&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac. &ldquo;That means he has made a discovery;&rdquo; and,
      full of anxiety, he hurried off to meet the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      But, however great was his desire to ascertain what this discovery
      implied, his curiosity was not yet destined to be gratified. The professor
      kept muttering in incoherent phrases: &ldquo;Rascal! he shall pay for it yet. I
      will be even with him! Cheat! Thrown me out!&rdquo; But he did not vouchsafe any
      reply to Servadac&rsquo;s inquiries, and withdrew to his study.
    </p>
    <p>
      From that day Rosette, for some reason at present incomprehensible, quite
      altered his behavior to Isaac Hakkabut, a man for whom he had always
      hitherto evinced the greatest repugnance and contempt. All at once he
      began to show a remarkable interest in the Jew and his affairs, paying
      several visits to the dark little storehouse, making inquiries as to the
      state of business and expressing some solicitude about the state of the
      exchequer.
    </p>
    <p>
      The wily Jew was taken somewhat by surprise, but came to an immediate
      conclusion that the professor was contemplating borrowing some money; he
      was consequently very cautious in all his replies.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not Hakkabut&rsquo;s habit ever to advance a loan except at an
      extravagant rate of interest, or without demanding far more than an
      adequate security. Count Timascheff, a Russian nobleman, was evidently
      rich; to him perhaps, for a proper consideration, a loan might be made:
      Captain Servadac was a Gascon, and Gascons are proverbially poor; it would
      never do to lend any money to him; but here was a professor, a mere man of
      science, with circumscribed means; did <i>he</i> expect to borrow?
      Certainly Isaac would as soon think of flying, as of lending money to him.
      Such were the thoughts that made him receive all Rosette&rsquo;s approaches with
      a careful reservation.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was not long, however, before Hakkabut was to be called upon to apply
      his money to a purpose for which he had not reckoned. In his eagerness to
      effect sales, he had parted with all the alimentary articles in his cargo
      without having the precautionary prudence to reserve enough for his own
      consumption. Amongst other things that failed him was his stock of coffee,
      and as coffee was a beverage without which he deemed it impossible to
      exist, he found himself in considerable perplexity.
    </p>
    <p>
      He pondered the matter over for a long time, and ultimately persuaded
      himself that, after all, the stores were the common property of all, and
      that he had as much right to a share as anyone else. Accordingly, he made
      his way to Ben Zoof, and, in the most amiable tone he could assume, begged
      as a favor that he would let him have a pound of coffee.
    </p>
    <p>
      The orderly shook his head dubiously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A pound of coffee, old Nathan? I can&rsquo;t say.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why not? You have some?&rdquo; said Isaac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh yes! plenty&mdash;a hundred kilogrammes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then let me have one pound. I shall be grateful.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hang your gratitude!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Only one pound! You would not refuse anybody else.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just the very point, old Samuel; if you were anybody else, I
      should know very well what to do. I must refer the matter to his
      Excellency.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, his Excellency will do me justice.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Perhaps you will find his justice rather too much for you.&rdquo; And with this
      consoling remark, the orderly went to seek his master.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette meanwhile had been listening to the conversation, and secretly
      rejoicing that an opportunity for which he had been watching had arrived.
      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter, Master Isaac? Have you parted with all your coffee?&rdquo;
       he asked, in a sympathizing voice, when Ben Zoof was gone.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah! yes, indeed,&rdquo; groaned Hakkabut, &ldquo;and now I require some for my own
      use. In my little black hole I cannot live without my coffee.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Of course you cannot,&rdquo; agreed the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And don&rsquo;t you think the governor ought to let me have it?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, I must have coffee,&rdquo; said the Jew again.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; the professor assented. &ldquo;Coffee is nutritious; it warms the
      blood. How much do you want?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A pound. A pound will last me for a long time.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And who will weigh it for you?&rdquo; asked Rosette, scarcely able to conceal
      the eagerness that prompted the question.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, they will weigh it with my steelyard, of course. There is no other
      balance here.&rdquo; And as the Jew spoke, the professor fancied he could detect
      the faintest of sighs.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Good, Master Isaac; all the better for you! You will get your seven
      pounds instead of one!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes; well, seven, or thereabouts&mdash;thereabouts,&rdquo; stammered the Jew
      with considerable hesitation.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette scanned his countenance narrowly, and was about to probe him with
      further questions, when Ben Zoof returned. &ldquo;And what does his Excellency
      say?&rdquo; inquired Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, Nehemiah, he says he shan&rsquo;t give you any.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; began the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;He says he doesn&rsquo;t mind selling you a little.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But, by the holy city, why does he make me pay for what anybody else
      could have for nothing?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;As I told you before, you are not anybody else; so, come along. You can
      afford to buy what you want. We should like to see the color of your
      money.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; the old man whined once more.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, none of that! Yes or no? If you are going to buy, say so at once; if
      not, I shall shut up shop.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut knew well enough that the orderly was not a man to be trifled
      with, and said, in a tremulous voice, &ldquo;Yes, I will buy.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The professor, who had been looking on with much interest, betrayed
      manifest symptoms of satisfaction.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How much do you want? What will you charge for it?&rdquo; asked Isaac,
      mournfully, putting his hand into his pocket and chinking his money.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, we will deal gently with you. We will not make any profit. You shall
      have it for the same price that we paid for it. Ten francs a pound, you
      know.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The Jew hesitated.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Come now, what is the use of your hesitating? Your gold will have no
      value when you go back to the world.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; asked Hakkabut, startled.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You will find out some day,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof, significantly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Hakkabut drew out a small piece of gold from his pocket, took it close
      under the lamp, rolled it over in his hand, and pressed it to his lips.
      &ldquo;Shall you weigh me the coffee with my steelyard?&rdquo; he asked, in a
      quavering voice that confirmed the professor&rsquo;s suspicions.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There is nothing else to weigh it with; you know that well enough, old
      Shechem,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof. The steelyard was then produced; a tray was
      suspended to the hook, and upon this coffee was thrown until the needle
      registered the weight of one pound. Of course, it took seven pounds of
      coffee to do this.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;There you are! There&rsquo;s your coffee, man!&rdquo; Ben Zoof said.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Are you sure?&rdquo; inquired Hakkabut, peering down close to the dial. &ldquo;Are
      you quite sure that the needle touches the point?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes; look and see.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Give it a little push, please.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because&mdash;because&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, because of what?&rdquo; cried the orderly, impatiently.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because I think, perhaps&mdash;I am not quite sure&mdash;perhaps the
      steelyard is not quite correct.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The words were not uttered before the professor, fierce as a tiger, had
      rushed at the Jew, had seized him by the throat, and was shaking him till
      he was black in the face.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Help! help!&rdquo; screamed Hakkabut. &ldquo;I shall be strangled.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Rascal! consummate rascal! thief! villain!&rdquo; the professor reiterated, and
      continued to shake the Jew furiously.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof looked on and laughed, making no attempt to interfere; he had no
      sympathy with either of the two.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sound of the scuffling, however, drew the attention of Servadac, who,
      followed by his companions, hastened to the scene. The combatants were
      soon parted. &ldquo;What is the meaning of all this?&rdquo; demanded the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      As soon as the professor had recovered his breath, exhausted by his
      exertions, he said, &ldquo;The old reprobate, the rascal has cheated us! His
      steelyard is wrong! He is a thief!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Captain Servadac looked sternly at Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How is this, Hakkabut? Is this a fact?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no&mdash;yes&mdash;no, your Excellency, only&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;He is a cheat, a thief!&rdquo; roared the excited astronomer. &ldquo;His weights
      deceive!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Stop, stop!&rdquo; interposed Servadac; &ldquo;let us hear. Tell me, Hakkabut&mdash;&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The steelyard lies! It cheats! it lies!&rdquo; roared the irrepressible
      Rosette.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Tell me, Hakkabut, I say,&rdquo; repeated Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      The Jew only kept on stammering, &ldquo;Yes&mdash;no&mdash;I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But heedless of any interruption, the professor continued, &ldquo;False weights!
      That confounded steelyard! It gave a false result! The mass was wrong! The
      observations contradicted the calculations; they were wrong! She was out
      of place! Yes, out of place entirely.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What!&rdquo; cried Servadac and Procope in a breath, &ldquo;out of place?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, completely,&rdquo; said the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gallia out of place?&rdquo; repeated Servadac, agitated with alarm.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I did not say Gallia,&rdquo; replied Rosette, stamping his foot impetuously; &ldquo;I
      said Nerina.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, Nerina,&rdquo; answered Servadac. &ldquo;But what of Gallia?&rdquo; he inquired, still
      nervously.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Gallia, of course, is on her way to the earth. I told you so. But that
      Jew is a rascal!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0039" id="link2HCH0039">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XV. A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT
    </h2>
    <p>
      It was as the professor had said. From the day that Isaac Hakkabut had
      entered upon his mercantile career, his dealings had all been carried on
      by a system of false weight. That deceitful steelyard had been the
      mainspring of his fortune. But when it had become his lot to be the
      purchaser instead of the vendor, his spirit had groaned within him at
      being compelled to reap the fruits of his own dishonesty. No one who had
      studied his character could be much surprised at the confession that was
      extorted from him, that for every supposed kilogramme that he had ever
      sold the true weight was only 750 grammes, or just five and twenty per
      cent. less than it ought to have been.
