The Sunless City/Chapter 6

When Flin Flon cried, "By Jove! I have it," he meant that he had got an idea; and as subsequent events proved, it was a very brilliant one, quite worthy of the great brain from which it emanated.

It may here be briefly stated that Flin had, in common with a great many of his countrymen, visited Niagara, and knew that a person could stand beneath the Great Horse Shoe Fall without being wetted by a single drop of water, save what rose up from the river in the shape of misty spray.

The fall over which he had tumbled, and upon which he had so long fixed his eye in contemplative abstraction, which meant that he did not intend to be conquered, leapt out from the rock several yards, and came down in one unbroken sheet; and the magnificent idea due to the contemplative abstraction before mentioned was, that behind this sheet there was perfectly calm water, and in that fact lay his safety, and the only means of escape that presented themselves.

No sooner had this thought taken shape than Flin snuffed and prepared to act upon it — not the snuff but the thought; though the question may be safely hazarded, were not many of Flin's brilliant ideas due in a measure to his inordinate love of the pungent dust?

As soon as Flin Flon had hit upon the idea-mentioned above —— he clambered along the rocks for a distance of about twenty yards, and reached a coign of vantage from which he was enabled to look behind the falling sheet, and he found, as he had anticipated, that behind the water was comparatively calm, while along the base of the rocks he had clambered over there was little or no agitation. And he realised immediately that if he could manage to keep his craft close into these rocks, and dive down beneath the waterfall, all might be well. It was a bold project, but the only one that offered any chance of escape from his predicament. Returning to his starting-point, he made a line fast to the head and another to the tail of the fish vessel, and joining them both in a loop, he put it over his shoulders and mounted the rocks again. Then with an amount of agility that would have done credit to a younger man, he commenced to scramble over the rocks and tow his craft at the same time. The tail line which he had so thoughtfully provided proving of the greatest service as it enabled him to keep the stern from floating out and so being caught by the eddy.

After a considerable amount of physical exertion and untiring energy, he dragged the fish into a little cove parallel with the fall. And having accomplished this task, he seated himself on a pinnacle of rock, some twelve feet high, with his corkscrew legs dangling at the sides. And as he panted for breath, and once more had recourse to his precious box, he exclaimed exultingly, "I believe I shall be able to manage it."

Perched up there in the weird gloom, sitting astraddle on the rock, with his crooked legs, his large head, pendulum-like arms, and gaspipe body, he must have looked a veritable gnome.

When he had recovered his exhausted strength, he prepared to descend to the vessel, which lay calmly enough in a little pool, the surface of which was unruffled. By passing the loop of the rope round a projecting piece of rock, he was enabled to accomplish the descent to the vessel with ease and safety. And having got on board, he opened a pint bottle of Moet, and drank success to his enterprise. His next care was to unhitch his rope, which he did by casting it loose from the tail, and pulling on the other end, so that it slipped over the rock and came down, and he was enabled to stow it away for future use. This done, he pushed the fish off very cautiously until he was beneath the falling mass of water. Then he lost not a minute in screwing up the door of the craft, and setting the pump to work to take in ballast.

Gradually the fish assumed a vertical position and then slowly commenced to sink, and Flin's delight was unbounded as he saw that his plan was successful.

A considerable depth was attained before Flin shifted his ballast so as to bring his vessel to the horizontal. The pressure gauge then registered three and a half fathoms or twenty- one feet. He next commenced to work the crank and impart motion to the paddle wheels, and in a few minutes the craft was within the influence of the maelstrom and commenced to spin round in a very unpleasant manner.

"Dear me, this is not at all comfortable," Flin remarked as he laboured at the crank, but owing to the gyratory motion of the fish little headway could be made. Still he did not relax his efforts, though they seemed to produce no effect, and it became evident that the vessel was rising. In a few minutes it was caught in the upper current of water, when it commenced to revolve at an alarmingly rapid rate, and Flin grew so giddy that he was compelled to give up his labour, and press his hands to his head, for it seemed almost as if the little hair he had remaining would be whirled off by the violence of the motion.

The revolutions grew more rapid. Flin could hear the thunder of the water overhead. Apart from the revolving, there was a most disagreeable see-saw motion, and this did not at all agree with Mr Flonatin, though in his boyhood days he had been particularly fond of see-saws; but then many years had elapsed since that period, and if the elasticity of his youthful energies had not left him, his stomach and head had reached an age when they were capable of entering a very decided protest against anything that was undignified. Mr Flonatin was not only painfully conscious of the fact that his position at that moment, when being whirled round like an impaled cockchafer, was so far undignified that on no conditions would he have liked his fellows of the S.E.U.R. to have seen him, but he was further aware that his head was in a very confused state, and there was a sensation in his stomach that only those who have suffered from the pangs of sea-sickness can understand; in spite of the strong effort he made to counteract the effect, he was obliged to succumb, and was soon stretched on the deck in a state of semiconsciousness.

It was a very distressing situation, to say nothing of the physical suffering he endured, and it is scarcely to be wondered at if at that moment he forgot the glorious objects of his mission, and wished himself back in his snug abode in New York, where, if he had only so much as sneezed, his faithful housekeeper would have instantly proceeded to put a copious supply of pure tallow on his nose, to have wrapped his head up in a flannel petticoat, and have administered to him a bowl of excellent gruel, in which a soupcon of nitre had been infused, and the whole rendered extremely palatable by a glass of the very best "old Jamaica."

