Tarzan of the apes paused to listen and to sniff the air. Had you been
there you could not have heard what he heard, or had you you could not
have interpreted it. You could have smelled nothing but the mustiness
of decaying vegetation, which blended with the aroma of growing things.
The sounds that Tarzan heard came from a great distance and were
faint even to his ears; nor at first could he definitely ascribe them
to their true source, though he conceived the impression that they
heralded the coming of a party of men.
Buto the rhinoceros, Tantor the elephant or Numa the lion might
come and go through the forest without arousing more than the
indifferent interest of the Lord of the Jungle, but when man came
Tarzan investigated, for man alone of all creatures brings change and
dissension and strife wheresoever he first sets foot.
Reared to manhood among the great apes without knowledge of the
existence of any other creatures like himself, Tarzan had since learned
to anticipate with concern each fresh invasion of his jungle by these
two-footed harbingers of strife. Among many races of men he had found
friends, but this did not prevent him from questioning the purposes
and the motives of whosoever entered his domain. And so today he moved
silently through the middle terrace of his leafy way in the direction
of the sounds that he had heard.
As the distance closed between him and those he went to investigate,
his keen ears cataloged the sound of padding, naked feet and the song
of native carriers as they swung along beneath their heavy burdens. And
then to his nostrils came the scent spoor of black men and with it,
faintly, the suggestion of another scent, and Tarzan knew that a white
man was on safari before the head of the column came in view along the
wide, well-marked game trail, above which the Lord of the Jungle waited.
Near the head of the column marched a young white man, and when
Tarzan's eyes had rested upon him for a moment as he swung along the
trail they impressed their stamp of approval of the stranger within the
ape-man's brain, for in common with many savage beasts and primitive
men Tarzan possessed an uncanny instinct in judging aright the
characters of strangers whom he met.
Turning about, Tarzan moved swiftly and silently through the trees
until he was some little distance ahead of the marching safari, then he
dropped down into the trail and awaited its coming.
Rounding a curve in the trail the leading askari came in sight of him
and when they saw him they halted and commenced to jabber excitedly,
for these were men recruited in another district--men who did not know
Tarzan of the Apes by sight.
"I am Tarzan," announced the ape-man. "What do you in Tarzan's country?"
Immediately the young man, who had halted abreast of his askari,
advanced toward the ape-man. There was a smile upon his eager face.
"You are Lord Greystoke?" he asked.
"Here, I am Tarzan of the Apes," replied the foster son of Kala.
"Then luck is certainly with me," said the young man, "for I have come
all the way from Southern California to find you."
"Who are you," demanded the ape-man, "and what do you want of Tarzan of
the Apes?"
"My name is Jason Gridley," replied the other. "And what I have come to
talk to you about will make a long story. I hope that you can find the
time to accompany me to our next camp and the patience to listen to me
there until I have explained my mission."
Tarzan nodded. "In the jungle," he said, "we are not often pressed for
time. Where do you intend making camp?"
"The guide that I obtained in the last village complained of being ill
and turned back an hour ago, and as none of my own men is familiar
with this country we do not know whether there is a suitable camp-site
within one mile or ten."
"There is one within half a mile," replied Tarzan, "and with good
water."
"Good," said Gridley; and the safari resumed its way, the porters
laughing and singing at the prospect of an early camp.
It was not until Jason and Tarzan were enjoying their coffee that
evening that the ape-man reverted to the subject of the American's
visit.
"And now," he said, "what has brought you all the way from Southern
California to the heart of Africa?"
Gridley smiled. "Now that I am actually here," he said, "and face
to face with you, I am suddenly confronted with the conviction that
after you have heard my story it is going to be difficult to convince
you that I am not crazy, and yet in my own mind I am so thoroughly
convinced of the truth of what I am going to tell you that I have
already invested a considerable amount of money and time to place
my plan before you for the purpose of enlisting your personal and
financial support, and I am ready and willing to invest still more
money and all of my time. Unfortunately I cannot wholly finance the
expedition that I have in mind from my personal resources, but that
is not primarily my reason for coming to you. Doubtless I could have
raised the necessary money elsewhere, but I believe that you are
peculiarly fitted to lead such a venture as I have in mind."
"Whatever the expedition may be that you are contemplating," said
Tarzan, "the potential profits must be great indeed if you are willing
to risk so much of your own money."
"On the contrary," replied Gridley, "there will be no financial profit
for anyone concerned in so far as I now know."
"And you are an American?" asked Tarzan, smiling.
"We are not all money mad," replied Gridley.
"Then what is the incentive? Explain the whole proposition to me."
"Have you ever heard of the theory that the earth is a hollow sphere,
containing a habitable world within its interior?"
"The theory that has been definitely refuted by scientific
investigation," replied the ape-man.
"But has it been refuted satisfactorily?" asked Gridley.
"To the satisfaction of the scientists," replied Tarzan.
"And to my satisfaction, too," replied the American, "until I recently
received a message direct from the inner world."
"You surprise me," said the ape-man.
