ROBBING THE CROWN OF THE WORLD
Now that they were going with the current instead of striving to stem
it, the Ark made much more rapid way than during the time that it was
drifting toward the Black Sea.
They averaged at least six knots, and, with the aid of the current,
could have done much better, but they thought it well to be cautious,
especially as they had so little means of guessing at their exact
location from day to day. The water was rough.
There was, most of the time, little wind, and often a large number of
the passengers assembled in the saloon.
The noise of the deluge on the roof was so much greater than it had been
at the start that it was difficult to converse, but there was plenty of
light, and they could, at least, see one another, and communicate by
signs if not very easily by the voice. Cosmo's library was well
selected, and many passed hours in reading stories of the world they
were to see no more!
King Richard and Amos Blank imitated Cosmo and the captain by furnishing
themselves with a speaking-tube, which they put alternately to their
lips and their ears, and thus held long conversations, presumably
exchanging with one another the secrets of high finance and kingly
government.
Both of them had enough historical knowledge and sufficient imagination
to be greatly impressed by the fact that they were drifting, amidst this
terrible storm, over the vast empire that Alexander the Great had
conquered.
They mused over the events of the great Macedonian's long marches
through deserts and over mountains, and the king, who loved the story of
these glories of the past, though he had cultivated peace in his own
dominions, often sighed while they recalled them to one another. Lord
Swansdown and the other Englishmen aboard seldom joined their king since
he had preferred the company of an untitled American to theirs.
The first named could not often have made a member of the party if he
had wished, for he kept his room most of the time, declaring that he had
never been so beastly seasick in his life. He thought that such an
abominable roller as the Ark should never have been permitted to go into
commission, don't you know.
On the morning of the twelfth day after they left the neighborhood of
Mount Ararat Captain Arms averred that their position must be somewhere
near longitude 69 degrees east, latitude 26 degrees north.
"Then you have worked your traverse over Beluchistan very well," said
Cosmo, "and we are now afloat above the valley of the River Indus. We
have the desert of northwestern India ahead, and from that locality we
can continue right down the course of the Ganges. In fact it would be
perfectly safe to turn northward and skirt the Himalayas within reach of
the high peaks. I think that's what I'll do."
"If you go fooling round any more peaks," shouted Captain Arms, in a
fog-horn voice, "you'll have to do your own steering! I've had enough of
that kind of navigation!"
Nevertheless when Cosmo Versál gave the order the captain turned the
prow of the Ark toward the presumable location of the great Himalayan
range, although the rebellion of his spirit showed in the erect set of
his whiskers. They were now entirely beyond the influence of the whirl
that had at first got them into trouble, and then helped them out of it,
in western Asia.
Behind the barrier of the ancient "Roof of the World" the sea was
relatively calm, although, at times, they felt the effect of currents
pouring down from the north, which had made their way through the lofty
passes from the Tibetan side.
Cosmo calculated from his estimate of the probable rate of rise of the
flood and from the direction and force of the currents that all but the
very highest of the Pamirs must already be submerged.
It was probable, he thought, that the water had attained a level of
between seventeen and eighteen thousand feet. This, as subsequent events
indicated, was undoubtedly an underestimate. The downpour in the north
must have been far greater than Cosmo thought, and the real height of
the flood was considerably in excess of what he supposed.
If they could have seen some of the gigantic peaks as they approached
the mountains in the eastern Punjab, south of Cashmere, they would have
been aware of the error.
As it was, owing to the impossibility of seeing more than a short
distance even when the light was brightest, they kept farther south than
was really necessary, and after passing, as they believed, over Delhi,
steered south by east, following substantially the course that Cosmo had
originally named along the line of the Ganges valley.
They were voyaging much slower now, and after another ten days had
passed an unexpected change came on. The downpour diminished in
severity, and at times the sun broke forth, and for an hour or two the
rain would cease entirely, although the sky had a coppery tinge, and at
night small stars were not clearly visible.
Cosmo was greatly surprised at this. He could only conclude that the
central part of the nebula had been less extensive, though more dense,
than he had estimated. It was only thirty-four days since the deluge had
recommenced, and unless present appearances were deceptive, its end
might be close at hand.
