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 PQ 2469 H4a 1906 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 
 
 3 1822 01098 4888 
 
 no6
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC
 
 The Crisis of Peril was close at hand.
 
 Hector Servadac 
 
 BY 
 
 JULES VERNE 
 
 
 o- ^y^-^^^-   
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1906
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. A Challenge i 
 
 II. The Antecedents of Captain Servadac and 
 
 HIS Orderly, Ben Zoof 7 
 
 III, Interrupted Effusions 12 
 
 IV. A Convulsion of Nature 16 
 
 V. A Mysterious Sea 18 
 
 VI. The Captain makes an Exploration . . 29 
 
 VII. Ben Zoof Watches in Vain . . . . ;^8 
 
   VIII. Venus in Perilous Proximity .... 47 
 
 IX. Inquiries Unsatisfied 55 
 
 X. A Search for Algeria 62 
 
 XI. An Island Tomb 70 
 
 XII. At the Mercy of the Winds .... 78 
 
 XIII. A Royal Salute 87 
 
 XIV. Sensitive Nationality 96 
 
 XV. An Enigma from the Sea 105 
 
 XVI. The Residuum of a Continent . . . .114 
 
 XVII. A Second Enigma .121 
 
 XVIII. An Unexpected Population . . . .131 
 
 XIX. Gallia's Governour- General .... 142 
 
 XX. A Light on the Horizon 150 
 
 XXI. Winter Quarters 159 
 
 XXII. A Frozen Ocean 168 
 
 XXIII. A Carrier-Pigeon 175 
 
 XXIV. A Sledge-Ride 182
 
 VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Astronomer 195 
 
 II. A Revelation 203 
 
 III. Comets, Old and New 211 
 
 IV. The Professor's Experiences . . . .223 
 V. A Revised Calendar 234 
 
 VI. Wanted: A Steelyard 245 
 
 VII. Money at a Premium 252 
 
 VIII. Gallia Weighed 260 
 
 IX. Jupiter Somewhat Close 269 
 
 X. Market Prices in Gallia 278 
 
 XI. Far into Space ,..-.... 285 
 
 XII. A Fete Day 294 
 
 XIII. The Bowels of the Comet 303 
 
 XIV. Dreary Months 312 
 
 XV. The Professor Perplexed 320 
 
 XVI. A Journey and a Disappointment . . -329 
 
 XVII. A Bold Proposition 340 
 
 XVIII. The Venture made 351 
 
 XIX. Suspense 360 
 
 XX. Back Again 366
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The crisis of peril was close at hand . . . Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 In his ascent he passed Ben Zoof, who had aheady commenced 
 
 his downward course 24 
 
 "Before we speak one other word, tell me what has happened " 56 
 
 The Dohryna dashed in between its perpendicular walls . 80 
 
 Everybody hurried to the forecasfle no 
 
 A sharp turn brought them into a sudden flood of light . .160 
 
 She was being attacked by half a dozen great sea-gulls . .180 
 
 The solitary occupant of the only fragment that survived of 
 
 the Balearic Archipelago 228 
 
 "Here we have the measure of a metre exactly" . . 260 
 
 Sometimes they would appear as an illuminated arch, with the 
 
 shadow of Saturn passing over it 290 
 
 Nine hundred feet below ground 316 
 
 "Major Oliphant, I believe?" ....... 336
 
 PART I
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 -••»■ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A CHALLENGE. 
 
 ** Nothing, sir, can induce me to surrender my claim." 
 
 "I am sorry for it, count, but in such a matter your 
 views cannot modify mine." 
 
 " But allow me to point out that my seniority un- 
 questionably gives me a prior right." 
 
 " Mere seniority, I assert, in an affair of this kind, can- 
 not possibly entitle you to any prior claim whatever." 
 
 " Then, captain, no alternative is left but for me to 
 compel you to yield at the sword's point." 
 
 " That's as you please, count ; but neither sword nor 
 pistol can ever force me to forego my pretensions. Here is 
 my card." 
 
 " And mine." 
 
 This rapid altercation was thus brought to an end by 
 the formal interchange of the names of the disputants 
 On one of the cards was inscribed — 
 
 Captain Hector Servadac, 
 
 Staff Officer^ 
 
 Mostaganem,
 
 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 On the otlier was the title — 
 
 Count Wassili Timascheff, 
 
 On board the Schooner "Dobrynal' 
 
 It did not take long to arrange that seconds should be 
 appointed, v/ho would meet in Mostaganem at two o'clock 
 that day ; and the captain and the count were on the 
 point of parting from each other, with a salute of punc- 
 tilious courtesy, when Timascheff, as if struck by a sudden 
 thought, said abruptly — 
 
 " Perhaps it would be better, captain, not to allow the 
 real cause of this to transpire ? " 
 
 " Far better," replied Servadac ; " it is undesirable in 
 every way for any names to be mentioned." 
 
 " In that case, however," continued the count, " it will 
 De necessary to assign an ostensible pretext of some kind. 
 Shall we allege a musical dispute ? a contention in which 
 ■I feel bound to defend Wagner, while you are the zealous 
 'vhampion of Rossini ? " 
 
 "I am quite content," answered Servadac, with a smile; 
 and with another low bow they parted. 
 
 The scene, as here depicted, took place upon the 
 extremity of a little cape on the Algerian coast, between 
 Mostaganem and Tenes, about two miles from the mouth 
 of the Shelif. The headland rose more than sixty feet 
 above the sea-level, and the azure waters of the Mediter- 
 ranean, as they softly kissed the strand, were tinged with 
 the reddish hue of the ferriferous rocks that formed its 
 base. It was the 31st of December. The noontide sun, 
 which usually illuminated the various projections of the 
 coast with a dazzling brightness, was hidden by a dense 
 mass of cloud, and the fog which, from some unaccount- 
 able cause, had hung for the last two months over nearly 
 every region in the world, causing serious interruption to 
 traffic between continent and continent, spread its dreary 
 veil across land and sea. 
 
 After taking leave of the stafF-ofificer, Count Wassili 
 Timascheff wended his way down to a small creek, and
 
 A CHALLENGE. 3 
 
 took his seat in the stern of a light four-oar that had been 
 awaiting his return ; this was immediately pushed off from 
 shore, and was soon alongside a pleasure-yacht, that was 
 lying to, not many cables' length away. 
 
 At a sign from Servadac, an orderly, who had been 
 standing at a respectful distance, led forward a magnificent 
 Arabian horse ; the captain vaulted into the saddle, and 
 followed by his attendant, well mounted as himself, started 
 off towards Mostaganem. It was half-past twelve when 
 the two riders crossed the bridge that had been recently 
 erected over the Shelif, and a quarter of an hour later 
 their steeds, flecked with foam, dashed through the Mas- 
 cara Gate, which was one of five entrances opened in 
 the embattled wall that encircled the town. 
 
 At that date, Mostaganem contained about fifteen 
 thousand inhabitants, three thousand of whom were French. 
 Besides being one of the principal district towns of the 
 province of Oran, it was also a military station. Valuable 
 woven fabrics, morocco leather work, articles made from 
 the esparto (a Spanish rush), and numerous nutritive com- 
 pounds were amongst its manufactures, whilst grain, cotton, 
 wool, figs, and grapes, as well as cattle, were exported 
 thence to France. All traces however had disappeared of 
 the ancient anchorage, where, in past years, vessels had 
 been unable to hold their own during the westerly and 
 north-westerly gales, and Mostaganem now rejoiced in a 
 well-sheltered harbour, which enabled her to utilize all the 
 rich products of the Mina and the Lower Shelif It was 
 the existence of so good a harbour amidst the exposed 
 cliffs of this coast that had induced the owner of the 
 Dobryiia to winter in these parts, and for two months the 
 Russian standard had been seen floating from her yard, 
 whilst on her mast-head was hoisted the pennant of the 
 French Yacht Club, with the distinctive letters M.C.W.T., 
 the initials of Count Timascheff. 
 
 Having entered the town, Captain Servadac made his 
 way towards Matmore, the military quarter, and was not 
 long in finding two friends on whom he might rely — 2
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 major of the 2nd Fusileers, and a captain of the 8th 
 Artillery. The two officers listened gravely enough to 
 Servadac's request that they would act as his seconds in 
 an affair of honour, but could not resist a smile on hearing 
 that the dispute between him and the count had originated 
 in a musical discussion. Surely, they suggested, the matter 
 might be easily arranged ; a few slight concessions on 
 either side, and all might be amicably adjusted. But no 
 representations on their part were of any avail. Hector 
 Servadac was inflexible. 
 
 " No concession is possible," he replied, resolutely. 
 " Rossini has been deeply injured, and I cannot suffer the 
 injury to be unavenged. Wagner is a fool. I shall keep 
 my word. 1 am quite firm." 
 
 "Be it so, then," replied one of the ofKcers ; "and after 
 all, you know, a sword-cut need not be a very serious 
 affair." 
 
 " Certainly not," rejoined Servadac ; " and especially 
 in my case, when I have not the slightest intention o) 
 being wounded at all." 
 
 Incredulous as they naturally were as to the assigned 
 cause of the quarrel, Servadac's friends had no alternative 
 but to accept his explanation, and without farther parley 
 they started for the staff ofhce, where, at two o'clock pre- 
 cisely, they were to meet the seconds of Count Timascheff. 
 Two hours later they had returned. All the preliminaries 
 had been arranged ; the count, who like many Russians 
 abroad was an aide-de-camp of the Czar, had of course 
 proposed swords as the most appropriate weapons, and 
 the duel was to take place on the following morning, the 
 first of January, at nine o'clock, upon the cliff at a spot 
 about a mile and a half from the mouth of the Shelif 
 With the assurance that they would not fail to keep their 
 appointment with military punctuality, the two officers 
 cordially wrung their friend's hand and retired to the 
 Zulma Cafe for a game at piquet. Captain Servadac at 
 once retraced his steps and left the town. 
 
 For the last fortnight Servadac had not been occupying
 
 A CHALLENGE. 
 
 his proper lodgings in the military quarters ; having been 
 appointed to make a local levy, he had been living in a 
 gourbi, or native hut, on the Mostaganem coast, between 
 four and five miles from the Shelif. His orderly was his 
 sole companion, and by any other man than the captain 
 the enforced exile would have been esteemed little short 
 of a severe penance. 
 
 On his road to the gourbi, his mental occupation was 
 a very laborious effort to put together what he was 
 pleased to call a rondo, upon a model of versification all 
 but obsolete. This rondo, it is unnecessary to conceal, was 
 to be an ode addressed to a young widow by whom he 
 had been captivated, and whom he was anxious to marry, 
 and the tenour of his muse was intended to prove that 
 when once a man has found an object in all respects 
 worthy of his affections, he should love her " in all simpli- 
 city." Whether the aphorism were universally true was 
 not very material to the gallant captain, whose sole ambi- 
 tion at present was to construct a roundelay of which this 
 should be the prevailing sentiment. He indulged the 
 fancy that he might succeed in producing a composition 
 which would have a fine effect here in Algeria, where 
 poetry in that form was all but unknown. 
 
 " I know well enough," he said repeatedly to himself, 
 " what I want to say. I want to tell her that I love her 
 sincerely, and wish to marry her ; but, confound it ! the 
 words won't rhyme. Plague on it ! Does nothing rhyme 
 with * simplicity ' .-' Ah ! I have it now — 
 
 ' Lovers should, whoe'er they be^ 
 Love in all simplicity.' 
 
 But what next } how am I to go on ? I say, Ben Zoof," 
 he called aloud to his orderly, who was trotting silently 
 close in his rear, " did you ever compose any poetry ? " 
 
 " No, captain," answered the man promptly ; " I have 
 never made any verses, but I have seen them made fast 
 enough at a booth during the fete of Montmartre." 
 
 " Can you remember them ? "
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 " Remember them ! to be sure I can. This is the way 
 they began — 
 
 * Come in ! come in ! you'll not repent 
 The entrance money you have spent ; 
 The wondrous mirror in this place 
 Reveals your future sweetheart's face." 
 
 " Bosh ! " cried Servadac in disgust ; " your verses are 
 detestable trash." 
 
 " As good as any others, captain, squeaked through a 
 reed pipe." 
 
 " Hold your tongue, man," said Servadac peremptorilyj 
 " I have made another couplet. 
 
 ' Lovers should, whoe'er they b^ 
 Love in all simplicity ; 
 Lover, loving honestly, 
 Offer I myself to thee.' " 
 
 Beyond this, however, the captain's poetical genius was 
 impotent to carry him ; his farther efforts were unavailing, 
 and when at six o'clock he reached the gourbi, 
 lines still remained the limit of his composition.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ANTECEDENTS OF CAPTAIN SERVADAC AND HIS 
 
 ORDERLY, BEN ZOOF. 
 
 At the time of which I am writing, there might be seen 
 in the registers of the Minister of War the following 
 entry — 
 
 Servadac {Hector), born at St. Tr^lody in the district 
 of Lesparre, department of the Gironde, July 19th, 18 — . 
 
 Property : 1 200 francs in rentes. 
 
 Length of service : Fourteen years, three months, and 
 five days. 
 
 Service : Two years at school at St. Cyr ; two years at 
 L'Ecole d'Application ; two years in the 8th Regiment of 
 the Line ; two years in the 3rd Light Cavalry ; seven 
 years in Algeria. 
 
 Campaig7is : Soudan and Japan. 
 
 Rank : Captain on the staff at Mostagancm. 
 
 Decorations : Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, 
 March 13 th, 18 — . 
 
 Hector Servadac was thirty years of age, an orphan 
 without lineage and almost without means. Thirsting for 
 glory rather than for gold, slightly scatter-brained, but 
 warm-hearted, generous, and brave, he was eminently 
 formed to be the proteg6 of the god of battles. 
 
 For the first year and a half of his existence he had
 
 8 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 been the foster-child of the sturdy wife of a vine-dresser of 
 Medoc — a lineal descendant of the heroes of ancient 
 prowess ; in a word, he was one of those individuals whom 
 nature seems to have predestined for remarkable things, 
 and around whose cradle have hovered tlie fairy god- 
 mothers of adventure and good luck. 
 
 In appearance Hector Servadac was quite the type of 
 an officer ; he was rather more than five feet six inches 
 high, slim and graceful, with dark curling hair and mous- 
 taches, well-formed hands and feet, and a clear blue eye. 
 He seemed born to please without being conscious of the 
 power he possessed. It must be owned, and no one was 
 more ready to confess it than himself, that his literary 
 attainments were by no means of a high order. " We don't 
 spin tops " is a favourite saying amongst artillery officers, 
 indicating that they do not shirk their duty by frivolous 
 pursuits ; but it must be confessed that Servadac, being 
 naturally idle, was very much given to "spinning tops." 
 His good abilities, however, and his ready intelligence had 
 carried him successfully through the curriculum of his 
 early career. He was a good draughtsman, an excellent 
 rider — having thoroughly mastered the successor to the 
 famous " Uncle Tom " at the riding-school of St. Cyr — and 
 the records of his military service related that his name 
 had several times been deservedly included in the order of 
 the day. 
 
 The following episode may suffice, in a certain degree, 
 to illustrate his character. Once, in action, he was leading 
 a detachment of infantry through an intrenchment. They 
 came to a place where the side-work of the trench had 
 been so riddled by shell that a portion of it had actually 
 fallen in, leaving an aperture quite unsheltered from the 
 grape-shot that was pouring in thick and fast. The men 
 hesitated. In an instant Servadac mounted the side-work, 
 laid himself down in the gap, and thus filling up the 
 breach by his own body, shouted — 
 
 " March on ! " 
 
 And through a storm of shot, not one of which
 
 THE CAPTAIN AND HIS ORDERLY. 
 
 touched the prostrate officer, the whole troop passed on in 
 safety. 
 
 Since leaving the military college, Servadac, with the 
 exception of his two campaigns in the Soudan and Japan, 
 had been always stationed in Algeria. He had now a 
 staff appointment at Mostaganem, and had lately been 
 entrusted with some topographical work on the coast 
 between Tenes and the Shelif It was a matter of little 
 consequence to him that the gourbi, in which of necessity 
 he was quartered, was uncomfortable and ill-contrived ; he 
 loved the open air, and the independence of his life suited 
 him well. Sometimes he would wander on foot upon the 
 sandy shore, and sometimes he would enjoy a ride along 
 the summit of the cliff; altogether being in no hurry at all 
 to bring his task to an end. His occupation, moreover, 
 was not so engrossing but that he could find leisure for 
 taking a short railway journey once or twice a week ; so 
 that he was ever and again putting in an appearance at 
 the general's receptions at Oran, and at the fetes given 
 by the governor at Algiers. 
 
 It was on one of these occasions that he had first met 
 
 Madame de L , the lady to whom he was desirous of 
 
 dedicating the rondo, the first four lines of which had just 
 seen the light. She was a colonel's widow, young and hand- 
 some, very reserved, not to say haughty in her manner, 
 and either indifferent or impervious to the admiration 
 which she inspired. Captain Servadac had not yet ven- 
 tured to declare his attachment ; of rivals he was well 
 aware he had not a few, and amongst these not the least 
 formidable was the Russian Count Timascheff. And 
 although the young widow was all unconscious of the 
 share she had in the matter, it was she, and she alone, who 
 was the cause of the challenge just given and accepted by 
 her two ardent admirers. 
 
 During his residence in the gourbi. Hector Servadac's 
 sole companion was his orderly, Ben Zoof. Ben Zoof was 
 devoted, body and soul, to his superior cfificer. His own 
 personal ambition was so entirely absorbed in his master's
 
 lO HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 welfare, that it is certain no offer of promotion — even had 
 it been that of aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of 
 Algiers — would have induced him to quit that master's 
 service. His name might seem to imply that he was a 
 native of Algeria ; but such was by no means the case„ 
 His true name was Laurent ; he was a native of Mont- 
 martre in Paris, and how or why he had obtained his 
 patronymic was one of those anomalies which the most 
 sagacious of etymologists would find it hard to explain. 
 
 Born on the hill of Montmartre, between the Solferino 
 tower and the mill of La Galette, Ben Zoof had ever pos- 
 sessed the most unreserved admiration for his birthplace ; 
 and to his eyes the heights and district of Montmartre 
 represented an epitome of all the wonders of the world. In 
 all his travels, and these had been not a few, he had never 
 beheld scenery which could compete with that of his native 
 home. No cathedral — not even Burgos itself— could vie 
 with the church at Montmartre. Its race-course could well 
 hold its own against that at Pent61ique ; its reservoir 
 would throw the Mediterranean into the shade ; its Solfe- 
 rino tower was far more upright than the tower of Pisa ; 
 its forests had flourished long before the invasion of the 
 Celts ; and its very mill produced no ordinary flour, but 
 provided material for cakes of world-wide renown. To 
 crown all, Montmartre boasted a mountain — a veritable 
 mountain; envious tongues indeed might pronounce it 
 little more than a hill ; but Ben Zoof would have allowed 
 himself to be hewn in pieces rather than admit that it was 
 anything less than fifteen thousand feet in height. 
 
 Ben Zoofs most ambitious desire was to induce the 
 captain to go with him and end his days in his much-loved 
 home ; and so incessantly were Servadac's ears besieged 
 with descriptions of the unparalleled beauties and advan- 
 tages of this eighteenth arrondissement of Paris, that he 
 could scarcely hear the name of Montmartre without a 
 conscious thrill of aversion. Ben Zoof, however, did not 
 despair of ultimately converting the captain, and mean- 
 while had resolved never to leave him. When a private in the
 
 THE CAPTAIN AND HIS ORDERLY. II 
 
 8th Cavalry, he had been on the point of quitting the army 
 at twenty-eight years of age, but unexpectedly he had been 
 appointed orderly to Captain Servadac. Side by side they 
 fought in two campaigns. Servadac had saved Ben Zoof s 
 life in Japan ; Ben Zoof had rendered his master a like 
 service in the Soudan. The bond of union thus effected 
 could never be severed ; and although Ben Zoof s achieve- 
 ments had fairly earned him the right of retirement, he 
 firmly declined all honours or any pension that might part 
 him from his superior officer. Two stout arms, an iron 
 constitution, a powerful frame, and an indomitable courage 
 were all loyally devoted to his master's service, and fairly 
 entitled him to his soi-disant designation of " The Rampart 
 of Montmartre." Unlike his master, he made no preten- 
 sion to any gift of poetic power, but his inexhaustible 
 memory made him a living encyclopaedia ; and for his 
 stock of anecdotes and trooper's tales he was matchless. 
 
 Thoroughly appreciating his servant's good qualities, 
 Captain Servadac endured with imperturbable good humour 
 those idiosyncrasies, which in a less faithful follower would 
 have been intolerable, and from time to time he would 
 drop a word of sympathy that served to deepen his sub- 
 ordinate's devotion. 
 
 On one occasion, when Ben Zoof had mounted his 
 hobby-horse, and was indulging in high-flown praises about 
 his beloved eighteenth arrondissement, the captain had 
 remarked gravely — 
 
 " Do you know, Ben Zoof, that Montmartre only 
 requires a matter of some thirteen thousand feet to make 
 it as high as Mont Blanc t " 
 
 Ben Zoof's eyes glistened with delight ; and from that 
 moment Hector Servadac and Montmartre held coual 
 places in his affection.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 INTERRUPTED EFFUSIONS. 
 
 Composed of mud and loose stones, and covered with a 
 
 thatch of turf and straw, known to the natives by the name 
 of " driss," the gourbi, though a grade better than the 
 tents of the nomad Arabs, was yet far inferior to any 
 habitation built of brick or stone. Little more than a 
 hovel, the gourbi would have been quite inadequate to the 
 needs of its present inmates, if it had not adjoined an old 
 stone hostelry, previously occupied by a detachment of 
 engineers, and which now afforded shelter for Ben Zoof 
 and the two horses. It still contained a considerable 
 number of tools, such as mattocks, shovels, and pick-axes. 
 
 Uncomfortable as was their temporary abode, Servadac 
 and his attendant made no complaints : neither of them 
 was dainty in the matter either of board or lodging. 
 
 " Give a man a little philosophy and a good digestion, 
 and he will thrive anywhere," was a favourite speech of the 
 captain's. A true Gascon, he had his philosophy, like his 
 pocket-money, always at hand ; and as for his digestion, it 
 may be doubted whether the weight of all the waters of 
 the Garonne would have caused it any inconvenience. 
 And in this respect Ben Zoof was quite a match for his 
 matter ; the power of his gastric juices was enormous, and 
 to any believer in the theory of metempsychosis he would 
 appear to have had an anterior existence under the form 
 of an ostrich, digesting pebbles as easily as he would the 
 tenderest slice from the breast of a chicken.
 
 INTERRUPTED EFFUSIONS. I3 
 
 The gourbi was stocked with a month's provisions, 
 water in abundance could be obtained from an adjacent 
 cistern, and a httle foraging was sufficient to supply the 
 requirements of the stable, whilst all other necessities 
 could be satisfied by the marvellous fertility of the plain 
 between Tenes and Mostaganem, which fairly rivalled the 
 rich country of the Mitidja. Game was pretty plentiful, 
 and on condition that he did not allow his sport to interfere 
 with his proper duties, the captain, like other staff-officers, 
 was permitted to use a fowling-piece. 
 
 On his return to the gourbi, Servadac dined with an 
 appetite to which his long ride had given an extra sharp- 
 ness. Ben Zoof's culinary efforts were somewhat remark- 
 able : no tasteless or insipid dishes were ever the result of 
 his preparation ; salt, pepper, vinegar, were all bestowed 
 with a lavish hand, and it was well for both him and his 
 master that their gastronomic powers were adequate to 
 absorb the most pungent of condiments. 
 
 After dinner, leaving his orderly to stow away the 
 remains of the repast in what he was pleased to term the 
 "cupboard of his stomach," Captain Servadac turned out 
 into the open air to smoke his pipe upon the edge of the 
 cliff. The shades of night were drawing on. An hour 
 previously, veiled in heavy clouds, the sun had sunk below 
 the horizon that bounded the plain beyond the Shelif. The 
 sky presented a most singular appearance. Towards the 
 north, although the darkness rendered it impossible to see 
 beyond a quarter of a mile, the upper strata of the atmo- 
 sphere were suffused with a rosy glare. No well-defined 
 fringe of light, nor arch of luminous rays, betokened a 
 display of aurora borealis, even had such a phenomenon   
 been possible in these latitudes ; and the most experienced ' 
 meteorologist would have been puzzled to explain the 
 cause of this striking illumination on this last evening of 
 the passing year. 
 
 But Captain Servadac was no meteorologist, and it is 
 to be doubted whether, since leaving school, he had ever 
 opened his " Course of Cosmography." Besides, as he
 
 14 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 strolled along-, he had other thoughts to occupy his mind. 
 The prospect of the morrow oftered serious matter for 
 consideration. The captain was actuated by no personal 
 animosity against the count ; though rivals, the two men 
 regarded each other with sincere respect ; they had simply 
 reached a crisis in which one of them was de trop ; which 
 of them, fate must decide. 
 
 At eight o'clock, Captain Servadac re-entered the 
 gourbi, the single apartment of which contained his bed, a 
 small writing-table, and some trunks that served instead of 
 cupboards. The orderly performed his culinary operations 
 in the adjoining building, which he also used as a bed- 
 room, and where, extended on what he called his " good 
 oak mattress," he would sleep soundly as a dormouse for 
 twelve hours at a stretch. Ben Zoof had not yet received 
 his orders to retire, and ensconcing himself in a corner of 
 the gourbi, he endeavoured to doze — a task which the 
 unusual agitation of his master rendered somewhat diiiicult 
 Captain Servadac was evidently in no hurry to betake 
 himself to rest, but seating himself at his table, with a pair 
 of compasses and a sheet of tracing-paper, he began to 
 draw, with red and blue crayons, a variety of coloured 
 lines, which could hardly be supposed to have much con- 
 nection with a topographical suPi'ey. In truth, his charac- 
 ter of staff-officer was now entirely absorbed into that of 
 the Gascon poet. Whether he imagined that the compasses 
 would bestow upon his verses the measure of a mathe- 
 matical accuracy, or whether he fancied that the parti- 
 coloured lines would lend variety to his rhythm, it is 
 impossible to determine ; be that as it may, he was 
 devoting all his energies to the compilation of his rondo, 
 and supremely difficult he found the task. 
 
 " Hang it ! " he ejaculated, " whatever induced me to 
 choose this metre .-* It is as hard to find rhymes as to 
 rally fugitives in a battle. But, by all the powers! it shan't 
 be said that a French officer cannot cope with a piece 
 of poetry. One battalion has shown fight — now for the 
 rest!"
 
 INTERRUPTED EFFUSIONS. 15 
 
 Perseverance had its reward. Presently two lines, one 
 red, the other blue, appeared upon the paper, and the 
 captain murmured — 
 
 *' Words, mere words, cannot avail, 
 Telling true heart's tender tale. " 
 
 " What on earth ails my master ? " muttered Ben Zoof , 
 " for the last hour he has been as fidgety as a bird return- 
 ing after its winter migration." 
 
 Servadac suddenly started from his seat, and as he 
 paced the room with all the frenzy of poetic inspiration, 
 read out — 
 
 " Empty words cannot convey 
 All a lover's heart would say. 
 
 " Well, to be sure, he is at his everlasting verses again !" 
 said Ben Zoof to himself, as he roused himself in his 
 corner. "Impossible to sleep in such a noise;" and he 
 gave vent to a loud groan. 
 
 "How now, Ben Zoof.?" said the captain, sharply. 
 " What ails you ? " 
 
 " Nothing, sir, only the nightmare." 
 
 " Curse the fellow, he has quite interrupted me ! " 
 ejaculated the captain. " Ben Zoof! " he called aloud. 
 
 " Here, sir ! " was the prompt reply ; and in an instant 
 the orderly was upon his feet, standing in a military atti- 
 tude, one hand to his forehead, the other closely pressed 
 to his trouser-seam. 
 
 " Stay where you are ! don't move an inch ! " shouted 
 Servadac ; " I have just thought of the end of my rondo." 
 
 And in a voice of inspiration, accompanying his words 
 with dramatic gestures, Servadac began to declaim: 
 
 " Listen, lady, to my vows — 
 O, consent to be my spouse { 
 Constant ever I will be, 
 Constant . . . ." 
 
 No closing lines were uttered. All at once, with 
 unutterable violence, the captain and his orderly were 
 dashed, face downwards, to the ground.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A CONVULSION OF NATURE. 
 
 Whence came it that at that very moment the honzon 
 underwent so strange and sudden a modification, that the 
 eye of the most practised mariner could not distinguish 
 between sea and sky ? 
 
 Whence came it that the billows raged and rose to a 
 height hitherto unregistered in the records of science ? 
 
 Whence came it that the elements united in one deafen- 
 ing crash ; that the earth groaned as though the whole 
 framework of the globe were ruptured ; that the waters 
 roared from their innermost depths ; that the air shrieked 
 with all the fury of a cyclone ? 
 
 Whence came it that a radiance, intenser than the 
 effulgence of the Northern Lights, overspread the firma- 
 ment, and momentarily dimmed the splendour of the 
 brightest stars ? 
 
 Whence came it that the Mediterranean, one instant 
 emptied of its waters, was the next flooded with a foaming 
 surge ? 
 
 Whence came it that in the space of a few seconds the 
 moon's disc reached a magnitude as though it were but a 
 tenth part of its ordinary distance from the earth ? 
 
 Whence came it that a new blazing spheroid, hitherto 
 unknown to astronomy, now appeared suddenly in the 
 firmament, though it were but to lose itself immediately 
 behind masses of accumulated cloud ?
 
 A CONVULSION OF NATURE. I7 
 
 What phenomenon was this that had produced a cata- 
 clysm so tremendous in its effects upon earth, sky, and 
 sea? 
 
 Was it possible that a single human being could have 
 survived the convulsion ? and if so, could he explain its 
 mystery ?
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. 
 
 Violent as the commotion had been, that portion of the 
 Algerian coast which is bounded on the north by the 
 Mediterranean, and on the west by the right bank of 
 the Shehf, appeared to have suffered little change. It is 
 true that slight indentations were perceptible in the fertile 
 plain, and the surface of the sea was ruffled with an agita- 
 tion that was quite unusual ; but the rugged outline of the 
 cliff was the same as heretofore, and the physical aspect 
 of the entire scene appeared generally unaltered. The 
 stone hostelry, with the exception of some deep clefts in 
 its walls, had sustained little injury ; but the gourbi, like a 
 house of cards destroyed by an infant's breath, had con^- 
 pletely subsided, and its two inmates lay motionless, burie* 
 under the sunken thatch. 
 
 It was two hours after the catastrophe that Captain 
 Servadac regained consciousness ; he had some trouble to 
 collect his thoughts, and it is not altogether surprising 
 that the first sounds that escaped his lips were the con- 
 cluding words of the rondo which had been so ruthlessly 
 interrupted — 
 
 ** Constant ever I will be, 
 Constant . ..." 
 
 His next thought was to wonder what had Happened ; 
 and in ord r to iind an answer to the question, he pushed
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. I9 
 
 aside the broken thatch, so that his head appeared above 
 the debris. 
 
 " The gourbi levelled to the ground ! " he exclaimed, 
 as he looked about him ; " surely a waterspout has passed 
 along the coast." 
 
 He felt all over his body to perceive what injuries he 
 had sustained, but not a sprain nor a scratch could he 
 discover. 
 
 "Where are you, Ben Zoof?" he shouted next 
 
 "Here, sir!" and with military promptitude a second 
 head protruded from the rubbish. 
 
 " Have you any notion what has happened, Ben Zoof?" 
 asked Servadac. 
 
 " I've a notion, captain, that it's all up with us." 
 
 ** Nonsense, Ben Zoof; it is nothing but a waterspout ! " 
 
 "Very good, sir," was the philosophical reply, imme- 
 diately followed by the query, " Any bones broken, sir ? " 
 
 " None whatever," said the captain. 
 
 Both men were soon on their feet, and began to make 
 a vigorous clearance of the ruins, beneath which they 
 found that their arms, cooking utensils, and other property 
 had sustained little injury. 
 
 "By-the-by, what o'clock is it?" cisked the captain 
 presently. 
 
 "It must be eight o'clock, at least," said Ben Zoor, 
 looking at the sun, which was a considerable height above 
 the horizon. " It is almost time for us to start" 
 
 " To start ! what for ? " 
 
 "To keep your appointment with Count Timascheff." 
 
 "By Jove! I had forgotten all about itl" exclaimed 
 Servadac. 
 
 Then looking at his watch, he cried : — 
 
 "What are you thinking of, Ben Zoof? It is scarcely 
 two o'clock." 
 
 " Two in the morning, or two in the afternoon ? " asked 
 Ben Zoof, again regarding the sun. 
 
 Servadac raised his watch to his ear. 
 
 " It is going," said ; he ** but, by all the wines of M^doc,
 
 20 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 I am puzzled. Don't you see that the sun is in the west ? 
 It must be near setting." 
 
 " Setting, captain ! Why, it is rising finely, like a con 
 script at the sound of the reveille. It is considerably 
 higher since we have been talking." 
 
 Incredible as it might appear, the fact was undeniable 
 that the sun was rising over the Shelif from that quarter 
 of the horizon behind which it usually sank for the latter 
 portion of its daily round. They were utterly bewildered. 
 Some mysterious phenomenon must not only have altered 
 the position of the sun in the sidereal system, but must 
 even have brought about an important modification of the 
 earth's rotation on her axis. If Captain Servadac could 
 now have laid hands upon a member of the Board of 
 Longitudes, he would doubtless have sought all manner 
 of information ; but as it was, he consoled himself with the 
 prospect of reading an explanation of the mystery in next 
 week's newspapers, and turned his attention to what was 
 to him of more immediate importance. 
 
 " Come, let us be off," said he to his orderly ; " though 
 heaven and earth be topsy-turvy, I must be at my post 
 this morning." 
 
 " To do Count Timascheff the honour of running him 
 through the body," added Ben Zoof. 
 
 If Servadac and his orderly had been less preoccupied, 
 they would have noticed that a variety of other physical 
 changes besides the apparent alteration in the movement 
 of the sun had been evolved during the atmospheric dis- 
 turbances of that New Year's night. As they descended 
 the steep footpath leading from the cliff towards the Shelif. 
 they were unconscious that their respiration became forced 
 and rapid, like that of a mountaineer when he has reached 
 an altitude where the circumambient air has become less 
 charged with oxygen. They were also unconscious that 
 their voices were thin and feeble ; either they must them- 
 selves have become rather deaf, or it was evident that the 
 air had become less capable of transmitting sound. 
 
 The weather, which on the previous evening had been
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. 21 
 
 very foggy, had entirely changed. The sky had assumed 
 a singular tint, and was soon covered with lowering clouds 
 that completely hid the sun. There were, indeed, all the 
 signs of a coming storm, but the vapour, on account of 
 the insufficient condensation, failed to get resolved. 
 
 The sea appeared quite deserted, a most unusual cir- 
 cumstance along this coast, and not a sail nor a trail of 
 smoke broke the grey monotony of water and sky. The 
 limits of the horizon, too, had become much circumscribed. 
 On land, as well as on sea, the remote distance had com- 
 pletely disappeared, and it seemed as though the globe 
 had assumed a more decided convexity. 
 
 At the pace at which they were walking, it was very 
 evident that the captain and his attendant would not take 
 long to accomplish the three miles that lay between the 
 gourbi and the place of rendezvous. They did not ex- 
 change a word, but each was conscious of an unusual 
 buoyancy, which appeared to lift up their bodies and give, 
 as it were, wings to their feet. If Ben Zoof had expressed 
 his sensations in words, he would have said that he felt 
 " up to anything," and he had even forgotten to taste so 
 much as a crust of bread, a lapse of memory of which the 
 worthy soldier was rarely guilty. 
 
 As these thoughts were crossing his mind, a harsh 
 bark was heard to the left of the footpath, and a jackal 
 was seen emerging from a large grove of lentisks. Re- 
 garding the two wayfarers with manifest uneasiness, the 
 beast took up its position at the foot of a rock, more than 
 thirty feet in height. It belonged to an African species 
 distinguished by a black spotted skin, and a black Hne 
 down the front of the legs. At night-time, when they 
 scour the country in herds, the creatures are somewhat 
 formidable, but singly they are no more dangerous than 
 a dog. Though by no means afraid of them, Ben Zoof 
 had a particular aversion to jackals, perhaps because they 
 had no place among the fauna of his beloved Montmartre. 
 He accordingly began to make threatening gestures, when, 
 to the unmitigated astonishment of himself and the cap-
 
 22 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 tain, the animal darted fonvard, and in one single bound 
 gained the summit of the rock. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " cried Ben Zoof, " that leap must 
 have been thirty feet at least." 
 
 " Tme enough," replied the captain ; ** I never saw 
 such a jump." 
 
 Meantime the jackal had seated itself upon its 
 haunches, and was staring at the two men with an air 
 of impudent defiance. This was too much for Ben Zoof s 
 forbearance, and stooping down he caught up a huge 
 stone, when, to his surprise, he found that it was no heavier 
 than a piece of petrified sponge. 
 
 " Confound the brute ! " he exclaimed, " I might as well 
 throw a piece of bread at him. What accounts for its 
 being as light as this ? " 
 
 Nothing daunted, however, he hurled the stone into the 
 air. It missed its aim ; but the jackal, deeming it on the 
 whole prudent to decamp, disappeared across the trees and 
 hedges with a series of bounds, which could only be likened 
 to those that might be made by an india-rubber kangaroo. 
 Ben Zoof was sure that his own powers of propelling must 
 equal those of a howitzer, for his stone, after a lengthened 
 flight through the air, fell to the ground full five hundred 
 paces the other side of the rock. 
 
 The orderly was now some yards ahead of his master, 
 and had reached a ditch full of water, and about ten feet 
 wide. With the intention of clearing it, he made a spring, 
 when a loud cry burst from Servadac — 
 
 " Ben Zoof, you idiot I What are you about ? You'll 
 break your back." 
 
 And well might he be alarmed, for Ben Zoof had | 
 sprung to a height of forty feet into the air. Fearful of | 
 the consequences that would attend the descent of his 
 servant to terra firma, Servadac bounded forwards, to be 
 on the other side of the ditch in time to break his fall. But 
 the muscular effort that he made carried him in his turn to 
 an altitude of thirty feet ; in his ascent he passed Ben Zoof, 
 who had already commenced his downward course; and
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. 23 
 
 then, obedient to the laws of gravitation, he descended 
 with increasing rapidity, and alighted upon the earth with- 
 out experiencing a shock greater than if he had merely 
 made a bound of four or five feet high. Ben Zoof burst 
 into a roar of laughter. 
 
 " Bravo 1 " he said, " we should make a good pair of 
 clowns." 
 
 But the captain was inclined to take a more serious 
 view of the matter. For a few seconds he stood lost in 
 thought ; then, laying his hand upon the orderly's shoulder, 
 he said solemnly — 
 
 " Ben Zoof, I must be dreaming. Pinch me hard ; I 
 must be either asleep or mad." 
 
 " It is very certain that something has happened to us," 
 said Ben Zoof, " I have occasionally dreamt that I was a 
 swallow flying over Montmartre, but I never experienced 
 anything of this kind before ; it must be peculiar to the 
 coast of Algeria." 
 
 Servadac was stupefied ; he felt instinctively that he 
 was not dreaming, and yet was powerless to solve the 
 mystery. He was not, however, the man to puzzle himself 
 for long over any insoluble problem. 
 
 " Come what may," he presently exclaimed, " we will 
 make up our minds for the future to be surprised at 
 nothing." 
 
 * Right, captain," replied Ben Zoof; "and, first of all, 
 let us settle our little score with Count Timascheff." 
 
 Beyond the ditch lay a small piece of meadow land, 
 about an acre in extent. A soft and delicious herbage 
 carpeted the soil, whilst trees of about fifty years' growtn — 
 evergreen oaks, palms, bread-fruits, sycamores, interspersed 
 with cactuses and aloes, and topped by two or three fine 
 specimens of the eucalyptus — formed a charming frame- 
 work to the whole. No spot could have been chosen more 
 suitable for the meeting between the two adversaries. 
 
 Servadac cast a hasty glance round the meadow. No 
 one was in sight. 
 
 *' We are the first on the field," he said.
 
 34 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 *' Not so sure of that, sir," said Ben Zoof. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Servadac, looking at 
 his watch, which he had set as near as possible by the 
 sun before leaving the gourbi ; " it is not nine o'clock yet." 
 
 " Look up there, sir. I am much mistaken if that is not 
 the sun ; " and as Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed directly over- 
 head to where a faint white disc was dimly visible through 
 the haze of clouds. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " exclaimed Servadac. " How can the sun 
 be in the zenith in the month of January, in lat. 39° N. ? " 
 
 " Can't say, sir. I only know the sun is there ; and at 
 the rate he has been travelling, I would lay my cap to 
 a dish of cous-cous * that in less than three hours he will 
 have set." 
 
 Hector Servadac, mute and motionless, stood with 
 folded arms. Presently he roused himself, and began to 
 examine the various quarters of the horizon. 
 
 " What means all this ? " he murmured. " Laws of 
 gravity disturbed ! Points of the compass reversed ! The 
 length of day reduced one half ! Surely this will indefi- 
 nitely postpone my meeting with the count. Something 
 has happened ; Ben Zoof and I cannot both be mad ! " 
 
 The orderly, meantime, surveyed his master with the 
 greatest equanimity ; no phenomenon, however extraordi- 
 nary, would have drawn from him a single exclamation of 
 surprise. 
 
 " Do you see any one, Ben Zoof ? " asked the captain, 
 at last. 
 
 " No one, sir ; the count has evidently been and gone." 
 
 " But supposing that to be the case," persisted the 
 
 I captain, "my seconds would have waited, and not seeing 
 
 me, would have come on towards the gourbi. I can only 
 
 conclude that they have been unable to get here ; and as 
 
 for Count Timascheff " 
 
 Without finishing his sentence, Captain Servadac, 
 thinking it just probable that the count, as on the pre- 
 
 * Cous-cous : an African dish composed of the flour of millet, with meat 
 and the bark of the adansonia.
 
 In his Ascent he passed Ben Zoof, who had already commenced his 
 
 Downward Course.
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. 2$ 
 
 vious evening, might come by water, walked to the ridge 
 of rock that overhung the shore, in order to ascertain 
 if the Dobryna were anywhere in sight. But the sea was 
 deserted, and for the first time the captain noticed that, 
 although the wind was calm, the waters were unusually 
 agitated, and seethed and foamed as though they were 
 boiling. It was very certain that the yacht would have 
 found a difficulty in holding her own in such a swell. 
 Another thing that now struck Sei-vadac was the extra- 
 ordinary contraction of the horizon. Under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, his elevated position would have allowed him 
 a radius of vision at least five and twenty miles in length ; 
 but the terrestrial sphere seemed, in the course of the last 
 few hours, to have become considerably reduced in volume, 
 and he could now see for a distance of only six miles in 
 every direction. 
 
 Meantime, with the agility of a monkey, Ben Zoof had 
 clambered to the top of a eucalyptus, and from his lofty 
 perch was surveying the country to the south, as well as 
 towards both Tenes and Mostaganem. On descending, he 
 informed the captain that the plain was entirely deserted. 
 
 " We will make our way to the river, and get over into 
 Mostaganem," said the captain. 
 
 The Shelif was not m.ore than a mile and a half from 
 the meadow, but no time was to be lost if the two men 
 were to reach the town before nightfall. Though still 
 hidden by heavy clouds, the sun was evidently declining 
 fast; and, what was equally inexplicable, it was not follow- 
 ing the oblique curve that in these latitudes and at this 
 time of year might be expected, but was sinking perpen- 
 dicularly on to the horizon. 
 
 As he went along, Captain Servadac pondered deeply. 
 Perchance some unheard-of phenomenon had modified 
 the rotatory motion of the globe ; or perhaps the Algerian 
 coast had been transported beyond the equator into the 
 southern hemisphere. Yet the earth (with the exception 
 of the alteration in its convexity), in this part of Africa at 
 least, seemed to have undergone no change of any very great
 
 26 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 importance. As far as the eye could reach, the shore was, 
 as it had ever been, a succession of cliffs, beach, and arid 
 rocks, tinged with a red ferruginous hue. To the south — 
 if south, in this inverted order of things, it might still be 
 called — the face of the country also appeared unaltered, 
 and, three leagues away, the peaks of the Merdeyah moun- 
 tains still retained their accustomed outline. 
 
 Presently a rift in the clouds gave passage to an ob- 
 lique ray of light that clearly proved that the sun was 
 setting in the east. 
 
 " Well, I am curious to know what they think of all 
 this at Mostaganem," said the captain. " I wonder, too, 
 what the Minister of War will say when he receives a 
 telegram informing him that his African colony has 
 become, not morally, but physically disorganized ; that 
 the cardinal points are at variance with ordinary rules, 
 and that the sun in the month of January is shining down 
 vertically upon our heads." 
 
 Ben Zoof, whose ideas of discipline were extremel) 
 rigid, at once suggested that the colony should be put 
 under the surveillance of the police, that the cardinal 
 points should be placed under restraint, and that the sun 
 should be shot for breach of discipline. 
 
 Meantime, they were both advancing with the utmost 
 speed. The decompression of the atmosphere made the 
 specific gravity of their bodies extraordinarily light, and 
 they ran like hares and leaped like chamois. Leaving the 
 devious windings of the footpath, they went as a crow 
 would fly, or as the Americans would say, " took a bee's 
 flight" across the country. Hedges, trees, and streams 
 were cleared at a bound, and under these conditions Ben 
 Zoof felt that he could have overstepped Montmartre at 
 a single stride. The earth seemed as elastic as the spring- 
 board of an acrobat ; they scarcely touched it with their 
 feet, and their only fear was lest the height to which they 
 were propelled would consume the time which they were 
 saving by their short cut across the fields. 
 
 It was not long before their wild career brought them
 
 A MYSTERIOUS SEA. 2/ 
 
 to the right bank of the Shelif. Here they were compelled 
 to stop, for not only had the bridge completely disap- 
 peared, but the river itself no longer existed. Of the left 
 bank there was not the slightest trace, and the right bank, 
 which on the previous evening had bounded the yellow 
 stream, as it murmured peacefully along the fertile plain, 
 had now become the shore of a tumultuous ocean, its azure 
 waters extending westwards far as the eye could ^ach, 
 and annihilating the tract of country which had hitherto 
 formed the district of Mostaganem. The shore coincided 
 exactly with what had been the right bank of the Shelif, 
 and in a slightly curved line ran north and south. The 
 catastrophe of which this part of Africa had been the scene 
 had evidently had no effect in altering its configuration, 
 which was still precisely identical with that laid down by 
 the latest hydrographical survey, whilst the adjacent groves 
 «»nd meadows all retained their previous positions. But 
 Vtie river-bank had now become the shore of an unknown 
 sea. 
 
 Eager to throw some light upon the mystery, Servadac 
 hurriedly made his way through the oleander bushes that 
 overhung the shore, took up some water in the hollow of 
 his hand, and carried it to his lips. 
 
 " Salt as brine ! " he exclaimed, as soon as he had 
 tasted it. " The sea has undoubtedly swallowed up all the 
 western part of Algeria." 
 
 "It will not last long, sir," said Ben Zoof. "It is, 
 probably, only a severe flood." 
 
 The captain shook his head. 
 
 "Worse than that, I fear, Ben Zoof," he replied with 
 emotion. "It is a catastrophe that cannot fail to be 
 attended with very serious consequences. What can have 
 become of all my friends and fellow-officers ? " 
 
 Ben Zoof was silent. Rarely had he seen his master 
 so much agitated ; and though himself inclined to receive 
 these phenomena with philosophic indifTerence, his notions 
 of military duty caused his countenance to reflect the 
 captain's expression of amazement
 
 28 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 But there was little time for Servadac to examine the 
 changes which a few hours had wrought. The sun had 
 already reached the eastern horizon, and just as though 
 it were crossing the ecliptic under the tropics, it sank 
 like a cannon-ball into the sea. Without any warning, 
 day had rapidly given place to night, and earth, sea, and 
 skv were immediately wrapped in profound obscurity
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION. 
 
 Hector Servadac was not the man to remain long 
 unnerved by any untoward event. It was part of his 
 character to discover the why and the wherefore of every- 
 thing that came under his observation, and he would have 
 faced a cannon-ball the more unflinchingly from under- 
 standing the dynamic force by which it was propelled. 
 Such being his temperament, it may well be imagined that 
 he was anxious not to remain long in ignorance of the 
 cause of the phenomena which had been so startling in 
 their consequences. 
 
 " We must inquire into this to-morrow," he exclaimed, 
 as darkness fell suddenly upon him. Then, after a pause, 
 he added : " That is to say, if there is to be a to-morrow ; 
 for if I were to be put to the torture, I could not tell 
 what has become of the sun." 
 
 " May I ask, sir, what we are to do now ? " put in Ben 
 Zoof. 
 
 "Stay where we are for the present; and when day- 
 light appears — if it ever does appear — we will explore the 
 coast to the west and south, and return to the gourbi. If 
 we can find out nothing else, we must at least discover 
 where we are." 
 
 " Meanwhile, sir, may we go to sleep ? " 
 
 " Certainly, if you like, and if you can.** 
 
 Nothing loath to avail himself of his master's permis-
 
 30 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 sion, Ben Zoof crouched down in an angle of the shore, 
 threw his arms over his eyes, and very soon slept the sleep 
 of the ignorant, which is often sounder than the sleep o( 
 the just. 
 
 Ovenvhelmed by the questions that crowded upon hia 
 brain, Captain Servadac could only wander up and down 
 the shore. Again and again he asked himself what the 
 catastrophe could portend. Had it affected only a small 
 portion of the continent, and had the towns of Algiers, 
 Oran, and Mostaganem escaped the inundation ? Could 
 he bring himself to believe that all the inhabitants, his 
 friends, and comrades had perished ; or was it not more 
 probable that the Mediterranean had merely invaded the 
 region of the mouth of the Shelif ? But this supposition, 
 although it might to some extent account for the disap- 
 pearance of the river, did not in the least explain the other 
 physical disturbances. Another hypothesis that presented 
 itself to his mind was that the African coast might have 
 been suddenly transported to the equatorial zone. But 
 although this might get over the difficulty of the altered 
 jtltitude of the sun and the absence of twilight, yet it 
 would neither account for the sun setting in the east, nor 
 for the length of the day being reduced from twelve hours 
 to six. 
 
 " We must wait till to-morrow," he repeated ; adding, 
 for he had become distrustful of the future, " that is to say, 
 if to-morrow ever comes." 
 
 Although not very learned in astronomy, Servadac 
 was acquainted with the position of the principal constella- 
 tions. It was therefore a considerable disappointment to 
 him that, in consequence of the heavy clouds, not a star 
 was visible in the firmament. To have ascertained that 
 the pole-star had become displaced would have been an 
 undeniable proof that the earth was revolving on a new 
 axis ; but not a rift appeared in the lowering clouds, which 
 seemed to threaten torrents of rain. 
 
 It happened that the moon was new on that very day ; 
 naturally, therefore, it would have set at the same time as
 
 THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION. 3 1 
 
 the sun. What, then, was the captain's bewilderment 
 when, after he had been walking for about an hour and a 
 half, he noticed on the western horizon a strong glare that 
 penetrated even the masses of the clouds. 
 
 " The moon in the west ! " he cried aloud ; but suddenly- 
 bethinking himself, he added. " But no, that cannot be the 
 moon ; unless she had shifted very much nearer the earth, 
 she could never give a light as intense as this." 
 
 And zs he spoke the screen of vapour was illuminated 
 to such a degree that the whole country was as it were 
 bathed in twilight. 
 
 " What can this be ? " soliloquized the captain. ** It 
 cannot be the sun, for the sun set in the east only an hour 
 and a half ago. Would that those clouds would disclose 
 what enormous luminary lies behind them ! What a fool 
 I was not to have learnt more astronomy ! Perhaps, after 
 all, I am racking my brain over something that is quite in 
 the ordinary course of nature." 
 
 But, reason as he might, the mysteries of the heavens 
 still remained impenetrable. For about an hour some 
 luminous body, its disc evidently of gigantic dimensions, 
 shed its rays upon the upper strata of the clouds ; then, 
 marvellous to relate, mstead of obeying the ordinary laws 
 of celestial mechanism, and descending upon the opposite 
 horizon, it seemed to rise in a line perpendicular to the 
 plane of the equator, and vanished. 
 
 The darkness that returned to the face of the earth was 
 not more profound than the gloom which fell upon the 
 captain's soul. Everything was mcomprehensible. The 
 simplest mechanical rules seemed falsified ; the planets had 
 defied the laws of gravitation ; the motions of the celestial 
 spheres were erroneous as those of a watch with a defective 
 mainspring, and there was only too much reason to fear 
 that the sun would never again shed his radiance upon the 
 earth. 
 
 But the captain's fears were groundless. In three hours' 
 time, without any intervening twilight, the morning sun 
 made its appearance in the west, and day once more had
 
 32 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 dawned. On consulting his watch, Servadac found that 
 night had lasted precisely six hours. Ben Zoof, who was 
 unaccustomed to so brief a period (/ repose, was still 
 slumbering soundly. 
 
 " Come, wake up ! " said Servadac, shaking him by the 
 shoulder ; " it is time to start." 
 
 " Time to start } " exclaimed Ben Zoof, rubbing his eyes. 
 " I feel as if I had only just gone to sleep." 
 
 " You have slept all night, at any rate," replied the 
 captain ; " it has only been for six hours, but you must 
 make it enough." 
 
 ** Enough it shall be, sir," was the submissive rejoinder. 
 
 " And now," continued Servadac, " we will take the 
 shortest way back to the gourbi, and see what our horses 
 ihink about it all." 
 
 " They will think that they ought to be groomed," said 
 ^he orderly. 
 
 " Very good ; you may groom them and saddle them as 
 'ijuickly as you like. I want to know what has become of 
 the rest of Algeria : if we cannot get round by the south 
 to Mostaganem, we must go eastwards to Tenes." 
 
 And forthwith they started. Beginning to feel hungry, 
 they had no hesitation in gathering figs, dates, and oranges 
 from the plantations that formed a continuous rich and 
 luxuriant orchard along their path. The district was quite 
 deserted, and they had no reason to fear any legal penalty 
 for their depredations. 
 
 In an hour and a half they reached the gourbi. Every- 
 thing was just as they had left it, and it was evident that 
 no one had visited the place during their absence. All 
 was desolate as the shore they had quitted. 
 
 The preparations for the expedition were brief and 
 simple. Ben Zoof saddled the horses and filled h-g pouch 
 with biscuits and game; water, he felt certain, could be 
 obtained in abundance from the numerous affluents of the 
 Shelif, which, although they had now become tributaries 
 of the Mediterranean, still meandered through the plain. 
 Captain Servadac mounted his horse Zephyr, and Ben Zoo/
 
 THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION. 33 
 
 simultaneously got astride his mare Galette, named after 
 the mill of Montmartre. They galloped off in the direc- 
 tion of the Shelif, and were not long in discovering that the 
 diminution in the pressure of the atmosphere had precisely 
 the same effect upon their horses as it had had upon 
 themselves. Their muscular strength seemed five times as 
 great as hitherto ; their hoofs scarcely touched the ground, 
 and they seemed transformed from ordinary quadrupeds 
 into veritable hippogriffs. Happily, Servadac and his 
 orderly were fearless riders ; they made no attempt to 
 curb their steeds, but even urged them to still greater 
 exertions. Twenty minutes sufficed to carry them over 
 the four or five miles that intervened between the gourbi 
 and the mouth of the Shelif ; then, slackening their speed, 
 they proceeded at a more leisurely pace to the south-east, 
 along what had once been the right bank of the river, but 
 which, although it still retained its former characteristics, 
 v/as now the boundary of a sea, which extending farther 
 than the limits of the horizon, must have swallowed up at 
 least a large portion of the province of Oran. Captain Ser- 
 vadac knew the country well ; he had at one time been 
 engaged upon a trigonometrical survey of the district, and 
 consequently had an accurate knowledge of its topography. 
 His idea now was to draw up a report of his investi- 
 gations : to whom that report should be delivered was a 
 problem he had yet to solve. 
 
 During the four hours of daylight that still remained. 
 the travellers rode about twenty-one miles from the river 
 mouth. To their vast surprise, they did not meet a single 
 human being. At nightfall they again encamped in a 
 slight bend of the shore, at a point which on the previous 
 evening had faced the mouth of the Mina, one of the left- 
 hand affluents of the Shelif, but now absorbed into the 
 newly revealed ocean. Ben Zoof made the sleeping 
 accommodation as comfortable as the circumstances would 
 allow ; the horses were clogged and turned out to feed 
 upon the rich pasture that clothed the shore, and the night 
 passed without special incident. 
 
 9
 
 34 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 At sunrise on the following morning, the 2nd of 
 January, or what, according to the ordinary calendarj 
 would have been the night of the ist, the captain and his 
 orderly remounted their horses, and during the six-hours" 
 day accomplished a distance of forty-two miles. The 
 right bank of the river still continued to be the margin of 
 the land, and only in one spot had its integrity been 
 impaired. This was about twelve miles from the Mina, 
 and on the site of the annex or suburb of Surkelmittoo. 
 Here a large portion of the bank had been swept away, 
 and the hamlet, with its eight hundred inhabitants, had no 
 doubt been swallowed up by the encroaching waters. It 
 s-eemed, therefore, more than probable that a similar fate 
 had overtaken the larger towns beyond the Shelif, and 
 that Mazagran, Mostaganem, and Orleansville had all been 
 annihilated. After skirting the small bay thus formed by 
 the rupture of the shore. Captain Servadac found himself 
 again upon the river bank, exactly opposite the site onc& 
 occupied by the mixed community of Ammi-Moossa, the 
 ancient Khamis of Beni-Ooragh ; but not a vestige of the 
 place remained. Even the Mankara Peak, below which it 
 had been built, and which was more than three thousand 
 feet in height, had totally disappeared. 
 
 In the evening the explorers encamped, as previously, 
 in a nook of the shore which here abruptly terminated their 
 new domain, not far from where they might have expected 
 to find the important village of Memounturroy ; but of 
 this, too, there was now no trace, 
 
 "I had quite reckoned upon a supper and a bed at 
 Orleansville to-night," said Servadac, as, full of despond- 
 ency, he surveyed the drear waste of water. 
 
 " Quite impossible," replied Ben Zoof, " except you 
 had gone by a boat. But cheer up, sir, cheer up ; we wili 
 soon devise some means for getting across to Mostaganem." 
 
 " If, as I hope," rejoined the captain, " we are on a 
 peninsula, we are more likely to get to Tenes ; there we 
 shall hear the news." 
 
 "Far more likely to carry the news ourselves'*
 
 THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION. 35 
 
 answered Ben Zoof, as he threw himself down for his 
 night's rest. 
 
 Six hours later, only waiting for sunrise, Captain 
 Servadac set himself in movement again to renew his 
 investigations. At the spot last chosen for encampment, 
 the shore, that hitherto had been running in a south- 
 easterly direction, turned abruptly to the north, being no 
 longer formed by the natural bank of the Shelif, but con- 
 sisting of an absolutely new coast-line. No land was in 
 sight. Nothing could be seen of Orleansville, which ought 
 to have been about six miles to the south-west ; and Ben 
 Zoof, who had mounted the highest point of view attain- 
 able, could distinguish sea, and nothing but sea, to the 
 farthest horizon. 
 
 Quitting their encampment and riding on, the be- 
 wildered explorers kept close to the new shore. This, 
 since it had ceased to be formed by the original river-bank, 
 had considerably altered its aspect. Frequent landslips 
 occurred, and in many places deep chasms rifted the 
 ground ; great gaps furrowed the fields, and trees, half 
 uprooted, overhung the water — some old olives being 
 especially remarkable by the fantastic distortions of their 
 gnarled trunks, looking as though they had been chopped 
 by a hatchet. 
 
 The sinuosities of the coast-line, alternately gully and 
 headland, had the effect of making a devious progress for 
 the travellers, and at sunset, although they had accom- 
 plished more than twenty miles, they had only just arrived 
 at the foot of the Merdeyah Mountains, which, before the 
 cataclysm, had formed the extremity of the chain of the 
 Little Atlas, The ridge, however, had been violently 
 ruptured, and now rose perpendicularly from the water. 
 
 On the following morning Servadac and Ben Zoof 
 traversed one of the mountain gorges ; and next, in order 
 to make a more thorough acquaintance with the limits and 
 condition of the section of Algerian territory of which 
 they seemed to be left as the sole occupants, they dis- 
 mounted, and proceeded on foot to the summit of one of
 
 36 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 the highest peaks. From this elevation they ascertained 
 that from the base of the Merdeyah to the Mediterranean, 
 a distance of about eighteen miles, a new coast-line had 
 come into existence; no land was visible in any direction; 
 no isthmus existed to form a connecting link with the 
 territory of Tenes, which had entirely disappeared. The 
 result was that Captain Servadac was driven to the irre- 
 sistible conclusion that the tract of land which he had 
 been surveying was not, as he had at first imagined, a 
 peninsula ; it was actually an island. 
 
 Strictly speaking, this island was quadrilateral, but the 
 sides were so irregular that it was much more nearly a 
 triangle, the comparison of the sides exhibiting these pro- 
 portions : — The section of the right bank of the Shelif, 
 seventy-two miles ; the northern boundary from the Shelif 
 to the chain of the Little Atlas, twenty-one miles ; from 
 the Little Atlas to the shore of the Mediterranean, eighteen 
 miles ; and sixty miles of the shore of the Mediterranean 
 itself, making in all an entire circumference of about 171 
 miles. 
 
 " What does it all mean ? " exclaimed the captain, every 
 hour growing more and more bewildered. 
 
 " The will of Providence, and we must submit," replied 
 Ben Zoof, calm and undisturbed. 
 
 With this reflection, the two men silently descended the 
 mountain and remounted their horses, which had been 
 grazing quietly on the luxuriant herbage. 
 
 Before evening the wayfarers had reached the Mediter- 
 ranean. On their road they failed to discern a vestige of 
 the little town of Montenotte ; like Tenes (of which not 
 so much as a ruined cottage was visible on the horizon), it 
 seemed to be annihilated. 
 
 On the following day, the 6th of January, the two 
 men made a forced march along the coast of the Mediter- 
 ranean, which they found in some degree less altered 
 than the captain had at first supposed ; but four villages, 
 Callaat-Chimah, Agniss, Marabout, and Pointe-Basse, had 
 entirely disappeared, and the headlands, unable to resist
 
 THE CAPTAIN MAKES AN EXPLORATION. 37 
 
 the shock of the convulsion, had been detached from the 
 mainland. 
 
 The circuit of the island had been now completed, and 
 the explorers, after a period of sixty hours, found them- 
 selves once more beside the ruins of their gourbi. Five 
 days, or what, according to the established order of things, 
 would have been two days and a half, had been occupied 
 in tracing the boundaries of their new domain ; and 
 although not the only living occupants, inasmuch as herds 
 of cattle had been seen, they had ascertained beyond a 
 doubt that they were the sole human inhabitants left upon 
 the island. 
 
 " Well, sir, here you are, Governor-General of Algeria ! " 
 exclaimed Ben Zoof, as they reached the gourbi. 
 
 " With not a soul to govern," gloomily rejoined the 
 captain. 
 
 " How so } Do you not reckon me ?** 
 
 " Pshaw ! Ben Zoof, what are you ? " 
 
 " What am I .-' Why, I am the population." 
 
 The captain deigned no reply, but, muttering some 
 expressions of regret for the fruitless trouble he had taken 
 about his rondo, betook himself to rest
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN. 
 
 In a few minutes the governor-general and his population 
 were asleep. The gourbi being in ruins, they were obliged 
 to put up with the best accommodation they could find in 
 the adjacent erection. It must be owned that the captain's 
 slumbers were by no means sound ; he was agitated by 
 the consciousness that he had hitherto been unable to 
 account for his strange experiences by any reasonable 
 theory. Though far from being advanced in the know- 
 ledge of natural philosophy, he had been instructed, to a 
 certain degree, in its elementary principles ; and, by an 
 effort of memory, he managed to recall some general laws 
 which he had* almost forgotten. He could understand 
 that an altered inclination of the earth's axis with regard 
 to the ecliptic would introduce a change of position in the 
 cardinal points, and bring about a displacement of the sea ; 
 but the hypothesis entirely failed to account, either for 
 the shortening of the days, or for the diminution in the 
 pressure of the atmosphere. He felt that his judgment 
 was utterly baffled ; his only remaining hope was that the 
 chain of marvels v/as not yet complete, and that something 
 farther might occur which would throw some light upon 
 the mystery. 
 
 Ben Zoofs first care on the following morning was to 
 provide a good breakfast. To use his own phrase, h?
 
 BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN. 39 
 
 was as hungry as the whole population of three million 
 Algerians, of whom he was the representative, and he 
 must have enough to eat The catastrophe which had 
 overwhelmed the country had left a dozen eggs uninjured, 
 and upon these, with a good dish of his famous couscous, 
 he hoped that he and his master might have a sufficiently 
 substantial meal. The stove was ready for use, the copper 
 skillet was as bright as hands could make it, and the beads 
 of condensed steam upon the surface of a large stone 
 alcaraza gave evidence that it was supplied with water. 
 Ben Zoof at once proceeded to light a fire, singing all the 
 time, according to his wont, a snatch of an old military 
 refrain — 
 
 •* Veal ! veal 1 is there any veal. 
 Enough to make a stew ? 
 Salt 1 salt ! is there any salt. 
 To season what we do ? " 
 
 Ever on the look-out for fresh phenomena, Captain 
 Servadac watched the preparations with a curious eye, 
 It struck him that perhaps the air, in its strangely modified 
 condition, would fail to supply sufficient oxygen, and that 
 the stove, in consequence, might not fulfil its function 
 But no ; the fire was lighted just as usual, and fanned into 
 vigour by Ben Zoof applying his mouth in lieu of bellows, 
 and a bright flame started up from the midst of the twigs 
 and coal. The skillet was duly set upon the stove, and 
 Ben Zoof was prepared to wait awhile for the water to 
 boil. Taking up the eggs, he was surprised to notice that 
 they hardly weighed more than they would if they had 
 been mere shells ; but he was still more surprised when he 
 saw that before the water had been two minutes over the 
 fire it was at full boil. 
 
 " By jingo I " he exclaimed^ " this is a precious hot 
 fire I " 
 
 Servadac reflected. In a few moments he said — 
 
 " It cannot be that the fire is hotter ; the peculiarity 
 must be in the water." 
 
 And taking down a centigrade thermometer, which he
 
 40 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 had hung upon the wall, he plunged it into the skillet 
 Instead of ioo°, he found that the instrument registered 
 only 66°. 
 
 " Take my advice, Ben Zoof," he said : " leave your 
 eggs in the saucepan a good quarter of an hour." 
 
 " Boil them hard I That will never do," objected the 
 orderly. 
 
 " You will not find them hard, my good fellow. Trust 
 me, we shall be able to dip our sippets into the yolks 
 easily enough." 
 
 The captain was quite right in his conjecture, that this 
 new phenomenon was caused by a diminution in the pres- 
 sure of the atmosphere. Water boiling at a temperature 
 of 66° was itself an evidence that the column of air above 
 the earth's surface had become reduced by one-third of its 
 altitude. The identical phenomenon would have occurred 
 at the summit of a mountain 35,000 feet high; and had 
 Servadac been in possession of a barometer, he would have 
 immediately discovered the fact that only now for the first 
 time, as the result of experiment, revealed itself to him — 
 a fact, moreover, which accounted for the compression 0/ 
 the blood-vessels which both he and Ben Zoof had expe 
 rienced, as well as for the attenuation of their voices and 
 their accelerated breathing. 
 
 " And yet," he argued with himself, " if our encamp- 
 ment has been projected to so great an elevation, how is 
 it that the sea remains at its proper level ? " 
 
 Once again Hector Servadac, though capable of tracing 
 consequences, felt himself totally at a loss to comprehend 
 their cause ; hence his agitation and bewilderment ! Inde 
 ires! 
 
 After their prolonged immersion in the boiling water, 
 the eggs were found to be only just sufficiently cooked ; 
 the couscous was very much in the same condition ; and 
 Ben Zoof came to the conclusion that in future he must 
 be careful to commence his culinary operations an hour 
 earlier than he had been accustomed. He was rejoiced 
 at last to help his master, who, in spite of his perplexed
 
 BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN. 4I 
 
 pre-occupation, seemed to have a very fair appetite for 
 breakfast. 
 
 "Well, captain?" said Ben Zoof presently, such being 
 his ordinary way of opening conversation. 
 
 "Well, Ben Zoof.-*" was the captain's invariable response 
 to his servant's formula. 
 
 " What are we to do now, sir } " 
 
 " We can only for the present wait patiently where we 
 are. We are encamped upon an island, and therefore we 
 can only be rescued by sea." 
 
 " But do you suppose that any of our friends are still 
 alive .? " asked Ben Zoof 
 
 " Oh, I think we must indulge the hope that this 
 catastrophe has not extended far. We must trust that 
 it has limited its mischief to some small portion of the 
 Algerian coast, and that our friends are all alive and well. 
 No doubt the governor-general will be anxious to inves- 
 tigate the full extent of the damage that has been done, 
 und will send a vessel from Algiers to explore. It is not 
 likely that we shall be forgotten. What, then, you have 
 to do, Ben Zoof, is to keep a sharp look-out, and to be 
 ready, in case a vessel should appear, to make signals at 
 once." 
 
 *' But if no vessel should appear ! " sighed the orderly. 
 
 **Then we must build a boat, and go in search of those 
 who do not come in search of us." 
 
 " Very good, captain. But what sort of a sailor are 
 you?" 
 
 "Every one can be a sailor when he must," said Servadac 
 calmly. 
 
 Ben Zoof said no more. For several succeeding days 
 he scanned the horizon unintermittently with his tele- 
 scope. PI is watching was all in vain. No ship appeared 
 upon the desert sea. 
 
 " By the name of a Kabyle ! " he broke out impatiently, 
 " his Excellency is grossly negligent ! " 
 
 Although the days and nights had become reduced 
 from twenty-four hours to twelve. Captain Servadac would
 
 42 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 not accept the new condition of things, but resolved to 
 adhere to the computations of the old calendar. Notwith- 
 standing, therefore, that the sun had risen and set twelve 
 times since the commencement of the new year, he per- 
 sisted in calling the following day the 6th of January. 
 His watch enabled him to keep an accurate account of 
 the passing hours. On a pendulum clock, the diminution 
 of atmospheric pressure would no doubt have caused a 
 large disturbance ; but the spring of a good watch would 
 be insensibly affected by the change of condition, and, 
 once regulated to the new physical status, might be ex- 
 pected to act with fair precision. 
 
 In the course of his life, Ben Zoof had read a few 
 books. After sitting pondering one day, he said — 
 
 *' It seerps to me, captain, that you have turned into 
 Robinson Crusoe, and that I am your man Friday. I hope 
 I have not become a nigger." 
 
 " No," replied the captain. " Your complexion isn't the 
 fairest in the world, but you are not a nigger yet." 
 
 "Well, I had much sooner be a white Friday than a 
 black one," rejoined Ben Zoof. 
 
 Still no ship appeared ; and Captain Servadac, after 
 the example of all previous Crusoes, began to consider 
 it advisable to investigate the resources of his domain. 
 The new territory of which he had become the monarch 
 he named Gourbi Island. It had a superficial area ot 
 about nine hundred square miles. Bullocks, cows, goats, 
 and sheep existed in considerable numbers ; and as there 
 seemed already to be an abundance of game, it was hardly 
 likely that a future supply would fail them. The condition 
 of the cereals was such as to promise a fine ingathering of 
 wheat, maize, and rice ; so that for the governor and his 
 population, with their two horses, not only was there ample 
 provision, but even if other human inhabitants besides 
 themselves should yet be discovered, there was not the 
 remotest prospect of any of them perishing by starvation. 
 
 From the 6th to the 13th of January the rain camo 
 down in torrents ; and, what was quite an unusual occur
 
 BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN. 43 
 
 rence at this season of the year, several heavy storms 
 broke over the island. In spite, however, of the continual 
 downfall, the heavens still remained veiled in cloud. 
 Servadac, moreover, did not fail to observe that for the 
 season the temperature was unusually high ; and, as a 
 matter still more surprising, that it kept steadily increas- 
 ing, as though the earth were gradually and continuously 
 approximating to the sun. In proportion to the rise of 
 temperature, the light also assumed greater intensity ; and 
 if it had not been for the screen of vapour interposed 
 between the sky and the island, the irradiation which 
 would have illumined all terrestrial objects would have 
 been vivid beyond all precedent 
 
 But neither sun, moon, nor star ever appeared ; and 
 Servadac's irritation and annoyance at being unable to 
 identify any one point of the firmament may be more 
 readily imagined than described. On one occasion Ben 
 Zoof endeavoured to mitigate his master's impatience by 
 exhorting him to assume the resignation, even if he did 
 not feel the indifference, which he himself experienced ; 
 but his advice was received with so angry a rebuff that 
 he retired in all haste, abashed, to resume his watchman's 
 duty, which he performed with exemplary perseverance. 
 Day and night, with the shortest possible intervals of rest, 
 despite wind, rain, and storm, he mounted guard upon 
 the cliff — but all in vain. Not a speck appeared upon the 
 desolate horizon. To say the truth, no vessel could have 
 stood against the weather. The hurricane raged with 
 tremendous fury, and the waves rose to a height that 
 seemed to defy calculation. Never, even in the second 
 era of creation, when, under the influence of internal heat, 
 the waters rose in vapour to descend in deluge back upon 
 the world, could meteorological phenomena have been 
 developed with more impressive intensity. 
 
 But by the night of the 13th the tempest appeared to 
 have spent its fury ; the wind dropped ; the rain ceased as 
 if by a spell ; and Servadac, who for the last six days had 
 confined himself to the shelter of his roof, hastened to join
 
 44 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Ben Zoof at his post upon the cliff. Now, he thought, there 
 might be a chance of solving his perplexity ; perhaps now 
 the huge disc, of which he had had an imperfect glimpse 
 on the night of the 31st of December, might again reveal 
 itself ; at any rate, he hoped for an opportunity of observ- 
 ing the constellations in a clear firmament above. 
 
 The night was magnificent. Not a cloud dimmed the 
 lustre of the stars, which spangled the heavens in surpassing 
 brilliancy, and several nebulae which hitherto no astronomer 
 had been able to discern without the aid of a telescope 
 were clearly visible to the naked eye. 
 
 By a natural impulse, Servadac's first thought was to 
 observe the position of the pole-star. It was in sight, but 
 so near to the horizon as to suggest the utter impossibility 
 of its being any longer the central pivot of the siderial 
 system ; it occupied a position through which it was out of 
 the question that the axis of the earth indefinitely pro- 
 longed could ever pass. In his impression he was mor* 
 thoroughly confirmed when, an hour later, he noticed that 
 the star had sensibly approached still nearer the horizon, 
 as though it had belonged to one of the zodiacal constella- 
 tions. 
 
 The pole-star being manifestly, thus displaced, it 
 remained to be discovered whether any other of the 
 celestial bodies had become a fixed centre around which 
 the constellations made their apparent daily revolutions. 
 To the solution of this problem Servadac applied himself 
 with the most thoughtful diligence. After patient obser- 
 vation, he satisfied himself that the required conditions 
 were answered by a certain star that was stationary not far 
 from the horizon. This was Vega, in the constellation 
 Lyra, a star which, according to the precession of the equi- 
 noxes, will take the place of our pole-star 12,000 years 
 hence. The most daring imagination could not suppose 
 that a period of 12,000 years had been crowded into the 
 space of a fortnight ; and therefore the captain came, as to 
 an easier conclusion, to the opinion that the earth's axis 
 had been suddenly and immensely shifted ; and from the
 
 BEN ZOOF WATCHES IN VAIN. 45 
 
 fact that the axis, if produced, would pass through a point 
 so httle removed above the horizon, he deduced the in- 
 ference that the Mediterranean must have been transported 
 to the Equator. 
 
 Lost in bewildering maze of thought, he gazed long and 
 intently upon the heavens. His eyes wandered from where 
 the tail of the Great Bear, now a zodiacal constellation, 
 was scarcely visible above the waters, to where the stars of 
 the southern hemisphere were just breaking on his view. 
 A cry from Ben Zoof recalled him to himself 
 
 " The moon!" shouted the orderly, as though overjoyed 
 at once again beholding what the poet has called — 
 
 " The kind companion of terrestrial night ; " 
 
 and he pointed to a disc that was rising at a spot precisely 
 opposite the place where they would have expected to see 
 the sun. 
 
 " The moon ! " again he cried. 
 
 But Captain Servadac could not altogether enter into 
 his servant's enthusiasm. If this were actually the moon, 
 her distance from the earth must have been increased by 
 some millions of miles. He was rather disposed to suspect 
 that it was not the earth's satellite at all, but some planet 
 with its apparent magnitude greatly enlarged by its ap- 
 proximation to the earth. Taking up the powerful field- 
 glass which he was accustomed to use in his surveying 
 operations, he proceeded to investigate more carefully the 
 character of the luminous orb. But he failed to trace any 
 of the lineaments, supposed to resemble a human face, that 
 mark the lunar surface ; he failed to decipher any indica- 
 tions of hill and plain ; nor could he make out the aureole 
 of light which emanates from what astronomers have 
 designated Mount Tycho. 
 