"And I, too, was surprised, but the fact remains that I have been in
radio communication with Abner Perry in the inner world of Pellucidar
and I have brought a copy of that message with me and also an affidavit
of its authenticity from a man with whose name you are familiar and who
was with me when I received the message; in fact, he was listening in
at the same time with me. Here they are."
From a portfolio he took a letter which he handed to Tarzan and a bulky
manuscript bound in board covers.
"I shall not take the time to read you all of the story of Tanar of
Pellucidar," said Gridley, "because there is a great deal in it that is
not essential to the exposition of my plan."
"As you will," said Tarzan. "I am listening."
For half an hour Jason Gridley read excerpts from the manuscript before
him. "This," he said, when he had completed the reading, "is what
convinced me of the existence of Pellucidar, and it is the unfortunate
situation of David Innes that impelled me to come to you with the
proposal that we undertake an expedition whose first purpose shall be
to rescue him from the dungeon of the Korsars."
"And how do you think this may be done?" asked the ape-man. "Are you
convinced of the correctness of Innes' theory that there is an entrance
to the inner world at each pole?"
"I am free to confess that I do not know what to believe," replied the
American. "But after I received this message from Perry I commenced
to investigate and I discovered that the theory of an inhabitable
world at the center of the earth with openings leading into it at the
north and south poles is no new one and that there is much evidence to
support it. I found a very complete exposition of the theory in a book
written about 1830 and in another work of more recent time. Therein I
found what seemed to be a reasonable explanation of many well known
phenomena that have not been satisfactorily explained by any hypothesis
endorsed by science."
"What, for example?" asked Tarzan.
"Well, for example, warm winds and warm ocean currents coming from the
north and encountered and reported by practically all arctic explorers;
the presence of the limbs and branches of trees with green foliage upon
them floating southward from the far north, far above the latitude
where any such trees are found upon the outer crust; then there is the
phenomenon of the northern lights, which in the light of David Innes'
theory may easily be explained as rays of light from the central sun of
the inner world, breaking occasionally through the fog and cloud banks
above the polar opening. Again there is the pollen, which often thickly
covers the snow and ice in portions of the polar regions. This pollen
could not come from elsewhere than the inner world. And in addition to
all this is the insistence of the far northern tribes of Eskimos that
their forefathers came from a country to the north."
"Did not Amundson and Ellsworth in the Norge expedition definitely
disprove the theory of a north polar opening in the earth's crust, and
have not airplane flights been made over a considerable portion of the
hitherto unexplored regions near the pole?" demanded the ape-man.
"The answer to that is that the polar opening is so large that a ship,
a dirigible or an airplane could dip down over the edge into it a short
distance and return without ever being aware of the fact, but the most
tenable theory is that in most instances explorers have merely followed
around the outer rim of the orifice, which would largely explain the
peculiar and mystifying action of compasses and other scientific
instruments at points near the so-called north pole--matters which have
greatly puzzled all arctic explorers."
"You are convinced then that there is not only an inner world but that
there is an entrance to it at the north pole?" asked Tarzan.
"I am convinced that there is an inner world, but I am not convinced
of the existence of a polar opening," replied Gridley. "I can only say
that I believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant the organization
of an expedition such as I have suggested."
"Assuming that a polar opening into an inner world exists, by just what
means do you purpose accomplishing the discovery and exploration of it?"
"The most practical means of transportation that exists today for
carrying out my plan would be a specially constructed rigid airship,
built along the lines of the modern Zeppelin. Such a ship, using helium
gas, would show a higher factor of safety than any other means of
transportation at our disposal. I have given the matter considerable
thought and I feel sure that if there is such a polar opening, the
obstacles that would confront us in an attempt to enter the inner world
would be far less than those encountered by the Norge in its famous
trip across the pole to Alaska, for there is no question in my mind but
that it made a wide detour in following the rim of the polar orifice
and covered a far greater distance than we shall have to cover to reach
a reasonably safe anchorage below the cold, polar sea that David Innes
discovered north of the land of the Korsars before he was finally taken
prisoner by them.
"The greatest risk that we would have to face would be a possible
inability to return to the outer crust, owing to the depletion of our
helium gas that might be made necessary by the maneuvering of the
ship. But that is only the same chance of life or death that every
explorer and scientific investigator must be willing to assume in
the prosecution of his labors. If it were but possible to build a
hull sufficiently light, and at the same time sufficiently strong,
to withstand atmospheric pressure, we could dispense with both the
dangerous hydrogen gas and the rare and expensive helium gas and have
the assurance of the utmost safety and maximum of buoyancy in a ship
supported entirely by vacuum tanks."
"Perhaps even that is possible," said Tarzan, who was now evincing
increasing interest in Gridley's proposition.
The American shook his head. "It may be possible some day," he said,
"but not at present with any known material. Any receptacle having
sufficient strength to withstand the atmospheric pressure upon a vacuum
would have a weight far too great for the vacuum to lift."
"Perhaps," said Tarzan, "and, again, perhaps not."
"What do you mean?" inquired Gridley.
