 Introduction to the Goddess Vat Vat Bar. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Nigel Fisher. It is proper that some explanation be made as to the position occupied by the following story in the realm of fiction, and that a brief estimate should be made of its literary value. Literature may be roughly classified under two heads, the creative and the critical. The former is characteristic of the imaginative temperament while the latter is analytical in nature and does not rise above the level of the actual. Rightly pursued, these two ways of searching out truth should supplement each other. The poet finds in God the source of matter. The man of science traces matter up to God. Science is poetry inverted. The latter sees in the former confirmation of its ariest flight. It is synthetic and creative, whereas science dissects and analyses. Obviously, the most spiritual conception should always maintain a basis in the world of fact, and the greatest works of literary art while taking their stand upon the solid earth have not feared to lift their heads to heaven. The highest art is the union of both methods, but in recent times realism in an extreme form, led by Zola and Tolstoy, and followed with willing though infirm footsteps by certain American writers, has attained a marked prominence in literature, while romantic writers have suffered a corresponding obscuration. It must be admitted that the influence of the realists is not entirely detrimental. On the contrary, they have imported into literature a nicety of observation, a heedfulness of workmanship, a mastery of technique, which have been greatly to its advantage. Nevertheless, the novel of hard facts has failed to prove its claim to infallibility. Facts in themselves are important to account for life. Every material fact is but the representative on the plane of sense of a corresponding truth on the spiritual plane. Spirit is the substance, fact the shadow only, and its whole claim to existence lies in its relation to spirit. Bullwood declares in one of his early productions that the ideal is the only true real. In the nature of things, a reaction from the depression of the realistic school must take place. Indeed, it has already set in, even at the moment of the realists' apogee. A dozen years ago, the author of John Inglescent in a work of the finest art and most delicate spirituality showed that the spell of the ideal had not lost its efficacy, and the books that he has written since then have confirmed and emphasised the impression produced by it. Meanwhile, Robert Louis Stevenson and Ryder Haggard have cultivated with striking success the romantic fain of fiction, and the former, at least, has acquired a mastery of technical detail which the realists themselves may envy. It is a little more than a year, too, since Rudyard Kipling startled the reading public with a series of tales of wonderful force and vividness, and whatever criticism may be applied to his work, it incontestably shows the dominance of a spiritual and romantic motive. The realists, on the other hand, have added no notable recruits to their standard, and the leaders of the movement are losing rather than gaining in popularity. The spirit of the new age seems to be with the other party, and we may expect to see them enjoy a constantly widening vogue and influence. The first practical problem which confronts the intending historian of an ideal social or political community is to determine the locality in which it should be placed. It may have no geographical limitations, like Plato's Republic or Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia. Swift in his Gulliver's Travels appropriated the islands of the then unknown seas, and the late Mr Percy Gregg boldly steered into space and located a brilliant romance on the planet Mars. Mr Haggard has placed the scene of his romance, she, in the unexplored interior of Africa. After all, if imagination be our fellow traveller, we might well discover Eldorados with an easy reach of our townships. Other writers, like Ignatius Donnelly and Edward Bellamy, have solved the problem by anticipating the future. Anything will do so that it be well done. The real question is, as to the writer's ability to interest his readers with the supposed experiences that may develop mind and heart almost as well as if real. The goddess of at-vat-bar, like the works already mentioned, is a production of imagination and sentiment, the scene of action being laid in the interior of the earth. It is true, the notion has heretofore existed that the earth might be a hollow sphere. The early geologists had a theory that the earth was a hollow globe, the shell being no thicker in proportion to its size than that of an egg. This idea was revived by Captain Sims with the addition of polar openings. Jules Verne takes his readers, in one of his romances, to the interior of a volcano. An boar in his coming race has constructed a world of underground caverns. Mr Bradshaw, however, has swept aside each and all these preliminary explorations and has kindled the fires of an interior sun, revealing an interior world of striking magnificence. Due of the fact that we live on an exterior world lit by an exterior sun, he has supposed the possibility of a similar interior conditions and the crudity of all former conceptions of a hollow earth will be made vividly apparent to the reader of the present volume. The goddess of at-vat-bar paints a picture of a new world and the author must be credited with an original conception. He has written out of his own heart and brain without reference to or dependence upon the imaginings of others and it is within truth to say that in boldness of design, in wealth and ingenuity of detail and in lofty purpose he has not fallen below the highest standard that has been erected by previous writers. Mr Bradshaw, in his capacity of idealist, has not only created a new world but has decorated it with the skill and conscientiousness of the realist and has achieved a work of art which may rightfully be termed great. Jules Verne, in composing a similar story, would stop short with a description of mere physical adventure but in the present work Mr Bradshaw goes beyond the physical and has created in conjunction therewith an interior world of the soul illuminated with the still more dazzling sun of ideal love in all its passion and beauty. The story is refreshingly independent both in conception and method and the insinuation by Atti Chiantae Nos Nostra Dixerrant cannot be quoted against him. He has imagined and worked out the whole thing for himself and he merits the full credit that belongs to a discoverer. The goddess of At-Vat-Bar is full of marvellous adventures on land and sea and in the aerial regions as well. It is not my purpose at present to enumerate the surprising array of novel conceptions that will charm the reader. The author by the condition of his undertaking has given carte blanche to his imagination. He has created a complete society with the complete environment suited to it. The broadest generalisation, no less than the minutest particulars have received careful attention and the story is based upon a profound understanding of the essential qualities of human nature and is calculated to attain deserved celebrity. Among the subjects dear to the idealist's heart perhaps none finds greater favour than that which involves the conception of a new social and political order and our author has elaborated this subject on fresh lines of thought making his material world enclose a realm of spiritual tenderness even as the body is the continent and sensible manifestation of the soul. The forces, arts and aspirations of the human soul are wrought into symmetrical fabric exhibiting its ideal tendencies. The evident purpose of the writer is to stimulate the mind by presenting to its contemplation things that are marvellous, noble and magnificent. He has not hesitated to portray his own emotions as expressed by the characters in the book and is evidently in hearty sympathy with everything that will produce elevation of the intellectual and emotional ideals. The style in which the story is told is worthy of remark. In the beginning when events are occurring within the realm of things already known or conceived of he speaks in the matter of fact on his tone of the modern explorer. So far as the language goes we might be reading the reports of an arctic voyage as recounted in the Daily Newspaper. There is the same unpretentiousness and directness of phrase the same attention to apparently commonplace detail and the same candid portrayal of wonder, hope and fear. But when the stupendous descent into the interior world has been made and we have been carried through the intermediary occurrences into the presence of the beautiful goddess herself the style rises to the level of the lofty theme and becomes harmoniously imaginative and poetic. The change takes place so naturally and insensibly that no jarring contrast is perceived and a subdued sense of humour making itself felt at the proper moment redeems the most daring flights of the work from the reproach of extravagance. Mr Bradshaw is especially to be commended for having the courage of his imagination. He wastes no undue time on explanations but proceeds promptly and fearlessly to set forth the pointed issue. When for example it becomes necessary to introduce the new language spoken by the inhabitants of the interior world we are brought in half a dozen paragraphs to an understanding of its characteristic features and proceed to the use of it without more ado. A more timid writer would have misspent labour and ingenuity in dwelling upon a matter which Mr Bradshaw rightly perceived to be of no essential importance and we should have been wearied and delayed in arriving at the really interesting scenes. The philosophy of the book is worthy of more serious notice. The religion of the new race is based upon the worship of the human soul whose powers have been developed to a height unthought of by our section of mankind although on lines the commencement of which are already within our view. The magical achievements of theosophy and occultism as well as the ultimate achievements of orthodox science are revealed in their most amazing manifestations and with a sobriety and minuteness of treatment that fully satisfies what may be called the transcendental reader. The whole philosophic and religious situation is made to appear admirably plausible but we are gradually brought to perceive that there is a futility and rottenness inherent in it all and that for the goddess of at-vat-bar lofty, wise and immaculate though she be there is nevertheless a loftier and sublimer experience in store. The finest art of the book is shown here and deep is revealed underneath the deep and the final outcome is in accord with the simplest as well as the profoundest religious perception but it would be useless to attempt longer to withhold the reader from the marvellous journey that awaits him. A word of congratulation however is due in regard to the illustrations. They reach a level of excellence rare even at this day. The artists have evidently been in thorough sympathy with the author and have given to the eye what the latter has presented to the understanding. A more lovable divinity than that which confronts us on the golden throne it has seldom been our fortune to behold and the designs of animal plants are as remarkable as anything in modern illustrative art they are entirely unique and possess a value quite apart from their artistic grace. The chief complaint I find to urge against the book is that it stops long before my curiosity regarding the contents of the interior world is satisfied. There are several continents and islands yet to be heard from but I am reassured by the termination of the story that there is nothing to prevent the hero from continuing his explorations and I shall welcome the volume which contains the further points of his extraordinary and commendable enterprise. Julian Hawthorne. End of introduction. Chapter 1 of The Goddess of At-Fat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher. A polar catastrophe. I had been asleep when a terrific noise awoke me. I rose up on my couch in the cabin and gazed wildly around dazed with the feeling that something extraordinary had happened. By degrees becoming conscious of my surroundings I saw Captain Wallace, Dr. Mary Ferry, Astronomous Starbottle, and Master-at-Arms flat-hoodly beside me. Commander White said to the Captain, Did you hear that roar? What roar I applied? Where are we? Why, you must have been asleep, said he, and yet the roar was enough to raise the dead. It seemed as if both Earth and Heaven were split open. What is that hissing sound I hear? I inquired. That, sir, said the doctor, is the sound of millions of flying sea-fowl frightened by the awful noise. The midnight sun is darkened with the flight of so many birds. Surely, sir, you must have heard that dreadful shriek. It froze the blood in our veins with horror. I began to understand that the Polar King was safe and that we were all still alive and well. But what could my officers mean by the terrible noise they talked about? I jumped out of bed saying, Gentlemen, I must investigate this whole business. You say the Polar King is safe? Sure, sir, said flat-hoodly the Master-at-Arms. The ship lies anchored to the ice-foot where we put her this afternoon. She's all right. I went at once on deck. Sure enough, the ship was as safe as if in harbour. Birds flew about in myriads at times obscuring the sun. And now and then we heard growling reverberations from distant icebergs, answering back the fearful roar that drowsed them from their polar sleep. The sea, that is to say, the enormous ice-pack in which we lay, heaved and fell like an earthquake. It was evident that a catastrophe of no common character had happened. What was the cause that had startled the Polar Midnight with such unwanted