About eight in the evening he signalled to stop. Hans sat down at once. The lamps were hung upon a projection in the lava; we were in a sort of cavern where there was plenty of air. Certain puffs of air reached us. What atmospheric disturbance was the cause of them? I could not answer that question at the moment. Hunger and fatigue made me incapable of reasoning. A descent of seven hours consecutively is not made without considerable expenditure of strength. I was exhausted. The order to “halt” therefore gave me pleasure. Hans laid our provisions upon a block of lava, and we ate with a good appetite. But one thing troubled me, our supply of water was half consumed. My uncle reckoned upon a fresh supply from subterranean sources, but hitherto we had met with none. I could not help drawing his attention to this circumstance.
“Are you surprised at this want of springs?” he said.
“More than that, I am anxious about it; we have only water enough for five days.”
“Don’t be uneasy, Axel, we shall find more than we want.”
“When?”
“When we have left this bed of lava behind us. How could springs break through such walls as these?”
“But perhaps this passage runs to a very great depth. It seems to me that we have made no great progress vertically.”
“Why do you suppose that?”
“Because if we had gone deep into the crust of earth, we should have encountered greater heat.”
“According to your system,” said my uncle. “But what does the thermometer say?”