Further argument was cut short by the car suddenly dashing into the
clouds with a noiseless ease that astonished us, for they had appeared
as solid as the rock.

Lost in the vapours, our car seemed at rest; but although we saw
nothing, we could hear a vague and distant murmur which charmed our ears
after the long silence of space like a strain of music. Whether this was
due to the sounds of the surface collected in the clouds, or to
electrical discharges I cannot say, for we were trying to solve the
mystery by hearkening to it, when it abruptly died away as the car shot
into the clear air beneath the clouds.

"The sea! the sea!" cried Miss Carmichael, starting up in joyful
excitement to join her father; and sure enough we were flying above a
dark blue hemisphere which could only be the ocean.

Gazen now made another test of the atmosphere, and, finding it
satisfactory, we opened the door of the car and ventured on the gallery.

After our confinement the fresh air acted like a charm. It felt so cool
and sweet in the nostrils that every breath was a pleasure. We inhaled
it in long, deep, loving draughts, which imparted vigour to our
exhausted frames, and intoxicated our spirits like laughing gas. I could
hardly restrain a wild impulse to leap from the car into the unruffled
bosom of the sea below, and Gazen, habitually staid, actually shouted
with glee. His voice startled the utter stillness, and was mocked by a
faint echo from the surface of the water. By timing the interval between
a call and its echo we found it nearly ten seconds, which corresponded
to a height of about a mile. A repetition of the test from time to time
showed that the car was now travelling at a fairly constant level. The