The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-08
i'm THE ABYSS.
RY H. G.. WELLS.
Copyright. 1896 by the Bachelor Syndicate

smashed him." said Weybridge, "then
it's cursed sight worse, for his clock
work has gone wrong and he's alive
now, five miles under our feet. down
there in the cold and dark. anchored in
that little bubble of his, where never a
ray of light has shown or human
being lived. since the waters were
gathered together. He's there without
food. feeling hungry and thirsty and
scared, wondering whether he'll starve
or stiflle. Which will it be? The Myers
apparatus IS running out, i suppose.
How long do they last?"
Good heavens!" ne exclaimed, "what
little things we are! What daring little
devils! Down there, miles and miles
of waterfall water. and all this empty
water about us and the sky. Gulfs!"
He threw his hand out, and as he did so
little white streak swept noselessly
up the sky, travelled slower, stopped.
became u motionless dot as though a
new star had fallen up into the sky.
Then 1t went sliding back again and
lost itself amidst the reflections of the
stars. and the white haze Of the seas
phoSphorescence.
At the sight he stopped. arm extended
and mouth open. He shut his mouth.
opened it again and waved his arms
with an impatient gesture. Then he
turned, shouted ''Elstead ahoy," to the
first watch, and went at a run to Lind
ley and the search light. II saw him."
he said. "Starboard there! His lights
on and he just shot out of the water.
Bring the light round. We ought to see
him drifting when he lifts on the swell"
But they never picked up the explorer
until dawn. Then they almost ran him
down. The crane was swung out and a
boats crew hooked the chain to the
sphere. When they had shipped the
sphere they unscrewed the manhole and
peered into the darkness Of the interior
for the electric light chamber was in
tended to illuminate the water about
the sphere, and was shut off entirely
from its general cavity. The air was
very hot within the cavity, ard the
India rubber at the lip of the manhOle
was soft. There was no answer to the
eager questions and no sound of move
ment within. Elstead seemed to be ly-
ing motionless, crumpled up. in the bot
tom of the globe. The ships doctor
crawled in and lifted him out to the men
outside. For a moment or SO they did
not know whether Elstead was alive or
dead. His face In the yellow light of the
ships lamps glistened with perspira-
tion. They carried him down to his
own cabin.
lie was not dead, they found, but in q
state of absolute nervous collapse. and
besides cruelty bruised. For some days
he had to lie perfectly still 1t was u
week before he could tell his expert
ences.
Almost his first words were that he
was going down again. The sphere
would have to be altered he said. in or
der to allow him to throw off the cord
if need be. and that was all. He had
had the most marvellous experience.
You thought | should find nothing, but
Ooze," he said. You laughed at my eX-
plorations. And I've discovered Il new
world" He told his story in discon-
nected fragments, and chiefly from the
wrong end. so that it is impossible to
retell 1t in his words. But what follows
is the narrative of his experience.
1t began atrociously he said. Before
the cord ran out the thing kept rolling
over. He felt like frog in u football.
He could see nothing but the crane and
the sky overhead. with an occasional
glimpse of the people on the ships rail.
He couldn't tell a bit which way the
thing would roll next. Suddenly he
would find his feet going up, and try
to step and over he went rolling, head
over heels and just anyhow on the pad
ding. Any other shape would have been
more comfortable. but no other shape
was to be relied upon under the huge
pressure of the nethermOst abyss. Sud-
denly the swaying ceased; the globe
righted and when he had picked him
self up he saw the water all about him
greeny-blue with an attenuated light
filtering down from above, and a shoal
of little floating things went rushing up
past him, as it seemed to him, towards
the light. And even as he looked it grew
darker and darker until the water below
was as dark as the midnight sky albeit
of a greener shade, and the water below
black. And little transparent things in