I could only account for all this
by extending my theory, and supposing that the highly rarefied
atmosphere around might perhaps not be, as I had taken for granted,
chemically insufficient for the purposes of life, and that a person
born in such a medium might, possibly, be unaware of any inconvenience
attending its inhalation, while, upon removal to the denser strata
near the earth, he might endure tortures of a similar nature to
those I had so lately experienced. It has since been to me a matter of
deep regret that an awkward accident, at this time, occasioned me
the loss of my little family of cats, and deprived me of the insight
into this matter which a continued experiment might have afforded.
In passing my hand through the valve, with a cup of water for the
old puss, the sleeves of my shirt became entangled in the loop which
sustained the basket, and thus, in a moment, loosened it from the
bottom. Had the whole actually vanished into air, it could not have
shot from my sight in a more abrupt and instantaneous manner.
Pages:
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76