It is impossible to say how long the iron fish continued its antics, for Flin Flon happily lost consciousness, and there is no mention made in his notes as to the length of time he remained in that condition. When he recovered, the vessel was quite steady, and he raised himself up in a sitting position and several pinches of snuff were necessary before he fully realised the unfortunate position in which he had been placed. As soon as the truth dawned upon him he jumped to his feet, and with that solicitude, which was such a prominent trait in his character, he hastened to look at his stock. He found both birds and animals living, but evidently terribly frightened, for they were crouched in the corners of their cages in a state of bewilderment. He lost no time in feeding them, and that done he drained another bumper of champagne, for nature was much exhausted and needed a stimulant. Nor was he wanting in a devout feeling of thankfulness for his preservation.

He next examined his instruments, and he found that the speed indicator marked two and a-half knots, so that he was evidently drifting with the current, and the pressure gauge noted two fathoms. He was therefore determined to rise to the surface and set the force pumps in motion to discharge the ballast, and the vessel slowly rose.

On peering through the eyes or windows in which the electric lamps burned brightly, for Flin had arranged them before recommencing his voyage, he was enabled to see that he was travelling through a vast tunnel, the top of which he could not discern. The river was very broad too, and the sides of the tunnel as they caught the light glittered in a resplendent manner as though they were set with millions of diamonds of the first water. This effect was curious and unique, and surpassed in dazzling beauty anything Flin had ever before beheld. He was desirous now of getting to some place where he might moor his craft for the night, so that he could rest with a sense of security. With this object he set the paddle wheels to work, and steered for one side of the tunnel. But he found that the wall of rock was smooth and polished by the action of the water. There was not a projecting bit of any description. It was as level as the top of a mahogany dining-table. He worked over to the opposite side, but it was exactly the same, and he could perceive that for many feet up the walls were as level as glass, so that it was evident that the river at times was very much higher than it was then.

There being no means of making the fish fast for the night the intrepid voyager resolved not to go to bed, but keep a look-out, and so he worked into the middle of the stream again, and let the vessel drift down with the current, occupying his time between gazing through the port-holes and writing up his diary --- the latter being a task that he was very particular about --- and he never failed to record the most trifling detail, even with reference to his sayings and feelings; for he knew that if ever he lived to reach the upper earth again, every scrap of paper containing information of his wonderful voyage would be precious.

He continued to watch and write for some hours, but exhausted nature was overcome at last, and his head dropped upon the table at which he was writing, and he sunk into a sound sleep.

How long he continued to sleep he did not know, but it must have been a considerable time. He was at length awakened by a sense of oppressive heat, and to his astonishment he found the thermometer marking 89 degrees Fahrenheit. He himself was bathed in perspiration, and his animals and birds were listless and evidently suffering. On looking through the ports he observed that some change had taken place, and a dull red glow seemed to pervade the tunnel, and gave it a most weird appearance.

The white points of flashing light that Flin had likened to diamonds of the first water had changed to ruby and crimson, and this, together with the reflected glow on the water, had a marvellous and magical effect.

"Whatever can be the cause of this increase of temperature?" Flin asked himself. "Why, it is positively tropical."

In a little while the walls opened out, and as the fish proceeded they continued to do so more and more, until what appeared to be a vast cathedral aisle burst upon the astonished gaze of the traveller, and he felt perfectly bewildered by the indescribable scene.

Gigantic pillars rose up on all sides and supported a fretted roof, and roof and pillars were studded with what appeared to be blazing jewels of the most dazzling colours. These again were reflected in the water until the senses became positively drunk with the wealth of beauty that everywhere greeted the astounded beholder. The opium-eater in his wildest dreamings could never have dreamed anything like this, and no vision of Oriental splendour could form a parallel to it. There was every gradation of colour --- rich ruby, pale amber, delicate green, bright scarlet, blood red, dark blue, every known hue was there, and the slightest movement of the eyes produced the most astonishing kaleidoscopic change in these prismatic glories.

But the mystery was, where did the glow come from that lit up this resplendent hall of jewels? The pillars, too, were equally wonderful in their varying shapes. Some were convoluted, others were straight Corinthian columns. Here was a delicate Grecian shaft with what seemed like leaves and flowers in ectype. There was a massive medi‘val pillar with heavily moulded capitals. In fact every variety of architecture seemed to be represented --- Ionic, Doric, Gothic, Tuscan, Composite. At any risk, and at every cost, Flin was determined to explore this region of startling wonders, and so he lost no time in unscrewing his door. As he did so a blast of hot air seemed to blow into his face, and he found a difficulty in breathing. But in a little time he got used to it, and the feeling of oppression and suffocation passed off. The river hereabout was narrow, and the floor of this vast cavern was almost flat, so that a few turns of the paddle brought the fish alongside the edge of what might have been marble pavement, it was so smooth and polished. Flin disembarked and made his vessel fast to a pillar, and then prepared to explore this new world --- that is, new to him, for countless thousands of years must have passed since the wondrous architects, Fire and Water, had commenced to construct this enchanted palace of beauty.