commotion? Sailors are very superstitious. With them every unknown sound is a cry of disaster. It was necessary to discover what had happened lest the courage of my men should give way and involve the whole expedition in ruin. The captain, although alarmed, was as brave as a lion. And as for flat-hoodly he would follow me through fire and water like the brave Irishman that he was. The scientific staff were gentlemen of education and could be relied upon to show an example of bravery that would keep the crew in good spirits. Do you remember the creek in the ice-foot we passed this morning, said the captain? The place where we shot the polar bear? Quite well, I said. While the roar that frightened us came from that locality, do you remember all day we heard strange squealing sounds issuing from the ice as though it were being rent or split open by some subterranean force? The entire events of the day came to mind in all their clearness. I did remember the strange sounds the captain referred to. I thought then that perhaps they'd been caused by Professor Rackeron's shell of terrorite, which he had fired at the southern face of the vast range of ice mountains that formed an impenetrable barrier to the pole. The men were in need of a change of diet, and we thought the surest way of getting seafowl was to explode a shell among them. The face of the ice-clips was home of innumerable birds, peculiarly arctic zone. Their myriads of gulls, kitty-wakes, murs, gullamots and such-like creatures made the ice alive with feathered forms. The terrorite gun was fired with ordinary powder, although we could approach no nearer the cliffs than five miles on account of the solid ice-foot, yet our chief gun was good for that distance. The shell was fired and exploded high up on the face of the crags. The effect was startling. The explosion brought down tons of frosty marble. The debris fell like blocks of iron that rang with a piercing cry on the ice-bound breast of the ocean. Millions of sea-fowl of every conceivable variety darkened the air. Their rushing wings sounded like the hissing of a tornado. Thousands were killed by the shock. The detachment of sailors under First Officer Renwick brought in heavy loads of dead-fowls for a change of diet. The food, however, proved indigestible and made the men ill. We resolved, as soon as the sun had mounted the heavens from his midnight declension, to retrace our course somewhat and discover the cause of the terrible outcry of the night. We had been sailing for weeks along the southern ice-foot that belonged to the intermedal ice-hills, which formed an effectual barrier to the pole. Day after day, the polar king had forced its way through a gigantic flow of piled-up ice-blocks, floating cakes of ice, and along the ridges of frozen enormity, cracked, broken, and piled together in endless confusion. We were in quest of a northward passage out of the terrible ice-prison that surrounded us, but failed to discover the slightest opening. It had become a question of abandoning our enterprise of discovering the north pole and returning home again or abandoning the ship and taking our dogs and sledges brave the nameless terrors of the icy hills. Of course, in such a case, the ship would be our base of supplies and of action in whatever expedition might be set on foot for polar discovery. About six o'clock in the morning of the 20th of July, we began to work the ship around to partially retrace our voyage. All hands were on the lookout for any sign of such a catastrophe as might have caused the midnight commotion. After travelling about ten miles, we reached the creek where the bear had been killed the day before. The man on lookout on top masks sung out, Creek bigger than yesterday! Before we had time to examine the creek with our glasses, he sung out, Mountain split in two! Sure enough, a dark blue gash ran up the hills to their very summit, and as soon as the ship became abreast of the creek, we saw that the range of frozen precipices had been driven apart and a streak of dark blue water lay between, on which the ship might possibly reach the polar sea beyond. Dare we venture into that inviting gulf? The officers crowded around me. Well, gentlemen, said I, what do you say, shall we try the passage? We only measure fifty feet on the beam, while the fisher is at least one hundred feet wide, so we have plenty of room to work the ship, said the captain. But captain said I, if we find the width only fifty feet a few miles from here, what then? Then we must come back, said he, that is all. Suppose we cannot come back, suppose the walls of ice should begin to close up again, I said. I don't believe they will, said Professor Goldrock, who was our naturalist and was well informed on geology. Why not, I inquired. Well, said he, to our certain knowledge this range of ice-hills extends five hundred miles to east and west of us. The sea here is over one hundred and fifty fathoms deep. This barrier is simply a congregation of icebergs frozen into a continuous solid mass. It is quite certain that the mass is anchored to the bottom, so that it is not free to come asunder and then simply close up again. My theory is this. Right underneath us there is a range of submarine rocks or hills running north and south. Last night an earthquake lifted this submarine range, say fifty feet above its former level. The enormous upward pressure split open the range of ice resting thereon, and unless the mountains beneath us subside to their former level, these rent walls of ice will never come together again. The passage will become filled up with fresh ice in a few hours, so that in any case there is no danger of the precipices crushing the ship. Your opinion looks feasible, I replied. Look, said he. You will see that the top of the crevasse is wider than it is at the level of the water. One proof, at least, that my theory is correct. The professor was right. There was a perceptible increase in the width of the opening at the top. To make ourselves still more sure, we took soundings for a mile east and west of the chasm and found the professor's theory of a submarine range of hills correct. The water was shallowest right under the gap and very much deeper only a short distance on either side. I said to the officers and sailors, my men, are you willing to enter this gap with a view of getting beyond the barrier for the sake of science and fortune and the glory of the United States? They gave a shout of assent that robbed the gulf of its terrors. I signalled the engineer full speed ahead and in a short time we crossed the ice foot and entered the chasm. It could be nothing else but an upheaval of nature that caused the rent, as the distance was uniform between the walls, however irregular the windings made, and such walls. For a distance of 20 miles we sailed between smooth, glistening precipices of paleocrystic ice rising 200 feet above the water. The opening remained perceptibly wider at the top than below. After a distance of 20 miles the height gradually decreased until within a distance of another 50 miles the ice sank to the level of the water. The sailors gave a shout of triumph which was echoed from the ramparts of ice. To our astonishment we found we had reached a mighty field of loose pack ice while on the distant horizon were glimpses of blue sea. End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2 of The Goddess of At-Vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher The Cause of the Expedition The polar king in latitude 84 degrees, longitude 151 degrees and 14 minutes had entered an ocean covered with enormous ice flows. What surprised us most was the fact that we could make any headway whatever and that the ice wasn't frozen into one solid mass as everyone expected. On the contrary leads of open water reached in all directions and up those leading nearest due north we joyfully sailed. May the 10th was a memorable day in our voyage. On that day we celebrated the double event of having reached the furthest north and of having discovered an open polar sea. Seated in the luxurious cabin of the ship I mused on the origin of this extraordinary expedition. It was certain if my father were alive he would fully approve of the use I was making of the wealthy had left me. He was a man utterly without romance, a hard headed man of facts which quality doubtless was the cause of his amassing so many millions of dollars. My father could appreciate the importance of theories of enthusiastic ideals but he preferred others to act upon them. As for himself he would say I see no money in it for me. He believed that many enthusiastic theories were the germs of great fortunes but he always said with a knowing smile you know it is never safe to be a pioneer in anything. The pioneer usually gets killed in creating an inheritance for his successors. It was a selfish policy which arose from his financial experiences that in proportion as a man was selfish he was successful. I was always of a totally different temperament to my father. I was romantic, idealistic. I loved the marvellous, the magnificent, the miraculous and the mysterious qualities that I inherited from my mother. I used to dream of exploring tropic islands of visiting the lands of Europe and the Orient and of haunting temples and tombs, palaces and pagodas. I wished to discover all that was weird and wonderful on the earth so that my experiences would be a description of Earth's girdle of gold bringing within reach of the enslaved multitudes of all nations, ideas and experiences of surpassing novelty and grandeur that would refresh their parched souls. I longed to whisper in the ear of the labourer at the wheel that the world was not wholly a blasted place but that here and there Oasis made green its barrenness. If he could not actually in person mingle with its joys, his soul, that neither despot nor monopolist could chain might spread its wings and feast on such delights as my journeyings might furnish. How seldom do we realise our fondest desires. Just at the time of my father's death the entire world was shocked with the news of the failure of another Arctic expedition sent out by the United States to discover if possible the North Pole. The expedition leaving their ship frozen up in Smith's sound assayed to reach the pole by means of a monster balloon and a favouring wind. The experiment might possibly have succeeded had it not happened that the car of the balloon struck the crest of an iceberg and dashed its occupants into a fearful crevasse in the ice where they miserably perished. This calamity brought to recollection the ill-fated Sir John Franklin and Jeanette expeditions. But strange to say, in my mind at least, such disasters produced no deterrent effect against the setting forth of still another enterprise in Arctic research. From the time the expedition I refer to sailed from New York until the news of its dreadful fate reached the country I had been reading almost every narrative of polar discovery. The consequence was I had awakened in my mind an enthusiasm to penetrate the sublime secret of the pole. I longed to stand as it were on the roof of the world and see beneath me the great globe revolve on its axis. There where there is neither north nor south nor east nor west I could survey the frozen realms of death. I would dare to stand on the very pole itself with my few hardy companions, monarch of an empire of ice, on a spot that never feels the life-sustaining revolutions of the earth. I knew that on the equator where all is light, life and movement continents and seas flash through space at the rate of 1,000 miles an hour but on the pole the wheeling of the earth is as dead as the desolation that surrounds it. I had conversed with Arctic navigators both in England and the United States. Some believed the pole would never be discovered. Others again declared their belief in an open polar sea. It was generally conceded that Smith's sound route was impracticable and the only possible way to approach the pole was by the bearing straight route, that is following the 170th degree of west longitude north of Alaska. I thought it a strange fact that modern sailors armed with all the resources of science and with the experience of numerous Arctic voyages to guide them could only get three degrees nearer the pole than Henry Hudson did nearly 300 years ago. That redoubtable seaman possessed neither the ships nor men of later voyages nor the many appliances of his successors to mitigate the intense cold yet his record in view of the facts of the case remains triumphant. It was at this time that my father died. He left me the bulk of his property under the following clause in his will. I hereby bequeath to my dear son Lexington White the real estate, stocks, bonds, shares, title deeds, mortgages and other securities that I die possessed of amounting at present market prices to over five million dollars. I desire that my said son use this property for some beneficent purpose of use to his fellow men accepting what money may be necessary for his personal wants as a gentleman. I could scarcely believe my father was so wealthy as to be able to leave me so large a fortune but his natural secretiveness kept him from mentioning the amount of his gains even to his own family. No sooner did I realize the extent of my wealth than I resolved to devote it to fitting out a private expedition with no less an object than to discover the North Pole myself. Of course I knew the undertaking was extremely hazardous and of doubtful success. It could hardly be possible that any private individual however wealthy and daring could hope to succeed where all the resources of mighty nations had failed. Still these same difficulties had a tremendous power of attracting fresh exploits on that fatal field. Who could say that even I alone might not stumble upon success? In a word I had made up my mind to set forth in a vessel strong and swift and manned by sailors experienced in arctic