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The Underground City-Part18_JULES VERNE(1828-1905)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

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and carried her to the upper part of their dwelling.

At the same moment, cries arose from all parts of Coal Town,



which was threatened by a sudden inundation. The inhabitants fled

for safety to the top of the schist rocks bordering the lake;



terror spread in all directions; whole families in frantic haste

rushed towards the tunnel in order to reach the upper regions



of the pit.

It was feared that the sea had burst into the colliery, for its galleries



and passages penetrated as far as the Caledonian Canal. In that case

the entire excavation, vast as it was, would be completely flooded.



Not a single inhabitant of New Aberfoyle would escape death.

But when the foremost fugitives reached the entrance to the tunnel,



they encountered Simon Ford, who had quitted his cottage.

"Stop, my friends, stop!" shouted the old man; "if our town



is to be overwhelmed, the floods will rush faster than you can;

no one can possibly escape. But see! the waters are rising



no further! it appears to me the danger is over."

"And our comrades at the far end of the works--what about them?"



cried some of the miners.

"There is nothing to fear for them," replied Simon; "they are working



on a higher level than the bed of the loch."

It was soon evident that the old man was in the right.



The sudden influx of water had rushed to the very lowest

bed of the vast mine, and its only ultimate effect was to raise



the level of Loch Malcolm a few feet. Coal Town was uninjured,

and it was reasonable to hope that no one had perished in the flood



of water which had descended to the depths of the mine never yet

penetrated by the workmen.



Simon and his men could not decide whether this inundation was owing

to the overflow of a subterranean sheet of water penetrating fissures



in the solid rock, or to some undergroundtorrent breaking through its

worn bed, and precipitating itself to the lowest level of the mine.



But that very same evening they knew what to think about it,

for the local papers published an account of the marvelous phenomenon



which Loch Katrine had exhibited.

The surprising news was soon after confirmed by the four travelers, who,



returning with all possible speed to the cottage, learned with extreme

satisfaction that no serious damage was done in New Aberfoyle.



The bed of Loch Katrine had fairly given way. The waters had suddenly

broken through by an enormousfissure into the mine beneath.



Of Sir Walter Scott's favorite loch there was not left enough to wet

the pretty foot of the Lady of the Lake; all that remained was a pond



of a few acres at the further extremity.

This singular event made a profoundsensation in the country.



It was a thing unheard of that a lake should in the space of a few

minutes empty itself, and disappear into the bowels of the earth.



There was nothing for it but to erase Loch Katrine from the map of

Scotland until (by public subscription) it could be refilled, care being



of course taken, in the first place, to stop the rent up tight.

This catastrophe would have been the death of Sir Walter Scott,



had he still been in the world.

The accident was explicable when it was ascertained that,



between the bed of the lake and the vast cavity beneath,

the geological strata had become reduced to a thin layer,



incapable of longer sustaining the weight of water.

Now, although to most people this event seemed plainly due



to natural causes, yet to James Starr and his friends,

Simon and Harry Ford, the question constantly recurred,



was it not rather to be attributed to malevolence?

Uneasy suspicions continually harassed their minds.



Was their evil

genius about to renew his persecution of those who ventured to work



this rich mine?

At the cottage, some days later, James Starr thus discussed



the matter with the old man and his son: "Well, Simon," said he,

"to my thinking we must class this circumstance with the others



for which we still seek elucidation, although it is no doubt

possible to explain it by natural causes."



"I am quite of your mind, Mr. James," replied Simon, "but take my advice,




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