 " It is not the moon," he said, slowly. 
 
 « Not the moon ?" cried Ben Zoof " Why not ?" 
 
 ** It is not the moon," again affirmed the captain. 
 
 ** Why not ?" repeated Ben Zoof, unwilling to renounce 
 his first impression.
 
 4.6 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 ** Because there is a small satellite in attendance." 
 
 And the captain drew his servant's attention to a bright 
 speck (apparently about the size of one of Jupiter'?, 
 satellites seen through a moderate telescope) that was 
 dearly visible just within the focus of his glass. 
 
 Here, then, was a fresh mystery. The orbit of the 
 planet was assuredly interior to the orbit of the earth, 
 because it accompanied the sun in its apparent motion ; 
 yet it was neither Mercury nor Venus, because neither one 
 nor the other of these has any satellite at all. 
 
 The captain stamped and stamped again with mingled 
 vexation, agitation, and bewilderment. 
 
 " Confound it !" he cried, " if this is neither Venus nor 
 Mercury, it must be the moon ; but if it is the moon, 
 Kvhence, in the name of all the gods, has she picked up 
 another moon for herself?" 
 
 The captain was in dire perplex!^.,
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITV. 
 
 The light of the returning sun soon extinguished the glory 
 of the stars, and rendered it necessary for the captain to 
 postpone his observations until future cloudless nights. 
 He had sought in vain for further trace of the huge disc 
 that had so excited his wonder on the 1st, and it seemed 
 most probable that, in its irregular orbit, it had been carried 
 beyond the range of vision. 
 
 The weather was still superb. The wind, after veering 
 to the west, had sunk to a perfect calm. Pursuing its 
 inverted course, the sun rose and set with undeviating 
 regularity ; and the days and nights were still divided into 
 periods of precisely six hours each — a sure proof that the 
 sun remained close to the new equator which manifestly 
 passed through Gourbi Island. 
 
 Meanwhile the temperature was steadily increasing. 
 The captain kept his thermometer close at hand where he 
 could repeatedly consult it, and on the 15th he found that 
 it registered 50° centigrade in the shade. 
 
 No attempt had been made to rebuild the gourbi, but 
 the captain and Ben Zoof managed to make up quarters 
 sufficiently comfortable in the principal apartment of the 
 adjoining structure, where the stone walls, that at first 
 afforded a refuge from the torrents of rain, now formed an 
 equally acceptable shelter from the burning sun. The heat 
 was becoming insufferable, surpassing the heat of Senegal
 
 48 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 and other equatorial regions ; not a cloud ever tempered 
 the intensity of the solar rays; and unless some modification 
 ensued, it seemed inevitable that all vegetation should 
 become scorched and burnt off from the face of the island. 
 
 In spite, however, of the profuse perspirations from 
 which he suffered, Ben Zoof, constant to his principles, 
 expressed no surprise at the unwonted heat. No remon- 
 strances from his master could induce him to abandon 
 his watch from the cliff. To withstand the vertical beams 
 of that noontide sun would seem to require a skin of brass 
 and a brain of adamant ; but yet, hour after hour, he 
 would remain conscientiously scanning the surface of the 
 Mediterranean, which, calm and deserted, lay outstretched 
 before him. On one occasion Servadac, in reference to 
 his orderly's indomitable perseverance, happened to remark 
 that he thought he must have been born on the banks of 
 the Gaboon, in the heart of equatorial Africa ; to which 
 Ben Zoof replied, with the utmost dignity, that he was 
 born at Montmartre, which was all the same. The worthy 
 fellow was unwilling to own that, even in the matter of 
 heat, the tropics could in any way surpass his own much- 
 loved home. 
 
 This unprecedented temperature very soon began to 
 take effect upon the products of the soil. The sap rose 
 rapidly in the trees, so that in the course of a few days 
 buds, leaves, flowers, and fruit had come to full maturity. 
 It was the same with the cereals : wheat and maize 
 sprouted and ripened as if by magic, and for a while a 
 rank and luxuriant pasturage clothed the meadows. 
 Summer and autumn seemed blended into one. If 
 Captain Servadac had been more deeply versed in astro- 
 nomy, he would perhaps have been able to bring to bear 
 his knowledge that if the axis of the earth, as everything 
 seemed to indicate, now formed a right angle with the 
 plane of the ecliptic, her various seasons, like those of the 
 planet Jupiter, would become limited to certain zones, in 
 which they would remain invariable. But even if he had 
 understood the rationale of the change, the convulsion
 
 VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITY. 49 
 
 that had brought it about would have been as much a 
 mystery as ever. 
 
 The precocity of vegetation caused some embarrass- 
 ment The time for the corn and fruit harvest had fallen 
 simultaneously with that of the hay-making ; and as the 
 extreme heat precluded any prolonged exertions, it was 
 evident " the population " of the island would find it diffi- 
 cult to provide the necessary amount of labour. Not that 
 the prospect gave them much concern : the provisions 
 of the gourbi were still far from exhausted, and now that 
 the roughness of the weather had so happily subsided, 
 they had every encouragement to hope that a ship of some 
 sort would soon appear. Not only was that part of the 
 Mediterranean systematically frequented by the govern- 
 ment steamers that watched the coast, but vessels of all 
 nations were constantly cruising off the shore. 
 
 In spite, however, of all their sanguine speculations, no 
 ship appeared. Ben Zoof admitted the necessity of ex- 
 temporizing a kind of parasol for himself, otherwise he 
 must literally have been roasted to death upon the exposed 
 summit of the cliffl 
 
 Meanwhile, Servadac was doing his utmost — it must 
 be acknowledged, with indifferent success — to recall the 
 lessons of his school-days. He would plunge into the 
 wildest speculations in his endeavours to unravel the diffi- 
 culties of the new situation, and struggled into a kind of 
 conviction that if there had been a change of manner in 
 the earth's rotation on her axis, there would be a corre- 
 sponding change in her revolution round the sun, which 
 would involve the consequence of the length of the year 
 being either diminished or increased. 
 
 Independently of the increased and increasing heat, 
 there was another very conclusive demonstration that the 
 earth had thus suddenly approximated towards the sun. 
 The diameter of the solar disc was now exactly twice what 
 it ordinarily looks to the naked eye ; in fact, it was pre- 
 cisely such as it would appear to an observer on the surface 
 of the planet Venus. The most obvious inference would 
 
 E
 
 so HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 therefore be that the earth's distance from the sun had 
 been diminished from 91,000,000 to 66,000,000 miles. If 
 the just equilibrium of the earth had thus been destroyed, 
 and should this diminution of distance still continue, would 
 there not be reason to fear that the terrestrial world would 
 be carried onwards to actual contact with the sun, which 
 must result in its total annihilation ? 
 
 The continuance of the splendid weather afforded 
 Servadac every facility for observing the heavens. Night 
 after night, constellations in their beauty lay stretched 
 before his eyes — an alphabet which, to his mortification, 
 not to say his rage, he was unable to decipher. In the 
 apparent dimensions of the fixed stars, in their distance, 
 in their relative position with regard to each other, he could 
 observe no change. Although it is established that our 
 sun is approaching the constellation of Hercules at the 
 rate of more than 126,000,000 miles a year, and although 
 Arcturus is travelling through space at the rate of fifty-four 
 miles a second — three times faster than the earth goes 
 round the sun, — ^yet such is the remoteness of those stars 
 that no appreciable change is evident to the senses. The 
 fixed stars taught him nothing. 
 
 Far otherwise was it with the planets. The orbits of 
 Venus and Mercury are within the orbit of the earth, 
 Venus rotating at an average distance of 66,130,000 miles 
 from the sun, and Mercury at that of 35,393,000. After 
 pondering long, and as profoundly as he could, upon these 
 figures, Captain Servadac came to the conclusion that, as 
 the earth was now receiving about double the amount of 
 light and heat that it had been receiving before the cata- 
 strophe, it was receiving about the same as the planet 
 Venus ; he was driven, therefore, to the estimate of the 
 measure in which the earth must have approximated to 
 the sun, a deduction in which he was confirmed when the 
 opportunity came for him to observe Venus herself in the 
 splendid proportions that she now assumed. 
 
 That magnificent planet which — as Phosphorus or Luci- 
 fer, Hesperus or Vesper, the evening star, the morning
 
 VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITY. $1 
 
 Star, or the shepherd's star — has never failed to attract the 
 rapturous admiration of the most indifferent observers, 
 here revealed herself with unprecedented glory, exhibiting 
 all the phases of a lustrous moon in miniature. Various 
 indentations in the outline of its crescent showed that the 
 solar beams were refracted into regions of its surface where 
 the sun had already set, and proved, beyond a doubt, that 
 the planet had an atmosphere of her own ; and certain 
 luminous points projecting from the crescent as plainly 
 marked the existence of mountains — mountains to which 
 Schroeter has assigned an altitude ten times greater than 
 that of Mont Blanc, being xTi^h part of the radius of the 
 planet.* 
 
 As the result of Servadac's computations, he formed the 
 opinion that Venus could hirdly be at a greater distance 
 than 6,000,000 miles from the earth. 
 
 "And a very safe distance, too," said Ben Zoof, when 
 his master told him the conclusion at which he had arrived. 
 
 "All very well for two armies, but for a couple of 
 planets not quite so safe, perhaps, as you may imagine. 
 It is my impression that it is more than likely we may run 
 foul of Venus," said the captain. 
 
 " Plenty of air and water there, sir ? " inquired the 
 orderly. 
 
 " Yes ; as far as I can tell, plenty," replied Servadac. 
 
 " Then why shouldn't we go and visit Venus .'' " 
 
 Servadac did his best to explain that as the two planets 
 were of about equal volume, and were travelling with great 
 velocity in opposite directions, any collision between them 
 must be attended with the most disastrous consequences 
 to one or both of them. But Ben Zoof failed to see that, 
 even at the worst, the catastrophe could be much more 
 serious than the collision of two railway trains. 
 
 The captain became fairly exasperated. 
 
 " You idiot ! " he angrily exclaimed ; " cannot you 
 
 • The highest mountains on the earth do not exceed rrrj^h part of th* 
 earth's radius.
 
 $2 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 understand that the planets are travelh'ng a thousand times 
 faster than the fastest express, and that if they meet| 
 either one or the other must be destroyed ? What would 
 become of your darling Montmartre then ? " 
 
 The captain had touched a tender chord. For a mo- 
 ment Ben Zoof stood with clenched teeth and contracted 
 muscles ; then, in a voice of real concern, he inquired 
 whether anything could be done to avert the calamity. 
 
 " Nothing whatever ; so you may go about your own 
 business," was the captain's brusque rejoinder. 
 
 All discomfited and bewildered, Ben Zoof retired 
 without a word. 
 
 During the ensuing days the distance between the two 
 planets continued to decrease, and it became more and 
 more obvious that the earth, on her new orbit, was about 
 to cross the orbit of Venus. 
 
 Throughout this time the earth had been making a 
 perceptible approach towards Mercury, and that planet — 
 which is rarely visible to the naked eye, and then only at 
 what are termed the periods of its greatest eastern and 
 western elongations — now appeared in all its splendour. 
 It amply justified the epithet of "sparkling" which the 
 ancients were accustomed to confer upon it, and could 
 scarcely fail to awaken a new interest. The periodic 
 recurrence of its phases ; its reflection of the sun's rays, 
 shedding upon it a light and a heat seven times greater 
 than that received by the earth ; its glacial and its torrid 
 zones, which, on account of the great inclination of the 
 axis, are scarcely separable ; its equatorial bands ; its 
 mountains eleven miles high; — were all subjects of observa- 
 tion worthy of the most studious regard. 
 
 But no danger was to be apprehended from Mercury ; 
 with Venus only did collision appear imminent. By the 
 i8th of January the distance between that planet and the 
 earth had become reduced to between two and three mil- 
 lions of miles, and the intensity of its light had cast heavy 
 shadows from all terrestrial objects. It might be observed 
 to turn upon its own axis in twenty-three hours twenty-one
 
 VENUS IN PERILOUS PROXIMITY. 53 
 
 minutes — an evidence, from the unaltered duration of its 
 days that the planet had not shared in the disturbance. 
 On its disc the clouds formed from its atmospheric vapour 
 were plainly perceptible, as also were the seven spots, 
 which, according to Bianchini, are a chain of seas. It was 
 now visible in broad daylight. Buonaparte, when under 
 the Directory, once had his attention called to Venus at 
 noon, and immediately hailed it joyfully, recognizing it as 
 his own peculiar star in the ascendant. Captain Servadac, 
 it may well be imagined, did not experience the same 
 gratifying emotion. 
 
 On the 20th, the distance between the two bodies had 
 again sensibly diminished. The captain had ceased to be 
 surprised that no vessel had been sent to rescue himself 
 and his companion from their strange imprisonment ; the 
 governor-general and the minister of war were doubtless 
 iar differently occupied, and their interests far otherwise 
 engrossed. What sensational articles, he thought, must 
 now be teeming to the newspapers ! What crowds must 
 be flocking to the churches ! The end of the world 
 approaching ! the great climax close at hand ! Two days 
 more, and the earth, shivered into a myriad atoms, would 
 be lost in boundless space i 
 
 These dire forebodings, however, were not destined to 
 be realized. Gradually the distance between the two 
 planets began to increase ; the planes of their orbits did 
 not coincide, and accordingly the dreaded catastrophe did 
 not ensue. By the 25th, Venus was sufficiently remote to 
 preclude any further fear of collision. Ben Zoof gave a 
 sigh of relief when the captain communicated the glad 
 intelligence. 
 
 Their proximity to Venus had been close enough to 
 demonstrate that beyond a doubt that planet has no moon 
 or satellite such as Cassini, Short. Montaigne of Limoges, 
 Montbarron, and some other astronomers have imagined 
 to exist. 
 
 " Had there been such a satellite," said Servadac, " we 
 might have captured it in passmg. But what can be the
 
 54 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 meaning," he added seriously, " of all this displacement oi 
 the heavenly bodies ? " 
 
 " What is that great building at Paris, captain, with a 
 top like a cap ? " asked Ben Zoof. 
 
 " Do you mean the Observatory ? " 
 
 " Yes, the Observatory, Are there not people living in 
 the Obseivatory who could explain all this ? " 
 
 " Ver}^ likely ; but what of that ? " 
 
 " Let us be philosophers, and wait patiently until we 
 can hear their explanation." 
 
 Servadac smiled. 
 
 " Do you know what it is to be a philosopher, Ben 
 Zoof.?" he asked. 
 
 " I am a soldier, sir," was the servant's prompt re- 
 joinder, " and I have learnt to know that ' what can't be 
 cured must be endured.' " 
 
 The captain made no reply, but for a time, at least, he 
 desisted from puzzling himself over matters which he felt 
 he was utterly incompetent to explain. But an event soon 
 afterwards occurred which awakened his keenest interest as 
 likely to influence his future proceedings. 
 
 About nine o'clock on the morning of the 27th, Ben 
 Zoof walked deliberately into his master's apartment, and, 
 in reply to a question as to what he wanted, announced 
 with the utmost composure that a ship was in sight. 
 
 " A ship ! " exclaimed Servadac, starting to his feet. 
 " A ship ! Ben Zoof, you donkey ! you speak as uncon- 
 cernedly as though you were telling me that my dinner 
 was ready." 
 
 "Are we not philosophers, captain.''" said the orderly 
 
 But the captain was out of hearing.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED. 
 
 Fast as his legs could carry him, Servadac had made his 
 way to the top of the cliff. It was quite true that a vessel 
 was in sight, hardly more than six miles from the shore ; 
 but owing to the increase in the earth's convexity, and the 
 consequent limitation of the range of vision, the rigging of 
 the topmasts alone was visible above the water. This was 
 enough, however, to indicate that the ship was a schooner 
 — an impression that was confirmed when, two hours later, 
 she came entirely in sight 
 
 "The Dobryna! " exclaimed Servadac, keeping his eye 
 unmoved at his telescope. 
 
 "Impossible, sir!" rejoined Ben Zoof; "there are no 
 signs of smoke." 
 
 " The Dobryna r repeated the captain, positively. "She 
 is under sail , but that schooner is Count Timascheff's 
 yacht" 
 
 He was right. If the count were on board, a strangf 
 fatality was bringing him to the presence of his rival. But 
 no longer now could Servadac regard him in the lights 
 of an adversary ; circumstances had changed, and all 
 animosity was absorbed in the eagerness with which he 
 hailed the prospect of obtaining some information about 
 the recent startling and inexplicable events. During the 
 twenty-seven days that she had been absent, the Dobryna, 
 he conjectured, would have explored the Mediterranean,
 
 56 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 would very probably have visited Spain, France, or Italy, 
 and accordingly would convey to Gourbi Island some 
 intelligence from one or other of those countries. He 
 reckoned, therefore, not only upon ascertaining the extent 
 li the late catastrophe, but upon learning its cause. Count 
 Timascheff was, no doubt, magnanimously coming to the 
 ' rescue of himself and his orderly. 
 
 The wind being adverse, the Dobryna did not make 
 very rapid progress ; but as the weather, in spite of a few 
 clouds, remained calm, and the sea was quite smooth, she 
 was enabled to hold a steady course. It seemed unac- 
 countable that she should not use her engine, as whoever 
 was on board would be naturally impatient to reconnoitre 
 the new island, which must just have come within their 
 view. The probability that suggested itself was that the 
 schooner's fuel was exhausted. 
 
 Servadac took it for granted that the Dobryna was 
 endeavouring to put in. It occurred to him, however, that 
 the count, on discovering an island where he had expected 
 to find the mainland of Africa, would not unlikely be at a 
 loss for a place of anchorage. The yacht was evidently 
 making her way in the direction of the former mouth of 
 the Shelif, and the captain was struck with the idea that 
 he would do well to investigate whether there was any 
 suitable mooring towards which he might signal her. 
 Zephyr and Galette were soon saddled, and in twenty 
 minutes had carried their riders to the western extremity 
 of the island, where they both dismounted and began to 
 explore the coast. 
 
 They were not long in ascertaining that on the farther 
 side of the point there was a small well-sheltered creek 
 of sufficient depth to accommodate a vessel of moderate 
 tonnage. A narrow channel formed a passage through 
 the ridge of rocks that protected it from the open sea, and 
 which, even in the roughest weather, would ensure the 
 calmness of its waters. 
 
 Whilst examining the rocky shore, the captain observed, 
 to his great surprise, long and well-defined rows of seaweed,
 
 "Before we speak one other word, tell me what has happened."
 
 INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED. 57 
 
 which undoubtedly betokened that there had been a very 
 considerable ebb and flow of the waters — a thing unknown 
 in the Mediterranean, where there is scarcely any per- 
 ceptible tide. What, however, seemed most remarkable, 
 was the manifest evidence that ever since the highest flood 
 (which was caused, in all probability, by the proximity of 
 the body of which the huge disc had been so conspicuous 
 on the night of the 31st of December) the phenomenon 
 had been gradually lessening, and in fact was now reduced 
 to the normal limits which had characterized it before the 
 convulsion. 
 
 Without doing more than note the circumstance, 
 Servadac turned his entire attention to the Dobryna, which, 
 now little more than a mile from shore, could not fail to 
 see and understand his signals. Slightly changing her 
 course, she first struck her mainsail, and, in order to facilitate 
 the movements of her helmsman, soon carried nothing but 
 her two topsails, brigantine and jib. After rounding the 
 peak, she steered direct for the channel to which Servadac 
 by his gestures was pointing her, and was not long in 
 entering the creek. As soon as the anchor, imbedded in 
 the sandy bottom, had made good its hold, a boat was 
 lowered. In a few minutes more Count Timascheff had 
 landed on the island. Captain Servadac hastened towards 
 him. 
 
 " First of all, count," he exclaimed impetuously, "before 
 we speak one other word, tell me what has happened." 
 
 The count, v/hose imperturbable composure presented 
 a singular contrast to the French officer's enthusiastic 
 vivacity, made a stiff" bow, and in his Russian accent 
 replied : 
 
 " First of all, permit me to express my surprise at 
 seeing you here. I left you on a continent, and here I 
 have the honour of finding you on an island." 
 
 " I assure you, count, I have never left the place." 
 
 "I am quite aware of it. Captain Servadac, and I now 
 beg to offer you my sincere apologies for failing to keep 
 my appointment with you."
 
 58 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 "Never mind, now," interposed the captain, hastily; 
 " we will talk of that by-and-by. First, tell me what has 
 happened." 
 
 " The very question I was about to put to you, Captain 
 Servadac." 
 
 " Do you mean, then, to say that you know nothing of 
 the cause, and can tell me nothing of the extent, of the 
 catastrophe which has transformed this part of Africa into 
 an island ? " 
 
 " Nothing more than you know yourself," was the 
 count's rejoinder. 
 
 " But surely. Count Timascheff, you can inform me 
 whether upon the northern shore of the Mediterranean " 
 
 "Are you certain that this is the Mediterranean?" 
 asked the count significantly, and added, " I have dis- 
 covered no sign of land." 
 
 The captain stared in silent bewilderment. For some 
 moments he seemed perfectly stupified ; then, recovering 
 himself, he began to overwhelm the count with a torrent of 
 questions. Had he noticed, ever since the ist of January, 
 that the sun had risen in the west .'' Had he noticed that 
 the days had been only six hours long, and that the weight 
 of the atmosphere was so much diminished ? Had he 
 observed that the moon had quite disappeared, and that the 
 earth had been in imminent hazard of running foul of the 
 planet Venus .-' Was he aware, in short, that the entire 
 motions of the terrestrial sphere had undergone a complete 
 modification ? To all these inquiries, the count responded 
 in the afifirmative. He was acquainted with everything 
 that had transpired; but, to Servadac's increasing astonish- 
 ment, he could throw no light upon the cause of any of 
 the phenomena. 
 
 "On the night of the 31st of December," he said, " I 
 was proceeding by sea to our appointed place of meeting 
 when my yacht was suddenly caught on the crest of an 
 enormous wave, and carried to a height which it is beyond 
 my power to estimate. Some mysterious force seemed to 
 have brought about a convulsion of the elements. Our
 
 INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED^ 59 
 
 engine was damaged, nay disabled, and we drifted entirely 
 at the mercy of the terrible hurricane that raged during 
 the succeeding days. That the Dobryna escaped at all is 
 little less than a miracle, and I can only attribute her 
 safety to the fact that she occupied the centre of the vast 
 cyclone, and consequently did not experience much change 
 of position," 
 
 He paused, and added : 
 
 " Your island is the first land we have seen." 
 
 " Then let us put out to sea at once and ascertain the 
 extent of the disaster," cried the captain, eagerly. " You 
 will take me on board, count, will you not ? " 
 
 " My yacht is at your service, sir, even should you 
 require to make a tour round the world." 
 
 "A tour round the Mediterranean will suffice for the 
 present, I think," said the captain, smiling. 
 
 The count shook his head. 
 
 " I am not sure," said he, " but what the tour of the 
 Mediterranean will prove to be the tour of the world." 
 
 Servadac made no reply, but for a time remained silent 
 and absorbed in thought. 
 
 After the silence was broken, they consulted as to what 
 course was best to pursue ; and the plan they proposed 
 was, in the first place, to discover how much of the African 
 coast still remained, and to carry on the tidings of their 
 own experiences to Algiers ; or, in the event of the southern 
 shore having actually disappeared, they would make their 
 way northwards and put themselves in communication 
 with the population on the river-banks of Europe. 
 
 Before starting, it was indispensable that the engine of 
 the Dobryna should be repaired : to sail under canvas only 
 would in contrary winds and rough seas be both tedious 
 and difficult. The stock of coal on board Was adequate 
 for two months' consumption; but as it would at the 
 expiration of that time be exhausted, it was obviously the 
 part of prudence to employ it in reaching a port where 
 fuel could be replenished. 
 
 The damage sustained by the engine proved to be not
 
 60 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 very serious. Some of the boiler-tubes had cracked, 
 allowing the water in consequence to run into the furnace ; 
 but as several spare tubes had been stored in the yacht, 
 these were available to replace the old ones, and in three 
 days after her arrival the Dobryna was again ready to put 
 to sea. 
 
 Servadac employed the interval in making the count 
 acquainted with all he knew about his small domain. They 
 made an entire circuit of the island, and both agreed that 
 it must be beyond the limits of that circumscribed territory 
 that they must seek an explanation of what had so strangely 
 transpired. 
 
 It was on the last day of January that the repairs of 
 the schooner were completed. A slight diminution in the 
 excessively high temperature which had prevailed for the 
 last few weeks, was the only apparent change in the general 
 order of things ; but whether this was to be attributed to 
 any alteration in the earth's orbit was a question which 
 would still require several days to decide. The weather 
 remained fine, and although a few clouds had accumu- 
 lated, and might have caused a trifling fall of the baro- 
 meter, they were not sufficiently threatening to delay the 
 departure of the Dobry^ia. 
 
 Doubts now arose, and some discussion followed, whether 
 or not it was desirable for Ben Zoof to accompany his 
 master. There were various reasons why he should be 
 left behind, not the least important being that the schooner 
 had no accommodation for horses, and the orderly would 
 have found it hard to part with Zephyr, and much more 
 with his own favourite Galette ; besides, it was advisable 
 that there should be some one left to receive any strangers 
 that might possibly arrive, as well as to keep an eye upon 
 the herds of cattle which, in the dubious prospect before 
 them, might prove to be the sole resource of the survivors 
 of the catastrophe. Altogether, taking into ;onsideration 
 that the brave fellow would incur no personal risk by re- 
 maining upon the island, the captain was induced with 
 much reluctance to forego the attendance of his servant,
 
 INQUIRIES UNSATISFIED. 6l 
 
 hoping very shortly to return and to restore him to his 
 country, when he had ascertained the reason of the 
 mysteries in which they were enveloped. 
 
 On the 31st, then, Ben Zoof was "invested with 
 governor's powers," and took an affecting leave of his 
 master, begging him, if chance should carry him near 
 Montmartre, to ascertain whether the beloved " mountain " 
 had been left unmoved. 
 
 Farewell over, the Dobrvna was carefully steered 
 through the creek, and was soon upon the open sea.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA, 
 
 The Dobryna, a strong craft of 200 tons burden, had been 
 built in the famous ship-building yards in the Isle of 
 Wight. Her sea-going qualities were excellent, and would 
 have amply sufficed for a circumnavigation of the globe ; 
 in fact, the ships in which Columbus and Magellan took 
 their voyages across the Atlantic were far inferior both in 
 size and in construction. Her store-compartments were 
 capacious, and carried provisions enough for several months, 
 so that she was quite capable of making the entire circuit 
 of the Mediterranean without any necessity for re-victual- 
 ling. Neither was there any occasion for her to take in 
 fresh ballast at Gourbi Island. The weight of the water 
 had diminished in precisely the same ratio as that of 
 all material objects, consequently the conditions of the 
 schooner's gravity remained undisturbed. 
 
 Count Timaschefif was himself no sailor, but had the 
 greatest confidence in leaving the command of his yacht 
 in the hands of Lieutenant Procope, a man of about thirty 
 years of age, and an excellent seaman. 
 
 Born on the count's estates, the son of a serf who had 
 been emancipated long before the famous edict of the 
 Emperor Alexander, Procope was sincerely attached, by 
 a tie of gratitude as well as of duty and affection, to his 
 patron's service. After an apprenticeship on a merchant 
 ship he had entered the imperial navy, and had already
 
 A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA. 6} 
 
 reached the rank of lieutenant when the count appointed 
 him to the charge of his own private yacht, in which 
 he was accustomed to spend by far the greater part of 
 his time, throughout the winter generally cruising in the 
 Mediterranean, whilst in the summer he visited more 
 northern waters. 
 
 The ship could not have been in better hands. The 
 lieutenant was well informed in many matters outside 
 the pale of his profession, and his attainments were 
 alike creditable to himself and to the liberal friend who 
 had given him his education. He had an excellent crew, 
 consisting of Tiglew the engineer, four sailors named 
 Niegoch, Tolstoy, Etkef, and Panofka, and Mochel the 
 cook. These men, without exception, were all sons of the 
 count's tenants, and so tenaciously, even out at sea, did 
 they cling to their old traditions, that it mattered little to 
 them what physical disorganization ensued, so long as they 
 felt they were sharing the experiences of their lord and 
 master. The late astounding events, however, had ren- 
 dered Procope manifestly uneasy, and not the less so from 
 his consciousness that the count secretly partook of his 
 own anxiety. 
 
 Steam up and canvas spread, the schooner started east- 
 wards. With a favourable wind she would certainly have 
 made eleven knots an hour had not the high waves some- 
 what impeded her progress. Although only a moderate 
 breeze was blowing, the sea was rough, a circumstance to 
 be accounted for only by the diminution in the force of the 
 earth's attraction rendering the liquid particles so buoyant, 
 that by the mere effect of oscillation they were carried to a 
 height that was quite unprecedented. M. Arago has fixed 
 twenty-five or twenty-six feet as the maximum elevation 
 ever attained by the highest waves, and his astonishment 
 would have been very great to see them rising fifty or even 
 sixty feet. Nor did these waves in the usual way par- 
 tially unfurl themselves and rebound against the sides of 
 the vessel ; they might rather be described as long undu- 
 lations carrying the schooner (its weight diminished from
 
 54 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 the same cause as that of the water) alternately to such 
 heights and depths, that if Captain Servadac had been 
 subject to sea-sickness he must have found himself in sorry 
 plight. As the pitching, however, was the result of a long 
 uniform swell, the yacht did not labour much harder than 
 she would against the ordinary short strong waves of thr 
 Mediterranean ; the main inconvenience that was expe- 
 rienced was the diminution in her proper rate of speed. 
 
 For a few miles she followed the line hitherto pre- 
 sumably occupied by the coast of Algeria ; but no land 
 appeared to the south. The changed positions of the 
 planets rendered them of no avail for purposes of nautical 
 observation, nor could Lieutenant Procope calculate his 
 latitude and longitude by the altitude of the sun, as his 
 reckonings would be useless when applied to charts that had 
 been constructed for the old order of things ; but neverthe 
 less, by means of the log, which gave him the rate of pro- 
 gress, and by the compass, which indicated the direction 
 in which they were sailing, he was able to form an estimate 
 of his position that was sufficiently free from error for his 
 immediate need. 
 
 Happily the recent phenomena had no effect upon the 
 compass ; the magnetic needle, which in these regions had 
 pointed about 22° from the north pole, had never deviated 
 in the least — a proof that, although east and west had 
 apparently changed places, north and south continued to 
 retain their normal position as cardinal points. The log 
 and the compass, therefore, were able to be called upon 
 to do the work of the sextant, which had become utterly 
 useless. 
 
 On the first morning of the cruise Lieutenant Procope, 
 who, like most Russians, spoke French fluently, was ex- 
 plaining these peculiarities to Captain Servadac ; the count 
 was present, and the conversation perpetually recurred, as 
 naturally it would, to the phenomena which remained so 
 inexplicable to them all. 
 
 " It is very evident," said the lieutenant, " that ever 
 since the ist of January the earth has been moving in a
 
 A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA. 65 
 
 new orbit, and from some unknown cause has drawn 
 nearer to the sun." 
 
 " No doubt about that," said Servadac ; " and I sup- 
 pose that, having crossed the orbit of Venus, we have a 
 good chance of running into the orbit of Mercury." 
 
 " And finish up by a collision with the sun ! " added 
 the count 
 
 " Terrible destruction ! " exclaimed Servadac, with a 
 shudder. 
 
 " There is no fear of that, Captain Servadac. The earth 
 has undoubtedly entered upon a new orbit, but she is not 
 incurring any probable risk of being precipitated on to 
 the sun." 
 
 " Can you satisfy us of that ? " asked the count. 
 " I can, sir. I can give you a proof which I think you 
 will own is conclusive. If, as you suppose, the earth is 
 being drawn on so as to be precipitated against the sun, 
 the great centre of attraction of our system, it could only 
 be because the centrifugal and centripetal forces that cause 
 the planets to rotate in their several orbits had been en- 
 tirely suspended : in that case, indeed, the earth would 
 rush onwards towards the sun, and in sixty-four days 
 and a half the catastrophe you dread would inevitably 
 happen." 
 
 " And what demonstration do you offer," asked Ser- 
 vadac eagerly, " that it will nof happen ? " 
 
 " Simply this, captain : that since the earth entered 
 her new orbit half the sixty-four days has already elapsed, 
 and yet it is only just recently that she has crossed the 
 orbit of Venu:3, hardly one-third of the distance to be tra- 
 versed to reach the sun." 
 
 The lieutenant paused to allow time for reflection, and 
 added : " Moreover, I have every reason to believe that 
 we are not so near the sun as we have been. The tem- 
 perature has been gradually diminishing ; the heat upon 
 Gourbi Island is not greater nov/ than we might ordinarily 
 expect to find in Algeria in lat. 36*. At the same time, 
 we have the problem still unsolved that the Mediter-
 
 66 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 ranean has evidftntly been transported to the equatorial 
 zone." 
 
 Both the count and the captain expressed themselves 
 reassured by his representations, and observed that they 
 must now do all in their power to discover what had 
 become of the vast continent of Africa, of which they were 
 hitherto failing so completely to find a vestige. 
 
 Twenty-four hours after leaving the island, the Dobryna 
 had passed over the sites where Tenes, Cherchil, Koleah, 
 and Sidi-Feruch once had been, but of these towns not 
 one appeared within range of the telescope. Ocean reigned 
 supreme. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope, however, was absolutely certain 
 that he had not mistaken his direction ; the compass 
 showed that the wind had never shifted from the west, and 
 this, with the rate of speed as estimated by the log, com 
 bined to assure him that at this date, the 2nd of February, 
 the schooner was in lat. ^G" 49' N. and long. 3° 25' E., 
 the very spot which ought to have been occupied by the 
 Algerian capital. But Algiers, like all the other coast- 
 towns, had apparently been absorbed into the bowels of 
 the earth. 
 
 Captain Servadac, with clenched teeth and knitted 
 brow, stood sternly, almost fiercely, regarding the bound- 
 less waste of water. His pulses beat fast as he recalled the 
 friends and comrades with whom he had spent the last 
 few years in that vanished city. All the images of his 
 past life floated upon his memory ; his thoughts sped 
 away to his native France, only to return again to wonder 
 whether the depths of ocean would reveal any traces of 
 the Algerian metropolis. 
 
 " Is it not impossible," he murmured aloud, " that any 
 city should disappear so completely ? Would not the 
 loftiest eminences of the city at least be visible "i Surely 
 some portion of the Casbah must still rise above the waves ? 
 The imperial fort, too, was built upon an elevation of 750 
 feet ; it is incredible that it should be so totally submerged. 
 Unless some vestiges of these are found, I shall begin tc
 
 A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA. 6^ 
 
 suspect that the whole of Africa has been swallowed in 
 some vast abyss." 
 
 Another circumstance was most remarkable. Net a 
 material object of any kind was to be noticed floating on 
 the surface of the water ; not one branch of a tree had 
 been seen drifting by, nor one spar belonging to one of 
 the numerous vessels that a month previously had been 
 moored in the magnificent bay which stretched twelve 
 miles across from Cape Matafuz to Point Pexade. Per- 
 haps the depths might disclose what the surface failed to 
 reveal, and Count Timascheff, anxious that Servadac should 
 have every facility afforded him for solving his doubts, 
 called for the sounding-line. Forthwith, the lead was 
 greased and lowered. To the surprise of all, and especi- 
 ally of Lieutenant Procope, the line indicated a bottom at 
 a nearly uniform depth of from four to five fathoms ; and 
 although the sounding was persevered with continuously 
 for more than two hours over a considerable area, the 
 differences of level were insignificant, not corresponding 
 'in any degree to what would be expected over the site of 
 a city that had been terraced like the seats of an amphi- 
 theatre. Astounding as it seemed, what alternative was 
 left but to suppose that the Algerian capital had been 
 completely levelled by the flood } 
 
 The sea-bottom was composed of neither rock, mud, 
 sand, nor shells ; the sounding-lead brought up nothing 
 but a kind of metallic dust, which glittered with a strange 
 iridescence, and the nature of which it was impossible to 
 determine, as it was totally unlike what had ever been 
 known to be raised from the bed of the Mediterranean. 
 
 " You must see, lieutenant, I should think, that we arc 
 not so near the coast of Algeria as you imagined." 
 
 The lieutenant shook his head. After pondering 
 awhile, he said : 
 
 " If we were farther away I should expect to find a 
 depth of two or three hundred fathoms instead of five 
 fathoms. Five fathoms ! I confess I am puzzled." 
 
 Hereupon Servadac begged the count to give instruo
 
 6S HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 tions for the voyage to be prosecuted towards the south, in 
 order that they might make a more effective search for the 
 coast which so thoroughly eluded their discovery. 
 
 After satisfying himself by a short conference with 
 Lieutenant Procope that the weather would permit such a 
 change of course, the count acceded to the request. South 
 wards, accordingly, the Dobryna's stem was turned. 
 
 P"'or the next thirty-six hours, until the zjth of Febru 
 ary, the sea was examined and explored with the most 
 unflagging perseverance. Its depth remained invariable, 
 still four, or at most five, fathoms ; and although its bottom 
 was assiduously dredged, it was only to prove it barren of 
 marine production of any type. 
 
 The yacht made its way to lat. '^6', and by reference to 
 the charts it was tolerably certain that she was cruising 
 over the site of the Sahel, the ridge that had separated 
 the rich plain of the Mitidja from the sea, and of which 
 the highest peak. Mount Boujereah, had reached an altitude 
 of 1 200 feet ; but even this peak, which might have been 
 expected to emerge like an islet above the surface of the 
 sea, was nowhere to be traced. 
 
 Onwards still steamed the Dobryna, beyond the site of 
 Douera, the principal village of the Sahel ; beyond Bou- 
 farick, where spreading plane-trees had shaded the spacious 
 streets ; beyond Blidah, of which not even the fort (a 
 thousand feet and more higher than Oued-el-Kebir) sur- 
 vived ; — beyond all these, still southwards, until Lieutenant 
 Procope, fearful of venturing farther upon this unknown 
 ocean, entreated that he might be allowed to shift his course 
 to the east, or retrace it to the north ; and it was only 
 upon Servadac's urgent persuasion that he was induced to 
 extend his exploration as far as the mountains of Mouzaia, . 
 the legendary grottoes formerly frequented by the Kabyles, 
 the haunt of lions, hyenas, and jackals, and where gigantic 
 oaks and marvellous bread-fruit trees had flourished in 
 abundance. Surely, it was urged, those lofty summits, 
 which within six weeks had been seen soaring to an 
 altitude of nearly 5000 feet, would be still conspicuous
 
 A SEARCH FOR ALGERIA. 69 
 
 above the waves. But no ; sea and sky were all that the 
 keenest vision could compass, and nothing was to be done 
 but to put about, and return in disappointment towards 
 the north. 
 
 Thus the Dobryna regained the waters of the Mediter- 
 ranean without discovering a trace of the missing province 
 of Algeria.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 AN ISLAND TOMB. 
 
 No longer, then, could there be any doubt as to the annihi- 
 lation of a considerable portion of the colony. Not merely 
 had there been a submersion of the land, but the impres- 
 sion was more and more confirmed that the very bowels 
 of the earth must have yawned and closed again upon a 
 large territory. Of the rocky substratum of the province 
 it became more evident than ever that not a trace re- 
 mained, and a new soil of unknown formation had certainly 
 taken the place of the old sandy sea-bottom. As it 
 altogether transcended the powers of those on board to 
 elucidate the origin of this catastrophe, it was felt to be 
 incumbent on them at least to ascertain its extent. 
 
 After a long and somewhat wavering discussion, it was 
 at length decided that the schooner should take advantage 
 of the favourable wind and weather, and proceed at first 
 towards the east, thus following the outline of what had 
 formerly represented the coast of Africa, until that coast 
 had been lost in boundless sea. 
 
 Not a vestige of it all remained ; from Cape Matafuz 
 to Tunis it had all gone, as though it had never been. The 
 maritime town of Dellis, built like Algiers, amphitheatre- 
 wise, had totally disappeared ; the highest points were 
 quite invisible ; not a trace on the horizon was left of the 
 Jurjura chain, the topmost point of which was known to 
 have an altitude of more than 7000 feet ; and the town of 
 Bougiah, the steep declivities of Gouraya, Mount Adrar,
 
 AN ISLAND TOMR yi 
 
 Didyela ; the mountains of Little Kabylia, the Triton of 
 the ancients, that group of seven headlands, the highest 
 of which had been 3500 feet above the sea ; CoUo, the 
 ancient port of Constantine ; Stora, the modern port of 
 Philippeville, and Bona with its gulf twenty-four miles 
 wide — all had entirely vanished. A similar fate had be- 
 fallen Cape de Garde, Cape Rosa, the mountain ridges 
 of Edough, the sandy flats of the coast, Mafrag, and La 
 Calle, once so famous for its coral fisheries ; but now, 
 although the sounding-line was lowered for well-nigh the 
 hundredth time, it failed to raise a single specimen of 
 those beautiful zoophytes with which the Mediten'anean is 
 known to abound. 
 
 Count Timascheff resolved to hold on his course 
 through the latitudes lately occupied by the coast of Tunis, 
 and to make his way to Cape Blanc, the most northerly 
 point of Africa, where the channel of the sea between the 
 continent and the coast of Sicily being comparatively 
 narrow, might present some characteristics which per- 
 chance would help to solve their dire perplexity. The 
 Dobryna, therefore, having followed the direction of the 
 thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, on the 7th of 
 February crossed the eleventh degree of east longitude. 
 
 The reason that induced the count and his two col- 
 leagues to persevere in their investigations towards the 
 east was that quite recently a long-abandoned project had 
 been revived, and by French influence the new Sahara Sea 
 had been created. This great achievement, which had 
 refilled the Lake Tritonis, that had borne the vessel of the 
 Argonauts, had not only secured to France the monopoly 
 of the traffic between Europe and the Soudan, but had 
 materially improved the climate of the country. From 
 the gulf of Cabcs, in lat. 34' N., a wide channel had been 
 opened for the purpose of giving the waters of the Medi- 
 terranean access to the vast depression which compre- 
 hended the Shotts of Kebir and of Gharsa ; the isthmus 
 existing between an indentation of the Tritonis basin and 
 the sea having been cut asunder, so that the water had
 
 73 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 once again taken possession of the ancient bed, whenc*^, 
 in default of a continuous supply, it had long ago evaporated 
 under the influence of the Libyan sun. 
 
 What had now to be ascertained was whether the 
 restoration of this ancient sea had in any way contributed 
 towards bringing about the new order of things. Was it 
 not possible that the cutting of this new channel had 
 c;.used an irruption of water of which the annihilation of 
 a considerable portion of Africa was the result ? Was it 
 not more than likely that beyond lat 34° the Dobryna 
 might sight the coast of Tripoli, which would surely prove 
 itself an irresistible obstacle to any wider spread of the 
 disaster .■' If, hoAvever, on reaching this point they should 
 find that the sea still stretched away indefinitely to the 
 south, it was Lieutenant Procope's opinion that they would 
 have no alternative but to proceed northwards, and to seek 
 from the shores of Europe a solution of the mystery which 
 seemed to become more and more inexplicable. 
 
 Unsparing of her fuel, the Dobryna made her way at 
 full steam towards Cape Blanc. Neither Cape Negro nor 
 Cape Serrat was to be seen. The town of Bizerta, once 
 charming in its oriental beauty, had vanished utterly ; its 
 marabouts, or temple-tombs, shaded by magnificent palms 
 that fringed the gulf, which by reason of its narrow mouth 
 had the semblance of a lake, all had disappeared, giving 
 place to a vast waste of sea, the transparent waves of 
 which, as still demonstrated by the sounding-line, had ever 
 the same uniform and arid bottom. 
 
 In the course of the day the schooner rounded the point 
 where, five weeks previously. Cape Blanc had been so con- 
 spicuous an object, and she was now stemming the waters 
 of what once had been the Bay of Tunis. But bay there 
 was none, and the town from which it had derived its 
 name, with the Arsenal, the Goletta, and the two peaks of 
 Bou-Kournein, had all vanished from the view. Cape Bon, 
 too, the most northern promontory of Africa and the point 
 of the continent nearest to the island of Sicily, had been 
 included in the sreneral devastation.
 
 AN ISLAND TOMa 73 
 
 Before the occurrence of the recent prodigy, the bottom 
 of the Mediterranean just at this point had formed a 
 sudden ridge across the Straits of Libya. The sides of the 
 ridge had shelved to so great an extent that, while the 
 depth of water on the summit had been little more than 
 eleven fathoms, that on either hand of the elevation was 
 little short of a hundred fathoms. A formation such as 
 this plainly indicated that at some remote epoch Cape Bon 
 had been connected with Cape Furina, the extremity of 
 Sicily, in the same manner as Ceuta has doubtless been 
 connected with Gibraltar. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope was too well acquainted with the 
 Mediterranean to be unaware of this peculiarity, and would 
 not lose the opportunity of ascertaining whether the 
 submarine ridge still existed, or whether the sea-bottom 
 between Sicily and Africa had undergone any modifi- 
 cation. 
 
 Both Timascheflf and Servadac were much interested 
 in watching the operations. At a sign from the lieu- 
 tenant, a sailor who was stationed at the foot of the fore- 
 shrouds dropped the sounding-lead into the water, and in 
 reply to Procope's inquiries, reported — " Five fathoms and 
 a flat bottom." 
 
 The next aim was to determine the amount of depres- 
 sion on either side of the ridge, and for this purpose the 
 Dobryna was shifted for a distance of half a mile both to 
 the right and left, and the soundings taken at each station. 
 " Five fathoms and a flat bottom " was the unvaried 
 announcement after each operation. Not only, therefore, 
 was it evident that the submerged chain between Cape 
 Bon and Cape Furina no longer existed, but it was equally 
 clear that the convulsion had caused a general levelling of 
 the sea-bottom, and that the soil, degenerated, as it has been 
 said, into a metallic dust of unrecognized composition, bore 
 no trace of the sponges, sea-anemones, star-fish, sea-nettles, 
 hydrophytes, and shells with which the submarine rocks of 
 the Mediterranean had hitherto been prodigally clothed. 
 
 The Dobrjna now put about and resumed her explora
 
 74 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 tions in a southerly direction. It remained, however, as 
 remarkable as ever how completely throughout the voyage 
 the sea continued to be deserted ; all expectations of 
 hailing a vessel bearing news from Europe were entirely 
 falsified, so that more and more each member of the 
 crew began to be conscious of his isolation, and to believe 
 that the schooner, like a second Noah's ark, carried the 
 sole survivors of a calamity that had overwhelmed the earth. 
 
 On the 9th of February the Dobryna passed over the 
 site of the city of Dido, the ancient Byrsa — a Carthage, 
 however, which was now more completely destroyed than 
 ever Punic Carthage had been destroyed by Scipio 
 Africanus or Roman Carthage by Hassan the Saracen. 
 
 In the evenmg, as the sun was sinking below the 
 eastern horizon, Captain Servadac was lounging moodily 
 against the taffrail. From the heaven above, where stars 
 kept peeping fitfully from behind the moving clouds, his 
 eye wandered mechanically to the waters below, where the 
 long waves were rising and falling with the evening breeze. 
 
 All at once, his attention was arrested by a luminous 
 speck straight ahead on the southern horizon. At first, 
 imagining that he was the victim of some spectral 
 illusion, he observed it with silent attention ; but when, after 
 some minutes, he became convinced that what he saw was 
 actually a distant light, he appealed to one of the sailors, 
 by whom his impression was fully corroborated. The 
 intelligence was immediately imparted to Count Timascheff 
 and the lieutenant 
 
 "Is it land, do you suppose?" inquired Servadac, eagerly. 
 
 **I should be more inclined to think it is a light on 
 board some ship," replied the count 
 
 "Whatever it is, m another hour we shall know all 
 about it," said Servadac. 
 
 "No, captain," interposed Lieutenant Procope; "we 
 shall know nothing until to-morrow." 
 
 " What ! not bear down upon it at once ? " asked the 
 count in surprise. 
 
 " No, sir ; I should much rather lay to and wait till
 
 AN ISLAND TOMB. 75 
 
 daylight. If we are really near land, I should be afraid to 
 approach it in the dark." 
 
 The count expressed his approval of the lieutenant's 
 caution, and thereupon all sail was shortened so as to keep 
 the Dobryna from making any considerable progress all 
 through the hours of night. Few as those hours were, 
 they seemed to those on board as if their end would 
 never come. Fearful lest the faint glimmer should at any 
 moment cease to be visible. Hector Servadac did not quit 
 his post upon the deck ; but the light continued unchanged. 
 It shone with about the same degree of lustre as a star of 
 the second magnitude, and from the fact of its remaining 
 stationary, Procope became more and more convinced that 
 it was on land and did not belong to a passing vessel. 
 
 At sunrise every telescope was pointed with keenest 
 interest towards the centre of attraction. The light, of 
 course, had ceased to be visible, but in the direction where 
 it had been seen, and at a distance of about ten miles, 
 there was the distinct outline of a solitary island of very 
 small extent; rather, as the count observed, it had the 
 appearance of being the projecting summit of a mountain 
 all but submerged. Whatever it was, it was agreed that its 
 true character must be ascertained, not only to gratify their 
 own curiosity, but for the benefit of all future navigators. 
 The schooner accordingly was steered directly towards 
 it, and in less than an hour had cast anchor within a few 
 cables' length of the shore. 
 
 The little island proved to be nothing more than an 
 arid rock rising abruptly about forty feet above the water. 
 It had no outlying reefs, a circumstance that seemed to 
 suggest the probability that in the recent convulsion it had 
 sunk gradually, until it had reached its present position of 
 equilibrium. 
 
 Without removing his eye from his telescope, Servadac 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " There is a habitation on the place ; I can see an 
 erection of some kind quite distinctly. Who can tell 
 whether we shall not come across a human being ? "
 
 76 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Lieutenant Procope looked doubtful. The island had 
 all the appearance of being deserted, nor did a cannon- 
 shot fired from the schooner have the effect of bringing 
 any resident to the shore. Nevertheless, it was undeniable 
 that there was a stone building situated on the top of the 
 rock, and that this building had much the character of an 
 Arabian marabout. 
 
 The boat was lowered and manned by the four sailors ; 
 Servadac, Timascheff and Procope were quickly rowed 
 ashore, and lost no time in commencing their ascent of 
 the steep acclivity. Upon reaching the summit, they found 
 their progress arrested by a kind of wall, or rampart of 
 singular construction, its materials consisting mainly of 
 vases, fragments of columns, carved bas-reliefs, statues, and 
 portions of broken stelae, all piled promiscuously together 
 without any pretence to artistic arrangement. They made 
 their way into the enclosure, and finding an open door, 
 they passed through and soon came to a second door, also 
 open, which admitted them to the interior of the marabout, 
 consistmg of a single chamber, the walls of which were 
 ornamented in the Arabian style by sculptures of in- 
 different execution. In the centre was a tomb of the verj' 
 simplest kind, and above the tomb was suspended a large 
 silver lamp with a capacious reservoir of oil, in which 
 floated a long lighted wick, the flame of which was 
 evidently the light that had attracted Servadac's attention 
 on the previous night. 
 
 " Must there not have been a custodian of the mara- 
 bout .-• " they mutually asked ; but if such there had ever 
 been, he must, they concluded, either have fled or have 
 perished on that eventful night. Not a soul was there in 
 charge, and the sole living occupants were a flock of wild 
 cormorants which, startled at the entrance of the intruders, 
 rose on wing, and took a rapid flight towards the south. 
 
 An old French prayer-book was lying on the corner of 
 the tomb ; the volume was open, and the page exposed to 
 view was that which contained the office for the celebration 
 of the 25th of August A sudden revelation flashed across
 
 AN ISLAND TOMB. 77 
 
 Servadac's mind. The solemn isolation of the island tomb, 
 the open breviary, the ritual of the ancient anniversary, all 
 combined to apprise him of the sanctity of the spot upon 
 which he stood. 
 
 " The tomb of St. Louis ! " he exclaimed, and his com- 
 panions involuntarily followed his example, and made a 
 reverential obeisance to the venerated monument. 
 
 It was, in truth, the very spot on which tradition asserts 
 that the canonized monarch came to die, a spot to which 
 for six centuries and more his countrymen had paid the 
 homage of a pious regard. The lamp that had been 
 kindled at the memorial shrine of a saint was now in all 
 probability the only beacon that threw a light across the 
 waters of the Mediterranean, and even this ere long must 
 itself expire. 
 
 There was nothing more to explore. The three to- 
 gether quitted the marabout, and descended the rock to the 
 shore, whence their boat re-conveyed them to the schooner, 
 which was soon again on her southward voyage ; and it 
 was not long before the tomb of St. Louis, the only spot 
 that had survived the mysterious shock, was lost to view.
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS, 
 
 As the affrighted cormorants had winged their flight 
 towards the south, there sprang up a sanguine hope on 
 board the schooner that land might be discovered in that 
 direction. Thither, accordingly, it was determined to 
 proceed, and in a few hours after quitting the island of the 
 tomb, the Dobryna was traversing the shallow waters that 
 now covered the peninsula of Dakhul, which had separated 
 the Bay of Tunis from the Gulf of Hammamet. For two 
 days she continued an undeviating course, and after a futile 
 search for the coast of the Sahel of Tunis, reached the 
 latitude of 34°, where the meridian had crossed the Gulf 
 of Cabes , but not a trace could be discerned of the estuary 
 that six weeks before had been the inlet to the channel 
 that had flooded the new Sahara Sea. Far as the eye could 
 reach it was all ocean, stretching away indefinitely. 
 
 However, before that day, the nth of February, had 
 closed in, there suddenly arose the cry of " Land ! " and in 
 the extreme horizon, right ahead, where land had never 
 been before, it was true enough that a shore was distinctly 
 to be seen. What could it be } It could not be the coast 
 of Tripoli ; for not only would that low-lying shore be 
 quite invisible at such a distance, but it was certain, more- 
 over, that it lay two degrees at least still further south. It 
 was soon observed that this newly discovered land was of 
 very irregular elevation, that it extended due east and
 
 AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS. 79 
 
 west across the horizon, thus dividing the gulf into two 
 separate sections and completely concealing the island of 
 Jerba, which must lie behind, and that apparently it had 
 partially filled in the Sahara Sea. Its position was duly 
 traced on the Dobryna's chart. 
 
 "How strange," exclaimed Hector Servadac, "that 
 after sailing all this time over sea where we expected to 
 find land, we have at last come upon land where we thought 
 to find sea!" 
 
 " Strange, indeed," replied Lieutenant Procope ; " and 
 what appears to me almost as remarkable is that we have 
 never once caught sight either of one of the Maltese 
 tartans or one of the Levantine xebecs that traffic so 
 regularly on the Mediterranean." 
 
 " Eastwards or westwards," asked the count — " which 
 shall be our course ? All farther progress to the south is 
 checked." 
 
 " Westwards, by all means," replied Servadac quickly. 
 "I am longing to know whether anything of Algeria is 
 left beyond the Shelif ; besides, as we pass Gourbi Island 
 we might take Ben Zoof on board, and then make away 
 for Gibraltar, where we should be sure to learn something, 
 at least, of European news." 
 
 With his usual air of stately courtesy, Count Timascheff 
 begged the captain to consider the yacht at his own 
 disposal, and desired him to give the lieutenant instruc- 
 tions accordingly. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope, however, hesitated, and after 
 revolving matters for a few moments in his mind, pointed 
 out that as the wind was blowing directly from the west, 
 and seemed likely to increase, if they went to the west in 
 the teeth of the weather, the schooner would be reduced 
 to the use of her engine only, and would have much diffi- 
 culty in making any headway ; on the other hand, by 
 taking an eastward course, not only would they have the 
 advantage of the wind, but, under steam and canvas, might 
 hope in a few days to be off the coast of Egypt, and 
 from Alexandria or some other port they would have
 
 So HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 the same opportunity of getting tidings from Europe as 
 they would at Gibraltar. 
 
 Intensely anxious as he was to revisit the province of 
 Oran, and eager, too, to satisfy himself of the welfare of 
 his faithful Ben Zoof, Servadac could not but own the 
 reasonableness of the lieutenant's objections, and yielded to 
 the proposal that the eastward course should be adopted. 
 The wind gave signs only too threatening of the breeze 
 rising to a gale ; but, fortunately, the waves did not cul- 
 minate in breakers, but rather in a long swell which ran in 
 the same direction as the vessel. 
 
 During the last fortnight the high temperature had been 
 gradually diminishing, until it now reached an average of 
 20" Cent, (or 6S° Fahr.), and sometimes descended as low 
 as 1 5°, That this diminution was to be attributed to the 
 change in the earth's orbit was a question that admitted of 
 little doubt. After approaching so near to the sun as to 
 cross the orbit of Venus, the earth must now have receded 
 so far from the sun that its normal distance of ninety-one 
 millions of miles was greatly increased, and the probability 
 was great that it was approximating to the orbit of Mars, 
 that planet which in its physical constitution most nearly 
 resembles our own. Nor was this supposition suggested 
 merely by the lowering of the temperature ; it was strongly 
 corroborated by the reduction of the apparent diameter of 
 the sun's disc to the precise dimensions which it would 
 assume to an observer actually stationed on the surface of 
 Mars. The necessary inference that seemed to follow from 
 these phenomena was that the earth had been projected 
 into a new orbit, which had the form of a very elongated 
 
 ellipse. 
 
 Very slight, however, in comparison was the regard 
 which these astronomical wonders attracted on board the 
 Dobryna. All interest there was too much absorbed in 
 terrestrial matters, and in ascertaining what changes had 
 taken place in the coniiguration of the earth itself, to 
 permit much attention to be paid to its erratic movement* 
 through space.
 
 The Dolvyiui dashed in between its Perpendicular Walls.
 
 AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS. 8 1 
 
 The schooner kept bravely on her way, but well out to 
 sea, at a distance of two miles from land. There was good 
 need of this precaution, for so precipitous was the shore 
 that a vessel driven upon it must inevitably have gone to 
 pieces ; it did not offer a single harbour of refuge, but, 
 smooth and perpendicular as the walls of a fortress, it rose 
 to a height of two hundred, and occasionally of three 
 hundred feet The waves dashed violently against its base. 
 Upon the general substratum rested a massive conglome- 
 rate, the crystallizations of which rose like a forest of 
 gigantic pyramids and obelisks. 
 
 But what struck the explorers more than anything was 
 the appearance of singular newness that pervaded the 
 whole of the region. It all seemed so recent in its forma- 
 tion that the atmosphere had had no opportunity of pro- 
 ducing its wonted effect in softening the hardness of its 
 lines, in rounding the sharpness of its angles, or in modi- 
 fying the colour of its surface ; its outline was clearly 
 marked against the sky, and its substance, smooth and 
 polished as though fresh from a founder's mould, glittered 
 with the metallic brilliancy that is characteristic of pyrites. 
 It seemed impossible to come to any other conclusion but 
 that the land before them, continent or island, had been 
 upheaved by subterranean forces above the surface of the 
 sea, and that it was mainly composed of the same metallic 
 element as had characterized the dust so frequently uplifted 
 from the bottom. 
 
 The extreme nakedness of the entire tract was likewise 
 very extraordinary. Elsewhere, in various quarters of the 
 globe, there may be sterile rocks, but there are none so 
 adamant as to be altogether unfurrowed by the filaments 
 engendered in the moist residuum of the condensed vapour; 
 elsewhere there may be barren steeps, but none so rigid as 
 not to afford some hold to vegetation, however low and 
 elementary may be its type ; but here all was bare, and 
 blank, and desolate — not a symptom of vitality was visible. 
 
 Such being the condition of the adjacent land, it could 
 hardly be a matter of surprise that all the sea-birds, the 
 
 o
 
 82 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 albatross, the gull, the sea-mew, sought continual refuge on 
 the schooner ; day and night they perched fearlessly upon 
 the yards, the report of a gun failing to dislodge them, and 
 when food of any sort was thrown upon the deck, they 
 would dart down and fight with eager voracity for the 
 prize. Their extreme avidity was recognized as a proof 
 that any land where they could obtain a sustenance must 
 be far remote. 
 
 Onwards thus for several days the Dobryna followed 
 the contour of the inhospitable coast, of which the features 
 would occasionally change, sometimes for two or three 
 miles assuming the form of a simple arris, sharply defined 
 as though cut by a chisel, when suddenly the prismatic 
 lamellae soaring in rugged confusion would again recur; 
 but all along there was the same absence of beach or tract 
 of sand to mark its base, neither were there any of those 
 shoals of rock that are ordinarily found in shallow water. 
 At rare intervals there were some narrow fissures, but not 
 a creek available for a ship to enter to replenish its supply 
 of water ; and the wide roadsteads were unprotected and 
 exposed to well-nigh every point of the compass. 
 
 But after sailing two hundred and forty miles, the pro- 
 gress of the Dobryna was suddenly arrested. Lieutenant 
 Procope, who had sedulously inserted the outline of the 
 newly revealed shore upon the maps, announced that it had 
 ceased to run east and west, and had taken a turn due 
 north, thus forming a barrier to their continuing their 
 previous direction. It was, of course, impossible to conjec- 
 ture how far this barrier extended ; it coincided pretty 
 nearly with the fourteenth meridian of east longitude ; and 
 if it reached, as probably it did, beyond Sicily to Italy, it 
 was certain that the vast basin of the Mediterranean, which 
 had washed the shores alike of Europe, Asia, and Africa, 
 must have been reduced to about half its original area. 
 
 It was resolved to proceed upon the same plan as 
 heretofore, following the boundary of the land at a safe 
 distance. Accordingly, the head of the Dobryna was 
 pointed north, making straight, as it was presumed, for the
 
 AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS. $2 
 
 south of Europe. A hundred miles, or somewhat over, 
 in that direction, and it was to be anticipated she would 
 come in sight of Malta, if only that ancient island, the 
 heritage in succession of Phoenicians, Carthaginians, 
 Sicilians, Romans, Vandals, Greeks, Arabians, and the 
 knights of Rhodes, should still be undestroyed. 
 
 But Malta, too, was gone ; and when, upon the 14th, 
 the sounding-line was dropped upon its site, it was only 
 with the same result so oftentimes obtained before. 
 
 "The devastation is not limited to Africa," observed 
 the count. 
 
 "Assuredly not," assented the lieutenant; adding, "and 
 I confess I am almost in despair whether we shall ever 
 ascertain its limits. To what quarter of Europe, if Europe 
 still exists, do you propose that I should now direct your 
 course ? " 
 
 "To Sicily, Italy, France!" ejaculated Servadac, eagerly 
 — " anywhere where we can learn the truth of what has 
 befallen us." 
 
 " How if we are the sole survivors ? " said the count, 
 gravely. 
 
 Hector Servadac was silent ; his own secret presenti- 
 ment so thoroughly coincided with the doubts expressed 
 by the count, that he refrained from saying another word. 
 
 The coast, without deviation, still tended towards the 
 north, shutting off all communication with the Gulf of 
 Sydra, anciently the Great Syrtes, which had formerly 
 extended as far as Egypt ; and so uninterrupted was its 
 continuity that there remained no longer any access by sea 
 to the shores of Greece or the ports of Turkey, and conse- 
 quently all approach to the southern confines of Russia by 
 way of the Archipelago, the Dardanelles, the Sea of Mar- 
 mora, the Bosphorus, and the Black Sea, was rendered 
 utterly impossible. 
 
 No alternative, therefore, remained than to take a 
 westerly course and to attempt to reach the northern 
 shores of the Mediterranean. On the i6th the Dobryna 
 essayed to start upon her altered way, but it seemed as if
 
 84 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 the elements had conspired to obstruct her progress. A 
 furious tempest arose ; the wind beat dead in the direction 
 of the coast, and the danger incurred by a vessel of a 
 tonnage so light was necessarily very great. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope was extremely uneasy. He took 
 m all sail, struck his topmasts, and resolved to rely entirely 
 on his engine. But the peril seemed only to increase. 
 Enormous waves caught the schooner and carried her up ' 
 to their crests, whence again she was plunged deep into the 
 abysses that they left. The screw failed to keep its hold 
 upon the water, but continually revolved with useless speed 
 in the vacant air ; and thus, although the steam was forced 
 on to the extremest limit consistent with safety, the vessel 
 held her way with the utmost difficulty, and recoiled before 
 the hurricane. 
 
 Still, not a single resort for refuge did the inaccessible 
 shore present. Again and again the lieutenant asked him- 
 self what would become of him and his comrades, even it 
 they should survive the peril of shipwreck, and gain a foot- 
 ing upon the cliff. What resources could they expect to 
 find upon that scene of desolation ? What hope could 
 they entertain that any portion of the old continent still 
 existed beyond that dreary barrier ? 
 
 It was a trying time, but throughout it all the crew 
 behaved with the greatest courage and composure ; confi- 
 dent in the skill of their commander, and in the stability 
 of their ship, they performed their duties with steadiness 
 and unquestioning obedience. 
 
 But neither skill, nor courage, nor obedience could 
 avail ; all was in vain. Despite the strain put upon her 
 engine, the schooner, bare of canvas (for not even the 
 smallest stay-sail could have withstood the violence of 
 the storm), was drifting with terrific speed towards the 
 menacing precipices, which were only a few short miles to 
 leeward. Fully alive to the hopelessness of their situation, 
 the crew were all on deck. 
 
 " All over with us, sir ! " said Procope to the count 
 " I have done everything that man could do ; but our case
 
 AT THE MERCY OF THE WINDS. 85 
 
 is desperate. Nothing short of a miracle can save us now. 
 Within an hour we must go to pieces upon yonder rocks." 
 " Let us, then, commend ourselves to the providence of 
 Him to Whom nothing is impossible," replied the count, in 
 a calm, clear voice that could be distinctly heard by all ; 
 and as he spoke, he reverently uncovered, an example in 
 which he was followed by all the rest. 
 
 The destruction of the vessel seeming thus inevitable. 
 Lieutenant Procope took the best measures he could to 
 insure a few days' supply of food for any who might 
 escape from the wreck and get ashore. He ordered several 
 cases of provisions and kegs of water to be brought on 
 deck, and saw that they were securely lashed to some 
 empty barrels, to make them float after the ship had gone 
 down. 
 
 Less and less grew the distance from the shore, but no 
 creek, no inlet, could be discerned in the towering wall of 
 cliff, which seemed about to topple over and involve them 
 in annihilation. Except a change of wind or, as Procope 
 observed, a supernatural rifting of the rock, nothing could 
 bring deliverance now. 
 
 But the wind did not veer, and in a few minutes more 
 the schooner was hardly three cables' distance from the 
 fatal land. All were aware that their last moment had 
 arrived. Servadac and the count grasped each others' 
 hands for a long farewell ; and, tossed by the tremendous 
 waves, the schooner was on the very point of being hurled 
 upon the cliff, when a ringing shout was heard — 
 
 " Quick, boys, quick ! Hoist the jib, and right the 
 tiller ! " 
 
 Sudden and startling as the unexpected orders were, 
 they were executed as if by magic. 
 
 The lieutenant, who had shouted from the bow, rushed 
 astern and took the helm, and before any one had time to 
 speculate upon the object of his manoeuvres, he shouted 
 again — 
 
 ** Look out ! sharp ! watch the sheets ! " 
 
 An involuntary cry broke forth from all on board. But
 
 86 HECTJR SERVADAC. 
 
 it was no cry of terror. Right ahead was a narrow open- 
 ing in the solid rock ; it was hardly forty feet wide. 
 Whether it was a passage or no, it mattered little ; it was 
 at least a refuge ; and, driven by wind and wave, the 
 Dobryna, under the dexterous guidance of the lieutenant, 
 dashed in between its perpendicular walls. 
 
 Had she not immured herself in a perpetual prison ?
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A ROYAL SALUTE. 
 
 * Then I take your bishop, major," said Colonel Murphy, 
 as he made a move that he had taken since the previous 
 evening to consider. 
 
 " I was afraid you would," replied Major Oliphant, 
 looking intently at the chess-board. 
 
 Such was the way in which a long silence was broken 
 on the morning of the 17th February by the old calendar. 
 
 Another day elapsed before another move was made. 
 It was a protracted game ; it had, in fact, already lasted 
 some months — the players being so deliberate, and so 
 fearful of taking a step without the most mature considera- 
 tion, that even now they were only making the twentieth 
 move. Both of them, moreover, were rigid disciples of 
 the renowned Philidor, who pronounces that to play the 
 pawns well is " the soul of chess ; " and, accordingly, not 
 one pawn had been sacrificed without a most vigorous 
 defence. 
 
 The men who were thus beguiling their leisure were 
 two officers in the British army — Colonel Heneage Finch 
 Murphy and Major Sir John Temple Oliphant. Remark- 
 ably similar in personal appearance, they were hardly less 
 so in personal character. Both of them were about forty 
 years of age ; both of them were tall and fair, with bushy 
 whiskers and moustaches ; both of them were phlegmatic 
 in temperament, and both much addicted to the wearing
 
 88 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 of their uniforms. They were proud of their nationah'ty, 
 and exhibited a manifest disHke, verging upon contempt, 
 of everything foreign. Probably they would have felt no 
 surprise if they had been told that Anglo-Saxons were 
 fashioned out of some specific clay, the properties of which 
 surpassed the investigation of chemical analysis. Without 
 any intentional disparagement they might, in a certain 
 way, be compared to two scarecrows which, though per- 
 fectly harmless in themselves, inspire some measure of 
 respect, and are excellently adapted to protect the territory 
 intrusted to their guardianship. 
 
 English-like, the two officers had made themselves 
 thoroughly at home in the station abroad in which it had 
 been their lot to be quartered. The faculty of colonization 
 seems to be indigenous to the native character ; once let 
 an Englishman plant his national standard on the surface 
 of the moon, and it would not be long before a colony was 
 established round it. 
 
 The officers had a servant, named Kirke, and a com- 
 pany of ten soldiers of the line. This party of thirteen 
 men were apparently the sole survivors of an overwhelming 
 catastrophe, which on the ist of January had transformed 
 an enormous rock, garrisoned with well-nigh two thousand 
 troops, into an insignificant island far out to sea. But 
 although the transformation had been so marvellous, it 
 cannot be said that either Colonel Murphy or Major Oli- 
 phant had made much demonstration of astonishment. 
 
 "This is all very peculiar, Sir John," observed the 
 colonel. 
 
 " Yes, colonel ; very peculiar," replied the major. 
 
 "England will be sure to send for us," said one officer. 
 
 " No doubt she will," answered the other. 
 
 Accordingly, they came to the mutual resolution that 
 they would " stick to their post." 
 
 To say the truth, it would have been a difficult matter 
 for the gallant officers to do otherwise ; they had but 
 one small boat ; therefore, it was well that they made a 
 virtue of necessity, and resigned themselves to patient
 
 A ROYAL SALUTE. 89 
 
 expectation of the British ship which, in due time, would 
 bring relief. 
 
 They had no fear of starvation. Their island was 
 mined with subterranean stores, and these were furnished 
 with supplies more than ample for thirteen men — nay, for 
 thirteen Englishmen — for the next five years at least. Pre- 
 served meat, ale, brandy — all were in abundance ; conse 
 quently, as the men expressed it, they were in this respect 
 " all right." 
 
 Of course, the ph5;-sical changes that had taken place 
 had attracted the notice both of officers and men. But the 
 reversed position of east and west, the diminution of the 
 force of gravity, the altered rotation of the earth, and her 
 projection upon a new orbit, were all things that gave 
 them little concern and no uneasiness ; and when the 
 colonel and the major had replaced the pieces on the 
 board which had been disturbed by the convulsion, any 
 surprise they might have felt at the chess-men losing 
 some portion of their weight was quite forgotten in the 
 satisfaction of seeing them retain their equilibrium. 
 
 One phenomenon, however, did not fail to make its 
 due impression upon the men ; this was the diminution in 
 the length of day and night. Three days after the cata- 
 strophe, Corporal Pim, on behalf of himself and his com- 
 rades, solicited a formal interview with the officers. The 
 request having been granted, Pim, with the nine soldiers, 
 all punctiliously wearing the regimental tunic of scarlet 
 and trousers of invisible green, presented themselves at 
 the door of the colonel's room, where he and his brother- 
 officer were continuing their game. Raising his hand 
 respectfully to his cap, which he wore poised jauntily over 
 his right ear, and scarcely held on by the strap below 
 his unr!>?r lip, iriie corporal waited permission to speak. 
 
 After a lingering survey of the chess-board, the colonei 
 slowly lifted his eyes, and said with official dignity — 
 
 " Well, men, what is it ^ " 
 
 " First of all, sir," replied the corporal, " we want to 
 speak to you about our pay, and then we wish to have a 
 word with the major about our rations."
 
 90 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 **Say on, then," said Colonel Murphy. "What is it 
 about your pay ? " 
 
 " Just this, sir ; as the days are only half as long as they 
 were, we should like to know whether our pay is to be 
 diminished in proportion." 
 
 The colonel was taken somewhat aback, and did not 
 reply immediately, though by some significant nods towards 
 the major, he indicated that he thought the question very 
 reasonable. After a few moments' reflection, he replied — 
 
 " It must, I think, be allowed that your pay was calcu- 
 lated from sunrise to sunrise ; there was no specification of 
 what the interval should be. Your pay will continue as 
 before. England can afford it." 
 
 A buzz of approval burst involuntarily from all the 
 men, but military discipline and the respect due to their 
 officers kept them in check from any boisterous demon- 
 stration of their satisfaction. 
 
 " And now, corporal, what is your business with me ? " 
 asked Major Oliphant. 
 
 "We want to know whether, because the days are only 
 six hours long, we are to have but two meals instead of 
 four .? " 
 
 The officers looked at each other, and by their glances 
 mutually agreed that the corporal was a man of good sound 
 common sense. 
 
 " Eccentricities of nature," said the major, " cannot 
 interfere with military regulations. It is true that there 
 will be but an interval of an hour and an half between 
 them, but the rule stands good — four meals a day. Eng- 
 land is too rich to grudge her soldiers any of her soldiers' 
 due. Yes ; four meals a day." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted the soldiers, unable this time to 
 keep their delight within the bounds of military decorum ; 
 and, turning to the right-about, they marched away, leaving 
 the officers to renew their attention to the all-absorbing 
 game. 
 
 However confident every one upon the island might 
 profess to be that succour would be sent them from their
 
 A ROYAL SALUTE. 9I 
 
 native land — for Britain never abandons any of her sons — 
 it could not be disguised that that succour was somewhat 
 tardy in making its appearance. Many and various were 
 the conjectures to account for the delay. Perhaps England 
 was engrossed with domestic matters, or perhaps she was 
 absorbed in diplomatic difficulties ; * or perchance, more 
 likely than all, Northern Europe had received no tidings of 
 the convulsion that had shattered the south. Some good 
 reason there doubtless was ; but it was undeniable that 
 forty-nine complete days had been registered smce the 
 memorable ist of January, and yet no ship, British or 
 otherwise, had ever been sighted, and although the sea 
 that washed the shores of their island was notoriously one 
 of the most frequented on the face of the globe, it had 
 been uniformly desolate, and untraversed by a single sail. 
 Neither officers nor men, however, permitted themselves to 
 express much surprise or discouragement, but continued 
 their habitual routine ; guard relieved guard, and daily drill 
 was practised with the usual precision. The whole party 
 throve remarkably well upon the liberal provision of the 
 commissariat department, and if the officers failed to show 
 the same tendency to e^nbonpoint which was fast becoming 
 characteristic of the men, it was only because they deemed 
 it due to their rank to curtail any indulgences which might 
 compromise the fit of their uniform. 
 
 On the whole, time passed indifferently well. An 
 Englishman rarely suffers from ennui, and then only in 
 his own country, when required to conform to what he 
 calls " the humbug of society ; " and the two officers, with 
 their similar tastes, ideas, and dispositions, got on together 
 admirably. It is not to be questioned that they were deeply 
 affected by a sense of regret for their lost comrades, and 
 astounded beyond measure at finding themselves the sole 
 survivors of a garrison of 1895 men, but with true British 
 
 • Amongst other suggestions, it was surmised that England, astonished at 
 the success of the Sahara Sea lately formed by Captain Roudaire, and un- 
 willing to be outdone by France, was occupied in a great scheme for the 
 formation of a similar sea in the centre of AustraHtu
 
 92 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 pluck and self-control, they had done nothing more than 
 draw up a report that 1882 names were missing from the 
 muster-roll. 
 
