CHAPTER 39

THE EXPLOSION AND ITS RESULTS The next day, which was the twenty-seventh of August, was a date celebrated in our wondrous subterranean journey. I never think of it even now, but I shudder with horror. My heart beats wildly at the very memory of that awful day. From this time forward, our reason, our judgment, our human ingenuity, have nothing to do with the course of events. We are about to become the plaything of the great phenomena of the earth! At six o'clock we were all up and ready. The dreaded moment was arri…