The Secret of the Earth

The original is very difficult to read, both on account of its peculiar orthography and from its being smirched and weather-stained. We went to the air ship where I recorded this discovery, and then sealed it up in the cairn, carrying the original paper with us.

"Sailor like," observed Torrence, "there is not a date in the paper from beginning to end."

I had not thought of this before.

"He may have been here for years," I added.

"He may," Torrence replied, and then producing a paper from a large packet, asked me what I thought of the signature.

I started, for I recognized it at once. It was one of those I had seen through the keyhole in the hotel Mustapha, and the signature was the same as the one before me – Ned Merrick. I then recalled the fact that I had heard my brother address the mysterious stranger – I mean the sailor we had first met upon the Thames boat, and whom afterward I had seen at the Mustapha – as Merrick. Could it be possible that he was the same who had escaped through the ice belt to this island? I was amazed, but before I could make an inquiry Torrence continued:

"I now am certain that this island is inhabited, as I told you, unless, perchance, the man has died. I am also sure of the continents; for the man Merrick having told me the truth in this most amazing case, it is probable that he has not lied in other matters, especially as he gave me proof, and as his story coincides with my own views. Let us look for Jan von Broekhuysen, then we will proceed upon our voyage."

We made a careful search for this extraordinary individual, but not finding any traces of him, we returned to the vessel and prepared to go.

As we were clearing the coast a creature of scarcely human aspect, clad in a robe of feathers and covered to the waist with a mass of tawny gray hair, appeared to rise out of the sand. He probably emerged from the shelter of some neighboring rock, and stood for a moment looking at us in amazement. On a motion to alter our course, as if to pursue him, the creature disappeared as suddenly and strangely as he had come. He was simply invisible, and it would have been useless to waste our time in an effort to capture him. There was no doubt to our minds that this was Jan von Broekhuysen.

* * * * *

XIV

Northward again we proceeded on our journey, and from the upper deck surveyed the solitude of an ocean unknown to human eyes. All traces of ice had vanished; the sea was tranquil and the air pleasant. Naturally enough our conversation fell upon the mysterious cairn and its contents.

"In my opinion," said Torrence, "this Jan von Broekhuysen is the most unique creation of our planet. He is the only human being of his kind since creation. I will guarantee that not in a million years has the earth produced such another!"

I asked him what he meant, and suggested the possibility of others having been lost under like circumstances, while admitting the improbability of their having reached such a latitude.

"That is not it at all!" he exclaimed; "Jan von Broekhuysen stands alone, and for this reason. Because he is the only living creature of our race who has been put alone in an uninhabited world, and who has never seen nor communicated with a fellow-creature!"

"You mean since he was twenty years old, for I believe the paper says that was his age," said I.

"No," replied Torrence, "I mean nothing of the kind. I mean that never, for a single instant, has he seen or communicated with a fellow-being until he saw us!"

"I don't understand you. Doesn't the paper say he twenty years old when wrecked?"

"Certainly. But doesn't the paper say that when he struck he lost his memory?"

"But what of that? he's sure to have seen plenty of people in the first part of his life."

"Gurt, that fellow never had any other part to his life. His life began afresh after landing on that island. His past having been wiped out, he was born again. His memory being gone, the past had no existence for him. He knew no more about a previous existence than you or I know about a life before this. Practically he was reincarnated, inasmuch as his brain had lost every picture and every record of the past. He came as a new man to a new world, knowing nothing. The first twenty years of his life was no more his than if it had belonged to another body. I claim that Von Broekhuysen is the most unique creature that ever visited our planet!"

I was impressed, and thought some time before answering. Finally I said:

"It is doubtless a remarkable case, but you must be accurate in your statements, and when you declare that the fellow has never either seen or communicated with a fellow-being since losing his memory, you must not forget his comrades, Niles and Merrick, who were with him for a year afterward; surely he must remember them."

"Not at all," said Torrence; "when those men left him he was only a year old, so to speak. He had entered his new existence but a twelvemonth before; and although he had the size and strength of a man, he was but an infant, so far as his mind was concerned, and I defy any one to recall anything which happened at that time of their lives. No one can remember what happened when he was but a year old. I have thought it all out, old boy, and Von Broekhuysen ought to belong to a museum!"

There was no gainsaying what my brother said. I wanted to ask him how Merrick had made his escape, and what had become of the other fellow, but a look warned me that an appropriate time had not come for these questions. I was impressed with the marvelous way in which Torrence had been prepared for our discovery by this extraordinary man, Merrick, who must have seen more of the mysteries of the Arctic regions than any human being alive.

We were sailing over a sea of vast extent, whose shores were mythical. Whither would it lead us? Although it was the time of year when we might reasonably expect to find moderate weather, even in high latitude, we were amazed to find the air so temperate and pleasant as it was. We sat on deck nearly all the time, when not engaged in eating or sleeping, and often without our top coats. We kept constant watch on the horizon, the water below us, and the sky above; expecting at any moment to discover the outline of some unknown continent, but as the monotony of sky and water continued we began to sympathize with Columbus.

Twenty-four hours after leaving the island, which we agreed to call Von Broekhuysen, we estimated that we could not have come less than four hundred miles, and yet there had not been the slightest indication of land, although we had not changed our course half a degree. It was the same placid, unmarked, and unknown ocean. Whither were we drifting?