 The island itself, the sole surviving fragment of an 
 enormous pile of rock that had reared itself some 1600 feet 
 above the sea, was not, strictly speaking, the only land that 
 was visible ; for about twelve miles to the south there was 
 another island, apparently the very counterpart of what 
 was now occupied by the Englishmen. It was only natural 
 that this should awaken some interest even in the most 
 imperturbable minds, and there was no doubt that the two 
 officers, during one of the rare intervals when they were 
 not absorbed in their game, had decided that it would be 
 desirable at least to ascertain whether the island was de- 
 serted, or whether it might not be occupied by some others, 
 like themselves, survivors from the general catastrophe. 
 Certain it is that one morning, when the weather was 
 bright and calm, they had embarked alone in the little 
 boat, and been absent for seven or eight hours. Not even 
 to Corporal Pim did they communicate the object of theii 
 excursion, nor say one syllable as to its result, and it could 
 only be inferred from their manner that they were quite 
 satisfied with what they had seen ; and very shortly after- 
 wards Major Oliphant was observed to draw up a lengthy 
 document, v/hich was no sooner finished than it was formally 
 signed and sealed with the seal of the 33rd Regiment It 
 was directed — 
 
 To the First Lord of the Admiralty, 
 
 LondoHy 
 
 and kept in readiness for transmission by the first ship 
 that should hail in sight. But time elapsed, and here 
 was the i8th of February without an opportunity having 
 been afforded for any communication with the Britisli 
 Government. 
 
 At breakfast that morning, the colonel observed to the 
 major that he was under the most decided impression that 
 the i8th of February was a royal anniversary; ai7d he went
 
 A ROYAL SALUTE. 93 
 
 on to say that, although he had received no definite in- 
 structions on the subject, he did not think that the peculiar 
 circumstances under which they found themselves should 
 prevent them from giving the day its due military honours. 
 The major quite concurred ; and it was mutually agreed 
 lliat the occasion must be honoured by a bumper of port, 
 and by a royal salute. Corporal Pim must be sent for. 
 The corporal soon made his appearance, smacking his lips, 
 having, by a ready intuition, found a pretext for a double 
 morning ration of spirits. 
 
 "The 1 8th of February, you know, Pim," said the 
 colonel ; " and we must have a salute of twenty-one 
 guns," 
 
 "Very good," replied Pim, who was a man of few 
 words. 
 
 " And take care that your fellows don't get their arms 
 and legs blown off," added the officer. 
 
 " Very good, sir," said the corporal ; and he made his 
 salute and withdrew. 
 
 Of all the bombs, howitzers, and various species of 
 artillery with which the fortress had been crowded, one 
 solitary piece remained. This was a cumbrous muzzle- 
 loader of 9-inch calibre, and, in default of the smaller 
 ordnance generally employed for the purpose, had to be 
 brought into requisition for the royal salute. 
 
 A sufficient number of charges having been provided, 
 the corporal brought his men to the reduct, whence the 
 gun's mouth projected over a sloping embrasure. The two 
 officers, in cocked hats and full staff" uniform, attended to 
 take charge of the proceedings. The gun was manoeuvred 
 in strict accordance with the rules of " The Artilleryman's 
 Manual, " and the firing commenced. 
 
 Not unmindful of the warning he had received, the 
 corporal was most careful between each discharge to see 
 that every vestige of fire was extinguished, so as to prevent 
 an untimely explosion while the men were reloading ; and 
 accidents, such as so frequently mar public rejoicings 
 were all happily avoided.
 
 94 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 Much to the chagrin of both Colonel Murphy and 
 Major Oliphant, the effect of the salute fell altogether 
 short of their anticipations. The weight of the atmosphere 
 was so reduced that there was comparatively little resist- 
 ance to the explosive force of the gases, liberated at the 
 cannon's mouth, and there was consequently none of the 
 reverberation, like rolling thunder, that ordinarily follows 
 the discharge of heavy artillery. 
 
 Twenty times had the gun been fired, and it was on the 
 point of being loaded for the last time, when the colonel 
 laid his hand upon the arm of the man who had the 
 ramrod. 
 
 " Stop ! " he said ; " we will have a ball this time. Let 
 us put the range of the piece to the test." 
 
 " A good idea ! " replied the major. " Corporal, you 
 hear the orders." 
 
 In quick time an artillery-waggon was on the spot, and 
 the men lifted out a full-sized shot, weighing 200 lbs., 
 which, under ordinary circumstances, the cannon would 
 carry about four miles. It was proposed, by means of 
 telescopes, to note the place where the ball first touched 
 the water, and thus to obtain an approximation sufficiently 
 accurate as to the true range. 
 
 Having been duly charged with powder and ball, the 
 gun was raised to an angle of something under 45", so as 
 to allow proper development to tlie curve that the pro- 
 jectile would make, and, at a signal from the major, the 
 light was applied to the priming. 
 
 " Heavens ! " " By all that's good ! " exclaimed both 
 officers in one breath, as, standing open-mouthed, they 
 hardly knew whether they were to believe the evidence of 
 their own senses. " Is it possible .-• " 
 
 The diminution of the force of attraction at the earth's 
 surface was so considerable that the ball had sped beyond 
 the horizon. 
 
 " Incredible ! " ejaculated the coloncL 
 
 ** Incredible ! " echoed the major. 
 
 • Six miles at least ! " observed the one.
 
 A ROYAL SALUTE. 95 
 
 ** Ay, more than that ! " replied the other. 
 
 Awhile, they gazed at the sea and at each other in 
 mute amazement. But in the midst of their perplexity, 
 what sound was that which startled them ? Was it mere 
 fancy ? Was it the reverberation of the cannon still boom- 
 ing in their ears ? Or was it not truly the report of another 
 a.nd a distant gun in answer to their own ? Attentively and 
 eagerly they listened. Twice, thrice did the sound repeat 
 itself. It was quite distinct. There could be no mistake. 
 
 " I told you so," cried the colonel, triumphantly. " I 
 knew our country would not forsake us ; it is an English 
 ship, no doubt." 
 
 In half an hour two masts were visible above the 
 horizon. 
 
 " See ! Was I not right } Our country was sure to 
 send to our relief Here is the ship." 
 
 " Yes," replied the major ; " sure enough, she has re- 
 sponded to our gun." 
 
 " It is to be hoped," muttered the corporal, " that our 
 ball has done her no damage." 
 
 Before long the hull was full in sight. A long trail of 
 smoke betokened her to be a steamer ; and very soon, by 
 the aid of the glass, it could be ascertained that she was 
 a schooner-yacht, and making straight for the island, A 
 flag at her mast-head fluttered in the breeze, and towards 
 this the two officers, with the keenest attention, respectively 
 adjusted their focus. 
 
 Simultaneously the two telescopes were lowered. The 
 colonel and the major stared at each other in blank astonish- 
 ment 
 
 " Russian ! " they gasped. 
 
 And true it was that the flag that floated at the head 
 of yonder mast was the white ground and blue cross of 
 Russia.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SENSITIVE NATIONALITY. 
 
 When the schooner had approached the island, the Eng- 
 lishmen were able to make out the name '' Dobryna" painted 
 on the aft-board. A sinuous irregularity of the coast had 
 ^rmed a kind of cove, which, though hardly spacious 
 enough for a few fishing-smacks, would afford the yacht 
 a temporary anchorage, so long as the wind did not blow 
 violently from either the west or south. Into this cove the 
 Dobryna was duly signalled, and as soon as she was safely 
 moored, she lowered her four-oar, and Count Timascheflf 
 and Captain Servadac made their way at once to land. 
 
 Colonel Heneage Finch Murphy and Major Sir John 
 Temple Oliphant stood, grave and prim, formally awaiting 
 the arrival of their visitors. Captain Servadac, with the 
 uncontrolled vivacity natural to a Frenchman, was the first 
 to speak. 
 
 " A joyful sight, gentlemen ! " he exclaimed. " It will 
 give us unbounded pleasure to shake hands again with 
 some of our fellow-creatures. You, no doubt, have escaped 
 the same disaster as ourselves." 
 
 But the English officers, neither by word nor gesture, 
 made the slightest acknowledgment of tnis familiar 
 greeting. 
 
 "What news can you give us of France, England, or 
 Russia } " continued Servadac, perfectly unconscious of the 
 stolid rigidity with which his advances were received.
 
 SENSITIVE NATIONALITY. 97 
 
 " We are anxious to hear anything you can tell us. Have 
 you had communications with Europe ? Have you " 
 
 " To whom have we the honour of speaking ? " at last 
 interposed Colonel Murphy, in the coldest and most mea- 
 sured tone, and drawing himself up to his full height 
 
 " Ah ! how stupid ! I forgot," said Servadac, with the 
 slightest possible shrug of the shoulders ; " we have not 
 been introduced." 
 
 Then, with a wave of his hand towards his companion, 
 who meanwhile had exhibited a reserve hardly less than 
 that of the British officers, he said — 
 
 " Allow me to introduce you to Count Wassili Tima- 
 schefif." 
 
 "Major Sir John Temple Oliphant," replied the colonel. 
 
 The Russian and the Englishman mutually exchanged 
 the stiffest of bows. 
 
 " I have the pleasure of introducing Captain Servadac," 
 said the count in his turn. 
 
 " And this is Colonel Heneage Finch Murphy," was the 
 major's grave rejoinder. 
 
 More bows were interchanged and the ceremony brought 
 to its due conclusion. It need hardly be said that the 
 conversation had been carried on in French, a language 
 which is generally known both by Russians and English- 
 men — a circumstance that is probably in some measure to 
 be accounted for by the refusal of Frenchmen to learn 
 either Russian or English. 
 
 The formal preliminaries of etiquette being thus com- 
 plete, there was no longer any obstacle to a freer inter- 
 course. The colonel, signing to his guests to follow, led 
 the way to the apartment occupied jointly by himself and 
 the major, which, although only a kind of casemate 
 hollowed in the rock, nevertheless wore a general air of 
 comfort. Major Oliphant accompanied them, and all four 
 having taken their seats, the conversation was commenced. 
 
 Irritated and disgusted at all the cold formalities. 
 Hector Servadac resolved to leave all the talking to the 
 count ; and he, quite aware that the Englishmen would 
 
 H
 
 98 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 adhere to the fiction that they could be supposed to know 
 nothing that had transpired previous to the introduction 
 felt himself obliged to recapitulate matters from the verj 
 beginning. 
 
 "You must be aware, gentlemen," began the count 
 "that a most singular catastrophe occurred on the ist of 
 January last. Its cause, its limits we have utterly failed to 
 discover, but from the appearance of the island on which 
 we find you here, you have evidently experienced its 
 devastating consequences," 
 
 The Englishmen, in silence, bowed assent. 
 
 " Captain Servadac, who accompanies me," continued 
 the count, " has been most severely tried by the disaster. 
 Engaged as he was in an important mission as a staff-officei 
 in Algeria " 
 
 « 
 
 A French colony, I believe," interposed Major Oli- 
 phant, half shutting his eyes with an expression of supreme 
 indifference. 
 
 Servadac was on the point of making some cutting- 
 retort, but Count Timaschefi", without allowing the inter- 
 ruption to be noticed, calmly continued his narrative — 
 
 " It was near the mouth of the Shelif that a portion of 
 Africa, on that eventful night, was transformed into an island 
 which alone survived ; the rest of the vast continent dis- 
 appeared as completely as if it had never been." 
 
 The announcement seemed by no means startling to 
 the phlegmatic colonel. 
 
 '' Indeed ! " was all he said. 
 
 " And where were you ? " asked Major Oliphant. 
 
 " I was out at sea, cruising in my yacht, hard by; and 
 I look upon it as a miracle, and nothing less, that I anc' 
 my crew escaped with our lives. 
 
 " I congratulate you on your luck," replied the major. 
 
 The count resumed — 
 
 " It was about a month after the great disruption that 
 I was sailing — my engine having sustained some damage in 
 the shock — along the Algerian coast, and had the pleasure 
 of meeting with my previous acquaintance. Captain Ser-
 
 SENSITIVE NATIONALITY. 99 
 
 vadac, who was resident upon the island with his orderly, 
 Ben Zoof." 
 
 " Ben who ? " inquired the major. 
 
 "Zoof! Ben Zoof!" ejaculated Servadac, who could 
 scarcely shout loud enough to relieve his pent-up feelings. 
 
 Ignoring this ebullition of the captain's spleen, the 
 count went on to say — 
 
 " Captain Servadac was naturally most anxious to get 
 what news he could. Accordingly, he left his servant on 
 the island in charge of his horses, and came on board the 
 Dobryna with me. We were quite at a loss to know where 
 we should steer, but decided to direct our course to what 
 previously had been the east, in order that we might, if 
 possible, discover the colony of Algeria; but of Algeria not 
 a trace remained." 
 
 The colonel curled his lip, insinuating only too plainly 
 that to him it was by no means surprising that a French 
 colony should be wanting in the element of stability. 
 Servadac observed the supercilious look, and half rose to 
 his feet, but, smothering his resentment, took his seat again 
 without speaking. 
 
 " The devastation, gentlemen," said the count, who 
 persistently refused to recognize the Frenchman's irritation, 
 " everywhere was terrible and complete. Not only was 
 Algeria lost, but there was no trace of Tunis, except one 
 solitary rock, which was crowned by an ancient tomb of 
 one of the kings of France " 
 
 " Louis the Ninth, I presume," observed the colonel 
 
 ** Saint Louis," blurted out Servadac, savagely. 
 
 Colonel Murphy slightly smiled. 
 
 Proof against all interruption, Count Timascheff, as if 
 he had not heard it, went on without pausing. He related 
 how the schooner had pushed her way onwards to the south, 
 and had reached the Gulf of Cabes ; and how she had 
 ascertained for certain that the Sahara Sea had no longei 
 an existence. 
 
 The smile of disdain again crossed the colonel's face ; 
 he could not conceal his opinion that such a destiny for the 
 work of a Frenchman could be no matter of surprise.
 
 100 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 "Our next discovery," continued the count, "was that 
 a new coast had been upheaved right along in front of the 
 coast of Tripoli, the geological formation of which war 
 altogether strange, and which extended to the north £* ar 
 as the proper place of Malta." 
 
 "And Malta," cried Servadac, unable to control himself 
 any longer; "Malta — town, forts, soldiers, governor, and all 
 — has vanished just like Algeria." 
 
 For a moment a cloud rested upon the colonel's brow, 
 only to give place to an expression of decided incredulity. 
 
 " The statement seems highly incredible," he said. 
 
 "Incredible?" repeated Servadac. "Why is it that you 
 doubt my word ? " 
 
 The captain's rising wrath did not prevent the colonel 
 from replying coolly — 
 
 " Because Malta belongs to England." 
 
 " I can't help that," answered Servadac, sharply ; " it 
 has gone just as utterly as if it had belonged to China." 
 
 Colonel Murphy turned deliberately away from Ser- 
 vadac, and appealed to the count — 
 
 " Do you not think you may have made some error, 
 count, in reckoning the bearings of your yacht .'' " 
 
 "No, colonel, I am quite certain of my reckonings; and 
 not only can I testify that Malta has disappeared, but I 
 can affirm that a large section of the Mediterranean has 
 been closed in by a new continent. After the most 
 anxious investigation, we could discover only one narrow 
 opening in all the coast, and it is by following that little 
 channel that we have made our way hither. England, 
 I fear, has suffered grievously by the late catastrophe. 
 Not only has Malta been entirely lost, but of the Ionian 
 Islands that were under England's protection, there seems 
 to be but little left." 
 
 "Ay, you may depend upon it," said Servadac, break- 
 ing in upon the conversation petulantly, "your grand 
 resident lord high commissioner has not much to con- 
 gratulate himself about in the condition of Corfu." 
 
 The Englishmen were mystified. 
 
 «
 
 SENSITIVE NATIONALITY. 101 
 
 ** Corfu, did you say?" asked Major Oliphant 
 
 "Yes, Corfu ; I said Corfu," replied Servadac, with a 
 sort of malicious triumph. 
 
 The officers were speechless with astonishment 
 
 The silence of bewilderment was broken at length by 
 Count Timaschefif making inquiry whether nothing had 
 been heard from England, either by telegraph or by any 
 passing ship. 
 
 " No," said the colonel ; " not a ship has passed ; and 
 the cable is broken." 
 
 " But do not the Italian telegraphs assist you ? " con- 
 tinued the count 
 
 " Italian I I do not comprehend you. You must mean 
 the Spanish, surely." 
 
 " How ? " demanded Timaschefif. 
 
 "Confound it! " cried the impatient Servadac. "What 
 matters whether it be Spanish or Italian ? Tell us, have 
 you had no communication at all from Europe ? — no news 
 of any sort from London ? " 
 
 " Hitherto, none whatever," replied the colonel ; adding 
 with a stately emphasis, "but we shall be sure to have 
 tidings from England before long." 
 
 " Whether England is still in existence or not, I sup- 
 pose," said Servadac, in a tone of irony. 
 
 The English officers started simultaneously to their 
 feet 
 
 " England in existence V the colonel cried. "England ! 
 Ten times more probable that France " 
 
 " France ! " shouted Servadac in a passion. " France is 
 not an island that can be submerged ; France is an integral 
 portion of a solid continent France, at least, is safe." 
 
 A scene appeared inevitable, and Count Timascheff's 
 efforts to conciliate the excited parties were of small avail. 
 
 " You are at home here," said Servadac, with as much 
 calmness as he could command ; " it will be advisable, I 
 think, for this discussion to be carried on in the open air." 
 
 And hurriedly he left the room. 
 
 Followed immediately by the others, he led the way to
 
 102 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 a level piece of ground, which he considered he might 
 fairly claim as neutral territory. 
 
 '' Now, gentlemen," he began haughtily, " permit me to 
 represent that, in spite of any loss France may have sus- 
 tained in the fate of Algeria, France is ready to answer 
 any provocation that affects her honour. Here I am the 
 representative of my country, and here, on neutral 
 ground " 
 
 "Neutral ground } " objected Colonel Murphy ; "I beg 
 your pardon. This, Captain Servadac, is English territory. 
 Do you not see the English flag .'' " and, as he spoke, he 
 pointed with national pride to the British standard floating 
 over the top of the island. 
 
 " Pshaw ! " cried Servadac, with a contemptuous sneer ; 
 " that flag, you know, has been hoisted but a few short 
 weeks." 
 
 "That flag has floated where it is for ages," asserted 
 the colonel. 
 
 "An imposture!" shouted Servadac, as he stamped 
 with rage. 
 
 Recovering his composure in a degree, he continued — 
 
 " Can you suppose that I am not aware that this island 
 on which we find you is what remains of the Ionian repre- 
 sentative republic, over which you English exercise the 
 right of protection, but have no claim of government ? " 
 
 The colonel and the major looked at each other in 
 amazement. 
 
 Although Count Timascheff secretly sympathized with 
 Servadac, he had carefully refrained from taking part in 
 the dispute ; but he was on the point of interfering, when 
 the colonel, in a greatly subdued tone, begged to be 
 allowed to speak. 
 
 " I begin to apprehend," he said, " that you must be 
 labouring under some strange mistake. There is no room 
 for questioning that the territory here is England's — Eng- 
 land's by right of conquest; ceded to England by the 
 Treaty of Utrecht. Three times, indeed — in 1727, 1779, and 
 1792 — France and Spain have disputed our title, but always
 
 SENSITIVE NATIONALITY. 103 
 
 to no purpose. You are, I assure you, at the present 
 moment, as much on English soil as if you were in 
 London, in the middle of Trafalgar Square." 
 
 It was now the turn of the captain and the count to 
 look surprised. 
 
 " Are we not, then, in Corfu .? " they asked. 
 
 " You are at Gibraltar," replied the colonel. 
 
 Gibraltar ! The word fell like a thunderclap upon their 
 ears. Gibraltar! the western extremity of the Mediter- 
 ranean ! Why, had they not been sailing persistently 
 to the east ? Could they be wrong in imagining that 
 they had reached the Ionian Islands ? What new mystery 
 was this } 
 
 Count TimaschefF was about to proceed with a more 
 rigorous investigation, when the attention of all was 
 arrested by a loud outcry. Turning round, they saw that 
 the crew of the Bobryna was in hot dispute with the 
 English soldiers. A general altercation had arisen from a 
 disagreement between the sailor Panofka and Corporal 
 Pirn. It had transpired that the cannon-ball fired in ex- 
 periment from the island had not only damaged one of the 
 spars of the schooner, but had broken Panofka's pipe, 
 and, moreover, had just grazed his nose, which, for a 
 Russian's, was unusually long. The discussion over this 
 mishap led to mutual recriminations, till the sailors had 
 almost come to blows with the garrison. 
 
 Servadac was just in the mood to take Panofka's part, 
 which drew from Major Oliphant the remark that England 
 could not be held responsible for any accidental injury 
 done by her cannon, and if the Russian's long nose came 
 in the way of the ball, the Russian must submit to the 
 mischance. 
 
 This was too much for Count Timascheff, and having 
 poured out a torrent of angry invective against the English 
 officers, he ordered his crew to embark immediately, 
 
 " We shall meet again," said Servadac, as they pushed 
 off from shore. 
 
 "Whenever you please," was the cool reply.
 
 104 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 The geographical mystery haunted the minds of both the 
 count and the captain, and they felt they could never rest 
 till they had ascertained v/hat had become of their re- 
 spective countries. They were glad to be on board again, 
 that they might resume their voyage of investigation, and 
 in two hours were out of sight of the sole remaining frag- 
 ment of Gibraltar.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope had been left on board in charge 
 of the Dobryna, and on resuming the voyage it was a task 
 of some difficulty to make him understand the fact that 
 had just come to light. Some hours were spent in discus- 
 sion and in attempting to penetrate the mysteries of the 
 situation. 
 
 There were certain things of which they were perfectly 
 certain. They could be under no misapprehension as to the 
 distance they had positively sailed from Gourbi Island 
 towards the east before their further progress was arrested 
 by the unknown shore ; as nearly as possible that was 
 fifteen degrees : the length of the narrow strait by which 
 they had made their way across that land to regain the 
 open sea was about three miles and a half; thence onward 
 to the island, which they had been assured, on evidence that 
 they could not disbelieve, to be upon the site of Gibraltar, 
 was four degrees ; while from Gibraltar to Gourbi Island 
 was seven degrees or but little more. What was it alto- 
 gether } Was it not less than thirty degrees ? In that 
 latitude, the degree of longitude represents eight and 
 forty miles. What, then, did it all amount to "l Indubitably, 
 to less than 1400 miles. So brief a voyage would bring 
 the Dobryna once again to her starting-point, or, in other 
 words, would enable her to complete the circumnavigation 
 of the globe. How changed the condition of things !
 
 I06 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Previously, to sail from Malta to Gibraltar by an eastward 
 course would have involved the passage of the Suez Canal, 
 the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, the Atlantic ; 
 but what had happened now ? Why, Gibraltar had been 
 reached as if it had been just at Corfu, and some three 
 hundred and thirty degrees of the earth's circuit had 
 vanished utterly. 
 
 After allowing for a certain margin of miscalculation, 
 the main fact remained undeniable ; and the necessary 
 inference that Lieutenant Procope drew from the round of 
 the earth being completed in 1400 miles, was that the 
 earth's diameter had been reduced by about fifteen six- 
 teenths of its length. 
 
 " If that be so," observed the count, " it accounts for 
 some of the strange phenomena we witness. If our world 
 has become so insignificant a spheroid, not only has its 
 gravity diminished, but its rotatory speed has been accele- 
 rated ; and this affords an adequate explanation of our 
 days and nights being thus curtailed. But how about the 
 new orbit in which we are moving .'' " 
 
 He paused and pondered, and then looked at Procop* 
 as though awaiting from him some further elucidation c*J 
 the difficulty. 
 
 The lieutenant hesitated. When, in a few moments, he 
 began to speak, Servadac smiled intelligently, anticipating 
 the answer he was about to hear. 
 
 " My conjecture is," said Procope, " that a fragment of 
 considerable magnitude has been detached from the earth ; 
 that it has carried with it an envelope of the earth's atmo- 
 sphere, and that it is now travelling through the solar 
 system in an orbit that does not correspond at all with the 
 proper orbit of the earth." 
 
 The hypothesis was plausible ; but what a multitude of 
 bewildering speculations it entailed ! 
 
 If, in truth, a certain mass had been broken off from 
 the terrestrial sphere, whither would it wend its way ? 
 What would be the measure of the eccentricity of its path ? 
 What would be its period round the sun ? Might it not,
 
 AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA. I07 
 
 like a comet, be carried away into the vast infinity of 
 space ? or, on the other hand, might it not be attracted to 
 the great central source of light and heat, and be absorbed in 
 it ? Did its orbit correspond with the orbit of the ecliptic ? 
 and was there no chance of its ever uniting again with the 
 globe, from which it had been torn off by so sudden and 
 violent a disruption ? 
 
 A thoughtful silence fell upon them all, which Servadac 
 was the first to break. 
 
 " Lieutenant," he said, " your explanation is ingenious, 
 and accounts for many appearances ; but it seems to me 
 that in one point it fails." 
 
 ** How so ? " replied Procope. " To my mind the theory 
 meets all objections." 
 
 " I think not," Servadac answered. " In one point, at 
 least, it appears to me to break down completely." 
 
 " What is that .'' " asked the lieutenant. 
 
 " Stop a moment," said the captain. " Let us see that 
 we understand each other right. Unless I mistake you, 
 your hypothesis is that a fragment of the earth, comprising 
 the Mediterranean and its shores from Gibraltar to Malta, 
 has been developed into a new asteroid, which is started on 
 an independent orbit in the solar regions. Is not that 
 your meaning ? " 
 
 " Precisely so," the lieutenant acquiesced. 
 
 " Well, then," continued Servadac, " it seems to me to 
 be at fault in this respect : it fails, and fails completely, 
 to account for the geological character of the land that we 
 have found now encompassing this sea. Why, if the new 
 land is a fragment of the old — why does it not retain its 
 old formation ? What has become of the granite and the 
 calcareous deposits ? How is it that these should all be 
 changed into a mineral concrete with which we have no 
 acquaintance }" 
 
 No doubt, it was a serious objection ; for, however 
 likely it might be that a mass of the earth on being 
 detached would be eccentric in its movements, there was 
 no probable reason to be alleged why the material of its
 
 I08 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 substance should undergo so complete a change. There 
 was nothing to account for the fertile shores, rich in vege- 
 tation, being transformed into rocks arid and barren 
 beyond precedent. 
 
 The lieutenant felt the difficulty, and owned himself 
 unprepared to give at once an adequate solution ; never- 
 theless, he declined to renounce his theory. He asserted 
 that the arguments in favour of it carried conviction to 
 his mind, and that he entertained no doubt but that, in the 
 course of time, all apparently antagonistic circumstances 
 would be explained so as to become consistent with the 
 view he took. He was careful, however, to make it under- 
 stood that with respect to the original cause of the disrup- 
 tion he had no theory to offer ; and although he knew 
 what expansion might be the result of subterranean forces, 
 he did not venture to say that he considered it sufficient to 
 produce so tremendous an effect. The origin of the cata- 
 strophe was a problem still to be solved. 
 
 " Ah ! well," said Servadac, " I don't know that it 
 matters much where our new little planet comes from, or 
 what it is made of, if only it carries France along with it." 
 
 "And Russia," added the count. 
 
 " And Russia, of course," said Servadac, with a polite 
 bow. 
 
 There was, however, not much room for this sanguine 
 expectation, for if a new asteroid had thus been brought 
 into existence, it must be a sphere of extremely limited 
 dimensions, and there could be little chance that it em- 
 braced more than the merest fraction of either France or 
 Russia. As to England, the total cessation of all tele- 
 graphic communication between her shores and Gibraltar 
 was a virtual proof that England was beyond its compass. 
 
 And what was the true measurement of the new little 
 world ? At Gourbi Island the days and nights were of 
 equal length, and this seemed to indicate that it was 
 situated on the equator ; hence the distance by which the 
 two poles stood apart would be half what had been 
 reckoned would be the distance completed by the Dobryna
 
 AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA. IO9 
 
 in her circuit. That distance had been already estimated 
 to be something under 1400 miles, so that the Arctic Pole 
 of their recently fashioned world must be about 350 miles 
 to the north, and the Antarctic about 350 miles to the 
 south of the island. Compare these calculations with the 
 map, and it is at once apparent that the northernmost 
 limit barely touched the coast of Provence, while the 
 southernmost reached to about lat. 29° N., and fell in the 
 heart of the desert. The practical test of these conclusions 
 would be made by future investigation, but meanwhile the 
 fact appeared very much to strengthen the presumption 
 that, if Lieutenant Procope had not arrived at the whole 
 truth, he had made a considerable advance towards it. 
 
 The weather, ever since the storm that had driven the 
 Dobryna into the creek, had been magnificent. The wind 
 continued favourable, and now under both steam and 
 canvas, she made a rapid progress towards the north, a 
 direction in which she was free to go in consequence of the 
 total disappearance of the Spanish coast, from Gibraltar 
 right away to Alicante. Malaga, Aimeria, Cape Gata, Car- 
 thagena, Cape Palos — all were gone. The sea was rolling 
 over the southern extent of the peninsula, so that the yacht 
 advanced to the latitude of Seville before it sighted any 
 land at all, and then, not shores such as the shores of 
 Andalusia, but a bluff and precipitous cliff, in its geological 
 features resembling exactly the stern and barren rock that 
 she had coasted beyond the site of Malta. Here the sea 
 made a decided indentation on the coast ; it ran up in an 
 acute-angled triangle till its apex coincided with the very 
 spot upon which Madrid had stood. But as hitherto the 
 sea had encroached upon the land, the land in its turn 
 now encroached upon the sea ; for a frowning headland 
 stood out far into the basin of the Mediterranean, and 
 formed a promontory stretching out beyond the proper 
 places of the Balearic Isles, Curiosity was all alive. There 
 was the intensest interest awakened to determine whethei 
 no vestige could be traced of Majorca, Minorca, or any of 
 the group, and it was during a deviation from the direct
 
 no HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 course for the purpose of a more thorough scrutiny, that 
 one of the sailors raised a thrill of general excitement by 
 shouting, " A bottle in the sea ! " 
 
 Here, then, at length was a communication from the 
 outer world. Surely now they would find a document 
 which would throw some light upon all the mysteries that 
 had happened ? Had not the day now dawned that should 
 set their speculations all at rest ? 
 
 It was the morning of the 2ist of February. The 
 count, the captain, the lieutenant, everybody hurried to the 
 forecastle ; the schooner was dexterously put about, and 
 all was eager impatience until the supposed bottle was 
 hauled on deck. 
 
 It was not, however, a bottle ; it proved to be a round 
 leather telescope-case, about a foot long, and the first thing 
 y> do before investigating its contents was to make a care- 
 ful examination of its exterior. The lid was fastened on 
 by wax, and so securely that it would take a long immer- 
 sion before any water could penetrate ; there was no 
 maker's name to be deciphered ; but impressed very plainly 
 with a seal on the wax were the two initials " P. R." 
 
 When the scrutiny of the outside was finished, the wax 
 was removed and the cover opened, and the lieutenant 
 drew out a slip of ruled paper, evidently torn from a 
 common note-book. The paper had an inscription written 
 in four lines, which were remarkable for the profusion of 
 notes of admiration and interrogation with which they 
 were interspersed : — 
 
 ••Gallia??? 
 Ab sole, au 15 fev. dist. 59,cx)o,ooo ], ! 
 Chemin parcouru de janv. a fcv. 82,000,000 LI! 
 Vabenel All right 11 Parfait ! ! ! " 
 
 There was a general sigh of disappointment. They 
 turned the paper over and over, and handed it from one 
 to another. 
 
 " What does it all mean ? " exclaimed the count. 
 
 " Something mysterious here ! " said Servadac " But
 
 Everybody hurried tu the Forecastle.
 
 .1
 
 AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA. Ill 
 
 yet, " he continued, after a pause, " one thing is tolerably 
 certain : on the 15th, six days ago, some one was alive to 
 write it." 
 
 " Yes ; I presume there is no reason to doubt the 
 accuracy of the date," assented the count. 
 
 To this strange conglomeration of French, English, 
 Italian, and Latin, there was no signature attached ; nor 
 was there anything to give a clue as to the locality in 
 which it had been committed to the waves. A telescope- 
 case would probably be the property of some one on board 
 a ship ; and the figures obviously referred to the astro- 
 nomical wonders that had been experienced. 
 
 To these general observations Captain Servadac ob- 
 jected that he thought it unlikely that any one on board a 
 ship would use a telescope-case for this purpose, but would 
 be sure to use a bottle as being more secure ; and, accord- 
 ingly, he should rather be inclined to believe that the 
 message had been set afloat by some savant left alone, 
 perchance, upon some isolated coast. 
 
 " But, however interesting it might be," observed the 
 count, " to know the author of the lines, to us it is of far 
 greater moment to ascertain their meaning." 
 
 And taking up the paper again, he said — 
 
 " Perhaps we might analyze it word by word, and from 
 its detached parts gather some clue to its sense as a whole." 
 
 " What can be the meaning of all that cluster of in- 
 terrogations after Gallia .-' " asked Servadac. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope, who had hitherto not spoken, now 
 broke his silence by saying — 
 
 " I beg, gentlemen, to submit my opinion that this 
 document goes very far to confirm my hypothesis that a 
 fragment of the earth has been precipitated into space." 
 
 Captain Servadac hesitated, and then replied — 
 
 " Even if it does, I do not see how it accounts in the 
 least for the geological character of the new asteroid." 
 
 " But will you allow me for one minute to take my 
 supposition for granted .-' " said Procope. " If a new little 
 planet has been formed, as I imagine, by disintegration
 
 H2 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 from the old, I should conjecture that Gallia is the name 
 assigned to it by the writer of this paper. The very notes 
 of interrogation are significant that he was in doubt what 
 he should write." 
 
 " You would presume that he was a Frenchman ? " 
 asked the count. 
 
 " I should think so," replied the lieutenant. 
 
 " Not much doubt about that," said Servadac ; " it is 
 all in French, except a few scattered words of English, 
 Latin, and Italian, inserted plainly to attract attention. 
 He could not tell into whose hands the message would fall 
 first." 
 
 " Well, then," said Count Timascheff, " we seem to 
 have found a name for the new world we occupy." 
 
 " But what I was going especially to observe," con- 
 tinued the lieutenant, " is that the distance, 59,000,000 
 leagues, represents precisely the distance we ourselves were 
 from the sun on the 15th. It was on that day we crossed 
 the orbit of Mars." 
 
 "Yes, true," assented the others. 
 
 " And the next line," said the lieutenant, after reading 
 it aloud, " apparently registers the distance traversed by 
 Gallia, the new little planet, in her own orbit. Her speed, 
 of course, we know by Kepler's laws, would vary according 
 to her distance from the sun, and if she were — as I conjec- 
 ture from the temperature at that date — on the 15th of 
 January at her perihelion, she would be travelling twice as 
 fast as the earth, which moves at the rate of between 
 50,000 and 60,000 miles an hour." 
 
 " You think, then," said Servadac, with a smile, " you 
 have determined the perihelion of our orbit : but how 
 about the aphelion .'' Can you form a judgment as to what 
 distance we are likely to be carried .-' " 
 
 " You are asking too much," remonstrated the count. 
 
 " I confess," said the lieutenant, " that just at present I 
 am not able to clear away the uncertainty of the future ; 
 but I feel confident that by careful observation at various 
 points we shall arrive at conclusions which not only will
 
 AN ENIGMA FROM THE SEA. II j 
 
 determine our path, but perhaps may clear up the mystery 
 about our geological structure." 
 
 " Allow me to ask," said Count Timascheff, " whether 
 such a new asteroid would not be subject to ordinary 
 mechanical laws, and whether, once started, it would not 
 have an orbit that must be immutable ? " 
 
 "Decidedly it would, so long as it was undisturbed by 
 the attraction of some considerable body ; but we must 
 recollect that, compared to the great planets, Gallia must 
 be almost infinitesimally small, and so might be attracted 
 by a force that is irresistible." 
 
 "Altogether, then," said Servadac, "we seem to have 
 settled it to our entire satisfaction that we must be the 
 population of a young little world called Gallia. Perhaps 
 some day we may have the honour of being registered 
 amongst the minor planets." 
 
 " No chance of that," quickly rejoined Lieutenant 
 Procope. " Those minor planets all are known to rotate in 
 a narrow zone between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; 
 in their perihelia they cannot approximate the sun as we 
 have done ; we shall not be classed with them." 
 
 " Our lack of instruments," said the count, " is much to 
 be deplored ; it baffles our investigations in every way." 
 
 " Ah, never mind ! Keep up your courage, count ! " 
 said Servadac, cheerily. 
 
 And Lieutenant Procope renewed his assurances that 
 he entertained good hopes that every perplexity would 
 soon be solved. 
 
 " I suppose," remarked the count, " that we cannot 
 attribute much importance to the last line — 
 
 *Vabenel All right 1 1 Parfait Hi'*' 
 
 The captain answered — 
 
 " At least, it shows that whoever wrote it had no mur- 
 muring or complaint to make, but was quite content with 
 the new order of things."
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT. 
 
 Almost unconsciously, the voyagers in the Dohryna fell 
 into the habit of using Gallia as the name of the new 
 world in which they became aware they must be making 
 an extraordinary excursion through the realms of space. 
 Nothing, however, was allowed to divert them from their 
 ostensible object of making a survey of the coast of the 
 Mediterranean, and accordingly they persevered in follow- 
 ing that singular boundary which had revealed itself to 
 their extreme astonishment. 
 
 Having rounded the great promontory that had barred 
 her farther progress to the north, the schooner skirted its 
 upper edge until it brought her to the bearings of the city 
 of Barcelona. But that busy port, with all the adjacent 
 coast, had disappeared, and the surf was beating against a 
 barrier of cliffs that seemed to have been upheaved a little 
 in the rear of the old sea-margin, and which, after a con- 
 siderable distance, took a sudden turn and rebutted into 
 the sea close to the proper site of Cape Creus. 
 
 Of Cape Creus, however, there was no vestige left. 
 
 A few more leagues and they ought to be abreast of 
 the shores of France. Yes, of France. 
 
 But who shall describe the feelings of Hector Servadac 
 when, instead of the charming outline of his native land, he 
 beheld nothing but a solid boundary of savage rock } 
 Who shall paint the look of consternation with which he
 
 THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT. IIi^ 
 
 gazed upon the stony rampart — rising perpendicularly for 
 a thousand feet — that had replaced the shores of the 
 smiling south? Who shall reveal the burning anxiety 
 with which he throbbed to see beyond that cruel wall ? 
 
 But there seemed no hope. Onwards and onwards the 
 yacht made her way, and still no sign of France. Cape 
 Beam was not there. Neither Port Vendres, nor the pools 
 of St. Nazaire and Salces, nor any other relic of the 
 Pyr^nees-Orientales could be traced. The picturesque 
 Narbonne, beautiful with its alternate isles and lakelets, 
 was nowhere to be distinguished. Not a vestige of Cette 
 or of Frontignan could be recognized. The arrondisse- 
 ment of Nismes no longer was seen projecting into the 
 waters of the I\Iediterranean. The estuary of the Rhone 
 had disappeared. Martignes was gone. Marseilles gone, 
 too. Was it not to be feared that France itself had been 
 annihilated } 
 
 It might have been supposed that Servadac's previous 
 experiences would have prepared him for the discovery 
 that the catastrophe which had overwhelmed other sites 
 had brought destruction to his own country as well But 
 he had failed to realize how it might extend to France ; 
 and when now he was obliged with his own eyes to witness 
 the waves of ocean rolling over what once had been the 
 lovely shores of Provence, he was well-nigh frantic with 
 desperation. 
 
 " Am I to believe that Gourbi Island, that little shred 
 of Algeria, constitutes all that is left of our glorious France ? 
 No, no ; it cannot be. Not yet have we reached the pole 
 of our new world. There is — there must be — something 
 more behind that frowning rock. Oh, that for a moment 
 we could scale its towering height and look beyond ! By 
 Heaven, I adjure you, let us disembark, and mount the 
 summit and explore ! France lies beyond." 
 
 Disembarkation, however, was an utter impossibility 
 There was no semblance of a creek in which the Dobryna 
 could find an anchorage. There was no outlying ridge on 
 which a footing could be gained. The precipice was
 
 Il6 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 perpendicular as a wall, its topmost height crowned with 
 the same conglomerate of crystallized lamellae that had all 
 along been so pronounced a feature. 
 
 With her steam at high pressure, the yacht made rapid 
 progress towards the east. The weather remained per- 
 fectly fine, the temperature became gradually cooler, so 
 that there was little prospect of vapours accumulating in 
 the atmosphere; and nothing more than a few cirri, almost 
 transparent, veiled here and there the clear azure of the 
 sky. Throughout the day the pale rays of the sun, appa- 
 rently lessened in its magnitude, cast only faint and some- 
 what uncertain shadows ; but at night the stars shone with 
 surpassing brilliancy. Of the planets, some, it was ob- 
 served, seemed to be fading away in remote distance. This 
 was the case with Mars, Venus, and that unknown orb 
 which was moving in the orbit of the minor planets ; but 
 Jupiter, on the other hand, had assumed splendid propor- 
 tions ; Saturn was superb in its lustre, and Uranus, which 
 hitherto had been imperceptible without a telescope, was 
 pointed out by Lieutenant Procope, plainly visible to the 
 naked eye. The inference was irresistible that Gallia was 
 receding from the sun, and travelling far away across the 
 planetary regions. 
 
 On the 24th of Februaiy, after following the sinuous 
 course of what before the date of the convulsion had been 
 the coast line of the department of Var, and after a 
 fruitless search for Hyeres, the peninsula of St. Tropez, the 
 Lerius Islands, and the gulfs of Cannes and Jouar, the 
 Dobryna arrived upon the site of the Cape of Antibes. 
 
 Here, quite unexpectedly, the explorers made the dis- 
 covery that the massive wall of cliff had been rent from the 
 top to the bottom by a narrow rift, like the dry bed of a 
 mountain torrent, and at the base of the opening, level 
 with the sea, was a little strand upon which there was jusf 
 space enough for their boat to be hauled up. 
 
 "Joy! joy!" shouted Servadac, half beside himself 
 with ecstasy ; " we can^ land at last ! " 
 
 Count Timascheff and the lieutenant were scarcely less
 
 THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT. 1 17 
 
 impatient than the captain, and little needed his urgent 
 and repeated solicitations — 
 
 " Come on ! Quick ! Come on ! no time to lose ! " 
 
 It was half-past seven a.m. when they set their foot 
 upon this untried land. The bit of strand was only a few 
 square yards in area, quite a narrow strip. Upon it might 
 have been recognized some fragments of that agglutination 
 of yellow limestone which is characteristic of the coast of 
 Provence. But the whole party was far too eager to wait 
 and examine these remnants of the ancient shore ; they 
 hurried on to scale the heights. 
 
 The narrow ravine was not only perfectly dry, but 
 manifestly had never been the bed of any mountain torrent. 
 The rocks that rested at the bottom — ^just as those which 
 formed its sides — were of the same lamellous formation as 
 the entire coast, and had not hitherto been subject to the 
 disaggregation which the lapse of time never fails to work. 
 A skilled geologist would probably have been able to assign 
 them their proper scientific classification, but neither 
 Servadac, Timascheff, nor the lieutenant could pretend 
 to any acquaintance with their specific character. 
 
 Although, however, the bottom of the chasm had never 
 as yet been the channel of a stream, indications were not 
 wanting that at some future time it would be the natural 
 outlet of accumulated waters; for already, in many places, 
 thin layers of snow were glittering upon the surface of the 
 fractured rocks, and the higher the elevation that was 
 gained, the more these layers were found to increase in 
 area and in depth. 
 
 " Here is a trace of fresh water, the first that Gallia has 
 exhibited," said the count to his companions, as they toiled 
 up the precipitous path. 
 
 "And probably," replied the lieutenant, "as we ascend 
 we shall find not only snow but ice. We must suppose 
 this Gallia of ours to be a sphere, and if it is so, we must 
 now be very close to her Arctic regions ; it is true that hei 
 axis is not so much inclined as to prolong day and nighi 
 as at the poles of the earth, but the rays of the sun uuis'
 
 il8 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 reach us here only very obliquely, and the cold, in all likeli- 
 hood, will be intense." 
 
 " So cold, do you think " asked Servadac, " that animal 
 life must be extinct ? " 
 
 " I do not say that, captain," answered the lieutenant ; 
 ** for, however far our little world may be removed from the 
 sun, I do not see why its temperature should fall below 
 what prevails in those outlying regions beyond our system 
 where sky and air are not." 
 
 " And what temperature may that be ? " inquired the 
 captain with a shudder. 
 
 " Fourier estimates that even in those vast unfathom- 
 able tracts the temperature never descends lower than 
 60°," said Procope. 
 
 " Sixty ! Sixty degrees below zero ! " cried the count. 
 "Why, there's not a Russian could endure it !" 
 
 " I beg your pardon, count. It is placed on record 
 that the English have survived it, or something quite ap- 
 proximate, upon their Arctic expeditions. When Captain 
 Parry was on Melville Island, he knew the thermometer to 
 fall to 56°." 
 
 As the explorers advanced, they seemed glad to pause 
 from time to time, that they might recover their breath ; 
 for the air, becoming more and more rarefied, made respira- 
 tion somewhat difficult and the ascent fatiguing. Before 
 they had reached an altitude of 600 feet they noticed a 
 sensible diminution of the temperature ; but neither cold 
 nor fatigue deterred them, and they were resolved to per- 
 severe. Fortunately, the deep striae or furrows in the sur- 
 face of the rocks that made the bottom of the ravine 
 in some degree facilitated their progress, but it was not 
 until they had been toiling up for two hours more that they 
 succeeded in reaching the summit of the cliff. 
 
 Eagerly and anxiously did they look around. To the 
 sDuth there was nothing but the sea they had traversed ; 
 to the north, nothing but one drear, inhospitable stretch. 
 
 Servadac could not suppress a cry of dismay. Where 
 was his beloved France ? Had he gained this arduous
 
 THE RESIDUUM OF A CONTINENT. IIQ 
 
 height only to behold the rocks carpeted with ice and 
 snow, and reaching interminably to the far-off horizon ? 
 His heart sank within him. 
 
 The whole region appeared to consist of nothing but 
 the same strange, uniform mineral conglomerate, crystallized 
 into regular hexagonal prisms. But whatever was its 
 geological character, it was only too evident that it had 
 entirely replaced the former soil, so that not a vestige of 
 the old continent of Europe could be discerned. The 
 lovely scenery of Provence, with the grace of its rich and 
 undulating landscape ; its gardens of citrons and oranges 
 rising tier upon tier from the deep red soil ; its long 
 avenues of pepper-plants, mimosas, palm-trees, and euca- 
 lyptus ; its bowers of clambering geraniums, interspersed 
 with glowing gladioli and crowned with the clustering 
 yuccas ; its rocks upon the shore, oxydized with the most 
 radiant of tints ; and the mountains in the background, 
 clad in their vesture of dark conifers — all, all had vanished. 
 Of the vegetable kingdom, there was not a single repre- 
 sentative ; the most meagre of Arctic plants, the most 
 insignificant of lichens, could obtain no hold upon that 
 stony waste. Nor did the animal world assert the feeblest 
 sway ; no petrel, puffin, or guillemot could find a meal 
 upon that wide expanse of arid rock. The mineral king- 
 dom reigned supreme. 
 
 Captain Servadac's deep dejection was in strange con- 
 trast to his general hilarity. Silent and tearful, he stood 
 . upon an ice-bound rock, straining his eyes across the 
 boundless vista of the mysterious territory. 
 
 "It cannot be!" he exclaimed. "We must somehow 
 have mistaken our bearings. True, we have encountered 
 this barrier ; but France is there beyond ! Yes, France is 
 there! Come, count, come! By all that's pitiful, I entreat 
 you, come, and explore the farthest verge of the ice-bound 
 track ! " 
 
 He pushed onwards along the rugged surface of the 
 rock, but had not proceeded far before he came to a sudden 
 pause. His foot had come in contact with something hard
 
 120 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 beneath the snow, and, stooping down, he picked up a little 
 block of stony substance, wliich the first glance revealed 
 to be of a geological character altogether alien to the 
 universal rocks around. It proved to be a fragment of 
 discoloured marble, on which several letters were inscribed, 
 of which the only part at all decipherable was the syllable 
 " Vil." 
 
 " Vil — ^Villa ! " he cried out, in his excitement dropping 
 the marble, which was broken into atoms by the fall. 
 
 What else could this fragment be but the sole surviving 
 remnant of some sumptuous mansion that once had stood 
 on this unrivalled site ? Was it not the residue of some 
 edifice that had crowned the luxuriant headland of 
 Antibes, overlooking Nice, and commanding the gorgeous 
 panorama that embraced the Maritime Alps and reached 
 beyond Monaco and Mentone to the Italian height of 
 Bordighera ? And did it not give in its sad and too con- 
 vincing testimony that Antibes itself had been involved in 
 the great destruction ? 
 
 Servadac gazed upon the shattered marble, pensive and 
 disheartened. 
 
 Count Timaschefif laid his hand kindly on the captain's 
 shoulder, and said — 
 
 " My friend, do you not remember the motto of the old 
 Hope family?" 
 
 He shook his head mournfully. 
 
 "Orbefracto, spes illcBsa," continued the count — "Though 
 the world be shattered, hope is unimpaired." 
 
 Servadac smiled faintly, and replied that he felt rather 
 compelled to take up the despairing cry of Dante— 
 
 "All hope abandon, ye who enter here." 
 
 * Nay, not so," answered the count ; " for the present 
 at least, let our maxim be Nil desperandum I **
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A SECOND ENIGMA. 
 
 Upon re-embarking, the bewildered explorers began to 
 discuss the question whether it would not now be desirable 
 to make their way back to Gourbi Island, which was 
 apparently the only spot in their new world from which 
 they could hope to derive their future sustenance. Captain 
 Servadac tried to console himself with the reflection that 
 Gourbi Island was, after all, a fragment of a French 
 colony, and as such almost like a bit of his dear France ; 
 and the plan of returning thither was on the point of being 
 adopted, when Lieutenant Procope remarked that they 
 ought to remember that they had not hitherto made an 
 entire circuit of the new shores of the sea on which they 
 were sailing. 
 
 " We have," he said, " neither investigated the northern 
 shore from the site of Cape Antibes to the strait that 
 brought us to Gibraltar, nor have we followed the southern 
 shore that stretches from the strait to the Gulf of Cabes. 
 It is the old coast, and not the new, that we have been 
 tracing : as yet, we cannot say positively that there is no 
 outlet to the south ; as yet, we cannot assert that no oasis 
 of the African desert has escaped the catastrophe. Per- 
 haps, even here in the north, we may find that Italy and 
 Sicily and the larger islands of the Mediterranean may 
 still maintain their existence."
 
 122 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 " I entirely concur with you," said Count Timascheff. 
 " I quite think we ought to make our survey of the con- 
 fines of this new basin as complete as possible before we 
 withdraw." 
 
 Servadac, although he acknowledged the justness of 
 these observations, could not help pleading that the ex- 
 plorations might be deferred until after a visit had been 
 paid to Gourbi Island. 
 
 " Depend upon it, captain, you are mistaken," replied 
 the lieutenant ; "the right thing to do is to use the Dobryna 
 while she is available." 
 
 "Available ! What do you mean } " asked the count, 
 somewhat taken by surprise. 
 
 " I mean," said Procope, " that the farther this Gallia 
 of ours recedes from the sun, the lower the temperature will 
 fall. It is likely enough, I think, that before long the sea 
 will be frozen over, and navigation will be impossible. 
 Already you have learned something of the difficulties of 
 traversing a field of ice, and I am sure, therefore, you will 
 acquiesce in my wish to continue our explorations while 
 the water is still open." 
 
 " No doubt you are right, lieutenant," said the count. 
 " We will continue our search while we can for some 
 remaining fragment of Europe. Who shall tell whether 
 we may not meet with some more survivors from the 
 catastrophe, to whom it might be in our power to afford 
 assistance, before we go into our winter quarters } " 
 
 Generous and altogether unselfish as this sentiment 
 really was, it was obviously to the general interest that 
 they should become acquainted, and if possible establish 
 friendly relations, with any human inhabitant who might 
 be sharing their own strange destiny in being rolled away 
 upon a new planet into the infinitude of space. All 
 difference of race, all distinction of nationality, must be 
 merged into the one thought that, few as they were, they 
 were the sole surviving representatives of a world which it 
 seemed exceedingly improbable that they would ever see 
 again ; and common sense dictated that they were bound
 
 A SECOND ENIGMA. 123 
 
 to direct all their energies to insure that their asteroid 
 should at least have a united and sympathizing population. 
 
 It was on the 25th of February that the yacht left the 
 little creek in which she had taken refuge, and setting off 
 at full steam eastwards, she continued her way along the 
 northern shore. A brisk breeze tended to increase the 
 keenness of the temperature, the thermometer being, on an 
 average, about two degrees below zero. Salt water freezes 
 only at a lower temperature than fresh ; the course of the 
 Dobryna was therefore unimpeded by ice, but it could not 
 be concealed that there was the greatest necessity to 
 maintain the utmost possible speed. 
 
 The nights continued lovely ; the chilled condition of 
 the atmosphere prevented the formation of clouds ; the 
 constellations gleamed forth with unsullied lustre ; and, 
 much as Lieutenant Procope, from nautical considerations, 
 might regret the absence of the moon, he could not do 
 otherwise than own that the magnificent nights of Gallia 
 were such as must awaken the enthusiasm of an astronomer. 
 And, as if to compensate for the loss of the moonlight, the 
 heavens were illuminated by a superb shower of falling 
 stars, far exceeding, both in number and in brilliancy, the 
 phenomena which are commonly distinguished as the 
 August and November meteors ; in fact, Gallia was passing 
 through that meteoric ring which is known to lie exterior 
 to the earth's orbit, but almost concentric with it. The 
 luminous bodies seemed to radiate from Algol, in the con- 
 stellation of Perseus, and the friction of the atmosphere 
 enveloping the planetoid not only somewhat arrested the 
 velocity with which they were travelling, but caused them 
 to glow with an intenser lustre that was truly marvellous. 
 During the memorable star-shower of 1S33, Ohnsted esti- 
 mated that, at Boston, as many as 34,000 of these meteors 
 darted across the firmament, but on this occasion it may 
 safely be affirmed that there was at least ten times that 
 number. No display of fireworks, even of the elaborate 
 rockets devised by the master-hand of a Ruggieri or a 
 Brock, could compare with the gorgeous spectacle. The
 
 124 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 rocky coast, its metallic surface reflecting the glow of the 
 dazzling luminaries, appeared literally stippled with light, 
 whilst the sea, as though spattered with burning hailstones, 
 shone with a phosphorescence that was perfectly splendid. 
 So great, however, was the speed at which Gallia was 
 receding from the sun, that this meteoric storm lasted 
 scarcely more than four and twenty hours. 
 
 Next day the direct progress of the Dobryna was 
 arrested by a long projection of land, which obliged 
 her to turn southwards, until she reached what formerly 
 would have been the southern extremity of Corsica. Of 
 this, however, there was now no trace ; the Strait of Boni- 
 facio had been replaced by a vast expanse of water, which 
 had at first all the appearance of being utterly desert ; but 
 on the following morning the explorers unexpectedly 
 sighted a little island, which (unless it should prove, as 
 was only too likely, to be of recent origin) they concluded, 
 from its situation, must be a portion of the northernmost 
 territory of Sardinia. 
 
 The Dobryna approached the land as nearly as was 
 prudent, the boat was lowered, and in a few minutes the 
 count and Servadac had landed upon the islet, which was 
 a mere plot of meadow land, not much more than two 
 acres in extent, dotted here and there with a few myrtle- 
 bushes and lentisks, interspersed with some ancient olives. 
 Having ascertained, as they imagined, that the spot was 
 devoid of living creature, they were on the point of return- 
 ing to their boat, when their attention was arrested by a 
 faint bleating, and immediately afterwards a solitary she- 
 goat came bounding towards the shore. The creature had 
 dark, almost black hair, and small curved horns, and was a 
 specimen of that domestic breed which, with considerable 
 justice, has gained for itself the title of " the poor man's 
 cow." So far from being alarmed at the presence of 
 strangers, the goat ran nimbly towards them, and then, by 
 its movements and plaintive cries, seemed to be enticing 
 them to follow it 
 
 " Come," said Servadac ; " let us see where it will lead 
 us ; it is more than probable it {?■ not alone."
 
 A SECOND ENIGMA. 125 
 
 The count agreed; and the animal, as if comprehending 
 what was said, trotted on gently for about a hundred 
 paces, and stopped in front of a kind of cave or burrow that 
 was half concealed by a grove of lentisks. Here a little 
 girl, seven or eight years of age, with rich brown hair and 
 lustrous dark eyes, beautiful as one of Murillo's angels, 
 was peeping shyly through the branches. Apparently 
 discovering nothing in the aspect of the strangers to excite 
 her apprehensions, the child suddenly gained confidence, 
 darted forwards with outstretched hands, and in a voice 
 soft and melodious as the language which she spoke, said 
 in Italian : 
 
 ** I like you ; you will not hurt me, will you ? '* 
 
 " Hurt you, my child ? " answered Servadac. " No, 
 indeed ; we will be your friends ; we will take care of you." 
 
 And after a few moments' scrutiny of the pretty 
 maiden, he added : 
 
 " Tell us vour name, little one.'* 
 
 " Nina ! " was the child's reply. 
 
 ** Well, then, Nina, can you tell us where we are ? ** 
 
 "At Madalena, I think," said the little girl ; " at least, 
 I know I was there when that dreadful shock came and 
 altered everything." 
 
 The count knew that Madalena was close to Caprera, 
 to the north of Sardinia, which had entirely disappeared 
 in the disaster. By dint of a series of questions, he gained 
 from the child a very intelligent account of her experiences. 
 She told him that she had no parents, and had been 
 employed in taking care of a flock of goats belonging to 
 one of the landowners, when one day, all of a sudden, 
 everything around her, except this little piece of land, had 
 been swallowed up, and that she and Marzy, her pet goat, 
 had been left quite alone. She went on to say that at first 
 she had been very frightened ; but when she found that the 
 earth did not shake any more, she had thanked the great 
 God, and had soon made herself very happy living with 
 Marzy. She had enough food, she said, and had been 
 waiting for a boat to fetch her, and now a boat had come
 
 126 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 and she was quite ready to go away ; only they must let 
 her goat go with her : they would both like so much to 
 get back to the old farm. 
 
 " Here, at least, is one nice little inhabitant of Gallia," 
 said Captain Servadac, as he caressed the child and con- 
 ducted her to the boat. 
 
 Half an hour later, both Nina and Marzy were safely 
 quartered on board the yacht. It is needless to say that 
 they received the heartiest of welcomes. The Russian 
 sailors, ever superstitious, seemed almost to regard the 
 coming of the child as the appearance of an angel ; and, in- 
 credible as it may seem, more than one of them wondered 
 whether she had wings, and amongst themselves they com- 
 monly referred to her as " the little Madonna." 
 
 Soon out of sight of Madalena, the Dobryna for some 
 hours held a south-easterly course along the shore, which 
 here was fifty leagues in advance of the former coast-line 
 of Italy, demonstrating that a new continent must have 
 been formed, substituted as it were for the old peninsula, 
 of which not a vestige could be identified. At a latitude 
 corresponding with the latitude of Rome, the sea took the 
 form of a deep gulf, extending back far beyond the site of 
 the Eternal City; the coast making a wide sweep round 
 to the former position of Calabria, and jutting far beyond 
 the outline of " the boot," which Italy resembles. But the 
 beacon of Messina was not to be discerned ; no trace, in- 
 deed, survived of any portion of Sicily ; the very peak of 
 Etna, 1 1,000 feet as it had reared itself above the level 
 of the sea, had vanished utterly. 
 
 Another sixty leagues to the south, and the Dobiyna 
 sighted the entrance of the strait which had afforded her 
 so providential a refuge from the tempest, and had con- 
 ducted her to the fragmentary relic of Gibraltar. Hence 
 to the Gulf of Cabes had been already explored, and as it 
 was universally allowed that it was unnecessary to renew 
 the search in that direction, the lieutenant started off in a 
 transverse course, towards a point hitherto uninvestigated. 
 That point was reached on the 3rd of March, and thence
 
 A SECOND ENIGMA. I27 
 
 the coast was continuously followed, as it led through what 
 had been Tunis, across the province of Constantine, away 
 to the oasis of Ziban ; where, taking a sharp turn, it first 
 reached a latitude of ^2°, and then returned again, thus 
 forming a sort of irregular gulf, enclosed by the same 
 unvarying border of mineral concrete. This colossal 
 boundary then stretched away for nearly 150 leagues over 
 the Sahara desert, and, extending to the south of Gourbi 
 Island, occupied what, if Morocco had still existed, would 
 have been its natural frontier. 
 
 Adapting her course to these deviations of the coast- 
 line, the Dobryna was steering northwards, and had barely 
 reached the limit of the bay, when the attention of all on 
 board was arrested by the phenomenon of a volcano, at 
 least 3000 feet high, its crater crowned with smoke, which 
 occasionally was streaked by tongues of flame. 
 
 " A burning mountain ! " they exclaimed. 
 
 " Gallia, then, has some internal heat," said Servadac. 
 
 " And why not, captain } " rejoined the lieutenant. " If 
 our asteroid has carried with it a portion of the old earth's 
 atmosphere, why should it not likewise retain something of 
 its central fire ? " 
 
 " Ah, well ! " said the captain, shrugging his shoulders, 
 " I dare say there is caloric enough in our little world to 
 supply the wants of its population." 
 
 Count Timaschefif interrupted the silence that followed 
 this conversation by saying : 
 
 "And now, gentlemen, as our course has brought us 
 on our way once more towards Gibraltar, what do you say 
 to our renewing our acquaintance with the Englishmen ? 
 They will be interested in the result of our voyage," 
 
 " For my part," said Servadac, " I have no desire that 
 way. They know where to find Gourbi Island ; they can 
 betake themselves thither just when they please. They 
 have plenty of provisions. If the water freezes, 120 
 leagues is no very great distance. The reception they 
 gave us was not so cordial that we need put ourselves 
 out of the way to repeat our visit."
 
 128 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 ** What you say is too true," replied the count. " I hope 
 we shall show them better manners when they condescend 
 to visit us." 
 
 " Ay," said Servadac, " we must remember that we are 
 all one people now ; no longer Russian, French, or English. 
 Nationality is extinct." 
 
 " I am sadly afraid, however," continued the couni, 
 " that an Englishman will be an Englishman ever." 
 
 " Yes," said the captain, " that is always their failing." 
 
 And thus all further thought of making their way again 
 to the little garrison of Gibraltar was abandoned. 
 
 But even if their spirit of courtesy had disposed them to 
 renew their acquaintance with the British officers, there 
 were two circumstances that just then would have rendered 
 such a proposal very unadvisable. In the first place, 
 Lieutenant Procope was convinced that it could not be 
 much longer now before the sea would be entirely frozen ; 
 and, besides this, the consumption of their coal, through the 
 speed they had maintained, had been so great that there 
 was only too much reason to fear that fuel would fail 
 them. Anyhow, the strictest economy was necessary, and 
 it was accordingly resolved that the voyage should not be 
 much prolonged. Beyond the volcanic peak, moreover, 
 the waters seemed to expand into a boundless ocean, and 
 it might be a thing full of risk to be frozen up while the 
 yacht was so inadequately provisioned. Taking all these 
 things into account, it was agreed that further investi- 
 gations should be deferred to a more favourable season, 
 and that, without delay, the Dobryna should return to 
 Gourbi Island. 
 
 This decision was especially welcome to Hector Ser- 
 vadac, who, throughout the whole of the last five weeks, 
 had been agitated by much anxious thought on account 
 of the faithful servant he had left behind. 
 
 The transit from the volcano to the island was not 
 long, and was marked by only one noticeable incident. 
 This was the finding of a second mysterious document, in 
 character precisely similar to what they had found before.
 
 A SECOND ENIGMA. 1 29 
 
 The writer of it was evidently engaged upon a calculation, 
 probably continued from day to day, as to the motions of 
 the planet Gallia upon its orbit, and committing the results 
 of his reckonings to the waves as the channel of communi- 
 cation. 
 
 Instead of being enclosed in a telescope-case, it was 
 this time secured in a preserved-meat tin, hermetically 
 sealed, and stamped with the same initials on the wax 
 that fastened it. The greatest care was used in opening ' 
 it, and it was found to contain the following message : — 
 
 " Gallia (?) 
 Ab sole, au i mars, dist. 78,000,000 1. ! 
 Chemin parcouru de fev. a mars : 59,000,000 L i 
 Va bene 1 All right ! Nil desperandum I 
 Enchante ! " 
 
 " Another enigma ! " exclaimed Servadac ; " and still 
 no intelligible signature, and no address. No clearing up 
 of the mystery ! " 
 
 " I have no doubt, in my own mind," said the count, 
 " that it is one of a series. It setms to me probable that 
 they are being sent broadcast upon the sea." 
 
 " I wonder where the hare-brained savant that write.% 
 them can be living .-* " observed Servadac. 
 
 "Very likely he may have met with the fate of -(EsopV 
 abstracted astronomer, who found himself at the bottom of 
 a well." 
 
 " Ay ; but where is that well } " demanded the captain. 
 
 This was a question which the count was incapable of 
 settling ; and they could only speculate afresh as to whether 
 the author of the riddles was dwelling upon some solitary 
 island, or, like themselves, was navigating the waters of 
 the new Mediterranean. But they could detect nothing to 
 guide them to a definite decision. 
 
 After thoughtfully regarding the document for some 
 time, Lieutenant Procope proceeded to observe that he 
 believed the paper might be considered as genuine, and 
 accordingly, taking its statements as reliable, he deduced 
 two important conclusions : first, that whereas, in the 
 month of January, the distance travelled by the planet 
 
 K
 
 130 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 (hypothetlcally called Gallia) had been recorded as 
 82,000,000 leagues, the distance travelled in February 
 was only 59,000,000 leagues — a difference of 23,000,000 
 leagues in one month ; secondly, that the distance of the 
 planet from the sun, which on the 15 th of February had 
 been 59,000,000 leagues, was on the ist of March 78,000,000 
 leagues — an increase of 19,000,000 leagues in a fortnight. 
 Thus, in proportion as Gallia receded from the sun, so did 
 the rate of speed diminish by which she travelled along 
 her orbit : facts to be observed in perfect conformity with 
 the known laws of celestial mechanism, 
 
 " And your inference ? " asked the count 
 
 " My inference," replied the lieutenant, " is a confir- 
 mation of my surmise that we are following an orbit 
 decidedly elliptical, although we have not yet the material 
 to determine its eccentricity." 
 
 " As the writer adheres to the appellation of Gallia, do 
 you not think," asked the count, " that we might call these 
 new waters the Gallian Sea .? " 
 
 " There can be no reason to the contrary, count," re- 
 plied the lieutenant ; " and as such I will insert it upon my 
 new chart." 
 
 "Our friend," said Servadac, "seems to be more and 
 more gratified with the condition of things ; not only has 
 he adopted our motto, 'Nil desperandimi !' but see how 
 enthusiastically he has wound up with his ' Enc/iantd T " 
 
 The conversation dropped. 
 
 A few hours later the man on watch announced that 
 Gourbi Island was in sight
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. 
 
 The Dohry7ia was now back again at the island. Her 
 cruise had lasted from the 31st of January to the 5th of 
 March, a period of thirty-five days (for it was leap-year), 
 corresponding to seventy days as accomplished by the new 
 little world. 
 
 Many a time during his absence Hector Servadac had 
 wondered how his present vicissitudes would end, and 
 he had felt some misgivings as to whether he should ever 
 again set foot upon the island, and see his faithful orderly, 
 so that it was not without emotion that he had approached 
 the coast of the sole remaining fragment of Algerian soil. 
 But his apprehensions were groundless ; Gourbi Island 
 was just as he had left it, with nothing unusual in its aspect, 
 except that a very peculiar cloud was hovering over it, at 
 an altitude of little more than a hundred feet. As the 
 yacht approached the shore, this cloud appeared to rise 
 and fall as if acted upon by some invisible agency, and the 
 captain, after watching it carefully, perceived that it was 
 not an accumulation of vapours at all, but a dense mass of 
 birds packed as closely together as a swarm of herrings, and 
 uttering deafening and discordant cries, amidst which from 
 time to time the noise of the report of a gun could be 
 plainly distinguished. 
 
 The Dobryna signalized her arrival by firing her 
 cannon, and dropped anchor in the little port of the
 
 132 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Sheliff. Almost within a minute Ben Zoof was seen run^ 
 ning, gun in hand, towards the shore ; he cleared the last 
 ridge of rocks at a single bound, and then suddenly halted. 
 For a few seconds he stood motionless, his eyes fixed, as if 
 obeying the instructions of a drill-sergeant, on a point some 
 fifteen yards distant, his whole attitude indicatin;j sub- 
 mission and respect ; but the sight of the captain, who was 
 landing, was too much for his equanimity, and darting 
 forward, he seized his master's hand and covered it with 
 kisses. Instead, however, of uttering any expressions of 
 welcome or rejoicing at the captain's return, Ben Zoof 
 broke out into the most vehement ejaculations : 
 
 " Thieves, captain ! beastly thieves ! Bedouins ! pirates ! 
 devils ! " 
 
 "Why, Ben Zoof, what's the matter?" said Servadac 
 soothingly. 
 
 "They are thieves! downright, desperate thieves! those 
 infernal birds ! That's what's the matter. It is a good 
 thing you have come. Here have I for a whole month 
 been spending my powder and shot upon them, and the 
 more I kill them, the worse they get ; and yet, if I were to 
 leave them alone, we should not have a grain of corn upon 
 the island." 
 
 It was soon evident that the orderly had only too 
 much cause for alarm. The crops had ripened rapidly 
 during the excessive heat of January, when the orbit of 
 Gallia was being traversed at its perihelion, and were now 
 exposed to the depredations of many thousands of birds ; 
 and although a goodly number of stacks attested the 
 industry of Ben Zoof during the time of the Dobryna's 
 voyage, it was only too apparent that the portion of the 
 harvest that remained ungathered was liable to the most 
 imminent risk of being utterly devoured. It was, perhaps, 
 only natural that this clustered mass of birds, as represent- 
 ing the whole of the feathered tribe upon the surface of 
 Gallia, should resort to Gourbi Island, of which the 
 meadows seemed to be the only spot from which they 
 could get sustenance at all ; but as this sustenance would
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. I33 
 
 be obtained at the expense, and probably to the serious 
 detriment, of the human population, it was absolutely 
 necessary that every possible resistance should be made to 
 the devastation that was threatened. 
 
 Once satisfied that Servadac and his friends would 
 co-operate with him in the raid upon " the thieves," Ben 
 Zoof became calm and content, and began to make various 
 inquiries. 
 
 "And what has become," he said, "of all our old 
 comrades in Africa ? " 
 
 " As far as I can tell you," answered the captain, " they 
 are all in Africa still ; only Africa isn't by any means where 
 we expected to find it." 
 
 "And France? Montmartre?" continued Ben Zoof 
 eagerly. 
 
 Here was the cry of the poor fellow's heart. 
 
 As briefly as he could, Servadac endeavoured to 
 explain the true condition of things ; he tried to communi- 
 cate the fact that Paris, France, Europe, nay, the whole 
 world was more than eighty millions of leagues away 
 from Gourbi Island ; as gently and cautiously as he could 
 he expressed his fear that they might never see Europe, 
 France, Paris, Montmartre again. 
 
 "No, no, sir!" protested Ben Zoof emphatically; "that 
 is all nonsense. It is altogether out of the question to 
 suppose that we are not to see Montmartre again." 
 
 And the orderly shook his head resolutely, with the ail 
 of a man determined, in spite of argument, to adhere to his 
 own opinion. 
 
 " Very good, my brave fellov/," replied Servadac ; 
 "hope on, hope while you may. The message has come to 
 us over the sea, ' Never despair ; ' but one thing, neverthe- 
 less, is certain ; we must forthwith commence arrange- 
 ments for making this island our permanent home." 
 
 Captain Servadac now led the way to the gourbi, 
 which, by his servant's exertions, had been entirely rebuilt; 
 and here he did the honours of his modest establishment to 
 his two guests, the count and the lieutenant, and gave a
 
 134 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 welcome, too, to little Nina, who had accompanied them on 
 shore, and between whom and Ben Zoof the most friendly 
 relations had already been established. 
 
 The adjacent building continued in good preservation, 
 and Captain Servadac's satisfaction was very great in 
 finding the two horses, Zephyr and Galette, comfortably 
 housed there and in good condition. 
 
 After the enjoyment of some refreshment, the party 
 proceeded to a general consultation as to what steps must 
 be taken for their future welfare. The most pressing 
 matter that came before them was the consideration of the 
 means to be adopted to enable the inhabitants of Gallia to 
 survive the terrible cold, which, in their ignorance of the 
 true eccentricity of their orbit, might, for aught they knew, 
 last for an almost indefinite period. Fuel was far from 
 abundant ; of coal there was none ; trees and shrubs were 
 few in number, and to cut them down in prospect of the 
 cold seemed a very questionable policy ; but there was no 
 doubt some expedient must be devised to prevent disaster, 
 and that without delay. 
 
 The victualling of the little colony offered no im- 
 mediate difficulty. Water was abundant, and the cisterns 
 could hardly fail to be replenished by the numerous 
 streams that meandered along the plains ; moreover, the 
 Gallian Sea would ere long be frozen over, and the melted 
 ice (water in its congealed state being divested of every 
 particle of salt) would afford a supply of drink that could 
 not be exhausted. The crops that were now ready for the 
 harvest, and the flocks and herds scattered over the island, 
 would form an ample reserve. There was little doubt that 
 throughout the winter the soil would remain unproductive, 
 and no fresh fodder for domestic animals could then be 
 obtained ; it would therefore be necessary, if the exact 
 duration of Gallia's year should ever be calculated, to pro- 
 portion the number of animals to be reserved to the real 
 length of the winter. 
 
 The next thing requisite was to arrive at a true 
 estimate of the number of the population. Without in-
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. I35 
 
 eluding the thirteen Englishmen at Gibraltar, about whom 
 he was not particularly disposed to give himself much 
 concern at present, Servadac put down the names of the 
 eight Russians, the two Frenchmen, and the little Italian 
 girl, eleven in all, as the entire list of the inhabitants of 
 Gourbi Island. 
 
 " Oh, pardon me," interposed Ben Zoof, " you are 
 mistaking the state of the case altogether. You will be 
 surprised to learn that there are twenty-two people on the 
 island." 
 
 " Twenty- two ! " exclaimed the captain ; " twenty-two 
 people on this island ? What do you mean ? " 
 
 " The opportunity has not occurred," answered Ben 
 Zoof, " for me to tell you before, but I have had company 
 here." 
 
 " Explain yourself, Ben Zoof," said Servadac. ** What 
 company have you had ? " 
 
 " You could not suppose," replied the orderly, " that 
 my own unassisted hands could have accomplished all the 
 harvest-work that you see has been done." 
 
 " I confess," said Lieutenant Procope, " we do not seem 
 to have noticed that." 
 
 "Well, then," said Ben Zoof, "if you will be good 
 enough to come with me for about a mile, I shall be able 
 to show you my companions. But we must take our 
 guns," he added. 
 
 " Why take our guns ? " asked Servadac. " I hope we 
 are not going to fight." 
 
 "No, not with men," said Ben Zoof; "but it does not 
 answer to throw a chance away for giving battle to those 
 thieves of birds." 
 
 Leaving little Nina and her goat in the gourbi, 
 Servadac, Count Timascheff, and the lieutenant, greatly 
 mystified, took up their guns and followed the orderly. 
 All along their way they made unsparing slaughter of the 
 birds that hovered over and around them. Nearly every 
 species of the feathered tribe seemed to have its repre- 
 sentative in that living cloud. There were wild ducks in
 
 136 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 thousands ; snipe, larks, rooks, and swallows ; a countless 
 variety of sea-birds — widgeons, gulls, and seamews; besides 
 a quantity of game — quails, partridges, and woodcocks. 
 The sportsmen did their best ; every shot told ; and the 
 depredators fell by dozens on either hand. 
 
 Instead of following the northern shore of the island, 
 Ben Zoof cut obliquely across the plain. Making their 
 progress with the unwonted rapidity which was attributable 
 to their specific lightness, Servadac and his companions 
 soon found themselves near a grove of sycamores and 
 eucalyptus massed in picturesque confusion at the base of 
 a little hill. Here they halted. 
 
 " Ah ! the vagabonds ! the rascals ! the thieves ! " 
 suddenly exclaimed Ben Zoof, stamping his foot with rage. 
 
 " How now ? Are your friends the birds at their pranks 
 again .-* " asked the captain. 
 
 " No, I don't mean the birds : I mean those lazy 
 beggars that are shirking their work. Look here ; look 
 there ! " And as Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed to some 
 scythes, and sickles, and other implements of husbandry 
 that had been left upon the ground. 
 
 " What is it you mean ? " asked Servadac, getting 
 somewhat impatient. 
 
 " Hush, hush ! listen ! " was all Ben Zoof's reply ; and 
 he raised his finger as if in warning. 
 
 Listening attentively, Servadac and his associates 
 could distinctly recognize a human voice, accompanied by 
 the notes of a guitar and by the measured click of castanets. 
 
 " Spaniards ! " said Servadac. 
 
 "No mistake about that, sir," replied Ben Zoof; "a 
 Spaniard would rattle his castanets at the cannon's 
 mouth." 
 
 ** But what is the meaning of it all ? " asked the 
 captain, more puzzled than before. 
 
 "Hark!" said Ben Zoof; "it is the old man's turn 
 
 now." 
 