    </p>
    <p>
      The professor, however, had ascertained all that he wanted to know. By
      estimating his comet at a third as much again as its proper weight, he had
      found that his calculations were always at variance with the observed
      situation of the satellite, which was immediately influenced by the mass
      of its primary.
    </p>
    <p>
      But now, besides enjoying the satisfaction of having punished old
      Hakkabut, Rosette was able to recommence his calculations with reference
      to the elements of Nerina upon a correct basis, a task to which he devoted
      himself with redoubled energy.
    </p>
    <p>
      It will be easily imagined that Isaac Hakkabut, thus caught in his own
      trap, was jeered most unmercifully by those whom he had attempted to make
      his dupes. Ben Zoof, in particular, was never wearied of telling him how
      on his return to the world he would be prosecuted for using false weights,
      and would certainly become acquainted with the inside of a prison. Thus
      badgered, he secluded himself more than ever in his dismal hole, never
      venturing, except when absolutely obliged, to face the other members of
      the community.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 7th of October the comet re-entered the zone of the telescopic
      planets, one of which had been captured as a satellite, and the origin of
      the whole of which is most probably correctly attributed to the
      disintegration of some large planet that formerly revolved between the
      orbits of Mars and Jupiter. By the beginning of the following month half
      of this zone had been traversed, and only two months remained before the
      collision with the earth was to be expected. The temperature was now
      rarely below 12 degrees below zero, but that was far too cold to permit
      the slightest symptoms of a thaw. The surface of the sea remained as
      frozen as ever, and the two vessels, high up on their icy pedestals,
      remained unaltered in their critical position.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was about this time that the question began to be mooted whether it
      would not be right to reopen some communication with the Englishmen at
      Gibraltar. Not that any doubt was entertained as to their having been able
      successfully to cope with the rigors of the winter; but Captain Servadac,
      in a way that did honor to his generosity, represented that, however
      uncourteous might have been their former behavior, it was at least due to
      them that they should be informed of the true condition of things, which
      they had had no opportunity of learning; and, moreover, that they should
      be invited to co-operate with the population of Nina&rsquo;s Hive, in the event
      of any measures being suggested by which the shock of the approaching
      collision could be mitigated.
    </p>
    <p>
      The count and the lieutenant both heartily concurred in Servadac&rsquo;s
      sentiments of humanity and prudence, and all agreed that if the
      intercourse were to be opened at all, no time could be so suitable as the
      present, while the surface of the sea presented a smooth and solid
      footing. After a thaw should set in, neither the yacht nor the tartan
      could be reckoned on for service, and it would be inexpedient to make use
      of the steam launch, for which only a few tons of coal had been reserved,
      just sufficient to convey them to Gourbi Island when the occasion should
      arise; whilst as to the yawl, which, transformed into a sledge, had
      performed so successful a trip to Formentera, the absence of wind would
      make that quite unavailable. It was true that with the return of summer
      temperature, there would be certain to be a derangement in the atmosphere
      of Gallia, which would result in wind, but for the present the air was
      altogether too still for the yawl to have any prospects of making its way
      to Gibraltar.
    </p>
    <p>
      The only question remaining was as to the possibility of going on foot.
      The distance was somewhere about 240 miles. Captain Servadac declared
      himself quite equal to the undertaking. To skate sixty or seventy miles a
      day would be nothing, he said, to a practical skater like himself. The
      whole journey there and back might be performed in eight days. Provided
      with a compass, a sufficient supply of cold meat, and a spirit lamp, by
      which he might boil his coffee, he was perfectly sure he should, without
      the least difficulty, accomplish an enterprise that chimed in so exactly
      with his adventurous spirit.
    </p>
    <p>
      Equally urgent were both the count and the lieutenant to be allowed to
      accompany him; nay, they even offered to go instead; but Servadac,
      expressing himself as most grateful for their consideration, declined
      their offer, and avowed his resolution of taking no other companion than
      his own orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      Highly delighted at his master&rsquo;s decision, Ben Zoof expressed his
      satisfaction at the prospect of &ldquo;stretching his legs a bit,&rdquo; declaring
      that nothing could induce him to permit the captain to go alone. There was
      no delay. The departure was fixed for the following morning, the 2nd of
      November.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although it is not to be questioned that a genuine desire of doing an act
      of kindness to his fellow-creatures was a leading motive of Servadac&rsquo;s
      proposed visit to Gibraltar, it must be owned that another idea, confided
      to nobody, least of all to Count Timascheff, had been conceived in the
      brain of the worthy Gascon. Ben Zoof had an inkling that his master was
      &ldquo;up to some other little game,&rdquo; when, just before starting, he asked him
      privately whether there was a French tricolor among the stores. &ldquo;I believe
      so,&rdquo; said the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then don&rsquo;t say a word to anyone, but fasten it up tight in your
      knapsack.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof found the flag, and folded it up as he was directed. Before
      proceeding to explain this somewhat enigmatical conduct of Servadac, it is
      necessary to refer to a certain physiological fact, coincident but
      unconnected with celestial phenomena, originating entirely in the frailty
      of human nature. The nearer that Gallia approached the earth, the more a
      sort of reserve began to spring up between the captain and Count
      Timascheff. Though they could not be said to be conscious of it, the
      remembrance of their former rivalry, so completely buried in oblivion for
      the last year and ten months, was insensibly recovering its hold upon
      their minds, and the question was all but coming to the surface as to what
      would happen if, on their return to earth, the handsome Madame de L&mdash;&mdash;
      should still be free. From companions in peril, would they not again be
      avowed rivals? Conceal it as they would, a coolness was undeniably
      stealing over an intimacy which, though it could never be called
      affectionate, had been uniformly friendly and courteous.
    </p>
    <p>
      Under these circumstances, it was not surprising that Hector Servadac
      should not have confided to the count a project which, wild as it was,
      could scarcely have failed to widen the unacknowledged breach that was
      opening in their friendship.
    </p>
    <p>
      The project was the annexation of Ceuta to the French dominion. The
      Englishmen, rightly enough, had continued to occupy the fragment of
      Gibraltar, and their claim was indisputable. But the island of Ceuta,
      which before the shock had commanded the opposite side of the strait, and
      had been occupied by Spaniards, had since been abandoned, and was
      therefore free to the first occupant who should lay claim to it. To plant
      the tricolor upon it, in the name of France, was now the cherished wish of
      Servadac&rsquo;s heart.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who knows,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;whether Ceuta, on its return to earth,
      may not occupy a grand and commanding situation? What a proud thing it
      would be to have secured its possession to France!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Next morning, as soon as they had taken their brief farewell of their
      friends, and were fairly out of sight of the shore, Servadac imparted his
      design to Ben Zoof, who entered into the project with the greatest zest,
      and expressed himself delighted, not only at the prospect of adding to the
      dominions of his beloved country, but of stealing a march upon England.
    </p>
    <p>
      Both travelers were warmly clad, the orderly&rsquo;s knapsack containing all the
      necessary provisions. The journey was accomplished without special
      incident; halts were made at regular intervals, for the purpose of taking
      food and rest. The temperature by night as well as by day was quite
      endurable, and on the fourth afternoon after starting, thanks to the
      straight course which their compass enabled them to maintain, the
      adventurers found themselves within a few miles of Ceuta.
    </p>
    <p>
      As soon as Ben Zoof caught sight of the rock on the western horizon, he
      was all excitement. Just as if he were in a regiment going into action, he
      talked wildly about &ldquo;columns&rdquo; and &ldquo;squares&rdquo; and &ldquo;charges.&rdquo; The captain,
      although less demonstrative, was hardly less eager to reach the rock. They
      both pushed forward with all possible speed till they were within a mile
      and a half of the shore, when Ben Zoof, who had a very keen vision,
      stopped suddenly, and said that he was sure he could see something moving
      on the top of the island.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Never mind, let us hasten on,&rdquo; said Servadac. A few minutes carried them
      over another mile, when Ben Zoof stopped again.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What is it, Ben Zoof?&rdquo; asked the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It looks to me like a man on a rock, waving his arms in the air,&rdquo; said
      the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Plague on it!&rdquo; muttered Servadac; &ldquo;I hope we are not too late.&rdquo; Again
      they went on; but soon Ben Zoof stopped for the third time.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is a semaphore, sir; I see it quite distinctly.&rdquo; And he was not
      mistaken; it had been a telegraph in motion that had caught his eye.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Plague on it!&rdquo; repeated the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Too late, sir, do you think?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, Ben Zoof; if that&rsquo;s a telegraph&mdash;and there is no doubt of it&mdash;somebody
      has been before us and erected it; and, moreover, if it is moving, there
      must be somebody working it now.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      He was keenly disappointed. Looking towards the north, he could
      distinguish Gibraltar faintly visible in the extreme distance, and upon
      the summit of the rock both Ben Zoof and himself fancied they could make
      out another semaphore, giving signals, no doubt, in response to the one
      here.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, it is only too clear; they have already occupied it, and established
      their communications,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And what are we to do, then?&rdquo; asked Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We must pocket our chagrin, and put as good a face on the matter as we
      can,&rdquo; replied the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But perhaps there are only four or five Englishmen to protect the place,&rdquo;
       said Ben Zoof, as if meditating an assault.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no, Ben Zoof,&rdquo; answered Servadac; &ldquo;we must do nothing rash. We have
      had our warning, and, unless our representations can induce them to yield
      their position, we must resign our hope.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Thus discomfited, they had reached the foot of the rock, when all at once,
      like a &ldquo;Jack-in-the-box,&rdquo; a sentinel started up before them with the
      challenge:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Who goes there?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Friends. Vive la France!&rdquo; cried the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hurrah for England!&rdquo; replied the soldier.