Captain Arms seized the opportunity to make celestial and solar
observations which delighted his seaman's heart, and with great glee he
informed Cosmo that they were in longitude 88 degrees 20 minutes east,
latitude 24 degrees 15 minutes north, and he would stake his reputation
as a navigator upon it.
"Almost exactly the location of Moorshedabad, in Bengal," said Cosmo,
consulting his chart. "The mighty peak of Kunchingunga is hardly more
than two hundred miles toward the north, and Mount Everest, the highest
point in the world, is within a hundred miles of that!"
"But you're not going skimming around _them_!" cried the captain with
some alarm.
"I shall, if the sky continues in its present condition, go as far as
Darjeeling," replied Cosmo. "Then we can turn eastward and get over
upper Burmah and so on into China. From there we can turn north again.
"I think we can manage to get into Tibet somewhere between the ranges.
It all depends upon the height of the water, and that I can ascertain
exactly by getting a close look at Kunchingunga. I would follow the line
of the Brahmaputra River if I dared, but the way is too beset with
perils."
"I think you've made a big mistake," said the captain. "Why didn't you
come directly across Russia, after first running up to the Black Sea
from the Mediterranean, and so straight into Tibet?"
"I begin to think that that's what I ought to have done," responded
Cosmo, thoughtfully, "but when we started the water was not high enough
to make me sure of that route, and after we got down into Egypt I didn't
want to run back. But I guess it would have been better."
"Better a sight than steering among these five-mile peaks," growled
Captain Arms. "How high does Darjeeling lie? I don't want to run aground
again."
"Oh, that's perfectly safe," responded Cosmo. "Darjeeling is only about
7,350 feet above the old sea-level. I think we can go almost to the foot
of Kunchingunga without any danger."
"Well, the name sounds dangerous enough in itself," said the captain,
"but I suppose you'll have your way. Give me the bearings and we'll be
off."
They took two days to get to the location of Darjeeling, for at times
the sky darkened and the rain came down again in tremendous torrents.
But these spells did not last more than two or three hours, and the
weather cleared between them.
As soon as they advanced beyond Darjeeling, keeping a sharp outlook for
Kunchingunga, Cosmo began to perceive the error of his calculation of
the height of the flood.
The mountain should still have projected more than three thousand feet
above the waves, allowing that the average rise during the thirty-six
days since the recommencement of the flood had been six hundred feet a
day.
But, in fact, they did not see it at all, and thought at first that it
had been totally submerged. At last they found it, a little rocky
island, less than two hundred feet above the water, according to Cosmo's
careful measure, made from a distance of a quarter of a mile.
"This is great news for us," he exclaimed, as soon as he had completed
the work. "This will save us a long journey round. The water must now
stand at about 27,900 feet, and although there are a considerable number
of peaks in the Himalayas approaching such an elevation, there are only
three or four known to reach or exceed it, of which Kunchingunga is one.
"We can, then, run right over the roof of the world, and there we'll be,
in Tibet. Then we can determine from what side it is safest to approach
Mount Everest, for I am very desirous to get near that celebrated peak,
and, if possible, see it go under."
"But the weather isn't safe yet," objected Captain Arms. "Suppose we
should be caught in another downpour, and everything black about us! I'm
not going to navigate this ship by searchlight among mountains
twenty-eight thousand feet tall, when the best beam that ever shot from
a mirror won't show an object a hundred fathoms away."
"Very well," Cosmo replied, "we'll circle around south for a few days
and see what will happen. I think myself that it's not quite over yet.
The fact is, I hope it isn't, for now that it has gone so far, I'd like
to see the top-knot of the earth covered."
"Well, it certainly couldn't do any more harm if it got up as high as
the moon," responded the captain.
They spent four days sailing to and fro over India, and during the first
three of those days there were intermittent downpours. But the whole of
the last period of twenty-four hours was entirely without rain, and the
color of the sky changed so much that Cosmo declared he would wait no
longer.
"Everest," he said, "is only 940 feet higher than Kunchingunga, and it
may be sunk out of sight before we can get there."
"Do you think the water is still rising?" asked De Beauxchamps, while
King Richard and Amos Blank listened eagerly for the reply, for now that
the weather had cleared, the old company was all assembled on the
bridge.