 And then a voice, at once gruff and harsh, was heard 
 vociferating :
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. I37 
 
 '* My money ! my money ! when will you pay me my 
 money ? Pay me what you owe me, you miserable majos/' 
 Meanwhile the song continued ; 
 
 *' Tu sandunga y cigarr<\ 
 
 Y una cana de Jerez, 
 
 Mi jamelgo y un trabuco. 
 Que mas gloria puede haver? 
 
 •* Para Alcarrazas, chichana. 
 Para trigo, Trebujena, 
 
 Y para ninas bonitas, 
 
 San Lucar de BaiTaraeda." 
 
 Servadac*s knowledge of Gascon enabled him partially 
 to comprehend the rollicking tenor of the Spanish patriotic 
 air, but his attention was again arrested by the voice of 
 the old man growling savagely : 
 
 " Pay me you shall ; yes, by the God of Abraham, you 
 shall pay me." 
 
 "A Jew!" exclaimed Servadac. 
 
 "Ay, sir, and worst of all, a German Jew," said Ben 
 Zoof. 
 
 The party was now just on the point of entering the 
 thicket, when a singular spectacle made them pause. A 
 group of Spaniards had just begun dancing their national 
 fandango, and the extraordinary lightness which had 
 become the physical property of every object in the new 
 planet made the dancers bound to a height of thirty feet 
 or more into the air, considerably above the tops of the 
 trees. What followed was irresistibly comic. Four sturdy 
 majos had dragged along with them an old man incapable 
 of resistance, and compelled him, nolens volejis, to join in 
 the dance; and as they all kept appearing and disappearing 
 above the bank of foliage, their grotesque attitudes, com- 
 bined with the pitiable countenance of their helpless 
 victim, could not do otherwise than recall most forcibly the 
 story of Sancho Panza tossed in a blanket by the merry 
 drapers of Segovia. 
 
 Servadac, the count, Procope, and Ben Zoof now pro- 
 ceeded to make their way through the thicket until they
 
 138 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 came to a little glade, where they came upon two men 
 stretched idly on the grass, one of them playing the guitar, 
 and the other a pair of castanets ; both were exploding 
 with laughter, as they urged the performers to greater and 
 yet greater exertions in the dance. At the sight of 
 strangers they paused in their music, and simultaneously 
 the dancers, with their victim, alighted gently on the 
 sward. Breathless and half exhausted as was the Jew, he 
 rushed with an effort towards Servadac, and exclaimed in 
 French, marked by a strong Teutonic accent : 
 
 " Oh, my lord governour, help me, help ! These rascals 
 defraud me of my rights ; they rob me ; but, in the name 
 of the God of Israel, I ask you to see justice done ! " 
 
 The captain glanced inquiringly towards Ben Zoof, 
 and the orderly, by a significant nod, made his master 
 understand that he was to play the part that was implied 
 by the title. He took the cue, and promptly ordered the 
 Jew to hold his tongue at once. The man bowed his head 
 in servile submission, and folded his hands upon his breast. 
 
 Servadac surveyed him leisurely. 
 
 He was a man of about fifty, but from his appearance 
 might well have been taken for at least ten years older. 
 Small and skinny, with eyes bright and cunning, a hooked 
 nose, a short yellow beard, unkempt hair, huge feet, and 
 long bony hands, he presented all the typical characteris- 
 tics of the German Jew, the heartless, wily usurer, the 
 hardened miser and skinflint. As iron is attracted by the 
 magnet, so was this Shylock attracted by the sight of gold, 
 nor would he have hesitated to draw the life-blood of his 
 creditors, if by such means he could secure his claims. 
 Although by descent and birth a Jew, he was ready to 
 profess himself a Mahometan or a heathen whenever 
 circumstances arose which he thought might be turned to 
 his own advantage. 
 
 His name was Isaac Hakkabut, and he was a native of 
 the Prussian (now German) city of Cologne. Nearly the 
 whole of his time, however, he informed Captain Servadac, 
 had been spent upon the sea, his real business being that
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. 1 39 
 
 of a merchant trading at all the ports of the Mediterranean. 
 A tartan, a small vessel of two hundred tons burden, con- 
 veyed his entire stock of merchandise, and, to say the truth, 
 was a sort of floating emporium, conveying nearly every 
 possible article of commerce, from a lucifer match to the 
 radiant fabrics of Frankfort and Epinal. Without wife or 
 children, and having no settled home, Isaac Hakkabut 
 lived almost entirely on board the Hansa, as he had 
 named his tartan ; and engaging a mate, with a crew of 
 three men, as being adequate to work so light a craft, he 
 cruised along the coasts of Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Turkey, 
 and Greece, visiting, moreover, most of the harbours of the 
 Levant. Careful to be always well supplied with the 
 products in most general demand — coffee, sugar, rice, 
 tobacco, cotton-stuffs, and gunpowder — and being at all 
 times ready to barter, and prepared to deal in second-hand 
 wares, he had contrived to amass considerable wealth. 
 
 On the eventful night of the ist of January the Hansa 
 had been at Ceuta, the point on the coast of Morocco 
 exactly opposite Gibraltar. The mate and three sailors 
 had all gone on shore, and, in common with many of their 
 fellow-creatures, had entirely disappeared ; but the most 
 projecting rock of Ceuta had been undisturbed by the 
 general catastrophe, and half a score of Spaniards, who 
 had happened to be upon it, had escaped with their lives. 
 They were all Andalusian majos, agricultural labourers, and 
 naturally as careless and apathetic as men of their class 
 usually are, but they could not help being very considerably 
 embarrassed when they discovered that they were left in 
 solitude upon a detached and isolated rock. They took 
 what mutual counsel they could, but became only more 
 and more perplexed. One of them was named Negrete, 
 and he, as having travelled somewhat more than the rest, 
 was tacitly recognized as a sort of leader ; but although he 
 was by far the most enlightened of them all, he was quite 
 incapable of forming the least conception of the nature of 
 what had occurred. The one thing upon which they could 
 not fail to be conscious was that they had no prospect of
 
 I40 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 obtaining provisions, and consequently their first business 
 was to devise a scheme for getting away from their present 
 abode. The Hansa was lying off shore. The Spaniards 
 would not have had the slightest hesitation in summarily 
 taking possession of her, but their utter ignorance of sea- 
 manship made them reluctantly come to the conclusion that 
 the more prudent policy was to make terms with the owner. 
 
 And now came a singular part of the story. Negrete 
 and his companions had meanwhile received a visit from 
 two English officers from Gibraltar. What passed between 
 them the Jew did not know ; he only knew that, im- 
 mediately after the conclusion of the interview, Negrete 
 came to him and ordered him to set sail at once for the 
 nearest point of Morocco. The Jew, afraid to disobey, but 
 with his eye ever upon the main chance, stipulated that at 
 the end of their voyage the Spaniards should pay for their 
 passage — terms to which, as they would to any other, they 
 did not demur, knowing that they had not the slightest 
 intention of giving him a single real. 
 
 The Hansa had weighed anchor on the 3rd of Feb- 
 ruary. The wind blew from the west, and consequently 
 the working of the tartan was easy enough. The un- 
 practised sailors had only to hoist their sails and, though 
 they were quite unconscious of the fact, the breeze carried 
 them to the only spot upon the little world they occupied 
 which could afford them a refuge. 
 
 Thus it fell out that one morning Ben Zoof, from his 
 look-out on Gourbi Island, saw a ship, not the Dobryna, 
 appear upon the horizon, and make quietly down towards 
 what had formerly been the right bank of the Sheliff. 
 
 Such was Ben Zoof's version of what had occurred, as 
 he had gathered it from the new-comers. He wound up 
 his recital by remarking that the cargo of the Hansa 
 would be of immense service to them ; he expected, indeed, 
 that Isaac Hakkabut would be difficult to manage, but 
 considered there could be no harm in appropriating the 
 goods for the common welfare, since there could be no 
 opportunity now for selling them. 
 
 I
 
 AN UNEXPECTED POPULATION. I4.I 
 
 Ben Zoof added : 
 
 "And as to the difficulties between the Jew and his 
 passengers, I told him that the governour-general was 
 absent on a tour of inspection, and that as soon as he 
 came back he would see everything equitably settled." 
 
 Smiling at his orderly's tactics, Servadac turned to 
 Hakkabut, and told him that he would take care that his 
 claims should be duly investigated and all proper demands 
 should be paid. 
 
 The man appeared satisfied, and, for the time at least, 
 desisted from his complaints and importunities. 
 
 When the Jew had retired, Count Timaschefif asked : 
 
 " But how in the world can you ever make those fellows 
 pay anything ? " 
 
 " They have lots of money," said Ben Zoof. 
 
 "Not likely," replied the count; "when did you ever 
 know Spaniards like them to have lots of money ? " 
 
 "But I have seen it myself," said Ben Zoof; "and it 
 is English money." 
 
 " English money ! " echoed Servadac ; and his mind 
 again reverted (as it had done upon the first mention of a 
 visit from English officers to the Spaniards) to the ex- 
 cursion made by the colonel and the major from Gibraltar, 
 and about which they had been so reticent. 
 
 "We must inquire more about this," he said. 
 
 Then, addressing Count Timaschefif, he added : 
 
 " Altogether, I think, count, the countries of Europe are 
 fairly represented by the population of Gallia." 
 
 " True, captain," answered the count ; " we have only 
 a fragment of a world, but it contains natives of France, 
 Russia, Italy, Spain, and England. Even Germany may 
 be said to have a representative in the person of this 
 miserable Jew." 
 
 " And even in him," said Servadac, " perhaps we shall 
 not find so indifferent a representative as we at present 
 imagine."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Gallia's governour-general. 
 
 The Spaniards who had arrived on board the Hansa con- 
 sisted of nine men and a lad of twelve years of age, named 
 Pablo. They all received Captain Servadac, whom Ben 
 Zoof introduced as the governour-general, with due respect, 
 and partook themselves quickly to their separate tasks. 
 The captain and his friends, followed at some distance by 
 the eager Jew, soon left the glade and directed their steps 
 towards the coast where the Hansa was moored. 
 
 As they went they discussed their situation. As far as 
 they had ascertained, except Gourbi Island, the sole sur- 
 viving fragments of the Old World were four small islands : 
 the bit of Gibraltar occupied by the Englishmen ; Ceuta, 
 which had just been left by the Spaniards ; Madalena, 
 where they had picked up the little Italian girl ; and the 
 site of the tomb of Saint Louis on the coast of Tunis. 
 Around these there was stretched out the full extent of 
 the Gallian Sea, which apparently comprised about one- 
 half of the Mediterranean, the whole being encompassed 
 by a barrier like a framework of precipitous cliffs, of an 
 origin and a substance alike unknown. 
 
 Of all these spots only two were known to be inhabited : 
 Gibraltar, where the thirteen Englishmen were amply pro- 
 visioned for some years to come, and their own Gourbi 
 Island. Here there was a population of twenty-two, who 
 would all have to subsist upon the natural products of the
 
 GALLIA'S GOVERNOUR-GENERAL. 14;? 
 
 soil. It was indeed not to be forgotten that, perchance, 
 upon some remote and undiscovered isle there might be 
 the solitary writer of the mysterious papers which they 
 had found, and if so, that would raise the census of their 
 new asteroid to an aggregate of thirty-six. 
 
 Even upon the supposition that at some future date 
 the whole population should be compelled to unite and 
 find a residence upon Gourbi Island, there did not appear 
 any reason to question but that eight hundred acres of rich 
 soil, under good management, would yield them all an ample 
 sustenance. The only critical matter was how long the 
 cold season would last ; every hope depended upon the 
 land again becoming productive ; at present, it seemed 
 impossible to determine, even if Gallia's orbit were really 
 elliptic, when she would reach her aphelion, and it was 
 consequently necessary that the Gallians for the time 
 being should reckon on nothing beyond their actual and 
 present resources. 
 
 These resources were, first, the provisions of the Do- 
 bryna, consisting of preserved meat, sugar, wine, brandy, 
 and other stores sufficient for about two months; secondly, 
 the valuable cargo of the Hansa, which, sooner or later, 
 the owner, whether he would or not, must be compelled to 
 surrender for the common benefit ; and lastly, the produce 
 of the island, animal and vegetable, which with proper 
 economy might be made to last for a considerable period. 
 
 In the course of the conversation. Count Timascheff" 
 took an opportunity of saying that, as Captain Servadac 
 had already been presented to the Spaniards as governour 
 of the island, he thought it advisable that he should really 
 assume that position. 
 
 " Every body of men," he observed, " must have a head, 
 and you, as a Frenchman, should, I think, take the com- 
 mand of this fragment of a French colony. My men, I 
 can answer for it, are quite prepared to recognize you as 
 their superior officer." 
 
 " Most unhesitatingly," replied Servadac, " I accept the 
 post with all its responsibilities. We understand each
 
 £44 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 other so well that I feel sure we shall try and work to^ethef 
 for the common good ; and even if it be our fate never 
 again to behold our fellow-creatures, I have no misgivings 
 but that we shall be able to cope with whatever difficulties 
 may be before us." 
 
 As he spoke, he held out his hand. The count took it, 
 at the same time making a slight bow. It was the first 
 time since their meeting that the two men had shaken 
 hands ; on the other hand, not a single word about their 
 former rivalry had ever escaped their lips ; perhaps that 
 was all forgotten now. 
 
 The silence of a few moments was broken by Servadac 
 saying : 
 
 " Do you not think we ought to explain our situation 
 to the Spaniards ? " 
 
 " No, no, your Excellency," burst in Ben Zoof, empha- 
 tically; "the fellows are chicken-hearted enough already; 
 only tell them what has happened, and in sheer despond- 
 ency they will not do another stroke of work." 
 
 " Besides," said Lieutenant Procope, who took very 
 much the same view as the orderly, " they are so miserably 
 ignorant they would be sure to misunderstand you." 
 
 " Understand or misunderstand," replied Servadac, " I 
 do not think it matters. They would not care. They are 
 all fatalists. Only give them a guitar and their castanets, 
 and they will soon forget all care and anxiety. For my 
 own part, I must adhere to my belief that it will be ad- 
 visable to tell them everything. Have you any opinion 
 to offer, count ? " 
 
 "My own opinion, captain, coincides entirely with 
 yours. I have followed the plan of explaining all I could 
 to my men on board the DobiynUy and no inconvenience 
 has arisen." 
 
 " Well, then, so let it be," said the captain ; adding, 
 " It is not likely that these Spaniards are so ignorant as 
 not to have noticed the change in the length of the days ; 
 neither can they be unaware of the physical changes that 
 have transpired. They shall certainly be told that we
 
 GALLIA'S GOVERNOUR-GENERAL. I45 
 
 are being carried away into unknown regions of space, and 
 that this island is nearly all that remains of the Old World." 
 
 •* Ha, ha ! " laughed Ben Zoof, aloud ; " it will be fine 
 sport to watch the old Jew's face, when he is made to com- 
 prehend that he is flying away millions and millions of 
 leagues from all his debtors." 
 
 Isaac Hakkabut was about fifty yards behind, and was 
 consequently unable to overhear the conversation. He 
 went shambling along, half whimpering and not unfre- 
 quently invoking the God of Israel ; but every now and 
 then a cunning light gleamed from his eyes, and his lips 
 became compressed with a grim significance. 
 
 None of the recent phenomena had escaped his notice, 
 and more than once he had attempted to entice Ben Zoof 
 into conversation upon the subject ; but the orderly made 
 no secret of his antipathy to him, and generally replied to 
 his advances either by satire or by banter. He told him 
 that he had everything to gain under the new system of 
 nights and days, for, instead of living the Jew's ordinary 
 life of a century, he would reach to the age of two cen- 
 turies ; and he congratulated him upon the circumstance 
 of things having become so light, because it would prevent 
 him feeling the burden of his years. At another time he 
 would declare that, to an old usurer like him, it could not 
 matter in the least what had become of the moon, as he 
 could not possibly have advanced any money upon her. 
 And when Isaac, undaunted by his jeers, persevered in 
 besetting him with questions, he tried to silence him by 
 saying : 
 
 ** Only wait till the governour-general comes ; he is a 
 shrewd fellow, and will tell you all about it." 
 
 " But will he protect my property ? " poor Isaac would 
 ask tremulously. 
 
 " To be sure he will ! He would confiscate it all rather 
 than that you should be robbed of it." 
 
 With this Job's comfort the Jew had been obliged to 
 c-.ntent himself as best he could, and to await the promised 
 arrival of the governour.
 
 146 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 When Servadac and his companions reached the shore, 
 they found that the Hansa had anchored in an exposed 
 bay, protected but barely by a few projecting rocks, and in 
 Buch a position that a gale rising from the west would in- 
 evitably drive her on to the land, where she must be dashed 
 in pieces. It would be the height of folly to leave her in 
 her present moorings ; without loss of time she must be 
 brought round to the mouth of the Shelif, in immediate 
 proximity to the Russian yacht. 
 
 The consciousness that his tartan was the subject of 
 discussion made the Jew give way to such vehement 
 ejaculations of anxiety, that Servadac turned round and 
 peremptorily ordered him to desist from his clamour. 
 Leaving the old man under the surveillance of the count 
 and Ben Zoof, the captain and the lieutenant stepped 
 into a small boat and were soon alongside the floating 
 emporium. 
 
 A very short inspection sufficed to make them aware 
 that both the tartan and her cargo were in a perfect state 
 of preservation. In the hold were sugar-loaves by hundreds, 
 chests of tea, bags of coffee, hogsheads of tobacco, pipes 
 of wine, casks of brandy, barrels of dried herrings, bales 
 of cotton, clothing of every kind, shoes of all sizes, 
 caps of various shape, tools, household utensils, china and 
 earthenware, reams of paper, bottles of ink, boxes of 
 lucifer matches, blocks of salt, bags of pepper and spices, 
 a stock of huge Dutch cheeses, and a collection of almanacks 
 and miscellaneous literature. At a rough guess the value 
 could not be much under ^^5000 sterling. A new cargo 
 had been taken in only a few days before the catastrophe, 
 and it had been Isaac Ilakkabut's intention to cruise from 
 Ceuta to Tripoli, calling Avherever he had reason to believe 
 there was likely to be a market for any of his commo- 
 dities. 
 
 " A fine haul, lieutenant," said the captain. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said the lieutenant ; " but what if the 
 owner refuses to part with it .-' " 
 
 " No fear ; no fear." replied the captain. ** As soon as
 
 Gallia's governour-general. 147 
 
 ever the old rascal finds that there are no more Arabs or 
 Algerians for him to fleece, he will be ready enough to 
 transact a little business with us. We will pay him by bills 
 of acceptance on some of his old friends in the Old World." 
 
 " But why should he want any payment ? " inquired the 
 lieutenant. " Under the circumstances, he must know that 
 you have a right to make a requisition of his goods," 
 
 " No, no," quickly rejoined Servadac ; "we will not do 
 that. Just because the fellow is a German we shall not be 
 justified in treating him in German fashion. We will 
 transact our business in a business way. Only let him 
 once realize that he is on a new globe, with no prospect of 
 getting back to the old one, and he will be ready enough 
 to come to terms with us." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right," replied the lieutenant ; " I 
 hope you are. But anyhow, it will not do to leave the 
 tartan here ; not only would she be in danger in the event 
 of a storm, but it is very questionable whether she could 
 resist the pressure of the ice, if the water were to freeze." 
 
 *' Quite true, Procope ; and accordingly I give you the 
 commission to see that your crew bring her round to 
 the Shelif as soon as may be." 
 
 " To-morrow morning it shall be done," answered the 
 lieutenant, promptly. 
 
 Upon returning to the shore, it was arranged that 
 the whole of the little colony should forthwith assemble 
 at the gourbi. The Spaniards were summoned, and Isaac, 
 although he could only with reluctance take his wistful 
 gaze from his tartan, obeyed the governour's orders to 
 follow. 
 
 An hour later and the entire population of twenty-two 
 had met in the chamber adjoining the gourbi. Young 
 Pablo made his first acquaintance with little Nina, and the 
 child seemed highly delighted to find a companion so 
 nearly of her own age. 
 
 Leaving the children to entertain each other, Captain 
 Servadac began his address. 
 
 Before entering upon further explanation, he said that
 
 148 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 he counted upon the cordial co-operation of them all for 
 the common welfare. 
 
 Negrete interrupted him by declaring that no promises 
 or pledges could be given until he and his countrymen 
 knew how soon they could be sent back to Spain. 
 
 " To Spain, do you say ? " asked Servadac. 
 
 **To Spain ! " echoed Isaac Hakkabut, with a hideous 
 yeU. " Do they expect to go back to Spain till they have • 
 paid their debts .-• Your Excellency, they owe me twenty 
 reals apiece for their passage here ; they owe me two 
 hundred reals. Are they to be allowed .,..?" 
 
 " Silence, Mordecai, you fool ! " shouted Ben Zoof, who 
 was accustomed to call the Jew by any Hebrew name that 
 came uppermost to his memory. " Silence ! " 
 
 Servadac was disposed to appease the old man's 
 anxiety by promising to see that justice was ultimately 
 done ; but, in a fever of frafitic excitement, he went on 
 to implore that he might have the loan of a few sailors 
 to carry his ship to Algiers. 
 
 " I will pay you honestly ; I will pay you welll' he 
 cried ; but his ingrained propensity for making a good 
 bargain prompted him to add, " provided you do not over- 
 charge me." 
 
 Ben Zoof was about again to interpose some angry 
 exclamation ; but Servadac checked him, and continued in 
 Spanish : 
 
 " Listen to me, my friends. SometJiing very strange 
 has happened. A most wonderful event has cut us off 
 from Spain, from France, from Italy, from every country 
 of Europe. In fact, we have left the Old World entirely. 
 Of the whole earth, nothing remains except this island on 
 which you are now taking refuge. The old globe is far, far 
 away. Our present abode is but an insignificant fragment 
 that is left. I dare not tell you that there is any chance 
 of your ever again seeing your country or your homes." 
 
 He paused. 
 
 The Spaniards evidently had no conception of his 
 meaning.
 
 GALLIA'S GOVERNOUR-GENERAL. 149 
 
 Negrete begged him to tell them all again. 
 
 He repeated all that he had said, and by introducing 
 some illustrations from familiar things, he succeeded to a 
 certain extent in conveying some faint idea of the convul- 
 sion that had happened. 
 
 The event was precisely what he had foretold. The 
 communication was received by all alike with the most 
 supreme indiiTerence. 
 
 Hakkabut did not say a word. He had listened with 
 manifest attention, his lips twitching now and then as if 
 suppressing a smile. 
 
 Servadac turned to him, and asked whether he was still 
 disposed to put out to sea and make for Algiers. 
 
 The Jew gave a broad grin, which, however, he was 
 careful to conceal from the Spaniards. 
 
 " Your Excellency jests," he said in French ; and turning 
 to Count Timascheff, he added in Russian: "The governour 
 has made up a wonderful tale." 
 
 The count turned his back in disgust, while the Jew 
 sidled up to little Nina and muttered in Italian : 
 
 "A lot of lies, pretty one ; a lot of lies ! " 
 
 "Confound the knave!" exclaimed Ben Zoof; "he 
 gabbles every tongue under the sun ! " 
 
 ** Yes," said Servadac ; " but whether he speaks French, 
 Russian, Spanish, German, or Italian, he is neither more 
 nor less than a Jew."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON. 
 
 On the following day, without giving himself any further 
 concern about the Jew's increduhty, the captain gave 
 orders for the Hansa to be shifted round to the harbour of 
 the SheHff. Hakkabut raised no objection, not only be- 
 cause he was aware that the move insured the immediate 
 safety of his tartan, but because he was secretly entertain- 
 ing the hope that he might entice away two or three of 
 the Dobryna's crew and make his escape to Algiers or 
 some other port. 
 
 Operations now commenced for preparing proper winter- 
 quarters. Spaniards and Russians alike joined heartily in 
 the work, the diminution of atmospheric pressure and of 
 the force of attraction contributing such an increase to 
 their muscular force as materially facilitated all their 
 labours. 
 
 The first business was to accommodate the building 
 adjacent to the gourbi to the wants of the little colony. 
 Here for the present the Spaniards were lodged, the 
 Russians retaining their berths upon the yacht, while the 
 Jew was permitted to pass his nights upon the Hansa. 
 This arrangement, however, could be only temporary. 
 The time could not be far distant when ships' sides and 
 ordinary walls would fail to give an adequate protection 
 from the severity of the cold that must be expected ; the 
 stock of fuel was too limited to keep up a permanent
 
 A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON. I5I 
 
 supply of heat in their present quarters, and consequently 
 they must be driven to seek some other refuge, the internal 
 temperature of which would at least be bearable. 
 
 The plan that seemed to commend itself most to their 
 consideration was, that they should dig out for themselves 
 some subterraneous pits similar to "silos," such as are 
 used as receptacles for grain. They presumed that when 
 the surface of Gallia should be covered by a thick layer of 
 ice, which is a bad conductor of heat, a sufficient amount 
 of warmth for animal vitality might still be retained in 
 excavations of this kind. After a long consultation they 
 failed to devise any better expedient, and were forced to 
 resign themselves to this species of troglodyte existence. 
 
 In one respect they congratulated themselves that they 
 should be better off than many of the whalers in the polar 
 seas, for as it is impossible to get below the surface of a 
 frozen ocean, these adventurers have to seek refuge in huts 
 of wood and snow erected on their ships, which at best can 
 give but slight protection from extreme cold ; but here, 
 with a solid subsoil, the Gallians might hope to dig down 
 a hundred feet or so and secure for themselves a shelter 
 that would enable them to brave the hardest severity of 
 climate. 
 
 The order, then, was at once given. The work was 
 eommenced. A stock of shovels, mattocks, and pick-axes 
 was brought from the gourbi, and with Ben Zoof as over- 
 seer, both Spanish majos and Russian sailors set to work 
 with a will. 
 
 It was not long, however, before a discovery, more 
 unexpected than agreeable, suddenly arrested their labours. 
 The spot chosen for the excavation was a little to the 
 right of the gourbi, on a slight elevation of the soil. For 
 the first day ever>'thing went on prosperously enough ; but 
 at a depth of eight feet below the surface, the navvies 
 came in contact with a hard surface, upon which all their 
 tools failed to make the slightest impression. Servadac 
 and the count were at once apprised of the fact, and had 
 little difficulty in recognizing the substance that had
 
 152 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 revealed itself as the very same which composed the 
 shores as well as the subsoil of the Gallian sea. It 
 evidently formed the universal substructure of the new 
 asteroid. Means for hollowing it failed them utterly. 
 Harder and more resisting than granite, it could not be 
 blasted by ordinary powder ; dynamite alone could suffice 
 to rend it. 
 
 The disappointment was very great Unless some 
 means of protection were speedily devised, death seemed 
 to be staring them in the face. Were the figures in the 
 mysterious documents correct .-' and had Gallia, according 
 to physical law, been travelling at a rate that was pro- 
 gressively increasing ? If so, she must now be a hundred 
 millions of leagues from the sun, nearly three times the 
 distance of the earth at the remotest section of her orbit 
 The intensity of the solar light and heat, too, was very 
 seriously diminishing, although Gourbi Island (being 
 on the equator of an orb which had its axes always per- 
 pendicular to the plane in which it revolved) enjoyed a 
 position that gave it a permanent summer. But no 
 advantage of this kind could compensate for the remote- 
 ness of the sun. The temperature fell steadily; already, 
 to the discomfiture of the little Italian girl, nurtured in 
 sunshine, ice was beginning to form in the crevices of the 
 rocks, and manifestly the time was impending when the 
 sea itself would freeze. 
 
 Some shelter must be found before the temperature 
 should fall to 60° below zero. Otherwise death was in- 
 evitable. Hitherto, for the last few days, rhe thermometer 
 had been registering an average of about 6° below zero, 
 and it had become matter of experience that the stove, 
 although replenished with all the wood that was available, 
 was altogether inadequate to efi"ect any sensible mitigation 
 of the severity of the cold. Nor could any amount of 
 fuel be enough. It was certain that ere long the very 
 mercury and spirit in the thermometers would be con- 
 gealed. Some other resort must assuredly be soon found, 
 or they must perish. That was clear.
 
 A LIGHT ON THE HOkIZON. 1 53 
 
 The idea of betaking themselves to the Dobryna and 
 Hansa could not for a moment be seriously entertained ; 
 not only did the structure of the vessels make them utterly 
 insufficient to give substantial shelter, but they were totally 
 unfitted to be trusted as to their stability when exposed to 
 the enormous pressure of the accumulated ice. 
 
 Neither Servadac, nor the count, nor Lieutenant Procope 
 were men to be easily disheartened, but it could not be 
 concealed that they felt themselves in circumstances by 
 which they were equally harassed and perplexed. The 
 sole expedient that their united counsel could suggest was 
 to obtain a refuge below ground, and that was denied them 
 by the strange and impenetrable substratum of the soil ; 
 yet hour by hour the sun's disc was lessening in its 
 dimensions, and although at midday some faint radiance 
 and glow were to be distinguished, during the night the 
 painfulness of the cold was becoming almost intolerable. 
 
 Mounted upon Zephyr and Galette, the captain and 
 the count scoured the island in search of some available 
 retreat Scarcely a yard of ground was left unexplored, 
 the horses clearing every obstacle as if they were, like 
 Pegasus, furnished with wings. But all in vain. Sound- 
 ings were made again and again, but invariably with the 
 same result ; the rock, hard as adamant, never failed to 
 reveal itself within a i&sN feet of the surface of the ground. 
 
 The excavation of any silo being thu» manifestly hope- 
 less, there seemed nothing to be done except to try and 
 render the building alongside the gourbi impervious to 
 frost. To contribute to the supply of fuel, orders were 
 given to collect every scrap of wood, dry or green, that the 
 island produced ; and this involved the necessity of felling 
 the numerous trees that were scattered over the plain. 
 But toil as they might at the accumulation of firewood. 
 Captain Servadac and his companions could not resist the 
 conviction that the consumption of a very short period 
 would exhaust the total stock. And what would happen 
 then? 
 
 Studious if possible to conceal his real misgivings, and
 
 154 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 anxious that the rest of the party should be affected as 
 Httle as might be by his own uneasiness, Servadac would 
 wander alone about the island, racking his brain for an 
 idea that would point the way out of the serious difficulty. 
 But still all in vain. 
 
 One day he suddenly came upon Ben Zoof, and asked 
 him whether he had no plan to propose. The orderly 
 shook his head, but after a few moments' pondering, said : 
 
 "Ah! master, if only we were at Montmartre, we 
 would get shelter in the charming stone-quarries." 
 
 " Idiot ! " replied the captain, angrily, " if we were at 
 Montmartre, you don't suppose that we should need tc 
 live in stone-quarries .-' " 
 
 But the means of preservation which human ingenuity 
 had failed to secure were at hand from the felicitous pro- 
 vision of Nature herself 
 
 It was on the loth of March that the captain and 
 Lieutenant Procope started off once more to investigate 
 the north-west corner of the island; on their way their 
 conversation naturally was engrossed by the subject of the 
 dire necessities which only too manifestly were awaiting 
 them. A discussion more than usually animated arose 
 between them, for the two men were not altogether of the 
 same mind as to the measures that ought to be adopted 
 in order to open the fairest chance of avoiding a fatal 
 climax to their exposure ; the captain persisted that an 
 entirely new abode must be sought, while the lieutenant 
 was equally bent upon devising a method of some sort by 
 which their present quarters might be rendered sufficiently 
 warm. All at once, in the very heat of his argument, 
 Procope paused ; he passed his hand across his eyes, as if 
 to dispel a mist, and stood, with a fixed gaze centred on a 
 point towards the south. 
 
 "What is that.?" he said, with a kind of hesitation. 
 " No, I am not mistaken," he added ; " it is a light on the 
 horizon." 
 
 "A light ! " exclaimed Servadac ; " show me where." 
 
 * Look there I " answered the lieutenant, and he kept
 
 A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON. 155 
 
 pointing steadily in its direction, until Servadac also dis- 
 tinctly saw the bright speck in the distance. 
 
 It increased in clearness in the gathering shades of 
 evening, 
 
 " Can it be a ship ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " If so, it must be in flames ; otherwise we should not 
 be able to see it so far off," replied Procope. 
 
 " It does not move," said Servadac ; " and unless I am 
 deceived, I can hear a kind of reverberation in the air." 
 
 For some seconds the two men stood straining eyes 
 and ears in rapt attention. 
 
 Suddenly an idea struck Servadac's mind. 
 
 " The volcano ! " he cried ; " may it not be the volcano 
 that we saw, whilst we were on board the Dobryna ? " 
 
 The lieutenant agreed that it was very probable. 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " ejaculated the captain, and he 
 went on in the tones of a keen excitement : " Nature has 
 provided us with our winter-quarters ; the stream of burn- 
 ing lava that is flowing there is the gift of a bounteous 
 Providence ; it will provide us all the warmth we need. 
 No time to lose ! To-morrow, my dear Procope, to-morrow 
 we will explore it all ; no doubt the life, the heat we want 
 is reserved for us in the heart and bowels of our own 
 Gallia!" 
 
 Whilst the captain was indulging in his expressions of 
 enthusiasm, Procope was endeavouring to collect his 
 thoughts. Distinctly he remembered the long promontory 
 which had barred the Dobrynds progress while coasting 
 the southern confines of the sea, and which had obliged 
 her to ascend northwards as far as the former latitude of 
 Oran ; he remembered also that at the extremity of the 
 promontory there was a rocky headland crowned with 
 smoke ; and now he was convinced that he was right in 
 identifying the position, and in believing that the smoke 
 had given place to an eruption of flame. 
 
 When Servadac gave him a chance of speaking, he 
 said : 
 
 "The more I consider it, captain, the more I am
 
 I $6 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 satisfied • that your conjecture is correct. Beyond a doubt, 
 what we see is the volcano, and to-morrow we will not fail 
 to visit it." 
 
 On returning to the gourbi, they communicated their 
 discovery to Count Timascheff only, deeming any further 
 publication of it to be premature. The count at once 
 placed his yacht at their disposal, and expressed his in- 
 tention of accompanying them. 
 
 " The yacht, I think," said Procope, " had better remain 
 where she is ; the weather is beautifully calm, and the 
 steam-launch will answer our purpose better ; at any rate, 
 it will convey us much closer to shore than the schooner." 
 
 The count replied that the lieutenant was by all means 
 to use his own discretion, and they all retired for the night. 
 
 Like many other modern pleasure-yachts, the Dobryna, 
 in addition to her four-oar, was fitted with a fast-going 
 little steam-launch, its screw being propelled, on the 
 OrioUe system, by means of a boiler, small but very 
 eff'.xtive. Early next morning, this handy little craft was 
 sufficiently freighted with coal (of which there was still 
 about ten tons on board the Dobryiux), and manned by 
 nobody except the captain, the count, and the lieutenant, 
 left the harbour of the Sheliff, much to the bewilderment of 
 Ben Zoof, who had not yet been admitted into the secret. 
 The orderly, however, consoled himself with the refloclion 
 that he had been temporarily invested with the full powers 
 of governour-general, an office of which he was not a little 
 proud. 
 
 The eighteen miles between the island and the head- 
 land were made in something less than three hours. The 
 volcanic eruption was manifestly very considerable, the 
 entire summit of the promontory bemg enveloped in 
 flames. To produce so large a combustion either the 
 oxygen of Gallia's atmosphere had been brought into 
 contact with the explosive gases contained beneath her 
 soil, or perhaps, still more probably, the volcano, like those 
 in the moon, was fed by an internal supply of oxygen of 
 her own.
 
 A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON. 157 
 
 It took more than half an hour to settle on a suitable 
 landing-place. At length, a small semi-circular creek was 
 discovered among the rocks, which appeared advantageous, 
 because, if circumstances should so require, it would form a 
 safe anchorage for both '^he Dobryna and the Hansa. 
 
 The launch securely moored, the passengers landed on 
 the side of the promontory opposite to that on which a 
 torrent of burning lava was descending to the sea. With 
 much satisfaction they experienced, as they approached 
 the mountain, a sensible difference in the temperature, and 
 their spirits could not do otherwise than rise at the pros- 
 pect of having their hopes confirmed, that a deliverance 
 from the threatened calamity had so opportunely been 
 found. On thev went, up the steep acclivity, scrambling 
 over its rugged projections, scaling the irregularities of its 
 gigantic strata, bovnding from point to point with the agility 
 of chamois, but .-ever alighting on anything except on the 
 accumulation of the same hexagonal prisms with which 
 they had now become so familiar. 
 
 Their exertions were happily rewarded. Behind a 
 huge pyramidal rock they found a hole in the mountain- 
 side, like the mouth of a great tunnel. Climbing up to 
 this orifice, which was more than sixty feet above the level 
 of the sea, they ascertained that it opened into a long dark 
 gallery. They entered and groped their way cautiously 
 along the sides. A continuous rumbling, that increased 
 as they advanced, made them aware that they must be 
 approaching the central funnel of the volcano ; their only 
 fear was lest some insuperable wall of rock should suddenly 
 bar their further progress. 
 
 Servadac was some distance ahead. 
 
 " Come on ! " he cried cheerily, his voice ringing 
 through the darkness, " come on ! Our fire is lighted ! no 
 stint of fuel ! Nature provides that ! Let us make haste 
 and warm ourselves ! " 
 
 Inspired by his confidence, the count and the lieutenant 
 ?'Jvanced bravely along the unseen and winding path. 
 The temperature was now at least fifteen degrees above
 
 158 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 zero, and the walls of the gallery were beginning to ieel 
 quite warm to the touch, an indication, not to be over- 
 looked, that the substance of which the rock was composed 
 was metallic in its nature, and capable of conducting heat. 
 
 " Follow me ! " shouted Servadac again ; " we shall 
 soon find o, regular stove ! " 
 
 Onwards they made their way, until at last a sharp 
 turn brought them into a sudden flood of light. The 
 tunnel had opened mto a vast cavern, and the gloom was 
 exchanged for an illumination that was perfectly dazzling. 
 Although the temperature was high, it was not in any way 
 intolerable. 
 
 One glance was sufficient to satisfy the explorers that 
 the grateful light and heat of this huge excavation were J 
 
 to be attributed to a torrent of lava that was rolling down- m 
 
 wards to the sea, completely subtending the aperture of 
 the cave. Not inaptly might the scene be compared to 
 the celebrated Grotto of the Winds at the rear of the 
 central fall of Niagara, only with the exception that here, 
 instead of a curtain of rushing water, it was a curtain of 
 roaring flame that hung before the cavern's mouth. 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " cried Servadac, with glad 
 emotion ; " here is all that we hoped for, and more be' 
 sides 1 "
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. 
 
 The habitation that had now revealed itself, well lighted 
 and thoroughly warm, was indeed marvellous. Not only 
 would it afford ample accommodation for Hector Servadac 
 and "his subjects," as Ben Zoof delighted to call them, 
 but it would provide shelter for the two horses, and for a 
 considerable number of domestic animals. 
 
 This enormous cavern was neither more nor less than 
 the common junction of nearly twenty tunnels (similar to 
 that which had been traversed by the explorers), forming 
 ramifications in the solid rock, and the pores, as it were, by 
 which the internal heat exuded from the heart of the 
 mountain. Here, as long as the volcano retained its 
 activity, every living creature on the new asteroid might 
 brave the most rigorous of climates ; and as Count 
 Timascheff justly remarked, since it was the only burning 
 mountain they had sighted, it was most probably the sole 
 outlet for Gallia's subterranean fires, and consequently the 
 eruption would continue unchanged for ages to come. 
 
 But not a day, not an hour, was to be lost now. The 
 steam-launch returned to Gourbi Island, and preparations 
 were forthwith taken in hand for conveying man and beast, 
 corn and fodder, across to the volcanic headland. Loud 
 and hearty were the acclamations of the little colony, 
 especially of the Spaniards, and great was the relief ot 
 Nina, when Servadac announced to them the discovery of 
 their future domicile ; and with requickened energies they
 
 l60 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 labourefd hard at the packing, anxious to reach their genia! 
 winter-quarters without delay. 
 
 For three successive days the Dobryna, laden to her 
 very gunwale, made a transit to and fro. Ben Zoof was 
 left upon the island to superintend the stowage of the 
 freight, whilst Servadac found abundant occupation in 
 overlooking its disposal within the recesses of the moun> 
 tain. First of all, the large store of corn and fodder, the 
 pi educe of the recent harvest, was landed and deposited in 
 one of the vaults; then, on the 15th, about fifty head of 
 live cattle — ^buIlocks, cows, sheep, and pigs — were conveyed 
 to their rocky stalls. These were saved for the sake of 
 preserving the several breeds, the bulk of the island cattle 
 being slaughtered, as the extreme severity of the climate 
 insured all meat remaining fresh for almost an indefinite 
 period. The winter which they were expecting would 
 probably be of unprecedented length ; it was quite likely 
 that it would exceed the six months' duration by which 
 many arctic explorers have been tried ; but the population 
 of Gallia had no anxiety in the matter of provisions — their 
 stock was far more than adequate ; while as for drink, as 
 long as they were satisfied with pure water, a frozen sea 
 would afford them an inexhaustible reservoir. 
 
 The need for haste in forwarding their preparations 
 became more and more manifest ; the sea threatened to be 
 unnavigable very soon, as ice was already forming which 
 the noonday sun was unable to melt. And if haste were 
 necessary, so also were care, ingenuity, and forethought. 
 It was indispensable that the space at their command 
 should be properly utilized, and yet that the several 
 portions of the store should all be readily accessible. 
 
 On further investigation an unexpected number of 
 galleries was discovered, so that, in fact, the interior of the 
 mountain was like a vast bee-hive perforated with in- 
 numerable cells ; and in compliment to the little Italian it 
 was unanimously voted by the colony that their new home 
 should be called " Nina's Hive." 
 
 The first care of Captain Servadac was to ascertain how
 
 A Slurp Turn bnmulit tliem into a Sudden Floud uf Light.
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. l6l 
 
 he could make the best possible use of the heat which 
 Nature had provided for them so opportunely and with so 
 lavish a hand. By opening fresh vents in the solid rock 
 (which by the action of the heat was here capable of 
 fissure) the stream of burning lava was diverted into 
 several new channels, where it could be available for daily 
 use ; and thus Mochel, the Dobryna's cook, was furnished 
 with an admirable kitchen, provided with a permanent^ 
 stove, where he was duly installed with all his culinary 
 apparatus. 
 
 "What a saving of expense it would be," exclaimed 
 Ben Zoof, " if every household could be furnished with its 
 own private volcano ! " 
 
 The large cavern at the general junction of the 
 galleries was fitted up as a drawing-room, and arranged 
 with all the best furniture both of the gourbi and of the 
 cabin of the Dohryna. Hither was also brought the 
 schooner's library, containing a good variety of French 
 and Russian books ; lamps were suspended over the 
 different tables ; and the walls of the apartment were 
 tapestried with the sails and adorned with the flags 
 belonging to the yacht. The curtain of fire extending 
 over the opening of the cavern provided it, as already 
 stated, with light and heat. 
 
 The torrent of lava fell into a small rock-bound basin 
 that had no apparent communication with the sea, and was 
 evidently the aperture of a deep abyss, of which the 
 waters, heated by the descent of the eruptive matter, 
 would no doubt retain their liquid condition long after the 
 Gallian Sea had become a sheet of ice. 
 
 A small excavation to the left of the common hall was 
 allotted for the special use of Servadac and the count ; 
 another on the right was appropriated to the lieutenant 
 and Ben Zoof; whilst a third recess, immediately at the 
 back, made a convenient little chamber for Nina. The 
 Spaniards and the Russian sailors took up their sleeping- 
 quarters in the adjacent galleries, and found tlie tem- 
 perature quite comfortable.
 
 1 62 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Such were the internal arrangements of Nina's Hive, 
 the refuge where the little colony were full of hope that 
 they would be able to brave the rigours of the stern winter- 
 time that lay before them — a winter-time during which 
 Gallia might possibly be projected even to the orbit of 
 Jupiter, where the temperature would not exceed one 
 twenty-fifth of the normal winter temperature of the earth. 
 
 The only discontented spirit was Isaac Hakkabut. 
 Throughout all the preparations which roused even the 
 Spaniards to activity, the Jew, still incredulous and deaf to 
 every representation of the true state of things, insisted 
 upon remaining in the creek at Gourbi Island ; nothing 
 could induce him to leave his tartan, where, like a miser, he 
 would keep guard over his precious cargo, ever grumbling 
 and growling, but with his weather-eye open in the hope of 
 catching sight of some passing sail. It must be owned 
 that the whole party were far from sorry to be relieved of 
 his presence ; his uncomely figure and repulsive counte- 
 nance was a perpetual bugbear. He had given out in plain 
 terms that he did not intend to part with any of his 
 property, except for current money, and Servadac, equally 
 resolute, had strictly forbidden any purchases to be made 
 hoping to wear out the rascal's obstinacy. 
 
 Hakkabut persistently refused to credit the real 
 situation ; he could not absolutely deny that some portions 
 of the terrestrial globe had undergone a certain degree of 
 modification, but nothing could bring him to believe that 
 he was not, sooner or later, to resume his old line of 
 business in the Mediterranean. With his wonted distrust 
 of all with whom he came in contact, he regarded every 
 argument that was urged upon him only as evidence of a 
 plot that had been devised to deprive him of his goods. 
 Repudiating, as he did utterly, the hypothesis that a frag- 
 ment had become detached from the earth, he scanned the 
 horizon for hours together with an old telescope, the case 
 of which had been patched up till it looked like a rusty 
 stove-pipe, hoping to descry the passing trader with which 
 he might efi"ect some bartering upon advantageous terms.
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. 163 
 
 At first he professed to regard the proposed removal 
 into winter-quarters as an attempt to impose upon his 
 credulity ; but the frequent voyages made by the Dobryna 
 to the south, and the repeated consignments of corn and 
 cattle, soon served to make him aware that Captain Ser- 
 vadac and his companions were really contemplating a 
 departure from Gourbi Island. 
 
 The movement set him thinking. What, he began to 
 ask himself — what if all that was told him was true } What 
 if this sea was no longer the Mediterranean ? What if he 
 should never again behold his German fatherland ? What 
 if his marts for business were gone for ever? A vague 
 idea of ruin began to take possession of his mind : he 
 must yield to necessity ; he must do the best he could. 
 As the result of his cogitations, he occasionally left his 
 tartan and made a visit to the shore. At length he en- 
 deavoured to mingle with the busy group, who were hurry- 
 ing on their preparations ; but his advances were only met 
 by jeers and scorn, and, ridiculed by all the rest, he was 
 fain to turn his attention to Ben Zoof, to whom he offered 
 a few pinches of tobacco. 
 
 "No, old Zebulon," said Ben Zoof, steadily refusing 
 the gift, " it is against orders to take anything from you. 
 Keep your cargo to yourself; eat and drink it all if you 
 can ; we are not to touch it." 
 
 Finding the subordinates incorruptible, Isaac deter- 
 mined to go to the fountain-head. He addressed himself 
 to Servadac, and begged him to tell him the whole truth, 
 piteously adding that surely it was unworthy of a French 
 officer to deceive a poor old man like himself. 
 
 "Tell you the truth, man!" cried Servadac. "Confound 
 it, I have told you the truth twenty times. Once for all, I 
 tell you now, you have left yourself barely time enough to 
 make your escape to yonder mountain." 
 
 " God and Mahomet have mercy on me ! " muttered 
 the Jew, whose creed frequently assumed a very ambiguous 
 character. 
 
 "I will tell you what," continued the captain — "you
 
 I 64 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 shall have a few men to work the Hansa across, if you 
 like." 
 
 " But I want to go to Algiers," whimpered Hakkabut. 
 
 " How often am I to tell you that Algiers is no longer 
 in existence ? Only say yes or no — are you coming with 
 us into winter-quarters ? " 
 
 "God of Israel ! what is to become of all my property? " 
 
 " But, mind you," continued the captain, not heeding 
 the interruption, " if you do not choose voluntarily to 
 come with us, I shall have the Hansa, by my orders, 
 removed to a place of safety. I am not going to let your 
 cursed obstinacy incur the risk of losing your cargo 
 altogether." 
 
 " Merciful Heaven ! I shall be ruined I " moaned Isaac, 
 in despair. 
 
 " You are going the right way to ruin yourself, and it 
 would serve you right to leave you to your own devices. 
 But be off ! I have no more to say." 
 
 And, turning contemptuously on his heel, Servadzio 
 left the old man vociferating bitterly, and with uplifted 
 hands protesting vehemently against the rapacity of the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 By the 20th all preliminary arrangements were com- 
 plete, and everything ready for a final departure from the 
 island. The thermometer stood on an average at 8° 
 below zero, and the water in the cistern was completely 
 frozen. It was determined, therefore, for the colony to 
 embark on the following day, and take up their residence in 
 Nina's Hive. 
 
 A final consultation was held about the Hansa. Lieu- 
 tenant Procope pronounced his decided conviction that it 
 would be impossible for the tartan to resist the pressure of 
 ithe ice in the harbour of the Sheliff, and that there would 
 be far more safety in the proximity of the volcano. It 
 was agreed on all hands that the vessel must be shifted ; 
 and accordingly orders were given, four Russian sailors 
 were sent on board, and only a few minutes elapsed after 
 the Dobryna had weighed anchor, before the great lateen
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. 16$ 
 
 sail of the tartan was unfurled, and the " shop-ship," as 
 Ben Zoof delighted to call it, was also on her way to the 
 southward. 
 
 Long and loud were the lamentations of the Jew. He 
 kept exclaiming that he had given no orders, that he was 
 being moved against his will, that he had asked for no 
 assistance, and needed none ; but it required no very keen 
 discrimination to observe that all along there was a lurking 
 gleam of satisfaction in his little grey eyes, and when, a 
 few hours later, he found himself securely anchored, and 
 his property in a place of safety, he quite chuckled with glee. 
 
 *' God of Israel ! " he said in an undertone, " they have 
 made no ckarge ; the idiots have piloted me here for 
 nothing." 
 
 For nothing I His whole nature exulted in the con- 
 sciousness that he was enjoying a service that had been 
 rendered gratuitously. 
 
 Destitute of human inhabitants, Gourbi Island was 
 now left to the tenancy of such birds and beasts as had 
 escaped the recent promiscuous slaughter. Birds, indeed, 
 that had migrated in search of warmer shores, had 
 returned, proving that this fragment of the French colony 
 was the only shred of land that could yield them any 
 sustenance ; but their life must necessarily be short It 
 was utterly impossible that they could survive the cold 
 that would soon ensue. 
 
 The colony took possession of their new abode with 
 but few formalities. Every one, however, approved of all 
 the internal arrangements of Nina's Hive, and were 
 profuse in their expressions of satisfaction at finding them- 
 selves located in such comfortable quarters. The only 
 malcontent was Hakkabut; he had no share in the general 
 enthusiasm, refused even to enter or inspect any of the 
 galleries, and insisted on remaining on board his tartan. 
 
 " He is afraid," said Ben Zoof, " that he will have to 
 pay for his lodgings. But wait a bit ; we shall see how he 
 stands the cold out there ; the frost, no doubt, will drive 
 the old fox out of his hole."
 
 l66 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 Towards evening the pots were set boiling, and a 
 bountiful supper, to which all were invited, was spread in 
 the central hall. The stores of the Dobryna contained 
 some excellent wine, some of which was broached to do 
 honour to the occasion. The health of the governour- 
 general was drunk, as well as the toast " Success to his 
 council," to which Ben Zoof was called upon to return 
 thanks. The entertainment passed off merrily. The 
 Spaniards were in the best of spirits ; one of them played 
 the guitar, another the castanets, and the rest joined in a 
 ringing chorus. Ben Zoof contributed the famous Zouave 
 refrain, well known throughout the French army, but 
 rarely performed in finer style than by this virtuoso ;— 
 
 " Misti goth dar dar tire lyre 1 
 Flic ! floe ! flac ! lirette, lira I 
 Far la rira, 
 Tour tala rire, 
 Tour la Ribaud, 
 Ricandeau, 
 Sans repos, repit, repit repos, ris pot, ripette I 
 Si vous attrapez men refrain, 
 Fameux vous etes." 
 
 The concert was succeeded by a ball, unquestionably 
 the first that had ever taken place in Gallia. The Russian 
 sailors exhibited some of their national dances, which 
 gained considerable applause, even although they followed 
 upon the marvellous fandangos of the Spaniards. Bei? 
 Zoof, in his turn, danced di pas seul (often performed in the 
 Elysee Montmartre) with an elegance and vigour that 
 earned many compliments from Negrete. 
 
 It was nine o'clock before the festivities came to an 
 end, and by that time the company, heated by the high 
 temperature of the hall, and by their own exertions, felt 
 the want of a little fresh air. Accordingly the greater 
 portion of the party, escorted by Ben Zoof, made their 
 way into one of the adjacent galleries that led to the 
 shore. Servadac, with the count and lieutenant, did not 
 follow immediately ; but shortly afterwards they proceeded 
 to join them, when on their way they were startled by loud 
 cries from those m advance.
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. 167 
 
 Their first impression was that they were cries of 
 distress, and they were greatly reheved to find that they 
 were shouts of delight, which the dryness and purity of 
 the atmosphere caused to re-echo like a volley of musketry. 
 
 Reaching the mouth of the gallery, they found the 
 entire group pointing with eager interest to the sky. 
 
 " Well, Ben Zoof," asked the captain, " what's the 
 matter now ? " 
 
 " Oh, your Excellency," ejaculated the orderly, " look 
 there ! look there ! The moon ! the moon's come back ! " 
 
 And, sure enough, what was apparently the moon was 
 rising above the mists of evening.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A FROZEN OCEAN. 
 
 The moon ! She had disappeared for weeks ; was she 
 now returning ? Had she been faithless to the earth ? and 
 had she now approached to be a sateUite of the new- 
 born world ? 
 
 "Impossible!" said Lieutenant Procope ; "the earth 
 is millions and millions of leagues away, and it is not 
 probable that the moon has ceased to revolve about her." 
 
 " Why not ? " remonstrated Servadac. " It would not 
 be more strange than the other phenomena which we have 
 lately witnessed. Why should not the moon have fallen 
 within the limits of Gallia's attraction, and become her 
 satellite ? " 
 
 " Upon that supposition," put in the count, " I should 
 think that it would be altogether unlikely that three 
 months would elapse without our seeing her." 
 
 " Quite incredible ! " continued Procope. " And there 
 Is another thing which totally disproves the captain's 
 hypothesis ; the magnitude of Gallia is far too insignificant 
 for her power of attraction to carry off the moon." 
 
 " But," persisted Servadac, " why should not the same 
 convulsion that tore us away from the earth have torn 
 away the moon as well .-' After wandering about as she 
 would for a while in the solar regions, I do not see why she 
 should not have attached herself to us." 
 
 The lieutenant repeated his conviction that it was nol 
 likely.
 
 A FROZEN OCEAN. 1 69 
 
 " But why not ? ** again asked Servadac impetuously. 
 
 ** Because, I tell you, the mass of Gallia is so inferior to 
 that of the moon, that Gallia would become the moon's 
 satellite ; the moon could not possibly become hers." 
 
 "Assuming, however," continued Servadac, " such to be 
 the case " 
 
 "I am afraid," said the lieutenant, interrupting him, 
 " that I cannot assume anything of the sort even for a 
 moment." 
 
 Servadac smiled good-humouredly. 
 
 ** I confess you seem to have the best of the argument, 
 and if Gallia had become a satellite of the moon, it would 
 not have taken three months to catch sight of her. J 
 suppose you are right." 
 
 While this discussion had been going on, the satellite, 
 or whatever it might be, had been rising steadily above the 
 horizon, and had reached a position favourable for obser- 
 vation. Telescopes were brought, and it was very soon 
 ascertained, beyond a question, that the new luminary was 
 not the well-known Phoebe of terrestrial nights ; it had no 
 feature in common with the moon. Although it was 
 apparently much nearer to Gallia than the moon to the 
 earth, its superficies was hardly one-tenth as large, and so 
 feebly did it reflect the light of the remote sun, that it 
 scarcely emitted radiance enough to extinguish the dim 
 lustre of stars of the eighth magnitude. Like the sun, it 
 had risen in the west, and was now at its full. To mistake 
 its identity with the moon was absolutely impossible ; not 
 even Servadac could discover a trace of the seas, chasms, 
 craters, and mountains which have been so minutely 
 delineated in lunar charts ; and it could not be denied 
 that any transient hope that had been excited as to their 
 once again being abou^ to enjoy the peaceful smiles of 
 " the queen of night " must all be resigned. 
 
 Count Timascheff finally suggested, though somewhat 
 doubtfully, the question of the probability that Gallia, in 
 her course across the zone of the minor planets, had 
 carried off one of them ; but whether it was one of the 169
 
 I/O HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 asteroids already included in the astronomical catalogues, 
 or one previously unknown, he did not presume to deter- 
 mine. The idea to a certain extent was plausible, 
 inasmuch as it has been ascertained that several of the 
 telescopic planets are of such small dimensions that a 
 good walker might make a circuit of them in four and 
 twenty hours ; consequently Gallia, being of superior 
 volume, might be supposed capable of exercising a power 
 of attraction upon any of these miniature microcosms. 
 
 The first night in Nina's Hive passed without special 
 incident ; and next morning a regular scheme of life was 
 definitely laid down. " My lord governour" (as Ben Zoof. 
 until he was peremptorily forbidden, delighted to call 
 Servadac) had a wholesome dread of idleness and its con- 
 sequences, and insisted upon each member of the party 
 undertaking some special duty to fulfil. There was plenty 
 to do. The domestic animals required a great deal of 
 attention ; a supply of food had to be secured and pre- 
 served ; fishing had to be carried on while the condition of 
 the sea would allow it ; and in several places the galleries 
 had to be further excavated to render them more available 
 for use. Occupation, then, need never be wanting, and 
 the daily round of labour could go on in orderly routine. 
 
 A perfect concord ruled the little colony. The Rus- 
 sians and Spaniards amalgamated well, and both did their 
 best to pick up various scraps of French, which was con- 
 sidered the official language of the place. Servadac him- 
 self undertook the tuition of Pablo and Nina, Ben Zoof 
 being their companion in play-hours, when he entertained 
 them with enchanting stories in the best Parisian French, 
 about " a lovely city at the foot of a mountain," where he 
 almost promised one day to take them. 
 
 The end of March came, but the cold was not intense 
 to such a degree as to confine any of the party to the 
 interior of their resort; several excursions were made along 
 the shore, and for a radius of three or four miles the 
 adjacent district was carefully explored. Investigation, 
 however, always ended in the same result ; turn theii
 
 A FROZEN OCEAN. I71 
 
 course in whatever direction they would, they found that 
 the country retained everywhere its desert character, rocky, 
 barren, and without a trace of vegetation. Here and there 
 a slight layer of snow or a thin coating of ice arising from 
 atmospheric condensation indicated the existence of super- 
 ficial moisture, but it would require a period indefinitely 
 long, exceeding human reckoning, before that moisture 
 could collect into a stream and roll downwards over the 
 stony strata to the sea. It seemed at present out of their 
 power to determine whether the land upon which they 
 were so happily settled was an island or a continent, and 
 till the cold was abated they feared to undertake any 
 lengthened expedition to ascertain the actual extent of the 
 strange concrete of metallic crystallization. 
 
 By ascending one day to the summit of the volcano, 
 Captain Servadac and the count succeeded in getting a 
 general idea of the aspect of the country. The mountain 
 itself was an enormous block rising symmetrically to a 
 height of nearly 3000 feet above the level of the sea, in 
 the form of a truncated cone, of which the topmost section 
 was crowned by a wreath of smoke issuing continuously 
 from the mouth of a narrow crater. 
 
 Under the old condition of terrestrial things, the ascent 
 of this steep acclivity would have been attended with 
 much fatigue, but as the effect of the altered condition of 
 the law of gravity, the travellers performed perpetual pro- 
 digies in the way of agility, and in little over an hour 
 reached the edge of the crater, without more sense of exer- 
 tion than if they had traversed a couple of miles on level 
 ground. Gallia had its drawbacks, but it had some com- 
 pensating advantages. 
 
 Telescopes in hand, the explorers from the summit 
 scanned the surrounding view. Their anticipations had 
 already realized what they saw. Just as they expected, on 
 the north, east, and west lay the Gallian Sea, smooth and 
 motionless as a sheet of glass, the cold having, as it were, 
 congealed the atmosphere so that there was not a breath 
 of wind. Towards the south there seemed no limit to the
 
 1/2 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 -   - ■■'-■■■ - — -I — . -     — I...-, . - ..I. —   -   I,,,.. ..^-.■1 
 
 land, and the volcano formed the apex of a triangle, of 
 which the base was beyond the reach of vision. Viewed 
 even from this height, whence distance would do much to 
 soften the general asperity, the surface nevertheless seemed 
 to be bristling with its myriads of hexagonal lamellae, and 
 to present difficulties which, to an ordinary pedestrian, 
 would be insurmountable. 
 
 " O for some wings, or else a balloon ! " cried Servadac, 
 as he gazed around him ; and then, looking down to the 
 rock upon which they were standing, he added, " We seem 
 to have been transplanted to a soil strange enough in its 
 chemical character to bewilder the savants at a museum." 
 
 " And do you observe, captain," asked the count, " how 
 the convexity of our little world curtails our view ? See, 
 how circumscribed is the horizon ! " 
 
 Servadac replied that he had noticed the same circum- 
 stance from the top of the cliffs of Gourbi Island. 
 
 "Yes," said the count; "it becomes more and more 
 obvious that ours is a very tiny world, and that Gourbi 
 Island is the sole productive spot upon its surface. We 
 have had a short summer, and who knows whether we are 
 not entering upon a winter that may last for years, perhaps 
 for centuries t " 
 
 " But we must not mind, count," said Servadac, smiling. 
 "We have agreed, you know, that, come what may, we are 
 to be philosophers." 
 
 "Ay, true, my friend," rejoined the count ; "we must be 
 philosophers and something more ; we must be grateful to 
 the good Protector who has hitherto befriended us, and we 
 must trust His mercy to the end." 
 
 For a few moments they both stood in silence, and 
 contemplated land and sea ; then, having given a last 
 glance over the dreary panorama, they prepared to wend 
 their way down the mountain. Before, however, they 
 commenced their descent, they resolved to make a closer 
 examination of the crater. They were particularly struck 
 by what seemed to them almost the mysterious calmness 
 with which the eruption was effected. There was none of
 
 A FROZEN OCEAN. I73 
 
 the wild disorder and deafening tumult that usuall}'- ac- 
 company the discharge of volcanic matter, but the heated 
 lava, rising with a uniform gentleness, quietly overran the 
 limits of the crater, like the flow of water from the bosom 
 of a peaceful lake. Instead of a boiler exposed to the 
 action of an angry fire, the crater rather resembled a brim- 
 ming basin, of which the contents were noiselessly escaping. 
 Nor were there any igneous stones or red-hot cinders 
 mingled with the smoke that crowned the summit ; a cir- 
 cumstance that quite accorded with the absence of the 
 pumice-stones, obsidians, and other minerals of volcanic 
 origin with which the base of a burning mountain is gene- 
 rally strewn. 
 
 Captain Servadac was of opinion that this peculiarity 
 augured favourably for the continuance of the eruption. 
 Extreme violence in physical, as well as in moral nature, 
 is never of long duration. The most terrible storms, like 
 the most violent fits of passion, are not lasting ; but here 
 the calm flow of the liquid fire appeared to be supplied 
 from a source that was inexhaustible, in the same way as 
 the waters of Niagara, gliding on steadily to their final 
 plunge, would defy all effort to arrest their course. 
 
 Before the evening of this day closed in, a most 
 important change was effected in the condition of the 
 Gallian Sea by the intervention of human agency. Not- 
 withstanding the increasing cold, the sea, unruffled as it 
 was by a breath of wind, still retained its liquid state. It 
 is an established fact that water, under this condition of 
 absolute stillness, will remain uncongealed at a temperature 
 several degrees below zero, whilst experiment, at the same 
 time, shows that a very slight shock will often be sufficient 
 to convert it into solid ice. 
 
 It had occurred to Servadac that if some communica- 
 tion could be opened with Gourbi Island, there would be 
 a fine scope for hunting expeditions. Having this ulti- 
 mate object in view, he assembled his little colony upon a 
 projecting rock at the extremity of the promontory, and 
 having called Nina and Pablo out to him in front, he said  
 
 174 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 " Now, Nina, do you think you could throw something 
 into the sea ? " 
 
 " I think I could," replied the child, " but I am sure 
 that Pablo would throw it a great deal further than I can," 
 
 " Never mind, you shall try first." 
 
 Putting a fragment of ice into Nina's hand, he ad- 
 dressed himself to Pablo : 
 
 " Look out, Pablo ; you shall see what a nice little 
 fairy Nina is ! Throw, Nina, throw, as hard as you can." 
 
 Nina balanced the piece of ice two or three times in 
 her hand, and threw it forward with all her strength. 
 
 A sudden thrill seemed to vibrate across the motionless 
 waters to the distant horizon, and the Gallian Sea had 
 become a solid sheet of icf" '
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A CARRIER-PIGEON. 
 
 When, three hours after sunset, on the 23rd of March, 
 the Gallian moon rose upon the western horizon, it was 
 observed that she had entered upon her last quarter. She 
 had taken only four days to pass from syzygy to quadra- 
 ture, and it was consequently evident that she would be 
 visible for little more than a week at a time, and that her 
 lunation would be accomplished within sixteen days. The 
 lunar months, like the solar days, had been diminished by 
 one half. Three days later the moon was in conjunctiotr 
 with the sun, and was consequently lost to view ; Ben 
 Zoof, as the first observer of the satellite, was extremely 
 interested in its movements, and wondered whether it 
 would ever re-appear. 
 
 On the 26th, under an atmosphere perfectly clear and 
 dry, the thermometer fell to 12° C. below zero. Of the 
 present distance of Gallia from the sun, and the number of 
 leagues she had traversed since the receipt of the last 
 mysterious document, there were no means of judging ; 
 the extent of diminution in the apparent disc of the sun 
 did not afford sufficient basis even for an approximate 
 calculation ; and Captain Scrvadac was perpetually re 
 gretting that they could receive no further tidings from 
 the anonymous correspondent, whom he persisted in re- 
 garding as a fellow-countryman. 
 
 The solidity of the ice was perfect ; the utter stillness of
 
 1^6 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 the air at the time when the final congelation of tlie 
 waters had taken place had resulted in the formation of a 
 surface that for smoothness would rival a skating-rink ; 
 without a crack or flaw it extended far beyond the range 
 of vision. 
 
 The contrast to tlie ordinaiy aspect of polar seas was 
 very remarkable. There, the ice-fields are an agglomera- 
 tion of hummocks and icebergs, massed in wild confusion, 
 often towering higher than the masts of the largest whalers, 
 and from the instability of their foundations liable to 
 an instantaneous loss of equilibrium ; a breath of wind, a 
 slight modification of the temperature, not unfrequently 
 serving to bring about a series of changes outrivalling the 
 most elaborate transformation scenes of a pantomime 
 Here, on the contraiy, the vast white plain was level a«« 
 the desert of Sahara or the Russian steppes ; the waters of 
 the Gallian Sea were imprisoned beneath the solid sheet^ 
 which became continually stouter in the increasing cold. 
 
 Accustomed to the uneven crystallizations of their owr 
 frozen seas, the Russians could not be otherwise tha» 
 delighted with the polished surface that afforded them suc^ 
 excellent opportunity for enjoying their favourite pastime a 
 skating. A supply of skates, found hidden away amonga 
 the Dobrynds stores, was speedily brought into use. Tht 
 Russians undertook the instruction of the Spaniards, and 
 at the end of a few days, during which the temperature 
 was only endurable through the absence of wind, there 
 was not a Gallian who could not skate tolerably well, 
 while many of them could describe figures involving the 
 most complicated curves. Nina and Pablo earned loud 
 applause by their rapid proficiency; Captain Servadac, 
 an adept in athletics, almost outvied his instructor, the 
 count ; and Ben Zoof, who had upon some rare occasions 
 skated upon the Lake of Montmartre (in his eyes, of course, 
 a sea), performed prodigies in the art. 
 
 This exercise was not only healthy in itself, but it was 
 acknowledged that, in case of necessity, it might become a 
 very useful means of locomotion. As Captain Servadac
 
 A CARRIER-PIGEON. 177 
 
 remarked, it was almost a substitute for railways, and as if 
 to illustrate this proposition, Lieutenant Procope, perhaps 
 the greatest expert in the party, accomplished the twenty 
 miles to Gourbi Island and back in considerably less than 
 four hours. 
 
 The temperature, meanwhile, continued to decrease, and 
 the average reading of the thermometer was about 1 6° C. 
 below zero ; the light also diminished in proportion, and 
 all objects appeared to be enveloped in a half-defined 
 shadow, as though the sun were undergoing a perpetual 
 eclipse. It was not surprising that the effect of this con- 
 tinuously overhanging gloom should be to induce a fre-^ 
 quent depression of spirits amongst the majority of the 
 little population, exiles as they were from their mother 
 earth, and not unlikely, as it seemed, to be swept far away 
 into the regions of another planetary sphere. Probably 
 Count Timascheff, Captain Servadac, and Lieutenant Pro- 
 cope were the only members of the community who could 
 bring any scientific judgment to bear upon the uncertainty 
 that was before them, but a general sense of the strange- 
 ness of their situation could not fail at times to weigh 
 heavily upon the minds of all. Under these circumstances 
 it was very necessary to counteract the tendency to de- 
 spond by continual diversion ; and the recreation of skating 
 thus opportunely provided, seemed just the thing to arouse 
 the flagging spirits, and to restore a wholesome excite- 
 ment. 
 
 With dogged obstinacy, Isaac Hakkabut refused to 
 take any share either in the labours or the amusements of 
 the colony. In spite of the cold, he had not been seen 
 since the day of his arrival from Gourbi Island. Captain 
 Servadac had strictly forbidden any communication with 
 him ; and the smoke that rose from the cabin chimney of 
 the Hansa was the sole indication of the proprietor being 
 still on board. There was nothing to prevent him, if he 
 chose, from partaking gratuitously of the volcanic light 
 and heat which were being enjoyed by all besides ; but 
 rather than abandon his close and personal oversight of his 
 
 N
 
 178 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 precious cargo, he preferred to sacrifice his own slender 
 stock of fuel. 
 
 Both the schooner and the tartan had been carefully 
 moored in the way that seemed to promise best for with- 
 standing the rigour of the winter. After seeing the vessels 
 made secure in the frozen creek, Lieutenant Procope, fol- 
 lowing the example of many Arctic explorers, had the 
 precaution to have the ice bevelled away from the keels, 
 so that there should be no risk of the ships' sides being 
 cruslied by the increasing pressure ; he hoped that they 
 would follow any rise in the level of the ice-field, and when 
 the thaw should come, that they would easily regain theii 
 proper water-line. 
 
 On his last visit to Gourbi Island, the lieutenant had 
 ascertained that north, east, and west, far as the eye could 
 reach, the Gallian Sea had become one uniform sheet of 
 ice. One spot alone refused to freeze : this was the pool 
 immediately below the central cavern, the receptacle for 
 the stream of burning lava. It was entirely enclosed by 
 rocks, and if ever a few icicles were formed there by the 
 action of the cold, they were very soon melted by the fiery 
 shower. Hissing and spluttering as the hot lava came in 
 contact with it, the water was in a continual state of ebul- 
 lition, and the fish that abounded in its depths defied the 
 angler's craft ; they were, as Ben Zoof remarked, " too much 
 boiled to bite." 
 
 At the beginning of April the weather changed. The 
 sky became overcast, but there was no rise in the tem- 
 perature. Unlike the polar winters of the earth, which 
 ordinarily are affected by atmospheric influence, and liable 
 to sligjit intermissions of their severity at various shiftings 
 of the wind, Gallia's winter was caused by her immense 
 distance from the source of all light and heat, and the cold 
 was consequently destined to go on steadily increasing 
 until it reached the limit ascertained by Fourier to be the 
 normal temperature of the realms of space. 
 
 With the over-clouding of the heavens there arose a 
 violent tempest ; but although the wind raged with an
 
 A CARRIER-PIGEON. 1 79 
 
 almost inconceivable fury, it was unaccompanied by either 
 snow or rain. Its effect upon the burning curtain that 
 covered the aperture of the central hall was very remark- 
 able. So far from there being any likelihood of the fire 
 being extinguished by the vehemence of the current of air, 
 the hurricane semed rather to act as a ventilator, which 
 fanned the flame into greater activity, and the utmost care 
 was necessary to avoid being burnt by the fragments of 
 lava that were drifted into the interior of the grotto. 
 More than once the curtain itself was rifted entirely 
 asunder, but only to close up again immediately after 
 allowing a momentary draught of cold air to penetrate 
 the hall in a way that was refreshing and rather advan- 
 tageous than otherwise. 
 
 On the 4th of April, after an absence of about four 
 days, the new satellite, to Ben Zoof's great satisfaction, made 
 its re-appearance in a crescent form, a circumstance that 
 seemed to justify the anticipation that henceforward it 
 would continue to make a periodic revolution every fort- 
 night. 
 
 The crust of ice and snow was far too stout for the 
 beaks of the strongest birds to penetrate, and accordingly 
 large swarms had left the island, and, following the human 
 population, had taken refuge on the volcanic promontory ; 
 not that there the barren shore had anything in the way of 
 nourishment to offer them, but their instinct impelled 
 them to haunt now the very habitations which formerly 
 they would have shunned. Scraps of food were thrown to 
 them from the galleries ; these were speedily devoured, 
 but were altogether inadequate in quantity to meet the 
 demand. At length, emboldened by hunger, several hun- 
 dred birds ventured through the tunnel, and took up their 
 quarters actually in Nina's Hive. Congregating in the 
 large hall, the half-famished creatures did not hesitate to 
 snatch bread, meat, or food of any description from the 
 hands of the residents as they sat at table, and soon 
 became such an intolerable nuisance that it formed one of 
 the daily diversions to hunt them down ; but although
 
 l8o HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 they were vigourously attacked by stones and sticks, and 
 even occasionally by shot, it was with some difficulty that 
 their number could be sensibly reduced. 
 
 First and foremost in these daily raids upon the birds 
 was Ben Zoof. He yelled and shouted, and swore at the 
 intruders much as he had done upon the island, and by 
 the help of his companions succeeded in doing a con- 
 siderable amount of destruction. For days the table was 
 supplied with an abundance of woodcocks, wild ducks, 
 snipes, and partridges; and although the birds had been 
 knocked down at random, they could hardly have been 
 more choice as delicacies if they had been selected with 
 especial regard to their edible qualities. 
 
 By a systematic course of warfare the bulk of the birds 
 were all expelled, with the exception of about a hundred, 
 which began to build in the crevices of the rocks. These 
 were left in quiet possession of their quarters, as not only 
 was it deemed advisable to perpetuate the various breeds, 
 but it was found that these birds acted as a kind of police, 
 never failing either to chase away or to kill any others of 
 their species who infringed upon what they appeared to 
 regard as their own special privilege in intruding within 
 the limits of their domain. 
 
 On the 15th loud cries were suddenly heard issuing 
 from the mouth of the principal gallery. 
 
 " Help, help ! I shall be killed ! " 
 
 Pablo in a moment recognized the voice as Nina's. 
 Outrunning even Ben Zoof he hurried to the assistance of 
 his little playmate, and discovered that she was being 
 attacked by half a dozen great sea-gulls, and only after 
 receiving some severe blows from their beaks could he 
 succeed by means of a stout cudgel in driving them away. 
 
 '* Tell me, Nina, what is this ? " he asked as soon as 
 the tumult had subsided. 
 
 The child pointed to a bird which she was caressing 
 tenderly in her bosom. 
 
 " A pigeon ! " exclaimed Ben Zoof, who had reached 
 the scene of commotion, adding :
 
 She was being attacked by half a dozen Great Sea-siiUs.
 
 A CARRIER-PIGEON. l8l 
 
 " A carrier-pigeon ! And by all the saints of Mont- 
 martre, there is a little bag attached to its neck ! " 
 
 He took the bird, and rushing into the hall placed it in 
 Servadac's hands. 
 
 " Another message, no doubt," cried the captain, " from 
 our unknown friend. Let us hope that this time he has 
 given us his name and address." 
 
 All crowded round, eager to hear the news. In the 
 struggle with the sea-gulls the bag had been partially torn 
 open, but it was found to contain the following des- 
 patch : 
 
 " Gallia ! 
 
 Cheniin parcouni du I" Mars au i" Avril : 39,000,000 L I 
 
 Distance du soleil : 1 10,000,000 1. I 
 
 Capte Ncrina en passant. 
 
 Vivres vont manquer et " 
 
 The rest of the document had been so damaged by the 
 beaks of the gulls that it was illegible. Servadac was wild 
 with vexation. He felt more and more convinced that the 
 writer was a Frenchman, and that the last line indicated 
 that he was in distress from scarcity of food. The very 
 thought of a fellow-countryman in peril of starvation drove 
 him well-nigh to distraction, and it was in vain that 
 search was made everywhere near the scene of conflict in 
 hopes of finding the missing scrap that might bear a 
 signature or address. 
 
