“No doubt,” answered my uncle. “If this column of water is 32,000 feet high⁠—that is, from the surface of the earth, it is equal to the weight of a thousand atmospheres. But I have got an idea.”

“Well?”

“Why should we trouble ourselves to stop the stream from coming out at all?”

“Because⁠—” Well, I could not assign a reason.

“When our flasks are empty, where shall we fill them again? Can we tell that?”

No; there was no certainty.

“Well, let us allow the water to run on. It will flow down, and will both guide and refresh us.”

“That is well planned,” I cried. “With this stream for our guide, there is no reason why we should not succeed in our undertaking.”