voyages under my direct command. The expedition would be kept a profound secret. I would leave New York ostensibly for Australia then doubling Cape Horn would make direct for the Bering Sea. If I failed none would be the wiser. If I succeeded what fame would be mine? End of Chapter 2 Chapter 3 of the Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Nigel Fisher Beginning the voyage I determined to build a vessel of such strength and equipment as could not fail with ordinary good fortune to carry us through the greatest dangers in arctic navigation short of being absolutely frozen in the ice I hoped to reach the pole itself if there should be sufficient water to float us. The vessel which I named the Polar King although small in size was very strong and compact her length was 150 feet and her width and midships 50 feet her frames and plankings were made of well seasoned oak the outer planking was sheathed in steel plates from four to six inches in thickness this would protect us from the edges of the ancient ice that might otherwise cut into the planking and so destroy the vessel the ship was armed as follows a colossal terrorite gun that stood in the centre of the deck whose 250 pound shell of explosive terrorite was fired by a charge of gunpowder without exploding the terrorite when leaving the gun this was to destroy icebergs and heavy pack ice a battery of 1200 pounder terrorite guns with shells also fired with powder all shells would explode by percussion in striking the object aimed at a battery of six guns of the Gatling type to repel boarding passes in case we reached a hostile country there was also an armory of magazine rifles, revolvers, cutlasses, etc as well as 50 tons of gunpowder, terrorite and revolver rifle cartridges the ship was driven by steam the triple expansion engine being 500 horsepower and the rate of speed 25 miles an hour by an important improvement on the steam engine invented by myself one ton of coal did the work of 50 tons without such improvement the bunkers held 250 tons of coal which was thus equal to 12,500 tons in any other vessel there was also an auxiliary engine for working the pumps electric dynamo, cargo anchors, etc one of the most useful fittings was the apparatus that both heated the ship and condensed the seawater of consumption on board the ship and for feeding the boilers the ship's company was as follows Officers Lexington White, commander of the expedition Captain William Wallace First Officer Renwick, navigating lieutenant Second Officer Austin, captain of the terrorite gun Third Officer Haddock, captain of the main deck battery Scientific Staff Professor Rack-Ion, electrician and inventor Professor Starbottle Astronomer Professor Goldrock, naturalist Dr. Mary Ferry, ship's physician Petty Officers Master at Arms Flathoekley First Engineer Douglas Second Engineer Anthony Pilot Rowe Carpenter Martin Painter Herawood Boatswain Dunbar 95 able-bodied seamen including mechanics, gunners, cooks, tailors, stokers, etc Total of ship's company 110 souls Believing in the absolute certainty of discovering the pole and our consequent fame I had included in the ship's stores a special triumphal outfit for both officers and sailors This consisted of a Viking helmet of polished brass amounted by the figure of a silver-plated polar bear to be worn by both officers and sailors For the officers a uniform of navy blue cloth was provided consisting of frock coat embroidered with a profusion of gold striping on the shoulders and sleeves and gold striped pantaloons For each sailor there was provided a uniform consisting of outer navy blue cloth jacket with inner blue surge jacket having the figure of a globe embroidered in gold on the breast of the latter surmounted by the figure of a polar bear in silver Each officer and sailor was armed with a cutlass having the figure of a polar bear in silver-plated brass surmounting the hilt This was the gala dress But for everyday use the entire company was supplied with the usual arctic outfit to withstand the terrible climate of high latitudes For seeing the necessity of pure air and freedom from damp surroundings I had the men's berths built on the spa deck contrary to the usual custom The spa deck was entirely covered by a hurricane deck thus giving complete protection from cold and the stormy weather we would be sure to encounter on the voyage Our only cargo consisted of provisions, ship stores, ammunition, coal and a large stock of chemical batteries and a dynamo for furnishing electricity to light the ship We also shipped largely of materials to manufacture shells for the terrorite guns The list of stores included an ample supply of tea, coffee, canned milk, butter pickles, canned meats, flour, beans, peas, pork, molasses, corn, onions, potatoes, cheese, prunes Pemmican, rice, canned fowl, fish, pears, peaches, sugar, carrots, etc The refrigerator contained a large quantity of fresh beef, mutton, veal, etc We bought no luxuries except a few barrels of rum for a special occasion or accidents Exposure and hard work will make the plainest food seem a banquet Thus, fully equipped, the polar king quietly left the Atlantic Basin in Brooklyn, New York ostensibly on a voyage to Australia The newspapers contained brief notices to the effect that Lexington White, a gentleman of fortune had left New York for a voyage to Australia and the Southern Ocean via Cape Horn and would be gone for two years We left on New Year's Day and had our first experience of a polar pack in New York Bay which was thickly covered with crowded ice Gaining the open water, we soon left the ice behind and, after a month's steady steaming, entered the Straits and Magellan having touched at Montevideo for supplies and water Leaving the Straits, we entered the Pacific Ocean steering north Touching at Valparaiso, we sailed on without a break until we arrived at Sitka, Alaska on 1 March Receiving our final stores at Sitka, the vessel at once put to sea again and, in a week, reached Bering Strait and entered the Arctic Ocean I ordered the entire company to put on their Arctic clothing consisting of double suits of underclothing, three pairs of socks, ordinary wool suits over which were heavy furs, fur helmets, moccasins and labrador boots All through the Straits, we had encountered ice and, after we had sailed two days in the Arctic Sea a hurricane from the northwest smote us, driving us eastward over the 165th parallel north of Alaska We were surrounded with whirlwinds of snow, frozen hard as hail We experienced the benefit of having our decks covered with a steel shell There was plenty of room for the men to exercise on deck Shielded from the pitiless storm that drove the snow like a storm of gravel before it Exposure to such a blizzard meant frostbite, perhaps death The outside temperature was 40 below zero The inside temperature 40 above zero Cold enough to make the men digest an Arctic diet We kept the prow of the ship to the storm and every wave that washed over us made thicker our curass of ice It was gratifying to note the contrast between our comfortable quarters and the howling desolation around us While waiting for the storm to subside we had leisure to speculate on the chances of success in discovering the pole Captain Wallace had caused to be put up in each of our four cabins the following table of Arctic progress made since Hudson's voyage in 1607 Record of highest latitudes reached Hudson, 80° 23 minutes in 1607 Phipps, 80° 48 minutes in 1773 Scores be 81 minutes 12 seconds in 1806 Payer, 82 minutes and 7 seconds in 1872 Mayer, 82 minutes and 9 seconds in 1871 Parry, 82 minutes 45 seconds in 1827 Aldrich, 83 minutes and 7 seconds in 1876 Markham, 83 minutes and 20 seconds in 1876 Lockwood, 83 minutes 24 seconds in 1883 Does it not seem strange, said I, that nearly 300 years of naval progress and inventive skill can produce no better record in polar discovery than this With all our skill and experience we have only distanced the heroic Hudson 3° That is one degree for every 100 years At this rate of progress the pole may be discovered in the year 2600 It is a record of naval imbecility, said the captain There is no reason why our expedition cannot at least touch the 85° That would be doing the work of 200 years in as many days Why not do the work of the next 700 years while we're at it, said Professor Rack-Iron Let us take the ship as far as we can go and then bundle our dogs and a few of the best men into the balloon and finish a job that the biggest governments on earth are unable to do That's precisely what we've come here for, said I But we must have prudence as well as boldness so as not to throw away our lives unnecessarily In any case, we will beat the record ere we return End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of the Goddess Vat Vat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher Our Adventures in the Polar Sea The storm lasted for four days On its subsidence we discovered ourselves completely surrounded with ice We were beset by a veritable polar pack brought down by the violence of the gale The ice was covered deeply with snow which made a dazzling scene when lit by the brilliant sun We seemed transported to a new world Far as the eye could see, huge masses of ice interposed with flow-burgs of vast dimensions That didn't allow the sailors to exercise themselves on the solidly frozen snow It was impossible to get any fresh meat as the pack being of a temporary nature had not yet become the home of bare walrus or seal We saw a water sky in the north showing there was open water in that direction But meantime we could do nothing but drift in the embrace of the ice in an easterly direction In about a week the pack began to open and water lanes to appear For a less open channel appearing in the northeasterly direction We got the ship walked around and getting up steam drew slowly out of the pack Birds began to appear and flocks of ducks and geese flew across our track taking a westerly course We were now in the latitude of Wrangel Island but in west longitude 165 We had the good fortune to see a large bear floating on an isolated flow toward which we steered We drew blood at the first shot but Flat Hootley's rifle killed him The sailors had fresh meat that day for dinner The day following we brought down some geese and elder ducks that sailed too near the ship We followed the main leads in preference to forcing a passage due north And when in latitude 78 degrees, longitude 150 degrees, the watch cried out Land ahead! On the eastern horizon rose several peaks of mountains And on approaching nearer we discovered a large island extending some 30 miles north and south The ice foot surrounding the land was several miles in width And bringing the ship alongside, three-fourths of the sailors Accompanied by the entire dogs and sledges started for the land on a hunting expedition It was a fortunate thing that we discovered the island For with our slow progress and monotonous confinement The men were getting tired of their captivity and anxious for active exertion The sailors did not return until long after midnight Encouraged to stay out by the fact that it was the first the night sun had remained entirely above the horizon It was the 10th of April or rather the morning of the 11th when the sailors returned With three of the five sledges laden with the spoils of the chase They had bagged a musk ox, a bear, an arctic wolf and six hares and good day's work Grog was served all around in honour of the midnight sun and the capture of fresh meat We dressed the ox and bear giving the offal as well as the wolf to the dogs And reveled for the next few days in the luxury of fresh meat The island, not being marked on our charts, we took credit to ourselves as its discoverers And took possession of the same in the name of the United States The captain proposed to the sailors to call it Lexington Island in honour of their commander And the men replied to his proposition with such a rousing cheer That I felt obliged to accept the distinction Flat Hootley reported that there was a drove of musk oxen on the island And before leaving it we organised a grand hunting expedition for the benefit of all concerned Leaving but five men including the first officer and engineer on board to take care of the ship I took charge of the hunt After a roughened tumble scramble over the chaotic ice foot We reached the mainland in good shape Said that a dog broke its leg in the ice and had to be shot Its companions very feelingly gave it a decent burial in their stomachs Mounting an ice-covered hillock, we saw two miles to the southeast in a valley Where grass and moss were visible, half a dozen musk oxen Doubtless the entire herd We adopted the plan of surrounding the herd Drawing as near the animals as possible without alarming them Sniffing danger in the south-easterly wind, the herd broke away to the north-west The sailors jumped up and yelled, making the animals swerve to the north A semi-circle of rifles was discharged at the unhappy brutes Two fell dead in their tracks and the remaining four badly wounded Wealed and made off in the opposite direction The other wing of the sailors now had their innings As we fell flat and heard bullets fly over us Three more animals fell mortally wounded A bull calf, the only remnant of the herd on its legs Looked in wonder at the sailor who dispatched it with his revolver The dogs held high carnival for an hour or more on the slotted oxen We packed the sledges with a carcass on each Two-time regained the ship, pleased with our day's work Leaving Lexington Island, we steered almost due north through a vast open pack On the first of May, we arrived in latitude 78 degrees 30 minutes west Longitude 155 degrees 50 minutes Our course having been determined by the lead of the lanes in the enormous drifts of ice Here another storm overtook us travelling due east We were once more beset and drifted help-sleep for three days before the storm subsided