 Suddenly little Nina, who had again taken possession 
 of the pigeon, and was hugging it to her breast, said — 
 
 " Look here, Ben Zoof ! " 
 
 And as she spoke she pointed to the left wing of the 
 bird. 
 
 The wing bore the faint impress of a postage-stamp, 
 and the one word 
 
 "FORMMiTMlA."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. 
 
 FORMENTERA was at oiice recognized by Servadac and 
 the count as the name of one of the smallest of the Balearic 
 Islands. It was more than probable that the unknown 
 writer had thence sent out the mysterious documents, and 
 from the message just come to hand by the carrier-pigeon, 
 it appeared all but certain that at the beginning of April, a 
 fortnight back, he had still been there. In one important 
 particular the present communication differed from those 
 that had preceded it : it was written entirely in French, 
 and exhibited none of the ecstatic exclamations in other 
 languages that had been remarkable in the two former 
 papers. The concluding line, with its intimation of failing 
 provisions, amounted almost to an appeal for help. Cap- 
 tain Servadac briefly drew attention to these points, and 
 concluded by saying : 
 
 " My friends, we must, without delay, hasten to the 
 assistance of this unfortunate man." 
 
 " For my part," said the count, " I am quite ready to 
 accompany you ; it is not unlikely that he is not alone in 
 his distress." 
 
 Lieutenant Procope expressed much surprise. 
 
 *' We must have passed close to Formentera," he said, 
 "when we explored the site of the Balearic Isles ; this frag- 
 ment must be very small ; it must be smaller than the 
 remaining splinter of Gibraltar or Ceuta; otherwise, surely 
 it would never have escaped our observation."
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. 183 
 
 ** However small it may be," replied Servadac, " we 
 must find it. How far off do you suppose it is ? " 
 
 " It must be a hundred and twenty leagues away," said 
 the lieutenant, thoughtfully ; " and I do not quite under- 
 stand how you would propose to get there." 
 
 " Why, on skates of course ; no difficulty in that, I should 
 imagine," answered Servadac, and he appealed to the count 
 for confirmation of his opinion. 
 
 The count assented, but Procope looked doubtful. 
 
 " Your enterprise is generous," he said, " and I should 
 be most unwilling to throw any unnecessary obstacle in 
 the way of its execution ; but, pardon me, if I submit to 
 you a few considerations which to my mind are very 
 important. First of all, the thermometer is already down 
 to 22^ below zero, and the keen wind from the south is 
 making the temperature absolutely unendurable ; in the 
 second place, supposing you travel at the rate of twenty 
 leagues a day, you would be exposed for at least six con- 
 secutive days ; and thirdly, your expedition will be of 
 small avail unless you convey provisions not only for your- 
 selves, but for those whom you hope to relieve." 
 
 " We can carry our own provisions on our backs in 
 knapsacks," interposed Servadac, quickly, unwilling to 
 recognize any difficulty in the way. 
 
 "Granted that you can," answered the lieutenant, 
 quietly ; " but where, on this level ice-field, will you find 
 shelter in your periods of rest.? You must perish with cold, 
 you will not have the chance of digging out ice-huts like 
 the Esquimaux." 
 
 " As to rest," said Servadac, " we shall take none ; we 
 shall keep on our v/ay continuously ; by travelling day 
 and night without intermission, we shall not be more than 
 three days in reaching Formentera." 
 
 " Believe me," persisted the lieutenant, calmly, " your 
 enthusiasm is carrying you too far ; the feat you propose 
 is impossible ; but even conceding the possibility of your 
 success in reaching your destination, what service do you 
 imagine that you, half-starved and half-frozen yourself,
 
 1 84 HECTOR SERVAbAC 
 
 could render to those who are ah'eady perishing by want 
 and exposure ? you would only bring them away to die." 
 
 The obvious and dispassionate reasoning of the lieu- 
 tenant could not fail to impress the minds of those who 
 listened to him ; the impracticability of the journey be- 
 came more and more apparent ; unprotected on that drear 
 expanse, any traveller must assuredly succumb to the 
 snow-drifts that were continually being whirled across it. 
 But Hector Servadac, animated "by the generous desire of 
 rescuing a suffering fellow-creature, could scarcely be 
 brought within the bounds of common sense. Against 
 his better judgment he was still bent upon the expedition, 
 and Ben Zoof declared himself ready to accompany his 
 master in the event of Count TimaschefF hesitating to 
 encounter the peril which the undertaking involved. But 
 the count entirely repudiated all idea of shrinking from 
 what, quite as much as the captain, he regarded as a 
 sacred duty, and turning to Lieutenant Procope, told him 
 that unless some better plan could be devised, he was 
 prepared to start off at once and make the attempt to 
 skate across to Formentera. The lieutenant, who was lost 
 in thought, made no immediate reply. 
 
 " I wish we had a sledge," said Ben Zoof. 
 
 " I daresay that a sledge of some sort could be con- 
 trived," said the count ; " but then we should have no dogs 
 or reindeer to draw it." 
 
 " Why not rough-shoe the two horses ? " 
 
 " Tlicy would never be able to endure the cold," ob- 
 jected the count. 
 
 " Never mind," said Servadac, " let us get our sledge and 
 put them to the test. Something must be done ! " 
 
 "I think," said Lieutenant Procope, breaking his 
 thoughtful silence, " that I can tell you of a sledge already 
 provided for your hand, and I can suggest a motive power 
 surer and swifter than horses." 
 
 " What do you mean .-* " was the eager inquiry. 
 
 " I mean the Dobryna's yawl," answered the lieutenant ; 
 ** and I have no doubt that the wind would carry her rapidly 
 along the ice."
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. 1 83 
 
 The idea seemed admirable. Lieutenant Procope was 
 well aware to what marvellous perfection the Americans 
 had brought their sail-sledges, and had heard how in the 
 vast prairies of the United States they had been known to 
 outvie the speed of an express train, occasionally attaining 
 a rate of more than a hundred miles an hour. The wind 
 was still blowing hard from the south, and assuming that 
 the yawl could be propelled with a velocity of about fifteen 
 or at least twelve leagues an hour, he reckoned that it was 
 quite possible to reach Formentera within twelve hours, 
 that is to say, in a single day between the intervals of 
 sunrise and sunset. 
 
 The yawl was about twelve feet long, and capable of 
 holding five or six people. The addition of a couple of 
 iron runners would be all that was requisite to convert it 
 into an excellent sledge, which, if a sail were hoisted, might 
 be deemed certain to make a rapid progress over the 
 smooth surface of the ice. For the protection of the 
 passengers it was proposed to erect a kind of wooden roof 
 lined with strong cloth ; beneath this could be packed a 
 supply of provisions, some warm furs, some cordials, and a 
 portable stove to be heated by spirits of v/ine. 
 
 For the outward journey the wind was as favourable as 
 could be desired ; but it was to be apprehended that, 
 unless the direction of the wind should change, the return 
 would be a matter of some difficulty ; a system of tacking 
 might be carried out to a certain degree, but it was not 
 likely that the yawl would answer her helm in any way 
 corresponding to what would occur in the open sea. Cap- 
 tain Sep/adac, however, would not listen to any representa- 
 tion of probable difficulties ; the future, he said, must 
 provide for itself 
 
 The engineer and several of the sailors sat vigourously 
 to work, and before the close of the day the yawl was 
 furnished with a pair of stout iron runners, curved upwards 
 in front, and fitted with a metal scull designed to assist in 
 maintaining the directness of her course ; the roof was put 
 on, and beneath it were stored the provisions, the wraps, 
 and the cooking utensils. .
 
 1 86 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 A strong desire was expressed by I ieutenant Procope 
 that he should be allowed to accompany Captain Servadac 
 instead of Count Timascheff. It was unadvisable for all 
 three of them to go, as, in case of there being several 
 persons to be rescued, the space at their command would 
 be quite inadequate. The lieutenant urged that he was 
 the most experienced seaman, and as such was best quali^ 
 fied to take command of the sledge and the management 
 of the sails ; and as it was not to be expected that Ser- 
 vadac would resign his intention of going in person to 
 relieve his fellow-countryman, Procope submitted his own 
 wishes to the count. The count was himself verj'- anxious 
 to have his share in the philanthropic enterprise, and 
 demurred considerably to the proposal ; he yielded, how- 
 ever, after a time to Servadac's representations that in the 
 event of the expedition proving disastrous, the little colony 
 would need his services alike as governour and protector, 
 and overcoming his reluctance to be left out of the perilous 
 adventure, was prevailed upon to remain behind for the 
 general good of the community at Nina's Hive. 
 
 At sunrise on the following morning, the i6th of April, 
 Captain Servadac and the lieutenant took their places in 
 the yawl. The thermometer was more than 20^ below 
 zero, and it was with deep emotion that their com- 
 panions beheld them thus embarking upon the vast white 
 plain. Ben Zoof s heart was too full for words ; Count 
 Timascheff could not forbear pressing his two brave 
 friends to his bosom ; the Spaniards and the Russian 
 sailors crowded round for a farewell shake of the hand, and 
 little Nina, her great eyes flooded with tears, held up her 
 face for a parting kiss. The sad scene was not permitted 
 to be long. The sail was quickly hoisted, and the sledge, 
 just as if it had expanded a huge white wing, was in a 
 little while carried far away beyond the horizon. 
 
 Light and unimpeded, the yawl scudded on with 
 incredible speed. Two sails, a brigantine and a jib, were 
 arranged to catch the wind to the greatest advantage, and 
 the travellers estimated that their progress would be little
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. 1 8/ 
 
 under the rate of twelve leagues an hour. The motion of 
 their novel vehicle was singularly gentle, the oscillation 
 being less than that of an ordinary railway-carriage, while 
 the diminished force of gravity contributed to the swift- 
 ness. Except that the clouds of ice-dust raised by the 
 metal runners were an evidence that they had not actually 
 left the level surface of the ice, the captain and lieutenant 
 might again and again have imagined that they were being 
 conveyed through the air in a balloon. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope, with his head all muffled up for 
 fear of frost-bite, took an occasional peep through an 
 aperture that had been intentionally left in the roof, and 
 by the help of a compass, maintained a proper and straight 
 course for Formentera. Nothing could be more dejected 
 ^han the aspect of that frozen sea ; not a single living 
 creature relieved the solitude ; both the travellers, Procope 
 from a scientific point of view, Servadac from an aesthetic, 
 were alike impressed by the solemnity of the scene, and 
 when the lengthened shadow of the sail cast upon the ice 
 by the oblique rays of the setting sun had disappeared, 
 and day had given place to night, the two men, drawn 
 together as by an involuntary impulse, mutually held each 
 other's hands in silence. 
 
 There had been a new moon on the previous evening ; 
 but, in the absence of moonlight, the constellations shone 
 with remarkable brilliancy. The new pole-star close upon 
 the horizon was resplendent, and even had Lieutenant 
 Procope been destitute of a compass, he would have 
 had no difficulty in holding his course by the guidance of 
 that alone. However great was the distance that separated 
 Gallia from the sun, it was after all manifestly insignificant 
 in comparison with the remoteness of the nearest of the 
 fixed stars. 
 
 Observing that Servadac was completely absorbed in 
 his own thoughts, Lieutenant Procope had leisure to con- 
 template some of the present perplexing problems, and to 
 ponder over the true astronomical position. The last o/ 
 tlie three mysterious documents had represented that
 
 1 88 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Gallia, in conformity with Kepler's second law, had travel- 
 led along her orbit during the month of March twenty 
 millions of leagues less than she had done in the previous 
 month ; yet, in the same time, her distance from the sun 
 had nevertheless been increased by thirty-two millions of 
 leagues. She was now, therefore, in the centre of the zone 
 of telescopic planets that revolve between the orbits of 
 Mars and Jupiter, and had captured for herself a satellite 
 which, according to the document, was Nerina, one of the 
 asteroids most recently identified. If thus, then, it was 
 within the power of the unknown writer to estimate with 
 such apparent certainty Gallia's exact position, was it not 
 likely that his mathematical calculations would enable him 
 to arrive at some definite conclusion as to the date at 
 which she would begin again to approach the sun ? Nay, 
 was it not to be expected that he had already estimated, 
 with sufficient approximation to truth, what was to be the 
 true length of the Gallian year ? 
 
 So intently had they each separately been following 
 their own train of thought, that daylight re-appeared 
 almost before the travellers were aware of it. On con- 
 sulting their instruments, they found that they must have 
 travelled close upon a hundred leagues since they started, 
 and they resolved to slacken their speed. The sails were 
 accordingly taken in a little, and in spite of the intensity 
 of the cold, the explorers ventured out of their shelter, in 
 order that they might reconnoitre the plain, which was 
 apparently as boundless as ever. It was completely 
 desert ; not so much as a single point of rock relieved the 
 bare uniformity of its surface. 
 
 " Are we not considerably to the west of Formentera .-' " 
 asked Servadac, after examining the chart. 
 
 " Most likely," replied Procope. " I have taken the 
 same course as I should have done at sea, and I have kept 
 some distance to windward of the island ; we can bear 
 straight down upon it whenever we like." 
 
 " Bear down then, now ; and as quickly as you can." 
 
 The yawl was at once put with her head to the north
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. 1 89 
 
 east, and Captain Servadac, in defiance of the icy blast, 
 remained standing at the bow, his gaze fixed on the 
 horizon. 
 
 All at once his eye brightened. 
 
 " Look, look ! " he exclaimed, pointing to a faint out- 
 line that broke the monotony of the circle that divided the 
 plain from the sky. 
 
 In an instant the lieutenant had seized his telescope. 
 
 " I see what you mean," said he ; " it is a pylone that 
 has been used for some geodesic survey," 
 
 The next moment the sail was filled, and the yawl was 
 bearing down upon the object with inconceivable swiftness, 
 both Captain Servadac and the lieutenant too excited to 
 utter a word. Mile after mile the distance rapidly grew 
 less, and as they drew nearer the pylone they could see 
 that it was erected on a low mass of rocks that was the 
 sole interruption to the dull level of the field of ice. No 
 wreath of smoke rose above the little island ; it was 
 manifestly impossible, they conceived, that any human 
 being could there have survived the cold; the sad pre- 
 sentiment forced itself upon their minds that it was a mere 
 cairn to which they had been hurrj^'ing. 
 
 Ten minutes later, and they were so near the rock that 
 the lieutenant took in his sail, convinced that the impetus 
 already attained would be sufficient to carry him to the 
 land. Servadac's heart bounded as he caught sight of a 
 fragment of blue canvas fluttering in the wind from the top 
 of the pylone : it was all that now remained of the 
 French national standard. At the foot of the pylone 
 stood a miserable shed, its shutters tightly closed. No 
 other habitation was to be seen ; the entire island was less 
 than a quarter of a mile in circumference; and the con- 
 clusion was irresistible that it was the sole surviving 
 remnant of Formentera, once a member of the Balearic 
 Archipelago. 
 
 To leap on shore, to clamber over the slipper^' stones, 
 and to reach the cabin was but the work of a few moments. 
 The worm-eaten door was bolted on the inside. Servadac
 
 IQO HECTOR SERVAUAC. 
 
 began to knock with all his might. No answer. Neither 
 shouting nor knocking could draw forth a reply. 
 
 " Let us force it open, Procope ! " he said. 
 
 The two men put their shoulders to the door, which 
 soon yielded to their vigourous efforts, and they found 
 themselves inside the shed, and in almost total darkness. 
 By opening a shutter they admitted what daylight they 
 could. At first sight the wretched place seemed to be 
 deserted ; the little grate contained the ashes of a fire long 
 since extinguished; all looked black and desolate. Another 
 instant's investigation, however, revealed a bed in tlie 
 extreme corner, and extended on the bed a human form. 
 
 " Dead ! " sighed Servadac ; " dead of cold and hunger ! " 
 
 Lieutenant Procope bent down and anxiously contem- 
 plated the body. 
 
 " No ; he is alive ! " he said, and drawing a small flask 
 from his pocket he poured a few drops of brandy between 
 the lips of the senseless man. 
 
 There was a faint sigh, followed by a feeble voice, which 
 uttered the one word — 
 
 "Gallia?" 
 
 " Yes, yes ! Gallia ! " echoed Servadac, eagerly. 
 
 " My comet, my comet ! " said the voice, so low as to be 
 almost inaudible, and the unfortunate man relapsed again 
 into unconsciousness. 
 
 " Where have I seen this man ? " thought Servadac to 
 himself ; " his face is strangely familiar to me." 
 
 But it was no time for deliberation. Not a moment 
 was to be lost in getting the unconscious astronomer away 
 from his desolate quarters. He was soon conveyed to the 
 yawl ; his books, his scanty wardrobe, his papers, his 
 instruments, and the black board which had served for his 
 calculations, were quickly collected ; the wind, by a for- 
 tuitous Providence, had shifted into a favourable quarter ; 
 they set their sail with all speed, and ere long were on their 
 journey back from Formentera. 
 
 Thirty-six hours later, the brave travellers were greeted 
 by the acclamations of their fellow-colonists, who had been
 
 A SLEDGE-RIDE. I91 
 
 most anxiously awaiting their re-appearance, and the still 
 senseless savant, who had neither opened his eyes nor 
 spoken a word throughout the journey, was safely de- 
 posited in the warmth and security of the great hall of 
 Nina's Hive. 
 
 SNP OF FIRST PART,
 
 t^ J\. X\. 1 11
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE ASTRONOMER. 
 
 By the return of the expedition, conveying its contribution 
 from Formentera, the known population of Gallia was 
 raised to a total of thirty-six. 
 
 On learning the details of his friends' discoveries, 
 Count Timascheff did not hesitate in believing that the 
 exhausted individual who was lying before him was the 
 author alike of the two unsigned documents picked up at 
 sea, and of the third statement so recently brought to 
 hand by the carrier-pigeon. Manifestly, he had arrived at 
 some knowledge of Gallia's movements : he had estimated 
 her distance from the sun ; he had calculated the diminu- 
 tion of her tangential speed ; but there was nothing to 
 show that he had arrived at the conclusions which were ot 
 the most paramount interest to them all. Had he ascer- 
 tained the true character of her orbit ? had he established 
 any data from which it would be possible to reckon what 
 time must elapse before she would again approach the 
 earth } 
 
 The only intelligible words which the astronomer had 
 uttered had been, " My comet ! " 
 
 To what could the exclamation refer .? Was it to be 
 conjectured that a fragment of the earth had been chipped 
 off by the collision of a comet .-' and if so, was it implied 
 that the name of the comet itself was Gallia, and were 
 they mistaken in supposing that such was tlie name given
 
 ig6 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 by the savant to the little world that had been so suddenly 
 launched into space? Again and again they discussed 
 these questions ; but no satisfactory answer could be found. 
 The only man who was able to throw any light upon the 
 subject was lying amongst them in an unconscious and 
 half-dying condition. 
 
 Apart from motives of humanity, motives of self- 
 interest made it a matter of the deepest concern to restore 
 animation to that senseless form. Ben Zoof, after making 
 the encouraging remark that savants have as many lives 
 as a cat, proceeded, with Negrete's assistance, to give the 
 body such a vigourous rubbing as would have threatened 
 serious injury to any ordinary mortal, whilst they ad- 
 ministered cordials and restoratives from the Dobrynds 
 medical stores powerful enough, one might think, to rouse 
 the very dead. 
 
 Meanwhile the captain was racking his brain in his 
 exertions to recall what were the circumstances of his 
 previous acquaintance with the Frenchman upon whose 
 features he was gazing ; he only grew more and more con- 
 vinced that he had once been familiar with them. Perhaps 
 it was not altogether surprising that he had almost for- 
 gotten him ; he had never seen him since the days of his 
 youth, that time of life which, with a certain show of justice, 
 has been termed the age of ingratitude ; for, in point of 
 fact, the astronomer was none other than Professor 
 Palmyrin Rosette, Servadac's old science-master at the 
 Lycee Charlemagne. 
 
 After completing his year of elementary studies, 
 Hector Servadac had entered the school at Saint Cyr, and 
 from that time he and his former tutor had never met, so 
 that naturally they would well-nigh pass from each other's 
 recollection. One thing, however, on the other hand, might 
 conduce to a mutual and permanent impression on their 
 memories ; during the year at the Lycee, young Servadac, 
 never of a very studious turn of mind, had contrived, as the 
 ringleader of a set of like calibre as himself, to lead the 
 poor professor a life of perpetual torment. If grains q\
 
 THE ASTRONOMER- I97 
 
 nitrous salts were surreptitiously mixed with the distilled 
 water in the laboratory so that various chemical experi- 
 ments terminated with the most unexpected results ; if a 
 portion of quicksilver was extracted from the tube of the 
 barometer so that the instrument registered a condition of 
 things quite anomalous to the state of the atmosphere ; if 
 the thermometer was cunningly heated just at the very 
 moment when the professor was known to be going to 
 consult it ; if living insects were found to be crawling be- 
 tween the lenses of the telescope ; if the isolation of the 
 electric battery was clandestinely destroyed so that not a 
 spark could be elicited ; if a hole infinitesimally small 
 was punctured in the pneumatic machine so that no per- 
 severance could exhaust the air ; every trick was sure to 
 be traced to Servadac at the head of his mischievous 
 accomplices, whose enjoyment of the joke was intensified 
 to no small degree by the uncontrolled fury of the dis- 
 concerted professor. The little man on the discovery of 
 each delinquency would fume and rage in a manner that 
 was a source of unbounded delight to his audience. 
 
 Two years after Servadac left the Lyc(fe, Professor 
 Rosette had thrown up all educational employment in 
 order that he might devote himself entirely to the study 
 of astronomy. He endeavoured to obtain a post at the 
 Observatory, but his ungenial character was so well known 
 in scientific circles that he failed in his application ; how- 
 ever, having some small private means, he determined on 
 his own account to carry on his researches without any 
 official salary. He had really considerable genius for the 
 science that he had adopted ; besides discovering three of 
 the latest of the telescopic planets, he had worked out the 
 elements of the three hundred and twenty-fifth comet in 
 the catalogue ; but his chief delight was to criticize the 
 publications of other astronomers, and he was never better 
 pleased than when he detected a flaw in their reckonings. 
 
 When Ben Zoof and Negrete had extricated their 
 patient from the envelope of furs in which he had been 
 wrapped by Servadac and the lieutenant, they found them-
 
 198 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 selves face to face with a shrivelled little man, aboat five 
 feet two inches high, with a round bald head, smooth and 
 shiny as an ostrich's egg, no beard unless the unshorn 
 growth of a week could be so described, and a long hooked 
 nose that supported a huge pair of spectacles such as with 
 many near-sighted people seems to have become a part of 
 their individuality. His nei-vous system was remarkably 
 developed, and his body might not inaptly be compared to 
 one of the Rhumkorff bobbins of which the thread, several 
 hundred yards in length, is permeated throughout by 
 electric fluid. But whatever he was, his life, if possible, 
 must be preserved. When he had been partially divested 
 of his clothing, his heart was found to be still beating, 
 though very feebly. Asserting that while there was life 
 there was hope, Ben Zoof re-commenced his friction with 
 more vigour than ever, humming all the time (as though 
 he were polishing his sabre for parade) the military refrain : 
 
 •' Au tnpoli, • fils de la gloire, 
 Tu dois I'eclat de ton acier. " 
 
 When the rubbing had been continued without a 
 moment's intermission for the best part of half an hour, 
 the astronomer heaved a faint sigh, which ere long was 
 followed by another and another. He half opened his 
 eyes, closed them again, then opened them completely, but 
 without exhibiting any consciousness whatever of his 
 situation. A few words seemed to escape his lips, but 
 they were quite unintelligible. Presently he raised his 
 right hand to his forehead as though instinctively feeling 
 for something that was missing ; then, all of a sudden, his 
 features became contracted, his face flushed with apparen*: 
 irritation, and he exclaimed fretfully : 
 
 " My spectacles ! — where are my spectacles ? " 
 
 In order to facilitate his operations, Ben Zoof had 
 
 removed the spectacles in spite of the tenacity with which 
 
 they seemed to adhere to the temples of his patient ; but 
 
 he now rapidly brought them back and re-adjusted them 
 
 • Tripoli : a powder for polishing meUls.
 
 THE ASTRONOMER, 199 
 
 as best he could to what seemed to be their natural 
 position on the aquiline nose. The professor heaved a 
 long sigh of relief, and once more closed his eyes. 
 
 Before long the astronomer roused himself a little 
 more, and glanced inquiringly about him, but soon relapsed 
 into his comatose condition. 
 
 When next he opened his eyes, Captain Servadac hap- 
 pened to be bending down closely over him, examining his 
 features with curious scrutiny. The old man darted an 
 angry look at him through the spectacles, and said 
 sharply : 
 
 " Servadac, five hundred lines to-morrow I " 
 It was an echo of days of old. The words were few, 
 but they were enough to recall the identity which Ser- 
 vadac was trying to make out. 
 
 " Is it possible ? " he exclaimed. " Here is my old 
 tutor, Mr, Rosette, in very flesh and blood." 
 
 " Can't say much for the flesh," muttered Ben Zoof. 
 The old man had again fallen back into a torpid 
 slumber. Ben Zoof continued : 
 
 " His sleep is getting more composed. Let him alone ; 
 he will come round yet Haven't I heard of men more 
 dried up than he is, being brought all the way from Egypt 
 in cases covered with pictures ? " 
 
 " You idiot ! — those were mummies ; they had been 
 dead for ages." 
 
 Ben Zoof did not answer a word. He went on pre- 
 paring a warm bed, into which he managed to remove his 
 patient, who appeared very soon to fall into a calm and 
 natural sleep. 
 
 Too impatient to await the awakening of the astro- 
 nomer and to hear what representations he had to make, 
 Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant, constituting them- 
 selves what might be designated " the Academy of 
 Scierxes " of the colony, spent the whole of the remainder 
 of the day in starting and discussing the wildest conjec- 
 tures about their situation. The hypothesis, to which they 
 had now accustomed themselves for so long, that a new
 
 200 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 asteroid had been formed by a fracture of the earth's sur- 
 face, seemed to fall to the ground when they found that 
 Professor Palmyrin Rosette had associated the name of 
 Gallia, not with their present home, but with what he 
 called " my, comet ; " and that theory being abandoned, 
 they were driven to make the most improbable specula- 
 tions to replace it. 
 
 Alluding to Rosette, Servadac took care to inform his 
 companions that, although the professor was always 
 eccentric, and at times very irascible, yet he was really 
 exceedingly good-hearted ; his bark was worse than his 
 bite ; and if suffered to take their course without observa- 
 tion, his outbreaks of ill-temper seldom lasted long. 
 
 "We will certainly do our best to get on with him," 
 said the count " He is no doubt the author of the papers, 
 and we must hope that he will be able to give us some 
 valuable information," 
 
 " Beyond a question the documents have originated 
 with him," assented the lieutenant. " Gallia was the word 
 written at the top of every one of them, and Gallia was 
 the first word uttered by him in our hearing," 
 
 The astronomer slept on. Meanwhile, the three 
 together had no hesitation in examining his papers, and 
 scrutinizing the figures on his extemporized black board. 
 The handwriting corresponded with that of the papers 
 already received ; the black board was covered with alge- 
 braical symbols traced in chalk, which they were careful 
 not to obhterate ; and the papers, which consisted for the 
 most part of detached scraps, presented a perfect wilder- 
 ness of geometrical figures, conic sections of every variety 
 being repeated in countless profusion. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope pointed out that these curves 
 evidently had reference to the orbits of comets, which are 
 variously parabolic, hyperbolic, or elliptic. If either of 
 the first two, the comet, after once appearing within the 
 range of terrestrial vision, would vanish for ever in the 
 outlying regions of space ; if the last, it would be sure, 
 sooner or later, after some periodic interval, to return.
 
 THE ASTRONOMER. 201 
 
 From ih^primd facie appearance of his papers, then, it 
 seemed probable that the astronomer, during his sojourn 
 at Formentera, had been devoting himself to the study of 
 cometary orbits ; and as calculations of this kind are 
 ordinarily based upon the assumption that the orbit is a 
 parabola, it was not unlikely that he had been endeavour- 
 ing to trace the path of some particular comet 
 
 " I wonder whether these calculations were made 
 before or after the 1st of January: it makes all the dif- 
 ference," said Lieutenant Procope. 
 
 " We must bide our time and hear," replied the count. 
 
 Servadac paced restlessly up and down. 
 
 " I would give a month of my life," he cried, impetu- 
 ously, "for every hour that the old fellow goes sleeping 
 on. 
 
 " You might be making a bad bargain," said Procope, 
 smiling. " Perhaps after all the comet has had nothing to 
 do with the convulsion that we have experienced." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " exclaimed the captain ; " I know better 
 than that, and so do you. Is it not as clear as daylight 
 that the earth and this comet have been in collision, and 
 the result has been that our little world has been split off 
 and sent flying far into space ? " 
 
 Count Timaschefif and the lieutenant looked at each 
 other in silence. 
 
 " I do not deny your theory," said Procope after a 
 while. " If it be correct, I suppose we must conclude that 
 the enormous disc we observed on the night of the catas- 
 trophe was the comet itself ; and the velocity witli which 
 it was travelling must have been so great that it was 
 hardly arrested at all by the attraction of the earth." 
 
 "Plausible enough," answered Count Timaschefif; "and 
 it is to this comet that our scientific friend here has given 
 the name of Gallia." 
 
 It still remained a puzzle to them all why the astro- 
 nomer should apparently be interested in the comet so 
 much more than in the new little world in which their 
 strange lot was cast.
 
 203 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 * Can you explain this ? " asked the count 
 
 " There is no accounting for the freaks of philosophers, 
 you know," said Servadac ; " and have I not told you that 
 this philosopher in particular is one of the most eccentric 
 beings in creation ? " 
 
 " Besides," added the lieutenant, " it is exceedingly 
 likely that his observations had been going on for some 
 considerable period before the convulsion happened." 
 
 Thus, the general conclusion arrived at by the Gallian 
 Academy of Science was this : That on the night of the 
 31st of December, a comet, crossing the ecliptic, had come 
 into collision with the earth, and that the violence of the 
 shock had separated a huge fragment from the globe, which 
 fragment from that date had been traversing the remote 
 inter-planetary regions. 
 
 Palmyrin Rosette would d'^^btless confirm their solu- 
 tion of the phenomeaoa.
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 A REVELATION. 
 
 To the general population of the colony the arrival of the 
 
 stranger was a matter of small interest. The Spaniards 
 were naturally too indolent to be affected in any way 
 by an incident that concerned themselves so remotely ; 
 vhile the Russians felt themselves simply reliant on 
 \heir master, and as long as they were with him 
 ivere careless as to where or how they spent their days. 
 Everything went on with them in an accustomed routine ; 
 and they lay down night after night, and awoke to their 
 avocations morning after morning, just as if nothing extra- 
 ordinary had occurred. 
 
 All night long Ben Zoof would not leave the professor's 
 bedside. He had constituted himself sick nurse, and con- 
 sidered his reputation at stake if he failed to set his patient 
 on his feet again. He watched every movement, listened 
 to every breath, and never failed to administer the strongest 
 cordials upon the slightest pretext. Even in his sleep 
 Rosette's irritable nature revealed itself. Ever and again, 
 sometimes in a tone of uneasiness, and sometimes with the 
 expression of positive anger, the name of Gallia escaped 
 his lips, as though he were dreaming that his claim to the 
 discovery of the comet was being contested or denied ; but 
 although his attendant was on the alert to gather all he 
 could, he was able to catch nothing in the incoherent 
 sentences that served to throw any real light upon the 
 problem that they were all eager to solve.
 
 204 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Gradually, however, the uneasy murmurings subsided, 
 and gave place to snores, deep and sonorous, which 
 augured favourably for an ultimate recovery. 
 
 When the sun re-appeared on the western horizon the 
 professor was still sound asleep ; and Ben Zoof, who was 
 especially anxious that the repose which promised to be 
 so beneficial should not be disturbed, felt considerable 
 annoyance at hearing a loud knocking, evidently of some 
 blunt heavy instrument against a door that had been 
 placed at the entrance of the gallery, more for the purpose 
 of retaining internal warmth than for guarding against 
 intrusion from without. The first thought of the orderly 
 was that he would leave his patient and go to ascertain 
 the cause of the disturbance, but finding that the noise 
 had ceased, and remembering that there were others at 
 hand to attend to the door, he resolved to remain where 
 he was. 
 
 It was not very long, however, before the knocking 
 began again, Ben Zoof waited and waited on, in the 
 expectation that the noise would attract attention else- 
 where ; but the sleep of the inmates of Nina's Hive was 
 too profound to be broken. 
 
 The knocking still went on. 
 
 " Confound it ! " said Ben Zoof, " I must put a stop to 
 this ; " and he made his way towards the door, 
 
 " Who's there .'' " he cried, in no very amiable tone. 
 
 " I," replied a quavering voice. 
 
 " Who are you ? " 
 
 " Isaac Hakkabut. Let me in ; do, please, let me in." 
 
 " Oh, it is you, old Ashtaroth, is it ,-* What do you 
 want .'' Can't you get anybody to buy your stuffs ? " 
 
 " Nobody will pay me a proper price," 
 
 "Well, old Shimei, you won't find a customer here. 
 You had better be off." 
 
 "No; but do, please — do, please, let me in," suppli- 
 cated the Jew, " I want to speak to his Excellency, the 
 governour." 
 
 " The governour is in bed, and asleep." 
 
 1
 
 A REVELATION. 205 
 
 " I can wait until he awakes." 
 
 " Then wait where you are." 
 
 And with this inhospitable rejoinder the orderly was 
 about to return to his place at the side of his patient, when 
 Servadac, who had been roused by the sound of voices, 
 called out : 
 
 " What's the matter, Ben Zoof ? " 
 
 "Oh, nothing, sir; only that hound of a Hakkabut 
 says he wants to speak to you." 
 
 " Let him in, then." 
 
 Ben Zoof hesitated. 
 
 " Let him in, I say," repeated the captain, peremptorily. 
 
 However reluctantly, Ben Zoof obeyed. 
 
 The door was unfastened, and Isaac Hakkabut 
 enveloped in an old overcoat, shuffled into the gallery. 
 
 In a few moments Servadac approached, and the Jew 
 began to overwhelm him with the most obsequious epi- 
 thets. Without vouchsafing any reply, the captain 
 beckoned to the old man to follow him, and leading the 
 way to the central hall, stopped, and turning so as to look 
 him steadily in the face, said : 
 
 " Now is your opportunity. Tell me what you want." 
 
 ** Oh, my lord, my lord," whined Isaac, " you must have 
 some news to tell me." 
 
 " News ? What do you mean ? " 
 
 " From my little tartan yonder, I saw the yawl go out 
 from the rock here on a journey, and I saw it come back, 
 and it brought a stranger ; and I thought — I thought — I 
 thought " 
 
 " Well, you thought — what did you think ? " 
 
 "Why, that perhaps the stranger had come trom the 
 northern shores of the Mediterranean, and that I might 
 ask him " 
 
 He paused again, and gave an inquiring glance at the 
 captain. 
 
 " Ask him what ? Speak out, man .'' " 
 
 ** Ask him if he brings any tidings of Europe," Hak- 
 kabut blurted out at last.
 
 206 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 Servadac shrugged his shoulders in contempt and 
 turned away. Here was a man who had been resident 
 three months in Gallia, a living witness of all the abnormal 
 phenomena that had occurred, and yet refusing to believe 
 that his hope of making good bargains with European 
 traders was at an end. Surely nothing, thought the 
 captain, will convince the old rascal now; and he moved 
 off in disgust. The orderly, however, who had listened 
 with much amusement, was by no means disinclined for 
 the conversation to be continued. 
 
 " Are you satisfied, old Ezekiel .? " he asked. 
 
 " Isn't it so ? Am I not right > Didn't a stranger 
 arrive here last night ? " inquired the Jew. 
 
 " Yes, quite true." 
 
 "Where from.?" 
 
 " From the Balearic Isles." 
 
 " The Balearic Isles ? " echoed Isaac. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Fine quarters for trade ! Hardly five and twenty 
 .eagues from Spain! He must have brought news from 
 
 Europe ! " 
 
 " Well, old Manasseh, what if he has ? " 
 
 « I should like to see him." 
 
 " Can't be." 
 
 The Jew sidled close up to Ben Zoof, and laying his 
 hand on his arm, said in a low and insinuating tone : 
 
 " I am poor, you know ; but I would give you a few 
 reals if you would let me talk to this stranger." 
 
 But as if he thought he was making too liberal an 
 offer, he added : 
 
 " Only it must be at once.** 
 
 "He is too tired ; he is worn out ; he is fast asleep," 
 answered Ben Zoof. 
 
 " But I would pay you to wake him.** 
 
 The captain had overheard the tenour of the con- 
 versation, and interposed sternly : 
 
 " Hakkabut ! if you make the least attempt to disturb 
 our visitor, I shall have you turned outside that door im 
 mediatelv."
 
 A REVELATION. 207 
 
 ** No offence, my lord, I hope," stammered out the Jew. 
 ** I only meant . . . ." 
 
 ** Silence ! " shouted Servadac. 
 
 The old man hung his head, abashed. 
 
 "I will tell you what," said Servadac after a brief 
 interval ; " I will give you leave to hear what this stranger 
 has to tell as soon as he is able to tell us anything ; at 
 present we have not heard a word from his lips." 
 
 The Jew looked perplexed. 
 
 " Yes," said Servadac ; " when we hear his story, you 
 shall hear it too." 
 
 "And I hope it will be to your liking, old Ezekiell" 
 added Ben Zoof in a voice of irony. 
 
 ^ They had none of them long to wait, for within a few 
 minutes Rosette's peevish voice was heard calling : 
 
 "Joseph! Joseph!" 
 
 The professor did not open his eyes, and appeared to 
 be slumbering on, but very shortly afterwards called out 
 again : 
 
 "Joseph 1 Confound the fellow ! where is he ? " 
 It was evident that he was half dreaming about a 
 former servant now far away on the ancient globe. 
 " Where's my black board, Joseph .? " 
 " Quite safe, sir," answered Ben Zoof, quickly. 
 Rosette unclosed his eyes and fixed them full upon the 
 orderly's face. 
 
 " Are you Joseph ? " he asked. 
 
 " At your service, sir," replied Ben Zoof with imper- 
 turbable gravity. 
 
 " Then get me my coffee, and be quick about it." 
 Ben Zoof left to go into the kitchen, and Servadac 
 approached the professor in order to assist him in rising to 
 a sitting posture. 
 
 **Do you recognize your quondam pupil, professor?** 
 he asked. 
 
 "Ah, yes, yes; you are Servadac," replied Rosette. 
 " It is twelve years or more since I saw you ; I hope you 
 have improved."
 
 208 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 "Quite a reformed character, sir, I assure you," said 
 Servadac, smiling. 
 
 "Well, that's as it should be; that's right," said the 
 astronomer with fussy importance. " But let me have my 
 coffee," he added impatiently ; " I cannot collect my 
 thoughts without my coffee." 
 
 Fortunately, Ben Zoof appeared with a great cup, hot 
 and strong. After draining it with much apparent relish, 
 the professor got out of bed, walked into the common hall, 
 round which he glanced with a pre-occupied air, and pro- 
 ceeded to seat himself in an armchair, the most comfort- 
 able which the cabin of the Dobry7ia had supplied. Then, 
 in a voice full of satisfaction, and that involuntarily 
 recalled the exclamations of delight that had wound up 
 the two first of the mysterious documents that had been 
 received, he burst out : 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, what do you think of Gallia } " 
 
 There was no time for any one to make a reply before 
 Isaac Hakkabut had darted forward. 
 
 " By the God " 
 
 " Who is that ? " asked the startled professor ; and he 
 frowned, and made a gesture of repugnance. 
 
 Regardless of the efforts that were made to silence 
 him, the Jew continued : 
 
 " By the God of Abraham, I beseech you, give me 
 some tidings of Europe ! " 
 
 " Europe .-' " shouted the professor, springing from his 
 seat as if he were electrified ; " what does the man want 
 with Europe ? " 
 
 " I want to get there ! " screeched the Jew ; and in 
 spite of every exertion to get him away, he clung most 
 tenaciously to the professor's chair, and again and again 
 implored for news of Europe. 
 
 Rosette made no immediate reply. After a moment 
 or two's reflection, he turned to Servadac and asked him 
 whether it was not the middle of April. 
 
 "It is the twentieth," answered the captain. 
 
 " Then to-day," said the astronomer, speaking with the
 
 A REVELATION. 209 
 
 greatest deliberation — "to-day we are just three mllliong 
 of leagues away from Europe. 
 
 The Jew was utterly crestfallen. 
 
 "You seem here," continued the professor, " to be very 
 ignorant of the state of things." 
 
 " How far we are ignorant," rejoined Servadac, " I can- 
 not tell. But I will tell you all that we do know, and all 
 that we have surmised," 
 
 And as briefly as he could, he related all that had 
 happened since the memorable night of the thirty-first of 
 December ; how they had experienced the shock ; how 
 the Dobiyna had made her voyage ; how they had dis- 
 covered nothing except the fragments of the old continent 
 at Tunis, Sardinia, Gibraltar, and now at Formentera; how 
 at intervals the three anonymous documents had been 
 received ; and, finally, how the settlement at Gourbi Island 
 had been abandoned for their present quarters at Nina's 
 Hive. 
 
 The astronomer had hardly patience to hear him to 
 the end. 
 
 "And what do you say is your surmise as to your 
 present position .?" he asked. 
 
 "Our supposition," the captain replied, "is this. We 
 imagine that we are on a considerable fragment of the 
 terrestrial globe that has been detached by collision with a 
 planet to which you appear to have given the name of 
 Gallia." 
 
 " Better than that ! " cried Rosette, starting to his feet 
 with excitement. 
 
 " How .'' Why } What do you mean ? " cried the voices 
 of the listeners. 
 
 "You are correct to a certain degree," continued the 
 professor. "It is quite true that at 47' o5."6 after two 
 o'clock on the morning of the first of January there was 
 a collision ; my comet grazed the earth ; and the bits 
 of the earth which you have named were carried clean 
 away." 
 
 They were all fairly bewildered.
 
 2IO 
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 ** Where, then," cried Servadac eagerly, " where afV 
 
 we?" 
 
 "You are on my comet, on Gallia itself! " 
 
 And the professor gazed around him with a perfect air 
 
 of triunu>h. 
 
 J
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 As if moved by some unconscious presentiment of his 
 future destiny, Professor Palmyrin Rosette had always 
 evidenced a strong predilection for the study of comets. 
 He had based his opinions on the best authorities, and was 
 never more in his element than when he was expatiating 
 on his favourite theme as he presided at some astronomical 
 conference. 
 
 " Comets, gentlemen," he would say, " are nebulous 
 bodies which occasionally appear in the heavens, consisting 
 ordinarily of a bright central light called the nucleus^ and 
 in the more conspicuous cases accompanied by a long trail 
 of light called tlie tail. Owing to the great eccentricity of 
 their orbits, they are visible to the earth during only a 
 portion of their course." 
 
 The professor never failed to point out the two charac- 
 teristics by which they were to be distinguished from other 
 heavenly bodies : 
 
 "Although these comets, gentlemen, may be deficient 
 either with respect to the luminous tail or to the nebulous 
 coma, the pt'ogressive motion with which they are endued 
 prevents th<im from ever being mistaken for fixed stars, 
 while the extreme length of the ellipses which they 
 describe makes it impossible to confound them with 
 planets," 
 
 During the long years of the astronomer's application 
 to his fas';inating study, he had comoosed an elaborate
 
 212 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 treatise, exhibiting' the results of all his investig^ations, and 
 when, after the sudden convulsion, he found himself 
 actually upon the surface of one of the very bodies the 
 properties of which had engrossed so much of his interest, 
 it was necessarily a disappointment to feel that, alone upon 
 Formentera, he had no audience to whom he could address 
 himself. 
 
 The treatise which Rosette had compiled had been 
 arranged under four distinct heads : 
 
 1. The number of comets. 
 
 2. Periodic and non-periodic comets. 
 
 3. The probability of collision between a comet and 
 the earth. 
 
 4. The consequences of such a collision. 
 
 First : with respect to the number of comets, the 
 professor had recorded that, according to Arago, who 
 grounded his estimate on the number that revolve between 
 Mercury and the sun, there are at least 17,000,000 of these 
 luminous bodies in our solar system ; whilst Lambert asserts 
 that within the orbit of Saturn, that is, within a radius of 
 872,135,000 miles, there are no less then 500,000,000. 
 According to Kepler, two hundred years previously, the 
 number of comets can only be compared to the fishes in 
 the sea, and in following out his simile he declares that an 
 angler throwing out his line from the surface of the sun 
 could not fail to touch several of them ; and now in recent 
 times a computation has been made that their aggregate 
 reaches a total of 74,000,000,000 distinct comets. The 
 truth seems to be that their number really sets all calcula- 
 tion at defiance ; so erratic, moreover, are their movements, 
 that they sometimes pass from system to system, and 
 whilst some, entirely escaping the influence of the sun, 
 vanish, to find a new centre of attraction, others never be- 
 fore observed make their appearance upon the terrestrial 
 horizon. 
 
 Even the comets which belong exclusively to our own 
 system are by no means exempt from strange irregularities; 
 the orbits of several, ceasing to be ellipses, have become 

 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 21 3 
 
 parabolas or hyperbolas ; and the planets, Jupiter in parti- 
 cular, have been observed to exercise a large disturbing 
 action upon their paths. 
 
 Secondly : under the head of periodic and non-periodic 
 comets, Professor Rosette had stated that as many as 500 
 or 600 comets have been made objects of careful astronomi- 
 cal investigation ; those being called " periodic " of which 
 the return at fixed intervals has been established as a 
 certainty ; those, on the other hand, being classed as "non- 
 periodic " which recede to such immeasurable distances 
 from the sun that it cannot be determined whether they 
 will return or not 
 
 Of the periodic comets there are not more than forfjf 
 of which the times of their revokition have been ascertained 
 with exact precision ; but of these there are ten, generally 
 known as the "short-period comets," the movements of 
 which have been established with the nicest accuracy. 
 
 The short-period comets are respectively called by the 
 names of their discoverers, and are comonly distinguished 
 as Halley's comet, Enckes, Gambart's or Biela's, Faye's, 
 Broiscn's, D'Arrest's, Tattle's, Winnecke's, De Vico's, and 
 Tempel's. 
 
 Subjoined is a brief account of each of these in detail. 
 
 Halley's comet is that which has been the longest 
 known. It is supposed to be identical with the one which 
 was observed in the years 134 and 52 B.C., and afterwards 
 in the years 400, 855, 930, 1006, 1230, 1305, 1380, 1456, 
 1 531, 1607, 16S2, 1759, and 1835 A.D. It revolves from 
 east to west, in a direction contrary to the planets. The 
 intervals between its consecutive appearances vary from 75 
 to y6 years, according as its course is less or more dis- 
 turbed by the attraction of Jupiter and Saturn, which 
 sometimes influence its course to such an extent as to 
 make a difference of 200 days in the period of its arrival. 
 The last appearance of this comet was in 1S35, when Sir 
 John Herschel, at the Cape of Good Hope, a more favour- 
 able station for observation than any in the northern 
 hemisphere, was able to watch it until the end of March
 
 214 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 1836, after which its distance from the earth rendered it 
 invisible. At its aphelion it is 3,200,000,000 miles from 
 the sun, that is to say, it is beyond the orbit of Neptune, 
 but at its perihelion it is less than 57,000,000 miles from 
 the sun, and consequently is nearer than the planet Venus. 
 
 Little did the professor dream, at the time when he 
 drew up his treatise, that his own Gallia would transport 
 him to a still closer proximity to the great luminary. 
 
 Encke's comet has the shortest period of any, its 
 revolution being accomplished in about 1205 days, or less 
 than three years and a half. Unlike Halley's, it moves 
 as the planets, from west to east. It was observed on the 
 26th of November, 18 18, and a calculation of its elements 
 proved it to be identical with the comet of 1805. Accord- 
 ing to prediction, it was seen again in 1822, and since that 
 time has never failed in making its appearance at regular 
 intervals. Its orbit lies within that of Jupiter, and it never 
 recedes more than 387,000,000 miles from the sun, its 
 perihelion distance being only 32,000,000 miles, or less 
 than that of Mercury. 
 
 One important observation that has been made with 
 regard to Encke's comet, places it beyond doubt that the 
 axis major of its elliptical orbit is gradually diminishing, 
 and consequently its average distance from the sun is 
 growing continuously less and less, so that the probability 
 arises that unless it is previously volatilized by the solar 
 heat, it may be ultimately absorbed in the sun itself. 
 
 Gambart's comet (otherwise known as Biela's) was 
 noticed in 1772, 1789, 1795, and 1805 ; but it was not 
 until the 28th of February, 1826, that its elements were 
 satisfactorily determined. Its motion is direct, and its 
 period of revolution 2410 days, or about seven years. At 
 perihelion it passes 82,000,000 miles from the sun, rather 
 nearer than the earth ; at aphelion it is beyond the orbit 
 of Jupiter. 
 
 A singular phenomenon with regard to Biela's comet 
 was first observed in the year 1846: it appeared like a 
 double star, in two distinct fragments, do"btless sundered
 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 21$ 
 
 by the action of some internal force ; these fragments 
 travelled together at an interval of about 160,000 miles 
 apart, but at the next appearance in 1852 this interval was 
 found to be largely increased. 
 
 Faye's comet was discovered by him for the first time 
 on the 22nd of November, 1843. The elements of its 
 orbit were calculated, and it was predicted that it would 
 return again in 1851, after a period of 2718 days, or in 
 about seven years and a half. The prediction was realized ; 
 the comet was visible at the time announced, and has 
 subsequently appeared at similar intervals. Its motion is 
 direct At perihelion it is 192,000,000 miles from the sun, 
 never approaching so near as Mars ; at aphelion it is 
 distant 603,000,000 miles, so that it recedes, like Biela's 
 comet, beyond the pathway of Jupiter. 
 
 Brorsen's comet was discovered on the 26th of February, 
 1846. Its movement is from west to east ; it accomplishes 
 its revolution in about 2042 days ; its perihelion distance 
 is 64,000,000 miles, its aphelion 537,000,000 miles. 
 
 Of the other short-period comets, D'Arrest's, which in 
 1862 passed within 30,000,000 miles of the planet Jupiter, 
 completes its revolution in rather more than six years and 
 a half ; Tuttle's revolves in thirteen years and eight 
 months ; Winnecke's and Temple's in about five years and 
 a half; whilst that of De Vico, after being computed to 
 revolve in a period of rather more than five years, seems 
 to have wandered away altogether into space. 
 
 Then follows a short enumeration of some of the " long- 
 period" comets. 
 
 The comet of 1556, commonly called the comet of 
 Charles-Quint, was expected again in i860, but did not 
 re-appear. 
 
 The comet of 1680 furnished the data for Newton s 
 cometary theories, and, according to Whiston, was the cause 
 of the deluge, on account of its close approximation to the 
 earth. Its revolution takes about 575 years, so that it was 
 visible in I106 and 531, as well as in 43 B.C. and probably 
 in 619 B.C At its perihelion it passes so near the sun tliat
 
 2l6 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 it receives 28,000 times more heat than the earth, that 
 is, it is 2000 times hotter than molten iron. 
 
 The comet of 1744 was by far the most brilliant of the 
 eighteenth century ; it was seen on the ist of March in 
 full daylight, and had six tails, spread out like a fan across 
 a large space in the heavens. 
 
 The great comet of 181 1, which has caused the year of 
 its appearance to be familiarly recognised as " the comet- 
 year," had a nucleus 2637 miles in diameter; its head 
 was 1,270,000 miles in diameter, and its tail 100,000,000 
 miles in length. 
 
 The comet of 1843, observed by Cassini, has been sup 
 posed to be identical with that of 1668, 1494, and 1317, 
 but astronomers are not agreed upon the period of its 
 revolution. At its perihelion it passes nearer to the sun 
 than any other comet recorded in history, travelling at a 
 rate of more than 40,000 miles a second. The heat that it 
 thus receives is equal to that which 47,000 suns would 
 communicate to the earth, and to such a degree does this 
 prodigious temperature increase its density, that at its last 
 appearance its tail was visible in broad daylight. 
 
 Donati's comet, which in 1858 shone with such brilliancy 
 amongst the northern constellations, has a mass that has 
 been estimated at '07 of that of the earth. 
 
 The comet of 1862 was adorned with luminous tufts 
 or aigrettes, and resembled some fantastic mollusk. 
 
 The list is completed by the comet of 1868, the revolu- 
 tion of which occupies a period of no less than 2800 
 centuries, so that it may practically be considered as 
 having vanished in infinite space. 
 
 Thirdly : the next section of the professor's dissertation 
 was devoted to the probability of a collision between any 
 one of these numerous comets and the earth. 
 
 As represented in plane diagrams, the orbits of plane- 
 tary and cometary bodies appear continually to be inter- 
 secting one another J but in free space o: three dimensions 
 tills is by no means necessarily the case ; the planes of the 
 orbits being inclined at various angles to the ecliptic, which
 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 2iy 
 
 Is the plane of the terrestrial orbit. Nevertheless, out of the 
 large number of comets, is it impossible that one of them 
 should come in contact with the earth ? 
 
 In conducting this investigation, it had to be recollected 
 that as the earth never leaves the plane of the ecliptic, 
 three conditions must be fulfilled in order to bring about 
 the result of impact : first, the comet must meet the earth 
 in the ecliptic ; secondly, the earth and the comet must 
 arrive at the point of intersection of their orbits at the 
 same moment; and thirdly, the distance between the 
 centres of the bodies themselves must be less than the sum 
 of their radii. The problem, therefore, resolved itself into 
 an inquiry whether these three conditions could occur 
 simultaneously. 
 
 Laplace did not reject the possibility of such an en- 
 counter, and in his " Exposition du Systeme du Monde " 
 has at- some length detailed the consequences. Arago, 
 when asked his opinion on the subject, replied that by 
 calculation there were 280,000,000 chances to i against 
 a collision. The illustrious astronomer, however, based his 
 estimate upon two conditions that are only fulfilled with 
 the greatest uncertainty; in the first place, that at peri- 
 helion the comet should be nearer the sun than the earth 
 is ; and in the next, that the diameter of the comet should 
 be equal to one-fourth of that of the earth. On the other 
 hand, he only reckoned for the earth coming in contact 
 with the actual nucleus, whilst if the whole extent of the 
 nebulosity were to be taken into account, the chances of 
 collision would be increased tenfold. 
 
 In enunciating his problem, Arago adds : 
 
 " If we take it for granted that the result of a comet 
 running foul of the earth would be the total annihilation of 
 the human race, then the risk of death which each in- 
 dividual incurs from the probability of such a catastrophe 
 is just what would be his chance of drawing, at the first 
 draw, the only white ball out of an urn containing 
 280,000,000 coloured ones." So remote appear the chance?- 
 ■of collision.
 
 2l8 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 All astronomers, moreover, concur in distinctly denying 
 that any such collision has ever happened Arago asserts 
 that if it had happened, the consequences would have been 
 an immediate alteration in the earth s axis of rotation, 
 and a general disturbance of terrestrial latitudes ; but hr 
 alleges no evidence in proof of his assertion. He speaks, 
 however, much more to the purpose when he declares that 
 "the theory held by some, that the depression of the 
 Caspian Sea 300 feet below the level of the ocean is to be 
 attributed to the shock of a comet, is utterly untenable." 
 
 But the matter under consideration was not whether 
 collision had ever occurred, but whether it ever could 
 occur. 
 
 Now in 1832, at the re-appearance of Gambart's comet, 
 the world was thrown Into some alarm because it was 
 announced as the result of astronomical calculations, that 
 at the time of the passage of the comet through its de- 
 scending node on the 29th of October, the earth would be 
 travelling precisely in the same region. Contact seemed 
 not only probable but inevitable, if Olbers' observation was 
 correct, that the radius of the comet was five times as large 
 as that of the earth. Happily, however, the earth did not 
 arrive at that point of the ecliptic until the 30th of 
 November, by which time the comet was more than 
 50,CKX),ooo miles away. But supposing that the earth had 
 reached that place of intersection of the two orbits a 
 month sooner, or the comet a month later, it is hard to 
 say what could have obviated the likelihood of collision. 
 At the very least, some singular perturbations must have 
 ensued. In 1805 Indeed, this identical comet had passed 
 within 6,000,000 miles of the earth, ten times closer than 
 in 1832, but as its proximity was unknown, the fact did 
 not excite any panic. 
 
 Again in 1843 there seemed reasonable ground for fear 
 that the atmosphere of the earth would be vitiated by 
 passing through the nebulous tail of a comet 150,000,000 
 miles in length. 
 
 Altogether, therefore, from the entire evidence, it ap.
 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 219 
 
 peared a necessary inference that collision between the 
 earth and a comet was by no means impossible. 
 
 Fourthly, then, Professor Rosette had to discuss the 
 remaining question to bring his treatise to a close ; as to 
 the probable consequences of such a collision. 
 
 These consequences would manifestly vary according 
 as the comet had or had not a nucleus. As some fruits 
 have no kernel, so some comets have no nucleus, and such 
 is the tenuity of their substance, that stars of the tenth 
 magnitude have been seen through them without any 
 sensible diminution of light. It is a property that must 
 make their external form very susceptible of change, and 
 tends in a degree to make them difiicult of recognition. 
 The same transparency characterises the tail, the develop- 
 ment of which is apparently due entirely to the evapora- 
 tion of the coma under the action of solar heat ; in proof 
 of which it is notified that no tail, either single or multiple, 
 has ever been found attached to a comet until that comet 
 has arrived within 80,000,000 miles of the sun ; whilst it 
 has been observed that some comets, presumably com- 
 posed of denser structure, have emitted no tail at all. 
 
 In tlie case of the earth coming into contact with a 
 comet destitute of a nucleus, there would be no violent 
 collision ; strictly speaking, there would be no shock at 
 all. The astronomer Faye asserts that a cannon ball 
 would find more resistance in a cobweb than in the 
 nebulous parts of a comet ; and for the nebulous matter to 
 be injurious, it must either be incandescent, in which case 
 it would scorch up the surface of the earth, or it must be 
 impregnated with noxious elements, in which case it might 
 be fatally destructive to life. This latter contingency, 
 however, is unlikely to arise ; for, according to Babinet, . 
 the earth's atmosphere possesses sufficient density of its 
 own to resist the penetration of any cometar>' vapours, of 
 which the tenuity is so slight, that Newton has calculated 
 that if a comet, without a nucleus, 1,000,000,000 miles in 
 radius, were reduced to the density of the air at the earth's 
 surface, it might all be contained in a thimble less than an 
 inch in diameter.
 
 220 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Concluding- thus that from comets purely nebulous 
 there was a minimum of danger to be apprehended, the 
 professor proceeded to inquire what would be the result of 
 concussion if tlie comet consisted of a solid nucleus. 
 
 First of all, however, rises the preliminary question 
 whether in any case the nucleus of a comet is really solid, 
 There can be no doubt that if a comet can attain a degree 
 of concentration sufficient to pass out of its gaseous con- 
 dition, it will, if interposed between the earth and a star, 
 make an occupation of that star. No sound reliance is to 
 be placed on testimony such as that of Anaxagoras, who, 
 living in the time of Xerxes, about the year 4S0 B.C., 
 recorded that the sun was eclipsed by a comet ; nor on that 
 of Dion, who maintains that a similar eclipse occurred a 
 few days before the death of Augustus, which could not be 
 occasioned by the moon, then in direct opposition. Modern 
 science has, with more than sufficient justice, entirely 
 repudiated the accuracy of these statements ; but the in- 
 disputable testimony of recent observation all goes to 
 establish the certainty of the existence of comets with a 
 solid nucleus. The comets of 1774 and of 1828 are known 
 to have caused the occupation of stars of the eighth mag- 
 nitude ; it is admitted on all hands that the comets of 
 1402, 1532, and 1744 were solid masses ; whilst, as for the 
 comet of 1843, the fact is patent to the world that the 
 body could be seen close to the sun, in broad daylight, by 
 the naked eye. 
 
 Not only, therefore, do they exist, but in some cases 
 these solid nuclei have been actually measured. Their 
 diameters vary considerably in length ; that of Gambart's 
 comet being only 30 or 40 miles, that of the comet of 1845 
 being 8800 miles, considerably longer than the diameter of 
 the earth, so that in the event of a collision between the 
 two bodies, the preponderance would have been on the 
 side of the comet. The nebulous surroundin;4"s have also, 
 in a variety of instances, been measured, and found to vary 
 from 200,000 to T, 000,000 miles in diameter. 
 
 Upon the whole, modem investigation bears out the
 
 COMETS, OLD AND NEW. 22) 
 
 general statement of M. Arago that there are three kind? 
 of comets ; that is to say, comets without any nucleus . 
 comets with a transparent nucleus ; and comets with a 
 nucleus both solid and opaque. 
 
 It had to be borne in mind that without any actual 
 shock by collision, the mere proximity of a comet to the 
 earth might entail some very singular phenomena. Not 
 that from a comet of inferior mass any serious conse- 
 quences could be expected, for the comet of 1770, which ap- 
 proached within 1,600,000 miles of the earth, did not affect 
 the length of the terrestrial year a single second, although 
 the action of the earth retarded the period of the comet's 
 revolution by three whole days. But if the mass of the two 
 bodies were equal, and if the comet passed within 150,000 
 miles of the earth, the result would be that the terrestrial 
 year would be prolonged by sixteen hours and five 
 minutes, and the obliquity of the ecliptic altered by two 
 degrees, to say nothing of the chance that the comet 
 might capture the moon in its passage. 
 
 What, finally, would happen in the event of the one 
 body actually impinging on the other ? The consequences, 
 manifestly, would be far more considerable. Either the 
 comet, in grazing the earth's surface, would leave behind 
 it a fragment detached from itself, or it would carry off 
 with itself a fragment detached from the earth. If, instead 
 of being oblique, the impact should be direct, there would 
 at least be a rupture of continents, even if the globe were 
 not shivered into pieces. 
 
 In any case, the tangential velocity of the earth must 
 receive a sudden check or a sudden impulse ; trees, houses, 
 living creatures, would be precipitated backwards or for- 
 wards with increased momentum ; the seas, dashed from 
 their natural basins, would overwhelm all that lay in the 
 path of their projection ; the central forces of the globe, 
 still in their normal state of fusion, would be propelled to 
 ' the surface ; the terrestrial axis would undergo a change 
 in its direction, so that a new equator would be estab- 
 lished, and as the conditions of equilibrium would be
 
 222 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 disturbed, there might be nothing properly to counter- 
 balance the attraction of the sun, the consequence of 
 which, by the law of gravity, would be that the earth, 
 drawn perpetually on in a straight line, in the space of 
 sixty-four days and a half would be absorbed into the 
 elements of the great central luminary of the system. 
 
 One speculation there was which to the last remained 
 doubtful ; whether, according to Tyndall's theory that 
 heat is only a form of motion, the velocity of the earth 
 would not, under the sudden elevation of the temperature, 
 mechanically transform itself into heat so intense, that 
 through its action, the earth itself, in the course of a few 
 
 seconds, would be completely volatilized. 
 
 Such were the deductions of Palmyrin Rosette's 
 
 treatise, which he brought to a conclusion by a repetition 
 
 of the philosopher's comforting assurance, that the chances 
 
 were as 280,000,000 to i against the occurrence of any 
 
 collision. 
 
 How little could the professor, as he tabulated his 
 
 scientific notes, anticipate his experiences in the future, 
 
 with regard to his own Gallia ! 
 
 How little could he foresee, that at some future stance, 
 
 he would be in the position to say : 
 
 "You see, gentlemen, that we have drawn the one 
 
 white ball from the urni"
 
 CHAPTER nr. 
 
 THE professor's EXPERIENCES. 
 
 ** Yes, my comet ! " repeated the professor, and from time 
 to time he knitted his brows, and looked around him with 
 a defiant air, as though he could not get rid of the im- 
 pression that some one was laying an unwarranted claim 
 to its proprietorship, or that the individuals before him 
 were intruders upon his own proper domain. 
 
 But for a considerable while, Servadac, the count, and 
 the lieutenant remained silent and sunk in thought Here 
 then, at last, was the unriddling of the enigma they had 
 been so long endeavouring to solve ; both the hypotheses 
 they had formed in succession had now to give way before 
 the announcement of the real truth. The first supposition, 
 that the rotatory axis of the earth had been subject to 
 some accidental modification, and the conjecture that 
 replaced it, namely, that a certain portion of the terrestrial 
 sphere had been splintered off and carried into space, had 
 both now to yield to the representation that the earth had 
 been grazed by an unknown comet, which had caught up 
 some scattered fragments from its surface, and was bearing 
 them far away into sidereal regions. Unfolded lay the 
 past and the present before them ; but this only served to 
 awaken a keener interest about the future. Could the 
 professor throw any light upon that ? they longed to 
 inquire, but did not yet venture to ask him. 
 
 Meanwhile Rosette assumed a pompous professional
 
 224 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 air, and appeared to be waiting for the entire party to be 
 ceremoniously introduced to him. Nothing unwilling to 
 humour the vanity of the eccentric little man, Servadac 
 proceeded to go through the expected formalities. 
 
 " Allow me to present to you my excellent friend, the 
 Count Timascheff," he said. 
 
 " You are very welcome," said Rosette, bowing to the 
 count with a smile of condescension. 
 
 " Although I am not precisely a voluntary resident on 
 your comet, Mr. Professor, I beg to acknowledge your 
 courteous reception," gravely responded Timascheff. 
 
 Servadac could not quite conceal his amusement at 
 the count's irony, but continued : 
 
 " This is Lieutenant Procope, the officer in command of 
 the Dobryna^ 
 
 The professor bowed again in frigid dignity. 
 
 " His yacht has conveyed us right round Gallia," added 
 the captain. 
 
 " Round Gallia ? " eagerly exclaimed the professor. 
 
 " Yes, entirely round it," answered Servadac, and with- 
 out allowing time for reply, proceeded : 
 
 " And this is my orderly, Ben Zoof." 
 
 " Aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governour oi 
 Gallia," interposed Ben Zoof himself, anxious to main- 
 tain his master's honour as well as his own. 
 
 Rosette scarcely bent his head. 
 
 The rest of the population of the Hive were all pre- 
 sented in succession : the Russian sailors, the Spaniards, 
 young Pablo, and little Nina, on whom the professor, 
 evidently no lover of children, glared fiercely through his 
 formidable spectacles. Isaac Hakkabut, after his intro 
 duction, begged to be allowed to ask one question. 
 
 " How soon may we hope to get back ? " he inquired, 
 imploringly. 
 
 " Get back ! " rejoined Rosette, sharply ; " who talks o{ 
 getting back? We have hardly started yet." 
 
 Seeing that the professor was inclined to get angry, 
 Captain Servadac adroitly gave a new turn to the con
 
 THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIENCES. 225 
 
 versation by asking him whether he would gratify them 
 by relating his own recent experiences. The astronomer 
 seemed pleased with the proposal, and at once commenced 
 a verbose and somewhat circumlocutory address, of which 
 the following summary presents the main features. 
 
 The French Government, being desirous of verifying 
 the measurement already made of the arc of the meridian 
 of Paris, appointed a scientific commission for that pur- 
 pose. From that commission the name of Palmyrin 
 Rosette was omitted, apparently for no other reason than 
 his personal unpopularity. Furious at the slight, the pro- 
 fessor resolved to set to work independently on his own 
 account, and declaring that there were inaccuracies in the 
 previous geodesic operations, he determined to re-examine 
 the results of the last triangulation which had united 
 Formentera to the Spanish coast by a triangle, one of 
 the sides of which measured over a hundred miles, the 
 very operation which had already been so successfully 
 accomplished by Arago and Biot. 
 
 Accordingly, leaving Paris for the Balearic Isles, he 
 placed his observatory on the highest point of Formentera, 
 and accompanied as he was only by his servant, Joseph, 
 led the life of a recluse. He secured the services of a 
 former assistant, and despatched him to a high peak on 
 the coast of Spain, where he had to superintend a rever- 
 berator, which, with the aid of a glass, could be seen from 
 Formentera. A few books and instruments, and two 
 months' victuals, was all the ba<To-a£re he tcok with him, 
 except an excellent astronomical telescope, which was, 
 indeed, almost part and parcel of himself, and with which 
 he assiduously scanned the heavens, in the sanguine antici- 
 pation of making some discovery which would immortalize 
 his name. 
 
 The task he had undertaken demanded the utmost 
 patience. Night after night, in order to fix the apex of 
 his triangle, he had to linger on the watch for the assist- 
 ant's signal-light, but he did not forget that his prede- 
 cessors, Arago and Biot, had had to wait sixty-one days
 
 226 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 for a similar purpose. What retarded the work was the 
 dense fog which, it has been already mentioned, at that 
 time enveloped not only that part of Europe, but almost 
 the entire world. 
 
 Never failing to turn to the best advantage the few 
 intervals when the mist lifted a little, the astronomer would 
 at the same time cast an inquiring glance at the firma- 
 ment, as he was greatly interested in the revision of the 
 chart of the heavens, in the region contiguous to the con- 
 stellation Gemini. 
 
 To the naked eye this constellation consists of only 
 six stars, but through a telescope ten inches in diameter, 
 as many as six thousand are visible. Rosette, however, 
 did not possess a reflector of this magnitude, and was 
 obliged to content himself with the good but compara- 
 tively small instrument he had. 
 
 On one of these occasions, whilst carefully gauging the 
 recesses of Gemini, he espied a bright speck which was 
 unregistered in the chart, and which at first he took for 
 a small star that had escaped being entered in the cata- 
 logue. But the observation of a few separate nights soon 
 made it manifest that the star was rapidly changing its 
 position with regard to the adjacent stars, and the as- 
 tronomer's heart began to leap at the thought that the 
 renown of the discovery of a new planet would be associ- 
 ated with his name. 
 
 Redoubling his attention, he soon satisfied himself that 
 what he saw was not a planet; the rapidity of its displace- 
 ment rather forced him to the conjecture that it must be 
 a comet, and this opinion was soon strengthened by the 
 appearance of a coma, and subsequently confirmed, as 
 the body approached the sun, by the development of a 
 tail. 
 
 A comet! The discovery was fatal to all further 
 progress in the triangulation. However conscientiously 
 the assistant on the Spanish coast might look to the 
 kindling of the beacon. Rosette had no glances to spare 
 for that direction; he had no eyes except for the one
 
 THE professor's EXPERIENCES. 22/ 
 
 object of his notice, no thoughts apart from that one 
 quarter of the firmament. 
 
 A comet I No time must be lost in calculating its 
 elements. 
 
 Now, in order to calculate the elements of a comet, 
 it is always deemed the safest mode of procedure to 
 assume the orbit to be a parabola. Ordinarily, cometJ 
 are conspicuous at their perihelia, as being their shortest 
 distances from the sun, which is the focus of their orbit, 
 and inasmuch as a parabola is but an ellipse with its axis 
 indefinitely produced, for some short portion of its path- 
 way the orbit may be indifferently considered either one 
 or the other ; but in this particular case the professor was 
 right in adopting the supposition of its being parabolic 
 
 Just as in a circle, it is necessary to know three points 
 to determine the circumference ; so in ascertaining the 
 elements of a comet, three different positions must be 
 observed before what astronomers call its " ephemeris " 
 can be established. 
 
 But Professor Rosette did not content himself with 
 three positions ; taking advantage of every rift in the fog 
 he made ten, twenty, thirty observations both in right 
 ascension and in declination, and succeeded in working 
 out with the most minute accuracy the five elements of the 
 comet which was evidently advancing with astounding 
 rapidity towards the earth. 
 
 These elements were : 
 
 1. The inclination of the plane of the cometary orbit 
 to the plane of the ecliptic, an angle which is generally 
 considerable, but in this case the planes were proved to 
 coincide. 
 
 2. The position of the ascending node, or the point 
 where the comet crossed the terrestrial orbit. 
 
 These two elements being obtained, the position io 
 space of tlie comet's orbit was determined. 
 
 3. The direction of the axis major of the orbit, which 
 was found by calculating the longitude of the comet's 
 perihelion
 
 228 HECTOR SERVADAa 
 
 4. The perihelion distance from the sun, which settled 
 the precise form of the parabola. 
 
 5. The motion of the comet, as being retrograde, or, 
 unlike the planets, from east to west.* 
 
 Rosette thus found himself able to calculate the date 
 at which the comet would reach its perihelion, and, over- 
 joyed at his discovery, without thinking of calling it 
 Palmyra or Rosetta, after his own name, he resolved that 
 it should be known as Gallia. 
 
 His next business was to draw up a formal report. 
 Not only did he at once recognize that a collision with 
 the earth was possible, but he soon foresaw that it was in- 
 evitable, and that it must happen on the night of the 31st 
 of December ; moreover, as the bodies were moving in op- 
 posite directions, the shock could hardly fail to be violent. 
 
 To say that he was elated at the prospect was far 
 )elow the truth ; his delight amounted almost to delirium. 
 Any one else would have hurried from the solitude of For- 
 mentera in sheer fright ; but, without communicating a 
 word of his startling discovery, he remained resolutely 
 at his post. From occasional newspapers which he had 
 received, he had learnt that fogs, dense as ever, continued 
 to envelop both hemispheres, so that he was assured that 
 the existence of the comet was utterly unknown else- 
 where ; and the ignorance of the world as to the peril that 
 threatened it averted the panic that would have followed 
 the publication of the facts, and left the philosopher of 
 Formentera in sole possession of the great secret. He 
 clung to his post with the greater persistency, because his 
 calculations had led him to the conclusion that the comet 
 would strike the earth somewhere to the south of Algeria, 
 and as it had a solid nucleus, he felt sure that, as he 
 expressed it, the effect would be "unique," and he was 
 anxious to be in the vicinity. 
 
 The shock came, and with it the results already re- 
 corded. Palmyrin Rosette was suddenly separated from 
 
 • Of 252 comets, 123 have a direct aiid 129 a 1 J rograde moliou.
 
 The Solitary Occupant of the only Fragment that survived of the Balearic 
 
 Archipelago.
 
 THE professor's EXPERIENCES. 229 
 
 his servant Joseph, and when, after a long period of un- 
 consciousness, he came to himself, he found that he was 
 the solitary occupant of the only fragment that survived 
 of the Balearic Archipelago. 
 
 Such was the substance of the narrative which the pro- 
 fessor gave with sundry repetitions and digressions ; while 
 he was giving it, he frequently paused and frowned as if 
 irritated in a way that seemed by no means justified by 
 the patient and good-humoured demeanour of his audience. 
 
 " But now, gentlemen," added the professor, " I must 
 tell you something more. Important changes have re- 
 sulted from the collision ; the cardinal points have been 
 displaced ; gravity has been diminished : not that I ever 
 supposed for a minute, as you did, that I was still upon 
 the earth. No ! the earth, attended by her moon, con- 
 tinued to rotate along her proper orbit. But we, gentle- 
 men, have nothing to complain of ; our destiny might 
 have been far worse ; we might all have been crushed to 
 death, or the comet might have remained in adhesion to 
 the earth ; and in neither of these cases should we have 
 had the satisfaction of making this marvellous excursion 
 through untraversed solar regions. No, gentlemen, I 
 repeat it, we have nothing to regret" 
 
 And as the professor spoke, he seemed to kindle with 
 the emotion of such supreme contentment that no one 
 had the heart to gainsay his assertion. Ben Zoof alone 
 ventured an unlucky remark to the effect that if the comet 
 had happened to strike against Montmartre, instead of a 
 bit of Africa, it would have met with some resistance. 
 
 "Pshaw!" said Rosette, disdainfully. "A mole-hill 
 like Montmartre would have been ground to powder in a 
 moment." 
 
 ** Mole-hill ! " exclaimed Ben Zoof, stung to the quick. 
 " I can tell you it would have caught up your bit of a 
 comet and worn it like a feather in a cap." 
 
 The professor looked angry, and Servadac having im- 
 posed silence upon his orderly, explained the worthy 
 soldier's sensitiveness on all that concerned Montmartre,
 
 230 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Always obedient to his master, Ben Zoof held his tongue ; 
 but he felt that he could never forgive the slight that had 
 been cast upon his beloved home. 
 
 It was now all-important to learn whether the astro- 
 nomer had been able to continue his observations, and 
 whether he had learned sufficient of Gallia's path through 
 space to make him competent to determine, at least 
 approximately, the period of its revolution round the sun. 
 With as much tact and caution as he could. Lieutenant 
 Procope endeavoured to intimate the general desire for 
 some information on this point. 
 
 " Before the shock, sir," answered the professor, " I had 
 conclusively demonstrated the path of the comet ; but, in 
 consequence of the modifications which that shock has 
 entailed upon my comet's orbit, I have been compelled 
 entirely to recommence my calculations." 
 
 The lieutenant looked disappointed. 
 
 ** Although the orbit of the earth was unaltered," con- 
 tinued the professor, " the result of the collision was the 
 projection of the comet into a new orbit altogether." 
 