"What you have just said," replied Tarzan, "reminds me of something
that a young friend of mine recently told me. Erich von Harben is
something of a scientist and explorer himself, and the last time
that I saw him he had just returned from a second expedition into
the Wiramwazi Mountains, where he told me that he had discovered a
lake-dwelling tribe using canoes made of a metal that was apparently as
light as cork and stronger than steel. He brought some samples of the
metal back with him, and at the time I last saw him he was conducting
some experiments in a little laboratory he has rigged up at his
father's mission."
"Where is this man?" demanded Gridley.
"Dr. von Harben's mission is in the Urambi country," replied the
ape-man, "about four marches west of where we now are."
Far into the night the two men discussed plans for the project, for
Tarzan was now thoroughly interested, and the next day they turned
back toward the Urambi country and von Harben's mission, where they
arrived on the fourth day and were greeted by Dr. von Harben and his
son, Erich, as well as by the latter's wife, the beautiful Favonia of
Castrum Mare.
It is not my intention to weary you with a recital of the details
of the organization and equipment of the Pellucidarian expedition,
although that portion of it which relates to the search for and
discovery of the native mine containing the remarkable metal now known
as Harbenite, filled as it was with adventure and excitement, is well
worth a volume by itself.
While Tarzan and Erich von Harben were locating the mine and
transporting the metal to the seacoast, Jason Gridley was in
Friedrichshafen in consultation with the engineers of the company he
had chosen to construct the specially designed airship in which the
attempt was to be made to reach the inner world.
Exhaustive tests were made of the samples of Harbenite brought to
Friedrichshafen by Jason Gridley. Plans were drawn, and by the time the
shipment of the ore arrived everything was in readiness to commence
immediate construction, which was carried on secretly. And six months
later, when the O-220, as it was officially known, was ready to take
the air, it was generally considered to be nothing more than a new
design of the ordinary type of rigid airship, destined to be used as a
common carrier upon one of the already numerous commercial airways of
Europe.
The great cigar-shaped hull of the O-220 was 997 feet in length and 150
feet in diameter. The interior of the hull was divided into six large,
air-tight compartments, three of which, running the full length of the
ship, were above the medial line and three below. Inside the hull and
running along each side of the ship, between the upper and lower vacuum
tanks, were long corridors in which were located the engines, motors
and pumps, in addition to supplies of gasoline and oil.
The internal location of the engine room was made possible by the
elimination of fire risk, which is an ever-present source of danger
in airships which depend for their lifting power upon hydrogen gas,
as well as to the absolutely fireproof construction of the O-220;
every part of which, with the exception of a few cabin fittings and
furniture, was of Harbenite, this metal being used throughout except
for certain bushings and bearings in motors, generators and propellers.
Connecting the port and starboard engine and fuel corridors were two
transverse corridors, one forward and one aft, while bisecting these
transverse corridors were two climbing shafts extending from the bottom
of the ship to the top.
The upper end of the forward climbing shaft terminated in a small gun
and observation cabin at the top of the ship, along which was a narrow
walkingway extending from the forward cabin to a small turret near the
tail of the ship, where provision had been made for fixing a machine
gun.
The main cabin, running along the keel of the ship, was an integral
part of the hull, and because of this entirely rigid construction,
which eliminated the necessity for cabins suspended below the hull, the
O-220 was equipped with landing gear in the form of six, large, heavily
tired wheels projecting below the bottom of the main cabin. In the
extreme stern of the keel cabin a small scout monoplane was carried in
such a way that it could be lowered through the bottom of the ship and
launched while the O-220 was in flight.
Eight air-cooled motors drove as many propellers, which were arranged
in pairs upon either side of the ship and staggered in such a manner
that the air from the forward propellers would not interfere with those
behind.
The engines, developing 5600 horsepower, were capable of driving the
ship at a speed of 105 miles per hour.
In the O-220 the ordinary axial wire, which passes the whole length of
the ship through the center, consisted of a tubular shaft of Harbenite
from which smaller tubular braces radiated, like the spokes of a wheel,
to the tubular girders, to which the Harbenite plates of the outer
envelope were welded.
Owing to the extreme lightness of Harbenite, the total weight of the
ship was 75 tons, while the total lift of its vacuum tanks was 225 tons.
For purposes of maneuvering the ship and to facilitate landing, each of
the vacuum tanks was equipped with a bank of eight air valves operated
from the control cabin at the forward end of the keel; while six pumps,
three in the starboard and three in the port engine corridors, were
designed to expel the air from the tanks when it became necessary to
renew the vacuum. Special rudders and elevators were also operated from
the forward control cabin as well as from an auxiliary position aft in
the port engine corridor, in the event that the control cabin steering
gear should break down.
In the main keel cabin were located the quarters for the officers and
crew, gun and ammunition room, provision room, galley, additional
gasoline and oil storage tanks, and water tanks, the latter so
constructed that the contents of any of them might be emptied
instantaneously in case of an emergency, while a proportion of the
gasoline and oil tanks were slip tanks that might be slipped through
the bottom of the ship in cases of extreme emergency when it was
necessary instantaneously to reduce the weight of the load.
This, then, briefly, was the great, rigid airship in which Jason
Gridley and Tarzan of the Apes hoped to discover the north polar
entrance to the inner world and rescue David Innes, Emperor of
Pellucidar, from the dungeons of the Korsars.