Chapter 19 Eruption August 27th I will always remember this day as the most important on our journey.
We had plans to blast a hole through a wall of rock in search of a tunnel to the center of the earth.
It seemed that Uncle Lidenbrock had listened to some of my worries.
He decided we could be in danger from falling rocks.
So his new plan was to light the explosives, then gather on the raft.
Hans would sail us out into the water.
We would be at a safe distance when the explosion happened.
It was a hard day for any of us to sleep.
By six in the morning, we were all awake.
We placed the dynamite in the tunnel and around the wall of fallen rocks.
Hans made the final preparations for the raft.
We were ready.
I asked to do the honor of lighting the fuse.
While Hans and Uncle Lidenbrock waited at the shore, I went into the tunnel.
I struck a match and held it to the fuse.
It sputtered to life, then caught fire.
Quickly, I turned and ran back to shore.
I jumped aboard the raft and we set sail.
My uncle did the count.
Five, four, three, two, one, and go!
I'm not sure if I heard the explosion.
The first thing I noticed was that the rocks were changing.
The wall was crumbling, then falling down right before my eyes.
It took a moment for me to realize that the rocks were changing more than we expected.
Too much of the wall was crumbling.
A giant black hole was emerging from All of the rocks and cliffs on shore started to shake and crumble.
The sea itself was starting to sway.
Suddenly, everything below us dropped.
The water dropped and our raft went with it.
The explosion opened up the rock into an abyss, this amazing depth.
The sea began floating out into a big, empty space.
We were falling.
We all linked arms and clung to the raft.
We had to hang on for dear life.
Our raft sailed on the giant flood of water toward the tunnel, or where the tunnel used to be.
We were plunged into darkness.
For a long time, we could see nothing.
All we knew was that we were all still there on the raft.
We traveled for hours through the darkness.
At some point, Hans managed to light our last lamp.
It flickered on and off, but gave enough light so we could look at our surroundings.
All I could see was rushing water.
We were floating on top of a wave.
It did not look as if we would be stopping any time soon.
We checked the supplies.
We had lost everything but the compass and the chronometer.
The rope, hammers, pickaxes, and blankets were all gone.
Very carefully, I moved across the raft on my belly to check our food supply.
We only had enough left for one day.
We rode on the raft in silence.
None of us had the energy to talk.
The lamplight flickered once more, then went out.
We were left in total darkness again.
To my horror, the raft started to move faster.
We didn't seem to be gliding anymore.
We were falling straight down.
Hans, Uncle Lidenbrock, and I grabbed one another's hands and clung together.
We landed at the bottom with a sudden stop.
Then all of the water started falling on top of us.
There was so much water.
It was coming down too strong.
I could not breathe.
I felt like I was drowning.
Thankfully, it only lasted a few seconds.
My uncle, Hans, and I were still holding hands as the raft carried us off again.
We continued gliding along the water for a few hours more.
It seemed as if we were in a tunnel again.
The river was still quick, but it was much calmer now.
There was complete darkness all around us.
At some point, I don't know when, our motion changed.
Did you feel that?
Uncle Lidenbrock whispered.
We're going up.
We're starting to rise.
How is that possible?
I said.
I held my hand out.
I could feel the rock wall as we passed.
We were definitely rising.
We must be on a geyser or a spout, Uncle Lidenbrock said.
But where will it take us?
I said.
It's hard to say.
We could be pushed out into another cavern.
It could take us back to the outside world.
But if the opening up top is not large enough, we could be crushed.
It's impossible to say.
My uncle sounded so calm.
He did not sound bothered or concerned about this.
It all seemed to be just another part of the exploration.
He would be a scientist until the very end.
I, on the other hand, was feeling terribly anxious.
While Uncle Lidenbrock found this unknown fascinating, I found it terrifying.
We decided to eat our last bit of food.
Of course, I argued that we should conserve these last morsels.
We did not know how long we would be on the raft.
Uncle Lidenbrock argued that it was important to keep our strength up.
Who knows what we may encounter on the next leg of our journey.
We want to be at our very best, he said.
After eating, we lay down on the raft and rested.
Each of us was lost in our own thoughts before we fell asleep.
That night I dreamed of my home and my love.
It was a wonderful dream.
I woke up feeling loved and missed.
I hoped the graupen was well.
My uncle was already awake.
He lit the flickering lamp and held it over his head.
He was mumbling to himself and studying the rock wall as we passed by.
We are definitely climbing.
Look at the rocks.
They're getting newer.
It seems we are moving forward in time.
Even though we were climbing, the temperature was rising.
As we moved away from the center of the earth, it was getting hotter.
I pointed this out to my uncle.
How can that be? my uncle asked.
He was shaking his head.
It feels like we're moving toward a fiery furnace, I said.
The water is boiling.
It actually was bubbling as if it were on a stove.
I looked more closely at the walls.
The rock was shaking.
Cracks were forming.
I looked at our compass.
The needle was spinning out of control.
I had to tell my uncle.
I think that we are in trouble, I said.
Or should I say we are in more trouble?
Look at the compass, the boiling water and the cracks in the rock.
I think we are in an earthquake.
An earthquake, Uncle Leidenbrock said.
I should hope not.
I hope we are in something much greater than an earthquake.
Greater, I said.
What do you mean?
We are in an eruption, my boy, he said.
I am certain we are in a volcano, and it is about to explode.
We stopped suddenly.
The water dropped away beneath us.
Our raft hung in mid-air, perfectly still.