 "And may I ask," said Procope, deferentially, "whether 
 you have got the elements of the fresh orbit ? '* 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 ** Then perhaps you know . . . . " 
 
 **I know this, sir, that at 47 min. 35'6 sec. after two 
 o'clock on the morning of the ist of January last, Gallia, 
 in passing its ascending node, came in contact with the 
 earth ; that on the lOth of January it crossed the orbit of 
 Venus ; that it reached its perihelion on the 15th ; that it 
 re-crossed the orbit of Venus ; that on the ist of February 
 it passed its descending node ; on the 13th crossed the 
 orbit of Mars ; entered the zone of the telescopic planets 
 on the loth of March, and, attracting Nerina, carried it off 
 as a satellite." 
 
 Servadac interposed j 
 
 " We are already acquainted with well-nigh all these 
 extraordinary facts ; many of them, moreover, we have 
 learned from documents which we have picked up, and
 
 THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIENCES. 23 1 
 
 which, although unsigned, we cannot entertain a doubt 
 have originated with you." 
 
 Professor Rosette drew himself up proudly and said : 
 
 " Of course they originated with me. I sent them ofif 
 by hundreds. From whom else could they come } " 
 
 " From no one but yourself, certainly," rejoined the 
 count, with grave politeness. 
 
 Hitherto the conversation had thrown no light upon 
 the future movements of Gallia, and Rosette was disposed 
 apparently to evade, or at least to postpone, the subject 
 When, therefore. Lieutenant Procope was about to press his 
 inquiries in a more categorical form, Servadac, thinking it 
 advisable not prematurely to press the little savant too far, 
 interrupted him by asking the professor how he accounted 
 for the earth having suffered so little from such a formid- 
 able concussion, 
 
 " I account for it in this way," answered Rosette : " the 
 earth was travelling at the rate of 28,000 leagues an hour, 
 and GaUia at the rate of 57,000 leagues an hour, therefore 
 the result was the same as though a train rushing along at 
 a speed of about 86,000 leagues an hour had suddenly 
 encountered some obstacle. The nucleus of the comet, 
 being excessively hard, has done exactly what a ball would 
 do fired with that velocity close to a pane of glass. It has 
 crossed the earth without cracking it." 
 
 " It is possible you may be right," said Servadac, 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " Right ! of course I am right ! " replied the snappish 
 professor. Soon, however, recovering his equanimity, he 
 continued : " It is fortunate that the earth was only touched 
 obliquely ; if the comet had impinged perpendicularly, it 
 must have plouglied its way deep below the surface, and 
 the disasters it might have caused are beyond reckoning. 
 Perhaps," he added, with a smile, "even Montmartre might 
 not have survived the calamity." 
 
 " Sir ! " shouted Ben Zoof, quite unable to bear the 
 unprovoked attack. 
 
 "Quiet. Ben Zoof!" said Servadac, sternly.
 
 232 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Fortunately for the sake of peace, Isaac Hakkabut, 
 who at length was beginning to realize something of the 
 true condition of things, came forward at this moment, 
 and in a voice trembling with eagerness, implored the pro- 
 fessor to tell him when they would all be back again upon 
 the earth. 
 
 "Are you in a great hurry?" asked the professor, 
 coolly. 
 
 The Jew was about to speak again, when Captain 
 Servadac interposed : 
 
 "Allow me to say that, in somewhat more scientific 
 terms, I was about to ask you the same question. Did I 
 not understand you to say that, as the consequence of the 
 collision, the character of the comet's orbit has been 
 changed ? " 
 
 "You did, sir." 
 
 "Did you imply that the orbit has ceased to be a 
 parabola ? " 
 
 "Just so." 
 
 " Is it then an hyperbola } and are we to be carried on 
 far and away into remote distance, and never, never to 
 return ? " 
 
 " I did not say an hyperbola,* 
 
 "And is it not?" 
 
 " It is not" 
 
 " Then it must be an ellipse ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And does its plane coincide with the plane of the 
 earth ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Then it must be a periodic comet T* 
 
 " It is." 
 
 Servadac involuntarily raised a ringing shout of joy 
 that echoed again along the gallery. 
 
 " Yes ; " continued the professor, " Gallia is a periodic 
 comet, and allowing for the perturbations to which it is 
 liable from the attraction of IMars and Jupiter and Saturn, 
 it will return to the earth again in two years precisely."
 
 THE PROFESSOR'S EXPERIENCES. 233 
 
 " You mean that in two years after the first shock, 
 Gallia will meet the earth at the same point as they met 
 before ? " said Lieutenant Procope. 
 
 " I am afraid so," said Rosette. 
 
 " Why afraid ? " 
 
 " Because we are doing exceedingly well as we are." 
 The professor stamped his foot upon the ground, by way 
 of emphasis, and added, " If I had my will, Gallia should 
 never return to the earth again I '* 

 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 
 
 All previous hypotheses, then, were now forgotten in the 
 presence of the one great fact that Gallia was a comet and 
 gravitating through remote solar regions. Captain Serva- 
 dac became aware that the huge disc that had been 
 looming through the clouds after the shock was the form 
 of the retreating earth, to the proximity of which the one 
 high tide they had experienced was also to be attributed. 
 
 As to the fulfilment of the professor's prediction of an 
 ultimate return to the terrestrial sphere, that was a point 
 on which it must be owned that the captain, after the first 
 flush of his excitement was over, was not without many 
 misgivings. 
 
 The next day or two were spent in providing for the 
 accommodation of the new comer. Fortunately his desires 
 were very moderate ; he seemed to live among the stars, 
 and as long as he was well provided with coffee, he cared 
 little for luxuries, and paid little or no regard to the in- 
 genuity with which all the internal arrangements of Nina's 
 Hive had been devised. Anxious to show all proper re- 
 spect to his former tutor, Servadac proposed to leave the 
 most comfortable apartment of the place at his disposal ; 
 but the professor resolutely declined to occupy it, saying 
 that what he required was a small chamber, no matter how 
 small, provided that it was elevated and secluded, which 
 he could use as an observatory and where he might pro-
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 235 
 
 secute his studies without disturbance. A general search 
 was instituted, and before long they were lucky enough to 
 find, about a hundred feet above the central grotto, a small 
 recess or reduct hollowed as it were in the mountain-side, 
 which would exactly answer their purpose. It contained 
 room enough for a bed, a table, an arm-chair, a chest of 
 drawers, and, what was of still more consequence, for the 
 indispensable telescope. One small stream of lava, an off- 
 shoot of the great torrent, sufficed to warm the apartment 
 enough. 
 
 In these retired quarters the astronomer took up his 
 abode. It was on all hands acknowledged to be advisable 
 to let him go on entirely in his own way. His meals were 
 taken to him at stated intervals ; he slept but little ; carried 
 on his calculations by day, his observations by night, and 
 very rarely made his appearance amongst the rest of the 
 little community. 
 
 The cold now became very intense, the thermometer 
 registering 30°C. below zero. The mercury, however, never 
 exhibited any of those fluctuations that are ever and 
 again to be observed in variable climates, but continued 
 slowly and steadily to fall, and in all probability would 
 continue to do so until it reached the normal temperature 
 of the regions of outlying space. 
 
 This steady sinking of the mercury was accompanied 
 by a complete stillness of the atmosphere ; the very air 
 seemed to be congealed ; no particle of it stirred ; from 
 zenith to horizon there was never a cloud ; neither were 
 there any of the damp mists or dry fogs which so often 
 extend over the polar regions of the earth ; the sky was 
 always clear ; the sun shone by day and the stars by night 
 without causing any perceptible difference in the tempera- 
 ture. 
 
 These peculiar conditions rendered the cold endurable 
 even in the open air. The cause of so many of the dis- 
 eases that prove fatal to Arctic explorers resides in the 
 cutting winds, unwholesome fogs, or terrible snow-drifts, 
 which, by drying up, relaxing, or otherwise affecting the
 
 236 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 lungs, make them incapable of fulfilling their propel 
 functions. But during periods of calm weather, when the 
 air has been absolutely still, many polar navigators, well- 
 clothed and properly fed, have been known to withstand a 
 temperature when the spirit in the thermometer has fallen 
 to 60° below zero. It was the experience of Parry upon 
 Melville Island, of Kane beyond lat. 81^ N., and of 
 Hall and the crew of the Polaris, that, however intense the 
 cold, in the absence of the wind they could always brave 
 its rigour. 
 
 Notwithstanding, then, the extreme lowness of the 
 temperature, the little population found that they were able 
 to move about in the open air with perfect immunity. 
 The governour-general made it his special care to see 
 that his people were all well fed and warmly clad. Food 
 was both wholesome and abundant, and besides the furs 
 brought from the Dobryiia's stores, fresh skins could very 
 easily be procured and made up into wearing apparel. A 
 daily course of out-door exercise was enforced upon every 
 one ; not even Pablo and Nina were exempted from the 
 general rule ; the two children, muffled up in furs, looking 
 like little Esquimeaux, skated along together, Pablo ever at 
 his companion's side, ready to give her a helping hand 
 whenever she was weary with the exertions of her re- 
 creation. 
 
 After his interview with the newly arrived astronomer, 
 Isaac Hakkabut slunk back again to his tartan. A change 
 had come over his ideas ; he could no longer resist the 
 conviction that he was indeed millions and millions of 
 miles away from the earth, where he had carried on so 
 varied and remunerative a traffic. It might be imagined 
 that this realization of his true position would have led 
 him to a better mind, and that, in some degree at least he 
 would have been induced to regard the it.\N fellow-creatures 
 with whom his lot had been so strangely cast, otherwise 
 than as mere instruments to be turned to his own personal 
 and pecuniary advantage ; but no — the desire of gain was 
 too thoroughly ingrained into his hard nature ever to be
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 23^ 
 
 eradicated, and secure in his knowledge that he was undet 
 the protection of a French officer, who, except under the 
 most urgent necessity, would not permit him to be 
 molested in retaining his property, he determined to wait 
 for some emergency to arise which should enable him to 
 use his present situation for his own profit 
 
 On the one hand, the Jew took it into account that 
 although the chances of returning to the earth might be 
 remote, yet from what he had heard from the professor he 
 could not believe that they were improbable ; on the other, 
 he knew that a considerable sum of money, in English and 
 Russian coinage, was in the possession of various members 
 of the little colony, and this, although valueless now, would 
 be worth as much as ever if the proper condition of things 
 should be restored ; accordingly, he set his heart on getting 
 all the monetary wealth of Gallia into his possession, and 
 to do this he must sell his goods. But he would not sell 
 them yet ; there might come a time when for many articles 
 the supply would not be equal to the demand ; that would 
 be the time for him ; by waiting he reckoned he should be 
 able to transact some lucrative business. 
 
 Such in his solitude were old Isaac's cogitations, whilst 
 the universal population of Nina's Hive were congratulat- 
 ing themselves upon being rid of his odious presence. 
 
 As already stated in the message brought by the 
 carrier pigeon, the distance travelled by Gallia in April 
 was 39,000,000 leagues, and at the end of the month she 
 was 110,000,000 leagues from the sun. A diagram repre- 
 senting the elliptical orbit of the planet, accompanied by 
 an ephemeris made out in minute detail, had been drawn 
 out by the professor. The curve was divided into twenty- 
 four sections of unequal length, representing respectively 
 the distance described in the twenty-four months of the 
 Gallian year, the twelve former divisions, according tc 
 Kepler's law, gradually diminishing in length as they 
 approached the point denoting the aphelion and increasing 
 as they neared the perihelion. 
 
 It was on the I2th of May that Rosette exhibited thi»
 
 23? HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 result of his labours to Servadac, the count, and the lieu- 
 tenant, who visited his apartment and naturally examined 
 the drawing with the keenest interest. Gallia's path, 
 extending beyond the orbit of Jupiter, lay clearly defined 
 before their eyes, the progress along the orbit and the 
 solar distances being inserted for each month separately. 
 Nothing could look plainer, and if the professor's calcula- 
 tions were correct (a point upon which they dared not, 
 if they would, express the semblance of a doubt), Gallia 
 would accomplish her revolution in precisely two years, 
 and would meet the earth, which would in the same period 
 of time have completed two annual revolutions, in the very 
 same spot as before. What would be the consequences of 
 a second collision they scarcely ventured to think. 
 
 Without lifting his eye from the diagram, which he 
 was still carefully scrutinizing, Servadac said : 
 
 " I see that during the month of May, Gallia will only 
 travel 30,400,000 leagues, and that this will leave her about 
 140,000,000 leagues distant from the sun." 
 
 " Just so," replied the professor. 
 
 " Then we have already passed the zone of the tele- 
 scopic planets, have we not ? " asked the count. 
 
 " Can you not use your eyes ? " said the professor, 
 testily. " If you will look you will see the zone marked 
 clearly enough upon the map." 
 
 Without noticing the interruption, Servadac continued 
 his own remarks : 
 
 " The comet then, I see, is to reach its aphelion on the 
 15th of January, exactly a twelvemonth after passing it.s 
 perihelion." 
 
 " A twelvemonth ! Not a Gallian twelvemonth .? " ex- 
 claimed Rosette. 
 
 Servadac looked bewildered. Lieutenant Procope 
 could not suppress a smile. 
 
 " What are you laughing at .? " demanded the professor, 
 turning round upon him angrily. 
 
 " Nothing, sir ; only it amuses me to see how you want 
 to revise the terrestrial calendar."
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 239 
 
 ** I want to be logical, that's all." 
 
 " By all manner of means, my dear professor, let us be 
 logical." 
 
 "Well, then, listen to me," resumed the professor, stiffly. 
 " I presume you are taking it for granted that the Gallian 
 year— by which I mean the time in which Gallia makes 
 one revolution round the sun — is equal in length to two 
 terrestrial years." 
 
 They signified their assent 
 
 "And that year, like every other year, ought to be 
 divided into twelve months." 
 
 "Yes, certainly, if you wish it," said the captain, 
 acquiescing. 
 
 " If I wish it! " exclaimed Rosette. " Nothing of the 
 sort ! Of course a year must have twelve months ! " 
 
 " Of course," said the captain. 
 
 " And how many days will make a month .? " asked the 
 professor. 
 
 "I suppose sixty or sixty-two, as the case may be. 
 The days now are only half as long as they used to be," 
 answered the captain. 
 
 " Servadac, don't be thoughtless ! " cried Rosette, with 
 all the petulant impatience of the old pedagogue. " If the 
 days are only half as long as they were, sixty of them 
 cannot make up a twelfth part of Gallia's year — cannot be 
 a month." 
 
 " I suppose not," replied the confused captain. 
 
 " Do you not see, then," continued the astronomer, 
 " that if a Gallian month is twice as long as a terrestrial 
 month, and a Gallian day is only half as long as a terres- 
 trial day, there must be a hundred and twenty days in 
 every month .-* " 
 
 " No doubt you are right, professor," said Count Timas- 
 chefF ; " but do you not think that the use of a new 
 calendar such as this would practically be very trouble- 
 some .'' " 
 
 " Not at all ! not at all ! I do not intend to use any 
 other," was the professor's bluff reply.
 
 240 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 After pondering for a few moments, the captain spoke 
 again : 
 
 "According, then, to this new calendar, it isn't the 
 middle of May at all ; it must now be some time in 
 March." 
 
 " Yes," said the professor, "to-day is the 26th of March. 
 It is the 266th day of the Gallian year. It corresponds 
 with the 133rd day of the terrestrial year. You are quite 
 correct, it is the 26th of March." 
 
 ** Strange ! " muttered Servadac. 
 
 " And a month, a terrestrial month, thirty old days, 
 sixty new days hence, it will be the 86th of March." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " roared the captain ; " this is logic with 
 a vengeance ! " 
 
 The old professor had an undefined consciousness that 
 his former pupil was laughing at him ; and as it was 
 growing late, he made an excuse that he had no more 
 leisure. The visitors accordingly quitted the observatory. 
 
 It must be owned that the revised calendar was left to 
 the professor's sole use, and the colony was fairly puzzled 
 whenever he referred to such unheard-of dates as the 47th 
 of April or the i i8th of May. 
 
 According to the old calendar, June had now arrived ; 
 and by the professor's tables Gallia during the month 
 would have advanced 27,500,000 leagues further along its 
 orbit, and would have attained a distance of 155,000,000 
 leagues from the sun. The thermometer continued to fall ; 
 the atmosphere remained clear as heretofore. The popula- 
 tion performed their daily avocations with systematic 
 routine ; and almost the only thing that broke the mono- 
 tony of existence was an occasional visit from the bluster- 
 •ng, ner\'-ous, little professor, when some sudden fancy 
 induced him to throw aside his astronomical studies for a 
 time, and pay a visit to the common hall His arrival 
 there was generally hailed as the precursor of a little 
 season of excitement. Somehow or other the conversa- 
 tion would eventually work its way round to the topic of a 
 future collision between the comet and the earth ; and in
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 24 1 
 
 the same degree as this was a matter of sanguine anticipa- 
 tion to Captain Sei-vadac and his friends, it was a matter 
 of aversion to the astronomical enthusiast, who had no 
 desire to quit his present quarters in a sphere which, being 
 of his own discovery, he could hardly have cared for more 
 if it had been of his own creation. The interview would 
 often terminate in a scene of considerable animation. 
 
 On the 27t.h of June (old calendar) the professor burst 
 like a cannon-ball into the central hall, where they were all 
 assembled, and without a word of salutation or of preface, 
 accosted the lieutenant in the way in which in earlier days 
 he had been accustomed to speak to an idle school-boy : 
 
 " Now, lieutenant ! no evasions ! no shufflings ! Tell 
 me, have you or have you not circumnavigated Gallia ? " 
 
 The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly. 
 
 "Evasions! shufflings! I am not accustomed, sir . . . ." 
 he began in a tone evidencing no little resentment ; but 
 catching a hint from the count he subdued his voice, and 
 simply said, " We have." 
 
 " And may I ask," continued the professor, quite 
 unaware of his previous discourtesy, "whether, when you 
 made your voyage, you took any account of distances ? " 
 
 " As approximately as I could," replied the lieutenant ; 
 " I did what I could by log and compass. I was unable 
 to take the altitude of sun or star." 
 
 " At what result did you arrive ? What is the mea- 
 surement of our equator } " ^ 
 
 " I estimate the total circumference of the equator to 
 be about 1400 miles." 
 
 " Ah ! " said the professor, more than half speaking to 
 himself, "a circumference of 1400 miles would give a 
 diameter of about 450 miles. That would be approxi- 
 mately about one-sixteenth of the diameter of the earth." 
 
 Raising his voice, he continued : 
 
 " Gentlemen, in order to complete my account of my 
 comet Gallia, I require to know its area, its mass, its 
 volume, its density, its specific gravity.'' 
 
 " Since we know the diameter," remarked the lieu-
 
 242 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 tenant, " there can be no difficulty in finding its surface 
 and its volume." 
 
 " And did I say there was any difficulty ? " asked the 
 professor, fiercely. " I have been able to reckon that ever 
 since I was born." 
 
 " Cock-a-doodle-doo ! " cried Ben Zoof, delighted at 
 any opportunity of paying off his old grudge. 
 
 The professor looked at him, but did not vouchsafe 
 a word. Addressing the captain, he said : 
 
 " Now, Servadac, take your paper and a pen, and find 
 me the surface of Gallia." 
 
 With more submission than when he was a school-boy, 
 the captain sat down and endeavoured to recall the proper 
 formula. 
 
 " The surface of a sphere ? Multiply circumference by 
 diameter." 
 
 " Right ! " cried Rosette ; " but it ought to be done by 
 this time." 
 
 " Circumference, 1400 ; diameter, 450 ; area of surface, 
 630,000," read the captain. 
 
 " True," replied Rosette, " 630,000 square miles ; just 
 292 times less than that of the earth." 
 
 " Pretty little comet ! nice little comet ! " muttered Ben 
 Zoof. 
 
 The astronomer bit his lip, frowned, snorted, and cast 
 at him a withering look, but did not take any further 
 notice. 
 
 " Now, Captain Servadac," said the professor, " take 
 your pen again, if you please, and find me the volume of 
 Gallia." 
 
 The captain hesitated. 
 
 " Quick, quick ! " cried the professor, impatiently ; 
 " surely you have not forgotten how to find tlie volume 
 of a sphere ! " 
 
 " A moment's breathing time, please." 
 
 ** Breathing time, indeed ! A mathematician should 
 not want breathing time ! Come, multiply the surface by 
 the third of the radius. Don't you recollect ? "
 
 A REVISED CALENDAR. 243 
 
 Captain Servadac applied himself to his task while the 
 by-standers waited, with some difficulty suppressing their 
 inclination to laugh. There was a short silence, at the end 
 of which Servadac announced that the volume of the comet 
 was 47,880,000 cubic miles. 
 
 " Just about 5000 times less than the earth," observed 
 the lieutenant 
 
 " Nice little comet ! pretty little comet ! " again said 
 Ben Zoof. 
 
 The professor scowled at him, and was manifestly 
 annoyed at having the insignificant dimensions of his 
 comet pointed out in so disparaging a manner. Lieutenant 
 Procope further remarked that from the earth he supposed 
 it to be about as conspicuous as a star of the seventh 
 magnitude, and would require a good telescope to see it 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " laughed the orderly, aloud ; " charming 
 little comet ! so pretty ! and so modest I '* 
 
 " You rascal ! " roared the professor, and clenched his 
 hand in passion, as if about to strike him. Ben Zoof 
 laughed the more, and was on the point of repeating his 
 satirical comments, when a stern order from the captain 
 made him hold his tongue. The truth was that the pro- 
 fessor was just as sensitive about his comet as the orderly 
 was about Montmartre, and if the contention between the 
 two had been allowed to go on unchecked, it is impossible 
 to say what serious quarrel might not have arisen. 
 
 When Professor Rosette's equanimity had been 
 restored, he said : 
 
 " Thus, then, gentlemen, the diameter, the surface, the 
 volume of my comet are settled ; but there is more to be 
 done. I shall not be satisfied until, by actual measure- 
 ment, I have determined its mass, its density, and the 
 force of gravity at its surface." 
 
 " A laborious problem," remarked Count Timascheff. 
 
 ** Laborious or not, it has to be accomplished. I am 
 resolved to find out what my comet weighs." 
 
 " Would it not be of some assistance, if we knew of 
 what substance it is composed ? " asked the lieutenant
 
 244 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 " That is of no moment at all," replied the professor ; 
 "the problem is independent of it." 
 
 " Then we await your orders," was the captain's reply. 
 
 " You must understand, however," said Rosette, " that 
 there are various preliminary calculations to be made ; you 
 will have to wait till they are finished." 
 
 " As long as you please," said the count. 
 
 " No hurry at all," observed the captain, who was not 
 in the least impatient to continue his mathematical exer- 
 cises. 
 
 " Then, gentlemen," said the astronomer, " with your 
 leave we will for this purpose make an appointment a few 
 weeks hence. What do you say to the 62nd of April ? " 
 
 Without noticing the general smile which the novel 
 date provoked, the astronomer left the hall, and retired to 
 his observatory.
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 wanted: a steelyard. 
 
 Under the still diminishing influence of the sun*s attrao= 
 tion, but without let or hindrance, Gallia continued its 
 inter-planetary course, accompanied by Nerina, its captured 
 satellite, which performed its fortnightly revolutions with 
 unvarying regularity. 
 
 Meanwhile, the question beyond all others important 
 was ever recurring to the minds of Servadac and his two 
 companions : were the astronomer's calculations correct, 
 and was there a sound foundation for his prediction that 
 the comet would again touch the earth ? But whatever 
 might be their doubts or anxieties, they were fain to keep 
 all their misgivings to themselves ; the professor was of a 
 temper far too cross-grained for them to venture to ask 
 him to revise or re-examine the results of his observations. 
 
 The rest of the community by no means shared in 
 their uneasiness. Negrete and his fellow-countrymen 
 yielded to their destiny with philosophical indifference. 
 Happier and better provided for than they had ever been 
 in their lives, it did not give them a passing thought, far 
 less cause any serious concern, whether they were still 
 circling round the sun, or whether they were being carried 
 right away within the limits of another system. Utterly 
 careless of the future, the majos, light-hearted as ever, 
 carolled out their favourite songs, just as if they had never 
 quitted the shores of tlieir native land.
 
 246 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 Happiest of all were Pablo and Nina. Racing through 
 the galleries of the Hive, clambering over the rocks upon 
 the shore, one day skating far away across the frozen 
 ocean, the next fishing in the lake that was kept liquid 
 by the heat of the lava-torrent, the two children led a life 
 of perpetual enjoyment. Nor was their recreation allowed 
 to interfere with their studies. Captain Servadac, who in 
 common with the count really liked them both, conceived 
 that the responsibilities of a parent in some degree had 
 devolved upon him, and took great care in superintending 
 their daily lessons, which he succeeded in making hardly 
 less pleasant than their sports. 
 
 Indulged and loved by all, it was little wonder that 
 young Pablo had no longing for the scorching plains of 
 Andalusia, or that little Nina had lost all wish to return 
 with her pet goat to the barren rocks of Sardinia. They 
 had now a home in which they had nothing to desire. 
 
 " Have you no father nor mother ? " asked Pablo, one 
 day. 
 
 " No," she answered. 
 
 " No more have I," said the boy, " I used to run along 
 by the side of the diligences when I was in Spain." 
 
 " I used to look after goats at Madalena," said Nina ; 
 " but it is much nicer here — I am so happy here. I have 
 you for a brother, and everybody is so kind. I am afraid 
 they will spoil us, Pablo," she added, smiling. 
 
 " Oh, no, Nina ; you are too good to be spoiled, and 
 when I am with you, you make mc good too," said Pablo, 
 gravely. 
 
 July had now arrived. During the month Gallia's 
 advance along its orbit would be reduced to 22,000,000 
 leagues, the distance from the sun at the end being 
 172,000,000 leagues, about four and a half times as great 
 as the average distance of the earth from the sun. It was 
 travelling now at about the same speed as the earth, which 
 traverses the ecliptic at a rate of 21,000,000 leagues a 
 month, or 28,800 leagues an hour. 
 
 In due time the 62nd April, according to the revised
 
 wanted: a steelyard. 247 
 
 GalHan calendar, dawned ; and in punctual fulfilment 6l 
 the professor's appointment, a note was delivered to Ser- 
 vadac to say that he was ready, and hoped that day to 
 commence operations for calculating the mass and density 
 of his comet, as well as the force of gravity at its surface. 
 
 A point of far greater interest to Captain Servadac 
 and his friends would have been to ascertain the nature of 
 the substance of which the comet was composed, but they 
 felt pledged to render the professor any aid they could in 
 the researches upon which he had set his heart. Without 
 delay, therefore, they assembled in the central hall, where 
 they were very soon joined by Rosette, who seemed to be 
 in fairly good temper. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he began, ** I propose to-day to en- 
 deavour to complete our observations of the elements of 
 my comet. Three matters of investigation are before us. 
 First, the measure of gravity at its surface ; this attractive 
 force we know, by the increase of our own muscular force, 
 must of course be considerably less than that at the surface 
 of the earth. Secondly, its mass, that is, the quantity of 
 its matter. And thirdly, its density or quantity of matter 
 in a unit of its volume. We will proceed, gentlemen, if 
 you please, to weigh Gallia." 
 
 Ben Zoof, who had just entered the hall, caught the 
 professor's last sentence, and without saying a word, went 
 out again and was absent for some minutes. When he 
 returned, he said : 
 
 " If you want to weigh this comet of yours, I suppose 
 you want a pair of scales ; but I have been to look, and I 
 cannot find a pair anywhere. And what's more," he 
 added mischievously, " you won't get them anywhere." 
 
 A frown came over the professor's countenance. Ser- 
 vadac saw it, and gave his orderly a, sign that he should 
 desist entirely from his bantering. 
 
 ** I require, gentlemen," resumed Rosette, " first of all 
 to know by how much the weight of a kilogramme here 
 differs from its weight upon the earth ; * the attraction, as 
 
 * 2 '2 lbs. avoirdupois.
 
 248 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 we have said, being less, the weight will be proportionately 
 less also." 
 
 " Then an ordinary pair of scales, being under the in- 
 fluence of attraction, I suppose, would not answer your 
 purpose," submitted the lieutenant. 
 
 " And the very kilogramme weight you used would 
 have become lighter," put in the count, deferentially. 
 
 " Pray, gentlemen, do not interrupt me," said the pro- 
 fessor, authoritatively, as if ex cathedrd. " I need no in- 
 struction on these points," 
 
 Procope and Timaschefif demurely bowed their heads. 
 
 The professor resumed : 
 
 " Upon a steelyard, or spring-balance, dependent upon 
 mere tension or flexibility, the attraction will have no influ- 
 ence. If I suspend a weight equivalent to the weight of a 
 kilogramme, the index will register the proper weight on the 
 surface of Gallia. Thus 1 shall arrive at the difference I 
 want : the difference between the earth's attraction and 
 the comet's. Will you, therefore, have the goodness to 
 provide me at once with a steelyard and a tested kilo- 
 gramme." 
 
 The audience looked at one another, and then at Ben 
 Zoof, who was thoroughly acquainted with all the resources 
 of the colony, 
 
 " We have neither one nor the other," said the orderly. 
 
 The professor stamped with vexation, 
 
 " I believe old Hakkabut has a steelyard on board hia 
 tartan," said Ben Zoof, presently. 
 
 " Then why didn't you say so before, you idiot } " 
 roared the excitable little man. 
 
 Anxious to pacify him, Servadac assured him that 
 every exertion should be made to procure the instrument, 
 and directed Ben Zoof to go to the Jew and borrow it. 
 
 "No, stop a moment," he said, as Ben Zoof v/as moving 
 away on his errand ; " perhaps I had better go with you 
 myself; the old Jew may make a difficulty about lending 
 us any of his property." 
 
 *' Why should we not all go } " asked the count ; ** we
 
 WANTED: A STEELYARD. 249 
 
 should see what kind of a life the misanthrope leads on 
 board the Hansa" 
 
 The proposal met with general approbation. 
 
 Before they started, Professor Rosette requested that 
 one of the men might be ordered to cut him a cubic deci- 
 metre out of the solid substance of Gallia.* 
 
 " My engineer is the man for that," said the count ; "he 
 will do it well for you if you will give him the precise 
 measurement." 
 
 " What ! you don't mean," exclaimed the professor, 
 again going off into a passion, " that you haven't a proper 
 measure of length ? " 
 
 Ben Zoof was sent off to ransack the stores for the 
 article in question, but no measure was forthcoming. 
 
 " Most likely we shall find one on board the tartan," 
 said the orderly. 
 
 " Then let us lose no time in trying," answered the 
 professor, as he bustled with hasty strides into the gallery. 
 
 The rest of the party followed, and were soon in the 
 open air upon the rocks that overhung the shore. They 
 descended to the level of the frozen water and made theif 
 way along its edge towards the little creek where the 
 Dobryna and the Hansa lay firmly imprisoned in their icy 
 bonds. 
 
 The temperature was low beyond previous experience ; 
 but well muffled up in fur, they all endured it without much 
 actual suffering. Their breath issued in vapour, which was 
 at once congealed into little crystals upon their whiskers, 
 beards, eyebrows, and eyelashes, until their faces, covered 
 with countless snow-white prickles, were truly ludicrous. 
 The little professor, most comical of all, resembled nothing 
 so much as the cub of an Arctic bear. 
 
 It was eight o'clock in the morning. The sun was 
 rapidly approaching the zenith ; but its disc, from the 
 extreme remoteness, was proportionately dwarfed ; its 
 beams being all but destitute of their proper warmth and 
 
 * A decimetre =3 '93 inches ; a cubic decimetre, therefore (3 '93)' =60 cubic 
 inches, nearlv.
 
 250 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 radiance. The volcano to its very summit and the sur- 
 rounding rocks were still covered with the unsullied 
 mantle of snow that had fallen while the atmosphere was 
 still to some extent charged with vapour ; but on the north 
 side the snow had given place to the cascade of fiery lava, 
 which, making its way down the sloping rocks as far as the 
 vaulted opening of the central cavern, fell thence perpen- 
 dicularly into the sea. 
 
 Above the cavern, 150 feet up the mountain, was a 
 dark hole, above which the stream of lava made a bifur- 
 cation in its course. From this hole projected the case of 
 an astronomer's telescope ; it was the opening of Palmyrin 
 Rosette's observatory. 
 
 Sea and land seemed blended into one dreary whiteness, 
 to which the pale blue sky offered scarcely any contrast. 
 The shore was indented with the marks of many footsteps 
 left by the colonists either on their way to collect ice for 
 drinking purposes, or as the result of their skating expe- 
 ditions ; the edges of the skates had cut out a labyrinth of 
 curves complicated as the figures traced by aquatic insects 
 upon the surface of a pool. 
 
 Across the quarter of a mile of level ground that lay 
 between the mountain and the creek, a series of footprints, 
 frozen hard into the snow, marked the course taken by 
 Isaac Hakkabut on his last return from Nina's Hive. 
 
 On approaching the creek, Lieutenant Procope drew 
 his companions' attention to the elevation of the Dobrytia's 
 and Haiisds waterline, both vessels being now some fifteen 
 feet above the level of the sea. 
 
 " What a strange phenomenon!" exclaimed the captain. 
 
 " It makes me very uneasy," rejoined the lieutenant ; 
 " in shallow places like this, as the crust of ice thickens, il 
 forces everything upwards with irresistible force." 
 
 " But surely this process of congelation must have a 
 limit ! " said the count. 
 
 " But who can say what that limit will be .? Remember 
 that we have not yet reached our maximum of cold," 
 replied Procope.
 
 wanted: a steelyard. 251 
 
 " Indeed, I hope not ! " exclaimed the professor ; " where 
 would be the use of our travelling 200,000,000 leagues from 
 the sun, if we are only to experience the same temperature 
 as we should find at the poles of the earth ? " 
 
 " Fortunately for us, however, professor," said the lieu- 
 tenant, with a smile, *' the temperature of the remotest 
 space never descends beyond 70° below zero." 
 
 " And as long as there is no wind," added Servadac, 
 " we may pass comfortably through the winter, without a 
 single attack of catarrh." 
 
 Lieutenant Procope proceeded to impart to the count 
 his anxiety about the situation of his yacht. He pointed 
 out that by the constant superposition of new deposits of 
 ice, the vessel would be elevated to a great height, and 
 consequently in the event of a thaw, it must be exposed 
 to a calamity similar to those which in polar seas cause 
 destruction to so many whalers. 
 
 There was no time now for concerting measures off- 
 hand to prevent the disaster, for the other members of the 
 party had already reached the spot where the Hansa lay 
 bound in her icy trammels. A flight of steps, recently 
 hewn by Hakkabut himself, gave access for the present to 
 the gangway, but it was evident that some different con- 
 trivance would have to be resorted to when the tartan 
 should be elevated perhaps to a hundred feet. 
 
 A thin curl of blue smoke issued from the copper 
 funnel that projected above the mass of snow which had 
 accumulated upon the deck of the Hansa. The owner was 
 sparing of his fuel, and it was only the non-conducting 
 layer of ice enveloping the tartan that rendered the 
 internal temperature endurable. 
 
 " Hi ! old Nebuchadnezzar, where are you ? " shouted 
 Ben Zoof, at the full strength of his lungs. 
 
 At the sound of his voice, the cabin door opened, and 
 the Jew's head and shoulders protruded on to the deck.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MONEY AT A PREMIUM. 
 
 "Who's there? I have nothing- here for any one. Go 
 
 away ! " Such was the inhospitable greeting with which 
 Isaac Hakkabut received his visitors. 
 
 " Hakkabut ! do you take us for thieves ? " asked 
 Servadac, in tones of stern displeasure. 
 
 " Oh, your Excellency, my lord, I did not know that 
 it was you," whined the Jew, but without emerging any 
 farther from his cabin. 
 
 " Now, old Habakkut, come out of your shell ! Come 
 and show the governour proper respect, when he gives you 
 the honour of his company," cried Ben Zoof, who by this 
 time had clambered on to the deck. 
 
 After considerable hesitation, but still keeping his hold 
 upon the cabin-door, the Jew made up his mind to step 
 outside. 
 
 "What do you want ? " he inquired, timorously. 
 
 " I want a word with you," said Servadac, " but I do 
 not want to stand talking out here in the cold." 
 
 Followed by the rest of the party, he proceeded to 
 mount the steps. 
 
 The Jew trembled from head to foot. 
 
 "But I cannot let you into my cabin. I am a pool 
 man ; I have nothing to give you," he moaned pitcously. 
 
 " Here he is ! " laughed Ben Zoof, contemptuously ; 
 ' he is beginning his chapter of lamentations over again
 
 MONEY AT A PREMIUM. 253 
 
 But standing out here will never do. Out of the way, old 
 Hakkabut, I say ! out of the way!" and, without rnore ado, 
 he thrust the astonished Jew on one side and opened the 
 door of the cabin. 
 
 Servadac, however, declined to enter until he had taken 
 the pains to explain to the owner of the tartan that he had 
 no intention of laying violent hands upon his property, 
 and that if the time should ever come that his cargo was 
 in requisition for the common use, he should receiv^e a 
 proper price for his goods, the same as he would in 
 Europe. 
 
 " Europe, indeed ! " muttered the Jew maliciously be- 
 tween his teeth. " European prices will not do for me. 
 I must have Gallian prices — and of my own fixing, too ! " 
 
 So large a portion of the vessel had been appropriated 
 to the cargo that the space reserved for the cabin was of 
 most meagre dimensions. In one corner of the compart- 
 ment stood a small iron stove, in which smouldered a bare 
 handful of coals ; in another was a trestle-board which 
 served as a bed ; two or three stools and a rickety deal 
 table, together with a few cooking utensils, completed a 
 stock of furniture which was worthy of its proprietor. 
 
 On entering the cabin, Ben Zoof s first proceeding was 
 to throw on the fire a liberal supply of coals, utterly 
 regardless of the groans of poor Isaac, who would almost 
 as soon have parted with his own bones as submit to such 
 reckless expenditure of hh fuel. The perishing tempera- 
 ture of the cabin, however, was sufficient justification for 
 the orderly's conduct, and by a little skilful manipulation 
 he soon succeeded in getting up a tolerable fire. 
 
 The visitors having taken what seats they could, Hak- 
 kabut closed the door, and, like a prisoner awaiting his 
 sentence, stood with folded hands, expecting the captain 
 to speak. 
 
 "Listen to me," said Servadac ; "we have come to ask 
 a favour of you." 
 
 Imagining that at least half his property was to be 
 confiscated, the Jew began to break out into his usual
 
 ^54 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 formula about being a poor man and having nothing to 
 spare ; but Servadac, without taking any heed of his com- 
 plainings, went on : 
 
 " We are not going to ruin you, you know." 
 
 Hakkabut looked keenly into the captain's face. 
 
 " We have only come to know whether you can lend us 
 a steelyard." 
 
 So far from showing any symptom of relief, the old 
 miser exclaimed, with a stare of astonishment, as if he had 
 been asked for the loan of some thousand francs : 
 
 " A steelyard .? " 
 
 " Yes ! " echoed the professor, impatiently ; ** a steel- 
 yard." 
 
 " Have you not one ? " asked Servadac 
 
 " To be sure he has ! " said Ben Zoof 
 
 Old Isaac stammered and stuttered, but at last con- 
 fessed that perhaps there might be one amongst the stores. 
 
 " Then, surely, you will not object to lend it to us?" said 
 the captain. 
 
 " Only for one day," added the professor. 
 
 The Jew stammered again, and began to object. 
 
 " It is a very delicate instrument, your Excellency. 
 The cold, you know, the cold may do injury to the spring ; 
 and perhaps you are going to use it to weigh something 
 very heavy." 
 
 "Why, old Ephraim, do you suppose we are going to 
 weigh a mountain with it ? " said Ben Zoof 
 
 " Better than that ! " cried out the professor, triumph- 
 antly ; " we are going to weigh Gallia with it ; my comet." 
 
 " Merciful Heaven ! " shrieked Isaac, feigning conster- 
 nation at the bare suggestion. 
 
 Servadac knew well enough that the Jew was holding 
 out only for a good bargain, and assured him that the 
 steelyard was required for no other purpose than to weigh 
 a kilogramme, which (considering how much lighter every- 
 thing had become) could not possibly put the slightest 
 strain upon the instrument. 
 
 The Jew still spluttered, and moaned, and hesitated.
 
 MONEY AT A PREMIUM. 255 
 
 "Well, then," said Servadac, "if you do not like to lend 
 us your steelyard, do you object to sell it to us ? " 
 
 Isaac fairly shrieked aloud. 
 
 " God of Israel ! " he ejaculated, " sell my steelyard ? 
 Would you deprive me of one of the most indispensable 
 of my means of livelihood ? How should I weigh my 
 merchandise without my steelyard — my solitary steelyard, 
 so delicate and so correct ? " 
 
 The orderly wondered how his master could refrain 
 from strangling the old miser upon the spot ; but Servadac, 
 rather amused than otherwise, determined to try another 
 form of persuasion. 
 
 " Come, Hakkabut, I see that you are not disposed 
 either to lend or to sell your steelyard. What do you say 
 to letting us hire it ? " 
 
 The Jew's eyes twinkled with a satisfaction that he was 
 unable to conceal. 
 
 " But what security would you give } The instrument 
 is very valuable ; " and he looked more cunning than ever. 
 
 " What is it worth ? If it is worth twenty francs, I 
 will leave a deposit of a hundred. Will that satisfy you ?" 
 
 He shook his head doubtfully. 
 
 " It is very little ; indeed, it is too little, your Excel- 
 lency. Consider, it is the only steelyard in all this new 
 world of ours ; it is worth more, much more. If I take 
 your deposit it must be in gold — all gold. But how much 
 do you agree to give me for the hire — the hire, one day ? " 
 
 ** You shall have twenty francs," said Servadac. 
 
 " Oh, it is dirt cheap ; but never mind, for one day, you 
 shall have it. Deposit in gold money a hundred francs, 
 and twenty francs for the hire." 
 
 The old man folded his hands in meek resignation. 
 
 " The fellow knows how to make a good bargain," said 
 Servadac, as Isaac, after casting a distrustful look around, 
 went out of the cabin. 
 
 " Detestable old wretch ! " replied the count, full of 
 disgust 
 
 Hardly a minute elapsed before the Jew was back
 
 256 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 again, carrying his precious steelyard with ostentatious 
 care. It was of an ordinary kind. A spring balance, fitted 
 with a hook, held the article to be weighed ; a pointer, 
 revolving on a disc, indicated the weight of the article. 
 Professor Rosette was manifestly right in asserting that 
 such a machine would register results quite independently 
 of any change in the force of attraction. On the earth 
 it would have registered a kilogramme as a kilogramme ; 
 here it recorded a different value altogether, as the result 
 of the altered force of gravity. 
 
 Gold coinage to the worth of one hundred and twenty 
 francs was handed over to the Jew, who clutched at the 
 money with unmistakable eagerness. The steelyard was 
 committed to the keeping of Ben Zoof, and the visitors 
 prepared to quit the Hansa. 
 
 All at once it occurred to the professor that the steel- 
 yard would be absolutely useless to him, unless he had the 
 means for ascertaining the precise measurement of the unit 
 of the soil of Gallia which he proposed to weigh. 
 
 " Something more you must lend me," he said, address- 
 ing the Jew. 
 
 Hakkabut started. 
 
 "I must have a measure, and I must have a kilo- 
 gramme." 
 
 " I have neither of them," answered Isaac. " I have 
 neither the rule nor the weight I am sorry; I am very 
 sorry." 
 
 And this time the old Jew spoke the truth. He would 
 have been really glad to do another stroke or two of busi- 
 ness upon terms as advantageous as the transaction he had 
 just concluded. 
 
 Palmyrin Rosette scratched his head in perplexity, 
 glaring round upon his companions as if they were per- 
 sonally responsible for his annoyance. He muttered some- 
 thing about finding a way out of his difficulty, and hastily 
 mounted the cabin-ladder. The rest followed, but they 
 had hardly reached the deck when the chink of money was 
 heard in the room below. Hakkabut was locking away 
 rne eoid in one of the drawers.
 
 MONEY AT A PREMIUM. 25.7 
 
 Back again, down the ladder, scrambled the little pro- 
 fessor, and before the Jew was aware of his presence he 
 had seized him by the tail of his slouchy overcoat. 
 
 " Some of your money ! I must have some money ! " 
 
 he said. 
 
 " Money ! " gasped Hakkabut ; " I have no money." 
 He was pale with fright, and hardly knew what he was 
 
 saying. 
 
 " Falsehood I " roared Rosette. " Do you think I cannot 
 
 sec?" 
 
 And peering down into the drawer which the Jew was 
 vainly trying to close, he cried : 
 
 " Heaps of money ! French money ! Five-franc pieces ! 
 the very thing I want ! I must have them ! " 
 
 The captain and his friends, who had returned to the 
 cabin, looked on with mingled amusement and bewilder- 
 ment. 
 
 " They are mine ! " shrieked Hakkabut. 
 
 " I will have them ! " shouted the professor 
 
 "You shall kill me first ! " bellowed the Jew. 
 
 " No, but I must ! " persisted the professor again. 
 
 It was manifestly time for Servadac to interfere. 
 
 "My dear professor," he said, smiling, "allow me to 
 settle this little matter for you." 
 
 " Ah ! your Excellency," moaned the agitated Jew, 
 " protect me ! I am but a poor man " 
 
 " None of that, Hakkabut Hold your tongue." 
 
 And, turning to Rosette, the captain said : 
 
 " If, sir, I understand right, you require some silver five- 
 franc pieces for your operation ? " 
 
 " Forty," said Rosette, surlily. 
 
 "Two hundred francs!" whined Hakkabut. 
 
 " Silence ! " cried the captain. 
 
 " I must have more than that," the professor continued. 
 ** I want ten two-franc pieces, and twenty half-francs." 
 
 "Let me see," said Servadac, " how much is that in all ? 
 Two hundred and thirty francs, is it not ? " 
 
 " I dare say it is," answered the professor.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 GALLIA WEIGHED. 
 
 A QUARTER of an hour later, the visitors to the Hansa had 
 re-assembled in the common ha)| of Nina's Hive. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, we can proceed," said the professor 
 " May I request that this table may be cleared ? " 
 
 Ben Zoof removed the various articles that were lying 
 on the table, and the coins which had been just been 
 borrowed from the Jew were placed upon it in three piles, 
 according to their value. 
 
 The professor commenced : 
 
 "Since none of you gentlemen, at the time of the shock, 
 took the precaution to save either a metre measure or a 
 kilogramme weight from the earth, and since both these 
 articles are necessary for the calculation on which we are 
 engaged, I have been obliged to devise means of my own 
 to replace them." 
 
 This exordium delivered, he paused and seemed to 
 watch its effect upon his audience, who, however, were too 
 well acquainted with the professor's temper to make any 
 attempt to exonerate themselves from the rebuke of care- 
 lessness, and submitted silently to the implied reproach. 
 
 " I have taken pains," he continued, " to satisfy myself 
 that these coins are in proper condition for my purpose. 
 I find them unworn and unchipped ; indeed, they are 
 almost new. They have been hoarded instead of circulated;
 
 " Here we have tlie measure of a Metre exactly."
 
 GALLIA WEIGHED. 26 1 
 
 accordingly, they are fit to be utilized for my purpose of 
 obtaining the precise length of a terrestrial metre." * 
 
 Ben Zoof looked on in perplexity, regarding the 
 lecturer with much the same curiosity as he would have 
 watched the performances of a travelling mountebank at 
 a fair in Montmartre ; but Servadac and his two friends 
 had already divined the professor's meaning. They knew 
 that French coinage is all decimal, the franc being the 
 standard of which the other coins, whether gold, silver, or 
 copper, are multiples or measures; they knew, too, that the 
 calibre or diameter of each piece of money is rigourously 
 determined by law, and that the diameters of the silver 
 coins representing five francs, two francs, and fifty centimes 
 measure thirty-seven, twenty-seven, and eighteen milli- 
 metres t respectively ; and they accordingly guessed that 
 Professor Rosette had conceived the plan of placing such 
 a number of these coins in juxtaposition that the length 
 of their united diameters should measure exactly the 
 thousand millimetres that make up the terrestrial metre. 
 
 They had conjectured rightly. From the pile of forty 
 five-franc pieces. Rosette took ten and spread them out 
 lengthwise in a row upon the table ; to these he added 
 the ten two-franc pieces and the twenty fifty-centimes. 
 
 "Now, gentlemen," he said, "here we have the measure 
 of a metre exactly." 
 
 And, taking a scrap of paper, he put down rapidly a 
 few figures, which he handed round for general inspection. 
 
 The little calculation was simple enough : — 
 
 lo 5-franc pieces, each 37 millimetres in diameter = '37 metre. 
 102-franc „ 27 „ tf = '27 t, 
 
 30 50-centime tt 18 „ „ = •36 „ 
 
 Total ... ... I'oo metre. 
 
 *• I understand perfectly," said Servadac, when he had 
 examined the paper ; "the straight line drawn through the 
 centres of these coins represents a terrestrial metre." 
 
 " Precisely," replied the professor. 
 
 • A metre = 39'37i inches. f A millimetres "03937 inches.
 
 262 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 " Dear me ! " exclaimed Ben Zoof, in astonishment, 
 " what a thing it is to be learned ! " 
 
 " Not much learning wanted for that ! " said the pro- 
 fessor, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously, as he 
 made his marks on the table corresponding to the ex- 
 tremities of the line of money. 
 
 The measurement thus obtained was by means of a 
 pair of compasses divided accurately into ten equal 
 portions, or decimetres, each of course 3 '93 inches long. 
 A lath was then cut of this exact length and given to the 
 engineer of the Dobryna^ who was directed to cut out of 
 the solid rock the cubic decimetre required by the pro- 
 fessor. 
 
 The next business was to obtain the precise weight of 
 a kilogramme. This was by no means a difficult matter. 
 Not only the diameters, but also the weights, of the French 
 coins are rigidly determined by law, and as the silver five- 
 franc pieces always weigh exactly twenty-five grammes, the 
 united weight of forty of these coins is known to amount 
 to one kilogramme.* 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Ben Zoof ; " to be able to do all this I 
 say you must be rich as well as learned." 
 
 With a good-natured laugh at the orderly's remark, 
 the meeting adjourned for a few hours. 
 
 By the appointed time the engineer had finished his 
 task, and with all due care had prepared a cubic decimetre 
 of the material of the comet 
 
 •♦ Appended is a tahle of the weights of various French coins :— 
 lu gold : 100 francs weigh 32-25 grammes. 
 50 „ „ I6-I2 
 
 20 „ „ 6*45 
 
 10 „ „ 3 '22 
 
 In silver: 5 „ » 25-00 
 
 >* 
 
 2 „ „ 1000 », 
 
 I •> M 500 »» 
 
 •5 f. ». 2-50 „ 
 
 In copper: 'i » »» *°°° »» 
 
 10s „ M 5*00 »• 
 
 •02 „ „ 2-00 M 
 
 X3I *• •• I'OO M
 
 GALLIA WEIGHED. 263 
 
 ** Now, gentlemen," said Professor Rosette, " we are in 
 a position to complete our calculation ; we can now arrive 
 at Gallia's attraction, density, and mass." 
 
 Every one gave him their complete attention. 
 
 " Before I proceed," he resumed, " I must recall to your 
 minds Newton's general law, * that the attraction of two 
 bodies is directly proportional to the product of their 
 masses, and inversely proportional to the square of their 
 distances.' " 
 
 " Yes," said Servadac ; " we remember that." 
 
 " Well, then," continued the professor, " keep it in 
 mind for a few minutes noAv. Look here ! In this bag 
 are forty five-franc pieces — altogether they weigh exactly a 
 kilogramme ; by which I mean that if we were on the 
 earth, and I were to hang the bag on the hook of the 
 steelyard, the indicator on the dial would register one 
 kilogramme. This is clear enough, I suppose ? *' 
 
 As he spoke the professor designedly kept his eyes 
 fixed upon Ben Zoof. He was avowedly following the 
 example of Arago, who was accustomed always in lecturing 
 to watch the countenance of the least intelligent of his 
 audience, and when he felt that he had made his meaning 
 clear to him, he concluded that he must have succeeded 
 with all the rest* In this case, however, it was technical 
 ignorance, rather than any lack of intelligence, that justi- 
 fied the selection of the orderly for this special attention. 
 
 Satisfied with his scrutiny of Ben Zoof's face, the 
 professor went on : 
 
 " And now, gentlemen, we have to see what these coins 
 weigh here upon Gallia." 
 
 He suspended the money-bag to the hook ; the 
 needle oscillated, and stopped. 
 
 • On this subject an amusing anecdote is related by the illustrious 
 astronomer himself. One day, just after he had been alluding to this as his 
 usual liabit, a young man entered the room, and feeling sure the lecturer knew 
 
 you never take your eyes off me from the beginning to the end."
 
 264 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 ' ' .■   .1. — ..I— I.. . II. — .-I. ■■»i...   m »w. I I ,11.1 ,. , 1 1 , . I 1 ^.-., ^j,. 
 
 « Read it off!" he said. 
 
 The weight registered was one hundred and thirty- 
 three grammes. 
 
 " There, gentlemen, one hundred and thirty-three 
 grammes! Less than one-seventh of a kilogramme! 
 You see, consequently, that the force of gravity here 
 on Gallia is not one-seventh of what it is upon the earth ! " 
 
 " Interesting ! " cried Servadac, " most interesting ! 
 But let us go on and compute the mass." 
 
 " No, captain, the density first," said Rosette. 
 
 " Certainly," said the lieutenant ; " for, as we already 
 know the volume, we can determine the mass as soon as 
 we have ascertained the density." 
 
 The professor took up the cube of rock. 
 
 " You know what this is," he went on to say. " You 
 know, gentlemen, that this block is a cube hewn from the 
 substance of which everywhere, all throughout your voyage 
 of circumnavigation, you found Gallia to be composed — 
 a substance to which your geological attainments did not 
 suffice to assign a name." 
 
 " Our curiosity will be gratified," said Servadac, " if 
 you will enlighten our ignorance." 
 
 But Rosette did not take the slightest notice of the 
 interruption. 
 
 " A substance it is which no doubt constitutes the sole 
 material of the comet, extending from its surface to its 
 innermost depths. The probability is that it would be 
 so ; your experience confirms that probability : you have 
 found no trace of any other substance. Of this rock 
 here is a solid decimetre ; let us get at its weight, and we 
 * shall have the key which will unlock the problem of 
 the whole weight of Gallia. We have demonstrated that 
 the force of attraction here is only one-seventh of what it 
 is upon the earth, and shall consequently have to multiply 
 the apparent weight of our cube by seven, in order to 
 ascertain its proper weight. Do you understand me, 
 goggle-eyes ? " 
 
 This was addressed to Ben Zoof, who was staring hard 
 at him.
 
 GALLIA WEIGHED. 26$ 
 
 "No!" said Ben Zoof. 
 
 " I thought not; it is of no use waiting for your puzzle- 
 brains to make it out. I must talk to those who can 
 understand." 
 
 The professor took the cube, and, on attaching it to the 
 hook of the steelyard, found that its apparent weight was 
 one kilogramme and four hundred and thirty grammes. 
 
 " Here it is, gentlemen ; one kilogramme, four hundred 
 and thirty grammes. Multiply that by seven ; the product 
 is, as nearly as possible, ten kilogrammes. What, there- 
 fore, is our conclusion .'' Why, that the density of Gallia 
 is just about double the density of the earth, which we 
 know is only five kilogrammes to a cubic decimetre. Had 
 it not been for this greater density, the attraction of Gallia 
 would only have been one-fifteenth instead of one-seventh 
 of the terrestrial attraction." 
 
 The professor could not refrain from exhibiting his 
 gratification that, however inferior in volume, in density, at 
 least, his comet had the advantage over the earth. 
 
 Nothing further now remained than to apply the in- 
 vestigations thus finished to the determining of the mass 
 or weight. This was a matter of little labour. 
 
 Since a cubic decimetre of the hard substance of Gallia 
 would weigh ten kilogrammes upon the earth, Gallia would 
 weigh as many times ten kilogrammes as there were cubic 
 decimetres in its volume. This volume was already known 
 to be 211,432,460 cubic kilometres (/.if., 47,880,000 cubic 
 miles) or 211,432,460 millions of millions of cubic deci- 
 metres — a number expressed by 21 digits — and these would 
 represent the number of kilogrammes in the mass of 
 Gallia, which consequently weighed 4,788,566,540 millions 
 of millions of kilogrammes less than the earth. 
 
 "And do you know how much the earth weighs .?" * 
 inquired Ben Zoof, almost losing his breath at these 
 stupendous calculations. 
 
 " If I were to tell you, wiseacre, I do not suppose you 
 
 • The earth's weight is estimated at 6, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, cxxj tons.
 
 266 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 would be much the wiser. Have you any idea of what is 
 meant by a thousand millions ? " 
 
 " Not much, I confess," said Ben Zoof. 
 
 "Well, then, if you owed a thousand million francs, 
 eighteen or nineteen centuries ago, at the beginning of the 
 Christian era, and had been paying a franc a minute ever 
 since, you would not have got out of debt yet." 
 
 " No, that I shouldn't," answered the orderly ; " a 
 quarter of an hour of that fun would have ruined me. But 
 really," he added, " I should like to hear how much the 
 earth weighs." 
 
 " Five millions, eight hundred and seventy-five 
 thousand trillions of kilogrammes — a number which is 
 formed of twenty-six figures," said Lieutenant Procope. 
 
 " And the moon ? " 
 
 " Seventy thousand trillions of kilogrammes." 
 
 "And the sun .''" Ben Zoof went on. 
 
 " Two quintillions of kilogrammes — thirty-one figures," 
 answered the professor. 
 
 " Ay," said Ben Zoof, " I dare say you are right within 
 a quarter of a gramme." 
 
 The professor frowned and looked angry, but the 
 captain diverted him by making a remark about the 
 diminished force of gravity. 
 
 "Yes," said Rosette; "our muscular force is seven times 
 as great as it was. A man who used to be able to carry 
 a couple of hundred-weight can here carry fourteen." 
 
 " I suppose that accounts for our being able to jump so 
 high," observed Ben Zoof. 
 
 " And if Gallia had been lighter, Ben Zoof, you would 
 have been able to jump higher still," the lieutenant said. 
 
 " Ay, perhaps even over Montmartre," added the 
 professor, with a malicious twinkle in his eye. 
 
 The orderly winced under the retaliation. 
 
 " Let me see," said the captain ; " what is tlie force of 
 gravity upon the various planets .-* " 
 
 " You can't mean, Servadac, that you have forgotten 
 that ? But you always were a disappointing pupil."
 
 GALLIA WEIGHED. 267 
 
 The captain could not help himself : he was forced to 
 confess that his memory had failed him. 
 
 " Well, then," said the professor, " I must remind you. 
 Taking the attraction on the earth as i, that on Mercury 
 is ri5; on Venus it is -92, on Mars -5, and on Jupiter 2-45 ; 
 on the moon the attraction is •16, whilst on the surface of 
 the sun a terrestial kilogramme would weigh 28 kilo- 
 grammes." 
 
 " Therefore, if a man upon the surface of the sun were 
 to fall down, he would have considerable difficulty in 
 getting up again. A cannon-ball, too, would only fly a few 
 yards," said Lieutenant Procope. 
 
 " A jolly battle-field for cowards ! " exclaimed Ben 
 
 Zoof. 
 
 "Not so jolly, Ben Zoof, as you fancy," said his master; 
 " the cowards v/ould be too heavy to run away." 
 
 Ben Zoof ventured the remark that, as the smallness 
 of Gallia secured to its inhabitants such an increase of 
 strength and agility, he was almost sorry thatvit had not 
 been a little smaller still. 
 
 "Though it could not anyhow have been very much 
 smaller," he added, looking slily at the professor. 
 
 " Idiot ! " exclaimed Rosette. " Your head is too light 
 already ; a puff of wind would blow it away." 
 
 " I must take care of my head, then, and hold it on," 
 replied the irrepressible orderly. 
 
 Unable to get the last word, the professor was about 
 to retire, when Servadac detained him. 
 
 " Permit me to ask you one more question," he said. 
 "Can you tell me what is the nature of the soil of Gallia.^" 
 
 " Yes, I can answer that. And in this matter I do not 
 think your impertinent orderly will venture to put Mont, 
 martre into the comparison. This soil is of a substance 
 not unknown upon the earth." And speaking very slowly, 
 the professor said : " It contains 70 per cent of tellurium, 
 and 30 per cent, of gold." 
 
 Servadac uttered an exclamation of surprise. 
 
 "And the sum of the specific gravities of these two
 
 268 
 
 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 substances is lO, precisely the number that represents 
 Gallia's density." 
 
 " A comet of gold ! " ejaculated the captain. 
 
 " Yes ; a realization of what the illustrious Maupertuis 
 has already deemed probable," replied the astronomer. 
 
 " If Gallia, then, should ever become attached to the 
 earth, might it not bring about an important revolution in 
 all monetary affairs ? " inquired the count. 
 
 " No doubt about it ! " said Rosette, with manifest 
 satisfaction. "It would supply the world with about 
 246,000 trillions of francs." 
 
 "It would make gold about as cheap as dirt, I suppose," 
 said Servadac. 
 
 The last observation, however, was entirely lost upon 
 the professor, who had left the hall with an air almost 
 majestic, and was already on his way to the observatory, 
 
 "And what, I wonder, is the use of all these big 
 figures ? " said Ben Zoof to his master, when next they 
 were alone together. 
 
 ** That's just the charm of them, my good fellow," was 
 the captain's cool reply, "that they are of no use what- 
 ever,"
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE 
 
 Except as to the time the comet would take to revolve 
 round the sun, it must be confessed that all the professor's 
 calculations had comparatively little interest for any one 
 but himself, and he was consequently left very much to 
 pursue his studies in solitude. 
 
 The following day was the ist of August, or, according 
 to Rosette, the 63rd of April. In the course of this month 
 Gallia would travel 16,500,000 leagues, attaining at the 
 end a distance of 197,000,000 leagues from the sun. This 
 would leave 81,000,000 leagues more to be traversed before 
 reaching the aphelion of the 15th of January, after which 
 it would begin once more to approach the sun. 
 
 But meanwhile, a marvellous world, never before so 
 close within the range of human vision, was revealing 
 itself. No wonder that Palmyrin Rosette cared so little 
 to quit his observatory ; for throughout those calm, clear 
 Gallian nights, when the book of the firmament lay open 
 before him, he could revel in a spectacle which no previous 
 astronomer had ever been permitted to enjoy. 
 
 The glorious orb that was becoming so conspicuous 
 an object was none other than the planet Jupiter, the 
 largest of all the bodies existing within the influence of 
 solar attraction. During the seven months that had 
 elapsed since its collision with the earth, the comet had 
 been continuously approaching the planet, until the dis
 
 2/0 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 tance between them was scarcely more than 6i,ooo,ooG 
 leagues, and this would go on diminishing until the 1 5th 
 of October. 
 
 Under these circumstances, was it perfectly certain that 
 no danger could accrue ? Was not Gallia, when its path- 
 way led it into such close proximity to this enormous 
 planet, running a risk of being attracted within its in- 
 fluence ? Might not that influence be altogether dis- 
 astrous ? The professor, it is true, in his estimate of the 
 duration of his comet's revolution, had represented that he 
 had made all proper allowances for any perturbations that 
 would be caused either by Jupiter, by Saturn, or by Mars ; 
 but what if there were any errors in his calculations ? 
 what if there should be any elements of disturbance on 
 which he had not reckoned ? 
 
 Speculations of this kind became more and more fre- 
 quent, and Lieutenant Procope pointed out that the danger 
 incurred might be of a fourfold character : first, that the 
 comet, being irresistibly attracted, might be drawn on to 
 the very surface of the planet, and there annihilated ; 
 secondly, that as the result of being brought under that 
 attraction, it might be transformed into a satellite, or 
 rather a sub-satellite, of that mighty world ; thirdly, that 
 it might be diverted into a new orbit, which would never 
 be coincident with the ecliptic ; or, lastly, its course might 
 be so retarded that it would only reach the ecliptic too late 
 to permit any junction with the earth. The occurrence of 
 any one of these contingencies would be fatal to their 
 hopes of re-union with the globe, from which they had been 
 so strangely severed. 
 
 To Rosette, who, without family ties (which he had 
 never found leisure or inclination to contract), had no 
 shadow of desire to return to the earth, it would be only 
 the first of these probabilities that could give him any 
 concern. Total annihilation might not accord with his 
 views, but he would be quite content for Gallia to miss 
 its mark with regard to the earth, indifierent whether 
 it revolved as a new satellite around Jupiter, or whether it
 
 JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSK 271 
 
 wended its course through the untraversed regions of the 
 Milky Way. 
 
 The rest of the community, however, by no means 
 sympathized with the professor's sentiments, and the 
 following month was a period of considerable doubt and 
 anxiety. 
 
 On the 1st of September the distance between Gallia 
 and Jupiter was precisely the same as the mean distance 
 betM-een the earth and the sun ; on the i6th, the distance 
 was further reduced to 26,000,000 leagues. The planet 
 began to assume enormous dimensions, and it almost 
 seemed as if the comet had already been deflected from 
 its elliptical orbit, and was rushing on in a straight line 
 towards the overwhelming luminary. 
 
 The more they contemplated the character of this 
 gigantic planet, the more they became impressed with the 
 likelihood of a serious perturbation in their own course. 
 The diameter of Jupiter is 85,390 miles, nearly eleven 
 times as great as that of the earth ; his volume is 1387 
 times, and his mass 300 times greater ; and although the 
 mean density is only about a quarter of that of the earth, 
 and only a third of that of water (whence it has been 
 supposed that the superficies of Jupiter is liquid), yet his 
 other proportions were large enough to warrant the appre- 
 hension that important disturbances might result from his 
 proximity. 
 
 ** I forget my astronomy, lieutenant," said Servadac. 
 ** Tell me all you can about this formidable neighbour." 
 
 The lieutenant having refreshed his memory by re- 
 ference to Flammarion 's " Recits de I'lnfini," of which he 
 had a Russian translation, and some other books, pro- 
 ceeded to recapitulate that Jupiter accomplishes his revo- 
 lution round the sun in 4332 days, 14 hours, and 2 minutes; 
 that he travels at the rate of 467 miles a minute along an 
 orbit measuring 2976 millions of miles ; and that his rota- 
 tion on his axis occupies only 9 hours and 55 minutes. 
 
 " His days, then, are shorter than ours?" interrupted 
 the captain.
 
 272 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 " Considerably," answered the lieutenant, who went on 
 to describe how the displacement of a point at the equator 
 of Jupiter was twenty-seven times as rapid as on the earth, 
 causing the polar compression to be about 2378 miles; 
 how the axis, being nearly perpendicular, caused the days 
 and nights to be nearly of the same length, and the seasons 
 to be invariable ; and how the amount of light and heat 
 received by the planet is only a twenty-fifth part of that 
 received by the earth, the average distance from the sun 
 being 475,693,000 miles. 
 
 ** And how about these satellites ? Sometimes, I sup- 
 i>ose, Jupiter has the benefit of four moons all shining at 
 once ? " asked Servadac. 
 
 Of the satellites. Lieutenant Procope went on to say 
 that one is rather smaller than our own moon ; that another 
 moves round its primary at an interval about equal to the 
 moon's distance from ourselves ; but that they all revolve 
 in considerably less time : the first takes only i day, 18 hrs,, 
 27 min. ; the second takes 3 days, 13 hrs., 14 min. ; the 
 third, 7 days, 3 hrs., 42 min. ; whilst the largest of all takes 
 but 16 days, 16 hrs., 32 min. The most remote revolves 
 round the planet at a distance of 1,192,820 miles. 
 
 " They have been enlisted into the service of science," 
 said Procope. " It is by their movements that the velocity 
 of light has been calculated ; and they have been made 
 available for the determination of terrestrial longitudes." 
 
 " It must be a wonderful sight," said the captain. 
 
 " Yes," answered Procope. " I often think Jupiter is 
 like a prodigious clock with four hands." 
 
 " I only hope that we are not destined to make a fifth 
 hand," answered Servadac. 
 
 Such was the style of the conversation that was day 
 by day reiterated during the whole month of suspense. 
 Whatever topic might be started, it seemed soon to settle 
 down upon the huge orb that was looming upon them with 
 such threatening aspect. 
 
 Amongst other subjects that were started, the ages of 
 the various planets were discussed.
 
 JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE. 2/3 
 
 " Let me read to you," said Lieutenant Procope, " a few 
 lines from Flammarion." 
 
 And commencing at a passage he had marked, he 
 began : 
 
 " The more remote that these planets are from the sun, 
 the more venerable and advanced in formation are they 
 found to be. Neptune, situated 2,746,271,000 miles from 
 the sun, issued from the solar nebulosity, thousands of 
 millions of centuries back. Uranus, revolving 1,753,851,000 
 miles from the centre of the planetary system, is of an age 
 amounting to many hundred millions of centuries. Jupiter, 
 the colossal planet, gravitating at a distance of 475,693,000 
 miles, may be reckoned as 70,000,000 centuries old. 
 Mars has existed for 1,000,000,000 years at a distance of 
 139,212,000 miles. The earth, 91,430,000 miles from the 
 sun, quitted his burning bosom 100,000,000 years ago. 
 Venus, revolving now 66,131,000 miles away, may be 
 assigned the age of 50,000,000 years at least ; and Mercury, 
 nearest of all, and youngest of all, has been revolving at 
 a distance of 35,393,000 miles for the space of 10,000,000 
 years — the same time as the moon has been evolved from 
 the earth." 
 
 Servadac listened attentively. He was at a loss what 
 to say ; and the only reply he made to the recital of this 
 novel theory was to the effect that, if it were true, he 
 would prefer being captured by Mercury than by Jupiter, 
 for Mercury, being so much the younger, would probably 
 prove the less imperative and self-willed master. 
 
 It was on the ist of September that the comet had 
 crossed' the orbit of Jupiter, and on the ist of October 
 the two bodies were calculated to be at their minimum 
 separation. No direct shock, however, could be appre- 
 hended ; the demonstration was sufficiently complete that 
 the orbit of Gallia did not coincide with that of the planet, 
 the orbit of Jupiter being inclined at an angle of 1° 19' 
 to the orbit of the earth, with which that of Gallia was, no 
 doubt, coincident. 
 
 As the month of September verged toward<5 its close,
 
 274 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Jupiter began to wear an aspect that must have excited 
 the admiration of the most ignorant or the most indifferent 
 observer. Its salient points were illumined with novel and 
 radiant tints, and the solar rays, reflected from its disc, 
 glowed with a mingled softness and intensity upon Gallia, 
 so that Nerina had to pale her beauty. 
 
 Who could wonder that Rosette, enthusiast as he was, 
 should be irremovable from his observatory } Who could 
 expect otherwise than that, with the prospect before him of 
 viewing the giant among planets, ten times nearer than 
 any mortal eye had ever done, he should have begrudged 
 every moment that distracted his attention ? 
 
 Meanwhile, as Jupiter grew large, the sun grew small. 
 
 From its increased remoteness the diameter of the 
 sun's disc was diminished to 5' 46". 
 
 And what an increased interest began to be associated 
 with the satellites ! They were visible to the naked eye ! 
 Was it not a new record in the annals of science .-* 
 
 Although it is acknowledged that they are not ordi- 
 narily visible on earth without the aid of a somewhat 
 powerful telescope, it has been asserted that a favoured 
 few, endued with extraordinary powers of vision, have 
 been able to identify them with an unassisted eye ; but 
 here, at least, in Nina's Hive were many rivals, for every 
 one could so far distinguish them one from the other as to 
 describe them by their colours. The first was of a dull 
 white shade ; the second was blue ; the third was white 
 and brilliant ; the fourth was orange, at times approaching 
 to a red. 
 
 It was further observed that Jupiter itself was almost 
 void of scintillation. 
 
 Rosette, in his absorbing interest for the glowing 
 glories of the planet, seemed to be beguiled into com- 
 parative forgetfulness of the charms of his comet ; but no 
 astronomical enthusiasm of the professor could quite allay 
 the general apprehension that some serious collision might 
 be impending. 
 
 Time passed on. There was nothing to justify appre-
 
 JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE. 2/5 
 
 hension. The question was continually being asked, 
 " What does the professor really think ? " 
 
 " Our friend the professor," said Servadac, " is not 
 likely to tell us very much ; but we may feel pretty certain 
 of one thing : he wouldn't keep us long in the dark, if he 
 thought we were not going back to the earth again. The 
 greatest satisfaction he could have would be to inform us 
 that we had parted from the earth for ever." 
 
 " I trust from my very soul," said the count, " that his 
 prognostications are correct." 
 
 "The more I see of him, and the more I listen to him," 
 replied Servadac, "the more I become convinced that his 
 calculations are based on a solid foundation, and will prove 
 correct to the minutest particular." 
 
 Ben Zoof here interrupted the conversation. 
 
 " I have something on my mind," he said. 
 
 " Something on your mind .? Out with it ! " said the 
 captain. 
 
 " That telescope ! " said the orderly ; " it strikes me 
 that that telescope which the old professor keeps pointed up 
 at yonder big sun is bringing it down straightupon us." 
 
 The captain laughed heartily. 
 
 " Laugh, captain, if you like ; but I feel disposed to 
 break the old telescope into atoms." 
 
 " Ben Zoof," said Servadac, his laughter exchanged for 
 a look of stern displeasure, " touch that telescope, and 
 you shall swing for it !" 
 
 The orderly looked astonished. 
 
 " I am governour here," said Servadac. 
 
 Ben Zoof knew what his master meant, and to him his 
 master's wish was law. 
 
 The interval between the comet and Jupiter was, by the 
 1st of October, reduced to 43,000,000 miles — about twice 
 the distance of the moon from the earth. Now, if Jupiter 
 were, with regard 'to the earth, to change places with the 
 moon, it is the indisputable attestation of science that 
 its disc would be full thirty-four times larger than the 
 moon's ; it is consequently easy to imagine what was the
 
 276 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 wondrous brilliancy of Jupiter when surveyed in the same 
 proximity. 
 
 The belts all parallel to Jupiter's equator were very 
 distinct in their markings. Those immediately north and 
 south of the equator were of a dusky hue ; those toward 
 the poles were alternately dark and light ; the intervening 
 spaces of the planet's superficies, between edge and edge, 
 being intensely bright. The belts themselves were occa- 
 sionally broken by spots, which the records of astronomy 
 describe as varying both in form and in extent. 
 
 The physiology of belts and spots alike was beyond the 
 astronomer's power to ascertain ; and even if he should be 
 destined once again to take his place in an astronomical 
 congress on the earth, he would be just as incapable as 
 ever of determining whether or no they owed their exist- 
 ence to the external accumulation of vapour, or to some 
 internal agency. It would not be Professor Rosette's lot 
 to enlighten his brother savattts to any great degree as to 
 the mysteries that are associated with this, which must 
 ever rank as one of the most magnificent amongst the 
 heavenly orbs. 
 
 As the comet approached the critical point of its career 
 Jt cannot be denied that there was an unacknowledged 
 consciousness of alarm. Mutually reserved, though ever 
 courteous, the count and the captain were secretly drawn 
 together by the prospect of a common danger ; and as 
 their return to the earth appeared to them to become more 
 and more dubious, they abandoned their views of narrow 
 isolation, and tried to embrace the wider philosophy that 
 acknowledges the credibility of a habitable universe. 
 
 But no philosophy could be proof against the common 
 instincts of their humanity ; their hearts, their hopes, were 
 set upon their natural home ; no speculation, no science, 
 no experience, could induce them to give up their fond and 
 sanguine anticipation that once again they were to come in 
 contact with the earth. 
 
 " Only let us escape Jupiter," said Lieutenant Procop^ 
 repeatedly, and we are free from anxiety."
 
 JUPITER SOMEWHAT CLOSE. 2"]'/ 
 
 " But would not Saturn lie ahead ? " asked Servadac 
 and the count in one breath. 
 
 " No ! " said Procope ; " the orbit of Saturn is remote, 
 and does not come athwart our path. Jupiter is our sole 
 hindrance. Of Jupiter we must say, as William Tell 
 said : — 
 
 * Once through the ominous pass 
 And all is well.* 
 
 The 15th of October came, the date of the nearest 
 approximation of the comet to the planet. They were 
 only 31,000,000 miles apart. What would now transpire? 
 Would Gallia be diverted from its proper way } or would 
 it hold the course that the astronomer had predicted .<* 
 
 Early next morning the captain ventured to take the 
 count and the lieutenant up to the observatory. 
 
 The professor was in the worst of tempers. 
 
 That was enough. It was enough, without a word, to 
 indicate the course which events had taken. 
 
 The comet was pursuing an unaltered way. 
 
 The astronomer, correct in his prognostications, ought 
 to have been the most proud and contented of philoso- 
 phers ; his pride and contentment were both overshadowed 
 by the certainty that the career of his comet was destined 
 to be so transient, and that it must inevitably once agais 
 come into collision with the earth.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA. 
 
 " All right ! " said Servadac, convinced by the professor's 
 ill humour that the danger was past ; " no doubt we are 
 in for a two years' excursion, but fifteen months more will 
 take us back to the earth ! " 
 
 " And we shall see Montmartre again ! " exclaimed Ben 
 Zoof, in tones that betrayed his delight in the anticipation. 
 
 To use a nautical expression, they had safely " rounded 
 the point," and they had to be congratulated on their 
 successful navigation ; for if, under the influence of Jupiter's 
 attraction, the comet had been retarded for a single hour, 
 in that hour the earth would have already travelled 
 2,500,000 miles from the point where contact would ensue, 
 and many centuries would elapse before such a coincidence 
 would possibly again occur. 
 