    </p>
    <p>
      By this time four other men had made their appearance from the upper part
      of the rock.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo; asked one of them, whom Servadac remembered to have
      seen before at Gibraltar.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Can I speak to your commanding officer?&rdquo; Servadac inquired.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Which?&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;The officer in command of Ceuta?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, if there is one.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will acquaint him with your arrival,&rdquo; answered the Englishman, and
      disappeared.
    </p>
    <p>
      In a few minutes the commanding officer, attired in full uniform, was seen
      descending to the shore. It was Major Oliphant himself.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac could no longer entertain a doubt that the Englishmen had
      forestalled him in the occupation of Ceuta. Provisions and fuel had
      evidently been conveyed thither in the boat from Gibraltar before the sea
      had frozen, and a solid casemate, hollowed in the rock, had afforded Major
      Oliphant and his contingent ample protection from the rigor of the winter.
      The ascending smoke that rose above the rock was sufficient evidence that
      good fires were still kept up; the soldiers appeared to have thriven well
      on what, no doubt, had been a generous diet, and the major himself,
      although he would scarcely have been willing to allow it, was slightly
      stouter than before.
    </p>
    <p>
      Being only about twelve miles distant from Gibraltar, the little garrison
      at Ceuta had felt itself by no means isolated in its position; but by
      frequent excursions across the frozen strait, and by the constant use of
      the telegraph, had kept up their communication with their
      fellow-countrymen on the other island. Colonel Murphy and the major had
      not even been forced to forego the pleasures of the chessboard. The game
      that had been interrupted by Captain Servadac&rsquo;s former visit was not yet
      concluded; but, like the two American clubs that played their celebrated
      game in 1846 between Washington and Baltimore, the two gallant officers
      made use of the semaphore to communicate their well-digested moves.
    </p>
    <p>
      The major stood waiting for his visitor to speak.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Major Oliphant, I believe?&rdquo; said Servadac, with a courteous bow.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, sir, Major Oliphant, officer in command of the garrison at Ceuta,&rdquo;
       was the Englishman&rsquo;s reply. &ldquo;And to whom,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;may I have the honor
      of speaking?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;To Captain Servadac, the governor general of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Indeed!&rdquo; said the major, with a supercilious look.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Allow me to express my surprise,&rdquo; resumed the captain, &ldquo;at seeing you
      installed as commanding officer upon what I have always understood to be
      Spanish soil. May I demand your claim to your position?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;My claim is that of first occupant.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But do you not think that the party of Spaniards now resident with me may
      at some future time assert a prior right to the proprietorship?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I think not, Captain Servadac.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But why not?&rdquo; persisted the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Because these very Spaniards have, by formal contract, made over Ceuta,
      in its integrity, to the British government.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac uttered an exclamation of surprise.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And as the price of that important cession,&rdquo; continued Major Oliphant,
      &ldquo;they have received a fair equivalent in British gold.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof, &ldquo;that accounts for that fellow Negrete and his
      people having such a lot of money.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was silent. It had become clear to his mind what had been the
      object of that secret visit to Ceuta which he had heard of as being made
      by the two English officers. The arguments that he had intended to use had
      completely fallen through; all that he had now to do was carefully to
      prevent any suspicion of his disappointed project.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;May I be allowed to ask, Captain Servadac, to what I am indebted for the
      honor of this visit?&rdquo; asked Major Oliphant presently.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have come, Major Oliphant, in the hope of doing you and your companions
      a service,&rdquo; replied Servadac, rousing himself from his reverie.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, indeed!&rdquo; replied the major, as though he felt himself quite
      independent of all services from exterior sources.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I thought, major, that it was not unlikely you were in ignorance of the
      fact that both Ceuta and Gibraltar have been traversing the solar regions
      on the surface of a comet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The major smiled incredulously; but Servadac, nothing daunted, went on to
      detail the results of the collision between the comet and the earth,
      adding that, as there was the almost immediate prospect of another
      concussion, it had occurred to him that it might be advisable for the
      whole population of Gallia to unite in taking precautionary measures for
      the common welfare.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;In fact, Major Oliphant,&rdquo; he said in conclusion, &ldquo;I am here to inquire
      whether you and your friends would be disposed to join us in our present
      quarters.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am obliged to you, Captain Servadac,&rdquo; answered the major stiffly; &ldquo;but
      we have not the slightest intention of abandoning our post. We have
      received no government orders to that effect; indeed, we have received no
      orders at all. Our own dispatch to the First Lord of the Admiralty still
      awaits the mail.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But allow me to repeat,&rdquo; insisted Servadac, &ldquo;that we are no longer on the
      earth, although we expect to come in contact with it again in about eight
      weeks.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have no doubt,&rdquo; the major answered, &ldquo;that England will make every
      effort to reclaim us.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac felt perplexed. It was quite evident that Major Oliphant had not
      been convinced of the truth of one syllable of what he had been saying.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then I am to understand that you are determined to retain your two
      garrisons here and at Gibraltar?&rdquo; asked Servadac, with one last effort at
      persuasion.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Certainly; these two posts command the entrance of the Mediterranean.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But supposing there is no longer any Mediterranean?&rdquo; retorted the
      captain, growing impatient.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, England will always take care of that,&rdquo; was Major Oliphant&rsquo;s cool
      reply. &ldquo;But excuse me,&rdquo; he added presently; &ldquo;I see that Colonel Murphy has
      just telegraphed his next move. Allow me to wish you good-afternoon.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      And without further parley, followed by his soldiers, he retired into the
      casemate, leaving Captain Servadac gnawing his mustache with mingled rage
      and mortification.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A fine piece of business we have made of this!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, when he
      found himself alone with his master.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We will make our way back at once,&rdquo; replied Captain Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, the sooner the better, with our tails between our legs,&rdquo; rejoined
      the orderly, who this time felt no inclination to start off to the march
      of the Algerian zephyrs. And so the French tricolor returned as it had set
      out&mdash;in Ben Zoof&rsquo;s knapsack.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the eighth evening after starting, the travelers again set foot on the
      volcanic promontory just in time to witness a great commotion.
    </p>
    <p>
      Palmyrin Rosette was in a furious rage. He had completed all his
      calculations about Nerina, but that perfidious satellite had totally
      disappeared. The astronomer was frantic at the loss of his moon. Captured
      probably by some larger body, it was revolving in its proper zone of the
      minor planets.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0040" id="link2HCH0040">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVI. A BOLD PROPOSITION
    </h2>
    <p>
      On his return Servadac communicated to the count the result of his
      expedition, and, though perfectly silent on the subject of his personal
      project, did not conceal the fact that the Spaniards, without the smallest
      right, had sold Ceuta to the English.
    </p>
    <p>
      Having refused to quit their post, the Englishmen had virtually excluded
      themselves from any further consideration; they had had their warning, and
      must now take the consequences of their own incredulity.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although it had proved that not a single creature either at Gourbi Island,
      Gibraltar, Ceuta, Madalena, or Formentera had received any injury whatever
      at the time of the first concussion, there was nothing in the least to
      make it certain that a like immunity from harm would attend the second.
      The previous escape was doubtless owing to some slight, though
      unaccountable, modification in the rate of motion; but whether the
      inhabitants of the earth had fared so fortunately, was a question that had
      still to be determined.
