Page:Clement Fezandié - Through the Earth.djvu/244

224 end of the tube; for the words on the cushion had recurred to him: "In case of danger, turn on the cold!"

These words, at which he had previously scoffed, now proved an inspiration. If the molten matter caught up with him, he could hope to save his life only by producing a very low temperature in the metallic shell of the car.

He accordingly swam down to a tank containing the refrigerating agents, and pressed the releasing device. An intense cold was distributed over the outside surface of the car, a cold so intense that our hero, in spite of the protection afforded by the non-conducting walls of the car, was chilled to the marrow, and hastily turned on the artificial heat inside.

Then he started to swim for the sofa; but he was too late, for a sudden click showed him that he had arrived in port, while at the same moment he was thrown down to what had formerly been the bottom of the car, and then fell heavily to the top (now really the bottom, since it was the end nearest the center of the earth), bruising himself somewhat in his fall, notwithstanding the elasticity of the cushions.

He had not yet, however, reached the surface of