This eBook was produced by Jim Weiler xooqicom                     Five Thousand Miles Underground OrThe Mystery of the Centre of the Earthby Roy Rockwood 1908  CHAPTER I WASHINGTON BACKS OUTWASHINGTON I say WashingtonThroughout a big shed filled for the most part with huge pieces ofmachinery echoed the voice of Professor Amos Henderson He did notlook up from a small engine over which he was bendingWashington Where are you Why dont you answer meFrom somewhere underneath an immense pile of iron steel and aluminumcame the voice of a colored manYas sir Perfesser Ise goin t saggasiate my bodily presence inyo contiguous proximity an attend t yo immediate conglomeratedprescriptions at th predistined period Yas sirWell Washington if you had started when you began that long speechyou would have been at least half way here by this time Hurry upNever mind tightning those bolts now Find the boys I need them tohelp me with this engine They must be around somewhereI seen em goin fishin down by th brook a little while agoanswered the negro crawling out from under what seemed to be acombined airship and watercraft Jack says as how yo gived himpermission t occupy his indisputatious period of levity inendeavorin t extract from th liquid element some specimens ofswimmin creaturesIf you mean I said he and Mark could go fishing in the brook youreright Washington replied the professor with a smile But you wastea lot of time and breath trying to say it Why dont you give upusing big wordsI reckon I was brought up t it replied the colored man grinningfrom ear to ear He did not always use big words but when he did theywere generally the wrong ones Sometimes he spoke quite correctlyWell I suppose you cant help it resumed Mr Henderson Howevernever mind that Find the boys and send them to meWith th least appreciatableness amount of postponement answeredthe messenger and he went outWashington White who in color was just the opposite to his name ageneral helper and companion to Professor Henderson found MarkSampson and Jack Darrow about a quarter of a mile from the big shedwhich was in the center of a wooded island off the coast of Maine Thelads were seated on the bank of a small brook fishingPerfesser wants yo immediate said WashingtonBut we havent caught a single fish objected MarkThems the orders from headquarters replied the colored man Yoboth got t project yoselves in th vicinity of th machine shop Ireckon th new fangled contraption that th perfesser is goin tnavigate th air an sail th angry seas in am about done He wantst try th engineCome on then said Jack We probably would not catch any fishanyhow MarkAccompanied by Washington the youths each of whom was about eighteenyears old started toward the big shedWhile they are on their way opportunity may be taken to tell a littleabout them as well as about Washington and the professor and thecurious craft on which the scientist was workingA few years before this story opens Mr Henderson had invented awonderful electric airship He had it about completed when one dayhe and the two boys became unexpectedly acquainted and as itdeveloped friendsMark and Jack were orphans After having rather a hard time knockingabout the world trying to make a living they chanced to meet andresolved to cast their lots together They boarded a freight trainand as told in the first volume of this series entitled Throughthe Air to the North Pole or the Wonderful Cruise of the ElectricMonarch the cars were wrecked near where Professor Henderson wasbuilding his strange craftThe boys were cared for by the scientist and after their recoveryfrom hurts received in the collision they accepted his invitation tomake the trip through the upper regions in the airship to search forthe north pole With them went Andy Sudds an old hunter and TomSmith and Bill Jones two farmers but who were hired as helpers onthe voyage The party had many adventures on the trip having battleswith savage animals and more savage Esquimaux and were tossed aboutin terrible storms After making some scientific observations whichthe professor was much interested in they started back homeHaving found he could successfully sail in the air Mr Hendersonresolved to try what it might be like under waterHe moved his machine shop to a lonely spot on the Maine coast andthere with the help of the boys Washington Andy and two machinistsconstructed a submarine boat called the PorpoiseIn this the professor resolved to seek the south pole he having atheory that it was surrounded by an open sea After much hard work thePorpoise was made ready for the voyageWhat occurred on this great trip is described in the second book ofthis series called Under the Ocean to the South Pole or the StrangeCruise of the Submarine Wonder In that is told how once more Tom andBill with Andy the boys and Washington accompanying ProfessorHenderson had many thrilling experiencesThey were caught in the grip of the grass of the terrible SargassoSea Monstrous suckers grasped the boat in their powerful arms andhad to be fought off They were caught in a sea of boiling water andimprisoned between big fields of iceBy means of strong diving suits they were able to leave the ship andwalk about on the bottom of the sea They visited a graveyard ofsunken ships saw many strange monsters as well as many beautiful fishin the great depths to which they sunk Many times they were in direperil but the resources of the professor the bravery and daring ofthe boys no less than the help Washington and Andy Sudds the hunterrendered at times brought them throughThose of you who read of their adventures will recall the strangeisland which they came upon in the Atlantic Ocean far from the coastof South AmericaWhen they first drew near this island they were almost sucked into thedepths of a great whirlpool caused by water pouring down