    </p>
    <p>
      The day following Servadac&rsquo;s return, he and the count and Lieutenant
      Procope met by agreement in the cave, formally to discuss what would be
      the most advisable method of proceeding under their present prospects. Ben
      Zoof was, as a matter of course, allowed to be present, and Professor
      Rosette had been asked to attend; but he declined on the plea of taking no
      interest in the matter. Indeed, the disappearance of his moon had utterly
      disconcerted him, and the probability that he should soon lose his comet
      also, plunged him into an excess of grief which he preferred to bear in
      solitude.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although the barrier of cool reserve was secretly increasing between the
      captain and the count, they scrupulously concealed any outward token of
      their inner feelings, and without any personal bias applied their best
      energies to the discussion of the question which was of such mutual, nay,
      of such universal interest.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was the first to speak. &ldquo;In fifty-one days, if Professor Rosette
      has made no error in his calculations, there is to be a recurrence of
      collision between this comet and the earth. The inquiry that we have now
      to make is whether we are prepared for the coming shock. I ask myself, and
      I ask you, whether it is in our power, by any means, to avert the evil
      consequences that are only too likely to follow?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff, in a voice that seemed to thrill with solemnity, said:
      &ldquo;In such events we are at the disposal of an over-ruling Providence; human
      precautions cannot sway the Divine will.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But with the most profound reverence for the will of Providence,&rdquo; replied
      the captain, &ldquo;I beg to submit that it is our duty to devise whatever means
      we can to escape the threatening mischief. Heaven helps them that help
      themselves.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And what means have you to suggest, may I ask?&rdquo; said the count, with a
      faint accent of satire.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac was forced to acknowledge that nothing tangible had hitherto
      presented itself to his mind.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to intrude,&rdquo; observed Ben Zoof, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t understand why
      such learned gentlemen as you cannot make the comet go where you want it
      to go.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You are mistaken, Ben Zoof, about our learning,&rdquo; said the captain; &ldquo;even
      Professor Rosette, with all his learning, has not a shadow of power to
      prevent the comet and the earth from knocking against each other.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then I cannot see what is the use of all this learning,&rdquo; the orderly
      replied.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;One great use of learning,&rdquo; said Count Timascheff with a smile, &ldquo;is to
      make us know our own ignorance.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      While this conversation had been going on, Lieutenant Procope had been
      sitting in thoughtful silence. Looking up, he now said, &ldquo;Incident to this
      expected shock, there may be a variety of dangers. If, gentlemen, you will
      allow me, I will enumerate them; and we shall, perhaps, by taking them <i>seriatim</i>,
      be in a better position to judge whether we can successfully grapple with
      them, or in any way mitigate their consequences.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      There was a general attitude of attention. It was surprising how calmly
      they proceeded to discuss the circumstances that looked so threatening and
      ominous.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;First of all,&rdquo; resumed the lieutenant, &ldquo;we will specify the different
      ways in which the shock may happen.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And the prime fact to be remembered,&rdquo; interposed Servadac, &ldquo;is that the
      combined velocity of the two bodies will be about 21,000 miles an hour.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Express speed, and no mistake!&rdquo; muttered Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just so,&rdquo; assented Procope. &ldquo;Now, the two bodies may impinge either
      directly or obliquely. If the impact is sufficiently oblique, Gallia may
      do precisely what she did before: she may graze the earth; she may, or she
      may not, carry off a portion of the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere and substance, and
      so she may float away again into space; but her orbit would undoubtedly be
      deranged, and if we survive the shock, we shall have small chance of ever
      returning to the world of our fellow-creatures.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Professor Rosette, I suppose,&rdquo; Ben Zoof remarked, &ldquo;would pretty soon find
      out all about that.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But we will leave this hypothesis,&rdquo; said the lieutenant; &ldquo;our own
      experience has sufficiently shown us its advantages and its disadvantages.
      We will proceed to consider the infinitely more serious alternative of
      direct impact; of a shock that would hurl the comet straight on to the
      earth, to which it would become attached.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A great wart upon her face!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, laughing.
    </p>
    <p>
      The captain held up his finger to his orderly, making him understand that
      he should hold his tongue.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It is, I presume, to be taken for granted,&rdquo; continued Lieutenant Procope,
      &ldquo;that the mass of the earth is comparatively so large that, in the event
      of a direct collision, her own motion would not be sensibly retarded, and
      that she would carry the comet along with her, as part of herself.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Very little question of that, I should think,&rdquo; said Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; the lieutenant went on, &ldquo;what part of this comet of ours
      will be the part to come into collision with the earth? It may be the
      equator, where we are; it may be at the exactly opposite point, at our
      antipodes; or it may be at either pole. In any case, it seems hard to
      foresee whence there is to come the faintest chance of deliverance.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Is the case so desperate?&rdquo; asked Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I will tell you why it seems so. If the side of the comet on which we are
      resident impinges on the earth, it stands to reason that we must be
      crushed to atoms by the violence of the concussion.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Regular mincemeat!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, whom no admonitions could quite reduce
      to silence.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And if,&rdquo; said the lieutenant, after a moment&rsquo;s pause, and the slightest
      possible frown at the interruption&mdash;&ldquo;and if the collision should
      occur at our antipodes, the sudden check to the velocity of the comet
      would be quite equivalent to a shock <i>in situ</i>; and, another thing,
      we should run the risk of being suffocated, for all our comet&rsquo;s atmosphere
      would be assimilated with the terrestrial atmosphere, and we, supposing we
      were not dashed to atoms, should be left as it were upon the summit of an
      enormous mountain (for such to all intents and purposes Gallia would be),
      450 miles above the level of the surface of the globe, without a particle
      of air to breathe.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But would not our chances of escape be considerably better,&rdquo; asked Count
      Timascheff, &ldquo;in the event of either of the comet&rsquo;s poles being the point
      of contact?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Taking the combined velocity into account,&rdquo; answered the lieutenant, &ldquo;I
      confess that I fear the violence of the shock will be too great to permit
      our destruction to be averted.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      A general silence ensued, which was broken by the lieutenant himself.
      &ldquo;Even if none of these contingencies occur in the way we have
      contemplated, I am driven to the suspicion that we shall be burnt alive.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Burnt alive!&rdquo; they all exclaimed in a chorus of horror.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes. If the deductions of modern science be true, the speed of the comet,
      when suddenly checked, will be transmuted into heat, and that heat will be
      so intense that the temperature of the comet will be raised to some
      millions of degrees.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      No one having anything definite to allege in reply to Lieutenant Procope&rsquo;s
      forebodings, they all relapsed into silence. Presently Ben Zoof asked
      whether it was not possible for the comet to fall into the middle of the
      Atlantic.
    </p>
    <p>
      Procope shook his head. &ldquo;Even so, we should only be adding the fate of
      drowning to the list of our other perils.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Then, as I understand,&rdquo; said Captain Servadac, &ldquo;in whatever way or in
      whatever place the concussion occurs, we must be either crushed,
      suffocated, roasted, or drowned. Is that your conclusion, lieutenant?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I confess I see no other alternative,&rdquo; answered Procope, calmly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But isn&rsquo;t there another thing to be done?&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; his master asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, to get off the comet before the shock comes.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;How could you get off Gallia?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;That I can&rsquo;t say,&rdquo; replied the orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I am not sure that that could not be accomplished,&rdquo; said the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      All eyes in a moment were riveted upon him, as, with his head resting on
      his hands, he was manifestly cogitating a new idea. &ldquo;Yes, I think it could
      be accomplished,&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;The project may appear extravagant, but I
      do not know why it should be impossible. Ben Zoof has hit the right nail
      on the head; we must try and leave Gallia before the shock.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Leave Gallia! How?&rdquo; said Count Timascheff.
    </p>
    <p>
      The lieutenant did not at once reply. He continued pondering for a time,
      and at last said, slowly and distinctly, &ldquo;By making a balloon!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Servadac&rsquo;s heart sank.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A balloon!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;Out of the question! Balloons are exploded
      things. You hardly find them in novels. Balloon, indeed!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Listen to me,&rdquo; replied Procope. &ldquo;Perhaps I can convince you that my idea
      is not so chimerical as you imagine.&rdquo; And, knitting his brow, he proceeded
      to establish the feasibility of his plan. &ldquo;If we can ascertain the precise
      moment when the shock is to happen, and can succeed in launching ourselves
      a sufficient time beforehand into Gallia&rsquo;s atmosphere, I believe it will
      transpire that this atmosphere will amalgamate with that of the earth, and
      that a balloon whirled along by the combined velocity would glide into the
      mingled atmosphere and remain suspended in mid-air until the shock of the
      collision is overpast.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff reflected for a minute, and said, &ldquo;I think, lieutenant, I
      understand your project. The scheme seems tenable; and I shall be ready to
      co-operate with you, to the best of my power, in putting it into
      execution.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Only, remember,&rdquo; continued Procope, &ldquo;there are many chances to one
      against our success. One instant&rsquo;s obstruction and stoppage in our
      passage, and our balloon is burnt to ashes. Still, reluctant as I am to
      acknowledge it, I confess that I feel our sole hope of safety rests in our
      getting free from this comet.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;If the chances were ten thousand to one against us,&rdquo; said Servadac, &ldquo;I
      think the attempt ought to be made.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;But have we hydrogen enough to inflate a balloon?&rdquo; asked the count.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hot air will be all that we shall require,&rdquo; the lieutenant answered; &ldquo;we
      are only contemplating about an hour&rsquo;s journey.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Ah, a fire-balloon! A montgolfier!&rdquo; cried Servadac. &ldquo;But what are you
      going to do for a casing?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I have thought of that. We must cut it out of the sails of the <i>Dobryna</i>;
      they are both light and strong,&rdquo; rejoined the lieutenant. Count Timascheff
      complimented the lieutenant upon his ingenuity, and Ben Zoof could not
      resist bringing the meeting to a conclusion by a ringing cheer.
