am
almost afraid to taste it," said he, holding his hand near his mouth.
"It would settle all our fates." He waited a moment and then touched his
fingers to his tongue.

"Salt!" That was all he said for several moments. He folded his arms and
looked mutely toward the boiling lake. Presently he raised his eyes
to the great hole in the roof, and groaned: "The break is gradually
widening. These stones are freshly broken, and the great bowl is
filling."

"It will fill all Alpha with water and drown every soul in it," added
the terrified American.

"That, however, is not the most immediate danger," said Branasko wisely.
"They would first suffocate, and later their bodies would be swallowed
up in the stomach of the earth."

"What do you mean?"

Branasko shrugged his shoulders. "As soon as this bowl is filled with
water, which would not take many hours, it would run over into the lake
of fire and produce an explosion that would rend Alpha from end to end."

"Who knows, it might turn the whole Atlantic into the centre of the
earth, and destroy the entire earth." But Branasko was unable to grasp
the full magnitude of the remark, for to him the world was simply a
vast cavern lighted by human ingenuity. He fastened a narrow splinter
of stone upright in the shallow water at his feet, and, lying down on his
stomach with his eyes close to it, he studied it for several minutes.
When he got up, a desperate gleam was in his dark eyes.

"It is rising fast," he said. "We must attempt to get to the capitol and
warn the king. It is possible that he may be able to stop the opening.
The only thing left to us is to try our machine again."

Johnston found it hard to keep pace with him as he bounded out of the
mist and on toward the faint glow ahead. Reaching the flying machine
Branasko entered it and turned on a small electric light.

"Ah," he grunted with satisfaction, "I have found a light. I can now see
what is the matter with it."

Johnston stood outside and heard him hammering on the metal parts in the
car, and became so absorbed in thinking of the peril of their position
that he was startled when Branasko cried out to him:--"All right. I
think we can make it do; a pin has lost out, but perhaps I can hold the
piece in place with my foot. If only we can stand the heat of the pit
long enough to rise above it, we may escape."

Johnston followed him into the car. Branasko seated himself firmly and
gave the wheel a little turn. S