It was about here that the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere began to strike me as peculiar. The northern horizon had been subjected to a singular phenomenon for a good many hours, which I ascribed to one of those effects of light so common in these latitudes. It was simply a crescent-shaped cloud, growing in height as we advanced. At first it subtended the segment of an arc of about sixty degrees across the horizon, steadily ascending toward the zenith with our progress. But gradually this form lost its definiteness, and melted into the sky in a mellow haze, which softened the light and obscured the sun. We were glad enough to have the glare off the water, as it had been quite trying, but I was at a loss to account for the phenomenon which had abolished it. If Torrence understood this he failed to explain it to me – advising me to wait and see what would happen. I mention it here as an important fact bearing upon our future discoveries. I had never before seen so peculiar a cloud, retaining a definite form for so long a time, fixed in density and character save that the arc grew as we proceeded; and I naturally puzzled myself a good deal meditating on it. But it was not until later that I ascertained the cause of this astounding phenomenon.

* * * * *

Forty-eight hours after leaving the island we were still floating over the same placid sea, and without indication of land upon any point of the horizon. We were working our way along at the rate of five and twenty knots, under perfect conditions, when a thought struck me.

"How far have we come since leaving the island?" I asked.

Torrence looked at the indicator.

"About six hundred miles," he said.

"Exactly; and as Von Broekhuysen's island is not more than two hundred and fifty from the pole, we must have passed it, and be running down on the other side of the earth. It surely can't be long before we strike the frozen belt again; indeed we ought to be there already. But there hasn't been a block of ice, or a bit of cold weather to speak of yet. How do you account for it?"

"Don't bother about the ice," said Torrence; "you ought to be glad we haven't got any."

"But we ought to have it," I insisted, "according to my calculations – "

"Damn your calculations," he answered laughing; "didn't I tell you I was going to show you a new world, and new continents!"

"Continents! I should enjoy even a shovel full of mud at present."

"Have patience; if Merrick could cross this sea in a dugout, with a cotton sheet, we surely have an equal chance of doing so; although I confess I think he must have struck a strip of land to the east or west which we have missed. But we are on a straight course and bound to come out all right if we keep on."

"You expect to run down then over Alaska?" I inquired.

"I expect nothing of the kind. Wait and you will see."

And I had to wait, for he would say nothing more just then, although I asked him numerous questions.

It was shortly after this that I observed another most singular phenomenon in the sky, which struck me with such amazement that I was filled with awe. About twenty degrees south of the zenith there appeared in the heavens an enormous disk of pale light, only distinguishable from the rest of the sky by being brighter and more of a bluish tinge. I should say it was a hundred times as large as the sun, distinctly defined, and though not brilliant by contrast with that luminary, was probably twice as luminous as the surrounding parts of the sky. There was something so utterly amazing in this sight that I could not take my eyes from it, and even Torrence was impressed, although I could see that he had a plausible explanation in his own mind. When I had stared long and earnestly without observing the slightest change in the appearance, he said:

"When you have got a little more used to things here I will talk plainer. There are mysteries about our planet not even realized; and we are on the high road to solve one of the most astounding."

The disk of light continued. It did not seem to grow larger or smaller, or to change its position in the heavens, and after I had grown weary of looking at it, directed my attention again to the horizon, and was startled by the unexpected appearance of two very singular objects. They were small and very distant, but the glass revealed a couple of dark spots four degrees to the port of our course, and hard upon the sky-line. Later a more careful observation showed a pair of black columns rising directly out of the sea. These objects, whatever they were, now absorbed our entire attention, and we steered directly for them.

* * * * *

Our compass had behaved so strangely of late that we depended in a measure upon the triangulation of the rudder, which we knew was inviolable in a still atmosphere, such as had favored us since leaving Spitzbergen. This feature of our steering apparatus was really very clever, and entirely original with my brother, who had devised it for the special purpose of obviating the difficulties mariners often encounter in Arctic waters from the extreme sensitiveness and uncertain freaks of the magnetic needle. It consisted in a semi-circular dial, accurately inscribed with degrees, minutes, and seconds, upon which an indicator, connected with the rudder bar, acted. Thus any deviation from a given course was accurately recorded by this index finger, and while unaffected by air currents, was thoroughly reliable. Another great advantage in determining our position, lay in the fact that we were enabled by the aid of our speed register to know exactly how fast we were traveling. Of course in a high wind it would be more difficult to utilize these contrivances with accuracy, as another computation that of estimating the velocity and direction of the air current would have to be entered upon a condition which fortunately had not troubled us.

We continued, head on, for the points mentioned, the nature of which, we were unable to decipher, even with the excellent glasses at our command. Although running at a good rate, it was impossible to tell at the end of half an hour whether these dark projections were any nearer than when we had first seen them. The air was clear, and the field of vision extended. The light appeared to differ from that of our own day, being less intense and exceedingly restful and pleasant to the eyes. I can compare it to nothing I know of, although in an inaccurate way it might be said to resemble, on an exaggerated scale, that charming blending of moonlight with the gloaming. It was here that I first noticed what seemed to be an electrical condition of the atmosphere that filled me with the most agreeable sensations. I felt lighter, stronger, in every way healthier, and in better spirits. Torrence also spoke of this, and I am sure that I am right in ascribing it to our environment. The sun itself continued invisible, while the luminous disk referred to remained unchanged. We were indeed entering an unknown world. Where would it end?

After an hour's run we could just perceive that the dark columns ahead were a trifle nearer, though still thoroughly indefinite as to character. Torrence looked at the register. Twenty-five miles an hour.

"They are still at a great distance," he said, "and I propose to hasten my acquaintance with them."