    </p>
    <p>
      Truly daring was the plan of which Lieutenant Procope had thus become the
      originator; but the very existence of them all was at stake, and the
      design must be executed resolutely. For the success of the enterprise it
      was absolutely necessary to know, almost to a minute, the precise time at
      which the collision would occur, and Captain Servadac undertook the task,
      by gentle means or by stern, of extracting the secret from the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      To Lieutenant Procope himself was entrusted the superintendence of the
      construction of the montgolfier, and the work was begun at once. It was to
      be large enough to carry the whole of the twenty-three residents in the
      volcano, and, in order to provide the means of floating aloft long enough
      to give time for selecting a proper place for descent, the lieutenant was
      anxious to make it carry enough hay or straw to maintain combustion for a
      while, and keep up the necessary supply of heated air.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sails of the <i>Dobryna</i>, which had all been carefully stowed away
      in the Hive, were of a texture unusually close, and quite capable of being
      made airtight by means of a varnish, the ingredients of which were
      rummaged out of the promiscuous stores of the tartan. The lieutenant
      himself traced out the pattern and cut out the strips, and all hands were
      employed in seaming them together. It was hardly the work for little
      fingers, but Nina persisted in accomplishing her own share of it. The
      Russians were quite at home at occupation of this sort, and having
      initiated the Spaniards into its mysteries, the task of joining together
      the casing was soon complete. Isaac Hakkabut and the professor were the
      only two members of the community who took no part in this somewhat
      tedious proceeding.
    </p>
    <p>
      A month passed away, but Servadac found no opportunity of getting at the
      information he had pledged himself to gain. On the sole occasion when he
      had ventured to broach the subject with the astronomer, he had received
      for answer that as there was no hurry to get back to the earth, there need
      be no concern about any dangers of transit.
    </p>
    <p>
      Indeed, as time passed on, the professor seemed to become more and more
      inaccessible. A pleasant temperature enabled him to live entirely in his
      observatory, from which intruders were rigidly shut out. But Servadac
      bided his time. He grew more and more impressed with the importance of
      finding out the exact moment at which the impact would take place, but was
      content to wait for a promising opportunity to put any fresh questions on
      the subject to the too reticent astronomer.
    </p>
    <p>
      Meanwhile, the earth&rsquo;s disc was daily increasing in magnitude; the comet
      traveled 50,000,000 leagues during the month, at the close of which it was
      not more than 78,000,000 leagues from the sun.
    </p>
    <p>
      A thaw had now fairly set in. The breaking up of the frozen ocean was a
      magnificent spectacle, and &ldquo;the great voice of the sea,&rdquo; as the whalers
      graphically describe it, was heard in all its solemnity. Little streams of
      water began to trickle down the declivities of the mountain and along the
      shelving shore, only to be transformed, as the melting of the snow
      continued, into torrents or cascades. Light vapors gathered on the
      horizon, and clouds were formed and carried rapidly along by breezes to
      which the Gallian atmosphere had long been unaccustomed. All these were
      doubtless but the prelude to atmospheric disturbances of a more startling
      character; but as indications of returning spring, they were greeted with
      a welcome which no apprehensions for the future could prevent being glad
      and hearty.
    </p>
    <p>
      A double disaster was the inevitable consequence of the thaw. Both the
      schooner and the tartan were entirely destroyed. The basement of the icy
      pedestal on which the ships had been upheaved was gradually undermined,
      like the icebergs of the Arctic Ocean, by warm currents of water, and on
      the night of the 12th the huge block collapsed <i>en masse</i>, so that on
      the following morning nothing remained of the <i>Dobryna</i> and the <i>Hansa</i>
      except the fragments scattered on the shore.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although certainly expected, the catastrophe could not fail to cause a
      sense of general depression. Well-nigh one of their last ties to Mother
      Earth had been broken; the ships were gone, and they had only a balloon to
      replace them!
    </p>
    <p>
      To describe Isaac Hakkabut&rsquo;s rage at the destruction of the tartan would
      be impossible. His oaths were simply dreadful; his imprecations on the
      accursed race were full of wrath. He swore that Servadac and his people
      were responsible for his loss; he vowed that they should be sued and made
      to pay him damages; he asserted that he had been brought from Gourbi
      Island only to be plundered; in fact, he became so intolerably abusive,
      that Servadac threatened to put him into irons unless he conducted himself
      properly; whereupon the Jew, finding that the captain was in earnest, and
      would not hesitate to carry the threat into effect, was fain to hold his
      tongue, and slunk back into his dim hole.
    </p>
    <p>
      By the 14th the balloon was finished, and, carefully sewn and well
      varnished as it had been, it was really a very substantial structure. It
      was covered with a network that had been made from the light rigging of
      the yacht, and the car, composed of wicker-work that had formed partitions
      in the hold of the <i>Hansa</i>, was quite commodious enough to hold the
      twenty-three passengers it was intended to convey. No thought had been
      bestowed upon comfort or convenience, as the ascent was to last for so
      short a time, merely long enough for making the transit from atmosphere to
      atmosphere.
    </p>
    <p>
      The necessity was becoming more and more urgent to get at the true hour of
      the approaching contact, but the professor seemed to grow more obstinate
      than ever in his resolution to keep his secret.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 15th the comet crossed the orbit of Mars, at the safe distance of
      56,000,000 leagues; but during that night the community thought that their
      last hour had taken them unawares. The volcano rocked and trembled with
      the convulsions of internal disturbance, and Servadac and his companions,
      convinced that the mountain was doomed to some sudden disruption, rushed
      into the open air.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first object that caught their attention as they emerged upon the open
      rocks was the unfortunate professor, who was scrambling down the
      mountain-side, piteously displaying a fragment of his shattered telescope.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was no time for condolence.
    </p>
    <p>
      A new marvel arrested every eye. A fresh satellite, in the gloom of night,
      was shining conspicuously before them.
    </p>
    <p>
      That satellite was a part of Gallia itself!
    </p>
    <p>
      By the expansive action of the inner heat, Gallia, like Gambart&rsquo;s comet,
      had been severed in twain; an enormous fragment had been detached and
      launched into space!
    </p>
    <p>
      The fragment included Ceuta and Gibraltar, with the two English garrisons!
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0041" id="link2HCH0041">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVII. THE VENTURE MADE
    </h2>
    <p>
      What would be the consequences of this sudden and complete disruption,
      Servadac and his people hardly dared to think.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first change that came under their observation was the rapidity of the
      sun&rsquo;s appearances and disappearances, forcing them to the conviction that
      although the comet still rotated on its axis from east to west, yet the
      period of its rotation had been diminished by about one-half. Only six
      hours instead of twelve elapsed between sunrise and sunrise; three hours
      after rising in the west the sun was sinking again in the east.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;We are coming to something!&rdquo; exclaimed Servadac. &ldquo;We have got a year of
      something like 2,880 days.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t think it would be an easy matter to find saints enough for
      such a calendar as that!&rdquo; said Ben Zoof.
    </p>
    <p>
      Servadac laughed, and remarked that they should have the professor talking
      about the 238th of June, and the 325th of December.
    </p>
    <p>
      It soon became evident that the detached portion was not revolving round
      the comet, but was gradually retreating into space. Whether it had carried
      with it any portion of atmosphere, whether it possessed any other
      condition for supporting life, and whether it was likely ever again to
      approach to the earth, were all questions that there were no means of
      determining. For themselves the all-important problem was&mdash;what
      effect would the rending asunder of the comet have upon its rate of
      progress? and as they were already conscious of a further increase of
      muscular power, and a fresh diminution of specific gravity, Servadac and
      his associates could not but wonder whether the alteration in the mass of
      the comet would not result in its missing the expected coincidence with
      the earth altogether.
    </p>
    <p>
      Although he professed himself incompetent to pronounce a decided opinion,
      Lieutenant Procope manifestly inclined to the belief that no alteration
      would ensue in the rate of Gallia&rsquo;s velocity; but Rosette, no doubt, could
      answer the question directly, and the time had now arrived in which he
      must be compelled to divulge the precise moment of collision.
    </p>
    <p>
      But the professor was in the worst of tempers. Generally taciturn and
      morose, he was more than usually uncivil whenever any one ventured to
      speak to him. The loss of his telescope had doubtless a great deal to do
      with his ill-humor; but the captain drew the most favorable conclusions
      from Rosette&rsquo;s continued irritation. Had the comet been in any way
      projected from its course, so as to be likely to fail in coming into
      contact with the earth, the professor would have been quite unable to
      conceal his satisfaction. But they required to know more than the general
      truth, and felt that they had no time to lose in getting at the exact
      details.
    </p>
    <p>
      The opportunity that was wanted soon came.
    </p>
    <p>
      On the 18th, Rosette was overheard in furious altercation with Ben Zoof.
      The orderly had been taunting the astronomer with the mutilation of his
      little comet. A fine thing, he said, to split in two like a child&rsquo;s toy.
      It had cracked like a dry nut; and mightn&rsquo;t one as well live upon an
      exploding bomb?&mdash;with much more to the same effect. The professor, by
      way of retaliation, had commenced sneering at the &ldquo;prodigious&rdquo; mountain of
      Montmartre, and the dispute was beginning to look serious when Servadac
      entered.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thinking he could turn the wrangling to some good account, so as to arrive
      at the information he was so anxiously seeking, the captain pretended to
      espouse the views of his orderly; he consequently brought upon himself the
      full force of the professor&rsquo;s wrath.