We found ourselves in longitude 150 degrees again in danger of being nipped The wind suddenly drifting to the east reopened the pack for us to our intense relief Taking advantage of some fine leads and favourable winds We passed through leagues of ice piled up flows and flow-burgs Forming scenes of arctic desolation beyond imagination to conceive At last we arrived at a place beyond which it was impossible to proceed We had struck against the gigantic barrier of what appeared to be an immense continent of ice For a range of ice-clad hills lay only a few miles north of the Polar King At last the scepter of the Ice King waved over us with the command Thus far and no further End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of the Goddess of Atnavat Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This Librivox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher We enter the Polar Gulf How the Polar King penetrated what appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle and the joyful proof that the hills did not belong to a polar continent but were a continuous congregation of icebergs frozen in one solid mass are already known to the reader The gallant ship continued to make rapid progress toward the open water lying ahead of us Midday found us in 84 degrees, 10 minutes north latitude and 150 degrees west longitude The sun remained in the sky as usual to add his splendor to our day of deliverance and exaltation What we felt was to be wholly cut off from the outer world The chances were that the passage in the ice would be frozen up solid again soon after we'd passed through it Even with our dogs and sledges the chances were against our retreat southward The throbbing of the engine was the only sound that broke the stillness of the silent sea The laugh of the sailors sounded hollow and strange and seemed a reminder that with all our freedom we were prisoners of the ice sailing where no ship had ever sailed nor human eye gazed on such a sea of terror and beauty Happily we were not the only beings that peopled the solitudes of the pole flocks of gulls, geese, ptarmigan and other arctic fowls wheeled around us They seemed almost human in their movements and were the links that bound us to the beating hearts far enough off then to be regretted by us Every man on board the vessel was absorbed in thought concerning our strange position The beyond, that was the momentous question that lay like a load on every soul While thinking of these things, Professor Starbottle inquired if with such open water as we sailed in how soon I expected to reach the pole Well said I, we ought to be at the 85th parallel by this time 5 more degrees or 300 miles will reach it The polar king will cover that distance easily in 24 hours It is now 6 p.m. At 2 p.m. tomorrow the 12th of May we will reach the pole Professor Starbottle shook his head depreciatingly I'm afraid Commander said he, we will never reach the pole His look, his voice, his manner filled me with the idea that something dreadful was going to happen My lips grew dry with a sudden excitement as I hastily inquired why he felt so sure he would never reach the object of our search What time is it, Commander said he I pulled forth my chronometer, it was just six o'clock Well then said he, look at the sun The sun has swung around to the west but hasn't fallen any I looked at the sun, which sure enough stood as high as at midday I was paralysed with the nameless dread I stood rooted to the deck in anticipation of some dreadful horror Good heavens, I gasped, what do you mean? I mean, said he, the sun is not going to fall again on this course It is we who are going to fall The sun will fall to its usual position at midnight, I stammered Wait, wait till midnight The sun won't fall at midnight, said the professor I'm afraid to tell you why, he added In God's name I shouted, tell me the meaning of this I will never forget the feeling that crazed me as the professor said I fear, Commander, we are falling into the interior of the earth You're mad, sir, I shouted, it cannot be, we're sailing to the north pole Wait till midnight, Commander said he, shaking my hand I took his hand and echoed his words Wait till midnight After a pause I inquired if he had mentioned his extraordinary fears to anyone else Not a soul, he replied Then, said I, say nothing to anybody until midnight I, I, sir, said he, and disappeared The sailors evidently expected that something was going to happen On account of the sun standing still in the heavens They were gathering groups on deck, discussing the situation with baited breath I noticed them looking at me with wild eyes, like sheep cornered for execution The officers avoided calling my attention to the unusual sight Possibly divining, I was already fully excited by it Never was midnight looked for so eagerly by any mortal on earth As I awaited the dreadful hour that would either confirm or dispel my fears Midnight came, and the sun had not fallen in the sky There he stood, as high as at Noonday At least five degrees higher than his position twenty-four hours before Professor Starbottle approaching me said, Commander, my prognostication was correct You see the sun's elevation is unchanged since midday Now, one of two things has happened Either the axis of the earth has approached five degrees nearer the plane of its orbit since midday Or we are sailing down into a subterranean gulf That the former is impossible Midday to day will disprove If my theory of a subterranean sea is correct The sun will fall below the horizon at midday And our only light will be the earth's light of the opposite mouth of the gulf Into which we are rapidly sinking Professor, said I, tell the officers and the scientific staff to meet me at once in the cabin This is a tremendous crisis Here I could leave the deck Captain, officers, doctor, naturalist, Professor Rackine and many of the crew surrounded me All in a state of the greatest consternation End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of The Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher Day becomes night and night day Commander, said Captain Wallace I beg to report that the pole star has suddenly fallen five degrees south from its position overhead And the sun has risen to its midday position in the sky I fear we are sailing into a vast polar depression Something greater than the description given in our geographies That the earth is flattened at the poles Do you really think, Captain, I inquired, that we are sailing into a hollow place around the pole? Why I'm sure of it, said he Nothing else can explain the sudden movement of the heavenly bodies Remember, we have only passed the 85th parallel, but a few miles are not to have the pole star straight overhead Professor Starbottle has a theory, I said, that may account for the strange phenomena we witness Let these gentlemen hear your theory, Professor The professor stated very deliberately what he had already communicated to me Viz, that we were really descending into the interior of the earth That the boughs of the ship were gradually pointing to its centre And that if the voyage were continued we would find ourselves swallowed up in a vast polar gulf Leading to God knows what infernal regions The terror inspired by the professor's words was plainly visible on every face Let us turn back, shouted some of the sailors My opinion, said the captain, is that we have entered a polar depression It is impossible to think that the earth is a hollow shell Into which we may sail so easily as this If I might venture a remark, said Pilot Rowe I think Professor Starbottle is right If the earth is a hollow shell having a subterranean ocean We can sail there on, bottom upward and mast downward Just as easily as we sail on the surface of the ocean here I believe an interior ocean and impossibility, said the captain You're right, sir, said the master of arms For what would keep the ship sticking into the water upside down? I don't say that the earth is absolutely a hollow sphere, said the professor But I do say this We are now sailing into a polar abyss And if the sun disappears at noon today It will be because we have sailed far enough into the gulf To put the ocean over which we have sailed between us and that luminary If the sun disappears at noon, depend on it We will never reach the pole, which will forever remain Only the ideal axis of the earth Do you mean to say, I inquired, that what men have called the pole Is only the mouth of an enormous cavern, perhaps the vestibule of a subterranean world? That is precisely the theory I advance to account For this strange ending of our voyage, said the professor The murmurs of excitement amongst the men broke out into a series of wild cries I encourage the men to calm themselves As long as the ship is in no immediate danger, said I We can wait till noonday and see if the professor's opinion is supported by the behaviour of the sun If so, we will then hold a council of all hands and decide on what course to follow Depart to your respective posts of duty until midday When we will decide on such action as will be for the good of all The men, terribly frightened, dispersed Leaving Captain Wallace, first officer Wrennick, professor's star-bottle Goldrock and Rack iron, the Doctor and myself together Dreadful as was the thought of quietly sinking into a polar gulf From which possibly there might be no escape Yet the bare possibility of returning to tell the world of our tremendous discovery Created a desire to explore still further the abyss into which we had entered I confess that my first feeling of terror was rapidly giving way to a passion for discovery What fearful secrets might not be held in the darkness toward which we undoubtedly travelled Would it be our fortune to pierce the darkness and silence of a polar cavern When I thought of the natural terror of the sailors I dared not think of our sailing further than midday In case we had rarely entered an abyss Commander, said professor star-bottle This is the most important day or rather night of the voyage I propose we stay on deck and enjoy the sunlight as long as we can One glance at the sun sufficed to tell us the truth He was rapidly falling from the sky At midnight he was twenty degrees And at one a.m. only eighteen degrees above the waist of waters This proved we were rapidly taking leave of the glorious orb On an expedition fraught with the greatest peril And unknown possibilities of science, conquest and commerce By a tacit consent we turned our attention to the scene around us The water was very free from ice Only here and there icebergs flowed The diminished radiation of light produced a weird effect Growing more spectral as the sun sank in the heavens Professor Goldrock pointed out a flock of geese Actually flying ahead of us into the gulf, if gulf indeed it were We considered this a good omen and took heart accordingly The captain pointed out a strange apparition in the north But which was really south of the pole And discoverable with the glass It appeared to be the limb of some rising planet between us and the sun That seemed faintly illuminated by moonlight Professor Starbottle said it was the opposite edge of the polar gulf That was about to envelop us It was illuminated by the earth light reflected from the same ocean On which polar king floated The sun as he swung around to the south fell rapidly to the horizon And at eight o'clock disappeared below the water Was there ever a day in human experience as portentious as that When did the sun set at eight a.m. in the arctic summer Leaving the earth in darkness We knew then that Professor Starbottle's theory of a polar gulf Was a truth beyond question It was a fearful fact But the grandest spectacle we had yet seen now lay before us The opposite rising limb of the polar gulf five hundred miles away Was brilliantly illuminated by the sun's rays far overhead And its splendid earth light twenty times brighter than moonlight Falling upon us compensated for the sudden obliteration of the daylight It was midday and our only light was the earth light of the gulf There stood over us the still rising circular rim of the ocean Sparkling like an enormous jewel It was a bewildering experience In the light of that distant ocean I assembled the men on deck and thus addressed them My men, when we started on the present expedition You stipulated for a voyage of discovery to the north pole, if possible And returned to New York again The first part of the voyage is happily accomplished We alone, of all the explorers who have besaid polar discovery Have been rewarded with a sight of the pole The mystery of the earth's axis is no longer a secret Here before your eyes is the axis on which the earth performs its daily revolution The north pole is an immense gulf five hundred miles in diameter And of unknown depth Within this gulf lies our ship At least a hundred miles below the level of the outer ocean The question we are now called upon to decide is this Are we to remain satisfied with our present achievement Turn back the ship and go home without attempting to discover Whither leads this enormous gulf As far as the officers of the ship and the scientific staff are concerned As far as I myself am concerned I am satisfied if we were once back in New York again Our first thought would be to return hither And, taking up the thread of our journey Endeavour to explore the furthest recesses of the gulf I was here interrupted by loud applause from the entire officers And many of the men This being so, why should we waste a journey to New York and back again for nothing Why not, with our good ship well armed and provisioned That has in safety carried us so far Why not, I say, proceed further Taking advantage of the only opportunity the ages of time Have ever offered to man to explore the Earth's profoundest secrets Who knows what oceans, what continents, what nations It may be of men like ourselves May not exist in a subterranean world