Chapter XIII

Note: Interjections, not tranlatable, are retained in French in italics!

[…] as in book current version

{…} as in original magazin version

Red points of difficulty in translation

Green corrections in translation

 

Chapter XIII

 

IN WHICH CAPTAIN SERVADAC AND HIS COMPANIONS DO THE ONLY THING THERE WAS TO DO

 

The Galliens spent the rest of the night, that is the few hours that preceded the day, in inexpressible apprehension. Palmyrin Rosette, driven out by the cold, had to leave his observatory and take refuge in the deepest galleries of Nina-Hive. It was perhaps this occasion or never to ask of him if he still would persevere in this idea of coursing through the solar world on his uninhabitable comet; but he would have responded positively no doubt. If encouraged, and at what point, that could not be said.

 

Together with him, Hector Servadac and his companions had to seek asylum in the deepest galleries of the mountain. The great hall, so widely open to the outside air, was no longer bearable. The moisture of its walls had already changed to crystals, and, even had they succeeded in covering the vast opening that the curtain of lava once closed , the temperature there would have been insufferable.

 

At the bottom of the dark galleries, a little warmth still propagated. The equilibrium had not been established between the inside and the outside, but that could not be long in coming. There was a sense that the heat was being withdrawn little by little. The mountain was like a corpse whose extremities are cooled while the heart is resistant to the cold of death.

 

"Eh well," cried Captain Servadac, " it is at the very heart that we will remain!"

 

The next day he met his companions and spoke to them in these terms:

 

"My friends, what is it that is threatening us? The cold, but the cold only. We have food which will last more than our passage on Gallia, and our preserves are rather abundant so that we can do without fuel. But what do we need to go through these few winter months? A little of this heat that Nature has provided gratis! Well, this heat, it is more than likely that it exists in the bowels of Gallia, and it is there where we will seek it! "

 

The confident words revived these good people, some of whom were weakened already. Count Timascheff, Lieutenant Procope, and Ben-Zouf squeezed the hand the Captain extended; they were not close to allowing themselves to perish.

"Mordioux! " said Hector Servadac watching the little girl, "you will not be afraid to go down into the volcano? " [Footnote 1: Mordioux! Literally "By the death of the Lord!"; Gosh! Literally "God’s death!" for an English equivalent—NMW]

 

"No, my Captain," replied Nina resolutely , "especially if Pablo accompanies us! "

 

"Pablo will accompany us! He is a brave one! He is afraid of nothing! -- Is it not so, Pablo? "

 

"I will follow you wherever you go, Mr. Governor, "replied the boy.

 

That said, it was only a matter of getting down to to work.

One should not think of entering the volcano along the top of the crater. With such a lowering of temperature, the slopes of the mountain would not have been feasible. Feet would not have found any support on the slippery declivities. Therefore, there was a need to reach the central chimney by traversing through the solid massif itself, but promptly, as a terrible cold began to invade the most remote parts of Nina-Hive.

 

Lieutenant Procope, after having closely examined the available interior galleries and their orientation within the massif, recognized that one of the narrow corridors would lead close to the central chimney. There, in fact, when the lava was rising under the pressure of the vapors, he felt the caloric "ooze" so to speak through its walls. Obviously, the mineral substance, this telluride, of which the mountain consisted, was a good conductor of heat. So by piercing this gallery for a length which was not to exceed seven to eight meters, one ought to encounter the old path of the lava, and perhaps it would be easy to descend from there.

 

They began immediately with the task. On this occasion, the Russian sailors, led by their lieutenant, showed much skill. The pick or the pickaxe still did not begin to cut into this hard substance. It was necessary to drill blast holes, and, by means of powder, to blow up the rock. The work proceeded thus much faster, and, in two days, it was successfully completed.

 

During that short time, the colonists had to suffer cruelly from the cold.

 

"If all access is prohibited in the depths of the massif," said Count Timascheff, "none of us will be able to resist, and it will probably be the end of the Gallien colony! "

 

" Count Timascheff," replied Captain Servadac, you trust in the One who can do all? "

 

" Yes, Captain, but he may want today what he did not want yesterday. It is not for us to judge his decrees. His hand was open ... It seems now to be closed ... "

 

"At only half", answered Captain Servadac. This is only one test to which he subjects our courage! Something tells me that it is not probable that the eruption of the volcano ceased in consequence of a complete extinction of interior fires of Gallia. Most likely, that stoppage in the external effusion will only be temporary. "

 

Lieutenant Procope supported the view of Captain Servadac. Another eruption may have opened a mouth on some other point of the comet, and it was possible that the lavic substances would have followed this new path. Many causes could have modified the circumstances to which this eruption was due, without the mineral substances ceasing to combine chemically with oxygen in the entrails of Gallia. But it was impossible to know if one could reach this environment where the temperature would allow braving the cold of space.

 

During these two days, Palmyrin Rosette took no part in the discussions nor with the work. He came and went like a soul in pain, a soul not at all resigned. He had, no matter what one said, installed his telescope in the great hall. There, several times, at night and during the day, he remained observing the sky until he was literally frozen. He then returned, muttering, cursing the "Hot-Land", repeating that his rock of Formentera would have offered him more resources!

