Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

After a quick supper, the few of us tried our best to settle down.Because the altitude is above 5,000 feet, the beds here are hard, the space is not big enough, and the environment is terrible.But I slept very soundly that night, and I slept better than many nights before, and I didn't even dream. When we woke up on the third day, we were almost stiff from the bitter wind, but the sun was bright.I got up from my granite bed and ran to enjoy the beautiful view before me. I was standing on the top of one of the more southerly peaks of Snaefer.Most of the island is visible from here; from all the highest points the horizon appears higher than it really is, while the middle part is quite low.Anyone who looks at it will surely say that Herbsmer's model map is at my feet; stream.To the right was an innumerable chain of glaciers and a cluster of mountain peaks, some of which were surrounded by a thin layer of smog.The endless, undulating hills and the frothy bits of snow here and there reminded me of a rough sea.When I turned to the west, I saw that the ocean showed a magnificent display, which seemed to be connected with the mountain waves.The line where the land ends and the sea begins is also vivid.

I was enchanted by the beauty of the view, which can only be seen from this great mountain; this time I was not dazzled, because I had at last grown used to the majesty of the overlook.My dizzy gaze was cast among the transparent rays of sunlight, I almost forgot who I was and where I was, I was like a little god and wind spirit in Nordic mythology; Destined to fall into the abyss, I've become obsessed with the tension of standing high.The arrival of my uncle and Hanns brought me back to the real world. They stood on the top of the mountain with me. Uncle turned to the west, pointing with his finger at the bright steam, or the fog, or the dim outline of the land above the sea line.

"Geberland," he said. "Greenland?" I called. "Yes, we're only a hundred and five miles from there, and the polar bears stay on the drift ice when the snow melts, and from here they float to Iceland. What does that matter to us? We're on top of Snaefer now , there are two peaks here, one in the south and the other in the north. Hannes will tell us what the Icelanders call the mountain we stand on now." As soon as the question was asked, the guide immediately replied: "Skadanlis". Uncle gave me a triumphant look. "Go to the chasm!" he said.

Snaefer's notch was an inverted hollow cone, about a foot and a half in diameter at the opening.I estimate it is two thousand feet deep.Anyone can imagine what such a vessel would look like if it were filled with lightning and fire!The circumference of the bottom of this cylinder was not more than five hundred feet, so that the slope was gentle, and access to lower places was easy.I happen to think of short guns of large caliber, and the comparison makes my hair stand on end. "Going into the caliber of a gun," I thought, "if it happens to be loaded, the slightest touch will knock us out. That's the act of a madman."

However I cannot go back.Hannes reluctantly led the few of us again.I followed behind without saying a word. In order to make it easier to go down, Hans described to us the situation of the very long oval inside the cone. We walked among the ejected rocks. Some rocks were shaken by the hole and fell to the bottom of the abyss. , and then jumped again.Immediately after falling, there was an unusually loud echo. Some parts of the inside of the cone did have layers of ice; Hannes traversed them with great care, always testing first with his iron rod for a breach.In some suspicious places we had to be tied to each other by a long rope, so that if one of us should fall unexpectedly, he could be held by his fellows.This approach is cautious, but it cannot eliminate all dangers.

Going down a slope that was unfamiliar to Hanns himself, no matter how difficult it was, we were not surprised and succeeded. Only one bundle of rope fell from the hand of one of us, and we chose to go down. Take the shortest path down to the bottom of the abyss. We finally arrived at noon.I picked up my head to look at the opening in the top of the cone, which marked out a vastly reduced, almost flawless circle of sky.At one point, the peak of Skadanlis rose into the sky. Three trails appeared at the bottom of the crater. When Snaef erupted, the furnace in the middle used to pass through these three trails, spewing out lava and steam.The three trails are about a hundred feet wide in some places.They all gape at our feet.Professor Liedenbrock quickly checked their positions in turn; panting, he rushed from one lane to the other, gesticulating, and stammering incomprehensible words.Hannes and his companions sat on the rows of lava and watched him, apparently believing that he was in a coma.

Suddenly my uncle gave a cry; I thought he had stumbled into one of the three openings.But no, he still stood with his arms outstretched and legs apart, standing upright on a piece of granite in the middle of the opening. The granite looked like a huge seat for the statue of Hades.He looked dazed and bewildered, but soon turned to unquenchable joy. "Axel! Axel!" he cried. "Come, come!" I hurried to him.Hannes and the three Icelanders were unmoved. "You see," said the professor, "then I was either as pleased as he was or as surprised as I was when I saw some Looney characters on a west-facing board; Denuded, they are the most unlucky names."

"Arn Saconusan!" cried the uncle, "do you have any doubts now?" I didn't answer, and returned in panic to the spot where I had just sat on the lava, my mind completely preoccupied with this evidence. I cannot tell myself how long I have been brooding.All I know is that when I looked up, I saw Uncle and Hans standing on the floor of the hole.The three Icelanders had been dismissed, and they were now walking down the slope outside Snaefer, back to Stamby. Hans was sleeping peacefully at the foot of a rock in the lava flow where I had made a makeshift bed; my uncle was circling at the bottom of the hole like a wild animal caught in a trap.I neither wanted to get up nor had the strength to get up: I imitated my guide and fell into a helpless drowsiness. I seemed to hear some voice in my trance, and felt that the depths of the mountain seemed to be shaking.

The next day, gray, cloudy and low skies hung over the cone.I noticed this not so much because of the darkness in the sky, but because of my uncle's loud noise. I understood why, and I felt in my heart the hope of going back again. Among the three caves below, one is the cave of Saconusan.According to the wise men of Iceland, from the conditions mentioned in the cipher, it is known that the shadow of Skadanlis did not reach the edge until the last days of June.In fact, anyone could think of the pinnacle as a large sundial, whose shadow points the way to the center of the Earth on a fixed day.

Now, if the sunlight disappears, there will be no shadows, and there will be no guidance.It's June 25th.If the sky goes dark like this for another six days, our observations will be postponed until the next year. I don't want to describe Professor Liedenbroek's impotent rage.Days passed, but no shadow appeared at the bottom of the hole.Hannes remained unmoved in his usual place, although he should have wondered why we were waiting here this time, if he had wondered about something in the past!My uncle didn't say a word to me.His eyes were always turned to the sky, lost in its gray and cloudy distance.

On the 26th, there was still no sun, but hailstorms fell all day long.Hannes built a hut out of pieces of lava.It is also amusing to watch the thousands of small, rapid falls on the sides of the cone, which echo deafeningly against every stone. Uncle could bear it no longer.This is enough to irritate a more patient person, because it is all for the sake of the mountain, and it falls short. God often mixes great joy and great sorrow. This time, Professor Lidenbrock can enjoy some joy when he is anxious and desperate. The next day, the sky was still cloudy, but on Sunday, June 28, the third last day of the month, the moon changed and so did the weather.The sun shone in profusion upon every hillock, every rock, every stone, and every rough thing shared the benevolent sunshine, and at once cast shadows upon the earth.Most importantly, the shadow of Skadanlis shows a clear ridge; it also moves slowly with the glowing celestial body. Uncle has been following the shadow. At noon, when the shadows are at their shortest, it shines softly over the edge of the central opening. "There!" cried the Professor, "the way! The way to the center of the earth!" he added in Danish.I look at Hannes. "Go on!" said the guide calmly. "Go on!" replied the uncle.It was exactly thirteen in the afternoon.