"Let us go downward," I said, and scarcely had the words escaped my
lips ere Blackana had ushered me into an elevator, holding me as we
dropped down and down with increasing velocity, while a cold chill was
freezing my heart, and my body playing the part of an aspen leaf.
Never before had I been touched by so dreadful a hand, but I thought
again of the ten thousand, and that lent warmth to my heart and calmness
to my nerves. "To what great depth are we falling?" I soon ventured
to ask, as I perceived that we were dashing downward at terrific speed.
"We fall to no great depth; we go only a thousand furlongs to reach
the first grand level, not stopping at these lesser places of which
you get a glimpse in passing."
"A thousand furlongs," I repeated, "down into the earth! Who ever heard
of such a descent before?" But I still thought of my ten thousand,
even though I could not conceive how they could follow me in such
places.
"At what rate do we now travel?" I nervously asked, for I felt the
hand of Blackana still pressing me down lest the great elevator would
fall faster than my body.
"According to earthly reckoning we are falling twenty furlongs a second
and our speed is still increasing with the descent," was the startling
answer.
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