Who knows what gold, what silver, what precious stones are there Piled perhaps in mountains high Are we to tamely throw aside the possibility of such glory On account of base fears And returning home allow others to snatch from our grasp the golden prize My men, I cannot think you will do this Our future lies entirely in your hands We cannot proceed further on our voyage without your assistance I will not compel a single man to go further against his will I call for volunteers for the interior world I am willing to lead you on Who will follow me? End of chapter six We discover the interior world The officers and sailors responded to my speech with ringing cheers Every man of them volunteered to stay by the ship And continue our voyage down the gulf Whatever malcontents there may have been among the sailors Those influenced by the prevailing enthusiasm Were afraid to exhibit any cowardice All were unanimous for further exploration I signalled our resolution by a discharge of three guns Which created the most thrilling reverberations in the mysterious abyss Starting the engine again The prow of the polar king was pointed directly toward the darkness before us Toward the centre of the earth We were determined to explore the hollow ocean To its further confines If our provisions held out until such a work could be accomplished We hoped at midnight to obtain our last look at the sun As we would then be brought into the position Of the opposite side of the watery crater down which we sailed At eleven o'clock the sun rose above the limb of the gulf Which was now veiled in darkness We were gladdened with two hours of sunlight The sun promptly setting at one am of the new day We continued our voyage in the semi-darkness The prow of the vessel still pointed to the centre of the earth While the polar star shone in the outer heavens on the horizon Directly over the rail of the vessel's stern It did not appear to us that we were dropping straight down Into the interior of the earth On the contrary we always seemed to float on a horizontal sea And the earth seemed to turn upward towards us And the polar cavern to gradually engulf us The sight we beheld that day was inexpressibly magnificent Five hundred miles above us rose the crest of the circular polar sea Its upper hemisphere glowed with the light of the unseen sun We were surrounded by fifteen hundred miles of perpendicular ocean Crowned with a diadem of icebergs Glorious as was the sight The sailors were terribly apprehensive of nameless disasters In such monstrous surroundings It was impossible for them to understand how the ocean roof Could remain suspended above us like the vault of heaven The idea of being able to sail down a tubular ocean The anti-chamber of some infernal world was incomprehensible We were traversing sea-built corridors Whose oscillating floors and roof remained Providentially apart to permit us to explore the mystery beyond Midday on the thirteenth of May brought no sight of the sun But only a deepening twilight The dim reflection of the bright sky we'd left behind The further we sailed into the gulf the less its diameter grew When we had penetrated the vast aperture some two hundred and fifty miles We found the aerial diameter was reduced to about fifty miles Thus forming a conical abyss We were clearly sailing down a gigantic vortex or gulf of water And we began to feel a diminishing gravity the further we approached the central abyss The cavernous sea was subject to enormous undulations or tidal waves Either the result of storms in the interior of the earth Or mighty adjustments of gravity between the interior and exterior oceans As we were lifted up on the crest of an immense tidal wave Several of the sailors as well as the lookout Declared they'd seen a flash of light in the direction of the centre of the earth We were all terribly excited at the news And as the ship was lifted on the crest of the next wave We saw clearly an orb of flame that lighted up the circling undulations of water With the flush of dawn We were now between two spectral lights The faint twilight of the outer sun And the intermittent dawn of some strange source of light in the interior of the earth The sailors crowded to the top of both masts And stood upon cross trees and rigging Wildly anxious to discover the meaning of the strange light And whatever the view from the next crest of waters would reveal What do you think is the source of this strange illumination? I inquired of the captain Unless it is the radiance of fires in the centre of the earth It comes from some definite element of fire said the professor The nature of which we will soon discover Certainly does not belong to the sun Nor can I attribute it to an aurora dependent on solar energy Possibly said Professor Rack iron We're on the threshold of, if not the infernal regions At least a supplementary addition of the same We may yet be presented at court, the court of Mephistopheles You speak idle words, professor said I On the eve of confronting unknown and perhaps terrible consequences You walk blindfold into the desperate chances of our journey On your lips Pardon me, commander said he, I do not jest Have not the ablest theologians concurred in the statement That hell lies in the centre of the earth And that the lake of fire and brimstone there Sends up its smoke of torment For ought we know this lurid light is the reflection Of the internal fires At this moment a wild cry arose from the sailors With one voice they shouted The sun, the sun, the sun The polar king had gained at last the highest horizon Or vortex of water And there before us a splendid orb of light Hung in the centre of the earth The source of the rosy flame that welcomed us Through the sublime portal of the pole As soon as the astonishment, consequent on discovering A sun in the interior of the earth had somewhat subsided We further discovered that the earth was indeed a hollow sphere It was now as far to the interior as to the exterior surface Thus showing the shell of the earth to be at the pole At least 500 miles in thickness We were half way to the interior sphere Professor Starbottle had been investigating the new world With his glass cried out Commander, we are to be particularly congratulated The whole interior planet is covered with continents and oceans Just like the outer sphere We have discovered Eldorado said the captain with enthusiasm If we discover nothing else I will die happy The heaviest elements fall to the centre of all spheres Said Professor Goldrock I'm certain we shall discover mountains of gold here we return I think we ought to salute our glorious discovery Said Professor Rackine You see the infernal world isn't nearly so bad a place as we thought it was I ordered a salute of 100 terrorite guns To be given in honour of our discovery And the firing at once began The echoed roaring of the guns was indescribably grand The trumpet-shaped caverns of water both before and behind us Multiplied the heavy reverberations until the air of the gulf was rent with thunder The last explosion was followed by long-drawn echoes of triumph That marked out our introduction to the interior world Strange to say that on the very threshold of success There are men who suddenly take fright At the new conditions that confront them It appeared that Bosun Dunbar and 11 sailors Who had unwillingly sailed thus far Refused to proceed further with the ship Being terrified at the discovery we had made I could have obliged them to have remained with us But their reason being possibly affected I saw that their presence as malcontents might in time cause a mutiny Or at all events an ever-present sort of trouble They were wildly anxious to leave the ship and return home Consequently I gave them liberty to depart The largest boat was lowered together with mast and sails I gave the command to Dunbar And furnished the boat with ample stores and plenty of clothing I also gave them one half of the dogs And two sledges of crossing the ice When the men were finally seated Dunbar cast off the rope and steered for the outer sea We gave them a parting salute by firing a gun And in a short time they were lost in the darkness of the gulf End of Chapter 7 Chapter 8 of The Goddess of At-Vat Bar By William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher Extraordinary loss of weight The first thought that occurred to us after the excitement of discovery Had somewhat subsided was that the interior of the earth Was in all probability a habitable planet Possessing as it did a life-giving luminary of its own And our one object was to get into the planet as quickly as possible A continual breeze from the interior ocean of air Passed out of the gulf Its temperature was much higher than that of the sea on which we sailed And it was only now that we began to think of laying off our optic furs A closer observation of the interior sun Revealed the knowledge that it was a very luminous orb Producing a climate similar to that of the tropics or nearly so As we entered the interior sphere The sun rose higher and higher above us Until at last he stood vertically above our heads At a height of about 3,500 miles We saw at once what novel conditions of life might exist Under an earth-surrounded sun Casting everywhere perpendicular shadows And neither rising nor setting But standing high in heaven the Lord of Eternal Day We seemed to sail from the bottom of a huge bowl Or spherical gulf surrounded by oceans, continents, islands and seas A peculiar circumstance first noticed immediately after arriving At the centre of the gulf Was that each of us possessed a sense of physical buoyancy Hitherto unfelt Flat-hootly told me he felt like jumping over the mast In his newly found vigour of action And the sailors began a series of antics quite foreign To their late, stolid behaviour I felt myself possessed of a very elastic step And a similar desire to jump overboard And leap miles out to sea I felt that I could easily jump a distance of several miles Professor Starbottle explained this phenomenal activity By stating that on the outer surface of the earth A man who weighed 150 pounds Would weigh practically nothing on the interior surface Of an earth-shell of any equal thickness throughout But the fact that we did weigh something And that the ship and ocean itself remained On the under-surface of the world Proved that the shell of the earth Naturally made thicker at the equator By reason of centrifugal gravity than at the poles Has sufficient equatorial attraction To keep open the polar gulf Besides this centrifugal gravity And the weight on all objects in the interior sphere I'll get a pair of scales, said Flat Hootley And see how light I am in weight Don't mind the scale, said the professor For the weights themselves have lost weight Well, I'm 157 pounds to a feather, said Flat Hootley And I'll soon see if the weights are right or not The weights are right or not, said the professor And yet they are wrong Ah, and how can a thing be right and wrong At the same time I'd like to know Well, throw thy weights anyway, said the Irishman So, saying, Flat Hootley got a little weighing machine on deck And, standing thereon, a sailor piled on the weights On the opposite side He shouted out, There, do you see that? I'm 176 pounds, just what I always was My dear sir, said the professor You don't seem to understand this matter The weights have lost weight equally with yourself Hence they still appear to you as weighing 177 pounds Excuse me, sir, said Flat Hootley If the weights have lost weight The chap that stole it was cute enough to put it back again Before I weighed myself Don't you see with your two eyes I'm as heavy as I overwars You will require ocular demonstration That what I say is correct Here, sir, let me weigh you With this instrument, said the professor The instrument referred to was a huge spring balance With which it was proposed to weigh Flat Hootley One end of it was fastened to the mast And to the hook hanged from the other end The master at arms secured himself The hand on the dial plate moved to certain distance And stopped at 17 pounds The expression on the Irishman's face Was something awful to behold Does this machine tell the truth? He inquired in a tearful voice We assured him it was absolutely correct He only weighed 17 pounds Oh, holy mother of mercy, yelled Flat Hootley Consumption asked me by the back of the neck I'd lost 160 pounds in three days Oh, sir, for the love of heaven Take me back to my mother I'm killed entirely It was some time before Flat Hootley could understand That his likeness of weight was due to the lesser-sized world He was continually arriving upon Together with centrifugal gravity And that we all suffered from his affliction of being each Less than half a man, as he termed it The weighing of the weights wherewith he had weighed himself Proved conclusively that the depreciation in gravity Applied equally to everything around us The extreme lightness of our bodies And the fact that our muscles had been used To move about ten times our weight Was the cause of our wonderful buoyancy The sailors began leaping from the ship To a large rock that rose out of the water About half a mile off Their agility was marvellous And Flat Hootley covered himself with glory And leaping over the ship hundreds of feet in the air And alighting on the same spot on the deck again The officers and scientific staff remained on deck As became their dignity Although tempted to try their agility like the sailors Flat Hootley surprised us By leaping on a yard arm and exclaiming Gentlemen, I tell you what it is I'm no weight at all How do you make that out? said the professor What I've been thinking, said he That as you say we're in the middle of two worlds Now it stands to sense that one world I may not there as sun is pulling us up And other world is pulling us down And as both worlds is pulling us equally Why, of course, we don't amount to no weight at all How could I turn 15 somersaults