    </p>
    <p>
      Rosette&rsquo;s language became more and more violent, till Servadac, feigning
      to be provoked beyond endurance, cried:
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You forget, sir, that you are addressing the Governor-General of Gallia.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Governor-General! humbug!&rdquo; roared Rosette. &ldquo;Gallia is my comet!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I deny it,&rdquo; said Servadac. &ldquo;Gallia has lost its chance of getting back to
      the earth. Gallia has nothing to do with you. Gallia is mine; and you must
      submit to the government which I please to ordain.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And who told you that Gallia is not going back to the earth?&rdquo; asked the
      professor, with a look of withering scorn.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Why, isn&rsquo;t her mass diminished? Isn&rsquo;t she split in half? Isn&rsquo;t her
      velocity all altered?&rdquo; demanded the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And pray who told you this?&rdquo; again said the professor, with a sneer.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Everybody. Everybody knows it, of course,&rdquo; replied Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Everybody is very clever. And you always were a very clever scholar too.
      We remember that of old, don&rsquo;t we?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sir!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You nearly mastered the first elements of science, didn&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sir!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;A credit to your class!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hold your tongue, sir!&rdquo; bellowed the captain again, as if his anger was
      uncontrollable.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not I,&rdquo; said the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hold your tongue!&rdquo; repeated Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Just because the mass is altered you think the velocity is altered?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hold your tongue!&rdquo; cried the captain, louder than ever.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What has mass to do with the orbit? Of how many comets do you know the
      mass, and yet you know their movements? Ignorance!&rdquo; shouted Rosette.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Insolence!&rdquo; retorted Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      Ben Zoof, really thinking that his master was angry, made a threatening
      movement towards the professor.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Touch me if you dare!&rdquo; screamed Rosette, drawing himself up to the
      fullest height his diminutive figure would allow. &ldquo;You shall answer for
      your conduct before a court of justice!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Where? On Gallia?&rdquo; asked the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No; on the earth.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;The earth! Pshaw! You know we shall never get there; our velocity is
      changed.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;On the earth,&rdquo; repeated the professor, with decision.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Trash!&rdquo; cried Ben Zoof. &ldquo;The earth will be too far off!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Not too far off for us to come across her orbit at 42 minutes and 35.6
      seconds past two o&rsquo;clock on the morning of this coming 1st of January.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Thanks, my dear professor&mdash;many thanks. You have given me all the
      information I required;&rdquo; and, with a low bow and a gracious smile, the
      captain withdrew. The orderly made an equally polite bow, and followed his
      master. The professor, completely nonplussed, was left alone.
    </p>
    <p>
      Thirteen days, then&mdash;twenty-six of the original Gallian days,
      fifty-two of the present&mdash;was all the time for preparation that now
      remained. Every preliminary arrangement was hurried on with the greatest
      earnestness.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was a general eagerness to be quit of Gallia. Indifferent to the
      dangers that must necessarily attend a balloon ascent under such
      unparalleled circumstances, and heedless of Lieutenant Procope&rsquo;s warning
      that the slightest check in their progress would result in instantaneous
      combustion, they all seemed to conclude that it must be the simplest thing
      possible to glide from one atmosphere to another, so that they were quite
      sanguine as to the successful issue of their enterprise. Captain Servadac
      made a point of showing himself quite enthusiastic in his anticipations,
      and to Ben Zoof the going up in a balloon was the supreme height of his
      ambition. The count and the lieutenant, of colder and less demonstrative
      temperament, alike seemed to realize the possible perils of the
      undertaking, but even they were determined to put a bold face upon every
      difficulty.
    </p>
    <p>
      The sea had now become navigable, and three voyages were made to Gourbi
      Island in the steam launch, consuming the last of their little reserve of
      coal.
    </p>
    <p>
      The first voyage had been made by Servadac with several of the sailors.
      They found the gourbi and the adjacent building quite uninjured by the
      severity of the winter; numbers of little rivulets intersected the
      pasture-land; new plants were springing up under the influence of the
      equatorial sun, and the luxuriant foliage was tenanted by the birds which
      had flown back from the volcano. Summer had almost abruptly succeeded to
      winter, and the days, though only three hours long, were intensely hot.
    </p>
    <p>
      Another of the voyages to the island had been to collect the dry grass and
      straw which was necessary for inflating the balloon. Had the balloon been
      less cumbersome it would have been conveyed to the island, whence the
      start would have been effected; but as it was, it was more convenient to
      bring the combustible material to the balloon.
    </p>
    <p>
      The last of the coal having been consumed, the fragments of the
      shipwrecked vessels had to be used day by day for fuel. Hakkabut began
      making a great hubbub when he found that they were burning some of the
      spars of the <i>Hansa</i>; but he was effectually silenced by Ben Zoof,
      who told him that if he made any more fuss, he should be compelled to pay
      50,000 francs for a balloon-ticket, or else he should be left behind.
    </p>
    <p>
      By Christmas Day everything was in readiness for immediate departure. The
      festival was observed with a solemnity still more marked than the
      anniversary of the preceding year. Every one looked forward to spending
      New Year&rsquo;s Day in another sphere altogether, and Ben Zoof had already
      promised Pablo and Nina all sorts of New Year&rsquo;s gifts.
    </p>
    <p>
      It may seem strange, but the nearer the critical moment approached, the
      less Hector Servadac and Count Timascheff had to say to each other on the
      subject. Their mutual reserve became more apparent; the experiences of the
      last two years were fading from their minds like a dream; and the fair
      image that had been the cause of their original rivalry was ever rising,
      as a vision, between them.
    </p>
    <p>
      The captain&rsquo;s thoughts began to turn to his unfinished rondo; in his
      leisure moments, rhymes suitable and unsuitable, possible and impossible,
      were perpetually jingling in his imagination. He labored under the
      conviction that he had a work of genius to complete. A poet he had left
      the earth, and a poet he must return.
    </p>
    <p>
      Count Timascheff&rsquo;s desire to return to the world was quite equaled by
      Lieutenant Procope&rsquo;s. The Russian sailors&rsquo; only thought was to follow
      their master, wherever he went. The Spaniards, though they would have been
      unconcerned to know that they were to remain upon Gallia, were
      nevertheless looking forward with some degree of pleasure to revisiting
      the plains of Andalusia; and Nina and Pablo were only too delighted at the
      prospect of accompanying their kind protectors on any fresh excursion
      whatever.
    </p>
    <p>
      The only malcontent was Palmyrin Rosette. Day and night he persevered in
      his astronomical pursuits, declared his intention of never abandoning his
      comet, and swore positively that nothing should induce him to set foot in
      the car of the balloon.
    </p>
    <p>
      The misfortune that had befallen his telescope was a never-ending theme of
      complaint; and just now, when Gallia was entering the narrow zone of
      shooting-stars, and new discoveries might have been within his reach, his
      loss made him more inconsolable than ever. In sheer desperation, he
      endeavored to increase the intensity of his vision by applying to his eyes
      some belladonna which he found in the <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> medicine chest;
      with heroic fortitude he endured the tortures of the experiment, and gazed
      up into the sky until he was nearly blind. But all in vain; not a single
      fresh discovery rewarded his sufferings.
    </p>
    <p>
      No one was quite exempt from the feverish excitement which prevailed
      during the last days of December. Lieutenant Procope superintended his
      final arrangements. The two low masts of the schooner had been erected
      firmly on the shore, and formed supports for the montgolfier, which had
      been duly covered with the netting, and was ready at any moment to be
      inflated. The car was close at hand. Some inflated skins had been attached
      to its sides, so that the balloon might float for a time, in the event of
      its descending in the sea at a short distance from the shore. If
      unfortunately, it should come down in mid-ocean, nothing but the happy
      chance of some passing vessel could save them all from the certain fate of
      being drowned.
    </p>
    <p>
      The 31st came. Twenty-four hours hence and the balloon, with its large
      living freight, would be high in the air. The atmosphere was less buoyant
      than that of the earth, but no difficulty in ascending was to be
      apprehended.
    </p>
    <p>
      Gallia was now within 96,000,000 miles of the sun, consequently not much
      more than 4,000,000 miles from the earth; and this interval was being
      diminished at the rate of nearly 208,000 miles an hour, the speed of the
      earth being about 70,000 miles, that of the comet being little less than
      138,000 miles an hour.
    </p>
    <p>
      It was determined to make the start at two o&rsquo;clock, three-quarters of an
      hour, or, to speak correctly 42 minutes 35.6 seconds, before the time
      predicted by the professor as the instant of collision. The modified
      rotation of the comet caused it to be daylight at the time.
    </p>
    <p>
      An hour previously the balloon was inflated with perfect success, and the
      car was securely attached to the network. It only awaited the stowage of
      the passengers.
    </p>
    <p>
      Isaac Hakkabut was the first to take his place in the car. But scarcely
      had he done so, when Servadac noticed that his waist was encompassed by an
      enormous girdle that bulged out to a very extraordinary extent. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s
      all this, Hakkabut?&rdquo; he asked.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only my little bit of money, your Excellency; my modest little
      fortune&mdash;a mere bagatelle,&rdquo; said the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;And what may your little fortune weigh?&rdquo; inquired the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Only about sixty-six pounds!&rdquo; said Isaac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sixty-six pounds!&rdquo; cried Servadac. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t reckoned for this.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Merciful heavens!&rdquo; began the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Sixty-six pounds!&rdquo; repeated Servadac. &ldquo;We can hardly carry ourselves; we
      can&rsquo;t have any dead weight here. Pitch it out, man, pitch it out!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;God of Israel!&rdquo; whined Hakkabut.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Out with it, I say!&rdquo; cried Servadac.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;What, all my money, which I have saved so long, and toiled for so hard?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;It can&rsquo;t be helped,&rdquo; said the captain, unmoved.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Oh, your Excellency!&rdquo; cried the Jew.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Now, old Nicodemus, listen to me,&rdquo; interposed Ben Zoof; &ldquo;you just get rid
      of that pouch of yours, or we will get rid of you. Take your choice.
