I listened again, and this time, yes this time, I did distinctly hear my name pronounced across the wide interval.
It was my uncle’s own voice! He was talking to the guide. And förlorad is a Danish word.
Then I understood it all. To make myself heard, I must speak along this wall, which would conduct the sound of my voice just as wire conducts electricity.
But there was no time to lose. If my companions moved but a few steps away, the acoustic phenomenon would cease. I therefore approached the wall, and pronounced these words as clearly as possible:
“Uncle Liedenbrock!”
I waited with the deepest anxiety. Sound does not travel with great velocity. Even increased density air has no effect upon its rate of travelling; it merely augments its intensity. Seconds, which seemed ages, passed away, and at last these words reached me:
“Axel! Axel! is it you?”
…
“Yes, yes,” I replied.
…
“My boy, where are you?”
…
“Lost, in the deepest darkness.”
…