"Yes, slowly," said Cosmo. "There is a perceptible current from the
north which indicates that condensation is still going on there. You'll
see that it'll come extremely close to the six miles I predicted before
it's all over."
By the time they had returned to the neighborhood of the mountains the
sky had become blue, with only occasionally a passing sunshower, and
Cosmo ordered the promenades to be thrown open, and the passengers, with
great rejoicings, resumed their daily lounging and walking on deck.
It required a little effort of thought to make them realize their
situation, but when they did it grew upon them until they could not
sufficiently express their wonder.
Here they were, on an almost placid sea, with tepid airs blowing gently
in their faces, and a scorching sun overhead, whose rays had to be
shielded off, floating over the highest pinnacles of the roof of the
world, the traditional "Abode of Snow!"
All around them, beneath the rippled blue surface, lined here and there
with little white windrows of foam, stood submerged peaks, 24,000,
25,000, 26,000, 27,000, 28,000 feet in elevation! They sailed over their
summits and saw them not.
All began now to sympathize with Cosmo's desire to find Everest before
it should have disappeared with its giant brothers. Its location was
accurately known from the Indian government surveys, and Captain Arms
had every facility for finding the exact position of the Ark. They
advanced slowly toward the northwest, a hundred glasses eagerly scanning
the horizon ahead.
Finally, at noon on the third day of their search, the welcome cry of
"Land ho!" came down from the cro'nest. Captain Arms immediately set his
course for the landfall, and in the course of a little more than an hour
had it broad abeam.
"It's Everest, without question," said Cosmo. "It's the crown of the
world."
But how strange was its appearance! A reddish-brown mass of rock, rising
abruptly out of the blue water, really a kind of crown in form, but not
more than a couple of square rods in extent, and about three feet high
at its loftiest point.
There was no snow, of course, for that had long since disappeared, owing
to the rise of temperature, and no snow would have fallen in that
latitude now, even in mid-winter, because the whole base of the
atmosphere had been lifted up nearly six miles.
Sea-level pressures were prevailing where the barometric column would
once have dropped almost to the bottom of its tube. It was all that was
left of the world!
North of them, under the all-concealing ocean, lay the mighty plateau of
Tibet; far toward the east was China, deeply buried with its 500,000,000
of inhabitants; toward the south lay India, over which they had so long
been sailing; northwestward the tremendous heights of the Pamir region
and of the Hindu-Kush were sunk beneath the sea.
"When this enormous peak was covered with snow," said Cosmo, "its height
was estimated at 29,002 feet, or almost five and three-quarter miles.
The removal of the snow has, of course, lowered it, but I think it
probable that this point, being evidently steep on all sides, and of
very small area, was so swept by the wind that the snow was never very
deep upon it.
"If we allow ten, or even twenty feet for the snow, the height of this
rock cannot be much less than 29,000 feet above the former sea-level.
But I do not dare to approach closer, because Everest had a broad
summit, and we might possibly ground upon a sharp ridge."
"And you are sure that the water is still rising?" asked De Beauxchamps
again.
"Watch and you will see," Cosmo responded.
The Ark was kept circling very slowly within a furlong of the rocky
crown, and everybody who had a glass fixed his eyes upon it.
"The peak is certainly sinking," said De Beauxchamps at last. "I believe
it has gone down three inches in the last fifteen minutes."
"Keep your eyes fixed on some definite point," said Cosmo to the others
who were looking, "and you will easily note the rise of the water."
They watched it until nobody felt any doubt. Inch by inch the crown of
the world was going under. In an hour Cosmo's instruments showed that
the highest point had settled to a height of but two feet above the sea.
"But when will the elevation that you have predicted begin?" asked one.
"Its effects will not become evident immediately," Cosmo replied. "It
may possibly already have begun, but if so, it is masked by the
continued rise of the water."
"And how long shall we have to wait for the re-emergence of Tibet?"
"I cannot tell, but it will be a long time. But do not worry about that.
We have plenty of provisions, and the weather will continue fine after
the departure of the nebula."
