As the crust cooled, it
cracked. The lava from the interior, oozing out, spread itself on both
sides of the cracks. This certainly explains pretty satisfactorily why
those flat glistening streaks are of much greater width than the
fissures through which the lava had at first made its way to the
surface."
"Well done for an Englishman!" cried Ardan in great spirits.
"He's no Englishman," said M'Nicholl, glad to have an opportunity of
coming off with some credit. "He is the famous Scotch engineer who
invented the steam hammer, the steam ram, and discovered the 'willow
leaves' in the Sun's disc."
"Better and better," said Ardan--"but, powers of Vulcan! What makes it
so hot? I'm actually roasting!"
This observation was hardly necessary to make his companions conscious
that by this time they felt extremely uncomfortable. The heat had become
quite oppressive. Between the natural caloric of the Sun and the
reflected caloric of the Moon, the Projectile was fast turning into a
regular bake oven. This transition from intense cold to intense heat was
already about quite as much as they could bear.
"What shall we do, Barbican?" asked Ardan, seeing that for some time no
one else appeared inclined to say a word.
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