at once if I was any weight? That shows you your weigh-in machine is all wrong again How can you stand on the deck if you are no weight? inquired the professor Why, I'm only pressing my feet on the boards, said the Irishman Look here So saying he leapt from the yard And revolved in the air at least 20 times Before alighting on the deck Now, said the professor I'll explain why you only weigh 17 pounds As indicated by the spring balance We have sailed down the gulf 500 miles, haven't we? Yes, sir And here we are sailing upside down on the inside roof of the world Sailing upside down? Indeed, sir And you can't make me believe that for sure I'm standing on my feet like yourself, head up or most Well, whether you believe it or not We are sailing upside down Just as ships going to Australia sailed upside down As compared with ships sailing on the North Atlantic But the point of gravity is this Here we are surrounded on all sides by the shell of the earth Which attracts equally in all directions Hence all objects of the interior world Have no weight as regards whatever thickness of the earth's shell surrounds them You see, weight is caused by an object having the world on one side of it Thus both the world and the object attract each other According to the density and distance apart What we call a pound weight is a mass of matter Attracted by the earth on its surface Was a force equal to the weight of 16 ounces A pound weight on the surface of the earth weighs 16 ounces And all the mighty volume of our planet With all its mountains, continents and seas Ways only 16 ounces on the surface of a pound weight The earth may still weigh many millions of tons as regards the sun But as regards a pound weight, it only weighs 16 ounces That is an illustration of Flathootley's mental calibre Said Captain Wallace He only believes what his brain can accommodate in the way of knowledge God bless the captain, said Flathootley I'm sure his brain is as big as mine any day of the week Now continues the astronomer It seems to me that the substances of the earth, rocks, metals and water Have under the influence of centrifugal gravity Mass themselves very thickly at the equator or point of greatest motion And stretch towards the poles in a gradually lessening mass Until the polar gulfs are reached Thus the earth's shell resembles a musk melon With the inside cleaned out It makes me mouth water to think about it, said Flathootley Now listen, said the astronomer We are also under the influence of the earth's centrifugal motion And wherever we are on the interior surface We swing round our centre of latitude in 24 hours And thus men, ship and ocean are held up against the interior of the vault Like a boy being able to hold water in a vertical position At the bottom of the pail he swings round him at the end of a cord Don't you think, Professor I inquired We will become heavier as we approach the region of the greatest motion under the equator I don't think so, he replied For the ocean around the poles has naturally gravitated to the internal As well as to the external equator to restore the equilibrium of gravity The reason why a man does not weigh less on the equator Than at the poles, although flying around at a rate of several thousand miles an hour Is that the deeper ocean, that is the extra 26 miles that the earth is thicker on the equator Counterbalances by its attraction a loss of weight due to the rapid centrifugal motion And so preserves in all objects on earth a uniform weight The whole sling, said Flatwoodley, this is clear as mud I'm glad to know, sir, I haven't lost my entire constitution at all events And if only I can carry home what weight I've got left I'll make a fortune in a dime museum End of chapter 8 Chapter 9 of The Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher A float on the interior ocean As the polar king sped southward over the interior sea The wonders of the strange world we had discovered began to dawn upon us The colossal vault rose more and more above us And the sun threw his mild and vertical rays Directly upon ship and sea Producing the most delightful climate The ocean had a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit And the air 85 degrees We were absolutely sailing upside down to an inhabitant of the outer sphere Yet we seemed to ourselves to be sailing naturally erect on a sea with the sun above us Our first experience in the internal sphere was that of a sudden storm The sun grew dark and appeared like a disk of somber gold The ocean was lashed by a furious hurricane into incredible amounts of water Every crest of the wave seemed a mass of yellow flame The internal heavens were rent open with gulfs of sulphur-coloured fire While the thunder reverberated with terrible concussions The ship would spin upon the water as though every wave were a whirlpool The golden yellow phosphorescence covered the ocean The water boiled in maddening eddies of lemon-coloured seas While from the hurricane decks streamed cataracts of saffron fire The lightning, like streaks of molten gold, hurled its burning darts into the sea Everything bore the glow of amber-coloured fire The sailors congratulated themselves on the shelter provided by the deck overhead The motion of the ship exceeded all former experiences For it leapt and plunged in a terrific manner It was a question whether we would survive the storm or not So violent was the shaking up both ship and men received Fortunately the loss of weight in everything, which was the cause of the rapid motion Permitted no more damage than would be caused by a lesser storm on heavier objects The professor stated that he believed the tempest was occasioned by a polar tidal wave of air Rushing into the interior sphere to supply the exhaustion caused by the outgoing warm currents Owing perhaps to a periodical overheating of air by the internal sun When a certain volume of air was expelled So that it could no longer resist external pressure Then the external air rushed down the polar gulf creating by meeting warm outward flowing currents Cyclones such as we were then experiencing By degrees the storm abated The sea grew calm, the heavens above us became clearer And the sun assumed the rose colour he first presented to our gaze Standing right in the zenith The only damage done to the crew was a few broken limbs and some severe bruises The ship had lost several spars And one of her boats was blown out of its lashings on the deck and was lost It was a week since we had left the outer world And what a change had occurred in that short space of time The excitement had been so intense that not a man of us had slept during that period And as for meals we had forgotten about them altogether A general order was given the cooks to prepare a banquet to duly inaugurate our discovery of the new world Both officers and men including myself sat down at the same table Where we satisfied the cravings of a week's hunger I expressed my heartfelt pleasure in the safety of the crew and ship so far in making so tremendous a discovery I relied on the courage and loyalty of the crew for still further explorations in the strange and mysterious planet we had discovered I declared that those who shared the dangers of the expedition would also share in whatever reward fortune might bestow upon us It is needless to say such sentiments were enthusiastically applauded I praised my able co-adjudicator Captain Wallace without whose skillful seamanship not a soul of us could ever have reached that secret world It was he, said I, who has guided us without a chart through five hundred miles of polar ocean to the realms of Pluto to Plutosia, the interior world On him again we must depend for a safe exit when our explorations are ended Flat Hootley attempted to make a speech but like the rest of the company fell asleep and in less than half an hour afterward not a soul remained awake Accepting Professor Starbottle and myself We both struggled against sleep long enough to take a survey of the internal sphere The polar king floated on the wide bosom of the sea underneath the perpendicular sun that lit all Plutosia with its beams With our telescopes we discovered oceans, continents, mountain ranges, lakes, cities, railroads, ships and buildings of all kinds Spread like an immense map on the concave vault of the earth overhead It was a sight that alone amply repaid us for the discovery of so sublime a sphere We thought what a cry of joy would electrify both planets when through our instrumentality they first knew of each other's existence We alone possessed the tremendous secret Then what possibilities of commerce? What keen and glorious revelations of art? What unfolding of the secrets of nature each would find in the other? What inventions rival nations would discover in either world? And here for the outer world what seemed possible mountains of gold? What quarries of jewels? What means of empire and joy and love? But such thoughts were too vast for wearied souls We were stunned by such conceptions and yielding to nature sank into a dreamless sleep End of chapter 9 Chapter 10 of The Goddess of At-Vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw This Librivox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher A visit from the inhabitants of Plutasia How long we slept is impossible to say We must have remained in slumber at least three days after the great excitement of our voyage so far The direct cause of my awakening was a loud noise on deck And on coming up to learn the cause I saw Flat Hootley shaking his fist at two strange flying men who hobbled over the ship Bad luck to ye, shafted Flat Hootley If I ever get to grippy ye again, you won't sail away so swatly after jabbing me in the neck like that Flat Hootley, I required What's the meaning of this? Were those men on board ship? Had you hold of them? Megara, sir, he replied, holding his hand over a slight wound in his neck I was slapping as swatly as a child when I felt something tickling my nose I got up to see what the matter with me and sure enough I found them two rascals prowling about the deck When they saw me making a move they jumped back and roosted on the rail I wanted to catch out at the wind of them as a curiosity And he goes off to the for short fella and I say it's quite honey-like Good morning, sir. Could you give me a match to light me pipe? And before the fellow had time to know where he was, I had hold of him, wings and all Why, he was as weak as a wather, and I was knocking his head on the deck to keep him quiet When the other fellow let fly and stuck his spear in me neck And when I was trying to catch the second fellow, the first fellow got away Vajabra, the next time I get a grip on either of them his muddens cooked I fear, Flat Hootley, said I, he will never catch either of them again Don't you see they've got wings and can fly whenever they like beyond reach? The two men that flew around the ship were strange beings Their complexions were bright yellow and their hair black They were not above five and a half feet in height, but possessed athletic frames Their wings were long polished blades of metal, of a gleaming white like gigantic oars Which were moved by some powerful force Possibly electricity, quite independent of the body Their aerial blades flashed and whirled in the sunlight with blinding rapidity Their attire consisted of what appeared to be leather tights covering the legs Of a pale yellow tint with crimson metallic embroidery The dynamo and wings were fastened to a crimson jacket of unique shape That supported the body in flight Their heads were protected by white metal helmets And they wore tightly fitting metal boots, reaching halfway up to the knee The metal being arranged in overlapping scales Each flying man was armed with a spear and shields The tuton somble was a picture of agility and grace The sailors, now thoroughly awake, gave expression to loud exclamations of surprise At the sight of the two strange flying men, wheeling around the ship overhead Professor Starbottle thought the strangers must belong to some wealthy and civilised country For men in a savage state would be incapable of inventing such powers of flight In presenting so ornate an appearance They are soldiers, said Professor Rack iron, see the spears and shields they wear They're bloody pirates, said Flatootley, it was the lumb fellow that stabbed me You're all right, said the Doctor to Flatootley Thank your stars the spear wasn't poisoned or you'd be a dead man Be that powers, I'll have that fellow yet, said the master at arms I'm going to take a jump and be missile, one of them fellas will get left The strangers were now flying quite close to the ship And Flatootley unexpectedly gave a tremendous spring into the air He would have caught one of the aerial men for certain But they, having wings, foiled him by simply moving out of the line of the Irishman's flight Flatootley dropped into the sea about a quarter of a mile away And would probably have been drowned had it not been for the generosity of the strangers themselves One of the flying men, hastening to the rescue, caught him by the hair of the head And lifted him out of the water Flatootley caught the stranger by one of his legs and held on like grim death The flying man brought his burden right over the ship And attempted to drop Flatootley on deck He shouted, hey have him boys, hey have him, catch hold of us some of you Immediately a dozen sailors leapt up and grasping the winged man and his burden Or both successfully down to the deck Seeing himself overpowered, the stranger submitted to his captivity with as good a grace as possible We removed his shield and spear and merely tying a rope to his leg to secure our prize Gave him the freedom of the ship He sulked for a long time and maintained an animated conversation with his free companion In a language whose meaning none of us understood He finally condescended to eat some food we set before him And his companion came near