 

The last blow of the pick was delivered during the day of January 4. One could hear the rolling stones inside the central chimney. Lieutenant Procope observed that they did not fall perpendicularly, but that they seemed rather to slide along the walls, clashing with the rock ledges. The central chimney should therefore be inclined, and thus more feasible to descend.

 

This observation was correct.

 

As soon as the opening had been increased enough to give passage to a man, Lieutenant Procope and Captain Servadac, preceded by Ben-Zouf, who carried a torch, engaged the central chimney. This chimney followed an oblique direction, with a slope of forty-five degrees at the maximum. One could thus go down without risking a fall. Moreover, the walls were striated by multiple erosions, excavations, edges of rocks, and, under the ash which papered them, the foot felt a solid support. This indicated that the eruption was recent. Indeed, it had been able to occur only when the collision had given to Gallia a part of the Earth's atmosphere, and the walls were not worn by the lava.

"Good!" said Ben-Zouf , "a staircase now! Nothing more, nothing less!"

 

Captain Servadac and his companions began to descend prudently. Many steps, to speak like Ben-Zouf, were missing with the staircase. They took about half an hour to reach a depth of 500 feet, following a southerly direction. In the walls of the central chimney here and there large excavations were evident, of which none formed a gallery. Ben-Zouf, shaking his torch, filled them with a sharp clarity. The bottom of these holes appeared, but no ramification was found inside, as that which existed on the top floor of Nina-Hive.

However, the Galliens had no choice. They must accept the means of salvation, whatever they were.

 

However, the hopes of Captain Servadac seemed likely to be realized. As they penetrated further into the substructures of the massif, the temperature increased gradually. It was not a simple rise in degrees, as it is in terrestrial mines. A local cause made this increase more rapid. The source of the heat was felt in the depths of the ground. It was not a colliery, it was indeed a real volcano, which was the object of this exploration. At the bottom of this volcano, not extinct, as one had feared, the lava still bubbled. If, for some unknown reason, the lavas did not rise up to the crater to erupt outside, at least they transmitted their heat in all the lower levels of the massif. A mercury thermometer carried by Lieutenant Procope and an aneroid barometer in the hands of Captain Servadac, indicated at the same time the lowering of the Gallien layers below sea level, and the progressive increase in temperature. At 600 feet below ground level, the mercury column marked six degrees above zero.

 

"Six degrees," said Captain Servadac, it is not enough for people that must sequester in the winter for several months. Let us go deeper still, since the ventilation is done properly. "

 

Indeed, by the vast crater of the mountain, and the large bay open to its side, the outside air entered in floods. It was almost as though it was attracted to these depths, and one found there even better conditions for the act of breathing. It was possible therefore to descend with impunity down to the point where one met with a suitable temperature.

 

Some Four hundred feet more were reached below the level of Nina-Hive. That gave a depth of 250 meters compared to the surface of the Gallien sea. In this location, the thermometer marked 12 degrees centigrade above zero. This temperature was sufficient, provided that nothing came to modify it. [Footnote 1: This temperature of 54° F. would seem almost balmy in many winter states of the US. --NMW]

 

Obviously, the three explorers could settle deeper into this oblique lava pathway. But why bother? Already, by ear, they heard some rumblings emerge --proof they were not far from the central foyer.

 

"Let us stay here," said Ben-Zouf. "The sensitive ones of the settlement can go lower, if it suits them! But in the name of a Kabyle! For my part, I think it is already rather hot. " [Footnote 1: Kabyle—a person from the territory of Kabylie; also the language spoken in that territory; Kabylie—a part of Algeria, east of Algiers, in the Department of Algiers and Constantine, divided into Grands Kabylie and Petite Kabylie. The Djura-djura (Council of Notables) is located in Grand Kabylie. The Kabyles are sedentary and agriculltural refugees from the time of the invasions, and have a remarkable social organization. Petit Larousse, Paris: 1953—NMW]

 

The question now was whether they could be comfortable, more or less, in that part of the mountain?

 

Hector Servadac and his companions had sat on a rock jutting out, and from there, in light of the torch, which had been relit, they examined the vicinity where they were stopping.

 

Truth obliges to say that nothing was less comfortable. There the central chimney, while widening, formed only a kind of rather major excavation. This hole admittedly could contain all of the Gallien colony. As for arranging it in an fashion a little more suitable, that was rather difficult. Above, below, there existed small crevices which would be enough to store provisions, but as for separate rooms for Captain Servadac and Count Timascheff, one could not count on it. A small tiny room, intended for Nina, could still be found. It would thus be a communal life all of the time. The principal excavation would be used at the same time for dining room, living room, and dormitory. After having lived a little bit like rabbits in their burrows, the colonists were going to hide under ground, like moles, and to live like them, -- except without their long winter’s sleep.

 

However, it would be easy to brighten this dim excavation by means of lamps and lanterns. Oil was not lacking, because the general store still had several barrels of it, as well as a certain quantity of spirits-of-wine, which could be used for cooking some food.