      Quick, or out you go!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      The avaricious old man was found to value his life above his money; he
      made a lamentable outcry about it, but he unfastened his girdle at last,
      and put it out of the car.
    </p>
    <p>
      Very different was the case with Palmyrin Rosette. He avowed over and over
      again his intention of never quitting the nucleus of his comet. Why should
      he trust himself to a balloon, that would blaze up like a piece of paper?
      Why should he leave the comet? Why should he not go once again upon its
      surface into the far-off realms of space?
    </p>
    <p>
      His volubility was brought to a sudden check by Servadac&rsquo;s bidding two of
      the sailors, without more ado, to take him in their arms and put him
      quietly down at the bottom of the car.
    </p>
    <p>
      To the great regret of their owners, the two horses and Nina&rsquo;s pet goat
      were obliged to be left behind. The only creature for which there was
      found a place was the carrier-pigeon that had brought the professor&rsquo;s
      message to the Hive. Servadac thought it might probably be of service in
      carrying some communication to the earth.
    </p>
    <p>
      When every one, except the captain and his orderly, had taken their
      places, Servadac said, &ldquo;Get in, Ben Zoof.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;After you, sir,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, respectfully.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; insisted Servadac; &ldquo;the captain must be the last to leave the
      ship!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      A moment&rsquo;s hesitation and the orderly clambered over the side of the car.
      Servadac followed. The cords were cut. The balloon rose with stately
      calmness into the air.
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0042" id="link2HCH0042">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XVIII. SUSPENSE
    </h2>
    <p>
      When the balloon had reached an elevation of about 2,500 yards, Lieutenant
      Procope determined to maintain it at that level. A wire-work stove,
      suspended below the casing, and filled with lighted hay, served to keep
      the air in the interior at a proper temperature.
    </p>
    <p>
      Beneath their feet was extended the basin of the Gallian Sea. An
      inconsiderable speck to the north marked the site of Gourbi Island. Ceuta
      and Gibraltar, which might have been expected in the west, had utterly
      disappeared. On the south rose the volcano, the extremity of the
      promontory that jutted out from the continent that formed the framework of
      the sea; whilst in every direction the strange soil, with its commixture
      of tellurium and gold, gleamed under the sun&rsquo;s rays with a perpetual
      iridescence.
    </p>
    <p>
      Apparently rising with them in their ascent, the horizon was well-defined.
      The sky above them was perfectly clear; but away in the northwest, in
      opposition to the sun, floated a new sphere, so small that it could not be
      an asteroid, but like a dim meteor. It was the fragment that the internal
      convulsion had rent from the surface of the comet, and which was now many
      thousands of leagues away, pursuing the new orbit into which it had been
      projected. During the hours of daylight it was far from distinct, but
      after nightfall it would assume a definite luster.
    </p>
    <p>
      The object, however, of supreme interest was the great expanse of the
      terrestrial disc, which was rapidly drawing down obliquely towards them.
      It totally eclipsed an enormous portion of the firmament above, and
      approaching with an ever-increasing velocity, was now within half its
      average distance from the moon. So close was it, that the two poles could
      not be embraced in one focus. Irregular patches of greater or less
      brilliancy alternated on its surface, the brighter betokening the
      continents, the more somber indicating the oceans that absorbed the solar
      rays. Above, there were broad white bands, darkened on the side averted
      from the sun, exhibiting a slow but unintermittent movement; these were
      the vapors that pervaded the terrestrial atmosphere.
    </p>
    <p>
      But as the aeronauts were being hurried on at a speed of 70 miles a
      second, this vague aspect of the earth soon developed itself into definite
      outlines. Mountains and plains were no longer confused, the distinction
      between sea and shore was more plainly identified, and instead of being,
      as it were, depicted on a map, the surface of the earth appeared as though
      modelled in relief.
    </p>
    <p>
      Twenty-seven minutes past two, and Gallia is only 72,000 miles from the
      terrestrial sphere; quicker and quicker is the velocity; ten minutes
      later, and they are only 36,000 miles apart!
    </p>
    <p>
      The whole configuration of the earth is clear.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Europe! Russia! France!&rdquo; shout Procope, the count, and Servadac, almost
      in a breath.
    </p>
    <p>
      And they are not mistaken. The eastern hemisphere lies before them in the
      full blaze of light, and there is no possibility of error in
      distinguishing continent from continent.
    </p>
    <p>
      The surprise only kindled their emotion to yet keener intensity, and it
      would be hard to describe the excitement with which they gazed at the
      panorama that was before them. The crisis of peril was close at hand, but
      imagination overleaped all consideration of danger; and everything was
      absorbed in the one idea that they were again within reach of that circle
      of humanity from which they had supposed themselves severed forever.
    </p>
    <p>
      And, truly, if they could have paused to study it, that panorama of the
      states of Europe which was outstretched before their eyes, was conspicuous
      for the fantastic resemblances with which Nature on the one hand, and
      international relations on the other, have associated them. There was
      England, marching like some stately dame towards the east, trailing her
      ample skirts and coroneted with the cluster of her little islets; Sweden
      and Norway, with their bristling spine of mountains, seemed like a
      splendid lion eager to spring down from the bosom of the ice-bound north;
      Russia, a gigantic polar bear, stood with its head towards Asia, its left
      paw resting upon Turkey, its right upon Mount Caucasus; Austria resembled
      a huge cat curled up and sleeping a watchful sleep; Spain, with Portugal
      as a pennant, like an unfurled banner, floated from the extremity of the
      continent; Turkey, like an insolent cock, appeared to clutch the shores of
      Asia with the one claw, and the land of Greece with the other; Italy, as
      it were a foot and leg encased in a tight-fitting boot, was juggling
      deftly with the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica; Prussia, a
      formidable hatchet imbedded in the heart of Germany, its edge just grazing
      the frontiers of France; whilst France itself suggested a vigorous torso
      with Paris at its breast.
    </p>
    <p>
      All at once Ben Zoof breaks the silence: &ldquo;Montmartre! I see Montmartre!&rdquo;
       And, smile at the absurdity as others might, nothing could induce the
      worthy orderly to surrender his belief that he could actually make out the
      features of his beloved home.
    </p>
    <p>
      The only individual whose soul seemed unstirred by the approaching earth
      was Palmyrin Rosette. Leaning over the side of the car, he kept his eyes
      fixed upon the abandoned comet, now floating about a mile and a half below
      him, bright in the general irradiation which was flooding the surrounding
      space.
    </p>
    <p>
      Chronometer in hand, Lieutenant Procope stood marking the minutes and
      seconds as they fled; and the stillness which had once again fallen upon
      them all was only broken by his order to replenish the stove, that the
      montgolfier might retain its necessary level. Servadac and the count
      continued to gaze upon the earth with an eagerness that almost amounted to
      awe. The balloon was slightly in the rear of Gallia, a circumstance that
      augured somewhat favorably, because it might be presumed that if the comet
      preceded the balloon in its contact with the earth, there would be a break
      in the suddenness of transfer from one atmosphere to the other.
    </p>
    <p>
      The next question of anxiety was, where would the balloon alight? If upon
      <i>terra firma</i>, would it be in a place where adequate resources for
      safety would be at hand? If upon the ocean, would any passing vessel be
      within hail to rescue them from their critical position? Truly, as the
      count observed to his comrades, none but a Divine Pilot could steer them
      now.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Forty-two minutes past!&rdquo; said the lieutenant, and his voice seemed to
      thrill through the silence of expectation.
    </p>
    <p>
      There were not 20,000 miles between the comet and the earth!
    </p>
    <p>
      The calculated time of impact was 2 hours 47 minutes 35.6 seconds. Five
      minutes more and collision must ensue!
    </p>
    <p>
      But was it so? Just at this moment, Lieutenant Procope observed that the
      comet deviated sensibly in an oblique course. Was it possible that after
      all collision would not occur?
    </p>
    <p>
      The deviation, however, was not great; it did not justify any anticipation
      that Gallia would merely graze the earth, as it had done before; it left
      it certain that the two bodies would inevitably impinge.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No doubt,&rdquo; said Ben Zoof, &ldquo;this time we shall stick together.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      Another thought occurred. Was it not only too likely that, in the fusion
      of the two atmospheres, the balloon itself, in which they were being
      conveyed, would be rent into ribbons, and every one of its passengers
      hurled into destruction, so that not a Gallian should survive to tell the
      tale of their strange peregrinations?
    </p>
    <p>
      Moments were precious; but Hector Servadac resolved that he would adopt a
      device to secure that at least some record of their excursion in solar
      distances should survive themselves.