enough to take a glass of wine from his captive brother And drink it with evident relish Flatootley was so far friendly disposed to his assailant as to offer him a glass of ship's rum The stranger, to our surprise, did not refuse it But putting the glass to his lips quaffed its contents in a single draft When he became more accustomed to his surroundings we ventured to examine his curious equipment Upon examination we found that the wings of our captive were simply large aerial oars Four and a half feet in length and three feet wide at the widest part Tapering down to a few inches wide at the dynamo that moved them Such small extent of surface evidently required an enormous force to propel a man in rapid flight We found the dynamo to consist of a central wheel made to revolve By the attraction of a vast occult force evolved from the contact of two metals One being of a vermilion colour and the other of a bright green tint That constitutes the cell of the apparatus No acid was required nor did the contact of the metal produce any wasting of their substance A colossal current of mysterious magnetism made the wheel revolve The current being guided in its work by an automatic insulation of one hemisphere of the wheel I put one hand on the dynamo and made a gesture of inquiry with the other Wherein our friend said Notch Mendesi! Was this the name of the new force we'd discovered Or the name of the flying apparatus as a whole? Before we could settle the point our friend became communicative And smiting his breast said Plotoy, where li'l are at Vatbar With the right hand he pointed to a continent rising above us Its mighty features being clearly visible to the naked eye End of chapter 10 Chapter 11 of The Goddess of At Vatbar by William Richard Bradshaw This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Nigel Fisher We learn at Vatbarese This exclamation was a very puzzling phrase to us Professor Starbottle said It appears to me, gentlemen, before we can make any use of our prisoner We must first learn his language Again the stranger smote his breast, exclaiming Plotoy, where li'l are at Vatbar Well, of all the lingos I ever heard, said flatutely This is the worst case yet It makes Irish, which is the toughest language to learn under the sun What language do you call that, sir? Professor Goldrock, being a naturalist, was adept in language He stated that our captive appeared to be either a soldier Or courier or coastguard of his country Which was evidently indicated by the last word at Vatbar Let us take for granted, said he, that Plotoy is his name And at Vatbar his country We have left the two words, waylil are Now the pronunciation and grouping of the letters leads me to think That the words resemble the English language More nearly than any other tongue The word waylil has the same number of letters as soldier and courier And I note that the fourth and last letters are identical In both courier and waylil On the supposition that both words are identical We might compare them, thus C is W, O is A U is Y, R is L I is E, E is I or A R is L The word waylil, or waylail Means to us, leal or strong, by the way A very good name for a soldier At this moment, our mysterious friend yelled out Plotoy, waylil are at Vatbar El bilimbis sarol Gabe quiet, my boy, said flatutely I will soon find out all about you Rather, let him talk away, said the professor And we'll find out who he is much quicker You see, he's given us two new words this time M bilimbis sarol Now, an idea strikes me That it transposes the biggest word thus B is P, I is E, L is R B is P, I is E, M is N, T is D E is I, S is C, I is U, R is L, O is A, L is R Here we have the word perpendicular What does bilbentisarol as perpendicular mean? It may mean that the interior planet is lit by a perpendicular sun And that we're in a land of perpendicular light and shadow See how the shadow of every man surrounds his boots Now, granting waylil means courier And bilbisarol, perpendicular, we have a clue to the language of at Vatbar It seems to me to be a miraculous transposition of English language thus A is O, B is P, C is S or K, D is T, E is I or A F is F or V, G is J, H is OH I is E, J is G, K is C, L is R, M is N N is M, O is A, P is B, Q is V, R is L S is C or S, T is D, U is I, J V is Q, U, W, Y, C or S X, X, Z, Y, U or I, Z, X According to this transposition, our friend means Plotoy, courier of at Vatbar, in bilbisarol Let us see if we can so understand him So saying, the professor approached and said Eqwailmoni Plotoy, is your name Plotoy? Wic-sel-ni-moni-ek Plotoy Yes sir, my name is Plotoy Promptly replied the stranger Good, said the professor, that's glorious We understand each other now I congratulated the professor on his brilliant discovery It was magnificent, we could now converse With our prisoner on any subject we desired We had the key in our hands that would unlock The wonders of Plutasia, or rather Bilbisarol, the interior world Flat Hootley turned a dozen somersaults In the air to express his delight The sailors spun upon the deck and threw Each other into the air like jugglers playing With balls and pure excitement Eqwailmoni-mony-a-whale-se-mantl Is at Vatbar the name of your country? Inquired the professor of Plotoy Aono-o-wayleil-a-fec-nodici-kenj-alg-megguri Buhul-kar at at Vatbar I am a whaliel of his majesty, king alg-mary Buhul-mak'a of at Vatbar, said Plotoy At Vatbar then, was the kingdom We should go there, certainly, and see King Buhul-mak'a and his people But where was this mysterious country? Yeholy ek at Vatbar, we asked of Plotoy. Doholy, he replied, pointing to a continent in the southwest. The southwest in the interior world, it should be stated, corresponds to the southeast on the outer earth. At Vatbar, then, lay under the Atlantic Ocean. Yehod ek dohi moni ar dohi myoloid gliod sedi. What is the name of the nearest great city? We asked. Keoram replied, Plotoy. Doholy ek ek feki ahmidit nerek ti khaad dokt. There it is, 500 miles due southeast. We looked in the direction indicated with our glasses and plainly saw the white marble buildings of a large city, not three degrees above the plain of our position. Further off in the haze of distance, a mighty continent unrolled its landscapes until it was merged in the brightness of the sunlight above us. All this time, Plotoy's companions circumnavigated the ship on his swift wings. We inquired his name. Lecholt, said Plotoy. On't ochy orke ek oe weilil. He is also a weilil. What is the name of the sun above us, we inquired. Swang, said Plotoy. Good, we would sail directly to Keoram, the principal port of Vatbar. I assured Plotoy, that as long as he was detained by us, he would receive the greatest consideration at our hands. We would do him no injury, but on the contrary, amply reward him for his services. He could understand that, being strangers in an unknown world, it was absolutely necessary for us to have a pilot or guide, not merely to advise on how to direct the ship, but to inform us regarding the laws, manners and customs of the people we propose visiting that we might accommodate ourselves to such novel experiences as we were certain to undergo. We told him that we'd come to Bimbisoro as pioneers of the outer planet, as heralds of the intercourse that would undoubtedly take place between two worlds separated for ages until now. We assured Plotoy how indebted we were to him for the information he'd already given, and his great importance to us in a voyage that would affect the interests of thousands of millions of men, ought to reconcile him to his brief captivity. We could not afford to lose him, and therefore asked him to remain with us for the remainder of the voyage. And on reaching Keoram, we would give him his liberty. These words, with the treatment he was receiving, completely reconciled with Plotoy, who called Lekholt to come down on deck beside him. His companion obeyed, and presently the two strangers sat on the rail of the vessel engaged in earnest conversation. Presently, Plotoy said that his companion Lekholt would go forward in advance of the ship to inform the king of our coming, that due preparations be made for our reception. This was an admirable suggestion, and accordingly we dispatched Lekholt with a message of profound respect for King Elmene Balmakar, saying that commander of the Polar King, with his officers and retinue, would do with themselves the honour of visiting his majesty and people as soon as the Polar King would reach at Vatbar. Poising himself for a moment on his wings, Lekholt saluted us with his sword and immediately swept away in the direction of at Vatbar. End of chapter 11. Chapter 12 of The Goddess of At Vatbar by William Richard Bradshaw. This Librivox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fisher. Between the time of departure of Lekholt and our arrival at Kioram, we kept Plotoy as busy as possible answering our questions. We found that all the soldiers of the king were known as waylels and that all were equipped with magnetic wings. The wings were worked by a little dynamo supplied by a magneticity. A single cell six cubic inches in size produced a current both enormously powerful and constant. I could recollect no cell in the outer world of the same size so powerful. Hence here was an inventive discovery of the first importance. The cell was composed of two metals, terrelium of the million metal found only in at Vatbar and aquelium, a bright green metal elaborated from the waters of the internal ocean. Which metals simply placed in contact without the addition of an acid or alkaline salt generated a powerful current. Both cells and dynamo were strapped to the back by a strong leaven jacket which also supported the soldier in flight. The weight of a man being only 15 pounds on the surface of the interior earth and no weight at all 50 miles above it prevented any fatigue being experienced from flight. It was the easiest of all methods of locomotion and eminently suited to the inhabitants of such a world as bin Bissarol. Plotoy informed us that the government of at Vatbar was an elective monarchy. The king and nobles were elected for life and no title was hereditary. There was a legislative assembly formed on the popular will called the Borodomi. The king's palace and Borodomi were situated in Calnagore, the capital of the realm which lay 500 miles inland and communicated with Kuram by a sacred railroad as well as by aerial ship. The largest building in Calnagore was the Bormidiforia or Pantheon where the worship of the gods was held. The only living object of worship was the Lady Leone, the supreme goddess of at Vatbar. There were different kinds of golden gods worshipped or symbols that represented inventive forces, art and spiritual power. The king was head of the army and navy and the people were divided into several classes of nobles and common people. The at Vatburys were wealthy, gold being as common as iron in the outer world. They were a peaceful people and at Vatbar being itself an immense island continent lying far from any other land there had been no wars with any external nation nor even civil war for over 100 years. There were plenty of newspapers and the most wonderful inventions had been in use for ages. Railroads, pneumatic tubes, telegraphs, telephones, phonographs, electric lights, rain makers, sea boots, marine railroads, flying machines, megaphones, philosophies without wheels, aerographers etc were quite common. Not to speak of such inventions as sewing and reaping, sewing, blackbooting and knitting machines. Of course printing, weaving and such like machines had been in use since the dawn of history. Suffice to say they had no steam engines and terrorite and gunpowder were unknown. Their great source of power was Magnicity generated by the two powerful metals Terellium and Aquelium and compressed air their explosive force. As we approached this wonderful country we noticed the number of splendid ships coming to meet us. Plated with gold and fully rigged they presented a beautiful appearance. They were each propelled by Magnicity. Plotoy said they were the fleet of at Vatbar coming to welcome us. The royal navy was in command of Admiral Jolar who had never yet seen active service but was a worthy representative of the king. Our rapid steaming in the direction of the fleet which has rapidly approached us soon brought the polar king within range of their guns. Plotoy was set free as we then knew all about at Vatbar necessary to know prior to seeing the admiral who could give us more definite information. A roar of guns saluted us from at least 100 vessels. There was no smoke the guns being discharged by compressed air. Each vessel bore the flag of at Vatbar a pink colored disk surrounded by a circle of green on a violet field. The disk represented the sun above us the green circle at Vatbar and the violet field the surrounding sea. From the peak of the polar king the American flag floated the first flag of the outer sphere that was ever unrolled in the air of the interior world. The ships approached us in double column and presented an appearance of the utmost grandeur. It was evident we were the discoverers of a powerful and opulent country and not a barbarous land. Here was civilization and courtesy and not to be done in these qualities I ordered a salute from our terrorite guns. The explosive shells discharged by gunpowder into the sea sent up columns of water and foam all around us to an astonishing height and it took a considerable time for the sea to subside. The gravity of the water being only one tenth that of the external ocean. The at Vatbarese must have been greatly astonished at the explosions as Plotoy informed us that no such weapon as ours formed part of the armament of the at Vatbar Navy. The fleet ceased firing and presently a gaily decorated magnetic launch shot off from the flagship bearing two officers in brilliant uniforms. Plotoy as the boat approached us said the officers were