 

As for the confinement during the entire Gallien winter, it would obviously not be absolute. The settlers, dressed as warmly as possible, could make frequent appearances, either on Nina-Hive or on the rocks off the shore. It would be necessary, moreover, to be provisioned with ice which by melting would give the water necessary for all the needs of life. Each, in turn, would be responsible for this rather painful service, since it would be a question of going up to a height of nine hundred feet and of going down as far again with a heavy burden.

 

Finally, after careful inspection, it was decided that the small colony would be transported to this dark cave, and that it would settle with the least possible discomfort. The single excavation would be used as residence for all. But, in sum, Captain Servadac and his companions would not be worse off than in shared winter quarters in the arctic regions. There, in fact, on board whaling ships, or on the North American trading posts, rooms and cabins are not numerous. There is simply a vast chamber in which moisture penetrates less easily. One gets rid of the corners, which are nests for condensing vapors. Finally, a large high room is easier to ventilate, to heat too, and consequently healthier. In forts, a whole floor is housed in this way; in ships, the whole between decks.

 

That is what the Lieutenant Procope, familiar with the customs of the polar seas, explained in a few words, and his companions resigned themselves to act as "winter beings" act since they were forced to overwinter.

 

All three went up to Nina-Hive. The colonists were informed of the resolutions taken, and they approved of them. They put themselves to work at once, starting by removing from the excavation the still warm ashes which lined the walls. The relocation of the equipment from Nina-Hive was then undertaken without delay.

 

There was not an hour to lose. They froze literally, even in the deepest galleries of the old residence. The zeal of the workers was thus quite naturally stimulated, and no removal, including some essential pieces of furniture, various berths, utensils, reserves from the schooner, goods of the tartan, was made more nimbly. It should be noticed, moreover, that it was only necessary to descend, and that, in addition, the lesser gravity of the various parcels made them more easily transportable.

 

Palmyrin Rosette, little as he wished it, had also to take refuge in the depths of Gallia, but he did not permit the descent of his telescope. It is true that it was not made for this dark abyss, and it remained on its tripod in the large room of Nina-Hive.

 

It is useless to repeat the interminable lamentations of Isac Hakhabut. All his usual phraseology came out. There was not, in the entire universe, a trader more suffering than he. Amidst the jeers, which never spared him, he carefully guarded the movement of his goods. On the command of Captain Servadac, everything that belonged to him was separated and stored in the same compartment where [he]/{the Jew} was going to live. That way, he could monitor his goods and continue his business.

 

Within a few days, the new facility was completed. Some lanterns illuminated at intervals the oblique chimney leading back up to Nina-Hive. There was no lack of a colorful display, and, in a tale of "Thousand and One Nights", it would have been charming. The large excavation which was used for the housing of all was lit by the lamps of the "Dobryna". On the 10th of January, everyone was quashed in this basement, and well-housed, more or less, compared to the outside temperature, which exceeded 60 degrees below zero.

 

"Va bene! as says our little Nina!" Ben-Zouf then cried, always happy. "Rather than stay on the first floor, we remain in the cellar, that is all! "

 

And however, although avoiding any expression of their concerns, Count Timascheff, Captain Servadac , and Procope were not without some anxiety for the future. If the volcanic heat had suddenly stopped one day, if some unexpected disturbance delayed Gallia in its solar revolution, if it were necessary to start again new winterings under such conditions, would one find in the core of the comet the fuel which had been missing hitherto? The coal, residue of antiques forests, hidden at geological times, and mineralized under the action of time, could not exist in the entrails of Gallia! In this case would they be thus reduced to use these eruptive materials which the depths of the volcano were to conceal, when it would be completely extinct?

 

"My friends," said Captain Servadac, "we'll see, we'll wait! We have many months ahead of us to reflect, to dispute, to discuss! Mordioux! It would well be the devil if we were not able to think of an idea!"

"Yes," replied the Count Timascheff, the brain is excited in the presence of difficulties, and these we will find. Moreover, it is not likely that this internal heat would depart from us before the return of the Gallien summer.

 

"I also do not think it," answered Lieutenant Procope. "One hears constantly the noise of the interior boilings. This ignition of the volcanic substances is probably recent. When the comet circulated in space, before its meeting with the Earth, it did not have any atmosphere, and, consequently, oxygen was probably introduced into its depths only since this collision. From there, a chemical combination whose result was the eruption. This is what one can think, accordingly, taking for certain that the Plutonian work is only at its beginning in the core of Gallia.

 

I am in agreement with your opinion, Procope," answered Count Timascheff, "so much so that, far from fearing an extinction of central heat, I would fear another possibility rather, not the less terrible for us."

 

"And which one is that?" asked Captain Servadac.

 

"It would be, Captain, that the eruption should restart suddenly and surprise us, camped on the roadway of the lava! "

 

"Mordioux!" cried Captain Servadac, "this could well happen! "

 

"We will take care," answered Lieutenant Procope, "and with sufficient vigilance that we will not let ourselves be surprised. "

 

Five days later, the 15th of January, Gallia passed its aphelion, at the end of the major axis of its orbit, and it then orbited at 220 million leagues from the sun.

 

Chapter XIV