They circled about until only a foot or so of the rock remained above
the reach of the gently washing waves. Suddenly struck by a happy
thought, De Beauxchamps exclaimed:
"I must have a souvenir from the crown of the disappearing world. M.
Versál, will you permit me to land upon it with one of your boats?"
De Beauxchamps's suggestion was greeted with cheers, and twenty others
immediately expressed a desire to go.
"No," said Cosmo to the eager applicants, "it is M. De Beauxchamps's
idea; let him go alone. Yes," he continued, addressing the Frenchman,
"you can have a boat, and I will send two men with you to manage it.
You'd better hurry, or there will be nothing left to land upon."
The necessary orders were quickly given, and in five minutes De
Beauxchamps, watched by envious eyes, was rapidly approaching the
disappearing rock. They saw him scramble out upon it, and they gave a
mighty cheer as he waved his hand at them.
He had taken a hammer with him, and with breathless interest they
watched him pounding and prying about the rock. They could see that he
selected the very highest point for his operations.
While he worked away, evidently filling his pockets, the interest of the
onlookers became more and more intense.
"Look out!" they presently began to shout at him, "you will be caught by
the water."
But he paid no attention, working with feverish rapidity. Suddenly the
watchers saw a little ripple break over the last speck of dry land on
the globe, and De Beauxchamps standing up to his shoe-laces in water.
Cries of dismay came from the Ark. De Beauxchamps now gave over his
work, and, with apparent reluctance, entered the boat, which was rowed
close up to the place where he was standing.
As the returning boat approached the Ark, another volley of cheers broke
forth, and the Frenchman, standing up to his full height, waved with a
triumphant air something that sparkled brilliantly in the sunshine.
"I congratulate you, M. De Beauxchamps," cried Cosmo, as the adventurer
scrambled aboard. "You have stood where no human foot has ever been
before, and I see that you have secured your souvenir of the world that
was."
"Yes," responded De Beauxchamps exultantly, "and see what it is--a
worthy decoration for such a coronet."
He held up his prize, amid exclamations of astonishment and admiration
from those who were near enough to see it.
"The most beautiful specimen of amethyst I ever beheld!" cried a
mineralogist enthusiastically, taking it from De Beauxchamps's hand.
"What was the rock?"
"Unfortunately, I am no mineralogist," replied the Frenchman, "and I
cannot tell you, but these gems were abundant. I could have almost
filled the boat if I had had time.
"The amethyst," he added gayly, "is the traditional talisman against
intoxication, but, although these adorned her tiara, the poor old world
has drunk her fill."
"But it is only water," said Cosmo, smiling.
"Too much, at any rate," returned the Frenchman.
"I should say," continued the mineralogist, "that the rock was some
variety of syenite, from its general appearance."
"I know nothing of that," replied De Beauxchamps, "but I have the jewels
of the terrestrial queen, and," he continued gallantly, "I shall have
the pleasure of bestowing them upon the ladies."
He emptied his pockets, and found that he had enough to give every woman
aboard the Ark a specimen, with several left over for some of the men,
Cosmo, of course, being one of the recipients.
"There," said De Beauxchamps, as he handed the stone to Cosmo, "there is
a memento from the Gaurisankar."
"I beg your pardon--Mount Everest, if you please," interposed Edward
Whistlington.
"No," responded the Frenchman stoutly, "it is the Gaurisankar. Why will
you English persist in renaming everything in the world? Gaurisankar is
the native name, and, in my opinion, far more appropriate and euphonious
than Everest."
This discussion was not continued, for now everybody became interested
in the movements of the Ark. Cosmo had decided that it would be safe to
approach close to the point where the last peak of the mountain had
disappeared.
Cautiously they drew nearer and nearer, until, looking through the
wonderfully transparent water, they caught sight of a vast precipice
descending with frightful steepness, down and down, until all was lost
in the profundity beneath.
The point on which De Beauxchamps had landed was now covered so deep
that the water had ceased to swirl about it, but lay everywhere in an
unbroken sheet, which was every moment becoming more placid and
refulgent in the sunshine.
The world was drowned at last! As they looked abroad over the convex
surface, they thought, with a shudder, that now the earth, seen from
space, was only a great, glassy ball, mirroring the sun and the stars.
But they were ignorant of what had happened far in the west!