gave way with a crash, and a column of molten matter issued forth into the tube!
But William's surprises were not at an end, for, closing his eyes with a shudder to escape the sight of the dreadful death impending, what was his astonishment, on opening them again, to see that the stream of fire, instead of approaching him, seemed to be going in the opposite direction, and was now farther away from him than it had been a moment before.
He was not long in realizing the true state of affairs.
"It's no wonder," said he, "the molten matter seems to be going the other way, for I am falling so fast now—nearly six miles every second—that nothing can catch up with me. But, unfortunately, my speed is continually slacking up, as I have passed the center of attraction, while the liquid mass of fire will probably keep on just as fast as it is going at present; so it will sooner or later catch up with me, especially when the car comes to a stop six hundred miles from the surface of the earth, and begins to fall back again.
"I'm a gone coon, whatever happens! However, I'll fight for my life as long as possible; and that reminds me that the signs mentioned some-
