"Lie down, every one! The freshest air is near the floor;
the bad air rises, being lighter with carbonic acid. Lie down!"
All obeyed, Tom following the advice he himself gave. It was a
little easier to breathe, lying on the tilted cabin floor, but
how long could this be kept up? That was a question each one
asked himself.
"Is every bit of our reserve air used?" asked Tom, speaking to
Earle.
"As far as I can learn, yes, sir. If I had known that the
auxiliary tank was empty I wouldn't have ordered the compressed
air motor used. But I didn't know."
"No one is to blame," said Tom in a low voice. "It is one of
the accidents that could not be foreseen. If there is any blame
it attaches to me for not installing the gyroscope rudder. If we
had had that when we were caught in the cross current, or the
whirlpool swirl, our equilibrium would have been automatically
maintained. As it is--"
He did not finish, but they all knew what he meant.
"Bless my soda fountain, Tom!" murmured Mr. Damon, "but isn't
there any way of getting fresh air?"
"None without rising to the top," Tom answered.
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