They went back to the professor and told him what they had observed.  He seemed somewhat alarmed, the more so as the experience he had just passed through had weakened him considerably.

“I hope I shall be able to make the repairs,” he said.  “It is our only hope.”

As he spoke he looked up at the electric lights that shone overhead from wall brackets.

“Who is shutting down the power?” he asked.

“There is no power on, Professor,” replied Mark.  “I am running the lights from the storage battery.  But something is the matter, for they are growing dim.”

The filaments were now mere dull red wires, and the ship was being shrouded in gloom again.

“The battery is failing!” exclaimed Mr. Henderson.  “We shall be left in darkness, and there is no other way to produce light.  I ought to have brought some lamps or candles along in case of emergency,”

The next instant the Mermaid became as black as Egypt is popularly supposed to be, and something like an exclamation of terror came from the professor.

For several minutes they all sat there in the blackness and gloom, waiting for they knew not what.  Then, suddenly, there sounded throughout the ship, a creaking as of metal sliding along metal.  Some big lever creaked, and, a second later the whole place was flooded with light.

“What has happened?” cried the professor, starting to his feet in alarm.

“We are going to be burned up!” exclaimed old Andy.

“It’s all right!  It’s all right!” yelled Washington from the engine room where the boys had left him.  “Don’t git skeered!  I done it!  I opened the port holes, by yanking on the lever.  Golly, but we’s arrived at the new land!  Look out, everybody!”

CHAPTER XVII

 A strange country

They all ran to the port holes, which were openings in the side of the ship.  They were fitted with thick, double glass, and covered on the outside with steel shutters.  These shutters were worked by a single lever from the engine room, so that one person could open or close them in a second or two.  Washington, by accident, it appeared later, had slid back the protecting pieces of steel, and the rest followed.

As the adventurers looked from the glass ports they saw that the light which had flooded the ship came from without.  They were in the midst of a beautiful glow, which seemed to be diffused about them like rays from a sun.

Only, in place of being a yellow or white light, such as the sun gives off at varying times, the glow was of violet hue.  And, as they watched, they saw the light change color, becoming a beautiful red, then blue, and again green.

“Well, this is certainly remarkable!” the professor said.  “I wonder what causes that.”

“We’ve arrived!  We’re here, anyhow!” Washington cried, coming into the room.  “See the country!”