 On the 1st of November Gallia and Jupiter were 
 40,000,000 miles apart. It was little more than ten weeks 
 to the 15th of January, when the comet would begin to 
 re-approach the sun. Though light and heat were now 
 reduced to a twenty-fifth part of their terrestrial intensity, 
 so that a perpetual twilight seemed to have settled over 
 Gallia, yet the population felt cheered even by the little 
 that was left, and buoyed up by the hope that they should 
 ultimately regain their proper position with regard to the 
 great luminary, of which the temperature has been esti- 
 mated as not less than 5,000,000 degrees. 
 
 I
 
 MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA. 2/9 
 
 Of the anxiety endured during the last two months 
 Isaac Hakkabut had known nothing. Since the day he 
 had done his lucky stroke of business he had never left the 
 tartan ; and after Ben Zoof, on the following day, had re- 
 turned the steelyard and the borrowed cash, receiving back 
 the paper roubles deposited, all communication between the 
 Jew and Nina's Hive had ceased. In the course of the 
 few minutes' conversation which Ben Zoof had held with 
 him, he had mentioned that he knew that the whole soil 
 of Gallia was made of gold ; but the old man, guessing 
 that the orderly was only laughing at him as usual, paid 
 no attention to the remark, and only meditated upon the 
 means he could devise to get every bit of the money in the 
 new world into his own possession. 
 
 No one grieved over the life of solitude which Hakka- 
 but persisted in leading. Ben Zoof giggled heartily, as he 
 repeatedly observed " it was astonishing how they recon- 
 ciled themselves to his absence." 
 
 The time came, however, when various circumstances 
 prompted him to think he must renew his intercourse with 
 the inhabitants of the Hive. Some of his goods were 
 beginning to spoil, and he felt the necessity of turning 
 them into money, if he would not be a loser ; he hoped, 
 moreover, that the scarcity of his commodities would 
 secure very high prices. 
 
 It happened, just about this same time, that Ben Zoof 
 had been calling his master's attention to the fact that 
 some of their most necessary provisions would soon be 
 running short, and that their stock of coffee, sugar, and 
 tobacco would want replenishing. Servadac's mind, of 
 course, turned to the cargo on board the Hansa, and he 
 resolved, according to his promise, to apply to the Jew 
 and become a purchaser. 
 
 Mutual interest and necessity thus conspired to draw 
 Hakkabut and the captain together. 
 
 Often and often had Isaac gloated in his solitude over 
 the prospect of first selling a portion of his merchandise 
 for all the gold and silver in the colony. His recent usurious
 
 280 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 transaction had whetted his appetite. He would next part 
 with some more of his cargo for all the paper-money they 
 could give him ; but still he should have goods left, and 
 they would want these. Yes, they should have these too 
 for promissory notes. Notes would hold good when they 
 got back again to the earth ; bills from his Excellency the 
 "* governour would be good bills ; anyhow there would be the 
 sheriff By the God of Israel ! he would get good prices, 
 and he would get fine interest ! 
 
 Although he did not know it, he was proposing to 
 follow the practice of the Gauls of old, who advanced 
 money on bills for payment in a future life. Hakkabut's 
 " future life," however, was not many months in advance 
 of the present. 
 
 Still Hakkabut hesitated to make the first advance, and 
 it was accordingly with much satisfaction that he hailed 
 Captain Servadac's appearance on board the Hansa. 
 
 " Hakkabut," said the captain, plunging without further 
 preface into business, " we want some coffee, some tobacco, 
 and other things. I have come to-day to order them, to 
 settle the price, and to-morrow Ben Zoof shall fetch the 
 goods away." 
 
 "Merciful heavens!" the Jew began to whine; but 
 Servadac cut him short. 
 
 " None of that miserable howling ! Business ! I am 
 come to buy your goods. I shall pay for them." 
 
 "Ah yes, your Excellency," whispered the Jew, his 
 voice trembling like a street beggar. " Don't impose on 
 me. I am poor ; I am nearly ruined already." 
 
 * Cease your wretched whining. I say ! " cried Ser- 
 vadac. " I have told you once, I shall pay for all 1 
 buy." 
 
 " Ready money ? " asked Hakkabut. 
 
 *' Yes, ready money. What makes you ask .-* " said the 
 captain, curious to hear what the Jew would say. 
 
 " Well, you see — you see, your Excellency," stammered 
 out the Jew, " to give credit to one wouldn't do, unless I 
 gave credit to another. You are solvent — I mean honour
 
 MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA. 28 1 
 
 able, and his lordship the count is honourable ; but maybe 
 — maybe " 
 
 " Well ? " said Servadac, waiting, but inclined to kick 
 the old rascal out of his sight. 
 
 " I shouldn't like to give credit," he repeated. 
 
 " I have not asked you for credit. I have told you, 
 you shall have ready money." 
 
 " Very good, your Excellency. But how will you pay 
 me ? " 
 
 " Pay yon ? Why, we shall pay you in gold and silver 
 and copper, while our money lasts, and when that is gone 
 we shall pay you in bank-notes." 
 
 " Oh, no paper, no paper ! " groaned out the Jew, re- 
 lapsing into his accustomed whine. 
 
 " Nonsense, man ! " cried Servadac. 
 
 " No paper ! " reiterated Hakkabut. 
 
 " Why not .-* Surely you can trust the banks of Eng- 
 land, France, and Russia." 
 
 " Ah no ! I must have gold. Nothing so safe as gold." 
 
 "Well then," said the captain, not wanting to lose his 
 temper, " you shall have it your own way ; we have plenty 
 of gold for the present We will leave the bank-notes for 
 by-and-by." 
 
 The Jew's countenance brightened, and Servadac, re- 
 peating that he should come again the next day, was about 
 to quit the vessel. 
 
 " One moment, your Excellency," said Hakkabut, 
 sidling up with a hypocritical smile; " I suppose I am to 
 fix my own prices." 
 
 "You will, of course, charge ordinary prices — proper 
 market-prices ; European prices, I mean." 
 
 " Merciful heavens ! " shrieked the old man, " you 
 rob me of my rights ; you defraud me of my privilege. 
 The monopoly of the market belongs to me. It is the 
 custom ; it is my right ; it is my privilege to fix my own 
 prices." 
 
 Servadac made him understand that he had no inten 
 tion of swerving from his decision.
 
 283 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 ** Merciful heavens !" again howled the Jew, " it is sheer 
 ruin. The time of monopoly is the time for profit ; it ia 
 the time for speculation." 
 
 " The very thing, Hakkabut, that I am anxious to 
 prevent. Just stop now, and think a minute. You seem 
 to forget iny rights ; you are forgetting that, if I please, I 
 can confiscate all your cargo for the common use. You 
 ought to think yourself lucky in getting any price at all. 
 Be contented with European prices ; you will get no more. 
 However, I am not going to waste my breath on you. I 
 will come again to-morrow ; " and, without allowing Hak- 
 kabut time to renew his lamentations, Servadac went 
 away. 
 
 All the rest of the day the Jew was muttering bitter 
 curses against the thieves of Gentiles in general, and the 
 Governour of Gallia in particular, who Avere robbing him of 
 his just profits, by binding him down to a maximum price 
 for his goods, just as if it were a time of revolution in the 
 state. But he would be even with them yet ; he would 
 have it all out of them : he would make European prices 
 pay, after all. He had a plan — he knew how ; and he 
 chuckled to himself, and grinned maliciously. 
 
 True to his word, the captain next morning arrived at 
 the tartan. He was accompanied by Ben Zoof and two 
 Russian sailors. 
 
 " Good morning, old Eleazar ; we have come to do our 
 little bit of friendly business with you, you know," was Ben 
 Zoof s greeting. 
 
 " What do you want to-day } " asked the Jew. 
 
 " To-day we want coffee, and we want sugar, and we 
 want tobacco. We must have ten kilogrammes of each. 
 Take care they are all good ; all first-rate. I am com- 
 missariat officer, and I am responsible." 
 
 " I thought you were the governour's aide-de-camp," 
 said Hakkabut. 
 
 " So I am, on state occasions ; but to-day, I tell you, 
 I am superintendent of the commissariat department Now. 
 look sharp ! "
 
 MARKET PRICES IN GALLIA. 283 
 
 Hakkabut hereupon descended into the hold of the 
 tartan, and soon returned, carrying ten packets of tobacco, 
 each weighing one kilogramme, and securely fastened by 
 strips of paper, labelled with the French Government stamp. 
 
 " Ten kilogrammes of tobacco at twelve francs a kilo- 
 gramme : a hundred and twenty francs," said the Jew. 
 
 Ben Zoof was on the point of laying down the money, 
 when Servadac stopped him. 
 
 " Let us just see whether the weight is correct" 
 
 Hakkabut pointed out that the weight was duly 
 registered on every packet, and that the packets had never 
 been unfastened. 
 
 The captain, however, had his own special object in 
 view, and would not be diverted. 
 
 The Jew fetched his steelyard, and a packet of the 
 tobacco was suspended to it. 
 
 " Merciful heavens ! " screamed Isaac. 
 
 The index registered only 133 grammes! 
 
 "You see, Hakkabut, I was right. I was prifectly 
 justified in having your goods put to the test," said Serva- 
 dac, quite seriously. 
 
 « But— but, your Excellency " stammered out the 
 
 bewildered man. 
 
 " You will, of course, make up the defi^ciency," the 
 captain continued, not noticing the interruption. 
 
 " Oh, my lord, let me say " began Isaac again. 
 
 " Come, come, old Caiaphas, do you hear ? You are to 
 make up the deficiency," exclaimed Ben Zoof. 
 
 " Ah, yes, yes ; but " 
 
 The unfortunate Israelite tried hard to speak, but his 
 agitation prevented him. He understood well enough the 
 cause of the phenomenon, but he was overpowered by the 
 conviction that the "cursed Gentiles" wanted to cheat him. 
 He deeply regretted that he had not a pair of common 
 scales on board. 
 
 " Come, I say, old Jedediah, you are a long while 
 making up what's short," said Ben Zoof, while the Jew was 
 still stammering on.
 
 284 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 As soon as he recovered his power of articulation, Isaac 
 began to pour out a medley of lamentations and petitions 
 for mercy. 
 
 The captain was inexorable. 
 
 " Very sorry, you know, Hakkabut. It is not my fault 
 that the packet is short weight ; but I cannot pay for a 
 kilogramme except I have a kilogramme." 
 
 Hakkabut pleaded for some consideration. 
 
 " A bargain is a bargain," said Servadac. " You must 
 complete your contract." 
 
 And, moaning and groaning, the miserable man was 
 driven to make up the full weight as registered by his own 
 steelyard. He had to repeat the process with the sugar 
 and coffee : for every kilogramme he had to weigh seven. 
 Ben Zoof and the Russians jeered him most unmercifully. 
 
 " I say, old Mordecai, wouldn't you rather give your 
 goods away, than sell them at this rate .-• I would" 
 
 " ] flay, old Pilate, a monopoly isn't always a good 
 thing, in it ? " 
 
 " I say, old Sepharvaim, what a flourishing trade you're 
 driving ! " 
 
 Meanwhile seventy kilogrammes of each of the articles 
 required were weighed, and the Jew for each seventy had 
 to take the price of ten. 
 
 All along Captain Servadac had been acting only in jest. 
 Aware that old Isaac was an utter hypocrite, he had no 
 compunction in turning a business transaction with him 
 into an occasion for a bit of fun. But the joke at an end, 
 he took care that the Jew was properly paid all his legiti- 
 mate due. 
 
 The party then quitted the Hansa ; Ben Zoof, who was 
 in the highest spirits, on his way to the Hive singing in a 
 stentorian voice the chorus of an old military song : — 
 
 *' Right joyous to the warrior's ear, 
 The clarion-trumpet bright and clear } 
 But joyous too, yea, welcome more, 
 The music of the cannon's roar ! "
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FAR INTO SPACE. 
 
 A MONTH passed away. Gallia continued its course, bear- 
 ing its little population onwards, so far removed from the 
 ordinary influence of human passions that it might almost 
 be said that its sole ostensible vice was represented by the 
 greed and avarice of the miserable Jew. 
 
 After all, they were but making a voyage — a strange, yet 
 a transient, excursion through solar regions hitherto un- 
 traversed ; but if the professor's calculations were correct — 
 and why should they be doubted ? — their little vessel was 
 destined, after a two years' absence, once more to return 
 "to port." The landing, indeed, might be a matter of 
 difficulty ; but with the good prospect before them of once 
 again standing on terrestrial shores, they had nothing tc 
 do at present except to make themselves as comfortable 
 as they could in their present quarters. 
 
 Thus confident in their anticipations, neither the cap- 
 tain, the count, nor the lieutenant felt under any serious 
 obligation to make any extensive provisions for the future ; 
 they saw no necessity for expending the strength of the 
 people, during the short summer that would intervene upon 
 the long severity of winter, in the cultivation or the preser- 
 vation of their agricultural resources. Nevertheless, they 
 often found themselves talking over the measures they 
 would have been driven to adopt, if they had found them- 
 selves permanently attached to their present home.
 
 286 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 Even after the turning-point in their career, they knew 
 that at least nine months would have to elapse before the 
 sea would be open to navigation ; but at the very first 
 arrival of summer they would be bound to arrange for the 
 Dobryna and the Hansa to re-transport themselves and a 1 
 their animals to the shores of Gourbi Island, where they 
 would have to commence their agricultural labours to 
 secure the crops that must form their winter store. During 
 four months or thereabouts, they would lead the lives ol 
 farmers and of sportsmen ; but no sooner would their hay- 
 making and their corn harvest have been accomplished, 
 than they would be compelled again, like a swarm of bees, 
 to retire to their semi-troglodyte existence in the cells of 
 Nina's Hive. 
 
 Now and then the captain and his friends found them- 
 selves speculating whether, in the event of their having to 
 spend another winter upon Gallia, some means could not 
 be devised by which the dreariness of a second residence 
 in the recesses of the volcano might be escaped. Would 
 not another exploring expedition possibly result in the 
 discovery of a vein of coal or other combustible matter, 
 which could be turned to account in warming some 
 erection which they might hope to put up .-' A prolongecf 
 existence in their underground quarters was felt to be 
 monotonous and depressing, and although it might be all 
 very well for a man like Professor Rosette, absorbed in 
 astronomical studies, it was ill suited to the temperaments 
 of any of themselves for any longer period than was 
 absolutely indispensable. 
 
 One contingency there was, almost too terrible to be 
 taken into account. Was it not to be expected that the 
 time might come when the internal fires of Gallia would 
 lose their activity, and the stream of lava would conse- 
 quently cease to flow .■• Why should Gallia be exempt from 
 the destiny that seemed to await every other heavenly 
 body } Why should it not roll onwards, like the moon, a 
 dark cold mass in space } 
 
 In the event of such a cessation of the volcanic
 
 FAR INTO SPACE. 28; 
 
 eruption, whilst the comet was still at so great a distance 
 from the sun, they would indeed be at a loss to find a 
 substitute for what alone had served to render life endur- 
 able at a temperature of 60*^ below zero. Happily, how- 
 ever, there was at present no symptom of the subsidence 
 of the lava's stream ; the volcano continued its regular and 
 unchanging discharge, and Servadac, ever sanguine, de- 
 clared that it was useless to give themselves any anxiety 
 upon the matter. 
 
 On the 15 th of December, Gallia was 276,000,000 
 leagues from the sun, and, as it was approximating to the 
 extremity of its axis major, would travel only some 
 11,000,000 or 12,000,000 leagues during the month. 
 Another world was now becoming a conspicuous object in 
 the heavens, and Palmyrin Rosette, after rejoicing in an 
 approach nearer to Jupiter than any other mortal man had 
 ever attained, was now to be privileged to enjoy a similar 
 opportunity of contemplating the planet Saturn. Not that 
 the circumstances were altogether so favourable. Scarcely 
 31,000,000 miles had separated Gallia from Jupiter; the 
 minimum distance of Saturn would not be less than 
 415,000,000 miles; but even this distance, although too 
 great to affect the comet's progress more than had been 
 duly reckoned on, was considerably shorter than what had 
 ever separated Saturn from the earth. 
 
 To get any information about the planet from Rosette 
 appeared quite impossible. Although equally by night 
 and by day he never seemed to quit his telescope, he did 
 not evince the slightest inclination to impart the result of 
 his observations. It was only from the few astronomical 
 works that happened to be included in the Dobrynds 
 library that any details could be gathered, but these were 
 sufficient to give a large amount of interesting information. 
 
 Ben Zoof, when he was made aware that the earth 
 would be invisible to the naked eye from the surface of 
 Saturn, declared that he then, for his part, did not care to 
 learn any more about such a planet ; to him it was indis- 
 pensable that the earth should remain in sight, and it was
 
 288 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 his great consolation that hitherto his native sphere had 
 never vanished from his gaze. 
 
 At this date Saturn was revolving at a distance of 
 420,000,000 miles from Gallia, and consequently 874,440,000 
 miles from the sun, receiving only a hundredth part of 
 the light and heat which that luminary bestows upon 
 the earth. On consulting their books of reference, the 
 colonists found that Saturn completes his revolution round 
 the sun in a period of 29 years and 167 days, travelling at 
 the rate of more than 21,000 miles an hour along an orbit 
 measuring 5490 millions of miles in length. His circum- 
 ference is about 220,000 miles ; his superficies, 144,000 
 millions of square miles ; his volume, 143,846 millions of 
 cubic miles. Saturn is 735 times larger than the earth, 
 consequently he is smaller than Jupiter ; in mass he is 
 only 90 times greater than the earth, which gives him a 
 density less than that of water. He revolves on his axis 
 in 10 hours 29 minutes, causing his own year to consist of 
 86,630 days; and his seasons, on account of the great 
 inclination of his axis to the plane of his orbit, are each of 
 the length of seven terrestrial years. 
 
 Although the light received from the sun is compara- 
 tively feeble, the nights upon Saturn must be splendid. 
 Eight satellites — Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, 
 Titan, Hyperion, and Japetus — accompany the planet ; 
 Mimas, the nearest to its primary, rotating on its axis in 
 22^- hours, and revolving at a distance of only 120,800 
 miles, whilst Japetus, the most remote, occupies 79 days in 
 its rotation, and revolves at a distance of 2,314,000 miles. 
 
 Another most important contribution to the n-^^gnifi- 
 cence of the nights upon Saturn is the triple ring with 
 which, as a brillian<- setting, the planet is encompassed. 
 To an observer at the equator, this ring, which has been 
 estimated by Sir Willliam Herschel as scarcely 100 miles 
 in thickness, must have the appearance of a narrow band 
 of light passing through the zenith 1 2,000 miles above hi* 
 head. As the observer, however, increases his latitude 
 either north or south, the band will gradually widen out
 
 FAR INTO SPACE. 289 
 
 into three detached and concentric rings, of which the 
 innermost, dark though transparent, is 9625 miles in 
 breadth ; the intermediate one, which is brighter than the 
 planet itself, being 17,605 miles broad ; and the outer, of a 
 dusky hue, being 8660 miles broad. 
 
 Such, they read, is the general outline of this strange 
 appendage, which revolves in its own plane in 10 hours 
 32 minutes. Of what matter it is composed, and how it 
 resists disintegration, is still an unsettled question ; but it 
 might almost seem that the Designer of the universe, in 
 permitting its existence, had been willing to impart to His 
 intelligent creatures the manner in which celestial bodies are 
 evolved, and that this remarkable ring-system is a remnant 
 of the nebula from which Saturn was himself developed, 
 and which, from some unknown cause, has become solidified. 
 If at any time it should disperse, it would either fall into 
 fragments upon the surface of Saturn, or the fragments, 
 mutually coalescing, would form additional satellites to 
 circle round the planet in its path. 
 
 To any observer stationed on the planet, between the 
 extremes of lat. 45'' on either side of the equator, these 
 wonderful rings would present various strange phenomena. 
 Sometimes they would appear as an illuminated arch, with 
 the shadow of Saturn passing over it like the hour-hand 
 over a dial ; at other times they would be like a semi- 
 aureole of light. Very often, too, for periods of several 
 years, daily eclipses of the sun must occur through the 
 interposition of this triple ring. 
 
 Truly, with the constant rising and setting of the 
 satellites, some with bright discs at their full, others like 
 silver crescents, in quadrature, as well as by the encircling 
 rings, the aspect of the heavens from the surface of Saturn 
 must be as impressive as it is gorgeous. 
 
 Unable, indeed, the Gallians were to realize all the 
 marvels of this strange world. After all, they were prac- 
 tically a thousand times further off than the great astrono- 
 mers have been iible to approach by means of their giant 
 telescopes. But they did not complain ; their little comet,
 
 290 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 they knew, was far safer where it was ; far better out oi 
 the reach of an attraction which, by affecting their path, 
 might have annihilated their best hopes. 
 
 Wliile thus they failed to attain to any great personal 
 acquaintance with the glories of Saturn, still less did they 
 penetrate into any of the mysteries of the more distant 
 world of Uranus, although that planet, which from the 
 earth appears only as a star of the sixth magnitude, did 
 become visible to their naked eye. Yet as to the satellites 
 which accompany him on his revolution of 84 years, at a 
 distance of 1,753,851,000 miles from the sun, it must be 
 owned that not one of them was ever to be discerned. 
 
 With regard to Neptune, the most distant planet of our 
 system (until an Adams or Le Verrier of the future shall 
 discover another still more remote), he was beyond the 
 range of vision. Possibly he came within the focus of the 
 professor's telescope, but if so, the professor admitted no 
 one to the honour of his confidence. The general com- 
 munity, to inform themselves of any particulars as to the 
 planet's elements, had once again to fall back upon their 
 books. There they read that Neptune's mean distance 
 from the sun is 2,746,271,000 miles ; that the period of his 
 revolution is 165 years ; that, a spheroid 150 times greater 
 than the earth, he travels along his gigantic orbit at the 
 rate of 12,000 miles an hour; and that he is accompanied 
 by one satellite, which performs its subsidiary orbit at a 
 distance of about 220,000 miles. 
 
 The distance of 2,000,000,000 of miles at which Nep- 
 tune revolves, represents, according to our present know- 
 ledge, the extreme limits of the solar system ; yet, enormous 
 as that number may sound, it is quite insignincant when 
 compared with the number which represents the radiu? of 
 the sidereal group to which our sun is attached. 
 
 The sun, in fact, appears to form part of the expansive 
 nebula known as the Milky Way, in which he occupies the 
 modest place of a star of about the fourth magnitude. 
 Had Gallia been projected beyond the limits of the sun's 
 attraction, it is within the province of imagination to con-
 
 Sometimes they would appear as an Illuminated Arch, with the Shadow 
 of Saturn passing over it.
 
 FAR INTO SPACE. 29I 
 
 jecture that she would have taken for her new centre the 
 nearest of the fixed stars. This star is Alpha in the con- 
 stellation Centaur ; its distance from the sun is more than 
 16 millions of millions of miles, a number the prodigious- 
 ness of which may be realized to a certain degree by the 
 statement that light, which travels at the rate of 186,000 
 miles a second, would occupy no less than three years 
 and u half in traversing the interval between the star and 
 our sun. 
 
 The distances of several of the brightest of the fixed 
 stars have been estimated. Amongst others, Vega in the 
 constellation Lyra is 100 millions of millions of miles 
 away ; Sirius in Canis Major, 123 millions of millions ; the 
 Pole-star, 282 millions of millions ; and Capella, 340 
 millions of millions of miles, a figure represented by no 
 less than fifteen digits. 
 
 The hard numerical statement of these enormous 
 figures, however, fails altogether in any adequate way to 
 convey a due impression of the magnitude of these dis- 
 tances. Astronomers, in their ingenuity, have endeavoured 
 to use some other basis, and have found " the velocity of 
 light " to be convenient for their purpose. They have 
 made their representations something in this way : — 
 
 "Suppose," they say, "an observer endowed with an 
 infinite length of vision : suppose him stationed on the 
 surface of Capella ; looking thence towards the earth, he 
 would be a spectator of events that had happened seventy 
 years previously : transport him to a star ten times dis- 
 tant, and he will be reviewing the terrestrial sphere of 720 
 years back : carry him away further still, to a star so 
 remote that it requires something less than nineteen 
 centuries for light to reach it, and he would be a witness of 
 the birth and death of Christ : convey him further again, 
 and he shall be looking upon the dread desolation of the 
 Deluge : take him away further yet (for space is infinite), 
 and he shall be a spectator of the Creation of the spheres. 
 History is thus stereotyped in space ; nothing once accom* 
 plished can ever be effaced."
 
 292 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 Who can altogether be astonished that Palmyrin 
 Rosette, with his burning thirst for astronomical research, 
 should have been conscious of a longing for yet wider 
 travel through the sidereal universe ? With his comet 
 now under the influence of one star, now of another, what 
 various systems might he not have explored ! what un- 
 dreamt-of marvels might not have revealed themselves 
 before his gaze! The stars, fixed and immovable in name, 
 are all of them in motion, and Gallia might have followed 
 them in their untracked way. 
 
 This motion of the fixed stars is really very rapid 
 Arcturus is travelling at the rate of at least fifty-four miles 
 a second ; our sun is approaching Hercules at the rate 
 of 240 miles a minute ; and yet so great is the distance 
 that observers on the earth have hitherto been unable to 
 discern any appreciable difference. 
 
 Still, eventually, because the stars are thus moving at 
 unequal rates of velocity, there must ensue a change in 
 their relative positions ; and astronomers have produced 
 diagrams representing the appearance they will present 
 some 50,000 years hence. In these diagrams the irregular 
 quajdrilateral of Ursa Major takes the form of a long cross, 
 and the pentagon of Orion has resolved itself into a 
 quadrilateral. 
 
 But even if Gallia had been transported to other 
 systems, it would not have been competent to Palmyrin 
 Rosette to view these "secular inequalities" of the 
 spheres ; the contemplation, however, of other marvels, 
 exceeding what the solar system has to offer, would more 
 than sufficiently have ravished his view. He would have 
 seen for himself that other planetary groups are not 
 always governed by a single sun, but that occasionally two, 
 three, four, or even six suns will revolve about each other 
 with reciprocal influence. He would have found, too, in 
 these compound systems, suns of various hue — red, yellow, 
 green, orange, purple, and white — lighting up their planets 
 with rays of glorious colouring ; one sun perhaps setting 
 in clearest green, another rising in resplendent crimson, 01
 
 FAR INTO SPACE. 293 
 
 in dazzling yellow ; at times two suns together mingling 
 the tints of their varied beams ; and perpetually, day after 
 day, the whole horizon decked with all the colours of the 
 rainbow. 
 
 But Gallia had a narrow destiny. She was not to be 
 allowed to wander away into the range of attraction of 
 another centre ; nor to mingle with the star clusters, some 
 of which have been entirely, others partially resolved ; nor 
 was she to lose herself amongst the 5000 nebulae which 
 have resisted hitherto the grasp of the most powerful 
 reflectors. No ; Gallia was neither to pass beyond the 
 limits of the solar system, nor to travel out of sight of the 
 terrestrial sphere. Her orbit was circumscribed to little 
 over 1500 millions of miles; and, in comparison with the 
 infinite space beyond, this was a mere nothing.
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 A FfiTE DAY. 
 
 The temperature continued to increase ; the mercurial 
 
 thermometer, which freezes at 42° below zero, was no 
 longer of service, and the spirit thermometer of the Dobryna 
 had been brought into use. This now registered 53° below 
 freezing point. 
 
 In the creek, where the two vessels had been moored 
 for the winter, the elevation of the ice, in anticipation of 
 which Lieutenant Procope had taken the precautionary 
 measure of bevelling, was going on slowly but irresistibly, 
 and the tartan was upheaved fifty feet above the level of 
 the Gallian Sea, while the schooner, as being lighter, had 
 been raised to a still greater altitude. 
 
 So irresistible was this gradual process of elevation, so 
 utterly defying all human power to arrest, that the lieu- 
 tenant began to feel very anxious as to the safety of his 
 yacht. With the exception of the engine and the masts, 
 everything had been cleared out and conveyed to shore, 
 but in the event of a thaw it appeared that nothing short 
 of a miracle could prevent the hull from being dashed to 
 pieces, and then all means of leaving the promontory 
 would be gone. The Hansa, of course, would share a 
 similar fate ; in fact, it had already heeled over to such an 
 extent as to render it quite dangerous for its obstinate 
 owner, who, at the peril of his life, resolved that he would 
 stay where he could watch over his all -precious cargo,
 
 A FtxE DAY. 295 
 
 though continually invoking curses on the ill-fate of which 
 he deemed himself the victim. 
 
 There was, however, a stronger will than Isaac Hakka- 
 but's. Although no one of all the community cared at all 
 for the safety of the Jew, they cared very much for the 
 security of his cargo, and when Servadac found that 
 nothing would induce the old man to abandon his present 
 quarters voluntarily, he very soon adopted measures of 
 coercion that were far more effectual than any representa- 
 tions of personal danger. 
 
 " Stop where you like, Hakkabut," said the captain to 
 him ; ** but understand that I consider it my duty to make 
 sure that your cargo is taken care of I am going to have 
 it carried across to land, at once." 
 
 Neither groans, nor tears, nor protestations on the part 
 of the Jew, were of the slightest avail. Forthwith, on the 
 20th of December, the removal of the goods commenced. 
 
 Both Spaniards and Russians were all occupied for 
 several days in the work of unlading the tartan. Well 
 muffled up as they were in furs, they were able to endure 
 the cold with impunity, making it their special care to 
 avoid actual contact with any article made of metal, which, 
 in the low state of the temperature, would inevitably 
 have taken all the skin off their hands, as much as if it 
 had been red-hot. The task, however, was brought to 
 an end without accident of any kind; and when the stores 
 of the Hansa were safely deposited in the galleries of the 
 Hive, Lieutenant Procope avowed that he really felt that 
 his mind had been unburdened from a great anxiety. 
 
 Captain Servadac gave old Isaac full permission to 
 take up his residence amongst the rest of the community, 
 promised him the entire control over his own property, 
 and altogether showed him so much consideration that, 
 but for his unbounded respect for his master, Ben Zoof 
 would have liked to reprimand him for his courtesy to a 
 man whom he so cordially despised. 
 
 Although Hakkabut clamoured most vehemently about 
 his goods being carried off " against his will," in his heart
 
 296 HECTOR SJtKVADAC. 
 
 he was more than satisfied to see his property transferred 
 to a place of safety, and delighted, moreover, to know that 
 the transport had been effected without a farthing ol 
 expense to himself As soon, then, as he found the tartan 
 empty, he was only too glad to accept the offer that had 
 been made him, and very soon made his way over to 
 the quarters in the gallery where his merchandise had 
 been stored. Here he lived day and night. He supplied 
 himself with what little food he required from his own 
 stock of provisions, a small spirit-lamp sufficing to perform 
 all the operations of his meagre cookery. Consequently 
 all intercourse between himself and the rest of the in- 
 habitants was entirely confined to business transactions, 
 when occasion required that some purchase should be 
 made from his stock of commodities. Meanwhile, all the 
 silver and gold of the colony was gradually finding its way 
 to a double-locked drawer, of which the Jew most carefully 
 guarded the key. 
 
 The T<?t of January was drawing near, the anniversary 
 of the shock which had resulted in the severance of thirty- 
 six human beings from the society of their fellow-men. 
 Hitherto, not one of them was missing. The unvarying 
 calmness of the climate, notwithstanding the cold, had 
 tended to maintain them in good health, and there seemed 
 no reason to doubt that, when Gallia returned to the 
 earth, the total of its little population would still be 
 complete. 
 
 The 1st of January, it is true, was not properly " New 
 Year's Day " in Gallia, but Captain Servadac, nevertheless, 
 was very anxious to have it observed as a holiday. 
 
 " I do not think," he said to Count Timascheff and 
 Lieutenant Procope, " that we ought to allow our people 
 to lose their interest in the world to which we are all hoping 
 to return ; and how can we cement the bond that ought 
 to unite us, better than by celebrating, in common with our 
 fellow-creatures upon earth, a day that awakens afresh the 
 kindliest sentiments of all ? Besides," he added, smiling, 
 " I expect that Gallia, although invisible just at present tc
 
 A FfiTE DAY. 297 
 
 the naked eye, is being closely watched by the telescopes 
 of our terrestrial friends, and I have no doubt that the 
 newspapers and scientific journals of both hemispheres are 
 full of accounts detailing the movements of the new comet." 
 
 " True," asserted the count. " I can quite imagine 
 that we are occasioning no small excitement in all the 
 chief observatories." 
 
 " Ay, more than that," said the lieutenant ; " our 
 Gallia is certain to be far more than a mere object of 
 scientific interest or curiosity. Why should we doubt that 
 the elements of a comet which has once come into collision 
 with the earth have by this time been accurately calcu- 
 lated ? What our friend the professor has done here, has 
 been done likewise on the earth, where, beyond a question, 
 all manner of expedients are being discussed as to the 
 best way of mitigating the violence of a concussion that 
 must occur." 
 
 The lieutenant's conjectures were so reasonable that 
 they commanded assent. Gallia could scarcely be other- 
 wise than an object of terror to the inhabitants of the 
 earth, who could by no means be certain that a second 
 collision would be comparatively so harmless at the first. 
 Even to the Gallians themselves, much as they looked 
 forward to the event, the prospect was not unmixed with 
 alarm, and they would rejoice in the invention of any 
 device by which it was likely the impetus of the shock 
 might be deadened. 
 
 It was premature, however, for concern of this sort. 
 Come what might, the 1st of January should be celebrated 
 as a fete day, the Russians professing themselves quite 
 willing to accept the date as observed by the Frenchmen 
 and Spaniards.* 
 
 Christmas arrived, and was marked by appropriate 
 religious observance by every one in the community, with 
 the exception of the Jew, who made a point of secluding 
 
 • There is a difference of eleven days between the Frendi and Rnssiai 
 calendars.
 
 298 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 himself more obstinately than ever in the gloomy recesses 
 of his retreat. 
 
 To Ben Zoof the last week of the year was full of 
 bustle. The arrangements for the fete were entrusted to 
 him, and he was anxious, in spite of the resources of Gallia 
 being so limited, to make the programme for the great day 
 as attractive as possible. 
 
 It was settled that the proceedings should open with a 
 grand ddjeihier, after which there should be a promenade 
 upon the ice in the direction of Gourbi Island, to conclude 
 with a torch-light procession in the evening. The torches, 
 without much difficulty, could be manufactured from 
 materials included in the stores of the Hansa. 
 
 The composition of the bill of fare was an elaborate 
 business. The orderly and the cook of the Dobryna were 
 frequently to be seen in deep confabulation, so that it was 
 to be expected that the repast would be a masterpiece of 
 the combined arts of French and Russian cookery. 
 
 "Only let the dejeAner be a success," said Ben Zoof, 
 "and I will answer for it the promenade on the ice is sure 
 to be a success too." 
 
 On the evening of the 31st of December the table in 
 the common hall was laid for the great collation. The hot 
 dishes would not be prepared until the following morning, 
 but all the cold viands — game-pies, galantines, potted 
 meats, and other things, many of which had been obtained 
 from Isaac Hakkabut at most exorbitant prices — were 
 spread upon the table. 
 
 It was a matter of debate that night whether the pro- 
 fessor should be invited to join the party ; it was scarcely 
 likely that he would care to come, but, on the whole, it 
 was felt to be advisable to ask him. At first Captain 
 Servadac thought of going in person with the invitation ; 
 but, remembering Rosette's dislike to visitors, he altered 
 his mind, and sent young Pablo up to the obseD'atory with 
 a formal note, requesting the pleasure of Professor Rosette's 
 company at the New Year's /^/^. 
 
 Pablo was soon back, bringing no answer except tha/
 
 A fIite day. 299 
 
 the professor had told him that "to-day was the 125th of 
 June, and that to-morrow would be the ist of July." 
 
 Consequently, Servadac and the count took it for 
 granted that Palmyrin Rosette declined their invitation. 
 
 An hour after sunrise on New Year's Day, Frenchmen, 
 Russians, Spaniards, and little Nina, as the representative 
 of Italy, sat down to a feast such as never before had been 
 seen in Gallia. Ben Zoof and the Russian cook had quite 
 surpassed themselves. A huge dish of stewed partridges, 
 in which, in default of vegetables, enough curry-powder 
 had been used to blister the tongue, if not to damage the 
 coats of the stomach, was the pike de rhistance. The 
 wines, part of the Dobrynds stores, were of excellent 
 quality. Those of the vintages of France and Spain were 
 drunk in toasting their respective countries, and even 
 Russia was honoured in a similar way by means of a few 
 bottles of kummel. The company was more than con- 
 tented — it was as jovial as Ben Zoof could desire ; and 
 the ringing cheers that followed the great toast of thf 
 day — " A happy return to our Mother Earth," must fairl} 
 have startled the professor in the silence of his observatory 
 
 The dijeflner over, there still remained three hours of 
 daylight. The sun was approaching the zenith, but so 
 dim and enfeebled were his rays that they were very 
 unlike what had produced the wines of Bordeaux and 
 Burgundy which they had just been enjoying, and it was 
 necessary for all, before starting upon an excursion that 
 would last over nightfall, to envelop themselves in the 
 thickest of clothing. 
 
 Full of spirits, the party left the Hive, and chattering and 
 singing as they went, made their way down to the frozen 
 shore, where they fastened on their skates. Once upon 
 the ice, every one followed his own fancy, and some singly, 
 some in groups, scattered themselves in all directions. 
 Captain Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant were 
 generally seen together. Negrete and the Spaniards, now 
 masters of their novel exercise, wandered fleetly and grace- 
 fully hither and thither, occasionally being out of sight
 
 300 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 completely. The Russian sailors, following a northern 
 custom, skated in file, maintaining their rank by means 
 of a long pole passed under their right arms, and in this 
 way they described a trackway of singular regularity. 
 The two children, blithe as birds, flitted about, now singly, 
 now arm-in-arm, now joining the captain's party, now 
 making a short peregrination by themselves, but always 
 full of life and spirit. As for Ben Zoof, he was here, 
 there, and everywhere, his imperturbable good temper 
 ensuring him a smile of welcome whenever he appeared. 
 
 Thus coursing rapidly over the icy plain, the whole 
 party had soon exceeded the line that made the horizon 
 from the shore. First, the rocks of the coast were lost to 
 view ; then the white crests of the cliffs were no longer to 
 be seen ; and at last, the summit of the volcano, with its 
 corona of vapour, was entirely out of sight. Occasionally 
 the skaters were obliged to stop to recover their breath, 
 but, fearful of frost-bite, they almost instantly resumed 
 their exercise, and proceeded nearly as far as Gourbi 
 Island before they thought about retracing their course. 
 
 But night was coming on, and the sun was already 
 sinking in the east with the rapidity to which the residents 
 on Gallia were by this time well accustomed. The sunset 
 upon this contracted horizon was very remarkable. There 
 was not a cloud nor a vapour to catch the tints of the 
 declining beams ; the surface of the ice did not, as a liquid 
 sea would, reflect the last green ray of light ; but the 
 radiant orb, enlarged by the effect of refraction, its cir- 
 cumference sharply defined against the sky, sank abruptly, 
 as though a trap had been opened in the ice for its 
 reception. 
 
 Before the daylight ended, Captain Servadac had 
 cautioned the party to collect themselves betimes into one 
 group. 
 
 "Unless you are sure of your whereabouts before dark," 
 he said, " you will not find it after. We have come out 
 like a party of skirmishers ; let us go back in full force." 
 
 The night would be dark ; their moon was in conjunc
 
 A F^TE DAY. 3OI 
 
 tion, and would not be seen ; the stars would only give 
 something of that " pale radiance " which the poet Cor- 
 neille has described. 
 
 Immediately after sunset the torches were lighted, and 
 the long series of flames, fanned by the rapid motion of 
 their bearers, had much the appearance of an enormous 
 fiery banner. An hour later, and the volcano appeared 
 like a dim shadow on the horizon, the light from the crater 
 shedding a lurid glare upon the surrounding gloom. In 
 time the glow of the burning lava, reflected in the icy 
 mirror, fell upon the troop of skaters, and cast their 
 lengthened shadows grotesquely on the surface of the 
 frozen sea. 
 
 Later still, half an hour or more afterwards, the torches 
 were all but dying out. The shore was close at hand. 
 All at once, Ben Zoof uttered a startled cry, and pointed 
 with bewildered excitement towards the mountain. In- 
 voluntarily, one and all, they ploughed their heels into the 
 ice and came to a halt. Exclamations of surprise and 
 horror burst from every lip. The volcano was extin- 
 guished ! The stream of burning larva had suddenly 
 ceased to flow ! 
 
 Speechless with amazement, they stood still for some 
 moments. There was not one of them that did not realize, 
 more or less, how critical was their position. The sole 
 source of the heat that had enabled them to brave the 
 rigour of the cold had failed them ! death, in the cruellest 
 of all shapes, seemed staring them in the face — deatk 
 from cold ! 
 
 Meanwhile, the last torch had flickered out 
 
 It was quite dark. 
 
 " Forward ! " cried Servadac, firmly. 
 
 At the word of command they advanced to the shore ; 
 clambered with no little difficulty up the slippery rocks ; 
 gained the mouth of the gallery ; groped their way into 
 the common hall. 
 
 How dreary ! how chill it seemed ! 
 
 The fiery cataract no longer spread its glowing covering
 
 302 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 over the mouth of the grotto. Lieutenant Procope leaned 
 through the aperture. The pool, hitherto kept fluid by its 
 proximity to the lava, was already encrusted with a layer 
 of ice. 
 
 Such was the end of the New Year's Day so happily 
 begun.
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 THE BOWELS OF THE COMET. 
 
 The whole night was spent in speculating, with gloomy 
 forebodings, upon the chances of the future. The tem- 
 perature of the hall, now entirely exposed to the outer air, 
 was rapidly falling, and would quickly become unendur- 
 able. Far too intense was the cold to allow any one to 
 remain at the opening, and the moisture on the walls soon 
 resolved itself into icicles. But the mountain was like the 
 body of a dying man, that retains awhile a certain amount 
 of heat at the heart after the extremities have become 
 rold and dead. In the more interior galleries there was 
 still a certain degree of warmth, and hither Servadac and 
 his companions were glad enough to retreat 
 
 Here they found the professor, who, startled by the 
 sudden cold, had been fain to make a precipitate retreat 
 from his observatory. Now would have been the oppor- 
 tunity to demand of the enthusiast whether he would like 
 to prolong his residence indefinitely upon his little comet. 
 It is very likely that he would have declared himself ready 
 to put up with any amount of discomfort to be able to 
 gratify his love of investigation ; but all were far too dis- 
 heartened and distressed to care to banter him upon the 
 subject on which he was so sensitive. 
 
 Next morning, Servadac thus addressed his people : 
 ** My friends, except from cold, we have nothing to 
 fear. Our provisions are ample — more than enough for
 
 304 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 the remaining period of our sojourn in this lone world of 
 ours ; our preserved meat is already cooked ; we shall be 
 able to dispense with all fuel for cooking purposes. All 
 that we require is warmth — warmth for ourselves : let us 
 secure that, and all may be well. Now, I do not entertain 
 a doubt but that the warmth we require is resident in the 
 bowels of this mountain on which we are living ; to the 
 depth of those bowels we must penetrate ; there we shall 
 obtain the warmth which is indispensable to our very 
 existence." 
 
 His tone, quite as much as his words, restored con- 
 fidence to many of his people, who were already yielding 
 to a feeling of despair. The count and the lieutenant 
 fervently, but silently, grasped his hand. 
 
 "Nina," said the captain, "you will not be afraid to go 
 down to the lower depths of the mountain, will you ? " 
 
 " Not if Pablo goes," replied the child. 
 
 " Oh yes, of course, Pablo will go. You are not afraid 
 to go, are you, Pablo ? " he said, addressing the boy. 
 
 " Anywhere with you, your Excellency," was the boy's 
 prompt reply. 
 
 And certain it was that no time must be lost in pene- 
 trating below the heart of the volcano ; already the most 
 protected of the many ramifications of Nina's Hive were 
 being pervaded by a cold that was insufferable. 
 
 The conviction became more and more settled that 
 heat was existent in the deep recesses of the volcano ; the 
 question became more and more urgent, how that heat 
 could be reached, and how it could be utilized. 
 
 It was an acknowledged impossibility to get access to 
 the crater by the exterior declivities of the mountain-side ; 
 they were far too steep and too slippery to afford a foot- 
 hold. It must of necessity be entered from the interior. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope accordingly undertook the task of 
 exploring all the galleries, and was soon able to report 
 that he had discovered one which he had every reason to 
 believe abutted upon the central funnel. His reason for 
 coming to this conclusion was that the caloric emitted by
 
 THE BOWELS OF THE COMET. 305 
 
 the rising vapours of the hot lava seemed to be oozing, as 
 it were, out of the tellurium, which had been demonstrated 
 already to be a conductor of heat. Only succeed in 
 piercing through this rock for seven or eight yards, and 
 the lieutenant did not doubt that his way would be opened 
 into the old lava-course, by following which he hoped 
 descent would be easy. 
 
 Under the lieutenant's direction the Russian sailors 
 were immediately set to work. Their former experience 
 had convinced them that spades and pick-axes were ol 
 no avail, and their sole resource was to proceed by blasting 
 with gunpowder. However skilfully the operation might 
 be carried on, it must necessarily occupy several days, 
 and during that time the sufferings from cold must be 
 very severe. 
 
 " If we fail in our object, and cannot get to the depths 
 of the mountain, our little colony is doomed," said Count 
 Timaschefif. 
 
 "That speech is not like yourself," answered Servadac, 
 smiling. "What has become of the faith which has 
 hitherto carried you so bravely through all our difficulties.?" 
 
 The count shook his head, as if in despair, and said, 
 sadly : 
 
 "The Hand that has hitherto been outstretched to 
 help seems now to be withdrawn." 
 
 " But only to test our powers of endurance," rejoined 
 the captain, earnestly. " Courage, my friend, courage ! 
 Something tells me that this cessation of the eruption is 
 only partial ; the internal fire is not all extinct. All is not 
 over yet. It is too soon to give up ; never despair ! " 
 
 Lieutenant Procope quite concurred with the captain. 
 Many causes, he knew, besides the interruption of the 
 influence of the oxygen upon the mineral substances in 
 Gallia's interior, might account for the stoppage of the 
 lava-flow in this one particular spot, and he considered it 
 more than probable that a fresh outlet had been opened 
 in some other part of the surface, and that the eruptive 
 matter had been diverted into the new channel. But at
 
 506 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 present his business was to prosecute his labours so that 
 a retreat might be immediately effected from their now 
 untenantable position. 
 
 Restless and agitated, Professor Rosette, if he took any 
 interest in these discussions, certainly took no share in 
 them. He had brought his telescope down from the obser- 
 vatory into the common hall, and there at frequent 
 intervals, by night and by day, he would endeavour to 
 continue his observations ; but the intense cold perpetually 
 compelled him to desist, or he would literally have been 
 frozen to death. No sooner, however, did he find himself 
 obliged to retreat from his study of the heavens, than he 
 would begin overwhelming everybody about him with 
 bitter complaints, pouring out his regrets that he had ever 
 quitted his quarters at P^ormentera. 
 
 On the 4th of January, by persevering industry, the 
 process of boring was completed, and the lieutenant could 
 hear that fragments of the blasted rock, as the sailors cleared 
 them away with their spades, were rolling into the funnel 
 of the crater. He noticed, too, that they did not fall per- 
 pendicularly, but seemed to slide along, from which he 
 inferred that the sides of the crater were sloping ; he had 
 therefore reason to hope that a descent would be found 
 practicable. 
 
 Larger and larger grew the orifice ; at length it would 
 admit a man's body, and Ben Zoof, carrying a torch, 
 pushed himself through it, followed by the lieutenant and 
 Servadac. Procope's conjecture proved correct. On enter- 
 ing the crater, they found that the sides slanted at the 
 angle of about 45° ; moreover, the eruption had evidently 
 been of recent origin, dating probably only from the shock 
 which had invested Gallia with a proportion of the atmo- 
 sphere of the earth, and beneath the coating of ashes with 
 which they were covered, there were various irregularities 
 in the rock, not yet worn away by the action of tlie lava, 
 and these afforded a tolerably safe footing. 
 
 " Rather a bad staircase ! " said Ben Zoof, as they 
 began to make their way down.
 
 THE BOWELS OF THE COMET. 307 
 
 In about half an hour, proceeding in a southerly 
 direction, they had descended nearly five hundred feet. 
 From time to time they came upon large excavations that 
 at first sight had all the appearance of galleries, but by 
 waving his torch, Ben Zoof could always see their extreme 
 limits, and it was evident that the lower strata of the 
 mountain did not present the same system of ramification 
 that rendered the Hive above so commodious a residence. 
 
 It was not a time to be fastidious ; they must be 
 satisfied with such accommodation as they could get, 
 provided it was warm. Captain Servadac was only too 
 glad to find that his hopes about the temperature were 
 to a certain extent realized. The lower they went, the 
 greater was the diminution in the cold, a diminution that 
 was far more rapid than that which is experienced in 
 making the descent of terrestrial mines. In this case it 
 was a volcano, not a colliery, that was the object of explo- 
 ration, and thankful enough they were to find that it had 
 not become extinct. Although the lava, from some un- 
 known cause, had ceased to rise and overflow the crater, 
 yet plainly it existed somewhere in an incendescent state, 
 and was still transmitting considerable heat to inferior 
 strata. 
 
 Lieutenant Procope had brought in his hand a mer- 
 curial thermometer, and Servadac carried an aneroid 
 barometer, by means of which he could estimate the depth 
 of their descent below the level of the Gallian Sea. When 
 they were six hundred feet below the orifice the mercury 
 registered a temperature of 6° below zero. 
 
 " Six degrees ! " said Servadac ; " that will not suit us. 
 At this low temperature we could not survive the winter. 
 We must try deeper down. I only hope the ventilation 
 will hold out." 
 
 There was, however, nothing to fear on the score of 
 ventilation. The great current of air that rushed into 
 the aperture penetrated everywhere, and made respiration 
 perfectly easy. 
 
 The descent was continued for about another three
 
 308 HECTOR SERVADAG 
 
 hundred feet, Avhich brought the explorers to a total depth 
 of nine hundred feet from their old quarters. Here the 
 thermometer registered 12° above zero- — a temperature 
 which^ if only it were permanent, was all they wanted. 
 There was no advantage in proceeding any further along 
 the lava-course ; they could already hear dull rumblings 
 that indicated that they were at no great distance from the 
 central focus. 
 
 *' Quite near enough for me ! " exclaimed Ben Zoof 
 " Those who are chilly are welcome to go as much lower 
 as they like. For my part, I shall be quite warm enough 
 here." 
 
 After throwing the gleams of torch-light in all direc- 
 tions, the explorers seated themselves on a jutting rock, 
 and began to debate whether it was practicable for the 
 colony to make an abode in these lower depths of the 
 mountain. The prospect, it must be owned, was not 
 inviting. The crater, it is true, widened out into a cavern 
 sufficiently large, but here its accommodation ended. 
 Above and below were a few ledges in the rock that would 
 serve as receptacles for provisions ; but, with the excep- 
 tion of a small recess that must be reserved for Nina, it was 
 clear that henceforth they must all renounce the idea of 
 having separate apartments. The single cave must be 
 their dining-room, drawing-room, and dormitory, all in 
 one. From living the life of rabbits in a warren, they were 
 reduced to the existence of moles, with the difference that 
 they could not, like them, forget their troubles in a long 
 winter's sleep. 
 
 The cavern, however, was quite capable of being lighted 
 by means of lamps and lanterns. Among the stores were 
 several barrels of oil and a considerable quantity of spirits 
 of wine, which might be burnt when required for cooking 
 purposes. Moreover, it would be unnecessary for them to 
 confine themselves entirely to the seclusion of their gloomy 
 residence ; well v/rapped up, there would be nothing to 
 prevent them making occasional excursions both to the 
 Hive and to the sea-shore. A supply of fresh watei
 
 THE BOWELS 01 THE COMET. 309 
 
 would be constantly required ; ice for this purpose must 
 be perpetually carried in from the coast, and it would be 
 necessary to arrange that every one in turn should per- 
 form this office, as it would be no sinecure to clamber up 
 the sides of the crater for 900 feet, and descend the same 
 distance with a heavy burden. 
 
 But the emergency was great, and it was accordingly 
 soon decided that the little colony should forthwith take 
 up its quarters in the cave. After all, they said, they 
 should hardly be much worse off than thousands who 
 annually winter in Arctic regions. On board the whaling- 
 vessels, and in the establishments of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, such luxuries as separate cabins or sleeping- 
 chambers are never thought of; one large apartment, 
 well heated and ventilated, with as few corners as possible, 
 is considered far more healthy ; and on board ship the 
 entire hold, and in forts a single floor, is appropriated 
 to this purpose. The recollection of this fact served to 
 reconcile them, in a great degree, to the change to which 
 they felt it requisite to submit. 
 
 Having remounted the ascent, they made the result of 
 their exploration known to the mass of the community, 
 who received the tidings with a sense of relief, and cordially 
 accepted the scheme of the migration. 
 
 The first step was to clear the cavern of its accumula- 
 tion of ashes, and then the labour of removal commenced 
 in earnest. Never was a task undertaken with greater zest. 
 The fear of being to a certainty frozen to death if they 
 remained where they were, was a stimulus that made every 
 one put forth all his energies. Beds, furniture, cooking 
 utensils — first the stores of the Dobryna, then the cargo of 
 the tartan — all were carried down with the greatest alacrity, 
 and the diminished weight combined with the downhill 
 route to make the labour proceed with incredible briskness. 
 
 Although Professor Rosette yielded to the pressure of 
 circumstances, and allowed himself to be conducted to 
 the lower regions, nothing would induce him to allow hi-s 
 telescope to be carried underground ; and as it was unde
 
 3IO HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 niable that it would certainly be of no service deep down 
 in the bowels of the mountain, it was allowed to remain 
 undisturbed upon its tripod in the great hall of Nina's Hive. 
 
 As for Isaac Hakkabut, his outcry was beyond descrip- 
 tion lamentable. Never, in the whole universe, had a 
 merchant met with such reverses ; never had such a piti- 
 able series of losses befallen an unfortunate man. Regard- 
 less of the ridicule which his abject wretchedness excited, 
 he howled on still, and kept up an unending wail ; but 
 meanwhile he kept a keen eye upon every article of his 
 property, and amidst universal laughter insisted on having 
 every item registered in an inventory as it was transferred 
 to its appointed place of safety. Servadac considerately 
 allowed the whole of the cargo to be deposited in a hollow 
 apart by itself, over which the Jew was permitted to keep 
 a watch as vigilant as he pleased. 
 
 By the loth the removal was accomplished. Rescued, 
 at all events, from the exposure to a perilous temperature 
 of 60° below zero, the community ,/as installed in its new 
 home. The large cave was lighted by the Dobryna\^ 
 lamps, while several lanterns, suspended at intervals along 
 the acclivity that led to their deserted quarters above, gave 
 a weird picturesqueness to the scene, that might vie with 
 any of the graphic descriptions of the " Arabian Nights' 
 Entertainments." 
 
 " How do you like this, Nina } " said Ben Zoof. 
 
 " Va bene ! " replied the child. " We are only living in 
 the cellars instead of upon the ground floor." 
 
 "We will try and make ourselves comfortable," said 
 the orderly. 
 
 " Oh yes, we will be happy here," rejoined the child ; 
 " it is nice and warm." 
 
 Although they were as careful as they could to con- 
 ceal their misgivings from the rest, Servadac and his two 
 friends could not regard their present situation without 
 distrust. When alone, they would frequently ask each other 
 what would become of them all, if the volcanic heat sliould 
 re^Uy be subsiding, or if some unexpected perturbation
 
 THE BOWELS OF THE COMET. 31I 
 
 should retard the course of the comet, and compel them 
 to an indefinitely prolonged residence in their grim abode. 
 It was scarcely likely that the comet conld supply the fuel 
 of which ere long they would be in urgent need. Who 
 could expect to find coal in the bowels of Gallia, — coal, 
 which is the residuum of ancient forests mineralized by the 
 lapse of ages .-' Would not the lava-cinders exhumed from 
 the extinct volcano be their last poor resource ? 
 
 " Keep up your spirits, my friends," said Servadac , 
 "we have plenty of time before us at present. Let us 
 hope that as fresh difficulties arise, fresh ways of escape 
 will open. Never despair ! " 
 
 "True," said the count; "it is an old saying that 
 * Necessity is the mother of invention.' Besides, I should 
 think it very unlikely that the internal heat will fail us 
 now before the summer." 
 
 The lieutenant declared that he entertained the same 
 hope. As the reason of his opinion he alleged that the 
 combustion of the eruptive matter was most probably of 
 quite recent origin, because the comet before its collision 
 with the earth had possessed no atmosphere, and that con- 
 sequently no oxygen could have penetrated to its interior. 
 
 " Most likely you are right," replied the count ; " and 
 so far from dreading a failure of the internal heat, I am 
 not quite sure that we may not be exposed to a more 
 terrible calamity still ? " 
 
 " What .-• " asked Servadac. 
 
 "The calamity of the eruption breaking out suddenly 
 again, and taking us by surprise." 
 
 " Heavens ! " cried the captain, " we will not think 
 of that." 
 
 "The outbreak may happen again," said the lieutenant, 
 calmly ; " but it will be our fault, our own lack of vigi- 
 lance, if we are taken by surprise," 
 
 And so the conversation dropped. 
 
 The 15th of January dawned: and the comet was 
 220,000,000 leagues from the sun. 
 
 Gallia had reached its aphelion.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DREARY MONTHS. 
 
 Henceforth, then, with a velocity ever increasing, 
 
 Gallia would re-approach the sun. 
 
 Except the thirteen Englishmen who had been left at 
 Gibraltar, every living creature had taken refuge in the 
 dark abyss of the volcano's crater. 
 
 And with those Englishmen, how had it fared ? 
 
 " Far better than with ourselves," was the sentiment 
 that would have been universally accepted in Nina's Hive. 
 
 And there was every reason to conjecture that so it 
 was. The party at Gibraltar, they all agreed, would not, 
 like themselves, have been compelled to have recourse to a 
 stream of lava for their supply of heat ; they, no doubt, 
 had had abundance of fuel as well as food ; and in their 
 solid casemate, with its substantial walls, they would find 
 ample shelter from the rigour of the cold. The time 
 would have been passed at least in comfort, and perhaps 
 in contentment; and Colonel Murphy and Major Oliphant 
 would have had leisure more than sufficient for solving 
 the most abstruse problems of the chess-board. All of 
 them, too, would be happy in the confidence that when 
 the time should come, England would have full meed ol 
 praise to award to the gallant soldiers who had adhered 
 so well and so manfully to their post. 
 
 It did, indeed, more than once occur to the minds both 
 of Servadac and his friends that, if their condition should
 
 DREARY MONTHS. 313 
 
 become one of extreme emergency, they might, as a last 
 resource, betake themselves to Gibraltar, and there seek 
 a refuge ; but their former reception had not been of 
 the kindest, and they were little disposed to renew an 
 acquaintanceship that was marked by so little cordiality. 
 Not in the least that they would expect to meet with any 
 inhospitable rebuff. Far from that ; they knew well enough 
 that Englishmen, whatever their faults, would be the last 
 to abandon their fellow-creatures in the hour of distress. 
 Nevertheless, except the necessity became far more urgent 
 than it had hitherto proved, they resolved to endeavour to 
 remain in their present quarters. Up till this time no 
 casualties had diminished their original number, but to 
 undertake so long a journey across that unsheltered 
 expanse of ice could scarcely fail to result in the loss of 
 some of their party. 
 
 However great was the desire to find a retreat for 
 every living thing in the deep hollow of the crater, it was 
 found necessary to slaughter almost all the domestic 
 animals before the removal of the community from Nina's 
 Hive. To have stabled them all in the cavern below 
 would have been quite impossible, whilst to have left them 
 in the upper galleries would only have been to abandon 
 them to a cruel death ; and since meat could be preserved 
 for an indefinite time in the original store-places, now 
 colder than ever, the expedient of killing off the animals 
 seemed to recommend itself as being equally prudent and 
 humane. 
 
 Naturally the captain and Ben Zoof were most anxious 
 that their favourite horses should be saved, and accordingly, 
 by dint of the greatest care, all difficulties in the way were 
 overcome, and Zephyr and Galette were conducted down 
 the crater, where they were installed in a large hole and 
 provided with forage, which was still abundant. 
 
 Birds, subsisting only on scraps thrown out to them 
 did not cease to follow the population in its migration, 
 and so numerous did they become that multitudes of them 
 had repeatedly to be destroyed.
 
 314 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 The general re-arrangement of the new residence was 
 no easy business, and occupied so much time that the end 
 of January arrived before they could be said to be fairly 
 settled. And then began a life of dreary monotony. 
 Then seemed to creep over every one a kind of moral 
 torpor as well as physical lassitude, which Servadac, the 
 count, and the lieutenant did their best not only to combat 
 in themselves, but to counteract in the general community. 
 They provided a variety of intellectual pursuits ; they 
 instituted debates in which everybody was encouraged 
 to take part; they read aloud, and explained extracts from 
 the elementary manuals of science, or from the books of 
 adventurous travel which their library supplied ; and 
 Russians and Spaniards, day after day, might be seen 
 gathered round the large table, giving their best attention 
 to instruction which should send them back to Mother 
 Earth less ignorant than they had left her. 
 
 Selfish and morose, Hakkabut could never be induced , 
 to be present at these social gatherings. He was far too 
 much occupied in his own appropriated corner, either in 
 conning his accounts, or in counting his money. Alto- 
 gether, with what he had before, he now possessed the round 
 sum of 150,000 francs, half of which was in sterling gold • 
 but nothing could give him any satisfaction while he knew 
 that the days were passing, and that he was denied the 
 opportunity of putting out his capital in advantageous 
 investments, or securing a proper interest. 
 
 Neither did Palmyrin Rosette find leisure to take any 
 share in the mutual intercourse. His occupation was far 
 too absorbing for him to suffer it to be interrupted, and to 
 him, living as he did perpetually in a world of figures, the 
 winter days seemed neither long nor wearisome. Having 
 ascertained every possible particular about his comet, he 
 was now devoting himself with equal ardour to the analysis 
 of all the properties of the satellite Nerina, to which he 
 appeared to assert the same claim of proprietorship. 
 
 In order to investigate the new elements which be- 
 longed to Nerina, in consequence of its removal from the
 
 I 
 
 DREARY MONTHS. 315 
 
 zone of the telescopic planets, it was indispensable that he 
 should make several actual observations at various points 
 of the orbit ; and for this purpose he repeatedly made his 
 way up to the grotto above, where, in spite of the extreme 
 severity of the cold, he would persevere in the use of his 
 telescope till he was all but paralyzed. But what he felt 
 more than anything was the want of some retired apart- 
 ment, where he could pursue his studies without hindrance 
 o' intrusion. 
 
 It was about the beginning of February, when the pro- 
 fessor brought his complaint to Captain Servadac, and 
 begged him to assign him a chamber, no matter how 
 small, in which he should be free to carry on his task in 
 silence and without molestation. So readily did Servadac 
 promise to do everything in his power to provide him with 
 the accommodation for which he asked, that the professor 
 was put into such manifest good temper that the captain 
 ventured to speak upon the matter that was ever upper- 
 most in his mind. 
 
 " I do not mean," he began timidly, " to cast the least 
 imputation of inaccuracy upon any of your calculations, 
 but would you allow me, my dear professor, to suggest that 
 you should revise your estimate of the duration of Gallia's 
 period of revolution. It is so important, you know, so 
 all important ; the difference of one half minute, you 
 know, would so certainly mar the expectation of reunion 
 with the earth " 
 
 And seeing a cloud gathering on Rosette's face, he 
 added : 
 
 " I am sure Lieutenant Procope would be only too 
 happy to render you any assistance in the revision." 
 
 " Sir," said the professor, bridling up, " I want no 
 assistant ; my calculations want no revision. I never 
 make an error. I have made my reckoning as far as 
 Gallia is concerned. I am now making a like estimate of 
 the elements of Nerina." 
 
 Conscious how impolitic it would be to press this 
 matter further, the captain casually remarked that he
 
 3l6 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 should have supposed that all the elements of Nerina had 
 been calculated long since by astronomers on the earth. 
 It was about as unlucky a speech as he could possibly have 
 made. The professor glared at him fiercely. 
 
 "Astounding, sir!" he exclaimed. "Yes! Nerina 
 was a planet then ; everything that appertained to the 
 planet was determined ; but Nerina is a moon now. And 
 do you not think, sir, that we have a right to know as 
 much about our moon as those terrestrials " — and he 
 curled his lip as he spoke with a contemptuous emphasis 
 — " know of theirs .-* " 
 
 " I beg pardon," said the corrected captain. 
 
 " Well then, never mind," replied the professor, 
 quickly appeased ; " only will you have the goodness to 
 get me a proper place for study ? " 
 
 " I will, as I promised, do all I can," answered 
 Servadac. 
 
 " Very good," said the professor. " No immediate 
 hurry ; an hour hence will do." 
 
 But in spite of this condescension on the part of the 
 man of science, some hours had to elapse before any place 
 of retreat could be discovered likely to suit his require- 
 ments ; but at length a little nook was found in the side of 
 the cavern just large enough to hold an armchair and a 
 table, and in this the astronomer was soon ensconced to 
 his entire satisfaction. 
 
 Buried thus, nearly 900 feet below ground, the Gallians 
 ought to have had unbounded mental energy to furnish an 
 adequate reaction to the depressing monotony of their 
 existence ; but many days would often elapse without any 
 one of them ascending to the surface of the soil, and had 
 it not been for the necessity of obtaining fresh water, it 
 seemed almost probable that there would never have been 
 an effort made to leave the cavern at all. 
 
 A few excursions, it is true, were made in the down- 
 ward direction. The three leaders, with Ben Zoof, made 
 their way to the lower depths of the crater, not with the 
 design of making any further examination as to the nature
 
 Nine hundred feet below ground.
 
 DREARY MONTHS. 31; 
 
 of the rock— for although it might be true enough that it 
 contained thirty per cent, of gold, it was as valueless to 
 them as granite — but with the intention of ascertaining 
 whether the subterranean fire still retained its activity. 
 Satisfied upon this point, they came to the conclusion that 
 the eruption which had so suddenly ceased in one spot 
 had certainly broken out in another. 
 
 February, March, April, May, passed wearily by ; but 
 day succeeded to day with such gloomy sameness that it 
 was little wonder that no notice was taken of the lapse of 
 time. The people seemed rather to vegetate than to live, 
 and their want of vigour became at times almost alarming. 
 The readings around the long table ceased to be attrac- 
 tive, and the debates, sustained by few, became utterly 
 wanting in animation. The Spaniards could hardly be 
 roused to quit their beds, and seemed to have scarcely 
 energy enough to eat The Russians, constitutionally of 
 more enduring temperament, did not give way to the same 
 extent, but the long and drear confinement was beginning 
 to tell upon them all. Servadac, the count, and the lieu- 
 tenant all knew well enough that it was the want of air 
 and exercise that was the cause of much of this mental 
 depression ; but what could they do .-* The most serious 
 remonstrances on their part were entirely in vain. In fact, 
 they themselves occasionally fell a prey to the same lassi- 
 tude both of body and mind. Long fits of drowsiness, 
 combined with an utter aversion to food, would come over 
 them. It almost seemed as if their entire nature had 
 become degenerate, and that, like tortoises, they could 
 sleep and fast till the return of summer. 
 
 Strange to say, little Nina bore her hardships more 
 bravely than any of them. Flitting about, coaxing one to 
 eat, another to drink, rousing Pablo as often as he seemed 
 yielding to the common langour, the child became the 
 life of the party. Her merry prattle enlivened the gloom 
 of the grim cavern like the sweet notes of a bird ; her gay 
 Italian songs broke the monotony of the depressing 
 silence ; and almost unconscious as the half-dormanl
 
 3l8 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 population of Gallia were of her influence, they still would 
 have missed her bright presence sorely. 
 
 The months still glided on ; how, it seemed impossible 
 for the inhabitants of the living tomb to say. There was 
 a dead level of dulness. 
 
 At the beginning of June the general torpor appeared 
 slightly to relax its hold upon its victims. This partial 
 revival was probably due to the somewhat increased in- 
 fluence of the sun, still far, far away. 
 
 During the first half of the Gallian year, Lieutenant 
 Procope had taken careful note of Rosette's monthly 
 announcements of the comet's progress, and he was able 
 now, without reference to the professor, to calculate the 
 rate of advance on its way back towards the sun. He 
 found that Gallia had recrossed the orbit of Jupiter, but 
 was still at the enormous distance of 197,000,000 leagues 
 from the sun, and he reckoned that in about four months 
 it would have entered the zone of the telescopic planets. 
 
 Gradually, but uninterruptedly, life and spirits con 
 tinued to revive, and by the end of the month Servadac 
 and his little colony had regained most of their ordinary 
 physical and mental energies. Ben Zoof, in particular, 
 roused himself with redoubled vigour, like a giant refreshed 
 from his slumbers. The visits, consequently, to the long- 
 neglected galleries of Nina's Hive became more and more 
 frequent 
 
 One day an excursion was made to the shore. It was 
 still bitterly cold, but the atmosphere had lost nothing of 
 its former stillness, and not a cloud was visible from hori- 
 zon to zenith. The old footmarks were all as distinct as 
 on the day in which they had been imprinted, and the 
 only portion of the shore where any change was apparent 
 was in the little creek. Here the elevation of the ice had 
 gone on increasing, until the schooner and the tartan had 
 been uplifted to a height of 1 50 feet, not only rendering 
 them quite inaccessible, but exposing them to all but 
 certain destruction in the event of a thaw. 
 
 Isaac Hakkabut, immovable from the personal over-
 
 DREARY MONTHS. 319 
 
 sight of his property in the cavern, had not accompanied 
 the party, and consequently was in blissful ignorance of 
 the fate that threatened his vessel. 
 
 "A good thing the old fellow wasn't there to see," 
 observed Ben Zoof; "he would have screamed like a 
 peacock. What a misfortune it is," he added, speaking to 
 himself, " to have a peacock's voice, without its plumage ! " 
 
 During the months of July and August, Gallia advanced 
 164,000,000 leagues along her orbit At night the cold 
 was still intense, but in the daytime the sun, here full 
 upon the equator, caused an appreciable difference of 20° 
 in the temperature. Like birds, the population spent 
 whole days exposed to its grateful warmth, rarely return- 
 ing till nightfall to the shade of their gloomy home. 
 
 This spring-time, if such it may be called, had a most 
 enlivening influence upon all. Hope and courage revived 
 as day by day the sun's disc expanded in the heavens, and 
 every evening the earth assumed a greater magnitude 
 amongst the fixed stars. It was distant yet, but the goal 
 was cheeringly in view. 
 
 " I can't believe that yonder little speck of light con- 
 tains my mountain of Montmartre," said Ben Zoof, one 
 night, after he had been gazing long and steadily at the 
 far-off world. 
 
 "You will, I hope, some day find out that it does," 
 answered his master. 
 
 " I hope so," said the orderly, without moving his eye 
 from the distant sphere. 
 
 After meditating a while, he spoke again : 
 
 •' I suppose Professor Rosette couldn't make his comet 
 go straight back, could he ? " 
 
 " Hush ! " cried Servadac. 
 
 Ben Zoof understood the correction. 
 
 " No," continued the captain ; " it is not for man to 
 disturb the order of the universe. That belongs to a 
 Higher Power than oursl"
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED. 
 
 Another month passed away, and it was now September, 
 but it was still impossible to leave the warmth of the 
 subterranean retreat for the more airy and commodious 
 quarters of the Hive, where " the bees " would certainly 
 have been frozen to death in their cells. It was altogether 
 quite as much a matter of congratulation as of regret that 
 the volcano showed no symptoms of resuming its activity ; 
 for although a return of the eruption might have rendered 
 their former resort again habitable, any sudden outbreak 
 would have been disastrous to them where they were, the 
 crater being the sole outlet by which the burning lava 
 could escape. 
 
 "A wretched time we have had for the last seven 
 months," said the orderly one day to his master ; " but 
 what a comfort little Nina has been to us all ! " 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Servadac ; " she is a charming 
 little creature. I hardly know how we should have got on 
 without her." 
 
 " What is to become of her when we arrive back at the 
 earth ? " 
 
 •* Not much fear, Ben Zoof, but that she will be well 
 taken care of. Perhaps you and I had better adopt her." 
 
 "Ay, yes," assented the orderly. "You can be hei 
 father, and I can be her mother." 
 
 Servadac laughed.
 
 tHE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED. 32 J 
 
 " Then you and I shall be man and wife.*' 
 
 "We have been as good as that for a long time/* 
 
 obsei-ved Ben Zoof, gravely. 
 
 By the beginning of October, the temperature ha^i so 
 far moderated that it could scarcely be said to be intoler- 
 able. The comet's distance was scarcely three times as 
 great from the sun as the earth from the sun, so that the 
 thermometer rarely sunk beyond 35° below zero. The 
 whole party. began to make almost daily visits to the Hive, 
 and frequently proceeded to the shore, where they resumed 
 their skating exercise, rejoicing in their recovered freedom 
 like prisoners liberated from a dungeon. Whilst the rest 
 were enjoying their recreation, Servadac and the count 
 would hold long conversations with Lieutenant Procope 
 about their present position and future prospects, discuss- 
 ing all manner of speculations as to the results of the 
 anticipated collision with the earth, and wondering whether 
 any measures could be devised for mitigating the violence 
 of a shock which might be terrible in its consequences, 
 even if it did not entail a total annihilation of themselves. 
 
 There was no visitor to the Hive more regular than 
 Rosette. He had already directed his telescope to be 
 moved back to his former observatory, where, as much as 
 the cold would permit him, he persisted in making his all- 
 absorbing studies of the heavens. 
 
 The result of these studies no one ventured to inquire ; 
 but it became generally noticed that something was very 
 seriously disturbing the professor's equanimity. Not only 
 would he be seen toiling more frequently up the arduous 
 way that lay between his nook below and his telescope 
 above, but he would be heard muttering in an angry tone 
 that indicated considerable agitation. 
 
 One day, as he was hurrying down to his study, he met 
 Ben Zoof, who, secretly entertaining a feeling of delight at 
 the professor's manifest discomfiture, made some casual 
 remark about things not being very straight. The way in 
 which his advance was received the good orderly never 
 divulged, but henceforward he maintained the firm con-
 
 322 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 viction that there was somethhig very much amiss up in 
 the sky. 
 
 To Servadac and his friends this continual disquietude 
 and ill-humour on the part of the professor occasioned no 
 little anxiety. From what, they asked, could his dissatis- 
 faction arise ? They could only conjecture that he had 
 discovered some flaw in his reckonings ; and if this were 
 so, might there not be reason to apprehend that their 
 anticipations of coming into contact with the earth, at the 
 settled time, might all be falsified ? 
 
 Day followed day, and still there was no cessation of 
 the professor's discomposure. He was the most miserable 
 of mortals. If really his calculations and his observations 
 were at variance, this, in a man of his irritable tempera- 
 ment, would account for his perpetual perturbation. But 
 he entered into no explanation ; he only climbed up to his 
 telescope, looking haggard and distressed, and when com- 
 pelled by the frost to retire, he would make his way back 
 to his study more furious than ever. 
 
 At times he was heard giving vent to his vexation : 
 
 " Confound it ! what does it mean ? what is she doing .-* 
 All behind ! Is Newton a fool .'' The laws of gravity 
 seem topsy-turvy ! Observations ! Calculations ! Not 
 agree ? Plague ! Confound it ! Curses ! " 
 
 And the little man would seize his head in both his 
 hands, and tear away at the scanty locks which he could 
 ill afford to lose. 
 
 Enough was overheard to confirm the suspicion that 
 there was some irreconcilable discrepancy between the 
 results of his computation and what he had actually ob- 
 served ; and yet, if he had been called upon to say, he 
 would have sooner insisted that there was derangement in 
 the laws of celestial mechanism, than have owned there was 
 the least probability of error in any of his own calculations 
 
 Assuredly, if the poor professor had had any flesh to 
 lose he would have withered away to a shadow. 
 
 But this state of things was before long to come to an 
 end.
 
 THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED. 323 
 
 On the 1 2th, Ben Zoof, who was hanging about outside 
 the great hall of the cavern, heard the professor inside 
 utter a loud cry. Hurrying in to ascertain the cause, he 
 found Rosette in a state of perfect frenzy, in which ecstacy 
 and rage seemed to be struggling for the predominance. 
 
 " Eureka ! Eureka ! " yelled the excited astronomer. 
 
 " What, in the name of peace, do you mean ? " bawled 
 Ben Zoof, in open-mouthed amazement. 
 
 " Eureka ! " again shrieked the little man. 
 
 " How ? What .? Where ? " roared the bewildered 
 orderly. 
 
 "Eureka! I say," repeated Rosette; "and if you don't 
 understand me, you may go to the devil ! " 
 
 Without availing himself of this polite invitation, Ben 
 Zoof betook himself to his master. 
 
