A Journey in Other Worlds [76]
a
vast archipelago covering as great an area as the whole Pacific
Ocean. The islands varied from the size of Borneo and Madagascar
to that of Sicily and Corsica, while some contained but a few
square miles. The surface of the archipelago was about equally
divided between land and water.
"It would take good navigation or an elaborate system of
light-houses," said Bearwarden, "for a captain to find the
shortest course through these groups."
The islands were covered with shade trees much resembling those
on earth, and the leaves on many were turning yellow and red, for
this hemisphere's autumn had already begun.
"The Jovian trees," said Cortlandt, "can never cease to bear,
though the change of seasons is evidently able to turn their
colour, perhaps by merely ripening them. When a ripe leaf falls
off, its place is doubtless soon taken by a bud, for germination
and fructification go on side by side."
Before leaving, they decided to name this Twentieth Century
Archipelago, since so much of the knowledge appertaining to it
had been acquired in their own day. At latitude sixty the
northern arms of the two continents came within fifteen hundred
miles of each other. The eastern extension was split like the
tail of a fish, the great bay formed thereby being filled with
islands, which also extended about half of the distance across.
The western extremity shelved very gradually, the sand-bars
running out for miles just below the surface of the water.
After this the travellers flew northward at great speed in the
upper regions of the air, for they were anxious to hasten their
journey. They found nothing but unbroken sea, and not till they
reached latitude eighty-seven was there a sign of ice. They then
saw some small bergs and field ice, but in no great quantities.
As their outside thermometer, when just above the placid
water--for there were no waves here--registered twenty- one
degrees Fahrenheit, they accounted for this scarcity of ice by
the absence of land on which fresh water could freeze, and by the
fact that it was not cold enough to congeal the very salt
sea-water.
Finally they reached another archipelago a few hundred miles in
extent, the larger islands of which were covered with a sheet of
ice, at the edges of which small icebergs were being formed by
breaking off and slowly floating. Finding a small island on
which the coating was thin, they grounded the Callisto, and
stepped out for the first time in several days. The air was so
still that a small piece of paper released at a height of six
feet sank slowly and went as straight as the string of a
plumb-line. The sun was bisected by the line of the horizon, and
appeared to be moving about them in a circle, with only its upper
half visible. As Jupiter's northern hemisphere was passing
through its autumnal equinox, they concluded they had landed
exactly at the pole.
"Now to work on our experiment," said Cortlandt. "I wonder how we
may best get below the frozen surface?"
"We can explode a small quantity of dynamite," replied
Bearwarden, "after which the digging will be comparatively easy."
While Cortlandt and Bearwarden prepared the mine, Ayrault brought
out a pickaxe, two shovels, and the battery and wires with which
to ignite the explosive. They made their preparations within one
hundred feet of the Callisto, or much nearer than an equivalent
amount of gunpowder could have been discharged.
"This recalls an old laboratory experiment, or rather lecture,"
said Cortlandt, as they completed the arrangements, "for the
illustration is not as a rule carried out. Explode two pounds of
powder on an iron safe in a room with the windows closed, and the
windows will be blown out, while the safe remains uninjured.
Explode an equivalent amount of dynamite on top of the safe, and
it will be destroyed, while the glass panes are not even cracked.
This illustrates the difference in rapidity with which the
explosions take place. To the intensely rapid action of
vast archipelago covering as great an area as the whole Pacific
Ocean. The islands varied from the size of Borneo and Madagascar
to that of Sicily and Corsica, while some contained but a few
square miles. The surface of the archipelago was about equally
divided between land and water.
"It would take good navigation or an elaborate system of
light-houses," said Bearwarden, "for a captain to find the
shortest course through these groups."
The islands were covered with shade trees much resembling those
on earth, and the leaves on many were turning yellow and red, for
this hemisphere's autumn had already begun.
"The Jovian trees," said Cortlandt, "can never cease to bear,
though the change of seasons is evidently able to turn their
colour, perhaps by merely ripening them. When a ripe leaf falls
off, its place is doubtless soon taken by a bud, for germination
and fructification go on side by side."
Before leaving, they decided to name this Twentieth Century
Archipelago, since so much of the knowledge appertaining to it
had been acquired in their own day. At latitude sixty the
northern arms of the two continents came within fifteen hundred
miles of each other. The eastern extension was split like the
tail of a fish, the great bay formed thereby being filled with
islands, which also extended about half of the distance across.
The western extremity shelved very gradually, the sand-bars
running out for miles just below the surface of the water.
After this the travellers flew northward at great speed in the
upper regions of the air, for they were anxious to hasten their
journey. They found nothing but unbroken sea, and not till they
reached latitude eighty-seven was there a sign of ice. They then
saw some small bergs and field ice, but in no great quantities.
As their outside thermometer, when just above the placid
water--for there were no waves here--registered twenty- one
degrees Fahrenheit, they accounted for this scarcity of ice by
the absence of land on which fresh water could freeze, and by the
fact that it was not cold enough to congeal the very salt
sea-water.
Finally they reached another archipelago a few hundred miles in
extent, the larger islands of which were covered with a sheet of
ice, at the edges of which small icebergs were being formed by
breaking off and slowly floating. Finding a small island on
which the coating was thin, they grounded the Callisto, and
stepped out for the first time in several days. The air was so
still that a small piece of paper released at a height of six
feet sank slowly and went as straight as the string of a
plumb-line. The sun was bisected by the line of the horizon, and
appeared to be moving about them in a circle, with only its upper
half visible. As Jupiter's northern hemisphere was passing
through its autumnal equinox, they concluded they had landed
exactly at the pole.
"Now to work on our experiment," said Cortlandt. "I wonder how we
may best get below the frozen surface?"
"We can explode a small quantity of dynamite," replied
Bearwarden, "after which the digging will be comparatively easy."
While Cortlandt and Bearwarden prepared the mine, Ayrault brought
out a pickaxe, two shovels, and the battery and wires with which
to ignite the explosive. They made their preparations within one
hundred feet of the Callisto, or much nearer than an equivalent
amount of gunpowder could have been discharged.
"This recalls an old laboratory experiment, or rather lecture,"
said Cortlandt, as they completed the arrangements, "for the
illustration is not as a rule carried out. Explode two pounds of
powder on an iron safe in a room with the windows closed, and the
windows will be blown out, while the safe remains uninjured.
Explode an equivalent amount of dynamite on top of the safe, and
it will be destroyed, while the glass panes are not even cracked.
This illustrates the difference in rapidity with which the
explosions take place. To the intensely rapid action of