Jill thought that, if she were the captain, she would not have risked this entrance. It would be better to circle the mountain, to search for another gateway. However, that meant using much more fuel. Battling such strong winds, the motors could burn up so much that there would not be enough left to return to Parolando. Perhaps the ship could not even get to the Mark Twain.
Cyrano was sweating, but his eyes were bright and his expression eager. If he were scared, he did not look so. She had to admit to herself that he was, after all, the best one in this situation. His reflexes were the swiftest, and he would not freeze with panic. To him, this must be much like a duel with swords. The wind thrust; he parried; the wind riposted; he counterriposted.
Now they were in the thick clouds raging from the hole.
Suddenly, they were through.
Though still blinded by fog, they could read the radar-scopes. Before them was a sea, 1 kilometer below. Around it circled the mountain. And ahead, in the center of the sea, 48.5 kilometers away, a little over 30 miles, was an object which reared high above the water, though still dwarfed by the mountain.
Cyrano, looking at the CRT on the panel, said, “Behold the tower!”
The radarman, seated before his equipment on the port side, confirmed the sighting.
Firebrass ordered that the ship be taken to 3050 meters altitude, somewhat over 10,000 feet. The propellers could not be swiveled horizontally to lift the ship faster because it had to fight the wind.
However, as they rose, they found that the wind lessened. By the time the ship had reached the desired altitude, it could proceed straight ahead. Now its estimated ground speed was 80.50 km/ph, over 50 mph. As it neared the tower, it picked up more velocity. t
The sky was brighter than at dusk, lit by both the weak sun and the clustered stellar masses.
Now the radars could sweep the entire sea and touch the top of the most distant wall. The nearly circular body of water was 97 kilometers across or somewhat over 60 miles in diameter. The opposite wall was the same height as the nearer one.
“The tower!” Firebrass exploded. “It’s 1.7 kilometers tall! And 16 kilometers wide!”
In old-style measurements, that would have been slightly over a mile high and almost 10 miles in diameter.
There was an interruption. The chief engineer, Hakkonen, reported that the hull was collecting ice. It was not, however, on the windscreens of the control room, since they were made of an ice-resistant plastic.
Firebrass said, “Take her down to 1530 meters, Cyrano. The air’s warmer there.”
The River, entering the sea, still carried much heat even after its passage through the arctic regions. In this deep, cold cup the waters surrendered warmth, so much that the temperature at 1524 meters or 5000 feet was 2 degrees above Centigrade. But higher up, the moisture-heavy air was an ice trap.
While the dirigible was lowered, the radar operator reported that the interior of the mountain was not as smooth as the exterior. There were innumerable holes and bulges, as if the makers of the mountain had not thought it necessary to finish off the inside.
The narrow ledge described by Joe Miller had been detected by the radar. It led from the top of the mountain to the bottom. There was another narrow ledge leading along the base of the sea, ending at a hole about 3 meters wide and 2 meters high.
No one commented on this. But Jill did wonder aloud why the big hole through which the dirigible had entered had been made.
“Maybe it’s for their aerial craft, if they have any,” Firebrass said. “It could be used to keep from having to fly over the mountain.”
That seemed as good a reason as any.
Piscator said, “Perhaps. However, the flash of light that startled Joe Miller so much could not have come from the sun’s rays going through the hole. In the first place, the hole is darkened by that cloud stream. In the second place, even if the sun’s rays had flashed through, they would not have illuminated the top of the tower. Joe did say that the fog was momentarily blown aside. But even so, the rays would not have reached the top of the tower. And if they had, he would have had to be in a straight line with the rays and the tower.