28 Okay, weve spent two days searching. We need to pick one, said Bernie. In three days time we begin to starve, and I aint gonna start eating strange rodents and unfamiliar roots until I have to. Alice stood by the forward windows with the others. One goes into the ground, another goes into the cliff, is there a third? Bernie looked to the river below. In the wilderness back home if I was lost, Dad taught me to always follow a river or stream downhill until it reached some kind of encampment or settlement with people. The river here goes down over that rise and into an underground tunnel. Can this ship swim? Gerlach pointed. Its a sealed pressure vessel, plus the electrobubble should protect us, but I would not venture too deep if we hit an underground aquifer. Ill have to reduce the bubble a little at the screws so they can bite the water. Should work theoretically. Air and water are both fluids. Good. Im not even going to bother asking those two untrustworthy albinos for their opinion, said Bernie. I dont think Blohm & Voss designed this blimp to be a U-Boat grumbled Porsche. Klemperer held Alices hand and said: Its made it this far without incidence. How many hours of oxygen are in the tanks? Baumann said they replenish themselves automatically. Around twelve hours, replied Gerlach, tapping two gauges on the wall. ‘Thats for high altitudes, but if we dont venture too deep the air wont compress much further. Spherical tanks, strong. Bea ordered: Lets get it done. Easing up on the lift lever, she set the Bear down on the half-mile-wide river with a gentle splash. When they reached the end there was a waterfall into the tunnel. Here we go. / All set back here, the props should -workfine said Gerlach. Hang on everyone! yelled Bernie. Running lights on. Nervous, Porsche struggled with his lap belt. Jules Verne.. .20,000 Leagues…