We could see the
varying radiations, and came upon rayless sections, which from admixture
of impurities or imperfect chemical perfection, were deprived of all
luminousness.
"Returning, it seemed as if in the sharp convulsions of the crust a
flood of light had been somehow absorbed by the rock, and then this
light-saturated rock had been overwhelmed and buried out of sight, only
to be painfully restored to its first home, in the open skies, by the
labor of men.
"But time was pressing. Chapman must reach Scandor, his envoy's errand
was important, and bidding the kind Alca good-bye, which the Martians
execute by a kiss and an embrace, we came out again into the deep well,
and gazed upward past the glistening precipices, irregular with little
ledges, and over-reaching cavities, to the distant sky.
"And now a terrible calamity befell us. The Superintendent pointed out a
narrow path that led circuitously around the great crags of rock to the
top. It was a narrow winding ledge, rising by a mild incline, and
circling the pit before it finally reached its brim. In parts it was
quite unprotected, but the extraordinary nerves of the men made the
achievement of passing out or in the quarry by this means a very simple
test of endurance. Even as the Superintendent alluded to its use, a file
of dark figures was just above us, with soldierlike precision marching
down to the level we occupied. Chapman banteringly asked me to try it,
and I accepted the challenge, urging him to follow.
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