    </p>
    <p>
      Tearing a leaf from his note-book, he wrote down the name of the comet,
      the list of the fragments of the earth it had carried off, the names of
      his companions, and the date of the comet&rsquo;s aphelion; and having
      subscribed it with his signature, turned to Nina and told her he must have
      the carrier-pigeon which was nestling in her bosom.
    </p>
    <p>
      The child&rsquo;s eyes filled with tears; she did not say a word, but imprinting
      a kiss upon its soft plumage, she surrendered it at once, and the message
      was hurriedly fastened to its neck. The bird wheeled round and round in a
      few circles that widened in their diameter, and quickly sunk to an
      altitude in the comet&rsquo;s atmosphere much inferior to the balloon.
    </p>
    <p>
      Some minutes more were thus consumed and the interval of distance was
      reduced to less than 8,000 miles.
    </p>
    <p>
      The velocity became inconceivably great, but the increased rate of motion
      was in no way perceptible; there was nothing to disturb the equilibrium of
      the car in which they were making their aerial adventure.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Forty-six minutes!&rdquo; announced the lieutenant.
    </p>
    <p>
      The glowing expanse of the earth&rsquo;s disc seemed like a vast funnel, yawning
      to receive the comet and its atmosphere, balloon and all, into its open
      mouth.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Forty-seven!&rdquo; cried Procope.
    </p>
    <p>
      There was half a minute yet. A thrill ran through every vein. A vibration
      quivered through the atmosphere. The montgolfier, elongated to its utmost
      stretch, was manifestly being sucked into a vortex. Every passenger in the
      quivering car involuntarily clung spasmodically to its sides, and as the
      two atmospheres amalgamated, clouds accumulated in heavy masses, involving
      all around in dense obscurity, while flashes of lurid flame threw a weird
      glimmer on the scene.
    </p>
    <p>
      In a mystery every one found himself upon the earth again. They could not
      explain it, but here they were once more upon terrestrial soil; in a swoon
      they had left the earth, and in a similar swoon they had come back!
    </p>
    <p>
      Of the balloon not a vestige remained, and contrary to previous
      computation, the comet had merely grazed the earth, and was traversing the
      regions of space, again far away!
    </p>
    <p>
      <a name="link2HCH0043" id="link2HCH0043">
      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
    </p>
    <div style="height: 4em;">
      <br /><br /><br /><br />
    </div>
    <h2>
      CHAPTER XIX. BACK AGAIN
    </h2>
    <p>
      &ldquo;In Algeria, captain?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Yes, Ben Zoof, in Algeria; and not far from Mostaganem.&rdquo; Such were the
      first words which, after their return to consciousness, were exchanged
      between Servadac and his orderly.
    </p>
    <p>
      They had resided so long in the province that they could not for a moment
      be mistaken as to their whereabouts, and although they were incapable of
      clearing up the mysteries that shrouded the miracle, yet they were
      convinced at the first glance that they had been returned to the earth at
      the very identical spot where they had quitted it.
    </p>
    <p>
      In fact, they were scarcely more than a mile from Mostaganem, and in the
      course of an hour, when they had all recovered from the bewilderment
      occasioned by the shock, they started off in a body and made their way to
      the town. It was a matter of extreme surprise to find no symptom of the
      least excitement anywhere as they went along. The population was perfectly
      calm; every one was pursuing his ordinary avocation; the cattle were
      browsing quietly upon the pastures that were moist with the dew of an
      ordinary January morning. It was about eight o&rsquo;clock; the sun was rising
      in the east; nothing could be noticed to indicate that any abnormal
      incident had either transpired or been expected by the inhabitants. As to
      a collision with a comet, there was not the faintest trace of any such
      phenomenon crossing men&rsquo;s minds, and awakening, as it surely would, a
      panic little short of the certified approach of the millennium.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Nobody expects us,&rdquo; said Servadac; &ldquo;that is very certain.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, indeed,&rdquo; answered Ben Zoof, with a sigh; he was manifestly
      disappointed that his return to Mostaganem was not welcomed with a
      triumphal reception.
    </p>
    <p>
      They reached the Mascara gate. The first persons that Servadac recognized
      were the two friends that he had invited to be his seconds in the duel two
      years ago, the colonel of the 2nd Fusiliers and the captain of the 8th
      Artillery. In return to his somewhat hesitating salutation, the colonel
      greeted him heartily, &ldquo;Ah! Servadac, old fellow! is it you?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;I, myself,&rdquo; said the captain.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Where on earth have you been to all this time? In the name of peace, what
      have you been doing with yourself?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;You would never believe me, colonel,&rdquo; answered Servadac, &ldquo;if I were to
      tell you; so on that point I had better hold my tongue.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Hang your mysteries!&rdquo; said the colonel; &ldquo;tell me, where have you been?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;No, my friend, excuse me,&rdquo; replied Servadac; &ldquo;but shake hands with me in
      earnest, that I may be sure I am not dreaming.&rdquo; Hector Servadac had made
      up his mind, and no amount of persuasion could induce him to divulge his
      incredible experiences.
    </p>
    <p>
      Anxious to turn the subject, Servadac took the earliest opportunity of
      asking, &ldquo;And what about Madame de L&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Madame de L&mdash;&mdash;-!&rdquo; exclaimed the colonel, taking the words out
      of his mouth; &ldquo;the lady is married long ago; you did not suppose that she
      was going to wait for you. &lsquo;Out of sight, out of mind,&rsquo; you know.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;True,&rdquo; replied Servadac; and turning to the count he said, &ldquo;Do you hear
      that? We shall not have to fight our duel after all.&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;Most happy to be excused,&rdquo; rejoined the count. The rivals took each other
      by the hand, and were united henceforth in the bonds of a sincere and
      confiding friendship.
    </p>
    <p>
      &ldquo;An immense relief,&rdquo; said Servadac to himself, &ldquo;that I have no occasion to
      finish that confounded rondo!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      It was agreed between the captain and the count that it would be desirable
      in every way to maintain the most rigid silence upon the subject of the
      inexplicable phenomena which had come within their experience. It was to
      them both a subject of the greatest perplexity to find that the shores of
      the Mediterranean had undergone no change, but they coincided in the
      opinion that it was prudent to keep their bewilderment entirely to
      themselves. Nothing induced them to break their reserve.
    </p>
    <p>
      The very next day the small community was broken up.
    </p>
    <p>
      The <i>Dobryna&rsquo;s</i> crew, with the count and the lieutenant, started for
      Russia, and the Spaniards, provided, by the count&rsquo;s liberality, with a
      competency that ensured them from want, were despatched to their native
      shores. The leave taking was accompanied by genuine tokens of regard and
      goodwill.
    </p>
    <p>
      For Isaac Hakkabut alone there was no feeling of regret. Doubly ruined by
      the loss of his tartan, and by the abandonment of his fortune, he
      disappeared entirely from the scene. It is needless to say that no one
      troubled himself to institute a search after him, and, as Ben Zoof
      sententiously remarked, &ldquo;Perhaps old Jehoram is making money in America by
      exhibiting himself as the latest arrival from a comet!&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      But however great was the reserve which Captain Servadac might make on his
      part, nothing could induce Professor Rosette to conceal his experiences.
      In spite of the denial which astronomer after astronomer gave to the
      appearance of such a comet as Gallia at all, and of its being refused
      admission to the catalogue, he published a voluminous treatise, not only
      detailing his own adventures, but setting forth, with the most elaborate
      precision, all the elements which settled its period and its orbit.
      Discussions arose in scientific circles; an overwhelming majority decided
      against the representations of the professor; an unimportant minority
      declared themselves in his favor, and a pamphlet obtained some degree of
      notice, ridiculing the whole debate under the title of &ldquo;The History of an
      Hypothesis.&rdquo; In reply to this impertinent criticism of his labors, Rosette
      issued a rejoinder full with the most vehement expressions of indignation,
      and reiterating his asseveration that a fragment of Gibraltar was still
      traversing the regions of space, carrying thirteen Englishmen upon its
      surface, and concluding by saying that it was the great disappointment of
      his life that he had not been taken with them.
    </p>
    <p>
      Pablo and little Nina were adopted, the one by Servadac, the other by the
      count, and under the supervision of their guardians, were well educated
      and cared for. Some years later, Colonel, no longer Captain, Servadac, his
      hair slightly streaked with grey, had the pleasure of seeing the handsome
      young Spaniard united in marriage to the Italian, now grown into a
      charming girl, upon whom the count bestowed an ample dowry; the young
      people&rsquo;s happiness in no way marred by the fact that they had not been
      destined, as once seemed likely, to be the Adam and Eve of a new world.
    </p>
    <p>
      The career of the comet was ever a mystery which neither Servadac nor his
      orderly could eliminate from the regions of doubt. Anyhow, they were
      firmer and more confiding friends than ever.
    </p>
    <p>
      One day, in the environs of Montmartre, where they were secure from
      eavesdroppers, Ben Zoof incidentally referred to the experiences in the
      depths of Nina&rsquo;s Hive; but stopped short and said, &ldquo;However, those things
      never happened, sir, did they?&rdquo;
     </p>
    <p>
      His master could only reply, &ldquo;Confound it, Ben Zoof! What is a man to
      believe?&rdquo;
     </p></html>