inutes only sufficed her to soar to the height of ten
thousand feet, after which her progress upward, as indicated by the
steadily falling column of mercury in the tube of the barometer,
gradually decreased in velocity. At the height of twenty-nine thousand
feet the mercury ceased to fall, or the ship ceased to rise, which
amounted to the same thing, and Mount Everest lay before them, its snowy
peak glistening in the sun ten miles away, and its topmost pinnacle
still towering somewhere about five hundred feet above the line of their
horizon.

"Well," said the professor, remarking upon their failure to attain a
greater altitude, "I anticipated this; I was quite prepared to find that
here, where the sun is so much more nearly vertical than it is with us
in England, we should meet with a more rarefied atmosphere. However, we
cannot help it. We must do what we can; and if we fail to reach the
summit we shall simply be obliged to descend again, rid ourselves
temporarily of a few of our more weighty matters, and then renew the
attempt. Perhaps we may be enabled to _force_ her up that remaining
five hundred feet by the power of her engines. Let us try."

The engines were sent ahead at full speed, and the _Flying Fish_ rushed
toward the glittering peak, the professor so adjusting the helm as to
give the ship's bows a slight upward inclination. The experiment
resulted in partial success, an additional elevation of some two hundred
feet being attained, but beyond that it was found impossible to go; even
then it was necessary to keep the ship moving at full speed, and to
maintain the upward inclination of her bows, in order to preserve the
slight additional height gained, her tendency being to sink immediately
upon any relaxation of speed. It was resolved to be satisfied with
this, to effect a landing somewhere, and to attempt surmounting the
remaining three hundred feet by climbing. A landing-place was next
sought for, and this was at length found on the northern side of the
mountain, on a sidelong slanting snow-bank, which seemed to have
accumulated between two projecting crags. It was by no means a
desirable spot on which to effect a landing, the area of the bank being
very small, and the surface sloping most awkwardly; however, it was the
best place the travellers could find, and they were therefore obliged to
rest content with it; so the ship was headed toward it, and in another
second or two a harsh grating sound,