Chapter 21

MY WEIGHT DISAPPEARING.

We halted suddenly, for we came unexpectedly to the edge of a precipice, twenty feet at least in depth.

“Let us jump down,” said my guide.

“That would be dangerous,” I answered; “can not we descend at some point where it is not so deep?”

“No; the chasm stretches for miles across our path, and at this point we will meet with the least difficulty; besides, there is no danger. The specific gravity of our bodies is now so little that we could jump twice that distance with impunity.”

“I can not comprehend you; we are in the flesh, our bodies are possessed of weight, the concussion will be violent.”

“You reason again from the condition of your former life, and, as usual, are mistaken; there will be little shock, for, as I have said, our bodies are comparatively light now. Have you forgotten that your motion is continuously accelerated, and that without perceptible exertion you move rapidly? This is partly because of the loss of weight. Your weight would now be only about fifty pounds if tested by a spring balance.”

I stood incredulous.

“You trifle with me; I weigh over one hundred and fifty pounds; how have I lost weight? It is true that I have noticed the ease with which we have recently progressed on our journey, especially the latter part of it, but I attribute this, in part, to the fact that our course is down an incline, and also to the vitalizing power of this cavern air.”

“This explains part of the matter,” he said; “it answered at the time, and I stated a fact; but were it not that you are really consuming a comparatively small amount of energy, you would long before this have been completely exhausted. You have been gaining strength for some hours; have really been growing younger. Your wrinkled face has become more smooth, and your voice is again natural. You were prematurely aged by your brothers on the surface of the earth, in order that when you pass the line of gravity, you might be vigorous and enjoying manhood again. Had this aging process not been accomplished you would now have become as a child in many respects.”

[Illustration: “I BOUNDED UPWARD FULLY SIX FEET.”]

He halted before me. “Jump up,” he said. I promptly obeyed the unexpected command, and sprung upward with sufficient force to carry me, as I supposed, six inches from the earth; however I bounded upward fully six feet. My look of surprise as I gently alighted, for there was no concussion on my return, seemed lost on my guide, and he quietly said:

“If you can leap six feet upward without excessive exertion, or return shock, can not you jump twenty feet down? Look!”

[Illustration: “I FLUTTERED TO THE EARTH AS A LEAF WOULD FALL.”]

And he leaped lightly over the precipice and stood unharmed on the stony floor below.

Even then I hesitated, observing which, he cried:

“Hang by your hands from the edge then, and drop.”

I did so, and the fourteen feet of fall seemed to affect me as though I had become as light as cork. I fluttered to the earth as a leaf would fall, and leaned against the precipice in surprised meditation.

“Others have been through your experience,” he remarked, “and I therefore can overlook your incredulity; but experiences such as you now meet, remove distrust. Doing is believing.” He smiled benignantly.