第44章

Thespot，wherewehadnowpaused，isthesamethatourfriend

Bunyan-truthfulman，butinfectedwithmanyfantasticnotions-has

designated，intermsplainerthanIliketorepeat，asthemouthof

theinfernalregion。This，however，mustbeamistake；inasmuchasMr。

Smooth-it-away，whileweremainedinthesmokyandluridcavern，

tookoccasiontoprovethatTophethasnotevenametaphorical

existence。Theplace，heassuredus，isnootherthanthecraterof

ahalf-extinctvolcano，inwhichtheDirectorshadcausedforgestobe

setup，forthemanufactureofrailroadiron。Hence，also，isobtained

aplentifulsupplyoffuelfortheuseoftheengines。Whoeverhad

gazedintothedismalobscurityofthebroadcavern-mouth，whenceever

andanondartedhugetonguesofduskyflame-andhadseenthestrange，

half-shapedmonsters，andvisionsoffaceshorriblygrotesque，into

whichthesmokeseemedtowreatheitself-andhadheardtheawful

murmurs，andshrieks，anddeepshudderingwhispersoftheblast，

sometimesformingthemselvesintowordsalmostarticulate-would

haveseizeduponMr。Smooth-it-away’scomfortableexplanation，as

greedilyaswedid。Theinhabitantsofthecavern，moreover，were

unlovelypersonages，dark，smoke-begrimed，generallydeformed，with

mis-shapenfeet，andaglowofduskyrednessintheireyes；asif

theirheartshadcaughtfire，andwereblazingoutoftheupper

windows。Itstruckmeasapeculiarity，thatthelaborersatthe

forge，andthosewhobroughtfueltotheengine，whentheybeganto

drawshortbreath，positivelyemittedsmokefromtheirmouthand

nostrils。

Amongtheidlersaboutthetrain，mostofwhomwerepuffing

cigarswhichtheyhadlightedattheflameofthecrater，Iwas

perplexedtonoticeseveralwho，tomycertainknowledge，had

heretoforesetforthbyrailroadfortheCelestialCity。Theylooked

dark，wild，andsmoky，withasingularresemblance，indeed，tothe

nativeinhabitants；likewhom，also，theyhadadisagreeable

propensitytoill-naturedgibesandsneers，thehabitofwhichhad

wroughtasettledcontortionoftheirvisages。Havingbeenonspeaking

termswithoneofthesepersons-anindolent，good-for-nothingfellow，

whowentbythenameofTake-it-easy-Icalledhim，andinquired

whatwashisbusinessthere。

“Didyounotstart。”saidI，“fortheCelestialCity？”

“That’safact。”saidMr。Take-it-easy，carelesslypuffingsome

smokeintomyeyes。“ButIheardsuchbadaccounts，thatInever

tookpainstoclimbthehill，onwhichthecitystands。Nobusiness

doing-nofungoingon-nothingtodrink，andnosmokingallowed-

andathrummingofchurch-musicfrommorningtillnight！Iwouldnot

stayinsuchaplace，iftheyofferedmehouse-roomandlivingfree。”

“But，mygoodMr。Take-it-easy。”criedI，“whytakeupyour

residencehere，ofallplacesintheworld？”

“Oh。”saidtheloafer，withagrin，“itisverywarmhereabouts，

andImeetwithplentyofoldacquaintances，andaltogetherthe

placesuitsme。Ihopetoseeyoubackagain，somedaysoon。A

pleasantjourneytoyou！”

Whilehewasspeaking，thebelloftheenginerang，andwedashed

away，afterdroppingafewpassengers，butreceivingnonewones。

RattlingonwardthroughtheValley，weweredazzledwiththe

fiercelygleaminggas-lamps，asbefore。Butsometimes，inthedark

ofintensebrightness，grimfaces，thatboretheaspectandexpression

ofindividualsins，orevilpassions，seemedtothrustthemselves

throughtheveiloflight，glaringuponus，andstretchingfortha

greatduskyhand，asiftoimpedeourprogress。Ialmostthought，that

theyweremyownsinsthatappalledmethere。Thesewerefreaksof

imagination-nothingmore，certainly-meredelusions，whichIoughtto

beheartilyashamedof-but，allthroughtheDarkValley，Iwas

tormented，andpestered，anddolefullybewildered，withthesame

kindofwakingdreams。Themephiticgasesofthatregionintoxicate

thebrain。Asthelightofn