Admiral Jola of the fleet and Choshnilly Grand Minister of the government. The boat came alongside the polar king and lowering a gangway the illustrious visitors came on board. Admiral Jolnar was arrayed in an olive green coat decorated with overlapping scales of gold embroidery and olive green trousers with an outer stripes similarly decorated. The uniform of Choshnilly the Grand Minister was of electric blue cloth covered with serpentine bands of gold embroidery radiating downward. A small but brilliant retinue accompanied each official. As the distinguished visitors stepped on deck the entire fleet saluted us with a second roar of guns. Plotoy announced their names and dignities being able to greet their excellencies in their own language greatly astonished them. I learned from the Admiral that the Grand Minister Choshnilly was sent by his majesty King Almeri Bulmakar as a special envoy to bid us welcome in the name of the king and the people of at Vatbar. The story told by Lecholt had been proclaimed by royal authority throughout the country and the day of our arrival in Calnago the metropolis was to be observed as a national holiday. A brilliant programme of entertainment had been devised calculated to do us infinite honor. I conferred on Admiral Jolnar the title of honorary commander of the Polar King and on Choshnilly that of honorary captain. The Admiral said that both he and Choshnilly would remain on our ship until we arrived in the city of Qoram. The Admiral by signalling from the Polar King put his navy into a series of brilliant evolutions. A curious feature was the fact that each sailor possessed wings was in fact a wailail like plot toy. The sailors wing jackets or Fletcher mings as they were called of one vessel would rise like a swarm of bees and settle on another vessel. The evolutions made in this way were both majestic and surprising. The entire Fletmings of each squadron on either side of us were drawn up in battle array and the space between the ships and fought each other in a mock battle with spears while the ships discharged their guns at each other. We reached the harbour of Qoram in which the royal navy anchored in double column. The Polar King sailed slowly down the imperial avenue of ships amid the thunder of guns and the cheers of the Fletcher mings. The sun shone gloriously as we stepped from the deck of the ship upon the white marble city wharf. Everything was new, strange and splendid. We were received by Governor Laldomere of Qoram, the commandant of the fort and his staff, captain's pra and nother block. Beyond the notables a vast crowd of at-vat-buries cheered us vociferously while the guns of the fort on a commanding height roared their welcome. End of chapter 12. Chapter 13 of The Goddess of At-vat-Bar by William Richard Bradshaw. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Nigel Fischer. Marching in triumph. There was a blaze of excitement in the streets of Qoram when our procession appeared on the grand boulevard leading from the harbour to the fortress some four miles in length. We presented a strange appearance not only to the people of the city but to ourselves as well. Prior to our appearance before the people we were obliged to adjust ourselves to the motion of an immense walking machine, the product of the inventive skill of at-vat-bar. Governor Laldomere explained the cavalry of at-vat-bar were mounted on such locomotive machines built on the plan of immense ostriches called bok-hockeeds who were 40 feet in height from toe to head the saddle being 30 feet from the ground. The iron muscles of legs and body moved by a powerful magnetic motor inside the body of the monster acted on bones of hollow steel. Each machine was operated by the dynamo in the body which was adjusted to act or remain inert as required when riding the structure. The switch in front of the saddle set the bok-hockeed in motion or brought it to rest again. It was simply a gigantic philosophy without wheels. We'll raid the beasts! said Flat Hootley with suppressed excitement. Do you think you can accommodate yourselves to ride such a machine? said the governor. We will find it after a little practice an imposing method of travel. We were assembled in a spacious court that surrounded the private dock of the king. Into this dock the polar king had been brought for greater safety and also to facilitate popular inspection. I determined that both officers and sailors should equally take part in the honours of our reception and I informed the governor that we would like first to see how the machines were worked. At a signal from the governor, Captain's pra and not-otherpock disappeared and presently returned to the courtyard mounted on two gigantic bok-hockeeds on which they coveted and swept around in gallant style. We were both astonished and delighted at the performance. It was marvellous to see such agility and obedience to the wish of the rider on such ungainly monsters. The sailors were only too anxious to mount such helter-skelters as the machine ostriches of that vat bar. The stride made by each bird was over 40 feet and nothing on earth could overtake such courses in full flight. The governor, proud of his two-legged horses as he called them, grew eloquent in their behalf. Consider an army of men, said he, mounted on such machines. How swift, how formidable, what a terrible combat when two such armies meet armed with their magnex spears. What display of prodigious agility, what breathless swerving to and fro, what fearful fleetness of pursuer and pursued, aided as we are by the almost total absence of gravity, our inventors have produced a means of locomotion for individual men second only to the flying motor. We possess also flying bok-hockeeds who are cavalry and aerial warfare. The enraptured sailors were only too anxious to mount the enormous birds and sally forth to electrify the city. Ninety-eight bok-hockeeds were required to mount the entire company. This number was brought into the courtyard by a detachment of soldiers who nimbly unseated themselves and slid down the smooth legs of the birds to the ground. I say, Your Honor, said flat-outly to the governor, have you any insurance companies in this country? Well, I certainly replied to the governor, but I want to insure my life if I have to mount a boast like that. Oh, I'll see you are amply compensated for any injuries you may sustain by falling off the machine, said the governor. Sir, as your word is good as your bond, inquired flat-outly. Certainly replied the governor. Well then, sir, give me a bond, said flat-outly. The governor duly put his signature to a statement that flat-outly should be compensated for any injuries received in consequence of his riding the bok-hockeed. Flat-outly carefully deposited the document in a little satchel he carried in his breast, and thereupon sailor fashion climbed up the leg of the machine and seated himself on the gold embroidered saddlecloth. In like manner, the sailors got seated on their machines, the entire company forming an imposing phalanx. I found it quite easy to balance myself on the two-legged monsters in consequence of the large base given to each leg by the outspreading toes. While the sailors were getting seated, a military band composed of fifty musicians, each mounted on a bok-hockeed, played the march of rat-rat-bar in soul-stirring strains. The word of command being given, the great doors of the courtyard were flung open, and forth-issued musicians with banners flying. Then followed the seaman of the polar king led by the governor Koshnilly and myself. The excited populace cheered a hearty welcome. A brigade of five thousand bok-hockeeds fell into line as an escort of honour. The ever-shining sun lent a brilliant effect to our pageant. Our complexions were lighter than those of the at-bat-buries, who were universally of a golden yellow tint, and it was surprising to see how fair the people appeared, considering that they lived in a land where the sun never sets. None had a complexion darker than a rich chocolate-brown colour. This was accounted for by the fact that the light of swang was not half as intense as that of the outer sun in the tropics. The diminutive size of the luminary counterbalanced its proximity to the surrounding planet. The light that fell upon that vat-bar was warm, genial, glowing, and rosy, imparting to life a delightful sensation. As the procession advanced, we saw splendid emporiums of trade, chiseled of white marble, crowded roof and window with dense masses of people. On either side of the fine boulevard leading to the palace, the people were jammed into an immovable mass and were wild with enthusiasm. The roadway was lined with trees that seemed like magnolias, oranges, and oleanders. Now, this is something like a reception, said Flatotely. I'm well pleased with it. I'm delighted to know that your honour thinks so highly of our efforts to please, you said the Governor. Flatotely turned round and shouted to the Solars. Remember me, boys, we'll have a grand feast at the end of the performance. As he spoke, he unfortunately touched the switch starting the Bocca Kid into a gallop, and in a moment the machine dashed furiously forward, running into the musicians, knocking down some of the other Bocca Kids, scattering others in all directions, and then flying ahead amidst the roars of the people. Flatotely was thrown off his seat, but in fall into the ground, managed to get hold of the Bocca Kid's leg at the knee joint, to which he clung with the energy of despair. A squad of police who also rode Bocca Kids dashed off to the flying Flatotely, and one of them got hold of the switch on the back of the machine, and so brought it to a standstill. Flatotely was terrified but uninjured. His first concern was to see if his insurance was safe. He found the document still in his breast, and this being so was induced to remount his steed. I hope your honour has met with no accident, said the Governor, riding up. As long as I've your honour's handwriting, I'm all right, said Flatotely. If I break my leg, what odds so long as I'm insured? The scattered musicians were assembled again in order, and the procession continued its way toward the palace. There were, on all sides, evidences of wealth, culture, and refinement. Every building was constructed of chiselled marble. The fortress and palace of Chioram stood in a large square, occupying the most commanding position in the city. From the fort could be seen the white shores and surrounding sea of Atvatbar. The harbour was surrounded with white stone piers, lined with the commerce of the kingdom. The charm of the scene was largely lost on Flatotely and the sailors, who cared more for the material benefit of their reception than for its ideal beauty. The procession arrived at a pillared archway, leading underneath solid walls of the fortress. These walls were fully 100 feet in height and 50 feet in thickness. The top of the walls consisted of a level circular roadway, whereupon a guard of Bokker kids constantly swept around with amazing swiftness. It was a sight grotesque in the extreme. The flying wayleels looked like a race between enormous ostriches and a wild confusion of lengths on the lofty ramparts. Flay and Devils let loose was the subdued remark of Flatotely. There was a gay time in the banqueting hall of the palace. We were royally feasted, and for wine we drank squang, the choicest wine of Atvatbar. The governor informed us that our appearance in the interior world had been heralded all over the country, and strange speculations had been made as to what world or country we belong to. We know, of course, said he, that you do not belong to any race of men in our sphere, and this makes public curiosity all the greater concerning you. What country do you come from, said he, addressing Flatotely? I am from the United States, the finest country on the outside of the world, but I was born in Tipperary, said Flatotely. Ah, said the governor, I should be delighted to visit your country. You might be getting frightened, sir, at the dark every night, said Flatotely. What is the night, said the governor? Ah, can have you lived to be a great haired old man, and you don't know it's dark at night when the sun jumps round to the other side of the world? But it's never dark here, said the governor. True for you, but it's hard to be. How can a Christian sleep with the sun shining all the time, we join the Irishman? Or you can sleep here in the sunshine, said the governor, as well as inside the house. Does it ever rain here, said Flatotely? But little, replied the governor, not more than six inches of rain falls in a year. But dad, you ought to be in Ireland to see it rain. Then you'd get soaked to your heart's content. And tell me, how do you grow your cabbages without rain? He continued. Well, said the governor, rain is produced by firing into the air balls of solid gas so intensely cold that in turning to the gaseous form they condense in rain the invisible vapor in the air. But dad, that's what they do in our country, said Flatotely. Only they explode shells of dynamite in the air. Can you tell me, he added, have you got tides in the sea here? We've never been able to discover what force it is that lifts the sea so regularly, says the governor. We call it the breathing of the ocean. Sure any schoolboy knows it's the moon that does it, replied Flatotely. The moon queried the governor. Why have castles the moon on the other side of the world that lifts up the water both inside and out? You're waking geography now to know that, said Flatotely. The governor looked at me for verification of this astonishing story. Where is that wonderful moon he inquired that I hear of? Where is the surface of the earth that slopes away out of sight? Just then the bell sounded its message that called the people to rest and the banqueting came to an end. We were forthwith shown to the private apartments allotted to us in the palace. End of Chapter 13