 " Something has happened to the professor," he said ; 
 " he is rushing about like a madman, screeching and 
 yelling, * Eureka ! ' " 
 
 " Eureka .-' " exclaimed Servadac. '* That means he has 
 made a discovery ; " and, full of anxiety, he hurried off to 
 meet the professor. 
 
 But, however great was his desire to ascertain what this 
 discovery implied, his curiosity was not yet destined to be 
 gratified. The professor kept muttering in incoherent 
 phrases : " Rascal ! he shall pay for it yet. I will be even 
 with him ! Cheat ! Thrown me out ! " But he did not 
 vouchsafe any reply to Servadac's inquiries, and withdrew 
 to his study. 
 
 But from that day forward Rosette, for some reason at 
 present incomprehensible, quite altered his behaviour to 
 Isaac Hakkabut, a man for whom he had always hitherto 
 evinced the greatest repugnance and contempt. All at 
 once he began to show a remarkable interest in the Jew 
 and his affairs, paying several visits to the dark little 
 storehouse, making inquiries as to the state of business 
 and expressing some solicitude about the state of the 
 exchequer. 
 
 The wily Jew was taken somewhat by surprise, but
 
 324. HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 came to an immediate conclusion that the professor was 
 contemplating borrowing some money ; he was conse- 
 quently very cautious in all his replies. 
 
 It was not Hakkabut's habit ever to advance a loan 
 except at an extravagant rate of interest, or without de- 
 manding far more than an adequate security. Count 
 Timascheff, a Russian nobleman, was evidently rich ; to 
 him, perhaps, for a proper consideration, a loan might be 
 made : Captain Servadac was a Gascon, and Gascons are 
 proverbially poor ; it would never do to lend any money 
 to him : but here was a professor, a mere man of science, 
 with circumscribed means ; did he expect to borrow ? 
 Certainly Isaac would as soon think of flying, as of lending 
 money to him. 
 
 Such were the thoughts that made him receive all 
 Rosette's approaches with a careful reservation. 
 
 It was not long, however, before Hakkabut was to be 
 called upon to apply his money to a purpose for which he 
 had not reckoned. 
 
 In his eagerness to effect sales, he had parted with all 
 the alimentary articles in his cargo without having the 
 precautionary prudence to reserve enough for his own con- 
 sumption. Amongst other things that failed him was his 
 stock of coffee, and as coffee was a beverage without 
 which he deemed it impossible to exist, he found himself 
 in considerable perplexity. 
 
 He pondered the matter over for a long time, and 
 ultimately persuaded himself that, after all, the stores were 
 the common property of all, and that he had as much right 
 to a share as any one else. Accordingly, he made his way 
 to Ben Zoof, and, in the most amiable tone he could 
 assume, begged as a favour that he would let him have 
 a pound of coffee. 
 
 The orderly shook hib head dubiously. 
 
 "A pound of coffee, old Nathan .-' I can't say/* 
 
 " Why not } You have some .-' " said Isaac. 
 
 ** Oh yes ! plenty— a hundred kilogrammes." 
 
 " Then let me have one pound. I shall be gratefuL"'
 
 THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED. 325 
 
 ** Hang your gratitude ! " 
 
 " Only one pound ! You would not refuse anybodj 
 else." 
 
 " That's just the very point, old Samuel ; if you were 
 anybody else, I should know very well what to do. I must 
 refer the matter to his Excellency." 
 
 " Oh, his Excellency will do me justice." 
 
 " Perhaps you will find his justice rather too much for 
 you." 
 
 And with this consoling remark, the orderly went to 
 seek his master. 
 
 Rosette meanwhile had been listening to the conversa- 
 tion, and was secretly rejoicing that an opportunity for 
 which he had been watching had now arrived, 
 
 " What's the matter. Master Isaac ? Have you parted 
 with all your coffee .-* " he asked, in a sympathizing voice, 
 when Ben Zoof was gone. 
 
 " Ah ! yes, indeed," groaned Hakkabut ; " and now I 
 require some for my own use. In my little black hole 
 I cannot live without my coffee." 
 
 " Of course you cannot," agreed the professor. 
 
 " And don't you think the governour ought to let me 
 have it ? " 
 
 " No doubt." 
 
 " Oh, I must have coflfee," said the Jew again. 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," the professor assented. " Coffee 
 is nutritious ; it warms the blood. How much do you 
 want ? " 
 
 " A pound. A pound will last me a long time." 
 
 " And who will weigh it for you ? " asked Rosette, 
 f scarcely able to conceal the eagerness that prompted the 
 question. 
 
 " Why, they will weigh it with my steelyard, of course. 
 There is no other balance here." 
 
 And as the Jew spoke, the professor fancied he could 
 detect the faintest of sighs. 
 
 " Good, Master Isaac ; all the better for you ! You 
 will get your seven pounds instead of one I "
 
 326 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 ** Yes ; well, seven, or thereabouts — thereabouts/' 
 stammered the Jew with considerable hesitation. 
 
 Rosette scanned his countenance narrowly, and was 
 about to probe him with further questions, when Ben Zoof 
 returned. 
 
 "And what does his Excellency say ? " inquired Hak- 
 kabut. 
 
 " Why, Nehemiah, he says he shan't give you any.** 
 
 ** Merciful heavens ! " began the Jew. 
 
 " He says he doesn't mind selling you a little." 
 
 ** But, by the holy city, why does he make me pay for 
 what anybody else could have for nothing .-* " 
 
 " As I told you before, you are not anybody else ; so, 
 come along. You can afford to buy what you want We 
 should like to see the colour of your money." 
 
 " Merciful heavens ! " the old man whined once more. 
 
 " Now, none of that ! Yes or no .'* If you are going to 
 buy, say so at once ; if not, I shall shut up shop." 
 
 Hakkabut knew well enough that the orderly was not 
 a man to be trifled with, and said, in a tremulous voice : 
 
 •' Yes, I will buy." 
 
 The professor, who had been looking on with much 
 interest, betrayed manifest symptoms of satisfaction, 
 
 " How much do you want .'* What will you charge 
 for it ? " asked Isaac, mournfully, putting his hand into his 
 pocket and chinking his money. 
 
 " Oh, we will deal gently with you. We will not make 
 any profit You shall have it for the same price that we 
 paid for it Ten francs a pound, you know." 
 
 The Jew hesitated. 
 
 " Come now, what is the use of your hesitating ? Your 
 gold will have no value when you go back to the world." 
 
 " What do you mean .-' " asked Hakkabut, startled. 
 
 "You will find out some day," answered Ben Zoof, 
 significantly. 
 
 Hakkabut drew out a small piece of gold from his 
 pocket, took it close under the lamp, rolled it over in 
 his hand, and pressed it to his lips.
 
 THE PROFESSOR PERPLEXED. 327 
 
 " Shall you weigh me the coffee with my steelyard ? " 
 he asked, in a quavering voice that confirmed the profes- 
 sor's suspicions. 
 
 " There is nothing else to weigh it with ; you know 
 that well enough, old Shechem," said Ben Zoof. 
 
 The steelyard was then produced ; a tray was sus- 
 pended to the hook, and upon this coffee was thrown until 
 the needle registered the weight of one pound. Of course, 
 it took seven pounds of coffee to do this. 
 
 " There you are ! There's your coffee, man ! " Ben 
 Zoof said. 
 
 " Are you sure ? " inquired Hakkabut, peering down 
 close to the dial. "Are you quite sure that the needle 
 touches the point ? " 
 
 " Yes ; look and see.** 
 
 " Give it a little push, please." 
 
 " Why .? " 
 
 " Because — because ** 
 
 " Well, because of what } " cried the orderly, impa- 
 tiently. 
 
 " Because I think, perhaps — I am not quite sure— 
 perhaps the steelyard is not quite correct." 
 
 The words were not uttered before the professor, fierce 
 as a tiger, had rushed at the Jew, had seized him by the 
 throat, and was shaking him till he was black in the face. 
 
 " Help ! help ! " screamed Hakkabut. " I shall be 
 strangled." 
 
 " Rascal ! consummate rascal ! thief ! villain ! " the pro- 
 fessor reiterated, and continued to shake the Jew furiously. 
 
 Ben Zoof looked on and laughed, making no attempt 
 to interfere ; he had no sympathy with either of the two 
 
 The sound of the scuffling, however, drew the attention 
 of Servadac, who, followed by his companions, hastened to 
 the scene. The combatants were soon parted. 
 
 "What is the meaning of all this?" demanded the 
 captain. 
 
 As soon as the professor had recovered his breath, 
 exhausted by his exertions, he said :
 
 328 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 " The reprobate, the rascal has cheated us ! His iteeU 
 yard is wrong ! He is a thief ! " 
 
 Captain Servadac looked sternly at Hakkabut 
 
 " How is this, Hakkabut ? Is this a fact ? " 
 
 **No, no — yes — no, your Excellency, only ** 
 
 "He is a cheat, a thief!" roared the excited astronomer. 
 " His weights deceive ! " 
 
 " Stop, stop ! " interposed Servadac ; " let us hear. Tell 
 me, Hakkabut " 
 
 " The steelyard lies ! It cheats ! it lies ! " roared the 
 irrepressible Rosette. 
 
 " Tell me, Hakkabut, I say," repeated Servadac. 
 
 The Jew only kept on stammering, " Yes — no — I don't 
 know." 
 
 But heedless of any interruption, the professor con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " False weights ! That confounded steelyard ! It gave 
 a false result ! The mass was wrong ! The observa- 
 tions contradicted the calculations ; they were wrong ! 
 She was out of place ! Yes, out of place entirely." 
 
 " What ! " cried Servadac and Procope in a breath, " out 
 of place ? " 
 
 " Yes, completely," said the professor. 
 
 " Gallia out of place .-* " repeated Servadac, agitated 
 with alarm, 
 
 " I did not say Gallia," replied Rosette, stamping his 
 foot impetuously ; " I said Nerina." 
 
 " Oh, Nerina," answered Servadac. " But what of 
 Gallia ? " he inquired, still nervously. 
 
 " Gallia, of course, is on her way to the earth. I told 
 you so. But that Jew is a rascal 1 '*
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 It was as the professor had said. From the day that 
 Isaac Hakkabut had entered upon his mercantile career, 
 his deahngs had all been carried on by a system of false 
 weight. That deceitful steelyard had been the mainspring 
 of his fortune. But when it had become his lot to be the 
 purchaser instead of the vendor, his spirit had groaned 
 within him at being compelled to reap the fruits of his own 
 dishonesty. No one who had studied his character could 
 be much surprised at the confession that was extorted from 
 him, that for every supposed kilogramme that he had ever 
 sold the true weight was only 750 grammes, or just five 
 and twenty per cent, less than it ought to have been. 
 
 The professor, however, had ascertained all that he 
 wanted to know. By estimating his comet at a third as 
 much again as its proper weight, he had found that his 
 calculations were always at variance with the observed 
 situation of the satellite, which was immediately influenced 
 by the mass of its primary. 
 
 But now, besides enjoying the satisfaction of having 
 punished old Hakkabut, Rosette was able to recommence 
 his calculations with reference to the elements of Nerina 
 upon a correct basis, a task to which he devoted himseU 
 with redoubled energy. 
 
 It will be easily imagined that Isaac Hakkabut, thus 
 caught in his own trap, was jeered most unmercifully by 
 those whom he had attempted to make Iiis dupes. Ben Zoof,
 
 330 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 in particular, was never weaned of telling him how on his 
 return to the world he would be prosecuted for using false 
 weights, and would certainly become acquainted with the 
 inside of a prison. Thus badgered, he secluded himself 
 more than ever in his dismal hole, never venturing, except 
 when absolutely obliged, to face the other members of the 
 community. 
 
 On the 7th of October the comet re-entered the zone of 
 the telescopic planets, one of which had been captured as a 
 satellite, and the origin of the whole of which is most 
 probably correctly attributed to the disintegration of some 
 large planet that formerly revolved between the orbits of 
 Mars and Jupiter. 
 
 By the beginning of the following month half of this 
 zone had been traversed, and only two months remained 
 before the collision with the earth was to be expected. 
 During the month Gallia would travel 40,000,000 leagues 
 along her orbit, and would approach to within 78,000,000 
 leagues of the sun. 
 
 The temperature was now rarely below 12° below zero, 
 but that was far too cold to permit the slightest symptoms 
 of a thaw. The surface of the sea remained as frozen as 
 ever, and the two vessels, high up on their icy pedestals, 
 remained unaltered in their critical position. 
 
 It was about this time that the question began to be 
 mooted whether it would not be right to re-open some 
 communication with the Englishmen at Gibraltar. Not 
 that any doubt was entertained as to their having been 
 able successfully to cope with the rigours of the winter ; 
 but Captain Servadac, in a way that did honour to his 
 generosity, represented that, however uncourteous might 
 have been their former behaviour, it was at least due to 
 them that they should be informed of the true condition of 
 things, which they had had no opportunity of learning-, 
 and, moreover, that they should be invited to co-operate 
 with the population of Nina's Hive, in the event of any 
 measures being suggested by which the shock of the 
 approaching collision could be mitigated. 
 
 I
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 331 
 
 The count and the h'eutenant both heartily concurred 
 in Servadac's sentiments of humanity and prudence, and 
 all agreed that if the intercourse were to be opened at all, 
 no time could be so suitable as the present, while the sur- 
 face of the sea presented a smooth and solid footing. After 
 a thaw should set in, neither the yacht nor the tartan could 
 be reckoned on for service, and it would be inexpedient to 
 make use of the steam-launch, for which only a few tons 
 of coal had been reserved, just sufficient to convey them 
 to Gourbi Island when the occasion should arise ; whilst as 
 to the yawl, which, transformed into a sledge, had per- 
 formed so successful a trip to Formentera, the absence of 
 wind would make that quite unavailable. It was true 
 that with the return of summer temperature, there would 
 be certain to be a derangement in the atmosphere of Gallia, 
 which would result in wind, but for the present the air was 
 altogether too still for the yawl to have any prospects oi 
 making its way to Gibraltar, 
 
 The only question remaining was as to the possibility 
 of going on foot. The distance was somewhere about 240 
 miles. Captain Servadac declared himself quite equal to 
 the undertaking. To skate sixty or seventy miles a day 
 would be nothing, he said, to a practical skater like him- 
 self. The whole journey there and back might be per- 
 formed in eight days. Provided with a compass, a sufficient 
 supply of cold meat, and a spirit-lamp, by which he might 
 boil his coffee, he was perfectly sure he should, without the 
 least difficulty, accomplish an enterprise that chimed in so 
 exactly with his adventurous spirit. 
 
 Equally urgent were both the count and the lieutenant 
 to be allowed to accompany him ; nay, they even offered 
 to go instead ; but Servadac, expressing himself as most 
 gratfeful for their consideration, declined their offer, and 
 avowed his resolution of taking no other companion than 
 his own orderly. 
 
 Highly delighted at his master's decision, Ben Zoof ex- 
 pressed his satisfaction at the prospect of " stretching hii 
 legs a bit," declaring that nothing could induce him to 
 permit the captain to go alone.
 
 33* HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 There was no delay. The departure was fixed for the 
 following morning, the 2nd of November. 
 
 Although it is not to be questioned that a genuine 
 desire of doing an act of kindness to his fellow-creatures 
 was a leading motive of Servadac's proposed visit to 
 Gibraltar, it must be owned that another idea, confided 
 to nobody, least of all to Count Timascheff", had been 
 conceived in the brain of the worthy Gascon. Ben Zoof 
 had an inkling that his master was "up to some other 
 little game," when, just before starting, he asked him pri- 
 vately whether there was a French tricolour among the 
 stores, 
 
 " I believe so," said the orderly. 
 
 " Then don't say a word to any one, but fasten it up 
 tight in your knapsack." 
 
 Ben Zoof found the flag, and folded it up as he was 
 directed. 
 
 Before proceeding to explain this somewhat enigmatical 
 conduct of Servadac, it is necessary to refer to a certain 
 physiological fact, coincident but unconnected with celes 
 tial phenomena, originating entirely in the frailty of humar 
 nature. The nearer that Gallia approached the earth, th<k 
 more a sort of reserve began to spring up between thv 
 captain and Count Timascheff Though they could not 
 be said to be conscious of it, the remembrance of their 
 former rivalry, so completely buried in oblivion for the last 
 year and ten months, was insensibly recovering its hold 
 upon their minds, and the question was all but coming to 
 the surface as to what would happen if, on their return to 
 
 earth, the handsome Madame de L should still be free. 
 
 From companions in peril, would they not again be avowed 
 rivals ? Conceal it as they would, a coolness was un- 
 deniably stealing over an intimacy which, though it could 
 never be called afi"ectionate, had been uniformly friendly 
 and courteous. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it was not surprising that 
 Hector Servadac should not have confided to the count 
 a project which, wild as it was, could scarcely have failed
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 333 
 
 to widen the unacknowledged breach that was opening in 
 their friendship. 
 
 The project was this : it was the annexation of Ceuta 
 to the French dominion. The Englishmen, rightly enough, 
 had continued to occupy the fragment of Gibraltar, and 
 their claim was indisputable. But the island of Ceuta, 
 which before the shock had commanded the opposite side 
 of the strait, and had been occupied by Spaniards, had 
 since been abandoned, and was therefore free to the first 
 occupant who should lay claim to it. To plant the tricolour 
 upon it, in the name of France, was now the cherished wish 
 of Servadac's heart. 
 
 " Who knows," he said to himself, " whether Ceuta, on 
 its return to earth, may not occupy a grand and command- 
 ing situation ? What a proud thing it would be to have 
 secured its possession to France ! " 
 
 Next morning, as soon as they had taken their brief 
 farewell of their friends, and were fairly out of sight of the 
 shore, Servadac imparted his design to Ben Zoof, who 
 entered into the project with the greatest zest, and ex- 
 pressed himself delighted, not only at the prospect of 
 adding to the dominions of his beloved country, but of 
 stealing a march upon England. Then, as though he was 
 marching on to conquest, he gave vent to his enthusiasm 
 by chanting one of his old military refrains : — 
 
 *' Onward, Zephyrs,* at daylight's bloom. 
 Tramp, tramp, tramp ! 
 Forward, Zephyrs, in evening gloom. 
 Tramp, tramp, tramp I " 
 
 Both travellers were warmly clad, the orderly's knap- 
 sack containing all the necessary provisions. The journey 
 was accomplished without special incident ; halts were 
 made at regular intervals, for the purpose of taking food 
 and rest. The temperature by night as well as by day 
 was quite endurable, and on the fourth afternoon after 
 starting, thanks to the straight course which their compass 
 
 • Zephyr : an Algerian soldier.
 
 334 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 enabled them to maintain, the adventurers found them« 
 selves within a few miles of Ceuta. 
 
 As soon as Ben Zoof caught sight of the rock on the 
 western horizon, he was all excitement. Just as if he were 
 in a regiment going into action, he talked wildly about 
 " columns " and " squares " and " charges." The captain, 
 although less demonstrative, was hardly less eager to reach 
 the rock. They both pushed forA^ard with all possible 
 speed till they were within a mi'e and a half of the shore, 
 when Ben Zoof, who had a very keen vision, stopped 
 suddenly, and said that he was sure he could see some- 
 thing moving on the top of the island. 
 
 " Never mind, let us hasten on," said Servadac. 
 
 A few minutes carried them over another mile, when 
 Ben Zoof stopped again. 
 
 " What is it, Ben Zoof.?" asked the captain. 
 
 ** It looks to me like a man on the rock, waving his 
 arms in the air," said the orderly. 
 
 " Plague on it ! " muttered Servadac ; " I hope we are 
 not too late." 
 
 Again they went on ; but soon Ben Zoof stopped for 
 the third time. 
 
 " It is a semaphore, sir ; I see it quite distinctly." 
 
 And he was not mistaken ; it had been a telegraph in 
 motion that had caught his eye. 
 
 " Plague on it ! " repeated the captain. 
 
 " Too late, sir, do you think ? " said Ben Zoof. 
 
 " Yes, Ben Zoof ; if that's a telegraph — and there is no 
 doubt of it — somebody has been before us and erected it ; 
 and, moreover, if it is moving, there must be somebody 
 working it now." 
 
 He was keenly disappointed. 
 
 Looking towards the north, he could distinguish 
 Gibraltar faintly visible in the extreme distance, and upon 
 the summit of the rock both Ben Zoof and himself fancied 
 they could make out another semaphore, giving signals, no 
 doubt, in response to the one here. 
 
 " Yes, it is c nly too clear ; they have already occupied
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 33 S 
 
 it, and established their communications," said Servadac, 
 with a sigh. 
 
 " And what are we to do, then ? " asked Ben Zoof. 
 
 " We must pocket our chagrin, and put as good a face 
 ou the matter as we can," replied the captain. 
 
 " But perhaps there are only four or five Englishmen 
 to protect the place," said Ben Zoof, as if meditating an 
 assault. 
 
 " No, no, Ben Zoof," answered Servadac ; " we must do 
 nothing rash. We have had our warning, and, unless our 
 representations can induce them to yield their position, we 
 must resign our hope." 
 
 Thus discomfited, they had reached the foot of the 
 rock, when all at once, like a " Jack-in-the-box," a sentinel 
 started up before them with the challenge : 
 
 " Who goes there ? " 
 
 ** Friends. Vive la France ! " cried the captain. 
 
 " Hurrah for England ! " replied the soldier. 
 
 By this time four other men had made their appearance 
 from the upper part of the rock. 
 
 " What do you want ? " asked one of them, whom 
 Servadac remembered to have seen before at Gibraltar. 
 
 " Can I speak to your commanding officer .-* " Servadac 
 inquired. 
 
 " Which > " said the man. " The officer in command of 
 Ceuta ? " 
 
 " Yes, if there is one.** 
 
 " I will acquaint him with your arrival," answered the 
 Englishman, and disappeared. 
 
 In a few minutes the commanding officer, attired in full 
 uniform, was seen descending to the shore. It was Major 
 Oliphant himself 
 
 Servadac could no longer entertain a doubt that the 
 Englishmen had forestalled him in the occupation of 
 Ceuta. Provisions and fuel had evidently been conveyed 
 thither in the boat from Gibraltar before the sea had 
 frozen, and a solid casemate, hollowed in the rock, had 
 afforded Major Oliphant and his contingent ample pro-
 
 336 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 tection from the rigour of the winter. The ascending 
 smoke that rose above the rock was sufficient evidence 
 that good fires were still kept up ; the soldiers appeared to 
 have thriven well on what, no doubt, had been a generous 
 diet, and the major himself, although he would scarcely 
 have been willing to allow it, was slightly stouter than 
 before. 
 
 Being only about twelve miles distant from Gibraltar, 
 the little garrison at Ceuta had felt itself by no means 
 isolated in its position ; but by frequent excursions across 
 the frozen strait, and by the constant use of the telegraph, 
 had kept up their communication with their fellow-country- 
 men on the other island. Colonel Murphy and the major 
 had not even been forced to forego the pleasures of the 
 chess-board. The game that had been interrupted by 
 Captain Servadac's former visit was not yet concluded : 
 but, like the two American clubs that played their cele- 
 brated game in 1846 between Washington and Baltimore, 
 the two gallant officers made use of the semaphore to com- 
 municate their well-digested moves. 
 
 The major stood waiting for his visitor to speak. 
 
 "Major Oliphant, I beheve?" said Servadac, with a 
 courteous bow. 
 
 "Yes, sir, Major Oliphant, officer in command of the 
 garrison at Ceuta," was the Englishman's reply. " And to 
 whom," he added, " may I have the honour of speaking ? " 
 
 "To Captain Servadac, the Governour- General of 
 Gallia." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the major, with a supercilious look. 
 
 "Allow me to express my surprise," resumed the 
 captain, "at seeing you installed as commanding officer 
 upon what I have always understood to be Spanish soil. 
 May I demand your claim to your position ? " 
 
 " My claim is that of first occupant." 
 
 " But do you not think that the party of Spaniards now 
 resident with me may at some future time assert a prior 
 right to the proprietorship ? " 
 
 I think not. Captain Servadac." 
 
 «
 
 " Major OHphant, I believe ? "
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 337 
 
 " But why not ? " persisted the captain. 
 
 " Because these very Spaniards have, by formal con. 
 tract, made over Ceuta, in its integrity, to the British 
 Government." 
 
 Servadac uttered an exclamation of surprise. 
 
 "And as the price of that important cession," continued 
 Major Oliphant, " they have received a fair equivalent in 
 British gold." 
 
 "Ah!" cried Ben Zoof, "that accounts for that fellow 
 Negrete and his people having such a lot of money." 
 
 Servadac was silent. It had become clear to his mind 
 what had been the object of that secret visit to Ceuta 
 which he had heard of as being made by the two English 
 officers. The arguments that he had intended to use had 
 completely fallen through ; all that he had now to do was 
 carefully to prevent any suspicion of his disappointed 
 project. 
 
 " May I be allowed to ask, Captain Servadac, to what 
 I am indebted for the honour of this visit ?" asked Major 
 Oliphant presently. 
 
 "I have come, Major Oliphant, in the hope of doing 
 you and your companions a service," replied Servadac, 
 rousing himself from his reverie. 
 
 "Ah, indeed ! " replied the major, as though he felt him- 
 self quite independent of all services from exterior sources. 
 
 " I thought, major, that it was not unlikely you were in 
 ignorance of the fact that both Ceuta and Gibraltar have 
 been traversing the solar regions on the surface of a comet." 
 
 The major smiled incredulously ; but Servadac, nothing 
 daunted, went on to detail the results of the collision 
 between the comet and the earth, adding that, as there was 
 the almost immediate prospect of another concussion, it 
 had occurred to him that it might be advisable for the 
 whole population of Gallia to unite in taking precautionary 
 measures for the common welfare. 
 
 " In fact, Major Oliphant," he said in conclusion, " I 
 am here to inquire whether you and your friends would be 
 disposed to join us in our present quarters."
 
 338 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 " I am obliged to you, Captain Servadac," answerea the 
 major stiffly ; " but we have not the slightest intention of 
 abandoning our post. We have received no Government 
 orders to that effect ; indeed, we have received no orders 
 at all. Our own despatch to the First Lord of the Admi- 
 ralty still awaits the mail." 
 
 " But allow me to repeat," insisted Servadac, " that ws 
 are no longer on the earth, although we expect to come in 
 contact with it again in about eight weeks." 
 
 " I have no doubt," the major answered, " that England 
 will make every effort to reclaim us." 
 
 Servadac felt perplexed. It was quite evident that 
 Major Oliphant had not been convinced of the truth of one 
 syllable of what he had been saying. 
 
 " Then I am to understand that you are determined to 
 retain your two garrisons here and at Gibraltar ? " asked 
 Servadac, with one last effort at persuasion. 
 
 " Certainly ; these two posts command the entrance of 
 the Mediterranean." 
 
 " But supposing there is no longer any Mediterranean ? ** 
 retorted the captain, growing impatient. 
 
 "Oh, England will always take care of that," was 
 Major Oliphant's cool reply. " But excuse me," he 
 added presently ; " I see that Colonel Murphy has just 
 telegraphed his next move. Allow me to wish you good 
 afternoon." 
 
 And without further parley, followed by his soldiers, he 
 retired into the casemate, leaving Captain Servadac gnaw- 
 ing his moustache with mingled rage and mortification. 
 
 "A fine piece of business we have made of this ! " said 
 Ben Zoof, when he found himself alone with his master. 
 
 "We will make our way back at once," replied 
 Servadac. 
 
 "Yes, the sooner the better, with our tails between our 
 legs," rejoined the orderly, who this time felt no inclination 
 to start off to the march of the Algerian zephyrs. 
 
 And so the French tricolour returned as it had set out 
 — in Ben Zoof s knapsackj 
 
 \
 
 A JOURNEY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT. 33^ 
 
 On the eighth evening after starting, the travellers again 
 set foot on the volcanic promontory just in time to witness 
 a great commotion. 
 
 Palmyrin Rosette was in a furious rage. 
 
 He had completed all his calculations about Nerina, 
 but that perfidious satellite had totally disappeared. 
 
 The astronomer was frantic at the loss of his moon. 
 
 Captured probably by some larger body, it was re- 
 volving in its proper zone of the minor planets.
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 
 
 On his return Servadac communicated to the count the 
 
 result of his expedition, and, though perfectly silent on 
 the subject of his personal project, did not conceal the fact 
 that the Spaniards, without the smallest right, had sold 
 Ceuta to the English. 
 
 Having refused to quit their post, the Englishmen had 
 virtually excluded themselves from any further considera- 
 tion ; they had had their warning, and must now take the 
 consequences of their own incredulity. 
 
 Although it had proved that not a single creature 
 either at Gourbi Island, Gibraltar, Ceuta, Madalena, or 
 Formentera had received any injury whatever at the time 
 of the first concussion, there was nothing in the least to 
 make it certain that a like immunity from harm would 
 attend the second. The previous escape was doubtless 
 owing to some slight, though unaccountable, modification 
 in the rate of motion ; but whether the inhabitants of the 
 earth had fared so fortunately, was a question that had still 
 to be determined. 
 
 The day following Servadac's return, he and the count 
 and Lieutenant Procope met by agreement in the cave, 
 formally to discuss what would be the most advisable 
 method of proceeding under their present prospects. Ben 
 Zoof was, as a matter of course, allowed to be present, and 
 Professor Rosette had been asked to attend ; but he de«
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 341 
 
 dined on the plea of taking no interest in the matter. 
 Indeed, the disappearance of his moon had utterly discon- 
 certed him, and the probability that he should soon lose 
 his comet also, plunged him into an excess of grief which 
 he preferred to bear in solitude. 
 
 Although the barrier of cool reserve was secretly in- 
 creasing between the captain and the count, they sciTjpu- 
 lously concealed any outward token of their inner feelings, 
 and without any personal bias applied their best energies 
 to the discussion of the question which was of such mutual, 
 nay, of such universal interest. 
 
 Servadac was the first to speak. 
 
 " Tn fifty-one days, if Professor Rosette has made no 
 error in his calculations, there is to be a recurrence of 
 collision between this comet and the earth. The inquiry 
 that we have now to make is whether we are prepared for 
 the coming shock. I ask myself, and I ask you, whethei 
 it is in our power, by any means, to avert the evil conse- 
 quences that are only too likely to follow ? " 
 
 Count Timascheff, in a voice that seemed to thrill with 
 solemnity, said : 
 
 "In such events we are at the disposal of an over- 
 ruling Providence ; human precautions cannot sway the 
 Divine will." 
 
 " But with the most profound reverence for the will of 
 Providence," replied the captain, " I beg to submit that 
 it is our duty to devise whatever means we can to escape 
 the threatening mischief. Heaven helps them that help 
 themselves." 
 
 " And what means have you to suggest, may I ask } " 
 5-aid the count, with a faint accent of satire. 
 
 Servadac was forced to ackn >\vledge that nothing 
 tangible had hitherto presented i.^el" to his mind. 
 
 •' I don't want to intrude," observed Ben Zoof, " but 
 I don't understand why such learned gentlemen as you 
 cannot make the comet go where you want it to go." 
 
 " You are mistaken, Ben Zoof, about our learning," 
 said the captain ; " even Professor Rosette, with all his
 
 342 HECTOR SERVADAC . 
 
 learning, has not a shadow of power to prevent the comet 
 and the earth from knocking against each other." 
 
 " Then I cannot see what is the use of all this learn- 
 ing," the orderly replied. 
 
 " One great use of learning," said Count Timascheff, 
 with a smile, " is to make us know our own ignorance." 
 
 While this conversation had been going on, Lieutenant 
 Procope had been sitting in thoughtful silence. Looking 
 up, he now said : 
 
 "Incident to this expected shock, there may be a 
 variety of dangers. If, gentlemen, you will allow me, I 
 will enumerate them ; and we shall, perhaps, by taking 
 them seriati?n, be in a better position to judge whether we 
 can successfully grapple with them, or in any way mitigate 
 their consequences." 
 
 There was a general attitude of attention. It was sur- 
 prising how calmly they proceeded to discuss the circum- 
 stances that looked so threatening and ominous. 
 
 " First of all," resumed the lieutenant, " we will specify 
 the different ways in which the shock may happen." 
 
 " And the prime fact to be remembered," interposed 
 Servadac, " is that the combined velocity of the two bodies 
 will be about 21,000 miles an hour." 
 
 " Express speed, and no mistake ! " muttered Ben Zoof. 
 
 "Just so," assented Procope. "Now, the two bodies 
 may impinge either directly or obliquely. If the impact is 
 sufficiently oblique, Gallia may do precisely what she did 
 before : she may graze the earth ; she may, or she may 
 not, carry off a portion of the earth's atmosphere and 
 substance, and so she may float away again into space ; 
 but her orbit would undoubtedly be deranged, and if we 
 survive the shock, we shall have small chance of ever 
 returning to the world of our fellow-creatures." 
 
 " Professor Rosette, I suppose," Ben Zoof remarked, 
 "would pretty soon find out all about that." 
 
 " But we will leave this hypothesis," said the lieutenant ; 
 " our own experience has suiificiently shown us its advan- 
 tages and its disadvantages. We will proceed to considej
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 343 
 
 the infinitely more serious alternative of direct impact ; of 
 a shock that would hurl the comet straight on to the earth, 
 to which it would become attached." 
 
 " A great wart upon her face ! " said Ben Zoof, 
 laughing. 
 
 The captain held up his finger to his orderly, making 
 him understand that he should hold his tongue. 
 
 " It is, I presume, to be taken for granted," continued 
 Lieutenant Procope, " that the mass of the earth is com- 
 paratively so large that, in the event of a direct collision, 
 her own motion would not be sensibly retarded, and that 
 she would carry the comet along with her, as part of 
 herself." 
 
 "Very little question of that, I should think," said 
 Servadac. 
 
 "Well, then," the lieutenant went on, " what part of this 
 comet of ours will be the part to come into collision with 
 the earth ? It may be the equator, where we are ; it may 
 be at the exactly opposite point, at our antipodes ; or it 
 may be at either pole. In any case, it seems hard to 
 foresee whence there is to come the faintest chance of 
 deliverance," 
 
 " Is the case so desperate ? " asked Servadac. 
 
 " I will tell you why it seems so. If the side of the 
 comet on which we are resident impinges on the earth, it 
 stands to reason that we must be crushed to atoms by the 
 violence of the concussion." 
 
 " Regular mincemeat ! " said Ben Zoof, whom no ad- 
 monitions could quite reduce to silence. 
 
 "And if," said the lieutenant, after a moment's pause, 
 and the slightest possible frown at the interruption — "and 
 if the collision should occur at our antipodes, the sudden 
 check to the velocity of the comet would be quite equiva- 
 lent to a shock m situ; and, another thing, we should 
 run the risk of being suffocated, for all our comet's atmo- 
 sphere would be assimilated with the terrestrial atmosphere, 
 and we, supposing we were not dashed to atoms, should be 
 left as it were upon the summit of an enormous mountain
 
 344 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 (for such to all intents and purposes Gallia would be), 450 
 miles above the level of the surface of the globe, without 
 a particle of air to breathe." 
 
 " But would not our chances of escape be considerably- 
 better," asked Count Timaschefif, " in the event of either of 
 the comet's poles being the point of contact ? " 
 
 " Taking the combined velocity into account," answered 
 the lieutenant, " I confess that I fear the violence of the 
 shock will be too great to permit our destruction to be 
 averted." 
 
 A general silence ensued, which was broken by the 
 lieutenant himselt. 
 
 " Even if none of these contingencies occur in the way 
 we have contemplated, I am driven to the suspicion that 
 we shall be burnt alive." 
 
 " Burnt alive ! " they all exclaimed in a chorus of 
 horror. 
 
 " Yes. If the deductions of modern science be true, the 
 speed of the comet, when suddenly checked, will be trans- 
 muted into heat, and that heat will be so intense that the 
 temperature of the comet will be raised to some millions of 
 degrees." 
 
 No one having anything definite to allege in reply to 
 Lieutenant Procope's forebodings, they all relapsed into 
 silence. 
 
 Presently Ben Zoof asked whether it was not possible 
 for the comet to fall into the middle of the Atlantic. 
 
 Procope shook his head. 
 
 " Even so, we should only be adding the fate of drown- 
 ing to the list of our other perils." 
 
 " Then, as I understand," said Captain Servadac, " in 
 whatever way or in whatever place the concussion occurs, 
 we must be either crushed, suffocated, roasted, or drowned. 
 Is that your conclusion, lieutenant ? " 
 
 " I confess I see no other alternative," answered Pro- 
 cope, calmly. 
 
 " But isn't there another thing to be done ? " said Ben 
 Zoof.
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 345 
 
 " What do you mean ? " his master asked. 
 
 " Why, to get off the comet before the shock comes." 
 
 ** How could you get off Gallia ? " 
 
 " That I can't say," replied the orderly. 
 
 " I am not sure that that could not be accomplished," 
 said the lieutenant. 
 
 All eyes in a moment were riveted upon him, as, with 
 his head resting on his hands, he was manifestly cogitating 
 a new idea. 
 
 • Yes, I think it could be accomplished," he repeated. 
 "The project may appear extravagant, but I do not know 
 why it should be impossible. Ben Zoof has hit the right 
 nail on the head ; we must try and leave Gallia before the 
 shock." 
 
 " Leave Gallia ! How } " said Count Timascheff. 
 
 The lieutenant did not at once reply. He continued 
 pondering for a time, and at last said, slowly and 
 distinctly : 
 
 " By making a balloon I *' 
 
 Servadac's heart sank. 
 
 *' A balloon ! " he exclaimed. " Out of the question ! 
 Balloons are exploded things. You hardly find them in 
 novels. Balloon, indeed ! " 
 
 " Listen to me," replied Procope. " Perhaps I can 
 convince you that my idea is not so chimerical as you 
 imagine." 
 
 And, knitting his brow, he proceeded to establish the 
 feasibility of his plan. 
 
 " If we can ascertain the precise moment when the 
 shock is to happen, and can succeed in launching ourselves 
 a sufficient time beforehand into Gallia's atmosphere, I 
 believe it will transpire that this atmosphere will amalga- 
 mate with that of the earth, and that a balloon whirled 
 along by the combined velocity would glide into the 
 mingled atmosphere and remain suspended in mid-air 
 until the shock of the collision is overpast." 
 
 Count Timascheff reflected for a minute, and said — 
 
 **I think, lieutenant, I understand your project. The
 
 34^ HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 scheme seems tenable ; and I shall be ready to co-operate 
 with you, to the best of my power, in putting it into 
 execution." 
 
 " Only, remember," continued Procope, " there are many 
 chances to one against our success. One instant's ob- 
 struction and stoppage in our passage, and our balloon is 
 burnt to ashes. Still, reluctant as I am to acknowledge it, 
 I confess that I feel our sole hope of safety rests in our 
 getting free from this comet." 
 
 "If the chances were ten thousand to one against 
 us," said Servadac, "I think the attempt ought to be 
 made." 
 
 " But have we hydrogen enough to inflate a balloon } " 
 asked the count. 
 
 " Hot air will be all that we shall require," the lieuten- 
 ant answered ; " we are only contemplating about an hour's 
 journey." 
 
 " Ah, a fire balloon ! A montgolfier ! " cried Servadac. 
 " But what are you going to do for a casing ? " 
 
 " I have thought of that. We must cut it out of the 
 sails of the Dobryna ; they are both light and strong," 
 rejoined the lieutenant. 
 
 Count Timascheff complimented the lieutenant upon 
 his ingenuity, and Ben Zoof could not resist bringing the 
 meeting to a conclusion by a ringing cheer. 
 
 Truly daring was the plan of which Lieutenant Procope 
 had thus become the originator ; but the very existence of 
 them all was at stake, and the design must be executed 
 resolutely. 
 
 For the success of the enterprise it was absolutely 
 necessary to know, almost to a minute, the precise time at 
 which the collision would occur, and Captain Servadac 
 undertook the task, by gentle means or by stern, of ex- 
 tracting the secret from the professor. 
 
 To Lieutenant Procope himself was entrusted the 
 superintendence of the construction of the montgolfier, 
 and the work was begun at once. It was to be large 
 enough to carry the whole of the twenty-three residents in
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 347 
 
 the volcano, and, in order to provide the means of floating 
 aloft long enough to give time for selecting a proper place 
 for descent, the lieutenant was anxious to make it carry 
 enough hay or straw to maintain combustion for a while, 
 and keep up the necessary supply of heated air. 
 
 The sails of the Dobryna, which had all been carefully 
 stowed away in the Hive, were of a texture unusually close, 
 and quite capable of being made airtight by means of a 
 varnish, the ingredients of which were rummaged out of 
 the promiscuous stores of the tartan. The lieutenant him- 
 self traced out the pattern and cut out the strips, and all 
 hands were employed in seaming them together. It was 
 hardly the work for little fingers, but Nina persisted in 
 accomplishing her own share of it. The Russians were 
 quite at home at occupation of this sort, and having initi- 
 ated the Spaniards into its mysteries, the task of joining 
 together the casing was soon complete. Isaac Hakkabut 
 and the professor were the only two members of the 
 community who took no part in this somewhat tedious 
 proceeding. 
 
 A month passed away, but Servadac found no oppor- 
 tunity of getting at the information he had pledged himself 
 to gain. On the sole occasion when he had ventured to 
 broach the subject with the astronomer, he had received 
 for answer that as there was no hurry to get back to the 
 earth, there need be no concern about any dangers of 
 transit. 
 
 Indeed, as time passed on, the professor seemed to 
 become more and more inaccessible. A plea.sant temper- 
 ature enabled him to live entirely in his observatory, from 
 which intruders were rigidly shut out. But Servadac 
 bided his time. He grew more and more impressed with 
 the importance of finding out the exact moment at which 
 the impact would take place, but was content to wait for a 
 promising opportunity to put any fresh questions on the 
 subject to the too reticent astronomer. 
 
 Meanwhile, the earth's disc was daily increasing in 
 magnitude ; the comet travelled 50,000,000 leagues during
 
 348 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 the month, at the close of which it was not more than 
 
 78,000,000 leagues from the sun. 
 
 A thaw had now fairly set in. The breaking up of the 
 frozen ocean was a magnificent spectacle, and " the great 
 voice of the sea," as the whalers graphically describe it, 
 was heard in all its solemnity. Little streams of water 
 began to trickle down the declivities of the mountain and 
 along the shelving shore, only to be transformed, as the 
 melting of the snow continued, into torrents or cascades. 
 Light vapours gathered on the horizon, and clouds were 
 formed and carried rapidly along by breezes to which 
 the Gallian atmosphere had long been unaccustomed. All 
 these were doubtless but the prelude to atmospheric dis- 
 turbances of a more startling character ; but as indications 
 of returning spring, they were greeted with a welcome 
 which no apprehensions for the future could prevent being 
 glad and hearty. 
 
 A double disaster was the inevitable consequence of 
 the thaw. Both the schooner and the tartan were entirely 
 destroyed. The basement of the icy pedestal on which 
 the ships had been upheaved was gradually undermined, 
 like the icebergs of the Arctic Ocean, by warm currents of 
 water, and on the night of the 12th the huge block col- 
 lapsed 6)1 masse, so that on the following morning nothing 
 remained of the Dobryna and the Hansa except the frag- 
 ments scattered on the shore. 
 
 Although certainly expected, the catastrophe could not 
 fail to cause a sense of general depression. Well-nigh one 
 of their last ties to Mother Earth had been broken : the 
 ships were gone, and they had only a balloon to replace 
 them ! 
 
 To describe Isaac Hakkabut's rage at the destruction 
 of the tartan would be impossible. His oaths were simply 
 dreadful ; his imprecations on the accursed race were full 
 of wrath. He swore that Servadac and his people were 
 responsible for his loss ; he vowed that they should be 
 sued and made to pay him damages ; he asserted that he 
 had been brought from Gourbi Island only to be plundered;
 
 A BOLD PROPOSITION. 349 
 
 in fact, he became so intolerably abusive, that Servadac 
 threatened to put him into irons unless he conducted him- 
 self properly ; whereupon the Jew, finding that the captain 
 was in earnest, and would not hesitate to carry the threat 
 into effect, was fain to hold his tongue, and slunk back 
 into his dim hole. 
 
 By the 14th the balloon was finished, and, carefully 
 sewn and well varnished as it had been, it was really a 
 very substantial structure. It was covered with a network 
 that had been made from the light rigging of the yacht, 
 and the car, composed of wicker-work that had formed 
 partitions in the hold of the Hansa, was quite commodious 
 enough to hold the twenty-three passengers it was intended 
 to convey. No thought had been bestowed upon comfort 
 or convenience, as the ascent was to last for so short a 
 time, merely long enough for making the transit from 
 atmosphere to atmosphere. 
 
 The necessity was becoming more and more urgent to 
 get at the true hour of the approaching contact, but the 
 professor seemed to grow more obstinate than ever in his 
 resolution to keep his secret. 
 
 On the 15th the comet crossed the orbit of Mars, at the 
 safe distance of 56,000,000 leagues ; but during that night 
 the community thought that their last hour had taken 
 them unawares. The volcano rocked and trembled with 
 the convulsions of internal disturbance, and Servadac and 
 his companions, convinced that the mountain was doomed 
 to some sudden disruption, rushed into the open air. 
 
 The first object that caught their attention as they 
 emerged upon the open rocks was the unfortunate pro- 
 fessor, who was scrambling down the mountain-side, 
 piteously displaying a fragment of his shattered tele- 
 scope. 
 
 It was no time for condolence. 
 
 A new marvel arrested every eye. A fresh satellite, 
 in the gloom of night, was shining conspicuously before 
 them. 
 
 That satellite was a part of Gallia itself I
 
 Sf" HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 By the expansive action of the inner heat, Gallia, like 
 Gambart's comet, had been severed in twain ; an enormous 
 fragment had been detached and launched into space ! 
 
 The fragment included Ceuta and Gibraltar, with the 
 two English garrisons I
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 THE VENTURE MADE. 
 
 What would be the consequences of this sudden and com- 
 plete disruption, Servadac and his people hardly dared to 
 think. 
 
 The ^rst change that came under their observation was 
 the rapidity of the sun's appearances and disappearances, 
 forcing them to the conviction that although the comet 
 still rotated on its axis from east to west, yet the period of 
 its rotation had been diminished by about one-half. Only 
 six hours instead of twelve elapsed between sunrise and 
 sunrise ; three hours after rising in the west the sun was 
 sinking again in the east. 
 
 "We are coming to something! " exclaimed Servadac. 
 "We have got a year of something like 2880 days." 
 
 " I shouldn't think it would be an easy matter to find 
 saints enough for such a calendar as that ! " said Ben Zoof, 
 
 Servadac laughed, and remarked that they should have 
 the professor talking about the 238th of June, and the 
 325th of December. 
 
 It soon became evident that the detached portion was 
 not revolving round the comet, but was gradually re- 
 treating into space. Whether it had carried with it any 
 portion of atmosphere, whether it possessed any other 
 condition for supporting life, and whether it was likely 
 ever again to approach to the earth, were all questions that 
 there were no means of determining. Fnx themselves the
 
 352 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 all-important problem was — what effect would the rending 
 asunder of the comet have upon its rate of progress ? and 
 as they were already conscious of a further increase oi 
 muscular power, and a fresh diminution of specific gravity, 
 Servadac and his associates could not but wonder whether 
 the alteration in the mass of the comet would not result in 
 its missing the expected coincidence with, the earth alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Although he professed himself incompetent to pro- 
 nounce a decided opinion, Lieutenant Procope manifestly 
 inclined to the belief that no alteration would ensue in the 
 rate of Gallia's velocity ; but Rosette, no doubt, could 
 answer the question directly, and the time had now 
 arrived in which he must be compelled to divulge the 
 precise moment of collision. 
 
 But the professor was in the worst of tempers. Gene- 
 rally taciturn and morose, he was more tlian usually 
 uncivil whenever any one ventured to speak to him. The 
 loss of his telescope had doubtless a great deal to do with 
 his ill-humour ; but the captain drew the most favourable 
 conclusions from Rosette's continued irritation. Had the 
 comet been in any way projected from its course, so as 
 to be likely to fail in coming into contact with the earth, 
 the professor would have been quite unable to conceal his 
 satisfaction. But they required to know more than the 
 general truth, and felt that they had no time to lose in 
 getting at the exact details. 
 
 The opportunity that was wanted soon came. 
 
 On the 1 8th, Rosette was overheard in furious alterca- 
 tion with Ben Zoof The orderly had been taunting the 
 astronomer with the mutilation of his little comet. A fine 
 thing, he said, to split in two like a child's toy. It had 
 cracked like a dry nut ; and mightn't one as well live 
 upon an exploding bomb i* — with much more to the same 
 effect. The professor, by way of retaliation, had com- 
 menced sneering at the "prodigious" mountain of Mont- 
 martre, and the dispute was beginning to look serious 
 when Servadac entered.
 
 THE Vi^iNTURE MADE. 353 
 
 Thinking he could turn the wrangling to some good 
 account, so as to arrive at the information he was so 
 anxiously seeking, the captain pretended to espouse the 
 views of his orderly ; he consequently brought upon him- 
 self the full force of the professor's wrath. 
 
 Rosette's language became more and more violent, 
 till Servadac, feigning to be provoked beyond endurance, 
 cried : 
 
 " You forget, sir, that you are addressing the Governour- 
 General of Gallia" 
 
 " Governour-General ! humbug ! " roared Rosette. 
 " Gallia is my comet ! " 
 
 " I deny it," said Servada* ** Gallia has lost its chance 
 of getting back to the earth. Gallia has nothing to do 
 with you. Gallia is mine ; and you must submit to the 
 government which I please to ordain." 
 
 "And who told yoci diat Gallia is not going back to 
 the earth .-* " asked the professor, with a look of withering 
 scorn. 
 
 "Why, isn't her mass diminished ? Isn't she split in 
 half ? Isn't her velocity all altered ? " demanded the 
 captain. 
 
 " And pray who told you this ? " again said the pro- 
 fessor, with a sneer. 
 
 " Everybody. Everybody knows it, of course," replied 
 Servadac. 
 
 " Everybody is very clever. And you always were a 
 very clever scholar too. We remember that of old, don't 
 we ? " 
 
 "Sir!" 
 
 "You nearly mastered the first elements of science, 
 didn't you ? " 
 
 " Sir ! " 
 
 "A credit to your class ! " 
 
 *' Hold your tongue, sir ! " bellowed the captain again, 
 as if his anger was uncontrollable. 
 
 " Not I," said the professor. 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! " repeated Servadac
 
 354 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 "Just because the mass is altered you think the velo- 
 city is altered ? " 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! " cried the captain, louder than 
 ever. 
 
 " What has mass to do with the orbit ? Of how many 
 comets do you know the mass, and yet you know their 
 movements ? Ignorance ! " shouted Rosette. 
 
 " Insolence ! " retorted Servadac. 
 
 Ben Zoof, really thinking that his master was angry, 
 made a threatening movement towards the professor. 
 
 " Touch me if you dare ! " screamed Rosette, drawing 
 himself up to the fullest height his diminutive figure would 
 allow. " You shall answer for your conduct before a court 
 of justice ! " 
 
 " Where ? On Gallia } " asked the captain. 
 
 " No ; on the earth." 
 
 " The earth ! Pshaw ! You know we shall never get 
 there ; our velocity is changed." 
 
 " On the earth," repeated the professor, with decision. 
 
 " Trash ! " cried Ben Zoof. " The earth will be too 
 far off!" 
 
 " Not too far off for us to come across her orbit at 
 42 minutes and 3 5 '6 seconds past two o'clock on the 
 morning of this coming ist of January." 
 
 " Thanks, my dear professor — many thanks. You 
 have given me all the information I required ; " and, with 
 a low bow and a gracious smile, the captain withdrew. 
 The orderly made an equally polite bow, and followed his 
 master. The professor, completely nonplussed, was left 
 alone. 
 
 Thirteen days, then — twenty-six of the original 
 Gallian days, fifty-two of the present — was all the time 
 for preparation that now remained. Every preliminary 
 arrangement was hurried on with the greatest earnestness. 
 
 There was a general eagerness to be quit of Gallia, 
 Indifferent to the dangers that must necessarily attend a 
 balloon ascent under such unparalleled circumstances, and 
 heedless of Lieutenant Procope's warning that the slightest 
 
 I
 
 THE VENTURE MADE. 355 
 
 check in their progress would result in instantaneous com- 
 bustion, they all seemed to conclude that it must be the 
 simplest thing possible to glide from one atmosphere to 
 another, so that they were quite sanguine as to the suc- 
 cessful issue of their enterprise. Captain Servadac made 
 a point of showing himself quite enthusiastic in his antici- 
 pations, and to Ben Zoof the going up in a balloon was 
 the supreme height of his ambition. The count and the 
 lieutenant, of colder and less demonstrative temperament, 
 alike seemed to realize the possible perils of the under- 
 taking, but even they were determined to put a bold face 
 upon every difficulty. 
 
 The sea had now become navigable, and three voyages 
 were made to Gourbi Island in the steam launch, con- 
 suming the last of their little reserve of coal. 
 
 The first voyage had been made by Servadac with 
 several of the sailors. They found the gourbi and the ad- 
 jacent building quite uninjured by the severity of the 
 winter ; numbers of little rivulets intersected the pasture- 
 land ; new plants were springing up under the influence of 
 the equatorial sun, and the luxuriant foliage was tenanted 
 by the birds which had flown back from the volcano. 
 Summer had almost abruptly succeeded to winter, and the 
 days, though only three hours long, were intensely hot. 
 
 Another of the voyages to the island had been to 
 collect the dry grass and straw which was necessary for 
 inflating the balloon. Had the balloon been less cumber- 
 some it would have been conveyed to the island, whence the 
 start would have been effected ; but as it was, it was more 
 convenient to bring the combustible material to the balloon. 
 
 The last of the coal having been consumed, the frag- 
 ments of the shipwrecked vessels had *o be used day by 
 day for fuel. Hakkabut began making a great hubbub 
 when he found that they were burning some of the spars of 
 the Hansa; but he was effectually silenced by Ben Zoof, 
 who told him that if he made any more fuss, he should be 
 compelled to pay 50,000 francs for a balloon-ticket, or else 
 he should be left behind.
 
 SS6 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 By Christmas Day everything was in readiness for im- 
 mediate departure. The festival was observed with a 
 solemnity still more marked than the anniversary of the 
 preceding year. Every one looked forward to spending 
 New Year's Day in another sphere altogether, and Ben 
 Zoof had already promised Pablo and Nina all sorts of 
 New Year's gifts. 
 
 It may seem strange, but the nearer the critical moment 
 approached, the less Hector Servadac and Count Timascheif 
 had to say to each other on the subject. Their mutual 
 reserve became more apparent ; the experiences of the 
 last two years were fading from their minds like a dream ; 
 and the fair image that had been the cause of their original 
 rivalry was ever rising, as a vision, between them. 
 
 The captain's thoughts began to turn to his unfinished 
 rondo ; in his leisure moments, rhymes suitable and 
 unsuitable, possible and impossible, were perpetually jing- 
 ling in his imagination. He laboured under the conviction 
 that he had a work of genius to complete. A poet he hao 
 left the earth, and a poet he must return. 
 
 Count Timascheff's desire to return to the world was 
 quite equalled by Lieutenant Procope's. The Russian 
 sailors' only thought was to follow their master, wherever 
 he went. The Spaniards, though they would have been 
 unconcerned to know that they were to remain upon 
 Gallia, were nevertheless looking forward with some degree 
 of pleasure to revisiting the plains of Andalusia ; and 
 Nina and Pablo were only too delighted at the prospect of 
 accompanying their kind protectors on any fresh excursion 
 whatever. 
 
 The only malcontent was Palmyrin Rosette. Day and 
 night he persevered in his astronomical pursuits, declared 
 his intention of never abandoning his comet, and swore 
 positively that nothing should induce him to set foot in 
 the car of the balloon. 
 
 The misfortune that had befallen his telescope was 
 a never-ending theme of complaint ; and just now, when 
 Gallia was entering the narrow zone of shooting-stars, and
 
 THE VENTURE MADE. 357 
 
 new discoveries might have been within his reach, his loss 
 made him more inconsolable than ever. In sheer despera- 
 tion, he endeavoured to increase the intensity of his vision 
 by applying to his eyes some belladonna which he found 
 in the Dobrynas medicine chest ; with heroic fortitude he 
 endured the tortures of the experiment, and gazed up into 
 the sky until he was nearly blind. But all in vain : not a 
 single fresh discovery rewarded his sufferings. 
 
 No one was quite exempt from the feverish excitement 
 which prevailed during the last days of December. Lieu- 
 tenant Procope superintended his final arrangements. 
 The two low masts of the schooner had been erected firmly 
 on the shore, and formed supports for the montgolfier, 
 which had been duly covered with the netting, and was 
 ready at any moment to be inflated. The car was close at 
 hand. Some inflated skins had been attached to its sides, 
 so that the balloon might float for a time, in the event of 
 its descending in the sea at a short distance from the 
 shore. If unfortunately, it should come down in mid- 
 ocean, nothing but the happy chance of some passing 
 vessel could save them all from the certain fate of being 
 drowned. 
 
 The 3rst came. Twenty-four hours hence and the 
 balloon, with its large living freight, would be high in the 
 air. The atmosphere was less buoyant than that of the 
 earth, but no diiificulty in ascending was to be appre- 
 hended. 
 
 Gallia was now within 96,000,000 miles of the sun, 
 consequently not much more than 4,000,000 miles from 
 the earth ; and this interval was being diminished at the 
 rate of nearly 208,000 miles an hour, the speed of the 
 earth being about 70,000 miles, that of the comet being 
 little less than 138,000 miles an hour. 
 
 It was determined to make the start at two o'clock, 
 three-quarter* of an hour, or, to speak correctly, 42 minutes 
 35-6 seconds, before the time predicted by the professor as 
 the instant of collision. The modified rotation of the comet 
 caused it to be dayhght at the time ; it would also neccji
 
 3S8 ' HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 sarily be daylight on that side of the earth upon which the 
 contact must take place. 
 
 An hour previously the balloon was inflated with perfect 
 success, and the car was securely attached to the network. 
 It only awaited the stowage of the passengers. 
 
 Isaac Hakkabut was the first to take his place in the 
 car. But scarcely had he done so, when Servadac noticed 
 that his waist was encompassed by an enormous girdle, 
 that bulged out to a very extraordinary extent 
 
 "What's all this, Hakkabut ? " he asked. 
 
 " It's only my little bit of money, your Excellency ; my 
 modest little fortune — a mere bagatelle," said the Jew. 
 
 " And what may your little fortune weigh ? " inquired 
 the captain. 
 
 " Only about sixty-six pounds ! " said Isaac. 
 
 " Sixty-six pounds ! " cried Servadac. " We haven't 
 reckoned for this," 
 
 " Merciful heavens ! " began the Jew. 
 
 "Sixty-six pounds!" repeated Servadac, "We can 
 hardly carry ourselves ; we can't have any dead weight 
 here. Pitch it out, man, pitch it out ! " 
 
 " God of Israel ! " whined Hakkabut 
 
 " Out with it, I say ! " cried Servadac. 
 
 " What, all my money, which I have saved so long, 
 and toiled for so hard ? " 
 
 " It can't be helped," said the captain, unmoved. 
 
 ** Oh, your Excellency ! " cried the Jew. 
 
 "Now, old Nicodemus, listen to me," interposed Ben 
 Zoof ; "you just get rid of that pouch of yours, or we will 
 get rid of you. Take your choice. Quick, quick ! or out 
 you go ! " 
 
 The avaricious old man was found to value his life 
 above his money ; he made a lamentable outcry about 
 it, but he unfastened his girdle at last, and put it out of 
 the car. 
 
 Very different was the case with Palmyrin Rosette. 
 He avowed over and over again his intention of nevei 
 quitting the nucleus of his comet. Why should he truyl
 
 THE VENTURE MADE. 359 
 
 himself to a balloon, that would blaze up like a piece of 
 paper ? Why should he leave the comet ? Why should he 
 not go once again upon its surface into the far-off realms 
 of space ? 
 
 His volubility was brought to a sudden check by Ser- 
 vadac's bidding two of the sailors, without more ado, to 
 take him in their arms and put him quietly down at the 
 bottom of the car. 
 
 To the great regret of their owners, the two horses and 
 Nina's pet goat were obliged to be left behind. The only 
 creature for which there was found a place was the carrier 
 pigeon that had brought the professor's message to the 
 Hive. Servadac thought it might probably be of service in 
 carrying some communication to the earth. 
 
 When every one, except the captain and his orderly, 
 had taken their places, Servadac said : 
 
 " Get in, Ben Zoof." 
 
 " After you, sir," said Ben Zoof, respectfully. 
 
 " No, no ! " insisted Servadac ; " the captain must be 
 the last to leave the ship ! " 
 
 A moment's hesitation and the orderly clambered over 
 the side of the car. Servadac followed. The cords were 
 cut The balloon rose with stately calmness into the air.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SUSPENSE. 
 
 When the balloon had reached an elevation of about 2500 
 yards, Lieutenant Procope determined to maintain it at 
 that level. A wire-work stove, suspended below the casing, 
 and filled with lighted hay, served to keep the air in the 
 interior at a proper temperature. 
 
 After a while, the aeronauts began to survey everything 
 above them, around them, and below them. 
 
 Beneath their feet was extended the basin of the 
 Gallian Sea. An inconsiderable speck to the north marked 
 the site of Gourbi Island. Ceuta and Gibraltar, which 
 might have been expected in the west, had utterly disap- 
 peared. On the south rose the volcano, the extremity of 
 the promontory that jutted out from the continent that 
 formed the framework of the sea ; whilst in every direction 
 the strange soil, with its commixture of tellurium and gold, 
 gleamed under the sun's rays with a perpetual iridescence. 
 
 Apparently rising with them in their ascent, the horizon 
 was well-defined. The sky above them was perfectly clear; 
 but away in the north-west, in opposition to the sun, floated 
 a new sphere, so small that it could not be an asteroid, but 
 like a dim meteor. It was the fragment that the internal 
 convulsion had rent from the surface of the comet, and 
 which was now many thousands of leagues away, pursuing 
 the new orbit into which it had been projected. During 
 the hours of daylight it was far from distinct, but after 
 nightfall it would assume a definite lustre.
 
 SUSPENSE. 361 
 
 The object, however, of supreme interest was the great 
 expanse of the terrestrial disc, which was rapidly drawing 
 down obliquely towards them. It totally eclipsed an 
 enormous portion of the firmament above, and approach- 
 ing with an ever-increasing velocity, was now within half 
 its average distance from the moon. So close was it, 
 that the two poles could not be embraced in one focus. 
 Irregular patches of greater or less brilliancy alternated on 
 its surface, the brighter betokening the continents, the 
 more sombre indicating the oceans that absorbed the solar 
 rays. Above, there were broad white bands, darkened on 
 the side averted from the sun, exhibiting a slow but un- 
 intermittent movement ; these were the vapours that per- 
 vaded the terrestrial atmosphere. 
 
 But as the aeronauts were being hurried on at a speed 
 of 70 miles a second, this vague aspect of the earth soon 
 developed itself into definite outlines. Mountains and 
 plains were no longer confused, the distinction between sea 
 and shore was more plainly identified, and instead of being, 
 as it were, depicted on a map, the surface of the earth 
 appeared as though modelled in relief. 
 
 Twenty-seven minutes past two, and Gallia is only 
 72,000 miles from the terrestrial sphere ; quicker and 
 quicker is the velocity ; ten minutes later, and they are 
 only 36,000 miles apart ! 
 
 The whole configuration of the earth is clear. 
 " Europe ! Russia ! France ! " shout Frocope, the count, 
 and Servadac, almost in a breath. 
 
 And they are not mistaken. The eastern hemisphere 
 lies before them in the full blaze of light, and there is no 
 possibility of error in distinguishing continent from con- 
 tinent. 
 
 The surprise only kindled their emotion io yet keener 
 intensity, and it would be hard to describe the excitement 
 with which they gazed at the panorama that was before 
 them. The crisis of peril was close at hand, but imagina- 
 tion overleaped all consideration of danger ; and every- 
 thing was absorbed in the one idea that they were again
 
 362 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 within reach of that circle of humanity from which they 
 had supposed themselves severed for ever. 
 
 And, truly, if they could have paused to study it, that 
 panorama of the states of Europe which was outstretched 
 before their eyes, was conspicuous for the fantastic resem- 
 blances with which Nature on the one hand, and inter- 
 national relations on the other, have associated them. 
 There was England, marching like some stately dame 
 towards the east, trailing her ample skirts and coroneted 
 with the cluster of her little islets ; Sweden and Norway, 
 with their bristling spine of mountains, seemed like a 
 splendid lion eager to spring down from the bosom of the 
 ice-bound north ; Russia, a gigantic polar bear, stood with 
 its head towards Asia, its left paw resting upon Turkey, its 
 right upon Mount Caucasus ; Austria resembled a huge 
 cat curled up and sleeping a watchful sleep ; Spain, with 
 Portugal as a pennant, like an unfurled banner, floated 
 from the extremity of the continent ; Turkey, like an 
 insolent cock, appeared to clutch the shores of Asia with 
 the one claw, and the land of Greece with the other ; Italy, 
 as it were a foot and leg encased in a tight-fitting boot, 
 was juggling deftly with the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and 
 Corsica ; Prussia, a formidable hatchet imbedded in the 
 heart of Germany, its edge just grazing the frontiers of 
 France ; whilst France itself suggested a vigourous torso 
 with Paris at its breast. 
 
 All at once Ben Zoof breaks the silence : 
 
 " Montmartre ! I see Montmartre ! " 
 
 And, smile at the absurdity as others might, nothing 
 could induce the worthy orderly to surrender his belief that 
 he could actually make out the features of his beloved 
 home. 
 
 The only individual whose soul seemed unstirred by 
 the approaching earth was Palmyrin Rosette. Leaning 
 over the side of the car, he kept his eyes fixed upon the 
 abandoned comet, now floating about a mile and a half 
 below him, bright in the general irradiation which was 
 flooding the surrounding space.
 
 SUSPENSE. 363 
 
 Chronometer in hand, Lieutenant Procope stood mark- 
 ing the minutes and seconds as they fled ; and the stillness 
 which had once again fallen upon them all was only broken 
 by his order to replenish the stove, that the montgolfier 
 might retain its necessary level. Servadac and the count 
 continued to gaze upon the earth with an eagerness that 
 almost amounted to awe. The balloon was slightly in the 
 rear of Gallia, a circumstance that augured somewhat 
 favourably, because it might be presumed that if the comet 
 preceded the balloon in its contact with the earth, there 
 would be a break in the suddenness of transfer from one 
 atmosphere to the other. 
 
 The next question of anxiety was, where would the 
 balloon alight } If upon Urra firma, would it be in a 
 place where adequate resources for safety would be at 
 hand ? If upon the ocean, would any passing vessel be 
 v/ithin hail to rescue them from their critical position } 
 Truly, as the count observed to his comrades, none but a 
 Divine Pilot could steer them now. 
 
 " Forty-two minutes past ! " said the lieutenant, and his 
 voice seemed to thrill through the silence of expectation. 
 
 There were not 20,000 miles between the comet and 
 the earth ! 
 
 The calculated time of impact was 2 hours, 47 minutes, 
 35.6 seconds. 
 
 Five minutes more and collision must ensue ! 
 But was it so.? Just at this moment, Lieutenant Pro- 
 cope observed that the comet deviated sensibly in an 
 oblique course. 
 
 Was it possible that after all collision would not 
 occur } 
 
 The deviation, however, was not great ; it did not 
 justify any anticipation that Gallia would merely graze the 
 earth, as it had done before ; it left it certain that the two 
 bodies v ould inevitably impinge. 
 
 " No doubt," said Ben Zoof, " this time we shall stick 
 together." 
 
 Another thought occurred. Was it not only too likely
 
 364 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 that, in the fusion of the two atmospheres, the balloon 
 itself, in which they were being conveyed, would be rent 
 into ribbons, and every one of its passengers hurled into 
 destruction, so that not a Gallian should survive to tell the 
 tale of their strange peregrinations ? 
 
 Moments were precious ; but Hector Servadac resolved 
 that he would adopt a device to secure that at least some 
 record of their excursion in solar distances should survive 
 themselves. 
 
 Tearing a leaf from his note-book, he wrote down the 
 name of the comet, the list of the fragments of the earth it 
 had carried off, the names of his companions, and the date 
 of the comet's aphelion ; and having subscribed it with his 
 signature, turned to Nina and told her he must have the 
 carrier-pigeon which was nestling in her bosom. 
 
 The child's eyes filled with tears ; she did not say a 
 word, but imprinting a kiss upon its soft plumage, she sur- 
 rendered it at once, and the message was hurriedly fastened 
 to its neck. The bird wheeled round and round in a few 
 circles that widened in their diameter, and quickly sunk to 
 an altitude in the comet's atmosphere much inferior to the 
 balloon. 
 
 Some minutes more were thus consumed, and the in- 
 terval of distance was reduced to less than 8000 miles. 
 
 The velocity became inconceivably great, but the in- 
 creased rate of motion was in no way perceptible ; there 
 was nothing to disturb the equilibrium of the car in which 
 they were making their aerial adventure. 
 
 " Forty-six minutes ! " announced the lieutenant. 
 
 The glowing expanse of the earth's disc seemed like a 
 vast funnel, yawning to receive the comet and its atmo- 
 sphere, balloon and all, into its open mouth. 
 
 " Forty-seven ! " cried Procope, 
 
 There was half a minute yet. A thrill ran through 
 every vein. A vibration quivered through the atmosphere. 
 The montgolfier, elongated to its utmost stretch, was mani- 
 festly being sucked into a vortex. Every passenger in 
 the quivering car involuntarily clung spasmodically to its
 
 SUSPENSE. 363 
 
 sides, and as the two atmospheres amalgamated, clouds 
 accumulated in heavy masses, involving all around in dense 
 obscurity, while flashes of lurid flame threw a weird glim- 
 mer on the scene. 
 
 In a mystery every one found himself upon the earth 
 again. They could not explain it, but here they were once 
 more upon terrestrial soil ; in a swoon they had left the 
 earth, and in a similar swoon they had come back ! 
 
 Of the balloon not a vestige remained, and contrary to 
 previous computation, the comet had merely grazed the 
 earth, and was traversing the regions of space, again far 
 away!
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BACK AGAIN. 
 
 " In Algeria, captain ? " 
 
 "Yes, Ben Zoof, in Algeria; and not far from Mosta- 
 ganem." 
 
 Such were the first words which, after their return to 
 consciousness, were exchanged between Servadac and his 
 orderly. 
 
 They had resided so long in the province that they 
 could not for a moment be mistaken as to their where- 
 abouts, and although they were incapable of clearing up 
 the mysteries that shrouded the miracle, yet they were 
 convinced at the first glance that they had been returned 
 to the earth at the very identical spot where they had 
 quitted it. 
 
 In fact, they were scarcely more than a mile from Mos- 
 taganem, and in the course of an hour, when they had all 
 recovered from the bewilderment occasioned by the shock, 
 they started off in a body and made their way to the 
 town. 
 
 It was a matter of extreme surprise to find no symptom 
 of the least excitement anywhere as they went along. The 
 population was perfectly calm ; every one was pursuing 
 his ordinary avocation ; the cattle were browsing quietly 
 upon the pastures that were moist with the dew of an 
 ordinary January morning. It was about eight o'clock ; 
 the sun was rising in the east ; nothing could be noticed to
 
 BACK AGAIN. 3^7 
 
 indicate that any abnormal incident had either transpired 
 or been expected by the inhabitants. As to a collision 
 with a comet, there was not the faintest trace of any such 
 phenomenon crossing men's minds, and awakening, as it 
 surely would, a panic little short of the certified approach 
 of the millennium. 
 
 "Nobody expects us," said Servadac; "that is very 
 certain." 
 
 " No, indeed," answered Ben Zoof, with a sigh ; he was 
 manifestly disappointed that his return to Mostaganem 
 was not welcomed with a triumphal reception. 
 
 They reached the Mascara gate. The first persons 
 that Servadac recognized were the two friends that he had 
 invited to be his seconds in the duel two years ago, the 
 colonel of the 2nd Fusiliers and the captain of the 8th 
 Artillery. 
 
 In return to his somewhat hesitating salutation, the 
 colonel greeted him heartily : 
 
 " Ah ! Servadac, old fellow ! is it you ? " 
 
 ** I, myself," said the captain. 
 
 "Where on earth have you been to all this time ? lt» 
 the name of peace, what have you been doing with your- 
 self.?" 
 
 "You would never believe me, colonel," answered 
 Servadac, " if I were to tell you ; so on that point I had 
 better hold my tongue." 
 
 " Hang your mysteries ! " said the colonel ; " tell me, 
 where have you been } " 
 
 " No, my friend, excuse me," replied Servadac ; " but 
 shake hands with me in earnest, that I may be sure I am 
 not dreaming." 
 
 Hector Servadac had made up his mind, and no amount 
 of persuasion could induce him to divulge his incredible 
 experiences. 
 
 Anxious to turn the subject, Servadac took the earliest 
 opportunity of asking : 
 
 " And what about Madame de L .? " 
 
 " Madame de L ! " exclaimed the colonel, taking
 
 368 HECTOR SERVADAC 
 
 the words out of his mouth ; " the lady is married long 
 ago ; you did not suppose that she was going to wait for 
 you. * Out of sight, out of mind,' you know." 
 
 " True," replied Servadac ; and turning to the count, 
 he said ; 
 
 "Do you hear that? We shall not have to fight our duel 
 after all." 
 
 " Most happy to be excused," rejoined the count. 
 
 The rivals took each other by the hand, and were united 
 henceforth in the bonds of a sincere and confiding friend- 
 ship. 
 
 " An immense relief," said Servadac to himself, " that 
 I have no occasion to finish that confounded rondo ! " 
 
 It was agreed between the captain and the count that 
 it would be desirable in every way to maintain the most 
 rigid silence upon the subject of the inexplicable pheno- 
 mena which had come within their experience. It was to 
 them both a subject of the greatest perplexity to find that 
 the shores of the Mediterranean had undergone no change, 
 but they coincided in the opinion that it was prudent to 
 keep their bewilderment entirely to themselves. Nothing 
 induced them to break their reserve. 
 
 The very next day the small community was broken up. 
 
 The Dobryna's crew, with the count and the lieutenant, 
 started for Russia, and the Spaniards, provided, by the 
 count's liberality, with a competency that ensured them 
 from want, were despatched to their native shores. The 
 leave-taking was accompanied by genuine tokens of regard 
 and goodwill. 
 
 For Isaac Hakkabut alone there was no feeling of 
 regret. Doubly ruined by the loss of his tartan, and by 
 the abandonment of his fortune, he disappeared entirely 
 from the scene. It is needless to say that no one troubled 
 himself to institute a search after him, and, as Ben Zoof 
 sententiously remarked : 
 
 " Perhaps old Jehoram is making money in America by 
 exhibiting himself as the latest arrival from a comet ! " 
 
 But however great was the reserve which Captain
 
 BACK AGAIN. 369 
 
 Servadac might make on his part, nothing could induce 
 Professor Rosette to conceal his experiences. In spite of 
 the denial which astronomer after astronomer gave to the 
 appearance of such a comet as Gallia at all, and of its 
 being refused admission to the catalogue, he published a 
 voluminous treatise, not only detailing his own adventures, 
 but setting forth, with the most elaborate precision, all the 
 elements which settled its period and its orbit. Discus- 
 sions arose in scientific circles ; an overwhelming majority 
 decided against the representations of the professor ; an 
 unimportant minority declared themselves in his favour, 
 and a pamphlet obtained some degree of notice, ridiculing 
 the whole debate under the title of " The History of an 
 Hypothesis." In reply to this impertinent criticism of his 
 labours, Rosette issued a rejoinder full with the most 
 vehement expressions of indignation, and reiterating his 
 asseveration that a fragment of Gibraltar was still travers- 
 ing the regions of space, carrying thirteen Englishmen 
 upon its surface, and concluding by saying that it was the 
 great disappointment of his life that he had not been taken 
 with them. 
 
 Pablo and little Nina were adopted, the one by Serva- 
 dac, the other by the count, and under the supervisiv-)n of 
 their guardians, were well educated and cared for. Some 
 years later. Colonel, no longer Captain, Servadac, his hair 
 slightly streaked with grey, had the pleasure of seeing the 
 handsome young Spaniard united in marriage to the 
 Italian, now grown into a charming girl, upon whom the 
 count bestowed an ample dowry ; the young people's 
 happiness in no way marred by the fact that they had not 
 been destined, as once seemed likely, to be the Adam and 
 Eve of a new world. 
 
 The career of the comet was ever a mystery which 
 neither Servadac nor his orderly could eliminate from 
 the regions of doubt. Anyhow, they were firmer and more 
 confiding friends than ever. 
 
 One day, in the environs of Montmartre, where they 
 were secure from eavesdroppers, Ben Zoof incidentally
 
 370 HECTOR SERVADAC. 
 
 referred to the experiences in the depths of Nina's Hive ; 
 but stopped short and said : 
 
 " However, those things never happened, sir, did they?" 
 
 His master could only reply : 
 
 '' Confound it. Ben Zoof 1 What is a man to believe ?" 
 
 vns. mm
 
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